Christmas Post Box for Kerst Christmas

Here is the cute Christmas Post Box all set for Christmas in all it's spendor. 

Lately (probably an age thing), I've been getting the theme's of my design projects confused.  May's Kerst Christmas them was to use stitching (real or faux).  June's theme is ribbon or lace.  So what did I do today?  Create a card with May's image with June's theme!  But I think my digital lace looks pretty much stitched on....so I think I'm good...not to mention, Anything Goes is always an option.  LOL!  I had a fun time with this card.  I love this poinsettia die, yet seldom remember to pull it out.  Glad I remembered today!  You can see the Christmas Post Box at Sheepski's Etsy Shop.

Make it Royal Challenge

It's Day 1 of the Paper Ala Mode Challenge.  The inspiration is mind boggling!  I made this fun little card with papers and gems from my stash.   I knew Make It Royal was coming up, but had a difficult time coming up with an idea using the images we were provided.  I was inspired with some suggestions from my Wednesday's craft group....thank you, Ladies!  

To provide that royal look, I added the gems and gold ribbon.  Isn't it cute?  Be sure to visit Paper Ala Mode and see all the fab inspiration.

A Freebie Progressive Challenge (Gingerbread Treat)

It's July!!!! That means it's time for another Progressive Freebie at The Outlawz where we color a freebie image for all our fans to view. The current challenge is using Gingerbread Treat from Twinkle Lane Designs. I decided to pull out all the colors for my card this month. 

The Freebie Progressive Challenge provides an excellent opportunity for practicing your coloring skills.  I'm pretty pleased with how mine came out.  The added JOY embellishment is an embellishment I was gifted years ago - finally found a good place for it.

Now why not pop by The Outlawz and check out the beautiful cards from the design team...there will also be some adorable cards from the participants.  I'm sure you won't want to miss this!

Creative Confetti Challenge

I've been dying to use my new Power Poppy images that I snagged during the sale - today I'm using this sweet Auricula Theatre from Power Poppy. For my background, I decided on digital paper from We Are 3's Ladybug Birdie collection (retired.) I kept thinking flowers and Spring and ladybugs - which make me happy (Creative Confetti Challenge.) It all came together perfectly.

Power Poppy is having a massive sale right now - with stamps for every occasion. So be sure to check out their store, and if you pop over to their blog, you will find fun challenges and much inspiration.

Progressive Freebie - March Challenge - Giant Mushroom

Well, here's a sweet digi. This month at The Outlawz, the Progressive Freebie is Giant Mushroom from Sheepski Designs. I was excited to color this one, as it's different than anything I've colored before. 

I kept the card simple, using just an embossing folder for the background, embellishing with some pearls.  I was thrilled with my coloring.  I got help with his beard from Marker Geek.  The beads are from a box of beads I just bought on Amazon - like 8,000 beads for $8.  7,000 of those beads are tiny, tiny, tiny....so gluing them on to the card has a definite learning curve!  LOL!  I love the way they look....and they are adhering well when I run my fingers over them....not so sure they would hold up in the mail, though.

Be sure to stop by The Outlawz to see the fabulously creative cards participants have made with this image - we'd love it if you'd play along.

The Power Poppy Creative Confetti Challenge

Well, the holidays are here - and we're keeping a low profile this year. The hubs is all nestled in bed, and other than taking gifts from their hiding places, I have nothing to do. So here is a simple, generic card - a break from Christmas designs.

So I used this pretty image from Power Poppy (Big Ol Bow).  I used paper from Sizzix.  The sentiment is from SVG Cuts.  I just realized the sentiment is an svg - and I inserted it into a Word document....I did not know Word could read svg files - that explains why formatting tools were totally different.

The card is a bit simple, but I'm pleased with the bow I colored.  This is for the current Creative Confetti Challenge - Free for All.  If you haven't already, be sure to stop by Power Poppy for inspiration for the other entrants.  There is a fabulous prize of a $25 gift code from Power Poppy for one lucky participant.  If you are celebrating these holidays, have a safe and fabulous Christmas.

Creative Confetti Challenge at Power Poppy

I just love Power Poppy's Creative Confetti Challenges because the the possibilities are endless. Click HERE for the current challenge...Say It With Sepia.  I've been wanting to try coloring in Sepia for quite some time, so took full advantage of this challenge.  I just had to add a touch of spotlight color in my butterfly, though.  For my image, I used Pure Prairie Bouquet from Power Poppy.

Cactus and Cactus Flower from We Are 3

Happy Birthday to me! Bonnie at We Are 3 surprised me with my own fabulous new digital stamps - available in the shop now! She created Camille's Cactus and Camille's Cactus Flower for me.  Since we had the most glorious Saguaro Cactus flowers this year, I decided to extend their season with this card. The background here is Nature Blends.

I'm really pleased with how this card came out and can't wait to color some more of these adorable cacti!

After posting this card to the challenge, I realized I posted it to last week's challenge!  So here is another version for this week's Featured Stamper challenge - this time using Color Burst for my background - so fun!!!!

   

Paper Ala Mode's Fruits and Vegetables

Are you getting enough fruits and vegetables? Well, it's easy to do so this week because the challenge theme at Paper Ala Mode is Fruits and Vegetables! I have been making decorated gift bags - so I was inspired to add this Silly Chili Pepper from our sponsor Oddball Art to the top of my bag.

I reversed the image a couple times to get a string of peppers we always see on the side of the road.  I love the way it turned out.

Valentine Derek

The Outlawz has a new Progressive Freebie! Doesn't Valentine Derek from Dr. Digi just melt your heart?

Moon Desert

This unique paper pattern is from one of the fabulous May releases at We Are 3 - Moon Desert. I really love that Bonnie took one of my vacation photos and edited it to make a unique digital paper. The cactus is a freebie from Love SVG...I added a flower sticker from my stash for just a little color.

Snow Friends

My card today at We Are 3 is all about the new collection Moon Desert - or is it? Living in Arizona, I was excited about a desert-themed collection. Yet when I looked at this paper, I couldn't get visions of Michigan cold, dreary winter days out of my head. LOL! So I built some snowmen and added a holiday sentiment. All in all, I'm pleased with the final results, even though my snowmen don't look all that happy. LOL!

Now hurry on over to We Are 3's Facebook Page to see great inspiration from the other Design Team members.

Pineapple Bouquet - We Are 3

Pineapple Bouquet is probably one of my favorite digital images - but before now, I haven't taken the time to color it. You can find the image at We Are 3.

My incentive for coloring this image today is the current Creative Confetti Challenge at Power Poppy - to use a fruity image. I had to make a digital card, as my printer is out of commission - hopefully the part will be in this weekend....and praying even more that I'll be able to figure out how to exchange parts! I'm having withdrawal symptoms here without a printer and the ability to make cards. I need a card for my neighbor's birthday and ended up sending the image to Walmart for printing. Will be interesting to see how that turns out!

Power Poppy Creative Confetti Challenge - Half and Half

What a fun challenge this week at Power Poppy! Julie chose to make a card with contrasting colors - thus a split card front was our challenge. Of course, as I read the post, I picked up on certain words and didn't process the rest. So yes, my card is a contrast of two colors - but I chose a lattice pattern rather than split my card in half. Maybe it's old age speaking - but it sure seems I've been making up my own rules lately!  Technically my card is half and half - half purple and half white.  Entering my card anyways, though - as I am very proud of my pansies that took me nearly all day to color!

The flowers are from the Pansies digital set.  These just could be my new faves.  The background is Lattice 46 from Monica's Creative Room.  I added the contrasting border embossed with Swiss Dots.  I offset the flowers and colored two sets (different sizes) to make my bouquet a bit larger to balance my design.

Kit and Clowder Butterfly Technique Class

Here's some practice with a butterfly from the Butterfly Technique Class.  This is my attempt using some lighter colors for the butterfly.  The sentiment and flowers are stickers from my stash.

Positive Thoughts from We Are 3

Today I have a simple - yet thoughtful - card for someone who might benefit from encouraging words.  I just layered a patterned paper from We Are 3's new Pastel Angels.  I layered coordinating colors, then added a flowers and a sentiment from the new Positive Thoughts collection.

                   

Bittersweet Wreath by Power Poppy

Today I've been playing along with Power Poppy's awesome challenge to use a darker base.  I used Bittersweet Wreath for this fun challenge.

I like challenges like this a lot!  It's so easy to get into the same cardmaking rut, so challenges like Power Poppy's new Creative Confetti remind us to think out of the box.  I used a gold foil pattern for my dark base and used lighter, brighter colors for the wreath.  Coloring this wreath is interesting - generally not large enough to shadow much - you pretty much just see berries and leaves - but I love the results.

Don’t forget to participate in the challenge, you will find all of the details here.  You could win a generous gift card for Power Poppy goodies - in fact, this is one of the new images I won last week!

Making Paper with Digital Stamps

I had so much fun today making my own paper design using digital stamps, inspired by Elizabeth's Inspire Me Monday technique over at Power Poppy - Making Japanese Paper-Inspired Designs with Digital Stamps. For my paper, I began with a patterned paper from We Are 3's Textures collection. I then downloaded a Lattice 40 from Monica's Creative Room and used it as a digital stencil. Using the stencil in Gimp, I "spraypainted" a gradient design over the textures paper. I topped this off with digital flowers - Black-Eyed Susan from Power Poppy. Is that paper not gorgeous?!?!?!? Here is a purse giftbag I made using the paper. A pic of the paper alone is shown below - I just love it!!!!  

The purse file is an exclusive file made for Sizzix Eclips Users Group by Trina Struckman.  There is a "wallet" to go along that carries gift cards - hope to make that tomorrow.

My final entry for the Power Poppy Power & Spark Challenge - Go Ahead, Inspire Me. I had so much fun with this challenge this month!!!! Thanks, Power Poppy Brigade, for pushing me to spend time on those posts you all work so hard to post for us.

With Sympathy - Paper Ala Mode

I'm pleased to share with you a card I made with Birds Playing in Birdbath (Angie's Digital Stamps).  I chose this for a sympathy card because the image of bird bath sent by coworkers when my mother died is always with me.  It was such a unique and thoughtful gift - and have since given bird baths to others.  Be sure to join us at the Paper Ala Mode challenge and share your sympathy card with us.

Boo!!!

Just a quick Halloween card.