WMSC #86

This post has got to be short & sweet because I need to take my little girl to pre-k pretty soon...but I wanted to get this up before I go! It's another week of Waltzingmouse Sketch challenges, and I took the opportunity to sew on this card with my new sewing machine!!!! Yay...I'm a terrible sew-er, and I've struggled with a few machines before stumbling onto this one which was recommended by my idol, Debbie Olson...it's so user friendly that even a klutz like me can use it with pretty good results! It is this one, that I got at Walmart for a very affordable price. I love it!

So without blah blah blah-ing any further, here is this week's sketch:

And my interpretation:



Have a great day everyone!

Supply list:

Cardstock: Cream (OT)
Patterned Paper: from Love Letters collection (SU)
Stamp Set(s): Words of Wisdom, Dainty Doilies Lg (WMS)
Ink/Colorants: Riding Hood Red (SU); Black embossing powder (CTMH)
Embellishments: Black double stitched ribbon (SU)
Tools: Large scalloped circle dies (Spellbinders)

Make It Monday #55

This week's Make It Monday offered a fun little challenge: take an existing frame stamp that you already have and enlarge it by stamping it in an overlap pattern. Dawn McVey used a Fillable Frames stamp, which I have a few of, but I was in the mood to try it with one of my Mat Stack frames...my favorite has always been Mat Stack 4, so I pulled that one out. It was a little bit more challenging to overlap the frame because of the pattern on it, as the place where the pattern overlaps looks messy, so I had to incorporate a way in the design to cover that part up. In the process of doing that, I came up with a multi-layer design à la Dawn McVey of which I really liked the result! ;) (I used one of the bright color combos that came out of this month's anniversary festivities; I'm not positive whose it was, but I think it may have been Dawn's! Lately I've been using patterned paper on every card I make because I have so much of it that I need to use it! But I also have loads of lovely background stamps that I don't usually use much of when I make a card with patterned paper, so I decided to challenge myself to make this card entirely without patterned paper, and use a background set that I have not used in awhile...So without further ado, here is my bright and festive birthday card...



Supply list:

Cardstock: Raspberry Fizz, Summer Sunrise, Hawaiian Shores (PTI); Real Red (SU)
Patterned Paper: none! :)
Stamp Set(s): Background Basics: Chevron Stripes, Mat Stack 4 Collection, Mat Stack 1 Collection (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Watermelon, Black (CTMH); Real Red (SU)
Embellishments: Red Rox (Queen & Co)
Tools: Ad Sense, Mat Stack 1 & Mat Stack 1 Layerz dies (PTI)

PDCC120 & CFC41

Another week, two more challenges to participate in...and I think that I am getting my card in on time this time! Yay! I used the Playdate Cafe's colors along with the challenge from the CAS-ual Friday challenge to use a "punny" sentiment. I've had a really fun stamp set from Flourishes called Feminine Charm. It was kind of a splurge and I haven't had the chance to use it yet so I thought of it immediately when I read CAS-ual Friday's challenge. So here are the lovely Playdate Cafe colors for this week:

And here's my CAS card with those lovely colors! (I must confess that I struggle with CAS so it is very good for me to participate in the CAS-ual Friday challenges...weekly, if possible!)



Supply list:

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (PTI)
Stamp Set(s): Feminine Charm (Flourishes)
Ink/Colorants: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copic Sketch markers - YR00, YR02, YR07, B32, B34, YG45, YG61, Y28, E87, W1, W7
Embellishments: Pearls (Michaels)

H2H Sketch Challenge 2-19-12

Just a quick post here, as I'm running behind to get dinner started! I haven't participated in any H2H challenges in quite a long time, but I still have a lot of lovely CTMH stamps that need to get used, and it motivates me to pull them out for this challenge.

This week it was a sketch challenge:

And here's my card:



I stamped some text background, but it would seem that CTMH ink tends to fade quite rapidly on PTI cardstock. I stamped the background in Chocolate, and almost before I finished making the card, you could hardly see the neat text background (and you definitely can't see it in this picture) Oh well...I'll have to try some different ink next time.

Supply list:

Cardstock: Dark Chocolate (PTI)
Patterned Paper: from Bliss paper packet (CTMH)
Stamp Set(s): Sweet Moments (CTMH)
Ink/Colorants: Chocolate (CTMH); Dark Brown, Chestnut Roan chalk ink (Colorbox)
Embellishments: Pearls (CTMH)
Tools:

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #85

Well, it would seem like I'm still in time for the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge (in my post below, I was bemoaning the fact that I missed the deadline for the Casual Friday Challenge for this week, even though I finally got around to making a card for it! oh well...) My color inspiration was from this week's Playdate Cafe challenge, but I didn't get this posted in time for that either! (will I ever get my act together? ;) It was to use black & white with a splash of hot pink.

Here's the WMS sketch:

And here is my take on this sketch:



I bought this stamp set at Christmas time, but ran out of time to use it, so I love that I'm able to use it for things other than Christmas cards. The sweet wishes stamp can be perfect for birthdays! (I'll probably add a "birthday" type sentiment to the front later to make it clear that that's what it's for)

Supply list:

Cardstock: Smokey Shadow (PTI)
Patterned Paper: Black Diamonds from the Be Mine collection (Echo Park)
Stamp Set(s): Candy Jar Christmas (WMS)
Ink/Colorants: Black, Watermelon (CTMH); Copic Sketch markers (RV25, RV04, RV06, C1)
Embellishments:
Tools: Standard Scalloped Circles die (Spellbinders)

Make It Monday #54

Wow, I actually got to make a card this week for the Make It Monday challenge! It's been awhile...since I'm always pressed for time, I thought I'd participate in the Casual Friday Challenge also and combine these two challenges on one card. Make It Monday's challenge was to use glitter(ed) buttons, and the CFC was to use ribbon on the card in a creative way. I tried to do both here! Edited to add: I just realized that I missed the deadline for the CFC challenge...darn, it seems like I've been doing that a lot lately! I make the card, then don't get around to posting it until it's too late! Oh well, at least I got a cute, creative prompt out of it! :)

Here are my cards (I made a couple different ones, slightly different):



I used Everyday Button Bits (an oldie but goodie...this one never seems to stop being adorable!) I used gold & silver glittered buttons, and to make them stand out a bit more, cut some coordinating patterned paper to glue to the backs of them. I like the result.



For the above, I used an already scrunchy ribbon and then just pleated it carefully using a LOT of terrifically tacky tape (this is similar to scor-tape but can't be ripped by hand...it has to be cut with scissors, which makes it a lot harder to work with, but I have a ton of the stuff so I'm trying to use it up before I get all scor-tape to replace it. Works equally as effectively as scor-tape)



For this card I thought I'd try diecutting some ribbon. I used PTI's eyelet lace border. It took a little bit of doing, (some of the little circle centers didn't want to come all the way out, though I'd run it through my Big Shot 3 times), but ultimately I managed to get it all cut.

And below are some detail shots of the buttons.





Supply list:

Cardstock: So Saffron (SU)
Patterned Paper: Meadow from Lazy Summer Collection (Three Bugs in a Rug)
Stamp Set(s): Everyday Button Bits (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Chocolate Chip (SU); Crystal Blue (CTMH)
Embellishments: Double-Stitched Ribbon, Baja Breeze (SU); Yellow Ribbons (Current scrapbooking); Glittered buttons (OT)
Tools: Eyelet Lace Border die (PTI)

Birthday card catch-up...

So it's been awhile since I've posted...it seems that I just can't get my posting-regularly groove back on in 2012 since the holidays cut all of that out at the end of 2011. It's also that time of year when I make a stack of birthday cards for a few lovely friends & relatives who graciously buy my cards to share with others throughout the year. So I'm usually spending January and February on these projects. Here are the fruits of my labor...






























There are too many supplies to name here...but suffice it to say that I had a lot of fun pulling from my materials, some of which I hadn't used in a long time. If anyone happens to see this post and has a question about materials, feel free to ask!