Little Pieces of Quiet

 When I first saw this image, I knew I would get it to make a card for my sister. She has two little boys who are constantly around her demanding her attention. I colored this one to resemble her youngest who is 4.

One thing about close-ups, you can see the tiny spots I miss when coloring :) I stamped him (Penny Black image) with Memento ink and colored him with these markers:

I saw that the challenge this past Saturday on the Penny Black Challenge site was a sketch challenge so that is where my layout came from. It is a 6 by 6 square card (no worries as I will hand her the card Wednesday night) made with Bazzill cardstock. The patterned paper is new Basic Grey Oliver (brads too). I used my Nestie circle, scalloped circle and tiny tag sets to cut out my image. For the bottom piece I used my SU scalloped border punch.

The inside has the sentiment that reads “Just working on that piece of quiet you said you wanted.” I think she will like it. How can you stay upset with someone that cute?

Remaining “class” cards

 I spent the rest of the afternoon creating these three cards for my Mom and her friends. The first one actually has watercoloring on it. If you know me well, you know I don’t like this coloring medium. I am pleased with this image though. I used cold press paper which I think made a big difference.

The image and sentiment are by GinaK. I wanted it to have a summery feel. I layered the image with SU Pink Pirouhette and Regal Rose. Behind the patterned paper is Pesto coredinations.

The next card uses the shaving cream technique. I used Bashful Blue and Mellow Moss re-inkers for this. The sentiment is new from JustRite Designs. I used coordinating paper for the sentiment and popped each one up on foam strips.

The final card used the shaker kit from Impression Obsession.  

The wild flower image is from Penny Black, the sentiment is from IO and the butterfly inside the shaker is from Memory Box. If you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can see that I lightly colored the wings and added some microfine glitter. Inside the shaker is Sweet Pea Flower soft with a hint of lavender.

I think the ladies will enjoy working on these, don’t you? Now to just cut out the kits!

I am back…with a card!

 I know it has been almost a month since I posted. I had some family business to attend to but I hope to get back to blogging and making cards on a more regular schedule. On top of the family commitment, my laptop monitor died. I ended up purchasing a new one since it would have cost $200 just to get a new monitor. I am now working with Windows 7 and getting used to the little messages my computer keeps giving me. It took me two entire evenings to upload all my bookmarks and favorites. Luckily I was able to get my information off my old hard drive.

But on to the card. My Mom asked me to put a few cards together that her and her friends could come over and do. They are not advanced stampers (actually only my mom stamps) but I wanted to do more than just a one layer card. They are hoping to work on 4 and here is the first one.

The image is by Hero Arts and the sentiment by Verve. I colored the image with my copics and added a bit of Platinum stickles in the centers. The embossed panel was done with my Cuttlebug and the Harlequin folder. I also used my SU scalloped border and MS butterfly punches. There are actually 7 layers on this card, but it really isn’t bulky to mail. Although the buttons might give the USPS heartburn going thru their scanners:)

I need to get working on the other cards for these gals. Check back later, you never know when there might be a new post!

Cards from the weekend

 

This weekend was a nice three day weekend. I had planned to participate in the Virtual Stamp gala over on Splitcoast, but alas….it wasn’t to be so. Friday night began with a party for our youngest. He turned 17 and invited 17 of his closest friends to celebrate. Saturday was cleaning and laundry, Sunday ran errands (and had dinner at Bahama Breeze) then today was yard work. I was determined to make my mom a get well card for her surgery tomorrow, so I looked at the various challenges and incorporated a couple for the card above. The first was Splish, Splash (use the colors blue, white and grey) and the second was Watermark (use versamark on your card). I was also able to throw in butterfly (ribbon from BSF thanks ;) and a heart so I can add Flutterby Wednesday and The Shabby Tea Room to the list.

My second card is the one I made our son for his birthday. I just bought this set from Stamp and Deliver and wanted to ink it up.

Yes we freely humiliate our children by making them wear birthday Mouse ears. The button was all him. He is listening to a fine rendition of Happy Birthday from his cousins in GA.

I hope you were able to enjoy the weekend. Did you know there is only 207 days til Christmas? Start your shopping early to avoid the rush!

Asian Influence

 

Today’s card was created for two challenges. The first one is on Flutterby Wednesday. Danni asked us to include a butterfly and flowers on our card this week. Easy enough, I love both of these elements. The second challenge is found on 365 Cards. We had to convey the theme of friendship without using a sentiment on the front. I went with a different take on the theme and began by stamping a faux postage layout image. I sponged Versa Magic Pixie Dust and Memento New Sprout ink inside the areas. Using a variety (ok 3) Asian images, I stamped them inside. I also used my Cuttlebug Autumn Type embossing folder and cut out the word friend. I used a Punch Bunch to cut out the butterfly. Kaiser rhinestones and pearls were added to the panel. To finish the card, I used my Fiskars scissors to cut out the white panel and layered this on a piece of SU Certainly Celery and a card base of Pretty in Pink.

I just finished watching American Idol and I am thrilled with the final two; Crystal and Lee. I will not be upset with either one of them winning next week. I am off to bed now so I can read James Patterson’s 9th Judgement. I started it during lunch today and it is hard to put down!

 

Out of the box, err I mean Oval

 

That title caught your attention I bet. It has been a week since I have really been able to work on a card/challenge. Being out of town at a conference was part of my obstacle, but I have also strained a muscle in my lower back. Staying in one position for any length of time is painful. Today’s card is made for two purposes. It follows the sketch at 365 Cards and it will be my swap card for the animal theme on Thursday night at Stamp & Deliver. Let me show you the entire card:

 To explain the title of this post, take a look at my stamped image. I used my Large Scalloped Oval nesties, but didn’t want the bird’s wings cut off. I used the Out of the Box technique. Start by stamping your image. Lay the nestie on top and see what part of your image lays outside the edge. Trace the inside of the nestie close to the image. Using scissors, cut the image out that lays outside the nestie. When you place your die-cut back down on the image, flip the cut image on top of the metal die so it is not cut out. If this sounds confusing, please go to SCS, there is a tutorial on there. After cutting out the nestie, I colored the mouse with a base color and then mixed Toffee and Sand Flower soft to obtain the color I wanted. I also glued plain Sand down around his feet. I finished coloring the image with copic markers. I added some dashed lines around the oval to help it stand out. The card base is SU Almost Amethyst and the pp is SU Tea Party. I popped the oval up on foam tape and glued a few Robin’s Nest dew drops in the corners. Now to just make 3 more!

Lately I have seen bloggers showing pictures of their work space to see if they are “clean” crafters or “messy” crafters. You decide!

For you eye spy fans, can you find two entirely different types of candy? Leave me a comment with the correct candy names and I will send out some blog candy. I will take comments all week and announce the winner this weekend:)

It’s gonna be a boy!!

 It seems our family keeps having boys! And yes there is another one on the way. No it isn’t mine…goodness at 46 I do not want to have to start over with night feedings and dirty diapers. And no I am not going to be a Grandmother. That leaves the extended family. My sister’s niece is expecting a boy soon and she is having a baby shower. Sadly my Mom and I are not able to travel up to Savannah for the shower, so we made some special cards to send up with a gift card. First up is my Mom’s:

The striped paper is embossed with the Harlequin CB folder. She used SU Bashful blue paper, ink and ribbon. The footprints are from All Night Media and the sentiment is from Studio G. The border punched (Martha Stewart) topper is popped up on foam dots to give it a shade effect. Nice touch :)

Next up is mine. I used Graphic 45 paper from the Bride to Baby collection. I purchased the cutest clear set from Penny Black called Bundle of Joy with the intent of using a cute hedgie on the card. But as it came together, the hedgehog didn’t look right. You’ll see what I mean:

The card was taking a pretty vintage look, and the cutsie hedgehog was not right. But I did use the sentiment and adorable booties! I stamped the booties on a piece of the paper and cut it out using my Labels 1 die cuts. I stamped the image in Memento Rich Cocoa which is also great for the vintage feel. I edged all the paper in the ink for a softer look. There is a bit of lace, some prima flowers, a Kaiser pearl and a touch of Patina Stickles on the booties.

Here is a close-up of the booties. If you click on the image, it will get even larger. The layer of Bazzill underneath the gorgeous paper is called Patina also. A match made in heaven :)

Here’s to Shannon and the joys of motherhood!

Mojo in colors

 Good Evening. This is a short post tonight to show the card I just finished after dinner. It uses the color challenge from 365 Cards and the layout from Mojo Monday #128.  The sketch was a more simple one which is good since I am using some busy patterned paper. It is a new year at 365 Cards and it began with a color challenge. You can view the challenge here.

I began with a base of SU Chocolate Chip and put down a layer from Basic Grey Ambrosia paper pack. The butterfly strip is also from the same pack. In keeping with the colors required I added strips of SU Close to Cocoa. The sentiment is Justrite from the Just A Note set which is stamped and embossed on vellum. I layered the circle on a nice red flower and finished it with some chocolate dew drops to complete the sketch layout. This came together really quick….maybe I should submit it to Take Ten Magazine?!

G’Night :)

Sunday’s cards to share with you

Happy Sunday to all of you. I worked a bit this afternoon and completed a total of 5 challenges with three cards. I finished 3 more challenges for SCS virtual stamp weekend. I also finished the two most recent challenges at 365 Cards. 

This first card was for Day 364 which was to copy DT Vicky’s style. She loves florals and soft colors. I began with stamping my Justrite Breath of Spring image and coloring it with my copics. I cut it out using my oval nesties. Next I stamped the oval with Versamark ink and covered it with Heat N Bond. Once it was all sticky, I covered the image with Ultrafine glitter. This made it eligible for the glitter challenge on SCS. To finish the card I cut strips from SU Tea Party paper pack and added a strip of So Saffron ribbon. The sentiment is from SU Warm Words. I used some foam tape to pop the oval up as Vicky also likes to do. Here is shot of the copics I used and a close-up of the image:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next card I have is for today’s challenge at 365 Cards and since it is Sunday, it is a sketch challenge by Pam.

I used the sketch layout, but also incorporated the triple inspiration challenge at SCS. We had to use three different ribbons on our card. I used ribbons to follow Pam’s sketch lines and instead of just having blunt ends, I cut each one in a different style. The flowers are very old Prima’s and the charm is also something I have been hanging onto for a while. The card base is from the Chocolate Coredinations pack. I needed a 12 by 12 sheet and didn’t have any plain brown paper that size. The front panel is from a new DCWV Linen Closet paper pack.

My third and final card this afternoon is for the first sketch challenge on Friday night which was to follow the shape of a Inuktuik. The Olympic symbol this year.

I began with a base of SU Taken with Teal cardstock. Next, I pulled out another new paper pack, DCWV Cafe Mediterranean. The colors are very vibrant and they went so well for the sketch. I used various papers from the pack to follow the sketch and finished it with turquoise rhinestones and new prima flowers. I have a fondness for Prima flowers and tend to purchase as many new types as they create. The corner sentiment is from Justrite Seeds of Kindness set. The bottom corner looked plain with something there.

I know this was a longer post for me, and I thank you now for reading to the bottom. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I am switching gears and pulling out my cross-stitch project. The latest one is a baby quilt for a co-worker. Once I get a bit more finished, I will show you a picture of it.

Embrace Life

 Today’s designer challenge on 365 Cards followed Sophie’s clean and simple style. I don’t usually like my cards when they are clean looking, but I do like this one.

I also submitted this card into the Virtual Stamp Night on SCS. It it the Olympic weekend and the 7:00pm challenge was to match the colors of the Hudson Bay Sweater designed for the Olympic games. It worked perfectly with my card and Sophie’s layout. I kept the kraft cardbase and used my CB folder Floral Screen. The strip of maroon leaves are from May Arts. I only had to add a few cream buttons and dark navy flowers. The sentiment on the bottom is from SU.

I hope you take some time this weekend to Embrace Life!

Stockin’ up on cards

Every now and then I need to make some cards to have on hand. Birthday cards are always on that list, but sadly lately I also have needed many sympathy cards. The card below is the last one of my stash and I really liked how it turned out. In order to make more, I took a picture of it.

I can tell it has been in my card pile for awhile, as I didn’t use any nesties to cut out my layers. That will change with the next round of cards made. I do like the colors though, PTI Summer Sunrise cardstock and ribbon. The other layers were just Basic Grey papers. The stamp and sentiment is from GinaK Comfort and Peace set. Putting it together is easy enough…just a lot of layers.

The next card I am showing you today is one I started before the holidays and just wasn’t happy with. I wanted to try making a ribbon blossom. I studied the tutorial over at SCS and watched the short YouTube video but I just wasn’t happy with my blossom. Until today…

After many tries of tying the ribbon I think I have been successful in making a blossom. I began with SU cardstock in Kiwi Kiss and Rose Red. The patterned paper is also SU Raspberry Tart. For the embossed panel I used SU Pretty in Pink and the CB Happy Birthday folder. The image is by IO, called birthday martini and I used my copics to color it in. For the blossom I used 4 different ribbons, 6 pieces of each. I will have to admit, if I go to mail this card, it is going to be bulky so extra padding and postage will be required.

I have a few more ideas I would like to complete today, so I am off for now. Hopefully there will be another post later today.

Inspired by Fabric

 We have made it home on our unexpected trip to Buffalo, NY. We drove straight home on Saturday and shaved off one hour from our trip up. We would have made it home two hours faster, but we hit a detour in WV due to “Bridge Day”. Apparently it is a big to do with people jumping off a particular bridge located on Rt. 19. I will say that the detour route was even more scenic than Rt. 19 as we kept going around hair pin turns and finding waterfalls around each corner. The fall foliage was in full bloom even on a gray rainy day. We came home to our little dog Zoey looking so lonely. Each time we went outside to grab more bags, she thought we were leaving her again. Our cat Smokey apparently thought my photo cube was his new bed. It was tipped over so the opening was facing outward and I had a ton of gray fur on the white backdrop! If you see any fur in my photos, please just overlook them. I spent quite a bit of time with a lint roller earlier.

On to today’s card. It is Day 233 at 365 cards and the challenge was to use your favorite fabric to inspire a card. I couldn’t use curtains as we don’t have any. We are a mini blind household. I looked at our comforters and they are all a solid color so nothing there. After looking around the house I finally settled on this picture frame:

That lovely family is my sister from three years ago and she will probably freak if she reads this and sees herself. I bought this frame at Pier One ages ago. Please excuse the glare in the bottom right of the glass. Any who..here is the card that I was inspired to create:

 I began with a base of SU chocolate chip and embossed a flower stamp with versamark and Weathered White powder. I punched flowers from SU Riding Hood Red and vellum paper and layered them. A dab of Diamond Glaze and micro beads were used for the centers. The ribbon is also Riding Hood Red taffeta and the sentiment is from Impression Obsession.

That’s all for tonight. Today was extremely long at work as I tried to catch up on a week’s worth. Blackberry’s are a great invention, but they also just keep informing you of what is waiting for you upon your return!

Feeling Blue with Bows

 Tonight’s card fulfilled three different challenges. The first is for Day 185 at 365 Cards. The challenge was to use three shades of blue on our card. Check!The second challenge is for Just Magnolia Week 20. The card needed to have ribbons and bows on it. Double check! The third challenge is for A spoonful of sugar #67. That one required distressing on the card. Triple check!

I began by coloring a RAK Magnolia image that I recently received. I used the following Copics to color her in: E000, E00, E11, E33, E59, B21, B24, Y21, YR21, R01, R20, R81, R83, R85. I cut her out and placed foam strips to pop her up. I used my SU Top Note die and distressed the edges with my Tim Holtz distress tool. I sponged SU Bashful Blue on the diecut and went heavily on the edges. I also sponged Bashful Blue on the pp and cardbase. I added two strips of ribbon with small white bows to the top of the card. The mini hearts and ice cream cone are buttons by Jesse James Dress it Up. A hint of Crystal Ice Stickles was added to her ice cream scoop. The sentiment is from MFT What’s the Scoop set.  Thanks for stopping by today:)

 

Super sketchy – Whatever you are…

I am working at the craft table late tonight, but I was determined to keep up with the challenges at 365 Cards. Today is Sunday so that meant a fabulous sketch by Pam. To see the design and all the other wonderful creations you can click Day 183.  

This was a super fast and easy card to put together. The base of SU Soft Sky was already cut from a card kit that was extra. The patterned paper is scraps from SU Parisian Breeze I believe. The flourishes are rub-ons by K & Company. The focal image is actually a cardstock sticker by Bo Bunny that I fell in love with at the LSS. Ta da… all I had to do was cut the diamond shape. I felt like the top of the card was a bit bare, but the sketch was that way so I left it.

So why was I so busy on  a Sunday that I couldn’t get near my table until this late? Our middle son moved out on his own this weekend. Actually with a good friend of the family. So we had some rearranging to do and some shopping. Tonight will be night two without him home and I hope it is easier on me than night one:)

Baseball Anyone?

 Today’s card is for Day 182 at 365 cards. It is called Sporty Saturday and you are required to use a ball somewhere on your card. I looked through all my stuff and didn’t have a single ball stamp, sticker or chipboard. Then I thought, which type of ball could I make the easiest? The baseball won.

I began by stamping the jersey from Just So Sporty by Melanie M. onto a piece of SU Pacific Point cardstock. I stamped the words on the front and added some shading with a blue colored pencil. I trimmed the jersey using a white pencil. Next I stamped the cap adding the star to the middle panel. At first I colored the middle panel white around the star but that didn’t look quite right. So this is take two and I like the look much better. I used my circle nestabilities to cut out a round shape for the baseball. I drew two arcs in grey and then pierced holes on either side. I used a thin red marker to make the stitching effect. Smokey Gray Versafine was sponged on the ball so it didn’t look brand new. For the background layer, I used various words from the stamp set and put them on my acrylic block. I stamped them on an angle continuously on a white piece. This was layered to a piece of Pacific Point that was corner punched. I used some foam tape to pop up the ball, shirt and cap for dimension.

Enjoy your weekend and have a ball:)

Rhinestone Wish

 I went back to work today and wore a sweater to keep warm. I still am not sure what is up, but I wasn’t feeling as  chilled as the past few days. I had to attend a lunch meeting that was about 20 minutes away from the office. I drove with a co-worker who knew I hadn’t been feeling well. That sweet man drove in 92 degree Florida heat, with the windows down! What a great co-worker :) On to today’s card. The challenge over at 365 Cards was called White Space. We had to leave space on the card and could only use the areas where I have my white strips. I choose to use SU Taken With Teal as my card base and add white strips. The top strip was cut with a MS border punch and the bottom was paper pierced with an Ornare template. I added a small word from the SU Small Script set and then teal rhinestones by Kaiser.

The space shuttle is set to launch tonight and the launch pad is only 40 miles south of us. We are going to try and stay awake and drive over to the beachside and watch it take off. Night launches are spectacular to see and feel. We actually feel the ground shake. Enjoy your weekend!

Christmas in August

 I got ready for work extremely early this morning, so I hopped on to see what the challenge was at 365 cards. It was a technique challenge to use masking. My first thought was to make one of my favorite Christmas cards. It uses masking and reverse masking for the oval and tree.

I have kept my templates so it took just a second to put my materials together. The stamps are by SU Lovely as a Tree set. The ink is SU Not Quite Navy, Baby Blue,  Mellow Moss, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip. To begin, lay the oval cut out on the front of your card and stipple inside it with Baby Blue. Stamp the line of trees inside the oval. Lay the reverse mask down and stamp the single tree. Stamp the sentiment. Lay the tree mask and the sentiment mask down along with the inside oval mask and stipple Not quite Navy around the outer rim to get the dark oval. This step takes more pressure to get the dark color so don’t be afraid to press hard. I took a glue pen to dot the trees and sprinkle Crystal Blue Violet glitter. If the Polar White Flowersoft had come in to my LSS I would have added some of that, but alas, the shipment isn’t here yet. I glued the natural white card to a base of Not quite Navy. When I make these for Christmas, I start an assembly line process so I can make a dozen or so at one sitting. Have a great Monday!

Inspired by…..tulips

Still trying to play catch up with the challenges this week at 365 cards. Day 156 (or Monday for you and I ) showed us an ad and you were to create a card with it. Here is what the ad looked like:

 And here is what I created from it:

I began with a piece of Old Olive SU cardstock and ran it through the CB using the Distressed Stripes folder. I sponged black ink on the embossing to give it the distressed look of the table. I found this stamp, that I hate to admit I didn’t know I had, by Northwoods. I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored it with these copic markers:

 After coloring the image I placed various Spellbinders dies on top and found that the only one that fit was the Small Labels, which coincidently has the same corners as the ticket corner punch. So I punched the corners of all the layers so they would match. I wanted to somehow bring the picture shown on the table in the ad into my card. After dragging out all my Basic Grey paper packs, I finally found a sheet in Lime Rickey that worked. I know you can’t see too much of it, but it suits me. To incorporate the black knobs on the drawers I used black dew drops. I didn’t have any black ones, so I used my Copic marker to color them. They need a bit of time to dry as they were still very sticky when I glued them to the card. I now have black tipped fingers. The final touch was to add a piece of twine with the Inspire tag. The tag was made with my SU Window Word punch.

I was hoping to catch up and actually work on Tuesday’s challenge tonight, but no such luck. I know it won’t happen tomorrow night, as I have to attend a Holiday Open House for work at the swankiest Resort in town. They have a new chef and want to present various holiday menus. We (my employer) were invited as we hold most all of our dinners and social events at the Resort.  Since it is from 5:30 to 7:30 I hope they have what I consider “heavy appetizers” which translates into dinner for me:)

Life’s Simple Pleasures

 I am getting a later start today. This morning we went to a bagel company, Upper Crust & Crumb and bought a baker’s dozen. This company also has a small spot at a local farmer’s market on Saturday. But they have so many more flavors in their store and much cheaper. Char…those cookies you love that cost $2 are only $1.39. After eating a late breakfast, we waited for our Game Stop to open as today the Resort Games was released for Wii and I had one on hold.

So I finally sat at my craft table and produced the card above. I am still combining challenges so I can complete all of them for SCS Dare to Get Dirty 09. But I threw in a color challenge from the Stamp Shack. Along with the color challenge, I used the sketch by Cindy Haffner, Good enough to eat by TruCarMa, and Taken with Texture by DeborahLynneS.

I began with the colors: black, certainly celery, creme and cranberry crisp. These were the closest choice to the copic colors we were given. The choices went really well with the sketch by Cindy. The pie stamp was for the good enough to eat (like my wild animal choices last night, my food stamps are not plentiful) and I ran the green squares through the Cuttlebug using the swirls folder for texture. Also used on the card were: SU modern label punch, Nesties in large circle and petite scallop circle, copic atyou spica pens in garnet and clear, regular sketch copics in C3 and YR21. The pie stamp is by Great Impressions and the sentiment is by A Muse.

A thunderstorm is starting to roll in so I don’t know if I will be able to post anymore cards this afternoon. But I will keep plugging along. I am excited as I only have to work two days this week and then the rest of the week is at CHA :)

Super Sketchy Butterflies

It seems I am still a day late on the Sunday sketch at 365 cards. It is Day 141 and I worked on this tonight while watching Raising the Bar on TNT.

Above is the sketch we were given to follow. Below is my take on it.

I began with a piece of June Bug paper from Basic Grey. Add a strip of ribbon, a left over red oval from a creation that didn’t work. I stamped the sentiment and the butterflies in VersaMagic Mango chalk ink. The sentiment is from IO and the butterfly from SU. For the butterfly I stamped it first on white cardstock and again on vellum.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your week!