Celebrate the Season

Today's card is for the current CAS Colours & Sketches challenge.  Of all my poinsettia images this one from Altenew is my favourite and gets used every year even though I never got dies for it and have to fussy cut it every time!  

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (Black) Papertrey Ink, (Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Crumb Cake) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Poinsettia from Poinsettia and Pine) Altenew, (Sentiment from Simple Strips Christmas) Taylored Expressions

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko,

Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Other:  (Nuvo English Mustard & Simply White Crystal Drops) Tonic

Autumn Leaf Flower

We're in the midst of some renovations at the moment so when I was at the paint store I may have grabbed a few more paint swatches than I needed...  I thought this one would make a nice background for some autumn leaves for the Inkspirational challenge.  I love these Altenew leaf dies and while I was playing around with them I found that they look a bit like a flower in this configuration so I went with it.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Basic Black) Stampin' Up

Dies:  (Leaves) Altenew, (Many thanks) Essentials by Ellen

Other:  (Nuvo Simply White Crystal Drops) Tonic, (Glossy Accents) Ranger

Yasss!

 

Today's card is for the Just Add Ink Just Add Lines challenge which came along right when I needed it.  I was SO excited to get this Essentials by Ellen Yasss die - it's totally me!  I was trying to put this card together and knew it wasn't quite right - there was something missing.  Then I happened upon the JAI challenge and the lightbulb went on - some lines across the bottom were the perfect element to balance out the design.  Thanks, JAI!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White, Black) Papertrey Ink

Patterned Paper: (Enchanting Washes 6x6) Altenew

Stamps:  (You Rock from Sparkle & Shine) Neat & Tangled, (Brush Spatter Background) My Favourite Things

Ink:  (Fresh Snow) Papertrey Ink

Dies:  (Yasss) Essentials by Ellen, (Stripes) Mama Elephant

Other:  (Nuvo Simply White Crystal Drops) Tonic

Time Out Guest Designer

 I was lucky enough to be the winner of a recent Time Out challenge and was invited to be a guest designer for their latest challenge!  It just so happens that today is also my birthday - a pretty cool birthday gift huh?

It's an Inspired by Words challenge this time and, as always, you can take inspiration from the whole quote or just one word.  Usually I end up just working off one word but this time I found a rose die and friend sentiment that seemed to work well together and I went with it.

The sponsor this week is CAS-ual Fridays and you have until August 11th to play along!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart, White) Papertrey Ink, (Certainly Celery, Basic Black) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Sentiment from All Year Cheer) Wplus9

Inks:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko

Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow'

Dies:  (Fantasy Floral, Halftone cover plate) Altenew

Other:  (Nuvo English Mustard Crystal Drops) Tonic

Grateful Plant

 My card today is for the Freshly Made Sketches and Time Out challenges.  I thought of this Reverse Confetti paper and the Altenew plant as soon as I saw the Time Out inspiration photo and figured they'd work perfectly with the sketch.  The most time consuming part of making this card was deciding on the sentiment but I got there in the end!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White, Black) Papertrey Ink

Patterned Paper:  (Cheerful and Kind 6x6) Reverse Confetti

Stamps:  (Plant from Potted Plants) Altenew, (Sentiment from More Essential Sentiments) My Favourite Things

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Lime Rickey, Eucalyptus) Catherine Pooler

Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Other:  (Nuvo Rhubarb Crumble Crystal Drops) Tonic

Floral Birthday Wishes

 I've got a card tonight for the CAS Colours & Sketches colour challenge.  I think I've only used one of the flowers from this Altenew set before so it felt good to ink up a few other images from it.  I also haven't used colours for stamping outline images in ages.  I was going to do my usual white-embossed-on-black sentiment but in the end I opted to add a little more colour to the design.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Crushed Curry) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Flowers from Golden Garden, Sentiment from Birthday Greetings) Altenew

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Regal Rose, Old Olive) Stampin' Up

Other: (Nuvo English Mustard & Oyster Grey Crystal Drops) Tonic

Birthday Flower Cluster

Today's card is a challenge three-fer as I'm playing along with Time Out (Spring theme), CAS on Friday (Flowers) and AAA Birthday (Flowers).  I wish I could say I watercolored that background but it's actually patterned paper from Altenew.  Isn't it gorgeous?  It was exactly what I was looking for to put behind the Simon Says Flower Cluster die and the small sentiment from MFT was the perfect complement for it.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White, Black) Papertrey Ink

Patterned Paper:  (Enchanting Washes 6x6) Altenew

Stamps:  (Sentiment from Simple Sentiments #1) My Favourite Things

Inks:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko

Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Dies:  (Flower cluster) Simon Says Stamp, (Flag) My Favourite Things

Other:  (Nuvo Ebony Black Crystal Drops) Tonic

Have A Phone-omenal Day!

 

I haven't had a chance to do any crafting for weeks so I was happy to finally have a day to spend making cards.  I recently got this adorable phone die and stamp set from SugarPea and decided it had to be the first thing I used.  I decided to play along with the Colour Throwdown and AAA Birthday's 2nd birthday celebration.  I die cut all the pieces twice from yellow and black cardstock so that I could make two cards at once and I used a Watercolor Frame stamp from Altenew to add some interest and dimension behind the phones.  

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White, True Black) Papertrey Ink, (Daffodil Delight, Smokey Slate) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Top sentiment from Birthday Greetings, Background splatter from Watercolor Frames) Altenew, (Bottom sentiment from Call Me) SugarPea Designs

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Silver Stone, Industrial Diamond) Altenew

Dies:  (Phone) SugarPea Designs

Other:  (Nuvo Dandelion Yellow Crystal Drops) Toni

Mother's Day Bird

Today's card is for the Freshly Made Sketches and Colour Throwdown challenges.  I have a pile of this Memory Box bird die cut in many colours sitting on my desk and the Throwdown colours gave me the perfect chance to put one to use.  Once I'd picked her out the rest of the card basically put itself together!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Blushing Bride, Lucky Limeade) Stampin' Up, (Coral mulberry paper)

Stamps:  (Sentimnt from Extra Special) Altenew

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Meadow Bird, Small Circle Burst) Memory Box, (Leaves) Reverse Confetti 

Other:  (Nuvo Oyster Grey Crystal Drops) Tonic

Gems:  Recollections

Mother's Day Flower

Popping in today with a CAS card for The Card Concept.  I was inspired by the purple flowers and grey vase.  I used the same flower and a similar layout recently but changing up the flower colour and background gave it a completely different vibe - a softer feel that I thought would appeal to my mom for Mother's Day.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink

Stamps:  (Flower from Build-a-Flower Magnolia, Sentiment from Extra Special, Splatter from Watercolour Frames) Altenew

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Bamboo, Olive, Soft Lilac, Lavender Fields, Midnight Violet, Mocha, Silver Stone) Altenew

Other:  (Nuvo Violet Galaxy Crystal Drops) Tonic

Pink Stripe Flowers

 

I've got a card today for the Seize the Birthday Spring Flowers challenge.  For some reason I never have the patience to colour this Altenew flower and in the past have just embossed it with coloured embossing powder.  This time I decided to "colour" it with striped cardstock.  I combined a Mama Elephant happy die with one of their stamped sentiments and finished things off with some scattered gems.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Regal Rose, Strawberry Slush, Melon Mambo, Smokey Slate, Basic Black) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Flower) Altenew, (Birthday from Labeled Love) Mama Elephant

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Gems:  Recollections

Flowers & Stripes

Today's card is for The Colour Throwdown and Addicted to Stamps and More challenges.  Initially I was going to keep this super simple with just the flowers and a blue flag for my sentiment but then I decided the flowers needed a backdrop.  After playing around with a few ideas I settled on these skinny stripes from Essentials by Ellen and I like how it looks like a blue sky!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Pacific Point) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Flower from Build-a-Flower Magnolia) Altenew, (Sentiment from Sentimental: Birthday) Winnie & Walter

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Citrus Burst, Maple Yellow, Honey Drizzle, Bamboo, Olive) Altenew

Dies:  (Skinny Stripes) Essentials by Ellen

Other:  (Nuvo Dandelion Yellow Crystal Drops) Tonic

CASology #387

 

Welcome to Week 387 of CASology!  Take a look at the cue word for this week:

So many ideas came to mind when I saw this week's cue word - the animals I've had in my life (who are always a source of comfort), cozy pajamas, a comfy sofa - but in the end I went for the card I needed in the moment which was, unfortunately, a sympathy card.  I like this sentiment as an alternative to "With sympathy" as it feels a little less formal (although now that I look at it I ended up dressing it with a rather formal frame).  

Looking forward to seeing what direction the cue word takes you.  Check out the gorgeousness from the rest of the design team then play along!

Deepti Stephens

Deidre Payne

Jacquie Southas 

Jen Wills

Joyce Mehrberg

Karen Haman

Melissa Chipperfield

Milka Gubo 

Nancy Elrick

Sandie Munroe

Sue Symens

***You've got 2 weeks for this challenge!***

Link your creations to the CASology blog by 9am Monday, 12 April (CDT).

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White, Soft Stone) Papertrey Ink

Patterned Paper:  (Penny Lane 12x12) My Mind's Eye

Stamps:  (Sentiment from Heartfelt Sentiments) Altenew

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Frame) Paper Smooches, (Leaves) Reverse Confetti

Gems:  Recollections

Monstera Birthday

 

Today's card is for the Just Add Ink photo inspiration challenge and for Darnell's NBUS challenge (since it's the first time I've inked up this Altenew potted plant).  I love the inspiration photo as it could have been taken here where all our houses are built of stone and painted bright and cheerful colours with white roofs.  Over the years our house has gone through a number of colour changes.  Here's a photo of the transition from turquoise to dark blue.  Today the house is sage green.

  

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Terracotta)

Patterned Papers:  (Kioshi 12x12) Basic Grey

Stamps:  (Plant from Potted Plants) Altenew, (Sentiment from Sentimental: Birthday) Winnie & Walter 

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Eucalyptus) Catherine Pooler

Dies:  (Hemstitch Rectangles) Spellbinders

Gems:  Recollections

Floral Birthday

 

Lately it seems that Saturdays are my only days to craft so I'm trying to make the most of them.  I managed to get 10 cards made which is pretty good considering I took a break in the middle to go for a walk with a friend.  We were trying to out walk the rain and almost made it but got caught out 5 minutes from our cars.  Doh!  Here's the sky about a minute before we got hit with the rain...

Anyway today's card is for CAS Colours & Sketches.  I love these simple flowers from Altenew.  I stamped them on coloured card stock and this time remembered that I had the matching dies to use so saved some time on fussy cutting.  I scored some lines along the bottom for a little something extra without letting it get too fussy.

(Couldn't resist making a second card and adding some yellow Nuvo drops to it)

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Flirty Flamingo, Smoky Slate) Stampin' Up, (Blue) Bazzill

Stamps:  (Flowers from Stunning Cosmos) Altenew, (Sentiment from Sentimental: Birthday) Winnie & Walter

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Other:  (Nuvo Silver Lining, Navy Blue & English Mustard Crystal Drops) Tonic

Lacy Birthday

 

I only recently discovered the Colour Hues challenge and Lindsey has been encouraging me to play along.  I was really struggling with my mojo when I sat down to make a card for the current navy and cream challenge and after far too long spent dithering over it I ended up with this.  My photo is overexposed as this looks very white.  It's actually PTI Vintage Cream cardstock.  I really wanted to add some yellow Nuvo Crystal Drops to the centres of the flowers but obviously that would defeat the purpose of the challenge.  Looking at it now perhaps some clear gems or silver Nuvo drops in the centres would have added that little something that seems to be missing.  Something to remember for the future I guess.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (Vintage Cream) Papertrey Ink, (Night of Navy) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Flowers from Frosted Garden) Altenew, (Sentiment from Labeled Messages) Mama Elephant

Inks:  (Juniper Mist) Catherine Pooler

Dies:  (Lacy coverplate) Lil' Inker Designs

CASology #381

 

Welcome to Week 381 of CASology!  Take a look at the cue word for this week:

This is a great cue word to start off the new year because it really does hold a lot of possibilities for interpretation.  I went for some simple thought bubbles and a thinking of you sentiment which can include thinking of good times with the recipient.  Since my design was all about the sentiment I decided to use bright colours to really make it pop.

Looking forward to seeing what direction the cue word takes you.  Check out the gorgeousness from the rest of the design team then play along!

Deepti Stephens

Deidre Payne

Jacquie Southas 

Jen Wills

Joyce Mehrberg

Karen Haman

Melissa Chipperfield

Milka Gubo 

Nancy Elrick

Sandie Munroe

Sue Symens

This week's guest designer:

Shawna

***You've got 2 weeks for this challenge!***

Link your creations to the CASology blog by 9am Monday, 18 January (CDT).

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Bermuda Bay) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Thinking of you from Bejeweled) Altenew, (You from Flower Medallion) Neat & Tangled

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Thought bubbles) XCut

Sympathy Butterfly

Hello and Happy New Year!  

It's been ages since I posted a card but the holiday season ended up being far busier than I expected and there wasn't a lot of card making time.  Hopefully now that schedules are returning to normal I can get back to creating.  It takes me a while to get going after a break like that so I've started with a really simple design.  I turned to Freshly Made Sketches for some inspiration and ended up with this.  I used an old favourite butterfly from Altenew and some ancient Bo Bunny paper.  Nothing fancy but it woke up the mojo and got me going again.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Textured white) Bazzill, (Basic Black) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper:  (Barefoot & Bliss 12x12) Bo Bunny

Stamps:  (Butterfly from Bejeweled) Altenew, (Sentiment from Simple Strips Background) Taylored Expressions

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Dies:  (Stitched rectangle) Mama Elephant, (Flag) Taylored Expressions

Other:  (Nuvo Ebony Black Crystal Drops) Tonic