coffee and watercolor challenge on sunday which is friday

The stars have aligned in the world of challenges for me today! May I present my card for:

Amy T.'s Coffee Lovers' Summer Hop

Pretty Pink Posh's Watercolor Hop

The Challenge #37

and CAS on Sunday  Tic Tac Toe (I've used birthday-female-off the edge, the inside reads "Happy Birthday").

Got the coffee goin' on thanks to STAMPlorations (love that sentiment!). Got the watercolor thanks to Peacock Feathers and Shaded Lilac Distress Inks and my paintbrush. Got the sketch covered thanks to the splats of blue and lilac and the "coffee stains" (from STAMPlorations Holiday Artsy) in Versacolor Cement above and below the coffee cup.

Amy T. and Paulina have done an awesome job putting together these two hops. Can't wait to see all the cards. Thanks, ladies! Happy hopping!

masking at avery elle

This month's challenge #21 at Avery Elle involves masking. I just love the depth you can create on a one layer card with masking. I made two!

First I pulled out my newest AE stamps - the Storybook line. Gathered all the precious little critters and created a gathering. Many critters giving many thanks...

This did not turn out as I envisioned it. I really don't like the grass - any suggestions? And the fox appears to be sitting on the mouse's nose! And the strip of PP in the middle? What up with that, eh? Let's just say it is supposed to represent the sky and the sunshine.

The truth? I had two-tone inked and stamped the sentiment with black and coral. Didn't like it. Stamped it just coral on another piece of CS, trimmed and adhered it over the original. Hmmm, the seam bugged me. Searching my tiny strips of PP to put along the seam I discovered this beauty from the top of some 6x6 sheet with that sweet "hello friend" on it. It needed to go on this card. But the hole in the strip - what to do with the hole? Now you know why there's an enamel dot (sun) gracing my card ;)

I'm taking my hoard of critters over to the All Creatures Great and Small challenge at SSS.

So on to a card I'm very happy with.

Creme CS. One stamp (plus a heat embossed sentiment) from Modern Leaves and some masking. Some colorful (Adirondack Ink)blooms and tiny black filler images from Oh Happy Day. One layer. B/W. Colorful. Happy.

I'm taking these flowers over to CAS on Sunday's Challenge #51 - Flowers.

Thanks for coming by.

CAS CASE

Revisited another design of mine for this set of cards. I decided to make a set as a hostess gift, and of course waited til the last minute, so another CASE was in order.

Grabbed the wonderful Geometric Borders from Aha Arts and went all Christmassy with it. Paired it with some of my favorite Christmas sentiments from Technique Tuesday's Jingle All the Way. Picked two different red/green combos andused them with some Delicata Gold. Easy peesy.

Joining the CAS fun at:

CAS on Sunday #49 - Christmas
Addicted to Stamps and More #126 - Anything Goes (with a love twist - I didn't twist)
Stempelkueche #9 - Stretch your Stamps

Ready for Christmas?

it's raining cupcakes ... (CASOS)

(at least I hope it is!) for Debra J. (my lovely teamie over at STAMPlorations) who is having a birthday today! Shery is having a party for her over at the blog.

Debra has made the most beautiful and creative cards using the cupcake stamp from STAMPlorations, so of course I had to use it too.

Don't know why I don't make tall cards more often. It happened naturally after I created my watercolor BG (supposed to look like a cloudy/rainy sky) and then had to get some falling cupcakes into the scene. So the falling computer-generated sentiment kinda happened too!

I'm joining the fun at:

CAS on Sunday - #44 Emboss It

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking. Take a peek at what the others came up with. And enjoy your special day, Debra!

STAMPlorations sketch #22 (ATCAS, Seize the Birthday, CASOS)

Welcome to a new sketch over at STAMPlorations. This is what she looks like. Harmless, right?

Leslie, of The Crooked Stamper (great blog name, eh?) is guest designing with us this time around and she has a really fun design over on the blog. As do my teamies. Have a looksee.

Here's my card. Make that "cardS".

So ever since my family's "161" party back in September, I've had combo birthdays on the brain. Saturday we were invited to a party for a couple, both of whom turned 50 this year. Thus my "celebrate 100" card.

And, well, my folks have birthdays within two weeks of each other and are sharing a present this year (we're sending them to see Michael Grimm who won America's Got Talent back in 2010 - sure hope they enjoy it. Tangent.) So they're sharing a card too.  Celebrating 173. Those are the words "one, seven, three" stamped on the BG of this one. Blows my mind that the four of us plus Ellie plus our anniversary added up to "161", and the they are celebrating "173" with birthdays alone!

Had some fun with heat embossing and watercoloring on these cards. Used a line stamp, curved and stamped twice to create a stem for the beautiful daisy from Bloom Sketches.

Nice sketch. Easy sketch. Give it a go. Don't forget, there are prizes to be had ;) And there's a never-ending Anything Goes challenge too if you use STAMPlorations stamps!

I'm hooking up at:

ATCAS - #50 Vellum (I would be lost without vellum - love the stuff)

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

CAS on Sunday - #44 Emboss it

exploration STAMPlorations holiday sketches: christmas flower (CASOS, SSS, Catered Crop)

It's time to explore the latest release from STAMPlorations (before November and the next release roll around!) If you missed the release blog hop you can check it out here. Stick around here this week and you'll see several of the sets in use.

Today and tomorrow are about Christmas. Cuz I love this poinsettia set. BTW, there's a bundle sale on the Christmas lot going on right now.

Holiday Sketches: Christmas Flower

I checked out the following challenges for inspiration.
CAS on Sunday - #43 Lift a Card :

and Catered Crop - Seeing Red
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Heat embossed the bloom red on red CS, fussy cut (nod to the negative die cut "smile") and stickled (nod to the gem) the center. Added strips of dark green and light green (nod to the twine) CS and a sentiment. I'm thinking that red bloom is luscious enough to cut the mustard at Catered Crop!

C'mon back tomorrow for more STAMPlorations fun. Have you heard that Shery has started an Anything Goes challenge over at STAMPlorations? Use your STAMPlorations stamps and link up your project. For every 50 entries, she's giving a random winner a free set! Check out the deets.

how r u (ATSAM, CASOS)

Howdy. Here's a CAS one layer card I created basically using one just one STAMPlorations stamp - the chevron-y arrow in the middle!

Started with a cream cardbase. Stamped with light blue first. Then I partially inked (covered the rest of the stamp with the corner of a piece of scrap paper cuz it nestles so nicely into the design) and  stamped with Versamark and heat embossed. Then at the end of each I stamped one black triangle (partially inked the bottom stamp in the set pictured above). Also used the arrow stamp to make the red element in the corner. Isn't it cool how just one half of the stamp has a totally different look! Love that about chevrons. Added a Dymo sentiment trimmed to an arrow too.

Here's a closeup of the white embossing.

I'm so excited that this card was chosen for the August 2014 issue of Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking.

I'm joining the fun at these challenges too:
Addicted to Stamps & More - #104 CAS
CAS on Sunday - #37 One Layer Wonder

Have a good one.

Supplies for how r u:

Paper:  CS Bringmann

Stamps: STAMPlorations

Ink : Jenny Bowlin, Versamark, Versafine

Tools: Dymo

Other:

exploration STAMPlorations subway art: dare (CASOS, SSS, Colour Q)

Howdy folks! I've got a trio of posts coming at you in the next three days, showcasing some of the newly released STAMPlorations sets. Thanks to the generosity of Shery R. owner of STAMPlorations (and also Stamping Royalty 2014!) you could win yourself one of the sets if you come back here on Wednesday and leave a comment. Just sayin' ;)))

So, I grabbed my first set SUBWAY ART BUILDERS: Dare.  You can use these as a block (a la subway art). Or cut them apart and you've got some great individual sentiments too.  My fave is that last one with the sketched letters.

Then I hit blogland and picked out a couple challenges, CAS on Sunday #33 Sketch, Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Die Crazy and Colour Q #241.

Taking my cue from the sentiment "follow your heart", here's my CAS card.

I used pigment inks to unevenly ink up the reverse of  a circle stamp (going for a watercolor look) and to swipe some color onto scrap CS which I then die cut for the hearts. Stitched them on and added the sentiment - doesn't its size work perfectly for a card front? I think it would work well on the inside of a card too...

That's it for today.  Come back again tomorrow, OK?

Supplies for follow your heart

Paper:  CS Bringmann

Stamps: circles PTI, sentiment STAMPlorations

Ink : blues Inkadinkado, gold Tsukineko, brown Clearsnap

Tools: heart die Amuse

Other: sewing machine

swell (CASOS, CARDS)

Made a card for two challenges:
CAS on Sunday - #28 Color me Pretty
CARDS magazine - wood veneer

Here's something fun for you.  Do you have tons of nail polish bottles in your house?  We do.  Just used some for Mardi Gras time as a matter of fact.  But what else can you do with nail polish?

Paint your wood veneer to get a cool enamel-y looking finish :)

A stencilled chevron wave.  A teeny weeny fish riding the waves and a Freckled Fawn wood veneer. That's it. Swell, eh?

Supplies for swell:

Paper:  cardbase The Paper Studio, Neenah

Stamps: Fiskars

Ink :Distress inks, 

Tools: chevron plate die PTI, rectangle Lil Inker

Other: veneer Freckled Fawn,  red nail polish

fully loaded thank you (CASOS, Catered Crop, Sprinkle of Imagination, Simply Create Too)

Are you blog hopped out yet?  I took a break yesterday to make a card for a few challenges.  A feat for moi, as you know I'm usually getting my card ready as the challenge doors close.  But mostly, this card was about the process.  Shirley B. has been creating beauties with her Gelli plate and I decided to give the monoprinting technique a go using a good ole acrylic block.

This is not for control freaks.  Once you smoosh that paper onto the paint there's no telling what you're going to get.  But I like that.  Although I am a control freak.  Hmmmm.

And you use up your stash of acrylic paint before it dries up.  Fabby, eh?  Anyhoo, I masked the spot for the sentiment, fearing stamping on paint wouldn't work well.  Smooshed the yellows. Stamped with pale sage which I brayered onto parts of a BG stamp.  Stamped the sentiment and then made a stencil with dies to make the arrows. Mixed a clear embossing paste with some purple paint for those.  I think doing that makes the paste a bit runnier, which may or may not be what you want! Ran a purple pigment ink pad around the edges.

This is a one-layer card.  But lotsa depth and interest happening there.  My let's-keep-it-mailable heart likes it.  Hope you do too.

I chose my colors, kinda, from the palette at A Sprinkle of Imagination - it's their first challenge.  I used ochre, a lighter yellow, pale sage and then purple (looking very dark in this photo) mixed into the modelling paste.

Over at CAS on Sunday#21 they're looking for one-layer wonders.  Wonder, nah.  One layer? Check.

And then we have a Thank You Kindly recipe swap going over at Catered Crop where I was lucky to be chosen for the Washi Tape challenge so I get to GD for this challenge.  Thanks Linda!

And... I'm not up this week at Simply Create Too, but Challenge #50 is "Give Thanks" so I'm adding my two cents.

Whew, thanks for looking.

Supplies for thank you:

Paper:  cardbase Bringmann

Stamps: BG Penny Black, sentiment PTI

Ink : Versafine, Aladine

Tools: corner rounder EKS, arrow dies Kesi Art

Other: acrylic block, acrylic paint, brayer

daddy's little girl (Moxie Fab, CASOS, SSS, KIS)

Gold embossing and one specific stamp.  Having those two things in mind I whipped up this card. Well, it was "whipped up" after I spent 20 minutes deciding which PPs to use...  That's what ya get for having too much of the stuff.

Very simple, very sweet with all the emphasis on that sentiment.  Which is heat embossed in gold. As the card was laying on the dining room table waiting to be photographed, it dawned on me that it would make a great cover for a brag book for a Daddy.  Can't you picture him having one at his desk with some photos of his little girl? Can't you picture the ladies in the office going gaga over it? Hmmm, do we want the ladies at the office going gaga over the fathers of our little girls?!?!?

I'm playing at four challenges with this card:
Simon Says Stamp - Use SSS product (the Inkadinkado stamp set)
CAS on Sunday - Oh, Baby
ETA: Keep it Simple - #23 Flowers
Moxie Fab World - All that Glitters is Gold

I will forever be a fan of gold embossing powder, even if it's not trending.  I think it's that magical moment when the stuff does its thing and turns from powder into something most non-cardmakers never dreamed you could make at home ;)

As for Miss Ellie (yep, that's her name)... 12 weeks and definitely EVERYBODY'S little girl in our family.

Thanks for visiting today.

Supplies for daddy's little girl:

Paper: CS  Bringmann, PP October Afternoon

Stamps:  Inkadinkado

Ink : Versamark

Tools: scallop die Amuse

Other: gold embossing powder, crochet thread

absolutely delightful... (Moxie Fab, CASOS)

... that's what I thought when I saw the Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab World.  Isn't it delightful?

Image Credit

Well an idea was circulating in my cabeza and with the deadline approaching I finally got down to it.  It morphed a couple times but this is what I came up with.

Flower stamps from all over the place, pigment and dye and chalk inks, and a NBUS edge die. Used a sentiment stamp from Simon Says Stamp on the inside.  It reads "you are absolutely delightful". I likey.

I'm linking up to the Floral Fantasy challenge at CAS on Sunday too.

Back to Stamp-a-faire-ing.  Not enough hours in the day.  Or enough daylight.  Maybe I should have skipped the soccer game yesterday... but then I would have missed seeing Mainz 05 stomp on Wolfsburg ;)  Fourth in the chart.  Yep, yep.

Supplies for absolutely delightful:

Paper: CS Neenah, scrap

Stamps: ask if you're interested

Ink : Adirondack, Versamagic, Jenny Bowlin

Tools: die SSS

Other:  

trendy trifecta (Moxie Fab, SSS, CASOS)

"Trifecta" from Mama Elephant.  Great stamp set.  First one of my NBUS (never-been-used-schtuff) haul from the homeland that I cracked open to try out.  Cuz it's all about triangles at Moxie Fab and Simon Says Stamp.

Still searching for my mojo... These were created this morning between 9 a.m. when I got up and 10 a.m. when I went to a neighbor's birthday breakfast.  A set of tags.  Again.  Neighbor thought they were pretty cool. I'm hooking up to the Tag It challenge #14 at CAS on Sunday, check it out.

I probably could have gotten a better photo, but I needed the extra two minutes to brush my teeth ;)

It's wine festival time in these here hills so I'll be scarce.  Again.  Prosit.

Supplies for tags:

Paper: CS  Neenah

Stamps: Mama Elephant, sentiments Klartext

Ink : Hero Arts, Versafine gray and black

Tools: 

Other:  clear embossing powder, crochet thread

parade of rejects: winter wishes (CASOS, The Paper Players)

OK.  So then there was a call for submissions for Christmas cards.  Sticking with my "I have to have a theme" line of thinking, I went with stars.

You may remember I was on a bokeh kick awhile back.  Well bokeh met stars for this card.



I stamped the bokeh dots on the cardbase and then adhered vellum between the base and the textured and die cut CS.  Added sequins like the night stars and one star "falling" with the sentiment.  "Wishes", as in "wish on a falling star."  I kinda liked the idea.  But the mag didn't.

I was happy to get some constructive criticism on this one and was told that the sentiment didn't really fit the theme and it was hard to read.  OK.  Back to the drawing board.

I tweaked this guy and tried again.  Just keep watching.

I'm joining the Christmas in July fun over at CAS on Sunday as well as at The Paper Players #153..  Join in.


Supplies warm wishes:

Paper: CS Bringmann, American Crafts, vellum

Stamps: sentiment Penny Black

Ink: Hero Arts, Adirondack, Versamark

Tools: die Sizzix

Other: crochet thread, sequins

patriotic birthday take two (CASOS)

Here's another patriotic birthday card for ya.  More masking and distress inking.  This time with some he-man bling (flat sequins) thrown in for fun.

BFF's DH has a July 3rd birthday.  So why have I never made him a patriotic card before?!?!?

Playing the One-Layer Wonder challenge at

Thanks for looking.

Supplies it's your birthday:

Paper: Bringmann

Stamps: fireworks Fancy Pants, sentiment American Crafts

Ink: Distress Ink, Versafine

Tools:star and square die Sizzix, scissors

Other: Post-It, makeup sponge

patriotic birthday take one (CFC, CASOS)

Must admit I don't usually make patriotic cards.  Not really a need for 'em here in Germany - at least not red, white and blue ones ;)  But two cards in blogland  and two challenges inspired me. There's a card out there somewhere (sorry I can't find it again) that paired red and blue Distress Inks which I had never thought of doing!  And this card from Barb M. employs a clever technique that adds so much to one-layer cards.

So DH will be getting this soon (actually works well considering our approaching trip to the USA).

Don't look too closely or you'll see a wonky and slightly smeared sentiment... Wida M., any cures for that?Just love the colors together and the effect achieved by trimming out the edge.

I'm parking at CFC #106 and CAS on Sunday One-Layer.

I'll be back tomorrow with this card's cousin.  Couldn't get enough of the color combo!  And just keep watching...next week I'll be starting my Parade of Rejects - publication wannabees that weren't!

Supplies happy birthday:

Paper: Bringmann

Stamps: sentiment PTI

Ink: Distress Ink, Versafine

Tools:star die Sizzix, scissors

Other: Post-It, makeup sponge

an amusing challenge on sunday (Amusing, CAS Sunday, Dynamic Duos)

Quick break from watercoloring to make a card for two challenges (DH was being a loyal soccer fan which gives me time in my craft room :)

Saw the sketch at CAS on Sunday and stumbled upon the Amusing Challenge where the theme is "Monochromatic".  I pulled out some Amuse Studio product I was lucky to win from CASual Fridays awhile ago and went Burano (that's the name of the orange-y color).

Here's the sketch:

And cuz the colors reminded me of it, I'm hooking up to the current Dynamic Duos #50 challenge too.   This one's going out to a friend with a friend dealing with breast cancer.  So hard to know what to say in such a situation, isn't it?

Thanks for looking again today ;)

Supplies HOPE:

Paper: white CS Neenah, PP Amuse Studio

Stamps: Amuse

Ink : Amuse, Versamark

Tools: embossing folder Craft Concepts, corner rounder

Other: white embossing powder, black marker, cosmetic sponge

pretty pastel hi (Moxie, CREATE, CAS Sunday, SSS)

FINALLY getting a chance to play along with a relatively new challenge, CAS on Sunday, where a couple of my bloggie friends are part of the DT.  This week's theme is Flutterby.  How could I resist?

The current Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab World is so perfect for Easter and so spring inspiring. Only hope it might work to warm the temps up here...

Here's my CAS  pastel flutterby, fluttering by to say "Hi".

I'm also hooking up at the March challenge at Create:  and Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes. Happy Easter friends.

Supplies Hi:

Paper: CS American Crafts, PP K& Co, MME, vellum Ursus

Stamps: PTI

Ink : Jenny Bowlin

Tools: butterfly die Clearly Besotted, wonky border die MFT, heart punch, corner rounder EKS

Other: beads, Glossy Accents