A very special card with a purpose

Hi everyone,

Before leaving for Mexico, I found out about a great idea from the Damask Love site. All of us are so heartbroken about the tragedy in CT. And Amber decided to get a art supply/cards/donation drive for those that survived this horrific ordeal.

Although I'll be out of the country, I wanted to make sure to send a card along. My kids and I will be making more once we return but, for now, I was able squeeze in time for one. And I used the sketch from the MOJO Monday site to help me out with a starting point.

Here's the sketch and my card:

Aren't these little moose cute? I thought they'd be perfect for the kids in CT. I actually colored in the moose using my new Inktense watercolor pencils--LOVE them! And I used a glaze black pen for their eyes and some stickles...and although I'm really happy with the card, I have to admit that making it made me very sad. Ugh...what is this world coming to?!

PLEASE, if you can, please check out the damask love site and see how you can help. This card is just a small way of showing these kids that we care.

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Scoring time!

Hi everyone!

Well, I'm almost packed for my vacation in Mexico but I wanted to share a card that was super quick to make and looks really elegant. It's for the latest challenge on the CAS-ual Fridays site. The challenge was to incorporate some scoring on your card. Lately, I've been pinning tons of cards using score lines so this challenge was one that I was dying to try!

Here's the badge and my card:

I ended up using 2 different embossing folders on the card--making sure to leave some space in the middle. To delineate those areas, I scored 3 lines right next to the embossed areas. Super easy with the Martha Stewart/Scor-Pal boards! And then I stamped the $1 stamp sentiment and added some green gems. Super quick card--but it looks really nice!

It's a great prize up for grabs this week--hope you can join in the fun! And thanks, so much, for stopping by!
Pat

A Favorite Die for my Favorite Couple

Hi friends!

I'm stopping in with a card for a very special couple of friends. Truth be told, I hate good-byes. And our friends are moving and I made them this card to just tell them how special they've been in my family's life.

I also wanted to play along with the latest Simon Says Stamp! challenge site. The challenge is to use your favorite stamp, tool, paper, etc. For me, it was a no brainer! I LOVE the Simon Says Stamp! dies! LOVE them!!!

Here's my card:

I used some papers from Teresa Collins--another fave of mine! Her style is so elegant and I just love it! I used the chainlink fence die from Simon Says Stamp! and the Meadow Rue die from Simon Says Stamp!, too. Talk about an easy way to get an elegant card done...and at the bottom of the chainlink die, I added some ribbon. The ribbon is actually only gray and white but I layered a small strip of peach-colored ribbon on it, too. The sentiment is from the Apothecary Labels set (love this, too!) and it was perfect for my friends. As a touch of "glitz", I added some small turquoise gems to the card. Lastly, I used a dark gray cardstock to add some contrast to the card. I really like how it turned out...

I head out to Mexico next week so this may be my last post (maybe) til the new year but have a wonderful Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year, too!
Pat

A Play Date Bday Card

Hi everyone!

We've had a few babies born in our church and I was thrilled to make a cute easel card for a little boy. I used the colors from the latest Play Date Cafe challenge. Here's the color badge and my card:

Here's what it looks like when you open the card:

And here's a side view--you can see there's enough room to write a message, too.

This was such a fun card to make! I used a "J" b/c that's the first letter of the baby's name. The cute little hands and feet were stamped in chipped sapphire distress ink and I got the stamp for $1 at JoAnn's Fabric. Yay! And then I simply layered papers and followed the directions off of a youtube video to make the easel. It took a bit more time than a regular card--or even a gatefold card--but it's so cute!

Thanks for stopping by! And hope you are all having a great Monday!
Pat

An Unscripted, Knotty Christmas Card

Hi friends!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! I was able to craft some cards for church tonight and then I decided to play along with a few challenges.

First, I knew I wanted to make a Christmas card so I joined in with the PaperPlay Challenge site. Their challenge was simple--make a Christmas card. Then, I knew I needed it to be simple and the challenge at the CAS-ual Friday site was to make a CAS card with a knot on it. Lastly, I wanted to play with a sketch so I used the sketch from the Unscripted Sketches site (LOVE them!).

Here are the challenge badges and my card:

Although the card may look complicated, it's really not. I used some Christmas papers from the DCWV's Ultimate Scrapbook kit: Christmas. I stamped and heat embossed the dear and then used my cuttlebug to emboss the border. I then inked the border, mounted it on a scalloped piece of cardstock and tied a knot around the top portion. The sentiment is on the inside. It was actually such a quick card that I may try it in different color combinations, too! :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Sunday!
Pat

10 Minute Craft Dash card!

Hi everyone!

Well, I've just had my craft workout for the day! :) I checked out a new site called Pretty Pink Posh and they were having a challenge that has left me feeling like I've just sprinted a 100 yard dash! The challenge was to do a card in 10 minutes! Now, I typically do not like very tedious cards to begin with...but THIS was crazy fast! Oh--and the card had to have a dash of red on it, too. We were allowed to lay out the supplies--thankfully! But once the timer started, you had 10 minutes to complete the card. To add to the fun, I knew I wanted to also incorporate snowflakes because that's the latest challenge on the Simon Says Stamp! challenge blog. Talk about a tall order!

Here's the challenge badge and my card--that I did, in fact, do in 10 minutes! :)

To say that the card was a mad dash, that's an understatement! I knew I needed to lay out the supplies but once the timer started, I couldn't find my die for the tree! And then the paper needed to be trimmed down and I thought for sure I wouldn't make it. But, I finally found the die. The tree and snowflakes were stamped quickly and then I added a few pearls to the snowflakes. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up and it's on the inside and it states "may all the blessings of Christmas be yours". Total time--9 minutes and 58 seconds! That's right--I was THAT close! But I'm glad that I was able to do it...It was fun AND I like how the card turned out, too!

There is a giveaway on the site, too, so I hope you can play along...It's amazing how fast 10 minutes go! :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Tuesday Trigger Tree

Hi friends!

I'm sure all of you are familiar with the fantastic site Moxie Fab World. I LOVE seeing the inspiration on that site--and only wish I had more time to play along with the challenges. But today, I lucked out! When I saw the "trigger", I immediately thought of my favorite kind of tree--a silver shiny one! I saw the sparkly design in my mind and had some fun!

Here's the trigger and my card:

The background stamp is a fabulous stamp that I bought on clearance after Christmas last year and it's from Hero Arts. LOVE it! I inked it using a ColorBox pigment ink (chianti color) and then I pressed the paper onto the stamp--instead of the stamp onto the paper. That seemed to work the best in getting the best coverage. I then put that on some black cardstock to make the panel really stand out. I also used my gelly roll glitter pen to color in the lights seen in the background. Hard to see in the picture but a nice touch in real life. I cut out some silver cardstock and then embossed it. I then added some gems in the traditional Christmas colors. Using some kraft cardstock, I inked it using my distress ink and made the trunk. A really festive, glittery card!

Tons of time to play along still...Hope you can join in!

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

An Unscripted Christmas card

Hi again,

The folks at Unscripted Sketches have yet another great sketch this week. Here's the sketch and my card:

So, I decided that the "strip" in the middle of the sketch, would actually be the opening of the card...so it's a gatefold card. Here's a picture of the inside.

For this card, I used some DCWV Christmas papers and a VERY old stamp from Stampin' Up. I colored in the bow with a silver pen and then colored in the stars and twigs. The flowers were also colored in and then I added some stickles to them to make them pop out a bit more. Up close, you can see the silver shimmer of the bow and the glitter on the flowers. Here's a close up pic of that.

By no means a difficult card but perfect for this time of year when you have to make tons of cards quickly! :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Christmas Card

Hi everyone!

It's been a few days since I've posted but life sure is busy this time of year!

Today I wanted to share a card I did for the Ribbon Carousel site. It's been awhile since I've played with their challenges but since the challenge for the month is a holiday theme, it was easy to play this week!

Here's my card:

I was DYING to use a new Hero Arts stamp set called "Greatest Gift". I got it for quite a deal at Michael's at 60% off the regular price! Yay! I knew I wanted to use my distress inks, too. So, I started out by stamping the image and the sentiment in black pigment ink and embossing it. Then, I inked the center of the card--where the image is--in mustard seed yellow b/c I wanted it to have that glowing look of where the Savior was born. Then, the rest of the card was inked in broken china and chipped sapphire distress ink. I inked up some cardstock in mustard seed yellow so that I could layer the panel on yellow and then added the ribbon with a button with twine. As a final step, I spritzed it with some Tattered Angels shimmer mist. The sky looks so lovely with that subtle shimmer...sorry you can't see it on the photo! Anyway, I hope you take some time to remember the real reason for the season...

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

A Splash of Red Retro card

Hi everyone!

Is everyone as happy as I am that today's Friday?! I'm giddy with excitement! :) I'm hoping to have time to craft on Sat. evening and Sunday and that always makes me happy.

Today I'm sharing a card I'm entering in 2 different challenges. The first is the Play Date Cafe site that has my FAVORITE color combo--black and white with a bit of red. And the other is the retro sketches site. I love getting ideas from sketches and I really liked this one.

Here are the badges and my card:

I started out with black cardstock that I then stamped with polka dots and heat embossed white. Then, I used my script embossing folder and embossed that strip of red cardstock and inked just the embossed portion with white ink. I added some ribbon and made the bow using a technique I just learned from StampTV where the bow looks like it's wrapped around the entire card but it's not! I used a Sizzix die for the label and the sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp! apothecary labels--isn't the sentiment great?! I added some red gems on the label and it was done! I really like how it turned out...but, again, this is my favorite color combo!

Have a wonderful weekend! And thanks so much for stopping by!
Pat

A Hearty Christmas

Hi everyone!

Well, tonight was my night to craft and I had a few challenges I wanted to enter! First off was a challenge from Simon Says Stamp & Show and their challenge was to make a card/project with a heart on it. The Young Crafters Unite site has a Happy Holidays challenge so my card worked with that, too. And finally, the Simon Says Stamp! site had an "Anything Goes" challenge.

Here's the challenge badge and my card:

I started out by punching out tons of hearts out of the My Mind's Eye Merry Little Christmas pack. I cut out a strip of white cardstock and used an old Creative Memories wave cutter to make a snow drift. I then embossed it and added some stickles. I cut out a strip of brown cardstock for the trunk of the tree. I used an old dollar stamp from Michael's for the sentiment that I wanted to use as a base for the tree. Then I just layered all the hearts to form the Christmas tree. Again, this was one of those times when the idea hit me right away when I saw the challenge for using a heart. I added some snowflakes and then some gems for the ornaments and the card was done!

Thank you for stopping by! Have a great Thursday!
Pat

Color Sketch Thanks card

Hi friends!

Although it was a busy Sunday, I decided to carve out some time to make a card tonight. I wanted to thank my best friend who, while I was visiting NY, came with her baby to visit me. She drove a long way to see me and I am so grateful she made the trip. The card is also extra special to me because two days after I saw her, NY got hit with Superstorm Sandy and my best friend was without power for 8 days. There aren't enough words to describe how worried I was about her and her family. And I'm beyond grateful to God for sparing her family and her home from any damage.

I gathered my color inspiration from the current challenge at the CR84FN site. The colors really got my attention and, for some reason, I envisioned the card very easily. Also, because it was a "thank you" card, I am entering it into the latest challenge on the Simon Says Stamp & Show site, too. AND, because it's for my best friend, Tricia, I am also posting it on the Cute Card Thursday site that wanted us to make a challenge for "Girls Only".

Here is the color badge from CR84FN and my card:

I decided to make another gatefold card. Now that I know how to make them, I LOVE making them! I masked off a portion of the card using some post-its and stamped the Hero Arts Large Fabric stamp in a beautiful eggplant ink. I then heat embossed it and it looks so elegant! I then added some black cardstock to soften the division between the embossed and gray cardstock and added some gems along the top of the black strip. I used a Marvy scallop punch in cream and then layered a white circle with the sentiment also inked in the same eggplant color and heat embossed the sentiment, too. As a final touch, I added gems under the sentiment to just repeat the gem pattern a bit more. It was not a difficult card to make but I love the look of it!

Hope you all had a great Sunday and thanks so much for stopping by!
Pat

A sketchy Christmas card

Hi friends!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend--especially with Thanksgiving that just passed. I have so much to be thankful for. God has granted me so many blessings.

Every Saturday, the Unscripted Sketches site posts a new sketch and, when I saw the latest sketch this evening, I knew I wanted to join in. It was one of those "I know exactly what I'm going to do!" kindda moments. And I had also just seen the latest challenge from the Young Crafters Unite site and thought the card would work perfectly with that challenge, too.

Here are the challenge badges and my card:

My first step was to turn the sketch upside down. For some reason, I immediately saw Christmas trees and a cloud-like shape. All papers are from My Mind's Eye "My Little Christmas" pack. I cut out the trees and then added little gems to the tops of them. I wrapped some red, green and white twine around the base, too. The sentiment is from Hero Arts and then I punched out a snowflake. I added some faux stitching and the card was basically done. What you can't really see in the picture is that I stamped some snowflakes along the front of the card, too, in soft white. Up close it's a nice touch of dimension.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you get a chance to do something crafty this weekend, too! :)
Pat

Play Date Cafe Baby card

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone is having a good Monday so far! I took the weekend to try a few new techniques and last night I played around with my Martha Stewart Scoring Board. I finally used it! I have had many friends having babies and a baby card was needed. So, I made a gate-fold card to play along with The Play Date Cafe color challenge and with the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge which asked us to craft a card for a child.

Here's the photo inspiration and then my card.

I started out with a gray card base and scored it for the gate-folds. Then, I used light pink and soft green pattern papers from The Luxury Stack and made the front panels. I used the Apothecary Label from Simon Says Stamp! as the center of the card. I cut it out in gray paper and then again in white cardstock. I trimmed the white apothecary label so that it would nest inside in the gray label. Then, I stamped the baby hands using a soft pink Colorbox ink. I actually stamped it on some scratch paper and then stamped it lightly again on the actual card so that the look was even softer. The sentiment was then stamped in black.

This is what the card looks like when you open it. I added some white cardstock on the inside so that it looks a bit more finished. I added some pink ribbon and then adhered only the left side of the label so that you can easily open the card.

The card was really not that hard to make. I think I spent more time looking for the stamps than actually making the card! :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Perfect Pearl Christmas

Hi again,

Yes, this is my 2nd post. This time, I tried the perfect pearl technique on a dark-colored cardstock. I could still see the residue so I'm not sure I like it but wanted to share how it turned out. (To see my previous attempt with perfect pearls on white cardstock, click here).

The CR84FN Color Challenge site was, again, my inspiration. If you get a chance to play along, there's still a few days left!

Here's the inspiration photo and my card.

So, here's the gold perfect pearl powder on purple cardstock. I ran the cardstock thru an embossing folder and then inked the panel with perfect medium using my brayer. Although the gold stands out much better than on my previous post, I can also see a lot more residue on this card than on the other one. Sigh. Then I worked on the main panel which I stamped a music note background with Versamark and clear embossed it. I cut out the tree and tied some gold twine around the base of the tree and the card was done. The sentiment is on the inside.

After making 2 different cards, still not sure using the perfect medium is the way I like to use perfect pearls. I think my preference is to still use it as a watercolor medium. What about you guys? How do you guys use perfect pearls the most?

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Perfect Pearl Thank you

Hi everyone!

Have you guys ever had a technique that you were determined to master? That was me this weekend! And, for the record, still not sure I mastered it. For years now, I've had perfect pearl powders. I LOVE them! But, I've always used them as a watercolor paint more than using them with the embossing medium. Why? I hated the residue they leave behind. So, this weekend, I was determined to try again!

I chose the color scheme from the CR84FN Color Challenge site for my card. And, I had a "thank you" card that I needed to make so I joined the challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog, too.

Here's the inspiration photo and my card.

Let me start out by saying that I'm so sad that you can't see JUST HOW SHINY this card is in real life! :( I tried several angles to get the shine from the flowers but it just didn't work out. I used a stamping technique called "three time stamping" (I think) and you can see videos of the technique on youtube. You basically have 3 different panels in different sizes and you stamp on all 3 panels overlapping the stamp. I used Perfect Medium, which is the embossing ink that comes with the Perfect Pearls pack. I then spread gold powder over the embossed areas and wiped off the excess. It really does look amazing in real life! The white cardstock worked well in not showing the residue from the Perfect Pearls. I also stamped a small flower in purple just to break up some of the white space. After the white panels were stamped, then I layered them on the purple cardstock. I wrapped some tan twine and added a purple button and the card was almost done. After adding a few gems--it was done!

Hope you guys can play along with these challenges. And thanks for stopping by!
Pat

An inkless card!

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone is having a great week! Mine has been busy! Every week I think, "this will be a nice, slow week." So far, I have yet to have one of those weeks!

If you guys haven't checked out the latest challenge at the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog, you are missing quite the challenge! What's the challenge? Make a card without using INK! The only exception was embossing ink--and I'm thankful for that! You could use paint and distress markers--but not ink!

So, here's my card.

I used Hero Arts Dots and Flowers stamp with Versamark and embossed it in white. Then, I used my blue and pearl perfect pearl powders and did an embossed resist.You can see the shine on the card and it really does look lovely! I'd forgotten just how amazing those perfect pearl powders look! The Christmas trees were also heat embossed but with silver embossing powder and then I added some red stickles to them. The final touch was white ribbon. The sentiment is on the inside and it's also from Hero Arts. It says, "wishing you a warm and wonderful Christmas".

Hope you guys choose to play along! It required some work--and I ended up with very "pearlized" fingers--but I love the look of the card!

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

A MOJO Christmas card

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone had a great Veteran's Day! We had an easy day of school, which the kids were thankful for, and we had some friends over to play a bit, too.

Although it's been a while since I've played with Mojo Monday, it is one of the best sites for sketches! I LOVE it! I may not play every week but I do check it out every week! The design team on that site is one of the best, too! And with Christmas coming soon, I knew this sketch would be great for a Christmas card.

Here's the sketch and my card:

What a fun Christmas card! I LOVED this sketch! I used papers from DCWV's the Ultimate scrapbook kit in a stack: Christmas. I cut out my own tree and trunk for the card. I was so happy to finally use this ribbon--it was from the dollar bin at Michael's and I've had it for YEARS! Yay! Love using stuff that's been waiting around...The sentiment is from a Hero Arts Christmas set that I bought a year or so ago. I added some gems on the tree and some silver to the ornament on the sentiment and I was done!

If you get a chance to play along, I'm sure you'll have a great time with this sketch, too!

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Get well soon

Hi everyone!

I have a friend that isn't feeling great right now and I thought it'd be nice for him to receive a card...it's always nice to know you've been missed!

I used the sketch from the Unscripted sketches site. If you haven't checked out this site, it's a great one! There's a new sketch every Saturday and I try to play along as often as I can.

Here's the sketch and my card:

The striped paper is from "the paper stack" from DCWV. The tan strip I stamped repeatedly with the sentiment "get well soon". The sentiment is from Hampton Art. The band-aid and sentiment is a rubber stamp that I got from the dollar bin at Michael's (love it!). I didn't add a bow to the ribbon b/c it is a masculine card. But even the ribbon was a find at the dollar store and I've had it for YEARS!!! Unlike the small amounts of ribbon that come in scrapbooking/cardmaking kits, the ribbon you can find at the dollar store is like a big ball of yarn--only ribbon! :)

Hoping my friend feels better soon! And hoping you all enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Pat

A retro Christmas card

Hi everyone!

The joy of having a quiet evening to craft...I hope you guys get to enjoy some time doing some crafting, too.

I wanted to play along with the latest sketch at the retro sketches site. It's one of the sites I love checking out every Saturday evening. As soon as I saw the sketch, I immediately pictured a Christmas card!

Here's the sketch and my card.

Christmas is just a few weeks away and I knew I had to get busy crafting some cards! I used DCWV's Ultimate scrapbook kit in a Stack: Christmas. I used my snowflake punch and added some green gems and some red and green baker's twine. I added some white stitching and the card was done. Easy yet cute card. I followed the sketch and really like how it turned out.

Hope you guys can play along, too! Have a wonderful, crafty Sunday!
Pat

Cute Card Challenge

Hi everyone!

Yes, I'm still crafting...and it feels great! :)

The Cute Card Thursday site challenged us this week with a sketch. As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew it was perfect for a Christmas card. I also knew that it would provide the perfect opportunity to dust off my stickles! I hadn't used those in a while! And that happens to be the current challenge at the Lawnscaping site. Here's the sketch and my card:

I left the sketch pretty much as is and only changed slightly the shape of the sentiment label. All papers were from DCWV's Ultimate Scrapbook Kit in a stack. The cute little penguin is from the dollar bin from Michael's. I embossed the penguin and then used a gelly roll pen to color in his hat. I added polka dots to his scarf and then some stickles. (I'd forgotten how much fun stickles are!) I surrounded him with snowflakes which I stamped using s 2nd and 3rd generation stamping technique. I colored in his beak and feet with a distress marker and added some faux stitching. Don't know who manufactured the sentiment b/c I'm borrowing the set from a friend. I embossed the sentiment, too.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope you get a chance to do some crafting, too!
Pat

A color throwdown sketchy card

Hi everyone!

Have you ever had one of those days when you work so hard that you feel like the LEAST you can do for yourself is spend some time crafting? That was me today! I was sprinting about like crazy! By the time the evening arrived, I thought, "I need some crafting time. I DESERVE some crafting time!"

So, here I am! Sharing the first card of the night...hopefully, not the last! :)

I decided to join in on the latest Color Throwdown challenge. The colors really intrigued me. And then, I wanted to try my hand at a sketch from a new site that I found called CAS(E) this Sketch!

Here are the challenge badges and my card:

I started out with a black card back and used the Hero Arts Classic Fabric Design stamp and stamped it using my distress inks (Shabby Shutter and Chipped Sapphire). The sentiment is from Hampton Art and I added some buttons and ribbon and the CAS card was done. I really like the simplicity of the design/sketch and that it still has an elegant feel to it.

Hope you guys can join in on the fun and thanks for stopping by!
Pat