CFC88 - XO

Hello, and happy Friday!  I hope you all had a wonderful week - I know I did ;)  I'm here today with a new challenge from the CAS-ual Fridays blog!  Woo hoo!

CFC88: Love Letters

Use alpha stamps, dies, stickers, etc. on your clean and simple project

And the sponsor for this week's challenge is once again the fabulous Ellen Hutson!  The winner of this challenge will receive a $25 gift card to spend here!

So for this week's challenge, I chose to incorporate letters onto my card in a few different ways.  Check out this paper yummy:

The first (and most subtle way) I added letters to my card was by stamping the heart, which had x's and o's on it already.  I stamped it in red ink, cut it out, then colored over it with a red Copic marker.  The next way I incorporated text was on my tag.  I stamped the tag (from this stamp set) onto some text patterned paper by Stampin' Up!, then cut out the tag.  For the card base, I cut down a piece of self-adhesive cork to be the same size as my card.  I "stamped" on the cork using a Cuttlebug folder!  Yep, I just applied black ink to the raised side of the embossing folder, then laid my cork face-down onto the inked portion.  It worked really well!  To finish off the card, I added some glittery stickers (from Making Memories) to the heart.  Here's a close-up:

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

Supplies: card stock: Georgia Pacific; cork: Recollections; patterned paper: Stampin' Up!; stamps: Simon Says Stamp & Kelly Purkey (tag), Recollections (heart); inks: Tsukineko; marker: Copic; embossing folder: Cuttlebug; glitter alpha stickers: Making Memories; ribbon: Offray; corner rounder punch: We R Memory Keepers 

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! I hope everybody is having a safe and blessed holiday, however you're spending it. I'm back with another card for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge:

CFC47: Let the Hunt Begin! Clean And Simple projects featuring something you'd find in an Easter Basket

I used this sketch from Retro Sketches:
I again used stamps that had never previously been inked. I just love these cute lil' eggs! The grouping of eggs is a single stamp by American Crafts, and they just begged to be paper-pieced. I thought I would try something new (for me, at least). I stamped the eggs on white cardstock, then used a square die that was slightly smaller than the stamped image, so that when I paper-pieced them, the eggs hang off the die cut just slightly. I think it's a pretty cute effect. Now for the paper yummies:

I embossed the kraft cardstock background with this cutie patootie polka dot embossing folder from Provocraft. I'm such a sucker for a polka dot. Add in some cute eggs? Yes, please! I stamped the sentiment (by Hampton Art) onto some green dot paper, and added a pink gingham ribbon. Here's a close-up:

Thanks for looking! Stay tuned this week... I MAY have a bit of exciting news to share! Tiny squeal!

I'm playing along here:

CAS-ual Fridays CFC47: Let the hunt begin

Fab 'n' Funky Emboss It! Challenge

One Stop Craft Challenge #166: Pastels and die cuts

Retro Sketches #6

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), The Paper Studio (kraft); patterned papers: DCWV; stamps: American Crafts (eggs), Hampton Art (sentiment); ink: Tsukineko; embossing folder/machine: Cuttlebug by Provocraft; cutting die: Spellbinders, ribbon: The Ribbon Boutique

Happy Easter to a real cute chick

Happy Sunday! I hope everybody had a safe and sound St. Patrick's Day. Today I have another card for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge:

CFC44: It's as Easy as 1-2-3 Create a Clean And Simple project using

1. A Pattern

2. An Image

3. A Sentiment

I found this cardstock at Michael's this week while they had their open-stock Recollections papers 6/$1.00, and I really like it. The name of the color is not on the tag and I forgot to look at the name at the store, but it's much lighter than kraft and you can still see white pen against it. And I LOVE me some kraft paper! It's great to have another, slightly different but still krafty, option. And you can't beat that price! I used this cardstock to make a shaped card (which I don't do often, but I don't know why. I like 'em). I used a Nestabilities die to cut the shaped card and a piece of patterned paper by Echo Park. Now for the paper yummies:

I just love that lil' chick with the bunny ears! Too cute!

I'm playing along with these challenges:

CAS-ual Fridays CFC44: Easy as 1-2-3

Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge: Things with wings

PaperCrafting Journey Challenge 5: Pretty pastels

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Recollections; patterned paper: Echo Park; stamps: Hampton Art (sentiment), Craftsmart (image); ink: Tsukineko; markers: Prismacolor; die: Nestabilities by Spellbinders; die cut machine: Cuttlebug by Provocraft; white pen: Uniball Signo; baker's twine: Divine Twine

CPS Day 7 - Merry Christmas

Happy Saturday! I have a couple posts coming your way today as I try to catch up on the Card Positioning Systems 5th anniversary celebration's 15 sketches. This is the sketch from day 7, and today they posted the 14th sketch. Eek! This is sketch #242:

I gotta be honest - this sketch challenged me a little bit. I knew I was going to do a Christmas theme so that I could also use this card in my upcoming Christmas in February card class. And I knew I wanted to use that cute little birdie and the branch, both by Hero Arts. And I had a bunch of this red cardstock pre-cut to this size from a previous class. For some reason, though, the card really didn't come together for me until I added those little black dashed lines around the die-cut piece and the strip of kraft cardstock with the scalloped edge. I am super pleased with the final result - I think it's pretty darn cute! Now for the paper yummies:

I embossed the red cardstock with my "Seeing Spots" Cuttlebug folder, and lightly went over the raised areas with some white ink. I used a Nestabilities die for the white cardstock piece, then stamped the lil' birdie and the branch underneath him. I colored them in with Prismacolor markers, then used some Frosted Lace Stickles to look like snow had fallen on them. The beautiful sentiment stamp is from Market Street Stamps "Essential Holiday Elegance" set. I stamped the little snowflake and embossed it with white powder, then punched it out with my Martha Stewart scalloped circle punch. Here is a little closer look at the "snow" (click on any picture to make it larger):

I'm also playing along with Christmas Card Challenges "Create your own background" challenge. Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), Core'dinations (red), Recollections (kraft); stamps: Hero Arts (bird, branch), Market Street Stamps (sentiment), Hampton Art (snowflake); ink: Tsukineko (black Versafine, Versamark), Making Memories (white); embossing powder: American Crafts; markers: Prismacolor; die cut: Nestabilities by Spellbinders; embossing folder: Cuttlebug; die cut machine: Cuttlebug; scallop edge punch: EK Success; scallop circle punch: Martha Stewart; ribbon: Target; black pen: Recollections; glitter glue: Ranger