Oh Deer!

It's time for another fun challenge at One Stitch at a Time (OSAAT). Our theme is "Use a Digi", how easy is that‽

My teamie Crafting Vicky chose my image this time (I chose the image for us for OSAAT #138), and it's the funtastic Busted from Stitchy Stamps (image by Graphics Factory):

The card base was cut with Sizzix's Circle Flip-its Movers & Shapers die, but I traced it to make the layers. The pretty DP is from my stash, and I added some plastic holiday lights from Darice.

My favorite part of this card is the least obvious... If you look carefully at the scallops around Santa, you'll see that I backed it so that the holes are filled in black. That is actually black "sparkly fluff" from Our Craft Lounge, to represent coal! 


Santa is actually fussy-cut and glued onto the scalloped circle; I did this so that I could print his bag onto fabric. The two presents are stamped onto the same fabric and colored with Copics (as is Santa and his friend!)

 For the flipped side, I used two border stamps to make a simple pattern. I cut a hole in a sheet of paper with a coordinating die so that I could mask the scalloped background and stamp the design directly on it. The words read, "Oh Deer" which I thought worked well with the funny theme.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:
Christmas Cards All Year 'Round November Challenge: Shaped or Fancy Folds
Crafty Bloggers Network: Christmas Anything Goes
Little Claire's #27: Christmas
Paper Creator's Crafts: Christmas 
Southern Girls: Christmas projects
Tammy's Scrapin Corner: Anything Goes
Tandastamps: Christmas
The Pink Elephant Monday Card Challenge: Punches/Dies
Whimsy Inspiration #53: Traditional Christmas colors 

 

Hope you'll join the "Use a Digi" challenge at One Stitch at a Time this week (and be sure to check out my teamies' fabulous projects). For entries using a StitchyBear Store product (be sure to add a # after your name when entering), the prize is a Gift Certificate to Crafts from Joanna Sheen. 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 Digi Stamps. Can't wait to see what you create! 

 

Thank you for visiting & I truly appreciate your comments,

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,

Feelin' Thankful at Pile It On & Card Cupids

Howdy! Today begins a new challenge at Pile It On: Let's be Thankful.

I also want to remind you that the current "Happy Fall Ya'll" challenge at Card Cupids is running through November 14th. I hope you'll join the challenge and send in a card (it doesn't have to be the card you enter in the challenge). This challenge is sponsored by Fresh Brewed Designs, and I used her Pilgrim & Indian digi stamp to create this funky Thanksgiving card:
 

This is very much a "recycled" card; Yes, that's actual tin foil on the back. I printed the image randomly onto a piece of cardboard; actually, it's the box from a frozen lasagna, which I sanded down to reveal just the pretty colors. Man, my little HP printer really puts up with a lot! I frayed the burlap, and added some "leaves" cut from a can using a Sizzix die. The bottle cap is store-bought, and I fit the sentiment inside. The sentiment is from TLC Creations, and just for kicks I embossed that with a woodgrain pattern (embossing plate from a•muse studio). I had so much fun making this!


I'm entering this into the following challenges:
Aud Sentiments - give thanks
Card Makin' Mamas - Thanksgiving/Thank You
DL.ART Thankful Thursday Challenge - Thanksgiving
Eureka Stamps - thanksgiving
LEJ Designs #28 - Use Die Cuts Or Punches
Scrap Creations - Use a digi
The House that Stamps Built - giving thanks

Hope you'll join us at Pile It On and Card Cupids. Also, the theme this week at One Stitch at a Time is "With Thanks," so you might want to join us over there too!

Thank you for visiting,

Roman Bath & American Ink

So I had a little "retail therapy" at JoAnn's yesterday, and bought one of Cuttlebug's gorgeous new embossing folders with matching border folder, the Roman Bath one. I thought it would work nicely to stamp with too, and it is! Well, it's not exactly stamping, you just rub ink on the raised portion and emboss, but I really like the effect.

I just had to try this week's sketch at Annabelle Stamps, it's so interesting. Their DT projects are amazing, but I ended up interpreting the sketch much more literally. Many thanks for the inspiration!

The circle design is a stamp I received in a random pack of unmounted rubber stamps I won in a contest. They are so beautiful. I'm out of foam, so I stamped this very "professionally" by stepping on it! I inked the stamp, put it on a mat and put the whole thing on the floor, put my paper on top, and stepped on it with the ball of my foot. Works every time!


For the inside, I stamped the sentiment with a DO Crafts stamp and used the border embossing plate to emboss the matching design over the sentiment. I then added the top border, one of my favorites from Annabelle Stamps.
 

Inspiration/Challenges:
Annabelle Stamps Challenge - Sketch*
Card Mania - Embossing
Charisma Cardz - Feeling blue
Everybody-Art-Challenge #212 - Embossing

Thank you for visiting,

Superstitions & Traditions

I have a silly personal superstition that I'm lucky in "#100th" challenges, beginning with my wins for SPCC #100 and Raise the Bar #100, but in reality my wins-losses are more like 2-6. Still, a superstition's really all about the ritual (I wouldn't still be entering challenges if I only cared about prizes!), so I do like to participate in "100th" challenges if possible. In that spirit, I couldn't pass up Sketch N Stash #100, where we get to pick any of their past sketches. They're all great, so I had my husband pick a number at random, and he chose #17.

Part of the Sketch N Stash Challenge is to "your newest or neglected stash" and everything on this is long neglected, except for the green tulle, which I just got from Mom. Oh, and the white embossed background; I made that on Monday while over at a crafty friends' house. I've had the ribbon & foam snowflakes in my stash for several years, and the image, star, and backing paper are actually from last Christmas...I really thought that I had finished that card, but much to my surprise I found the pieces in my Christmas Crafts stash. Better late than never, I suppose!

I distressed the edges with some plain red ink. I colored the Stampin' UP! image (stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black) with Copics, and I cut the star on my Cricut (I did it so long ago that I can't remember what cartridge/file I used) and add the border with a fine black pen. I do remember that I sprayed the star with a Tattered Angels glimmer mist. I machine-stitched around the patterned paper with sparkly thread, and added the "ho ho ho" ribbon as my sentiment. The small snowflakes already were covered in glitter, so I added some Stickles to the large, plain snowflake. I'm really happy with this card, even if it did take a year to make!

Inspiration/Challenges:
Loves Rubber Stamps #25: Anything Goes
Ooh La La Creations: Christmas
Sketch N Stash #100: Free Choice + your newest or neglected stash 
It's All About the Vintage: Snow
Sweet Stamps #90: Christmas

Thank you for visiting,

Happy Holidays Tulle You

I got together with my local crafting friends again, and we pooled our resources to make some fun Christmas cards for our stashes.

Now, I have a relatively large Christmas stash, but it's mostly papers & embellishments from Christmases past; my head almost exploded when I saw one of the crafters' stashes! Man, she got some super deals on embossing plates, dies & stamps last year, and  I had lots of fun trying some new things. Now I really want this Poinsettia stamp/die set from Spellbinders. The embossed background and sentiment stamp are also courtesy of her stash. I had brought some green tulle with me, so I made this card while I was there. The die set comes with a center for the flower, but I decided to add some liquid pearls instead.

I came home from crafting with lots of ideas! And a really long shopping wish-list!

Thank you for visiting,

Anything Goes! at OSAAT

Today begins another fun challenge at One Stitch at a Time (OSAAT): Anything Goes!
I used Beautiful Nature by My Heart Pieces to make this simple holiday card:

I printed this out on thick white cardstock, colored it with Copics, and then used a Sizzix embossing folder & embossing diffuser to make the frame. 

The chipboard sentiment was free with a magazine, and I edged it with a bronze Sharpie and added a little ribbon. The card is backed with a shiny brown paper (Recollections), and I finished the corners with some paper Candi. Oh, and I used my scallop scissors on the card corners.

We don't always choose our own DT images at OSAAT, but sometimes we get to choose for ourselves and teammates. It's fun to see several different takes with the same image. This week I got to chose for myself & my teamie Crafting Vicky; do check out her gorgeous card for this challenge on her blog!

Inspiration/Challenges:

• Cards by Lady Anne / Friday is Sentiment Challenge: Anything Goes
• Challenges 4 Everybody: Always Anything Goes
• It's All About the Vintage: Make your own background
• LEJ Designs Challenge #27: Anything Goes
• Mema's Crafts November Challenge #1: Anything goes (winter/holiday optional)
• One Crazy Stamper: Anything Goes
• Oozak: Winter Vibes
• Really Reasonable Ribbon: Winter Holiday & ribbon (I know I didn't use a ton of ribbon, but I feel like it really makes the card)

Hope you'll join the "Anything Goes" challenge at One Stitch at a Time this week (and be sure to check out my teamies' fabulous projects!) For entries using a StitchyBear Store product (be sure to add a # after your name when entering), the prize is a selection of die cuts from Crimson Cloud. 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 Digi Stamps. Can't wait to see your projects! 
 

Thank you for visiting & I truly appreciate your comments,

Little Monsters at Card Cupids

Yesterday began a new challenge Card Cupids (November 1-14), sponsored by Fresh Brewed Designs. Our theme is "Happy Fall, Ya'll!"

Heather from FBD gave our DT several fun images to work with (you can my find my cards featuring them here and here), and I liked this fun Monster so much that I made two cards!

Here's a simple circle card that practically screams "Happy Fall, Ya'll!":

I'm entering this little cutie into the following fun challenges:
Celebrate the Occasion #86: Fall
Crafting for all Seasons: Falling Leaves
Fresh Brewed Designs: Thinking of You
Scrapalicious: Fall

I cut out the Hello Monster, ran the pieces through my sticker machine & covered them with sparkly fluff from Our Craft Lounge. The leaves were cut with a Spellbinders die, and were actually extras from my Fall Fence card.


Here's a Halloween-y card I also made using this cute Monster image:

I made the banner with an SP & Company set and an eyeball from a Recollections set. I replaced the "Hello" sentiment with a digi from TLC Creations, and used another TLC sentiment for the inside:

I hope you'll join the challenge and send in a card (it doesn't have to be the card you enter in the challenge).

Update: I won the monthly prize at Celebrate the Occasion! Whoop!

Thank you for visiting,

Donut Love

My brother-in-law and his fiancé decided at the last minute to get married on Halloween (that would be last night!), so I wanted to make a fast & fun card for them.

They got engaged at their favorite Gourmet Donut food truck—which I think is just so cute & romantic—so I made a one-of-a-kind wedding card:

I designed the donut card in SCAL, which was really easy there are 3 parts; a front, then inside message section, and the base card. I cut it on a light brown linen cardstock, and distressed the edges with TH Antique Linen ink.

For the front, I added "glaze" with Glossy Accents and plopped on some glass beads, plus a couple of diamond gemstones. (The light is reflecting on the beads in this photo; they don't necessarily shine that much!)

The sentiment is from a LOTV set, and I heat-embossed it in gold onto clear plastic. I used scrap plastic, but it did warp quite a bit. So I taped it down onto the card, heated it again and then it flattened nicely.

I've sent them cards before, and they like "different", so hopefully they'll like this!

Inspiration/Challenges:
Anything Goes Challenge #79: Anything Goes
Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #139: Circles/Ovals
Simon Says Stamp: Shaped Cards

Thank you for visiting,