Pilin' on the Pencils

Our theme at the Pile It On! Challenge this week is Pencils: You can use an image of pencils, color with pencils, or even use an actual pencil! We're sponsored by Jellypark, and I used their great Craft Basket digi stamp from their store:

click to enlarge

I colored the image with pencils, although I did use a Copic marker for the background. The ribbon elements are fussy-cut & colored with watercolor pencils. The craft box is pieced with a Graphic 45 DP and decorated with some green Sparkly Fluff.

I made the ruler embellishment with yellow paper and medical paper tape. I inked the tape with a darker yellow and stamped the ruler (from the Sew Pretty set from Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine) on it with black ink.

The "Creativity Takes Courage" quote (by Henri Matisse) comes from Graphic 45's Typography collection, and is popped up with foam tape to secure the easel. The scissors are a Silhouette die cut, cut from gray paper & sprayed with Glimmer Mist.

I can't remember where I got the base card DP... if you recognize it, please let me know! I added some drywall tape that I colored with a green marker. The flowers & buttons are from my stash.

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Brown Sugar #110: Use Lace
2. Crafting Musketeers #17: Use Buttons
3. Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge #192: Digital (digi stamp)
4. Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper September Challenge: Anything goes with Patterned Paper
5. Fussy and Fancy #122: More than one fold
6. Paper Minutes #337: Buttons
7. Sisterhood of Crafters: Fancy Fold

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting! Hope you'll join us at Pile It On,

Piling On one more card for 2013!

It's the final week of 2013, I can't believe it! It's also the final week of our "P is for..." Challenge at Pile It On (deadline January 4). I couldn't resist making one final card! Our sponsor for the month of December is Jellypark, so I used her Penguin with Woolly Hat digi stamp.

I piled on five "P" items: Penguin, Pocket, Polka Dots, [liquid] Pearls, and Postage Stamp. You can check out all the beautiful DT projects, including my other Penguin card, and join the challenge here at Pile It On!

I made a lot of these "Diagonal Double pocket cards" this year, as we mostly gave Gift Certificates. I got the idea from my mom, who had learned the technique at Scraps of Love. It's a variation of Claudia Rosa's tutorial at Splitcoaststampers. I like it because the card look good without or without the gift and is a fun way to use a double-sided paper, although in this case I used a one-sided paper so that I had white sheet on the inside for the message. This striking black-and-white paper is from a Recollections collection.

For the pearl accents, I used black and white Opal Liquid Pearls, and a gold Viva Pearl Pen. The penguin was painted with the same liquid pearls, it worked really nicely. The hat was paper-pieced with a shiny white paper, and detailed with a gold pen.

The sentiment piece was embossed/cut with a Christmas present (well, a post-Christmas-sale present, from my mom!) A.C. Moore had this and other specially-priced Pagemap/Spellbinders die sets, and this set goes along with a Pagemaps set I already own. And Mom bought herself a present too! We had such a nice visit.

I cut the foil stamp from a white card covered with a gold Rolo wrapper using my Xryon sticker machine, and popped it up with foam tape. I stamped the "warm wishes" sentiment with Staz-on. The middle fold was decorated with a lacey tape, and I added some scrap white ribbon just for good measure. The penguin is on an Action Wobble.

I'm entering this into the following Challenges:
Alphabet Challenge: W is for Whatever You Wish
Animal Friends Challenge: Anything Goes with an Animal
Crafts 4 Eternity #156: Something New (the die is new & this is my newest favorite fold)
Crafty Calendar: Cold and Frosty
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Bling

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

Paper-Pieced Penguin

The Pile It On Challenge is having its yearly December-long challenge, this year with the theme P is for...! The challenge will actually run 5 weeks, December 1 - January 4. You can enter as many times as you like, providing it is a new challenge made with our rules in mind.

I piled on four "P" items: Penguins, Polka Dots, Liquid Pearls, and Poinsettia. 

Our sponsor for the month of December is Jellypark, so I used her Penguin with Woolly Hat digi stamp:

The penguin and snowflake cut files are from Santa's North Pole Workshop set by SVG Cuts. I used SCAL to make the borders ... don't you think the ones on the inside look like the back of a line of penguins‽

The fabric poinsettias are from my stash, and although the one on top was already pre-glittered, I added some gold Stickles for extra shimmer.

The Notch-Swing card design was self-designed; If you'd like to try it yourself, the cutting file are available for purchase in my Etsy Shop.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Crafting By Designs: Christmas/Winter
Digi Sketch Challenge: Paper Piecing (2nd entry)
Fab 'n' Funky #195: Cute critters
Jellypark Friends Friday Challenge: Christmas
Left of Center Creative Challenges: LOC or No People
Shopping Our Stash #121: Holiday Or Winter (the fabric poinsettias are from my stash)
Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays): Anything Goes
Simply Create Too #51: Snow or Use Only White
Sweet Pea Stampers: Lots of Texture
The Crazy Challenge: Snowy winter

Update: This was the random prize winner for Fab 'n' Funky "Cute Critters" Challenge!

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

Wooden you like to join us and Pile It On?

How can you tell if there's a dog on your boat? Just look for the poop deck!

Yes, I must still have "the puns" from April Fool's Day... I'm not much for practical jokes, but I love a bad pun. Which is why I'm kinda regretting choosing the theme of "Wood" for this week's Pile It On Challenge...! We're sponsored by Jellypark, so I used her cute Pirate & Dog on Boat digi and my punniest sentiment, from TLC Creations: "To err is human; To arrrr is pirate." (It's also available as part of the Pirate Party set.)

I've actually used this sentiment with a Jellypark image before, and it was even for Pile It On, oops! But the cards are very different. I'm thinking I'm going have to send out Talk Like a Pirate Day cards this year!

I couldn't help myself from making a little Doggie Jolly Roger with a Prima wood embellishment. I drew the bones and colored them & the dog with a white glaze pen.

I cut the little boat from some cork I have in my stash. I added the details, and attached the sentiment sail with a small stick that I just happened to have. Okay, I admit that I collect natural items for crafting purposes...sticks, leaves, even bark. I put them in a plastic in the freezer to "treat" them, and try to use them as fast as I collect them...which I never do!

Which is why I was really happy to find a use for the bark I collected last year. I soaked some pieces in a bowl of water overnight, and then ran them through my SU! Sweet Buttons Embosslit Die to make little buttons. I punctured the holes with my awl, dried the piece with my heat tool, and sewed on some blue floss.
 
The image is colored with Copics. I added texture to the boat using Blender Solution and a piece of cork.

As you can tell, I had lots of fun making this! Hope you'll gather your favorite challenges and Pile It On with us this week.

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Aud Sentiments Challenge: Card or Project with a Sentiment for a Child
2. Cards For Men: Humorous cards
3. Crafty Cardmakers: Humour
4. Card Makin' Mamas: No patterned papers
5. Inklings and Yarns: Always Anything Goes
6. Inky Impressions: For a child 
7. Oldie but a Goodie: Transport (I've had the cork for over a year and a half, and the stick & bark were collected last spring)
8. Paper Playtime: Use a Pun
9. Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes
10. Stuck on U Diecut Challenge: Rrrrrrr Ye Sea Worthy (buttons are cut with a die)

Update: This was chosen as one of the Top 3 for the Stuck on U Diecut Challenge. Thank you!

Thank you for visiting,

I spy something beginning with P... for Pile It On!

This week's challenge at Pile It On is another really fun one: We want to see you use anything beginning with P!

I used this oh-so-cute Pirate from Jellypark digi stamps, our fabulous sponsor.I tried use as many "P" elements as possible: Pirate, pencils (watercolor), pen (Copic, for edging on Pirate ship), pin, pearls, penny, and patterned paper: pinstripes, polka dots, plaid. I heat-embossed the penny with ultra-thick gold embossing powder to make a faux doubloon.

The sentiment is a freebie from TLC Creations (Thanks, Paulette!). It's also available as part of her Pirate Party set.

Thank you for visiting,

Ice Cream Time with My Sheri & Jellypark ... and MORE!

I've been so lucky these past few weeks to have won some prizes with my challenge cards. For example, I won this fabulous Ice Cream Truck digi from Jellypark via Fetch-a-Sketch Challenge 25:

This was so much fun to color! My husband surprised me on Saturday with a mini shopping spree at Michaels! ... Happily, they had restocked their Copics so we chose some fun new colors, including W1, my first from their "Warm Gray" series. Wow, it's awesome! Later in the day, he went over to his buddy's house to play Civilization (a computer game) and I stayed home and made this card. While I was coloring the image, I sent him a few photos of its progress; I am so glad he married me ha ha!

I cut the ice cream cone out with the Doodlecharms Cricut cartridge, added some shading with Copics, and sprayed it with Iridescent Gold glimmer mist from Tattered Angels.

The Sentiment is from the Sweet Treat stamp collection by Beth Gunnell for Quick Cards Made Easy. The daisy background is from Outlines Rubber Stamps, and I heat-embossed it in Kaleidoscope. The "snowball" wired ribbon is from Michaels; I used Copics to make them little balls of ice cream!

You might be wondering why I chose green for my main ice cream color; well, it's because it represent 3 of my most favorite flavors: Mint, Pistachio, and Daiquiri Ice!

Simon Says Stamp

Inspiration/Challenges:

Great Impressions: "Show us your best stay in the lines coloring"
The Hybrid Chick Card Caravan: Ice Cream

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #90: Nat'l Ice Cream Month

Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenge #29: Your Favorite Summer Treat

Simon Says Stamp: Dawny's Sketch (right)
*Tuesday Alchemy Challenge #25: Ice Cream Social (Corrine from their DT invited me to link up here as well...thanks Corrinne!)

Update: This card won an Ooo-La-La Award for My Sheri Crafts Challenge #90!

Thank you for visiting,

Ice Skating Tag

The theme this week at Pile It On is "Tags", so I used the Skating Boy and Let It Snow Tag digi stamp set by Jellypark to make this penny-slider tag:

It's practically impossible to see in this photo, but the non-embossed half of the tag is covered in Glossy Accents so that he's really "ice" skating!

Inspiration/Challenges:

ABC Christmas Challenge - N is for Not A Card

Aud Sentiments Challenge #59 - TAG IT!

Cardmadfairy's Digi Days - Christmas

Crafty Creations Challenge #179 - Tags
The Crafty Pad Challenge #180: Interactive

The Crazy Challenge - Christmas

Hooked on Crafts - Christmas

Jellypark Challenges - Christmas

Lollipop Crafts - Christmas

Speedy Fox and Friends Challenge #117 - Christmas

There She Goes - Christmas

Totally Stampalicious - Christmas

Update: This made the Top 5 for The Crafty Pad Challenge #180!

Thank you for visiting,

Up in the Air at Pile It On

click to enlarge

This week's Pile It On Challenge is sponsored by Jellypark, and one lucky participant will win 2 of their adorable images!

The Challenge theme is "Up In The Air": bugs, birds, butterflies, clouds, balloons, planes, etc. Oh my goodness, wait until you see what the PIO Design Team came up with! I used Jellypark's Space Rocket to make this Baby Boy card.

The Jellypark Friends Challenge this week is "National Craft Month", so I featured some of my favorite crafting techniques. 

I love stitching on cards, so I machine-stitching the quilt pattern onto the DP and hand-stitched the sentiment with green thread, using a template I generated with with the Ahoy in Stitches font.

I printed the image onto 7 papers (I used large scraps for this), plus white for the base & window image, and paper-pieced the image. I colored the little astronaut with Copics and used Glossy Accents on his helmet.

My absolutely most favorite thing to do with baby cards is to add "ribbon tags"...the kind that is added to baby toys. Plus, this cards uses many years' worth of ribbon scraps!

The buttons are glued on, but I did run green thread through them first. I made the border with white silk ribbon & good ol' double-sided tape.

I've been hoarding the space-themed DP for at least 3 years, if not longer -- I was waiting for the perfect project!

Hope you'll pop on over to Pile It On for some inspiration and then join us -- and as many other challenges as you wish -- with your "Up in the Air" project!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Card Makin' Mamas: Buttons

Delicious Doodles - The Wonder of Life

Digi Doodle Shop's Best - People

Jellypark Friends Challenge - National Craft Month (my 2nd entry; favorite crafting techniques: stitching (machine & hand), paper piecing, ribbon tags)

Just Some Lines - Spring Cleaning (DP, ribbon scraps)

The Poodles Parlour Challenge - Anything Goes

Scrapbookaholic by Abby/Dilo en Español Challenge - Anything Goes

Shelly's Images Terrifically Thrilling Thursday - Show Us What You Got 

Stamp and Create March Monthly Challenge - Paper piecing

Update: Wow, I won 3rd place in Digi Doodle Shop's Best "People" Challenge!

International Crafting with Mom Month

I don't think there's any such thing as International Crafting with Mom Month, but I just invented it for this card! I made this card with the awesome freebie provided for Jellypark Friends' National Craft Month Challenge, and since Sunday is Mother's Day in Britain I decided to make it in honor of my crafting guru, my mom! Of course, that also means I can enter it into this week's Mother's Day challenges, so if I win anything I guess Mom gets it, ha!

I made a Joy Fold card, mostly so that I could use my other favorite crafting image, Craft Lady by MelonHeadz Illustrating.

I have so many favorite crafting products, only a few of which are depicted in these images, ha ha! I ink-distressed the edges with Antique Linen; I never thought I'd like ink-distressing until I found this product, and now I'm hooked!

The red ribbon is actually from a Harry & David gift package! I've had these pretty vintage-y DP and pretty buttons forever.

I generated the sentiment with the cute freebie font 4 My Lover. I thought that some of you might want it for International Crafting with Mom Month (pick the month, ha!), so here it is (there's no border on the actual image, so that you can make your own frame). If you use it, please let me know. This JPEG image is 1.3 inches square & 300 DPI (click to go to full sized image and save to your computer):

I am so blessed to have my mom in my life, and crafting has brought us so many good times together. Have a crafty day!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:
Craft Your Days Away Challenge #40: Mother's Day
Jellypark Friends Challenge: National Craft Month
One Stop Craft Challenge #173: Mothers Day with Ribbon
The Crafty Pad Challenge #161: Mum's The Word


Update: This card made the Top 5 for The Crafty Pad Challenge #161!

Shades of Love (CPS Anniversary Celebration Day #6)

I was recently introduced me to Jellypark images and I'm becoming increasingly hooked! I love that the artist, Claire Keay, also sells original art and digis for charity. I grabbed her Girl with Thank You Bunting digital stamp as soon as it came out; all proceeds go to Little Havens children's hospice. I thought it would be perfect for with CPS Sketch #37, the sketch for CPS Anniversary Celebration Day #6.

CPS Sketch #37

The pre-glittered, double-sided DP is actually from My Mind's Eye's Lost & Found Christmas series, but it just felt right for this card!

I colored the image with colored pencils and distressed the piece with Antique Linen distress ink. Using double-sided tape, I created the border with a natural raffia. I used red raffia for the middle, and added the last of paper-bag bunting, made with the Pretty Pendants set by SP & Company. I added faux brads with Candy Cane Stickles.

I made this card for the following challenges:

Jellypark Challenges: Shades of Love
CPS Anniversary Celebration Day #6: CPS Sketch #37 (right)

Thanks for looking! I'm going to be posting lots of cards this week, thanks to CPS! You can see all my cards for their 5th Anniversary Celebration here.


Update: This card won a Top 3 spot for Jellypark's Shades of Love challenge! Thank you all!