No One Measures Up To You

Good morning! The blog has been a bit quiet lately, in case you hadn't noticed! But I have been super busy behind the scenes - crafting, crafting, crafting - and getting ready for new releases and guest design posts, a new design team (eek! can't wait to tell!), and regular scheduled design team work. So, even thought you will start seeing all that stuff soon, it hasn't left me much time to work on stuff to share sooner! So here is a card from last year on the Splitcoast Stampers Dirty Dozen that I haven't shared here yet - a fun Father's Day inspired card!

I used Avocado Arts Just Fore You stamp set, some distress ink, jute twine, and embossing with my Cuttlebug. Pattern paper is from my Mind's Eye, with a bit of distressing on the edges of that as well. Finished off with a few Eyelet Outlet Enamel dots.

Thanks for dropping by! Hope you are having a great day! 

Tie-riffic with Avocado Arts

Good morning! I'm up on the Avocado Arts blog this morning to share some projects with the new stamp set for May called Tie-riffic! This is such a perfectly timed set, with Father's Day just around the corner:

I started off with the fun remote control - do you see the fun sentiments that are even on that?!?!?

I used Hero Arts ombre inks to stamp them, fussy cut them out, then attached with foam adhesive to my panel that I cut with a wave border from Lil' Inker's Border Builders Die Set. I also wrapped some jute twine around and knotted it in the front - a bit more masculine than a bow! Added my sentiment, then attached to my pattern paper with foam adhesive.

Next up, who could resist a fun recliner? :)

I stamped it on pattern paper, then fussy cut it out. Adhered it with foam adhesive to my card on which I had stamped my sentiment in two colors, and layered over a die cut oval (Lil Inker's Stitched Mats: Ovals) and a bit more pattern paper. Added a few enamel dots to finish this one off.

And finally, a super simple card - which usually means the perfect masculine card, right?

I simply stamped the Father's Day sentiment 3 times on a die cut tag (once again from Lil Inker's - Anytime Tags Die Set 2), added some string to the side, and attached to a woodgrain cardstock cardbase.

Masculine cards tend to come a bit harder for me, but this stamp set definitely made it easier! Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day!!!

Love Brings You Home - Unity FWF

Good morning! Excited to be stopping by this morning with a card for Unity Friends with Flair! I played around with a technique called "Ink Smooshing" - and I LOVE the effect it gave!

I used some MFT dye inks, smooshed them on my non-stick mat, misted with water, and then used my fingers to soften the edges a bit before smooshing my cardstock into it. Once it dried, I stamped my image and sentiment from the wonderful Love Brings You Home set. Finished off with some coordinating MFT cardstock, some enamel dots, and a wood veneer heart that I colored with Copics to match my enamel dots, and covered with Glossy Accents for some shine.

Have a wonderful day!!!

You're old...embrace it

Good morning again! I was SOOO excited the other day to finally get my hands on this ADORABLE stamp set from Tim Holtz - called Bird Crazy. I have been seeing them pop up everywhere in my news feed on cards! So the day they arrived, I quickly sat down to color one up, and play along with a couple of challenges:

I used my color inspiration from this month's Eyelet Outlet Color Challenge (if you haven't played along, I know there haven't been very many entries - and the prize is a fun package of Eyelet Outlet goodies, so you're odds of winning are pretty good! You don't even have to use any Eyelet Outlet product to play along - so what are you waiting for?)

Also linking up with this weeks Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Things that Fly:

I hadn't tried before to blend two completely different colors with Copics - I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I added a sentiment from a Paper Smooches Happy Birthday set - thought it was super fun to go with the Saying Bubble Brad. Added some random coordinating papers from my stash, a few Eyelet Outlet Enamel dots, and a bit of jute twine to finish it off!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day today!

You're a Blessing

Good morning! Thought I would stop by with another card I made for the Throwback Thursday Challenge at Wplus9! Once again, since I only recently discovered Wplus9, I didn't have a lot of older stuff except sentiments, so I combined one of those with a newer set again for my card. I was a little looser on my interpretation of the inspiration cards by Maureen Merritt on this card - going for the main center panel as if following a sketch, and adding sequins as she did on her last card: 

Also linking this up with the current Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes:

The new set I used is called Pick of the Litter. I just KNEW this sweet image would be fun to color with Copics, and I certainly wasn't disappointed! Once it was colored in, I stamped my sentiment by masking parts of a couple different sentiments from Hand Lettered Thanks, and die cut the front panel with an Avery Elle die. Next, I wrapped a good bunch of silver thread around and tied a fluffy thread bow. Mounted with foam adhesive on my pattern paper from American Crafts, then added a generous sprinkling of sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and a few enamel dots. 

Thanks for dropping by today! Hope you are having a wonderful day!!!

Amazing Bear

Good morning! I love coloring something with very unexpected colors - especially when it actually works! This card was super fun for me:

I made this to play along with the current Simon Says Monday Challenge - All Things Bright and Beautiful - (for a bear, this is definitely bright and beautiful!):

I used the Altenew set called Geometric Menagerie for the bear, and my sentiment came from another Altenew set called Sentiments and Quotes. I colored it with Copic markers, then added a super sparkly coat of Wink of Stella - which as always is super hard to see in the pictures! I die cut the panel with a Lil' Inker's die, then layered together some vellum and random papers from my scrap pile that coordinated and attached them with 3 rows of slightly messy machine stitching. The center panel was attached with foam adhesive, and I finished off with some matching enamel dots.

I also curled the edges of the paper up a little, since they are only attached at the machine stitching I think it gives great dimension to the card - and so incredibly easy! 

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day!

Rock Star Panda

Good morning again! Sharing another catch up post from last year today - this was for my sis-in-law's birthday back in November...and never got shared!

Also linking this up with the current Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - All Things Bright and Beautiful:

I used some Mama Elephant goodies for this card! The Creative Cuts Basic set for the scallop and stitched rectangles, tag, and tiny bow, Pandamonium for the cute Panda, and Good Times for the sentiment. Pattern paper is from Basic Grey, and there is a bit of ribbon, a doily, and a few enamel dots sprinkled on there as well!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fun day!

Avery Elle Challenge - Paper Piecing

Good morning! It's time for the first AEIHeartU Challenge of the year! This month the theme is paper piecing!

Please excuse my photography! Still unpacking and haven't found my normal set-up yet, so making do with a bright window sill! Here is my card using paper piecing:

I made this for my brother-in-law's birthday. As always, guy cards can be so hard, and I love how this one came together! I started off by using Finished Frames ELLE-ments dies to cut my pattern paper panels. Love the touch of finish this adds to the edges! Next I stamped my images and sentiments from Sending You Clear Stamp set - stamping the airplane off 3 times to give the illusion of movement, then paper piecing in white the farthest one away. Added some jute twine and black enamel dots to finish it all off!

Thanks for stopping by today - I hope you'll join us and play along! Looking forward to seeing your creations! 

MCS - Christmas Release - Day 5

Good morning! Welcome to the last day of sneak peeks for the new release at My Craft Spot - and this time it's all about Christmas! So many fun sets - today we are sharing sneak peeks of what is probably absolute FAVORITE set from this release - " Merry and Bright" - absolutely FULL of fun and adorable sentiments!

This is the first one that I saw when I received this stamp set - and it was LOVE at first sight! SOOOO cute, right?!?!?!?

Each part of this card has a meaning and a purpose and reason! I started off with a green card base (like the Grinch!), and added some washi tape to the bottom (gold for all the fun decorations in the Grinch, as well as a bit of red, because - his hat and coat!), as well as a bit of white Studio Calico mist (like snow!). I stamped my sentiment on some white cardstock, rounded the top corners, and added a speech part to the bottom with a Lawn Fawn die. Finished off with some red enamel hearts (because his heart grew 3 sizes that day!). Oh...this card just makes me entirely and completely happy! 

Make sure and head over to the My Craft Spot blog to check out all of the other fun projects by the Design Team! Kimberly is giving away a $10 Gift Certificate each day, so make sure and leave a comment there for a chance to win!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! See you again tomorrow!!!

Welcome Baby...

Good morning! Hard to believe the week is almost over...these past several weeks have been a waiting game for us! We found out nearly a month ago that the company my husband works for here in Wyoming sold this facility, and we will be moving. Today is the day we find out exactly WHERE we are going! Have to say, it will be nice to have the mystery laid to rest!

Anyway - thought I would drop by and share a baby card I made recently with my Paper Smooches stamps:

I am also joining in with the current Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge - Anything Goes:

For this card, I used some soft pink MFT ink, smooshed it on my nonstick mat, and made a watercolor background by dipping my water brush in the ink. I stamped the sweet little elephants from A Little Lovin' on Copic cardstock, colored, and fussy cut them out. I die cut a tag using Tag Stitched Dies, added a bit of washi tape, and mounted the elphants on there with foam adhesive. Next, I die cut a speech bubble using Word Bubble Dies, and stamped my sentiment combining Bold Buzzwords and A Little Lovin', and added some ribbon attached with a staple to the top. Finished off by stamping a few of the hearts from Bold Buzzwords in the same pink ink, and some Hero Arts gray ink on the background, attaching the tag with foam adhesive, and adding a few sparkly silver enamel dots from Eyelet Outlet.

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day!!!

Winnie and Walter - Leading Lady Post 3 - and Giveaway!

Good Saturday morning! I'm excited to be back on the Winnie and Walter Blog again this morning to share some more fun projects with my Winnie and Walter stamps!

Today I broke out the amazing chevrons from Scenery: V for cheVron stamp set and made 4 completely different styles of cards! First up - I so love watercolors right now, so I had to used the chevrons for that technique!

 For this card I used the solid medium sized chevrons, stamped them on watercolor paper in two different colors of My Favorite Things dye ink side by side a total of 3 times, then softened the lines with a waterbrush. I took some deep gray ink and pressed it onto my nonstick mat, added some water, and then used a clean brush to flick some black splatters across the card. Added a couple different sentiments from Bubble Talk on the bottom, then placed on a kraft card base.

For the next one, I wanted to go with a fun and random pattern, and make it masculine. I was trying to make sure everything did NOT line up perfectly, but I think a few things I got too close to straight, so it looks like I meant to make them straight and just failed! Oops! 

Anyway, used an assortment of My Favorite Things inks for this one as well, and added the speech bubbles and "DUDE" from Bubble Talk, the rest of the sentiment from The Big, the Bold, and the You, and the stars from Scenery: It's a Wonderful Pennant.  

Next up, I just had to use those lovely large chevrons too! 

First up I used the solid large chevron and MANY colors of My Favorite Things ink, and overlapped the chevrons randomly - some of them just a little, and some of them a lot. LOVE the way the inks blend together to make new colors! Then I stamped the outline, also randomly over the top - sometimes just inked one side of it, sometimes both of them. Added a sentiment from The Big, the Bold, and the You, a row of random machine stitching, and a few black enamel arrows.

And finally, another one with the large solid chevron - this time a completely one layer card, but with lots of the appearance of dimension all the same! 

I also used My Favorite Things ink for this one, and left a slight gap between chevrons so you can see the white card base underneath. Added a sentiment combined from The Big, the Bold, and the Fun and Bubble Talk as well as a few of the stars from Scenery: It's a Wonderful Pennant. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Don't forget you have a chance throughout the month to win a $30 gift card to Winnie and Walter just for leaving a comment! 

Thanks so much Shay and Julie for giving me this fun opportunity! Have a wonderful day everyone!

Winnie and Walter Leading Lady and Giveaway

Good morning! I'm SUPER excited to be kicking off something fun for me this month! Several weeks ago I got an email from Shay at Winnie and Walter inviting me to be their guest "Leading Lady" for the month of August! I am super excited to be sharing a project (or two or three!) over on the Winnie and Walter Blog every Saturday for the month of August with my Winnie and Walter stamps. I also get to give away a $30 gift card to Winnie and Walter drawn from comments left here on my blog throughout the month!

I decided to kick off the month by combining Bubble Talk with some simple shapes cut with my Silhouette Cameo! I'm also linking this up with the Moxie Fab World "Clicking Cameras" Challenge.

I also used the same paper pad for all three cards - My Mind's Eye Now and Then - with the exception of the die cut shapes which were cut with paper from Basic Grey's Fresh Cut paper pad. This first card also features some gold enamel stars from Eyelet Outlet.

I just love this funny owl on the second card! I added a frame from some Freckled Fawn embellishments that I had in my stash, as well as some wiggly eyes.

I stamped the sentiment with Hero Arts Dark Quartz Shadow ink, as well as black ink - like how the combination of colors help the sentiment pop!

And lastly - this hipster cat! I thought it was so cute!

 I attached all the die cuts for each card, as well as the stamped speech bubbles with foam adhesive for fun dimension, and inked the edges of the speech bubbles with Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress ink - love the way this softens up white cardstock and helps it blend in with the softer colors. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Don't forget you have a chance throughout the month to win a $30 gift card to Winnie and Walter just for leaving a comment! 

Thanks so much Shay and Julie for giving me this fun opportunity! Have a wonderful day everyone!

Splitcoast Stampers Dare to Get Dirty - Nautical Silhouette

Good morning! I am super tickled on my last month as a member of the Splitcoast Stampers Dirty Dozen to be joining in a super fun week of challenges, known as Dare to Get Dirty! This is my sample card for Cassie's Challenge. Curious to know what that challenge is? If you are a Fan Club member, you can pop over there now and see it, and if not - you can read all about how to join HERE!

For this card - I created a simple watercolor background, then die cut Paper Smooches Sailboat Die from white cardstock to layer over the top. Added a sentiment from Neat and Tangled's Sailmates stamp set - SOOO adorable!!! Added some gold enamel stars from Eyelet Outlet, some woodgrain pattern paper from MME, and a bit of jute twine to finish it off.

I'm also linking this up with the current Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes:

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you will join us - and Dare to Get Dirty!!!