Great Impressions Stamps | A Hexagon Hello

Good morning! Two weeks ago I mentioned that my card took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to complete because, well, I lost my creative mojo. I think it was the move that put a damper on things... my creative space was in chaos, I only had access to a fraction of my supplies, and moving is so stressful! But now that my office is (mostly) set up, I am creating cards like crazy! And this card was especially fun to put together. 

I created the hexagon paper by die cutting a variety of BasicGrey papers with a Hero Arts hexagon die (that I just received for winning the January contest with this card) and arranging them on a sheet of 4 x 4 1/4 white cardstock. I played around with the arrangement before adhering the hexagons permanently. I die cut the little banner and stamped with Great Impressions Stamps Happy Birthday stamp onto it, adhered it, then added a few buttons and twine. Super simple, but the results are really fun!

I finished this card yesterday and I needed to get a picture of it before the sun went down, so I propped it on my desk and took one photo. Just one. When I was doing the editing I noticed the big red blob in the background... yup, that is a bag of peanut butter M&M's. My cardmaking snack of choice this week... a little messy, but they make me happy. :-)

And don't forget... only one more day to enter this month's challenge! You can read all the details here. 

Have a great week! 

Erin.

Mad Libs and Motor Circle | Digital Layouts

Hey there!  We have had family in town for the past 10 days and I am so sorry to see the last of them (my uncle) board a plane tomorrow... it has been a fantastic visit! We took a trip to the Orlando Science Center, celebrated the boys' birthdays early (Evan received a telescope and Jack received a motorcycle!), went to the mall & out to lunch with some friends, and my Dad made the most amazing salmon recipe ever.

While we were watching the Oscars last night I had a chance to work on a couple of digital layouts, one for Karla Dudley Designs and one for Scotty Girl Designs:

 (All supplies are Karla Dudley Designs.)

 (All supplies except book plate are Scotty Girl Designs. Book plate is Karla Dudley Designs.)

Karla's new kit, Nillie, and Shannon's new kit, Froyo, are available in the shop now!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week... I still have a lot of unpacking and organizing to do!

Thanks for stopping by. :-) 

Avery Elle | AEI {Heart} U April Guest Design Challenge

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope you all had a great week. 

I have a CAS card for this month's Avery Elle challenge, featuring bright pink and yellow, chevrons, and flowers:

And here is my take:
 

 (Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) To the Point. Ink: (Papertrey Ink) Summer Sunrise, Smokey Shadow. Cardstock: (Papertrey Ink) Hibiscus Burst, Stamper's Select White. Doily: Stampin' Up!. Ribbon: (Papertrey Ink) White. Other: Button, sequins.)

Isn't the inspiration photo beautiful? I love the chevron table runner and pink and yellow flowers.... just lovely.

I am snuggled up with Mark (who just returned from a 5 day trip to San Fransisco!) and we are watching the Spirit awards. Have a great weekend!

Great Impressions Stamps | Pull Toys

Good morning!  I received the March/April Paper Crafts magazine in the mail and one of my cards, featuring Great Impressions Stamps, was chosen for the Baby Animals article. I used the Pull Toys stamp, bitty dot patterned paper by Papertrey Ink, and a couple of Making Memories buttons.

As seen in the March/April Paper Crafts Magazine.

Check out the issue if you get a chance... so many inspiring cards and projects! And I am honored my animal baby card was chosen. :-)

 

There is still time to play along with the Great Impressions Stamps February challenge: anything with a heart! 

Scotty Girl Designs & Karla Dudley Designs | Release Day

A couple of weeks ago I received an e-mail from Shannon (Scotty Girl Designs) asking me to join her creative team! Of course I accepted and I have been working hard to create a few layouts for her release (and Karla Dudley's new release). If you haven't checked out the Pixels and Co. website, I highly recommend it. The designers are fantastic and the gallery is very inspiring!

My first layout uses a new template set by Scotty Girl Designs.

My next layout uses several new Karla Dudley Designs kits: Life 365, Anyday Extras,  Everyday Life Templates, and Stamped Alphas. 

And my final layout features Hello Love, Card Love Set 1, and Anyday Extras Set 1. 

(8x8 Layout)

That is it for me today. Have a fantastic weekend!

Wplus9 | Monday Mood Board

I am super excited that Wplus9 is now hosting weekly challenges! Each Monday Dawn will post a new mood board as inspiration, and this week's challenge is to use texture and bold colors.

I picked up Bitty Buddy Valentine a couple of months ago and it is an adorable stamp set... perfect for little kids! For the "texture" part of the challenge I used Background Builders: Knit in Harvest Gold. The jean pocket, from A Pocketful, also has texture. The bold colors I used are Stampin' Up's Gumball Green and Papertrey Ink's Enchanted Evening and Canyon Clay.
 

I plan on slipping this card into Evan's lunch box next week with a little note inside. Just so he knows I am thinking about him.

Thanks for stopping by! 

ColourQ | Challenge #176

Good morning! I have a fun card to share for this week's ColourQ challenge, using Papertrey Ink's Love Potion stamp set.

(Supplies - Stamps: (Papertrey Ink) Love Potion. Ink: (Stampin' Up!) Raspberry Ripple, Lucky Limeade, Primrose Petals. (Papertrey Ink) Berry Sorbet. (Memento) Tuxedo Black. Cardstock: (Papertrey Ink) Berry Sorbet, White. (Stampin' Up!) Lucky Limeade. (Bazzill) Pink shimmer paper). Patterned Paper: (Papertrey Ink) Berry Sorbet Patterns Pack. Other: punch, twine.)

The Bazzill glimmer paper I have had in my stash for years (many, many years!) and I was delighted to find that that it is a good match for Berry Sorbet. I originally wanted to stamp the sentiment with VersaMark ink and heat emboss it with white embossing powder, but my heat gun is still packed away. :-( (Any volunteers to help me unpack my office? No?). 

I'll be back in a few with another card, a few layouts, and a fun announcement!

Great Impressions Stamps | Hello!

Good morning! My poor blog has been neglected this past week due to the move, but my new desks are installed in my office and I'm hoping to have some creative time today (and continue to unpack my office!). I get a little cranky when I can't sit down and make something. :-)

I have a very sparkly card to share today for Great Impressions Stamps, but it was not an easy card to make! I worked on the floor in the family room yesterday afternoon and I had such a hard time finding inspiration. After stamping and re-stamping, moving elements around, and finally finding the perfect border (hello silver glitter!), it all came together. 

I stamped the Wildflower Silhouette stamp in soft stone ink onto Rustic White cardstock. I stamped the Tiger Swallowtail stamp onto the same cardstock, careful to place the feet on one of the branches of the Wildflower Silhouette image. I stamped the Swallowtail again and adhered the image over the top of the first image. The silver border is from Teresa Collins and the enamel dots and blue letter stickers are Studio Calico. I finished off my card with some twin and white silk ribbon.
 

Usually after I sketch out a card the elements come together easily, but that was not the case last night! Do you struggle to get from blank cardstock to a completed project? Or is it easy from the beginning? I have found that settling on a basic design first helps me out tremendously. I can always tweak my design while I'm working on the card, but usually the structure stays true to the sketch. 

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll be back tomorrow with a couple of digital layouts and an exciting announcement. See you then! 

Great Impressions Stamps | Flower Bouquet

Good morning! 

I just adore floral stamps. And I especially love flowers that can be used in a variety of ways: coloring, 2-step stamping, paper piecing. And this stamp by Great Impressions, Floral Bouquet, does not disappoint. For my card today I stamped the image once onto white cardstock, then again on to red and pink polka dot patterned paper. I cut out the flowers and adhered them using pop dots. I colored the leaves with Copic markers before adhering the panel to kraft cardstock.

 (Supplies - Stamps: (Great Impressions Stamps) Floral Bouquet. Ink: (Memento) Tuxedo Black. Cardstock: (Papertrey Ink) Kraft, Ripe Avocado. Patterned Paper: (Papertrey Ink) Pure Poppy Patterned Paper Pack. Letter stickers: (BasicGray). Other: Black and white twine, gems, pearls.)

Isn't it a pretty stamp? I just love it. :-)

And don't forget about this month's Heart 2 Heart challenge. You can find all the details here! 

Have a great week!

Retro Sketches | Challenge #49

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I had a chance to pull out some stamps and work on a card last night... a much needed break from unpacking! 

Here is my take:

 (Supplies - Stamps: (PTI) Heart-2-Heart #12, Everyday Photo Finishers. (Hero Arts) Hexagon Background. Ink: (Hero Arts) Soft Cantaloupe, Pale Tomato. (PTI) Soft Stone. Cardstock: (Hero Arts) Carnation, White. (PTI) Winter Wisteria, Smokey Shadow. Other: twine, gems.)

I added a small heart from Heart-2-Heart #12 to the center of a few of the hexagon shapes, using Soft Stone ink. Just a little something to tie the whole card together.

i am off to watch last night's episode of Downton Abbey... I am behind because of the Super Bowl! 

Have a great week!

Great Impressions Stamps | February Challenge

Good morning! It's that time again.... a new challenge is up on the Great Impressions Stamps blog! February's challenge to create a project that incorporates a heart into the design. The heart can be a stamp, punched image, paper... anything you want!

For my project I created a cute little Bee Mine tag, using Great Impressions Stamps' Bee Mine stamp. I colored the bee with light gray and pink Copic markers, and added a few Hero Arts gems/pearls and pink ribbon.

Make sure to hop over to the Great Impressions Stamps blog for more projects and inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by. :-)

ColourQ | Challenge #174

Hello, hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful week. My eyelids are very droopy tonight & I don't know how much longer I can stay awake, so this is going to be a quick post. Moving is hard work! 

This week's ColourQ Challenge is to use three shades of pink, chocolate brown, + white. I can't find my Stampin' Up inks at the moment so I used PTI inks, which are a close match. 

I used two new PTI sets: Fancy Folk Art and Framed Out #12. The ribbon I have had in my stash for years (I'm not kidding... 8 years? 10 years?), and the sentiment is from PTI's Happy Harlequin mini stamp set. I may have gone a little crazy with layering the stamps + die cuts, but I don't care. All the pink and flowers and chevron makes me happy!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday. :-)