Garden Inspirations

Happy Sunday everyone! Another month that went by in a blur - can you believe tomorrow is March???? I can't - it completely snuck up on me. I had some time to play in VSN over on SCS this weekend. I hosted a challenge Friday night, and Saturday morning I created this card for Vanessa's challenge. I've actually never made a pop up card before. With this tutorial, it was really easy!

I used my favorite springtime flower set from Lizzie Anne Designs - Garden Inspirations. I love the pink and orange color combo, so I dug out some Tinkering Ink dp to pair with More Mustard and Pretty in Pink.
This is the (mostly) closed view. I lucked out and found the perfect colored Primas and felt flowers in my stash. I love it when that happens! I ran the base through the cuttlebug and sponged the edges also. The whole thing came togather very easily. I love springtime prjects, especially with this set!

Materials:

• Cardstock/Paper: More Mustard, Pretty in Pink, Kiwi Kiss, Prismatics ButterCream, Tinkering Ink dp
  
• Stamps: Garden Inspirations
  
• Ink: More Mustard, Kiwi Kiss
  
• Tools & Accessories: Copics, Cuttlebug, ribbon, circle punches, jumbo eyelet, primas, felt flowers, rhinestone brads

It's VSN Time!

It's VSN weekend over at SCS - and last night I hosted a challenge! It was so fun, and the entries so far are just amazing!

Here is my challenge:
The Challenge:

Hi everyone! My challenge to you during these fun Olympic Games is to create a card that mimics the outdoor feel of Vancouver, and the rest of the Olympic sites. What does that mean, you ask?? ALL WHITE!!! That's right, we're going snow blind!

Here are the basic guidelines, which you must follow for your card to be considered for the honor gallery:

• the majority of your cardstock and/or dp MUST be white
• ALL embellishments must be white or a neutral color

Other than that, you can have fun! Coloring a huge image is kind of stretching the spirit of the game, imo -- the whole point of this is white white white! But you *can* color your image, or use colored inks. The card can be any theme, any occasion you want it to be - get creative!

Fun, huh??? Above is the sample card I made for it - it came together so quickly and was so fun to make! There are more challenges all day today, so be sure to check out the forum and play along if you can!

If you play in my challenge and upload it to SCS, the keyword is FEB10VSND. To be considered for the Honor Gallery, your card has to be uploaded by Monday evening!

Tangerine Rockets

Wow! This card is so full of bright, bold colors I shocked myself, lol :) And I've used gold again, which I swore recently I never did. I started with the Up, Up, and Away Rocket image (from 2Cute Rubber Stamps), picked some dp, and went from there.

I've had this About A Boy do by Fancy pants for awhile, and love it. When I got it out I was inspired to make something with super bold colors. So I ended up with this tangerine-colored rocket, orange and gold ribbons, and jumbo gold eyelets.

I had so much fun making this one. Now I'm hooked on the color orange, and want to use it more! Hope you are all having a great week!

Materials:

• Cardstock/Paper: Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Prismatics White, Fancy Pants About a Boy dp
  
• Stamps: Up Up and Away Rocket, SU Sanded bg
  
• Ink: Tangerine Tango
  
• Tools & Accessories: Nesties, Copics, Ribbons, Jumbo Eyelets
  

A Circle Sketch

Circle cards are not my thing. Actually, I don't think I *ever* make shaped cards, period! They are just one of those things I have a hard time wrapping my mind around, so I never try. But this week Jeni Allen hosted the Lizzie Anne Designs weekly sketch challenge and she came up with an adorable circular sketch! I was nervous - especially after I saw some of the cards the other rockstars came up with. ;) I gave it a shot, though. It's always good to get out side of familiar territory!

I used the monthly mix from August 2009 - Hey Sunshine. I *loved* that mix! The largest scalloped Nesties are my card base, and the two layers are held together by the little green brad at the top. They swing apart, rather than open like a traditional card. I added a bit of ribbon but just could not settle on any other embellishments I really loved. Oh well!

I had fun making this one. Thanks for stopping by to check it out!

Materials:

• Cardstock/Paper: Apricot Appeal, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, SU dp, Prismatics White
  
• Stamps: Hey Sunshine
  
• Ink: Memento Tuexedo Black, Old Olive
  
• Tools & Accessories: Nesties, Paper Piercer, Copics, Ribbon
  

For My New Niece

I'm making announcements for my newest niece, who is an absolute darling! I wanted something fun and simple (so it is easy to mass produce). Here is what I came up with! I used the Lizzie Anne Designs In The Nursery set because I think this little baby star is my all time favorite baby image!

I'm still working on the inside - I'll be sure to share that when it is done! Sorry for the super short post - I'm working on lots of projects that I'll be able to share with you soon!!!

Materials:

• Cardstock/Paper: Groovy Guava, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Wild Wasabi dp
  
• Stamps: In the Nursery
  
• Ink: Memento Tuexedo Black
  
• Tools & Accessories: Nesties, Paper Piercer, Copics, Ribbon

Is it Spring Yet?

This is an adorable new image from InStyle Stamps called Flower and the Bee. Isn't it sweet? The image will be available for sale on their website no later than March 5th, but I'm lucky enough to have gotten a sneak peek -- and am sharing it with you!

I like the image so much I had to make two cards, just to show everyone how versatile it is. The card above is actually the entire image - it's like a happy little spring scene. I sponged on the sky background, and colored the flower, grass, and bee with Copics. The flower and bee are cut out and popped up on dimensionals. The little bee has Stickles on his wings, just for sparkle.


My second card is crazy simple. I really wanted to do something that made the flower "pop" - and what better background color for that than black?? I used Nesties to cut out a large part of the image, and then cut out another separate one. The leaf and flower are different pieces on this card - the stem/leaf are adhered directly to the base layer, and the petal is popped up on dimensionals. A little ribbon and some dew drops (my fav, go to embellies!) and this one was all finished :)

Hope you like this image as much as I do -- InStyle Stamps is coming out with some really great new ones to add to their already fabulous collection so keep your eyes open! Their blog will have links to all of them, I'm sure ;)

We are off to have an ultrasound, so I'll post card deets later! have a terrific day!

Sweet Birthday Treat

Hi everyone! Hope you've had a good week :) This is a sweet little birthday card I made for a West Coast friend of mine with a special day coming up soon. I just want to eat the ice cream the penguin is holding!

I used the Penguin Fun image on my card. This little cutie is available in digi format,
cling cushion, or as part of a whole cling cushion set of different images. How's that for variety?? On my card he's a digi image, sized just the way I wanted him.

I handstitched the little sentiment tag on there, and left the rest of the card embellishment free. I like how clean it ended up looking! Below are the Copics I used on this card. it seems like a lot for such a little bit of coloring, lol!


Be sure to stop by the 2Cute Rubber Stamps blog for more inspiration from the Cuties! And if you haven't gotten it yet, download this FREE digi and play along in our first challenge.

Materials:

• Cardstock/Paper:Kraft, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Prismatics White, basic Grey dp
  
• Stamps: Penguin Fun
  
• Ink: Printer, Close to Cocoa
  
• Tools & Accessories: copics, paper piercer, thick thread, white gel pen
  

Friends Make My Heart Happy

I have a friend, Patricia, who makes *amazing* CAS (clean and simple) cards. I mean stunning. She is so good at them I find myself constantly drooling over her gallery and blog. She has inspired me to attempt more cards in the CAS style. It's actually quite difficult for me!

I made this one in under 20 minutes this morning. I love the short amount of time - yay! I really do like the white space, too. Of course, I wanted to add more embellishments - more ribbon, some twine, etc. But I made myself leave it alone after adding the skittles as flower centers.

What do you think - does this qualify as a CAS card?

Materials:

• Cardstock/Paper: Garden Green, Rose Red, Whisper White
  
• Stamps: SU Friendship Blooms
  
• Ink: Garden Green, Rose Red, Certainly Celery
  
• Tools & Accessories: glitter skittles, paper piercer

Cameo Crab - a DT Challenge!

It's challenge time at 2 Cute Rubber Stamps! Heidi drew us this adorable Happy Crabby image, which is available in digi format, and asked us all to make a card with it. What fun! The coolest part is that starting today YOU can download the digi image for *free* and enter to win a great prize from 2 Cute Rubber Stamps! You'll have 2 weeks to download the image and create a card.

I made a 6" x 6" card with my image. I printed out the crab several times so I could layer it the way I wanted to. On the base layer I used Versamark ink and Tim Holtz's Distress Embossing Powders to create the sand. I masked the bottom half (including the crab) and sponged on two shades of blue ink for the sky. Finishing off my card is a sentiment from Lizzie Anne Designs' set Shore Thoughts. I'm pretty sure it is retired now but I still love it!



I cut out his claws separately and adhered them to the base layer. I cut out the body of the crab and popped it up on dimensionals; the bucket was done the same way. I colored them with Copics.

This was such a fun challenge - be sure to stop by the 2 Cute blog to see what the other Cuties came up with! And don't forget to download your digi and create something fab -- we can't wait to see it!!!!

Materials:

• Cardstock/Paper: Barely Banana, Cameo Coral, Soft Sky, Prismatics White
  
• Stamps: 2Cute Happy Crabby, LAD Shore Thoughts
  
• Ink: printer, Soft Sky, Cameo Coral, Baja Breeze, Versamark
  
• Tools & Accessories: ribbon, SU edge punch, MS edge punch, Copics, Tim Holtz Distress embossing powder - frayed burlap and antique linen, glitter skittles, sponge

Twinkle Twinkle - A DT Challenge!

It's time again for the monthly Design Team Challenge at Lizzie Anne Designs! This month we were given a really fun sketch to work from - I love sketches! To see what the other rockstars came up, be sure to visit the Lizzie Anne Designs blog for all of the links or click on them in my right-hand sidebar :) After you check them all out, be sure to play along! You can upload your card over at Lizzie Anne Land (remember to link it to the thread), or in the Customer Gallery, or to SCS. Use the keyword LAD_WC_114 so we can all find it to check it out!


I needed to make a congrats card this week. DH and I just found out that his youngest sister and her husband are expecting their first baby in late August. This is SO exciting - not just because it's their first, but because it means all three siblings in DH's family will have babies this year! Our newest niece was born in January (and is, of course, and angel). DH, DD, and I are eagerly awaiting a little boy in May, and now the newest in August! Of course, my in-laws are beside themselves -- they'll go from 2 grandkids to 5 this year. Kids everywhere!


I haven't used my In the Nursery set in I don't know how long and I had honestly forgotten how darn cute it was! To make my image really stick up through my peek-a-boo window, I popped it up on dimensionals. I also put the star on dimensionals. The rest of the card is pretty simple and straightforward. I've just been in the mood for that lately.

Inside the card I added another strip of the Basic Grey dp behind the image. I sponged the edges of the white panel just to give it some depth, and added a small image from the set in the bottom corner. i think the little moon and star are so cute!

Be sure to stop by the other rockstars' blogs to see what they came up with for the sketch -- total awesomeness!

Twelve Wonderful Years

Seriously - twelve years??? That's how long my DH and I have been together. And I wouldn't trade a single minute of any of it! He likes simple (see the Valentine's Day card I made him here) and not too many embellishments. So I left this one completely plain!

This was hard for me - I like layers and ribbon and dew drops and colors and flowers....I could go on and on! As I thought about what I really wanted this card to say to him today, this Unity sentiment and image pretty much became the only things I needed. They are both from the kit of the month called Another Sweet Day which was released last May.

I watercolored a bit on the image, and used yellow stickles on the light. I paper pierced under the sentiment, and sponged around the edges. And then, amazingly for me, I left it alone. He happened to come into my craft room while I was taking a picture of it this weekend, and loved it. He doesn't know it is for him yet, but he will in a few minutes. I'm thrilled that he loves it!

I love you sweetheart - thanks for everything. You mean the world to me.

Lucky You - A New Monthly Mix!

This is it! The newest Monthly Mix from Lizzie Anne Designs. This month the Mix is called "Lucky You" and it could *not* be cuter! I am in love with the sentiments and that photo stamp -- gorgeous! And the tree, and the honey pot....I'm drooling over here!

For information about signing up to be a Mix member, go here. There are amazing discounts and other members-only benefits! Not to mention, you get all these stamps for only $25!!!!!!

As soon as I get my hands on it you'll be seeing some samples! Have a terrific Monday :)

A Valentine for My Princess

This is my sweet little princess's Valentine this year. She absolutely fell in love with both the Lizzie Anne Designs sixlet set A Little Love and its coordinating digi paper. She is so girlie - loves hearts, pink, princesses, and crafty stuff :) (she also loves superheroes, trucks, dirt, and bugs, lol)

I made her a 6"x6" card. The base is pink and the two panels are both digi paper. My nesties did the trick cutting out large circles for me. I stamped the image once on the white panel, and again on a scrap piece of the same cardstock. I colored them both with Copics, cut out the extra one, and popped it up on dimensionals.

Since she loves all things jewel-like, I opted for dew drops in alternating shades of pink around the edge of the circle rather than paper piercing it. I also added two pieces of pink grosgrain ribbon and this one was all done! Inside is decorated too, but as always I forgot to take a picture before I wrote in it.

Happy Valentine's Day to all those who celebrate it!

Furry Friends Like to Read!

Today I'm sharing with you a super simple project made with a stamp from 2 Cute Rubber Stamps. It is part of my four-year-old daughter's Valentine's Day present. I made her a cute, colorful bookmark I made using the Furry Friends stamp!

Since this stamp is available as a digi image as well as cling cushion and wood-mounted, I chose to print it out so it would make a larger focal point. I used Copic markers to color the cat, dog, and box they are sitting in. I added small flowers to the box using a Copic Spica glitter pen in green. For the sweet puppy's collar I used a pink one - every little girl loves some sparkle!

I know this is an easy-peasy sample today but I really like it. My munchkin loves to read and steals my bookmarks all the time so I know this will be a well received "extra" alongside her candy and art supplies Cupid is bringing her!

Don't forget: to buy stamps from the Etsy shop, go here. Exclusive digi stamps are available for purchase on Heidi's blog here. And don't forget to leave her comments about what sketches you love - she may just turn them into a stamp for you!

***DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE BLOG CANDY FOR A CAUSE-- SEE THE POST BELOW!***

Materials:

• Cardstock/Paper: Green Galore, Naturals White, Pixie Pink
  
• Stamps: Furry Friends
  
• Ink: printer
  
• Tools & Accessories: ribbon, jumbo eyelet, nesties, copics, martha stewart edge punch
  

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer - and Blog Candy!!

My dearest friend Victoria is walking in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, and she is about $200 from reaching her fundraising goal. I know times are tight and many of us have just donated to relief for Haiti, but this is an important cause too! I don't think I know anyone who has not been affected by cancer in some way. And I have lost count of the friends I have who have been touched by breast cancer.

So I'm asking you to donate to this cause, if you can. To sweeten the deal a little, I'm going to give away some goodies! I've been cleaning out my stamp room, and I have a pretty good assortment of almost brand new stamps - acrylic and rubber, 6x6 paper, ribbon, and embellishments - that need a new home! I haven't taken a picture of it yet, but I will soon.

If you donate to Victoria by Sunday, February 14th at midnight EST and leave a comment here with the name you used to donate (just so I can verify) you'll be entered to win the goodie pack. Thanks for helping out this great cause!

Vintage Valentine for DH

Until this morning, I had yet to make DH's Valentine's Day card. We've had a bit of a rough go lately - iffy news and then bad news on top of it. So I've been overwhelmed trying to dig through that. It's easy for me to forget that he is dealing with it too - and I need to tell him I love him and he is amazing! I wanted to make him a simple yet heartfelt card this year -- something I know he'll really love.

And then I saw the tag that Lizzie Anne Designs created for their make-and-take at the SCS booth at the recent CHA show. Wowzers - I love it. Vintage, simple, dark colors. All things I love, and he does too! So without asking their permission (I'm hoping it is ok because I'm on the DT, lol!) I CASE-d it, and turned it into a card.



Mine has a slightly different color scheme - I threw some green on there because that is DH's favorite color. I had to dig through my Primas to find one that would qualify as "masculine" - I settled for the newsprint ones. I added lots of sponging and distressing, including scratching the card up with my Tim Holtz Tonic distresser tool, and some hemp twine to my version as well.

I hope he loves it as much as I do!

Materials:

• Cardstock/Paper: Close to Cocoa, Mellow Moss, Naturals Ivory
  
• Stamps: LAD Vintage Valentine
  
• Ink: Tim Holtz Distress - Frayed Burlap, Antique Linen, Walnut Stain
  
• Tools & Accessories: hemp twine, TH distresser tool, copper brad, primas

Just Sayin'

I have a super quick CAS card to share with you today! One layer, not too many frills - great for sets of notecards! I added ribbon at the top and a dew drop to the center of the corner medallion.

My stamp is from the set Singing in the Rain, which is the February 2010 monthly mix at Lizzie Anne Designs. Sorry for my short post - I'm off to do some family things today!!

2 Cute Birthday Penguin

Happy Saturday everyone! It's snowing/sleeting/raining at my house - so it has been a great time to snuggle up in my craft room and create! I needed to make a birthday card for my little brother, who turns 26 in a couple of weeks (not so little, huh?). He's a fan of no frills and boy colors, so his cards are always a challenge for me.

Here is what I came up with! I kept the color scheme simple and masculine (yet still managed to sneak 2 different Basic Grey papers on there). I used my Cuttlebug to emboss two pieces of cardstock to mimic the circles on Birthday Penguin's party hat. He was colored with a combination of Copic markers; the ice cube was watercolored using an aquapainter and ink. The melting ice has Stickles painted on it for some shimmer, and the block is covered in Ranger Glossy Effects for some shine.


Turned out pretty cool, huh? I'm really please with it and as an added bonus my DH loved it too! So I figure if he likes it, Little Brother will too.


Materials:

• Cardstock/Paper: Kraft, Buckaroo Blue, Prismatics White, Basic Grey dp (Periphery, Mellow)
  
• Stamps: Birthday Penguin
  
• Ink: printer, Buckaroo Blue, Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Frayed Burlap
  
• Tools & Accessories: ribbon, brads, Ranger Glossy Effects, Shimmerz Angel Wings, aquapainter, sponge

You're the Best

Here's my quick card for this week's Lizzie Anne Designs sketch challenge. Joslyn's extra twist was to use hearts, so I used the A Little Love digi paper that was made to coordinate with the A Little Love sixlet set - easy peasy! I printed the cardstock on both sides, so the inside of the notecard is pink :)

You may be able to see the shimmery strip at the top of my little white panel - I was going to use liquid pearls but smudged them so I wiped it off. The end result was that strip, which I quite like. I may use the knowledge from my mistake to my advantage in the near future!

Banner Birthday

I made a quick birthday card for a friend of mine. I'm hoping it reaches her in time - I forgot she lived in Canada, lol, and just put it in the mail today! It is fairly plain but I love the color combo on it. I used a new Lizzie Anne sixlet set called Banner Birthday.

We are headed out to run errands in the snow today, so the card deets have to wait a bit. I planned to write a longer post, but I got sidetracked watching the Lost season premiere!!! I'll post them soon, I promise :)

Enjoy the Ride

Here is a quick and simple card using the newly released set Singing in the Rain, which is the February 2010 monthly Mix. I love these photo images Lizzie Anne Designs has started including with their sets - aren't they awesome???

My color combo is from the Color Throwdown challenge last week. I really liked these colors together!

Materials:

• Cardstock/Paper: SU Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Basic Grey dp (Wisteria)
  
• Stamps: Singing in the Rain
  
• Ink: same as paper
  
• Tools & Accessories: ribbon, dew drops, martha stewart edge punch