Card Patterns #104

My friend and SU! enabler, Cindy, sent me the remnants of some Simply Scrappin' kits a while ago. Despite the best intentions, I don't yet scrap, but used the bits to make this card. The solid layers are stamped with a bloom from Verve's Petals and Stems set, and the sentiment is from All About You by Verve. I added some rhinestones to the flower centers, and that's it. Easy, bright and cheery card.. The sketch is from Card Patterns, sketch #104. I am trying to enter more sketch challenges, since they really get me started. Otherwise, I choose stamps and papers and stare at them trying to come up with a layout.

Time for lunch! Carter is napping and my time starts now! Thanks for looking!

TSSC162 for the Troops

Today's cards are modeled after the Techno Stamper Lunchtime Sketch, TSSC162. I am making a bunch of cards to send to OWH for the troops, and am trying to use up my supplies in the process! This batch uses a few sheets of Pretty In Pink cs, almost the last of my Marigold Morning cs (how many of you remember that color?), and some DCWV Spring Stack patterned paper. I swear, those stacks NEVER end!



The stamps are from Hero Arts - my mom picked them up at a crafty yard sale for me and I always forget about them. However, this week Carter emptied the basket that has all my loose stamps, so I was reacquainted with this cute set. They are colored with SU! markers and a few of the vases are paper pieced. The sentiments are CHF. The twill ribbon and brads (I never use gold ones, but like them here) are from the stash.



I will post more cards this week, I promise! DH has been out of town more than in and when the kids go to bed, I just collapse in front of the tv. The good news this week is that I had a weigh-in at the gym. In the last 5 weeks, I have lost 6 pounds and reduced my body fat percentage from 25.8 to 17.4. I am VERY excited to be in shape by this summer! There's still work to be done, and this weekend I am hungry, but I'm motivated to keep it up.

I hope you are having a good weekend. Thanks for looking! Here is a list of the other cards entered for the sketch:

Beautiful Old People

I bought this sentiment from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps years ago, and never got to ink it up until today. I love it, but had to use it on the right person. My grandmother is having a birthday soon, and I thought it would be perfect for her. She is mother to 8 children, grandmother to 20 (21?) and great-grandmother to a bunch, too. Everyone loves her and I hope she has a fabulous day!

For the layout, I took the sketch from Card Patterns (#102). The papers are Soft Sky, and Paper Salon Enamored in Swiss Dot and Blue Scrolls. I think I picked up the papers at the LSS where I used to live, but can't be sure. The flower is made with the gorgeous tissue paper that Verve stamp orders come wrapped in. I cut out a bunch of scalloped circles with the Nesties, layered them and scrunched them up. The center brad and the brads in the upper left corner are from my stash. See, I'm using up stuff!

I'm in the process of reorganizing stuff in my craft room. It's getting there, but it's never going to be perfect, is it? But thank goodness for IKEA!! I hope you are enjoying the tail end of the weekend. Thanks for looking!

Why Did I Buy This Swap Card

I joined a swap recently on SCS. The theme was to use products that you had in your stash for more than one year and had never touched. I have plenty of those! I found this Imagination Station paper in Cayenne, Pic-nicky and Tomato Soup and paired it with some Kiwi Kiss cs. Ok, I have used the Kiwi Kiss before, but I have never inked up this stamp or used these embroidery floss colors. The eyelets were also deep in the stash, and I found the little Thank You stamp in a binder I have of dollar stamps.

The layout is from OWH Stars and Stamps blog. I was skeptical about this card as I was putting it together, but in the end I like it! Thanks for looking!

Raindrop Kisses

Lately, I've been jotting down a bunch of sketches from the blogland to get me started when I finally have time to sit at my craft desk. This one is from Unscripted Sketches (#92). I love how simple it is, although I'm sure it could be dressed up much more if you wanted to. I always have trouble knowing how much more is too much more, so I always stop. One of these days, I'll make a shabby, vintage, busy card. Not today, though :)

The image is from Elzybells (I got a bunch of stuff when they were going out of business). I paper pieced her dress and the umbrella. DP is from a Spring Stack by DCWV that I've been chipping away at for about 3 or 4 years now. It NEVER ends!! Base is Pure Poppy. I even decorated the inside a tiny bit:

Sentiment is Elzybells again, and the hearts are from the SU! punch. Thanks for looking!

Sketchy Penguin

I love this little penguin from The Cat's Pajamas! The set is You Say It's Your Birthday, and I've had it for a while and just inked it up this week for the SCS sketch 303 challenge. The papers are from Heidi Grace Designs for Fiskars. I flipped the sketch on it's side and used the Scalloped and regular Ovals, along with the Scalloped and regular circle dies from Nestabilities for the mats. The chocolate layers are from my scrap pile, which is only growing, no matter how much I use from it!

Here's a close-up of the chalked background. It barely shows, but adds a little interest IRL.

Hope you are having a good weekend. Ours went by MUCH too quickly for my liking. 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!

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!

Orchid Thoughts

You can tell a day that Carter naps well, because I not only get to create a card, but I get to blog about it, too! He is due to wake up any minute, so this will be quick. This card is for the SCS Color Challenge and also for the Monday Lunchtime Sketch. I love these colors together and got to play with my new Extra Large Flower Punch from SU! I embossed the Razzleberry and Vanilla panels, and the large layer of the flower with the Swirl folder and the Cuttlebug. The leaves are actually cut with another Cuttlebug die and are in Basic Grey Perhaps paper.

The Old Olive layer of dp is from the SU! SAB Welcome Friends paper pad. Love that paper!! I wish SU! had a sampler pack of In Color dsp, though. I know they sell each color separately with the Patterns packs, but a sampler would be nice, don't you think? Any demos reading with some influence?

The ribbon is Rich Razzleberry dotted grosgrain and the button is from my stash. Sentiment is from the SAB Whimsical Words set (yes, I got a ton of SAB stuff :)).

As predicted, Carter is waking up, so time to play. We finally have sunshine today and I hope you do, too! Thanks for looking!

Teacher Valentine

The sentiment inside this card will be "You are the apple of my eye." LOL. I made it for Justin's teacher, using some DCWV papers (those packs last forever, don't they??) and some Imaginesce Snag 'Em stamps. The apple actually has a face on it, but I masked it off. The card base is Rose Red and the white panel is Cuttlebugged with the Swiss Dots folder. The sketch is from Techno Stamper's Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge #107. At first, this sketch intimidated me, and I mulled it over all week long. Finally I had some time to create last night and got this done!

Hopefully today I'll have more time to play in my stamp room. I need to spend some time cleaning it up, then I'll have room to create! It's a disaster since I dash in to make a card and push everything aside when it's time to make the next one. Have a great Sunday, everyone! Thanks for looking!

TSSC 100!

Congratulations to Mary-Jo, who this week posted her 100th Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge at Techno Stamper! Go check them out if you have not already done so - she does a great job each week :)
Here is my take on the sketch, thrown together during Carter's naptime. I have not stamped in about a week, because I had an itch to rearrange the furniture in my house! I changed my stamp room around and did a major clean-out of supplies. Seriously, I feel like I have TOO much and it is overwhelming sometimes to get started on a project. There are a few things started that I hope to finish this weekend between going to and throwing a birthday party. After that, I can start the year fresh and get into a creative routine again. I miss it!!

This paper is from Michael's, Chatterbox Holiday Sprinkles. The ornament is cut from a set of holiday stencils I found while cleaning. The sentiment is from a company that went out of business a couple years ago, Mandarin Pixie. I love the font, though.

Here's the photo I included in the Christmas cards this year. We took hundreds to get a couple good shots, but I always like the home-shot photos better than the studio shots. They are more realistic in my opinion.


Well, Carter is going to wake soon and it is almost time to get Justin from school. Another day done. Next week, there are only 2 1/2 days of school, then they are on break until January 4th. I am promising Justin a trip to NYC on the train to see the Natural History Museum, so hope that the weather is nice at least one day so we don't freeze in the city!! I can't believe he will be 6 years old on Christmas day.

Wedded Bliss

Yesterday's SCS Sketch was an easy one, and I needed a wedding card. Here is the result. I'm not sure if it's the final card I will give the happy couple, but I have a few weeks before the big day to change my mind. I used Basic Grey Periphery dp in Cork, and some BG Periphery die cuts. The yellow ribbon is from Ribbons and Bow, Oh My! Pearls are Queen and Co. I also added a strip of embossed gray and trimmed around the embossing (Frills edge folder and Cuttlebug).

I'm headed off for a weekend with some girlfriends and can't wait to leave tomorrow! So today I have to get the house cleaned up for the boys. What I really want to do is take a nap, and I might try to convince DS to do that after lunch. Wish me luck. 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!

PCP Birthday Card

Have you seen the Saturday Sketch Challenges at Paper Craft Planet? They are always great sketches, but I don't always get time to do them. However, this morning DS was in my craft room with me and he was making a card of his own, so I snuck in an attempt at the sketch. It is a 4.25 square with Basic Gray base, Bazzill textured layer, and some BG Perhaps dp. The sentiment is from MFT and the flower was made with the Nesties Blossoms dies in the Cuttlebug. The center brad and ribbon are from my stash.

Now we are off to enjoy this gorgeous day. We'll be headed into the pool in a little bit to cool off! I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful day wherever you are. Thanks for looking!

Paper Craft Planet Saturday Sketch

This past Saturday, there was another great sketch posted on the Paper Craft Planet site. I didn't get this card finished until Wednesday night, but luckily yesterday morning was nice and sunny and I could get a decent photo of it. I knew if I tried to use a flash, there would be glare off the acetate and the embossed sentiment.The image is from Angel, and I decided to turn the sketch into a winter shaker card. The "snow" is Martha Stewart coarse glitter. The window frame is embossed with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder and the sentiment is from Mandarin Pixie. I had forgotten that I even bought this set of sentiments, but look how great they are for embossing! Nice crisp bold lettering :)

The ribbon pieces are from my stash and are attached with button brads. DP is last year's Christmas stack (which I am determined to use up this year!). For a final touch, I inked the edges of the card base with red ink. Overall card size is 5 1/2" square.

We have a birthday party to attend this weekend, but other than that I think we are unscheduled and everyone is healthy. So hopefully I can squeeze some time in for crafting. Thanks for looking!

Happy Harvest Angelosity Card

Tonight, while watching election returns, I decided to catch up on some of Angel's challenges. I think I'm still missing 2 days, but I'll get there! This card is for Day 11, which was a sketch challenge. The image is Lizzie Anne Designs Celebrations and Celebration Frames. DP is Basic Grey Mellow and the twill tape is Martha Stewart. Sentiment is from SU! Loads of Love Accessories. I colored the pie plate with a silver Spica glitter pan and the crust is colored with a Prismacolor pencil. The frame is Pumpkin Pie. The large left panel is embossed with the Cuttlebug Distress Stripes folder.I hope you like it. I'm off to watch more election stuff then go to bed, since I've had a horrible headache all day and the Excedrin is wearing off. Have a good one and thanks for looking!

Stamping Links to Love Sketch Challenge

Allison is hosting this week's challenge at Stamping Links to Love, and has posted a sketch. Here is my interpretation, but I feel it is a little crowded on this card. Maybe I should have gone with a slightly larger card base?? I colored Tilda with my Prismacolor pencils and blended with OMS. This is one of those cards that came together from my stash, so I don't have all the manufacturers for all my materials. I feel bad when I can't give credit where credit is due, but that's a hazard of having TOO much stuff!

All the flowers are Primas, I think (they're all jumbled in my stash!). The sentiment is from a generic set that I forget the name of. I hope you are all having a good week! Thanks for looking!

Techno Stamper Lunchtime Challenge #22

Number 22, yikes! I have not participated in all 22, but I have printed them all off, or copied them into my sketch notebook for future reference. Mary Jo always has great sketches, and I love that they push me to create something I might not have otherwise created. Here's mine for this week, using Cakeabella. Her apron and the cake are paper pieced, the rest of her is colored with Prismacolors and oms. Hardware is from We R Memory Keepers and the ribbon is from my stash. Somehow, I think I missed a layer, but I still like this end result. Once again I pulled from the Making Memories pad of paper and used my color inspiration from that. The corners of the image panel are paper pierced, then outlined with my Gelly Roll Stardust pen.

Thanks for looking!

200th Post!?!?!?

Wow, to think I have created at least 200 cards since August! Yikes - at least that might mean that I have been using what I have. May was a heavy shopping month for me though, and I'm afraid of what the credit card will bring. It all started with the May Flowers Pack from Verve Visual. Then I needed some adhesives. Then there was a great clearance at the craft store. Then I needed a sympthay set...

On to today's card. The sketch is from Di Hickman's May 28th challenge. I instantly wanted to make a card with this cute dollar set I picked up last week. I had the Sunshines paper from Cindy and I got to work. I used the Nestabilities scalloped and regular squares for the images, then laced them with hemp twine through eyelets. The center large sentiment is made from stickers. These K & Company Hopscotch alpha stickers have been in my drawer almost a year, and I haven't had the chance to use them. Di's sketch was perfect, although I could have lined up the word better so that the "s" wasn't hanging off the edge...

DS is on his way to bed, so I'm hoping to get more stamping done tonight. This is a full week of work, and I'm sure it will feel like a long one. Hope you all had a good weekend. Thanks for looking!

CPS 66 - Summer!

Last week, Cindy sent me this adorable summer paper from the Paper Patch. The patterns are Sunshines and Aqua Summer Plaid. When I saw the CPS sketch for the week, I knew I wanted to use these papers to celebrate summer. I used my Curvy Cutter to make the circle card from Marigold Morning cs. Then I used my Nestabilities to make a scalloped circle of each pattern, and cut them in half to mount them on the card. The larger aqua circle is a piece of scrap puched with the Marvy Giga Scallop Circle punch, and the small scallop with the image is cut from my Nestabilities. I sponged the edges of the small scalloped circle with Marigold Morning ink, then used an aqua gel pen to make the dots in the scallops. The stamp is from A Little Love and I added bling to the flip-flops with rhinestones. To make the piercing on the aqua scallop stand out, I outlined them with a white gel pen. On the patterned scallop, the piercings are outline with my Spica Glitter pen. The ribbon is from Target and I used Yellow Stickles in the centers of the suns on the ribbon. Fun and summery, no?

Thanks for looking!