Crafter's Cafe - Shaped Cards

This is my first official project for The Crafter's Cafe Challenge Design Team! We're a weekly challenge with two teams, so every two weeks starting today I'll be sharing my projects inspired by their themes & sponsors.

The Crafter's Cafe Challenge this week is Shaped Cards, and we have two great sponsors: A & T Digital Designs and Creative Bug Digis. I used Isla by A & T/Emerald Faeries.

This is my first time making a Pyramid Card, and it was so fun. I cut the "dandelions" on my silhouette, covered some of the pieces with yellow flocking.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Craft and Smash: Fluorescent
Graph'It Colour Challenge: Springtime + Coloring
QKR Stampede: April Showers Bring May Flowers
Naughty or Nice Challenges: In bloom

Thank you for visiting & hope you'll join us at The Crafter's Cafe,

Simply Majestic

I'm lucky to have a very active imagination, but sometimes it leads to my ideas being way too out of the box. So I've always enjoyed working with sketches and creative themes to help me focus. One of my favorite resources for creative inspiration is my fabulous husband. I asked him for some ideas to work with and he challenged me with: Plains, Wheat, Yellow. I played with some ideas & added some more inspiration from challenges, and ended up with this rainbow-inspired Gap Card:

click images to enlarge

I cut the wheat shapes from scrap paper using TH's Fall Garland die. I used an Imaginisce embossing tool to widen the lines within the shapes; time-consuming but worth it.

Many thanks to Beccy's Place for the Gap Card tutorial. This was my first time trying this technique; I certainly set myself up for failure, as I'm not always so great at precision techniques, but it really worked out! I used a letterpress paper card base, and stamped the sentiment (stamps from Crafty Secrets & my stash) directly onto it with 2 purple inks. I went one step further and inked/stenciled directly onto the inside. I edged the waves & stenciled the clouds with a white Wink of Stella pen.

I added color to the sentiment with Copic markers. The little ladybug is a sticker by Susan Winget/K&Company. The butterfly was cut/embossed with a Sizzix/SU! Embosslits die from an orange, patterned tinfoil from a can of San Pellegrino soda.

I've been so lucky to be able to travel the roads of many countries, including my own, thanks to my parents. We shared many wonderful travels, and now I get to travel with my wonderful husband. Although we don't do a lot of traveling now, I'm extra lucky to have them to support my creative travels!

Challenges/Inspiration:
Red Carpet Studio #97: Field of Dreams / make your own background
ShowCASe Your Style: Sketch + CAS

Thank you for visiting & for inspiring my crafting,

Pilin' on the Die Cuts

This week at Pile It On we're challenging you to use your Die cuts and/or Punches.

I used Mad Hatter from Doctor Digi's House of Stamps, along with dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs. I adore this "Happy Unbirthday" stamp from Rogue Redhead Designs, as I all-too-often want to send a birthday card to someone that I know will arrive late!

I dry-embossed the teapot & cups on a shiny cardstock, fussy-cut them, and heat-embossed them with metallic gold powder. The top layer was cut with the dies from a gold-foiled cardstock. I used the same shiny cardstock to make the little sugar cubes, which I heat-embossed with Holographic powder.

The background is a watercolor paper. I heat-embossed the sentiment directly onto it, and made the tea-stain with a TH stencil and distress inks.

The Mad Hatter was colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, and made into a tag. I backed it with a White Rabbit image from a Graphic45 Wonderland-themed paper, and added a scrap ribbon piece that's been floating around my craft table for some time!

Challenges/Inspiration:
Creative Knockouts: Die Cuts/Punches
Dies R Us Challenge #23: One for the Boys
DoubleClick Skittles #18: Punny or Funny Sentiment
The Male Room Challenge #7: Metallic Embossing Powder + Card for a Man
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Happy Birthday (this is technically a birthday card, just a belated one!)
Sister Act Card Challenge #100: Anything Goes
Try Stamping On Tuesdays #212: Sketch (flipped)

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting! Hope you'll join us at Pile It On,

Super thumbs-up!

I had some crafty fun today making this Congratulations card with "Thumbs Up Kid" by KennyK and my favorite Flip-It Card Sizzix die. The papers are scrap pieces from a long-hoarded Recollections pack. I printed the image on neon green paper and colored it with Copic markers and Wink of Stella pens. The sentiments are heat-embossed in neon orange on wood embellishments. I traced the sentiments with a black pen, and edged the word bubbles with a black marker. I added borders with glittery-green tape.

Challenges/Inspiration:
KennyK's Krafty Krew #191 : Fancy Folds
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper: Anything goes with Patterned Paper background (2nd entry)

Update: This made the Top 3 for KennyK's Krafty Krew #191!

Thank you for visiting,

Pilin' on Spring

This week at the Pile It On Challenge we're featuring Easter/Spring projects. We're sponsored by Sherri Baldy/My Besties, so I used this little cutie that I won some time ago to make a springtime card:

The little airplane is a wood embellishment that I heat-embossed in silver & trimmed down with scissors. I used one of the Besties from their March Prize Pack for the tiny pilot. Both images are Colored with Copics & glitter/gel pens.The large image is attached with an Action Wobble, so it pops out but folds flat.

I created the border by wrapping Baker's Twine around some flower-shaped brads. I added glitter glue to the flowers' centers. For the sentiment corner, I decorated the brad with pre-made flower pieces and made the banners in InDesign with the Snidely font.

The front is a pre-embossed DP that I've had in my stash forever, as is the patterned cardstock I used for the base.

Challenges/Inspiration:
Add a Little Dazzle #67: Spring or Anything Goes
Action Wobble Challenge: Anything Goes with an Action Wobble (2nd entry)
Aud Sentiments Challenge #128: Anything Goes + Sentiment
Cards in Envy: Spring + Flat/A2 Card (this does fold flat, with just a bit of bump from the brads... am sending it with one stamp)
Graph'It Colour Challenge #13: Springtime + coloring
Just Inspirational Challenges: Cute
Little Claire's March Challenge: Springtime
QKR Stampede #132: Add a Sentiment
Really Reasonable Ribbon: Bright Spring Colors with Ribbon or Trim (I used Cool yet bright Spring colors + Baker's twine)

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting! Hope you'll join us at Pile It On,