Thursday, March 28, 2013

Getting Distressed with Lines and Paper

Hello! Happy Friday to everyone! This week at The Friday Mashup our challenge is brought to us by Heidi and she has a pretty interesting one. She says " In honor of tax day, use notebook paper or spreadsheet/balance sheet paper on your project. Even graph paper will work. If you don't have any laying around, you can also create your own paper with a ruler, marker and white card stock. Let's add some distressing to dirty up your paper. It's been a rough all-nighter with the taxes, hasn't it? "

My husband had this yellow graph paper laying around so I snagged that, and I also happened to have some retired Taken With Teal on my desk and it looked good with the yellow, so I used that also. I stamped my image on the graph paper and then crumbled it up and tore it to make it look like it had been around for a long time. My youngest came in and asked me if I had burned the edges and when I had told him no he was pretty impressed with what I had done LOL I'm glad my kids are easily impressed :)

Head over to The Friday Mashup and play along with us!

  1. Create a project using "Lined paper (Notebook, Graph, Spreadsheet etc.)".
  2. Create a project that has a "Distressed appearance".
  3. Or Mash it Up and create a project with "Lined paper that's Distressed looking".




Merry Monday Moose

Today's card was made for the Merry Monday challenge, which is a Tic Tac Toe one. I went with the row across the top: animal, designer paper, ribbon. Is anyone shocked that for animal I used a moose? I didnt think so :0) To dress the moose up for Christmas I added a little silver bell around his neck.

The moose is popped up with dimensionals as is the main circle panel.


Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Decorative Pines, misc sentiment stamp
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Island Indigo, Very Vanilla, Festival of Prints DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Island Indigo
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Standard Circles and Lacey Circles, SU SnowBurst EF, Cherry Cobbler ribbon, Mini Jingle Bell, sponge, dimensionals

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Sketchy Butterflies for Friday Mashup

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a good week. Mine wasn't too bad....it was my first week back to work after taking all of last week off and things went nice and smooth, the way I like it. Now I'm ready for the weekend!

This week Holly has a Mashup for us that's actually a triple challenge!

1. Make a project using the "Sketch".
2. Or Make a project using "Butterflies & Your Brayer".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project with "your Brayer using the Sketch and add some Butterflies".

I'm mashing it up but I didn't triple it because I don't own a brayer, sorry! I couldn't find one at the stores in my area and in Anchorage the only brayer Michaels had was 28.00!! Um, yeah, no, I'll order the SU one for 12.50 eventually :)

My grandma loved butterflies so I thought of her as I was making this. Since she passed in June of 2008 I pictured butterflies floating through the sky, representing her. She inspired me in every aspect of life and someday if I am half the grandma she was I'll be doing good!

I used my favorite color combo of the moment...Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry and Lucky Limeade. Can I just say how much I am going to cry when Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade retire this summer? I love love love those colors and will definitely stock up on them!

I hope you'll come by The Friday Mashup blog and check out all the great inspiration from the design team, and then play along with us!




More Snowmen for Merry Monday

I couldn't help myself, I had to play along again over at Merry Monday. I told you I love snowmen :) We're even going to get 'snowman snow' tonight and tomorrow.....that means our temps are going to be around freezing or slightly above, so the snow that is going to fall will be wet snow, perfect for a snowman. As I mentioned in a previous post our snow is usually very dry because its normally pretty cold when our snow falls, so that means very little moisture in the snow.

Thanks for coming by and I hope you have had a great Thursday so far!

Looking down my driveway it doesn't seem like spring, and more snow is on the way!



Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Flaky Friends (retired)
Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Holiday Lounge DSP (retired)
Ink: Black StazOn, Taken With Teal (retired), various SU markers
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Circles, Silver Stretch cord,   1 3/4" circle punch, sponge, dimensionals

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Neutral Dasher Sketch

I know some people are going to look at this and go "what, first day of spring and Lisa is making a Christmas card??" and I'll just say YES! yes I am :) I'm trying to ignore the fact that the calendar says its spring :P

This card was made using the current challenges at Jingle Belles and Freshly Made Sketches. Jingle Belles is all about the neutrals, and the great sketch is from FMS.

I just love this Dasher stamp, it is pretty versatile and what better challenge to use it on then one requiring the use of neutrals!


Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Dasher, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Candlelight Christmas DSP
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Circles, Modern Label Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Early Espresso Brads, sponge, dimensionals

Aviary Thanks for Paper Players

I had a little bit of free time this afternoon and was able to play along with the challenge that's about to end over at The Paper Players. It's a great sketch and after staring at my stamp sets for a bit I finally decided to use the set Aviary for this card. Since today is the first day of spring (yuck, I'm not happy...I'm a winter girl...Antarctica is really where I should live! We are supposed to get snow this weekend, so at least I have that) that means more birds will be heading up to Alaska over the coming months and I'll be busy with my camera, watching and enjoying them!

I seem to be gravitating towards Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry and Lucky Limeade. These colors have seen a lot of use from me lately. I think they are so pretty together! The squares were created by using the set Beyond Plaid and stamping the pattern in different colors, then using the 1 3/8" square punch to cut them out. The squares, bird cages and sentiment are all popped up with dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that wherever you are, you're enjoying your first day of spring(or fall, depending on where you live!).



Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Aviary, Itty Bitty Banners, Beyond Plaid
Paper: Island Indigo, Whisper White
Ink: Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Cuttlebug, CB Argyle EF, Bitty Banner Framelits, Lucky Limeade Ribbon, dimensionals



Monday, March 18, 2013

Snowman Sketch

Today's card features 2 challenges....the current sketch from Sunday Stamps and this weeks Merry Monday, which is a snowman theme.

I love snowmen but usually the snow here in southcentral Alaska is too dry for snowmen, so I have to get my fix through movies(Jack Frost, love that snowman movie!) and stamps, such as this one. I used an older retired SU set called It's Snow Time. I've always liked this sweet image of a snowball being given as a gift!




Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: It's Snow Time
Paper: Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla, Festival of Prints DSP
Ink: Black StazOn, Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue, Cherry Cobbler, Versamark
Accessories: Scalloped Edge Border Punch, Bashful Blue Ribbon, dimensionals, sponge

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Simple Solitude in Neutral

Time got away from me and I missed the last Jingle Belles challenge, so I wanted to make sure I got this challenge done right away. Lauren and Stef have a challenge this week that comes from guest designer Noelle McAdams......make a Christmas card using ONLY neutrals.

I used the Country Landscape Die from Memory Box, I really like this little scene. I did my usual for the falling snow, using my CB Swiss Dots folder. The snowy background and the landscape are both done in Confetti White card stock, and any marks you see on the paper are part of the Confetti paper. I like to use that for winter scenes because it reminds me of bigger flakes falling among smaller ones.

The main image panel is sponged along the edges with Crumb Cake and I used dimensionals to pop the main panel up on a Crumb Cake card base. The sentiment is the corner is also done with Crumb Cake. Its a nice shade of brown/tan that isn't too dark but yet still gives the light card stock some definition.

I didn't add much to the card, I kept it nice and clean because it the little scene reminds me of a nice quiet snow day, cozied up in the house watching TV, reading a book or working on Christmas cards :)

Make sure you head over to the Jingle Belles blog to check out the challenge!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: More Merry Messages
Paper: Crumb Cake, Confetti White
Ink: Crumb Cake
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Memory Box Country Landscape Die, CB Swiss Dots EF, Dazzling Details

Friday, March 15, 2013

Moose Birthday

My daughters boyfriend turns 18 on Monday so I needed to get a birthday card made for him and how perfect, this week over at Seize the Birthday its a sketch for a masculine card.

Lucas was born and raised in Alaska, loves the outdoors, is a hunter, etc so I knew I wanted my card to reflect that. He always kids with me about my love with moose so the moose stamp from Decorative Pines is the perfect image to use. A few months ago he was out on his trapline and found some recently shed moose antlers and gave them to me, totally made my day!

Also, to go along with my moose theme my youngest alerted me to a moose in the yard while I was working on this card! This particular mom and baby have been hanging around in the area for about 3 weeks now and I never get tired of seeing them. Perfect inspiration :)

This is the baby across the street, having a snack:

 And here is Mama, munching on the trees that are between my house and the place next door:


Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Decorative Pines, Bring on the Cake
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Woodland Walk DSP(retired)
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Garden Green, Marina Mist
Accessories: Sponge, Dimensionals

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Chalking it up Times Two for Friday Mashup

I'd like to thank everyone who joined us at The Friday Mashup for the 100th Challenge Celebration. It was terrific to see new faces among those who have been faithful players. Everyone did a great job going back and choosing their favorite mashup challenge!

We're moving right along and this week Amy is bringing us our 101st challenge.....use the chalkboard technique, use 2 different stamp sets or mash it up and do both of these things! I mashed it up and did both.

I used one of the images from the Friendship Preserves set and used Whisper White Craft ink to stamp it. After it dried I used the Window Frame Framelits to cut it out and I also cut out the next largest sized frame. I sponged both of them with the craft ink to get the look of chalk dust. For my second stamp I used a sentiment from an older retired set called 'Cheery Chat'. I sent this card to a dear friend and really love this sentiment!

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

1. Make a project using the "Chalkboard Technique".

2. Or Make a project using " 2 or more Stamp Sets".

3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project using "2 or more Stamp Sets with the Chalkboard Technique".
 


Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Friendship Preserves, Cheery Chat
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP, Basic Black DSP
Ink: White Craft Ink, Black StazOn, Summer Starfruit
Accessories: Big Shot, Window Frame Framelits, Basic Black Brads, sponge, dimensionals
 

Christmas in the Heart

This week for the Merry Monday challenge it's a sketch challenge. The oval part of the sketch had me stumped for a bit but then I pulled out the 'Heart of Christmas' stamp from my stash and things started coming together for me on this card!

I used Holly Berry Bouquet DSP(retired) for my background and then embossed some Wild Wasabi cardstock for the other panel. The hearts are from the Fashionable Hearts Embosslits.

I made 5 of these, like I do most of my cards, so my Christmas card stash is quickly growing!


Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Heart of Christmas
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, Naturals White, Real Red, Holly Berry Bouquet DSP(retired)
Ink: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Seeing Spots EF, Nestabilities Ovals and Scalloped Ovals, Embosslits Fashionable Hearts, sponge, dimensionals

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Fresh Merry Snowflakes

I'm not one of those people that can sit down and get a card done in less than 10 minutes. I tend to over think things and so I'll sit at my desk, looking over challenges, colors, etc and trying to get it all planned out in my head before proceeding. Of course that doesn't always work for me either, lol. However tonight's card came along quickly and without any real stress,  it was a nice feeling! LOL

I combined 2 challenges for this card.....the color challenge over at Merry Monday to use Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke and River Rock, and the sketch challenge from Freshly Made Sketches. The snowflakes are from the Snow Flurry Bigz die and I used Always Artichoke brads in the middle to secure the pieces together. Always Artichoke was also used as a backing for the River Rock panel going across the middle. I thought that the panel looked a bit plain behind the snowflakes so using Versamark I stamped a snowflake from the Snowflake Soiree set.

I guess Mother Nature approved because it started to snow just as I finished the card :0)



Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Snowflake Soiree, Greetings of the Season
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, River Rock, Always Artichoke, Be of Good Cheer DSP
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, River Rock, Always Artichoke, Versamark
Accessories: Big Shot, Snow Flurry Bigz Die, Always Artichoke Brads, sponge

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Celebrating 100 FM Challenges!

Wow, it's our 100th challenge over at The Friday Mashup blog! How awesome is that? To celebrate this milestone this weeks challenge is to go back and pick your favorite out of the previous Mashup's and do that challenge again! And to thank YOU, the folks that play along with the Mashup, one lucky person is going to win a $25.00 gift certificate to Stampin'Up as a way to say thank you!

I decided to go back to challenge #51, quilted cards and using something forgotten from your stash. I pulled out a sympathy set that I haven't used in a while because sadly, one of mine and Holly's friends lost her dad a few days ago.

Make sure you head over to The Friday Mashup and play along for your 100th Mashup Challenge!

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:

1. Make a project using "Your Favorite Challenge 1-99".
2. or Tell us what you like about the Challenge You picked!
3. or Link up for a Chance to win a "$25 Stampin' Up! Gift Certificate".


Rules for Giveaway* You must Link up with an original project created for this challenge. Please provide a Link back to the Mashup in your Post. One entry per person in drawing for GC.





Saturday, March 2, 2013

Cute Critter Christmas

It came down to the wire but I got a card done for this weeks Merry Monday challenge!

Lesley has a Tic Tac Toe board for us to work with and I chose the column on the right going down....ribbon, cute, designer paper. For the "cute" portion I used the set Merry Crittermas and this adorable image of a bunny doing some sledding. I added the little bird on the front of the sled, I thought it would be cute if the bunny had a friend along for the ride! The matching DSP is called Candy Cane Christmas.



Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Merry Crittermas
Paper: Garden Green, Real Red, Whisper White, Candy Cane Christmas
Ink: Black StazOn, Real Red, Garden Green, Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Big Shot, Nestabilities Circles and Lacey Circles, Framelits Bitty Banners, White Ribbon(non SU), dimensionals, sponge