Happy Birthday America!

Hello and happy Thursday! My card was made for a life-long friend of mine who celebrates her birthday on July 4th. It's also for the C4C4 Crazy4Cocoa challenge to use red, white & blue. I'm also entering it in the WT329 challenge to use something old/something new. I've had the embossing folder more than 6 months, and the sparkly star ribbon is something I've had less than 6 months.
I used 2 SNSS sets for this. That's Patriotic Cocoa behind the flag/star, and I stamped a white panel with the stars from the Polka dot Silhouettes set. The background is brilliant blue and it's embossed with the SU! square lattice ef while the red border was done with a SU! fancy scalloped border punch. The Cocoa digi image was colored with Copics and I added some red & blue mini star brads in the corners. I tied on another snippet of ribbon to the blue ribbon just for a little interest.
Happy Birthday to my friend Doris, and Happy Birthday America!
Thanks for stopping by and for all of my American friends who celebrate the 4th of July, I wish you a safe and fun holiday weekend!!

Carol

Sketch it and make it sparkle!

This card is for today's SC339 sketch challenge, along with Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #61 to make it sparkle." I used a free digi from the stamping boutique and colored it with Copics. I added silver, red, and blue stickles to the panels for some fireworks sparkle. I used an embossed panel done with a CB star ef and added a few red, white, and blue mini star brads for interest. The sentiment is from MFP Southwest Cowboy, and I colored it with ink daubers to get the dual color effect. This card was quick and easy and will be an "any hero" card going into my next OWH box!
Thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Stars & Stamps Sketch #75

This card is coming a few days late, but I managed to finish it before next week's challenge, so I guess I'm doing OK :) It's for the Stars & Stamps sketch challenge #75 found here. I cut the black panels and lined them up close together following the sketch pattern, and adhered them to a piece of scrap paper with repositional adhesive. I stamped the tree with versamark, embossed it with white ep, and then separated the panels and aligned them on Yellow textured cardstock. I love this sketch and will be making more cards using it in the future.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great Tuesday!

Carol

This Made My Day!!

Recently my BFF asked me to make a birthday card for a little girl who loves trains and would be celebrating her 3rd birthday. I'd made this card recently for a challenge, so I prepared the inside with 3 red, white & blue balloons along with a little greeting. Can you imagine how delighted I was to receive this photo of her holding the card I made, along with a message telling me that she was excitedly telling everyone "It's a train! It's train!! This picture says it all and moments like this make card making SO worthwhile :)

Carol

Stamps R Us ......There once was a little girl......

There's a new Stamps R Us challenge this week and the theme is "There once was a little girl....."
Our sponsor this week is A Day for Daisies, and she has lots of sweet little girl images to choose from!! The little girl on my card has grown up for this "New Hat" image and I could hardly wait to add some color. I used Copics and embossed some pink Bazzill card stock with the CB swiss dots ef. The sentiment panel was done with a Spellbinders ribbon tag die. The main image is layered on a labels 10 die cut and sponged with lavender lace ink. I used an assortment of flowers in shades of pink & lavender to add a little flair to this image & finished it off with some Kaiser pearls and bling.
This challenge will remain open for 2 weeks so you'll have plenty of time to create and upload your card. As always, our sponsor will be offering a generous prize to a lucky participant so grab your girlie images and come have some fun with us! Good luck!
Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous Monday!

Carol

Here's that Mouse again!!

As you probably already know, I'm a huge fan of Cocoa/Cookie mouse images from SNSS, so here's yet another card I made using "Pamper Me Cookie." This card is for the SNSDC8 sketch challenge found here. I paper pieced the lipstick tube & nail polish lid with a scrap of DP and added lots of glossy accents to the nail polish. Cookie was colored with Copics and layered on Petite ovals die cuts. The sentiment is from SNSS Poppies & greetings and I added a tiny heart sticker for interest. The DP used were all scraps from my stash, and I added 2 different sized gingham ribbons along with a base of real red cardstock. For the final touch I added 3 white dew drops.
I hope your weekend is starting off well, and I wish you a fabulous Friday! Thanks for stopping by!

Carol

C4C3 _ Summer's Here!

It's my favorite day of the week - Thursday - which means another Crazy4Cocoa challenge! This week, use a summer theme on your Cocoa cards and you can upload them right here on the Sweet'nSassy connection. Use the keyword C4C3 when uploading to the gallery there.
I used the new SNS Cocoa's beachball digi image for my card and colored it with Copics. I added a beach-theme punched border done with an EK punch, and colored it to match the beach ball. The DP is Summer Days by Echo park, and I just love the summery collection of colors included in this pack. The sentiment is from the SNS Poppies & Greetings set and was stamped with versafine onyx black ink.
Now that summer has finally arrived, I hope you'll grab your Cocoa images (stamped or digi) and come join us to welcome in the season!
And while you're at it, have a terrific Thursday! Thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Stars & Stamps MWT - Love!

The theme for the Midweek Throwdown at the S&S blog this week is "Love." There's always a need for love-themed cards for our deployed military to send home to their loved ones. I had time to make 3 this afternoon using scraps of DP from my stash. Each one is a little different, yet the designs are the same. The square was stamped with the SU! set ever after and I colored the "L" with a red marker after stamping it in black ink. The sentiments were computer generated and I added a tiny red heart punch to each one.
That will do it for me today, but thanks so much for stopping by!

Carol

Got Buttons?

The challenge over at Speedy the Cat's Friends #60 is to use a button/buttons on your card. I made my own button for this card using cool caribbean card stock and glossy accents. I used a scrap of wild asparagus polka dot dp along with chocolate chip, kraft, and cool caribbean card stock. The 2 smaller flowers were colored with Copic markers to match, while the largest blue flower was used as is. The background was embossed with a CB ef, and the sentiment is from MFP's thankful mums & pumpkins, stamped with chocolate chip ink and layered with 2 SU! punched pieces. For the final touch I added some bakers twine.
Thanks for stopping by today and have a great Wednesday!

Carol

Happy Monday!

I made this card yesterday for the Stars & Stamps sketch challenge #74 but didn't have time to photograph it until this morning. I used some pink & green cardstock I found at my local store, and I think it's by Bazzill although it isn't marked. The floral images are from a SU retired set called fabulous flowers and were stamped with memento angel pink and rose red inks. The smaller flower was cut and popped up on foam tape. The pink plaid dp was a scrap from my bin, and the sentiment is by MFP.
Here's a card I made for a customer who wanted a muscle car on her grandson's birthday card. I used a Stampers Best digi image of this '68 Camaro and added some red and grey highlights and embossed the whole image after coloring to add a little shine. I took some plain cardstock and embossed it with silver ep, then cut some Spellbinders Sprockets to create the embellishment on the top left. I dotted it with a little red and added a sticker with her DGS's initial to personalize it. A final touch of some diamond plate embossing in the background, and a little checkered flag ribbon and this is ready to go!
Thanks for stopping by today and I hope your Monday is the best!

Carol

For my Great Aunt's Birthday

My great Aunt Kathryn will turn an unbelievable 106 years young on July 10th, so I wanted to make her a very special card. I found a punched hydrangea tutorial on KittieKraft's blog and had to give it a try. I used bashful blue and light lavender cardstock to create the flowers. I thought of sponging the lavender petals with blue ink, but it would have been next to impossible considering the tiny size of these flowers! Therefore I just mixed the two colors and added them in random fashion. I followed her tutorial using the same supplies. I need some more practice with layering the greens, but for my first try I'm happy with how this turned out! The blue frame was in my little box of diecut left-over pieces and I thought it was a perfect frame for the sentiment. The numbers were diecut with a Quickutz, and the background was embossed with the Tim Holtz damask ef.
I hope you're enjoying the start to a wonderful weekend, and I thank you for stopping by!

Carol

SNSDC7 All About Summer

The challenge over on the SNSDC7 this week is to make a card that's "all about summer." I used this SNSS Cocoa & Cookie sandcastle digi image and colored it with Copics. I tore a few scraps of cardstock for the "sand" and added stickles to the edge. The punched crab is bright red, but photographed much darker for some reason. I added eyes with a black marker and white sharpie marker. The cool caribbean background was embossed with a Spellbinders Impressabilites and I added a few snippets of ribbon with crab images. Cute huh :)
Have a great Friday and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Buttons or Brads C4C2

It's time for the 2nd Crazy4Cocoa challenge over at the Sweet'nSassy Connection! This week we're asking you to add Buttons or Brads to your Cocoa creation. For my card I used the Sew Happy Cocoa image & colored it with Copics. The sentiment was done with tags I cut using my Cricut & Quickutz and I used various alphabet stamps for lettering. The background was done with the square lattice ef, and I just went a little crazy with the buttons, brads, and button brads. This scene looks a bit like what my crafting area looks like whenever I'm sewing :) It's a good kinda mess though if you get my drift :)
If you haven't joined the Sweet'nSassy connection yet, you can find it right here. There are daily challenges posted over there and you can find all of them under the "groups" tab. Pick a group and join it, and you'll be able to play along with the challenges. Come on over and play along, we'd love to see your creations!
Have a fabulous Thursday and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Welcome Baby

I made a quick card for the SCS SC337 today following Korin's easy sketch. This is a SNS stamp called Welcome Baby and I colored it with Copics. The cardstock and DP is by SU! called blushing bride and I colored the white ric-rac with a Copic marker to match. The heart border was done with an EK punch. Quick and easy, I love when cards go together like this for me!
Thanks for stopping by and have a super Wednesday!

Carol

Happy Flag Day!

I had to post a card with a flag image in honor of flag day here in the US! I used this cute patriotic cocoa image from Sweet 'n Sassy stamps, and I'm going to enter this card into the new Crazy4Cocoa challenge over on the Sweet 'n Sassy Connection, which is "anything goes". If you haven't joined yet, it's easy and you'll find lots of SNS inspiration over there along with some other SNS challenges. Just click on the Connection link above to join. Then click the Crazy4Cocoa challenge group link above, join the group, and play along with the challenges each Thursday! Keep in mind that it's the Sweet'nSassy connection, so we're only permitted to post cards with SNS stamps or images.
Have a wonderful day and be proud to show your flag colors!

Carol

1,2,3, it's Summer!

Happy Monday everybody! It's time for another Stamps R Us challenge and this week we have a recipe to follow. It's a 1.2.3. challenge, which is to use 1 image, 2 designer papers, and 3 embellishments.
This week our sponsor is Digital Delights by Louby Loo, and I'm using this adorable Bucket and Spade Peyton digi image. I printed him and colored him with Copics, adding 2 different Echo Park summer designer papers for the background. For the 3 embellishments, I added some magenta ric-rac, a piece of turquoise blue twill, and a little clip with a pair of flip-flops. The sentiment is the flip side of one of the designer papers. This image just makes me want to run to the beach and play in the sand again like I did when I was a kid :)
As always, if you play along with us, our sponsor will be offering a generous prize, so click on the link above, or on the Stamps R Us badge on my sidebar to link up your card. We'll be coming by to look at all of your 1.2.3 creations in the next two weeks, so have fun!
Thanks for stopping by today and have a great kick-off to another week!

Carol

A Sketch for Dad & Retirement

My card is for the sketch challenge #73 found over on the Stars & Stamps blog, and also for the MFP Speedy the Cat's Friends challenge #59 to create a father's day card. Since the OWH deadline for father's day cards has already passed, I just put "my dad" on my card so it can be sent for any occasion, such as a birthday, or just a special greeting to a father. I used the MFP stamp set "Take the Time & Father's Day" and used Bo Bunny timepiece designer papers. The watch face was embossed with brown ep and cut with Spellbinders circles and scalloped circles.
I had an order yesterday to make a retirement card, and I thought this image seemed appropriate since it conveys a feeling of being laid-back and no longer in a hurry to get things done. I found this stamp at the stamp meet I attended recently, but there was no name on the stamp, so I don't know who makes it. I based this card on the Sweet Stop Sketch SSS112 found here. I had to tweak the sketch a little bit to make this larger image fit, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. I colored it with Copics and used PTI plum pudding, bitty box basics, and SU! green galore papers. The sentiment was a $1 find at Michaels by GStudio.
Ok, it's just about time for the race to begin, so that's it for me! Have a great Sunday and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

SNSDC6 for Father's Day

Happy Friday and welcome to the Sweet'nSassy digi challenge #6. This week we're creating father's day cards. I used the SNS Cocoa's baseball hat along with the SNS super dad image inserted into the center of the hat. I created the lower horizontal panel by adhering random width strips of black & white DP to a piece of scrap cardstock. I stuck them down at an angle for a little interest. I tied the sentiment panel on with red, white, and black raffia and pierced around the edges. The background was embossed with the argyle ef and the image was colored with Copics.
If you want a chance to win some free stamps, be sure and play along with us all month. You can use any digi image from Sweet'nSassy stamps, and you must use a SNS image to qualify for the prizes. I can't wait to see your father's day creations!
Have a wonderful Friday and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Fabulous Florets

I recently had fun visiting with my SU! demo Deanna and playing with some of her new stamps & punches. This is the Fabulous Florets set found in the summer mini catalog. I stamped the image and leaves several times with Memento black ink, then colored with Copics, hand cut, and popped up the images with dimensionals. I created the vertical panel with SU! Poppy Parade dp and stamped the card base with a retired favorite "stitched" background stamp. The ribbon was tan, but I colored it with a Copic marker to match it to the color theme of my card. The image was matted with garden green cardstock, and the stem was stamped using Memento Cottage ivy ink......even though most of it was covered up! LOL I'll add a sentiment to this when I need to use it.
The temps are going to top 100 degrees today here in PA, so I'm going to hibernate indoors again! Summer is still 12 days away! Hello?!?!?
Have a fabulous day and stay cool!

Carol

Another Two-fer

I made this card for the Stars&Stamps MWT challenge to create a Thanksgiving card, and I also used the great sketch from SC336. Honestly, I love simple sketches because they're so easy to work with, and yet I always seem to make more work for myself than I should! I ended up paper piecing these pumpkins because I thought they'd look better, and I'm also trying to use up the tons of scraps I have. I'm happy with the way it turned out, but I wish I could simplify my life in this regard! LOL The stamps used are from MFP Thankful Mums & Pumpkins and all the dp scraps are retired from SU! I used card stock scraps for the punched leaves using EK & MS punches. The acorns were die cut and sponged with Memento Potters Clay ink. I tied a tiny piece of copper cording to the stems and this card was done! I flipped the sketch only because the pumpkins looked all wrong at the top of the card.
It's going to feel like it's over 100 degrees outside today, so I'll be inside playing at my craft table. I hope it's cool wherever you are today. It's not even summer yet, and our temps are this hot, so what will this summer have in store for us I wonder? Whew!!
Have a fabulous day doing whatever you're doing!

Carol

Cards for the Outlawz Challenges

I had some time to play today and made 2 cards for challenges over on the Outlawz. First up is the Copic/Promarker challenge from June 3rd found here. The challenge this week is to use the colors of pink & green. The image & sentiment are by MFT called Pure Innocence and the DP's are by Echo Park, BG and DCWV. The cardstock is SU's retired Green Galore. The Copics I used for this are Boo,B0000,B04,YG17,YG13,YG11,RV25,RV23,RV21,E000,E0000,E35,E37,E55,E57,R20,R0000.
This is for the Outlawz C&S challenge from June 5th found here. There are 3 groups of elements to select from, and I chose the color combination of Brown, Kraft & Turquoise, along with paper piercing and a button. I made the button from Chocolate Chip cardstock and covered it with Glossy Accents. To finish it off, I punched holes with my Crop-o-dile and wove some small strips of kraft card stock through the holes. Sentiment is by SU! and the scalloped border was done with a SU! border punch.
Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Carol

Two Sketches for Sunday

Here's my take on the OWH Stars & Stamps #72 sketch challenge for this week. This is made entirely from scraps, using 2 different CB embossing folders and an Inkadinkado sentiment. Quick & easy!
This is for the Sweet Stop Sketch SSS111 which I also found to be a simple sketch to work with. I used the Sweet 'n Sassy Tulips digital stamp and colored with Copics. The DP is Poppy Parade by SU! The supplies I used are pretty basic, but if you need details, shoot me an email. I tweaked the sketch a little bit and added the 3 tiny brads to the focal image because they looked better there, and added some balance overall.
Thanks so much for stopping by :)

Carol

3 Dimensional Flowers

The challenge over at Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #58 is to use 3-dimensional flowers on our cards! I used the MFP Planted with Love set for my card and made some flowers using pink vellum and the MS Hydrangea punches. I did the letterpress technique on the white card stock using Memento New Sprout ink and a floral Impressabilities plate. I colored the image with Copics and cut out the smaller crow in the set and popped him up on a punched branch from the SU bird punch. I hand-cut and crimped the leaves made from pale green vellum and popped a Kaiser pearl in the centers.
Congratulations to my friend Benzi for winning this stamp set in last week's Speedy the Cat's Friends challenge! I know you're gonna love it as much as I do!
That will do it for me today folks! I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Carol

The Open Sea

My card is for the StampinB's challenge #113 which is to make a masculine card using black & brown and one other color. I just got this SU! set called the Open Sea a couple days ago and couldn't wait to make a card with it. I stamped the background panel on a sheet of BG kraft DP, distressing and sponging with Vintage Photo ink. The main image was stamped in black and sponged with antique linen ink. I used pacific point blue as my background because this image just seemed to need that color. I made the sailors knot out of hemp and added a few star mini brads for the final touch.
Thanks so much for stopping by today and I wish you a happy Saturday!

Carol

A Slice of Coffee Treats!

Happy Friday everyone! I'm here with my project for the SNSDC5, and this week the challenge is to create anything but a card. For my project I made a cake slice box! My great Aunt will turn 106 years young in July, and she loves coffee candy, so I'm stuffing this full of her favorite sweets, and it will be going to her. She hates receiving a lot of gifts all the time and usually recycles everything she gets, but hopefully she'll enjoy the treats inside before she passes this on to another visitor :) If it brings a smile to her face, then my mission will be accomplished, because I really enjoyed making it for her. It's made with chocolate chip card stock and blushing bride DP, and I used the Birthday Cake Cocoa digi to make the matching tag.
I colored the tag to match the DP and added a few scraps of matching DP and punched card stock. I used the EK chain zig-zag punch and found that one of those negative pieces from punching looked cute on the bottom edge, so I stuck it on as a border. I added some SU satin ribbon and a tag cut from my Cricut and attached it with copper cording. The sentiment is from the Sweet'nSassy Poppies and Greetings clear stamp set found here.
If anyone needs any details on my project, feel free to shoot me an email!
Just a reminder ..........in order to play along with this challenge, you must use only Sweet'nSassy images! You'll have a week to link up your projects right here. I'll be looking to see your anything-but-a-card creations throughout the week!
Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Carol

Playing in the Garden

Recently I spent a few hours at MaryAnne's house stamping, and I finally put a card together using some elements she die cut for me. She has this gorgeous new Spellbinder's floral die and cut these beautiful flowers for me, so I added some of the new foliage die cuts and a fancy brad to come up with this card. I'm using the MFP unreleased stamp set "Planted with Love" that I won recently, so I'm feeling very privileged for being able to use it so early. I just loved coloring this little seed packet with Copics and adding all the garden elements just for fun.
And here's the thank-you card I sent to Faith for winning the stamp set. Again, Mary Anne let me use her fabulous MS punch to create the border. I added a piece of white card stock behind it to make it look like a decorative fence. Thanks again for everything ((Mary Anne))!! I've already made 2 more cards with this stamp set again as I'm having trouble putting it down! It's so much fun to color the images, and I just love the 2 little crows in the set, and the face on this little flower is incredibly detailed!!
The weather in PA today is like early autumn, and such a welcomed change after the hot, humid weather we've had of late! I'm heading to my SU! demo's house to pick up an order and "play" for a little while this afternoon. Enjoy your day today and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Summer's Here!

Last night the Sweet 'n Sassy connection held their first release party, and this adorable digi image was a freebie for those who came to the party! Cute huh? It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Cocoa and Cookie mouse images, and this one is perfect for those summer cards! The first challenge during the release was to create a card (using only Sweet 'n Sassy stamps) using the colors of blue, green & tan. The dp is by Echo Park, and I matted with some green cardstock, and embossed with an Impressabilities plate. I inked the plate with Memento Desert Sand ink before embossing and I like the soft look of adding just a touch of color. I used an EK punch for the lower border, added a snippet of ribbon and it was done!
Click the little icon on my side bar to join the Sweet'nSassy connection so you won't miss out on the next release party! Korin is also offering a stamp kit with this new release and it includes some yummy goodies you're going to want to add to your collection. Her new stamps include lots of beach images you're going to just LOVE! Check out the details right here.
This card is for the Stars & Stamps MWT which is to use green and purple on our cards. This C&S version went together very quickly, and I'll be making a lot more of this design for OWH! I used leftover strips of Bo Bunny Jazmyne dp for the horizontal panel and added some PTI plum pudding ribbon. The SU! sentiment was stamped in Rich Razzleberry. Done! OWH has put out a call for some "thinking of you" or "missing you" cards, so I'll be making a few more of these to add to all the "thinking of you" cards I made at the stamp meet this past Saturday. I love an easy design, and especially one that enables me to use up my scraps in such a unique way!
Thanks for spending a little of your day with me here...........I wish you a wonderful Wednesday!

Carol