Monday, August 31, 2015

Altenew Birthday & Flowers


I've got two more cards to share that I made yesterday.  The first uses the palette from ColourQ and the sketch from The Friday Mashup.  All the stamps are NBUS from Altenew.  














Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Bermuda Bay, Perfect Plum) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (All from Birthday Bash) Altenew
Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Tangerine Tango) Stampin' Up
Dies:  (Stitched Rectangle) Lil' Inker Designs


Next is a card using the Just Add Ink colour palette.  More Altenew stamps but this time Doodle Blooms - a set that sees a lot of ink.  I fussy cut the leaves and flowers and also made one with opposite coloured flowers.  I'm going to enter this in the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes challenge.

















Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Mint Macaron) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Flowers & leaves from Doodle Blooms, Sentiment from Sohcahtoa) Altenew
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Glitter:  (Clear Wink of Stella) Zig
Gems:  Recollections

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Giraffes, Trees & Planes


Thank you for all the love, thoughts and prayers you've sent out to Luis and me.  We're both still feeling very raw and more than a little lost without Atticus as I'm sure we will for a while.  Today we've been trying to keep busy - Luis puttering around in the yard and me in the Craft Cave.  I have 3 cards to share but probably not much chatter.

First up is for the Colour Me challenge using a Papertrey cover plate and Altenew stamps.


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Tangerine Tango, Cajun Craze, Pool Party, Lost Lagoon) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (All from Geometric Menagerie) Altenew
Inks:  (Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Dies:  (Horizontal Stripe Cover Plate) Papertrey Ink
Markers:  (YR68, E08) Copic
Gems:  Recollections



Next is a card for the Muse challenge.  I was inspired by the layout of Tracey's card and the tree and banner.  All products are Paper Smooches.


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Tree & large gift from Winter Groves, Small gift from Santa Paws, Sentiment from Christmas Sampler) Paper Smooches
Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow
Dies:  (Flag Tags) Paper Smooches
Punch:  (1/4" hole punch) McGill


Finally is a card using the design from Freshly Made Sketches and the Colour Throwdown palette.  The "clouds" are made with white pigment ink steamed through a Crafter's Workshop stencil.













Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (Rose Red, Marina Mist, Basic Black) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (All from Plane Awesome) Taylored Expressions
Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black, Memento Luxe Wedding Dress) Tsukineko
Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow
Stencil:  The Crafter's Workshop
Gems:  Recollections

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Atticus


We lost our sweet sweet boy, Atticus, this past Tuesday.  Luis was about to shower him off after a swim when he collapsed and was gone.  It was so fast and so completely unexpected.  We are all still in shock and trying to come to terms with a much quieter and more empty life.  
Above is a photo from the day I brought him home.  The picture below is from March.  
He was 9 1/2 years old.  
My heart is broken.


Tuesday, August 25, 2015

CASology #161


Welcome to Week 161 of CASology!  Take a look at the cue word for this week:


Whenever I thought about this week's cue word I just kept picturing plaid golf pants.  I have no idea why especially as you really don't see them too often these days (at least not on the golf courses around here) but that's where my brain was taking me so I decided to go with it.  I didn't have any golfer images though so I settled for plaid grass instead.  A little bit of patterned paper can add a lot of fun to a CAS design - just keep it to a minimum!  



And this week's guest designer:


Link your creations to the CASology blog and remember that the deadline for entries is Monday at noon (CST).

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White, Kraft) Papertrey Ink, (More Mustard) Stampin' Up
Patterned Paper:  (Lost & Found Two:  Breeze 6x6) My Mind's Eye
Stamps:  (Sentiment from My Guy) Paper Smooches
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Dies:  (Golf ball & tee) Taylored Expressions, (Grassy Border) Lawn Fawn
Gems:  Recollections

Monday, August 24, 2015

Flowers & Balloons


The Pinterest Inspired Challenge is new in town and judging from the number of gorgeous entries it's going to be a popular one.  I love the colours and the fun flowers in this inspiration picture and it immediately made me think of the flowers and leaves from a My Cute Stamps set.  I stamped them in black and then I took shapes from Simon Says Stamps' Scribble Flowers to "colour in" the images.  The layout is based on the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches but I flipped it upside down.  


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Basic Black) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Flowers & leaves from Celebrate Today) My Cute Stamps, (Circles from Scribble Flowers) Simon Says Stamp, (Sentiment from Oh Happy Day) Avery Elle
Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi) Stampin' Up
Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow
Gems:  Recollections


Next up is an entry for Curtain Call.  I was inspired by the colours, the flowers and the stripes in the background.  I paired some of my favourite Paper Smooches dies with some striped paper from Lawn Fawn and an Altenew sentiment.  Unfortunately this is one of those cards that I love in real life but I feel like the picture is lacking.  I always have a hard time photographing black cardstock so maybe that's it.  It just doesn't seem to have translated well.





Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black) Stampin' Up, (Gold)
Patterned Paper:  (Let's Polka 6x6) Lawn Fawn
Stamp:  (Sentiment from Many Thanks) Altenew
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Dies:  (Crystal Clear 3, Flowers) Paper Smooches, (Stitched rectangle) Mama Elephant
Gems:  Recollections

  
My final card uses this week's  palette from ColourQ.  I love this colour combination - so bright and cheerful and perfect for some happy birthday balloons although apparently I've been using a lot of balloons lately because Luis' reaction to the card was, "Really?  Balloons again?"  Hmmm…  is that a challenge?  Clearly it's time I get more creative with my birthday cards!  Time to dust off some NBUS and get to work! That's it for me today.  Hope you all have a wonderful day and I'll see you back here tomorrow with CASology!




Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up
Stamp:  (Sentiment from Cake & Candles) Avery Elle
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Dies:  (Balloons) Simon Says Stamp, (Bows) Avery Elle
Gems:  Recollections

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Flowers & Skyscrapers


Hi there!  Luis was out all day at a work party so I armed myself with a huge cup of coffee and locked myself in the Craft Cave until he called me to pick him up.  It was fabulous!  I'm going to share 3 of the cards tonight and then more over the next couple of days.  

First up is my card for the Muse challenge.  I stuck pretty closely to Anita's inspiration because I thought it was gorgeous.  I love the gold and turquoise together especially the splattered gold over the top of the stencil.  I didn't do any splattering but instead added some gems to my flower.


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Basic Black) Stampin' Up, (Gold)
Inks:  (Peacock Feathers Distress Ink) Ranger
Dies:  (Thank You) Avery Elle, (Flower) Mama Elephant
Stencil:  The Crafter's Workshop
Gems:  Recollections


Next up is a card using the Colour Throwdown palette and the design from Freshly Made Sketches.  FMS is celebrating their 200th sketch!  Whoop whoop! I only discovered them fairly recently but I am really enjoying playing along with them.  I paired up some CAS-ual Fridays, Avery Elle and Mama Elephant dies with an Altenew sentiment.  Love how well they all play together!


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Pumpkin Pie, Cucumber Crush, Basic Black) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Sentiment from Many Thanks) Altenew
Inks:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko
Embossing Paste:  (Seafoam White) Ranger
Dies:  (Leaves) CAS-ual Fridays, (Flower from Fill in the Blank Icons) Avery Elle, (Curved line) Mama Elephant
Gems:  Recollections


Last but not least is a card using the Freshly Made Sketches design again but this time with the palette from Colour Me.  I dusted off my Die-namics Skyline Border from My Favourite Things and and the Starburst Background from Hero Arts - both oldies (but very underused) goodies!  And that's it for tonight.  Hope all you had a wonderful weekend!



Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Sentiment from Sophie's Sentiments) Lawn Fawn, (Starburst Background) Hero Arts
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Butter Bar) Hero Arts
Dies:  (Die-Namics Skyline Border) My Favourite Things
Gems:  Recollections

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

CASology #160


Welcome to Week 160 of CASology!  Take a look at the cue word for this week:


This is one of my favourite number related sentiments - it always makes me giggle.  :)  The stamps are all from Skipping Stones Design and guess what?  After a 2 1/2 year hiatus they've reopened and they already have 5 new stamp sets available.  So cool!  But back to the challenge at hand…  Be sure and check out the gorgeous creations from the design team and then play along with us!


Tracey McNeely - Taking a break

And this week's guest designer:


Link your creations to the CASology blog and remember that the deadline for entries is Monday at noon (CST).

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (All from Birthday Doughnuts) Skipping Stones Designs
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Markers:  (Regal Rose, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Elegant Eggplant) Stampin' Up
Gems:  Recollections

Monday, August 17, 2015

Rainbow Glitter Clouds


Happy Monday!  I've got some rainbow glitter clouds to start your week off with a smile.  I was inspired by the design over at CAS(E) This Sketch and by the rainbow of pencil crayons over at Cath's Hip & Hooray blog.  I used my favourite DCWV glitter cardstock to fill in the clouds from this Simon Says die.  I ended up making 6 versions of the card so that none of the die cut clouds would go to waste.  Here's one other:















Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Basic Black) Stmpin' Up, (Various glitter colours) DCWV
Stamps:  (Sentiment from Sophie's Sentiments) Lawn Fawn, (Sentiment from Say What) Mama Elephant
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukeniko
Die:  (Cloud bank) Simon Says Stamp

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Thanks & Starfish


Sunday afternoon already - another weekend has just flown by.  We had a late night last night so have been pretty lazy today.  We took Atti for a swim and then watched "The Imitation Game" which I loved.

I enjoyed a few hours of crafty time yesterday and have two cards to share with you today.  First up is a card inspired by Michele's gorgeous Muse card.  I love the pop of lime green against all of that gorgeous white and the touch of silver.  Michele mentions on her blog that she'd like us to use dry embossing on our cards but I didn't see that until after I'd made my card.  The white Bazzill card is textured though so hopefully that will give me some points!  :)


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Lucky Limeade) Stampin' Up, (Silver)
Die:  (Holiday Fill in the Blank) Avery Elle
Gems:  Recollections



My next card uses the colours from the Colour Throwdown, the inspiration photo from Stampin' Celebration and the vacation/beach theme from The Male Room.  I also had this card by Hannelie in the back of my mind - I love the vellum image against the stripes!














Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Smokey Slate) Stampin' Up, (Vellum) Strathmore
Stamps:  (Starfish from Ocean Dreams) Sweet Stamp Shop, (Sentiment from Many Thanks) Altenew
Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukeniko
Embossing Powder:  (Seafoam White) Ranger

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Thanks, Teacher


Hello there!  I'm popping in with a last minute card for the Paper Smooches Sparks Picture Perfect challenge.  I pulled out this apple from one of the first PS releases and paper pieced it with Studio Calico papers.  For the sentiment I tried to use the chalkboard technique to go along with the school theme.  It looks okay in real life but in the photo the chalky look isn't very clear.  I guess next time I need to smudge a bit more white ink on it.  I'm also going to enter this in the Addicted to CAS School challenge.  

  











Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Basic Black) Stampin' Up
Patterned Paper:  (South of Market, Classic Calico) Studio Calico
Stamps:  (Apple from Falling for You, sentiment from Smarty Pants, speech bubble from He Said, She Said) Paper Smooches
Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukeniko
Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow