Kind Koala Card

Sometimes you just know you have to have something the minute you see it! That's how it was for me with this Kind Koala stamp by Stampin' Up!. It was the first thing I put on my wish list from the new catalog. This is the first card I've made with it and I really love how it turned out. To play along with the Tic Tac Toe challenge at the Paper Players I used twine, patterned paper and embossing. The patterned paper used on this Kind Koala Card is from the All Abloom paper stack. For the embossing I used the Beautiful Wings embosslit for the little butterfly and a discontinued embossing folder from the Needlepoint Border set. The Koala was colored with my Copic markers using the warm gray colors. I stamped the image twice and fussy cut the Koala and adhered with dimensionals. I stamped the flower on blushing bride cardstock, fussy cut it and adhered it flat to the cardstock adding a daffodil delight candy dot to the flower center. The new blushing bride twine was exactly what this card needed and the final ingredient for the Paper Players challenge. Thanks for stopping by and come back soon!

My Kind Koala Card is entered into the following challenges:

• The Paper Players: Tic Tac Toe
• 613 Avenue Create: Anything Goes
• Come and Get It: Animals

Announcement and a Card

Hello to all my crafty blogging friends! I have an exciting announcement to share with you today. For the next three months I will be a Guest Designer for the Paper Players!!! I must admit I was shocked and honored to be asked to create alongside the very talented design team at the Paper Players. My term starts on July 6th through September and I can't wait to get started. I hope you will stop by on July 6th and play along with my first challenge.

Now, onto the card! It's been awhile since I played along at ColourQ but this weeks colours and inspiration photo stayed with me. I used the discontinued Secret Garden framelits to create the floral die cuts in the embossed Island Indigo panel. Then I adhered the solid colored cardstock to the back and then layered to the scalloped border panel. I added the center punch detail to the flowers, rhinestone basic jewels and then used dazzling details on the flowers to add sparkle. Unfortunately, the photo didn't capture the beauty of the sparkle. It looks much better in person. The sentiment is from the Too Kind stamp set and was stamped with Island Indigo ink. To finish the card I punched the sentiment with a 1 3/8" circle punch and layered with a Real Red 1 3/4" scalloped circle punch. Then I popped it up with dimensionals and this card was done. All supplies are by Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This card is entered into the following challenges:

• ColourQ: Colour
• Crafty Girls: Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper-Crafty: Embossing

Hello, You Card

Wow! This weekend flew by and this week my schedule is packed. Knowing I won't have a lot of crafting time, I created this Hello, You Card this evening. I used this weeks sketch at the Paper Players. I love the colors in the card created by Sandy Mathis, click here for her card. I used patterned paper from the new All Abloom paper stack (133703) by Stampin' Up! The flower is from the retired Secret Garden stamp set. I stamped it on watercolor paper and used my Aqua Painters with Strawberry Slush, Blushing Bride, Daffodil Delight and a little Crushed Curry inks to add color. The sentiment is from the Regarding Dahlias stamp set and was heat embossed with white embossing powder. I then added some heat embossed faux stitching on the banners. Well, that's about it. I hope you have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by!

Gold Blossom For You Card

It's a great day here in Oklahoma! I hope everything is wonderful where you live. My afternoon has consisted of laundry and crafting. The card I made today is for the 200th challenge celebration at The Paper Players. There are six challenge options to choose from. I picked the sketch selected by Sandy Mathis. The center panel of my Gold Blossom For You Card was inspired by a card from page 149 of the new Stampin' Up! catalog. A few of the punched circles are adhered to the typeset paper and others are loose so they move around if you shake it. The vellum was then stitched into place. All supplies for this card are by Stampin' Up! with exception to the gold paper, I believe it's by Recollections. The stamp sets used are: Flower Shop and Itty Bitty Banners. The colors are: Basic Black, Lost Lagoon, Real Red and Very Vanilla. For the patterned paper I used the discontinued Modern Medley and the embossing folder is decorative dots. To make the layered flower I used the Blossom and Pansy punches and secured them together with a real red glitter brad. This card was a lot of fun to make! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Gold Blossom For You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• The Paper Players: 200th Celebration 
• Crafting From The Heart: Anything Goes
• Love to Create: Anything Goes

Pretty Birdies Card

Most afternoons you will find my backyard busy with birds. I have seven bird feeders that I try to keep stocked with seed. It's terrific entertainment for my household felines who lay at the back windows and watch them for hours. We have two resident cottontail rabbits who love eating from the ground feeders and the neighborhood squirrels will usually pay us a few visits. This Pretty Birdies Card was inspired by my backyard feathered friends. I used this weeks sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches. I rotated the sketch to accommodate the Doodle Pantry Spring Song Birdies image. The scalloped oval die is my oldest and I also used the retired Little Leaves Sizzlits. The patterned paper is some scrap from my stash that I believe is by The Paper Studio. To cut the wavy edge of the card I used an older Creative Memories wavy trimmer. The flowers were stamped with Calypso Coral ink using the Petite Petals stamp set and coordinating punch all by Stampin' Up!. In the center of the flower I added Daffodil Delight Candy Dots. That about sums it up. Thanks for stopping by!

My Pretty Birdies Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch
• Clear it Out: Anything Goes
• Die Cuttin Divas: Things with Wings
• Crafty Bloggers: Bingo (line A)
• Shopping Our Stash: Oldest Punch or Die

Cheer Up Buttercup Card

Hello! I hope you're having a lovely day. My afternoon has been nice and quiet, just the way I like it. I spent some time creating this Cheer Up Buttercup Card using this weeks Mojo Monday sketch. All supplies are by Stampin' Up!. I used the Moonlight patterned paper, Geometrical stamp set, decorative dots embossing folder and a small strip of silver glimmer paper for sparkle. The colors featured in this card are:

> Basic Gray
> Hello Honey
> Lost Lagoon
> Whisper White


The sketch was a lot of fun to use and I love the balanced design by Julee Tilman. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Polka-Dot Pieces Card

There are many neglected but wonderful stamp sets in my collection and Polka-Dot Pieces is one of them. I really love it but for some reason I rarely use it. This afternoon I decided to pull this set out and make a card. I used the sketch from Create with Connie and Mary. The colors used are:

• Pool Party
• Cherry Cobbler
• Crushed Curry
• Island Indigo
• Wild Wasabi

All supplies are by Stampin' Up! I used three other stamp sets to create this card and they are: Happy Watercolor, Papillon Potpourri, and Label Love. The final touch was the Whisper White twine and a few rhinestones to add some sparkle. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Polka-Dot Pieces Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Create with Connie and Mary: Sketch
• QKR Stampede: Anything Goes
• Sister Act: Anything Goes
• Stempelsonne: Punched Flowers

Join Stampin' Up! Promotion

If you have ever thought about becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, now is a GREAT time to join for only $50. Receive a discount on your favorite products and share your love of paper crafting with your friends and family. Click here for the full details about the promotion. You have until June 30, 2014 to take advantage of this limited time offer. Here are a few benefits of being a demonstrator:

1. Sneak peek on new products and colors.
2. Access to Stampin' Up! training videos and ideas.
3.  Discount on your product purchases and opportunity to earn extra income.

Why wait? Join my team today! 

Deer Father's Day Card

Most of the cards I make have flowers or butterflies on them. Making a masculine card can definitely be a challenge for me. Instead of thinking about what I want to make, I have to stop and think about the recipient. What do they like? This Deer Father's Day Card is for my father-in-law. He used to be an avid hunter and I would definitely say he is on the conservative side. The layout for the card comes from this weeks sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches. I really love the tilted focal image. All the supplies for this card have been in my stash for over a year. The cardstock, patterned paper, wood embossing folder and deer stamp are by Stampin' Up!. The sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts and the twine is American Crafts. I stamped the focal image on watercolor paper and used my Aqua Painter to add the hint of color. Hopefully he likes it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Deer Father's Day Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch
• Oldie but A Goodie: Father's Day/Masculine
• Tuesday Throwdown: Special Man
• Papertake Weekly: For the Boys
• The Male Room: Father's Day

Star Thanks Card

Hello! I hope you are having a wonderful day! This afternoon I spent some time making this Star Thanks Card for The Paper Players color challenge. The colors are: Real Red, Whisper White and Night of Navy. To create my center panel I used watercolor paper, Night of Navy stampin' pad and my large Aqua Painter. Once the panel was dry I layered it to a slightly larger piece of Night of Navy cardstock. I cut the stars using my Cricut machine and then layered them with silver star stickers. To break up the panel I used silver ribbon that I recycled from holiday packaging. The thanks stamp is from the new Another Thank You stamp set by Stampin' Up! After stamping the sentiment with Real Red ink I used oval punches and layered them together. That about sums it up. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Mad About Plaid Photo Inspiration Challenge

Welcome to our June challenge at Savvy Handmade Cards. Summer is nearing closer each day and that usually means our schedules get busier and outside entertainment is more appealing. For those reasons our challenges in June, July and August will be monthly challenges. In September we will resume the bi-weekly challenges. This will give you longer to participate without feeling rushed. For June our challenge theme is:

Mad About Plaid  

The inspiration photo has very manly colors but if you want to use pastels or brights feel free. The only requirement is to use plaid somewhere on your handmade card creation. Thanks for stopping by and we look forward to seeing your creation in the gallery!

Inspirational Designs:

Erin's Card using image from Doctor Digi

Andrea's Card using image from Doodle Pantry

Challenge Guidelines:

1. Create a New card using the challenge theme, no linking to old posts. 
2. Only one entry per blog address.
3. This is a card only challenge.
4. You must use a stamp, either rubber or digital.
5. You can combine this challenge with other challenges.
6. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to this challenge. Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission.
7. All brands of stamping products are welcome.
8. HAVE FUN!!!

This challenge will run until July 1, 2014.

Cowboy Birdie Card

It's getting close to Father's Day and I've been working on ideas for my dad. This Cowboy Birdie Card is a strong possibility. I love the adorable yellow bird image by Doodle Pantry, it just makes me smile. When creating this card I used the manliest colors in my stash that coordinated with the pre-colored image. The patterned paper is from the Smarty Pants collection by Simple Stories. I used Crushed Curry, Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green Stampin' Up! cardstock as accent colors. The small banners were punched using the Stampin' Up! banner punch (133519) and I hand cut the sentiment banner. The final touch was three pewter brads. I decided not to use Happy Father's Day on the front of the card because if I don't use it for that occasion it will fit many others throughout the year. Well partner I'd say this here card is pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself. Enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for stopping by!

My Cowboy Birdie Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Shopping Our Stash: Critters
• Doodle Pantry: Make it Manly
• Cardz 4 Guyz: Father's Day
• The Crafter's Cafe: Masculine
• Moving Along with the Times: Father's Day
• C.R.A.F.T.: Father's Day/Male

Birthday Photo Inspiration Winner

A big thanks to each entry who played along with our Birthday Photo Inspiration Challenge! The randomly selected winner is:

Sandy S. from Scribbles by Sandy

Sandy's card is fantastic! The colors and adorable image created a fun birthday card. Thanks for joining us Sandy. I'll be sending you an email in the next few days to request your mailing address.

Come back tomorrow for the start of another challenge.

Stampin' Up! 2014-2016 In Color Card

Are you excited about the new catalog at Stampin' Up!? Each time we get new colors I try to make a card incorporating all of them. Here is my Stampin' Up! 2014-2016 In Color Card. I wanted to create something using geometrical shapes and I was inspired by triangles. The new In Colors included:
>> Blackberry Bliss
>> Hello Honey
>> Lost Lagoon
>> Mossy Meadow
>> Tangelo Twist

The Stampin' Up! products used on this card include: Whisper White cardstock, all In Color cardstock colors, silver glimmer paper, classic stampin' pad in Blackberry Bliss, Perfect Pennants stamp set (133230)*, Banners Framelits Dies (132173)*, itty bitty circle punch, chevron border punch, decorative dots embossing folder, Big Shot and stampin' dimensionals. *Bundle and Save (Wood 134815) or (Clear 134816).

This card is entered into the following challenges:

• Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart: Anything Goes
• Love to Create: Happy Birthday
• Robyn's Fetish: Anything Goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room: Freestyle
• My Time to Craft: No Design Papers