Wishing you

It's July!!  Ack!  Where is this year going?  Have you gotten started on your Christmas cards yet?  Well, it's time.  And we have a new challenge from Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra to help you along.  As always, we are a month long, Anything Goes (as long as it's Christmas-related) challenge and our sponsor is the fabulous Bugaboo Stamps.  Here is the card I created using one of their adorable images:

 Isn't that angel just the sweetest?!  I colored the letters with a very subtle ombre and added some wink of stella on top.  I also added it to the wings of the angel.  You can see it a bit in the next photo:

The ribbon was a little bitty scrap from my bits and pieces pile and the button was left over from a long ago sewing project.  Together they were the perfect finishing touches.
I hope you will play along with us this month, I can't wait to see what you create.

Supplies:
Stamps: Bugaboo Stamps "Bug PLJ Angel" digi
Dies/punches: MFT "Blueprints 12" square; Fiskars "Apron border" punch

Challenges:
Christmas at Sweet Stampin'--anything goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes and I used the monthly sketch

Incy Wincy Designs--sparkle or shine
Word Art Wednesday #288 and 289--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Fussy and Fancy #190--punches and dies
Alphabet Challenge--H is for hearts (heart on the "y")
Hiding In My Craft Room #306--any holiday
Mustard Seed--Joy: what brings you joy (I used the word "joy" and I love using patterned papers and ribbon.  plus, Christmas brings me joy)
The Holly and Ivy #9--anything goes
Crafting By Designs--Christmas
Fab n' Funky #357--Christmas crackers
Crafty Gals #129--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes
Inspiration Destination #131--anything goes
Little Miss Muffet #166--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #422--add ribbon and sparkle
Cute Card Thursday #484--anything goes
Crimbo Crackers #135--sentiment
Brown Sugar Challenge #257--anything goes

What's Up

Here I am popping in with a fun, masculine birthday card.  For male cards, I find myself reaching for this smartphone die/stamp set from MFT.  It's just perfect for the tech savy among them.

Supplies:
Stamps: MFT "Friend Request" and "Typewriter" background stamp; YNS "Large Splatter"
Dies: MFT "Smartphone" and "Blueprints 12"; Lawn Fawn "Stitched Hills"

Challenges:
Unicorn Challenge #22--for the guys
Crafty Calendar--boys will be boys
Creative Craft Cottage--no patterned paper
ART Impressions #211--create a background
Time Out Challenge #86--celebrations with the optional challenge of one layer
Less Is More #334--sketch (I used the sketch but am not sure if mine counts as less is more)

Tuesday Throwdown #349--creative borders
MFT color #70--blueberry, blue yonder, cement gray and cherry crisp (I used colors as close as I could get them)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes
Cute Card Thursday #484--anything goes
Brown Sugar #257--anything goes
Cardz TV #5--anything goes

Congrats, Grad

Happy Wednesday!!  It's time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built.  And this week it's nice and easy: Anything Goes.  We've been having a downturn in our participation, so hopefully this nice, easy challenge will entice you to play along.  This past weekend there was a graduation party for a young lady in our family.  I had a lot of fun creating this card for her:

 If you have never created one of these box cards, they are really quite easy and fun!  Here is a link to the tutorial I followed.  I started with a deep purple base and then layered it with purple and gold foiled papers for some shine.  And for the numbers, I die cut them once out of black cardstock for stability and a second time out of some gold glitter paper for some sparkle!  then I went to town stamping, coloring, and fussy cutting a bunch of graduation caps so I could place them so it looks like everyone had thrown their caps up in the air.  So fun!!  Making a card like this doesn't leave much room for writing a message, but there is a place on the back, so  I decorated that up as well, and it's also where I wrote a small message.  Here's a photo of the back:

 And here is a picture of it all folded up ready to go in the envelope:

 It also shows the two patterned papers I used.  I wanted one of the caps to sit on top of one of the numbers and I wanted it to be extra special, so I actually stamped two images, cut the flat part (the board) out and adhered it to the first image with a bit of cardboard in between to give it some dimension.  But before I adhered them together, I made my own tassel out of embroidery floss for a fun touch and added it through a hole I poked in the top piece of the cap.  It added such a great touch, I think!

 For the other side, I stamped the diploma image, fussy cut it out and tied a little bow to adhere on top of the ribbon in the image.  It was perfect for using up a tiny scrap of ribbon I had on hand.

 And here's one more picture showing all those caps flying in celebration:

I got the stamps I used on this card last month knowing I was going to make a graduation card for this young lady, but I am sure they are going to get a LOT of use in the coming years as children of lots of friends are approaching graduating age.  If you NEED any of these stamps, I have a 10% off your ENTIRE order code over in my left sidebar.  Head on over to the House Blog to see what the rest of the DT has come up with for this challenge and then get inky and play along.  I can't wait to see what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Class of", "Grad's Cap and Diploma" (I actually cut them apart to make them easier to use the way I wanted), "Dreams take Flight", and "New Arrival" I masked it so I could use only the "congratulations"
Dies: PTI "By The Numbers"

Challenges:
Craft-Dee Bow Z--anything goes with handmade bow (It's tiny but the bow on the diploma was tied by hand)
Scor-pal #38--ribbon, lace, trim (ribbon on the bow and embroidery floss maybe counts as trim?)
Cards Galore--anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper
The Paper Nest Dolls #6--anything goes
Love To Craft Challenge Blog #11--anything goes
Dies R Us #75--celebrations
A Bit More Time To Craft #46--anything goes
Incy Wincy Designs--sparkle or shine
Creative Fingers--anything goes
Cardz TV #4--anything goes
Sweet Stampin--lots of layers

Summer Sightseer

Happy Friday!!  It's time for another challenge from Jo's Scrap Shack.  As always, we are now an Anything Goes challenge and our sponsor this week is The Paper Shelter.  

This week we have the addition challenge (optional, of course!) of using Aqua, Orange and Red.  Do you dare use it and play along with us?  Here is my card using one of the fabulous images from The Paper Shelter:

Isn't she gorgeous?  And so fierce with her sassy outfit and her painted red toenails (in my book, if you are going to wear sandals, you HAVE to have your toenails painted, and red is a perfect color for summer).  So, head on over to Jo's blog for the full details.  And then, get inky and play along, and while you're at it, why not challenge yourself with our optional color combo?

What do you need to do to enter?

Challenge Rules

1. Please post a direct link to your blog post that includes your challenge entry project, using the linky tool on Jo's blog. 

2. Be sure to include a link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering your project into

3. THREE entries per person are allowed for each challenge and you must post a separate blog post for each entry.

4. For all entries -NO BACK LINKS ACCEPTED- 

The date on your blog post should be dated between the start date and the end date for the challenge you are entering, in order to be eligible for the challenge prizes

5. You may link up to other challenges but be sure to link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering 

 * All entries that do not meet the challenge requirements

WILL NOT be eligible for the top 3, any sponsor wins or any random wins by Jo

All random wins will only be mailed within the US and Canada only.

You have until June 30th by 6:00PM (eastern, USA) time to link up.

All winners will be announced during the week of July 3rd.

Have fun and we look forward to seeing what you create.

Supplies:
Stamps: The Paper Shelter "Capture The Moment" digi; Fun Stamper's Journey "Little Big Sentiments" sentiment
Dies: Spellbinders "Radiant Rectangles" and "Build a Flower: Poppy" orange center on the flower; Verve "Charming Ovals"; MFT "Fancy Flourish"; Fun Stamper's Journey "Daisy Blooms"

Challenges:
Craft-Dee BowZ--anything goes with handmade bow
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper
Divas That Cut--summer fun
Dare 2B Artzy--summer
SheepSki Designs #3--girlz rule
Stinkin' Inkers--girls just want to have fun
Pixie's Crafty Workshop #285--anything goes with snippets (all my red pieces were cut from snippets as well as the flower and the orange horizontal scalloped layer--all scraps!)
Little Miss Muffet #165--anything goes
Aud Sentiments #182--tic tac toe (I used the diagonal: patterned paper, digi image, favorite color = that beautiful aqua color--actually, I used everything but embossing and stitching)
Hiding In My Craft Room #305--feminine
Di's Digi Designs--summer days
Simon Says Stamp Monday--let's take a vacation
Fab n Funky #336--feisty females with flowers
The Paper Shelter #299--ribbons & bows
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--use patterned paper
Crafty Creations #344--anything goes
Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2 #115--sketch

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes
Mod Squad--colorful creations

Summer Peaches

Happy Wednesday!  It's time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built.  This week we have a beautiful inspiration photo for you:

You can either be inspired by the scene in the picture or the color swatches on the side, or maybe both!  That gorgeous peach/coral color in the center really caught my eye, specially since I have a ribbon and card stock from PTI that match it perfectly.  I also love the grays.  So those two colors along with the cream and  little bit of the yellow orange were the inspiration for my card.

And, I thought this beautiful peaches images was perfect for the color scheme.  I stamped the image on the cream card stock and a second time on the melon berry card stock.  Then I colored just the peaches on the colored stock, cut them out and adhered them onto the image I colored on the cream stock.  I thought it would work well as I only have one orange marker, and it worked fabulously!  I hope you will get a chance to play along with us this week, there are so many ways to be inspired by our photo.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Peaches", "Hello Cling Set" hi sentiment, "Flower Cluster Outline" little flowers on the tag
Dies: Spellbinders "Labels Eight"
PTI Melon Berry card stock and grossgrain ribbon

Challenges:
Cards Galore--anything goes
Creative with Stamps #15--fruit

Fashionable Stamping #124--make it feminine (ribbons, pearls, pinks)
Creative Knockouts #198--anything goes
Aud Sentiments #182--tic tac toe (I used the diagonal: die cuts, digi or stamped image, ribbon)
Cardz TV #4--anything goes
Hiding In My Craft Room #305--feminine
Sketch Saturday #468--sketch

Blessed Man

I popping in with one more Father's Day card.  Verve is closing down their Mojo Monday challenge (after 500!!) and I really wanted to play along this time.  So, I used all Verve products (well, almost) to create this card for my dad: 

I don't have a lot of masculine papers, but while looking for some, I came across this beautiful green/blue combo (the paper on the left) and knew I had to use it.  The damask paper, might be a little girly, but I think the simple layout and the navy blue help ground it and make it more masculine.  You have to look closely, but I stamped and embossed a row of little hearts along the navy blue banner.  And since they are both from Verve, the hearts in the stamp have the same style as the hearts in the border die I used, and then I used the cut outs from the die to accent the sentiment.

Here is a picture of the inside:

I finished the top off with the same damask paper I used on the outside, and I used the same heart stamp from the outside to accent the sentiment inside, which says "In your eyes I've seen God's love.  In your words I've heard His wisdom, Through your life I've found His grace."  Such a beautiful sentiment.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps: Verve "Jeremiah 17:7" plain jane, "Borderline" heart strip, "Be Blessed" inside sentiment

Dies: Verve Border Trim Trio" heart border, "Flag It" banner; Spellbinders "A2 Matting Basics A" rectangle

Challenges:

Mojo Monday #500--sketch (I turned it on it's side to fit my sentiment better)

Unicorn Challenge #22--for the guys

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper

Crafty Calendar--boys will be boys

Dies R Us #75--celebrations (celebrating Father's Day)

Crop Stop #29--anything goes

Word Art Wednesday--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Creative Fingers #132--anything goes

Sweet Stampers #81--dies/punches

Tuesday Throwdown #347--for the men

Cuttlebug Mania--Father's Day

Crafty Creations #342--anything goes

Inspiration Destination #130--anything goes

Kraftin' Kimmi Stamps--anything goes

Aud Sentiment #182--bingo (I used the top row: patterned paper, embossing {my embossed heart border), die cut.  I also used ribbon and my favorite color: blue)

Brown Sugar #255--anything goes

A Bit More Time To Craft #46--anything goes

Cardz TV #4--anything goes

Birthday of the King

 Here it is the middle of June, so it's time for our mid-month inspiration post for Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra.  We are a month-long Anything Goes (Christmas-related) challenge, and you still have two weeks to play along with us.  Here is my card for your inspiration:

Isn't that image so sweet!!??  I didn't know where I was going with this card other than coloring the image and cutting it out with a circle die, but then I came across this intricate white die cut panel in my "bits and pieces" stash and knew I had to use it.  A bit of glittery gold card stock and a couple teardrop rhinestones and it was done.  And soooo cute!  Here is a second look, so you can see how glittery the gold paper is:

Now, it's time to head on over to the CHNCC2 blog to see what the rest of the DT has made for your inspiration.  And then, get inky and play along with us; I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Supplies:

Stamps: Whimsy Stamps "The Infant King" digi

Dies: Spellbinders "Filigree Delight" and "Standard Circles, large"; Marianne Designs snowflake

Challenges:
Sparkles #77--non-traditional colors
The Paper Nest Dolls #6--anything goes
Scrapper's Delights #67--anything goes
Sheep Ski Designs #3--girlz rule
ABC Christmas--M is for more than one (more than one snowflake and more than one animal)
Winter Wonderland--add snowflakes
Crafty Catz #374--dies & punches
Fussy & Fancy #189--pamper your pets (both donkeys and sheep can be pets--my mother-in-law has had both)
Creative Fingers #132--anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #337--non-traditional colors
Sweet Stampers #8--dies/punches
The Holly and Ivy #8--anything Christmas-related goes
Creative Inspirations #277--our furry/feathered friends
Crafting by Designs--things with wings (my angel)
Crafty Creations #127--anything goes
Inspiration Destination #130--anything goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes

Father's Day

Happy Wednesday!  It's time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built.  This week, Wendy is challenging us with a fun (and timely!) tic-tac-toe challenge:

I used the elements from the center row: Dads, CAS, and Earth Tones.  And here is my card:

It's so clean and simple, I really don't have a lot to say about it. : )  Hop on over to The House Blog for the full details and to see what the rest of the DT created for this challenge.  And then, get inky and play along with us; we love to see what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Sand dollar", "Sea Urchin (lg)" and "Father's Day"

Challenges:
Unicorn #22--for the guys
Stamplorations Theme & sketch challenge--I used the theme: "Stamps & Family"

Stamplorations CAS challenge--masculine colors

Creative Fingers #32--anything goes
YNS #66--sketch

Cardz TV #3--anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown #347--for the men

Sweet Birthday

Happy Friday!!  It's time for another challenge from Jo's Scrap Shack.  As always, we are now an Anything Goes challenge and our sponsor this week is KennyK Stamps. 

Stamp designer Elena Kiernan and illustrator hubby Kenny Kiernan bring a perfect storm of creative energy to the bold and fun digi stamps and clear stamp sets at this rockin’ shop, where it’s always 30% OFF your first purchase with code MYFIRSTPURCHASE. Their hundreds of fun-to-color designs include everything from kids’ to teenage girls with attitude, skateboard boys, steampunk, men, sports, superheroes, music…  Rock Your Crafts with KennyK Stamps!  Click to follow KennyK Stamps on Facebook and also join their awesome new Facebook Fan Group, “Club KennyK!”

I was given this fabulous image (Chef) from KennyK Stamps to work with, and here is the super fun card I created:

 To me, a chef theme always brings to mind a black and white color scheme.  And throwing red in there just makes it fabulous!  Unfortunately, I don't really have any black and white patterned papers, or red patterned paper either for that matter.  So, I set about to make my own with a text background stamp.  I think it works perfectly.  And yes, I know that this chef has a frying pan, which doesn't really go with "sweet", but maybe she's making crepes or something like that.  Yum!  To add some more fun to the card, I decided to make add a shaker element.  Here's what it looks like in action:

What do you need to do to enter?

Challenge Rules

1. Please post a direct link to your blog post that includes your challenge entry project, using the linky tool on Jo's blog. 

2. Be sure to include a link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering your project into

3. THREE entries per person are allowed for each challenge and you must post a separate blog post for each entry.

4. For all entries -NO BACK LINKS ACCEPTED- 

The date on your blog post should be dated between the start date & the end date for the challenge you are entering, in order to be eligible for the challenge prizes

5. You may link up to other challenges but be sure to link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering 

 * All entries that do not meet the challenge requirements

WILL NOT be eligible for the top 3, any sponsor wins or any random wins by Jo

All random wins will only be mailed within the US and Canada only.

You have until June 15th by 6:00PM (eastern, USA) time to link up.

All winners will be announced during the week of June 20th.

Have fun and we look forward to seeing what you create.

Supplies:

Stamps: KennyK Stamps "Chef" digi; MFT "Typewriter" background; YNS "Phoebe with Wagon" sentiment

Dies: Spellbinders "Labels One" and "Standard Circles, large"; Verve "Pennant Trim"; PTI "Sparkle and Shine: Sequins" for the black sequins in the shaker element

Challenges:

C.R.A.F.T. #481--Inspired by a Film (mine is Ratatouille--the cartoon)

Mod Squad--spark it up (I used sequins and rhinestones)

Crafty Creations #345--anything goes

Word Art Wednesday--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Sugar Pea Designs #32--inspiration photo (the colors in the photo)

Crafting By Designs--black and white plus one color

Incy Wincy Designs--anything goes

Aurora Wings #51--celebration (birthday)

Come And Get It Challenge--anything goes

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps #384--Die-in' for Die cuts (and I used their sketch)

Stinkin' Inkers--girls just want to have fun

Sheepski Designs #3--girls rule

Crop Stop #28--anything goes

Love To Craft Challenge #11--anything goes

Scrapper's Delights #67--anything goes

Crafting with an Attitude #28--anything goes

Cards Galore--anything goes

Inspiration Destination #120--anything goes with the optional twist: shaker card

Little Miss Muffet #164--anything goes

The Big 60

My Father-in-law turned 60 today.  This is the card I created for him:

 I wanted it to be more than just a plain card, so I followed this tutorial to create a 'magic slider card'.

Fun, right?!

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Hot Air Balloon Cluster" (I cut mine apart so I could stamp the balloons separately) and "Clouds" ; PTI "Big Birthday Wishes" sentiments
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Ovals, large" and banner; MFT "Blueprints 13" small banner; PTI "by the Numbers border die"

Challenges:
Crafty Creations #343--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--make it masculine
Fab N Funky #334--marvelous men
Shopping Our Stash #306--Dude
Atlantic Hearts Sketch #215--sketch

Incy Wincy Designs--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday--masculine
Come And Get It Challenge--anything goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps #384--die-in' for die cuts
Di's Digi Designs--birthdays
Sweet Stampin'--for dads or special men
Cut It Up #123--summer school; follow a tutorial
A Bit More Time To Craft #45--anything goes
CAS-ual Fridays #145--use those patterned papers
Crafty Catz #373--summertime (hot air balloons are a summertime pastime around here)
Brown Sugar #253--celebrations
Crop Stop Challenge #28--anything goes
Dies R Us #24--masculine
Crafty Calendar--boys will be boys
Dare 2B Artzy--summer
Love To Craft #11--anything goes
Divas That Cut--summer fun
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper
Pattie's Creations #134--for the boys
Aud Sentiment #181--summer

Simple Birthday

Here it is the first Wednesday in June!!  It's time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built.  This week is a Designer's Choice Challenge, and Donna has chosen "Washi Tape".

Now, I have only 2 rolls of washi tape.  One was part of a prize package I won and the second roll is one I bought mostly for taping and holding dies in place.  So, you can see that this one is a bit of a challenge for me!  Luckily, I really do like the pattern and color on the roll I bought and thought it would be fun to try stamping a sentiment on it.  Here's how it turned out:

I didn't have any patterned papers with the same color, but I thought it went well with the bright colors and the patterns of these scraps I have.  I used the smallest square die from the Flip Fancy Die Set to die cut the squares.  Some of the scraps were just barely the right size!  Then I went to work stamping the sentiment.  I masked and selectively stamped the sentiment to get the words side by side instead of top and bottom as they actually are on the stamp.  I stamped the first part of the sentiment with a no-name ink and it immediately beaded up and I remembered that washi tape is kind of slippery surface and so figured I should try Stazon ink.  I stamped, and stamped, and stamped, and . . . and the Stazon just would not stamp the entire word.  Getting slightly frustrated, I decided to try it with some SU! basic black ink and it worked perfectly!  All that wasted time!  But anyway, my idea did finally work and I think the sentiment on the washi is a fun touch.
  Head on over to The House blog to see what the rest of the Design Team did for this challenge; there are some amazing cards for your inspiration!  I hope you get a chance to play along with us, I'd love some more inspiration on what to do with washi tape; maybe it would even convince me to buy some more. : )

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Birthday", "Daisy outline, small" and "Daisy Solid, small"
Dies: Repeat Impressions "Flip Fancy Die Set"; MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle

Challenges:
{Pin}spirational Challenge #192--inspiration photo (I was inspired by the pink flowers)

Incy Wincy Designs--anything goes
Come And Get It--anything goes
Crazy 4 Challenges #388--repeat at least 3 times (I used the same square die 3 times)
Crafting By Designs--anything goes
CAS(E) This Sketch #224

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper
Crafting with an Attitude #28--anything goes
Brown Sugar #253--celebrations
CAS-ual #175--use those patterned papers
A Bit More Time to Craft #45--anything goes
Cardz TV #3--anything goes
Di's Digi Designs--birthdays

Relax

Wow!  Welcome to June!!  I can't believe it's here already!  Since it is the start of a new month, it is also the start of a new challenge on the Love To Scrap Challenge blog.  This month the challenge is "Boyz Rule!" We have three awesome sponsors:

Oddball Art Co.

DRS Designs

Bugaboo Digi Stamps

I used this adorable image from Bugaboo Stamps:

Since Father's Day is coming up this will probably end up being a Father's Day card, but I do have a birthday or two this month that will need a card, too.  We'll see.  I hope you will get a chance to play along with us this month; I love seeing what you create!  Hop on over to the LTSCB for some inspiration from the rest of the team.

Supplies:

Stamps: Bugaboo Stamps "Relax Guy" digi; Raisin Boat "It's a Guy Thing" sentiments

Dies: Spellbinders "Standard Ovals, large"

Challenges:

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Penny's Challenge #331--anything goes

The Paper Shelter #296--make it digital (digital image)

Crafting By Designs--anything goes

Die Cuttin' Divas #319--anything goes

A Gem of A Challenge #195--for the boys/men (any male image)

Sweet Stampin'--use up your stash (the ribbon was salvaged off a a little box I made 10 years ago and didn't end up using; it's been in my bits and pieces stash for a couple years now.  And the mulberry paper, I've had for years and years)

Sketch Saturday #465--sketch

Open Minded Challenge #17--Mighty Men in May