Smile Inspired Card

My card this morning is a combination of two challenges.  One is from the Muse challenge (#285 to be exact). 

And the second is from my favorite crafty place, StampNation, where World Card Making Day is upon us, and I was inspired by photos from Hungary.  The foliage!!!!

Lots of leafy goodness here.  And a stacked sentiment in a matching ink color using direct to paper! 

Supplies Used - Smile

Stamps and Dies: Ovals and Flowers Dies, Smile Die, Leave Me in Pardise Stamps (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Ink & Embossing:  Eucalyptus, Sauna, Shea Butter and Green Tea (Catherine Pooler Inks)

Paper:  Premium White (Catherine Pooler)

Wish Big

This week's Muse Challenge was a fun one with balloons . . . I couldn't pass up balloons.  I decided to try out a new die that I had recently purchased. 

 It is a challenge to just have the silhouette of Minnie Mouse . . . but it was gun given that I was going for just those Disney mouse colors . . . black, white, red and yellow! 

I hope you found some time to create over this past weekend. 

Supplies Used - Wish Big Minnie

Stamps and Dies:  Short and Sweet Sayings (Close To My Heart); Balloon Celebration (Stampin' Up); Minnie Mouse Blissful (Character World)

Ink & Embossing:  Tiki Torch, Tiara, Rockin' Red, Midnight (Catherine Pooler);

Paper: White (Catherine Pooler); Real Red (Stampin' Up); Pattern Paper Scraps

Other: Marigold Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh); Red Twine (The Stamps of Life);

A Card for Muse Challenge #228

A card to share today, inspired by Muse Challenge #228 . . .

While my intention was to go rainbow . . . I never got there.  I went with the white card base, the focal point in the middle on black cardstock, and the sentiment at the bottom.

 

And clearly, there is that pop of red.  

I hope you found some time to create today.  And if not, there is always tomorrow.

Cheers!

Supplies Used -  Thinking of You

Stamps:  Heart Squares (Dab a Little Clear Stamps)

Ink: Versafine Black Onyx Ink and Rockin' Red (Catherine Pooler)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Scrap of Red from my scrap stash

Accessories:  Clear Embossing Powder (Ranger)

Muse Inspiration

I was inspired today by the card posted on Muse.  Here is their card . . .

 I was inspired by the variety of directions the sentiment took, and wanted to try to make a directional card using arrows to direct the recipient.  Here is my card . . .

I struggled at first with placement of the words.  In the end, it has a flow and the message is there . . . "You are simply the BEST friend ever; sending birth wishes to you.  Not one color was repeated, as I also have a variety of new ink colors from Catherine Pooler Designs that I wanted to play with.  

I hope you find some time to create today. 

Supplies Used - Simply the Best

Stamps:  Simply the Best Stamp Set

Ink: Garden Party, It's a Girl, It's a Boy, Pixie Dust, Melon Ice, Fiesta Blue, Party Dress, Tiki Torch, Flirty Fuchsia, Lime Ricky, Tutti Frutti, Aquatini, Tiara, Grass Skirt, Orange Twist (Catherine Pooler Designs)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Orange (Bazzill)

Accessories:  Sparkling Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh); Sprinkles Latte Love (Doodlebug)

Snowflakes for Muse Challenge

A little something for the Muse Challenge.  Here is their challenge card . . .

And here is my card, which while not colorful, has three shades of blue stamped snowflakes and a sentiment embossed on black cardstock. 

Only one ink color was used for this card, but I stamped the image three times to get the gradient ink colors. 

A simple but fun card to create.  I hope you find some time to create today.  

Supplies Used - Warm Winter Wishes

Stamps:  Snowflake and Warm Winter Wishes Stamps (Dab a Little Clear Stamps)

Ink:  Fiesta Blue (Catherine Pooler); Versamark;

Paper:  Sky, Licorice, Powdered Sugar Cardstock (The Stamps of Life)

Accessories:  Silver Embossing Powder (Ranger); Frosted Crystal and Snowflake Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Stand Tall . . . for Muse Card Club

I have had the most amazing crafty weekend with friends, which of course means that I did some serious creating.

First and foremost, if you're looking for the August Technique Blog Hop, click here!

And now on with today's card.  This one was created for the Muse Challenge #178.  Here is  the inspiration card . . .

And here is my card . . .

 I do love the message this card sends . . .

I clearly went with color combo and a bit with placement on this card. 

I hope you find some time to create today! 

Supplies Used - Stand Tall

Stamps:  flamingos2stamp (The Stamps of Life)

Ink:  Licorice (The Stamps of Life)

Paper:  Powdered Sugar, Bubblegum, Cloud (The Stamps of Life)

Accessories:  Flamingo Dies (The Stamps of Life); Gingham Ribbon (The Stamps of Life); Marshmallow and Pink Blush Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Muse #167 - Welcome Baby

I loved the card at this week's Muse Challenge because I am in love with designs that include inlaid dies.  For me, an inlaid die creation is almost like a puzzle.  You are cutting pieces from multiple papers, and you get to piece them all back together to make a design.  Right up my alley!

Here is the Muse creation . . .

And here is my card . . .

I used little pins for my design, and I cut them from Silver POW paper from American Crafts.  I also added an added touch . . . some Liquid Glass to give the plastic portion of those pins a little shine.  They were all cut from different pattern papers.

I love how this card turned out.  I think I'm going back to the drawing board to create another card using the same supplies.  Wait for it!

I hope you find some time to create today!

Cheers!

Supplies Used - Welcome Little One

Stamps:  Bundle of Joy (Sugar Pea Designs)

Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Pool Party (Stampin' Up); Silver POW Glitter Paper (American Crafts); Nursery Baby Boy (DCWV)

Accessories:  Baby Diaper Pin Sugar Cuts (Sugar Pea Designs; Sparking Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh); Liquid Glass (Close To My Heart)

Muse Challenge #162 - Lucky Me

It's interesting to think about the elements of a card and how it inspires another card. 

Today I played around with the Muse Challenge - #162 to be specific.  Here is the Muse's card . . .

 

Now admittedly, my card is a bit different.  I was inspired by the flowers that were stamped and die cut with their white outline.  So I thought I would stamp my flowers with a white embossed outline, and instead popping my flowers with dimension, I would pop the entire panel. 

I used Inktense pencils to color my flowers.  I was also inspired by the script sentiment and was sure to include one of those.  

Always fun to play along.  I hope you can find some time to stamp. 

Supplies Used - Lucky Me

Cardstock:  Neenah

Stamps:  Bold Blooms from Essentials by Ellen

Dies:  Stitched Circle from Simon Says Stamp

Ink:  Versamark, Versafine, Ranger White Embossing Powder, Inktense Pencils (Derwent)

Ribbon: Stampin' Up

Other:  Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh

Three Challenges . . . Three Cards

I had the chance to get inked up today when I sat down to create a few creations for some challenges.  Here is how it all went down.

First up, I created a little something for The Card Concept.  Here is their inspiration photo . . .

And here is my card . . .

I went with my typical clean and layered card, by using some dies from Simon Says.  I did crack open the packaging on a new panel die . . . the postage die, which I love.  I will say that I used my Misti to be sure I could get a good image of that sentiment across the layers of those heart dies.  Loving that Misti. 

I decided to use my Simon Says Stamp January Card Kit for my next two cards, and the first card was created for Muse Card Challenge.  Here is the Muse card . . .

And here is my card . . .

What most inspired me on the Muse card was the layout of the card, and the way the stamped panel on their card had a horizontal design. I went with a horizontal swirl, but then filled in the panel with snowflakes.  The snowflakes were stamped using Versamark and a dye ink, and then embossed using Simon Says Stamp Rainbow Sparkle embossing powder (which was also used to stamp the "thanks" on the white card base). 

And finally my third card.  This one was created using the sketch at Freshly Made Sketch.  Here is the sketch . . .

And here is my card . . .
 

For this card, I used all supplies from the Simon Says Stamp January Card Kit.  Fun papers and winter embellishments in this kit.  I used a little of everything in the kit . . . cardstock, pattern paper, sparkly tape, stickers, epoxy stickers . . . not too shabby. 

I had some fun with that one. 

I certainly hope your weekend included some serious creating. 

Cheers! 

Hello

Stamps:  Handwritten Borders (Simon Says Stamp)

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Paper:  Marshmallow (Bazzill), Basic Black (Stampin' Up), Life Love Paper and A Creative Mint (Studio Calico), Vellum (Bazzill)

Accessories:  Surely Stitched Heart Dies and Postage Stamp Edge Frame Dies (Simon Says Stamp), Sparkling Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Flurries of Thanks

Stamps:  Cute Snowflakes (Simon Says Stamp)*

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Lagoon (Close To My Heart), Versamark

Paper:  White (Simon Says Stamp)*, Polar Pals (Doodlebug)*, and Marshmallow (Bazzill)

Accessories:  Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder (Ranger), Rainbow Sparkle (Simon Says Stamp), Bitty Sparkles (Close To My Heart)

*from Simon Says Stamp January Card Kit

Flurries of Love

Stamps:  Cute Snowflakes (Simon Says Stamp)*

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Paper:   Blue Violet Cardstock (Simon Says Stamp)*, White (Simon Says Stamp)*, Polar Pals (Doodlebug)*

Accessories:  Polar Pals Stickers (Doodlebug)*, Silver Glitter Adhesive Tape*, Lily White Glitter Sprinkle Epoxy Stickers (Doodlebug)*

*from Simon Says Stamp January Card Kit

All Things Silver for Muse Challenge

This week's Muse inspiration was a beautiful, simplistic design. 

I went with silver and white for my card.  I was inspired by that middle design. 

And while it looks like I stamped in black, it's all silver embossing.  I added some strips of POW paper to border my panel next to my scored borders. 

A very simple card using my Pretty Pink Posh stamps and dies.  

I hope you found some time to create this weekend. 

Cheers! 

Supplies Used - Pretty Pink Posh for Muse

Cardstock:  Bazzill and POW Glitter Paper from American Crafts

Stamps:  Holiday Pals Stamp Set from Pretty Pink Posh

Dies:  Mini Tags Dies from Pretty Pink Posh

Ink:  Versamark and Ranger Silver Embossing Powder

Ribbon:  DMC Silver Thread

Other:  Pretty Pink Posh Sequins

My Take on Muse Challenge #134

Well, I have to admit that this is not my typical card, but I love the result.  This is a combination of the Muse Challenge #134, whose muse inspiration is noted here . . .

And a challenge at my craft place, StampNation, to use a resist technique.  With supplies collected, I set out to work.  

One of the things you will note in my supply list . . . Stampin' Up ink.  I was setting out to use a regular dye ink to create a watercolor card.  Here is the result . . .

You'll notice that the colors are very muted, which is a great look.  Keep in mind I was using very subtle colors - Daffodil Delight and Pool Party.  I love the subtlety and the way the white embossing powder resisted the inks.  And do you see some of those watermarks from the watercolor? 

Again, not my typical style, but I love this card.

I hope you found some time to create today.

Cheers!

Supplies Used - Hello

Cardstock:  Neenah and Simon Says Stamp*

Stamps:  I See You from Simon Says Stamp*

Dies:  Brushstroke Hello from Simon Says Stamp*

Ink:  Stampin' Up, Versa Mark and Ranger White Embossing Powder

Ribbon:  DMC Silver Thread

Other:  Washi Tape (possibly from We R Memories)

*from Simon Says Stamp October Card Kit

Creative Sunday

I love a lazy, creative Sunday, and that's exactly what today was for me.

I have three cards to share today for three challenges that inspired me.

First up is this week's Muse Challenge . . . 

I was inspired by the background stamp on the left, although I went with a different color scheme (and different stamps, dies, embellishments . . . but you know what I mean).  

 
I used supplies from my new Stamp of Approval box from Catherine Pooler.  The supplies were from the "friendship" box which has already sold out.  Mine arrived last week, and I will tell you that it has been awesome fun! 

Highly recommend you get on the waiting list for the next box. 

My second card was inspired by this week's Freshly Made Sketch . . .
 

And here is my card . . .

On this card I used supplies from The Stamps of Life's Stamp and Die of the month, and I used pattern papers from the April Card Kit.  I love how this one turned out using felt for the t-shirt.  I have a few more of these in the works.  Oh the possibilities!

And then finally, for Color Throwdown, some colors that leaned a little toward fall . . .

 More Stamps of Life for this one . . . the latest Monthly Card kit (August).

I got matchy, matchy with all the chevron pattern papers.  For the "happiness" sentiment, I started with a piece of white cardstock which I inked up in black.  I then used layers of clear embossing powder.   Super thick and shiny!  Love how it turned out. 

It was a great weekend for creating.  I hope you were inspired to do something crafty.

Supplies Used - Love Ya

Cardstock:  Neenah and Bazzill

Stamps:  Curtis Background from CAS-ual Fridays*

Dies:  Love Ya Die and Friendly Flowers, both from CAS-ual Fridays*

Ink:  Hero Arts Ombre Ink

Other:  Bright White Mix Sequins from Lucy's Cards*

*from Stamp of Approval Friendship Collection

  

Supplies Used -  Awesome Sister

Cardstock and Pattern Paper from the Stamps of Life April Card Kit

Twine from The Stamps of Life September Card Kit

Stamps and Dies from The Stamps of Life (tshirt2stamp, sayings4shirts and T-shirt Dies)

Felt from The Stamps of Life, Staz-on Ink and Pretty Pink Post Sequins

Supplies Used - Happiness

Supplies for this card were from The Stamps of Life August Card Kit

Other Supplies:  Versamark, Versafine and Clear Embossing Powder; sequins from Pretty Pink Posh

Mother of the Bride for Muse Card Club

A little something for the Muse Card Club.  Here is their inspiration photo. 

And here is my card . . .

I was inspired by the colors, the pink and the gold.  But I was mostly inspired by the recessed designs in the card and decided to create one of my own.  I have a friend whose daughter just recently became engaged, and I thought I would create a little congratulatory card for the mother of the future bride. 

For that recessed area, I also created a bit of a "rim" so that my banners would look tucked in. 

Go find some time to create! 

Supplies Used - Mother of the Bride

Cardstock:  Simon Says Stamp*

Pattern Paper:  My Mind's Eye Fancy That*

Stamps:  Congratulations from Simon Says Stamp*

Ink:  Simon Says Stamp* and Ranger Archival

Other:  EK Success Circle Punches; Stickers from My Mind's Eye Fancy That*

*from Simon Says Stamp May Card Kit