Seahawks and Christmas

Over at Operation Write Home, they're having a Card Bowl all weekend. There will be a new challenge Friday through Sunday. How fun is that?

Today's challenge is to make a card using the colors from either team playing in the Super Bowl this year. Since my team didn't make it, I decided to go with the home team and make a card using Seahawks colors. Not only that, but I used the new CAS(E) this Sketch and used an ornament for the Merry Monday challenge. I love being able to incorporate more than one challenge in a card!

I started with some blue, white and neon green (it really is neon in person) papers and worked from there. The snowflake punch is from Martha Stewart and the dies are Sizzix. I chose a sentiment by Mama Elephant and stamped it with VersaFine Onyx Black. For a bit of bling, I added some shiny silver stickers from Stampendous.

I already know who these two cards are going to: my dad and my brother. Enjoy your weekend!

OWH VCMP, Day 1

It's time for another Virtual Card Making Party at Operation Write Home! Every few hours a new challenge will be posted so we can all play along. It's so much fun to see everyone's take on so many different challenges.

Challenge 1: Nancy has a sketch for us to use while making a winter/Christmas card. I chose to use some of the 2012 Bazzill Christmas paper I have left over and a piece of green cardstock from my stash. The Stampin' Up! sentiment is stamped with Brilliance Rocket Red, then the whole thing was embossed with the Cuttlebug Snowflakes folder. The green is mounted on some Darice red pearl. I thought it needed a bit more so I added some Studio 18 rhinestones.

 

Challenge 2: Diane has an interesting challenge...make a card using things that use O, W, and H. This one made me think but then I remembered some cards I've seen on Pinterest that would work perfectly. I found a piece of brown scrap paper and used an oval Nestability then embossed it with a Darice folder. The owl is punched from a Stampin' Up! punch as are both parts of the sentiment. I used more scraps for the black "hole" and the blue on the owl and sentiment. Since I love googly eyes, I chose to use them on this card. The sentiment is stamped in Fresh Ink Chocolate and popped with dimensional adhesive. O: owl and oval. W: wood grain background. H: happy birthday.

 

 

Challenge 3: This one is from Seongsook and it's to do a triple stamping card. These are fun and I enjoy using the different stamps and inks to pull it all together. I used Stampin' Up! Whisper White and stamps. The inks are Memento Cottage Ivy, Brilliance Pearlescent Crimson and Encore Metallic Silver. I had all the card stock in my stash. The sentiment is popped on dimensional adhesive.

 

 

Challenge 4: Annette is challenging us to make a love card using OWH sketch 29. The heart paper is Hamby Screen Prints while the rest is all basic card stock. The sentiment is by Little Yellow Bicycle and the brads are American Crafts. I popped the sentiment square for more texture.

 

Challenge 5: This was a fun new technique that I've been wanting try featuring masking tape. I used Tombow markers 636 and 725 then spritzed it with water before stamping on SU Whisper White. That piece is mounted on DeNami grey then on some purple from my stash. The sentiment is Paper Smooches. I had the brads in my embellishment stash. The sentiment is popped with dimensional adhesive.

 

Whew! What a fun day filled with card making and I got all five challenges finished. I hope you've been enjoying the VCMP today.

 

 

 

Sketchbook Saturday Challenge 100!

Sketchbook Saturday has reached it's 100th sketch! How exciting for them and their followers. You can find the sketch challenge right here over on Random Acts of Creativity.

For my card, I used some pretty scraps of Echo Park patterned paper and ivory card stock. The pretty embellishments are Jolee's Boutique and the sentiment is from Inkadinkado.

Enjoy your day!

Sketches 33 - 37

It's that time again...time for more S&S sketches! I've found myself leaning towards more masculine type cards these days. Some are even brown as per Sandy's "request."

You'll find sketch 33 here. As usual these days, all of the papers are from my stash. The sentiment is from SU! I added a little more detail by piercing around the edge and connecting the dots with a black pen.

This is sketch 34. I used more of the same papers and a different sentiment from the same SU! set. This time I added detail with a Pearl Pen. I've been trying to use the entire sheet of paper once I cut into it. This prevents less scraps and I already have the mojo flowing for those papers.

For sketch 35, I used a cute stamp from Rubbernecker and a sentiment from one of the Hero Arts OWH sets. Look...browns! I added a bit of ribbon to hide where the papers meet. I colored the image with Copics and white embossed the sentiment.

Next on the list would be sketch 36. Did you notice more brown? All of the stamps are from Hero Arts OWH sets. I stamped the middle sentiment in black, then I used Memento London Fog for the others. I stamped it once then again to give it the progressively lighter look. There's a brad holding the clock hands on the clock.

The last sketch for this post is 37. The patterned papers I've had forever and just recently found in a drawer. They have metallic touches of copper and bronze on them that make them really pop. I believe they're from a 4X6 DCWV pack. The sentiment is SU! and there's a bit of Pearl Pen to help ground it.

That's it for this post. I hope you're all having a wonderful spring!

Cherie

S&S Sketches 30-32

Today I have some Stars & Stripes sketches for you. I'm working on the last few cards for the Muscle Card challenge that are due no later than April 30. It's been fun working on the masculine type cards. I had no idea how easy they could be once I put my mind to it!

For sketch 30, I used two SU stamps from the Best Dad Ever set, some Basic Grey DP I got on clearance at a LSS, and some cardstock I had on hand.

This is sketch 31. I used the same papers, a cute stamp from Inkadinkado and some black brads.

Last, I did sketch 32. Again, I used the same papers. I love it when I use the papers I just bought. The stamp is from the SU Happiest Birthday Wishes set and I added a couple of small Pearl Pen dots. I rounded opposite corners to give it a softer look. I love my corner rounder.

I hope you enjoyed my take on these great sketches. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Cherie



S&S Sketches 21-25

Without any delay, let's get to it! First up is sketch 21. The "wood" paper is DCWV. I'm not sure about the sentiment, but it's embossed in black. I pierced the outer edge and used a black pen for some faux stitching.

For sketch 22, I used some Graphics 45 paper and a Fiskars sentiment. It needed just a bit more, so some Pearl Pen was added.

The sentiment for sketch 23 is from Hero Arts and everything else is from my stash. I made this card by starting with the button and working around it. Love this button.

This sentiment, for sketch 24, is actually three different stamps all from one set by Hot Off the Press. The patterned papers are from two different DCWV pads. The ivory paper is handmade and I added a bit of Pearl Pen for a bit of bling.

This next one is sketch 25 and took a couple of attempts. For some reason, I just could not get the dimensions right. The sentiment is from my mom's stamps as well as the brown striped paper. In fact, so is the Pearl Pen since I made the card at her house.

That's it for today. I'm happy with my forward progress working on the S&S sketches. It makes me feel good to keep moving down the list.

Happy day!

Cherie

S&S Sketches 17, 18, 19, 20

I had fun today working on some more S&S sketches. Today I have four for you. The first one is sketch 17. I used the Sizzix Hearts EF. On the small piece, I inked the folder before I used it and cut out the hearts with Nesties. All of the papers come from my stash. The black dots are Pearl Pen.

Next is sketch 18. The stamp is Earth Flowers from Hero Arts and colored with Tombow markers before I stamped it. I saw the technique about two years ago and it popped into my head for this sketch. It's the first time I've tried it and I really like how it turned out. The purple paper has a slight metallic sheen to it and I added the pink bling to finish it off.

For sketch 19, I could hear my monkey stickers from The Paper Studio calling out to be used. I picked this one and sure enough, he looks happy with the hearts. Again, I used Sizzix Hearts EF and some Pearl Pen for accents. The smile stamp is from Magenta, ribbon and papers from my stash. I like how this can be used as an adult or kid, male or female card.

Last, but not least, sketch 20. I found these papers while digging through one of my drawers. I had totally forgotten about them. I believe they're from DCWV. The stamp is Fiskars and dots are Pearl Pen. I love the metallic look of the paper.

Here is one extra picture. People have been talking about how they store their ribbon. This is how I do it. I cut out 3x5 pieces of thin cardboard, from cereal boxes, granola bar boxes, etc. I tried 3x5 cards, but they were too thin. I wrap the ribbon around them and sometimes use a glue dot to secure the end. This makes it easy to see what colors and patterns I have. It also shows me I don't need any white ribbon for awhile! It takes up a lot less space than having all of those spools and it's easy to see how much I have left of a particular ribbon. I hate it when you pull ribbon off a spool only to discover you only have three or four inches.

How do you store your ribbon?

Smiling because I can,

Cherie

March ODBD, MWT, Sketch 112

It's rare that I have a card that meets more than one challenge. But today I have one that meets three of them!

The March ODBD challenge is a tic-tac-toe challenge. I chose to use a digi stamp, layers and embossing. You can find the digi here on Paula's blog. It's one of my favorites for OWH cards. It's colored with Copics and I used a stencil for the heart. The heart has Glossy Accents to make it shiny. The red is embossed with Sizzix Hearts folder. The background is stamped with a Provo Craft stamp I inherited from a dear friend.

Here is where you can find sketch 112 and here is the current MWT which is making a miss you card.

Don't forget March is craft month. It's also been proven that it helps you relax, de-stress and improves relationships. I knew there was a reason I love doing it.

Now go get crafting!

Cherie

Spring Has Sprung! (and S&S Sketches 13 & 14)

Crafty Contagion is challenging us to make a spring card over the next two weeks. We've had snow here and 60 degree weather in the last week or so, so I'm more than ready for spring! For my card, I used S&S sketch 14:

The image is Rainy Day Ruby from Sparkle Creations that I got when I took a Copics class but never had a chance to color. I think it's the perfect "spring" stamp considering the weather in WA this time of the year. The sentiment is from OWH Hero Arts All the Time set. I used white Gelly Roll pen to add the dots to her umbrella. The background was Cuttlebugged with Swiss Dots. All of the papers I already had.

I also finished S&S sketch 13. When I first saw this with a diagonal sentiment, my mind went blank. I'm more of a straight lines kind of person. But thankfully there was an example to give me some inspiration.

The letters are A Muse Graffiti alphabet with the Cuttlebug folder Floral Fantasy as the background.The floral paper is by DCWV. The flowers are Prima and I was happily surprised to see how well they went with the paper. I'm not sure where the flower brads came from. Again, I already had all the papers on hand. It's a bit over the top for me, but hubby assured me Mom cards should always be over the top lol.

Today is a busy day for me with a SU party at 10, my craft group and a friend's birthday party. But I'm looking forward to all of it!

Happy Saturday!

Cherie

Love is in the air!

Our first challenge of the new year over at Crafty Contagion is to make a love card. That's right, Valentine's Day is right around the corner! It's time to drag out the heart and love stamps and paper.  Of course, we all know you can make a love card any time of the year, but hopefully this will give you a jump start on those Valentines.

My card features two stamps from my new Penny Black set "j'aime paris." Aren't those bunnies cute? I cut out three of the hearts and popped them to give some depth to the card. They are colored with Copics. The background paper is DCWV and the pink is Creative Imagination.

This card also uses OWH Sketch #103.

Look out for Cupid!
Cherie

OWH Sketch Challenge #102

I managed to squeeze in the sketch challenge for this week before the next one comes out tomorrow. Here's the sketch:

And here's my take on it:

Eeyore is a sticker from Sandylion. The papers are from my stash. The circles were all cut out with Nestabilities.

Happy Saturday!
Cherie