Beary Good Friends

This is an image from Dustin Pike. I put this card together for several challenges:
Whimsy Stamp Challenge: Touchy Feely..add texture to your card
Color Chef Challenge: orange, yellow and cream
Pollycraft: Furry Friends
Cupcake Craft Challenge: Recipie-3 buttons, 2 papers and 1 ribbon
Pile it on: combine different challenges and think ROUND-circles/dots/etc

I used my new circle scallop Nesties (just picked them up today with a 40% off coupon at HL!) for the sentiment and added three of my very useful buttons to the side. If you've read some of my earlier posts you know I'm making good use of this $3 pack of buttons I picked up at Archiver's a couple of weeks ago! I used my Cuttlebug with the distressed stripes embossing folder for the yellow cardstock for my texture.

Cardmaker Card Swaps

I wanted to post a couple of things I've made for swaps over at Cardmaker Cardswaps. The first is for a Stamped Birthday Card Swap. I made 6 of these cards and got 6 beautiful cards back in exchange. This card was made using the standup card technique and an image from Dustin Pike. I cut out the cupcakes with my Cricut.


The next one is for a swap using the Flowerpot Card technique. I wanted to change it up a bit so instead of doing flowers, I made a wintery/snowman card.
Here's what it looks like closed:

And here's what the pull out piece looks like:

You can't really tell from the picture but I cut the trees from shimmery cardstock and stickled the punched out snowflakes. I can't wait to see what the other ladies at Cardswap have made for this swap!

Last Ones

Okay, I've done a lot of challenges this week and I think these are my last two. Time to do something else even though I've thoroughly enjoyed all of them I think I need to take a break for a few hours ( ha ha)
This card is for two challenges. The first is Secret Crafters whose challenge is Flights of Fancy...put anything with wings on your card. I used the color scheme from this week's If the Shoe Fits challenge which was to use green, red and white. I was trying not to do a Christmas card so I used this image from Dustin Pike, it was his freebie this week, and combined it with some non Christmasy paper.

A Cute and Cuddly Card

That's what it's supposed to be anyway, according to the One Stop Craft Challenge. The challenge this week is to create a card with something cute and cuddly. I chose this image from Dustin Pike. He's a cutie! I used the sketch from Our Creative Corner.

An Ooops and a Save

Let me start out by saying that this card does not photograph well. I'm not sure if it's because the soft pink and green are too light to be picked up by the camera or what. It looks much prettier in real life.
Okay, so on to the Oops. I was following a challenge to use one piece of ribbon , two different designer papers and three flowers. I was so excited to find two pieces of paper that coordinated well that I also had matching ribbon for that I charged ahead and made the card, completing it with a stamp that says "a happy hello" THEN I realized/remembered that the challenge was for Dare you to Digi Stamp so I needed to have a DIGITAL stamp/image on it somewhere. But where? I loved the card the way it was with the main flower image on the dp being the focal point so I didn't want to put anything up there.
On to the Save... I decided I needed a different sentiment. Squigglefly to the rescue! I adjusted the size of this image to fit in the spot where "A Happy Hello" had already been stamped. I colored it with my Copics, rounded the corners and fit in right over the top! I'm pretty happy with the results. I wish it photographed better.

MSB and a Re-do

I wasn't THAT happy with the card I made for Easy Breezy Kewl color challenge this week. The colors were tough ones for me and I tried to fit them into a sketch and the end result was just "okay" so I wanted to do it over. Turns out, maybe these just aren't my colors because I did another card today and again...it's just okay. Oh well, I tried! This is a Modern Sugar Blvd image. Their challenge this week is to bling up your card so I blinged the bottom of her jeans and the flowers around "joy". I also used this card for the All Sorts challenge which was to not use rubber stamps. Okay, that wsan't really much of a problem for me since I mostly use digital but just for the record, the sentiment is a sticker!


I ran the red paper through my Cuttlebug with the You Words embossing folder. Colored the image with my Copics and used yet another yellow button. I have definitely gotten my money's worth out of that pack of buttons. I've used them on at least 4 cards and I still have about 7 or 8 left...but not yellow. The ones that are left are more like bronze. But still...I guess it was a good purchase for me! :)

Two New Challenges

I decided to try two new challenges today. One is Unscripted Sketches which I hear my friends Momiji and Mrs. Momma talk about a lot so I wanted to check it out and see what it was all about. I also did the color challenge at Easy Breezy "Kewl" Color Challenge. The colors this week are ruby red, brocade blue, certainly celery and crushed curry. Again, I don't have SU paper so I found the closest colors I have.

Digi Shack Challenge

I'm doing the Digi Shack Challenge this week. The colors are chocolate brown, caramel, bronze and teal. I used a Digi Shack image called "Another Dog Gone Birthday" and the sketch from Taylored Expressions (loosely interpreted since I used a rectangle and not a circle and I added a button at the bottom because I felt like it needed "something") This also works for the Stamp Something challenge which is to feature an animal on your card.

I'm not too happy with the coloring. The brown bled out of the lines and I feel like that's all I can see when I look at the image! I used my Cuttlebug to emboss all the layers of cardstock. The chocolate is Distressed Stripes, the bronze is Swiss Dots and I'm not sure what the caramel folder is...Happy Birthday I'm guessing. Maybe something like Birthday Words...I don't know!

Get out of the Zone

The comfort zone, that is. That's what the challenge this week at Stamp Simply is, to make a card that is not in your typical style. If you scroll through my blog, it would be easy to see that I tend to make cutesy cards with bright colors and I use A LOT of digital stamps. I made this card using a sketch and theme from Shirley's 2 Girls use their sketch and make a card that is predominately red. I also used the colors from this week's Colour Create Challenge which were red, gold and cream. Love that color combo. So this card is out of my comfort zone in that I used a real wood mounted stamp (gasp!) and there is nothing "cute" about it. I also added a very large (by my comfy standards!) gold bow. NOT what I would normally do. I like the end result though I'm looking forward to making my next card in my usual style! :) BTW, the card base is cream, the picture was just taken on a black background.

Happy Halloween!

I made this Halloween card for this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge. I don't send Halloween cards so I don't usually make them but I had this cute paper that fit the theme. I used the sketch from this week's Stamp TV sketch challenge. Now..to find someone to send it to!

Sweet Sketch with Color

This card is using this week's Sweet Sketch AND their color combo for the week which is red, celery, cream and melon (I'm guessing!)


This image is called "potted flower" from the Digi Shack. My red looks more like hot pink in this photo for some reason but IRL it is definitely red!

Color Dare

I made this card for this week's Color Dare challenge which was to use Chocolate Brown, Bashful Blue, Kraft and More Mustard. I used this super cute digi stamp from Doodle Palace which is called Emery the Pit Bull puppy. I think he's just TOO cute. The buttons along the bottom qualify for this week's ABC challenge which is C for circles.

A Flowery Card

I made this card using the sketch at Delightful Sketches. My laptop broke down yesterday so I wasn't able to upload it and I thought I had missed the deadline for their challenge. I posted it anyway and it turns out that their challenges run for two weeks so I had plenty of time! I love the sketch and will definitely be using it again. I used the colors from this week's Color Throwdown which were blue, pink and celery along with the theme from this week's Doodle Palace challenge which is pastels and daisies.

Sugar and a Color Combo

I used the sketch from Spoonful of Sugar this week along with the color combo from SPCC Color Combo which was melon mambo, only orange and bermuda bay. I don't have the SU colors so I used these colors which I thought were pretty close.

This is a Dustin Pike image which I colored with my Copics. I decided that I need more Copics (of course!).

Maggie

This is one of the images I won from DigitalDelights. It's called Maggie. I made this card using the colors from the Color Chef challenge which were dark red, green and cream. I used the sketch from Papertake Weekly and the pearls in the corners allow me to use the card for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge which was to use pearls somewhere on your card.

Hop To It!

I got a chance to use one of my new stamps from Doodle Palace, Frog in the Grass. This is for the Digital Tuesday Challenge which was to make a card with something that hops. It's also for the Practical Scrappers Challenge which was to use vellum and I used the sketch from CPS Cardsketches.

I used the Swiss Dots embossing folder for the top and bottom of this card. I colored the image with my Copics and stamped the vellum with Memento Bamboo ink.

A Purple Birthday Card

I wanted to use one of my new images from the Doodle Palace and this sweet Birthday Bear was perfect for a couple of challenges. I used the sketch from Mojo Monday...I changed it a little in that my image is on a square rather than a circle and I didn't cut the ribbon in a V shape at the end because this ribbon is too delicate...it frays like crazy. Anyway, I hope it still counts for the Mojo sketch. I made this for the Kaboodle Doodles challenge which was a color challenge to use black, purple and white and the Whimsy Stamp Challenge which was to add a bit of sparkle to your card.

I colored the image with my Copics and added silver glitter to the ribbon on the gift. I used the Swiss Dots embossing folder for the background paper.

A Top Five and a Jungle Sketch Card

I'm totally excited! I got top five at the SP Color Combo challenge this week for my brown/lime green/ white card...my snail mail card! I get the cute little sign on the side of my blog! :)


On to the next challenge...I made this card for a couple of challenges. I used the sketch from Pink Elephant and used the theme from the Corrosive Challenge which is to use a jungle animal on your card. Of course I chose a GIRAFFE! I inked my Cuttlebug folder with brown ink on the yellow cardstock to sort of look like the pattern on a giraffe. I'm also adding this to the Pile it On Challenge which was to use three of something. I used three pieces of ribbon. This image is from Doodle Palace. They are having a 60% off sale from now until September 1. Check them out...they have some super cute images. This image is called G-Mail.

Challenge at Cardmaker Cardswap

I'm hosting the challenge this week at Cardmaker Cardswap. It's a color challenge using the colors black, red and green. Flourishes had this color challenge last week and I absolutely loved the colors together so I made it this week's challenge. I did the same layout card as I did for the Jazzy Inspirations card with the Dustin Pike snowman image, minimally colored and the star and pom pom stickled. Love this guy.

Please join us over at Cardswap! You have until Sunday, August 30th to upload an entry to be eligible for a prize.

Die Cuts R Us Top Three

What a huge honor- I was chosen as one of the top three entries on Die Cuts R Us for my Santa Baby card! I'm so excited and honored!

A Surprise Gift Card Holder

I made this card for the Project Tuesday challenge this week. The challenge was to make a surprise gift card holder. It was a lot of fun to make and it's something that I'll definitely be doing again. I used the colors from the Flourishes Challenge which was to use black, red and olive green. In addition, I added a masculine digital image for the Tuesday Digital Challenge.

And the inside of the gift card holder looks like this:


The image is from Modern Sugar Blvd which I colored with my Copics.

Jazzy Inspirations #18

This week's Jazzy Inspiration is Sonny Rollins Inspired. The colors this week are black, grey, white and a touch of green. Love the color combo! The prize this week is 2 Copic Markers so hop on over to play. In addition to the random prize, you might get picked to be the "Jazz Cat of the Week" which means you are the guest designer for the next week. Pretty cool!



This is a digi image from Dustin Pike. I kept the coloring minimal to fit with the color theme for the week. I added some stickles to the star and the pom pom on his hat. The card base is black, but you can't see that much of it. Probably should have left a bigger border

A Summer Inspired Card

I made this card for the Cute Card Thursday challenge which was to be inspired by the lazy days of summer. I love the summery colors of this paper and the sweet Lily image from Digi Stamp Boutique.

I colored it with my Copics and made the bow with my Bow Easy. Love the bow easy!

Another Modern Sugar Blvd Challenge

This week the challenge at MSB is to use polka dots. They are also having a challenge today on their group site at SNR (Scrapbook News and Reviews). You can download a free image today and make a creation, upload it to the gallery at SNR and you can win free MSB Images. This image is one of the free ones offered today. I colored it with my Copics and used the cool polka dot paper that I also used on my gift bag. I used the sketch from this week's Stamp TV sketch challenge

Another Bag

I had fun making the bag for the Digi Shack challenge and I have been trying all week to think of something for the Cardswap challenge this week which was to make a Halloween treat holder so I decided to make another bag with a harvest/Halloween theme. It's a little busy because I combined it with several other challenges and I think it ended up being too much. The Crafty Creations challenge was to use tags on your project. The Use It challenge was to make a bag, add bling, a tag, flowers and a tie. Okay, I think that's the one that put me over the edge! :) I also used it for the Stamp TV Potluck challenge which was to use buttons. And finally, I used it for the Saturday Surprise challenge which was to be inspired by "harvest".


I got the paper, ribbon and the buttons at Archivers and used my Tags,Bags Boxes and More cartridge to cut the bag and the tag. The flower brad is from my stash and the "to/from" stamp is from an old SU Christmas stamp set.

Digi Shack Challenge & PPA

So the other day I won $15 worth of digital stamps from the Digi Shack. I've made a couple of cards with two of the images I got. The images are great. Well, turns out the creator of the Digi Shack also makes purses and she's offering as a prize for her challenge this week, one of her handmade purses. How cool is that? So, you're supposed to check out her store and get inspiration for your creation from her stuff. I chose the Gabby Handbag in Amy Butler Fabric. I loved the colors which are green, blue brown and cream. I made this gift bag in the blue and green colors...just thought it worked well, given what the prize for the challenge is AND thanks to Denise from PPA...I found their challenge this week which is to make anything but a card!


I cut the bag using my Cricut and my Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge. The image on the bag is from the Digi Shack and I colored it with my Copics.

Santa Baby

This is another image I won from the Digi Shack..hey, it takes a lot of images to add up to $15! :)
It's called Santa Baby and I colored him with my Copics and used the color combo from Die Cuts R Us and used the theme Christmas in August for the Simon Says challenge and I used buttons in the corners for the ABC challenge-B for Buttons!

Snail Mail

I made this card with an image that I won from the Digi Shack. I entered last week's Jazzy Inspirations challenge and was randomly chosen to win $15 worth of Digi Shack images! Woo hoo! I thought this guy was cute. He's called "snail mail". I colored him with my Copics and used the color combo from SPCC Color Combo challenge which was brown, white and lime green.

The ABCs of Me

This is a fun "get to know you" thing I got off my friend Heather's blog. Here are random things about me, in ABC order:
Age: 40
Bed Size: Queen
Chore You Hate: Cleaning the bathroom
Dogs or Cats: Don't have either but I like dogs better
Essential Start Your Day Item: Exercise
Favorite Color: Purple
Gold or Silver: Silver
Height: 5'6"
Instruments You've Played: None
Job Title: Mom, Accountant
Kid(s): Three. One Girl. Two Boys
Loud or Quiet: Quiet
Married? How long: Yes, 18 years.
Nicknames: Mom, Lor
Overnight Hospital Stay: When I had my kids.
Pet Peeve: People who drive stupidly because they are talking on their cell phones GRRR
Quote From A Movie: I am Indigo Montoya, you killed my father...prepare to die.
Right or Left Handed: Right
Siblings: One sister but she died when we were kids
Time You Wake Up: Around 4:30
Underwear: yes
Vegetable you Hate: peas
Ways You Run Late: I'm always early
X-Rays You've Had: Dental.
Yummy Food You Make: Lemony Pasta, cookies
Zoo Favorite: Giraffes

If you do this post, please leave me a comment telling me, so I can read yours!

Happy Wishes

I love my Cricut but sometimes I just don't understand it. Take this card for example. I was trying to follow the sketch from Mojo Monday which had a scalloped background behind the image and sentiment. I have 13 Cricut Cartridges but could not find a scallopy shape. I bought the Cricut Create at Michaels and it came with the Don Juan Cartridge. I wish wish wish I had the George and Basic Shapes cartridge because I think it has a scallopy shape I could have used for this. Anyway, I used a flower from Celebrations and I had to cut it at 8.5 inches to get it to be big enough to go behind the image and still be seen. That's what I mean that I sometimes don't "get" my Cricut. Why is this 8.5 inches on the Cricut when it's not in real life? Puzzling. I hope if I get Design Studio or GYPSY!!! that I won't have these sizing issues. I combined the sketch with the color challenge at Color Chef Challenge which was to use purple, brown, cream and green. The image a digi image from Dustin Pike which I colored with my Copics.

Cupcake Tower

I started out making this card for the Stamp TV color challenge for the week. The colors are black, white and green. That seemed like a good Halloween combination for me. I tried a few things and didn't like them but wanted to stick with the color combo so I went a totally different direction. I used this week's sketch from Sketch and Stash and I also used some ribbon for the Whimsy Stamp Challenge this week. The heart brads are from my friend Gaye- they were in a very "full of goodies" Altoids container she sent to me and they've been in my stash for a couple of months now. Thanks Gaye! The stamp is a dollar stamp from Michael's. I thought about coloring the cupcakes but I wasn't sure how that would look on the green paper so I left them as an outline.

A Flower Shop Card

First let me start out by saying I don't know why this card looks crooked. I swear it's not in real life! Must be the way the card was sitting when I took the picture. Anway, this card was made using the One Stop Craft Challenge which was to use the colors pink and black. I used the sketch from this week's Corrosive Challenge. It's also part of the Kaboodle Doodle challenge which was "window". I like the thought of looking through the window of the flower shop and seeing all the beautiful colors inside. The image is the flower shop from Modern Sugar Blvd that I colored with my Copics. I ran the black and the pink cardstock through my Cuttlebug with the bloom dots embossing folder.

Christmas in August

I made this card for the Saturday Our Creative Corner challenge which was Christmas in August. I used the sketch from last week's Digital Tuesday Challenge but forgot to post this card in time to get into that challenge. Oh well, I like the sketch anyway.


The image is from Dustin Pike and I colored it with my Copics. The stars are stickers, as is the "it's Christmas" sentiment.

A Six-in-One Challenge

This is a very simple card that I made using this week's sketch from CPS. Turns out that even this simple little card can be used for six different challenges. Here they are:
CPS: Sketch
Pink Elephant: Summer theme
Practical Scrapper: Only use scraps (other than for the card base)
Double Dutch: brown, pink and cream
Kitchen Sink: Decorate the corners
Pollycraft: Your favorite things
Well, it just so happens that one of my favorite things is ice cream which is also a very summery thing. My favorite color combination is pink and brown which I use a lot so I have LOTS of pink and brown scraps. I decorated the corners with some bling given to my by my friend Jane at Cardswap.

Pile it On??

I've been wondering what "Pile it On" is all about. I thought it meant add as much stuff to your card as you can! Well, that's not really my style so I never really checked it out until Friday. Turns out it's a challenge blog to combine lots of different challenges in one card. That's right up my alley. So, I made this card using the Pile it On theme this week which was to create a masculine card. I combined that with the sketch from Shirley's 2 Girls with the added challenge of using four brads on the sketch AND I used the colors from the Colour Create challenge which were blue, sand, black and silver. Here's what I came up with:

Cardmaker Card Candy

I made this card candy for a swap over at Cardmaker. The theme was Halloween, Autumn and or Christmas. It's being hosted by my friend Rainy! Can't wait to see what everyone makes.



The snowman and santa are digi images from Dustin Pike. The bow I tied myself, before I got the Bow Easy and the spider and trick or treat tag I cut out using my Cricut.

Favorite Snowman

This is my favorite snowman from Dustin Pike. Dare you to Digistamp's challenge this week was to use blue, green and cream or white. This snowman image immediately popped in my head. In addition, I used the StampTV sketch for this week and the Stamp TV technique challenge this week which was to ink a Cuttlebug folder. I inked my Snowflakes folder with with Brilliance Sky Blue ink. I added some scoring on the blue and green cardstock for the Flourishes weekly challenge, colored the image with my Copics and added some Waterfall Stickles for the edge of the scarf, the top of the hat and the snowflake.

Simon Says...Bookmark!

I made this bookmark for the Simon Says Challenge this week which was "anything but a card" I combined it with the ABC challenge which was anything goes and animals (a bug is an animal, isn't it?) and the Crafty Creations challenge which was to use yellow.


The bee image is a Dustin Pike digi stamp and the flower at the top is from my friend Jane.

Another Modern Sugar Blvd Card

I love Modern Sugar Blvd's images. This week's challenge is to make a simple card with just one image and one phrase. I used the sketch from Papertake Weekly and the color combo from this week's Stamp TV color challenge which was to use red, brown and cream.



This image is called Yoga Mama.

A Mojo Card with a Color Throwdown

I made this card using the Mojo Monday sketch and the colors from the Wednesday Color Throwdown which were black, melon, yellow and kraft. I didn't have quite the melon color they showed on their blog so I used the closest color I had which is more of a peach. I also used layers of die cuts for the Die Cuts R Us challenge.


I ran the kraft colored paper through my Cuttlebug using the bloom dots folder. The flowers were cut using my Cricut and the Doodlecharms cartridge. I cut the flowers at 2 inches, 1.75 inches and 1.5 inches and layered them. Then I pop dotted them and added them to the card.

A Wild Kind of Card

I'm going to say right off the bat that this is NOT my favorite card. I struggled with this one. I used the sketch at Sweet Sketch Wednesday and the color combination from Jazzy Inspirations. The colors did not click with me-red, black, blue, orange and white. I also used the lollipop flowers for the weekly challenge at Cardmakers and I threw in three stickers for the Practical Scrappers challenge this week. It doesn't knock my socks off.

Pay it Forward

Look what Jeanette sent me!


I just think this is the cutest thing! Thank you so much Jeanette! I LOVE IT!

In case you're wondering why Jeanette sent me this, besides the fact that she is a very nice lady, I participated in her Pay it Forward game on her blog. Check out Jeanette's blog..she's is so talented, you're bound to find something awesome there.

Thanks so much Jeanette!

A Pink Elephant Thank You Card

This card is for this week's Pink Elephant challenge which was to use brown and turquois, along with a neutral color. I used the sketch from Thursday's Stamp TV Sketch Challenge.

Using Two New Things

I haven't had a lot of time to craft this week but I did get a couple of new crafting supplies. I got the Bow Easy so I can stop being bow challenged and I got the Storybook cartridge for my Cricut. I decided to make a card using both of them. I made this card following the sketch at Mojo Monday and I made it a monogramed card for the Die Cuts R Us challenge. The Mojo sketch involved using some ribbon so I did that and added some buttons so I could use it for the Crafty Creations challenge and the Simon Says challenge which was to use buttons and ribbon.

Flower Pot Card

I made this flower pot card for a challenge over at Cardswap which is being hosted by Tracy this week. I used my new Wild Card cartridge to cut the flowers and the leaves.

One for Five

I made this card for five challenges:
Pink Elephant:use 3 brads, a flower and dp
Stamp TV Color Challenge: peach, ivory and optional pink
Sketch and Stash Challenge: a sketch
Digital Tuesday Challenge: use a digi image and some bling
Spoon Full of Sugar: floral fantasy...use floral patterns or flowers

The flower I used is from my friend Jane...and it's been in my stash for several months. I added some bling to the middle of the flower for the Digital Tuesday Challenge. The digi image is from Modern Sugar Blvd which I colored with my Copics.

A Four in One Card

I started this card last night and finished it up this morning. It combines four challenges in one:
Modern Sugar Blvd: use their image along with two of the following: flowers, flourishes or bling
Cuttlebug Challenge: use your favorite embossing folder
Corrosive Challenge: use the colors: pumpkin, blue and red
CPS: this sketch: I ran my blue cardstock through my Cuttlebug using the Bloom Dots folder. Then I stamped my red cardstock with floral flourishes using denim blue ink. The image is from Modern Sugar Blvd and I colored it with my Copics and matted that on the pumpkin and red cardstocks. The "thank you" is part of a clear stamp set I don't know the name of.