Keep the Sun in your Heart

You know, I just love that sentiment and I've not yet used it since I got Lawn Fawn's Partly Cloudy set forever ago!  This card was a bit difficult for me, mainly because it had to be ONE LAYER, because I wanted to play along with the latest challenge over at Lawnscapings!  I didn't know if I'd be able to make that happen, but then I saw this week's CAS-ual Friday's challenge, and I had an idea that matched the sketch and involved LOTS of Distress Ink (which I've been SUPER into lately!)  Here's the final result:

This card really turned out better than I expected!  I masked off that white strip and went to town with my Broken China distress ink!  Then, I masked off the blue and stamped the white area with elements from Lawn Fawn's Partly Cloudy and Blissful Botanicals.  I drew in my own flower stems and added some embroidery floss and pearls as added embellishments!  I really like the way that the embroidery floss looks twisted around the front of the card, too!  It's a super fun technique! 

So, as I said I made this card with both Lawnscapings and CAS-ual Fridays on the brain:
Lawnscapings #16 - One Layer Cards

CAS-ual Fridays #15 - Sketch Challenge

Ok friends!  This is a SUPER exciting time for me, stay tuned!  There's something exciting coming up VERY soon on my blog, and it might just involve a giveaway!  =D  Happy Wednesday to all! 

Spiders in the Attic!

At least, that's how I remember every attic I've ever been in!  Today I bring you something right out of the attic for the current Lawnscaping Challenge: 

I've been thinking about this challenge for a LONG time and not being able to come up with something that created a scene that hasn't already been done.  So today I was going through my Lawn Fawn stamps once more, and I thought, wouldn't those spiders (from Heebie Jeebies) look cute hanging in an attic doorway? So that's exactly where I put them:

I just purchased Tim Holtz's designer ruler today, and it came in handy for measuring and cutting out the doorway and the patterned paper (from Basic Grey's Max and Whiskers paper pad).  Most older houses had fabulous wallpaper like that in their attics too... hehe!  Then I modified the spiderweb stamp from Heebie Jeebies and added some webs through the door with some spider cuties!  Then, of course I needed a custom sentiment so I turned to Harold's ABC's!  The doorway is distressed with Antique Linen and the PP is distressed with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo.  I used leftovers from the door frame to alter the top of the card to make it look more like an actual attic roof -- which is my favorite part of my card!  =)  All in all I ended up having a lot of fun with this challenge!  =) 

I've been working on more fun non-cardy projects too!  I have a fabulous Halloween wreath in the making, a summery wreath almost finished (my door is really under-dressed) and some cute Christmas Tree decorations for the holidays!  I'll be sharing all of this super soon! 

Ok everyone!  I hope you all have a fabulous rest of your week!  =)  See you soon! 

Have a WHALE of a Time!!!

Honestly, I think that should DEFINITELY be the idea on your birthday - to have a whale of a time!  =)  Anyhow, that was the inspiration for this Lawn-Fawny creation today!  Here's my card:

This is one of my absolute favorite cards I've made in awhile!  I love the colors, and I love getting to use Critters in the Sea - which I haven't really put to good use for a long time and it's one of my favorite Lawn Fawn stamp sets!  =) 

I started by punching the edge and cutting out the seahorses and whale.  Then I used Tumbled Glass distress ink on the paper just to add a little extra coloring. Then I stamped the spouted water and sentiment onto the green cardstock, adhered down the embroidery floss and then the whale.  Then, I adhered the punched blue piece and the seahorses.  I then added the bubble stamps around the seahorses!  I finished the whole thing off with a few pearls (which you should know by now are one of my favorite embellishments) and some glossy accents to the bubbles (doesn't that make them look fun?!?!) and there you have it!  =) 

This card was inspired by three different challenges:
1. Lawnscapings #12 - a fabulous sketch (shown below) 

2. CAS-ual Fridays #8: Getting Edgy - I used my favorite border punch and the seahorses to create a CAS but funky edge to this card! 

3. CR84FN #32 - Use Aqua, Yellow, and Green as your main card colors

Wow I posted twice in the same day!  =)  It's been a long time since I've done that, but I'm feeling really great about all of the fun, crafty creations I've had time for lately!  =)  I'll be back with some more fabulous fun tomorrow! 

#1 Grandpa - Lawnscapings #11

Hello blogland!  I just have a quick post today for the current Lawnscapings challenge -- have you entered yet?  =)  The theme was Clean and Simple:

 

With Father's Day approaching, I wanted to make a fun card for my Grandpa!  I've seen so many cute "prize ribbon" cards lately in blogland, and so here's my take on that idea: 

I wanted to use fun, bold colors, and I used Harold's ABC's, my favorite Lawn Fawn alphabet set, to create my own sentiment!  I had to make the "#" sign using the 1 from Harold's ABC's and I think it turned out great!  I also scored around the sentiment and added some pearls and faux stitching for fun!  My grandpa is absolutely the best and I love all of the time that I get to spend with him!!!  He always hangs up my cards and so I take special care to make him something extra special.  =)  

Well, that's all for me right now!  Sorry for the quick post but I have lots of stuff to do still tonight!  Have an extra special Wednesday!  =)  

Bugs and Critters!!! =D

Hello everyone!  Yes, that's right, I'm posting twice in two days!  Haha!  I'm so ready for the school year to be over so that I can post alllll the time again!  =D 

Ok I have two cards for you today!  One of them is a card with some little sea critters on it, and one of them is a buggy beauty!  Here's the first one:

Since I got Hats off to You, I've had dreams of putting this little graduation cap on the whale from Critters of the Sea and creating the illusion that it was being raised off with spouted water!!!  I just thought it would be so perfect for that sentiment, and as a graduation card!  Now with graduation season upon us, I knew I had to do it!  And what better time than for the current Lawnscapings challenge - Calling all Critters!!! 

I love that little sun too from Partly Cloudy.  Adding the stickles just made it shine perfectly to show a bright, sunny day on the sea!  =) 

Next, I just love PTI's Little Lady stamp set!  I haven't inked it up in awhile, so I thought today was the perfect day!  Here's the card I came up with:

Aren't these colors just a great combo? Also, I wanted the ladybug's wings to stand up and out, so I stamped an extra ladybug and cut out the wings so that I could fold them up to make them look like they were helping the little lady fly!  Here's a close up of the wings:

I was super inspired when I made this card, with inspirations from:
1. CR84FN25 - Aqua Blue and White
2. Make it Monday #12 - Line Frame 101
3. Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes

    

It's finally starting to get warmer here!  I'm getting ready to think about planting our garden and herb garden!  For those of you that garden, what are your favorite things to plant?  Our new thing this year is going to be butternut squash and cucumbers!  =) 

Well as always, thanks for checking out my blog!  I can't believe that I'm up over 30 followers and have so many great people checking out my blog on a regular basis!  You guys all ROCK and I am so glad to have gotten to know so many wonderful people in this past 9 months!  =D 

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!!!

Hi there!  WOW I've been so busy lately!  Since we last talked, I had an extremely full Sunday AND Monday!  Sunday consisted of TONS of yardwork ended with some ice cream and a movie (mini date night to celebrate all of our hard work!) We were able to get SO much done!  Then Monday we both worked and then went to Pittsburgh to see Sara Barielles in concert!  She was absolutely AMAZING... hands down the best vocalist I've ever seen live (which is saying something... as a singer myself I'm extremely picky about vocalists!)  But it was so so SO good!  =) 

OK so onto the cards!  Recently, I've been needing to make more birthday cards!  I love and often NEED birthday cards, but seem to make them less often than I should!  Here's the first one:

 

This one took me a lot of time, but was worth it!  I started by stamping the background and then the banner.  I then filled the banner with a sentiment and stamped out the party hats on the light blue cardstock.  I knew I wanted to so something different here, so I used embroidery floss to create little tassled fringes for the party hats instead of using their little curly strands!  I added pearls and distressed the edges as well!  For this, I used FOUR different Lawn Fawn sets (Sophie's Sentiments, Bannerific, Teeny Tiny Backdrops, and Hats off to You!)  This card was inspired by two different challenges:
1. The Play Date Cafe #76
2. Lawnscaping Challenge #7 - Make your Own Patterned Paper

  

Next, I found a new site with challenges, Lily Pad!  If you haven't been over there yet, hop over and check it out!  Their blog is pretty cool and promises lots of fun challenges!  =)  This week's challenge was a Color Throwdown:

I really like these colors, and so I came up with another birthday card to match them:

I really ended up liking the turnout of this card!  All of the stamps and paper are PTI except the light blue cardstock, light green cardstock, and the flower stamped background.  Not only do I love the colors in this card but it's just fun but elegant!  =)

OK friends I need to get some sleep!  I can't keep my eyes open for another minute!  Nighty night and happy crafting to all!  =D 

Our Friendship is Forever!

Hello friends!  I hope everyone is having a lovely week!  I've been having a great time with my crafty self, and hoping a LOT for the weather to get better!  =) 

Anyhow, I was so so SO excited about the new Lawnscapings Challenge!  I love making my own patterned paper using fun stamps!  I also loved the colors this week over at CR84FN's Challenge, and so here's what I came up with:

The stamped image is the big raindrop from Lawn Fawn's "Partly Cloudy" stamp set, and it just makes the most fun image!  I matted that down and used some shabby sheer green ribbon to tie a bow!  I added a sentiment and a button on the ribbon for an added touch!  =) 

This card was inspired by:
1. Lawnscapings #7 Challenge - make your own patterned paper
2. CR84FN #22 Color Challenge

      

 =D  Yay fun craftiness!  I hope you'll choose to play along with each of these awesome challenges!!! 

Finally, I promised about a week ago that I'd put up a picture of the hardwood floors that we found under the carpet in our dining room!  Here's a picture of the floors after I polished them with Orange Glo:

 

Why would you EVER cover these up?!?!?!   They are fabulous, and our dining room looks SO much better now! 

Ok well it's time for me to get to bed!  Have an amazing night everyone!  Be back tomorrow with more cards with doilies (I know I'm obsessed!  hehe!) 



Paper: 
* Kraft Cardstock - Recollections
* Brown Cardstock - PTI
Stamps and Ink: 
* Lawn Fawn - Partly Cloudy and Hello Friend
* Versamark Watermark Ink
* Ranger Adirondack Espresso Ink
* Ranger Distress Ink - Peeled Paint and Antique Photo
Other:
* Shabby Sheer Green Ribbon
* Brown Twine
* Cream Flower Button

Thursday's Creations!!!

Hi there blogland!  Well I had a very crafty day!  It all started with this video from the Lawn Fawn blog!  Kelly's idea of a background sentiment got my mojo going, and it gave me a perfect idea for the current Lawnscapings challenge: 

 

Here's my card:

I love how much this blue just pops out!!!  And the birdy from "Fly Free" just looks so great as a bluebird!  This also took a TON of Lawn Fawn stamp sets, which was totally FUN!  =) 

After that, I wanted to make a few more gift boxes for some cute little candy or other trinkets!  I made two boxes, each slightly different than the other:

In each situation, I stamped the cardstock with Lawn Fawn's teeny tiny backdrops, one with versamagic ink and one with versamark dazzle ink.  On one I embossed a sentiment right on the bottom, and on the other I added a removable tag with a sentiment!  These boxes were inspired by a few challenges:
1. Wee Memories #48 - Cute and Cuddly.  I think these are super cute to add to a baby gift!  

 

2. City Crafter Challenge Blog #49 - Babies, Buttons and Bows
3. Tuesday Throwdown #41 - Anything but a Card

Ok guys!  Is everyone ready for the weekend?  I know I sure am!  =)  I hope everyone has a lovely night!  =D


Thank You Card: 
Paper:
* PTI Cardstock
Stamps and Ink: 
* Lawn Fawn - Fly Free, Hello Friend, Harold's ABC's, Bows and Holly, Sophie's Sentiments, My Silly Valentine, and various Thank You stamps.  
* Memento - Tuxedo Black
Other: 
* Flower Embellishment - Recollections

Candy Boxes: 
Paper: 
* Recollections Cardstock
Stamps and Ink: 
* Lawn Fawn - Teeny Tiny Backdrops, Spohie's Sentiments
* Versamagic - Sea Breeze Ink
* Versamark Dazzle - Frost Ink
* Silver Embossing Powder
Other: 
* Blue/White Baker's Twine
* Buttons
* Clear Cellophane
* Silver Satin Ribbon

Cute Cuddly Creatures!!!!

HI blogland!  Sorry I've been gone for such a long time!  This weekend was my sister's birthday, and so we were busy celebrating together!  =)  I've also been crazy busy between school and working on some spring cleaning!  =)  Hopefully, everyone else is having an enjoyable time with the nice weather!  =D 

So I am so excited this week to participate in the Wee Memories #48/Lawnscapings Bonus Challenge!  When I saw the theme was cute and cuddly, I knew I just HAD to use my Lawn Fawn bear!  =) Here's what I came up with:

I've been watching Britta Swiderski's series on "No Stress Disteress Inks" lately, and so I've really been using distressing techniques a lot lately!  This card is CAS but definitely Cute and Cuddly with that bear!  Again, this is for Wee Memories #48's co-challenge with Lawnscapings: 

Well, that's all I have for you today!  Have a great week and stay springy!  =)


Paper: 
* PTI Stamper's Select White Cardstock
* Blue Cardstock
* Basic Grey PP - Max and Whiskers Collection
Stamps and Ink:
* Lawn Fawn - Critters in the Snow and Hello, Friend
* Memento - Tuxedo Black and Tangelo
* Ranger Distress Ink - Broken China
Other: 
* Copic Markers
* PTI - Enchanted Evening Twill Ribbon
* Sassafras - Flower Embellishment
* Pearl Accent

Angels come in all shapes and sizes...

I just think this sentiment could NOT be more true!  I've been racking my brain for what I could do for the current Lawnscapings challenge, and then I saw the bunny from Critters in the Burbs and thought... awww he would look so cute on a cloud!  And so this card was born:

I used the uppercase O from Harold's ABC's to make halos for all of the animals!  This card really embraces the absolute whimsical nature of Lawn Fawn!  Anyhow, I really ended up liking this card!  Again, I'm submitting this for the Lawnscapings Challenge #5:

Well, we are supposed to get a LOT of snow tomorrow, let's hope that doesn't happen!!!  Sigh, I can't stand the thought of ANYMORE snow! 

Have a safe and happy weekend everyone! 


Paper:
* PTI Stamper's Select White Cardstock
Stamps and Ink:
* Memento - Tuxedo Black Ink
* Lawn Fawn - Harold's ABC's, Critters in the Burbs, Bannerific, Partly Cloudy, and Critters in the Sea
* Ranger Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass
Other:
* Crystal Stickles
* Copic Markers

Happy St. Patrick's Day/Hey Buddy!

Hi readers!  Well I've been having quite an awesome weekend!  How is everyone?  I've been absolutely AMAZING lately!  First - I won the DeNami Buttons Challenge which guaranteed me a spot in the already full March Blog Hop, so YAY!  THEN, I was also featured on the Cards Magazine blog for THIS card!  WOO HOO!  This really has my mojo flowing this week!!! 

I've got two fun cards for you today!  Here's the first one:

I'm not Irish, but my husband is!  He asked me about a week ago if I was gonna make any St. Patrick's Day cards, and I remembered that Hats off to You from Lawn Fawn has a St. Patrick's Day sentiment!  Thus, this card was born!  I paper-pieced the dog and his hat, so I'm submitting this for the current Lawnscaping challenge: 

Fun fun!  I also recently got the CUTEST little stamp set from PTI with airplanes!  My brother-in-law is becoming a pilot in Florida, so I just KNEW I wanted to send him a postcard with these stamps!  Here's what I made:

I seriously love the little vintage airplane!  I also used a sentiment from PTI's Fillable Frames #2 at the bottom of the card.  I wanted to make fun clouds, so I used the awesome cloud stamp from Lawn Fawn's Partly Cloudy.  I know this little guy with brighten my BIL's day!  =)  This card was inspired by the current City Crafter Challenge Blog - Nothin To It. (the challenge was to not add ribbons, buttons, or any sort of embellishment to your card!)

I also just submitted my first EVER cards for publication!  Eeek it was nerve-wracking but I'm proud of myself!  Let's see what happens!