birthday sketch

2 Responses »
Oct 312011

For this card I combined this week’s Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog sketch with the Hope You Can Cling To challenge to create a birthday card.  I used several of the Desert Islands Crafters Challenge elements, too.  The Rose Red has always been a favorite color of mine.  I also used two shades of grey, a designer paper with stripes, and the card itself isn’t square.

All supplies are from Stampin’ Up.
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Warmest Regards
Cardstock: Going Gray, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Rose Red Prints designer paper
Ink: Basic Gray
Other: 5-Petal Flower punch, Spring Bouquet Flower punch, silver brads, dimensionals

Posted by PH in VA at 6:00 pm Cards, Desert Islands Craft Challenge, OWH Stars & Stamps sketches, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!

ivory, chocolate and red

7 Responses »
Oct 312011

That’s the yummy color combination for this week’s Splitcoaststampers Clean and Simple challenge!  I think it’s a wonderful, classic combo and if I wasn’t busy trying to catch up on the Hope You Can Cling To challenges, I’d probably make several more cards with it this week.   I’ve already made two, LOL!

The first card is a wintry version of the flap card I made for a Paper Therapy challenge a couple months ago.  I used a marker to draw in the snow line.  The bird was stamped on a scrap of cardstock, cut out, and adhered to the card with dimensional adhesive.  (Remember what I said in my hello, deerie post about trimming dimensionals to fit into skinny little places?  Does this bird have a narrow tail?  Do you think I learned my lesson yet?  🙄 )

I wanted to differentiate the sky from the rest of the card, so I very lightly sponged some very light blue ink behind the tree.  I don’t know if that’s cheating on the challenge requirements or not, so that’s why I made the second card.  I used this week’s Stars & Stamps sketch challenge for the layout.  This one uses an adorable image from K ‘n K Designs created especially for Operation Write Home.  Proceeds from the sale of this set, and a few other special sets, will be donated to OWH to help them with their holiday season shipping costs.  You can get all the details on the K ‘n K Designs blog.  I just found out about this a few days ago and I’m glad I got in on this offer while I could – these images are only available until November 1, 2011!

So there… one challenge, two cards that will be donated to Operation Write Home!  Today is the deadline for shippers to receive Christmas cards, so I’ll be shifting my focus to valentines, “love you” cards and general occasion themes.

Supplies for the tree card:
Stamps: Season of Friendship, Trendy Trees (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Soft Sky (SU)
Other: Chocolate Chip marker, dimensionals (SU); magnets (Basic Grey); sponge

Supplies for the cat card:
Digital Images: Patriotic Pickles image and sentiment (K ‘n K Designs)
Stamps: Background Basics (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink); Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red (SU)
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip (SU); printer ink
Other: markers (Copic); sponge

Posted by PH in VA at 7:00 am Cards, Digital images, K 'n K Designs, Operation Write Home, OWH Stars & Stamps sketches, SCS CAS Design Team, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!

hello, bee-utiful

1 Response »
Oct 272011

Because the Hope You Can Cling To challenges at Splitcoaststampers are benefiting breast cancer patients at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, many of the challenge themes are related to things associated with breasts and cancer.  One challenge presented earlier this week was titled “Save the Boo-Bees” .  Using a pun on that nickname for breasts, we were challenged to make a card with bees on it.  I took it as the perfect opportunity to finally use this cute tree image I’ve had for a while.  After I stamped the tree, I masked it and sponged the sky and grass around it, and then colored the image with Copics.  I used the mirror image of the October Sketch For You to Try layout for my card and kept it simple and straightforward with no poofy, lumpy embellishments.

Here’s the original sketch:

Supplies:
Stamps: Lucky You (Lizzie Anne Designs); Sanded (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, So Saffron (SU); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery (SU); Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Other: markers (Copic); twill ribbon (SU); sponges

Posted by PH in VA at 10:00 am Cards, Lizzie Anne Designs, SFYTT sketches, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!

hello, deerie

3 Responses »
Oct 252011

Whew!  Between World Card Making Day, the Hope You Can Cling To challenges at Splitcoaststampers and trying to beat the Operation Write Home Christmas mailing deadline, October is one busy card making month!  Remember, if you’re planning to send Christmas cards to OWH, your shipper needs to receive them by October 31!

Here’s a card I made for one of the HYCCT challenges as well as for the current Lawnscaping challenge.  The Lawnscaping challenge is to use paper piecing, and the HYCCT challenge is to use paint on your project.  I paper pieced the deer from two different shades of brown designer paper, and I pieced together the background from blue designer paper and white cardstock.  The white cardstock is painted with shimmery white paint.  The deer is attached with dimensional adhesive to add a little 3-D effect.  (Note to self: trimming dimensionals tiny enough to fit behind the deer’s feet and antlers is a pain worth considering before attempting this again.)

A while ago I learned that edging a paper pieced item with ink or a marker the same color as the item was stamped with gives the paper piecing a more finished look.  Well, I had a little oopsie when I was edging the deer’s feet and got a stray black marker mark on one.  So I fixed that by adding black hooves to my little creature.  I’m glad that was an easy fix!  I colored in the deer’s nose while I was at it, too.

Supplies for this card:
Stamps: Critters in the Snow (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Whisper White (Stampin’ Up); Basics White (Papertrey Ink); papers from Blush 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Cutterbee scissors (EK Success); Frost White shimmer paint, dimensionals (SU)

Posted by PH in VA at 8:30 pm Basic Grey, Cards, Lawn Fawn, Lawnscaping challenges, Splitcoast challenges

CAS sketch - love you

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Oct 242011

This week’s Clean and Simple challenge at Splitcoaststampers is a sketch challenge – and it’s based off of one of my cards!  My original card can be found here.  This time, I’ve used a heart instead of the tag.  The heart is made of chipboard covered with designer paper.  I chose the heart shape so I could tie this card into one of the Hope You Can Cling To challenges, which required using at least one heart on your card.

All supplies are from Stampin’ Up.

Stamp: Short & Sweet
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Raspberry Tart designer paper
Ink: Rose Red
Other: chipboard, sponge

Posted by PH in VA at 8:00 am Cards, SCS CAS Design Team, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!

just because, cupcake

1 Response »
Oct 172011

Cupcakes!  Just about everybody likes them.  I definitely do.  😳  Cupcakes are this week’s Clean and Simple Challenge theme at Splitcoaststampers.

I’ve been trying to complete some of the Hope You Can Cling To challenges, too.  My friend Lee is hosting an inspiration challenge with a photo of some, shall we say, very embellished cupcakes.  Remember how last week I said that photo inspiration challenges tend to stump me?  I’d been having a really hard time figuring out what to do for Lee’s challenge when I finally decided to use the colors from the photo for my cupcake-themed CAS card.  And then it all came together pretty easily – except for one glitch.  I pulled out my Shimmerz paints to color the icing on the cupcakes, and when I opened the jar, I found a shimmery substance about the consistency of toothpaste.  UH OH.  But thanks to my friend Sheila and a quick search at SCS, I learned I could add a little water to the paint to thin it.  That worked!

If you haven’t yet joined in on the CAS or the HYCCT challenges, I hope you’ll jump in and share your creations!

Supplies for today’s card:
Stamps: Bitty Basics (Stampin’ Up); Everyday Sayings (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Poppy Parade, Cameo Coral, Whisper White (SU)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Opal paint (Shimmerz); ribbon (Michael’s); markers (Copic)

Posted by PH in VA at 8:00 am Cards, Lizzie Anne Designs, SCS CAS Design Team, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!

Hope You Can Cling To!

1 Response »
Oct 152011

All during the month of October, Splitcoaststampers is sponsoring Hope You Can Cling To to benefit the MD Anderson Cancer Center.  A different challenge is being presented each day of the month.  I’m excited to be hosting the challenge for today, October 15!

Pink is the color associated with breast cancer, but today I’d like you to “think pink” a little differently. The challenge is to create a card using products, images, sentiments, or techniques that begin with the letters P, I, N and K. Other things can be included, but the card must have the following four required elements: at least one thing beginning with P, one thing beginning with I, one thing beginning with N, and one thing beginning with K.

Here’s the card I created.  I kept it pretty clean and simple.  For the letter P, there’s a polar bear, which is attached to the card with pop dots.  The igloo and the ice represent the letter I.  N is for Not Quite Navy cardstock and Nestabilities dies.  I’ll admit I had a hard time coming up with ideas for the letter K, but I settled on Kraft cardstock for this card.

There you have it – a way to “think pink” without even using that color!

I hope you’ll join in the fun at SCS and participate in the challenges.  I’m looking forward to seeing what others create when they “think p-i-n-k”!

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters in the Snow (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Kraft, Not Quite Navy (Stampin’ Up); Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Labels Five and Petite Standard Ovals Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); markers (Copic); pop dots

Posted by PH in VA at 6:00 am Cards, Gina K Designs, Lawn Fawn, Nestabilities, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!

hay there, pink pig

2 Responses »
Oct 122011

This week I’m trying to get back into making cards for the challenges I enjoy.  I made two cards like this one today – one for Hope You Can Cling To and one for Operation Write Home.

Lydia’s Hope You Can Cling To challenge to create a card with a pink animal on it was the original driving force behind this card.  I thought about doing something cute like a bunny, but the realist in me overruled so I ended up choosing a pig for my pink animal.  I used the sketch from the SCS CAS challenge #138 for the layout.

The hay bale has a cardstock shim underneath it to give it some lift up off the background.  The pig is attached with pop dots to give some more dimension.  The Primas give a bit of dimension too.  Those ideas were inspired by the current Lawnscaping challenge.

So that’s what I’ve been up to today.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters on the Farm (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery (Stampin’ Up); scraps from Two Scoops 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: dimensionals, corner rounder punch (SU); flowers (Prima Marketing); brad (Recollections)

Posted by PH in VA at 8:30 pm Basic Grey, Cards, Lawn Fawn, Lawnscaping challenges, Operation Write Home, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!

Paper Therapy challenge - song inspiration

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Oct 112011

Hi there!  The Paper Therapy Design Team challenges have been changed up again.  We’re going to be running them for an entire month now, with a new challenge presented on the 10th of each month.  That gives everyone a lot of time to think about the challenge and create a project for it – or maybe even two or three projects?  🙂

This month the challenge is to use song lyrics on your project. We’re hoping everyone will think more out of the box than “happy birthday”, but we won’t stop you from using that!  These stamps from Lizzie Anne Designs were perfect for this challenge.  I decided to highlight the last line of the sentiment by placing it on the green grassy area of the card.  I chose to make a circular card so it would fit one of Splitcoaststampers.com’s Hope You Can Cling To challenges.  This card also fits four of the required elements for the current Desert Islands Craft Challenge itinerary: no white, dry embossing, circles, and a sentiment with the word “happy” in it.

So there it is – a cute and cheery little card to brighten someone’s day.  I hope you’ll join us at Paper Therapy and show us what song lyrics inspire you!

Supplies:
Stamps: Singing in the Rain (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Other: Swiss Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug by ProvoCraft); standard and petite scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders), Cutterbee scissors (EK Success)

Posted by PH in VA at 8:00 am Cards, Desert Islands Craft Challenge, Lizzie Anne Designs, Nestabilities, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!

apple inspiration

1 Response »
Oct 102011

This week’s Splitcoaststampers CAS challenge is to use the photo at the following link as inspiration: cinnamon buns with apple and coffee

I have to confess that I have a very, very difficult time with photo inspiration challenges.  As a result, I usually don’t like the cards I make for them.  Today’s is no exception.

I used the color scheme in the photo for my card and decided to go with the apple idea. I distressed the edges of the apple panel to try to resemble the randomness of the drippy icing on the cinnamon buns. It’s hard to tell in my photo, but I used the Sanded background stamp on the card base to try to pick up some of the visual texture that’s on the table in the inspiration piece. The top of the mat is rolled in a not-so-great attempt to replicate the cinnamon stick idea.

Supplies:
Stamps: Sanded (Stampin’ Up); Simply Sweet (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Creamy Caramel (SU); Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Early Espresso (SU)
Other: markers (Copic)

Posted by PH in VA at 8:00 am Cards, Lizzie Anne Designs, SCS CAS Design Team, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!

challenges galore

1 Response »
Oct 082011

Hi! Sorry I’ve been somewhat missing in action this week. I’ve been busy creating cards for the World Card Making Day challenges that were presented over at Paper Therapy.

I combined several challenges for this card.  One challenge was to use the color blue.  Ok, I used three different shades.  One was to create a monochromatic card.  My three shades of blue accomplished that.  One was to create a card using no designer papers.  You won’t find any on this card.  And a fourth challenge was to create a card using scraps.  The card base was a half-sheet I found in my folder of Baja Breeze cardstock.  The heat embossed snowman piece was a leftover from the Christmas cards I sent in 2007.  I added the dry embossed snowflakes to the light blue strip tonight, but that strip was also a scrap from my 2007 Christmas cards.  I considered adding a sentiment, but then decided against it.  I figure this way it’s a good wintery any occasion card to donate to Operation Write Home.  It’s kind of plain and simple, but it’ll be easy to mail that way.

The big project of the week was creating a “one sheet wonder” – making as many cards as possible using one 12″ x 12″ sheet of designer paper to embellish the cards.  I ended up creating 15 cards from my designer paper.  This collection is going to be divided between Operation Write Home and Hope You Can Cling To.

I’ll take individual photos of them and share them soon, along with a template for how I cut the cardstock.  Only two of the cards are very similar, and I think they just might be my favorites of the group.  Here’s a picture of them side by side.  I used them for the Paper Therapy challenge to use a punch in creating a card.

So, all of that is what’s been keeping me busy.  I hope you’ve been having a good creative week too!

Posted by PH in VA at 8:00 am Cards, Operation Write Home, Paper Therapy, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!

a CAS sketch

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Oct 032011

Hi everyone!  Monday means it’s time for a new Clean and Simple challenge at Splitcoaststampers.  This week we have a sketch/layout to follow.  I liked the clean look of it and made two cards.

First I’ll share the birthday card I made.  It’s pretty simple and straightforward.  I did a really quick coloring job on the cake using the Magic Colored Pencil technique.  The cake is adhered with dimensional adhesive.

The next card combines the CAS challenge with one of this year’s Splitcoaststampers Hope to Cling To challenges, to add bling to your card.  I don’t use bling often but I did pull out some self-adhesive rhinestones for this one.  I also worked this card into two of the World Cardmaking Day challenges at Paper Therapy – to not use designer paper, and to make a holiday card using colors that aren’t normally associated with that holiday.

I hope you’ll join in the fun of these challenges – whether you decide to do the Splitcoaststampers or Paper Therapy challenges!

Supplies for the birthday card:
Stamps: Vintage Birthday (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Confetti White, So Saffron (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU)
Other: Corner rounder punch, dimensionals, button (SU); twine (Really Reasonable Ribbon); Labels Four Nestabilities die (Spellbinders); Premier colored pencils (Prismascolor); odorless mineral spirits (Houston Arts)

Supplies for the Christmas card:
Stamps: Build-a-Bauble (Lizzie Anne Designs); Seasonal Sayings (Gina K Designs)
Cardstock: Luxury White (GKD); Rich Razzleberry (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Pretty in Pink (SU); silver (Colorbox)
Other: rhinestone jewels (SU); Labels Four Nestabilities die (Spellbinders); corner rounder punch (EK Success)

Posted by PH in VA at 8:30 am Cards, Lizzie Anne Designs, SCS CAS Design Team, Splitcoast challenges

OWH World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop!

34 Responses »
Oct 012011

Hello!  I’m excited to be participating in the Operation Write Home World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop!  I’ve enjoyed creating handmade cards over the last nine years.  Donating them to Operation Write Home gives purpose to my creativity because it allows me to help provide our military men and women stationed overseas with a means to write home to their loved ones.  It’s an easy way for me to show support for our heroes who sacrifice their time away from their homes.

OWH will be accepting cards for the winter holidays now through October 31, 2011, so this is a Christmas-themed blog hop.  I used the September Sketch For You To Try layout for my card but shifted the sentiment panel to the right so it wouldn’t hide as much of the cute snowman paper.  The house image with Santa’s boots sticking out from the chimney always makes me smile.

I hope you enjoy the hop and come back to visit my blog again!  Click on the OWH badge at the top of this post to find out where you should hop next.

Supplies for today’s card:
Stamps: Holiday Lane (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Basic Black (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Winter Wonderland paper pack (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (SU); Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Other: markers (Copic); white gel pen (Uniball); sponge

Posted by PH in VA at 3:00 am Cards, Lizzie Anne Designs, Operation Write Home, SFYTT sketches, Stampin' Up!
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