A "Happy Fall" Card...

Hello!  I couldn't stand it any longer.  I just had to open the new stamp set, Wreath for all Seasons from Papertrey Ink.  It's been sitting here for almost two weeks.  I'm actually surprised I made it this long. I specifically ordered the set for this year's Christmas cards.  

My card is ultra clean and simple.  I started with a kraft card base, scoring at every half inch to add some interest and texture.  I stamped the wreath on some cream card stock and filled in the "berries" with orange rhinestones.  

I used a small hole punch to create notches for the floss.  Not only does this look cool, but it keeps the floss in place as well.  The edges are all inked too, for that rustic effect.

Have a great day!

{Happy Fall}

Stamps: Wreath For All Seasons (Papertrey Ink)

Card Stock: Kraft, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Chestnut Roan, Dark Brown (Colorbox)

Accessories: Orange Rhinestones (Kaiser Craft), Embroidery Floss (DMC), Hole Punch, Foam Dimensionals, Scoring Blade

 

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Our weekend...

Hello again!  Like I said earlier, we had a super busy weekend.  We celebrated Scott's birthday on Thursday night by going to Newport on the Levee for dinner and a movie.  We saw The Town, which was really good.  On Friday (Scott's actual birthday), the kids and I had lunch with him at his office, then the kids and spent the rest of the day preparing a birthday dinner (taco pie and brownie's with homemade caramel on top).  We watched the Cincinnati Red's lose their second playoff game.

On Saturday, Scott and I attended a fundraiser gala for the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative.  This was by far one of the fanciest events we've been to.  As a SAHM, I don't get many opportunities to get really dressed up.  The food was so good.  I wanted to take pictures of all of it, but I thought people would look at me like I was crazy.  They had a mini slider bar (mini hamburgers with a variety of toppings), Pad Thai (new to me, but I loved it), they also had another bar with things on skewers that we didn't get to try.  Of course, dessert was the best.  They had a fondue bar.  They had anything you could ever want to dip in chocolate (homemade marshmallows, rice crispy treats, strawberries, bananas, pretzels, oreos, etc.  YUM!  Oh, and we also had fun celebrating the successes of the students in the program.

(click on photo to enlarge)

Then, on Sunday we went to the Bengal's game with James and Jamon, two boys that Scott mentors (which is part of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative).  We had a great time.  The Bengal's were winning or tied the majority of the game.  Then they lost in the last few minutes.  I went home after that, but Scott took the boy's home and then went to the Red's game.  They also lost, but we are still excited they made it to the playoffs.  I know Scott is going to be tired today!

I hope you all had a fun weekend too!  

 

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A "Hope you're feeling better" Card...

 Hello!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  Ours was super busy, but I'll let you know all about it in a separate post.  Fall break is over for the kids and we are back to the normal routine.  I love routine.  I am such a creature of habit.

Anyway, the card I made today uses this week's CPS sketch.  I love simple, so I immediately wanted to give this a try.  After I figured out what papers I wanted to use, I then had to figure out how to cut a perfect curve.  I thought about using my oval nesties, but the largest one wasn't large enough.  Then I remembered my Coluzzle.  It worked like a charm.  You don't hear much about Coluzzle's these days.  If you don't know, a Coluzzle is a circle and oval cutting device that SU sold before they came out with their new circle cutter.

Now that I look at my card, I'm realizing that I could have done this a much easier way.  I should have just cut a kraft oval, glued it to the card and then trimmed off the sides.  Oh well, next time.  The center panel is cork and I created a wavy banner for my sentiment.  I love that 3D effect.

Thanks so much for visiting!!!  Have a great day!

{hope you are feeling better}

Stamps: Everyday Button Bits (Papertrey Ink)

Card Stock: Kraft, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink) 

Patterned Paper: Apple Cider (Imaginisce)

Ink: Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink), Chestnut Roan (Colorbox)

Accessories: Cork, Red Rhinestones (Kaiser Craft), Heart Punches (Paper Shapers), Foam Dimensionals, Coluzzle

 

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OCC Challenge - Sketch Challenge

Hello!  Happy weekend to you!!!  I'm here to share my card sample for this week's Our Creative Corner challenge.  This week we have a sketch challenge.  The papers I used come from the Hippy Girl paper pad from Kaiser Craft.  I think I've used all the patterns at least once, except for those big flowers you see in today's card.  The pattern is so big, bold, and bright that it needs to be the center of attention.  This sketch was perfect for that paper.  

The scallops are also part of the Hippy Girl paper pad.  There is a whole page of border die cuts.  The stamp is from the American Crafts stamp set called Enjoy.  I just realized that I used that same stamp on last week's OCC card as well.  I hope you don't mind, but it just goes to show how much I like that set.

I hope you get some crafty time in this week and can play along with us.  Don't miss the other samples using this sketch from the design team at Our Creative Corner.  Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

{Enjoy the Journey}

Stamps: Enjoy (American Crafts)

Card Stock: Kraft (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Hippy Girl (Kaiser Craft)

Ink: Blue Lagoon, Lipstick Red (Colorbox)

Accessories: Curly Label Punch (SU), Circle Punch (Paper Shapers), Embroidery Floss (DMC), Foam Dimensionals, Orange Rhinestones (Kaiser Craft)

  

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A "Happy Halloween" Card...

Hello! I have another card to share with you using the new SOTM, Beware from Clear & Simple Stamps.  This was actually the very first card I made with this set, that's when I fell in love.  I think I'm a very picky stamper.  I don't like cutesy or whimsical stamps, and that's the thing I love about CSS.  They have a lot of clean and simple images that are timeless.

This card was so quick and easy to make.  I started with a Perfect Little Black Dress card stock base.  Then I took a slightly smaller piece of You're a Natural Darling card stock, applied a Tim Holtz spider web mask, sponged Perfect Little Black Dress ink over the entire piece.  I peeled off the mask (squealed a little bit at how cool it looked, it was my first Tim Holtz mask experience), then stamped the bat.  I applied that layer to the black card base using foam dimensionals.  I stamped "Happy Halloween" on a thin strip of Orange You Fabulous card stock and Love, love, love that font!!! I applied that to the spider web panel using foam dimensionals as well.  Then I stamped another bat onto You're a Natural Darling card stock, cut it out using scissors, leaving a thin border, then I applied it to the sentiment panel using, you guessed it, foam dimensionals.

I hope you enjoyed today's card as much as I did.  Have a great weekend!!!

{Happy Halloween}

Stamps: Beware (Clear & Simple Stamps)

Card Stock: You're a Natural Darling, Perfect Little Black Dress, Orange You Fabulous

Ink: Perfect Little Black Dress

Accessories: Spider Web Mask (Tim Holtz), Foam Dimensionals, Stampin' Sponge

 

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Paper Maniac Thursday - Celebrate!

Hey there!  It's Paper Maniac Thursday here on my blog.  I don't make very many cards for kids, but these stickers from SRM Press were just begging to be put to use on a kid's card.   Although this card could be used for a grown up, children love bright colors.

I started with a kraft card base and then I pulled some scraps from the Kaiser Craft paper pad, Hippy Girl.  I adhered a strip of pink patterned paper to some black card stock and then distressed the edges.  I wrapped a piece of Green Apple ribbon around that panel and then used foam dimensionals to apply that panel to the card.  I choose three fun stickers and stuck those to some orange patterned paper and then punched them out with a square punch.  Those are also applied with foam dimensionals.

Then I applied the celebrate sticker to the card and rounded the edges.  As a finishing touch, I applied some red rhinestones to the sentiment and to the cherry on the cupcake.

Hope you enjoyed today's card.  Have a great day!

{Celebrate}

Card Stock: Kraft, True Black (Papertrey Ink) 

Patterned Paper: Hippy Girl (Kaiser Craft)

Ink: Charcoal (Colorbox)

Accessories: Happy Stickers (SRM Press), Red Rhinestones (Kaiser Craft), Paper Distresser, Green Apple Ribbon, Square Punch (SU), Foam Dimensionals

 

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A "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" Card...

Hey guys!  You all know how much I love taking photos of my cards outside.  I love the natural light and I usually don't have to edit them, besides cropping.  I especially love when our tire swing is in the background.  Go back and look, there are a ton of photos with our tire swing in them.  Anyway, I finally got tired of my cards blowing away/over and me freezing my tail off.   So, until Spring comes, I'll be taking photos inside.  I did this last year as well but have learned a lot since then.  These are the first photos I've taken with my new set-up.  They are still not where I would like them (see how the left side is darker-Ugh!), but they are good enough to share.

Okay, onto my card.  I recently ordered most of my supplies for this year's Christmas cards.  In addition to a new stamp set and card stock, I ordered the Spiral Notebook Page Die.  To make my notebook page look more realistic, I used some Basics Manila paper from Basic Grey that had a notebook design on it.

I will admit that these colors are not traditional Christmas colors.  The patterned paper comes from the Kaiser Craft paper pad 'Tis the Season. The newspaper has some holiday writing and pictures on it and the rust colored rectangle is the sheet music for "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" which is why I picked that particular sentiment to go on the notebook page.

This card sorta has an Old World, rustic feel to it.  I think I like it.

 Thanks so much for dropping by today!

{We Wish You a Merry Christmas}

Stamps: Signature Christmas (Papertrey Ink)

Card Stock: Kraft (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: 'Tis the Season (Kaiser Craft), Basics Manila (Basic Grey) 

Ink: Dark Brown, Chestnut Roan (Colorbox)

Accessories: Spiral Notebook Page Die (Papertrey Ink), Geneva Brads (Bazzill), Sheer Ribbon (Offray), Foam Dimesionals

 

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An "I'm So Grateful for You" Card...

Hello friends!  I'm back with a card to share. I made this card for the Embellish Magazine Challenge, which was to use yellow, gray, black and white and also to create a background.  I was a little ambitious with my background.  I was pulling out all my colors and I was going to use a piece of black and white striped paper.  I thought it would be nice if I could stamp text onto it, but black ink wouldn't work and neither would white.  So, I thought I would create my own stripes in yellow and gray and stamp black text on them.  

To simplify this process, I trimmed a piece of computer paper to 4" x 4" and this is what I glued all the stripes to.  Each strip is 1/2" x 4".  I was thinking a short-cut would be to cut a square of yellow paper and then add the gray stripes, but this wouldn't work if you are stamping your background stamp over it.  KWIM? 

Once I was finished with the square of stripes, I inked all the edges with black ink.  The oval is white and then I sponged the inside yellow using the nestie as a stencil.  I've learned that it is really hard to sponge with chalk ink (like the colorbox ones I've been using lately).  When I sponged the yellow, I was pretty much rubbing the sponge in circles onto the card stock.

I think this turned out pretty elegant, but that is a very elegant color combo.  Hope you are having a great day!

{I'm so Grateful for You}

Stamps: Signature Greetings, Text Style (Papertrey Ink)

Card Stock: Going Gray (SU), Lemon Tart, True Black, SS White (Papertrey Ink) 

Ink: Citrus Yellow, Charcoal (Colorbox)

Accessories: Oval & Labels 9 Nesties (Spellbinders), Stampin' Sponge, Foam Dimensionals, Silver Pearls (Michaels)

  

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Clear & Simple Stamps - App Sneak Peek

Hello!  Just a quick post to let you know that one of my projects is featured today on theClear & Simple Stamps App.  You can see a sneak peek below.  This is a fun Halloween  project created exclusively for the APP and you won't see it anywhere else.  If you haven't downloaded the APP, you can click here to do it.

I'll be back in a little bit with another something to share.  Not sure what I'm in the mood to make today.  I have a list of all kinds of creative things I want to try.  Maybe today is the day!

See you soon!

 

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A "Thank You" Card...

Hello there!  It is so cold and dreary here, I thought I would make a brightly colored card to cheer me up a bit.  The kids are on Fall Break this week and we have so much fun stuff planned along with some crafty projects (if I can find the right materials).

This card uses the Mojo Monday sketch.    I pretty much stuck to the sketch, but still taking a few liberties.  Those colorful papers come from the Echo Park collection Life is Good.  I love how all the papers coordinate so it really takes the thinking part out of it, which is great on a Monday morning.

I've been using floss a lot lately instead of ribbon.  I find it a lot less bulky when making cards you are going to mail.  Also the bow wouldn't get flattened either.

Hope you are having a good Monday!!!

{Thank You}

Stamps: Communiqué Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)

Card Stock: Chocolate Chip (SU)

Patterned Paper: Life is Good (Echo Park)

Ink: Chestnut Roan, Blue Lagoon (Colorbox)

Accessories: Heart Punches (Paper Shapers), Embroidery Floss (DMC), Pink Rhinestones (Michaels), Foam Dimensionals

 

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Deal on Adhesive...

Hey guys!  I shared the other day that I'm a coupon junkie.  I also shared a while ago in one of my Frugal Friday posts that I really love this brand of adhesive because it is inexpensive and it works just as well as the expensive Tombow brand.  Well, I found a $1 off 2 Elmer's CraftBond Glues.  I noticed that they even have Glue Dots (called Glue Spots).  I'll be stocking up on adhesive this month.  Make sure you print 2.  I buy these at Walmart and it's $2.50 for a pack of 2 refills.  So, I'll be getting 2 packs (4 refills) for $4.  That's $1 per refill!

Have a great day!

 

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OCC Challenge - Fall Color Challenge

Hi there!  Welcome to another Our Creative Corner challenge.  I'm so glad you stopped by today.  This week we have a fall color challenge.  You can see the colors to the left.  You don't have to use those exact colors, anything close will do.  

I will be totally honest and tell you that I was really short on time making this.  I really can't believe it only took me about 20 minutes to make, and that's really all the time I had.  When I started pulling out the colors I came across the negative Top Note Die space from this card I made last week. So, I used that patterned layer for my vanilla and brown colors.  The card base is Ripe Avocado, the embossed center is Terracotta Tile, and the sentiment layer is More Mustard.

The bird I stamped looked a little awkward floating is space, so I grounded it by extending the lines on the sentiment to create a branch for it to perch on.  I just used a pencil and ruler.

I hope you have time to play along with us this week.  You won't want to miss the other creations from the Design Team at Our Creative Corner.

Have a great day!

{Enjoy the Journey}

Stamps: Enjoy (American Crafts)

Card Stock: Terracotta Tile, Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink), More Mustard (SU)

Patterned Paper:  Basics Manila (Basic Grey)

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive (SU)

Accessories: Top Note Sizzix Die (SU), Stampin' Sponge (SU), Foam Dimensionals, Clear Rhinestone (Michaels), Birds & Swirls Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Circle Punch (SU)

  

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Clear & Simple Stamps - October 2010 Release

Hello!  It's the first day of October and that means a new SOTM from Clear & Simple Stamps!!!  This month's SOTM is called Beware and is a Halloween themes set.  I had so much fun creating with this set and am so thankful that I can finally share my projects with you.  This is such a great set for creating your own patterned paper since most of the images come in a large and small size.  Don't you just love the fonts?  Especially like the larger "Happy Halloween" font.  So cool!

Beware

Use discount code CSS1010 for $1 off!!!

Here's a super clean and simple card I made using the jack-o-lantern faces and "trick -or- treat" sentiment.  

I used some white buttons that had a raised border, sponged them orange and then heat set them.  Voilà , orange buttons!  I stamped the jack-o-lantern faces onto Orange You Fabulous card stock using Perfect Little Black Dress ink and then punched them out using a small circle punch.  I adhered the little faces to the buttons using glue dots.  I used a masking technique for the sky background.  I cut a rectangle out of scrap paper and used the hollow rectangle as a stencil to sponge a blue sky.

I cut a one inch strip of Glamazon Green card stock and used scissors to create a grass effect.  After I trimmed the grass, I used my finger to make the grass stick out a bit and I also trimmed some of the grass at an angle to make a look a bit more like grass.  The buttons were adhered to the card using glue dots.  I also added tiny slivers of green and brown for stems and leaves.

The new color, Creamsicle Cardigan, is also available today in card stock, ribbon, ink, re-inkers and buttons as well as the Copic Trio Bundle (pictured below).

Thanks so much for listening to me gush over how much I love this set.  It's perfect for Halloween cards, treats, tags, tricks, etc.  I'm looking forward to sharing the rest of my projects with you.

Have a great day!

{Trick-or-Treat}

Stamps: Beware (Clear & Simple Stamps)

Card Stock: A Blanc Check, Glamazon Green, Orange You Fabulous, Espresso Your Style

Ink: Perfect Little Black Dress, Bashful Blue (SU), Pumpkin Pie (SU)

Accessories: White Buttons, Glue Dots, Scissors, Stampin' Sponge

 

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