Just sitting here - CR84FN color challenge

Monday, May 30, 2011
Yes - a second blog post today!  In between some weeding in my flower beds, the last of the laundry and shopping with a friend -- oh don't forget lunch at an old fashioned drive-up restaurant called Jay's -- I managed to find the time to make another card :o)   I love, love, love this stamp set!  I borrowed it from one of my stamping friends (thanks Cheryl!).  Yes...I did some fussy cutting/paper piecing again.  I think I'm hooked!
This card is going in a challenge that is new to me.  I just loved the colors for this week's challenge.

Take a look.
CR84FN30 Color Challenge

How can you not be inspired by these photos?

This is my interpretation:

I used my Scor-Pal to create my "floor" on the kraft card stock.  Then, I sponged it with a little crumb cake ink (crumb cake is SU's version of kraft.)  The chair, the table and the lamp shade were stamped and cut out, then attached with foam dots.  I used versamark with a feather stamp to create my wall paper (of sorts!)  Then, there had to be some bling :)

Thanks for stopping in!  I hope you'll leave a comment...I love reading them.

Supplies:

Card stock: kraft, bashful blue, whisper white (SU)

Ink: crumb cake, basic black, early espresso (SU)

DSP: bella birds (SU)

Stamps: wish you were here (Hero Arts), feather points (Stampendous)

Other: scor-buddy, gems (Recollections), thread and sewing machine

Because I Care - Paper Players Anything Goes Challenge

Monday, May 30, 2011
How could I resist an "anything goes" challenge?  Play along and  get to use whatever techniques I want...you bet.  I've had the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set (by Stampin' Up!) sitting on my craft table for a week, because I wanted to use it.  I was just looking for the right opportunity.  And...this was it!

This is the challenge at The Paper Players - Challenge #49, Anything Goes

Also...I have found so many inspiration photos on Pinterest.  Gorgeous photos!  I took the colors for my card from this photo on Pinterest.

via Pinterest

There are SO many fun paper crafting techniques.  But, I have to admit, heat embossing and dry embossing are still two of my favorites.  And...I've recently discovered how much I enjoy fussy cutting or paper piecing.  For some reason it relaxes me, and that's something I didn't expect.  Who would've thought?
Anyway, I've incorporated all 3 techniques into this card.
I am really pleased with the results  :o)   I stamped several images for each rose, then cut them into 3 layers and used dimensional adhesive to assemble them.  Oh, before I adhered them I used a SU marker to add a little extra color to the edge of each petal.

Thank you so much for stopping in.  I hope you'll leave a comment; I read them all.  And I love to get inspiration from your blogs!

Supplies:
Stamp: fifth avenue floral (SU)

Card stock: perfect plum, pale plum, blushing bride, always artichoke, very vanilla (SU)

Ink: perfect plum, pale plum, elegant eggplant (SU)

Embossing folder (Cuttlebug), lace trim (Offray), antique brad (SU), winter white embossing powder (SU)

Butterfly Sympathy card - 3 challenges

Sunday, May 22, 2011
Hey...my 3rd post for this weekend.  I've been busy.  And, I love it.
My first post yesterday, was a card using sponging.  I loved it so much, that I had to do another one.  Also, I'm trying to get better at creating one-layer cards.  I just love the clean and simple look...but it isn't always so easy for me to do.  Remember, I like bling and embellies and layers.  A lot.
My inspiration for this card came from a photo that I saw on Pinterest.  Do you Pin?  It's so, so addicting.

Anyway, this card is for 3 challenges.  In fact, this is the second card I've posted this weekend for 2 of these challenges.  Those are:

CAS-ual Fridays challenge - Bring on the bling!

Lily Pad Sketch challenge - using this great sketch by Lucy Abrams

And, finally, this challenge at Soap Box Creations - create a card inspired by a photo on Pinterest.
Since I'm a big fan of Pinterest, I had to play along in Laurie Willison's challenge!
This is the Pinterest photo that inspired my card:

I love this photo.  When I went browsing through Pinterest for inspiration...this one caught my eye immediately.

My card ~

I masked off the rectangular area with post-it notes, then sponged with Color Box Frost White ink.  It's a very wet, thick ink...so it was fairly easy to get the soft look I wanted.  I used the same ink for the stamped flowers.  After adding my sentiment, it looked a little lost.  So, I added 3 lines with a SU marker to "anchor" it.

Thanks so much for stopping in!

Supplies:

Ink: marina mist, night of navy (Stampin' Up!), frost white (Color Box)

Card stock: marina mist for the card base, bashful blue for the butterfly (both are SU)

Stamps: of the earth (SU), sentiment sampler (Paper Smooches)

Other: butterfly punch (MS), gems (Recollections)

Color Throwdown Challenge #142

Saturday, May 21, 2011
I made this card for one of our nephews.  His birthday is in June, but this time of year is so busy that I wanted to make it ahead of time.  Cards for guys can be so difficult for me, since I love to embellish.  You know...gems, pearls, ribbons...bling!  lol
I wanted to participate in the Color Throwdown Challenge #142, so I used their colors for this card.  I think the colors worked well for a "guy" card.  I hope our nephew likes the card.

Take a look at the inspiration colors ~

And, my card ~

This card came together quickly.  That's usually NOT the case, with my cards.  Trust me.
I brushed my very vanilla stamp pad across the gray embossed panel, to give it a little more definition.  I'm pleased with the effect.  Oh yea...I pulled out one of my new stamp sets from Paper Smooches!  So cute.  Seriously cute.  You might want to check out this new stamp company.  Kim Hughes is the designer/owner.  You can click on the link HERE.

Thanks for stopping in...I hope you'll leave a comment!

Supplies:

Card stock: basic black, certainly celery, basic gray, whisper white (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: basic black, very vanilla

Stamps: sentiment sampler (Paper Smooches)

Other: embossing folder (Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix), silver beads (Recollections)

Lily Pad Sketch challenge & CAS-ual Fridays challenge

Saturday, May 21, 2011
Hey, it's the weekend...that means it's time to stamp, right?  Well, weeding my flower beds, transplanting flowers, laundry and all of that other stuff that isn't so much fun...yea, that has to get done just the same.  But, I made sure I took some time to stamp!  I love to participate in challenges and there are two new ones out there that you should check out.  This card was made for both of those.

Lily Pad sketch challenge.  Here's the lovely sketch by Lucy Abrams:
 *Edit - This card won the Gilded Lily Award at the Lily Pad!

CAS-ual Fridays challenge.  Use bling!

Here is my take on these two challenges.

I already knew that I wanted to do some sponging on a card this weekend.  And, unfortunately, my stash of sympathy cards is almost gone.  So this card will go towards replenishing my stash.
It had been a long time since I had done a sponged background.  I love the look.  I used post-it notes to mask off around the area I needed to sponge.  When that was done, I removed just the note on the left hand side so that some of my stamped images could lap over the sponged area.  I learned this technique on Melanie Munchinger's blog a couple of years ago.  Love it!

Thanks for stopping in!

Supplies list:

Ink: barely banana, apricot appeal, creamy caramel, really rust, close to cocoa, chocolate chip (Stampin' Up!)

Card stock: whisper white, barely banana (SU)

Stamps: autumn leaves (Gina K), autumn days (SU)

Other: brown pearls (Recollections), foam dots

CAS-ual Friday's Challenge

Sunday, May 15, 2011

What's Shakin' ?

That's the sentiment on my card today :o)  What a fun stamp set to play with!  I borrowed this cute set from my friend Linda S.  Thanks Linda!

There's a great new challenge blog out there...have you checked it out yet?  I didn't get a chance to play along in their first challenge, so I sure didn't want to miss out on #2!  You'll want to see the great inspiration provided by their DT. 

CAS-ual Fridays CFC #2 - buttons & twine

 My card...

Just click on a photo to see a larger version.

This was such a fun card to create. I used one continuous length of bakers twine, wrapping it around the panel and sliding the buttons to where I wanted them to be.  I used some Glossy Accents on the salt and pepper shakers, to get a "glass-like" look.  I colored the tops of the shakers with a going gray SU marker.
Thanks for stopping in to take a look at my card.  I hope you'll leave a comment!

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Supplies list:

Stamps: what's shakin' (itty bitty by Unity)

Card stock: marina mist, always artichoke, so saffron (Stampin' Up!)

DSP: sweet pea (retired, from SU)

Ink: early espresso, always artichoke, going gray (SU), timber brown (StazOn)

Other: yellow/white bakers twine (RRR), buttons (button latte, SU), swiss dot embossing folder (cuttlebug), glossy accents (Ranger)

Card Patterns Sketch 115 & Play Date Cafe #81

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Whew!  This card didn't come together easily...at all.
Yes, they call them challenges for a reason.  Banners are so cute.  And, probably easy.  For someone else.  It took me soooo long to come with banners that looked right on this card.  Oh well...moving on!

Take a look at the 2 challenges I've combined for my card.

Play Date Cafe #81 - a color challenge (since purple & green are my fav colors, I love this combo.)

 Card Patterns Sketch 115 - a round card sketch with banners (the cute sketch is by Nina Brackett.)

Two great challenges, huh?  You can click on the links, above, to see all the details on both sketches.

My card:

I very seldom make a card that isn't rectangular or square.  So this was a little bit out of my comfort zone.  That's ok...I do enjoy a challenge...or two!  It's difficult to see, but I used a stardust glitter pen, randomly, on some of the lines of the stamped flowers. Then, on the 3 banners, too.   It's a rainy, cloudy day so my photos aren't as bright as I would like.  My friend Linda came over to stamp with me today, so I had a little help with ideas for this card!  She even gave me that piece of glittery pearls that the banners are "hanging" from.  Don't you love stamping with friends?
To see a larger view of any photo, just click on it.  Thanks so much for taking a look at my card today!  I hope you'll leave a comment.

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Supplies:

Card stock: concord crush, going gray, whisper white (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: kiwi kiss, concord crush (SU)

Stamps: the sentiment is from upsy daisy (SU), flower fields (Stampendous)

Other: clear stardust glitter pen (Sakura), single pearls (Recollections), pearl string (from my friend Linda S.), Spellbinders dies: circles large & scalloped circles large

Treats for lunch guests and 2 cards for my Father-in-law

Friday, May 13, 2011

Just a quick post to show you what I created last weekend.  I made these treat "purses" and place cards for 3 friends that came over for lunch today.  Both projects were a lot of fun to make.  I tailored the papers and colors I used, to fit the style of each friend.  And...more importantly...my friends really liked them :)

I used SU's Top Note die for the body of the purses, and a couple of Spell binders dies for the flap of the purses.  MFT's button dies were used for the buttons (SO much fun to make), then I added some Glossy Accents to give the buttons some shine.  A little ribbon for a handle, then I filled a little bag with trail mix to go inside each purse.
For the place cards, I used a Spellbinders die and, while the CS was still in the die I embossed the edges.  I used my brand new SU set Four Frames on these place cards.  These little frames were the perfect size for my place cards.  And I love the variety of frame styles in this set.

I also made two cards for my father-in-law.  One for Father's Day and one for his birthday.  He will turn 93 years old next week!  He is such a blessing in my life.  I couldn't have asked for a better FIL!

Both cards are made with all SU products.  I borrowed this tie stamp set from my friend Kris, when she was here last Saturday.  I have to say...I hadn't paid much attention to this set when I saw it in the catalog.  But, I love it!  I was so much fun to create with :)
I found a tutorial online for the shirt card.  The shirt starts out with a 4" x 6" piece of dsp, and it's all folding from there...no cutting.  I love that little shirt!
Well...two of my stamping friends are coming over tomorrow to stamp with me.  I can hardly wait!  It's so much fun stamping with friends.  In fact, we did this last Saturday, too!  I'm thinking that this could become a habit...lol.

Thanks for stopping in!

A butterfly Mother's Day card and 2 challenges

Sunday, May 1, 2011
I made this card for a niece and nephew of ours, to give to their Grandma.  I hope she likes it!

 * Edit, on 5/5/11...I also submitted this card to "Mama Love" over at Kind Over Matter.

I'm playing along in 2 challenges.
The Shabby Tea Room week #59 - Butterfly Wishes

The Paper Players #45 - LeAnne's Theme Challenge

Maybe these "spring" inspired challenges will bring more spring-like weather our way :)  It's been a chilly and wet spring so far, in norther Illinois!

Here is my interpretation of the two challenges:

I knew that I wanted to use some of SU's pretty Botanical Gazette DSP for this card...it has such pretty images.  I made one of those images the focal point of this card.  Those blue eggs are SO pretty.  I hope you can see some of the glittery dots that I added to them with a Stardust glitter pen.
Also....and this is new to me...I stitched on this card!  I know.  It's about time, isn't it?  I love the look of stitching on cards, but I don't enjoy sewing, so I was reluctant.  You know what?  It was fun!  You'll be seeing a lot more of this on my cards  :)

Thanks so much for stopping in.  I hope you'll leave a comment...I love reading them!
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Supplies:

Card stock: marina mist, early espresso, old olive (SU)

Stamps: nature walk, four frames (SU), lovely shelf (Gina K)

DSP: botanical gazette (SU)

Ink: old olive, early espresso, marina mist

Ribbon: old olive satin ribbon (SU), lace (Wrights)

Other: stardust clear glitter pen (Sakura), beautiful wings embosslit (Sizzix from SU), clear gems (Recollections)