Clean and Simple

I seem to have been in a card making mode lately. I'm really enjoying it and since I've found the Clean and Simple blogspot that gives me awesome sketch designs, it take almost no time to have a beautifully constructed card in my hand. {I will confess...sometimes when I get a card finished, I love it so much, I want to keep it...but, Hallo! (as my adorable little granddaughter says)...I'm making them to give away!!}

This first card is for the Clean and Simple fall-to layout #100. I used their awesome sketch and had this card finished in about 10 minutes! YAY!!

I used white cardstock for the base. Cut a little off the front of the card, then punched the edge with a MS border punch. Then I added the soft teal on the bottom and scored a couple of lines on it. Tied a ribbon around the top of the card...and stamped a sentiment on the bottom of the white in a teal ink. Ahhhh...this card makes me happy!

Here's the sketch:

This second card is for the Clean and Simple fall-to layout #101. As usual, I'm a little behind in my cardmaking.

I used a soft green textured cardstock for the card base. Added a green polka dot paper backed with white and a dark orange. The sentiment is a PTI stamp. The peaches are a Flourishes stamp that I colored with my Copic markers and then cut it out. I also popped the peaches and the sentiment stamped on white on pop dots for a little dimension. The cut the shaped sentiment and background piece with Spellbinders Labels 11 dies. I love the way this came out! And here's the sketch:

I've had a little fun today. Why don't you hop over to the Clean and Simple blogspot and check out all of their great sketches...you won't be disappointed!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Leave a comment...It makes me smile! Until next time....

Hugs!

OLW14 - Square Outlines

Once again it's time for the One Layer Wednesday challenge from Simplicity by LateBlossom. The challenge this week was to make a square card and to use an outline stamp (coloring of image optional). YAY! An easy one! I used a Hero Arts outline stamp ...and being me, I had to add a little coloring. I strayed away from white paper this week. Don't know why, it just seemed like the thing to do.

This card is a 4.25 x 4.25 card. I stamped the image in a cocoa brown (Memento ink)a little off the edge of the card, and then lightly highlighted the lines with a matching color. This card is actually pink, but for some reason it photographs with an orange tint. Oh, well...use your imagination...it's really pink. LOL

I decided to give it another try, using a bigger card. This card is 6 x 6. Of course, since I made it so big, now I'll have to make an envelope for it, or maybe I'll just hand deliver it. Same process for this card, only I stamped the image several times.

I really enjoyed these cards. I might just have to make a few more. Now that I think about it, they would make a great gift set.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Until next time.....

Hugs!

Creative Scrappers - Reveal #114

It's time once again for another sketch reveal from Creative Scrappers. Today is sketch #114. Here's my take:

I used Basic Grey's Urban Prairie collection. The oval tag was cut with a spellbinder die. The swirl was cut with a Quickutz die. The glass bubble embellies are Prima's that seem to match perfectly. The journaling was added in strips on the top. The bracket is from some chipboard I had in my stash (don't know how long!) and I covered it with paper to match. Here's the sketch:

Give this sketch a try...you'll love it!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Until next time....

Hugs!

OLW - Christmas in July

The challenge this week from Susan Railhala at Simplicity was to make a one layer Christmas card. When I saw this, I thought...WOW! I can DO this!! Little did I know that I'd once again struggle to get my stamping in just the right place and Lord only knows, I ALWAYS smear the ink after I've stamped! I' m praying that my stamping skills will improve as I continue to accept these challenges. Without further ado...here's my cards...yes cards. I ended up with 3 finished cards that I "kinda" liked.

This holly card was stamped with an Inkadinkado stamp. I colored it with my Copics and added the PTI sentiment on the bottom of the card. In an effort to pull the images together for a finished look, I added double lines about 1/2 inch inside the edges of the card, stopping an starting without drawing through the stamped images.

The sentiment on this card is also from PTI. The three wise men are an Inkadinkado stamp, (I think). Once again I added the black line 1/2 inch inside the edges of the card. The star was an afterthought, and I probably should have left it off. I believe it's a Stampin Up stamp. I added a little color to my three wise men with my copic markers.

This last card was my original idea when I was thinking about what I'd do. Let's see, I believe I re-did this about 5 times before I got a decent one done. I wanted to use gold embossing powder and just use the outline with the sentiment. Stamping it went just fine (after the first couple of times when I got it all off center...and YES I'm using a block with grids! I just can't stamp straight! LOL). Then I finally figured out that I needed to use a pigment ink or Stazon to use the embossing powder. Then...I thought I had it...only to find out that I didn't heat the embossing powder long enough and it fell off the card! GAAH! FINALLY, I got it heated and melted...and "almost" perfect! I still think this one was a great idea...just WAY to difficult to execute! (at least for me!)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Until next time....

Hugs!

My Happy Room

Mine....all mine! This is where I love to hang out. We decided in January that we (mostly me, my hubby wasn't as excited as I was! LOL) would give my scrapping area a makeover. Without the help of my son and one of my daughters, I don't think (I know) I would never have completed it!

We began by replacing the carpet with some laminate flooring. I LOVE it!! Now I can find things when I drop them! We also (I use the term "we" loosely here, as it was my son and daughter who did all the work!), painted the walls a very soft blue. This is actually the only room in my house that doesn't have white walls...I know...borrrrringgg!!!

I purchased the furniture from a local store and it took SIX weeks for it to get to me. The waiting was awful! THEN when I finally got it, I realized that the shelf units that I ordered were 15" deep shelves...but what I got was 11 3/4" deep shelves. Well, I've been back and forth with the furniture store, and "supposedly" he has someone making me new ones. Well, Hello! He's already tried that one time and the results were less than perfect...and I sent them back and kept the original shelves.

This is the view from the door of the room. If you can see the storage boxes on the shelves, that's where I've put my stamps, embellishments, loose ribbons, thickers, inks, etc. I found these great boxes at Tuesday Morning. They come in different sizes and they work perfectly for me! I also added a couple of wicker baskets on the shelves on the left, and a wicker drawer unit (next to the blue chair)to the room for storage.

This is the view from the back right corner of the room.

The table was a Walmart find...just $127...and it was PERFECT to go with my other furniture. I decided to use the stackable containers under the table (something I already had) for my paper scraps...then they are right there when I need just a scrap of something!

Closet storage...

Organizing was something that took a while. I bought over the door storage racks and had my husband help secure them to the door...and let me tell you...this was the PERFECT solution for all my punches! Of course, now I'm out of room and so I can't buy any more punches...(yeah..that's gonna happen). I also put a metal shelving unit in the closet to hold some of my completed albums, photos...and of course, my "real work" files and folders. Yeah, I have to use this room for real work too!

Just another view from the closet end of the room. There is an "entertainment" center on the right hand wall that houses all my cutting tools - Cuttlebug and Revolution. The Silhouette sits on my desk, since it has to connect to the computer.

Until next time....

Hugs!

OLW Challenge - Watercolors

Each week when I log on to check out the new OLW challenge from Susan Railhala Simplicity blog, I tell myself...it's got to be easier this week! Wrong again. I struggled with this week's challenge to make a one layer card using watercolors. A can't say that I've ever used watercolors much and so I've probably messed-up made ten cards trying to get a card that I'm happy with. Maybe it's because I'm such a clean and linear scrapper/cardmaker, and watercolors tend to be a little messier than just plain stamping.

This first card is the final effort at watercolors. I ended up stamping on watercolor paper (...had to do a little shopping for watercolor paper first!) I used a Stampin Up stamp that I've had for years. Love the stamp, but I'm not sure I'm totally happy with the watercolor painting I did. Oh, well...someone will appreciate it, I'm sure!

This second card was one of my earlier attempts (before I bought the watercolor paper). I painted on a Stampin Up stamp with some old watercolor paints that I have...then misted it with a little water before stamping. That slick cardstock just doesn't absorb as well as the watercolor paper. I decided I "kind of" liked the result, so I got my sentiment out to stamp on the card...and darn it!...I stamped the thing crooked!! Drat! Anyway, I kind of liked this one too, but I think I like the other one better.

Which do you like better?

That's it for today...thanks Susan for another "challenging" challenge! (say that three times fast!)

Until next time....

Hugs!

Playing with Bella Blvd

I had a busy weekend, but I still managed to get two layouts finished with some Bella Blvd papers I purchased a while back. I spent all Sunday afternoon in my scraproom, just playing and creating...Lovin every minute of it!

This layout was created with the Bella Blvd Flirty Collection and is a photo of my granddaughter, Helen Grace. She can be a real handful sometimes, but she's just so darn cute, she steals my heart! We all went to the park one afternoon to play. The boys can sometimes be a little mean to her...but she's tough, and she doesn't put up with flak from those two. This is definitely her "I mean business" look! I get a good laugh every time she does it!

This layout was created with papers from the Bella Blvd All Inclusive collection. This photo was taken that same day right before we decided to head home. All three of them had been running and playing non-stop for a couple of hours. This was one of the few quiet moments during our park visit. I love days like this!

I used the Bella Blvd Man of the House collection on this layout I did for Creative Scrappers sketch #110. I also used Bella Blvd All Inclusive Collection papers for this layout I did for Creative Scrappers sketch #108.

Thanks so much for stopping by...Until next time...

Hugs!

Creative Scrappers Reveal #112

Today is reveal day at Creative Scrappers. This is sketch #112. This is photos of Allen and Helen Grace on the first day of school. Okay, so he's in Pre-K 4 and she's in Pre-K 3, but it's still the first day of school for them. Just take a look at those backpacks...LOL! Almost as big as they are! A lot of thought goes into picking out the perfect backpack! I used lots of bright colors and did a little stitching around the photos.

Here's the sketch:

Now it's your turn to give it a try! Thanks so much for stopping by....Until next time...

Hugs!

Color Throwdown #100

These are the colors for the Color Throwdown #100. When I first saw the colors, I wasn't sure I could actually do anything with them....but WHOA!!! These colors are fantastic together!

I pulled cardstock, patterned paper, and ribbons just trying to find the perfect combination for this challenge. This is what I finally came up with. The pink heart paper is Basic Grey, then I added the green, blue, pink and red cardstock. I cut the scalloped circles with Spellbinder dies, and then added a blue circle between the two. The large mat is pop dotted on the green background. I punched two scalloped borders with the pink and blue, layered them and then added the tiny red strip. I also added a little doodling with a white Signo pen. At the peak of each scallop, I added a tiny red bling. The Sentiment is from PTI. I tied a little bow with some large blue rick-rack, and then pop dotted the circles on top of the scalloped strips.

I'm not sure why the blue looks so bright, but it's really a much softer blue IRL.

It's a girly card....but I'm sure I can find a sweet girl to send it to! Thanks so much for stopping by....Until next time....

Hugs!

CAS-tastic Challenge

I thought I'd play along with another challenge...at the CAS-tastic Wednesday Challenge. The challenge today was to make a clean and simple card using Kraft paper. Here's my take:

I used Kraft cardstock for the base of the card. Then added a scalloped punched edge with the Fiskar's apron punch. The white ribbon is a sheer ribbon with just a touch of sparkle. The cherry blossoms are a stamp from Flourishes that I colored with my Copic markers. I cut the flowers out with the Spellbinders Labels 10 nesting dies. I just love that nestability! I added a few pearls to the scalloped edges of the die cut, then stamped the word "Celebrate" with white ink. It didn't show up very well, so I had to trace over it with my Signo white pen. And so it's ready to be mailed to someone special!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day...and until next time...

Hugs!

One Layer Wednesday - Funny

The One Layer Challenge this past Wednesday from Susan Raihala's blog Simplicity was to create a "funny" card. After a thorough search of my stamps, I realized that I don't have a stamp that could be considered funny. So what's a girl to do? Go shopping, of course! Since I really didn't have the time to go to a store (that pesky working for a living sometimes gets in the way of my creativity! LOL!), I did the next best thing and searched for a digitial stamp that I could use for a funny card...and I found this - Two Ladies with Purses from River City Rubber Works.
Here's the end result.

I placed the image in a Word document then added the sentiment with a text box...printed it on my cardstock, and then colored it with my Copic markers. I thought this would make a great birthday card for my good friend, Polly. We've been friends for over 25 years...and we've been through quite a bit together...and of course, most of it was her fault! LOL!! On the inside of the card, the sentiment is:....and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Hope you get a chuckle from my card. Until next time....

Hugs!

More Card Challenges!

Okay...so I'm completely addicted to some of the new card challenges I've found. I seem to have lost my scrapping mojo...so, I've been spending a little more time making cards. I'm just trying to keep ahead of the game, by having LOTS of cards ready when I need them!

This first card if for the Fall-To Layout (FTL97) challenge over at Clean and Simple. The sketch was done using butterflies...and since I'm a huge fan of butterflies, of course, I had to make my card using the butterflies. My butterflies were punched with two different Martha Stewart punches. The sentiment is a Hero Arts stamp. I added a little bling to my butterflies and then pop dotted them. Then because I am notorious for adding...and adding...and adding...okay, so maybe I'm not that bad! LOL! Anyway, I decided that the edges of the card needed just a little color, so I rubbed the edges with a golden yellow ink. Finished!

This next card I made for a card challenge I found at Crazy 4 Challenges. The challenge was to use ribbon (at least 2 different ribbons...and more if you want). For this card, I made the card base from a light pink textured cardstock. I used a deep edge punch from Martha Steward for the lacy edge. Then I layered a dark brown satin ribbon with a hot pink 1/8 inch ribbon on top. The sentiment is a PTI stamp, which I stamped on white cardstock and then cut with the small oval spellbinder, and backed it with a brown cardstock also cut with a spellbinder die.

I'm definitely having fun with my cards. Who knows, maybe it will spark my scrapping mojo and I can get a few layouts finished too!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Until next time....

Hugs!