Color Challenge

Over at Christmas Card Challenge it's colors! I've stated in a previous post that this particular color combo has been a problem for me. Other people come up with these beautiful cards using it, but I could never seem to make it work! I finally made one that I really like!

Hope you enjoy it too!

Curvy Keepsake

I just love the Curvy Keepsake box die from SU! I'm sure you've seen all the cute designs that are our there on Pinterest. Well, I just had to add my own!

I made the little girl first. Then I had to try a little boy.

Now all I need is a baby shower to make them for!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Star is Born

My nephew and his wife just had a baby boy a couple weeks ago. I haven't had the chance to see him yet, since they don't live by us. But in September, we will be going down to see them. Here is a card I made for the event. I'm going to write his name on the circle.

I used the July My Paper Pumpkin kit and the star framelits. Great set! I'm entering this over at My Pumpkin Challenge, wishes and stars.

Thanks for stopping by!

Daydream Medallions

I have been having so much fun playing with Daydream Medallions from Stampin' Up! I have had it for awhile and never used it. With SU's promotion of the bigshot this month, I thought I would make up some cards using it to show what you could do for my stamp class.

This first one was inspired by a sketch over at Colours and Sketch. When I saw it, I thought of this stamp set right away, and so began my playing.

The next card is for the following challenges. 

Christmas Card Callenges - anything goes

Complete Christmas - anything goes

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas 

Festive Friday- inspired by photo

Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge - deck the halls

I love the woodgrain stamp and use it a lot. Also love that you can color the pearls with the alchohol markers to match your color scheme.

The next ones are just more playing around. Some are inspired by pins on pinterest.

I love how by just changing the color you can get a totally different look. Plus, who doesn't love sunflowers!

I think I'm going to make this one for my next card club.

This one is just fun! I found something similar on pinterest. This is my take on it.

There are a few more ideas that I want to do but this is it for now. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.

My Pumpkin Project

I had the privilege of participating in one of the display boards at the Stampin' Up! Inspire, Create, Share convention. We decided on a theme of Christmas and one of the items I made was a wine tag using the straws from the June My Paper Pumpkin kit.

I'm entering it at My Pumpkin Challenge. Nothing like cutting it close!

Thanks for stopping by!

Paint Pens

I just love it when things come together. I was going through my email this morning and came upon a technique using a paint pen (that's what I used anyway) to add dimension to an image. I had just stopped at the store to pick one up for my daughter so she could finish a project she was doing. So off I went to her room to scoop it up!

I used coastal cabana to stamp the image, and then took the paint pen and went around the top part of each petal. I can see me using this a lot in the future! Used some pop dots for even more dimension. I really like the way it turned out. Easy too!

I'm entering this at Colour Me...!, whose colours are coastal cabana, and at Less is more, whose challenge is to use more than one stamp (I used 2). 

Thanks for stopping by!

Work of Art again!

Ok. I am seriously in love with this stamp set! And not only because it was free, either. It is so versatile. Here is the card I made yesterday. I've been playing with it more today, and this is what I came up with.

I made this for the challenge over at Fusion. The Work of Art stamp set has a nice chevron stamp in it, and I got to use my new stamp positioner. Very fun!

This next one, I just love. I used the swoosh (or whatever you call it) to give just a little color to it. Also used the wood background stamp, which is one of my favorites right now.

I"m entering this on in:

House that Stamps Built - for the guys
Lexi's Creations - for the man in your life
Without Words - gentlemen only

I also made up some gift enclosures.

I think I will be using this stamp set a lot! Maybe I will let my card class ladies go wild with it. I know one in particular who will love it!

Thanks for stopping by.

Work of Art

I finally got to play with the new stamp set from SU, Work of Art, that we received at the catalog primiere. I love it! I paired it up with Gorgeous Grunge, and this is what came out. I think the two are going to go well together. It is a little busy, but once I started stamping , I couldn't stop. I love the sentiment that comes with it. We are all fabulous works of art!

I am entering this at:

City Crafter Challenge - word bubble

Dream Valley Challenge - say it with words

Hobbybook Designs - sentiment

I made a card earlier this week for a sketch challenge at Sketch Saturday that I thought looked fun. I needed a graduation card, so I flipped it on its side and made a stack of books, although a friend told me that you can't have the shortest book on the bottom!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

Two Crafts, Three Cards, and Project Life!

I'm so excited! I'm going to the SU convention this summer! I wasn't sure if I would be able to because of all the things going on this summer, but it worked out. Just registered yesterday.

I've been so busy, with a daughter turning 16, my 25th anniversary, end of the school year and all the things I still need to do for that...the list goes on. But SU is having a display board contest and I wanted to enter it. 

You need two 3-D items. My first one is flowers I made from the blossom punch. These are so much fun to make, and so easy. The hardest part is getting the glue off your fingers after!

 I made them to go on a mug I make, but the were too big.  So I improvised, and made a bookmark. I love the tag topper punch. The stamp is from the March Paper Pumpkin.

Here is the mug I mentioned. These are easy to make too. I would love to get one filled with chocolate kisses!

The next thing for the board is 3 cards. I made up these 3. The first one is using Countless Sayings 2.

I was playing with this set because of my anniversary. I made a few attemps, but I like this one best. The Hardwood stamp set has become one of my favorites.  I cut strips to make it look like a slate board. The chalk s just rolled up cardstock, although my husband said it looked like a cigerette!

I think I was still in anniversary mode when I made this one. This was one of the first stamp sets I bought from the Occasions catalog. I just love it! The co-ordinating paper is fantastic too!

I'm going to enter this in Anyone for Anya, whose challenge is nautical.

My last card is just a quick and easy birthday card.

The thing I am most excited about is Project Life! I love scrapbooking, and used to do it all the time. I've been feeling like I want to start doing it again but the thought of dragging all the stuff out and spending hours on it kept me from it. I saw PL in the big box stores, and thought that it was certainly a possibility. I even mentioned to some other demos that we could probably do something with it. Well, SU was way ahead of me. They will be having it in their new catalog!

I had already bought some of the page protectors so I have incomplete pages to show you. I am waiting for my order to come in so I can finish it!

I had already bought the Map it Out stamp set to scrapbook our cross-country trip we took in 2010. That shows how long I've been putting off scrapbooking! When  I heard SU was doing PL I got some pictures out and had this put together in no time! What took the longest was cutting the paper to fit in, and that won't be a problem anymore! It's hard to wait!

Thanks for bearing with me on this long post. Have a great day!

Good Friday

It just somehow seemed fitting on Good Friday to make a sympathy card. There is a sadness to this day. As I think about the price that was paid for the sin that I do, my heart weeps. But I am so grateful.

The different shades of black are from a challenge at CAS - colours and sketches. They seemed appropriate.

I used a watercolor wash of black, basic gray, and smokey slate for the background, then stamped in Stazon black and smokey slate. The butterfly is punched out of basic gray. Even though it is gray, it represents the hope of the resurrection that Sunday will bring! And what a hope!

I'm also entering this at The Friday Mashup, who have a sketch/ombre challenge.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope your Good Friday mourning turns into Resurrection dancing!

Out Like a Lamb?

I had to plow through an 18 inch snow drift outside my garage to get to church today! So much for March going out like a lamb! The sun is out and most of the snow is melting, so I guess there is still hope. And tomorrow is officially the last day in March...  Here's to hoping that there are no more snow storms till next winter!

I wanted to post a another card I made with stencils. Only my 2nd attempt at using them.

I am having fun with them, and one of my next purchases is going to be embossing paste to add dimension. I have seen some really great cards using it and it intriques me! There is always so much fun stuff out there! I used my SB gears die cut for the first time. Found them in a clearance bin at a big box store. I love deals! I used Distress ink for the background and smokey slate to sponge the stencils. All in all, I like the way it turned out.

I"m entering it at:

 Moxie Fab World - stencils

Anyone For Anya - masculine or grungy

Thanks for stopping by.

Sew Special

Just a quick post for a card I made for the Fusion Card Challenge.

I had a lot of fun putting this together. I used a stamp set that I've never used before and some fabric that I've had lying around. The die cut is from SU. I'm also entering it at the Alphabet Challenge blog. They are on D, for die cuts.

Thanks for stopping. Have a great weekend!!

Watercolor

What a crazy, busy, hectic life!! I haven't had much time to be up in my craft room lately, and I was feeling the need to be creative yesterday. So I snuck up there for a few hours and just had some fun! It was wonderful to get my fingers all inky and create. I have some new things to play with and had a wonderful time. Hopefully, it won't be so long till the next time.

One of the new things I have is the aqua painters. So I got out some watecolor paper and tried them out. Here is one of the cards I made.

SplitCoast was having a color challenge and I chose to use pistachio pudding, pool party, sahara sand, and black. I used the aqua painters to brush the color on after I stamped it in Stazon black. Out of the ones I did, I think this is my favorite.

I am entering this at:

Less is More - 3 of something (I have 3 swipes of color - hope that's ok)

Crafty Bloggers - Nature

Lawnscaping Challenge - CAS

In all my playing around, I made another card that is really out of my style comfort zone. But I had so much fun! Moxie Fab World is having a challenge with stencils. I tried using this stencil once before but didn't like the way it came out, so I set it aside. I remembered it and got out my distress inks to play. This is the one my family liked the best.

I am entering this at 

Moxie Fab World - stencils

My Time to Craft - Mothers Day

Craft You Passions - Mothers Day

Thanks for stopping by to look. Have a great day!

Things with Wings

I am so thrilled that I was asked to be a Guest Designer over at Crafting by Designs this week. When I first got the email, I thought they must have sent it to me by mistake! When I realized it was for real, I was so excited! Then paranoid! You wouldn't believe how many cards I made! I finally realized I had to send something, but I couldn't decide, so I sent them two!

This first one was fun to make. I used the chevron punch to make a trellis and crinkled up some scalloped circles for the flowers. Love this paper from DCWV. It's sparkly, although you can't tell from the picture.

I'm entering this at:
Jellypark Challenges - Things with Wings
Card A Day - Spring
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes
Word Art Wednesday - anything goes

The next one uses some more of the sparkly paper!

I love the little clothes pin for the butterfly body! 

I"m entering this at:

Dragonfly Dreams - Up in the Air

Make My Monday - Spring

Created with Love - Think Spring

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my excitement. Stop over at Crafting by Design and see the other great cards.

So, Faux Sew

There is a fun sketch over at Sunday Stamps that I have been playing with today. Here is the card I made.

I used some paper from the clearance rack at SU. I rounded the edges, then antiqued them, and added some faux sewing. I greatly admire the people who actually sew on their cards. I think it looks so beautiful! It isn't in my skill set though, so I just draw mine on.

I really enjoyed the sketch (great job, Marie!), so I made up another card using it. Merry Monday has a challenge with buttons and stitches. I realized I haven't made a Christmas card in awhile so I came up with this:

Used that faux stitching again! I'm also entering this at:

Completely Christmas - anything goes

Christmas Fun - anything goes

Festive Friday - they have a yummy looking cookie I pulled the colors from

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Christmas

Since I was making Christmas cards, I decided to do one more. 52 Christmas Card Throwdown has a sketch challenge. I wanted to do something different, and Moxie Fab World is having a hexagon challenge, so I got out my hexagon die cuts from SU and MFT and came up with this:

I'm also enteing this at ABC Christmas, whose challenge is die cuts, and Craftyhazelnuts Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Yum!

Brrrr! Another cold snap has hit us again, with temps down in the single digits. I am so ready for warmer temperatures! But who are we kidding. Where I live we can still get snow in April! The way this winter is going, that just might be the case!

I've noticed  that spring is a common theme for challenges lately. Seems like we all want it to come! So I decided to make a spring themed card. We're trying to get my husband hooked on Downton Abbey, so last night we watched the first one and I got out my pencils and colored. This House Mouse is one of the images I did.

Robins are always the bird to watch for when looking for spring. We usually have a couple pair nesting around us and it is so fun to watch them feed their babies. They are all mouth, waiting for that bug to drop in!

Just a humorous note. When I was searching for a sentiment to put on this card, I almost used one from the same stamp set that says "yum". My daughter wanted me to. Guess I've passed my sick sense of humor on to her!

I'm entering this card in:

Crafty Cardmakers - Come Fly with Me

Little Red Wagon - Spring

Mod Squad - Thinking of Spring

Cute Card Thursday - Springtime

House Mouse - anything goes

Hiding in my Craft Room - What's buggin' ya

Crafting by Design - Colors of Spring

Thanks for stopping by! Hang in there, spring is coming!

Spring

Just got back from breakfast with my dh. When we left the restaurant, I was preparing myself for the blast of cold air when I opened the door, and guess what? It wasn't there!! What hit me was warmer spring air. It was wonderful!! Now, I know this is only a tease, but it brings the promise of spring. I am so excited! Plus, we are going to be tapping trees for syrup today. That is a sure sign that it won't be long now.

I made up this card yesterday for the challenge over at Dynamic Duos. Their challenge was to use daffodil delight and black. I used two IO stamps to make the background and I think it's an Inkadoo stamp for the flowers. Finished it off with some black ribbon. Simple, but I like it.

Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully, you're getting a taste of the spring weather too!

There's a new Sheriff...

I just love this little guy! I think he is so cute, and I have quite a few sayings that will go well with him. For today I chose the new sheriff saying. I tried to find a little star to pin on him, but didn't like the way they looked. I used some retired SU paper, the star is a sizzix die and cut out a a shimmery paper (it's hard to tell from the picture), and I colored him in with prismacolor pencils. It was about a year ago that I discovered mineral spirits work really well with the pencils, and I've been in coloring bliss since. Now all I need is the full set of pencils! Hmmm, I think I have a 55% off coupon for ACMoore!

I'm entering him at:

The Paper Players - Stars

Less is more - masculine

Paulaholifieldcrafts - Man-up

The Crafty Bloggers Network - all about boys

CAS on Sunday - masculine

Thanks for stopping by to take a look. Have a great week!

Pockets

It's so quiet in my house! My hubby had to work and all 3 girls are gone somewhere. I'm all alone in peace and quiet. Even the dog is outside! So I thought I would take a minute and post some cards I made this week.

The first one is for Inky Impressions. The have a sketch that reminded me of a die cut I have from MFT.

I'm also entering it in:

Just Us Girls, who have this wonderful color challenge.

                                

ABC challenge - flowers
Brown Sugar - use a die cut or punch (I used both)
Stampin for the Weekend - flower power

While I had the die out I made another pocket card. I was missing Not Quite Navy from the SU line up, but found that Island Indigo makes a nice denim too!

This one I'm entering in:

Little Red Wagon - Valentine

The Male Room - Valentine

The last card is for ABC Christmas Challege whose theme is chocolate creams. I decided to go with chocolate colors because I don't have any stamps with chocolates in them, which is probably good, because it would have made me hungry! Plus I got to use this dp that is flocked and I have been wondering what to do with it. I think it made a nice ornament.

Thanks for stopping by!

Spring, please...

I know it is only February, and only a little over a third of the way through it, but I am longing for spring. I want to be able to go outside without putting boots on, to dig around in my garden, to watch the new life spring up in all the plants and trees. Oh, to feel the warmth of the sun, smell the fresh turned earth, to hear the birds sing ...  It's coming. And soon I hope.

I know I'm not the only one longing. Over at Sunday Stamps, they have a challenge of looking for spring. Don't those daises look cute! I might have to go see if I can buy some flowers to brighten up my home.

                                            

I decided to make up a card for it. SCS was having a stair-step challenge so I used the word celebrate for my steps, and the colors from Sunday Stamps. The flowers are from a Tim Holtz die cut and the burlap ribbon is SU.

I'm also entering it in:

Hiding in my Craft Room - Super Scraps Saturday

Sweet Stampin - Sentiments

Crafters Companion - CAS

Jo's Scrap Shack - anything goes

Sister Act - ready for spring

Here's to looking for Spring!

Anything but a valentine...

My hubby and youngest daughter are out sledding with friends. I'm a wimp. I like being inside where it is warm. When they come home, they will probably have a nice hot cup of cocoa, which is the theme over at Curtain Call. When I saw their challenge, I knew I had to use this House Mouse stamp.

I"m also entering it in Crafting When We Can whose challenge is food. Those are marshmallows in the corner, and in my book, anything chocolate is food!

This next card is for Art Impressions challenge to "pop it up".

They want you to pop the image off the page with pop dots. It's hard to tell from the picture that I did pop her off the page. 

I really enjoyed these challenges because I wasn't using red, pink, or hearts! It was nice to do something other than valentines. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Love is in the Air

A quick post this morning. Had a yummy breakfast out with my hubby, now I need to get ready for our school co-op. But wanted to post this card for a sketch challenge at Sunday Stamps that ends in a couple hours.

Just love these images from MFT!

I'm also entering it in Cards in Envy whose theme is Love is in the air. Thanks for stopping by!

Wine tags

I can't believe how fast time is going by! Valentine's day is right around the corner. Seems like it was just Christmas a few days ago! Maybe that's because I still have decorations in my hall waiting to be thrown away or put away! 

I've been trying to get some valentines made without much luck. Life can be so busy. Another snow storm has derailed our plans for a trip so I snuck up to my craft room to get creative.  I made up some wine tags for a chocolate and wine tour at a local winery.

This first one is for the love challenge over at House Mouse and Friends. 

This next one is for Paper Players, whose theme is Sweet treats. 

The last one is a Christmas one. I'm entering this at Christmas Card Challenges and Holly Jolly Christmas, who both have a challenge for tags. I'm also entering it in Dynamic Duos, whose challenge is red and teal.

I'm going back to my craft room to see if I can be inspired some more! Thanks for stopping by.