Merry Penguin for Merry Monday!

After making the card with spring colors and butterflies earlier today I needed to make a Christmas card to fit in with my mood and the weather and what better way to do that than playing along with Merry Monday.

I went with one of my favorite sets, Polar Party. It's been snowing all day, a very pretty soft snow, like we're in a snow globe, and  the circle on Lesley's sketch seemed perfect for a wintry scene that included a happy penguin. Maybe he is like me and doing a happy dance because there is snow!

It's a little hard to tell because of the flash but I used Dazzling Details under and around the penguin and trees and I put green Stickles at the top of the penguins hat. The penguin is also popped up with dimensionals to have him stand out a little more.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Polar Party

Paper: Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Naturals White, Holiday Treasures DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Regal Rose

Accessories: Coluzzle, Snow Burst embossing folder, BigShot, Dazzling Details, Green Stickles, sponge, dimensionals, blender pen

Springy Sketch with Paper Players

It was hard for me to make such a spring looking card as I watched the snow fall outside but I managed to do it, LOL! I played along with this weeks sketch over at The Paper Players and I hope its alright, but my sentiment ended up in the middle of the card instead of at the bottom. For some reason as I was making the card I had a few elements of the sketch altered in my head and well, this is what came out of that. I think you can still tell I was playing along though?

 I have a better photo of the inside of my card but I thought I would post this one because it cracks me up. Notice the upper left corner? That would be my kitty Calliope, trying to eat the card as I take pictures! Silly cat!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Precious Butterflies

Paper: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Cottage Wall DSP(retired)

Ink: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: Beautiful Wings Embosslits, Big Shot, Decorative Lable Punch, Rhinestones, Whisper White Brads, dimensionals, sponge

A Sketch with a Touch of New for Friday Mashup

Wow, it's the last Friday in January already?! Where the heck is time going? Seems like just yesteday we were celebrating the New Year.

Our last challenge of the month comes from Kim, and she is starting us off with a great sketch, and she also wants us to use something new from our stash. I used the sketch but I'm sad to say that I don't have anything new in my stash! Yep, its true..I bought just about everything in the Holiday Mini back in October and haven't bought anything since. I've got my eye on a bunch of stuff from the Occasions mini but just haven't placed an order yet soooo...no complete mashup for me today.

Make sure you head over to The Friday Mashup blog to check out all the great cards from the rest of the design team and make sure you play along with us! The projects we see each week from everyone are just awesome and I know *I* love checking them all out!

-Make a project using the "Sketch".

-Or Make a project using "Something NEW in your stash". (Stamps, ribbon, pretty paper...anything!)
-Or "Mash it Up" and create a project "using the Sketch & something NEW in your stash".

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Lovely As a Tree, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Woodland Walk DSP

Ink: Garden Green, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: CB Argyle embossing folder, Cricut "George and Basic Shapes" cartridge, small oval punch, Chocolate Chip ribbon, Very Vanilla ribbon, sponge, dimensionals

Freshly Made with a Color Combo

For this card I used the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and this weeks color challenge over at Splitcoast, which is Basic Black, Poppy Parade and Lucky Limeade. I thought it was a pretty interesting color combo, definitely not one I would have thought to use, and I love how simple the sketch is.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Up, Up & Away, Aint Love Grand

Paper: Basic Black, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Naturals White

Ink: Black StazOn, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Basic Black ribbon and brads, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Paper Piercing tool

Glitter Ornament for Merry Monday

Time to play along with Merry Monday again!

This year my goal is to use my Cricut more often, and to use up some of the papers and supplies that I've gotten from companies other than SU, and also to get some of my retired SU papers out and used!

When I got my Cricut last summer I went crazy buying Christmas cartridges but I've hardly touched them! For today's card I decided to use an ornament from the "Joys of the Season" cartridge. To go along with the paper I was using I thought the red glimmer paper would be perfect.

I tried a couple of different sentiments and I finally went with this one because I didn't want anything too overpowering, since the ornament is so bold that's what I want to be the main focus.

 Head over to Lesley's blog to play along with Merry Monday. One can never have enough Christmas cards :)

I added Dazzling Details to the inside of the snowflake, to give the cutout portion more of a kick.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: sentiment from Bright Hopes

Paper: Soft Sky, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, WinterSong/Flurry Kisses PP by S.E.I.

Ink: Soft Sky, Cherry Cobbler

Accessories: Cricut "Joys of the Season" cartridge, Snow Burst embossing folder, Big Shot, Dazzling Details, Dimensionals, sponge

Moose Sketch for Jingle Belles

Whew, I am glad that the Jingles Belles blog now gives us 2 weeks to get our cards done because things have been so hectic for me that I havent had a chance to do much stamping!

The current JB challenge is a sketch challenge from Kirsty Vittetoe and it did throw me off a bit. I sat for a while trying to think of how I was going to bring all the different elements of the sketch together. I finally decided to break out a Cricut cartridge I had bought specifically for the moose, but hadnt used yet. If you've been to my blog before you'll know that I just adore moose and right now the moose are out all over the place because we've had so much snow around here. They come down into the lowlands looking for food and to walk along the roads and railroad tracks, because its easier for them than walking in the deep snow. If you have a moment check out this amazing story of a woman that saved her husband from a moose that was stomping him. It happened about 30 mins up the road from where I live. Moose are beautiful creatures but like any other wild animal can be very dangerous!

I really like the way the card came out, I think I'll have to make another one, or two, of these!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: sentiment from unknown

Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red. Letters to Santa DSP

Ink: Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red

Accessories: Cricut "Give A Hoot" cartridge, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Scallop Border Punch, Paper Piercing tool, Early Espresso ribbon, dimensionals

A (late) Card for Freshly Made Sketches

I saw this great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches last week and I wanted to play along, so I started this card last Friday. Well, then I got busy with the kids, work, going into Wasilla on Saturday and then Sunday I spent the entire day watching football( my team made it into the Super Bowl, GO BIG BLUE!!) and sooooo....I didnt get this card finished until this morning. Considering how CAS it is you would have thought I could have gotten it done sooner but what can I say, I'm easily distracted lately, LOL.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Little Friends

Paper: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Naturals White, Springtime Vintage DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Crumb Cake, River Rock, Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Pear Pizzazz

Accessories: Scallop Trim Border Punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 3/4" scallop circle punch, paper piercing tool, Very Vanilla Ribbon, sponge, dimensionals

Colors and Piercing for Friday Mashup

Hello again! Time for another Friday Mashup and this weeks challenge is brought to us by Rita. Here is what she wants us to do:

-Make a project featuring "Paper Piercing".

-Or Make a project using the colors "Blushing Bride, Riding Hood Red & Early Espresso".
-Or "Mash it Up" and create a project using the colors "Blushing Bride, Riding Hood Red & Early Espresso with some Paper Piercing" .
I'm not into Valentines Day, so I try and steer away from making cards specifically for that day.I decided to continue my winter theme and changed it up a bit by stamping my snowflakes in Blushing Bride. During the winter in Alaska we get beautiful alpenglow and the mountaintops glow with gorgeous red and pink colors so as I was stamping my snowflakes that's the image I had in my mind. I like the sentiment " you inspire me" because it can mean so many things, and the card could therefore go to just about anybody important in my life!

I love paper piercing but am horrible with straight lines. I was doing good on this card until my cat decided to jump up on my desk and bump my arm, therefore making part of my piercing crooked. Oh well, just adds some character to the card right? My kitty Calliope didn't seem to mind, LOL.

Its hard to see in the picture but I added some Dazzling Details to the middle of the snowflakes and since I have lots of snow at my place, I added mica flakes as snow under the tree!

Make sure you head over to the Friday Mashup blog to check out the great inspiration from the rest of the design team and then play along with us!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Season of Friendship, sentiment from Perfect Words

Paper: Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red, Naturals White

Ink: Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride

Accessories: Modern Label Punch, Early Espresso Brads, Mica Flakes, Dazzling Details, Riding Hood Red ribbon, Paper Piercing Tool, sponge, dimensionals

Christmas Lodge Bells

I found some time to play along with Merry Monday, over at Lesley's blog. I'm not a big fan of ovals, they always seem to throw me off, but I decided to go ahead and give it a try anyway and I'm actually very happy with how it turned out!

I used the Christmas Lodge set, I just love these stamps! I also used the Frostwood Lodge DSP, awesome paper! I really wish I would have stocked up on these papers, I just adore them. I used my Coluzzle to cut the ovals and the image was stamped using Early Espresso and Garden Green, and I used a blender pen to help fill it in. Crumb Cake was used to sponge the smaller oval, and Early Espresso was used on the outer oval.

I've had the mini jingle bells sitting in my drawer since the Christmas mini came out and havent used them once, so I thought today would be a perfect time. Growing up we had this decoration on the back of our front door....it was a wood heart with a saying on it, and there were strings across the heart. There were bells hanging from the top of the heart and when someone opened or closed the door the bells would hit the string and make pretty sounds. Thats what I thought of as this card was coming together. Funny what the mind remembers or draws inspiration from.

Go check out the other cards being submitted at Merry Monday, they are gorgeous! I'd also like to thank the players that commented on my last Merry Monday card, I appreciate it! I'm trying to comment on peoples blogs but am having problems, pages arent loading or they freeze, so please dont think I'm ignoring you!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Christmas Lodge

Paper: Early Espresso, Garden Green, Naturals White, Frostwood Lodge DSP

Ink: Early Espresso, Garden Green, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Coluzzle, Mini Jingle Bells, DMC Floss #3031, sponge, dimensionals

Sharing Sorrow

I hate cancer. I lost my dad to it in 2010, I have several friends, plus my stepmom, who went through a horrible time while battling breast cancer and now my stempm has lost yet another loved one to the horrible disease, this time her beloved aunt. I made this card for my stepmom and her mom, to let them know my thoughts are with them as the family deals with the loss. The sentiment is a little crooked but thats ok.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers

Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Bella Bleu DSP

Ink: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy

Accessories: Top Note Die, Big Shot, Not Quite Navy ribbon, sponge

Friday Mashup Thank You with DSP

Happy Friday! Hope you are having a wonderful day so far. Today's Friday Mashup is brought to us by Lesley and this time of year, when we are all winding down from the holidays, I think this is a great challenge. She wants us to make a thank you card, a project using DSP/patterned paper or mash it up and do both! Of course I went ahead and mashed it up!

It's funny, when I sat down to make this card I had a totally different idea in mind. I was going to make a card with a cute little spring scene, and bright, cheery DSP but when I looked outside my thoughts went in a completely opposite direction. It's currently snowing here, and since it is winter I wanted a snowman thank you card, and that is what I made :)

Make sure you head over to the Friday Mashup blog to see all the other great cards from the design team and then be sure to link up your card to play along with us!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise stated):

Stamps: Snow Much Fun, sentiment from Delightful Dozen

Paper: Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, Naturals White, Wintergreen DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Early Espresso, Only Orange

Accessories: Big Shot, Snow Burst Embossing Folder, Certainly Celery ribbon, Dazzling Details, sponge

Peaceful Christmas Card

Yeah, I managed to get some stamping done today! Last week a nasty toothache knocked me out most of the week, had that pulled on Saturday and then we got hit by a snowstorm so I spent the rest of the weekend alternating between watching football( look out Cheeseheads, my G-Men are coming for you!) and playing outside. Needless to say all the intentions I had of getting some cards made went bye-bye :)

I had a free day today and I wanted to play along with a new sketch challenge that Lesley of Always Playing with Paper has going on now. Like she doesn't have enough to keep track of(she is a fellow DT member on Friday Mashup, is creator of The Paper Players and  Freshly Made Sketches, works outside of the home, just to name a few!) she is now hosting Merry Mondays, where she gives us a sketch and we make a Christmas card with it! I will NEVER turn down an opportunity to make a Christmas card but I just have to ask: Lesley, do you EVER sleep? ;)


I decided to ink up a set from the Christmas mini that I didn't touch at all this past holiday season, Comfort and Joy. It's a very pretty set and I like that it's nice and simple. I used today's color challenge over at Splitcoast for the card...as soon as I saw the colors I immediately thought winter/ Christmas. Maybe I still have Christmas on the brain?

I didn't like the empty space between the main image and the sentiment and none of my ribbon seemed to look right so I placed some pearls in that space and I really like how it turned out. I was going to add some Dazzling Details to the main image but after thinking about it I thought that would detract from the effect the pearls give so sorry to my daughter who loves sparkly stuff, but I didn't put it on! LOL

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Comfort and Joy

Paper: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride, Naturals White

Ink: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride

Accessories: Big Shot, Snow Burst embossing folder, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Pearls, sponge

 It's a wonder I could get my card photographed! I couldn't go outside because we're have 40mph winds, and so I went to my usual spot in the house, by our big dining room window. This also happens to be the window where my cats keep bird and moose watch and today my kitty Calliope did not want to give up her spot!

Friday Mashup Birthday Wishes in Pastels

It's the first Friday of 2012 and I hope everyone has had a great week! Our first challenge of the year for Friday Mashup is from Holly and its a great one. Holly wants us to "create a birthday project, a project that uses pastels or mash it up and create a birthday project that uses pastels!"

I have to admit, I dont use my pastels(chalks) that often. They were one of those "I have to have them" items, and for yrs now they've just kind of sat in my drawer. I originally started with a birthday image that I was going to color with pastels and it just didnt work out the way I wanted, so I switched gears. I stamped the background image with Versamark, then I took a sponge dauber and put Sage Shadow chalk on it, and then sponged that on top of the Versamark. It's hard to tell because I used darker colors, but that's what my background is made up of, and not ink.

My oldest son turns 18 (holy cow, how did that happen?) on Saturday the 7th, so this card is for him! Happy Birthday Alexander!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes, Fresh Fillers

Paper: Sahara Sand, Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, To The Nines DSP

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versamark

Accessories: Pastels, Sponge Daubers, Sage Shadow ribbon, Chocolate Chip ribbon