Diamonds are Forever Stamp Set

There is a great stamp set, but there is one sentiment on Diamonds are Forever that made me have to have this stamp set.  See if you don't agree!

We all have those wonderful girlfriends who are crazy and fun.  This is a perfect card for that special friend!!  I random stamped the gems in different colors, and I have to tell you that this idea came straight from the Annual Inspirations Idea Book.  What a great art department we have!

This is a GREAT set!

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Happy Notes

A group of my customers will be creating this box tomorrow afternoon at their Gathering.

This is a journaling card box filled with 6 cards using Georgie paper.  Such bright and cheery colors, don't you think?  Here's a little of the balloon detail.

This balloon is stamped three times and then pieced together for different colored layers.  I finished it off by embellishing with Bitty Sparkles.

I used the Balloon Wishes stamp set, and as you will see it has 6 sentiments.  The cards are all the same layout, but I've use one of each of those sentiments to make a box of all-occasion cards.

Thanks so much for stopping in today.  I appreciate your visits!! 

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Cupcake

Tomorrow (Monday, July 11th) Practical Scrapper is doing a feature on cupcakes.  Be sure to head over there for some great inspiration.  I thought I'd share my cupcake card today to get you in the mood!

I incorporated a couple of challenges into this card.  CARDS is looking for cards with baker's twine, and CAS-ual Fridays is looking for shaped cards.  I made this card using my Slice - the Parties design card.  I created a white base and then paper pieced the wrapper and frosting.  The frosting is actually a white piece that I sponged with CTMH Smoothie ink.  Then I used some CTMH glitz glitter gel so for the sparkle. 

Items used are AC white cardstock; Lily Bee Donestic Bliss paper and chipboard; Pink Paislee and WeR Memory Keepers twine; CTMH smoothie ink and glitz glitter gel; 7Gypsies sticker; Slice Parties design card

Life is Good

 I saw this sketch over at Card Patterns and had to sit right down to make a card.  It's just such a fun sketch!

That curve is just so much fun, right?  As you can see, I used the sketch pretty much the way it is drawn.

The papers are Echo Park's Little Boy, and the twine is from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  That sentiment stamp (which I LOVE) is from the CTMH Treetops stamp.  I added just a little bling around the sun to give it some shine.  Be sure to go over to Practical Scrappers on Wednesday because we will be showcasing cards and layouts using the sun.

This card wll work for several other challenges:
Create Blog (CARDS) - summer cards with waves
Come and Get It - Father's Day
Creative Inspirations - Father's Day
Crafty Hos - Summer - Let the Fun Begin!
Paper Cutz - beach or travel

Beautiful

When I learned that challenge at Create: (CARDS) was spray mist, I just had to take mine off the shelf again.  I really do love working with it, and the two colors I chose - Lilypad and Moonlight Path from Tattered Angels - gave my card just the look I wanted.

The butterfly stamp, white embossing powder, trinket pin, ribbon, sparkles and cardstock are all CTMH.  Because of this, I am also going to enter this card in the Heart 2 Heart challenge which is to use animals, birds, or insects.

I've been busy ignorning chores and staying in my craft room today.  I've finished up some design team projects that you will see in the days ahead, and I've even managed to fit in some paper crafting just for me.  I don't know that I'll have much time to create in the next week or so.  In the coming nine days, I only have one day off.  So I have worked hard at getting reveals done in order to keep you coming back to visit me!

Thank You

This is such a good week for giving thanks!  That's why I was so glad to see so many challenge blogs having "thank you" as their challenge.  I so enjoyed making this card!!  Here is my entry using all CTMH product:

The challenges I'd like to enter this card into are:
Heart 2 Heart Challenges - thank you
CARDS - thank you
Sentimental Sundays - thankful with a sentiment
Frosted Designs - distressing

Joy

I know Halloween is right around the corner, but I am still working on my Christmas cards.  It has been really nice to continue them throughout the year so that when December comes, there is no rush!  For this card, I used the Card Crazy #3 sketch from Sassy Lil' Sketches again.  I love this simple sketch!!

Here is the card I came up with:

This card also fits a few more challenges. 

• CARDS - bling
• Christmas Card Challenges - flower
• Sarah Hurley Challenges - Christmas card with no red and green

Items used: Bo Bunny Snow Serenade paper and stickers; Petaloo flower; star shaped rhinestones (I'm sorry - I can't remember where they are from, but I LOVE them!)

I have had the pleasure of my own personal retreat this weekend.  We had nothing on the calendar, and I didn't have to work.  So I have been in my craft room creating away all weekend.  What a joy to sit down and create without hurrying.  I love that!  I hope you've had the a good weekend - whatever you are doing!

Fun Times

I changed my blog to fall colors today.  I guess it's time to let go of summer!  I have to admit that this is my favorite time of the year - my husband's, too.  We love the cooler days and even cooler nights.  The crunch of the leaves is one of my favorite sounds!

I am using a sketch today from Just Inspirational:

And how inspiring is the Tuesday Trigger from Moxie Fab?

My fall card also fulfills the challenges at CARDS (leaves), 4 Crafty Chicks (fall), Sarah Hurley (fall), and Paper Sundaes (fall).

Fall colors are just the most beautiful colors to me.  It is truly a pleasure to pull out these papers and work with them!  This is a 6x6 card using the Maple Grove collection from We R Memory Keepers.  Other items used are CTMH Ivory Ribbon; Imaginisce Hot Rocks and i-Rock tool; TPC Studios brad; Bazzill leaves; MM trinket pin.

Bo Bunny Noel

I picked up some new Bo Bunny Noel paper the other day.  WOW. What gorgeous paper and colors!  I see that CARDS is having a challenge to make pocket cards, so I used the fabulous paper to make a double pocket card.  The pockets leave so much room for hiding little treasures!

Items used: Bo Bunny Noel; Bazzill flower; LYB button; CTMH Ivory ribbon

Jerry is away for the weekend having his "last hurrah" fishing weekend.  I feel sorry for him - it's cold here in MN!  I understand that it got down to freezing in northern MN where he is tent camping.  Yes, I said tent camping!  I'll tell you something funny about MN weather.  Last year on this same weekend, we stayed at a resort in central MN and actually swam at the beach.  It was 80+ degrees.  What a difference!!  Hope you are having a great Saturday!

Lucky

It is cooler this morning - thank goodness!  When there's "that" feel to the air and back-to-school supplies on the shelf, I start thinking of the warm fall colors.  It felt like the perfect time to pull out one of my favorite paper packets, Grace.  Except for the Jenni Bowlin bingo card, all supplies are from CTMH.  I used the sketch by Cherie from Sassy Lil Sketches.  Be sure to play along this month for your chance to win goodies from Scrap Freak and The Cutting Cafe!

I was also very inspired by the color challenge at The Play Date Cafe!

The handmade flower is so easy!  I cut scalloped circles with my nestabilities.  I simply cut on the scallop and stacked them.  Another thing I do is paint my circles with Ranger clear rock candy crackle paint. That allows the "petals" to easily bend. Handmade flowers are the challenge over at CARDS (Create: Blog).

This card is my example for my next challenge on Sketches for You (go to the group Brenda's Challenges).  I want to see flowers and fall colors!  Hope to see you playing along!

Happy

I saw a lot of challenges in Red, White, and Blue this week, so that is what this particular card is about.  It's such a pleasure to work with these patriotic colors!  This card fits a few challenges - CARDS, Heart2Heart Challenges, a challenge from Sharon on the design team on Sketches4All, and I took this week's sketch from Inspirational Card Sketches. 

Items used:  CTMH White Daisy, Cranberry, and Outdoor Denim CS; Reminisce dp; CTMH A Little Bit of Everything stamp set; CTMH flower, button, waxy flax, ribbon, brads; Martha Stewart stars

Cards, Cards, and More Cards

I have a day off today, so I spent some time making cards. I had a blast trying different techniques, working with sketches, and trying new colors. When it's rainy and chilly, there's not much else to do!

I was playing with alcohol inks again. Today I used butterscotch, lettuce, and stream. I thought it would be perfect for this masculine card. Items used with the inks are Bazzill fudge CS, CTMH glossy paper, Karen Foster charm, Northwoods and CTMH stamps, and random hemp.

I also made a 3x3 card with the same inks. It will fit perfectly into the Cards challenge this week. All products used for this little gift card are CTMH. If you'd like to see another 3x3 card I finished with alcohol inks a couple weeks ago, click here.

I used a sketch and color challenge to complete my next card. The sketch is from CPS:

And the color challenge is from Colour Q:

For this card, I went back into my Cosmo Cricket Material Girl papers. These are so yummy!! I added some hand-stitching, Prima Flowers, and CTMH buttons and edge anchors. The stamp is also CTMH.

This next sketch from Papertake allows for a lot of possibilities:

When I left work yesterday, I picked up some of the new Basic Grey Kioshi paper. If you are looking for a beautiful spring line, check out this set of papers. I really like the mixture of colors. I added Bazzill and Prima flowers, a Stampendous stamp, and some random ribbon. Makes for a good spring card.

The Tuesday Trigger this week over at Moxie Fab, is so pretty! I am quite certain I will make more cards in these colors - they are just lovely!

I used CTMH White Daisy CS, Garden Green CS, Veranda paper, stamp set, and Prima flowers.

In the next card, I mixed a couple of challenges again. The sketch is from ICS:

The color challenge is from Picture Perfect:

This is a very elegant card using a Recollections flourish stamp set. The sentiment is from CTMH. The flowers are Prima and the gems are random (and where I have snuck in the blue).

Yes, I do know I blasted you with a lot of cards in this one post! I thought it might be easier than showing them in separate posts. You can always skip the words and just look at the artwork. My hope is that when you look through my blog posts, you are seeing even just one tiny thing that will inspire you to create!

I am finding it hard to stay away form my craft room right now (and my poor neglected house proves that point!). It helps me cope with this terrible spring fever I've got! Do you know that our first snow fall was October 12th? We've been having snow and cold and winter for 5 months now. The rain this week is really shrinking the snow, so it won't be too long until we hit spring and I can garden again!!

Hope you're having a great day!

Live Fully

I really enjoyed working with these colors this morning - so springy and fresh! Today I can hear the birds singing like crazy outside. I finally opened the window a touch so that Sassy can listen and watch. She is one happy cat!

Cards is challenging us to pull out those eyelets, so I combined that into this card as well. I rarely use them - I don't know why - but they added a nice touch to this card. I think this card will need to sit on my shelf and remind that spring is just around the corner!!

Items used: CTMH Garden Green and White Daisy CS, Cosmo Cricket and CTMH patterned paper, Vellum, Prima flower, CTMH embellishments, CTMH Celebrate Life stamp set. The butterfly is from the stamp set, and I fussy cut it after stamping on vellum. I only popped it in the middle so that it is free to use it's wings!

Three in One

There were quite a few challenges that I really loved this week! Be sure to scroll down to the previous two posts for some other techniques and ideas. I put three cards in one on this post, and this will end my crafting day. When it's cold out, I can't think of anything better to do!!

The first card is a bit of an Asian theme using my CTMH Aspiration stamp set. Basic white is the theme at Cuttlebug Challenges this week, so I only used a bit of desert sand to compliment the white. I love the Cuttlebug dots folder. Perfect to add the little bit of extra to a card!
I took some liberties in the next card for Cards. My scallops are from a Bo Bunny diecut from the Gypsy line to coordinate with the paper from the same line. I maintained the simplicity of the card by adding very few elements. The stamp is Rubber Stampede, and the beautiful natural flower is Prima.

The next paper I used is from Melody Ross' new line, Homespun Chic. I actually cut around the sugared flowers to add them to the card. That cute tag is also from Homespun Chic. (And isn't that true? If you could only see my craft room!) Stamp and ribbon are from CTMH. LOVE this card and will surely be passing it on to one of my creative friends!! This fit into the Embellish Magazine challenge.

Now, unfortunately, I have to think about domestic responsibilites. I am so very fortunate that I have so much time to play. What a blessing!!! Tomorrow I've got some layouts to tackle, so I'll share some of that work with you then. Have a great Monday evening!

Coffee is ALWAYS a Reason to Celebrate!

At least I think so!

I found a design similar to this in Card Maker magazine, so I decided to give it a whirl. This is my Inkadinkado stamps. It stamps a beautiful vintage coffee cup. I gave the stamp a little color after stamping by using chalks - light blue for hte cup and a cream color for the coffee.

I've used Staz-On Timber Brown ink for my stamping and distressing. I love the richness of staz-ons ink. They make an image very crisp and clear. This is K & Company paper, some random embellishments, and a sentiment stamp. Easy and fun to make!

Treasure Life's Little Moments with Loads of Flowers!

I have had a BALL doing the Cuttlebug Challenges this month. These fabulous women are so creative, and I have learned so much from their tutorials and artwork. Truly, I never knew (or had it in my imagination) that I could do so much with this bug! I've mentioned it before, but new folders are coming out soon, and the gals have been previewing them all of July before CHA. Take a look at their site because you are not going to believe the awesome artwork they created for CHA!

Okay, on to my last entry for the month in the Cuttlebug Challenges. We were to make a gatefold card using our favorite folder. Right now I have two folders that are my favorites, so I combined them The first is Script, and it's pretty easy to tell which that is. On the inside of the card, I've made an embossed window with my nestabilities scalloped circles and I used the Stylized Flowers folder behind it. Because we were focusing on favorites and friendship this week, I loaded this card with flowers and ribbon. Sometimes what you've done with a card speaks for itself, so I added just a small sentiment on the inside - "treasure life's little moments." The sweet leaf and baby pink colors make this card very soft.

I can't wait to see what challenges come about next from the Cuttlebug blog! Even more though, I can't wait to get my hands on some new folders!!

Love with Chocolate and Tulips

Chocolate and tulip paper and ink that is! I saw this sketch by Inspirational Sketches, and it appeared to be a little challenging to me. At first it looked just like a card with a bunch of paper and squares. Then I got to thinking outside the box a little to make it so much more. I hope you enjoy this card!

All supplies used are CTMH except for the flowers and large center rhinestones. The flowers are from Prima, and the rhinestones are from Imaginisce. I've popped up the hearts I stamped (love making die-cuts from my stamps!) as well as the journaling tag.

Cuttlebug Challenge #39

What a silly, silly card! I loved the exceptional challenge for this week from Cuttlebug Challenges. It's not often that I sit down to make a masculine card, and this one feels rustic and fun. Certainly a card my husband would love. I say this ne was exceptional because we needed to used shades of orange, blue, and green. I am not a fan of the color orange, but I found a way to sneak it in!
The images are from Back Country Stickease. I've used two folders from Cuttlebug to make the background and the sentiment.
To go on a little further, HSN is showing Cuttlebug today. I love this handy tool! Be sure to check out Cuttlebug Challenges, and you will learn much about how you can use it. There are fabulous tips, tutorials, and artwork samples.

Inspirational Card Sketch #22

This week's card challenge at Inspirational Card Sketches is a window card. How fun is that! I decided to put together a "thinking of you" card. Sweet leaf is one of my favorite CTMH colors, and I wanted that color to be the focus of the card. The other color in the card is Petal. To match, I've used Sweet Leaf craft buttons, designer ribbon, and cordouroy brads. I ran the piece of Sweet Leaf through the Stylized Flower cuttlebug folder. It matches well with the stamps from Come Unto Me and He is Risen from CTMH.

Card Patterns Sketch 20

My husband took Chanel (our beagle) and went fishing last night. I was able to spend some serious time card making without disctraction. Sassy just sits in the window perch or in a basket or sometimes on my craft table watching me, but Chanel, well, she requires my attention. And she is extremely energetic about getting it! But she's a perfect boat mate, so she always goes fishing with Jerry!

I took out Card Patterns Sketch 20, and I decided to make some die-cuts with stamps for it. I used my Tickled Pink stamp set to stamp flowers, stems, and leaves. I cut them by hand and then sponged them a little for the card. The paper I used is from the Daydream packet. I used a Fiskars border bunch for that touch of romance to match my sentiment. Flowers are popped up and crinkled on the very edges. I've also used my paper piercer to lift up the pretty punched borders and crinkled them a bit. All supplies are CTMH.