Guest Designer at Lily Pad Cards

I've been asked by Deborah to be featured as a guest designer at Lily Pad Cards!   I'll give you a peek at 2 of the cards I created for my guest spot.  I used a variety of techniques and styles for each of the cards.

Celebrate Your Day

This card features heat embossing, gold Stickles, edge punching and baker's twine.


Thinking of You

For this card, I sponged 4 different colors of ink for the sky.  Then, stamped my daisy image over that.

I'm giving you just a peek, in this post ;o)    To see my interview and  more cards...along with the supplies list and instructions for all of them, click on THIS LINK to "hop" on over to the Lily Pad!
Thanks for looking,

Happy Thanksgiving - a fall themed card

Just this morning, I found a challenge on the new CREATE: blog!. The current challenge is to create a fall themed card.  I'm hoping that Thanksgiving is included in that category, since I want to make a few more for this holiday.
I've included a link to the 10/20/11 post on the CARDS Create blog, so that you can click through for the details.  You'll need to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the post for details on how to participate in the challenge.

I started by clear embossing the tree image on my panel.  Then I sponged it with More Mustard, Really Rust and Cranberry Crisp inks to get a very soft variation of colors.  The sentiment is stamped in Cranberry Crisp.  I stitched this panel onto a piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock, then adhered it all to a base of Creamy Caramel card stock.  To finish the card, I added a few gems.  That's about it!  Thanks so much for taking a look.

Supplies:

card stock: creamy caramel, cherry cobbler (Stampin' Up!)

ink: more mustard, really rust, cranberry crisp (SU)

stamps: happy thanksgiving (Stampabilities), leaves of a tree (SU)

other: versamark (Tsukeniko), clear embossing powder (Stampendous), gems (The Paper Studio), sponge dauber (SU), heat tool, thread, sewing machine

Christmas Tree - C4C110

Hey, I'm back with another post today :)
Yes...another Christmas card.  I hope you're not getting tired of seeing holiday cards, because I'm NOT getting tired of making them...lol.
This on is going in the challenge at Crazy 4 Challenges - C4C110
This is Tammy's challenge for us:  One layer CAS cards, with the base of the card as the only "layer" today.  The only exception is cutting out images and/or one die-cut embellishment.


And, here is my CAS (clean and simple) card, with one die-cut embellishment.

I've used my Sizzix Christmas tree die again.  It's the perfect size to use on cards.  This card came together quickly.  I added a few lines of Frosted Lace Stickles to the pattern on the tree, tied a bow of baker's twine to the top and stamped my sentiment.  And that was it!
Thanks for looking!

Supplies:

card stock: white (PTI)

stamp: love lives here - holiday (PTI)

dsp: holly berry bouquet (SU)

other: Christmas tree die (Sizzix), white baker's twine (SU), frosted lace stickles (Ranger)

Snowman...peace * love * joy - CAS-ual Fridays CFC#25

I'm adding another Christmas card to my stash today.  With this card, I'm playing along in the following challenge:
CAS-ual Fridays CFC#25 is Just Add Color

My card ~

I've been wanting to use this cute Penny Black "Frosty" stamp that I bought a few weeks ago.  I decided that this was the time.  When you see my card, you'll see that I didn't add a lot of color...by any stretch of the imagination.  But I DID add color.  I pulled out my (long neglected) Prismacolor pencils and the OMS, and gave Frosty some shading along one side to give him a little dimension.  I'm really pleased with the results...and I'm thinking that I need to do more coloring :)
I added a few score lines above and below my image, stamped my sentiment, then finished off with some diamond Stickles on the snowflakes.

Thanks so much for visiting.  I hope you'll leave a comment; I love reading them :)

Supplies:

card stock: stampers select white (Papertrey Ink)

stamps: frosty (Penny Black), Christmas blessings (PTI)

ink: jet black StazOn (Tsukeneko), riding hood red (Stampin' Up!)

other: cloud blue & light cerulean blue pencils (Prismacolor), oderless mineral spirits (GinaK Designs), blending stumps (GinaK Designs), diamond stickles (Ranger), Scor-Pal

Autumn Colors in Northern Illinois

If you've stopped in looking for a card...you'll need to look at my next post.  I wandered outside with my camera, late yesterday afternoon.  I love taking nature photos, especially this time of the year.  I love the rich colors of autumn.  The contrast of the crisp, clear blue sky against the yellow and red leaves.  And even the brown leaves!
Although, we still have a number of maple trees that still have their "summery" green leaves.  So there are many colors to choose from!
You'll also see that we still have a few blooms in the flower gardens.  In fact, the red roses look much better now than they did this summer.  During the summer, they were covered with Japanese beetles.  And many of the leaves were destroyed.  Once the beetles finally left...the roses thrived!

Enough talking.  Here are the pics.

I love the angle of the late afternoon light on this maple leaf.

I found this leaf, all alone, on our front porch.

Ahhh...a red rose bloom in late October.  What a wonderful gift from God!

Sedum...I really like the deep color of the blooms this year.

The leaves on this maple tree are just beginning to change color.

A few leaves on the same tree as above.

Yellow conflowers.

I don't know what coneflower variety this is, but I love all of the layers in these blooms.

Thanks for taking a look at my photos.  I hope you enjoyed them :o)

Beware - 2 Challenges

I don't usually make Halloween cards.  It's not a holiday that I really get into.  But, I thought I'd make a few cards to send to family.  Arrgghhh.  I think I should have paid attention to my instincts...and skipped Halloween.
Well, the card is finished, so I'll post it.
I'm playing along in 2 challenges with today's card.

Crazy 4 Challenges (C4C109) - The challenge is to create something for an upcoming holiday and incorporate heat embossing.

The Play Date Cafe #103
Rust, Storm & Deep Sea are the description of these colors on the PDCC blog.  Don't you love those names?

My card ~

I used Stampin' Up! colors...Basic Gray, Cajun Craze and Not Quite Navy to create a tri-fold card.  I started with a piece of cardstock measuring 11" x 4 1/4".  I scored it at 1 1/2" and 6 1/2" for my folds.  The finished card measures 5" x 4 1/4".  I stamped the haunted house in gray ink onto the gray cs, then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  After cutting out the image I added some color to the windows with a yellow glaze pen.  I drew in a bat with a black marker.  Then added some stars to the sky with a stardust glitter pen.
On the narrow flap of the card, I cut fringe into several pieces of gray ribbon and layered those over the "fence" punched cs.  Oh, and added a fun little spiderweb sticker.
Well, I'm not sure I'll be making more Halloween cards.  I'll have to give it some thought.
Thanks for taking a look!

I used:

card stock: basic gray, cajun craze, not quite navy (SU)

ink: basic gray, basic black (SU), onyx black versafine (Tsukineko), yellow glaze pen (Sakura)

stamps: halloween clear stamps (MS)

other: picket fence edge punch (MS), clear embossing powder (SU), spiderweb sticker (Recollections from Michael's)

Happy Harvest - a woven ribbon card

I'm posting this card...just because it makes me smile :)

This morning I watched a video tutorial on Britta Swiderski's blog.  She made a woven ribbon wedding card.  It looked like it would be a fun and easy technique to try.  So, I gave it a go this afternoon.  Guess what?  It was FUN!  I want to make another one.  Soon.  Here's a link to Britta's video.

I didn't make this card for any challenges.  Just for fun.

My embossed sentiment doesn't show up well in these photos.  I'm thinking, now, that I should have embossed it in gold instead of green.  That's okay.  It still makes me smile :)

P.S. This cute autumn-y ribbon makes me smile, too.

The recipe ~

stamp: Happy Harvest (Verve)

card stock: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie (Stampin' Up!)

ribbon: Sage/Gold/Red Ribbon FX (Hobby Lobby)

ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)

other: Emerald EP (Stampendous), gems (Affinity by The Paper Studio)

Peace Love Joy - Lily Pad Cards Challenge

You know...some days the stamping just rolls along.  One card after another.  Fun!  Not today though.
This is the only card I've made today...so far.  I'm really liking this card.  But, it took SO long to create it.  Oh well, it's done!

Anyway, I know you didn't come here to listen to me whine.  Let's look at a challenge and a card instead.  Ready?  Here's the challenge from Deborah and Vicky over at Lily Pad Cards.
Simon Says Stamp Presents a Bling Challenge  You can follow my link to see all of the details.

My card ~

I knew that I wanted to use my new Christmas tree die with some patterned paper.  So that was my starting point.  I popped up the tree on foam tape, then added the rhinestone swirl.  After stamping my sentiment on white card stock, I applied gray marker along the edges.  Then, I curled it a bit in the center before attaching it to the tree.  I finished off with a little bow of silver cord at the top of the tree.  Easy peasy, huh?  Ha!
Thanks for stopping by to take a look.  I hope you'll leave a comment!

Supplies & such ~

card stock: stampers select white (Papertrey Ink), basic gray (Stampin' Up!)

patterned paper: O Christmas Tree (My Mind's Eye)

ink: onyx black versafine (Tsukineko), basic gray (SU)

other: rhinestone flourish (Recollections from Michaels), silver cord (Hirschberg Shultz), Christmas tree die (Sizzix), pop-up dots (SU), foam tape (Scotch)

Christmas Lodge - Card Patterns Sketch 136

I've created another Christmas card today.  This image is from a new Stampin' Up! set called Christmas Lodge.  This set is so pretty and I really like the vintage feel of all the images and sentiments.  For this card I've stamped my sentiment inside the card.

When I was browsing around looking at challenges, this sketch caught my eye.
It's Card Patterns Sketch 136.  Here's the sketch:

My card ~

Along with this new stamp set, I also bought this new ribbon from SU.  It's a quilted satin ribbon...and I love the look.  I'm hoping SU will make it available in more colors soon!
To give the lodge a few highlights, I used a Stardust clear glitter pen on the "snowy" areas of the image.  Well, I need to get back to my craft table.  Thanks for taking a look :)

Supplies:
card stock: always artichoke, cherry cobbler, crumb cake (Stampin' Up!)
dsp: deck the halls (SU)
stamps: christmas lodge (SU)
ink: timber brown (StazOn)
other: cherry cobbler quilted satin ribbon (SU), red gems (want 2 scrap), clear stardust pen (Sakura)

Give Thanks - CR84FN challenge

This has turned outed to be such a busy weekend!  But, I just HAD to squeeze in a little bit of time to create a card.  This will have to be a quick post, since we have another commitment, later this afternoon.

Anyway, I saw the colors over at CR84FN 40 and loved the fall-ish colors.  Since I need to make some Thanksgiving cards, these colors fit the bill :)  Take a look at the inspiration photos.  Gorgeous, huh?
Also, take a minute to read the quote from Steve Jobs, just under the photos.

My card ~

I stamped the tree image onto Confetti Cream cardstock in Chocolate Chip ink.  I colored some of the leaves with Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard and Creamy Caramel Stampin' Up! markers.  Then, I added Glossy Accents (by Ranger) to some leaves.  The sentiment was stamped in Choc. Chip.  I love this new set from SU.  It's called Hand Penned Holidays.  I did a little machine stitching to attach the cream CS to a mat of Early Espresso, then adhered that to a piece of Real Red CS.  It's all mounted onto a card base of Crumb Cake (SU's name for kraft).  Oh yea, I added a length of brown & cream gingham ribbon, tied in a bow.  I like the "country in the fall" look of the card.  I hope the recipient likes it, too!
Thanks so much for taking a look.

Supplies:

card stock: confetti cream, real red, early espresso, crumb cake (SU)

ink: ruby red, chocolate chip, more mustard, creamy caramel (SU)

stamps: leaves of a tree, hand penned holidays (SU)

other: glossy accents (Ranger), gingham ribbon (Michaels), thread, sewing machine

Tuesday Trigger: Delightfully Random

Oh my.  When I saw the photo that Cath posted for the current Tuesday Trigger...I knew that I HAD to play along.  I love everything about this photo.  The gingham, the doily, the buttons...the thread.  It just shouts "vintage"!  Well, I guess you've figured out that I love alllll of these things.

Here's Cath's photo.  And you can see her post at Moxie Fab World.

And, my card.

I really had fun with this card :)    When I saw the inspiration pic, I knew that I wanted to use this gingham stamp from Stampin' Up!  I added some stitching to give the impression of a few quilt squares.  The red buttons are from a jar of buttons that I bought at an estate auction.  The finished size of the card is 4" x 8 1/2".
Thanks for stopping in.  It's getting late, so I've got to get away from this computer!
Toodles,

Supplies:

Card stock: certainly celery, whisper white, pool party (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: real red, pool party (SU)

Stamps: house & home (SU), sew lovely (Lawn Fawn)

Other: white ric-rack (SU beachfront originals, retired), SU edge distressing tool, sewing machine, thread, Recollections gems, paper doily from HL