Fun Christmas Stocking

Earlier in the month a shared a Handmade Christmas Stocking I made for my youngest niece. This Fun Christmas Stocking is for my oldest niece who is seventeen. The beaded trim is the same on both stockings and was sewn on by hand. I have a feeling both girls will love the beaded trim and knew if I used something different I would probably regret it. The fabric on this stocking has a fun retro vibe and the colors are nice and bright. I hope she likes it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

I'm linking this Fun Christmas Stocking to Miriam's Handmade Gift Challenge.

Teddy Cocoa Christmas Card

A mug of cocoa and an adorable teddy bear make the perfect card for the Barista that makes my morning caffeinated beverage! This Teddy Cocoa Christmas Card was made using a Bugaboo image and the Tuesday Morning Sketch. I know first hand how hard it is working in the service industry this time of year, so I made this card to spread some Christmas cheer. I colored the image with my Copic markers and then layered it onto a Spellbinders scalloped square. To help clear out some of my stash, I used some bright festive patterned paper by Doodlebug Designs that I've had for several years. Then to add some detail I found a candy cane dimensional sticker by Recollections that was hiding in my sticker stash. The only other detail was adding the four clear rhinestones for a little bling. That's it! I'm pretty sure this will be the last Christmas card I make for 2014. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This card is entered into the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch
• Clear It Out: Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly: Last Christmas Card
• Little Red Wagon: Anything Christmas

Santa Christmas Card

There are only nine days until Christmas. Do you have all your cards done? I have one more to make and then I will be done for this year. To help you finish with your Christmas card list our challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz this week is to use The Big Guy (Santa) on your card. Would you believe this is the first time I've used a Santa image on one of my handmade cards? In fact, I had to search for a free image to complete my challenge inspiration. Once I had the image printed, I colored it with my Copic markers. The image was cut into a 3" circle and matted with a scalloped circle by Spellbinders. The plaid and text paper are both by The Paper Studio and the red polka dots are by Best Creation Inc. To add some interest I used a snowflake edge punch by EK Success, added some white twine and four rhinestones to anchor each corner. Now... will Santa find your name on the naughty or nice list?

We would love for you to join us this week at Cardz 4 Guyz. All paper crafting supplies are welcome. The only requirements are to meet the challenge theme and make the card for a guy. Click here to see the inspiration from the rest of the design team and I hope to see your card in the gallery. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Turtle Christmas Card

Hello! I have a quick post to share my latest card created for three challenges. First I selected a Bugaboo image to play along with Bugaboo's Second Annual Holiday Choas. The image is Turtles - Christmas and I colored it with my Copic markers. Then I selected the Holly patterned paper to play along at Crafty Little Fairies. The patterned papers are from multiple sources, Holly pattern by Doodlebug Designs, red and green foil stripe by Recollections and red and white glitter polka dots by Best Creation Inc. To accent the image, I cut a green scalloped circle using a Spellbinders die. Then I added three red rhinestones and a dimensional poinsettia sticker by Recollections. That's it! The third challenge I would like to enter is a Christmas/Holiday Season theme at The Crafter's Cafe. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Enough Reindeer Card

Greetings! It's time for another challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz and this week we would love to see some Winter Critters on your card. My card is a Christmas card using a new image by Bugaboo Digi Stamps however, your card doesn't have to be for a holiday. As long as it has a critter and is made for a guy then it meets the challenge guidelines. We would love for you to play along!

When I was searching for an image for my card, I came across this new Puppy - Enough Reindeer and knew it would be perfect to use on a card for my Brother for Christmas. I colored the image with my Copic markers and added some Dazzling Details to the snow. The layout is from the sketch at Bugaboo's Second Annual Holiday Choas. The polka dot papers are simple and from Doodlebug Designs and the green glitter paper is by DCWV. The last detail was adding the black twine from The Twinery. I sure hope you will join us this week for our Winter Critters challenge.

Click here to see the inspiration from the Cardz 4 Guyz design team. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Fancy Deer Christmas Card for The Paper Players

Well... this is it! My last post as a guest designer at The Paper Players, (sad face). I want to thank each member of the design team for being supportive and encouraging during the last six months. It's been so much fun!!!

Okay, the challenge for the next two weeks is to create Fancy Holiday Projects. The theme title is Black Tie and it's hosted by the awesomely talented Nance.

My card features a silver embossed fancy deer image by Bo Bunny. I dug through my stash and found the black and silver foil paper by The Paper Studio that I bought for a "special occasion" and this is definitely one of those occasions. The deer and snowflake were heat embossed using VersaMark and silver embossing powder. The Good Greetings sentiment was stamped using Memento black ink onto the focal panel. Then I decided to add some color using Soft Sky cardstock. I added a layer and embossed a strip using the Fancy Fan embossing folder. The last detail was layering the snowflake on the scalloped circle and using a black glimmer brad in the center. All in all, this card was pretty simple to make but the embossed details and fancy paper really made this card shine.

We would love for you to join us for the last challenge of 2014 at The Paper Players. You have two weeks to play along and all paper crafting products are welcome. Just make your project and link your post to the gallery by NOON (PST) on Friday, December 19th. Click here to see the wonderful inspiration from the design team and thanks for stopping by!

Handmade Christmas Stocking

Hello! I hope you're having a great week. Tonight I don't have a card to share because my project today was a Handmade Christmas Stocking. Each year I try to make my nieces something handmade and this year I decided to make stockings. This one is for my youngest niece who is ten. I wasn't going for a traditional Christmas Stocking but something fun and different using the colors she likes. The hardest part was selecting the fabric. Since I'm a Showroom Manager of a home fabric store I'm constantly thinking of how I can use the fabrics and trimmings. This was definitely an exciting project. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This stocking is linked to Miriam's Crafting Blog for her Handmade Gift Challenge and Craft-Room Challenge for their Christmas Decorations Challenge.

Blue Christmas Card

What's your favorite Christmas color scheme? Do you like the traditional red and green or do you prefer something non-traditional? This week the challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz is to create a masculine Christmas card using your favorite Christmas colors.

When I started thinking about my favorite Christmas colors, well I found it hard to pick. Through the years it's changed many times. To decorate our Christmas tree I've used: Gold/Silver/White, Purple/Silver/White and our tree now has ornaments of all colors. Since the card is for a guy, I decided to ask the hubby for his input and Blue/Silver/White was the winner.

The layout for this card is simple and one I use a lot. To fit the tree image by Inkadinkado, I made a larger card. The finished size is 6" x 4.5". The blue snowflake patterned paper is by The Paper Studio and the glitter polka dot paper is by Best Creation Inc. The tree image was heat embossed using VersaMark and silver embossing powder. I used an EK Success snowflake edge punch and used some blue rhinestones for detail. It didn't turn out ruggedly manly but the hubby said it would work for a guy, so I believe him.

We would love for you to join us this week at Cardz 4 Guyz! Click here to check out the inspiration from the rest of the design team. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Blue Christmas Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Robyn's Fetish: Anything Goes
• Paper Creator's Crafts: All About Christmas
• My Perfect Life: Any Christmas Card

Holiday Home Card for The Paper Players

Happy Sunday! I'm getting close to the end of my guest designer spot at The Paper Players. It's been an honor to be featured alongside these super talented ladies! There is a definite feeling of sadness that it's coming to an end. So, I hope you will celebrate the last couple of weeks with me and share one of your creations at The Paper Players. This week the wonderful Jaydee has a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge for us. I always enjoy a good Tic-Tac-Toe challenge and I'm sure you will too. To play along choose any three items across, down or diagonally.

Here are your choices:

My design started with the idea of a starry night Christmas card. When I read the choices the star was the first thing I gravitated to, but I ended up choosing the Tree going diagonally with Embossing and Glitter. I could have also used the bottom across with Star, Die Cut and Glitter but I just fussy-cut the house instead of using the coordinating framelits. To create the stars I used the decorative mask and applied VersaMark ink and then heat embossed using clear embossing powder. Then I sponged on Soft Sky, Lost Lagoon and Night of Navy inks. To add the glitter I used a VersaMark pen and went over the stars, applied the glitter and then heat set. I did the same with the trees, first I stamped them then used the VersaMark pen and dipped them in the glitter and then heat set. The card really has a lot of shimmer that the picture doesn't show. The Peace & Joy sentiment from the Good Greeting set was stamped in black Memento ink. From the Holiday Home stamp set Santa and his reindeer and the house were stamped with black Memento ink. Then I colored the house with my Copic markers, fussy-cut and adhered with dimensionals. That pretty much sums it up!

Now, you should definitely check out the inspiration from the rest of the design team at The Paper Players. Then, play along! You have until NOON (PST) on Friday, December 5th to link your creation in the gallery. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!                 

Thanksgiving Blessings Card

Thanks for stopping by! Today is the start of a new challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz. This week we would like to see food or drink featured on your card. Since I still needed one more Thanksgiving card, I decided to use the Thanksgiving Corn Mouse by Meljen's Designs. The image was colored with Copic markers and then cut into a 3" circle. The circle was then layered onto a Spellbinders scalloped die cut from Early Espresso cardstock . Then I decided to cut into my hoarded stash of retired Stampin' Up! patterned paper from one of my all-time favorite collections, Orchard Harvest dsp. The sentiment is from AAW PrintWorks Collection and was stamped in Early Espresso ink. The last detail was adding the gold glitter leaf brad and that finished my Thanksgiving cards for this year. This card is already in the mail and headed to one of my relatives to arrive just in time for Thanksgiving. I hope they like it!

Click here to view the creations from the Cardz 4 Guyz design team. We hope you will join us this week!

My Thanksgiving Blessings Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Robyn's Fetish: Use a Digi
• My Craft Spot: Thanksgiving and Fall!
• Open-Minded Crafting: Grateful
• Party Time Tuesdays: Anything Goes

Hello Sweet Friend Card

Hello stamping friends! It's time again for another challenge at The Paper Players. This week the lovely LeAnne is hostess for a wonderful sketch challenge. The sketch is really versatile. I can't wait to see how you use it! To play along at Crazy 4 Challenges I've used a Hello sentiment from the Six-Sided Sampler stamp set.

As you can see, I went with a non-holiday card. The black and white was accented with Bermuda Bay and Real Red. When I make cards I don't plan everything out first, I create as I go. However, by doing it this way there is always something I wish I did differently. The polka dot panel needed to be a little narrower to bring the flower up. There needed to be more space between the flower and sentiment area. Other than that, I like the way it turned out. Do you plan out your card or create as you go?

We would love for you to join us this week! Click here for more inspiration from The Paper Players design team. You have until NOON (PST) on Friday, November 28th to link your creations. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!

Here's the sketch:

Hello Sweet Friend Card Supplies:

• Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Bermuda Bay and Real Red cardstock, patterned paper from the Back to Black dsp and polka dots by Recollections.
• Stamps: Flower from Beautiful Bunch set and sentiment from Six-Sided Sampler set.
• Inks & Coloring: Memento black ink, VersaMark and Zing Red Glitter embossing powder.
• Other Stuff: Finishing Touches edgelit, oval punch, scalloped oval punch, red button, Bermuda Bay twine, black glitter brad and stampin' dimensionals.

Christmas Stocking for Cardz 4 Guyz

Greetings! It's time for another challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz. This week the theme is Christmas Stockings. For my card I decided to use a shaped card using a retired Christmas Stocking Bigz die from Stampin' Up!. Using the Big Shot the stocking pieces were die cut and adhered together. The colors used are Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green and Very Vanilla. The patterned paper was called Be Of Good Cheer and like the die it is also retired. However, most of it can be found on eBay.

We would love for you to join us this week! Click here to visit the creations from the design team. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

My Christmas Stocking is entered into the following challenges:

• Love to Create: Christmas
• Dies R Us: Christmas

Give Thanks Card for MOJO372

Good evening! I had today off and between errands I spent some time in my craft room. It's been awhile since I've played along at Cards in Envy and Mojo Monday so today I printed out the Mojo sketch and made this Give Thanks Card.  

Give Thanks Card Supplies*:

• Paper: Very Vanilla, Mossy Meadow, Blackberry Bliss and Cajun Craze cardstock, patterned paper from Color Me Autumn dsp and retired Neutrals dsp.
• Stamps: For All Things stamp set.
• Inks: Classic stampin' pad in Cajun Craze and Antique Linen distress ink by Tim Holtz.
• Other Stuff: Needlepoint embossing folder, 2 3/8" scallop circle punch, 2" circle punch, leaf brad by The Paper Studio and stampin' dimensionals.

*All supplies by Stampin' Up! unless noted.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!!!

Casual Fall Thank You Card

Happy Sunday! I hope you're having a relaxing weekend and I'm also hoping you will have time to make a card for this weeks challenge at The Paper Players. The amazing Ann has a wonderful Clean-and-Simple Thank You challenge for us this week. To start my card I chose the colors from the Pals Paper Arts Challenge to use Crushed Curry, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie. Then I remembered a layout from a previous card I made. It was from 2012 and featured an emboss resist leaf that I really wanted to duplicate using the PPA colors. I retrieved the retired French Foliage stamp set and went to work. The Crushed Curry background paper is from the Color Me Autumn dsp and to change up the design a bit, I added three Candy Dots and used the Itty Bitty Banners Thank You sentiment. Finally, I've kept a Clean-and-Simple challenge, well... clean-and simple.

Click here to check out the designs from the rest of The Paper Players. We would love to see your card in the gallery! You have until Friday, November 21st at NOON (PST) to link up your creation. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Quirky Turkey Card Take Two

Hello! I have one week to get all my Thanksgiving cards done. If I would have know earlier in the year that I would go back to work full-time, I wouldn't have procrastinated. Oh well! I am thankful I have a fun new job and it adds an element of fun to have a short deadline. Earlier in the month I made a Quirky Turkey Thanksgiving Card and at the same time I printed out several images and stamped several sentiments. So, I decided to make another Quirky Turkey Card. The image is by Doodle Pantry and comes pre-colored which works perfectly when time is an issue. The patterned papers are from the Pumpkin Patch and Sweater Weather collections both by DCWV. I kept the layout simple with a center focused design. For detail I did some stitching on the green panel and added some Candy Dots. All in all this was a pretty easy card. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day/night!

This Quirky Turkey Card is entered into the following challenges:

• The Sisterhood of Crafters: Thank-ful
• Crafting by Designs: Give Thanks
• Papertake Weekly: 2 or 4 Legs

Masculine Give Thanks Card

Fall colors are wonderful to create masculine cards. So, take advantage of the season and join us this week at Cardz 4 Guyz for our theme Thanksgiving/Thankful. For my card I chose to use the Lovely as a Tree stamp set by Stampin' Up! It truly is a classic and perfect for masculine cards. I used the rock-n-roll technique for the leaves of the tree using More Mustard and Cajun Craze inks. The patterned papers are from the Sweater Weather collection by DCWV. I dug through my punches and found the leaf punch from Creative Memories. I added a touch of Frayed Burlap distress ink onto the leaves to darken the edges. The final details were adding the three Candy Dots and the Give Thanks sentiment from the Stampin' Up! hostess/freebie set called Good Greetings. The sentiment was punched using the word window punch and layered onto the modern label punch both by Stampin' Up! I kept the layout simple and let the paper and colors do all the work.

To check out the inspiration from my fellow designers at Cardz 4 Guyz, just CLICK HERE. I hope to see your card in the gallery. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

I'm entering my card in the fall photo challenge at {PIN}spirational. 

Merry Little Christmas Card for The Paper Players

Hello friends! It's beginning to sink in that Christmas will be here shortly. There is only six weekends left to get all the shopping done. In the past I would be done with my shopping before Thanksgiving, however in recent years I've waited to the last weekend and knocked it out in a day. This year I started early but I definitely won't be done by Thanksgiving. I would love to hear your approach to Christmas gift shopping!

When it comes to card giving at Christmas I only make handmade Christmas cards for immediate family. I give the card to them with their gifts. I love seeing their faces when they open their cards. For the rest of my family and friends I'm still mailing my stash of store bought cards. For years before I started making handmade cards I loved to buy boxes of cards at after Christmas sales. Needless to say, I still have years worth of cards.

Okay, enough of my rambling! Today is the start of a cozy color challenge hosted by Sandy at The Paper Players. The colors are perfect for a Christmas card. I used the new Festival of Trees stamp set and Tree Punch by Stampin' Up! The Cherry Cobbler colored background dsp is from the Festival of Prints paper stack from 2012 and the Mossy Meadow  paper is from the current All Abloom paper stack. I added silver heat embossing to trim the tree along with three clear rhinestone basic gems and a clear star. Then I adhered the focal panel to a scalloped circle created using a die by Spellbinders. Lastly, I punched and adhered the sentiment. That's it! We sure hope you will join us this week. For more inspiration from The Paper Players make sure to visit their blogs. To enter your card in the challenge you have until Friday, November 14th at NOON (PST). Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Relax... Masculine Card

Hello and happy Tuesday! It's time for another challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz. This week we want to see Technology Toys for the Boyz featured on your cards. For my card I used a digital image by San's Designs called Resting Dude. The image was colored with my Copic markers and Stampin' Blendabilities markers. I played around with my patterned papers before I settled on these from The Paper Loft. In the end the colors and patterns worked well with what I wanted to create. The sentiment is from Crafter's Companion and was stamped with Memento black ink. Everything else was simple details... a big brown brad, five Candy Dots and a couple of punched details.

Now, click here to check out the inspiration from my fellow design team members at Cardz 4 Guyz. We would love for you to join us this week! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

My Relax... Masculine Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Allsorts: Masculine
• Sentimental Sundays: Anything Goes w/ Sentiment
• Crafts Galore Encore: Anything Goes

Quirky Turkey Thanksgiving Card

Here it is.... my first Thanksgiving card for 2014. I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches and the Quirky Turkey image is by Doodle Pantry. The image used came pre-colored which makes creating multiple cards super easy. The background and patterned paper is from the Sweater Weather collection by DCWV. The purple patterned paper is digital and comes with the Turkey image by Doodle Pantry. It seems I placed the sentiment label a little low from the sketch placement but it didn't alter the sketch too much. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Quirky Turkey Thanksgiving Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch
• Hiding in My Craft Room: Fall Colors
• Doodle Pantry: Any Digi Goes
• V's Sweet Ideas: Anything Goes

Vintage Floral Card for The Paper Players

Hello and Happy Sunday! Today is the start of a Vintage Theme Challenge at The Paper Players hosted by the lovely LeAnne. This challenge gave me the opportunity to use some of my supplies that were bought just because I liked them, even though I had no idea if I would ever use them. Do you ever do that? A good example is the patterned paper used on this card. It's by Graphic 45 from A Ladies' Diary Collection and it's been in my stash for a couple of years. Until now, I never had a reason to use it on a card. The stamp I used is another item I bought just because I liked the design. It's by Heartfelt Creations and it's called Majestic Collage. I stamped the whole image on Very Vanilla cardstock and then I stamped the flowers in the design onto: Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride and Summer Starfruit cardstock and fussy-cut them. On the edges of most of the papers and flowers I used Antique Linen Distress Ink by Tim Holtz. Since the stamp size is large, this card is 5.25' square. A little twine and a Fleur De Lis charm and this Vintage Floral Card was complete.

Do you have some supplies just waiting to be used? Now is your chance!!!

We would love you to join us this week at The Paper Players. The design team have created a wonderful variety of vintage inspired cards. To check out their designs click here. All paper crafting brands are welcome and you have until NOON (PST) on Friday, November 7th to enter your card in the gallery. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Happy Halloween Throwback Card

Good evening and Happy Halloween! I've been so busy that I didn't have time to make a new Halloween card to share today, so I decided to play along with the Artsy-Craftsy Throwback Thursday challenge. Here is the link to my original post (click here) from May 2012. This is one of the first Halloween cards I made and it's still one of my favorites. In fact, I've never given it away. I look at it every year and just can't part with it. Maybe next year I will make a couple just like it to give away. I'm pretty sure I still have all the original paper in my Halloween paper stash just waiting to be used. Well, thanks for stopping by on this All Hallows' Eve!

Masculine Clock Birthday Card

Greetings! I'm back with another masculine inspiration card for Cardz 4 Guyz. This week we want you to use metal on your card creation. I've used a clock charm that resembles Big Ben and three black metal glimmer brads. The grey handmade embossed paper kinda looks like metal but it's not, both it and the clock paper are by Recollections. Since the patterned paper does most the work for this card I kept all the other details minimal. The birthday sentiment label is from the Stampin' Up! Label Love stamp set and I used Baked Brown Sugar ink. I couldn't resist the urge to use twine to secure the clock charm and then I added three silver sequins. This card is really different for me but I like how it turned out.

To view the cards by my fellow design team members just visit the Cardz 4 Guyz challenge blog. We hope you will be inspired to join us this week. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

BE YOU {TIFUL} Emerging Color Card

Hello! I've been spending some much needed time in my craft room this afternoon. Since I started working full-time several weeks ago, my crafting time has been very limited. For this BE YOU {TIFUL} Emerging Color Card, I was inspired by the colours at the Colour Me Playful! challenge. The colors are perfect for the emerging colors technique. If you want to see my step by step directions click here for a previous post. The challenge colors are:

• Basic Black
• Blackberry Bliss
• Elegant Eggplant
• Crisp Cantaloupe 
• Neutral

The black is bordering my emerging color panel but it's hard to see in the picture. What do you think about the pop of white on the large flower? Is it too random or does it help draw your eye to the largest focal image? Let me know what you think. The only stamp set used was the Flower Patch photopolymer set by Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Neutral Toned Christmas Card

Last week was crazy busy for me! So, I'm super happy today is Sunday and I have nothing on the agenda except some much needed crafting time! I do hope you have time this week to join us at The Paper Players for a wonderful sketch challenge hosted by Nance. Sketch challenges are one of my favorites and I really love the sketch Nance designed. A couple of weeks ago I cut the snowflake paper I used for this Neutral Toned Christmas Card but I never could come up with a good design. Thankfully Nance solved my dilemma.

All supplies for this card are by Stampin' Up!. I used Early Espresso and Whisper White cardstock and the patterned paper is from the Trim the Tree paper stack. For the embossed panel, I stamped the Good Greetings sentiment first and then left enough space to add the Espresso paper strip and then embossed the far side. Don't you think the big polka dots look like falling snow? The last step was adding the die cut snowflakes.

This sketch is definitely a keeper! I can't wait to see what you create. To play along at The Paper Players simply create a card using the sketch and link it to the challenge blog HERE. All paper crafting products are welcome but you can only link your creation to a total of three challenges. The deadline to enter is NOON (PST) on Friday, October 31st. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!!!

Here is the sketch:

Halloween Sock Monkey Card

Howdy! I hope you're ready for a Halloween challenge! This week at Cardz 4 Guyz we would love to see your Halloween cards made for a guy. For my card I was happy to color up this fun Halloween Sock Monkey image by Bugaboo Digi Stamps. I used a combination of Stampin' Blendabilities markers and Copic markers to color the image. The patterned papers are by K & Company with the exception of the Lucky Limeade/Black polka dot it's retired Halloween paper by Stampin' Up! I'll be the first to admit I'm a sucker for Halloween patterned paper. I'll never use everything I have and of course I buy more when I find something I like. Oh well, back to the card... the layout is from the current Stella Says Sketch challenge. The sentiment label is from the retired Tags 4 You stamp set by Stampin' Up! and the final touch were the five black rhinestones by Recollections. That's it! Using the sketch made this Halloween Sock Monkey Card come together pretty easy. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see your card in the gallery at Cardz 4 Guyz!

My card is linked to the following challenges:

• Catch The Bug: Stella Says Sketch #217
• Crafty Boots: Falling Leaves and/or Halloween
• The Stamping Boutique: Trick or Treat

Bat Cat Halloween Card

Hello! I hope you're having a great day! I have a quick post to share my latest Halloween card. This Bat Cat Halloween Card will be sent to my youngest niece. She likes cats and the cute Penny Black Bat Cat stamp looks a lot like her kitty. The stamp is quite large at 3.5" and so I made the card 5.5" square. I colored the image with my Copic markers and paper pieced the bat mask. The papers are from DCWV and I used a fun spider web punch by Fiskars to add some detail. For the sentiment I used a new set from Stampin' Up! called Ghoulish Greetings and the final touch were three black rhinestones. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Bat Cat Halloween Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Penny Black Saturday Challenge: Halloween or Halloween Colours
• Glitter n Sparkle Challenge: Use Some Orange
• Sweet Stampin' Challenge: Halloween
• Pumpkin Spice Challenge: Harvest or Halloween
• Sentimental Sundays Challenge: Too Cute to Spook

Gold Polka Dot Congrats Card

Greetings fellow card enthusiasts! I'm glad you've popped by my card blog. Today is the start of another challenge at The Paper Players. This week Sandy is our hostess and she has is challenging us to make a clean and simple creation using Silver or Gold. I decided to use gold with black accents to create a Congrats Card for one of my cousins who is getting married soon.

To keep my card simple I did very little layering. To add the polka dots, I used sponge daubers and randomly applied VersaMark ink and then heat embossed with gold emboss powder. Then I stamped the Mixed Bunch flower and heat embossed. I added black glimmer tape across the front and secured the flower with a black glimmer brad. The final step was to add the Congrats sentiment from the Hey You stamp set. Pretty easy! Since I used heat embossing on my card, I'm linking it to the Allsorts Embossing Challenge.

We would love for you to join us this week. The design team has created some sparkly fun inspiration to jump start your creativity. To check out their designs click here. To play along you have until NOON (PST) on Friday, October 24th to link up your creation. I hope to see your card in the gallery and enjoy the rest of your day!

Handy Birdie Easel Card

Drum roll, please!!! I've been making cards since 2011, but this is my first easel card. I don't know why I waited so long to make one. Probably because I was afraid to try something new. However, this week at Cardz 4 Guyz the theme is Easel Cards. So, afraid or not I had to give it a try. To get started I watched a video on YouTube (click here). The design is simple and basic which worked great as a beginner. I started with a bright green cardstock and made my score lines. The colored Handy Birdie image, screwdriver paper and sentiment are from Doodle Pantry. I cut and layered all pieces and assembled this Handy Birdie Easel Card. We would love for you to join us this week at Cardz 4 Guyz.

Will this challenge be your first easel card? If it is, let me know.

Holly Jolly Christmas Card

Okay, here is a quick late night post. My hubby has bet me that I can't do my post in under ten minutes. That means I must prove him wrong. So, this will be short and sweet. I made this Holly Jolly Christmas Card using the sketch at Mojo Monday and the festive colors from Create with Connie & Mary.

All supplies are by Stampin' Up! I used the new holiday paper from the Trim the Tree paper stack. The little red birds are from the Festival of Trees stamp set and the Holly Jolly sentiment is from the retired Tags 4 You stamp set. The colors used are Baked Brown Sugar, Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green. For my embellishments I used Cherry Cobbler twine and three Baked Brown Sugar sequins. The third one is hiding on the red patterned paper under the bow. Well, my time is up! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back again soon.

Life Doesn't Have to be Perfect Card

Hello! I hope you're having a lovely weekend. Today is the start of a color challenge at The Paper Players hosted by the amazing Ann. There are a lot of different ways to use the colors. Pumpkins and fall will work well but I decided to go floral. My card is pretty simple with minimal layering. The patterned paper from the All Abloom and Moonlight paper stacks do all the heavy lifting and the flower adds a pop of Tangelo Twist. Using the Bird Builder punch I added the leaves to accent the flower (I almost used a Tangelo Twist bird but decided against it). This sentiment from the Perfect Pennants stamp set is very fitting and pretty much summarizes my life last week. The final touch was adding the gold sequins for a little pizzazz.

Again, the design team has come up with some wonderful inspiration (click here)! We would love for you to join us this week and remember all paper crafting products are welcome. You have until NOON (PST) on Friday, October 17, 2014 to add your card to the gallery. I can't wait to see how you use the colors. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Here are the colors:

Enjoy Your Retirement Card

Greetings and Happy Tuesday! This week the challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz is Time to Retire. I can't wait to see how this theme is interpreted. My thought was job retirement. Although, retirement is a long way off for me, here in the United States it's estimated that 10,000 people retire every day. Odds are you know a guy who will be retiring soon. Here is the perfect challenge to make the card so you're ready when the occasion arrives.

For my card I started with a 5.25" square white card base. Then I layered Lost Lagoon cardstock with patterned paper from MME the Springtime collection. The darling Mulberry Wood bear and his puppy image is from Crafter's Companion. I stamped the image using Memento black ink and colored it using Copic markers. The sentiment came with the stamp set. To help balance the layout I added the two small banners. The design is nothing fancy but I really like how it turned out.

We would love for you to join us this week at Cardz 4 Guyz. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This card is entered into the Crafting From The Heart: Anything Goes challenge.

Halloween Ghost Card for The Paper Players

Boo!!! Halloween will be here before we know it and that makes me happy. I love handing out candy to all the little ghosts and goblins. To help get you into that Halloween spirit The Paper Players is having a Halloween theme challenge this week hosted by the lovely Jaydee.

This Halloween Ghost Card was started by searching for a sketch. I started a new job this week and my creative energy is running pretty low. Thankfully I found a sketch at Create with Connie & Mary that complimented what I had in mind. I knew I wanted to use the ghost from the Fun Fall framelit dies and the circle focal point is the perfect size for the ghost. The only stamping on this card is the Teeny Tiny Wishes sentiment. I added the face to the ghost with a black stampin' write marker. The patterned papers are from the Motley Monsters dsp. Once the papers were selected all that was left was to cut, layer and adhere them to the black card base. The final touch was three candy dots by the sentiment and this card was done.

Looking for more Halloween inspiration? Check out the creations from the design team (click here). To play along you have until Friday, October 10th at NOON (PST) to enter your card in the gallery. All paper crafting brands are welcome and we sure hope you will join us. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

You've Got This! Masculine Card

Happy Tuesday! It's time for your weekly dose of manly card inspiration at Cardz 4 Guyz. This week the theme is Sports - NO Balls Allowed. I had to do some brainstorming on this theme and then I found this fun bunny image from Zlatoena on Etsy. When I met my hubby 22 years ago he lifted weights all the time and he still does when time allows. So, when I found this image I knew it would be perfect for the challenge.

When selecting my colors I was trying to stay neutral but then decided to add the pop of Coastal Cabana. The papers have been in my stash for awhile and the gemstones are by Darice. I created the sentiment with the computer and used my oval punch and scallop oval. Then I couldn't resist adding the black twine.

I have a quick announcement, this week I'm officially part of the Design Team at Cardz 4 Guyz for the next six months. I'm excited to join this fabulous group of ladies! It's fun to make masculine cards and I hope you will join in and play along. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This card is entered into the following challenges:

• Creative Card Crew: Twine
• Try it on Tuesday: Animals

Spooky Faces Halloween Card

Hello! With only a few days left in September I decided I needed to get busy making Halloween cards. This Spooky Faces Halloween Card was made using the The Paper Players sketch challenge hosted by Sandy. To create this card I used the Fall Fest stamp set but only used the faces. The idea was ghostly faces in the dark, so I embossed the faces on black paper. The faces were punched using a 1" circle punch and then matted to 1 1/4" circles. For the matting colors I used: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry and Tangerine Tango. I decided to add some Tangerine Tango twine and heat embossed the Inkadinkado sentiment. It was pretty easy to make. What do you think about the spooky faces?

I'm linking my creation to the following challenges:

• Hiding in My Craft Room: Any Holiday 
• Cards in Envy: EnTWINEd

We would love for you to join us this week at The Paper Players. The design team has created some wonderful inspiration for you this week, CLICK HERE to check it out. All paper crafting brands are welcome. You have until Friday, October 3rd at NOON (PST) to enter your card in the gallery. Can't wait to see how you use the sketch.

Here is the sketch:

Fall Tree Sympathy Card

Good afternoon! I hope your week is going well. Mine has been pretty calm and quiet. Earlier today I decided to play around with the Mojo Monday sketch and this Fall Tree Sympathy Card is what I created. I'm hoping I won't need it anytime soon but it can be hard to make a sympathy card when the time comes.

All supplies except the gold brads are by Stampin' Up! Here is the list:

• Paper: Whisper White, Early Espresso, Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler cardstock. Patterned paper from the Motley Monsters dsp (woodgrain) and retired Sweet Sorbet dsp.
• Stamps: Lovely as a Tree and  retired Simply Sketched (sentiment).
• Inks: Classic Stampin' Pad in Summer Starfruit and Sahara Sand and Stampin' Write Markers in Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso.
• Other Stuff: Oval punch, scallop oval punch, paper snips, gold brads and stampin' dimensionals.

This card is entered into the following challenges:

• Mojo Monday: Sketch
• Paperminutes: Colors of Autumn
• Oldie But A Goodie: Autumn (sentiment stamp and gold brads)

Autumn Colors Card

Hooray! It's officially fall/autumn here in Oklahoma, USA and that makes me very happy. Although the temperatures are still hoovering around 80 degrees, I know it won't be long until the cooler weather is here to stay. This morning I started a load of laundry and decided to make a card while the washer did all the work. It seemed like an efficient use of my time?!!!? As luck would have it the new challenge at SU-Only came out today and the challenge is to use Autumn Colors. Sounds perfect to me! Here is my card made with all Stampin' Up! products. The layout was cased from the Sept/Oct 2014 Stampin' Success from pg. 25. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Autumn Colors Card Supplies:

• Paper: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Old Olive and Mossy Meadow cardstock. Patterned paper from the Color Me Autumn dsp.
• Stamps: For All Things 
• Inks: Classic Stampin' pads in Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow and Soft Suede.
• Other Stuff: Autumn Wooden Elements, Crushed Curry twine, paper snips, 2" circle punch, 2 3/8" scallop circle punch, sponge dauber and stampin' dimensionals. 

Fishing Happy Birthday Card

Greetings! It's time for another challenge at Cardz 4 Guys. This week the theme is WATER. The first thing I decided to use was the image. This cute little fisherman is Barry from StampFairy. The StampFairy store is closing in October, so pop on over and check it out while you still have time.

Once I had the image colored, I selected the patterned papers from the retired Sunshine & Sprinkles dsp by Stampin' Up! Since I colored the boat Daffodil Delight using the new Blendabilities markers, I decided I needed to add a strip of embossed cardstock to match. The layout is simple and I added some twine and three sequins for detail. The Happy Birthday sentiment is by Hero Arts and was stamped using StazOn black ink. That about sums it up. I always ask the hubby what he thinks of my masculine cards and he said it was cute. That definitely made me happy! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will join us this week at Cardz 4 Guyz. Enjoy the rest of your day!

I'm entering this Fishing Happy Birthday Card in the following challenges:

• Crafting From The Heart: Anything Goes
• The Squirrel and The Fox: Happy Birthday
• Wags 'n Whiskers: With our Furry Friends

Casual Masculine Birthday Card for The Paper Players

Hello and Happy Sunday! I'm back with another card as a guest designer at The Paper Players. This week the super talented Jaydee is challenging us with a Casual Masculine Birthday theme. I have to admit that I found making a casual card for a guy a lot easier than making one for a girl.

My card was made for one of my hubby's friends. His birthday party will be held at a local lake. Having a birthday at the lake gave me the idea to use a fish theme on his card. On a base of Whisper White I added a panel of Smoky Slate. Using the By the Tide stamp set I stamped tone on tone using the script stamp. The reef was stamped using Crumb Cake and the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Hey You set was stamped in Black. The focal panel was matted with Island Indigo cardstock and adhered directly to the Smoky Slate panel. The fish was stamped using Memento Black ink onto watercolor paper. I used my Aqua Painters and colored the fish using Smoky Slate, Crumb Cake and Island Indigo classic stampin' pads. Although you can't really see it, I added some glossy accents to the fish's eye. Then the fish was fussy-cut and adhered with dimensionals. The last detail added was the three silver sequins. I'm entering my card in the following challenges: CAS on Sunday theme Sequins Celebration and Addicted to Stamps theme For a Man or Boy.

Now, pop on over to the The Paper Players and check out the inspiration from the rest of the design team. Every week they amaze me with their creativity! Then you have until Friday, Sept. 26th at NOON (PST) to share your Casual Masculine Birthday creation. All brands of paper crafting products are welcome. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!