I Heart You Card

Hello! I hope you've been staying warm in your craft room. It's been really cold this week and I'm ready for a few warmer days. Cold weather doesn't usually bother me but this cold snap has a little bite to it. It's evident my joints are not as young as they used to be. 😢

This afternoon I made this I Heart You Card for my youngest niece. The bear image is by Bugaboo Stamps and it was colored with Copic markers. Unfortunately the cardstock I use when printing digital images doesn't blend as well. If you have a suggestion for a good white 65# cardstock that works well with Copic markers, please share in the comments. The patterned papers are from the Crush paper pad by We R Memory Keepers. A few heart sequins were added for sparkle and that's it. Everything was adhered flat for easy shipping. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day. ❤

Challenges entered:

• Catch The Bug: Love is in the Air
• Crafter's Castle: Anything Goes/Valentine's Day Option
• Craft Rocket: Valentine
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything Goes
• Simply Create Too: Anything Goes/Use Hearts Twist   

Warm Fuzzies Christmas Card

Good day! The Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop started last Friday and I finally had time to make a card. This Warm Fuzzies Christmas Card features the Warm Fuzzies stamp by Gerda Steiner. The image was colored with Copic markers and then fussy-cut. A die cut circle was used for the focal area and then some Tumbled Glass distress ink applied for some color. The cup and stocking patterned paper is from the Recollections Fireside 6 x 6 paper pad , Merry Christmas text paper is by The Paper Studio, the Shaded Spruce polka dots are by Stampin' Up! and the papers were matted to a piece of Shaded Spruce cardstock. To add a little sparkle three white snowflake sequins were added and that's it. So glad you stopped by.

Challenges entered:

• Coffee Lovers Winter Blog Hop
• Crafty Gals Corner: Anything Christmas
• Crimbo Crackers: Anything Christmas
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything Goes
• Moving Along With The Times: Anything Christmas

Watermelon Bear Card

Hello and happy Tuesday! This cute little Watermelon Bear image is a freebie from Gerda Steiner Designs and I've had him printed for awhile. Finally today the sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches inspired me to color him and make this Watermelon Bear Card. Since watermelon is a sweet summer treat it also fits well with The Paper Girls challenge for Sweet Summer Treats. The image was colored with Copic markers and die cut with a cross stitched oval die by My Favorite Things. Most the patterned paper is from the Summer Lovin' paper pad by Carta Bella (2014) with the exception of the green stripe which came from the scrap bin. The sentiment is where I did a slight deviation from the sketch. Since it has a round design I just decided to skip adding the twine and added the sentiment.  That's it! Thanks for stopping by.

Challenges entered:

• Crafty Sentiment Designs: Anything Goes
• Creates and Makes: Anything Goes
• The Paper Girls: Sweet Summer Treats
• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch #468

Bear Feel Better Card

Good day crafty friends! It's been awhile since I made a Feel Better Card, so today I made this one with the Lil Bear Spring Digi by Bugaboo Digi Stamps. The colors were selected from the color challenge at Catch The Bug. To color the image Copic markers were used and then the image was die cut with a stitched square die by Lil' Inker Designs. The Feel Better sentiment is from the retired Sassy Salutations stamp set by Stampin' Up! and three small punched banners were added for detail. That's pretty much it, simple and easy. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered: Catch The Bug (June Color), Sunny Day Crafting (Any Animal) and Creative Moments (Anything Goes).

In My Thoughts Card

Hello crafty friends! I don't know what is going on, but I'm still having a hard time getting motivated to make anything. My energy levels are just drained! This afternoon I sat down and forced myself to make this In My Thoughts Card. Once I got started coloring the image I did okay. The layout is simple and features the darling Flower Teddy image by Bugaboo Digi Stamps. Copic markers were used to color the image and the patterned papers are from the Dear Lizzy Star Gazer paper pad by American Crafts. If my memory is correct, the sentiment stamp is from Impression Obsession and it was stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink. That's it!

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

This In My Thoughts Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Addicted to Stamps: Make Your Mark
• Catch The Bug: Say it with Flowers
• Craftaholics R Us: Anything Goes
• Crafty Animals: Anything Goes w/ Animal

Bear Thinking of You Card

Happy Wednesday and the last day of February! This week is my last week at my seasonal job, so hopefully in March I'll have more time for making cards. I hope to make several Easter cards for my family and friends.

This Bear Thinking of You Card features a cute bear digital image by Bugaboo Stamps called Lil Bear Spring and the layout is from the Stella Says Sketch Challenge. The image has been printed, die cut and just sitting on my desk since last Spring. So, I colored it with Copic markers and picked some pretty floral papers by Simple Stories (Life in Color) to make this card. The little red flower (Fab Flowers by Lawn Fawn) was stamped with Real Red and Cherry Cobbler inks by Stampin' Up! and the leaves were stamped with Old Olive. The Thinking of You sentiment is from the retired Wetlands stamp set by Stampin' Up! and that about sums it up. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Catch the Bug: Stella Says Sketch #604
• Bugaboo Crafty: Anything Goes with Bugaboo Image
• Crafty Creations: Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes

Hello Honey Card

Good day! It's a cold rainy day today, so I stayed indoors and made this Hello Honey Card. This weather has me thinking about Spring and all the lovely Spring flowers. So, I decided to use Spring patterned papers by Pebbles from the Spring Fling collection/2015. The bear and bee images are from the Winston's Honeybees stamp set by Newton's Nook. All images and sentiment were stamped with Memento black ink. Copic markers were used to color the images and then they were die cut with a stitched circle die by My Favorite Things. Cardstock colors include: Basic Black, Mint Macaroon, Hello Honey and Watermelon Wonder all by Stampin' Up!. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!


Challenges entered:

• Double D: Woodland Creatures
• Crafty Sentiments: Spring
• City Crafter: Polka Dots
• Craftaholics R Us: Anything Goes
• Dream Valley: Things with Wings (Bees)

Sending Love Card

Do you ever lose something in your craft room? I knew I had this patterned paper that I was "saving" for the right card and when I finally decide to use it, I couldn't find it. Well after a couple of searches I found it stuck in a box. The colors are perfect for one of my nieces and that's who will be receiving this Sending Love Card.

The layout for this card is from the current Inky Paws Sketch Challenge. I used the new Sending Hugs stamp set and coordinating dies by Newton's Nook. Copic markers were used to color the image. To go along with the sketch, some Basic Gray twine by Stampin' Up! was added and three pink sequins for a little sparkle. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Challenges entered:

• Inky Paws: Sketch
• The Crazy Challenge: Love
• Addicted to Stamps: Make Your Mark
• Crafty Gals Corner: Anything Goes
• Watercooler Wednesday: Anything Goes

Just Bee-Cuz Card

Hello and I hope you're having a lovely day! This coming week I'm having outpatient surgery, so I've been busy cleaning my crafting table and putting things away. It's amazing the kind of mess I can make while crafting! It would be nice if  I would clean one mess before I make another... but where is the fun in that? Eventually and usually when it gets really messy I clean. When I moved a few papers I came across the sketch for the Inky Paws Challenge #52 and decided to make one more card... this is called "procraftinating" and I do it really well. I love Winston by Newton's Nook and was inspired by a couple of the design team examples who also used Winston images. All stamps on this card are from the Winston's Honeybees set and were colored with Copic markers. The patterned paper is from the Garden Party paper pad by Pebbles. A little Pool Party twine by Stampin' Up! to finish it off and that's it! Thanks for stopping by!

This Just Bee-Cuz Card is entered into the following challenges: Inky Paws Sketch Challenge, Creative Knockouts Furry Friends Challenge and Pattie's Creations Anything Goes Challenge.

Winston Takes Flight Card

This afternoon I sat down and created this Winston Takes Flight Card using the sketch from the Inky Paws Challenge. There were several other challenges I had in mind when I created this card and they are:

• Simon Says Stamp: Use Patterned Paper
• Addicted to Stamps: Make Your Mark
• Watercooler Wednesday: Masculine Anything Goes

Playing with patterned paper is one of my favorite things and I ended up using papers by Photoplay from the Party Boy collection. The yellow strip is from Recollections and it's called Mom's Diner (cone). Copic markers were used to color the Winston image by Newton's Nook and then it was die cut with the coordinating dies. To make it look like Winston was flying in the clouds I used the Sky Borders Die Set also by Newton's Nook and adhered the clouds to the bottom of a tumbled glass distress inked piece of cardstock. Three additional small clouds were added for detail and that's it. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

 

Happy Fall Card

Hello! Each day we are inching closer to Fall/Autumn and that makes me very happy. We are expecting a small cool front to come in for the weekend and I'm eager for the ninety degree weather to go away. This afternoon I took a break from sewing and made this Happy Fall Card. The stamp set by Newton's Nook was and exclusive to Simon Says Stamp last year and is one of my favorites for Fall. All patterned paper is from the new Pebbles Woodland Forest paper pad. The image was colored with Copic markers and the layout is from the current sketch at Paper Play Sketches. I really enjoyed making this card, so I may make a couple more just like it to send to family and friends. Thanks for stopping by my blog today and I hope you come back again soon.

This Happy Fall Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Cute Card Thursday: Animals/Creatures!
• Paper Play Sketches: Sketch #014
• Simon Says Stamp: Stamp It
• Fab 'n' Funky: Fall Colours

Retirement Card

Hello and thanks for stopping by my blog. Today I'm sharing a card I made for my aunt, she recently retired from 30 years as a Home Economics Teacher.  The Mulberry Wood bear and his puppy image are 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. Since the image is on the larger side, this card is 5.25" square. Your getting a sneak peek at some new patterned paper from the upcoming 2016-2017 Stampin' Up! catalog called Affectionately Yours. I really love the colors in this designer paper series. To finish the card I used three punched banners and a yellow pansy flower. That's it!

This Retirement Card is entered into the following challenges:

• 613 Avenue Create: Anything Goes w/ Optional twist
• Alphabet Challenge: Furry Friends
• Ellibelle's Creative Moments: Something Colored

Bear Love Card

Hello! It's Tuesday again and that means it's time for another challenge at Tuesday Throwdown. This week we want to see your paper piecing skills. Our wonderful sponsor is Robyn's Fetish who generously provided the design team with several images to choose from. For this Bear Love Card I used the It's Bearly Love image. I chose this image for the ease of paper piecing the heart. When it comes to paper piecing, I'm not an expert. My scissor skills could definitely be improved. So, keep that in mind, you don't have to be a paper piecing expert to play along. If you've never tried paper piecing then challenge yourself to try something new. You have until mid-day Monday February 8th to link your creation. Click here to check out the design team inspiration and for all the challenge details.

To create this card I used my favorite color, purple, and I wanted the heart to be plaid. It was a little bit of a challenge to match the plaid paper with other purples in my stash. There was a piece of paper that I knew would be perfect, however I couldn't find it. I know I've seen it before but sadly I may have never purchased it. Do you ever do that? Think you have something but you don't, or even buy things twice because you don't remember buying them. The answer to both of these dilemmas for me... is YES!

In the end both patterned papers selected are by Paper Pizzazz. The scalloped oval and center oval are by Avery Elle. To color the bears I used Copic markers. I masked a Love You stamp by The Paper Studio to only use the Love part. To add some detail, I added some Honeydew twine from The Twinery. That's it!

This Bear Love Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Cards in Envy: Love Cards and/or Valentines
• Crafty Boots: Love is in the Air
• The Paper Girls: Valentine/Love
• Ooh La La: Love and Romance
• Crafting From The Heart: Anything Goes

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

Be Thankful Card

Happy Sunday! I hope you're having a lovely day. This past week was spent finishing up my Thanksgiving cards. Now that they've been mailed I can play along with a couple of weekly challenges. This Be Thankful Card was made for the following challenges:

• Color Throwdown: Color (ctd369)
• Simon Says Stamp: Thanks/Thanksgiving
• Jo's Scrap Shack: Gratitude
• Brown Sugar: Anything Goes 

The color challenge includes: rusty orange, warm burgundy and pear-like green. For the green I used Pear Pizzazz and the warm burgundy is a piece or Core'dinations sandable cardstock. I cut a negative space into the burgundy cardstock, embossed it with the square lattice embossing folder by Stampin' Up! and then added a pear border inside. The image is from the Hello Fall Simon Says Stamp exclusive stamp set by Newton's Nook. I colored the images with Copic markers. A little twine was wrapped around the card for detail. The leaf bag was paper pieced using a recycled kraft shopping bag and adhered with dimensionals. That about sums it up!

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

Card for The Hop to Stop

You may have seen lots of cards featuring the color purple over the last couple of days and if you want to read more about it click here to visit Becca's blog, The Damsel of Distressed. She organized a hop to bring attention to National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Although I don't have first hand experience with domestic violence, I have a friend who lived through and eventually left a horrible situation. Hearing her experience and seeing the scares on her body really opened my eyes to the violence that lives behind closed doors. I hope you will join along and support Becca at The Hop To Stop!!!

Here is my card:

This card was made using the Tall Flower Bear image by Bugaboo Digi Stamps which was colored with Copic markers. I added a little clear Wink of Stella to the flower and then used a stitched rectangle die by Lil' Inkers. The image panel was matted to Rich Razzleberry cardstock and then adhered with dimensionals to the decorated card. The patterned paper is from the retired Painted Blooms dsp from Stampin' Up!. Using an encouragement sentiment by Verve Stamps, one day at a time, was stamped using Memento black ink directly onto the paper. A little Crushed Curry twine and that's it! 

Challenges entered:

• Catch The Bug: Anything Goes
• Chocolate, Coffee & Cards: Animals
• QKR Stampede: Anything Goes

Bear Hugs and Smiles Card

Every once in awhile I get in the mood to make something cute and sweet. I was prompted by four challenges to create this Bear Hugs and Smiles Card. The challenge at Crafty Sentiments Designs to make something Sweet along with the  Sweet Stampin' challenge to use a bear. This Barry Best Buddies image came to mind and it's definitely sweet. For the layout I used this weeks sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches and I used Gingham paper to play along at Shopping our Stash. After gathering all the materials for my card I colored the image with my Copic markers. The patterned papers are by Pebbles from the Garden Party collection and the sentiment is from Verve Stamps Kind Words stamp set. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and come back soon.

Bear Feel Better Card

Welcome to my card blog! Today I'm sharing this Bear Feel Better Card for inspiration at the Cardz 4 Guyz challenge. We would love for you to play along with this weeks challenge to create a masculine card using something that starts with the letter B. I figured a bear holding a bandage would work! The image is from Stamp Fairy which is sadly no longer available. I colored the image with my Copic markers. All patterned papers are by Little Yellow Bicycle from the Fern & Forest paper pack. The sentiment stamp is from the Sassy Salutations stamp set by Stampin' Up! I added some twine and used the bitty banner punch with some candy dots for detail. That about sums it up.

Click here to see the brilliant letter B inspired creations from the design team. We hope to see your card in the gallery!

My Bear Feel Better Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Use Your Stuff: Anything Goes
• Come and Get It: Cute Cards

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

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.

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