Retro Sketches | Challenge #150

Hey guys! I am so sorry this is a few days late... I am busy working on projects for the Gossamer Blue February release (which goes live 2/1/15!) and my poor blog has been neglected. 

Here is this week's Retro Sketches challenge:

Here is my take. I don't usually create square cards, so this was a challenge for me. My inspiration, or jumping off point, was the My Mind's Eye butterfly stickers that I found in my stash. I matched the cardstock, doily, enamel dots, and buttons to the stickers. 

(Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill, Papertrey Ink. Stickers: My Mind's Eye. Dies: Papertrey Ink. Enamel Dots: My Mind's Eye. Gems: Hero Arts)

I hope you can play along with us this week! Thanks for stopping by. :)

Lawnscaping Challenge | Creating Backgrounds

Hi there! This week's Lawnscaping Challenge is a fun one: creating backgrounds. I used Penelope's Flowers and five colors of ink to create my background. I started in the bottom left corner and stamped left to right, bottom to top. I added a white paper doily on top, then die cut a small green doily from Papertrey Ink's Doily Details dies from Limeade Ice patterned paper. 

The "thanks" die is from Mama Elephant, and I die cut it three times from Enchanted Evening cardstock before layering them, adhering them together, then adhering it to my card. The "friend" stamp is from Lawn Fawn's #awesome stamp set. I masked the "s" on the end with a sticky note before stamping it onto my project.

That's it for me today. Have a great week! 

Gossamer Blue Collections | January Cards

The Gossamer Blue collections that released last fall are still some of my all time favorite. On My Desk and Gramercy Road are beautiful, easy to use, and have some of the best embellishments. I pulled out my Gossamer Blue Iris box and created two cards.

First up is a soft and feminine card using On My Desk and Gramercy Road. I trimmed the gold foil vellum and covered the front of a clear card base. I added a white doily on top, and a pink label from Gramercy Road. The flowers are from On My Desk, and the leaves are from Gramercy Road. I used a "hello" wood veneer from On My Desk and covered it with Avery Elle Pixie pigment ink. 

Next up I have a card that uses the beautiful pink, red, and orange floral paper from On My Desk. This paper is so pretty that I didn't want to cut it up. I used it as the background, and added a label from Gramercy Road for the sentiment. I added a "happy" badge, also from On My Desk, above the "birthday" sentiment. 

You can check out the Gramercy Road collection here and the On My Desk collection here. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

CAS(E) this Sketch | Challenge #105

Hello, hello! I pulled out one of my recent Studio Calico boxes and worked with the stamp set from the add-on Waldorf. The cute little bear is waving, and perfect for a "hello" card. I used this sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch:

  
I stamped the bear in three colors from Papertrey Ink: Limeade Ice, Hibiscus Burst, and Aqua Mist. I added gems (Hero Arts) to the center of the scarf on each bear, and used pink letter stickers, also from Studio Calico, to the edge of the card.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Paper Smooches Sparks | Anything Goes Challenge

Good morning! This week's Paper Smooches Sparks challenge is Anything Goes. 

Usually when I create a card with an open ended challenge, I start by pulling out my stamps and just see what looks fun to work with. I love the hearts from Sweet Hearts, and that is the stamp set that inspired my card. 

I used three more stamp sets on my card: Chit Chat, Bee Mine, and Positive Strokes. The cute Speech Bubble Dies are another favorite of mine.

I hope you can play along with us this week! Check out the rest of the design team for more inspiration:

Alice

Angeline

Jenny

Savannah

Retro Sketches | Challenge #149

This week's Retro Sketches challenge is up and it's another fun one. Here's the sketch:

Did anyone else buy up a ton of the cute chipboard frames from the Crate Paper The Pier collection? I had to have them. I think I saw Leigh Penner (love her!) create a card with one right after the collection was released and by then the frames were sold out everywhere! I tracked them down on an Etsy shop and bought two packages of them. They are great for layouts, but I like using them on cards, too. 

 

The flowers and leaves are from Papertrey Ink's The Sweet Life set and the doily is from Stampin' Up! The gems and pearls are from Hero Arts. 

I hope you can join us this week! You can link up your cards at the bottom of this post.

 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Gossamer Blue | January Blog Hop

Good morning and welcome to the January Gossamer Blue Blog Hop! I am thrilled to show you one of the cards I created using the January kits. Lori knocked it out of the park this month (no surprise there!) and the kits are perfect for celebrating Valentine's Day, or any day. :)

I have been creating a lot of cards with a white base lately... I like how clean they look, and the white background allows the fun embellishments to really stand out. I layered several elements on top of each other for a clean-and-simple collage.

I layered five elements: the die cut wreath, the gold shimmer heart (LOVE this!), the pink arrow, white crochet thread, and finally the "hello" wood veneer. After I assembled the card I debated adding a few enamel dots, but decided against it. I'm happy with how it turned out (and how uncluttered it looks).

Make sure to check out the rest of the design team to see their creations using the January kits! 

Anabelle O'Malley 

 Brenda Weaver 

 Danielle Flanders  

Diane Payne 

Emily Spahn 

Eunyoung Lee 

 Heather Leopard 

 Jessica Lohof 

 Jill Keller 

Joy Taylor 

Katie Ehmann 

Laura Rahel Crosby 

Maria Lacuesta  

Melanie Blackburn 

Michelle Wooderson 

Michiko Kato 

Naomi Atkins 

Rebecca Luminarias 

Sabrina Alery 

Tara Anderson 

Vanessa Perry

I also have a card posted on the Chickaniddy Crafts blog, if you want to check it out! Here is a little sneak peek of my winter card:

You can click here to visit the Chickaniddy blog for more details. Thanks for stopping by!  

Paper Smooches Sparks | Picture Perfect Challenge

Good morning! This week's Paper Smooches Sparks challenge is Picture Perfect. Here is the inspiration photo:

I was inspired by the "nature theme" of this picture, so I pulled out Happy Camper for my card. I admit I was a wee bit jet lagged when I created my card. We got home a little before 2am the morning before, and the kids couldn't get back to sleep. Three days later and our sleep cycles are still off! This cute little bear turned out better than expected and I like the final results. 

Make sure to check out the rest of the design team to see their creations! I hope you can play along with us this week.

Alice

Angeline

Jenny

Savannah

Retro Sketches | Challenge #148

Good morning! This week's Retro Sketches challenge is live. Whoo! I love this sketch.

Here is my take:

The background paper is from Studio Calico's 6x6 dots and stripes paper pad. The hexagon and flower stamps are Papertrey Ink's Rosie Posie, and the bow is PTI's No Strings Attached. I used a polka dot button from Doodlebug in the center of the flower. 

I hope you can play along with us this week! Check back in just a bit for this week's Paper Smooches Sparks challenge. 

Retro Sketches | Challenge #147

Hi there! After a brief hiatus, Retro Sketches is back with its first sketch of 2015. It is based on this card (third card down). 

I'm still visiting my family in Washington, and I brought my January Gossamer Blue kits with me to work on. The gold glitter tape in this month's kit is super cute, and I used a Happy Valentine's Day die cut as my sentiment.

Make sure to check out the Retro Sketches blog for more inspiration. I hope you can play along with us this week! Thanks for stopping by. 

14 Favorite Cards from 2014

I hopped over to Leigh Penner's blog a couple of days ago and read through her 14 favorite cards from 2014 blog post. What an awesome idea! I had some time today (while watching football) and picked my 14 favorite cards from 2014. Here they are:

Autumn Blessings created for a ColourQ challenge. My collection of Stampin' Up! stamp sets sits unused at times, but this set I pull out every year. The leaves are gorgeous and a great size, plus they are easy to fussy cut. 

Hello Friend for Gossamer Blue. I was asked to join the Gossamer Blue design team, as a cardmaker, in July and I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Working with an amazing group of women each month is a privilege, and the selection of products is amazing. I created this card using the November kits.

Happy Wedding Day for Retro Sketches. I also started designing for Retro Sketches last year on a regular basis. I have always enjoyed working with sketches (for both cards and scrapbook layouts), and the Retro Sketches blog is a great challenge blog. Another recent Stampin' Up! purchase and an elegant color combo.

Peekaboo: A Little Treat for You for a Mama Elephant Anything Goes challenge. I purchased this Halloween stamp set in 2013 but put it in a pile and forgot about it. I pulled it out this year and combined it with the Mama Elephant Femme Frames dies. These stamped were a challenge to color but the results are worth it. 

Many Thanks for a Papertrey Ink Make it Monday challenge. This weaving technique is easy, and using contrasting colors and placing the finished woven piece on a angle adds interest. Aqua, teal, orange, hot pink, and gray is another color combo I will revisit this year.

THANKS for Gossamer Blue. I am not a "messy" cardmaker, and usually shy away from spray mists, paint, excessive use of Stickles, or anything too crazy, but I challenged myself to use the Studio Calico masks fromthe September Gossamer Blue kit, with Heidi Swapp Color Shine. I'm so glad I did. The masks and mists work beautifully together. 

You are so Sweet for CAS(E) this Sketch. This Hero Arts butterfly stamp set has been well loved in my studio, ending up on several cards each year. I stamped the butterflies in Memento Tuxedo Black ink then colored them with Copic markers. I added glitter on top then slightly bent up the edges of each of the butterflies. I usually end up with glitter everywhere, despite my best efforts to contain the mess, but for this stamp set the mess is worth it. 

Thanks for a Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes challenge. More white space with pops of color and more leaves. Autumn is my favorite season and these colors make me happy.

Happy Birthday for CAS(E) this Sketch. The Button Stacks dies are such a cool product and they look awesome layered and covered in Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel. 

Many Thanks for CAS(E) this Sketch. Doodlie-do was one of those stamp sets that I just had to have in 2014. Perfect for coloring, multicolored line art designs, or creating backgrounds. I've used this set a lot already.

You're the Greatest Friend for a Paper Smooches Sparks Designer Drafts challenge. There is something about this elephant that I just love, and he is turned out super cute when I paper pieced him with patterned paper from Studio Calico. 

Thank You for The Cutting Edge. Unfortunately this challenge blog is no longer active. I enjoyed playing along with them several times last year, and this card won their challenge for the week I entered. This card uses the beautiful Painted Flowers set from Altenew and my favorite butterfly stamps (again). 

Hello #ilikeyou for a Lawnscaping Clean and Simple Challenge. I purchased my first Lawn Fawn stamps this year and I am super impressed with the quality, and adorable designs.

Happy Birthday for the Papertrey Ink anniversary celebration. I am a sucker for stars, both stamps and dies. These star dies from Papertrey Ink are adorable when die cut with pink shimmer paper. 

Another year of paper crafting (and some digital designs, too) is in the books! Happy New Year and thanks for stopping by!