Monday, August 31, 2015

Mojo Monday Time ...

Hello Everyone and welcome to a new week and nearly a new month!
Since it is Monday and my mojo is lacking (again!)
I thought playing the Mojo Monday Challenge just might help
get my creative juices flowing.

Here's the sketch they have for us this week ...
 

And here's what I've created ...


My aunt is in visiting from Texas and is staying with my mom over in PA.
At the family reunion yesterday she asked about cards
and I told her I would make her up a variety before
she heads back home next week.
I think this card will be No. 1 of a dozen or so for her.

 
Everyone likes butterflies so I thought these would make
the perfect focus embellishment.
The design paper I have used is from the Prima 'Princess' 6x6 pack and even though this sheet is gorgeous (in my mind at least), it is a bit busy and can be difficult to use.  I this this particular sketch design worked perfectly to showcase this pretty paper.  As you see, a strip of images I needed to cut from the front panel was repurposed onto the inside sentiment panel. Love when that sort of thing works out so beautifully!

I hope you are having a wonderful start to your week!
Going to be VERY hot around N.E. Ohio this week (upper 80s all week)
so I'll probably just keep creating here in my 'crafting cave'!  LOL

Challenges to share in:
 Amusing Challenge - Anything Goes
 Blogger's Challenge - Come Fly with Me!
Julia Spiri Challenge Blog - Anything Goes w/twist - something new

Thanks for stopping by and as always . . .




Recipe:
Papers:  White cs, Kraft cs, Prima 'princess' dp
Accessories:  Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Memory Box 'stitched circle layers' #30036, pop dots, gold Pilot marker (for edging), Jambo lace roll tape, Rubber Cottage sentiment stamp, versafine onyx ink, white gelly roll pen


Sunday, August 30, 2015

Cardabilities Reveal #130

Hello Dear Friends!
It is time once again for the new Sketch Reveal 
Here's my card and today's sketch ... I hope you'll come join us!
You will have until Sept. 13th to join in our challenge and please be sure to review our rules.
One rule I'd like to mention is:  your entry can be shared with only 3 additional challenges in order for you to qualify for our prize. 

Our wonderful sponsor today is
 
The beautiful Stamping Boutique image I chose to create with today is called 'Daisy Rope'.  I used my Spectrum Noir alcohol marker PL2 to color my image/accents then tied in the other pieces and parts.  All items used will be listed at the end of this post.
Please pop over and check out the amazing designs from my team mates !
These ladies sure are keeping me on my toes!!  LOL!
Inside
IN CASE YOU ARE NOT AWARE . . .
You only have a few more chances to join in our Cardabilities Sketch Challenges.
Come the end of September, Karan will be closing the Cardabilities & Sketchabilties blogs due to personal time restraints.
I hope you'll come join in our fun at Cardabilties!

Challenges to share in:
Crafty Friends Challenge - Use a Sentiment
 Di's Digi Challenge - Include a Sentiment
The Pencil Case Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
As always . . .
Recipe:
Papers:  White cs, SU Rich Razzleberry
Stamps/Ink:  Hero Arts, AMuse / Versafine Onyx
Dies:  Le'Crea' Multi Die 'Flower 5', Sue Wilson Finishing Touches 'Petite Vinery', Memory Box 'Stitched Scalloped Circles', Cheery Lynn Designs 'Horizon Fishtail Banners', Spellbinder 'A2 Scallop Borders #S5-214' 
Accessories:  Spectrum Noir PL2 alcohol marker, Ruler, SU dimensionals, Tattered Angels 'Raspberry Zing'

Friday, August 28, 2015

A better place with FRIENDS!

Welcome Friends!
I don't know what I would do without my FRIENDS!
Someone to confide in when life's troubles have you down, a shoulder to cry on when you are at your breaking point and someone to laugh with when life treats you well.  
We ALL need our FRIENDS!
 
Today I'm sharing another quick & easy card creation using dies from the Dies R Us Store!
The inside was left blank so I could write a personal note to the friend 
I'm sending this too and as you may have noticed ... I tend to 'talk a lot' so need
all the white space available for what I have to say!  LOL!


I recently received my DRU order and must confess I was surprised to find this Poppystamps 'Super Squares' die was not exactly what I was expecting!  My bad ... didn't look at the size dimensions offered on our website ... just 'assumed' they were larger.

Poppystamps - Dies - Super Squares  (NEW)
But what a wonderful surprise when I simply laid them out onto a piece of designer paper and achieved this AWESOME background.   Now I can think of SO MANY other ways to use this ONE DIE SET!!

By adding a sentiment die cut, my card was complete!  VIOLA!!
The sentiment die I used is Penny Black 'Friends Frame' 51-041 and sorry to say not available in the store at the time of this posting.  BUT, there are TONS of sentiment word dies available from a wide range of companies ... simply go to our STORE and in the SEARCH box type the word you are looking for!  

This card literally came together in about 10 minutes!
Minus the time spent coloring & fussy cutting my Sassy Studio Designs image.

Remember to come join in the fun at our Dies R Us Challenge Blog!
A new challenge on the 1st and 15th of each month.
I hope you'll come join us!!
Have a fabulous weekend!!

As always . . .

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Sisterhood of Crafters - School Time

Hello Friends!
It's time once again for a new challenge over at The Sisterhood of Crafters!
Agata is our hostess today and she has asked us to create with SCHOOL TIME in mind.  Yep ... it's that time of year and Agata is looking for 'anything school related'.

Here's what I came up with . . .


With not having children in school any longer (or grandchildren for that matter!  LOL)  ... I don't really have a lot of stash relating to school or school projects so I really had to go "IN SEARCH OF"!
I found this image in a Crafty Secrets  'Little Ones' Words from the Heart booklet of Heartwarming Expressions, Quotes and Words.  I thought this would work quite nicely with the colorful 'eraser' design paper I found while digging around!

After coloring my image with my Spectrum Noir alcohol markers, I decided to keep my card relatively clean and simply by doing a bit of fussy cutting then popping it up using Heartfelt Creations extra thick pop dots onto a white panel cut using my new Spellbinder Celebrations 'Pierced Rectangles' dies.
I love the dimension this achieved!


I hope you'll come join in the fun and share your 'SCHOOL TIME' creations with us. In need of inspiration?  Please pop over to our challenge blog to see what my 'sistahs' have created ... some really cool ideas from these ladies!!

Challenges to share in:
 Scrap Creations Challenge - Back to School
Creative Colors Challenge #42 - Photo Inspiration
{Pin}spirational Challenge - Photo Inspiration
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/141581982012361671/
Crafter's Cafe Challenge - Back to School
Crafty Creations Challenge - Back to School


You have until September 6th - 8PM EST to share your creation!
Hope to see you there!
As always . . .

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day!

Hello Everyone!
Here we are in the last days of August ... kids are back in school ... 
the temperatures are much cooler and I really need to get crackin'
if I'm going to have enough 'goodies' made & ready for my
fall craft shows.

But before I move onto those sort of things, I just had to play along in
this week's sketch challenge at Mojo Monday Challenge Blog.
Here's the sketch for this week . . .


 And here's what I've come up with ... what do you think?

I truly enjoy working with a sketch as my starting point!
Some days I just need something to get my mojo started and a sketch
seems to be the answer for me.
This is pretty 'clean & simple' for me but I really like how it looks.

Challenges to share in today:
Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion - Always Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by ...
now I'd better get busy on craft show items!
Time is FLYING!!!

As always ...

Recipe:
Papers:  White cs, Black cs, Medium Blue cs, the Paper Studio 'Harper's Boutique' dp
Accessories:  Inspired by Stamping sentiment stamp, Versafine Onyx, Creative Expressions Sue Wilson 'Italian Collection' Decorative Frames #CED1503, Memory Box 'Contempo Birds' #30017, Iridescent Sequins, dimensions

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Dies R Us Inspiration

Hello Friends!
Today I have a card to share that I've created for the Dies R Us Inspiration Blog and will be used for the upcoming holiday season.  With all the fabulous dies available at our Dies R Us Store, (over 40 companies) you can create a fun card in no time at all (and use up some of those scraps while you are at it!).


Dies used today are:

Do You Realize Christmas Day is exactly 4 months from today!
YIKES!!

I have used a combination of 'older' and 'newer' dies for today's card.  There are so many wonderful holiday dies available in the store to create these fun 'scene' cards and the fact that they come together so quickly, you can have all your Christmas cards done in time to put your feet up and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate (or lemonade if you get started right away!) LOL

If there is a particular theme die you're looking for, be sure to use the SEARCH feature at the store.   For instance STARS ... it will show you all the star dies available from the various companies then just click on the one that catches your eye.

Challenges to share in:
Hiding in My Craft Room Challenge - Any Holiday
Little Claire's Designs Challenge - Christmas in August
Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
A Snowflake Promise Challenge - Winter or Christmas

I hope you'll come join in our bi monthly challenges at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog.  A new theme begins on the 1st and 15th of each month and one lucky winner receives a gift voucher to the Dies R Us Store ... that could be YOU!!

Have a fabulous day and thanks so much for stopping by!
As always . . .

Friday, August 21, 2015

Birthday Wishes ...

Boy!  Those birthdays seem to come & go a lot faster since I became an adult!  LOL!

Hello My Friends!
Today I have a birthday card to share that was created
as my DT project for the Dies R Us Inspiration Blog.
Please be sure to pop over each day Monday - Friday for wonderful
inspiration in using your die cuts.
And of course, check out all the amazing die cutting companies
carried at the Dies R Us Store.  I'm sure you'll find exactly what you are looking for!!


Today I decided to rummage through some of my older design
papers, as well as scraps and came up with this combination.
FRUSTRATING as it is!  
I must tell you ... the background paper is actually more of a
'peachy' color versus yellow but obviously I could NOT get my camera to capture that color .. grrr!

The dies that I've used today are:

Have you popped over to see all the new 'holiday dies' available
at the store?  'YOU KNOW WHAT' will be here before you know it
so be sure to get those cards started early to reduce your stress come December!

Remember we have a new challenge offered on the 1st and 15th 
of each month also at our Dies R Us Challenge Blog.  YOU could be the 
winner of a gift voucher to the Dies R Us Store.   Check it Out!
Current challenge runs through the 28th ... theme is:  THE GREAT OUTDOORS!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Here's wishing you a FABULOUS weekend ahead!!
As always . . .



Recipe:
Papers:  White cs, SU Groovy Guava cs, SU design papers, Lilac cs
Accessories:  Offray purple satin ribbon, Purple Stickles, Wilton paper doily


Thursday, August 20, 2015

Winter is Coming!

Hello Friends!
My goodness but it's been a bit crazy around here the past few months and my mojo is 'lacking' to say the least!  BUT ... I did find time (and enough mojo) to create a winter scene card that will go in my holiday card collection.  Whether for sale or for my own use, I enjoyed creating it and am very happy with the outcome.


It's so quick and easy to create a winter scene with all the amazing new die cuts available.  One of my all time favorite die cut companies is Memory Box.  Their dies always seem to be more along 'my style' and I love all the outdoor images they have available.  
Have you seen they now have a challenge to play along in?
Check it out ...

Challenge icons

Now about my card creation . . .
  

By using my new Memory Box 'Distressed Holiday Collage' corner die,
it gave me the feel of snowflakes but yet left me room on the
opposite side of my panel for more 'sky' space where
I could create small snowflakes in my scene with a white
Gelly Roll pen.

My 'original' card only had one bird in the trees but after photographing it
I didn't like how it looked so went back through my
dies and located my Memory Box 'Contempo Birds' die which
has a variety of different size birds and
added a few friends for my lonely single bird ... BETTER!!

Since my original bird was glued down I simply popped a bird facing the 
other direction up in front of him and added a few
friends on other branches ... I'm much happier with this version. 
 What do you think?
      

I love how you can create a snowy ground cover by simply tearing an 'off cut' from your white card base card stock.
Quick ... Easy ... Perfect!

OH!  And did you notice I CUT my Memory Box 'Deer in the Trees' frame?
I didn't like the positioning of the frame on my A6 card background so simply gave it a quik cut in order to have the trees LOWER on my scene.    You probably wouldn't have even noticed that if I hadn't pointed it out!  

Other challenges to share in:
Ruby's Rainbow Challenge #111 - Dies Cuts or Punches

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
I've been dealing lately with some vertigo issues but today seems to be a better 'health' day so I'm going to get busy crafting while I can!  LOL
Have a great day!
As always . . .



Recipe:
Papers:  White cs, Hunter Green cs, Medium Blue cs, Red cs
Dies:  Memory Box 'Distressed Holiday Collage #30063, Memory Box 'Simple Evergreen Frame' #99243, Memory Box 'Deer in the Trees' #99275, Memory Box 'Contempo Birds' #30017
Accessories:  White Gelly Roll pen, dimensional tape,    
Technique:  Torn paper

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Life is Heavenly . . .

Happy TUESDAY Everyone!
Today I had a little fun getting INKY 
and created a card that anyone you consider a friend would appreciate receiving!


I love how quickly this card came together.
The first thing I did was create my 'shades of blue' background by using large sponge daubers and 4 different shades of Tim Holtz distress ink.  Then came the MAGIC by overlaying a white die cut panel using the Poppystamps 'Luxe Background' die.

I used a panel of blue cardstock (65# weight) 1/8" smaller than my card base as my mat.  Adhered my colorful background panel then taking another strip of blue card stock, I tore the upper edge and adhered across the bottom.

My sentiment panel is an image from the Crafty Secrets 'Little Blessings' Creative Scraps and the only embellishments I felt were necessary are the birds which have been popped up with SU dimensional for added dimension.

Dies used are:
and one of the sitting birds from 

Don't forget to check out all the amazing dies available at the Dies R Us Store and please come join in the challenge fun at our Dies R Us Challenge Blog.


Thanks for stopping by today!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead!
As always . . .

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Cardabilities Reveal #129

Hello Dear Friends!
It is time once again for the new Sketch Reveal 
Here's my card and today's sketch ... I hope you'll come join us!

 Our wonderful sponsor this challenge is:




Inside

Please pop over and check out the amazing designs from my team mates !
These ladies sure are keeping me on my toes!!  LOL!

Challenges to share in:
Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes
The Crafter's Cafe Challenge - The Great Outdoors
Scrapy Land Challenge #23 - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
I hope you'll come join in the challenge fun at Cardabilties!
As always . . .


Recipe:
Papers - White cs, Gray cs, SU Pear Pizazz cs, SU Garden Green cs, Prima Jodie Lee designs 'Princess' dp
Stamp/Ink - Art Impressions / Versafine Onyx
Accessories - Cheery Lynn Designs 'Olive Branch' #B147, Cheery Lynn Designs 'Birdhouse with Lattice' #B418, Cheery Lynn Designs 'Horizon Fishtail Banners' #DL278, Memory Box 'Meadow Bird Branch' #30004, Tattered Angels 'Moonlight' Glimmer Mist, Pop dots, Memory Box 'Bubbles' Stencil (inside)

2 Crafty Girls Mid Way Point . . .

Hello Everyone!
Hope you're having a fun weekend!
Can you believe we are half way through August already?  
So, I thought it was a good time to remind you that you still have the remainder of the month
to join in the fun at the 2 Crafty Girls Challenge.

Just to refresh your memory ... here's a peek at our Mood Board.


How to play ...
Choose 1, 2 or all 3 methods from the mood board to create your project.
Photo inspiration, technique and/or sketch!
Then pop over to the 2 Crafty Girls Challenge Blog and share your blog post link!
Just as easy as that!!!

OH YEAH!  Don't forget we also have fabulous sponsorship!

For Challenge 5 we have ...

 

 If you need inspiration, be sure to pop over to see what the DT has created.
We are anxious to see what you have to share with us!
And please tell your friends about the 2 Crafty Girls Challenge Blog ...
let's share the fun!

Hope to see you there!!!