Avery Elle | Sequins Challenge

I haven't played along with the Avery Elle AEI{heart}U challenge in a while, but this month's theme is sequins, and I love sequins! 

 

Sequins were popular in scrapbooking 6 or 7 years ago, and I have several containers full of sequins. For this card, I used Avery Elle's Rounded Diamonds stamp set and matching dies, Petals & Stems stamp set, plus clear sequins. I used ZOTS Minuscule glue dots to adhere each sequin... and it took forever! I watched the series finally of True Blood while I adhered sequins. :)

The sentiment, from Petals & Stems, is one of my most used Avery Elle stamps. The font is awesome! I used Ranger Jet Black Archival ink for the sentiment, and the enamel dots are from My Mind's Eye. 

This is my second post of the day. Please scroll down to see my CAS(E) this Sketch! card, or click here.

RetroSketches | Challenge #83

Hello, hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

This week's Retro Sketches sketch is fantastic! I love the angles and the possibilities for layering elements or stamps.

I pulled out Mini Blooms from PTI (again... love that set!) to stamp the bottom panel. The top portion is Limeade Ice that I stamped with Avery Elle's Handwritten Notes. 

 (Supplies - Stamps: (PTI) Mini Blooms. (Avery Elle) Handwritten Notes. Ink: (PTI) Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise, Enchanted Evening, New Leaf, Limeade Ice, Black. Cardstock: (PTI) White, Limeade Ice. Enamel Dots: My Mind's Eye. Impression Plate: (PTI) Linen and Canvas.)

Limeade Ice is such a fun green... it works well with so many other colors.

That's it for me today! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week! 

Avery Elle September AEI {heart} U Challenge | Retro Sketches Challenge #81

Happy Sunday, friends! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I cleaned up my office a bit Friday night, which motivated to me to play along with a couple of challenges: Avery Elle & Retro Sketches. First up is a card for this month's Avery Elle AEI {heart} U challenge:

 I was drawn to the aqua, yellow, red, and green color combo. I used a stamp from Suzani to create the lined background to mimic the lines from the gondola ride. The flowers are also from Suzani:

 (Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) Suzani, Modern Leaves, Petals and Stems. Ink: (PTI) New Leaf, Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy. (Memento Luxe) Dandelion. (Ranger) Archival Black. Cardstock: (PTI) Smoky Shadow, Harvest Gold, White, Aqua Mist. Buttons: (PTI) Black. Twine: (PTI) Pure Poppy. Gems: Queen and Co. Dies: (Avery Elle) Modern Leaves. (EK Success) Circle Punch. (PTI) Scalloped edge border die.)

Next up is a card for this week's Retro Sketches challenge: 

A couple of weeks ago I purchased Ali Edwards' Fun Flair stamp set. The little star/circle image was perfect for this sketch:

 (Supplies - Stamps: (Technique Tuesday/Ali Edwards) Fun Flair. (PTI) Enjoy the Ride. Cardstock: (PTI) Harvest Gold, White. (Stampin' Up!) Kraft, Silver glitter paper. Punch: (EK Success) Circle. Dies: (PTI) Stars, Sketched Shapes. Patterned Paper: (American Crafts) Dear Lizzy paper pad. Ink: (Stampin' Up!) Coastal Cabana. (Ranger) Archival Black. Other: Button, Twine.)

The silver glitter paper was a last minute addition, and I love it! I think every birthday card should have a little sparkle. :)

That's it for me! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

Avery Elle | August Sketch Challenge

Hello, hello! To kick off the three day weekend I have a card for this month's Avery Elle August Sketch Challenge.

I pulled out AE's new Home Sweet Home stamp set and some soft aqua, kraft, and gray papers:

(Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) Home Sweet Home .Ink: (Memento) Black. Cardstock: (PTI) White, Kraft, Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores. Patterned Paper: (Papertrey Ink) Soft Stone Patterns Pack. Markers: Copic. Twine: Stampin' Up! Enamel Dots: My Mind's Eye.)

The camper image is my favorite from the set, but I love the little teepee and igloo are darling, too. :)

That's it for me today. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

RetroSketches | Challenges #68

Hey guys! I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend. We hosted a Nerf Super Soaker party for our kids and their friends. It was a huge success and I really enjoyed catching up with our friends... but I am completely exhausted!

On to this week's sketch! I was thrilled when Arielle posted our challenge for this week... the sketch is based on one of my cards!

 

I flipped the sketch to make it a vertical card, then used patterned paper for the top of the card and hand stamped the bottom of the card:

 (Supplies - Stamps: (Papertrey Ink) Ruby Rose. (Wplus9) Folk Art Florals. (Avery Elle) Petals and Stems. Ink: Memento. Dies: (PTI) Ruby Rose, Double Ended Banner, Doily, Scallop edge. Cardstock: (PTI) White, Spring Rain. Other: Enamel dots, buttons, twine.)

 

I hope you can join us this week! And thanks for stopping by. :)



ColourQ | Challenge #192

Hey guys! I hope everyone had a great week.

I received a couple of stamp orders this week.... one from Avery Elle, and another from Wplus9. I used a new (and super inexpensive!) set from Avery Elle for today's card. Tomorrow's card, for RetroSketches, uses a new set from Wplus9. I love getting new stamps in the mail. :)

This card was inspired by this week's ColourQ challenge:

 

I used Avery Elle's Ikat Additions set for my card, creating a diagonal pattern with the four colors from the inspiration piece: Going Gray, Island Indigo, Certainly Celery, and Soft Sky:



(Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) Ikat Additions, Petals and Stems. Ink: (Stampin' Up!) Island Indigo, Going Gray, Certainly Celery, Soft Sky. (Ranger) Archival Jet Black. Cardstock: (Stampin' Up!) White, Island Indigo, Soft Sky. Other: Enamel Dots.)

 



I love, love, love this little $4 set!

I'll be back tomorrow with a card for next week's RetroSketches challenge. Have a wonderful weekend!

Avery Elle | April AEI {heart} U Challenge

Hey there! This month's Avery Elle challenge is a fabulous inspiration photo... complete with paper lanterns and beautiful flowers. I took inspiration from both the "party" theme and color combo to create a CAS birthday card:

I used Avery Elle's Celebrate stamp set for the sentiment, stars, confetti, and border strip. The arrow is from To The Point:

After I stamped on the off-white cardstock, I used dimensional adhesive to adhere it to the Aqua Mist cardstock base. I used Stampin' Up! twine to finish off the card. 

 That's it from me tonight! Have a great week and 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!

Avery Elle | January Challenge

Hey there! Mark and I have been wrapping up the house before we close on Wednesday, but I wanted to pop in and share a card I created earlier this week for this month's Avery Elle AEI {Heart} U challenge.

The inspiration photo is adorable! I love the gray, black, and red color scheme and the striped socks. :-)

Here is my take:

 (Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) Lots of Love, To the Point. Ink: (Papertrey Ink) Pure Poppy, (Ranger Archival Ink) Jet Black. Cardstock: (Avery Elle) Fog, New Moon, (Papertrey Ink) White. Gems: Hero Arts. Twine: Doodlebug.)

When I sketched out this card I originally wanted the gray panel to be embossed with a PTI texture plate, but I can't find my embossing mats... I must have packed them. I can't wait to get moved and get my new office set up! Only having access to a few of my supplies is driving me bonkers! I started out with one box of "do not pack" products, but that box turned into two boxes, then three, and I realize that I should have told Mark that my whole office is "do not pack". 

And yes, my card is resting on my big shot. Mark took apart our kitchen table last week and I don't have a lot of options for getting natural light for photographing cards. But the Big Shot works for now!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Traditional Layout | A E I {Heart} U Challenge

Hi! We are still in "vacation mode" around here... at least for a few more days. Evan doesn't go back to school until Tuesday, and Jack is off for another week. We have been playing, watching way too much TV,  reading new books, playing Blokus and Trouble, making paper airplanes, cleaning, napping... and mostly doing nothing. It's been great! The kids have been wonderfully well behaved the past week. Exceptionally so. They have been so busy playing with their new toys that bickering hasn't occurred to them. I hate to tempt fate, but I am thoroughly enjoying our vacation together.

After the boys are in bed I usually head to my office to watch episodes of the West Wing and work on cards or layouts or my (not-so-finished) December Daily... and I have been extra productive this week. I am feeling rather proud of myself. :-)

I pulled out a few Studio Calico kits for this layout (and I used one of my favorite pictures):

I also finished another card for Avery Elle's A E I {Heart} U challenge:

(Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) Lots of Love, Picture It. Cardstock: (Avery Elle) Cherry, Mimosa, (PTI) White). Patterned Paper: BasicGrey. Ink: (PTI) Simply Chartreuse, Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Harvest Gold. Other: Gems, DMC floss, twine).

Make sure to check back on the 6th for my Great Impressions Stamps challenge card... it's a beauty! Thanks for stopping by!

Avery Elle | A E I {Heart} U Challenge #1

Hello there! Is anyone else counting down the days until Christmas? Evan's last day of school was today and the boys are bouncing around here like they have each consumed copious amounts of sugar. I don't know how I am going to contain them until Tuesday! I might be to blame for the sugar overload... in the form of hot chocolate with marshmallows. Evan thought I was the coolest mom ever for making it for him. I love how easy to please he is at this age. :-)

(In order to get this semi-fake smile, not the full on fake smile I got the first 20 photos, I had to threaten to take away his Wii. I quickly went from being the coolest mom ever to the worst mom ever. I, however, only feel a tiny bit guilty because we are making memories here, dammit! )

Anyway.

I should have spent the evening wrapping presents, but instead I created three cards for Avery Elle's first ever A E I {heart} U challenge: create a card that sums up your personal paper crafting style. I used Lots of Love, Picture It, and To the Point for my cards:

(Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) To the Point, Lots of Love. Cardstock: (PTI) Aqua Mist, White. Ink: (Hero Arts). Patterned Paper: (PTI) Soft Stone Patterns Pack. Other: Gems, twine, embossing folder.) 

(Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) To the Point, Picture It. Ink: Fresh Ink. Cardstock: (PTI) Simply Chartreuse, White, Harvest Gold. Patterned Paper: (PTI) Soft Stone Patterns Pack. Other: Washi tape, staple, gems, embossing folder.)

(Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) To the Point, Lots of Love. Cardstock: (Avery Elle) Celery, Kraft. (Papertrey Ink) Stamper's Select White. Ink: Hero Arts mid-tone ink. Other: gems, buttons, white string.)

I am completely sold on this company. The stamps are so easy to work with and I love the graphic images... right up my alley! 

Thank you so much stopping by and leaving comments. They always make my day. :-)

Erin.

Hero Arts | August Card Challenge

I have some really exciting news to share tonight... the card I entered in the CAS-ual Fridays color challenge last week won! I am honored to be last week's winner, and I have an awesome new blog badge over on the right. Thanks CAS-ual Fridays & congratulations to the VIPs and Contenders! 

Tonight I am posting a trio of butterfly cards that I am entering in the Hero Arts August card challenge. I used one of their sketches to create three bright and cheerful cards, for three different occasions.  

 (Supplies- Stamps: Hero Arts. Cardstock: Avery Elle. Buttons: (green and blue) Doodlebug. (pink) unknown. Gems: Hero Arts colored with Copics. Green baker's twine: Stampin' Up! White string: unknown. Dies: Papertrey Ink. Pink patterned paper: Stampin' Up! Ink: Papertrey Ink & Stampin' Up!)

I used cardstock from a new company, Avery Elle, for all three cards. Aren't the colors yummy? I am very impressed with the quality of this cardstock. It is a heavy weight and takes ink really well. The green is one of my favorite colors to work with right now... it is very vibrant in real life. The ink I used is Gumball Green from Stampin' Up!.

The buttons on the green and blue cards are by Doodlebug and I love them! I have had this package in my stash for a few months, just waiting for the perfect project. I am so glad I found it! Unfortunately the pink buttons did not match the cardstock and ink of my pink card, but the blue and green match perfectly. 

While I was taking pictures of my cards, Evan and Jack were eating dinner. Well, they were supposed to be eating dinner. Mostly they were screwing around! For example:

Evan tickling Jack and Jack screeching "EVAN DON'T DO THAT!"

I am so glad it is Friday. It has been a l-o-n-g week!

Have a great weekend!