Saturday, January 20, 2024

Card Recycle

I had a few minutes to just play in my craft area the other day and I decided to work with some Christmas cards I had received last year.  Some of them are just too pretty to throw away, you know?  One of them was large enough that I was able to cut it in half and create two cards out of it.  This card is the bottom half of the card.  I die cut the image with a rectangle die and matted it on some holographic card stock that I die cut with a stitched rectangle die.  I then matted both onto a red card stock base.  It didn't need much as the sentiment was already included on the cared, so I added some die cut snowflakes that were cut out of a white glitter paper.
You can see the shine from the holographic paper and the glitter from the snowflakes better in the photo below.
Supplies:
Recycled Christmas card
Dies: Spellbinders "A2 Matting Basics A" rectangle die; MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle and "Cute Snowflakes"

Challenges:
Sparkles--winter wonderland
ABC Christmas--A is for Anything Christmas
Die Cut Divas--nbus (never before used schtuff--this was the first time using the holographic paper)
Moving Along With the Times #162--new craft item (the holographic paper)
Christmas Craft Creations--glitter & sparkle










Crafty Gals Corner #252--winter fun (there's a sled in the back of the truck)
NBUS--never before used  schtuff (holographic card stock)
Farm Quest #44--winter sports (sledding--sled in the back of the truck)
Christmas (Or Not) Bingo #45--I used the G column: red, die cuts, FREE













Creative Fingers #269--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday--sparkle and shine
The Paper Shelter--all things new (holographic paper)
Double D--sparkle AND/OR shine





 




Crafty Catz #663--no patterned paper
Jingle Belles--something old, something new (the rectangle dies are OLD--I have had them for years and the holographic paper is NEW--just opened the package for this card)

Friday, January 19, 2024

Winter hello

Back in the fall, I won a chance to be a guest designer at Creative Creases and this is my week to design for them!!  So fun!!  The challenge is always anything goes as long as you use a fun fold.  I don't often create cards with fun folds because it takes more time, but I do really enjoy making them, so this was a fun challenge for me.  Here is the card I created:
It is called a tri-shutter card and it is the first time I have tried making one.  I used this tutorial and it was actually quite simple in technique to create even though it looks very fancy,
I created a wintery "hello" card that I thought would be fun to send to someone to brighten up their cold winter day.  I added a lot of snowflakes with both stamps and dies and used some pretty winter papers to go with my theme.  The text paper actually says "Let It Snow" repeatedly.
Thanks for stopping by and make sure you head over to the Creative Creases blog to get all the details and some fabulous inspiration from the Design Team!

Supplies:
Stamps: Rubbernecker Stamps "Snowman with arms"; Papertrey Ink "Fab Flakes"; Cardz TV "Just Sayin'" inside sentiment
Dies: Rubbernecker Stamps "Snowman with arms"; Papertrey Ink "Fab Flakes"; Verve "Classy Label"

Challenges:
Die Cut Divas--nbus (never before used schtuff); this is the first time using the "hello" die, the first time using some of these snowflake dies
Crafty Calendar--anything goes
We Love Stamping--new (new "hello" die and new technique)
Moving Along With the Times--new craft item (the "hello" die)














NBUS #58--never before used schtuff (first time using the "hello" die and some of the snowflake dies)
Word Art Wednesday #631--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Paper Shelter #579--all things new (new "hello" die and new technique)


 

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Small spaces

 I have exciting news!!  A couple months ago, I was asked to be a guest designer on the C.R.A.F.T. Challenge blog for the month of January!!  This week's challenge is: "Inspired By a Book" and our fabulous sponsor is All Dressed Up.

This is the card I created for your inspiration:
My book of inspiration is "Thumbelina".  I remember reading that waaaaaaay back when I was a kid and when I saw this image, that's exactly what I thought of as Thumbelina was no bigger than your thumb.  This little fairy has to be pretty tiny to be sitting beneath the flowers.  I colored her up with my Spectrum Noir markers and added some gold glitter pen to her wings.  You can see it in the photo below:
I stamped the sentiment and liked the bold black so much that I added a black mat and card base to make that pink really pop.  I die cut a fun corner flourish element and added some hot pink rhinestones and it was done!
Make sure you stop by the C.R.A.F.T. Challenge blog to see what the DT created for this challenge.  Thanks for stopping by!

 Supplies:
Stamps: All Dressed Up "Little Flower Fairy"
Dies: MFT "Blueprints 12" square and "Four Corners" corner element

Challenges:
Crafty Calendar--anything goes
Triple B--anything goes with birds, blooms, or butterflies
Simon Says Stamp Monday--Sparkles and shine
Shopping Our Stash #513--Once upon a time (I think "Thumbelina" should count as a fairy tale)
Word Art Wednesday #631--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Penny's Challenge #563--anything goes

Friday, January 12, 2024

New Year

Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: New Year (you can create a project using something NEW, using a NEW technique, or maybe just  a NEW year's card).

Here is my card for your inspiration:
I didn't receive any new crafty items for Christmas, so I went with the NEW Year's day theme.  I had this paper pack sitting on my desk from the previous card I had made (you can see it here).  As I was flipping through it, I cam across this gorgeous paper and just had to use it.  I paired it with two different shades of gray card stock and used a teal card stock for the die cut letters.  I colored up my sweet little kitty in my favorite gray (gray cats have always been my favorite), gave him a party hat and finished everything off with some leftover die cut stars (left over from the same project mentioned above).
Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you will hop over to the Cut It Up blog for the full details of the challenge and to see what the rest of the Design Team has created. 

Supplies:
Stamps: Mama Elephant "Lunar Animals"; Unity Stamps Co. small sentiment
Dies: MFT "Stitched Alphabet"; Papertrey Ink stars

Challenges:
Cutie Pie Challenge--Feeling Sentimental













Incy Wincy Designs--New AND/OR Let's Celebrate
Word Art Wednesday #630--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Snippets Playground #471--celebration (must use snippets--no full sheets of anything were harmed in the making of this card: all the cardstocks were from off cuts as was the paper.  My kitty was stamped on a tiny snippet of white card stock and my stars were left over from a previous project.)
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes






 

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Happy New Year

I have exciting news!!  A couple months ago, I was asked to be a guest designer on the C.R.A.F.T. Challenge blog for the month of January!!  I flaked out and missed last week's challenge, so I am starting today.  This week's challenge is: "New" and our fabulous sponsor is The Paper Shelter.
This is the card I created for your inspiration:
I came across a challenge that was to use the colors gray, yellow and white, and it intrigued me so much I wanted to give it a try.  I usually stay away from color challenges because I'm TERRIBLE at mixing colors, but for whatever reason, I thought I could do this one.  I think it created a very bright, modern, celebration card and it is so fun!!  I colored up my handsome little dude and fussy cut him out so I could add him wherever I wanted.  I didn't have the exact shade of yellow card stock that I was looking for, so I used a pale yellow cardstock to die cut the letters from and once they were die cut I used my Spectrum Noir markers to create an ombre affect on each letter.  It's very subtle, but I think it is a fun touch. I finished everything off with some die cut stars.
Make sure you stop by the C.R.A.F.T. Challenge blog to see what the DT created for this challenge.  Thanks for stopping by!

 Supplies:
Stamps: The Paper Shelter "Casual Boy" digi
Dies: MFT "Stitched Alphabet"; Papertrey Ink stars

Challenges:
Cutie Pie Challenge--Feeling Sentimental
Cheerful Sketches--sketch (second time I've used this one--it's a good one this month!)













Crafty Calendar--anything goes
Sheepski Designs #82--anything goes
Paper Funday #61--anything goes with the optional twist: let's celebrate
613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: new beginnings
Incy Wincy Designs--New AND/OR Let's celebrate
Word Art Wednesday #630--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Penny's Challenge #562--anything goes
ART Impressions #366--It's a clean slate (anything goes)
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes
Cupcake Inspirations #585--color challenge


Monday, January 8, 2024

Magical Birthday

Hello, everyone!  It's time for a new challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: Fantasy.  I am using an image from one of our fabulous sponsors: Sheepski Designs.

 Here is my card:
Isn't this unicorn just gorgeous??!!  Andrea Norris is the artist behind Sheepski Designs and she is very talented!  This purple watercolor look paper was on my desk (my daughter had just returned it along with some other stuff as she was working on cleaning out her room) and I really wanted to use it.  So, I pulled out some other papers from the same pack and went with a soft, magical, purple color scheme.  The vertical layer is a nice pearlescant paper and has a beautiful sheen to it.  You can see that a little bit in the photo below as well as the gold sparkle pen I used on the unicorn's horn.  I finished everything off with some large gold sequins and some elegant gold die cuts.  I had forgotten about both of these dies and I was very excited to pull them out and use them again.  
, 

You have all month to play along.  So, get inky and link up your creation; I can't wait to see what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sheepski Designs "Unicorn"; CAS-ual Friday's "Be a Unicorn"
Dies: MFT "Fancy Flourish" and "Four Corners"

Challenges:
Cards Galore #119--anything goes













Sheepski Designs #82--anything goes
Paper Funday #61--anything goes with the optional twist: celebrate
Aud Sentiments #309--make your own background AND/OR birthday (I went with birthday)
Incy Wincy Designs--New AND/OR Let's celebrate (I chose celebrate)
Word Art Wednesday #630--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Penny's Challenge #562--anything goes
Double D--8th birthday/anniversary celebration (Happy Birthday!!!  This card's for you!)













C.R.A.F.T. #703--anything goes
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Monday, January 1, 2024

Penguin Love

 Happy January 1st, 2024!!  It's time for a new challenge on the Critter Crazy Challenge blog!  As always, it is a month long challenge: Anything Goes as long as you feature a creature.  Here is my card for your inspiration:

My parents' anniversary is the day after Christmas, so I was able to use some beautiful winter papers and a snowy theme for this sweet card.  These little penguins are just adorable!  I used some white glitter paper on an icicle border die for an icy touch.  And to add to that, I added some ultra fine glitter to the snowflake to give some more sparkle.


Thanks for stopping by!  Hop on over to the Critter Crazy blog and check out the details and the rest of the projects from the Design Team.

Supplies:
Stamps: Pretty Pink Posh "Penguin Pals"; MFT "Essential Sentiments"
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"; YNS "Icicle border"

Challenges:
Word Art Wednesday--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
The Paper Shelter--anything goes
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes
Krafty Chicks #696--all occasions
Once Upon a Time #18--Mr. Popper's Penguins