Val de Victorian

It seems ages since I've been able to enter a challenge.  So yesterday I just played with the Tuesday Trigger  - who knew that these colors would be so fun together?  Here's the Trigger:

And here's what I came up with:

supplies: white cardstock, BoBunny double dots (flamingo, violet, orange citrus, and burnt orange), Hero Arts CL380 Truly Appreciated, Memories Art Print Brown ink, Die-Namics Chevron Stripes, square buttons

Hop on over to Moxie Fab World and see all the takes from everyone else - this one really has  brought our our creativity!

Choose Hope

I've made this card for The Craft's Meow October sketch challenge, and also for another category at SplitCoastStampers' Hope You Can Cling To event.

Another of the challenges there is called "Music Soothes the Soul".  I love most music and agree that it can be a wonderful tool to calm us down when we are stressed.  We are also asked to add pink to anything musical, be it a stamp or paper.  Here is what I made:

I used TCM's Hope Blooms, along with my favorite music paper from Hobby Lobby and some from Graphic 45's Little Darlings.  The diecut is a Nesties Labels Eighteen, and the lovely lace is by Webster's Pages. 

I hope you'll join us in either of both of these challenges - you have all of October to enter them.  

Hope You Can Cling To

For the third year, SplitCoastStampers is running a breast cancer awareness campaign all during the month of October; it's called Hope You Can Cling To, and The Craft's Meow is a Pink Ribbon Sponsor!

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Here is the card I made for one of the challenge called "Strip Please".  We are to use strips as a background to anchor our focal image.

I started with strips of paper from My Mind's Eye's The Sweetest Thing honey collection, and added in some various other papers, too.  My TCM stamps are Stitched Flowers and Stitched Sentiments.  

If you'd like to participate in this wonderful cause, please make a card using The Craft's Meow stamps, and link it on The Craft's Meow blog post HERE, for a chance to win a stamp set of your choice!!  Please link it from the HYCCT gallery.

Happy Haunting

Happy Wednesday!  Are you ready for a really fun challenge this week at the Simon Says Stamp Blog?  Our Joy has put together a great inspiration board for us to use this week!

So many fun ideas there!  I decided to use this Lawn Fawn Happy Haunting stamp set, and here's what I came up with this week:

supplies: lime, orange, charcoal and purple cardstock, scraps of patterned papers in the same colors, cut into circles with my Nesties circle dies, Lawn Fawn Happy Haunting, VersaFine onyx black ink

This little set is packed with everything you'll need to make a fun Halloween scene  - even a little iron fence!  So many details in it!

What will you make this week?  Heidi, as always has provided another $50.00 gift voucher for a lucky random winner to spend at the Simon Says Stamp store!  Can't wait to see your hauntingly creative designs!

                                

Simon Says.......use dies or punches........and a GIVEAWAY!!

Wednesday means another challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog, and this week our theme is 

Dies or Punches!  This week the DT is showcasing the new Simon Says Stamp dies that were recently released.  We'd love you to use them, too, if you have any, but if not, please make something using any die or punch.  

I chose the Ariana Wreath die, a lovely oval wreath.  I made 2 cards, 1 with layers galore, and the 2nd much more CAS.  Here's the first one:

I simply die-cut the wreath from cream cardstock, colored in the leaves with various Memento Dual-tip Markers in autumn colors, then placed it over a Nestabilities oval framed in a scalloped oval die, and added a natural jute twine bow at the top.  Then I surrounded it with panels of various autumnal design papers from my stash.

For my 2nd card, I cut the wreath from dark green paper, placed it on my square card, and added the Hero Arts sentiment, some tiny red pearls, and a red bow - easy Christmas card!

I also think this would be a perfect frame for any of those head silhouette stamps that were popular just a little while ago........

Our generous Heidi has provided another $50.00 gift voucher for the random winner of our challenge again this week.

As an extra bonus for this challenge Heidi will be giving one lucky entrant a FABULOUS pack of Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Dies worth $50 !! Woo Hoo !!  To be considered for this random draw, be sure to leave a comment on the designers' blogs!

And please visit the Simon Says Stamp challenge blog to see what our Guest Designer Laura  and the rest of my team-mates made with our dies, then create something special and link it up for a chance at that voucher!

For the Girls

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, the ladies at CAS-ual Fridays have dedicated their challenge this week to all the wonderful women in our lives!  And it's a little reminder to make sure you've had your annual mammogram.  It's an easy procedure that could save your life!  I am presently acting as a ChemoAngel to a sweet lady at my parents' church, and send her a card once a week as she is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.  I thought this lovely flower would boost her spirits this week.

supplies: white and Core-dinations pink cardstock, Penny Black 30-113 Petal Party, Hero Arts CL490 Sending Smiles Messages, VersaFine onyx black ink, Memento dual-tip markers to color, Nesties labels eighteen, foam adhesive squares

If you as a card maker would like to make cards for cancer patients, Chemo Angels will pair you with a current patient.  Having been on both sides of this experience, I can tell you it makes a wonderful impact to them.  Or if you know someone having chemotherapy for any type of cancer, you can get them added to this program.  

WCMD Sketch challenge

This is my last WCMD card for this year - I made it for a sketch challenge #3 at The CLASSroom, also using colors from the challenge at Jay Gee's Nook.

supplies: white cardstock, many, many dps, Penny Black Petal Party (#30-113) flowers and leaves, Hero Arts sentiment from Designer Fruits (CL320), VersaFine onyx black and deep lagoon, pearls and gems from Hero Arts, EK Sucess 3/4" square punch to make notches in banners

               

More WCMD Cards

There's still time to take advantage of Lisa's 15%  discount (through Sunday, Oct 7 at 11:59 PM Pacific) at The Craft's Meow, click HERE.

I spent all day yesterday making cards and thought I'd post these Christmas cards today.  It was a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that so many of my blogging friends were doing the exact same thing!

This first one was for a sketch challenge at the Penny Black blog.  I started with cream and cranberry cardstock, and used their Nature's Best and Paisley Outline stamps, plus the sentiment from Hero Arts Greatest Gift, VersaFine onyx black and Adirondack Cranberry inks, and Letraset markers.

And this one was for a Scramble at the Hero Arts flickr group.   I was inspired by an old Christmas house ornament that came from my Grandparents'; it's very special to me.  I used these Hero Arts sets: Magic of Christmas (branches), Sending Holiday Cheer (house), and Miracle of the Holidays (sentiment).  The house was paper-pieced and the snowy parts glittered.  

I'll be entering this last card into the CLASSroom's Holiday Greetings challenge. 

For another card made yesterday, please scroll down one post, or click HERE.

WCMD Trend Watch challenge

For World Card Making Day, there were several challenges issued over at The CLASSroom .  Here's the card I made yesterday for Julia Stainton's challenge #5: Trend Watch.  We were to choose a trendy shaped die.

supplies: kraft and black cardstock, dps from Crate Paper "On Trend", Basic Grey "Kissing Booth", and Lawn Fawn "Bright Side", Die-Namics Chevron Stripe Dies, PTI Beautiful Blooms II #1, Wplus9 Folk Art Florals leaf, Hero Arts CL508 Luscious Patterned Flowers (sentiment), VersaFine onyx black ink, Creative Charms Vintage pearl brad colored with alcohol marker

I'll also enter this at PaperCraft's WCMD Hello/Thinking of You challenge.

World Card Making Day

Happy weekend, all, and Happy World Card Making Day!   This is my first official post as a Design Team member at The Craft's Meow!

supplies: cream cardstock,  TCM Simply Delightful and Fly Free,design papers from BoBunny's Little Miss Collection, Nestabilities Labels Four, My Mind's Eye Follow Your Heart  "Be Happy" decorative brad, green gingham ribbon and peach button

Please visit our blog at The Craft's Meow to see what some of my other teamies did for today using The Craft's Meow stamps!  AND I'm so pleased to pass along to you that Lisa is offering a code for 15% off all stamps in The Craft's Meow Store!  The code is WCMD2012  - enter it at checkout to receive 15% off your total purchase, including already discounted items.  It will expire on Sunday, October 7, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time, so hurry on over and take advantage of Lisa's generosity!  Happy shopping!

More for Jars of Joy at MFW

As I said in my earlier entry, I have always loved canning jars - I guess they bring back memories of the good things my Mom canned from our garden, and the rows of the filled jars in our basement.  Wonder if she has the same fond memories? :))  Anyway, I'm submitting this reject from the latest Paper Crafts Card Creations call to the Jars of Joy challenge at Moxie Fab World.....let's see if I have any better luck this time!

supplies:  white cardstock, gingham papers from Cosmo Cricket Material Girl, Graphic 45 Little Darlings, October Afternoon Sidewalks, PaperTrey Ink Friendship Jar, Hero Arts CL371 Essential Messages, VersaFine onyx black ink, Tombo pale grey marker, paper doily, assorted buttons, We R Memory Keepers lollipop baker's twine, Signo white pen, Ranger glossy accents as glue

Finally I can share!

It's been terrible keeping this secret to myself, but finally I'm able to share with you all that I am one of the new Design Team members at The Craft's Meow!  

I am one of 5 new members, and we join an established team of fantastic designers!  I have loved The Craft's Meow stamps ever since they started popping up on various blogs and so I am thrilled to be able to work with this company.  Lisa Hjulberg has assembled an amazing team of stamp illustrators and they just keep out-doing themselves month after month!

I hope you'll join me each month as we show you the newest releases, and if you'd like to see the announcement of the new team, please visit The Craft's Meow for Wednesday's and today's posts.  Congrats to my new team mates: Gayatri Murali, Jen del Muro, Sharri Seffins, and Veronica Zalis!!

Glimmer and Sparkle

Happy Wednesday, all!  Midweek means another challenge at the Simon Says Stamp challenge, and this week our theme is Glimmer & Sparkle!!  The design team is using products from Lindy's Stamp Gang.  If you have any of these products, we'd love to see you use them, but it's not a necessity - just show us some sparkle and glimmer.

I'll admit I was a bit wary, worrying that I'd have mist everywhere but where I wanted it, but I was happily surprised to see how easy these are to use!  I worked inside a cardboard box and the mist dried fairly quickly, so it didn't take all that long to put this all together. Since this is the first time ever using any kind of misting product, I tried using it several ways.  Here's my card:

I used a Lindy's Stamp gang spray mist called Alpine Ice Rose, a beautiful pink with a gold undertone.  The first thing I tried with it was spraying it over this Crafters Workshop template called Mini Flower Frenzy.  Then I just sprayed it on white cardstock, let it dry and cut out the "Happy" from Simon Says Stamp's Oh Happy Day die.  And lastly I lightly sprayed it on my card base, and on a white silk flower.  To bring in some more sparkle I edged my white die-cut flower with glitter, using a glue pen and Hero Arts Prisma Glitter, and added a gold-rimmed rhinestone brad to the center of the stacked flowers.  

As always, our generous Heidi has provided a $50.00 gift voucher from the Simon Says Stamp Store to the winner of this challenge.

Need some ideas?  Come on over to the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog and see what all my teamies and our Guest Designer Laura did!  I can't wait to see what you make!

CAS-ual Fridays, take 2

Almost as soon as I finished my card yesterday, I had another thought for the challenge at CAS-ual Fridays: to be inspired by your blog header.  Here it is:

supplies: white and brown cardstock, Amuse yellow and green dots, Simon Says Stamp Fresh Daisies die, markers to color flowers, Hero Arts CL586 XO, butter bar mid-tone ink