Cats & Dogs

Hi there!  I didn't have as much time in the Craft Cave today as I had hoped but I managed to finish off my special orders and squeeze in another challenge card.  This kitty card is one of the special order cards and I'm going to enter it in the Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes challenge (sentiment and kitties are all PS) and the Addicted to CAS Animal challenge.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Melon Mambo, Basic Black) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Cats from Feline Friends, Have a purrfect from nine Lives, Birthday from Sentiment Sampler) Paper Smooches

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Charcoal) Hero Arts

Dies:  (Numbers) Papertrey Ink

I have a lovely client who will send me a list of cards she needs like this:

1 x Birthday w golf clubs

1 x bday w a lighthouse

1 x 40^th bday w a Cat

2 x bday w Glamour Girls

1 x bday w camera

2 x Sympathy

3 x Father’s Day 

I like it because it gives me a starting point for the cards but still leaves me lots of room to play around and be creative.  I used to get pretty stressed out with special orders but I think I've finally found my groove with them and now I kind of look at them as just another challenge card.

This next card isn't for a special order - it's just for a couple of challenges.  I started out by using the design from Freshly Made Sketches.  This adorable Simon Says pup has been sitting patiently in my stash for ages and I thought this was the perfect time to get him inky.  The JUGS Wild Card challenge this week is paper piecing and since this guy is pieced (all the way down to his collar and tag) I'm going to enter him over there. 

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper:  (Grid pattern from Documented 6x6) Simple Stories, (Brown polka dots from Natural Necessities Double Dot Designs) Bo Bunny

Stamps:  (Dog & sentiment from You Are Pawsome) Simon Says Stamp

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Nestabilities Classic Squares Large) Spellbinders

A Quartet of Cards

Hi there!  I had a productive couple of hours in the Craft Cave today.  I made some special order cards and also managed to play along with some challenges.  First up is this card that I made using the Paper Smooches Sparks sketch.  The spaceship and sentiment are from the PS Space Cadet set.  To make the moonscape I used some splatter stamps from Stampin' Up' Gorgeous Grunge.  I love how it turned out!  I'm also going to enter this in the Simon Says Wednesday Anything Goes challenge and the Addicted to Stamps and More Anything Goes challenge.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Pumpkin Pie, Night of Navy, Smokey Slate) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Rocket & sentiment from Space Cadet) Paper Smooches, (Splatters from Gorgeous Grunge) Stampin' Up

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Nestabilities Standard Circles Large) Spellbinders, (Stars) Mama Elephant

Gems:  Recollections

Markers: (Y08, Y17, YR26, B39, C3, C5) Copic

Next up I'm playing along with The Challenge's theme of celebrating teachers.  I think all of the sets I used here are either retired or from companies that are no longer in existence.  The apple is Unity, the sentiment is Sweet Stamp Shop and the background is Market Street Stamps.

Supplies Used:

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

Stamps:  (Apple) Unity, (Sentimetn from School's Out) Sweet Stamp Shop, (ABC Background) Market Street Stamps

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Soft Granite) Hero Arts

My third card was inspired by the Joan Bardee's Muse card.  I liked the sketchy look of the birthday cake and it made me think of this Hero Arts cake that I've had forever and has never seen ink.  The sentiment is also from an old Hero Arts set so because of this I decided to join the a2z Scrapbooking Supplies Anything Goes challenge (using Hero Arts).  

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink

Stamps:  (Cake from CL139, Sentiment from CL340) Hero Arts, (Circle from Beautiful Blooms II) Papertrey Ink

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Bubble Gum, Butter Bar) Hero Arts, (Tempting Turquoise) Stampin' Up

Gems:  Recollections

My final card is a special order card that I'm entering in the Seize the Birthday Anything Goes challenge.  The skyline is cut from DCWV glitter paper.  I love that stuff especially for blingy, girlie cards!  It may be the first time I actually get through an entire paper pad at the rate I'm going.  :)

So that's it for today.  I have a couple more special order cards to finish tomorrow and hopefully will sneak in a few more challenge cards as well if the mojo sticks around.  Hope you're all having a fabulous weekend!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (Daffodil Delight, Smokey Slate, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up, (Pink glitter) DCWV

Stamps:  (Birthday from Say What, Party from Good Times) Mama Elephant

Inks:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko

Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Dies:  (Super 2) Paper Smooches, (double Ended Banners) Papertrey Ink

Gems:  Recollections

Cupcakes & Dinosaurs

Monday morning is upon us again already.  *Sigh*  Why do the weekends always go by at warp speed?  Ah well, it was a good weekend even if it was too quick.  I have two cards for several challenges to share with you today so lets get right to it!  

First up is a card inspired by the photo over at Addicted to Stamps. All those bright colours and the yummy cupcakes in the upper right corner led me to this bright and cheery birthday card.  The pattern in the background was created with tinted embossing paste and a Crafter's Workshop stencil.  I'm also playing along again with the Little Tangles Anything Goes challenge.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill

Patterned Paper:  (My Girl 6x6) American Crafts

Stamps:  (Cupcake & sentiment from Sketchy Cupcakes) Neat & Tangled

Inks: (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Rose Red) Stampin' Up

Stencil:  (Mini Well Rounded) The Crafter's Workshop

Embossing Paste:  Wendy Vecchi

Gems:  Recollections

Next up is a card for three challenges.  I used the Colour Me colours and kept the design really CAS so am joining in with AAA Cards' Bare Naked CAS challenge.  All the stamps are from Paper Smooches so I'll also be entering it in the PS Sparks Anything Goes challenge.  I masked and inked the background with various Distress Inks, paper pieced Mr. Dinosaur and then popped him up on foam tape.  I finished it off by curving the sentiment and adding a few gems.  Have a lovely day and I'll see you tomorrow!

  

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Pear Pizzazz, Garden Green) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (All from Cutasaurus) Paper Smooches

Inks: (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Shabby Shutters, Old Paper, Vintage Photo & Pumice Stone Distress Inks) Ranger

Dies:  (Nesties Standard Circles Large) Spellbinders

Gems:  Recollections

Challengerama!

Good morning!  I've got three cards to share with you today for a multitude of challenges.  I had planned to post a few of them yesterday but time ran away from me last night.  Luis and I recently started watching "Sons of Anarchy" and decided to watch "just one" episode after dinner.  Unfortunately an episode of SOA is like a potato chip - you can't stop with one.  Next thing we knew it was after 11pm and time for bed!  So I'm playing catch up this morning...

This first card is for the Colour Me…! Monochromatic challenge.  I stamped the Altenew bear in Night of Navy ink and then did a touch of watercolouring using just the ink from the image.  I've seen a lot of people do this to amazing effect but this was my first time trying it.  Definitely need some more practice.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Ranger, (Night of Navy) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (All from Geometric Menagerie) Altenew

Ink: (VersaMark) Tsukineko, (Night of Navy) Stampin' Up

Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Die:  (Nesties Standard Circles Large) Spellbinders

This second card is for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  This is my first time playing along with them.  I played with some NBUS Paper Smooches stamps with the initial plan of making a masculine birthday card but this could really be used for any sort of celebration.  And maybe it's not so masculine as I got a bit carried away with the bling…

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Pumpkin Pie, Not Quite Navy, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (All from Beboppin) Paper Smooches

Ink: (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Gems:  Recollections

And speaking of getting carried away with the bling the centre of this card has a lot going on in the gem department although I must say it looks far more understated in the photo that it does in real life!  This card grew out of inspiration from four challenges.  I was initially inspired by Vicki's card over at Muse.  I'm not really into shaped cards but I liked the bullseye look of the circles. It immediately made me think of this Hero Arts stamp that I've had for ages.  I stamped it on 3 different Doodlebug papers and then fussy cut it and put it back together.  I also added some hugs and smooches just in case anyone questioned the theme of the card!  LOL!  The love theme is a big one this week and Curtain Call, Addicted to Stamps and Just Us Girls have all asked us to create with love in mind. 

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, Smokey Slate, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper:  Doodlebug

Stamps:  Hero Arts

Ink: (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Letters) Mama Elephant

Gems:  Recollections

Retro Muse Smooch

I've got a trio of red and green Christmas goodness today! Michele is the guest designer this week over at Muse and she's set us a fabulous challenge to make three cards using one piece of patterned paper.  I have a ton of single sheets of 12x12 papers that I bought during sales over the years.  This challenge was the perfect chance to wipe the dust off the pile and put that paper to use!  

For two of the cards I used sketches from other challenges to help me out.  The above card uses the Designer Draft sketch from Paper Smooches Sparks.

For this card I used the current RetroSketches sketch and a Fresh Squeezed Stamps image.  

This final card is not attached to a challenge but was inspired by this beauty by Lynn from The Mango Boys and Me.  I'd forgotten about this Lil' Inker Stitches and Stripes Cover Up Die but dug it out after seeing Lynn's card.

Card Supplies

Joyful Greetings

Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Daffodil Delight, Garden Green, Soft Suede) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper:  Pebbles

Stamps:  (Tree from All Yule Need, Sentiment from Joyful Greetings) Paper Smooches

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Nesties Standard Circles Large) Spellbinders, (Nesting Stars) Lifestyle Crafts

Gems:  (Ladybug assortment) Doodlebug

Glitter:  (Clear Wink of Stella) Zig

Sleigh Parking

Cardstock:  (White) Handy Hippo, (Black) Strathmore

Patterned Paper:  Pebbles

Stamp:  (Sign from Hello December) Fresh Squeezed Stamps

Ink:  (Gumball Green) Stampin' Up

Gems:  Recollections

Christmas Stripes

Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Gumball Green) Stampin' Up

Patterned APper:  Pebbles

Stamps:  (Sentiment from Christmas Sampler) Paper Smooches

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Stitches & Stripes Cover Up) Lil' Inker Designs, (Wonderful Words:  Holiday) Papertrey Ink

Gems:  Recollections

Glitter:  (Clear Wink of Stella) Zig

Holiday Cheer

A Christmas card!  Yes!  I finally got around to making one thanks to the inspiration at The Challenge.  I know that nothing about the sketch or colours is particularly Christmasy but somehow it sent me off in that direction so I went with it.  Thank goodness.  The first Christmas card is always the hardest for me.  Once that one's out of the way I can really start cranking them out.  And maybe next year I'll actually join in with one of those weekly Christmas challenges.  I look at them dutifully every week and then proceed to ignore them. Perhaps next year will be different…


Supplies Used
Cardstock:  (Real Red, Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (All from Holiday Cheer) Papertrey Ink
Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Crumb Cake) Stampin' Up
Dies:  (Holiday Cheer Trees, Double Ended Banners) Papertrey Ink, (Nesties Standard Circles Large) Spellbinders
Gems:  (Ladybug assortment) Doodlebug

Celebrate With Cake

Hi there!  I'm going way out of my CAS comfort zone with today's layered card.  I was inspired by both the pink in the photo and the sketch over at the Fusion challenge.  I'm joining the Seize the Birthday Sweet Treats challenge thanks to my sweet little cupcake.  The patterned paper allows me to play along with the current Virginia's View challenge.  And finally, because almost everything on this card is Never Before Used Schtuff I'm joining Darnell's 2nd NBUS challenge.  This particular Avery Elle sentiment was the whole reason I bought the set but, of course, hadn't used it yet.  The October Afternoon paper pad had to be dusted off before I cracked it open and The Craft's Meow cupcake is seeing ink for the first time.  I love how the flowers on the paper almost match the flower on the cupcake.  So perfect!

Supplies Used
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Daffodil Delight) Stampin' Up
Patterned PAper:  (Farm Girl 8x8) October Afternoon
Stamps:  (Cupcake & swirl from Sweet Birthday) The Craft's Meow, (Sentiment from Cake & Candles) Avery Elle
Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Red Royal) Hero Arts
Die:  (Nesties Classic Scalloped Squares Large) Spellbinders
Markers:  (R17, R20, R29, YG95) Copic

Sew What's New?

Okay, so I don't love this card but I was trying to break out of my CAS comfort zone and play with some patterned papers.  I dithered about sharing it at all but sometimes I need to remind myself that I'm not going to make the perfect card every time.  It was inspired by the current Fusion challenge, both the photo and the sketch.  The buttons were a last minute addition because everything just seemed so flat despite the oval being popped up.   (They also allow me to enter this into the Simon Says Anything Goes with Buttons challenge!)  I'm planning on taking another stab at this challenge so should have something to share later in the week.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill

Patterned Paper:  (Lost & Found 3:  Oliver) My Mind's Eye

Stamps:  (Dress form & sentiment from Sew Artsy) Hero Arts

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Nesties Classic Ovals Large & Classic Rectangles Large) Spellbinders