For You Card - TMS #626

Hello! It's Tuesday again and we have another new sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches. This weeks sketch is designed by Melissa Craig. When starting this For You Card I couldn't decide on theme or color. So, to make my decision I just grabbed a paper pad from my stash that had never been used and went with it. The paper pad is called Flea Market by Crate Paper from 2013. From that point the card evolved. We would love for you to join us this week. For all the challenge details and design team inspiration click HERE. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day! 

Nature's Beauty Sneak Peek

Happy Friday! August is almost behind us and that means the new holiday Stampin' Up! catalog will be debuting on September 4th. Today I have a sneak peek of a new stamp set called Nature's Beauty and for every set sold $3 will go towards mental health organizations. The set includes images of a rabbit, fox and deer with wonderful grass and tree accents. I made a tag using the rabbit with some grasses and paired it with new patterned paper from the Come To Gather designer series paper. Copic markers were used to color the images and a pair of deckle Fiskar's scissors were used to cut the edges. When adding a sentiment I prefer to have them fit into a shape that can be matted but that doesn't always work. The sentiments seem to stand out better which I like. Luckily I found a For You sentiment in the retired Birthday Blooms stamp set that fit into a 1 1/4" circle and I matted it with a scalloped circle. That's it! Everything was adhered flat and a ribbon added to the top. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend.

Challenges entered:

• Arty Divas: Anything Goes
• As You Like It: Favourite Way to add Text (and why)
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything but a Card

Spring Bunny Card

Happy Friday! It's a windy day here in Oklahoma and although it's supposed to be Spring it feels more like Summer. This time of year the temperatures are usually around 78 degrees and this week it's been close to 90 degrees everyday. Too soon for this warm weather for this girl!!!

I have to admit my creative energy levels have been pretty drained lately but the color challenge at Inky Paws are my favorites, so I summoned the energy to make this Spring Bunny Card. The bunny image is from the retiring stamp set by Newton's Nook called Hello Spring. Since purple tulips are one of my favorite flowers I thought this stamp was perfect for this color combo. Copic markers were used to color the image and then it was fussy-cut. The retired tulip frame embossing folder by Stampin' Up! coordinated well with the stamp. A Fiskar's grass punch was used for the green grass and the sentiment is from a Crafter's Companion stamp set. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend.

This Spring Bunny Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Inky Paws: Colors #71
• Addicted to Stamps: Anything Goes
• Aud Sentiments: Cute + Sentiment
• The Crafty Addicts: Anything Goes  

Favorite Colors Card

Good day! It's been a couple of months since the team I'm part of at Simply Create Too provided inspiration for the monthly challenge. This month the theme is Favorite Colors! I was excited to put together my Favorite Colors Card using Green and Purple. It doesn't matter what shade of green and purple, I love them all. We would love for you to play along this month! Click HERE for all the challenge details and design team inspiration.

When deciding what type of card I wanted to make with my favorite colors, I looked through some new supplies that hadn't been used and decided to make a floral card. All papers and stamps used on this card are by Stampin' Up! The stamps are from the Birthday Blooms stamp set, the green pattern paper is from the Fresh Florals dsp, the black is from a retired neutrals paper pad and the cardstock colors include Perfect Plum and Basic Black. Copic markers were used to color the image. I debated about adding sequins but decided it really didn't need it. Sometimes less is more! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you play along at Simply Create Too with your favorite colors.

Challenges entered:

• Creative Knockouts: Flower Power
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes
• Tuesday Throwdown: Favorite Color

For You Faux Patina Card

Hello and happy September 1st! I'm always happy when September arrives because that means Fall isn't too far behind. Today is also the start of a new challenge at Simply Create Too and this month the theme is Ribbon and Buttons. The challenge runs through September 29th! You can find all the challenge details and design team inspiration HERE. I hope you will play along!

For my card I decided to use the Faux Patina technique with a button embossing folder by Darice. If this technique is new to you click HERE for a video tutorial. The ink colors used include: Crumb Cake, Soft Sky, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Lost Lagoon and Island Indigo all by Stampin' Up! and Tumbled Glass distress ink by Ranger. The embossing powder is by Recollections and the color is Champagne. It's more subtle than gold but I like the way it looks with the colors. The finished faux patina panel was matted to a piece of Island Indigo cardstock and then some retired Pool Party ribbon was wrapped around flat. A stitched die cut square was matted to Island Indigo and then a For You die cut from Bermuda Bay cardstock was adhered and then added to the front with dimensionals. To add some sparkle five sequins were added and that's it. If you've never tried this technique I hope you will give it a try, it's a lot of inky fun. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• 4 Crafty Chicks: Anything Goes
• Crafting with Friends: Anything Goes

Flower Teapot For You Card

Hello crafty friends! Today is the start of a new Stella Says Sketch Challenge at Catch The Bug. This Flower Teapot For You Card is what I was inspired to create. I used the Flower Teapot image by Bugaboo and colored it with Copic markers. The image was then die cut with a stitched circle die by My Favorite Things and matted to a slightly larger piece of Calypso Coral cardstock by Stampin' Up!. All patterned paper is from the Penny Black Painted Blooms paper pad. My sewing machine was sitting close by, so I added some yellow zig zag stitches where the papers joined. The Especially For You sentiment is slightly crooked but I decided it added character and I wasn't scrapping it. Three round glitter stickers by Jolee's was added for detail and that's it. I hope you will play along with the sketch challenge! Click here for the design team inspiration and challenge details. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Purple Watercolor Rose Card

This month is National Domestic Violence Awareness and purple is the color that signifies this cause. The color purple has been my favorite of mine for a very long time! Although I love the color purple, I don't love the statistics that come with Domestic Violence. I live in Oklahoma and our state ranks third in the nation for the number of women killed by men in domestic violence situations. A ten year study showed that 41% of all homicides in our state were linked to Domestic Violence. This not only affects women but children living in the home. In 70% of the cases where an abused child dies, there has been a pattern of abuse against the mother. The numbers tell a very sad story and I hope you will help spread the word this month by creating a card using purple and joining the Blog Hop at The Hop to Stop organized by Becca at The Damsel of Distressed.

 For this Purple Watercolor Rose Card I combined my favorite color, favorite rose stamp by Inkadinkado and one of my favorite layouts. The rose was watercolored using Watercolor Paints by Close to my Heart and then die cut using cross stitched ovals by My Favorite Things. Two pieces of patterned paper were used and matted to Elegant Eggplant cardstock. If you look closely you can see butterflies in the lavender paper by Signify Pink. The dark purple has a floral swirl pattern and it's from The Paper Studio. To finish off the card some Elegant Eggplant twine from Stampin' Up! was added along with a stamped/punched Bitty Butterfly and the sentiment from Crafter's Companion. That's it!

This Purple Watercolor Rose Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Sweet Stampin': Favourite Colour Combo
• Card in Envy: Purple and Green
• Let's Color Linky Party: Hand Colored Image

Sketch Challenge at Tuesday Throwdown

Happy Tuesday! This week at Tuesday Throwdown instead of a theme challenge we have a sketch for you to follow that I created. I've always enjoyed sketch challenges, they are a great way to start the creative process. Our sponsor this week is Lacy Sunshine and my card features the Lizabeth Wild Daisies image. The design team created some wonderful inspiration using the sketch and we would love for you to play along. You have until mid-day on Monday, Sept. 19th to link your creation. Click here for all the challenge details and design team inspiration. I hope to see your creation in the gallery.

To me, starting with a sketch helps to simplify some of the choices when making a card. I knew what size the image needed to be and the arrangement of layers. All I had to do was pick patterned paper, cut, layer, stamp and color. Pretty easy! The papers for this card are by American Crafts and the Especially for You sentiment is from Crafter's Companion. Three small heart sequins were added to the pink punched hearts to add some sparkle and the image was colored with Copic markers. That pretty much sums it up. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This card is entered into the following challenges:

• Incy Wincy Designs: Colours
• Craft Your Passion: Anything Goes
• Melonheadz Friends: Hand Colored Image

Here is the sketch:

 

Flower Mouse For You Card

Good day and happy first day of May! My hubby was taking his Sunday afternoon nap, so I played in my craft room. Although I really need to stop playing and clean my desk, I pushed that back another day (that's not surprising).

For Mother's Day I usually send my aunts a card and this one is for my aunt who lives in Arizona. The layout is from Sketch Saturday #380, click here for the original post from September of 2015. I had fun mixing patterned papers from different paper stacks. The image is by Bugaboo Digi Stamps and it's called Mouse - Big Flower and it was colored with Copic markers. Three sequins were added and then I went crazy with the glue and some white loose glitter for a little extra sparkle (it looks better in person). Finding the perfect size sentiment was a little challenging but the For You sentiment from the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set by Stampin' Up! worked perfectly. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Flower Mouse For You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Sketch Saturday: Choose Archive Sketch
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes
• Challenge Up Your Life: Critters
• Crafty Friends: All Things Cute
• Hiding in My Craft Room: Freestyle!
• Pile It On: Garden Creatures

Gold Butterfly For You Card

It's time to say goodbye to August and that makes me HAPPY! I wanted to make one more card for this month and had some time this afternoon to make this Gold Butterfly For You Card.  I combined the Tall & Skinny Sketch at Mojo Monday with the Tic Tac Toe challenge at The Paper Players. The middle row down was used to create this card and that includes: Circle, Embossing and Mint Macaroon. The finished size of this card is 3.5" x 6".

Most of the supplies for this card are by Stampin' Up! unless noted, here is the ingredient list:

• Paper: Very Vanilla cardstock, gold textured cardstock by Recollections and patterned paper from the Pretty Petals paper stack. 
• Stamps: Kinda Eclectic and Bitty Banners 
• Inks & coloring: Gold emboss powder and Mint Macaroon stampin' pad.
• Other Stuff: Big Shot, polka dot embossing folder, heat gun, ribbon by Decorative Trim (Hobby Lobby in the sewing section), Bitty Butterfly punch, stitched circle steel dies by My Favorite Things and stampin' dimensionals. 

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Gold Blossom For You Card

It's a great day here in Oklahoma! I hope everything is wonderful where you live. My afternoon has consisted of laundry and crafting. The card I made today is for the 200th challenge celebration at The Paper Players. There are six challenge options to choose from. I picked the sketch selected by Sandy Mathis. The center panel of my Gold Blossom For You Card was inspired by a card from page 149 of the new Stampin' Up! catalog. A few of the punched circles are adhered to the typeset paper and others are loose so they move around if you shake it. The vellum was then stitched into place. All supplies for this card are by Stampin' Up! with exception to the gold paper, I believe it's by Recollections. The stamp sets used are: Flower Shop and Itty Bitty Banners. The colors are: Basic Black, Lost Lagoon, Real Red and Very Vanilla. For the patterned paper I used the discontinued Modern Medley and the embossing folder is decorative dots. To make the layered flower I used the Blossom and Pansy punches and secured them together with a real red glitter brad. This card was a lot of fun to make! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Gold Blossom For You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• The Paper Players: 200th Celebration 
• Crafting From The Heart: Anything Goes
• Love to Create: Anything Goes

Buttons & Butterflies Card

This morning I planted a flat of white petunias in my front flower bed next to my stella de oro daylilies. I love how petunias smell, and they just make me happy. When I ventured back inside I decided to make a card for a couple of my regular challenges. I knew I needed to use buttons & butterflies to participate at Flutter By Wednesday, Simon Says Stamp challenge is for flower power, and Charisma Cardz is NO Digis Allowed. With those three challenges in mind, I created this Buttons & Butterflies Card. I have to tell you that I love the Stampin' Up! colour Island Indigo! So much so, that I'm thinking about painting my front door and shutters with it. My hubby isn't as convinced but I think it would be a great change from the hunter green I have now. What do you think, should I go with Island Indigo??? Well... thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!

Buttons & Butterflies Card Supplies*:

• Paper: Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, and Whisper White card stock and Sycamore Street dsp from sale-a-bration.
• Stamps: Madison Avenue stamp set, Papillon Potpourri stamp set and Itty Bitty Banners stamp set.
• Inks: Classic stampin' pads in Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango, Rich Razzleberry, and Pool Party.
• Other Stuff: Sycamore Street buttons, Island Indigo twine, Bitty Butterfly punch, Bitty Banners framelits, Big Shot, and stampin' dimensionals.

*All supplies by Stampin' Up!.

White on Kraft For You Card

Hello! Earlier this week I found a challenge for White on Kraft creations at The Kraft Journal. At that time it didn't match what I was looking for, but the challenge stuck in my mind. The last two mornings I woke up thinking about white on kraft cards. So, I accepted the challenge and created this White on Kraft For You Card.

White on Kraft For You Card Supplies*:

• Paper: Kraft folded card by The Paper Studio, Whisper White card stock by Stampin' Up!, and corrugated kraft card stock (source unknown).
• Stamps: Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and Language of Friendship stamp set.
• Inks: Classic stampin' pad in Soft Suede.
• Other Stuff: Big Shot, Fancy Fan embossing folder, Finishing Touches Edgelit, Bitty Banners Framelits, Blossom punch, Boho Blossom punch, Cricut machine, Straight from the Nest cartridge (leaves), Celebrate It lace ribbon by Michaels, antique gold brad (source unknown), and stampin' dimensionals.

*All supplies by Stampin' Up! unless noted.

My White on Kraft Card is entered into the following challenges:

1. The Kraft Journal: White on Kraft
2. Paper Crafting Journey: Bingo! (Lace, Embossing, Flowers)
3. Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge: Anything Goes