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

Simple Card Saturday - a happy day to you

Happy Saturday!  I hope everybody's long weekend is going great so far.  I'm on duty tomorrow, so I don't really have a long weekend, but I have 6 days off after that, so YAY!  Last week I picked up a bunch of goodies from BlueMoon Scrapbooking, including some of the Sidewalks line from October Afternoon.  I absolutely love the papers in the collection, and the stamp set is adorable.  The line was released last year, but I didn't have it yet and couldn't resist.  Okay, now for the paper yummies:

Okay, is that stamp not the cutest thing EVER?!?  I love it!  I stamped him on the natural colored cardstock, colored him in, then paper-pieced his clothes and flag:

I love that this stamp set has multiple sentiments that will fit in the flag.  The stamps and all patterned papers are from the Sidewalks collection.  I machine-stitched around the cardstock, then added a button from the October Afternoon 9 to 5 collection on top of a little ribbon tab:

Thanks so much for looking!  I hope you continue to have a wonderful and safe weekend!

I'm playing along here:
The Gingham Challenge in the Moxie Fab World
One Stop Craft Challenge #184: For the Boys
Paper Play Challenges '12 Week 21: Summer Lovin'
Paper Crafting Journey Challenge #10: Anything For Kids Goes

Supplies: cardstock: Recollections; patterned papers, stamps, button: October Afternoon; ink: Memento; markers: Prismacolor; ribbon: Michael's; stapler: Ranger; sewing machine: Kenmore; quilting thread: Singer

Simple Card Saturday - Hello friend

Happy Saturday!  Today I have a quick card to share with you, using the current color challenge at The Play Date Cafe:

And now for the paper yummies:

Okay, so maybe I used a little bit more than a "splash" of mustard with my black and white, but I think it still works.  Thanks for looking!

I'm playing along here:
The Play Date Cafe Challenge #132
The Gingham Challenge in the Moxie Fab World
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #169: Alphabet letter  (use 3 elements beginning with the same letter.  I used B: black, bee, buttons)
Little Red Wagon Challenge #133: DIY Patterned Paper
Papercraft Star Challenge 97: Checks/gingham
Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #139: Animal, bird, or bug
Paper Sundaes #120: Things with wings
Simon Says Stamp Clean & Simple Challenge

Supplies: cardstock: Recollections (black), Georgia Pacific (white); stamps: Paper Smooches (hexagons), Hampton Art (sentiment); inks: Clearsnap (Citrus Yellow), Tsukineko (Onyx Black); ribbon: Hobby Lobby; buttons: craft supply; baker's twine: Divine Twine; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

Simple Card Saturday - Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Saturday!  I hope everybody had a wonderful week and is having a fantastic weekend celebrating mothers.  Here is a quick card I made last night using last week's sketch from Card Patterns:

I already made my mom's card for Mother's Day (click here to see it), but a couple of the guys at work had asked me if I would make cards for them.  I really liked how simple and versatile this sketch was, and thought it would be perfect for a simple Mother's Day card.  Please excuse my photo - it's caca.  My camera battery died right after I photographed a different card, so I had to use my phone for this picture.  Now for the paper yummies:

I used 3 different patterned papers from My Mind's Eye, alphabet stamps from American Crafts, a circle die from Spellbinders, some twine, and a button.  This card was super simple, and would be easy to reproduce for any occasion.  I'll be back tomorrow with another Mother's Day card that I totally CASEd from a thank you card I made a few months ago.  I hope everybody has a lovely Mother's Day!

I'm playing along here:
AnnaBelle Stamps AC072: Say it with...Stitching
Through the Craftroom Door Challenge #25: Happy Mother's Day
Fab 'n' Funky Challenge #120: Buttons & Bows
Papercraft Star Challenge 96: Use a stamp (I used alphabet stamps to create the sentiment)
Raise the Bar Challenge 104: Mother's Day
The Ribbon Carousel RCC52: Word to Your Mother
Tuesday Throwdown #97: Motherly Love

Thanks for looking!


Supplies: card base/cardstock: Recollections; patterned papers: My Mind's Eye; stamps: American Crafts "Ginger" alphabet; ink: Memento; circle die: Nestabilities by Spellbinders; die cutting machine: Cuttlebug by Provocraft; twine: Recollections; button: craft supply; sewing machine: Kenmore; quilting thread: Americana

Simple Card Saturday and CFC50

Happy Saturday!  I hope everybody is having a wonderful weekend so far.  Today I'm sharing a simple little card I made for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge:

CFC50: Spring is here so show us your Clean And Simple creations 

with flowers or trees.

I paper-pieced a cute little flower stamp by Hampton Art (Studio G) and embossed a sentiment from the Paper Smooches Simply Said set.  Now for the paper yummies:

 I machine-stitched around the edges, then scored diagonal lines across the card.  I also added Glossy Accents to the dots on the flower.  Here's a closer look:

Thanks for looking!

I'm playing along here:

CAS-ual Fridays CFC50: April Showers Bring May Flowers

Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge

Young Crafters Unite Challenge #9: No Coloring Allowed

Supplies: cardstock: Recollections; patterned papers: October Afternoon; stamps: Paper Smooches (sentiment), Hampton Art (image); inks: Staz-On (brown), Versamark (embossing); embossing powder: American Crafts; scoring tool: Martha Stewart; sewing machine: Kenmore; quilting thread: Americana; glossy accents: Ranger; dimensional adhesive: American Crafts

Simple Card Saturday and CFC49

Happy Saturday! I hope everybody had a great week and is settling nicely into the weekend. Today's simple card is based in the sketch this week at CAS-ual Fridays. Have you checked out the blog makeover? Karen completely re-designed it, and Michele revealed the new look yesterday. It looks great! Here is a little sample of the new graphics, along with the sketch:

Now, since the term for the new DT doesn't officially start until May, I'm just playing along for fun until then. Let me give you a little background about today's card. I've recently SPARKED a little bloggy friendship with a super sweet and talented gal named Glenda. I think I first "met" her over on the Hero Arts Flickr group; but here lately, it seems as though everywhere I look, there's Glenda winning a challenge, or winning another challenge or being named May's guest designer at Paper Smooches (squeal!). I mean, the girl is on a roll, peeps! So I used the two square elements in the sketch as inspiration to create this paper yummy for Glenda:

I cut the dice using the Cricut Indie Art cartridge and patterned paper by Echo Park. I created the sentiment using the Ginger alpha stamps from American Crafts. I added a bit of machine stitching and finished it off with some embroidery floss. Here's a close-up:
I hope her "roll" continues (**wink**)! I'm sending this card to Glenda, but first I'm playing along here:

CAS-ual Fridays CFC49: Sketch

Card Makin' Mamas Getting Girly Challenge

Crafty Catz Challenge 129: Stripes or Checks (I went with checks)

Paper Sundaes Challenge #116: Anything Goes

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Recollections (brown), Georgia Pacific (white); patterned paper: October Afternoon; die cut machine: Cricut Expression; cartridge: Indie Art; stamps: American Crafts; ink: Tsukineko; brown pen (to darken sentiment): American Crafts; floss: DMC; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer; hole punch: We R Memory Keepers; dimensional adhesive: American Crafts

Simple Card Saturday and Paper Smooches SPARKS DT call - Congratulations

Happy Saturday, everybody! I hope you all had as wonderful a week as I did. I've felt so honored and blessed recently, first with the April guest designer spot at Paper Smooches, then making the Design Team at CAS-ual Fridays. And, just a few days ago, I got 3 (yep. Count 'em. 3) requests for publication in the September issue of CARDS magazine. I haven't seen my work in print yet, and won't until August, but between August and September, I will have a total of SIX projects posted. I seriously cannot wait! I really hope my luck continues as I apply for the Paper Smooches SPARKS DT. This is my second entry for that call, as well as my simple card for today. Here is the inspiration photo I used:So, with inspiration photos and sketches, I usually do a pretty literal translation. I'm trying not to be so literal and give myself a little more freedom. I guess I can't really help the way that something inspires me, but I'm going to try to think a little more outside the box and outside my comfort zone, at least as it relates to the photo. I made this card without having the picture in front of me (usually I pull it up on my laptop and refer back to it several times during the card-making process). I didn't do that this time. Instead, I tried to evoke a sense of what inspired me about the photo when I last looked at it a couple days ago. This was, of course, after I pulled out a puffy pink felt onesie embellishment (to do my whole literal thing), and it just wasn't quite right. I remembered feeling inspired by the darker pink color of the onesie, the lovely fabric adorning the top, the pop of green, and the baby theme. That's when I arrived at this paper yummy:
I really love just how SWEET this card turned out. I paper-pieced this adorable flower stamp from Pebbles Inc., and the sentiment is from the Paper Smooches Simply Said set. I LOVE just how crisply the sentiment stamped (which can be said for all Paper Smooches stamps!). I added a tiny button, machine stitching, a big feminine eyelet ribbon at the top, and some dainty little scalloped strips to the top and bottom. Here's a close-up of that adorable flower:

I'm playing along here:

Crafty Creations Challenges #165: Flower Power

Little Red Wagon Spring Colors Challenge

Lily Pad Cards Flowers Challenge

Pile It On #15: All About S (sewing, scallops, stamping)

The Ribbon Carousel Challenge 48: Sketch (I flipped it)

Simon Says Stamp Challenge: April Showers Bring Spring Flowers

The Pink Elephant TPE143: Flowers

The Pixie Cottage Challenge 116: Paper Piecing

Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 134: Make a Joyful Card - Something Celebratory

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), Recollections (natural); patterned papers: KI Memories (green gingham), Echo Park (dark pink dots), DCWV (light pink dots), stamps: Paper Smooches (sentiment), Pebbles Inc. (image); ink: Tsukineko; scallop edge punch: Martha Stewart; ribbon: Offray; button: American Crafts; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

Simple Card Saturday - happy Easter

Happy Saturday! I hope everybody had a wonderful week. For today's Simple Card Saturday, I'm playing along with a few challenges. The first is, of course, CAS-ual Fridays:

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

I'm also playing along with the beautiful color challenge at ColourQ:

And I used the sketch from Mojo Monday:

I wanted to use this adorable Easter stamp that I've had for awhile (and I don't think it's ever been inked). I thought it would be great for paper piecing. And now for the paper yummies:
I paper-pieced the Easter birdie using some yellow and white striped paper from Echo Park - actually all the patterned papers are Echo Park. I colored in his beak with a light peach marker to complete the color challenge. I kinda like how you can still see the stripes on his beak. I added a white scalloped strip down the side of the green paper for a subtle effect, as it is against white cardstock. I machine stitched a single line down the left edge of the green paper as well. Here's a close-up of the lil' cutie:
I'm playing along here:

CAS-ual Fridays CFC47: Let the hunt begin!

ColourQ Challenge #131

Mojo Monday 235-Contest

Have a lovely Easter tomorrow! Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific; patterned papers: Echo Park; stamp: Hampton Art (Studio G); ink: Tsukineko; marker: Prismacolor; cutting die: Spellbinders; die cutting machine: Cuttlebug by Provocraft; edge punch: Martha Stewart; baker's twine: Divine Twine; button: craft supply; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer; dimensional adhesive: American Crafts

Simple Card Saturday - hello friend

Happy Saturday! For this week's simple card, I'm sharing a card that I made for my monthly Christmas card class at my local Real Deals. I'm also playing along at CAS-ual Fridays:

CFC46: Create a Clean And Simple project based on a song.

I was inspired by Frosty the Snowman. Now for the paper yummies:I just love that lil' snowman and his birdie friend. Too cute!

I'm playing along here:

CAS-ual Fridays CFC46: Name that tune

The Ribbon Carousel Challenge RCC46: Anything goes

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), The Paper Studio (kraft); patterned paper: Recollections; stamp: Hampton Art; ink: Tsukineko; markers: Prismacolor; pom-pom trim: Michael's; white gel pen: Uniball Signo; corner rounder, hole punch: We R Memory Keepers, dimensional adhesive: American Crafts

Simple Card Saturday - One of a kind

Happy Saturday! For this week's Simple Card Saturday, I have a card using an adorable image from the Paper Smooches Zoo Crew set that was released this month. I love all the little animals, and they are really fun to paper piece. This week I'm playing along with the Young Crafters Unite Challenge, to use sewing or stitching:

CFC45: The Bold & The Beautiful-

create a Clean And Simple project using pastels and black

I'd been wanting to use the hippo from the Zoo Crew set, but just hadn't for whatever reason. Then when I got this cute gray-with-white-polka-dot paper, it hit me: make a polka-dot hippo that's one of a kind. And now for the paper yummies:

I stamped the Hero Arts Zig Zag background using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in crushed olive for a tone-on-tone background. I really love that background stamp! Then I paper-pieced my hippo and added the sentiment and the heart, which are from the Paper Smooches Word Salad set. I added Glossy Accents to the heart. The large scalloped punch is by EK Success. I tied some baker's twine and a button around part of the scallop, machine-stitched along the edge of the card, then popped the sentiment up on dimensional adhesive. Here's a closer view of my polka-dot hippo:

Love him! I'm playing along with these challenges:

CAS-ual Fridays CFC45: The bold and the beautiful

Young Crafters Unite Challenge #8: Stitching or sewing

The Ribbon Carousel Challenge RCC45: Baking with The Twinery

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), Core'dinations (green, blue); patterned paper: Recollections; stamps: Paper Smooches (hippo, sentiment, heart), Hero Arts (background); ink: Tsukineko (black), Ranger (green); markers: Prismacolor; scalloped edge punch: EK Success; Glossy Accents: Ranger; baker's twine: Divine Twine; button: craft supply; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer; dimensional adhesive: American Crafts

Simple Card Saturday - Just sitting here...

Happy Saturday and St. Patrick's Day to everybody! I definitely had the luck of the Irish bestowed upon me, as I just found out that I'M GOING TO BE PUBLISHED!!! Yay! This will be my first publication, and I'm over-the-top excited. I cannot wait until August when I finally get to see my work in a magazine. I'm SUPER stoked!

Okay, on to my card for Simple Card Saturday. This week I'm playing along with the challenge at CAS-ual Fridays:

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'm also playing along with the Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger:

I was inspired by the lovely chairs and the neutral color palette with pops of color. For today's card, I wanted to paper-piece this cute chair stamp from the Hero Arts "Wishing You Were Here" set, which took care of both the pattern and the image components of the CAS-ual Fridays challenge. And of course this sentiment included in that stamp set was just perfect. Now for the paper yummies:

I wanted the "wall" behind the chair to look as if it had paneling or beadboard on it, so I used my Scor-Pal to create some vertical lines on the white cardstock:

I wanted my ribbon to go behind the chair but not cover up the legs, so I cut a slit in the paper on each side of the chair stamp and wove the ribbon through to the back, then out to the front again, and tied it in a bow. I finished the card off with some machine stitching and stamped the sentiment onto the patterned "rug". Here's another close-up:
I'm playing along here:

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

Cupcake Craft Challenge 183: Going Dotty

Friday Mashup #50 sketch

Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger: Simple Elegance

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific; patterned paper: Recollections; stamps: Hero Arts; ink: Recollections; scoring tool: Scor-Pal; ribbon: Ribbon Boutique; craft knife: Fiskars; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

Simple Card Saturday - "Welcome baby" clear card

Happy Saturday (well, at least when I started this post :)! Today I taught a kids' class at Real Deals (an "all about me" chipboard book), and everybody's project turned out really cute. I was very impressed with all the kiddos and their books. Amy and I also made up some samples for upcoming classes, so I'll be posting those in the next few days.

For this week's Simple Card Saturday, I'm playing along with a few challenges. One of them is the CAS-ual Fridays challenge (I was a VIP in their last challenge - squeal!). Here is their challenge:

I'm also playing along with Young Crafters Unite challenge (I was also a recent winner there! Double squeal!). Here is their challenge:

I hadn't done a clear card in years, so this was a good challenge for me. I also don't have any clear cardstock, but I did have some "presentation covers", which I love. They're frosted rather than being completely transparent, but you can still see through them, and I LOVE the effect they give. Now for the paper yummies:

It may be difficult to tell from the picture, but the yellow striped paper with the big polka dots is actually inside the front of the card. The only pieces on the front of the card are the cardstock piece with the sentiment, the ribbon, and the felt baby buggy. I just ADORE the way the frosted presentation cover gives this card such a soft look! I had actually planned to use it on a different card, but wasn't wild about the way it was turning out. So it was sitting on my table when I started making this card, and I thought I'd just see how it looked. As soon as I put my patterned paper inside, it just clicked! Love it when that happens! Anyway, I stamped the big polka dots using the "Line Dots" cling stamp from Hero Arts. I really like the way it looks on the yellow striped paper! The sentiment stamp is from Papertrey Ink's "Simple Sentiments" set. I used Memento London Fog ink on both stamps. The felt puffy is from KI Memories. This picture shows a little bit better that the patterned paper is inside the front of the card:

And here's another angle, showing all the frosted goodness:

Love it!

This card is playing along here:

CAS-ual Fridays CFC #42: Hey, Baby!

Young Crafters Unite Challenge #7: Clear Cards

One Stop Craft Challenge #172: Button It

The Ribbon Carousel RCC 42: Anything Goes

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: presentation cover: GBC; patterned paper: SEI; cardstock: The Paper Company; stamps: Hero Arts (polka dots), Papertrey Ink (sentiment); ink: Memento (London Fog); felt baby buggy: KI Memories; ribbon: Hobby Lobby; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers

Simple Card Saturday - Let's ketchup!

This week at CAS-ual Fridays, the challenge is to create a CAS (clean and simple) card with a pun or joke-type sentiment. Now, I don't normally do "punny" cards, but I suddenly had a bunch of ideas in my head. I jotted down 6 ideas, and made 4 cards yesterday. I'll be posting them over the next couple of days, and hopefully be able to make the other 2 cards as well. Here's the challenge from CAS-ual Fridays:

CFC41: Jest for the Pun of it.

Use a pun, or a sentiment in a silly way to create a joke, on your

Clean And Simple creation.

And now for the paper yummies:

This lil' tomato from Unity Stamps is too cute! I got this set a few weeks ago, and have never used it. I thought he would be perfect stamped onto some patterned paper and, well, he is. The polka dot paper is from the Echo Park "Happy Days" 6x6 pad. Now, let's just stop for a second and talk about the sentiment...can you believe it was created with alphabet stamps?!? I'm really not trying to toot my own horn (because the stamps did all the work), but I think it totally looks like it was computer generated! It's an older set from American Crafts (called Ginger) that I happened to find recently at Tuesday Morning. I gotta say, American Crafts NAILED IT on this one. These individual letters stamp so crisply and match up perfectly to create a cursive word. I absolutely love them, and you'll be seeing them on another one of the punny cards I made yesterday. Ok, moving on...the bottom edge of the card was created by stamping this great border stamp by Mint Motif, then trimming around the lower edge of the stamp to create a scallop (I stamped it in white ink, then went over it with a white pen to make it more opaque and match my faux stitching). I added a strip of patterned paper underneath it, and finished off the card with some white dashed lines around the edges. Here's a closer view of my little tomato:

Love that lil' guy! Here's where he's playing along:

CAS-ual Fridays CFC41: Jest for the pun of it

Papercraft Star challenge 85: Something from your kitchen

Always Crafting Challenge #2: Anything goes

Also linking here:

Old Back Porch 52 card pick-up: week 8

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Recollections (kraft), Georgia Pacific (white for stamping/coloring); patterned paper: Echo Park; stamps: Unity Stamp Co. (tomato), American Crafts (sentiment), Mint Motif (border); inks: Tsukineko (black), Joann (white); marker: Prismacolor; white pen: Signo Uniball; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers

Simple Card Saturday - Make a wish

Happy Saturday (at least for a few more minutes)! This is my CAS card for the week, and I'm playing along with CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #40: Tie One On

CFC40: With Mardi Gras in a few days we thought it would be fun to have a gallery full of Clean And Simple Party cards with ribbon.

And now for the paper yummies:

This may have been the fastest card I've ever made, and I think it turned out pretty darn cute!

I'm also playing along at:

Cupcake Craft Challenges Entwined challenge

Little Red Wagon Twinkle, Twinkle challenge

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific; patterned paper: Echo Park; stamps: Papertrey Ink (sentiment), Hero Arts (star); ink: Clearsnap; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; ribbon: Ribbon Bowtique; button: craft supply; baker's twine: Divine Twine

CPS Day 9 & Simple Card Saturday

Here is my third and final post for today (Whew! I don't think I've ever posted thrice in one day!). This week at CAS-ual Fridays, the challenge is clean and simple paper piecing, which I love to do. This is also my card for day 9 of Card Positioning Systems 5th anniversary celebration.
Here is the CPS sketch (#5, from way back in 2007!):

I really liked this sketch as soon as I saw it, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I couldn't wait to use the kite stamp from my new Hero Arts "Right at Home" set. First I stamped the Hero Arts cloud background, then stamped the kite right on top of it. Then I stamped the kite (minus the string) on each of four polka dot patterned papers by The Paper Studio. I cut each of the four section of the kite from a different color of patterned paper, and pieced them onto the kite that was stamped on the clouds. So CUTE! Now for the paper yummies:

The sentiment stamp is from the same set as the kite. I stamped it three times along a strip of patterned paper, then flag-cut the right end. I machine stitched around the clouds background with yellow thread, then I stitched right over the black ink of the kite and string with black thread. It may be difficult to see in the picture, but it's a fun way to add a little texture to the kite. Here's a close-up (click any picture to make it larger):
I'm also playing along at Hiding in My Craft Room #33: Super Scraps Saturday.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: card base: The Paper Studio; cardstock: Georgia Pacific; patterned papers: The Paper Studio; stamps: Hero Arts; ink: Hampton Art (aqua), Tsukineko (black); buttons: craft supply: baker's twine: Divine Twine; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer (yellow), Coats & Clark (black)