Sending Hugs

Using printed papers

2012-01-27T08:00:00.007-05:00

Hi! Our challenge this week at Lily Pad Cards is to make something using printed papers. I have a huge collection of them - I collect them like I used to collect quilting fabrics. I decided now was the time to use some of the ones I've been hoarding, so I fussy-cut these beautiful roses from pink paislee's Sweetness collection, and added some coordinating My Mind's Eye papers, along with some punched BoBunny dotted butterflies and one of my favorite sentiments - love the mixed fonts:

supplies: pink paislee "sweetness" rose paper, The Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby) music paper, My Mind's Eye Lost & Found papers, BoBunny "buttercup dot", Hero Arts CL491 Made with Love sentiment, Memento Art Print Brown ink, Martha Stewart doily edge punch and butterfly punch, natural twine, yellow button

This has all my favorite things: pink and yellow roses, some music, lace, butterflies, so it does make me smile - hope it does you too! While we're at it, here's another card that uses lots of printed papers, this time from Basic Grey's Kissing Booth. I made this to enter into this month's Hero Arts challenge:

supplies: cream card base, Basic Grey's Kissing Booth 6 x 6 pad design papers, Hero Arts CL586 XO, CG426 Four Hearts, Memories Artprint Brown ink, CH173 Heart Accent Pearl, 3D foam square to pop up a heart

We're sponsored this week again by Simon Says Stamp, so get out your design papers and play along with us! And don't forget to visit Lily Pad Cards to see what the other DT members did for this challenge!

Big Eyes!

2012-01-26T09:52:00.000-05:00

......that's the name of this new Hero Arts owl stamp. I am usually NOT an owl person, but who could resist this one? We had a Valentine card exchange at the Hero Arts flickr group, and this is what I sent to Rachelle.

supplies: white and green cardstock, Doodlebug Designs "sweet cakes" paper pad, Hero Arts K5574 Big Eyes, CL586 XO, VersaFine Onyx Black and Brilliance Orchid inks, Martha Stewart heart edge punch, We R Memory Keepers pink fancy floss

If you'd like to see more cards using this stamp, just visit the Hero Arts flickr group here.

Classic Tea Flower

2012-01-24T12:44:00.001-05:00

supplies: ivory cardsotck, papers from My Mind's Eye Sunshine Lost & Found Two and Stella & Rose Hattie (aqua), Nesties Labels eighteen, Hero Arts H5577 Classic Tea Flower, CL272 All Occasion Messages, aqua pearls

I haven't been posting as often as usual, been working on some cards for publication, so I thought I'd just share this one showing off the new Classic Tea Flower paired up with some pretty My Mind's Eye papers.

Sending you lots of sunshine!

Introducing "Virginia's View"!!

2012-01-20T08:00:00.018-05:00

Welcome! I am so excited to introduce you to a new monthly challenge at Lily Pad Cards: Virginia's View! Each month, our new DT member, Virginia Lu, will give us an inspiration to work from, and we can choose anything about it to base our card on. Here is her first inspiration photo:

LOVE the hearts and the colors, don't you? This week we are using Penny Black stamps and here is my card using the clear set "To You":

supplies: white and pink cardstock, Penny Black #30-067 "To You", Prismacolor watercolor pencils, Aqua-flo brush (LOVE this tool), orange gemstones, tiny foam squares to lift up top butterfly wing

You will love seeing what the rest of the DT team did for this challenge and I hope you'll be inspired to play along, too! Please hop on over to Lily Pad Cards and meet our other new DT members, Barb and Karin!

CAS Card Making Day 6

2012-01-19T10:13:00.005-05:00

I wanted to try Kristina's idea from her Day 6 Lesson, and also was influenced by seeing a card by Jessica Witty that was referenced on Day 8, using a die cut to emboss a frame. I used a piece of Hero Arts layering paper as my card base, but turned it inside out so that the white was on the outside and the color inside, then embossed my die cut, cut out the center with a circle die, and made my flower to go inside the card. I LOVED Kristina's idea to use the twine wound around the card as a stem for my flower, and a bow for leaves! Here's the result:

And a closer look at the stamped and layered flower inside the card:

supplies: white card stock, Hero Arts Pool layering papers, turned inside out so that the color is inside, Hero Arts CG291 Three Dotted flowers, broken china distress ink, Sea Mixed Accents (aqua pearl), MFS Die-namics Decorative Doily die, Spellbinders Nestabilities large circle die, We R Memory Keepers baker's twine

Clean & Simple Card Making, Day 7

2012-01-17T16:51:00.001-05:00

I am finally settled again, and hope to catch up on this wonderful class! Today in Day 7, Julie Ebersole gave us lots of ideas, titling her class "Plainly White". Here are 2 cards I made.

supplies: white and pink cardstock, Hero Arts LP206 Words & Flowers, Versafine onyx black ink, pink and green Memento markers, pop dot

I liked an example by Krystie Lee that was referenced, and I think this card achieves the purpose of today's class - but it kills me to leave it as is :)) The next card is more "me", but it follows Julie's first card example today, only much more colorful:

supplies: white cardstock, Sizzix embossing folder, papers from Crate Paper "Farmhouse" and My Mind's Eye "Hattie", Coredinations brown to frame, Hero Arts CL 342 Everyday Sayings, Memento Art Print Brown ink, Martha Stewart Monarch butterfly punch

I took Julie's suggestion to dry-emboss a pattern onto the card base and everything else is design papers with just the sentiment banner stamped.

Sending Hugs

2012-01-12T16:32:00.001-05:00

If you're here to see my Hero Hostess Blog Hop post, please click HERE.

I'm going to be out of the loop for the next couple of days into early next week, so I thought I'd leave you with a card that reflects the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday (my favorite all year). This was made for the current Hero Arts monthly challenge, using the colors that were suggested and some of the new 2012 stamps. I'm thrilled with all of the new hearts and related sentiments we got this year!

supplies: white and kraft card stock, Hero Arts CL586 XO, CG426 Four Hearts, LL538 Tub of Hearts (now discontinued), pink, red, lavender and brown inks and tea dye distress ink to age the white cardstock, natural twine, and heart charm

Heart Moments - CAS Day 3

2012-01-11T11:52:00.002-05:00

If you're visiting to see my Hero Hostess 2012 Blog Hop cards, please click HERE.

supplies: periwinkle and white card stock, Hero Arts CL129 Anytime Messages, versaMark ink and white embossing powder, Martha Stewart butterfly punches

In today's Clean & Simple Card Making class, Jennifer showed us a fun technique that layers die-cuts or punches for some fun dimension. This grabbed my attention immediately and I had to give it a try! Jennifer's sample card used 1 color plus white and I followed suit, using my favorite periwinkle blue. This was really fun, and I know I'll be using this technique again!

Hero Arts 2012 Hostess Blog Hop

2012-01-10T09:00:00.016-05:00

Welcome to the second day of the 2012 Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop! All of us former Hostesses are thrilled to be participating again this year to show off the new 2012 Hero Arts stamps! You should have arrived here from the amazing Robin Kubasik's blog.

I had such a good time playing with the new stamps that I made you 4 cards. Because of the length of my post, I'll forego my usual description of each card.....if you have any questions, just email me about the details. Here we go!

New stamps used: CG335 Dot Flower Pattern, K5583 Wild Flowers with Label, alsoCL307 Mini Messages, PS563 Pool Layering Paper, CH213 Sea Mixed Accents, versafine onyx black ink and tumbled glass distress ink (also used to dye seam binding)

New stamps: CG405 Leaf and Floral Background, H5580 Newsprint Bird, also S5208 Designer Woodgrain, CL371 Essential Messages, CH213 Sea Mixed Accents (pearl for bird's eye), peeled paint, faded jeans and rusty hinge distress inks, versafine onyx black and vintage sepia inks, natural twine

New stamps: CG407 Floral Frames, also CL341 Thank You Sayings, Cuttlebug Victoria embossing folder, Memento Hero Hues Markers, purple gemstones

New stamps: CG420 True Friends, H5577 Classic Tea Flower, also PS597 Carnation Layering Paper, CH173 Hearts Accent Pearls, versafine onyx black ink, October Afternoon "Sidewalks" dotted pink dp, Memento Bamboo Leaves marker, pink gingham ribbon, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eighteen

Thanks so much for visiting my blog; I hope you'll come again. The Hostess Blog Hop continues all week, with 4 or 5 new blogs to visit each day. I'm the final blog for today, but tomorrow you can start again at the Hero Club Blog, where you'll find a link to start at the talented and sweet Lisa Carroll's blog. If you get lost at any time, just go back to the Hero Club blog each day for a listing of the participating blogs with links. If any of the links is broken along the way, please report them to Tami.

Hero Arts will be awarding prizes from randomly drawn comments. For a chance to win, simply comment on ANY of the stops along the hop on ANY day, including each day's starting post at the Hero Club Blog.

Clean & Simple Card Making, Day 1

2012-01-09T15:43:00.003-05:00

I'm thrilled to be taking the online class called Clean & Simple Card Making. Here is my first card, using the second sketch from Day 1's class:

I used the negative image from a die cut (Sizzix Sizzlits Branch with Leaves), cut from a scrap of polished stone paper I had in my stash, a pretty light teal color. It was tied with a simple white seam binding, and then popped above the surface of the card. The sentiment is from an older Archiver's/Hero set AR137 Script Messages, stamped in Adirondack Stream ink. I also used an art flower from Hero Arts CH168 Meadow collection, centered with a plain white button.

Kathy's Color Palette at Lily Pad Cards

2012-01-06T08:00:00.032-05:00

Happy New Year, bloggers, and welcome to the first color challenge of the year at Lily Pad Cards! This week we're being sponsored by Our Craft Lounge, and here's my card using Kathy's colors and just a few of the cute images in their set called "Sunshine Cheer":

supplies: white, gold, egplant, teal, and evergreen cardstocks, Our Craft Lounge CCM080 Sunshine Cheer clear set, versafine onyx black ink, Memento sunshine markers, Nesties circle die

There are actually TWO color palettes to choose from this week, so go on over to Lily Pad Cards to see them and what my teamies did with these colors, and then play along, too; I'd love to see what you make with them!

Looking back .......

2011-12-31T14:11:00.002-05:00

Nancy and Kath inspired me to do a final post for the year, choosing my favorite cards from 2011. I spent a good couple of hours going through them all, and I guess I know now that my style is layered and flowery......do you agree?

These are chronological, beginning with my dreams of a baby granddaughter, and that dream came true when our sweet little Alma was born in January!

The pink theme continued into February, this time using one of my favorite Hero Arts stamps of the year, called 3 Dotted Flowers:

I used them again on this one, too, using a sketch from CASE Study:

And beginning to dream of spring here, using the Simple Frame stamp:

Here's my lone representation from March, which was inspired by one of my favorite card makers, Jacqueline:

April brought lots of butterflies:

Pinks in May, using my favorite Hydrangea stamp:

For June, I could not resist this one, using one of my oldest stamps that is a sentimental favorite:

I really liked this one, made for a sketch at PaperCrafts magazine, but it was not chosen for publication:

And these colors came from a challenge at CR84FN; such happy colors!

Are you tired yet? From July I chose two cards. This one uses beautiful Pink Paislee flowers and a Verve stamps sentiment:

And this one was a thank you for Nat:

Both of my August choices are from a challenge at Lily Pad Cards using the emboss/resist technique. The second one won me a FAB FIVE prize at Hero Arts!

Two blue cards for September. The first a case of one of Jill Foster's cards, when she invited me to take over her blog for the day:

This one uses another of my sentimental faves, a Flourishes violet stamp:

October is my favorite month, because it means autumn to me:

And one more using the big letter stamps from Hero Arts, along with the faux letterpress technique:

Here are my favorites from November:

And an early look at one of my favorite 2011 Christmas stamps from Hero Arts:

December was mostly Christmas and winter cards:

And for a final challenge of the year:

Are you still with me? Thanks so much for going down memory lane with me. I want to thank all of my followers for sticking with me this year, and encouraging me with your lovely comments. Wishing you all a prosperous and healthy New Year!

Brackets

2011-12-30T07:54:00.002-05:00

Hi! Welcome to the last challenge of 2011 for Lily Pad Cards! This week we are to use chipboard. I found these brackets in my stash and covered them with paper to match my color scheme, trimming them out with a neat tool that I first saw Vicky use (see my supply list).

supplies: cream card base, printed papers from Hobby Lobby "The Paper Store", Hero Arts H5577 Classic Tea Rose, Versafine onyx black ink, pink and green markers and watercolor pencils, CL130 Frames and Messages, CL166 Special Friend, Memento Rich Cocoa ink, chipboard brackets from Darice Chipboard Tags and Frames, covered in Making Memories Willow Simple Sponge dp, Fiskar's Precision Knife to trim paper around chipboard, Fiskar's Top Notch border punch, unknown orchid pink cardstock, pale pink embroidery floss

Once again, we're being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp, and if you play along, you might win a gift certificate to their Superstore!

It's ANYTHING GOES at Simon Says Stamp!

2011-12-28T08:00:00.030-05:00

Hello everyone! I trust you had a fabulous Christmas! We spent ours with our grandchildren and their parents, so it was a very special and joyful time!

Today will be my last post as a guest designer at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog - wow, that flew by fast! I've had lots of fun!

Our challenge this week is Anything Goes! As much as I enjoy making Christmas cards, it's good to get back to the norm. Here's my card for you this week, using a beautiful Penny Black stamp called Mixed Media. I've used it before in pink and black, so this time I wanted to try an aqua and brown combination:

supplies: ivory parchment and Core'dinations Brownie cardstocks, Penny Black #4037K Mixed Media, Versafine Vintage Sepia ink, Fiskar's Upper Crest border punch, design papers from Prima's Madeline paper pad, My Mind's Eye Gertie paper pad, and pink paislee's sweetness paper pad, seam binding dyed with tumbled glass distress ink, secured with a brad from Basic Grey's Sweet Threads Glazed Epoxy brad set, some lace, a Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags die and sentiment and some Hero Arts pearls

Please visit the Simon Says Stamp challenge blog to see what the other designers did this week, and then play along, too - you could win a $50.00 gift certificate from the Simon Says Stamp Superstore!!

I want to thank Simon Says Stamp for the honor of being a Guest Designer this month, and Joy Taylor for recruiting me - I've enjoyed all of the challenges and my time with you!

Christmas children

2011-12-22T11:30:00.003-05:00

Closing down shop here until after Christmas, but I wanted to leave you with my best wishes for a beautiful Christmas and for all your wishes to come true! Aren't we all children at this time of year?

supplies: red, lime, and ivory parchment cardstock, design papers from The Paper Studio (Christmas sheet Music), Graphic45 (Christmas Post Collection from 2010), vintage image, Hero Arts CL343 Holiday Sayings, Adirondack Cranberry and old paper distress inks, red baker's twine, red heart button, snowflake punch, red metallic dot

How many of you remember wearing these snow suits as a child?!

It just so happens that the Play Date Cafe Challenge presented me with the perfect colors to highlight this sweet vintage image I found, probably at The Graphics Fairy.

Making Cards for Hero Arts

2011-12-21T12:58:00.002-05:00

If you're looking for my Simon Says Stamp challenge post, please scroll down one post or click HERE.

Have you seen the post at the Hero Arts Blog showing the cards several of us made for Hero Arts? Every year at the beginning of December, Hero Arts stores have Catalog Debut Parties. At these parties, stores show the brand new Hero Arts products from the big new annual catalog. Each store gets sample boards that have card samples using the new stamps, and we got to make these cards this year! I was so tickled to be a part of it, and wanted to share just a couple photos of the card I worked on.

I like to think of this as the "L" card. Lisa Spangler designed it, Lisa Carroll and Lisa Stein cut out all those flower heads, and I put all the pieces together - 199 times! Many, many thanks to Lisa and Lisa for all that cutting; they saved me lots and lots of time!

Here is a picture taken at our local Archiver's in Fairlawn, OH at a catalog debut party on December 10, showing the board with my card on it! I was so thrilled to see it there!

And here's a picture of all of them before they were sent to Hero Arts:

If you're wondering how long it took me to get these finished, I worked at them for 10 consecutive days in November, and produced them in an assembly line, first cutting out all the pieces to size, then stamping the flower, coloring the leaves and stem, then popping the cut-out flowers on top and then adding the sentiment strip and the pearls. I finished them before Thanksgiving.

Many thanks to Hero Arts for allowing me to be part of this new catalog debut!

BINGO! at Simon Says Stamp!

2011-12-21T08:00:00.047-05:00

Hi! I'm here again this week with my card as a Guest Designer at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog! This week we're using a Bingo card:

You know the drill: choose any row, column, or diagonal, and make a project using those elements. I chose to use the center row: die cuts, make your own designer paper, and fabric (I used felt). Here's my card for this week:

supplies: red and cream parchment cardstock, Hero Arts CG222 Music Background, Adirondack Cranberry ink, S5247 Flourish Pine, VersaMark ink and Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder, Papertrey Ink Beautiful Blooms II flower dies, red wool felt, Sizzix Sizzlits Branch with Leaves, mossy green wool felt, Spare Parts antique gemstone brad (thanks again, Sue)

And a closer look at my felt flower and leaves:

I hope you'll play along, too! As always, you can win a $50.00 gift certificate from the Simon Says Stamp Superstore!!

"Brown paper packages, tied up with string".......

2011-12-19T19:33:00.003-05:00

Here's the fun photo inspiration from The Shabby Tea Room for this week. We're to use kraft, red, newsprint, silver and a star:

This is my entry, using my old favorite Winter Tree from Hero Arts, along with a wooden star wrapped in aluminum foil and silver embossing for my silver element.

supplies: red and kraft cardstock, My Mind's Eye "Funday" design paper, old book page, Fiskar's top notch border punch, Hero Arts H5244 Winter Tree, Versafine onyx black ink and clear embossing powder, CL343 Holiday Sayings, stamped in VersaMark and embossed in Ranger Super Fine Detail Silver, Nesties ovals and scalloped ovals dies, Memory Box tiny red pearls, natural twine, wood star wrapped in aluminum foil

Red, black and cream

2011-12-18T15:19:00.002-05:00

supplies: cream card base, papers from October Afternoon, Graphic 45, and The Paper Studio, Hero Arts CL496 Layered Flower, CL493 Live Life, VersaFine onyx black ink, stiped twill ribbon, ivory lace, red button and gems, natural twine

This card was made for a challenge at the Ribbon Girl Blog, to use red, black and cream:

Please go and visit there, as the Design Team went all out for this one!!

Two challenges

2011-12-17T21:48:00.000-05:00

We have a color splash challenge at the Play Date Cafe for this week! Here is the photo inspiration:

And the challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is to make a CAS card and also an envelope to match.

Here are my submissions for both challenges:

supplies: white and pool card stock, Memory Box "Peace Collage", versafine onyx black, Hero Arts CL562 Snowflakes, Palette Water Lily Green ink, Hero Hues sea pearls, Glossy Accents, Fiskar's Top Notch border punch

I added some glossy accents to the large snowflake on my card for a little more interest.

Timely Bird

2011-12-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Another Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom challenge, this time to use a Hero Arts cling stamp. We are supposed to include the stamp in the picture of our project, but it's almost as big as the card itself, so here it is, CG292 Timely Bird:

And here's my card using it. As before, I was inspired by Ellen's sample's colors and design:

supplies: white card base, kraft cardstock, CG292 Timely Bird, S5507 Envelope Pattern, CL490 Sending Smiles Messages, VersaFine onyx black, wild honey, broken china, and tea dye distress inks, clear embossing powder, Sea and Sunshine gems from Hero Arts

First time EVER!

2011-12-16T08:00:00.082-05:00

supplies: white cardstock, Memory Box Tree of Birds, inkadinkado Round Frames (sentiment), VersaFine onyx black ink and clear embossing powder, Memento Summer Sky marker, corner rounder

I am so very excited to share with you my first publication! To say that I am thrilled is putting it mildly - I have been floating around here ever since its first sighting by some friends at the Hero Arts flickr group. And I finally was able to find my very own copy earlier this week. I'm speaking of the January/February issue of PaperCrafts magazine!

I submitted 14 cards for this issue, and this, the simplest of them all, was the one that was chosen.

There are 3 people I especially want to thank. First is my friend Mary Anne Rhodes, who first showed me the possibilities of stamping. Next is Savannah O'Gwynn, who I met last spring and who encouraged me to submit for publication. And the third person is Virginia Lu, who has been my cheerleader in this process. Dreams do come true, don't they, V?

I will also be published in the January issue of CARDS, in the Style section, but I haven't been able to find a copy of that. If anyone has a sighting, would you let me know?

Runway Inspired Challenge #1

2011-12-15T12:36:00.002-05:00

There's a new challenge blog in town, the Runway Inspired Challenge! This week the inspiration photo comes from the Versace Spring Collection in Milan:

Here's my take on it, inspired by the design on her dress and the big circle behind her:

supplies: white cardstock, Hero Arts Sunshine notecard, Hero Arts CL511 Sweet Threads Thank You, mustard seed distress ink, CL294 Big Circle, AR137 Script Messages, VersaFine onyx black ink

I'm looking forward to seeing what else this new challenge blog will inspire us with each week!

A sketch by Domi

2011-12-14T08:00:00.091-05:00

Hello! I'm back again as a December guest designer at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog! This week we have a sketch by Domi, and the added requirement is to use Stickles or glitter. Here's my card for this week:

supplies: white, blue, and dark blue cardstock, Hero Arts K5537 Winter Town and CL459 Merry Christmas Trees (for the sentiment), chipped sapphire distress ink, VersaMark ink, white embossing powder, Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles as glue to hold the Twinklets Diamond Dust glitter, Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Ovals Large and Scalloped Ovals Large, EKSuccess snowflake punches and Diamond Border punch, and the stars from Hero Arts Clear Mixed Gemstones, CH156

Here's a detail to see the fun glitter which I used on the rooftops, the stars, the ground, and the snowflakes; it's called Twinklets Diamond Dust glitter, and I've referenced it above in my supply list:

And here's the sketch by Domi that we followed:

I hope you're inspired to give this challenge a try - there are lots more samples from the designers over at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog to see. And there's a $50.00 Gift Certificate waiting for the winner to use in the Simon Says Stamp Superstore!

And since, to me, this is clearly a night-time scene, I'll be entering it into the Flourishes Night & Day Challenge.

Inspired by the Hero Arts flickr group

2011-12-13T12:52:00.001-05:00

I know that many of you are already members of the Hero Arts Flickr group, but for those of you who aren't, I want to encourage you to bookmark that site and visit it often. There are the most inspiring ideas there. Here are 2 cards I made recently, CASEd from 2 members there, Dawn and Clare. Dawn inspired this first one, using some Brilliance tri-color inks - they are wonderful to work with, and I recently picked myself up some new ones when JoAnn's had them on sale for 50% off with free shipping! This one's called Twilight.

supplies: periwinkle, pink and white cardstock, Hero Arts CG377 Merriest Christmas Wishes, Brilliance Twilight tri-color ink, Darice snowflake embossing folder, Martha Stewart doily border punch, snowflake punch, pale pink gems

This next one is inspired by Clare's card - she figured out that we could cut away the stamped part of this same stamp. I adore her version with the music in the background. I decided to turn this into a winter card, using an old favorite deer stamp and some Hobby Lobby paper that I love because it has wisps of snowflakes, music and script in it.

supplies: white cardstock, card from Hero Arts Winter notecard set, now discontinued, CG377 Merriest Christmas Wishes, grey and blue watercolor pencils and Tombow clear marker to blend, D5234 Young Deer, CL380 Truly Appreciated, small pop-dots

Thank you, Dawn and Clare, for sharing your beautiful work with us!

Little Elf

2011-12-12T17:02:00.000-05:00

Hi all! Hope the start to this week has been a good one for you! I finished up the last of my Christmas cards today, but I felt like I still wanted to play, so I looked in my digital images and found this cutie, from Pollycraft. Resized him, printed and colored him up - I hope he makes you smile like he did me!

supplies: white and brick red card stock, design paper from last year's Graphic45 Christmas collection, Pollycraft "Bronson & Beaker Branch", prismacolor pencils and Memento markers, glue pen, VersaMark ink and Stickles Clear Rock Candy to add glitter to ground and snowflakes, Hero Arts CL343 Holiday Sayings, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder, CL234 Winter's Butterfly (snowflakes) inked in VersaMark and dipped in glitter, Nesties labels 18

Pink, Cream, and Gold

2011-12-11T10:04:00.003-05:00

I so loved Amy's design at CASE Study this week, that I wanted to try it using more color. I love the color choices at the Stampendous blog challenge for this month, so I put them together:

supplies: cream and a pearlized pink cardstocks, lifestylecrafts "Vine" embossing folder (found at Archiver's), Nesties labels 18 dies, Cuttlebug label die, Jane's poinsettia (see below) printed on vellum and colored from behind with a pink marker, Hero Arts CL343 Holiday Sayings, Versamark ink and Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder, gold-edged ribbon, gold pearls

Here's a close up showing my pink vellum poinsettia, which is a digital image from Jane found here in her Vintage Christmas set.

CASE Study #69

2011-12-10T08:00:00.025-05:00

It's been awhile since I've been able to play over at CASE Study. This week our muse Amy Sheffer gave us this card to CASE:

I was so intrigued with the layers of white that I thought I'd give this a try. Mine is not as elegant, but more playful, using this digital Patchwork Robin by Suze at DieCuts & Doodles, coloring it with my Memento markers. I followed Amy's example exactly.

supplies: white cardstock, Digital Image "Patchwork Robin" from DieCuts & Doodles, Memento markersSizzix embossing folder "Swirly Vines with Hearts", Nesties Labels 18, Hero Arts CL464 Sending Holiday Cheer, VersaFine onyx black ink, red pearls, rusty-red ribbon

Peppermint Twist

2011-12-09T08:00:00.005-05:00

The Ribbon Carousel Challenge has the cutest photo inspiration:

The design team has some mighty cute samples, and I was inspired to play along too!

supplies: white and red cardstock, Hero Arts S5213 Dots and Flowers, CL562 Snowflakes, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder, CL343 Holiday Sayings, Adirondack Cranberry ink, Die-namics Decorative Doily die, ribbons from the Ribbon Reel, dotted red button

Cream, gold and pink

2011-12-08T09:10:00.002-05:00

I came across this lovely color challenge at the Stampendous blog through Suzanne's blog. Though we're not required to use Stampendous stamps, I was surprised to see that this lovely His Name Tree stamp is made by Stampendous, dated 2001. I haven't used it in years and was so pleased to see how nicely it came out using these lovely colors. It's a fairly simple card because an extra sentiment isn't needed and the design even shows you where to place the gems! I simply stamped it in Versamark, embossed in Ranger's Super Fine Detail Gold powder, and then added lots of pink pearls and gems, and a bow made of seam binding dyed with spun sugar distress ink, centered with a brad from Suzanne.

Some happy news!

2011-12-07T08:45:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm so pleased to tell you that I'll be a guest designer at the Simon Says Stamp challenge blog all this month of December! Many thanks to Joy Taylor for recruiting me - I know we're going to have lots of fun! I hope you'll join me every Wednesday this month as I play along with the Design Team!

This week, Joy has provided a beautiful photo montage:

{images courtesy of Pinterest}

Beautiful, isn't it? My eye went right to the music and the many greens, so here is my take on it:

I used these Hero Arts stamps: Classic Holly, Music Background, and Sending Holiday Cheer, these Spellbinders Nestabilities dies: Classic Oval Large and Scalloped Oval Large. I also used old paper distress ink for the subtle music behind the holly branch, and I coated it with Glossy Accents to give it dimension. Here's a closer look:

I hope you'll join us this week at the Simon Says Stamp blog - there's a $50.00 gift certificate up for grabs from the Simon Says Stamp Superstore!

A pocket card for Christmas

2011-12-02T14:55:00.003-05:00

Shari Caroll has a wonderful technique video this month at the Hero Arts Blog, showing us how to make a pocket card, to present a gift card or cash. I couldn't wait to try it!

supplies: cream parchment, red and green cardstock, Hero Arts CG222 Music Background, Adirondack Cranberry ink, H5261 Three Flourishes, CL288 Scallop Borders, CG291 Three Dotted Flowers, VersaMark ink and Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder, pine sprig punch, jingle bell, red metallic ribbon

Here is a closer look, to show the flowers a bit better:

Inspired by Fashion

2011-11-30T13:00:00.023-05:00

Moxie Fab World has a challenge tied into its newest publication "Get Inspired Card Creations". Here's the photo inspiration:

Love this shade of green and there is just something about houndstooth. Since one of my favorite stamps is this pattern, I couldn't wait to have a stab at this challenge:

supplies: cream and pale green cardstock, Hero Arts K5157 Houndstooth, VersaMagic Tea Leaves ink, AR137 Script Messages, VersaFine Olympia Green, Papertrey Ink Beautiful Blooms II flower dies, Spare Parts pearl brad (thanks, Sue)

Pastel snowflake wreath

2011-11-30T08:00:00.001-05:00

supplies: white, aqua, lime, pink, red cardstock, EK Success snowflake punch, pastel gems, Hero Arts LP169 Bird Trio, VersaFine onyx black ink, CL558 Snowflake Ornaments, broken china distress ink, teal silk ribbon

Here's a card for another anniversary challenge at Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom, this one a color challenge by Julie Ebersole, using these colors:

Julie's sample used snowflakes, too, and evidently they influenced my thought process.

Christmas Robin

2011-11-28T15:31:00.002-05:00

At Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom, Julia Stainton has given us a cute sketch for their 5th Anniversary Celebration. Here's my take on it:

supplies: red and green Core'dinations and parchment cardstock, design papers from The Paper Studio (music) and graphic 45's "Christmas Past Collection", Penny Black 30-058 Jolly Friends, and Hero Arts CL460 Joy to All, Versafine onyx black ink, Prisma colored pencils, glue pen and prisma glitter, red button, natural twine, punched leaves, Nesties Labels one dies, fired brick distress ink

Here's the sketch:

Buttons!!

2011-11-25T08:00:00.024-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm back today to share a project for this week's Lily Pad Cards challenge, sponsored by Simon Says Stamp! This time we are to use buttons. I've always wanted to do one of these button-filled hearts, and here was my chance! Here is my card.

supplies: red and white cardstock, various red and white buttons, pearls, red and white baker's twine, Hero Arts CL163 Always Hearts, Adirondack Cranberry ink, Spellbinders Nestabilities Scallop Heart dies

Please visit Lily Pad Cards to see what the other DTs did this week, and then link up your creation for a chance at a gift certificate from Simon Says Stamp!

Skipping Stones Designs sketch challenge

2011-11-22T13:48:00.002-05:00

supplies: white and dark aqua cardstock, Hero Arts CG377 Merriest Christmas Wishes, Our Daily Bread Designs "Peace & Joy" (snowflake), Brilliance Peacock tri-color ink, tiny buttons, Jillibean Soup twine

I found the most darling sketch this morning at the Skipping Stones Designs blog!

You must go see what the design team did with it - so many wonderful adaptations! I thought I was done making cards until after Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't resist this one. And I know I'll use it many more times in the future; I've already saved it in my sketch file. It's one by Chan Vuong. Thanks, Chan!

From the Heart

2011-11-20T11:13:00.000-05:00

supplies: white cardstock, Echo Park Country Drive and BoBunny Avocado Dot dps, Hero Arts CL406 SparkleClear Buttons, CL163 Always Hearts

Just sharing a reject I recently submitted to a magazine, to fit their sketch. I've done a similar card, but with solid papers, and I loved this little floral from Echo Park!

I'll be missing here for awhile, as we celebrate Thanksgiving with our family this week. I've been busy with a big project that I can't share yet, but it's finished now, so I hope to get back into challenges and such next week. Have a wonderful holiday, my US friends!

A Lily Pad Sketch Challenge

2011-11-18T08:00:00.027-05:00

It's time again for another of Lily Pad Cards' sketch challenges. The Design Team got to play with some new Craft's Meow stamps! Here's my card, using the Santa's Little Helper set:

supplies: Hero Arts layering papers from Foliage and Blush collections, October Afternoon "Trim the Tree" dp, (background), and The Paper Studio (gifts), The Craft's Meow "Santa's Little Helper" clear set, red colored pencil, red pearls, black buttons and red baker's twine

Here's the sketch:

Please visit Lily Pad Cards to see what the other design team members did, and then link up your creation using this sketch to win a fabulous prize from The Craft's Meow!

A Pastel Christmas

2011-11-16T13:00:00.001-05:00

supplies: Carnation, Pool, and Grass Hero Hues Layering papers, white, lime, and kraft cardstock, Hero Arts CL459 Merry Christmas Trees, CG119 Flourish Background, CL357 Holiday Dolls (snowflake), soft blossom ink, versamark ink and white embossing powder, glue pen and prisma glitter, clear gems, pink baker's twine

I made this for 2 challenges, the color challenge at Hero Arts

and the color challenge at The Shabby Tea Room:

Happy 50th Birthday to Virginia!

2011-11-15T16:16:00.001-05:00

My sweet friend Virginia Lu is turning 50 on December 9! Here's the card I made for her:

supplies: white and aqua cardstock and vellum, Hero Arts H5426 Artist Butterfly, versamark ink and gold embossing powder, CL491 Made with Love (little butterfly), distress inks and Hero Huesinks, CL380 Truly Appreciated (sentiment), VersaFine Deep Lagoon ink, gold pearls

I wanted to make something bright and cheery and happy, as that is what my friend is, always optimistic, always ready to give a helping hand or say a kind word to encourage us. So, Virginia, there are 50 tiny little butterflies in the background, and the big one is embossed in gold, for your special 50th one. And of course I send you lots more than 50 hugs!

Virginia and I became friends through the Hero Arts flickr group, and cemented our friendship when we were Hero Hostesses together in 2009. Since then, we've shared our sorrows and joys and even had a whole day together last February when we were both in Florida. What fun to finally meet my friend and her beautiful family! I hope it's just the first of many times that we will be together.

If you'd like to send Virginia some well wishes, you can post your card, too, at her blog here. If for some reason you live on another planet and don't know Virginia, I encourage you to visit her blog and get to know her. She is talented in so many ways, a great cook, a wonderful Mom, as well as a talented card maker. Be sure to congratulate her, as she's just had her first card published!!

Sending BIG HUGS, little sis!

CR84FN

2011-11-14T08:00:00.018-05:00

supplies: Hero Arts Carnation Layering Paper, white cardstock, Hero Arts CL526 To/From Petals, CL491 Made with Love, VersaFine onyx black ink and clear embossing powder, K5175 Houndstooth, Soft Blossom ink, Die-namics Decorative Doily Duo, Prima rosebud

This card was made for the current CR84FN challenge, using the graphic and colors below. Thanks so much for stopping!

....and a splash of Orange

2011-11-12T19:05:00.000-05:00

My favorite challenges at The Play Date Cafe have become the "splash" ones! This week we're to use black and white and a splash of orange. Here's my card:

supplies: white cardstock, Hero Arts CG246 Classic Fabric Design, versamark ink and white embossing powder, CL511 Sweet Threads Thank You, CL435 So Artsy (sentiment), Memory BoxG1781 Index Card, Versafine onyx black ink, spiced marmalade distress ink and orange colored pencil, orange ribbon

Here's our photo inspiration:

Trinh's 90-minute scramble

2011-11-12T16:50:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't been around this week; have been working on a couple projects that can't be shared yet. But I did take some time this afternoon to play in a Hero Arts flickr challenge: the 90-minute scramble. The hostess Trinh gave us the criterion, to make a non-holiday card using holiday stamps or to use a stamp in an unexpected way. I chose the first option and used this heart snowflake ornament to make a line of hanging hearts.

supplies: kraft card, Hero Hues pool layering papers, all 3 shades, Hero Hues Latte ink and versafine onyx black ink, Hero Arts stamps CL558 Snowflake Ornaments, CL456 Big Hugs, twine

If you'd like to see some fun examples of thinking outside the box, please see the thread here - I promise lots of inspiration!

CASE Study #64

2011-11-06T18:38:00.005-05:00

We have a new muse for this month at CASE Study - Kryssi Ng! We are in for a treat this month, starting with her first card:

Isn't it unique? Love her use of the popped die-cut negative! Here's my take:

supplies: white and aqua cardstock, Pure Innocence digital image, colored pencils, glue pen and Hero Arts Prisma glitter, Darice snowflakes embossing folder, Hero Arts CL343 Holiday Sayings, versafine onyx black ink, EK Success snowflake punch, aqua gem

Guest Designer at Our Creative Corner!

2011-11-05T05:00:00.003-04:00

Good morning! Today I'm excited to tell you that I'm a Guest Designer over at Our Creative Corner! Their fun challenge this week is to make a masculine card, but to use non-masculine colors! A challenge, indeed; I always have trouble coming up with manly cards, but one of the things I usually fall back on is to use neutrals, greens, blues, colors that usually appeal to most men......when I asked my DH for the colors he considered the most unmanly, he said "pink and purple". I didn't think I could get away with pastels, so I darkened the hues. Here's my card:

supplies: kraft and brown cardstock, mauve and dark pink Core'dinations, unknown purple (thanks Mary Anne), chipboard figure from Wendi Vecchi Art Parts, Hero Arts S5208 Designer Woodgrain, K5175 Houndstooth, CL479 Dictionary Greetings, CL139 Birthday Messages, Penny Black 40-048 Paisley Outline, Anita's Teddy Bear ink, natural crochet thread, bright pink and brown buttons, nested

After choosing these non-masculine colors, I set about bringing the masculinity back in with the stamped patterns: a woodgrain, text, houndstooth, and subtle paisley. Thank you, Our Creative Corner, for this opportunity to play with you - I enjoyed the challenge! Please visit there to see what the other DT members did this week.

Lily Pad Cards Color Challenge

2011-11-04T08:00:00.041-04:00

Welcome to another color challenge at Lily Pad Cards! This week the DT got to play with some adorable digital stamps from Clear Dollar Stamps! Wait until you see what my other teamies did!

I chose this adorable set called "I Love You BeeCause" - I couldn't resist the heart and flowers, and aren't those bees adorable? And there are lots of sentiments that are included! Using Kathy's colors above, here's what I made for you:

supplies: rust card, Clear Stamps digital stamps, markers to color and tumbled glass distress ink to shade heart, digital paper (plaid from Jen Allyson at Design House Digital), dps from BoBunny and DCWV

These digital stamps and papers were really easy and FUN to work with! I hope you'll go over to the Clear Stamps site and take a look at them!

Texture challenge

2011-10-28T08:00:00.008-04:00

This week at Lily Pad Cards, our challenge is to use texture on our creations. I just received this gorgeous peachy lace from Sue and thought it would be a good starting point, and everything else was built around it. To add a little more texture I used an embossing folder and some ink to create this background using the faux letterpress technique. Basically you ink the flattest side of the embossing folder before you emboss it, and the ink transfers to the background, while the design get pushed up. Just an eensy bit of stamping today, for the sentiment on the tiny tag.

supplies: white cardstock, cuttlebug Victoria embossing folder and tattered rose distress ink, Webster's Pages "Hollywood" Designer Trim, PTI flower die, peachy pink cardstock, decorative brad from Basic Grey "Sweet Threads", PTI tiny tags die and sentiment, Hero Hues latte chalk ink, Hero Arts CH173 Hearts Accent Pearls

Please visit Lily Pad Cards to see what the rest of the DT did this week, and then make a card with texture to win a gift certificate from Simon Says Stamp!

More faux letterpress

2011-10-23T08:00:00.021-04:00

At CASE Study, our muse, Niki Estes has given us another lovely card to case. Here's my submission this week, using faux letterpress again - this could be addictive!

supplies: white and green cardstock, white watercolor paper for faux letterpress, Sizzix embossing folder and worn lipstick distress ink, Verve Bloom & Grow flower, Stampers Anonymous leaf sprig, peeled paint distress ink, Hero Arts CL491 Made with Love, VersaFine onyx black ink, K&Company Adhesive Gems, faux stitching with fine-tip black marker

Here's Niki's card:

Happy Birthday, Play Date Cafe!

2011-10-22T12:19:00.003-04:00

The Play Date Cafe is celebrating its 2nd anniversary this week using the colors at the bottom of this post. I thought I'd try something a little different, using cloth for my flower (with some batting and stitching to make it really dimensional) and leaves and faux letterpress for the background. This also qualifies for the Moxie Fab World's Texture challenge.

supplies: white and green cardstock and watercolor paper for faux letterpress, mauve, yellow gingham and mottled green cotton, thin cotton batting, needle and thread, ribbon rose, Hero Arts S5485 Many Petals, CG256 Three Leaves, CL494 Hip Hip Hooray!, Versafine onyx black ink, colored pencils, Sizzix flower embossing folder and scattered straw distress ink, pink gems

A Lily Pad Cards Sketch Challenge

2011-10-21T08:00:00.029-04:00

Hi! This week over at Lily Pad Cards, our challenge is to use this sketch:

The Design Team is playing with some Nina B. stamps; my set is called Simply Delightful. I decided to use the beautiful lacy medallion, and I followed the sketch exactly. Here's my card:

supplies: red and cream cardstock, The Craft's Meow Nina B. Simply Delightful set, Adirondack Cranberry ink, clear embossing powder, Hobby Lobby lace, EKSuccess corner rounder, red gems

Please visit Lily Pad Cards to see some other ideas for this challenge, and then I hope you play along, too!

My Mind's Eye Fall sketch

2011-10-17T17:08:00.002-04:00

I've become a real fan of My Mind's Eye design papers. Until recently I didn't have access to them, but Archiver's is carrying them now, and I make a bee-line to that area every time I can get there. At the My Mind's Eye Blog, there's a challenge and the winner gets to choose the collection of her choice! What could be better?! Here is the sketch:

And here is my very loose interpretation of it, using all papers from their Stella & Rose "Mabel" pad - I just couldn't choose which ones to use, so I used most of the autumnal colors from it:

supplies: cream card base, dps from Mabel 6 x 6 pad, PSX stamp #G-3322 (from 2002), inked with spiced marmalade, fired brick, tea dye and vintage photo distress inks and detailed with markers, hand-dyed seam binding (spiced marmalade), twine, large orange and small brown buttons, lace

And since there's a nice selection of ribbon, lace, and twine here, I'd also like to enter this into Really Reasonable Ribbon's Fun 4 Fall challenge.

Sweets and Smiles

2011-10-17T13:37:00.003-04:00

I recently ordered these Halloween digital postcards from Janet's Etsy Shop, and this is my first time playing with them. The challenge at Really Reasonable Ribbon is called Fun 4 Fall - my project includes some leaf ribbon and twine, along with lots of little scraps of papers that I thought picked up the colors in the postcard:

supplies: Vintage PostCard, scraps of orange and green dps, Hero Arts CL353 Happy Halloween, VersaFine onyx black ink, green leaf ribbon, 2 buttons, twine

A card using fabric

2011-10-17T09:29:00.000-04:00

We were challenged at CASE Study to CASE Niki Estes card, and to incorporate fabric. If there's one thing I'm rich in, it's fabric.......as a former quilter, I was the queen of the quarter yards! So when I began to think about CASEing Niki's card, I thought of snowflakes; sure enough, I had 2 samples to choose from:

supplies: white card stock, scrap of snowflake cotton fabric, 3 different punched and die-cut snowflakes, Our Daily Bread "Peace & Joy" sentiment, Versafine Lagoon Blue ink, sewing machine and white thread, pop-up adhesives

Here's Niki's card:

I'll also be entering this into the Moxie Fab World's texture challenge.

Holiday Cards

2011-10-16T19:09:00.002-04:00

I wanted to make another card for the Wee Memories Holiday Card challenge, this time a Christmas one. I started with the Lawn Fawn Bannerific set (got it just for those cute little birds!), and then started digging around in my Christmas stamps to find something that it would work with. The sentiment from Hero Arts fits nicely into the banner. This holly wreath is from 1997; I got it second hand; it's from a company called StampCity USA, from Oshkosh, WI! Here was my first try pairing up these stamps:

I had so much fun putting it together that I thought I'd try it again, but adding in more stamps. This version adds the music from Skipping Stones Designs "Heartsong", and the banner is overstamped with a Sugarloaf damask stamp. I added some Stickles to the berries on this one and sponged around the edges of the panel with tea dye distress ink:

supplies for both cards: kraft, cranberry and green cardstock, Lawn Fawn Bannerific banner and birds, Hero Arts CL464 Sending Holiday cheer (sentiment), StampCityUSA #JZ034-M (wreath), Memento markers to color, Skipping Stones Design "Heartsong " (music), Adirondack Cranberry ink, Sugarloaf damask stamp from Pat Catan's, Christmas Red Stickles, tea dye distress ink

Which one do you prefer?

Trick or Treat!

2011-10-16T12:51:00.004-04:00

The challenge over at Wee Memories is to create anything with a Holiday theme:

Here's my card:

supplies: white, orange, purple and black cardstock, unknown dp, Sweet November Stamps "Baby Tricks or Treats - Hero", Hero Arts CL353 Happy Halloween, versafine onyx black ink, colored pencils for hair and skin, JoAnn chartreuse ribbon, doodlebug designs spooky town brad

Donna sent me these stamps - was it a year ago?? They are from a company called Sweet November. I don't usually make Halloween cards, but having grandchildren changes things........I think Liam is dressing up as some sort of caped somebody, so this will go to him.

A Halloween Scrapling

2011-10-15T19:54:00.000-04:00

I wanted to join in the CAS-ual Fridays challenge this week, to make a Halloween card that doesn't have any orange in it. I don't have many Halloween items, but I found a previously stamped image of witch's shoes, which I colored and then cut out. Since they were so tiny I thought I'd put them on a scrapling. What is a scrapling? It's what's left when you trim an A2 (5 1/2" X 4 1/4") card to a 4 1/4" square. What's left is 1 1/4" wide by 4 1/4" long, the perfect size for my motif!

supplies: white cardstock scrapling, cut out of unknown witch's shoes, colored with Prismacolor pencils, Hero Arts CL353 Happy Halloween, Hero Hues Grass chalk ink, Palette Iris and VersaFine onyx black inks, purple silk and JoAnn's skinny chartreuse ribbons, googly eyes

Another 90-minute scramble

2011-10-15T11:34:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted lately, so thought today I'd share the card I made this morning for the Hero Arts Flickr group's 90-minute scramble. Briefly, the hostess comes up with a challenge, and posts it, then we have 90 minutes to come up with a design, execute it, photograph, and upload it to the pool. Sue was our hostess this week, and her challenge was to "use the same Hero Arts stamps used on your last project in the Flickr Hero Arts group. The only stamps allowed on your project must match the stamps on your last posted project in the HA Flickr group."

So here was my last posted card there:

and here is what I did this morning, using the exact same stamps. Evidently I'm NOT a morning person, because the only thing I could think to do was to change up the colors a bit. I like the result, but I don't think I met the challenge to make a different card; better eat my breakfast FIRST next time, huh? I must add that the glittered kraft snowflake on the bow was an addition AFTER the 90-minute time had elapsed (it was originally a little red gem).

supplies: blue, kraft, and white cardstock, Hero Arts CG215 Wreath of Leaves, Colorbox Sky Blue and Hero Hues Latte inks, CL251 SparkleClear Birdhouse Tag, CL558 Snowflake Ornaments (sentiment), twine, blue ribbon, punched snowflake, glitter

the Name Game Challenge

2011-10-12T15:41:00.002-04:00

Over at the Flourishes blog, Suzanne Czosek has come up with a really fun idea for a challenge, to use your monogram, find something that represents each letter of it, and then use all of them on a card you create. Fun idea! I knew just what I wanted to do, using a new floral paper, and my latest Flourishes stamps from the set called Sweet Days of Summer. My letters are LIB, and I used lace, ink, and blossoms!

supplies: white and orchid card stock, design papers from Echo Park Country Drive, Jillibean Soup Blossom Soup mini pad, BoBunny Sweet Pear Dot, Flourishes "Sweet Days of Summer", versamark ink and white embossing powder, Hero Arts Little Inker in pink, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, lace from Carole

Red, brown, and kraft

2011-10-10T22:29:00.001-04:00

Here's my card for the current CR84FN challenge. You can't go wrong with these colors!

supplies: red and kraft cardstock, Frogswhiskers #J377 Bittersweet Wreath, Hero Arts CL361 A Season of Giving, Anita's Teddy Bear ink, Christmas Red Stickles, brown dotted grosgrain ribbon, red button, natural twine

Here's the lovely photo inspiration from CR84FN:

Happy Haunting!

2011-10-09T16:11:00.001-04:00

Here is my submission for this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge to use the colors shown below. I just received this adorable Lawn Fawn "Happy Haunting" clear set from my win at Simon Says Stamp, and I thought these colors would be fun to use it with; I spent a fun afternoon putting my little scene together.

A peachy note

2011-10-09T08:00:00.021-04:00

Niki Estes is this month's Muse at CASE Study, and here is her card for us to CASE this week:

I was drawn to the music and the lace and followed her sketch almost exactly, just bringing in my own colors and motifs:

supplies: white, green and kraft card stock, dp from Websters Pages, Hero Arts CG222 Music Background, PTI sentiment Friendship Jar Spring, VersaMagic Pink Grapefruit and Hero Hues Latte inks, Martha Stewart doily edge punch, May Arts ribbons, lace from Carole, Spellbinders die-cut bird from Yvonne, tiny pearl

A clean and simple Christmas card and an ammended announcement

2011-10-08T14:17:00.002-04:00

Before I get started, I wanted to say that I never heard from the winner of my Hero Arts clear stamps giveaway, so I did the random.org thing and the new winner is Paula (PEP). I've already been in touch with her, and will be sending out the set early next week. Congratulations, Paula!

Here is my first Christmas card of the season, one I may very well reproduce in many forms, just changing up the ink color and perhaps the sentiment, although this beautiful font seems a very good pairing with the lovely image....both are from my newest stamps from Hero Arts.

supplies: white cardstock, VersaFine Deep Lagoon ink, Hero Arts K5537 Winter Town, CL559 The Greatest Gift of All, rhinestone star

Textured to Perfection

2011-10-07T21:32:00.003-04:00

The challenge this month at Moxie Fab World is to incorporate texture. Coincidentally, while going through my closet this week I found this unframed cross-stitch project, and thought it might qualify for the challenge. I used to cross-stitch back in the 80's and 90's, until my eyesight and the cost of framing forced me to stop. I like the idea of recycling this little piece on a card:

supplies: gold card base, BoBunny slate dot and wild berry flourish double dot, Hero Arts CL397 SparkleClear Sew Original, tiny buttons

I simply stitched it onto a piece of cardstock to stabilize it, then sewed on some buttons and the simple sentiment, and framed it up with some coordinating colors.

Hello Sunshine

2011-10-07T08:00:00.009-04:00

This week the Design Team at Lily Pad Cards got to play with some Tiffany Doodles digital images. I chose the Warbler, and turned it the opposite way. Here's my card:

supplies: gold and dark green cardstock, K&Company dp, Cuttlebug Birds & Swirls embossing folder, Tiffany Doodles Warbler, Memento markers to color, Tim Holtz birdcage diecut, tiny gold buttons, the Craft's Meow "Baggin' Some Rays" for sentiment on punched tag from Judy, twine

The sentiment reads "Hello Sunshine". I hope you'll head on over to Lily Pad Cards to see what the rest of the Design Team made for your inspiration!

Another entry for Skipping Stones Designs

2011-10-05T15:53:00.002-04:00

Just playing again with my new set of Skipping Stones Designs stamps from Kryssi. These are wonderful, thick, quality stamps. Here is my entry to win some more of them! Love this sentiment!

supplies: white cardstock, BoBunny Flamingo Double Dot and My Mind's Eye Gertie dps, Skipping Stones Designs "Heartsong" clear stamp set, Memento Tuxedo black ink, antique linen, shabby shutters, worn lipstick and broken china distress inks, tiny buttons to match, heart charm from the Ribbon Girl, white twine

WCMD - Ellen's Holiday Card Challenge

2011-10-05T11:04:00.001-04:00

Here's my final submission for the World Card Making Day challenge over at Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom in the Holiday Card category, using a sketch from this month's Hero Arts challenge:

supplies: white and red cardstock, Hero Arts CG377 Merriest Christmas Wishes, VersaCraft Cerulean ink, CG118 Stripes Pattern, CG222 Music Background, barn door distress ink, punched snowflake, dotted button from the Ribbon Girl, white twine, small snowflake sequins, small clear rhinestones

Tuesday Trigger

2011-10-04T16:19:00.001-04:00

Oh YUMM, is this not a treat and a half?! I'm imagining it's peaches and raspberries, and ice cream. It's the Tuesday Trigger for this week; here's my interpretation, influenced by the rich colors:

supplies: kraft, deep red, and butternut card stock, shaded with lot of distress inks: tea dye, vintage photo and fired brick, Hero Arts CG292 Timely Bird, AR137 Script Messages, Anita's Teddy Bear ink, red gemstones, platinum pearls, natural twine

Sharon's Inchie Challenge at the CLASSroom

2011-10-04T08:00:00.003-04:00

Here is my 3rd entry for the wonderful candy at the CLASSroom, this time using Sharon's challenge. I loved her example to use an inchie to highlight a stamped image.

supplies: white, black, and pale green parchment card stock, pink marbled dp, Penney Black 4037K Mixed Media, black ink, pink and green Prismacolor pencils, PTI sentiment from Embellishment set, Hero Arts CG102 Antique Brocade, Skipping Stones Designs Heartsong, VersaMark ink, white embossing powder, bundled sage and spun sugar distress inks sponged on colored panels to bring out the white embossing, pink and green silk ribbons, scrapbook adhesives 3D foam squares to raise flower panel and inchie

This works for THREE Autumn challenges!

2011-10-03T17:09:00.003-04:00

This card was made for 3 challenges - CR85FN #39, to use orange, yellow, and brown, the Ribbon Reel challenge #12, to use orange, neutrals, and flowers and using the photo inspiration below (and coincidentally one of the same ones used by CR94FN), and The Shabby Tea Room #82, whose inspiration is also shown below.

supplies: white, kraft and brown card stock, an old scrap of a DCWV autumn pad (tablecloth) and various other scraps for pumpkins, Hero Arts H3129 Flower Cluster Sketch, Prismacolor pencils in yellows and oranges, F5270 Traditional Pumpkin, CL361 A Season of Giving (little punkins), CL119 Happy Thanksgiving, Memento Cocoa and Tuxedo Black inks, Hero Arts designer twine, tea dye distress ink

Here are the inspiration pictures:

for Joan's Gardens challenge

2011-10-03T14:29:00.002-04:00

The criteria at Joan's Gardens this week is to use something from nature, layers, glitter, and a border. Here is my submission; this fleur de lis die has always been a snowflake to me:

supplies: white and blue card stock, cuttlebug snowflakes embossing folder, Hero Arts CL234 Winter's Butterfly, faded jeans distress ink, Spellbinders Fleur De Lis die, Cheery Lynne butterfly die, Jelly Roll glue pen and Hero Arts prisma glitter, clear rhinestones

Color Challenge at Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom

2011-10-03T08:00:00.002-04:00

Here's another card for the World Card Making Day Challenge over at the CLASSroom, based on the colors given to us by Julie Ebersole:

supplies: aqua, yellow, and black cardstocks, dps from Basic Grey, DCWV Mariposa stack, and Jillibean Soup Blossom Soup, Die-namics doily, PTI flower die, Basic Grey brad, Hero Arts CL434 Just Find Me

Here's the color inspiration picture:

the CLASSroom WCMD sketch

2011-10-02T09:42:00.001-04:00

Over at Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom, there is a wonderful challenge going on with GREAT candy for the winner! Here is a sketch by Julia Stainton:

And here's my card for the challenge:

supplies: gold and light aqua cardstock, dps from FoBunny, The Paper Store and My Mind's Eye Hattie pad, Sizzix swiss dots embossing folder, Hero Arts CL498 Live Life, Cheery Lynn butterfly die, tiny gold button

World Card Making Day!

2011-10-01T16:17:00.006-04:00

It's rainy and dreary here, a perfect day to stay in and play at our craft! Hope you are able to do the same! I have several cards I want to make for some challenges, so I'll just add to this during the day.

Here is my first, made for the Hero Arts Blog challenge this weekend:

supplies: red and white cardstock, The Paper Studio "Classic Snowflakes Blue" dp, Hero Arts CL558 Snowflake Ornaments, versamark ink and white embossing powder, CL462 Magic of Christmas, Memento Tuxedo Black ink and clear embossing powder, K5242 Big Pine Bough, Memento Cottage Ivy ink, glue pen and glitter, red embroidery floss

And a tag for the 25th Scramble at Hero Arts Flickr, hosted by Arlene:

supplies: tag, Hero Arts E3375 Fall Memories, CL338 Be Yourself, CG152 Two Birds, S5507 Envelope Pattern, Anita's Teddy Bear brown ink, lots of distress inks

I started this next one this morning, but had to put it aside to do the Scramble above. It's for the Skipping Stones Design blog, using my new set of stamps that I received from Kryssi this week. It's the first inking - I just made a simple 1-layer card, starting with the acrylic block technique to make the background rectangle, defined a little more with a blue colored pencil to bring out the blue in the bird. Then I just added some heart buttons and a twine bow. I love all the elements in this musical set and I know I'll use the sentiments often!

supplies: blue and ivory parchment card stock, Skipping Stones Designs "Heartsong" stamps, antique linen, tea dye and vintage photo distress inks, Memento Rich Cocoa ink, blue prismacolor pencil

And the winner is.......

2011-10-01T09:42:00.003-04:00

Thanks to everyone who kindly commented on my post when I was a guest designer at Jill's blog last month. After taking out the comments for those who already have the Hero Arts Antique Engravings set, there were 48 comments. I used Random .org, and the winner is #35, Karen, who said on September 21: "Gorgeous card, Lin....I love your work!".

Karen, I can't find an email address for you, so please contact me within 7 days with your mailing address so I can send this stamp set out to you.

September Diva Dare

2011-10-01T09:33:00.001-04:00

At the Verve Stamps blog, this month our challenge is to CASE-a-Diva! I chose Betty Wright's gorgeous card (2nd one in her post) because she showcased the lovely leaf sprig from the Bloom & Grow set. That same leaf sprig was what influenced me to get the set. Here's my card:

supplies: ivory cardstock, Basic Grey dp, Nesties scalloped oval die, Cheery Lynn butterfly die, Verve VS-0144 Bloom & Grow set, stamped in peeled paint distress ink, my own dyed seam binding, Basic Grey brad, Hero Arts spring art flowers, pale pink pearls.

CASE Study #59

2011-10-01T08:00:00.003-04:00

Julie Lacey is our muse this month at CASE Study. Here is her lovely inspiration card:

I loved her blue and brown combination! Here's my version:

supplies: kraft, bugundy, and Core'dinations Perfect Plum card stocks, Hero Arts CG248 Large Solid Flower stamped in Versamark ink and clear embossed, AR130 Handwritten Sentiments stamped in Adirondack Cranberry ink, plum ribbon, bright pink rhinestones

Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger

2011-09-30T08:00:00.007-04:00

I just loved this photo inspiration for the Tuesday Trigger - these colors take me back to the 50's, and I'm so glad we had 2 weeks to play this time! I was drawn to the heart doily, the little bouquet of red flowers, the red and white gingham check, the tiny touches of aqua, and the buttons. Here is my submission to this challenge:

supplies: white cardstock, unknown green dotted paper, October Afternoon Modern Homemaker dp, white heart doily from Carol, red ribbon flowers (craft store), Hobby Lobby red gingham ribbon, Hero Arts AR130 Handwritten Sentiments, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, assorted buttons

I think this would make a cute Valentine card for a friend!

Play Date Cafe Challenge #101

2011-09-29T16:25:00.003-04:00

I was sorry to be away for the Play Date Cafe's 100th challenge, as it is one of my favorite ones, but I'm glad to be back in the swing of things and playing again for their 101st one! Here is this week's photo inspiration - the colors are in the lower left-hand corner:

Here's my card using these colors and the feel of the inspiration photo. I'm also adding this to the Simon Says Stamp Challenge "Anything Goes", as these Tim Holtz stamps came from my win there last month:

supplies: parchment, brown, wine, and charcoal card stocks, Tim Holtz Papillon stamp set, Archiver's Vintage Sepia and Memento Tuxedo black inks, clear embossing powder, rusty silk ribbon, and a copper buckle (Spellbinders?)

I was drawn to the splashes of copper in the inspiration, and I was lucky enough to find this copper foil buckle, given to me by my friend Yvonne, in my scrapbasket. The Play Date calls the brown they chose "leather" and the brown cardstock I used for the card base actually has a leather texture to it! I think I'll be sending this to a male friend who has a birthday next month.

Fall Memories

2011-09-28T12:54:00.005-04:00

Another card for the Everything Autumn challenge at the Hero Arts Blog, influenced by Leni's use of this wonderful Fall Memories stamp and by Jacqueline's background technique.

supplies: watercolor paper, cream parchment for frame, kraft notecard, various design papers, Hero Arts CG122 Leaf Background, E3375 Fall Memories (from LL007 Seasonal Memories set), G5269 Tall Pumpkin, F5270 Traditional Pumpkin, Anita's Teddy Bear ink from Carol, distress inks: mustard seed, wild honey, and barn door, thin olive grosgrain from Sue

Country Pumpkins

2011-09-28T10:25:00.003-04:00

Another card for this month's Hero Arts "Everything Autumn" challenge, using my favorite pumpkins stamped on various printed papers.

supplies: blue card base, stamped with CG119 Flourish Background in broken china distress ink, various design papers (BoBunny, Dollar Tree), G5269 Tall Pumpkin, F5270 Traditional Pumpkin, leaves from CL361 A Season of Giving, sentiment from CL137 Small Variety Alphabet, Cheery Lynn fence die (thanks, Yvonne!), raffia for bows, bird from Crafty Secrets Bird Notes SM01

Autumn Leaves

2011-09-27T15:30:00.005-04:00

I love Autumn! It's my favorite season of all. Hero Arts has a monthly challenge and for September it's "Everything Autumn". Since I missed most of this month, I wanted to make it a priority to make some cards for that challenge before the deadline, which is this Thursday.

To me, a huge part of this season is the changing leaves. I love all the colors we see here in NE Ohio from the maples. That's something I didn't see at all while we were out West, so I'm fortunate to live in an area that has this magnificent seasonal display.

We also have based in this area a wonderful drum and bugle corps called the Bluecoats, which started as an outgrowth of a police boys club in 1972 for musicians between the ages of 15 and 22. They have consistently been one of the top 12 corps internationally since 1987. We try to go to at least one of their performances each year, and I encourage anyone who wants to see people getting excited about music to do the same. Their theme song is Autumn Leaves; here is a You-Tube recording of it. (the people at the end are NOT yelling Boo, but "BLUE") that gives me chills.

So, putting these 2 loves of mine together, I printed out the words to Autumn Leaves as my background, and then stamped over them. Here are the 2 cards that resulted:

Supplies: cream parchment and rust card stock, digital-printed background, Hero Arts CL361 A Season of Giving (leaves) stamped in various distress inks, CG 211 Magical Background, stamped in old paper distress ink, CL497 Find Joy (sentiment) stamped in Anita's Teddy Bear ink, Hero Arts Craft Twine, rust button

Supplies: 2 shades of parchment cardstock, kraft cardstock, digital-printed background and sentiment, Hero Arts CG228 Maple Leaf inked with distress inks spritzed with water

Honey, I'm home!

2011-09-27T09:26:00.000-04:00

Good morning, all. We are home from our almost month-long vacation - it is so good to be back! Thank you all for hanging with my few posts while I was away. We started with a visit to our sweet little grandchildren, and then went to some of the National Parks - Rocky Mountains, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and on the way home, Mount Rushmore. We drove over 2 mountain passes that had me white-knuckled (1 of them while it was snowing!), but the views were breathtaking. I adore the mountains, the smell of pine, the clear rushing streams - we have a beautiful country!

As always, it takes me a week or so to get my mojo up and running, so in the meantime, I'll share a reject from the latest PaperCrafts magazine call that kind of showcases some of the beauty we saw on our travels.

white, dark green, and cream cardstock, Hero Arts K5524 Winter Scene, CL371 Essential Messages, Versafine Olympia Green ink, clear embossing powder, shabby shutters, peeled paint, mustard seed, orange marmalade, worn lipstick, dusty concord, and chipped sapphire distress inks, Prismacolor dark green pencil, Spellbinders Nestabilities labels eight die

This uses a Christmas stamp for the main image, but it also translates nicely for any season. Thanks so much for visiting!

Bling!

2011-09-23T07:00:00.056-04:00

Good morning! Welcome to another Lily Pad Cards challenge, sponsored by Simon Says Stamp! This month we're challenging you to use bling on your creations. Here's my card.

supplies: white card stock, BoBunny Frost Dot and Buttercup Dot, Hero Arts H5426 Artists Butterfly, CL106 Fantastic Flourishes, CL497 Find Joy, Versafine onyx black and deep lagoon inks, gold and blue gemstones from Hero Arts and Kaiser, gelly roll quickie glue pen and a la mode turquoise sprinkle glitter, black wire for antennae, foam adhesive

I don't ever use this many gemstones on a card, this was kind of painful for me, and I'm now bankrupt in these 2 gem colors! The Artists Butterfly was stamped twice on gold and turquoise paper, then cut out and paper-pieced back together. I thought this flourish from one of Hero Arts first clear sets was perfect for its trail, and the sentiment fit well, too. I added some turquoise glitter to "sparkle" as a final touch.

Please visit Lily Pad Cards to see what the other DT members did!

And if you're interested in winning a Hero Arts clear set I'm giving away, just scroll down 1 post and leave me a comment there.

I've taken over Jill's blog today!!

2011-09-20T08:00:00.009-04:00

Hi there! I'm so excited to tell you that I'm a guest blogger over at Inspired By, Jill Foster's blog!

Jill has invited several of us to be inspired by one of her cards (which is poetic justice, isn't it, as that is what she's been doing with us forever?) all this week, so be sure to visit there every day. I am so honored that she thought of me! Here's what I came up with:

supplies: white cardstock, K&Company Brenda Walton "Flora & Fauna Ledger Pad", BoBunny Powder Blue Flourish and Rust Dot design papers, stormy sky, weathered wood, tea dye and vintage photo distress inks, Hero Arts K5376 Hydrangea, CG222 Music Background, CG246 Classic Fabric Design, CL173 SparkleClear Simple Messages, versafine onyx black and Memories ArtPrint Brown inks, markers to color flower and leaves, black wire for antennae

It's a CASE of one of her cards that she made in July. I'd love it if you'd visit her blog here today to see the card that inspired mine.

To celebrate, I'm giving away a set of the Hero Arts clear stamps CL383 Antique Engravings, where the butterfly above came from:

Please leave a comment here on my blog if you'd like a chance at winning it. One comment per person, please, through Sept. 30. I'll pick a random winner on or about October 1, and announce it here. It's open to all, no restrictions.

Christmas cards using Hero Arts stamps

2011-09-16T07:00:00.034-04:00

It's another sketch challenge at Lily Pad Cards! And this week we got to play with some hot-off-the-presses Hero Arts Christmas stamps! They generously sent all of the DT members a wonderful selection of their stamps, and we've been having a ball with them! Here's the sketch we were to work with:

And here's my first card, using 2 of the sets I was sent:

supplies: white, and 3 shades of slate Core'dinations card stocks, Hero Arts K5524 Winter Scene, CL558 Snowflake Ornaments (sentiment), versafine onyx black ink, clear embossing powder, Sizzix swiss dots embossing folder

This lovely Winter Scene fit in perfectly with the sketch! I just used 3 shades of slate Core'dinations cardstock and stamped the scene 4 times, then cut it apart and pieced it back together again. To simulate gently falling snow, I then ran the panel through a swiss dots embossing folder and then attached it to a white card base. The sentiment is from another new set, Snowflake Ornaments.

This card uses a new cling set that I could NOT wait to ink up - it made me smile the first time I saw it! It's called Merriest Christmas Wishes.

supplies: red and white card stock, Hero Arts CG377 Merriest Christmas Wishes, VersaCraft Cerulean Blue ink, barn door distress ink, clear embossing powder, Hobby Lobby red gingham ribbon, punched snowflakes

This one had the sketch built right in, so all I had to do was stamp it and put it together. This set has 4 different sentiments and 3 separate words included with it, but I thought the Joy sentiment was perfect. I achieved my circle element by putting 2 punched snowflakes together, just offsetting one of them

Please visit Lily Pad Cards to see all the wonderful creations made by the rest of the design team!

A gift from Nat

2011-09-13T08:00:00.030-04:00

Awhile back I was a random winner in a Hero Arts scramble contest. We have these periodically at the HA flickr group, and the idea is to be challenged by our hostess, come up with a design using the challenge criteria, make a card, photograph it, and post it to our flickr group, all in 90 minutes! Nat was our hostess, and she sent me this wonderful silhouette stamp called "In the Garden" as part of my prize from her. I thought it would be pretty inked in autumnal tones, so here is a card that I made for the monthly Hero Arts contest: Everything Autumn:

supplies: cream parchment, orange, and rust card stocks, Hero Arts K5353 In the Garden, inked in Inkadinkado Rainbow Harvest ink, CL361 Season of Giving (sentiment and pumpkins), Anita's Teddy Bear ink

Thank you, Nat, I love this stamp!

The next scramble is scheduled for Sept. 17, hosted by Latrice, if you'd like to join us next time. Here's the schedule; scroll all the way down to the bottom for the latest. And here's the schedule from October into the New Year.

Some digital hybrid cards

2011-09-09T06:00:00.045-04:00

We're taking a break from challenges today at Lily Pad Cards, so I thought I'd substitute some recent cards I made for Hero Arts September challenge: Everything Autumn. They both use a digital image from Hero Arts called "Basic Tree" (which can be found here), and I love using it especially at this time of year because I can color in all the leaves in different colors! Here are 2 cards, 1 pretty simple, and the other with more layers:

supplies: cream parchment, orange, and pumpkin card stocks, digital "Basic Tree", Hero Arts CL361 A Season of Giving (sentiment), CG119 Flourish Background, Adirondack Sunset Orange and Anita's Teddy Bear inks, Prismacolor pencils, buttons, twine, label shape, hand-cut, brown marker for faux stitching

supplies: burnt orange, kraft, pale orange, cream parchment and beige card stocks, Basic Tree digital image, prismacolor pencils, Hero Arts S5101 Raindrop Background, brown ink, K5175 Houndstooth, Adirondack Sunset Orange ink, CL119 Happy Thanksgiving (sentiment and upper leaf strip), Anita's Teddy Bear ink and Hero Hues Punch chalk ink, CL361 A Season of Giving, various autumnal inks, Martha Stewart picket fence punch, orange fiber from Kath

I think that orange fiber looks like pumpkins against the fence!

A Monochromatic Card

2011-09-05T14:41:00.001-04:00

The challenge at The Pretty Little Ribbon blog is to make a monochromatic item, using ribbon, of course. Here's my entry, using one of my favorite colors, this lavender/blue/periwinkle:

supplies: periwinkle and white card stock, Hero Arts stamps CG271 Large Blossom, versamark ink and white embossing powder, S5264 Antique Flower Background, Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags dies and stamps, Brilliance pearlescent lavender ink, Martha Stewart small monarch butterfly punch, periwinkle seam binding

Entering this also into Simon Says Stamp and Show's Anything Goes challenge.

The Craft's Meow September sketch

2011-09-05T08:00:00.016-04:00

The Craft's Meow has started a monthly sketch challenge. Here is the sketch:

I won "Little Frieda at the Seashore" recently at Simply Scrapping Crafts, so now I have another set in my arsenal! Here she is, worked into the sketch, using papers from My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose Gertie collection:

I struggled with the elements that are flowers in the sketch - flowers didn't work, butterflies didn't work, didn't have the right color buttons, and then I remembered finding these old wooden stars last week when I was cleaning out a closet! They seem to fit with her little nautical outfit, and one of the paper panels even has a star-like motif. Did you know that distress inks will ink wood very nicely? Learn something new every day!

Many Blessings

2011-09-03T12:03:00.001-04:00

This card was made for 2 challenges, the Hero Arts September contest "Everything Autumn" and the challenge at Our Creative Corner, to stamp on patterned papers. Here I used a Hero Arts stamp called Three Winter Trees, and by stamping it on autumnal papers, I made them into autumn trees. I also used a variey of patterned green papers for the rolling hills.

supplies: various autumn and green printed papers, kraft card stock, Hero Arts S5215 Clouds, broken china distress ink, K5255 Three Winter Trees, Anita's Teddy Bear ink, CL119 Happy Thanksgiving (sentiment), Martha Stewart picket fence border punch, Nestabilities scalloped circles die, Pixie Press leaf charm, twine

Inspired by a Book

2011-09-02T16:39:00.001-04:00

There's a really fun challenge this week at CAS-ual Fridays: to make a red, white and black card inspired by a book!

I was working with this silhouette stamp earlier today and as I was putting it away, it occurred to me that it could represent Colin and Mary in The Secret Garden, a children's book about 2 lonely children who became friends while bringing a garden back to life. Still one of my favorite books.......Here's my card:

supplies: white cardstock, excerpt from "A Secret Garden", K5353 In the Garden, Adirondack Cranberry ink, CL434 Just Find Me, versafine onyx black ink, red satin ribbon

Given the choice, I would NOT have chosen red for this card, as my sensitivities envisioned their garden to be all pastels :)). But the challenge says red, and red it is! Years ago Lucy shared a document that she had put together with an excerpt from The Secret Garden; that is my background. I just stamped right over it, trimmed it out, and framed it with a thin black frame.

I'm entering this also into Simon Says Stamp and Show's Anything Goes Challenge, and because of that beautiful red ribbon, I'm also entering this into the Fashionable Stamping Challenge.

the little things featuring "A Day for Daisies" digital stamp

2011-09-02T07:00:00.041-04:00

Can you believe another month has gone by and it's time again for the challenge at Lily Pad Cards that uses Kathy's latest color palette? Here it is:

The Design Team got to choose a digital stamp from a wonderful site called "A Day for Daisies". This one is called Morning Dew Fairy.

supplies: white card stock, vellum, A Day for Daisies digital image, green cardstock and BoBunny flamingo dot for framing, Prismacolor pencils and Memento markers, Hero Arts CL497 Find Joy, versafine onyx black ink, clear gemstones

The image was printed once on smooth white paper, and twice more on vellum, clear embossing as soon as it came out of the printer, as my printer ink never dries on vellum. I colored the paper image using Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits to blend, and colored the vellum image on the reverse with Memento markers highlighted with colored pencils. Then I put the vellum image over the paper one and secured it to the back. This gives a kind of stained glass look. I cut just the wing out of the 2nd vellum image to give a little more dimension and added clear gemstones where the dew drops were drawn.

Please visit Lily Pad Cards to see more of these lovely digital images brought to life by the Design Team!

Play Date Cafe Splash Challenge

2011-09-01T19:47:00.002-04:00

These splash challenges (black and white with a splash of ____) have become some of my favorite ones at the Play Date Cafe. This week we are to use a splash of red, and I knew just what I wanted to do. What's black and white and read all over? Text and music:

supplies: white, red and black card stock, music paper found at a flea market, PTI Beautiful Blooms II #! flower dies, Hero Arts CG125 Friend Definition, CL371 Essential Messages, versafine onyx black ink, CG102 Antique Brocade, Adirondack cranberry ink, red heart button, white twine

I've done a similar design several times before, and this is a mix of both of them. Here's the photo inspiration:

And since the challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show is Anything Goes, I'll enter it there also.

Sending Some Sunshine

2011-08-31T08:15:00.001-04:00

That's what our challenge is this month for the August Diva Dare at the Verve Stamps blog: to make a card that is encouraging and cheerful and actually send it out. Here's my entry, and it will be sent out to my chemo patient on Monday:

supplies: white card stock, green gingham from Cosmo Cricket "Material Girl" mini deck, Verve "Bloom and Grow" and "Believe" sets, worn lipstick, spiced marmalade and mustard seed distress inks, Hero Hues grass chalk ink, versafine onyx black ink, various pink, gold and green pearls

I used my 2 Verve sets Bloom & Grow and Believe.

I'm also entering this into the Simon Says Stamp & Show "Anything Goes" challenge - there's a huge prize!!

Kindred Spirits

2011-08-29T18:06:00.002-04:00

Here's a card that will fit 3 challenges, using a brand new stamp set from Flourishes that I won over at Stacy's blog recently - I adore this sweet silhouette and the sentiment is my favorite of all of them in the set - those 2 words make me remember Anne of Green Gables, one of my favorite books. I don't believe I read it until I was a young adult, and it still holds a special place in my heart. I'm sure lots of you feel the same way about it!

supplies: cream parchment card base, design papers from October Afternoon, Flourishes "Sweet Days of Summer", versamark ink and white embossing powder, stamped on a piece of polished stone paper, VersaFine Deep Lagoon ink, PTI Beautiful Blooms II #1 dies, Making Memories Velvet brad, seam binding dyed with broken china distress ink

Here are the photo inspirations from CR84FN and the Shabby Tea Room. My birthstone is the aquamarine.

And at a new (to me) challenge blog called Fashionable Stamping Challenges, we are to use ribbon or lace. Hand-dyed seam binding is what I used on this card.

More hearts?

2011-08-29T07:00:00.016-04:00

I wanted to try the Moxie Fab World's square sketch again. Here it is:

And my card:

supplies: white card stock, Hero Arts CG216 Wreath of Leaves, Hero Hues Grass chalk ink, CL435 So Artsy (sentiment), VersaFine onyx black ink, seam binding dyed with worn lipstick distress ink, punched hearts, (EKSuccess), pink embroidery floss

Vertical challenge

2011-08-28T11:11:00.000-04:00

Moxie Fab World is having some fun sketch challenges to introduce the newest publication called Card Ideas for Paper Crafters. Here is the vertical sketch:

A simple sketch, and a simple card. I've used these heart buttons before in a similar manner, and I still like the way they look dangling like this.

supplies: kraft, red and cream cardstock, Hero Arts CL400 SparkleClear Buttons, CL301 Hugs and Hearts, Adirondack Cranberry ink, twine

Another sketch at Moxie Fab World

2011-08-27T12:08:00.000-04:00

PaperCrafts magazine is introducing a new publication full of sketches - it's called Card Ideas for Paper Crafters. Cath at Moxie Fab World has challenged us with several sketches; here is the second one:

Here's my take on it, using a Sizzix embossing folder borrowed from my friend Carol. Isn't that little chubby bird adorable?

supplies: white card stock, Lasting Impressions Guava Check design paper, Sizzix embossing folder, peeled paint and worn lipstick distress inks, Hero Arts CL491 Made with Love, versafine onyx black ink

Lily Pad Cards Resist Challenge

2011-08-26T07:50:00.001-04:00

Our challenge this time at Lily Pad Cards is to make something using resist. This is one of my very favorite techniques, so I made you 2 cards. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the resist technique, you stamp an image and heat emboss it, then add your other elements on top of it. The embossing "protects" that stamp, and you can color and stamp over it, but it always appears to be on the top layer and always stands out, because the embossing powder resists everything else. Both of my cards started with white card stock, and were stamped with clear ink and heat embossed with clear powder, allowing the white card stock to show through. Then I added background color and images using other shades of ink.

supplies: white card stock, Stampin' Up Top Notch die, Hero Arts CL479 Dictionary Greeting, G4917 Dandelion, VersaMark ink and clear embossing powder, bundled sage, tumbled glass, and broken china distress inks, CL383 Antique Engravings, Versafine Vintage Sepia ink, scraps of printed papers

I wish I had a stamp that said "Make a Wish", because that would have been perfect for this card. I tried doing it digitally, but it just didn't work. This next card looks more detailed, but it's just added layers:

supplies: blue card base, white card stock, Hero Arts CG108 Circle Doily, Versa Mark ink and clear embossing powder, antique linen and tea dye distress inks, CG222 Music Background stamped in vintage photo distress ink, LL040 Wodland Ferns stamped in peeled paint distress ink, CL383 Antique Engravings (butterfly) stamped in chipped sapphire distress ink, seam binding dyed using chipped sapphire, heart button, Papertrey Ink tiny tags die and Friendship Jar Spring Fillers (sentiment tag)

This technique is really kind of magic. After you emboss the image in clear powder, it just about disappears on your white card stock, but when you start rubbing in the distress inks, it magically reappears, and becomes stronger and stronger the more color you add to the background! For this card, after I embossed the doily and added my background colors, I then just kept stamping over the top, adding different layers with different colored inks. And may I say that I am in LOVE with the blueberry color that the chipped sapphire gave to the seam binding - the perfect periwinkle color!

Please visit Lily Pad Cards to see what my DT teamies did with this technique - I know you're in for a treat!