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!