One more Christmas card in July...

Hello friends and happy Sunday to you. It's the last day in July, can you believe that? Where did this month go?! Pretty soon the kiddies will be heading back to school (insert secret squeal of joy here) and the days will be noticeably shorter. (how depressing)

So, to send off July, I made a Christmas card:

 Here's the inside:

I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly this card came together. Quite possibly in under an hour. (It takes roughly at least 2 hours for me to make a card, because I agonize over which stamps, or DP, or colors, or embellies, or sketch, etc. to use. I can never make up my mind) I think what took the longest on this card was the placement of those alpha stickers (HO HO HO). Yep, those are ancient stickers from my stash. Made of thin paper. And I rearranged them at least 12 times. Yikes! 

Anyhoo, the planets must have aligned last night, since I'm able to enter this card in three challenges:

Jingle Belles - We Three Kings (my 3 is the HO HO HO)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - pick a sketch - I used the May 2016 sketch

Mod Squad Challenge - Christmas in July

 

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you have an enjoyable day!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts - Merry Christmas Message
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
DP: Graphic 45 - Christmas Emporium
CS: Bazzill, Darice
Accessories: GC; SB - Std Sm & Lg Oval Nesties; K & Co - Santa stickers; Recollections - alpha stickers
Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner

JUST US GIRLS #354 Wild Card Week!

Good morning and welcome crafty friends! Since this is the 5th Saturday of the month, we have a Wild Card week at JUST US GIRLS! Nancy is your hostess this week, and she wants to see any card or project that has a girly theme to it!

Here's my card:

 and the inside:

I just picked up this sweet little miss from Taylored Expressions retirement sale. Loved coloring her! I still need more practice with coloring the ruffles in a skirt, but they came out ok. Lots of pretty embellies on this: lace, ribbon, rhinestones. My card is a total case of this card by Melissa Sauls. (Thank you Melissa!) I just loved the card design so went with that. ☺ 

So, ready to make something with a girl theme on it? Of course you are! Be sure to link it up at Just Us Girls so we can admire it. While there, please visit the blogs of the design team, and our Guest Designer, Carol Mayne, and leave some bloggy love! This is Carol's last week as GD with us, and I'd like to say a big thank you for sharing your amazing talent with us! 

Just a reminder, if you are picked as Chic of the Week for any of our July challenges, you'll be in the running to be our Guest Designer for the month of September! Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:
Stamps: Taylored Expressions - Moka Taylor; Stampendous - Birthday Wish
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
DP: Basic Grey - South Pacific
CS: TE; Bazzill; Crafter's Companion
Accessories: Spectrum Noir markers; GC; Std Lg & Lacey Ovals Nesties; Sizzix EF; Simplicity - lace; Tim Holtz - ribbon; Nicole - Rhinestones
Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D & thin 3D foam squares; Glue Dots; Recollections red tape

SHOPPING OUR STASH #262 - A Stitch In Time

Hello and welcome crafty peeps! We have a fun challenge for you this week at SHOPPING OUR STASH: A Stitch In Time - for this challenge, we want to see stitching on your project, whether that be from a sewing machine, cross stitching, faux stitching, etc. You get the gist. Here's my card:

 and the inside:

I dug out my Sew Easy tool for this one, and used a few of the different attachments for my stitching. (Yes, I know my rows look wonky. Maybe I meant for that to happen! LOL!) My card base is a dark grey, but I lightly sponged over it with Gathered Twigs DI to get some brown tones in it. (I had no taupe card stock, so I made it. Sort of. It definitely looks more taupe irl.) The panel is popped up on foam squares, and a simple sentiment was added.

I hope you find some time to play along this week at Shopping Our Stash. We'd love to see your project in the gallery. For more inspiration, do check out what my teammies created, and leave them some love on their blogs! Thanks for visiting, and stay cool - it's another hot one out there!

I'd like to enter this at:
Less Is More #286/287 - Use something tactile
CAS - Colour & Sketches #183
CAS on Sunday #88 - Thank You

Supplies:
Stamps: MFT - Essential and More Essential Sentiments
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Ranger DI - Gathered Twigs
CS: Darice; Bazzill
Accessories: WRMK - Sew Easy tool; DMC - floss
Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D foam squares

SISTERHOOD OF SNARKY STAMPERS #64 R is for Resist Technique

Hello and welcome snarky peeps! I'm back from vacation and perhaps now I'll be able to catch up on commenting. (wink wink) As Edna is showing us in the awesome graphic above, our new challenge at the Sisterhood is to use the Resist Technique on your card or project. There are a boat load of video tutorials out there on Mr. Google, so if you haven't tried this before, never fear, just Google it! LOL!
Here's my card:

and the inside:

No snark on this card. It's all warm and toasty feely. I heat embossed the pine bough in white EP, then sponged Pine Needles DI over it, making it darker around the image. Then I smooshed Iced Spruce DI on my craft mat, spritzed with water, and flicked that on the panel with a paint brush. 

Now it's your turn to try out the resist technique! We'd love to see what you come up with. Just link up at the Sisterhood so we can admire it! Need more inspiration? Then please visit the blogs of my Sistahs and our Guest Designer, Helen, and be sure to leave them some bloggy lovin! Thanks for hanging out!

I'd like to enter this at Jingle Belles - sketch challenge

Supplies:
Stamps: Rubber Dance - Pines Fir You; BoBunny - Holiday Wishes
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Ranger DI - Gathered Twigs, Pine Needles, Iced Spruce; VersaMark
DP: Frances Meyer; HOTP
CS: Darice
Accessories: GC: Std. Sm & Classic Scalloped Circle Nesties; Sizzix - Flowers EF; Avery Elle - Pierced Rectangle die; Stampendous - White EP; heat gun; TH - sponging tools
Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, Thin 3D foam squares

JUST US GIRLS #353 - Photo Week

Hello and welcome! Sue is your hostess for Photo Week at JUST US GIRLS, and she's picked this really cool photo as your inspiration! Here's my take on it:

 and the inside:

I've had these dimensional stickers in my stash for over a year now, and it was high time I used them. I stalked Pinterest for inspiration and found this card as my jumping off point. (Thank you Angela!) I think I even used the same plaid paper she did! LOL! Since white space makes me crazy, I used an embossing folder and debossed faux golf ball 'dimples' on the main panel. I was also able to use one of the stickers as part of my punny sentiment! ☺

So, how does that picture inspire you? The golf theme? The ombre background? Why not make something and link it up at Just Us Girls? For more inspiration, do yourself a favor and visit the blogs of my teammates, and our Guest Designer, Carol, and leave them some bloggy love! Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a great day!

I'd like to enter this at Cardz 4 Guyz #129 - Make Us Smile

Supplies: 

Stamps; Paper Smooches - My Guy, Digits; Hero Arts - Good Things

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black

DP: Echo Park - This & That

CS: Bazzill; Darice

Accessories: GC; Std. Sm & Lg Circle Nesties; Recollections - dimensional stickers; Darice EF; Fiskars - corner rounder

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, Thin 3D foam squares; Scotch - foam tape

I Hope You Dance....

Hello friends and welcome! I wanted to share a card I made at the request of one of my sisters, who needed a graduation card for her girlfriend's daughter. Said daughter is a ballerina, and loves the colors blue and black, so there was my jumping off point. ☺ Here's my card:

I created this a few weeks ago, but am only now blogging about it, as I left for vacation the day after I finished the card! I based my card on the now ended Tuesday Morning Sketches #358. Here's a close up of that gorgeous ballerina. After she was colored, I went over the flowers with Crystal Stickles.

I'm not happy with how the hair turned out, but as they say, you are your own worst critic. (wink) I did have a lot of fun coloring this image, and hope to start getting back to coloring more now that I'm back home.

That's all for now. Gotta go and walk my fur baby, or really, just let him out in the back yard. It's too damn hot outside!! Keep cool and thanks for visiting!

I'd like to enter this at:
 Aurora Wings #33 - Tic Tac Toe (middle row: doily/flowers/ribbon&bow)
Naughty or Nice #29 - Anything Goes

 


Supplies:
Stamps: Aurora Wings - Flower Ballerina digi
DP: mystery paper
CS: Crafter's Companion; Bazzill; Darice
Accessories: Spectrum Noir markers; Wilton - doily; Morex - ribbon; Ranger - Crystal Stickles; Rhinestone from my stash
Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D foam squares; Glue Dots; Recollections - red tape

SHOPPING OUR STASH #261 - You Are Matchless

Hello and good morning! I'm late with getting my card made and uploaded to the challenge blog, but it's there now. Hubby and I just came back from our vacation late Sunday night. I knew I'd be making a card yesterday, but I only sat down to make it last night. Had to wait for daylight to take a decent picture.

So what is this new challenge about at SHOPPING OUR STASH? Well, we want you to create your own matchbox/matchbook! I was a little leery of this one, but once I got started, my card came together pretty quickly. (It also helped that I used an image that I colored when I was on vacation. ☺)

 Here's the inside:

I was stumped as to what to use for the triangle elements, but then hubby suggested gold or silver - brilliant! (of course, gold foil cardstock is incredibly hard to photograph. sigh) Anyhooo, once I had the card made, I used a bit of twine to keep the matchbook flap closed. 

So, now it's your turn. Ready to try your hand at a matchbook or matchbox project? Of course you are! Just be sure to link up at Shopping Our Stash so we can admire it! Need more inspiration? Just visit my teammates blogs and leave them some bloggy lovin' while there. Thanks for visiting!

I'd like to enter this at Mojo Monday #457

Supplies:
Stamps: Bugaboo - Santa with tree digi; SSS/Kelly Purkey - Tis the Season; Hero Arts - Merry Christmas Message
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
DP: HOTP; DCWV - Foiled Card Stock Stack
CS: Bazzill; Crafter's Companion
Accessories: Prisma Color pencils; GC; Avery Elle - Pierced Rectangle dies; MFT - Zig Zag Stitched Sq dies; Martha Stewart - twine
Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, Thin 3D foam squares

JUST US GIRLS #352 - Color Week

Hello and welcome! It's Color Week at JUST US GIRLS! Bobby is your hostess this week and she's picked some bright, fun colors to work with: Coral, Pink, and Yellow! Here is the card I made:

Here's the inside:

I CASE'd this card by Kim Makortoff, (Thanks Kim! That you lined up all the hellos by eyeballing them still amazes me!) This card was pretty fast to make, and yes, I did use my MISTI. I stamped the hello onto pink card stock, and adhered to the white card base, Added some yellow Washi tape, and stamped dear friend in Abandoned Coral DI. Super simple!

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for our color challenge at Just Us Girls! For more inspiration, please do check out what the Design Team, and our July Guest Designer, Carol Mayne, have created, and leave them some bloggy love! Thanks for visiting, and have a great day!

Supplies:

Stamps: STAMPlorations - Big Greetings; Hero Arts - Everyday Sayings

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Ranger DI - Abandoned Coral

CS: Darice

Accessories: MISTI; Recollections - Washi tape

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner

SISTERHOOD OF SNARKY STAMPERS #63 B is for Booze

What? Like you didn't think we'd have another booze related challenge? HA! This IS the SISTERHOOD OF SNARKY STAMPERS, after all. (wink) So, here is the card I made:

 and the inside:

The background panel was sponged using a strip of die cut wine glasses that I cut out months ago. I thought at the time it would make for a cool stencil. Glad I kept it.

I die cut the black frame 3 times and glued them together for a bit of dimension. The tiny die cut  wine glass was the perfect final touch. ☺

I hope you get a chance to play along with the booze challenge at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers! I look forward to seeing your entries in the gallery! Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:

Stamps: Riley & Co. - A Meal...; Paper Smooches - Free Spirits; Simon Says Stamp - Adult Beverages Sayings

Ink: Memento - Rhubarb Stalk, Tuxedo Black

CS: Darice; Bazzill

Accessories: GC; Paper Smooches - Drink Glasses & Free Spirits icons

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D foam squares; Scotch - scrapbooker's glue; Glue Dots

JUST US GIRLS #351 - Trend Week

Hello there! We have a new challenge starting today at JUST US GIRLS! Vicki is your hostess for Trend Week, and she wants to see your SPONGING skills! If you love to play with inks, or haven't tried this yet, you'll have tons of fun! Here's my take on the challenge:

and the finished inside:

You can create the most amazing skies using your inks and silhouette stamps! My background is made up using four Distress Inks. First I lightly sponged Squeezed Lemonade where I wanted the 'sun' to be. Using a circle mask that I die cut from masking paper, I put that over the lightly sponged area, then continued around it, Next was Spiced Marmalade, then Abandoned Coral, and finally Fired Brick. I went over them a few times to blend them in better and darker. Using my MISTI, (Best invention ever, IMHO!), I stamped the tree line at least 6 times to get a really dark, saturated image. (Note to self: re-ink your black ink pad. LOL!) I found a bird in flight stamp and added that, then stamped the sentiment. 

So, ready to get inky? Of course you are! We'd love to see your take on our sponging challenge at Just Us Girls! For more inspiration, please do yourself a favor by visiting the blogs of my teammies, and our Guest Designer, Carol Mayne, and leave them some bloggy love! 

Just a reminder, if you are picked as Chic of the Week for any of our July challenges, you'll be in the running to be our Guest Designer for the month of September! Have fun and thanks for visiting!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampers Anonymous - Tree Line; Paper Smooches - Get Outta Town (bird); MFT - More Essential Sentiments; Stampendous - Birthday Wish

Ink: Ranger DI - Fired Brick, Abandoned Coral, Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade; Memento - Tuxedo Black

CS: Darice

Accessories: Ranger - blending tools; MISTI; GC; SB - Sm Std Circle Nesties; Inkadinkado - masking paper

Adhesive; Scotch - foam tape; SA by 3L - tape runner

SHOPPING OUR STASH #259 - Say What?!

Hello friends, and welcome! This week at SHOPPING OUR STASH, we want to see how you use speech bubbles on your project. Here is what I came up with:

I so love these Grumplings stamps and dies! Just look at that face!!! And the sentiments that come with the set speak to my snarky heart! LOL! The bunneh is colored with SN markers, the sentiment stamped and die cut from a speech bubble. Both are adhered with foam squares.

We'd love to see your take on the challenge. Just link up your project at Shopping Our Stash so we can admire it! While there, please do leave some bloggy lovin for my teammies! Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:
Stamps: Taylored Expressions - Grouchy Grumplings
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
DP: Basic Grey - South Pacific
CS: Crafter's Companion; Bazzill; Darice
Accessories: Spectrum Noir markers; GC; TE - Grouchy Grumplings dies; Avery Elle - Pierced Rectangle die; Paper Smooches - Word Bubble die; MISTI
Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D foam squares