Smiles at Sunshine Mail

It's time for a new Sunshine Mail Foundation Challenge (June 1 - June 15). Our theme is "Smile" and the only real rule is that you send in at least one card (Donation guidelines here).

We're sponsored by Just Some Lines, so I was able to use this oh-so-adorable Fairy Kiss digi:

The image is both digitally and physically paper-pieced: I inserted the polka dot paper (Mel Stampz digi paper freebies) in PhotoShop, but hand-cut everything out to create some 3D layers. I colored the image with Copics. The wings are printed on vellum, and traced with turquoise Stickles. 

I hand-stamped the flower border in China Blue ink (Ranger), using a clear stamp from a free set from Cardmaking & Papercraft Magazine.

The sentiment is from When the Scrap Hits the Fun, but I added blue tints in PhotoShop. The wooden butterfly (Prima) was colored with a blue Copic and heat-embossed in Peacock (I don't know the brand, but it's basically a mix of transparent powder and blue & green glitter).

Inspiration/Challenges:
All That Stickles Linky Party: Turquoise Stickles
Artistic Inspirations: Paper Piercing/Piecing
Celebrate the Occasion #114: Must use a butterfly
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards #40: Fantasy and/or Fairies
Creative Creations Challenge Blog: Paper Piecing
Just Some Lines: Anything Goes with a JSL image
Simply Create Too #38: BINGO ("G": Blue, Lace, Stamp, Tag, Polka Dots)
The Lollipop Ladies Challenge #70: Bug inspiration + Nature


Update: This placed in the Top 3 at Just Some Lines. Thank you!

Thank you for visiting & hope you'll join us at Sunshine Mail,

Anything Goes at Card Cupids

It's time for another challenge/card drive at Card Cupids! Our second challenge for November is "Anything Goes" (Nov 15-30), and is sponsored by Just Some Lines.

I used Gab Hanging Around by Just Some Lines to make this funky little card:

I cut the card base on my Bigshot with Sizzix's Circle Flip-its Movers & Shapers die; if you follow my blog, you know that I love this kind of card! It's so fun and really quite easy.

I printed the sentiment by TLC Creations on polka-dot paper from a•muse studio, and added a little scrap of leaf ribbon. The grass border was cut on my Cricut... I think from the Paper Dolls cartridge? I had cut a bunch for my stash.

Hope you'll join in with us for our Anything Goes challenge and be a Card Cupid! The only requirement for our challenges, other than the theme, is to send in at least one card to Card Cupids (the simple instructions are here). We're always getting requests for cards, so do check out the blog. 

I'm entering this into the following fun challenges:

1. Creative Moments: More than one fold
2. Craft Punked: Anything goes
3. Daring Cardmakers: Just Because
4. Divas by Design #61: Anything goes
5. Forever Friends November Challenge: Anything Goes

Thank you for visiting,

Card Cupids February Drive: CPS Days 9 and 14 + Motivational Rock

Using the the sketches from Days 9 and 14 of the CPS 5th Anniversary Celebration, I made birthday cards for Card Cupid's February Drive:

CPS Day 9, Sketch #5

I cut down this Thomas the Cat pre-colored diecut from Lili of the Valley to match the rest of the shapes. I combines the balloons & sentiment from a Bentley Bear stamp set, and found a perfect matching cake in a set from Our Betty.

CPS Day 14, Sketch #45

I was really inspired by the Cropped Digi Image theme at Digi Makeover Challenges: it worked really well with Gab in the Groove from Just Some Lines. I stamped the white silk ribbon with a Great Impressions stamp in three colors of dye inks (pink, Fire Brick, and brown); this was inspired by the recent tutorial at the SP & Company Stamps blog. Thanks!

Update: The card I made for the Cropped Digi Image Challenge at Digi Makeover won the random prize! Thank you!

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This month's challenge at Card Cupids is to "create a motivational card for a child", so I grabbed this cute DJ digi from KennyK Downloads, a sentiment from Create with TLC, & a fun Guitar Hero stamp set from StudioG (I think) and made this bright number (without any help from CPS!):

I'm thinking that I will add a "Happy Birthday" sentiment and send it in as part of their Birthday card drive.

Thanks to all for the inspiration! (All my cards for the CPS Celebration are archived here.) 

Just Some very early Spring ornaments

We're sure having fun with the "Shrink Plastic" theme at the Stampin' Dymonz Scrap Shack (SDSS) Off the Page group! Lots of tips and amazing projects have already been shared, and I can't enough of my new printable shrink plastic.

I decided to make some ornaments with some of my Just Some Lines digi stamps for their current Anything But a Card challenge. The ornaments are for an "Easter" (or Spring) tree; we always had one when I was growing up, and since I have a yard full of branches right now from tree-trimming (both purposeful and some with thanks to Hurricane Irene) it was pretty easy to find a tiny branch that would work.

The ornaments are matted with cardstock and colored with Copics.

Inspiration:
Just Some Lines Challenge: Anything But a Card

Copics: E17, E13, BV02, FY1, RV11, Y17, RV04, YG41, BG49, B63, BV04, V06, E33, RV02, YG03, G07, BG15, B00

Back to School, primarily

So have you heard yet about the upcoming blog hop and party at Feline Playful? Let me tell you, it's gonna be amazing. I save so much time being able to consult their challenge lists, and am always finding new blogs. Someone pointed out that expecting sponsors & followers is nothing but vanity, which may well be true but I'm not quite sure what part of participating in challenges isn't a soft form of vanity, so put your makeup on & fix your hair up pretty [ref.] and meet me & the fantastic group there on September 21.

Anyhoo, I have a huge list of cards I should be working on, but I wanted to make a back-to-school card for our teenaged nieces. 

For the images, I pulled out some of my favorite digis from Tiddly Inks and Just Some Lines. I was especially pleased to see that the current challenge at Just Some Lines is Embossing: I love me some embossing, any kind! The chair was printed on yellow cardstock and dry-embossed with my Sizzix. The sentiment frame is heat-embossed in ruby.

I paper-pieced the book image with matching papers. Love Graphics 45!

Inspiration:
Just Some Lines Challenge: Embossing
Fairy Tale Challenge #22: Back to School
Delightful Challenges: Back to School/Primary Colors

Stamps: Schoolgirl set by Tiddly Inks, Amber Reads by Just Some Lines, Let It Shine set by Verve Stamps, the Paper Studio
Paper: Graphics 45, Hammermill, Recollections
Tools: Fiskars papercutter, Martha Stewart scissors & border punch, HP printer & ink, Adobe InDesign, Marvy heat tool, Sizzix Texture Boutique, Tim Holtz embossing folder
Other: ZipDry glue, Scotch foam tape, Versamark & Memento inks, Recollections embossing powder, Copic markers, Sakura gel pen

Hey Cupcake!

I just recently discovered the Make It Monday Link Party, and really like the idea of sharing my current personal favorite creation each week. Love looking at everyone's projects, too...a great resource for inspiration.

I decided to mix two challenges to make this card, because I wanted to try both themes. Birthday Sundaes is focusing on Shaped Cards (and I can also use birthday cards!), and the Saturday Challenge at Just Some Lines is to use dots. I pulled out all my spotted papers, using mostly scraps, and made a paper-pieced card based on the Cupcake by Stampendous.

I couldn't resist adding a hidden massage on the front! I ended up hand-cutting the hearts, to make it easier to stamp and emboss evenly. I'm definitely going to have to make more of these, maybe with more pages. Here's the "inside":

Inspiration:
Birthday Sundaes Challenge #14: Shaped Birthday Cards
Just Some Lines Saturday Challenge: Spotty Dotty
Make It Monday #42, sponsored by Cupcake Cards and Crafts

Stamps: Cling Cupcake XL by Stampendous, Happy Birthday sentiment by Inkadinkado, sentiments by Hampden Art, Gift Mandy digi from Tellen's Place Designs
Paper: Core'dinations, Echo Park, stash
Tools: Marvy heat tool & punch, Fiskars scallop circle punch, MS detail scissors
Other: ZipDry glue, Stampendous embossing powders, Versamark & Memento inks, Sakura GellyRoll pen, ribbon by GCS Imports (thank you Sandra!)
Copics: 100, R27, R59, YG03; RV11, RV02, BV04, B63, BV00, BV000, B0000, B00, BG000, E13, E11, E51, E000, E33, E17, R59, R37, R35