Chalkboard Wisdom

I've been very lucky with winning challenges recently, including a gift certificate from DRS Designs. I got such a kick out of their "Positive Attitude Greeting" and am having tons of fun inking it up! I matched it with one of my favorite rubber stamps by Rogue Redhead Designs.

I always have fun with the inherent messiness of the Chalkboard Technique; I heat-embossed the stamps in white & added detail with a white gen pen.

I made the frame with some Popsicle sticks from desserts past; I trimmed them with a razor blade & scissors, and stained them with Vintage Photo distress ink. The little screws on the top corners (V's Sweet Ideas) were heat embossed in silver. The ribbon is from my stash. The backing paper is a slate blue cardstock.

Inspiration/Challenges:

Lessology Challenge #58: Chalkboard + Upcycled item (Popsicle sticks)
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Emboss It

Update: This made the Top 3 for Lessology #58!

Thanks for stopping by,

Simply Fishy

If you're like me, you immediately took interest in this week's theme at Shopping Our Stash: You Stamped With What?!! People have come up with such great ideas!

I had the perfect object in my stash: a lattice-patterned plastic hanger that I've had in my stash for at least a year. I applied ink directly onto it and it stamped quite easily. I stamped it in green 3 times, once vertically and twice horizontally. I used a wet wipe to take off the border. I left the border for the yellow stamps on the base card.

I cut a circle from fun foam, taped it to a stamp block & stamped it in yellow. The sentiment was stamped in green with a Rogue Redhead Designs rubber stamp. Honestly, I chose it because of how it balanced visually, but the pun was an added bonus! I wet the stamp to bleed the ink a bit, for sharp color & an artsy look. The "carp" (Viva Las Vegastamps) was inked once with blue & stamped thrice.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Color Throwdown: Color Combo #388
Less is More #271: 3 stamps (I'm not sure if this counts, but I linked it up)

Shopping Our Stash Challenge #247: You Stamped With What?!!

Update: This was chosen as a Top Pick for Shopping Our Stash Challenge #247!

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting!

Pilin' on the Vintage

This week at Pile It On our challenge theme is Vintage. We're sponsored by Rogue Redhead Designs, and they were incredibly generous & sent our PIO team their beautiful half-plate set Winter Women.

I've been a huge fan of RRD for several years; If I did more stamping, I'd own all their stamps! Seriously, they are well-made stamps and worth every penny. I especially enjoy their background stamps.

I wanted to use as much of the stamp set as I could, so I made a Card-in-a-box:

All of these stamps, including the shoe-pattern on the upper flaps and the sentiment on the back, are all from RRD's Winter Women set. It's difficult to see in this photo, but I stamped the shoe pattern in pink and blue on manila paper (same paper as the base card). The other off-white papers are a vine-patterned, pre-embossed DP. The patterned papers are from Graphic 45, included the paper used for the shoe stamp.

I edged all the pieces with Vintage Photo distress ink. I used brown ink to stamp all the images, and colored the lovely ladies with Copic markers. I added a touch of lace, but decided not to add any other embellishments & just let the stamps shine!


Challenges/Inspiration:
Craft Your Passion: Something beginning with B (Box, Boot)
It's All About the Vintage: Special Folds + Vintage
Ooh La La Creations: More than 1 Fold
Suzy Bee Challenge #55: Vintage
Top Tip Tuesday: 3 or more Papers

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

Artsy Autumn - TLC Progressive Challenge Day 10

Tomorrow (October 4th) is World Cardmaking Day, and even though basically my every day is cardmaking day, I've enjoyed celebrating with the Progressive Challenge at TLC Creations (here are my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth cards)! For the tenth day, we received this lovely Woodpecker image:

The scene is a rubber stamp from Rogue Redhead Designs. I colored it stamp with stamp markers, inked it with my Versamark watermark ink pad, stamped it on white paper, and then heat-embossed it with clear powder. I added some color to the leaves and used a watermark ink pen and heat-embossed over that as well. Then I inked the background with two blues. I used the same emboss-resist technique for the TLC digi stamp.

Using my BigShot, I cut the little leaves with a Tim Holtz die and embossed the backgrounds with a Darice folder. I added some orange burlap trim.

SPDSS12

Inspiration/Challenges:
Create with TLC World Cardmaking Day: Progressive Challenge Day 10
If You Give a Crafter A Cookie...: Autumn inspiration
SugarPea Designs: Sketch

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting!

Happy Unbirthday - TLC Progressive Challenge Day 8

I'm having fun with the Progressive Challenge at TLC Creations (here are my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh cards). Our freebie for the eighth day is a classic image from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland combined with a sweet sentiment.

I colorized the digi stamp to change it from black to brown, printed it on regular cardstock, cut it with a Heartfelt Creations die, and painted it with Crackle Paint.

I have a rubber stamp set of some of these classic Wonderland images, so I used the White Rabbit one to create a Shrinky Dink embellishment and I stamped Alice on the inside.

The papers are from Bo Bunny & October Afternoon. The sentiment, from Rogue Redhead Designs, was heat-embossed in gold on a piece of the opposite side of the darker, dotted paper. I cut it out with scalloped scissors.

The watch in the teacup is a wood die-cut that I heat-embossed with more gold powder. 

Sketch #74

Inspiration/Challenges:
Create with TLC World Cardmaking Day: Progressive Challenge Day 8
Seems a Little Sketchy: Sketch #74 (I altered it a bit, but was still inspired by the original sketch)

Update: I was the prize winner for Seems a Little Sketchy #74!

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting!

More fun with Rogue Redhead Designs

Working on my Pile It On! DT card for our current Ink-on-paper Stamping challenge, I was inspired to use more of our sponsor's stamps. For this Anniversary card, I used an image from the Just Sayin' set and a sentiment from the Nature Notes set from Rogue Redhead Designs (You can see some of my other projects featuring RRD stamps here.) This was a relatively quick card, for a special anniversary.

Inspiration/Challenges:
ColourQ: Colors
Rogue Stampers Facebook Group: April Sketch
Simon Says Stamp: Clean & Simple (3rd entry)

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

Pilin' on the Ink-on-paper Stamping

This week at Pile It On! we're goin' old school with the theme of Ink-on-paper Stamping. You can use digi products, but actual stamping needs to be the focus.

We are sponsored this week by Rogue Redhead Designs, and even though it's not my week to play with the PIO team, I couldn't resist pulling out some of my own RRD stamps. I used this lovely scene from their Nature Notes set:

One of my favorite uses of Rogue Redhead rubber stamps is to ink them with markers (I use American Craft and Marvy stamp markers). The RRD stamps have such nice, deep edging that it makes them easy to color, and even when it takes some time to ink the whole piece, it always stamps very well (I always breathe on the final ink, to refresh it.) The stamped piece is cut-out and pasted onto the background.

I bought this set partly with a gift certificate that I won via Rogue Redhead Designs #31, but this is my first time inkin' it up. (You can see some of my other projects featuring RRD stamps here.) The "hello" was cut with a TCW die with paper I stamped with a Woodgrain pattern from the same set.

The background was inspired by the Quilted Tiles Tutorial at Rogue Redhead Designs, but I used a stencil instead (made in SCAL and cut on my Silhouette Cameo), so it's a bit more of a harlequin pattern, but I'm still linking it up! Thanks for the inspiration, Sharon and all at RRD. I inked it with one of my favorite inks, Barely Banana from Stampin' Up, which is very subtle in most light, but in direct sunlight can be quite bright. It's like a surprise of sunshine!

I wanted a little something extra, so I put a bird on it. I backed the wooden bird (from Prima or Darice) with a scrap of paper from the "hello" die cut.

Inspiration/Challenges:
CAS Colours and Sketches: Sketch #71
Eclectic Paperie: Wood
Rogue Redhead Designs: Quilted Tiles Tutorial
Scrapping4funChallenges: Use a Stamp/Digi Image
Simon Says Stamp: CAS (2nd entry)
STAMPlorations April Challenge: Stamps & Your Favorite Technique (using markers to ink stamps)

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

Card Cupids Challenge, sponsored by The Stamping Boutique

Hello all, this is my first post today, of three! Today begins a new two-week challenge at Card Cupids, sponsored by The Stamping Boutique, with the theme of ribbon, twine, or washi tape.

I used I-love-you-this-much-Cynthi by The Stamping Boutique, along with a sentiment from TLC Creations:

RRD Rebel Challenge #12 Sketch

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Fashionista Challenge #4: Winged Things
2. RRD Rebel Challenge #12: Tilt It Sketch

Hope you'll join us at Card Cupids!


Update: This won a Top 3 spot for RRD Rebel Challenge #12. Thank you!

Thank you for visiting,

Dude Time Doodles April New Release Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Dude Time Doodles New Release Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Dawn's fabulous blog. Your next stop is McCrafty's Cards.

The Design Team is featuring four fantastic new DTD images, and one of the Dudettes - or Dude - will be named our MYSTERY HOST at the end of the hop and one lucky person who comments on that blog will win a free Dude Time Doodles image of their choice; So be sure to comment on each blog. You have a whole week to hop (through next Tuesday).

I used John MacinNo by Dude Time Doodles/Bonibleaux Designs, and used the font Funky Fresh to make an appropriate sentiment with a Grawlix!

I made the tennis balls using yellow flocking. I used the Just Sayin' stamp set from Rogue Redhead Designs (RRD) and masking to create the broken nets.

(rotated 90° counter-clockwise)

Inspiration/Challenges:

Fetch-a-Sketch Challenge 22: Sketch (right)
Ribbon Carousel Challenge #50: Anything Goes + spooled item (ribbon)

Speedy Fox and Friends Challenge 104: Stitching

Your next stop on the Dude Time Doodles New Release Blog Hop is the great McCrafty. 

Update: I was this month's Mystery Host, and the random winner from my comments was #13, Bonnie. Congratulations!

Thank you for visiting!

That's me, CG, on RRD!

Man, blogging has made my life so much more exciting, ha ha! Not only did I win a $15 GC toward the awesome Just Sayin' stamp set from Rogue Redhead Designs (RRD), I was "Caught Red-Handed" with my first project using it! Today my card is featured on the RRD blog, and I wanted to take the opportunity to thank them again and to encourage you to check out their great blog, if not to immediately grab some of their fun & gorgeous stamps!

You can see all my projects using RRD stamps here in my archives (there are only a couple now, but more to come...including next Wednesday, hint hint!).

Hope you're all having a great day!

All things new at One Stitch at a Time

Happy April! This week at One Stitch at a Time (OSAAT), the challenge blog for StitchyBear Digital Stores, we celebrating all things NEW. You can use something new, or make something for a new occasion.

I used Rosie by Cute n Toonz to create a Quinceañera card (15th birthday):

A Quinceañera is celebrating something new (birthday/womanhood), and this is the first time I've used this mesh stamp from Rogue Redhead Designs. The mesh on her dress was created in PhotoShop.

Inside:

For entries using a StitchyBear Store product, the prize is your choice of 3 sets of die cuts from Crimson Cloud! Wow, they are beautiful. Be sure to add a # after your name when entering. You're welcome to enter the challenge using different products, but instead you'll be entered into the draw to win a $3 coupon to StitchyBear. Can't wait to see your projects!

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Craft Your Passion Challenge 103: Monochromatic
   
2. Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge #126: Use a digi image
3. Divas by Design Challenge 28 - Stamp something
4. MilkCoffee Challenge #2: Add Flowers
• I bought the purple tissue-paper flowers in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (love their Artist's Market!)
5. Party Time Tuesday's Challenge #61: Anything Goes
6. Ribbon Carousel Challenge #46: Anything Goes + spooled item, with Party Time Tuesday
• The ribbon and purple tulle both came on spools.
7. Rebel Challenge #9: Gate-Fold Cards (oops, I misread the challenge rules...I made this for this challenge, but I can only enter 5! Once I figured that out it was too late, so this isn't an official entry)
8. Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes
9. 2 Sisters Challenge #85: Birthday Fun
10. Use It Tuesday Challenge #28: Uninked Stamp
• Although I've had this Queremos Pastel stamp set from Dilo en Español since October, this is the first chance I've gotten to ink up this great Quinceañera sentiment!

Stray Cat Strut

Like many of you, I'm really enjoying playing with the Clean & Simple (CAS) style of cardmaking... I guess we all find our "simple"!

This design was sorta inspired by our neighbor's cat Max, who I caught walking our fence this morning. He's not a tabby, but we used to have a tabby who visited the yard from time-to-time and actually took to spending rainy afternoons on our front porch. I haven't thought of that cat in several years... our house is pretty much staked out by our neighbor's cats now. We can't have cats due to allergies, so I love having neighbor cats!

The cat and the sentiment are from the Just Sayin' set from Rogue Redhead Designs' Essentials Range. I won this set through Rogue Redhead Rebel Challenge #8; thank you!!! I've seen such gorgeous projects using this set, and I'm totally impressed by the design and quality.  

I didn't do much to this; the images are stamped in Memento brown, the blue piece is embossed with a Sizzix folder, and the punched "fences" are slightly ink-distressed with Ranger Tea Dye distress ink.

Thanks for visiting!

Inspiration/Challenges:

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #44: Pattern, Image, Sentiment

DRS Designs Challenge #16: CAS

Gingersnap Creation Challenge #142: Spicy Supply Challenge - Border Punches