Bugs, a boat and more!

The CAS challenge at AAA cards this week is titled Summer Fun. When I was a young child in Iowa, one of my favorite things about summer was that the nights seemed magical due to the large numbers of fireflies (we called them lightening bugs.) I remember the first time my brothers and I caught several and put them in a jar. I went to bed with the jar on my dresser, fascinated by their flickering glow. When I woke the next morning I was aghast to see that the jar now just held plain ol' bugs! I was sure that my brothers has taken my beautiful sparkly ones and replaced them with these ugly ones. (note, the bugs and jar are from a Fiskars clear stamp set. The sentiment is handwritten. Bugs are colors with markers and yellow chalk. I also added a bit of glitter to their little bums... but you can't see that in the photo.) 

 Entered into: 

AAA Card Challenges- Summer Fun              

   (aaacards.blogspot.com/)

I paper pieced this sweet little sailboat to enter into a nautical card challenge. Am also entering it into a patterned paper challenge (sails and clouds) and friendship challenge, because my 40 year marriage started with a friendship that grew into more.

Entered into: 

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Nautical                        

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge)

CAS-ual Fridays- Friendship                   

    (CAS-ualfridays.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge

    (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com) 

I love the elegant simplicity of this all white wedding card. A silver plastic wedding ring adds a bit of bling. And to add more interest, I sized the card to fit into a # 10 business envelope.

Entered into:

Double D’s Challenge- All White 

    (daranddiane.blogspot.com)

Used one of my favorite free digis (from freedeariedollsdigistamps.blogspot.com) with a sentiment that I found on Pinterest to make this fun card. Also, I made small coffee bean stamps from some rubber scraps from a Stampin’ Up wood mount set. Stamped them repeatedly on strips of an old dictionary for a bold rustic addition. (Did you know there's actually a fancy name for vintage items added to cards? Ephemera! Thinking this card is pretty “Cool beans”! (Um… I am sure that saying kinda dates me. I think it is from the 70s or early 80’s?! So does that make me ephemera? Or possibly ephemeral?)

Entered into:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Add a Sentiment                

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #294-295 Anything Goes                    

     (wordartwednesday.blogspot.com)

From sweet to beautiful

A card that brings back sweet memories from childhood. (Our clothes dryer plays a cute little tune when the cycle is done, and it always makes me smile… and crave ice cream!!) 
Note, the little boy image- and hundreds more- are available from freedeariedollsdigistamps.blogspot.com. The ice cream truck is from a packet of scrapbook papers.  

Entered into:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- For a Child                        

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

And what can be sweeter in the winter than gingerbread and a mug of hot chocolate (tea or hot apple cider if you prefer that). I used a yellow patterned paper background for this to meet a challenge requirement, but I do like the golden glow it adds to the card.

Entered into:

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge                                        

     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge2- Extra for August  
     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk)

Christmas Cards All Year Round- Use Yellow  

   (christmascardsallyearround.blogspot.co.uk)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge

    (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

Have always loved this stamp. It is especially elegant when embossed in gold. For this added pop of sparkly color, I used colored embossing pens on the flowers and then quickly added iridescent peacock embossing powder. (Purchased years ago from Embossing Arts… and it is almost gone. Must find a replacement, soon.)
PS You can find this beautiful stamp at victorineoriginals.com.

Entered into: 

Cute Card Thursday- Embossing                                  

     (cutecardthursday.blogspot.com) 

Wanted to make a card for a friend, and decided to go Shabby Chic, since I still had my doilies and lace out from earlier use. Found the image in my box of treasures from my mom’s things. Fussy cut around the image, removing the sentiment to place just beneath the boughs of flowers. The inside sentiment reads, “The road to a friend’s house is never long. (Danish Proverb.)”

Entered into: 

Deep Ocean Challenge- Shabby Chic/Vintage                           

     (deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au)

CAS-ual Fridays- Friendship                        

    (CAS-ualfridays.blogspot.com)

From cute to quirky

Got this stamp years ago when my nephews were playing HS football. They are now all grown up with families. So was fun to have so many memories surface while making this card. The Band-Aid accents just seemed to fit the image!

Entered into:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- For a Child                        

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

Wanted a crisp and clean image for this card, so embossed the sweet little chirps with detail EP. Colored the image with Tombow markers, mounted it on a scrap of vintage sheet music, the finished with a ribbon/die cut accent piece cut from an old Christmas card.

Entered into:

Cute Card Thursday- Embossing                                  

     (cutecardthursday.blogspot.com) 

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge                                        

     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge2- Extra for August  
     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk)

Used a cute Whimsie Doodles Unicorn digi to make this cute friend card. The inside sentiment was found on Pinterest and printed off on my computer. (You might not be able to see it, but her mane and tail are very sparkly!) 

Entered into:

CAS-ual Fridays- Friendship                     

    (CAS-ualfridays.blogspot.com)

Once upon a time... I found this little shoe stamp in the Michaels discount bin. Have never used it until now. Needed a wedding card and had fun making this one with clear lacquer to resemble Cinderella’s classic footwear! Made it into a wedding card, where the inside greeting makes sure that the couple receiving will be reminded that they are not living in a fairy tale! (I’m entering this in Sketch Challenge, although I did make some changes to the sketch- flipping the image/sentiment and adding several additional layers of patterned vellum and lightly patterned pastel paper behind the circle- to also fit Shabby Chic and Patterned Paper challenges. Kinda like the results!)

Entered into: 

Deep Ocean Challenge- Shabby Chic/Vintage                           

     (deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au)

Bugaboo Stamp- Stella Says Sketch Challenge

        (catchthebugblog.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge

    (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com) 

CAS and more!

In an earlier post, I noted that really don’t know what my preferred style of stamping is. But, I do know that Shabby Chic and CAS are both challenging to me. I am participating in challenges that require these styles in this posting. The first, a CAS challenge titled “Summer Fun” poses this invitation- “We're in the mood for some summer fun this next fortnight and would love to see how you interpret this theme.”

My card might seem unusual for that, but to me, one of the fun things about summer is that my work schedule during August usually pretty light. Allow me to explain. Much of my job involves working with schools and community coalitions. Both like to take the end of summer off for vacations. So… I do the same. And since my sweet hubby is disabled, we prefer to do “staycations.” I love having a few weeks to stay home, just doing whatever I please on no set schedule. This usually involves me “fluttering” from project to project with glee! Hence, this card is a perfect interpretation of Summer Fun for me!

This card will also work perfectly for a friendship card, so am entering it into another challenge with that theme.
PS- You can't see it very well... but the top of the card has very faint clouds with light blue chalk. Am trying to respect the need to have lots of "white space" that CAS requires, but also wanted the illusion of sky. So... very, very light chalkwork did it! 

Entered into: 

AAA Card Challenges- Summer Fun             

   (aaacards.blogspot.com/)

CAS-ual Fridays- Friendship                        

        (CAS-ualfridays.blogspot.com)

The other card style that I find most challenging is Shabby Chic. I like them when others make them, but mine always look messy and/or overdone. I found a free image here (http://thegraphicsfairy.com/vintage-fairy-image-rose-flower-girl/) that just begged me to be featured on a card, so decided to make it a Shabby Chic one. Decked her out in a doily, ribbons, fussy cut blooms on her head and even her shoes... then finished the card off with a few stick pins. I'm thinking she looks a bit "Shabby Cluttered"?! 

Entered into: 

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- For a Child                        

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

Deep Ocean Challenge- Shabby Chic/Vintage                           

     (deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au)

Di’s Digi Stamps- Fancy Flowers    

    (disdigidesignschallenge.blogspot.co.uk)

When considering my preferred style of stamping, I know that I like “coloring” plus making cards with puns or quirky humor. I create these on my computer and am always looking for fun new fonts! I also like upcycling items, fussy cutting, and find myself using digis, sketches or clip art more and more often in my creations. For this card, I found a fun free sketch on the web, colored it with chalks and markers, fussy cut stars from a damaged yellow “report sleeve” that I rescued for the trash can at my office, printed off the fun sentiment and… the results are sure to bring a smile to one of my Star Wars lovin’ friends.

Entered into: 

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Happy Birthday                       

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge)

Adding another card to my Christmas stash, this one is for a teacher friend that loves family time during the school break. The inside of the card reads, “… so that the outdoor fun can begin! Happy Holidays (and Happy School Break!)” 

Entered into:

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge                                        

     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk)

Christmas Cards All Year Round- Use Yellow  

   (christmascardsallyearround.blogspot.co.uk)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge

    (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge2- Extra for August  

     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk)

Shabby Chic and more!

I really don’t know what my preferred style of stamping is… but I know that CAS is challenging to me… as is Shabby Chic. I think I am “eclectic”?!

Here is an attempt at making a Shabby Chic card, but with a contemporary twist. Instead of using a doily or intricate dies, I used a template to cut notches in the card fold, creating the herringbone folds. Instead of vintage photos or images, I opted to use a trendy napkin. Gently tearing the layers of the napkin apart, the images become slightly translucent. I then layered patterned paper behind the cups, added a sentiment and tiny puffy-heart sticker, and a few scraps of lace along the folded edge. Maybe I can call it “Edgy Chic”?!

(PS The inside reads, "Hope your birthday is filled with all of your favorite things!" 

Entered into: 

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Happy Birthday                       

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge)

Deep Ocean Challenge- Shabby Chic/Vintage                           

     (deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge

    (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

This is a favorite Tiddlyinks Image. For this card, I printed off and colored “Tiny Dancer” using the color palette their current challenge requires (just love the dusky pinks, roses and grays together). Then used the current Bugaboo sketch to put the card together. Liked the shimmer of the rosy ribbon behind the circle cutout and the glimmer of the silver glitter on the strip of tulle that I tied on the paper strip base. Am thinking that some little girl (or maybe a big girl) will love it! 

Entered into:

Tiddly Inks- Autumn Glow                                                        

    (tiddlyinkschallenge.blogspot.com)

Bugaboo Stamp- Stella Says Sketch Challenge

        (catchthebugblog.blogspot.com)

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- For a Child                        

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

Isn’t this Tiddlyinks image (and sentiment) just yummy? I printed off the sentiment and sweet cookie fairy image. Colored the fairy with markers, chalks and white gel pen. The final touch was adding micro-fine glitter to her wings. Printed the cookies on Kraft brown cardstock and quickly added shading with a tan marker and highlights with the white gel pen. (I included a close up of that process.) Cut them out and layered them on the front of the card and one on the sentiment.

Entered into: 

CAS-ual Fridays- Friendship                        

        (CAS-ualfridays.blogspot.com)

Just discovered a new Christmas challenge. (Actually, found it a while ago but didn’t have a blog to post my cards. So… am happy that I can now participate in the fun challenges!) Their current challenge has the theme of “Tropical Christmas.” I knew just what I wanted to do! Dug out this sweet flamingo image from a paper pack for pocket cards, added a cute little Santa hat and hand written greeting. The inside sentiment reads, “Sending warm holiday wishes your way!”

Entered into: 

Christmas Card Throwdown- Tropical Christmas

    (52cct.blogspot.si/)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge                                        

     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk)

Christmas Cards All Year Round- Use Yellow  

   (christmascardsallyearround.blogspot.co.uk)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge2- Extra for August  

     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk)

Footwear and more!

Love this little Elf shoe that I found on Pinterest. I gave it my own fun twist, using yellow (to meet requirements of one challenge) and added a fun sentiment inside, “Want to have fun this holiday season? Just listen to your inner elf!”

Entered into:

Christmas Cards All Year Round- Use Yellow  

   (christmascardsallyearround.blogspot.co.uk)

CAS-ual Fridays- Friendship                    

        (CAS-ualfridays.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge

    (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge2- Extra for August  
     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk)

Send a Smile for Kids- Anything Goes

        (sendasmile4kidschallenge.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- Anything Goes                           

     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk)

Needed a masculine card for my father-in-law and this boot and hat image, fussy cut from an old Christmas card, was a perfect fit. Added some rustic charm with the background and a bit of texture with the knotted rope, and it is ready to hit the trails!

Entered into:

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Happy Birthday                       

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge)

Double D’s Challenge- Tans and Texture

    (daranddiane.blogspot.com)

These cute little cherubs were just asking to come out to play. So… I said YES! Used a template from my scrapbooking supplies to make the ‘A’, added a fun plaid paper backing, and safely tucked it away for the next baby shower.   

Entered into: 

Art Impressions- Shower with Love                               

     (artimpressionsstamps.blogspot.com)

The artistry of Poppy Power stamps always amaze me, and the work of the DTs inspire me. However, my very limited budget hasn’t yet allowed me to indulge. So I very much appreciate that they provided a few freebie images to use in the current challenge. Love this scripture digi. The challenge requires the mixing of stamp sets, so I used a Stampendous leaf image, the old “Jacob’s Coat Technique” that I learned a few decades ago, and finished with a leaf charm. Am sure this card will find a home come November.

Entered into: 

Poppy Power- Mix & Match                                          

     (powerpoppy.blogspot.com/2017/08/august-challenge-mix-and-match.html)

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes                       

     (wordartwednesday.blogspot.com)

A handful of cards

This tri-fold card is sure to make someone smile! It has texture, color, three playful turts, and a whimsical sentiment. So fun! (Note- I made the underwater scene with torn paper, then adhered a layer of blue plastic report sleeve from the school section at Walgreens. Sorry about the glare. It is hard to take a photo without that when working with smooth items. At least for me.) 

Entered into: 

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Happy Birthday                       

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge)

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- For a Child                        

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

Send a Smile for Kids- Anything Goes

        (sendasmile4kidschallenge.blogspot.com)

I love layering this free digi from TLC (http://createwithtlc-createwithtlc.blogspot.com/).  I’ve used it with other colors, but really like the royal simplicity of purple accents.

Entered into:

Victorine Challenge- Purple       

      (vostamps.blogspot.com)                                                             

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #294-295 Anything Goes                    

     (wordartwednesday.blogspot.com)

This week a friend and I are co-sponsoring a weekly challenge at wecraftcards. Titled, “Laurel & Hardy” because we are a fun pair of crafters with an odd sense of humor, participants PM each of us separately for instructions, then create a card using them. It has been such fun! Our sample cards had to meet the following: Create a card that includes 1) butterflies and 2) circles. Here is my creation that has a bit of a shabby chic feeling (which, like CAS, is a technique that I don’t use very often.)

Entered into: 

We Craft Cards Wednesday Challenge- Laurel & Hardy                          

     (wecraftcards.com/forum)

CAS-ual Fridays- Friendship                    

        (CAS-ualfridays.blogspot.com)

Deep Ocean Challenge- Shabby Chic/Vintage                           

     (deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge

    (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

I have made more Christmas cards since starting my blog in March… and love that! This one is being entered in one challenge that required the use of yellow in the card, plus two others that have no requirements… except that they are for Christmas. (The digi is printed on vellum that includes flecks and chunks of silver and gold. That is the sparkle that you see. Neato!) 

Entered into:

Christmas Cards All Year Round- Use Yellow  

   (christmascardsallyearround.blogspot.co.uk)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge2- Extra for August  
     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- Anything Goes                                       

     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk)