Card Cupids Blog Hop WINNER

I sure enjoyed all the great comments on my Card Cupids NEW DESIGN TEAM Blog Hop post, and now I have the fun of announcing the lucky commenter who wins these two fun, exclusive Card Cupids images:

And the winner, as chosen by Random.org, is...

Patrice!

Congrats! Please email info [at] cardcupids [dot] org to claim your prize.

Card Cupids' Summer Fun Challenge is open for a few more days, so I hope you'll join in. And I'll see you back here Sunday for a brand new Card Cupids Challenge!

Thank you for visiting,

Celebrating freedom with Dude Time Doodles

Welcome to my stop on the Dude Time Doodles June New Release Blog Hop! Your next stop is Charlene's fabulous blog.

I used Silly Sam by Dude Time Doodles/Bonibleaux Designs to make a card perfect for this year's celebrations:

The Design Team is featuring a total of three 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).

This is my last post as a member of the Dude Time Doodles team ... With the new season, I felt like I needed a change, so from now on I'll just be using their fun images as a fan! Many, many thanks to Boni, Tammy, and all at Dude Time Doodles/Bonibleaux Designs for always supporting my creativity. 

Thank you for visiting, and enjoy hopping. Next stop: Charlene!  

Sweet Summer Dresses at OSAAT

We have a fun challenge for you this week at One Stitch at a Time: Summer Dresses. You can interpret that however you like; you can go literal, or play on the patterns, fabrics, colors associated with "Summer Dresses".

For me, inspiration came in the form of five white dresses... on one of our first really hot days, we were driving through our neighborhood and I spotted a group of women and girls on their way to some function, and five of the girls, probably around 3-10 years old, were all wearing the cutest white sundresses! They all looked great, but the girls in white were especially cute, and they popped into my head when I was designing this shaped card:

The "applique" is made with Bird on Swirly Branch by Gingerloft Digi Stamps. I used the digi stamp as an SVG cut file.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

• Bunny Zoe's Crafts June Challenge: Girls, Girls, Girls
• Crafts and Me Challenge #89: Anything Goes
• 52 Card Pickup Week 25: Anything goes
• Whimsy Stamps Challenge 44: White on White

Thank you for visiting,

Blog Candy time!

Wow, to think it was only 3 years ago that I first started this blog! It all began as a way for my family to read about my cheesemaking endeavors, and then a year later I discovered craft-blogging. July 5 will mark my 2nd full year of active cardmaking, and I've learned so much and met so many great people in that time.

As a thank-you to my followers, past and present, I've put together this package of goodies:

One of my most favorite things about Blog Candy is that you get stuff that you might not buy otherwise... In that spirit, I've collected some of my favorite embellishments:

BusyBusyHoneybee on Etsy

• ShrinkyDink plastic
• Stickpin by BusyBusyHoneybee (photo on the right)
• Borders embossing folders (if you don't have an embossing machine, you can use a rolling pin!)  
• Lili of the Valley Mice are Nice A4 Die Cut Sheet 
• Adhesive, die-cut, felt borders
• Adhesive flowers
• Rub-on flourishes
• Two Glitter Gel pens
• Punch-paper Candi 
• Gemstone spiral

Looks good, no?! All you need to do to be eligible is add your name to the InLink & become a follower if you're not already; If you don't have a blog or can't follow in a conventional way, just leave me a comment and I'll throw your name into the hat. 

You have until 11:59PM/Midnight US EST on July 5 to enter. I'll announce the winner on July 6; and yes, I'll ship international!

Thank you for visiting,

Card Cupids NEW DESIGN TEAM Blog Hop

Hi everyone! Welcome to my stop on the Card Cupids Design Team Blog Hop. You should have arrived here from Carol's blog; your next stop is Diane.

I'm super excited to be a new member of this fun team. I've sent in some cards to them before, and now I have an excuse to do so every month! Really hope you'll join me. In case you're not fmailiar with Card Cupids, here's the official mission statement:

Card Cupids believes that every child needs to know that they are loved. A stuffed animal to hold, along with cards that share a positive message can help lift the spirits of children that are faced with difficult challenges. Card Cupids, with the help of numerous volunteers, provides Card Cuddle Care Packages to countless children in hospitals, foster care, homeless shelters as well as children facing difficulties regardless of their economic background. To find out more visit Card Cupid's Blog here.

There are several new members to this great team, so we're having a Blog Hop as a way to introduce ourselves to eachother and our Card Cupids followers! Please stop by to welcome each of these fabulous ladies to the Card Cupids team. Just by leaving a comment on a Design Team member's Blog Hop post, including this one, you will be entered into a fun little give away for our two exclusive digis:

Here is our team:

Karen

Carol

CG (that's me!)

Diane

Gina

Katie

Kim
Michele

Nancie

Nubia

Pam

Ruthie

Sharla

Stephanie

Stephanie, Card Cupids Founder

You have until Monday, June 25 at 9pm EST to leave your comment.  Winners will be announced on each DT members blog as well as at Card Cupids on Wednesday, June 27.

In the spirit of meeting my new teamies, I wanted to share a little about myself... That's me, CG, in the photo on the right, with my wonderful husband at our wedding almost 9 years ago. I'm wearing my grandmother's wedding dress from the 1930s. Both of my grandmas did crafts -- mostly quilting, cross-stitching, and knitting, none of which I've inherited the patience for! My mom introduced me to scrapbooking and cardmaking about 5 years ago, and we've both been serious papercrafters ever since. 

I'm about to celebrate my 2nd full year of craft-blogging. I'm a member of the One Stitch at a Time Design Team, a former member of the Dude Time Doodles DT, and I also help with updates & sponsorship details at Feline Playful and Pile It On. I'm looking forward working with another great group of folks!

Your next stop on the Card Cupids Design Team Blog Hop is Diane. Thank you for visiting, and be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win those cute digis!

Smart is Sexy!

This week at Dude Time Doodles, we're all about Weddings and Anniversaries.

I used the M.C. Squared Set to make an Anniversary card:

I added some "romance" with adhesive pearls as well as 2 colors of Liquid Pearls. I used Glossy Accents on his glasses for a 3D effect.

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. CLP Challenge #48: Sketch
2. Paper Playtime - Anything Goes with Sentiment
3. Scrappy Frogs June Challenge - Celebrate Men
4. The Crazy Challenge - Recipe: Ribbon, Pearls, Dies
5. Try It On Tuesday - Anything Goes

Hop over to Dude Time Doodles and check out the wonderful DT cards, then link up your Wedding/Anniversary card for a Man.

Thank you for visiting!

OSAAT Challenge #118: Stitch It!

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we want to encourage you to use one of your digi stamps from a StitchyBear Store designer, so the theme is "Use a Stitchy Bear Store Digi and/or Stitching (real or faux)"!

I used In the Pumpkin Patch by Delicious Doodles:

This was quite a challenge for me, coloring-wise. Plus, I only have 2 oranges and the lighter one was one its last legs...Guess it's time to order those refills!I hand-stitched the border on the image, but the orange/white border on the card was done on my machine.

I found this fun, hand-made-type paper at Michaels, and although it's highly textured it heat-embossed quite well (with the help of my Embossing Buddy!). I heat-embossed the netting stamp (Rogue Redhead Designs) in black and the sentiment (Fiskars) in shiny green.

I wanted to make a special embellishment, so I used the Woven Patch tutorial by Karen Barbé that I saw recently on Pinterest. Try it, do!

Hope you'll join us at One Stitch at a Time for our "Use a Stitchy Bear Store Digi and/or Stitching" challenge. For entries using a StitchyBear Store product (be sure to add a # after your name when entering), your could win this month's StitchyBear Designer Collaboration set. You're welcome to enter the challenge using different products, but will instead be entered into the draw to win a $3 coupon to StitchyBear. Can't wait to see your projects!

That Craft Place

Inspiration/Challenges:
52 Card Pickup Week 24: Link-up Party
ATCs & Cards With Attitude: Anything Goes
Jacksons Digital Expression Challenge #8: Anything Goes using some type of colour media (Copics)
Paper Crafting Journey Challenges: Colour it Up
That Craft Place: Sketch (rotated 90° clock-wise)

Thank you for visiting!

An "a•muse"-ing Father's Day card

Thanks to Chris's recent Amusing Sketch Challenge and ol' Mr Random, I won the gorgeous a•muse studio Polka Dots cardstock set, and since my paper came wrapped in an a•muse studio catalog, I just had to place an order, ha ha! So glad Chris included that catalog, seriously ... she was worried about pressuring me, but as I told her all I really wanted was an excuse! It's so fun working with a consultant, and she really helped me make the most of my buck. I mean, let's face it, I want it ALL.

Anyhoo, I just had to make a card right away with my new goodies! For this, I used the Grass paper and three dies (circle, starburst, banner) from the Cupcake Toppers set (TAD0029).

I used the faux metal technique, Ranger Melt Art ultra-thick gold embossing powder, and a Fiskars stamp to create the medal on the front. I heat-embossed and stamped before die-cutting the shapes (a circle for the front, a small starburst from the TH Rosettes die for the inside). Honestly, I don't ink the stamp at all before making the impression. I do, however, re-heat it slightly to even out the finish.

I wanted to make a Father's Day card for my father-in-law, so I decided on the Clean And Simple style (CAS). This would have looked fine on flat white cardstock, but I wanted to add texture & a reference for the polka dots, so I used my favorite, pre-embossed Tiny Dots paper. Wish I could remember where it's from!

As you can see, I took the photo of the inside of the card after we signed it... I really like how my husband's handwriting looks! Careful Baby, I'm gonna have you writing out sentiments for cards!

I did the stitching on my machine ... I don't really have enough experience with my machine to be doing tiny insets and rounded corners, but that's never stopped me before and didn't this time! I did glue on the buttons, but I hand-sewed them on as well.

Thanks to again to Chris & a•muse studio for the Polka Dots cardstock set (the original version; I hear the new version, Petite Polka Dots, is even cuter, but I find that hard to believe!), and for selling products that I'm loving!

Inspiration/Challenges:

Amusing Challenges: Hot/Wet/Heat Embossing

CAS-ual Fridays #56: Clean And Simple project using polka dots

Cooking It Up With Katie Recipe Challenge #97: Texture a Metal Man! (Add Male theme, Texture, Metal)

Thank you for visiting!

Dude Time Doodles June FREEBIE Challenge

It's that time again...for our monthly FREEBIE Challenge at Dude Time Doodles!

This month, you get a chance to work with Johnny on the Spot. Now, you might think, "How in the world would I use a toilet on card‽" Well, if the Design Team's projects are any indication, there are lots of occasions it's perfect for. Wait till you see the range of ideas, it's amazing!

Personally, I was inspired to make a "Potty Training Congratulations" card. I don't have children, but from my watching my friends' experiences I understand that this is a huge deal. So I made a card for a boy on his Big Day, ha ha!

As with most cards for small children, this is for the parents as well. I've read that people put pebbles, marbles, and even cheerios in the bowl to help little boys aim...that fact inspired the pearls.

I used a thin, brochure-type photo paper from HP's Everyday line for the Johnny on the Spot digi stamp, as well as for the large circle which I cut/embossed with a Spellbinders die.

 

Hope you'll grab this freebie and join us at Dude Time Doodles; the prize is a chance to join the Design Team for the month of July!

Inspiration/Challenges:
Dude Time Doodles: Freebie/Guest Designer Challenge

i{heart}2stamp June Challenge: Sketch
Going Grey With Scrap-Creations Challenge: Celebration
Try It On Tuesdays Challenge: Anything Goes


Update 10/24/12: I finally had occasion to send this card, to my high school friend's son, who just completed potty training! My friend is very crafty so I knew she'd get out of it. Here's the photo she posted on FaceBook:

It went through the mail great, whew! I love making cards, but I love making smiles more ha ha!

OSAAT #117 - For the Man in Your Life

You don't need money, don't take fame;
Don't need no credit card to ride this train;
It's strong and it's sudden and it's cruel sometimes;
But it might just save your life...
That's the power of love.
Huey Lewis & the News

This week's challenge theme at One Stitch at a Time is For the Man in Your Life, so I used Power of Love by Stitchy Stamps to make this simple card for my husband...I've been working on it in secret so that I can give it to him right before I post this; Talk about taking the challenge theme literally!

The Chevrons are actually Digi Papers from Mel Stampz, printed on flat white Hammermill cardstock; the rest are DPs from my stash. I colored the image with my Copics; I do love purple!

I liked the clean lines on this, so I didn't include an actual sentiment. Plus, doesn't the image really say it all‽

Hope you'll join the For the Man in Your Life challenge at One Stitch at a Time this week.

For entries using a StitchyBear Store product (be sure to add a # after your name when entering), the prize is 3 Promarkers from Creative Craft World! 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:
ATCs & Card with Attitude Challenge #15: Anything Goes/ Fathers Day

52 Card Pickup - Week 23: Anything Goes (Link-Up Party)
Card Crafter's Circle: Monochromatic
Cardmadfairy's Digi Days: Fathers Day / Masculine
Delicious Doodles: For the Fellas
Dream Valley Challenge #34: For that Special Guy
OSAAT Challenge #117: For the Man in Your Life
Unscripted Sketches #161: Sketch

Boys and their Toys ... with Dude Time Doodles

June is busting out all over, and that means it's time for the Dude Time Doodles First Wednesday Challenge, when one of the DT chooses the theme. This month, Kevin McCrafty chose "Boys and their Toys", and since most of the "boys" in my life aren't so much into sports and cars, I chose a Cooking theme:

My husband is a great cook; We have a similar style of knowing what we want to do and just doing it, but I tend to pretend to stick to a recipe. He usually doesn't bother with that, and the results are always delicious! He doesn't remind me at all of Chef Burly Becky here, although I bet he could juggle a whisk & a knife if he put his mind to it!

My color combo was inspired by a photo of the front of the Real Maestranza in Sevilla, taken by a dear friend... I don't have her permission to publish the actual photo, but you can see some different photos of it here.

I couldn't find a tutorial for the marble effect that I wanted, so I adapted the Cracked Glass Heat-Embossing Technique, starting with a layer of white, and added an extra layer of clear after cracking & inking it.

The black, heat-embossed design is from an Annabelle Stamps set. 

Inspiration/Challenges:
Dude Time Doodles: Boys and their Toys
Di's Digi Designs Challenge: Male-inspired
Dream Valley Challenge 33: Humour
Fetch-a-Sketch Challenge 25: Sketch (rotated)
Here Come the Boys Challenge #28: Anything Goes
Totally Stampalicious Challenge: Funny

Update: I won one of the prizes for Fetch-a-Sketch Challenge 25!

Thank you for visiting!

Use a Digi Challenge at OSAAT

It's time for another fun challenge at One Stitch at a Time, and this week we have an easy theme for you: "Use a Digi". If you're like me, you have a computer full of digi stamps but you always need more!

Each month, the StitchyBear Store Artists put one of their lovely images into a big store-wide collaboration (Collab) set. The Collab set is available all month, and is free with a $12 purchase. This image, Birthday Star by Hope Jacare Doodles, is included in June's Collab set. You know you want it!

I made a simple and bright Birthday card inspired {PIN}spirational Challenge #9. I printed the digi stamp onto 2 shades of yellow paper, cut out the stars and pieced them onto the base, and then added some color and detail with glitter pens. The die-cut star is also dry-embossed, using the Pot Pourri Becky Fleck/Spellbinders set. I added the color with the same glitter pens.

The ribbon is a die cut, but is also ribbon! I was inspired by Andrea Amu's fabric-cutting tutorial on Core'dinations' blog, and used some May Arts white "crushed silk" ribbon and white cardstock for this. It took me a little while to trim the excess threads, but it was worth it.

The glittered-stars paper is actually handmade; I used some small wooden shapes, glued to an old wine bottle cork, to stamp & heat-emboss the stars using Stampendous's Kaleidoscope glitter powder. 

I found this cool stamping idea on Pinterest (via Die-Dolo), and it's as simple as the instructions make it look on Hand Made Kultur!

Just for fun, I used a couple of cork stickers on the card. I heat-embossed on these as well, but the one on the right also has wooden stars adhered to it.

Hope you'll join us at One Stitch at a Time for our "Use a Digi" challenge. We have two prizes up for grabs this week! For entries using a StitchyBear Store product (be sure to add a # after your name when entering), your could win a prize from our sponsor Crimson Cloud, or this month's StitchyBear Collab (left). You're welcome to enter the challenge using different products, but will instead be entered into the draw to win a $3 coupon to StitchyBear. Can't wait to see your projects!

 

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #117

Inspiration/Challenges:

Aud Sentiments Challenge 55: Any Sentiment
Cooking It Up With Katie #96: Celebrate with Ribbon & a Die Cut!
{PIN}spirational Challenge #9: Photo Inspiration

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #117: Sketch

Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes

There She Goes Stamps Challenge #158: Cork it!

Thank you for visiting!