Thankful

Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: Thankful, Grateful, Blessed

Here is my card for your inspiration:

October is traditionally Pastor Appreciation month--a time for church congregations to shower their pastors with appreciation.  They work hard guiding, teaching, leading, etc. and so it is a good time to show them that we appreciate them.  This card is actually not for one of our pastors but for a man who has filled in for our church several times when we have been between pastors and is also teaching a class that my husband and I are taking.  So, I decided to give him a card as well as the four pastors at our church.  We gave them each a gift card to Dunkin' Donuts because, here, in Rhode Island, no one can live without their coffee!!!  (Except me, I don't drink coffee.)  Since I was including a coffee gift card with this card, I decided to continue that theme over onto the card front with the little travel coffee cup.  I thought I had a larger one in stamp form, but after thinking about where that would be, I decided it was most likely in digital form and I didn't have time to search it out, so little it is.

I embossed the front of the card base with a really pretty leaf embossing folder.  Then I added two different die cut maple leaves (I just love the shape of them the best!) cut from a really bright, rather hideous orange card stock.  After inking the edges with red ink, I think they turn into the most beautiful leaves!  I stamped, colored and die cut the travel cup and adhered it on top of the leaves and then die cut the word "thankful" from gold matte card stock and stuck it on the top of the pile.  I finished it all off with some tiny yellow rhinestones.  I didn't want anything too flashy as this is a masculine card, but I think the rhinestones are a good touch.

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: PaperTrey Ink "Heart to Heart #2" coffee cup

Dies: Papertrey Ink large maple leaf; unbranded set from Amazon including the smaller leaf and sentiment

Park Lane embossing folder

Challenges:

Creative Inspirations--autumn/something spooky

Creatalicious Challenge #293--anything goes with the optional twist: fall colours or Halloween

Can You Handle the Pressure--anything goes with the optional twist: pumpkins or orange (I have orange leaves)

Creative Knockouts #557--Halloween OR fall

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #264--anything goes

Penny's Challenge #608--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday--add some texture (texture from the embossing folder, the rhinestones and the layered elements)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Crafty Chicks #792--anything goes

Paper pieced pumpkins

Hello, everyone!  It's time for the mid-month reminder for the challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: Wings and Things.  I am using an image from our fabulous sponsor: Mirtillamente.

 Here is my card:

I wasn't feeling like coloring this image this time around, so I decided to paper piece the entire thing.  I'm not sure why in the world I thought that would be faster OR easier!  Not my brightest idea, but it did turn out really great!! (At least, I think so!)  It took forever because I had to print out each section pretty much one at a time (and I may have miss printed a couple times and had to redo it).  I used scraps from this beautiful paper pack for the images and then used paper from the same pad for the rest of the card.  The largest pinkish panel is a piece of patterned paper from the pack, but since it is plain, I ran it through a leaf embossing folder for some texture and interest.  I punched out some butterflies from coordinating paper from the pack and added them with gold pearls.  I finished it off with some beautiful gold ribbon.

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: Mirtillamente "Autumn Season" digi

Dies: unbranded circle die from Amazon

Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Challenges: 

Unicorn Challenge #114--autumn AND/OR Halloween

Cheerful Sketches #149--sketch

Creative Inspirations--autumn/something spooky

Creatalicious Challenge#293--anything goes with the optional twist: fall colours or Halloween

Craft Rockets #130--autumn/Halloween

{Pin}spirational Challenge #330--pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere

Love Those Pretty Papers--anything goes with the optional twist: Halloween colors (I did not use the optional twist)

Inkspirational #352--seasonal

Pearly Sparkles Challenge #112--pumpkins and/or leaves

As You Like It Challenge--ribbon or twine and why? (I use both, but I prefer ribbon.  I love the texture it adds and the fact that it comes in ALL the colors.  And It creates really beautiful bows.  Since this is an extra large size, I will probably either hand deliver this one or include it inside a package, so the added bulk isn't a problem.)

Creative Fingers #310--anything goes

Plaid birthday

Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: Add Embellishments

Here is my card for your inspiration:

This was the card I made for my brother's birthday.  I used a fantastic stamp set from Altenew that created that beautiful tartan/plaid background.  It takes a little bit of time, but you can create a fabulous background in any color!  After stamping the panel, I die cut it with a stitched rectangle die.  Then I die cut the "happy" several times from white card stock and adhered the layers together for some dimension.  I stamped the "happy" from the coordinating stamp set onto the die cut layer.  I stamped "birthday" on a piece of dark gray card stock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder.  I adhered that panel onto the "happy" and added some enamel dots.

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: Altenew "Tartan" (unfortunately, it does not seem to be available anymore); PaperTrey Ink "Pairings: Commodities" (also does not seem to be available anymore)

Dies: My Favorite Things "Blueprints 13" (discontinued); PaperTrey Ink "Pairings: Commodities

Challenges: 

Cards Galore Challenges #140--anything goes

Die Cut Divas--anything goes

Moving Along with the Times #182--sentiment as the focus

Word Power--sentiment as the focus

Penny's Challenge #607--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday--add some text

Krafty Chicks #790--CAS

Birthday Wishes

Hello, everyone!  It's time for a new challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: Wings and things .  I am using an image from our fabulous sponsor: Mirtillamente.

 Here is my card:

I colored up this beautiful "Rose Mandala" image, added gold enamel dots, a die cut bow and some punched butterflies (for my wings).  I added more of the enamel dots to the centers of the butterflies for a fun touch.  I die cut the main panel with a stitched rectangle die and matted it with gold matte card stock before adhering everything to a teal card stock base.

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: Mirtillamente "Rose Mandala" digi; Verve "Be Blessed" sentiment

Dies: My Favorite Things "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle; Picket Fence Studios "A Bow for Any Reason"

Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch

Challenges:

Double Trouble Challenge #201--SomeThing, AnyThing, EveryThing (#1: 3 colors of card stock {white, matte gold, teal}, 2 dies, 1 sentiment)

Krafty Chicks #788--birthday

Creative Fingers Challenge #309--anything goes

Di's Digi Designs--hand colored image

Cards Galore Challenge #140--anything goes

Pattie's Creations #235--anything goes

Crafter's Cafe #323--anything goes with the optional twist: flowers

Die Cut Divas--anything goes

Creatalicious Challenge #293--anything goes with the optional twist: happy birthday

Beautiful Blossoms #33--anything goes with flowers with the optional mood board

Snowy Christmas

Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: Use more than one die cut.

Here is my card for your inspiration:

As always, I was looking to create a quick card (I just can't seem to get myself together enough to have time to actually spend creating!) and this one fit the bill.  I looked through my stash of new(ish) dies and stamps that is sitting on my desk and found this gorgeous snowflake frame die from Lawn Fawn and knew I definitely wanted to use it.  As I went to my other desk to use my die cutting machine, I saw this commercially produced Christmas card front in one of my other stashes and knew it would be perfect to go behind my snowflake frame and it was!  Then I die cut "Christmas" out of gold mat card stock and "merry" out of black card stock (twice, so I could stack them together for a bit more dimension) and glued everything in place.  Quick, easy, and quite stunning in real life, I think.  I didn't add any embellishments as I thought there was enough going on without them.  In hindsight, I wish I had placed a layer of vellum over the background picture so the greeting would stand out a bit better, but I didn't, so . . . this is what I ended up with.

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:

Dies: Lawn Fawn snowflake cover plate die (unfortunately, I don't see it on their website); Picket Fence Studios "Merry Christmas Word Dies"

Challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday--trees

Penny's Challenge #606--anything goes

Little Red Wagon #827--H is for Holidays

As You Like It--favorite: square or not (I almost always create an A2 sized rectangle card because you can get two card bases out of one sheet of 8x11 inch card stock.  That makes it more economical for me and I can easily get envelopes to fit.)

Cards Galore Challenges #140--anything goes

Die Cut Divas--anything goes

Moving Along with the Times #182--sentiment as the focus

Word Power--anything goes with the sentiment at the focus

Hoppy Birthday

Happy October 1st!!  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:

This is the birthday card for my brother-in-law whose birthday was earlier this week.  We have quite a string in our family: his was the 16th, my husband's was the 19th, my longtime family friend was the 20th and mine was the 21st!  Anyway, I had some fun with this one.  The striped border piece was created from small scraps of a paper pack that I have finally managed to use up (I have one border strip left and several tiny die cut circles left).  I laid some number dies along the bottom of the main panel and partially die cut them so the tops are still attached.  I added a tiny strip of green to ground the numbers and then stamped and colored my little scene.  I have been having a lot of fun with this set lately and I feel like it has gotten enough use that I can put it aside and move onto using some of my other stamp sets that I have had for a long time and haven't had the chance to ink up.

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: Memory Box "Hoppy Holiday"

Dies: PaperTrey Ink "By the Numbers" border die

Challenges:

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #262--anything goes

Double Trouble Challenge #201--SomeThing, AnyThing, Everything (#1: 3 of something {images, I actually used for different stamps to create the main image}, 2 of anything {patterned papers--I a LOT on that border strip}, 1 of something {one border die})

Penny's Challenge #606--anything goes

Di's Digi Designs--hand colored image

Pixie's Snippets Playground #516--anything goes using snippets (I used up a ton of scraps on the border strip)

Crafter's Cafe #323--anything goes with the optional twist: flowers (I did not use the twist)

Creatalicious Challenge #293--anything goes with the optional twist: happy birthday (I did not use the twist)