More Snowy Fun with Sunshine Mail

There are a few more days left to enter the "Snow Much Fun" Sunshine Mail Foundation Challenge. The only real rule is that you send in at least one card (Donation guidelines here). 

We're sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps, and I loved their Winter Sock Monkey digi so much that I just had to make another card!

I used the free font Scrap-Snow for the sentiment again...actually, this was a scrap I had from making the first card.

I used my new favorite Cuttlebug embossing folder; I guess this snow scene one is discontinued, but I found it at an Estate Sale while visiting my mom this winter. It's not my usual thing, but it was only $2 and I thought it would be fun... Well, as I'm checking out several women told me that it's actually very hard to find! Oh well, they should have snapped it up first ha ha! I embossed it a couple of times and then cut it down to make some more layers. I mounted the scene onto another white piece that I embossed with a polka-dot folder. Simple, yet fun!

Inspiration/Challenges:
Addicted to CAS: Embossing
Creative Stamp Friends: Winter/Wintersport

Digi Haven: Winter/snow + digi
Sweet n' Sassy Digi Challenge: It's all white
Sweet Pea Stampers: Clean and Simple no embellishments

Thank you for visiting & hope you'll join us this month for the Sunshine Mail Foundation Challenge,

Snow Much Fun at Sunshine Mail

Whoop, it's the first Sunshine Mail Foundation Challenge of the year! We have a talented & expanded design team, a name change (formerly Card Cupids), and the organization plans on sending cards & care packages to more people than ever.

Our challenge theme is "Snow Much Fun", and the only real rule is that you send in at least one card (Donation guidelines here). 

We're sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps, so I used one of their adorable Winter Sock Monkey digis for this card.

I used the free font Scrap-Snow for the sentiment; what can I say, the title of our challenge seemed perfect for the sentiment too!

Inspiration/Challenges:
Artistic Inspirations: Anything Goes
Bugaboo Sunday Challenge: Stella Says Sketch & 3 of Something (3 snowflakes; 3 papers; 3 instances of glitter Skickles - 2 snowflakes & ball on hat)
Card Makin' Mamas: Anything Goes
Digi Darla Challenge: Anything Goes
Digi Makeover Challenge: Winter Wonderland + digi stamp
Eureka Stamps: Layer It Up & Let It Snow

Thank you for visiting,

Anything Goes at One Stitch at a Time

It's time for another fun "Anything Goes" challenge at One Stitch at a Time!

My teamie Vicky chose for her & myself this time around, and totally challenged me with Mermaid's Revenge by Delicious Doodles. Since this is an "Anything Goes" challenge, our wonderful coordinator Choccy asked that some of us make something other than a card, so I made a very funky Post-It Note holder:

I just love the digis from Delicious Doodles; they are so fun & interesting, and I had a blast coloring this with my Copics and Glaze pens.

I used Cuttlebug's 3x3 Bubble Frame Die/Emboss Combo for the frame, but since the image was larger I cut down two to make the frame (I used some of the scrap for the inside).
Actually, all of the paper used for this project is from my scrap box. Even the blue cross stitch fabric is a scrap!

The blue flourishes are a Sizzix die cut that I actually found in my scraps... can't remember now what I originally cut it! I've had the little plastic bone buttons (with shanks removed) for the longest time, and was excited to have a funky way to use them.

I generated the sentiment myself using the font Bleeding Freaks, making the outline (or "stroke") red for the first letters and blue for the rest. Thought it worked nicely for the undersea vampire theme. I printed it onto shiny gold paper (Recollections), cut it by hand, and drew the border with a white Glaze pen.

I'm really into cross stitching right now (see my other projects here), so I whipped up a little skull pattern, complete with gold tooth. Too fun! It's glued into an ornamental bottlecap.

Here it is opened up:

I started with a 4.5 x 12 inch strip and scored it at 4.75, 5.25, 10, and 10.5. I used some scrap magnet to make a closure. I ran the seashell-patterned ribbon through a small piece of paper (the same glittered black Core'dinations cardstock I used for the base) to make a loop for the small pen. This holds a regular 3x3 "sticky note" pad.

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Allsorts Challenge Week 189: Dies and Punches
2. Crafty Cardmakers: Create a Fairytale Scene (Okay, it's a pretty dark fairytale, but hope it counts!)
3. Digi Haven: Sparkles & Bling
4. Divas by Design #67: Anything goes 
5. Eureka Stamps: Make it Sparkle
6. Haunted Design House Macabre Mondays: Anything dark/Gothic
7. Penny's Paper-Crafty #109: Anything goes
8. Songbird Challenges: Paint It Black (LOVE this song!)

Thank you for visiting & hope you'll join us this week at One Stitch at a Time,

Old-fashioned Pixels

So for the first time in this century (actually since 1996) I rang in the New Year without a cigarette. I would have crafted straight through midnight if not for the fireworks (we're only about 3 miles north of Baltimore's Inner Harbor) that woke up my dog Allen, who then needed immediate love and attention. I wouldn't have it any other way!

I quit smoking 7 weeks ago, and I did it with the help of cross stitching. I found myself a few projects and found it really helpful in keeping me busy.

So...I've been cross stitching all weekend. I made this simple pattern based on a rubber stamp design. I stamped the stamp itself in SU! Whisper White on black paper.

rotated 90° counter-clockwise

The "stitching" on the border of the card is actually a SP & Co. stamp; I used Memento Tuxedo Black ink.


Inspiration/Challenges:
CAS Colours and Sketches Challenge #4: Sketch
Allsorts: Black and White
Hotshot Crafts: Clean and Simple




Here are some other designs I made this weekend:

I couldn't find a free pattern for these Space Invaders characters, so I made them (thanks to the document grid in InDesign). I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this piece yet...

I designed these myself too, so that they would fit in these 1x1-inch bottle caps. I cut circles from magnet sheets using a Sizzix die and glued them onto the bottle caps to make magnets.

These patterns are available as PDFs; just shoot me an email if you want one or both. (CGsaysSomethingLoudly [at] gmail [dot] com)


And here are a couple of projects I made for Christmas Gifts:

My Mother-in-law's favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz, so I made this for her for Christmas. I got the pattern for this at Sewing Seed, and I plan on making the whole set this year. I found the frame for like a $1 at my mom's church's Thrift Store.

This was a gift for my mom; she mentioned how lovely white-on-red fabric would be, so I found a free pattern for a Coeur Fleuri. I colored the wooden frame with red Tattered Angels glimmer mist, and added liquid pearls on the front & sides. I covered the hoop closure with white Silk Crush ribbon from May Arts, and a plastic red bird charm from Popalicious Too (I received it in a blog candy).

Not bad for 7 weeks, huh?! So far, 2013 is looking good!

Thank you for visiting & Happy New Year,

Mo's Wonderful Time of the Year

How has it already been another year ... I guess time goes fast when you're crafting! I've had a great December full of traveling and visiting family, and now I'm looking forward to a new year full of ... well, all those things that come up when you're an adult!

I thought that the current challenge at Mo's Digital Pencil would be a nice way to both reflect on 2012 and welcome in 2013: We're to pick our favorite Mo's Digital Pencil project of 2012. I was sort of surprised to see that I only made four projects in 2012 (You can see all of my projects using Mo's images here), but I just had to choose Silky Puppy Love:

Silky Puppy Love, February 20, 2012

As you can tell, I had too much fun making that card!

Last year I used Mo's Fan's Cricket to make a Chinese New Year card, so figured I should do the same for 2013. Didn't get this in the mail in time for Western New Year's, so maybe I can send it to someone for the Chinese New Year! 

I printed everything (including the sentiment by TLC Creations, which I inverted) onto shiny Recollections papers (gold, charcoal, white). I was inspired by the lovely sketch from The Sketch File. I used the font Silentina Movie for the Charlie Chaplin quote ("Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles."), some beautiful Graphic 45 paper, and added a bit of white leaf ribbon. 

The Sketch File

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. ATCs & Cards With Attitude: Celebrations
2. Brown Sugar: Happy New Year
3. Fat Pages With Attitude: Celebrations
4. Kenny K's Krafty Krew: It's Party Time (NY celebration card)
5. Little Claire's: Happy New Year
6. Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge #238: New Year Inspired
7. Polka Doodles: Happy New Year
8. Pixie Dust Studio: Any Celebration will do
9. Sunny Challenges: New Year's
10. The Sketch File: Sketch

Update: This was awarded a Top 3 spot at Brown Sugar. Thank you!

Thank you for visiting,