CFC41 and CTD180 challenges

Hi all! We received some great news yesterday: My nephew and niece are expecting their first baby! Woo Hoo! We are soooo excited by this news! They've had some tough times the last few years, and this is DEFINITELY a much needed blessing!

I wanted to create a congrats card for them, and while I was at it, make it for a couple challenges. (Hee hee!)

I'm entering this for the Color Throwdown CTD180 and CAS-ual Fridays CFC41 challenges.

The planets must be aligning because I just received my March KOM from Paper Smooches, and the ZOO CREW stamp set had this adorable hippo with the "hippo hooray" with it! Brilliant! My card base (Bazzill) is the 'barely banana'. I stamped the hippo and sentiments in black ink (Tsukineko) and used markers (Marvy Uchida) to add the needed colors. I just shaded the hippo with grey, and stamped the hearts in the pumpkin color. Lastly I doodled a border around the edge in blue. (I don't have any copic markers, so I use what I have!) The inside sentiment is from a Fiskars stamp set, again stamped in black and I added another pumpkin colored heart.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fantastic rest of the weekend!

Chris ☺

Mojo Monday card challenge #229

Good afternoon! Hope you're all doing well. I have a story to tell. My brother Steve recently had some unexpected, and unwelcome, visitors: Skunks! Yep, a momma skunk decided to set up a home for herself in the crawl space under my brother's house. Then she went and gave birth to a litter. Oh the smell of it all! LOL! Steve had the critters taken away by an exterminator, but his house stank something AWFUL for a few days! Lucky for him, he had warm enough weather to keep the windows open during the day! Anyway, the stink is gone, and my brother can breath fresh air once more in his house!

What a lead up to the latest card I made! I used the sketch from Mojo Monday #229 to create this little beauty:

and the sketch:

I couldn't let an opportunity to poke fun at one of my siblings pass! That would be a travesty! LOL! All the patterned paper is from DCWV, the Green Stack. I made a card base from kraft paper (Recollections), the black CS is Bazzill, and the off white is DCWV. Tied some cord on, and printed out my sentiments for both the front and inside from the computer.

 I know Steve will get a big kick out of this card and will be laughing his ass off!

That's all for now. Have a great rest of the weekend!

Chris ☺

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #152

Good day all! I've been outside the last couple of days due to GAW-JUS weather! mid 60's in B-more! Love it! I've been playing outside with our fur-baby, Colby, so I haven't been cranking out cards. I can't help it, I love warm weather! I was able to sneak up to my "happy place" and create this card for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #152.

Here is the sketch:

I wanted to use my KOM stamps from Paper Smooches, so I created a Easter card using them. Love Paper Smooches stamps, they are so adorable! The egg stamp is actually two: the egg shape and the doodle designs. Love the versatility of these stamps! (to doodle or not to doodle, that is the question. LOL!)  I made this card kinda girly, with all the pink, and the pleated ribbon. (sigh!) I love how this turned out!

Here's my list of supplies:
Card stock: Bazzill (white); DCWV (green)
Patterned paper: Basic Grey (pink floral); eggs: American Crafts (purple); Carolyn Holt (pink); Penny Black (yellow floral)
Ribbon: Cloud 9 Design (blue ruffles); Maya Road (yellow)
Stamps: Paper Smooches
Ink: Tsukineko
Markers: Marvy Uchida
Adhesives: Tombow; SA by 3L; Glue Dots; Therm-o-web

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great rest of the day!

Chris ☺

Unity Stamps KOM challenge

Hi there. I whipped this card up last night for the Unity KOM challenge. (And why yes, I DO wine a little when I make cards! LOL!)

Here is the sketch:

I used the the February KOM stamps, and turned the sketch on it's side. I created my own background with one of the stamps. (I like that this kit has different themes to it: St. Patty's Day; Spring; Birthday; support...etc.) I stamped the shamrocks and sentiment on patterned paper, cut out and used 3D foam squares to pop them up on the card. Easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great rest of the day!

Chris ☺

My Favorite Things MFTWSC59 sketch challenge

Hello and happy Monday to you! Last night I came up with this little gem of a card using MFT stamps. I was grateful (and so surprised!) to find out that I won the MFTWSC57 challenge. This is the stamp set I purchased with the gift voucher I received. It's called Twisted Threesome, the 3rd set in the Twisted series of stamps. It had two sentiments on it that I say ALL the time, which I used on this card:

Here is the sketch:

Anything that has "wine" in it is a great thing, in my book! LOL! The image of the wine glass was clip art I got off the internet and printed out onto heavy card stock. (I don't have a stamp with a wine glass/bottle...yet!)

My list of supplies:
card stock: Bazzill (black, red); Canson (white)
patterned paper: Creative Imaginations (wine glasses/bottles); Cosmo Cricket (yellow)
vellum: Recollections
Stamps: My Favorite Things - Twisted Threesome
ink: Tsukineko; Clear Snap
Adhesives: Tombow; Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L
accessories: Grand Calibur; Cuttlebug embossing folder - Musical Flourish; wine glass clip art off internet

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful rest of the day!

Chris ☺

RCC40 and CTD179

This is my second post tonight. My fur baby is fed, my DH is playing Skyrim on Xbox and I fortified myself with a glass of wine. Life is good!
I made another card for a few more challenges: The Ribbon Carousel Challenge RCC40, Color Throwdown CTD179, and G45's Random Crafts of Kindness Challenge. Here is the card I made:

...and my inspiration:

I used paper from Graphic 45's collection, Le' Romantique. If you don't have any G45 paper yet, do yourself a favor AND BUY SOME! You won't be disappointed! Oh, and that lace? It was originally white, but I tea stained it to give it a more vintage look! I've had this lace it seems like forever, and then it hit me. I used it when I was making my floral bouquets for my wedding...almost 21 years ago!!! How cool is that?!!

Here is my list of supplies:
Patterned paper: Graphic 45
card stock: Bazzill (black/crumb cake); We R Memory Keepers (poppy)
Floss: DMC
Punch: Martha Stewart
Stamp: Hero Arts
Ink: Tsukineko; Clear Snap
Other: Grand Calibur, Nestabilities scalloped circles Sm; lace, pearls - craft supply

Thanks for stopping by. My wine glass is getting low and I need to replenish! LOL! Have a great rest of the weekend!

Chris ☺

ISSC03 and Unity's FWF

Hi all! I've been up in my happy place again (my craft room!) making more cards.

I'm submitting this card for both the I Spy Sketch Challenge, and for Unity's Friend's With Flair. Here is the sketch this card is based off of:

I'd be lost without a sketch! Very rarely do I create a card without one - they usually come out looking like crap! LOL! Here I've used Unity's February KOM stamps. I about fell off my chair when I saw the "you. are. old." stamp and knew THAT was the first stamp I was using from the kit! I embossed the grey card stock with a diamond plate pattern and spritzed Glimmer Mist in Granite on it. I also challenged myself to make a guy card, and since the kit came with a couple antique cars, it worked out beautifully.

Here is the list of supplies I used:
Patterned paper: Crate Paper (orange tape measure); LYB (black/white chevrons); DCWV (orange chevrons)
card stock is from Bazzill
Flag stickers: Echo Park
Stamps: Unity (you are old/car/...vintage); Inkadinkado (Happy Birthday)
Ink: Tsukineko; Clear Snap
Glimmer Mist: Tattered Angels in Granite
others: Grand Calibur, Nestabilities Deckled Rectangle Lg; Cuttlebug Diamond Plate embossing folder; brads/ribbon - craft supply

Got to go feed my fur-baby now. He's standing right next to me breathing his stinky breath on me and telling me telepathically that it's time for his dinner! I got one more post to make so I'll be back soon!

Chris ☺

Mojo Mondays card challenge 228

Happy Thursday all! Today we are getting nothing but rain here in Baltimore. I don't mind it, I like to walk in the rain. Now if I can only remember to buy some wellies so I can splash in the puddles! ☺

I made this card for the Mojo Mondays 228 card challenge. You can get all the deets here.

... and the sketch:

I wanted to use the "A little bird told me..." stamp, but couldn't use a circle otherwise it would have been too large. So I turned the sketch on it's side and used an oval instead. I also ran a marker around all the paper edges. 

I recently purchased a Grand Calibur by Spellbinders and I'm in love with it! I picked up some Cuttlebug embossing folders and I just LOVE using them! I'm like a little kid with a new toy!! I stamped the bird above the sentiment, and again on some pink paper, cut it out and glued it over the stamped image. I really love how this card came out!

Here's a list of supplies I used:
card stock: DCWV (greens); Bazzill Basics (black, white)
pattered paper: HOTP (gingham, pink); Frances Meyer (stripe); I'm not sure who made the green dot as the mfr. didn't put it's name/logo on the back side of the paper. If anyone happens to know who made it, I'd appreciate a heads up!
Stamps: My Cute Stamps (bird); Inkadinkado (A little bird...); Hero Arts (inside sentiment)
Ink: Tsukineko
Markers: Marvy Uchida, Tri-C
Nestabilities label die; Cuttlebug embossing folder

I hope that you enjoy the rest of your day! Thanks for stopping by!

Chris ☺

My Favorite Things MFTWSC58 Challenge

Good morning all! Hope everyone had a great weekend. I was working on some card challenges and here is one of them:

This is for the MFTWSC58 challenge on the My Favorite Things blog. Here is the sketch:

I used patterned paper from DCWV, MME, and Webster's Pages. I just received the Cuttlebug embossing plates I ordered and HAD to play with them! I love new toys! LOL! Stamps used are from Posh Impressions (twigs), Inkadinkado (birthday wishes) and Hero Arts (inside sentiment). Guy cards are hard to make but I think I pulled this one off!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Chris ☺

Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger: Fancy Schmancy

Hi there. I hope that you are all enjoying the weekend. Since we got the new furnace in, I've been so happy...and warm! I decided to create some cards for some challenges out there in blog world. Here's one I came up with:

Here is the inspiration photo:

I used some older paper from DCWV and Basic Grey, some pink pearl bling from Prima, and ribbon from Martha Stewart. I'm not real happy about how it turned out, but it was still fun to make! Oh, and it's based on a PageMaps card sketch. Love love love PageMaps!!

Now, if I could only get my hands on those scrumptious petite fours in the picture! Yummo!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Chris ☺

Unity Stamps FWF Friday 2/10/2012

Hello there and happy Friday! I'm very excited today because we have heat in the house again! The heat exchanger in our furnace died out on Tuesday, and since our furnace and a/c units were over 20 years old, we decided to get new ones. We've had no heat in the house since then! But today, the new furnace and a/c unit were installed and I'm soooo happy!...and warm!!!

Here's a card I made using paper from DCWV's Lemon Flower stack:

I used stamps from the January KOM. It's simple and to the point. I'm very happy that I'm getting Unity's kit of the month! These stamps are awesome!

Have a wonderful rest of the day! I'm gonna go celebrate the new furnace by sitting in front of a vent while the warm air blows on me! LOL!

Chris ☺

SSSC151 Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 151

Good Morning! This is my third post today! Holy Crow! I was busy making cards this weekend for some challenges. This is for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #151. You can find all the details here. Here is the sketch used:

And here is the card I came up with:

I LOVED making this card! The patterned paper and wild card are from October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker collection. One of my all time favorite collections ever! I just typed the sentiments off of my computer and used a Nestabilities scallop die on the front. On the inside I used my Slice to cut out the scallop.

Thanks for visiting! Have a great day!

Chris ☺

My Favorite Things MFTWSC57 challenge

Good Morning! This is my second post today. I was happy this weekend making cards for some challenges. This one is for the My Favorite Things stamp challenge. Unfortunately I don't have any stamps (yet!) from MFT, so I used some from Unity Stamp Co. This was the sketch to use:

And here is the card I made:

The patterned paper is from Webster's Pages, the card stock is Bazzill Basics and We R Memory Keepers. The little flower I made using a punch from Martha Stewart. I just punched a strip of paper, adhered glue tape  under the punched design and just rolled it. I bent down the "petals", added a brad to the center and glued it down. Easy peasy! I may have to post a separate demo on how to make the flower.

I hope you enjoyed! Have a wonderful day!

Chris ☺

Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge

Hey there! I've been playing with paper, markers and glue this weekend...again! Here's what I did for the Paper Smooches Sparks challenge:

Above is the inspiration photo. You can get all the details for the challenge here. And this is the card that I came up with:

I stamped those little flowers using the Spring Fling set, and the sentiment from the Good Gab set. The stripes are hand drawn. I used yellow felt and cut it on one edge using pinking shears. It didn't look quite done enough, so I added a little bling to finish it off! It's simple, but to the point! I believe this is going to be my Valentine card for my DH! It was fun to use non-traditional colors for a Valentine's card.

Hope you enjoyed! Have a wonderful day!

Chris ☺