Mr. Sun

Have you ever noticed that the simplest layouts are sometimes the hardest to execute?  Today's challenge on MFP's Speedy Fox and Friends is to use the corners only.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do on this one layer card but I used up 5 card bases because I kept getting inky fingers on it.  Grrr...

Actually, that's not totally true.  I did do one with the sun and sentiment in the opposite corners but I thought it looked like the sun was setting, not rising and wasn't happy with it.  Think about it.  We read from left to right and the sun rises from east to west.  If I had a sun in the right corner, it had to be setting, right?  Am I over thinking this?  I can tell you, I got some funny looks from my husband over this argument.

"Aren't they the same card?"

I still love him.

Let the Little Fairy in You Fly!

DS was invited to a birthday party.  I was told that the birthday girl likes Tinkerbell.  I didn't have any Tinkerbell images but I decided to run with the fairy theme.  I bought several Magic Fairy books and pulled out all my fairy stamps.  I let him pick.  I thought my cute Paper Makeup images would be perfect but he liked the older looking fairies from Sweet Pea Stamps better.  We finally settled on this one, "Masked Fairy in Green" as the most appropriate.  I unfortunately had a Wink Stella accident right at the very end, requiring lots of blotting and needing me to cut out the image.  She was then mounted on some old Creative Memories DP.  I fussed endlessly on how to embellish the card and finally when I was ready to give up, the purple butterflies actually fell onto the card.  I had bought them two years ago for DS's Hundred Day display and am reusing them.  Who knew that purple butterflies could be the perfect embellishment.  Anyways, he's thrilled with the card, even if it isn't Tinkerbell.  He's now asked if he can colour some of the fairies again.  He's been talking about how he enjoyed colouring with Mommy's special pens outside with Mommy last year.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Freshly Made Sketches
AAA Cards - Birthday (Made for a birthday, even if it doesn't say so on the card.)
Crafting When We Can - One for the Kids (8 year old B-Day)
Fashionable Stamping - Old Favourites (Love all my Sweet Pea stamps but haven't used in 2 years)
Corrosive Challenge - Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
Crafty Calendar - Things with Wings
Fantasy Stampers - Girl Power
Send a Smile for Kids - Anything Goes
Loves Rubber Stamps - Add a Sentiment
Sentimental Sundays - Funny or Cute Sentiment

Think Paws-itive!

I'm very excited. I made myself a light box.  I should have done it years ago.  This photo was taken with my phone on the most unbelievably grey day.  I didn't have to edit a thing!  The colours are true.  Of course my husband is less than excited.  "Where will we keep it?"  Hello!  On the dining room table.  It's where I craft.  I did mention that in our next house, I want my own craft room.  Not that we are moving in the next 10 years, of course.  He reminded me that I have a craft room, it's called the dining room.  I complained that I didn't like having to tidy up for company.  He just put his hands on his hips and looked at me.  I can't understand why he was upset.  Honestly,  Christmas is the worst time to have to clean up the craft supplies, it's stressful.  I need the therapy, people!  Besides, Boxing Day is the best crafting day of the year!

Okay, back to the card.  This week's Speedy Fox and Friends challenge is, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"  I used MFP's Fabulous Pets and created my own sentiment.  The DP is from My Mind's Eye and the grey is Gina K.'s London Fox. I did some sponging in Apricot Appeal so the dog wasn't floating in mid-air.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Crafting with Attitude - Anything Goes
Crafty Ribbon - Anything Goes with Ribbon
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge - Anything Goes for March
Addicted to Stamps - Anything Goes
Crafting by Design - Masculine Projects
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Crafting From the Heart - Anything Goes

Good Night, Sleep Tight

Today's Simple Salutations Challenge was to make a card using your two favourite colours.  I had a hard time with this.  I don't really have favourite colours.  I ended up choosing yellow and blue since I seem to be gravitating towards them for summer cards.  However, if this was fall, I would of picked rust and gold.  I'd have probably picked blue and silver for winter.  Spring would have been green and pink.

This was actually my third attempt - I was trying to go for clean and simple one layer cards and this was my final attempt.  I love one layer cards but sometimes they are more work than elaborate cards to be happy with once completed.

Patio Lanterns

This week's challenge is to make a one layer card on MFP's Sketch with a Twist.  I love the challenge of one layers and knew exactly what I wanted to do as soon as I opened this set of stamps.  It's this month's release, Chinese Lanterns and I really love it.  I think it's my third set of lanterns that I own.  Unfortunately, I botched 5 cards before I got this right.  I was trying a new, very juicy ink pad and inky fingers were a problem.  When I went back to my tried and true Momento ink, I was fine.

One-layer often has many interpretations, I say it is one piece of card stock folded in half.  This week the sketch is asking for no embellishments.  Now I did use some gold Smooch on my card but I'm going to call it ink and therefore still okay.  My personal definition of one layer often cheats with bling or other small embellishments but what can I say, I'm a rebel that way.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Craft Your Passions - No Designer Paper
Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
Challenges for Everybody - Anything Goes
All Sorts - No Flowers
Word Play Saturday - Anything Goes
Brown Sugar - Clean and Simple
Jo's Scrap Shack - Anything Goes
Sister Act - Anything Goes

Keep Calm and Smile On

I love snow... on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.  I love the peaceful calm, the quiet, the chill until I have to go somewhere.  My next card is really for me.  I tend to get very anxious when it snows on a workday.  The sentiment is from MFP's Winter Crocus set.  The tree image is from "Chill is in the Air"

Today's challenge for MFP's Simple Salutations is to make a black and white card.  I had to think a while on this one.   I don't have any of their silhouette stamps, which would have made this easier.  Once I decided on the tree, it all fell together.   I immediately grabbed my window die and remembered my new brick embossing folder.  Windows scream shaker card to me and I never have enough in my stash, or any, since they are a family favourite.  I was all out of microbeads so I improvised with punched snowflakes and white microfine glitter.  I love how it creates a frosted look on the window.  I will have to do this again.

Challenges this Card Meets:
 MFP's Simple Salutations - Black and White
Crazy for Challenges - Photo Inspiration  (I used the black and white colour skeme)
GE WE Challenge - Christmas or Winter
Glitter and Sparkle - Anything Goes
Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes
V's Sweet Ideas - Anything Goes

Have Confidence

Angela has another great sketch this week  on MFP's Sketch with a Twist and the twist is to use flowers.  If it's flowers, I automatically reach for the Dogwood Blossoms set.  It has become a favourite.  It's also October and time to break out the pink for Splitcoaststamper's Hope You Can Cling To month long challenges to raise awareness for breast cancer.  I love participating as much as possible to support such a great cause.  All cards I make for these challenges are sent to the MD Anderson Cancer Centre.  If you wish to participate, the mailing address is available on the Splitcoaststamper's site.

I changing things up a bit for this card and cut it at 4.25 down the entire length of the paper so that I could fold it and have a long, short card.  This meant I could use my scallop punch to decorate one edge of my card.  You can see the white that is actually the inside of my card on the right hand side.  The patterned paper is from my Costco pack.  The Brazill Raspberry paper is leftover from the shower invitations for my cousin's wedding in 2009.  The sentiment is from MFP's Hello Trucks.

Challenges this Card Meets:
MFP's Sketch with a Twist - Flowers
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Glitter and Sparkle - Monochromatic
Moving Along with the Times - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Magical Things Happen...

This card, or a variation of it has been floating around in my head for weeks now.  I really wanted to make a rainbow card with scraps but haven't been able to find a way to to tie all the colours together.  I really like how embossing the cracked background stamp on them really make it more cohesive.  Both the background image and the sentiment are from Mark's Finest Papers.  The sentiment is from their Winter Crocus set.  The sentiment is embossed in white and then I inked the edges of the black cardstock with my white versamark ink.  The sentiment is then popped up on some scrap EZ Mount from my stamps.

Challenges this Card Meets:
CASE-ology - The theme is WORD.  I thought of the sentiment as being the main focus.
Craft Room Challenge - So sentimental
Crafty Creations - No patterned paper.  (I made my own.)
Loves Rubber Stamps - Colours of Spring (We see lots of rainbows here in BC in the spring!)
Speedy Fox and Friends - Embossing with white embossing powder.
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Use a Background Stamp
Crafty Bloggers' Network - Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown - Focus on the Sentiment
Use it Tuesday - Use an adhesive.  My old EZmount scraps leave adhesive everywhere.  It's so sticky on the one side and I keep forgetting to leave it on the paper it comes on.
Victorine Stamps - Spring Colours - Rainbows definitely scream spring to me.
GE-WE Hobby Challenge - Spring Card

Starry, Starry Night

Okay, I really do save too much in the way of scraps.  I went to put my blue file away and all these tiny thin blue scraps fell out and I was inspired to play with them.  All these thin strips were already pre-cut. I actually keep scraps that tiny.  The sentiment was printed on my computer and the stars are done with my Nesties.  A very CAS card that probably took far longer than it should have but it was so relaxing after finally getting report cards done that I just love it.  Best of all, it can be used for so many purposes and would even work for a teenaged boy.  How awesome is that!  I debated putting a frame on but I'm enjoying all the white space.  What do you think?

Challenges this Meets:
CASology - extraterrestrial (I started there and just had fun in outer space tonight.)

Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes

Victorine Originals - Anything Goes

Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenges - For the Boys

Use it Tuesday - Diecuts, Punches and Cutouts

Up-cycled Shirts

Today's card is a real up-cycled project.  The burgundy flower on the card was made from one of DH's shirts that was terribly stained on one side near the hem.  After lots of looking online, I put the shirt on the ground and laid one of my favourite tees on top.  I used a Copic to follow the outline of my shirt and then ran the sewing machine up the sides.  I now have a gorgeously fitted, soft burgundy top.  Why do guys always get the great soft material that wears and wears?   If you study the shirt carefully, you can tell I need to adjust the sleeves since the shoulders come down a bit too far but for a Saturday shirt, it's perfect.

Anyways, I was left a bit of the edging on one side and this is what I came up with.  I cut it with my Tattered Flowers die and then the leaves are the sleeve of another shirt.  The layout is from Splitcoaststampers Sketch Gallery # 416.  The sentiment was from Paper Makeup.  I thought it would be perfect for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenges I do every year for breast cancer.   The DP is from my endless Costco pack.  This sheet is truly blinding in a 12 x 12 size. You really have to wonder what the designer was thinking with it but it looks really good in small doses.  That's really been the trick with those weird papers.  I've had to cut them up, ink them over and really play with them to make them work, but I've used stuff that I thought was too hideous to use in a million years and actually really liked the results.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Friends of Speedy Challenge - Recycled Item
Stamping with the Dragon - Anything Goes
The Corrosive Blog Challenge - Out with the Old

Impressed, Amazed, Inspired... By You

Did you miss me?  It's been a crazy few weeks.  I won't bore you with the details...

I'm trying to participate in this year's Hope You Can Cling To Challenge at Splitcoaststampers.  Trying to do 33 cards in 31 days is very difficult for me and some of the challenges are a real stretch but I really enjoy the effort.  This card was for the challenge to make a card using 5 words.  I was given this SU sentiment set as a thank you with purchase.  I thought it was the perfect sentiment for those amazing women in our lives.  The image is Think Pink by My Favourite Things.  I won it two years ago as part of the Hope You Can Cling to Challenge.  I think part of the reason I enjoy this so much is that it's the perfect excuse for me to make some girly cards, use pink and add flowers.  With a mainly testosterone-driven household, this is a nice change.  The image was paper pieced; another technique I don't use enough.  The rhinestone is actually clear, I don't know why it appears navy in this image.

Challenges this Card Meets:
CAS-ual Fridays - Celebrate the Women in our Lives
Cupcake Crafts - Think Pink
The Crafty Bloggers' Network - Anything Goes
Use it Tuesday - Use Your Scraps (The DP base and the white for the images and sentiment.)
Victorine Challenge - Lots of Layers
Speedy TV's Tutorial Time Challenge - Distressing (I did my edges)

Dragons Can Be Beaten

We have a real challenge for you at For Fun this week - a recipe.  We are to use 1 sentiment, 2 different ribbons and 3 buttons or brads.  I had a couple of false starts, mostly because I have a bunch of new sentiments from Paper Makeup and had such a hard time choosing.  I went a little crazy with their going out of rubber sale.  The background paper was from my Costco pack and I just stamped my retired SU French Script background stamp over it.  I thought it gave the impression of large dragon scales.  My two ribbons are the white rolled flowers and the green leaves.  The brads came from my stash.

Looking at the sentiment, I think I'd love to do a pink card with this sentiment.  I think it would be a wonderful encouragement card to someone fighting breast cancer.  What do you think?

I really hope you join us this week!

Other Challenges this Card Meets:
Crafty Catz - Favourite Things (rubber stamps used, die cuts)
Cute Card Thursday - Flower Power
Delightful Sketches - Use your scraps (the two die cuts)
Ge-We Hobby Challenge - Card with Flowers
Sentimental Sundays - Let's get sentimental
Stamping with the Dragon - Year of the Dragon (I know it isn't a dragon image but it is a dragon sentiment.)