Cards with patterned paper

I made several of these cards the other day. I am trying to use more patterned paper on my cards. I get so inspired by the colors in the paper. I bought a pack of paper at Archiver's for 25% a while ago and I liked it so much I just couldn't bring myself to use it because I liked it so much. Well it is not doing any body any good on my shelf so here are a couple of the cards with a sheet of it.

I used the Take Three stamp set and my markers to ink it up with two colors. Then I used Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral and Summer Sun cardstock. I also tied some Chocolate Chip ribbon around the card.


Close up:


And here is one without the patterned paper:


Don't forget to leave a comment on yesterday's post to try and win some blog candy.

My first blog candy

So everybody else is doing I figure I will too. There are many times I am all about copying cool ideas and this is one of them. I don't know who started blog candy but what a fun idea. I recently won some from Sara's blog and it was so fun.

So here is how it works. Leave a comment on this post and on Friday I will generate a random number and the lucky person of that number comment will win! However this give away is limited to those who live within the United States (sorry to my international friends).

Here is a pic of some of what will be included. I will also throw in an assortment of paper and hardware stuff.

WSC 32

I tried another weekend sketch challenge from Beate's blog. Here is the sketch.

I am not happy with the way my cards turned out. I tried two different cards. Here are they are:





On the first one I used Time Well Spent stamp set, Eggplant Envy, Rose Red, and Regal Rose cardstock. I colored the image with my aqua painter and my watercolor crayons (whch I have grown to love).

On the second card I used the Because of You and Happy Everything stamp sets, Purely Pomgranate, Groovy Guava, and Always Artichoke cardstock. I also watercolored the image with my aqua painter and watercolor crayons.

I think the problem is they need something in the top right corner. The balance just seems off to me. I am going to try and come up with something to put there but I had to go ahead and post these because I have to leave a comment on Beate's blog with a link to my cards before tomorrow. She generates a random number and if you are that number comment you win! I am all about winning (even though it never happens to me).

A couple of flower cards

Here are a couple of card I made the other day to share with you.

Supplies: Bud Basics and Sincere Salutations stamp set, Cool Caribbean, Tempting Turquoise and Basic Black cardstock, some primas I got from the Target dollar spot (great deal), and brads.


Supplies: Lovely Lilac and Lavendar Lace cardstock, Time Well Spent stamp set, Flower punch, white brads, Lovely Lilac stamp pad.

Creative block with loved sets

I love the stamp sets Because of You and Time Well Spent but for some reason I have a creative block when I try to use them. I don't know why, they are probably my favorite sets. I just stare at them and have no idea what to do with them. I have been trying to use my watercolor crayons more and that has helped me use the two sets. The images need to be colored in. Here are two card I made yesterday using these two sets.

Criss Cross and nuggets

I went to a surprise party tonight so I needed a card and cute small gift. I also participated in some challenges on splitcoast that helped me accomplish this.

First I made this card, it is called a criss cross card. I used Cameo Coral and Chocolate Chip cardstock along with some patterned paper I love. I used my circle, scallop and round tab punches. I used the Big Flowers stamp set.


Here is the inside of the card:


Lee challenged us to make a nugget box so here is mine:

I used the Happy Everything stamp set for this one. I didn't have any hershey nuggets at home so I had to stop on the way to the party to get those.

More sketch challenges

I have begun to get into these sketch challenges lately. Several people have them on their blogs (I read so many of those these days) and Splitcoast does a card sketch challenge and scrapbook layout challenge once a week. Here is the card sketch from this week: SC160

I made two card almost the same using this sketch. I am trying to use my patterned paper more on cards. I usually reserve it for my scrapbook pages but then I have a hard time using it for that purpose because I want everything to match the colors in the picture (I am trying to get over that too!). So I have all this really pretty paper that just sits on my shelf.


And here is a close up of the brown one, I think this one if my favorite of the two of them.


I used Chocolate chip and Cameo Coral paper along with some patterned paper from a pack I had. I used markers to color on the stamps so that I could achieve a two color stamped image. I used the Take Three stamp set. Added some ribbon and there you have it.

Then I found this sketch challenge from a few weeks ago. SC155
I really liked this sketch so here is what I came up with for it.


Supplies for the left card are Chocolate Chip base for the card with Garden Green and Wild Wasabi layers. I used the Riveting and Little Pieces stamp sets. No bling on this one but I did have to get the circle punches out for this sketch challenge.

Supplies for the right card are Cranberry Crisp for the base with Apricot Appeal and Eggplant Envy for the layers. I used the Delight in Life stamp set from SAB last year. This is one of my favs. Then I found these purple flowers with white brads already in them at Big Lots the other day, 12 for $1. I love them.

Here is a close up of the one on the right. I think I like this one better even though I am not thrilled with the color combo.


After I try a few more sketch challenges I am going to see about getting into the color challenges. I have been on Splitcoast for about 2 and a half years (maybe longer) and cannot believe I have not tried these challenges before, they are great.

Inspiring ribbon

As some of you know one of my goals this year is to quit hoarding my supplies. The thing I hoard the most is ribbon. I love it and most times just cannot bring myself to use it on a card. So I was trying to use this ribbon and make a card inspired by the ribbon. I am not very happy with the outcome but here it is anyway.



I used Lavendar Lace as the base with Chocolate Chip and Certainly Celery layers. The stamp set is Big Flowers, my most recent purchase. I love this stamp set. It is going to make some great one sheet wonder cards. I showed several cards I made on Monday to a friend of mine and she said this one was her favorite. I said Oh it is my least favorite. To each his own I guess.

Ladybug case

I cased this card from a card I saw on SCS. The original can be found here.

I made several of them pretty quickly and these cards helped me to use up some of my ribbon that I am trying not to hoard. Here are a few of the ones I created.



I used the Very Punny set from SU, a white base for my card, and various colors of scraps and ribbon to make these cards. Here is a close up of the turquoise one, it is my favorite one.

Weekend Sketch Challenge

If you are not a stamper you might not be familiar with Beate Johns. She is a giant in the stamping world, her work is fantastic. On her blog, Fresh and Fun, she puts up a weekend sketch challenge each Friday. This was my first time to participate in the challenge and I must say I am very happy with this card even though it is simple. I should definitely try more of these.



I used Bud Basics and Warm Words stamp sets. My cardstock is Chocolate Chip for the base with Certainly Celery and Regal Rose for layers (which I do believe has become my new favorite color combo, at least for the moment). I had these flower eyelets which I set with my crop-a-dile of course. If you are stamping in front of non-stampers (which I was at my BIL's house) this tool always gets the question "what is that thing" to which yields the response "only one of the greatest tools known to man", then you get a funny look followed by "so what does it do". This is then followed by a demonstration of setting an eyelet, but alas Riley was not impressed. Whatever you non-stamper you! Anyway then I used the large oval to punch out my word.

A Scrapbook page

I was supposed to go to a scrapbook retreat this past weekend but John's work schedule did not work out like I had hoped so I was not able to go. Another friend was going to go to but she is pregnant and the thought of driving 3 hours there and back plus unsure of the sleeping situation for a pregnant person didn't thrill her so we decided we would crop all day Saturday anyway (so we were really there in spirit with you guys). Anyway Friday night I spent getting my things ready and then Saturday I was cropping all day. I made several things. Here is a two page spread I made. It is one of my best pages I think I have ever made. I used a sketch challenge on SCS that can be found here.



Here is a close up of the left side:


I still have to add some journaling on the page.

Spring no stamping involved card

I cased this card from Krystie Lee from her blog Cupcake Martini. Here is the link to her original card: Card

I had borrowed this punch from a friend. I used Purely Pomegranate as my base then layered with Certainly Celery and Chocolate Chip. I used a gold brad to attach my punched out flowers and then my Garden Green marker to draw the stems. Attached a bow and then done! No stamping involved. I punched out several of the flowers using up some of my scraps that I have so I will be making many more of these cards. They are so quick and easy.

I am so honored!

Sabine, on her blog Frickelfee, honored me the other day with this award. http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif


She is one of my sisterhood bloggers. I am thrilled that other people actually look at my blog but this takes the cake. To say that I made her day, well that makes my day.

So I am passing this along to a few whose blogs always make me smile with their great projects. Sara, Angie, , Kerri, Heather and a couple of blogs I have just run across in the last couple of days: Michele and Shelley.

A dixie cup

I made this little dixie cup and filled it with chocolate to give to a friend for her birthday. I copied this idea from a blog I saw just can't remember which one. I took one of the cups and cut it down the center and cut the bottom off. I used that for my pattern. I traced it on the blue paper and cut it out and then taped it on the cup. I then used my crop-a-dile to punch two holes and tied a ribbon to make a handle.



These would make great little gifts to send to your child's class for any holiday. They are very inexpensive and easy to make several at a time.

Valentine Mailboxes

I fell asleep for a long nap this afternoon so I am just now getting around to uploading what I made with my great blog candy win yesterday. I had another red mailbox left over from last year that I had not altered yet so I made two mailboxes. Kaitlyn has two teachers this year so these ill be filled with candy and given to them for Valentine's day. I made them exactly the same and I only used the stuff that Sara sent me in the package. Here is what I came up with:



Then I went to Target to get some more mailboxes. They only had three white ones left so I got all of those. I will keep those for some other holiday.

I am a WINNER!

Look at the package I got in the mail today.


This was some blog candy that I won from Sara's Studio blog. She has great give aways and fabulous projects and she is a fellow stamper and Target dollar spot lover (aren't we all). I came across her blog from Splitcoast (my favorite website).

I can't wait to do something with this stuff. Tune in soon for that.

Tagged

Suzanne tagged me along with two other people (a while ago too). I am supposed to tell 7 random or weird facts about me so here ya go. But I am not telling 21 because I was tagged three times, I had a hard enough time coming up with 7 things.

1) We have the original Nintendo system hooked up in our bedroom. My 4 yr. old loves to play it. John and I play against each other. I am a Tetris Master. Yesterday I got 137 lines.

2) I love Dr. Pepper and I drink way too much of it.

3) I hate frogs, I would rather see a snake than a frog. I don't know what it is, the jumping maybe, they creep me out.

4) I have a purse and shoe problem that I have passed down to my daughter. I love shoes, especially flip flops. I could wear flip flops everyday. I will buy a pair of shoes and then find an outfit to go with them.

5) I wish VH1 would put there I love the 80's and I love the 90's series on DVD. I could watch that all the time. I love it.

6) I do not like to read. I know that is awful, a teacher who doesn't read. I used to read all the time when I was younger (like 6th-7th grade). I had all those Sweet Valley Twin books and loved them. My mother still has them at her house. She is saving them for Kaitlyn.

7) I am in a bunco group. We formed our own group in Nov. of 2004. We named ourselves Silly Sisterhood of the Traveling Dice. We even have our own bunco blog. It can be found here.

Long Card

I was determined to get this card finished tonight. It is a long style card and will fit in a letter size envelope. It really should measure 4x9 but I did not want to cut my 12x12 paper so I used a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11, so this card measures 4x8.5.

I love this stamp set but for some reason have a mental block when trying to use it. The stamp set is Time Well Spent. I used regal rose, rose red, and cool caribbean cardstock and this ribbon that was from my stash of Target dollar spot ribbon. I stamped the flower and colored in with my watercolor crayons. It seems I am not seeing as many people use those as much anymore. I did realize that I need watercolor paper because my coloring on this looks kinda splotchy. I also versamarked the smaller flower on the back but you can't really tell.

Christmas card for next year I guess

I made 10 of these cards with the intention of making more and sending these out as my Christmas cards this year. Well it never got done so now I have 10 done as a start on my 2008 cards. Maybe this year I will be able to get some more made and actually send out cards this year. I almost went and bought some cards but then I thought I would rather not send out cards at all than to send out store bought cards (I just couldn't bring myself to do it).
I received a card very similar to this in a swap I participated in a couple of years ago (it may have actually been from the regional SU conference when it was in Memphis.

I used pink passion, basic black and white paper, black gingham and white ribbon, silver brads and Crazy for Christmas stamp set from SU. I then used markers to color in the ornaments.

Calendar

This is a pocket calendar I got from the Target dollar spot. I gave it to my friend Cheryl tonight (she was the bunco hostess this month) along with the simple cards I recently posted.



I have made a New Year's goal to use up my stash of stuff that I have before I buy more. One reason that is so hard is that I thought this planner needed a purple flower in the corner and of course I never have the color I want. But I went with the green and white and I think it turned out okay. Plus I am sure Cheryl didn't care that the flower was green and not purple.

Art stuff cans

Here are two cans I made for my kids (one for Kaitlyn, one for Kyle) to store their "art supplies" (markers, gel pens, colored pencils, etc.). These used to be Frito chip containers that I actually bought at the dollar store just so that when we were done with the chips I could cover the cans. You know you are a crafter if you understood that last statement.