October Afternoon 9 to 5 contest - hello

Happy Wednesday, everybody!  I am super excited today, for a couple of reasons.  One is that I just put a deposit on a new (to me) SUV this morning, and I can't wait to get it!  I've been wanting one of these for a few years now.  The other reason I'm so excited is that October Afternoon is having a sketch contest using their 9 to 5 line, which I happened to pick up recently.  It's such a cute collection!  Here's the sketch:

I think this sketch lends itself more to a layout than it does to a card, but I haven't done a layout in years, so I went ahead and turned it into a card.  And now for the paper yummies:

I really loved working with this sketch, and I think the card turned out so cute!  I used Nestabilities dies to cut different sized circles out of several patterned papers, then arranged them according to the sketch.  I popped some of them up with dimensional adhesive:

Then I used some of the cutie buttons from the same collection and arranged them in place of the hearts in the sketch:

I used the alphabet stickers to create the "hello" sentiment.  Then I punched a heart from the black chevron paper, popped it up on dimensional adhesive, and applied Glossy Accents:

I finished the card off with some machine stitching around the edges and under the sentiment.
Thanks so much for looking!

I'm also playing along here:
Crafty Creations Challenge #172: Running in Circles
Little Red Wagon WOOD you? Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge

Supplies: card base: The Paper Studio; patterned papers, alphabet stickers, buttons: October Afternoon; Glossy Accents: Ranger; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

Paper Smooches April Guest Designer - week 4

Hi, everybody!  I'm back to share the final cards for my guest designer spot at the Paper Smooches blog this month. Boy, I tell ya', 4 weeks just flew by.  It's crazy...

For this first card, I knew I wanted to use the little coconut drink from the Get Outta Town stamp set.  And from the moment I laid eyes on that stamp, I knew I wanted to flock that little coconut.  I also wanted to incorporate some embossing on this card.  It just so happens that the embossing folder I chose looks an awful lot like the circle of dots from the Potpourri set.  So I combined all of those things to create this paper yummy:

I stamped the circle of dots using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen for a very subtle look. I stamped the coconut drink and colored it in using Prismacolor markers.  Then I added Fun Flock to the coconut:

I stamped the sentiment, added some machine stitching, and finished it off with baker's twine.  Here's another view of the flocked coconut:

For the second card, I wanted to create a card for Mother's Day coming up, or any day you want to show your mom how much you appreciate her.  I stamped and embossed the hibiscus from Get Outta Town several times, masking some parts and popping up others.  I colored them all in with Prismacolor markers.  For the sentiment, I used the "thanks" from Simply Said along with "mom" from Pretty Momma.

Here's a closer view of the flowers:

Thank you so much for looking!  I had such a blast being a guest designer for Kim Hughes and Paper Smooches Stamps.  I am so honored to have been chosen for this!

Card 1 is playing along here:

Creative Inspirations Challenge 160: Anything Goes

Fab 'n' Funky Challenge #118: No patterned paper

Ooh-la-la Creations Challenge #103: Bold & Bright

Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge

The Ribbon Carousel Challenge RCC50: Anything Goes

Card 2 is playing along here:

Creative Inspirations Challenge 160: Anything Goes

Fab 'n' Funky Challenge #118: No patterned paper

Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge PWC203: Clean and Simple

Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge

Lily Pad Cards April's Virginia's View Challenge  

The Ribbon Carousel Challenge RCC50: Anything Goes

Card 1 supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), The Paper Company (blue), Core'dinations (green); embossing folder: Lifestyle Crafts; circle die: Spellbinders; die cut/embossing machine: Cuttlebug by ProvoCraft; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Tsukineko (black), Ranger (Antique Linen); markers: Prismacolor; flocking: Stampendous; Glossy Accents (flocking adhesive): Ranger; baker's twine: Divine Twine; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer; dimensional adhesive: American Crafts

Card 2 supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), Recollections (black); stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Tsukineko; embossing powder: Hampton Art; markers: Prismacolor; scallop edge punch: EK Success; ribbon: Hobby Lobby; dimensional adhesive: American Crafts

CPS Sketch 256 & CAS-ual Fridays

Howdy! I hope everybody is having a great week so far. Today I made a card using this week's sketch from Card Positioning Systems. Here's the sketch:

I'm also playing along with the CAS-ual Fridays challenge:
I thought this would be another great opportunity to use my new Paper Smooches stamps again. Squeal! I'm just loving the March release, and I'm so glad I decided to join their monthly club! Now for the paper yummies:
I used the globe from the Smarty Pants set, along with the heart and sentiment from Word Salad. The patterned papers are by Echo Park. I colored the images in with Prismacolor markers, and added some Glossy Accents to the lil' heart. I added a couple lines of machine stitching, just because... Here's a closer look:
I'm playing along here:

Card Positioning Systems Sketch 256

CAS-ual Fridays CFC43: For Sentimental Reasons

CropStop Challenge 62: Rainbow of colors (use at least 4 colors - I used 5 if you count kraft)

Simon Says Stamp Challenge: A bit o' green

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Recollections; patterned papers: Echo Park; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Tsukineko; markers: Prismacolor; circle die: Nestabilities by Spellbinders; die cutting machine: Cuttlebug by Provocraft; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; Glossy Accents: Ranger; dimensional adhesive: American Crafts; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

Paper Smooches March release and CAS-ual Fridays: welcome to the world

Happy Tuesday! I'm having so much fun with the Paper Smooches Stamps March Release. I love 'em so hard! I finally got to play with Zoo Crew, which has the most adorable little animals. I wanted to create another card for the CAS-ual Fridays current challenge:And I followed this sketch:

Since the sketch has this nice long skinny panel in the middle, I picked the giraffe (plus, she looks the cutest for a baby card). I stamped the giraffe onto some cute patterned paper using brown ink, then cut it out and placed it on some more cute patterned paper. Now for the paper yummies:
I pieced together the sentiment using a bunch of stamps from the Word Salad set.

I love the way it turned out! This card is playing along here:

CAS-ual Fridays CFC42: Hey, Baby!

Just Us Girls #126 Sketch Challenge

The Pink Elephant "Let's see those layers" challenge

Simon Says Stamp "Anything Goes" Challenge

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: card base: Recollections; cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white for giraffe's eye); patterned papers: Echo Park; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Memento; scallop edge punch: Fiskars; corner rounder punch: We R Memory Keepers; ribbon: Michael's; button: craft supply

Get your LEARN on

Here is a school-themed card I made using the "A Boy's Life" 6x6 paper pad from Echo Park. This pad has so many great, usable patterns in it. I thought that this letter pattern was too cool to not make a school-related card with it. I used the scraps from the paper to cut out "LEARN" with my craft knife (I also took a couple letters from an area of my background piece that I knew would be covered). I also used some Mint Motif stamps to create a star-shaped chipboard button and a little paper-pieced chipboard pencil, and some Hero Arts alpha stamps to complete my sentiment. Now for the paper yummies:

To create the star "button" (under the pencil), I stamped the star on chipboard and on the blue patterned paper. Then I cut out the blue star and adhered it onto the chipboard star. I cut out the chipboard star, punched two "button holes" in it with my Crop-a-dile Big Bite, then covered the star with Glossy Accents. For the pencil, I stamped on chipboard and onto the cute yellow striped patterned paper, then cut just the barrel of the pencil out of the yellow paper. I pieced it onto the barrel of the chipboard pencil, then colored the wood and eraser portions of the pencil with Prismacolor markers. I cut out the paper-pieced chipboard pencil, and secured it on top of the star with some baker's twine. I added silver Stickles to the part of the pencil that would be metal. I also added Glossy Accents to the letters in "LEARN". Here's a closer view:

I am entering this card here:

Lily Pad Cards patterned paper challenge

Simon Says Stamp 3 different papers challenge

Little Red Wagon chipboard challenge

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Recollections; patterned papers: Echo Park; stamps: Mint Motif (writing line, star, pencil), Hero Arts (alphabet stamps); ink: Tsukineko; embossing powder, dimensional adhesive: American Crafts; markers: Prismacolor; scallop edge punch: EK Success; hole punch: We R Memory Keepers; Glossy Accents, glitter glue: Ranger; ribbon: craft supply; baker's twine: Divine Twine; craft knife: Fiskars; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

Simple Card Saturday

Here is my CAS (clean and simple) card for the week. My friend Amy (who owns the store where I teach classes) picked up this adorable stamp yesterday, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to use it. The stamp is a wood-mount that includes both the image and the sentiment, so to create my card, I stamped the entire stamp once, then masked off the sentiment and stamped just the doggy three more times. Then I stamped him again on the patterned paper, and paper-pieced him onto my card. I thought he turned out pretty darn cute!

I am playing along with a few challenges:

-CAS-ual Fridays CFC 38: "On the red carpet" (my card was inspired by Clifford's Really Big Movie. LOL)

-Simon Says Stamp's "Animal Antics" challenge

-Lily Pad Cards patterned paper challenge (I used a little! LOL)

And now for the paper yummies:

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: card base: The Paper Studio; cardstock: Georgia Pacific; stamp: Hampton Art (Studio G); ink: Tsukineko; markers: Prismacolor; patterned paper: October Afternoon; baker's twine: Divine Twine; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; brad: craft supply

Thank you for your friendship pocket card

Here is a pocket card I made for a scramble on the Hero Arts Flickr group. (A scramble is a 90 minute challenge where the hostess announces a theme or requirement for the card, and each person must make a card following the rules, photograph it, and upload it in 90 minutes.) For this scramble, each card must have had a.) ribbon, b.) pink, c.) a pocket, d.) at least one Hero Arts stamp, and e.) a "pop". I popped my button up on top of the knot of my bow. It was my first time playing along with a scramble, and it was a lot of fun, especially because the "pop" was a twist that was added 20 minutes into the challenge. I think Rachelle (the hostess this round) was trying to kill me. LOL. I will also be adding this to the patterned paper challenge at Lily Pad Cards and the "anything goes" challenge at the SimonSaysStamp blog. And now, the paper yummies:Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Core'dinations, Recollections; patterned paper: Echo Park; stamp: Hero Arts; ink: Versamark by Tsukineko; embossing powder: American Crafts; scalloped circle punch: Martha Stewart; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; white pen: Signo Uniball; baker's twine: Divine Twine; ribbon, button: craft supply