Challenges

Hi-ya friends!

We have made it to the mid-way mark of the week! I’ve been keeping super busy at work. That extra day off for President’s Day was glorious, but it definitely made for more work on Tuesday. However, I only have one more day until the weekend so I think I’ll make it out alive. :)

I’m so excited about the card I’m sharing with you today! This card was based of the EBTKS Sketch Challenge #9. First can I just say that ALL of those girls are just so sweet? I have grown particularly close to Courtney and Kelly Marie since returning from CHA. I seriously wish these girls lived in Washington- we would have so much fun together! I have had loads of fun getting to know them more through Twitter and through some emails. If you haven’t visited their blogs before, you must! You’ll leave feeling inspired and also with a smile. (They cards always have that affect on me!) Okay, moving back to the card……with Valentine’s Day behind us, I’m looking to the next holiday. Even though I love shamrocks and creating “green” cards, I just can’t bring myself to create a St. Patricks Day card. It might have to do with the fact that I have ZERO Irish in me. With St. Patty’s Day a bust, I decided that I would skip to Easter. Absolutely LOVE this holiday. Since I’m a Christian it has a special meaning to me, but I also really enjoy the colors and festivities that go along with it. :) I decided to do some bright, fun colors for this particular card. What are your thoughts?

I’ll be posting some more Easter cards in the near future. Absolutely love coloring all those fun Easter eggs! Oh, little fact, I have NEVER colored Easter eggs IRL! Hmm…might have to do that this year! If I do, I’ll be sure to post pics. ;)

Well, I hope you were inspired. Be sure to check out the EBTKS sketch this week!

Stamps: Teeny Swiss Dot, Scallop Oval, Easter Eggs, Easter stamp set
Paper: White, Brown Kraft, Magenta, Aqua Mist
Ink: Vintage Sepia
Other: 3″ Marvy scallop oval punch, Turquoise grosgrain ribbon, Quickie Glue Pen, Blue Ice glitter

Hi-ya friends! So sorry about the delay in posting….I have been stamping up a storm today! My stamp studio is FULL of new, unseen cards. Each card is so different- I’ve surprised myself with the variety. LOL

I’m so excited about the card I’m sharing today- it’s fun, bright and has glitter hearts! This card was based of Taylor’s amazing 100th sketch. Seriously, love this one! Last week I placed my first Taylored Expressions order. I couldn’t resist the elephants and the whales. :) These were my first cling stamps and I must say, I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

Taylor is offering up five $25 gift certificates to the Top 5 cards- this definitely is a week you’ll want to participate in! Oh, and if you don’t have a need for the certificate, you know of someone who wouldn’t mind using it for you. ;)

Hope this card brought a smile to your face and inspired you for your future crafting project(s). Have a wonderful night!

Stamps: Dots Background, Elephants in Love (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: White, Raspberry Fizz, Smokey Shadow, Bitty Box Basics
Ink: Onyx Black
Other: Turquoise grosgrain ribbon, rhinestones, circles from die-cut machine, Quickie Glue Pen, Extra Fine Glitter

Hello!

Did you notice the last word in the title? CHALLENGE? Yes, that’s definitely what this card was for me. I had NEVER tried to emboss resist before- that’s probably a good thing. After FIVE failed attempts, I finally got one that turned out. How did Nichole made it look so easy in the video?!?

I decided to keep the card design fairly simple since the embossed leaves are the focal point of the card. I used Chocolate Brown Brilliance and clear embossing powder to get the elegant, rich color for the leaves. I forgot how pretty things look when you emboss- I may need to do it again soon! However, I’m thinking I’ll leave the emboss resist technique to the pros. ;)

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Hope you were inspired!

Stamps: Turning A New Leaf, Handwritten Notes, Dots Background
Paper: Cream, Brown Kraft, Dark Chocolate
Ink: Vintage Sepia, Chocolate Brown, Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides, Tea Dye Duo
Other: Lemon Tart grosgrain ribbon, button, twine, corner rounder, SU! scallop border punch, clear embossing powder

Wow, when was the last time I did two posts in a day? It seems like it has been forever! I wasn’t planning on doing another post, but then I *had* to stop by Nichole’s blog before I “closed shop” for the night. {I’ve been stamping ever since dinner…just couldn’t stop!} Oh goodness, have you seen all the fun happenings that are going on over there?! Right now they are celebrating their 3rd birthday, so there are lots of exciting things going on.

Nichole put out a challenge to use one of the printed designs that a PTI DT member created. I had trouble choosing an image but finally decided on this great design from Melissa Bickford. With my dad’s birthday a week ago {gasp!}, I still needed to give him a card. I have a large stack of cards at my disposal, just not any masculine cards. I really need to build up this stash…I had being late with cards and also stressing about making them!

You may remember this card design from a while ago. I had trouble deciding on a concept and remembered this fun one. If you follow my blog, you know that I sometimes recycle my card ideas. I personally don’t think there is anything wrong with that…. ;) I think this card turned out fairly well, considering that I’m not super comfortable making “guy” cards.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you were inspired!

Stamps: Small Solid Circle, Dots Background, Background Basics: Retro
Paper: White, Brown Kraft, Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate, Lemon Tart, Bitty Dots Basics
Ink: Vintage Sepia, VersaMark, Aqua Mist, Tea Dye Duo
Other: Ivory grosgrain ribbon, Marvy 2½” scallop circle punch, Marvy 3″ scallop circle punch, printed design from Melissa Bickford, brown rhinestones

Happy Wednesday!

Oh goodness, am I ever so thankful that tomorrow is the last day of work for the week. It has been a rough week!

Have any of you been watching Dawn’s new videos? She just started posting them and is already a pro! She is ever so adorable and has the sweetest smile. You can definitely see the love of Jesus through that girlie.

Today’s card is based off of another one of Dawn’s amazing color challenges. I am so addicted to these, I can’t wait until new ones are posted! After pondering on which stamps I should use, I finally decided that I needed to bring out some button balloons again. :) I just love the Everyday Button Bits stamp set- it’s one of my favorites! Back in September I posted a card using these exact stamps. Which card do you like better?

Any fun plans set for this weekend? I’m hoping to get some more crafting in, desperately need to fold my laundry and then maybe get some playing time in on the Wii Fit. I played for the first time tonight and it’s so much fun! Maybe it’ll get more of these unwanted pounds off! ;)

In closing, if you haven’t entered my Valentine giveaway, be sure to do so! There are only a few days left. Lots of fun Martha Stewart goodies in there- don’t want you to miss out!

Stamps: Everyday Button Bits, Fancy Flourishes, Dots Background
Paper: Cream, Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate, Bitty Box Basics
Ink: Vintage Sepia, Versamark
Other: EK Success scallop border punch, various buttons, Aqua Mist grosgrain ribbon, Clear embossing powder

Yes, I realize that I already posted today, but I couldn’t resist playing in the scrap-tastic challenge on Nichole’s blog!

Like most crafters, I tend to collect quite a bit of scraps. I have boxes and boxes of paper scraps, it’s quite ridiculous. A while back I did a card that used some strips of paper scraps. For Nichole’s challenge, I wanted to use smaller pieces of paper scraps. Since we all know that I LOVE circles, I thought I would create a card that featured lots and lots of circles. :) I love how you can mix and match different colors, depending on the recipient or occasion. Once I finished the card, I realized that it was “flat”- thus the added buttons. I just love how buttons can dress up a card!

That’s a wrap for tonight. If you like this card, I added it to my Etsy shop. My lil Etsy shop is starting to get some new items…..finally! I renewed quite a bit of items that we MIA for a few months. I’m also planning on adding some new Valentine items in the near future.

Stamps: Handwritten Notes
Paper: Brown Kraft, Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet, Dark Chocolate, Bitty Dots Basics
Ink: Vintage Sepia
Other: EK Success scallop border punch, various buttons, white pen, circle punches