Red and Blue Just for You Card

Hello! It's almost July and this year I didn't mail any Fourth of July cards. I'm really afraid to mail my handmade cards when it gets above ninety degrees, I'm worried the adhesive will melt. If you have experience mailing handmade cards in the summer feel free to share.

This Red and Blue Just for You Card was made with the following challenges in mind: SU! Only (Patriotic Colors), Simon Says Stamp (Stencil It) and Little Red Wagon (Three of a Kind).

Stampin' Up! supplies include: Whisper White and Cherry Cobbler cardstock, ink colors: Bashful Blue (very retired), Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Real Red and Cherry Cobbler, retired seasonal decorative masks, Flower Shop and Watercolor Words stamp sets and adhesive.

That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Photo Challenge at Catch The Bug

Happy Saturday and happy Earth Day! Today is the start of a photo challenge at Catch the Bug and I love the sweet bird photo. The colors were fun to work with and I hope you will think so too. So, go outside and do something earthy for Earth Day and then use the photo as your inspiration during some afternoon crafting. I can't wait to see what you create! Click here for all the challenge details and design team inspiration.

Using birds on cards is one of my favorites, so I went with a literal interpretation of the photo. The Cherry Bird image by Bugaboo was colored with Copic markers and then die cut with a stitched square die by Lil' Inkers. All patterned paper is by Bo Bunny from the Butterfly Kisses Collection. To add some detail I stamped and punched a flower from the retired Polka Dot Pieces stamp set by Stampin' Up! accented with die cut leaves. The Just for You sentiment is from the Watercolor Wings stamp set and a glitter sticker was added to the middle of the flower. That's it!

This Cherry Bird For You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Brown Sugar: Use a Die Cut
• Jo's Scrap Shack: Anything Goes
• QKR Stampede: Feathered Friends or Anything Goes

Bingo at Catch The Bug

Happy Saturday! Do you like bingo challenges? They are one of my favorites! Today is the start of a bingo challenge at Catch The Bug and you're invited to play along. Click here for all the challenge details and design team inspiration.

When selecting which row to play with, I could have gone several different ways but selected the right hand row down: Bugaboo Image, Flower and Stripes. The deciding factor was the colors in the Bo Bunny striped paper from the Butterfly Kisses paper pad. I really wanted a purplish boot and the paper had the right color stripe to match my Copic markers. The Bugaboo image is called Spring Boot and it's the FREEBIE this week, so make sure to get yours click here. Once the image was colored it was die cut with a pierced oval and scalloped frame set by Avery Elle. Cardstock colors include: Blushing Bride, Wild Wasabi and Whisper White by Stampin' Up!. The Blushing Bride Flower was stamped using a retired set called Polka Dot Pieces by Stampin' Up! and the sentiment is from the current Watercolor Wings stamp set. The last detail was adding the polka dot butterfly along with three tiny adhesive pearls. That's it! I do hope you will play along with the challenge this week.

This Spring Boot For You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Alphabet Challenge: A for Anything with Wings
• Craft Rocket Challenge: Make It Feminine
• Jo's Scrap Shack: Anything Goes

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

Fun Pot Holders

This past Christmas I made pot holders as gifts for family. After Christmas I posted some photos to Facebook and one of my friends from high school asked if I would make her a couple. I had her share a picture of her favorite kitchen decor items to give me an idea on color and patterns she likes. Having a picture made it easy to select fabrics that would coordinate with her kitchen. These two fun pot holders are the finished product. I hope she loves them!

In the mailing package I included a card to thank her for letting me make her pot holders. Almost all the supplies on the card are retired by Stampin' Up! with the exception of the bitty butterfly from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set.

This Just for You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Making Memories: Lots of Layers
• Scrapper's Delight: Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes

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

Guest Designer at CCC Digi Creations

Welcome October! Is it just me or did September just FLY by? The last couple of weeks have been crazy around my house but today I'm happy to be a guest designer at CCC Digi Creations. Their theme for the next two weeks is Anything Goes and the sponsor is Morgan's Art World. The fairy image named Fae 2 was provided for the challenge. I wanted to use a colour that would be good all year long, so I decided to use blue. The image was coloured with Copic markers and die cut using an Avery Elle die. In an effort to use my stash of patterned paper, I dug and decided to use the blue floral and polka dots both from the Ready Set Go paper pad by American Crafts. I love using twine and right now I seem to be putting sequins on everything. The last decision was the sentiment and I went with Just for You to keep the occasion options open. I sure hope you will join the anything goes challenge at CCC Digi Creations. Click here for all the challenge details and design team inspiration.

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

Casual Just for You Card

Each of us have our own interpretation of how casual is defined on our card creations. To me it's simply having one main focal area with minimal embellishments. When it comes to patterned paper... I say use it! This Casual Just for You Card is a good example of my casual definition.

Update: Okay, I now know that CAS means clean and simple. Ha! I should have looked this acronym up. So, for those of us who love patterned paper and struggle to leave enough "white space" we can just call our cards casual.

All supplies for this card are by Stampin' Up! The Bella & Friends image was stamped using Memento black ink and colored with ink pads and a blender pen. On either side of the turtle and Bella I added some flowers from the Sprinkles of Life stamp set. The patterned paper is from the Affectionately Yours dsp, Cardstock colors used include: Whisper White, Watermelon Wonder, Night of Navy and Daffodil Delight. Two retired items were used to add detail... the Sizzix butterfly embosslit and the decorative scalloped edgelit. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and come back again soon.

This Casual Just for You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• SU-Only: Cute and Cuddly
• Addicted to Stamps and More: Make Your Mark

Simple Watercolor Wings Card

Hello! We are getting some much needed rain today and that makes me very happy. The rain is a great excuse to stay indoors and make a card. I made this Simple Watercolor Wings Card for the following challenges:

• The Paper Players: CAS Butterflies
• Come and Get It: Things with Wings
• CAS on Sunday: Tic Tac Toe (middle row down)

All supplies for this card are by Stampin' Up! I used patterned paper from the Pretty Petals paper pad, Watercolor Wings stamp set, Bold Butterfly framelits, Decorative Dots embossing folder, Washi Label punch and a strip of retired Old Olive dsp. The ink colors for the butterfly include: Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral and Basic Black. Pretty simple!

This was such an easy card I went back and made a second one using different colors. The Watercolor Wings stamp set is probably my favorite at the moment. I love butterflies and the color combinations are a lot of fun to play with. The below butterfly is stamped with Soft Sky, Pacific Point and Basic Black.

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

Butterfly Just for You Card

Hello! This afternoon I combined a couple of challenges to create this Butterfly Just for You Card. The challenges include:

• ColourQ: Colour 
• SU-Only: Butterflies
• Fab 'n' Funky: Things with Wings
• Mod Squad: Heat Emboss

All supplies for this card are by Stampin' Up!, some are new and some are retired. Here is the list:

• Paper: Whisper White and Bermuda Bay cardstock (I didn't have any Taken with Teal). Woodgrain Patterned paper from the Adventure Bound paper stack.
• Stamps: Watercolor Wings and Simple Stems.
• Inks & Coloring: Stampin' pads in Rich Razzleberry and Early Espresso. VersaMark stamp pad and White emboss powder. To color the embossed flowers I used the retired Blendabilities makers in Pumpkin Pie and Rich Razzleberry.
• Other Stuff: Heat Gun, Big Shot, Decorative Dots embossing folder, Butterflies Thinlits, Washi Label punch and silver sequins.

Here is the inspiration photo from ColourQ:

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

Definitely Dahlia Card

There was a time when large stamps intimidated me! I didn't know what to do with them. When I looked at designs using large stamps, I always loved how they looked and eventually I just went for it. Now I love stamping off to one side and using part of a large image. The new Definitely Dahlia stamp by Stampin' Up! is quite large at a little over 4 inches. The colors for this Definitely Dahlia Card are from the Color Throwdown challenge. I stamped the image in Strawberry Slush and added some leaves from the Birthday Blossoms set using Lucky Limeade. From the Kinda Eclectic stamp set the butterfly was stamped in Crumb Cake. To add some detail I used the large scallop die with Basic Gray cardstock and added some Basic Gray twine. The patterned paper is from the retired Fresh Prints paper stack and the last detail was the addition of three little pearls on the butterfly. Thanks for stopping by!

This Definitely Dahlia Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Color Throwdown: Color
• The Crafter's Cafe: Anything Goes
• Inky Chicks: Butterflies

Bloom for You Card

Hello! Is it just me or did last week go by quickly? I can't believe it's Sunday already but I'm glad it is! Today is the start of a beautiful color challenge at The Paper Players hosted by LeAnne. You may already know that I love color challenges and this one was no exception. When I started this Bloom for You Card I had already decided floral was the way to go. As luck would have it the wonderful UPS driver delivered my package of new Stampin' Up! goodies last week and I was able to play with a few new supplies. The Bloom for You stamp is the main focal image for my card and it looks lovely in Wisteria Wonder. Just a quick reminder to use your new punches on some scrap paper before punching your stamped images. I got all excited and forgot this step and the residual oil on the punch soiled my first attempt. However, it was re-purposed for another project. The leaves are from the Kinda Eclectic stamp set. I used the stamp off technique to give them a less saturated look and I masked one leaf each time to leave more white space. Once my focal panel was complete I played around with the rest of the card until I ended up with what you see. I hope you like it and I hope you will join us over at The Paper Players (click here). The challenge is open through Friday, July 18th at Noon (PST). Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!

Bloom for You Card supplies:

• Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Wisteria Wonder, Lost Lagoon and Whisper White cardstock. Patterned paper from Moonlight paper stack and Flowerpot dsp.
• Stamps: Bloom for You, Kinda Eclectic and Teeny Tiny Wishes.
• Inks: Blackberry Bliss, Wisteria Wonder and Lost Lagoon.
• Other Stuff: Fancy Fan embossing folder, Fun Flower punch, Small Oval punch, Banner punch, 7/8" Scallop Circle punch, rhinestone basic jewels and dimensionals.

Stop by and see the wonderful creations by the design team members. Here are the links to their blogs:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile
Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Guest Designers

Andrea Whisman

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt

Mike Funke

Yapha Mason 

Yellow Bird Card

Good morning and hello to my new followers! It's a lovely sunny morning here in Oklahoma but the humidity is going to be awful this afternoon. So today, I am thankful for air conditioning!!! If you have followed my blog for awhile you may remember that I love birds and the colour green. When I came across the colour challenge at Daring Cardmakers, I immediately knew I had to play along. The nature inspired colors and photo are perfect. I combined the colours with the sketch challenge at Sunday Sketch and Stamp and the word BIRD from Just Us Girls challenge to create this Yellow Bird Card. I'm also entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Crafting From The Heart. The bird and flourish stamps are both by Inkadinkado and the Just for You label stamp is by Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight ink was used for the bird and Early Espresso for the flourish and label. The green patterned paper is by Crate Paper, script patterned paper by My Mind's Eye and yellow paper by DCWV. There are two die cuts on this card, the circle scallop by Spellbinders and the Little Leaves Sizzlits. The bird was stamped onto the white circle and then stamped again, fussy-cut and adhered with dimensionals. Well, that sums it up. 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

Floral Just for You Card

A versatile sentiment can leave a card open to many occasions. I made this Floral Just for You Card for Mother's Day, but it could be used as birthday, feel better, congratulations, etc. Personalize the inside message for the intended occasion and it's ready to give away. Keep several versatile sentiment cards in your stash and you'll be ready for anything.

To create this Floral Just for You Card I used this weeks sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches. The patterned paper is from American Crafts. The stamps are all by Stampin' Up!.  I used the bird from the Betsy's Blossoms stamp set, little flower from the Petite Petals stamp set and I used the Label Love stamp with an Old Olive marker to only stamp the writing for the sentiment. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Floral Just for You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch
• The Paper Players: "Mother"
• The Pink Elephant: Mother's Day

Card Drive for Emma!!!

Making cards is my creative therapy! When I find a good reason to stay busy in my craft room, I usually seize the opportunity. Last week I found a Card Drive for Emma!!! and it was an easy decision to spread the news on my blog. I found the post on Kelly's Place, just click the link to read the story about Emma. For my card I used one of her favorite colors, purple along with Fluffles the cat by Stampendous! I hope you will join along and make a few cards for Emma. Here are a few details from Kelly's blog:

If you would like to help encourage Emma on her journey here are some guidelines:

• Cards can be anything cheery, encouraging, supportive, etc.You can include or incorporate kid-friendly jokes! Please avoid get well card and reminders of being sick.  Please avoid holiday specific cards so the cards can be used anytime over the next two years. 
• Emma loves the colors green, purple and blue.  She has no siblings. She has two dogs, a cat and a fish.  She LOVES horses and bunnies.  She enjoys horseback riding, swimming, dancing and singing. 
• All cards need to have a positive message in it for the child/family.  Please also sign your name and the city or state where you are from.  There could be a geography lesson in there!  Also, please don't seal the envelope, as the parents might want to preview cards before Emma sees them.
• Please stick to just cards or lightweight things like stickers, etc. if you'd like to put something in the card.  I will be delivering the cards to Addison's family and they will then get the cards to Emma's family so no additional shipping costs will be incurred.
• You are welcome to send store-bought cards, but they will not be eligible for prizes.
• There is no need to send money or postage with your cards. 
•  In each package, PLEASE include a piece of paper with your name and email address and how many cards you sent . This helps in keeping track for prizes!  For each handmade card you send, you will get a chance for a prize.  So the more cards you send, the better your chances; however, one prize per person. 
• PLEASE SHARE this post on your blog, etc. Maybe consider making a card for Emma using a sketch or color challenge.  The more people who see this, the better!
• Winners of prizes will be randomly drawn on or around July 20, 2014 and notified on this blog and via email (must be provided with cards and written clearly).

All cards can be mailed to the following address: 

Kelly Bertram

P.O Box 58388

Cincinnati, Ohio 45258

To help spread the word, I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

• Make It Monday: Anything Goes (Final Challenge, sad face)
• Use Your Stuff: Animals
• Clear it Out: Kids, Bright Colored Paper
• The Crafter's Cafe: Flowers
• Fab'n'Funky: Animals

Faux Patina Card

Today I tried another new to me technique called Faux Patina. I was prompted by the challenge at The Technique Twist to give it a try. It was a lot of fun to mix and play around with inks. I embossed Whisper White cardstock with a Crumb Cake inked Modern Mosaic embossing folder and then applied Island Indigo, Old Olive, and Early Espresso inks. The final step was adding the gold embossing powder. For detailed directions, here is a link to a tutorial. The base of my card is Natural cardstock stamped with the En Francais stamp in Early Espresso. I inked the edges of all papers with Crumb Cake for an antiqued look. The final touches were the addition of the Soft Suede ribbon and the Just for You label from the Label Love stamp set. I've always struggled when it comes to tying ribbon. I found a really short demonstration that helped me. Maybe now I won't be scared to use ribbon. All supplies used on this Faux Patina Card are by Stampin' Up!. Thanks for stopping by!

My Faux Patina Card is entered into the following challenges:

• The Technique Twist: Faux Patina
• Divas by Design: Anything Goes
• Tammy's Scrapin Corner: Anything Goes
• Natalie and Amy: Embossing
• Make It Monday: Anything Goes

 

Beautifully Baroque Card

Thank goodness for Thursday because I'm ready for the weekend! Of course I'm always ready for the weekend regardless of what day it is!

The card I created today features the colors from The Play Date Café to use:

Cream...Melon...Cantaloupe 

These colors are very pretty together and since one of the new in-colors at Stampin' Up! is Crisp Cantaloupe, I couldn't wait to play along. This Beautifully Baroque Card is made with the new stamp and coordinating embossing folder by Stampin' Up! To add a little dimension I stamped the image a second time on a small strip of paper, attached it to the label love sentiment and popped them up with dimensionals. For the design I used this weeks Monday Lunchtime sketch at Technostamper. To keep the design simple I ended up eliminating the banners at the bottom. I added a few pearls to the label to add a little elegance and that was it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Beautifully Baroque Card is entered into the following challenges:

• The Play Date Café: Color
• Technostamper: Sketch
• Tuesday Throwdown: Anything Goes
• Lady Anne's: Anything Goes, must Stamp

Beautifully Baroque Card Supplies:

• Paper: Very Vanilla, Pear Pizzazz and Crisp Cantaloupe card stock and Pear Pizzazz patterned paper from the Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper collection.
• Stamps: Beautifully Baroque* and Label Love*.
• Inks: Classic stampin' pads in Pear Pizzazz and Crisp Cantaloupe.
• Other Stuff: Big Shot, Baroque embossing folder*, Artisan Label punch*, pearl basic jewels and stampin' dimensionals.

*All supplies by Stampin' Up!, Bundle & Save with Beautifully Baroque Bundle and the Label Love Bundle in Wood or Clear.

Perfectly Preserved Hearts Card

My Monday mornings usually consist of doing laundry and making a card to participate in the Mojo Monday sketch challenge. So while the washing machine and dryer did all the real work, I played with my craft stash. This Perfectly Preserved Hearts Card was made exclusively with Stampin' Up! products. Tomorrow is the start of the Stampin' Up! sale-a-bration, so for every $50.00 you spend you get to pick something free from an amazing selection of products. If your anything like me, my list of wanted items is long and I can't wait for the sale to start.

Perfectly Preserved Hearts Card Supplies:

• Paper: Very Vanilla, Primrose Petals, Real Red and Pool Party card stock and patterned paper from the More Amore dsp.
• Stamps: Perfectly Preserved stamp set.
• Inks: Classic stampin' pads in Basic Black and Primrose Petals.
• Other Stuff: Big Shot, square lattice embossing folder, cannery set framelits dies, bitty banners framelits dies, fashionable hearts embosslits, scalloped edge punch, vintage faceted button, pool party twine, rhinestone jewels, and stampin' dimensionals.

This card is entered into the following challenges:

1. Make It Monday: Anything Goes

 

Perfectly Preserved Card

Wow! What a week!!! It was busy at work and at home. I did manage to find some time to create this Perfectly Preserved Card with some of my new goodies from Stampin' Up! I used the sketch from week #51 from the Freshly Made Sketches blog for the design. I used it a couple of weeks ago (click here), but different papers and different embellishments completely change the look. Well, I hope you have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by my blog.

This card is also linked to the fabulous Make It Monday blog.

Perfectly Preserved Card Supplies*:

• Paper: Orchard Harvest designer series paper (126895), very vanilla, early espresso, lucky limeade, and more mustard card stock.
• Stamps: Perfectly preserved stamp set (126690).
• Inks: Classic stampin' pads in early espresso, lucky limeade, and island indigo.
• Other Stuff: Stampin' Up! Big Shot (113439), fancy fan embossing folder (127751), finishing touches edgelits (127010), cannery set framelits (127822), bitty banners framelits (129267), lucky limeade twine (125572), and stampin' dimensionals.

*All supplies by Stampin' Up!

Lace & Pearl Just for You Card

There are only hours left to enter the Moxie Fab World Doilies & Lace challenge.  I bought this lace & pearl ribbon several weeks back with the intent to make a card for this challenge.  So, I sit down tonight and made sure I got it done.   

Lace & Pearl Just for You Card Supplies:  Ivory cardstock, cream cardstock, sandstone cardstock, Tim Holtz regal flourishes embossing folder by Sizzix, Texture Boutique by Sizzix, ColorBox chalk ink in creamy brown by Clearsnap, TPC Studios cling stamp (Vintage Greetings, 2011903), lace and pearls ribbon by Simplicity, floral embellishments by Recollections and dimensionals.