Market Street Greetings

Hi there!  I'm excited to be back with my second showing as Guest Designer over at Market Street Stamps!  I wanted to make some Christmas cards but when I looked through my MSS collection it turned out I only had one Christmas set, Prancer, which I last used here.  I decided that this was a good opportunity to "stretch my stamps".  I'd use the sentiment from Prancer but I'd try and use non-Chrismas images to make the rest my cards.

For my first card I used the outline triangles from Nuts About Nature.  I stamped them onto patterned paper, fussy cut them and made a little forest.  The border along the bottom is from Great Big Greetings and the star is from Blast Off (now retired).

For my second card I went for a simple, graphic design using the chevron from Riding By in red and greens.  A one layer card perfect for mailing!  Isn't it fabulous how versatile these stamps are?  Do check out the Market Street Stamps shop if you haven't before.  I bet you'll find something you like!  :)

Supplies Used:

Triangle ForestCardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Cherry Cobbler) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper:  (Christmas Mat Pack) Anna Griffin

Stamps:  (Triangle from Nuts About Nature, Star from Blast Off, Border from Great Big Greetings, Sentiment from Prancer) Market Street Stamps

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Always Artichoke) Stampin' Up

Gems:  (Fabrications "Linen" collection) Teresa Collins

Chevron Greetings

Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill

Stamps:  (Chevron from Riding By, Sentiment from Prancer) Market Street Stamps

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Real Red, Garden Green, Lucky Limeade) Stampin' Up

Gems:  Doodlebug

CAS(E) This Sketch! Challenge #7

Hi there and welcome to the latest CAS(E) This Sketch! challenge!  This week's sketch was designed by challenge creator Jackie Rockwell:

Initially I was a bit stumped by the stripes at the bottom but once I decided I was going to use a candy cane on the card then I had the idea to make red and white stripes.  I layered together 3 Papertrey Ink Half and Half tags to make my stripes and then popped up and Glossy Accented the candy cane image.  What do you see when you look at this sketch?  Be sure to check out the gorgeous inspiration by the design team over on the CAS(E) This Sketch! page and then get creating!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Riding Hood Red, Basic Black) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Candy cane from Sweet Home) Neat & Tangled, (Sentiment from Tags - Christmas) Elzybells

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Embossing Powder:  (Clear) Ranger

Die:  (Half & Half die) PTI

Punch:  (Threading Water) Fiskars

Gems:  (Lily White assortment) Doodlebug

Framed Hello

It's been a while so I wanted to play along with the latest Tuesday Trigger at the Moxie Fab World.  I was inspired by the frames and their colours and wanted to do some masking especially now that I have the handy Stamping Mask Paper from Inkadinkado.  I've tried using post-its but never with much success.  I also have the Eclipse Art Masking Tape but the rolls I have were too small for the frame stamp.  The Mask Paper worked beautifully!  I may have to try masking more often now. This challenge also got me to use ink colours I usually forget I have.  I tend to reach for Stampin' Up colours first but today I dug out some Colour Box inks and they were fabulous matches! They also give really smooth coverage. I must put them out where I can see them so they get used more often.  

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill

Stamps:  (Frame from Lovestruck collection) Amy Tangerine

Inks:  (Shabby Pink, Apricot, Lettuce)  Colour Box

Alpha Stickers:  Scenic Route

CASology #21

Welcome to Week 21 of CASology!  Here's the cue card for this week:

I recently went through a clock phase and ordered a whole bunch of stamp sets based solely on the fact that they included clocks or watches.  Not sure why I wanted them so much as they haven't seen much ink so I was glad to be able to use a clock image this week. However, did I use a new, uninked one?  Of course not.  I went for an old favourite from Paper Smooches.  *Sigh*  What can I say?  I'm a creature of habit!  Although perhaps it's time to change my ways...  It's definitely time for you to check out the gorgeous creations by the rest of the design team and then get started on your own creation!

  

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Melissa Chipperfield

Rosemary Dennis

Tracey McNeely

And this week's guest designer:

N@ Ali

Link up your creations to the CASology blog and remember that submissions are due by noon CST Sunday, 1 December.

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

Stamps:  (Image from Perpetual Bliss) Paper Smooches, (Sentiment from Vintage Clocks) The Craft's Meow

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Gems:  (Beetle Black collection) Doodlebug

Creepy Photo Ahead...

Good morning!  A quick post before I jet off to work. Neat and Tangled is hosting a new challenge called Little Tangles.  The first challenge is to create a Hello card which is perfect because my favourite N & T set is Just Hello.  I stamped the envelopes on a selection of Amy Tangerine paper and popped them up on the card.  The sentiment is two put together. Colourful and cute no?  Check out the challenge if you haven't already.  You don't have to use N&T stamps but they have free digi stamps if you want to try some out!

And now for the creepy part.  I'm not generally squeamish about bugs - remember our housemate from here?  However, centipedes, especially the giant variety, make me scream like a girl.  I've always been terrified of getting chomped by one - they give a nasty bite - and unfortunately they are plentiful at our end of the island.  Just a couple of week ago my mom was battling one on her porch.  She tried to smoosh it with a wine bottle, broke the bottle and ended up impaling it on the jagged edge of the bottle!  LOL!  Go mom!  Yesterday I found one in our kitchen and was pretty sure it was dead as it was all curled up so I tried to stretch it out to show you how big they are.

This one - at about 5" fully stretched out -  is actually on the small side.  Anyway after being prodded around and stretched out it decided it wasn't dead any more and it went berserk - started spinning around and going crazy!  Cue Jen screaming and running from the room and Luis rolling his eyes as he went to deal with the beast.  The perils of living in paradise!

Candy Cane Madness & Heat Tool Drama

Hi there!  Popping in with an entry for the latest challenge at Jay Gee's Nook.  The photo inspiration collages are always gorgeous although I don't play along as often as I'd like.  This time I was inspired by the middle picture on the right side - love that candy cane inspired comforter!  I pulled out a few different stamp companies for this one - the noteblock is Purple Onion Designs, the candy cane is Neat and Tangled and the bow is Papertrey Ink.  

This is one of the last cards I made before my heat gun died.  :( For 5 years I've had an EK Success Colourizer and I loved it!  It had two heat settings and was super quick to melt embossing powder.  I noticed it was starting to slow down a bit recently though so I tried to order a new one.  Unfortunately they don't seem to make them anymore so I ordered a Ranger heat tool.  I'm glad I did as it was here and ready to use when the Colourizer died but I'm not impressed with it.  It takes forever to melt the powder and it seems to only work when placed at one very specific angle to the paper.  It's really put me off heat embossing now as it takes so long.  :(  Any recommendations on other brands?

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill

Patterned Paper:  Anna Griffin

Stamps:  (Christmas Noteblock) Purple Onion Designs, (Candy cane from Sweet Home) Neat & Tangled, (Bow from Bells & Boughs) PTI

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Embossing Powder:  (Clear) Ranger

Punch:  (1/8" hole punch) McGill

Copics:  R46, G07

CASology #20

Welcome to Week 20 of CASology!  Here's the cue card for this week:

It's Thanksgiving time in the US which means the gobbling down of a Thanksgiving feast.  And you can't have a feast without utensils can you?  Well, you can, but it would be a bit messy...  I used StazOn ink to stamp these Unity utensils onto silver foil card, popped them up and then paper pieced the red hearts onto them.  I love the shine and it's perfect for the Paper Players challenge to use silver or gold too!  How does the word gobble inspire you?  Check out what the DT girls came up with and then join in the crafty fun!

    

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Melissa Chipperfield

Rosemary Dennis

Tracey McNeely

And this week's guest designer:

Donna

Link up your creations to the CASology blog and remember that submissions are due by noon CST Sunday, 25 November.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Cherry Cobbler) Stampin' Up, (Silver) Craft supply

Stamps:  (Image & sentiment from Sit. Est. Enjoy.) Unity

Inks:  (StazOn Jet Black)  Tsukineko, (Cherry Cobbler) Stampin' Up

Peaceful Bells

***This is my second post for the day.  For my Moxie Fab post please scroll down or click here!***

It's feast or famine around here - minimal posts for a few weeks and then two posts in one day!  Always the way isn't it?  Anyway I haven't played along with ColourQ in a while and the colours this week are really fun - I always love Cajun Craze!  I don't think I've used the bells from this Papertrey Ink Bells and Boughs set before but I thought they'd be fun with these colours.  So fun that I ended up making two cards!  Can't decide which one I like best.  What do you think?

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Soft Suede) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Bells from Bells & Boughs) PTI, (Sentiment from Very Merry Christmas) Hero Arts

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Soft Suede) Stampin' Up!

Punch:  (1/8" hole punch) McGill

Gems:  (Fabrications 'Linen' collection) Teresa Collins

Twine:  (Cappuccino) The Twinery

Other:  (Black Enamel Accents) Ranger  

A Few Things To Think About

Sorry it's been a bit quiet around here recently but we've had a few people on vacation at work so I've been doing lots of extra shifts.  I did manage to get a bit of time over the weekend to play in the Craft Cave though just in time to get an entry made for the Moxie Fab Paper Crafting Tips & Tricks Week:  The Journaling Cards Challenge.  Digging through my stash I discovered I have a whole lot of journaling cards but they haven't made too many appearances on my cards.  This one is from My Mind's Eye and I stamped it with Yous from Paper Smooches and Hero Arts.  Initially I thought I'd pop the card up on Pop Dots but it was looking kind of blah.  Switch to attaching it with washi tape... better but still needed a little something else.  Enter spray mist.  This is the first time I've ever used it and, while I definitely need to play around with it a bit more, I can see why everyone's been diggin' it!  I love how it makes the journaling card look like it's floating.  So cool!  :)

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

Stamps:  (Word Up) Paper Smooches, (CL341) Hero Arts

Inks:  (Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pacific Point) Stampin' Up!

Journaling Card:  My Mind's Eye

Mist:  (Mister Huey's Dark Calico) American Crafts

Washi Tape:  Crafty Basics

CAS(E) This Sketch! Challenge #6

Hello and welcome to another week of CAS(E) This Sketch!  This week's sketch was designed by the lovely Lisa Arana:

  
My stamps are Paper Smooches from the Santa Paws and He Said, She Said sets.  I didn't use the Santa Paws set at all last year but this year it's getting a work out!  The background mimics Santa's coat and the centre panel is popped up.  Be sure and check out all the gorgeous DT creations on the CAS(E) This Sketch! site and then get to work on your own design!  :)  This is a two week challenge so entries are due by Tuesday, 27 November.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Real Red, Basic Black) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Santa & sentiment from Santa Paws, Speech Bubble from He Said, She Said) Paper Smooches

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black)  Tsukineko, (Real Red) Stampin' Up!

Embossing Powder:  (Clear) Ranger

Punch:  (Corner rounder) Marvy Uchida

Copics:  R29, E02

CASology #19

Welcome to Week 19 of CASology!  Here's the cue card for this week:

I flipped through almost all of my stamps before I came upon this life preserver and had a eureka moment for my card.  I ended up using the colour combo from Dynamic Duos to help me along.  I love how the white and Cherry Cobbler pop off of the Sahara Sand card base! There are so many things to be thankful for and ways to say thank you and I can't wait to see what you all come up with.  Go check out the gorgeous cards created by the rest of the Design Team and then get creating!

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Melissa Chipperfield

Rosemary Dennis

Tracey McNeely

And this week's guest designer:

Shelly

Link up your creations to the CASology blog and remember that submissions are due by noon CST Sunday, 18 November.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Cherry Cobbler, Sahara Sand) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Life preserver and sentiment from Ahoy) My Cute Stamps, (Thanks) Hero Arts

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black)  Tsukineko

CAS(E) This Sketch! Challenge #5

I was thrilled to bits when the lovely Jackie Rockwell invited me to join the CAS(E) This Sketch! Design Team!  Despite my professed "Sketch Allergy" I couldn't turn down the chance to join such an amazing group of designers especially as I already follow all of their blogs.  

This week's sketch was designed by Jackie:

Lots of possibilities for this one but I went for some cute lantern stamps from Sweet Stamp Shop and hung them from some twine.  What do you see when you look at this sketch? Check out the rest of the amazing cards the design team came up with and then get to work playing along!  You have until noon EST to add your cards to the InLinkz.  Can't wait to see your designs!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Wisteria Wonder) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Lanterns from Cherry Blossoms) Sweet Stamp Shop, (Sentiment from Simple Salutations) Market Street Stamps

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black)  Tsukineko,

Punch:  (1/8" hole punch) McGill

Twine:  (Strawberry) The Twinery

Gems:  (Bubblegum assortment) Doodlebug

Dynamic Celebration

A co-worker asked for a few birthday cards and a baby card today so I had a busy afternoon making those for her.  I decided to use the colours from Dynamic Duos for one of the birthday cards.  I love this oversized Paper Smooches sentiment and it seems to go perfectly with the margarita from Market Street Stamps.  Some VersaMark chevrons in the background and some Rock Candy Stickles on the rim of the glass and it was good to go!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Raspberry Ripple) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Margarita from Tiki Time) Market Street Stamps, (Chevrons from Geo-Graphic, Sentiment from Pretty Phrases) Paper Smooches

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black)  Tsukineko

Embossing Powder:  (Clear, Seafoam White) Ranger

Glitter:  (Clear Rock Candy Stickles) Ranger

CASology #18

Welcome to Week 18 of CASology!  Here's the cue card for this week:

This cue definitely gave me pause.  I didn't want to use an image of an orange as I did that back in week 3.  Halloween has passed so that was out.  I thought maybe I could do something with die cuts and orange patterned paper but then I stumbled on this starfish image from Market Street Stamps and the little lightbulb went off in my head!  I love the "Aww shucks" look on that starfish's face!  So cute!  I'm really excited to see what everyone comes up with this week and I'm sure I'll have more than a few "Why didn't I think of that?" moments.  Before you start though check out the creations by the rest of the DT:

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Melissa Chipperfield

Rosemary Dennis

Tracey McNeely

And this week's guest designer:

Jean

Link up your creations to the CASology blog and remember that submissions are due by noon CST Sunday, 11 November.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Pumpkin Pie) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Starfish from Sea Animals) Market Street Stamps, (Sentiment from Star Prints) PTI

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black)  Tsukineko, (Pumpkin Pie) Stampin' Up

Embossing Powder:  (Clear) Ranger

Gem:  (Fabrications 'Linen' collection) Teresa Collins

Copic: YR68