It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....

I combined a bunch of challenges in this one little card! First off, I used Taylor's sketch for a starting point. Next, I wanted to incorporate WT 194 "Giving Thanks", which matched the Stamp Simply challenge to "give thanks". Finally, I chose some dp and remembered the OCC challenge to use a snowman or snowflake or both.

This card went together really fast! That sometimes happens for me when I incorporate so many challenges. Hopefully, I pulled it off well! I can only think of a couple of things on the card that may not be self explanatory. The starburst background behind the center snowflake was made using the scallop punch two times. The sparkle on the snowflake if from my Sakura Clear Star gel pen. I just colored in the white space left when I stamped the image!

Here are the specifics for my card:

Stamps: Joyous Snowfall (Unity) & Sentiments O'Simple (Unity)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Basic Black, Whisper White, BG Mistletoe & Pear
Ink: Baja Breeze
Accessories: MAMBI rhinestones, stampin' sponges, stampin' dimensionals, 1 3/8" circle punch, scallop punch, 1 3/8" square punch, Sakura Clear Star gel pen
Techniques: sponging

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Pinky Animal 3...What?

That was the title of the Limited Supplies Challenge on SCS from November 28th. I thought it would be a really easy challenge until I sat down to do it! Then all the stipulations of the challenge kept getting in my way! I created the bird embellishment earlier in the day and worked the rest of the card around it.

I didn't think that felt bird up completely on my own. I saw some fun stitched stars on Dawn McVey's blog. You can see her felt stars here.

A bonus part of the challenge was to include a number on the card. Try as I might, I just could not make it work with the limited number of layers and embellishments.

Here are the specifics for this card:

Stamps: Sentiments O'Simple (Unity)
Paper: Whisper White, Print Pack dp, Regal Rose
Ink: Regal Rose
Accessories: Felt, MM raspberry embroidery floss, mat pack, paper piercing tool, big shot, scallop circle #2
Techniques: faux stitching

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

In Honor of Black Friday...

and a sketch offered up at the Limelight Papercraft Blog, here is my latest creation. I struggled and struggles to come up with something that wasn't the same card as many others did. The sketch just lent itself to a similar card design. I also wanted to keep the bookmark "black", meaning not so much color. The ladies at Stamp Something also issued a "black" challenge. You can check it out here.

I think I accomplished my goal. I used one of my favorite stamp sets and some Basic Grey designer paper. I am just loving all the Basic Grey that I have. A little bit of fun paper goes a long way toward dressing up any project. One thing I did that would not be noticeable from the photo is that I adhered the designer paper to Whisper White card stock to strengthen it!


Here are the details for this project:

Stamps: Art of Life
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Going Gray, BG Scarlet's Letter
Ink: Going Gray, Basic Black
Accessories: MM black eyelet, crop-a-dile, thin satin white & black Offray ribbon

The Third Day of Christmas

The challenge for the 3rd day of Christmas on PCP was to make a card incorporating a hen, rooster or an owl. I used little baby chicks on my card because one day they will become hens! I really did want to stick with a Christmas theme, but how does one make chicks Christmas-y? And....I just purchased this cool Basic Grey paper and HAD to use it!

There wasn't much that was complicated about my card. I paper pieced the chicks. I used a gray watercolor crayon to "ground" the chicks. And...I cut my dp the wrong way the first time! What a goof! It just about killed me!

Here are the specifics for my card:

Stamps: Love You Much, Short & Sweet
Paper: Regal Rose, Basic Black, So Saffron, Whisper White, BG Urban Prairie
Ink: Basic Black, Regal Rose,
Accessories: Going Gray wcc, Blender Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals, Rose grosgrain ribbon, circle template
Techniques: paper piecing

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Have you heard of Paper Craft Planet?

It's another on-line community for paper crafter's to communicate and share ideas. I have a gallery there, but have only submitted these two cards. I ran across some challenges while dh was rockin' out and Sweet Pea was sleeping! The challenges revolve around the Twelve Days of Christmas. The first challenge was to include a bird, a tree or both on your project!
The second challenge was to use a turtle or a dove on your card and to try and make it a holiday card in the spirit of the twelve days of Christmas.
When I finished these two cards, I realized that I had not done a lick of stamping on them. I just thought that was so weird! I don't know if I was just lazy or just really tired from my Black Friday shopping that began at 4:50 am!

Here are the details for the cards:

Holly and Berry card:
Paper: Garden Green, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, BG Mistletoe & Pear
Accessories: Sheer White ribbon, LYB Christmas Sticker Tablet,stampin dimensionals, red glitter glue

Snowy Dove card:
Paper: Whisper White, Ski Slope dp, Baja Breeze
Ink: Baja Breeze
Accessories: mambi rhinestones, birds 'n blooms die cut, big shot, mm edge distresser, white satin ribbon from Michael's
Techniques: distressing

Incidentally, I won the Christmas stickers in the first card from Mandy at Limelight Papercrafts for this card submitted for a sketch challenge.

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Hip Hop Once More!

Since Hip Hop was on Wednesday this week, I was able to participate in the challenges that are issued that day. Wednesday was a half day at work for me and Sweet Pea went down for a nap after we got home. When my dh got home, he was supportive in allowing me time to finish up the second challenge. This first card was my response to challenge called "Get Stuffed with Unity", a food related challenge. I picked these wine glass and a bottle of wine because my family always has wine with Thanksgiving dinner. I also used last week's Sketch for You to Try. I didn't realize that the stand blocked the embellishments in the photo. What a goober I am!

Here are the details:
Stamps: Sentiments O' Simple (Unity), Good Times (Unity)
Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Basic Black, Whisper White, BG Eva
Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Pink Pirouette, Pale Plum
Accessories: Stampin' sponges, Black brads, Large oval punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, stampin' dimensionals
Techniques: sponging, direct to paper

This card is my response to the second challenge during Hip Hop called the "Turkey Dinner Color Challenge" in honor of turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. For the design of this card I thought of Kristina Werner and imitated her clean and simple style. As far as I know, I did not copy any of her projects. If someone finds something substantially similar, do let me know and I will credit her properly. Of course, when I finished, I realized it qualified for the Limited Supply Challenge to use the chocolate as a color!

Here are the details for this card:
Stamps: Almighty God (Unity)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Ski Slope dp
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Buttons, Linen thread, corner rounder, scallop edge punch

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Hip Hop Came Early This Week!

Unity Stamp Company runs a day long fest each week called Hip Hop Thursday! As last Thursday was Thanksgiving, Hip Hop was held on Wednesday. Need more information on Hip Hop Thursday, check here. They give out all kinds of prizes for all kinds of things. If you use Unity stamps to do any of the weekly challenges and then upload it to that week's thread, then you are eligible for additional prizes.
Well, I like prizes. So I used Unity on three weekly challenges and two of them are on this post. (See post titled Sweet Pea's book for the third weekly challenge). The first photo is from this week's Unity Addict Challenge and the meat of the challenge was to use red and white on a thank you card. These challenge cards are counted in with the other challenge cards eligible for additional prizes.

Here are the details for this card:
Stamps: Dream Tree (Unity) & Sentiments o' Simple (Unity)
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red
Ink: Encore Silver, Real Red
Accessories: lavender glitter (JoAnn's), silver rhinestones (Michael's), stampin' dimensionals, sticky strip, Birds 'n Blooms dies, big shot

This card is from Saturday's Inspiration Challenge (155)on SCS. Stampers were to be inspired by the women's fashion from the AMC original show, "Mad Men". My DH watches this show religiously! I also used Beate's Weekend Sketch to flesh out my card. I used this dress as inspiration for the challenge. When I showed my dh, he said it looked sensual. That's more of a response than I usually get.

Here are the details for this card:
Stamps: Sentiments o'Simple (Unity) & Distressed Dot Background (Unity)
Paper: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, DCWV the stack III
Ink: Basic Gray, Riding Hood Red, Versamark
Accessories: Sheer Black ribbon (JoAnn's), clear ep, heat tool, stampin' dimensionals
Techniques: direct to paper

This card met the criteria for a couple of other challenges this week. Have I mentioned that I really like challenges? They keep me going! This one uses the sketch from Our Creative Corner and uses a pearl, as challenged in Ways To Use It 193. I flipped the sketch on its side to fit the images I wanted to use! I finally tried an embossing folder in my Big Shot! It was so simple to do for all the depth and dimension it provides on the card.

Here are the details on this card:
Stamps: Joyous Snowfall by Unity Stamp Company
Paper: Very Vanilla, Blush Blossom, Brushed Gold
Ink: Versamark, Encore gold
Accessories: gold ep, pretties kit pearl, glue dot, D'Vine CB folder, Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon, stampin' dimensionals, heat tool
Techniques: direct to paper

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Sweet Pea's book ;)

I made the mistake of telling her that this was her book and then she didn't want to give it back or let me put it in her daycare bag! I altered a composition book to use for communication about Sweet Pea's day between her daycare provider and I. .

I knew that I was running out of room in her old one, but just couldn't get my act together to alter a new one. So.....she had a Power Ranger on the front of her journal for a few days! I just couldn't stand that, so I busted out my Basic Grey patterned paper that came with adhesive letters and decorative stickers and went to work. Sweet Pea likes sparkles, so I added some with my Sakura Clear Star gel pen. Here journal goes in and out of her bag a couple times a day, so I didn't want anything to stick up or it would like get worn or torn.

I met the parameters for two challenges on this piece. The Limited Supply Challenge 195 (which wasn't so limited) was to use chocolate (colored) anything. Verve's challenge this month is to do anything but a card!

Things that I did on the project that may not be obvious from the photo are the outlining of the adhesive letters to get them to stand out more and the sponging of ink on the pink paper on the spine and the image panel to create a more worn or aged look. I felt like this look matched the distress look of the patterned paper best.

Stamps: Well Wisher from Unity's Buzzin' Around
Paper: BG Sugared, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette
Ink: StazOn Timber Brown, River Rock, Craft White, Bravo Burgundy, Real Red, Old Olive
Accessories: BG Sugared stickers, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Sakura Clear Star gel pen, blender pen, stampin' sponges
Techniques: distressing

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Black Friday Deals & More...

So I went shopping today! Yeah, it was a little nutty. Sweet Pea woke me up at 3:40a.m. I couldn't get back to sleep so I left the house at 4:25 a.m. I had my purchases in hand at 5:00 a.m. and waited two (yes, 2) hours to pay for them! Lines got much shorter after that!

I found some cool blog candy giveaways for Black Friday! You should see this Glittering Tulip Chandelier!OH-MY-WORD!!! I visit Kristina Werner's blog often and she was talking up her friend, Patti. So I went to visit her blog, so glad I did! See here what kind of cool stuff Patti does! Oh yeah, and while you are at it, go to this post too!

The unfortunate part of my Black Friday is that I didn't have any suggestions for the family members that Sweet Pea and I drew after Thanksgiving dinner. I guess I will have to go shopping again. Maybe I will go later this weekend!

Isabel Turns Three!

Sweet Pea and I are off to a birthday party today! It will be a fun time doing gymnastics! Isabel is the birthday girl and goes to daycare with SweetPea. So many of the other mother's know that I make cards that I would not be able to get away with a quick store bought card to save time! So instead, Sweet Pea and I had war while I tried to make her little friend's birthday card.

I took my inspiration from this week's OCCC inspiration challenge and also squeezed in the Ways to Use it Challenge for this week. WT191 was about putting your corner punches to use!

Here are the details for this card:

Stamps: Sentiments O'Simple by Unity Stamp Company, So Many Scallops
Paper: Piroutte Pink, Whisper White & Bella Rose dp
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Corner rounder, Pink organdy ribbon, stampin' dimensionals, scallop punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, Sakura Clear Star gel pen, sponge dauber
Techniques: sponging

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Verve Holiday Sketch Blitz #5

Here is my fifth and final card for the Verve Holiday Sketch Blitz. I chose colors and images that just said "Verve" to me! I dug into my dp stash to find this one with the "Verve" colors. I had a lot of fun with this one and really love how my card turned out.

Dazzling Diamonds get everywhere! They are really not on the sentiment panel like it shows in the picture. They were only there when I took the photo and the light caught them! They are quite shimmery! The shimmer on the butterfly trail is from the Sakura Clear Star gel pen. Oh boy, do I love that thing! I am so glad that I got two.

Here are the details for this card:

Stamps: Fluttering By (Verve)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Close to Cocoa, Granny's Kitchen dp by SEI
Ink: Baja Breeze, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chocolate grosgrain ribbon, hole punch, Sakura Clear Star gel pen, glue dots, two way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Verve Holiday Sketch Blitz #4

Here is the card that I cooked up for the 4th sketch in the Verve Holiday Sketch Blitz. While I have been loving my new Verve stamps, I need to have a little variety. So I pulled out a great set I have called Natural Beauty. I recently read an inspiring blog entry by Christi Snow, so I tried water coloring. My coloring needs work and I think that just means practice. So practice I did.

I also had this stamp that looks like a zig-zag stitch laying around collecting dust, so I used it. The sketch included something that looked like stitching and my sewing machine is buried! (Sorry Mom, I am getting there!)

Here are the details for this card:

Stamps: Natural Beauty, Fluttering By by Verve, Stitched Ribbon by Hero Arts
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, PC fascination dp
Ink: StazOn Jet Black
Accessories: Watercolor pencils, aquapainter, Black organdy from Michael's
Techniques: Water coloring

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Verve Holiday Sketch Blitz #3

Here is my take on the 3rd sketch in the Verve Holiday Sketch Blitz. I used my new Verve sets that I won when I was selected as the winner for the project parade. The card that won for me was the birthday card I made for my nephew. Thanks Travis ;)!!!

I can't remember why I was digging around in the bins in my craft room, but I was. I usually just use what is laying around on top of the pile. I have so much stuff (Don't tell my husband), that I had forgotten about two thirds of it. I found this cool dp and so card stock to match it! It is so soft and subtle, perfect for the message on this card.

This card gave me fits, when I came to the pearls on the cross. I'm not sure why, but I think I learned something! Always put the pearls on last!

Here are the details:

Stamps: Notes of Prayer by Verve Stamps
Paper: Random Pale Green cs in my drawer, PC Slab V, Sahara Sand, Whisper White
Ink: Colorbox Amber Satin
Accessories: Ice Green Kaisercraft pearls, scallop edge punch, thin white satin ribbon by Offray, stampin' dimensionals

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Verve Holiday Sketch Blitz #2

Here is my submission for the 2nd sketch in the Verve Holiday Sketch Blitz. I just love my new Verve Stamps and Julee Tilman's sketches. These both make stamping a snap!!! Nothing too tricky with this card. I don't know if the photo shows the sponging around the edge of the circle where the sentiment is. Upon reflection, I probably should have sponged the edges of the image panel as well. Maybe next time. The other thing I did that wouldn't be immediately obvious is that I colored the clear rhinestones with colored Sharpies. I am loving that little trick. It makes it really easy to customize your bling!

Here are the details for this card:

Stamps: Fluttering By (Verve)
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Basic Grey Two Scoops
Ink: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Wild Wasabi
Accessories: MAMBI rhinestones, 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1/8" circle punch, Offray white satin ribbon, blender pen, sponge daubers, turquoise & olive Sharpies, stampin' dimensionals
Techniques: sponging

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Just like Becca

I created this card for the Featured Stamper Challenge 91 on SCS. Here the card that I cased. I chose it because I liked the colors and the tree image that she used! I found some similarly colored dp in my stash and (lucky me) it matched some of the In Colors from SU!

This wasn't a very technical card. Pretty easy really. The only thing to note is that I colored the heart on the tree trunk with my white gel pen and then added dots around the edge of the Baja Breeze layer.

Otherwise, here are the details:

Stamps: Dream Tree, Sentiments O'Simple by Unity Stamp Company
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, PC Rob & Bob Studio dp
Ink: StazOn Jet Black
Accessories: white gel pen, 1/8" circle punch, Offray white satin ribbon, corner rounder

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless noted.

JOY votive candle holder

I created this votive candle holder for the SCS Color Challenge 191 to use Kiwi Kiss, Pretty in Pink and Riding Hood Red. I wanted my main focus to be the snowflakes, so I embossed them in white! Before I did that, I stamped the multicolor pattern on the opposite side of the vellum. I wrapped my vellum around my votive holder and secured it with mini glue dots (because I couldn't find my hot glue gun!). Finally, I tied a thin pink ribbon around the top and stressed out over the bow!






Stamps: Distressed Dot Background, Joyous Snowfall by Unity Stamp Company
Paper: Vellum
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Pretty in Pink, Craft White
Accessories: clear ep, heat tool, pink ribbon, mini glue dots
Techniques: embossing

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Another Unity Card and Another Unity Case

Jennifer Buck is one of my stamping idols! This card of hers got me hooked! I had read her blog faithfully ever since! So it was a no-brainer when I read about the Limited Supply Challenge 192 to use stamps in disguise, that I recalled this card Ms. Buck made. Well, I would show you, but it is nowhere to be found. My guess is that it has been removed for publication! Go figure!

The only little how-to is the ribbon. I used my craft knife to cut a tiny little slit in the white layer to thread my ribbon through. Then I tied a knot and moved the knot down to cover the slit. Here are the rest of the details for this card:

Stamps: Tiny Trinity, Sentiments o'Simple
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Real Red marker, Old Olive marker
Accessories: craft knife, scallop edge punch, Red offray ribbon

All products used are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Verve Holiday Sketch Blitz #1

If you don't know Verve, you need to check the company out! Last month, I won their October Challenge. Okay, I was randomly picked again, but a picture of my card was posted on their website. Anyhow, my prize was a little spending spree with them! I chose two stamp sets and recently received them. The stamps are really quite wonderful. I usually like clear rubber for the clarity of image. These clear stamps from Verve create clean images and you can see exactly where you are stamping (no need for a SAMJ!).

Lucky me, my stamps arrived just in time to participate in the Verve Holiday Sketch Blitz!!! And if you know me, my favorite kind of challenge is a sketch challenge. I only tweaked the sketch a little to fit the cross.

So here are the details for this card:

Stamps: Notes of Prayer by Verve stamps
Paper: Very Vanilla, Brushed Gold, Basic Grey Sugared
Ink: Encore Gold, Versamark
Accessories: Gold ep, vanilla taffeta ribbon, mini glue dot, stampin' dimensionals, heat tool
Techniques: embossing

I liked how my card turned out so well, that I made another one. Only this time I gave a little love to my new Unity stamp that I won (Guess I am kind of lucky!) from Chelsea Cook in a blog candy give away. While I was at it, I used the cracked glass technique for the Ways to Use It 190 challenge on SCS.

This card is pretty simple. The only thing that may not be immediately obvious is that I colored some rhinestones with a Dandelion? colored Sharpie to get the yellow-gold glow! I just love the dp, it really makes the card. These two (actually three) went super quick!

Here are the specifics related to this card:

Stamps: Almighty God by Unity Stamp Company
Paper: Very Vanilla, Brushed Gold, Basic Grey Sugared
Ink: Old Olive, Versamark
Accessories: Vanilla Taffeta ribbon, UTEE, heat tool, me & my big idea rhinestones, Dandelion sharpie, mini glue dots, stampin' dimensionals
Techniques: embossing

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Trying a New Technique

Julee Tilman of Verve Stamps put forward a challenge through Our Creative Corner to try the Vintage Values technique. I didn't get time to actually try the technique before the timeline ran out on the challenge, but I still completed it anyway. I have been looking to improve my skills with a sponge!

This is a pretty simple card. I provided a link to the sponging technique and I couldn't write it up better than it is. The only other "trick" on the card is the clear rhinestones (you know, the ones that look like faux diamonds) that I colored black with a Sharpie!


Stamps: The Art of Life, All Night Media Anna Griffin Sentiments
Paper: River Rock, Basic Black, Provo Craft Heritage Post dp
Ink: River Rock, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Basic Black
Accessories: me & my big idea rhinestone singles, black sharpie, Theater Ribbon Originals
Techniques: Vintage Values, sponging

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Six Chicks Sketch!!!

This little baby netted me some more blog candy! Mandy at Limelight Papercrafts offered up a LYB Christmas Sticker Tablet for the winner of the sketch challenge. Okay, so it was random! A girl has to start somewhere and exposure is good!

This card is pretty straight forward. The only thing that may not be apparent is that I sponged the edges of my circles with Wild Wasabi ink lightly and then edged (direct to paper) the circles with Wild Wasabi.

Stamps: Changito Santa by Stampendous, Short & Sweet
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Basic Grey Two Scoops
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Real Red,
Accessories: WCC, Blender pens, white organdy ribbon, stampin' dimensionals, circle stencil, 1 1/4" circle punch, sponge daubers, Star Dust stickles
Techniques: sponging

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.