CIC26 "But she got Cat!"

Hello! - I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. The weather here was beautiful and Saturday night my hubby and I attend a wonderful BBQ at his bosses house. It was our very first time being invited there for a "social" function. Their place is absolutely gorgeous and the landscaping was amazing. Wish I would have taken our camera but I thought that might have been a bit (odd) IYKWIM.
To start this week off how about another Delectable looking Cupcake for Hope's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge. Aren't those Chrysanthemums just gorgeous! They almost look real. I struggled at first with what I was going to do for this challenge and my original idea wasn't working out because I couldn't find the tutorial that I wanted (I need to bookmark those things)so I kept searching through my stamps and happened upon this sweet image of a cat sitting among some Chrysanthemums and I knew it would work perfectly for the challenge. Next I picked out a sketch and decided on Taylor's Inspiration Sketch for this week.
Stamps: Garden Cat and Take Good Care Greetings - (Hero Arts)
Details: Card Stock: Always Artichoke, Whisper White, Blush Blossom, Tangerine Tango, Designer Paper (source unknown - because I had this forever).
Inks: Palette Noir Black, Prisma Color Pencils
Accessories: Circle Nestabilitie Dies, Scallop Oval, Lg. Oval punches, Brads (Queen and Co.), Sewing Machine.

If you're still reading and wondered about my Page Title it actually came from a commercial (I'm not sure what was being advertised) but there were little kids in school having a spelling bee and some football player. The little girl is asked to spell cat and the football player thinks he's going to "ace" the spelling bee until the teacher says, "Spell Chrysanthemum." To which he replies, "That's not fair, she got Cat!" It made me chuckle every time I saw the commercial and I thought it was fitting for the image I chose to use.

Now it's your turn to be inspired by these yummy cupcakes. Don't forget to leave a link to your card on Hope's blog using the Mr. Linky feature.

Annabelle Stamps - A Cup of Friendship

Today I'm showcasing another stamp set from the new Australian stamp company, Annabelle Stamps called, Swirl Tree I chose to use one image from the set and a sentiment. There is a wonderful swirl tree in the set but I went with something entirely different as you can see for this card. I chose to use the Cup image for my card.

I paired it with some really pretty and fun designer paper (DCWV - Indian Summer)and used that as the basis for my color scheme. I started by stamping one of the cups with Palette Noir black ink and created a mask then stamped 3 more cups on top masking each as I went along. I colored these with various colors using Prisma Color Pencils and then cut them out. Next I stamped a row of the cups using the following colors (Melon Mambo, Kiwi Kiss, Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange).

The sentiment was stamped with Palette Noir Black ink as was the coffee steam which I also high lighted with a Silver Spica Glitter Pen.

Card Base: Melon Mambo - Kiwi Kiss and Naturals Ivory cs

I added the DP along with a loopy punched border of Rich Razzleberry and some orange ribbon. Then I added 3 Blossom Sprinkles to complete my card.
Speaking of those gorgeous sprinkles Andrea has a little Freebie Friday giveaway going on so be sure to check it out here:

BC118 - All The Leaves Are Brown

California Dreamin by the Mamas and the Papas

Ahh...Friday has arrived! - I am so ready for the weekend. This week the Blogger Challenge is, "Product Focus - Designer Paper"
For my card I chose SU's Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper. This is lovely paper and all the leaves are most certainly (not) brown.
I wanted to use several of the patterns and got the inspiration for my card from this card by Kelly Lunceford.
I pretty much stayed with her sketch but didn't add the longer panel opting instead to use a circle. I also added an extra panel for my sentiment (which actually came about because of a "boo boo" stamping on patterned paper and I needed to cover it up) but hey, I like how it turned out so maybe it was meant to be.
I got the CRAZY idea to sew on this card...Let's just say that sewing is so not me. I like how it looks but I have such a hard time with it. In fact I went through 3 tries of the long panel before getting one right. My darn machine keeps pulling the thread out of the needle half way through sewing. I was going around shouting, "I HATE THIS MACHINE" by the time I was finished. However I am bound and determined to master that thing if it's the last thing I do!
The leaf (Autumn Leaf Prints - retired SU) was first stamped in More Mustard ink and then I highlighted various parts of the leaf with Ruby Red and Always Artichoke markers. I misted the stamp and the Watercolor paper before stamping. Then I cut the leaf out layered it onto Soft Suede cs and cut it out again. I mounted this with foam tape onto my circles. The sentiment is by Serendipity Stamps and was stamped on Natural Ivory cs with Soft Suede ink. I added 3 Always Artichoke brads as well.
Now it's time for you to head off to the other BC Members blogs (Click on the icon on my sidebar) leave a little, "Comment Lovin" and then give the challenge a try yourself.
Have a great weekend...I'll be back on Saturday with another card from Annabelle Stamps so be sure to drop by again.

3CT32 - Count Down

This is Ground Control to Major Tom - David Bowie (Space Oddity)

Don't ask me why but for some reason that song popped into my head when I started to post my card so for those of you interested I've included a link to the YouTube video of this song.

Welcome to 3CT Challenge #32 - Arithmetic (Use Numbers on your card). Now I must tell you that Math was NOT my best subject in school and I still struggle with it from time to time (thank goodness for Calculators).

For this weeks card I chose to base my card around a piece of DP by Reminisce (3-2-1 Blast Off) from the Boys Gone Wild series. I love the bright colors (you almost need sunglasses for this one). I paired it up with the rocket image from SU's Pun Fun. The image was colored with Prisma color pencils and raised with foam dimensional tape. I added some sparkle to the rocket and outer space with Spica Glitter pens. For some added fun I used my Star embossing folder, (Cuttlebug) Large Star Punch which I printed out the 3-2-1 numbers on the computer before punching. Some fun Twill Ribbon, Ric Rack and Brads as embellishments.

Hope you've enjoyed this little bit of Space Travel and now head off to Kerry's blog and check out the other DT members cards as well. Then get to counting and use your mathematical skills to create your own numerical masterpiece.

For Anna's Dad

Today I am sharing a card created for Anna's dad, see this post:

I just knew right away that I wanted to send a card. First because I've always been so inspired by Anna and her amazing talent and also have read many wonderful and fun comments her dad has left on her blog and how could I not want to help cheer him up after his surgery. Having gone through the recovery period when my mom had her knee replacement surgery a year ago in April I know first hand how hard it can be.

I chose to use a retired SU set (On The Fly) for my card because I know Anna's dad loves to fly fish. There is a wonderful picture of him doing just that on her blog so be sure to check it out. My own dad loved fishing of all kinds but was very fond of fly fishing. He tried his best to teach me but alas it was not to be one of my skills. After many failed attempts at learning and getting the hook either caught it a tree branch (or my hair) or the line tangled in a huge mess he finally decided that perhaps teaching me to fly fish wasn't going to work. He's been gone almost 12 years now but whenever I see pictures of men fly-fishing it brings back many fond memories of seeing my dad fishing the lakes and streams around Walla Walla (and there are plenty).

Some where yesterday I saw a challenge (but didn't write it down) where you were asked to use "Chalks" in some manner. I chose to just color my image with my Stampin'Pastel's as that has always been my favorite way to use them and I haven't done it in a long time. After coloring the image I sealed it and then used my Labels 2 Nestabilitie Die to cut it out. I then mounted it onto some Really Rust cs and cut around it and then distressed it. Next up I used my Herringbone CB Embossing Folder on some Naturals Ivory cs. I added a strip of DP (DCWV - Indian Summer) layered to Really Rust and a card base of Handsome Hunter cs. I stamped and colored the fish image in the same manner and layered it with foam dimensional tape.
The sentiment is from (Hero Arts) and was stamped on the NI CS and then I added a button and some faux thread (actually thin strips of HH cs) and distressed the edges with Really Rust ink. I love how "masculine" this card turned out.

The picture of the mountains on this post is a picture of our "Blue Mountains" here and is the view that my oldest brother, (Russell) will see from the deck of the new cabin he and his wife are building. They've been working on it all summer long and it's coming along nicely. I'll share a few photo's of the cabin later when it's completed.

CIC25 A Touch of Autumn and a Sketch Challenge

The nights are getting cooler and there's a bit of a "bite" in the air and just a few of the trees are showing signs of Autumn but it's just around the corner. Autumn is my favorite season so when I saw this weeks Cupcake Inspiration Challenge photo I just knew what my inspiration for my card was going to be.
I combined it with a sketch Challenge over on 2Sketches4You - I'm probably too late to be in the running for the Prize from Flourishes but I liked the sketch so I'm going to post it anyway.

The inspiration cupcakes have such beautiful colors and of course leaves and acorns. I wanted my card to reflect the beauty of these wonderful colors. I started with one of my favorite retired SU sets, (Country Pleasures) and embossed the image with Black Detail EP and then watercolored it using Ink Pads and an Aqua Painter. I layered that to a distressed piece of More Mustard cs. My papers are from KI Memories (Tree pattern) and DCWV (Indian Summer collection).
The sentiment is from (Creative Cousins). The ribbon is KI Memories and I also used 3 Sprinkles from (AnnaBelle Stamps).

If you have any questions how this card was made feel free to email me.

Mojo Monday meets Annabelle

ARE YOU READY FOR A PARTY!!! - Introducing, Helen's Party from a brand new stamp company, AnnaBelle Stamps

Isn't she adorable! - I was so thrilled and excited when Andrea sent the email saying that I had been picked as one of her new Design Team members. I couldn't wait to get my stamps and get started creating with them. (Patience)has never been one of my virtues. The package arrived on Thursday and I worked really hard yesterday creating this fun card.

Andrea had sent us some papers (as a added bonus) and while we aren't required to use them on our projects I fell in love with one of the patterns and decided to use it for my first card. The paper is, Sugar Petals from Scrabble paper and while it's not available right now you can find the pattern here:
I like to work with sketches a lot (it lessens the time of trying to figure out a layout) so I chose this weeks MoJo Monday sketch found here

You can see that I altered the sketch slighty by reversing the position of the smaller circle. Otherwise I could not have added my balloon nor sentiment but it' still pretty much the same.

I colored my image with Prismacolor Pencils blended with Gamsol and then paper pieced her outfit with the reverse side of the pattern DP. The colors of the paper really matched well with some of the new "in-colors" and a few retired in-colors as well. See list below.
I added a nice shiny balloon by using Crystal Effects and popped up the bow on the package. You'll also notice those wonderful little gems on the right side that resemble Dew Drops except that these are called Sprinkles and they have a foil backing which makes them really sparkle/shine in real life. I LOVE THEM! Best of all Andrea sells these at AnnaBelle stamps and they come in, 24 Colors! I can't wait to get more of these babies as they are so pretty. They come in little cases that are stackable as well so you can save storage space if needed. Be sure to check them out.

So here is a list of the products used for this card:
Stamps: Helen's Party (AnnaBelle Stamps)
Ink: Palette Noir Black (PaperTrey Ink)
Prisma Colored Pencils, Gamsol
Card Stock: Always Artichoke, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo and Whisper White.
Other: Crystal Effects, Kiwi Kiss Twill ribbon (retired SU), Olive Sprinkles (AnnaBelle Stamps), Linen Thread, Nestablitie Circle Dies and foam mounting tape.

I'll be back again next week with another fun card using one of the other new sets from AnnaBelle stamps. All her products are now available at her store so head on over and do some shopping!

BC117 - Life is....

Good Morning! - Is anyone else glad today is Friday!!! - I know I'm ready for the weekend. - Still recovering from the cold/sinus infection I had last week but starting to feel human again. - So are you ready for a "Color Challenge" this week from the Blogger Challenge group. - This week Lisa "our list mom" gave us a doozie in my opinion. The colors are: Chocolate, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry and Neutrals as needed. - Okay I like these colors but just not together. I searched and searched my paper stash for some DP that had these colors but alas none was to be found. I switched gears for awhile and found a card layout that I really liked in the CTMH (Close To My Heart) catalog and even had a similiar stamp set to the one that was used so I decided to go with that. The problem was that darn, Crushed Curry color as it just didn't seem to go with the other colors but I used it anyway and this card is the result of my efforts. At this point I'm thinking that maybe I should have made my card base Chocolate but I didn't have a full piece to use so I went with the Crushed (almost said, cursed) piece instead.
My stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Life set by Lisa Johnson) I stamped the images with Chocolate Chip ink on the Melon Mambo CS. Then I added a Crushed Curry piece ran through the Cuttlebug using the Textile Embossing folder and dusted it with Gold PearlX powder. The sentiment was stamped on Very Vanilla cs with Melon Mambo and Chocolate Chip inks. I stamped the leaf branch on VV with Crushed Curry ink and distressed the edges with Chocolate Chip ink. I added a piece of Chocolate Chip cs that I pierced and photo corners of Chocolate Chip to complete the card.

So now that you've seen my card (Did you check out the close-up)...I used some homemade shimmer spray (basically hairspray with the gold pearlx powder) to add some shimmer to the card. Now it's your turn to play with the challenge. If you don't have the exact colors why not try similar colors. - Also don't forget to check out the other BC members blogs to see what they did with the challenge.

Have a great weekend!

3CT31 - Do You Doodle?

Welcome to 3 Clover Thursday Challenge #31 - Today it's all about "Doodling"
I think my Mojo took a bit of a "hike" today as it took me forever to come up with an idea for a card and I'm still not totally thrilled with it but...It is was it is!

Truth be told I am not a, "doodler" at least not on my cards. I like to doodle on paper when I'm on hold or when I'm bored but trying to get something to look good on a card just wasn't happening. Since I'm trying to get some Halloween cards made this year I decided to go with that for my theme. I had already embossed and cut out the skeleton from, (SU - Scary Skeleton) stamp set so I thought why not use that image. My sentiment is from (SU - Grateful Greetings) stamp set which I earned for FREE! I stamped the sentiment with VersaMark and embossed it with Bold Black EP, cut it out with Nestabilitie Dies and did my "doodling" around the circle with a Basic Black marker. If you look closely you'll notice I got a little close together with some of the doodles and didn't follow my 2 stitch, 3 stitch pattern all the way around. I thought they mimicked the stitches on the skeleton. Oh I embossed that with White EP.

Other Details:
Card Stock: Basic Black, Old Olive, SEI Eerie Alley DP
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black Marker
Embossing Powders: White and Bold Black
Accessories: Orange Grosgrain Ribbon, Spiderweb Punch by MS, 3 White Brads
Nestabilitie Dies.

While browsing the NET for some Doodling ideas I came upon this blog Check it out as this gal really takes "Doodling" to a whole new level in my book!

Now head off to the other DT members blogs, leave some comment lovin and then give this doodling challenge a try yourself.

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.)