Flying High

 Happy Wednesday!!  It's time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built and this week the challenge is: Monochromatic.

 And here is the card I created for your inspiration:

I used a lot of the same elements as my Design Team card a couple weeks ago.  These hot air balloons are just perfect for masculine cards!  But while the other card was very colorful, this one is all blues.  I stenciled the sky with some clouds, colored my balloon with my spectrum noir markers and fussy cut it out.  I used foam tape to pop up my balloon and sentiment banner and the two small die cut clouds.  I used a couple thin strips of card stock to add a little dimension (but less than than the others) to the larger cloud.  For a fun touch to fit the sketch I chose, I punched out tiny circles with a hole punch.  I used a circle die as a template, made evenly spaced pencil marks along the inside of the circle and then used the hole punch to make the pattern.  Rather quick and easy and I have a masculine birthday card ready to go in my stash!
Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you will hop over to the House blog to see the rest of the DT's creations and then get inky and play along with us.  And if you need any of the stamps I used, check out my 10% off your ENTIRE order coupon code over in my left sidebar.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Soaring by to say Hi" and "Hot Air Balloon Cluster" I used the largest balloon

Dies: MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle; Paper Smooches "Cute Clouds"

Stencil: Taylored Expressions "Set the Scene: Clouds"

Challenges:

Stick It Down Challenge--sketch

Creative Craft Cottage #138--CAS

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #154--anything goes

Creative Moments #211--anything goes

Cardz TV #137--anything goes

A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Double Trouble #80--Something, Anything, Everything (Thing #1: anything goes; Thing #3: color {I used my Spectrum Noir markers})

Double D--skies

Precious

 In one of the Facebook groups I am part of, I saw a post about a women setting up a card drive for her grandmother who turned 100 this month.  The goal had been 500 cards and that goal had been crushed (surpassing it by at least 1,100 cards!) with cards from all 50 states EXCEPT Rhode Island.  When I saw that, I knew I had to step up and fix that problem.  So, I got all the details and made this card to celebrate the birthday girl's special day.

I used the gorgeous flowers from Altenew's "Beautiful Day"--I just LOVE these flowers!  I used the different layering images along with the outline image; the layering is just fantastic!  I used a Hero Arts' Ink Cubes bundle, but it must have been retired since I can't find it on the web site.  I think it is the Poppy set.  

I stamped the outline image in a pale gray ink on the envelops to tie it in with the card.

Inside, I added a birthday sentiment, but I also added a Scripture verse on the top panel and stamped the outline image in the pale gray ink on both panels.

Supplies:

Stamps: Altenew "Beautiful Day" and "Crystal Frames" outside sentiment; Verve "Proverbs 31:28" plain jane; PaperTrey Ink "Inside Greetings: Enduring Birthday"

Dies: Spellbinders "Floral Ovals"; PaperTrey Ink "Filigree Border" and numbers border die

Challenges:

Try Stampin' on Tuesday #498

Unicorn Challenge #63--make it feminine

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper

Creative Inspirations--lace & pearls

I Love Chocolate Baroque--I love . . . (I LOVE these flowers!!  I also love elegant, fancy dies, patterned papers, glitter (paper) and pearls)

Creative Fingers #204--anything goes

Fab n Funky Challenges #516--flowers

Creative Moments #211--anything goes

Krafty Chicks #552--all occasions (100th birthday!)

Count Your Blessings

 Happy Wednesday!!  It's time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built and this week it is a fan favorite: Anything Goes!! And here is the card I created for your inspiration:

I made a fun pop-up slider card.  I actually had the slider element all made up for another card and it just wasn't working for me.  But it is perfect for these sweet little blue birds!  And when you pull the tab, the scene opens up to . . . . more cute little blue birds!

I just love how cute these little guys are!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you will hop over to the House blog to see the rest of the DT's creations and then get inky and play along with us.  And if you need any of the stamps I used, check out my 10% off your ENTIRE order coupon code over in my left sidebar.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Take time . . .", "Tiny Bird (front)", "Tiny Bird (side)", "Tiny Bird (flight)", "Birdbath" and "Count Your Blessings"

Dies: MFT "Pop-up slider"; Sweet n' Sassy Stamps grass border die

Challenges:

Love to Craft Challenge Blog #56--anything goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies #48--anything goes

Paper Funday #27--anything goes with the optional twist: use the color green

Crafty Creations #419--anything goes

Cardz TV #136--anything goes

Pink Gem Challenge--anything goes

Penny's Challenge #492--anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #484--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Double D Challenge--skies

Creative Fingers Challenge #204--anything goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #154--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday--whatever the weather

Crafting Happiness #89--outdoors or anything goes

Crafty Sentiments--anything goes

613 Avenue Create #3--anything goes with the optional twist: create a slider card

Birthday Wishes

 It's Saturday!!  That means it's time for another challenge from Di's Digi Designs.

The challenge this time is: Flowers Everywhere
And here is my card for your inspiration:

My oldest daughter is turning 15 next week.  How did that happen??!!  We just got her a little Rottweiler puppy about 3 weeks ago, so I personalized this image to look like the two of them.  The girl in the image actually has a really beautiful long braid in her hair, but my daughter and I (and another daughter) just had our hair cut and donated it to Locks of Love.  So, I cut off most of the image's braid and it left a cute little ponytail just like my daughter.  I had a lot of fun creating this scene with a lot of die cuts!  I had an extra tulip flower left over so I placed it at the puppy's feet, sort of like he may have pulled it off a stem.  Our little guy is super sweet, but he's a puppy, so he is into biting/chewing everything.  I could definitely see him pulling a flower head off!

The sentiment inside reads "Once in a while, someone very special comes along and makes the world a little more wonderful.  happy birthday!"

I hope you will get a chance to play along with us; I can't wait to see what you create.  And make sure you hop over to the Di's Digital Designs blog to see what the rest of the team has made for this challenge.

Supplies: 

Stams: Di's Digi Stamps "Izzy" digi image; MFT "Essential Sentiments" happy birthday; Mama Elephant "Inside Birthday Sentiments" inside sentiment

Dies: MFT "Blueprints 25" stitched rectangle and stitched banner, "Blueprints 13" pinked circle; Sweet n' Sassy Stamps grass border; Frantic Stampers, Inc. "Floral Confetti" and "Tall Stems"

Stencil: Taylored Expressions "Set the Scene: Clouds"

Challenges:

Cut It Up challenge #221--just for kids (she's reaching the upper edge of being a kid)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog #204--anything goes

Cute Card Thursday #678--spring fever

MFT Sketch #533--sketch

Double D--skies

Crafty Sentiments--anything goes

Penny's Challenges #492--anything goes

Cardz TV #136--anything goes

Aud Sentiments #270--show us the sentiment on the inside

As You Like It--favorite way to cut your image (I love fussy cutting!  One of the benefits is being able to alter your image like I did here.  I cut off part of the little girl's braid to make her resemble my daughter more.  I also added the butterfly to the opposite side of the little girl; now it looks like it is fluttering above the flowers)

Crafty Friends #150--happy birthday 

Sheepski Designs #48--girls, girls, girls

2 Crafty Critter Crazies #48--anything goes

CRAFT Rocket #79--use dies and/or spring

Paper Funday #27--anything goes with the optional twist: use the color green (lots of green grass)

Saying "hi"

 Happy Wednesday!!  It's time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built and this week is right on trend: Slimline Card! And here is the card I created for your inspiration:

The slimline shape was perfect for creating my scene!  It really gives room for those hot air balloons to soar!  I started by stamping, coloring and fussy cutting all three balloons and the sentiment banner.  I laid them on the card to see where I wanted to place them and to get an idea for how tall my "city" should be.  I didn't want to have blank, weird windows, so I lightly traced around the die cut buildings so I could color in the space behind the windows with a dark gray.  I also used the tracing to decide where my sunrise should be.  For years there was a Hot Air Balloon festival at a local university right down the street from us.  The best time of day for the balloons to go up was in the early morning or early evening as long as it wasn't too windy.  We attended for several years (as vendors so we were there allllllll day) and only saw them go up in the evening once or twice, but I know they took off most mornings.  Anyway, after that, I stenciled my cloud background and adhered all the pieces in place (before adhering the banner, I used a fine point black pen to draw the ropes attaching it to the balloon basket).  Most of the hot air balloons were really colorful, so I chose some bright, masculine colors for my balloons as I figure this will probably be a masculine birthday card.
Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you will hop over to the House blog to see the rest of the DT's creations and then get inky and play along with us.  And if you need any of the stamps I used, check out my 10% off your ENTIRE order coupon code over in my left sidebar.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Soaring by to say hi", "Hot Air Balloon" and "Hot Air Balloon Cluster" (I did not use the smallest balloon in that set)

Dies: MFT "Our Town" 

Stencil: Taylored Expressions "Set the Scene: Clouds"

Challenges:

Crafts Galore #85--anything goes

Pattie's Creations #180--anything goes

Die Cut Divas--slimline

Dare 2B Artzy--anything goes

Crafty Creations #419--anything goes

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog #203--anything goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #153--anything goes

Creative Moments #210--anything goes

As You Like It--Favorite way to cut your image (I am definitely a fussy cutter!  I would never be able to line my stamp and/or die up exactly right to get the outlines perfect like you can with scissors.  But if I want a border, I can cut a perfect one with my scissors as well, much more versatile than with dies)

Cardz TV #136--anything goes

Pink Gem Challenge--anything goes

Crafty Sentiments--anything goes

Happy Hello

 Happy Monday!!  It's my turn to share my Pick of the Week for The House That Stamps Built.  I am continuing my Inspired by Pinterest series.  This is the card I chose to be inspired by (it was created by Theresa of Crafting the Web):

I've been in love with this card for a long time and, today, I decided to recreate it for myself.  I started by die cutting my main panel.  The die cuts a gorgeous frame and leaves a large negative piece that I inlaid back into the frame after I had inked it with some distress ink.

The color I ended up with was actually a happy accident!  I was inking blending with Old Paper Distress Oxide, but some red ink from my scrap paper mixed in with it and created this beautiful dusty peachy color.

I didn't have a large sized die to mat my panel like Theresa did, so I cut a plain square, inked the edges up with the same inks (including the extra red!), and embossed it with a script embossing folder.

To make the embossing pop even more, I swiped the Old Paper ink directly from the inkpad onto the raised portions.

I layered everything together onto a white card base and added my tulips image ("Vase of Tulips").  After I colored the image, I used my ink blending brush to blend the same "Old Paper" oxide ink over top to help soften the colors and bring it more in line with the rest of the card:

Rather than add a sentiment strip, I chose to stamp my sentiment ("Happy Hello") directly onto the focal panel and I finished the whole thing off with some clear drops.  Thanks for stopping by.  I hope this inspires you to look at your supplies and see how you can use them to recreate projects that inspire you.

Supplies:

Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Vase of Tulips" and "Happy Hello"

Dies: Spellbinders 

Challenges:

Unicorn Challenge #63--make it feminine

Pattie's Creations #180--anything goes

Love To Craft Challenge Blog #56--anything goes

Crafty Calendar--feminine

Craft Rocket #79--use dies and/or spring (I used dies and spring as tulips are beautiful spring flowers)

Dare 2B Artzy--anything goes

Moving Along with the Times #128--spring is coming

Penny's Challenges #491--anything goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #153--anything goes

Crafty Sentiments--anything goes

Creative Moment's #210--anything goes

CRAFT #590--feminine

As You Like It--favorite way to cut out your image (if I am leaving my image on a panel, I prefer to use a die, but if I am cutting the image out then I definitely prefer fussy cutting.  For one, I don't like to spend money on things--like coordinating dies--that I can do myself.  It saves the money to use on fun things like more stamps!  Also, fussy cutting is relaxing and allows to you leave a border or not depending on the image and the look you are going for.)

Box of flowers

 Happy Wednesday!!  It's time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built and this week it is a fun one: Fun Fold.

 And here is the card I created for your inspiration:

I decided to create a box card filled with flowers for my best friend's birthday.  The actual construction of a box card is really easy and then filling it with whatever you choose is the fun part!  I used this tutorial, but I'm sure there are many out there on the internet.  My thought was to do a card in black and white with pops of red.  But as I was looking for papers, I found these really fun colorful papers that also had those colors in them.  It created a card that is more "fun".  I stamped a LOT of flowers, leaves and stems, colored them and fussy cut them out, then I created a bouquet and adhered them all in place.

I heat embossed the sentiment on black card stock, cut fishtail ends and adhered it to the front flap along with some extra flowers that didn't fit into the bouquet.  On the back, I stamped a birthday sentiment; this is also the place I will write a little note.

There are a lot of flowers and they stick up all over the place, but the card does fold flat(ish) and will fit in an envelope just a little bit bigger than an A2 sized envelope.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you will hop over to the House blog to see the rest of the DT's creations and then get inky and play along with us.  And if you need any of the stamps I used, check out my 10% off your ENTIRE order coupon code over in my left sidebar.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Pattie's Flower Outline", "Daisy Outline, Large", "Daisy Outline Small", "Leaf Outline Large", "Stem Outline", "Happy Birthday" and "Happy Moments"

Challenges:

Alphabet Challenge--X is for Xtra folds

Cardz TV #135--anything goes

A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Scor-pal Challenge #79--anything goes with optional twist: St. Patty's or Easter (I did not use the optional twist)

Unicorn Challenge #63--make it feminine

Cards Galore #85--anything goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper

Love To Craft Challenge Blog #56--anything goes

Crafty Calendar--feminine

Dare 2B Artzy--anything goes

Penny's Challenge #491--anything goes

Creative Fingers Challenge #203--anything goes

Pixie's Crafty Workshop #398--anything goes with snippets (I always save all my white card scraps and use them for times such as this when I am going to stamp and fussy cut images--you don't need a very large snippet for flowers like these.  So, all of the parts of the stamped images were cut from little white snippets.)

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #153--anything goes

Crafting Happiness #87--flowers