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CAS Colours & Sketches #181

Jul 072016

Greetings! We’re starting a new month of challenges at CAS Colours & Sketches today, and with it, the design team is doing something a little bit different. Instead of having one team member being the hostess for the entire month, we have four team members each hosting one challenge this month, and the other four members will each host a challenge in August. We’re still keeping our usual rotation of color and sketch challenges, and we have an awesome guest designer this month, so be sure to check out the challenge site!

I think I had the sketch from last week’s double challenge lurking in the back of my mind when I created today’s card; although it’s not exactly like the sketch, the curve reminds me of it. I spent some time trying to figure out how to use this week’s colors and finally settled on using them for a cute little puppy. He comes from a fun set of stamps where you can interchange different animals’ heads and torsos with different shorts and legs. The skateboard is another option with the set and I decided to use it here, to make it look like the puppy was riding down a hill. I stamped the skateboard first, then the legs, and then the top half of the puppy, onto a scrap piece of cardstock. I wasn’t able to line it up to get the shirt to sit right on top of the shorts (what you see here is attempt #3, LOL) so finally I decided this was close enough, figured the puppy was showing off his abs, and drew in lines for his sides. Then I colored the puppy with Prismacolor pencils blended with odorless mineral spirits. I carefully fussy cut him out and attached him to the card front, after first adhering the die-cut hill. The sentiment and word bubble are from the same stamp set. I chose a saying that goes for any person of any age, any time of the year. I colored in the word “awesome” to tie in a little more of the purple in the challenge colors. Hmmm… as I’m typing this I see that in the photo, the shorts don’t look as vibrant green as they do on the actual card. Oh well.

I think it’ll be a cute card to donate to Send a Smile 4 Kids. I’m entering it into their current “CAS 4 Kids” challenge. Shopping Our Stash is asking for speech bubbles on cards so I’m going to join in that challenge, too.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you’ll make a card with these challenge colors and share it with us at CC&S. You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, July 13 to link your card at the challenge site.

Supplies:
Stamps: Skater Kids (Mama Elephant for Simon Says Stamp)
Cardstock: Cucumber Crush, Elegant Eggplant, Soft Suede (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Premier colored pencils (Prismacolor); odorless mineral spirits (Hampton Arts); Landscape Trio die (Mama Elephant)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - February theme challenge

8 Responses »

Feb 202016

Greetings! It’s Saturday, which means it’s time for another challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. This week we’re asking our participants to create a card with the theme of Christmas baking. Cookies, cakes, pies… if you can bake it, it’ll be suitable for our challenge!

Ever since my sons were little, we’ve baked cookies to leave for Santa with a glass of milk. So it seemed only natural for me to tap into that idea for my card. I knew I had a designer paper with gingerbread men and candies on it, so I chose that for the background of my card. It also has some characters that look like Santa. Or maybe they are elves. I’m not sure. Anyway… I stamped the cookies, plate, and glass onto scraps of white cardstock, colored them, and fussy cut them out. I used a die to cut the “table” from a scrap of brown designer paper. It’s actually a very large speech balloon die, but I liked the shallowness of the oval it made, so I used it anyway, trimmed off the tail, and positioned the glass of milk over where the tail was. I wanted the word “Santa” to stand out in my sentiment, so I die cut the letters from a scrap of deep red designer paper. The focal panel didn’t look quite right just put down on top of the busy designer paper, so I chose a more subtle pattern on a red background for a mat, which also helps tie in the die cut letters in the sentiment. Bonus: the mat also contains the word “Santa”.

The Happy Little Stampers Christmas challenge for February is to make a card using elements from their tic-tac-toe grid. I’m entering my card there in the hopes that it has enough “Santa” to count for the white/Santa/red line in the grid.

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, February 26 to link your card at the 52CCT site. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Milk and Cookies, Jesse’s ABCs (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); designer papers from Nordic Holiday and Blush 6″ x 6″ paper pads (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Bounce alphabet dies (Sizzix); Speech Trio dies (Mama Elephant)

Cards in Envy - From the Heart

5 Responses »

Feb 012016

Hello! It’s challenge introduction day at Cards in Envy! We are starting to get into a Valentine mood with the theme of “From the Heart”. Cards for this challenge should feature anything pertaining to hearts or love. Be sure to make your card A2 sized (4.25″ x 5.5″) and thin enough to be mailed at the standard first class postage rate.

I’ve used the layout from the current CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge for my card. I kept pretty true to the cloud idea of the sketch graphic, and used die-cut clouds as a backdrop for this cute little angel image. I stamped the angel on a piece of scrap cardstock, colored him, fussy cut him, added some shimmer to his wings, and adhered him in place on a cloud of his very own. As soon as the sentiment was stamped, I was done. Pretty easy!

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 share your work with us on the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, February 14. We’d love to have you play along with us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Love From Above (Mama Elephant)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Clouds dies (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps); markers (Copic); Wink of Stella pen (Zig)

sketchy awesome puppy

3 Responses »

Nov 302015

Hello! Today’s post is just a quick one to share a card made for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge that will be closing this afternoon. I’m trying to get a few more cards made for the box I want to mail to Send a Smile 4 Kids this week, and this will be included in it. I felt like most of the cards I’ve made so far have been either feminine or gender-neutral looking, so I purposely chose colors that looked especially suitable for a little boy. The large star was die cut from shiny silver cardstock. The star-shaped sequins echo the silver, blue, and green used on the card. The puppy was stamped, colored, fussy cut, and attached to the star with a couple scraps of cardstock behind him to give him a little more visual separation from the background.

Here’s a second photo that really shows off the shine of the silver cardstock:

And here is the challenge graphic:

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

Supplies:
Stamps: Skater Kids (Mama Elephant for Simon Says Stamp)
Cardstock: Gable Green, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White textured, Silver Foil (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Nesting Starburst die (QuicKutz); markers (Copic); sequins (Darice)

Cards in Envy - Gratitude

6 Responses »

Nov 022015

Hello there! It’s the first Monday of the month, which means it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy. Our challenge theme for the next two weeks is Gratitude. There are so many things in our lives for which we can be thankful – so make a card showing your thankfulness, and share it with us! Keep in mind that cards for our challenges must be A2 sized (4.25″ x 5.5″) and must not have any thick embellishments that would prevent the card from being mailed at the standard first-class postage rate.

It’s been a long time since I made a starburst card, so I picked out some designer papers in colors that I felt represented the autumn season and went to work with them. Since the papers had a lot of blue in them, I chose to stamp a bird in the circle element so I could color it to coordinate with the papers. The sentiment is from a long-retired stamp set.

The Paper Players also has a thankfulness theme going on, so I’ve decided to enter my card in their challenge.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Cards in Envy design team has made! Then 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, November 15. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Love Quotes (Mama Elephant); Simple Sayings II (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory, Blue Bayou (SU); designer papers from Pyrus 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Early Espresso (SU)
Other: markers (Copic); standard circle and petite scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); sponge

CAS Colours & Sketches #145

3 Responses »

Oct 082015

Well hi there! It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for a new challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week we have a sketch challenge to use to show off your CAS skills.

I’ve stretched the sketch out from a square to a landscape-oriented rectangle. The designer paper for the background tag gave me the color scheme for my card. I’ve used one of my newest stamp sets for the focal point tag. It took me a little while to figure out what I was going to do for the sketchy circular element. Finally I traced around one of my circle dies lightly with a pencil to get the basic shape and size, added a bit of glue around that, and stuck some coordinating twine into the glue. Then I used dimensional adhesive to attach the tags to the card over top the twine.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you’ll join us over at CAS Colours & Sketches with your own take on this sketch! You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, October 14 to link your card at the challenge website.

Supplies:
Stamps: Skater Kids (Mama Elephant for Simon Says Stamp)
Cardstock: Old Olive, Season of Style designer series paper (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Cherry twine (Really Reasonable Ribbon); red eyelet (source unknown)

Cards in Envy - Inspired by a Song

4 Responses »

Sep 072015

Hello there! 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’d like you to be inspired by a song. Choose any song and make a card based upon it.

When my husband and I first started dating and commuting to work together, we used to listen to the oldies station on the radio. One song that became a favorite of ours was “My Special Angel” by Bobby Helms. I decided to choose that song for my inspiration for this challenge since this cute little angel stamp was almost begging to be used. I die cut some fluffy-looking clouds for the angel to stand among. I stamped the angel on a scrap piece of cardstock, colored him, fussy cut him out, and then attached him to the card. There’s a bit of Wink of Stella glitter pen on his wings, which was hard to capture with the camera, so that’s why I have two photos of the card here.

Supplies:
Stamps: Love from Above (Mama Elephant)
Cardstock: Real Red, Soft Sky (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Landscape Trio dies (Mama Elephant); Wink of Stella pen (Zig)

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)

we belong together

5 Responses »

Jul 242015

Hello! I just have a quick post today to share a card made for the current challenge at the Paper Players and for the Mid-Month Throwdown at the OWH Stars & Stamps blog. It also fits into the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More. The stitched square dies fit together easily and perfectly to cut the frame for the focal panel. I discovered the clouds on my desk, leftovers from a previous project that had gotten hidden under an ink pad, so I added them to the scene.

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

Edited on July 25, 2015: I’m thrilled and honored that this card was selected as “A Cut Above” at The Paper Players!

Edited on August 4, 2015: What a nice surprise – this card was chosen as an “Honourable Addict” at Addicted to Stamps and More! Thank you!

Supplies:
Stamps: Love Quotes (Mama Elephant)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand textured, Soft Sky (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White and Ivory (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers and multiliner pen (Copic); Love Quotes dies (Mama Elephant); stitched square dies (Lawn Fawn); cloud dies (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)

Cards in Envy - Girls, Girls, Girls

2 Responses »

Jun 012015

Hello there, and welcome! Today marks the beginning of a new challenge at Cards in Envy. We’re following up our “Hey Dude!” challenge with “Girls, Girls, Girls”. 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 be suitable to send to a girl of any age.

Even though Operation Write Home will stop accepting cards after August 1, 2015, I’m still working on filling up a box to send them in July. So I decided to make a “miss you” themed card that one of our military men or women could send home to their daughter. I think this little girl image is really cute. When she’s colored with dark hair, she reminds me of Boo from the movie “Monsters, Inc.” OK, so the eyes are really different, but the hair style is exactly the same. I used the current Splitcoaststampers.com sketch challenge for layout inspiration, turning the sketch on its side to give me more space for the sentiment. It felt good to use up a few scraps of some of my oldest Basic Grey papers for the banners.

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 girly creation(s) with us by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, June 14. We’d love to have you play along with us!

Supplies:
Stamps: In My Heart (Mama Elephant)
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); scraps from Blush 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); stitched circle die (Lawn Fawn)

OWH Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop - Finishing Strong

27 Responses »

May 232015

Hello, and welcome to my stop on the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop. We’re remembering the brave men and women who have given their all for our country and its freedom by sharing cards made for the purpose of sending to our military members stationed overseas so that they may write home to their loved ones. Operation Write Home, a/k/a OWH, is a fantastic charity that has been supporting our military men and women since 2007. However, because so many of our troops are coming home, OWH will be closing later this year. All cards to be donated to them need to be sent in by August 1, 2015, so I’m helping to get the word out!

For my card, I knew I wanted to use my little superhero image. I looked through the OWH Stars & Stamps sketches and found one that I hadn’t yet used – sketch #144. I ended up flipping it mirror-image because that suited my card design better. I had a piece of “smashed” cardstock in sky blue tones left over from a cardmaking session last fall (click here to find out how I did it), so I deviated a little from the typical patriotic red, white, and blue for my card. To make it look more like a sky, I stamped some buildings along the bottom of it, so it would look like the superhero was flying above them. I stamped the little superhero image on a scrap piece of white cardstock, colored him, and carefully fussy cut him. Then I glued him onto the sky. I added a sentiment that makes this card appropriate to give to pretty much anyone, although the image is kind of geared toward kids. The white panel is dry embossed with clouds, making this card eligible for the current OWH ODBD challenge.

What’s a blog hop without some “blog candy”? 🙂 I have a Priority Mail Flat Rate padded envelope ready and waiting to pack with some crafty goodies. I’ll send it to one lucky person who comments on this post. The more comments I receive, the more items will be in the envelope! I will be reading every comment to ensure that spammers will not qualify for the prize drawing. Since this is a pretty big blog hop, I’ll give everyone until 12:00 noon Eastern time Friday, May 29, 2015 to leave their comment. The winner will be posted later that day. Be sure to include your email address when you leave your comment, so I’ll have a way to contact you.

This is my fifth Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop with OWH, and I’m a little sad that it’s going to be the last one. However, it’s a good feeling to know that our men and women in service are going to be back home with their loved ones. I’m glad that I’ve been able to help military families keep in touch, one card at a time, since 2010.

To see the rest of the blog hop participants’ creations, click on the OWH banner at the top of this post. Thanks for stopping by! All comments are read and appreciated. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and be sure to take some time to remember our heroes who have died in service in order to make our country and world a better place.

Supplies:
Stamps: Super Duo (Mama Elephant for Simon Says Stamp)
Cardstock: Real Red, Soft Sky, Glossy White (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Soft Sky and Baja Breeze reinkers, Cloudy Day embossing folder (SU); silver paint pen (Zig)

sunshiny thoughts of you

2 Responses »

Apr 152015

This is a pretty quick and simple card I made to combine the current CAS(E) this Sketch! layout with the current Clear It Out challenge to use yellow things. I’ve cut this doily die from some textured sunshiny yellow cardstock and used the same color ink for the sentiment. A couple matching brads hold the banner in place.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamp: In My Heart (Mama Elephant)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); Summer Sun textured (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Summer Sun (SU)
Other: For the Record 2, Documented die (Sizzix); Dimensional Banner die (My Favorite Things); brads (Making Memories)

otterly great

2 Responses »

Mar 242015

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you’ve probably figured out that I seriously love the adorable animal stamps from Lawn Fawn. Each year to commemorate the company’s birthday, they put out a new little celebratory set. As soon as I saw this year’s set, I knew I had to have it – not just for myself, but also for a dear friend of mine. I preordered it from one of my favorite online stores, and waited patiently, and finally received the stamps a few weeks ago – one set for my friend, and one for me.

Then I had the dilemma of when the best time to give my friend her set would be. Her birthday isn’t until September, and I didn’t think I could wait that long. So I did a little calendar math and reasoned that since March and September are six months apart, I’d send it to her for her half-birthday. I thought that a half-birthday gift would be a much more unexpected surprise than a birthday gift, and that just seemed like a really fun thing to do.

So I sent my friend’s set to her recently, tucked inside of the card I’m sharing here today. I used a wash of distress ink on watercolor paper to create some variegated blue paper and then cut it with dies, using the darkest blues for the waves and the lightest blues for the sky. I toyed with the idea of coloring the otter with distress inks too, but I haven’t done any detail painting like that for a while, so I decided to play it safe and color the otter with markers instead. Once he was colored, I fussy cut him so I could place him floating among the waves. The sentiment stamp actually reads “have an otterly great birthday”, but that didn’t seem exactly right for this particular purpose. So I inked it selectively and fit the wording into the space available, using my trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up neatly. I used OWH Stars & Stamps sketch #184 for the layout of the card. Hopefully I’ve used enough distress ink for the card to count toward the current Lawnscaping challenge, too.

I hope my friend enjoys using this stamp set as much as I enjoyed making this card for her! She’s an “otterrific” lady and I hope she realizes how much our circle of friends loves her. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Year Five (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Kraft (Stampin’ Up); watercolor paper (Artist’s Loft); designer paper from Nature’s Whisper paper pack (Creative Memories)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Faded Jeans Distress Ink (Tim Holtz)
Other: markers (Copic); stitched circle Stackables die (Lawn Fawn); Landscape Trio die (Mama Elephant)

a couple of cuties

2 Responses »

Feb 112015

Hello! I’ve made a couple more cards using the sketch from this week’s CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge. This time I used one of my Mama Elephant stamp sets. I know, the characters don’t have mouths, but I still think they are adorable. It felt good to use some more of my older Basic Grey papers, too. I used the mirror image of the sketch for the Cupid card so it wouldn’t look like he was shooting his arrow off the edge of the card. It doesn’t show well in the photos, but I added some sparkle to the angel’s and Cupid’s wings with a glitter pen.

Thanks for stopping by today! Comments are always welcome and appreciated.

Supplies:
Stamps: Love from Above (Mama Elephant)
Cardstock: Almost Amethyst (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); designer papers from Sugar Rush 6″ x 6″ pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Stitched Scalloped Borders die (Lawn Fawn); Wink of Stella pen (Zig)

CAS - Colours and Sketches #97

1 Response »

Oct 232014

Well hi there! It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for a new challenge at CAS – Colours and Sketches. This time we have a sketch for you. I’ve combined the sketch with my Get Inked! Hope You Can Cling To challenge to create today’s card.

First off, I’ve stretched the sketch out to a rectangle and turned it 90° on its side. I’ve used some pink ink and a gold spray mist to create a spotted background for this cute SuperGirl image. The pink dots were made by dipping a paintbrush into the ink, holding it over the cardstock, and tapping the brush so the ink splattered onto the cardstock. Once the pink ink was dry, I sprayed the cardstock with the gold mist. The gold has a hint of shimmer to it, which I hope was picked up in the photo. I used brushed gold cardstock for the scalloped element of the sketch to tie it in with the gold mist.

What will you do with this sketch? There are so many possibilities! I hope you’ll try out something and share what you create with us! Link your work to the CAS – Colours and Sketches blog by 1:00 p.m. eastern time Wednesday, October 29. Consider taking part in Hope You Can Cling To, also!

Thank you for stopping by today! Comments are always welcome and appreciated!

Supplies:
Stamps: Super Duo (Mama Elephant for Simon Says Stamp)
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Brushed Gold, Whisper White Textured (SU); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Pink Pirouette ink refill (SU); Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist (Ranger); markers (Copic); Crusader Kids die (Mama Elephant for Simon Says Stamp); small scallop die (Papertrey Ink); mini star brad (The Paper Studio); corner rounder (EK Success)

Older Entries Newer Entries

CAS Colours & Sketches #181

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - February theme challenge

Cards in Envy - From the Heart

sketchy awesome puppy

Cards in Envy - Gratitude

CAS Colours & Sketches #145

Cards in Envy - Inspired by a Song

bunny's big sketchy hello

we belong together

Cards in Envy - Girls, Girls, Girls

OWH Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop - Finishing Strong

sunshiny thoughts of you

otterly great

a couple of cuties

CAS - Colours and Sketches #97

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Really great links

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