Flourishes Birthday Fun...

Hello friends!!  I have a couple more cards that I made for the Flourishes birthday celebration!  Flourishes is turning 5 and they are having a party!!  And with that party comes some fantastic challenges and opportunities to wins some fabulous prizes.  I was determined to make sure that I completed all four challenges!  Last week I got two done and today I'm sharing the final two.

First up is my card for the color challenge.  I went with a really simple design for my card.  I used the Flourishes set Love and Lace to create a Mother's Day card.   I stamped the wreath image from the set using SU! Pumpkin Pie ink, die cut it with a Spellbinders plain circle die and then ink distressed the edges using Ranger's Old Paper distress ink.  The mother image as stamped using SU! Pretty in Ink, die cut and ink distressed, as well.  I inked the edges of the white cardstock piece with Old Paper ink, as well.  The two images were layered using foam dimensionals. The patterned paper is from the My Mind's Eye Bluebell 6x6 pad.  I finished the card of with some green pleated ribbon from Stampin Up! and a sentiment in the lower right hand corner.

 

 

My second card is for the sweet challenge.  When I saw that challenge I immediately thought of cupcakes or cake... and I don't have any Flourishes sets with either of those things in them!  The I had a "doh" moment!  I could use the peaches image from the Cherries & Peaches set.  I colored the image with Copics and then trimmed it out.  The mustard colored cardstock was die cut using a Labels 18 die with a portion of it trimmed off one side.  After tying the ribbon around the cardstock piece I layered the die cut, the peaches image and the buttons.  And once, again, I stamped the sentiment in the lower right hand corner!  Seriously... didn't plan that one!! 

Thanks for stopping by....

 

 



Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Bazzill coral and mustard; PP:  My Minds Eye; Stamps:  Flourishes; Ribbon:  PTI; Button:  PTI; Dies:  Spellbinders; Ink:  Memento, Stampin Up! and Ranger; Copic Markers

just because....

Hello friends!!!  Have a little card today for the current Dynamic Duos challenge.  The layout is based on Chupa's current Sketchbook Saturday sketch and boy oh boy did I give myself a challenge when I combined the two!  I spent quite sometime on this card to make the monochromatic color combo with the sketch, but in the end I think I succeeded quite nicely.

 

 

I used a favorite Taylored Expressions set called Make it Amazing.  The set is full of lovely butterfly images and beautiful sentiments.  The other thing I like about the set is that it has a set of matching dies which I used for the card.  Initially I had some patterned paper in the mix, but in the end got rid of it because it just wasn't working for me.   This was one of those cards that as I was putting all of the elements together I wasn't too sure it would work, but once I had the card completed I really liked the overall effect.   Thinking about putting this into one of the Moxie Fab challenges... the asymetrical challenge.  What do you think?    ETA:  Decided to pop this into the above mentioned MF challenge!

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & royal velvet; Inks:  SU! Wisteria Wonder & Memento Grape Jelly; Stamps:  Taylored Expressions; Dies:  Taylored Expressions & My Favorite Things Fishtail Flag Stax dies; Ribbon:  PTI Royal Velvet; Buttons:  PTI Plum Pudding

CCC #8.... Relax

{for my Shining the Light post, please scroll down or click here}

Hello... Its me, again!  Back with my card for this week's CASology challenge.  Wow... I was so completely blown away by all the fabulous cards that were entered into the green challenge!  It was soo hard picking the winner!  All I can say is ladies... You Rock!!!   This week the cue word is Relax.  All the challenge details can be found here.

 

Yes... I used green on my card this week!  I really wanted to use another color, but when I think about things that remind me of the word "relax" the color green is almost always associated with those thoughts!   Green is such a calm and relaxing color to me and I just had to use it!  I went with a white on white design with a pop of green from the ink, the ribbon and pearls.  The layout is based on the current Retro Sketch.  I used a Spellbinders Labels 18 die (the largest one) to cut the white cardstock and then stamped it with a fern image and sentiment from the Flourishes Ferns & Fiddles set.  One edge was trimmed to be flush with the card edge.  Ribbon and pearls finished things off.

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, Karen! Can't wait to see what you come up with using this week's cue word!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  Flourishes; Ink:  Stampin Up!; Die:  Spellbinders; Pearls:  Hero Arts; Ribbon:  Stampin Up!

ODBDSLC121... To Sew or Not to Sew...

Hello friends!! Its Tuesday and that means time for a brand new Shining the Light challenge!!  YAY!!!  This week the challenge team is asking you to use stitching (real or faux) on your project.  Because of the Labor Day holiday this challenge will run for two weeks, giving you plenty of time to play along.  This challenge marks the last challenge for our guest designer, Linda, so please make sure to stop by her blog and leave her some love!

Now, I'm going to be really honest when I say that this week's challenge was really difficult for me.  I would love to do real stitching on my cards but unfortunately I don't have the space for a sewing machine... not even a little one.   I'm fairly handy with a needle... I was an avid cross-stitcher, but I kinda ran out of time and so I had to resort to using some patterned paper from Stampin Up! that has stitching on it.     I used the ODBD set The Good Seed for my card.   I pulled colors from the patterned paper to use for the stamping.  The pail image was stamped using So Saffron ink and then the verse was overstamped using Hero Arts Latte chalk ink.  The image was die cut using a Spellbinders circle die and then ink distressed using Ranger's Old Paper distress ink.  The ribbon treatment was created using some cream May Arts crinkle riboon, buttons and twine.

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 9th 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 9th at 8:00 pm EST. If you upload to Splitcoaststampers or any other online gallery, please use the keyword: ODBDSLC121. 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, Sabrina and this month's guest designer, Linda! To join in the fun, please click here

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI cream & SU! Tempting Turquoise; DP:  Stampin Up!; Stamps:  ODBD The Good Seed; Ribbon: May Arts; Twine:  The Twinery; Buttons:  PTI; Dies:  Spellbinders; Ink:  Stampin Up!, Hero Arts & Ranger

ice cream....

Hello friends!! Had a super busy weekend and wasn't able to get anything done for the new Less is More challenge.  So this morning I decided to get something done.  When I saw the new CAS challenge at Splitcoaststampers I decided to combine it with the Less is More challenge:  3-2-1.  As per Chrissie and Mandi's request to explain what you used 3 of, 2 of and 1 of, I used three stamps (ice cream scoop, cone & sentiment), two papers and one button.

The CAS challenge at Splitcoaststampers is "summer treats".  As I was thinking about what I had that I could use for the challenge I remembered that I had a set from the Stamps of Life called "scream4icecream" that would be perfect for that challenge.  Then I realized that it would also work for this week's LIM challenge and my idea was born.  I used some papers from two different BasciGrey pads:  Shine On and Serendipity.  I stamped the scoop using dark pink ink and the cone using brown ink and trimmed them out.  The come was adhered to the card front and then the scoop was adhered using foam dimensionals.  A bit of green bakers twine was tied through a button and adhered to the scoop to finish things off.  Not my most CAS card, but it will still work for the LIM challenge.

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies: PTI kraft & white; PP:  BasicGrey;  Stamps:  Stamps of Life; Button:  PTI; Twine:  Twinery; Ink:  Stampin Up!

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

Banners & Daisies....

Hello friends!!  Friday has arrived and I have a couple of cards to share with you.   Flourishes (one of my favorite stamp companies!!) is turning five and they are celebrating with some fun challenges over on their blog.  And since you have until the end of the month to complete each challenge I thought I would play along (and the fact that they are giving away some fabby prizes doesn't hurt!!).

First up is a card for their banner challenge.  I had to think  for a bit about what Flourishes set I could use for the challenge and then remembered that the Peaches and Cherries set has these sweet little images of peaches and cherries.  After figuring out which images would fit best on the little My Favorite Things banner die I chose to use I decided to just go with the small cherry image.  I die cut banners, stamped two with the cherries and one with the sentiment.  After I got the images colored I punched small holes in the corners and then used some bakers twine to string them on.   The the little string of banners was adhered to the card.   I kept everything very simple for this card as I wanted to let the little banners take center stage.

The second card is for the sprinkles challenge.  I actually started this card days ago, but ran into some problems when I got to the adding sprinkles part.  Had to throw my entire image (that I spent along time coloring with my Copics) in the trash.  Wasn't very happy with that outcome.  So  I set the card aside until last night and put my second idea to work.  It turned out much better.  The layout for this card is based on another lovely sketch provided by Chupa.  Her Sketchbook Saturday sketches are always the best!! I colored the gerber daisies image with Copics (R29, R39, R89, YG93, YG95 & YG97) and then die cut it using my ODBD tag die.  After I die cut the image I added Buttercup Stickles glitter glue to the center of each flower.  The little banner was created by cutting a strip of cardstock and then using a small square punch to cut the fishtail ends.  I learned that little trick from my bloggy friend, Michelle, on this post.  The fence was die cut using a Memory Box die. 

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI and Bazzill; PP:  PTI and Cosmo Cricket; Dies:  My Favorite Things, Our Daily Bread Designs and Memory Box; Twine:  May Arts; Ranger Buttercup Stickles; Copic Markers; Bakers Twine:  The Twinery, Marvy small square punch

poppies....

Hello friends!  Summer is winding down and today was a sure sign!  Had to take my 8th grader to school this morning to get his class schedule and his ASB card.  Can't believe he is in 8th grade!! One more year and then high school!!  Eeeek!!   Next week I take my kindergartener (yes... I have one in 8th grade and one just starting school!) to meet his teacher.   It will be fun to see his reaction to his new school!    Anywhoo... on to my card....

Yesterday I got some new Stampin Up! goodies from my demo.  One of the things I purchased was the new stamp called Pleasant Poppies.  When I saw the new color combo over at ColourQ I immediately knew I wanted to use the Pleasant Poppies stanp for my card.  I got most of the elements of the card together last night, but didn't finish the card until this morning.  I colored just the poppy flowers using my Copic markers (YR04, YR07 & YR09) and then created the pleated element using some Tempting Turquoise cardstock.  I finished things off with some orange bakers twine and a little tag that was die cut using the PTI Tiny Tags dies.   My poppies are come across as more red than orange, but they are orange in color. 

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! Basic Grey; Stamps:  Stampin Up!; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic markers; Twinery Bakers Twine

CCC#7.... Goin' Green!!

{For my Shining the Light post, please click here or scroll down}

Hello... I'm back with my card for this week's CASology challenge.  This week the cue word is "green" and boy am I happy!!  I'm happy because green is my favorite color.  I like green so much that as a kid I would pull all the shades of green out of my Crayola box and color pictures using just those colors!!  Our guest designer this week is Aileen!  Anywhoo... on to my card!

Even though I was excited to use the color green on my card I did have a bit of s struggle figuring out what I wanted to do, so I searched around the blog-o-sphere and found this wonderfully CAS sketch over at CPS.  If you look closely at my card (and the sketch) you will notice that placement of some of the rhinestones creates that visual triangle that is so pleasing to the eye.  I used a favorite PTI set, Dot Spot, as well as the PTI set, Signature Greetings.  The image and sentiment were stamped using Stampin Up! Pear Pizzazz one of my favorite shades of green.  I custom colored the Want2Scrap rhinestones using a Copic marker.  I love that you can use your Copics to create your own custom embellishements.  

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, Aileen! Can't wait to see what you come up with using this week's cue word!

ODBDSLC120....A Sketch!!

Hello friends!!  It's Tuesday and that means time for another Shining the Light challenge.... YAY!! The challenge this week is a really fun sketch!! 


Have you ever made a card and when you got it all finished had no idea where some of your supplies came from?  Well that happened to me when I made this card.   I was so busy trying to get it done that I didn't keep track of what papers I used!   I think they came from the My Mind's Eye Dolled Up 6x6 pad, but I'm not completely sure.  Anywhoo... I used the ODBD set You Will Find Refuge along with the matching Chickadee die.  I stamped the little bird image, colored it with Copics and then die cut it with the Chickadee die.  Other dies used on the card are Spellbinders dies and my favorite dies from My Favorite Things:  Fishtail Flag Stax.   Those dies are the absolute coolest things ever!!    For some added interest I die cut the plain circle from a sheet of cork.  After I got the card together I realized there wasn't a good spot for a sentiment or verse so I finished the interior of the card with one of the verses from the set.  

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, August 26th 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, August 26th at 8:00 pm EST. If you upload to Splitcoaststampers or any other online gallery, please use the keyword: ODBDSLC120. 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, Linda! To join in the fun, please click here.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  Bazzill light blue and red; PTI white; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Stamps:  ODBD You Will Find Refuge; Dies:  ODBD, Spellbinders & My Favorite Things; Twine:  My Mind's Eye; Cork:  Taylored Expressions; Embellishments:  Clear Goosebumps - Queen & Co.; Copic Markers

You Make Me....Smile!

Hello friends!!   As another Saturday draws to a close I'm finally getting a chance to post my card for this week's Less is More challenge.  This week Chrissie and Mandi are asking us to tear our paper and/or cardstock... a technique that I haven't used in a very long time!!   Tearing cardstock or paper can make me crazy because it can be hard to tear some cardstock and make it look nice.  But I gave it a go for Chrissie and Mandi!!   I also combined the LIM challenge with this week's Dynamics Duo color combo of River Rock and Black.   

Today I got some happy mail in the form of two new stamp sets that I purchased from Ellen Hutson.  Ellen's business happens to be located about 30 miles from me so when I order things from her I get them right away... Yay!!!  I used one of the sets, Hero Arts/BasicGrey Special Lace, for my card.  I cut the white and black cardstock pieces and then tore the bottom of each piece.   After I stamped the sentiment I added the ribbon using a piece of River Rock ribbon (say that three times fast!!) a button and some twine.  Three small brads finished off the card. 

Thanks for stopping by.....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! River Rock & Bazzill Raven; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Ribbon:  SU! River Rock; Button:  DeNami Designs; Twine:  May Arts; Brads:  American Crafts

Let Life's....

Hello friends!!   Found some time today to make a card for the current Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge.  Haven't done a Timeless Tuesday in ages, but when I saw that the challenge was to use kraft I just had to make some thing.... I love me some kraft!!   I combined the challenge with Chupa's current Sketchbook Saturday sketch because.... I love me some Sketchbook Saturday sketches, lol!!

I just had to use one of my very favorite Flourishes sets, Sunflowers, for my card.  For me combining the sunflower images with kraft is like a marriage made in heaven... they go together perfectly!  Colored the large sunflower with Copic markers and then trimmed it out.  The Spellbinders Lacey circle was die cut from some yellow PTI Distressed Dots paper and then a Spellbinders Plain circle was die cut from Vintage Cream.  I stamped the smaller sunflower image on some kraft cardstock that was cut to fit the card front using VersaMark watermark ink and then the sentiment was stamped over that with Tuxedo Black ink.  I finished the card off with some Pure Poppy double stitched ribbon to pick up the red in the little ladybug sitting on the sunflower. 

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft and Vintage Cream; PP:  PTI Distress Dots; Stamps:  Flourishes; Dies:  Spellbinders; Copic Markers (Y21, Y23, Y35, Y38, E13 & E29); PTI Pure Poppy Double Stitch ribbon; Ink:  Tuxedo Black, VersaMagic

CCC #6... School Time

{for my Shining the Light post scroll down or click here.}

Hello friends... I'm back with my card for this week's CASology challenge!!  This week our cue word is "school".   You can find all the details for this week's challenge here.  Our guest designer this week is Shirley!!
 !

When I saw the cue word for this week I knew exactly what I was going to use to make my card.  A really cool set from Taylored Expressions called The Places You Will Go.  This set has some really fun images and great quotes from people like Dr. Seuss.  I made my card a graduation card and used one of the Dr. Seuss quotes along with a little balloon with morter board image.  The overall design was very plain so to jazz things up a bit I colored the hat with Copic markers and added some Diamond Stickles.  The last detail was to round one corner of the image panel, as well as the card base.

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, Shirley! Can't wait to see what you come up with using this week's cue word!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! Basic Grey; Stamps:  Taylored Expressions; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Diamond Stickles; Copic Marker; Fiskar corner rounder

ODBDSLC119.... With Sympathy

Hello friends!! Its Tuesday and that means time for another Shining the Light challenge!!  YAY!!  This week the challenge team is asking you to use sponging (or inking as I like to call it) on your project.  Once, again, we are joined by our very talented guest designer, Linda!

For my card I used the ODBD sets Bird & Butterfly Labels and Loving Memories.  I stamped the label using SU!'s So Saffron ink, die cut the label using the matching Labels 18 die and then applied Rangers Old Paper Distress ink to the image to create the soft look I wanted.   The papers are from the My Mind's Eye Follow Your Heart 6x6 pad... love those My Mind's Eye papers!!  The layout for the card is based on this month's Sketch for You to Try and once, again, I used my favorite Fishtail Flag Stax dies from My Favorite Things.  


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, August 19th 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, August 19th at 8:00 pm EST. If you upload to Splitcoaststampers or any other online gallery, please use the keyword: ODBDSLC119. 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, Sabrina and this month's guest designer, Linda! To join in the fun, please click here.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft and vintage cream; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Stamps:  ODBD; Inks:  Stamping Up! & Ranger; Dies:  Spellbinders and My Favorite Things; Brad:  My Mind's Eye;

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

Little Bird.....

Hello friends!!   Here with my card for this week's Less is More challenge.  This week is one layer cards and Chrissie and Mandi have asked us to use either "fur or feathers" on our projects.  I decided to go with feathers since I recently got the Our Daily Bread Designs set "You Will Find Refuge" set that has this sweet little bird in the set and I have been wanting to ink it up.   

I stamped the bird using VersaFine Vintage Sepia ink and then colored the image using Tsukineko Brushstix and various colors of VersaMagic ink.  This is my first time using the Brushstix on a card that I was willing to post on my blog so please be kind.  When I had previously tried using the Brushstix I realized that the type of cardstock I like to use (PTI's Stampers Select White) isn't the best choice.  So I tried it this time with a smooth cardstock and got a much better result.   Now that I have found a cardstock that works well with the Brushstix I hope to do more coloring with them. 

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  Bazzill smooth white; Stamps:  ODBD You Will Find Refuge & Thank You Messages; Inks:  VersaFine Vintage Sepia, VersaMagic Brick Red, Straw, Gingerbread, Jumbo Java, & Sahara Sand; Memento Tuxedo Black; Brushstix

True Strength.....

Hello friends!!  Happy Friday!  It is a gorgeous day here in Western Washington, but I won't be spending it outside.  Got too much to do today to get my oldest ready for a trip to California with his grandparents.    But I do have a card to share.  I made this one the other day knowing I wouldn't have too much time for crafting later in the week.  This is for the current CR84FN color challenge.  The colors this time around are a beautiful purple, blue and green.   And since I can't let the week end without making something for Chupa's Sketchbook Saturday challenge I used her lovely sketch.  And yes... I pretty much followed the sketch to a "T"!  I did think about trying to get outside my box with her sketch, but since I'm so very confortable inside it I decided to stay, lol!

The stamps are from a couple of PTI sets:  Women of Life (which I immediately thought of when I saw the sketch) and Remember.  I stamped the stem portion using Hero Arts Grass chalk ink and the flowers using Memento Danube Blue ink.  Blue rhinestones were added to the centers of the flowers.  The patterned paper (Damask Designs) and the ribbon (Royal Velvet) are also from PTI.   The card base is PTI's New Leaf... which I think really sets off the blues and purples rather nicely.  The sentiment was stamped using Tuxedo Black ink.    I'm quite pleased with how it turned out

Thanks for stopping by.....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & new leaf; PP:  PTI Damask Designs; Stamps:  PTI; Inks:  Hero Arts & Memento; Ribbon:  PTI; Gems:  Unknown

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

CCC #5 - Pond Life...

{for my Shining the Light post scroll down or click here)

Hello friends... I back with my post for this week's CASology challenge.  This week the cue word is "pond".  All the details can be found here.   Our guest designer this week is Joyce!

Once, again, when I saw the cue word I was a bit worried... what do I have that can be found in or around a pond???   First thing that came to mind was my Flourishes set "What a Catch".  The set has this cool image of a fish jumping out of the water as it tries to catch a fly which I used on the card.  I stamped the image using Memento's Tuxedo Black ink and then colored the image with Copic markers and then added the sentiment.  The layout I used is one that I have used many, many times for cards because it is tried and true and because it adheres to the simple design principle of creating a visual triangle.   The eye is naturally drawn to a visual triangle and it is easy to create one with your image and sentiment as I have done on my card.   The main image forms one side of the triangle while the sentiment forms another side.  The third side of the triangle is made by invisible connection between the end of the sentiment and the top of the image.  Make sense???  I hope so, lol!!

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, Joyce!   Can't wait to see what you come up with using this week's cue word!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  Flourishes; Ink:  Memento; Copic Markers

ODBDSLC118.... If You Have....

Hello friends!!  It's Tuesday and that means time for another Shining the Light challenge!!! Yay!!!  This week the challenge team is asking you to use scripture on your project.  And as this is the first challenge for August the challenge team in welcoming the August guest designer, Linda, to the challenge team!!

I have had the ODBD set "Seed Packet" for quite sometime and finally got a chance to ink it up for this week's challenge.  The layout for my card is based on the current ISpy sketch.  I love the simplicity of the sketch and felt it was perfect to help me showcase the beautiful verse from the Seed Packet set.  The Bible is full of so many wonderfl verse, but I just love this one from Matthew 17 because it is just so very true... all you need is faith as tiny as mustard seed in what God can do and nothing will be impossible!  I framed the verse with papers from the My Mind's Eye Indie Chic Citron 6x6 pad and buttons from PTI.  The fishtail banners were die cut using my Fishtail Flag Stax dies from My Favorite Things.   I added a bit of twine to the buttons to give them a more finished look.  For some reason I just don't like empty button holes, lol!!

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, August 5th 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, August 5th at 8:00 pm EST. If you upload to Splitcoaststampers or any other online gallery, please use the keyword: ODBDSLC117. 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, Sabrina and this month's guest designer, Linda! To join in the fun, please click here.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & kraft; Stamps:  ODBD; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Buttons:  PTI; Twine:  May Arts

Less Is More and Trying Out a Trend...

Hello friends!!  Happy weekend to you!  Boy is it GORGEOUS here in Western Washington!  Just checked the forecast and it says temps will be in the 90's by evening!! Yikes... a bit too hot for me, but going to enjoy it just the same!  Have a little card I made last night, but didn't get a chance to post until this morning.   As the title of my post indicates this is for the current Less is More challenge to use blue and green.  But what is the trend I'm trying out?  Washi tape!!  I have resisted it for a while now because it is just one of those things that I like when I see other people use it, but when I give it a try my results always appear less than stellar.  Anywhoo... I decided to be brave and give it a try!

For my layout I used the current Retro Sketch.  I pulled out a favorite Hero Arts set, Antique Flowers & Butterflies because it has a little butterfly perfect for the little grouping you see on the sketch and because it comes with matching dies!  But much to my dismay I discovered that the die for the little butterfly is missing!! Ugghh!!  So instead of die cutting all the butterflies I had to cut them out!  Oh well... they still look pretty.   The Washi tape I acquired during my last shopping trip to Impress Rubber Stamps.  I think my biggest problem with Washi tape is the two rolls I had I did not buy and sometimes when I have a paper crafting item that I did not buy it is hard for me to use because it isn't necessarily something I would have picked out.  I did a bit of fiddling with the tape to get the look I wanted and so I'm relatively happy with it and may purchase another roll this week when I go to Impress to pick up some dies I had on order.  My card would also work for CAS-ual Fridays, but not sure if I will include it in their challenge.  The current challenge at A Blog Named Hero is freestyle... anything goes so I will pop it into that challenge.

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  Hero Arts; Ink:  Stampin Up! Night of Navy; Washi Tape; Hero Arts gems