Birthday Bash

Paper Garden is having a Birthday Bash celebration, complete with 4 challenges. Here are my entries:

Humorous Card Challenge

This sweet, happy Kewpie seems oblivious to the chirping contest going on between his feathered friends. I think they are more interested in outchirping each other than in following his direction. It just makes me smile. :)

This is the first time I've used this music note Cuttlebug folder. I love how it looks sanded with white core paper (DCWV). Cool!

Add a Flower Challenge

I used a floral paper as well as a flower embellishment for this entry. Another Kewpie from Crafty Secrets stamps.

Just Say Thanks Challenge

I love this Changito monkey stamp from Stampendous! It was a birthday present from Dean and the girls.

Its in the Background Challange

I had barely used this circle stamp set from The Angel Company (TAC) and never thought to use it to make a background. I *love* how it turned out! I am definitely going to be making more background paper with it. That's what I love about challenges - they really help me to think "out of the box" and try new things.

Basic Grey Giveaway

Wendy is giving away some great blog candy over on Paper Therapy. I don't know what the stamp set will be (that's a surprise) but who doesn't love Basic Grey paper?

Ribbon Storage

I buy most of my ribbon at Michaels or Hobby Lobby on spools that fit nicely in my stacked ribbon storage boxes from Michaels:


However, I have some ribbon that isn't on a spool. Either it didn't come that way or it's a piece leftover from a spool. One day while blog surfing, I saw an idea for making your own ribbon hangers on a stamping blog. I couldn't remember what they used for their plastic when it hit me - I had a TON of empty GWP boxes. (GWP stamps are "Gift With Purchase" stamps that The Angel Company gives to customers FREE with every $30 purchase.)


I cut off the half of the box that already had the tab with a hole in it, because the hangers would need to be put onto binder rings (from the office supply store). Using my Making Memories slot hole punch (meant for punching holes into cardstock to thread ribbon through), I made 3 sets of double slots, staggered from left to right.

Here's how the ribbon threads through:


Here's what all my ribbon looks like now that it's on the tabs which have been hung onto two separate binder rings:


I only did this with my longer pieces of ribbon. I keep my little scraps on a decorative glass jar that I picked up at a garage sale. I try to use those pieces first to keep the jar from getting too full.

Another cool use for those empty GWP boxes? They are just the right size to hold my MM slot punch!

Bunnies and Blossoms

Whew! I have been busy cleaning out and reorganizing my craft room, as well as listing a bunch of my stuff to sell over on SplitCoastStampers. Not much stamping time, although I've made some "shopping money" and my room is starting to look better.

I did, however, get this card made and mailed out for one of TAC's monthly contests, Blossoms and Bunnies. After last week's MFT Idol challenge, I find myself hooked on masking! I had a lot of fun making this card. I was inspired by the sugar Easter eggs I remember from my childhood - the kind with a little spring scene when you peered through the opening in the sugar egg.


The girl was stamped on the white cs and masked off. Her skirt is paper pieced. I sponged the sky using the same template I used for the MFT challenge. I used my oval cutter to create an opening in the colored cardstock, like a photo mat. The bunnies were stamped on white, cut out and the bunny with the grass was adhered with pop-dots to add dimension to the scene. I adhered the flower sequins by stitching the centers with French knots and cut the leaves freehand from a scrap of green cardstock.

Supplies: Garden Joy and Happy Easter stamp sets, DCWV cardstock, TAC white cardstock, Designer Collection paper - Gentle Beginnings, Prismacolor pencils, Tombow markers, Palette inks in Noir, Jardin Moss and Cote D'Azure, white Fun Flock and Pastel Sequin Flowers, all from TAC. Non TAC supplies: Creative Memories Shapemaker Cutting System - Oval, pop dots, sheer pink ribbon, yellow DMC embroidery floss.

A little birdie told me...

that I'd won $10 in the MFT Idol judges' contest this week. Yay! I won it for this card.

This is a card I made for the 3/19 sketch challenge over on Stamp TV:


Except for the ribbon, all supplies are from The Angel Company. I love that birdie set. It's so fun to paper piece with it!

Cupcake Cards

The girls and I went to Michaels yesterday to buy some organizing containers for Jessica's room. (They have been doing some spring cleaning/organizing in their bedrooms.) I found these cute cupcake stamps in the dollar section. Cupcakes are just SO popular right now! I made these cards for two challenges - Amy Rysavy's Friday Sketch 54 and Tracy's Thursday sketch. This one is based on Amy's sketch:


This one is based on Tracy's sketch, which I turned sideways. I had fun playing with all my pink stuff. When I went to add the Dew Drops on this card, Jess said "Mom, don't you think you have enough embellishments on that card?" lol!

Easter "candy"

Jennifer is offering this great Easter "candy" over on her blog:

She has some really cute spring & Easter cards on her blog, too. Check them out!

How Mice!

Wow, the amount of card challenges out there on the 'net is staggering! I've been having fun participating in them, though. They've challenged my creativity, got me using neglected/forgotten supplies and have helped me build up my stash of cards to sell and give away. This card combines two challenges: the sketch challenge over on Truly Scrumptious (which also required the use of a charm) and the Nestabilities challenge over on Gina K's Stamp TV. This card also had the added bonus of giving me another sample card to share with my TAC customers. Yay!

Have a "mice" day! :)

Supplies: Mice Day (TAC), Scarlet cs (TAC), Cha Cha printed & solid cs (TAC), ribbon (Amelia - TAC), Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities, Copic markers, K&Co rhinestone (on purse), Marvy circle punch, Palette Noir and Versamagic Pretty Petunia inks, flower pot charm (source unknown).

It's a "Masquerade"!

This week's MFT Idol challenge was to use masking on your card. I used my new "By the Seashore" set and turned it into a spring scene. I wanted to celebrate Spring and the fact that Dixie and I can go on nice long walks together now without freezing!

Here's a closeup of the sponging/masking technique. I made the cloud template myself from a piece of scrap cardstock.

On the stamp, she is carrying a pair of sandals. The set includes a hat stamp, so I stamped, colored & cut that and placed it over the sandals. I drew in the grass and stems/leaves with my Tombow markers. The flowers were cut from stamped hat images.

Supplies: By the Seashore (MFT Stamps), floral paper from DCWV floral glitter stack, Tim Holtz Distress inks in Faded Jeans and Vintage Photo, Versafine black ink, basecard made with PTI cardstock (assorted cardstock pack), Copic and Tombow markers, Prima flowers, flower punches, brads.

WOJ Challenge #22

This week's Whiff of Joy challenge called for a card with lots of green.


The greens in my card are muted, mostly mossy shades of green - the polka dot paper, the mat behind the image, the sponging around the sentiment, the grass I drew under the little boy. I went a little bright in the greens of his shirt. (Note: I also received this image from my Diana, so I'm not sure which WOJ stamp he is. The greeting is from an MFT stamp set.)

Happy Mouse Day!

I guess these cute little guys are celebrating Valentines' Day. Whatever it is, it looks like they're having fun! I made this card for the sketch challenge over on the House Mouse & Friends Challenge blog.


My friend Diana stamped this image for me, so I'm not sure which House Mouse stamp this is. I used my Copic markers to color them in and applied some Icicle Stickles to make the hearts glittery. My favorite thing about this card is that I used some things that had been sort of just waiting (and waiting) to be used. The heart shaped rhinestones were something I purchased at Hobby Lobby before Valentines Day. The glittery paper I used for my circle was something I'd "reclaimed" from a Christmas card several years ago. It was just waiting for the right project!

Magnolia Candy

Donalda is giving away a huge stash of Magnolia blog candy on her blog.

She will draw 6 winners on April 2nd, go hop on over to her blog if you're interested!

Luck o' the Irish

I don't have any stamps from The Cat's Pajamas yet, but maybe I'll have a little luck of the Irish and win this week's challenge. (If you dig back far enough, I do have a bit of Irish blood!) The challenge theme was St. Patrick's Day so I used this Stamping Bella image that I received in a swap.


The card is based on a sketch by Donna that she created for the Taylored Expression Anniversary bash.

Supplies: Goodluckabella (Stamping Bella), Creative Memories square Shapemaker punch, Copics, ribbon from Michaels (?), flower from Target, Making Memories button, Karen Foster Scrapper's Floss (TAC).

Locks of Love

Jess and Ali both got their hair cut today and donated it to Locks of Love.

Here's a photo album with some before, during & after pictures:

Locks of Love '09

Aren't they cute? :-)

Welcome Spring!

Hooray! Spring arrives later today (around noon, I think). This week's Bellarific Challenge required the use of shades of orange and green. I thought Bikinibella and her surfin' Fella were up to the challenge of welcoming the warmer weather!


Supplies: Bikinibella and Fella by Stamping Bella, Ashville Scrap Strip 1 paper by Scenice Route Paper, Prima flowers, brads, Copic and Tombow markers.

Stamp TV Sketch Challenge

Gina K has all kinds of challenges on her new Stamp TV website. I made this card for the most recent sketch challenge:


I love springtime pastels! I am ready for winter to be OVER! I had a lot of fun coloring this card. (My favorite thing to do!)

Supplies: Tilda with Lamb (Magnolia), greeting and Easter stamps (retired TAC), Copics, Prismacolor pencil with OMS, ribbon from HL.

A Year of Sketches

Amy R's blog, Prairie Paper and Ink was one of the first blogs I ever bookmarked. I love her cards & her sketches. To celebrate one year of sketches, she offered a prize for participating in her weekly sketch. Here's my card, which uses one of my favorite color schemes, brown and aqua:


I've had this new stamp set from TAC for over a week and haven't had a chance to ink it up yet. It was fun to finally get to use it! I tried a new technique, too - I watercolored the bunny with my Aquapainter and my Palette Burnt Umber ink pad. (Her dress and patches are paper pieced.) Since the blue paper and image have sort of a shabby chic/vintage look to them, I sponged the edges of my card components. After reading Beate's sponging tutorial on SCS, I am much happier with my results.

Supplies: Some Bunny (TAC), Rustic Chic printed paper (TAC), Brown and Ivory cardstock (TAC), Palette Burnt Umber ink, Aquapainter brush, pink Prismacolor pencil, Prima flowers, brads, ribbon from Michaels.

One Last Challenge Card

Last one for the night! Here's my card for this week's Whiff of Joy challenge:


Supplies: Willow with Cocoa (Whiff of Joy), Making Memories flowers, "Hello" stamp (retired from TAC), Copics, Palette Noir ink.

Whew!

My Favorite Things (MFT) is hosting challenges over on SplitCoast for those of us who didn't make it into the MFT Idol contest. This week's challenge was "to celebrate not being in the top 10. It could be a sympathy card, a relaxation card, what ever you want to do." I don't know if *celebrating* is the right word (it was rather disappointing, really), but here's my take:

Those of us who didn't make it were given a consolation prize discount, so that's supposed to be me passed out on the chair from frantic card making, working on my MFT shopping list. ;-) The stamp is part of a Christmas set. I cut out the woman in the chair to eliminate the Christmas tree and gifts in the background of the stamp. I used the Big Stripe paper in the MFT digi paper pack to make a new background. (I thought it looked like striped wallpaper.) Voila! No sign of Christmas!

Supplies: stamp digital printed paper from MFT, Prima flowers, COPIC markers, ribbon from Hobby Lobby, pink cardstock from PaperTrey Ink.

Truly Colorful

This card combines two challenges. I love when I can do that! I combined the sketch challenge over on Truly Scrumptious and the color challenge over on the Copic Colour Challenge Blog. The sketch challenge also required the use of a handmade button. Long-forgotten shrink plastic to the rescue! I stamped a swirl design (TAC) using some Versamagic ink. I like how they turned out.


I didn't have anything too close to the colors in the Copic Challenge, so I used Lime Green, Canary Yellow and Mauve Shadow.

Supplies: Cup of Stuff stamp set (The Greeting Farm), CM circle cutter, retired TAC swirl and "Hello" stamps, COPIC markers, polyshrink, Versamagic ink, Palette Noir ink.

Have a Mice Birthday!

Rubbernecker Stamp Company's Wacky Wednesday Challenge #2 calls for a card with any kind of fold other than the usual single fold card. I bought this Cupcake Mice stamp from Rubbernecker last Fall and it seemed perfect for a gatefold style card.


Supplies: Cupcake Mice (Stamp Oasis), printed paper from Target, Creative Memories small circle Shapemaker punch, COPIC markers, ribbon from Michaels, glitter (Mikes or HL - not sure), Jesse James heart buttons, pop-dots, pink cardstock, "from the heart" stamp (retired TAC).

Magnolia

This is my card for the Magnolia Meets Stampavie "Mothers' Day" Challenge:


I originally created this card for their sketch challenge, but I had the dates mixed up and I missed the deadline. However, she was the perfect Magnolia for Mothers' day with her tray of fresh homemade cookies. (My mother loves to bake!) Here's a closeup of Tilda. I used my clear Spica glitter pen on her wings and used pink & red hole less beads as "sprinkles" for her cookies.

I haven't always been happy with my attempts at sponging the edges of my images. I read this great tutorial from Beate Johns over on SCS and learned I'd been doing it wrong. I sponged the ink Beate's way and was much happier with the results!

Supplies: Baking Tilda (Magnolia), COPIC markers, Fiskars Threading Water border punch, printed paper from Target, clear Spica glitter pen, hole less beads, Palette Bella Rose ink, pink foam heart glitter stickers from Hobby Lobby, TONIC corner rounder.

Blog candy - 2 great givewaways

These two ladies are both giving away some great blog candy!

Hop on over to Line's Blog to check out her giveaway. It includes a very cute stamp and some great card "bling". She has some beautiful projects on her blog. I love the gatefold card she made for Whiff of Joy's Lavender and Lace challenge!

Next up is Paula's blog. Her blog candy has a masculine twist. Her goodies sure would be handy at this time of year. Father's Day isn't all that far away and you know how hard it is to make "guy cards"! Check out her Whiff of Joy card on her March 10th entry. It's really cute!

Springtime Anya

There was a sketch challenge over on the Club Anya blog. The half circle in the sketch made me think of a hill, so I thought Anya would look cute standing in a field of flowers on a hill. She's as ready for spring as I am!


I made the sky background by cutting a cloud shape out of cardstock and sponging around it with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Faded Jeans (love that color!). Here's a closeup of the label style tag:

I made this tag with my Marvy Uchida tag punch. After punching the tag, I turned it around and placed it back into the punch (notched end aligned with the bottom of the punch) to make the notched design on the other end. I'll have to put up a short tutorial soon. The butterfly is just a plain punch embellished with glitter. (I used a black scrapbooking pen to color in his body.)

Supplies: Dorothy Anya digi stamp (The Greeting Farm), Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Faded Jeans, Prima and Making Memories flowers, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Sakura glue pen, glitter, brads, COPIC markers., Hello stamp (retired - TAC).

Friday Night Blog Party

Look for blog links every Friday night! Here are this week's links:

Great tutorial using colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits (OMS):
Kim's Kreativity OMS tutorial


This is an adorable little mini basket - great party favor, holiday treat holder, etc.:
Cambria Turnbow's St. Patty's Day version
the original Easter basket version

Have fun trying out these techniques/projects!

Bellarifiic!

Em, owner of Stamping Bella, hosts Weekly Bellarific challenges on the Stamping Bella blog, Bloggabella. This week's challenge required at least one button and some combinations of colors in this photo:


Here's a sketch I made when I was planning my card:


I love this little curly haired girl that Em has added to the Stamping Bella lineup. I don't own any stamps with this little girl yet, but I received a stamped image in an image swap. I had a lot of fun using it!


Supplies: Ivory cardstock (TAC), patterned paper (SU!), oval Shape Maker (CM), Copic & Tombow markers, heart shaped brads, red/black/light blue cardstock, heart-shaped buttons.

Hey Chick!

Another "two-fer" challenge card. I used the sketch from Tracy's Sketchy Thursday challenge and colored in my images with Prismacolor pencils and OMS (odorless mineral spirits) for Challenge #3 over on Gina K's Stamp TV. The chick is a "digital stamp" that I created from a sketch. I'm working on a whole family of Easter chicks, including a baby brother chick and a mama chick all dressed for Easter.


Here's a close-up of the chick:
It's been damp and rainy here the past two days with cold weather coming back tomorrow, so it was fun to make a bright and cheery card. Now, if only spring would come back to stay - soon.

Supplies: printed paper K&I Memories, pink brads - Making Memories, computer generated sentiment (Comic Sans font), Marvy circle and scalloped circle punches,Prismacolor pencils and Mona Lisa odorless mineral spirits, ribbon from Michael's, Making Memories Slot Punch kit, pop-dot.

A Lacy Sketch?

What do you call a card that satisfies two challenges at once? (Besides a timesaver...) I made this card as part of the sketch challenge on the COPIC Color Challenge blog AND as part of the Lavender and Lace challenge on the Whiff of Joy Challenge Blog.

I took a lot of liberties with the sketch (especially for me, who usually follows a sketch closely). The original sketch just wasn't working for me and I got tired of fighting it! So, my 3 little flowers took the place of the 3 squares in the original sketch.


Supplies: Martha Stewart lavendar cardstock, TAC Premium White cardstock, Palette Noir ink, Paper Shaper flower punch, Martha Stewart lace border punch, COPIC markers, Spica clear glitter pen, brads, flower (source unknown).

Creating from the Heart

Melissa is giving away some awesome candy on her blog once again. The drawing is March 17th - two days before my birthday. Boy, would I love to win *that* as a birthday present!

MFT Idol!

I've never even watched an episode of American Idol (am I the only one in America who hasn't?!) but I couldn't wait to play MFT Idol over on SplitCoastStampers! I used the Mothers' Day MFT set that I'd recently purchased from All That Scraps, along with my trusty K&Co designer cardstock stack. The beautiful prints and soft, vintage colors seemed perfect for a Mothers' Day card.


Side view to show off the varying layers & textures:


A close up of the paper piecing (yes, I paper pieced those leaves and flowers!):

I punched the leaves out of cardstock, stippled them with green ink and used a stylus to create the veins:

I figure that even if I don't make the first cut, I'll at least have my mom's Mothers' Day card made!

Supplies: Mothers Day stamp (MFT), K& Co Classic McKenna designer paper stack, DCWV cardstock, kraft and ivory cardstock from TAC, Fiskars floral border punch, Emaginations leaf punch, flower (source unknown), COPIC markers, Noir and Jardin Moss Palette inks, pop-dots.

Par-tay!

There's a party going over at Taylored Expressions while Taylor celebrates the new TE releases. Check it out at the Taylored Expressions blog.

A Warm and Fuzzy Feeling...

One more challenge card for the night! (Diana, I'm blaming you for this one, lol.) This card is for the High Hopes Challenge #20, That Fuzzy Feeling.

What do you do when you decide to make a challenge card on the spur of the moment and you don't have the one ingredient you have to have? You get creative! Going through my papers, I found some white velvet (flocked) paper from my scrapbooking days. I've had luck before dying things like ribbon with my COPICs and they came through for me again, after punching some daisies out of the velvet paper. (I wasn't sure the punch would work but it was just like punching paper.) While deciding which color brad to use to attach my flower, I remembered that I had some velvet brads. Yay! More fuzz! :-) Here's my final card. Isn't she the cutest little girl?

The motherlode!

Wow, check out the candy on Lori's blog. I'd be thrilled with just the Basic Grey paper! (How do they constantly come out with tons of new, irresistible paper?!) Go visit Lori's blog to congratulate her on 20,000 blog hits and to get registered for the drawing. Check out her cards while she's there. She has an absolutely adorable Easter card posted!

Two More Challenges

I'm still busy making cards for challenges. It's been a lot of fun and it's been very rewarding putting my stash of supplies to use!

This first card was based on a sketch from Mojo Monday Challenge 76.


I've had this stamp from the new TAC magalog for a few weeks and was glad to finally have a chance to use it. I love blue and brown together and it seemed like a fitting color scheme for this card.

Supplies: Garden Joy (TAC), COPIC markers, Prima flowers, brads, ribbon from Michaels, kraft and natural cardstock (TAC), Noir and Burnt Umber Palette inks.

My second card is for the chipboard challenge over on the House Mouse & Friends challenge blog. I've had these chipboard flowers for a long time and never used them. These challenges are really helping me put my supplies to use!


Supplies: Party Mouse (Monica) from House Mouse, COPIC markers, glitter, ribbon from Michaels, chipboard (Maya Road?).

More Sweet Candy

Maria is celebrating her one year blogoversary with some awesome blog candy. Check out her blog, Maria's Studio! She also has some beautiful cards on her blog. I've already added it to the list of blogs I follow.

i{heart}2stamp

The very talented Jen del Muro is hosting a sketch challenge on her blog, too. I love this little mouse from The Greeting Farm. He's so cute!


Supplies: Cup of Stuff (The Greeting Farm), Fiskars flower border punch, Prima flowers, ribbon from Michaels, COPIC markers and Prismacolor pencils.

CPS Challenge

Card Positioning Systems is a great resource for card sketches. They're having a challenge this week based on this sketch. Here's my card:

Supplies: Willow with Cocoa (Whiff of Joy), Threading Water border punch (Fiskars), COPIC markers, slot punch (Paper Studio).