Conversation Hearts

One of my local LSS had a crafty garage sale awhile ago and I picked up a set of "conversation heart" stamps. I knew they would be perfect for some love and Valentine cards and I was right! I just wish I knew who made them.

This card is made with some paper from my stash that didn't have a company name on it. I used the My Favorite Things Peek-a-boo Trio die for the circles. The layer of brown is Bazzill and the hearts are stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa. Those chestnut colored brads are from American Crafts.

For this one, I used some Authentique paper layered on blue card stock. The hearts are stamped in Memento Danube Blue and the blue bling is Queen & Co.

Are you ready for Valentine's Day?

Sparkle and Shine

I saw some color block cards while surfing the other day and it sparked the idea for this card. It didn't turn out quite the way I wanted (even after several tries), but it's close enough. 

I started by inking up my block with SU Tempting Turquoise and giving it a light spritz of water before stamping it. The Memento Cottage Ivy was simply swirled on my block and stamped to show the design. A Hero Arts bicycle stamp and a Recollections sentiment heat embossed in black finishes off the scene. I mounted it on yellow card stock to represent the sun. 

Girly Cards

Here are a couple of cards using OWH sketch 99. They both use the same things: DCWV patterned papers, Bazzill, black and white card stock, a Stampendous sentiment and Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I love how this sketch showcases the top layer of patterned paper. 

 

Time for Stockings

The Merry Monday challenge this week is to use a stocking theme. I'm so glad my LSS has lots of different dies for us to use. Both the stocking and the "joy" are old Sizzix dies. I did some paper piecing with DCWV papers and they turned out great. The sentiment is a cream color from Darice that didn't quite show up in the picture. The design paper is Authentique. I also used some green and brown card stock.

Soccer, anyone?

I love soccer. I played for several years growing up and still enjoy the game. When I saw this card, I knew I'd have to do something similar, especially when the OWH MWT is hexagons. I started by using my Taylored Expressions hexagon dies and mounting them on a piece of green paper. Then I used a Spellbinder circle to cut out the ball. The embossing is a Cuttlebug folder and the sentiment is from Mama Elephant. The baker's twine sets off the sentiment tag. 

Love is in the Air

I enjoy using non-tradition colors and here is a love card in browns, green, white and black to prove it. I used a lighter brown card stock for the base and the white is all basic card stock. The hearts use dark brown Bazzill while the thin border layers are basic black card stock. The green is some pretty DCWV double-sided heavy paper I got for Christmas. I used Spellbinders for the hearts and a Hero Arts stamp for the love sentiment. The brads are black American Crafts. 

This card is for the "Love is in the Air" challenge over at Cards in Envy. The idea for the design can be found here.

Card Bowl 2014 Finale

Our last challenge for the OWH Card Bowl is to make a card using today's sketch. I used some bright blue card stock for the base, brown Bazzill for the layering and SU turquoise design paper. The brads are Recollections and the sentiment is Hero Arts.

Yesterday, Sandy challenged us to show a picture of our desk as it looked "right now." This is what mine looked like at the time. It was still a mess from unpacking my black rolling tote from spending the day at my LSS. 

This is what it normally looks like when I'm done with a card or two. I made a resolution to keep my craft area tidier this year. So far, so good. If you look closely, you'll see which team I cheer for lol.

Whole lot of hearts

Today is the second day of the OWH Card Bowl and the challenge is to make a mostly brown card. I got the layout idea from Pinterest. The base is basic red card stock and the heart paper is from Hambly Screenprints. The ribbon is a pretty sheer brown that goes well with the brown Bazzill and brown American Crafts brads. I used Spellbinders to cut out the hearts and a Sizzix embossing folder for the large one. I think I'll be giving one of these to my husband for Valentine's since it's more manly without a lot of pink and no sappy sentiment.

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!

Paper Smooches Thanks

I love the bright colors of this card. I used OWH sketch 98 and some DCWV patterned papers. The white paper is card stock and all of the other layers are Bazzill. I used Spellbinders for the circles and stamped the Paper Smooches sentiment in SU Pacific Point.

Penguin in Turquoise

I'm loving my Mama Elephant Polar Pals stamp set which includes this cute penguin. I thought it was perfect for this Pinterest idea. I started with black, white and turquoise card stock and some Spellbinders for the circles. After stamping her in Memento Tuxedo Black, I colored her with Copics and added googlie eyes. The Stampendous sentiment is heat embossed in black. I used a Darice embossing folder for the background. 

Eye Heart You

The current Cards in Envy challenge is Through the Window. It requires a card to have some form of hole on the front of your card so you can see through to the inside. I chose to use a circle for the hole so an eyeball could be peeking out. The white/grey paper is DCWV and the blue stripes (and green) is SU. I used Bazzill for the hearts and layered it three times for some added texture. The U stamp is SU. For the monster inside, I used a Recollections stamp with SU Pacific Point and Old Olive inks. The hearts and circles were done with Spellbinders. 

Owl Miss You

I had some more fun with my SU owl punch on this card for the OWH MWT Color Challenge. The idea came from here. I like how the black really pops on the pastel colors. I dry embossed the background using some yellow Bazzill and chose some patterned scraps. The eyes have a smidge of Pearl Pen for the pupils. The eyelashes and mouths were done with a Copic Multi Liner. Black and white card stock were also used. For the sentiment, I used one from Lawn Fawn and stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black.

Purses, Shoes and Hi...oh my!

I was looking through the OWH sketches for one that would showcase this pretty DCWV shoe/purse paper and decided on sketch 99. The strips of paper are also DCWV. The lavender paper is Bazzill and the black and white are card stock. For the Stampendous sentiment, I used Memento Grape Jelly. I like the one with the polka dots more because of the sharper contrasts.


 

Owl be missing you

These cards turned out cuter than I thought. I got my Stampin' Up owl punch out again and actually used it the way it was meant to be used! This idea is based on the idea I pinned here. The patterned papers are from a mixed pack put together by an LSS. The brown owl, solid blue, light grey and solid red are Bazzill. The dark grey is DeNami and the white is basic card stock. The frames for the owl are from Spellbinders and I decided to use Pearl Pen for the pupils. For the sentiments, I used Stampin' Up Real Red and Pacific Point inks.

Happy 29th?

For this card, I used clean&simple 274. It's been awhile since I've made birthday cards, so I thought this would be a great sketch to use my SU cupcake punch. The cupcake bases are SU papers, as are the inks used for the sentiment and cupcake tops (Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Pacific Point). I used two different embossing folders the the background and cupcake tops. The sentiment is also SU. 

Merry and Bright

Today I used my new Mama Elephant Polar Pals again to make a pretty pink Christmas card. It uses OWH sketch 207, has snowmen for Merry Monday 91, and I used some of my new stash for A Blog Named Hero 36. I enjoyed making this with non-traditional colors and I'm pretty sure my hubby won't be sending this to any of his friends! 

I used pink and white card stock and some SU striped paper. Everything was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black. The coloring is done with Copics and the brads are American Crafts.

Penguin Duct Tape

I had no idea where this card was going when I started it. My hubby gave me this adorable penguin tape for Christmas and my mom gave me the Taylored Expressions hexagon die set. I had the two out on the table at my LSS and just HAD to use the two of them together. So I got busy cutting out hexagons and then got stuck. They didn't fit the card the way I planned so I simply sat there. 

A light bulb finally turned on and I turned the card sideways. Duh. I wanted a way to make a type of banner with them and found this DCWV paper I've had for ages. How perfect that the swirls on it went with another Christmas present...the Darice background folder. The silver paper I've also had for ages, the orange is Bazzill and the plain black is basic card stock. The Stampin' Up sentiment is stamped with VersaFine Onyx Black onto white card stock then punched with a Stampin' Up punch.

Snowmen with no snow

I had to smile when I saw Cards in Envy Snow Buddy challenge. With all of the snow around the US, we don't have any here in the Pacific Northwest. However, I did get a cute new Mama Elephant Polar Pals stamp set for Christmas with some snowmen in it. The sentiment is from the same set. I stamped everything on white card stock and used some paper from a new 6x6 DCWV paper I also received for Christmas. The inks are VersaFine Onyx Black and SU Old Olive. I used my new Taylored Expressions dies to layer the sentiment and some American Crafts brads to finish it off.

Much Obliged

This card features a stamp from Rubbernecker that I forgot I had. Don't you love finding those? It's also a perfect stamp to use on Seize the Sketch #11. I stamped it on white card stock using VersaFine Onyx Black, used an embossing folder to give it a bit of texture and mounted it on black card stock. The Inkadinkado sentiment is stamped on white card stock with SU Pacific Point and mounted on some blue Bazzill. I used a Sizzix die to cut out the blue and grey Bazzill stars.

Reindeer Already?

Yes, it's true, I've started making Christmas cards for this year! This particular card is for Merry Monday #90 using ribbon or twine. 

I started with this cute reindeer stamp from, I think, Fiskars stamped in Fresh Ink Chocolate. It's layered on black card stock and red Bazzill. I added a red Triveni ornament on his antler. Next I took some black/white baker's twine and colored it with SU Real Red and put it aside to dry. For the sentiment, I pulled out something from The Angel Company who is no longer in business. It's stamped in SU Real Red on white card stock and layered with more red Bazzill. I have no idea where the polka dot paper is from but it's been around forever. The whole thing is layerd on more Bazzill.

PS: Make sure your twine is completely dry before using or you'll get red smears all over your polka dots!

Mashup Miss You

I found a new challenge site this week and the current challenge had one of my favorite stamp sets pop into my mind. The Friday Mashup 141 Tic Toc give a sketch and a theme to use. It allows you to use one or the other, or mash them together and use both. The sketch is pretty simple and I used Hero Arts All the Time stamp set. 

To start, I made my own paper using a few of the stamps. The clocks are done with Fresh Ink Chocolate and the sentiment using SU Old Olive. American Crafts brads give the faces a little pop. The green paper is Bazzill and the rest is all basic card stock.

Somebunny needs a hug

Oh my, this card was fun to make. I've never been a fan of paper piecing, but this one was fun. I have several of these My Favorite Things Flopsey sets and this one is perfect for a few challenges this week. 

The patterned papers are all Stampin' Up. Both stamps are from My Favorite Things and stamped with VersaFine Onyx Black. I added some baker's twine to repeat the stripes. The other papers are black and white card stock. Oh, and kraft paper for the bunny.

This card fits the January ODBD Challenge: Stripes over at Operation Write Home (three different colors of striped paper). It also works for A Blog Named Hero Challenge #35 to use One & Four (I used four patterned papers and a one word sentiment). Last, but not least, it works the the CAS-ual Fridays CFC125: In A Word (hugs).

Hugs + Kisses

For this card, I used OWH sketch 205. The circle paper is Graphic 25 and the yellow is Bazzill. The white and black are basic card stock. Both the sentiment and image are Hero Arts and stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black. The circles are done with Spellbinders. This is also a kit I submitted for CHA.

Resolutions...it's that time again

Do you make resolutions for the new year? I've begun making a couple a year. They aren't the usual ones...lose weight (even though I need to), eat healthier (need to do this one as well), or anything of that nature. The ones I've been making are obtainable through doing something I love...paper crafting.

This year I've resolved to make more cards based on the ideas I've pinned on Pinterest. And, thanks to another blogger I follow, I've resolved to send 100 encouragement cards this year. It's always so uplifting to receive a card in the mail and know that someone has been thinking of you. I want to share those feelings with others, besides the ones for Operation Write Home. She set her goal at 365, but I chose 100 to start with.

What are your resolutions for the new year?

OWH Top 13 Bloghop

It's that time of year again. Time to look back and remember all of the cards we've made and choose our favorites. Here are mine! Just click the picture to go to the blog post.

One: This one is way out of my comfort zone but I love how it turned out.


Two: I love this design. It's so fun and can use so many different patterns and sentiments.


Three: Who doesn't love Sylvester?


Four: I'm still in love with hexagons. This one really pulls out the colors in the paper.


Five: These turned out so cute for kids.


Six: This royal purple with matching inked sentiment looks gorgeous with my favorite winter paper.


Seven: The simplicity of this makes me smile.


Eight: This sketch goes perfectly with the polka dot paper and uses one of my favorite stamp sets.


Nine: I made a mask from my hexagon punch for this one. The colors are so pretty and I got to use so many of my thank you stamps.


Ten: I just love the look of those eyes with that sentiment.


Eleven: The sketch fits these Doodle Pantry papers, image and sentiment perfectly.


Twelve: I can't leave out one of my favorite techniques...using the owl punch as a reindeer.


Thirteen: I like the lines and patterns on this simple card.


Have an amazing 2014! I wish you happiness and success in all you choose to pursue.

Vintage Happy Birthday Car

This was a fun set of cards to make. I found the inspiration here. The car is a new Hero Arts stamp I received for Christmas and the sentiment is also Hero Arts; both are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black. The design papers are all scraps and combined with miscellaneous card stock and Bazzill. The die is from Taylored Expressions. 

LOVE

Here's another girl card, but not as girly as the last one. These papers are DCWV and some basic card stock scraps. The sentiment is Impression Obsession stamped in Memento Tuxedo black. The circles are done with Nesties and I used my piercer to give it more detail. I like how it doesn't scream girly girl.