Tag You're It 90

Today I've got a tag to show you that I made for the latest Tag You're It Challenge.  The twist with this challenge is that the tag has to be interactive.  I'm not very good in the "imaginative" department so I relied heavily on the inspiration tag and created a tag with a "floating" snowflake.

The base of my tag is an old favorite color, Baja Breeze, which looks great with silver accents.  I simply punched out a circle in the middle of the tag and filled the negative space with a silver sparkly snowflake suspended on silver cord.  I added a simple Christmas sentiment and a few sequins for good measure and I was done!  I'm also going to add this to the Jingle Belles challenge where they are looking for snow.

Thanks for stopping by.  There is still time to play along with Tag You're It so I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Christmas Carols (CAS-ual Fridays)
Paper:  Baja Breeze (Stampin' Up!); Silver Glimmer (Recollections)
Ink: Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Let It Snow Too die (My Favorite Things); Basic Bookmark 2 die (Papertrey Ink); Midnight Blend sequins (Avery Elle); silver cord (Stampin' Up!); white seam binding ribbon

Happy Christmas

I've been on vacation for the last week and have been busy cleaning closets and my craft room.  I'm amazed at the things that I've been storing that I don't use or need!  I'm happy that I managed to throw away several bags of things that I don't need and I also have a big pile of things in good condition that I'm going to donate.  It feels good to purge!

After Thanksgiving and some cyber shopping I had some free time to play around in my newly clean craft room so I made a card for a threesome of challenges.  At CAS-ual Fridays they are looking for shades of gold, Just Us Girls wants bows, and at Less is More it's one layer week.

This bow stamp set is a two layer image so I stamped the first image in a dark honey color then stamped the second layer in gold and then heat embossed it.  It's quite pretty in real life.  I wanted to preserve that white space so I used a small sentiment.

I'm very sad that I'm back to work today but happy that I got so much accomplished while off work - including putting up the Christmas tree.  Once I did that a happy kitty took his place underneath. 😊

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Holiday Bows (The Ton); Tiny Words Christmas (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Honey Nut (Papertrey Ink); Golden Glitz (Delicata); Nocturne (Versfine Clair)
Accessories:  gold embossing powder

CAS(E) This Sketch 288

As a kitty-mama I'm always on the lookout for cute kitty stamps.  I recently got a new one and was happy to see that one of the images in the set was absolutely perfect for the circle on this week's CAS(E) This Sketch, which was designed by Donna.

Kitties are experts in resting up!  And I figure this little sleeping beauty will cheer up someone who's feeling a bit under the weather.  I chose colors based on the challenge at CAS-ual Fridays and they've got a simple Stamp On It prompt at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge so I think I'll add this over there too!

Thanks for stopping by!  My friends at CAS(E) This Sketch have got some beautiful cards to inspire you to play along with us this week.  So check them out and join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Kit 'n Kaboodle (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Mint Julep (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Silverstone, Jet Black (Altenew)

CAS(E) This Sketch 278

June is almost in the books - can you believe it?  I can't, that's for sure.  But before we march on into July we've got a new challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  I used a little artistic liberty with the sketch (haha pun intended)!

Usually when I see three of something on a sketch I run for the hills!  I don't know why - it's just a design element that leaves me stumped most of the time.  So I started poking around blogland for some ideas and found the inspiration challenge at CAS-ual Fridays was about fireworks.  I remembered I had a stamp set that had some fireworks plus the Statue of Liberty so I figured I could somehow make that work. 

The fireworks are the top circle on the sketch and the Statue of Liberty is a combination of the other two!  You can see that, right?  Well, even if you can't that's my story and I'm sticking to it!  I actually love how this came out.  That elegant lady is a perfect foreground for some exciting fireworks!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  My CAS(E) This Sketch teamies did not go rogue with this sketch at all and have some wonderful cards to inspire you to play along with us.  I hope you do!

Supplies
Stamps:  USA 1776 (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah)
Ink:  Caribbean Sky, Sapphire (Altenew); Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink); Nocturne (Versafine Clair)

CAS(E) This Sketch 264

It's Thursday so that means it's time for a new sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch.  The horizontal blocks put me in mind of my brick wall stencil.

Sometimes uber CAS is just what the doctor ordered.  Here I was helped along by the AAA Cards challenge to use just one third of the card front.  I chose to use green as my accent color so I could play along with the CAS-ual Fridays challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!  And head on over to CAS(E) This Sketch to see the amazing cards from the design team.  I hope you can play along with us! 

Supplies
Stamps:  Totally Awesome (Essentials by Ellen)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Old Olive (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Old Olive (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Mini Bricks stencil (The Crafters Workshop); Positive Word die (Essentials by Ellen); white embossing paste (Dreamweaver)

Freshly Made Sketches 307!

Summer has made a comeback around here and I am loving it!  It's been in the 80s for the last few days and I am thoroughly enjoying this beautiful weather.  But it's the end of September and I know it won't last.  Soon the sweaters and boots will come out of the closet so I've got to enjoy this while I can.

I am also thoroughly enjoying our new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is Jen Timko and what a cool sketch she's given us this week.

Sometimes when I see circles like this it puts me in mind of a shaker card.  Of course, since the latest challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is for shakers there might have been a bit of subliminal messaging going on!  I grabbed some sequins in the colors or fall and created my card around them.

This was went together surprisingly easily!  I love when that happens.  Our amazing Freshly Made Sketches design team has put together some great cards with this sketch so make sure you check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Hello Hello (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)
Acccessories:  Petite Scallop Circles die, Standard Circles die (Spellbinders); Autumn Harvest sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

CAS(E) This Sketch 237

Meow.  That is all.

Actually, that is not all!  It's time for a new challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch and I really wanted to do a fun design with some fun shapes with Chrissy's uber cool sketch but after looking through my stamps I was not very inspired.  Then I happened upon this cat themed stamp set from Concord & 9th (that I think is retired) and my MEOW was born.

Now in case you didn't figure it out, the lines radiating from the seniment are whiskers!  Cat whiskers, that is!  Before I started combing my stamping stash for some ideas on images I had seen the color challenge at CAS-ual Fridays, which is a very simple Kraft and White.  I didn't think I could pull that off with this sketch so I kept on looking for other inspiration.  I also noted that there was a One Layer challenge going on at CAS on Friday.  These two challenges must have been forefront on my brain as I started perusing my stash because as soon as I saw this stamp set with that sentiment I knew I could use those colors and create an embossed sentiment in white and then frame it with the whiskers in kraft and I'd have a fun take on the sketch!

For those of you who don't know I have two kitties myself.  They are my stamping buddies and their job is to supply the cat fur that invariably gets stuck inadvertenly to every card that I make.  I also like to post pictures of them on Facebook, just like every other proud pet-mama.  Well I happen to have an uncle that pretends to hate cats and is always following up my FB posts with some rude comment about my cats.  I responded last year by giving him a framed picture of my two kitties for Christmas.  He promptly put the picture in his bathroom (posting a picture of it on FB for all his friends to see).  All this in a round-a-bout way of saying that I think that I will send him this card for this birthday.  It's fun to keep our little "war" going!

Well, that's it for me.  A bit long winded don't you think?  Thanks for sticking around for my little story.  And don't forget that all important new challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  We'd love to see you play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  You Crazy Cat (Concord & 9th)
Paper:  Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Versarmark; Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  white embossing powder

Freshly Made Sketches 297

It's Wednesday so that means there's a new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week, yours truly is the hostess!  So let's get to it, shall we?

There's a lot of Christmas in July going on right now.  Have you noticed?  I've already taken advantage of one Christmas themed stamp sale and obviously had Christmas on the brain when I sat down to make my card this week.  Of course, that's the theme at CAS-ual Fridays right now and although the color challenge at Sunday Stamps is called a "salute to summer" it put me in mind of snowflakes!  Go figure!

I took the liberty of adding some sparkly bits to my card because the color of that glimmer paper is pretty close to the neutral on that color challenge.  Plus who doesn't love some sparkle on a Christmas card?  The snowflake is actually one that is layered with three different die cuts.  The bottom is probably my all-time favorite and it is followed up with a vellum one (that is hard to see) and a wee sparkly one on top.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you can pop on over to Freshly Made Sketches and take a look at our challenge and the design team cards.  I hope we'll see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tis the Season (Essentials by Ellen)
Paper:  Soft Stone (Papertrey Ink); Midnight Muse, Silver Glimmer, Baja Breeze, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Real Red (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Snowfall/Speckles embossing folder (Tim Holtz); Lindemon Snowflake die (Memory Box); Funky Flakes die (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps)

Seriously Fabulous

I'm not sure how this happened but I found myself with some free time Sunday night and I managed to make it into my craft room and actually make a couple of cards.  One I'll be posting later in the week but the other is right here!

I made this for the sketch at As You See It using the colors at CAS-ual Fridays and it was super easy to put together.  Once I found an appropriate circle stamp, that is.

Short and sweet for me today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Fonds Grunge (4enscrap); Brushed Cheers (The Ton)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Hawaiin Shores (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Basic Gray (Stampin' Up!); Hawaiin Shores (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Seriously die (Lil' Inker Designs); enamel dew drops (Freckled Fawn)

Freshly Made Sketches 285

My card for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge ended up looking a lot different that what I had originally planned.  The sketch is designed by Amy, and it's a very straitforward sketch, but for some reason it threw me for a loop!

My first attempt had a whole lot of yellow in it and was going to be full of flowers.  But after a bit I realized what I was making looked horrible so I scrapped it.  Then I briefly thought about using a butterfly, but I had already used a butterfly on another card I made (which will be posted tomorrow) and I didn't want to use another one.  Then out of the blue I thought of the set of dies I ultimately used, all full of superhero style images and sentiments.

There's a navy, pink, and white color challenge at CAS-ual Fridays and I thought it would be fun to use those colors and make a girly card.  I love how these strong images look in pink accents!  I think it's hard to see in the photo but behind the gingham starburst image is a white cloud die cut.  I embossed it with burlap texture so that it would show up better against the white background - guess it didn't work!

Thanks for stopping by!  And be sure to pop on over to Freshly Made Sketches to check out the cards made by our awesome design team.  I hope you'll join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Amazing (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!); patterned paper (American Crafts)
Ink:  Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Pow Zap Bam die (Frantic Stamper); Banner Trio die (WPlus9); Rustic Burlap impression plate (Papertrey Ink)

CAS(E) This Sketch 211!

Boy we have rolled around to another Thursday awful quickly!  One day closer to the weekend, yay!  But first we've got a brand new challenge for you at CAS(E) This Sketch and our design this week comes to you from Michelle Ferguson.

I went a bit literal with the sketch because the flowers on it put me in mind of these pretty poppies.  Plus I had the colors from the inspiration photo at Just Us Girls in my head so the two just went together perfectly.  There's also a one layer challenge at CAS-ual Fridays so I put that in the mix too!

I love it when you can take an idea and translate it to paper and it actually comes out how you envisioned it!  That's exactly what happened here.  And the bonus thing with a one-layer card is that it usually comes together fairly quickly!

There are some fabulous interpretations of this sketch from the CAS(E) This Sketch design team that you don't want to miss.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Poppy Field (Rubbernecker Stamps); Take Note (Verve)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah)
Ink:  Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink); Wild Wasabi (Stampin' Up!); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Freshly Made Sketches #271

Well this week is whizzing by!  It's already Wednesday which means it's time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!  This week Cindy Hall is our intrepid hostess and her sketch is an absolute classic.  There are so many ways to interpret this sketch!

The other day I got one of those Pinterest notifications that someone liked a card I had made.  It was one that I made a long time ago using this stamp set embossed in gold on vellum.  I had forgotten all about it and when I saw it again I thought to myself "that's a really cool card!"  Then along comes the Everything Turns to Gold challenge at CAS-ual Fridays and I knew that this was a sign that I should emboss those flowers all over again.  The flowers don't look very vellum-y here but they are (and the leaves too).

I haven't made a birthday card in forever so I found a nice birthday sentiment that tucked into the space between the leaves perfectly.  This card is very elegant in real life (if I do say so myself)!

Thanks for stopping by and head on over to Freshly Made Sketches to check out the inspiration from our amazing design team.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Henneh Elements (Altenew); Friendly Flowers (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Kraft Core Metallic (Tim Holtz); Vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories:  gold embossing powder

Freshly Made Sketches 268!

We are finishing up 2016 at Freshly Made Sketches with a sketch designed by yours truly.  And I'll bet you won't be surprised that it's a square one!  Of course, if squares are not your thing feel free to use whatever shape card you like best.  Our challenge will be open longer than usual so you'll have until January 2nd to play along with us.

Don't adjust your sets, folks.  That is indeed a Christmas card you see here.  In fact, it is the first Christmas card that I created for 2017!  Either that or I'm so far behind I'm ahead of myself!  There was a pretty color challenge going on at Cupcake Inspirations and a Christmas challenge at CAS-ual Fridays so I couldn't resist sneaking in one more Christmas card this year.

I've been a bit lazy about crafting this week since a lot of my favorite challenge blogs are on a holiday hiatus.  This is actually the only card I've made all week and I probably won't make any more until after Christmas.  But during my little mini-break I've managed to finish up my Christmas shopping and over the next couple of days I will wrap gifts and then the festivities can begin for real!

I hope that during this busy time of year you can find time to join us at Freshly Made Sketches for our last challenge of the year.  Remember, this challenge will stay open until January 2nd so there's plenty of time to play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Christmas Carols (CAS-ual Fridays)
Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Kraft Core Metallic (Tim Holtz); Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Blooming Poinsettia die (Memory Box); Linen impression plate (Papertrey Ink)

Freshly Made Sketches 266!

It's time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is our resident color-mix-master Amy O'Neill.  I stumbled upon some snowflake challenges as I perused blogland for ideas for my card so that inspired my take on this fabulous sketch.

I know I sound like a broken record but this is way more sparkly in real life than it appears in this photo!  The snowflakes were both cut with some glimmer paper and I wove a bit of shiny red cross-stitch floss behind the silver one for a little interest.

The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is for glitter and snowflakes - check - while Creative With Stamps is looking for Christmas stamps - easy peasy - and lo and behold The Paper Players want snowflakes too - double check! 🙌

My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some beautiful cards this week so be sure to check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday)
Paper:  Soft Sky, Basic Gray, Red Glimmer, Wintergreen DSP (Stampin' Up!); Silver Foil paper (Recollections)
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Snowflake Trio die (amuse.studio); Kate Snowflake die (Simon Says Stamp); red crochet floss

CAS(E) This Sketch 188

Happy Thursday!  I am one day closer to a long weekend and I am really looking forward to it.  But before that happens we've got a new challenge for you at CAS(E) This Sketch.  This week our design comes to you from Sam Simpson.

The color challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is an old favorite of mine:  black, white, and a pop of color.  More often or not when I see a challenge like this the color I choose is something bright - like Daffodil Delight.  I kept the rectangle layer simple - just some splatters and an outline floral image.  Enamel dots take the place of the three little flags.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have time to join us at CAS(E) This Sketch this week.  Our amazing design team has made some beautiful cards to inspire you!

Supplies
Stamps:  Truth Is (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps); Gorgeous Grunge (SU)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Basic Black, Daffodil Delight (SU)
Ink:  Daffodil Delight (SU); Jet Black (Altenew)
Accessories:  Thanks Script die (Mama Elephant); Enamel Dew Drops (Freckled Fawn)