lawnscaping challenge: in with the old (part 2)

I am loving the current Lawnscaping Challenge, where we're using older Lawn Fawn products. It's great to dust off the oldies, but goodies. Here's my card:

This card is for my friend who I'm having dinner with later. I missed her birthday last week, and since next week is Thanksgiving, I thought it totally made sense to have a turkey with a party hat.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: Lawn Fawn - Turkey Day, Year Two, Year Five

lawnscaping challenge: in with the old

I've been away from my blog for some time, mostly because my computer has decided to stop working...so here's my attempt to use an iPad my sister gave me to get back into the blogging world.  Fingers crossed, hope this works!

Here's a card I made for the Lawnscaping Challenge: in with the old. I used stamps from Lawn Fawn's Year Two set.

We were asked to dust off some old supplies, so I grabbed this set and in fact used it for the first time.        

                      

This card is for a friend of mine that I used to work with.  I completely forgot his birthday, but I'm hoping this cute little turtle will make up for it.  Thanks for looking!

cas(e) this sketch #135

I made this card after having a wonderful conversation over dinner with one of my closest friends.  It was one of those convos that gave me a push, a spark, and some motivation to live a better life.  Here's the card...

...which I'm submitting to CAS(E) this Sketch, where we used this sketch as our inspiration.

Thank you for taking a look!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mama Elephant - True Friend, Up & Away
Dies: Mama Elephant - Up & Away
Inks: Copics, Mama Elephant (buttercup, ocean) Memento (tuxedo black)

essentials by ellen july mix it up challenge: paper smooches

I had a lot of fun with this card, which I made for the Essentials by Ellen July Mix it Up Challenge with Paper Smooches.  This card is so me...It's so old school:)

For some inspiration, I was actually listening to 80s music while painting these cassette tapes.  Here are some other layouts I tried out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Paper Smooches Beboppin'
Dies: Essentials by Ellen Zipper Panel Die
Inks: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors; Ranger Archival (jet black)
Other: sequins

casology: repeat

It's been a while since I've played along with the CASology challenge, but I'm pushing myself to get back into crafting and cardmaking swing of things.  Here's a clean and simple card I made using the cue word repeat.

I stamped and masked the cassette tape several times to create a repeated image.  Then, I made the ombre effect using Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors.  There were some cassette tapes with ombre labels back in the day, right?

Thank you for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Mama Elephant (Many Thanks); Paper Smooches (Beboppin')
Inks: Kuretake Gansai Tambi water colors; Ranger Archival Ink (jet black); Versamark (onyx black)

mama elephant july challenge: rainbow

I'm back from a quick trip to California, where I got to spend a lot of quality time with my family and as a bonus, play with some of my sister's craft supplies.  Here's one of the cards I made:

I'm entering this card into Mama Elephant's July Challenge, where we're asked to create a colorful rainbow in our projects.  I hope you like it and I hope you're enjoying your summer.

Supplies:
Stamps: Mama Elephant  - Freestyle Florals
Inks: Kuretake Gansai Tambi water colors, Ranger Archival Ink (jet black), Versamark (onyx black)
Dies: Mama Elephant Creative Cuts - Hello Script

essentials by ellen: may mix it up challenge

I know that its graduation season when folks start asking me for congrats cards.  Here’s one of them.

This card is being entered into the Essentials by Ellen Mix it Up Challenge, where we paired up EBE products with Avery Elle, a stamp line that I really dig.  I had the opportunity to be on the AEI♥U Challenge team a little while ago and I must say, not only is Jamie a sweetheart, but her products are made with great detail and heart.  I was so happy to play along with this challenge.

My congrats card was made for a proud mother to give to her son on his graduation day.  She ordered a “money lei” from my Etsy shop and requested everything be in her son’s school colors: blue, silver, and black.

The money lei, inspired by Hawaiian flower leis, was made out of 100 one-dollar bills…some floral wire, ribbon, and a whole bunch of Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher staples.  I LOVE that thing!

Congrats to all the graduates out there! Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps: Avery Elle Fabulous Florals

Dies: Essential by Ellen -  Home and Hearth, Zipper Panel

Inks: Mama Elephant (ocean); Memento (tuxedo black); Wink of Stella glitter brush (silver)

Other: black glitter paper

runway inspired challenge #82

I'm playing along with the Runway Inspired Challenge.  Here's my card...

 
...and here's our inspiration.  So pretty and sparkly.

I was inspired by the bold black and gold combination as well as the blue background.

This card was made for a friend of mine to give to her sister, who is leaving NYC to move to California.  Making it kind of made me sad, but I hope the card can bring them both a bit of joy.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Stamps: Avery Elle (Fabulous Florals); Simon Says Stamp (You)
Dies: Avery Elle (Simply Said: You); WPlus9 (Spring Wreath)
Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black); gold gel pen
Other: gold sequins, glitter paper

essentials by ellen: april pin-sights challenge

Howdy!  I'm submitting this super last-minute card to the Pin-sights Challenge hosted by Essentials by Ellen.  Here's my card...

...which was inspired by this pretty mood board.

I was inspired by the color palette and the polka dots mostly.

I used the Congrats die that came with the Essential by Ellen zipper panel as well as the star dies from the Home and Hearth die set.

Fingers crossed that my card will be picked for the $50 gift card to Ellen Hutson.  I just saw the Essentials by Ellen spring release and I want everything!  Every darn thing! Ha!

Thanks for looking:)

Supplies:
Dies: Essentials by Ellen - Zipper Panel, Home and Hearth
Other: patterned paper

cas(e) this sketch #120

I've been focusing on Mother's Day cards for the past week, hoping to make a good head start so that I'm not rushing to make them at the last minute.  Here's my latest...

I used the "smooshing" technique I learned from Laura Bassen's blog, applying watercolor (in this case, distress inks) by using an acetate sheet.  

Totally love this technique...not only is it fun, but it helps me to achieve this free flowing, natural look.  I'm submitting this card to CAS(E) this Sketch, where we're using this as our inspiration.

Thank you for taking a look!

Supplies:

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Best Mom Ever

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Devonshire Butterfly

Inks: Tim Holtz Distress (peacock feathers, picked raspberry, squeezed lemonade)

Other: sequins

 

CASology: Ombre, Take 2

I had so much fun with the CASology's ombre theme, that I had to make another card.  I'm submitting this to CASology's challenge.  Here we go:

I was inspired by the card made by Cristina Kowalczyk a while back, and it just stuck in my memory...oh dear, as happy as I am for Cristina's success and an author (her latest book is fantastic!), I really do miss her blog.

I colored some strips of vellum with Copic markers in the same color family, embossed one of the strips with the sentiment, adhered them on the card panel, and added a few sequins.

My two ombre cards, side by side, all ready to go for mama's day.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Best Mom Ever
Inks: Copic markers
Other: gold embossing powder, sequins

CASology: Ombre, Take 1

After learning my lesson from Christmas and Valentine's Day (that I should start making holiday cards waaay in advance, instead of procrastinating and rushing at the last minute), I decided to get a  start on Mother's Day cards well in advance.  Here's my first of what I'm sure will be many...

I'm entering this into CASology's challenge, where I cue word is Ombre.

It's a bit busier than I had wanted, mainly because I got some gluey blemishes on my card and had to cover them up with enamel accents and flowers.

And, here's a fun little glimpse of the madness before I finished up my card.  What a fun mess!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mama Elephant Happy Everything
Dies: Mama Elephant Happy Script
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress (tumbled glass, peacock feathers)
Other: white embossing powder, flower sequins, enamel accents

cas(e) this sketch #119

I was so moved by an image I saw on Instagram by @hannexstitch, where she made the most gorgeous banner with gold letters and gold-dipped wreaths.  Just breathtaking.  So, I asked what technique she used and she directed me to Danielle Flander's tutorial on gold-dipped die cuts...I was hooked, and made this...

I die cut some flowers from colored paper, brushed some of the petals with an embossing pad, and then heat embossed the tips in gold.  Its a bit hard to see, but up close, I find it quite pretty.

I'm entering this into CAS(E) this Sketch, where we used this sketch as our inspiration.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mama Elephant Many Thanks; Paper Smooches Reflections
Dies: Paper Smooches Reflections Flowers
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black; Versamark Champagne
Other: Patterned paper, gold embossing powder, sequins

wplus9 tbt #2

I just found a challenge that's new to me, so I decided to to give it a try.  Here is my card for WPlus9's Throwback Thursday Challenge.

We were challenged to use some of our older WPlus9 stamps, so I used Written on Ribbon and Fresh Cut Florals, along with their accompanying dies.

Thank you for taking a look:)

fusion card: cupcake inspiration

It has been a while since I participated in my first Fusion Card Challenge, so I decided to give it another go…especially since it’s a cupcake inspiration challengeJ  Here is the card I made to give to my mom on her birthday.

Here is the inspiration provided by the Fusion Card Challenge.  I was drawn to the photo and started out thinking I’d make a monochromatic yellow cupcake/bunny/balloon scene, but I remembered that my mom really likes bright colors, so I added spring colors to the mix.

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps: Mama Elephant Carnival Cupcakes & Party Kit; Simon Says Stamp + Mama Elephant Summer Garden

Dies: Mama Elephant Creative Cuts: Carnival Cupcakes & Party Kit; Simon Says Stamp + Mama Elephant Summer Garden

Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Inks: peacock feathers, picked raspberry, squeezed lemonade; Versamark: onyx black

just wanted to say thank you

I had so much fun with the current CAS(E) this Sketch challenge that I decided to give it another try.  Here's my card:

I used the Simon Says Stamp Summer Garden set, designed by Mama Elephant, with the accompanying dies.  The sentiment is from Mama Elephant's Many Thanks, one of my most frequently used stamp sets.

I am entering the first card to CAS(E) this Sketch, where we are using this sketch as our inspiration:

Thank you for stopping by!  

Supplies:

Stamps: Mama Elephant Many Thanks; Simon Says Stamp + Mama Elephant Summer Garden

Dies: Simon Says Stamp + Mama Elephant Summer Garden

Inks: Gansai Tambi Watercolors, Versamark Onyx Black

Other: patterned paper, sequins

cas(e) this sketch #116

My best friend's daughter just arrived in China for an exchange program.  Before she left I made a trio of thank you card for her to take on her trip.  One thing I learned from my recent trip to the Philippines is that you should always have thank you cards on hand.  Being away from home and my comfort zone meant that I had to depend on people more than I'm used to.  I was very thankful for the family and friends who made my trip wonderful.

Here's the first card I made.  My favorite of the three...

I used the Simon Says Stamp Summer Garden set, designed by Mama Elephant, with the accompanying dies.

And my second card, using a few blingy sequins.

This is my final card.  It always feels good put scraps of patterned paper to good use:)

The whole set...The sentiments used in all three cards are from Mama Elephant's Many Thanks.  I use the set probably more than any other stamp set I own.  Thank you cards tend to be what I make the most of.

I am entering the first card to CAS(E) this Sketch, where we are using this sketch as our inspiration:

Thank you for stopping by!  

Supplies:

Stamps: Mama Elephant Many Thanks; Simon Says Stamp + Mama Elephant Summer Garden

Dies: Simon Says Stamp + Mama Elephant Summer Garden

Inks: Derwendt Inktense Pencils, Versamark Onyx Black

Other: patterned paper, sequins

treat yoself

I used one of my current favorite dies, the Treat Yoself die by Essentials by Ellen, to make this card...

The little heart embellishments are from Heart and Hearth, also from Essentials by Ellen.  And, the triangles are from a Kelly Purkey craft die I purchased from Simon Says Stamp.  I think that craft die is no longer available.

I made this card using a bunch of paper scraps that I've seemed to accumulate over time.  My goal is to use my paper in different kinds of creative projects (cards, gift wrapping, tags), not necessarily to make room for more, but rather to share what I enjoy with other people.  Pretty paper brings me lots of joy, and I'm sure it'll bring other folks joy, too.

I'm submitting this card to both the Essentials by Ellen Pin-sights Challenge and CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge.  Here is my photo inspiration and sketch.

  

Thanks for stopping by!