I Pick You

Today's card was created for both the Sunday Stamps and AAA Cards Challenges. To create my card I started by layering a beautiful piece of plaid paper from the Basic Grey 12x12 Olivia Collection paper pad onto my white card base. I then layered on a large strip of turquoise cardstock from Hobby Lobby directly to the center of the patterned paper panel. I added some faux stitched lines using a Memento tuxedo black dual edge marker. I die cut a circle of plain white cardstock using a pierced edge die from My Favorite Things and went around the edge with the marker again to create faux stitch lines. I then stamped the mouse, pumpkin, and leaves from the My Favorite Things Harvest Mouse stamp set onto some Copic-friendly cardstock and die cut the images using the coordinating dies. I colored them using my alcohol markers and adhered them onto my card using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I prepped a piece of black cardstock from Stampin' UP with my EK Success powder tool and stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set using Versamark ink. I heat embossed the image using Recollections snow white embossing powder. I cut the sentiment down into a small strip and adhered it directly to the focal panel. To finish this adorable little card off I added some clear Wink of Stella to the leaves, pumpkins, the sweater and boots. I hope you like it and I thank you for visiting my blog!

Season's Greetings

My second card today was created for the latest Watercooler Wednesday Challenge. To create my card I started by layering a piece of teal textured cardstock by Hobby Lobby onto my white card base. I then layered some real red cardstock from Stampin' UP and some patterned paper from the My Mind's Eye 'Tis The Season 6x6 paper pad on top for my non-traditional Christmas colors. I then die cut a simple circle using a Spellbinders die and inked it up with some Tim Holtz faded jeans distress ink. I then die cut a snow bank using white cardstock and a Paper Smooches border die. I layered it onto the circle panel and adhered a cute little snowman sticker that I picked up on a clearance rack at Michael's last year. I then stamped the trees from the Simon Says Stamp Merry Trees stamp set onto the panel using Memento dewdrop inks. I prepped a strip of the teal cardstock with my EK Success powder tool and stamped the sentiment from Simon Says Stamp's Holiday Hellos stamp set using Versamark ink and then heat embossed it using some Recollections white embossing powder. I cut the sentiment strip down to a fishtail banner and popped it up off of the card using some Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I added a few cute clear rhinestones to the snowman and to the tops of the trees and a some black dashed lines around the focal panel and the inner panel of the card for some added interest and that completed my card. I hope you like it!

Dad

I decided to try and do a CASE card and I have always been a big fan of Lori Tecler and her fun and creative cards. I decided to do an A2 sized card using some of the same elements she used on her great card. I started with a clean white card base and layered on some kraft cardstock that I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I cut down a navy panel using more Hobby Lobby cardstock and then a plain white panel to go on top. I stamped the Happy Father's Day sentiment over and over using a sentiment from Hero Arts Happy Dad's Day stamp set and some Gina K Designs navy ink and mounted it onto the card panel. I cut a fishtail banner using a Jillian Vance Design banner die and some more kraft cardstock and popped it up off of the card using 3M foam tape for some great dimension. I die cut the pierced edge oval using a My Favorite Things die and more of the same navy cardstock. Finally, I die cut the focal sentiment from kraft three times using a Simon Says Stamp die and adhered them together using my Zig 2 Way glue pen and then adhered it directly onto the oval. A few navy enamel dots from the Simple Stories Life Documented collection finished this fun card off. Thank you Lori for the inspiration!

What's Shakin'?

Today's card was created for the latest Send A Smile 4 Kids challenge. The challenge was to create a clean and simple card without a lot of layers. I'm not exactly noted for my CAS style so this was a tough challenge for me. I really wanted something where the sentiment was as much the star as the focal image. I started with a clean, white card base and die cut the sentiment using cherry cobbler cardstock from Stampin' UP and the lower case alpha dies from MFT. I adhered them onto the lower left corner of my card using Zig 2 way glue. I stamped the monkey from CTM's In The Wild stamp set onto some crumb cake cardstock from Stampin' UP using Gina K's charcoal brown ink. I fussy cut the image and separated the fingers from the hand so I could adhere them to the branch. I adhered the monkey flat to the card and then die cut the branch using an MFT die and chocolate chip cardstock from Stampin' UP and green cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I popped all of the branch elements up off of the card using foam dimensionals and adhered the monkey's fingers directly onto the branch. I hope you like it!

You're Frytastic

I sat down this afternoon with the intention of creating a coffee themed card for the Summer Coffee Lover's Bloghop but I just wasn't feeling it. I've had a lot on my mind lately and needed to make something light-hearted and fun. What's more fun than a kid's card, right? So, I decided to create another card for the Send A Smile 4 Kids card drive. I started with the adorable french fry character from Your Next Stamp's Happy Meal stamp set and added on the smiley face from the same set. I created a mask by stamping the same image onto a post-it note and fussy cut it out and adhered it to the body of the image. I then stamped the arms and legs from the Your Next Stamp's Create A Character mini stamp set. I then Copic colored the image, fussy cut it out, and edged it with a black Memento marker to give it a nice die cut look. For my card I layered on some pretty turquoise paper from Hobby Lobby onto my white card base. I then layered on the polka dot patterned paper from Ki's Color Crush 6x6 paper pad. I cut a smaller panel and edged it with the same turquoise paper and adhered it to the panel. I stamped the sentiment from the stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink for a nice crisp look and then stamped the hearts from the stamp set using Gina K's red hot ink. I popped the french fry character up off of the card using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals, added some Glossy Accents to the eyes and hearts and some black faux stitching along the smaller panel edges and all around the polka dots on the card panel. I think this card is just too stinking cute and I hope it will bring a smile to some child's face when they receive it in the hospital! Thanks for stopping by and looking at my creation!

Happy Birthday

Today's card was created for the latest Retro Sketches challenge. I love this layout and knew I had to create something using it. I started with a white card base and layered on a piece of apricot cardstock from Hobby Lobby and some white cardstock from Staples. I layered a pretty piece of patterned paper from the Crate Paper Notes & Things 6x6 paper pad. I took another piece of the apricot cardstock and cut it down into a narrow panel and punched the scalloped edge using a Fiskars punch. I adhered that down to the card panel and then layered on another piece of patterned paper from the same Crate Paper pack and edged it with more apricot paper. I cut that piece at an angle to mimic the sketch. I then stamped the birthday sentiment from the Skipping Stones Design Heartsong I stamp set using Gina K ink. I die cut the sentiment using a pretty stitched banner die from Lil' Inker designs and edged it using some more of the apricot cardstock. For my focal panel I stamped the beautiful rose trio from the Waltzingmouse Stamps Old Country Roses stamp set using Gina K inks. I die cut the roses using a pierced edge circle die from My Favorite Things and mounted it and the banner sentiment up off of the card using 3M foam tape for added dimension. I love how pretty and feminine this stamp set is and am pleased with how the card turned out using this great sketch. I hope you like it!

Dad

My second card today was created for The Paper Players theme challenge. My dad's favorite past-time and recreational hobby is sailing. We grew up around the water and he's always loved it and had an affinity for it. So, I thought I would make him a nautical themed card for Father's Day this year. I started with some navy cardstock from Hobby Lobby and then layered some Stampin' UP crumb cake cardstock over it that I had stamped with a woodgrain background stamp from Heidi Swapp using the same color ink from Stampin' UP. I then die cut two decorative panels using Spellbinders dies and some red and navy cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I stamped the word Dad onto the top panel using Versamark ink and the TPC Studio Classic Alphabet stamp set and heat embossed it using some Recollections Detail white embossing powder and my heat tool. I then stamped the boat from the Tim Holtz Here & There stamp set and colored the water in using my Copic markers. I die cut the stamped image using more Spellbinders circle dies and then created a frame using the same size and one size larger die. I pierced the paper in intervals and inserted white brads from a nice finishing touch and mounted the panel up using foam tape for some added dimension. Love how this turned out and am hoping my dad will too! 

Hope Your Day Is Magical

Today's card was created for the Sunday Stamps weekly challenge. I will also be donating this card to the Send A Smile 4 Kids charity. I loved the idea of creating a little hillside with a bright and happy springtime scene above. I had just picked up the newest magical critter stamps from The Greeting Farm and thought the flying unicorn would be perfect to create my scene. I started with some bright and happy patterned papers from Basic Grey's Hey Girl 6x6 paper pad and layered them onto my card base with some pretty aqua cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I die cut a stitched rectangle panel and added some more of the patterned paper for my hillside. I stamped the unicorn, the cloud, and the little fairy dust behind her and colored the images in using my Copic markers. Once the images were colored I added some clear Wink of Stella to them and popped the focal panel up off of the card using some 3M foam tape. I hope you like it and thank you for visiting my blog!

Birthday Greetings

Hello and Happy Easter to everyone in the blogosphere! Today's card was created for the latest Just Us Girls challenge. I started by using a technique I'd seen about a year or two ago by DO Stamping With Dawn where she used painter's tape to ink the surface of her cardstock. I loved the effect it created but had forgotten about it until today. When I saw this challenge photo I knew I had to try this technique. Using strips of 1 1/2" painters tape I inked up my first strip with Stampin' UP crumb cake and laid it onto my white cardstock and pressed the ink onto the paper by rubbing my fingers along the backside and carefully lifting it off. The second strip was inked using Stampin' UP's bashful blue. Then using Gina K Designs charcoal brown ink I stamped the birds and the reeds from Stampin' UP's Wetlands stamp set onto the scene. Love how it instantly created the sand and the sky! I mounted the piece onto some coordinating blue cardstock from Hobby Lobby and a piece of crumbcake cardstock from Stampin' UP. I love how clean and simple this card was to create! 

Happy birthday to you

Today's card was created for the latest Unity {show & tell} Facebook group challenge. I had just gotten a ton of new Unity stamps in and have been inking them up like crazy! I needed a card for my aunt's birthday this weekend and the Maggie Girl stamp set seemed like the perfect place to start. I stamped the image using Memento tuxedo black ink onto some 110 lb white cardstock from Staples and colored it using Copic markers in greens, pinks, and purples. I cut my image down and matted it onto some black cardstock from Hobby Lobby and then popped it up using some 3M foam tape. I stamped the sentiment from the set masking the word "friend" off with some painter's tape. I die cut the sentiment using some Gina Marie decorative dies and colored the outer edges using a Copic marker. I added a few sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and then mounted the whole card onto a white card base covered with a piece of pretty patterned paper from the American Crafts Welcome Spring 6x6 paper pad. I hope you like it!

Sometimes

My card today was created for the latest Unity Photo Challenge over on the Unity (show & tell) Facebook group. I love the gorgeous pattern in the inspiration photo and knew I had some lovely patterned paper that was similar. Both the rust and blue dotted patterned paper and the funky floral paper are from the Little Yellow Bicycle Fern & Forest 6x6 paper pad, which I happened to pick up on sale for $2.99 at my local Tuesday Morning. I felt that the patterns and colors pretty closely matched the inspiration colors. I wanted to use the Unity Stamp Company stamp set Rebuild Herself because the image is just so stunning and the sentiments are so very beautiful. I inked both the image and the sentiment onto some Copic-friendly 110 lb white cardstock from Staples using Memento tuxedo black ink. I colored the beautiful image using my Copic markers in shades of brown and blue and did some highlighting around the lettering on the sentiment and colored in the heart using some rusty reds. Using my Pebbles chalks I added a bit of light blue around the image for a light background and added a few sequins from The Ton. I adhered a piece of black cardstock from Hobby Lobby onto my cardbase and layered my patterned papers on top. I matted my focal image and sentiment onto the same black cardstock and then popped them both up off of the card using some 3M foam tape. I just love how beautifully this turned out! 

Happy Valentine's Day

Today's card was created for the latest Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge. I started with a clean white card base and layered on some cocoa cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I die cut some hearts using a Paper Smooches die and some of the gorgeous patterned papers from the Echo Park This & That 6x6 paper pack and layered them onto my card. I stamped the sentiment from Hampton Arts using Versamark ink and heat embossed it using Recollections snow detail embossing powder. I added a few blush sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and added some white dashed lines around the outer edge of the card to mimic the lines on the felt sachets. I hope you like it!

I Like You 'N Coffee

Today's card was created for the latest Can You Case It challenge. I love this awesome layout and thought it might make a fun coffee themed Valentine's Day card that I could send to a crafty friend. I started with a white card base and layered on some kraft cardstock from Hobby Lobby and then layered on a piece of pretty chevron patterned paper from the American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neopolitan 6x6 paper pad. I then cut my circles using more of the kraft cardstock and some white cardstock from Staples using my My Favorite Things pierced circle and Spellbinder nesting circle dies. I stamped the sentiment from the Reverse Confetti I Like You stamp set onto some white cardstock using Versafine onyx black ink and then layered on some kraft cardstock behind it for contrast. I stamped the coffee mug from My Style Stamps Coffee Lovers stamp set onto some patterned paper from the same paper pad using Memento tuxedo black ink. I fussy cut the images out and mounted them up using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I die cut a heart and it's coordinating scalloped trim using some more dies from Spellbinders, adhered them together, and mounted them onto the card. I added some sweetheart sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and then added some XMas red Stickles to the inside of the sequins and to the heart on the coffee mug sleeve. Some black dashed lines around the circle, the outer edge, the sentiment strip, and the coffee liner wrap this card up. I hope you like it!

I Love You

I am home sick as a dog today with a nasty chest cold and vertigo. As long as I don't move around too much I am okay. Working on Epley maneuvers (without puking) for the vertigo and trying not to move too much for both the coughing and the vertigo. The vertigo definitely seems to be better today than yesterday (thank God) but the coughing is still bad enough that my ribs and gut hurt just from the coughing. Hoping another day of rest will have me back up and running tomorrow. Anyway, I thought I would take advantage of not being able to move around too much to create a sweet card for my granddaughter Journey for Valentine's Day. She loves anything ballerina so I thought the adorable Before I Met You Tiny Dancer stamp set from Unity Stamp Company would be perfect for her card! I started my card with a white card base and layered on some red cardstock from Hobby Lobby. Then using some plain white typing paper I created a layered strip technique called Herrington. There are plenty of videos explaining this technique on YouTube so if you're not familiar with it already check it out. The strips of patterned paper are from the My Minds Eye Filled With Love 6x6 paper pad. I cut them into 1/2" strips and layered them onto the typing paper using the suggested layout. I then mounted that panel onto the red cardstock and then onto the card itself. I stamped the image from the Unity stamp set onto some 110 lb cardstock from Staples using some Memento tuxedo black ink and colored her in using Copic markers. I die cut the image using a decorative pierced edge frame from Gina Marie Designs. I added some tiny hearts from the Lawn Fawn You Float My Boat stamp set using Gina K inks in red hot and innocent pink and then added some clear Wink of Stella glitter pen to the images. I die cut a small panel using more of the red card stock and die cut the I Love You sentiment from some white card stock using a die set from Simon Says Stamp. Love how adorably this turned out!

You Knock My Socks Off

My second card today was originally created for the Just Us Girls color challenge but I completed it too late to compete. I thought I would share it anyway.  It's almost February so I thought I would crack out some Valentine's stamps and create a fun little Valentine's Day card. Using the Lawn Fawn My Silly Valentine stamp set I stamped the socks, the smallest heart, and the sentiment onto some 110 lb white cardstock from Staples using Memento tuxedo black ink. Using a Paper Smooches stitched die and die cut the stitched lines around three of the four sides of my panel. Using the fine-tip glue pen from Stampin' UP I adhered my navy blue and white bakers twine from We R Memory Keepers to the card right above the socks so it looked like they were hanging on a clothes line. I tied off some bows using the twine and adhered them to the card using the same glue. I colored my images using Copic markers and added a few sequins from The Ton. I die cut my large scalloped piece using some light blue textured cardstock from Hobby Lobby and a scalloped die from Papertrey Ink. I stamped the socks again, colored them, and fussy cut them out so I could pop them up off of the card using some foam dimensionals from Stampin' UP. Love the little bit of dimension it gives them. I mounted the focal panel to a piece of navy cardstock from Hobby Lobby and adhered the whole panel to my white card base. I love how adorably this card turned out. I hope you like it too!

In Sympathy

Today's card was created for the newest Time Out Challenge. Guest designer Marika Rahtu of Me and Minime Crafting created this amazing card and the challenge is to case the card with your own twist. I adore Marika's cards and am in complete awe of her amazing coloring skills and cannot even dare to compete with such talent so for my card I opted for something clean and simple with no coloring. I started with a white card base and then cut a few 1/8" strips of black cardstock from Hobby Lobby and layered them onto the focal panel to mimic the ribbon on Marika's card. I stamped the bible image from Inkadinkado's Spiritual Sketches stamp set onto the far left lower corner using Versafine onyx black ink for a nice crisp image. I then stamped the sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas Simply Stacked Sentiments also using Versafine onyx black ink. I popped the focal panel up off of the card base using some 3M foam tape and this card was done. I hope you like my take on Marika's card. 

Happy Birthday

Today's card was created for the latest Can You Case It sketch challenge. CYCI is celebrating their 3rd birthday and they are celebrating with a black tie event. They offered two options: black, white, and elegant (which I opted for) or black, white, and fun. 

I started with a white card base and layered on a piece of black cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I then stamped my focal image image using the Stampin' UP Thoughts & Prayers stamp set. I stamped the sentiment from the Stampin' UP Curly Cute stamp set. Using a Paper Smooches stitched die I added some stitched lines to the focal panel. I cut a piece of black and white patterned paper from Recollections using another Paper Smooches die and adhered it to my card base. I added a few clear rhinestones from Recollections to the tree and the sentiment and brushed on a bit of clear Wink of Stella for a bit of shimmer and shine. Happy birthday CYCI...I hope you like your card!

Happy Holidays

This adorable hot cocoa holiday card was created for the Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge. The challenge was to create a holiday card with your favorite warm beverage. Well, we got snow here today in SE Missouri and I had several cups of cocoa today so thought this this card might be appropriate. I started by layering some black cardstock from Hobby Lobby onto my white card base. I layered a piece of pretty plaid patterned paper from the American Crafts Hot Cocoa 6x6 paper pad on top. I die cut a white circle using a die from Spellbinders and then cut a larger circle using a My Favorite Things pierced circle die, layered them together, and popped them up using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I die cut my mugs (I'm sorry...I don't know who makes the die) using some more of the patterned paper from the same paper pad and colored the cocoa portion in using a Copic marker. I layered the die cut marshmallows on top and popped the mugs up using foam dimensionals. I layered a piece of white and black cardstock together and die cut my sentiment from an Impression Obsession die and glued it to the panel. A few die cut snowflakes from My Favorite Things and a couple of black gem stones from Ki complete the card!

You Fog My Spectacles

 My third card today was created for The Paper Players clean & simple Valentine card challenge. I started with some black cardstock from Hobby Lobby and then layered my focal panel on top using some 3M foam tape for a bit of dimension. To create my focal panel I started with some plain 110 lb white cardstock from Staples and used ink smooshing technique. Using a clear acetate sheet, an acrylic block, and Tim Holtz Distress Inks in spun sugar, worn lipstick, and fired brick I created the awesome ombre background. Once this was dry I splattered on some Distress Spray Stain in black soot and then hit the whole thing with my heat gun. I added a small strip of the same black cardstock and then die cut my glasses using black and white cardstocks, vellum, and the matching die from the Paper Smooches Incognito stamp set. I punched two hearts from the leftover smooshed paper in a light pink using Stampin' UP's owl builder punch and adhered those to the center of my glasses and popped the whole thing onto my card using more foam tape. I added a few rhinestones in various sizes around the sentiment and on the glasses and this card was done! 

Happy Birthday

Today's card was created for The Male Room Young Ones challenge. The challenge is to create a card for a male baby or little boy. I don't know anyone pregnant right now with a little boy so I decided to focus on little boy birthdays since I have nephews with birthdays coming up soon. I began with a simple card base and layered on some black cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I cut down a piece of evergreen cardstock from Recollections and embossed it using a Cuttlebug swiss dot embossing folder and adhered the panel onto my card. I stamped four of the adorable critters from the Close To My Heart In The Wild stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink and cut the images down to simple squares. I layered them onto black cardstock squares cut slightly larger and adhered them onto to my card using some 3M foam tape. I cut a fishtail banner using a Jillian Vance die and some more black cardstock and adhered that to the card using foam tape. I used my Stampin' UP Word Window punch and some white cardstock from Staples and stamped the birthday sentiment from Sweet Stamp Shop's Just The Basics stamp set and adhered that to the fishtail banner. Using the same evergreen cardstock I die cut a few of the buttons from the My Favorite Things button die set. I tied a bow using some black and white baker's twine from We R Memory Keepers and adhered the button the card with some more foam tape. This is such a fun and simple card to make taking less than 10 minutes to put together from start to finish. I hope you like it!