a little kindness...

Hello!!  I'm back with a card that I made using the current Sketchbook Saturday sketch and the color combo from ColourQ.  I'm also going to pop this into the current AAA Card challenge watercolor.  I hope my splatters of color are sufficient for the challenge.

When the new Stampin Up! catalog came out I was immediately drawn to a set called Kinda Eclectic.  I finally was able to purchase it and picked it up from my SU! demo, Jenna, this morning.  When I got home with it I immediately set about creating my card.  I knew I wanted to layer some of the stamps so I started with the large sun image from the set and stamped it in Early Espresso.  The leafy image was layered on using Certain Celery.  I cut the white cardstock piece and then splattered it with some watered down Real Red ink.  A strip of kraft colored washi tape was added.  The leaf image was inked with the green ink then rolled in Early Espresso and trimmed out.  I repeated the process rolling the image in Real Red and trimmed out.  These pieces were adhered and the sentiment banner was adhered on top.  I split up the sentiment by masking it as needed.  The butterfly was inked with kraft ink and then rolled in Real Red, punched out and adhered as you see.  Finished things off with a large sequin on the body and clear sequins scattered around the card.  Added in a detail shot of the cluster of images. 

 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  Stampin Up! Crumb Cake; white; Stamps:  Stampin Up!; Inks:  Stampin Up! Certain Celery, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Real Red; Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh clear; Die:  Reverse Confetti Tag Me

congratulations...

Hello there!   Managed to make a card today... yay!  I know many of you have found yourself at various times in a place where you feel like your creativity has fled to places unknown...never to return!   Well, I have found myself in that place several times over these last few months.   I try to make something, anything, but to no avail.  This past week I have found myself, once again, in that place.  In an effort to combat this vague sense of malaise I decided to make a card and bake cookies, at the same time.  Thankfully both the card and the cookies turned out fine!  In fact my little guy pronounced my cookies "amazing"... I didn't ask him about the card, lol.  You can be the judge!
I used items from the Crate Paper Close Knit line, Avery Elle stamps and dies (Petals & Stems) and the current Sketchbook Saturday layout as my blue print.  I will be linking this up to the current AEI {heart} U challenge:  one word.  And since there is a ton of die cutting I think I will link it up to Virginia's View #5.   Given the state of crafting mind I'm rather pleased with how it turned out.  Maybe I should bake cookies and make cards at the same time on a regular basis!  I would love to hear what you do to get yourself out of a creative funk.  Now... here are the cookies.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Close to My Heart yellow; Stamps:  Avery Elle Petals & Stems; Dies:  My Favorite Things Jumbo Fishtail Flag Stax; Spellbinders plain square & rectangle dies; Avery Elle Petals & Stems dies; Ink:  Memento Ladybug, Tuxedo Black, Pistachio & Cantaloupe, Stampin Up! Ink Pirouette; Patterned paper:  Crate Paper

CMCC #26.. sparkle

Hello friends!!  Wednesday has arrived and that means time for a new Colour Me...! challenge.  This week is a little bittersweet as this is my final posting as a member of the Colour Me...! team.  I want to thank Tara and Hayley for letting me be a part of the very first Colour Me...! design team.  It has been so much fun and I have enjoyed the challenge of creating something each week to show case all the color combos!  This week is a combo that I really, really like... yellow, green, turquoise/aqua and dark brown (SU! colors:  Delightful Daffodil, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise and Pear Pizzazz).  All the details can be found on the Colour Me...! blog.   The design of my card is based on the current Sketchbook Saturday layout.  The challenge at Addicted to Stamps & More is "anything goes" so I will be adding this to their gallery, too.

I used stamps from the Precious Remembrance Shop set New Day.  I stamped the brushstroke image in the yellow green and turquoise inks using the generational stamping method to get that gradient look.  The sentiment was stamped using the dark brown in.  Some clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh finished things off. 

Please check out the projects created by my fellow teamies Tara, Hayley, Sam, Katie, Brenda and June guest designer, Shirley!

Thanks for stopping by... I hope you will check out my post over on the Precious Remembrance Shop blog.  Here is a little peek of the card that I am sharing:

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  Precious Remembrance Shop; Inks:  Stampin Up!; Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh

bee... loved

Hey there!!  Have a card to share for this my 1,000th post!!  Kinda crazy that I have posted 1,000 times!!  My card is for the current Color Throwdown challenge and uses the current Sketchbook Saturday layout.  I also made it with the CASology cue word in mind even though it isn't super clean and simple given all the stamping that I did. 

I used stamps from several different companies:  Stampin Up! (the bee), Verve and My Favorite Things.  The inks are Hero Arts (Wet Cement), Sampin Up! (Coastal Cabana) and Palette (Belle Rose).  I started by inking up the honeycomb image (MFT) with Coastal Cabana and then wiping off some of the ink before stamping.  Then the arrows (Verve) were stamped using the Belle Rose ink.  The bee was stamped using Wet Cement and die cut using the companion die.  A strip of Coastal Cabana paper was cut, stamped with the sentiment (Verve) using Wet Cement and adhered to the cardstock piece.  A thin strip of Sahara Sand cardstock was added along with the bee and some My Mind's Eye enamel dots.  Some platters of Wet Cement were added to finish things off.  The entire piece was mounted on a Sahara Sand card base.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! Sahara Sand; SU! dsp; Stamps:  My Favorite Things Distressed Backgrounds, Verve Take Note & So Fluttery; SU! Backyard Basics; Dies:  SU! Backyard Basics; Inks:  SU!, Hero Arts & Palette; Enamel Dots:  My Mind's Eye

PTI May Blog Hop... for the record

Hey there!!  Happy Memorial Day to everyone here in the US... hope you are enjoying the long weekend!!  It is May 25th and that means time for the PTI blog hop.  This month we were challenged to use aqua and melon on our project.  I have the aqua for sure, but had to figure out if I had an ink color that fit the "melon" category.  Thankfully I found that my SU! Groovy Guava ink is a perfect melon color.

It is safe to say that I love PTI's Feather Finery set.  Not sure what it is about feathers, but right now they have captured my attention and my heart, lol!  I used the medium sized feather and stamped it in SU!'s Coastal Cabana and Groovy Guava.  I then smooshed some of both colors on to my craft mat, added lots of water and then splattered away.  The sentiment is from the PTI set Cutting Garden.   I added the gold baker's twine and a strip of melon colored cardstock to the side of the piece.  Some aqua patterned paper was adhere to the card base and the main panel attached.   The layout is based on the current Sketchbook Saturday sketch.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stampin Up! Crisp Canteloupe; Inks:  SU! Coastal Cabana & Groovy Gauva, Memento Tuxedo Black; Stamps:  Feather Finery & Cutting Garden; Bakers twine:  SU! gold; Patterned paper:  Stampin Up!

be YOU tiful...

Hello, hello!! Beautiful day here in the PacNW!  The sun is shining and the birds are singing... makes me smile!   Can't believe I have posted every single day this week... I really try to not do that, but sometimes it happens!  And the fun just continues because... yep... I have a card to post!

This one started out as a card for just two different challenges:  Sketchbook Saturday and Reverse Confetti color challenge.   But when I saw my sweet (and super talented) bloggy friend Anita's post for Addicted to CAS (she is guest designing... YAY Anita!) I just had to add my card to that challenge, as well.  I also had to laugh when I read Anita's post because I share her desire to have things be well... neat and grunge (the ATCAS challenge) just isn't neat!  But I have been giving it a try... first with stamps and now actually trying splattering on my projects.  The randomness and messiness of splattering kinda unnerves me, but I'm starting to enjoy it more.   I used SU! reinkers in the following colors:  Certain Celery, Wisteria Wonder & Marina Mist.  I mixed each one with water and splattered away.  I would like to say it was liberating, but seriously... it wasn't, lol!   The arrows were die cut using my Reverse Confetti arrow die and then adhered.  I stamped the sentiment and image from the RC set Peacock Pretties, punches them out and adhered to the arrows.  Some pale lavendar baker's twine was tied to one arrow and the piece was adhered to the card base. 

Thanks for stopping by...

 

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps & dies:  Reverse Confetti; Inks:  Stamping Up!; Baker's Twine:  Stampin Up!

 

rain or shine...

(for my Precious Remembrance hop post please scroll down or click here)

Hello, hello!!  Looks like we are going to have a bit less rain and a bit more shine here in the pacific northwest this weekend... YAY!  Quick post with a card I made for a few challenges:  CASology (wet... do admit this isn't super CAS), Sketchbook Saturday, Verve (chevron chic) and Virginia's View #2 (stenciling).

 

Tried to get out of my comfort zone, again... not sure how well it went, but I'm trying people...I'm trying, lol!!   I colored some fibre paste with some SU! Coastal Cabana ink and then using a homemade stencil (created with PTI's chevron cover plate) applied it to my white cardstock piece.  Once it was dry I mixed a little bit more Coastal Cabana ink with water and splattered it (yep... I tried splattering!) on the cardstock.  The sentiment and image are from the Verve set Rain or Shine.   The squares were die cut using Spellbinders plain square dies.  So there it is... my funny little card! 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock: PTI white & Smoky Shadow, SU! Coastal Cabana; Stamps:  Verve; Ink:  Stampin Up! & Memento; Golden Fibre paste; Spellbinders dies

HAPPY... birthday

Hello friends!!  We are getting soaked, again, here in Western Washington!  Unfortunately that is the way it goes around here in the spring, lol!!  Got a bit of time to make a card for this week's Dynamic Duo (black & more mustard).  I even fit in the dessert option of dry embosing.   The layout is based on the current layout from Sketchbook Saturday.  My card was very definitely influenced by the gorgeous card Chupa made.

 

I combined the splatter stamps from SU!'s Gorgeous Grunge with the Hero Arts oldie, but goodie Three Ferns stamp and did one of my favorite things to do:  collage stamping.  A strip of More Mustard cardstock was wrapped with some black twine and the "birthday" was stamped in black.  The "happy" die cut in black and adhered to the strip.  The top corner of the piece was partially embossed using the SU! Decorative Dots embossing folder. Then the piece was mounted on a More Mustard card base.  I think this makes for the perfect masculine birthday card.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI White & black; SU! More Mustard; Stamps:  SU! Gorgeous Grunge, Hero Arts Three Ferns, Many Birthday Messages; Die:  PTI; Twine:  May Arts; Embossing Folder:  Stampin Up!; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! More Mustard

CMCC #10... thank you

Hello friends!!   Wednesday has rolled around again and that means time for a new Colour Me...! challenge!  And since it is the first Wednesday of the month that means you have one color plus neutrals to create with.  This week's color is Old Olive (a slightly yellowish green, not to light, not too dark).   We also have a brand new guest designer, too!!   The wildly talented Michelle!!  Make sure you check out her blog... you won't be sorry!

Since I was working with only one color and neutrals I decided to keep things simple.  I used the current sketch from Sketchbook Saturday for my layout.  The flowers (from the SU! Flower Shop set) were stamped in Old Olive and then punched out.  I found a bit of very old SU! designer paper in Old Olive for the main panel.  I cut a strip of vellum and stamped the sentiment (from the MFT set Big Greetings) on the vellum using Delicata Golden Glitz ink.  I poured on some clear embossing powder and heat set it.  I added a bit of the Golden Glitz ink to the centers of the flowers then adhered the vellum strip and the flower. 

Thanks for stopping by... please check out the projects created by my fellow teamies Tara, Hayley, Sam, Katie, Brenda and March guest designer, Michelle!

celebrating...

Hello friends!!   Got some time this morning to start a card and finished it up this afternoon.  I tried to get outside my box on this one... not sure how well that went, lol.  Recently I have been seeing a projects that people have created for a new challenge called "Cure for the Monday Blues".  Being intrigued by the title I decided to check it out.  The creator of the challenge Taheerah is the kind of paper crafter I sometimes wish I could be... always on trend and super creative.  So I was a bit, no actually A LOT, intimidated by the challenge.  But after I saw her most recent challenge and inspiration photo (isn't it just yummy??) I decided to give it a go and came up with this card.

I used Chupa's current Sketchbook Saturday layout for the card.  To keep things simple I used some burlap to emboss the bottom half of the white cardstock to create the look of the bottom panel on the sketch.  I added the fleur de lis image using pink ink and then added the washi tape in several places.  The label was die cut from vellum, adhered and then the banner (sentiment from PTI) was added.  Finished off with lots of sequins.  I was a bit worried it would turn out to be a "hot mess", but I think it looks okay.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies: Cardstock: PTI white; Vellum:  Close to My Heart; Stamps:  Waltzingmouse & PTI; Ink:  Stampin Up! and Memento; Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh & Ellen Hutson; Dies:  Reverse Confetti & Stampin Up!; Washi tape:  Jenny Bowlin

sweet life...

Hello friends!!  Popping in with a card that I made using the current ColourQ combo.  The colors are perfect for a valentine, but that's not what I made, lol!  The layout is based on the current Sketchbook Saturday sketch.  ETA:  Going to pop this into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge...twine or string

 

I pulled out my PTI Sweet Life stamps and dies and did some multi step stamping.  Initially I wasn't sure that I liked the stark contrast between the lighter pinks and the dark Primrose Petals ink, but now I really do.  I tried my hand at creating a little twine/thread nest (or in my case mess, lol!), but not sure that I will do it again any time soon.   One other thing I do like is the way the leaves turned out.  After die cutting them I stamped them with Pink Pirouette ink and added the veins with kraft... I love the way it looks.   As this is a very girly card I had to add a few sequins.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Patterned Paper:  SU! Fresh Prints; Stamps:  PTI Sweet Life; Dies:  Sweet Life; Ribbon:  PTI Sweet Blush; Twine:  May Arts pink; Sequins:  Lawn Fawn; Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black; SU! Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink & Primrose Petals; Swiss Dot embossing folder
 

CMCC #4... beautiful

Hello friends!!  Wednesday is here and that means time for a brand new color combo at Colour Me...!  This week we have some nice, bright colors for you used on your project.  All the details can be found here. 

 

For my card I used the current Sketchbook Saturday layout and some yummy Avery Elle stamps.  I created the wreath by stamping the wreath from AE set Winter Wreath four times in Memento Bamboo leaves.  I stamped the bow using Memento Angel Pink, trimmed it out and adhered it to the wreath.  The sentiment was stamped in black and then the sequins were added.  I distressed the edges a bit, too.

Thanks for stopping by... please check out the projects created by my fellow teamies Tara, Hayley, Sam, Katie, Brenda and January guest designer, Lesley.

Supplies:  Cardstock: PTI Rustic White; Stamps:  Avery Elle; Sequins:  Lawn Fawn & Verve; Inks:  Memento

warm wishes...

Hello friends!!   Wow... just a few more days until Christmas and my little guy just can't stand it that he has to wait that few more days!  He wants Christmas and he wants it now, lol!!  Haven't shared a card in a few days... Mo and Jo left town for a while on a pre-Christmas holiday, but I think they returned this afternoon and I was able to get something made.  Not my best effort... Mo and Jo are a bit tired from their trip!   This little number is for the current Dynamic Duos challenge and uses the new Sketchbook Saturday sketch.

I recently purchased two sets of Avery Elle stamps during Ellen Hutson's Christmas sale.  I inked up stamps from both sets for this card.   I stamped the wreath image from "Winter Wreath" using SU!'s Smoky Slate ink and then added the berries using Cherry Cobbler.  The bow was also stamped in Cherry Cobbler, trimmed out and adhered to the wreath.  I die cut the wreath using a Spellbinders plain circle die and matted it with black cardstock also cut with a plain circle die.  I cut the Cherry Cobbler cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot in my woodgrain embossing folder.  After adhering it to the card base I added some white lace and then layered on the wreath.  The sentiment (from the AE set "Let It Snow") was then added.  

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & black; SU! Cherry Cobbler; Ink:  SU! and Memento; Stamps:  Avery Elle; Lace:  The Funky Junkie; Dies:  Spellbinders dies

golden butterfly...

Hello friends!!  Have a quick little post to share a couple of things.  First, I have a post up over at the CardMaker blog sharing a little candle wrap I made. I hope you will check it out here.   Second, I have a card that I made using this week's Splitcoaststamper's color combo (gold, yellow and green) and the layout from Sketchbook Saturday.

My wonderful friend, Greta, sent me a lovely birthday card and along with it came some butterflies that she die cut using the Penny Black Delicate Wings die set.  Thank you, Greta!!!!  I have the Soft Wings stamp that matches the dies so I was really excited to receive them.   I stamped the die cuts using my Delicata Golden Glitz ink and then adhered them together.   I did a bit of die cutting and embossing and then layered up everything per the sketch.  Some yellow sequins and green pearls were added to the body.  The sentiment is from the Stampin Up! set Blooming with Kindness.  I really love this color combo... so refreshing and dare I say... spring like?? 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white, SU! Wild Wasabi; PP:  SU! Polka Dot Parade dsp; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black & Delicata Golden Glitz; Stamps:  Penny Black & Stampin Up!; Sequins:  Ellen Hutson; Pearls:  Hero Arts; Ribbon:  Stampin Up!

red white and snow...

Hello friends!!  I got a chance to do some paper crafting yesterday afternoon and after finishing a project that I will be posting later this week I wanted to make something "just because".  I didn't get the chance to make a card for the last Sketchbook Saturday and so was really motivated to get something made using the new sketch.  So I made this little number:

I went Christmas and pulled out my MFT Let It Snow Die-namics set, as well as the MFT set Seasonal Sentiments.  I had made another project using some patterned paper from the Teresa Collins Santa's List 6x6 pad and so used a scrap of that to make this card... love double sided paper!!  Getting this card together and finished was a bit of a struggle.  I had trouble with where I wanted the snowflakes to be and then when I finally got that accomplished I made a huge mess of stamping the sentiment!  But I was able to salvage the top portion of the card, attach it to a new piece of Rustic White cardstock and complete the card... YAY! 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI rustic white; SU! cherry cobbler & crumb cake; PP:  Teresa Collins; Ink:  SU! cherry cobbler; Dies:  MFT; Stamps: MFT; Rhinestones:  SU!

holly jolly...

Hello friends!!  Happy Saturday!!  Today is a pretty exciting day for me because I'm the guest designer for Sketchbook Saturday... YAY!  Sketchbook Saturday is probably my absolute favorite challenge to play along with and so to be asked to a guest designer... well I just couldn't say no!  As you all know the creator of Sketchbook Saturday is the wildly talented Chupa.  Not only does she have mad paper crafting skills she also knows how to put together the most creative sketches!  Okay... enough gushing, lol!!

When I got the sketch I would be working with I immediately thought of another one of my new Penny Black Christmas stamps, merry & bright.  I paired that stamp with some My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Christmas papers.  I stamped the wreath on cream cardstock using olive green ink, trimmed it out and then added the red rhinestones (I colored clear rhinestones with a dark red Copic marker).  A touch of Old Paper distress ink was added to the edges.   I cut the kraft cardstock piece, roughed up the edges a bit, stamped the sentiment (from the Penny Black set Christmas Wishes) and then adhered the fishtail flags.  After adhering the wreath I realized that the center looked a bit plain so I stamped one of the ornaments from the "merry & bright" set, adhered it and added the twine bow.  As a finishing touch I curved up the ends of the fishtail flags.

Thanks for stopping by... make sure you check out Sketchbook Saturday.  You won't be sorry!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft & cream; Patterned Paper:  My Mind's Eye; Stamps:  Penny Black; Ink:  SU! Old Olive & Cherry Cobbler, Ranger Old Paper; Rhinestones:  Recollections; Twine:  May Arts