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Cards in Envy - EnTWINEd

Sep 152014

Hi there! Today marks the start of another fun challenge at Cards in Envy: EnTWINEd. For the next few weeks, we want to see your cards using twine as an embellishment. Just remember to keep your card A2 size (4.25″ x 5.5″) and flat enough to mail in an envelope at the standard first class postage rate.

I’ve created a rather clean and simple birthday card for this challenge. I wrapped some twine around a scrap of designer paper and added a twine bow to create a present. It’s mounted on a textured cardstock background. The layout for this card comes from the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Cards in Envy design team has made! How will you use twine on your card? We’d love to see your creativity! Share your card using the linky tool at the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, October 5.

Supplies:
Stamps: Cake & Candles (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Pool Party, Very Vanilla textured, Everyday Enchantment designer series paper (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz (SU)
Other: Pool Party twine, Subtles candy dots, dimensionals (SU)

Cards in Envy - School Colors

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Sep 012014

Hello there! With so many schools starting back up again this time of year, Cards in Envy is starting a new challenge today with the theme of School Colors. Use the team colors of your favorite school to create an A2 sized (4.25″ x 5.5″) card that can be mailed at the standard postage rate. Any embellishments should be less than 1/4″ thick.

I’ve chosen the colors for my sons’ high school. The “official” school colors are blue and white, but the marching band and the athletic teams also have a lot of black on their uniforms. I didn’t want to make yet another penguin card, LOL, so I decided to go with a music theme and came up with this very simply styled thank you card.

Now it’s time for you to show us your school colors! Share your card with us at the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, September 14. We’d love to have you join in the fun and creativity!

Supplies:
Stamps: Musical Score (JudiKins); Picture This (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Basic Black, Whisper White (SU)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Cards in Envy - Best of Friends

3 Responses »

Aug 182014

Hello, and welcome to another Monday! Since it’s the third Monday of the month, it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy. For the next couple of weeks we’re focusing on a theme of “Best Friends”.

I went through my stamps trying to figure out just what I would make for my design team sample card for this challenge, and I wasn’t coming up with anything I liked. Finally I browsed through my digital images and landed upon this cute digi set that had several different images of foods that always seem to go together – salt & pepper, milk & cookies, you get the idea. I decided to go with coffee & doughnuts. (OK, so the actual image says “donuts”, but I prefer the longer spelling.) I remembered I had this designer paper with lots of circles against the brown background, and thought that might work well with the image. I borrowed the layout idea from the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge, added a few mats and embossed the horizontal strips, and colored the image to coordinate with the designer paper. Once I had all my pieces completed, it didn’t take long to assemble.

I just realized as I’m typing this that the designer paper I used is from the very first 6″ x 6″ paper pad I bought… back in 2007! Eeep! I guess it’s about time I used it, LOL!

So, how will you interpret our Best of Friends theme? Create an A2 sized card, being sure not to use any lumpy, bumpy embellishments that would prevent your card from fitting into an envelope and being mailed at the standard postage rate. Share it with us at the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, August 31. We’d love to see what you create!

Supplies:
Digital Images: You & Me (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Cool Caribbean (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs); designer paper from Blush 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: printer ink
Other: markers (Copic); Swiss Dots embossing folder (ProvoCraft)

Cards in Envy - Toes in the Sand

5 Responses »

Aug 042014

Hello! It’s the first Monday of the month, which means it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy! For the next two weeks we have a nice summery theme for our challenge – “Toes in the Sand”. The design team has come up with some great cards showing off a beach theme – go check them all out at the challenge site!

I don’t own many beach related stamps, but I have had this digital image for a while now. I’ve always felt somewhat intimidated by coloring it. I don’t mind coloring things, but scenes are a different ball game. But I decided it was time to give it a go with a sunset look. Because it’s a digital image, I was able to flip it and use the mirror image of it. I felt the mirror image worked better so the sentiment banner wouldn’t cover up the umbrella. The layout for this card is from OWH Stars & Stamps sketch challenge #227. The strip of designer paper is a scrap of some I bought at a craft store many years ago, and I’m no longer sure of the manufacturer.

Now it’s time for you to create your own beach themed card and share it with us at the Cards in Envy site! Remember that cards for our challenges must be A2 sized (4.25″ x 5.5″) with no lumpy, bumpy embellishments that would prevent them from being mailed with a regular first-class postage stamp. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Supplies:
Digital Images: Ocean Paradise, Masculine Birthday Greetings (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Basic Black (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); designer paper (source unknown, but possibly from ProvoCraft)
Ink: printer ink
Other: markers (Copic)

Cards in Envy - Happy Birthday to You

1 Response »

Jul 212014

Hello again! It’s time for another challenge at Cards in Envy. For the next two weeks, we have a super easy theme for you to follow: Happy Birthday to You. That’s right – all you need to do for this challenge is to make an A2 sized birthday card (4.25″ x 5.5″) with no lumpy, bumpy embellishments so that it could be mailed at the standard postage rate.

I’ve gone with a fairly simply design that could be used for pretty much anyone of any age, although the color scheme does lean a bit toward the masculine side. This platypus image always makes me smile. The birthday hat was stamped on a scrap piece of cardstock. I colored in the polka dots, cut out the hat and glued it into place, and drew in the frills on top.

If you need additional inspiration, please go check out the Cards in Envy site and see what the rest of the design team has made. Then create a birthday card following our challenge guidelines and share it with us on the Cards in Envy site. We’d love to have you play along with us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters Down Under, Hats Off to You (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Garden Green, Elegant Eggplant, Very Vanilla (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Fusion collection (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Labels Five Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

Cards in Envy - Stars and Stripes

4 Responses »

Jul 072014

Hello, and welcome! Today marks the beginning of a new challenge at Cards in Envy. For the next two weeks, we’re going to be seeing stars and stripes. Cards for this challenge should be A2 sized (4.25″ x 5.5″) and be thin enough to be mailed at the standard postage rate – and have both stars and stripes on them.

I decided to combine my stripes with my stars by die-cutting stars from striped designer paper. I wanted to add another birthday card with a masculine feel to the box I’m filling for Operation Write Home, so that determined my color scheme and the sentiment I chose. I used the sketch from the current CAS(E) This Sketch! challenge for the design of the card.

So now it’s your turn! Check out the Cards in Envy site for all the challenge details and to see what the rest of the design team has made. Then share your starry, stripey creation(s) with us by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, July 20. We’d love to have you play along with us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Bannerific, Hats Off to You (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Tangerine Tango, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Whisper White (Stampin’ Up); designer paper from Ambrosia 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: star die (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps); dimensionals (SU)

Cards in Envy - Fun in the Sun

1 Response »

Jun 162014

Hello! I’m back from a short crafting hiatus taken while finishing renovating a bathroom, celebrating my older son’s high school graduation, and having my husband’s family visit for several days. And it’s just in time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy! For the next few weeks, we’re using the theme of Fun in the Sun.

I went pretty clean and simple with my card. I printed off a digital image, colored it, and used a funky shaped die to cut it out. I repeated the colors of the image in the card base and added a ribbon to join the two colors together. The image panel is adhered with thin dimensional adhesive.

Go check out what the rest of the Cards in Envy Design Team has made, and then make your own A2 sized card depicting your idea of fun in the sun. Be sure not to use any lumpy, bumpy embellishments that would prevent your card from fitting into an envelope and being mailed at the standard postage rate. Share it with us at the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, July 6. We’d love to see what you create!

Supplies:
Digital Image: Cocoa’s Beach Ball (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Stamp: So Happy For You (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); Soft Sky, Creamy Caramel (SU)
Ink: printer ink
Other: markers (Copic); Real Red grosgrain ribbon (SU); Wonky Rectangle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders); foam squares (Scotch)

Cards in Envy - Feeling Buggy

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Jun 022014

Hi there! It’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy. Our theme this time is “Feeling Buggy” – which means the cards for this challenge should all show some sort of insect.

I still had the materials for last Thursday’s card out when I started on my card for this challenge. I decided I’d go ahead and use the same color scheme, and to make things easy, I figured I’d keep the general layout too. So this card follows the current CAS – Colours and Sketches challenge, too. To fit the Cards in Envy theme, I used this little ladybug image. The bug’s antennae don’t lend themselves well to fussy cutting, so I felt it was best to keep the bug on a panel, but mat it to add an extra splash of color. I ended up with this easy-peasy quick card, which will be another addition to the box I’m filling for Operation Write Home:

So how will you be “feeling buggy”? Create your A2 sized card, remembering to keep it less than 1/4″ thick, and share it with us at Cards in Envy by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, June 15. We’d love to see your artwork!

Supplies:
Stamps: Somebuggy Loves You (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar, Real Red (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); standard circle and big scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); Woodgrain embossing folder (SU)

Cards in Envy - Winged Things

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May 192014

Hello! It’s the third Monday of the month, which means it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy! For the next two weeks, we will be focusing on a theme of “Winged Things”. Show us your A2 size cards that feature something with wings – birds, butterflies, dragonflies, bees, fairies or other winged mythical creatures, even airplanes! So long as it has wings, it counts! Remember to keep your cards less than 1/4″ thick – after all, the “in envy” part of our challenge name means that the cards should fit in an envelope and be mailable at the standard first class postage rate.

I decided to use butterflies for my winged things. I kept my card really clean and simple, following the current layout from CAS(E) this Sketch. I chose some (kind of old) designer paper as the background for my butterflies, and luckily had enough of this coordinating long-retired Stampin’ Up cardstock color to use for the butterflies and the card base. Yay for using up some older products, right?! 😉 For the largest butterfly, I glued the middle down to the designer paper, and gently folded up the wings before attaching them with dimensional adhesive. This gives the card more visual interest. I also dressed up the butterfly by adding some pearls for the body.

Thanks for stopping by today! Go see what kinds of winged things the rest of the Cards in Envy design team used. Then create a card of your own and link it to the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, June 1. We’d love to see what you make!

Supplies:
Stamps: Everyday Sayings (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Mauve Mist, Chocolate Chip (Stampin’ Up); “Apple Blossoms” designer paper from LilyKate collection (Basic Grey)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU)
Other: Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, dimensionals (SU); lemon half pearls (KaiserCraft)

Cards in Envy - May Flowers

4 Responses »

May 052014

Well hello! Since it’s the first Monday of the month, it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy. It seemed only natural for us to follow up our “April Showers” challenge with May Flowers! This time, we want to see your A2 sized cards featuring flowers. You can use stamped flowers, floral designer paper, die cut flowers, or floral embellishments (such as Prima flowers) – so long as the thickness of your card does not exceed 1/4 inch.

I have to admit that I was in a bit of a creative slump when I was trying to create my card for the challenge. So I decided to fall back on an idea I’ve used in the past. I cut an oval from an index card and used the resulting “frame” as a reverse mask on the focal panel, sponging ink into the oval cutout to create a sky and ground. Then I stamped the flowers into place. After I removed the mask, I stamped the sentiment and mounted the panel onto a few mats. I added a couple small die cut butterflies too; the larger one is adhered with dimensionals. Really quite easy overall – and it makes a nice feminine card to include in my next shipment to Operation Write Home.

So now it’s your turn! Check out the Cards in Envy site for all the challenge details and to see what the rest of the design team has made. Then share your flowery creation(s) with us by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, May 18. We’d love to have you play along with us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Spring Garden, Trendy Trees (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White (SU)
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, Pool Party (SU)
Other: Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose markers, Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, dimensionals (SU)

Cards in Envy - April Showers

1 Response »

Apr 212014

Hello again! It’s time for another challenge at Cards in Envy. For the next two weeks, we’ll be focusing on the theme of “April showers”.

For my card, I pulled out a stamp set I haven’t used recently. I felt the image was pretty close to perfect for the theme, and I created a little scene with it. The raindrops are dry embossed. The chick and the umbrella were stamped on scraps of cardstock and cut out and paper pieced to the scene. I used a marker to color in the chick’s beak. I drew in the umbrella “pole” because it was easier than trying to stamp it in. Even though the stamp set with the chick image includes a few rain-related sentiments, I decided to go with something different that I felt was more versatile. The layout for this card is kind of a mirror-image reversal of Freshly Made Sketches challenge #132.

So what will you do with this theme? Create your A2 sized card, remembering to keep it less than 1/4″ thick, and share it with us at Cards in Envy by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, May 4. We’d love to see your artwork!

Supplies:
Stamps: Singing in the Rain (Lizzie Anne Designs); Simply Said Hello (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: So Saffron, Basic Black, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Swiss Dots embossing folder (ProvoCraft); corner rounder punch (SU); marker (Copic)

Cards in Envy - Hippity, Hoppity

5 Responses »

Apr 072014

Hello! I hope Monday isn’t getting you down, because it’s time for a new Cards in Envy challenge! This time the theme is “Hippity, Hoppity, Easter’s on its Way”. Interpret that however you like into an A2 sized card with no lumpy, bumpy embellishments, and you’ve made a card that would be perfect for this challenge!

I’ve decided to use a cute bunny image and springlike colors with a sentiment that helps keep this card from being strictly an Easter card. That gives it a longer “shelf life” for Operation Write Home. The layout for this card comes from the Freshly Made Sketches challenge that ends today. I needed to use dimensional adhesive on the right side of the sentiment panel to accommodate the thickness of the image panels underneath the left side. But the card is still less than 1/4″ thick, and it will still fit easily into an envelope for mailing.

Now it’s your turn! Check out the Cards in Envy site for all the challenge details and to see what the rest of the design team has made. Then share your creation(s) with us by 7:00 p.m. eastern time Sunday, April 20. We’d love to have you play along with us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Cute Critters (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Basic Gray, Tea Party designer paper (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Dahlia and standard circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

Cards in Envy - Anything Goes

2 Responses »

Mar 172014

You read that right – it’s Anything Goes challenge time at Cards in Envy! Any theme, any colors, any layout, it’s all good! So long as you create an A2 sized card with no lumpy, bumpy embellishments, anything goes! What a fantastic time for you to show us your creativity!

My card is a love-themed card suitable for Operation Write Home. It uses one of my favorite sketches from the OWH Stars & Stamps sketch archives and a lot of retired products. The color scheme came from the strip of designer paper. Even though there are several layers, not matting each layer keeps the card relatively flat.

If you need additional inspiration, please go check out the Cards in Envy site and see what the rest of the design team has made. Then create a card following our challenge guidelines and share it with us on the Cards in Envy site. We’d love to have you play along with us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Love is Like a Tree (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, Berry Bliss designer series paper (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate (SU)

Cards in Envy - Think Green

3 Responses »

Mar 032014

Good morning! It’s the first Monday of March, so that means it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy. This fortnight we’re encouraging our challenge participants to get in a springtime mood and Think Green! Cards for this challenge should be A2 sized, be less than 1/4″ thick, and use green as the dominant color.

I started out making a monochromatic card, using several different green patterned papers… and wasn’t very happy with it. So I tried again, using the patterned papers differently… and hated that card even more than the first one. And I didn’t want to make a Christmas card – that’s what the 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown challenges are for! 😉 So I pulled out some patterned paper that’s mostly green but has a few other colors. This scrap of apple print paper was just the right size to fit into the layout for the current CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge. The red apple at the bottom of the card was stamped on a scrap of white cardstock, colored with Copics, and fussy cut. I also stamped the apple on the green front panel for the card. That way when I cut it from the white, I could omit the leaf and stem because trying to cut around them would have been too fussy for me! The red colored apple was simply adhered over the one stamped on the green panel.

That’s it for today! I know it isn’t easy to think spring and green when you’re still having snowy, icy weather in your area, but maybe if we all pull together in our thinking, Spring will finally arrive. Link your Think Green cards to the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, March 16. We hope you’ll join in the fun and creativity!

Supplies:
Stamps: My Silly Valentine (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss (Stampin’ Up); Solar White (Neenah); Autumn Mix digital paper (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU)
Other: markers (Copic)

Cards in Envy - Red, Pink, and/or White

1 Response »

Feb 172014

Hello! It’s Cards in Envy challenge introduction day, and we have a great color challenge this time! We’d like to see you use red, pink, and/or white as the main colors of your A2 sized card that can be mailed at the standard first-class postage rate.

I’ve used the current sketch from CAS – Colours and Sketches for my layout, and I let some designer paper do most of the rest of the work for me. I added some sponging to the edges of the triangle and the heart. The heart is popped up from the card base with dimensional adhesive, but it’s still flat enough to be mailed without needing additional postage.

Be sure to check out the Cards in Envy site to see what the rest of the CIE design team has done with these colors! Then create your own card with this color scheme and share it with us by 7:00 p.m. Sunday, March 2. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Short & Sweet (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); Riding Hood Red (SU); designer papers from Two Scoops 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Riding Hood Red (SU)
Other: heart dies (Sizzix); sponge

Older Entries Newer Entries

Cards in Envy - EnTWINEd

Cards in Envy - School Colors

Cards in Envy - Best of Friends

Cards in Envy - Toes in the Sand

Cards in Envy - Happy Birthday to You

Cards in Envy - Stars and Stripes

Cards in Envy - Fun in the Sun

Cards in Envy - Feeling Buggy

Cards in Envy - Winged Things

Cards in Envy - May Flowers

Cards in Envy - April Showers

Cards in Envy - Hippity, Hoppity

Cards in Envy - Anything Goes

Cards in Envy - Think Green

Cards in Envy - Red, Pink, and/or White

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Really great links

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