Gone Batty!

It's a good day today!  Double stamp day at my local espresso stand and I made a Halloween card for the latest CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge:

Next to Christmas, Halloween cards are my favorite cards to make!  I thought this sketch was perfect for my little bats:

The not-so-scary bat and sentiment are from a stamp set by Taylored Expressions.  I love all the little faces that come with the set.  I did a very simple Copic coloring job and added Glossy Accents to the eyeballs.  When it was too late, I realized I did not use Copic-friendly cardstock (it bled through badly), so I cut a stitched rectangle and mounted it on a Graphite card base from Memory Box.  Problem solved!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today! 

Blow it Out

Happy Monday!  I used the newest Paper Players Sketch Challenge #310 as the starting point for today's card:

I did flip the sketch 180 degrees because I wanted the skinny panel on the left:

The skinny candle is actually two candle die cuts with the sentiment banner covering up the gap :-). 

Here's the stuff I used:
     Cardstock - My Favorite Things Orange Zest, Neenah Solar White
     DSP - The Stamps of Life
     Dies - My Favorite Things (frame, candles, banner)
     Stamps - My Favorite Things "Twice the Wishes"
     Ink - My Favorite Things Orange Zest (heat embossed)
     Other - Copics (flame) and Wink of Stella

Thanks for stopping by.  I'm off to rake some leaves...already!  I hope you have a wonderful week!

The first 21!

Hi friends!  I was able to make a couple of cards this morning.  It had been about a week and I swear I go through withdrawal if I can't play along with some challenges.  I had a birthday card to make for a very sweet young girl that is turning 21 for the first time :).  The Shopping our Stash Challenge #266 is to USE NUMBERS and the Die Cuttin Divas' Challenge #280 is BIRTHDAY and I'll be linking this up to both of them:

I stamped the background text (MFT) in Lawn Fawn's Hippo gray ink and layered it onto Memory Box's Graphite cardstock.  The rainbow-colored balloons were die cut (MFT) and watercolored with Distress Inks.  I also sprayed them with Modge Podge Hi-Shine to seal in the color and add some shine.  The silver balloon was heat embossed with PK Glitz Embossing Powder.  I die cut the numbers three times with Memory Box's Typewriter Numbers, layered them on top of each other, and attached to the special silver balloon.  Finally, the sentiment (MFT) was heat embossed on a black cardstock scrap, trimmed into a banner, and popped up over the balloon strings.

That's it for today.  I hope you're having a great weekend and thanks so much for stopping by!

Follow the Bouncing Beach Ball!

I had such a FUN time with my brilliant and awesome grandson this past week at the beach.  Sadly, he has gone home but I thought I could hang onto the FUN time that we had by playing along in CASology's latest challenge:

I had to go with the beach theme since that is where we spent most of our time - treasure hunting, building sandcastles, flying kites, watching birds, and lots of running (him) and walking (me).  LOL!

I stamped the sentiment first (PrintWorks), then added the ball trail using Lawn Fawn's Happy Easter set and Hippo ink.  There's a great little hopping stamp in the set and I knew I'd mess up if I tried to draw it in on my own!  The beach ball from Hero Arts was colored with Copics, fussy cut, and popped up with foam tape.  That's it!  Thanks for stopping by :)

Monster Birthday

Today I just had to make another card using these adorable monsters from My Favorite Things.  I just love them because they make me smile and today they're celebrating a birthday for the latest color challenge from The Paper Players:

I used the latest Mojo Monday sketch:

And here's the stuff I used:

Cardstock - Bazzill Marshmallow

DSP - DCWV Cosmic Whammy

Stamps - My Favorite Things Monster Love

Inks - Memento

Dies - My Favorite Things, The Stamps of Life

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a monster week!

Dream BIG

Hi friends!  Today there is a very heavy marine layer so it's perfect for staying inside and playing along with CASology's latest challenge:

I knew I had a sleeping image somewhere and finally found it!  This is a very old bear stamp set from Fiskars, colored with Copics, and he's dreamin' of a big old jar of honey with a few tiny little bees hovering around.  The little grass sprouts are from another old stamp by Impress.   The inside sentiment simply says "Thinking of you."  I like it when I can pull out forgotten stamps and give them some love :-)

Thanks for stopping by today!  The marine layer is lifting here, the fog horns have stopped, and maybe, just maybe, my hair won't frizz - ha!  Have a great week! 

Cards in Envy - Hip to be Square

Welcome back CIE friends for another fun challenge!  This time we'd like to see squares on your cards, and yes, square cards also count.  Just make sure they aren't too lumpy or bumpy and will fit in an envy. 

For my DT card, I grabbed my "new" stencil brush and Distress Inks (Tumbled Glass and a little Spun Sugar at the top) to create a light blue ombre background on Bazzill cardstock.  (My stencil brush used to be my good makeup brush :)  I used a Sizzix butterfly embossing folder on the card front before I popped up the inlaid tri-square butterfly die cut from Poppy Stamps.  The sentiment is from Stamp of Approval stamped in VersaFine Onyx Black.  Finally, I spritzed the entire card with MFT's Sheer Shimmer and a few Doodlebug Sprinkles were glued on for more sparkly goodness. 

We can't wait to see how square you can be in the Cards in Envy Hip to be Square Challenge!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

CASology Week 210: Dizzy

Dizzy.  Yes, I was.  Dizzy with trying to think up something creative for CASology's latest Cue:

 I do like challenges that make you think and CASology does not disappoint!  So...I watched the movie "Gravity" last night.  It's about space and astronauts and they all became very dizzy when a debris storm took place.  Ah ha!  Rocket ships = Dizzy...right? 

The inside reads "Love you to the Moon" and all the stamps are from My Favorite Things.  I did shine up the rocket with Glossy Accents and did a little stamp rockin' with yellow and orange inks for the flames.  I hope my grandson likes it!  Thanks for stopping today ~ Have a great week!

Happy Little Monsters

Hi there!  Today I made 2 cards for my grandson who is coming to visit very very soon.  I did take some liberties with  CAS(E) this Sketch #185 and flipped it for my first card - I hope it still works for the challenge!

These adorable monster stamps are from My Favorite Things.  I LOVE them and I'm thinking I'll be using them on some of my Halloween cards too.  I was looking for something in one of my storage drawers and, what do you know...there were those Hero Arts Neon ink pads that I bought a long time ago.  Two of them still had the shrink wrap on (eek!).  So, to show them some love and see if they were still juicy enough, I inked up the little guys with the blue, green, and orange.  That orange is really neon but I think it worked great for a kid's card!  I did add Glossy Accents to the eyes and Wink of Stella to their spots.  I hope he likes these happy little monsters as much as I do!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you had an awesome weekend :-)

W2CB #32 Challenge Starts Today!

Hello W2CB friends!  I had so much fun hosting last month's challenge.  There were so many colorful and inspirational projects.  Thanks so much for playing along!  This month, Words 2 Craft By is offering this quote as a guide:

The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.

~ Lao Tzu

When I saw this famous quote, I knew I had to acknowledge the 2016 Olympics and all of those athletes that took that single step to start their journey to the games.  Have you been watching??  I have nothing but respect for all the hard work that these folks put into their personal journey.  I walk a few miles every day and sometimes I feel like I should get a medal when I get back home, but that's nothing compared to what they have accomplished!

We hope you'll play along and look forward to reading about your interpretations of our quote.  Thanks so much for visiting today!  If you have time, be sure to head on over to the W2CB blog to see what the other I-Teamers have come up with. 

How do you like them apples?

Hi there!  A quick thank you card today using the latest sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch:

Using heavy Strathmore Multi-Media cardstock for the base, I stamped the apples (old Hampton Art's)and sentiment (Stamps of Life) in VersaFine Onyx Black and then clear heat embossed.  The apples were watercolored with my Zigs and then shined up with Glossy Accents.  I really liked this sketch and I'm sure it's going to be a keeper! 

I'd also like to link this up to CASology's watercolor challenge: 

Thanks a bunch for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Watercolor Mermaid

Hi All!  This is the second card I made today to play along with a couple of challenges:

Week #209

OLS30: Art

The card started with a Mermaid stamp from the clearance bin...I guess summer IS almost over! 

I stamped her onto some Strathmore watercolor paper that I had used to make the card base using Distress Inks (Mermaid Lagoon (of course) and Twisted Citron).  Using an aqua brush, I watercolored her hair, the teeny seahorse, and her 'tail.'  I added Perfect Pearls to the ink for lots of shimmer but the pic just doesn't show that :(.  There should be a shimmer button on cameras, I think.  The sentiment is from Catherine Pooler's Stamp of Approval Lovely Notes Collection, stamped in VersaFine Onyx Black.  I did add a few aqua sequins for "bubbles."  Thanks so much for stopping by ~ I hope you're having a great week!

Very Special Red Balloon

Overcast sky this morning so I went to my Happy Place and made a couple of cards.  This was after I chased my favorite deer off of the front porch as she happily munched on a "deer resistant" plant <sigh>.

Anyhoo, this card was put together for The Paper Players Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #306:

(3rd column down - masculine, red, die-cut)

And, I used the Freshly Made Sketches #248 for the layout:

Here's the stuff I used:
     Cardstock - Memory Box Graphite
     DSP - DCWV Neutrals
     Die Cuts - My Favorite Things Big Balloons
     Stamps - Stamps of Life (sentiment), My Favorite Things (HB Background)
     Ink:  VersaMark, Lawn Fawn Hippo, and Memento Lady Bug
     Other:  White & Clear Detail embossing powder

I'll also be linking this card up to the Live Love Card community challenge for August (Birthday cards).  Thanks much for stopping by!

Cards in Envy: Wings

Welcome back, CIE friends!  The newest challenge from Cards in Envy is all about wings:  bugs, planes, birds, fairies, angels, etc.  Any card with wings is welcome ~ just keep it flat so it will fit comfortably in an envy.

I'm going to call this my Smurf card.  Why?  Because by the time I finished dyeing the seam binding for the matching ribbon, my hands were completely blue!  I thought I'd try some ink sprays ~ bad idea!  I finally gave up, grabbed my Copics and colored the remnant.  Easy peasey...even with blue hands!  BTW...it took 2 days for the blue ink to wash off!  So funny!

Here's the other stuff I used to make this card:

Cardstock:  Bazzill, My Favorite Things
Stamps:  Neat & Tangled sentiment
Ink:  VersaFine Onyx Black
Dies: Sizzix
Other:  Elizabeth Craft Designs Dragonflies, various colors of Stickles, Nuvo Black Crystal Drops, clear embossing powder

We hope you'll take flight and play along with us!  Thanks for stopping by!