Pilin' on the Wonderful Friends

The theme this week at Pile It On is Friends/Friendly Hello. We're sponsored by Inky Impressions, so I used their Super Girl LiLi along with their Sweet Wonderful You sentiment.

The papers, including the spotlight element, are all from the "Comic Heroes" paper pack from Recollections. I cut the stars with my Silhouette Cameo, and edged them with Lemon Ice Stickles. The shaker portion is filled with mircobeads & glow-in-the-dark glitter.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Cheerful Sketches August Challenge: Sketch (2nd entry)
CHPPC: Patterned Paper (4th entry)
MarkerPOP Challenge: Anything Goes + Copic Markers
Melonheadz Friends Challenge: Hand-colored image
Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes (2nd entry)
The Paper Girls #86: Super Heroes (2nd entry)

Update: I was the lucky prize winner for Paper Girls' Super Heroes Challenge.

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

Pilin' On the Outdoor Fun

This week at the Pile It On Challenge our theme is Outdoor Fun and we're sponsored by Inky Impressions. They have so many adorable digi stamps, but I was really drawn to their Best Wishes Banner.

click to enlarge

This lovely lady on a pier with her parasol is one of my favorite rubber stamps; I got it as part of a "grab-bag" I won some years back. I actually ended up fussy-cutting each piece separately: the figure & umbrella were stamped on coated Hammermill cardstock and colored with Copics; and the pier was stamped on a beige cardstock, embossed with an SU! embossing folder (which I just won from Words to Scrap By; thank you Bernadette!), and inked with Vintage Photo & Antique Linen distress inks.

If you follow this blog, the wave background might look familiar... I used the same technique just last week for the Crafting with Dragonflies' Artist Trading Card Challenge. What can I say, I still had the supplies out on my table! This time, I used two sizes of the wave border cut file from SVG Attic's Just Beachy set (I have a photo and description of how I did this here).

I added some sandy texture with a Versamark watermark pen and ZING Brown Sugar embossing powder. The house brads & metal charm were gifts from my mom (thanks Mom!) and I added a bit of Pink Paislee twine to the boat for good measure. The corner seaweed embellishment was made by gluing green tulle onto a green cardstock and cutting with a Spellbinders die.

This design really came together for me when I realized how much it reminded me of Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth... I'm sure that was my subconscious speaking, as I have a very personal connection to that particular painting. So the balance achieved with the two houses was inspired directly by the painting, and I ended up using their bright colors as my main colors.


Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Crafting Musketeers #14: Stamped Image
2. Cuttlebug Mania: Use a charm + Manual die-cutting machine (I used a SU! embossing folder and a Spellbinders die on my BigShot)
3. Graph'It Colour Challenge #26: Anything Goes with Alcohol Markers (I used Copics for the image and shading on the banner)
4. Inky Impressions Challenge #165: Anything Goes
5. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Product or Technique you wish you used more often (making my own background, especially with stencils & ink)
6. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything goes
7. Sparkles Forum Challenges #57: At the Beach/ Summer Fun
8. The Crazy Challenge #174: By the Sea
9. WordArt Wednesdays: Anything Uplifting Goes

Update: This was  selected as one of the Top 3 projects for Inky Impressions Challenge #165. Thank you!

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

1st Pile It On challenge of 2014 - Just Because

Today begins a new year of challenges at Pile It On, with the theme of "Just Because" (no celebrations nor birthday).

Our sponsor is Inky Impressions, so I used one of their great digi sentiments:

For the other side of the notch-swing circle, I used a KaiserCraft stamp that I won at a crop at Scraps of Love! I heat-embossed it in silver. The turquoise hummingbird is a separate stamp from the same set, heat-embossed and fussy-cut. The large hummingbord on the front of the card is also from that set, and was kinda a mistake...I stamped it with Memento ink but heat-embossed the opposite side with turquoise powder (I wanted it to face right at the time), but a little of the powder got on the "wrong" side and I ended up liking this version better!

The notch swing card was designed in Sure Cut A Lot (SCAL) and cut with my Silhouette electronic die-cutting machine. All of my Notch Swing Cards are archived here. If you'd like to try it yourself, a version of this card design is available for purchase as SVG files for your die-cutting machine in the SaySomethingLoudly Etsy Shop. Thank you for supporting my crafting!


The lace is from my stash, and the background DP is from a set Mom & I bought recently (at Michaels, I think?) I did the faux stistching by hand, using a silver Spica pen.

Color Throwdown #273

Inspiration/Challenges:
Color Throwdown: Color Combo #273
Cuttin & Stampin Challenge #52: Use Something New (new stamp set) / 2nd entry
Mema's Challenge: January BINGO (1st column: Lace/Ribbon, Stitching (real or faux), Digi/Rubber Stamp)
Shopping Our Stash #124: Use The Last Of Something (last bit of this gray ribbon; also, this was probably the last project for the silver pen I used for the edging)
Sparkle N Sprinkle January Challenge: Anything Goes with Glitter, Embossing Powder and/or Flocking (used 2 embossing powders) / 2nd entry
Through The Craft Room Door: Always Anything Goes

Update: This was a prize winner for Mema's January BINGO Challenge!

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

MaMaw Goes Skiing -- Using our tools at PIO

This week at the Pile It On Challenge, we're showing off our crafting tools! I have accumulated quite a few over the years, and really only used a relative few. Our sponsor is Inky Impressions, so I used their fun MaMaw Skiing digi stamp:

The tools I used for this card were my Silhouette cutting machine, the BigShot (for the die-cut flower), and a Martha Stewart punch. I also used my deckle scissors, and a needle to sew on the buttons.

The notch swing card was designed in Sure Cut A Lot (SCAL) and cut with my Silhouette electronic die-cutting machine. All of my Notch Swing Cards are archived here.

It's one of my favorite go-to designs, as you have lots of room to decorate! 

The center rotates on small slits or notches. You can do this with dies, but it's a cinch to  cut it with your electronic die-cutting machine! I cut a bunch of them on different papers and mix-and-match.

You can decorate the inside too!

If you'd like to try it yourself, this card design is now available for purchase as SVG files in my Etsy Shop.

Inspiration/Challenges:
C.R.A.F.T. #232: Christmas
A Creative Romance: Winter Blues
Divas by Design: Use a digi
House That Stamps Built: Snow fun
Inky Impressions #133: Dies and Punches
Jingle Belles: Holiday Traditions (I made this for a former co-worker, who has a tradition of taking the train up to the mountains by herself on weekday afternoons in the winter; Although she's been injured several times and is in her 70s, she still skis whenever she can! She was a professor at the University where I worked, and I remember that she'd get back in time for her night classes. A real inspiration for all of us.)
Top Tip Tuesday #113: Seasons
Paper Shelter Challenge #136: Winter fun

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