Frozen!

I almost called this post "Let it snow", but I'm pretty sure I've used that one before ;) While this guy doesn't fully resemble Olaf with his misshapen head, he does remind me of him still, so it makes me think of the Disney movie Frozen, (which is FABULOUS by the way!!!). And it's definitely an icy, snowy scene. I used a folder from the upcoming Sale-a-Bration for snow again, and the trees behind the Button Buddies snowman is from the cutest forest animal sets yet, Life in the Forest, from the 2014 Occasions catalogue. I also used the retired waffle paper (on a spool) for the layers of snow, and Versamark with Iridescent Ice for all the heat embossing. And the Encore Silver ink for the sponged edges on the Basic Gray and the Deco Labels diecut. I'm also particularly proud of myself, because, although I've known how to do the masking technique for double layered stamping for years, this is the first time I actually used it, lol!

As sometimes happens, I can't decide between two different shot settings of my image, and am including both for the sake of accurate preservation...

Challenges I used:
Pals Paper Arts - (see sketch below) Flipped and using the layers of snow instead of layers of DSP/Ribbon
SUO Challenges - It's Almost the "Last Minute"
Inky Chicks - Christmas
Little Red Wagon - Merry Christmas, Anything Christmas
Nutcrafters - Snow, snow, everywhere
Ribbon Carousel - Anything Goes

Cheers!

Usually I'm more of a Merry Christmas kind of girl, but this Happy Holiday stamp was just so cute and colorable, I had to get it! And this new paper from the Occasions Catty is perfect for this sketch, and for a fun Christmas vibe. Overall, I'm very happy with the look of this simple card :)

Challenges I used:

Pals Paper Arts - (see sketch below)
Inky Chicks - Christmas
Ribbon Carousel - Anything Goes
ABC Challenges - Blue, Bows and Bling

Sale-A-Bration Christmas!!

I'm still making Christmas cards, but I'm also playing with stuff from the new Occasions catalogue and the Sale-A-Bration items I have so far... it's fun seeing how I can use them for Christmas, like this embossing folder from SAB that is PERFECT for the snow outside this "window", and the banner stamps and punches to add a festive look for any party!



Challenges I used:

Mojo Monday - (see sketch below)
Colour Q - (see below)
SUO Challenges - It's Almost the "Last Minute"
Paper Playtime - Winter Fun
Pile It On - P is for... Pink, Pennants, Piercing
Ribbon Carousel - Anything Goes
Just Add Ink - Christmas Projects

Simply Merry

I think I'm getting the hang of this Clean and Simple thing... although I'll never stop going overboard on a regular basis ;)

Being a clean card, it needs little explanation, aside from the Crumb Cake layer, which I gave a light "whitewashing" by inking up the embossing folder before running it through the Big Shot... with the craft ink, it gives a different, imperfect look, compared to with a classic ink.

 

Challenges I used:

CAS(E) This Sketch - (see below)

Dynamic Duos - (see below)

ABC Challenges - B for Blue, Bows and Bling

Southern Girls - Christmas Wishes

Ribbon Carousel - Anything Goes

Envelope Punch Board Gift Box and Bow (12x12)

I cannot say enough good things about our new Envelope Punch Board!!! I consider myself to be creative with design and style, and love spending time creating and perfecting each card and don't usually like the idea of CASEing, because it takes the fun out of it. (To clarify, I don't mind being CASEd, preferably with a link to credit me, but I prefer to design my cards on my own). But I am NOT that person who can easily use a selection of punches and create something totally different, or the one who can see how most tools can be used outside of their intended purpose to make something new and different. Thankfully though, there are tons of great crafty people who DO that  and have made a bunch of videos and tutorials showing me what to do with this awesome tool... thank you ladies!!! (PS, I'll include those links at the bottom, so you can learn what I did from them!)

We made these quick and easy boxes at Club with a 12"x12" sheet, (a great way to use up those leftovers), but with just a plain bow on top, secured on each side of the bow to close the box. When I got home to make another one, I decided to step it up a notch, and add a removable band to close it, (which I punched with the board, center top, to match the center of the bow), so it could be opened and then easily re-used. I also embossed the bow and added some bling.

Challenges I used:

The Cat's Pajamas - Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Use it Tuesday - Anything Goes (Used hoarded Sale-A-Bration paper from almost 2 years ago)
Inky Chicks - Buttons, Bling and Bows
Paper Playtime - Anything Goes
Pile it On - P is for... (Present, Package, Pretty, Paper)

Tutorial videos I used:

Box - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2peYeFKpZk&noredirect=1
Bow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwMv0zo9vJ8&noredirect=1

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

This is the last Christmas card for my Club this year... now time to get to work on my own stash for everyone else ;) I love the color combo here and the Soft Sky (ink on sentiment and sky sponging) and Pool Party (cardstock and ribbon) play very nicely together :)

Challenges I used:

Mojo Monday - (see sketch below)

Southern Girls - Embrace your Lumps and Bumps

ABC Challenges - A for Almost Christmas

Paper Playtime - Anything Goes

Ribbon Carousel - Anything Goes

Pile it On - P is for... Pool Party, Punches, Pizzazz (sparkly tree and rhinestone)

You're a Star!

Just a quick and clean card for my superstar nephew :) (I owe a couple other nephews cards still... oops!) Anyway, I used some old hoarded supplies for this, with the textured cardstock, Stars die and star brad.

Challenges I used:

Retro Sketches - (see below)
Dynamic Duos - (see below... I added Summer Starfruit/Crushed Curry, based on what I had available ;) )
Just Add Ink - Stars (see below)
Paper Playtime - Anything Goes
Use It Tuesday - Anything Goes

Three Challenges, Three Cards!

Unfortunately, no one can see into the future... even a business that plans the future. So sadly, the Take a Spin stamp set and game spinners were retired quite awhile before this Circle Card Thinlit die was introduced. But they go SO well together, so hopefully you were one of the lucky ones to stock up on these while we had them :) But don't worry, there are still endless possibilties for this die that don't require any retired stamps, etc!

Anyway, this combo was the perfect match for these challenges, so I used the heck out of it ;)

PS The only downside to these flip card Thinlit dies is they are hard to get an accurate picture, because they don't lay flat... that's life!

 

 

Challenges I used:

CAS(E) this Sketch - (see below)
TCP Tuesday - What's Left on Your Desk
Southern Girls - Round, Round, Baby, Right Round

Soho Subway Vintage

I bought the Soho Subway paper for a lot of the masculine prints and the awesome alphabet designs, but the first card I used it on, I ended up using the flourishy vintage designs instead... perfect for the feel of this card!

I love the new Alphabet Press folder too, and it added the perfect touch to this tag, along with the sponging and the 7/8" Trim and the Linen Thread. To give the bottom of the Crushed Curry strip a nice edge, I slid it into the edge of the Hexagon Punch. 

Challenges I used:

Mojo Monday - (see sketch below)

colourQ - (see palette below) (My DSP choice forced my hand a bit to replace the Dusty Durango, but after sponging the Crisp Cantaloupe with Early Espresso it leans further into the orange family)

Our Creative Corner - Steampunk Tic Tac Toe (Flourish, Texture, A Heart)

Ribbon Carousel - Holidays and Celebrations (No. 1... Yahoo!!!)

PS. I am SO loving the Steampunk Tic Tac Toe challenge!!! I had to keep this one simple enough for a club card, but I'm going to do at LEAST one more, all out card for this theme!!! 

Labels Thinlit Christmas Card

I LOVE the new Thinlit dies! This is the first card I made with them, and I can't wait to use them both a lot more... not to mention all the accent pieces they come with for so many other cards and projects! I made this one for club, but then decided to change the striped layer up a bit, for a different placement. It looked great too, but I forgot to take a picture before I sent it home with one of my girls ;)

The only hard part about these is getting a decent picture, since it won't stand flat... oh well! Due to the angles, it's hard to see, but the Bermuda Bay banner is dry-embossed with the Stylish Stripes folder. And I used half of the smallest Square Framelit to cut the triangle out of the bottom of it. Perfect!

The center label was smudged directly onto the Encore Silver pad to give it a nice silver shimmer and offset the white punched edge of the ornament.

Challenges I used:

CAS(E) This Sketch - (see below... also I flipped it, and of course by it's nature, the Thinlit added a center element)
Dynamic Duos - (see below... normally I would use these for a kid's birthday or something, but with Christmas coming, I thought it was a perfect non-traditional combo!)
SUO Challenges - A Favorite Sentiment (I do try to "branch out", but Merry Christmas just feels so RIGHT!)
Ribbon Carousel - Holidays and Celebrations

Tracks and Tapes

No, not cassettes, (although theres's a funky Photopolymer set for that!)... today it's tire tracks and washi tapes! This masculine card is basic, but far from boring, and with the right layout, washi tapes can really add some pop and punch, even with a time crunch ;)

Challenges used:

Retro Sketches - (see below)

Color Throwdown - (see below)

SUO Challenges - Make Something Masculine

Ribbon Carousel - Fall and Halloween (my colors)

Pretty Pumpkins

I don't do paper piecing scenes often, but I was inspired by a challenge for Fences and thought all the Fall and Pumpkin challenges would be a GREAT match :) I punched the layers of the sun out of Flirtatious DSP with the 1 1/4" and 7/8" scallop punches. The pumpkins were done with the apple Framelit from the Cannery Set and of course the leaf stamp from the coordinating Perfectly Preserved, and I used the top of the Full Heart piercing template to get the lines just right. For the fence, I used the Woodgrain embossing folder, then the Stripes embossing folder to give the illusion of fenceposts. I cut the fancy fence top with the Finishing Touches Edgelit. The Argyle embossing folder on the Basic Black card made me think of Fall, and the new DSP stack with the Fancy Fan pattern looked kind of like a lightly cloudy sky... just right! I did have to stray from the sketch just a bit, as I realized my second tag/strip really needed to become a sun in the sky instead, so I moved the washi I was using to tie the black into the scene from the right side, ripped it in half and used it to frame the sentiment tag and help it pop!

Challenges I used:

Colour Q - (see below)

Sketch Saturday - (see below)

Little Red Wagon - Use a Fence

Fresh Brewed Blog - Pumpkins

Ribbon Carousel - Fall or Halloween

Gingham Garden

This was my second simple card for club... just a couple of punches, some Washi and a brad dress up two layers of DSP, and even though we could have used the Big Shot on this tag, but I needed the left side longer than the die, so it would tuck nicely under the flower, so we just cut them out :)

Challenges I used:

Pile It On - Leaves (the sentiment is the leaf for the flower, and of course there are leaves on the DSP)
Hand Stamped Sentiments - (see sketch below)
ABC Challenges - W for Words
Washi Up - Make a Scene
Dancing in Pajamas - 2 or less embellishments (and no twine, buttions or gems)

My first Single Layer... almost?

This month for club, I challenged myself to do simple cards, including my first single layer card (assuming one layer of DSP on the card base counts?), since the old days when all I had was some Stampin' Spots, cardstock and a few stamps ;) I ended up with both cards not using the Big Shot at all... amazing, but true!

This is my "single layer" card... I stamped the Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade with clear blocks. Then after drying completely and using the embossing buddy, I stamped the Thank You with Versamark, (seriously, our poly stamps are AMAZING!!! I've NEVER gotten an image this crisp with a clear stamp from any other company!), and then used the Cherry Cobbler embossing powder. Last step was a few pearls... so simple, but still has lots of depth.

Challenges I used:

Clean and Simple - (see sketch below)
The Paper Players - Tic Tac Toe (Thank You, Embossing, Pearls AND Patterned Paper, Embossing, Any Shade of Blue)
Word Art Wednesday - Praise the Lord

Toot a Hoot!

I've never done any paper quilling before, but I managed to make a tiny noise-maker for this cute little owl :) 

Challenges I used:

Stampin' Royalty - Trendy Triangles

Seize the Birthday - 2 colours of Ribbon

Color Throwdown - (see below) (expired before I could enter)

Pals Paper Arts - (see sketch below) (expired before I could enter)

Glitz and Glamour

I L-O-V-E the new silver ink! It dries fast and easy, and looks like brushed aluminum... GORGEOUS!! And the beautiful Pretty Print embossing folder looks amazing when you brayer it, (one of my favorite techniques!). Along with some Silver embossing powder, some bling and the bright contrasting colours, this card really stands out.

Challenges I used:

Clean&Simple - (see sketch below)
Southern Girls - Monochrome
SUO Challenges - A Favorite Technique

Sweater Weather

Thankfully sweater weather has taken a reprieve and brought back the sun here, but I'm still in love with the new Sweater Weather DSP, especially for masculine cards! I used the Chevron embossing folder on the Midnight Muse card base, and then sanded it. The four strips of DSP on Whisper White cardstock are also sanded after being glued down. The Happy Birthday from "You're Amazing", (minus the flourishes) is cut out with the Chalk Talk Framelits, and the Lovely Little Labels postage stamp with the coordinating mini punch was the perfect accent! As well as the Stitched Satin ribbon, the Designer Naturals button and the Early Espresso Baker's Twine.

Challenges I used:

Pals Paper Arts - Colors (see below)
Stampin' Royalty - Patterned Paper!
Tuesday Morning Sketches - (see below)

Teacher Gnome

This may not look like a typical "card for teacher", but I love the "you light up my lawn!" and inside, I'm putting something to the effect of "Thanks for growing our kids", to go with the garden theme (especially good for a Kindergarten teacher ;) I just love sets that are good for simple watercoloring like this! Also, I used ribbon here, but not in the usual way at all... I used Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding ribbon with the top half of horizontal threads pulled out to make the fringe grass at the back, and then tiny pieces of the Lucky Limeade Organdy from Sale-a-bration 2012 to accent the front of the grass. 

Challenges I used:

Pile It On - All that Flickers

Color Throwdown - (see below)

Mojo Monday - (sketch below)

Paper Playtime - Use 3 different papers

Ribbon Carousel - Back to School

Sunshine and Summertime!

We're hitting that point where I can see summer coming to a close, but I'm still far from ready to let it go, so this card is a celebration of what's left of it. Most of this is retired favorites of mine, but I did play with some new stuff too... on the Happy Birthday tag, I trimmed the edges and point, then used one of the tag cutouts from Chalk Talk and then the Corner punch to round the end of the tag. I used a Candy Dot to highlight the bottom bubble, a Round Array stamp with the 7/8" punch for the sun, and one of my favorite things from the Holiday Catalogue, the White Chalk marker, to color the dots on the embossed clouds! I also used Soft Sky with my brayer to color the water background and then spritzed it with water for a bubbly effect and let dry before stamping the animals.

I often have trouble choosing between the perfect flash photo and the flash-free, as they showcase different aspects better, but this time I couldn't decide, as the flash shows the white marker SO much better, but the tag just looks SO flat with it, so today, you get both ;)

Challenges I used:

Pile It On - Designer Paper

Ribbon Carousel - Summertime Fun

SUO Challenges - Ribbons and Bows

Stampin Royalty - Circles!

Colour Q - see below

Hand Stamped Sentiments - sketch below

Summer Flies...

Sorry it's been SO long since I shared anything (if anyone noticed ;), but my pre-order showed up just before our camping trip, and shortly after we got home, we had a flood in the basement and two cases of Chicken Pox (one after the other of course... both at once would have been too easy, lol!).

Anyway, after a month or so off, it always takes a bit to get back in the groove, but I think I managed to jump right in without making a mess of things...

I used the new Pretty Print embossing folder on the Gumball Green Co'redinations. Since the folder is landscape, I had to run it through twice to cover the portrait layout, but it worked well. The white layer is the waffle paper, embossed with the Honeycomb folder, shiny side up for a really cool look. (Not so visible in the photo though). I am so happy with all the different butterflies we have to choose from now, between the Papillon Potpourri and the Best of Butterflies sets! I never tire of butterflies...

Challenges I used:

Craft Project Central - (see sketch below)
Use It Tuesday - Un-Inked Stamps (smallest butterfly, and the stamps on the postage stamp), Other hoarded items are the waffle paper and the SAB ribbon.
SUO Challenges - Happy Birthday
Stampin Royalty - (see inspiration photo below)
Ribbon Carousel - Summertime Fun
Pile It On - No Designer Paper

Perfect for a Princess

It's been awhile since I played with the shabby chic look and gone a bit overboard with embellishments, so I let myself go wild and had a lot of fun piecing this one together :) I LOVE the new In Color ruffled stretch ribbon, and I'm still having fun playing with our new Simply Pressed Clay! 

Challenges I used:

The Sweet Stop - Sketch (see below)
Stampin' Royalty - (I used the Inspiration Photo, but missed that entry... but add a splash of pink and my colors are good for the current challenge ;)
3 Girl Jam - Anything Goes w/Ribbon
Crafty Ribbons - Anything Goes with Ribbon
Pile It On - Thinking of You/Just Because
Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes
Whimsical Wednesdays - Pile It On (3 or more layers and 2 or more embellishments)

Rockin' Baby!!!

Often when I give a gift, the colors and theme of the gift inspire me to create a coordinating card. Well, the 4 pack of onesies I got for my newest baby nephew were TOTALLY inspiring, with the black, white, green and blue color scheme and the Rock 'n Roll and Stars patterns and appliques, so this is what I came up with.

Challenges I'm entering this for:

SUO Challenges - Favorite Stampin' Up! Accessories (these hangers!!)
Just Add Ink - Inspirational Photo
Nutcrafters - Show us Texture (embossing, heat embossing)
Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes
Inky Chicks - Anything Goes
Crafts and Me - Anything Goes

Dress Up Wardrobe - June Bonus Project!

Oops! With all the stress of getting my oldest packed and dropped off to his first week of camp-away ever, I forgot to post the bonus Craft Project Central project. And it's a REALLY cute one, from Amanda Corbet... 

Do you love to play dress up?  Or have the ultimate girly-girl friend that you need a gift for?  Well this is sure to wow her!  This fun wardrobe includes five different card designs and matching envelopes!  Each card has a different fun dress design that you can make in minutes!  You can build your own fashionable wardrobe!  Makes a fun advanced class project as well!

On a side note, I haven't had any entries yet for my Blog Candy prize of a free subscription to access all the June Project Tutorials (including mine ;), so I'm extending it to the 10th!! Don't forget to enter HERE!!!