miss you...

Hello friends!!  A crappy rainy day here in my neck of the woods, but it was brightened up considerably by the fact that I got to meet up at Hobby Lobby with my friend and stamp designer extraordinaire, Lisa Lara!!  It is so much fun when you actually get to meet fellow crafters and get to know them.   Prior to going to meet Lisa I started working on a card for this week's PTI Make it Monday challenge and when I got back finished it all up.  This week the challenge is paper piecing.. one of my favorite techniques. 

For my card I used the PTI anniversary set Pretty Peonies.  I just love that set... all the images and sentiments in that set are just beautiful.  The patterned papers are from Stampin Up!   The layout for the card is based on the current Cardabilities sketch.  For my paper piecing I was helped along a little bit by the fact that I used the matching Pretty Peonies dies to cut out the main flower and the leaves.  I then stamped a second flower and cut out the center portion.  All the pieces were layered using foam dimensionals.  I realize this isn't the classic paper piecing technique of stamping and then trimming out the images by hand, but I think it is a new twist on the technique.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Card stock:  PTI Rustic White; PP:  Stampin Up! Time for Tea; Stamps:  PTI; Dies: PTI and MFT; Border punch:  EK Success; Inks: Stampin Up!, Memento & Ranger 

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

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

thinking of you...

Hello friends!!  The weekend is here... YAY!   We have been having some typical PacNW weather this week:  rain, wind and sunshine... all in one day or even in one hour, lol!  I'm not complaining though.  We had a really mild winter and I will take that over all the snow that they get in the Midwest any day!!  Anywhoo... I got a chance to make a card today for a couple of challenges:  CAS Colours and Sketches and Cardabilities.  I haven't done a Cardabilities challenge in ages and really wanted to make something using the current sketch.   Since this week is color week at CAS Colours and Sketches the two challenges were a perfect fit. 

 

I hadn't intended on using two different polka dot papers for the card, but after fiddling around for a while trying to find a patterned paper in a Soft Suede-type color I had to give up because I couldn't find anything that worked.   I think that the SU! River Rock color (the sort of beige-green color) needs to be put with a bolder color like the red to make it work.  The bird (Memory Box Perched Reed Bird) was die cut from the Soft Suede color and then embossed with the Swiss Dot (along with one of the little white banners) for some added texture as well as to tie them into the whole polka dot thing I had going on.  All the banners were die cut using my favorite dies EVER... My Favorite Things Fishtail Flag Stax dies.  The sentiment if from a Hero Arts/BasicGrey set called Enjoy.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Patterned Paper:  Stampin Up!; Dies:  My Favorite Things & Memory Box; Stamps:  Hero Arts/BasicGrey; Ink:  Tuxedo Black; Swiss Dot EF

CCC #13... Its A Zoo!

Hello friends!!   It's Tuesday and that means that a brand new challenge is up over at the CASology blog!!   Once, again, I was blown away by all the entries for last week's challenge!  There is so much creativity out there and I, for one, am happy, happy, happy that so many of you are sharing it with us at CASology!!  This week the cue word is "zoo".... all the deets for the challenge can be found here.  Our super talented guest designer this week is Donna!!  

I don't have a lot of stamps that feature animals, except for a really cute set from Stampin Up! called "Fox & Friends".   I was going to make a baby card, but decided to make it a birthday card instead.  The layout for my card is based on the current Cardabilities sketch.  I love that there are lots of sketches out there in blogland that are perfect for CAS cards and the Cardabilities sketch fit the bill.  (Love the Cardabilities sketches... I was fortunate to have my card for the last Cardabilities sketch picked as one of the featured designers!!)  The patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye Tangerine 6x6 pad.  Patterned paper (in small amounts) can be the perfect addition to your CAS design.  The little lion from Fox & Friends was stamped in yellow ink, trimmed out and then layered as you see.  The little fishtail flags were die cut using my favorite die set:  My Favorite Things Fishtail Flag Stax. 

Thanks for stopping by....make sure you check out the cards from the rest of the design team: Melissa, Tracey, Jen, Ardyth and this week's guest designer, Donna!   Can't wait to see what you come up with using this week's cue word!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! Calypso Coral; Ink:  SU! So Saffron; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Dies:  Spellbinders & My Favorite Things; Punch:  Stampin Up!

spooky halloween....

hello friends!!  here with a card for three challenges:  dynamic duos, cardabilities and less is more.  this week at less is more chrissie and mandi have challenged us to use an oval on our card.   as i was pondering what to do i saw that the new sketch challenge had been posted at cardabilities.  i checked out the sketch and saw that it would work perfectly with the less is more challenge.  then i checked out the dynamic duos color combo and saw that they also had a "dessert option" to make a halloween card.  at that point everything came together when i realized that i had the perfect stamp set that would help me bring the card together... the hero arts set, spooky halloween.

the dynamic duo color combo this week is lucky limeade and black.   lucky limeade is a stampin up! color that i do not own so i tried to find a ink that i did own that was fairly close to lucky limeade.  thankfully i had a colorbox cat's eye ink pad in moss green that is a really good match.  i inked up the label image with the moss green and trimmed it out.  then i inked it up again with black ink and trimmed out only the oval portion of the label.  the sentiment was stamped using the moss green ink.  i adhered a couple of short strips of black polka dot washi tape on the white cardstock piece and then adhered the label.   super simple, super clean.

thanks for stopping by.... 

supplies:  cardstock: pti white; bazzill black & su! lucky limeade; stamps:  hero arts; inks:  memento tuxedo black, colorbox moss green; washi tape:  queen & co trendy tape; clean rhinestones

Daffodils....

Hey there!!!  Here with a card for the current Timeless Tuesday challenge.  This week the super talented Cindy is hosting the challenge and she has asked that we use scallops and lace on our projects.   When I saw the new Cardabilities sketch I knew it would be perfect for this challenge.

I used several Flourishes sets for this card (Year of Flowers 1, Orchids & Country Charm Borders).   The patterned papers are from the new The Scrap Cake 6x6 pad, My Private Happiness.  If you have never checked out The Scrap Cake, you really should.  They have some of the most beautiful patterned papers I have ever seen!   The daffodil image from YoF 1 was stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black, then colored with Copic markers using the Flourishes Daffodil & Spring Greens combos (Y11, Y13, Y15, Y17, Y19, YG00, YG03, & YG06) and then trimmed out.  A plain circle was die cut using a small Spellbinders plain circle die and the sentiment (from Orchids) was stamped on it using SU!'s Pear Pizzazz ink.  A scalloped circle was die cut from Pear Pizzazz cardstock using a Spellbinders small scalloped circle die.   A scalloped border from the Country Charms Border set was stamped using SU!'s So Saffron ink and then trimmed out.  I used two different pieces of lace (both of which were gifts from my ODBD teamie, Sabrina) on the card, layering then as you see.  A bit of distressing was done to the main patterned paper panel, as well as the smaller strip.  After layering everything I adhered the circle and the daffodil image using foam dimensionals.  A couple of butterflies punched from the paper using a Martha Stewart butterfly punch completed the card.

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & Lemon Tart; PP:  The Scrap Cake; Copic Markers; Stamps:  Flourishes; Lace: unknown; Spellbinders dies; MS butterfly punch; Hero Arts gems; Ink:  SU! & Memento

Cherries....

Hey there!!! Sunday is here and it seems our cold, windy and rainy weather has abated some!!   I have a card today for the current Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge to use red on your card.  The layout comes from the current Cardabilities sketch, which I chose to make vertical instead of using it horizontally as it is shown.   I really like the Cardabilites sketches, but unfortunately have not been able to play along with them as much as I would like.

For my card I used the Flourishes set Peaches & Cherries.  It was the first set that came to mind when I saw the challenge and it also fits in with the current Shabby Tea Room challenge to use cherries on your project.   I stamped the cherries in Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock and colored them with my Copic markers.  The image was then trimmed out.  The patterned papers used are from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 Rosy collection.  Everything was layered and adhered to a light green card base.  It took me forever to figure out what I would make the little bow out of before settling on some May Arts twine.  The sentiment from the Flourishes set Gerbera Daisies was stamped on a tag that was die cut using the PTI Tiny Tags die.

Thanks for stopping by... hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  SU! & PTI; Stamps:  Flourishes; Copic Markers; May Arts Twine; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Papers:  My Mind's Eye; Wilton paper doily

Noel...

Hey there!! I'm back with another Christmas card using the somewhat non-traditional Christmas colors of pink and gold.   This time my card is for the Shabby Tea Room and the layout comes from the current Cardabilities sketch.    The Shabby Tea Room challenge is to base our project off another gorgeous inspiration photo and use pink, gold, neutrals, flowers and snowflakes.   Combining all those things together really takes me outside my comfort zone!!   But the fabby sketch from Cardabilities gave me the confidence to give it a go!

I had recently purchased a T!m Holtz Alterations die called Vintage Noel and had been wanting to use it on a card.  So, I got it out and went to work.  I die cut the "Noel" image from white cardstock and then applied some Old Paper Distress ink to tone it down a bit.   With my Quickie Glue Pen I outlined a portion of the image and poured on the gold glitter.  I then added a bit of glitter to some tiny pink roses.  The snowflake (Anna Snowflake from Poppy Stamps) was stamped on the pink cardstock using Delicate Golden Glitz ink.  A single snowflake was diecut using the matching Anna Snowflake die, stamped with the Golden Glitz ink and then some additional glitter added to the center.  The I die cut the Top Note from some Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden paper and distressed the edges just a bit.  Then I layered everything up, adding the punched border and some pink grosgrain ribbon.  I thought about adding some pearl flourishes but decided against it as I do love the card the way it is.... a bit shabby and a bit CAS.

Supplies:  Cardstock:   PTI white; SU! Pink Pirouette; PP:  Pink Paislee; Ink:  Ranger & Tsukeniko; Dies:  T!m Holtz Vintage Noel & SU! Top Note; Flowers:  Flying Unicorn; Glitter:  Melissa Frances; Ribbon:  PTI; Stamps:  Poppy Stamps

Best Wishes....

Hey there!!  Happy Friday to everyone.   Got a card for a couple of challenges:  Cardabilities and Flutterby Wednesday.   I have heard about Flutterby Wednesday challenges before, but had never checked out their challenge until just the other day and since this week is "anything goes" I decided to give them a try.   The layout of the card is courtesy of Cardabilities.... another fantastic sketch!!!  A shout out to Cardabilities is in order... they picked the card I entered in the last sketch challenge as one of their top 5!!!   Thanks so much ladies!!!

I did make one small change to the sketch... I only used three butterflies instead of four.  This mainly came about because the middle butterfly is quite large.  The papers and the butterflies are from the Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden collection.  I stamped a large flourish image from Hero Arts in Spun Suger distress ink on the patterned paper and then the sentiment (also Hero Arts) in VersaFine Vintage Sepia.    The crocheted lace is from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Christmas. 

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft; PP:  Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden; Embellishments:  Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden Clear Pops; Ink:  VersaFine Vintage Sepia & Ranger Spun Sugar distress ink; Lace:  My Mind's Eye; Punch:  SU! Scallope Punch; Stamps:  Hero Arts

Best Friends Forever...

Hey there!! Here with a card for two challenges:  JustRite Friday Challenge (use your scraps) and a new to me sketch challenge called Cardabilities.  When I saw the sketch for Cardabilities I wasn't sure I would give it a try.   But then I remembered the JustRite challenge, that ends in a few short hours (yikes) and thought I would give it a try.  

I kept everything really clean and simple for this card.  I used up scraps from two different My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 paper lines:  Sunshine & Rosy.  Boy... I sure do love the Lost & Found 2 collections.  I have used up alot of the pads that I have so I'm going to need to get more!  The JustRite stamps used are from the My Garden and Vintage Oval Labels sets.  I stamped the image in Tuxedo Black and then colored it with Copic markers.  The image was then die cut with a Spellbinder small plain die and the paper with a scalloped circle die.  The little flower was made using more scraps and the Spellbinders Rose Creations dies. The sentiment was stamped in yellow ink and punched out using a Stampin Up! punch.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Papers My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2; Ink:  Memento & Stampin Up!; Dies:  Spellbinders; Copic markers

Buttons, Bows & Big Flowers

Hi there!  A card today for three challenges:  JUGs, Cardabilities & Shabby Tea Room.  

The JUGs challenge this week is to use the following colors:  Melon, Aqua & Kraft.  The Shabby Tea Room challenge is to use buttons and bows.   And Cardabilities is a new to me sketch challenge.  I really liked the sketch they have up right now and wanted to play along so I combined the three challenges.   I wanted to do the Shabby Tea Room this week as the sweet gals over at the Tea Room gave me an honorable mention for the card I entered last week... thanks!!!  Finally... I HAD to play along with JUGs this week as my dear bloggy friend, Elise, is now a member of the JUGs design team!!  Yay, Elise!

After rolling a couple of ideas around in my head I decided to color one of those paper flowers from Irene's Garden using a Copic marker (BG000) to use as the centerpiece of my card.  I die cut kraft cardstock using my Top Note die and stamped the sentiment in SU! Groovy Guava (the closest color I have to Melon Berry) in the upper left corner.  I die cut the little leafy branches from Melon Berry Bitty Dot Basic patterned paper to layer with the flower.  After layering everything on the top note diecut, I attached the bow.   A few little Aqua Mist buttons were attached to the branches and I was done.  I did lightly stamp the card base with the Hero Arts Classic Fabric Design cling using my almost completely dried up PTI Aqua Mist cube and inked the edges. 

The card is a bit outside my comfort zone, but I do like how it turned out.   Thanks for taking a peek....