CIC24 - Beware of Pirates

Ahoy Mateys it's time for another fun Cupcake Inspiration Challenge and just check out these fun cupcakes that Hope has for us this week.
"Shiver me timbers" aren't they great! Yeah, I'm not all that good with the "Pirate" lingo but I tried and hey, I think my card carries out the theme just fine.
This is really an unusual card for me in several ways:
1. I used some Clip art and Word art images on this card that I found after Googling pirate clip art.
2. I rarely do cards with a really distressed look but I just had to "rough" up my treasure map and it worked! - The map is a Clip art and I printed it out on Kraft cs then wrinkled it up over and over and carefully peeled the layers apart then tore some of the edges before adhering it to my card stock. The Tempting Turquoise panel was embossed with the Spots and Dots embossing folder and distressed with TT ink.
3. I actually layered my focal image crooked - another rarity for me. I like how it looks though with the image off kilter from the red layer.
The stamp is Ollie's Pirates by Stampendous and I colored the image with Prismacolor Pencils blended with Gamsol.
The sentiment is a Word art that I found and printed out on the computer.
Other items used: Oval and Scallop Oval punches (SU) Ribbon (American Crafts) Brad (Queen and Co.) and Anchor Charm (source unknown)

Now it's your turn to be inspired by these fun cupcakes. Create a card/project using them as your inspiration and then link us to it on Hope's blog with the Mr. Linky feature.

BC116 - Thinking of You - Times 2 and a bit of Blog Candy (not mine)

Hello and Happy Friday! - It's time for the Bloggers Challenge and this weeks theme is: Thinking of You. I've actually done 2 cards for today's challenge - Amazing huh!

First up is an ALL SU ONLY - Yes you read that right, card. It's so rare anymore for me to just use strictly Stampin'Up! products that I wasn't even sure I could pull it off. I found a layout in the SU catalog on Page 22 that I really liked so I decided to create a card using that layout. I also wanted to use up some of the "In-Colors" so I based my color scheme around them. I colored the bird image using Ink Pads and the Aqua Painter. Which I'll admit I'm really not that good at as I just can't seem to control the amount of water that comes out of those darn things.
The Card Base is: Soft Suede and I used Dusty Durango, Old Olive (textured), Crushed Curry and a tiny strip of Rich Razzleberry along with Shimmery White CS.
The Stamp Sets I used were: Friends 24-7, Sincere Salutations and Woodgrain BG. I wanted to keep everything "current" on the card as well.
Inks: Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Basic Brown (I stamped the bird in that), Dusty Durango, Old Olive, and a tiny bit of Bermuda Bay on the birds Eye.
Other: Filgree Brad, Fire Brad, More Mustard Brads.

Now card number two is a bit of a "take-off" obviously on the Thinking of You theme but the idea popped into my head and I just had to get it out!
I started with my little Witch image - Another of my Studio G $1 finds from JoAnn's
The image actually has a sentiment (see part of the inside of my card) Best Witches but I masked that off and just stamped the Witch and colored it with Prisma Color Pencils.
Other Stamp sets used: Hero Arts (Thinking of You) which I covered with the (BOO) from Papertrey Ink's-Spooky Sweets stamp set. Also on the inside I used the (Happy Halloween) from Spooky Sweets and hand wrote the "for a" part of the sentiment.
Card Stock: Basic Black, Only Orange, Green Galore and Whisper White.
Designer Paper: SEI Eerie Alley Line (Black Wavy pattern) and the reverse side I cut out 3 of the Black Embossed Bats to use on my card as well.
The (Green Circular Pattern) is from My Mind's Eye-Feeling Groovy "Pure Jo" Happy Stripe pattern.
Other: Orange Ric Rac (JoAnn Craft Essentials), Orange Brads (Queen and Co.) and Glitter (Lemonade-Art Institute)
Inks used: Basic Black, Palette Noir Black, Only Orange

Hope you have enjoyed these cards as much as I did creating them. Please drop by the other BC Member's Blog (Click on the Icon on my sidebar) and leave a little, Comment Lovin. Then I hope you'll do a Thinking of You (or Boo) card and send it to someone to let them know you care.

ONE LAST THING before you go: I just found out about this Blog Candy over at: A Walk on the Mild Side which looks like a lot of fun so be sure to check it out.

Exciting News

Well I've been keeping a little secret...I tried out for a DT which is something I've never had the courage to do before. Just this morning I got the exciting news that I was picked as one of the Design Team members!
The stamps are AnnaBelle Stamps . This is a brand new company based in Australia. - The sight is still under construction but should be up and running soon.

In the mean time Andrea has posted some "snippets" of the Annabelle line over on her blog if you'd like to take a peek.

I think the stamps look, fresh & fun and I just can't wait to receive my first batch to start creating with.

Thanks for sharing in my excitement. I've listed the other DT members on my sidebar so you can stop by their blogs too and congratulate them and take a peek at their creativity. Looks like a wonderful bunch of stampers from all over the world.

3CT30 - Cutie Pie

Greetings! - Welcome to Week#30 of Three Clover Thursday challenges. Keeping with the "Back to School" theme this week Kerry asked the DT members to create cards/projects using Letters (no words). I had an idea pop into my head right away (how strange is that?) so I went right out and purchased some Chipboard Alphabet letters. Then I searched for a sketch I liked and picked out the stamp I wanted to use and the patterned paper.
Something went wrong along the way though as the letters I bought had printed patterns on them and I didn't like the patterns so I decided to glue DP over the top. That was a flop and the letters were to large for the image I wanted to use, not to mention that the sketch wasn't working out either.
However not to be discouraged I forged on and ended up with this card. It's pretty much what I wanted to create and I hope you like my idea.

Card Deets: Card Stock: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry(textured),Regal Rose, DP-Basic Grey Lemonade
Stamps: Pie from CHF-Let's Get Stuffed
Other: Circle Nestabilite Dies, Circle Punch, Glitter (Art Institute), Brads (Queen and Co.), RicRac (Craft Essentials at JoAnn's), Foam Mounting Tape and Crystal Effects.

Now Head Straight to Kerry's blog and click on the other DT members blogs as well. Have fun with this challenge.

A Rose By Any Other Name

Hello! Happy Labor Day (to those in the US) and a Happy Monday to all. Yesterday was Cupcake Inspiration Day over on Hope's Blog and she picked out a truly elegant cupcake inspiration photo. That gorgeous rose on the cupcake, the embossed tablecloth and the colors were the things that inspired me. I also decided to pair the CIC challenge with the Feel of Fall challenge on the Flourishes Blog as it lent itself to the image that I wanted to use for my card.

I chose this boquet of roses in a vase (Inkadinkado)and stamped it with Basic Black ink on Shimmery White card stock then colored the image with Prismacolor pencils. I added Crystal Effects to the vase and 3 Ruby Red Brads.
The card base is Confetti Red card stock (source unknown)layered with Shimmery White and Pretty in Pink embossed with my new Victoria Cuttlebug embossing folder. It's a shame so much got covered up as it's a beautiful pattern and really matched the pattern of the tablecloth quite well. I ran Craft White ink over it for a frosted look as well as on the piece that I mounted the focal image on.
I can't seem to stop using my MS Loopy punch so here it is again and then I used some White Satin ribbon (SU) for the bow on the card. I really love how this turned out.

Now why don't you stop by Hope's Blog and give the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge a try and then hop on over to the Flourishes blog and try out this great sketch as well.

Have a great day.

BC115 - Sweet Little One

HAPPY FRIDAY! - This week seems to have flown by. It's been a rather "emotional" week for me and one in which I made a very hard decision. In light of recent changes to Stampin'Up!s Demonstrator Agreement I decided to resign as an active Demo which will go into effect 10/1 - It was a choice that I felt was right for me and for those Demo's who chose to stay with SU I applaud them for their choice as well as those who decided to leave. I will miss being a part of this company but could not agree to the terms they were asking their Demonstrator's to comply with.

Okay you didn't come here to hear all about that so let's move on now with the details of this weeks Blogger Challenge Group. Our theme this week was, "Baby" related. Now I must say that I so rarely have need of baby cards that I confess to having very few stamps at all with a baby type theme to them. In fact I went out and bought this stamp specifically for this challenge.

My card base is: Certainly Celery layered with Barely Banana which I used my new Stars (Cuttlebug) embossing folder on. I added a piece of Designer Paper, (Imaginisce-ColorMeHappy). I stamped my image (Inkadinkado) with Basic Black ink and colored it with Prisma Color Pencils. Then I highlted the moon with Crystal transparent glitter (Art Institute) I cut it out using the Labels One Nestabilitie Die and sponged on Certainly Celery ink. I punched out 2 Stars in Bashful Blue and added circles of Apricot Appeal and Green Button Brads. I also tied some Bashful Blue ribbon on but it's barely visible.
The sentiment is SU(Holidays and Wishes) and was stamped in Basic Black ink.

Now it's your turn to visit the other challenge members blogs by clicking on the BC Icon on my sidebar. For my readers in the US Have a Safe and Happy Labor Day Weekend and to everyone else, Have a great weekend as well.

3CT29 - "Primarily" some Halloween Fun

Hello and welcome to the latest addition of 3CloverThursday Challenge - This month we are focusing on (Back To School) themes and the first challenge is: "Primary" colors. Well I looked up primary colors and found they are considered to be Red, Blue, and Yellow. I emailed Kerry though to find out if we could use other colors since I had found the perfect DP that I wanted to use for my card and she said we could use (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Orange) as long as they weren't varying shades of the colors. Needless to say I was happy to hear this as I figured my DP was still a good match for this challenge.

I've always thought of Primary Colors to be like the Crayons you get in Kindergarten where you only have those 5 colors and they are usually nice and bright. I didn't really have any (Back to School) type stamps so I decided to go with a Halloween theme using these colors.

It's bright, fun and a bit funky!
My Stamp is from Studio G and was again a $1 find at the local JoAnn's that I actually bought last year and hadn't used yet. I loved that the Witch Hat had stripes on it because it fit perfectly with the patterned paper I picked up at the LSS. The pattern is called, Wild Boy Stripe and is by Reminisce. Notice how I alternated the way the stripes go to add some visual interest to my card without using another patterned piece of paper.

The sentiment is from, (Inkadinkado - Ghouls and Goblins) and was stamped with Brilliant Blue ink.

I used Only Orange, YoYo Yellow, Green Galore, Brilliant Blue cs.
Other items used: Herringbone Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug,)Punch-Martha Stewart, Ribbon (Offray), Brads (Queen and Company, paper distressing tool and mounting tape.

Be sure to stop by Kerry's blog (click on the 3CT icon on my sidebar) then hop on over to the other DT members blogs and leave them some comment lovin too. Why not give this challenge a try yourself and link back on Kerry's blog.

Have a fun day.

Blog Yummies and a Cutie Pie

HAPPY MONDAY! - My blogging buddy Kerry is doing a Blog Yummy giveaway and the prize is really cool (I want that Drippy Goo punch)...so head on over and check it out here: Don't you love the delicious treats she posted first to peak your interest. Too bad cake's don't mail well.

And for your viewing pleasure here I've included a picture of our little Cutie Pie, Coleen that I took recently at our city park.

Have a great day.

CIC22 - A Cherry on Top

Hello - It's time once again for another fun and fabulous Cupcake Inspiration Challenge and this week Hope has a divine inspiration photo. It's clean and simple in design and yet, "Oh so yummy" with that delicious cherry on top. I was immediately drawn to the colors and of course the cherry. Now I had just purchased a wonderful piece of Designer Paper last week at the LSS and could have used it except that Hope beat me to it! - So on to Plan B...

I decided to use another of my $1 finds from JoAnns (Studio G) stamps and create my own DP. I stamped the cherries repeatedly on Whisper White cs with Riding Hood Red ink. Then I layered it with a piece of Polka Dot paper (BoBunny-Shabby Princess) and added some ribbon (American Crafts-Red Essentials). I loved that the piece I used had a Chocolate Line running through it. I knotted the ribbon in several places before attaching it to my card. I'd seen this done on a card in the Sept./Oct. issue of Paper Crafts and really liked the way it looked. Then I added some red buttons (these are old buttons from a stash that my mom gave me) I used thin strips of card stock for my thread and glued them down with large glue dots.

The focal circle/sentiment was stamped with Chocolate Chip ink and I layered a cherry on the side. This is actually a punch (Mary Engelbreit Cherries) and I punched it out 3 time using (Chocolate Chip, Garden Green and Riding Hood Red cs) then assembled my cherry. The cherries were colored with a Red Spica Glitter Pen and raised with mounting tape. I added a strip of Chocolate Chip cs and 3 small red jewels to complete the card.

Following Hope's lead I decorated the inside as well. You'll see the circle is how the punch looks when you just use it without the little punched out pieces.

Now be sure to stop by all the "Sweeties" blogs and see how they were inspired and then go try this challenge out yourself. It's loads of fun and really helps your creativity to flow once you get started. I've been having a blast with these challenges.

TESC80 - Monster Mash

THEY DID THE MASH, THEY DID THE MONSTER MASH...

I had some time today to play so I thought I would play along with this weeks TESC over on Taylor's Blog

I found this adorable Monster stamp (Studio G) in the $1 bin at JoAnn's and couldn't resist using it for this card. The stamp actually has a sentiment (Our Little Monster) on the side but I masked that off as I only wanted to use the monster by itself for my card. I stamped my monster twice on WW cs and once on some DP (SU-Ghostly Greetings-retired)and paper pieced his coat. He was colored with Prisma color pencils. I also cut his hair out and raised it up with mounting tape. I masked him off using Eclipse Tape and sponged Summer Sun ink around him and layered him onto Only Orange cs. and added 2 small purple button brads and some stitching on the side with black thread. His bolts were colored with a Silver Spica Glitter pen.

I added another piece of the Ghostly Greetings DP along with a punched spiderweb border and some stripped ribbon. This was layered to a fun and funky plaid (Karen Foster) and I stamped the sentiment (also Studio G and a $1 bin find at JoAnns)with Versamark and embossed with Black EP. This was layered to Lovely Lilac and Basic Black.

I'm thinking of giving this one to my hubby for Halloween this year.
Don't forget to drop by Taylor's blog and check out the other cards using this sketch and then why not give it a try yourself and leave a link to your card using the Mr. Linky feature on Taylor's blog.

BC114 As The Crow Flies

It's FRIDAY...Doing the "Happy Dance"!!! - It's also time for the Blogger Challenge and this week our list mom gave us a sketch to follow. I wasn't sure how to interpret the middle portion but forged ahead with my take on the sketch.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and this year I may actually have a few cards to mail out. For this card I started with a new stamp I found at JoAnn's. It's from Inkadinkado Clear Mini Stamps. I just loved the look of it. I used my Labels 1 Nestabilitie Die and then with the card stock still in the die I sponged on Perfect Plum, Old Olive and Only Orange ink. Then I glued this down on some Old Olive cs and cut around it as I wanted a small border and the next size label die was to large. I distressed the edges with the Cutter Kit distressing tool from SU.
Next up I paired my image up with the SU Designer Paper, Cast-a-Spell. I added some Pumpkin Pie Striped ribbon, Plum Brads (non su), black thread and printed my sentiment on a Tag Nestabilitie Die. I also did some faux stitching and used a Black Spica Glitter pen to highlight the stitching. The 3 dots were done using Orange Peel Stickles.

Oh I almost forgot...Did you notice the smaller Crow on my focal panel? I found a cute Halloween set from Studio G that had that crow and couldn't believe how well it matched the one from Inkadinkado and for only $1 I just had to get it.

Be sure to stop by all the other BC members blogs and see what they've done with this sketch.

3CT28 - Photogenic Fun

Welcome to 3CT Challenge. This week Kerry challenged the DT to come up with a card/project using a photo or computer image. This is something that I don't do very often with my cards so it was a bit of a challenge for me to come up with an idea that I liked.
I started off picking out a photo that I had taken of Coleen this summer riding her tricycle. I printed it out on card stock and then cut it out using a Nestabilitie Die. Then I picked out a stamp that I just knew would work with my photograph. If you recall this post the Tricycle image in another image in the Transportation Stamp Kit from TPC Studio. Don't you think it's perfect for my photo!

I based my card colors on Coleen's outfit. The card base is Whisper White layered with Tempting Turquoise, a piece of Summer Picnic DP (retired),and Lavender Lace. I punched out photo corners in Lovely Lilac and created a border of Real Red using the scallop punch. Then I wrapped the border with silver cording to coordinate with the silver of her handlebars. I stamped the Tricycle with Lavender Lace ink and used LL Eyelets (a forgotten embellishment these days it seems as you see so few using them on cards). The sentiment is also for the same stamp set and was stamping with Tempting Turquoise ink.

I've included the regular photo that I took of Coleen as it was hard to take a decent photo of the card and I wanted you to see the happy expression on her face. She really enjoys that tricycle. Next year we're thinking of a big bike for her 5th birthday.

Don't forget to visit Kerry's blog by clicking on the 3CT Blinkie on my sidebar, go to the Design Team's blogs too and leave them some comment lovin and then go forth and create your own Photogenic masterpiece and link back to Kerry's blog.

CIC21 Celestial Moon

Oh My Stars!!! - Aren't those cupcakes heavenly. Don't you just love the bright, cheery colors, the puffy white clouds with their silver linings and the wonderful balloons floating through the air.

Since I don't own a single Hot Air Balloon image I decided to take a bit of different route with the inspiration photo. I decided to use a moon image as it's a celestial image and I felt it related to the them of the Air Balloons, just on a different level. I went with the bright colors of the stars and balloons as well.

The moon image (SU-Sun,Moon and Stars - retired)was colored with Prisma Color pencils and blended with gamsol. I masked the image and sponged on Ballet Blue ink. Then I highlighted the swirls with a Silve Spica Glitter pen and added a punched star (Folk Star) in Brushed Silver cs.

My card base is Ballet Blue layered with Whisper White, Summer Sun embossed with my new Star Cuttlebug Embossing Folder. I added a piece of SU Summer Picnic-retired DP and a border of Brushed Silver punch with my Wavy Border (EK Success) punch.

The sentiment was computer generated and then punched with Labels Nestabilitie Dies and tied with French Blue (SU retired) grosgrain ribbon. I mounted the image with foam tape.

I hope you enjoy my take on the inspiration photo and will want to try it out for yourself. Just vivit Hope's Blog and leave a link to your card there.

BC113 - Halloween gets Punchy

Hooray it's Friday! It's also Blogger Challenge Day and this week it's all about "Punches or Die Cuts"

I don't own a lot of Dies so I chose to go more of the "punchy" route with my card.
Since I love Halloween and had recently found this adorable Skelton stamp in the $1 bin at JoAnn's I couldn't resist buying it (and a few others)so I decided to put it to good use on todays card. I paired it up with SU's new DP (Cast-a-Spell)and my Martha Stewart Embossed Pumpkin row punch.

I based my layout on this sketch but decided to leave out the rectangle portion as it just wouldn't fit.

The spiders are also a punch (EK Success) and I added some stitching, dew drops amd raised up the pumpkin (colored with SU Markers) that the skelton is holding. I added some shimmer to the skelton with a Clear Spica Glitter Pen.

I hope you've enjoyed my Halloween Gets Punchy card. Don't forget to visit the other members blogs (click on the icon on my sidebar) and try this challenge out yourself. Have a wonderful weekend.

3CT27 Trains, Planes and Automobiles

Hello and welcome to the latest challenge for Three Clover Thursday. This week it's all about Trains, Planes and Automobiles. - Your assignment should you chose to accept it is to create a card/project using some kind of a powered vehicle.

I wasn't to sure about this challenge at first because I have so few stamps in that category. Mainly I had a couple of train stamps because my dad enjoy building a model train set so I bought those stamps with him in mind. They really weren't what I was hoping to come up with for the challenge. I happened to be at our local JoAnn's purchasing some other craft items which I had already paid for when I decided to take a 2nd look at the stamps and found a wonderful stamp set (Transportation Stam Kit) by TPC Studio. Now you can go on-line to find this store and the stamp set is in the Down loadable catalog there. What was really great for me is that the stamp set was on sale at JoAnn's and I got it for only $5.99! I couldn't resist that kind of a bargain so I went back and made another purchase so I could have this fun little set in my hot little hands for this very challenge!

I wanted the "perfect" paper for my card but alas the LSS didn't have what I was hoping to find but I did come up with something that I think works just fine. (I've since discovered that the TPC Studio has the "perfect" paper for this stamp set in a collection) Now back to the card...

I found this sketch that I really liked and decided to do my card using it. I first stamped my airplane with Riding hood Red ink and the loopy trail with Tangerine Tango. Then I masked the airplane and sponged in the clouds with Baja Breeze ink. I stamped a second airplane and mounted it over the original with foam tape. This was layered onto a piece of Bazzill textured card stock. I rounded the corners with a small corner rounder. My card base is Riding hood Red layered with Tangerine Tango and then the DP (Cosmo Cricket).

I had thought about ribbon but it just didn't seem to be working for me and I had already decided on the punch circles with the red jewels but I knew the card just needed a little something "extra" and voila' the idea to use my new favorite punch popped into my head. What could be more perfect then Martha Stewart's Loopy punch, see how it resembles the loopy trail of the airplane - Genius huh! So there you have a look into my creative thoughts. After I was finished with the card I debated about whether or not I should have added some stitching to the loopy punched piece but I wasn't about to take the card apart and I hate sewing on the inside of cards so I left it as is.

Don't forget to check out the other DT members blogs and leave them some comment lovin' - Then get your motor's running and create your own transportation inspired project and link back on Kerry's Blog so we can all take a peek.

CIC20 Smiles in Flight

Hi! - Well it's the start of another week and time for me to post my latest card for Hope's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge. Oh before I forget check out the new "Blinkie" on my sidebar (Hope's Top 5) How cool is that!

Isn't that cupcake pretty. I loved the purple flowers and the butterflies and just how dainty and elegant the cupcake looked. So when I started my card I wanted to create something that was just that, (Dainty and Elegant). So do you think I achieved that?

I stamped the Butterfly with Versamark ink and embossed it with Detail Silver EP. If you look closely at the inspiration cupcakes they have a silver liner and some silver beads in the flower centers. Next I colored the image with Copic markers - Yes I actually own a small set but rarely use them. Why?...Well let's just say first I don't have enough colors to adequately work with them. Secondly I really need someone to come and teach me how to use these darn things. I just can't seem to get the hang of shading and blending with them. Lastly I'm pretty sure that I need a different sort of paper as SU's Whisper White seems to streak and I hate that look.
But I digress...let's get back to the card. After I colored the image I added some dots with (Itty Bitty Backgrounds) and a Bashful Blue ink pad. I also highlighted the butterflies wings with a Purple Spica Glitter pen. Then I cut it out and mounted it onto some dark purple card stock. (Source unknown but I think it's Bazzill textured card stock.)
I know the inspiration photo doesn't have any (green) in it but I found this already embossed piece of green card stock that looked so pretty so I decided to use it for my card. I lightly ran it over my white craft ink pad and then added some purple brads. I used some lace from a stash of stuff that my mom gave me. I added some lighter lavender brads and stamped the sentiment with Wisteria Chalk Ink.

Stamps: Hero Arts, SU
Ink: Silver Detail EP(SU) Wisteria Chalk Ink (Colorbox),
Copic Markers
Paper: SU Whisper White, Textured Purples (Bazzill?)
Other: Textile Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Lace, Brads (Queen and Co.)

Owl Inspiration

It's been awhile since I've played over on SCS with the Saturday Inspiration Challenge but I thought I would give it a try today.

I went to the Curiosity Shoppe and found this picture which I used as the inspiration for my card.

I also used the sketch on Taylor's Blog for Cupcake Friday and the Sew Simple Challenge on The Greeting Farm Blog for this card.

My card base is: Chocolate Chip layered with Kraft stamped with the Woodgrain BG in Creamy Caramel. I did some "faux stitching" around the sides and bottom of the cs and added 4 brown brads to the corners. Next I stamped a piece of Basic Gray Lemonade DP with the frond stamp from SU Paradise stamp set in White Craft ink and distressed the bottom edge and also machine stitched on the DP.
The Owl image is from The Greeting Farms-Deer Friend stamp set and the sentiment is from McSplendid Farm. I colored the Owl with Prisma Color Pencils and sponged some Cool Caribbean ink around the owl and stamped the sentiment with Chocolate Chip ink. I stamped the frond leaf again on white cs with the Cool Caribbean ink and cut it out. I mounted the leaf along with a brown button tied with hemp twine to complete my card.

I'm not sure if the faux stitching works or not but I'm leaving it as is. I love how the leaves stamped in the white turned out though on the DP.

BC112 It's Your Birthday

HAPPY FRIDAY! - This weeks challenge for the BC Group was the theme, "It's Your Birthday" and you know some where someone is celebrating their birthday. If it's you and you just happen to be visiting my blog then this cards for you!

This card is a rather CAS design but I like it. I think the only thing I might have changed was maybe adding an emobossed white background but I had already finished the card when that idea occurred to me.

I started off picking out my paper this time around. I had this super fun striped patterned paper (Bubblegum Popsicle - BoBunny) that I just fell in love with. The reverse side is multi-color dots which are equally fun. Next I paired my paper up with a birthday sentiment image from (Inkadinkado's Birthday Fun stamps set). I recently won this set in a blog giveaway. It worked great for this weeks challenge.

The image was embossed with Basic Black EP and then I colored the letters with various Bold Bright markers. Next I highlighted each of the letters with a Spica Glitter pen for some extra shimmer. Hopefully you can see that if you click on the card for the larger version. I added a flower from (Hero Arts) and a striped cloth brad (source unknown) and 3 Green Galore Brads. The sentiment and frame are both Nestabilite Dies. I also used my MS Loopy Punch (love that punch).

That's it's plain and simple but a lot of fun. Now go check out the other members blogs and see how they celebrated this birthday theme.

Fabulous Blog Giveaway

Hope you all don't mind a 2nd post today but I have to tell you about this fabulous find. I just found this blog today through another blog and wow is this Giveaway fantastic. Go see for yourself. Plus don't forget to browse her blog as she has some wonderful stamped creations there as well.

3CT26 - Techie Time

Welcome! - It's time for a little fun over on Three Clovers Designs as it's Thursday and time for the 3CT Challenge. This week it's all about "Techie" stuff. We needed to use a Digital Image or Create a background using our computer. Well I'm so NOT a computer expert so creating my own background was out of the question. I have however embraced a few Digital images along the way so I started off finding one that I like for this weeks challenge and happened upon this cute Halloween image over on Dustin Pike's website found here: I couldn't resist since Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.
I started coloring my little "monster" and then decided upon some paper that I had in my stash but then I thought, "Hey why not look for some digital halloween paper." So I started searching and I found this website: Free Digital Scrapbooking and I found the perfect paper for my image. I had already started coloring it so I needed something that would go with the colors that I had already used on my monster. This fun plaid piece worked perfectly. After I colored the image I started assembling the card and sewed on my DP and a border made with my new Martha Stewart Halloween Spider Web punch (is that not cool or what!). Next I decided to print another sentiment to go with the monster's BEWARE warning and what could be better then things that go BUMP in the night. LOL! Lastly I wanted something to set everything off and decided to hit the local JoAnn's and found these wonderfully fun flatbacked spiders in just the colors I needed. Talk about a great find. I used mini glue dots to adhere them. All in all I had a blast with this card.

Be sure to see how clever and creative the rest of the DT was with this "Techie" challenge and then give it a try yourself. You can do so by clicking on the 3CT Blinkie on my sidebar. Have a great day.

Master of his Domain - A Noble Deer

Today I'm sharing a card with you that I recently created for a friend who wanted a Masculine Birthday card for a male friend of hers. I made two cards for her one of which can be found here - She liked both of the cards so much that she bought both of them!

Recently I saw another card using this set over on Leslie Miller's blog and just loved her card too. I realized that I hadn't yet posted my card after I saw her card, which you can see her card here:
For my card I stamped the Buck image (Noble Deer) with Basic Black ink and then colored the image with Prisma Colored Pencils and blended with Gamsol. Now here in the Pacific Northwest where I live we have a type of deer called a, White Tail so I decided to color my deer with the distinctive "white tail" that are found on the deer here in our mountains.
My card base is: Always Artichoke layered with Close To Cocoa and stamped with the new (SU Woodgrain Background) stamp in CTC ink. I stamped the sentiment (SU - It's Your Birthday) with Chocolate Chip ink and added 3 Artichoke brads. I added a strip of the AA cs layered with a piece of the now retired SU Designer Paper, (Parisian Breeze). I stamped and colored the pinecones in the same manner and then layered them with foam tape in the upper left hand corner to complete the card.

CIC19 - Blooms in Pink

Hello! - It's time once again for one of my favorite features of the week, Hope's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge
This weeks featured cupcake photo has some lovely Pink Cupcakes with Clouds, Flowers and Rainbows. I was inspired by the Pink Color, Flowers and Clouds.

For my card I chose to use a bright pink (Pixie Pink), White and Brushed Silver.
My DP is by Doodlebug Design - Sweetheart Ribbon Stripe. I decided to try my hand at Paper Pleating. It's a rather fun technique but was a little tricky as I got confused at first on which way to fold my scored pleats. In the end it worked out fairly well. I did tape the back with scotch tape to hold in place while I machined stitched the top.
I wanted to use my new Loopy Punch (Martha Stewart) so I added a border underneath my pleated piece. I also tied on some Hot Pink Ribbon that I received in a Prize Package so I am not sure of the source for the ribbon.
My image is by Rubber Stampede (Cherry Blossom) and the sentiment is from PTI (Text Boxed). I stamped the image with Basic Black ink and colored with Prisma Color pencils. I used a Cloud Template and lightly sponged in some clouds with Bashful Blue nk. I added some Baby's Breath glitter (Art Institute) to the flower centers and 3 half pearls (SU Pretties Kit). I also embossed my White card stock with the Swiss Dots embossing folder and my Cuttlebug.

I hope you enjoy my take on the Inspiration Cupcakes. Now how about you give it a try this week and see how these cupcakes inspire you. Then leave a link on Hope's Blog so we can see what you've come up with. I'd love to see more players in this fun challenge.

BC111 Color Challenge - Lemon Tree Very Pretty...

Lemon Flower Very Sweet, But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat. Peter, Paul and Mary.

This week the Blogger Challenge Group was given a Color Challenge: Crushed Curry or (Yellow), Old Olive, Soft Suede (or Brown) and Neutrals as needed. For some strange reason an idea popped into my head to use an image that I had in my stash of colored images for this challenge. The problem was once I found it I realized that the colors were all wrong for the challenge so I decided to stamp another image and color it to meet the challenge requirements. I chose the Lemon image from Sun Ripened II (retired) which again I have to say I love this set and it's companion set and never plan to get rid of them.

Once I had decided on my image I paired it up with a Mojo Monday sketch from my files (I save them all) and from there I got started on my card. I decided to Water Color my image which is something I rarely do because I feel my technique isn't always the best. In this case though I am well pleased with the results. Yes the Lemon was watercolored with the Crushed Curry ink. If you spread it out on paper first before coloring your image you will get a nice yellow color to it. The leaves are Old Olive and Crushed Curry and the stem is the Soft Suede.

Out of all the new "In-Colors" this year, Soft Suede is my "least" favorite but I think that the touches I added of this color went really well with the other two colors. I highlighted parts of the flowers with a White PrismaColor Pencil and lightly dusted the lemon and the yellow portions of the flowers with Gold Aztec Pearl-Ex Powder for some subtle shimmer. Hopefully you can see a little of it in the close-up photo.

I used a piece of the retired Haiku (love that DP) and layered it to the Crushed Curry and Old Olive card base. I mounted my image on Soft Suede and Crushed Curry. The sentiment is from (The Greeting Farm - McSplendid Farm stamp set). I used friendship because after a little research I discovered that is some pagan religions the lemon symbolized, Friendship which I thought was lovely.

My ribbon is a piece of 5/8" White Satin ribbon that I dyed using a Soft Suede reinker. I added a Filgree Brad and a Fire Rhinestone Brad to complete the card.

So now it's your turn to visit the other Blogger Challenge members blogs and leave them some "comment lovin" - You can do so by clicking on the Blogger Challenge Icon on my sidebar.

Have a truly wonderful weekend.

3CT#25 - Summer Time Campout and "True Confessions."

Hey it's Thursday and you know what that means.  Yep, it's time for another 3CloverThursday challenge over on Kerry's Blog (Three Clovers Designs).

This weeks theme is, Super Summery!

I just recently purchased this wonderful stamp set (The Great Outdoors - Inkadinkado) from Hope Stamp Eternal on-line store and made this card with it.

Now I have 2 "confessions" to make about this card. 
Confession #1 - First off I know many people find summer the perfect time to go camping and find it to be very fun and relaxing.  I have to confess it's been YEARS since I've been camping.  Sleeping in a tent on the ground out in the "boon docks, toolie bushes or even the great outdoors" has just never really been my cup of tea.  We use to camp when I was younger and I can remember many a camping trip spent with my parents and yes I had a good time but as I got older it wasn't as glamourous to be out in woods without the conviences of home like a good hot shower, my curling iron/hairblower, a nice warm/soft bed and let's not forget a real toilet (yuck going behind a bush with a roll of TP isn't exactly fun) so slowly but surely I decided camping wasn't for me.  To me camping in an RV really isn't camping either so it was all or nothing in my book as far as camping goes.

Confession #2 - This card was actually made for an entirely different reason.  I was asked to make a Birthday card for a guy who enjoys hunting, camping, the great outdoors etc...so I made this card and realized it would be the perfect card for this weeks "Summer" theme except for the fact that I had a birthday related sentiment on the card.  So being the (clever) or perhaps (lazy) stamper that I am I carefully peeled off the B-Day sentiment and replaced it with the Summer sentiment, photograped the card and then put the birthday sentiment back on.  I know horrible but hey, I just couldn't see stamping something else when this was already done and fit the theme so well.

So there you have it...I've confessed to my readers that I'm a "wuss" when it comes to camping out and  I am also very "clever" (lazy) about making extra cards when a perfect card already exists!

Card Deets:  Stamps: The Great Outdoors (Inkadinkado) and Summer sentiment (Hero Arts).
Card Stock: Basic Black, Ruby Red, Always Artichoke, Whisper White and DP (Mr. Campy - Cosmo Cricket).
Ink: Basic Black, Stampin Pastels
Other: Houndstooth Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, More Mustard Brads, Linen Thread, Foam Mounting Tape.

CIC18 Owl Inspired

"Who's Ready for another fun Cupcake Inspiration Challenge?"

This week Hope found an adorable cupcake photo with of all things "Owls" on it as a request from a friend.    I knew right away what stamp set I wanted to use for my card. 

Awhile back I purchased a set of rubber stamps from Wordsworth Art Stamps (It's Your Day - retired) that had the perfect owl in it for my card.  Next I paired my images up with
some paper by My Mind's Eye-Penny Lane collection.

Finally I picked out a sketch that I wanted to use and went with an old (Mojo Monday 70) sketch.

The Colors I used on this card are:

Brocade Blue, Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery and Old Olive and Whisper White.

Inks: Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Always Artichoke, Close to Cocoa.

Other: Rhinestones (Me and My Big Ideas). Paper Distressing Tool, Foam Mounting Tape, Heart Punch, Scallop Square Punch, Red Spica Glitter Pen, Circle Nestabilitie Die.

So now why don't you join me and create a card using this fun inspiration photo and then post your link on Hope's Blog.