Just Saying HELLO - DD#85, JUGS223, C4C218

Hi again - here I am with my second post of the day.  I'm feeling giddy and guilty at the same time for being able to make 2 cards today "just because" - that hasn't happened in a long time. Pretty soon I will dash off to start dinner - Lasagna and tres leche cake for dessert. My son is home still for college break and lasagna is one of his favorites.  He gave me his "home cookin'" wish list within hours of being home :o)  As you've probably read in a couple of my other posts, I got the Pioneer Woman Cookbook (vol 2) for Christmas from my daughter and I have been cookin' up a storm from that.  The Chicken and Noodles from last night turned out fabulous!!   The Tres Leche cake (3 milks = yummy) recipe is another one of those recipes. It's cooling on the rack as I write this post.

Thanks for allowing me to share another card with you today.  I'm entering it in three great challenges (noted below) - here it is:

This is a skinny card with an overall size of 3.5 inches by 5.5 inches.  I got those specifications from the gals at Crazy 4 Challenges (C4C218).  This is a fun size that I don't do nearly often enough. I like it a lot.

The bright, cheery color combo is from  Dynamic Duos #85 - Summer Starfruit and Garden Green. Lucky for me they extended the deadline so I could play along.

Just Us Girls #223 Technique challenge is Paper Piecing - something I love to do, but yet again don't do it nearly as often as I could.  Truth be told - I usually think of it after the fact.  This is a good reminder for me.

The sentiment is a digital image from Birdie Brown that I enlarged and printed to allow for the paper piecing. First printed on white cardstock and a second time on the DSP to cut out the letters.  Did you notice the
Sneak Peek?  Hint: it's the twine from Stampin Up! available soon for Sale-A-Bration (1/24).

Well time for me to get going, so thanks again for stopping by to visit. I'm sure glad that you did.  Til next time friends...hugs and happy crafting (and eating)! D

Non-traditional Christmas card - DD#79 "Black Tie" Week & Let's Get Inky

Hello friends - hope your week is going well.  I'm surprised it's Thursday already - my week has just flown by. A quick post for today to share a card I whipped together last night after seeing something that inspired me.  I'd like to enter this card in the following terrific challenges:

Dynamic Duos #79 

and Nonni's Christmas Card Challenge #1 - Let's Get Inky - Stamp a Happy Christmas

Thanks so much for stopping by today - I'm sure glad that you did. Til next time friends...hugs and happy crafting! D

Addicted to Stamps and More! Challenge #69 CAS, ATCAS - One Layer and DD#76

Hello friends and followers - happy last week of October.  This week at ATS&M Challenge #69 is CAS.  I thought I'd switch gears a bit from the halloween track that I've been on lately and make a birthday card.   I apologize for the poor photo - think I need to recharge the camera (that really is a white card base). 

The sentiment is from one of my oldest and most favorite sets. You might have seen another one of these stamps used yesterday on my card for ABC Challenges.  While I had the set out, I thought it might be fun to use another one of them.  

My colors were based on the pretty combo at  Dynamic Duos #76 (see below) - the sentiment is in Perfect Plum and the balloons are in Wisteria Wonder. 

and since I did go with a one layer card I'm also sharing it over at the ATSM sister challenge called ATCAS where the code word is... yup, you guessed it ONE LAYER. 

One layer CAS cards are very difficult for me - but hey...that's why it's called a challenge - it's all about stretching yourself creatively :o)  Several of my DT pals from ATSM also are on the DT for ATCAS - they do such a fabulous job and I don't get to play along over there as much as I might like to - except for today.

I sure hope that you will go visit the rest of the DT at ATS&M and then decide to play along with us this week.  There's a fabulous prize to be won - how can you resist the temptation to try???? 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me - I'm sure glad that you did. Til next time...hugs and happy crafting! D

ABC Challenges - Mother's Day, Dynamic Duos #50 and The Corrosive Challenge Blog #173 - Mother's Day

Happy Monday dear friends and followers! Hope each and every one of you is having a most wonderful day (or week if you are popping in later).  The challenge this week at ABC Challenges is to make a Mother's Day card (or a card honoring Mothers).  This could be for a Mother-to-be, your own Mom, your Mother-in-law, your sister, your best friend... you get the idea.  This is the first time I've used the Stippled Blossoms stamp set and I love the results.  I even put a few more blooms on the inside - take a look:

As you can see I was really having a hard time getting the lighting just right at this time of day for the colors to show up correctly.  Here's another view with the sentiment.

I did the slightest bit of distressing on the sentiment and sponging across the embossed panel on the front and around the edges of the circles and the inside corners of the DSP as my Mom isn't really big on this style but it felt too flat to me without it. The finished size of my card is 5 1/2 square.  

I used the colors from the Dynamic Duos (DD#50) Challenge this week (see below) and the sketch from the
Flutterby Wednesdays Challenge  below (note: I'm not entering there because I didn't use a butterfly or fairy on this card - but I loved the sketch and wanted to give credit).  My colors like a bit orange in the photos but they are the Calypso Coral and Blushing Bride combo.  I am also entering my card in a challenge that I stumbled upon while perusing a wonderful blog by Kathy which is The Corrosive Challenge Blog #173 - Mother's Day.

I sure hope you will join us this week at ABC Challenges and share your Mother's Day cards with us. For challenge rules and to see the rest of the fabulous cards that the DT members have made all you have to do is click here and you will magically be there.  Thanks so much for stopping by today - I'm sure glad that you did. Til next time...hugs and happy crafting.  D

FMS #75, Dynamic Duos #42 {Garden Green & Daffodil Delight}, Sweet Stamping - Embossing & Stamping, My Time to Craft - Embossing

Hello everyone - so happy that you've stopped by to visit me today! My card today is based on the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches (FMS#75) 

I'm also entering this card in the the following 3 other challenges:

Dynamic Duos #42 {Garden Green & Daffodil Delight}

 

 

Sweet Stamping Challenge - Embossing (& Stamping) and My Time to Craft Challenge #211 - Embossing. 

When I saw the color challenge over at Dynamic Duos my mind immediately went to spring flowers and leaves, or St. Patty's day (which is coming up quite soon) - but then I decided I wanted to do something quite different to go with the sketch.  I'm disappointed that the yellow ladies didn't show up better in the photo- IRL they look much better.  Oh well, at least the green really stands out - which is what I was going for ;o).

I used the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder for the main panel (this is one of my favorites to use - so versatile). 

Gonna keep this post short and sweet today - so until next time... hugs and happy crafting!! D

 

Retrosketches #38 and Dynamic Duos #29

Hello dear blog friends.  Tonight I have another card to share with you.  Sympathy cards are hard for me to make. Somehow it just never seems as if I know the right thing to say or can adequately convey my feelings for those folks who have lost a loved one. One of my dear friends recently lost her Mom to a lengthly battle of illness.  She fought valiantly but finally gave in.  It was very hard for me to see the sadness that my friend felt while watching her dear Mom keep slipping away - the end was inevitable, but I don't think that it is ever easy when it comes, even knowing that there is no more pain or suffering.  This friend is very dear to my heart, as if she were my sister, and I'm so sad for her. The wonderful person that she is is a testiment to the wonderful person her mom was.  I hope that this card will help ease her sorrow somewhat.

How fortunate we are as crafters to have a way to express ourselves creatively and genuinely by sending someone a handmade card to express what we may not be able to say in words. I think it shows how very much we do care.  Thankfully having a sketch or color theme to focus on while making a sympathy card seems to help me in completing the task.  In this case I used the sketch at Retrosketches #38 (see below) and the color combo challenge at Dynamic Duos #29.   

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me today - I'm very glad that you did.  Til next time - hugs and happy crafting!!

FMS#61, and DD#29

Hello friends, hope you are all doing well.  I'm excited today because I managed to make two cards for a couple different challenges that I haven't been able to participate in for a while.  The first challenge is Freshly Made Sketches #61 (see sketch below).  I just couldn't resist this sketch.  The second challenge is Dynamic Duos #29 - which has one of my favorite color combos of Marina Mist and Black with the dessert option of a snowman (my card has two snow people on it).  I wanted to us a snowflake charm but didn't have one so I thought the heart worked well with the saying of kind words warming the winter months.  I am not typically a winter person (too cold for me) - but making snowmen with my kids is one activity I enjoy :o)

I had fun making this card.  I used my blender pen and some Marina Mist ink to color in parts of the image.  Pretty pleased with how it turned.  Usually CAS is hard for me - but this sketch really helped me.  Oh and I also did something fun on the inside where I used a couple different snowflake punches...

Hope you enjoyed this card! Thanks so much for stopping by to visit.  Til next time... Hugs and Happy Crafting!

 

 

Supplies (Stampin Up!): Cardstock - Basic Black and Whisper White.  Ribbon - 1/8" tafetta ribbon in Basic Black.  Charm is a retired product from a previous holiday mini.  Stamp and sentiment  - Winter Memories. DSP is from the Patterns Designer paper stack (subtles).   Other - scallop edge border punch, basic rhinestones, corner rounder punch.

Something new for ABC Challenges

Hello friends - Happy Monday (if there is such a thing - hahaha)! So happy to announce today that this is my first card to share with you as a member of the brand spankin' new challenge called ABC Challenges. The ABC stands for All Beautiful Cards. I'm so delighted to be part of this challenge launch and am looking forward to seeing your beautiful creations and visiting your blogs. In honor of our first challenge our delightful blog leader and challenger owner Patty Gorka has decided to use the theme "New to You". That means we want to see you make a card using something that is either new to you (this can be something you've had for a while but never used - or it can be something that is brand new to you) and/or try a new technique that you've not done before. How fun is that??? I think it's very fun and here is what I came up with to inspire you:

 

My card today uses the following "new" things:

1) a NEW technique called bargello (see more info below)

2) a NEW stamp called Frightening Feline

3) an retired ribbon that I ordered and never used til now (and a NEW way of tying the bow -new for me that is).

 

Here's a close up of the words on the cat:

Not sure if the photos show this very well but I embossed the cat in black.  I was worried that the works might not stay clear with the embossing process but it seems to have worked out just wonderfully (other than where my fat thumb bumped the top of the left ear).

 



I had a lot of fun creating this card to share with you today.  The background is made from strips of patterned paper (1/4" each) put together in a technique called Bargello.  I learned this technique by following Mynette's fabulous instructions on the Technique Tuesday blog.  It's really quite easy - and I'm quite pleased with how my first attempt turned out.  What a super fun way to make you own paper!  To get the instructions pop on into the Technique Tuesday blog site and then make your own creation to share there.   

I'm a big fan of combining challenges when I can.  I find that it give me an extra level of challenge fun and inspiration as I'm deciding what to make.  At ABC Challenges we allow you to combine up to 10 challenges in total.  I used a couple more challenges for today's card in addition to the ABC Challenge.  I took my color inspiration from the Dynamic Duos Challenge #25 - Orange and Black.

 

I took further inspiration in terms of my theme for Divas By Design Challenge #57 -"Something Spooky" and Halloween at Sweet Stampin' Challenges.

Please pop on over to the  ABC Challenges blog and visit us.  We have a fabulous design team who have created some terrific cards for your inspiration to jump start this new challenge.  We would really love your support and can't wait to see what you create!  Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me today. Til next time... Hugs and Happy Crafting!

Supplies (all from Stampin Up!): Cardstock - Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black.  DSP - Howlstooth and Scaringbone.  Stamp - Frightening Feline. Ribbon (retired - black lace). Other - Versamark in and black embossing powder. 


Dynamic Duos #19, Paper Play Week 36 and Lollipop Crafts #89

 

Hello friends - it feels like ages since I've had a chance to make a card and share it with you.  Somehow real life snuck up on me and took control for a bit - I hate when that happens - lol!  The good news is that we finished staining our monster fence so now I have one less "chore" to take away from my card making :o)  This next week is staining the deck - oh boy!  Sorry... I digress... back to this card.

This card is based on MOJO Monday#257 (which I missed the deadline for, thanks to that real life thing :o) ) - see below, which I thought was perfect though for the colors this week at Dynamic Duos #19 - Cajun Craze and Always Artichoke,  and the theme challenges at  PaperPlay Challenges - Week 36 - Autumnal Tags or Autumn Colors w/a tag and Lollipop Crafts Challenge #89 Fall Frolic.

 

 

I love these colors together as they represent the fact that fall is not quite fully in swing yet.   I still have quite a few flowers on my bushes right now but that probably won't last much longer.  The older I get the more I love fall. The cool nights and mornings and the warm days are just wonderful!

I used lots of different patterns and textures to give this card more detail and depth. A couple different dry embossing texture patterns, two different DSP patterns, the wood grain stamp on the long banner, the textured cardstock for the larger green leaf, and the distressed edges of the one leaf.  I like how it turned out! Hope you do too.  Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me today!  Hello to my new follower - glad you've joined in :o)  Til next time - Hugs and Happy Crafting!

Supplies (all from Stampin Up!):  Cardstock - Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake and Cajun Craze.  DSP - Patterns Designer Series paper stack (regals), Orchard Harvest (leaf). Die cut (leaves) - Autumn Accent Bigz Die,Bitty Banners (sentiment) and Two Tags Bigz (tag).  Texture folders - Square Lattice and Perfect Polka Dots (I also added some lines with my score pal on the smaller leaf). Stamps - acorn and sentiment is from Day of Gratitude.   

 

Freshly Made Sketches (FMS#49) and Dynamic Duos (DD17)

Hello friends - Happy Monday! This card is based on two great challenges - Freshly Made Sketches #49 and Dynamic Duos #17 - Wisteria Wonder and Concord Crush - loving those purples! 

 

 

 

This card is 5 1/2 square (I LOVE to make Square cards!).  I used some of my favorite retired DSP called Sweet Shop for the Wisteria Wonder.  I also pulled out and inked up another retired item that I had never used before called "Baby Blossoms" (the flowers).  This is a two step stamp set that is actually surprisingly easy to use (don't know why I never did before now).  First I stamped the shadow part of the flower in Wisteria Wonder and then I stamped on top of that the detailed part in Concord Grape.  I just love how it turned out!  I used three different punches - the modern label punch for the sentiment (one of my favorites), the new mini scallop circle (from the holiday mini) and the 1" circle.  The pretty border is from the finishing touches edgelits - really love the delicate, elegant look of this one.  I layered the reverse side of the polka dot paper behind the punched border so that it would stand out a bit better, and tucked my sentiment down into it a bit.  The sentiment is from another new set called "Sweet Essentials".

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me today - I'm so glad that you did!! Please come back again sometime.  'Til next time... Hugs and Happy Crafting!

Dynamic Duos #15 - Subtle Color Combo and Pals Paper Arts (PPA 141) Sketch

Hello friends - Happy Thursday to each of you!  I'm not totally in love with the way this card turned out today - but since I spent quite a bit of time making it, I decided I will share it with you anyway.  Maybe you will get some piece of inspiration out of it...hope so anyway :o)

The colors are from the Dynamic Duos Challenge #15 - Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery.  This card also uses an allowed neutral of basic grey. 

I used the sketch from Margaret Moody for the Pals Paper Arts #141 Challenge.  I interpretted it slightly by turning my rows horizontally instead of vertically (just didn't like how they looked with this frame). 

I added a punched ruffled edge along the bottom of the card - so the top piece isn't as long as the bottom piece and it won't stand up - but is pretty when the recipient opens it.  I had to photograph it flat so you could see both layers of the border - so I think it makes the card look a little different than IRL.  The frame and flowers are from the Papaya Collage stamp set.  I cut out an extra flower and glue-dotted it on.  I also stamped one more flower over the top of the sentiment.  It was the third stamp off so it is a very subtle effect.  I used some strips from my Designer Series Paper Stack (subtles) for the celery strips in the background.  I've gotten a lot of use out of those paper stacks. 

Looking at this card again, I think what I don't like about it is that the grey seems kind of stark against those soft colors, or maybe its the white - wishing I had used a softer grey or even a soft suede instead with a very vanilla cardstock.  Oh well - I do like the rest of the card.  And, I really like this sketch, so I might have to try different card with it.  Stay tuned and see if I redeem myself  - lol :o)

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit today - I'm sure glad that you did. Til next time - Hugs!



ATS - Sketch #1, Dynamic Duos #13 and Paper Players #106

Hello friends, I'm so glad you've popped in to visit my blog today!  My dear Daddy is going to be 70 in just a few days.  He loves old cars, trucks and tractors.  I purchased this Tim Holtz stamp to use for his birthday last year and then forgot that I had it until his birthday had passed - so I made a note in the calender for this year to "use old car stamp".  Geeze, you'de think the way my memory is I was the one turning 70 (or older!). 

In any event... I found a couple challenges today to help me turn my idea into a card that he will really enjoy.  My card layout is from the sketch by Kylie at Addicted to Stamps - Sketch Challenge #1.  Even though she calls it "a bit unconventional", I liked it the minute I saw it and have several other ideas for what I could do with this sketch (see below).

The colors for this card were inspired by the Dynamic Duos Challenge #13 - Monochromatic (Early Espresso and Crumb Cake) - so perfect for a masculine card, I think, and I also used the Tic Tac Toe board from The Paper Players Challenge #106 (see below). 

I'm pretty sure you can figure out two of the items I used for this card (hint... it's the column on the right).  The favorite color is not mine - I like deep pink, but my dad doesn't - lol, so I used my favorite colour to used for masculine cards - dark brown - which is also so conveniently one of the colors for the Dynamic Duos challenge this time ;o)  I don't really know what my Dad's favorite color is -  he has never said but I know he likes to buy black cars and green tractors.  The punches I used on this card are the curly label and a retired gear punch (both from SU).  I punched the small gears out and then spritzed them with brown to create a rusted look.  

I sponged around all the edges with Espresso ink to age everything a bit (since Old Guys Rule) to match the style (era) of the truck and the age of the recipient (don't you dare tell him I said so - lol!).    Here's a pic of the inside too (the sentiment is from a Fiskars clear set):

Hope you like today's card and thanks again for stopping in to visit.  Til next time - Hugs!!

CAS - One Layer Card for 4 Great Challenges {Tumbling Cupcakes}

Hello friends, the theme this week at many of the challenges I'm playing along with is Clean and Simple (CAS).  I've mentioned before that this is not an easy style for me and that is precisely why I am yet again entering in some of these challenges - to help myself grow creatively.  I made this card for 4 great challenges - three of which I am participating in for the first time. 

The first is Less Is More Week 76 - One Layer Challenge which is to make a one-layer card using 3 of something on your card. A One-layer card is defined as:  "One piece of card folded in half with no additional layers and minimal embellishments, where the image is stamped or printed directly onto the cardstock".   My 3's are 3 cupcakes, 3 frames, and 3 words - oh and I used 3 rhinestones on each cupcake :o).

The second challenge CAS-ology Week#2 (a new challenge centered around the CAS concept using a word or words to spark creativity).  The word for CAS-ology #2 is "Happy".  I'm pretty sure you have already figured out how I have met this challenge - LOL.  What is happier than cupcakes and birthdays?

And the third "new to me" challenge is Clean and Simple Stamping.  The design for my card is based on the CAS FTL #199 (see below) which I have used a tumbling line of three elements instead of in a straight row.

The fourth challenge is a familar favorite called Dynamic Duos which has a subtles theme for this week.  The color combo for Dynamic Duos#11 is  Pink Pirouette and Baja Breeze.  I saw this darling baby quilt set yesterday that had cupcakes on it in these very same colors - it was so cute and  inspiration struck!

Here's a few more photos of this card:  first a close up of those sparkly cupcakes -  

And then the inside (Those circles are on there because I accidentally put an inky finger down and made a smudge that I had to disquise - thus the circles) -

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me today - I'm sure glad that you did!  Hugs!

Supplies (all from Stampin Up - except frame stamp): Cardstock - Whisper White. Classic ink - Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette and Soft Suede (neutral).  Stamps - Create a Cupcake, Fabulous Phrases (happy).  Frame stamp is from Verve in the set called To the Moon.

Dynamic Duos #10 - Bold and Sassy & MOJO Monday #249

Hello friends!  I got this fun idea out of one of the card magazines I subscribe to.  In that issue one of the cards had a multi-colored zebra with a saying about being unique.  So I decided to have some fun with this week's color challenge at Dynamic Duos #10 - Bold and Sassy Color Combo.  Can you guess what the two colors are???  Ok - not so hard - right?  Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive - a favorite color combo of mine, but I can honestly say I've never used it this way before - LOL!   I am also sharing this with you at MOJO Monday #249 since I used the sketch there for my card.  Hope you like it!  I need to be quick today so I can get to my daughters cooking class finale in a bit. They have cooked up a feast for the parents to enjoy and I sure don't want to miss that!  Here is the color inspiration from Dynamic Duos and the sketch from MOJO Monday: 

Thanks so much for stopping by - I'm sure glad that you did.  And "Hello" to my new follower - so happy you've joined me! Hugs!

Supplies (all from Stamping Up except giraffe stamp and die border strip):  Cardstock - Rick Razzleberry, Old Olive and Whisper White.  Stamp - Baby Giraffe from Stampendous - inked with Staz On Black and colored with a blender pen and Rich Razzleberry ink.  DSP - Summer Smooches (rich razzleberry) and The Write Stuff (old olive - retired). The border strip is from My Favorite Things dies.  I made the sentiment on my computer and hand-cut the flag.  The RR buttons are from the Brights collection.