Black, Red, and White Challenge

 Shopping Our Stash has a Black, Red, and White challenge.  The really cool inspiration cards were mostly Christmas-themed.  Like Maria from SOS, I am long past Christmas cards, and have moved on to Valentine cards.  

The pattern papers are from Carta Bella Words of Love pad, sketch is sort of Mojo Monday 460, sentiment from Simon Says.  The perfectly coordinating die cut heart is from the In Love Arts Multiple Heart Décor dies.  When I have a die set that includes a lot of small pieces, I often leave them connected.  Great variety in this set!

A Holiday Card

 The Paper Players have a unique holiday color challenge - black, white, and silver.  I mostly make Christmas cards, but like to have a few for this who don't celebrate.

I die cut the snowflakes from holographic metallic paper, and scattered them on shiny black paper layered on silver.  The sentiment is form Hero Arts, stamped in black soot Distress Oxide and heat embossed in clear.  Sooo pretty!

Snowy Greetings

 The Paper Girls have a snowflake challenge going on.  Here are my flakes:

The patterned paper is from my hoarded stash of DCWV Winter Wonder,  The silver snowflakes were cut with Lawn Fawn Mini Snowflakes die.  I'm also linking up with the Jingle Belles.  Thanks to their challenges throughout the year, I have plenty of cards to use this Christmas!

Grateful

 In the midst of COVID 19, job loss, the American election, violence in Ethiopia, and so many other challenges, I forget how really blessed I am.  I have a loving family, food to eat, and a roof over my head.  I am truly grateful!!!

The pretty "grateful" die cut is from In Love Arts.  The die is super delicate, so I ran the paper through my Xyron before I cut it.  The paper is from the Echo Park club kit, the gold twine from my stash.  

Sharing with The Paper Players Turkey challenge. and The Paper Girls Challenge: Pumpkins Color Palette.  

Take advantage of free shipping with a $25 minimum order and use code G-28038 for an additional 15% discount!

Sunflowers for Fall

Fall is the best season of all!  Not too hot, no snow, pretty leaves - what could be better!  Check out these beautiful sunflowers: 

The Mini Flower dies are from a new-to-me company - In Love Arts.  Their prices are reasonable (this die set was only $5.33) and have a low threshold for free shipping ($25!).  I like how the dies are attached:

I separated the sunflowers from the others, and left them in a strip to make it harder for me to lose them in the chaos of my craft room. I also like that the release holes are in the center so I could choose punch a place for a brad, or leave it as is.  Here is a discount code for our first purchase from In Love Arts - G-28038.  Let me know what you think!

I am linking this up with The Card Concept as a clean and layered style inspired by the Autumn text, flowers, and rich colors in their inspiration image.  

Full disclosure: In Love Arts gave me the product to use and post an honest review.  If I didn't like them, I would absolutely say so.  

World Card Making Day!!!

 My husband is out of town, so I get to play ALL day!!!  I'm starting out with a sketch challenge:

Unity image, DCWV papers used for a Try Stampin' On Tuesday sketch.  So much fun!

A Very Special Birthday

 A gentleman from my hometown is having a special birthday -his 102nd!!  Not only is he one of the last remaining Tuskegee Airman, he is the last of his immediate family.  His care facility asked for 102 cards, and I was lucky enough to be able to contribute.  

I used the Stampin' Up Sky is the Limit stamps.  I cut a circle and a small flower out of mylar and secured them to the propeller with a brad.  The background was embossed with a Dotted Line folder.  

Sharing with The Paper Girls Around the World challenge.  Not sure that it fits with their partner challenge from Double Trouble to create a scene.  

Gold for Christmas

 The Jingle Belles have a Baby It's Gold Outside challenge:

Dasher looks best all dressed up in gold, and I set him off on a Darice Scroll Flourish embossed background and a pretty gold ribbon.  love this clean and simple look!

Autumn Blessings

I love using a lot of texture on my cards, but don't like to add a lot of bulk for mailing purposes.  Love this layout from Try Stampin' on Tuesday for adding a LOT of texture.  This version is a bit of an upgrade from my original posted here.  

Sharing with the Color Throwdown:

Sketch Challenge

 I love sketches.  If they don't include measurements, I try to come up with my own, like for this one from Try Stampin' On Tuesday:

I used a variety of embossing folders to create a different texture for each color.  The sentiment is an older TPC Studios.  

Happy Hall-O-Ween!

One of the Double Trouble challenges is to Create A Scene.

Lawn Fawn raccoon (colored with regular pencils) and pumpkin (colored with Intense pencil).  I inked the background with Dusty Concord, Seedless Preserves, and Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxides.  The "stars" are a Judith stamp in silver.  

Fall Leaves

 I decided to jump on the slimline bandwagon for the Just Us Girls Word Week Challenge - Leaves.  

I used a bunch of alcohol inks on glossy paper, then added some gold mixative.  I cut out a variety of leaves, then layered on some coordinating scraps.  The top layer is embossed with the Crackle folder from Provocraft.  

Double Trouble Part II

I made another attempt at the Double Trouble

Challenge #1 - make something.  Check!

Challenge #2 - include a telephone.  Emma Nutt, who became the world's first female telephone operator on September 1, 1878.  Check!

Challenge #3 - link up to one of their previous challenge partners.  I did it this time!!!!

I broke out my ancient Cricut and used the Wild Card cartridge to cut the sentiment and the phone in black, and the dial out of silver.  The stitching on the stripe and polka dot was done with an ancient tracing wheel since I didn't have any dies in those proportions.  

I managed to complete the top row of The Paper Players Tic Tac Toe challenge:

Double Trouble

Double Trouble has a 5th Monday challenge - how fun is that?  

Challenge #1 - make something.  Check!

Challenge #2 - include a telephone.  Emma Nutt, who became the world's first female telephone operator on September 1, 1878.  Check!

Challenge #3 - link up to one of their previous challenge partners.  Fail!

I can't believe that I literally have thousands of stamps, and not one telephone!  Luckily, I still have a few bits of my hoarded Bazxill Love Story paper.  

CASEing a Jingle Belle

This week's challenge is to CASE a card by one of the Jingle Belles.

Winter Frost patterned paper, snowflake cut from silver mirror paper, Evergreen Bough Distress Oxide ink.  I CASEed this card from Stephanie at Ingenious Inking:

Experimenting

 The Paper Girls have an embossing/texture challenge going on, and I wanted to join in by breaking out my neglected stencils.  Then I realized - I don't have any embossing paste that is glitter free.  While I like bling as much as the next diva, glitter is a hard No for card for the military.  Not only is it the herpes of the craft world, it also shows up in night vision goggles.  So I went to Pinterest looking for a recipe.  After a few failed attempts, here is what worked for me:

1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon white glue
1 tablespoon white craft paint
1 tablespoon water

Ink, food coloring, or paint to tint if desired.  

Here are my results:

I took more than 20 photos, trying to get something that showed the awesomeness of these cards.  Big fail.  

Don't Go Bacon My Heart....

 I don’t make many "cute" cards, but I had to play along with this week's Inspired By challenge:

Older Unity sentiment and bacon.  The sad bacon NEEDED googly eyes!!!  I didn't have the right patterned paper, so I stamped the tablecloth for the background.  

Perfectly Imperfect

 I wasn't going to post this, but decided to go ahead and show my imperfection.  I was thinking of this as an encouragement card, with the background being the storm, and the sentiment as the sun.  Somehow, I don't think I pulled it off very well!!

I created the background with Ultramarine Blue and Violet Colorburst on watercolor paper.  Hero Arts die cut and stamped sentiment.  On second thought, maybe it isn't so bad after all.   So I will still share this with The Color Throwdown:

Back to the 60s

 The Try Stampin' On Tuesday sketch is perfect to highlight a fun image:

I made the background with alcohol inks to create a psychedelic background to match the Volkswagon bus.  I fussy cut the blue and headlights, and added the Sizzix sentiment.   

Christmas in August

 The colors at the JUGS (Just Us Girls!) challenge reminded me of Christmas:

Random scraps and ancient stamps for the win!

Distress Oxide Background

Although I have been absent from blogging again, I have been quite productive!  I made over 150 cards for Cards for Soldiers using Kristie Marcotte's 6 x 6 tutorial.  Challenge cards take a lot of time for me to formulate.  

So today I am playing with The Color Throwdown #606:

I started with watercolor paper, dabbed Dried Marigold and Evergreen Bough Distress Oxides, misted the paper, then dabbed off the excess color with a paper towel to make the colors softer.  I layered the kraft paper cut with a Concord & 9th die.  I don't know if I will include all of the tiny pieces in the middle of the letters next time I use this die!!!

Happy New Year!

Playing along with The Paper Players sketch challenge:

SU! Winter Frost paper, Avery Elle Cheers sentiment, Lawn Fawn snowflake die.  I like making all types of holiday cards, because not everyone celebrates the same way.  

Slim Card Trend

Decided to jump on board the slim card craze.

The middle strip is from Amy Butler.  I added smokey crystals to the center of each flower, and included a 3D flower.  The card base and layer are both a dark grey that matches the paper almost exactly.  Not sure why it looks black the the picture.  Sharing with Just Us Girls for their Trend Week challenge:

Hello Friend

I broke out my Swirly Birds stamps and dies, and played along The Color Throwdown:

The sentiment is from an old Paper Pumpkin.  Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Cajun Craze, and Blush Blossom work well for this challenge:

You're The Best

Been really missing baseball and sports in general.  Especially the kids.  

I used an old SU! baseball stamp, a Paper Pumpkin sentiment, and some old Karen Foster paper.  Sharing with The Male Room's Sport challenge and the Inspired By Summer sketch challenge.  What else represents summer sports more than baseball :(.

New Year's in July?!?

I have a number of friends who do not celebrate Christmas, I try to make a few cards that are general Celebrate or New Year's.  

I paired a great sentiment from a new-to-me Avery Elle set with a die from The Paper cut.  These older MAMBI papers matched Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide perfectly!!  Sharing this with Shopping Our Stash Hanukkah/Christmas in July and The Paper Players Fancy Fold challenge.