"We do not remember days, we remember moments." Cesare Pavese

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

CCC #42

Hello friends!!  Happy Tuesday!  Its time for a brand new challenge over at CASology!  This week our cue word is "care" so I hope that you will be "care"-fully thinking about what you are going to make for this challenge!!   All the deets can be found on the CASology blog.  We are being sponsored this week by Scrapin' Great Deals.


For my card I decided to get a little bit away from a classic clean and simple card and show you that you can add a bit of a style of card making that is on the opposite end of the spectrum from CAS and still make your card CAS.   The style of card making I'm referring to is "shabby chic".  Shabby chic is typified by lots of embellishments, layers and distressing the exact opposite of "clean and simple".   On my card I did use some embellishments, but I kept it to a minimum of three for the main grouping and then did add an additional layer of sorts with the ticket strip down the side.  The other shabby chic element I added was some simple distressing of the edges of the main layer, as well as the ticket strip.  But... I didn't go overboard with the distressing.  I only added enough for a bit of a shabby look.   I added a bit of stamping with the sentiment and a splatter image, but kept a lot of open or "white" space.  And there you have it... a hybrid of sorts... part shabby, part CAS.  The layout for my card is based on the soon to be closing CAS(E) this Sketch challenge.

Thanks for stopping by... I cannot wait to see what "care" related ideas all you super talented papercrafters come up with for this challenge!! In the meantime make sure you check out the cards from the rest of the design team: Melissa, Tracey, Jen, Ardyth, Judy, Maureen, and Meghan.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Rustic White; Stamps:  Stampin Up! French Foliage & Because I Care; Embellishments:  Stampin Up!; Ink:  SU! Early Espresso & Primrose Petals; Twine:  Montana Misfits

Sunday, April 28, 2013

miss you...

Hello... just a quick post with a card I made using the current Cardabilities sketch. 


I used the My Favorite Things/Lisa Johnson Designs Pretty Poppies stamp set.  I just love that set!  I also used the following MFT dies:  Fishtail Flag Layer Stax; Poppies & Leaves and Leaf Filled Flourish.  I also used my Spellbinders plain and scalloped small oval dies and two different embossing folders.  The ink is Primrose Petals from Stampin Up!.  Adhered very closely to the sketch so not much else to say!

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Rustic White; SU! Primrose Petals & Pool Party; Ink:  SU! Primrose Petals; Dies:  My Favorite Things & Spellbinders; Embossing Folders Cuttlebug

Saturday, April 27, 2013

so sweet...

Hello friends!!  Saturday has rolled around I was able to get my Less is More card done early, again!!  YAY!!  I was also able to combine the LIM challenge with the new Dynamic Duos color combo... double YAY!!


The LIM challenge is week is a sketch and so for my card I used a never been inked Stampin Up! set called Sweet Cake.  The main image in the set is perfect fit for the sketch.  I first stamped the main image using Pink Pirouette and then a second time using Calypso Coral.  I trimmed out the entire pink image and then just the cupcake and the label portion from the Calypso Coral image.  The sentiment was stamped in the label and then everything was layered on the pink image using foam dimensionals.  I embossed the background using my Cuttlebug Modern Wallpaper EF, adhered the main image and then added these super tiny pink rhinestones. 

Thanks for stopping by.... 

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  Stampin Up! Sweet Cakes; Inks:  SU! Pink Pirouette and Calypso Coral, Memento Tuxedo Black; Embossing Folder:  Cuttlebug; Rhinestones:  Stampin Up!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

a rosie posie smile...

Hello friends!!  Wow... it is an absolutely GORGEOUS day here in the PacNW.  Both the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges are in full glorious view from my neighborhood!  That means Mt. Rainier dominates the view on one side and on the other it is the Olympics.  I just love days like these!!    I have a little card I made yesterday using my newly acquired Rosie Posie and Rosie Posie Step 2 sets from PTI, as well as the matching dies.  Not sure why it took me so long to purchase these sets because they are fabulous!! The layout for my card is based on the super talented Chupa's current Sketchbook Saturday sketch.  It has been way too long since I made a card using one of her sketches!!  The colors are from the current ColourQ combo.


I die cut the largest floral image and then stamped it with Pumpkin Pie ink.  I used the Step 2 image and stamped that over the top using Melon Mambo ink.  And dang... I really like how it turned out.  The leaves were die cut and then stamped using Kiwi Kiss by first inking up the leaf image, stamping it off and then stamping on the die cut.  The Step 2 image was then stamped using full strength Kiwi Kiss.  Once that was done I fiddled about for a while working on placement of the flower and leaves and the finishing touches.  I think I should have embossed the white panel after I stamped it with the sentiment just to give the card a bit more interest, but instead added the sequins.  Anywhoo... I do like how it turned out!

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; PTI kraft patterned paper; Stamps:  PTI and Hero Arts; Inks:  SU! Melon Mambo, Kiwi Kiss & Pumpkin Pie; Memento Tuxedo Black; Dies:  PTI; Ribbon:  PTI; Button:  SU!; Bakers Twine:  The Twinery; Sequins:  Ellen Hutson

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

CCC #41 - Laughter...

Hello friends!!  Happy Tuesday!  Time for a brand new CASology challenge.  This week our cue word is one that is sure to make you smile!  Or maybe even giggle!  You can find all the challenge details here.  And we are joined this week by super talented guest designer, Cindy!! 




I must admit that I really struggled with this week's cue word, giggle.  My shoulder was bothering me for most of last week and when that happens it really saps my energy... creative or otherwise.  Couple that with the fact that I don't own a ton of stamp sets that lend themselves to the cue word I really had a hard time.  Finally I settled on this sentiment from the Stampin Up! set "Feel Goods" (Is that a weird name for a stamp set or what?? I thought it was a typo, but that is the name.  I really "head scratcher", lol!) I wanted to show that you can create great CAS cards by just using a simple sentiment.   I did jazz things up a bit by die cutting the sentiment using a My Favorite Things Jumbo Fishtail Flag Stax die and adding the sequins, but the sentiment really takes center stage.   I also created a subtle background on the black cardstock by running it through my Big Shot with a piece of burlap.  Love that look.

Thanks for stopping by... I cannot wait to see what up related ideas all you super talented papercrafters come up with for this challenge!! In the meantime make sure you check out the cards from the rest of the design team: Melissa, Tracey, Jen, Ardyth, Judy, Maureen, and Meghan and our guest designer, Cindy!!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & true black; Stamps:  Stampin Up!; Ink:  Memento; Dies:  My Favorite Things; Sequins:  Ellen Hutson; Burlap:  PTI

Saturday, April 20, 2013

for you...

Hello friends!!  Have a card that I made for two challenges:  Less is More and Dynamic Duos.  The Less is More challenge this week is to CASE either Jen's card or Chrissie's card.  And the Dynamic Duo color combo is grey and black.  For my card I decided to CASE Jen's card.  


I used two Stampin Up! sets:  Layered Labels and Hearts a Flutter.  The label was stamped using Close to My Heart's Grey Wool ink and then trimmed out.  The banner was stamped using Tuxedo Black and then die cut using the matching banner die.  I tried to do some piercing like Jen did on her fabulous card, but I SUCK at piercing and so decided to emboss my white cardstock piece using the SU! Tulip Border embossing folder. 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & true black, SU! Basic Grey; Stamps:  Stampin Up!; Dies:  Stampin Up!; Embossing Folder:  Stampin Up!; Inks:  Memento and Close to My Heart

Thursday, April 18, 2013

see with our hearts...

Hello friends... gloomy day here in Western Washington.  Found a little time to make a card for a couple of challenges:  CAS(E) this Sketch and CAS - Colours & Sketches.    The challenge this week at CAS - Colours & Sketches is a color challenge:  Pool Party, Primrose Petals & Rich Razzleberry.

 

When I saw the sketch my first thought was to do a very straight forward take on the sketch... pretty much what I always think, lol.  But I decided to think outside the box and I came up with this very loose interpretation of the sketch.  The stamps are from the Stampin Up! set Every Moment.  The main image was stamped using Pool Party and then I added the butterfly in Primrose Petals and the sentiment using Rich Razzleberry.   As I stated above, it is a gloomy day and that means my less than stellar photography skills are decreased even more than usual... making it hard to capture the Rich Razzleberry color.   I do really like how the card turned out, though. 

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  Stampin Up!; Inks:  Stampin Up!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

a poppy

Hello friends... back with a second post for today.  Hadn't planned on it, but wanted to get this card posted for the current Dynamic Duos challenge before I ran out of time.  Never thought I would say this, but I really like light blue and orange together! 


About this time of the year the California poppies start to bloom in my area.  I love the vibrant golden-orange color of the blooms.  I saw a couple that had bloomed on my morning walk and that means in the next week or so a hillside close to my house will be covered with them.  So when I saw the Dynamic Duos combo I thought of only one thing... poppies!!   I got out my MFT/LJD Pretty Poppies set (and matching dies) and got to work.  The layout for the card is based on the current Retro Sketch.  You don't have to ask me twice to put a banner on my card, hee hee!  I die cut the flower heads and then stamped them using SU!'s Pumpkin Pie ink.  The Spring Rain cardstock piece was cut to fit the card base and then stamped with the script border image from the Pretty Poppies set using Memento Summer Sky ink.  I die cut the MFT Jumbo Fishtail Flag and adhered the poppies to the top using foam dimensionals.   The sentiment, also from Pretty Poppies, was added using Tuxedo Black ink.  To finish off the card I added Black Diamond Stickles to the center of the poppies. 

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & Spring Rain; Stamps:  MFT Pretty Poppies; Dies:  MFT Jumbo Fishtail Flag & LJD Poppies & Leaves; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black & Summer Sky, SU! Pumpkin Pie; Ranger Diamond Stickles

CCC #40... sunflower thanks

Helloooo friends!!   Its Tuesday and that means time for a brand new CASology cue "word" and this challenge will really have you putting on your thinking caps because the cue word is "word"!  You can find all the challenge details here.  Our guest designer this week is the very talented Karen!!!




For my card this week I decided to use a stamp that combines letters and images to make up the word.   I thought this would be a good way to show how perfect a stamp like this is for a clean and simple design.  Since it has images incorporated into the design of the word you don't have to add any other type of embellishment to the card, thus keeping it clean and simple.  This particular stamp is from Taylored Expression.  The image was stamped using Tuxedo Black ink and then colored with Copic markers.  I added some Diamond Stickles to the bee's wings and used a Sakura Gelly Roll pen to add a bit of shimmer to the bee's little trail.   Some yellow cardstock was embossed using a LifeStyle Crafts honeycomb embossing folder and used as a mat for the stamped piece.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!!

Thanks for stopping by... I cannot wait to see what up related ideas all you super talented papercrafters come up with for this challenge!! In the meantime make sure you check out the cards from the rest of the design team: Melissa, Tracey, Jen, Ardyth, Judy, Maureen, and Meghan and our guest designer, Karen!!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & Lemon Tart; Stamps:  Taylored Expressions; Ink:  Memento; Ranger Diamond Stickles; Sakura Gelly Roll pen; LifeStyle Crafts embossing folder; Copic markers

Sunday, April 14, 2013

thanks...

Hello friends!! Here with a card that I made using the new Fusion sketch and some newly acquired Verve stamps.  I'm also going to pop this into the current Verve Diva Dare to a bright and cheerful card and use flowers or butterflies (or both).  I went with just a single flower.



I recently organized all my cardstock and patterned paper scraps and decided to use up some of the scrap patterned paper pieces to make my card.  The scraps are from the Echo Park 6x6 pad "Hello Summer".   I used several of the floral images (and the matching dies) from the Verve set "Surely Goodness" to create the flower.  Very simple, but so very cheerful... don't you think? 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; PP:  Echo Park; Stamps:  Verve; Dies:  Verve; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Bamboo Leaves & Lady Bug

Saturday, April 13, 2013

hello... you must allow me...

Hello friends!!  Happy Saturday... can't believe I already have my Less is More card done and not only that I actually have TWO cards for the challenge!!  Woo hoo!!   This week is one layer week and Chrissie and Jen have asked us to base our cards on a favorite movie.  For my first card it was an absolute "no brainer".  My all time most favorite movie is the A&E (back in the day when A&E still meant "Arts & Entertainment"...now they mostly produce weird reality shows!) version of Pride & Prejudice.  Not only does it have beautiful costuming, scenery and fabulous acting, it has COLIN FIRTH in it!!  Seriously I could just watch that man all day long!  All.Day.Long!!   Anywhoo... about my card...


Because I love Pride & Prejudice so much when PTI came out with the set Simply Jane I HAD to purchase it... no question.  For my card I inked up the image using Memento Summer Sky for Mr. Darcy and Memento Angel Pink for Lizzie and then stamped them in the bottom right corner of my card.  The sentiment (from the scene where Mr. Darcy simultaneously expresses his love for Lizzie and insults her!) was stamped to slightly overlap onto Mr. Darcy.  I added a few sequins because they are relatively flat... hope Chrissie doesn't mind!  (With the addition of the sequins you could almost stretch this card to cover another of my favorite movies... How to Marry a Millionaire.  Mr. Darcy was quite rich you know, lol!)


The second card is based on the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks movie "You've Got Mail".  It isn't exactly a favorite movie but I did enjoy watching it and I have this cute little mailbox stamp that I got from Stampotique that was perfect for this challenge.  I stamped it in Tuxedo Black ink and then colored the image with Copic markers.  The sentiment is from a Hero Arts set.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  PTI and Stampotique; Ink:  Memento; Copic makers; sequins

Thursday, April 11, 2013

good morning, sunshine...

Hello friends!!  After spending far, far too long trying to make a different card work this morning I was able to whip up little card for the current CAS(E) this Sketch challenge.  Have you ever done that??   Spent way too long trying to make something work even after it becomes obvious that it just isn't?  I try not to, but once in awhile I just can't let it go and walk away.  Thank goodness I finally was able to let it go and make something that did work, lol!!


I recently got a set of two washi tapes in a fun yellow, light blue and purple color way and decided to use it for my CAS(E) this sketch card.  Okay... I'm going to be honest it was easier to use the washi tapes to create the diagonal element then it was to stamp it!!    Once that was done I had to decide what other elements I was going to add and settled on the bright and cheery sun image along with the speech bubble with the sentiment "good morning, sunshine".  All the stamps and the die are from Taylored Expressions. 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  Taylored Expressions Garden Party Blooms and Delightful Day; Sun die:  Taylored Expressions:  Ink:  Memento Dandelion & Tuxedo Black; SU! Wisteria Wonder; Washi Tapes:  Chickydoddle

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

CCC #39... take flight

Hello friends!!  Happy Tuesday!   We have a brand spankin' new CASology challenge for you and this one is all about travel!  Given all the clever "up" cards that were posted in the gallery last week I know there will be a ton of clever cards using this week's cue.   All the details can be found here.  And this week our guest designer is the wildly talented Geri!!



There were many different directions that I could have gone in with this cue word as I actually happen to have many stamps that are travel related.  I decided to use a PTI set that I bought ages ago, but had never inked up:  Happy Trails.  I also used the PTI set Background Basics Text Style.  I die cut the banner from kraft cardstock using a My Favorite Things Jumbo Fishtail Flag Stax die and then stamped the sentiment and one of the "trails" on the banner.  The paper airplane was stamped on cream cardstock and trimmed out.  It was only after I finished trimming it out that I realized I have the matching Happy Trails dies!!  Oh well...    I think this makes a great graduation card for a guy.  The layout is based on the soon to be closing CAS(E) this Sketch challenge #22

Thanks for stopping by... I cannot wait to see what up related ideas all you super talented papercrafters come up with for this challenge!! In the meantime make sure you check out the cards from the rest of the design team: Melissa, Tracey, Jen, Ardyth, Judy, Maureen, and Meghan and our guest designer, Geri!!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI cream; SU! Crumb Cake; Stamps:  PTI; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Die:  My Favorite Things

Sunday, April 7, 2013

find joy...

Hello friends!!  Another rainy day here in the PacNW... the perfect day to make cards and so I did, lol!  And after I finish this blog post I will mostly be making at least one more!  My card today is for the new challenge blog, Fusion.  My super sweet bloggy friend (and one I have actually met in real life), Lisa Lara, is a guest designer for the first challenge, as is my fellow CASology teamie, Tracey so I just had to play along. 



For my card I decided to use both the sketch and the beautiful inspiration photo. (Who wouldn't love to have a cake like that for their birthday???)  I stamped the chevron image in VersaMark ink on white cardstock, applied white embossing powder and then heat set it.  The white on white embossing is just barely visible so I have included a detail shot which shows the detail a little bit better .  The flowers were stamped in dark pink, orange and yellow inks and then die cut using the matching dies.  A black sequin was added to the center of each flower and then they were layered as you see.  The sentiment finished things off and the piece adhered to a bright green card base.  Not a super clever take on the challenge, but I really like how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplied:  Cardstock:  PTI white & Ripe Avocado; Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Dandelion & Tangelo, VersaMark watermark ink; Stamps:  Hero Arts Bold Pop Designs, Find Joy and Zig Zag Thanks; Dies:  Sizzix/Hero Arts Bold Pop Designs; Embossing powder:  Judikins; Sequins:  Ellen Hutson

Saturday, April 6, 2013

a note of thanks...

Hello friends!!  Happy weekend... have a card I made for the new Less is More challenge.  This week is color challenge week and so Chrissie and Jen have asked us to make cards using lime and black.   And despite my strong desire to make a white card and stamp everything using black and lime green ink I struck to the two colors and made the following card:


I used two PTI sets:  Harvest Berries and Happy Trails.  The cardstock is PTI's Simply Chartreuse and True Black and the ink is Memento Tuxedo Black.  The other product I used on the card is one of the new PTI Quick Stitch Sentiments dies.  I stamped the gingko leaf images from Harvest Berries on the cardstock and then die cut the "thanks" using the Quick Stitch Sentiments "thanks" die.  The sentiment is from the Happy Trails set and I only used a portion of it as the complete sentiment says "a note of thanks" and I didn't need the "thanks" part.  So I just carefully inked up the portion I needed and stamped it.  A few black sequins were added, the piece mounted on a black cardstock base and I was done.  A bit severe, but I like it. 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock, Stamps and die:  PTI; Ink:  Memento; Sequins:  Ellen Hutson

Thursday, April 4, 2013

i heart you...

Hello friends!  Today was a yucky, rainy day and so I took some time to make a few cards.  First up is a card I made using the new color combo from CAS Colours and Sketches challenge and the current Cardabilities sketch.    The Cardabilities sketch really lends itself to clean and simple so it was perfect to pair with the CAS Colours and Sketches challenge.


I tend to be a bit to literal when it comes to sketches and have a hard time getting "outside the box".  With this card I definitely went a literal take on the sketch and used hearts and a fishtail banner.  The My Favorite Things/Lisa Johnson Designs Homespun Hearts set was just so perfect for this sketch that I had to use it and nothing else would do!  I die cut the three hearts and then stamped each with the corresponding heart image using the challenge colors.   The banner was cut using the MFT Fishtail Flag Stax dies and then the hearts layered.  Once they were attached I added the buttons.  I stamped the zig-zag stitching (from the MFT/LJD Hearts & Stitches set) in each of the colors and the adhered the banner.  The sentiment was stamped using black ink.  A few sequins were added to give the card a little something extra.

Thanks for stopping by... will be back tomorrow with the other card I made.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  My Favorite Things/Lisa Johnson Designs; Inks:  Memento Summer Sky, Dandelion, Rhubarb Stalk & Tuxedo Black; Buttons:  PTI; Dies:  MFT; Sequins:  Ellen Hutson

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

birthday wishes...

Hello friend!!  Our nice weather has gone and been replaced with typical NW April weather...grey skies and a chance of rain.  Oh well... at least Easter was beautiful!!  Anywhoo... have a card I made for PTI's current Make It Monday challenge, as well as ColourQ.   I check out the MIM challenge each Monday and try to get something made, but usually run out of time.  However, when I saw this week's MIM challenge was collage stamping I wasn't going to let it pass me by.  I love collage stamping!!


I used no less than five PTI sets on this one little card.   The PTI sets I used are:  Harvest Berries, Fancy Folk Art, Turning a New Leaf, Polka Dot Basics 2 and Background Basics Text Styles.  Using Memento's Angel Pink I stamped the tiny polka dots and script images and then layered the leaf image using the coral ink.  The sentiment was layered over those images using the light brown ink and finally the berries were added in yellow.   I really love how this card turned out.  It is straight up simple stamping... something I love!

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  PTI; Inks:  Stampin Up! Cameo Coral; Memento:  Dandelion & Angel Pink; Hero Arts Latte

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

CCC #38... Surf's Up!

Hello friends!!  Tuesday has rolled around and that means a brand new cue word has rolled around, too.   Loved all the beautiful "hope" related cards that everyone created for the challenge!   This week's cue word is "up" and we are being sponsored by Lawn Fawn stamps.  All the deets can be found here



 
I made a very masculine card using a monochromatic color scheme for my card.  I had recently gotten some washi tapes from  ChickyDoddle.   One of the rolls is a grey with a polka dot pattern on it.  I decided to pair that tape up with a couple of images from the Verve "Learning to Sail" set.  I laid down a couple of strips of the washi tape to start off my card and then layered the pieces of card stock.  The light grey (PTI's Soft Stone) piece was partially embossed with my Swiss Dot EF for some interest and then the sentiment was stamped in black.  The surfboard was stamped twice on white cardstock and trimmed out.  A bit of washi tape was added to one surfboard and that portion trimmed out and added to the other surfboard.  I then colored the surfboard with Copic markers and colored the stars using a Jelly Roll pen and adhered it to the sentiment piece.   The layout is based on the current sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch

Thanks for stopping by.... I cannot wait to see what up related ideas all you super talented papercrafters come up with for this challenge!! In the meantime make sure you check out the cards from the rest of the design team: Melissa, Tracey, Jen, Ardyth, Judy, Maureen, and Meghan and our guest designer, Dena!!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI:  White and Soft Stone, SU! Basic Grey; Stamps:  Verve Learning to Sail; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Washi tape:  ChickyDoddle; EF:  Swiss Dot