CASE: You & Me

So before I jump into crafting I wanted to talk about the shooting at Chardon High School yesterday. I live just outside of Cleveland so Chardon is quite close to home for me. Not to mention working at a police department, an incident like this puts us all on high alert! If you could take a moment to keep the victims and their familes in your prayers during this tragic time.

Ok onto the card . . . I am playing along with CASE Study this time around. Karola Witczak is such a talented lady! Her frame is beautiful :)

so my style is a little simpler lol

I I cut the banner and adhered it flat to a white card base. The sentiment (Hero Arts, You & Me) was stamped onto a die (spellbinders) and popped up. The ampersand was originally stamped with milled lavender but it wasn't quite the shade I wanted. I went back in my my marer marker and colored right over the stamping.  The hearts are from Hero Arts Sweet Hearts and All Occasion messages (the tiny one). All were colored with marvy markers before being added to the card. Some were flat others with dimension. I also added glossy accents and stardust stickles to random hearts.

I'm not sure I completely love this card but I decided to share it anyway. It might inspire you to create :)

Thinking of You Lily Pad

Hello again!

Today's card is one I'm so happy with, don't you love when that happens?!
I'm playing along with the kissing challenge over at Lily Pad Cards.  Such a fun technique :)

I started by inking the flowers (Hero Arts, Large Blossom) with versamark and the script (Hero Arts, Old French Writing) with gathered twigs distress ink, I "kissed" the two together a couple of times (the old french writing is not an entire background stamp) before stamping on glossy card stock.

Once it was dry I rubbed on worn lipstick to establish my base color. I added some shading and colored the stems/leaves with my marvy markers. I've never used alcohol markers on glossy card stock but I just love how it worked out :)

For the bottom panel I colored it with my darkest pink (I didn't have matching card stock) and stamped the old french writing again using festive berries. The banner was inked with pine needles and peeled paint. The super cute sentiment is from Hero Arts All Occasion Messages. It truly is a must have set!

Keeping it super simple but I think really pretty :) What do you think? I think I'll definately be making some more cards using this technique hehe

Finding Joy with Play Date Cafe

I'm sneaking in another post before work tonight :)

This card is for The Play Date Cafe. I really loved the colors this week!

and here is my take

So I have to be upfront I cannot remember the names of the stamps I used but they are all Hero Arts. I'll update the post as soon as I make my way down to the car to get my crafty bag lol. Now for the creating . . .

I stamped my background on glossy card stock with versamark then smeared on some ripe persimmon distress ink.  I trimmed and layered it onto a blue panel. The flower was stamped twice, once on the glossy card stock and once on plain white. The plain white one I colored and trimmed out. I added it to the panel with dimensional adhesive.

The sentiment was stamped (very carefully :) with jet black archival ink. I added a bow of bakers twine and stardust stickles to finish.

Thanks for taking a look! I know I say that every post but I genuinely mean it :) I love reading your comments!!

Enjoy the Ride!

So today I'm sharing a simple card with lots of color!

The challenge over at Lawnscaping is distressing, and you know how I love my distress inks :) Plus I just picked up the Admit One stamp set and could NOT wait to use it!!

I started by getting inky. The panel was created using mustard seed, spiced marmalade, worn lipstick, seedless preserves, and chipped sapphire. I stamped the Ferris wheel in jet black archival ink then did a bit of coloring with my black marker. I stamped the sentiment in a generation style so it fades down. The two tickets were fussy cut and colored with broken china before being adhered flat to the card base. I popped the panel up on foam.

This stamp set is so cute! I can't wait to use it with my marvy markers :)

Wishing you a blessed Sunday!

A Day For Daisies: Cherry Blossom

So my drive home from work this morning was not as half as bad as expected, Thank God! The closer I got to home the less snow was flying :) I'm not sure if I have ever shared my anxiety about driving in the snow but let me tell you it's severe. God and I spend quite a bit of time together when I'm driving lol So you won't be surprised when I say I cannot wait for Spring!

Speaking of Spring today I am playing along with A Day For Daisies color challenge. I used the freebie provided on the blog . . . It's so beautiful! I just love their images. Unfortunately , all my purchases are stuck on my old computer for now. I just haven't had the time to switch them over yet :(

Here are the colors

and my take

I'm going to be completely honest. This card looks nothing like the way I imagined when I started lol. not that I don't like the card, I do!

I started by coloring the cherry blossom branch with my marvy markers. Then I fussy cut it out. Let me repeat I FUSSY cut it out. Am I a little crazy? Yep! I just love the way it looks peaking out the window! I die cut the window with a spellbinders die (sorry I'm not sure which number label it is at the moment).

I wanted the background to be soft so I stamped (Hero Arts, Old French Writing) in versamark and white heat embossed before rubbing on some spun sugar distress ink. I wanted the edges to be a little more defined so I colored them using the same pink as the flowers.

For the banner I colored the layer using the lightest blue I used on the flowers then added the white strip with the sentiment (Hero Arts, Friends). To finish it off I added some stardust stickles to the flowers :)

Thanks for looking! Wishing you a crafty snow free day!!

I'm Bananas about You!

I hope you all are looking forward to starting your weekend! They are calling for snow all weekend here and I have to work so I hope your weekend is looking better than mine :)

Tonight I am playing along withtwo challenges the first is  Cupcake Inspirations and here is the inspiration photo

I was inspired by the colors but mostly I took inspiration from that adorable little monkey!

The second challenge is CAS-ual Fridays: Just for the Pun of it

The sentiment was just too cute to pass up!

The digital stamp I used is from Bugaboo Stamps. It is part of the Valentine Critters line they created. I used the whole lot of them to make Valentine bags for the kiddies in my life. In fact I never did post those . . .I'll have to make sure I do they are super cute :)

Anyway back to the card at hand :) Before I printed the monkeys out I flipped one of them and cut off the hair/bow to make it a him instead of a her :)

I printed the monkeys and sentiment out. I actually printed the monkeys twice. I colored them with my marvy markers. To add some depth I cut out the hearts and little hands from the second set I printed and fussy cut them out. They were attached with dimensional adhesive. I also added an extra eyelash to the girl and darkened her existing eyelashes.

I realy wanted to add the glittery red paper but didn't have any . .so I made my own. I colored the punched (EK Success) piece red then added stickles in burgandy and xmas red. I cut the sentiment into a banner and added it with dimensional adhesive. To finish off the card I added glossy accents and xmas red stickles to the hearts.

Thanks for taking a peek, I'll be back tomorrow with another card :) to say "fussy cutting" would be a vast understatement lol



Have a Great Day!

Just posting a simple card I made for Operation Write Home.

Here is the sketch they provided ( I just love their sketches not to mention they archive them all! I visit frequently when I'm stumped for a layout :)

I did switch it up just a little bit   . . . .



First I flipped the sketch upside down. Then, I started by stamping the Flower Swirl Vine (Hero Arts) multiple times to cover my entire panel. I colored them in using markers.

The black border is actually two pieces like the sketch shows but I disliked it sooo much I had to change it lol, The butterfly was stamped and colored using mMarvy La Plume Markers then fussy cut out. I added some stardust stickles (of course!!)  to the butterfly and flowers. The sentiment is from the Hero Arts Friends set.

That's it for me, hope this inspired you to make something :)



Delightful Die Cuts

Hello my friends! Happy Friday to you :)

Today's card is for Less is More Challenge: Punches and Die Cuts. I suspect there will be bunches of fantastic cards entered in this one!

My card is super simply with a little technique . . . just the way I like it :)

I started by die cutting a circle (Spellbinders, Standard circles small) out of a 4 x 5 1/4 white layer.

Next I stamped the flourish background (Hero Arts, Artistic Windows) on glossy paper (Ranger). Once dry I rubbed on Broken China distress ink ink pad to paper. I buffed off the extra ink with a dry cloth.  I stamped over the background with the large butterfly (Hero Arts, Butterflies) using jet black archival ink (Ranger) I was so nervous I was going to smudge it lol I stamped another butterfly on regular white card stock and colored it with broken china to use as a second set of wings. After I fussy cut them out  I adhered the two together with a little foam tape. I know you can't see the second butterfly in the photo but you can when you look in the window from the side.

I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, You & Me) then added some bakers twine and two gems.  I had no intention of this turning into a monochromatic card when I started but that's how it ended up :)

Thanks for visiting!

Tying One On with CAS-ual Fridays

Hello, Hello!

I hope this post finds you doing wonderfully! Tonight I have a card for CAS-ual Fridays challenge Tie One On.

So if you follow me regularly you already know I'm not a ribbon girl. Do I love Ribbon? You bet! Do I one own an entire box of beautiful Ribbon? Yes, Yes I do! Is that entire box sitting on the floor unopened with a healthy layer of dust on it?! ABSOLUTELY!!

The sad truth is outside of tying it on a card to add a clean barrier I have no idea what to do with it :(  So this challenge really was a challenge for me! However, pushing outside my comfort zone always feels good and I actually like the card I ended up with :) Mission Accomplished!

So I kepyt the card really simple to let the ribbon take center stage. I cut a piece of white card stock to 3 x 4 1/4 and wrapped the ribbon around it to create a fun background panel. Then I simply staped the sentiment and added some gems. I love the vibrant colors and sentiment (Hero Arts, Made with Love) was perfect :)

Thanks for popping in! I'm off to make some Choclate Eclair cupcakes for my girlfriends birthday, Yummy!!

Chiclectic Thinking of You

Happy Sunday evening to you!

I hope your weekend has been just wonderful :) I haven't had a chance to play along with the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger in quite sometime so tonight I'm excited to have a card to share.

This week's photo had so many lovely things it was hard to pick what to highlight lol

but as always the colors won out for me :)

I stamped Hero Arts large flower background on a piece of white cut to 2 3/4 x 4. I stamped just the flower on a second piece. I am so in love with this background stamp I'm sure you'll be seeing it lots more :)
I used my Marvy La Plume markers to color in the stamped panel and extra flower. Please forgive the not so awesome coloring, I'm still learning how to use my alcohol markers :) I need to watch more Kathy Racoosin videos!!
I matted the stamped piece on black and adhered it flat to a white card base. The second flower I fussy cut and popped up on foam. I added some star dust stickles for some shine.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments.

As always your visit and comments are greatly appreciated :)

Love Bites

Hi guys!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend :)

I am playing along with a new challenge tonight, well new to me anyway! Last week I was at a local craft store hoping and praying they had memento tuxedo black ink because I just got my alcohol markers in the mail and desperately wanted to use them. You know how it is when you get new craft toys ;) Anyway, when I saw that they had it I let out s squeal of joy to which another crafter and I began laughing and chatting about.

During our conversation Rebecca mentioned she served on a couple of DT's including The Corrosive Challenge, which I had never heard of. After checking out Rebecca's blog I went over to the challenge site and found such fun :) They are a different type of blog that really pushes you outside your comfort zone. If you get a chance I hope you go check it out and also you'll want to visit Rebecca's blog, talk about a talented lady!

So the challenge is Love Bites  . . . interesting no? Here is my take

I started by tracing a large chipboard heart onto white card stock. I then colored it ink pad to paper with barn door and stamped Hero Arts, Starburst Lace in aged mahogany. For the bites taken out of the heart I punched a scrap piece of paper with my scallop edge (EK Success) and traced over the heart. I trimmed the whole piece out.

The little hearts are from Hero Arts, Sweet Hearts set and are colored with aged mahogany and festive berries. All the hearts were added to the white card base with dimensional adhesive.

For the sentiment I printed it off the computer and layered it on some black before trimming it into a banner. Stardust stickles and glossy accents accent four of the smaller hearts. 

I love how it looks like a lovey dovey Valentine until you really look at it :) One of the girls at work was like "That's so pretty . . . .oh?!" Hahaha too funny!

If your still with me after this super long post I appreciate it so much! Thanks for stopping in :)

Hot Pink Lucky Stars

Hello!

So I'm here with a card I created for two different challenges. The first is Less is More. I love their challenges because it's always different but always the same. It really pushes you to come up with something new. This week it's one layer cards with stripes.

The next challenge is The Play Date Cafe's splash of color challenge. This time around it is hot pink. What fun!! Normally I don't post my card so soon in the week because I like to play around with the color scheme. Unfortunately this means I almost always miss the deadline :( So in order to actually play along I'm posting early.

here is the combination of the two challenges

Super fun no?!

I know that stars are traditionally hot pink but I felt like the color combo gave it a kind of rocker chick edge :)

I stamped the sentiment first to get my placement then stamped the stars around it. All the stamps are from Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments set. I just colored the images with two different hot pink markers (one is a hair darker than the other). Of course I had to have some shine on those stars so I added glossy accents to the black and stardust stickles to the solid pink ones.

I have no idea why I am so hooked on the graphic look lately but I can't seem to get enough of it!!

Thanks for visiting :)

Fun Flower with Sketch

Hello my friends and how are you doing this Friday morning?

I am super excited to tell you that I am typing this post on my brand new computer YAY!!! Good Bye 9x5 screen HELLO 17inches :) I also purchased the Corel Paint Shop Pro 4 with the computer so I'll let you know how i like that once I play around with it a little more.

Today's card is actually not for challenge. In fact it is for no good reason at all :) Sometimes those cards are the best kind hehe. I did use one of the sketches from Hero Arts monthly challenge but seeing as how I was so blessed to win last month I am not entering this month. I just really loved the sketch!

I die cut my spellbinders (Curved Rectangles) out of scrap paper then traced it onto a white card base using a black marker. I thought this was a nice way to get a good focal point without the bulk. Once the marker was dry I went around again with my stardust stickles for some shine.

The flower (Hero Arts, Flower Blossom) was stamped onto the card base and a second time on scrap white. I trimmed out the second one colored with markers and popped it up on foam. I also added more stardust stickles to the center. 

I cut two different size banners and stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages) in jet black archival ink (Ranger). I threaded my buttons with some green bakers twine and adhered them with glue dots. The sketch has a bow in that position but I felt like it made the card either too simple (no buttons) or too busy (with buttons) so I just left it off.

Thanks for stopping in :)

CAS-ual Hugs and Kisses

So It's been a whole week since I've posted :(
I am super grateful for the use of my friend's Dell Inspiron mini but the screen is only 9x5 with no photo editing software. Consequently, this makes me not even want to bother posting photos but this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge lured me in lol that and the added temptation of Lily Pad Cards Pattern Paper challenge.

Paper piecing is such a versatile technique. You can keep it super simple or very detailed and I love it both ways :)
Today I decided on super simple. It is a CAS challenge after all

I stamped the hearts (Hero Arts, Sweet Hearts) on pattern paper from Basic Grey's Manila collection. I know Valentines has passed but I still can't get enough of this stamp set :) I trimmed out the hearts and colored them with my new Marvy Le Plume markers. The sentiment (Hero Arts, Year Round Sentiments) is stamped in archival jet black (Ranger). To complete the card I outlined the hearts in stardust stickles.

Speaking of Valentines my husband sent me flowers to work, how sweet is he?!

There was a whole package with the flowers including a bath set, teddy bear, and chocolates. Such a good hubby!!

Anywho, thanks for stopping by!

CAS-ual Movie

Good evening!

I'm popping in last minute to participate in CAS-ual fridays Challenge. The challenge is to do a card inspired by a movie.

I immediately thought Disney movies for some reason :) Can you guess which movie?

Yep, it's Snow White! I would have done Beauty and the Beast if I hadn't talked myself out of buying the Penny Black Love Assortment set that Rose is sooo gorgeous! Since I was sans rose I started looking through my stamps while thinking Disney . . ..Disney . . .then I saw the apple in the Hero Arts Simply the Best set. PERFECT!

I stamped the apple in the center of a white card base then again on a scrap white piece. I fussy cut the second one and colored with festive berries, barn door, fired brick, and aged mahogany. The leaf is crushed olive, peeled paint, and forest moss. I gave the whole thing a healthy coat of glossy accents. I mean how can an apple be enticing without lots of shine? :)

I wanted to play to the poison part while still keeping the design simple. I used the tree from the Hero Arts Halloween set Frightful to stamp a background/border. I think it is reminiscent of creepy evil woods. I rubbed on some pumice stone and black soot to bring it together.

So that's it, very simple card tonight. Thanks for taking a peek!

P.S. Please forgive the awful photo. My computer died and it's not worth fixing so I am using a spare that has no photo editing software until my new computer arrives.

How Thoughful You Are

Happy Hump Day!

It's actually not hump day for me I started my work week on Saturday so today is my Friday, yipee!!

Today's card is playing along with CAS-ual Fridays and they have a sketch for us to use. I {heart} sketches :) I also made this card for you all. Your sweet comments on my posts day after day really make my heart happy. I'm not sure you could find a nicer group of people than crafters :)

So here's the sketch

and my card

Super simple card today. I started by stamping the daisies (Stampendous, Daisy Trio) on a white card panel. I then cut out my rectangle for a window. I stamped the daises on another piece of white and fussy cut them out. I colored with markers since I wanted them to be very vibrant.

I laid my panel on top of a white card base and marked where my window would be. I then colored the open area with scattered straw and wild honey. I also stamped the background in scattered straw.

I layered the white panel on the card with foam. Where the flowers over hang the opening they are also attached with foam. For the sentiment I just rubbed tumbled glass direct to paper on the small banner and used the same marker as the flowers for the second banner.

Thanks so much for stopping and all your thoughful comments <3