You and Your Big Dreams

CASE: You & Me

2012-02-28T06:28:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-27T14:58:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-26T22:39:00.000-05:00

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!

2012-02-26T08:26:00.001-05:00

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

2012-02-25T08:44:00.000-05:00

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!

2012-02-24T18:00:00.034-05:00

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!

2012-02-24T07:02:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-24T06:36:00.001-05:00

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

2012-02-22T23:51:00.001-05:00

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

2012-02-19T22:28:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-18T20:42:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-17T06:19:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-17T02:16:00.002-05:00

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

2012-02-15T23:25:00.001-05:00

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

2012-02-08T23:54:00.001-05:00

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

2012-02-01T14:46:00.000-05:00

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

Butterflies for Less is More

2012-01-31T14:13:00.000-05:00

Okay last one today I promise :)

This post is for the Less is More sketch challenge. Since I kind of found my nitch in CAS cards I am super loving this challenge blog! It's funny how long you can do something without finding your own style. I'm so glad I did though It's made the process so much more enjoyable for me :)

Here is the sketch

and my take

there's that white card base again :) I stamped my butterflies (Hero Arts, Antique Engravings) on a spare piece of white then fussy cut them out. I decided to water color them with distress ink and a H20 pen. I used broken china, seedless preserves, worn lipstick, spiced marmalade, mustard seed, and peeled paint.

Here is a close up of the butterflies

The stardust stickles (it's like the white card base I can't help myself) added some fun shine. The sentiment is from Hero Arts Friends set.

Finally done posting for the day, I hope you have been inspired by what I shared with you. As always I'm so grateful you stopped by :)

Always . . CASE

2012-01-31T14:01:00.000-05:00

Back again!

This time with my take on the CASE Study challenge! I absolutely adore this challenge. I mean who doesn't take inspiration from other crafters?!

This is the card we are to CASE.

and my interpretation

Super simple just like the lovely Jennifer Rzasa's. If you would like to see all the wonderful creations from her please visit her blog.

I started with a white card base (do I use anything else anymore . . .seriously!) I stamped the hearts (Hero Arts, Sweet Hearts) in black then colored with markers. The Sentiment is from Hero Arts, Live & Laugh.

To add some interest I added stardust stickles and glossy accents to some of the hearts.
I think the hearts may be a little big what do you think?

I'll be back with one more, hope you aren't tired of me yet lol

Apparently I'm going to be one of those people

2012-01-31T13:48:00.000-05:00

You know one of those people who doesn't post for a week but then has three posts in one day :)
The way my schedule works makes posting difficult when I actually make the cards. Consequently I have a bunch to post at one time :) Hope you don't mind!

Today's first card is for The Play Date Cafe. Every week I try to play along with the wonderful ladies there and sometimes it just doesn't work out. Thankfully this week it did :) Here are the colors

and my card

I cut out a mask using my die (Spellbinders, Labels 11) and laid it down over a white card base. For the background I rubbed on faded jeans and crushed olive. To darken the color and increase the gradation I added chipped sapphire to the very edge of the top and peeled paint to the very edge of the bottom.
Leaving the mask in place I stamped the flower (Hero Arts, Tall Flower). I know this stamp is a few years old but I just love it :)

I stamped the flower again on a scrap piece of white and then fussy cut it out. I colored the pieces with Victorian velvet, seedless preserves, and dusty concord. I adhered the pieces parts to the card flat then added some stardust stickles. I decided against putting a sentiment on it so I could have it in my arsenal for whatever occasion I needed.

Thanks for popping in :)

Hanging Heart Hugs

2012-01-22T02:46:00.000-05:00

So over at Lily Pad Cards they have added a new challenge, Virginia's View. I am so excited because I super love Virginia's work. You can check out her fabulous work on her blog Yes, Virginia...

This is Virginia's first challenge and I HAD to play along

and here is my take

The photo is so gorgeous I took it quite literal. I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Truly Appreciated) first then began stamped the hearts (Hero Arts, Sweet Hearts) around it. I stamped the hearts again on a separate piece of white. I colored them with seedless preserves, worn lipstick, and dried marigold. To blend them I sprayed the heck out of them with Pearl Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels). Once they were dry I fussy cut them out and adhered them to the card. I drew in the hanging lines with a fine black pen and a ruler.

Now I love some pearl shine but my heart lies with stickles :) The pearl really muted the colors so I decided to add the stardust stickles to really make them pop off the card. I rounded one corner for some balance then popped up the whole panel on a white card base.

I really think it came out simple and sweet. yay :) Oh side note if anyone has some tips for photographing white cards please let me know. As you can see I struggle lol

Okay I'm off to play with some more stamps and ink! Thanks for coming over :)

Heartfelt Sketch

2012-01-22T02:36:00.000-05:00

Guess what I made?!

It's another sketch card! I really love sketches and the way two people with the exact same sketch can see completely different things. Since Get Sketchy went down I haven't found a really good sketch challenge. If you know of one please help a girl out :)

This card is based on another sketch from Kristina and of course a little technique too!!

I started by using the faux letterpress technique I saw in Jennifer's inspiration showcase. I inked up my embossing folder (Sizzix, Damask) with soft pool ink. I embossed the piece then cut it to 1 and 1/2 by 5 1/4. I cut two more thin strips of white that I colored using worn lipstick and dried marigold. I wanted the color to be bold so I went ink pad to paper. I added them to the card base then stamped my sentiment (Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages). I then cut out the hole with my spellbinders die.

The hearts were die cut (Cricut, George and Basic Shapes) and then inked. For the big heart I colored the entire piece with dried marigold (again ink pad to paper) then stamped (Hero Arts, Antique Brocade) with worn lipstick. The smaller heart was colored with soft pool ink then covered with stardust stickles. To finish it off I added some pen work around the circle and 3 black pearls.

One more card to share today then I'll be off to play some more hehe!

Butterfly Sketch

2012-01-22T02:22:00.000-05:00

So I have been playing around with some of the sketches provided in the clean and simple card making class.

Kristina made a card using this sketch which was completely adorable. Jennifer also mentioned you can still use technique in CAS cards you just have to be a little more selective. I combined the sketch with Jennifer's advice and this is what I got

I masked off the inside and stamped my background (Hero Arts, Large Fabric Design) with versa mark then white heat embossed. I put the mask back in place to color with worn lipstick, scattered straw, and shabby shutters. I drew a line with my marker to make a clear boundary. It looks more layered to me this way.

I stamped the butterfly (Hero Arts, Antique Engravings) three times on the base of the card and also on scrap paper. I fussy cut the scrap paper ones and colored them each with one the distress ink colors then coated them with stardust stickles. I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Live & Laugh) and the popped up the butterflies on foam to complete.

I think it's still a clean a simple card with just a little technique :) Thanks for stopping by to look and I'll be back with another card using different sketch.

Color Blocked Hearts

2012-01-19T18:53:00.000-05:00

I decided to try the coloring blocking technique Jennifer showed us in the first week of class. I had this idea in my head and that technique just wasn't working with it so I adapted :)

I cut one inch strips and colored them using Hero Arts Color challenge colors (say that three times fast). I used pumice stone, milled lavender, worn lipstick, festive berries, and spun sugar. Once I adhered them to my label I trimmed off the edges and then mounted on the black "shadow.' I stamped the hearts (Hero Arts Sweet Hearts) in jet black archival ink (Ranger) and added glossy accents to the solid ones. The sentiment is from Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages. Little pink rhinestones finish off the card.

So what do you think? I think it's lovely :)

Hey Foxy!

2012-01-19T18:47:00.000-05:00

This week in the clean and simple class Jennifer showed us some great ways to do a mirror image.
This is my first attempt and I super love it :)

I drew the frame with a black marker and a ruler. The fox is from Hero Arts and so are the hearts. I used two different sets for the two sizes. The bigger heart is from their new set Sweet Hearts and the smaller is included in the All Occasion Messages set. To create the outline heart I just stamped one inside the other. I colored with markers and added glossy accents to make the hearts shiny. Three little rhinestones create the foxy girl's "barrette".

Thanks for coming by! I have just one more post :)

Less is More: One Layer Birds

2012-01-19T18:23:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday evening to you :)

We are covered in snow here in Ohio and while we have had few significant snow falls this year I can't say I really missed it. How about you, love the snow or hate it?

Tonight I have a few cards to share so I'll apologize for posting three in one night. The first I made to play along with the Less is More Challenge: One layer cards with birds.

All the stamps are from Hero Arts Whoo Loves You set. I stamped in jet black archival ink then colored with markers. I just added glossy accents and stickles to make them shine. Such cute little love birds tee hee!

Same Colors New Card :)

2012-01-18T23:42:00.000-05:00

Since I had the mask left over from the last card I decided to use it and make a second card,

Here's Kathy's Lily Pad Palette again

The frame is colored with chipped sapphire. The flower (Hero Arts, Butterfly Flowers) is victorian velvet and seedless preserves. The leaves were colored with evergreen bough and broken china. I added some white dots in honor of Kathy :) Some deep purple pearls and glossy accents on the frame completed it. I'm not sure if I {love} it but considering I've been making next to nothing I'll take what I can get :)

Are you still there?

2012-01-18T23:35:00.001-05:00

Hello? Hello?

Hey! I know I've been missing since after Thanksgiving, please accept my sincere apologies. It's not that I haven't been crafting at all just not a lot. :( Am I the only one who has trouble finding their footing after the whirlwind of holidays? Anyway, I have a card today using Kathy's Lily Pad Palette . . . .actually I have two!

I decided to take Jennifer, Julie and Kristina's Clean and Simple card making class. At first I was a little hesitant but I am so grateful that I did! It's just what I needed to get a foot hold :) In day two Julie talked making a flat card but building in layers. This is my attempt and I really like it.

The photo just does not do it justice. I'm going to try and post a better one later. I masked by cutting out the label die (Spellbinders, Labels Two) and using repositionable adhesive. I also masked the flower (Hero Arts, Flower Blossom) leaving a white border. The mist is Turquoise Blue from Tattered Angels. It is so shimmery in real life and that maybe why it's photographing so poorly.

Thanks for coming back to visit after this crazy long hiatus and it's not too late to join in on the card class.

I'll be back to show how I used the mask in my next post!

If you've got it USE it!

2011-11-25T14:12:00.000-05:00

Did you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving? I know I did! I have so much to be thankful for J God is good.

I do have to apologize to you dear reader as I was supposed to post this on Wednesday. I had an impromptu union meeting that came up Wednesday night and I had to go in to work night shift so I had no time to post. Sorry!

The stamp set I used today isn't new but that's the wonderful thing about stamps, they don't have to be. I think they are as cute today as I did the day I bought them! Today’s card set was made using Hero Arts Holiday Dolls set, distress inks, and spellbinders. As always covered with a healthy dose of stardust stickles J I stamped the starry night background in white on white just to use it as a guide to place my stickles. If you have any questions please let me know!

crushed olive, peeled paint, forest moss

scattered straw, mustard seed, wild honey

dried marigold, ripe persimmon, spiced marmalade

barn door, fired brick, aged mahogany

spun sugar, worn lipstick, barn door

victorian velvet, seedless preserves, dusty concord

tumbled glass, broken china, faded jeans

Thanks for coming over to take a peek !

Whimsy Abounds

2011-11-22T12:18:00.000-05:00

Afternoon J

I’m back with that whimsical card set I promised!

Today’s set uses Hero Arts Laughter & Joy set, Starry Sky background, and more distress inks (shocking I know!) The punch for the snow is by EK Success.

I made all the backgrounds the same colors this time around. I inked with tumbled glass, broken china, and faded jeans then stamped in broken china. The ornaments on the trees are colored with one distress ink coloring and topped off with stardust stickles or glossy accents. I also used the stardust stickles to outline my snow.

seedless preserves

dusty concord

faded jeans

mustard seed

spiced marmalade

ripe persimmon

barn door

worn lipstick

Thanks for stopping by I cannot put into words how much I appreciate each and every visit :)

Tomorrow's set is using some older stamps but they are still super cute!!

Card Set Numero Uno :)

2011-11-21T12:34:00.000-05:00

Hello all!

Sorry about the blogging hiatus this past week. I have been crafting like crazy just haven’t gotten around to posting any of it J

This month I have been telling you all about the wonderful card drive Vera and Jennifer are doing called Cards that Care. I thought it would be fun to show you the sets I created for it this week. So each day I’ll share a set I made. These posts will be pretty picture heavy so I’ll be skimming on the process but as always if you have a question please let me know J The distress ink colors I used are listed below each card.

To make today’s set I used tons of bling, distress inks, and the Hero Arts stamp set Decorate Your Holidays.

spun sugar, worn lipstick, barn door

barn door, fired brick, aged mahogany

dried marigold, ripe persimmon, spiced marmalade

scattered straw, mustard seed, wild honey

crushed olive, peeled paint, forest moss

tumbled glass, broken china, faded jeans

stormy sky, faded jeans, chipped sapphire

seedless preserves, dusty concord, chipped sapphire

Thanks for checking in today and I hope to see you tomorrow for a more whimsical set J

Last Day with Vera

2011-11-10T05:23:00.000-05:00

Welcome back for mine and Vera’s last day of Pinterest inspiration. I had such fun creating this week. Vera is one talented gal and I am so blessed to have her as a friend J

Here’s our last photo

Now I don’t know about you but when I see a boutonniere I think corsage. Maybe I had one too many high school dances hehe.

I decided to go with a Christmas corsage. I used the colors from the photo adding the green into the mix.

I started with a white card base and stamped my leaves (Hero Arts, Delicate Leaf Clusters) using crushed olive, peeled paint, and forest moss. The holly(Hero Arts, Archivers, Holiday Cheer) I added in by using just forest moss. Lastly I inked up my branch (Hero Arts, Delicate Leaf Clusters) with gathered twigs to add some brown.

For the flowers (Hero Arts, Layered Flowers) I stamped them on a spare sheet of white and trimmed them out. They were colored with barn door, fired brick, and aged mahogany. I added them to my card by just adhering the middle. I didn’t want the whole card to be flat :) It's hard to see in the photo but around the edges I added some tumbled glass very lightly.

The sentiment (Hero Arts, Merry Christmas Trees) was stamped in jet black archival ink (Ranger). I added some burgundy stickles for the holly berries and a brown rhinestone to the flower centers to complete.

This card is a little busier than I usually prefer but I’m hoping it still brings someone a smile. Remember even though our pairing up is over Vera and Jennifer are collecting cards for the Cards that Care drive until November 30^th so there is still plenty of time to start crafting!! I’m heading over to Vera’s to see what she made on our last day!

Day Two with Vera

2011-11-09T06:21:00.001-05:00

Welcome back for day two of my pairing up with Vera! Wasn’t her card yesterday just lovely? I’m so proud of her for tackling that flower stamp!

I’m sticking with the Christmas theme and here is our inspiration photo

I really took to the stripe and the flowers. You know I love me some big flowers J

I started with a white card base and rounded opposite corners. Then I took my background stamp (Hero Arts, Stripes Pattern) and inked it up with crushed olive. I did spritz it with water before stamping so I got really good coverage. My ink pad needs to be reinked (for shame, I know) and it isn’t as wet as it could be so the water helps. I stamped on an angle to created a diagonal stripe. To cover the whole card I had to do some matching up but I’m thrilled with the way it came out. To add to the Christmas feel and throw in a little more interest I went back in with a fine red marker and a T-square to create the thin lines.

For the center panel I stamped my flowers (Hero Arts, Stencil Flower) in jet black archival ink. I stamped them again on a scrap piece of white and fussy cut them out. Once I had my flowers all cut apart I colored them with barn door, fired brick, and aged mahogany. I adhered them flat to my panel and trimmed off the edges. Since I wanted a Christmas card and I didn’t actually use any Christmas stamps I added stardust stickles to the edges of the petals and glossy accents to the center. Is it just me or does glitter say holiday to you too?

I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Merry Christmas Trees) in black and added some clear rhinestones. To add the panel to my card base I used dimensional adhesive.

I’m off to see what Vera made, I just know it will be fabulous J

Pairing up with Vera

2011-11-08T07:17:00.000-05:00

Hello and a Happy Tuesday to you!

I am so excited to tell you that Vera Yates and I will be pairing up for the next three days J I absolutely adore her! We will be using a different Pinterest photo for inspiration each day.

Here’s today’s inspiration photo

and since Vera is doing Cards that Care Card Drive I decided to make a set of cards to send in.

If you missed the info or the hop for the card drive please check out Vera’s blog all the info is here. It is a fantastic opportunity to give back.

I started by stamping my sentiment (Hero Arts, Archivers, Celebrate the Season) with Versamark and then heat set it with white.

I rubbed on two distress inks per background then stamped the background (Hero Arts, Magical Background) in the darker color ink. For the close up (and my fav) I used faded jeans and chipped sapphire, then stamped in chipped sapphire.

I stamped my doves on white then fussy cut them out. I stamped the wing a second time and cut that out too J I adhered the dove’s flat to the card panel then added the second wing with foam. To add some sparkle (you know I love me some sparkle) I highlighted certain areas with a silver gel pen and covered the entire dove in stardust stickles. To make the eye pop I used black enamel accents.

Here is the whole set, sorry for the terrible photos but foe some reason blogger won't load the nice ones :(

Thanks for visiting and be sure to head over to Vera's Blog to see how she was inspired! Hopefully you’ll be inspired to make a few cards yourself for the drive ;)

Cards that Care Blog Hop

2011-11-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to your next stop on the Cards that Care Blog Hop. You should have come here from Karin's blog. If you are just stopping in to visit me please join us in the fun :) I hear there are some super awesome prizes to be won *wink*wink* The blog hop starts with the wonderful Vera. If you get lost on the way you can find the entire list of participants on her blog.

Okay for those of you who don't know the Cards that Care card drive is all about collecting Christmas/Holiday cards to send to nursing homes. I grew up spending summers with my Grandparents and all their friends so I have a real affection for this card drive. Big thanks to Vera and Jennifer for putting this together. You can find all the card drive information here.

So about those prizes. Winners will be picked from comments left on the participants blogs. So leave some love and maybe win a cool prize ;) You have until Sunday at midnight (cst) to leave comments.

Now to the card

All the stamps are Hero Arts (who just so happens to be one of the sponsors of those super cool prizes) I used Decorate Your Holidays and Magic of Christmas stamp sets.

I like a clean and simple card (with lots of shine hehe) and I hope you do too. Now you are off to see what the super talented Amy created. Thanks for hopping along!!

Cas-ual Sketch

2011-11-02T22:02:00.000-04:00

Happy Hump Day! Which is actually my Friday, so I'm happier about it than most :)

I'm playing along with Cas-ual Fridays super cute sketch tonight.

Here's my take

I started with a white card base. I stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts, Sending Smiles Messages to create a text background. The sentiment is actually meant for the inside of the card but it worked perfectly for what I wanted. The added a cardstock strip in create the cut off. Both the sentiment and strip are pumice stone.

The flower (Hero Arts, Sweet Petals) was colored with dried marigold, ripe persimmon, and spiced marmalade. The leaves (Hero Arts, 3 Leaves) are colored with crushed olive, peeled paint, and forest moss. It's hard to see in the photo but I curled the leaves for some dimension.

The large sentiment is from the same Hero Arts set as the small and was stamped in Jet Black Arcival ink (Ranger).

Thanks for looking! Hope you enjoyed this clean and simple card :)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T19:39:00.001-04:00

I hope you all are out enjoying the trick or treaters tonight!

Unfortunately for us we only get a handful in our neighborhood :( However I do get to celebrate in other ways. I going to share the gift bags I make for my nieces, nephews, and co-workers kids.

This year I combined adorable digital stamps from The Greeting Farm and actually stamps from Hero Arts. I used both Frightful and Delightful and Happy Halloween.

I really love the way they came out so I hope you do too :) This is a picture heavy post so I won't be sharing how I did it. However if you have questions feel free to drop me an email or comment and I'll be happy to share.

Please forgive the background I forgot to take photos before I left, so I had to do it at work :)

Thanks for looking and Happy Halloween!

Penny Black Wreath

2011-10-30T22:03:00.000-04:00

Good evening friends!
I'm popping in to share a card I made for the Penny Black sketch challenge and this week's Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World.

When I sat down with the Tuesday Trigger photo I saw Christmas colors and geometric shapes

then I thought "Didn't I see a sketch over on Penny Black using squares?" why yes, yes I did

Then I got out all my Christmas penny black stamps and hmmmed and hawed through them until I finally decided to go with the cute little stamps of hedgehogs and puppies.
I started by cutting out my squares in order to see what size I needed. I laid them down on the card base to see how that would look then I thought "Huh, those squares make the card look like a door. hmmm a door."

Goodbye hedgehogs and puppies :)

I drew a circle outline on a scrap piece of white then stamped the branch (Penny Black, Trims) into a wreath. I'm really into the wreaths lately :) I stamped in crushed olive, peeled paint, and forest moss. Once I fussy cut it out I lightly added more crushed olive so the border wasn't white.

For the card base I cut out four squares which I colored using barn door, and fired brick. The card base is barn door, fired brick, and aged mahogany. I adhered the squares flat then added the wreath with foam.

To make the wreath really shine I covered the leaves in stardust stickles and added red rhinestones for the "berries" on my "holly". I completed the card with a white bow.

Thanks for stopping in, I can't tell you how much your visits and comments brighten my day :)

I'll be back tomorrow to share the gift bags I made for Halloween (warning: it is a picture heavy post :)

Hero Arts Holiday Wishes

2011-10-23T23:22:00.000-04:00

Good evening! How was your day today?

I was lucky enough to spend my Sunday with my family {love} :) Since my Grandfather past away I find myself even more grateful for the time I get to spend with them. God is so good!

Tonight's card is for Hero Arts monthly challenge. I decided to make a card using non-holiday stamps.

I know it's not the best picture :( but I'm still trying to figure how to take pictures of the shiny stuff. Any tips?

This card is super simple but I really love it. I stamped the branch from Delicate leaf clusters into a wreath which I heat embossed with white. I rubbed on some tumbled glass and broken china to make the embossing pop. Then just added some rhinestones and a bow. Super simple but that's the way I like it!

Happy Sunday to you! Thanks coming by :)

Card Drive for Spina Bifida

2011-10-22T23:52:00.000-04:00

Hello, hello! I hope you all have been enjoying your weekend. I've spent my week cleaning and crafting but not necessarily blogging :(

Tonight I'm sharing a couple of cards I made for a card drive. The wonderful Giovana is doing a drive for 4 kids who have Spina Bifida. Her goal is to send each child 100 cards, I hope she makes it :)

If you would like to send one of these little angels a card there is still time! Giovana is collecting up until October 31st. You can get all the info here.

These our my contributions

First up a mini coloring book. This whole set-up is super easy. I printed regular card size images. Mine happen to be biblical but you can choose any theme. There are a TON of free coloring book pages online. I made one of each, all with different cover and personalized with computer generated banners.

These little monsters are so adorable!! I stamped them on an angle so they would look like they were being lifted up by their balloons.

These little cuties were stamped with the background builders in my hero arts sentiments set. They include so many little stamps I had a hard time choosing. Some masking and ruler/marker drawing made this really clean.

I used the background builders again to customize my cars paint job :) I think they turned out adorable!! Did you notice some different colors peeking out of my scallops? It was a stamping accident that I actually turned out to like lol. I love when that happens!

Last but not least happy little pinwheels! I saw the colors for Kathy's color palette over at Lily Pad and thought primary colors are perfect for kids cards!!

Here are all the cards that each child will receive.

Logan

Madison

Rebekah

and Tanner

Thanks for stopping in. I didn't get in detail for the cards because this post is already super long (thanks for sticking with me:) If you have a question please leave me a comment or shoot me an email. Hopefully you'll have time to make a card or two (or send some you already have made) for these precious angels.

Witch's Brew

2011-10-12T00:06:00.003-04:00

Good evening!

I'm coming in just under the wire with this week's challenge over at The Play Date Cafe. I love color challenges which is why I always try to play along even though Tuesday is a bad day for me. What's your favorite kind of challenge?

Here are this week's colors

I'm also playing along with Wee Memories Halloween Challenge. I mean these colors are perfect for Halloween right? :)

Wee Halloween + Play Date Cafe colors =

I started by printing the super cute stamp (A Day For Daisies, Witch's Brew) out several times on white card stock. I cut one with the large label (Nestabilities) to be my base then distressed it with pumice stone. The rest of the images I cut apart to color. I used a water brush and dried marigold to create their skin tone. They are a little fair skinned but I wanted it that way, they are witches after all :)

For the Pink witch I used worn lipstick, shading with barn door. Then I stamped little spiderwebs (Hero Arts, Happy Halloween) all over her outfit using white chalk ink (Hero Arts). The purple witch was colored with dusty concord and shaded with chipped sapphire. Her outfit was stamped with spiders (Hero Arts, Happy Halloween) in black ink. I colored the "brew" with shabby shudders. For the mat I just traced the outside of the die and cut it by hand.

To create the background I stamped the background (Hero, Arts, Large Fabric Design) in versamark then heat embossed in white. I inked with worn lipstick, dusty concord, and shabby shutters. I mounted this panel on a black card base, then added the image on foam.

To complete I added glossy accents to the cauldron and some stardust stickles to their stars, and the brew bubbles.

Hope you're having a gorgeous evening, Thanks for popping in :)

Moxie Fab, meet Penny Black

2011-10-08T22:27:00.001-04:00

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend, I know I sure have been. Despite working I'm still getting in some crafty time whoo hoo!!

Since I work weekends it is a rarity that I get to play along with the Penny Black weekly challenge. I have made several cards for it but I never have enough time to post them. My new game plan is to try and make sure my card is done by Thursday or Friday then hopefully I'll have the weekend to just get them posted. This week;s challenge is to use a collage stamp.

I'm also sneaking in another challenge I love but almost never get to because of work. Moxie Fab Trigger Tuesday! Their photo this week is so Autumn (and delish)!!

Those colors and stripes just beckoned me, here's what I came up with

The card base started out white then was colored with antique linen. For my panel I embossed the lower half with Distressed Stripes (Cuttlebug) and colored heavily with vintage photo. the top portion is colored heavy with mustard seed and lightly with wild honey. The middle strip is some more antique linen.

I stamped the flower (Penny Black, Poppy Poem) on white and cut out a rectangle to 2 1/8 x 4. I cut out a second piece of white at the same size. I distressed both with the side of my scissors then rubbed on antique linen, brushed corduroy, and vintage photo. I did this to both pieces. For the bottom layer I stamped the lines (Trims, Penny Black) in brushed corduroy.

I stamped the flower again fussy cutting the flower and leaves out. The flower is colored with scattered straw, wild honey, and rusty hinge. The leaves with shabby shutters, peeled paint, and forest moss.

I tied some twine around my main panel before adhering it to my card base. I added my distress layers with foam. The flower was also added with foam. I added some glossy accents to the center and a little twine bow to finish.

Thanks for dropping in. Your visits and comments make day :)

Sending You Circles

2011-10-07T22:45:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! Anybody have any fun plans for the weekend?
I'm working all weekend but at least the nice weather is still around.

Since it's Friday I'm posting a card for Wee Memories Favorite Technique challenge.

I love all kinds of techniques so it was hard to narrow it down to one lol. I decided on a CAS card stamped with paint. (Please forgive the pic :)

I started by inking up my background stamp (Hero Arts, Large Fabric Design) with a Adirondack Snow Cap paint dabber (Ranger) and stamping on a sheet of white cardstock. I ended up stamping it twice so I would have enough to cut all my circles. Once the paint was dry I rubbed on scattered straw, worn lipstick, and shabby shutters. Make sure you wipe away the excess ink with a damp rag or baby wipe.
I cut my circles using spellbinders and inked the edges with black soot.

The base is a standard sized card with one rounded corner. I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Truly Appreciated) with jet black archival ink. To attach the circles I used some liquid adhesive and some foam for dimension.

I topped the circles off with stardust stickles or glossy accents to make them pop. Lastly I added clear rhinestones for more shine.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!!

Many Thanks Tree

2011-10-05T17:54:00.000-04:00

Hello there :)

I'm still basking in the glorious sun and seventy degree temps here, love it!! When I sat down to create my card today i never dreamed it would cover as much as it does. Usually I'm a one card one challenge kind of girl, but not today.

First I'm playing with CAS-ual Fridays which is what I set out to do lol. The challenge there is to use a ribbon loop or tab.

Once I was thinking about what I wanted to make I remembered seeing this super cute stamp at A Day For Daisies . Well Once I got there I saw they were doing a texture challenge . . easy enough :) Then in the midst of the craftiness I realized I could use this image to create an OWH Hero card, yay!! If you aren't familiar with Operation Write Home and would like to know more click HERE

So here it is

I printed the stamp 4 times. Once to use as a base and the other 3 to cut apart. Yes I know cutting everything apart is time consuming but I just don't love the final image as much if I have to color it any other way :)

I colored the leaves with shabby shutters, peeled paint, and forest moss. The flowers with tumbled glass, broken china, and faded jeans. Last the tree trunk with antique linen, brushed corduroy, and walnut stain.

One all the coloring was done I glued the pieces onto the base. I popped the flowers and tree trunk up on foam. The tree was popped so I could wrap the ribbon (Paper Studio) around it. I added stardust stickles to the flowers and because it is a OWH card I also covered them in glossy accents. This ensures the glitter will not come off on our soldiers. I added some daffodil pearls (Craftaroo) to the flower centers.

I stamped the sentiment with black soot and embossed with clear to add another element of texture.

I appreciate you all coming to see me :) For all my OWH Ladies (or anyone who thinks this image is adorable) the wonderful Tammi at A Day for Daisies has this listed as a freebie along with 2 other ribbon trees and some other cute stamps. ENJOY!!

Play Date Cafe Best Wishes

2011-10-04T14:42:00.000-04:00

Good Afternoon! I hope you all are feeling as happy as I am! We are FINALLY getting some much needed sunshine here in northeast Ohio :) I do have to work today but then I'm off for a few. All in All I'm excited for a crafty, sunshiny week, whoo hoo!!

Today I have a card for The Play Date Cafe's weekly challenge. Boy was it a challenge, check out these colors

I love rich fall colors but often times I don't know what to do with them. Here is what I cam up with

The whole card is pretty simple. I colored my background panel with brushed corduroy, vintage photo, and walnut stain. To add some interest I flicked some water I top. Once dry I mounted it to a white card base.

I cut a 1 1/4 x 4 strip and colored it with weathered wood, stormy sky, and chipped sapphire. I added a scallop edge (EK Success) and adhered it to the brown panel.

I cut two circles out of white card stock, leaving the nestabilities in place I ink with antique linen. I stamped the flowers (Hero Arts, Delicate blossoms) on one circle and again on white cardstock. I trimmed the second flowers out and colored with barn door, fired brick, and aged mahogany. I adhered them flat the the lowers stamped on the circle. The sentiment is from Hero Arts, Classic Messages stamped in walnut stain. I popped the circles up on foam and added some stardust stickles to complete.

Thanks for dropping in! Wishing you some sunshine where ever you are :)

Autumn with the Cafe

2011-09-27T05:16:00.001-04:00

Hello! I'm here to share a fall theme card with you all. Hopefully you're having gorgeous fall weather where you are, here in Ohio it's rainy, cloudy, yucky :( It's been like this since Friday and it's not supposed to clear out until Wednesday night. Normally I would use this as a good excuse for crafting but unfortunately I have to work.

I created today's card using the colors from The Play Date Cafe's 100th challenge. Congratulations to them :) Here's to 100 more!!

my take

I started by inking my acrylic mount with spiced marmalade, mustard seed, and peeled paint. I spritzed it generously with water then "stamped" onto a piece of white card stock. Once dry I trimmed it down to the desired size (4 x 2 3/4). I stamped the two small leaves with vintage photo and brushed corduroy. To complete the background panel I distressed the edges and inked them with vintage photo.

I stamped the 3 leaves on white and fussy cut them out. I colored them using the same colors as above then inked their edges with vintage photo.

I mounted the panel on a white card base flat, then added my leaves in different dimensions using foam. I tied on some embroidery floss and added a bow. For the sentiment I stamped on white then followed the same pattern I did for the background, distressing and inking. I also mounted it on foam.

To give the card a little something eye catching I coated one leaf (green) in glossy accents and one (yellow) in stardust stickles. All the stamps I used are from Hero Arts Season of Giving Set.

It means so much that you guys pop in to see me, thank you!!

Fall is almost here

2011-09-23T09:46:00.000-04:00

Hello friends! Today I have made a card for Lily Pad Cards sketch challenge. It's also my first autumn card of the season! How are you celebrating fall this year? Pumpkin carving or hay rides? I'm hoping to drag my hubby to a train ride through northern Ohio. The leaves changing makes the ride extra special :)

Onto the sketch

my take

I wanted to do something different with the lines, I hope it works :)
I started with a white card base and rounded one corner. I rubbed on antique linen and then used it to stamp the background (Hero Arts, Magical Background) I know it's difficult to see in the photo but it's soft and pretty in real life.

Next I used a scrap piece of white paper and colored it with distress inks. I used peeled paint, vintage photo, fired brick, and scattered straw. Once I was done I stamped the leaves (Hero Arts, Season of Giving) randomly over the entire surface. After I fussy cut them out I had several multi-colored leaves. I adhered the leaves flat in 3 rows on my card base. Because the leaves needed to be grounded somehow I added a maroon gemstone as a connector.

I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Season of Giving) before going any farther since I didn't want my rosette to be in the way (yes, I have made that mistake once or twice lol).

The rosette was created using a 3/4 strip I colored with walnut stain and vintage photo. The heart was die cut (Cricut, George and Basic Shapes_ and colored with barn door, fired brick, and aged mahogany. I covered the heart in glossy accents and added a twine bow to finish.

Thanks for checking me out, you guys make my heart happy :)

Just a Note: Minicards

2011-09-21T21:55:00.000-04:00

As promised I am back today with some minicards, this week's challenge oer at CAS-ual Fridays.

Working on a smaller scale is usually more difficult for me but I'm pretty happy with the way these little guys turned out.

You all know how I love, love, love card sets hehe. So of course I couldn't make just one card!

I started but cutting my card base 2 3/4 x 4. Basically I just cut a standard size card in half then trimmed off the last 1/4 to make it 4 inches. ( I hope that makes sense) I cut three 1 x1 white squares for each card and stamped the flower (Hero Arts, Layered Flowers) in different corners. I matted these with a black square.

I stamped the flowers again on white then fussy cut them out. To color I used distress inks (of course!) for the pink: spun sugar, worn lipstick, barn door. Blue: tumbled glass, broken china, faded jeans. Purple: milled lavender, dusty concord, chipped sapphire. Red: barn door, fired brick, aged mahogany. After they were colored I adhered them flat to the previously stamped square and trimmed them so they were flush with the side.

I adhered a 1/2in strip of black on my card base them added my squares with foam adhesive. The sentiment (Hero Arts, Everyday Sayings) was stamped with jet black archival ink (Ranger). I finished the card off by covering the flowers in stardust stickles and adding black enamel accents to the centers.

Thanks for stopping by :)

A Lot of Yellow and a Little Lavender

2011-09-20T15:26:00.000-04:00

is how I would describe my card for The Play Date Cafe's color challenge this week. This week's color were really a challenge for me because, well they are my least favorite colors :) I really thought I would use more purple but apparently I was embracing the yellow lol

The inspiration photo

and my card

I kept it super simple today :) It seems like lately I'm keeping it that way a lot. Something about the clean designs really appeals to me.

I stamped the leaves (Hero Arts, Delicate Leaf Clusters) in scattered straw. The sentiment (Hero Arts, Truly Appreciated) is stamped in jet black archival ink (Ranger). To add my lavender I used pearls (Craftaroo). To keep the card a little interesting I rounded one corner and popped my main panel up on foam.

Tonight my husband and I are concert goers :) He bought me tickets for my birthday and I'm so excited it's finally here!! Foo Fighters Here we come!!

Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back tomorrow with some mini-cards.

Are you ready for some . . .

2011-09-16T18:23:00.001-04:00

Masking?!

The challenge over at Wee Memories this week is to create a one layer card.

Just before I started this post I saw sweet Jenny from Wee Memories had posted on facebook that this week's challenge wasn't that popular. WHAT?! I could not disagree more! Is creating a one layer card a little more work? Maybe it is but is creating a dimension card that is completely flat totally freaking awesome? Yes, Yes it is :)

So here is my card

I started my card with a standard sized white card base. I then cut another piece to the "cover" size (5 1/2 x 4 1/4) and centered my die (Spellbinders, Large Labels) before I ran it through my cuttlebug. This way I had two pieces. I laid down the negative on top of my card base then used a black sharpie to trace the outline. Once I had the outline I put the positive in with some repositionable adhesive. This step might have been unnecessary, I probably could of just stuck the positive down and traced around it. However this particular die doesn't keep those nice edges if you trace around them, they get too round.

Once my positive was in place I removed the negative. I stamped my flower (Hero Arts, Large Flower) on scrap paper, fussy cut them out, and applied repositionable adhesive. These are my second masks. I stamped the flower around the card base, masking and stamping to cover the entire thing. For the coloring I wanted bright bold colors so I used markers.

Once colored I removed the mask and stamped my sentiment (Hero Arts, Live & Laugh). Lastly I added good old reliable, stardust stickles.

Thanks for coming over and visiting. Don't let a little more work scare you out of trying a one layer card. Just because its lat doesn't mean it can't be beautiful :)

Thinking of you Lily Pad Challenge

2011-09-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

Good Evening! I'm getting this entry in last minute (no surprise there!). If you follow me you know that I ADORE Kathy Racoosin. She has a Color Challenge over at Lily Pad Cards that I absolutely love playing along with. Here are Kathy's Colors

and this is my card

The sponsor for this challenge is A Day For Daisies. If you are into digital stamps they have such adorable images. Including the one I used on my card called Sleeping Flower.

I printed out the image four times. I like to cut the image apart so I can layer and color how I want to. I also use one of the images on my background so I can out humpty dumpty back together again :)

I colored the entire card with distress inks. I used dried marigold for her skin tone. Brushed corduroy and walnut stain for her hair. Spun sugar, worn lipstick, and barn door for her dress and wings. Scattered straw, spiced marmalade, and rusty hinge to color the flower. For the stem and the background I used Shabby shutters, peeled paint, and forest moss. I wanted this precious fairy to be in a magical forest but I didn't want to clutter up the card and take away from the image so I used my various greens to highlight the center then stamped in my lightest green (shabby shutters) with Hero Arts Magical Background.

I not usually a border person (unless I'm scrapbooking then . . lookout!) but again this image is so gorgeous on it's own I wanted to make it front and center. I colored the border with worn lipstick and spiced marmalade. The sentiment (Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages) is kept simple (are we noticing a pattern here? :) on a white banner popped up and scored. The only pop I added was stardust stickles (Totally hooked! Do they have rehab for stardust addicts?!) on the wings. I mean a fairy can't be magical without glitter :)

Thanks for popping in!

Enjoy!

2011-09-13T14:01:00.002-04:00

I'm playing along with The Playdate Cafe and the colors are gorgeous!

Here's my card

I started with a white card base which I colored with mustard seed distress ink. I then stamped (Archivers Exclusive Hero Arts Set Mixed Design) a circle background using more mustard seed. I didn't want the background to be blah but I wanted the flowers to take center stage.

I stamped 15 flowers (Hero Arts, 4 Flowers) on white card stock then fussy cut them out (yes it was crazy). I colored them using tumbled glass and broken china. I used a stencil to draw my heart in pencil on the card base then began filling in my flowers. To create some depth I adhered some flowers flat and some with foam. To complete the flowers I colored some rhinestones navy blue and put them in the centers. I only buy clear rhinestones now because I can color them with alcohol ink (or any sharpie) it saves me tons of money!

To finish out the card I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Live & Laugh) in jet black archival ink (Ranger).
Thanks for coming over for a visit you all always make my day!

Inspired by Jill Foster

2011-09-03T21:53:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day Weekend :) I hope you guys are going to have more fun then me, I'm working all three days!

This week on the Penny Black Blog they challenged us to CASE one of the designers cards. I'm sure it won't be a shock that I decided to CASE a card by Jill Foster :) I absolutely love her style! This is Jill's card here.

I love the color scheme she used. Bright colors + Black = Gorgeous!!!

Here is my take

I stamped the star burst (Penny Black, Trims) in Versamark then heat set with white. I used broken china, peeled paint, mustard seed, spiced marmalade, and barn door to create the rainbow background. In order to add some more interest I added black enamel accents on top of the dots of the star burst. I rounded the corners of the panel and added a black border.

For the center I die cut (Spellbinders, Labels 8) my label then stamped the sentiment (Penny Black, To You) in jet black archival ink (Ranger). To add a little bit of bling like Jill has on her card I outlined my label with black diamond stickles. Once dry I added my label with foam tape to my black cardstock banner. I adhered the whole panel with foam tape to a white cardbase.

Thanks for stopping by, if you have the time stop over to the Penny Circle on Flickr. Talk about inspiration :)

September Sketch

2011-09-01T17:47:00.000-04:00

Hello Hello!

So after my extremely busy July my Mojo fled for August :( Hopefully it's back now for a long stay!

I can't believe summer is nearly over, but to be honest I'll be happy to leave all these crazy thunderstorms behind.
Today I am playing along with Lily Pad Cards Greeting Farm Sketch challenge. I don't own any Greeting Farm stamps but they are super cute and would love to add them to my collection!!

Here is the sketch

and my card

I started by die cutting my oval and it's border (Cricut, George and Basic Shapes). I stamped the Poppy (Hero Arts, Delicate Blossoms) on the smaller oval. I stamped it again on another piece of white to color. I used scattered straw, worn lipstick, and spiced marmalade with my H20 pen. Once they dried I fussy cut them out. I colored the leaves and stems with a olive colored sharpie. Before I glued the flowers to my oval I added some antique linen around the edges.

For the back ground I stamped the Large Fabric Design (Hero Arts) in Versamark then heat set with white embossing powder. I randomly rubbed on the same distress inks I used to color the flowers. When doing this resist make sure you use a baby wipe to buff your embossed areas, this make sure they are really white. I rounded the top left and bottom right corners of my background panel and the white card base. I adhered all the elements flat.

To finish I added two hemp bows and stardust stickles to the flower petal edges. The sentiment (Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages) is stamped in jet black archival ink (Ranger)

Thanks for hanging in there with me the last few months. I am so grateful you all stop by to see me :) Hopefully we'll be seeing more of each other soon!!

OWH Sketch

2011-08-06T11:00:00.003-04:00

Hello Hello!

I'm back (I can't take credit for two days in a row of posting, this one is pre-scheduled because I'm actually working a double as you read this :) with a card I made for Operation Write Home. The wonderful Julie sent me this lovely sketch to work with.

Gorgeous, right?!
Here is what I came up with

I cut a piece of white to a standard sized card then rubbed on some barn door distress ink. For the main panel I used spellbinders labels eight. I cut one in white, then traced the die to get the border in black. I stamped Hero Arts Musical Background in Black Soot.

For the hearts I actually traced some chipboard hearts onto white cardstock and cut them out (it's the greedy crafter in me I get use up all of what I love) For the solid heart I stamped polka dots (Oriental Trading, Fruit salad) with white them heat embossed with white. I colored the entire heart with barn door.

The open heart I colored with barn door but them covered the whole thing with versamark and utee. Once the utee was melted down I added another layer ( I think I added 3 total) to get that great shine. With OWH cards glitter is a big no-no so finding other ways to add texture is always a good idea. The partial scallop border is just a couple of small circles punched out of black cardstock.

I wrapped the whole panel with grey DMC floss, added a button and a bow. The sentiment is from Hero Arts Classic Messages. Thinking of you cards are always big winners at OWH.

Thanks for stopping by to see my contribution! A big THANKS to OWH for all that they do for our Heroes and allowing me to participate on their blog :)

It's been a long July . . .

2011-08-05T21:39:00.000-04:00

but I'm finally back :) I missed you guys!!

Between two girls being off at work and my Husband's 30th birthday July was a rough month. I have had almost no time to craft let alone blog :(
Plus my mojo was feeling a little "blah" as of late, hopefully my time away will help out with that.

At the beginning of the year Kathy had posted a gorgeous Distress Color Chart. I am always so in awe of her! I really wanted to create one for myself and since my mojo was taking a vacation I figured this required almost no creativity from me. Here is the link to Kathy's fantastic chart.

and here's mine: (You'll notice a few missing spaces, I still need Old Paper, Frayed Burlap, and Pine Needles)

I stamped the Butterfly (Hero Arts, Butterflies) with jet black archival ink then fussy cut them all out. I colored in the lines of the bodies and polka dots on the wings with a white gel pen. Each butterfly was colored with a different color distress ink.

Front shot

Side view

For the labels the used my Storybook Cricut Cartridge (God Bless Kathy for cutting out all those spellbinders labels:) I wrote each name with a black sharpie. I stamped each color using the smaller version of the magical background. It's from the Archiver's exclusive Hero Arts Mixed Design set. To finish I distressed the edges.

Top Right Close up

Top Left Close Up

Bottom Left Close up

Bottom Right Close up

The only addition I made from Kathy's is adding Stardust stickles on parts of the wings. I use stardust all the time (if you follow me you know I'm an addict hehe) so it was something I definitely needed on my chart.

I adhered just the butterfly body to the label and folded the wings up for some added texture. I also made one other change. I adhered my labels with repositionable adhesive. This way If I want to compare colors when I'm trying to come up with a color combo I like I can just pluck them off the board and stick them back up when I'm done.

I still have my Color Chart from the Ranger website It's a simple 8.5 x 11 that is easy for me to take on the go.

Thanks for stopping by and sorry for my extended absence. I'll be back tomorrow with a sketch sample (I promise :)

Rainbow card set

2011-07-07T23:40:00.002-04:00

Hello Friday :) I'm looking at a weekend off so I'm super excited! This week I knew I wanted to play along with Embellish Color Trends Rainbow Challenge.

I love the once a month Inspiration Challenge at Lily Pad Cards, so I'm playing along with them too. This month they had Jennifer McGuire (love) visiting on their blog. She created beautiful cards using a couple of different resist techniques. I decided to use the paint resist technique for my card set.

I created this card set for my friend's birthday using the large fabric design and classic messages. Both stamp sets are from Hero Arts.

I cut a panel of white card stock to 4 x 5 1/4 and rounded one corner. I stamped the large fabric design with Snow Cap Adirondack acrylic paint (Ranger). Once it was dry I rubbed on a dark, a medium, and a light distress ink of each color. For example the purple one in the above photo is milled lavender (light), dusty concord (medium), and chipped sapphire (dark). I hope that makes sense :)

For the hearts I traced chipboard hearts (hoarder, I know) onto white card stock and cut them out. For the closed heart I sprayed it with Pearl Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels) just to add a little shine. Once they were dry I took the medium color of distress ink and inked the edges. I also used the medium ink to color the entire open heart, I added glossy accents for even more shine :)

I cut a half inch strip of white and stamped the sentiment from Classic Messages with jet black archival ink (Ranger). The set has 8 different sentiments, I used a different sentiment for each color. I adhered everything flat except for the open heart, for that I used foam adhesive. I mounted the whole panel on a white card base after I rounded the top right corner.

Here is the whole lot of them, with a list of the distress inks I used.

milled lavender, dusty concord, and chipped sapphire

spun sugar, worn lipstick, and Victorian velvet

worn lipstick, barn door, and fired brick

wild honey, spiced marmalade, and rusty hinge

scattered straw, mustard seed, and wild honey

shabby shutters, peeled paint, and forest moss

tumbled glass, broken china, and faded jeans

Thanks for popping by :) I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-03T22:39:00.000-04:00

If you are looking for the Young Crafter's Blog Hop click Here

Happy Fourth of July to you!! Any Independence Day celebrations planned?

I have to work today but thankfully only until 3:30. Then I'll be heading over to my grandparents for a cookout with family :) The 4th is our big family holiday and all of my out of town relatives come to visit, can't wait to see them!!

Today's card is fitting for the holiday and I'm playing along with Penny Black. The challenge is to decorate your card inside and out. I'm also entering this into OTWC color challenge. Of course it's Red, White, and Blue to celebrate this wonderful holiday :)

This is OTWC Inspiration photo

Here is my card

This large stamp from Penny Black's Trims collection has always looked like a firework to me :) I kept the card simple to let the beautiful stamp be the star (hehe) of the show. I stamped my "fireworks" in barn door, faded jeans, and broken china.

The sentiment is from another Penny Black set, To You. I stamped this in jet black archival ink (Ranger). To make my fireworks shine I added stardust stickles.

Here is the inside, I stamped in the same colors and used the same stickles.

Thanks for dropping by and Happy Independence Day to you all!

Young Crafter's Unite!

2011-07-01T00:53:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! I cannot tell you all how excited I am to be participating in the Young Crafter's Blog Hop!!

If you are just popping in and would like to start from the beginning here is the link to Marie's Blog. If you came here from the talented Janice at the Constant Scrapper you are in the right place :) Don't forget to leave comments along the way, there are some fantastic prizes to be won!!

So the theme of this hop is young crafter's making projects with their favorite things. What makes me a young crafter? For starters my age, I'm 27 so in the big scheme of things still young :) However, what really makes me feel like a young crafter is stamping. Every time I use a stamp I feel like a kid again, except this time I'm creating my own coloring book and it's way more awesome!

I used most of my favorite things on today's card. I'll fill you in as we go :)

I started with a white card base, which is favorite thing number 1. I love white space!! I stamped the large flower (Hero Arts, Layered Flowers) several times in versa mark then heat set with white embossing powder. This is favorite thing 2, I am fascinated at the ways to create interest on a flat card. I know it's hard to see in the photo but in real life it's so pretty! Once my embossing was done I rounded all my corners.
For my panel I cut white card stock to 3 x4, and rounded all the corners. I stamped the large flower again in versamark and heat set in white. Numero 3, resist techniques . . . well any kind of techniques really {heart} them! For the color I chose worn lipstick, spiced marmalade, and rusty hinge distress inks. You guessed it number 5 is distress inks. I love the techniques you can do with them, the colors they come in, water coloring images with them, love, love, love! Once I rubbed on the colors I sprayed the whole panel with water, to help blend and give a soft watercolor look. The color scheme is the 6th fave, I fall head over heels for bright colors paired with black and white.

After I dried the panel I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Truly Appreciated) in jet black archival ink(Ranger). This ink comes in at number 7. I use this ink for everything, it's wonderful. I adhered my panel on with foam tape (#8) to the center of my card.

To finish I threaded and black button with white and adhered it the flower center. My last favorite (if you follow my blog you already know this) is stardust stickles which I added to the smaller circles.

As number 5 stated I love distress inks for their versatility I wanted to share a past project showing you just how wonderful they are. This is my nephew's birthday card. Every single thing on this card started out as white card stock except for the black card base, oh distress inks how I love you :) You can see the tutorial for it by clicking on the photo.

I believe I've kept you long enough :) Thanks for popping in for a visit, if you like what you see I hop you'll consider leaving a comment so I can come visit you too! (not to mention those prizes, ay?) Your next stop on the hop is the ever so talented Bunny!

Lucy's Lovely Lines Again!

2011-06-30T23:54:00.001-04:00

I love Lucy's sketch at Lily Pad Cards so much I just couldn't resist playing with it again :)

Here is the sketch again (in case you forgot :)

and my very simple card!

I started with a white card base and rounded the top right corner. I stamped the flowers (Hero Arts, 4 Flowers) on another piece of white and cut them out. I inked them with various colors of distress ink the blue is tumbled glass and broken china. red: worn lipstick and barn door. orange: scattered straw and spiced marmalade. pink: spun sugar and worn lipstick. purple: dusty concord and chipped sapphire.

I drew the "stems" with a black gel pen and my ruler. I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Everyday Sayings) in jet black archival. I'm not sure if it's the angle of the picture or what but it is making my sentiment look extremely crooked :(

I smeared stardust stickles over all the flowers and when that was dry I added a black rhinestone in the center. I adhered the large flowers flat and popped the small ones up on foam.

Thanks for coming by! I hope you'll visit me again for the Young Crafters Unite Blog Hop :)

Lily Pad Giveaway

2011-06-30T12:33:00.001-04:00

I became a Member of Lily Pad Cards! Go become a member for a chance to win a collection of Hero Arts stamps. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, July 15!

They have wonderful challenges and really fantastic prizes :)

Thanks friend Lawnscaping

2011-06-29T23:54:00.001-04:00

Hi guys! I hope your week is going wonderful :) It's almost the 4th and I'm super excited! That is my big family holiday. I get to see all my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins from out of state. Do you have any fun plans for the holiday?

Today's card is for Lawnscaping sketch challenge.

I had a really hard time with this card :( and I'm still not 100% sold on it. However, the deadline was looming so it is what it is.

I started by drawing a black rectangle on my white card base. I then masked off the outside and stamped the two flowers. On a separate sheet of white I stamped the flower (Lawn Fawn, Judy's Blooms) twice and fussy cut them out. I colored them using milled lavender, dusty concord, and chipped sapphire. I trimmed the flowers down to match the masked ones and adhered them flat.

I stamped the sentiment (Lawn Fawn, Critters in the Forest) in jet black archival ink (Ranger).

For the bottom portion of the card I punched (EK Success) a piece of black and a piece of white. The white I colored with dusty concord and chipped sapphire.

To complete the card I added some purple pearls, a lavender ribbon, and bow.

Thanks for stopping by. I have been pretty crafty this week so I'll probably be back later today with another card to share :)

So Fresh with Papertake Weekly

2011-06-28T15:35:00.001-04:00

Hello all!

Today I'm posting my last card as Paper take Weekly's Guest DT. I wanted to send a big thank you to Dawny and the rest of the team for inviting me to play along with them this month :) I had such a good time creating the cards and visiting all the entries!

This week's Challenge is a sketch Challenge

I turned the sketch upside down for my card.

For the base I cut black card stock to make a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 square card. I ten cut a white piece slightly smaller and masked it with another square. I stamped it (Hero Arts, Cling Dots) with Hero Arts Punch chalk ink then traced the edge with a black marker. Using another white square I stamped using Hero Arts Grass chalk ink. The little polka dots are from Oriental Trading, Fruit Salad. I used a 2 x2 square for my diamond. I inked all the edges with black before putting my pieces together. For the 3 circles element I just punched 3 small circles from black card stock.

To color the apple (Hero Arts, Simply the Best) I stamped it twice, once for the apple once for the leaf. I colored using worn lipstick, barn door, fired brick, shabby shutters, peeled paint, and forest moss. I stamped the apple a third time on my diamond to placement. I fussy cut out my colored pieces and adhered them with foam. The sentiment is from the same set.

I added glossy accents to my apple and the big polka dots. I added stardust stickles to my leaf and small polka dots.

Thanks for coming to visit :) I hope you'll have a chance to play along with Papertake Weekly's sketch challenge!

Last Day with Vera

2011-06-25T00:42:00.002-04:00

Hi all!
Today is the last day of our CAS Theme week :( Can you believe it's our last day already?! I just want to thank Vera for doing this challenge with me, I have had such fun this week. Vera you are such a sweetheart and I absolutely adore your style, thank you so much :) Of course I also want to thank you all for joining us this week. All of your comments have been so lovely, crafters are the best :)

For our last day we are using Delicate Blossoms by Hero Arts. I am also entering this card into Gallery Idol 2011 (why not right?) and Lucy's Lovely Lines at Lily Pad Cards. Let's dive right in!

Here's Lucy's sketch

I started off with white card stock cut to a standard sized card. I stamped the large poppies from the set in jet black archival ink (Ranger). I colored the stems using a marker. To add some interest (I know I've been doing plain white all week :) I inked up another Hero Arts stamp, friend definition, with antique linen and stamped my card front. I added some more antique linen with my inking tool just to the edges.

On a separate white piece I stamped the large poppies again then fussy cut out just the flowers. I colored them with worn lipstick, barn door, and fired brick. They were then adhered flat to the card front.

I stamped the sentiment in jet black archival ink. The sentiment is from Essential Messages (more Hero Arts stamps yay!) I added some green rhinestones which I colored with the same marker as the stems.

Thanks to Vera again for getting inky with me :) I'm heading over to see her fab project now, come along!!

Day 5 with Vera

2011-06-24T04:57:00.000-04:00

Finally Friday :) Tonight my husband and I are going out to a wine bar to celebrate a friend's birthday :) It will be so nice to get out of the house! Hopefully the weather holds out and we can sit on the patio. Do you have any plans this weekend?

Today is day five for Vera and I. We are using Hero Art's Large Flower stamp. This is one of those stamps I've used bunches of times. I find myself reaching for it quite often so today I tried to come up with a different way to use it. I decided it would make a nice border :)

I stamped the flower three times on white card stock, and fussy cut them out. I inked it from the middle to the outside using scattered straw, worn lipstick, and just a little barn door. Once I had them all inked I sprayed them generously with water to further the blending and acheive a pretty water color look. I made sure they were good and dry with my heat tool then added white gel pen to the centers and some of the lines.

I adhered them flat, mostly. I left the petal edges unglued so they would lift a little. I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages) in jet black archival ink (Ranger). I picked the sentiment because the flower colors made me think of a destination wedding. All beachy and beautiful :)

I added glossy accents to the areas with the white gel and sprinkled some peach colored rhinestones to finish it off.

I am throwing this one in the hat for Gallery Idol 2011.

I'm also playing along with CAS-ual Friday's Challenge. Ironically I had the idea for the flower border before I saw the challenge but just like last week they matched up, yay!!

Be sure to head over to Vera's to see her beautiful card :)

Day 4 with Vera

2011-06-23T03:50:00.001-04:00

Hello, Hello, Hello!

I hope your Thursday is looking better than mine. We have been having storms all week and today we are in for another round :(

Today Vera and I are using Let's Chill from Hero Arts. This is such a fun set, it is so summer :) I hope you guys are getting as inspired as I am from this week's posts. Vera is so awesome, her cards are always knockouts!

Pretty simple card today.
I started with a 2 x 41/2 inch piece of white. I inked it with antique linen, brushed corduroy, vintage photo, and walnut stain. I was going for a beach color. I adhered it flat to a white card base.

I stamped the tree, beach ball, and crab on a scrap piece of white. I colored them with markers (not distress inks, crazy right?!) and fussy cut them out. I just love the hot pink crab, such fun :) I adhered them using various layers of foam adhesive for dimension. Once they were adhered I added black rhinestones for the crab's eyes. I had to cut them off when fussy cutting :)

The sentiment was stamped in jet black archival ink. I added stardust stickles and glossy accents to complete.

Thanks for coming to visit. I'm heading over to see what Vera made, I hope you'll follow along!!

Day 3 with Vera

2011-06-22T06:49:00.005-04:00

***Sorry this is up so late Blogger was giving me big trouble this morning . . .grr***

Good Morning! I can't believe it's Wednesday already, this week with Vera Yates is just flying by.

Before I get into today's cards I wanted to say I been seeing a lot of you are visiting this week and I'm so grateful! I hope you all our enjoying this inspiration week as much as I am :) If you have the time please leave a comment, even if it's just a "Hi! Here's my blog". I love coming to visit you guys too! I'm always looking for new places to find inspiration :)

Today is the last day for Lawn Fawn and we are using Bannerific. This set was one of my first Lawn Fawn purchases. The banners can be used so many ways.

I decided to create a uni-sex birthday card. These are always nice to have on hand for the ~~forgotten~~ unexpected.

I stamped the banner several times on a white to create my own pattern paper. I then stamped it on another piece of white and cut them all out to color. Yes this is a little insane, I know :) but i have never shied away from the time consuming as long as it looks the way I had hoped in the end. It really stinks when it doesn't though lol. I had to create a little identification system too, since every banner piece is different. I colored the blue banners with tumbled glass, broken china, and faded jeans. The orange banners with scattered straw, spiced marmalade, and rusty hinge. The green was done with shabby shutters, peeled paint, and forest moss. Once they were all colored I adhered them flat.

I cut the label with my nestabilities labels 4, then traced the outer edge on black for the layered piece. Once I put together my layered pieces I attached them with foam. The buttons have been threaded with blue yarn. Funny thing is the blue yarn is what Kelly Marie packaged my stamp sets with so I'm really all Lawn Fawn today hehe! I know the bow is a little girlie but i figured I can change it to a knot if it ends going to a male. The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's Year One set.

I'm off to see what the AMAZING Vera made! I hope you'll come back tomorrow when we start featuring Hero Arts!

Summer Hooray!

2011-06-21T12:00:00.009-04:00

****This is my second post of the day for the CAS card with Vera Yates scroll down one ****

Happy Tuesday! Why is it happy? Because it's time for another Papertake Weekly Challenge!

The theme this week is Here Comes the Sun! You can make whatever reminds you of summer.
For me Summer means fairs :) Fairs with rides, decorations, and yummy food, especially the lemonade . . . mmmm
Our City's Fair is called Old Fashioned Days. They come every year and we go every year :) Does your hometown have a yearly fair?

I used Hero Arts set called Life of The Party Birthday. The images can be used for so much more than birthday! I am entering this card into Gallery Idol 2011. It is a congratulations theme.

I stamped the cotton candy, ice cream, and banner on a scrap piece of white. I stamped the banner 3 times and the other two twice. I fussy cut out all the pieces. Now for the fun coloring :)

The banner pieces were colored with broken china, spiced marmalade, and worn lipstick.
The cotton candy top was colored with tumbled glass, broken china, and faded jeans. For the ice cream top I used spun sugar, worn lipstick, and barn door. Now I'm sure you are thinking Kelly, three colors for that little piece . . .three?! I know it seems like a lot but it really adds a ton of dimension.
For the bottom of the cotton candy I used a marker. The ice cream bottom involved a little change. The stamp image has the strips as a solid with no outline. I wanted to to be consistent with the cotton candy so I stamped in worn lipstick then drew the black lines with my pen and ruler.
I stamped the ticket 3 times, cut them out and colored with scattered straw, spiced marmalade, and rusty hinge. The blue strip underneath them is colored with more broken china.

I created a standard sized card out of white card stock then stamped the banner three times. I masked one bow each time I stamped. I popped up the banner, the cotton candy and the ice cream with foam adhesive. To add some fun shine I used stardust stickles and glossy accents.

The colors for this card came from the current Playdate Cafe Challenge. These are such fun summer colors!!

Thanks for coming to look!! I hope you all get a chance to play along with us Papertake Weekly!

Day Two with Vera

2011-06-21T03:15:00.000-04:00

Good morning!
I am so excited for day number two with Vera Yates:)
Did you see her card yesterday?! Completely adorable!!

All week long we will be using a CAS theme and the same stamps. Today's stamp set is Critters in the Burbs by Lawn Fawn. If you missed yesterday's post you can find it here.

I started with my usual: a white card base. However I did try to make something without a lot of white space, this time it's pink space :)
I stamped the kitty 4 times on a piece of white. I colored them all with black soot and my H20 pen. Her nose is colored with a magenta marker. After they were all dry I fussy cut them out.

I cut three 1 1/4 x 1 1/4 squares. I adhered Kitty's to the squares flat then drew a border around the square with a pen and ruler.

I layered black and pink on my white card base. I added the squares and one whole kitty with foam tape. For the bling factor (you know I need sparkles) I added glossy accents to her nose and stardust stickles to the squares.

This card was very simple to put together and I'm super happy with the way it came out :) The mojo is working!!

Thanks for popping in, now let's head over and see what Vera made!!

CAS Week with Vera!

2011-06-20T01:50:00.000-04:00

Hello all and Happy Monday to you!

Today I'm posting just for fun . . .imagine that . . .fun :) Last week Vera Yates posted about how she is feeling a little less than motivated lately. I felt the same way. I adore all the challenges I play along with but sometimes I'm so busy creating to meet criteria I forget to create just for fun. I emailed Vera to ask her if she would like to do an inspiration type week with our favorite stamps just for fun. I was so excited when she said yes!! I have admired her work ever since the Caring Hearts Card Drive. So now here we are :)

All week long we will be posting a card using the same set in a CAS Theme. We are doing three days of Lawn fawn and then three days of Hero Arts. Today's set is Lawn Fawn's Critters in the Forest. (Sorry for the photo it's 1:00am :)

I started with a white card base. On the top half I lightly inked the edges with tumbled glass, on the bottom I used shabby shutters. I stamped the sentiment in jet black archival ink (Ranger).

I stamped the Tree four times on a separate sheet of white and cut them out. I colored the tree using shabby shutters, peeled paint, and forest moss. To color the trunk I used brushed corduroy, vintage photo, and walnut stain. I pieced the tree together using foam adhesive.

I stamped the mushrooms, colored with my red sharpie, and fussy cut them. For the "ground" I colored with shabby shutters again then punched a scallop border (EK Success). I added some glossy accents to the mushrooms and some blue rhinestones to finish.

Thanks for coming by and I hope you'll stick with us through the week! I'm off to see what Vera made! I know it will be amazing :)

Woo-Hoo!

2011-06-15T14:09:00.001-04:00

Just popping in with a super quick post before I'm off to work.

Today is the last day to play along with Lawnscapings CAS challenge (it only runs for two weeks, I mean it took me long enough lol) The main benefit of posting mid-afternoon is I was able to take my photo in natural sunlight. This almost never happens but when it does I can really see the difference between these and my late night photos. I am also entering this card into Gallery Idol 2011.

Without further ado here is my card

I started by using white card stock to created a standard sized card. I stamped the trails and butterflies (Lawn Fawn, Critters in the Burbs) in jet black archival ink (Ranger). I colored them in using markers then added stardust stickles to the center of their wings and bodies. Once they were dry I stamped my sentiment (Lawn Fawn, Critters in the Forest) and added gems in matching colors.

See told you it as quick :) Thanks for dropping by!

Blue Lilypad Pond Palette

2011-06-15T03:32:00.001-04:00

Hello all! We made it to the middle of the work week phew! It's almost over :)

A quick note I just wanted to say thank you for all the wonderful comments you all leave for me. They really are so appreciated! I do try my best to get around to all your blogs and leave love too! One of the best things about being a crafter is the community wouldn't you agree? It's just so heartwarming :)

Today I am playing along with the wonderful Lily Pad cards. This one is Kathy's Lily Pad Palette and boy is it blue!

My blues are a little darker than Kathy's but blue nonetheless :)

I started by inking up my large acrylic block with tumbled glass, broken china, stormy sky, faded jeans, and chipped sapphire. I sprayed it generously with water and "stamped" on a piece of white card stock. I heat set it because I'm impatient :) Once it was dry I used several leaf stamps (Hero Arts, Delicate Leaf Clusters) to stamp my background. I assigned one color to each stamp minus the chipped sapphire. Once I created a background I like I die cut the middle out using nestabilites labels 4. I also embossed it to create more of a frame.

I cut a white piece of card stock to a standard size then lightly traced my frame to place the large leaf (Hero Arts, Delicate Leaf Clusters). I stamped the large leaf in chipped sapphire then erased my trace lines. I attached my frame to the card base using foam adhesive.

I added some different colored blue rhinestones to the main image to finish it off.

Thanks for coming by!

Simply the Best Father's Day

2011-06-14T12:00:00.003-04:00

Hello all!

I'm back to share my card as the Guest DT for Papertake Weekly. This week's challenge is Dads and Lads. I don't know about you guys but I struggle with making masculine cards. I mean, come on, no ribbons, no rhinestones, what are you supposed to put on it?!

I decided to go with a technique I haven't used in awhile to make my Dad card a little less hum drum and a little more that's cool :)

I started by stamping the car (Hero Arts, Going) on a piece of white card stock. I cut it out with my circle die (nestabilities) and inked up the background using antique linen. I did add some brushed corduroy to just the edges. Next I colored in the car using stormy sky distress ink and a H20 pen. For the "chrome" parts I really wanted to use my metallic silver gel pen but that pen covers up any kind of ink and this image is too detailed. Instead, I used black soot and a lot of water. To add some shine I scribbled my silver gel pen on a piece of scrap paper and before I painted the image I would pick up some black soot then dip it in the silver. It picked up enough of the metallic without covering up all that great detail. To get the cracked vintage look I inked up the entire circle with versamark then heat embossed with UTEE (Ranger). I did about 5 layers before setting it aside to cool. Once the UTEE is cool crack until your hearts content :) To really highlight the cracks I rubbed some walnut stain on top.

Here is a close up

The rest of the card was really simple. Aren't masculine cards always? I used Basic Grey Manila papers for the background. If you don't own any these really are great staples to have. I added some inks to the grid paper: antique linen, brushed corduroy, and walnut stain. That blue strip is from the same paper pack I just changed the color with stormy sky and edged it in walnut stain. For the main image I cut and embossed a dark brown mat which I adhered flat.

The sentiment is from Hero Arts Simply the Best, stamped in walnut stain. . I did a little masking to get a stacked sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you do find the time to play along with us at Papertake Weekly!

Case Study and CAS-ual Fridays

2011-06-13T06:40:00.000-04:00

Good Morning crafters :)

I'm sad it's Monday and I'm going back to work however I had a lovely week off. The house got cleaned, (well mostly) and I got a lot of cards made. Plus yesterday my wonderful hubby went and bought me a new craft/computer chair. My old one was really bothering my back so the new one has lumbar support yay!

Today I am playing along with CASE Study. This is a challenge I don't usually play along with, don't get me wrong I really do enjoy the inspiration challenge but for some reason or another this is one that slips through the cracks, but not this time! Jill Foster is the June muse so I had to play along. I just love her style, she is so super talented. She is the Queen of inspired by so what better Muse could there be?!

Here is the inspiration card

Isn't this just gorgeous!! I mean wow! I was really loving the colors Jill chose so I ran with it.

I started by die cutting my main panel, for that I used nestabilities labels 4. Next I inked up the large fabric design (Hero Arts) with versamark, stamped the background, and heat set it with white embossing powder. I rubbed on worn lipstick, spiced marmalade, barn door, and dusty concord. To really make it pop off the card I traced around my nesti to add a black border. I adhered the panel using foam.

The flower (Hero Arts, Four Flowers) I stamped on a scrap piece of white. I rubbed on the same four colors I used for the die cut panel then fussy cut it out. I threaded a black button with white for the center.

So after I finished this card I went to go make my card for CAS-ual Fridays. They are doing a fun tic-tac-toe board for their challenge.

After looking at the board I realized I didn't need to make another card :) This one has Buttons, a Die, and embossing.

Two birds one stone :)

Hope you all have a wonderful start to your week and thanks for coming by!

Moxie Fab Neapolitan Tuesday Trigger

2011-06-10T17:18:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! For today's post I have a card to share and a question for you :)

This card is for the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger. This is the trigger photo

How scrumptious is this?! I really loved the colors in the photo so that's what I based my card on. Before I share my card I have a question for you. One of my crafty friends told me that they prefer to take photos of their cards with a neutral background so nothing takes away from the card. I on the other hand always use background colors or patterns because I feel like it makes certain colors pop. In order to see what you all think I took pictures of today's card with two different backgrounds, a neutral and a color. So please let me know which one you think looks better :)

Finally on to the actual making of the card! I wanted to use the large butterfly (Hero Arts, Butterflies) so I needed to make my card base a little bigger than usual, the tall card was perfect. I cut a piece of white 1/4 smaller and inked it up using, brushed corduroy, vintage photo, and some walnut stain on the very edges. To add some interest I spritzed and flicked water on it then stitched a border using white embroidery floss.

To make the butterflies I took another piece of white rubbed on spun sugar, worn lipstick, and barn door (very lightly since I was going for pink) then stamped the butterflies on top. I fussy cut them out then added some doodling with a white gel pen. Since I cut off their antennas I created new ones with some dark brown embroidery floss.

I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Essential Messages) in walnut stain. I also added some stardust stickles to the butterflies before adhering them to the card. In order to create more dimension I adhered the bodies of the butterflies flat but popped the wings up with foam.

Thanks for popping by to visit and for the opinion you (hopefully) leave behind!

Lilypad Inspiration - You're So Special

2011-06-09T23:39:00.001-04:00

Hello all!
I'm starting off this post with a little excitement :) The lovely ladies at Hero Arts tweeted about my card set !! I'm sure you all know how rewarding that is! Sometimes when we share these things with the non-crafty people in our lives they don't see what the big deal is so I'm super grateful to have you guys :)

Tonight's card is for Lily Pad Cards Inspiration Challenge. This is a monthly challenge they do where you create a project based on something you saw on the blog that inspired you. I love this challenge! It's a little bit like having your card tweeted about, except you get to do it for someone. What a warm fuzzy feeling :)

My inspiration was the card created by Michelle Liimatainen. She won the embossing challenge with it and it is such a gorgeous creation. Here is the card.

and here is my card ;)

I really loved the colors Michelle chose and her use of a big, bold sentiment.

I started with a white card base and masked off a rectangle in the center. I used the medium and small polka dot flower (Hero Arts, Dots and Flowers) to stamp the background border with mustard seed ink. After I removed the mask I outlined the rectangle with a T-square ruler and a black marker.

I stamped the large flower twice on a separate piece of white and heat embossed it. I stamped the leaves 3 times and heat embossed them too :) I colored the whole flower using spiced marmalade. I added some barn door just around the edges. On the second flower I colored the stamen using mustard seed. I cut them out and adhered them to my first flower with foam. For the leaves I colored them entirely with crushed olive then added peeled paint to just the edges.

The sentiment (Hero Arts, Truly Appreciated) was stamped with jet black archival ink (Ranger). To complete the card I added some red rhinestones and a little glossy accents.

Thanks for coming by and taking a peek. :) and for understanding my joy about a simple tweet!

Just Say Hello to Exciting News!!

2011-06-07T12:12:00.000-04:00

Happy Tuesday everyone!
Today I'm so excited to share that I'm the Guest Designer for the month of June at Papertake Weekly!! I was so stoked when I got Dawny's email asking me :) Thank you so much for opportunity, I'm honored!

This week's challenge is Anything Goes, the optional extra is to use an all white colour theme with one other accent colour (excluding skin and hair) but it is only optional and you don't have to use it if you don't want to :) but I did want too!

This week's sponsor is Lili of the Valley not only can you win the prize but they are offering some extra incentive too.

I stamped the large flower twice (Hero Arts, Layered Flowers) on white. I colored one with blue. I cut out the entire blue flower and just the inside of the white one.

I stamped the background (Hero Arts, Envelope Pattern) in broken china on a 2 x 4 1/4 piece of white. I also inked it's edges with broken china. I adhered this flat to a standard size white card base.

I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Everyday Sayings) in jet black archival ink (Ranger) then cut it into a banner. I inked the banner's edges with broken china and adhered it to my card front.

Lastly I adhered some stickles to the center of my flower before adding some rhinestones to complete my card.

Head over to Papertake Weekly to play along and maybe be the winner of some goodies :)

All Things Grow with Love

2011-06-06T05:19:00.000-04:00

Hello, Hello, Hello :) I hope you all are doing well. I'm up with some late night crafting because tomorrow (I guess technically today ) is the first day of my week off Yippee!!! We have had some beautiful weather here in Ohio unfortunately this also means it is a little hot in my house since we don't have air :( We just have to make it two more weeks and then sweet, sweet air conditioning!

I made a card to play along with There She Goes Clear Stamps color challenge: Red, Teal, and White. Such a pretty combo! All the stamps used are from There She Goes Clear Stamps Set Garden of Friends.

I apologize for the picture, it certainly isn't the best but it was the best of the bunch.

I started by cutting a piece of white to 1 3/4 x 5 1/4. I stamped one of the leaves from the set repeatedly in jet black archival ink (Ranger). I colored in the leaves with teal and then outlined them with a lighter teal. I adhered this panel to a standard size white card base.

I stamped my main image on a 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 square of white. I colored in the flowers and leaves using markers. For the pot I used a metallic silver gel pen then added some glossy accents. I mounted this panel on a 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 red panel and glued it flat to my card front.

Stamp the sentiment and add some stardust stickles to the flowers to complete.

Thanks for stopping by :) I'll be back later this week since I have so much crafty time planned!!

Etsy Inspired Card Set

2011-06-03T11:06:00.001-04:00

Hello and happy Friday to all of you who are looking forward to this weekend off :) Today is the beginning of my work week but it's okay because I'm only working 3 days and then I'm taking a little time off (yay!!)

Today I'm playing along with Wee Memories challenge. This week it's Pinterest/Etsy inspired projects.

I started off by browsing around on Pinterest and Etsy, I could just browse for hours :) I found this gorgeous pillow which reminded me of a stamp I had :)

and here is the whole group

and a close up (For those of you who want to see the colors individually I'll post them at the bottom.)

I started with the Flower Bird Garden stamp (Hero Arts) and stamped it in 5 different colors on white card stock. I used all Hero Hues ink: Cerulean, Grass, Punch, Iris, and Poppy. I cut them out, distressed them, and added some walnut stain to the edges.

For the card base I used plain white card stock that I inked up with antique linen. I then stamped the Envelope Pattern (Hero Arts) over top, with antique linen. I also inked the edges of the card base with walnut stain.

I adhered the stamped panel with foam adhesive and stamped my sentiment in walnut stain. Each card has a different sentiment. I used Sending Smiles Message by Hero Arts for the set. I love how each large sentiment has a matching inside sentiment. It makes card sets a breeze :)

To complete the card I added two buttons threaded with twine and a twine bow.

Here are the rest of the colors

Thanks for coming over to see :) I hope you have a gorgeous weekend!

Thank You Sarah Anderson

2011-05-31T22:46:00.000-04:00

I'm back playing along with The Play Date Cafe this week. This challenge is special because it is a farewell to one of the Design Team members, and not just any member one of the co-founders, Sarah Anderson.

Here is the challenge: black, white, and a splash of green

and my take

I decided to make a thank you for Sarah. She has provided so much inspiration at the Play Date Cafe!

I cut a piece of white card stock to 4 1/4 x 4 1/4.

I cut another piece of white to 3 x3 then covered it in peeled paint, shabby shutters, and crushed olive. I cut the piece into 1x1 squares. I used black soot distress ink to stamp each square with a different background (all Hero Arts, Reversed Flowers and Leaves, Music Background, Envelope Pattern, Flourish Background, Stripes Pattern, Friend Definition, Cling Dots, Magical Background, and Large Fabric Design).
I cut a piece of black to 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 and adhered all my squares flat. I attached the black panel to the card with foam adhesive.

The sentiment (Hero Arts, Essential Messages) was stamped in jet black archival ink (Ranger) on a 1/2 x 2 1/2 each piece of white. I then notched the edges to make it a banner.

Thanks to you for stopping by to visit and to Sarah for all her time and inspiration these past years. Good Luck in your future endeavors Sarah!

P.S. I'll have some exciting news to share soon :)

Just for You

2011-05-27T22:32:00.000-04:00

Well the weather has finally calmed down here, I hope it has where you are too :) Heading into Memorial Day weekend with some nice weather I hope!

Today's card is for the Digital Challenge over at Lily Pad cards. I'm also playing along with Wee Memories Stamps challenge.

Without further ado ;)

I started by printing the files from my computer, I don't have a digital cutter so I did everything by hand. Once I saw the shapes in the file I knew I wanted to build with the base of the pot. I cut out about 20 pieces of just the flower pot base. I inked them all with brushed corduroy first, then I edged with walnut stain. For some added texture I stamped the Hero Arts Envelope Pattern with walnut stain. I was trying to make it look like a deck. I'm pretty happy with how it came out :)
I printed the flower pot out again on teal then stamped it with versa mark and Hero Arts Reversed Flowers and Leaves.

The flowers, leaves, and stems are all from Hero Arts Dots N Flowers. I stamped them, fussy cut them, outlined them with marker, and added stardust stickles (of course!). The centers are black pearls.

I stamped the sentiment in jet black (ranger) and accented with some dark teal rhinestones.

I hope you all get to enjoy some good weather this weekend and thanks for visiting!

I Pine for You, Polka Dots

2011-05-25T23:46:00.001-04:00

So we are getting some crazy storms in Ohio. I was at Archivers tonight taking a class when it started raining and hailing really hard. The front of the store started flooding!!These tornadoes and severe thunderstorms are hitting everywhere :( I hope you all are staying safe!! I know how scary the weather has been here and it's not even a quarter of what the plain states are seeing.

On a happier note this week I'm playing along with Lawnscaping Polka Dot Frenzy challenge

*All the stamps used are from Lawn Fawn's Critters in the Forest set.

I started by cutting a card base out of whit card stock 4 1/4 x 4 1/4. I cut the pink polka dot paper (Making Memories, Just Chillin) to the same size.

I stamped the tree 4 times then colored them with peeled paint and shabby shutters. I used walnut stain for the trunk. I cut them out and layered them with foam tape. To add some dimension I glued the top part flat and put the foam under the very bottom edges.

I stamped the fox on white then colored her in with brushed corduroy and walnut stain. I avoided getting too much color on the tip of the tale then to make it whiter I colored with a gel pen (Sakura).

I cut a piece of kraft to 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 and a white piece just an 1/8in smaller.

I stamped the sentiment in archival jet black (Ranger) and added some pink gem stones.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you all are safe in this scary weather !!!

Just Wanted to let You Know You're Fabulous!

2011-05-25T23:41:00.001-04:00

Playing along with CAS-ual Fridays Bring the Bling challenge
Sorry if this is a bit rushed deadlines looming and all :)

I stamped the border (Hero Arts, Mixed Design) twice in black. I colored the bursts with sharpies in a rainbow of colors. Then I colored some clear rhinestones to match. The sentiment (Hero Arts, Essential Messages) is originally one solid block so I did some masking so it would flow across the whole card.

Thanks for looking :) :)

To you Penny Black

2011-05-19T05:41:00.000-04:00

If you haven't had the chance to visit Lily Pad Cards you need to ASAP. They have such fun challenges not to mention the articles. One of the current challenges is Kathy's Color Throwdown. I am a huge fan of Kathy's and I missed the first throwdown so I had to play along with this one :)

Here are our colors

I'm also playing along with Penny Black. This week over on the Penny Black Blog they challenged us to decorate our envelopes.

So let's get started

I started by cutting a piece of white card stock to 3 3/4 x 3 3/4. I stamped and masked the pansies (Penny Black, Flower Gallery) multiple times. Since cream was one of Kathy's colors and well I didn't have any good cream card stock I just rubbed on some antique linen. I colored the flowers using markers (Whispers, Strokes). I filled the centers with glossy accents, once dry I layered it on top of a green panel.

I used dark brown card stock for my base. Using part of the "To You From Me" stamp (Penny Black, To You) I stamped with versamark and heat embossed.

I didn't have any plain cream ribbon (looking at my craft room you would think I owned everything lol) so colored white satin ribbon (Offray) with a cream marker. I used my bow easy to make my bow. I layered some dark brown embroidery floss and a dark blue button on top.

For the envelope I masked off a square and repeatedly stamped the pansies. I colored and added glossy accents just like on my card. I added a black outline with my ruler and a gel pen (Sakura).

Here is just the envelope

Thanks for coming to visit, Hope you have a happy Thursday!

Thank you very much

2011-05-19T05:17:00.000-04:00

Hello, Hello!

I hope wherever you are you're having drier weather than I am! It's been raining for the past 5 days here in Ohio yuk!! I'm so done with it :( It does give me lots of time for crafting but I would like to actually go out of the house every once in a while and enjoy myself! Anywho . . .

I'm playing along with Wee Memories Get Sticky challenge.

Although I have totes upon totes of stickers I rarely use them in my card designs. So I foraged through the totes and found these super cute journal spots (Me & My Big Ideas, Rachel). You'll have to forgive the photo the spot is actually a blue (think broken china) metallic and it did NOT photograph well.

Once I picked my sticker I moved on to paper. I created a standard sized card out of white card stock. I cut the floral paper (My Mind's Eye, Tickled Pink) a 1/4 in smaller and inked the edges with broken china. I sewed around the edges with white embroidery floss (dmc) then adhered it flat. I almost always sew first because I don't like the inside of my card to look messy. I added the journaling spot slightly off center.

I stamped the flower (Hero Arts, Flower Blossom) on pink floral (My Mind's Eye, Tickled Pink) and on the green polka dot (Making Memories, Just Chillin'). I fussy cut them out and adhered them to the journaling spot.

For the sentiment (Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages) I cut a banner and inked the edges with broken china. I added a button to my flower center to complete.

As always I so appreciate when you stop by :)

Just Saying Hello

2011-05-14T21:06:00.000-04:00

If you follow my blog regularly you already know how much I love playing at The Play Date Cafe.
Here are this week's colors

I missed the last two challenges :( so this week I was determined to play along. It turns out that was going to be harder than I thought! I was on a hunting trip through my stash for gray paper, or gray ink, or well gray anything!! The only thing I could find that had any kind of gray in it was graduation paper . . .eek! Thankfully, amongst all the wonderful bright colors in the Jillibean Soup staples pack there was a 6 x6 sheet of gray :) After a hour long scavenger hunt I finally got to work :)

I started with a standard size white card. I rubbed dusty concord distress ink all over the front. Next I cut my precious gray paper to 3 1/2 x 4 1/4. I rounded the top two corners and adhered it flat.

I cut a piece of white to 1 1/2 x 5 1/2 and added some gray ribbon (American Crafts) I accidentally found this while looking for my purple ribbon, I had no clue I even owned it . . oops :) I added my purple ribbon and then trimmed the edges. The sentiment is from Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages.

The flower was stamped 3 times on white cardstock and the leaf twice (both from Hero Arts, Layered Flowers) I colored the flower with my H20 pen and dusty concord. The leaves were colored with crushed olive. I fussy cut everything out. The flower was put to together with foam tape and adhered flat to the card.

I topped the flower off with some stardust stickles and a purple button.

So now that it's all said and done I think I like it enough to go get some more gray paper :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Unity!

2011-05-14T20:41:00.000-04:00

Hi all!

I'm back after a week long hiatus. I tried to post the other but blogger was down, as I'm sure you all know :) I'm glad everything is back up and running again!

This month marks Unity Stamps 3rd Birthday. Yay Unity!! All Things Unity is celebrating by having a Trifecta Challenge. The guidelines were to make a 3x3 card, with 3 embellishments, in a birthday or anniversary theme.

I started by stamping the heart from Love Grows in Iris chalk ink on white paper. I fussy cut it out and covered it in glossy accents. Funny thing happened here. I didn't want to wait forever for the glossy accents to dry so I decided to help it along with a little heat. Well the heat completely changed the color, thank God it was a pretty color lol! The original color was the same as the punched border. What a happy accident :)

I cut a kraft card base to 3x3 and then cut off a 1/2in from the bottom of the front. I rubbed some more iris ink onto white cardstock and punched (EK Success) the border. I adhered this to the inside of the card. I cut a piece of pink polka dot (My Mind's Eye, Tickled Pink) and also adhered to the inside.

I stitched around the kraft then added some white ribbon. I popped up the heart with foam and topped it off with a cute little purple button.

Thanks for popping by!!

Celebrate!

2011-05-09T09:35:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday! I hope all you Momma's out there had a great day yesterday :) My sister and I took our parents out to dinner. I {heart} family time :)

I also hope you had time to hop along with us during There She Goes Clear Stamps MOABH. Wow there are so many great stamps from them and the inspiration on the hop was amazing!!

Now onto the crafting!

I played along with Penny Black for National Scrapbooking Day. The challenge was to make a monochromatic card, we also only had 24 hours to do it!

I kept mine pretty simple. I stamped the butterfly 3 times, once on bright red and twice on dark red. I fussy cut out the whole butterfly from dark red, the inside layers from the bright red, and the top wing from the second dark red. I adhered the whole butterfly and it's layers flat to the card. For some added dimension I adhered the top wing with foam tape but only on the left edge, the right edge I glued flat. The butterfly and the sentiment are both from Penny Black's To You set.

I added some stardust stickles and some ribbon to complete it.

Thanks for visiting!!

There She Goes Blog Hop!

2011-05-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the 2^nd annual Mother of All Blog Hops sponsored by There She Goes Clears Stamps! If you’ve arrived here from Jodi's blog then you are in the right spot! If not, you will want to start back on the There She Goes Team blog in order to find out what you need to do to be eligible for the prizes we are offering!

The wonderful stamp set I'm representing is Art is The Window. This is the first There She Goes set I ever owned (but not definitely not the last he he) Here is the set with all it's adorable pieces parts

I made a couple of different cards to show you the endless possibilities :) I'm not going to give the rundown like I usually do because I know it's a hop and you have other creations to be inspired by. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or email me.

and as if five cards isn't enough (yeah right?!) Here and Here are other cards using this set. I hope you found something to inspire you, if you did I hope you'll consider becoming a follower!!

Now it’s time to hop over to Jessica's blog, I know she has something wonderful to show you!!

Thank you for stopping by! Don't forget to leave a comment you never know which blog is the it blog :)

Happy Hopping!

Best Fishes

2011-05-06T23:37:00.001-04:00

This one is for OTWC and here are the inspiration colors

When I saw the colors I immediately thought of the little fish in Hero Arts Let's Chill set.

I cut the waves in white, light blue, and dark blue using Tim Holtz scallop edge die. I then layered them on the card with foam tape.

I stamped the three fish on white card stock and colored them with two different colors of yellow glitter pens. (fish are always so shimmery :) I fussy cut them out and tucked them into the waves adhered flat.

For the sentiment I used Hero Arts Essential Messages. I used the Best Wishes but masked off the W. I used the F from the Thinking of You in the same set.

I outlined the tops of the waves in glossy accents and added two buttons.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Welcome Little One

2011-05-06T23:32:00.001-04:00

I have been MIA from blog land preparing for this weekends hop :) I am back now with a card to share (just under the wire) for Wee Memories Paper Piecing challenge. I'm also playing along with CAS-ual Fridays first ever challenge (YAY Julie & Michelle!!) Texting Skills.

Here is my card.

I masked off my white card base and stamped all the text in worn lipstick. The different sentiments are from Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages and Fiskars Precious Baby Quotes. I used another set also by Fiskars but it doesn't have a name it.

For the main image (Bundle of Joy, Stampavie) I paper pieced everything except their skin color for that I used a marker.

I added some stardust stickles to the heart on her apron and the flower in her hair. Topped it off with a brown bow.

This card is for my niece Chloe . . .now I just have to wait for her to get here :)

Sending Smiles

2011-04-28T17:49:00.000-04:00

Hello all!

This week I am playing along with Lucy's Lines Challenge over at Lily Pad Cards.

Here is Lucy's sweet and simple sketch. We also had to use a Penny Black stamp for out main image since they are sponsoring. Good thing I just bought some new ones huh ? ;)

Here is my card

I started by stamping the flower (To You, Penny Black) twice on each patterned paper (Tickled Pink, My Mind's Eye). I fussy cut out the whole flower of the first one. I only cut out the smaller folded over petals from the second one. I stamped the flower 3 times on white card stock then colored them with shabby shutters and a foam applicator. I cut them out with just enough flower at the top to adhere my paper pieced flowers. I layered the two flower pieces with foam tape and adhered them flat to the stems. *I also cut off their leaves*

I cut my kraft card stock to a standard size and rounded two corners. I adhered the flowers down flat then added two cut out leaves. Stamp the sentiment (Sending Smiles, Hero Arts) in jet black archival ink (Ranger).

For the twine I wanted them to be evenly spaced so I drew a light pencil line using a ruler then laid down a line of glue and adhered the twine. I trimmed off the edges and added my bow (made with my bow easy).

A sprinkling of hot pink pearls and I'm done :)

I'm off the play games with my girlfriends, Happy Thursday to you and thanks for stopping by!!

Miss you a bunch!

2011-04-26T22:59:00.000-04:00

Playing along with The Play Date Cafe this week, love these colors.

Here's my take

be back later to give you the run down :)

Have a Candy-Egg Easter

2011-04-24T06:28:00.001-04:00

and a Jelly-Bean Spring! :)

Happy Easter to all of you!

I'm quickly sharing my Easter project before going to have brunch with my husband's side of the family. Later tonight we will head over to my parents for dinner. *Yay* for quality family time :)

I am playing along with OTWC there are no colors this week just a theme, which is Easter!

Here is the whole package:)

Now the gift bag

The large gift bags ( I actually made 5 each a different color combo) are for my niece, nephew, and Hubby's God daughters. I know I said before that I was using that bag as their gift bags but i like these so much more ;)
I bought plain kraft gift bags 5 for a $1.00 :) I added some pattern paper (Paper Pizazz, Easter Eggs) as a base. The top border I punched a scallop edge (EK Success) then layered another color of card stock on top it. I ribbon I wrapped around and taped under the pattern paper then made my bows using the bow easy.

Close up of the tag

I created these adorable little Easter buckets using Buckets of Love stamp set (There She Goes). I created all the buckets for the tags, mini bags, and cards the same way. I stamped in jet black archival ink (Ranger) then colored them in with markers. To make them shine I added both Glossy Accents and stardust stickles. I then cut them out and adhered with foam.

These mini gift bags were made for the children of two of the guys I work with.

You already know how to make the bucket so we'll skip that :) I cut my color of cardstock to 3 3/4 x 5 1/2. For my border I layered kraft punched with a scallop edge (EK Success) under more of my base color. For the sentiment panel, I first stamped in that main color some candy (Also from Buckets of Love) and then the sentiment in black.

I made the cards the exact same way as the mini bag. All in all I made 5 bags, 4 cards, and 6 mini bags. I completed them all with 4 sheets of pattern paper and 1 12 x12 paper of each color (and I still have some left :)

I adore these images and they made some super cute gifts but I don't want to leave out the real meaning of Easter. I am blessed, so very blessed everyday. The fact that God loves us so much to make that sacrifice for us is overwhelming sometimes.

Today is a day for celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

HE IS RISEN!!

Penny Black Thank you

2011-04-23T20:42:00.000-04:00

I have been dying to play along over at the Penny Black blog but all the stamps I have by them are Christmas! I finally got my hands on 4 new (well new to me ;) Penny Black stamp sets and this week I get to play too (Yippee!)

The Challenge is for Thank you cards. I decided to make my card inspired by Kathy Racoosin. She is the whole reason I found Penny Black after all. She is so very talented I {heart} her style. If you haven't yet please go check out her blog :)

Okay onto the card

I started by cutting a piece of pink to 4 x 5 1/4. I embossed (ProvoCraft, Divine Swirls) and then used a white gel pen to draw dots on the swirls. I adhered this to a white card base.

I stamped the flower (To You, Penny Black) twice on orange paper. I did a little shading with an orange marker and then cut out one complete flower. I only cut out the center for the top flower. I embellished with some more white dots. I assembled the flower with foam tape and filled the center with pink rhinestones. I also added stardust stickles to the natural lines of the flower.

For my band I punched (EK Success) a black strip which I adhered to a lighter orange strip. For the sentiment (Flower Gallery, Penny Black) I stamped in black (Jet Black Archival Ink, Ranger) on white and accented with a few more pink rhinestones. Everything was adhered flat, the only foam I used was in between the flower layers.

Wishing you all a gorgeous weekend and a Blessed Easter. God is good and I am so grateful :)

You Fill My Life with Love

2011-04-23T20:26:00.000-04:00

Well we are having pretty nice weather for Easter weekend, how about you?

One of my favorite things about spring is the cherry blossoms :) They are one of the first blooms of the season and they are so lovely. This week at There She Goes blog the challenge is to make a monochromatic card. I decided to use the cherry blossom trees as my color inspiration.

I started by making my background first. I cut 4 of each color then stamped the background in walnut stain. The open heart is from Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages. The solid hearts are from Hero Arts, Whoo Loves You? The polka dots and xoxo are both from Hero Arts, Everyday Sayings. I sewed a border around each square with brown thread and adhered them all flat to a brown card base.

For my main panel I cut the ledger paper (Basic Grey, Basic Manila paper pad) to 3 x 3 3/4 then punched the edge (EK Success). I inked all the edges with walnut stain then rumpled the punched edge. I stamped the hearts and bucket (There She Goes, Buckets of Love) on to it.

I stamped the hearts (There She Goes, Buckets of Love) onto all three shades of pink. I cut out various hearts and glued them on top of the previous stamped image. The bucket (There She Goes, Buckets of Love) was stamped on brown. I did some shading with walnut stain and my H20 pen. Then colored the handle with a silver metallic gel pen.

I stamped the beginning of the sentiment (There She Goes, Buckets of Love) in walnut stain and the "love" with a pink marker. I added the ribbon and bow before adhering the whole panel with foam tape.

To finish off the card I added glossy accents and stardust stickles to various hearts. I also made the sentiment shine with some pink rhinestones :)

Moxie Fab The Gift Wrap

2011-04-21T18:01:00.000-04:00

back again for another Moxie Fab Challenge!

This challenge was to make a gift bag, tag, wrap :)

My Husband has Godchildren . . more specifically Goddaughters all over the place. Every year on Easter we buy for all the kids. This is going to be their gift bag. Soon t be filled with puffs, yogurt melts, movies, and outfits (usually something with argyle {heart})

This is pretty simple really. I cut the patterned paper (from my stash I have no idea who makes it sorry!) so that it would have a kraft border from the bag. I punched a scallop edge (EK Success) on my blue paper then cut it to 1 3/4. I layered a green strip cut to 1 1/4 on top. The purple ribbon is an off brand from my local store and I used my bow easy to create the prefect bow!

Simple and pretty.

Moxie Fab Home Decor

2011-04-21T17:51:00.001-04:00

Happy Thursday to you all!
I am having an especially happy Thursday because I just found out I'm the fresh face winner over at the Hero Arts blog! Holy Smokes I can't believe it! :) I'm so honored to be picked among such awesome talent!

Speaking of awesome talent let's talk Moxie Fab! Cath has such great inspiration over there. If you haven't been by there blog you *must* go, it's fantastic :)

This challenge is for Home Decor. I wanted a pretty simple picture to hang in my craft room which is painted a pale turquoise. Here is what I came up with

First let me apologize or the photo quality. Taking a picture while trying to prop it up against . . . well anything and then trying not to get the shine results in this *sorry* :(

I started with a teal background. I cut different size strips and punched them with 5 different borders (all EK Success) I glued them down flat to add a little interest to the background. I added a 1/4 inch strip of red to the top and bottom.

For the focal point I used the Large Flowers stamp (Hero Arts) and stamped once I white. I masked that and stamped again. Continue masking and stamping all t he way across. I colored the flowers with spun sugar, worn lipstick, barn door, spiced marmalade, and mustard seed. I outlined the details with stardust stickles and sewed on a button in the coordinating color. I cut the flowers out as one piece and adhered them with foam.

Here is a close up

I'm still trying to figure out if I'm keeping it :)

Friends Forever

2011-04-19T21:25:00.000-04:00

Hello Hello!
I love playing along with The Playdate Cafe color challenges. They always put together colors I wouldn't normally gravitate to. This week the challenge is Green, White, and Brown.

The photo looked really clean to me, so I ran with it :)

I was flipping through Card Creations magazine, Favorite Occasions Vol.2 where there is so much talent! Charlene Austin (head over to her blog to see her amazing work) had a card with this gorgeous text heart. She had stamped thank you multiple times using different styles of stamps. I wanted to create something similar and this was my jumping off point, hehe!

I used the friend definition background stamp (Hero Arts) and stamped on white card stock in walnut stain. I cut out my heart and inked my edges in more walnut stain. I sewed around the border with brown thread.

I have some label shapes that I love problem is they are all cream, pink, and black :( I decided to make the tags to suit my color combo by cutting them apart, tracing them and reassembling the tag on my card. I started off with just white card stock. The next level is kraft with a brown faux stitch border. The top piece is colored with shabby shutters and outline with an olive marker. I outlined the olive with the thin end of my brown marker. I adhered the tag flat to a kraft card base.

To create my leaf embellishment I stamped (Delicate Leaf Clusters, Hero Arts) in shabby shutters and peeled paint. Before I stamped I spritzed with a little bit of water. I cut the leaves out and covered them in glossy accents. I adhered it left of center on my heart and added a brown floss bow. I popped the whole heart up on foam.

To finish off the card I drew a straight line 1/4 in from the sides using a thin brow marker. Then added the sentiment (All Occasion Messages, Hero Arts) in walnut stain.

Thanks for coming by and visiting! Hope you are enjoying your Tuesday evening :) I'm off to watch some TV with my hubby!!

I appreciate you

2011-04-14T17:31:00.001-04:00

The past two weeks have been almost non-stop work for me but today, today is a day off :) Yippee!

I am playing along this week with Get Sketchy. I am always reaching for the same colors so I decided to peruse the Internet and find something different. I hope you like it :)

Here is the awesome sketch we are working with

and here is my take

I started with a standard size white card base. I cut a piece of yellow pattern paper (Soup Staples collection) to 2 1/4 x 5 1/2 and adhered it to my card base.

I created the teal piece by scribbling my teal marker (Marvy Bold) on my craft mat, picking it up with my H20 pen (lots of water) and coloring a white piece of card stock until I was happy with the result. adhere flat.

The punched (EK Success) a 2 x 4 piece of white and adhered it to my card.

The navy square was cut to 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 and glued down.

I created the rosette by scoring every 1/4 inch on white card stock cut to 1 1/4 x 11.

I stamped the butterfly (Hero Arts, Butterflies) on white and colored it with a yellow marker. I fussy cut it out and attached just the body to my rosette.

I cut the teal (DCWV, Cafe Mediterranean) to 1/2 and stamped my sentiment (Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages) in versamark. I then heat embossed in white. I cut a V to make a little banner and added it to my card with foam.

Some clear rhinestones and yellow stickles finished it off.

This card is a little different for me . . . . what do you think?

Rainbow Card Set and Giveaway

2011-04-05T17:20:00.000-04:00

This last post is a card set I created for my girl friend.

I am playing along with Wee Memories Color Inspiration. This picture inspired the Rainbow motif

I am also playing along with Hero Arts monthly contest. I used the sketch on the far right.

and last but certainly not least Cath over at Moxie Fab challenged us to make a card set

Here is a close up of one of them

and the whole set

So I love Jenni Bowlin's butterflies. I love the way they are packaged. I love the colors and patterns. I just love 'em!

but I don't own any of them. So I decided to make my own.

I used my cricut Sentimentals cartridge to cut out 30 butterflies. I trimmed off the antennas so I could fit more butterflies on the card. I stamped 5 butterflies for each card in the same color but with a different Hero Arts background stamp. I used all distress inks: barn door, spiced marmalade, mustard seed, peeled paint, broken china, and dusty concord. I wanted to use rhinestones for their bodies but didn't have enough black. Enamel essentials to the rescue! I love the way it makes perfect little circles.

I colored a strip of white with the coordinated colored and layered a white banner with a sentiment over it. The butterflies were adhered with their bodies flat and the wings popped up on foam. Each color has a different sentiment.

I finished them off by adding 3 rhinestones. There are no stickles on these cards, can you believe it? Me either!!

Now for the giveaway! I used 6 Hero Arts set to make these cards. 5 background and 1 sentiment. The first person to guess all 6 correctly will win a little something special from me!

Off to work I go thanks for sticking with me :)