Butterfly Thanks

I recently learned about the Stampin' Celebration Challenge blog from my friend Holly and I'm glad I checked in on it tonight because their sketch challenge closes in a day. For some reason I thought I had more time, ooops! The husband and 2 of our boys went out fishing for king salmon tonight so I put on some music and sat down to craft.

The circle in the sketch was throwing me off and so I grabbed some scratch paper and just started playing around with various sketch sets. I wanted to do something patriotic but wasn't having much luck with the sets I was grabbing. Finally I grabbed Gorgeous Grunge, stamped  the lined stamp in Real Red and then the smaller splatter stamp in Night of Navy. I used the Embosslits Beautiful Wings to cut out butterflies in Real Red, Night of Navy and Whisper White and placed them randomly on the circle. The sentiment is from Happy Watercolor and I added one Whisper White butterfly above it to finish the card off. The background was scored with the Simply Scored Tool to get some texture, the plain card stock just wasn't working for me.

I'm glad I was able to get a card done in time! Head over to the Stampin' Celebration blog and check them out!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, Happy Watercolor(sentiment)

Paper: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White

Ink: Real Red, Night of Navy

Accessories: Big Shot, Circles Collection, Embosslits Beautiful Wings, Paper Piercer, Simply Scored Tool

Wear Red for Freshly Made Sketches

Many know that Fridays are "Wear Red Friday's", where you wear red in order to support our troops that are abroad, until they all come home. As a veteran myself it's important to me to support our service members and the new SU set For Your Country is a perfect way to do that. I adore this set! I had time to stamp today so I combined the "Wear Red Friday" with the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge in order to create a patriotic card.

I used retired DSP from Polka Dot Parade(I'm so glad I bought more of it before it retired) and paired it with Whisper White and Night of Navy card stock for a simple card. I think the images of this set and the sentiment speak for themselves. The sentiment is one of my favorites, especially since JFK was also a Navy veteran (Go Navy!). I popped the sentiment panel up with dimensionals just to make it pop even more.

Thanks for stopping by, and remember our troops!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: For Your Country

Paper: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Polka Dot Parade DSP (retired)

Ink: Night of Navy

Accessories: Round Corner Punch, dimensionals

Polar Express Christmas

The minute I saw the current challenge at Jingle Belles I was so excited, as I am a big fan of Christmas books and movies! They want us to create a card based on a Christmas book or for those who aren't big on reading, use a TV show or movie.

The Polar Express is the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the prompt. I absolutely adore the book and also own the movie. My kids are 20, 18 and 15 but every year we sit down on the couch on Christmas Eve and we read The Polar Express(along with 'Twas The Night Before Christmas). We each take turns reading a page and its just a wonderful tradition to have every year. I love that even at their ages my kids get excited and ask me and their dad "can we read the book yet? Is it time for the books?". Hopefully someday they'll be reading the book with their own children!

Putting a card together to represent the book was the hardest part for me and its taken several days for me to even be remotely happy with what I came up with. I originally planned on a card that had a train sitting in front of houses with snow falling and well, when I started to make that card it looked like crap and I got disgusted with myself and threw it away. Then I tried just a train image surrounded by snow and again, hated how it was coming out so that went in the trash also.

After talking with my 15 year old son I decided to use a bell. We are big believers in Santa in this house (you don't get presents if you don't believe in Santa!) and the bell is such a perfect representation of the magic that one carries in their heart for Christmas. I cut out the bell with my Cricut and then proceeded to get crafters block again. I tried putting the bell with some designer paper...didn't like it. I tried putting it with the word "believe"......didn't like it. I finally embossed another strip of Night of Navy, embossed it with the retired SU folder Snow Burst and made that my top layer. I then used the SU MDS program to print out the last lines of the book " The bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe". I put that across the bottom of the card and then used some ribbon to divide the panels. I then took the bell and popped it up with dimensionals on the top half of the card. I called my son in to see what he thought and he approved so that's it, card done! I haven't been this frustrated with an idea for a card in a long time!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: More Merry Messages(inside sentiment, not shown)

Paper: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper

Ink: Black

Accessories: Cricut, Joys of the Season cartridge, Night of Navy Ribbon, Silver Ribbon, dimensionals, sponge

Hello Sailor for Friday Mashup

This week at The Friday Mashup Holly is our hostess and she wants to create a project that says hello, and to use sequins. This week I did not mash it up as I do not own a single sequin so my card is all about the hello.

I grabbed the set Sea Street during the preorder but this is the first time I've inked it up. Isn't the octopus just adorable? To get my hello in I used an image from the set Hello, Sailor, which was in the Occasions catalog. That circle isn't part of the sketch but its the only place I liked the sentiment so hopefully its ok! Both circles are popped up with dimensionals. I also embossed the background with the Decorative Dots EF to make it look like bubbles.

My sketch inspiration came from the The Paper Players, I'm sneaking in at the very last second for their challenge!

Come by The Friday Mashup to see what the rest of the DT came up with and play along with us!

Create a project using "Sequins".

Create  a "Hello or Hi project".

or Mash it Up! and create a "Hello project with Sequins".

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Sea Street, Hello, Sailor(retired)

Paper: Night of Navy, Real Red, Whisper White, Maritime DSP

Ink: Real Red, Night of Navy, Coastal Cabana

Accessories: Big Shot, Decorative Dots EF, Circles Collection, Banners Framelits, dimensionals

 

In the Bubble for Friday Mashup

This week at The Friday Mashup Cindy has a super fun challenge....she wants us to create a project using black, white/ivory and one other color of your choice. To add to the fun throw some word bubbles in there too!

As soon as I saw the sketch at Clean and Simple Stamping I smiled and was like, yes!! It couldn't have come at a better time. I was trying to figure out what to do for my card and this sketch made it all so simple.

I used the Arrows TIEF to emboss a strip of Whisper White and then I die cut the word bubbles in Basic Black and used a white gel pen to create the border. I stamped one of the bubbles from Just Sayin' in Daffodil Delight and used the coordinting die to cut it out. Following the sketch I added the bubbles across the card, with the Daffodil Delight bubble popped up with dimensionals. I don't know what it is about this card but it just makes me smile!

Make sure you head over to The Friday Mashup to see what the rest of the DT came up with, and also swing by Clean and Simple Stamping and give the sketch a try, its a fun one!

Create a project using the colors" Black , White/Ivory and one other color of your choice".

Create a project using a "Word Bubble".

or Mash it Up! and create a "Black & White project with a Word Bubble on it".

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Just Sayin'

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black

Ink: Daffodil Delight

Accessories: Big Shot, Word Bubbles Framelits, Arrows TIEF, White Gel Pen

Going In Circles for 'Tis The Season

It's time for another 'Tis The Season challenge and this week we have a sketch challenge!

I decided to go for a rustic card and used the deer from the Remembering Christmas set, along with the Hardwood stamp and some retired DSP. It took me a little bit to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with the circle portion of the sketch but I finally decided to cut out a circle using the Starburst Framelits. I stamped the deer image on Whisper White in Sahara Sand and fussy cut it out, popping it up with dimensionals above the banner. The banner is just a smaller version of the main card panel....the Hardwood stamp stamped in Sahara Sand on Sahara Sand card stock. I then stamped the sentiment in Ruby Red(retired) on Whisper White. To finish it off I added some Sahara Sand candy dots on the circle cut out of the DSP.

Head on over to the 'Tis The Season blog and see what the rest of the DT did with the sketch, and then play along with us!

 

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Remembering Christmas(retired), Hardwood

Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Holiday Lounge DSP(retired)

Ink: Sahara Sand, Ruby Red(retired)

Accessories: Big Shot, Starburst Framelits, Sahara Sand Candy Dots, dimensionals

 

Say Cheese for Sunday Stamps!

I love photography and I was excited to see SU come out with some photography themed sets, such as Say Cheese and the wood stamp Snapshot. I decided to combine these 2 today to play along with the sketch over at Sunday Stamps.
I kept the colors pretty muted, sticking mainly with a pop of Real Red and Basic Gray as the main color. The banners were cut from I Am Me DSP (retired).  The Arrows TIEF seems to be my new favorite EF, I've been using it a lot lately, probably since my other favorite EF Square Lattice was retired, boo!

The banner with the sentiment is from the Say Cheese set and I stamped it and then cut it out and popped it up with dimensionals above the banners.

Nice and simple card!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Snapshot, Say Cheese

Paper: Real Red, Basic Gray, Whisper White, I Am Me DSP(retired)

Ink: Black StazOn, Real Red, Basic Black

Accessories: Big Shot, Arrows TIEF, dimensionals

For Your Country

As soon as I saw the set For Your Country in the new SU catalog I knew I HAD to have it. I'm a veteran, former military wife(hubby retired from the military in 2008) and I absolutely adore all things patriotic. The challenges at Create with Connie and Mary and Pals Paper Arts gave me the perfect excuse to pull this set up and ink it for the first time!

The colors at Pals Paper Arts are very patriotic...Real Red, Midnight Muse and Whisper White. Midnight Muse is now retired but it was one of my favorite colors so I still have a brand new pack of it to use. I also used retired Polka Dot Parade in Real Red for my banner. Another DSP that I was so sad to see go but like the Muse I have a few packs of it left.

I embossed some Midnight Muse with the Arrows TIEF and I layered that on a card base of Real Red. I had originally stamped the silhouette on a smaller oval but to keep in line with the sketch I went to the next size up and stamped the image in Midnight Muse. I then stamped the sentiment in Real Red and created a Whisper White banner across the card, where the sparkly strip in the sketch is. For the 2 flower pieces in the sketch I stamped the boots from the set in Midnight Muse and popped those up with dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by, and make sure you go check out these 2 challenge blogs!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: For Your Country

Paper: Real Red, Midnight Muse(retired), Whisper White, Polka Dot Parade(retired)

Ink: Midnight Muse(retired), Real Red

Accessories: Big Shot, Ovals Collection Framelits, Banners Framelits Dies, Arrows TIEF, dimensionals

Prints for Father's Day

This week at The Friday Mashup Lynda is our hostess and she has a terrific challenge for us! She wants to see projects for Father's Day and while you are doing that, stamp on something other than card stock.

I was stuck on what to stamp on that wasn't card stock and my friend and fellow DT member Holly made some suggestions, one of them being newspaper. I thought, ok, that's something I can handle! We save newspaper throughout the year to use for our grill chimney so I grabbed some and sat down to get to work.

I cut a piece of the newspaper a bit smaller than my card front size and I grabbed the World Map background set and stamped that in Early Espresso on the newspaper. Then I grabbed some Naturals White card stock and stamped the train from the new Travelers set in Early Espresso also. I used a circle die to cut it out and its adhered directly to the newspaper. The Father's Day sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set. I love that set! The newspaper background is adhered to an Early Espresso card base. I kept the whole thing monochromatic, I really like how it looks.

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

Create a project for "Father's Day or that special guy in your life".

Create a project with "Stamping on anything other than Card Stock".

or Mash it Up! and create a "Father's Day project with Stamping on anything but Card Stock".

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Traveler, World Map, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Early Espresso, Naturals White, newspaper

Ink: Early Espresso

Accessories: Big Shot, Bitty Banners Framelits, Circle Dies, sponge, dimensionals

Happy Trails for Freshly Made

I haven't played along with Freshly Made Sketches in a bit so I sat down this morning to play along with their latest challenge.

I looked at the sketch for a while and it took me a bit to figure out what I wanted to do with the stamp set I had in mind but it finally came together for me and I am really happy with how the card turned out.

My friend Holly recently introduced me to Lawn Fawn stamps and I was instantly smitten. I picked up the Happy Trails set and matching die last week and wanted to get them inked up. Me, hubby and 2 of our boys went fishing for salmon about 4 hours from where we live and of course being Alaska the entire drive is awesome :) The scenery and miles and miles of nothing but trees and mountains was my inspiration for this card. I live in a wonderful area but I tell you this last weekend my husband could have dropped me off in the middle of nowhere and I would have been perfectly content!

The line of trees represents lines in the sketch, as does the road and then the sentiment that I placed under the road scene. Lawn Fawn included some of their pattern paper in my orders (how cool is that!) so I used some of it to paper piece the little trailer. I thought they were nice summer patterns! The larger trees are flat on the paper and the smaller trees I popped up with dimensionals. The camper and car are also popped up.

Just some of the amazing views we had along our drive. This is along the Glenn Highway.

Stamps: Happy Trails (Lawn Fawn)

Paper: Basic Black(SU), Whisper White(SU), Pink Lemonade paper (Lawn Fawn)

Ink: Garden Green, Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight, Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip(all SU)

Accessories: Happy Trails Lawn Cuts(Lawn Fawn), SU White Chalk Marker, dimensionals

Staying Tradtional for Jingle Belles

I was happy to see the challenge over at Jingle Belles. This week they are all about red and green, the traditional colors of Christmas. I am totally a traditional type of gal. I love red an green Christmas cards, they just make me so darn happy!

I sat for a while staring at my supplies, trying to figure out what to do. For someone who was so excited about the challenge I had zero mojo flowing through me, so irritating!

I grabbed some polka dot paper and snowflake dies and got the wheels turning. I ended up taking the die and cutting out the shape in the middle of the Old Olive polka dot paper. Then I put some Real Red polka dot paper in the back of the snowflake shape. I then cut a smaller snowflake in Old Olive and put that in the middle of the larger one.

I then cut out the 'Merry' in Real Red (the photo makes it look a lot darker than it is, it actually goes quite nicely with the polka dot background) and adhered that at the bottom of the card. For a little sparkle a added some rhinestones here and there. The photo doesn't do the card justice, its really pretty in person!

Make sure you head over to Jingle Belles to check out the challenge and play along!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: none

Paper: Old Olive, Red Red, Polka Dot Parade DSP(retired)

Ink: none

Accessories: Big Shot, Expressions Thinlits Dies(retired), Festive Flurry Framelit Dies, Rhinestones

Patterns for Friday Mashup

Before I get into details for this weeks Friday Mashup challenge I just want to thank everyone for the very nice comments on my mini blinds card from last week! I was thrilled that so many of you enjoyed my project and your kind comments were greatly appreciated. I haven't had time to get a tutorial together but you can always go HERE, its the tutorial I used to make my card.

This week Avery has a great sketch for us and she wants us to use different DSP with it. Avery mentions that she has a lot of DSP left over from last years catalog and let me say, I am right there with her! I organized my craft space last weekend and I was surprised at some of the older DSP I had. Now the funny thing is, I didn't use any retired DSP on this card, its all new LOL Oooops! Oh well, I'll make other cards with this sketch and retired DSP.

For the ribbon I didn't have any Blackberry Bliss so I took some retired Whisper White I had and colored it with the Blackberry Bliss marker. In person its not as dark as the photo makes it seem.

Make sure you stop by The Friday Mashup to check out all the great cards from the rest of the design team and then give the challenge a try, we'd love to see what you come up with!

 -Create a project using the "Sketch".
 -Create a project using " an assortment of different Pattern Papers".
 -or Mash it Up! and create a project with the "Sketch using different pattern papers".

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Just Sayin'

Paper: Smoky Slate, Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Whisper White, Moonlight DSP

Ink: Smoky Slate

Accessories: Ribbon(retired Whisper White colored with a Blackberry Bliss marker), Word Bubbles Framelits

Challenging Colors for TTS18

 

It's time for 'Tis The Season and we've got some colors this week that will really make you think! We want you to make a Christmas card with Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry and Basic Black, with an optional trimming of using anything silver.

I thought about this one for a while and I decided to just keep it simple. I brought out one of my favorite Christmas stamps, SU's Scenic Season. I just cant get enough of these trees and the simple sentiment.

I stamped the trees, sentiment and snowflakes in Silver Metallic Ink and also sponged the edges with it. The Pacific Point was brought in by stamping the scene on a piece of Whisper White and coloring the bird from the stamp with Pacific Point and cutting it out to mount on the Basic Black card stock. The Basic Black panel was then mounted on a card base of Rich Razzleberry. I incorporated more silver by adding some silver stretch cord along the bottom of the card.

I hope you'll drop by 'Tis The Season to see what the rest of the design team came up with, and then give the challenge a try!

Supplies used(all items SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Scenic Season

Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Silver Metallic, Pacific Point

Accessories: Silver Stretch Cord, sponge, dimensionals