CFC68 - Scootin' off to school

Happy Friday, everybody!  Today I'm heading up to Phoenix to go to Hobby Lobby (for the second time this week - didn't realize I needed something the first time. Duh!) and I'm going to hit up a stamp store while I'm up there, since there are no LSS/stamp stores here in Tucson.  Lame-o.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to it.  Ya know what else I'm looking forward to?  This week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge!  YAY! There are some really exciting things in the works over at the CAS-ual Fridays blog.  The first thing (and the only thing we can disclose so far) is a new Girl Friday!  Yep, the very talented Piali Biswas is joining us, starting with this week's challenge!  And here it is:

CFC68: Create a Clean and Simple back to school project

The sponsor for this week's challenge is Pretty Paper Studio.  The winner of this week's challenge will receive a gift certificate to spend in their super cute store!

Ok, so onto the challenge! I love so many of the back-to-school-themed paper collections, but they tend to be geared toward younger children.  I wanted to go a slightly different route with my card, and make one for a "kid" going off to college.  With that in mind, I created this paper yummy:

I was looking for a way to incorporate the scooter from the Paper Smooches Spiffy Scooters set, and when I saw the stack of books from the Smarty Pants set, it just "clicked."  I stamped the scooter onto the graph patterned paper, colored in the lights, then stamped the stack of books onto the seat.  I stamped the apple on top of the books, then stamped the puffs of smoke and the flag coming out the back of the scooter.

I created the sentiment using the Paper Smooches Alphadot set, and stitched around the edge of the graph patterned paper:

I paper pieced the scooter, and popped the "fenders" up on dimensional tape:

Here is another view:

Are you at the top of the class?  We'd love to see your back to school project, and you have until next Thursday at noon EST to play along with this week's challenge.  And don't forget to stay tuned for the big changes coming to CAS-ual Fridays in the near future! Thanks so much for looking!

Supplies: card base: The Paper Studio; patterned papers: My Mind's Eye, Basic Grey; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Tsukineko; markers: Copic; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Americana

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - You're groovy!

Happy Monday to all!  I hope everybody had a great weekend.  I'm back today with the new Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge for this week!  YAY!!  Since it's the fourth week of the month, you know what that means:

Yep, it's a photo inspiration challenge.  And here is the very cool inspiration photo for this week:

Isn't that just the funkiest sofa ever?  It really threw me for a loop as to how to translate it into a card.  I definitely stepped outside my comfort zone to create this paper yummy:

So I'm not sure that I really channeled the sofa in my card, but I think it's pretty darn funky too.  I used the rounded rectangles stamp from the Spiffy Scooters set and stamped it multiple times to create the background.  Then I colored them all in with Copics, trying to simulate the general location of the colors in the sofa.  I created the sentiment using the Graffiti set, and finished it off with a flower from Qwick Qwips and a lil' rhinestone.  Here are some more views:

How are you inspired by this week's challenge?  I'm really excited to see how other people interpret this photo!  You can play along with the challenge here. You have until Sunday, September 2nd 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: cardstock: Recollections (black, kraft), Copic (white); stamps: Paper Smooches; inks: Tsukineko (black), TPC Studio (red); markers: Copic; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; rhinestone: craft supply; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

CFC67: Nuts about you

Happy Friday, peeps!  Today I'm back with this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge (insert cheers here!):

CFC67: Use banners or flags on your clean and simple project

Yep, this week we're playing with trendy banners and flags.  I love them, and it's a good thing - you can hardly look through a new paper collection and not find banners on patterned papers, stamps, or pre-made embellishments.  So I was glad to have a "reason" to use them on this paper yummy:

I apologize for this picture, but I just could not get a good picture of this card standing up.  I don't know what it was...  Anyway, this card came together super quick, and I think it's so cute!  The Double Ended Banner Die and the Acorn Die and sentiment are from Lil' Inkers Designs.  The wood grain is Hero Arts Designer Woodgrain.  The patterned papers are from the yummy Pink Paislee Prairie Hill 6x6 pad, which is full of wonderful colors and patterns.  I popped up the top of the acorn with some dimensional adhesive, and finished off the card with a button tied with twine knots and frayed.  Here's a close-up:

Are you as crazy about flags and banners as we are at CAS-ual Fridays?  We'd love it if you joined in on this week's challenge!  You have until next Thursday at noon EST to do so.  Click here to see the rest of the design team's banneriffic creations.  Thanks for looking!


Supplies: cardstock: Core'dinations; patterned paper: Pink Paislee; stamps: Hero Arts (woodgrain), Lil' Inkers Designs; ink: Tsukineko (Memento Rich Cocoa); dies: Lil' Inkers Designs; die-cut machine: Cuttlebug by ProvoCraft; button, twine: craft supply; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers

CFC66: You float my boat

Hello, and happy Friday to all!  I hope everybody has enjoyed their summer.  Even though it is still August, I am glad that summer is winding down.  Even though it is still ridiculously hot here in Arizona, the early mornings have become much more bearable when I go jogging.  I am excited to start all my fall and Halloween crafts.  But before I do that, I have one more summery card for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge!

CFC66: Splish Splash  -  Include something you might find in the water (ocean, lake, pool, etc.) in your clean and simple project

And the fabulous Stop and Scrap has generously agreed to be our sponsor again.  The winner of this week's challenge will receive a $20 gift certificate to spend in their store!

Okay, on to the challenge.  When I thought of "something you might find in the water", my mind went straight to the Cosmo Cricket Salt Air collection.  This line is so stinkin' cute!  I love the colors and the vintage kitschy feel it has.  So I perused my collection pack, and found a cute border strip that was perfect for this paper yummy:

I thought the people in the little boat were so cute and funny.  I paired them with a sticker strip from the same collection, then added a sentiment, twine, and a button.  Easy peasy!  Here's another view:

So what floats your boat?  Share it with us in this week's challenge!  You have until next Thursday at noon EST to play along.  We'd love to have you!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock, patterned paper, sticker strip: Cosmo Cricket; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: TPC Studio; button: craft supply; twine: Offray; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - Hey diddle diddle

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:

Yep, it's another one of Kim's awesome sketches.  And like I've said before, these sketches have truly challenged me.  But from every challenging sketch has come a card I've been really happy with. And this sketch is no exception.  Here's the sketch:

See, those curved lines just messed with me. My brain wants them to have a purpose, and not just serve as an arbitrary place to change patterned papers or something like that.  I need to have a reason to have something shaped like that on my card.  Dumb, I know, but that's just how my brain works.  So after looking at that sketch for a while, it hit me: those two curvy lines create a shape that looks like a crescent moon.  Then I had the perfect idea for this paper yummy:

 I used that crescent moon to make a baby card based on the nursery rhyme "Hey, diddle diddle."  You know, the part where "the cow jumped over the moon."  I free-hand drew the moon, cut it out of the yellow gingham paper, and stitched around the edges.  I stamped the cow from the Green Acres set onto white cardstock, masking the legs when I inked it so that I could stamp them at an angle to make it look more like the cow was jumping.  After I colored it in, I fussy-cut around it, and boy is that tale skinny!  I stuck the back legs and udders behind the moon, and the front legs on top of the moon.  I adhered the back of the cow down flat to the card, and used foam tape under his face:

I stamped a star from the Space Cadet set onto the blue patterned paper, and drew in a line to make it "hang" from the moon. I used the Alphadot and Graffiti sets to create my sentiment.  I was inspired by this post by Kim Hughes herself where she encouraged us to use stamps in different ways. To create the "Hey", I used the A from Graffiti, but masked off the top part to turn it into an H.  The y is a lower case h turned upside down.  I ruffled some gingham ribbon and hot-glued it around the edge of the blue paper.  I finished off the card with a button and some twine:

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, August 19th 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: cardstock: Core'dinations (kraft) Georgia Pacific (white for stamping); patterned papers: My Mind's Eye; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Tsukineko; markers, black pen: Copic; ribbon: American Crafts; button, twine: craft supply; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Coats & Clark (yellow), Singer (white)

CFC65 - Get well soon

Happy Friday to all!  I'm here with this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge:

This week our sponsor is Stampotique.  They have such a wide variety of stamps in very different styles, so you're sure to find something you love.  They were also generous enough to provide all the Girl Fridays with our choice of stamps.  How cool is that?!?  AND, the winner of this week's challenge will receive a $30 gift certificate to use in their store!  Woohoo!

Okay, so on to this week's challenge: square cards.  There is just something so cute about a square card.  I love 'em so hard!  And here is this week's paper yummy:

The chicken soup and the frame are all one stamp, and the "Get Well Soon." is a separate stamp.  The denim with the graph pattern inside was cut from a piece of patterned paper (part of that yummy Summer Fresh collection again!).  This card came together so quickly and easily.  I just stamped right onto that graph pattern, colored in the frame, the chicken, and the top and bottom of the can, then paper-pieced part of the can's label. I cut down a piece of hexagon patterned paper with a perforating blade to give it a bit of a rough edge.  I stitched around the edge, added a ribbon, and voila!  Here's a close-up of those cute Stampotique stamps:

And the ribbon:

I hope you'll join in the fun of square cards this week.  You have until next Thursday at noon EST to play along with this week's challenge.  Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Core'dinations; patterned papers: My Mind's Eye (hexagons), Simple Stories (journaling spot, red gingham); stamps: Stampotique; ink: Tsukineko; markers: Prismacolor; ribbon: Michael's; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Coats & Clark

CFC64: Sending you sunshine

Happy Friday!  I'm here with this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge:

CFC64: Use things you might find in the sky on your clean and simple project

And once again, our fabulous sponsor is Simon Says Stamp. 

They are so generous to sponsor our challenge regularly!  The winner of this week's challenge will receive a gift certificate to spend in their store.  And speaking of this week's challenge, let's get to it!  The timing for this challenge couldn't have been more perfect.  So the theme is "On Cloud 9", but you can use anything you might find in the sky.  While I am on cloud 9 (my first publication is in print this month! YAY!), I chose to bottle up some sunshine in this paper yummy:

                        

I know I've said it before, but the Summer Fresh collection from Simple Stories is the quintessential summer line.  It just screams summer and sunshine-y goodness.  So when I saw this coordinating stamp set from Simple Stories/Unity Stamps, I couldn't resist.  I love that the jar stamp in this set is so big - it's perfect to create a shaped card (about 5 inches tall!).  I stamped it onto white cardstock and also onto some scratch paper.  I cut out the inside of the jar from the scratch paper, and used the negative cut as a mask to stamp all the sunshine inside the jar.  Then I scored and folded the card on the left side of the jar.  I placed some temporary adhesive inside the card to keep the two layers together, then fussy-cut around the outline.  For the sentiment, I used a stamp from the Hero Arts/Studio Calico Heyday Sentiments set.  I masked off the "you are my" above the "sunshine" so that I could hand-write "sending you" instead.  Here is a close-up:

Are you on cloud nine, or could you use a jar full of sunshine?  Either way, I hope you'll play along with this week's challenge.  You have until next Thursday at noon EST to do so.  We'd love to have you!

Thanks for looking!


Supplies: cardstock: Stampin' Up! (Whisper White), Bazzill (red); stamps: Simple Stories/Unity Stamps (jar, sunshine); Hero Arts/Studio Calico (sentiment); inks: Tsukineko (Memento London Fog, Versamark), TPC Studio (yellow); embossing powder: American Crafts; white gel pen: Uniball Signo; baker's twine: Divine Twine