Caardvarks Challenge!

Happy Friday! I'm looking forward to the weekend... a date with Stephen, soccer games, my niece gets baptised, and I'm the God-mama, and hopefully a little craft time!

I haven't played along in Caardvarks challenge in a while, and they had a great sketch to play off of, so... what the hay... I gave it a go! The sketch:

The creation:

The stamps are from the "Up, Up & Away" set from Papertrey Ink. It's super fun to play with! Enjoy, and hope you all have a great weekend!

Birthday Card!

Hello! I am slowly recovering from my trip to Chicago... not only did I go to CHA, but also partied with one of my besties, Megan (who lives there). Not to mention the cackling going on between to chicks- me and Sammy Jo... we never run out of things to talk about! ;) I'll post CHA pics later...

Today, I want to get in my birthday card for the Caardvarks challenge. So, here it is... the one I made for my bestie, Megan. She turned 33 on July 28 and we celebrated in Chicago with a fiesta... Ole'!

I'll be back tomorrow... I have loads to share!

New Caardvarks Challenge!

It's time for another new challenge over at Caardvarks! This time, the challenge is to use lace on your project. I don't work much with lace, but it just so happens my mom does and a while back, she gave me lots of scraps! So, here's what I made:

The lace is vintage, so I have no idea where it came from, and was probably my Grandmother's before it was my mom's! I love the look of it with that October Afternoon paper!

Supplies: Cardstock: Papertrey Ink; Patterned Paper: October Afternoon; Inchie Tiles: Inchie Arts, LLC; Inks: Impress; Ribbon: May Arts; Stamps: Impress (flower) and Anna Griffin (sentiment); Other: Button, thread and lace.

Love is in the air!

It's time for another Caardvarks challenge! This one was easy:

HEARTS

Supplies: White, pink and raspberry cardstock. Patterned Paper: TPC Woodland Whimsy. Heart stamps: Hero Arts, "Love is in the air" stamp: Claudia Rose. Border punch and corner rounder: Fiskars. Other: foam tape.

Valentines Day is coming fast, so all the cards I have been making lately have hearts, or are the same color scheme: pink, red, light blue. Hope you enjoy!

Tomorrow, I will be a Guest Designer at Die Cuts R Us! So, be sure to check it out while you're drinking your coffee and eating your doughnut in the morning!

Caardvarks Challenge!

The first Caardvarks challenge of 2010! It's a sketch... and here's my take...


Supplies: Light pink card base, Patterned Paper: Words, Bo Bunny; Stripe, Making Memories, Heart, Prima. Letter Stickers, Heidi Grace. Scallop Border, hand cut on brown cardstock, Swirl Acetate, Hambley.

This is a pic of the sketch. If you want to join in, post your card by midnight tomorrow! I'm a procrastinator, a day in advance is pretty good!


Have a great day!

Christmas Card for a Challenge!

I finally got my card finished for the Caardvarks challenge: COLOR! I loved how this card turned out, but it's definitely not one I will be making in bulk to send this year! I used a white, long card (4x9) for my base. Then I stamped the tree (CA Rubber Stamp Co.) on white and matted it on black, glossy paper and attached it to the card base. I used self adhesive borders at the bottom and stickers for the "dec 25". The tree is water colored and then I used glitter and rhinestones to embellish. I wrote "Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches!" all around the border.

I am slowly recovering from Thanksgiving and all the family "togetherness." I did venture out at 4:30 a.m. for the black Friday sales- first time ever. I must say, I got lots of awesome deals, a good head start on Christmas gifts, and had energy for the rest of the day. BUT... the professional black Friday shoppers are C R A Z Y. It was definitely an experience...

Have a nice night and stay cozy before a new week begins!

Sketchfest- The Last Day

Today is the final day of Sketchfest over at Caardvarks. I will miss the daily sketch challenge...
It was super fun looking at all the other blogs and their take on the sketches- so many gorgeous creations and inspiring cards!
Here is today's sketch:
When I saw the sketch for today, I immediately knew what I wanted to do. That big circle reminded me of a moon and owls are my new favorite fall item. So, I made a birthday card for
my father-in-law:

Sketchfest, I will miss you. I loved each and every sketch, and admired all the teams take on it daily. I enjoyed a daily challenge and it gave me a crafty goal to achieve for myself every day. So, Caardvarks, thank you. Studio Calico, thank you. And design team, you all rock!

Sketchfest- Day 6!

It's Sketchfest Friday! I really liked this sketch, the only problem I had was deciding what actually to do with those 3 squares... houses? hearts? birthday stuff? flowers? Hmmm... I liked what I ended up with.
Today's sketch: My card:

And a close up...

Tree paper is from My Little Shoebox, polka dots, Making Memories. Butterfly punch, Martha Stewart. Chipboard button, Love, Elsie and the other 3 buttons are random! Chocolate shimmery cardstock is from who knows where... in my scraps!

Tomorrow is the last day of Sketchfest at Caardvarks. BOO!!! I have been having so much fun that this week has practically disappeared! Tun in tomorrow for the last sketch and my take!

Sketchfest- Day 5!!!

They're still sketchin', and I'm still card makin'!

I finally finished up... it's been a busy day! Here's today's sketch from Caardvarks, provided by the super crafty, Heidi Van Laar:

And my take on the sketch:

I'm in love with this cloud paper from My Little Shoebox. So fun and versatile! The stripe is the reverse side. I made the felt cloud and bird myself with some scraps. Love the finished result and gunna send it to a special friend!

It's late... goin' to bed, night!

Sketchfest- Day 4!

I'm feelin' sketchy... he-he! Okay, so this week has been super fun with all the sketches at the Caardvarks blog from the super talented, Heidi Van Laar. This is today's sketch:

I flipped and flopped the sketch, but ended up using it as is, but pushing the design up more towards the top. This is what I created:

I used papers from K & Co. Cut-n-Paste collection and the the border and brad are also from K & Co. Flowers are from MM and stamps are Scenic Route and Impress Rubber Stamps. There is something wrong with my sewing machine, so I faux stitched the border.

A close up:

I achieved the look I was going for: Shabby Chic. This card is for Mamaw, Stephen's grandmother who is turning 85 (I think) on Monday. She loves handmade stuff and saves every card I give to her- which makes me want to make something fabulous for her! The pics didn't turn out very good- it's been really rainy here in Louisville today. Enjoy anyway!

Sketchfest- Day 3!

Sketchfest continues at Caardvarks! Here is today's sketch:

I had a hard time with it... that's what I get for braggin' about how easy yesterday came to me. I pondered over it all afternoon. Finally, this is what I came up with:

This card was done using papers and embellishments from the Studio Calico July kit. The rub-on is from the June kit. I like the end result!

Then, Anna wanted to make her own version. I printed out the sketch and let her go. Look at this... at 4 years old, she is amazingly creative. She was quite proud! (and she should be!)

Strawberry cardstock, white vellum, odds and ends from the scrap box, snowflake punch and a dragonfly stamped in metallic blue ink.

She asked me if I liked the red strip. I said, "Yes, I do, but do you think it's a little LOUD for all the pink you have going on?" She looked at me oddly and said, "LOUD?! Mom! The paper can't even talk! How can it be LOUD?" Good point, Anna.

Sketchfest- Day 2!

Day two of Caardvarks "Sketchfest" has begun and I loved todays sketch!


This card came naturally for me... I loved the sketch, and I had just made my mom some personalized stationery with this dress form image as a hostess gift. I also drew outside inspiration from one of my best friends who got married a few years ago. Our bridesmaids dresses looked so similar! So, everything just fell into place. Don't you wish it always happened that way? The card is 5.5" square on chartreuse stock. Then I added a layer of black linen cardstock. The patterned paper is GCD Studio. I added the feminine scalloped border with punched vellum and dressed up the dress with a tiny punched flower and a pearl center to act as a brooch. The corner is the opposite side of the GCD Studio patterned paper. Simple, but stunning.

Caardvarks Challenge!

Woo-hoo! Caardvarks and Studio Calico have come together this week to present 7 days of card sketches- "Sketchfest!" They will draw a random winner daily to win Studio Calico items and the grand prize? A spot on the Caardvarks Design Team! So, being that I LOVE both Studio Calico and Caardvarks, I am going to give it a shot.

This was today's sketch, the first day of Sketchfest:

And this is my card:

I used part of the Studio Calico kit from July and I LOVE the "FabRips". (SC came up with a sticky back fabric that you can rip and stick in any shape or form, I pleated mine). The turtle sticker and buttons are also from the kit. The rest is from my scrap stash.

Tomorrow, a new sketch and a new card! Later tonight, I will be posting about our fabulous "adults only" family night out at my mom and dad's. It was awesome!

Card for a Challenge

Hello everybody! Here is a card I made for the Caardvarks challenge. The challenge was to make a card using the sponsors colors, hot pink, black and white. This is an awful picture, but the black is glossy cardstock. Lots of fun textures! This is a little gift I put together for a friend who did me a little favor. I thought they turned out cute! ;)

Okay, that's it for today... it's been super busy!

Think... Winter Holiday!

This is a card that I am submitting to Caardvarks. They are having a challenge to submit any holiday or winter themed cards. This is also a card I made that I plan to offer for sale at my biggest holiday show in November, and maybe in my Etsy shop as well. There is a lot to look at in this card...

Supplies:
Black Patent CS for the base
Black and red flocked polka dot paper (Doodlebug Design)
Green flocked paper (Chatter Box)
White mulberry paper
Vellum
Black sparkle polka dot paper (Making Memories)
Blue swiss dot (Bo Bunny)
Silver glitter paper
Stripes and other polka dot paper from my stash
Felt reindeer ribbon (cut) (May Arts)
Felt, ribbon, tulle, Stickles, buttons, thread, glitter, snowflake punch, and rhinestones


I am thinking... if you didn't want to actually send this card to someone during the holidays (you would have to be SUPER special), you could put it in a frame and sit it in an easel for a unique holiday decoration. The card is 5.5x7.5 inches.

If you are interested in this decoration for your home, let me know!