Birthday Balloons - Unity Friends with Flair

Good morning! I am so excited to share my card this morning! I made it for my Dad's birthday that we celebrated last weekend. I typically struggle with masculine cards, but was SOOOO happy with how this one came out! I am also linking up with Unity Friends with Flair for this week...make sure and check out all the details on how to join in and win some free stamps!

I used the March KOTM for the diamond background, the balloons, and the sentiment. The background paper and balloon paper are from a My Mind's Eye 6x6 paper pad, and the center one with the diamond background is from a Basic Grey 6x6 paper pad. 

I used my Tim Holtz distress tool to distress all the edges, then used lots of Tim Holtz distress ink in Frayed Burlap on all the edges. I stamped and cut the balloons out, distressed and inked them as well, then attached some twine from Ribbon Carousel to the back of them.

I attached them to the front card panel using pop-dots - just one for each balloon so that they would still move around a bit - more fun and whimsical that way! 

Added some burlap ribbon (also from Ribbon Carousel!) to the front of the card, then adhere the middle panel over the top with foam adhesive. Finished off by stamping the sentiment on a hand trimmed tag, then tying it up with the balloon "strings" and a PTI button. Oh yes...did add a bit of faux stitching around the outside edges of the card as well. 

Hope you are having a wonderful Friday and looking forward to the weekend!!!

Rainbow Buttons

Good morning! Just a quick post to share a card I actually made a while back and never posted. Now seemed like a good time, so I could enter it in the Moxie Fab World Random Fun Challenge - Button Day!

I used my Martha Stewart button punch, and some Bazzil cardstock for the buttons, then tied some jute cord through and behind them. Adhered them to the card with pop-dots, and rounded off one corner with my Martha Stewart corner rounder. 

Finished off with a sentiment from Scrappy Mom's stamps, and a bit of faux stitching with my white gel pen.

Thanks for stopping by!



Peachy Keen Guest Design Week - Day 4

If you are looking for my Patches of Pink Design team post, scroll down, or click HERE.

Good morning! So hard to believe that the week as guest designer on the Peachy Keen Blog is almost over! Been having so much fun with my Peachy Keen stamps! For today's post, I played with my newest set of face stamps, In Stitches Face Assortment. (Hint: I also have a bonus project at the bottom of this post using this same set!) I think these are so fun and different from any of the other faces - they have such a homespun look, that I just HAD to use lots of kraft paper!

I used a cut off of my cricut cartridge, Give a Hoot. I hid some of the layers on my Gypsy, and inked the edges of each piece with Tim Holtz distress ink in Frayed Burlap.

I also pop-dotted several of the layers, as this picture shows a little better. The background is also pop-dotted, as well as run through my Cuttlebug.

I used my white gel pen to do lots of faux stitching, and added a sentiment from My Creative Time stamps.

Here is the set that I used for today:

In Stitches Face Assortment - $25.00

And, just a reminder, Peachy Keen has allowed me to select a prize to give away, and what could be better than your own spending money?!?!? So...leave a comment here, and on the Peachy Keen Blog for two chances to win a $25 gift certificate!!!

And if you made it all the way down here, here is another project I made using this set. I am busy making applesauce, dried apples, and frozen apple slices at the moment. Day before yesterday, I picked up a 900 pound bin of apples (yes...you read that right!) and boxed the majority of them up single-handedly (my back is reminding me how bad an idea that was...) to split with several other friends. Actually, my 7 and 8 year old daughters helped a lot - they are such good kids! I kept 4 boxes for myself, each about 35 pounds. Got a total of over 25 boxes!!! Yikes! Anyway, this card seemed appropriate!

I used the accessory feature on Pop-Up Neighborhood, the Circle Exclusive cartridge. Did lots of pop-dotting on this card as well - I think it adds so much dimension!

Also did a lot of stitching (again) with my white gel pen, and inking on everything!

The sentiment is from Unity Stamps and just had to add some jute cord on the handles!

Thanks once again for stopping by, and for all of your sweet comments! I have been reading each and every one! I will see you back here tomorrow for my 5th and final post for the week!!!

Peachy Keen Guest Guest Design Week Day 2

Good morning! Welcome back for my second post for Peachy Keen Stamps. Today is the brand new sketch challenge - so I got to make something for that this week! It was such a fabulous sketch - and so easy to work with! This is something new from Peachy Keen that I branched out with to try this week - some of their image stamps! I had pretty much only used their face stamps before, but decided to give these a try - and I'm SOOO glad I did! I absolutely LOVE how great this was for some paper piecing, and working on my rather rough abilities with my copics. Here is my card:

And here is the sketch for the week:

This is the stamp set that I used for this card:

Party Girl Lulee - $12.99

I was so pleasantly surprised by the SIZE of this stamp! This card is a 6x6 card - so you can tell that this is a very good size stamp! Anyway, I paper pieced the dress, hat, and balloon, then used copics to color the rest, with a bit of white gel pen for highlights here and there. The sentiment is also part of this set.

The edges of everything are inked with Tim Holtz distress ink in Antique Linen - I love how it blends so great with white paper! Papers are all from My Minds Eye Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky 6x6 paper pad. Added some Jute Cord and a button to finish it off.

And of course, remember to leave a comment every day this week for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Peachy Keen Stamps!!!

Now, I also have a couple of bonus cards for my blog! I made this card with the same set above, just no paper piecing. This one is all Copic coloring.

I love the bright colors on this one! It was for one of my daughters best friends birthday parties!

This second one uses a different image set from Peachy Keen. I also used paper piecing on this one, as well as copics for the skin and hair. Some white gel pen is so fun to enhance it that special little bit!

Here is the set I used for this one! It is so cute and versatile!

Vivienne and Friends - $15.95

Along the side I twisted together some crinkle ribbon, some wired pom-pom ribbon, and layered it on a lace ruffle.

Thanks for stopping by - and if you made it all the way to the bottom of this LONG post - thanks for checking it all out! See you back here tomorrow for Day 3!!!



The apple of my eye!

Hello! Just a quick post for a couple of challenges! Here is the card:

And here is the sketch I followed from the Basic Grey blog:

I used {of course} Basic Grey paper from the Out of Print and Basic Whites 6x6 stacks. Used a little Tattered Angels Glimmer mist on the white background. Hand cut the felt, did a bit of machine stitching, and added the button and jute cord bow. Sentiment is from Unity Stamps, and I also used a little burlap on there.

Here is the inspiration from Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger - I loved those pretty golden colors, and the apples on top! GORGEOUS! Makes me hungry though...

I am also entering this in the Textured to Perfection Challenge on Moxie Fab World.



Scrappy Mom's Stamps - October Release - Guest Designer post!

Good morning! I am SOOO excited to be a guest designer this month for Scrappy Moms Stamps, because it meants I get to help show off the newest stamp sets for the month of October!!! And as an added bonus, Scrappy Moms Stamps is offering free shipping on any purchase made today (October 7th) until October 16th!!! 

So, without further ado, here they are, with a card I made to go with each of them! The first one is called Believe in Miracles - and this set is unique, because $2 from the sale of every set will be donated to a national cancer group that funds research and support for patients and their families!

For my card, I cut the ribbon from Stand and Salute, inked the edges, then covered it with Glossy Accents and Martha Stewart chunky glitter. Added some tulle behind it which I also inked a bit on the edges, and put it all on a doily, again with inked edges. I cut a plain circle for the center of the doily, and inked it as well (can you tell I inked a LOT on this card?) Stamped the sentiment from the new set, and added some crinkle ribbon and a flower that I cut from Mother's Day Bouquet and layered with a button and some jute cord.

I am linking this first card up to the Link up for Pink over at Gaby Creates and Celebrate the Occassion's weekly challenge: Breast Cancer Awareness.

This second set is called A Holiday to Remember and is LOADED with great holiday sentiments all the way from Thanksgiving to New Years!

I decided to start off with a Christmas card! I used the Christmas Solutions cartridge - it is retired, but a great cartridge if you have it or can get your hands on it! I cut the bell out with the shadow layers, inked the edges with black ink, and covered it with Glossy Accents and Martha Stewart chunky glitter. The bow I cut out and covered with flocking - LOVE how fuzzy and cozy it came out! The frame for the sentiment is cut out from Sophisticated, and also inked before stamping the sentiment. Finished off with some crinkle ribbon, a button, and some jute cord on the bow, and then added some corners that were punched with a Fiskars corner punch.

I am also linking this up to the newest challenge in the Moxie Fab World - Textured to Perfection. That flocked ribbon just has the softest texture! It just makes me want to touch it!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend - and don't forget free shipping from today until the October 16th on any purchase from Scrappy Moms Stamps! Great time to shop if you have been waiting!

Unity Stamp Friends with Flair

Welcome to Unity Stamps Friends with Flair! For all the details on how to participate, make sure and click on the link! You can link up your own creation, as well as comment on all the other links for a chance to win 25 free random Unity Stamps! I am also entering this in the Unity Opportunity Challenge Blog Tie it up Challenge - to use twine, string, or ribbon.

Here is my card for this week:

For this card I used the Unity stamp July 2011 KOTM. I sprayed a doily with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, let it dry, then stamped my sentiment. Weaved some jute cord around the edges of the doily, and added a Prima flower and button from my stash. The papers are all inked with Tim Holtz distress ink. And when it was all done, it needed just one little extra touch, so I added some bling with my Jolee's heat set tool.

Thanks for visiting! Make sure and head over to the Unity Stamp Company Blog to join in the Friday fun!

Friendship brings out the happy in me...

This card is a 4 challenge card! I love being able to tackle the list of challenges and get several done in one card! The first challenge is another WCMD challenge over at Inking it Up - this time the Friendship One. The next challenge is My Creative Time's Throwback Thursdays Challenge - using an older font cartridge. And the last challenge is for the Cricut Circle Blog's Blogiversary Cuttlebug Challenge. And lastly, I am linking this up to the Texture Challenge over at Moxie Fab World.

I used A Child's Year - one of my all time FAVORITES!!! It was the second cartridge I owned, and still one I go to over and over. Everything on this card is cut from that cartridge, even the tag and background frame.

I ran the main layer, the background, and the image cut through the Cuttlebug with several different embossing folders. I had a hard time getting a good picture of the card, because it was too late, and I was losing my daylight!

Added some machine stitching, crinkle ribbon, the sentiment from My Creative Time stamped on the tag and tied on with jute cord and a little button. Finished off with some machine stitching and inking around the outside edges of the card.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great evening!



Moxie Fab World - Fabulous Felt Challenge!

Good morning! I really wasn't too happy with these pictures, but that is because I took them after dark and didn't have the benefit of daylight to help make them bettter. Oh well!

I made this card for the Moxie Fab World - Fabulous Felt challenge. It was kind of fun playing with felt and trying to use it in a different way than normal. I started with the green piece of felt and ran it through my Cuttlebug folder that I had lightly sprayed with Walnut ink, and dried off almost entirely. The picture doesn't show it very well, but the felt is not only embossed, but the raised part has been darkened a bit with the ink. Then I did some inking around the edges of all the paper, and some machine stitching around the edges of the felt and pattern paper.

I stamped the sentiment, by Unity Stamp Co. on a circle of cream felt, stacked two of them together, with another smaller piece in the middle, and sewed them together. Added some jute cord for a bow, a banner, and a few stick on pearls.

I also used the color inspiration from the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger. Here is the photo:

Thanks for stopping by!!! Tomorrow is Friday - that means Unity Friends with Flair, and a new Cricut 360 post! See you then!



Cricut 360 - Challenge #8 - Back to School!

Good morning! It's Friday, which means it's time for another challenge over at Cricut 360! Make sure and hop over to see who won last week's prize, and who the top 3 picks for the week are. Our new challenge for the week is all about...you guessed it - Back to School! Can't believe it is that time already! I homeschool both of my girls, and I really don't feel ready for the summer to be over yet - but I don't know if I ever would feel that way! So...here is my card to celebrate that it is almost here!

I used Give a Hoot to cut out the apple, added some inking and stitching with my white gel pen, and used some Glossy Accents and Martha Stewart chunky glitter in the center of the apple. The background is just a rectangle of paper that I punched the edge on with an EK success punch and ran through my Cuttlebug. The tag was cut from Once Upon a Princess, and the sentiment is from Unity Stamps.

Added some more inking and stitching around the edges of the card, some bling with my Jolee's Heat Set tool, and some buttons and jute cord. Also pop-dotted the apple when attaching it to the card!

Hope you enjoyed looking - now head on over to the Cricut 360 blog to see what the rest of the Design Team whipped out, and to link up your own creation for a chance to win this weeks prize! Can't wait to see what you come up with!!!

I am also entering this in three challenges - this weeks Cricut Cardz Challenge - back to school with the 3 R's - ribbon, rhinestones, and the color red (the jute cord counts as ribbon, right?), and this weeks challenge over at Bitten By the Bug 2 - make a project using the Cricut, a stamp, and the color red. The last challenge is the Unity Stamp Company Challenge, Back to School. And one last one - the Learning Curve Challenge over at Paper Issues.

Unity FWF and Case Study Challenge

Good Friday morning - and another week of Friends with Flair! I just got my new Unity August KOTM day before yesterday, and couldn't resist taking a few second to ink it up a little yesterday morning. I also used it as an opportunity to participate in the Case Study Challenge this week to Case Chupa's Blog - and that took a long time to look through and choose something!

Here is what I made:

I know mine ended up a bit more elaborate, but I couldn't help myself!!! I really tried to resist adding the buttons, but couldn't quite manage it! Stamped the ferris wheel on my background paper, then the "fun, fun, fun" in orange all over the background, after masking out the ferris wheel. The sentiment is also from this set - isn't it elegant? Love that font! Did some machine stitching around the edges, and added the buttons with some jute cord tied in a bow.

Now make sure and leave a comment, then hop on over to the Unity Blog to play along for a chance to win some free stamps!!! Have a great weekend!!!

A Special Birthday Cake!

This weekend, I had a sick day at home, where I didn't feel like doing much, but fortunately didn't feel too sick to craft! Since our pastor's wife had a birthday next week, I thought it would be fun to make a super special project for her - to let her know how special she is to us all! My kids had fun shopping for fun goodies to fill it with too!

I am also entering this in the Throwback Thursdays Challenge over at My Creative Time to use a retired cartridge, and Wacky Wednesdays over at More than Favors - Friendship. Additionally, I think it fits perfect with this weeks Fantabulous Cricut Challenge - Piece of Cake, and My Craft Spot's Gifts, Bags, and Boxes! Finally, the challenge over at Getting Cricky with K Andrews: treat containers or party theme items.

I used Tags, Bags, and Boxes to cut out the cake boxes. I wasn't sure how many it would take - when I started I was guessing about 6 - it ended up taking 9!

I added some lace around the outside edges with zip dry glue, and then a bit of Stickles for sparkle.

I stamped a tag I had in my stash with a couple of sentiments from My Creative Time stamps - including that cute musical note! Tied it one with some Baker's Twine, and some sheer blue ribbon.

The flowers and leaves were all cut from Mother's Day Bouquet. I coated the flowers with Glossy Accents and added some Martha Stewart coarse glitter. After they dried, I curled the edges, stacked and glued them, and added a button and some jute cort. The leaves I scored down the center, curled them a little, and outlined them a bit with a green copic marker.

It was such a fun project to make! I don't know if I will ever make one again, but I LOVE how this came out - so who knows? Hope you enjoyed!