Koala Nice Day Card

Hello! The summer heat has kicked in and it's super sticky and hot outside. This time of year I run my errands at night and stay indoors all day. Since it feels tropical outside I thought I would make a tropical inspired card to play along with the Inky Paws 100th challenge. The koala image is by Newton's Nook called Pina Koala and it was colored with Copic markers and die cut with the coordinating die. Some fun patterned papers from the Hello Sunshine paper pad by Fancy Pants Designs (2017) were selected. A piece of green apple cardstock stamped with a texture stamp anchors the image and the sentiment is from the Garden Mice stamp set by Newton's Nook. That's it. I hope you're staying cool and enjoy the rest of your day.

This Koala Nice Day Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Aud Sentiments: Anything Goes + Sentiment
• Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday: Summer Scenes, Treats or Colors
• If You Give a Crafter a Cookie: Photo Inspiration
• Inky Paws: 100th Challenge (#51 Tropical Theme)
• Little Red Wagon: Much Ado About Nothing

Photo:

July 17, 2017

Cool Cat Father's Day Card

Hello! Today I'm sharing the card I made for my dad for Father's Day. He is one cool cat, so I used a fun image by Newton's Nook along with papers from the Beach Day paper pad by Carta Bella (2016) to make this card. The image was stamped with Memento black ink and colored with Copic markers. Then it was die cut with the coordinating die. A cross stitched oval was die cut and Tumbled Glass distress ink sponged on to add some color. Finally the sentiment was stamped and adhered. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered: Cardz 4 Guyz (Father's Day), Crafty Cardmakers (Masculine), Crafty Gals Corner (You're the Man), Cut N Crafty (Father's Day or Card for a Man) and Dragonfly Dreams (For a Man/Boy).

Little Moments Card - TMS #504

Happy Tuesday! We had a rainy and stormy night last night, so today I'm hoping for some sunshine. If it's raining where you are then it's a great excuse to stay inside and play along with our new weekly sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches. To help inspire you the design team have created some lovely examples. You have until 8 pm EST on Sunday to link your creation. Click HERE for all the challenge details. We hope you will join us and play along with this weeks sketch.

When I started making this Little Moments Card I was in the mood to make something positive and cheerful. So, I selected a recently purchased stamp set from Unity Stamps called Little Moments Big Life by Lisa Arana. Then I picked papers from the Hello Sunshine paper pad by Fancy Pants Designs (2017). Copic markers were used to color the image and the sentiment stamp was stamped using Memento black ink. Since the focal image was more rectangle in design it's taller than the square in the sketch layout and I used a straight element in place of the zig zag. Everything was adhered flat for easy shipping. So glad you stopped by! Wishing you a happy and crafty day.

Challenges entered:

• Addicted to Stamps: Flowers
• Get Creative: Anything Goes
• Path of Positivity: Anything Goes/Admiration Twist

Sketch #504:

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

Caffeinated Happiness Card

Happy Friday! Sometimes life doesn't go as planned and sometimes it's for the best. It's been a crazy week for me but I finally had time to make a card for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop. The image is by Jessica Lynn Original and I paper pieced the coffee/tea cup and then colored the cactus with Stampin' Blends markers in Green Apple with a touch of Lovely Lipstick for the little flowers. I debated about a sentiment and finally came up with Caffeinated Happiness which I made using the computer. The scalloped frame around the image was made using a die cut by Taylored Expressions. All the papers were found in my scrap bin and everything was adhered flat for easy shipping. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Coffee Loving Cardmakers: Spring/Summer Hop
• Crafty Creations: Anything Goes
• DL.ART: Coffee, Tea or Chocolate
• Simply Create Too: Anything Goes

Encouragement Card - TMS #502

Well, it's another happy Tuesday!!! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will join the challenge this week at Tuesday Morning Sketches. It features one of my favorites shapes... the circle. Circles just make me happy! It's been a while since I've made a masculine card, so that's the direction I took with this Encouragement Card. To allow for the sentiment I turned the sketch horizontal and placed the circles where I thought they looked best. I'm looking forward to how you will use the sketch. For all the challenge details and design team inspiration click HERE. You have until 8 pm EST to link your creation to the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered: Dragonfly Dreams- Anything Goes

Sketch #502:

Climbing Roses Wedding Card

Hello! My cousin is getting married this weekend and this Climbing Roses Wedding Card is the one I made for the occasion. She is using purple as the main color which also happens to be my favorite color. Almost all of the supplies on this card are by Stampin' Up! The one exception is some sugar cube glitter paint by Martha Stewart Crafts that I painted onto the trellis die cut. Unfortunately the photo doesn't show how pretty the glitter detail is, it looks better in person. Hopefully she will love it! 💜

Supplies used include:

• Paper: Thick and thin white cardstock along with Subtles Designer Series Paper in Highland Heather.
• Stamps: Climbing Roses and Flourishing Phrases.
• Ink & Coloring: Memento Black and Gorgeous Grape ink pads along with Stampin' Blends markers in Highland Heather and Granny Apple Green.
• Other Stuff: Big Shot, Rose Trellis Thinlits Dies, Glitter Paint and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Challenges entered: Cardz 4 Gals (Flora or Fauna), Cut It Up (Flowers), Cute Card Thursday (Feminine), Everybody-Art (Wedding) and Watercooler Wednesday (All About Occasions).

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

Unicorn Celebrate Card - TMS #486

Happy Tuesday! During the next few weeks at Tuesday Morning Sketches we will be featuring our favorite sketches from 2018 and we are starting this week with my favorite. I chose sketch #446 because I love layers and angled panels and this sketch combines both beautifully. Click HERE for the original post. We definitely hope you will be inspired to play along this week. For all the challenge details and design team inspiration click HERE. I hope to see your creation in the link-up gallery!

To make this Unicorn Celebrate Card I started by selecting papers from the Dear Lizzy Stay Colorful paper pad by American Crafts (2017). The papers were cut to follow the sketch and matted to a purplish blue cardstock. Using Copic markers the unicorn image by Bugaboo Stamps was colored using coordinating colors. Then the image was die cut with a cross stitched oval by My Favorite Things and matted to a piece of Soft Sky cardstock that was cut slightly larger using a pair of deckle scissors by Fiskars. The finishing touches were the addition of three sequins and the celebrate sentiment. That's it! I'm so glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Crafty Catz: Anything Goes/Birthday Option
• Creative Knockouts: Anything Goes

Sketch:

Happy Birthday Card - TMS #478

Hello and happy Tuesday! A few weeks ago I was invited to join the Tuesday Morning Sketches design team and today is my first share as part of the team. Sketch challenges have been a favorite of mine since I started making cards. It was Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge #184 when I started playing along back in February 2013. When I looked back through I noticed several sketches that I've used more than once. A good sketch saves time and makes my creative process much quicker. I sure hope you will join us this week and link your creation using sketch #478. For all the challenge details and design team inspiration click HERE.

To start this Happy Birthday Card I was determined to use the circle mini garland by Doodlebug Designs for the pennant detail. The hardest part was deciding what color to use for the background paper. After playing around for awhile, the gray stripes by Stampin' Up! became my choice. The Birthday Puppies image is by Bugaboo Stamps and it was colored with Copic markers. Using Memento black ink the Happy Birthday sentiment by Lawn Fawn was stamped and matted with Crushed Curry cardstock to match the twine. That's it! So glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Always Happy Birthday: Birthday Anything Goes
• Catch The Bug: Anything Goes
• Crafty Animals: Anything with Animals
• Dragonfly Dreams: Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes

Sketch:

Halloween Cards are Mailed!

After all the cards have been carefully made it's always a big relief to get them mailed! This year I ended up making fourteen cards. I made a few extras because there are a couple I didn't want to give away. Here is the last card I made using the Halloween Trio stamp set by Newton's Nook:

It's one I'm keeping or I'll give it to my hubby. The background was made with distress oxide inks and the patterned paper is from the Trick or Treat paper pad by Pebbles (2016). Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered: Crafty Creations (Anything Goes), Crafty Gals Corner (Halloween Colours), Simon Says (Halloween/Spooky) and Watercooler Wednesday (All About Holidays). 

Halloween Trio Card

Good day crafty friends! It's getting closer to Halloween and I'm behind on making my cards. I got a really bad sinus cold a couple of weeks ago and I'm just now starting to feel better. It's been years since I got a cold that bad and I didn't want to contaminate my crafting supplies. So that means I'll start making multiples of the cards I create instead of many different designs. I made three of this Halloween Trio Card. The design is all the same but the patterned papers change and the colors used on the image vary some. Distress oxide inks were used to create the background and then it was die cut with a deckle die by Tim Holtz. The image is by Newton's Nook and it's called Halloween Trio. A coordinating die was used the cut out the image and the little bats are from the same set. The yellow moon was added and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Aud Sentiments: Halloween/Fall Sentiment
• Cards in Envy: Something Spooky
• Cute Card Thursday: Halloween
• Sweet Stampin': Halloween  
• The Sisterhood of Crafters: Cute Spooks

Another version:

Halloween Card with a Cat

A big welcome to the month of October!!! I love making Halloween cards and especially Halloween Cards with a Cat. It may be traditional to use black cats at Halloween but I decided to color this cat as a gray tabby. The image and sentiment are from the Newton's Boo-tiful Night stamp set by Newton's Nook. It was stamped with Memento black ink and colored with Copic markers. The coordinating die was used to cut out the image. On the focal area Wilted Violet distress ink was applied with a sponge dauber and then some green grass was added. All papers are from the Not Too Spooky paper pad by Pink & Main. The colors were selected to play along with the Inky Paws color challenge to use: Lime Green, Yellow, Orange and Purple. This is definitely my favorite Halloween color combination! To add a little sparkle three silver sequins were added and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Cute N Crafty: Fall/Halloween 
• Dragonfly's Journey: Happy Halloween!
• Inky Paws: Colors
• Just Us Girls: Stripes
• Make My Monday: Animals

Another version using the same layout:

Let it Snow Card

There is still plenty of summer left but I would take a few snowflakes about now. We were lucky today and it stayed overcast and it wasn't blazing hot, it was actually nice for a change. The forecast for the weekend includes rain and my flowerbeds would be really happy if that happened. So, I'm thinking positive thoughts for rain!!!

It was nice making this Let it Snow Card and thinking about a snowy day. I started by selecting the Winter Cat and Puppy Dog image by Bugaboo Stamps. Then I selected the patterned papers by Doodlebug Designs which have been in my stash for quite some time. The image was then colored with Copic markers to coordinate with the papers. To play along with the Catch The Bug Christmas in July Day 4 Bingo Challenge I added sparkle die cut snowflakes and blue rhinestone brads for bling and I used a Bugaboo image, so I went diagonal from right to left. The Let it Snow sentiment is from the retired Snow Place stamp set by Stampin' Up! and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• A Snowflakes Promise: Anything Goes
• Catch The Bug: Bingo
• Crafty Creations: Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday: Too Cute!
• Use Your Stuff: Anything Goes with Title/Sentiment

Cupcake Birthday Card

Well... I never went outside today! It's still really cold and I decided just to stay home, do laundry and make a card. The hubby is picking up a pizza on his way home and the plan is to take it easy this evening. I hope you can do the same!

When I was searching for the image to use I decided to look through my already printed images and I found this cupcake. I'm playing along with Day 4 of the Bugaboo Birthday Bash and it's a Bingo challenge, my selections are middle row down using Cake/Cupcakes, Bugaboo Image and Bold Colors. Looking back to see when I used this image last it was January 2014 for Bugaboo's 4th Birthday Bingo Challenge. How funny is that? Click here to see that post. I decided to make my cupcake similar to the first one with a paper pieced liner and puffy paint for icing. All patterned paper are by The Paper Studio and the sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts. Three sequins for sparkle and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Cupcake Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Catch the Bug: Bingo
• Crafty Gals Corner: Anything Goes
• Craftaholics R Us: Anything Goes

Bright Birthday Bird Card

It's been pretty cold the last couple of days, so I was happy to see a challenge for something bright. I like making cheerful cards and I think the image and colors on this Bright Birthday Bird Card will be perfect for my youngest niece. Her birthday is in April, so nice spring colors are perfect. I also want to wish a happy 8th birthday to Bugaboo Digi Stamps! My very first digital image came from Bugaboo and they continue to be one of my favorites. Wishing them many more years of creative success.

This Bright Birthday Bird Card design started with the selection of the bird image by Bugaboo Digi Stamps. Copic markers were used to color the image. The fun striped paper is by Doodlebug Designs and it was matted to a piece of black and white chevron. A black die cut frame was used along with a die cut happy birthday sentiment. To add a little sparkle, three sequins were added and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Catch the Bug: Bold & Bright Birthday
• Seize the Birthday: Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp: Patterned Paper
• Brown Sugar: Birthday
• A Gem of a Challenge: Happy Anything 

Skinny Halloween Card

This week I was looking through all my scraps of cardstock and decided to make a Skinny Halloween Card. If you're like me and have a couple of bins full of scraps... then this size of card may help you use some of those scraps. The finished size is 3.5" x 6" and it fits perfectly into a standard # 6 3/4 envelope. The bat and sentiment are from the retired Cheer All Year stamp set by Stampin' Up!. After stamping and fussy cutting the bats I decided to add black Wink of Stella to make them sparkle. There is nothing fancy about this card, which is one of the reasons I like it. The striped patterned paper is from the Trick or Treat paper pad by Pebbles and that's it! A simple and easy Halloween card.



Challenges entered include:

• Allsorts: Halloween
• Dragonfly Journeys: Halloween Hoopla
• A Gem of a Challenge: Spots or Stripes or Halloween

Cute Puppy Birthday Card

Hello and happy Friday! My nephew will turn two later this year, so I thought I would go ahead and make his birthday card. The image is from the Birthday Puppies set by Bugaboo Digi Stamps and it was colored with Copic markers. I used some fun bright papers from the Playlist paper pad by Hampton Arts (2013). A scalloped die cut from by Taylored Expressions frames the image. The sentiment is by Hero Arts and some sequins were added for sparkle. That's it! I'm glad you stopped by my blog and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!!!

This Cute Puppy Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Cute Card Thursday: Bright Colours!
• As You Like It: Fur of Feathers*
• Die Cuttin' Divas: Birthday Celebration
• Crafting Circle: Bugaboo Image 

* When it comes to choosing between fur or feathers that's a hard choice for me. I love them both, but I guess I love the furry animals more than our feathered friends. 

Monsters and Ghouls Card

Halloween may still be a few months away but the theme challenge this week at Tuesday Throwdown is Monster Mash. It definitely doesn't have to be a Halloween creation but it's one of my favorite holidays to make cards. Our sponsor this week is Sasayaki Glitter and the owner Naz Smith has several fun monster images to choose from. My Monsters and Ghouls Card features the Halloween Monster Family image and it was colored using Copic markers. The design team has some wonderful inspiration to share with you, click here for the design team inspiration and challenge details. I hope to see your monster creation in the gallery this week!

Another Cup of Liquid Sanity

Hooray for Friday and the first day of the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop! Mornings don't start until I've had my coffee. My hubby knows that coffee is needed if he wants me to carry on a decent conversation. Maybe I should be ashamed, but mornings just aren't my thing!

The idea for this card started with the black frame. It was cut and sitting on my desk from a card that went a different direction. I decided it would be fun against the bright stripes from the Doodlebug Designs Inc. Cream & Sugar paper pad and it was matted to a black and white striped paper. The sentiment, coffee mug and carafe are from the Coffee Happy stamp set by Shery Russ available at Stamplorations. I decided to stamp the images on patterned paper and then fussy cut. To add a little more color a Copic marker (BG13 Mint Green) was used to accent the carafe. The final details include the stamped heart from a Unity stamp set and three sequins for some sparkle. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and have fun hoping along with the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!

This Liquid Sanity Card is linked to the following challenges:

• Simon Says Stamp: Use Patterned Paper
• Sisterhood of Crafters: Use Your Imagination
• Aud Sentiments: Bingo (Patterned paper, Stamped Image, Favorite Color)