Halloween Treats

As a crafter do you ever feel like you're celebrating holidays a little early?  I was making Halloween cards during the summer and Christmas cards in the fall.  I feel like my internal holiday calendar is off!

Well, I thought it would be fun to make some Halloween treats in October.  What a novel idea!

I made a little care package for my brother.  This was the little bag:

And here's what was inside the bag:

 Ghost suckers inspired by this pin from Pinterest.  I didn't have time to run to the fabric store, so I went with what I had on hand -- white tissue paper.

Zombie sugar cookies.

 Chocolate chip cookies.  Not super festive, but they are his favorite so I had to include them.

 And chocolate covered pretzels dressed up to look like a witch's broom.  This was inspired by something I saw in one of the SU catalogs.  They used black licorice but no one I know likes it, so I had to get creative.

Well, that's it for Halloween treats!  Thanks for stopping by.

Play Date Cafe 154

Hi all!  I hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Today I wanted to share a few cards I created for the Play Date Cafe Challenge 154.  Here are this week's yummy colors:

I sat down to create something for this challenge and all my creative mojo disappeared.  Don't you just hate when that happens!?!?  So I pulled out some ink and white cardstock and just started playing with my stamps.  Before I knew it, I was having such a good time that I had put together FIVE cards!  I hope you'll stick with me as I introduce them!

Card 1:

I stamped an image from the American Crafts Majestic collection in SU Cherry Cobbler, PTI Enchanted Evening , and PTI Plum Pudding.  I finished the card by adding a sentiment from TPC Greetings stamp set.

Card 2:

I stamped an image and sentiment from PTI's Heart to Heart 3 in PTI's Scarlet Jewel, Enchanted Evening, and Plum Pudding.

Card 3:

I adhered three strips of cardstock to a scrap paper and punched half of a label out of the side.  I added heat embossed  flowers from SU's  Simply Soft stamp set and a sentiment from Fiskars Grateful stamp set.

Card 4:

I used Salty Ocean Distress Ink to watercolor a background, and added an image from SU's Simply Soft stamp set.  I heat embossed a sentiment from TPC Greetings stamp set on a strip of purple cardstock.  I adhered both to a white card base to finish off the card.

Card 5:

I used PTI Chevron Background basics and Salty Ocean Distress Ink, Crushed Concord Distress Ink, and SU's Rose Red Ink.  The sentiment is from PTI's We Go Together set.

Did you make it through all five?

If you'd like to play along, there's still some time.  Be sure to check out the Play Date Cafe for more info on this week's challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!

Man, what hectic week! Things have been rough around here as we all took turns with the stomach flu.

I did manage to find a little time to makes few cards. Sorry for the poor photo quality, I am trying to post from the iPad.

Anyhow, I just got this new set of Ali Edwards stamps from Technique Tuesday.  I absolutely LOVE all the sentiments and wanted to showcase them.  So I made a single layer CAS card.  I attached a little bakers twine to finish off the card.  It was such a quick and easy card to make.

Well, that's it from me tonight.  Have a wonderful weekend!

It's Christmastime

Well, almost.  It seems like retailers are pushing Christmas on us earlier and earlier.  Hubs and I were out shopping this weekend (I have to say I am the most blessed woman in the world because my husband is the BEST shopping buddy, and he doesn't watch football!!!) and we were surprised to see that Kohl's already had their holiday decorations up!  I'm serious!  Now I'm used to walking into a craft store and finding Christmas stuff this time of year, but Kohl's?!?!

Well, I am choosing to embrace the holidays and I am working, all-engines-go on my Christmas cards.  Here's a few I've put together lately.

ACAD Watercolor Challenge

Hi all,

Just stopping in with two cards I made for the Card a Day watercolor challenge.  Say hi to my cards:

I created the square background on the card by watercoloring with Dusty Concord Distress Ink and a square Sizzix Framlit die.  I stamped my image in the center of square with the same ink and spritzed it with a little water so the image would soften and feather to give it that "fading memory" look.

To add a little interest to the simply white background, I splattered a little of the same ink off of a very wet paint brush.

Once everything was dry, I stamped my sentiment, attached some twine, and added a little bling.

For this card I heat embossed my jar and ornament stamps onto a piece of white cardstock and watercolored the images.  Once the image was completely dry, (I was to impatient to wait, so I used my heat gun to help speed things along) I cut out the jar and attached it to my card base.

Well, that's all for me and the watercolor challenge.  I hope that you have time to play along!

ACAD Use Your Stash Challenge

Wow, did Friday come back around super fast this week, or is it just me?!?!

Last Friday Dorothy challenged the Card a Day blog group to make a card using  two items that have been in their stash for at least six months.  Here's my card:

All the DP I used on this card has been in my stash since before I even had a stash!  I somehow inherited a stack of DCWV paper from a friend before I started cardmaking and it's been sitting around for a few years.  I used a CTMH stamp set that I purchased some time ago and have never used.  So woo-hoo for some stash busting!

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Friday Mash Up 79

Hello again!

Today I'm stopping in with my card for Friday Mashup 79.  This week's challenge was to create a card that was  either blue and green, had rectangles, or both.  I opted for both!

Play Date Cafe 152

Hello Friends.  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

I'm stopping in to share a card I created for Play Date Cafe's 152 Challenge and Papercraft Magazine's October Gallery Challenge.  The challenge was to create a card using this color pallet, black and white with a splash of plum:

This is my card:

I used my Cricut and the Sophisticated cartridge to cut the card shape and the white mat.  The spider web border was cut using the Ribbons and Rosettes cartridge.  I used TPC Studio stamps and some Hero Hues Chalk Ink in Iris to stamp my sentiment and ink the edges of the white mat.  I finished the card with a black, sparkly spider sticker.

There's still time to play along, so be sure to check out the Play Date Cafe for more details.

More Hope You Can Cling To

I am having such a good time over at Split Coast Stamper's Hope You Can Cling To, so I thought it would be the perfect first post for World Card Making Day.  

SCS has the best HYCCT challenges and there's a new one posted every morning!  Instead of posting one card each day, I've been saving them up to post two or three at a time.  That would be too much blogging for this humble blogger.

Anyhow, on to the cards...

Show Me What You're Made Of:

The challenge was to create a card that represented the essence of who you are.  I am a dreamer by nature, hence the glittery sentiment.. 

I love all things sparkly, and I like to think I bring a sparkle of joy to the lives of my family and friends.  So I added a sprinkling of rhinestones.

I am a super girly-girl, so I had to have pink on my card.

I am an uncomplicated (although my husband may respectfully disagree at times)  yet interesting  individual.  That's why I stuck with a CAS card and added a simple yet bold chevron border.

And finally, my faith is something that is very important to me.  It grounds me and gives me a firm foundation upon which I build my life.  So I anchored my focal point near the bottom of my card.

Well, I'm sure Freud could draw more parallels, but I'll stop there.  :)

Strip Please:

Courage:

Well, that's it for now.  So sorry that post ran so long. 

Happy World Card Making Day!

Hey Y'all!  Happy World Card Making Day!

I started off today with the intent of having a card making marathon, but I've been sucked into blog land, hopping from one site to another to soak in all the wonderful inspiration and to enter for all the awesome prizes!

To learn more about World Card Making Day be sure to visit the official site here.  There's challenges and prizes and stuff, so really, go check it out!

So just a heads up, I will be posting multiple times today for various challenges and such.  But the main chunk of my card photos will be over on my Tumblr site.  It's quicker (and less wordy) for me to post my photos there!

Anyway, Happy World Card Making Day however you may be celebrating it!

Hope You Can Cling To Catch Up

Happy Friday!

Just stopping in to share some of the cards I've made in an attempt to catch up with the Hope You Can Cling To Challenges.  So here we go...

Show Off Your Cupcakes Challenge:

I made this card using this sketch by Two Peas.  I got a little carried away with the heart-punched washi tape, but it gives the card some movement.

Rays of Hope Challenge:

The challenge was to create a card in gray with a touch of color.  I took the challenge literally and created a card with rays of sunshine. 

The HYCCT Challenge runs for the entire month of October so there's still plenty of time to play along! 

Retro Sketch 31

I'm back with a second post for today.

I just wanted to share the card I made for the Retro Sketch 31 Challenge.  Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

I was going through my stash and I happened upon this black and white damask paper we used for our wedding.  So I thought it would be perfect to make a wedding card.  I added a little black tulle (I couldn't get a good photo of it) to add some texture and three red hearts to draw the eye upward.

Well, that's it  for now.  Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Paper Players 115

Happy Thursday!  

I'm stopping in to share the card I made for Paper Player's Challenge 115.  This week's challenge is a tic tac toe challenge.

I decided to go with right hand column, ribbon, yellow and gray, and Birthday.  Here's my card:

I had the yellow and gray gingham on my desk so the card just fell together.  I love when that happens! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Five Words

Evening all!

I'm popping in with a quick post for the Hope You Can Cling To (HYCCT) Challenge that's going on this month at Split Coast Stampers.  If you're new to the HYCCT Challenge be sure to swing by Split Coast Stampers and read all about it here or click on the way cute blinky they created below.

Any how, today's challenge was to create a card using five words.  I got a little overzealous and ended up with six words.  I hope the challenge police don't arrest me :)  Regardless, here is my card:

I LOVE all the typography that's out there right now.  I mean, I totally swoon over a good piece of subway art.  So I decided to try to make my own version.  

I downloaded a few of my favorite fonts, chose my five six words and set to work.  I used Microsoft Word to create my "subway art" focal point.  I printed, trimmed, and attached it to a bright pink card base.  And of course I had to add a bit of bling to finish the card.

I'd love to share my font image with you if you'd like to use it for any of your HYCCT challenges or for anything else really.  Just send me an email, and I'll send an unwatermarked pdf version right over.

Well, that's it for me tonight.  Have a wonderful evening and happy crafting!

Friday Mashup 78 Card Making Challenge

Hello again.

I just wanted to share the card I created for the Friday Mashup Challenge 78.

This week's challenge was to create a card using fall leaves or twine.  Or you  can "mashup" the two challenges and create a card with fall leaves and twine.

Since this is my first time playing along, I thought I'd keep it simple and stick to just fall leaves.  So here's my card:

I stamped and fussy cut two leaves out of colored cardstock and adhered them to a warm golden tone-on-tone background.  To keep the eye moving, I used a little red and white gingham  ribbon and added a cute fall sticker from The Paper Studio as my focal point

Well, that's it from me today.  Enjoy and have a fantastic Tuesday!

A CASE a Day...

... keeps the creative blahs away!

When I get stuck for inspiration and all creativity has disappeared, I turn to my trusty Cards Pinterest board, and I CASE a card or two.  It gets me in my craft room playing with my stash, and eventually an idea will be sparked!  I will find inspiration in a long forgotten cache of DSP hiding in the bottom of my cabinet, or I'll look at a neglected stamp set in a whole new light.

With all that said, today's card is a (wouldn't you have guessed it?!?!) CASE of this card.  It came from the Bella Blvd Studio Blog.  I tried looking for the exact post featuring this card, but was unable to find it (sad face.)  They have a TON of awesome ideas other there, so be sure to check them out!

This is my CASE'd card:

Well, gotta dash!  I have a bunch (some may say too many) crafty projects lined up for me today, and I can't wait to share them with you soon!  Until then, happy crafting!