CAS-ual Fridays Kraft-On Challenge CFC76

     Good morning! Thanks for stopping in. CAS-ual Fridays challenged us this week to make a card with Kraft paper or cardstock. Here's my take on the challenge.

 

 

       I started by making a card base with Kraft cardstock. The 'white and kraft script' background is from Prima's Madeline collection. I cut two lengths of border from the Kraft cardstock and backed them up to each other. Then, I added three fall-colored leaves and attached the 'hope' button to create the focal point.

     Do you have a project in mind using Kraft cardstock? You still have plenty of time to make it and enter it in this week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays. You can get all the info about joining in the fun here: http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/2012/10/cfc76.html. I will look forward to seeing your work in their gallery.

    Thanks so much for stopping by. I always love your visits and comments!

ORANGE Blog Hop Winner!

     Congratulations to Suzi #5563 who said: Another great project, even if you are a rebel! The colors are a surprise, but a gorgeous combo!
     Thanks to everyone who hopped with the Fiskateers this past weekend. Your visits and comments mean a lot to me!

Fiskateers Third Annual ORANGE Blog Hop

     Welcome to the Third Annual Fiskateers ORANGE Blog Hop! If you're hopping along, you should have come from Donna #6036 www.scissorsstampsandscrapbooks.blogspot.com/  (If you are joining us in the middle, go to www.fiskateers.com to start from the beginning.) Today we are celebrating Fiskars' signature color, ORANGE. Almost everyone is familiar with Fiskars' famous orange-handled scissors, but Fiskars makes so many other wonderful products for crafting, sewing, gardening, and more. Each stop along our Hop will feature different Fiskars' products with a big helping of ORANGE! There will also be a giveaway from Fiskars for a lucky few who visit all the hops. And, I have a prize to giveaway too! Make sure you read this post all the way to the bottom for info on how to enter.
    
     Orange Christmas? Yes, of course, you can use orange - and turquoise - for Christmas! I'm a bit of a rebel when it comes to expected colors and using stamps and punches for their intended purpose. So, when I was asked to join this blog hop and the rules said I had to use orange I thought why can't I use orange for my Christmas tags. Here's my take on the challenge.

     The rectangle tag measures 2.5" x 5.5" and the circle tag is 4" across. I used four different Fiskars products to make these tags, but you should feel free to change them in any way and make them your own. Let's take a closer look at the round one.

1.  Cut a 4" circle in turquoise cardstock and run it through a crimper. 

2.  Cut a 3.5" circle in orange cardstock.

3.  Line up the two circles and punch holes for the ribbon.

4.  Stamp turquoise snowflakes of your choice on the orange circle making

      sure to stamp one over the hole you just punched. Allow some of the

      snowflakes to fall past the edge of the circle. Also stamp flourishes

      as desired.

5.  Adhere circles together with foam tape.

6.  Stamp sentiment, mat with crimped turquoise and adhere with foam tape.

7.  Apply turquoise gems to snowflake centers and tie on ribbon.

Supply list is at the end of this post.

 

Now for my giveaway! I have a Fiskars border punch to give to a lucky blog-hopper. All you have to do to enter is sign up as a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this blog post. If you are already a follower, you may just leave a comment letting me know you were here and are a follower.

     Thanks so much for hopping with me today. It's always fun to have you stopping by.

    

 For more information about Fiskars and the Fiskateer program, you can go to http://www.fiskateers.com/join/. Now, hop along to the next stop! Shannon #6394 www.scraplady324.blogspot.com

Supply List

Fiskars Simple Stick rubber stamps from the Vintage Christmas collection

Fiskars Simple Stick rubber stamps from the Winter Wishes collection
Fiskars Simple Stick rubber stamps from the Seasons Greetings collection
Fiskars crimping tool
DCWV orange cardstock
Stampin Up turquoise cardstock
Martha Stewart circle cutter
EK Success corner rounder
ColorBox turquoise pigment ink
Studio G gems
Offray ribbon
foam tape

Don't Miss the Fun

   My blog will be a hop along the way! I'll have directions here on how to start at the beginning or you can just visit my site. Looking forward to sharing some fun things with you guys!

Tuesday Trigger Val de Victorian Challenge

     Time for another Tuesday Trigger in the Moxie Fab World. I've been working on Christmas cards lately, so when I saw the inspiration (see it below) Cath provided us this time with the tall, skinny, pointy-roof houses all bunched up together I got an idea for this Christmas card.

     Using stamps from Fiskars' Seasons Greetings collection, I stamped 'MERRY' randomly on the blue background with VersaMark watermark ink. I heat-embossed 'Christmas' (from same collection) in white, matted it with white cardstock and adhered it to the card with foam tape. The trees are also heat-embossed using ColorBox's Cyan pigment and clear embossing powder. The trees are actually a varitey of upside down flags I stamped using Hero Arts Friendly Flags (CL475) collection. I attached the tallest tree using foam tape. 

     There is still time to join in on all the fun. Check out this inspiration image and click on the address for all the details. http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2012/10/tuesday-trigger-val-de-victorian.html

 

 

CAS-ual Fridays' Over the Edge Challenge CFC75

    Thanks for popping in today. I always enjoy having your visits to my blog. This week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is to make a card with an embellishment that goes past the edge of the card. Here's my take on the challenge.

 

     I like using embellishments in unexpected ways. So I'm turning this border diecut that I love from Spellbinders (Parisean Accents) into banners. The sentiment and the woodgrain mat behind the sentiment are both form Hero Arts. The sentiment is my over-the-edge element. 

     Want to play too? You can get all the details here:

         CAS-ual Fridays- http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/2012/10/cfc75.html

     I will also submit this card to Hero Arts October Sketch Challenge.

         Hero Arts- http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/october-2012-contest-details/

 

DCWV October Card Sketch Challenge

UPDATE: November 2, 2011- I'm so excited! I just found out that this card made it to the TOP-10 list at DCWV! 

     I've been working on Christmas cards this week. I made this one for the October Card Sketch Challenge at DCWV. I used The Coral Couture Stack for this card. I love using unexpected colors for my Christmas cards. While the peach with shiny, gold dots is very Christmasy, I don't see a lot of Christmas cards with coral and mint green. I created the ornaments with my Fiskars That's Amore large heart punch. These ornaments also fold flat so that I can mail the card. I heat embossed the sentiment using stamps from Fiskars Season's Greetings collection.
    There's lots of time left for this challenge, so if you have a card idea you can find all the info here:
http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/2012/10/october-stack-holic-challenge.html
 Here's a copy of the sketch Erin at DCWV gave us to work from this month.

     Thanks so  much for stopping in today. Your comments are so encouraging.

I'm in the Spotlight at CardMaker Magazine

     I am so honored to be spotlighted on CardMaker Magazine's blog today. You can check it out here: http://www.cardmakermagazine.com/blog/
     Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope you have time to get your fingers inky today.

Purple Christmas

     Easel cards are so much fun to make! I made this purple and blue Christmas card through a long string of challenges with another Fiskateer. Don't know what a Fiskateer is? Click on that button over there on the left. We have so much fun there!

I used stamps from both Inkadinkado and Fiskars. I stamped the doily and sentiments with white ink. The patterned paper comes from the Paper Studio. Every year I try to choose colors for my Christmas cards that people don't expect like this one that is purple and blue. I've also done turquoise and white which are beautiful together. Thanks for stopping by.

 

- - - WCMD WINNER - - -

    Congratulations to Amy Jones (8546)! She is the winner of my World Card Making Day giveaway. Amy has won some Fiskars Simple Stick stamps and a few other goodies to help fill up the package.
     Here's Amy's best card making tip: " . . . don't be afraid to mix and match colors. Some colors really do go great with each other more than you thought. The simplest card can be just as pretty too."
     Thanks to everyone who entered and left tips. There were so many great ones.
     Amy, I will send you a private email to get your mailing info.

BOO!

Jack o'lantern Full of Hearts

     I made this Halloween card using a couple of Fiskars' heart punches. But first, I cut a pumpkin shape out of orange and white polka dot paper and shaded in the segment lines with a brown colored pencil. I used Fiskars' medium That's Amore heart punch for the eyes, mouth, bow and even the bat-wing eyebrows. I punched only the very edge of the heart to get this affect. The bow is two hearts glued together at the points. I used Fiskars' 1/4" heart punch for pupils and teeth. The pretty background paper comes from DCWV's Heirloom Stack.

     This card is going to one the Fiskateers challenges going on today. You can play too! Check it out here: www.fiskateers.com

 

 

Card for a Cause - In Memory of Grandma

Miss You Grandma

 

     Using my computer, I first printed the sentiment on a sheet of white cardstock. I used Edwardian Script ITC at 48 pts in pink. With the same white as the card, I punched the lattice chain with EK  Success' large edge punch then trimmed the edge to a point. I punched a Martha Stewart butterfly also in white. I used clear gems on the butterfly, coloring them to matching pink with a Copic marker - Tender Pink RV13.

     This one is for you, Grandma! I miss you and am so proud of your courageous fight. I'll see you in Heaven.

    I am entering this card in several challenges -

          CAS-ual Fridays CFC73 For the Girls http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/2012/10/cfc73.html

          Paper Smooches Card with Pink Challenge http://papersmooches.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-fun-begins.html

          Fiskateers Card for a Cause http://www.fiskateers.com/message-board/topic/321878/

     Thanks for stopping by!

 



* * * Warm Winter Wishes * * *

One-layer card challenge.

     Here's my first card of the day. I'm entering this card at www.papersmooches.blogspot.com. One of their challenges for World Card Making Day is making a one layer card. So hard for me because I love adding layers, but I came up with this blue and white card. I heat-embossed the snowflakes and sentiment using Fiskars Winter Wishes collection. The cyan pigment is from ColorBox. I used clear embossing powder from Ranger. The blue stripes are 1/4" strips of blue paper.

* * * HAPPY WORLD CARD MAKING DAY * * *

   Good morning,
    I'm here and ready to start making cards! Thanks so much for stopping by. This is going to be a fun day!  Good luck to all who enter my giveaway. I have a really fun prize that I will tell you about later today. Make sure to sign up as a follower and leave your best card making tip in the comments for your chance to win. Current followers only need to leave a comment. I'll be back shortly with a card to show you.
     Happy crafting! 

World Card Making Day!

And, there will be prizes!

     I will have a really great prize for someone who visits my blog on Saturday. To receive an entry, first sign up as a follower of my blog. Then, leave a comment telling me your favorite card making tip. If you are already a follower, you can just leave the tip. Then, check back on Monday to see if you are the winner.

     Paper Crafts Magazine started this tradition a few years back. Read all about it here: http://www.papercraftsconnection.com/blog/2012/09/world-card-making-day-contest/
     Throughout the day Saturday, I will be posting cards I've made as a part of this really fun World Card Making Day event. I will be taking part in some challenges at www.fiskateers.com. You guys are welcome to join in the fun there too. They usually have some great prizes.
     I've sent several cards in already to www.papercraftsmag.com. I can't share the Paper Crafts entries yet but I will after I get the results. They are offering some great prizes there too so make sure you check them out.
     I think most of the scrapbooking/papercrafting websites will have some fun contests going. Here's just a few I will be checking out:
     www.heroarts.com
     www.hamptonarts.com
     www.dcwvinc.blogspot.com
     www.spellbinderspaperarts.com
     www.coredinations.com

CAS-ual Fridays' Toot Your Own Horn Challenge CFC72

    Toot! Toot!
     This week's challenge from CAS-ual Fridays is to toot our own horn by drawing inspiration from our own blog banners. Here's my take on the challenge.

 

 

     The purples in my banner as well as the double borders behind my blog title inspired me the most. To get started, I used the Dahlia Dimensional Punch from EK Success. EK designed the border to be rolled up after it's punched making a beautiful flower. Instead, I punched two lengths of the border and adhered them back to back to create the double-border from my inspiration. Then, I punched the double link trim with one of Martha Stewart's double-edge punches. Then, I stamped the sentiment with TPC Studio's wonderful "Hello" stamp. I just love this stamp!

     Do you want to join in the fun and make a card inspired by your blog banner? You have until noon on Thursday. Check out all the details here: http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/2012/09/cfc72.html

DCWV September Card Sketch Challenge

     I made this card for DCWV's September Card Sketch Challenge. To show all my followers and visitors that you don't have to have a lot of tools and stamps to make a beautiful card, I challenged myself to make a card for this challenge using nothing but scissors and adhesives. The green and purple cardstock comes from DCWV's Chateau Lavendar Stack. Everything else I cut from patterned papers in DCWV's Heirloom Stack. Even the gingham ribbon and the sentiment are cut from a sheet of paper from the Heirloom stack. I used foam tape behind the flower and measuring tape, but you could use a glue stick.
     Below is a copy of the sketch Erin gave us to work from this month. There's still plenty of time to join in on all the fun. You can find all the info about the challenge here: http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/2012/09/september-stack-holic-template-challenge.html

     Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hope you have a wonderful day, Pam

CAS-ual Fridays Black & White + One Challenge CFC70

     Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
     I created this card for the CAS-ual Fridays weekly challenge. I'm also sending a copy of it to the Movement Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

 

 

 

     The challenge was to make a card using black and white and one other color of our choice. I had these great stickers that I won from Graphic 45. So, I decided my other color would be the khaki color used in the background of these beautiful stickers. I made the lattice trim with an EK punch.  I stamped the senitment with a Hero Arts stamp (CL342).
     Want to enter a card in this challenge? You have until Thursday noon. You can find all the info here: http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/2012/09/cfc70.html
     I'm also entering this card in the Movement Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. There is still time to enter this challenge too. Check here for all the info on how to do it: http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2012/08/card-design-handbook-week-movement.html
     Thanks again for stopping in. Hope you have a great day!

Vote for Me!

UPDATE: Fiskars just sent me a better address to vote for my project. It looks like the pictures are blank but you sure can vote more easily. You can follow my original links and get to see everyones projects. To vote for my particular project, vote here:  https://www.facebook.com/fiskars/app_416658965052303?view_entry=2367108&app_data=view_entry%3A%3A%3A2367108
You can vote 5 times per day - all at once if you want.

    I need your votes! I am in a contest at Fiskars and I need people to vote for my project as their favorite.  We all had to use one of two embellishments in any way we wanted. I chose the circle of love and made a gift bag. Here's the page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/fiskars/app_416658965052303
And, here's a picture of my gift bag. It is on PAGE 11 of the entries near the bottom of that page. At the bottom of the first page, there is a 'skip to page __' thing you can click and it will take you to page 11. You can have 5 votes per day. I think you may have to 'like' the page to vote but I'm not clear on that. There are a lot of fun projects so I'm sure you will find some you would like to vote for. Thanks so much for your support! Hope you have a great day! Thanks so much for stopping by.

CAS-ual Fridays Splish Splash Challenge CFC66

     Who doesn't love a day at the beach or on the ocean? I love hearing the rustle of the wind blowing through the palm trees. So, when CAS-ual Fridays asked us to create a card using something in or near the ocean, I picked a palm tree.



     I heat-embossed the tree and sentiment. Then, I colored the tree with alcohol markers and added an orange mat and acccents.
     One reason I love palm trees is that they remind me of the power of God. It seems that no matter how strong a storm is, the palm tree remains standing. It might lose a few or even all of its fronds, but it remains standing. That's how it is with me and God. I have faced some terrible storms in my life, but as long as I've held onto God, I've always made it through.
     If you have an idea for a clean-and-simple card, you can play along with us. Here's the place to find all the contest guidelines: http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/2012/08/cfc66.html

DCWV August Card Sketch Challenge

 

UPDATE: Just found out that this card made the TOP-10 this month. I'm so excited! That's the second time I've made the TOP-10 recently. It's so encouraging!!! Thanks to Erin and the rest of the staff at DCWV. You can tell how excited I am - see how big I'm typing!?! And, it's purple! lol

 

     I created this card for the DCWV August Card Sketch Challenge using the beautiful watercolored cardstock from The Painted Petals Stack .  This is one of my favorite stacks. Of course, I say that about every new stack I get from them. I really like the quality and variety they put out.

     I made this 5" x 7" card from a sheet that had little butterflies on one side. I just couldn't bring myself to hide them, so I made my banners short enough for the butterflies to show. I used the blues, purples and yellows on that sheet to pick stock for my banners.

     I almost always make my own embellishments like I did on this card. Using a variety of flower punches, I began stacking layers from the same sheets used to make the banners. I heat-embossed the sentiment and matted it with matching stock.

     Want to play along with the rest of us? Here's a copy of the sketch and the address for the info about submitting your own card:

http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/2012/08/august-stack-hoic-challenge.html





Minty-Fresh Funky-Folds Card

     Mint green is such a nice color to work with. It is so fresh and lively and always cheers me up. That makes it the perfect color to send a hello to a friend.

     This card stands nicely on a desk or table and easily folds up to fit in a regular size envelope for easy mailing.

     To make this card, cut a piece of cardstock 12" x 5.5". Score at 2", 4", 8" and 10". Then 1.5" from top and bottom of card, cut along the the length between the 2" and 10" score lines.  Using valley and moutain folds, fold along the score lines using the picture above for a guide. Then, cut panels to fit some or all of the flat areas. I added a chipboard flower and some self-adhesive border. Then, I heat-embossed the sentiment. 

     I created this card for the Minty Fresh Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. If you want to play along with us, you can create your own project using mint-green in some way and enter it in the challenge. Here's the address with all the details: http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2012/08/the-minty-fresh-challenge.html .

    I also entered this card in the Cardmaking Challenges going on among the Fiskateers this week. Not sure what a Fiskateer is? We are ambassadors for Fiskars and we have so much fun creating with each other. You can join in all the fun there too. Just click on the Fiskateer link in my sidebar over there on the left.

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge CFC63

     I love aqua, lime and navy together so this was a fun card to create. CAS-ual Fridays challenge for us this week was to use those three colors on a clean and simple card.

       I heat-embossed the three large flowers as well as the centers. My favorite part of this card is the typewriter-key sentiment in the center flower. Sometimes when I make a card I really like, I have a hard time sending it off to anyone. lol--   I'll keep this one for a while and give it to someone special. Maybe Mom or Missy or Suzi or . . . .

      There's still a little time to enter the challenge if you have a great idea for a card using these colors. Here's the link with all the info:  http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/2012/07/cfc63.html

     This card is also going over to the Tuesday Trigger challenge in the Moxie Fab World at Paper Crafts magazine. I was inspired by the old-fashioned, round typewriter keys in the inspiration photo (below). I thought the typewriter-key 'hi' would be perfect for this challenge. As a writer, I love old-fashioned typewriters so this was a fun challenge too.

     There's still plenty of time to get in on this challenge. Here's the link with all the info:   http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2012/07/tuesday-trigger-type-hype.html

     Thanks so much for stopping by!

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge- Back in Black CFC62

   This week's challenge required us to make a card with a black cardbase. I embossed the frame using Sizzix' Wreath embossing folder. Then, I quickly put together the flowers using a couple of flower punches and two kinds of chartruese-patterned cardstock. I used black brads to attach them. I used a matching chartruese green chalk to stamp the sentiment banner.

    

     You have until Thursday noon to get your card in if you have an idea using a black card.You can find the info here: http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/2012/07/cfc62.html .

Celebrating Stripes!

     Who doesn't love stripes!?! And, butterflies with purple diamonds?

     I have two challenges this week involving stripes. CAS-ual Fridays asked that we make CAS cards with strips of color or pattern.  And, the inspiration photo for the Tuesday Trigger Challenge in the Moxie Fab World is covered with multi-colored stripes (photo below).

     Do you have a good idea of your own? There is still time to join in on all the fun. The info for the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge CFC61 is here:

http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/2012/07/cfc61.html

     The info for the Tuesday Trigger challenge is  here:

http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2012/07/tuesday-trigger-allegro-con-brio.html



This is the inspiration photo from Moxie Fab World. I was really inspired by the colorful stripes in this trigger. I love working with turquoise so I knew right away I would use that color in my design. I also like the staggered look of the stipes so I incorporated that as well. 

    

     To make my card, I stamped the stripes on a white cardstock base using TPC Studio's Patterned Borders collection with purple, turquoise and orange ink. The stamps are plenty long enough to go all the way across even a larger card, but I wanted to stagger them to match the design I had in mind. I punched that gorgeous, turqoise butterfly with a Martha Stewart punch. The purple gems are from Studio G.

     Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you have a great day, Pam



Birthday Card Challenge

     I'm entering this card in the Birthday Card Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. The challenge is to make a birthday card where stamping is the featured technique.

     I love working with black and white. They can make almost any card look elegant. The heat-embossed hummingbird is a stamp from Inkadinkado's Mindscapes collection. Take a close look at this hummingbird. It is not all that it seems.

     The sentiment is from Fiskars' All Year Cheer collection. It is also heat-embossed.

     Have a card you want to enter in the contest? Check out the rules here: http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2012/06/stamp-it-cards-week-birthday-card.html

     Thanks for stopping by.



DCWV July Layout Challenge

On My Tiptoes

    I created this page for DCWV's July Layout Sketch Challenge. I used DCWV's The Painted Petals and The Chateau Lavendar stacks. I make 8.5 x ll pages because that's the size that fits my bookcase. I took these pictures in the first few days that April, our sweet toy poodle, came to live with us. It was just too funny seeing her on her tiptoes and stretching as far as she could to get a good look on the coffee table. And, if we did not have things in the center of the table out of her reach she would grab whatever it was and take off running. She still loves stealing things from us. She is so curious and wants to see everything.

    There is still plenty of time if you want to join in on the fun. Check out the rules here: http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/2012/07/july-stack-holic-challenge.html



DCWV July Card Sketch Challenge

     I created this card for the Die Cuts With a View July Card-Sketch Challenge. I made the dusty pink card base from  DCWV's Le Tres Chic cardstock stack. I used the same cardstock for the sentiment panel and the butterflies. I heat-embossed the sentiment and panel. Even though the cardstock is textured, it took my stamping very well. And, I am really picky about my stamping. I like it very neat and sharp. All the patterned papers came from DCWV's The Heirloom stack. Erin at DCWV has some great tips for cutting the angled strips. Check it out here: http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/2012/07/july-stack-holic-challenge.html You will also find info there for the challenge if you want to join in on all the fun. There is still plenty of time.     

  This is the sketch we had to work with this month. I like this sketch so much that I think I will use it as a guideline to make a scrapbook layout. Wouldn't it be pretty!

Supply List

cardstock - DCWV Le Tres Chic Stack

patterend paper- DCWV The Heirloom Stack

sentiment panel- Fiskars Simple Stick Accents

sentiment- Fiskars Butterfly Magic clear stamps
border punch- Fiskars Give It a Swirl

butterfly- Martha Stewart butterfly punch
clear gems- Studio G

teal pigment ink- ColorBox

clear embossing powder- Ranger Super Fine Detail

CAS-ual Friday Challenge - Use Text on Card, CFC60

     This week's challenge requires us to include text on our cards.  Taking advantage of the flexibility of the cling stamps, I curved the sentiment as I put it on my acrylic block to make a kind of path for the bicycle. Both the bicycle and the sentiment are from Hero Arts Joy Ride Collection.

     Do you have an idea for using text on a card? You can enter your card here:  http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/2012/07/cfc60.html

     Thanks for stopping by.

     I will also be submitting this card to the Hero Arts July Contest.

Cas-ual Friday Two-Circle Challenge

     I found a wonderful new blog called Cas-ual Fridays. They have challenges each week for clean-and-simple cards. This week's challenge is to make a CAS card with two circles. Here's my entry.

     This card looks more difficult and involved than it is. All the cardstock is from DCWV Coral Couture stack. The two circles were cut from a patterned sheet of cardstock from the collection. The ribbon is cut from another sheet as is the dotted-swiss card. Very quick and easy. The sentiment from Studio G is stamped in black.

     Want to join in on all the fun? You can find the info here:

 http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/2012/06/cfc59.html



Birthday Card Challenge

     I'm entering this card in the Birthday Card Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. The challenge is to make a birthday card where stamping is the featured technique.

      Using Tim Holtz' Playful Journey collection, I heat-embossed the old car in dark blue on a light gray cardstock panel I die cut using Labels Eighteen dies from Spellbinders. I brushed the edges of the panel with VersaMark's watermark pad. I heat-embossed the sentiment with silver pigment and clear embossing powder. Have a birthday card you've made that you want to enter? You can find the info here:  http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2012/06/stamp-it-cards-week-birthday-card.html

Birthday Card Challenge

     I'm entering this card in the Birthday Card Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. The challenge requires us to use stamping as the primary technique.

    I used Inkadinkado's set of lace doily stamps to make this birthday card. The cardstock is from DCWV's Painted Petals stack. After heat-embossing the doilies, in white and boysenberry, I cut them into small, varing shapes and adhered them to my white card in a mosaic fashion. The sentiment stamp is from Studio G. You can join in the fun by entering your own card here: http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2012/06/stamp-it-cards-week-birthday-card.html



June Card Challenge at DCWV

June 28, 2012 -UPDATE-  Just found out that my card made it to the Top-10 in DCWV's June Card Challenge! So exciting!! This is the first time I've entered their monthly challenges. New challenge goes up Monday. Their link is below if you want to play too.

I created this card for the DCWV June Card Challenge. I made the medallion and the lace with patterned paper from the DCWV Heirloom stack. The rest of the card is made from cardstock from DCWV Coral Couture stack. Both stacks have absolutely gorgeous papers in them. I love 3D and layered flowers so I added an extra layer of petals to the magnolia blossom in the center of the medallion to give it a 3D look and add some depth and texture to the card. I used foam tape to adhere the extra petals.

Below is the sketch we had to work with. There is still time if you want to join in the fun and make your own card or layout. You can find info here:  http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/2012/06/june-stack-holic-challenge.html

Monochromatic Thinking-of-You Card

     I made this card for the Hero Arts June challenge. The gorgeous cardstock is  more of the Coral Couture stack that I won from DCWV recently. I heat-embossed and cut the die-cut flowers, flourish and sentiment using Hero Arts Thinking-of-You stamps and matching die framelits. I love the monochromatic style. I think it definitely adds an elegance to any project. 



An Occasion to Smile Card

    I created this card for the Hero Arts challenge for June, and I just had to share it with you guys too. Don't you just love the colors! I won some cardstock stacks from DCWV and made this card from one of them. These sheets came from the Coral Couture stack and all the papers in it are just as fabulous as these.

     Do you ever wonder what to do when you mess up a card!?! Well, I messed this one up. When I stamped the sentiment which is from Hero Arts Cuckoo collection, I got a little smudge of pigment ink on the right side of it. I was so mad. I tried erasing it. Yes, I know that does not help, but that was my first instinct. In order to save the card I cut some leaves from a scrap of the magnolia sheet and adhered them over the smudge. I don't think anyone would know if I didn't tell them, but I wanted to share it with you guys so that you have another idea if you make a mistake on a project of your own.

     Thanks so much for stopping by. Your visits are very encouraging to me.

TO LEAVE A COMMENT: Some of you have asked me how to leave a comment on my blog. Beneath each post there will be a line that says for example, 0 Comments or 3 Comments or however many there are. The point is that you can just click on that and you will be taken to a comment form.

A Deliberate Life

    As some of you know, I am a writer as well as a card designer. I just got word that my book is now officially available in ebook format. Yay!! The title is A Deliberate Life: A Journey into the Alaskan Wilderness. It's available right now at Barnes & Noble www.bn.com/ and at Amazon www.amazon.com/ for less than $4.

      As participants in the Alaskan homestead program Jeff and I were allowed to stake 40 acres in the bush -or wilderness as you would call it down here. We lived many years without electricity, running water, indoor plumping and telephone. But, what a great life it was! That is, once we figured things out. We went into it thinking we knew just what to do, but the truth is we did not have a clue. But, we learned fast.  A Deliberate Life is the oftentimes humorous story of our adventure and life in the bush.

     I'll look forward to your comments if you get a chance to read it. Thanks so much for being a faithful follower of my blog.



Damask & Brocade Challenge

    I made this gift tag for the Damask & Brocade Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

    Here's how I did it.

     1. Cut tag using the largest Spellbinders Labels Eighteen Nestabilites die.

     2. Embossed the tag using Spellbinders Flora M-Bossabilities folder. I think it has a great damask look.

     3. Punched out four large Fiskars That's Amore hearts from damask-style patterened paper. Put together to form butterfly. Adhered 5 clear gemstones for the butterfly body and gold wire for     the antennae.

     4. Heat embossed sentiment from Fiskars Simple Stick stamps All Year Cheer collection. Matted and adhered tag.

     5. Punched hole and added ribbon.   

     

    This was a fun challenge. You can play too at: http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2012/05/card-creations-week-damask-brocade.html

Blog | Just a reminder from Fiskars | Fiskateers

Just want to remind everyone about this. All of us Fiskateers are getting excited to see the FUSE in action. Check out this link that gives a little demo.

Blog | Just a reminder from Fiskars | Fiskateers

## Gingham Petals Card ##

     Who says flowers can't be mint-green gingham!?! I think they're great fun! I created this card for The Gingham Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. Cath Edvalson, Editor and Giver of Moxie Fun Challenges asked us to create a project featuring gingham.

      To begin, I made a card base with dusty-purple cardstock. I cut and adhered a panel from the gingham and another panel from the dusty purple. I used two different flower punches - one from Fiskars, one from EK Success.  I made the fronds with a Martha Stewart punch. I freehanded the vase cutting it from white cardstock. To give the vase some dimension, I heat embossed an Inkadinkado doily on it in white. I stamped the doily just slightly off-center to add to the illusion of roundness.  I used letter brads as the flower centers. Then to add balance to the card, I added a frond near the bottom-right.

     Do you have a great idea using gingham? You can play along too. Check out the rules here:

http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2012/05/card-creations-week-gingham-challenge.html

Two New Challenges

   I have two new cards to share today. I really love this first one.  I made it for the 2012 Gallery Idol Challenge at Paper Crafts magazine.

* Here for You *

     This card had to have an encouraging theme in order to compete in the challenge.

     First, I made the card base and embossed it with my Spellbinders Grand Calibur (Impressabilities-Flourish).

     I heat-embossed the Floral Flourish (Paper Inspirations) and the encouraging sentiment (Hero Arts) with black pigment and clear embossing powder. I ran the edges of both panels across the black pigment pad and used clear embossing powder to emboss the edges. I almost always do something with the edges of my panels. I think it really makes them pop. I adhered the sentiment and added foam tape to the flourish panel.

     I punched two black butterflies with a Martha Stewart punch. Then, I added two clear gems.



     Want to play along? You can find the rules at www.papercraftsmag.com .

* You're Sew Special *

     I created this next card for Hero Arts May color challenge. We had to use yellow, pool, orange, green and brown. That's a lot of colors - more than are normally required. How do you get all thos colors on a card and still have it look good? I think I came up with a good idea.

     The quilting design is a kind of homage to my mother who loves to quilt. She would have wanted me to use brighter, even neon hues. And, she would insist on red somewhere in the design.

     I made the card base in pool. Then, I cut a yellow panel to fit. 

     I cut 1.25" quilting squares from cardstock in the required colors. I cut them in half corner-to-corner and started laying them out until I liked how they looked.

     I heat embossed the three-spools panel (Hero Arts) and all the stitching in brown.

     I also entered this card in Paper Crafts Gallery Idol Challenge and Fiskateers Spring Stamp Out. You can find all the info for these challenges here:

    www.heroarts.com

    www.fiskateers.com

    www.papercraftsmag.com

 

   

Fuse Creativity System: Endless Possibilities

    Fiskars has a great new die cutting-embossing-stenciling machine coming out next month. They just revealed it to the Fiskateers and they said I can share it with you guys. Looks like it is going to be fun! Can't wait to really see it in action.