Cut It Up Challenge #33 - Thank You card

  It's time for another Cut It Up challenge:  thank you card or gift.  Remember to use a die cut somewhere on your creation!  I used my hexagon die from PTI on scraps of paper, inked up the edges for a little dimension, and layered on coordinating card stock and papers.  

  Our challenge this week is sponsored by Digital Delights.  You can win a $5 gift card!

  This is a perfect stash card.  I actually needed four thank you notes.  I pulled out my really old DCWV card bases.  I have purchased quite a few of these years ago from Michael's and JoAnn's.  I don't recall how many boxes I have gone through, and I only had 6 glitter green, 2 yellow, and 4 of these kelly green.  I grabbed the kelly green, since there were four; exactly what I needed.  I perused my gazillion 6x6 pads and found that this paper by BasicGrey matched pretty well.  I also pulled out my huge storage containers of rub-ons.  I found exactly four thank you/thanks sentiments in my Creative Imaginations swatch book in this brown color.  How cool is that?

  Tip:  Did you know that rub-ons can get old and not work as well as they did when you first purchased them?  After I burnished my sentiments, they started to bubble up.  I re-burnished, carefully covering with the heavy transparent paper the sentiment were originally stuck on.  They kept slowly coming loose.  In fact this card lost its "!" after the "thanks".  Glossy accents to the rescue!  I very carefully added glossy accents on top of the rub-ons (the rub-ons really wanted to come up at the first touch of glossy accents.  I let dry for an hour, and my set of four cards were saved from sentiment disaster.

Supplies:
hexagon die:  PTI
paper:  green and dark brown card stock by DCWV;  pink by Bazzill; BasicGrey "Nook and Pantry" patterned paper.
rub-on sentiments:  Creative Imaginations
glossy accents

Happy Friday!

Seize the Sketch - Challenge #9

  I have had so much fun with this month's Artful Delight card kit.  I still have lots of paper in it that is still uncut, but I have tried to use different items from the kit every time I sit down to make a card.  I actually used scraps from the previous five cards to create the three paper strips, but I had not yet used any of the Petaloo Penny Lane mixed blooms nor a stamp from the Kaiser Craft clear stamp set "Friendship Sentiments."  I also love the heavy weight card stock that comes in the kits; these cards are sturdy!  The only item from my stash is the doily die (Stampin' Up) and my grandma's sewing machine to stitch (thanks, Gram!)

Of course I needed a great sketch for inspiration:

Head on over to Seize the Sketch to see the fab cards the design team gals have made.  I hope you join in the fun too :)

Happy Wednesday!  If you are traveling today, be safe.

November 2013 Artful Delight Kit Inspiration - masculine card

So many of my smiles begin with you.

   Have you ever played with a card kit or a scrapbook kit?  There are quite a few great kit clubs available on the internet, but my personal favorite are those by Artful Delight.  In my opinion they are more versatile and less style-specific allowing me to create cards for almost any occasion or for either gender.  Each and every month there are two sketch challenges for a chance to win the next month's kit too.  The November sketch challenges closed last night, but you can still use them for personal inspiration.

  I took some liberties with the card sketch to create a masculine card.  Whenever I use a kit I tend to gravitate to polka dots and flowers, so every month I challenge myself to try to make a masculine card from the kit.

My husband's birthday is coming up on Dec. 2nd, and he will be 47 years young, just like me.  (Yep I'm a cougar....my husband is a whole 8 weeks younger than I!)

Happy Sunday!

My Craft Spot - sketch challenge

  I used my birthday money last month to purchase this Artful Delight kit from May 2013.  It is on sale for only $23.50 and it includes a Hero Arts stamp set, the papers and card stock pictured, and so much more!  I added the two black snaps from my stash, the black ink, the die for the tag, the chevron dry embossing, and the scalloped border (My Craft Spot "Tiny Banners and Toppers".)  My inspiration came from the current sketch challenge at My Craft Spot:

  Most of the time these kits sell out quickly; I snatched up the June 2013 kit the day it came out and it was sold out in just a few days.  There is still one or two May kits available...it is a great value in my opinion.  Check it out:

  I love all the different "thank you" sentiments in this set!  Autumn is my favorite season and the warm colors make me feel content and cozy.  I just wanted a break from those colors so I chose these happy bright colors this afternoon.

Happy Friday!

Seize the Sketch, seize the Artful Delight Kit!

  This week I needed to get a sympathy card made for my husband's cousin's wife, who lost her father; grandfather to their children (who are my daughters' second cousins.)  Fortunately I still have this month's Artful Delight card kit spread out on my desk.  This card is from the kit:  110lb. black card stock, May Arts chevron ribbon, KaiserCraft mini paper blooms, and My Mind's Eye Cut and Paste Flair papers.  I used my Xyron machine for the layers and the ribbon.  My sentiment is from Savvy stamps.

  For inspiration, I chose the current sketch at Seize the Sketch #8.

Happy Friday!

Giving Thanks - Little Tangles challenge

  It's time for another Little Tangles challenge.  Ink up your stamps or use the free digital stamps available from Neat and Tangled to create a "giving thanks" card.  You have until December 1st to enter!

  I used two Neat and Tangled stamp sets and some fun sequins also found in the Neat and Tangled shop:

Everyday Circles

 Little Tangles

Supplies:

stamp sets:  Neat and Tangled "Little Tangles" and "Everyday Circles"

sequins:  Neat and Tangled "Pumpkin Satin" and "Summer Fun"

paper:  BasicGrey "Ambrosia"

circle punch:  1 3/8"

ink:  Texas Chocolate hybrid ink

glossy accents

Happy Thursday!

Pumpkin Spice Blog - Food challenge

  It's my turn up on the Shop Pumpkin Spice blog and our challenge this week is FOOD.  This was the perfect opportunity for me to play with my Carta Bella "Winter Fun" papers and glossy accents from the Shop Pumpkin Spice store.

  The FOOD challenge is perfect timing for me because every November for the past ten years our realtor, Beth, sends us a gift certificate to a local pie shop.  Beth does this for all of her customers.  We have referred quite a few people and they have all made "the pie list."  Beth laughs when people meet with her and ask if they have made the pie list rather than the amount of her commission.  People are more interested in receiving an annual Mom's pie?!

  This is my fun and silly thank you that I will send to Beth this year.  My bear is from Cricut "Campin' Critters" p.25.  I also used my Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" embossing folder, a black mini brad, googly eyes, and a black sequin.

Happy Tuesday!

Thinking of You - Artful Delight kit

  Have I ever mentioned how much I like kit clubs?  It is an economical way to acquire hot new product from a variety of vendors.  The current Artful Delight kit has newly released papers from Pebbles Inc., My Mind's Eye, Lawn Fawn, and Teresa Collins with four colors of heavy wight Bazzill card stock.  And this luscious chevron ribbon from May Arts *drool*.  Everything you see here came from this month's Artful Delight card kit except for the button and bit of red twine, which came from previous (sold out) kits.

  Want a chance to win the December Artful Delight kit?   Just enter one (or both) sketch challenges...there is a sketch for scrapbookers and another for card makers.  There is still time to enter!

Happy Sunday!

Cut It Up challenge #32 - Countdown

  My daughter has been fascinated by calendars since she was very young.  When she was three years old she would pretend she was spending time in the scene in the calendar photograph.  She also loves our perpetual Christmas advent calendar.  When I saw this COUNTDOWN challenge at Cut It Up I knew I had to create something for her nightstand in her bedroom.

  My design team sisters have created a variety of countdown projects and all of them are unique and creative!  Hop by Cut It Up to check them out.  If you choose to join in the challenge, there are two terrific sponsors:

Pez-A-Doodle Designs 

(where I got the fab glitter tiles I used on the tree)

and

Kadoodle Bug Designs

  Mini tutorial:
**The way I've created these two blocks actually works as a calendar rather than a countdown.  I.e.  I can create the numbers 1-32, but not 33-35, 43-45, 53-55, 66-69, etc.  If you truly want to countdown further, a third block should be created with  3,4,5,6,7,8 which I think will get you to 99, but not 100.
  Make sure you choose a font so that the "6" can also work as a "9".  The first block should have the numbers 0-5, and the second block should have 0, 1, 2, 6, 7, 8.
  I cut my tree and block numbers with my Cricut.  The blocks and bench were purchased at Hobby Lobby.  I sanded them and painted them.  I used my Xyron to adhere the numbers to the wood blocks before I used Mod Podge on them.  I find when I use my Xyron that my paper does not bubble up when I apply Mod Podge.

  Happy Friday!  41 days and counting :)

November Artful Delight kits available now!

  I am in heaven...it has been a few months since I had an Artful Delight kit to play with.  Have you ever purchased a card or scrapbook kit?  I enjoy them because I don't have to search for coordinating embellishments.  Kits give me the freedom to just push papers around and play with combinations (like I did with this card) or to start with a sketch to jump start my creativity.

  The blue lace border is a Little Yellow Bicycle sticker in this month's kit, as is the My Mind's Eye polka dot paper and the black Bazzill card stock.  The  glazed mini brads are from the June 2013 kit (sold out) and the sentiment sticker is from the September 2012 kit (sold out).

  Check out the Artful Delight November sketches for your chance to win the December card kit or scrapbook kit...your choice!

Happy Sunday!

Little Tangles Shaped Card challenge

 

Hello stamper friends!  It's time to get inky and create a shaped card for the current challenge at Little Tangles:

  I created a gift card holder (pretend it is for coffee, not pizza) in a holiday theme to support Vera's Caring Hearts Card Drive  (click HERE for details.)  Vera Yates is our guest designer for this shaped card challenge at Little Tangles.

Santa's Tags

Supplies:
stamp set:  Neat and Tangled "Santa's Tags"
sequins:  Neat and Tangled "Crystal Clear", "Emerald Satin", and "Ocean Breeze"
paper:  My Mind's Eye "Winter Wonderland"
twine:  My Mind's Eye "Winter Wonderland"
Cricut cartridge:  Love You a Latte
glossy accents

You have until November 17th to create your shaped card...now get to stampin'!
Happy Thursday :)

FOLIAGE challenge - birthday card

  I hope you have a chance to link up at our FOLIAGE challenge at Shop Pumpkin Spice!  My card today is actually made from the scraps of my previous card:

Here is my supply list for today's card (Shop Pumpkin Spice store links embedded):
paper:  Carta Bella "Traditions"
stamps:  Birthday Doodles (sentiment)
ink:  Texas Chocolate brown hybrid ink
twine:  My Mind's Eye "All is Bright"
glossy accents (adhesive for twine bows)

Happy Tuesday!

Artful Delight Card Kit - Sketch challenge

  Have you checked out the November sketch challenge at Artful Delight?  There is one for scrapbooking and one for cards too.  One random winner will win the December Artful Delight kit!

  I created my card from card stock, papers and stickers in the November Artful Delight card kit.  My black seam binding is from a retired Artful Delight kit (August 2011...I have been an Artful Delight fan for over two years now!)  The "awesome" is a Technique Tuesday stamp and the glazed brads are from my stash.

  Check out this lovely sketch by Suzanne:

I hope you can play along!  Happy Sunday :)

November FOLIAGE challenge blog hop

  Happy November!  It is time for our monthly blog hop at Shop Pumpkin Spice.  You should have arrived here from sweet Missy's blog (the start of the hop). Our challenge this week is FOLIAGE.  I immediately thought of the green leaf patterned paper in my Carta Bella Traditions 6x6 pad.  Add in a Seize the Sketch for inspiration and a card evolved.

Supplies:

paper:  Carta Bella "Traditions" 6x6

chipboard sentiment:  My Mind's Eye "The Sweetest Thing"

embossing folder:  Cuttlebug "Victoria"

pennant dies and shadows:  My Craft Spot "Tiny Banners & Toppers"

adhesive:  Xyron

  Please join in our FOLIAGE challenge this week on the Shop Pumpkin Spice blog.  I look forward to seeing your creations!

  Your next stop on the hop is super Saundra :)

Artful Delight Card Kit goodness!

  Look what arrived in my mailbox yesterday afternoon...the November 2013 Artful Delight card kit!  I plan to play with it today.  I spy with my little eye My Mind's Eye, Pebbles Inc., Teresa Collins, Kaiser Craft stamp set and sea breeze paper blooms, Studio Calico chalkboard stickers, Little Yellow Bicycle paper lace stickers, chipboard frames, Petaloo blooms, card stock,  20 sheets of double-sided 6x6 papers, and luscious ribbon!

  Here is another perspective:

  Are you drooling on your keyboard, iPad, or smart phone?  Yeah, I thought so.  Order your scrapbook or card kit at Artful Delight.  See you there :)

Happy November!

Cut It Up - Thanksgiving challenge

  It's time for another Cut it Up challenge; use a die cut or your electronic die cutting machine to create a card, layout, or project in a Thanksgiving theme.

We have TWO sponsors giving away prizes:

Norma Pimentel (Stampin' Up goodies)

and

As Cute as a Button ($20 coupon code)

Supplies:
Cricut Cartridge:  Pretty Pennants
paper:  DCWV dark brown card stock; BasicGrey Indian Summer
stamp:  My Pink Stamper "Sweet Baby"
twine:  My Mind's Eye "All is Bright"
button:  Artful Delight card kit June 2012

Happy November!