Birthday Mushrooms

This was the last week that Jen Rzasa was the muse over at CASE Study which is a real bummer as I love her work.  She was part of the reason I finally got around to playing along with CASE Study at all. I think in the past I've found a lot of the cards very busy and was unsure how to CASE it in my style (which is silly really because there are/were several great CAS cardmakers on the DT like Cristina Kowalczyk, Christina MacLaren, Amy Wanford and Debby Hughes).  I'm going to try and stick with it when the new muse comes along though no matter what her style!  I'm also going to enter this card over at the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes challenge - who couldn't use a SSS gift certificate these days?
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill Basics
Stamps:  (Mushrooms from Forest Whimsy) Paper Smooches, (Sentiment from Think Big Favourites #7) PTI
Inks:  (VersaMark Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Real Read, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo) Stampin' Up

Publications!

Since I'm catching up on things these days (like RAKs), I thought I'd also do a little horn tooting and show you guys my first publications!  The above card can be found on page 44 of the January/February 2012 issue of Paper Crafts.  Interestingly, it was the first idea I had when I read the call for submissions.  I couldn't seem to get it right though so I made and submitted a bunch of other cards instead.  Then at the last minute I gave it one more try, sent it in and this was the only one to be chosen.  Funny how things work...  


I also had two cards published in the December 2011 issue of Cards.

Please excuse the appalling photos!!  These were taken way back in April or May when my photography skills were still extremely raw (ie non-existent).  I'm grateful they chose them despite the photography!


I also wanted to thank both Jen of The Sparkle Within and Jane of Create and Show for passing the Liebster Blog Award on to me.  You should stop by their blogs and check them out if you haven't before.  They both have lots of gorgeous cards and layouts on show!    

Very Belated RAKs

I spent a lot of time at the beginning of the month merrily scrolling through people's Christmas RAKs and thinking about how I must post mine.  But have I done it yet?  No. Why? Because I'm a bit useless really and not a very good bloggie friend!!  I was at the point where I wondered if posting them now would be insulting but I decided I was going to post them anyway so everyone else can enjoy them too.

The first Christmas card I received was from Emily of Art From The Heart.  I love the non-traditional colours of this card and the subtle touches of colour on the leaves.  So sweet! (Excuse the holes in the corners of the card.  I pin them to the board above my desk in the Craft Cave so I always have inspiration on hand.)

Next up are more fabulous non-traditional colours from Amy of Tsuruta Designs.  Her stitching always blows me away as well as her bold and bright style.

I won some blog candy from Lindsey at Bashful Blogging and she sent it along with this sweet little mini card.  How cute is that polka dotted penguin??

This card came with some stamps that I bought from Amy (again of Tsuruta Designs). She's trying to dehoard so I thought I'd be a pal and take a few items off her hands!  :) More lovely stitching and polka dots on the house!  Love me some polka dots!

Hope you enjoyed seeing these fabulous cards and if you haven't checked out any of these ladies' blogs then you must take a minute and do so.  That's an order!  :)

Rainbow Chick

I've really been enjoying Jen Rzasa's Runway Inspired Challenge despite the fact that I am so completely fashion challenged - jeans and a sweatshirt all the way for me thank you!  I love seeing everyone's interpretation of the pictures and it's forcing me to examine things more closely and with a more open mind.  Always a good thing.  Anyway this week is this totally cool chick in a fabulous rainbow dress so where did my brain go?  To a rainbow feathered bird of course!  I've had the feathers kicking around for a while so I was pleased to put them to use along with a few more scraps of patterned paper and some more Purple Onion Designs stamps.  :)  


Cardstock:  (Kraft) PTI
Patterned Paper:  (Quince and Smoke from the Ambrosia collection) Basic Grey
Stamps:  (Curly Bird, sentiment from Flower Framed Doodle) Purple Onion Designs
Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Copics:  R29, BV23

White Bulb

CAS-ual Fridays is celebrating Penguin Awareness Day this week with a black and white challenge. No other colours invited to this party!  I busted out the white embossing powder for my card and guess what I did AGAIN???  Yep, I spilled that entire pot o' powder.   Thankfully this time I spilled it on my crafting mat and not all over the floor.  *Phew!* Crisis averted (although I still said a few naughty words in that initial moment of panic).  Maybe I need to have mellower music playing so there's less bopping about...  


ETA:  I do have extra pots of white EP - I ordered 3 after the last disaster - but no matter how many I have I still hate to spill it!


Cardstock:  (White) Pacon, (Basic Black) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Lightbulb from Faith, Hope, Love...Live By It) Unity Stamp Co,  (Sentiment from Giddy Bugs) Paper Smooches
Inks:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko
Embossing Powder:  (Seafoam White) Ranger
Punch:  (Corner Punch) Marvy Uchida

Bright Butterflies

For this week's CASE Study card I followed the Cristina Kowalczyk method of CASEing a card - I looked at the card then walked away from it and wrote down what struck me about it.  I remembered squares with rounded corners, bright colours, brown matting and a thank you.  And above is what I came up with using my list.  More patterned paper (courtesy of a blog candy win from Lynn - thanks, Lynn!), some bright Modern Basics butterflies and a Think Big sentiment.  I'm pretty sure this is the first time those MB stamps have seen any ink.  Hopefully it won't be the last!




Cardstock:  (Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Early Espresso) Stampin' Up
Patterned Paper:  (Confetti Cake from Life of the Party collection) Basic Grey
Stamps:  (Butterflies from Modern Basics, Sentiment from Think Big Favoutires #3) PTI
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) TsukinekoPunch:   (Corner punch) Marvy Uchida

Birthday Birdies

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I had a few hours to get crafty yesterday while Luis was building a little shelf for our cookbooks. This is one of the cards that I made and I played along with two challenges for it.  I used the colours from the Play Date Cafe and the sketch from Skipping Stones Design.  It's the first time any of these stamps have been inked up and I also used some patterned paper (from Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry collection) so I'm continuing to forge ahead with using up my stash!


We actually managed to get some odds and ends accomplished this weekend which I feel pretty good about.  We measured out several outdoor areas that need tiling and chose the tile.  We also took some artwork to get framed.  I had bought it in Mexico on our honeymoon last February with the intention of making my own frame for it.  Fast forward to now and it was still sitting on top of our bookshelf unframed so I broke down and took it to the framers.  It would probably be cheaper to do ourselves but if we haven't done it in all this time I don't foresee it happening any time soon and I'd rather get it up on the wall where it can be enjoyed.  I wish I was more of a do-it-yourselfer but alas, I am not.
Card Base:  Handy Hippo
Cardstock:  (Always Artichoke, Early Espresso, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up
Patterned Paper:  (Waffles from Nook & Pantry collection) Basic Grey
Stamps:  (Bird from Everyday Blessings, Sentiment & music notes from Heartsong, Background pattern from Grunge)
Inks:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko, (Early Espresso) Stampin' Up
Embossing Powder:  (Clear) Ranger

Be Whoever You Wanna Be

The last time I entered a Market Street Stamps challenge I said I really had to get some more stamps from them besides background stamps as Hippie Chic was the only non-background set I had.  Despite much temptation I haven't gotten around to ordering any others yet so it's more Hippie Chic for me for January's Paint the Town Challenge.  I was pretty liberal with the pink on this card but there's a touch of sherbet on the lower patch on the dress and an aqua patch as well as the aqua sentiment.  


We took the dogs for a swim this morning but Jem was not diggin' it.  Atti would swim if there were icebergs out there - as long as there's something to fetch he'll go overboard. Jem, however, is not appreciative of the chilly water and figures if we aren't going in then he sure as heck isn't either!  Since he didn't get much of a swim he's bouncing off the walls now so it's off for a walk.  Have a lovely evening!     
Cardstock:  (White, Dark Pink, Sherbet) Bazzill, (Pool Party, Regal Rose) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Hippie Chic) Market Street Stamps
Inks:  (Melon Mambo, Pool Party) Stampin' Up
Punch:  (Corner Punch) Marvy Uchida
Copic:  RV02  

All Roads Lead To You

I'm determined not to miss anymore deadlines so I'm posting this card for the Map to Your Heart Challenge in the Moxie Fab World 3 days ahead!  Whoop whoop!  I had an extra copy of the Bermuda Yellow Pages Book of Maps on hand so I cut some arrows out of it and matted them on grey cardstock.  I used PTI's Linen and Canvas impression plate on the turquoise cardstock for some texture.  The sentiment is computer generated and the heart is a PTI die.  I have one sheet of Thickers and have been hoarding them for ages but this is the year of giving my supplies their moments to shine so I finally broke them out.  Love the dimension they add!
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Poppy Parade, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up
Patterned Paper:  Bermuda Yellow Pages Book of Maps
Impression Plate:  (Linen and Canvas) PTI
Dies:  (Double-ended Banner, Heart Prints) PTI
Sticker:  (Daydream Thickers) American Crafts

Tiny Dots

Hello, my friends!  Today I'm playing along with LeAnne's colour combo at the Paper Players and also linking up to Unity's Friends With Flair blog hop.  If you look closely at the centre of the flower you can see that it's paper pieced with Blushing Bride paper and then I punched 1/16" holes from the Pear Pizzazz paper for the dots.  They were certainly a bit fiddley to stick down but I got them in place eventually. 


Any big plans for your weekend?  I have a growing (and long neglected) list of odds and ends to do around the house so I'm going to attempt to cross a few things off of that list.  Maybe. I'm afraid the siren call of the Craft Cave may prove to be too much to resist...


ETA:  Doh!  I missed the Paper Players deadline!!!  :(


Cardstock:  (White) Gina K,  (Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzazz) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Flower from Cuckoo Clocks, Sentiment from April '11 KOM - Small Things Matter Most) Unity
Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Punches:  (1/16" hole punch) McGill, (Corner punch) Marvy Uchida
Gems:  Doodlebug

So Long, Wee Memories!

I'm really sad to see the Wee Memories challenges coming to an end although I understand Jenny's reasons for making the decision.  Wee Memories holds a special place in my heart as it's the first challenge that I ever placed in!  My ribbon flower was chosen as one of the Fab 4 last January.  I was so excited to finally add a challenge blinkie to my sidebar.  :)  Anyway, the final challenge is a sketch challenge which almost sent me running in the other direction but I was determined to suck up my sketch fear and not miss out on this special event.  I didn't really think about this before but I guess it's kind of appropriate to have made a sympathy card for the passing of the challenge!  And look at all that patterned paper up there!  It's from Basic Grey's Origins collection - yes, I have a lot of oldie goldies in my stash...  The stamps are Hero Arts.  My thanks to Jenny and the design team for all the fabulous challenges and inspiration and I look forward to seeing what comes next for you all!  :)
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Early Espresso) Stampin' Up
Patterned Paper:  (Authentic, Sea Salt, Paraffin from the Origins collection) Basic Grey
Stamps:  (Leaves from Delicate Leaf Clusters, Sentiment from With Sympathy) Hero Arts
Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Early Espresso) Stampin' UP!
Dies:  (Nestabilities Labels 10) Spellbinders, (Medium scallop border) PTI
Punch:  (1/16" hole punch) McGill
Twine:  Craft supply

Pensive Bluebird

Less Is More is another challenge that I haven't played along with in a while so I thought I'd join in their latest - a one layer card with the subject of birds.  I had a completely different card to start with but couldn't quite make it work so I started again and ended up with this which uses a pensive little bird from Paper Smooches' Forest Whimsy which I was lucky enough to win because I used the phrase "Whoop whoop" in my comment!  I knew that would come in handy one of these days...   :)
Cardstock:  (White) Gina K
Stamps:  (Bird from Forest Whimsy) Paper Smooches, (Sentiment from Everyday Sayings) Hero Arts
Ink:  (Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Copics:  Y17, BG01, BG05

Little Blue Elephant

Good morning!  Popping in with a baby card for Kathy's Lily Pad Palette Challenge over at Lily Pad Cards.  The elephant stamp is from an old PTI collection that I just recently got my hands on and the sentiment is from Hero Arts - it's definitely my go-to baby card sentiment!  I coloured the two smaller buttons with Copics and they've come out a lot lighter in the photo than they really look...  Must check these things more carefully at the time!  Hope you all have a wonderful day!  
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Bashful Blue, Night of Navy) Stampin' Up, (Grey) Craft supply
Stamps:  (Elephant from Sweet Baby) PT, (Sentiment from Baby) Hero Arts
Inks:  (Bashful Blue, Night of Navy) Stampin' Up
Dies:  (Elephant and Double-Ended Banner) PTI, (Nestabilities Blossom) Spellbinders
Copic:  B29
Buttons:  Craft supply

Framed Flower

I haven't given my Purple Onion Designs stamps much love lately and I knew the Flower Framed Doodle stamp would be perfect for this week's CASual Fridays challenge to use scallops.  I paper pieced it with Basic Grey's Lime Rickey papers - score one for using more patterned paper!  :)  It's rather Courtney Kelley-esque I think.  I love her paper piecing and I discovered POD thanks to her fabulous work on their design team.  Off to throw the ball for the hounds now.  I can't take their "I'm so neglected" eyes any longer!


Cardstock:  (Kraft) PTI
Patterned Paper:  (Cherry Cola, Lemon Drop, Fuzzy Navel, Deep Blue, Hoboken from Lime Rickey collection) Basic Grey
Stamps:  (Flower and sentiment from Flower Framed Doodle) Purple Onion Designs
Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Basic Grey Butterflies

One thing I am determined to do this year is use up some of the ridiculous stash of patterned paper that I have acquired.  It really is a bit scary how fast it has multiplied.  I swear it's been breeding when I'm not looking because there's no way I could have actually bought all that is there??  Anyway, however it got there it must be used and tah dah! Today I have used a whole fifth of a sheet of 12x12 Basic Grey Indian Summer paper.  Only 2 million sheets to go...  As with last week I didn't stray too far from Jen's inspiration card over at the CASE Study challenge.  Tone on tone cardstock, die cut butterflies and bright coloured paper behind them.  If it ain't broke...  :)
Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (Early Espresso) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper:  (Cedar from Indian Summer collection) Basic GreyStamp:  (Sentiment from Mat Stack 1 Collection) PTI
Inks:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko

Embossing Powder:  (Clear) RangerDies:  (Butterfly) PTI
Punch:  (Corner Punch) Marvy  Uchida

Gems:  Doodlebug Design

To Love and Be Loved

Another week of struggling with the colours at the Play Date Cafe.  I don't know why they are giving me such a hard time but I am determined to conquer them!  After much pondering of supplies I decided to play with some PTI stamps for this card.  Since A Passion for Papertrey's current challenge is Valentine's I went for a love theme and ended up with a 2-challenges-for-the-price-of-one card.  After several design attempts (see below for an alternate) I was finally happy with this one.  I used my Sew Easy tool for the first time and I think I'm going to like playing with it!
It's even colder today than it was yesterday - hasn't gotten out of the 50s.  Brrr!  Gonna have to bundle up for Monday Night BBQ!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Gina K, (Cherry Cobbler, Elegant Eggplant) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Birds and sentiment from Happy Trails, Heart from Tiny Treats: Valentine) PTI
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard, Elegant Eggplant) Stampin' Up
Dies:  (Mat Stack 3, Layerz Mat Stack 3) PTI
Punches:  (Arch Lattice) Martha Stewart, (Corner Punch) Marvy Uchida
Embroidery Floss:  (Deep Red) Making Memories

Quilted Numbers

It's a cold and blustery Sunday here - a perfect day for crafty time!  :)  I finally sat down to work on my entry for this week's Tuesday Trigger at the Moxie Fab World.  This is another one of those cards that's been percolating in my brain for a while.  Sometimes I'm hesitant to sit down and try and make them because I'm afraid they won't turn out like what's in my head.  Thankfully I'm thrilled with how this one came out!  I die cut numbers from the white panel and then from coloured paper and then put them all together.  Then I took my embossing stylus and made little indents around each number to mimic the quilted look.  Now, I'm not sure if you're supposed to enter a card in more than one Moxie Fab challenge but I'm going to give it a try as this card qualifies for two other challenges that are running at the moment for Cool Tools Week:  the Embossing and Debossing Challenge and the Die Cutting Challenge.


Now I'm off to cook some good hearty comfort food for this chilly night and then snuggle up on the sofa with the boys.  Have a wonderful evening!


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Pool Party, Pretty in Pink) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Smitty's ABCs) Lawn FawnInk:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (By The Numbers, Double-Ended Banners) PTI

Punches:  (1/4" hole punch) McGill

Other:  (Glossy Accents) Ranger

Celebrate with Stripes

There are so many awesome cards at the Runway Inspired Challenge this week. Go check them out if you have a chance.  I've had an idea floating around in my head for it and thankfully I squeezed in some crafty time this morning.  Obviously I was inspired by the black and white stripes but what also caught my eye was the model on the very edge of the picture.  I liked the idea of bookending something with stripes and thought of this Unity bracket stamp that I have.  The stamp actually has polka dots inside the brackets which I didn't want so I stamped them on the back side of my striped paper and cut them out.  Now, this might be a stretch, but I'm also going to join in with Unity's Friends with Flair blog hop with this card - I did use a Unity stamp even if I only used it's shape.  :)  This card also fits in with Simon Says Stamp's Spots &/Or Stripes challenge.  Off to work now.  Have a wonderful day!
Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (Black, White) Pacon

Patterned Paper:  Doodlebug Designs
Stamp:  (Bracket) Unity
Stickers:  Scenic Route

Old School

The desk cleaning project that I began yesterday got a little out of hand and I spent most of today trying to get it under control - hence why this post is so last minute!  Today's card is super clean and simple and made for 3 challenges - CASual Fridays' Chip Off the Old Block challenge, Young Crafters Unite's clean and simple challenge and the chipboard challenge at Lily Pad Cards.  I used to love to play Atari!  As impressive as some of today's games are sometimes I wouldn't mind a simple round of Asteroids or Centipede!  :)
Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (Kraft) PTI, (Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive) Stampin' Up
Stamp:  (Sentiment from My Type ) Hero Arts
Inks:  (Early Espresso) Stampin' Up
Chipboard:  (From The Boyfriend collection) Cosmo Cricket

CASEd Kites

CASE Study is another one of those challenges that I've looked at every week since I started blogging but have never played along with.  I figured what better time to finally join in than their first challenge of the new year.  This month's muse is Jen Rzasa and here's her gorgeous creation:

As you can see I stuck pretty closely to the design and colour scheme of Jen's card.  Perhaps in future challenges I'll get a little more adventurous...  
Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Kites from Up, Up and Away, Sentiment from Birthday Bash Sentiments) PTI
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black, VersaMark) Tsukineko
Punch:  (Threading Water Edge punch) Fiskars, (Corner Punch) Marvy Uchida