Inspirational Card

This week I've been working on a Father's Day chipboard album to give to my husband from the kids, so it's been busy in the craft room as I've been trying to juggle that and a few other card projects to complete tomorrow.  I'll be posting today's card on 2 challenge blogs, and I will be sending it to Maddy Justice - her story can be found here.

I was very saddened by Maddy's story, of course.  My boys' school is very involved with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and every year we do Math-a-Thon to help raise money for the hospital.  Maddy's story reminded me of the many we hear about throughout Math-a-Thon, so I felt the need to send her a small hello just to let her know she is in our prayers as well.  Here is the card:

For this card, I started out by using Papertrey Ink's rustic white cardstock to make the base.  Have I ever told you how much I love this textured white cardstock?  Not only is the weight *awesome*, but the non-whiteness of it, to me, is the new white.  I will often stay away from stark white card bases because it seems too bland, so this textured white is such a great substitute!  The flowers are classic Hero Arts stamps that I fussy-cut.  Actually, the left and right blooms are a single image (Jewel Daisy), but the middle bloom is just the center of an even bigger flower (Many Petals).  I stamped both images onto Authentique's 'Renew' paper (Rejuvenate), then used glossy accents to accentuate the middle section of the blooms.  The paper that the flowers are glued to is also a patterned paper from Authentique's 'Renew' collection, and the banner and sentiment come from Papertrey Ink's Bountiful Banners stamp set.

I'll be posting this card at CAS-ual Fridays, since they're cue words this week are Banners & Flags.  I'll also be posting it over at CASology's website as they're cue word is "yellow." 

Hope you like the card...enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

CAS-ology cue: Wheels!

For this week's CASology challenge, I decided to put my Hero Arts 'Joy Ride' stamp set to good use.  I kept trying to avoid buying this set because I already had a cling set similar to this, but when I found it on sale fora ridiculous price, I just couldn't pass it up!!  In any case, I wanted to make something clean and simple mainly because the card was going overseas and I wanted to put as little bulk on it as possible.  Here is what I came up with:

When I think of clean and simple, I often forget that it doesn't necessarily mean plain cardstock on white card base, even though that may be my general go-to choice.  I thought I'd try placing a clean and simple pattern on a non-white card base, then playing around with some simple techniques like embossing.  

For my patterned paper, I used some old Jillibean Soup Country Pumpkin Chowder on top of Bazzill's Parakeet green.  The image and sentiment both come from Hero Arts's 'Joy Ride' and the little flower is a hydrangea punch by Martha Stewart.  I embossed the image and sentiment onto dark blue cardstock using detail white embossing powder.  The white brings out the white that the patterned paper has, keeping the card from being too dark and serious (despite the sentiment, heh!).

Hope you like the card.....enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

  

CASology!

I decided I would join CASology's challenge this week: their trigger word for the week is 'furry,' haha!  How cute is that?  It was definitely a challenge, though, because I was not sure what to work with.  Then I remembered I had a really sweet stamp of a cat lounging on a chair, so I went with that and came up with this:

And watch out!, I actually dusted off my Copics and used a few of them to liven the image a bit!  Honestly, it's a shame I don't use my Copics more often; this was a good way to get re-inspired!

For the card base, I used Papertrey Ink's Stamper's Select white cardstock, then stamped the cat image (by Harmonie) with Tsukineko's Tuxedo Black.  I used Martha Stewart's 3-in-1 hydrangea punch for the flower, then an Impression Obsession leaves die for the leafy accent.  Copic markers used: C3, C5, E39, YR24, and YR27.  Also, the sentiment comes from the Mini Blooms stamp set by Papertrey Ink.

Hope you like the card...enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

Time For A CAS-ual Fridays card challenge!

This week the folks over at CAS-ual Fridays are having a 'red,white and blue' challenge and I thought it would be fun to join along.  Now that my boys are nearing the end of the school year, things are surely hectic, but it's a casual kind of hectic without the worries of homework and long-term book reports.  YEAH!  I'd say I'm more excited about summer vacation than my boys are, which deserves a YEAH YEAH!!, because that means I have more time to do some serious crafting, heh!  I'm also in full swing with Project Life via Studio Calico, which I feel I've waited an eternity to become subscribed to, so things are chill, but good. :)

But anyway!  Here is the card I'm sharing with you today:

My card base is (heart!!) Papertrey Ink's rustic white, and all the patterned paper comes from Authentique's Pride collection (from the 6X6 pad).  I think the bold blues and reds worked really well for a clean-and-simple card.  Many times when I'm working with intense colors that have strong patterns in the paper, I get crafter's block and have problems finishing the project.  I'm pleased with how this card turned out - just a few elements on the card, along with a cute sentiment to finish it off!  Clean and simple!

Hope you like the card!  Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

(other items used: star border die by Papertrey Ink, doily details die by Papertrey Ink, sentiment from Year Round Sentiments by Hero Arts)

Stamping on DP

This week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is all about stamping on designer paper!  I do this kind of technique pretty regularly on my cards: sometimes it involves die-cutting from a designer paper, then stamping the image that corresponds to the die shape, or I stamp a sentiment onto it, or I simply fussy cut the stamped image.  

For this challenge, I used a lighter, then darker, stamped image from the Seeds of Summer stamp set by JustRite; my sentiment comes from the Life & Flowers set by Impression Obsession.  The patterned paper is an older fall collection (Harvest Lane?) by Simple Stories, but I bought several sheets of this light tan paper because it had a nice compact pattern, but wasn't too overwhelming (perfect for stamping onto it!).  The die-cut flower and leaves are both by Elizabeth Crafts.  And if anyone knows my cards, they'll be laughing when they notice that I have, yet again!, used the French Pastry doily die by Cheery Lynn (cut from vellum to give the card a softer look).

Hope you like the card!  Thanks for stopping by!

My challenge for today

Well, let's face it, I have several challenges that occur on a daily basis, but nothing too hateful (thank goodness).  The challenge I'm talking about is my second card that I'll be posting over at CAS-ual Fridays!  I have a feeling there won't be a third because of time restraints, which is no small matter!  Today is my middle boy's birthday, for starters (he turned the big Number Eight!).  His party is this Friday, so of course all the chaotic planning leading up to that day has been eating away at the hours, and you know the rest...blahblah, not enough hours in the day, and all that.  So here is the card I made for the challenge:

I decided I would do the polka-dot/square card/birthday combination for my entry.  The papers I used are by Memory Box and Papertrey Ink (heart paper is by BasicGrey, I think!). This was a great challenge primarily  because I was able to use up some of my scraps, rather than cutting at a new sheet (I'm patting myself on the back as I type that, heh).  The sentiment is from the Bountiful Banners stamps set by Papertrey Ink...and that's pretty much it!  Clean, simple, and a fun quick card to make!  Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great day!

Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge, oh my!

I haven't participated in an online crafting challenge in forever.  I think the last time I entered a card was when Papertrey Ink was having their crazy anniversary challenges back in March.  Then I got ridiculously sick with Bug Of The Century, which put me out for a few weeks (uncommon for my immune system).  Despite all that, I've been keeping track of what folks have been doing online, and I have missed out on several fun challenges that in hindsight, I wished I would have just made something and posted it.  Ah well, moving forward!

CAS-ual Fridays is having a great challenge that is ending soon (tomorrow, I think?  In my case, better late than never!!); a sort of tic-tac-toe-inspired grid where you have to incorporate 3 elements into your card.  I thought this would be a great challenge for me, all while keeping it clean and simple!  So much fun!  So here is what I came up with:

I decided to tackle the combination "polka dots-kraft-punches/dies."  I used Papertrey Ink's rustic white for the card base (great paper to work with, by the way, if you were ever wondering about PTI's paper), then used Cheery Lynn's Tiffany border die on kraft paper to accentuate the polka dot paper (Serenade by BasicGrey).  The sentiment is from the Chit Chat set by Paper Smooches.  The flower is by Prima.

I may try to make another card using another combination from the grid.....this was so much fun!

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you like the card....enjoy, and have a great week!!

Finally May!

Ah yes, it is finally May!  That means only a few more weeks of school left for the boys, and possibly more time for lazy days, unscheduled trips to fun places and a little bit of traveling - my favorite thing to do during bright summery days!  Of course, my little secret wish is to have more time to just sit at my crafting desk and just ponder on cardstock and various inks to go with it, with even more time thrown in for some actual paper crafting!  What person out there like me wouldn't want all of that, and then some?  

Lately, I've been crafting in spurts: a little in the morning, then dipping into precious sleep time just to finish that one layout or that other card from the month before.  Sound familiar?  Of course it does!  So May is usually a great month for me as I look forward to doing my own little things at longer time frames without several days passing in between!

So, anyway.  On to my next card creation, which will be one of the demo cards for Demo Day at Photoscraps.

I thought I'd try my hand at using the die cut's negative space as my focal point, which has been a hot number in the crafting world for months now.  It was the first technique I thought of when I bought the 'hello' die from Memory Box: a very thin font that actually looks quite lovely regardless of whether you use the die cut or the negative created on the paper.  

The rose ensemble is another new die for me, again by Memory Box.  What I love about the rose is that you really need a rubber mat to impress the petal folds onto the cut, giving it an added texture.  It was kind of like a surprise "buy-1-get-1-free" die purchase, heh.  So in the event you're not a cut-n-stamp kind of girl, this die is a little gem worth investing in.  To accentuate the impression, I used my trusty Sakura Stardust pen in Clear Star (another go-to favorite of mine) to really give it an extra pop.

Hope you like the card - enjoy, and Happy Mother's Day Weekend to all the Mamas out there! :D

(Other items used: bird silhouette die and birdcage die by Poppy Stamps; English Tea Party doily die by Cheery Lynn; 'friend' stamp from the "Just Find Me" set by Hero Arts; patterned papers by Echo Park, My Mind's Eye, American Crafts and the fabulous Crate Paper!!)

Thanks for stopping by!

April Demo Day Cards

Since I started immersing myself in my Project Life-inspired endeavors, my current scenario has been that of focusing more on picture-taking and better documentation, rather than turning toward my computer and sharing my card creations.  I guess I could marry the two and document my Project Life layouts on the internet, but my process is so sporadic when it comes to deciding on how layouts are going to be that I'm not sure how well I'd be able to translate all that into a blog post.  At times that is also very true about my card-making process: a dizzying road to the final product.  

In any case, "real" life has been a little crazy, so internet life has taken a bit of a back-seat, which is what I said I would NOT do for this new year (back in January!).  My consolation?  Well, it's only April, heh.  If I was still trying to grasp on to my traditional New Year's Resolutions in October, well, then I'd say to give it a rest. :)  But for now, let's blog away as much as possible!

I wanted to share two Demo Day cards I'll be doing over at Photo Scraps on the 20th.  I vowed not to work 2 cards in one event because at times it has been confusing to keep instructions simple with the customers, but considering April will be the third time I show 2 cards, I suppose there's no looking back!

Here are my two cards:

I'm really happy with how both of the cards came out.  All the patterned papers are from Graphic45.  I have to say that both the French Country and the Secret Garden collections have been very inspirational, but the French Country really stole my heart.  Those warm tones are always a favorite - and apparently I never get tired of them because I have so many untouched patterned papers in greens, golds, and oranges...but you can never have too many, right?  There's always one more you can add to the stash. ;)

For stamps sets, I used 'Seeds of Summer' by JustRite, as well as 'Daisy Bouquets' by Inky Antics.  The mini doily is the Italian Flourish by Cheery Lynn (a new favorite!) and the labels are all by Spellbinders.

Hope you like the cards - enjoy, and thanks for stopping by! 

A bit o' Green @ Simon Says

This will be my first Simon Says Stamp challenge ever!  Cue word: a bit o' green.  

Here's what I came up with:

First off, I love this particular patterned paper from Graphic 45's Secret Garden collection (Pretty Primrose), but I felt as though I didn't really love the entire collection (not as much as the French Country line, which is, in my humble opinion, superb...just sayin'!), so I only have this pattern from the entire collection (not like me at all).  I used some old Basic Grey orange for the frame die cut (by Papertrey Ink), then used some Primas and Kaiserkraft pearls to tie everything together.  I altered some of the green vines (both by Memory Box) by snipping them apart so that it would lay nicely within the frame. The tag is part of the Tremendous Tags die set (PTI),  and the sentiment is from the Mini Blooms stamp set (also by PTI).

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy, and have a nice weekend!

CASology cue word: Bunny!

Well, haha, I guess I'll be posting this at CASology for this week's challenge: cue word "bunny."  I realize the word "bunny" in the month of March will typically bring to mind nice warmer weather, flowers bursting with their spring colors, and little rabbits running about looking for hidden chocolate eggs.  Alas, I have no bunny stamps in my stash....except for this guy, who is hardly here bearing Easter gifts:

I thought I owned a bunny stamp from Northwoods, but it turned out to be another bird stamp, and I do have quite the variety of bird themes, from stamps to dies to patterned papers (and butterflies....I have a ton of those too!!).  But bunnies?  None!

I guess presently this is what comes to mind when I think of bunnies: the cute fanged bunny who just chomped off the tip of his carrot on a cool October night, heh.  If nothing else, he's definitely a bunny!

Hope you like the card (for what it's worth!)...enjoy, and have a nice weekend!

Supplies used: Hoppy Halloween stamp set by Lawn Fawn, various Copics, Meadow Lark patterned paper by My Mind's Eye, mat stack #3 die by Papertrey Ink, Tsukineko Memento dye ink in Tuxedo Black.

Papertrey Ink's Make-It-Monday Challenge

We are now on Make-It-Monday #106 at Papertrey Ink, and it's exciting because it's Melissa's tutorial - woot!  I really like Melissa's cards: they are somewhat unexpected, yet it all blends together beautifully every.single.time she makes a card, or anything she makes, actually.  If I could create half as great as she does, I'd be pretty stinkin' happy.  Like, really sky-high stinkin' happy, heh. =)

Here's my take on the challenge:

My card base is PTI's white cardstock, and the patterned paper is by Glitz.  For the die cuts, I used one of the Half and Half dies (with matching stamped image and sentiment), along with some flowers and stems from the Daydreamer collection (wonderful set, by the way!).  Inks are all by Tsukineko (Memento).

Hope you like the card - enjoy!  And thanks for stopping by!

  

Back On Track!

What a brick wall I bumped into 3 weeks ago!  It turned out I had a bad case of the flu, complete with sore throat, body aches, and major congestion.  This might sound awkward to some (though perhaps not to the die-hard crafters and bloggers, heh!), but I was so glad I got sick after Papertrey Ink's anniversary party early last month!  I say that because many of their daily challenges had 24-hour deadlines, and I was crafting like crazy for almost 2 weeks.  I'm sure I would have failed to join in the festivities had I been down for the count.  In any case, I'm just now getting over my cough, which has been dragging on for all eternity, and I've been slowly getting back into my craft room and doing little projects here and there.  Speaking of "projects," I was seriously getting behind in my Project Life album, and since I'm doing two 12x12 photo sleeves per week, I was really afraid I'd get a bad case of "I'm-going-to-abandon-this-because-I've-no-photos-to-speak-of-in-addition-to-not-knowing-what-to-journal-about."  The last week I was sick, I think I had a whopping 3 photos to use for the 2 layouts (and they were all from the same event), but I felt determined to not give up.  I've only been doing Project Life for about a month, so I could have used any excuse to stop - I think my kids, of all people, would have been pretty disappointed.  They've been enjoying the layouts, as have I, so for now we're in great shape.  I will have to post some pictures soon.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a card I recently made for an upcoming Demo Day at Photoscraps.  The Demo Day card I prepped for last month was never offered because, again, I was sick as a dog and had to stay home.  I will be offering February's card for this month, but in addition to that, I'm also going to be offering this card:

Just in time for Easter, too!  For the patterned paper, I used Authentique's Grace collection (love those colors!).  The basket die, mini leaves, stamped eggs and sentiment all by Impression Obsession; the Tiffany border is by Cheery Lynn, and the antique label is by Spellbinders.  I also used the wood grain stamp from Hero Arts to add more texture to the basket.  All inks are by Tsukineko.

I'm also planning to join Papertrey Ink's Make-It-Monday this week, only because Melissa Phillips is the designer in charge this week, and her cards are always so great (no surprise there!).

Hope you like the card...enjoy, and have a great week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentine's Day!  I  was hoping I'd be out and about today, but as luck would have it, I am home and nursing a bad cough and the flu.  I look pretty awful and while I'm sure my husband loves me the just the same, I am certainly not feeling "valentine-y" today!  Actually, all I want to do is crawl under the covers, but it turns out my youngest is home with me too today - double ear infection.  Thankfully he doesn't have any fever, so he's acting normal, except for his nasty cough.  We're just a symphony of coughing around here today, heh.

I wanted to share this card I made for the Design Team Favorites Challenge at Papertrey Ink.  I got so overwhelmed doing the other challenges that I almost forgot about this one!  Here is the card by the very talented Betsy Veldman that inspired me:

And here is my take on her card:

I used PTI's Stamper's Select white cardstock for my card base, the Beautiful Blooms die #3 for the flowers, and various stamps from the Hello Sunshine, Funky Florals and Daydreamer sets.

Hope you like the card!  Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Ink Watercolor Challenge

I have another card to share and post over at Papertrey Ink's Anniversary Challenge: Watercolors.  I don't usually use this method in my cards, but I always like to see what others do with the watercolor effect.  

Here is my take:

As I look at this card, I find so many imperfections, but I guess having a watercolor effect on your project isn't meant to be so very linear and precise.  My card really does look like something my 5-year old would have created, haha!, but it was fun to do!

For the watercolor effect, I used various Distress Inks diluted in water (Broken China, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and a mix of Shabby Shutters and Mowed Lawn), the sentiment, flowers and bee are from the Tag Its #3 stamp set - quite versatile for such a small 5-dollar stamp set!

Thanks for stopping by.....enjoy the festivities over at PTI!

Sketch Challenge @ Papertrey Ink

There is a sketch challenge going on at Papertrey Ink in honor of their 6-year anniversary.  Mind you, they've been having challenges for 5 days straight!  And it's been a bit hectic for me to try and keep up with Nichole's blog, but once upon a time (see? I don't even know exactly when it happened...) they had something called Stamp-a-Faire, which sounded pretty awesome judging by the rave reviews after the fact.  I, of course, have no idea where I was at the time, but surely my head was buried in the sand because I don't know how I managed to have this huge event fly right by me without me noticing.  

In any case, with another big event at hand like their anniversary, I promised myself I would try my hardest to participate as much as I can, and so far I have been pretty good about keeping afloat. So the laundry doesn't get done immediately - who cares!  There's always tomorrow, right?  

Today's challenge involves choosing one of the 5 sketches available at Nichole's blog, and creating a card based on the sketch you chose.

The sketch I chose is this one:



...and here is what I came up with:

I used the "Adorn" paper from Authentique's "Hope" collection - not exactly your typical Easter colors, but that is exactly what it's supposed to be: spring-y Easter paper.  Of course Authentique and I are tight like this, ha ha, and I just couldn't walk away without at least snagging a few sheets to play around with at home.  The frame is from PTI's Fabulous Frames set (why I waited so long to get this die set, I don't know, but it's a great investment and I'll be using it a lot for my Project Life-type scrapbooking); I also used the Turning A New Leaf die set, along with some Prima flowers.  The sentiment is a sassy one, and it comes from the Happy For You stamp set.  

I really enjoyed this challenge and hope to continue contributing to all the festivities!

Thanks for stopping by - hope you like the card!

PTI Challenge number....I've lost count?

It's pretty late, and tomorrow will be another busy day - BUT!  I must share a tag I will be posting over at PTI's next challenge that is due tomorrow morning!  Really early!  Which is why I'm still awake! ;(

But despite the sleep deprivation, I have to say this challenge caught me by surprise, and in a positive way.  It involved getting inspiration over the internet (Pinterest and the like) and making a wrap/tag/gift packaging project.  At first I wasn't planning on joining this challenge because, surprise-surprise, we were at a wrestling tourney all day (and I do mean ALL.DAY.), and I wasn't sure whether a) I had the time to surf the 'net for the perfect inspirational photo, and b) I had enough time to get inspired, then translate that inspiration onto paper.  Luckily for me, I came across this adorable tag that was handmade (then posted, then sold on Etsy) by Tara Anderson.  Really sweet little tag, and the important thing was that it got me into inspiration mode!  Here is the original found on Etsy:

And here is what I came up with:

I have to say, I'm pretty happy with how this tag turned out.  Truthfully, there was no rhyme or reason to any of the prepping as I pretty much went through my really scrappy scraps and did some quick die-cuts.  Some die cuts were already sitting around collecting dust, and others were "overstock" cuts from past card projects.

PTI items used: rustic white card base, Tremendous Tags die set, Get To The Point die set, Beautiful Blooms die set, Delightful Dahlia die set, and sentiment comes from the Garden Variety stamp set.  The pretty butterfly is a Cheery Lynn die - I believe it is the smallest version of their butterfly dies.  The black ink is from Hero Arts.

Hope you like the card...enjoy!  And thanks for stopping by. :)

Addicted to CAS!

I've been really enjoying the clean and simple cards lately.  I have been posting some of my creations at CASology, as well as CAS-ual Fridays, but I found another fun site that does clean and simple cards: Addicted to CAS!  I've been in a valentine-y mood for the past few weeks, so I thought I'd join their party since their code word for their 2-week challenge is HEART.  I mean, honestly, what a perfect challenge to stumble upon!  And I better post this quick because they're about to close the postings in a few hours!

The basket die is from Impression Obsession (with a little bit of Vintage Photo Distress Ink to show some of its texture), the heart die is from Papertrey Ink, as well as the stitches (Button Boutique stamp set) and the sentiment (Pretty Peonies).  The black and red inks are from Hero Arts, which by the way are very good dye inks!

Hope you like the card - enjoy, and have a great weekend! 

It's Make-It-Monday Time!

The Ravens won the Superbowl on Sunday, and it was funny how on Monday most of my girlfriends were celebrating their victory...even at school this was all the kids were raving about.  Rightfully so, since we do live in Maryland, but the funny part is that my concerns weren't revolving around the Ravens' victory, but more on how I could manage my time (starting Monday!) so that I could participate in the various challenges that were all falling on this week (most of them at PTI's website).  Clearly I'm more of a crafting fan than a Ravens fan (sorry, Flacco! Ha!)  

I've known about PTI for several years, but it took me a while to make my first purchase, and even longer than that to participate in the challenges.  Now that my boys are a little older and ever so slightly more self-sufficient, I've been a tad better at keeping up with challenges and just "web life" in general. 

So, anyway.  Blahblahblah.  Here is my next card I'd like to share:

I will be linking this up to PTI's Make-It-Monday Challenge #103: The Die-Cut Double Up.

For this card, I used PTI's Sweet Blush cardstock for my base, the Tin-Types background stamp (using Spun Sugar Distress Ink), the Tremendous Tags die set, and the Heart-2-Heart #12 stamp and die set.  Patterned papers are random scraps from various collections: Jillibean, BasicGrey, and My Mind's Eye.

Thanks for stopping by - hope you like the card!

PTI Post #2

So I kept looking at Dawn McVey's cute "happy birthday" sentiment from today's free download and I kept thinking I should do a modest, cute and simple card that can accompany future birthday gifts.  The colors she chose are definitely sweet, so I thought I'd play up the scalloped edge and make the sentiment look like a flower:

I was going to wait until tomorrow to take the picture, but then I thought I may not make it in time to upload the picture, then post it on Nichole's webpage before the deadline, hence this mediocre snapshot done with a non-camera and in bad lighting (apologies for that). :)

I cut down some PTI Stamper's Select white cardstock for my base, used a petite scalloped circle (Spellbinders) as a resting place for the sentiment, then added the leaves using the Sending You coordinating leaf die.  Button is from October Afternoon; patterned papers are from Authentique's Free Bird 6x6 loose-leaf line.

Hope you like the card...enjoy - and good night! 

Papertrey Ink's 6-year Anniversary!

Don't you just love those feel-good anniversaries?  Speaking of which, Papertrey Ink is currently celebrating their 6-year anniversary, and they are going crazy at Nichole's website with all kinds of challenges!  Honestly, I will be needing to jot down these challenges as I'm determined to join every single one of them.  The first one I decided to do is, of course, the one that is due tomorrow, heh.  It involves downloading a free sentiment/image sheet, then choosing one of the elements and making something out of it.  I'm glad I didn't miss out on this challenge because I was really liking Heather's sentiment, which is the one I chose to work on:

I used Papertrey Ink's Edgers #4 for the loopy cut at the bottom (patterned paper is an old Stella & Rose line by My Mind's Eye, though I don't remember the exact name of the pattern itself); the star tag comes from the awesome Tremendous Tags die set, which I'm really using a lot these days; the heart die matches up with the Heart-2-Heart #11 stamp set, which is where the "love" sentiment comes from too.

This was a great challenge because I used up some of my old paper scraps, plus I loved how I didn't mull over any decisions: I just kept cutting, stamping and gluing and getting it DONE in record time.  

Hope you like the card...enjoy, and I hope you're posting your own creation too!

CASology This Week

So, after a whole weekend of wrestling tournaments with the boys, I'm glad to say I have the rest of the afternoon to do some crafting...at least until dinner time, which is the biggest chunk of "me time" I've had in a while.  Yeah!  Go me!  But seriously, I only have a little more than an hour to post my next card over at CASology's website.  This week, the cue card is "game," and I was a bit surprised I couldn't find any game-themed stamps in my stash.....until I remembered I had a great Tim Holtz Alterations embossing folder that I bought a while back that would fit nicely with this week's challenge.  Here is the card I came up with:

This was a fun card to make.  I started with a Bazzill base in Ruby Slipper, then simply took a Papertrey Ink rustic white piece of cardstock and embossed it using the Alterations folder by Sizzix.  After daubering various Distress Inks over the embossed image, I die-cut the label that matches Papertrey Ink's Ad Sense stamp set (which is where the sentiment comes from).

Overall, it was a nice quick card to make (I'll be using it for an upcoming masculine birthday).  And this is why I love these challenges: they really force me to remember and use my existing tools creatively, but without going too overboard. :)

Hope you like the card...enjoy the rest of the weekend!

CASual Friday's Challege!

I'm on a roll this week.  Not that I'm one of those super-early posters or anything, but I'm going all out and participating in three challenges, the first one being the "love letters" challenge over at CASual Fridays!

Here is my take on the challenge:

Last month I picked up several heart-themed stamp-and-die sets from Papertrey Ink, and since I'm up to my eyeballs in Valentine's Day cards, I thought I'd play along in this challenge and highlight some of these stamps and dies.  The pretty heart die matches up with PTI's Heart-2-Heart #11 stamp set, and the L,V, E and sentiment come from the "With All My Heart" stamp set, which I adore.  The card base was made with Papertrey Ink's Stamper's Select white cardstock.  Inks are Memento (Love Letter) and Color Box (Pink).

Hope you like the card...enjoy!

Make-It-Monday #101

I'll be joining Papertrey Ink's Make-It-Monday #101, which technically is not late, but I sure did wait until the very last few hours before posting.  As usual, it's been a very busy weekend, and I hardly had any time to mess around with a recent haul I made over at the PTI website.  The set I decided to use for the challenge is not a new set (it is called Sending You), but I've been wanting it for months.  We don't have family living nearby, so oftentimes I'm sending something to someone via snail mail......and what other stamp set offers such perfect sentiments?! :)

Since I hadn't done anything with the set, I thought I'd try to spotlight it by joining an MIM challenge.  Here is what I came up with:

The challenge was all about layered embossing, and since this set has a few 2-step stamping images (my favorite), I thought a layered embossed effect would look nice on a 2-step stamped image!

All images, including the sentiment, come from the Sending You stamp set; the card base and rustic white panel are both from Papertrey Ink; all pigment inks (embossed with clear Stampendous embossing powder) are Fresh Ink from Impress; paper flowers are from Prima and the button is from October Afternoon.

Hope you like the card...enjoy, and have a great week!

Papertrey Ink's January 2013 Blog Hop!

I'm so excited to be joining Papertrey Ink's blog hop this month!  And nervous, too, because it is my very first time joining a blog hop!  In the past I've always drooled over everyone's creations, not to mention their crafty ways of using PTI's awesome products, but I've always been too busy (or too shy!) to ever post anything.  I've decided, as part of my new year's resolution, that I would be a little more active in Blog Land, especially when it comes to challenges and participating in events that bring the crafting community together.  It truly is a golden opportunity to learn more and be a better crafter!

So here is my take on this month's Blog Hop challenge: black backgrounds......

For the card base, I used PTI's Sweet Blush - great nostalgic pink that isn't *overly* pink.  I used Scrolled Blossoms by Stampendous for the image on the black panel (stamped with PTI's Perfect Match Hybrid Ink in Vintage Cream - very nice alternative to a plain white ink) and die-cut Memory Box's Grand Heart using BoBunny's Love Letters 6x6 pad paper collection.  I then folded (as best I could) and glued down a grosgrain ribbon behind the heart....that kind of reminded me of those lacey little chocolate-filled heart-shaped boxes from the 80s.  Anyone else remember those?  I was chuckling the entire time I was gluing, heh.  

To top everything off, I die-cut some Sweet Blush paper using a Photo Finish strip die, then stamped my oh-so-pretty sentiment from the Everyday Photo Finishers set.  I completely missed out on the Holiday Photo Finishers this past Christmas season, so I never really bothered to get the dies, even though I thought they were so cute.  So of course, once the Everyday Photo Finishers set came out, I was so glad I had a legitimate reason to get the matching dies, heh.  It'll be so nice to be able to use the Everyday Photo Finishers set throughout the year - it's such a nice little mixage of sentiments, from thank you, to happy birthday, to get well soon, to wedding wishes....ugh, I just love this set!!  And the matching dies are a must-have, as are pretty much all the dies at Papertrey!

Anyway, happy hopping!  Thanks for stopping by... enjoy!