Wearin' o' the green!

My CAS card for St. Patrick's Day!

The real luck was in finding this adorable stamp in the Dollar bin at Michael's! 

Same with the pretty glittered ribbon!  SCORE!

I have to admit that I'm still not sure about the whole "stache" movement, but seems appropriate in this case!

Entered in the challenges at:
Simon Says Stamp (Green)
Sassy Cheryl (Green)

Birthdays are like purses...

This week, the challenge at Skipping Stones offered the perfect sketch opportunity!

I think you'll agree that this graphic layout is perfect for this stamp and sentiment!

So very classic!

I had so much fun making this card!

And, as always, my purse and belt are my favorite colors!  Black and RED!

I added the silver accents to put it over the top!

I own a gorgeous bright red purse, but rarely have the nerve to use it.

I guess I have a RED girl on the inside, struggling to get out!

Speaking of the inside:

Enjoy your day!

This card is also entered into the challenge at:

Totally PaperCrafts ( Show a favorite, Favorite Colors- Red & Black!))

Runway Inspired Challenge (reds and black!)

Little Frieda

I absolutely love this little Craft's Meow gal!  

She is so easy to paper-piece and has so much personality!

(I used DCWV's "Tradewinds" matstack)

To enter this week's sketch challenge, I have her vacationing on yet another beach...

My favorite part of this card?

Her little toes in the "sandy beach" with those adorable tiny shells!

I had to dig into my vacation goodies to find these shells from Rocky Point, Mexico!
I had them in a little jar under my bathroom sink! (Go figure!)

Thanks for joining me today!

Can you tell I'm ready for those Summer trips to the West coast?

Check out the challenge at Craft's Meow !

Also, this card has been entered the challenge at Clear It Out (the seashells)

DYSU Challenge #62- Go Green!

This week we have three sponsors:

Winner's Choice of 4 Images

Winner's Choice of 10 Digis

Winner's Choice of 5 Digis

Here's my card:

To say it's not my favorite is an under-statement! I colored the image twice, and still felt like the brights were too "in your face".  I know, it's for Easter, but I should have stuck to light pastels. But, I felt those wouldn't show up in a picture very well.

I even washed over the entire image with my Copics W3 to tone it down a bit.

I DO love the Stamping Boutique image!

I split the image in Photoshop so that I could layer the fairy OVER the basket, therefore giving the illusion of her dropping the egg into it!

I think I may have over-thunk this one! LOL!

This image was terrific practice coloring the basket!

Inside reads:

Well, get onto the rest of the Design Team!  I know they have some fantastic projects to show you!  And enter to win with your own card creation!

Go Green!

Another Flashback Friday!

    This flashback takes us all back to our first PAPER-PIECED project!

I don't know for sure if it's my very first, but it's the first I posted on my blog!

I made this card for a high school friend who I hadn't seen in ages!

Need I say more?

2009

I think we really wore those pants back in the day (circa 1973)

My Copic skills have improved somewhat since then...

Entered in:

Flashback Friday Challenge



Flourish Timeless Tuesday

I made this card today for the challenge at Flourishes. 

I love their photo inspirations!

I was so thrilled that this image came out as well as it did! You see,  #1- I'm just a beginner with the Copics markers. #2- I broke every rule in the book by coloring on basic cardstock paper!  While experimenting, I noticed that the ink actually blends rather well on this highly porous tan paper! Agreed, you have to work pretty fast, but I like the way the greens and yellows meld together.

I used a heat embossed chicken wire stamp for the background and added bits of doily here and there.  The twine holds a "key" from Tim Holtz' collection.

I know you hear it all the time, but the background cardstock is EXACTLY the same shade of GREEN as the leaves on the pears!

What DOES my camera do with the colors?  I even photographed it in natural light.

Thanks for looking at  my project today!



Bo Bunny - It's not just pretty papers!

This challenge from Bo Bunny asks that we use Bo Bunny stamps on our project! 

I love their stamps!
 

They are high-quality and make a clear, crisp stamped image every time.

I stamped the pocket watch onto my Bo Bunny paper and then heat embossed with Stampendous Vintage Mahogany Embossing glitter and fussy cut. 

I followed by embossing the scroll from the same stamp set, applying it to the upper right hand corner of the sentiment die cut.
These papers and stamps have such a rich, vintage look to them.

I am thinking this will make a wonderful, and unique, Father's Day card!

Close-up of the pocket watch stamp!

I colored the leaves surrounding the watch with just a touch of Copics to allow it to stand out, and positioned a tiny Bo Bunny Brad in the center.

 Bo Bunny products used:

Timepiece Clear Stamps
Timepiece Brads
Bella Journee Eire Collection Papers and Die Cuts

This card was designed for the Bo Bunny Tuesday Card Challenge

Cards for Boys!

Card Cupid

is having a challenge on their blog this month to make and send in birthday cards for boys!

I had been putting together some CAS card to send in to Stephanie at Card Cupids,

so I merely left off any specific sentiment and, in that way, making possible for a parentor guardian to fill in the greeting whether it be

 "Happy Birthday", "Good Going", "Hang in there" or maybe just "Thinking of you"!

I packed up 9 of these such cards with envelopes and they'll go in the mail tomorrow.

I made it simple by using pre-printed images from K & Co, "A to Z" collection, along with matching papers which I had just won online!  I also used paper-punched buttons rather than real ones to make shipping cheaper and easier!

For those of you who are not familiar with this cause, the Card Cupid blog is dedicated to helping homeless kids in the Washington DC area.  So many of us have cards we make for other challenges or we simply love to make cards.  With these, you can give a child have a little brighter day!

Please check out their blog, and possibly even win a prize by entering your own creations! Make sure you send in at least one card for the cause! That's what makes it all possible!  They also take donations of all sorts; sporting goods, coloring books and crayons, etc.   Take a look! 

 Thanks, I know all of you have huge, giving hearts and would love to do something good for someone everyday!

((hugs))

DYSU Challenge #61 - Wings

For this week we have two great sponsors:

Winner's Choice of 6 Digital Images



6 copic ciao marker (North/South America)

Martha Stewart punch (rest of the world)

I couldn't resist using one of my favorite stamps
for this challenge! 

"Butterfly Kisses" from Craft's Meow

and of course, more of the gorgeous Fran*tage flakes and glitter from Stampendous!

Inside:

IRL, the stamped butterflies match the blue bird's egg flakes...
go figure....

You...absolutely SHINE!

Another card made with the Stampendous Fran*tage Embossing Glitters and Chunky Powders!

I stamped the chandelier image and embossed it with fine black embossing powder.

I added the Chunky Shabby Black Embossing powder along with some gold and silver crushed glass glitters mixed in to the corners of my image.  I found that if you hold the heat on the black embossing powder from the underside, it begins to soak into the cardstock and looks more like ink spots!  I like it!
After preparing my image, I distressed the backgound paper and the image, then attached the backgound to the black card base. 
I scrunched (is that a word?) some black tulle and place one piece behind the upper right-hand corner of the image.  I then glued the image down to the card. To balance out the card, I scrunched (there's that word again) more black tulle, and placed it in the lower left-hand corner, finishing it off with a large rhinestone. 
The fun part was carefully applying all those little pink pearl and rhinestone accents to the chandelier.   The flames are just a small touch of gold Stickles. 
To give my card a sentiment, I stamped YOU in black ink twice, glittering the first with Aged Rose, and used it as a shadow effect for the second.  This was cut from the "Thank You" sentiment in the Stampendous Happy Messages stamp set.  I only recently got brave enough to cut up my acrylic sentiment stamps...still makes me a bit nervous!

The inside reads, "absolutely SHINE!"

This next photo better shows the sparkle and glitter of the card!

Well, my goal today was to get my scrap room organized,

so I had better get back to work.

I need a poster that reads,

"I'd rather be Frantaging!"

Have  a great weekend!

The Alley Way's Blog Hop and New Release!

Today it is not about me and my creations.

It is all about Alison and her fabulous new stamps! 

 (Click on link below)

If you haven't checked it out yet, you absolutely HAVE to go to

The Alley Way

 and see what she has just released!

http://www.thealleywaystamps.blogspot.com/

There are NOT 3, NOT 5, BUT 10 count them 10 new sets from The Alley Way Stamps that you can buy on March 1st in her shop.  BUT WAIT!! That's not all.. on MARCH 1st they have ANOTHER HUGE Surprise for you :) Don't you just love surprises..? You want to go back each week day, for the next 4 days to see more creations from the TAWS DT.. you won't want to miss this..

So many ways to win some very cool stamps!

I know I am totally in love with these darling little images!

Can't wait to see what her TAWS DT creates!

So, go now!

The Alley Way Stamps Blog

and tell Alison I said hi!

Tea Time!

Being the tea lover that I am, nothing makes me happier than making a card with a "tea" theme! Everything we see out there has coffee, java, latte, etc., but it's rare that you find a  great tea stamp or die!  I finally purchased the Spellbinder "Nested Tea Cups" die, and couldn't wait to use it!

The challenge inspiration photo at The Shabby Tea Room this week made me squeal!

"High Tea"

I only recently discovered this blog, and I have to tell ya,

it's perfect for those of us who prefer our tea!

So, after getting my inspiration from this and sitting down with a nice hot cuppa chai tea,

I made this little card.

The second requirement was to use a doily....
well, don't we always? 
LOL!

The little swirl of steam holding the sentiment is a coated wire paper clip.

Thanks for looking. Please leave a comment!

Off for my evening cup of hot tea and a long warm bubble bath...

Glittered "Buttons"

The "Make It Monday" Challenge at Papertrey Ink's blog this week demonstrates the technique of glittering our buttons, both real and die cut.

I love using my Buttons Boutique Dies and card stamp, so this was no chore.

Here is my card. I'll let you judge for yourself how you feel about adding the glitter...

I am out of spray adhesive, so I had to brush on the ol' white liquid glue. I don't know if that's why I didn't get such a great coverage with the glitter, but I had intentionally wanted to maintain the color and pattern of my buttons

(both the real one and those I had punched out of the pattern papers)

The technique was intersting, but not sure how often I will use it. 

I guess I'm more of a purest when it comes to my button embellishments!

No matter, I still dearly love the Button Boutique button card die and stamps and will be happy to send this pretty little card to a friend!

Check out this challenge and all of the "Make It Monday" tips and techniques!

DYSU Challenge #60- Distress It!*

Winner's Choice of 7 Digital Images

£10 voucher

Winner's Choice of 5 Digital Images

Also, all participants will receive a Digi Darla code for a free stamp set just for participating in the challenge this week!

I was fortunate enough to recieve this wonderfully hilarious image from Bugaboo Stamps!

Aren't they adorable?

The big craze is interactive cards, so I made mine in an old-school interactive fashion...

But I couldn't bring myself to use the second phrase that comes with the image...

(and wives need mute buttons)

This card will go to a friend when they most need a pick-me-up. 

I just have to sit back and wait, and some hubby/boyfriend will mess up and I'll send this to make the wife/girlfriend feel much better!  :)

Inside of card:

See? Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face!

Another close-up of the front flap....

Have a good day, and check out the rest of the
Do You Stack Up
Design Team's projects!
Make your own card and win some great digi's!

This card is also entered in the challenges at:
The Sisterhood of Crafters (Digital image)
Creative Card Crew (Masculine)
Sassy Cheryl's Digi Stamps (No Embossing)