Hello Summer - Fusion Card Challenge #6

The sun was out earlier this week and we took every moment possible to get outside and enjoy it.  I'm glad we did because the rain has now returned.  However, when I decided to create a card for this week's Fusion Challenge, I thought I'd make my own bit of sunshine.  :)  When I saw the Fusion sketch I knew immediately that I wanted to use one of Crate Paper's slide frames and create a little scene. 

I used Crate Paper's The Pier collection...I just love that floral paper and the cute clothesline (which I trimmed down to work for my card).  The 'hello summer' sentiment was actually one piece but I cut it into two little banners and inked up the edges and curled them up a bit to create a little separation from the background. 

For the yellow polka dot (My Mind's Eye) and pink watercolor (American Crafts) paper, I actually got out my distresser and sanded all around the edges as well as scuffing up the paper a bit to soften and coordinate a bit better with The Pier collection.

I'm hoping for more sunny days soon!  :)

Happy Valentine's Day - You're Cute!

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope you all have a LOVELY day!  I will be enjoying time with all my boys...my special little Valentines!  :)  Here is a card I created using American Crafts XOXO collection. 

Cutting each row of arrows on the patterned paper at different lengths adds visual interest and movement.  I altered the layered chipboard frames to my liking.  Don't be afraid to rip apart layered embellishments and add your own touches.

Enjoy your day!

So happy for you...

Our neighbors are getting ready to welcome their first child into the world in the next month.  I remember all the excitement that surrounds this time.  But oh boy will their world get even more exciting once this little guy arrives!  :)  Here is the card that I will be giving them.

 

This is a publication reject but I absolutely love it! :)  The yellow patterned paper is just so cheery and I had fun playing around with the journal card and tiny word stickers.  Everything is from My Mind's Eye except for the flair, which is American Crafts.

Wishing all of you in blog land a blessed Thanksgiving week!

You Make My Heart Sing

Hello crafty friends!  Are you having a good summer?  We are trying to enjoy every minute and are slowly checking off the items on our summer bucket lists (I am sooo going to do this again next year!).  Just yesterday, I had a fun water gun fight with my boys...although I am not doing too good with catching up on my photos/albums.  Oh well!  :)

Today I wanted to share two cards that I created recently using the go-to sketches from Paper Crafts recent publication call.  First up, is one using some lovely floral paper from Crate Paper's Pier collection and a fab Dear Lizzy die cut card.  Since I just have a Cuttlebug, I love that more companies are including fun die cut accents in their collections.

See those sequins?  I put little pale green pearls in the center of each for a touch of color.  What do you think?

This next card, I actually didn't even submit but I do still like how it turned out.  Don't you just love that popsicle paper?! 

Thanks for stopping by today!  We are still enjoying lovely weather here and are off to play with some friends.  Enjoy your day!

It's Birthday Creations Week!

It's Birthday Creations week over in the Moxie Fab World and on the Paper Crafts blog and I couldn't be more excited!   My happy birthday cake banner is on the cover (my first cover appearance!) and I have a fun All Star Birthday Bash party ensemble published in the magazine.  I already have my copy and I can guarantee you that it is an issue you do not want to miss!  You can have a chance to win a copy over on the Paper Crafts blog today or can participate in fun birthday challenges over in the Moxie Fab World.

And in honor of this fun birthday issue, I thought I would share a birthday card I made recently for Crate Paper's June Creative Weekly - Polka Dots. 

I created this card using Crate Paper's The Pier collection.  I decided to take my scissors to one of the pinwheels (gasp!) but love how it turned out...I think they frame the card/sentiment nicely.  And don't you just love the aqua and gold combination?!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Be sure to check out the new Birthday Creations: Volume 3 and congrats to all of you out there who had your lovely projects published in this issue too!  I kept oohing and ahhhing every time I turned the page! :)

Berry Cute Fusion

Still having fun with the Doodlebug Fruit Stand Collection.  I just can't seem to get enough of these bright summer colors and happy prints/fruits!  This card is based off of the Fusion Challenge #13 - sketch only.

 

 

 

 

If you want to play along in the challenge or see the other wonderful entries, click HERE.

 

Have a lovely week!

 

Hello Sunshine! - CAS(E) this Sketch #34

Well the weather here is absolutely gorgeous and should be for at least the next week.  So, when I popped into my craft room for a few minutes yesterday I just couldn't resist making this little sunshine card! 

I have been seeing a lot of people playing along with CAS(E) this Sketch so I decided to check it out since I  am a pretty CAS kind of gal and always love a good sketch.  :)  This card is based off of the CAS(E) this Sketch #34 and it doesn't get much more Clean and Simple than a few stickers and a lot of 'white' space.

The stickers are all from Doodlebug's Fruit Stand collection and my sun is actually a lemon that I just added the sun face to (which I cut out of the patterned paper).  I keep looking at this card thinking it needs just a touch of something more...a few rhinestones or sequins maybe?  I'll let you know if I add to it.

ETA:  I decided that this card really needed a few sequins, so here is what it looks like now...

What do you think?!  I definitely like it better now...amazing what a few sequins can do for a card! :)

Here is the CAS(E) sketch:



You can click HERE to play along or to just see the other great entries.

Have a lovely afternoon!

Hello Tuesday Trigger!

Well, I just had to play along with another one of Cath's Tuesday Triggers.  This week the image has such fresh, fun colors.  Take a look at a Scene in Tangerine...

When I saw this image, I was immediately inspired to get out Doodlebug's adorable Fruit Stand collection to create this cheery hello card.

Aren't the colors just about a perfect match?!  I love these sweet little fruits and didn't want to take away from the great paper and stickers by over embellishing so I just added 3 strands of coordinating Doodlebug twine (which was also inspired by the Trigger image) to finish off this cute and quick card!  :)

If you want to play along in this challenge or just view some of the other wonderful entries, you can check it out HERE.

May your day be filled with creative moments!

Vintage Love

Although I am not much of a vintage crafter, this week's Tuesday Trigger - Vintage Vagabond really inspired me.  I just loved the rich, earthy tones and the wood and metal accents. 

So, I got out my Bo Bunny Weekend Market collection and created this...

My hubby and I are celebrating 10 years of marriage this year (and I just read that Cath and her husband celebrated 18 years...congrats!) so I created this card with our anniversary in mind.  I just love that rich navy patterned paper and the vintage labels in this collection.  And don't you love the ruler paper?!  It sent me searching for a quote and I thought this one was perfect.  Did you notice my little flag?  I made sure to use the 10 for our years together and cut a little heart out to embellish it with love.  :)  Then I used one of Stampin' Up's fabulous mini library clips to attach it.

I am really happy with how this turned out...a masculine, vintage, romantic card.  That is a challenging combination, don't you think?!  :)  I am also entering this card into Bo Bunny's June Card challenge which is to make a masculine (or Father's Day) card. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

The Best Dad - Mixy Matchy Fusion!

Happy Saturday!  The sun is shining here...such a lovely day for swimming, soccer, and hopefully a little crafting.   Last night I made time to create because I was itching to play along with a few challenges.  When I saw the Mixy Matchy Style Challenge in the Moxie Fab World, I knew I wanted to try my hand at mixing multiple patterns/colors in a fun way.  Then on Friday, when the new Fusion challenge was posted and I saw that inspiration photo with all those mixy-matchy ties I just couldn't wait to get out my papers and start crafting!  :)

At first I thought I might do a Father's Day card with ties in various patterns but then I started playing along with the sketch side of the Fusion challenge too (which is soooo the beauty of this challenge...so many possibilities!) and came up with this:

I just love how this came together!  My best tip for achieving this mixy-matchy style is to gather various patterned papers and lay them out on your table (or floor) and start to pair different patterns together until you get a group that you love.  I found that sticking with rich/masculine colors was a great way to mix it up while still coordinating enough to make the card work...the same would be true of various pastels, brights, or a more feminine color palette.

The papers are from Bo Bunny's Mistletoe collection and My Mind's Eye's Stella & Rose, Miss Caroline, and Collectable collections.

And a close-up...

I popped the loyal and kind squares up on 3D foam to help balance the dimension from the 'you are...' and 'dad' chipboard.

And here is part of my inspiration...

I still have all these papers out on my craft table, so I might just work up another card if I get the chance today.  And there is still plenty of time for you to participate in either of these challenges too!  Click HERE to participate (or see all the great entries) in the Fusion challenge or HERE for the Mixy-Matchy Style Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Sweet Thing! - Ice Cream Card

Hello friends!  I am still in birthday mode here...enjoying all the photos from our party and starting to scrapbook them too.  So, I thought I would share another birthday card that I made recently.  Sometimes I like to get out some pen and paper and draw out ideas I have for cards or layouts and that is how this card came together.  After a little trial and error, I designed this triple scoop ice cream card...

For the cone I stamped Unity's Worn Grid background stamp at a diagonal to give the cone a more textured/realistic look and I scored some lines around the top too. But, the cone still looked too plain so I decided it was the perfect spot for the sentiment.  I used a sweet paperclip from GCD Studios Pure Bliss collection and created two little flags for the stamped sentiment.

Then for the ice cream scoops, I used my Bo Bunny Double Dot paper...I just love the sweet little dots and vibrant colors.  :)  I simply used a circle die to trace an arc and then used scalloped scissors along the bottom of each scoop.  Finally I topped off my ice cream cone with real sprinkles...fun, right?! 

We are in end of school year mode around here...lots of celebrations, fun activities, and tons of excitement as we get ready for summer.  I am looking forward to relaxing days at home with my boys, trying new things (like rock climbing), and a trip to the coast.   Wishing you all a wonderful start to your summer!

Happy Bot-Day! - Boy Birthday Card

With 3 boys of my own and 2 nephews, I am always in need of fun cards for boys.  And I think sometimes masculine/boy cards can be challenging since so many wonderful embellishments are sparkly or floral or more feminine in nature.  However, recently I played around with My Mind's Eye's Boy Crazy collection to create this robot themed birthday card that is just perfect for the little guy in your life!

I just love the great colors and patterns in this collection...not to mention the fun brads!

Since there were not enough layered brads, I simply punched out two circles from coordinating patterned papers to create a third layered brad (the one to the left of the robot brad).  And I wanted a little bit more dimension so I broke off the prongs on the robot brad and popped it up with foam squares along with the arrow.

The letter stickers are from Carta Bella's So Noted collection.

I will be back later this week to share pictures of my son's first birthday along with tips and links to help you plan your own fun carnival themed party.  We had a blast and it is a party that will be remembered by all for years to come!  :)

Have a wonderful day!  The sun is shining here so we are headed outside to play!

Mom: You are Loved - Fusion Card Challenge #6

 I was needing to create a Mother's Day card so I took a look at this week's Fusion Card Challenge to get a little inspiration.  This time I was inspired by both the photo and the sketch.

I loved the gray background and all the pinks/patterns on the photo inspiration and the sketch worked out perfectly too (although I did tweak it a little...I rarely ever follow a sketch 100%).  I can't wait to give this to my mom tomorrow along with a personalized iphone case that has all my boys on it.

Wishing all you moms out there a Happy Mother's Day!

To participate in the Fusion challenge or vote for your favorites (on Wednesday) click HERE.