Prayer

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

Here is my card for your inspiration:

My aunt is battling breast cancer and since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, it was the perfect opportunity to combine it with the pink theme.  I had a bit of fun creating the background for this one.  I got quite a bit more inky than usual and I really like how it turned out in real life.  I started out with a piece of pink cardstock and ink blended around the edges with Worn Lipstick and Black Soot Distress Oxide inks.  Then I ran it through with an embossing folder and realized I had used the folder backwards and it was actually DE-bossed on the side I had already inked.  Rather than starting over, I decided to use the same Worn Lipstick directly on the embossing folder, place the sheet back in the folder and ran it through again (I actually had to do it two times), which put darker ink in the recessed parts.  Then, I decided to add a little more, so I added a French script stamp with white Craft ink.  You really can't see it much because of all else that is going on, but you can see it around the edges where it stamped on the black ink.  I really wanted this panel to be the star of the show, so I created a dotted frame with two rectangular dies.  The left the perfect place for my ribbon (which was a scrap that was lying on my desk).  I used the same pink cardstock and the same Distress Oxide inks to create the sentiment strip, stamped the sentiment segments and added it over the center of my card.  I finished it off with some pink pearls.  I have had them for years and years and finally managed to use them up!

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: Hero Arts "French Script" rubber stamp; PaperTrey Ink "Inspired: Prayer" sentiment

Dies:  Elizabeth Craft Designs "Garden Notes Frame It Stitched Rectangles"

Challenges:

Cards Galore Challenges #152--anything goes

Creative Inspirations--anything goes

613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: think pink

Can You Handle the Pressure--anything goes with an embossing folder with the optional twist: birthday (I did not use the optional twist)

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

Fab n' Funky #643--3 of something (I used 3 different colored inks: black, pink, white)

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #287--anything goes

As You Like It--favorite fabric embellishment (I love ribbon.  I don't use it a lot, but it is the fabric I use the most of.  I have way too much!)

Crafty Cats #721--anything goes

Creative Fingers #331--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday--think pink

Word Art Wednesday #774--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Little Red Wagon #880--use a frame

Birthday wishes

 Hello, everyone!  It's time for a new challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: Wings and Things.  This challenge we are honoring Alex, a former teammate who has since passed away.

 Here is my card:

I created this card for my mother-in-law's birthday--she also is a big fan of butterflies, so it was perfect for this challenge.  I used some beautiful fall papers (they really don't look like fall necessarily, but they are and the colors are so rich--I love them!) all from the same paper pack.  I decided to have a little fun and used an embossing folder on the sheet of paper in the background.  I stamped the large butterfly on the same paper before die cutting it, and I also punched the little butterflies from a scrap of the same.  I matted everything with brown card stock and finished it off with gold pearls.

The picture above is a close up of that fabulous embossing!  It naturally cracked the paper just a little bit so a bit of the white core shows through; I think it really adds a fun look.

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: Picket Fence Studios "Butterfly Beauties"; Verve "Be Blessed" sentimet

Dies: Picket Fence Studios "Butterfly Beauties"

Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Challenges: 

Cards Galore Challenges #152--anything goes

Creative Inspirations--anything goes

Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2 #337--sketch 

Can You Handle the Pressure--anything goes with the optional twist: birthday

Lil' Patch of Crafty friends #287--anything goes

Crafty Catz #721--anything goes

Creative Fingers #331--anything goes

Happy 90th

Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: Use More than 1 Die Cut.  

Here is my card for your inspiration:

My husband's grandfather tuned 90 this year!  This is the card I made for him.  He worked in construction his whole life and still putters around building things here and there.  I thought the tool theme was perfect for him!

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: Paper Trey Ink "Big Birthday Wishes" th

Dies: Paper Trey Ink "By the Numbers" 90; MFT "Pegboard" cover die and "Happy Trio"; Taylored Expressions tools; window box (I can't remember the brand)

Challenges:

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #286--anything goes

Pixies' Snippets Playground #542--anything goes with snippets (all the die cuts were cut from snippets, except the pegboard)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Crafty Catz #720--anything goes

Creative Fingers #380--anything goes

Krafty Chicks #840--birthday

Cards Galore #152--anything goes

Blessed

Hello, everyone!  It's time for the mid-month reminder for the challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: Colors of Fall.  I am using an image from our fabulous sponsor: Kit & Klowder.

 Here is my card:

I used this beautiful Ash Leaf image from our sponsor.  I didn't feel like coloring (even though the company is a coloring company!) so I printed it out on a patterned paper and added a little bit of shading with my markers.  Then I fussy cut it out and adhered it on top of a die cut vellum layer which helps it stand out from the busy background.  I die cut the "blessed" three times and adhered them together for some texture.  I finished it all off with some random orange and yellow rhinestones.

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: Kit & Klowder "Ash Leaf" digi

Dies: Unbranded stitched label die from Amazon; Unbranded "Blessed" die from Amazon

Challenges: 

Creative Inspirations--Hello, Autumn

Crafty Gals Corner #280--anything goes with the optional twist: fall foliage

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #286--anything goes

Atlantic Hearts Sketch #701--sketch

Word Art Wednesday #772--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Little Red Wagon #878--autumn

Crafty Catz #720--anything goes

Creative Fingers #330--anything goes

Sweet Stampin'--autumn

Inkspirational Challenge #377--photo inspiration (I used the fall colors and leaves)

Crowing

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:

I was browsing through some challenges and came across one whose theme "chicken" and I immediately thought of this fun little set that I have had for a very long time.  I was planning to create a birthday card for my mother-in-law who runs a mini farm with lots of chickens.  But it seemed a little masculine so I turned it into a retirement card for a family member.  I started out with a sketch  (as I usually do) and these cute little chickens.  I colored them up like Rhode Island Reds, which we have raised in the past.  We have had several roosters, so I had to include the green tail.  I used several pieces of patterned paper from a fall paper pack that was already on my desk.

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: There She Goes "Farm Fresh" rooster, chickens and main sentiment; Sugar Pea Designs "Great Catch" retirement sentiment

Dies: Sweet n' Sassy Stamps fence die; MFT "Blueprints 13" banner

Challenges:

Creative Inspirations--Hello, autumn

A Gem of A Challenge--anything goes

Cardz 4 Guyz #390--Fall/autumn colors

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #286--anything goes

Try A Sketch on Tuesday #705--sketch

Shopping Our Stash #583--Chicken!

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Little Red Wagon #878--autumn

Crafty Catz #720--anything goes

Creative Fingers #330--anything goes

Sweet Stampin'--autumn

Inkspirational Challenge #371--inspirational prompt (I used the fall theme and colors)

 

Turning 40

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

Here is my card for your inspiration:

So, I always struggle with color combinations in challenges and when I saw black and orange for this challenge all I could think of was Halloween.  And I don't do Halloween, so I was at a bit of a loss at to what to do.  When I saw that several of my teammates had managed to create orange and black cards without being Halloween related, I realized it was possible.  My brother-in-law was turning 40 this week, so I decided to make a card for him using this color combo.  I pulled out some definitely NOT Halloween paper and that was the beginning of this card.  I forgot to take a photo of it, but the "40" was die cut out of black glitter paper.  Yes, I did manage to use both glitter AND ribbon on a masculine card and I think it works perfectly!  The ribbon was recycled from some gift or something like that I had received a couple years ago and all the little stars are the left overs from the star border die I used down the side of the card.  I added a few more inside to surround the sentiment and added another die cut "40", this time in orange to contrast with all the black inside.

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 "Big Birthday Wishes"

Dies: Paper Trey Ink "By the Numbers" border die; Verve "Scalloped Trim Trio" star border die; Spellbinders "You are Here" arrow die; Stamps of Life star; unbranded label die from Amazon

Challenges:

Cards Galore Challenge #151--anything goes

Die Cut Divas--recycle, re-use & repurpose

Craft Rockets #140--use dies

Word Power--anything goes with sentiment as the focus

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #285--anything goes

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #699-sketch

Crafty Catz #714--anything goes

Creative Fingers #329--anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #770--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Pixie's Snippets Playground #541--anything goes with snippets (Almost everything was die cut from snippets and I reused the little stars left over from the border die cut)

Amazing

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

 Here is my card:

I used this beautiful leaf image and printed it nice and large so it would be the star of the show.  I die cut it with a stitched rectangle die,  colored it up in shades of yellow and then stamped over it with a light gray ink and a French script stamp.  I then die cut "amazing" out of the image, cut out the word two more times and layered them all together for dimension and then adhered it back into the negative space.  It adds such a fun touch without letting the sentiment overwhelm the image.  I stamped "you are" over the die cut stack to complete the sentiment.  I added a few yellow gems sprinkled around to finish it all off.

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: Kit & Clowder "Dogrose Leaf"; My Favorite Things "Essential Sentiments" (I masked off the rest of the sentiment to fit with my die cut); Hero Arts "French Script"

Dies: "My Favorite Things "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle die; STAMPlorations "amazing"

Challenges:

Cards Galore #151--anything goes

Pattie's Creations #246--anything goes with handcolored sentiment

Creative Inspirations--Hello, Autumn

We Love Stamping--trees & leaves

Craft Rockets #140--use dies

Crafty Gals Corner #280--anything goes with the optional twist: fall foliage

{Pin}spirational Challenge #341--inspirational photo (I was inspired by the leaves)

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #285--anything goes

Atlantic Hearts Sketch #699--sketch

Crafty Catz #719--anything goes

Creative Fingers #329--anything goes

Sweet Stampin'--CAS

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--CAS

Shape it Up!

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

Here is my card for your inspiration:

This has been a year of celebrating ALL the things.  Back in May, we celebrated my husband's grandfather turning 90.  We also celebrated his wife turning 80!  This is the card I made to celebrate her birthday.  She is a very classic white and black type of person, so I went with this classic, elegant combo for her card.  This die set is one of my favorites; it is so gorgeous, so it was definitely the time to pull it out.  the ribbon was left over from another project and the rhinestone ribbon slide was part of a craft kit one of my girls had and didn't want any more.  I think it turned out so pretty!

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 "Big Birthday Wishes" th; Verve "Be Blessed" sentiment

Dies: Spellbinders "Radiant Rectangles"; PaperTrey Ink "By the Numbers" border die numbers

Challenges:

Word Art Wednesday #768--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Creative Knockouts #578--lots of layers

Krafty Chicks #836--birthday

Creative Fingers #328--anything goes

Sweet Stampin' Challenge--use a die cut

Cards Galore #151--anything goes

Unicorn Challenge #124--not square

Die Cut Divas--recycle, re-use, repurpose (the ribbon and ribbon slide are repurposed)

Word Power--anything goes with sentiment as the focus

Magical birthday

Happy September 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:

I know this is stretching it a little bit, but if we can use mythical creatures, then why not a mythical birthday cake creature?  I mean it's a unicorn cake, right?  I won the chance to purchase this set as part of a GIANT box of goodies from Jennifer McGuire several years ago.  So much fun stuff in there, but almost all of it has sat around in a box ever since.  So, I'm working on using some of the sets and this one came out to play.  There are several different decorations that can be used to decorate this fun cake.  I decided to keep it relatively simple and just added some piping around the bottom and a few flowers and she was done!

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: Hero Arts CM438 cake set (I'm pretty sure it's discontinued); CAS-ual Fridays "Magical Unicorn" sentiment

Dies: Hero Arts cake set

Challenges:

Pattie's Creations #245--anything goes with hand colored sentiment

Creative Knockouts #577--favorite embellishments (I love using gems and these yellow ones I've had for a very long time)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #767--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #284--anything goes

Creative Fingers #328--anything goes

Sweet Stampin'--use a die cut

Hanging out

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

 Here is my card:

Oh, my goodness!!  The cuteness of this panda is just too much!  He looks a little bit sad, maybe because he's thinking about his friend whom he misses.  This was a very simple card all around.  I printed out the image, die cut it, colored it, added the sentiment and adhered it to the card base and, done!

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: Polkadoodles "Noodle Panda Hang Out"; Cardz TV "Just Sayin'" sentiment

Dies: MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle

Challenges:  

613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: play time

A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #284--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Creative Fingers #328--anything goes

Sweet Stampin'--use a die cut

Watercolor truck

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

Here is my card for your inspiration:

Several years ago, my mother-in-law and I went to a stamp convention and we took a class with Art Impressions Stamps.  They have a lot of images that you can "water color" with and they work together to create beautiful scenes.  This scene was one that we created during the class and I had never put it onto a card.  My father-in-law loves classic cars so when Father's Day rolled around this year, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to pull out this image and finally use it!  It all came together pretty quickly since the image was already water colored.  I just had to die cut it and find some masculine looking papers and it was good to go!

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: All image stamps were from Art Impressions but since I used them in a class, I don't know the names; PaperTrey Ink "World's Greatest" sentiment

Dies: MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched banner die; I have no idea where the stitched rectangle die came from.

Challenges:

Cards Galore Challenges #150--anything goes

Unicorn Challenge #123--layer it up

Creative Inspirations--anything goes

Craft Rocket #139--transportation

ART Impressions #434--Boy, oh, boy!

 

Happy Thoughts

Hello, everyone!  It's time for a new challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: Make It Cute.  It doesn't get much easier than that!!  I am using an image from our fabulous sponsor: Polkadoodles.

 Here is my card:

Isn't this panda super cute!?!  As soon as I saw him, I knew I wanted to use him for this "Cute" challenge.  As always, I was in a bit of a hurry so I created a very CAS card to show him off.  I die cut the main panel with a stitched rectangle die, colored up the image and stamped the sentiment and a row of little hearts and it was done!  After I adhered it to a black card base, that is.

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: Polkadoodles "Noodle Panda Relax" digi; Pretty Pink Posh "Thoughtful Greetings" sentiment and hearts

Dies: MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle

Challenges:

Cards Galore Challenges #150--anything goes

Pattie's Creations #245--anything goes with hand-colored image

Creative Inspirations--anything goes

Crafty Gals #279--anything goes with the optional twist: summer vibes

Aud Sentiments #340--alcohol inks AND/OR summer and a sentiment

A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

CRAFT #786--summer holiday OR anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #765--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

As You Like It--favorite coloring medium (my favorite is alcohol markers.  I love how well the blend, how many colors there are and how vibrant the colors are.)

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #283--anything goes

Whopper of a day

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

Here is my card for your inspiration:

This is for my brother's birthday.  He just recently became hooked on fishing because his kids took a fishing course and he thought it was pretty fun.  So, I created this fun card to celebrate that new obsession.  I had a lot of fun and used a lot of dies to create this cute scene.  I started with a medium turquoise card stock and used several different distress oxide inks to give it a more watery feel.  Then I die cut it with the waves coverplate die and attached it to a lighter turquoise card base.  I die cut some grass out of green card stock, a sun out of yellow, and some clouds out of white to create the rest of the scene.  I stamped, colored and fussy cut my image, but instead of leaving it with the tiny fish that was originally part of the image, I substituted a much larger fish showing the skill of the fisherman!  I stamped the sentiment and it was good go!

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: Sugar Pea Designs "Great Catch"; YNS "Sea Creatures #2"

Dies: Hero Arts "Wave and Sea" cover plate; Sweet 'n' Sassy Stamps grass border die; MFT "Blueprints 13" sun die; Paper Smooches "Cute Clouds"

Challenges:

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #283--anything goes

Cards Galore Challenge #150--anything goes

Pattie's Creations #245--anything goes

Creative Inspirations--anything goes

613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: play time

Aud Sentiments Challenge #340--alcohol inks AND/OR summer with a sentiment (I used alcohol inks to color my image and fishing is a summertime activity)
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Cardz 4 Guyz #388--summer theme

Pearly Sparkles #122--summer holidays

C.R.A.F.T. #786--summer holiday/vacation/anything goes

Krafty Chicks #832--birthday

Simon Says Stamp Monday--Happy Birthday

Yarn Birthday

Happy August 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 birthday card is for my nephew; he just turned 12!  A couple years ago, he and his two siblings were super into stuffed animal kitties.  Hopefully he will still appreciate this cat themed card.  I had some fun with this one.  I chose a bright and happy background and then chose the rest of my color scheme from there.  I stamped the cat bed on an melon card stock and then again on a scrap of paper from the same pack as the background piece.  Then I fussy cut them both out and pieced them together so the bed has a pretty cushion inside.  I stamped colored and die cut the kitty and stamped and cut out the yarn ball.  I thought it would be "fun" to give it some texture so I cut tiny pieces of twine and glued them in place over the lines on the ball.  It worked, sort of.  It didn't turn out exactly as I thought and there was a lot of glue stuck to my fingers!!  But in the end I think it added a fun touch.  I used the same twine to tie to the balloon and made it look like it connected to the yarn ball that the kitty is playing with.

I stamped the sentiment and some matching images from the same set on the inside.

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: Lawn Fawn "Meow You Doin'"

Dies: Lawn Fawn "Meow You Doin'"; MFT "Blueprints 26"

Challenges:

Word Art Wednesday #763--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Krafty Chicks #831--anything goes with the optional twist: summer mood board (I was inspired by the bright dots in the lower right corner

Creative Fingers #327--anything goes

Shopping Our Stash #579--What's the good Word? (mine is "happy")

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Be Merry

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

 Here is my card:

I had it in my head that I wanted a pink dragon.  I think it's because I have made a couple card recently with non-traditional Christmas color schemes and felt like I wanted to do another.  So, I have a pink and green dragon all ready for Christmas.  I created my background by cutting half inch strips of pink, red, and green card stock and I also cut thin strips of gold card stock as accents.  Then I just adhered them onto my card base.  Quick and easy and fun!  I matted my image with the same gold card stock and added a  sentiment and some gold sequins and it was done!  I added some Nuvo gold silver sparkle pen to the wings; you can see the sparkle in the photo below:

And the shine from the gold cardstock is fabulous!!  

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: Love to Color "Flamesnort Santa Hat"; Papertrey Ink sentiment

Challenges: 

C.R.A.F.T. #785--Christmas

Creative Fingers #327--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Lil' Red Wagon #869--one thing (I used one image and one sentiment)

Pattie's Creations #244--anything goes

Crafter's Cafe #332--anything goes with the optional twist: Christmas in July

Sympathy

Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: Embossing (Dry/heat)

Here is my card for your inspiration:

I once again found myself in need of a sympathy card.  As I was thinking about what I wanted to do, I remembered that years ago I had received a package of embossed backgrounds from someone in the mail.  It may have been part of a prize package I had won, but I've had them so long I really can't remember.  Anyway, in that pack was this beautiful flower embossed background.  I die cut it with a stitched rectangle die which flattened out the embossing in the center a bit, but it was ok since that was were my image ended up being placed.  I stamped and colored the image and then die cut it with the matching die.  I then stamped the sentiment and cut it out and adhered it  in place.  I didn't add any embellishments because I always feel sympathy cards should be a little less flashy.

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: Avery Elle "Orchid"; Papertrey Ink "Boutique Borders: Sympathy"

Dies: Avery Elle "Orchid"

Challenges:

Pattie's Creations Challenge #244--anything goes with hand colored image

Unicorn Challenge #122--no patterned paper

Moving Along With the Times #191--use a coloring medium (Spectrum Noir markers)

Beautiful Blossoms #43--anything goes with optional mood board (I did not use the mood board)

Crafty Catz #718--anything goes

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog #326--anything goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #282--anything goes

 

Oh Christmas Tree

I was given the opportunity to be the guest designer for Double Trouble Challenge for the month of July.  Today begins the second challenge of the month.  Here are the details:

WELCOME to Challenge #221 - Let the Troubles Begin!

Challenge runs from Monday, July 20th thru Sunday, Aug 2nd

Here is Thing 1's 3-2-1 Recipe - "Christmas in July"
Servings - Unlimited Portions of Fun
Specific information is available by clicking on each ingredient.
        3 Colors of Your Choice (Neutrals Do Not Count as one of the three choices, but neutrals can be used in addition to the colors of choice) 

        2 Layers (Card Base does not count) 

        1 Holiday Sentiment

Directions: You MUST include at least the required minimum of each ingredient for successful results and a chance in our random drawing... but you may enhance your project by using more than the ingredients stipulated.

THING 1: Trouble Maker says, "We had snow much fun with our previous 3-2-1 'Christmas in July' recipe. If you participated, you already have a head start on your holiday crafting. Let’s celebrate, stir up some more trouble in the kitchen, and create another project using all the ingredients from our 3-2-1 recipe above!

"Let me give you a heads-up: Twisted Sister is changing the optional twist for this challenge, but Double Dare is still giving you a choice of two sketches."

You can stop here...
OR
play along with Thing 3's Optional Twist and/or Thing 2's Optional Dare and earn additional chances in our random drawing. 

THING 3: Twisted Sister 

says, "'Wow, Double Trouble. How simple is that? I'm ready to take on snow much more fun.

"I'm craving a change from traditional red and green. The Jingle Belles Unicorn Christmas color palette to the left looks way more fun. So, my optional twist is to use at least three non-traditional Christmas colors (your choice) in our recipe above. OR, select three colors from the Jingle Belles palette to earn another chance in our random drawing." 

Optional Twist: If you included non-traditional colors in your project, then you have earned another chance in our Random Drawing. If you use three colors from the Jingle Belles Unicorn Color Palette instead, then you will earn another random drawing chance.

THING 2: Double Dare
says, "Double Wow!! Repeat: Click the clipart to the left for another peek at sketches #699 and #700 from our sister challenge, Try a Sketch On Tuesday. My optional dare is to combine your choice of either sketch with the Double Trouble 3-2-1 recipe for Christmas in July.

To prevent backlinking, please ensure your project is not posted, published, or entered anywhere before July 21st. Following this guideline will earn you TWO additional chances in our random drawing!

Want to earn another chance in our random drawing? If your project includes at least three colors from the Unicorn Color Palette, with or without using TSOT sketch, you can also link it up at the Jingle Belles Urnicorn Color Challenge until Aug 2nd.

Here is my card:

I chose three of the colors from the unicorn color palette: light pink, turquoise, and the pale green.  I added some fun patterned paper that pulled in some of my colors to the right hand side of the card.  And the pink card stock looked much too plain, so I found a text background stamp and stamped that in a slightly darker pink, and I think it gave just the right amount of interest.  I decided to have a lot of fun with the sketch I chose and made it a fun fold card:

And for even more fun, I turned the Christmas tree element of the sketch into a shaker element!

I used some sequins in colors that matched my color scheme--both inside the shaker element and on the front of the card.  The little star was backed with gold glitter paper, and I die cut the "merry" out of gold card stock and backed it with a white die cut layer for a little more stability before adding it to the card.

As always, there was a lot of doing first and THEN thinking about it, so I probably put in more effort than I really needed to, but I am quite pleased with the results, if I do say so myself.  

I hope you will come and play with us.  I can't wait to see what non-traditional color schemes you come up with!

Supplies:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink "Just Sentiments: Be Merry" I masked off the "merry" so I could just add "Christmas" to go with my die cut sentiment; MFT "Typewriter text" background stamp

Dies: Picket Fence Studio "Merry Christmas Die Set"; MFT "Christmas Tree Window"

Challenges:

Christmas Cards All Year 'Round--M, N, O (m is for merry)

Cards Galore #149--anything goes

Crafter's Cafe--Anything goes with the optional twist: Christmas in July

Die Cut Divas--Christmas in July

Try A Sketch on Tuesday #670--sketch

613 Avenue--anything goes with the optional twist: any holiday

Creative Creases #117--anything goes with a fun fold

Pearly Sparkles #121--Christmas in July

Fab 'n' Funky #641--Christmas in July

Alphabet Challenge--F is for festivities

Make My Monday #282--Christmas in July

Little Red Wagon #867--pink

Crafty Catz #718--anything goes

Creative Fingers #326--anything goes

Jingle Belles--unicorn holiday color palette

Inkspirational Challenge #372--Christmas in July

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #282--anything goes

Merry

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

 Here is my card:

I started with this adorable dragon all ready for Christmas!  I colored him up and fussy cut him out and added super fine diamond glitter to his hat and silver Nuvo glitter pen to his wings.  In real life you can see the sparkle and shimmer really well, but not so much in the photo.  You can see it a bit better in the photo below.  I used a matte gold cardstock for the base and mats--it's not a shiny as a gold cardstock, but it adds a subtle shimmer.  My gold ribbon has sparkly edges and I finished everything off with some shiny gold pearls.

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: Love to Color "Flamesnort Santa Hat" digi

Dies: Picket Fence Studio "Merry Christmas Word Die Set"

Challenges:

Creative Fingers #326--anything goes

Christmas Cards All Year 'Round--M, N, O (I used M is for merry)

Cards Galore Challenges #149--anything goes

Pattie's Creations #244--anything goes with handcolored image

Crafter's Cafe--Christmas in July

Die Cut Divas--Christmas in July

Craft Rockets #138--animals

Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2 #165--sketch

Moving Along with the Times #191--use a coloring medium (I used my Spectrum Noir markers)

613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: any holiday

Pearly Sparkles #121--Christmas in July

Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog--Christmas in July

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #281--anything goes

Fab 'n' Funky Challenge #641--Christmas in July

Alphabet Challenge--F is for festivities

Make My Monday Challenge #282--Christmas in July