Hi!

Well hi there blogland!  WOW I have been MIA lately!  It all started with a serious slump in my mojo.... after all kinds of mass-production of cards plus a busy schedule really left me feeling non-creative!  But now, school is OUT for the summer (YAY!) and so I've got lots and LOTS of crafting time on my hands!  =D  Finally, I came up with this CAS card yesterday:

This card is very simple, but I love how it turned out!  I cut the flower and leaves out of some fabulous paper from American Crafts A La Carte line!  I popped up the flower with some foam adhesive, and added some stickles and glossy accents to the center.  Then, I added some of my favorite Thickers (American Crafts again!) and some black Rhinestones for a little bling!  =)

It's been a long time since I made a card without any stamps, but it was super fun!  I was inspired by several different challenges for this card:
* The Play Date Cafe #84
* Wee Memories #59 - Anything Goes
* Tuesday Throwdown #51 - Make Your Own Embellishments (mine is that fabulous flower from the patterned paper!) 

     

Well, that's all for me today!  I'll be back soon with more fun and exciting creations!  Keep making beautiful things, I've really enjoyed looking at your creations in the last few weeks, though I haven't had much time to leave comments!  =)  Happy Monday everyone!

Get Well Soon - PDCC #79

Hi there blogland!  I hope everyone is enjoying May!!!  So far, our May in Pittsburgh has been very rainy (but when you live in Pittsburgh you expect these things... haha), but productive!  We did a ton of work on our house this weekend and while I've been REALLY busy crafting up a storm, much of it is for a project that I'm not quite ready to share yet!  =) 

Anyhow, before I get to my card, I have some more (yes MORE) crafty good news!  I was featured again over at Practical Scrappers!!!! 

 

Yay!!!!  Have you been over to their site yet?  There's so much crafty goodness there for both cardmaking and scrapbooking!  You simply must check it out!

Ok, so next onto the card I made for this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge.  Here's the inspiration photo:

I don't know why, but when I saw these colors I instantly felt the need to do a card with a vintage feel.  Or maybe it's just because I saw the lime and thought "Shabby Shutters Distress Ink" since I've been obsessed with distress ink lately.  Who knows!  At any rate, I went sort of retro-vintage on this card, and I'm pleased with how it turned out:

I started off with a PTI Smokey Shadow Cardstock base, and then added some fabulous patterned paper from Basic Grey's Jovial line.  The PP was more of a cream base when I started, and that's where I added the Shabby Shutters Distress Ink from Ranger.  The tag and the sentiment were Vintage Cream cardstock inked with Shabby Shutters and distressed with Vintage Photo.  The sentiment and the hearts are inked with Memento's Ladybug ink, and then I added some pearl and ribbon accents!  =)  

Well, I am hoping to get a few more projects and cards posted this week, but we'll have to see!  The next few weeks are going to be SUPER busy for me, but after that in June, school is OUT and I'll have MUCH more free time to get inky!  =)  Have a wonderful day blog friends!  

PDCC 71 - Color Splash!

Hi blogland!  How's everyone doing out there?  Well I'm sick... AGAIN.  Yes folks, this is the FOURTH time that I've been sick this winter!  Needless to say I'm SO glad that spring is just about here!  =) 
I'd planned on posting this card much earlier in the week, but then a crafty idea struck me and I'm SO excited to share it with you!  I really wanted to play along in the Play Date Cafe's Color Splash Challenge #71:

Being players choice, I had a really tough time deciding on a color.  Originally, this is the card that I made:

I just got a bunch of stuff from PTI, and so I was dying to use it!  I love LOVED the way this card turned out, and that's when my wheels started turning.  I was going to make another one just like it, only using a different accent color, but which color?  Long story short, I made a six card set!!!  Here's the whole set: 

I am really REALLY pleased with how this set came out!  PTI's Dot Spot and Signature Sentiments create an elegant but fun card!  =)  So I ended up splashing in ALL of the colors instead of just one!  =) 

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed these fun and exciting cards today!  I'm going to have at least one more post today, so I'm off to get more crafty!  Until then readers!  =)

Paper: 
* PTI - Select Stampers White Cardstock
Stamps and Ink: 
* PTI - Dot Spot Clear Stamp Set
* PTI - Signature Sentiments Clear Stamp Set
* Memento Dye Ink - Tuxedo Black, Tangelo, Lilac Posies
* Ranger Distress Ink - Worn Lipstick, Broken China, Mustard Seed
* Color Box Pigment Ink - Green
Other: 
* Black Twill and Grosgrain Ribbon
* Nested Diecuts - AR Creations
* Ranger Stickles - Crystal, Fruit Punch, Waterfall, Orange Peel
* Foam Adhesive

I'm Back!

Hi everyone!  I know it's been a while since I've blogged, sorry about that!  We had a super busy week and weekend with friends last week, which ended bittersweet when the Steelers lost the superbowl.  =(  Oh well, there's always next year.  =)

In other exciting news, I was SO excited to find out that I WON one of the great prizes from Winter's St. Jude's Caring Hearts Card Drive!  What a great honor!!!  I won 5 digis of my choice from Tiffany Doodles and a special edition of Paper Crafts Magazine!  Stay tuned for plenty of inspiration from those winnings and thanks again to Winter for such an amazing card drive!

Finally, here's what I have for you today:

I've been really into Happy Birthday cards lately, as I'm going to need LOTS of them in the spring and summer!  This card was super fun to make!  I really enjoyed making the patterned paper on the left side, and using baker's twine to stitch the two pieces together!  =)  This card was inspired by:
1. The Play Date Cafe Color Challenge #67
2. Sketchy Sunday #6

    

Lately, I've been making it a habit to work out LOTS more than I was before Christmas!  I've been feeling really, REALLY good but it also makes me really ready for sleep at night!  Has anyone else been trying to beat the winter weight with any fun workout routines?  I wanna work my way up to a Zumba class!  =D 

Ok, well speaking of bed, I'm headed there now!  Happy crafting this week readers!  =)

 
Paper: 
* Recollections Cardstock
* JoAnn Fabrics Handmade Glitter Paper
Stamps and Ink: 
* Papertrey Ink Stamps - Birthday Basics 
* Inkadinkado Stamps - Flower Garden
* Ranger Distress Ink - Barn Door
* Blue and Purple Studio G Pigment Inks
Other:
* Red and White Baker's Twine (AR Creations on Etsy)
* Red Pearls
* Copic Markers
* Burgundy Organza Ribbon

I Love U

Good evening blogland!  Well once AGAIN we had a snow day today... though it was more icy than snowy here!  Of course, these types of days mean that I get extra time in to be crafty!  Today I was still excited to use my new PTI stamps and I had LOTS of fun:

I'm super proud of how this card turned out!  Along with making my own patterned paper, I also added some Lawn Fawn hearts to really finish off the look of the card!  I had LOTS of inspiration today for this card:
1. Wee Memories #41 - Get Sketchy

2. City Crafter Challenge Blog #42 - All You Need is Love!
3. The Play Date Cafe Color Challenge #66

 

So, that's pretty much the last valentine that I need to make!  I still have a few more that haven't made it to my blog yet, so I'll be posting those in the next few days, but I can now focus on things like birthday/wedding/shower/thinking of you cards! 

How's everyone else doing with the weather?  I hope everyone is safe and sound! =) 


Paper: 
* Bazzil and Recollections Cardstock
Stamps and Ink: 
* PTI - Fillable Frames #6 and matching diecut
* Lawn Fawn - My Silly Valentine
* Memento - Tuxedo Black Ink
Other: 
* Fiskars Border Punch
* Black Twill Ribbon
* Chipboard Letters
* Copic and Bic Markers

Mini Card Mania!

Hi blogland!  This is going to be a short post simply because I'm really tired but I wanted to share a few projects with you!  I just recieved my blog candy from the lovely Laurel Beard in the mail today, and I've already put it to good use!  I've been really into making smaller cards lately... mainly because they are both fun to send and often a challenge to make!  Here are two that I came up with:

The Play Date Cafe Color Challenge #65 had really great colors this week, and so I wanted to give it a try!  Even though it's winter, I tried to make this tree look like it was a birch tree transitioning from summer to fall.  And of course I added a few fun embellishments!

I just love this little guy!  As a dog owner I'm a sucker for doggie stamps!  This little guy is just perfect for a little valentines day card!  =)  This one wasn't for any challenge, I just couldn't resist him!  =)

Well, that's all I have for you today, don't forget to sign up for the giveaway!!!  There's only a few days left!  As always, thanks for your comments and support! 

 
"Did I Mention..."
Paper: 
* Neenah and Bazzil Cardstock
Stamps and Ink: 
* W Plus 9 - Funky Foliage
* Versamark Watermark Ink
* Light Green and Orange Pigment Inks
Other: 
* Green and Orange Buttons
* Green Flower from Prima
* Green and White Baker's Twine
* Orange Rhinestone
* Crystal Stickles
"Puppy Love" 
Paper: 
* Neenah Cardstock
Stamps and Ink: 
* Imaginsice Dog
* DeNami Design Heart and Sentiment
* Lawn Fawn - Small Heart
* Memento - Tuxedo Black
* Ranger Distress Inks - Worn Lipstick and Barn Door
Other: 
* Pink and White Baker's Twine
* Red Satin Ribbon

Lawn Fawn Mania!!!

Good evening readers!  So I LOVE having some time off of work -- it always means more crafty goodness!  I have three cards for you today, all with lovely Lawn Fawn stamps!  Here's the first one:

I got Bannerific for my birthday this year, and so I was SO excited to finally ink it up!  I also used the dog from Critters in the 'Burbs, and Harold's ABC's.  I colored everything with copics, added some twine from The Twinery, and some fun birthday ribbon!  =)  This card was inspired by the Wee Memories Challenge 35 - The Colors of the Season:

We also have a wedding on the first of the year this Saturday, and so I needed to make a wedding card!  This is what I came up with:

This card also allowed me to use Bannerific some more, as well as my new Worn Lipstick Ranger Distress Ink!  Once again, Teeny Tiny Backdrops just works so well with so many cards!  I also used Antique Linen Distress Ink to give the card a more vintage-y feel!  I colored the pearls and birds with Copics and used some Fruit Punch Stickles.  This card was inspired by the City Crafter Challenge 37 - Stamp it Out; AND the Play Date Cafe Color Challenge 62:

Finally, I made one more kind of funky card that I ended up really liking:

Here, I used my Cuttlebug embossing folder and tag die cuts to create several of the layers of this card.  I used Staz On Timber Brown and Versamagic Sea Breeze inks and several Lawn Fawn stamp sets.  I used ivory grosgrain ribbon and brown twine for some extra texture.  I added some last minute touches with Waterfall Stickles and Pearls colored with Copics.  This card was inspired by the Curtain Call Color Challenge 62: 

Well, that's all I have for  you today!  I hope that everyone is ready to bid 2010 a happy farewell, and welcome in 2011 for a wonderful new year!  =) 


Paper: 
* Neenah, Bazzill, and Recollections Cardstock
Stamps and Ink: 
* Lawn Fawn Stamp Sets
* Ranger Distress Inks
* Staz On
* Versamagic and Memento
Embellishments: 
* Pearls
* Ribbons
* Twine
* Stickles
* Cuttlebug
* Copic Markers

Inchies Galore!!!!

Happy Monday readers!  I hope that you all enjoyed the DeNami Blog Hop over the weekend!  =)  If you are still looking for that post, click HERE.

So recently I won an EtsyInspired Challenge!  As the winner, I won an Inchies Prize pack from Lisa over at Inchie Arts.  Let me just tell you, if you've never used inchies, you should definitely get some!  They are so much more than just crafting squares!  Here's all the goodies I got (it was a GREAT prize pack!)

Here you can see a box of inchies, inchies +, and TWO boxes of twinchies (one white and one with colors!).  These squares are super high quality, and they are AMAZING for stamping!  You'll see in my projects that they stamp super nicely.  You can also distress them, ink around the sides, color the entire front and sides (the color comes out amazingly even!), and they are amazing for layering.  Thanks again to the people over at inchie arts!  I'm an inchie user for life now! 

So without further ado, I have four (yes FOUR) cards for you today for several challenges, and all using INCHIES!!!  Here's the first card:

This is a smaller thank you card that I made using a twinchie and an inchie +.  The twinchie is colored with an olive marker, and the inchie + is stamped and distressed.  The flower stamp is from Studio G, and everything else is out of my stash.  I used a piece of celery cardstock to mat in between the two!  This card was inspired by:
1. Repeat Impressions What If? Wednesday Sketch:
2. Curtain Call Color Challenge Act 60:

Lately, I've been wanting to make cards with more interesting shapes!  Here's a long, skinny birthday card:

 Here's a great example of how inchies can be used to work with square stamped images.  I've had these inchie stamps from Inkadinkado (Flower Garden) for awhile, but I haven't been able to use them all that much.  Now, I can't wait to go and buy more!  Inkadinkado has a TON of inchie stamps, and with these inchies the possibilities are endless!  I also finally got to open my Ranger Distress "Chipped Sapphire" ink for this card!  The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn (Sophie's Sentiments).  This card was inspired by the Caardvarks Monochromatic Card challenge, their final challenge!

Next, I've been looking forward to getting a chance to CASE my favorite designer for the Wee Memories Challenge 35!  I have two that I want to case, but I started with Ayana Posadas!  She is one of my favorite designers out there!  I love her clean, beautiful, colorful, whimsical design style!  The card that I cased can be found HERE and was for the DeNami Punches challenge (did you enter that yet?  You should!).  Here's my take on her card:

Here I just used four inchies and stamped them with some purple ink from Studio G.  The owls are from DeNami, and the sentiment is Lawn Fawn.  Cardstock is from Recollections, and everything else is from my stash!  I'm also entering this card in the Play Date Cafe Color Challenge #59!

My last card was one more birthday card that's just CAS and fun:

Isn't this just cute? I just love this little set from Stampendous!  Here I used a twinchie to stamp the bee and sentiment, colored him in, and added some stickles to his wings!  Stamping and coloring on the inchies is just so easy!  I stamped the balloons from the same set using a little masking, and finished it off with some twine from The Twinery!  I'm entering this in Tuesday Throwdown's Challenge 28: Clean and Simple.

Whew!  Well I hope you enjoyed all of these cards, and I hope you'll head on over to Inchie Arts and pick up some inchies!  They are too awesome to pass up!

Once again, thanks for reading and commenting!  Please be sure to follow my blog if you like my cards!  I'm going to do my first blog candy giveaway sometime in early 2011 for my followers!  =) 
 

More Daytime Craftiness!

Hello again readers!  So we once AGAIN had a snow day today, so I'm tucked in comfortably working on stuff for the next week of challenges!  Today I have two cards to show you!  I've also been working on some fun stuff for the DeNami Gift Tag Blog Hop for next week! And hopefully, I'll get some more stuff done for tonight!  Anyway, here's the first card I have for today:

  I just can't get enough of these penguins!  This card is a CASE study challenge from Repeat Impressions!  I was using CASE #N24 originally created by Dana Joy, here's her card:

 

And now, onto the next card I have to share with you today!  

  I love the CAS design of this card!  This one didn't take very much time, but I think that it is very elegant!  I always love any chance I get to use some pretty gingham ribbon!  This card was inspired by several challenges:
1. The Play Date Cafe 58 - Red and White
2. Jay Gee's Nook Challenge 2 - Inspired by the Photo Below

 

3. Tuesday Throwdown 28 - Clean and Simple
4. City Crafter Challenge 34  - Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
5. Etsy - Inspired Challenge 117 - Paper Seeds Shop: I was inspired by this picture:

Well, that's all I have for you today!  =D I hope you enjoyed my cards, happy crafting, and stay warm! 

 
Merry Christmas Penguins: 
Paper:   
*Neenah and Recollections Cardstock
* Basic Grey Patterned Paper

Stamps and Ink:

* Repeat Impressions - Christmas Penguins

* Memento - Tuxedo Black

* Ranger Distress Ink - Barn Door

Embellishments:

* Gold Pearls


Red and White Joy Card: 
Paper:   
*Neenah Cardstock

Stamps and Ink:

*Lawn Fawn - Frosties

* Inkadinkado - Warm Christmas Wishes

* Ranger Distress Ink - Barn Door

Embellishments:

* Red Button
* Red and White Baker's Twine from AR Creations