Simply Nautical

Although my house is filled with cards I've made over the years, I couldn't find exactly what a I wanted to send to a friend. So I pulled out some lovely Graphic 45 papers and a Spellbinders die set.

I get such a kick out of this fun kraken design from the By the Sea collection. I cut the shells from a shiny, textured Core'dinations paper and sanded them a bit. The sentiment sticker (Starform) is actually silver, colored with a Copic marker (Honey/Y38). The blue mesh is recycled from a bag of pearl onions.

Try Stamping On Tuesdays

Inspiration/Challenges:
613 Avenue Create: Reuse / Recycle
My Time to Craft: All at sea
Stamping Sensations April Challenge: Dies and/or Punches
Try Stamping On Tuesdays: Sketch #162

Thanks for visiting,

Lots of Love for Lauryn Card Drive

Welcome to my stop on the Lots of Love for Lauryn Blog Hop (April 14-18). I'm pleased to be able to participate in this Card Drive for Lauryn and her family, who are dealing with her recent leukemia diagnosis.

We encourage you to create cards to share your support and encouragement for Lauryn, her parents Josh & Elizabeth, and siblings Lily & Logan. Cards can be mailed to:

Children's National Hematology/Oncology
RM 437
c/o Lauryn Newsome
111 Michigan Ave NW
Washington DC 20010

Several digital artists are offering wonderful stamps to to raise funds for Lauryn & her family. I purchased this wordart by Cec Wintonyk; it's one of my favorite lines of poetry.
I made a card with lots of texture:

The Five Fairy Kitties are by A Day for Daisies. The die-cut feathers are a Silhouette file.

You can find updates on Lauryn via a Facebook page that has been set up by some family. It is Fight on Little Lauryn. They have shared how encouraging it is receive a simple "like" on a
Facebook status or words of love and encouragement that is posted.

Here is the fabulous group of bloggers who have joined us in promoting this Card Drive. We would love for you to hop with us as numerous bloggers have blog candy (look below for a little something from me):

• Lots of Love for Lauryn
• Olga Jewell Craftieodamae
• Mary Anne Kelemen Lakeside Stamping
• Lisa Haines The Purple Place
• Patti Painter Patti’s Paper Creations
• Jennie Harper Stampin Away the Day 
• Colleen Holmes A Card’s Delight
• Jennifer Scull Just Coffee Please…& Stamps & Ribbons & Paper
• Anita Autore Cards & Coffee 
• Sandra Van Blaricum Cards and Creativity 
• Jerusha Borden I Love Paper Crafting 
• Nina Brackett Crafting in Croatia
• Linda Coughlin The Funkie Junkie
• Kathleen Curry Will Stamp for Wine
• Vicki Dutcher All I Do is Stamp
• Debbie Ebat Debbie’s Stamping Adventures
• Tera Fujan Stamp Queen 
• Patti Gilliam Cherish Each Precious Gift
• Joy Hadden Pieces of Joy
• Karen Knegten Studio at the Lake 
• Lori McAree Smiling While Stamping
• CG Say Something Loudly (you're here)
• Lee Murphy My Reality
• Betty Neville Betty Neville on StampTV
• Jackie Randolph Paper Moments 
• Shirley Ross Card Art, Etc.
• Melissa Shultz Buggin to Stamp
• Carla Suto Carla’s Stamping Spot 
• Cat Tidwell Cat’s Creations 
• Brenda Turner Stamp It Up
• Geri Utterback Geri’s Cards 
• Cheri Weston Stamp’n Boomer 

What an amazing parade of...hope! Today we honor Lauryn and her extended family, but we also honor all of us, because we all experience the unimaginable. Thank you for sending Lots of Love for Lauryn! If you have a few extra cards the Sunshine Mail Foundation could really use some more cards for other sick children.

As for Blog Candy... I have a special offer for everyone participating in this Card Drive: A Notch Swing Card SVG template of your choice from my Etsy Store! Leave me a comment and/or email me (CGsaysSomethingLoudly [at] gmail [dot] com) by April 18 with your choice (Sorry, it's only available in SVG file format.)

Thanks for visiting,

Colorful Springtime - My Heart Pieces and OSAAT

This week at One Stitch at a Time (OSAAT), our theme is Use a Digi. StitchyBear's Digi Outlet has hundreds of digital products from many wonderful artists, and if you use one of our products you'll be entered to win the super-duper April prize pack of 7 digis. If you don't use a store image, you'll still be in the drawing to win a $3 gift certificate. 
My teamie Shell chose one of my favorite images to work with, Ankhi by My Heart Pieces.

I used this image a while back, so I wanted this card to have a different, yet complementary, look. I've used some other of this artist's images that have similar birds, and I always end up coloring them as bluebirds (of happiness, I guess)! I actually printed this image onto the patterned background paper so that I could line it up exactly. It was printed again on white cardstock, colored with Copics, and fussy-cut.

The DP is from Graphic 45's Mother Goose collection, and I was tickled to discover that the flower patterns on the Ring Around the Rosies and Storytime sheets match! If you look closely, you can see how the green paper is aligned with the background. The scalloped border on top is a Sizzix die cut, and let me tell you that was pretty tricky to line up correctly! The circle is die-cut from a paper from the same Mother Goose collection, A Pocketful of Posies.

I finished the card with some ribbon and a printed, silk flower from my stash. The brad is by Amy Tangerine/American Crafts.

Scrapping Everyday Miracles

Inspiration/Challenges:
Copic Spain Challenge: Flowers + Copics
Crafter's Cafe: Spring
Creative Card Crew #59: Spring
Ladybug Crafts: Here comes spring
Oddball Art Stamps: Use a Digi
Papertake Weekly: Spring Has Sprung
Penny's Paper-Crafty: Flower power
Scrapping Everyday Miracles: April Card Sketch

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us this week at One Stitch at a Time,

Crafting with Dragonflies Baby Blog Hop Winner

Many thanks to everyone who joined the Crafting with Dragonflies Baby Blog Hop. Be sure to check the main Winners Post.

One lucky participant who commented on my stop on the hop had a chance at a special priaze of six digis from Handmade Harbour. 

I had 17 lovely comments (thank you all!), so I used Random.org to choose a winner, which was:

#5 Divya B

Who left me this lovely comment:
CG..it is really a never-ending card. But must say it is just too amazing. Loved the way you have done the patchwork with lovely baby colors. Feels like its a baby quilt.
Thanks for the chance to win!!

Congratulations, Divya! Please email Judith [at] PoppyCottage [dot] com to claim your prize (use the subject: Crafting  with Dragonflies Blog Hop Winner - Handmade Harbor]

Many thanks to everyone who joined in teh Blog Hop fun,and hope you'll join the current  Easter Challenge at Crafting with Dragonflies,

Piles O' Hydrangeas

This week at Pile It On! we're focusing on the Feminine. Our sponsor is Aurora Wings, and I used the gorgeous Hydrangeas set:

I ran into our former landlady the other day, and wanted to send her a nice card. She grows the most gorgeous hydrangeas every year, so I thought this would make her smile. I colored each bunch of Hydrangeas with Copic markers.

The sentiment is from a Clear Art Stamps set, and the banner/pennant was cut on my Silhouette with a file from Bird's Cards. The floral DP is by Graphic45. For the green pieces, I embossed a green cardstock with a Cuttlebug folder in my BigShot, and distressed the pieces with Wild Wasabi SU! ink. I used felt leaf ribbon, which was easy enough to glue on.

You want to try your own Card in a Box, there's a great written tutorial at Splitcoaststampers, and a video tutorial by Stampin T! for a smaller version. I trimmed my card down to 5.5 inches tall, to fit in an American/A2 envelope; you can find my measurements here on my blog.

Inspiration/Challenges:
A song in your He{ART} #4: Everything grows
AuroraWings Challenge: Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion: Shaped cards or Anything but Square
Crafty Catz #225: Springtime
Eureka Stamps #83: Spring Flowers
Fitztown Challenge: Fancy Folds
Inky Impressions #153: Fancy Fold
Melonheadz Friends Challenge: Spring
Oldie But A Goodie Challenge: April Showers Bring May Flowers + Stash item (leaf ribbon, plain papers, and sentiment stamp are all over a year old)
Pattie's Creations #89: Fancy Folds
Scrap-Creations: Spring
TimbroScrapMania Stamping Challenge: Only for a Girl

Update: This made the Top 5 for Eureka Stamps Challenge #83!

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us this week at Pile It On,