Too Cute to Spook

I was playing with what's on my table before Halloween.  Honestly how does a onesie, a scrap of green stars and a spider web become a card?  But I know someone for whom this was their first Halloween and their daddy is a Halloween baby himself so I could get away with it.  I just love that I was able to find a tiny skull stamp to fit on the onesie.

Stamps:  onesie from Stampin' Up, skull from MFT, sentiment from WaltzingMouse
Dies: spiderweb from MFT, rectangle from Spellbinders

Fab-Boo-Lous Night

I'm working on clearing off my desk.  I know it never works but often I prefer to use the bits I find on my desk rather than clean it off.  Why I had a random Halloween sticker out, I have no idea but I love making Halloween cards.  I now have quite a stash and I'm thinking I might send out Halloween cards this year instead of Christmas cards.  I have more time at the beginning of October than the end of November when I'm trying to finish off report cards.  What do you think, would people find it strange to get a "Halloween letter" instead of the traditional one?

Stamps:  My Favourite Things Spooky sentiments - retired

Paper:  Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Graphic 45 DP

Technique:  Heat embossing of the sentiment

Hooray for your Birthday!

I had a rude awakening in June.  A friend asked me to cut out 500 1-inch by 2-inch music notes to make a collage for a retiring music teacher.  I said I would happily do it using my scraps.  The idea was that each note was to be decorated by a student or staff member in the school to represent our school community.  I figured I would probably have to use all my light coloured scraps to make it work, but not a problem.  When I had finished, I was no where close to using up my white scraps.  I had only managed to use enough to be able to put all my white scraps back in the folder that I had intended  for them without any needing to spill out onto my desk.  It's time to get back into crafting and more importantly, it's time to use up some stash!

I was trying to follow MFT Sketch 443 but I can't follow a pattern to save my life.  This card was a bit of a fluke.  I had decided to cut the purple DP and not worry about it if was straight but for the first time ever, it worked on my first try.  I then actually had to make something from it.  The yellow base was from my scrap pile as I am still trying to winnow down my scrap pile.  The die cut made it scream for a shaker card and they are very popular in my family so I pulled out some old sequins.  It's funny how eventually all our stash becomes usable.

Guardians of the Valentines

I know, shock and horrors, I'm back.  I wanted to post some of the items I made because I do use it as a catalogue to remind myself of previous projects.  This is a terrible photo but I had finished at 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 13th for the next day.  I was so proud of this idea and figured it was worth sharing even if the photo is terrible.  My youngest was obsessed with Guardians of the Galaxy so I decided to do what I could with what I had.  I used up scraps for everything and managed to not purchase anything for these.  The pencils and erasers came from my teaching stash.  He was happy with them even if my husband thought my racoon needed a rocket launcher. 

Stamps: The racoon was a  MFT "Who's that Girl" set about hiking.  It's so long retired.

               The moon is a Clearly Besotted stamp from "Out of this World"

Sentiments:  Computer generated

Paper:  All scraps from my stash

And the Leaves Came Tumbling Down

Dad needed some thank you cards so I needed something quick to mass produce that didn't look girlie.  This seemed to fit the bill.

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge, Autumn Leaves (retired) and Thank You Kindly.  All sets are from Stamping up.
Paper:  Gina K's Luxury White, Crushed Curry
Ink:  Crushed Curry, Sahara Sand and Versafine's Tuxedo Black.

You Warm My Heart

The Coffee Lovers' Winter Blog Hop is coming to a close and I have been wanting to play all week.  I was so mad at myself for not getting my act together for the Spring and Summer version so I made time despite everything being so crazy.

It doesn't look like it, but I was inspired by the December sketch from the Sketch File.  That's where the idea for the flagging comes from and for actually cutting up some the Sketch File.of this DP - I will cry when it's gone.  Please forgive me but I've long since forgotten the name of this Elisabeth Bell image but I'm pretty sure it's from Whiff of Joy.  The sentiment is from My Favourite Things, Perk Up.

Challenges -
The Coffee Lovers' Winter Blog Hop 
The Sketch File
Colour Crazy Challenge - Anything Goes with hand colouring
QKR Stampede - Christmas Cards
Winter Wonderland - For Someone Special

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.

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee

Nothing says the start to summer fun more than the end of the school year and that means making the kids' thank you cards for their teachers.  Their school has been so supportive but it means that I need six thank you cards so I'm trying to keep it simple.  Since one of them is a true coffee addict, I thought this would be perfect.  I pulled out some NBUS (Never Been Used Stuff) from My Favorite Things, the coffee to go die and the stamps are "Perk Up".  The apple is from MFP's Calendar set.  Even though as a teacher I hate the stereotype, it works.

I broke open some Smokey Slate for the background.  I'm loving the soft neutral.  I think I found a new favourite.  It's not as stark as white but still works well for CAS.  Now only 5 more thank you cards to create.

Challenges This Cards Meets:
Coffee Loving Cardmakers - Summer
Glitter N Sparkle - Anything Goes
That Craft Place - Anything Goes
Chocolate, Coffee and Cards - Summer Fun
The House that Stamps Built - Fresh and Fruity
Papertake Weekly - Something for the Boys
Crafting From the Heart - Anything Goes

Believe in Fairy Tales

This is not my prettiest card but it is one I had so much fun creating.  I haven't really played with my acrylics, just painted in years (and it shows!).  I used to love tole painting and there was an amazing woman that ran a shop just up the road who taught fantastic classes.  Unfortunately, when her daughter needed more care, I lost touch.  I don't even have any of my painting, I gave it all away.

Anyways, it all started with the MFP's Tutorial Challenge to use acrylics.  I decided to use the background stamp on an old book page.  That reminded me of this set by My Favourite Things "Well Read".  I also painted the image with acrylics - I didn't think to use watercolour paper which is what I'm blaming for the blotchiness.  It couldn't be me...

Everything about this card is a scrap.  Can you believe the base is 8 years old?  I'd cut that paper for my own wedding invites.  The green acrylic paint covers the Very Vanilla that was attached by a close friend when we were assembly lining the invites.  How scary is that?

All in all, a very pleasant walk down memory lane for me.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Craft-Room Challenge - Stamp your own background paper
MFP's Tutorial Challenge - Use acrylics
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Shopping Our Stash - Scrap Attack - I think any pre-made base that's 8 years old should count!

Going to the Chapel

My future sister-in-law's shower is this weekend so I need a card.  I love how it turned out.  She has chosen Seattle Seahawks colours for the wedding- lime, navy and white.  I don't have lime; the closest I had was Wild Wasabi.  I hand cut the dress and embossed it.  I hand-stitched the tuile and then covered the rough edges with the ribbon.  The sentiment is from My Favourite Things from their "Well Read" set.  I then printed "But how did my brother ever get to be a prince?"  on the inside. I really wish I had a crown stamp to put underneath the sentiment. I just couldn't resist a little jab at his expense.  What are sisters for after all?

Challenges this Card Meets:
Crafty Creations - KISS (Keep It Simple, Sweetie!)
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Glitter and Sparkle - Ribbon
Moving Along with the Times - Clean and Simple
Totally Papercrafts - Clean and Simple
Use it Tuesday - You can't touch this.  The tulle came from a bow from my wedding shower 8 years ago.  How's that for passing on the luck to the new bride?
Sentimental Sunday - For a Special Woman (My Future Sister-In-Law)

Hey, Foxy Lady

This is embarrassing.  I've had this set for about three years now and I think this is the first time I've used these three images.  It's an old set from My Favourite Things that I just had to have because it had a female hiker in the set.  One thing about BC, we love our hiking and going out into nature.  I was really shocked when we had relatives come from England and they were terrified to go out into the woods.  I forget that not everyone grows up having basic First Aid, survival requirements, orienteering and bear awareness drilled into them.  It sounds like I live in the woods.  I don't.  It's a bit of a drive but with boys, hiking and trails provide endless free entertainment.

Actually, I dug out this set for a Speedy TV challenge to use a fox.  I figured I'd be the only entrant.  Boo hoo, I actually have to compete.  I can't believe how many fox images there are out there.  I love the sentiment.  What woman doesn't want to be thought of as a fox?  Such a fun sentiment to give a girlfriend.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Speedy TV's Sentiment Challenge - Use a Fox
Fab'N'Funky - No Patterned Paper
Sentimental Sunday - Anything Goes
Stamping with the Dragon - Animals
That Craft Place - Make your own background (The embossed background is hard to see.)
The Crafty Bloggers Network - Anything Goes

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)

I Moose You

This week's sponsor at For Fun Challenges is the Digi Doodle Shop. Our challenge is patriotic colours, which for me here in Canada is Red and White. With the hockey playoffs on and the local team ready to make it to the quarter finals, I've been really inspired lately so look for more Canadiana and hockey cards soon!

For this week, I was given this fabulous moose image from our sponsor, which is just so stereotypically Canadian. I loved it. I've never actually seen a moose here, only in the States but still, people think of nature when they think of Canada. Go figure.

The background image is Loveliest of Trees from SU and I did a quick copic wash of the background colours. The maple leaf is a Nestie which I just love. I use it more for scrapbooking than anything else. The sentiment is from My Favourite Things, Nature Calls (retired). I showed it to my husband and had to explain "I Moose You," "I Miss You." He didn't get it. What do you think? Should I forgo that sentiment next time?

Challenges this Card Meets:
Cards for Men: No Patterned Paper
Class Act Insider - Masculine
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Crazy 4 Challenges - Good For a Giggle
Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes
My Time to Craft - Use a Diecut
Truly Scrumpious - Anything Goes

Well Read

Did you know that the My Favourite Things Wednesday Stamp Club is due at 12:00 noon
EST on Tuesdays? That means I have to have it posted by Monday night? Where is the Wednesday involved in this? Can you tell I missed the deadline? Grr. I had this done a couple of days ago but had trouble with the camera.

I should not be anywhere near my card stock right now. I have so much work to do and the house is falling apart. That is exactly why I could not stay away! I have more to post...

The card follows the sketch from this weeks My Favourite Stamps blog. The image and sentiment are both from MFS but from different sets. The card is a bit of a joke. DH and I go on vacation to read. Until ebooks came out, we would take one case for clothes and the other for books.

The patterned paper is from the package DH gave me last Christmas. I will NEVER use it up but it makes him happy when he sees me using it. The flowers are white Prismas that I have coloured with my Copics. I just love that technique. I would never buy a package of orange flowers but it's so fabulous to have the flexibility to make some.

Other Challenges This Card Meets:
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Simon Says Challenge - No Cook Recipe (1 image, 2 patterned papers, 3 types of embellishments. I used Prismas, half pearls and a brad)

Call Me

This card is huge. It's 6 x 6 inches but somehow it just seems to work. I love the image but haven't played with it as much as I would like. Once I let myself let go of the standard, 4.25 x 5.5 inch card, a whole new range of possibilities opened up to me.

The card is for a girlfriend whom I rarely see. This is really sad since she lives only 3 blocks away. Our kids are at different ages and don't play well together though and she has a different work schedule. Occasionally we will make a "phone date" where we will plan the time, snacks, and call each other to catch up as if we would over a coffee. It's not quite as nice as getting together but we do okay. With the holidays and kids being sick, we haven't had time recently.

The colour scheme is a bit unusual for me. I don't usually do orange but I just loved the DP in the store. I used my new Creative Memories paper cutter to make the top and bottom borders. The image and sentiments are from My Favourite Thing's Call Me set and it's coloured with Copics. I think I need to darken the skin tones a bit.

The flowers were used with my TH tattered flowers die. I bought it thinking it would be so useful and I haven't liked my results. I see other peoples, and am totally amazed but have struggled with the results myself. I'll have to keep playing.

Challenges This Card Meets:
Cupcake Crafts - Something New
Cute Card Thursday - Out with the Old - The flower paper is 2 years old from a cousin's shower invite. The rhinestones and DP are both over a year old.
Fab 'N Funky - Anything Goes
Moving Along with the Times - Ring out the old, Ring in the New
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Christmastini Between Friends

I am so happy with this card. It was for the Bellarific Friday Challenge which is to use all white except for the image and the sketch from this week's Paper Sundaes. I'd seen others do white cards with multiple cuttlebug folders and just thought they were so elegant so I really wanted to try.

The image is coloured with copics and the glass is then covered with Crystal Effects to make it look like a glass. All the paper edges have been outlined with Frosted Lace Stickles. I also used gold Stickles for the star. The bauble was outlined with a jelly roller pen to give it the sparkle. The ribbon is a bit of scrap.

The part I love is the sentiment on the inside. I used the My Favourite Things Merry Christmas? sentiment, "What I need right now is an Elf and an Appletini." It just matches the image perfectly.

I was originally hoping to use my new Bella images that arrived today but it was snowing and after dragging the kids to shovel out a relative, I couldn't ask them to sit in a sled for another few hours for me to hike up to the mailbox. It was very tempting though!!!

Challenges this card meets:
Charisma Cards - One for the Girls
Christmas Card Challenge
Crafty Creations - Christmas
Creative Inspirations - Christmas
Fab N Funky - Go with the Flow
Lexi's Creations - Christmas Colours
Oldie But Goodie - Glitter (Stamp is from Boxing Day Sale last year)
Paper Sundaes - Sketch
Simon Says - Let it Snow!

Simple Celebrations

This is a super simple card but I love how it turned out. Sometimes simple is better. Coloured with copics and the flower was coloured as well.

Challenges this card meets:
One Stop Craft - Summer Breeze (look at those flip flops!)
Creative Inspirations - Punches or Diecuts
Cute Card Thursday - Someone Special (Birthday card for a cousin)

Cupcake Kind of Day

Ever have a card that just said "Create Me!" That was last night. I was trying to clean up and pack for a crop today and all the supplies just serendipitously were all together on the table at the same time. I didn't have to cut a thing. I even remembered some challenges this week that featured cupcakes. Well that was it.

The cupcake image is a single Inkadinkadoo. The sentiment came from "Going Places" by MFT. It actually said "Celebrate the Journey" but I masked off the rest of the sentiment. I love all the bling on it! I even used the colours I rarely ever touch. The icing is even covered with clear stickles for some extra glitz. I used Bashful Blue and Creamy Caramel for the cardstock and coloured with my SU markers.

Challenges this meets:
Daring Cardmakers: Diecut Crazy - The scalloped circle matting the image.
Fussy and Fancy: Birthday with a Sweet Treat
Paperworks Co: Use Cupcakes - Happy Birthday, Peggy!
Pile it On: Make it Sweet
Stamp with Us: Birthday
The Pink Elephant: Colour Aqua

Calling Home

I just got my latest order from MFT. Gotta love the Bubble Bin. When I saw this stamp, I knew I had to make my Mother's Day card with it. Our phone calls back and forth are a big joke in the family. The baby can give her the classy card.

I saw the Paper Sundae's challenge this week of 3 patterned paper, 2 cardstock and a flower and thought NO WAY! I don't do DP well, never mind co-coordinating three different ones. I ended up scrounging through my scraps to find DP with small prints to fit my image. Thank goodness for my Grab Bag Swaps! I think I deserve bonus points for this one. I managed to get all the paper requirements in the photo alone! My cardstock is Close to Coca and Certainly Celery.

The floor is a digi I found on Michelle's Just Painting Around Blogspot. It took my quite a while to get everything resized and printed on cardstock but it finally worked.

I chose an easel card after completing the image. It took me so long that I wanted a card that would stay upright and show off my hard work!

Challenges this card meets:
Paper Sundaes - Recipe (3 DPs, 2 colour cardstock, 1 flower)
Charisma Cardz - Girly with Flowers
Daring Cardmakers - Easel Card
Lexi's Creations - Recipe (3 DPs, 2 embellishments, 1 image)
Papertake Weekly - Do Something Different ( 2nd easel card ever made, 2nd paper piecing, 1st MFT image ever used)