Tag You're It 76

We've got another great challenge for you at Tag You're It.  This fortnight our tag design is brought to you by Emily Midgett.

I based my tag on the colors that Emily used and also managed to incorporate an animal, a deer to her bear.  I didn't have a stamp that mimiced the pinebough swag at the top of her tag so I improvised with some washi tape (so I could play along with the Stamp Ink Paper challenge), some pine tree die cuts, and a sentiment that is generally in the shape of some swag.  I added some sequins to take up some of that white space.   I'm also adding this at the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

The stamp and die cut combo that I used here is an inexpensive set that I got at my local Michael's store last year and this is the first time I inked it up.  I can only imagine that I had a coupon or it was on sale for a price that couldn't be beat because I don't usually buy my stamping supplies there.  So long story short, the deer die cut does not match the deer stamped image.  Say what???????  Isn't that the point of having a stamp and die set!  [You might be able to see in the image that the lines of the stamp don't match the lines of the die]  The company that makes these images is a well-established company in the crafting industry and I would have expected that their quality control was a bit better than it is. 

Anyway all this in a way to say how important it is to support the smaller "mom-and-pop" shops that are the backbone of the paper crafting industry that we love so much.  I don't have to mention them by name - you know who they are!  Their quality is impeccable and, in my experience, if there is a problem (and those are rare) they are more than happy to rectify it at their own expense.

Ok.  I'm done with my high horse!  It's time to get back to our latest challenge at Tag You're It.  We'd love to see you play along with us so please check out the inspiration from our design team and join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Hampton Art
Paper:  Cloud White (Reverse Confetti); Pool Party (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Soft Suede (Stampin Up!); Versamark
Accessories:  Hampton Art die; Tag Sale Quilted die (Papertrey Ink); sequins (Verve); washi tape; seam binding ribbon; crochet thread

CAS(E) This Sketch 245

Yesterday I made this card using particular colors that called to mind Halloween.  Well today I've got another card using those same colors but it is the exact opposite of Halloween!  This is my card for the latest sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch.

About halfway through making this card I realized that I had used the colors for the latest challenge at Just Us Girls again, but the end result is totally different from the card I had made using the same colors yesterday.  That's the beauty of a color challenge!!  I used a beautiful stamp set from Altenew to create this floral design.  I love how their layering stamps make it so easy to create an image with such depth.  They are looking for floral cards at CAS on Friday so I'll be adding this over there as well.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you can join us at CAS(E) This Sketch this week.  We'd love to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Peony Bouquet (Altenew); Scripty Greetings (The Ton)
Paper:  White (Catherine Pooler)
Ink:  Soft Lilac, Lavender Fields, Deep Iris, Midnight Violet, Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades, Jet Black (Altenew)
Accessories:  Lavender Moon sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Freshly Made Sketches 310

Halloween ghosts and goblins abound this week!  Everywhere I look there's a Halloween challenge going on.  Between colors and themes all your Halloween card needs are covered! 😀  Of course, I took the opportunity to combine our latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches, designed by Kim, with a few of these.

I almost scrapped this card when it was done.  It looked a little plain Jane because the purple layer was just plain purple.  It was quite boring.  I had some patterned paper in the same shade that I could have used to layer it but, in true hoarding fashion, I decided the piece I have is just too small to use.  If I stick it on a card it will be gone FOREVER!  So I improvised.  I grabbed a stencil and added some texture with translucent embossing paste.  All of a sudden I liked this card a lot more!

There's a black, green, and purple challenge going on at Just Us Girls and I tried really hard to stick to those colors.  Hopefully they think that the shades of gray, represented by the witch's robes, are a light shade of black!  And the challenge this week at Cupcake Inspirations is Ghouls and Ghosts.  This lady is definitely not a ghost, but she might be considered a ghoul!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a chance to check out our latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our amazing design team has created a bevy of cards that will amaze and wow you!  I hope we'll see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Best Fiend, Bite Me (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Perfect Plum, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!); X-Press It Blending Card
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Jet Black (Altenew); Copics
Accessories:  Stone Layering stencil (Tim Holtz); translucent embossing paste (Dreamweaver); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)

CAS(E) This Sketch 244

Every where I look I see autumn or Halloween themed cards.  I've made a few of those lately myself but today I've got a Christmas card to share.  The calendar reminds me that Christmas is fast approaching and that I need to get a move-on with my Christmas card stash.  So here's another one for the books. 

The latest sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch gave me my layout.  Those layers had me stymied for a bit but I worked out a template using some scrap paper and once that was done this card went together very quickly.

Now, that bottom layer is actually some very pretty glitter cardstock that, in real life, is subtle shades of gold with some silvery-gray streaks shot through.  My photo makes it look very un-inspiring.  It's much prettier in real life.  The poinsettia is a new die that I got recenly and I love how it looks but it didn't come with leaves so I improvised with a die cut and corresponding stamp from another brand's poinsettia.  The sentiment was embossed on a vellum layer.

In an amazing coincidence I found out after I made this card that there is a tic-tac-toe challenge going on at Stamp Ink Paper and one of the verticals is Die Cut, Embossing, and Vellum.  Ahoy!  My card has all three!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you'll check out our newest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  We love to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday); Pretty Poinsettia (WPlus9)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Poppy Parade, Hello Honey, Vellum (Stampin' Up!); glitter cardstock (Reflections)
Ink:  Evergreen (Alentew); Copper Delicata (Tsukineko)
Accessories:  Layered Poinsettia die (Penny Black); Pretty Poinsettia die (WPlus9); copper embossing powder

Freshly Made Sketches 309

Halfway through October and it's no surprise that Halloween themes are in full swing (judging by some of the challenges I've been checking out, that is).  This week I've combined the fantastic sketch from Freshly Made Sketches (courtesy of Linda) with a few other Halloween-themed challenges.

No one was more shocked than me that I was able to capably sponge a decent looking Halloween-ish moon!  I've been experimenting with my Distress Oxide inks and some different papers and I think I've found a combination that works for me.  Finally, I feel like I can sponge colors without getting weird, unwanted streaks from the actual sponge!

Originally I intended this card to be a shaker but once I started putting it together I realized that the bits from the shaker would take away from the cool bat so I nixed that idea.  The bat and the sentiment are from an old Stampin' Up! set that I'm pretty sure I bought strictly because I loved both of them!  It's one of those stamp sets that I'll never get rid of!  The Paper Players are looking for CAS Spooky this week and CAS on Friday wants Halloween so I'm adding this card to both.

Thanks for stopping by!  And don't forget our latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our design team has got some fantastic cards for your inspiration.  I hope you'll join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Autumn Apparitions (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Strathmore Marker Paper
Ink:  Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade (Distress Oxide)
Accessoies:  black embossing powder, white embossing powder

CAS(E) This Sketch 243

I took one look at the newest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch and saw a Christmas tree!   When you see the sketch you might wonder why.

That long vertical layer could become a triangular tree in my estimation so that is what I did.  I layered this gorgeous glittered paper at the bottom of my card and colored a small smidgeon at the top of it with a marker to give the illusion of two layers as per the sketch.  The sentiment is simple and pure for the season.

I'm going to add this card for the "ODD" challenge at CASology.  It's got one tree, which is obviously an odd number.  But I've also got an odd story that only a cardmaker could appreciate.  I was so pleased with how this card came out - it's got a great CAS and elegant vibe - that I showed it to a co-worker.  She took one look at it and declared it to be a sailboat!  I could see her perspective because the glitter layer on the bottom could be the ocean and the triangle could be the boat, but I pointed out the Christmas sentiment.  She gave me a look that basically said that no-one would believe this was a Christmas card!  I assured her my fellow cardmakers would have no trouble recognizing the triangle was a Christmas tree!  It's all about perspective!

Thanks for stopping by!  And check out our CAS(E) This Sketch challenge for some terrific inspiration from the design team!

Supplies
Stamps:  Signature Christmas (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Pool Party (Stampin' Up!); glitter cardstock (Recollections)
Ink:  Pool Party (Stampin' Up!)

Freshly Made Sketches 308

The calender says October but the weather still says summer here!  Despite that I managed to put myself in the autumn mood with my card for our latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week Rita is our hostess and her sketch is a classic design.

I used the colors from The Paper Players.  I'll admit that I really wanted to use some green on here for the leaves but I resisted the urge!  Instead I used peach with a little brown rolled onto the edges thinking they'd look like fall foliage.  I don't think I succeeded!  In hindsight I think I should have left the leaves off and used another sunflower instead.

I don't have air conditioning in my house so the humidity can wreak havoc on my cards.  I made this card on Sunday and didn't photograph it until Monday so it managed to curl from all the moisture in the air.  You can see it's got a gentle arc to it as it sits upon my frog!

Our Freshly Made Sketches design team has got some beautiful cards for this sketch so be sure to check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sunflower (Papertrey Ink); Gorgeous Grunge (Stampin' Up!); Hashtags (Tim Holtz)
Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Early Espresso, Crushed Curry (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crushed Curry, Peach Parfait (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Simple Sunflower die (Papertrey Ink); Washi Tape die (My Favorite Things); Autumn Harvest sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

CAS(E) This Sketch 242

A quick look at the calendar tells me that Halloween is not that far away so I thought it was time for me to break out my all-time favorite stamp set for the occasion.  Lucky for me the latest CAS(E) This Sketch designed by Leigh was very accomodating for my Herman Munster-style image.

The Halloween colors at House of Cards put me in the mood and good ol' Herman and his love of bats set the stage for this one.  I just love this guy!

By the way, I fussy cut this guy out.  This stamp set is so old the only dies that co-existed with him were simple shapes we called Nestabilities!  Oh how times have changed!

My CAS(E) This Sketch teamies have created some fabulous cards for you to see with this sketch so be sure to check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Best Fiends, Bite Me (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); More Mustard (Stampin' Up!); Black (Simon Says Stamp)
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Jet Black (Altenew); Copics
Accessories:  Frightful enamel dots (My Mind's Eye); Bricked embossing folder (Tim Holtz)

Freshly Made Sketches 307 - Extended!

Hi all!  We had a bit of a glitch with our linky tool over the weekend at Freshly Made Sketches.  So to make sure everyone who wanted to play along with us could we have extended the challenge for another week.

I hope you will join us!

Grateful

I'm grateful for a lot of things so I thought it was high time I made a card that said so!  But in the interest of full disclosure there's a "grateful" challenge going on at Global Design Project that probably influenced the design of this card. :)

I love how these layered stamps from Altenew make me seem like an artist!  The layers go together perfectly and all I have to do is pick some complementary colors to use.  For this layout I stamped the leaves at the top and bottom leaving space to stamp the sentiment across the flower.  The sentiment takes the place of the horizontal layer for the AAA Cards sketch challenge.

We don't always take the time to think about the things that we should be grateful for.  Life is so busy with work and family and whatever else is going on it's shockingly easy to focus on the negative and ignore the positive.  For me, taking the time to make a card that says "grateful" in big letters across the front forces to me stop and take a moment to reflect on what I'm truly grateful for.  And it's a lot.

And I'm grateful that you took the time to stop by my blog and check out my card too.  :)  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Peony Bouquet (Altenew); Grateful (Concord & 9th)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah)
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, Mossy Meadow (Stampin Up!); Jet Black (Altenew)