Paper Smooches Sparks | Anything Goes Challenge

 
Hi there! This week's Paper Smooches Sparks challenge is Anything Goes. I love these challenges and I usually pull out all of my Paper Smooches stamps (and dies) and start playing around with different combinations. 

The "thanks" stamp, from Chit Chat, is easy to color in, and I coordinated the colors with the strips of cardstock that are adhered to the card base. The sketchy stars are from the Seeing Stars stamp set. The enamel dots are from My Mind's Eye. I trimmed the card base to 4 x 5.5 inches, but trimmed the white cardstock to 4.25 inches wide. I wanted the white to hang off the edge of the card, but also fit in a standard A2 envelope. Trimming the card base to 4 inches also made measuring the colored cardstock easy: each strip is 1 x 5.5 inches.

I hope you can join us this week! Make sure to check out the rest of the design team for more inspiration: 

Audrey

Lisa

Jenny

Katie

Larissa

Lori

Lynn

Savannah

Retro Sketches | Challenge #166

Hi there! Today's card is for this week's Retro Sketches challenge.

I want to talk a little about my process for creating this card. I've been creating (and sharing) cards on my blog for many years now (since 2011, I think), and my process is usually the same. 1. Pick challenge/sketch/color combo. 2. Look around my studio and see what works for the specific challenge. 3. Create the card. 

There isn't anything wrong with this type of creating. It's fun for me to browse my stamps, inks, and embellishments until I find what "speaks" to me that day. I've noticed, though, that a lot of my products are stored in photo boxes and covered 12 x 12 cardboard boxes (from Michaels), so I can't see what's in them. I like how these boxes stack on my big shelf in my studio, but I don't like that the products aren't being used because I can't see the contents of each box.

I decided to pull a random box off of my shelf and create a card only using what is in that box. The box was full of grab bags from Studio Calico that I purchased a few months back... maybe from their Black Friday sale? The box had one stamp set suitable for cards, Squints, plus a few other random older SC kits.

I stamped the white panel with the Squints stamp set and some Avery Elle/Fresh pigment ink (AE Sea Glass, Pixie, and Mint to Be. Fresh Slate and Pear). I used my trimmer to cut the wood veneer banner in half and adhered it behind a badge. I did break the rules and added a few enamel dots from my stash to the top half of the card. 

This was a fun challenge! I'm pleased with how my card turned out, and that I used some products from my stash that had been neglected. 

I hope you can join us this week at Retro Sketches! If you need a new way to find inspiration with your supplies, why not pull out a random bin and challenge yourself to use what's in it? It worked for me. Have a great weekend! 

Halloween 2014 | Traditional Layout

I have a scrappy confession to make: I don't create themed/holiday layouts very often. Or ever. I prefer to create "everyday" layouts rather than the major holidays. When I pulled out the frames from Studio Calico's Calypso kit, I instantly thought of this photo of Jack and Evan wearing their Halloween costumes. The boys were Steve and a Creeper, from Minecraft, and wore matching Minecraft tshirts while we trick-or-treated. I'm so happy with how my layout turned out, and I can add this page to my very thin "holiday" section in my albums.

I used a bunch of older Studio Calico kits and products on my layout, combining them to create a bright (and very non-Halloween) themed layout.

The red alphabet that I used for the title, and the black numbers for "2014", are part of an Ali Edwards alphabet sticker pack that I picked up a few months ago, and I've used them a lot already. They are a great size for traditional layouts and pocket style pages.

Now I need to tackle about ten years of Christmas, Thanksgiving, and birthday party photos to get all caught up. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week! 

Paper Smooches Sparks | Anything Goes

Good morning! Today I have a card for this week's Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes challenge.  I used two Paper Smooches stamp sets for my card: Seeing Stars and Uplifters.

See that cute little white chipboard star? That is from an old (like, 2007 old) American Crafts chipboard pack. Yup... I'm trying to use some of my older products combined with newer products, and the white star fits perfectly here! I used some older Hero Arts gems and pearls on my card, too.

I hope you can join us this week Make sure to check out the rest of the design team for more inspiration!

Alice

Lisa

Jenny

Savannah

Gossamer Blue | Inspiration Blog Hop

Good morning! Today I have three cards to share for this month's Gossamer Blue Inspiration Blog Hop. The May kits are stunning and I had no problem whipping up several cards this month! It's always a treat to work with such awesome products. 

The giant gold paperclips were used a lot this month. I love the look of "clipping" things to the front of my cards. 

The gold circle puffy stickers are just as fun as enamel dots! And I love these wood veneer party hats. 

The combination of a big flower die cut, white and gold tag, and kraft background just makes me happy. I used another gold clip, a button on the center of the flower, and a sprinkling of enamel dots to finish off the card.

Make sure to check out the rest of the design team for more inspiration! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend. 

Anabelle O'Malley

Beshka Kueser 

Brenda Weaver  

Caylee Grey 

Cindy Liebel

Diane Payne  

Emily Spahn 

Eunyoung Lee 

Heather Leopard  

Jill Keller 

Joy Taylor 

Katie Ehmann 

Laura Rahel Crosby 

Tara Anderson

Paper Smooches Sparks | Picture Perfect Challenge

Good morning! Today I have a card for this week's Paper Smooches Sparks Picture Perfect Challenge. I love how rustic the table is, the wood grain, flowers, and chevron pattern! I ended up using the wood grain and flowers as inspiration.

I had a lot of fun combining stamp sets (and ink colors) for this card. All the ink is either Avery Elle or Impress pigment ink, and I used four Paper Smooches stamp sets: Uplifters, Denim & Daisies, Bold Blooms, and Reflections. If you don't have the Uplifters stamp set... buy it! It has some of my favorite sentiments ever. 

 

I used some sequins from Studio Calico, and a ton of enamel dots... mostly from Simple Stories, and a few from My Mind's Eye.    

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

Alice

Lisa

Jenny

Savannah

Retro Sketches | Challenge #162

Hi there! I'm a couple of days late, but I have a card for this week's Retro Sketches challenge. I used one of my Studio Calico stamp sets, Pineapple Glasses, and a cute little tag from Pebbles Inc. Here's this week's sketch:

I ended up stamping the pineapple several times, trying to get the color just right. I used the rock and roll technique and two colors of Papertrey Ink ink (Harvest Gold and Summer Sunrise). 

You can check out the rest of the design team's projects on the Retro Sketches blog. Thanks for joining me this week and I hope you can play along with us!