Daffodil and Olive for Paper Players

This week over at The Paper Players they have a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge.....there is a free space in the middle(like Bingo) and then the rest of the spaces have different elements you can choose to use for your project. I chose to go straight down the middle and therefore the elements were : Yellow and Green, Dry or Wet Emboss and the free space. For the free space I decided to use ribbon.

It's hard to see but on the Old Olive strip going across the middle I dry embossed with with the CB Swiss Dots folder. I then added the ribbon across the top of the Old Olive strip. When I was done I thought the card needed something more so I added the pearls in the corners of the card. I think I'm going to make this card again, except I'll use red instead of yellow, since its my step moms favorite color!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Apothecary Art, Loving Thoughts

Paper: Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Attic Boutique DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight

Accessories: Framelits Labels, Big Shot, CB Swiss Dots EF, Daffodil Delight Ribbon, Pearls, sponge, dimensionals

Merry Monday x3

My schedule is so screwed up lately and I haven't had time to play along with Merry Monday so today I am posting 3 cards! I did this weeks challenge, plus I went back and did the 2 challenges before that so I could try and catch up some. I absolutely adore Christmas cards, I make more of them than any other type of card so I cannot stand it when I feel like I am missing out on Christmas challenges!

I'll start with this weeks sketch and work backwards:

As soon as I saw this weeks sketch I knew I wanted to use Scenic Season. I cant even put into words how much I love this set. SU is retiring it so its only available for a few more weeks but I can tell you, I will be using this set for many years to come.! I also used some DSP that is set to retire, Letters To Santa. I added Dazzling Details to the trees and its hard to see, I couldn't get a good pic of it, but the trees sparkle beautifully in the right light.

 For last weeks challenge I pulled out Deer Friends. Such a cute set but I haven't really used it much. The circles in this sketch were a perfect way to highlight the images from this set. Its hard to see but I used the background stamp Flannel Plaid on the Cherry Cobbler background card stock. Retired DSP Jolly Holiday completed the look.

 This sketch made me pause a bit, because adding touches to the corner like this isn't something I normally do and I always seem to have a hard time figuring out what looks good. I decided to use the set A Cardinal Christmas. I specifically bought this one back in 2008 with my Grandma in mind but she passed away June of 2008 and never got to see a card from me with this image
:( In her honor all the cards I sent to family that Christmas were made with this set. It's another stamp set that I will use for many, many years to come! As you can see I used Jolly Holiday DSP on this one also and cut out the holly branches to frame the main image, plus used Xmas Red Stickles to make sure the berries popped out.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Card 1:

Stamps:A Scenic Season, sentiment from Beautiful Season

Paper: Early Espresso, Naturals White, Letters to Santa DSP

Ink: Old Olive, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler

Accessories: Framelits Labels, Big Shot, Swiss Dots EF, Mistletoe Ribbon, sponge, dimensionals

Card 2:

Stamps: Deer Friends, Flannel Plaid

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Jolly Holiday DSP

Ink: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso

Accessories: 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Old Olive ribbon, Dazzling Details

Card 3:

Stamps: A Cardinal Christmas

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Jolly Holiday DSP

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Black StazOn

Accessories: Xmas Red Stickles, blender pen, dimenionals

Graduation with Friday Mashup

This week we have a great challenge for the Friday Mashup, brought to us by Kim! This is perfect timing for me because my oldest graduates from high school May 15th! I cant believe it, it seems like just yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital and now we are gearing up to watch him walk across that stage and accept his diploma. He has some special needs so there has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears over the years but we are so proud of him for everything he has accomplished!

So whats the challenge? Well, Kim wants us to make a graduation themed card, a project that uses text or definition stamps and/or paper, or mash it up and do both!

I really tried hard to mashup the challenge but I didn't have any paper with text on it and even though I am sure I probably have some, I couldn't find any text or definition stamps to go with what I was doing. I ended up cutting the '2012' out with my Cricut and used Teeny Tiny Wishes for the sentiment. The card was made using the colors for my sons school, as this card will be going to him!

Make sure you head over to The Friday Mashup blog to see all the great projects from the rest of the design team and then play along with us, we want to see how YOU interpret the challenge!

1. Make a project for "Graduation".
2. Or Make a project using " Text or Definition Stamps and/or Paper".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a " Graduation project with Text or Definition stamps/papers".

Our soon-to-be graduate, Alexander!

Supplies Used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Garden Green, Basic Black, Naturals White

Ink: Black StazOn, Garden Green

Accessories: Cricut, George and Basic Shapes Cartridge, Modern Label Punch, Basic Black Brads, Big Shot, Square Lattic Embossing Folder, sponge, dimensionals

The Nicest Things for Freshly Made

Time flies when you are having fun.....today is my last challenge as guest designer for the month of April over at Freshly Made Sketches. I'd like to give a big "THANK YOU" to Lesley and the rest of the team for having me this month. To be able to create with such talented women is truly amazing so again,  thank you for a wonderful 4 weeks of fun!!

Today's sketch is brought to us by Linda and I decided to showcase one of my favorite sets, The Nicest Things, which will be retiring here shortly. It's a good thing I keep all of my sets because these sweet little girls just make me smile!

I used pearls as my accent along the circle and to tie it all together I also added some tiny little pearls on 2 of the flowers in the image. I colored the images with colors drawn right from the DSP.

Make sure you head over to Freshly Made Sketches to check out all the great inspiration from the design team and then be sure to link up your own project for this great sketch!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: The Nicest Things, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Attic Boutique DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade, Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder, Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Pearls, Coluzzle, Modern Label Punch, sponge, dimensionals

Friendship is Precious

Whew! It's that time of year where I am going a million miles an hour...my oldest graduates high school in 2 weeks, my daughter just had prom and is on the soccer team and my 13 y/o, well, he is 13, need I say more? LOL I haven't been able to play along with The Paper Players for a few weeks so I made sure to make some time today!

This weeks challenge is a great sketch from Nance, I really love it! I was finishing up some cards for the fundraiser I did for my daughters soccer team and I was having some serious stampers block.....Nance's sketch got me moving in the right direction again!

Make sure you head over to The Paper Players blog to check out the great inspiration from the design team and then play along!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Precious Butterflies

Paper: Sahara Sand, Rose Red, Whisper White, Thoroughly Modern DSP

Ink: Rose Red, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Scallop Edge Border Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Pearls, sponge, dimensionals

Sketchy Tag and Ghosts for Friday Mashup

Can I just say how happy I am that it's Friday? This week has been a busy and crazy one and it's not quite over yet....my daughter has prom Saturday so we have some last minute stuff to do to make sure she has everything exactly the way she wants. it Can I just say that my 2 boys are SO much easier to get ready for things? LOL

This week for The Friday Mashup Rita brings us a great sketch and also asks us to try the ghosting technique (which you can find here), also known as Versamark resist. I had never tried this technique before and so of course, I mashed up the challenge!

I used The Open Sea set for this card. The background was stamped with Versamark on Glossy White cardstock and then I sponged Not Quite Navy over it. I used a paper towel to rub the ink off and I did it while the Versamark was still a bit wet, as I wanted a smeared look in spots, to make it look like something that was old and had faded over time. Then I stamped the ship in Early Espresso over the background.

Make sure you head over to the Friday Mashup blog to check out all the great cards from the design team and then play along with us, we want to see how YOU interpret the challenge!

1. Make a project using the " Sketch ".
2. Or Make a project using the " Ghosting (aka VersaMark Resist) Technique".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project using the " Sketch & the Ghosting Technique".

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: The Open Sea, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Naturals White, Glossy White

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso, Versamark

Accessories: Early Espresso ribbon, Modern Label punch, retired tag shapes from SU, dimensionals, sponge

Patriotic Fundraiser Card

This is another card I made for the fundraiser I had for my daughters soccer team. My husband and I are both Navy veterans and about 95% of our friends are either retired military, active duty or have kids serving. 2 of the gals that bought cards  for the fundraiser have loved ones serving in the military so I made this card with them in mind. I really like it so I think I am going to make some more for Memorial Day and 4th of July.

Thoughts of You for Freshly Made

Happy Wednesday to everyone! We're halfway through the month of April, can you believe it? The snow here is melting and patches of dirt and grass can be seen....summer will be here before I know it!

This week at Freshly Made Sketches the great sketch comes to us from Rita. I love the square/rectangles but circles always scare me, LOL. Thankfully with FMS you can change that circle to any shape, so I chose to use one of the Framelit dies and the corresponding Apothecary set.

This card is definitely more "girly" than something I would normally do. My daughter said it reminded her of her great grandma(my awesome Grandma that inspired last weeks FMS card) and looking at it I think she is absolutely correct. My grandparents living room was a mix of pink and soft blues, so I definitely think I was channeling them here, LOL.

Make sure you head over to the Freshly Made Sketches to check out all the other great projects from the design team, and then play along, we want to see what you create with this sketch!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Apothecary Art, Loving Thoughts

Paper: Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Twitterpated DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Wisteria Wonder

Accessories: retired SU ribbon, Framelits Labels, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Big Shot, sponge, dimensionals

Dasher Sketch for Jingle Belles

I set aside my fundraising for a bit today so I could play along with the latest Jingle Belles challenge before it closed. They have a very simple sketch this week but for some reason it took me a bit to come up with a card I liked. And because the challenge stretches for 2 weeks I made 2 cards(of the same design), one for each week!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Dasher

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Whisper White, PP by S.E.I.

Ink: Early Espresso

Accessories: Snow Burst Embossing Folder, Big Shot, brads(non-SU), sponge, dimensionals

More Fundraiser Cards

We were able to order the new gear for the girls soccer team Friday, woooohoooo! I did get another order for cards through the fundraiser I was having....one of the gals that my husband is on city council with ordered 25 cards...15 mix and match and 10 thank you cards to hand out to her clients, so I've been working on those this weekend. Here are 4 cards that I made:

2 of these made:

3 of these made:

5 of these made:

5 of these made:

Going to the Muppets with Friday Mashup

It's Friday, wheee! I hope everyone has had a great week! Mine has been busy but good!

Today Holly is bringing us a really fun challenge for this weeks Friday Mashup.....did you know that April is Autism Awareness Month and is also the Month of the Military Child(a special shout out to my 3 kids, proud military brats!). What better time to have a challenge that's geared to kids?

This week we want you to create a card for Kids (any age) and use the colors of your Favorite Muppet!! Yep, you read that right your favorite Muppet.. Is it Kermit, Miss Piggy, etc.... Don't forget to post a Pix of your favorite Muppet in your blog post so we can see who your project colors are based on!

Now, my favorite Muppet's are Statler and Waldorf, the 2 very sarcastic and funny old men but I figured they would make for a boring card, there really isn't a whole lot of color involved with them, so I went with my 2nd favorite...Animal! He cracks me up...he is so crazy and when he says "WO-MAN...WO-MAN" I cant help but laugh.

I used colors that I thought looked like his skin color, hair color and colors from the clothing he wears!

Make sure you head over to The Friday Mashup to check out all the great projects from the design team and then play along with us!

1. Make a project using "Your Favorite Muppet Color Combo".
2. Or Make a project " for kids".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a " Project for a Kid using your Favorite Muppet Colors".

Don't forget to tell us or Show us who your Favorite Muppet is!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Sock Monkey

Paper: Peach Parfait, Melon Mambo, Early Espresso, Whisper White

Ink: Crumb Cake, Creamy Caramel, Peach Parfait, Melon Mambo

Accessories: Swiss Dot Embossing Folder, Cuttlebug, Small Oval Punch, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, dimensionals

I'll Have a Blue (and Green) Christmas....

For this card I am combining 2 challenges...
The Paper Players has a color challenge this week, using the colors Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery and Pool Party. I love blue and green and as soon as I saw these colors I knew they would go along perfectly with the sketch and Christmas card challenge over at Merry Monday!

Supplies(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Bundled Up, To You and Yours

Paper: Pool Party, Certainly Celery, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Wintergreen DSP

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Pool Party, Certainly Celery

Accessories: Big Shot, Swiss Dots(Cuttlebug) Embossing Folder, Snow Burst Embossing Folder, Coluzzle, Modern Label Punch, Dazzling Details,  sponge, dimensionals

Flowers for Freshly Made Sketches

Happy Wednesday to everyone! We're halfway through the week and you know what that means...time for a new Freshly Made Sketches challenge!

This weeks sketch is from Tui and it's a great one! Since spring, or as we call it in my neck of the woods "break-up", seems to have arrived in southcentral Alaska I went with these pretty flowers from the hostess set "Up in the Air" from the occasions catalog. I took the colors right from the DSP I used and added some pretty Lucky Limeade ribbon for a simple final touch.

Make sure you head over to Freshly Made Sketches to check out all the great inspiration from the design team and then play along!

Supplies used(all supplies are SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Up in the Air

Paper: Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Everyday Enchantment DSP

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Wisteria Wonder, Peach Parfait

Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Coluzzle, Lucky Limeade ribbon

Froggy Fundraiser

I'm still working on the fundraiser for the soccer team and one of the gals buying some cards requested frog themed birthday cards and this is what I came up with. I delivered her batch of cards to her yesterday and she loved them!

The fundraiser has been going so well! Thanks to a friend of mine the biggest business in our town donated $600.00 and selling my cards I've raised over  $140.00, so this has really helped reduce the financial burden on the parents for the gear we're trying to buy the girls!