Happy Divorce!

Despite all one's wisdom & best intentions, sometimes Life Happens. My friend's marriage ended suddenly three years ago, and she's really risen to the challenge and is doing great. The breakup took about a year, but since then they've just been going through the legal hoops (expensive hoops!) to end the legal part of the union. Well, I was talking to her yesterday & she said that next week it will be final. Whoo-hoo! She said that if she had the time (she's a mom, who has the time?!) she might throw a party or something, so I thought I'd make her a card. I know she'll get a huge kick out of it. Transition is tough, and people who get through it even stronger certainly deserve a card!

I was inspired by the following challenges:

Fetch-a-Sketch #10

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #55: Brown, Cream, Pink

Craft Your Passion #83: Anything Goes + Brown

Stamp: Our Betty by Funky Hand


Update 11/18/11: Thank you all for your lovely comments on this card. And thank you Crafty Cardmakers for choosing it for your Top 5 for Challenge #55!

Postcard Swap at City Crafter

I decided to try something different this week, and signed up for the Postcard Swap at City Crafter. Everyone's postcards are so gorgeous! I had tons of fun making mine, which I'm also entering into their Postcard challenge.

I won this funky rubber stamp at the Spotlight Challenge, and I've been itching to use it! I liked the idea of a movie-flyer postcard from Classic Hollywood. I stamped it with StazOn & colored it with watercolor pencils. I crazy-stitched it on my sewing machine (sew much fun!), and sprayed both sides with a Satin Finish coating. I added a little lace that I sprayed with orange glimmer mist.

The back:

I made the back in PhotoShop, using mostly a new-to-me form of digi stamps, "PhotoShop Brushes." These are collections of images that you load into your PhotoShop brush presets. I learned about these through a link at Graphics Fairy to Pretty Procrastination. You have to check out that post, it has lots of good info, links, and a promise of many more files! See my supply list below for links to the image sets I used here.

I "aged" the postcard with Antique Linen distress ink.  I added some "noise" in PhotoShop to the lines, text & Postcard sentiment to give more of an aged look too. The "Air Mail" stamp was colorized in PhotoShop, but I added the color to the sentiment with a watercolor pencil.

Supplies:

Postcard Banner digi stamp from Tidbits Trinkets

PhotoShop Brushes: Stamp Brushes set by Alex Duka, Handwriting Brush by obsidiandawn

Tools: Fiskars papercutter, HP printer & ink, Adobe PhotoShop Tim Holtz paper distresser & ink, Singer sewing machine, ProvoCraft corner punch, ZipDry glue

Paper: Hammermill

Embellishments: rubber stamp from stash, Loew Cornell watercolor pencils, Coats & Clark thread


Update: Linda enjoyed the package I sent her as well! Be sure to check out all the final swaps on the City Crafter Party blog.

Dude Time Doodles November Holidays Challenge, Card #2

Happy Saturday everyone. With only 3 more days to enter the Dude Time Doodles November Holidays Challenge, I thought I'd give you a little extra inspiration! Be sure to hop on over and check out the beautiful DT projects for this challenge, if you haven't already.

The first card I made inspired by this challenge was a Thanksgiving card, so I wanted to make a card for another, lesser-known November Holiday, "Stay at Home because You are Well Day"! I used the Hammock Harold set from Dude Time Doodles, a digi from Create with TLC, and some funky papers from 7 Gypsies to make this Shadow Box Card:

 And the back:

Here's a view from the top:

I'm working on wedding invitations (130! Holy Crap!) for my husband's cousin, so I won't be doing much blogging for the rest of November. But check in every Wednesday for a new Dude Time Doodles Challenge! I'm having such a great time being a guest designer with them.

Take a cue from Hammock Harold, and have a great day!

Dude Time Doodles November Holidays Challenge

I'm so excited to be a guest designer for the month of November at Dude Time Doodles! They are such a fun and talented group.

This week's challenge at Dude Time Doodles is
November's Special Days (pick one):

• World Hello Day (Nov. 21)
• U.S. Thanksgiving (Nov. 24)
• Stay at Home Because You are Well (Nov. 30)

Hope you'll join us!

I chose Thanksgiving, so that I could use Ted Tightend & Paul Pilgrim from Dude Time Doodles. I made a "Pigskin Time" sentiment to play on the traditional ham & football so many of us enjoy on that day!

I made a horizontal Notch Swing Card (my vertical notch swing card & SVG templates available here), so that images can take turns being in front! I paper-pieced them, and used Copics to add details. I added some football-like hand-stitching. It's really very simple, and looks so good! The patterned papers are embossed Black Magic Core'dinations; one is a light yellow + black, and the other is light brown + black. The interior paper is a DP I had in my stash...those swirls are kinda pig-tail-y, right?!

And the back:

Stamps: Ted Tightend & Paul Pilgrim from Dude Time Doodles, front sentiment generated with Chinchilla font, interior sentiment stamp from Fiskars, leaf stamps from stash
Tools: Fiskars papercutter, Cricut, SCAL, HP printer & ink, Tim Holtz paper distresser, sandpaper, Sizzix Texture Boutique & embossing plate, Cuttlebug embossing plate, awl, needle, Marvy heat tool, Martha Stewart detail scissors
Paper: Core'dinations, Recollections, Hammermill
Embellishments: Copic markers, Offray ribbon, Recollections brads, ZING embossing powder, nameplate from stash

Coffee Chat Card with Jen's Dig Stamps and Pile It On

Another week, another fun challenge at Pile It On! Their challenges are extra fun because you're expected to add the theme onto other challenges. This also makes the blog a great resource for finding challenges. This week's challenge is sponsored by Jen's Digi Stamps, and the theme is "Keep Warm."

I volunteer at Pile It On, helping with the winners postings and whatnot, but as soon as I saw this cute image from Jen's Digi Stamps, this card idea popped into my my mind and I just had to play along with the DT! Their cards are always so gorgeous (wait till you see this week's projects -- wowza!), I'm so honored to be listed amongst them!

Here's my coffee card, made for the following challenges:
Pile It On #44: Keeping Warm
Aud Sentiments: Make Us Laugh
Card & Things: Color Challenge (Night of Navy, Old Olive, Bashful Blue)
Scrap-Creations: Digi image & paper

Stamps:  Jen's Digi Stamps, Stampin' Up!, digi paper from Create with TLC

Paper: Recollections, Hammermill, Core'dinations, Mark's Finest Papers, stash

Tools: Fiskars papercutter & punches, Cricut, SCAL, HP printer & ink, Martha Stewart scissors, Marvy heat tool & punch, awl, needle, Crop-O-Dile

Other: Copic markers, Sakura gel pens, Pink Paisley baker's twine, Recollections embossing powder & pop-dots, Versamark & Memento inks, Stampenous embossing powder, variegated floss, Sweet Petites ribbon