CFC45

It's CAS-ual Friday time again! Actually, I'm just getting this in in the nick of time...I have a little over an hour...phew! ;) This week's challenge was to use black & pastels together...while I was on my way home from taking my daughter to school today, I had an idea just POP! into my head. Fun stuff when inspiration strikes.

Here's my CAS card for this week, the Bold & the Beautiful... ;)



It seemed the creativity was in hyper drive today because I had another idea!! (Wow, two in one day...this must be some kind of record! ;) I just purchased a lovely new Memory Box die from the fabulous Chic & Savvy Crafters (allow me to digress momentarily while I sing the praises of this store...I placed my first order on Thursday of last week...got a shipping notice 20 minutes later...and had my package on Saturday!!! For those of us impatient crafters...this shop is the BEST!! Check them out!)

Anyway, back to the Memory Box Twirled Heart Border die...I saw this an had to have it because my 10th anniversary is coming up in May and I just wanted this to make one of my many anniversary cards that I've made/am going to make. With today's challenge, I had this idea for using this. But there was one little problem...I kind of stupidly misunderstood how the die was going to work. I thought it was going to cut little heart holes in my cardstock. No. Instead it cuts a lovely, semi-embossed border, which is fabulous, but required just a TAD more work to achieve this look I was going for! I'm thrilled with the results, though, so it was worth it!



I wish my photo did it more justice...without using an SLR (and actually having better photography skills), it's hard to take a nice photo of black cardstock. I hope you get the idea though! :) Thanks for taking a look! :)

Supply list:

Missing U card:

Cardstock: White (PTI); Yellow, Purple shimmer (Colorbok)
Tools: Block Alphabet Lower dies, Circle die (Spellbinders), Schoolbook Plantin cartridge (Cricut); Stripes embossing folder (SU)

Anniversary card:

Cardstock: True Black (PTI); Yellow, Green, Blue shimmer (Colorbok)
Stamp Set(s): Sweethearts (WMS)
Ink/Colorants: White embossing powder (CTMH)
Tools: Twirled Heart border die (Memory Box)

PDCC124 & WMSC90

Quick post today for a quick card...I again challenged myself to see what I could come up with in a half hour...it's pretty no frills, but at least I know I can do it if I need to! ;) (Normally I love to spend a lot more time just for the creative process, but I don't always have that luxury!) I'm combining the Play Date Cafe color challenge with the Waltzingmouse Sketch challenge.

Here's my quick & simple card:



Supply list:

Cardstock: Bashful Blue (SU)
Patterned Paper: from Razzleberry Lemonade DSP (SU)
Stamp Set(s): Holiday Labels No. 14, Spring Baskets (WMS)
Ink/Colorants: Rose Red, Rich Razzleberry, Bashful Blue (SU)
Tools: Labels 14 dies (Spellbinders); Corner rounder

Missed PTI Blog Hop & MIM #58

Well, I missed the boat this time around! LOL..I had my Make It Monday card all made since Thursday and I had started on my Blog Hop card on Friday, but life got very busy over the weekend and despite all my best intentions, I didn't get my posts ready in time...boo hoo..but I still wanted to make a blog post because my hard work isn't going to total waste!

The first card here is from last Monday's challenge to make a gradient background with some kind of color medium. I love my Copics and so I decided to try them on glossy white paper from Stampin' Up. I love the result! Very simple, yet striking, I think.



And my blog hop card...challenged to use blue & aqua and this inspiration photo:

Well, I got the whole card finished, and was very happy with it except for the flourish looked a little too subtle and I wanted it to have some depth, some "oomph"...I'm always in experimentation mode, even though I know there is a risk of potentially ruining a project with my experimenting...well, in order to make my stamped flourish stand out more, I decided to try and put Liquid Glass over it...hmmm...the result was not as wonderful as I'd hoped. But, I like to think of things like these as a learning experience, another craft "trial" under my belt, and maybe even a challenge to try and "fix" it. We'll see...I think I'm going to try to do something to it to make it a little better...maybe edit to add the "redo" later... ;)



I'm putting myself out there to share my "mistake"...but in the spirit of crafting learning, I'm sharing! :)

PS, forgot to mention that the reason I added the "x10" is because my tenth anniversary is coming up in May, and this will be one of the ten anniversary cards my hubby gets from me to celebrate the occasion! :)

Supply list:

Hope card:

Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Glossy White (SU)
Stamp Set(s): Faith & Hope (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Poppy Parade (SU); Copic markers - R01, R12, R22, R14, R27, R29
Tools: Mat Stack 3, Layerz Mat Stack 3, Faith & Hope ribbon dies (PTI)

I {heart} U card:

Cardstock: Hawaiian Shores (PTI); Whitewash teal cardstock (Core'dinations)
Patterned Paper: from April Showers & A Trip to Paris collections (3 Bugs in a Rug)
Stamp Set(s): Alpha Blocks, Heart Prints, Polka Dot Basics (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Lagoon, Sunny Yellow (CTMH)
Embellishments: Aqua button (stash); Yellow embroidery floss (DMC); Liquid Glass (CTMH)
Tools: Edgers #3 die, Love Lives Here die (little heart), Block Alphabet lowercase & numbers dies, Alpha Blocks die, Heart Prints die, Polka Dot Basics impression plate (PTI); Sander (CTMH)

CFC44

This week's CAS-ual Friday challenge was "It's easy as 1-2-3"...1. A pattern 2. An image 3. A sentiment

I'm working on the skill of pulling together a CAS card in a short time (I'm usually not a very fast card maker) and I was able to do this one in less than half and hour! I'm very happy and will continue my clean & simple card making skill building. :)

I took off from the following sketch from the Clean & Simple Sketches blog:

My pattern is the polka dots, image is the stars (don't know if this is cheating a little bit, as it's not exactly a stamped image), and of course I have the sentiment front & center (I put it in a little different place than the sketch suggested) I like the result, clean & simple! :)



That's all for today, folks! Thanks to anyone who visits and comments...you are much appreciated!

Supply list:

Cardstock: Dark Chocolate (PTI); Sunset Rose swiss dots (Bazzill)
Patterned Paper: Chocolate Chip & Crumb Cake from DSP Patterns Stack (SU)
Stamp Set(s): Birthday Basics (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Chocolate Chip (SU)
Tools: Star Punches, lg & sm (SU); Scallop circle & ribbon banner die (Spellbinders)

PDCC123

This week's Play Date Cafe color challenge was a new one for me...I like the ones that force me out of my normal preferred color "ruts" and into something different! I have a very close friend who is turning 40 in just a few days and thought that the bright & festive color scheme would be perfect for a bold 40th birthday card.

I used a lovely sentiment set from Raisin Boat called Strokes of Wisdom. I just love the look of those crayon strokes.



Supply list:

Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Not Quite Navy, White (SU); Kiwi, Sorbet (CTMH)
Stamp Set(s): Strokes of Wisdom (Raisin Boat); Background Basics: Chevron Stripes (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Kiwi (CTMH); Groovy Guava, Calypso Coral, Tempting Turquoise, Not Quite Navy (SU); Graphite Black pigment (Memento)
Embellishments: Rhinestones (My Mind's Eye)
Tools: Banner die from Nested Pennants set (Spellbinders); Lace Impressions die, By the Numbers dies (PTI); embossing folder from Preserves companion set (Cuttlebug)

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #88

Well, I loved how this week's WMSC card turned out...unfortunately, after making it, I got busy and didn't get it posted in time to add my link to the challenge blog...oh well, sometimes that happens! But still, I have a lovely birthday card to give to someone, so I'm happy to have had the impetus to make it!

Here's the sketch:

And my card, using two pretty new JustRite sets that I just love! :)



Supply list:

Cardstock: Autumn Rose (PTI); Brown textured (DCWV); Natural Ivory (SU)
Patterned Paper: from Lost & Found 2 Blush collection (My Mind's Eye)
Stamp Set(s): Shabby Chic Labels Four, Greetings from Paris (JustRite Stampers); Fancy Phrases (WMS)
Ink/Colorants: Vintage Sepia (VersaFine); Autumn Rose (PTI); Creamy Brown chalk (Colorbox)
Tools: Labels Four, Ribbon Banners dies (Spellbinders)

Make It Monday #57

This week's Make It Monday featured a fun technique called Color Kissing. It's a slight variation from a related technique called Stamp Kissing. Instead of "kissing" a pattern onto a solid stamped image with an un-inked stamp, you ink up the patterned stamp with a darker color than the color of the solid image and "kiss" it onto the inked stamp. The pattern I used to do the kissing was small, so the effect is subtle, but I really like the result! I hadn't tried this exactly like this before so I love that I had the chance to try it this week.

I have had the Button Boutique stamp set for over a year now and I think it is just so adorable and unique, but hadn't used it much for one reason or another. I decided that now was the time to pull it out again! My card this week was inspired by this card by the lovely Dawn McVey. (I'm so inspired by most of the Papertrey designers!)

I used the kissing technique on the leaves with the Background Basics: Newsprint as the darker kissing stamp. As I said, it is subtle but nice, as it echoes the Newsprint stamped background.

That's it for this week! Can't wait for tomorrow's new challenge...



Supply list:

Cardstock: Ripe Avocado, Sweet Blush, Spring Moss, Raspberry Fizz , Autumn Rose(PTI)
Stamp Set(s): Button Boutique, Signature Series: Butterfly, Turning a New Leaf (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Sweet Blush, Autumn Rose, Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss, Raspberry Fizz (PTI); Always Artichoke (SU); Olive (CTMH)
Embellishments: Brad flower center (Basic Grey)
Tools: Dies - Button Card, Turning a New Leaf, Buttoned Up #1, Doily Details, Bloom Builders #3 (PTI)

PDCC121

It's another week for Play Date Cafe challenge! This week's lovely colors are:

I love this color combination, but I must admit that it was a bit difficult to find these colors in my collection, no matter how extensive it may be! However, with a little persistence, I believe I've found what is pretty darn close. Lucky that I had some retired Stampin' Up colors because they were perfect!

Here is my interpretation and usage of the colors: (I had a hard time really capturing the correct color in the photo...the photo looks a bit blue-er than the card actually is...these are tough colors to capture)



That's about all for now...until next week, Play Date Cafe-ers! :)

Supply list:

Cardstock: Creamy Caramel, Sage Shadow {retired colors} (SU); Sweet Blush (PTI); Vanilla Cream (CTMH)
Patterned Paper:
Stamp Set(s): Four Frames, Because I Care (SU); Botanical Borders (CTMH)
Ink/Colorants: Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink (SU)
Embellishments: Pink/White striped ribbon 1-1/4" ribbon (SU)
Tools: Fancy Flourish dies (PTI); Frame punch (SU)

Cards for Fun

Just thought I'd throw out a couple of fun cards that I have worked on lately...the first is a variation of the card in this post for a Waltzingmouse Sketch challenge. I liked how it turned out so much that I thought I'd duplicate it for my sister's upcoming birthday...but she is a Lemonheads fan, so I thought I'd change up the color and the candy on the card! Every bit as cute, as it's hard to go wrong with the adorable sets from Waltzingmouse, Candy Jar Christmas and Candy Jar Fillers. So much fun.



The second is a card I've been wanting to make for a LONG time...I was greatly inspired by this card by Maile Belles and have had it on my list of ones to CASE since October 2010...I even bought the Year of Flowers: Marigolds especially because I loved this card so much! So here is my version...the coloring could use some improvement - I'm still learning - but I'm signed up for a Copic certification class and I can't wait! I made it a Mother's Day card...I know it's a little early but I'll definitely be needing those before I know it! :)



I will likely do the card again, maybe even a little bit closer to the original because I like it so much. But for now, I'm pretty happy with the results of the CASE! :)

Supply list:

Sweet Wishes ~

Cardstock: Smokey Shadow, White, Vellum (PTI)
Patterned Paper: from Be Mine collection (Echo Park)
Stamp Set(s): Candy Jar Christmas, Candy Jar Fillers (WMS); Sign Language (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Black Tuxedo (Memento); Daffodil Delight (SU); Copic markers - Y11, Y13, Y15, Y17
Embellishments:
Tools: Classic Scalloped Circle, and Classic Standard Circles dies (Spellbinders); Friendship Jar label die (PTI)

Happy Mother's Day ~

Cardstock: Natural White (SU)
Patterned Paper:
Stamp Set(s): Year of Flowers: Marigolds, Women of Life (PTI); Text-it (WMS)
Ink/Colorants: Crumb Cake (SU); Black Tuxedo (Memento); Copic markers - RV63, RV66, RV69
Embellishments:
Tools: Labels Four die (Spellbinders); 5x7 Embossing folder, from Romance collection (Cuttlebug)

H2H Photo Inspiration Challenge 2-26-12

This week's H2H challenge is to find inspiration from the lovely room above and go with it! Though I'm somewhat drawn to that particular room, given that it is clearly loaded with style, I found it a bit challenging to figure out how to let it inspire me. In the end, I went with the colors and the overall feel as a guide. I was also trying to add in this week's Mojo Monday sketch so I could post my card there as well. Here's that sketch:

And here is my card. I went through all my Close To My Heart stamp sets looking for one I haven't used and one that would go with the feel I wanted to portray on this card, given the inspiration photo. I found Enjoy Life and had fun using it for the first time.



Supply list:

Cardstock: White Daisy, Desert Sand (CTMH); Natural White (SU)
Patterned Paper: from the following paper packets -->> Notebook, You & Me, Wings (CTMH)
Stamp Set(s): Enjoy Life, Make It Count (CTMH)
Ink/Colorants: Desert Sand, Star Spangled Blue, Crystal Blue, Heavenly Blue, Bamboo, New England Ivy (CTMH)
Embellishments:
Tools: Lacy Scallops border punch (SU); Standard Circle dies (Spellbinders)