Felicidades

I made this card for my best friend, who's birthday is coming up, and was inspired by the following:

• Sketch Saturday
  I rotated the sketch 90 degrees.
• Lili of the Valley Challenge #116: Warm & Cozy
  I love this stamp by LOTV! Few things are as cozy as curling up with a book. I also added a bookish surprise on the inside (see photos below).
• Die Cut Dreams Challenge #100: Use a Poem on your card
  I couldn't pass up this challenge! The poem I chose, In the Desert by Stephen Crane, is my friend's favorite.
• Use It Tuesday Challenge #17: Metal
  Brads & nameplate are long-hoarded and metal!
• Paper Crafting Journey Challenge #21: Orange, Black & White
  I had lots of fun with the paper. The striped & dotted papers are Echo Park, and the embossed/sanded layers are Black Magic cardstock from Core'dinations. The white linen paper I used for teh mini card, newspaper piece, and sentiment is actually the card I got with gift cards from AC Moore (a lovely present from my awesome mother-in-law!). Talk about upcycling!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley, Dilo En Español, Tiddly Inks

Paper: Recollections, Core'dinations, Echo Park, Hammermill

Tools: Cricut, SCAL, Cricut markers, Fiskars papercutter, HP printer & ink, InDesign, Tim Holtz paper distresser, Sizzix Texture Boutique, Sizzix & Cuttlebug embossing folders, awl, sandpaper, Martha Stewart scissors & punches

Other: Copic markers, Sakura gel pens, metal brads & nameplate from stash

For the love of School Supplies

Bugaboo stamps recently celebrated 400 followers on Crafters Digital Art Center (CDAC) by sharing a couple wonderful freebies -- thank you! -- and I decided to have my own celebration & make a card with them for Bugaboo's Wacky Wednesday Challenge at CDAC.

I had lots of inspiration for this card, best explained with a bulleted list:

1. Bugaboo CDAC Wacky Wednesday Challenge #17
• Paper-Piercing: I used nine papers to paper-piece the two images (didn't seem like so many, really! I used mostly scraps)
• Faux Stitching: I digitally designed the background pieces with dotted lines, so all I had to do was poke out the holes with my awl & draw the faux stitching with a dark green gel pen
2. Sketch n Stash #69
• I rotated the sketch 90 degrees counter-clockwise
• Neglected stash: I used some graph-themed and patterned papers plus keyboard-letter brads I've been saving for quite some time
3. Use it Tuesday Challenge #14
• Back to School theme
• Hoarded supplies: I ventured into the attic & rescued some very cool paper: a sheet of actual Crayola-brand crayon wrappers that my husband got for me at a local printer's

Inspiration:
Sketch n Stash #69
Use it Tuesday Challenge #14: Back to School
Bugaboo Wacky Wednesday CDAC Challenge #17: Paper-Piercing & Faux Stitching

Stamps: CDAC 400 Follower Freebies by Bugaboo Stamps, Verve Stamps, the Paper Studio

Paper: Hammermill, Core'dinations, Recollections, Five&Dime
Tools: Tim Holtz paper distresser, awl, Fiskars papercutter & punch, MS scissors, Marvy punch & heat tool, Recollections punch, HP printer & ink, Adobe InDesign
Other: Tacky glue, Elmer's gel pen, stash twine, Around the Block brads, Stampendous embossing powder, Versamark watermark ink

Indian Summer dreamin', on such a summer's day

I really enjoy the challenge lists on Feline Playful; so much so, I joined their team! I'm starting on Monday, August 22, posting the Monday Winners. It's such a pleasure to be working with so many talented and inspired people. If you're not already a Feline Follower, I have it on good authority that we have some surprises coming up that you don't want to miss!

Thanks to Feline Playful, I found the new-to-me challenge blog Use It Tuesday, which focuses on projects that inspire you to use your hoarded supplies. How happy I was to see that one of the owners is everyone's favorite Scrapmaster, Sami. The current challenge theme is "Indian Summer", which they're allowing us to interpret as loosely as we want. Because I wanted to use my recently-won "Fall" image from Karen's Doodles (thanks also to Tip Top Tuesday), I chose an Autumn theme. Ah, I love Indian Summer -- it's like Spring with fancier leaves!

For the "hoarded supplies" requirement I used rub-ons and scrapbook paper that Mom gave me years ago. Like, 3 or 4. Maybe more... I really love rub-ons, and was glad to have an excuse to use the precious!

I'm also adding this card to this week's Link Party at Make It Monday, another of my favorite ways to find new projects and blogs.

Inspiration:
Use It Tuesday #13: Indian Summer
Make It Monday #50

Stamps: Fall by Karen's Doodles, Let It Shine set by Verve Stamps
Paper: Martha Stewart, Hammermill, stash
Tools: Fiskars papercutter, Martha Stewart scissors, HP printer & ink, Adobe InDesign, Marvy heat tool, EK Success corner punch
Other: ZipDry glue, Versamark watermark ink, Recollections embossing powder, rub-ons by Gail Green for Royal & Langnickel Brush Mfg., Inc.
Copics: BG000, YG67, YG63, YG03, YR09, YR04, Y08, Y17, Y02, FY1, E11, E31, E50, RV02, E17, E13, C-1, C-5, B39, B18, FB2