The Sweetest Thing Sketch: Thanks A Latte

I'm using old and new stash again...my new stash is this stamp set from My Favorite Things. The old is the My Mind's Eye papers (I paper pieced her dress; the plaid strips, and the background floral) and the pink, aqua, and orange Bazzill cardstock...all from scraps :)
I used my Floral Fantasy Cuttlebug embossing folder to deboss the orange Bazzill cardstock. The window punch is Stampin' Up! and the scalloped rectangle is a Nestie. The sketch is courtesy of The Sweetest Thing.

Frog Prince + 365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday

You know that tie card I made on Friday from my Craig's List stash? This frog is in that same 3D sticker pack (by Tapestry). He is so cute, I knew I would use him somehow...

This morning I saw the sketch at 365 Cards. I went to my craft room and thought about what stamp I would use as my image...then I thought of trying to use my new stash...then I thought the frog would fit perfectly in a scalloped Nestie. Then I looked through my bags of really old scraps that might make a fun card. My KI Memories scrap bag was just right! I pulled out my pink Bazzill scraps bag and my purple Bazzill scraps bag for the rest. The "Someday your prince will come." is computer generated. I needed something for under the frog (I take sketches quite literally...it is a blessing and a curse) I thought about "kiss me"; I knew I had some old Making Memories "Wedding" rub-ons I used to make an anniversary mini book for my parents a couple of years ago. You know what was left in the package? "honeymoon" and "kiss". Can you believe it? I used "kiss", then I carefully rubbed on the "m" and "e" from honeymoon. Don't you love when you use up old stuff? Lastly I used this felt ric-rac from Creative Imaginations.

Happy Father's Day Card + OCC sketch

This card is almost completely Stampin' Up!: So Saffron and Chocolate Chip papers and inks, Whisper White and Going Gray cardstock, the stamp, and the dimensionals. The brads are by American Crafts and the base card is Michael's Value Pack. Sketch courtesy of Our Creative Corner :)

4 Quick Grad Crads

I stopped by the coffee shops this week. Yesterday my last grad card sold (remember the set of seven I made last week?) I never know how many to mass produce. I don't like to have leftovers from one year to the next. E.g. I had one Father's Day card left over from last year, so I put that out first. It also sold yesterday, so I suppose I will need to do a little Father's Day mass production tomorrow.
When I need inspiration, I go "shopping in my craft room." I think I know what I own, but the truth is I forget what I have. I only had about 30 minutes to craft today...talk about pressure :) I started in my drawer of matching cards & envelope sets. I forgot I had these four DCWV tri-fold cards and envelopes. Four cards it is! Then in search on sentiments...a couple of years ago I bought a box from QVC (Lisa Bearnson, I think) that had enough stuff to make 50 cards plus a scrapbook album and papers. I completed the album back then and those 50 cards are long gone too, but the extra die cut sentiments are still in my craft room, untouched until today. I found four circle sentiments I thought would work for grad cards. Add some red linen and black linen scraps with my QuicKutz grad cap die and Stampin' Up! label punch...and a black snap....DONE! All packaged and ready to go in 30 minutes.

Craig's List & A Dad Card

My Design Diva friend, Deanna, found a rep on Craig's List who does not scrap (what?!) and she was selling 3 boxes of new stash for $100. So Deanna, Sheryl, Chris, and I split it up. This is just some of what I got for my $25...can you believe it? Yeah, sure, we all ended up with stuff we would not normally buy, but the laser paper trimmer alone retails for $35. Score!

E.g. I would not normally purchase the 3D calendar stickers (bottom, right...see the frog, "Mom rocks", Easter basket, bunny, and tie?) I decided to plan a card around that tie. I got a little help from this week's sketch at Stamps and Smiles (I rotated the sketch). The papers are all from my SEI scraps bag. The gems are also from my new Craig's List stash :)
I roughed up the edges with the Stampin' Up! distress tool to make it feel more masculine. Kind of a funky card, huh? I think it will be perfect for my dds to give to their daddy on Father's Day.

Cuttlebug Monogram, Part II

My card yesterday did not jive with the idea in my head...I wanted more layers, but I had a lot of difficulty coordinating cardstock for it. I couldn't sleep last night, so I got up at 2:30am and made two cards like the one pictured above. I did not want to file away the scrap of dp, so I made one with the scraps (below).
Now I have a set of cards to give to dh for Father's Day.
There are some great entries at Cuttlebug Challenges. In need of inspiration? Go check them out :)

dhDH Cuttlebug Challenges Monogram Card

I worked in my craft room with an idea in mind for a monogram card for this week's challenge at Cuttlebug Challenges blog. After going through and starting to plan a card using one set of manufacturer's papers I couldn't quite get to come together, I cleaned up and tried another manufacturer. That didn't work either, so I cleaned that up too. Repeat two more times. Agony! I decided to stop thinking, and just make something. The three hour card...

I decided to use my dh's initials. Yep, my dear husband is Doug Houck :)

Recipe:

• Paper: Memory Boutique
• Cuttlebug embossing folder: Fancy Corners
  
• Cardstock: ACMoore ivory; base card Michael's Value Pack; green Bazzill from my scrap bag
• Twill: Leslie Hanna scrap ribbon bag (thanks, Leslie!)
• Eyelets: Making Memories
  
• QuicKutz: Vixen font
  
• Hardware: Stampin' Up! aged copper
  
• Other: Stampin' Up! dimensionals & Spellbinders Nestibilities

The Cuttlebug Spot # 32 Brown & Blue

I actually have two entries...which do you like best?
Recipe:

• Papers: Memory Boutique
• Cuttlebug embossing folder (on kraft cs): Textile (debossed) for the top card and Argyle (embossed) for the bottom card
  
• Cardstock: Stampin' Up! chocolate chip and kraft from my scrap bag
• Twill: Leslie Hanna scrap ribbon bag (thanks, Leslie!)
• Flowers: Got Flowers? Fabric Fancies and Bazzill prima (brown; on the top card only)
• Brad: American Crafts
• The Robin's Nest dew drops dd-139 mint chocolate drops
• Stamps: Stampin' Up! Heartfelt Thanks
• Inks: Memories Sand, Memories Colonial Blue, and Stampin' Up! chocolate chip
• Other: Stampin' Up! dimensionals & scallop border punch (photo corner), Spellbinders Nestibilities

This is this week's challenge at The Cuttlebug Spot. You can also use brown and orange...maybe I will try that next ;)

Two Graduation Cards & Two Awards

I love this card!!! I do not recall where I got the inspiration for this card...help me out if you know. Kraft is back in vogue. I no longer have any kraft cardstock; I should have taken advantage of SU!'s paper sale and bought some. But I did find two of these DCWV card bases in my stash. Perfect! DH has two little cousins graduating from high school, so I made two of these. The green floral paper, the Thickers braces and the "Congratulations" rub-on are all American Crafts. The "may your dreams soar" rub-on is BasicGrey. The grad cap stamp is Studio G. The polka dot paper is from my stash...I think from one of the slabs from Michael's or ACMoore from quite a few years ago...
I hand cut the polka dot paper to match the scallop fold of the DCWV card base, then I punched eyelet holes using my crop-a-dile.
Voila! Two cards in 30 minutes...I wish that happened more often :) This one was FUN!
This is how the card opens.


The two awards below are from my blogfriend, Chrissie. There are so many talented paper crafters in the blog world, and I think she is definitely one of them. I love her style. Please take time to check out her blog, Simply One of a Kind. I feel honored that she bestowed these awards on me...she has 130 followers on her blog! Go ahead and check her out; if you are not already a follower, you will be #131 :)

These are the rules I must link back to the person who gave me the award and I must give 10 pieces of information about myself.

1. I love chocolate. I am addicted to it. It rivals my paper addiction.
2. I sort and eat my M&Ms by color.
3. I love to organize.
4. I love Elvis.
5. I do not like butterscotch or toffee...not even a little bit.
6. If the icing is really good (like a delicious chocolate buttercream), I will eat the cupcake bottom first, then the icing. This is true for a layer cake as well; I eat the layers of cake, then the layers of icing.
7. I eat all the ridges off first when eating my Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
8. I started hilighting my hair at age 37 to hide the grey. Now (at age 42) I hi-light and low-light. I don't know if I will dye my hair or not when I get grey enough. I never thought I would hi-light. Never say "never".
9. I love cinnamon. I add A LOT of cinnamon to my mochas and my peanut butter cookies and chocolate pound cake...are you seeing a pattern here?
10. I am highly motivated by my friends, music, sunshine, and 70 degree weather...82 degress is my upper limit (i.e. 21-27 degrees Celsius).

If you are still reading this, you are a dear friend that I cherish. Consider yourself nominated for both of these awards.

Kathryn is student-of-the-week

Here is Kathryn's poster of her family to display in the classroom this week in her first grade class.
This aqua felt ribbon of flowers and ladybugs came from the Michael's dollar bin. The letters are on Bazzill cardstock and cut out with QuicKutz Tangerine font and shadow.
Here is a picture of Doug & Julia, Kathryn & me (2002) when the girls were 2 1/2 months old. OM goodness what pretty babies they were (she said quite modestly.)
Kathryn at 2 years...isn't she cute?! I love her dimples. The other pic is of our furry girl, Skeeziks who, btw, is 18 years old now & dh...he had portraits made for Mother's Day in 1996 :)
DH made me promise never to show this picture to anyone...oops ;)

The Next Level Challenge is born!

Well, almost :) Starting on June 1st! In addition to this lovely banner you can add to your sidebar, you can win this blog candy...
That's not all...
The Next Level is the exciting new concept of Dawn (All Pink Girl) and Ann (Madgesty - Love to Create) probably better known as blog name Madge. Our aim in designing this new informative style of blog is not only to produce really creative Weekly Challenges that are not tied to any specific brand, but also to explore new avenues, ideas and techniques with a completely fresh approach.

The Next Level will not only be a fun and informative place to hang out for card crafters and scrapbookers of all levels, but it is hoped that it will also become a valuable source of information, hints and tips, tutorials, downloads and much more. We want to cover the craft of traditional card making but also add in a touch of digital, not too much to scare anyone away, but enough to explore the magical world out there at your fingertips for anyone wanting to venture.

BasicGrey Lime Rickey: Doodling Challenge

NEWS FLASH from BasicGrey Challenges:
"This week we would love to see some doodling on your creations, this can be any type of doodling you can think of so let your imaginations run wild :), but please remember to use at least 1 item from BasicGrey somewhere on your creations :)

Now please remember that we will be closing the blog down next week to completely update and re - vamp it, so this will be the last challenge here on BasicGrey challenges as you know it :), we wont be able to announce here when we will be re - opening so keep an eye on the DT blogs for the news :)"

I can't wait to see what the updated blog will look like! I will post about the grand re-opening as soon as I know the details. Is there anything more fun than working with BasicGrey products? Nah ;)

For my card I used all Lime Rickey papers from the 6x6 pad. I was inspired by LFL (lovely friend Lauren) again :) I drew the chipboard tree from looking at a tree Lauren has on her blog banner. I cut it out the tree with scissors. I do not recommend hand cutting chipboard. It would be much easier if I could have found a manufactured chipboard tree! My hand became very sore. I also had to sand down the edges (very messy). Then I found some acrylic paint to paint my tree and my little bird (Stampin' Up!). I doodled the dots around his eye, around the tree "leaves", I added faux stitching around the card and chipboard tree. The sentiment is a BasicGrey Lime Rickey rub-on. The tree leaves still seemed a little flat, so I add some Stampin' Up! dimensionals behind the edges of them.

Shape Up! Wine Bottle Card

I purchased these wine bottle die cuts (by Accu-Cut) from the mecca of all stamp stores, The Enchanted Cottage. I painted the chipboard with metallic olive green Lumiere paint. I stamped on parchment paper (for the "wine label") with a Stampington & Co. stamp. I colored the image with colored pencils, then mounted on gold metallic paper. I used gold leaf for the foil at the neck, and cork for the cork :) For the inside I cut a 4.5" x 12"and scored at 3" intervals using my Scor-Pal. Then I used walnut ink to distress the paper. I stamped the "Cheers" but the "to you" , small starbursts, and grape-like flourishes are all BasicGrey Marrakech rub-ons.

Go to Caardvarks to see lots of great cards that are anything but a square or a rectangle. Fun stuff!!!

ConGRADulations

It seems like forever since I created a card. When I've had a forced hiatus due to life, I feel like I have forgotten how to make a card. Fortunately blogs provide plenty of inspiration. My LFL (lovely friend Leslie) made some graduation cards here. I knew I had some scraps of graduation paper, a QuicKutz grad cap, and plenty of Bazzill cardstock scraps. Yeppers, I made a June Houck classic...using only scraps card. I made 7 of these! The card bases are DCWV. Congratulations to all graduates out there :)

Two more Blog Awards :)

The "One Lovely Blog Award" is from my dear blog friend and fellow Autie mom, Jean. She makes lovely jewelry, but her entertaining life stories make her blog a must read. Jean is one of my first blog friends, and I cherish her friendship.

The Lemonade Stand Award is from one of my newest blog friends, Steph, of "Where'd All My Money Go?" I think that is one of the best blog titles I have ever heard...I am willing to bet most paperholics would agree ;)

IRL, I am a rule follower. Truly! I am a bit Adrian Monk-ish and Sheldon Cooper-ish in my personality/quirks; especially when it comes to following rules. But in the blog world, I am a rebel...sometimes I follow the rules, and sometimes not :) The rules for the first award are found here. I am ignoring those rules and I am going to use the Lemonade Stand rules instead.

Here are my nominees, and they can each choose to follow the rules, or not :)

Lauren ...all the GOOD blog names were taken...

Kristie Crafty Life, the Paper Universe & Everything Kristie

Leslie The Crooked Stamper
Deanna Girls in "The Craft"

Silke Silli

Chrissie Simply One of a Kind

Chris Sketching Stamper
Heather Rica's Haven

- Comment on this blog.
- Cut and paste the award logo and use it in your own blog.
- Nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude.
- Link to your nominees within your blog post.
- Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award.
- Link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation.

Magenta Elephant Baby Card

I am entering this card for a blogoversary challenge for LFL (lovely friend, Leslie). The challenge is "Grey Day". I got this cute stamp by Magenta in early April. I knew I wanted to make a baby card with it, but I have not found the time. Leslie's challenge was the perfect opportunity. All papers, cardstock, and dimensionals are by Stampin' Up! I paper pieced the elephant, his ear, wagon, and wheels. The sentiments are rub-ons I found on clearance at Target. The 4 squares are all cut with my Nesties. The ribbon is by 7 Gypsies.

BasicGrey Challenges # 35: Ice Cream

I hope you will play along in this week's challenge at BasicGrey Challenges. It is all-around yummy. The Glitter Garden is providing some fabulous prizes for this challenge, so what are you waiting for? Go make a card inspired by your favorite ice cream flavor!

I have more than one favorite ice cream flavor...I love, love, love both Häagen-Dazs chocolate chocolate chip and Häagen-Dazs chocolate peanut butter. But there is an Italian restaurant called Joey D'attore's that serves the best spumoni ice cream IMHO. Spumoni is an Italian ice cream flavor originating in Naples, but now only known to Americans. Interesting, huh? It is a 3 layered confection: cherry ice cream with cherry bits, chocolate ice cream, and pistachio ice cream with pistachio bits (pink, brown, green). With this color scheme I knew BasicGrey Infuse would be my choice of papers.

I had so much fun making this card. I hoard my chipboard. I think I am afraid I will mess it up. If I wait much longer to use it, chipboard may be out of style. I have 3 almost untouched sets of chipboard from Stampin' Up!. My fears are dispelled! I think I will be using this again really soon :)

I was inspired to make my card based on this card by LFL (lovely friend, Lauren). I paper-pieced the branch leaves, the bird legs & beak, his body, and eye (from a circle patterned paper!) I traced the large scallop flower from a page of a Colorbok chipboard book from Michael's, then cut it out by hand. I distressed the cut pieces with Stampin' Up! chocolate chip ink and I painted the chipboard branch and bird with burnt umber acrylic paint. The bird and branch are from Stampin'Up!'s On Board chipboard and the sentiment "so tweet" is American Crafts Thickers Hat Box chipboard stickers.

I'm still here...sort of...

Just a quick post to say I am still here, but this end-of-the-school-year schtuff always takes more time than I think. I apologize for not being able to visit your blog nor leave comments. I will post my Basic Grey card for the new challenge as soon as I see that Martine has posted the new challenge at BasicGrey Challenges blog. So check back late tonight or tomorrow morning!

I hope to get back to papercrafting soon, posting, and visiting your blog :)

Cuttlebug Spot Challenge #30: Frame/Windows

My new frills border arrived (thanks, Nilda!!!) from winning Challenge #23 at The Cuttlebug Spot last month. And speaking of The Cuttlebug Spot, this week's challenge is to make projects that have a window or a frame. I chose to stamp and emboss a frame stamp by Magenta, then I used my ruler and xacto knife to cut the center square from the frame. I used all Stampin' Up! cardstock and markers. I used my Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls to emboss the So Saffron cardstock.
My inks and cardstock: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Regal Rose, Ruby Red, So Saffron, and Whisper White. Iusually only use 3 colors on a card, but I like these colors together.
I used Stampin' Up! dimensionals to pop up the frame.

Gifts Galore: F-I-L & Teacher Appreciation

I started with a 5x7 acrylic frame, a Post-It Note pad, stash buttons & ribbon(SU!), MM rub-ons (Heidi font) and American Crafts made to match paper (very old stash.)
To create this desk notepad gift for my F-I-L's birthday.
I made Hershey Nugget boxes for teacher appreciation gifts. The mini safety pins are Making Memories, the tag is a QuicKutz die, but the stamp "for you", curly label punch, twill ribbon, and all papers are all Stampin' Up! I used Sue's Stampin' Up! die to cut the box top & bottom.
Here they are all ready to go...
Sue taught me how to make this little box. Here is the one she taught me to make. It includes four little cards...
aren't they cute? Thanks for the inspiration, Sue :)

BasicGrey Challenges # 34: Anthea's Sketch

In need of inspiration? The BasicGrey Challenges blog design team worked their magic with this sketch. I was blown away by the cards...everyone had a unique take on the sketch.

I used BasicGrey Infuse papers. I stamped the quote (Penny Black stamp) in black ink. I popped up the circular die cut (also in the BG Infuse collection) on Stampin' Up! dimensionals. I wanted to use a heart somewhere on the card. I ended up using my piercer and trying to make my own (on the brown horizontal strip). I felt like it needed something more...ribbon? I decided to quit while I was ahead :) I love these papers!!!

The Gift of Love

I received this "Gift of Love" from Cassie. I "met" Cassie through the Cuttlebug Challenges blog. Cassie is a design team member there and she leaves such lovely comments. She is one of my newest blog friends, and I treasure her friendship.

I am supposed to pass on this award to five others. The ladies I am choosing are great artists, but they are even better friends. Cassie would be on my list, but since she chose me first, I will choose some more equally deserving ladies. Hop over to Cassie's blog, For the Art of It, then continue to these blogs:

Lauren ...all the GOOD blog names were taken...

Kristie Crafty Life, the Paper Universe & Everything Kristie

Leslie The Crooked Stamper
Deanna Girls in "The Craft"

Silke Silli

Chrissie Simply One of a Kind

Amy Pickled Paper Designs
Chris Sketching Stamper
Heather Rica's Haven

* I would also nominate Design Diva friend, Sheryl, but she is not interested in blogging. She makes lovely cards! In fact she gave me a card just yesterday and I love it!!! Maybe I should blog it for her :)

** You may be thinking, "June used to be a math teacher? And she can't count to five?" There are so many wonderful, deserving ladies out there I could not limit it to five. Consider yourself nominated too if you are reading this post!

Cuttlebug Challenges # 30: Weddings

Hooray! I won at Cuttlebug Challenges: Be Inspired # 29. This week the challenge is Weddings. I started this card this morning. Then I had some input from the Design Divas (I borrowed the butterfly embossing die from Sheryl, Chris suggested I add the pearl to dot the "i" in "bride", and Deanna added the shimmer to my butterfly using water and PearlEx powder.) I was going to make grunge flowers and emboss in my Cuttlebug embossing folders, then I decided to simply add ribbon.

Recipe:
butterfly embossing die: Sizzix
papers: white cs (Bazzill); black cs; silver parchment paper (NRN); floral patterned paper (BoBunny); script patterned paper (7 Gypsies)
cardstock sticker: OScrap! Snapshot photos
metals: "bride" (Making Memories)
pearls: rhinestone stickers from Michael's
ribbon: stash
white die cut shape: Nestibilities Labels 4

Reese's Select Cremes meet the Design Divas

Today I got to spend the morning with my Design Diva pals: Deanna, Sheryl, and Chris. Deanna thought up a challenge for us: make a card inspired by product packaging. I was lazy and didn't bother to look for anything...I had these candies in my craft room for teacher appreciation gifts, so this was what I used for my card.

All of the papers are My Mind's Eye...I think...or maybe Me & My Big Ideas...; old stash. The words are QuicKutz Revolution dies. The orange oval is a Nestibilities die. And I used Stampin' Up! dimensionals.

Speaking of teacher appreciation, which is this week, I am still not finished. Oh well, I hope they know I do appreciate them. Hopefully I will finish this weekend, blog them, and take them to school next week :)

Lovely Leslie's Blogoversary Celebration, Part I

My lovely blogfriend, Leslie Hanna, is celebrating her blogoversary. In honor of this momentous occasion, she has the following criteria:

For this week's challenge (yeah, this week you'll need to work for it), I'd like you to make a card with the following:

1. Ribbon (surprise!)
2. A button
3. Bonus points if you use something green (I love green).

If you are not familiar with Leslie's blog, The Crooked Stamper, head on over! She has a wonderful sense of humor and she is a true blue friend. Join in the fun! Post and link your card by Sunday at midnight on Leslie's blog and read the rest of the rules :)

For my card I used papers, ribbon, and button from a self-addressed card kit (DCWV). The flower is from Michael's and the stamped sentiment, inks, dimensionals and scalloped circle are all by Stampin' Up! The punched circles (behind the sentiment) are Creative Memories punches. I also used my Paisley Cuttlebug embossing folder.

I'll be back soon!

Thank you to all who have stopped by the past few days and to those who were able to leave comments :)

I have been in sunny Florida since Friday afternoon. I am blogging on my laptop dh gave me for an early Mother's Day present. How great is he??? My father's funeral was Saturday...that was difficult...but the rest of the time I have been with my aunt and two cousins, my stepmother and siblings, my grandmother (aka "Memere"), and her siblings (my great aunts and great uncles). We are having a GREAT time being together. But I do miss dh and my cute girls :)

My great uncle Roger, in particular, is a TRIP! He is almost 90 years old and just got laid off from his job. He is NOT happy about it either. The company he worked for sent him to China three times this year because he is the only person who can fix machines from the 1970s that were purchased from them. Uncle Roger has entertained us with his WWII stories. He worked directly for Patton.

I am anxious to get home tomorrow night (Tuesday) and get back to papercrafting!

Caardvarks Readers' Weekend!!!

In need of some inspiration? Head over to Caardvarks for some serious eye candy! The 'Varks design team is highlighting card and tutorials from the readers this weekend in celebration of their two year blogoversary. Caardvarks was the very first challenge blog I ever found, so it holds a very special place in my heart.

BTW, my card is here.

Basic Grey Challenge # 33 - Black & Grey + 1 other Colour

Did you notice my new blinkie on the right side of my blog? Yes!!! I am honored to be a guest designer for the month of May at BasicGrey Challenges. Be sure to hop on over and join in on the challenge. There is always lots of eye candy from both the design team and the challenge participants. I am so excited to be able to be part of their design team this month. BasicGrey is my favorite paper company. But if you have ever seen my craft room (here), then you know I don't snub my nose at anybody...LOL! But we are all entitled to our favorites, right?

For the Black & Grey + 1 Other Colour challenge, I went with my BasicGrey 6x6 Ambrosia papers. I have 2 packages of Making Memories woven labels in my stash, and I decided on this rose/grey label "ALWAYS on my mind in my heart" sentiment.

Other products used:

Martha Stewart lattice border punch, Nestibilities Labels 4, Making Memories black mini brads, black cardstock (ACMoore), rose cardstock (XPEDX), black grosgrain (Michaels), Stampin' Up! dimensionals, and a paper piercer.

Hop over to BasicGrey...you'll be glad you did :)