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52 Christmas Card Throwdown - September theme challenge

Sep 192015

Hello, and happy Saturday! It’s time for another challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. This week is theme week, and we’re asking our challenge participants to create a card suitable to give a man.

I’ve used the current sketch from Freshly Made Sketches for my card, and kept it pretty clean and simple in design. I did turn the sketch 90° on its side. I used the rock ‘n roll technique to get the two-tone effect on the stamped tree. I stamped it on a scrap piece of cardstock and then fussy cut it to give it a little more definition and separation from the focal panel. The star is a small brad in an antique gold color. In real life, the green ribbon matches the card base and ink better than it shows in this photo.

What kind of masculine Christmas or winter card will you make? We’d love to have you share it with us at 52CCT. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, September 25, 2015 to link it at the challenge post. Thanks for stopping by today!

All supplies are from Stampin’ Up unless otherwise noted.
Stamp: Season of Joy
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Confetti Cream; designer paper from Nordic Holiday 6” x 6” paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Always Artichoke
Other: Wild Wasabi ribbon; star brad (The Paper Studio)

bunny's big sketchy hello

4 Responses »

Aug 242015

Hi! Today’s card is a quick one I created for the big celebration bash in honor of Freshly Made Sketches’ 200th sketch challenge. I’ve enjoyed playing along in their sketch challenges for the last several years, even though I don’t get to it every single week. But I did want to be part of this special challenge.

Even though I’ve taken a few small liberties with the sketch, I think it’s still pretty obvious that I drew inspiration from it. I’ve kept the sketch to a mostly one-layer card, and I’ve flipped it so the larger rectangular area is above the horizontal line, rather than below. I used a fun quote balloon die to cut the line, so it’s actually slightly curved. I had stamped the bunny a long time ago for a different project, but didn’t use it for that, so he’s been sitting with the scraps from one of my Basic Grey paper pads all this time. He’s finally found a purpose here, sitting among the flowers and giving a big cheery greeting to everyone who sees this card.

Thank you to the Freshly Made Sketches crew for so many awesome card sketches! Here’s to the next 200! 🙂

Supplies:
Stamp: Critters in the ‘Burbs (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Naturals White (Stampin’ Up); scraps from Ambrosia and Green at Heart 6″ x 6″ paper pads (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Simply Said Hello die (Avery Elle); Speech Trio die (Mama Elephant); dimensionals (SU)

sketchy, snarky numbers

13 Responses »

Aug 102015

Hello! Here’s a reasonably quick card I made this morning combining a few challenges. The Retro Rubber challenge has a numbers theme, so that gave me the perfect reason to use this designer paper that I’ve had for a while. I’ve had the stamp set with this sentiment for about 18 months now. I like reading this sentiment with emphasis on the word “how”, as in, “You’re HOW old?” said with a lot of snarky disbelief – so that ties in with the Shopping Our Stash and Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenges. The layout for this card is from Freshly Made Sketches. It’s hard to see in the photo, but the yellow panel behind the sentiment is dry embossed for a little bit of texture and visual interest.

RRCB20

(I don’t know why the background on the FMS graphic turned black. Their graphics have been doing for me that the last few weeks. They used to be white. Call me confuzzled.)

Thanks for stopping by today! All comments are read and appreciated – well, the spam ones aren’t so appreciated, but I actually do read them too.

Edited on August 17, 2015 to add: Thank you to the Retro Rubber Design Team for choosing my card as one of their Fab Five!

Supplies:
Stamp: Just Sayin’ (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Gumball Green, Marigold Morning, Naturals White (Stampin’ Up); Brigham and Zachary papers from Oh Baby! Boy collection (Basic Grey)
Ink: Gumball Green (SU)
Other: Plaid embossing folder (Sizzix); dimensionals (SU)

Cards in Envy - Birthday Party

5 Responses »

Aug 032015

Hello! It’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy – where we make cards that fit in envelopes! Cards for our challenges should be A2 sized (4.25″ x 5.5″) and have no lumpy, bumpy embellishments more than 1/4″ thick, so that the cards can be mailed at the standard first-class postage rate. For the next two weeks, we’re focusing on the theme of Birthday Party. It promises to bring a load of fun party cards!

I’m not sure yet who the eventual recipient of my card will be, so I kept it gender-neutral and suitable for a person of any age. The layout is taken from the Freshly Made Sketches challenge that closes later today. The coordinating designer papers in the package made it easy to match the balloons to the colors in the banner element. To give some dimension to the balloons, I’ve used a shim of scrap cardstock behind the yellow balloon and dimensional adhesive behind the blue one.

We hope you’ll have fun with this challenge and join in our Birthday Party at Cards in Envy! Link your card to our challenge post by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, August 16. Happy crafting!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hats Off to You (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Whisper White, Watercolor Wonder designer series paper (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Island Indigo (SU)
Other: Party Balloons and stitched square dies (Lawn Fawn); linen thread, dimensionals (SU)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June technique challenge

7 Responses »

Jun 272015

The weekend is here once again, and today is another challenge introduction day at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown! This week we have a technique challenge for our participants: Mixed Media. Use a variety of techniques, textures, and materials on your festive card. There’s really no “wrong” way to do it!

I have to admit that the term “mixed media” makes me balk. I can’t explain why, but it always sounds pretty daunting to me. But really, it’s not that difficult. I haven’t gone all out for my card, but I did incorporate several things that I don’t often use. The focal point of my card is a glittered felt snowflake. I’ve dressed it up with a metal embellishment held in place with a clear crystal brad. The main panel is white cardstock that I’ve spritzed liberally with both pearl and pewter colored mist sprays. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to capture the sparkle of the glitter, the shine of the crystal, and the shimmer of the mist sprays all in one photograph. The sentiment was put together with alphabet stamps. The layout for this card follows the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge, and the mist sprays and clean and simple design qualify it for the current Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge.

And now it’s your turn to show us what you can create! We’d love it if you joined our challenge this week. You have until 7:00 pm Eastern time Friday, July 3 to link your card at the 52CCT site. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Jessie’s ABCs (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Smoky Slate (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Smoky Slate (SU)
Other: glittered felt snowflake (Creatology); Filigree embellishment (SU); crystal brad (Recollections); pewter and pearl Perfect Pearls Mists (Ranger)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June theme challenge

5 Responses »

Jun 202015

Hello! Once again, it’s time for a new challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. This time we have a theme for you to follow: Christmas Elves. Feel free to check out the 52CCT site to see what the rest of the design team has made.

I don’t own any elf stamps, so I looked online for some digital images. I found this darling little girl elf at a site called Whimsie Doodles – and best of all, she was free! I did have to draw in the shelf on which she’s sitting – kind of like those “Elf on a Shelf” dolls that have become popular during the holiday season. Since I think the idea of having the elf watching you all.the.time. is kinda creepy, I opted for a more friendly sentiment that makes this a more generic “any occasion during the season” card for Operation Write Home. I figured there’s enough Christmas vibe going on with the color scheme of the card. The layout for this card is the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge turned 90° on its side. (I have no idea why the FMS graphic is showing a black background. I copied and pasted it from the FMS site as usual. ???)

How will you interpret the Christmas Elves theme? Share your card with us via the linky tool on the 52CCT challenge post by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, June 26. We’d love to have you join in the fun and creativity!

Supplies:
Digital Image: Elves Watching Girl (Whimsie Doodles)
Sentiment Stamp: Sophie’s Sentiments (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Gumball Green, Real Red Core’dinations (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: printer ink; Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic)

congratulating a special girl

2 Responses »

Jun 082015

Our older son’s girlfriend graduated from high school on Saturday. I used the current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches to create our card for her. The school’s official colors are blue and white, but the marching band and the athletic teams also have a lot of black on their uniforms, so black is considered an “unofficial” school color. I tried to color the image to look like our graduate looked in her cap and gown, with a gold tassel and stole, and with a hint of pink to represent the pink cords she wore as a music honors student. I also added bangs and some length to the hair on the image. I think she was pleased when we gave her the card yesterday!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Digital Image: Pure Innocence 028 (Heather Ellis)
Stamp: Everyday Sayings (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Basic Black, Glimmer Silver (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: printer ink; Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Nesting Starburst dies (QuicKutz)

a sketch for Mom

1 Response »

May 112015

Hello! I hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day yesterday.

Here’s the card I gave to my mom. I didn’t want to share it before now so it would be a surprise when she opened the envelope. 🙂 I’ve used the current Freshly Made Sketches layout, but stretched it to a portrait-oriented rectangle. The three flowers symbolize my mom’s three daughters.

Thanks for stopping by today! Your comments are always read and appreciated.

Supplies:
Stamps: Painted Petals (Stampin’ Up); Happy Everything (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Rose Red (SU); Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz, and Pretty in Pink markers (SU)
Other: Candy Stripes embossing folder (Tim Holtz)

sketchy owl goes up, up and away

7 Responses »

Apr 202015

Hello! Today’s card combines the layout from Freshly Made Sketches challenge #182 and the “Up, up and away” theme from Less is More challenge #220. I took a few liberties with the sketch, turning it 180° upside-down and substituting the owl for the rectangular shape. That forced me to move the sentiment onto the main focal panel. I’ve used dimensional adhesive to attach the owl to better give it the effect of being in flight.

Edited on April 21, 2015: At Sarah’s invitation in the comments, I’m also entering this into the Uniko Studio “Things with Wings” challenge.

Thanks for visiting my blog today! All comments are read and appreciated.

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters in Costume (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Kraft, Real Red Core’dinations, Soft Sky (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); cloud dies (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps); dimensionals (SU)

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - April color challenge

9 Responses »

Apr 112015

Hello there! It’s the second Saturday of the month, and that means it’s color challenge time at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown. This time we’re asking our challenge participants to be inspired by the colors of coffee and cream.

I am not a coffee drinker – I like the smell of it (most of the time, at least), but I don’t care for the taste. But with the challenge colors stated the way they are, I couldn’t resist using the Stampin’ Up color called Early Espresso. It’s a very dark brown, so I guess that goes along with my husband’s preference to drink his coffee black. It doesn’t show up very well because the cardstock is so dark, but I stamped it with a background stamp to (try to) give it a little extra visual interest. I stamped the toy soldier stamp with Early Espresso ink on watercolor paper and then used a slightly damp paintbrush to blur some of the lines and give the image a bit of color. The layout for this card comes from this week’s Freshly Made Sketches challenge. The sentiment is from a long-retired Stampin’ Up stamp set. I thought it was especially appropriate for a card that’s going to be donated to Operation Write Home.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team has made. Then show us what you can create with these colors! We’d love it if you joined our challenge this week. You have until 7:00 pm Eastern time Friday, April 17 to link your card at the 52{C}CT site. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Christmas Blueprint (Tim Holtz); Wishes Awash, Sanded (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs); Early Espresso (SU); watercolor paper (Artist’s Loft)
Ink: Early Espresso (SU)
Other: brads (Recollections); paintbrush, water

sending hugs

1 Response »

Mar 232015

Hello! I hope your week has gotten off to a good start. Today I’m sharing a card I made using the current Freshly Made Sketches layout. I stayed true to the sketch, just adding mats behind the two main panels. The wire that the birds are perched upon shows off my awesome drawing skills. ROFL!

I was planning to put this card in my next shipment to Operation Write Home, but maybe instead I’ll keep it and send it to a friend. Or maybe I just need to make more of these. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies for this card:
Stamps: Feathered Friends [for Simon Says Stamp], So Much to Say (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Strawberry Slush (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: stitched circle dies (Lawn Fawn); markers (Copic)

clearing some stash with a sketch

4 Responses »

Mar 152015

Hello! I know, I don’t often post on Sundays, but I wanted to share a card I made last night, combining several online challenges and using some of my older products.

The current Shopping Our Stash challenge theme calls for using numbers in some way, and at Clear It Out they want us to use products that are orange. I remembered that in one of my older Basic Grey paper collections there was a print with numbers all over it, so I got that out, and by good chance, some of the numbers were an orangey color! The current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches has a nice large panel that seemed like a good way to showcase the number print. Another paper in the same Basic Grey collection had a orangey-yellow block pattern, and there was a coordinating more-or-less solid paper (from a distance it looks solid, but up close you can see streaks and color variations in it). The sketch pulled the three papers together nicely. I felt the numbers would work well for a birthday theme, so I stamped a party hat from one of my older Lawn Fawn stamp sets onto a scrap, colored it to coordinate with the papers, fussy cut it, and attached it in the place of the round element on the sketch. I positioned the hat and the banner a bit lower than the way it’s drawn on the sketch to allow that sideways orange 8 to show. (Or maybe it’s supposed to be infinity?) It all came together like this:

FMS177

So there ya have it. I figure it will be a good any age card to send to Operation Write Home. Although the colors do suggest a boyish or masculine vibe, I think it’s pretty gender neutral. And it felt good to finally cut into that number paper!

Thanks for stopping by today! All comments are read and greatly appreciated. Have a great day!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hats Off to You (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Naturals White (Stampin’ Up); “Brigham”, “Zachary”, and “Marigold” papers from Oh Baby! Boy collection (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic)

Cards in Envy - Anything Goes with a Bow!

2 Responses »

Mar 022015

Hello again! It’s time for another challenge at Cards in Envy. For the next two weeks, we have a pretty easy theme for you to follow: Anything Goes with a Bow. That’s right – all you need to do for this challenge is to make an A2 sized card (4.25″ x 5.5″) with no embellishments more than 1/4″ thick so that it could be mailed at the standard postage rate – but it must include a bow of some sort. You may use a bow made of ribbon, twine, or paper so long as it’s less than 1/4″ thick. You could also choose to use an image of a bow.

I’ve combined our bow challenge with the current Freshly Made Sketches layout, which conveniently included a bow element. I’ve taken the liberty of scooting the bow to the left of the main image panel. I’ve paper pieced my scene using cardstock and Basic Grey papers. I used a die to cut the basic cloud shape and then trimmed it down with my scissors so it would better fit in the space.

This card was included in the package I sent to Operation Write Home last week. I hope one of our heroes will enjoy sending it home to his or her child.

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 with a bow following our challenge guidelines and share it with us using the linky tool on the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, March 15. We’d love to have you play along with us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Thoughtful Rhubarb (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); Bashful Blue, Early Espresso (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Blush and Oxford 6″ x 6″ paper pads (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black
Other: cloud die (SNSS); stitched landscape die (Mama Elephant); Lemon twine (Really Reasonable Ribbon)

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - February theme challenge

10 Responses »

Feb 212015

Hello there, and happy Saturday to you! It’s time for another theme challenge at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown. Jacqueline, our challenge hostess this month, has chosen sequins and pearls to play off the sparkle and shine found during Christmastime.

I have to admit that I’ve never been too fond of sequins. Unfortunately for me, I got married during the early 1990s era of lavishly iridescent-sequined satin wedding dresses. I did manage to find a gown that wasn’t heavily embellished with them, but I can honestly say that I haven’t worn a single sequin since then. Thankfully, I knew about this challenge far enough in advance that I had plenty of time to add a package onto my last order from Amazon. I chose star shaped ones with the idea that they might add a fun touch to birthday cards, too. But I still had to figure out what to create for this challenge.

I mentioned in my post for the 52{C}CT color challenge last Saturday that last week’s card was my third try with the colors. I had this wreath image left over from attempt #2, and I thought maybe I could perk it up by adding in color with some sequins. I played with a couple of other colors, but in the end, traditional green and red won out. I didn’t like the holes in the centers of the sequins showing, so I covered them up with some tiny half pearls. The current challenge at Freshly Made Sketches, and one of their design team members’ sample cards, gave me further inspiration. I did take the liberty of “squashing” their sketch into a landscape-oriented rectangle.

And there you have it. If you need more inspiration, be sure to stop by the 52{C}CT website and see what the rest of the design team has made. Then share your own card with us by 1:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, February 27. We’d love to have you join us!

All supplies except the embellishments are from Stampin’ Up:
Stamps: Wondrous Wreath, Endless Wishes
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Glorious Green, Smoky Slate, Whisper White
Ink: Glorious Green, Smoky Slate, Going Gray
Other: sequins (Darice); pearls (Recollections)

Cards in Envy - Puppy Love

3 Responses »

Feb 162015

Hi there! It’s Cards in Envy challenge introduction day! For the next two weeks we have a theme challenge of Puppy Love. Show us your A2 sized cards featuring at least one dog. Remember to keep your cards flat enough to fit in an envelope and be mailed at the first class postage rate.

I don’t have a lot of dog stamps or digital images, so choosing which one to use wasn’t too difficult. I decided to make a little scene with him. Instead of stamping him on white cardstock and coloring him, I opted to stamp him on some off-white designer paper that has some subtle color variation in it. I did add in some color to his nose, collar, and tag. Fussy cutting him wasn’t too difficult. I added a scrap of designer paper behind his head as a shim, since his rear was raised up from the blue panel by the grassy strip behind him. That helped give him a little more separation from the blue sky. This week’s sketch from Freshly Made Sketches provided the layout for my card. For the smallest rectangular element of the sketch, I decided to use a quote balloon stamp that resembles a cloud.

The puppy also ties into the February ODBD challenge at the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog.

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. What kind of puppy card will you create? Share your work with us on the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, March 1. We’d love to have you play along with us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters in the ‘Burbs, Chit Chat (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Basic Black (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Ambrosia and Oxford 6″ x 6″ paper pads (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Whisper White craft (SU)
Other: Grassy Border die (Lawn Fawn); white embossing powder (Stampendous); markers (Copic)

Older Entries Newer Entries

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - September theme challenge

bunny's big sketchy hello

sketchy, snarky numbers

Cards in Envy - Birthday Party

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June technique challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June theme challenge

congratulating a special girl

a sketch for Mom

sketchy owl goes up, up and away

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - April color challenge

sending hugs

clearing some stash with a sketch

Cards in Envy - Anything Goes with a Bow!

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - February theme challenge

Cards in Envy - Puppy Love

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