Digital Layout | Super Star

Hello there! I hope everyone is having a great week. 

This month Pixels & Company is having their annual Dollar Days sale, and there are so many awesome new kits in the shop! My personal favorites are this one, this one, this one, and this one. I used Deena Rutter's template set for this layout. 

Layered templates are great for quick pages, but they are also fun for creating layouts that are layered with lots of papers and elements. I clipped papers and cardstock from several different kits to each of the stars, circles, and photo mats. The font is one of my favorites: Rough Typewriter.

Thank you so much for the comments and wonderful words of encouragement regarding my new DT position. You guys are the best. :)

Have a great week! 

CASE Study | Challenge #201

Hello, hello! I just spent the afternoon scrapbooking at the amazing Whim So Doodle scrapbook store in St. Petersburg. If you are ever in the Tampa Bay/St. Pete area, you have to check out Whim So Doodle. They have everything! All the new lines, Copics, stamps, cardstock, albums, dies... so many pretty things to choose from!

Before I packed up for this trip I created a card for this week's CASE Study Challenge. Here is the inspiration photo: 

I was inspired by the butterflies and her awesome die cutting. I used my Papertrey Ink Horizontal Stripes die and inlaid four shades of gray cardstock. The banner, sentiment, and circle accent are from PTI's Bountiful Banners set, and the die cut butterfly is a butterfly stitching die. I used Smokey Shadow and Ocean Tides felt with a dark gray thread and used a back stitch to sew around the butterfly. The enamel dots are from We Are Memory Keepers.

Gray carstock, from top to bottom: Papertrey Ink Soft Stone, Stampin' Up! Smokey Slate, Papertrey Ink Smokey Shadow, Papertrey Ink True Black. 

I have some exciting news to announce... I have been asked to join the Gossamer Blue design team! I am thrilled for the opportunity to work with Lori and the GB team. I will have sneak peeks of September's kits in mid-August, and a full reveal on September 1st. 

I am taking a week off from RetroSketches, so I won't have a card tomorrow, but I'll be back with a card next Saturday. :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

The Cutting Edge | Challenge #4

Hi there! The new Cutting Edge challenge is so much fun and I really pushed myself to combine dies from a couple of different manufacturers this week. Here is the inspiration photo:

I was inspired by the kraft background and the kraft/black/white/red color combo. 

The kraft cardstock I used is actually a pre-embossed note card from American Crafts. I picked up this set, chevron, and wood grain packs a few weeks ago from Peachy Cheap and they are really fun to work with. 

I used four dies/die sets on my card. The flowers are the Flowers Dies from Paper Smooches, the "happy" and banner dies are from Studio Calico, and the scalloped border is from Papertrey Ink. I went back and forth, moving the banner die around trying to decide if I like it more at an angle, which I ultimately stuck with, or perfectly horizontal. The "happy" die is at an angle, so I did the same with the banner. 

The button is from my stash, and the gems & pearls are from Hero Arts. The black patterned paper is from Papertrey Ink's Smokey Shadow Patterns Pack. 

And I want to give a huge "Happy Birthday" shout out to my dear friend, Cindy. I wish I could be celebrating with you tonight! 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week! 

Paper Smooches Sparks | Anything Goes

Good morning! Today I have a card for this week's Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes challenge.

One of the reasons I purchased the Chit Chat stamp set is the super cute "thanks" sentiment. I played around with a few of my Copic markers and ended up with the gradient aqua for the center of each letter. I colored the whole letter with the light aqua, then colored the bottom half with a darker color.  

The painted stripe is from Positive Strokes, and the flowers are from the Flowers Dies. It's a little hard to tell in the picture, but I used aqua shimmer paper for the card base and the flowers.

Make sure to check out the rest of the design team to see their cards!

Alice

Angeline

Jenny

Savannah

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

RetroSketches | Challenge #124

This week's RetroSketches challenge had me a bit... flustered at first. So many layers! While I do know how to pile product on a card, I usually create more CAS cards. But after pulling out a few Lawn Fawn Oh Deer Me kits to work with, my card came together easily.

Here is this week's sketch:

And my take on the challenge. The patterned papers are both from Papertrey Ink. The hearts, label, and sticker are Freckled Fawn. The button I found in my stash, and the "HAPPY" letters are older Kelly Purkey/Simon Says Stamp stickers.

It's the teal & yellow color combo fun? The hearts are both enamel and chipboard and I like the different textures on one card.  

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

CAS(E) this Sketch | Challenge #85

Happy Friday, friends! 

Today I have a card for this week's CAS(E) this Sketch challenge:

I didn't follow the sketch exactly, but it's close. :) I used two stamp sets from Papertrey Ink: Summer Sweetness and Background Basics: Diagonals. The flower button is from Crate Paper, and the sequins are from my stash.

I'll be back tomorrow with a card for RetroSketches, and on Sunday with next week's Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes challenge card. See you then!

The Cutting Edge | Challenge #3

I love finding new card challenges and this week I'm participating in the third challenge for The Cutting Edge. 

What a fun card! I really like the strip of cardstock with the hearts, and the white on white. For my card, I stamped several flowers from Altenew's Painted Flowers stamp set onto Neenah white cardstock. I die cut the vellum from Papertrey Ink's Notched Star Banner die, and the butterflies are from Hero Arts' Butterflies #3 stamp and die set. I used my favorite Hero Arts gems in the center of each butterfly, and the letter stickers are from Kelly Purkey/Simon Says Stamp. The last die that I used is the pinking edge die from Papertrey Ink that I die cut out of Limeade Ice cardstock.

Painted Flowers might be my new favorite stamp set. Altenew out did themselves with this set! The flowers are beautiful and give that lovely watercolored look without me having to actually pull out a set of watercolors. Win-win. :)

Thanks for looking! 

Paper Smooches Sparks | Picture Perfect Challenge

This week's Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge is Picture Perfect! I love this week's inspiration photo:

I used patterned paper from Maggie Holmes for the background, and Paper Smooches Blissful Banners stamp set for the sentiment. The flowers were die cut from Paper Smooches Flowers Dies. I wanted the flowers to have some texture, so I pulled out some Becky Higgins Project Life cardstock, which is heavily textured. I think it looks awesome again the soft blue and white background.

Check out the rest of the DT for more inspiration:

Alice

Angeline

Jenny

Savannah

I hope you can play along with this week's challenge. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

RetroSketches | Challenge #122

Good morning! Today I have a card for this week's RetroSketches challenge:

A few weeks ago I posted about the impulse purchases I made when I first discovered this hobby. I'm much choosier these days, and I've drastically cut down the regrettable impulse buys that were frequent 7-10 years ago. But... every now and then I fall into a "it's sooooooo pretty!" trap and pick up a collection that isn't practical but oh so beautiful. Case in point: Maggie Holmes' Styleboard Collection. One of the Steals sites had most of the collection for a really great price... and I purchased it. There are a lot of great pieces in this collection, but I'm not usually into pre-made embellishments, like the layered prize ribbons. 

I challenged myself to use one on today's card, and this is the result. I ended up using four different pieces from this collection: layered prize ribbon, chipboard slide frame, gold tape, and gold sequins. The stamped sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Happy For You stamp set.

That's it for me today! I'll be back tomorrow with a card for next week's Paper Smooches Sparks challenge. Check out the RetroSketches blog for more inspiration and I hope you can play along this week!

Papertrey Ink | Make It Monday #171

This week's Make It Monday video is called Pop Up Die Cuts by Betsy Veldman. It's a really cool technique, and works especially well with symmetrical dies and stamps. 

I used Papertrey Ink's Oopsie Daisy stamp set for the flowers, and Embellished Elegance for the sentiment. I die cut the large flower from Oopsie Daisy from white cardstock, leaving the center of the flower attached. I gently curled up the edges of the flower, and used Limeade Ice polka dot paper behind the flowers. The second picture shows the polka dot paper better than the first.

This is a non-traditional anniversary card... not a heart a sight! But I like the two flowers and what they represent. I used two resin flowers, from Freckled Fawn, for the center of each flower. This card is too bulky to be mailed in a regular envelope, so I will use a padded envelope or hand deliver it.

I will definitely try this technique with the Life is Beautiful stamps and dies. The big butterflies and multiple layers Betsy was able to achieve are gorgeous! 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

RetroSketches | Challenge #122

My Studio Calico box arrived on Thursday and I used the card add-on kit, Pinball, for this week's Retro Sketches card. OneCanoeTwo designed the stamp set and I love the flowers and sentiments. 

This week's sketch is based on this card.

And here is my take. I used Papertrey Ink's Background Basics: Diagonals with Winter Wisteria ink. The doily and silver label are both from Pinball. I stamped the flowers in Heidi Swapp's navy ink, then colored them with Copic markers. I used Heidi Swapp black ink for the sentiment, and added a few white enamel dots to finish off the card.

I hope you can play along with us this week! Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

ColourQ | Challenge #248

Happy Wednesday, friends! 

I am anxiously waiting to hear that Evan has landed safely in Orlando. He is returning from a 10 day trip to WA, and I can't wait to see him! Mark is picking him up from the airport and driving him home. I've been tracking his flight since this morning, and he only has 275 miles to go! 

I love the 4th of July, and this week's ColourQ challenge is perfect for 4th of July cards. 

I pulled out two Papertrey Ink stamp sets: Red, White, & Blue and City Scene. I have a love/hate relationship with City Scene because it can be really hard to line up, but after a little more practicing, I think the buildings turned out nicely. 

I stamped the fireworks with Stampin' Up's Riding Hood Red (my Ruby Red is missing...) and Marina Mist. I added gems and star sequins to each of them. Then I die cut and stamped the houses with Riding Hood Red, Marina Mist, Not Quite Navy, and Sahara Sand. The sentiment, also from Red, White, and Blue, was stamped on a Tremendous Tags die. 

That's it for me today! Thanks for stopping by.