Eclectic Feels Good

It's time for another challenge at ATCAS and it is the perfect time of year for this code word:

Everyone who knows me KNOWS that I am always cold. ALWAYS. I carry a fuzzy blanket around with me everywhere I go, including to church and restaurants. It's kind of like a purse or a cell phone. It must go everywhere with me!  So, I am particularly fond of the sun and am always questioning why we live in Indiana, the most indecisive state I know when it comes to weather! lol

We have Karen joining us again this week and, as usual, she did not disappoint! I cannot wait to find out what technique she used on her beautiful sun!  Make sure you pop on over to her site to find out as well! 

I was also inspired by the challenge at TIME OUT Challenges, which was to CASE this beautiful card with a twist. 

As soon as I saw that lovely honeycomb, it reminded me of a technique I saw over on Splitcoaststampers so that is what I did for my background. You take an embossing folder and sponge ink onto it, then spritz it with water. Then place your cardstock on top of it and press it into the ink. Really easy and oh so pretty!  Here is what I came up with:

I waited for it to dry and then stamped the sentiment in black ink. I then stamped the sun from Kinda Eclectic twice, once on the panel and once on the card.  I lined up the two suns as best as I could and then popped up the front panel on Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by. Make sure to check out the rest of the cards by the design team at ATCAS! 

Stamp Sets: Kinda Eclectic, Feels Good

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Black

Tools: Chevron Embossing Folder, Sponges, Spritzer

Kinda Eclectic, Kinda in LOVE

It's time for another challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More and guess what??? ATSM is celebrating its 2nd anniversary with this challenge!  Kylie has put a ton of work into this challenge site, so make sure you stop by her blog and congratulate her on reaching her 2nd anniversary!

This week is a photo inspiration challenge, and there are so many options for this one.

Don't you just love all of those colors?  Lots to choose from here!  I also used the sketch challenge at Stampin' Celebration on my card.  It really worked well with the ideas I had in my head. 

I just got my first new catalog order today, and couldn't wait to ink up Kinda Eclectic. I'm kinda in LOVE with it already!  I honestly don't think it is going to be possible to create an ugly card with this set. I think it may even be my new Gorgeous Grunge I love it so much! :) 

That kraft panel is the new kraft paper that is thinner than our regular cardstock. It is definitely going to be a staple in my crafting from now on. It's awesome! 

Thanks for stopping by. Make sure to hop on over to ATSM to see what the rest of the design team has created for us!

Stamp Set: Kinda Eclectic

Cardstock: Kraft, Hello Honey, Whisper White

Ink: Hello Honey, Mossy Mellow, Real Red, Pacific Point

Tools: Circles Collection Framelits, Bitty Butterfly Punch

Accessories: Dimensionals 

The Stamp Review Crew: Life in the Forest Edition

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there today!  Today is also another kind of special day, because it is time for another Stamp Review Crew challenge! :) This month's set, Life in the Forest, is on of my favorite sets because you can use it for so many different occasions. This time I needed a baby card, so I picked up some of the 2013-2014 In Colors to help me out.  I also used the sketch challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch.

I thought this was a really fun sketch, and perfect for popping in some of my little forest friends on Dimensionals. 

The sentiments are from the new Photopolymer set Bravo, a great addition to the catalog.  The sentiments are nice and big and can be used for a variety of occasions. I hand cut the "Congrats!" out and glued it to my panel. If Stampin' Up! ever comes out with an e-cutter, it is SOOO on my list to get immediately! :)

The braid has a funny little story that goes along with it. I have been watching Youtube videos like crazy, learning different braids for Janae's hair. Now, I am 35 and JUST NOW learning how to french braid. I've had short hair most of my life, so I never really cared to learn. But now that Janae is 10 and has hair past her shoulder blades, I decided to learn how to do some braids. I've been braiding her hair, my hair, the babysitting kids' hair...and now my ribbon and Baker's Twine. lol This is just a regular braid, I know, but I just cannot keep from braiding everything in sight. :)

Stamp Sets: Bravo, Life in the Forest
Cardstock: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White
Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Smoky Slate, Strawberry Slush, Black StazOn
Tools: Window Frames Framelits, Blender Pen
Accessories: Crisp Cantaloupe Baker's Twine, Dimensionals


Thanks for stopping by. Make sure to check out the next stop on the blog hop...the amazingly talented Dawn Tidd! Pssst...Make sure you check out the rest of her blog too...she has lots of fun projects using brand new supplies from the new catalog!

More Endless Birthday Wishes :)

I cannot get enough of this new photopolymer stamp set!  Apparently it was very popular because it sold out within days and is currently unavailable.  Don't fret though, because Stampin' Up! has informed us that they are getting in another shipment sometime soon. Make sure you order it as soon as it is available again, because once it is gone, it is GONE!

I paired it with another one of my favorite new stamp sets, Work of Art, for our latest CAS challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!  I also used the challenges at retro sketches, Seize the Birthday and The Paper Players.

My grandpa's birthday is on the 4th of July, so this was a great chance for me to knock out a card early for him. Look at me, being all AHEAD of schedule! lol 

I just love how quickly I can create a card using these two stamp sets!  The paint swooshes from Work of Art remind me of smeared frosting too. :) I added a little bit of Silver Dazzling Details to the tops of the candles to make them look more like sparklers for the 4th of July celebration. The Top Note panel is popped up on Dimensionals. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Make sure to check out the awesome cards created by the rest of our ATSM design team!

Stamp Sets: Endless Birthday Wishes, Work of Art

Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White

Ink: Black, Night of Navy, Real Red

Tools: Top Note Die

Accessories: Silver Dazzling Details, Dimensionals 

Greetings From

It's time for another challenge at Addicted to CAS and this week we have a very creative code word:

We are so lucky to have Karen joining us as Guest Designer this month. Make sure you stop by and check out her lovely card. I LOVE her work. She does some FABULOUS backgrounds! 

For my card, I decided I wanted to keep it VERY clean as simple, because the only "transport" images I have are very tiny.  I used the challenges at CAS(E) this Sketch and Colour Me...Monochromatic as well. 

I forgot how much I love creating cards that take less than ten minutes to create. This card was truly stress-free, because I didn't have to drag out a ton of supplies, I didn't make a mess, and I didn't have a lot to clean up!  

As much as I like my card in person, I hate it on the computer!  I don't know WHAT happened to my editing program, but everything has changed from what I usually do. UGH!!!  The colors here look so muddy. Sad, sad day. :( Unfortunately, I only have access to a computer for a little while each night, so it is what it is. lol 

The stripes are from Work of Art. I just love this set!  I just stamped it three times, without reinking, then did the same thing again. Then I stamped my images and sentiment with black ink and colored in the little flags on the boats with my Coastal Cabana marker. So easy!  I think I am going to CASE this card using Wild Wasabi and the little car image or bike image instead.  This would be a great card for kids to make for their birthday thank you cards!

Stamp Sets: Greetings From, Petite Pairs, Work of Art

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Black

Endless Birthday Wishes

It's Tuesday and you know what that means! It's time for another challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More! :) This week is a HOLIDAY challenge, so it is really up to you what holiday you choose!  Here in our house, the next holiday is Talan's 8th birthday, so I decided to use a few challenges at retro sketches and Stampin' Celebration to make a card for him.

I loved all of the bright colors in the Stampin' Celebration inspiration photos, so I used some of those on my card. I was also able to use my brand new Endless Wishes Birthday photopolymer stamp set for the first time!  Perfect for this occasion. :) 

I just loving having those paint splotches from Work of Art to "color" images in!  I think it is such a modern look, and so easy to do!  I couldn't help but add a few more of the polka dots down at the bottom too. :) It just felt like it needed something there. lol 

Thanks for stopping by today. Make sure you visit the other design team members at Addicted to Stamps and More! too! 

Stamp Sets: Endless Birthday Wishes, Work of Art

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Whisper White

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Black StazOn

Tools: Envelope Punch Board (corner rounder punch)

Accessories: Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon, Brights Candy Dots, Brights DSP Stack

The Stamp Review Crew: Everything Eleanor Edition

Woo hoo!  It's time for another round of The Stamp Review Crew, and I get to play this time! :) The stamp set chosen for this week is Everything Eleanor. It's one of my all-time favorite sets, for the swirlies alone, but I decided to make use of the flowers and the fun backdrop image too. :) 

The colors I chose are Wisteria Wonder, Silver and Elegant Eggplant.  The silver is hard to see in my picture, but it really shines in real life!  The flowers are stamped on Wisteria Wonder in Elegant Eggplant ink and then I fussy cut them out. I know some people hate doing this, but I just love it!  I added a few rhinestones for some bling and Ta Da! All done! :) Thanks for stopping by!  Make sure to hop on over to the fabulous blog of Yapha Mason next,  or you can find the complete blog roll at the bottom if you get lost. :) 

1. Debra Burgin  http://heartfeltinkspiration.com/2014/06/01/stamp-review-crew-everything-eleanor
2. Shana Gaff  http://stressfreestamping.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-stamp-review-crew-everything.html
3. Yapha Mason http://yaphamason.com/blog/2014/06/01/stamp-review-crew-everything-eleanor-edition/
4. Betty Traciak  http://kittystamp.blogspot.com/2014/06/stamp-review-crew-everything-eleanor.html
5. Beth Beard  http://www.mylittlecraftblog.com/2014/06/stamp-review-crew-everything-eleanor.html
6. Tanya Boser  http://tinkerin-in-ink.blogspot.com/2014/06/stamp-review-crew-everything-eleanor.html
7. Lisa Young  http://addinkandstamp.blogspot.com/2014/06/stamp-review-crew-blog-hop-everything.html
8. Cindy Beach  http://stampspaperandink.typepad.com/stamps_paper_and_ink/2014/06/stamp-review-crew-everything-eleanor-edition.html
9. Holly Krautkremer http://rubberredneck.typepad.com/rubber-redneck/2014/06/the-stamp-review-crew-everything-eleanor.html
10. Heidi Baks http://runningwscissorsstamper.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-stamp-review-crew-everything-eleanor.html
11. Wendy Weixler  http://wickedlywonderfulcreations.blogspot.com/2014/06/stamp-review-crew-everything-eleanor.html

Lovely as a Tree

It's time for another Make Your Mark challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More! and I had some fun with an oldie but goody, Lovely as a Tree. For my first card, I used the challenge at The Friday Mashup! and used embossing and a tree, as well as the tall and skinny sketch challenge at Mojo Monday.

I thought this would be a great chance to get a head start on some Father's Day cards, and I just got the perfect stamp in my My Paper Pumpkin kit to accompany Lovely as a Tree.

I started by sponging a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock with Marina Mist and Night of Navy ink. I then spritzed it with water. I'm sure you have noticed that I use this technique a lot! :) I think it ended up looking like a globe! I then embossed the tree on Very Vanilla cardstock with Early Espresso cardstock and used my Blendabilities to color the tree in, followed by some sponging with Marina Mist and Night of Navy ink. My tree kind of disappeared so I embossed it again on top of all of the coloring.

I used similar techniques on my second card, along with The Friday Mashup! challenge again, as well as the sketch challenge at The Paper Players.

This time I started with a few more colors on my background panel.  For the tree panel, I embossed the trees on Vellum and colored the back with Stampin' Write markers. I then used my two-way glue pen to glue it down to another panel that was sponged and spritzed.  I pulled it off of that panel, and it left the lighter colors on the vellum. I love how it turned out!  I think the trees pop a lot better on this one.

I hope you enjoyed my cards for our Make Your Mark challenge. Make sure you stop by the other gals' cards from ATSM and leave them some love as well!

Clockworks

Wow, this month is flying by and it is already time for another challenge at ATCAS! The design team members each take turns choosing the code words, and WOW have they been choosing some great ones. :) This week was no exception.

Darnell is continuing on as Guest Designer this month and has another great card to share with us. I always look forward to seeing what she has created!  Make sure to stop by her blog and give her some love! 

When I saw the code word, I immediately knew I wanted to do a masculine card. I used the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch!.

I had some burlap ribbon left over, so I tried something new and embossed my sentiment on the burlap. It worked beautifully with the Early Espresso Embossing Powder!

This sentiment is from the brand new Bravo photopolymer stamp set that will be available for purchase on June 2nd. I earned it as an incentive and I just love it. The fonts are really large and there is a great variety of sentiments.  I thought the gears from Clockworks worked perfectly for my masculine card. After I stamped them, I sponged on Crumb Cake ink with a sponge dauber.  The edges are also textured with the texturing tool, so there is another use of the code word!

Thanks for stopping by. Make sure to check out the card by the rest of the design team!

Stamp Sets: Bravo, Clockworks
Cardstock: Crumb Cake
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Tools: Texturing Tool, Sponge Dauber
Accessories: Burlap Ribbon

In This Together

It's time for an ANYTHING GOES challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More! This worked out to be the perfect challenge for me because I have been in Indy working with Brett for the past five days, so I had to take limited supplies with me. I did have some time to make a few cards though, so that's good!  I was afraid I wouldn't have time and would have to find a back up card that I had already made when I got home. Nope! :)

This was actually a panel I colored as soon as I got my Blendabilities, so it's before I had a lot of practice. :) I still really like it though!  I wasn't sure if it would work to color in a background very well, but it worked okay!  I like how it looks kind of watercolored. I wanted to keep the rest of the card simple since there is so much going on in the panel , so I just added the chevrons from Work of Art and the lovely new Blackberry Bliss Stitched Satin ribbon and Ta Da! :)

Thanks for stopping by. Make sure to stop by the ATSM page and visit all the other ladies!

Stamp Sets: In this Together, Work of Art
Cardstock: Coastal Cabana, Whisper White
Ink: Blendabilities (Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Skin Tones, Coastal Cabana, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Blackberry Bliss Stitched Satin Ribbon, Dimensionals

For the Birds

It's time for a photo challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!

It's a beautiful photo, but I was absolutely stumped this week!  Does that ever happen to you?  I hate it when I get a creative block! I decided to go with the colors and use pink and brown. I also threw in a little birdie stamp for good measure. :)  I used the sketch at retro sketches to give me a little additional help.  

This was a fun sketch, but for my card it just looked off in the center, so I moved the rectangles to the right of my card. 

The rectangles are sponged with Pink Pirouette and Crumb Cake ink. I then spritzed some water over it, dried it with my heat tool and stamped the birdie image. The top panel is adhere just with a tape adhesive, the middle panel has on layer of Dimensionals and the bottom panel has to layers thick of dimensionals. 

Hope you enjoyed my card. Make sure to stop by the ATSM blog for tons more inspiration!

Stamp Set: For the Birds

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White

Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette, Primrose Petals

Tools: Mosaic Embossing Folder, spritzer, sponges

Accessories: Dimensionals

Introducing...Blendabilities!!!

I am SOOO excited about this new line of alcohol-based markers that Stampin' Up! has introduced, Blendabilities. I used them here with Secret Garden on our challenge at Addicted to CAS.

Darnell is our Guest Designer this month and she has come up with a really cute and creative card for this challenge. Make sure to stop by and give her some love!  There is also a call out for a new design team member so check out the requirements for that too! 

I'm sad that Secret Garden is retiring, but there is a set I like even more in the new catalog that is PHOTOPOLYMER!  It also has matching framelits, so it will be on my first order for sure. :)

My first two attempts at using the Blendabilities were so-so, but I was quite pleased with my third through fifth attempts, these three flowers. :) They are not difficult to use at all, and they are very forgiving. I prefer to color starting with the dark color first, then the medium, and finally the lightest color.  Stampin' Up! has made it so easy for us by packaging them in sets of three like this so you don't have to figure out which shades go together. No thinking involved!  Also, if you notice on my Rich Razzleberry flower, the center is Daffodil Delight.  I actually colored my entire flower Rich Razzleberry, then decided to go back and add the Daffodil Delight OVER it for the center. It colored over it perfectly!  Isn't that so cool?!  I thought so, considering the Rich Razzleberry was so dark!  I am easily amused though. lol

Thanks for stopping by. Make sure you check out the rest of the cards by the ATCAS design team using this awesome code word(s). :)

Stamp Sets: Happy Day, Secret Garden
Cardstock: Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight and Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities
Tools: Simply Scored Border and Borders Embossing Plate
Accessories: Dimensionals

Tag It

It's time for one of my favorite challenges that we do at Addicted to Stamps and More...CAS! Talan was invited to a birthday party on Saturday and needed a card. Of course, I had NO little boy cards. I hardly even have any boy stamps at all!  I used some inspiration at The Friday Mashup! and made my card using the colors Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie and Wild Wasabi.

I scanned my stamp sets and saw this cute little lizard from Tag It. This Ronald McDonald set is retiring soon, so this was probably my last time to use it!

I first stamped my lizard stamp and then I stamped it again on a Post-it-Note, cut it out and masked my little guy on the card so I could stamp the grunge over it. I got a little carried away and stamped more red there along the bottom that I originally wanted, but I figured it was for a 9-year-old boy who was probably going to be throwing it away, so I didn't want to waste any more cardstock (or time! lol) to redo it. How bad is that?!!!!  I decided to roll the corner and add a peek of  DSP behind it. Of course, everyone in my house thought someone ripped my card when they saw the corner like that. lol I know you crafters all know better. :)

Thanks for stopping by!  Make sure to check out all of the other beauties the ATSM design team have created for you!

Stamp Sets: Gorgeous Grunge, Off the Grid, Tag It
Cardstock: Whisper White
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Wild Wasabi
Accessories: Brights DSP Stack, Dimensionals

Flower Shop

I am anxiously waiting for my Stampin' Up! 2014-2015 preorder to arrive. In the meantime, I am having fun playing with some "toys" that haven't seen that much use this year!  I figured now is the time to play because once my Blendabilities get here, it is going to be hard for me to put them down! :)

I loved this inspiration photo from Just Add Ink and knew what supplies I wanted to use right away. I love it when that happens!  Less time thinking and more time playing!  I will also be entering my card in the color challenge at Colour Me...which is to use up to five colors of my choice.  The colors I chose to use are Gold, Pink Pirouette, Coastal Cabana and Crisp Cantaloupe.

I love the chevrons and the colors in these photos. They are so soft and gorgeous!  

I had fun layering the flowers with the Pansy and Boho Blossoms punches. I rolled the edges of each flower out with my Bone Folder to give them more dimension. I finished them off with the big pearls in the center. This is one item I will really miss since it is retiring!  

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed my card!

Stamp Sets: Feel Goods, Flower Shop, Positively Chevron

Cardstock: Gold Foil, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White

Ink: Gold Encore, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pink Pirouette
Tools: Boho Blossoms Punch, Pansy Punch, Labels Collection Framelits, Bone Folder

Accessories: Large Pearls, Doilies, Dimensionals

Happy Mother's Day

It's time for a Holiday challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!  I decided to make a Mother's Day card since I got this awesome Mother's Day photopolymer stamp with my April My Paper Pumpkin kit.  This works out for the Mom challenge at Stampin' Royalty this week. Yay! :)

I was so bummed to read that the Dynamic Duos challenge blog was closing, so I made sure to create a card using their very last color combination. I also used the sketch at The Paper Players.

I've been doing a lot of CAS cards lately, so I decided to put a little bit more work into this one.  I took a look at the tissue paper inside my MPP box and realized it was Pool Party, so I decided to start there. I stamped it in Pool Party with the floral image from So Very Grateful. I also stamped a strip of Pool Party cardstock with the same floral images and covered it with Crystal Effects. It's nearly impossible to see in the picture, but I poured Dazzling Diamonds onto the Crystal Effects and then pressed the wrinkled up tissue paper onto the cardstock. I put a strip of adhesive around the outside edges of the back of the cardstock and wrapped the tissue paper around the cardstock to complete my panel.  I wish the lighting would have been better today so you could see the sparkle underneath! 

The back panel is sponged in all three of the Dynamic Duo colors and then spritzed with some water to grunge it up a bit. This is my new favorite technique for creating my own Designer Paper!  I love how it washes away some of the color with the little spritzes.  

Thanks for stopping by. Make sure to stop by Addicted to Stamps and More! to see the rest of the cards the design team has come up with for our Holiday challenge!

Stamp Sets: So Very Grateful, Framed Love (April 2014 MPP)

Cardstock: So Saffron, Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Whisper White

Ink: So Saffron, Pool Party, Smoky Slate

Tools: Spritzer, Sponges, 5-Petal Flower Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Square Lattice Embossing Folder

Accessories: Tissue Paper, Dazzling Diamonds, Framed Love Tag, Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon, Subtles Collection Button, Rhinestones, Silver/White Baker's Twine from Card Kit

Grunge...oh yeah!

Ooh, one of my FAVORITE things in the world is happening over at Addicted to CAS for the next two weeks! Perfect timing too, since my stamping studio is now back to its normal self after our home renovations! 

Our Guest Designer this week is Anita, and she has a wonderful CAS style about ALL of her cards. You are in for a treat when you visit her blog!  

I was so inspired by the code word this week that I made two cards.  I started off making a one layer card using the fabulous colors at Just Add Ink. 

I fell in love with this color combination and thought it would be perfect for sponging and stamping all of my grunge! I struggle with one layer cards, but masking and sponging makes them easy to make. 

I started by die cutting the tag and placing it in the center of my Very Vanilla cardstock. I then sponged over the entire thing with Crumb Cake ink. I used Baked Brown Sugar ink to highlight around the outside of the tag and the card base. I then stamped all of my grunge over it.  I wanted to make sure my bicycles stayed on the tag, so I used the negative of my tag die cut and placed it over my card, then stamped the bicycles.  They are from the Photopolymer stamp set Greetings From in case you did not recognize the image!  I love these little images but always forget I have them!  I can't wait until the Photopolymers start coming in regular cases in the new catalog, since I have no printer to make my own covers!

After I finished my card I saw this color combo at Create with Connie and Mary and thought it would make for some fun grungy flowers.   I paired it with the sketch at Fusion. 

       

I also used sponging on this card. It just works so well with the grunge look, I cannot resist it! :) 

This time I die cut a square in the center of a card front and used the negative to stamp my grunges on the inside. I then sponged in the Calypso Coral, making it light in the center and darker toward the edges.  The flowers are stamped in Basic Gray on Crumb Cake and then I stamped a bunch of grunge over them.  The edges are rolled with a bone folder to make them pop out a bit. The center flower is on Dimensionals and each flower is blinged out with a Large Rhinestone. I am SOOO sad these puppies are retiring. :( I absolutely love them!  

Hope you enjoyed today's creations. Make sure you stop by the ATCAS website to see the rest of the design team's beautiful creations!

Card 1

Stamp Sets: Gorgeous Grunge, Off the Grid, Yippee Skippee, Greetings From

Cardstock: Very Vanilla

Ink: Crumb Cake, Baked Brown Sugar, Bermuda Bay

Tools: Chalk Talk Framelits, sponges

Card 2

Stamp Sets: Flower Shop, Really Good Greetings, Gorgeous Grunge, Off the Grid

Cardstock: Whisper White, Crumb Cake

Ink: Calypso Coral, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake

Tools: Pansy Punch, Square Framelits, sponge

Accessories: Large Rhinestones, Dimensionals