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

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - School is cool

Happy Monday to all!  I just got off work this morning, and have the next six days off!  Yay!  I have the best schedule ever!  I plan to do a TON of crafting and get caught up on several projects.  But first, I'm comin' at ya' with the new Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge!  Since it's the second week of the month, that means...

...it's a sketch challenge!  As I've said many times, these have been some of my favorite challenges since joining the SPARKS design team.  And this week's sketch is no exception, it's another great one that got me thinking.  Here is the sketch:

And here are the paper yummies:

As the sketch lends itself to a CAS style, I decided to stay true to that.  I thought the vertical element in the sketch looked like a giant pencil, so I used the sketch for a back to school card.  To create the pencil, I cut a piece of yellow cardstock to the size I wanted, then scored two vertical lines to mimic the barrel of a wooden pencil.  Then I repeatedly stamped the awesome chevron from Geo-Graphic in a yellow ink.  I cut a piece of pink patterned paper, and rounded the bottom corners for the eraser.  For the "metal" part, I cut down a scrap of kraft cardstock, but any color would work.  I covered it with Versamark ink, then embossed it with metallic pewter embossing powder.  Once I had the metal look I wanted, I ran the piece through my paper crimper.  I created the sentiment using the Alphadot set:

For the circular element in the sketch, I punched a hole in my ledger background paper to make it look like it was notebook paper.  I used a little ribbon scrap and a tiny staple to finish off the card.  It doesn't really translate in the photo, but I used a strip of foam tape down only the middle of the pencil, and adhered the left and right sides down flat.  Here's a close-up of the "metal" crimping:

 

How are you inspired by this week's challenge?  I'm really excited to see how other people interpret this sketch!  You can play along with the challenge here. You have until Sunday, September 16th 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: Core'dinations (kraft, yellow); patterned papers: Echo Park (dot, ledger); stamps: Paper Smooches (Alphadot, Geo-Graphic); inks: TPC Studio (turquoise, yellow), Tsukineko (Versamark); embossing powder: American Crafts; punches: We R Memory Keepers (corner rounder), Hampton Art (circle); ribbon: The Ribbon Boutique; stapler: Ranger

CFC69 - Boo!

Happy Friday!  I hope everybody has had a great week!  I've been super busy with a lot of non-card projects lately, so I hope to be getting back into the swing of things soon.  Maybe I'll share some of my other projects too.  Anyway, I'm here today with this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge!  This week's challenge is super fun:

CFC69: Incorporate embossing (either kind) into your clean and simple project

And once again, we are sponsored by the FABULOUS Simon Says Stamp!  The winner of this week's challenge will not only receive a gift certificate to Simon's store, but will also win a guest designer spot at CAS-ual Fridays!  Fun stuff!

So I just love embossing.  Whether it's the dry kind or the heat kind, it just adds so much dimension and texture to all kinds of projects.  For this week's challenge, I couldn't decided which kind I wanted to use, so I went with both!  And now for the paper yummies:

I started off with a piece of plaid patterned paper from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Halloween collection, and embossed it with this texture plate from Lil' Inker Designs.  I added some distress ink over the top of the wood grain to help define it a little bit.  

Then I masked the wood grain so that only the center rectangle was showing, and applied black distress ink inside the rectangle.  I stamped the spider web, spider, and sentiment in Versamark ink (only after using my Embossing Buddy so that the powder wouldn't stick to my inked background), and embossed each in a different color powder.  It's hard to see in the pictures, but the spider is embossed with a glittery embossing powder.

I added a simple ribbon tab, some tiny staples, and colored the diamond on the spider's back orange to match the ribbon:

Which kind of embossing do you prefer?  Show us in this week's challenge!  You have until next Thursday at noon EST to play along!  Thanks so much for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Core'dinations; patterned paper: My Mind's Eye; stamps: Hampton Art (spider, web), Martha Stewart (sentiment); inks: Ranger (Tim Holtz Black Soot, Frayed Burlap), Tsukineko (Versamark); embossing powders: American Crafts (green, black), Recollections (white); texture plate: Lil' Inker Designs; embossing machine: Sizzix; ribbon: The Ribbon Boutique; staples/stapler: Ranger; marker: Copic

CPS Day 15 & Paper Smooches Sparks - love

Whew! This is my final post for the day, as well as my card the final sketch for the Card Positioning Systems 5th anniversary celebration! YAY!!! And it's extra special because Kim Moreno hosted day 15, and I know her personally! We used to work together at a scrapbook store when she lived here. The girl is super talented, and finds time to create beautiful things while taking care of 5 kids. Go Kim! Here is the sketch she picked for day 15 (#231):
I also wanted to create another card for the Paper Smooches Sparks challenge. Here is the inspiration photo for that challenge:
I again was inspired by the felt and stitching, but this time I stuck more with the color and theme of the photo. I also incorporated some metal, inspired by the safety pin. And I tried a new technique (for me): stitching inside a stamped sentiment. Now for the paper yummies:

I stamped two different background patterns in two different ink colors instead of using papers. Then I stitched in between them with green thread. I stacked 3 felt hearts on top of this cute die-cut heart from The Girls' Paperie, then I stitched right up the middle of all of them with the same green thread. I wanted to incorporate some metal, but didn't have a cute little clothespin like the one in the photo. So I used my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher and added some tiny staples. Here is a closer view of the hearts:

I stamped this cute sentiment from Paper Smooches "Word Salad", then I thought, "I wonder how that would look with green stitching in the middle?" Turns out - pretty cute! LOL! I think I may have to do that more often! Here's a closer view:

I tied some ribbon around the front of the card, using my new "short ribbon" trick, and added a button with some baker's twine. Then I adhered the stamped/stitched sentiment onto the ribbon:

I'm playing along with these challenges:

Paper Smooches Sparks challenge

Paper Smooches March Guest Designer Search

Card Positioning Systems day 15 sketch

Fab 'n' Funky Challenge 108: Try something new (stitching inside a sentiment stamp)

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific; patterned paper/heart die cut: The Girls' Paperie, stamps: Martha Stewart (backgrounds), Paper Smooches (sentiment); inks: Tsukineko (Pear Tart and Angel Pink Memento, Onyx Black Versafine); felt hearts: American Crafts; stapler: Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher; ribbon: The Ribbon Boutique; button: Buttons Galore; baker's twine: Divine Twine; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer