For You Faux Patina Card

Hello and happy September 1st! I'm always happy when September arrives because that means Fall isn't too far behind. Today is also the start of a new challenge at Simply Create Too and this month the theme is Ribbon and Buttons. The challenge runs through September 29th! You can find all the challenge details and design team inspiration HERE. I hope you will play along!

For my card I decided to use the Faux Patina technique with a button embossing folder by Darice. If this technique is new to you click HERE for a video tutorial. The ink colors used include: Crumb Cake, Soft Sky, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Lost Lagoon and Island Indigo all by Stampin' Up! and Tumbled Glass distress ink by Ranger. The embossing powder is by Recollections and the color is Champagne. It's more subtle than gold but I like the way it looks with the colors. The finished faux patina panel was matted to a piece of Island Indigo cardstock and then some retired Pool Party ribbon was wrapped around flat. A stitched die cut square was matted to Island Indigo and then a For You die cut from Bermuda Bay cardstock was adhered and then added to the front with dimensionals. To add some sparkle five sequins were added and that's it. If you've never tried this technique I hope you will give it a try, it's a lot of inky fun. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• 4 Crafty Chicks: Anything Goes
• Crafting with Friends: Anything Goes

Embossed Circles Card

In my craft room the heat gun is not getting the love it used to, so I decided to break out the embossing powder and turn that heat gun on high. All the supplies on this card are retired by Stampin' Up!. It's easy to forget about the older supplies but every once in awhile I try to bring out my favorites. For this Embossed Circles Card the Lacy & Lovely stamp set was used for the circles and the sentiment is from Fabulous Four. Since my sewing machine was close by I added stitching around the edge using brown thread. The colors on this card are Tempting Turquoise and Early Espresso. For the finishing touch a large button was stitched on using Whisper White twine and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Embossed Circles Card was inspired by the following challenges:

• The Paper Players: Circles
• Simon Says Stamp: Stamp It
• The Crafter's Cafe: Use Two Patterned Papers

Halloween Flying Cat Card

Cats can fly on broomsticks, right? Well... maybe not, but the image sure makes a fun Halloween card for a cat lover. I had my hubby in mind when I made this card, so I tried not to add any girly embellishments. The layout is from this weeks sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches. I don't have a lot of decorative die cuts or framelits for the focal image, so I went with something more basic. The Flying Witches Cat image is from Sami Stamps and was colored using Copic markers. Both patterned papers are by DCWV from the Eek-a-Boo stack and I added some Frayed Burlap distress ink to the edges of the orange paper. The Trick or Treat sentiment by Stampin' Up! was stamped using Memento black ink. For the details three bats were die cut using a die by Sugar Pea Designs, the purple button came in a variety pack and the twine is from The Twinery. That's it!

This Halloween Flying Cat Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch
• Make My Monday: Cats - Big or Small
• Aud Sentiments: Halloween
• Pile It On: 1, 2, 3 Recipe (1 image, 2 papers, 3 bats)
• Cardz 4 Guyz: Button It!
• Fan-Tastic Tuesday: Anything Goes w/ twist Two Patterned Papers

Wishing you a crafty day and thanks for stopping by!!!

Floral Jug Card

Hello! This afternoon I had some time to create this Floral Jug Card to play along at Tuesday Morning Sketches. It's been awhile since I've been able to play along, that little thing called "work" kept getting in the way. Well, luckily I had the day off and had the perfect image to support this weeks sponsor Doodle Pantry. The image is a freebie when you make a purchase at Doodle Pantry and it's a great image for many different occasions. The thinking of you sentiment is from the Wetlands stamp set by Stampin' Up! I had a lot of fun putting all the wonderful layers together and I hope you will find time to play along at Tuesday Morning Sketches this week. Thanks for stopping by!

This Floral Jug Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch
• Doodle Pantry: Any Digi Goes

Hello Sweet Friend Card

Hello stamping friends! It's time again for another challenge at The Paper Players. This week the lovely LeAnne is hostess for a wonderful sketch challenge. The sketch is really versatile. I can't wait to see how you use it! To play along at Crazy 4 Challenges I've used a Hello sentiment from the Six-Sided Sampler stamp set.

As you can see, I went with a non-holiday card. The black and white was accented with Bermuda Bay and Real Red. When I make cards I don't plan everything out first, I create as I go. However, by doing it this way there is always something I wish I did differently. The polka dot panel needed to be a little narrower to bring the flower up. There needed to be more space between the flower and sentiment area. Other than that, I like the way it turned out. Do you plan out your card or create as you go?

We would love for you to join us this week! Click here for more inspiration from The Paper Players design team. You have until NOON (PST) on Friday, November 28th to link your creations. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!

Here's the sketch:

Hello Sweet Friend Card Supplies:

• Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Bermuda Bay and Real Red cardstock, patterned paper from the Back to Black dsp and polka dots by Recollections.
• Stamps: Flower from Beautiful Bunch set and sentiment from Six-Sided Sampler set.
• Inks & Coloring: Memento black ink, VersaMark and Zing Red Glitter embossing powder.
• Other Stuff: Finishing Touches edgelit, oval punch, scalloped oval punch, red button, Bermuda Bay twine, black glitter brad and stampin' dimensionals.

Sending Good Thoughts Card

Hello and Happy Sunday! It's time for another challenge at The Paper Players. This week we have a theme challenge hosted by Sandy. The theme is to use buttons on your creation. Now, I must tell you that my button stash is pretty limited. So, I decided to combine some older products with a few new ones to create this Sending Good Thoughts Card. For the older supplies I used patterned paper and buttons from the Sycamore Street collection along with the Madison Avenue stamp set from sale-a-bration a couple of years ago. The current products used were The Perfect Pennants stamp set, Banner Framelits along with stampin' pads in Pool Party and Rich Razzleberry.  For the center of the buttons I used Pool Party twine which is discontinued. Well now that you've seen my card, I can't wait to see what you create. I sure hope you will find a few buttons and play along at The Paper Players (click here). The challenge is open until Noon (PST) on Friday, August 8th. Thanks for stopping by and have a terrific day!

Sweet Berries Birthday Card

Happy Sunday! Hopefully you're enjoying your weekend. My weekends usually include an outside project or chore. I was outside watering the wild strawberries growing on the north side of my house when I remembered I have a strawberry digital stamp that I've never used. The card I'm sharing with you today features that digital image by Bugaboo Digi Stamps called Lace Berry. To create this Sweet Berries Birthday Card I used the sketch from the Seize the Birthday challenge. I colored the image with my Copic markers and added Cherry Cobbler dazzling details to add a little sparkle. The patterned paper was measured and pieced together and then I did a little stitching to add detail. Thanks for stopping by and have a crafty day!

My Sweet Berries Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Seize the Birthday: Sketch
• Crafting When We Can: Mad about Markers
• Paper Creator's Crafts: Make it Sparkle
• Card Crafter's Circle: In Stitches
• Catch The Bug: Bingo (Glitter, starts with F (fruit), Button)

 

Buttons & Butterflies Card

This morning I planted a flat of white petunias in my front flower bed next to my stella de oro daylilies. I love how petunias smell, and they just make me happy. When I ventured back inside I decided to make a card for a couple of my regular challenges. I knew I needed to use buttons & butterflies to participate at Flutter By Wednesday, Simon Says Stamp challenge is for flower power, and Charisma Cardz is NO Digis Allowed. With those three challenges in mind, I created this Buttons & Butterflies Card. I have to tell you that I love the Stampin' Up! colour Island Indigo! So much so, that I'm thinking about painting my front door and shutters with it. My hubby isn't as convinced but I think it would be a great change from the hunter green I have now. What do you think, should I go with Island Indigo??? Well... thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!

Buttons & Butterflies Card Supplies*:

• Paper: Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, and Whisper White card stock and Sycamore Street dsp from sale-a-bration.
• Stamps: Madison Avenue stamp set, Papillon Potpourri stamp set and Itty Bitty Banners stamp set.
• Inks: Classic stampin' pads in Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango, Rich Razzleberry, and Pool Party.
• Other Stuff: Sycamore Street buttons, Island Indigo twine, Bitty Butterfly punch, Bitty Banners framelits, Big Shot, and stampin' dimensionals.

*All supplies by Stampin' Up!.

Chevron & Flower Thanks Card

Hooray for the weekend! I took advantage of some free time this evening and made this casual Chevron & Flower Thanks Card. The theme for my card comes from a combination of this weeks CAS-ual Fridays (Chevrons & Flowers) and Moving Along With the Times (Let's Get Krafty) challenges. I LOVE using the kraft corrugated card stock with my blossom punch. It adds just enough texture without overpowering the card. To contrast the kraft card stock I used Pool Party card stock and the chevron patterned paper from the Sunshine & Sprinkles dsp both by Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by and have a FABulous weekend!

Cricut Silhouette Card

Hello all you night owls! I've been hiding in my craft room this evening and I created this Cricut Silhouette Card for this weeks Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge. My Cricut machine was the very first tool purchased for scrapbooking and card making. My hubby bought it for me many years ago for Christmas. In the beginning I used it all the time but as my tool selections expanded I used it less and less. So, tonight I made a point to use it. I cut the focal silhouette image using the Cindy Loo cartridge and used the shadow function on the pool party accent color. The background patterned paper comes from SEI, the vanilla sunshine collection. The butterfly and corner accent patterned paper is from the Sycamore Street dsp by Stampin' Up! The pool party buttons and twine are also from Stampin' Up! I didn't use a sentiment on the front of the card because I didn't want to limit it's use to a specific occasion. Sometimes it's best to leave your options open. Well, it's getting late. Thanks for stopping by!!!

My Cricut Silhouette Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch
• Simply Create Too: Animals (little deer and squirrel in image)
• Hiding in My Craft Room: Freestyle! Anything Goes

Owl Hi Card

My hubby was working late tonight so I squeezed in making another card.  This Owl Hi Card was made using the colours from the ColourQ challenge and a sketch from the Retro Sketches challenge.  I really like combining the colour and sketch challenges and these two worked well together.

Owl Hi Card Supplies: Mustard cardstock, International Bazaar dsp by Stampin' Up!, woodgrain patterned paper by The Paper Studio, green patterned paper by Basic Grey, white cardstock, chocolate cardstock, owl builder punch and bird builder punch by Stampin' Up!, sentiment stamp by TPC Studios (Greetings set, ST93416), classic stampin' pad in early espresso, yellow citrus ink from ColorBox Cat's Eye ink stack, Fiskars deckle scissors, yellow doodle twine, yellow buttons by Stampin' Up!, and random white flower button from my button stash. 

  

Best Wishes Polka Dot Card

Can there be too many round elements to a card?  I look at this card and I like it and then I look at it again and I don't.  Oh well!!!  This must be what happens to my creativity when my weekly routine is disrupted.

This Best Wishes Polka Dot Card was created using the Sweet Sunday Sketch.  I used designer paper by Pebbles and wooden buttons from American Crafts.   I opted not to make the card square because I have no square envelopes.

Best Wishes Polka Dot Card Supplies: Kraft cardstock, patterned paper by Pebbles (Country Picnic collection, 751244 Cobblestone), pink cardstock by Basic Grey, lucky limeade and very vanilla cardstock by Stampin' Up!, eyelet border punch by Stampin' Up!, Cricut machine, Cricut  cartridge (Storybook), scalloped circle punch by Marvy, 1" circle punch by EK Success, sentiment stamp by Inkadinkado (Everyday expressions, 60-60049), classic stampin' pad in lucky limeade, lace on a roll by Recollections (212736), wooden buttons by American Crafts, and stampin' dimensionals.

Balloons Birthday Card

I was not happy with the card I made on Friday for the CAS-ual Friday challenge.  So today I made another one.  The challenge is to use two circles and the card Friday I used some cute little brads but yes they are round.  I asked my husband how many circles he saw on the card and he said eight.  Well, eight is not two.  This Balloons Birthday Card was made for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge and the Moxie Fab birthday challenge.  The balloons are paper pieced from some fun patterned paper scraps and the buttons are the two circles.  If your looking for more great card inspiration, click on the links and check out the other entries.

Balloons Birthday Card Supplies:  Blue cardstock, white cardstock, patterned paper scraps, black dye ink by Stampabilities, balloons stamp by Stampabilities (NR1025), VersaMark watermark stamp pad, Happy Birthday sentiment stamp by TPC Studios (Greetings Set, ST93416), Zing! embossing powder in blue metallic finish (27161), heat tool by The Paper Studio, hemp twine, and wood buttons by American Crafts.