Merry Monday Challenge #80

 

I've been watching the Merry Monday challenges since I am creating the cards for the Christmas card workshops.  Merry Monday focuses on Christmas all through the year.  And the challenge this week was to use music or a carol inspired theme. 

The first card workshop I am doing is using the new Sparkle & Shine paper pack from CTMH and the coordinating dimensional complements.  I love the colors in this paper pack, and even though the tag actually said "To" and "From", I found a holly stamp to covered them up!  The card design is sketch #28 from CTMH's Make It from Your Heart, Vol. 2. 

I'll be posting all of the cards for this upcoming workshop on the Project Workshop page, so check it out.  Also, hop on over to Merry Monday Challenge Blog and see what others have created this week.

Thanks for stopping by!

OCTOBER STAMP CLUB

 

We are transitioning from Autumn to Christmas this month in Stamp Club.  You will select one of the two cascading cards, make the three Christmas cards and the quick little gift tags made from this month's Stamp of the Month - Scandinavian Wishes.

More photos can be found by clicking here and heading over to the Stamp Club page!
Stamp Club will meet on these dates - pick the one that works best for you and let me know.

 Tuesday, October 1

Thursday, October 3

Saturday, October 5

Monday, October 7

SEIZE THE SKETCH #4

There's a new sketch challenge in town!  I thought this sketch would work well with the little "Santa's Greeting" (M1028).  I wanted to use the adhesive springs on this card - it's fun to watch the greeting bob around as you take the card out of the envelope!

I used the retired "Believe" paper for the background, and the CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge for all of the other cuts.

Those of you in Stamp Club will be making this card when we get together in October.

Click here to check out the other cards made with this sketch at Seize the Sketch!

Thanks for stopping by.

PAPER PLAYERS CHALLENGE #161 - FALLING FOR YOU

Fall is just around the corner.  Of course, here in Arizona, I don't see as many piles of leaves as I did as a child growing up in Nebraska.  So it was fun to create my own pile of leaves - and this one won't make me sneeze!

I recently hopped through a number of challenge blogs to find some that would help spark my creativity.  I found The Paper Players, and thought I would join their challenge this week with this fall-themed card.  It is a cascading card.  I had seen one a while back on Pinterest that looked like a basket of leaves, so thought I would go for that look.  Think it worked out pretty well.

This card will be a part of the projects the Stamp Club gals will make in October.  I wanted to use up a stash of 8.5 X 11 cardstock, so I re-configured the dimensions of the cascading card we had done last spring to make it work.  Always fun to put a twist on a previous project.

I love the lattice weave embossing folder from Cuttlebug.  I think it gives the "basket" a more realistic appearance.  I used the Cricut to cut all of the leaves (CTMH's Artiste and Artbooking cartridges), then ran each of them through various embossing folders and inked the edges.  The stamp sets are both new in the Autumn/Winter Idea Book from CTMH - Happy Autumn (D1550) and Perfect Fit - Thanksgiving (B1427).  The pull-out tag gives you room to add a message.

Check out all of the other Fall projects at The Paper Players.  I'm sure you'll be inspired.
Thanks for taking a look!

RETRO SKETCHES #79, SWEET STAMPIN' CHALLENGE, and PAPERTAKE WEEKLY CHALLENGE

  

The sketch at Retro Sketches this week was fun!  I reached into my stash of papers - most that I purchased two to three years ago on clearance - and then grabbed one of the new single stamps from CTMH - "Tree Delights" M1032 - to complete the project.  After adding every bit of bling to the tree that I could find in the "bling" stash, I found the phrase from an old CTMH Constant Campaign stamp set.  What a perfect way to finish the card off!

I'm also submitting this card to these other challenges:
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Spots and Stripes - I think the spots are pretty obvious, but the stripes are created by the strips of paper that I used!
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Anything Goes with an optional extra to create a Christmas card!

Head on over to these two challenge blogs or to the Retro Sketches Challenge by clicking on their names.  You'll see great projects and get lots of inspiration!

And by the way all you Stamp Club ladies, we will be making this card in class in October!
Thanks for stopping by.

SEPTEMBER STAMP CLUB - IT FEELS LIKE FALL!

In September, we are going to be working with a variety of inks and try different techniques with them.  All of the techniques work well with a fall theme.  Hope you can join us.  I have added an additional class day because the number of people attending has increased.  I would rather keep the class sizes smaller and have time to work with everyone during the class.

Dates for the September Stamp Clubs are:

Tuesday, September 3

Monday, September 9

Thursday, September 12

Saturday, September 14

All classes meet at 9:30 a.m. in my home craft studio in Prescott Valley.  Classes run about 4 hours.

Head over to the Stamp Club Page of my blog for more photos and information.

ALLSORTS CHALLENGE - Week 221 - USE ACETATE

Several years ago I taught a scrapbooking class where we used acetate, Staz-On inks and alcohol inks to create interest.  I'm recreating that technique for September's Stamp Club, and this is the end result.  So when I found that Allsorts Challenge was using acetate this week, I decided to join in the fun.

The image is stamped with black Staz-On, then turned over and colored with a small paint brush using several different alcohol inks.  The base of the card is created with three different ink colors - creme brulee, sunset, and autumn terracotta (all CTMH) - applied in a circular motion using a sponge ink applicator.  I started with the lightest color and overlapped each successive color to create the "ombre" technique.  The acetate is applied with only the brads - since any adhesive would show through.

Pop on over to the Allsorts Challenge Blog and see other great projects with acetate.  Thanks for stopping by!

KABOODLE DOODLES CHALLENGE 186 - Season of Fall or Fall Colors

I went "surfing" for new challenge blogs today - and found several that I want to keep track of and try whenever I am able.  I just finished the cards for September's Stamp Club, and since Autumn is the theme, they fit perfectly with this challenge.  I have two cards that I am submitting.

The first one is done with alcohol inks and a pieced embossed image.  I used about 5 different alcohol inks on the pad with a copper metallic mixative.  I applied these to a piece of glossy white cardstock, then added the blending solution to the pad and went over the entire piece again to really blend the colors together.  The image is the September Stamp of the Month from CTMH - available only from Sept 1 - 30 - and for only $5 with a qualifying purchase!  I embossed the entire image in cranberry, then used various other colors to emboss different strips, cut them out and adhered them over the original.  I finished it off by cutting down and fraying some of the burlap ribbon.

The second card uses the fall colors, but I chose a phrase that could work as either sympathy or thinking of you, depending on the situation.

 The paper is the new Huntington paper pack from CTMH with Barn Red cardstock.  The stamp set is Happy Autumn (D1550 - CTMH).  I used a little of the bronze shimmer tape, as well as Barn Red, Champagne, Cashmere, Desert Sand, Creme Brulee and Autumn Terracotta inks.  The design of the card is Pattern #22 from the new Make It From Your Heart - Vol 2 by CTMH.

Head on over to Kaboodle Doodles Challenges and see what other fall creations have been submitted!  Thanks for taking a look.

FRESHLY MADE SKETCHES #100

 

In celebration of their 100th sketch, Freshly Made Sketches is using the very first sketch for their challenge blog from September 2011.  And I'm just making it under the wire to get this submitted!

This was my first time to work with the new Frosted paper pack from CTMH - and it was perfect for this project!  I also used the September Stamp of the Month, which will be available on September 1st.  If you make a qualifying purchase, you can get this 2-stamp set for only $5.

These are the products I used to create this card.  All are CTMH unless indicated:
X7175B - Frosted Paper Pack
1388 - Colonial White cardstock
X5666 - Twilight cardstock ( I inked the edges of it with Colonial White pigment ink - Z2168 - to match the Frosted Turquoise in the Frosted Paper Pack)
X5929 - Whisper cardstock
Z1829 - Black & Grey Glitter Paper
S1309 - Poster Tidings - September Stamp of the Month, only available Sept 1 - 30!
G1063 - Frosted Cardmaking Workshop on the Go - stamp set for inside greeting
Z2172 - Whisper ink pad
White embossing powder (retired)
Z134 - Prisma Glitter
Z1752 - Clear Sparkles
Martha Stewart snowflake punch

Thanks for stopping by!  Check out all of the other great cards made with this sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.

FINAL PROJECT FOR AUGUST STAMP CLUB

Now you can see the final card we will make in August's Stamp Club.  This one is the design from the Laughing Lola Cardmaking Workshop, with one slight change.  More details about everything we will be doing in the August groups is found on the Stamping Club page.