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

OCC Sketch Blog and ICS Challenges

I want to share to more cards that I finished this afternoon.  The first is from OCC Sketch Blog:

I took out some Basic Grey Kioshi, Martha Stewart ribbon, and a Stampendous sentiment.

The next sketch is from ICS:

For this card I took out some Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride.  I used my Slice Travel card to make the arrow and sun.  The stamp is Hero Arts.

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!

More Mama-Razzi

I had a little of the Mama-razzi paper (Bo Bunny) left, so I thought I'd use it up to create some cards. I can't tell you how much I love this paper. Gosh, it's the rich colors I love to work with, and it's oh, so very nice for any-gender cards. Lovely!

The first sketch is from Our Creative Corner:

Along with the Mama-razzi paper, I used Outdoor Denim ribbon and the Coffee Stain stamp set from CTMH. I used the photo corners punch from SU, and I created my scalloped border with my EK Success corner rounder.

Next, I played with Inspirational Card Sketches:

Lots of pivotal stampling in this card. The ribbon and buttons are CTMH, and the stamp is Hero Arts.

My third sketch today is from the OCC Sketch Blog:

I used my scalloped circles and regualr circles form Nestabilities. The brads, ribbon, and stamp are CTMH.

Finally, the sketch from OWH Stars and Stamps:

Such a simple card - love it! The title holder, rub-on, and ribbon are CTMH. This is perfect for a man's birthday.

Basic Grey Origins

All three of the cards I have to show you today are done using the Basic Origins line. I looked and looked at this paper, not knowing if it was one that I'd use, but my friend Laurel convinced me in some of her posts that it is a definite must have paper! Because of the colors and addition of Buttercup CS (CTMH), all three of the cards also fit into the Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab. My kitchen is painted the warm yellow of sunflowers, and I just love waking up to that!

Ok, so here's the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger picture:

The additions to the sketch from Inspirational Card Sketches are few. A little black twill ribbon and a sentiment complete the card.

My take on the Inspirational Card Sketch #55:

The next card was fun to do because I incorporated two sketches into one card. As you'll notice, the sketches are almost mirror images. This first sketch is from Papertake: This sketch is from OCC Sketch Blog:

Here is my take on the two sketches making one card. I used a little black twill again, and I added some felt embellishments, sparkles, and rub-ons from CTMH. The flower is Bazzill.

Finally, here is my last card that I just made because I wanted to. I fell in love with this rich paper by this time and just had to make one more!! Twill ribbon and CTMH rub-ons completed the card.

I save some of my cards for birthdays, anniversaries, etc., but most of my cards go to Operation Write Home, Share-a-Card, or another place that can use the cards. No one could possibly use all the cards that I thoroughly enjoy making, so I simply give them away. Card Maker magazine has a column called Readers Reach Out and in every issue they let us know who is looking for cards. What a blessing to be able to send cards off to places that are truly in need!!

Hope you're having a wonderful paper crafting day!!

Veranda Paper & Different Flowers

I started working with Veranda paper today (CTMH), and I just couldn't put it away! This is such lovely and versatile paper that I can't get enough of it! So instead of dividing these cards into 3 posts, I wanted to share them all here. As you read along, I'll tell you what challenges they are, too, so that you can check out these awesome blogs!

This first card is the sketch for Inspirational Sketches. They come up with such wonderful ideas, and this was no exception. The ribbon, pearls, and waxy flax are CTMH. The flower is Bazzill, the pin is Making Memories, and the stamp is Hero Arts. Because I've used a flower, this also qualifies for the Practical Scrappers challenge.

The second card is a sketch from Everything But the Kitchen Sink. All products used are CTMH. What a great sketch! I can see myself using this one over and over.

This last card is for the OCC Sketch Blog. I took a little creative liberty in what I used for the element on the left. I wanted to take out my Playful Petals stamp set (CTMH) and make a flower. Because I don't mind fussy cutting, I think this is rather fun once in awhile! The stamp set is Hero Arts, and the ribbon and button are random. Because I've used another flower, this also qualifies for the Practical Scrappers challenge.

I have been busy crafting today! I have much to do tomorrow, and then I work full days all through Saturday. So I wanted to be sure and give you a few things to look through. If you haven't seen it, scroll down for the layout of Jerry I posted this morning.

Happy Monday everybody!!

Lots of Wonderful

I absolutely love this sketch by Inspirational Card Sketches. When I saw the Raspberry Suite color challenge, I just knew I had to pull out some Bo Bunny Flutter Butter paper. It suits the challenges just perfectly. The stamp is Hero Arts and the ribbon and embellishments are all Close To My Heart.

Picture Perfect

And that's exactly how I see Shane's face - picture perfect. I like sending Shane cards every once in awhile, so this will be one that gets mailed to him.

I used a couple of different CTMH stamp sets on this card. I created the background with the Felicity stamp using grey wool, twilight, and heavenly blue. The slide picture frame, sentiments, and corners are from the Picture perfect stamp set. Makes for a nice masculine card! Take a peek at the Inspirational Card Sketch below that helped me make this card!

Inspirational Card Sketch #47

My third post today - be sure to scroll down!!
I had some scraps left from my Bella Collection form CTMH. The rich and warm colors are so beautiful! The buttons are stamped from CTMH's Buttoned Together set. For some I threaded olive waxy flax, and for a couple, I used olive brads. For the sentiment, I embossed with vanilla embossing powder. The flower is from Bazzill.

Thanksgiving Card - ICS #42

I created this card this morning using the Inspirational Card Sketch #42. I love rich, fall colors and a piece of Cosmo Cricket's Wanted paper was perfect for what I was looking to accomplish. I sponged the edges of all the layers to give this card a worn look. Other items used are:

Bazzill Cardstock, CTMH Grown with Love stamp set, CTMH My One and Only stamp set (retired), CTMH Chocolate Cardstock, CTMH inks - Autumn Terracotta, Chocolate, and New England Ivy, random crocheted ribbon

3 in 1

#1) Look at this lovely set of cards! I received these in the mail yesterday from my generous friend Kim. What a wonderful thing to get mail - and a gift of cards! (You know we are so used to making them, aren't we?) I love to get handmade cards in the mail! If you have not been to Kim's blog, head over there. She is a fabulous artist, and you will LOVE her work! Kim, thank you so much for this wonderful mail!! You are the sweetest, and such a dear friend. The Be Yourself stamps set is one of my favorites!!

#2) I spent some time making Christmas cards for Cards for Heroes yesterday. This is such a wonderful cause. I first found it when I was looking for a place for my extra cards. Our troops love getting cards to send to their loved ones. I thought I'd get an early start on the holidays. CFH site is down right now - they are preparing for a blog birthday party! But please, check them out in the next few days, bookmark them, and if you ever have a bunch of cards you can't use, this is a really great cause!

#3) My last part of this post is a design by Inspirational Sketches. This was a fun sketch to work on. With the layering, it left a lot of room for possibility.
I used Roam paper from K & Company. Along with that I added some CTMH rub-ons ( I love the Sugar Pie sentiment!), a Prima natural flower, Crystal Sticker pearls, and some random ribbon. Seems like a good fall birthday card for someone special!

How fun to have a 3-in-1 day! I love it!