Merry Monday- More scrappy cards

Hello! I am back to share more of my holiday cards, and once again, I challenged myself to use scraps!  I am proud to share that I have finished my cards and will be posting them in the days leading up to Christmas. 

I'm also pretty excited that in one week, I won't have to get dressed for work and can enjoy my coffee in my jammies!  Christmas Break can't come soon enough!  I really love my job, but DD1 is home from college and I am enjoying every minute we have together (when she's not running off with her boyfriend and friends).  It will be nice to have a whole day to hang out and make some memories.

My cards today have a rather nontraditional color scheme, but since I love blue, I'm loving these colors together!

This one is a bit more traditional, and I actually used a whole piece of DSP to make six of this style.  I also played a bit with punches and layers on the focal sentiment.

Thanks so much for visiting and have a wonderful day!

Card Recipes: Paper-Snow Festival DSP, baja breeze, cherry cobbler, whisper white, gumball green, Stamp Sets-Joyous Celebration, Crazy for Christmas, Timeless Tidings, Ink-soft suede, gumball green, tuxedo black (memento), assorted markers, Accessories-small oval punch, 2 x 1 3/8 oval punch, decorative label punch, cherry cobbler scallop dot ribbon

Monday is Merry!

 Hello!  My stash of Christmas cards is looking a bit empty and now that it's October, I'm getting a little worried that I may not be done on time!  I always think I'm going to make cards all summer long and then that never happens...  So today, I threw together some super simple and quick cards to add to my box of cards.

I love the fun patterns in Home for Christmas DSP and they make creating a quick card so easy.  All I needed was a little sentiment and some ribbon and these were together in no time!

 I used Warm Words for the sentiment on this one.  I absolutely love this sentiment set!!

I inked the set Reason for the Season for the first time with this card.  I'm itching to play with the poinsettias in this set!! So pretty!!

I'm thinking I'll be doing quite a few cards like this if I want to have all of my cards ready to go by December!  I'm counting the days until our fall break when DD2 and I can have some time to do fun things together and I'm hoping to squeeze in some creative time as well!  Only two more weeks!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Card Recipes: Paper-real red, whisper white,  pool party, Home for Christmas DSP, Ink-pool party, real red, Stamp Sets-Warm Words, Reason for the Season, Joyous Celebrations, Accessories-large oval punch, pool party satin ribbon, gold glitter ribbon (from stash)

Blending the old with the new!

Hello! I am so glad you stopped by to visit!  December crept up on me and now I'm in a semi rushed state trying to get all of my projects completed on time!  Good thing I had a jump start on my cards!

Today's card features a stamp set I've had for quite a while and it is still one of my favorites!  I gave this set a modern twist with some new paper and accessories from the SU Holiday catalog...

I love the silver and blue combination that seems to be so popular this year, and the papers in Winter Frost are gorgeous!  I paired the paper with the pretty silver ribbon layered on top of some pool party seam binding.  After I finished my card, I realized that pool party was not the blue in the DSP, but it went beautifully anyway so I left everything as is!

Our family survived two food filled days of Thanksgiving and now we are in full mode for Christmas!  Hopefully all of the decorating and cookie baking will keep me focused on the Christmas cards that I really need to finish!  Wish me luck!  

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a marvelous and crafty day!

Card Recipe:  Paper-Winter Frost paper stack, Island Indigo, Pool Party, Whisper White, Ink-Island Indigo, Encore Silver, Stamp Set-Miracle of Christmas, Accessories-large oval punch, decorative label punch, pool party seam binding, 1/8" silver ribbon, rhinestones

ABAC Challenge 26- One Sassy Fairy!

Hello and happy Sunday to you!  I am so glad you are here because I have quite the interesting post today, at least, I hope you find it interesting!

Our current challenge at Anything But A Card Challenges is Fairies or fairy tales.  While I absolutely love this challenge, it was truly a challenge for me.  Now let me clarify that I am not anti-fairy.  I have nothing against the tiny little winged flitters, but my girls never got into the whole fairy themed merchandise and I never bought any fairy images.  I was going online for a digital image, when I stopped by the ABAC site to see the inspiration posted by my incredibly creative teamies.  That is where I found this!  The fairy name generator!!  How fun is this???  So I took a little bunny trail to the website and found my fairy name and background.

My fairy name is

Columbine Cornweb

She creates bounty and harvest. 

She lives in mushroom fields and quiet meadows. 

She can only be seen in the mist of an early morning. 

She wears lilac and purple like columbine flowers and has butterfly wings the colour of yellow corn.

This led me to creating my very own fairy based on the generated information.  The purple was not a problem; I had plenty of that since it's DD #1's favorite color.  I realized I didn't have any columbine images, but I did buy a gorgeous retired SU coneflower and grass stamp recently.  Besides, if I'm truly a fairy that lives among the meadows, wouldn't I love coneflowers just as much?!

I managed to create the background without a glitch when I realized I still needed a fairy... Hmmm... I did have a Sassy Susie stamp that might work.  Yep! She's even sitting in a chair! Hmm...chairs in a meadow? What I needed was a mushroom.  So I punched an oval and rounded the bottom with a circle punch and used the word window punch to make the stem. A little fussy cutting and Sassy Susie, um I mean Columbine was almost ready.  A butterfly punch, vellum, and some elegant eggplant ink created the snazzy wings and now Columbine was ready to perch on her toadstool.  I also found a sentiment from Blooming With Happiness that fit her pesonality.  It wasn't until I posted my picture with the information that I noticed that her wings were supposed to be yellow... Oops! It was a little too late to change them now.  Honestly I'm not completely sold that I would have corn yellow wings anyway.  Growing up on a farm, I am aware that corn is tasty, but it's also very 'hairy' and itchy. I would much rather have lovely eggplant purple wings!

So here is Columbine Coneflowerweb, taking a break from germinating and planting to say 'hello'!  She would love it if you would join us this week with your own fairy or fairy tale creation!  Be sure to check out the fabulous creations shared by the design team as well!

Have a fairy-tastic week and happy crafting!!

Project Recipe: Paper-whisper white, vellum, Ink-wisteria wonder, elegant eggplant, certainly celery, baked brown sugar, blush blossom, basic black, crumb cake, Stamp Set-Sassy Susie, Blooming With Happiness, Inspired by Nature, Accessories-pastels, butterfly punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, large oval punch, word window punch

Happy Anniversary- Saleabrate!!

Well, hello there! I am so glad you popped in for a visit today!  Things have been quite uneventful this week, which is perfect for spring break!  I even managed to get a few scrapbooking pages finished using MDS!!  But today is not about my current projects. Nope, today is all about my wonderful ability to procrastinate and then realize that I goofed again...   In February, my stamp club made a card using the beautiful paper that was available for free during Saleabration...key word being WAS available...as in 'not available now that I'm getting around to posting this'... Sheesh! Have I mentioned lately how crazy things have been for me lately?!

So, today I am sharing the card we made at club that features the lovely, but no longer available, Sycamore Street DSP!  It also has a very pretty ribbon that was also a free item during  SAB... not that this helps you if you don't already have it...

I borrowed this layout from someone, but unfortunately, I do not remember who...  I decided to use the postage stamp punch to make the fish tails on my banners, and really like the interesting edge!

If you are a follower and frequently read my posts, you know that I have been alluding to a very crazy few months.  You also know that my Mom has not been feeling the best and that I also recently relocated my classroom to a new building.  It was during this time of major stress that I realized that I needed to make some drastic changes to my life because I was becoming more unhappy with each passing day.  So I made the HUGE decision to make this my last year of teaching at the preschool.  I have turned in my notice and will officially be unemployed as of May 17th.  While the initial thought of this scared me to no end, I must admit that in the past week I have found an inner peace that has not been present for me in a very long time.  No, I don't know where I will be working next, or even what I will be doing, but I also know that God has a plan for me and He is guiding my steps.  In the meantime, I will be crafting my little heart out and spending some much needed time with my family.  I'm also letting those rusty wheels in my head spin and I have some really fun ideas floating around up there.  Before I finish this post, I want to share something I found on Pinterest...

I hope you allow yourself the same! Happy crafting!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-pool party, whisper white, tangerine tango, Sycamore Street DSP, Ink-island indigo, Stamp Set-teeny tiny wishes, Accessories-Sycamore Street ribbon/button set, oval punch, scallop oval punch, postage stamp punch

Anything But a Card Challenge 15

Hello! So glad you stopped in today! It has been a WET and nasty day in southern Indiana. The perfect day for curling up with a good book or crafting, or if you are as fortunate as I was, taking a nap!

There is a new challenge posted at Anything But a Card Challenges.  This time, we are encouraging you to think spring! Of course, if you follow our challenge blog, you know that things are never as simple as this...  We like to get as creative as possible and Carla, our fearless leader, has taken the Spring theme and made it even more open ended!

"For Challenge 15 we are asking for something Spring-y or spring colors, or Alice in Wonderland!  I know it may seem like a strange combination, but that's how it works in my mind! :)  I think it's probably the rabbit/Easter thing."

So there you have it! Get your thinking caps on and see where this challenge leads you.  We would love to see your creation, and if you are so inclined, the team would love it if you checked out their creativity for the week.

I will be posting my project on Week 2, so be sure to stop back in to see the inspiration for the second week as well!

And just so you have something to look at on my blog this week, I created a card for my most recent club meeting that fits the theme of the challenge.  Yes, I know this is a card and the challenge very specifically is Anything BUT a Card, but since this isn't a DT post, I'm bending my rules a little!!  Feeling a bit rebellious at the moment... Hee! Hee!

This card was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest.  You can see that card here.  She has a great tutorial on how to create her card.  Since I was using mine for a club project, I simplified it using punches instead of the oval framelits.  I also made mine a standard sized card so the ladies could use the envelopes they already have on hand.

I hope you have a most wonderful week and find lots of time to be crafty!!

Card Recipe- Cardstock-Baja breeze, whisper white, pink pirouette, Stamp Set-Wacky Wishes, Ink-Baja Breeze, pretty in pink, early espresso marker, Accessories-extra large and large oval punches, 2 1/2" circle punch, small heart punch, decorative label punch, wisteria wonder bakers twine, perfect polka dots folder, big shot

Anything But a Card Challenge 11- Tie it up!

Hello! I am so glad you stopped by to visit and  I hope you had a marvelous weekend! My youngest was not feeling well earlier this week providing me with an additional day at home. So while she rested, I managed to get a little housecleaning done and also squeezed in some crafting time. One of the things I finished was my project for Anything But a Card.  You still have time to join us with your own wonderful creation and the challenge is 'tie it up'.  We really love variety and there are so many different ways to approach this challenge.  I decided to use some bakers twine on my quotes journal page.

The 'tie it up'  portion of my page uses pool party bakers twine.  I braided three strands of twine and then tied that piece around my cardstock.  I also used some of my hand made stamped tiles. I used scupley clay and a stamp to create the tiles and then painted them with acrylic paints after they were baked.  I wanted my 'bling' to match the blues on my page so I colored some clear rhinestones with a blue sharpie.

My quotes journal is slowly being completed thanks to some inspiring challenges, and I am so happy that I will have such a pretty way to display these wonderful quotes when it is finished.

Project Recipe: Cardstock-very vanilla, Spice Cake DSP (ret), Ink-soft suede, Stamp Set-fabulous phrases, cute by the inch (tile), Accessories-large oval punch, decorative label punch, pool party bakers twine, basic rhinestones, sculpey clay, acrylic paints

Anything But a Card Challenge #9- Sisterly Love...

It's time for week 2 of Challenge #9 at Anything But a Card.  We've made it so easy for you to play along with this challenge! The challenge is Anything Goes or Your favorite project from 2012. Now how simple is that! I hope that you will find time to link up a new or favorite project this week.  The design team has done a wonderful job with their submissions as well, so be sure to stop by and check them out.

I had something of a crafter's block going on the week before Christmas.  I managed to complete all of my projects but kept putting off my gift for my sisters.  I really wanted these to be special and was hoping my mojo would return before Christmas day.  I finally broke down on Christmas eve and decided these had to be finished one way or another.  I printed out the pictures I wanted to use and noticed that red was a focal color in both photographs.  Then I started the daunting task of choosing papers.  After discarding several options, I settled on the retired Sending Love DSP. I love the glittery accents on this specialty paper! Apparently this was just the jump start I needed. As I played with the paper patterns I started visualizing each little frame and the whole project fell into place.

I even manage to squeeze some sneak peeks of new products onto this! Of course, using the retired paper helped reduce my growing stack of DSP, and that's always a good thing. Gotta make room for new stuff!

The flower trim in this picture is one of the new products

available in the spring catalog, available January 3rd!

Vintage yumminess!!

I used three glimmer paper hearts symbolizing the 3 sisters.

Another new product-Real Red Core'dinations paper!

Well that's it for me!  I'm off to do a little more organizing of my crafting table (imagine an explosion in a paper crafting store...)  and then hopefully work on a few ideas that have been floating in my brain.  I hope you had a wonderful December and managed to share some crafty goodness with others!  May your new year be filled with happiness, health, and peace! 

Project Recipe: Cardstock-real red core'dinations, very vanilla, Sending Love DSP (ret), red glimmer paper, Stamp Sets-Joyous Celebrations (oval frame), Fabulous Phrases, Ink-real red, chocolate chip, Accessories-frame from Hobby Lobby (1/2 price sale!!), full heart punch, large oval punch, Holiday Frame embossing folder, sanding system, vanilla flower trim, Victoria crochet trim, 'sisters' metal embellishment from my stash

Now that's my idea of quilting...

Hi! I am so glad you stopped in today because I am sharing a 'quilting' project we made at my stamp club meeting.  No, I didn't develop amazing sewing skills overnight! A shudder just ran down my spine thinking about that one!  But I do have a super easy way to give the feel of quilting to a card without touching a needle and thread.  

When I opened the package of Orchard Harvest DSP, I loved all of the great colors and fun patterns.  The country fabric style made me think of quilts.  So I set out to make my own.  This is by no means an original concept.  I have seen versions of this all over blogland and can't really credit any one person.  So if you've ever made a card similar to this, consider yourself credited and thanks for the inspiration!

I started with a 4x5 piece of cardstock (color doesn't matter, scraps would be fine) and attached 1 1/4" squares of different patterned paper.  It works a lot better if you start in one corner and work across and down at the same time.  Then I lined up the piece on the top note die and ran it through the big shot. Taadaa!    It can be made even more authentic with faux stitch lines from a marker or run it through the big shot inside an embossing folder.  I decided to keep this one simple.  I did however emboss the early espresso piece to dress it up a bit.  So there you go, your very own quilted card!

I hope you week is full of crafty goodness and thanks so much for visiting my little blog!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-island indigo, early espresso, very vanilla, Orchard Harvest DSP, Ink-early espresso, Stamp Set-Curly Cute,  Accessories-vintage wallpaper folder, top note die, large oval die, island indigo ruffled ribbon

Umm... Another Christmas Card...

No, it's not Flashback Friday, but in my desperate attempt to use up my older Christmas DSP, I have another card to share this week!  I had to get a little creative with this one.  I used the sketch #5 from Merry Monday and knew I wanted to use the snowman circle from Tags Til Christmas, but there wasn't any blue in the DSP... So I grabbed the color coach and found that marina mist was suggested with real red and old olive, which were colors in the DSP! BINGO! Of  course, the snowy image just begged for some dazzling details as well!  Who am I to argue with a snowman stamp?!

I colored the image with markers and also did a little 'splitting' of the sentiment using the marina mist marker.  I love being able to color only what I want to stamp.  Makes fitting things into a punched shape much easier!!

I think there's just enough DSP left to make that mini album and possibly a few scrappy cards or a page or two.  As happy as that makes me, I am even more amazed that I have 10 Christmas cards made already!  I just won't know what to do when December arrives...  Maybe I'll get some more scrapbook pages finished!  Hope you are finding time to enjoy your weekend! Happy crafting!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-very vanilla, real red, Merry Moments DSP (ret), Ink-marina mist, real red, pumpkin pie, basic black (markers), Stamp Set-Tags Til Christmas, Star Studded Season, Punches-large oval, scallop oval, 1 3/4 circle, 2 3/8 scallop circle, Accessories- dazzling details

Tiffany's Challenge

Every month our SU group, The Crafty SisTAHS, get together.  Tiffany, my upline's upline, hosts the meeting and everyone takes turns with sharing, making a project, choosing a swap theme, and bringing snacks.  This month, Tiffany had a challenge for all of us to make a card using a sketch and some cardstock she gave us.  We were allowed to add a neutral color and any embellishments, but couldn't change the color combo.  The colors were wisteria wonder, cherry cobbler, and pretty in pink.  Very girly colors! So I pulled out the stamp, Packed For Mom for the first time; added some whisper white, and began to put my card together. I had a great time playing with this image! I knew I wanted to color some of the images and pop up the flower and the next think I knew...the dazzling details  and crystal elements came out and there was even some fussy cutting too!

A closer shot of the image...

I have to confess that I did use a different base than the one Tiffany gave me.  I knew I wanted to use bakers twine as the 3 ribbon/bows part of the sketch and couldn't wrap them with the base she gave us.  So I cut a new piece the long way for my card.  Hopefully, she'll forgive me for taking liberties with her challenge : )  I really enjoyed doing this and hope she will continue to offer these challenges.  I really didn't use wisteria wonder too much before, but now I think it's starting to grow on me!  Thanks, Tiffany!

Card Recipe:  Cardstock-wisteria wonder, cherry cobbler, pretty in pink, whisper white, Ink-black Stazon and several markers, Stamp Sets-Packed For Mom and Party This Way (sent), Punches-modern label, large oval, word window, 3/4 " circle, Extras- white bakers twine, cherry cobbler & original dazzling details, crystal effects, basic rhinestones, perfect polka dots embossing folder

A Completely Shameless CASE

I have really been enjoying my spring break! I'm actually getting some cleaning and organizing done, laundry is back under control, and I even have found time to be crafty every day so far! Unfortunately, my internet connection has decided that this week would be a perfect time to do an impersonation of cold molasses pouring from a jar...  So it has taken forever to visit my blogging buddies and next to impossible to upload pictures.  I'm really hoping the entire week won't be like this!

On Sunday, I was organizing the files of wonderful cards I have found on the internet and saved to my computer.  Most of these were pre-pinterest and even though I did note who made most of them, I do not have direct links to the cards on the blogs.  I am bringing this up because I really wanted to CASE several of these and I think it is only appropriate to give credit to those who inspired me.  So, while I'm giving you the blog link for today's inspiration, it is not the direct link to the card.  Sorry...Did I mention my molasses-like internet connection?

Normally, when I CASE a  card, I end up changing bits and pieces of the card or changing the images.  Not today!  This is a shameless case of the gorgeous card made by Susan.  I don't even remember when I saw this on her blog, but I was so impressed by the elegance of this without too much fuss.  The only changes I made were the colors.  I was so stuck on which colors I would like best, so in the end, I used all of them!! Since these will be wedding/anniversary cards, I can always use a back up stash for those moments when I remember "OH! That's THIS Saturday?"

and a close up shot for more detail...

Well, I'm off to bed! Another fun filled day of running DD to practice, grocery shopping, and more spring cleaning will be waiting for me tomorrow!

Card Recipe:  Card stock-baja breeze, very vanilla, crumb cake, soft suede, basic black, Ink-basic black, Stamp Set-Fabulous Phrases, Extras-scallop oval punch, large oval punch, elegant lines embossing folder

Another Challenge Card!

Wednesday, I actually managed to squeeze in some crafting time to play along with some challenges! So if you're in shock at seeing another post from me already this week, now you know why!  Top Tip Tuesday has two different sketches (created by Lisa!) to choose from.  I chose the CAS one, although my card doesn't really look super CAS!  LOL!  My tip for TTT is pretty simple, but it is not something I realized when I first started making cards.  **When you are using several similar embellishments or stamped images, you can easily add dimension and interest by randomly popping some of them up with dimensionals (or pop dots).  I usually lay out my pieces and then decide which ones I want to 'pop'.**    Shopping Our Stash had a challenge to use borders of some kind.  My assorted hearts make the border on this card. BTW- If you have never played along w/ SOS, it is so fun! They actually encourage you to dig through those wonderful treasures that are hiding in your stash and use them (Wow, such a novel idea!!!).  The only relatively new thing on this card was the heart embosslit I used! The DP I used has not been pulled out in ages!

I have actually started to acquire quite the collection of completed Valentine cards! I may actually be finished by Valentines Day!!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-real red, pretty in pink, whisper white, Raspberry Tart DSP (ret), red glimmer paper, Ink-black Stazon and assorted SU markers, Stamp Sets- Gift Givers, Precious Butterflies (sentiment), Accessories-heart to heart punch, scallop oval punch, large oval punch, full heart punch, Fashionable Hearts embosslit, dazzling details and pink glitter glue

A Three Hour Card, A Three Hour Card...

I think I know how the people from Gilligan's Island feel now! They only intended to take a 3 hour tour and spent what felt like an eternity on the island instead.  I set out to make a bridal shower card, not a big feat, and ended up spending 3 HOURS from start to finish on this!!  Those of you who follow my blog will understand immediately why this took me so long! I'm a CAS card maker by nature.  I do enjoy vintage and shabby, but they still end up being pretty simple.  Not this card, my friends...

In an effort to spare those from the challenge blogs who don't really want to hear my tale of endless crafting, here are the challenges I chose to  submit my card.  Shopping Our Stash is asking for all that glitters, sparkles, or shines (not a problem on this one!), SUO Challenges is asking for an infrequently used or new technique (lots of embellishing and Smooch spritz), and Top Tip Tuesday has an anything goes challenge. And my 3 hour card...

and the inside...

I saw the inspiration card on Robyn's Stamping Hood a few months ago and thought this would be fun to recreate. I must have been channeling Anne Marie  (aka the Bling Queen!) because the next thing I knew I was pulling out pearls, embossing folders, ribbon, smooch spritz, glimmer paper, and lots of other shimmery bling!  In all fairness, there are a lot of crafters out there who could have made this in 15 minutes, but this was so far out of my comfort zone that I would pull paper out, then put it back. Try this punch? No... What about this one?  Big pearls or tiny pearls?  It needs texture... No, that's too much...Hmm...which sentiment should I use... Even cutting the paper for the cake layers was an ordeal (cut 3 different times til I was happy)! When I finally was committed (or needed to be!), and adhered everything to the card, it still needed something.  Out came the Smooches!  When I finished, my table looked like the entire SU catalog had exploded and I had shimmery fingers from the smooch spray! But I have to say, when I picked up the finished project, this truly is one amazing card, by my standards.  Of course, with snow and freezing temperatures, I was not about to go outside just to get better lighting, so even though you may not be able to see all of the shimmery, glittery goodness, believe me! It's there!!

I used a LOT of goodies on this card and amazingly 90% was stuff I've had for quite a while! I am hoping that the bride-to-be will enjoy this card! I honestly don't know her, but she is marrying our neighbors son, and I have known him since he was a baby! Hope you have managed to make it through my extremely long post and that you enjoyed visiting!!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-pretty in pink, real red, very vanilla, Sending Love DSP (ret), red glimmer paper, Ink-real red, blush blossom marker (for shading edges and hearts inside), Stamp Sets- Loving Thoughts, Sprinkles (ret), Punches-modern label, heart to heart, scallop oval, corner rounder, large oval, Accessories-elegant lines embossing folder, basic pearls, vanilla shimmer and blushing bride smooch spritz, Chantilly crochet trim