Summer flowers...and a bug

I had this partial piece of Dena Designs paper I wanted to use up and went browsing through the OWH sketches. Sketch 52 worked great for using this colorful paper. The flowers are Prima and held with a brad from my stash. The circles are done with Spellbinders. That dragonfly is from Queen & Co. and the sentiment is Paper Smooches.

Baseball Miss You

I'm using some more Me & My Big Ideas paper today. I love the stitches with grey stripes. I also found some Hot Off the Press paper with lots of little baseballs on them and figured they were a perfect match. The layout is OWH sketch 3. I used a Paper Smooches sentiment and finished it off with three little American Crafts brads.

Juggling Penguin Note Cards

I was obviously in a washi tape mood when I started these cards. They were originally going to be all the same, but since I ended up with 16 card fronts I decided to make four note card sets. The juggling penguin stamp is by Memory Box and I used Triveni bling to make the juggling balls. Those stripes of washi tape are from Queen & Co. and the sentiments are all Paper Smooches. I used an orange Copic to color the beak and feet.

How great is it that these fit perfectly with the current Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge?

OWH sketch 234

When I saw OWH sketch 234, I knew I wanted to use this piece of The Paper Studio patterned paper. It has lots of basic colors on it and goes great with the color blocking I wanted. I used all kinds of scraps for this card and it worked out great. The blue was embossed with a Darice folder and I added some Triveni bling on the circle.

Seize the Sketch 25

Oh my! When I saw the newest Seize the Sketch, I knew it was the perfect way to display this adorable Paper Studio bunny paper. I added a pair of googlie eyes to the one bunny that didn't have any decoration. The eggs were done with a Sizzix die and Cuttlebug folders. I used some Recollections Snow embossing powder to heat set the Fiskars sentiment. The ribbon is from my stash. (I have no idea why I have tons of orange ribbon!)

STAMPlorations sketch 16

I found this sketch challenge through one of the blogs that I follow. When I saw it, I thought it would go perfectly with an Easter card I needed to make for a project I'm working on. I started with embossing the background with a Cuttlebug folder and layering The Paper Studio paper on some yellow Bazzill. The eggs were done with my new egg Sizzix dies. The sentiment and its layers are all by Stampin' Up. 

Love you forever

This is my take on the card you can find here. I didn't add extra bling on the hearts for two reasons. One: It would've make the card too thick for Operation Write Home since the hearts are all popped up with dimensional adhesive. Two: I wanted to keep the card more clean, simple and masculine. The hearts are done with Spellbinders and the sentiment is Impression Obsession. I used a ruler and my Copic Multi Liner for the black lines.

If I had to choose...

I went way back to the first OWH sketch to make this card. The baseball paper is from Me & My Big Ideas and perfectly matches the SU Real Red ink. The sentiment is brand new! I picked it up at a recent paper crafting show. It's from Rubbernecker. To finish it off, I used some American Crafts brads.

Embossed birthday

When I saw this card on Pinterest, I thought it would be perfect to use up some scraps of patterned paper. I cut out the center with a Taylored Expressions die and placed the scraps in the right spot so none of the background blue could show through. The Stampendous sentiment and Mama Elephant stars are heat embossed with black.

Scrappy thanks

I had some scraps left over from using some 6x6 Creative Imaginations paper and figured they'd be perfect for a banner card. I just added some Taylored Expressions die cuts and an Inkadinkado sentiment to finish it off.

AEIO...U

I did two cards for today using OWH sketch 175. I had to think for a few seconds to make sure I rounded the right corners for the patterns to go the direction I wanted but it was worth it.The Echo Park papers look great with the lines going where I wanted them. The Hero Arts sentiment and Triveni bling give them the perfect finishing looks.

 

Woody Gears

I often wonder how the two sides of paper are chosen. Don't you? One side is so pretty while the other is some horrendous pattern in equally horrendous colors. While this paper isn't that bad on either side, I wonder why they chose a wood grain to go with the gears. The gears on this Echo Park paper are why I bought it. I decided to use the other side of it to make my version of the inspiration card. The border punch is EK and that red circle is embossed with the Darice Steam Punk folder. I used a Stampendous sentiment.

Chevron Thank You

This card is inspired by this card. It was simple to make. All I needed was an EK border punch, some paper scraps and a stamp. Oh, and ink! The stamp is Stampendous stamped in SU Basic Gray and Powder Puff Lemonade.

Work of Art

Does this look like a watermelon? Because it's supposed to! Watermelon always makes me think of summer and my new SU Work of Art set was perfect to make a slice. How convenient for me lol. I used Distress Inks Spun Sugar and Peeled Paint. For the seeds, I used my handy dandy hole punch and some black scrap paper. The fabulous sentiment is part of the same set. The inked edges are done in Peeled Paint. This is actually a get well card for a friend's mom so I used one of my rarely used get well stamps on the inside.

OWH VCMP Challenge Cards, Day 3

Here are my cards for day three of the OWH VCMP.

Sketch Challenge 232
AND
Critter Love: Use furry creature to make a love card.

Teen Time: Make a card for a teen.

AND

clean & simple 298: Use the sketch.

Faux Challenge: Use a faux technique. (Clear embossing powder for tile look.)

AND

Inching toward Christmas: Make a Christmas card using inchies.

OWH VCMP Challenge Cards, Day 2

Here are my cards for the second day of the OWH VCMP.

July ODBD: Things with wings.

Add 'Em Up: Use at least one circle and at least two banners.

For the Boyz: Masculine card with a vintage image.
AND
Travel: Use a form of transportation. 

Texture: Use at least three textures on your card. (Puffy paint stars, bling, heat embossing.)
AND
Red, White & Blue Christmas: Use red, white and blue to make a Christmas card.

Add 'Em Up!

Welcome to your next OWH VCMP challenge! I hope you've been having fun playing along. You can find all of the challenges here as they become available.

My challenge for you is to make a Miss You card using at least one circle and at least two banners. As you can see, I've used two circles and two banners on each card. I chose to use MFT sketch 180. The striped Echo Park paper is so vibrant and goes perfectly with these adorable Eyelet Outlet monster brads. I heat embossed the Stampabilities sentiment with Recollections Snow. To make sure the sentiment was placed correctly since it's on a wood block, I used my trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig. 

Have fun, everyone!

An InLinkz Link-up

<!-- end InLinkz script —>

OWH VCMP Challenge Cards

Here are my cards for the day one challenges.

His and Her SKETCH cards: Make a his and her set of cards using an OWH sketch.

TGIF Thank You: Make a thank you card.

Paper Piecing for Kids: Make a kid's card using paper piecing.

Red, White and Blue Birthday: Make a birthday card using red, white and blue.

Colored Background: Make a card using a background created with ink, paint or scraps.

Two Winter Cards: Make one with traditional Christmas colors and one that can be sent all season.

Stars and Stripes

Wow...my second blog of the day! This time I have two versions of the same card. I used the new SU Work of Art set with some SU Night of Navy and SU Real Red. The only thing that isn't SU is the Paper Smooches wish sentiment and the Spellbinders star. The top card is for the current Seize the sketch challenge and the bottom one is for the current OWH MWT challenge.

Simply the Best

I rarely do one layer cards, but when I saw this one, I decided to CASE it and see what would happen. Using my SU Circle Circus set, I began with some Fresh Ink Chocolate, added some SU Rich Razzleberry and finished it off with VersaMark Onyx Black. I thought about a sentiment for a bit and went with this one from Mama Elephant stamped in more Rich Razzleberry. I really like the simplicity of this card. I even stamped the envelope!

A Plane Birthday

Over on Pinterest, I saw this card and couldn't wait to make my own version of it. The plane is made using the SU slot punch and Spellbinders circles. The sentiment cloud is a die from Mama Elephant and the sentiment is Stampendous. 

Please forgive me for the horrible colors in this picture. I took four pictures and they all have this odd yellow cast that I couldn't edit away. The plane is actually a dark grey and the windows are a pale yellow.

Simple Chickie

Don't you love when an idea turns out easier than you thought it would? When I started this card, I totally planned to color the chickies when I got home (I was at my LSS and my Copics were at home) but both people who were there with me said it looked too cute in black and white. Who am I to argue? LOL! So I left the Paper Smooches chickies the way they were and added the matching sentiment. The embossing folder is by Cuttlebug and the brads are American Crafts.

Always

I wanted to participate in the OWH Sketch 230 challenge and this paper I picked up on sale seemed like the perfect fit. It's a piece of double-sided Glitz Design paper and both sides actually went perfectly together. I used some Spellbinders for the circles as usual. The Hero Arts sentiment is heat embossed with Ranger Gold embossing powder.

Here's a question I was debating with my husband...is this a love card or a thank you card?

Disney themed thank you

I really liked the layout of this card, so I wanted to make one of my own. I thought it would be perfect for some of the Creative Imaginations Magic 6x6 pad. Using some shimmery yellow Bazzill as the background and some red and black Bazzill for the solids, it came together pretty quickly. I used some American Crafts brads for the details. The circles were done with Spellbinders and stamped with some Fiskars stamps.

A bootful of thanks

Today I have two versions of the same card I found here. I started by stamping the SU boot in SU Real Red on kraft paper and fussy cutting them out. The brads are from Colorbok and didn't lay very flat so I added a couple of small pieces of dimensional adhesive to make the whole boot pop. The die shape is from Taylored Expressions and the embossing folder is The Paper Studio. Some ribbon from my stash and two stamps from Hero Arts (the flower/star and sentiment) finish the cards off.

I'm partial to the one on the right because of the shimmery Bazzill paper. Which one is your favorite?

 

Make A Wish

I made this card for my mom's birthday (the idea is here). When my hubby saw it, he said it looked like you could blow on it and make a wish. I realized that's exactly what it looked like, a dandelion ready to be blown for wishes! So, I used the sentiment "wish" on the inside. The flower (weed?) stamp is Hero Arts and is heat embossed with Ranger powder. Those brads are American Crafts and I used my Scor-Buddy for the embossed lines. I used some shimmery Bazzill in one of her favorite colors.

Seize the Birthday!

I love an "anything goes" challenge and Seize the Birthday is having one this week! I started with an EK punch for the edges then used a Spellbinder for the squares. The background paper is from a Creative Imaginations 6x6 Disney-themed pad. I've had the silver JoAnn Craft Essentials metal embellishments for ages and finally decided to use them. I love the extra pop they give this card. The card is finished off with a Hero Arts sentiment.

Double whammy

When I saw this card on Pinterest, I knew I had to make my own version. Then, the new OWH sketch shows up and it's basically the same thing! I love it when things happen like that, don't you? 

The flower is from Impression Obsession and the sentiment circle is DeNami. I colored the flowers and flower brad with Copics. The circles are all done with Spellbinders while the ribbon and brad is from my stash. I used a white Gelly Roll pen for the faux stitching. 

retrosketches #110

For this sketch, I was trying for a masculine card. I think I made it work. The gear paper is Echo Park and the sentiment, stamped in Fresh Ink Chocolate, is Hot Off the Press. I used some Doodlebug twine and a bit of Triveni bling. 

Best. Dad. Ever.

I love this sentiment from the Mama Elephant set Papa Love. It's how I think of my own dad. And I was thinking of him while I made this card. I used some SU inks and stamps along with a SU punch. The bottom orange shape was done with a Taylored Expressions die. The button is a Martha Stewart punch and the brads are American Crafts. The string is a weird waxy one that somehow ended up in our house. After making this card, I got rid of it. It doesn't stay where you put it, even with Scor-Tape, and I had to glue the knot to make it stay. I love how this card turned out and you can find my inspiration for it here.

My Dad My Hero

Today I have a simple card for dad to share with you. As Father's Day approaches, it reminds me that our troops also need year round dad cards. So I made a few of these for my Operation Write Home box using a Hampton Art stamp I found in a clearance basket. After using a Cuttlebug embossing folder for the background and some star brads from my stash, I added the black strips to emphasize the focal point.

Green for Dad

Here's another dad card for you. I started with the card idea you can find here and this is what I ended up with. I stamped a piece of paper with two stamps from SU Circle Circus using Fresh Ink Chocolate and SU Old Olive. Then, using Spellbinders, I cut the ovals out and mounted them on some brown Bazzill. The ribbon from my stash is mounted on a piece of white to make it pop a bit more. I used a Mama Elephant sentiment stamped in Fresh Ink Chocolate and added two American Crafts Chestnut brads for emphasis.

Let's Celebrate!

When I was getting ready to get inky today, I decided it was time to use up some ribbon. I chose this blue ribbon because it went well with the Memento Danube Blue ink I felt like using. I also used Memento Rhubarb Stalk, Brilliance Chocolate and Powder Puff Lemonade. The stamp set is SU Circle Circus. Three cards similar to this and I completed my task of using up a spool of ribbon!

A simple hello

I thought it was time to drop a feminine card in here with all of the masculine ones I've been posting. The sentiment is from a new Hero Arts set called "You're A Rainbow." I surrounded it with lots of pink Triveni bling. The breast cancer awareness paper is from Me & My Big Ideas.

A good idea

It's more of that Me & My Big Ideas mustache paper and another Momenta embellishment. I'm really happy with these embellishments because the whole thing is sticky on the back and the perfect thickness for Operation Write Home cards. 

#1 Dad

It's always the right time to make a "dad" card for OWH. And I thought the current sketch at Techno Stamper was perfect for this one. The chevron paper is DCWV and the stars are done with Spellbinders. I used a Fiskars sentiment and added some Triveni bling.

Mojo Monday 341

How could I not use this sketch when it has three banners on it?! Not to mention I had the perfect Me & My Big Ideas paper and Momenta embellishment! The grey paper is Bazzill while the rest is basic card stock. I used a Fiskars border punch for the scalloped line.