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!