Cool Card for a Cool Aunt

Dad's baby sister is about to turn 65, so I wanted to make her something special. She is definitely the "cool aunt" in my family, and has inspired me in many different ways over the course of my life.

I hadn't planned to make this card as part of a challenge, but then I saw the recipe challenge on the Crafty Hos' Challenge Blog. Another of my aunt's endearing traits is her wicked sense of humor: from her I've learned to appreciate fart, age and body-part jokes on a level most never enjoy. She'd love the name of their blog: Crafty Hos: they'd do anything to craft! And I think we both would secretly appreciate the fact that my dad wouldn't find this funny at all!

Since their challenge this week is a recipe plus a sketch, I had lots of inspiration. The recipe was to use a regular stamp and a digi stamp. No problem, right? I only do that every day. Of course, since I had to use both, I found myself either choosing one or the other... but then I decided that this Snoopy-and-Woodstock stamp would be fun to use on my aunt's card. She's the best to eat ice cream with, as she believes that making a mess is part of the enjoyment. So then I realized that the TLC Creations sentiment that I used for my treat holders would work perfectly. Funny how challenging a challenge can be!

Just by pure luck, I had an ice cream cone stamp from a set in my stash, and it could have been made to go with this Snoopy stamp! Let me tell you, it was much easier to cut out than Woodstock's tiny cone! But I just really like the look of paper piecing, so it's worth the work; plus, my hand hasn't been cramping so much so I'm working on the theory that all this cutting has actually helped me exercise my hand. Much more fun than squeezing a tennis ball like Grandma used to!

The moment I saw Kathy Racoosin's sponged-background tutorial on the Simon Says Stamp Blog, I knew I had to use it for this card. Wow, I'm happy with the result! It was super-duper fun too.

For the inside of the card, I used the Premium Pop-Up Cards template from SVGCuts. I bought it with one of their occasional discounts some time ago, and it's so handy. It can be easily sized to fit any card size, so I use it a lot to jazz up birthday cards (it come with other sentiments as well).

After cutting the card on my Cricut, I sprayed it with Yellow spray ink and Banana Pudding glimmer mist. Then I stamped the large ice cream cone in a few colors. Honestly, this card is making me really want strawberry ice cream!

Sketchin' Hos / Raisin' Smiles

What a title, right‽ This card was inspired by a couple of "crafty" blogs: Crafty Hos' Color/Sketch challenge and Crafty Ann's challenge#38 (Raise a Smile), as well as the Two-color Card Cupids Challenge.
The colors chosen by Crafty Hos are Spring Green & Pastel Pink, but I included white and black details too, as well as two shades of the main colors. This small card shows off my two current favorite techniques: paper piecing & heat embossing.

I asked Mom if she had any spare easter-ish stamps, and she sent me the most wonderful box-full! She & Dad will be traveling throughout most of the Spring, so she sent me all the stamps she won't get to use this season. It's so nice how close crafting has made us, despite the 2000 actual miles.

I wanted to make sure I used the funny and seasonal "Easter Ribbit" she sent me, and remembered the humorous theme at Crafty Ann's...I wish I could have used one of her digi stamps, but this stamp was just perfect for this challenge!

Easter Ribbit stamp: Whipper Snapper Designs
Decorated Egg stamp: CraftSmart
Supplies: Martha Stewart two-toned paper, detailing scissors, border punch and pink embossing powder, Core'dinations cardstock, Versamark watermark ink, Stampendous embossing powder, Marvy heat tool, Sakura and Elmer's glitter pens, ZipDry glue, ZIG 2-way glue pen, tulle