Home Sweet Home

My last card before another relaxing beach weekend...can't wait!  This card is for the following challenges:

Tuesday Morning Sketches #311

Shopping Our Stash #212 - Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend (bling)

I guess you can tell where my mind was at with this one :-)

I used Prima's Seashore paper pad for the background layer and banners on a kraft card base.  The dreamy sand castle (Inkadinkado) was stamped in Stazon ink and watercolored with Distress Markers. There are twinkling diamonds in the sky and tiny pearls on the beach.  The seashell on the sentiment (Fiskars) tag was covered with Glossy Accents and sprinkled with microfine glitter for added bling.  I want to live there!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

The Paper Players #255: Sketch Challenge

Whew...it's going to be 95 degrees today so why not a little Christmas card to cool off?  I used The Paper Players #255 Sandy's Sketch Challenge which was a great chance to play with tags.  I love them but hardly ever add them to a card!

I used washi tape down the left side and a Cuttlebug embossing folder on the red cardstock layer.  Instead of one tag, I went with 3 small ones using DSP from Recollections 6x6 pad called City Sidewalks.  The image is from Doodle Pantry's "Nutcracker" set.  I used an enamel button to tie the 3 tags together with May Arts red/green/white twine and layered it over a felt doily.  I finished it off with a chipboard tag from MME and I'm happy with how the little tag "cluster" came out!  That makes a total of two Christmas cards done in July with many more to go :-)

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a terrific weekend!

Hog Wild for You!

Hi All!  Just a quick and easy card today before it gets too warm in the Girl Cave!  I used the last OWH sketch (#259) for inspiration and would also like to enter this card in The Male Room Challenge #15 to use Spots and Stripes.

The Sketch:

The Theme:

The Card:

 

 

Of course I had to do the card in Harley colors!  It's a one layer card that I rarely attempt to do.  I stamped the bottom striped border (My Favorite Things) and sentiment (The Stamps of Life) in VersaFine Onyx Black Ink and then used Bokeh spot stamps in Colorbox Tangerine Ink (first & second generation stamping) from My Favorite Things.  The bike is an old stamp from Viva Las Vegastamps, also stamped in VersaFine Onyx Black.  The card base is Neenah Solar White cardstock.  Now...I think this is where I tell you that this is the third attempt - whew!

 

It's a great day for a ride ~ going to grab the pink flame helmet now!  Thanks for stopping by :-)  

CAS(E) This Sketch #133

Hi All,

This card was put together for CAS(E) This Sketch #133:

I really liked this sketch and wanted to try a couple of new products (new to me, that is :)  I'd also like to enter this card in the Operation Write Home Mid-Month Throwdown which is to create a Love card without hearts.  It was h-a-r-d to do but not a heart anywhere!  This is also the last card to go into the OWH box which makes it a bittersweet project. 

 

 

The card was masked off with painters tape.  Note to self...do not buy the cheapest painters tape!  The middle section was sponged with Evergreen Bough Distress Ink.  When I pulled up the tape...eek, it tore the paper a bit.  So...I sponged two borders with Delicata Gold Ink and heat embossed.  Covered that little rip right up!  The leaf is stamped in Stazon Chai Tea, as is the die cut and sentiment.  The "You" die cut was inked up and heat embossed three times for a real enamel look.  Lastly, I used this gold colored texture spray by Imagine Crafts to drop gold splatters.  The cool thing is they look like enamel dots.  Gotta love those sale bin items!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I did want to end with a little note about card donations.  With OWH closing August 1st, I made contact with a local Assisted Living Facility.  Come to find out they would LOVE to have handmade cards for their residents' use.  Most are on a very limited budget and cannot afford greeting cards.  They are of the letter-writing generation and are very excited to soon be receiving donated cards to send off to loved ones.  I'm happy and they're happy!  Have a great weekend!

TMS #310 - Hap-bee Birthday!

I have a few cards to post today since we've had some pretty gray weather :-)

The first card is for Tuesday Morning Sketches #310:

The blog post said it was a great jumping off point...I think I jumped way to the left!  I put it together from memory and obviously shifted a few things:

It all started with a room full of bees.  I had all these little bees floating around from another project!  I used the vase and flowers image from Doodle Pantry's Jargon Bundle - one of my faves.  I hope this isn't too far off the mark to qualify but if it is, I had fun making it anyway!  That's what it's all about, right?

Thanks for stopping by ~ I hope you have a hap-bee weekend!

Hey Beach Booty!

Hello!  My card today is for a couple of my favorite challenges:

Shopping Our Stash #211 - Don't Get Stressed, Get De-Stressed (make something showing how you relax!)
The Paper Players #254 - Laurie's CAS Challenge (frames)

My favorite way to relax is being at the beach, a good lounge chair, a great book, and maybe some swimming.  I did watch "Shark Week" on the Discovery channel recently so that's why I say "maybe" to the swimming...LOL!

This bathing beauty was stamped, colored with Copics, fussy cut and popped up over a wave stenciled background.  Her life ring frame is a stitched circle die cut, masked off, colored with Copics, and twine added.  I added Wink of Stella to her earrings and Glossy Accents on her goggles.  The booty (on a Wobble) is on the inside of the card:

This card makes me smile!  Here's the stuff I used:

Cardstock:  Papertrey White Cardstock
Stamps:  Art Impressions "Beach Booty Set" and A Muse Art Stamps (inside sentiment)
Stencil:  Simon Says Stamp Wave Stencil
Dies:  My Favorite Things Stitched Circle Frames
Other:  Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, Copics, Wink of Stella, Glossy Accents, The Twinery Red/White Twine, Wobble for booty :-)

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you're having a great week!

Cards in Envy: Christmas in July!

Happy Monday!  It's 80 degrees here and Christmas in July over at Cards in Envy!  Make a Christmas-themed A2 card that will fit in an envy for mailing and cool off at the same time!  I love to make Christmas cards so this was a nice tease to get ready for the holidays.

The card base is DCWV Red Pearl and the white die cut (Memory Box) is DCWV White Pearl.  I die cut the Stamps of Life Christmas tree twice - once in DCWV Green Glitter and again in Red Pearl.  The red ornaments were inlaid and coated with Glossy Accents.  The red/green twine is from May Arts.  A very simple, flat card that really shimmers although the pic doesn't really show the sparkle.

I hope you'll join us over at CIE and show us your Christmas Spirit!  Thanks for visiting...Ho Ho Ho!

Thanks a Melon!

It's definitely a summer day here!  I put together this card this morning when it was much cooler in my craft room for a few challenges:

Live Love Cards:  Masking Challenge
July ODBD Challenge for OWH:  Thank You
The Stamps of Life:  July Gallery Entry

I used the July stamp of the month set from The Stamps of Life, masking the center watermelon slice to add a juicy slice on each side.  The slices are colored with Copics and the seeds are very shiny covered with Glossy Accents.  Very simple CAS card today before it heats up!

The stamp set came with this cute border stamp which I added to the inside of the card, also colored with Copics:

Can you tell I finally got a MISTI??  I think I'm in love!  Thanks for stopping by!

CSSC #6

Hi All!  When I went on vacation, I took a few crafting supplies but limited myself to one small tote and you know how hard that is!  I took two stamps, distress inks, watercolor paper, aqua brush, and a handful of scraps.

I worked on this card for the Crooked Stamper Sketch Challenge #6 and the SOS challenge using gingham.  The gingham challenge closed by the time I got home but thank goodness CSSC is still open!

 

 

The pen & ink dahlia stamp (Impress) was inked up with Mustard Seed Distress Ink and stamped on watercolor paper.  I used an aqua brush to move the color around a bit and added a brown center in Walnut Stain.  I fussy cut the bottom half of the flower and used yellow gingham DSP for the bottom half.  I should fess up...there was a big splat on the bottom of the watercolor paper so fussy cutting seemed appropriate!  The sentiment is from the Stamps of Life and a strip of washi tape was added to the left side. 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!   





TMS #309 - Sheltering Lights

I can't believe it's been 10 days since I posted a card!  Not complaining too much though...have had some wonderful weather and a terrific vacation :-)

Since I had to warm up my mojo again, I started with Tuesday Morning Sketches #309:

And since my vacation was on the coast, I thought this lighthouse from Doodle Pantry's "Sheltering Lights" set was perfect for my mood.  The card was masked off and inked in Memento
Tuxedo Black using MFT's large stripes background stamp.  I added a little faux stitching on the edges with a Signo white gel pen.  The banner is from Sizzix Banner Triplets set in black and white.  The sentiment is from the same Doodle Pantry set and the starfish, black rhinestones, and gold thread are from my stash.

Hope y'all are having a great summer - thanks for stopping by!  You can check out Doodle Pantry's big Summer Sale here --- 30% off!

Cards In Envy: Just Beachy

What a gorgeous summer we've had so far!  I've been fortunate to spend quite a bit of time at the beach so Cards In Envy's Just Beachy Challenge is perfect for my state of mind lately! 

These flamingos from Great Impressions were just tu-tu cute to pass up at the store.  And, of course, I had to buy their sentiment stamp too :-)  The beach beauties are colored with Copics and the sentiment was stamped in VersaFine Onyx Black, then outlined with a black Wink of Stella Fine Glitter Dust pen.  I added a few MME red glittery enamel dots and red/white twine from The Twinery to finish it off. 

I hope you'll play along with us and share your A2 cards (flat enough to mail) featuring the beach, ocean, or sea.  Thanks for stopping by!

May you always have a shell in your pocket

and sand between your toes.

 

{author unknown}

Let's Chill!

Can you believe it's July 1st!  We've had awesome weather in June (which is not normal).  Our summer usually starts about now.  Today does mark the start of Doodle Pantry's AIMPDC #7 and it's a bumper crop of cherries this year too!  I just had to use the "Cherry Nice Mice" set to celebrate both!

I used the latest sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches:



TMS #307



I flipped it upside down and turned the oval.  Not because I didn't love the sketch...I do!  Just had to make sure everything fit! 

The DSP is from DCWV, the Hero Arts sentiment is heat embossed with Judikins White Detail Embossing Powder, and all the dies are from MFT.  The button and ribbon scraps are from the ever-growing stash jars.  I added Glossy Accents to those yummy cherries and did some Copic coloring on the sweet mouse to darken him up a bit.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you'll link up your digital projects to AIMPDC #7! 

I'd also like to enter this card in Shopping Our Stash's Challenge #208 "Baubles, Buttons & Bows." 

Mmmmm....Chocolate!

I'm a firm believer that chocolate is a food group on its own, so with Words 2 Scrap By's July Challenge starting today, I had to go with chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone, of course! 

I started with The Stamps of Life ice cream stamps, stamping the waffle cone on Kraft with Colorbox Chocolate :) ink.  Then stamped the ice cream (also in Chocolate ink).  I fussy cut both images, adding a fussy cut cherry with green twine stem on top.  The ribbon is from my stash and the sentiment (you guessed it) also stamped in Chocolate ink and mounted on the ribbon with tiny brads.  I dry embossed a woven background on the ivory layer.

I hope you'll play along with W2SB this month and feel free to eat chocolate while you create!

Thanks for stopping by!