Congrats Card with Star

Hello! Hope all is well in your world. Last week was crazy for me, so I didn't do any card making. This past weekend a young boy we know along with his team won the Lacrosse finals in their age group. They worked hard all season and did a great job. My hubby and I decided to send him a card to acknowledge his accomplishment and this Congrats Card with Star is what I made for him. The colors were selected to match the team colors. The star was cut with a Cricut machine and the Congrats sentiment is from The Paper Studio. All papers are from my scrap bin and everything was adhered flat for easy shipping. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Crafty Friends: Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes
• The Creative Crafters: Anything Goes

Girly Dino Birthday Card

Hooray for the weekend! It's going to be a cold one, but I'm okay with that. Cold weather makes wonderful crafting days. I have a quick post to share this Girly Dino Birthday Card I made to play along with Day 4 of the Monster Birthday Bash at Catch The Bug. It's a bingo challenge and I used Die Cuts (stars), player's choice (sentiment) and Stripes. I've used this Dino Birthday image before but I always made cards for boys. This time it's girly and I think it turned out pretty cute. The papers are from the It's a Celebration paper pad by Echo Park (2014) and the pink stripes are by Stampin' Up!. Copic markers were used to color the image and the sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts. To finish it off three die cut stars were added and that's it. So glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Catch The Bug: Bingo
• Crafting With Friends: Anything Goes
• Fab 'n' Funky: For a Child

Star Celebrate Card

Happy 4th of July! This holiday is always low key for us. We usually stay home and make sure the cats don't get too scared from all the neighborhood fireworks. Our oldest cat is thirteen and she gets calming treats, the loud noises really bother her. The youngsters are a little more resilient, but they all hide until the quiet night returns. So, if you're out having some fun... have a little extra fun for me!

This Star Celebrate Card is pretty simple. The layout is cased from one of my cards from February 2014. It's easy to duplicate and I really like the star focal point. The star was cut with my Cricut machine using the George and Basic Shapes cartridge. All patterned paper is from the Patriotic Parade paper pad by Doodlebug Design Inc. A strip of silver glimmer paper was used for some sparkle and the celebrate sentiment is retired by Stampin' Up!. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Cards in Envy: Twinkle Little Stars
• Crafty Gals Corner: Red, White and Blue 
• Craftaholics R Us: Any Holiday Cards
• Simon Says Stamp: Red, White and Blue

Newton Halloween Card

Happy Tuesday! I mail around a dozen cards for Halloween to family and friends. Since it will be here next month I decided to get a start on my cards. To create this Newton Halloween Card I used the sketch from Newton's Inky Paws Challenge. When I first saw the sketch I thought it would make a cool moon card. The flying broom and kitty image from the Newton's Boo-tiful Night stamp set was the best choice to use in front of the moon.

To start I made the moon using watercolor paper and distress oxide inks in Antique Linen and Fossilized Amber. A small amount of Frayed Burlap was added to the edges of the moon, then it was spritzed with water and a heat gun used to speed the drying process. Then I made the sky background with distress oxide inks in Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves and Black Soot on mixed media paper. The same process was used, spritz with water and heat set. Once this panel was dried I heat embossed several stars with Wow! Glow-in-the-Dark embossing powder and the sentiment with white embossing powder. The white strip of paper was stamped with the little bat. Newton was colored with Copic markers and then fussy-cut. Next everything was assembled and adhered flat for easy mailing. I decided it needed a little more sparkle, so I added three star sequins and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Newton Halloween Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Newton's Inky Paws: Sketch
• Simon Says Stamp: It's Written in the Stars
• Glitter 'N' Sparkle: Anything Goes
• Show Us Your Pussies: Furrything Goes

Sketch:

Reach for the Stars Card

Hello and happy Tuesday! We have an Out of this World challenge for you this week at Tuesday Throwdown and the design team did an amazing job with their inspiration. Click HERE for all the challenge details and design team inspiration. Our sponsor this week is MyGrafico and they provided the Space Art Digital Stamps for the design team to create our examples. I seem to be the oddball this week, but that's really "normal" for me. I used the alien, moon and shooting star to create this Reach for the Stars Card. We would love to see your Out of this World creations! You have until mid-day on Monday August 7th to add your link.

This was my first attempt at a space background! I started with a piece of mixed media paper and sponged on distress oxide inks in Broken China and Salty Ocean. Then I mixed in some Lucky Clover but I wanted the background darker and those are my only oxide inks. So... I used distress inks in Chipped Sapphire, Dusty Concord and Seedless Preserves. Then I used a water bottle and sprayed the paper. To speed the drying process I used a heat gun and repeated until I was happy with the results. The stars and sentiment are from the new Cosmic Newton stamp set by Newton's Nook and they were heat embossed with white embossing powder. The background was then matted to a piece of Navy cardstock. The images were colored with Copic markers. For the moon I printed it on Sahara Sand cardstock by Stampin' Up! and then used a splatter stamp from the retired Gorgeous Grunge stamp set by Stampin' Up! using Sahara Sand ink. All the images are fussy cut, so don't look too close this is not my best skill. Some glossy accents were added to the alien's eyes and that's it! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will play along in our Out of this World challenge.

Anything Goes at Catch The Bug

Hello crafty friends! I'm excited to be a Guest Designer at the Catch The Bug Challenge for the next two months. Bugaboo Digi Stamps was my very first purchase of digital images and they remain one of my favorites to use. If you haven't heard of Bugaboo... then you must check them out HERE.

Today is the start of an Anything Goes Challenge at Catch The Bug and that means all you have to do is link your new creation to the challenge. Using a Bugaboo image is not required, but if you have them you know you want to use them. Click here for all the wonderful design team inspiration and challenge details. Three winners will be randomly drawn for three digi prize packs.

To make this card I used the Raggedy Angel - Stars image and colored it with Copic markers. I made the image fairly large and framed it with Basic Gray cardstock die cut with a Scalloped Frame by Taylored Expressions. The starry paper is from Recollections and the plaid is by Lawn Fawn. To finish off the card a Thinking of You sentiment by Stampin' Up! was adhered with dimensionals and three sequins added for sparkle. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Angel Thinking of You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Little Red Wagon: March Birthstone
• Crafty Creations: Anything Goes
• Simply Papercraft: Anything Goes

Military Brentwood Owl Cards

Happy Saturday! Today is the launch of a new stamp set at Jessica Lynn Originals called Military Brentwood Owl. The full set will be launched live tonight at 8 p.m. (central time) on the Jessica Lynn Original Facebook page. You will definitely want to join in the fun!!! There will be a giveaway, coupon codes for free digital images and shipping along with a scavenger hunt. During the live event we will be making a card with the new Military Brentwood Owl stamp set. This is going to be a fun event and I hope you will join us.

To create my cards I decided I wanted to use papers that would be widely available to everyone, so I went to my local Hobby Lobby store and found papers in the open stock section. Once the images were stamped I colored them with Copic markers and then die cut them with stitched dies. The embellishments were kept to a minimum just the way I like it and these cards were done.

The second card is entered into the following challenges:

• Brown Sugar: Anything Goes
• Pattie's Creations: Anything Goes
• Addicted to Stamps and More: Anything Goes

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

Simple #1 Dad Card

Happy Friday! Father's Day will be here in a couple of weeks on June 19, 2016. I've made a Simple #1 Dad Card using this weeks sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. This card uses minimal supplies and would be easy to duplicate. All you need is: Very Vanilla cardstock for card base, coordinating solid cardstock to mat layers, patterned paper (Adventure by My Mind's Eye), #1 Dad ribbon (free digital image, click here), red marker, scissors, silver glimmer paper, a star punch and adhesive.

The ribbon was printed onto patterned paper and onto Very Vanilla cardstock, then fussy-cut with scissors. If you're not into printing the image onto patterned paper, just simply use cardstock and color the ribbon to match your color choices. Don't have a star punch, use sequins or enamel dots instead. Click here for the sketch used and have fun making your dad a handmade card. He will love it!

This Simple #1 Dad Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Freshly Made Sketches: Sketch #239
• Cute Card Thursday: Father's Day
• Creative Corner: Just for Men
• Pattie's Creations: Father's Day or Graduation

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

Star Frame Good Job Card

Good day crafty friends! I hope you will play along with our challenge this week at Tuesday Throwdown. The theme is called Frame It! Our sponsor is MyGrafico and they provided the design team with some digital frames for our creations. I used this fun star frame to make a Good Job Card. We would love to see what you come up with for the Frame It! Challenge. You have until mid-day on Monday March 7th to link your creation. Click here for all the challenge details and to view the design team inspiration.

To make this Star Frame Good Job Card, the star had to be larger to fit the Good Job sentiment by Stampology. So, I made a 5.25" square card. All papers are from my scrap bin and I added some pink twine from The Twinery. Three sequins and three candy dots were added for detail and this card was done. Thanks for stopping by!

This card is entered into the following challenges:

• Crafting From The Heart: Anything Goes 
• Ooh La La Creations: Use a Sentiment
• Allsorts: Sentiment in Focus

Sweet Baby Girl Card

This week I was sorting through some patterned papers and found this adorable elephant and star patterned papers by Studio Calico from the Story Time Collection. I really like the muted colors and subtle text in the elephant bodies. So, I made this Sweet Baby Girl Card. The cardstock colors used are Very Vanilla and Sahara Sand by Stampin' Up! After stamping Emery the elephant by Verve Stamps (it's one of my favorite stamps) onto polka dot paper I fussy-cut the image and adhered it to the stitched die cut circle. The circle was then layered onto a die cut scalloped circle then adhered to the card with dimensionals. Using the retired Itty Bitty Banners stamp set by Stampin' Up! I stamped Sweet Baby with Tip Top Taupe ink and then die cut the sentiment with the coordinating Bitty Banner framelit dies. To add some detail three sequin stars were added along with twine. That's it!

This Sweet Baby Girl Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Crafty Girls Creations: Anything Goes
• In The Pink: Favorite Stamps or Image 
• Crafty Gals Corner: Anything Goes

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

Celebrate Fourth of July Card

When it comes to making cards to celebrate Independence Day, I only make a few. I send them to close family only. My stamp collection for this holiday is pretty much nonexistent. I do however have a good selection of patterned papers. To create this Celebrate Fourth of July Card I used the sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches designed by my crafty friend Jessi Fogan. I did a quick search and noticed several cards made using the retired Celebrate Today stamp from the Perfectly Penned stamp set by Stampin' Up!, so that's what I used. It's been in my collection for at least three years and doesn't get used that often. This seemed like the perfect card to dust it off. I stamped the ready made tag with the sentiment and two stars from a very old sale-a-bration stamp set. I adhered everything together, added the gingham ribbon and three silver sequins for a little sparkle. That's it!

This Celebrate Fourth of July Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch
• Cards in Envy: Red, White and Blue
• Retro Rubber: Tie It On/Ribbon or Twine 
• Crafty Gals Corner: Red, White and Blue

S... is for Snail

Greetings! It's time for your weekly dose of "manly" card inspiration at Cardz 4 Guyz. This week we want you to feature something on your card that starts with the letter "S". For my card, S.... is for Snail. When I was trying to figure out what to use I remembered that Peppercus Design features several adorable snails and I found the perfect freebie (and it came pre-colored). The design for my card is from this weeks sketch at Sweet Sketch Saturday. It was easy to pick colors that matched the image and all the papers used came from my scrap bin. For the sentiment I decided this little snail had to be thinking "Woohoo" as he road his skateboard with a fire blazing jet-pack.  The sentiment stamp is from Stampabilities and was stamped using Memento Black ink. That's it!

I'm also linking this Snail Card to the following challenges:

• Addicted to Stamps: Stars
• Stamping Sensations: One for the Boys

Now, what will your "S" stand for? Snake, Stars, Scooters, Sasquatch.....so many ideas!!! Click here to see what the Cardz 4 Guyz design team created using the letter "S". We would love for you to play along. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!!!

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!                 

Reach for the Stars Winner

Wow, July went by super fast!  I want to thank the participants who played along in our Reach for the Stars Challenge. There were so many different ways to use stars and I found inspiration in each of your designs. To select the winner the top five selections were numbered and placed in a bowl and hand drawn the old fashioned way. The winner is...

Valerie Ward from Val by Design

Valerie's card highlights a fun summer activity in her beautiful and colorful card. The starry sky over the camping scene is just perfect. Thanks for sharing your creation with us Val! In the next few days I will send you an email to request your mailing address for the challenge prize.

Check back tomorrow for the start of our August Photo Inspiration Challenge. 

Do Small Things Card

Good afternoon, I hope you're having a wonderful day! This morning I was playing around in my craft room and although I really needed to clean (ha!). I ended up making this Do small Things Card. The Dove image is by Meljen's Designs and I colored it with my Copic markers. When deciding which patterned papers to use I wasn't sure these two would work together, but I went with it. In the end I really like how it turned out. The polka dot paper is from Recollections and the green is by American Crafts. For the cardstock colors I used Coastal Cabana and Lost Lagoon by Stampin' Up! The sentiment is from Hampton Arts and the green rhinestones are from Recollections. Well, I still need to clean my craft room since the cleaning fairy has not found her way to my house. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!!!

My Do Small Things Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Crafting By Designs: Use a Sentiment
• Suzy Bee's: Anything Goes
• Chocolate, Coffee and Cards: For the Birds
• Fairytale: Use a Digi Stamp
• Sister Act: Anything Goes

Reach for the Stars Challenge

Welcome to our July challenge at Savvy Handmade Cards. This month the theme is Reach for the Stars. Use stars somewhere on your card and play along in the challenge. Our inspiration for you is full of red, white and blue but your creation doesn't have to be patriotic. The challenge deadline is Tuesday July 29th, 2014. Thanks for stopping by and we hope to see your card in the gallery!

Inspirational Designs: 

Andrea's Card using Edward USA by Bugaboo

Erin's Card using Simply Betty image

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!!!

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!

Patriotic Thank You Card

Today is Memorial Day here in America and the holiday stirs my feelings of thankfulness to all the men and women who have served our country through the years.  The sacrifice the many individuals and families make to ensure we live free continues to impress and amaze me. A heartfelt Patriotic Thank You to those serving in the past and present. This thank you card was made with you in mind.

The layout comes from the sketch challenge at The Paper Players. For the patterned papers I used All American Type and Blue Jean La Fleur by Doodlebug Design Inc. The sentiment is from the Another Thank You stamp set by Stampin' Up! and I used three red glitter and rhinestone stars I found at Hobby Lobby.

My Patriotic Thank You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• The Paper Players: Sketch
• Sister Act: Anything Goes
• Bloggers: Armed Forces

Classic Car Birthday Card

Hello! I hope you're having a super Saturday. My most recent card was made for my brother. His birthday is next week and he likes classic cars. It was perfect timing because I just received this classic car image by Doodle Pantry. It comes pre-colored or you can color it yourself. I used the pre-colored image and digital patterned paper that comes with the set. The Happy Birthday sentiment is from TPC Studios and I used StazOn Jet Black ink. I die cut a couple of stars and used a large circle for the focal backdrop. Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for stopping by!



My Classic Car Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Craftitude: Anything Goes/Die Cuts
• Sister Act: Anything Goes
• Paper Crafting Journey: For that Special Man
• Left of Center: Card for a Male
• A Creative Romance: One for the Boys

Casual Congrats! Card

Happy Monday afternoon! I hope you're having a wonderful day. It's been nice and sunny here in Oklahoma today. I would like to say that I stayed outside and enjoyed it, but no. I had a dentist appointment this morning and then went to work for two hours and then stayed in my craft room. The card I made is for one of my clients. I recently wrote a contract for her to buy her first home. I'm really excited for her and I hope she will like this Casual Congrats! Card.

The inspiration for this card came from "The Magic of Kits" article in the new Stampin' Success magazine. Stampin' Up! has a new kit available called Happenings Simply Created Card Kit (133329). It includes pieces for making 15 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" cards. My card wasn't made with the supplies from the kit but I did base the layout from one of the featured designs. I used patterned paper from the Sweet Sorbet sale-a-bration collection. It's free until March 31st with a fifty dollar purchase. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Casual Congrats! Card is entered into the following challenges:

• The Paper Players: Clean and Simple with Star(s)
• Make It Monday: Anything Goes