Easter

March is racing by and Easter is right around the corner.  This little girl (SweetStamps) in her Easter bonnet holding the adorable little bunny says it all. The image is colored using watercolor pencils. My card background and the E-A-S-T-E-R letters are kraft cardstock. The grass, egg diecuts, and ovals are all cut from Cheery Lynn Design dies.
I am entering this card in the following challenges: Cheery Lynn Designs -- Easter; Simon Says Monday Challenge -- B is for ...(bunny, bonnet); Kraft Journal -- take your pick (green, bunny, die cut, white, yellow); and SweetStamps -- anything goes.

Think Pink

It's that time of year when you get to wear your heart on your sleeve, or at least show them on your cards. Valentine's day is just around the corner. Today's card was made for a darling four year old who just happens to be my granddaughter. It's safe to publish it since she has no access to my blog or Facebook. She loves fairies and pink is her favorite color. So this card is a perfect match. The base card is white cardstock. The pink background panel is a background die. I cut the heart and embossed it with a candy hearts folder. the adorable fairy die cut uses a Cheery Lynn Designs die. The hugs and kisses stamp is from Quietfire stamps.
I am entering this card into the following challenges: Cheery Lynn Designs -- tickled pink; SweetStamps -- pink, white, and one other color; Marks Finest Papers Friends of Speedy -- die cuts or punched items; Dies R Us --hearts; Mixed Media Monthly -- think pink.

Sweetheart

Love is in the air. Doesn't this couple from Tim's found relatives look happy! I think the heart (Cheery Lynn Designs) and music background (Tim Holtz Paper Stash) emphasize the love. The sentiment (Quietfire) is framed by a stencil arrow (Tim Holtz).
I am entering this card in these challenges: Cheery Lynn Designs -- sweet hearts; SweetStamps -- heart; Simon Says Wednesday challenge -- have a heart; and A Vintage Journey -- use a portrait.

Holiday Blessings

I've had the Tim Holtz/Sizzix die of the (angel) wings sitting out for a while looking for a reason to use them. Here is a Christmas card with the wings in all their glory. Although you can't really tell from the scan, there is a lot of texture on this card. The layers of the wings are embossed vellum, suede paper, and glittered paper. The star in the background and the sentiment frame are glitter paper. The background is letterpress (Sizzix) and sprayed with distress stain spray. All of this is mounted on a textured teal cardstock base. The sentiment is stamped using a SweetStamps stamp.

My card is being entered into several challenges: SweetStamps --non-traditional Christmas colors; Simon Says Monday challenge -- anything goes; Tuesday Throwdown -- Christmas;
Stampendous --holiday happiness; The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge -- tic tac toe (diagonal - die, glitter, star); Word Art Wednesday -- anything goes; and Dies R Us -- anything goes with a die cut.

Thanks

This will be my last post today. It's been a while since I had time in my studio, so I kept working. As I look back, it seems that there were quite a few sketch challenges. This card follows the Kraft Journal sketch challenge. I used a different color palette for me -- grays and kraft/brown. My stamp is from Quietfire Designs. The background uses 2 shaded of gray and the banner is a dark shade of gray. The oval and the card base is kraft cardstock.
I am also entering this card in these challenges: City Crafter -- one word sentiment; SweetStamps -- Thanks; Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- thanks/ Thanksgiving; Marks Finest Papers Simple Salutations --at least two shades of gray.

Trick or Treat

Tomorrow (Friday) is Halloween. I thought I'd share one more Halloween card. I started with a great piece of designer paper. I pulled out several sets of Halloween stamps from Artistic Outpost. I couldn't let the holiday go by without using the dapper skeleton all dressed up in his formal finest. I wanted to mask him, but he is quite skinny and difficult to cut out. Then I remembered that I had a jar of Masking Friskit. It was the perfect answer to mask my bony friend. I used a white gel pen to highlight his bones. The haunted mansion is another of my favorite stamps, along with the colony of bats. (Yes, that's what a group of bats is called.) Halloween was stamped in orange. The 'Trick or Treat" sentiment block is a part of  a larger stamp. I stamped it and then heat embossed it and cut out the part I wanted. Halloween Kisses--my treat to you!
Since this is the week and month of Halloween, there are a number of challenges met by my Halloween card: Tuesday Throwdown -- dressed up-costume; Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge -- treats; Sweet Stamps -- Spooky; 3 Muses -- Take Fright; Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge -- anything goes; Marks Finest Papers Simple Salutations -- Boo to You; Inspiration Emporium -- In Disguise; Art With Heart -- Tricks or Treats; Artistic Outpost -- anything goes with Artistic Outpost stamps.

Happy Halloween

Please don't think me weird, but I'm in a happy place because I am making Halloween cards this year. I'm not really a Halloween fanatic, but I love the fun that surrounds this holiday. As you may recall, last year I had health issues all during the fall season. I had new Halloween stamps and dies, but could never use them. This year I'm in the fun Halloween zone.
The base card is kraft cardstock. I then used a pewter backing panel. The background is orange cardstock with spider webs die cut from the pewter cardstock. The Halloween wreath and raven are cut from dark brown cardstock. The sentiment panel is orange cardstock with the sentiment in deep purple. All of the die cuts are done with Cheery Lynn dies.

I am entering my card into these challenges: Cheery Lynn Designs -- Halloween; Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge -- falling in love...with Halloween die cuts; Kraft Journal Monday -- no pattern paper; and SweetStamps -- dies.

Birthday Rose

One always has need of birthday cards. This particular card was made with someone special in mind. Hopefully, she won't see it before I give it to her, but it's prettier in real life, so it will be ok. This week the challenge at Bloggers Challenge is birthday cards.
My background is an example of Tim Holtz's Faded Layers technique. I can't describe the process, but you can find Tim's directions in his Compendium of Curiosities book on page 58. This is the current challenge at Compendium of Curiosities 3 which, by the way is being sponsored by the Funkie Junkie Boutique.
The birthday banner is a Cheery Lynn die cut as is the border band. The rose is a Sizzix die. The bee and the letters are Sizzix/Tim Holtz dies. The stencils used are from Ranger (Dina Wakley and Tim Holtz).  The stamped rosebuds are from SweetStamps.
I am also entering my card into these challenges: Cheery Lynn Designs -- fun with letters; City Crafter -- roses; SweetStamps -- in the garden; Sweet n Sassy -- summery with die cut; Marks Finest Papers Colors challenge -- yellow, green, blue.

Dragonfly Birthday

Happy birthday to my beautiful daughter, Kerry. Enjoy your special day!

This is the card I made for Kerry. I used a print red cardstock for the cardbase. The background panel is cut from Kodomo paper. The sentiment is a Club Scrap stamp. (Inside I used a similar style stamp that says "Happiness".) The dragonfly is  the Tim Holtz layered dragonfly. I used some perfect pearls on the wings to add a little shimmer and sparkle. The red gems were added for some bling embellishment. 

I am entering this card into these challenges: SweetStamps -- bling; Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge -- Make it sparkle; MFP Simple Salutations -- oriental paper; Dies R Us -- birthday; Inspiration Journal -- everything goes; Great Inspirations -- birthday bash.

Holiday Greenery

Here I have another Christmas card to share. This one uses the current Mojo Monday challenge sketch for the layout. My background panel is dry embossed with lots of holly which I highlighted with iced spruce distress ink. The ribbon is gingham from my stash. For the circle panel I used one of my favorite Christmas dies, the wreath from Tim Holtz. The image (a partial) and sentiment are SweetStamps stamps. The bird and branch are colored using distress markers. Below the image panel is an icicle die cut from Cheery Lynn. This card called for lots of bling. The bling used here is Want2Scrap which you can get from Classy Cards 'n Such, as well as the distress ink and markers.
I am entering my card into these challenges: Mojo Monday -- sketch; SweetStamps-- Christmas greenery; Classy Cards 'n Such -- gingham; Ink on my Fingers Sunday Challenge -- Christmas/winter.

Holiday Blessings

It's a gorgeous summer day in Chicago, and here I am with another Christmas card for you. Hmmm!

I started my making a Christmas tag. I cut the tag from Core'dinations cardstock using my Tim Holtz tag die. Then I dry embossed the tag with the holly leaves and sanded the leaves. I used a Thomas Kinkade stamp for the winter scene and highlighted it with distress markers. I used Spellbinders ornament dies to cut out the two ornaments. The second ornament is stamped with a sentiment from SweetStamps. I outlined both ornaments with a gold metallic pen and cut a top for them from gold metallic paper. I added a bow to the top of the tag. I then decided to adhere my tag to a card base to make another Christmas card.

I am entering my tag/card into these challenges: SweetStamps -- Christmas tags; Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge -- emboss it; Sweet 'n Sassy --  winter scene; Cornish Heritage Farms -- Christmas in July with Thomas Kinkade.

Summer Tag

The current challenge at Frilly & Funkie challenges us to CASE one of Linda's tags from her 2013 Christmas tag challenge, but give it a summer flair. I chose the tag from Week # 6 (October 28, 2013). As you can see, I gave my tag a 4th of July theme. I started with a tag cut from kraft cardstock. I used designer paper from Graphic 45 for my background. OK, I admit that I don't sew anymore so I added faux stitching. For the top panel I stamped some fireworks (Northwoods stamps) and adhered the die cut number 4 and star. The die cut flag was adhered to the bottom of the tag. I made the bow from organza ribbon and topped it with sunshine (a small rosette stamped with the sun face (Rogue Redhead Designs). All die cuts are from Tim Holtz.
My tag is being entered into these challenges: Frilly & Funkie -- Just Case It; SweetStamps -- summer; Marks Finest Papers Colors Challenge -- red, tan/sand, blue; Addicted to CAS -- sun; Kraft Journal -- red, white, and blue; Work It Wednesday --patterned paper; Craft-Dee Bowz -- anything goes, but must have a bow.

Thanks

Different things inspire my muse. Today I used one of my favorite inspirations...new stamps. I received some new stamps from Quietfire Stamps. The "Thanks" stamp was one of them. I love the open T. On this card I used paper piecing to decorate it. My layout is based on this weeks Mojo Monday sketch challenge. My flower and leaves are SweetStamps stamps. The design paper (background and T) is from Heartfelt Creations. Although the photo doesn't show it very well, the flower is highlighted with Stickles.
I am entering my card into these challenges: SweetStamps -- anything goes; Stampin' for the weekend -- anything goes; and Mojo Monday -- sketch.

Call Him Father

My card is a CAS card honoring all fathers. I started with a teal base card. The sentiment strip across the middle is a piece of design paper from my stash. The sentiment is a stamp from Club Scrap. My focal image is from SweetStamps and is colored using distress markers.
I am entering this card in these challenges: SweetStamps -- for Dad ; Tuesday Throwdown -- special man; Word Art Wednesday -- anything goes; Marks Finest Papers Simple Salutations --Father's Day; Stampin' for the Weekend -- anything goes.

Friendship Bouquet

Today I have a card for a friend. I started with a light gray polka dot background. I decided that a Cheery Lynn doily would make the perfect frame for my bouquet. I stamped the SweetStamps bouquet on a piece of white cardstock.Then I cut it out in a circle using the out of the box technique. Distress markers were used to add color. The side ribbon holder was cut using a punch. To finish off the card I added a few bright pink buttons and a tiny tag with the sentiment "Friend".
My card is being entered into these challenges: SweetStamps -- ribbons, buttons, and bows; Ink on My Fingers Sunday Challenge -- friendship; and Word Art Wednesday -- anything goes.

Little Voice in your Head

It's a gloomy, rainy day, so I decided to play in my art journal. That always cheers me up. I have had this stencil for ages from The Crafter's Workshop. I fell in love with it, but never found a reason to use it...until now. There are several  challenges which screamed at me to use this stencil. Mixed Media Monthly published its first challenge which is spray inks. Tuesday Throwdown challenged us to show wildly colored hair. Ink on My Fingers Sunday Challenge had girls as the theme. So out came the stencil and my Dylusions spray inks to start my page. The background color came from wiping my clean up towel on the paper. The stamps are from Sweetstamps and Club Scrap.
I am also entering my page in these challenges. SweetStamps -- no design paper; Marks Finest Papers Speedy Fox and Friends -- vintage.

Perspective

I started my card off with an experiment. I decided to try distress paint marbling on a piece of kraft cardstock. The result was a very subtle background since the paint tended to soak into the kraft. However, it worked great for what came next. I then took Tim's doily stencil, laid it over my background and sprayed with Dylusions white linen spray. It really showed up well. I also added a little ink over the chevron stencil. Since the current challenge for Compendium of Curiosities III is to try Tim Holtz's glitter technique from p. 56 of his book, I die cut the frame and flowers from grungepaper and used  Tim's distress glitter. Oh yes, I also added a drop of stickles to each of the flowers. The stamped image is from SweetStamps. Distress markers were used to color the image. The sentiment stamp from Tim Holtz was die cut using a Cheery Lynn Die. Also I'd like to give a shout out to The Funkie Junkie for sponsoring the CCC3 challenge this time around.
I am also entering this card into these challenges:  Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge -- botannical; Kraft Journal -- flowers; Sweet Stamps -- anything goes; Marks Finest Papers Speedy Fox and Friends -- no designer paper; and V's Sweet Ideas challenge -- distress.

Happy Mother's Day

I think that this is a perfect challenge card to show today. It's Mother's Day and I want to wish all my friends a very Happy Mother's Day.

I used the Mojo Monday sketch as my layout. I die cut the small tag using kraft caardstock to coordinate with the kraft base card. The image is from SweetStamps and is colored using Prisma pencils. The background is design paper from my stash. The diamond panel was embossed using a Tim Holtz Sizzix folder. I highlighted the leaves with perfect pearls for the sparkle. The sentiment is from Rogue Redhead Designs.
I am entering my card into these challenges: SweetStamps -- for Mom; Mojo Monday -- sketch; Kraft Journal -- Just for her.

Spring Flowers

This week the SweetStamps blog had an inspiration theme. When I saw this image, the word "spring" immediately popped into my head and off I went. I love the SweetStamps flower stamps. I've used parts of  the stamp, blossoms, in the past, but I've never used the whole stamp before. It fit perfectly with the Sizzix pot die cut. The result made me smile. I colored the flowers with distress markers and fussy cut them so I could plant them in the pot. The background panel is a piece of designer paper which is light gray with white polka dots.Since I wanted to show the happiness spring brings, I added a bow and the sentiment adorned with glitter.

I am entering my card into these challenges: Tuesday Throwdown --recipe challenge (1 image, 1 design paper, and purple); Great Impressions -- pink, polka dots, and glitter; and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge -- anything goes. 

Life Pieces

I'm very excited to announce that I have been invited to be the guest designer for the SweetStamps Challenge Blog. Today is my first post for their dies challenge. I have been using SweetStamps stamps for years and just love them.

To create my card I started with a white base card. For the top panel I used Cheery Lynn Designs fancy corner cuts 3 to cut the corners and an oval stacker to cut out the center. (Using the negative of the die cut for a frame).  I stamped the SweetStamps lilac bunch stamp as my focal image inside the oval frame. The color was added with distress markers. I stippled a little China blue ink around the lilacs. The three dragon flies were die cut (Cheery Lynn tiny things) and added over the frame and image.
I am adding my card to these challenges: Cheery Lynn Designs -- back to nature; Mark's Finest Papers Speedy Fox and Friends -- negative die cut; CAS-ual Fridays -- good egg/ovals; and Stampin' for the Weekend -- spring colors.