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!

Karla Dudley Designs | Lime You Lots

Good evening! Karla Dudley has released a new kit through Mscraps today and I had created a layout showcasing this awesome kit. 

Lime You Lots is full of fun papers, brushes, and elements. My personal favorites are the journaling cards and photo cards. I used three on my layout tonight:

(All supplies are Karla Dudley Designs - Patterned paper, journaling card, photo cards, butterfly brushes, "HAPPY" tag, and stitching: Lime You Lots. Staples: Digi Essentials. "pool day" alphas: Rusty Alphas.)

Lime You Lots is on sale for 20% off through the weekend. I have a couple more layouts planned for this kit... I love the color scheme and the gorgeous brushes Karla included! Goodnight. :-)

A Blog Named Hero Challenge #9 | Freestyle

I had so much fun making this card for the A Blog Named Hero challenge: Freestyle. The colors are really fun, and I used stickles to accent the flower. 

(Supplies - Stamps: Hero Arts. Cardstock: Papertrey Ink. Dies: Papertrey Ink, Wplus9. Gems: Hero Arts. Ink: Papertrey Ink. Twine: Papertrey Ink. Impression plate: Papertrey Ink.)

I purchased this set of dies from Wplus9 a few months ago and they have seen a lot of use already. I like their size and how delicate they are. I ran them through my big shot with PTI's Linen and Canvas impression plate before adhering them to my card. 

Mark and I have a date with our DVR tonight to watch the US women's gymnastics all around competition. I can't wait! It's one of my favorite events of the entire Olympics. Have a great night!  

CAS-ual Fridays | CFC63

I am back with one more post tonight.  I have been getting inspiration from the CAS-ual Fridays blog for quite some time, and this week I'm also participating! I love the color scheme and I paired it with Papertrey Ink's Little Hot Rod and Super Stars to make a super cute little boy birthday card.

 (Supplies - Stamps: Little Hot Rod and Super Stars. Ink: Aqua Mist, Enchanted Evening, New Leaf, Hawaiian Shores, Smokey Shadow. Cardstock: New Leaf, White. Twine: Lucky Limeade (Stampin' Up!) and Enchanted Evening.)

I love, love, love this stamp set! With two little boys, I know I will get a lot of use out of it. 

I am off to watch the US gymnastics team. Have a good night!

Papertrey Ink | Make It Monday #76

This week's challenge is called Double Time Bleach Stamping. I haven't used bleach while stamping in a l-o-n-g time, and I forgot how fun it is! I used PTI's Turning a New Leaf to create a fun background. I accented each leaf with a Little Bitty Bird Addition stamp in New Leaf ink.

 

Here is a close up of the bleached background. It's a little messier than I had anticipated, but the lime/yellow color is really cool in person.

 (All supplies are PTI - Stamps: Turning a New Leaf, Little Bitty Bird Additions, Modern Wood Mats, Tag-Its #3 & #12. Cardstock: New Leaf, Smokey Shadow, White. Ink: New Leaf, Enchanted Evening. Dies: Mat Stack #4, Limitless Layers Circles. Ribbon: New Leaf. Patterned Paper: Enchanted Evening Patterns Pack. Other: Bleach).

I am obsessed with big, loopy bows right now. I am not very good at tying bows, but when are big no one can tell the knot is a mess! And looking at the card tonight, I should have stamped the sentiment in smokey shadow ink to tie it in with the card base. But it's done and I'm not about to take the whole thing apart and start over! 

Have a great night. :-)

Moxie Fab Challenge | Hooked on Hexagons

Good morning! Evan and I are hanging out at home today, waiting to pick Jack up from his first day of pre-school camp. He officially starts pre-school next week, but I wanted to give him an introduction to his new school and teacher, before the first day. Evan's first day of pre-school was somewhat of a disaster (we were all in tears!), and I wanted to avoid that this time around. Jack handled it like a champ this morning and barely noticed we left. But I can't wait to pick him up in an hour... I miss having him around!

I had a chance to create two cards for the Moxie Fab Hooked on Hexagons challenge last night while watching the Olympics. I used Papertrey Ink's Happy Hexagons stamp set for both cards.

First up, a clean and simple card featuring Happy Hexagons, Think Big Favorites #3, and a lot of white space. I used PTI's hexagon cover plate to create the individual hexagon pieces. After stamping each piece I used the negative of the cover plate to line up the hexagons on my card before adhering:

 

(All supplies are Papertrey Ink - Stamps: Happy Hexagons, Think Big Favorites #3. Cardstock: Stampers Select White. Ink: Berry Sorbet, Melon Berry, Winter Wisteria, Plum Pudding, Lavender Moon. Cover Plate: Hexagons.)

I went a completely different direction with my second card. I paired Papertrey Ink's Honey Bees with Happy Hexagons to created a fun, patterned card. The kraft cardstock was impressed using PTI's Simple Stripes impression plate and the hexagons were stamped with harvest gold ink.

 

 (All supplies are PTI - Stamps: Happy Hexagons, Honey Bees, Fillable Frames #10. Ink: Smokey Shadow, Harvest Gold. Cardstock: Harvest Gold, Kraft, White. Ribbon: Harvest Gold. Other: Buttons.)

I hope everyone has a fantastic Monday!

Park Day | Digital Layout

Karla Dudley has released several great digital kits the past few weeks, and I had a chance to play with them last weekend. I completed a layout quickly, but my computer is having issues and I lost it. Completely gone from my computer and our server. Ack! I re-made the layout and I am pleased with how it turned out. Karla's digital templates are so easy to use and this template is made for a lot of photos... perfect for all the pictures I took at the park last week. 

(All supplies are Karla Dudley Designs:  Template: Framed. "Look" brush: Cool Summer. Staples: Digi Essentials. "Summer Days" label - Cool Summer. "Today" title: Framed Template. "Life" sticker: Framed Template. "Love It" sticker: Framed Template. Star: Clear Essentials No. 2. Tab sticker: Fickle. Blue journaling label: Fickle. Patterned Paper: Fickle)

Mark and I are hanging out tonight... watching the Olympics and the kitties perform gymnastics moves in our living room. They have spent the past two days recovering from their surgeries, and I think they are feeling better! Lilly knocked over a bunch of boxes next to Evan's desk and ended up in the dress up box. Gabby is racing around here and nearly feel off a ledge in our living room. Having kittens is keeping us on our toes! 

I'll be back tomorrow with a few cards using Simon Says Stamps kit of the month. Goodnight!

Simon Says Stamp Challenge | Anything Goes

Happy Friday! I am so thankful it is finally the weekend. It has been a l-o-n-g week here at the Taylor house. Mark is working a ton of overtime and the kids have been a handful! But we have had some fun, too. We pulled out last month's Kiwi Crate box and made lightening bugs, complete with glow sticks and googly eyes. Jack loved making his bug until it looked a little too real, then it freaked him out and he wanted nothing to do with it. 3-year-olds can be so fickle! 

My card tonight features Stampin' Up! and Papertrey Ink stamps. I used the color combination of Aqua Mist, Lavender Moon, Plum Pudding, and Rustic White. The cakes were stamped first, then I added the butterflies and hearts. After all my stamping was done, I ran the white cardstock through my Big Shot with PTI's Linen and Canvas impression plate for added texture.

(Supplies - Stamps: Make a Cake (Stampin' Up!) and Tiny Tags (PTI). Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Plum Pudding, Rustic White (PTI). Dies: Mat Stack #4, Pinking Shears, Tiny Tags (PTI). Punch: Butterfly (Martha Stewart). Impression Plate: Linen and Canvas (PTI). Other: Button, Twine Embossing Powder.)

Evan and I have a date tomorrow so we can buy his school supplies and a new pair of shoes. If he's lucky, he just might get lunch, too! I am really looking forward to some one-on-one time with my oldest little boy.

Have a great weekend! 

Hero Arts July 2012 Card Challenge

Hello! I am a multi-tasking mama at the moment... posting to my blog, Flickr, and playing Super Mario Brothers with Evan. He is the expert and has told me several times that I really need to practice more. Ha! I'm thinking he has had a little too much practice. 

Hero Arts runs a fantastic month-long card challenge, and this month's theme is "summer". I think of the aquarium and fish when I think of summer, so that's what I went with! These adorable Hero Arts fish stamps were colored with Copic markers and I applied Crystal Effects to a few spots on each fish. 

(Supplies - Stamps: Hero Arts. Cardstock: Papertrey Ink and Avery Elle. Markers: Copics. Twine: Stampin' Up!. Ink: Momento and PTI. Crystal Effects: Stampin' Up! Impression Plate: PTI)

And thank you to everyone who commented on my PTI Blog Hop card. I loved reading through them and visiting new blogs. Have a great night!

PTI July Blog Hop

Good afternoon! I am playing along with the Papertrey Ink July Blog Hop today. The color combo provided is Summer Sunrise, Harvest Gold, Melon Berry, Berry Sorbet, and Simply Chartreuse. I combined three stamp sets to create the background: Daydreamer, Pretty Peonies, and Beautiful Blooms #2.

 

(Supplies - Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Pretty Peonies, Beautiful Blooms #2, Background Basics: Circles, and Daydreamer. Ink: Papertrey Ink (Summer Sunrise, Harvest Gold, Melon Berry, Berry Sorbet, and Simply Chartreuse. Cardstock: PTI (Rustic White, Berry Sorbet, Simply Chartreuse, Harvest Gold). Dies: Papertrey Ink (Limitless Layers: Circles, Turning a New Leaf, Double-ended Banner, Edgers #2). Other: gems.)

I am off to comment on a few of the lovely projects posted for the blog hop. I'll be back soon!