CASology #164: Umbrella

It's the weekend!!  Did this week last a lifetime for anyone else?  Just me?  :)  It was a rainy day yesterday, so I spent some time in my craft room.  I decided to play along with this week's CASology challenge, where the them is Umbrellas. 

Here is the card I made:

I used to be obsessed with all things brown in the craft world...kraft paper, brown inks of all kinds, earth toned papers, etc.  So it was nice to get out of my pink/teal phase for a bit and create something different.  The papers are from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2.  I love how it turned out.

I am also going to enter this in this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, where the theme is Die Crazy. 

That is all for today!  Thanks for popping by!

Until next time...  

Color Throwdown #360

Happy Friday, all!  Today I am playing along with this weeks Color Throwdown challenge.  Here is the color swatch:

And here is the card I made:

I used a smooshing technique for this card.  I started by smashing my Picked Raspberry and Faded Jeans distress inks on a large, clean stamp block.  After spritzing with some water, I used a piece of acetate to pick up the color, then pressed the acetate to the card front.  After doing this a couple times, I picked up some of the color with a brush and flicked a bit of it on the card.  The feather die cut is from My Mind's Eye and the sentiment and banner are from Paper Smooches.  I added some white thread and enamel dots to finish it all off.

I am also adding this card to this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, where the theme is die crazy!  

That is all for today!  I'll be back soon with more creations!

Until then...

Fusion Card Challenge: Back to School

Hello!  I had some time to play this past Labor Day weekend, so I thought I would play along with this week's Fusion Card Challenge.  Here is the theme/sketch:

And here is the card I made:

I flipped the sketch on it's side, then used the Smarty Pants set from Paper Smooches and the A Good Apple set from Lawn Fawn to create a chalkboard scene fit for any teacher.  I think it turned out kind of cute! 

Here is a close up of some of the elements I colored with colored pencils and mineral spirits:

That is all for today!  Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

It's STAMPtember!

It's finally September!  That means cooler days are {supposedly} ahead!  I heart fall and everything it brings.  Another reason I love September?  Because it brings the fun-ness of Simon Says Stamp's STAMPtember!  STAMPtember is full of releases, collaborations and other fun goodies.

I was chosen, along with lots of others, to show off some of the new release items.  I was sent the beautiful Merry Christmas Ornament wafer die to play with.

 

So pretty.  I knew when I saw it that I wanted to make a shaker card.  Here is what I came up with:

 
I used Distress Inks to shade a piece of paper, then I die cut the ornament out of it.  I probably should have done the sentiment a bit darker because it gets lost in the shaker element, but I think it turned out so pretty.  I covered the die cut piece with Wink of Stella clear glitter for a bit of extra shimmer.

That is all for today!  Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...
 

Color Throwdown Challenge # 352

Hello, hello!  Today I am participating with another fun Color Throwndown challenge!  I loved the color swatch and decided to use it in kind of an nontraditional way. 

Here is the swatch:

And here is my card:

 
I started by die cutting the diamond shape out of a piece of cardstock and a piece of glitter cardstock.  I then adhered the glittered piece to a piece of acetate and then adhered it to the back of the other diamond-cut cardstock.  I lined the back with foam adhesive, added some matte sequins in the aqua, green, and dark grey colors, then mounted it all on the front of the card base.  I die cut the sentiment with the same glittered cardstock and adhered it to the card, then stamped the rest of the sentiment around it.  Get all that?  :) 

I am also submitting this card to this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, where the theme is Sparkle and Shine!  

That is all I have for today!  Until next time...

Reverse Confetti SFYTT #26

Hello, again!  Today I am back with a card I made for this month's Reverse Confetti SFYTT.  I have never really been good at using patterned paper in a cohesive way on cards.  They end up looking too busy to me and aren't typically my favorites when I am done with them.  But this one I really like!

Here is the sketch I used: 

And here is the card I made:

I used a lot of Basic Grey's Shine On collection for this card.  The sentiment is from Reverse Confetti's Lots to Say stamp set. I love how this turned out!  It is so bright and cheerful and just what a birthday card needs to be.

That is it for today!  Until next time...

New Week, New Challenges

Happy Sunday, friends!  I am back today with a couple cards I created for a few different challenges.  One of the challenges has already expired, but I am posting the card anyways because I love how it turned out.

My first card is for this week's Color Throwdown and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, where the theme is Get in Shape.  Here is the color pallete I used:

 

And here is my card:

The photo doesn't do this card any justice, thanks to the overcast weather we are having.  This week's Wednesday Challenge was to make a shaped card.  I don't have any fun large dies, so I decided to go simple and just create a banner-shaped card.  I started by masking off the center part of the card, then I used some distress inks to color it in.  It is much more vibrant in person.  I die cut the sentiment used my Silhouette to cut out the butterfly.  Once it was all assembled, I cut the notch out at the bottom of the card and that is it!  Super quick and easy.  My favorite.  :)

For my second card, I used this week's Runway Inspired Challenge photo prompt.  (This is the challenge that is already closed, but I still wanted to share what I created.)  I am entering this card in this month's AEIHeartU Challenge, where the them is Sparkle.  Here is the photo:

And here is my card:

I started by stamping the background image with Versamark ink and heat embossed it using clear, pearl embossing powder.  Then I die cut the diagonal panel and stamped the sentiment using Versamark ink and yummy silver embossing powder.  I finished it off using some sparkly sequins. 

That is all I have for today!  Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

CAS(E) this Sketch #132

Guys, I made a card.  I'll wait a few seconds for you to process that.  :)  I have been dealing with a severe case of mojo loss the past few months and I finally feel like I am starting to come out of it.  The last time I made a card and posted it the same day was in March.  It's about time I started getting out of this funk and sharing what I make, don't you think?!

For today's card, I used this sketch from CAS(E) this sketch as a starting point:

And here is what I came up with:

I started by masking off the square and then used distress inks over a stencil to create the background.  Then I splattered some Granite Glimmer Mist on it.  I triple cut and layered the "Wishing" sentiment and then created the sentiment banner in Word then cut it to size.  I love how it turned out!

That is all for today!  Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back with more to share soon!

Until next time...
 

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge 140 - Summer!

It's Friday!!  Now that my girls have been out of school for a full week, every day kind of feels like Friday.  But this one is just a tad more exciting than the others...it's time for a new CAS-ual Fridays Challenge! 

Michele, the fabulous woman behind the curtain at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, has come up with a fun, summery theme.  When she thinks of summer, she thinks of tans, brightly painted toes, and wearing summery white clothes.  So for these cards, we used tan, white and one bright color.

Here is the card I came up with:

I mixed some white embossing paste with Picked Raspberry distress ink, then spread it randomly along a fun stencil.  While that was drying, I stamped the sentiment from Exclamations with a tan-colored ink (Crumb Cake from SU) and cut it into a small strip.  After adhering that with some foam squares, I finished off the card with some tan and pink enamel dots.  I think it turned out so fun!

That's all from me today!  Head on over to the Challenge blog to link up your creations!  I can't wait to see what you come up with.  :) 

Until next time...

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge 139 - 4th Birthday!!

Happy May, friends!  (Wait, what??  Where did April go?!)  I can't believe it is already time for another challenge!  This one is a BIG one, too.  It's CAS-ual Friday's 4th birthday!!  And that also happens to be the theme for this month...

This month, the DT put together birthday cards using the CAS-ual Fridays color scheme of black, orange and turquoise.  It is so fun to see how everyone interprets that!  And without any further ado, here is the card I made:

I used the Amazeballs stamp set for this card.  I stamped the bubbly image using orange and turquoise inks, then stamped the sentiment in black.  Then I stamped over the Amazeballs sentiment with Versamark, then used clear embossing powder that has silver glitter in it.  It gives the card some subtle flair and I love it! 

Be sure to check out what the rest of the DT put together!

Thanks for stopping by!  Until next time...

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge 138: Krafty Bouquets

It's Friday, peeps!  I don't know about you, but this week has been a L.O.N.G. one and I sure am glad the weekend is almost here.  What else makes it great?  It's time for another CAS-ual Fridays challenge!

As you can see, this month's theme is Krafty Bouquets.  Grab your kraft paper, twine and flowers for this one!  The possibilities are endless!

Here is the card I made:

For this card, I decided to go the non-traditional floral route.  I used the heart note stamp from the Love Notes set along with the hearts from the Heart Board Fri-Dies set to create a simple flower.  I layered watered down Worn Lipstick distress ink on watercolor paper to get a textured look, then die cut it and used the four smallest hearts for the flower.  The heart note stamp was stamped using Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint distress ink.  I used strawberry stripe twine to finish off the card.

Here is a close up of the flower:

That is it for today!  I hope you will play along with this month's challenge and I can't wait to see what you create!

Until next time...

Paper Girls Challenge #76 - Shakers!

Good morning, everyone!  Today I am up on the Paper Girls Challenge blog with my very first post!  The theme this go-round is shaker cards.  If you have followed me at all, you know that I am completely digging this trend.  You can see other examples here, here and here.

Intimidate by shaker cards?  I was, too, until I saw a video on how easy they are.  I thought I would do a quick tutorial on how to put one together.  Here we go!

Here are the supplies you'll need:   

I did some stamping and pre-cutting, but you get the general idea of what you need. I used a piece of acetate for the window, but you can use any kind of clear plastic or even vellum. Don't have sequins?  Try using small die cut shapes and/or coarse glitter!

First I adhered the piece of acetate to the back of the window piece: 

 

Then I flipped it over and attached the frame and die cuts:

Next, I flipped it back over and attached the foam adhesive.  You can use whatever you have.  Foam squares work but just make sure to line them up right next to each other so the tiny bits don't fly out when you shake the card.  (This is why I didn't suggest fine glitter above.  I used foam squares and glitter together and the glitter still managed to seep out, even though I thought I had them close enough together.) 

For the final step, just add your sequins, beads, etc, remove the backing from the foam tape, and then stick the card base on top.  SUPER EASY!!

Here is the final product:

I hope this inspires you to play along with the Paper Girls challenge this round!  I can't wait to see what you create!

Until next time...

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog - CFC 137: Springtime Melodies

Welcome back!  It's time for another fun challenge over at the CAS-ual Fridays challenge blog!  You guys did an AMAZING job with the watercolor challenge!  I was blown away by the gorgeous creations that were posted.  Can't wait to see what you all create for the next round!  Speaking of which, here's the theme:

For this month's challenge, create something musically themed with spring colors.  I couldn't decide how to interpret springy colors, so I made two cards.  Here is the first:

For the first card, I thought about how flowers start blooming and the grass gets green again.  This is my first attempt at creating a bokeh background.  How did I do?  :)

Here is my second card:
 

This card was inspired by lots and lots of pretty flowers in a garden.  I used four different distress ink colors with a mask to create the bold frame.  I embossed the sentiment using my shimmery silver embossing powder. There is a fun surprise inside this card:

I used the musical note from Love Notes and stamped it on the inside of the card, using my shimmery silver embossing powder again.  I thought it was a cute touch.

That's it for today!  Thanks for stopping by and I can't wait to see what you create!

Until next time...