Eggy

Here's a very CAS Easter card.  I saw that the challenge at CASology: Egg, and decided it was a good opportunity to use an old stamp I've had forever from the dollar-bins at Michael's (I think...).  I inked it with Faded Lilac Distress Ink.  The tiny white pearls are from Viva Paper Pearls in Cream.

My first shaker

This is the first shaker card I've ever made... I took the Simon Says Challenge as that: a challenge.  I saw somebody's shaker (I don't know whose or where... sorry-- UPDATE: I had pinned THIS card in the past) with buttons and it stuck in my mind over the past few days, and so I just got to my desk this morning and did some craft therapy.  

Supplies and notes:

• I built my shaker with miscellaneous hoarded packaging.  I cut frames of scrap cardboard to lift the panel and house the shakeables. The clear plastic was from the first dies I ever bought (ummm, the only ones I have bought).  I used Elmers Craft Bond and Ranger double sided super tape (what's that called?  I can't remember now...).  The front panel was a card from a Project Life kit.
• I grabbed some tiny buttons for my stash and put them in a plastic baggie with some Adirondack metallic mixative in Gold and did a little shakin'
• The background of the card is a piece of 6x6 from my talented homegirl Andrea at Snapping Monsters... she raided her stash a few months ago and sent me a bunch of bird-related papers... what a doll.  I added a little Liquid Leaf in Classic Gold to accent the flags an the flowers and bird at the bottom.
• A Gluber was used to build a half-flower out of some scrap gingham, and I punched some decorative pins into it-- the leaf is from Maya Road, but I'm not sure what brand the bird is
• The last thing done was the adding of some Liquid Pearls in Rose Gold

I plan to enter this into Simon Says Wednesday: Shake It Up.

Sports!

The theme for the current challenge over at Creative Corner Challenges is "Sports" and this is what this lady ended up with:

I would say my family is very sports-oriented.  All sports, all levels... Olympics, professional, college, youth. Both girls have played all the sports offered in our community, and the oldest is in her second year of basketball currently.  Her goal is to be a WNBA player.  I made this with her in mind, though the colors don't match her team, and these are dudes...

Supplies:

• Background for panel was created by daubing Rusted Hinge Distress Ink through a Heidi Swapp stencil, then did some water-droppin'
• Stamped the images with Graphic 45 stamps in Memento Luxe and let dry completely
• Smooshed briefly into Postbox Red + H2O for more fun
• The sentiment is from Tim, daubed with more Rusted Hinge

Sigh... I'd love to type all about my oldest and her basketball team, but I'll keep it for the scrapbook! :-)

Another first...

I'm entering this card into Creative Knockouts for my first challenge with them. The theme is "Furry Friends":

I made this card for my hubs because he is going away on a business trip soon and I plan to tuck this in his food bag.  He misses his dog when he's gone, so this will cheer him up... or at least remind him to hurry home!

Supplies and notes:

• You can read about Husband's dog, and this stamp HERE
• Millie was stamped in Tim's Embossing Inkpad, then embossed with Recollections black powder
• The quote was typed on my old typewriter then cut and dipped into some saucy Evergreen Bough Distress Ink.  This quote is perfect for Millie because my husband always says she had the best day ever, and it's always true... she is just a happy-go-lucky hound. "So far, so good" is a pretty good quote for this optimistic and lucky dog.

Mojo Monday

Ahhh, Mojo Monday... I've missed you.

Here is the sketch for the current challenge:

Supplies and notes:

• The Easter tag in the middle is from Authentique's line last year. I edged it with Color Box Chalk in Creamy Brown
• The yellow DP is MME, and the striped is more Authentique. The mat is DCWV.
• The bow is awesome stuff (if a bit flimsy...) that I bought in bulk, but now I can send some to crafty friends :-)
• Dots are Viva Paper Pearls in cream
• I sprayed the background with Picket Fence Distress Stain Spray

I made this card for my best friend to mail to her niece who's in college-- the niece's nickname is "Peeps," so when I saw this today I knew what I had to do!

Happy Burro-day

Happy burro-day to you!

Honestly, this came out of nowhere... I had laid that donkey chip down with a couple orange flowers the other day, and danged if the card didn't make itself today!  Literally another project made from odds and ends around my desk. (Maybe I need to clean... or, on second thought, maybe I shouldn't!)

Supplies:

• Library card base with a dash of Vibrant Turquoise Dylusions spray
• Burro/donkey (some pack ungulate) chip from an old K & Company alphabet box
• Flowers from bulk dipped into Spiced Marmalade Distress Stain, then sprayed with water
• Viva Paper Pearls in red
• The scraps with the sentiment were left over from a nicho. I scrawled the sentiment with Sharpie fine-tipped pens

Love this!

I'd like to share it at Seize the Birthday... I haven't played there on a long time, and I had them on my radar for their current optional "topping" of sweets, but then thus little guy came along and needed a home!  

Latte Love

Here is a card for entry into Share Joy Challenge #22:

I took inspiration from both the sketch and the image...

...be easy on me, though. My mojo was only in like 2nd gear with a cold engine at this point.  While it turned out cute, I'm looking at it now thinking how I'd like to overhaul it.

Supplies:

• ANNOUNCEMENT: No coffee was harmed during the making of this card.  What you see is Vintage Photo Distress Stain... though I did dip a coffee cup into it for the ring. 
• The tag is a library catalog card, cut down
• The bow is True Hemp metallic twine
• The silver tape is by my homegirl Martha Stewart
• I wrote the sentiment with a calligraphy pen... don't judge. I'm no calligraphic chick... Though I had a kit when I was in 5th grade. Wish I still had it! 
• Generic vellum adhered at an angle. This is one of the things I'd change if I could start over... I'd just put it on straight and normal  

This card will go to a gal at work who is always volunteering... she is fabulous, and I owe her like a million coffees. I'll give her a gift certificate to the local coffee shop.

Atlantic Hearts #147

I believe this is my first entry into an Atlantic Hearts Challenge:

I had lots of possible crafty time this weekend but very low mojo... rrr... until today! The last day of a four-day weekend, my mojo shows up... If I wasn't crazily-busy at work, I'd call in tomorrow just to be able to craft now that I'm finally feelin' it!

This is the sketch that kicked off my motivation today around 2pm:

Sketches with all the little pieces always make me think "scrap-buster!" Indeed, I used scraps. So satisfying.

Supplies:

• The heart scrap is Simple Stories DP and they greys are DCWV.  The white pieces and the grey and black mats are Core'dinations.
• Each piece was roughly outlined with a Zig Emboss Writer and heat-embossed with Recollections EP in black
• I cut the mats roughly by hand after I placed each tile on the mat to give it a more loose feeling
• The hearts and letters are all Thickers
• Black rhinestones are from Michaels (a gift from my sister

I was thinking of a beloved co-worker who is going out for more crummy medical "stuff" in the coming weeks, and so I will be sending love... 

Cheers...

Cheers to you!  Here's a little holiday number:

A quick description... running off to dinner:

I sprayed Dylusions in Postbox Red and Cut Grass through a Heidi Swapp paper polka-dot stencil on another project, then monoprinted with the inky stencil onto this.  I added the "Cheers" with Amy Tangerine alphabet stamps stamped in Distress Embossing Ink and embossed with Ranger EP in Princess Gold.  The twine is from a sweet skein I bought... spent much more than I normally ever would, but I was so drawn to it... I love it.  It is olivey-browny-green with messy bits of gold woven in.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

• Jingle Belles: Fab Fonts... this was my original "make" for the challenge, but I set is aside and favored my non-traditional card.  Well, I like this more and more, so I'm entering it also... it just had less "font-draw" than the print-heavy card
• STAMPlorations/ARTplorations: Mixed Media and Stencil Sunday
  
  
  
  

Family Is What You Make It To Be

This is obviously a Valentine's tag, and I plan to give it to my friend Cheyne.  She is a close family friend, and no matter how busy we get, I always know I can call her at any time and she'd be there for me and mine.

The Valentine's tag was made on a library card base sprayed and smooshed with Dylusions in Postbox Red and Crushed Grape.  The "You + Me" card came from a die-cut pack I've had for years, and in that same pack was a card that said "Clap." Well, I cut that card in half and cut hearts out of it... love them!  I added Stickles and a We R Memory Keepers piece of twine, and called it good!

I plan to enter this tag into the following challenges:

• Simon Says Stamp, Monday: Spritz & Spray
• Color Throwdown #379
  
• Left of Center #117: With Love

I saw red...

Everyday I love him just a little bit more...

I plan to enter this ATC into the following challenges:

• Wicked Wednesday #196: Seeing Red
• Crafty Catz #311: Mainly Red

Supplies and notes:

• ATC base is a library catalog card with Dylusions spray in Postbox Red and Vibrant Turquoise
• The heart and label is from a Maggie Holmes die-cut pack
• The label was stamped with Amy Tangerine letters inked in a puddle of Dylusions Vibrant Turquoise, then sprinkled with Ranger Princess Gold EP
• I also added some EP to the ATC on drips of Dylusions
• The twine is from my stash

Love, love, love

Here's another quickie...

Actually, it wasn't that quick.  This card actually was created over a couple days, in snippets of time, which seems all I've had in weeks.

I'd like to enter this card into Try Stampin' On Tuesday (sketch below) and Mod Squad: From the Heart.

Obviously my interpretation of the sketch for TSOT is pretty loose, but this is where the card took me... I flipped it.

Supplies and notes:

• For the background, I daubed Evergreen Bough Distress Ink over a Heidi Swapp stencil (the stencil I've been frequenting...), then I used a little drippy-drippy... made some water spots.  After that, I splattered a teeny bit of Vibrant Turquoise Dylusions from the spray nozzle to add a little more splattery effect
• The "love" was stamped with Amy Tangerine alphabet (ummm... have to admit: just got it for a screamin' price and I am getting my money's worth!) in MementoLuxe in Tuxedo Black
• The heart was cut from a piece of ephemera from a die-cut pack... it was a card that said "Clap" on it... I've had it for a couple years and never used it (obvously). I love using items from my stash!
• The black tape is old also... it was from a 10" bit of 7 Gypsies tape over 5 years old... and here's something funny: I just found a discounted pack of the same stuff... so as my old supply is literally inches away from gone, it has being replenished!

Jingle Belles

Jingle Belles are rocking this fortnight with Fabulous Fonts...

Honestly, I was inspired by Stephanie's card with the print in the background.  I made my card non-traditional, and while I do love tradition, I love anything that goes a little against the grain.

Supplies and notes:

• DCWV paper pack (received as a xmas gift) as the background
• I used a Stamp-Anon honeycomb stencil for the monoprinting with Evergreen Bough, Scattered Straw, and Black Soot Distress Ink
• Amy Tangerine letter stamps in MementoLuxe Tuxedo Black
• Fabric evergreen pieces from Handmade Modern from Target

Clear It Out! and Tic-Tac-Toe

Here's a twiney piece of love for my oldest lovey...

I will enter this one into the following challenges:

• Clear It Out Challenge: Use twine... glad to have the suggestion to use twine... I, like many crafters, have tons of the stuff.
• Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge from Stamping Smiles: I love tic-tac-toes... here are my selections:
  

Supplies and notes:

• Library card base smooshed into Dylusions in Postbox Red and Crushed Grape
• Shimmer was applied over the top of the base with Glimmer mist through a Heidi Swapp stencil
• Simple Stories Polaroid from a die-cut pack stamped with a K & Company date stamp (haha, you should all know by now that I use a proper date stamp daily at work... it's novel to use one from a craft store :))
• The twine is from We R Memory Keepers
• I used Amy Tangerine letter stamps in Broken China 

Heaven help me...

Feast your eyes:

Supplies and notes:

• The base is a library card that was sprayed with Pumice Stone Distress Spray through a Heidi Swapp stencil.  I then folded it into a nice little nicho.
• My nun from Lunagirl lives in the nicho.  I cut her from her background and gave her a nice cozy little home here.
• The pearls hanging are a nice taupe color, and they were made by Darice.  I hung them by punching a tiny slit into either end of the top, then popped a pearl from each end through the slit like a button.
• The stenciled background was accentuated by Liquid Pearls in Petal Pink
• The exterior of the box and the fancy fascia was painted with Liquid Leaf in Classic Gold
• The flowers came from my stash

Who can help but love this?  I do.  My seven year old requested it... she loves it, too.  I can't wait for my personal party this weekend because I've had a helluva week so far, and I plan to craft the weekend away!  My nun is praying for me!

I'd like to enter this project into the following challenges:

• Challenge Up Your Life: No Patterned paper 
• Crafting By Designs: Anything Goes for February

12 Tags of 2016: February-- Felix Culpa!

*Typing from my phone... I'll post now and then this evening I'll fix errors and add the butterfly DP make! :-)

Well, I pulled this together pretty quickly-- had the idea in my mind, and had little pieces all around that conspired to inspire...

Pretty happy with it. This is sooo "me" (the anthropocentric view of the human world coupled with repurposing items in a nicho?  Close to perfect.)

This month's Twelve Tags Remix  by Tim made me much happier than last month's... he totally redeemed himself! We're "back together now." Haha!

Supplies & notes:

• Library card base, folded into a nicho (I'm addicted to this right now... haven't had time to get messy lately, but I am building boxes daily in preparation for the nichos festival in my shack this weekend!)  Anyway, this nicho was drenched on the inside with Aged Mahogany Distress Stain then sprayed lotsa water. Note the interior corners: AM Distress Stain is like the Chipped Sapphire Distress Stain to me in that it creates funky bleeds... Can anyone corroborate that? 
• I used Ranger Transparent texture paste over a Heidi Swapp stencil with Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder for Tim's embossing technique
• For the monoprinting aspect, I decorated the exterior of the nicho. I inked up Tim's alphabet stencil with Rusted Hinge, Scattered Straw, and Gathered Twigs Distress Inks, misted like crazy (what drought?), and pressed the wet plastic to my box-- sides as well as back.  I didn't dab immediately with a paper towel though, because the wet colors were so bold-- I felt they fit the tone of the project as a whole. I did absorb a couple bigger puddles and set it with a heat tool.
• The butterfly "specimens" came from () DP, which I had used under the transparent gloss and Tim's stripes stencil months ago.  I pulled the paper out and fussy-cut some butterflies out before this project was even on my radar (remember how I said this card basically came together through serendipity? Truth.) 
• I had a cork that I've been whittling for a few days and I decided to slice segments as my mounting platforms. I then had an old pin cushion in sight, and so I grabbed some pins and snipped them to fit in the box

  

  This little pincushion right here is a battle-hardened trooper! Time for my kids to get all OCD on it and color-coordinate the pins :)

• The "escapee" butterfly atop the box was hot glued... because sometimes nothing compares...
• The typed Latin phrase-- which was typed to mimic a true mount box specimen identifier-- can be interpreted different ways, but in this case,  I interpret "happy fault" to mean this whole project was kind of a bumbling happy accident! If you saw my craft shack right now, you might think, "How did anything come from that desk?" And with the tiny amount of time I've had... Yes, all things considered, felix culpa. 

Cheers to you all.  Hump day!!!

Merry...

Just real quick-like... this is my card for Jingle Belles, whose current challenge is to "bling on the holidays."

Supplies and notes:

• I love the idea of Jingle Belles... making cards through the year.  I even designated a bin for most of my xmas stuff :)  Soooo I wanted to keep it going.  I made this card rather quickly, and the pictures don't do her justice, but it's actually very simple and very pretty in real life!  Happy to participate!
• I used awesome snowflake stamps that I bought for the girls a couple holiday seasons ago at Target. I inked them with Tim's Distress Embossing Ink then embossed them using Stampendous Frantage in Shabby Blue
• The "Merry" was made with Thickers... though every time I use Thickers I feel guilty-- I am WAYYY behind on my scrapbooks!
• I added generic bling to the center of each flake

Hope you likey!

Have a heart...

Here's this:

Supplies:

• Library card base inked, sprayed, dried, repeat... with Distress Ink in Worn Lipstick and Spun Sugar (though it's hard to tell-- the sun was so bright today and my lightbox is buried... not that I've tinkered with it much...)
• Darice gold wire with some silver Adirondack metallics mixatives to lessen the gold
• Tissue made into a tear-away based on the theme, stamped with old Target alphabet stamps in Crystal Ink in Choclate Brown
• I used old industrial vinyl labels to stencil-off my sentiment, the painted it with Walnut Ink Distress Paint
• My images didn't capture it well, but I glittered under the tear-aways with Martha Stewart glitter...

There's a little bit of the dichotomy here: there's a rough and gruff "Have a heart" (basically) at the top, then once you take a heart, there's the sparkly-love... awww.

I'm entering this little ATC into Simon Says Wednesday : "Have a Heart" challenge.