Simply Mocha Chica

CPS 207 is so fun this week! I have tons of ideas in my head for it. If only I had tons of time! This card did come together in a flash, using Mocha Chica papers and stamps from the Kim Hughes line of products from now-closed CHF. For those of you looking for a Kim Hughes fix, though, she has started her own stamp company, Paper Smooches! Such fun stuff she's come out with already :) I have a card using her one of her debut sets and will post in the next day or so. I'm still trying to decide if I love it or not.

Anyway, on this card, the bird and tree are paper pieced and all the square image panels are lightly sponged with Cool Caribbean ink. The green embellishments are Bella Dots that I got a couple Christmases ago from Stamping Bella. The other ink colors used here are Certainly Celery and Chocolate Chip. Have a good afternoon, and thanks for looking!

Two More Moxie Fab Projects

This is actually the final card I made for the Moxie Fab World Color Inspiration challenges. The challenge is the Pretty Pastels Challenge, and as much as I love the colors, it is the one I had the most trouble with! I used Rose Red, Lavender Lace, Pale Plum and Pink Pirouette.

The stamps are from Vintage Vogue, and I did the rock and roll technique with lavender and plum when stamping the flowers. They are then cute out and applied with pewter brads. The butterflies are from the SU! Sizzlit die and the panel is embossed with the Sizzix folder from SU! I used the side that was debossed, because I liked the change of texture. The rhinestones are from my stash. I based the layout on the CPS sketch 203.

Let me say I am aware that I broke the Rule of Three by using 4 of the butterflies and flowers, but I still like it!

The card below is for the Jewel Tones Color Challenge from Moxie Fab World. I used Elegant Eggplant, Crushed Curry, Taken with Teal and Sahara Sand card stock. The star is punched with the SU! Extra Large Star punch, and I forget the name of the stamp set. The panels are embossed with the Cuttlebug star folder.

Here's a close up to show the ruffled ribbon and the punched star. The ribbon is dotted grosgrain in Crushed Curry. I colored in the words on the star with a yellow Spica pen.

CPS 191 x 2

Did you see the CPS sketch this week? Yikes! What a challenge! First, I made this cute little 3x3 card using a new stamp set I got from Prima. I thought the circles looked just like peppermint candies, to I used Stickles to color them in. The "wrappers" are bits of organdy ribbon from my stash. The papers are scraps! The sentiment is from the Pure Innocence set I used in the next card.



This time, I paper pieced the hat and jacket with some MME paper that I also used as the side shapes. This was such a tricky sketch, I wasn't sure how to work with it. But I think this card came out VERY cute and I love it! The base is Cherry Cobbler (my last piece - boo hoo!). I love that new color, and am no out of red card stock. How can that be? Cindy, I'll be emailing you again soon! Good thing my Christmas cards are all completed for this year.

Can you believe it's November already? I cannot. I need to get the Christmas shopping done! Have a good day and thanks for looking!

CPS Christmas

I recently bought some baker's twine from Monika for a great deal! I got a ton of twine, and she shipped it very quickly. If you are in the market for some, go check out her site and send her an email!! I wanted to use the twine and the red and white was perfect for this Christmas card, made using the CPS Sketch 190. The stamps are Tree Trimmings and the papers are kraft, white and Cherry Cobbler. The ornaments are stamped in Cherry Cobbler and then clear embossed. The sentiment is from Martha Stewart.

That's it for today. I can't believe it's already Wednesday. Being sick on Monday and not getting anything done has thrown off my entire week. Justin has an allergy appointment today - he was recently tested again and his milk allergy levels have tripled since last time he was tested. I have a ton of questions for the doctor that I have to get down on paper so I don't forget. And there's more laundry to get to today, and the usual dinner, cleaning, etc. Maybe some stamping, too ;)

Thanks for looking!

CPS Love Letter

With my recent SU! order, I got this lovely Love Letter dsp. I love the mix of vanilla, black and red. I have had these gate fold cards in my stash FOREVER, but never use them because they are so big! They are #10 size and can be intimidating. However, when I saw the CPS sketch for this week, I knew they would be just right.

The main image is from Kim Hughes for CHF (so sad that they closed!). I stamped it in Red Riding Hood, then stamped it again with Versamark (there was still red on the stamp and I probably stained my Versamark pad) and embossed with clear EP. The sentiment is from the same set and I finished it off with some silk May Arts ribbon. I was so happy that the sentiment fit on the lines of the paper!

Here's a close-up of the main image panel:



I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Have a great day. Thanks for looking!

Playful Color Throwdown

This is my Take One attempt at the Color Throwdown combo this week. I used the CPS sketch as a starting point, but I'm not sure of my execution. I have more papers on my desk and ideas in my head, so I'll try again later. Meanwhile, I have yet another card for the Christmas stash!

I used the patterned papers from the In Color pack from the SU! Hostess level 1. The stamps are Kitchen Sink Stamps, Playful Christmas. Ribbon is from my stash. The trees are embossed with a pattern over the color, but you can't really see it. Bummer.

We have another busy weekend ahead of us. Our neighborhood is having a Fall Festival on Sunday, and tomorrow we are headed to get our own pumpkins. I don't know if we'll get to carving them just yet, but we'll see. I hope you all have a great one!

The Technique That Strikes Fear...

I love to learn new techniques, but one that always makes me break out in a cold sweat is machine stitching on cards. So many people do it so beautifully, and I have a hard time even setting my machine to the right stitch! Today, though, I tackled the old beast and think this cards turned out fairly well. At least it wasn't ruined by totally wonky stitching!

The papers are from the Basic Grey Origins pack again. They were still out on my desk, and when I saw the CPS 185 sketch, I knew I wanted to use them again. The tree is a little stamp from Inque Boutique (who aren't even around anymore!). I paper pieced the top of the tree with some of the dotted BG paper. The ribbon is a piece of taupe grosgrain which is really close to kraft in color. The image is cut using Nesties and the sentiment is Verve. This card also counts as another entry into the Embellish Magazine challenge - light green, dark green, yellow and kraft along with paper piecing. I did not use MFT stamps this time, though.

I'm now working on some Halloween cards which I hope to actually get in the mail in time. I also have several birthday cards that I MUST get out the door this week. Thanks for looking!

Two Fun Challenges!

I had so much fun making this card, even though at the beginning I didn't know quite where it would end up. I pulled out some Chocolate Chip card stock from SU! to start with, and stamped the CHF Tiled Scallops Backgrounder in CC ink. For the bird, I stamped the same backgrounder in CC ink on some Taken with Teal card stock (also SU!). I punched the bird with the SU! bird punch and added a small black pearl for the eye. The flourish is from Colorbok and I picked it up at Joann's a long time ago. I first stamped it with White Craft Ink, then added some Colorbox Platinum and Raw Silk chalk ink on top. The sentiment is mounted on a strip of brown twill from Martha Stewart and the sentiment is from the Mocha Chica stamp set from CHF. Both Teal pieces are trimmed with the SU! Scalloped edge punch.

This card was made with this week's CPS sketch 184 in mind, and also made to fit the Moxie Fab World Offset Scallop Gallop Challenge.

I hope you like it! Thanks for looking!

Finding Time to Create

Just when I think it's safe to step into the craft room, something happens like Carter deciding not to take a nap. Listening to a whining crying child from the next room is a real mojo killer! Alas, I did sneak in tonight to finish this card, based on the CPS sketch #183. I did veer off the exact sketch and didn't put as many strips across as the original, but I like how it turned out just the same. The stamps are Live Like You Mean It. The flowers are colored with chalks on Versamark. The papers are all from the scrap pile, as are the bits of ribbon.

Wishing you all a good week ahead. I hope to be back with more posts! I have a few in the hopper, can you believe it? Thanks for looking!

Welcome Neighbor

Don't you just love the little houses in the Welcome Neighbor paper pad from SU!? I love the colors, and the fact that it dictates a color combo, too. It gets me to use that Crushed Curry that otherwise intimidates me! Here, it's paired with Old Olive and Kraft with a tiny bit of Bermuda Bay.

I used the CPS Sketch 163 for the layout and the sentiment is from Loads of Love Accessories. I popped up a few of the houses and a tree on the main image panel with foam dots and pierced the corners. Easy peasy!!

Thanks for looking!

Two Challenges Sunday

I was able to sneak in a tiny bit of stamp time this morning, and whipped up these two cards. They were super quick because I only stamped the sentiment on one, the rest is all dp and embellies.

The first card is for the CPS160 sketch, which is very nice and easy! I might try it again later in the week with a long card, too. I do have three birthday cards to make this week for sweet little girls we know! The papers are Deja Views Fresh Print in Plum Stripes and Plum Blossoms. Rick rack and brads are from my stash. The "hi" tag is from a pack of tags I bought at Target years ago! Love that I can use up this stuff finally! The layers under the tag are cut with the Blossom dies from Nestabilities.

The second card is for the EONAC10, in which the sentiment is to take center stage. I have other ideas for this challenge, too. Hopefully I'll get to those later this week, too! So many stamp ideas, so little time :(

I used some EK Success Stacy Claire Boyd papers, Timeless Teal (from the Tres Chic Peacock Collection) that I have had in my pile for a long time. It doesn't have a date on it, but it has to be at least 2 years old. I love the colors, but always thought it would conflict with any image I paired it with. Pairing it with just a sentiment works! The sentiment is from Verve.

I hope you are having a good Sunday. We are expecting 3-5 inches of rain over the next few days, so I'm hoping the basement stays dry again. DH is headed out of town tonight and I don't want to be home alone with any disasters!! Justin is on break this week, so a couple of rainy days are going to be a blast. Maybe he'll want to stamp with me :)

Thanks for looking!

Lime and Cherry Snowmen

Parts of these cards have been sitting on my desk all week. Just today I took the time to put them all together. It's so nice to have 5 cards done in one sitting! This Flaky Friends group of snowmen is one of my all-time favorites, which is why I chose to use it for the March challenge in Tracy's Christmas Card Challenge. I will make my 3-d project this coming week - it's in my head, I just have to find the time to complete it. I hope it's as cute in reality as it is in my head!

The sketch for this batch of cards is the CSP 158 sketch from March 14. DP is from scraps of DCWV Holiday Slab. The red is Real Red from SU! and the green is from DCWV Spring Mat Stack. I used snowflakes from a pack of confetti (SO many snowflakes in that package!!), and some linen thread from SU!. I really like the rounded corners.

I'm off to run to the grocery store, such fun on a Saturday afternoon! I hope you are having a good weekend. Thanks for looking!

Mocha Chica Wishes

Each week, I make a list of the challenges I want to complete. Each week, I get to a small percentage of them. Today, I dove in with the CPS Sketch, #156 while Carter took a good morning nap. This stamp set and papers (both Kim Hughes for CHF) have been in my stash for over a year and I knew I wanted to use them today. Maybe it's the anticipation of getting the new bird punch from SU! that had me thinking of birds. They are everywhere right now, it seems.

The card size is 7 1/4 by 3 3/4 inches. I made this size because I have a stash of random envelopes, and it fit the 8x8 inch papers! The green embellies are from Stamping Bella, the swirl is stamped with Soft Suede, and the bird is cut from the green paper. The wing is paper pieced.

Well, I have been saying that I have not been to a craft store since before Christmas, but I just sent a HUGE SU! order in and can't wait for stuff to arrive. I took full advantage of the SAB and am getting 7 free items from the SAB catalog!! Woohoo! Now if only I had more time to play :))

Have a good Monday, and thanks for looking!

Another Junior Birthday

Still trying to use up that American Crafts Junior paper... But I've also been able to put a dent in the amount of Summer Sun cardstock I have, too. I never know what to do with those Bold Brights! Do you have other ideas?

This card is for the other boy whose birthday party we are going to on Sunday. The sketch is from CPS, and the images are SU! Toy Box. I had lots of ideas for the CPS sketch this week, and you may see it more in the near future.

While Carter naps I'm going to try to tackle more crafting. I'm feeling the mojo this week, just am running short on time. Have a good day and thanks for looking!

CPS141

It's been forever since I've completed a CPS sketch, so I went to work on the new sketch yesterday. It is #141 and I love the simplicity and versatility of it.
These Martha Stewart gold leaf stickers have been in my stash for a few years now and I decided to use them up on a batch of cards. The papers are Crate Paper Lemon Grass Collection and Little Sprout Collection that I picked up at the LSS on my last trip. Since I only had 5 stickers and made 6 cards, the last card has the leaf from SU! Tags & More cut from some of the dp. The rick rack is from American Crafts and the base is SU! True Thyme from years ago. I still love that color, though! Scalloped squares are made with the Nesties and Cuttlebug.
Well, Carter is crying in the other room. He seems to think that less than one hour is acceptable as a morning nap, and I feel otherwise. Time to try to coerce him back to sleep for a bit or our afternoon is going to be miserable.
Thanks for looking!

Sunshine Inspired

This week's CPS sketch was a fun one, and I combined it with the SCS Color Combination from yesterday. The Color Combo was Creamy Caramel, Apricot Appeal, Tempting Turquoise and Baja Breeze.

The stamps are all from By the Seashore by MFT. The base card is Tempting Turquoise and the dp are from my stash, so I don't have the details. The image layers are Baja Breeze and Apricot Appeal. The image is stamped in Creamy Caramel and paper pieced and colored with Bic markers. Those MFT stamps are too much fun to paper piece!! The sentiment is stamped in TT and the small sun image is cut from the dp and I added a bauble to the center.

I think this card has the most layers of all the cards I have made to date. I like it, even though it will definitely take extra postage! Well, my morning time is up and it's time to pick up DS from camp. He's going from 9-12 four days a week and is having a blast so far. Today is a gorgeous day outside, so I'm sure we'll be in the pool after lunch. I hope you are all enjoying some sunshine as well. Thanks for looking!

Early Morning Mojo

I was up and going early this morning, and the boys have gone off on a Porsche ride, so I jumped into my craft room. We have friends who are in Paris working for a few years and they recently sent me some great stamps that they picked up while in London for a weekend. They are taking advantage of where they are and are traveling all over. I'm jealous - we were in Ireland for a year, but Paris is so much more glamorous!

They were in Morocco not too long ago, so I made them a Thank You card with the BG Marrakech papers. The card base is Soft Sky and the yellow is some Bazzill textured cs. Hardware is from We R Memory Keepers, and ribbon from my stash. The layout is from the CPS site - sketch 122 posted today. I love their sketches and have been off the challenge wagon lately. Hopefully I'll find my groove when DS starts summer recreation next week. This week might be spotty since he will be home with me every day.

I'm going to jump back to my desk and see what else I can create this morning while it's still quiet. I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday! Thanks for looking!

Mother's Day Cards

I found a small stash of mulberry paper in my collection, so I've been trying to use it up. I made Mother's Day cards for my MIL and my mom using the same color scheme, although the layouts are different. The first is actually from Technostamper's Sketch 67 last week, but I didn't get it posted in time. The second used the CPS 114 sketch from this week, and also the Use It Challenge #8. For the Use It challenge, we had to use flowers, fibers and metal. I included fibers in the mulberry paper, metal in the flower brads, and Prima flowers. The flower stamp around the scalloped circle and in the background of the sentiment circle are from Verve Floral Whimsy. The centers of the border flowers are dotted with Stickles. The sentiment is CTMH Simple Beauty.

These are both off in the mail today with hopes that they will reach their destinations by Saturday. I hope you are having a good week. Thanks for looking!

Can It Really Be the LAST Day of November?

So hard to believe that tomorrow is December 1st! My niece is turning 13, and that hardly seems possible, either. Where DOES the time go?

Today I spent a little time making progress through my Google Reader (trying to get it below 400 items to read!). I copied the CPS #93 sketch and noticed it fit an image I had colored on my desk, so I put it together. The papers are all Basic Grey Perhaps. Tilda is colored with watercolor pencils and my aquapainter. The flowers are Primas and the tiny brad is Queen and Co. The silver ribbon is from Ribbons & Bows, Oh My! and the pink ribbon is from my stash.

I hope you all had a good weekend. We went to the Mall yesterday for a birthday party at Build-a-Bear. What fun the kids had, but I have to say that the parents throwing the party were MUCH too generous to all the kids in attendance. And after building bears, they hosted lunch at a local restaurant. It was fun, but a little over the top for a 5 year old's party...

Thanks for looking!

Happy Thanksgiving to All

Happy Thursday to those who are not celebrating American Thanksgiving! We are headed to our neighbors in a short while. DS has been parked on the couch all day, still sick. I might stay home with him and just have DH bring a plate to me. This morning, since I have NO cooking or prep to do, I spent some time in my stamp room. I took out the CPS sketch for this week, which is #92. This Edwin image was part of a RAK (I'm trying to use my RAK'd images, can you tell?) and was a blast to color. I just love these Magnolia images to watercolor. The dp is from DCWV Mini Stack 3 that I've been trying to use up for a year now. I cut the oval image by tracing around a Nestability with my xacto knife, then cut his shoes with scissors. The blue panel is DCWV Spring Mat Stack and the Cuttlebugged layer is done with the Houndstooth folder. The ribbon is from my stash. I left off a sentiment, but this will probably be a Thank You card for DS's teacher at the end of the year.

Thanks for looking!