Creating with Cosmo Cricket

I've mentioned Lulu on my blog before, but I'm mentioning her here again because she is offering up an awesome challenge in conjunction with her new design team gig at Cosmo Cricket. Be sure to check the challenge out by clicking here. Well, I decided to play along by creating this card:

I went to my stash and grabbed my favorite sheets of "Girl Friday" patterned papers. I absolutely love all the designs in this line and have hoarded many of these pages for quite some time. I put it to use with some solid cardstock from Stampin' Up and Papertrey Ink along with a Spellbinders die, Papertrey's Banner Builder dies, Martha Stewart's butterfly punch and some Twinery twine.

Here is a picture of the card sketch I followed:

This was a fun challenge and I thought this card would make a cute mailbox stuffer to brighten someone's day. I hope you like it!!

Papertrey - Color Challenge

Today's challenge on the Papertrey blog was to pick a color combo from a favorite designer and create your own project using those combinations. I loved the colors chosen by Lisa Johnson, and I had the same cardstock and ribbon to match.

The colors I chose were Pure Poppy, Kraft, Spring Rain and Vintage Cream.

I also went to my Bitty Boxes paper pad and used a Spring Rain paper from that selection.

Stamp sets I used include the Make a Wish sentiment set along with Heather's Library Ledger set which I used to create a background design.

The focal point for my card is a "Wish" bingo card from a Jenni Bowlin pack I've had in my stash for quite a while. I loved how the colors popped on the main background. I hope you liked it!!

Papertrey August Blog Hop Challenge

Hey guys and welcome to my little blog home!! This is my first time participating in Papertrey's "Blog Hop Challenge" so here we go!!!

For this month's project, I decided to whip out some of my most favorite and yummiest Papertrey patterned papers, along with a few solids.  You simply can't go wrong with any of Papertrey's products....honestly, they are all my favorites.  How about you?

Here's a look at what I created using a plain ole' paper lunch bag:

To begin the body of my owl I grabbed my Dark Chocolate cardstock, and stamped it using my Tin Types background stamp and my Versamark ink pad. 

Next, I cut small strips of random paper from my Bitty Box Basics pad, along with my Dotty Biscotti pad as well as my Bitty Dot Basics pad. I then used my scallop-edged scissors on the ends of each paper strip. After I adhered the rows of paper strips, I rubbed each edge with my Chai ink.

To give my cute owl her face, I used two circle dies along with my Polka Dot Basics II stamp set and my Dot Spot stamp set. I added "eyelashes" using a few silk flowers from my stash.  To finish her eyes, I used a glue dot and attached two large brown buttons.

A piece of Bitty Box Basics paper was cut in a triangle to resemble an owl's beak. I also gave it some dimension using foam tape.

To complete "her" body I used my Papertrey rickrack die, a bit of rustic twine, a button and more Chai ink. I added a sentiment to the bag using a Spellbinders tag die, my Woodgrain background stamp set and the "Picture This" stamp set from Stampin' Up.

I can't wait to fill "her" up with some homemade goodness and surprise someone's day.

I hope you enjoyed my little project!

Masculine Color Challenge - Day 2

The ultra-sweet and mega-talented Betsy Veldman is issuing another challenge on her blog, this time incorporating a specific color palette to be used with a masculine card theme.  Are you up for it?  I am!!

Here's the color palette I selected for my starting point:

And here's what I came up with:

When I saw the color palette I immediately thought of a clean/graphic design so I grabbed some of my favorite goodies, including Stampin' Up and Papertrey Ink cardstock, along with Papertrey's Say it with Style stamp set that I just love. The tag punch is one of my first purchases when I began scrapbooking and I paired it with the newer Fiskars bracket border punch.  I thought the woodgrain embossing plate met the masculine theme along with a silver eyelet and some up-cycled clear stars which I die cut myself. Heidi Swapp chipboard letters completed the card.

I had so much fun with this color selection and challenge!

Wrapped & Ready

What's this, you say? It's what I've been busy doing for the past week or so....on and off when I get a free couple of minutes. It's a stack of stamped cards I'm submitting for Paper Crafts Magazine's contest called, "Stamping Royalty." I'm not thinking I have much of a chance, but I figured I had all of the supplies, so why not? There is so much gorgeous talent out there....I feel as tho my creations don't compare, but who knows? We'll see in a few weeks or so. Keep your fingers crossed!

I've never submitted to a contest like this so I wasn't even sure how to get the cards in the mail without them getting entirely bashed up and disfigured, so I went to my chipboard stash and layered them up like this before wrapping in tissue paper. Hopefully they will arrive in Utah safe and sound.

Some birdy loves you

I noticed over at the Cards blog that Paige is issuing a new challenge every week to get our creative juices flowing....well, this week's challenge was to create a Valentine's Day card using fabric. I pulled out a scrap of a favorite patterned fabric in my stash and decided to make a ruffle for this card:
Once I started designing the card, several ideas just "came" to me....I love it when that happens. I used two different embossing folders from Quikutz and Cuttlebug, along with a chipboard bird, cardstock in my scrap stash, a cute piece of BoBunny ribbon, flowers from my flower jar and my Stampin' Up heart punch.

As I was trying to decide what sentiment to add, I remembered this really cute stamp set I snagged at a make n' take during this summer's CHA trip to Orlando. This cute stamp is from Taylored Expressions. It fit perfectly on my Spellbinders tag die.

Moxie Fab - Patchwork Hearts

Here's this week's Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger: ....aren't they gorgeous?
These are called Vintage Heart Boxes from The Red Thread and here's a close-up of my take using them as a trigger for my inspiration:

I went to my scrap paper stash and pulled out some paint chip cards I gathered on a shopping trip a long time ago....so long ago, I forgot I had them. Next up, I found this pretty piece of aqua colored ribbon and decided to go with a clear card which reminded me of the glass front on the trigger piece.

I also used a stamp sentiment from Papertrey Ink, along with a heart punch from Stampin' Up. I grounded my heart punches with a Spellbinders scallop die and added a few pretty pink gems. To finish the card, I used my corner chomper to round the corners.

Thanks for stopping by....I had fun with this one!

Moxie Fab - Turquoise & Gold

I'm back with another submission for the current Moxie Fab challenge....I keep plugging away, but so far, I've never won. We'll see....at least it's fun to participate and share with other card lovers.

This week's challenge was triggered from this photo via the House of Turquoise:
I went to my stash and came out with this:

I have to admit, I'm not a real b-i-g fan of glitter or bling (just a little bit for me please) but I decided to go out of my "element" and use some Doodlebug glitter that I won on another blog giveaway (and I had the colors to match). I also used some neat tools in my stash including a Martha Stewart border punch, a Quickutz embossing folder, my Spellbinders Labels One dies along with a tag die, along with some pretty K&Co ribbon. Supplies from Papertrey Ink include their rustic twine, Vintage Cream Ink, and the Mega Mixed Messages stamp set.

The chipboard butterfly and hearts are from Fancy Pants. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me today, I hope you enjoyed it!

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger - Cabbage King

I decided to participate in this week's Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger Challenge....I could resist with a picture of a gorgeous January King cabbage [click here for the trigger image]. I was also able to incorporate several of my new tools and some new pieces in my stash. Here's what I came up with:
I also needed a birthday card for this week, so that makes it all worth while!

For this card I used some Papertrey Ink patterned paper, a new border punch from EK Success, a heart made from Quickutz cork paper using my SU "Hearts & Brackets" die, along with a Quickutz tag die and matching rub-on.

The twine is also from PTI, along with some of my favorite 20/cent twill. I can't make anything without it!

I decided not to "over-think" this card, but instead I kept it simple. Until next time...

Tuesday's Trigger

I decided this week to participate in the infamous "Tuesday Trigger" challenge over at Moxie Fab's blog...I've seen the triggers many times, but this is my first time sending something in (there's so much awesome talent out there). Here's the trigger picture straight out of the Pottery Barn catalog:
And here's what I put together this afternoon....nothing like waiting until the last moment:

And because I love the close-ups so much better than the front-facing pictures (I've got to get myself a macro lens) here's another look:

Supplies I used include: cardstock from Stampin' Up, a Cuttlebug embossing folder, scraps from my stash, American Crafts Thickers letter stickers, my Spellbinders scallop die and my favorite PTI rustic twine. The border punch is from Fiskars. My inspiration came not only from the trigger but a piece of Cosmo Cricket paper I found in my paper drawer. I recreated the pattern on the paper for the focal point.

Thanks for taking a look!

Scrap-tastic Challenge

When I saw the "Scrap-tastic Challenge" on Nichole Heady's [Papertrey] blog I knew I had to participate. What a fun way to use up your scraps and brighten someone's day.

I went to my cardstock scrap pile first and pulled out two pieces of "Spring Rain" along with a strip of "Hibiscus Burst." Next up, was a visit to my drawer labeled "die cuts" - this is where I keep my bits and pieces of things that don't make it on a scrapbook page, card or whatever paper design I'm working with. That's where I found the punched border and small white flowers.

Adding some American Crafts striped ribbon, stamped images from "Turning a New Leaf" and "Floral Fusion" along with a matching button and my favorite twine, here's what I put together:
The gems were actually added to cover up a design flaw, but I really think they added to the card. I originally wanted to weave the sentiment strip on the front of the card, but didn't like the way it looked so, I improvised and added the gems.

Here's a closer look:

Thanks for taking a look!

Moxie Fab World - Beatin' the Deadline

Moxie Fab World's "Stamping Challenge" was so much fun for me! I came up with this idea last night....I was inspired by the really cute Rusty Pickle mitten paper you can see here in the background:
To begin, I cut a mitten shape out of chipboard and then traced each mitten onto smooth white cardstock. Next, I used my Stampin' Up ink pads in shades of Ruby Red and Tempting Turquoise along with the Polka Dot Basics stamp set from Papertrey Ink. To finish the mittens I used a Creative Memories journalling pen and some red pom pom trim.

I "hung" the mittens using some American Crafts ribbon and attached the "line" using two mini plastic clothespins. To finish the card, I went to my Simple Alphabet stamp set (also from PTI) and stamped the sentiment, "Cold hands but warm hearts." I also used my white gel pen to add a faux stitched edge. The patterned paper is from Hobby Lobby and the green card base is from DCWV.

Next up is my entry in the "Classy & Elegant" category. This style was a little bit harder for me to design, but here's what I came up with: My first thought was to go with grey, black and cream and then I decided to throw in the butterscotch color with the grossgrain ribbon. The grey cardstock is from DCWV and the black is from Bazzill. I also used my Fiskars Apron Lace edge punch along with some Michael's snowflake stickers and Kaiser Craft adhesive pearls. The stamped sentiment is from PTI's Mega Mixed Messages set.

Here's a better look: It feels great to have completed all of these cards.....I can't believe I am working on Christmas stuff in September, but I'm glad I did it....THANKS MOXIE FAB WORLD for a fun, fun challenge!

Moxie Fab - Vintage & Shabby

Here's another entry in the Moxie Fab World s-t-r-e-t-c-h your style challenge...this category is "Vintage & Shabby." This is a style I admire, but I must admit it was a bit of a stretch for me. My first thought was to make an ornament, but then I decided to use what I made as the embellishment on a card.

I got out my old notebook of plastic stencils and traced this ornament shape:
Next, I covered the chipboard with some holly designed patterned paper and distressed the edges using my Making Memories distressing blade. I also found a neat piece of trim in my fancy trim jar and added it to the ornament front. I completed the "ornament" by cutting some holly leaves which I scored using my Scor-Pal and then added some "berries" using small red Creative Cafe buttons.

I used brown StazOn ink on all of the edges as well as my sewing machine around the chocolate brown BoBunny polka dot paper. The sticker sentiment is from Melissa Frances.

I apologize for the "washed out" look in the first photograph...I had a hard time getting my flash not to fade out my vintage look....the colors are much better in the close up shot. I'm also so excited to have such a jump start on all of these holiday designs.....I'll be back with more for the "classy & elegant" category and the "stamped" category. This has been a lot of fun!

Moxie Fab - Fun & Cute

I'm back with another card for the Moxie Fab World challenge, this time it's something for the "Fun & Cute" category....here's what I put together this afternoon while jamming out in my craft room:
My inspiration came from the Imaginisce paper you can see in the background....aren't those trees cute? I decided to make my own trees using some BoBunny polka dot paper and a striped paper also from Imaginisce. The trunks on the trees and the heart garlands are also made using BoBunny paper.

The hearts were made using Stampin' Up triple heart punch, and the word stickers are from Pebbles, Inc. The star punch is from EK Success and the cute little red button is from Stickopotamus.

I love mixing old with new...some of these supplies are so old, I can't even remember where I got them from and some of the papers I just picked up this morning specifically for this challenge...don't ya love that?

Clean & Graphic

Have you checked out the Moxie Fab World blog lately? They are having an amazing s-t-r-e-t-c-h your style challenge going on until September 7th....I've waited all week to put something together, because it seems I have ADD when it comes to choosing one thing to work on....I get in my craft room and all of a sudden I can't focus on one thing but instead, I go from one thing to the next....anyways, I put together this card tonight for the "Clean & Graphic" portion of the challenge...I think it qualifies:
Here's the close up, because you know those are my favorite:

All of these supplies came from my Christmas stash....they include patterned papers from Hobby Lobby, a pre-made card from K&Co, Martha Stewart's loopy punch, tree embellishments from MAMBI and red gems from K&Co.

As much as I wanted to do some sewing and add a few more layers, I held back to complete a "clean & graphic" style.

That's it for now...take care.