Congratulations

Hey ya'll!

I hope you've had a wonderful holiday weekend.  It's been nice, sleeping in the last three days, and spending time with family and friends.  The weather has been absolutely amazing here too.  So thankful for everything we got to do, and everyone we got to see this weekend. *happy sigh*

I was fortunate enough to get some time in my craft cave today.  Here is what I put together.

I've been hoarding this Lil Inker Designs ombre patterned paper, and was thrilled that it went with a couple of challenges I wanted to join.  I kept it simple, and love how it turned out, although I'm bummed that I got a small ink smudge in the top left corner somehow.  I was able to get most of it off, but it still looks kinda bad.  I was already done with the card when I noticed it, so I just left it.  Ugh.  What do you do when this happens?  

I'm going to submit this card for the following challenges.

City Crafter Week #268:  Nautical
Crazy 4 Challenges #293:  Monochromatic
Just Us Girls #300:  Congratulations
ShowCASe Your Style #18:  Inspiration Photo (Blues)
The Paper Players #252:  The Great Outdoors (sailing is done outdoors, hope this qualifies)
Pile It On #76:  Hot Fun In The Summertime (who doesn't like to go boating in the summer?)
Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #276:  Choose A Past Sketch (I chose sketch #274, my loose interpretation)

That's all for me today!  I'm off to grill some ribs, and finish the potato salad for dinner.  I hope everyone has a wonderful evening, and a great work week.

Stay crafty my friends!

What's In It?
Paper:  Neenah Solar White Cardstock, SU! Baja Breeze Cardstock, SSS July Card Kit Patterned Paper, Lil Inker Designs Ombre Stripes Patterned Paper
Stamps:  Simon Says Stamp Sailing, Mama Elephant Hustle, Clearly Besotted My Hero
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black Dye Ink, WPlus9 Lake House Dye Ink, VersaMark
Accessories:  Detail White Embossing Powder, Silver Embossing Powder, SSS Sailboat Die

Congratulations

Hello everyone!

I feel like it's been forever, since I made anything, just for fun.  With softball season starting and work being crazy, I haven't had much creative mojo.  Since the weather is gray and overcast, and I'm home alone today, I decided to make some stuff.  I turned off my cell phone (which was more difficult than I expected, and an eye opener), turned up the music, and just created lots of fun things.  Here is the first card I made today.

The colors in my photo are a bit washed out, but this was the best of the bunch.  In real life the colors are much more vibrant.  I clear embossed the flower onto some watercolor paper, and then used my distress inks to watercolor it.  I then used one of my green Copic markers on a piece of vellum, for the leaves.  I love how the leaves have a bit of striation from the marker.  I wish the photo would have been better, so you could see it.  I added my sentiment, not stamped in black for a change, and some sequins to finish it off.  I had to fight the urge to add more stuff, but decided that keeping it CAS would be best.  LOVE how it turned out!  I'm going to submit this for the following challenges.

Color Throwdown #344: Coral Pink, Pale Yellow & Spring Green (I got as close as I could)
Freshly Made Sketches #188: Sketch
Simon's Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
The Paper Players #247: Tic Tac Toe (I used sequins, embossing & die cut)
Pile It On #71: Focus on Coloring (I colored with distress inks)

I'll be back soon, hopefully, with another something crafty.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

What's In It?
Paper: SU! Very Vanilla & Watercolor Cardstock
Stamps: Reverse Confetti Fancy Word Coordinates, Stampendous Zinnia
Ink: VersaMark, Tattered Rose, Picked Raspberry & Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, Copic: G43
Accessories: Detail Clear Embossing Powder, Memory Box Lorelai Leaf Outline Die, Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Sequins

You're The Bestest

Hello friends!

Happy Mother's Day!  After a chaotic week at work, I was blessed to be pampered by my lovely daughter, with a pedicure at our favorite spa.  She also cleaned the house all on her own, and made my mother and I breakfast this morning.  Sure do love my girl!  After weeks of long hours, and tons of weekend events, I was happy to finally get some time to be craft today.  Here is the card I made.

I really love the simplicity of this card, even with the layered flower piece.  The distressed cover up, and the ombre ink leaves are gorgeous.  I'm excited to finally use some of the goodies I'd accumulated, but hadn't had the opportunity to use.  If all goes well, I hope to have another something crafty for you this week.  We'll see how things go though.  I'm going to submit my card for the following challenges.

The Pink Elephant #297:  Appreciation/Thank You
City Crafter Challenge #260:  Mood Board/Inspiration Photo (I was inspired by the colors)
Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes
Simon's Wednesday Challenge: Let's Get Sentimental
Can You Case It #69:  Sketch (my loose interpretation)
The Paper Players #244:  Lost Lagoon, Sahara Sand & Pistachio Pudding (I tried to get as close as I could)

Stay crafty my friends!

 




What's In It?
Paper: Neenah Solar White & Desert Sand Cardstock, Becky Higgins Project Life Grid Journaling Cards
Stamps: Reverse Confetti Love Blooms & Fancy Word Coordinates
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Dye Ink, Ranger Distress Ink: Tumbled Glass, Mermaid Lagoon & Cracked Pistachio, Hero Arts Mint to Green Ombre Ink
Accessories: MFT Stripes Cover Up, Clearly Besotted Small Geometric Rose Die, Simple Stories Enamel Dots, DMC Silver Thread

Love You

Hiya peeps!

How are you doing?  Are you having a good week, so far?  It's been gorgeous out, so we've been spending lots of time outside.  Unfortunately, this has caused a delay in getting my cards posted. lol  There were several challenges I wanted to participate in, and I made several cards on Sunday, but am just now getting around to posting the first.  I hope I'm still on time for them. :-)

Here is the first.

I love the simplicity of this card.  The clean lines, and the small pop of glitter look lovely together.  I will be sending this to R, at some point this week.  He says he loves getting random cards in the mail from me, and that he keeps them all.  How sweet!  I will definitely continue to send him cards.  I am going to submit this for this weeks Paper Players challenge (#235), which is a color combo of Crisp Cantaloupe, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake and So Saffron.

That's all for me.  I'm headed to join my bible study group for an evening of fellowship and worship.  I wish you all a great evening!

Hugs!

What's In It?
Paper: Neenah Desert Storm Cardstock, SU! Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White & Wild Wasabi Cardstock, Simon Says Stamp Sunshine Cardstock
Accessories: MFT Love Die, Simon Says Stamp You Die, Star Dust Stickles, Studio Calico Wood Veneer Stars

25

Hello hello!

I hope everyone is doing well, and have been busy making lots of crafty things.  It has been another crazy couple of weeks around here.  My daughter turned 18 on the 1st.  That morning she took her test to get her drivers license, passed, and was surprised with a new vehicle of her own.  To say she was excited is an understatement, but she was only half as excited, as when I gave her tickets to see Maroon 5 (her favorite band) next March.  My babygirl had an awesome birthday, and I feel totally blessed to be able to do that for her.  On Friday I turned 39, and instead of going out, I chose to have a nice dinner at home with my mom and daughter last night.  They made me my favorite dish, and a homemade German chocolate cake.  It was amazing!  I think I'm getting old.  My favorite part of the whole weekend, aside from spending time with them, was getting to sleep in yesterday and today. lol

Seeing as how I was fully rested this morning, I decided to get my craft on.  Here is what I created.

 

I like the simplicity of this card.  It's a traditional Christmas card, but I think traditional is good sometimes.  And as most of you know, I don't like glitter or embossing powder much, but I decided to emboss this tag in gold.  I dig it.  It's not only metallic but also has some sparkle to it.  It took me forever to clean up all of the gold on my desk, but it was worth the effort.  I love how it looks in real life.  It doesn't look like much, but I combined all of the following challenges into my card. 

Christmas Cards All Year Round: No Patterned Paper

Addicted to CAS #51: Tag

Virginia's View Challenge #9: Metallic

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Red, Green & Gold or Silver Metallic

Crazy 4 Challenges #261: Number It

The Paper Players #221: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla & Mossy Meadow (i used whisper white)

Pile It On #45: Special Occasion

I think I'm going to make another Christmas card, since I've got that mojo flowing.  I hope to be back soon with another card.  I hope everyone has an awesome Sunday!

Hugs!

What's In It?

Paper: SU! Crumb Cake & Whisper White Cardstock, Bazzill Green Cardstock

Stamps: Verve Glad Tidings

Ink: VersaMark, SU! Cherry Cobbler Assortment Blendabilities

Accessories: Ranger Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder, SU! Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Verve Sweet Scallop Tag Die, SU! Petals A Plenty Embossing Folder, Memory Box Classic Numbers Dies

Happy Birthday

Hiya!

How's your day going, so far?  My alarm went off this morning, and I think I hit the snooze button four times, which isn't like me.  I was so exhausted, but unsure why.  I'm sure my day is going to be chaos too, since I was out four days last week.  I'm thinking quite a bit of coffee will be added to my diet today. lol

After we got tired of watching movies yesterday, my daughter went up to play video games, and I made a couple more cards.  Here is one of them.  I think it turned out very cute.

I think this is the most white space I've ever had on a card.  It was difficult for me not to want to keep adding stuff to it.  I love these Paper Smooches stamps.  I don't really enjoy "fussy cutting" anything, but these are very easy to cut, and they don't look mutilated like some of my images. lol  I know exactly who will be getting this fun birthday card.

I was excited to combine all of the following challenges.

Color Throwdown #305: Basic Gray, Bermuda Bay, Kiwi Kiss & Tangerine Tango (I got as close as I could, with what I had)
Mod Squad Challenge: Masculine Birthday
Seize The Birthday: Anything Goes
FTL #303: Sketch
The Paper Players #209: CAS Kids Birthday Card

Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge: Anything Goes

I'm off to work, hoping today will go smoother than I expect.  I hope everyone has a great day!

Stay crafty my friends!

 





What's In It?
Paper: SU Tangerine Tango & Whisper White cardstock
Stamps: Paper Smooches Cuteasaurus, Sentiment Sampler & Birthday Buddies
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink, SU Coastal Cabana dye ink, Iced Spruce distress ink, WPlus9 Sweet Nectar dye ink, SU Blendabilities Old Olive, Smoky Slate & Skin Tone assortment

Adore You

Hola!

Happy Humpday ya'll!  As you read this, I am sitting in my second day of mandatory QA training, and I'm just having a blast! *insert sarcasm*  Unfortunately, it's required that all Rembrandt employees be certified, so this is what I'll be doing for the rest of this week.  Hopefully, I'll pass my test, so I can be certified.  I don't really want to have to do this again. lol 

I made this card last night, and really like the simplicity of it.

The crumpled paper flower was purchased from rettajane on Etsy.  She makes these, and they're beautiful!  Very good quality.  So, I wanted to emboss the patterned paper, but after I did that you couldn't really see the embossing for the pattern itself.  I decided to go over the embossed dots with my sander, and this is the result.  I LOVE IT!  In real life, it looks like the dots are magnified.  It's really cool.  Not sure why I hadn't thought of this idea before, but now I'm going to try it again. :-)

I'm happy to enter this into the following challenges.

Seize The Sketch #26: Sketch (my loose interpretation, I flipped it)
The Paper Players #208: Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride, Hello Honey & Basic Gray
Papertake Weekly: Spots & Dots

I will be back soon with another something crafty.

Have a great day!

What's In It?
Paper: SU Whisper White, Basic Gray, Calypso Coral & Blushing Bride cardstock, SU In Color Designer Series paper
Stamps: Simon Says Stamp On Edge
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink
Accessories: SU Large Polka Dot embossing folder, Martha Stewart White Lace, May Arts Twine

My Whole Heart

Good Monday to all!

I hope everyone is off to a great start to their work week.  I feel like the weekend flew by, and I didn't really do anything but make cards.  Love that!  I wanted to make a card that was bold, and bright to send to R, but wasn't sure what to do.  Then, I remembered something he wore to the gym not too long ago, and had an "a ha!" moment.  He LOVES the bright neon yellow that is so popular lately, and I just happened to have received all of the Hero Arts Neon inks recently.  This is how things turned out.

This bright neon ink is fabulous!  In my picture it looks a bit more orange, but in real life it's definitely neon.  The contrast of the bright dots with the dark chevron stripes made me super excited, and I love the small pop of color added with the pink heart.  This card is bold, like R's personality, and it's bright and cheerful like his smile.  I wasn't in love with this card at first, but it's growing on me.  It looked like very simple card at first, but the more I look at this picture, there seems to be a bit more going on.  I could totally see a room in our house with these colors. lol  I was excited to combine the following challenges on my card.

Simon's Wednesday Challenge: Emboss It
CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #134 - Tic Tac Toe (Dots, Gray, Twine this time)
The Paper Players Challenge #206: Sketch
Pile It On Challenge #30: Embossing (the background panel with the dots is embossed with the Diamond Plate embossing folder)

Wishing all of you a great week! 

What's In It?
Paper: SU Basic Black cardstock, SU Whisper White cardstock, SU Basic Gray cardstock, Simon Says Stamp Card Kit chevron patterned paper (from last year, I think it may be something from Amy Tangerine)
Stamps: Reverse Confetti Crushin', Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics 2, Simon Says Stamp All About Love
Ink: Hero Arts Neon Yellow dye ink, Hero Arts Neon Pink dye ink
Accessories: Diamond Plate embossing folder, Reverse Confetti Tag Me Confetti Cuts, SU Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Anabelle Stamps Natural Twine

My Person

Hola!

I hope your week is going well, so far.  As mentioned, I have another card to share with you today.  Aside from trying to make more masculine cards, I'm also trying to make more CAS cards.  I struggle with both, so what better way to get more experience than to make them, right?  Here is the next card for you to see.

I just recently got my first couple sets of CAS-ual Fridays stamps.  I always tell R that he's "my person" so this stamp set had to be mine. lol  I'm certain you can figure out who be the recipient of this card.  I dig how this turned out.  I was happy to include the following challenges in my card.

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge ##133: Summer Lovin' (include hearts in summer colors)
The Paper Players Challenge #205: CAS Monochromatic

I'm off to work, but I'll be back again soon, with another card.  I hope you have a great week!

Stay crafty my friends!

What's In It?
Paper: SU Very Vanilla & Whisper White cardstock, Bo Bunny (from a couple years ago) & Simon Says Stamp patterned papers (from one of last years card kits)
Stamps: CAS-ual Fridays Cupid's Arrows, SU French Script background stamp
Ink: Antique Linen distress ink, Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink
Accessories: CAS-ual Fridays Cupid's Arrows dies

Rejoice

Hola!

Happy Humpday!  I hope your week is going as well as mine is.  School started on Monday, and because my daughter is a pretty good teenager, we've already gotten into our daily routine without any trouble at all.  What a year it has been for us, and I'm thankful that things continue to get better. 

So, I created this card, just for fun.  I wanted to try a couple things, and I wanted to use colors that I probably never would have combined, had I not been challenged by them.  This is definitely out of my comfort zone, but it's growing on me.  Here's my card.

This is my very first attempt at a one layer card.  I think the butterflies might disqualify me from being a true one layer, but it needed something.  Everything else is stamped on the main panel of my card.  I used a stencil/mask from one of my Simon Says Stamp card kits, and think the added design works well enough.  I stamped my sentiment in the masked center panel, and then I stamped the flourish on the side.  I liked how it seemed to appear layered with all of the elements, but it was still in need of something.  That's when I added the butterflies.  In all, I like my card, even though I don't know if I'd use these colors together again.  I can't lie though, it is pretty bright and bold, and cheerful. :)

I've combined the following challenge in my card today:

Card Crafters Circle #88 - Winged Things
Stampin for the Weekend - Butterflies
Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #224 - Lime, Berry & Eggplant
The Paper Players #159 - One Layer Card (this was my first attempt, not sure I pulled it off though)
Pile It On #33 - No Designer Paper

I hope you have a great rest of the week.  I hope to be back soon, with another crafty project.  It's going to be a busy weekend though, as we've got our last trip planned for this weekend.  Guess we'll see what happens.

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs!

A Man's Heart

Good day!

How's it going?  I hope you had a good weekend, and are starting your week off well also.  It was a nice, relaxing weekend in the Castro house.  We didn't do anything but go see the movie The Conjuring on Friday.  My daughter and I are huge scary movie fans, so this was a must see for us.  I wasn't sure if it was going to be that scary, but there were some great moments.  I think we'll see it again, once it's on DVD.  We've begun our vacation countdown as well.  In 3 days we'll be in my favorite place, Denver!  I am dying to get there already, and am finding it more and more difficult to be patient. lol  If any of my crafty friends are in the Denver area, and want to have lunch or something, let me know!  It would be awesome to meet any of you!

Anyway, I'm back with another House of Cards project for you.  This weeks theme is Shabby & Vintage.  I've gotten better at CAS, which means that Shabby and Vintage are now two styles that I really struggle with.  For this weeks challenge, click HERE.  Below is the card I created.

I really distressed all of my edges, and I tried to make it look "vintage" with my inking.  I do hope it's close to being considered shabby and vintage.  I really wanted to support this weeks group, so I am just going to go with it.  I've got another card for my stash now too.

I've also combined the following challenges in my card:

WordArt Wednesday #89 - Anything Goes
The Paper Players #155 - Sketch (I flipped it)
Addicted to Stamps #60 - Lots of Layers (I've got 8)
The Hybrid Chick Card Caravan #46 - Red, White & Blue

I do hope you'll head over to see what the HOC Shabby & Vintage DT have created for you this week.  They're beautiful! 

Have a good day!
Hugs!

Happy Mother's Day

Hiya!

So the snow has melted, and we've had better temps here in Iowa lately.  The sun even came out, and I got to wear my flip flops again...finally!!  I'm sad that it will be chilly and raining for the next few days, but look forward to more spring like weather soon. 

I recently received my first order from Simon Says Stamp.  Yes, I know.  I'm really behind on ordering their awesome products, but hey, better late than never.  Right?  Anyway, I signed up for their monthly card kit, and am super happy with everything that is included in their kits.  I haven't been super busy creating much lately, so I think the card kit was perfect to jump start my creative mojo again.  Below is the card I made using the kit, and some other goodies I ordered.

 
There are two things about this card that I need to point out.  First, I colored with my Copics, and second I fussy cut the roses.  Those are two things that I pretty much NEVER do. lol  These flowers were just begging to have that done to them though.  Seriously.  You can't see it from my photo, but each of the flowers and frame around the sponged sentiment panel were also outlined with my Sakura clear sparkle pen, so they have a touch of glitter.  I cut out the center of the bigger flower, and popped it onto the other for more dimension.  After I added all of my elements, I used a touch of Mister Huey's, in white and added one of the chipboard hearts that I "painted" with the Liquid Pearls from the kit.  I'm happy with my card, but feel I could have done better compared to everyone else using this kit.  I really want to be like Vicky Papaioannou and Nichol Magouirk when I grow up. lol  They're amazing!

I am going to submit this card for the following challenges:

The Pink Elephant #198 - Mother's Day
Belli Challenge #169 - Mother's Day
I {heart} Sketches #17 - Sketch (my loose interpretation)
Kaboodle Doodles #170 - For The Ladies
Pretty Little Ribbon Shop - Lace
Crafty Bloggers Network #11 - X's & O's (I chose ribbon, die cuts/punches & flowers)
Pile It On #18 - For A Mother
Corrosive Challenge #173 - Mother's Day
The Paper Players #144 - Mother's Day

I'm off to pick Sydney up from softball practice, and then work on something else crafty.  I do hope you have a wonderful evening!

Hugs!

Papercraft Star Challenge #19

Happy Halloween!

How's your week going?  Are you excited to see all of the adorable kiddies running around tonight?  I'm excited!  My week is going alright, but just alright.  As I type this up, I'm currently at my mothers, getting ready to go to court to deal with an issue with my ex-husband.  Usually, I try not to say too much about personal stuff, but today I'm feeling overwhelmed with everything.  Why do people do stupid things that cause harm to others?  Ugh!  I'm SO happy to be here with my mom, but I hate the reason that I'm here.  Things can only get better though, right?  Like tomorrow we're celebrating Sydney's 16th birthday.  I can't wait for her to see what I got her.  I have to admit, it is pretty awesome.  I mean, you only turn 16 once! ;)

Anyway, onto this weeks Papercraft Star project.  The theme this week is:

Warm Beverages!

 

Fortunately for me, I have now accumulated a few different sets with images I could have used for this challenge.  Here is what I came up with.

 



 

I'm digging how this turned out, although this is attempt #2.  The first one got thrown in the trash for being so hideous. lol  Anyway, I've got another card for my stash.  Yay!  I'm also submitting this to the following challenges:

The Paper Players #119 - Sketch
That Craft Place - Tic Tac Toe (i used lace, twine (subbed for ribbon), and dies)

I can't wait for you to see what stunning projects are posted over at the PCS blog today.  I'm totally blown away by the projects my fellow desingers create each week.  To say that I'm honored to be amongst such talent is an understatement.  You really should head over and see what I'm talking about.  You won't regret it!

I'm off to deal with life, and then it's party planning time.  On a side note, I've gained back 3 of the 7 pounds I had lost.  Guess I'll just have to try harder next week.  I'll leave on a positive note, and share a picture of Sydney from her first homecoming dance.  Hard to believe she's all grown up already. *sigh*

Have a great day!
Hugs!