Friday, September 29, 2017

Tag You're It 74

This is our second week at the Tag You're It challenge after our summer hiatus.  Our tag inspiration comes from Bev - she of Happy Dance fame!  What a fun theme!


I didn't have a bathing suit stamp but I did have this party girl holding a giant glass of champagne.  That's almost the same thing, right?  Actually the dress on this girl is a wide-open, white space so I thought I'd add some black stripes (like the bathing suit) on my tag.  I used a colored pencil and I think I should have sharpened it a bit before "drawing" on my lines because my stripes are a bit sloppy and this girl looks a bit like a jailbird to me!  Oops!

Over at Stamp, Ink, Paper it's an "anything but a card" week so this tag meets that for sure and I almost never remember to check out the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge but this week I did, and as luck would have it, it's "anything goes."


Thanks for stopping by!  There's some great inspiration from the Tag You're It design team so you won't want to miss it.  I hope you'll join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:   Cheers (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  Black (Simon Says Stamp); Shimmery White (Stampin' Up!); Bristol Smooth (Strathmore)
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Jet Black (Altenew); Prismacolor Pencils
Accessories:  Traditional Tags STAX, Pierced Traditional Tags STAX (My Favorite Things); red enamel dots (My Mind's Eye); red satin ribbon (Ellen Hutson); black seam binding ribbon

Thursday, September 28, 2017

CAS(E) This Sketch 241

For some strange reason the hot weather here has put me in mind of a cold bear for the latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  Maybe I need some cooling off!



For our sketch this week  I wondered what to do about those angled stripes until I looked through my stash of stamps and found this wide splattered image.  I stamped it in a cold, wintery blue then added my little scarf-wearing bear.  I had bought this stamp recently but hadn't the chance to ink it up until I saw the "bear" challenge at Cupcake Inspirations.  It seemed to fit perfectly with the sketch.


Thanks for stopping by.  My CAS(E) This Sketch teamies have made some fabulous cards using this sketch.  I know that you will be inspired by them and I hope that you can join us in the gallery with your own interpretation of this sketch!

Supplies
Stamps:  Boo Bear (Impression Obsession); Rugged Edge (Indigo Blu); Holiday Hugs Snowman (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir)
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up!); Prismacolor Pencils

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Freshly Made Sketches 307!

Summer has made a comeback around here and I am loving it!  It's been in the 80s for the last few days and I am thoroughly enjoying this beautiful weather.  But it's the end of September and I know it won't last.  Soon the sweaters and boots will come out of the closet so I've got to enjoy this while I can.

I am also thoroughly enjoying our new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is Jen Timko and what a cool sketch she's given us this week.



Sometimes when I see circles like this it puts me in mind of a shaker card.  Of course, since the latest challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is for shakers there might have been a bit of subliminal messaging going on!  I grabbed some sequins in the colors or fall and created my card around them.


This was went together surprisingly easily!  I love when that happens.  Our amazing Freshly Made Sketches design team has put together some great cards with this sketch so make sure you check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Hello Hello (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)
Acccessories:  Petite Scallop Circles die, Standard Circles die (Spellbinders); Autumn Harvest sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

CASology 268 Guest Designer



Today is an exciting day for me!  A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to have one of my cards chosen as a winner at CASology and I was invited to join the team as a guest designer this week.  The cue word is Fortune and I consider it pretty lucky that I had the image that I used on my card in my stash!



I'm pretty sure that treasure chest holds a fortune in gold and precious jewels!  The image is from a set of pirate themed stamps and I really didn't want to use one of the sentiments from the set.  They all qualified as certified for International Talk Like Pirate Day and that wasn't quite the look I was going for!  I started perusing my stash and lo and behold I came across this sentiment, in a nice font, that was perfect for my card.

Many thanks to Melissa and the CASology team for inviting me along this week.  I love to make CAS cards and there's always loads of inspiration to be found there from the talented design team.  I'm so happy that they like what I do!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Black Beard's Loot (The Alley Way Stamps); Bright Days (Avery Elle); Sunny Days (Verve)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Bristol Smooth (Strathmore)
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Jet Black (Altenew); Daffodil Delight (Stampin' Up!); Copics

Thursday, September 21, 2017

CAS(E) This Sketch 240

The autumn theme continues here...Today my card is for the latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  How about those angles!



It may surprise people who know me that I actually love the fall season.  I love the colors and most especially I love the pumpkin pie!  My friends know that I'm happiest when the weather is hot but fall is special in its own way.  Pumpkins are what caught my eye this week as the challenge at The Paper Players features favorites of mine - ghost ones!



I tried to capture those colors on my card today, although my pumpkins came out a little dark.  But I'm really pleased with how this looks!

Thanks for stopping by!  And I hope you can join us at CAS(E) This Sketch this week!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Pumpkin Patch (A Creative Need); Hashtags (Tim Holtz)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Garden Green (Stampin' Up!); Black (Simon Says Stamp); Cocoa Bean (Papertrey Ink); Bristol Smooth Strathmore
Ink:  Jet Black (Altenew); Copics
Accessories:  Beetle Black Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Freshly Made Sketches 306

Time goes by so fast!  Once again I find myself to be the hostess at Freshly Made Sketches.  It seems like just yesterday when I designed a sketch over there!  This time around I made a card inspired by the colors of the upcoming autumn season.

I love these warm colors.  I gold embossed some detail on the leaves so this is quite pretty in real life.  Over at AAA Cards they just happen to be looking for colors of autumn so I think I'll enter this over there as well.


Short and sweet for me today.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you get a chance to play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches this week.  And don't forget to check out the design team cards as well.  They made my sketch look amazing!

Supplies
Stamps:  Leaf Prints (Papertrey Ink); Gorgeous Grunge (Stampin' Up!); Be (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink); Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!); Ripe Avocado, Canyon Clay (Papertrey Ink); Versamark
Accessories:  Fall Foliage die (Tim Holtz); gold embossing powder

Thursday, September 14, 2017

CAS(E) This Sketch 239

Christmas continues here!  My card for the latest CAS(E) This Sketch is another Christmas themed one - that's two this week!  The holiday mailing season will be here before we know it and I want to be ready.  Luckily I saw a Christmas card within that sketch.



I have a mantra:  when in doubt use vellum.  That long horizontal layer had me stymied for a bit.  I had already decided on the striped patterned paper and the wreath image layered on top of it, but I wasn't sure about that thin layer with the sentiment.  Vellum proved to be the answer.  It didn't cover up my wreath or the patterned paper and provided a nice spot to heat emboss a sentiment.

At Muse this week Tracey McNeely gave us a Christmas card with a wreath and it's "anything goes" at the Merry Christmas Challenge.  Since Christmas is much closer than I care to admit, I'm throwing my hat in the ring at these challenges in the hope that it will spur me to make more of the same very soon!

Thanks for stopping by!  And please join us at CAS(E) This Sketch.  Our design team has got some great cards to inspire you!

Supplies
Stamps:  Wreath For All Seasons (Papertrey Ink); Handy Christmas Greetings (Amy R Stamps)
Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Real Red, Vellum, Merry Moments DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Old Olive, Real Red (Stampin' Up!); Versamark
Accessories:  black embossing powder; rhinestones (KaiserCraft)

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Freshly Made Sketches 305

I'm in a bit of a Christmas mood apparently as I celebrate a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.   This week our hostess is Amy.  At first glance her sketch is uber CAS but if you look a bit longer you'll see the possibilities are endless if you feel like embellishing a bit!



I'll confess that the color challenge at The Paper Players is what put me in mind of Christmas.  I see silver and immediately I think of elegant Christmas cards.  I used some silver shimmery paper along with a silver heat-embossed sentiment and I just love how they look together - especially paired with the pink poinsettia.


Thanks for stopping by!  And don't forget our new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our fabulous design team has made some beautiful cards to get you in the crafty mood so check them out!  I hope we'll see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday)
Paper:  Cloud White (Reverse Confetti); Pink Pirouette, Pear Pizzazz, Vellum (Stampin' Up!); Silver Sparkle (Reflections)
Ink:  Silvery Shimmer Delicata (Tsukineko)
Accessories:  Blooming Poinsettia die (Memory Box); silver embossing powder

Thursday, September 7, 2017

CAS(E) This Sketch 238

It's been a while since I've made a card with a more masculine theme but that's the direction that I took with this week's challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch - despite the floral imagery on the sketch!



I'll admit I was helped along with my theme by the "for him" challenge going on at Global Design Project and the latest color challenge at Less is More.  I started this card by heat embossing a circle backgkround stamp in white then filling in some of the circles with lime and blue inks.  I actually had a wee circle stamp that fit perfectly inside those little embossed circles!  The sentiment is a mix of a die cut and a stamp.


Thanks for stopping by.  And don't forget to pop on over to CAS(E) This Sketch and take a look at what my fellow teamies have made for your inspiration.  I know you're gonna love them all!

Supplies
Stamps:  Amazing, Simply Circles Background (My Favorite Things); Circles Circles Circles (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Pacific Point (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Pacific Point (Stampin' Up!); Lime Rickey (Catherine Pooler); Versamark
Accessories:  Awesome die (Neat & Tangled); white embossing powder

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Freshly Made Sketches 304

To Halloween or not to Halloween.  That is the question today.  The answer is the newest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches where I took the sketch, added some shoes and some fun colors, and came up with this.


I'm not entirely sure this is a Halloween card.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it is not.  But it started out that way, what with the colors (courtesy of Cupcake Inspiration) and the funky Witchy-Poo shoes (courtesy of Just Us Girls) but in the end I opted for this fun sentiment which sent this card in another direction altogether!


Narelle is our sketch designer at Freshly Made Sketches this week and what a great, classic sketch it is.  Check out the inspiration from the design team and then join us in the gallery.  We'd love to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Funky Feet (The Alley Way Stamps); Don't Hold Back (Dylusions)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Orange Zest (Papertrey Ink); Black (Simon Says Stamp); Vellum (Stampin' Up!); X-Press It Blending Card
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Jet Black (Altenew); Copics
Accessories:  Blueprints 13 die (My Favorite Things); 2-inch circle punch (EK Tools)