Let's Celebrate... Tuesday?

No, I'm not celebrating Tuesday, but I am gearing up to celebrate Independence Day. Yes really, July is just around the corner. HOW did that happen? The kids have been out of school for two weeks already! Since the 4th is quickly approaching, I wanted to create a fun little card to celebrate. Obviously it needed to be red, white and blue. That's a no brainer, but I didn't want to use such bright colors. So, I muted them down a bit.

I added a little extra pizzazz to this card by making it into a shaker. These are so much fun to make! 

What I Used:

Cardstock ~ Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Night of Navy

Ink ~ Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Baked Brown Sugar, Soft Suede, Basic Black

Stamp Sets ~ Hardwood, Gorgeous Grunge, Chalk Lines, Memorable Moments

Tools/Other Supplies ~ Paper Trimmer, Paper Snips, Dimensionals, Double Sided Foam Mounting Tape, Hot Glue & Glue Gun, Window Sheet, Sponges, Big Shot, Deco Labels Collection Framelits, All Purpose Liquid Adhesive, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack

Embellishments ~ Basic Metal Buttons, Essentials Hardware Clips, misc. red ribbon, seed beads

Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration ~ Masculine Monday

It's Monday folks! At Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration, that means it's Masculine Monday! Once again, I've created a card with a nautical theme. I am addicted to them! I really need to jump out of this rut, but it's such a fun one. Since this card has such a fun summertime look, I decided to submit it to SU-Only for Challenge #99! 

Usually when I create a card I start from the base and work up. I rarely set out with a plan. I like to see where the paper takes me. Yes, it takes about ten times longer to create something this way... but that's how I roll. So, I get all the way to the end and then try to decide what embellishments to use. But with this ribbon, I knew it was going to be a nautical themed card. How could it be anything else? Okay, maybe that's just an excuse to get to do another nautical card.

I am extremely obsessed with creating things in a trio. I stamped the fish, colored them, and cut them out only to realize I didn't do three of them. Oops! But I was in a hurry and didn't have time to make another one so I added the cute little chevrons instead. I really really like the new SU Wooden Elements embellishments! Since there were only two fish, I decided to break my rule and put only two Antique Brads on the bottom. What?!? I guess it doesn't look too bad. I'll let it go this time. he he

What I Used:

Cardstock ~ Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler

Ink ~ Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Cajun Craze, Pear Pizzazz, Night of Navy, Black StazOn

Stamp Sets ~ World Map, By the Tide

Tools/Other Supplies ~ Paper Trimmer, Paper Snips, Sponges, Blender Pen, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, All Purpose Liquid Adhesive, Sanding Block, Sticky Strip, Bone Folder, Paper Piercing Tool & Mat

Embellishments ~ Grosgrain Ribbon (Cherry Cobbler), Antique Brads, Essentials Wooden Elements, misc brass brads

Vintage pink Christmas

I am O B C E S S E D with this card! I absolutely LOVE vintage pink Christmas decor. It just makes me happy. The new Stampin' Up! in Colors have been begging me to put a Christmas card together. The marriage between Crisp Cantaloupe and Blushing Bride (ironic) are PERFECT for this!

Supplies:

Card stock ~ Very Vanilla, Crisp Cantaloupe

Ink ~ Crumbcake, Crisp Cantaloupe, Blushing Bride

Stamp sets ~ Come to Bethlehem, Gorgeous Grunge

Embellishments ~ Pearls, Crochet ribbon, Rhinestones

*All images copyright Stampin' Up!

Christmas in July... and I missed it.

I have been SO behind on my card challenges lately. I haven't had much time at all to create {sad face}. So, I created this card for The Paper Player's Challenge #155. Here is what I came up with. For something different, I tried to stay away from the traditional Christmas colors.

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Sahara Sand, Basic Grey

Ink ~ Early Espresso, Stayz on White

Stamp Sets ~ Come to Bethlehem

Other Supplies ~ Paper doily sizzlits, ovals collection dies, paper piercing tool, lacy brocade embossing folder, two-tone ribbon in basic gray/basic black

*Non-Stampin' Up supplies ~ Sparkle/frost mister (from JoAnn's)

Mojo Monday #301

I locked myself in my woman-cave and cranked up the air conditioner. It's a HOT one out there and the AC in the house went kaput. Great timing right? Works for me! I set out to create this card for Mojo Monday challenge #301. I really liked how it turned out. I am LOVING the burlap!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar, Designer Paper Series (retired)

Ink ~ Baked Brown Sugar, Soft Sky, Crushed Curry

Stamp Sets ~ Truly Greatful, Hello Lovely, Gorgeous Grunge

Other Supplies ~ Core'dinations paper in Baked Brown Sugar, Decorative Label Punch

Non Stampin' Up supplies ~ burlap, copper colored brads

Oh boy, it's HOT!

The AC in our house went kaput yesterday. It's miserably HOT. So, I skipped out on housework, sent the kids to daycare and locked myself in my woman-cave for the day. It has it's own independent air conditioner. BLISS! Here is what I came up with today. I'm loving the masculine feel. Burlap is my new obsession! This card was created for A.R.T. Card Challenge #5.

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Very Vanilla, Early Espresso

Ink ~ Early Espresso, Pool Party, More Mustard

Stamp Sets ~ Label Love, Everything Eleanor, Gorgeous Grunge

Other Supplies ~ Clear embossing powder, Spice Cake designer fabric, Bitty banners framelits, Labels collection framelits

Non Stampin Up supplies ~ Brads, Burlap, ribbon 

Fab Friday 21

Well, today is not Friday. I'm sad to say it's Sunday. A beautiful but HOT weekend has once again slipped by. Where does the time go? With my daughter having a sleep over at the neighbors house, and my hubby and son at another neighbor's house... I decided to lock myself in my craft room. Oh what fun I had! I FINALLY got to use this stamp set. Honestly, this card looks much better in person. For some reason my photos aren't turning out very well. I'll have to re-photograph this one when I figure out what's going on. This is my entry for Fab Friday's challenge #21.

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment DSP (retired), Vellum

Ink ~ Riding Hood Red, Pool Party, Gumball Green, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand
Stamp Sets ~ You're Amazing, Gorgeous Grunge, Itty Bitty Banners, Hearts a Flutter, Ciao Baby

Other Supplies ~ Soda pop tops, 1/8" brads, red ribbon, staples, pool party embossing powder

Anything Goes!

I participate in a weekly challenge put on by A.R.T. Challenge. This week's criteria: Anything Goes!!! Here is the card I submitted. I'm in {LOVE} with this card. I made one a while back and had to make another one. I think I'm going to make this card in every color!

 Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Strawberry Slush Core'dinations, Whisper White, Designer Paper Series (retired)

Ink ~ Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand

Stamp Sets ~ Hello Lovely, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Lovely Little Labels

Other supplies ~ Designer Builder Brads, 1/8" brads, Soda Pop Tops, Designer Faceted Vintage Buttons, Pearl Basic Jewels, In Color Boutique Details, Doilies 

Thirsty Thursday

It's been a DOOZY of a day. Busy, busy, busy! And HOT. Did I mention it was HOT? I think I drank a gallon and a half of water while I worked outside in the yard...and I'm STILL parched! After dinner I gave my hubby the look. You know, that look an obsessed crafting crazy paper freak gives their husband when they want to escape into la la land? He knows that look all too well. I don't even have to say anything. I just look at him and he laughs and shakes his head. He'll never understand. He's a man.

I locked myself in my craft room and turned up the music. Good ole' Pandora! Here is what I came up with tonight. It's a spin off of lastnights card. Same design, just different colors. I love how it turned out!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Basic Gray, Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, Crisp Cantaloupe Core'dinations

Ink ~ Sahara Sand, Blushing Bride

Stamp Sets ~ Chalk Talk

Other Supplies ~ Pool party embossing powder, Vintage faceted buttons, pool party button, cream ribbon, basic pearl jewels, 

The Paper Players Challenge #151

Just the name of the blog grabbed my attention. The Paper Players. Sounds like a challenge to me!

I stumbled across this blog today on Pinterest. Good ole' Pinterest. I can always count on it for inspiration. This looks like a really fun blog with wonderful challenges. I'm bound and determined to overwhelm myself with as many challenges as possible. I feel like it's the only way I can come up with new stuff. I need a little {push} in the right direction.

Here is the sketch for challenge #151. I will definitely be doing this one. I already have so many ideas in my head.

So... Here is what I came up with. My original idea was already used as an example. Yes, I thought of it before I saw their card. Darn it! I think plan B worked well though! 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Fan Fair DSP, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand

Ink ~ Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake

Stamp Sets ~ From My Heart

Other Supplies ~ Comfort Cafe designer fabric, Sizzlits large paper doily, basic grey ribbon, basic pearl jewels

Trying Tuesday

Good morning peeps! Once again, I was up before the crack of dawn. My son fell out of his bed at 1:30am. I heard him hit the floor. He slept right thru the whole thing. I just don't get how they can do that. He's done it many times. He almost never wakes up. That's crazy! So, I've been tossing and turning since then. I've already been out working on a few projects and decided to sit down with a cup of coffee to see what the new challenge from Try Stampin' on Tuesday looks like. It's pretty simple, which gives me LOTS of room to create. I'm not sure if I like simple or not. Sometimes it gives me too much to think about. This one should be fun though. I haven't tackled a sketch like this one before.

Well, here is what I came up with. It's altered from my original idea in my head. 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Crisp Cantaloupe Core'dinations

Ink ~ Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride

Stamp Sets ~ Chalk Talk, Oh Hello, Lovely Little Labels

Other Supplies ~ Vintage faceted buttons, designer builder brads, (retired) stampin' up ruffle ribbon, natural colored thread (misc), crochet ribbon

Monday Madness!

I now wake up giddy on Monday morning. I never thought I'd see the day. Monday's have a whole new meaning to me now that I'm an OBSESSED stamper. I wake up, feed my horses, grab a cup of coffee and go straight to Mojo Monday's blog to see what the new challenge for the week will be. Here it is. What will YOU come up with?

Here is what I came up with. I am {smitten} with the new In Colors. This is the first time I got to use this stamp from Chalk Talk. I LOVE how this turned out. Sweet!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Specialty DSP, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Crisp Cantaloupe

Ink ~ Crisp Cantaloupe, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight

Stamp Sets ~ Chalk Talk, Gorgeous Grunge, Lovely Little Labels

Other Supplies ~ Paper Doily, yellow ribbon (misc.), white ribbon (misc.), pool party ribbon, vintage faceted buttons, vintage boutique buttons, Sizzlits large paper doily

Technique:

*I created by own DSP for the banner behind the Chalk Talk stamp, with Whisper White cardstock and my Brayer tool. Using Bermuda Bay ink, I rolled it then built different layers with Gorgeous Grunge stamps. I really love making my own DSP. It seems a lot more personal to me. It's something that no one else has. <3

A Retro Kind of Sunday

I got to have a day all to myself! Well, it actually ended up to be more like 3 hours, but it was just enough time to get my design finished for Retro Sketches challenge #69. I had so much fun creating this card. It turned out pretty darn close to what I had pictured in my head. Love it when that happens!

Supplies Used: 

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pool Party Core'dinations, Very Vanilla

Ink ~ Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand

Stamp Sets ~ Gorgeous Grunge, Chalk Talk, Lovely Little Labels

Other Supplies ~ baker's twine, soda pop tops, basic pearl jewels, vanilla ribbon

Retro Sketches Challenge #69

Another day, another challenge. I think I need to find a challenge for everyday. I'm ADDICTED to them! I love pushing myself out of my comfort zone and trying new things. I really need help when it comes to layouts. I draw a blank when I have to come up with one on my own. Here is the latest challenge from Retro Sketches. I think there is a lot of room to be creative with this one. I can't wait to get started!

This challenge closes on Friday, June 28th. I hope you have a chance to submit something too!