For You

Using the Sweet Stop sketch #102 and the waltzingmouse sketch challenge to make mini cards, I created a thank you gift set for my daughter's Awana teacher. Tomorrow night is the last class so the mini card challenge was perfect. Oh yeah, I also used the Pretty Palette 03 challenge (from my time made easy) to use white/tangerine/light blue/aqua. For the card, I used the Hebrews 11:1 plain Jane from Verve overstamped with the large damask image from Damask Designs by Papertrey Ink. For the light blue layer, I used guide lines 2 also from PTI.

The little gift box was made using the creative card candy template from My Time Made Easy (Lauren Meader is so amazingly talented!!) and I forgot to put the ribbon closure on before I adhered the layers together, so I had to make my own slip in closure. The box and the mini cards are simply decorated using (once again) the large damask image from Damask Designs and the "for you" from a Verve set. I used a small damask image to decorate the front of the envelope.

The little cards measure 3x3, just perfect to fit into the little gift box. Aren't they so cute!

Peace!

I am slowly accomplishing my goal of having my Christmas cards finished in plenty of time for Christmas this year: I have 7 done so far! Not a lot, I know, but 7 more than this time last year. This card uses the sketch for Viva La Verve April week 1, allthough it is a definite stretch. I am usually very strict in my interpretation but I just couldn't make it all work with the elements I chose. It is there if you look really hard, promise! It also uses the Our Daily Bread Designs challene to used birds. I am NOT into the latest craze of birds so I do not have any real bird stamps. But I figured a good way to use a bird was to really make it stand out, hence the red (cardinal) bird on the tree. Didn't really think one was enough, so I added more to the inside on the sentiment. The birds, the "Peace" (inked from a word in a longer quote) and the tree are from PTI's "Through the trees" The sentiment on the inside is from Verve's "Richly Blessed". I used spellbinders classic oval large, labels one and fleur de lis pendant dies, cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder and Martha Stewart snowflake punch. Rhinestone and red paper are from SU!

Another nautical birthday

A few posts ago, I used a lighthouse stamp for a birthday card and today I have used a different lighthouse from the same set from Clear Dollar Stamps. My father's birthday is Friday, which reminds me that I have to get this in the mail today (it may already be too late), and it is sooooo hard to make masculine cards since I mostly have floral stamps. But since his favorite color is brown, I decided to go with that and tried to create a vintage card. It made the coloring easy since I only added a little hint of brown to the image. The sketch is this week's mojo monday sketch #185 and I combined that with the make it monday challenge to use heat embossing. Sometimes I get over my head trying to combine challenges before I really think it through and I was at a loss for the heat embossing until I discovered that a stamp from PTI's simply stationery set sort of looked like a compass. So I stamped that on the top background panel and heat embossed it and then added little "N", "E", "W", and "S" with a watermark pen. I also heat embossed "Father" which is from Verve (can't remember which set).

Color Me Spring!

Verve is having another Diva Dare: Color me Spring. This card might be one of my absolute favorites! love it! The pink and flowers are making me sooooo ready for spring! The large flower is a dollar stamp I picked up at JoAnn's. I have used it so many times in the past two weeks. It makes such a great background stamp. I also used a small flower from an SU! set (By ones and by twos) and the sentiment is from PTI's Through the Trees. I used a bit of pink ink on an ink dauber to enhance the center of the large flowers.

Unloved stamps

The last card for today combines the Pretty Patterns 02 sketch challenge (from My Time Made Easy) and the Timeless Challenges (Flourishes) challenge to use stamps you haven't used from a set (I like to call them Unloved stamps). This flower is from a whole set of flower flourishes from Inkadinkado. I have used three of the stamps many times, but this one had yet to be "loved" It seemed to be just too big for a focal image. But this sketch with its extra long matted section seemed to fit perfectly. I use the "blackboard" technique: stamping with white on black and coloring the image with colored pencils. It is the first time I tried it and it is really dramatic! I think I love it. : ) The "make a wish" stamp is from "She's All That" by SU! as is the red paper the black is matted on. The background paper looks a bit orange in the picture, but it is definitely red.

CAS Thank you

Today's card combines the Make it Monday Ink Blending challenge (from Papertrey Ink), the Off the Wall Craftiness color challenge of pink/yellow/green and the Cleary I Stamp challenge (from Clear Dollar Stamps) to make a CAS (clean and simple) card. The flower stamp is an awesome dollar stamp I got from JoAnn's that I am absolutely in love with!!! I have been using is a ton and you will probably see a lot more of it in the future. I added a leaf from an SU! set to add a little interest. The small flower is also from SU!, "Thank you" is from PTI (Through the Trees) and I used the labels four die from Spellbinders.

A nautical birthday

Hi, all! I'm back after a {forced} two week hiatus due to computer problems. But a wonderful friend fixed me up and I'm all set to go. Yeay! This card used the Pretty Palette 02 (from My Time Made Easy): white/blue/green/brown (although they have some nice SU! names for them) and the JUGS 78 sketch challenge. This stamp is one I have had from last summer (from Clear Dollar Stamps) and have yet to use. The happy birthday stamp is from Damask Designs by PTI. The papers are all DCWV and I thought the blue looked like ripples in water.