Pile It On and...Relax!

This week at Pile It On, our Challenge theme is Kick Back and Relax, perfect for these lazy summer days.

For this fun Boy card, I used the Circle Flip-its Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die and some papers from a pre-glittered, Kraft-core Recollections cardstock pad.

I used one of the pre-colored images from LOTV's Take it Easy Die Cut Sheet. I totally feel like I'm cheating since I didn't color it myself, but I did add the green with Copics.

I added empty stitching to the border with my sewing machine, but I hand-stitched the border around the image. I distressed the card edges and sentiment piece with Vintage Photo TH distress ink.

For the flip-side, I used Iced Tea w/ Lemon by TLC Creations (altho I've only ever used it for lemonade!) I colorized the image brown in PhotoShop, then colored it with Copics.

Making these flowers with plastic straws was as much fun as it looks! I can't find a tutorial, but basically you fringe-cut a plastic drinking straw to form a flower. That's it! To make layers, just snip the straw so that you can curl it to fit into the larger hole.

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Charisma Cardz: Recycle [plastic-straw flowers]
2. Crafts and Me Challenge #92: Stitching, Real or Faux
3. Gingerloft Challenge #44: Fancy Folds
4. Hotshot Crafts: Distress Inks
5. Paperminutes #225: Shabby Chic/Vintage
6. Paper Pretties: Try A New Technique [plastic-straw flowers]
7. Sisterhood of Crafters: Let's Hear It For The Boys
8. Speedy Fox and Friends Challenge 116: Masculine Birthday Card [although this isn't specifically a Birthday card, I do plan to use it for my BIL's Bday]

Update: Woot woot, this was a prize winner for Charisma Cardz's Recycle Challenge!

Thank you for visiting,

Anything Goes at OSAAT

Today begins another weekly challenge at One Stitch at a Time; I know you'll want to enter this one, as the theme is Anything Goes!

For this challenge, my teamie Nataliya chose Window by My Heart Pieces for her, me & teamie Denise to play with; wait til you see their takes on it! I've known the artist, Priyanka, for a little while now and I always enjoy her fun images.

I wanted to do something special with the curtain, so I printed it on vellum and cut the window shape out of the card. I colored the image with Copics, and added some FlowerSoft to the flowers.

My mom & dad are on their annual camping trip, so Mom sent me some of her crafting supplies (dies, Cricut cartridges) to play with while she's gone. I'm having fun with her collection of Sizzix Bigz Dies; I only own Spellbinders-type dies. For this card, I used the Love Birds, Flower Layers #2, and Flourish dies to create this easel card:

Hope you'll join us at One Stitch at a Time for our "Anything Goes" challenge. For entries using a StitchyBear Store product (be sure to add a # after your name when entering), you could win a prize this month's StitchyBear Collab. You're welcome to enter the challenge using different products, but will instead be entered into the draw to win a $3 coupon to StitchyBear. Can't wait to see your projects!

Inspiration/Challenges:

Art Impressions Challenge 71: Easel or More than One Fold

ATCs & Cards With Attitude: Anything Goes

Inspire Me Fridays: Always Anything Goes

Poodles Parlour: Use a Digi Stamp

Samuel Taylor's July Challenge: Use die cuts

Sweet n' Sassy Digi Challenge: Fun Fold Card

Totally Papercrafts: Lots of Layers

Thank you for visiting,

Wingin' it with Card Cupids

It's time for another Card Cupids Challenge! This fortnight we're being sponsored by Wings and Willows, so we have the fun & easy theme of "Wings".

I used Rainy Day by Wings and Willows and the Everyone Needs a Little Rain sentiment by Paper Makeup to make this silly card:

I just love this rubber ducky paper; I've had it for...oh, ever. Years and years. I've also had this ribbon for a long time; maybe a year? The butterflies are cut with Stampin' Up!'s Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die. Wow, I love this product! I colored the debossed polka dots with a Gelly Roll pen. I colored the pearls with a blue Copic.

Inspiration/Challenges:

Fat Pages & Cards with Attitude: Anything Goes

Inky Impressions Challenge: The Great Outdoors

My Heart Pieces Digital Stamps Challenge: For someone Special [who could be more special than a Card Cupid recipient!]

Pixie Dust Challenge: Rain or Shine

Tammy's Scrapin Corner: Anything Goes

Hope you'll join in with us for this challenge, and be a Card Cupid! The only requirement for our challenges, other than the theme, is to send in at least card to Card Cupids (the simple instructions are here). 

Best,

Pink Princesses

Mom lent me her Circle Flip-its Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die, and I'm having so much fun with it. For example, I made these Birthday cards for our nieces! [Sorry that the photos aren't great; it's been gray here and I just couldn't get good lighting!]

This first card was inspired by Lili's Little Fairies Pretty In Pink Challenge, so I used one of my precious, long-hoarded, pre-colored die cuts from Lili of the Valley. Using Diamond Glaze, I added shimmer to her bow and FlowerSoft to her boa & tutu.

Mom also sent me some yummy SU! papers she got from a friend of hers who's a consultant...she uses it for rosettes, so I took that tip from her. I cut the rosette with my TH die, and used my Swirl Sizzix die for the flourishes. The sentiment is heat-embossed with a Stampendous stamp on Core'dinations cardstock, and is cut/embossed with the wavy banner die from a•muse studio's Cupcake Toppers set. 

I created borders for the circles with pink Liquid Pearls. For the flip-side, I stamped the crown in pink & heat-embossed it in Kaleidoscope. The "Princess" sentiment is heat-embossed in a coral red.

My second card was inspired by the fact that our niece's birthday party is going to have a "luau" theme. I totally hoard my mulberry-paper flowers, but I sure had fun with them here! I strung the small flowers onto thread, and then carefully glued it down.

The black-and-green card base is actually a black-and-white DP that I sprayed with "Meadow Green" Tattered Angels glimmer mist. I sprayed the white pieces, ribbon, and lizard with "Iridescent Gold".

I heat-embossed the flowers in shiny green onto this great hot-pink, textured Core'dinations cardstock, then colored them in with my Copics (I know, I know, I shouldn't be using my Copics near colored embossing, but I just can't help myself!). The large hibiscus and lizard stamps are from a Recollections set, and the small hibiscus stamp is from Dilo en Español's Que Siga La Fiesta set. The sentiment is from Hero Arts, I think.

I'm entering this card into Shopping Our Stash #59: Extra Fold or Pleats [(much of this uses stash items).

Thank you for visiting,

Sunny cards at OSAAT

This week at One Stitch at a Time, our theme is "Sun" (Summer, round, yellow).

I used the beautiful flower patterned watch from the Hands Of Time set from Stitchy Stamps.

The sentiment is inspired by Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince: Summer, summer, summertime ... Time to sit back and unwind (Be sure to check out their classic video).

Oh my gosh this song makes me smile. It's been in my head all week! I actually created the sentiment originally for a tag swap I'm doing, but I had one extra and it seemed perfect for this card. I do like the pun too! In PhotoShop, I set the quote in Dust Enna and added transparency to the layers. If you'd like the sentiment, just shoot me an email (cgsayssomethingloudly [at] gmail [dot] com).

The watch digi is heat-embossed in translucent yellow on shiny Recollections paper...I heard a rumor that Recollections is discontinuing this product, and I hope it's not true! I love using it for heat-embossing digital images. I added some color to the watch with Copics.

Everything on here is a scrap, or at least long-hoarded. The netting is recycled from a bag for potatoes (fingerlings ... they were delicious)!

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Cardmadfairy's Digi Days Challenge 37: Summertime
2. Chocolate, Coffee & Cards: Anything Goes
3. Clear It Out!: Use Old Supplies / Anything Goes + Yellow
4. Crafty Sentiments: Summertime
5. Flourishes: Summer
6. Jackson's Digital Expressions: Anything Goes + Use Flowers (not roses)
7. Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes
8. The Crafty Bloggers Network Monday Challenge #1: Anything Goes

Update: This card won the Clear It Out! Challenge -- thanks!

Thank you for visiting,