Butterflies & Bicycles

 These top two cards are some much loved Unity stamps, which is fairly obvious if you know Unity! I made these this summer when my little sister was here for a visit. The supplies I used here are OLD! My Mind's Eye Bohemia old. How do I still have this stuff around?

 The heart and the sentiment here are new to me 7 Gypsies. I bought them on sale, and there are just a bunch of fun little die cuts all in this colorway. Funny thing about that grosgrain ribbon: I got it in a ribbon share with Texas Jody Lynn about 10 or so years ago. Can it really have been that long ago?

 Playing with Gina K Designs stuff here. This butterfly is from Eclectic Summer. I used the Polished Stone technique to make the background. The technique is much more fun if you use Ranger's metallic fixatives instead of pigment ink. It dries much quicker and is much more metallic in finish.

This is a CASE of an STV card Gina did with the Enjoy the Sunshine kit. I do love playing with my STV kits!

Don't you love this sentiment? I think it's so sweet and versatile. This pretty bunch of flowers and sentiment are from GKD Enjoy the Sunshine. I use this bunch of flowers quite a bit. It looks good on any color card, and is fantastic to emboss.

I hope you are all enjoying a lovely Thanksgiving weekend! I am, but it would be perfect if our oldest was here. He'll be here at Christmas, though, so I have that to look forward to. I hope you are surrounded by your loved ones!

365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday Day 328

 Another fab sketch from Wendi over at 365 Cards! I hope you are enjoying November, we sure are here in Colorado. We had snow all day Friday, a day of for frolicking in it yesterday, and today it has been snowing all morning. I love the snow. I figure if it's going to be cold, it may as well be beautiful as well.

 I think this is the last card I was able to make with the lovely goodies Pam sent me. I really enjoyed working with them-thanks so much Pam! I added a little Cosmo Cricket tag to the glassine bag because, well, bags need filling in order to reach their ultimate destiny, don't you think? This card got a little busy. It really shows when you are looking at a picture on a computer screen.

It's okay, though. I've never been one to insist that every card I make be a masterpiece. I don't mind a little chaos every now and then. It is part of the process. Besides, I do this for fun. Getting stressed when a card isn't perfect is just silly to me.

CHEERS to you! Here's hoping you always enjoy your process, even when the final results are a little messy! 

365 Cards Day 321 Super Sketchy Sunday

 Wendi's sketch this week was a fun one to play with! I hope you can join us at 365 Cards! I have my cards made through the first, and Wendi's sketches just keep getting better, so you have lots to look forward to! For some odd reason, I never make cards during the work week. However, Wendi has sketches for December posted, and something tells me it would be wise to do a little card making this week so that everything is in order for the holidays.

 I continued to use the wonderful packet of goodies Pam sent me here on this card, I just couldn't resist a little scrappy fun. I think this may have been the quickest card I have ever made. I think it took less than 20 minutes from the time I walked into my stamp to start the card, and the time I walked out to photograph the card! I wish they all came together so easily!

Lots of fun stuff here:

                                              Echo Park sticker (one of the few things I added)

Cardstock Bazzill Bling

8x8 Patterned Paper Sheet Glitz

6x6 Patterned Paper Sheet My Mind's Eye

Floss American Crafts

Die Cuts Fancy Pants

Tape My Mind's Eye

Wood Veneer Circles Studio Calico
 vellum bags from Fancy Pants

And here's my card from last week that somehow didn't get posted:

I used all the same supplies, except I added a WPlus9 die cut sailboat, and an A Muse Studio Buttercup felt die cut flower and matching button. The sailboat is cut from a|s card stock.

Day 307 365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday

If you are looking for the Rock Your Style post, please scroll down.

 I had a much easier time with this week's sketch, primarily because I could choose a stamp that worked well with it. Last week, I was showing off DRS Designs' cool haunted house stamp, which did not fit the sketch at all, but was way too awesome to pass up.

 Last night when I was checking the 365 site to make sure my card was up and ready to go, I noticed what a horrible photograph it was. These three are not as bad as the one on the 365 blog, but they still aren't very good. You'll just have to bear with me. I'm in that awkward stage where I have to juggle a variety of eyeball paraphernalia in order to see at any given time. I think I need a flow chart or something. "If photographing cards, then wear contacts with readers on top, or take out contacts for photography and put on eyeglasses to make it back up the basement stairs without falling to your death." Something like that.

 You can click on the pictures to see them better. Of course you will also be able to see how badly out of focus they are better, too;)

I used Gina K Designs Holiday Cheer for the wreath, the ribbon is also from GKD. The epoxy sticker is OLD. I think I've had it for six years at least. I can't remember where I got it. The gorgeous red glitter is from A Muse Studio, which reminds me-they officially kicked me out this month for lack of sales. I still love their glitter, every color is fabulous. The containers are generously sized, too.

I hope you can play along with us this week at 365Cards!

Day 306 Rock Your Style 365 Cards My Favorite Things Blog Hop

If you came here from Audrey, you are on the right track!

 Pam, who runs 365 Cards, sent the design team members a fun pack of goodies she specially selected for each of us. Isn't that incredibly thoughtful? Today, we all made a card using our packets, so you get to see what Pam selected for us.

Some of my favorite things to do on cards are to add buttons, glitter, stitching, and pastels with a pop of color. I think I covered those here! I hope you can hop along and see what the other 365 girls have done, I think you'll be glad you did!

• Comment at all DTs' blogs in order to win a prize package that resembles the one I received.  
• Comment on the 365cards blog that you have finished the entire hop. 
• Scraplift your favorite designer's card and link up on 365.
• Winner will be drawn at random. Good luck!
• Your next stop is Janice, and you will love her gorgeous banner card!

AUDREY

CARLA (You are here!)

JANICE

LETISHA
MICHELLE
PAM

ROSE

RUTH

VICTORIA

WENDI

YVONNE

365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday Day 300

 Well, in terms of following a sketch, I think we can all agree this one is not such an obvious interpretation. I wanted to work with this fab DRS stamp, and I just couldn't make it fit the sketch. All the elements are there, but the proportions are way off. That's okay though! The measuring police have not come to my house, and things still seem to be right with the world!

 Truthfully, I was not familiar with DRS Designs before this week, there are just too many companies out there to know them all. However, when I went to their site to check them out, I was so impressed! They have a large line of gorgeous stamps in a wide variety of styles.

There really is something there for every stamper, and I think if you go have a look, you'll be glad you did!

365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday Day 293

 Super fun sketch today for Super Sketchy Sunday! You can check out all the deets and see the other designer's fabulous card over at the 365 Cards blog.

 I used my Gina K. Designs Grateful Heart Stamp TV kit. I think it is on sale right now, which makes it a screamin' deal, because it's a bargain at full price!

Isn't that little owl the cutest? I love this little stamp set. The Grateful Heart kit comes with four small stamp sets that can be used alone or mixed with the other three. The new STV kit comes out on Thursday. I'll definitely be adding it to my cart!

This week we're going to tackle very stampy challenges - both digi and rubber, in honor of our sponsor this week

 

 

One lucky winner will receive a gift certificate to shop in their store.  And we'll feature stamps from this fabulous company on our cards all week long. Make sure you join us this week for an opportunity to win!

365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday Day 286 My Favorite Things Month!

DAY 286 - SUPER SKETCHY SUNDAY

Have you left a comment on last week's post letting us know which (if any) Echo Park collection is your fave?  Be sure to do that for a chance to win some patterned paper of your very own.

This week, you get a chance at another prize as we tackle some vintage-style projects starting tomorrow over on the 365 Cards blog.

Let's take a look at the sketch for this week:

 Look how cute that sketch is! You don't have to ask me twice to get out the scallops or the pumpkins; I never get tired of either! Plus, I have a new pumpkin die and stamp set. Isn't it adorable?

 I took the sketch pretty literally, even going so far as to add a pumpkin! I used WPlus9's Pretty Patches Pumpkin stamps and dies. I also added a WPlus9 Circle Stackers 1 dies. Peeking out from behind the pumpkin is a circle stamp from Spring Tags. WPlus9's stamps are probably the most interchangeable with each other stamps I work with. It just seems that every set I have from them looks perfect with at least five other sets.

The scallops are from an A Muse Studio die set. It comes with three sizes of scallops, and I use it quite a bit. It was fun choosing the paper for the scallops. Of course I had to add some glitter. I just added it to a line of  Sook Wang tape. It looks fab IRL.

            I hope you can join us over at the 365 Cards blog this week. We are having another prize!

Want more inspiration?  Check out the rest of the design team......... THESE GIRLS ROCK!

Rose

Wendi

Jenny

365 Super Sketchy Sunday Day 279 and Blog Candy!

 This sketch was another stumper for me! Wendi has really been taxing my creativity, which is EXACTLY why I do challenges in the first place. I think it is very healthy to look at things in a new way, and when designing with someone else's sketch, that's just what you have to do! I did fine with the bottom two elements, but the arrow part almost made my head explode. I'm still not sure I got it right, but here it is!

 I used a gorgeous A Muse Studio stamp set here called Autumn Days. I'm about to get kicked out of A|S because I'm a terrible sales person, so if you have been needing anything, now is the time to get it. There's a big Think Pink Sale going on this month for Breast Cancer Awareness.

The embossing powder is Ranger. It's a little difficult to work with. I have all of the Ranger Glitter ep's and the gold is fiddly because you can't really tell when it's all heated. Plus, it smells weird. The red and green are much easier to work with, and I can't remember how the silver does. Anyway, I don't recommend this particular gold ep, there are many other Ranger golds that are just as pretty and much easier to work with.

I hope you can join us at 365 Cards for Super Sketchy Sunday. Remember, you have a week to enter this challenge, so no need to panic!

This month we are celebrating our FAVORITE THINGS in paper crafting.

One of Sunday DT member Wendi's favorites is Echo Park products, and we want to share with you.

Leave a comment on today's post on the 365 Cards blog telling us which of Echo Park's collections is your favorite and you might just win a paper pack all your own!

You have until Monday, October 14th at 11:59 PM EST to leave a comment on the 365 Cards blog and you will be entered to win the prize.  The winner will be announced on the following Tuesday's post.

Have a great week 365ers!

365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday Day 265

 Greetings challenge players, and welcome to this week's 365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday! I trust that all is well with you and that you are looking for some papercrafting inspiration! If that is the case, you've come to the right place! Check out that sketch above! Pretty cool, huh?

At first, I could not figure out how to get the zig zag on the bottom of this card. I thought I was going to have to start over, because the background paper was already too strong a pattern to support a bold zig zag. Then I found these chipboard flowers and thought that they would be the perfect solution, and they were! The gorgeous vintage buttons add just the right touch. No stamping on this card, but I did run a dark green ink pad around the edge of the patterned paper to make it stand out from the card base.

Gamsol Magic Daisies and Other Technique Cards

 I used the Gamsol Magic technique to color these flowers, it's still one of my favorite techniques. I like to try new techniques, but I hardly ever do one more than once. This one I have kept up since I first learned it. It's a very satisfying way to color. I used Gina K. Designs Eclectic Summer Stamp TV kit here. Everything is from the kit except the SU! cardstock and the button.

 This is another Eclectic Summer card, this time using the Polished Stone technique. It's the same background as the cupcake card yesterday. I used Ranger metallic fixatives and alcohol inks, and they work beautifully. You don't have to wait forever for them to dry like you do if you use pigment ink. They also dry ulra-shiny and shimmery.

 Different color reinkers for this card, same technique. I used A Muse Studio reinkers for this background, and they don't work. They won't dry, so don't waste them or your time trying Polished Stone with them. I had to pour clear embossing powder over this one and emboss it to seal the ink. They are also not shimmery, they have a very chalky finish, which I love to stamp with, but don't like much with this technique.

 This one is crayon resist. Just color parts of your image with a white crayon, then sponge ink on top. The colored parts resist the ink, leaving the original cardstock to show though. The white ink is WPlus9, the cardstock is A Muse Studio.

 This rather odd gatefold card sold quickly in my Etsy shop. It's very interesting to me what is popular there. I'll make a card I'm very proud of, and it will languish in my shop for months. Then a card like this sells right away. I can't figure it out.

I hope you can stop by tomorrow for the 365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday sketch! It's a good one!

I'm So Thankful

 I used the Joseph's Coat technique on this card, you can learn how to do it on Stamp TV. I used the Signs of Autumn and Thanks a Million stamps here. All the cardstock, ribbon and brads are also GKD. I got all these supplies in the Signs of Autumn STV kit years ago. You can still get most of these supplies, you just have to buy them separately now.

 I made this for a WPlus9 Monday Mood Board Challenge, but I don't think I ever uploaded it. I used Sweets & Treats and Sweets & Treats Fillers. It's just one of my weird cards. I make a lot of cards that turn out a little off. I know that some stampers only publish their best work on their blogs, but I don't mind showing the good the bad and the ugly. The background is Polished Stone, and is very cool IRL.

 This is another WPlus9 card. Again, there's something not quite right about this card. Both of these sets were new when I made these cards, and it takes me a while to get to know a stamp set and make something good with it. This set is called Fresh Picked, and has companion dies, which is one of the reasons I love WPlus9 so much.

 This one is from GKD Eclectic Summer. I use this flower pot a lot. The ribbon is GKD, the cardstock SU! and the patterned paper, Basic Grey. I colored this using my 13yo SU! chalks and Chalk Enhancer, which I got grom GKD years ago. It makes chalks perform a little more like paint, so you can get more precise application, but it still dries to a chalky finish.

Another GKD Eclectic Summer card. The kissing couple is embossed and not showing up well in the picture, due to a glare. When I emboss in black, I always begin with VersaFine Black and emboss in SU! clear. I hate dealing with all the messy flecks that black ep leaves behind, and using clear gives almost the same look with a lot less mess.

365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday Day 258

 Tada!! Another splendid sketch from Wendi for 365 Cards.

I decided to work with a very old pear die that I have never used before. Then I added a little PTI Love Lives Here to sort of reinforce the pear pair. The paper is Simple Stories. I hope you have time to stop by the other design team members' blogs-they always aim to please!

Hey Cupcake!

 I used a favorite trick of mine for this card, and that is to use vellum to tone down crazy bright designer paper. I trimmed the vellum a little smaller than the DP so you can really get the impact of it, but in a small, easy to digest dose. I used Gina K. designs Sweetest Blessings, and label dies from A Muse Studio.

 I have been loving yellow for a month or two, which is a new thing for me. One of the reasons has to be this Authentique pad. I love every piece of paper in it-they are all yellow and gray. I also added some vintage seam binding. This is a narrower width than is typical. The stamps are GKD Spring Mix. The tag is, well, I can't remember, but it's super cool, and it came with a lot of other cool tags of various shapes and sizes.

 I used the Smackin' Acetate technique here, which is just so fun! This darling stamp is GKD Eclectic Summer.

 Another Eclectic Summer card. How cute is that fish?

Another Eclectic Summer card. I have made at least a dozen cards with this little barrel. The white ink is WPlus9, and I like it quite a bit. White ink, as you know if you are an experienced stamper, is hard to make well. I think WPlus9 did a good job on this one.

We are having a little Indian Summer here, and by that I mean: my house is hot! How about you? Are you seeing fall temps yet?