10 Minute Craft Dash #28

I had a quick second to make a card, so I turned to the latest 10 Minute Craft Dash Challenge.

It's the perfect challenge for me....motivating, challenging, fun, and rewarding because  a card gets made even when I don't have much time.  I just wish I could get my act together to make a card sooner than just hours before the challenge closes, so I could encourage all of you to give it a shot.  It's definitely worth 10 minutes of your time.

I've been trying to get rid of scraps and bits and pieces of unfinished cards that I've been hanging onto for who knows how long.  That's where the die cut and the red patterned paper panel came from.  My favorite part is the glittery aqua berries.  It was the last thing I added and I'm glad I did.  This card is simple, and the glitter adds just a bit of fun that makes me smile.  ETA: Oops...I forgot to mention my time.  I finished this card in 9 minutes 36 seconds.

PTI October Blog Hop: Tags

Sometimes I love the internet.  Sometimes not so much.  Right now not so much.  I was cutting it close as it was but unfortunately because of internet finickiness I missed the link up deadline for Papertrey's October Blog Hop.  Oh, well.  At least now I am a little bit ahead of the game for Christmas packaging.  And I did manage to squeeze in some paper crafting time, which I haven't been able to do this week, so I'm glad for that, too. :) (Nevermind the fact that I was trying to work super quickly and the room literally looks like a tornado went through [I'm not kidding...this mess rivals the biggest mess my toddler has ever made and he's made some good ones]...but I'll deal with the mess in the morning.)

PTI's challenge was to create a set of five tags using unique materials, but I've been so short on time this week that I couldn't get too creative.  I did use ribbon which is pretty unique for me and these were made entirely from scraps (except the red ornament), but that's probably a bit of a stretch.  Besides the common color scheme I also added snowflakes and rhinestones to each tag in one way or another and three of the five tags have glitter.  A few of the tags (like the zebra bow one) were made with specific family members in mind, which makes me smile.  For being a speedy last minute attempt, I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll get a chance to take some more photos (in better lighting) so you can actually see the details of the tags and then I might go into a bit more detail on the description, too.  Some are pretty sparkly and fun in person.  Hope many (if not all) of you got to participate in the hop.  I'm hoping in a few days to have some time to catch up on everyone's fabulous projects.
ETA: To see more photos/details about these tags go to this post. :)

Supplies
Stamps: Background Basics: Retro, Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers, Think Big Favorites #19
Cardstock: aqua mist, pure poppy, white (PTI)
Ink: aqua mist, pure poppy, true black (PTI)
Dies: tag sale #4 (PTI)
Other: snowflake punch (Marcy Uchida), washi tape, rhinestones (CTMH), ribbon (Hobby Lobby), twine (The Twinery), glossy accents, white embossing powder (SU!), dazzling diamonds glitter (SU!)

TAWS #39 & Simon Says: Christmas/Happy Holidays (Take 2)

I wasn't satisfied with the first card I made for the current TAWS Challenge, so I decided to make a new one.  I'm loving all the wreath cards floating around and couldn't resist making another one myself.  I was inspired by the colors in the inspiration photo and thought it would be fun to use them on another holiday card.  I hope it was okay to add green...I considered it a neutral here, you  know, like a wreath form is neutral when you buy it and then you add stuff to it. :) I created the wreath with the little pine branch image in TAWS's Trees Company set.   I just stamped it repeatedly in a circle like I did with the leaves on this card.  I used a paper hole punch to add the berries and topped it off with a bow from Lil' Inkers.  This card makes me happy, and my husband's reaction to it was much better.  This time when I asked him what he thought I got an enthusiastic "Awesome!" I'm so glad I gave the challenge another shot.   I'm also linking this card to the current Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Christmas/Happy Holidays. (P.S. I did alter the sentiment from TAWS's Toyland set slightly by making the "T" into a "J"...I didn't think the toyful pun worked as well on this particular card.)
ETA: I just found out about a great link up over at Jingle Belles Rock (thanks Marie for the tip) that I wish I'd known about sooner.   They are doing their annual Pink Christmas...For the Cure and will be donating $4 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for every card linked up.  All you have to do is feature pink on a Christmas card.  The deadline is tomorrow (October 23rd 6pm EST), but if you have a bit of time, it certainly seems like a great cause to contribute to. 

Supplies

Stamps: Toyland, Trees Company (TAWS)

Paper: PTI (Aqua Mist, Hibiscus Burst, White)

Ink: PTI (New Leaf, Summer Sunrise)

Other: small bow die (Lil' Inkers), Linen & Canvas Impression Plate (PTI), orange striped washi tape, hole punch

ColourQ #211, Simon Says: Happy Holiday, &TAWS Be Inspired #39

Hello!  I had full intentions of going with a Halloween theme for these cards, but obviously that didn't happen. I recently won some TAWS stamps and they arrived in the mail a couple days ago (yay!).  I couldn't resist the urge to try them out last night.  My first card was inspired by this week's ColourQ Challenge the Simon Says...Christmas/Happy Holiday Challenge.

My favorite parts of this card are the darling little paper pieced elf and the shiny lights.  It took a while to cut everything out, but it was so worth it. (Though, just so you know, he looks super cute even without coloring/paper piecing him at all)  The string of lights was inspired by Arielle's awesome card.  I added some liquid glass to the lights so they would be shiny.  ETA: And since this card features some pink, I'm also linking this up to Jingle Belles Rock's Pink Christmas...For the Cure.  It's a special link up and for every card linked to the challenge $4 will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  Pretty awesome, huh?  The deadline is tomorrow (October 23rd 6pm EST), but if you hurry and make a Christmas card featuring pink, your card can help increase the contribution. 

Supplies

Stamps: TAWS (Chill Out, Toyland)

Paper: PTI (Orange Zest, Raspberry Fizz, White), The Paper Studio (Merry Merry Collection)

Ink: PTI (True Black), SU! (Pumpkin Pie)

Other: CTMH (liquid glass), colored pencils

I debated whether or not to even share this next card that I made for the TAWS Be Inspired #39 Challenge.  It was the first idea that came to me when I saw this cute little bird in my TAWS Chill Out set.  Even during theor release week every time I saw this bird I knew he would look perfect perched on the branch/tree from TAWS's Trees Company set, which is one of the reasons I wanted to get the new set.  I drew inspiration from the vibrant pink and orange but also the tiny bit of blue in the challenge photo.  I did notice the yellow, too, but a yellow tree branch seemed funny, so I stamped brown on cork instead like I did on this card.  I was a bit on the fence with how it turned out, so I asked my husband what he thought, and he said, "eh.  You could still give it to someone."  That was a nice way to confirm my doubts.  The card is lacking something, but I'm too busy to figure it out.  Well, I'm off to work some more on my son's Halloween costume.  Wish me luck! :)

Supplies
Stamps: TAWS (Chill Out, Toyland, Trees Company)
Paper: PTI (Raspberry Fizz, White)
Ink: Color Box (Robin's Egg), PTI (True Black), SU! (Pumpkin Pie)
Other: PTI (Bubble Talk Die), Cork 

Just For Fun

Hello!  I've been uploading lots of pictures and happened across a card I never shared here (probably because I forgot to take a photo until I gave it to my niece at her birthday party).  Her party was a Shake It Up Dance party, so I used that as my inspiration for the card.  I focused mostly on the colors of the show's logo and stars seemed appropriate.  It was a bit challenging to make a card that looked more grown-up to me...my nieces are getting too old too fast.  I really wanted to stick a princess or something "younger" on the card.  It's a bit hard to tell but I embossed the sentiment on a clear cardstock banner, hence the reflection in the photo.  I've been doing lots of cleaning this week and not so much cardmaking (okay, no cardmaking).  Truthfully, both make me happy.  I  have my mother to thank for instilling in me an appreciation for a clean house.  Hope everyone is having a happy week.

CFC116: Sequins & Chevron & Simon Says...Clear Stamp

 

Just a quick post to share a card I just made for this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge, which I obviously interpreted very literally.  The idea came to me when I first saw the challenge, and I finally forfeited sleep tonight to make this card.  I'm also submitting this to this week's Simon Says Challenge to use clear (or rubber) stamps.  My card turned out exactly as I had hoped.  And I'm happy because I only have a couple more Halloween Cards to go until I have enough to send to my nieces and nephews, which is a good thing because I desperately need to switch my crafty endeavors to working on my son's Halloween costume.  Hope your week is going well. Thanks for stopping by!

 

Curtain Call: Spooky Scene & Simon Says...Clear Stamp

Yay!  I finally got to play along with another Curtain Call Challenge.  Stacey always picks the best inspiration photos, and we had this fun "spooky scene" below as our inspiration.  The front porch scene immediately made me think of trick-or-treaters so I pulled out my favorite (and super old) halloween set.  The black and white with pops of color in the photo also stood out. I initially was just going to stick with orange (and hopefully it still is more dominant), but bits of green and purple got thrown in as this card evolved...and evolve it did.  I've been working on it here and there for the past week.  One other thing that stood out to me was the shine/reflection in the windows.  That got translated into glossy accents on the witch, cat, and mummy's eyes and the dangling spider's body.  I also threw in a few sequins (from the Dollar Store no less....I can't pass up a good deal) because they're so good at reflecting light.  Oh, and the glitter...I may have gotten a bit carried away with shiny accents.  The twine bow tied to the tag was inspired by this card by the truly amazing Amy Wanford.  I'm also linking this up at Simon Says...Use a Clear Stamp Challenge.  Hee...that's an easy one.  I love stamps. :)

Supplies
Stamps: Halloween Dingbats (CTMH), Friendship Jar Fall Fillers (PTI)
Ink: True Black (PTI), VersaMark
Paper: black (MM), orange zest, white (PTI)
Other: glossy accents (CTMH), prisma glitter (PTI), white embossing powder (SU!), charcoal twine (The Twinery), sequins ($ store), colored pencils

Moxie Fab All That Glitters is Gold & Simon Says...We're Going Dotty

This card was totally inspired by two challenges: All That Glitters is Gold Challenge at Moxie Fab World and Simon Says...We're Going Dotty Challenge at the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Blog. Ever since I saw this cake pop inspiration photo on Cath's blog (on Sept. 11th), I knew I wanted to use it to make a card.

From: Glitter Guide

The only problem is that I couldn't figure out a way to pour glitter on the card and have it cascade down without it looking like Halloween ooze.  Not only that, but I knew I wanted a big bold sentiment at the bottom of my card, and I just didn't have any stamps that I felt worked the way I wanted, so I set the idea aside.  Fast forward to last week.  I won a gift certificate to CAS-ual Fridays Stamps and as I was browsing their products, I saw the big bold images in their Shenanigans set, and immediately I remembered my idea.  I didn't place my order until late Friday night, so I knew I would never get my new stamps in time for the Moxie Fab deadline, but I thought maybe sometime I'd get around to making the card I had envisioned.  Then much to my surprise my stamps showed up this afternoon (seriously the fasted delivery of anything I have ever ordered...I'm so impressed).  We had a fun but full evening of apple and pear picking planned, but I knew I had to try to make a card before the night was over.  So after my son went to bed I got to work.  I started with trying to figure out a solution to my Halloween ooze problem.  As I was pondering, I remembered two things from Simon Says...their dot challenge and their new falling snow stencil (which I do not own...yet).

Dots would definitely not look like ooze and would still achieve the cascading look I was going for, so I set out to make my own template.  I drew a grid on some paper, marked x's on the spots I thought the holes should go, and after a bit of trial and error had a template I liked.  Then I used a pin to poke holes through my paper, so I could use it as a template to mark the spots where the gold would go on my card.  I use the smallest dot in Papertrey's Polka Dot Basics set to stamp over my pencil marks and then embossed them with Gold Zing Powder.  The sentiment from CAS-ual Fridays Shenanigans set was embossed in white. (BTW: I actually embossed the sentiment first and then did the gold dots. Oh, and I was glad that the sentiment stamped so perfectly because I didn't even do a test run to see how these stamps stamp.)  And that's it.  The card was done.  And I made it with 5 minutes to spare. Nothing like working under pressure. :)

Moxie Fab Ready-Made Embellishments, Simon Says Dotty, & ColourQ #209

Happy October!  I just love this month.  My son and I had a blast pulling out all our fall/Halloween decorations yesterday.  And although I've been loving the fall colors/theme, I was itching to make something bright and happy, especially after seeing this week's ColourQ Challenge.

This was such a fun card to make.  I love to buy embellishments and yet struggle to use them.  I'm glad that Moxie Fab World's Ready-Made Embellishments Challenge finally gave me the push I needed to break them out and complete a project.  I pulled out a couple coordinating embellishments from My Mind's Eye and set to work.  I trimmed the chipboard flowers, so they would be flush with the bottom and right side of the striped paper (which is actually the packaging from the word stickers....I just loved the stripes and couldn't throw it away).  Inspired by this week's Simon Says...We're Going Dotty Challenge, I then filled in some of the open spaces with some rhinestone dots and added a circle patterned paper to the right edge.  And the MME word stickers finished it off.

I love the dimension and colors on this card, and I'm pretty thrilled that I used some of the embellishments that I tend to hoard.  And it's silly, but I loved that the only thing I had to glue down was the paper.  I was surprised at how happy that made me.  Well, my dough has risen, and I'm off to finish dinner.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope that you have a happy Friday and a fabulous weekend! :)

Fresh Squeezed Birthday Bash, Moxie Fab Gold & Simon Says..Anything Goes

Fresh Squeezed Stamps is celebrating their first birthday this week and I wanted to join in on the fun by making a birthday card for their Fresh Squeezed Birthday Bash Challenge.  I ended up only using their On Trend 2013 set for this card, and I was super happy when I discovered that the watercolor stroke makes a fun cloud.  The layout was actually inspired by this past week's CASE Study Challenge (hence the angle of the clouds & sentiment), but alas I didn't have time to post until this evening and that challenge is closed.  I'm still grateful for the inspiration, though. :) I also gained inspiration from the All That Glitters is Gold Challenge at Moxie Fab World.  I've been wanting to make something for this challenge for weeks and have had several gold supplies (including glitter) sitting out for when the time presented itself.  As I was making this card I thought about how sometimes as the sun sets here it catches the windows of a few buildings at the base of the mountain and they just sparkle.  It's beautiful.  I had that in mind when I added the gold glitter to the windows.  It's just a touch of gold, but it makes me smile.

For sure the most time consuming element on this card was fussy cutting out the skyline.  I was really thankful that I only had to do it once. :)  The final touch was embossing the bottom of the aqua mist panel with Papertrey's Linen & Canvas Impression Plate.  Oh, I almost forgot...I'm also entering this into the Simon Says...Anything Goes Challenge.  I sure love Simon Says Stamp...so convenient to be able to purchase from several companies that I love all in one spot.  Well, that's it for me tonight.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  I really do appreciate all the kind comments you leave.