Cards in Envy's Final Challenge

I found out this weekend that the Cards in Envy Challenge was wrapping up with their final challenge after six fun years.  I was honored to be on the Design Team for two of those years and loved the themes that Sandy would come up with ❤.  CIE was the very first challenge that I entered as a card maker. I was making a lot of Operation Write Home cards (no lumps or bumps) and CIE was a welcoming place to play.  

CIE was the late Denise Gray's brainchild to create a challenge inspiring cards that were flat enough to easily mail.  Her very first challenge was a sketch challenge and that's how it will end: 

Bravo and thank you, Sandy and DT, for your inspiration! I'm sure we'll see you all in blogland! 

Cards in Envy: On the Beach

One of my favorite themes...I love all things beachy!  Cards in Envy is kicking off their latest challenge with a beach theme for any occasion as long we see a beach image on your card.

I used the Beach stamp from Art Impressions, heat embossed, and watercolored with my Zig Clean Color Markers.  Adding a strip of black cardstock and Catherine Pooler DSP (Black Tie Gala) along with Wink of Stella finished this simple card.  The sentiment surrounding the image is a little difficult to read in a photo, so here it is:

Wiggle your toes in the sands of the Seas

Dream of tomorrow and all that can be.

On a final note, this is my last challenge on the Cards in Envy DT.  I have been honored to have been a member for four years (gosh time flies) along side such talented folks and Sandy Trefger, an awesome, hardworking team lead!  I still plan on playing along whenever I can because I believe this challenge has some of the freshest challenge themes out there!

Thanks for stopping by, take care, and I hope you will find some "beach" time and play along!

Hugs,

Annie 

  

Cards in Envy: Twinkle Little Stars

Welcome back, Cards in Envy friends!  It's time for another fun themed challenge over on our blog!  This time we are looking for cards that feature stars, whether a patriotic theme to celebrate July 4th or our service heroes or a birthday card.  Your choice - just make sure it has at least one star and is flat enough to fit comfortably in an envy!

I did go with a Happy 4th card for family that I usually do not see on the holiday. This one came together very easily with the help of the Avery Elle Horizontal Cover Plate die cut in white and layered over Gina K. Red Velvet cardstock.  I used a scrap of Doodlebug Designs DSP to die cut the Stitched Star (Stamps of Life) three times and Little B Circle Dies to frame it. The Lawn Fawn sentiment was stamped in MFT's Cherry Crisp ink. 

I hope if you're in the US, you have a safe, sunny, and Happy 4th!  Thanks for stopping by and we look forward to seeing your STAR creations!

Cards in Envy: Feeling Blue and Distressed

Hello CIE friends!  The latest Cards in Envy Challenge starts today with a "Feeling Blue and Distressed" theme.  Don't think sad...think lots of blue for this one!  For my DT card, I went with blue Distress Ink:

Just in time for the Summer Solstice which is finally here on Thursday, June 21st, and I can pull out the flip flops!  The background was stenciled with Catherine Pooler's Swoop stencil and Salty Ocean Distress ink.  I think it looks like splashing in the water!  The flip flops were die cut out of colored fun foam using flip flop dies from The Stamps of Life.  

We hope you'll play along in our Feeling Blue Challenge and Happy Summer!  Thanks for stopping by!

  

Cards in Envy: Let's Hear It For The Boys!

Welcome back, CIE friends!  It's another fun theme over at Cards in Envy for our new challenge: Let's Hear It For The Boys!  Yep, cards for guys.  It could be a Father's Day card, birthday, congratulations...you decide.  Just make sure it's flat enough to fit in an envy.

This card is for my DGS's 2nd grade graduation.  We call him "little dude."  I can't remember having "graduations" until high school but I think it's fun and great for the kids to celebrate!  I used Concord & 9th's Confetti Card Die on Neenah Solar White cardstock to layer over a card base made from Gina K.'s Red Velvet cardstock.  The Hooray sentiment was stamped with Catherine Pooler's inks and Concord & 9th's Triple Step Hooray stamp.  I found the "dude" on a Paper Smooches stamp set.  I finished the card off with sequin stars, Nuvo drops, and a few small enamel dots.  

We hope you'll play along and create a card for those guys in your life!  This challenge will close on Sunday, June 17th.  Thanks for stopping by and sharing your wonderful cards over at Cards in Envy!

Cards in Envy: Feeling Sketchy!

Welcome back, CIE friends!  Today we're kicking off our new challenge over at Cards in Envy - Feeling Sketchy!  Create a card using one of your favorite card sketches and let us know where the sketch came from, including the link, if possible.

I have an entire file of favorite sketches.  It's where I go to when my mojo is MIA!  For my DT card, I used a recent sketch I loved from Paper Craft Crew, PCC287:

MFT Steel Gray Cardstock

MFT Musical Background

Stampin' Up "Lots of Happy" Zig colored florals & vellum die cuts

Stampin' Up "Petal Palette" bird

Stamps of Life sentiment

Nuvo silver glitter drops; white watercolor splatters

Thanks for stopping by!  We can't wait to see your Feeling Sketchy entries.  Make sure you give credit where credit is due for the sketch used and keep your cards flat enough to fit in an envy.  Have fun!

Cards in Envy Challenge: One Layer Card

Welcome back, CIE friends, and thanks for stopping by.  It's the first Monday of May and time for another fun challenge over at Cards in Envy!  How about creating a One Layer Card this time?  If you want to add the one layer onto a card base, that's okay...the card base will not count for this challenge.  

I added the Ranger watercolor layer onto my A2 White Recollections card base for my DT card:

Stampin' Up Watercolor Wash Background Stamp;

Distress Inks: Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers, Pumice Stone;

Perfect Pearls: Heirloom Gold and Blue Raspberry;

Stampin' Up Beautiful You Stamp Set;

VersaFine Onyx Black Ink;

Rubbernecker Small Frame;

Altenew Birthday Wishes Stamp Set.

We can't wait to see your one layer creations ~ Come play with us!

Cards in Envy Challenge: It's Birthday Party Time!

Welcome back, CIE friends!  It's the 3rd Monday of the month and time for a new challenge.  This one is called "It's Birthday Party Time" and, you guessed it, we're looking for birthday cards that are flat enough to fit comfortably in an envy.  Easy, right?  And we always can use more birthday cards!

Concord & 9th Flower Turnabout Stamp

Catherine Pooler Inks

Mama Elephant Scalloped Rectangle Die

Concord & 9th Banners & Blooms Sentiment

Concord & 9th Ribbon Banner Die

Stampin' Up Daffodil Delight & Whisper White Cardstock

This Challenge will run for three weeks and close on May 6th.  Lots of time to come play with us!  Thanks for stopping by!

Cards in Envy: Get Negative!

I hope y'all had a wonderful Easter and are ready for a new challenge from Cards in Envy!  This time around we are asking you to 'Get Negative' and create a card with the NEGATIVE space of a die or punch.

I had a scrap in my bin of blue cardstock that I had used a star die cut from on a previous project.  I die cut a stitched banner, centering the star negative, and then cut another larger stitched banner from another scrap to layer the negative over.  The banners were tied together with green May Arts twine and added to a green card base that was embossed with a stars EF from The Paper Studio.  The sentiment is from MFT's 'Stars Above' stamp set and a few SU gold stars added for accents.  It was actually fun to use so many scraps from my overflowing bin!

We hope you'll play along and find some mojo with your negatives...you know you have some 😉!  Thanks for stopping by! 

Cards in Envy: No Patterned Paper

Hi CIE friends!  Let's make our own designer paper and play along with Cards in Envy's newest challenge using NO patterned paper (solid cardstock is ok).  Break out your stamps, stencils, sprays, watercolors, distress inks, or whatever you have and create your own unique patterned paper for your card...just make sure the card is not too lumpy or bumpy for an envy.

The background on this card was created with an Echo Park balloon stencil and a rainbow of Distress Inks and Perfect Pearls.  They are very shimmery IRL!  The white heat embossed sentiment is from Catherine Pooler.

We can't wait to see what you come up with!  Thanks so much for visiting today!  

Cards in Envy: Green Things

Hi CIE friends!  It's the first Monday in March and time for a new challenge over at Cards in Envy.  Our theme this time is Green Things.  Create any size card, any occasion, with lots of green as your main color.  Just make sure it's not too lumpy or bumpy and will fit comfortably in an envy 😊  

For my DT card, I went with a group of green monsters for a card for my DGS:

I just love these little monsters from My Favorite Things!  I used various green inks from Catherine Pooler and the MFT coordinating dies to cut them out.  The sky was stenciled with MFT's cloud stencil and Tumbled Glass Distress Ink.  The sentiment (also from MFT) was white heat embossed on a black cardstock scrap.  I added a glossy red heart and some details with a white gel pen to finish the card.  

We hope you'll play along and show us your green!  The challenge will end on Sunday, March 18th.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  

Cards in Envy: Give It Some Heart

Welcome back for another Cards in Envy Challenge!  We're still playing with hearts and I'll bet you have a few still sitting on your desk too after Valentines Day!  Just create a card with at least one heart and that is flat enough to fit in an envy and you're on your way to the gallery.

I've been on a rainbow kick for the past few weeks - they make me happy on these gray, winter days.  I used Distress Inks to watercolor a background and then layered the PTI Hearts Cover Plate die cut over the watercolored piece.  The sentiment is from MFT and I left the inside blank so I could use it for any occasion.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Now, show us some hearts!

Cards in Envy: Love You So Much!

Happy Monday!  It's the first Monday of February and time for a new Cards in Envy Challenge.  With Valentines' Day approaching, CIE is looking for Love and/or Valentines Day cards.  The cards can be any size but must be flat enough to fit in an envy without lumps and bumps.

It's a simple one layer card today using the Hearts frame from Paper Smooches die cut in black cardstock and again out of watercolor card.  I watercolored the hearts in rainbow colors and inlaid them into the black frame.  Of course I had to lather them up with Wink of Stella too!

Thanks for being a CIE fan and stopping by today...come play with us!  This challenge will close on Sunday, February 18th.  

Seriously...Thanks!

Happy Sunday!  A quick card to play along over at Shopping Our Stash where they are getting sentimental and looking for sentiments to be the focal point.

On a Neenah Solar White card base I layered some grid paper that I stamped with an old great BIG wooden background stamp from Impress.  The sentiment from Concord & 9th was heat embossed with Ranger white detail EP.  I added a little binder clip (also Concord & 9th) and tied with black/white baker's twine.  I was going for a masculine thank you card so I hope he doesn't mind the twine bow too much!

Thanks for stopping by and there's still plenty of time to play along with Cards in Envy's Tuxedo Challenge...any theme will work for this black & white card challenge.  Have a great week!

Cards in Envy: Tuxedo

Happy Monday and welcome back for another Cards in Envy Challenge.  Sandy has come up with a Tuxedo theme and that means Black and White cards with no other colors.  Make sure your card is flat enough to fit in an envy and play along!

I went with a pretty simple card using the bird die from Concord & 9th.  Sadly, I did emboss the top white half with a cloud embossing folder but it's not showing up in this pic :(  I've already mailed the card so wasn't able to take another photo!  You'll just have to trust me!

We hope you'll play along and use any theme in black & white ~ birthday, hello, thank you, sympathy, etc.  Your choice!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! 

Cards in Envy: Winter Chills

Happy New Year, CIE Friends!  Over at Cards in Envy we're kicking off 2018 with a "Winter Chills" theme.  Make a card, any size, but flat enough to fit in an envy that has anything winter: snowflakes, snowmen, mittens, hats, scarves, snowbirds...you get the chilly picture!

My DT card is one of my holiday thank you cards:

The mitten from Stampin' Up's Smitten Mitten set is on an Action Wobbler so the mitten waves when it pops out of the envelope but lays flat for mailing.  I used various snowflake stamps and Catherine Pooler inks on a Neenah Solar White layer, die cut a stitched rectangle (MFT), and mounted on a SU Bermuda Bay card base.  I added some silver dots with a Sharpie Metallic Pen and a simple Thanks sentiment from The Stamps of Life.  I left the inside blank so I could write a personalized message.

We hope you'll play along with us!  This challenge will close on Sunday, January 14th.  

Wishing you health, happiness, and lots of crafty time in the new year!

Cards in Envy: Framed with Circles

Hello and Happy Holidays to you!  This is the last Cards in Envy Challenge for 2017 with a "Framed with Circles" theme.  Create a card, any size, that features one or more circle frames and cards should be flat enough to fit comfortably in an envy.

I love making Christmas cards and I was running out of time, so I kept this one pretty simple so I could get it in the mail on time.  On a Neenah Solar White card base, I added a die cut Gina K. red cardstock stitched layer using MFT's Merry Christmas Centerpiece.  I colored a little Hero Arts' elf with Copics (just the top half) and cut off his legs so I could tuck him into the circle.  He's okay...see he's still smiling!  I smothered his hat and top with Wink of Stella and added some Hero Arts red/white twine to finish it off.

We hope you can find some crafting time and join us for this challenge.  It will close on Sunday, December 31st.  Thanks so much for stopping by ~ Merry Christmas!

Cards in Envy: Jingle All The Way!

Welcome back, CIE fans for another fun challenge!  In our first challenge for December over at Cards in Envy, we are looking for cards that feature at least one bell and will fit comfortably in an envy for mailing.  

For my Christmas card, I used Gina K. cardstock, Catherine Pooler's stamps and inks, and a beautiful bell die from Impression Obsession.  The stitched rectangle is from MFT and the stitched oval from Gina K.

We hope you'll find time to jingle and play along with us!  The challenge will close on Sunday, December 17th.  Thanks for visiting!

Cards in Envy: It's Only Paper

Welcome back CIE friends!  Cards in Envy is kicking off another challenge today called "It's Only Paper."  We are looking for cards with NO stamping, and NO embellishments unless they are made from paper.

I know what you're thinking!  I was thinking the same thing...eek! No stamping!  Oh no!  But, once I started going through my paper stash, there was definitely light at the end of the tunnel.  I have a few 12 x 12 paper pads.  Not many because I've given most of them away, but I did keep two with Christmas themes.  Lo and behold, there were plenty of sentiments I could use to avoid stamping.  It was actually fun to take a piece of scrapbook paper and see what I could come up with!

All of the elements came from one 12 x 12 piece of paper (Heidi Swapp "Believe"), cut down, and laid out on a piece of Bazzill "Wax Lips" cardstock for the card base.  The embellishments are Candi dots which are made from paper. 

I also made another one out of one 8-1/2 x 11 piece of DSP from Paper Studio's "I Believe in Santa" paper pack.  I added small snowflakes punched out of glossy photo paper using a Paper Studio paper punch.  The image was on the bottom border of the DSP.

We hope you'll dig through your paper stash and play along!  Thanks for stopping by and have a Happy Thanksgiving later this week!  

Cards in Envy: Typography

Hello Cards in Envy friends!  Welcome back for another challenge and I think you're going to like this one!  With the popularity of large sentiments, they are perfect for this challenge.  We are looking for cards that have letters, words, or sentiments as the MAIN focal point.  Just make sure your card is flat enough to fit in an envy with no lumps and bumps.

For my Christmas card, I white heat embossed a large sentiment from Stampin' Up's Carols of Christmas:

On a MFT Kraft card base, I layered a piece of white shimmer cardstock that was embossed (The Paper Studio) with a holly embossing folder.  The embellishments are a corner holly vine die from Impression Obsession that I cut up and added tiny poinsettias from Little B. 

  

We can't wait to see what you create.  For more inspiration, please check out the beautiful cards from the rest of my teamies.  Thanks so much for stopping by!