CFC59 - You're my universe

Happy Friday!  I hope you've all had a fantastic week.  And speaking of fantastic, lets talk about the new challenge at CAS-ual Fridays!  This week, we're all going round and round:

Round and Round: use 2 circles in your design (a circle shaped card can count as one of the circles)

Yep, 2 circles is all you need to play along this week!  And this week's sponsor, The Twinery, has been generous enough to provide each of the Girl Fridays with some of their delicious twine, AND will be awarding the winner of this week's challenge a twine sample pack!  How very sweet of them!

Their twine is super cute, and comes in such great colors.  I used it to create this paper yummy:

 

I decided to go with a round card, 1. Because I rarely do shaped cards, but they're super cute, 2.  Because the card base counts as one of my circles, and 3. Because I found a super cute sketch, featuring a round card.  I couldn't wait to use my brand new, only-seen-by-sneak-peeks-and-monthly-club-members Paper Smooches stamp set, Space Cadet.  I can't even link to it yet, because it's not even available for sale until July 1, but I will definitely link to it then.  This set is so freakin' cute, and worked really well for my round card (I think).  I mean, just look at this cute lil' monocular alien in a space ship. I stamped and clear embossed him, them colored him in with Prismacolor markers.  I added Stickles to the light ports, then added Glossy Accents to his glass "dome":

I used a couple patterned papers from Studio Calico, and curved my sentiment to match the curve of the inner circle.  I added some cute yellow bakers twine from The Twinery, and popped the alien up on dimensional adhesive:

This week's challenge was so much fun, and I hope you play along.  There are so many different possibilities, I just know you all are going to rock this challenge, just like every other!  Just make sure you rock it by next Thursday at noon EST.  Maybe you'll be the lucky winner of that awesome twine sample pack from The Twinery!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific; patterned papers: Studio Calico; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Tsukineko; embossing powder: Hampton Art; markers: Prismacolor; cutting dies: Nestabilities; die-cutting machine: Cuttlebug; baker's twine: The Twinery; glitter glue, glossy accents: Ranger; dimensional adhesive: American Crafts

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - HELLO SUMMER!

Happy Monday to all!  I hope everybody had a fantastic summery weekend.  It sure is hot here, but we might be getting a little rain today and tomorrow.  I don't love too many things about summer in Arizona, but one thing I do love is our monsoon season.  The smell of rain on the desert is one of my summer faves... and speaking of summer, let's talk about the Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge for this week!  YAY!!  Since it's the fourth week of the month, that means

Yep, it's a photo inspiration challenge.  And this photo just SCREAMS summer to me:

I love that cool tiered tray with the red and white checked tissue paper, and those de-freaking-licious looking cupcakes with the flags are too cute for words (and I'd like to eat all of them. Right now).  That scrumptious photo inspired this paper yummy:

Another thing that screams summer to me is this paper line by Simple Stories.  LOVE IT!  I couldn't NOT use it on this card, especially since they included that awesome red gingham patterned paper!  I used a little journaling card from the 6x6 pad, that already said "HELLO SUMMER!", and based my card around that.  One of the flags from the Paper Smooches Circle of Honor set fit perfectly around that sentiment.  I used a ruler and a pen to draw in the "toothpick" that sticks into the cupcake (from Yummers).  I paper-pieced the cupcake wrapper with the gingham paper, and paper-pieced the icing with some text patterned paper, to which I added some sprinkles:

 
I added a little ribbon tab and a button with brads through the holes to balance out the card a little bit:

I used the chevron stamp from the Geo-Graphic set and some Versamark ink to add some subtle detail to the navy paper:

I'm really excited to see how other people interpret this photo!  You can play along with the challenge here. You have until next Sunday, July 1 at 11:59 PM EST to play along.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking! 

Supplies: card base: Recollections; cardstock: Core'dinations (kraft); patterned paper: Simple Stories; stamps: Paper Smooches; inks: Tsukineko (Onyx Black, watermark); ribbon: Michael's; button: craft supply; brads: American Crafts; black pen: K & Company; glitter glue: Ranger

CFC58: Thanks

It's Friday!  And you know what that means...another CAS-ual Fridays challenge!  YAY! Here is this week's challenge:

Create as CAS project using pink. 

June 23 is National Pink Day so we're doing pink designs.

And the wonderful sponsor this week is The Ribbon Carousel.  The winner of this week's challenge will win a $20 gift card to spend in their store: 

I love pink, but I had a bit of a hard time with this challenge.  I think it was because I had so many ideas, that it was difficult to narrow it down and decide on just one.  But I'm pretty pleased with this paper yummy:

I used some cute pink polka dot paper from Lily Bee Designs, that I die-cut using a Nestabilities die.  I love that it's distressed looking, with the black "smudges".  I used a chevron stamp from the Paper Smooches Geo-Graphic set, and stamped it using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Worn Lipstick.  Then I stamped a sentiment from the Paper Smooches Simply Said set in black ink.  I added a pink button, threaded with pink and white baker's twine:

To continue to distressed look and bring in more black, I drew lines around the card using a black pen, and made it a little thicker in the corners:

I hope you'll play along with this week's challenge!  You have until next Thursday at noon EST to do so.  Thanks for looking!

I'm also playing along here:

Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge 138: Pastel Colors

Fab 'n' Funky Challenge #126: Polka Dots

Paper Play Challenges '12 - Week 25: Use a die

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific; patterned paper: Lily Bee Design; stamps: Paper Smooches (Geo-Graphic and Simply Said); inks: Ranger (pink), Tsukineko (black); cutting die: Nestabilities by Spellbinders;  die cutting machine: Cuttlebug by Provocraft; baker's twine: Divine Twine; black pen: K & Company; button: craft supply

Simple Card Saturday - Happy Anniversary

Hello, and happy Saturday!  I hope everybody is having a great weekend so far, and trying to stay cool.  I've been slacking the past couple of weeks on my Simple Card Saturday post, so I'm getting back on track this week.  Today I have a card using this week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

I needed to make an anniversary card, and wanted to use some old papers from the American Crafts I Do collection.  I love the colors in this collection, and think they are great for anniversaries since they're not too girly.  This sketch worked out perfectly for this paper yummy:

I just love the way these papers work together!  In fact, see that big gray flower?  It's part of one of the patterned papers from this line, and I just fussy cut around the part that I wanted.  And the solid green strip and scalloped gray strip are the back sides of some of the patterns.  LOVE that about American Crafts papers!  They always give you coordinating solids on the back.  I stamped a sentiment by Hero Arts and embossed it with charcoal powder.  I added some stitching around the edges and a pearl to the middle of the flower, which is popped up on dimensional adhesive.  Here's a close-up:

This card was super simple, and I'll definitely be using this sketch again!  Thanks so much for looking!

I'm playing along here:
Freshly Made Sketches #39
Crafty Catz Challenge #137: Embossing
Truly Scrumptious Challenge #82: Flower Power


Supplies: cardstock: Core'dinations; patterned papers, embossing powder: American Crafts; stamp: Hero Arts; ink: Versamark; scalloped edge punch: EK Success; pearl: The Paper Studio; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

CFC57: Be you

Happy Friday to all! I'm back with another fun challenge from CAS-ual Fridays!  This week it's clear as day:

Create a CAS project using acetate or vellum

That's right - the challenge is to use acetate or vellum on your project.  And the sponsor for this week is stamp designer and Girl Friday Karolyn Loncon.  Yep, our very own Karolyn designed 6 stamp sets for Paper Smooches, and the winner will receive ALL 6 SETS!!!  Her sets are some of my faves - they are wonderfully graphic and they build upon each other so nicely.

Okay, on to the challenge.  I always love the look of acetate and vellum, but for some reason they're not really my go-to's.  I should use them more.  I had so much fun creating my card for this challenge.  And here is my paper yummy:

I used a bunch of transparencies from Basic Grey, and used a punch from Stampin' Up! to create windows for the transparencies:

Since my punch wouldn't quite reach to the very middle of the black cardstock, I punched it as far in as it could go from either end, and that left me the perfect space to stamp a sentiment:

I created the "be you" using the Alphadot stamp set from Paper Smooches, and heat embossed it with mustard yellow embossing powder.  I finished off the card with a yellow star transparency backed with white cardstock, a green cardstock star sticker, and a red brad:

I really love the way it turned out.  I love all the little phrases on the transparencies, and I adore the patterns on them!  How about you?  Do you use acetate or vellum often?  We would LOVE to have you play along with this week's challenge, and you have until next Thursday at noon EST to do so.  Thanks so much for looking!  Don't forget to stop by and give all the other Girl Fridays some bloggy love!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), Recollections (black); transparencies, cardstock sticker: Basic Grey; word window punch: Stampin' Up!; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Versamark; embossing powder: American Crafts; brad: craft supply; corner rounder punch: We R Memory Keepers

Stamping on canvas and coloring with sprays (tutorial)

Hello all!  Today I have a bit of a tutorial to share with you.  Recently I made a card where I stamped a solid image onto canvas, and it looked really cool.  Then just a few days ago I wanted to stamp on canvas again, this time with an outline stamp.  I thought it would be cool to try to color the image in with spray inks using a stamped "stencil".  I'm sure this is a no-brainer for some of you, but I had never tried it or seen it done, so I took step-by-step photos to share.  Here is the finished canvas piece:

This technique would also work with an image stamped on paper; for this tutorial, I will be working on canvas.  I started out with a piece of sticky-back canvas, specifically Ranger Sticky-Back Canvas ATC.  I stamped an image and a sentiment, both by Paper Smooches:

I stamped the same image onto a piece of scrap cardstock.  I used Memento Rich Cocoa ink for all stamping:

I then used a craft knife to cut the image out of the cardstock, creating my stencil.  Since I wanted to color the flower and the leaves two different colors, I also cut the leaves away from the flower:

I placed the stamped canvas onto my non-stick craft sheet, then laid my stencil over the canvas image.  I used some other scraps to cover the rest of the canvas, and taped all the cardstock pieces in place using Scotch tape: 

I decided I wanted to color the leaves first, so I used the cardstock flower to cover the canvas flower.  I taped the cardstock flower to the stencil so that only the canvas leaves would be exposed:

I sprayed Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Chalkboard Spray in the color Sprout:

I wiped off the excess spray, then removed the cardstock flower from the stencil.  Here you can see the whole canvas flower with only the leaves colored in:

Next I placed the cardstock leaves into the stencil and taped them in place:

I sprayed the flower using Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Vintage Pink:

I wiped off all the excess spray and removed the cardstock stencil from the canvas.  Here again is the finished result:

I used my canvas to create this paper yummy:

I used some Studio Calico Mister Huey ink in Classic Calico to add spatter to my background papers.  I had never done that before either (even though it's all the rage right now), but was inspired by the Spatter Technique Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.  And since Cath extended the deadline, why not play along?    I finished off the card with some machine stitching, this cute gingham ribbon, and a button:

Here's another view:

This was a really fun technique, and I encourage you to try it if you haven't before.  Even if you don't have any canvas on hand, try it on paper!  It's a cool alternative to coloring in an image with markers or pencils.  If you do try it, I'd love to see your result!  Thanks for looking!

I'm playing along here:

Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge: Stitching

The Spatter Technique Challenge in the Moxie Fab World

Young Crafters Unite Challenge #10: Flowers

Supplies: cardstock: Recollections; patterned papers: Studio Calico (pink, flowers), October Afternoon (green); canvas: Ranger; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Memento; spray inks: Tattered Angels (pink, green), Studio Calico (brown); ribbon: Michael's; button: craft supply; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge - Squeal!

Happy Monday, everybody!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Today I have a card for this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge.  Since it's the second week of the month, that means it's time for a designer drafts challenge:

Here is the awesome sketch Kim designed for us this week:

I thought this was a pretty fun sketch to work with.  I wanted to use some of the super cute stamps from the Paper Smooches June release to make a baby card.  Now for the paper yummies:

I stamped and paper-pieced the adorable little piggy from the new Green Acres set, and used the "squeal" from the same set.  Then I used another sentiment from the Pip Squeaks set below that.  I used patterned papers from the new Echo Park Sweet Day collection.  I fussy-cut this banner from one of the patterned papers, and stitched across the top of it and around the orange paper:

I finished off the card with some twine and a button:

I'm really excited to see how other people interpret and use this sketch!  You can play along with the challenge here.  You have until next Sunday, June 17th at 11:59 PM EST to play along.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking!  Now get busy with that sketch! :)

Supplies: card base: Recollections; patterned paper: Echo Park; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Tsukineko; twine: Offray; button: craft supply; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

CFC56: Hi!

Hello, and happy Friday!  I'm back with another fun challenge from CAS-ual Fridays!  Here it is:

Create a clean and simple project using polka dots or spots

I am such a sucker for a polka dot, so I was excited to see such a challenge.  I was also excited to find out that this challenge is sponsored by DeNami Design, who generously provided the DT with stamps.  This was my first time trying DeNami, and I am impressed!  Their stamped images are nice and crisp, and they make some really cute stamps.  Check them out here.

For my card, I wanted to do a little "outside the box" polka dots.  I found some paper from Cosmo Cricket that fit the bill perfectly!  The dots are all different patterns, and all are large enough to fit any of the sentiments from the set that DeNami sent me (Petit Fours Everyday Greetings)  Now for the paper yummies:

Mmm...I just love all those big, patterned polka dots!  And the colors are so great too!  I decided to keep this card super CAS, so the dots and sentiment would take center stage.  I stamped the "hi!" onto one of the dots, then used the Small Dot Border stamp to create the row of dots along the right side of the patterned paper.  I added a narrow strip of ivory cardstock to the other side to balance it out, then popped the patterned paper up onto dimensional adhesive:

Won't you play along with us? You have until next Thursday, June 14 at noon EST to link up your projects!  We'd love to have you!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: card base: The Paper Studio; cardstock: Recollections (ivory); patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket (Social Club collection); stamps: DeNami Design; ink: Tsukineko; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - Sup, grill-friend?

Happy Monday to all! Today I have a card to share for the current Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge.  It's the first week of the month, so you know what that means...

Yep, it's the Trend Watch, where you create a card based on a current trend.  Even though I'm in group 2, I still created a card for today's challenge. It will be linked up to the challenge gallery rather than in the blog post itself.  The inspiration for this week's challenge is this:

I was inspired by all those different patterns mixed together.  Now, my card may take a minute to "get", but stick with me, and I think you'll get a kick out of it.  I still giggle every time I look at this paper yummy:

Get it???  HOMEGIRL GOT HERSELF A GRILL!!!  BAHAHAHA! She's his "grill-friend"!

The idea for this card was actually spawned when I was helping my friend's daughter, Emma, make a Father's Day card.  She wanted to use the little farmer from the new Green Acres stamp set, but wanted to give him yellow teeth.  We ultimately decided to keep his teeth white except for one gold tooth, which was done with a Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust pen (in Clear Star) over a light yellow marker.  Then I thought it would be funny to make another card and give him a grill.  Then my mind went to the Alfresco stamp set with the sentiment "sup grill-friend". I know Kim Hughes designs Paper Smooches sets to work well with one another, but I don't know if this is exactly what she had in mind.  LOL!

The sentiment is normally all on one line, but I masked and stamped each word individually to make it fit into my speech bubble.  The whole time I was making this card, I was remembering back to the time when my family went to Oklahoma City for my brother's wedding, and my sister wanted to go dancing at this club.  We went to the Skky Bar in Bricktown, and this guy came up and tried to dance with her, which was cool...until he smiled and had A FULL-ON GRILL!  Her reaction was so funny!  I don't think she even said anything, just pointed and laughed!  He got the point...  When I showed my sister this card, she started laughing and said "that guy!"

Ahem...back to the SPARKS challenge.  I used a total of 6 different patterned papers on this card.  I still crack up looking at it.  Here's my guy, and his grill-friend in the background:

I had so much fun making this card, even though it involved a lot of fussy-cutting.  I think these guys look so awesome paper-pieced!  I especially love her flowery overalls and gingham shirt...and of course, her grill!  (And a little side note, both the farmer and his grill-friend are the same stamp. Kim included a little "leaf" shape stamp in the set that doubles as pigtails!  Genius!)


I hope you will play along with this challenge.  For each challenge, there will be a PS PRO. This PS PRO will receive a banner for their blog and a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store.  You have until Sunday, June 10th at 11:59 PM EST to play along.

Did you know?  Paper Smooches is now on Pinterest! Come follow the entire team and company here!!! 

Thanks for looking!

I'm playing along here:

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge: Prints are Charming

The Gingham Challenge in the Moxie Fab World 

Lily Pad Cards Star Challenge

Paper Play Challenge '12 - Week 22: Double Delight (use two of something - I used the farmer stamp 2 times, and added pigtails to one)

Paper Pretties Monday Challenge: Use Bling

Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge

Supplies: card base: Recollections; cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white for stamped images); patterned papers: Simple Stories (red gingham, flower denim, green dot), Authentique (blue dot, blue gingham), My Mind's Eye (stars); stamps: Paper Smooches (images, sentiment), Hero Arts (speech bubble); ink: Memento; markers: Prismacolor; glitter pen: Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust pen; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer