see beyond...

Hello friends!!  Here with a card for the current Dynamic Duos color combo.  This week is "black tie" week and the colors are light yellow (So Saffron) and black. there is also a "dessert" option to use ribbon, but using ribbon didn't fit in the with sketch I used (Deconstructed Sketch 93) so I didn't add any.   The DS sketch is really clean and simple and so I wanted to keep my card fairly CAS, as well. 

I used one of my favorite Taylored Expressions stamp sets, Discover Your Wings, for the card.  The yellow patterned paper is a little bit of paper from a Stampin Up! designer paper pack called Tea for Two and the black polka dot is from PaperTrey Ink.  It is a bit hard to see, but I used my Scor-Buddy to create score lines in the white cardstock to make it look like beadboard.  The scalloped piece was made using a EK Success punch and the butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch with a black sequin added to the body.  The banner was die cut with a fishtail flag die from My Favorite Things. 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white and black; Patterned Paper:  PTI and Stampin Up!; Stamps:  Taylored Expressions; Ink:  SU! So Saffron & Memento Tuxedo Black; Sequin:  Ellen Hutson; Punches:  Martha Stewart & EKSuccess

much happiness...

Hello there!!  Finally getting a chance to post my card for this week's Less is More challenge... a lovely color challenge this week.  But I must admit that this color challenge was really quite challenging for me.   For this challenge the colors are kinda open to interpretation and that is where my problem lay... trying to figure out what colors I could use.  Now it is obvious that one of the colors is pink, but beyond that I was really taking a stab in the dark.   I spent a great deal of time looking through the cards already posted, as well as Chrissie and Jen's card and finally settled on this:

Taking a cue from the super talented Vicky, I used some papers from the SU! Tea for Two designer papers, as well as Crumb Cake and white.  The stamp is from the Verve set Brighter Days and was stamped using Crumb Cake ink.   The layout for the card comes from the current Deconstructed Sketch... a great sketch to use for a clean and simple card.  The banners were die cut using my MFT Fishtail Flag Layers Stax.  Added a few pink gems to finish things off. 

Thanks for stopping by... and thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Practical Scrapper card contest.  Unfortunately I did not make it to the Top 5.  But I had a really fun time while it lasted!!

Supplies:  Card stock:  PTI white; SU! Crumb Cake; Stamps:  Verve; Ink:  SU! Crumb Cake; DP:  SU! Tea for Two; Rhinestones:  American Crafts; Dies:  MFT Fishtail Flag Layers Stax

ODBDSLC137... Anything Goes and a Goodbye

Hello friends!!  Merry Christmas!! Today isn't the usual posting day for the Shining the Light challenge, but since tomorrow is Christmas the challenge team is posting one day early.  The challenge theme is anything goes with ODBD stamps and the challenge will last for two weeks.  I'm a bit sad today because this is my last post as a member of the ODBD challenge team.  I have enjoyed my year on the challenge team, but after much prayer and careful consideration realized that it was time for me to step down so I can focus more on my boys.  But not to worry... I will still be playing along with the Shining the Light challenges as often as I can!  I do want to thank Kelley, the owner of ODBD,  and Chris, the challenge team coordinator, for giving me the opportunity to represent Our Daily Bread Designs on a weekly basis.  It has been one of the best experiences of my life and has helped me grow in my faith in many different ways!   Now on to my card....

As I indicated this challenge is anything goes... but you must use ODBD stamps.  Initially I had decided to use one of my favorite ODBD stamp sets, Faith.  But as I was putting the card together, it just wasn't working out to my satisfaction.  So instead I used a verse from the Scripture Collection 5 set and the floral image from Don't Worry.   The layout for the card is based on the current Deconstructed Sketch.   I stamped the floral image on some My Mind's Eye patterned paper (Follow Your Heart Collection - Be Happy) using pink ink (it is a bit hard to see) and then overstamped the verse using black ink.  The edges of the piece were then inked with Rangers Old Paper and two corners curled back.  This piece was matted with cream cardstock that had been inked with Old Paper, as well.  All the other patterned paper and cardstock pieces were inked and corners curled before the card was assembled.  I finished things off with some lace, light pink sheer ribbon and pink roses.   I really like how the card turned out... so soft and feminine!

As always, we will be giving out a prize, a $15.00 gift certificate to be used toward stamps at the Our Daily Bread Designs store!!! Entries for the prize must be submitted by Sunday, January 7th at 8:00 pm EST. One random winner will be chosen and announced on Tuesday. While it is not required to use Our Daily Bread Design images and sentiments on your projects, we would definitely love to see them if you have them!! As a way of recognizing those who do use ODBD stamps we will be choosing three or more of our participants for the Shining the Light Award. In order to qualify for this award or join the challenge, you must use ODBD stamps and have your submission added to Mr. Linky by Sunday, January 7th at 8:00 pm EST. If you upload to Splitcoaststampers or any other online gallery, please use the keyword: ODBDSLC136. When creating your post on your blog, please include a direct link to the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by... please take some time to check out the beautiful projects created by my fellow "sticks" Lori, Jan Marie, Jan, Kathy,and Chris. To join in the fun, please click here.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI cream & kraft; SU! pink; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Inks:  Ranger Old Paper; SU! Pink Pirouette & Memento Tuxedo Black; Lace:  May Arts; Pink Ribbon:  SU!; Roses:  unknown.

Let the Heavens.....

Hello friends!!  Wow... time sure is flying!! Christmas is right around the corner.  Spent the last several days putting up our two Christmas trees.  I was worried it was going to take me longer, but thankfully it didn't... yay!!!  May try to take pictures of them at some point... both are decorated entirely in Hallmark ornaments are pretty darn cute!  

Anywhoo... inbetween getting the trees outs of storage, along with all those Hallmark ornaments, putting them up and decorating them, I managed to get a few cards made.  The one I'm sharing today is for the current Catered Crop challenge (Silver & Gold... I went with silver) and the current Deconstructed Sketch challenge.  The card was made using things that were close at hand on my kitchen counter.  The patterned paper is from a Stampin Up! designer paper pack from last year called Frostwood Lodge.  The stamp is from a new Hero Arts set Heavens Rejoice.  I stamped the sentiment using VersaMark watermark ink, applied silver ultrafine embossing powder and heat set it.  When I was done I was quite surprised at how nicely the embossing turned out.  Sometimes when I embossed sentiments the wording can end up not so clear, but this time it was perfect.  The fishtail flag banners were cut using my MFT fishtail flag stax dies.   Finished things off with some red bakers twine and two silver bells. 

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI; SU! Garden Green & Cherry Cobbler; DP:  Frostwood Lodge; Ink:  VersaMark watermark ink; Embossing Powder:  Ranger UltraFine Silver; Baker's Twine:  The Twinery - Red; Bells:  Michaels; Dies:  MFT Fishtail Flag Stax dies

turn your face....

hello friends!   got a chance to make a card for the current flourishes challenge.  i love flourishes stamps, but lately it seems i hardly ever get a chance to get something done for their weekly challenges.  but i loved the inspiration photo for this week's challenge and was determined to get something made.  i used the current deconstructed sketch to help me along.

 

i'm pretty happy with how well this card turned out given the fact that i have been dealing with a migraine all day.  i hate migraines!!!  i don't get really, really bad ones like some people do, but occasionally i will get one that just saps my energy.  i have that kind today.... dinner will be pizza!!  anywhoo... i used one of my favorite flourishes sets, sunflowers, along with my very favorite dies... my favorite things fishtail flag stax.  i use them so much i think i'm going to wear them out!!  papers are from my mind's eye lost & found 2 sunshine 6x6 pad. 

well... that's about all from me...  thanks for stopping by...

supplies:  cardstock: pti cream; stampin up! crumb cake; pp:  my mind's eye; stamps:  flourishes; ink:  pti vintage cream & versafine vintage sepia; dies:  my favorite things; twine:  may arts; button:  pti

unleash your joy.....

hello friends!   have a card today that i made for the flourishes "think pink" challenge which closes in a few hours!  this week is release week at flourishes and when it is release week they always have fun challenges.  the "think pink" challenge was the only one i was able to get completed in time.  

when i saw the challenge theme i knew right away i would use my flourishes sweet peas set.  it is one of the first flourishes set i purchased and it is still one of my favorites.  i stamped the smaller sweet pea image using tuxedo black ink, colored the image with copics and then die cut it with a plain spellbinders die.  the papers i used are from my mind's and the lovely bit of lace is a little freebie that i received in a recent order from the funkie junkie.   the banners were cut using my MFT fishtail flag stax dies.  the sentiment is from the flourishes country charm labels set.  the layout is courtesy of the current deconstructed sketch.  as the lace i used is from the funkie junkie i'm going to pop this into the sunday share at frilly & funkie.

thanks for stopping by....

supplies:  cardstock:  pti white & kraft; pp:  my mind's eye; stamps:  flourishes; ink:  memento tuxedo black; lace:  funkie junkie; dies:  spellbinders & my favorite things; copic markers

ODBDSLC123... Make Your Own Background

Hello friends!!  Its  Tuesday and that means time for a brand new Shining the Light challenge!! This week the challenge team is asking you to get out your stamps and create your own background.  You can use single stamps or background stamps for this challenge.

For my card I used one of my most favorite ODBD sets:  Faith.  I just love the butterfly branch image, as well as the verses and sentiments that are found in the set.  I used a subtle color combination that was pulled from the My Mind's Eye 6x6 Bluebell pad that I used.  I found a piece of paper from the pad that had a subtle grid pattern on it and then stamped the butterfly branch image using Stampin Up!'s River Rock.   Two pieces were cut from this piece.  The larger piece, as well as a strip.  Both pieces were matted using River Rock cardstock.  The verse, Psalm 36:5, was stamped using Hero Arts Splash chalk ink and then die cut using a Spellbinders plain circle die.  That piece was matted using River Rock, as well.  The layout for the card is based on the current Deconstructed Sketch.  I finished off the card with some twine, Prima roses and a little punched butterfly.
As always, we will be giving out a prize, a $15.00 gift certificate to be used toward stamps at the Our Daily Bread Designs store!!! Entries for the prize must be submitted by Sunday, September 23rd at 8:00 pm EST. One random winner will be chosen and announced on Tuesday. While it is not required to use Our Daily Bread Design images and sentiments on your projects, we would definitely love to see them if you have them!! As a way of recognizing those who do use ODBD stamps we will be choosing three or more of our participants for the Shining the Light Award. In order to qualify for this award or join the challenge, you must use ODBD stamps and have your submission added to Mr. Linky by Sunday, September 23rd at 8:00 pm EST. If you upload to Splitcoaststampers or any other online gallery, please use the keyword: ODBDSLC123. When creating your post on your blog, please include a direct link to the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by... please take some time to check out the beautiful projects created by my fellow "sticks" Lori, Jan Marie, Jan, Kathy, Chris, and this month's guest designer, Kathrine! To join in the fun, please click here

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! River Rock; Stamps:  ODBD Faith; Inks:  River Rock & Splash chalk ink; Twine:  May Arts; Flowers:  Prima; Dies:  Spellbinders

ODBDSLC.... Week 2 - Still in Stitches

Hello friends!!  Happy Tuesday!  Here with a post for ODBDSLC121.  This challenge is a two week challenge so there is still plenty of time to get your project done and posted!  All the information regarding the challenge can be found here.  And since this is the beginning of a new month we have a new guest designer to introduce... the super talented Kathrine!  Make sure you stop by her blog and leave her some love!!

detail shot

This week I'm really kinda stretching the challenge to use stitching, real or faux, on your card.  My stitching can be found on the ribbon I used for my card.  The layout comes from the current Deconstructed Sketch.  I used some papers from one of the new My Mind's Eye collections:  Bluebell.  I kept everything very soft by distrssing all the edges of my card with Rangers Old Paper distress ink.  Old Paper is my favorite because it provides that aged look without coming on too strong like Tea Dye or Vintage Photo can.  I die cut some of the patterned paper using the ODBD tag die and then stamped the image and sentiment from Grow in Grace using Scattered Straw and Peacock Feathers distress ink.  Because the stamping is so soft I decided to take a detail shot of the tag so that you can see the stamping better. The fishtail flags were cut using my favorite dies from My Favorite Things.   The die cut behind the tag was cut using a Spellbinders Labels 25 die.  I finished things off with the stitched ribbon, a Prima rose and some cream twine.  

Thanks for stopping by... please take some time to check out the beautiful projects created by my fellow "sticks" Lori, Jan Marie, Jan, Kathy, Chris, and this month's guest designer, Kathrine! To join in the fun, please click here

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI cream; PP:  My Mind's Eye Bluebell; Stamps:  ODBD Grow in Grace; Ink:  Ranger Old Paper, Scattered Straw & Peacock Feathers; Ribbon:  PTI Vintage Cream; Twiine:  PTI Rustic Cream; Rose:  Prima

To Distress or Not to Distress....

That might be the question.... and for me it was to distress, my card that is!  Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.  The sun is shining, the temperature is perfect and Mt. Rainier is out in all its stunning glory!  I just love days like these.  Anywhoo... on to my card.

A few weeks ago I entered a little card I made in a couple of challenge.  One of them being the "white pages" challenge at Catered Crop and low and behold that little card was picked by the super talented Linda owner of Catered Crop as one of the "winning recipe" cards!!   As my British bloggy friends would say I was "completely chuffed" or very happy!  And because of that win I got the opportunity to participate in this week's "Quickfire" round for the new Catered Crop challenge No Stress to Distress.  How fun is that???  Super fun in my book!  So what to do, what to do.... I know!  Use the current Deconstructed Sketch.

I have had a 6x6 pad of Cosmo Cricket's Odds & Ends papers for ages, but had never used it so I decided to remedy that situation and use it for my card.  I made the card a 5" square as the Sizzix Doily die I wanted to use creates a rather large doily and needed a big space. I used two types of distressing for the card, ink distressing using Ranger's Old Paper distress ink and paper distressing using my handy distressing tool from Close to My Heart.   The banner was die cut using a My Favorite Things Fishtail Flag Stax die and the sentiment was stamped using Stampin Up! Cherry Cobbler.  The fishtail flag was then inked with Old Paper which for some reason causes the SU! ink to smear, but not to worry because I really like how it looks.  A Prima rose and some loops of twine finished off the card.

Thanks for stopping by... make sure to check out the Catered Crop challenge!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft and cream; PP:  Cosmo Cricket; Stamps:  Hero Arts; Ink:  Ranger Old Paper & SU! Cherry Cobbler; Rose:  Prima; Twine:  May Arts

Pink Butterfly...

Hello friends!!   Have a card I made for a few challenges.  A few weeks ago I entered a card into the Deconstructed Sketch challenge (love that challenge!) and to my delight discovered the following week that Jen, the super talented creator of said Deconstructed Sketch, had picked my card as one of her favorites!!  So cool!!!   My card today uses the current Deconstructed Sketch and the color combo from Dynamic Duos (pink and celery green).  I'm also going to pop this into the current Catered Crop challenge to use white.

The stamps are from two Taylored Expressions sets:  Make it Amazing and Vintage Dreamer.  I stamped the butterfly from Make it Amazing using Pretty in Pink ink and then die cut it using the matching TE butterfly die.  The circular image from Vintage Dreamer was stamped using Certain Celery and then die cut using a Spellbinders plain circle.  I used my Swiss Dot embossing folder on the green cardstock so that everything wasn't quite so flat.  The bow was made using my absolutely adorable bow die set from Lil' Inker Designs.   I did modify the bow a bit by cutting the tail piece in half and then arranging the ends as you see. 

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! Pretty in Pink; Close to My Heart green; Inks:  Pretty in Pink and Certain Celery; Dies:  Taylored Expressions, Spellbinders & Lil' Inker Designs; Swiss Dot EF

Happy Birthday to You....

Hello friends!!  The week is half way over, the weekend is fast approaching and the summer is just flying by!  Can't believe I need to start thinking about getting my kids school supplies and new clothes!!  Yikes!!  

Anywhoo... have a little card I made using the current Desconstructed Sketch.  Last week I was super excited to see that Jen had picked the card I submitted to her last DS challenge as one of her weekly favorites!!  That had me smiling all day long!!  This week I'm totally bummed because I wasn't able to get the card entered in time!!  Shoot!!   Entering the card in the Flourishes Birthday Wishes challenge.  The papers are from the Cosmo Cricket Tea for Two 6x6 pad and the stamps are from Flourishes, of course. 

I hadn't done one of my litte ribbon/tag combos in a while and decided to make one for this card.  The tag was stamped using Memento Bamboo Leaves and the sentiment using SU!'s So Saffron.  The ribbon (as well as the papers) is from my July Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients kit.  The buttons are from DeNami Designs and the twine is from May Arts.

Thanks for stopping by.....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft; Bazzill cream & dark red; Stamps:  Flourishes:  Country Charm Labels & Botanical Bookplates; PP:  Cosmo Cricket; Ribbon:  unknown; Twine:  May Arts; Buttons:  DeNami Design; Dies:  Spellbinders Plain & Scallop circles & Grommet Tags

you're amazing....

Hello friends!!  A quick post with a card I made for the current JUGs challenge that uses the current Deconstructed sketch.   Haven't done a JUGs challenge in ages!  Not entirely sure why other than by the time I get around to thinking about doing the challenge it is over!   But this time I was determined that I would get something made before the challenge ended.  The challenge this week is to make a project based on a beautiful inspiration photo.  I was pretty literal in my intrepretation, I think.

Anywhoo... for my card I used the Taylored Expressions set "Make it Amazing" and the card stock and papers are from one of my Taylored Expression Key Ingredients kit (I don't remember which month).  That particular kit came with a pad of 6x6 papers from Echo Park, the This & That line.  The butterfly was stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black, colored with Copic markers and die cut using the matching TE butterfly die.  The little twiggy branch was also stamped and die cut using the matching TE die.  The zig zag piece was die cut using a die from My Favorite Things.   I finished off the butterfly by adding a bit of Diamond Stickles to the body and wings.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  Bazzill smooth cream, textured coral and green; PP:  Echo Park; Stamps:  Taylored Expressions; Ink:  Memento  & Stampin Up!; Copic Markers; Dies:  Taylored Expressions & My Favorite Things.

Love is a fruit...

Hello, friends!!  Today I have a card that is not clean and simple, but more on the shabby chic side of things.  I love moving between those two styles of cardmaking (and you may just see me combine the two!).  CAS is my preferred style, but I do creating cards with multiple layers, lace, and embellishments.    My card is for the current Timeless Tuesday challenge to put the focus on your sentiment.   The layout is from the current Deconstructed Sketch. 

I used the Flourishes set "Mother's Words of Wisdom" and some sweet papers from Websters Pages (Western Romance).   Not much to say... all the cardstock and papers were distressed with my distressing tool.  The sentiment was stamped on patterned paper using Vintage Sepia ink and then punch out with an SU! tag punch.  I created the mat by adhering the tag to some kraft cardstock and then trimming it out.   The lace and twine are from May Arts and the flowers are from Prima. 

Thanks for stopping by... hope to be back later with my Less is More card.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Rustic Cream and Kraft; Stamps:  Flourishes:  PP:  Websters Page; Roses:  Prima; Twine & Lace:  May Arts; Punch: SU!; Ink:  Vintage Sepia

A Couple of Cards

Hello, friends!  Hope you are having a lovely week.  This is the last week for school for my big kid.  He has been moping about since last Tuesday (June 12) as that was supposed to be the last day of school.   Alas, a teacher strike at the beginning of the school year and an ice storm in January conspired to push back the end of school.   While I am a little sad that his summer vacation is a little bit shorter this year, he will get over it!

Anywhoo... have a couple of cards that I have made in the last few days.  One card is for the current Sketchbook Saturday sketch challenge.  I just love that challenge because it is a "just for fun" challenge.  No one is judging your card and you can just take the sketch where you want to go with it. Sweet Chupa envisioned this sketch as a one layer card, but I wasn't in the mood for one layer so I added the additional layer. I'm still in my white on white mood so this one is definitely clean and simple.  For this card I also used this week's Splitcoaststampers color challenge:  SU!'s Always Artichoke, Cajun Crazy & Chocolate Chip.  I don't have the Cajun Crazy color so I used SU!'s Pumpkin Pie instead.  The floral image is from Stampin Up! and called "Field Flowers".  The sentiment was stamped and then diecut using a My Favorite Things Fishtail Flag Stax die. (I think that die set has officially become my favorite die set of all time!).  The it was popped up as shown.

The second card is for Deconstructed Sketch #56.  This is also a "just for fun" kinda challenge which is why I was drawn to it as well.  For this card I went with a white card base and then added in the color using my Taylored Expressions June Key Ingredients kit.   I used the new TE stamp set Delightful Day that was designed to coordinate with the Echo Park Hello, Summer 6x6 pad that is part of the KI kit.  The stamp set  and the paper pad are absolutely adorable and I can see myself reaching for both of them alot in the future. I should let you know that until July 10th the stamp set is only available to Key Ingredients subscribers.    All the cardstock and embellishments are from the kit, as well.  I stamped the floral image using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored some of the flowers with Copic markers.  Buttons from the kit were adhere to two of the flowers.   Overall I pretty happy with the card, except for the little strip at the bottom.  I keep thinking that I should have added some patterned paper to it, but then, again, maybe not!

Thanks for stopping by... hope your summer is off to a wonderful start!!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Bazzill Smooth white, Starmist, Parakeet & Berry Blush; Stamps:  Stampin Up! and Taylored Expressions; Ink:  Stampin Up! and Memento; Copic Markers; Embellishments:  Taylored Expressions June Key Ingredients kit; Dies:  My Favorite Things & Spellbinders; Punch:  Fiskars Threading Water;  

Dad....

Hello, friends!  Hope your week is going well.   So far so good here, except that the weather is not so great. Hopefully that will change in the next few days.   Anywhoo... on to my card.  I can't believe it, but I actually got a card done for the current Timeless Tuesday challenge and I got it done on the first day of the challenge!    I had been wanting to make a card using the current Deconstructed Sketch and the new TT challenge was the perfect fit.

This week the challenge is to make a father's day card.   I only have one set from Flourishes that has father's day sentiments in it and that is "What a Catch", so I got that out and went to work.  I was also being thrifty today and dug through all my scraps to come up with the patterned papers to use on the card.  I believe they are from the My Mind's Eye Breeze 6x6 pad. I had a headache earlier as I was making the card so I decided to keep things simple and not spend the extra time coloring the fish image.  But I have to say that I really like how it looks simply stamped using SU!'s Taken with Teal ink.  I stamped the word "Dad" on the main image panel and then finished off the inside (sorry didn't take a picture) with additional sentiments from the set that say "You're so fly.  Happy Father's Day".

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Kraft & white; SU! Island Indigo; Stamps:  Flourishes:  What a Catch; Ink:  SU! Taken with Teal & Chocolate Chip; Bakers Twine:  Flax from the Twinery; Papers:  My Mind's Eye

Let Your Dreams...

Hello, friends!!   Seems like ages since I last posted, but it has only been a few days.  I'm in a bit of a crafting funk right now and not feeling very creative.    Not sure what is going on, but I have been feeling like I need to just take a bit of a creative break.   Even though I have been feeling that way I did manage to make a couple of cards today.  I will be sharing one in a few days and the other one I'm going to share right now.  I made this one for the current Frilly & Funkie challenge to use kraft and twine.  When I saw that challenge I just had to play along as I just love creating with kraft cardstock.    The layout is from the current Deconstructed Sketch (I am really lovin' the Deconstructed Sketches!).

I went with a teal, white and kraft combo.  This came about based on the patterned papers that I pulled from the My Mind's Eye Follow Your Heart 6x6 pad.   All that stamps used are from the Taylored Expressions set Be Amazing.   I followed the sketch very closely and kept things very simple.  I brought in a bit of funky on the card by using some corrugated cardstock that I got from the Funkie Junkie Etsy shop.   A bit of frilly was brought into the project by distressing the edges a bit and adding the little rose to the center of the little butterfly (Part of a little gift that I received with my last purchase from the Funkie Junkie.  Please take a moment to check out Linda's shop... she has LOTS of really fun items!).   The twine (from PTI) ended up being a bit on the thin side and so I'm not completely satisfied with it, but it is what it is!

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & kraft; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Corrugated CS - Funkie Junkie; Stamps:  Taylored Expressions; Twine:  PTI; Rose:  unknown; Ink:  SU! Taken with Teal & Crumb Cake

Sunday Evening Post...

Hello, friends!!   Hope everyone in the US is enjoying the long weekend.  Have a couple of cards to share.  I made one using the current colors from ColourQ, but missed out on getting it posted in time for the challenge and the current Deconstructed Sketch.  I'm not entirely happy with the card as I don't think I combined the colors very well, but that is the point of a challenge... to challenge yourself!   The stamps are from the Taylored Expressions limited edition set "Vintage Dreams", as well as another TE set "Make it Amazing".   The patterned paper and the brads are from one of my TE Key Ingredients kits -- March, I think.  The cardstock is PTI.  And I think I can officially say that I absolutely LOVE my Fishtail Flag Stax Die-namics dies from My Favorite Things.  They are the coolest dies evah!!  I couldn't figure out where to put a sentiment so I cut a fishtail flag using the smallest die in the set and stamped it with the sentiment from "Make it Amazing".  I clipped it to the larger fishtail flag using a mini binder clip that was embellished with a twine bow.

The second card is for the current The Craft's Meow sketch challenge.   The challenge lasts for the entire month, but for some reason I just can't seem to get my card done any earlier than several days before the challenge closes!   Anywhoo... for this card I used some really pretty papers from a Me & My Big Ideas 8x8 paper pad.  My sister-in-law gave me the pad for Christmas and for someone who knows nothing about papercrafting she managed to pick a really good one!  The stamps are from The Craft's Meow, of course, two different sets, Beautiful Spring and Thanks Bee to Thee.   The sentiment from Thanks Bee to Thee didn't fit on the fishtail flag I diecut, so I masked off the bottom portion and inked up only the "thanks".  Worked pretty good.  I stamped the large butterfly on some of the patterned paper using black ink and trimmed it out.  The smaller one was stamped on white cardstock using pink ink and trimmed out.  The two were then layered together and the rhinestone added.  I really like the very clean look of this card.

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI - white & kraft; PP:  Echo Park This & That; Me & My Big Ideas; Stamps:  Taylored Expressions & The Craft's Meow; Brads:  Echo Park; Border punch:  EK Success

make a wish....

{For my Shining the Light post, click here}

Hey there!  Back with a card for The Craft's Meow's birthday celebration and I just squeakin' in with this one.  I had hoped to get the card done yesterday, but unfortunately the new TCM stamps I had ordered did not land in my mailbox like I had hoped.  Finally they arrived this afternoon!    Once I had then in my hot little hands I went to work.

For this particular TCM challenge we were given a birthday inspiration photo and asked to make a birthday card.  I decided to go with some of the bright cheerful colors that can be found in the inspiration photo.  My card actually used three different TCM sets:  Fly Free, Butterfly Kisses & Simply Delightful.   The layout for my card comes from this week's Deconstructed Sketch.  All the patterned papers are from Stampin Up!.  I have way too much SU! patterned paper and so I'm on a mission to use them up.   I have noticed lately that a lot of people are finishing the interiors of their cards and so I thought I would give it a try with this card.  I kept it pretty simple, though.  

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & SU! pale pink; PP:  SU!; Inks:  SU! & Memento; Stamps:  The Craft's Meow; Button:  SU!; Dies:  Spellbinders

Silent Night....

Hey there!!  Happy Wednesday!  Have another Christmas card using non-traditional colors.   This card is for this week's ODBD Shining the Light challenge to have bells or baubles hanging from your card and the City Crafter's challenge to make pink the focus of a Christmas card.

For my card I used the ODBD Poinsettia background stamp and a sentiment from the ODBD Holly Tag set.   The papers are from the SU! paper pack called Beau Chateau.   The ink is SU! Pink Pirouette and Marina Mist.  I used some of that absolutely yummy May Arts crinkle ribbon for the bow.  It took me a while to figure out how I was going to attach the bells, but finally got it right this morning.  As I was finishing up the card it struck me as funny that I was putting bells on a card with a sentiment saying "Silent Night, Holy Night"!   I did some distressing (with ink and a distressing tool) to soften things up a bit.  The layout is from Deconstructed Sketch (DS28).

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! DP - Beau Chateau; Ink:  SU! Pink Pirouette & Marina Mist; Ranger Old Paper Distress Ink; Bells:  Joann's; Ribbon:  May Arts Pink crinkle ribbon; Twine:  The Twinery; Button:  PTI; Punch:  EKSuccess