CFC76: Yeah baby!

Happy Friday!  I hope everybody has thoroughly enjoyed the big CAS-ual Fridays Stamps release and all the sneak peeks (click here to see if you were a winner!). It has been so awesome to be able to design for Michele using her fun, original stamp sets, and my card for this week's challenge was no exception.  Here is the challenge from the CAS-ual Fridays blog:

 CFC76: Kraft On

Use kraft on your clean and simple creation

And the sponsor for this week's challenge?  You guessed it!  It's CAS-ual Fridays Stamps!  And the store website is now up and running, so please go shop to your heart's content.  And don't forget to play along this week for a chance to win some wonderful CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, just like the ones I used on this paper yummy:

The "Yeah baby!" and "You did it!" stamps are both from the Woot Woot set, and I stamped them on a plastic die-cut piece from American Crafts (using Staz-On ink).  The bright coral/pink colored square is another plastic die-cut, and I just thought those two colors looked great together, especially with the crisp white on kraft.  The row of dots stamp is from the Big Thanks set, and I stamped it in Hero Arts Soft Pool ink, which is a near perfect match for the plastic piece.  I added a couple rhinestones to finish off the card:

I really hope you'll play along with this week's challenge.  You have until next Thursday at noon EST to do so. On a different note, a few of the Girl Fridays are retiring, so please stop by and give them some extra bloggy love this week.  Thank you so much for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Recollections (kraft), Georgia Pacific (white); plastic die cuts: American Crafts; stamps: CAS-ual Fridays Stamps; ink: Tsukineko (black Staz-On), Hero Arts (Soft Pool); corner rounder punch: We R Memory Keepers; rhinestones: The Paper Studio

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - Season's greetings

Hello, and happy Monday.  Well, it's actually a bittersweet Monday for me, as this is my last post as part of the Paper Smooches SPARKS design team.  Our six month term is up, and the team for the next term has been selected.  I'm excited to see what they come up with, since there are some seriously talented girls on the next team.  But I will really miss being part of the DT.  It has been such a pleasure designing with Kim's stamps and working alongside such creative ladies.  But I'll definitely be playing along with the challenges, and starting up some of my own challenges on the Paper Smooches Flickr fan page (more details to come soon!).  But first, on to this week's challenge!  Being that it's the fourth week of the month...

...that means it's a photo inspiration challenge.  And here is the photo:

I was drawn to the white-matted gray background and the three white utensils with yellow birds on top.  And being that Christmas is coming up, I created this paper yummy:

I used three snowmen and a bird from the Swanky Snowdudes stamp set, and the other two birds are from Chilly Chums and Santa Paws.  The sentiment is from Christmas Sampler, and I double-stamped it in black and red for a different look.  Here are some other views:

I'm super excited to see how other people are inspired by this photo!  I really hope you'll play along.  You have until Sunday, November 4th at 11:59 pm EST to do so (it's a 2-weeker!).  You can play along with the challenge here.  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: Copic X-Press Blending card (white), Recollections (gray); stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Tsukineko (black), TPC Studio (red); markers, black pen: Copic; white pen: Uniball Signo; glitter glue: Stickles by Ranger

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Sneak Peek

WTF?

Did that grab your attention?  Well, that's the name of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps set I'm sneak peek-ing tonight as we kick off the week long reveal party!  And the stamps are equally as attention-grabbing as the name.  I've loved showing my (non-paper-crafting, of course) friends and family this set and watching their reactions.  Michele is such a clever designer!  She included so many usable phrases to fit the WTF acronym.  I used the set to create this paper yummy:

I love all things Halloween, so I made this card using Halloween colors.  Not only are the "WTF?" and "where's the fun" stamps part of this set, but see those cool linear dots repeated behind the "WTF?"?  That's another stamp in this super fun set!  I just turned it on the diagonal and stamped it in ink colors that matched my patterned papers.  LOVE THAT!!!  Here's a close-up of the sentiment:

I added some machine stitching to the left of the heat-embossed "where's the fun?".  I also added some Black Diamond Stickles to the strips of black cardstock at the top and bottom of the patterned papers.  Here's a close-up:

And here's another view of the card:

I'm so excited to be sharing this sneaky peek with everybody.  This has been such a difficult secret to keep because these stamps are so fun and original, and I know that cardmakers everywhere are going to love them so hard!  Here's a little info about CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, the week-long release party, and how YOU can win these fantastic new stamps:

• CAS-ual Fridays Stamps are the finest quality photopolymer and made in USA.
• There are 5 sets in the new release, one set being revealed each day.   
• We will be giving away a set from each release day, and all you have to do is come to the store blog and comment on each of the sneak posts for your chance to win. 
• If you miss a day of peeks, you can go back to days that you missed and still comment if you're joining the party a little late.  Commenting will close at 11:59 pm EDT next Wednesday night (October 24).
• We will have special guests posting sneak peeks with the Girl Fridays each day of the release week.  We're talkin' some serious talent here, girls!
• Winners will be announced next Thursday (October 25) and the stamps will be available on Friday (October 26) when the store website launches. 
• You can also play along in this week's challenge for your chance to win the entire release!  Um...WOW!
• CAS-ual Fridays Stamps has a Flickr Fan Page where you can feast your eyes on all the wonderful CFS projects at once.

Thank you so much for taking part in our sneak peek week.  I can't wait until everybody has the chance to ink up these babies!  You'll love 'em!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), Recollections (black); patterned papers: Doodlebug; stamps: CAS-ual Fridays Stamps (WTF?); ink: Tsukineko (black, green, watermark), TPC Studio (purple, orange); embossing powder: Recollections; glitter glue: Stickles by Ranger; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; banner die: Lil' Inker Designs; die-cutting machine: Sizzix; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

CFC75...and a HUGE party!!!

Happy Friday!  Today is especially happy because the extra special, super top-secret secret we've been keeping at CAS-ual Fridays is finally being revealed today!  You're gonna LOVE it!  If you didn't arrive here from the blog, you'll have to go there to find out exactly who this "little sister" we've been talking about is.  But first, here's this week's challenge:

To see the sponsor for this week's challenge, you'll have to pop over to the blog.  But I assure you, it's a fantastic sponsor and a wonderful prize!  In fact, there will be a week-long party with awesome prizes and a ton of special guests.  I mean, we're talking some of the most talented ladies in the biz!  Ok, onto the challenge.  I only used stamps from this week's sponsor to create this paper yummy:

Since the challenge is to have an element that extends past the edge of the card, I went with this long circle stamp.  It worked perfectly on an A2 card so that I had just a little bit hanging off both sides.  Cool, huh?!?  Ya' wanna know what else is cool about this card (at least to me)?  IT'S A SINGLE-LAYER CARD!  I really struggle with single-layer cards, so I try to challenge myself to do them every once in awhile.  I love the way this one turned out.  First I folded a full sheet (8.5 x 11) of white cardstock in half, just to get an idea of the height of my card.  Then I stamped the long circle stamp toward the left side of the paper:

I used a centering ruler and made pencil marks showing where I needed to cut the cardstock in order to make my card 4.25" wide, with equal parts of the stamp hanging off each side:

I used my paper trimmer to cut up to the stamp, then fussy cut around it with scissors:

I stamped the repeating background, then stamped the two flowers.  I colored them in with Copic markers, then added Stickles to the center.  Aren't they cool?!?

I added the funky red circles to the insides of the open circles, then stamped the sentiment above them:

I love this card!  It's kinda different from my usual style, and I love that!  Will you go over the edge with us?  We hope so!  And after you meet the "new little sister", I'm certain you'll want to play along!  You have until next Thursday at noon EST to link up your project, but don't forget to check in at CAS-ual Fridays all this next week for the big party!!!  YAY!

Thanks for looking!

CFC74 - Baked with love

Happy Friday!  I hope everybody has had a wonderful week.  I am on my six day break from work until next Tuesday, so I've got no complaints!  I'm here today with this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge:

CFC74: Put your {heart} into it

Use hearts in your clean and simple project.

And our sponsor this week is i {heart} papers:

The winner of this week's challenge will receive a gift certificate to spend in the i {heart} papers store.  They carry a ton of cute products, and even some exclusive stamp lines.  That is where I bought my first ever Paper Smooches stamp set back in January of this year.  Needless to say, I was hooked.  Nine months and 46 Paper Smooches sets later (LOL! But seriously...), I created this paper yummy:

So just like I've been playing around with the teacher from the Paper Smooches Smarty Pants set, I've also been experimenting (pun intended!) with the mad scientist from the Great Chemistry set.  I replaced his rubber glove with the oven mitt from the Yummers set, and paper-pieced it.  And it cracks me up!  Then I put the heart-shaped pie (iced sugar cookie?) in his mitt.  I colored him and the pie with Copic markers.  I stamped the sentiment onto the gingham paper (from Lily Bee Design), and paper-pieced the little {heart}.  The pink and blue patterned papers are Pebbles Inc., as is the floral oven mitt.  I scored a line along the top, bottom, and left side of the card.  Here's a closer look at the sentiment:

And here's a close-up of the scientist-turned-pastry chef:

Tee hee.  I love that guy!  I hope you will play along this week, and put your {heart} into it!  You have until next Thursday at noon EST to join in the fun.  Also, don't forget about the HUGE announcement that will be made at the CAS-ual Fridays blog.  And if you put this special button on your blog and link up to the CAS-ual Fridays post, you could win an AWESOME prize!

Thanks so much for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Copic X-press It Blending Card; patterned papers: Pebbles Inc. (blue, pink, floral), Lily Bee Design (yellow); stamps: Paper Smooches (Great Chemistry, Yummers); ink: Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black); markers: Copic; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; scoring tool: Martha Stewart Crafts Scoring Board

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - Let's be merry

Happy Monday!  I hope everybody had a wonderful weekend and a great World Card Making Day!  I know I sure did.  I got to sit down and make a few cards, and even had a friend stop by and make one with me.  I played along with the challenges over at the Paper Smooches Blog.  And speaking of Paper Smooches, let's get to the SPARKS challenge for this week!  Since it's the second week of the month, that means...

...yep - it's a sketch challenge!  And here is the sketch we're working with this week:

And I think I've probably said this about every single other sketch that Kim has given us during this design team term, but this sketch truly challenged me.  I struggled with it for the longest time.  But as soon as my brain stopped seeing a big ol' arrow head, but rather 4 triangles at the bottom of the sketch, I had an idea!  And I paired that idea with the new (adorable) Chilly Chums set to create this paper yummy:

I would have NEVER thought to do something like this on a card, and that's why I love Kim Hughes and her sketches. And her stamps.  I started off by cutting a piece of cardstock down to 2.25" x 4.25".  Since, in the sketch, the square on the right (below the word) looks just slightly wider than the square on the left, I cut the cardstock so that I had two pieces: one a 2.25" x 2.25" square, and the other a 2'"x 2.25" rectangle (the difference is pretty subtle).  Then I cut each of those directly in half, diagonally, to create a total of 4 triangles.  I stamped each triangle with the little hat (also from Chilly Chums), then masked it and stamped the adorable animals over the mask.  I colored them in with Copic markers, then positioned them onto my patterned paper so that there was just a slight gap in between each one.  I stamped a sentiment from the Christmas Sampler set (which I'm really loving!) onto some candy cane striped patterned paper, and rounded the top corners.  I stitched around the edges of all the chums, and between each lil' guy as well.  I added some baker's twine to represent the vertical line in the sketch, and finished off the card with Stickles on the hat trims and Glossy Accents on the eyes and beak.  I LOVE THIS CARD!  I think it's so different, and what's not to love about those cute little faces looking back at you?!?  Here are a couple close-ups of the chums:

EEK!  I love those faces!  I'm super excited to see how other people are inspired by this sketch!  I really hope you'll play along.  You have until next Sunday, October 14th at 11:59 pm EST to do so.  You can play along with the challenge here.  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: The Paper Studio (kraft); cardstock: Copic X-press It Blending Card (white); patterned papers: Lawn Fawn (yellow, green), My Mind's Eye (red); stamps: Paper Smooches (Chilly Chums, Christmas Sampler); ink: Tsukineko; markers: Copic; Stickles glitter glue, Glossy Accents: Ranger; corner rounder, hole punch: We R Memory Keepers; sewing machine: Kenmore; quilting thread: Americana; stapler/staples: Ranger (Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher); baker's twine: Divine Twine

World Cardmaking Day, Take 2

Hello again!  I'm back with the second card I made yesterday to celebrate World Cardmaking Day.  This is the card that has me absolutely GIDDY!!!  I played along with the Paper Smooches Blog, and for this card, I followed the sketch that Kim posted (from Operation Write Home).  Here's the sketch:

I've been playing with the teacher stamp from the Smarty Pants set, exchanging the pointer in his hand for other various objects.  Well, I found that the candy cane from the All Yule Need set fits quite well is his little hand, and the hat from the Chilly Chums set looks pretty darn cute on his head too!  I don't know what it is about this card, but I think it may be one of my favorites...ever.  And now for the paper yummies:

So, I changed the sketch ever so slightly by making that center panel a little bit smaller.  I just couldn't bear to cover those plaid and candy cane striped patterned papers!  I love 'em so hard!  I stamped and colored the guy, then paper-pieced his tie.  I gave him the hat and the candy cane, which look so stinkin' cute with a little Stickles on them.  I stamped a sentiment from the All Yule Need set, and added some machine stitching.  Here are some other views:

I would love to remake this card a bunch of times using different patterned papers...maybe tomorrow!

Thanks so much for looking!

I'm playing along here:
Paper Smooches World Cardmaking Day challenge
Simon Says Stamp Celebrates World Cardmaking Day

Supplies: cardstock: The Paper Studio; patterned papers: Lawn Fawn (yellow), My Mind's Eye (red), Authentique (green); stamps: Paper Smooches (Smarty Pants, All Yule Need, Chilly Chums); ink: Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black); markers: Copic; glitter glue: Ranger (Diamond Stickles); corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; sewing machine: Kenmore; quilting thread: Americana

World Cardmaking Day, Take 1

Hi, everybody!  I hope you had a wonderful World Cardmaking Day yesterday, full of creativity and plenty of time to play!  I had the chance to sit down and make a few cards, and I'll be sharing two of them today.  I'm playing along at the Paper Smooches Blog, where Kim has issued 3 different challenges: 1. use pink in your card (for Breast Cancer Month), 2. make a single layer card, or 3. make a card using a sketch from Operation Write Home.  I combined two of the challenges to create this paper yummy:

I really struggle with single-layer cards, so I wanted to challenge myself to make one.  And since I love making Christmas cards in non-traditional colors, I incorporated the pink challenge into this card as well.  First, I die cut the double-ended banner die from Lil' Inker Designs, as well as the Layerz Mat Stack 1 Die from Papertrey Ink.  I temporarily adhered them onto the right side of my card to be used as masks.  With the masks in place, I stamped the large solid circle stamp from the Paper Smooches Hullabaloo set around the edge of the larger die to create a scalloped border around it.  I also stamped the houndstooth background  from the Debonair set using the second generation stamping technique to give it a worn, distressed look. Then I removed the larger die cut mask and, with the banner die cut still in place, adhered only the negative of the larger die cut in place to use like a stencil.  I applied the green ink using a finger dabber.  I outlined both die-cut shapes with a black Copic Multiliner to give them more definition, then stamped the sentiment from the Paper Smooches Christmas Sampler set.  I finished off the card with some holly leaves and cute pink berries from the Chilly Chums set.

Here's a close-up of the cute little holly leaves and some Stickled pink berries:

I'll be back in a little while to share my second card, which totally has me GIDDY!!!  It may be one of my faves to date.  Thanks for looking!

I'm playing along here: 

Paper Smooches World Cardmaking Day challenge

Simon Says Stamp Celebrates World Cardmaking Day

Supplies: cardstock: Stampin' Up!; stamps: Paper Smooches (Hullabaloo, Christmas Sampler, Chilly Chums, Debonair); inks: Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black), Ranger (Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Worn Lipstick and Crushed Olive); dies: Papertrey Ink (Layerz Mat Stack 1), Lil' Inker Designs (double-ended banner from Flags & Tags); black pen: Copic; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; glitter glue: Ranger (Diamond Stickles)

CFC73 - I respect you

Happy Friday to all!  Last week's CAS-ual Fridays gallery was chock full of inspiration!  I LOVED looking at all the cool blog headers and the cards they inspired.  This week's challenge is equally inspiring:

CFC73: Create a clean and simple project to celebrate the women in your life, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

And since it's the first challenge of the month, that means that the wonderful Simon Says Stamp is our sponsor!  And the winner will not only receive a $25 gift certificate to spend in their store, but will also be a future guest designer at CAS-ual Fridays! YAY!

Thankfully, none of the women who are close to me have been affected by breast cancer, so I created a card suitable for any woman, for any occasion.  Short and sweet is this paper yummy:

I think this card is kinda different for me, and I really like it!  I'm not into tattoos, but I think it looks a little like tattoo art in a Vargas pin-up girl kind of way.  I kept the card VERY simple.  I stamped the rose (from Paper Smooches Pretty Momma set) directly onto the blue patterned paper, then colored the leaves with Copic markers so that the pattern would show through.  I stamped it again onto red and orange patterned papers, and also added some Copic coloring to them.  Then I cut the outer petals from the red patterned paper, and the inner "bud" from the orange.  I paper-pieced them, popping up the center portion.  I masked and stamped the portion of the sentiment that I wanted, then drew a simple black line around the edges of the card:

How will you celebrate the women in your life?  We'd love it if you joined in on this week's challenge, and you have until next Thursday at noon EST to do so.  Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific; patterned papers: Crate Paper; stamps: Paper Smooches (Pretty Momma, Zoo Crew); ink: Tsukineko; markers, black pen: Copic; dimensional adhesive: American Crafts