Stampin' Celebration #13

You can tell that summer's in full swing by the inspiration photos for this week's Stampin' Celebration challenge!

For my card, I was inspired by the colors and the surfboards in the photos, and here's the card I made!

I stamped the large flowers in Only Orange, Brilliant Blue and watermark ink and colored in the centers with a Starburst gel pen. I cut the flowers out and arranged them on the surfboard to create the design. The flowers are from Stampin' Up's "Eastern Blooms" set.

I cut waves into the Bermuda Bay cardstock and accented them with Frosted Lace Stickles. The card base is Stampin' Up Brilliant Blue cardstock.

To create the sand, I used Antique Linen Distress Stickles on Core'dinations cardstock. The chipboard letters are from American Crafts; I used white chalk ink and Frosted Lace Stickles to alter them. The Bermuda Bay stripe down the center of the surfboard is accented with Turquoise Stickles.

Thanks very much for taking a look at my card! Visit Stampin' Celebration to see the design team's fantastic creations and to submit your own!

colourQ #43

The inspiration for this week's colourQ challenge can be found in this funky blanket from Saks Fifth Avenue:

For my challenge card, I embossed some Bermuda Bay SU cardstock and used one of my favorite coffee-themed stamps from Elzybells Art Stamps!

I stamped the images and sentiment with Stampin' Up's Chocolate Chip ink. I added the stitching and dot details with a dark green glaze gel pen. The sentiment is also from Elzybells Art Stamps.

Other supplies that I used:

Paper: Basic Grey (Nook & Pantry collection - peach circle), American Crafts (brown circles), SU Old Olive & Natural White cardstock, My Minds Eye (polka-dot paper used to make the brad)

Glitter chipboard: American Crafts Thickers

Pens: White gel pen, dark green Glaze pen

Misc: Big Shot, Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (paisley), i-Top tool and Brad Buddy

Thanks very much for visiting and looking at my card!

Click HERE to see all the other marvelous entries in this week's colourQ challenge!

CPS #177

For this week's Card Positioning Systems (CPS) sketch, I used some papers from Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry collection and created a cute cooking-related card!

Here's this week's challenge sketch:

For my card, I used both sides of the "Beaters" paper, and inked some Maya Road chipboard pieces to use as an accent.

Other supplies that I used:

Ink: VersaMark chalk ink, Cat's Eye chalk ink in Creamy Brown and Tangerine

Letter stickers: Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type

Rub-on: Making Memories

Cardstock: Core'dinations

White ribbon

Thanks so much for looking at my card!

Happy Birthday, LeAnne!

Happy Birthday, LeAnne! I hope you have a wonderful day ... and that your birthday wish comes true!

I made this card especially for your birthday (and a surprise mini blog hop in your honor)!

Thanks for sharing your beautiful cards each week as part of the colourQ Royal Court design team!

-- Suzanne Bier

Supplies used:

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Kraft, Whisper White

Paper: American Crafts "Blue Skies" collection

Stamps: Elzybells Art Stamps (cupcakes), Stampin' Up! (sentiment)

Ink: Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip

Other: Glitter gel pen, mini heart punch, glitter brads, cat's eye ink, Sizzix embossing folder

Curtain Call #40

This week's Curtain Call challenge (#40) features a fun set of colors inspired by a stack of Ikea dish towels!

For my card base, I embossed white Stampin' Up cardstock with a Tim Holtz Dot Matrix embossing folder, and embossed a smaller square of cardstock with the Stampin' Up exclusive Lattice embossing folder.

The TV and sentiment stamps are by Crafty Secrets (Favorite Fellas collection) and are stamped in SU Basic Black ink.

I drew the remote on white cardstock with a fine-tipped felt pen, and then colored it in with a silver gel pen. I used a scrap of black gingham paper for the TV screen after cutting the screen portion out with a craft knife. I cut the heart out of Real Red cardstock and sealed the screen with Glossy Accents.

My other supplies for this card are Kiwi Kiss ribbon, Tempting Turquoise cardstock, Bo Bunny Double Dot cardstock, and mini black brads.

Thanks very much for taking a look at my card!

You can check out the other awesome entries and design team examples at Stacey's Stamping Stage!

Get Sketchy #48

This week's challenge over at Get Sketchy (#48) features a very simple sketch:

I rotated the sketch to make my card, and moved the sentiment to the lower right.

The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's level 3 hostess set, "Occasional Quotes." I used SU's Chocolate Chip ink to stamp the sentiment.

I also used papers by Basic Grey (Nook & Pantry collection) and Pink Paislee (365 Degrees collection). The ribbon is by American Crafts. I tied the bow separately and used a glue dot to stick it in place. The final touches include adhesive KaiserCraft pearls and a glitter gel pen.

Thanks for looking at my card!

Unscripted Sketches #65

I really surprised myself with the card that I made for this week's Unscripted Sketches challenge. I'm not usually a vintage/shabby style card maker, but something about this week's sketch had me thinking in that direction!

For this card, I used a digital stamp by Hero Arts for the main image. For the group of circles, I altered three paper flowers by Making Memories.

Basically, I cut a spiral into each paper flower (they were all large circles) and crushed the paper as I rolled it into shape. I hand-cut the leaves from smooth cardstock, crushing the paper and then separating the cardstock layers.

I distressed some Graphic 45 patterned paper with the edge of my scissors to mat the digital stamp and as part of the card background.

Other supplies include:

Adhesive Pearls (Prima e-line)

Cardstock: Stampin' Up & Bo Bunny Double Dot

Letter stickers: Making Memories

Lace: Maya Road

Ink: Black cat's eye pigment ink

Black sheer ribbon

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog and to look at my card!

Visit Unscripted Sketches to see the design team's creations and the other entries!

Stampin' Royalty #29

This week, the Stampin' Royalty goddesses are challenging you to a "Splish Splash" themed challenge! All you have to do is create a card, scrapbook layout, 3-D Project or My Digital Studio project using the "Splish Splash" theme as the main inspiration behind your project!

I made a card using a sweet octopus stamp by Imaginisce and some letter stamps by Inkadinkado. The only things missing from the letter stamp set are punctuation, so I used a sticker by Making Memories for the question mark.

My other supplies include:

Ink: Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock: Stampin' Up!

Pearls: KaiserCraft

Flowers: Prima e-Line

Paper: American Crafts

Etc: Ribbon, Glitter Gel Pen, Tacky Tape, Tim Holtz Embossing Folder

Thanks very much for looking at my card!

To see the beautiful examples from the design team and the other awesome entries, visit Stampin' Royalty!

Stampin' Celebration #12

This week's Stampin' Celebration challenge features some bright colors that I had a fun time creating with!

I drew from the colors and the flowers in the top right picture as the inspiration for my card.

The stamps that I used are by Hero Arts (pincushion, spools), Daisy Bucket (background flowers), Technique Tuesday (leaf stamp) and Stampin' Up (sentiment from Chic Boutique set). I used Only Orange, Old Olive and Green Galore ink from Stampin' Up to stamp the images on the card.

Other supplies: Glitter gel pen, fine-tip felt pen, decorative scissors, paper flower, button, linen thread, foam squares.

Thanks for looking at my card...I hope you'll play along with Stampin' Celebration this week!

Color Throwdown #102

This week's Color Throwdown challenge (#102) features some really COOL colors...

I had to substitute for all three colors this week, but I think I came close, and made an awesome card in the process!

The colors had me thinking more of a masculine card, which led me to thoughts of my husband (go figure), who wears a suit of armor on rare occasions...

and that led me to the design of this card!

I dry-brushed gold acrylic paint over the embossed strip of cardstock and distressed the card base to add more interest (and to cover up the fact that I brushed gold on the card base and it didn't look right, so I went with distressing instead)!

Supply list:

Ink: Stampin' Up (Old Olive, Soft Suede & Basic Blue)

Stamps: Crafty Secrets (Favorite Fellas) and Stampin' Up (Artistic Etchings)

Cardstock: DCWV, Stampin' Up!

Paper: Crate Paper (Brook collection) - used to mat sentiment and stamped images

Rub-ons: DCWV (Once Upon a Time)

Other: gold acrylic paint, fleur-de-lis brad, eyelets, Tim Holtz embossing folder

Thanks for taking the time to look at my card!

If you'd like to see all of the other cool entries for this week's Throwdown, click HERE!

Bo Bunny Card Sketch Challenge

Bo Bunny is hosting another card challenge, which is based on this sketch by Juliana Michaels:

I used 100% Bo Bunny products on my card...

Bo Bunny supplies used:

Double Dot 12x12 in Rust and Wine

Kitchen Spice and Sophie Combo Stickers

Patterned Paper (Sophie Stripe)

Flowers, Button & Bling

Thanks for taking a look at my card!

You can find the other entries and more contest details by clicking HERE.

CPS #176

In the spirit of summer, I used a lot of bright colors and a beachy image for the card that I submitted for this week's Card Positioning Systems (CPS) challenge, which is sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps.

Here's the sketch, which prompted me to make a gate-fold card:

I stamped the flip-flops and sentiment in Chocolate Chip ink; the flip-flop stamp is by Lockhart Stamps. I colored each pair with colored pencils and gel pens to coordinate with the paper.

The paper I used is by We R Memory Keepers (72 & Sunny collection). The card base is Bazzill cardstock. The sentiment is by Elzybells Art Stamps. (I had to use a paper clip to keep the card closed while I took the picture; it's not meant to be part of the card.)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

colourQ #42

The card that I made for this week's colourQ challenge (#42) is very different from what I thought of when I first saw the featured colors:

Instead of my more elaborate first plan, I decided on a more clean & graphic approach!

The card base is natural white Stampin' Up cardstock. I embossed a strip of yellow cardstock that's as similar to So Saffron as I had available.

The telephone stamp is by Paper Source, and is stamped in Chocolate Chip ink. I connected the the two phones with linen thread, and cut a heart from Real Red cardstock to pop up in the middle. The patterned paper is by We R Memory Keepers. I used a strip of Real Red for a border on top of the paper.  The sentiment sticker is by SRM Stickers.

Thanks very much for looking at my card! Click HERE to play along with this week's colourQ and to see the amazing work by the Design Team and all of the awesome entries that are submitted!

Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger - Dancing Lanterns

I always check out Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Triggers, but this is the first time I've played along! I couldn't pass up this fabulous trigger, which is a photo of paper lanterns by Apartment Therapy:

How fun! These make me think of a summer garden party, and also give me another chance to use a cute stamp that I picked up at Paper Source!

For my card, I stamped the lanterns on various scraps of SU cardstock. I drew a pencil line on the card base, stamped all of the lanterns so I wouldn't have to cut out the handles, then cut each colored lantern base and glued them in place. I erased my pencil line and glued some linen thread for the lanterns to "hang" from.

The sentiment sticker is from SRM Stickers. I cut it apart and placed it on the card in different spots to go with the direction of the lanterns.

Thanks for stopping by to look at my card...this Tuesday Trigger contest is open until Sunday, August 1! Click HERE for all the details!

Stampin' Royalty #28

This week, the Stampin' Royalty goddesses are challenging you to create a project using stencils as your main inspiration! I don't normally use stencils in my crafting, but this challenge sounded like fun, so I thought I'd give it a try!

I made my stencil by punching leaf shapes into a piece of transparency film. Then I cut my cardstock base to size and began sponging bronze and gold acrylic paint on with a foam brush. I did the bronze layer first, let it dry and then did the gold layer.

The process went a lot easier for me than the first time I tried stenciling (when I used WAY too much paint). The paint that I used is Ceramcoat acrylic paint in Copper and 14k Gold. I also used my scissors to distress the edge of the sentiment block. The sentiment is from a retired Stampin' Up set called "Country Blessings."

 My other supplies were:

Ink: Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock: SU Kraft & Bo Bunny Double Dot

Ribbon: American Crafts

Other: Leaf brad, Cat's Eye chalk ink in Creamy Brown

Thank you for stopping by to take a look at my card!

Unscripted Sketches #64

I'm very happy with the card that I made with this week's Unscripted Sketch! If you haven't played along with Unscripted Sketches before, this is a great month to check them out, since they're celebrating "Christmas in July"...there's something new every day this month!

Here's this week's sketch (#64)!

 For my card, I used papers from 3 Bugs in a Rug's Savannah Collection and an ice cream sundae stamp that I found in the dollar bin at a craft store (I think it's a Studio G stamp). I colored the image with gel pens and a Copic marker.

I used Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip ink for the image and sentiment stamp, which is from Elzybells Art Stamps. The plaid paper is a scrap from some Collage Press Christmas paper! I used SU kraft cardstock for the card base.

Thanks very much for checking out my card!  

Curtain Call #39

There's a very cool color combo in this week's Curtain Call Challenge over at Stacey's Stamping Stage! I enjoy these challenges, because they get me inspired by color combos that I wouldn't normally use in my crafting!

I substituted some similar patterned paper for the Wild Wasabi color, and I used Kiwi Kiss for the Certainly Celery. I stamped the tree image in Old Olive and the sentiment and woodgrain background in Soft Suede.

The tree stamp is from Stampin' Up's "Forest Friends" set, and the sentiment is from the new Level 3 Hostess set, "Occasional Quotes."

I embossed a strip of white cardstock in the Big Shot and used some paper from Crate Paper's Brook collection to mat the stamped tree image. The background stamp is from Stampin' Up! (I still need to work on my inking technique for the really big stamps!) I used SU kraft cardstock for the card base.

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you'll visit Stacey's Stamping Stage this week and play along with the latest Curtain Call!

Get Sketchy #47

I had a lot of fun with this week's challenge at Get Sketchy (#47)! At first glance, it appears to be pretty simple, but offers lots of possibilities for great cards!

For my card, I used papers from 3 Bugs in a Rug (Savannah Collection), small heart stamps from Elzybells Art Stamps, and a doughnut stamp by Hero Arts.

I used SU Melon Mambo and Chocolate Chip inks to do the stamping on the card. I stamped the doughnut twice, once for the actual doughnut, and again on pink cardstock for the icing. Then I used a copper gel pen to create the stitching effect, and gel pens to color in the doughnut sprinkles. The sentiment is also from Elzybells Art Stamps.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you'll play along with Get Sketchy this week!

Stampin' Celebration #11

This week's Stampin' Celebration challenge is all about summer! If you haven't played along with their challenges yet, why not give it a try? Each set of inspiration photos is full of great elements to get your creative ideas flowing!

For example, here are the inspiration photos for this week's challenge (#11):

Very cool! For my card, I took inspiration from the lemonade, with the splashes of red and blue. Since I don't have a yellow ink pad, I used yellow cardstock and a watermark ink pad to create the background for my card!

The stamps I used are a margarita stamp by A Muse Art Stamps, letter stamps by Inkadinkado, flowers from Stampin' Up's "Eastern Blooms" set, and the lemon/lime/orange stamp from SU's "Tart & Tangy" set. I used VersaMark watermark ink for the flowers and background, Real Red for the sentiment, and Chocolate Chip ink for the "frozen lemonade" drinks. I colored the drinks with a fine-tipped pen and a Stardust glitter pen. I embossed a strip of red cardstock with the Lattice folder in the Big Shot.

Thanks very much for looking at my card...I hope you'll play along with Stampin' Celebration!

Color Throwdown #101

Last week, the Color Throwdown celebrated its 100th challenge with a blog hop, a color challenge, and a massive prize giveaway! Congratulations on 100+ challenges, ladies! Here's to many more!

This week's challenge (#101) is a great color combination...

For my card, I used kraft as the card base and embossed it with a Tim Holtz folder in the Big Shot. The sentiment and dressform stamps are by Stampin' Up! (from the "One of a Kind" and "Chic Boutique" sets) The thread spool, button and pin stamps are by Hero Arts. I used paper by My Mind's Eye, American Crafts and SU Cardstock to complete the card.

I used Soft Suede ink to stamp the images. I cut the pin stamp and glued it in two places to make it look like it was stuck through the white cardstock, and I also strung linen thread through the center of the cardstock button. To make the ribbon spools, I stamped the thread portion on different colors of cardstock using white chalk ink, cut them out and glued them on the spool bases.

Thanks very much for looking...I hope you'll play along with the Color Throwdown, too!

Card Style Week: Classy & Elegant

Of all the cards that I've made this week in various styles, I think the hardest one for me was Classy & Elegant, because I kept wanting to put more stuff on the card, like I did with the Shabby and Vintage one!

Here's some info on what makes a "Classy and Elegant" card, courtesy of Cath at Moxie Fab World:

The classy and elegant style is polished. A shiny finish, sparkling embellishments, a rich color scheme, and sophisticated sentiment treatments are all part of the classy and elegant pedigree. Its look is regal, stunning, and dashing. And while its lines are clean, sweeping, and dramatic, it can also incorporate monochromatic color schemes with layered textures that awe and impress equally as well.

Moxie Fab World is celebrating Card Style Week with challenges that inspire you to create cards in each of the four styles featured in the Paper Crafts special issue that was just released: "Fun and Cute", "Clean and Graphic", "Shabby and Vintage" and "Classy and Elegant."

Here's my entry for the Card Style Classy and Elegant Challenge in the Moxie Fab World:

and this is the inside of the card:

The background paper is from Pink Paislee's 365 Degrees collection. I used SU cardstock in Natural White and Basic Black. The sentiment is from SU's "Occasional Quotes" set, which is a new Level 3 Hostess Set. I stamped the sentiment in Basic Black ink and finished off the card with some adhesive rhinestones and satin ribbon.

All of the Card Style contests run until August 2 at midnight MDT...so there's still time to get inspired and enter!

Card Style Week: Shabby & Vintage

Next up in Moxie Fab World's Card Style Week Celebration: Shabby & Vintage! My personal style is usually in the "Fun & Cute" and "Clean & Graphic" categories, but from time to time, I've made cards in a more vintage style.

To celebrate the release of Paper Crafts' special issue, Card Style, Moxie Fab World is hosting contests this week in each of the four styles featured in the magazine. Each contest runs until August 2 at midnight MDT. For more information, click HERE to visit Moxie Fab World!

Moxie Fab World's Cath explains what defines the Shabby & Vintage style:

What makes a card shabby chic? Well, shabby chic is a style characterized by layering. It is soft, utilizing ribbon, lace, and techniques such as inking and distressing. The final product looks comfortable, weathered, and worn.

What makes a card vintage? Vintage goes a step further by adding old images, found items, and antique trinkets to the mix.

With those guidelines in mind, I created this card for the "Card Style Shabby Chic and Vintage Challenge in the Moxie Fab World":

The card base is Bazzill cardstock embossed with a Tim Holtz folder in the Big Shot. I used paper by The Girls' Paperie and the rose, photo corner, journaling spot and butterfly from an ephemera pack by K & Company. The ticket is by Tim Holtz.

The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's "Occasional Quotes", which is one of the new hostess sets! I also added adhesive pearls by Prima, a scrap of lace, and a button to complete the card. I distressed the paper square and a few of the pieces on the card with the edge of my scissors.

Thanks very much for looking at my card...I hope you'll also play along with Moxie Fab World's challenges this week!

Card Style Week: Clean & Graphic

This week, Moxie Fab World is hosting a series of challenges to celebrate the release of Paper Crafts Magazine's latest special issue -- Card Style!

The second in this series of challenges is to create a card in the "Clean & Graphic" style. So, what makes a card "clean and graphic"? Cath from Moxie Fab World says:

Straight from the pages of Card Style magazine itself, the clean and graphic style is characterized by the utilization of white space, clean lines, and simple treatment of text. It is no-frills, bare-boned, modern, and hip. And while you might be surprised at how minimally clean and graphic cards might be embellished, you might also be amazed at how quickly their messages are communicated.

With that in mind, I created a card based on this style for the Card Style Clean and Graphic Challenge in the Moxie Fab World:

For the card base, I used smooth kraft cardstock and stamped oranges from SU's "Tart & Tangy" set in Only Orange ink. I made a border strip with Whisper White and Pumpkin Pie cardstock and used an SRM sticker for the sentiment from the "Thinking of You" set. To finish the card, I used a tissue box stamp by Lockhart Stamps, colored it with a gel pen and a colored pencil, and used a foam square to pop it up!

Thanks for visiting and checking out my card...I hope you'll play along with these challenges (and why not? The deadline is midnight MDT on August 2)! For more contest details, information and design inspiration, click HERE! Next up...shabby & vintage!

Moxie Fab World: Fun & Cute Card Style!

Paper Crafts Magazine just released a new special issue called Card Style, which features four styles of card making: fun and cute, clean and graphic, shabby chic and vintage, and classy and elegant. Here's the cover of that special issue:

and to celebrate, Moxie Fab World is hosting contests for each style of card... First up, Fun and Cute!

Here's the definition of the style, courtesy of Cath at Moxie Fab World:

What makes a fun and cute card? To begin with--a happy color scheme, a sweet sentiment, and an uncomplicated design. Throw in some whimsy (like cartoons and doodles), a few simple shapes (like hearts and stars), some friendly patterns (like polka dots and gingham), and voila! There's a smile on your face and a song in your heart that's unmistakably fun and cute.

Many of the cards that I make fit this style, so here's my entry for the Card Style Fun and Cute Challenge in the Moxie Fab World:
 

 
I used SU kraft cardstock for the base, and combined a cute monkey stamp from Stampin' Up (Fox & Friends set) with a branch stamp from aMuse (Sushi set). I fussy-cut a heart for the monkey to hold, and colored it with gel pens. The papers are from Cosmo Cricket and Sassafras. I used rub-ons from ScrapWorks to make the sentiment. The ribbon is from American Crafts.

There's still time for you to play along, too! The contests run until midnight MDT on Monday, August 2. Click HERE for the contest rules and other details!

Thanks for visiting!

Unscripted Sketches #63

This month, Unscripted Sketches is celebrating Christmas In July! There's something new every day on their blog, from guest designers (I was the guest designer for the first weekend in July), journaling tips, free downloadables, and more! (Click HERE to join in the fun!)

I forgot that there was a bonus color challenge this week (although the colors are in my card "somewhere" by chance), but I did make my card based on the sketch:

I rotated the sketch and went with a cool theme (although not Christmas) ... icy treats!

 
I grew up in South Louisiana, and one of the best parts of summertime there was getting sno-balls (sometimes referred to as sno-cones or shaved ice in other parts of the country)! Nothing was better at cooling me down on a hot, muggy summer day than a cold, sweet sno-ball...lots of sugary syrup poured over finely shaved ice...delicious!
 
I found a sno-ball stamp at a craft store other day in the dollar bin and couldn't wait to use it on a card! I altered it with a craft knife to remove the tropical umbrella.
 
 

The three sno-balls are stamped in Only Orange, Perfect Plum, and Real Red. I added Frosted Lace Stickles to give the images a "snowy" look. I punched three circles for a background and popped them up with foam squares. The paper I used is from American Crafts' HeatWave collection. The Thickers are also from American Crafts. The cardstock I used is from Stampin' Up; it was embossed in the Big Shot with a Tim Holtz folder.

Thanks very much for looking...I hope you will visit Unscripted Sketches and celebrate Christmas in July!