Woodland Mushrooms

Hi there!  Happy Monday!  :)  I'm sure we'll have a ton of participants for this week's Woodware USA challenge.. "anything goes"!  For my card, I started out with Sweet Sunday 105:

I wanted to use some fun, juicy colors, so I pulled out some of my scraps and cut them down to fit the sketch.  I used a bit of ric rac to match the red in the mushroom (do people use ric rac anymore??).  Then I stamped the image from Woodland Mushrooms on white cardstock and die-cut it with my Nestabilities.  I colored the image with my Copics and added a little bit of Martha Stewart glitter to the spots on the mushrooms.  For the finishing touch, I cut out some butterflies and pulled up their wings for a bit of dimension.  I really like how bright and cheerful this card is, and it was a great way to use up some scraps!  I hope you'll enter our challenge this week, we love have you play along! :D  Thanks for stopping by!


-Suzanne :O )


PS-  Don't forget Woodware gives 15% off any size order!  Here's the set I used for my card:

Sending you sweet wishes

Happy Sunday, friends!  This card was made combining two challenges- Riley & Company (brown plus another color) and the sketch from Sweet Sunday 106:

I used my Coffee Riley stamp and colored it in with my Copics.  I layered my focal point with brown cardstock from Martha Stewart and purple cardstock from WorldWin, which I die-cut with my Nestabilities and jazzed up with some gems from my stash.  Both patterned papers are from DCWV (Flower Power and At Home Stacks) and I ran some kraft cardstock through my Cuttlebug.  I stamped the Inky Antics sentiment on a scrap of kraft cardstock with Chestnut Colorbox ink and trimmed it into a banner shape.  I added some Prima flowers and a chocolate brad from Recollections.  I've really been neglecting my Primas.. I bought SO many when Michaels first started carrying them, and now my jars sit lined up collecting dust.  This will be remedied.. don't you love rediscovering your supplies?!  :)  To finish the card off, I added some light brown brads by Imaginisce.  This card is pretty busy, but I like it!  Hope you're having a great weekend... Chris and I are off to a college basketball game (one of the perks of working in a guidance office!) and dinner.  Thanks for stopping by!

-Suzanne :O )

Robots have taken over!

Hi friends!  Here are some cards I made last summer, I think (yikes!  these should have been posted a lonnnng time ago!) for two of my cousins and my friend's fiance.  Over the summer, I picked up a scrapbook kit by My Mind's Eye called Lil' Robot:

How cute are those papers?!  I bought it with my cousins' (ages 11 and 8)  birthdays in mind, and the cards were super easy to put together using the sheet of die-cuts.  I added some Michaels screw brads for a fun touch.  The first card uses an Autumn Leaves sentiment, the last card has stamps by Recollections (I guess I had run out of robot die-cuts?).  Anyway, I hope you enjoy these masculine birthday cards!

-Suzanne :O )

Sweet One

Happy Friday, friends!  I made this card to welcome a family friend's second baby, Rebecca, into the world.  :)  I wanted to stay away from the typical pink, so I decided on purples and yellows.  The patterned paper is by ATD and the cardstocks were in my stash.  I used my Fiskars border punch on the darker yellow paper and tied some Prism craft thread around it (oh how I wish I had twine!).  The "sweet one" embellishment is a Stampin' Up! image stamped with Heliotrope Colorbox ink and punched with a SU scalloped circle.  To complement the moon and stars in the image, I made my own patterned paper with Hero Arts' Sky's the Limit set.  I clear embossed all of the images, but they weren't showing up clearly, so I rubbed some purple chalk around the edges for definition.  I think it gives it a soft, dreamy look.  To finish off the card, I added some crisp white brads from my stash.  The sketch is from Sweet Sunday 104:

I hope you like my sweet baby card, thanks for stopping by!

-Suzanne :O )

With Deepest Sympathy

Hi friends!  Unfortunately I had to make this card for a co-worker who just lost his wife.  I wanted to keep the card masculine looking, and this giant clear sticker from American Crafts fit the bill perfectly.  I do mean that this sticker was giant.. my card is 5x7, and the sticker almost fills up the whole card!  I paired the dark chocolate sticker with some kraft and brown cardstocks.  To keep the embellishments low-key, I stamped the sentiment on some Making Memories packaging (yes, I save old packaging!) and hand-stitched my little banner on with some yellow Bazzill thread.  I really like how simple this card is, and it came together very easily (except for when the sticker was so dang big it kept sticking to itself!  lol).  I hope you're having a happy week, thanks for stopping by!


-Suzanne :O )  

batty birthday!

Hi everyone!  I *fiiiinally* had some time to play around with my Paper Smooches stamps, and, if I do say so myself, I think I got pretty creative with the 3 sets I have!  My mom asked me to make a birthday card for her friend... after a while of looking at the images and trying to figure out what I was going to use, the thought occurred to me that I should try to make it look like the bat (Falling for You) was hanging from the birthday sentiment (Pretty Phrases)!  I'm not sure how well I pulled that off, but these little guys crack me up anyway.  :D  I colored them in with my copics and cut out little party hats (Birthday Buddies) for them to wear.  Each hat was topped off with a coordinating gem from Target's dollar spot.  The sentiment was stamped with Autumn Leaves turquoise ink and the entire piece was cut out with my Nestabilities.  I adore the patterned paper from My Mind's Eye Home collection, so I tried to fit in as many patterns as I could.  hehe ;)  


For the inside of the card, I pieced together several different sentiments to create my own custom message:

I also used up the scraps from the strips of patterned paper I had cut- cute, huh?  I really had a fun time putting this card together, and I hope my mom's friend gets a laugh out of it.  :D  Thanks for stopping by, I hope you're having a GREAT Tuesday! :)

-Suzanne :O )

caught a bug?

Hi friends!  Glad you're here!  :)  Woodware USA's challenge this week is to make a shaped card.  Hmm.  I was stumped on that  for a bit... I didn't have any pre-cut shaped cards, and I wasn't comfortable using my Nestabilities to cut a card because I've never done it before.  I went through my stamps to see if something jumped out at me for inspiration, and jump it did!  My friend has been sick with the flu for longer than she'd like, so I've been meaning to send her a get well soon card.  When I saw my Take it EZ set, I knew I would have to pull out my dusty old Cricut for the project in my head.  :)


The little guy above is from the Mini Monsters cartridge, which is intended for Halloween.  I think he can pass for a weird bug-virus guy though, right??  I used different cardstock and patterned paper scraps, and the card function to cut him out.  After I layered all the pieces, I cut out a Nestabilitie sign and stamped the only the sentiment from the bug in a jar stamp.  I used a bit of chalk ink around the sign and added some Making Memories twine to wrap around his fingers.  I put the sign on foam tape and attached it askew to make him look a little crazier.  I realized if I tied the twine to his hands like I originally wanted to, the card wouldn't open.  Good thing I realized that beforehand!  :)  


For the inside of the card, I pieced together two different stamps- the sentiment from the bed, and the image from "comfort food".  I like the look of a subtle, tone-on-tone image for the inside of the card; I'm going to have to do that more often.  :)  When I mail the card, I'll twirl the twine back around his fingers, and it'll be more of an interactive card.  I hope you like my little bug, and perhaps this will encourage you to make a shaped card and play along with our challenge this week!  Thanks for stopping by!


-Suzanne :O )


PS-  Can you tell I'm still trying to figure out the settings on my camera?! :)

Granola Treats

Hi everyone!  I'm back today to share the Valentine's Day treats I made for my dad to give to his students.  His principal said they couldn't give candy, so I went out and bought some granola bars.  To jazz them up, I used some old patterned paper, bits of adhesive ribbon (KI Memories), some wired heart garland stuff I got at a  garage sale for 10 cents (!!), and images by Inkadinkado.  Aren't they the cutest!?  I bought them last year at Joann's but didn't use them.  This year I knew exactly what I wanted to use them for, and they turned out just as I hoped they would.  I colored the images with my Marvy Le Plume II markers because I knew they would probably wind up in the garbage; I didn't want to waste my Copic ink on 8 year olds. ;) These were fairly quick and super easy to do... enjoy the picture parade!


-Suzanne :O )

Kiss me quick!

Hi friends!  Here's the last of my Valentine's Day cards.  I had this leftover Imaginisce frog stamped on some K&Co paper and a crown in my miscellaneous stash, so I went with the whole Frog Prince theme for this card.  I used another one of those scrapbooking border frame thingies, K&Co turquoise patterned paper, scraps of cardstock for the circle die-cuts, and chipboard lips from American Crafts.  I stamped the sentiment with an alphabet set from Target.  I did a lot of playing around, but I'm happy with the final layout and my color combo.  I hope you enjoy it too!  I'll be back soon with some food packaging for Valentine's Day! :)


-Suzanne :O )

"Spectacular" Birthday

Hi everyone!  Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope your day is filled with lots of love!  Today I'm sharing the card I made for this week's Woodware USA challenge, to use either kind of embossing.  I chose to use both, and put my new Glasses stamp set to use.  

I wanted to go for a more masculine card here, so I chose frames that  look like the ones my dad wears.  :)  I had to do a bit of paper piecing because the parts that go over your ears  looked like they were in the front, and not behind the lenses.  I stamped the sentiment underneath the glasses, and used a bit of lime green chalk to color the inside of the Nestabilitie.  For the wet embossing, I took the eye chart stamp and repeatedly lined it up on the turquoise cardstock.  I used clear embossing powder for a tone-on-tone look.  The dry embossing was done with a Sizzix folder and some light yellow cardstock.  For fun, I added a bit of Fiskars border-punched cardstock and some Making Memories twine.  I added a lime green button to tie in the lime green chalk.  I think the kraft cardstock helps keep the card more masculine looking.  

I'm still having a bit of trouble with my camera.  Unfortunately the colors came out a little weird here... the paper looks blue in the picture rather than a greenish-turquoise and the yellow looks like a bright yellow and not pastel.  I think the lime green chalk looks yellow in the picture, too.  Ehh.  I'll just have to keep playing with my camera settings and hope that one day I figure it all out!  :)  

I hope you have time to play along with us over at Woodware USA, we'd love to see what you can do with embossing!  Hope you all have a happy hearts day!

-Suzanne :O )

PS-  I'll try to get the rest of my Valentine's Day cards/gift packaging posted before the end of the week.  Stay tuned! 

TCP Tuesday 145

Good morning, friends!  I believe the is the first post of a card shot in my lightbox!  I sure was frustrated the other day, but I realized that there is no perfect picture, so I still have to edit the photos on my computer.  I don't have to use my flash anymore though, and I really like having the clean white background.  I'm feeling much better about my lightbox now.  :)


For this card, I used this week's sweet sunday sketch:

The challenge for TCP this week was to get inspiration from the following photos:

Of course the color combo was the first thing to grab my attention, but I was also diggin' the stacked buttons. To start off, I grabbed some kraft cardstock and used my brand spankin-new Stampendous Jumbo Cling rubber stamp set that I just won on their blog, and inked it up with some turquoise ink by Autumn Leaves.  LOVE how easy it was to get such a big design element on my card.  :)  The delicious brown glittery paper is DCWV (At Home collection) and the turquoise cardstock was a scrap that I embossed with polka dots.  I stamped Miss Sprinkles on an oval stamp to create the ice, then colored her with my copics.  I added a little Martha Stewart glitter to jazz up her outfit. ;)  The buttons were my favorite part- I took out some turquoise buttons by Denami Design and some browns from my stash, and layered them up with some twine.  I think they look so yummy that way! :D  To finish off my card, I took the "thanks." part of the "Give thanks." sentiment on the Gobble it Up set and matted it with more turquoise cardstock.  

I'm sending this card to a co-worker of my mom's who is a Stampin' Up! demo.  I rarely ever buy their stamps because they're so darn expensive (and hello, when are they going to make CLEAR stamps?!), but Cathie always runs this amazing super bowl special, so I got 2 free sets, one set at 50% off, and another at 31% off (that was the score for the Packers).  I really got some great deals, so I thought I'd make a cute little thank you card to show her my appreciation.  

I hope you all have a great Thursday!  Thanks for stopping by!

-Suzanne :O )

Valentine Bags

Hi everyone!  Just a super quick post tonight, because I'm dead tired.  I don't want to slack off on posting though. ;)  These are the treat bags I made for my co-workers last year... bags are from Target and I decorated them with some heart gems, various ribbons, tags by K&Co, and cute little binder clips (can't remember who manufactured them) to keep them closed.  I honestly can't remember what I put in the bags.. I thought I was too young to be losing my memory, but I guess not!  lol :)  Anyway, I hope you enjoy my packaging.  I'll be back tomorrow with my take on this week's TCP Tuesday.  Have a good night, friends!


-Suzanne :O )

Woodware Blog Hop: Challenge #13

***EDITED TO ADD***
Woodware USA is now offering a 15% discount on all purchases (no minimum amount required)!  Head on over to Woodware USA to start shopping and enter the word DISCOUNT when you check out!  




Hi everyone!  If you've made it here from Rachel's blog, then you're on the right track.  Here are the rules for this hop:

1. You must visit all blogs (listed below) and leave a comment.
2. Visit the Woodware USA site and pick your favorite Woodware USA set and list it in your comment on the Woodware USA blog at the end of the hop.  
   
   
   Please note that you don’t have to participate in the challenge to be eligible for the blog hop prize (but we'd love it if you did!).  The blog hop will end Thursday at 8:00 pm EST with the announcement of the winner on Friday by 10:00 AM EST.    

Woodware USA blog

Alicia

Anne

Dawn

Harriet

Kerry

Nancy

Piali
Rachel

Suzanne <-- You are here!

Woodware USA blog 

Hang in there, you're almost to the end! :)  I'm SO excited to participate in this blog hop to celebrate some of the Woodware USA Spring 2011 Collection stamps!  I used Ted in the Garden for my card, and man, does it feel refreshing to start thinking about spring!!!  I colored Ted with my Copics and used lots of DCWV Flower Shower Spring Stack papers.  I also added some green ribbon by Target to fit the challenge this week, and a sweet orange button tied off with some Making Memories twine.  The sentiment is from the same set.  


I hope you've had fun hopping around, and don't forget to head back to Woodware's blog to finalize your prize entry.  If you're interested in getting some of these FUN new sets, check out www.woodwareusa.com for some high quality clear stamps!  I hope you'll also play along with the challenge this week- let's see your ribbons (and bows!).  Thanks for stopping by!


-Suzanne :O )