Catching Up with Challenges

Here's my take on this week's OWH Stars and Stamps sketch #217. I used this week's Dynamic Duos #DD95 colors of Rich Razzleberry, Soft Sky, and Pale Plum. The image is from Deedee Anderson called "Uneggspected." If you click the link, you can find all the details to get this cute digi set for a reduced price until the end of March. If you played along with Deedee's progressive challenge last month, you already received this image for free!

The gemstones are iridescent ovals I recently got in a prize package from Pizzazz Aplenty. They're a tad larger than I would ordinarily use, but they reminded me of eggs which seemed to work with this adorable image. The flowers were done with 2 SU! punches and I added them to the sketch because the card looked unbalanced to me without them.

The digi image was printed, hand-cut, and popped up on dimensionals, so I'm entering this card into the Mod Squad challenge to "cut it out" - hand cut an image without using dies.

Here's a card I made for the OWH midweek throwdown which was "circles galore!" I was in the midst of replacing an empty tissue box while I was reading about the challenge, and as I was flattening the box for disposal, I saw all of those great circles and decided to use a panel from the box for the challenge! LOL I cut it with a Top Note die and added some assorted brads and a SU! sentiment. The sentiment was cut with SU! chalk talk framelit dies and layered on a SB labels 2 die. I embossed the background with an old CB ef and added some red ribbon and navy twine with a few tiny heart stickers to finish this one.

I recently received this MB loopy circles die and made another background of circles using Prisma Papers in 3 shades of Azalea that I've had forever! I added some punched circles to fill in the spaces and cut the Inky Antics image & mat on a SB labels 4 die and decided to cut the bottoms off to make it fit without covering all the circles. I goofed and forgot to cut off more of the matted panel before putting it on the card base, but it was already stuck down and I couldn't remove and trim it. Oh well........it's "different!" LOL The sentiment is by SNSS and the ribbon was from my stash. I hope the child that receives this won't notice or even care about the mistake :)

I'm also entering this card into the Snippets Playground #117 since I used a lot of snippets for the punched circles.

I guess today's lengthy post makes up for not posting anything yesterday! lol Thanks for hanging in for this longer-than-usual post!

Have a great Sunday and thanks for checking in :)

Carol

Hot Pink & Black

I made this card for the Dynamic Duos #87 which is to use hot pink & black. I made this card entirely from scraps in my bin after I started rooting for some hot pink colors. The papers are from PTI, while the white is a pearl card stock I've had for a long time. The heart was done with a Sizzlet (click to enlarge for embossing details) in white, pink and black, and I hand-cut the 2 smaller hearts for layering. The word "love" was done with a Quickutz die. I liked this color combination enough to make a 2nd card....

I used some Coredinations cardstock for the hearts, running them through a paper crimper and sanding to show the pale pink inside. The bottom layer is a torn snippet of smoky slate, also run through the crimper and swiped with a matching inkpad. The sentiment is from MFP and the flowers and brad are from my stash.

With all the snippets I used here, I'm also taking these cards over to the Snippet Playground #109 - and this time I made it before the gates closed!!

Have yourself a great Monday and stay warm!!

Carol

Dynamic Duos and Snippets

Here's a card I'm entering into the Dynamic Duos DD#82 to use the colors of rich pink and green. I used all leftover papers and scraps for this one, stamping & embossing the Hero Arts floral images in black onto matching dsp and fussy cutting them. The stems were done with a Sizzlet from SU! and layered on another snippet of dsp from my scrap bin. The sentiment was done with an Inkadinkado stamper on SU! jewel tags & I adhered them under the pink grosgrain ribbon with some black pearls on top.

This one is also heading over to the Snippets Playground #102.

Thanks for stopping by and have yourself a great day!

Carol

Light Aqua & Black

The Dynamic Duo challenge #66 for this week is to use light Aqua & Black with an option to emboss. I think this card pretty much covers the challenge, with Coastal Cabana & black colors. The image panel was done with a SU! Morning Meadow hostess stamp set, and the leaves were done with a SU! little leaves Sizzlet. The flowers were done with a Boho Blossoms punch, and the embossing was done with a Vine Street ef, both from SU! I hand cut the image panel and added black pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty for the finishing touch.

Here's another light aqua and black card I made for an awesome doctor who recently performed successful surgery on my thumb to fix a "trigger finger." Prior to surgery, he humorously drew the smiley face on the tip of my thumb after marking my left hand for surgery. He has a great personality and fun sense of humor, so I made him this thank you card after taking a picture of my thumb bandaged up post-surgery. Every time I looked at my thumb with this smiley face, I had to grin, so I passed the smiles back to him with a card. Upon opening and reading it, he said I "made his day." Now that's a real thumbs up moment for me! As I left, he was hanging this card on the bulletin board for everyone in the office to enjoy! Nice huh?

I'm also entering these cards into Pixies Crafty Snippets Playground #86, as I used snippets for the flowers in card 1, and snippets of ribbon in card 2 :)

That's it for me, but I hope you're having a great day and making the most of it! Thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Pink & Green Sympathy

The Dynamic Duos Challenge #65 this week is to use warm pink & soft green. I began by embossing the card base with a SU! ef, and colored it with pale pink chalk and a q-tip. The floral image was done with the coordinating SU! Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set, and was fussy cut and popped up on foam tape. I colored the white-embossed rose with chalks and added a few Copic accents for highlighting. The Hero Arts leaves were embossed with white ep on green vellum and hand cut in keeping with the soft look of this card. The sentiment is by SU! and was done with soft grey ink. This card went to a friend who'd just lost her mother.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by - I wish you a wonderful day!

Carol

You Make Me Smile :)

Here's this week's OWH Stars and Stamps sketch challenge #167...

And here is this week's Dynamic Duos DD#47  color challenge...

I put both challenges together and came up with this. The patterned paper is from the LilyBee Handmade paper pad, while the stamp is from the SU! Round Array set. I used SU! Cherry Cobbler ribbon, along with an assortment of SU! punches, including the new 7/8" scallop punch. I pierced around the edges of the larger scalloped punch just for fun, and scored 1/4" in on the white cardstock on all sides. I added a Quickutz corner to balance things out since this looked too busy on the bottom.

I hope you're having a great Sunday doing something you enjoy!

Carol

Happy April Fool's Day!

Since it's April Fool's day, I decided to play along with Suzanne's challenge over at the cardyard and post my ugliest card ever. This may not be the worst card I ever made, but it's got to be included in the lot somewhere! I recently went through my box of cards so I could toss, donate, or re-work some of the disasters, and I found this gem I made 2 years ago. Ha Ha!

What was I thinking? LOL Not only is the card pathetic, the photo is blurry, so I consider it a double whammy! LOL I took the card apart and decided to save the ribbon and card base for another use.

As I was using a portion of that card base and putting this card together, my husband walked into the room and said "that card is really ugly!" Wha??! I said "what's wrong with it?" He said "the colors, the design, the paper - everything!!" Sheesh! I guess I should just toss everything and fuhgedaboudit!! LOL

Anyway, I'm using the OWH Stars and Stamps sketch 166 along with the Dynamic Duos #46 which is to use Primrose Petals with your choice of another color. The color I'm using is Early Espresso, and I've also used Vanilla card stock as well. I assembled the components for the background, and then flipped it, putting the narrowest panel on the left because it just looked better that way. I decided to add the 3 embellishments in a vertical line to balance everything

Perhaps my re-purpose attempts are a complete failure, but what the heck. It's April Fool's day, and it's good to laugh at yourself :)

Wishing you all a great Monday, and thanks for stopping by for a good laugh today. I hope you'll consider sharing your ugliest card too :)

Carol

stamps - SU! mixed bunch, doily backgrounder, teeny tiny wishes

paper - early espresso, very vanilla, primrose petals, print poetry dsp

ink - early espresso

accessories - white ep, vanilla brad, SU! owl punch, blossom punch, 1" circle punch, 1-1/4 circle punch, TH damask ef

It's Monday......again :)

It's Monday again, and I'm playing catch-up with 2 challenges. I tried to follow this week's OWH Stars and Stamps sketch #164, but clearly I took liberties and went in a different direction once again :)

I also used the colors from this week's Dynamic Duos #44 color challenge of So Saffron and Black, with a dessert option of using ribbon. 

This is the card I came up with and I'm happy with how it turned out even if I did stray far from the sketch. I used a retired SU! stamp called "stitched" to create the background and petals on the flower. I was going to weave the ribbon into the ends of the main panel in keeping with the sketch, but decided against it since I used 3 layered ribbons instead of just one. Rather than botch up the whole card, I decided to leave well enough alone. I guess I'll be ready when the challenge police come a'knockin' :)
The punches used for this were all from SU! (Blossom, boho flowers, modern label). The sentiment is from SNSS, saffron ribbon from SU!, black ribbon from Pizzazz Aplenty, and the brad from my stash.

That's it for now, but thanks for stopping by and have yourself another great Monday! Spring is just a few short days away, so try to ignore the snow and ice that's about to fall in PA and New England! (you didn't really believe all that groundhog nonsense did you?!?)

Carol

More Challenge Cards

 This card was made for the Dynamic Duos #41 challenge to use Island Indigo and Pool Party for a monochromatic teal color challenge. It's also for the Perfect Sentiments PFSC68 to make a CAS get well card with the sentiment on the front. I pulled out a long-forgotten Fiskars border punch for this one and it seems to add just enough color to balance everything nicely.

{oops! I missed the deadline to enter this at the DD#41 - again!}

This one is for the Freshly Made Sketch challenge #75 and I used papers from the DCWV Natural stack, adding some kraft for the base. The sentiment really got lost on this pretty dsp, so I added some matching red bling to draw more attention away from the busy pattern. I'm still not sure if it works for me, but it's done now. After checking the photo, I see the red bling on the lower flower isn't centered, and I'll have to fix that! Oops!
I'm also entering this into the Simon Says Stamp challenge for this week because it's "anything goes."

Carol

CARD1

stamps - SU! sincere salutations

papers - Island Indigo, Pool Party, Kraft, white

ink - Island Indigo

accessories - Fiskars border punch, MB woodland branch die, MS hydrandea flowers, SU! owl punch (flower centers), SU! square lattice ef

CARD2

stamps -Stampa-Rosa C11-1756

papers - kraft, DCWV Natural stack, cream

ink - SU! early espresso

accessories - MB woodland branch die, Fiskars small flower punch, Pizzazz Aplenty red gemstones, corner rounder

Red, Black & White

I've been making cards in the red, black & white color combination for Valentine's day, and I just made a card yesterday that qualifies for this week's Dynamic Duos DD#36 to use red & black with a dessert option of a Valentine theme! What a lucky coincidence that was :)
I used a SU! punch to create the heart-shaped opening in the black cardstock, and then punched another heart using striped dsp and inserted it into the black. The sentiment is a digi I printed from SNSS, and I hand-cut the banner, adding a little heart-shaped brad. I created the bottom panel using a SNSS scalloped heart border die, doing one in black and one in red, and swapping out the tiny hearts. The striped dsp is from Recollections and I used a SU! scalloped border punch on the lower edge along with a Sizzix ef for the white background.

Here's a couple of 3x3 cards I made for my youngest DGD's that will be tucked into their package of Valentine treats I'll be mailing out to them soon. I used the same recollections dsp to make envelopes and used SB hearts dies for the fronts. I added 2 different brads just for fun.

Here's what they look like inside. I used Lawn Fawn images and sentiments from their"My Silly Valentine" set that I just won, adding some color with Copics and stickles for a little sparkle. I just LOVE the cute images and sentiments from this stamp set!

And this card will be going to my oldest DGD for Valentine's day. I was going through my embossing folders and found this one that I don't ever remember using?! It was part of a 3-pc set that I tossed aside, and I've only ever used the A2 folder in the set since I bought it! What an oversight! I used an EK hearts border punch to make both a red and white panel, and swapped out the tiny hearts again for a little color interest, adding one white heart to the embossed panel. The black border was done with a SU! fancy scalloped border punch, and the sentiment is from SNSS Christmas tags stamp set.

Ho-Kay, I think I've got the black & red color combo pretty much covered with these cards, so have yourself a fabulous day and an even better weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carol

DD35 & ATC4

Here's my poorly-photographed (cloudy day) card for the Dynamic Duos #35 challenge which is to use So Saffron and Certainly Celery to create a breath of spring. I'm also entering this card into the Addicted to CAS #4 challenge which this week uses the code word "emboss." I embossed the white card stock with a Darice Butterflies in Corner ef and then embossed the celery dsp and saffron cs in the same folder and hand-cut the butterflies to place on top of the white embossed butterflies. I added some assorted sizes and shapes of pearls along with some divine twine from Pizzazz Aplenty and stamped a SNSS sentiment with basic grey ink. If only we had some sunshine - or - I had a bright light to take better indoor photos.....sigh :)

I'll have more a little bit later today, but for now I hope this card puts you in  the mood for spring ;)

Carol

Sending Love in Silver and Blue

For my card, I used the sketch from OWH Stars & Stamps #148, along with the colors of the Dynamic Duo #30 of midnight muse & silver.
The tree is a MB die from Simon Says Stamp called Tall Forest Tree, and the metallic silver hearts were done with the SU! owl punch. I used SU!'s Baroque Motifs to heat emboss the bottom panel with silver ep, then dry embossed the midnight muse panel with a Sizzix ef from the hearts/curlique set. Ribbon is from my stash and the sentiment is from SNSS.

Thanks for stopping by today, I wish you all a great Sunday.

Carol

A Triple Play Challenge Card

It isn't often when I'm able to combine 3 great challenges into one card, but I managed to do it today! I used the colors of the DynamicDuo25 of pumpkin pie & black (with a dessert option of die cuts), the sketch from CAS(E) this sketch #2, and the CAS-ual Fridays CFC75 challenge to "go over the edge." I used a flower image from SU! Fifth Avenue Florals, and stamped it on pumpkin pie, then embossed it with clear ep and hand cut it. I layered it on 2 Sizzix stem die cuts and added some black pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty to the center. The sentiment is from MFP, and the card base is PTI white.

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks so much for stopping by!

ETA: OOPS! the CAS(E) this sketch links closed yesterday, so I won't be able to enter this there! :)

Carol

DD24 & OWH142

The beautiful color combination for the DD24 is Pool Party and Soft Suede.

For this card I took the hexagon trend to the max, adding a few polka dots as well. The background was done with an IO background stamp, and the pool party panel was embossed with a Sizzix Hexagon ef. The soft Suede panel was done with a SB M-Bossabilities So trendy, and the flower was stamped and hand cut using a HA image, along with a mini brad in the center. Ribbon is soft suede, and perfectly matches the card stock in spite of the photo showing it a completely different color. Sentiment is by SU! Sincere Salutations and was done with soft suede ink.

Here's my card for this week's OWH Stars & Stamps challenge #142.

All the dsp came from the LilyBee Autumn Spice paper pad for this one, and I added a sentiment from SU! Sincere Salutations on a SB grommet tag stamped with Walnut Stain distressed ink. The leaves were done with matching scraps from my bin and an EK border punch.

That's it for today, but thanks for stopping by and have yourself a wonderful day!

Carol

A Cowboy Birthday & a Dynamic Duo Christmas

The challenge for Dynamic Duos#20 this week is to use the color of Lucky Limeade with Black, and the dessert option is to use a Halloween Theme. I don't make many Halloween cards, so I opted for a Christmas card instead, and used the Merry Monday #33 sketch to create this card. The background was embossed with SU!'s Petals A Plenty folder, and I dotted the centers with a black marker. The rectangle was stamped with a Christmas background stamp and embossed with white, then lightly sponged with matching ink, and pierced around the edges. The white poinsettia was done with a SB die and sponged around the edges, adding a black brad to the center. The sentiment is from a retired SU! set Small Script.

This card is for the Perfect Sentiments#50 challenge to make a masculine birthday card and put the sentiment on the front. It's also for the Shopping our Stash#69 to use emboss it. I dug into my stash and used an older MFP stamp set that I believe is now retired. It's called Southwest Cowboy, and it's one of my favorite stamp sets that I own. I heat embossed the image on white, colored it with Copics, and fussy cut it out. I stamped the silhouette image on blue with Versafine Onyx Black ink, and embossed it with clear detail ep. The dsp is from Echo Park, and the black panel was embossed with a new CB ef from the Decorative Tiles set. The sentiment was computer generated. I jotted this sketch down recently, but didn't name it, and now I can't remember where I found it to link it up :) It's a great sketch and one I'll be using more often.

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a wonderful Wednesday!

Carol

OWH VCMP Labor Day Weekend

OWH's Stars and Stamps blog is having a Virtual Card-Making Party this Labor Day weekend with challenges being posted throughout the weekend. Here are the cards I've finished for the challenges so far......along with the Dynamic Duo's #18 challenge too.

This is for Challenge 1 which is sponsored by ODBD and we're to use scripture or an uplifting quote or sentiment on our cards.

This is for challenge 2 where Cherie challenges us to use a recipe of 1 image, 2 patterned papers and 3 words.

For challenge #3, Cindy challenged us to use snowflakes on our cards, but not for Christmas.

This card was made for challenge 4 where Donna challenged us to try the triple time stamping technique. I used the colors for the Dynamic Duo's #18 challenge using Poppy Parade, and a comparable green color (since I don't have any Lucky Limeade ink or cardstock).

This is for challenge 5 where Sandy challenges us to make a western (cowboy or horse) card.

Hopefully I'll be able to complete a few more of the challenges today!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're all enjoying a great weekend!

Carol

card1
stamps -field flowers, CHF chicken wire backgrounder, SNSS 
inks - artichoke, assorted dark reds, ranger vintage photo, antique linen, walnut stain black
paper - paper co dk red, white

card2
stamps - unknown pre-colored digi, SNSS sentiment
paper- BG Offbeat, red scrap
inks - black
accessories - SU fancy scallop punch, circle punches, dotted ribbon

card3
stamps - SNSS 
inks - black, versafine
paper - kraft, black, white
accessories - recollections ep, black ep, snowflake brad

card4
stamps - Hero Arts, Northwoods sentiment
inks - poppy parade, bamboo leaves
paper - poppy parade, white
accessories - SU fancy label punch

card5
stamps - dearie dolls colored digi, computer generated sentiment
paper - scrap of unknown dsp, close to cocoa cardstock
accessories - square punch (to cut corners of the banner)

Sketches, Colors & Challenges

Here's my card for the Dynamic Duos #16 to use River Rock & Black, with a dessert option of using brads. I'm also using the Merry Monday #29 to make a Christmas card using their sketch. The cardstock base and dsp are River Rock, and I embossed the silver snowflake brad with black embossing powder and layered it with 2 cream-colored felt snowflakes. Sentiment is from SU! Swirled Christmas tree.

This was made for the SNSDC67 to use a digital image and 3D flowers. I also used the I Spy Sketches ISSC29 to design the card. The digi image is from OWH and I colored it with Copics. I used some navy card stock, along with dsp's from the MME Moments paper pad. I used 3 paper flowers and a brad for the 3D flower, adding some soft yellow gingham ribbon from my stash.

This card was made for the Sweet Stop SSS172 sketch with a spin to use die cuts or punches. I used a SNSS Cocoa's pumpkin image, and paper pieced with dsp from SU! (r). The border was done with a die from SNSS and the circle was done with SB dies. Sentiment is by SNSS and it's stamped on a more mustard piece of cardstock, adding 3 mini brads for an accent.

That's it for now, but thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Dynamic Duo & a Sketch

This card was made for 2 challenges. The Dynamic Duo #15 challenge is to use the subtle colors of Certainly Celery & Pretty in Pink. I also used the sketch from the OWH Stars & Stamps Sketch challenge #133. I used Celery, and Pretty in Pink inks, and 1 strip of celery dsp, but I had to substitute the solid cardstocks with Coredinations because I'm out of the required card stock colors (gasp!) The images are all from the SU! Summer Silhouettes set, with the sentiment from SU! Whimsical Words. The pearls are from Glitterazzi that I got at the scrapbook expo recently. I did enhance the main image with a Spica glitter pen to give it more definition.

That's going to do it for me today, but thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Sunday!

Carol

Challenge Catch-Up

I made time today to catch up on a few challenges. The SOS62 challenge over at Shopping Our Stash this week is "What was I thinking?" The product I bought a long time ago that prompts me to say "what was I thinking" is this designer paper! Yes, it's colorful, but the design is HUGE and so hard to use on cards. I thought pinwheels might be OK, so I made a fun card for a child with it and hopefully these bright, bold color squares will capture some youngster's attention in a good way :)

This card is for the SNSDC65 "Beary Special" challenge to use a bear image, and I combined that challenge with the SSS170 sketch. My digi image is Rhubarb's Cupcake from SNSS and this pretty dsp was given to me by a sweet  blogging friend. I added some stickles to the cupcake and colored the bear with Copics. I used a SNSS sentiment and added a couple lavender gemstones

This card is for the Simon Says Stamp challenge to use Kristina's inspiration photo...

The dsp is by Kaiser, and I used Poppy Parade and wild wasabi inks & a blending pen to color the HA flower and leaves. Sentiment is by MFP, and the pale blue button was from my stash. It's hard to see but I stamped a background on the white panel with blush blossom, and added 2 punched flowers with a mini brad in the center. This was also done for the Retro Sketch#22 which is closed. {DUH ... I did it again!}

And finally, this is for the Dynamic Duo DD14 to use the colors of Wasabi & Pumpkin, plus I used the sketch from the FreshlyMadeSketches#46. This was done with 2 SU! sets that were given to me, and I covered the fish in the jar halfway up with glossy accents, and stuck a few holes in it with a pin before it dried to resemble some bubbles. That detail might show if you click the photo to enlarge it. The sentiment was computer generated, and the little fish were done with a tiny punch.

I'm done posting cards for today, so thanks for hanging with me so long! I really did have some catching up to do, and I'm still not finished! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Carol