Sending Hugs

Here's my card for the sketch challenge at Unscripted Sketches.  Briefly, I used a Stampin' Up stamp, I inked the orange and yellow with Studio G ink and added the ribbon and sentiment.

Framed Vellum Snowman

Here's another submission for the Holiday Bazaar over at  Unscripted Sketches.  Each year I create handmade ornaments for each of my family members (brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews...lots and lots of them!)  To create this framed snowman, I hand painted the snowman onto vellum and mounted them behind green cardstock. I also hand cut the ovals in the green cardstock. Using veneer, I made individual frames and punched holes in them so I could add a hanger.  When they hang on a lighted Christmas tree, the vellum allows the light to shine through and it creates an interesting effect.

Snowman

I'm submitting this snowman for the Holiday Bazaar over at Unscripted Sketches. I created this many years ago, but each year it comes out and is used to decorate our mantel. It's made from Styrofoam balls that I covered with fiberfill.  I have a special fondness for it, since I made it with my mom before she passed away.

Watering Can Card

This is my second card for the summery shapes challenge at Paper Crafts Connection. I created a watering can card because one of the things I like about summer is my flower garden. I spend a lot of time watering it, thus the watering can.  I hand cut this can from a piece of green cardstock, added EK Success punched flowers, hand drawn leaves and stems. I used a needle to poke holes in the spout and used ink and colored pencils to add additional detail.

Hiking Boot Card

Summeryshapes....that's the challenge at Paper Crafts Connection.  One of the summer activities that my family likes is hiking.  We have such wonderful trails near us, we try to take advantage of them.  So I created this hiking boot card as my summery shape. I hand cut the boot on Kraft cardstock, used Fiber Scraps Easy Walnut ink to distress it and added leather heals, uppers and toe reenforcements from Coredination's Pure Chocolate cardstock.  I punched holes and added green eyelets then treaded the wholes with brown string. I repeated the same steps on inside of the card so that I would have TWO boots. I also added a black cardstock heal and sole. Inside I attached a trail map to the back of the front cover.  The pine trees are hand cut,inked and adhered with dimensional adhesives.

This photo shows the boot with the shoe strings tied and it also shows more color on the attached trail map.

Sunflower with a Button

Close up of embossing and that beautiful button.

This is my third and last card for the sketch challenge at I Spy Sketches and my second card for the button challenge at Young Crafter's Unite. I cut a strip of green cardstock and embossed it with a Fiskars Embossing plate and stylus. Next I punched the sunflower with an EK Success punch and adhered a piece of yellow cardstock behind it. I found this beautiful button to add to the center of the flower which I adhered with Elmer's Craft Bond glue spots.  I cut the stem and leaves from the green cardstock, added a piece of scrap white behind it and colored in the stem with colored pencils. This added depth. I finished the strip with a piece of raffia and adhered the strip to the card base.  On the outside edges of the card, I used a green marker to add a border. I had fun with both the sketch and the button challenge....thanks for the inspiration!

Sailboat, Sailboat, Sailboat

Here's my second card for the sketch challenge at I Spy Sketches.  Therese Clavird provided a wonderful sketch that I can't seem to walk away from!  For this card, I used scrap pieces of cardstock to hand cut three sailboats.  I mounted them on Kraft cardstock and cut waves from additional pieces of scrap.  I used a Bic Marker to add details to the sails and mounted all three sailboats on Core'dinations Pure Chocolate Cardstock.  I tie on some raffia and mounted the strip onto a white card base.

Cattails

I have fond memories of fields with cattails and red-winged blackbirds from my childhood. These memories and the sketch at I Spy Sketches prompted me to create this card. I began by using a white card base and a white strip of cardstock and chalked the sky with blue.  To create clouds, I used an eraser to remove some of the blue chalk. Using the Stampin' Up's Nature stamp and green ink I stamped the grasses.  I added in the cattail detail with Bic Markers and colored pencils.  I also added in some blackbirds with the same markers.  I attached the cattail strip to a piece of Core'dinations Pure Chocolate cardstock and added a horizontal strip.  I adhered this to the cloud covered card base after I  added mountains created from a piece of green scrap that I inked and crinkled.    This was an interesting sketch to work with and I found myself thinking about other possibilities.  

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Button, button...who's got the button?

Did you ever play that game..."Button, Button, who's got the button?"  It's definitely an oldie.  Anyway, the challenge over at Young Crafter's Unite is buttons!  I couldn't resist this challenge.  I love to add buttons to my cards and scrapbook pages.  There is also a sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. So I made a card to incorporate both challenges.

To create this card, I arranged  sixblue buttons and one red button into a shape of a flower.  I attached this flower to vellum with Elmer's Craft Bond glue spots.  From green patterned paper (a piece from my scrap stash), I cut a stem and leaves and adhered it.  The hexagon frame is recycled from a game. I remember thinking as we punched the came pieces from the cardboard that I ought to save it for a craft.  I'm glad I did.  The red cardstock is also from my scrap stash and I dry embossed it with a Fiskars embossing plate and stylus.  I inked the white card base with Tim Holtz Broken China  Distress Ink and added an sentiment that I printed on vellum.  The ribbon came from a spool with other coordinating ribbons (I couldn't find the name brand).

Many Thanks

Back in Black is the current challenge at Cas-ual Fridays. This card started with a black base.  I cut a series of scalloped lines on it and used green polka dot  paper and a plain (almost fluorescent) green to weave through the black card base.
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You're Fintastic Monday Makeover

The Make Over Monday challenge at Paper Crafter's Library was presented by Sophia Landry this week.  She made an adorable card based on one she found on the Andrea Walford blog.  This is my take on their beautiful cards.

                                       

Quilted Hello ISSC25

This is a second card for the sketch challenge over at I Spy Sketches.  This card was made with pieces of scrap paper that I cut into one inch squares and then cut diagonally into triangles.  I had a quilt in mind as I made this so I adhered the triangles in a pattern.  I finished it with a Hello sentiment and dashed lines around the outer edges.

Dragon Fly Thank You ISSC25

 I am submitting this card for the challenge at I Spy Sketches.  I started by punching (EK Success) the dragonflies from scrap pieces of cardstock.  I adhered them to black cardstock then spritzed them with Sparkle Sheer Shimmer from Tsukineko.  Once this dried, I adhered it to a piece of blue cardstock and then the black card base.  I added blue dashes around the outside edge with a gel pen.  The sentiment was hand written  on blue cardstock with a black marker. Scrapbook Adhesives 3D foam adhesive helped the sentiment pop (sorry you can't see that in the photo)  I completed the card by adding a piece of the blue cardstock to the inside for a writing surface.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope you are having a great week.

So Sweet of...Raspberries, Casology Cue Card Fruit

This card features one of my very favorite fruits, raspberries! I had just picked a handful of fresh raspberries for a snack and was reading blog posts when I noticed that CASology's cue card is FRUIT. That's all I needed to get started on this card. Using water color paper, I started by drawing an image of the raspberries I had just picked.  I used colored pencils and markers to add detail and color.  I punched around the berries using a Paper Shaper's circle punch and lightly inked around the outer edge of the circle with green Studio G ink.  The card base is also water color paper. I added a piece of green Best Occasions textured cardstock after cutting it into a square and cutting it diagonally.  As I cut I intentionally cut a crooked line and a circle in the center. I used Scrapbook Adhesives 3D squares behind the circle to make it pop and finished the card, by using a marker to write a sentiment inside (So Sweet of You...) I loved the simplicity of this card.  It came together very quickly.

Thanks so 'berry' much for visiting!

                                                                

Go Wild

This card is based on the new sketch over at Unscripted Sketches.  This was a fun sketch. There was also a piggy back challenge to use an animal.  Instead of an animal, I used faux fur from the covers of some old mini notebooks. I used it for the strips and to create two tails.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Have a great week!

A New Trail Sketch Challenge

Another Core'dinations blog hop challenge is a sketch challenge offered by Kristine Davidson over at Just Being Creative. Using Core'dinations cardstock  and the sketch was the challenge. In this layout, I used a cream colored piece of Core' from the Cosmic Cricket collection for the base of my layout.  I lightly inked the surface  with green ink to highlight the embossed pattern .  This was a lovely way to help pull all the colors together. I also used the Core' cardstock to create the hand cut flower that I used for journaling and to mat the photo.    The other flowers are from Sassafras.  Sorry, I don't know the manufacturer of the other papers I used.
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Kristine, this was a wonderful sketch! Thanks for the challenge!

Sewing Challenge

Here's a card with sewn accents for the sewing challenge over at Less is More . I am also submitting it for the Back in Black challenge at Cas-ual Fridays.To make this card I started with a black card base and used my sewing machine to stitch gold leaves and stems on it.  On a separate piece of black cardstock, I sewed the gold petals (in a straight line), detached them from the card stock, separated them into sets of two and laid them out in a flower shape.  Around the outside of the card, I used  a gold marker to create faux stitching.  I finished the card by adding a gold piece of patterned paper to the inside for recording a message.

Core' ONLY

On day two of the blog hop at Core'dinations, there is a challenge from Debbie at Live LIfe Loud! The challenge is to use only Core'dinations products on a project. I did that with this card. I used cream spotted cardstock to create a handmade flower and lightly brushed the surface with a yellow ink pad. I used the green dotted cardstock (Happy Colors collection) for the base of the card and added a brown embossed circle (Cosmo Cricket collection) to the front. I wanted the greens dots to be darker, so I lightly brushed them with a green ink pad instead of sanding them. To create the tag, I used the same cream spotted cardstock and yellow ink. The only thing on this card that isn't Core' is the brown ribbon bow.

Thinking of you, FMS44

Inspired by a butterfly in my garden and a sketch, I created this card for the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.

This was a fun sketch!

• I started with a Kraft card base and scraps from my stash.  
• Using EK Success circle punches, I punched a small white circle from cardstock and a  larger green patterned circle from paper.
• I hand cut a green patterned circle to use as a mat for the white circle.
• I stamped three flowers onto the green patterned paper and inked around the outside edges of all the circles. 
• Because the center of the white circle was so stark, I added a little ink to the center.  It is green ink, but looks a bit bluish in the photo.
• The butterfly was punched from Core'dinations Impressions yellow cardstock and added a piece of black for the body and antennae. 
• The sentiment was printed on yellow gingham. 
• I finished by adding a marker trail from the sentiment to the butterfly.  

Thanks for visiting! 

Hope you are having an awesome week!

Have a Ball

My last post for today is for a challenge at I Spy Sketches. I made a series of balls to represent the circles in the sketch.  Too late to write more.  Have a great night!

"3" Mushrooms

I had a blast making these cards for the challenge at Simply Less is More. The challenge is 3 of anything on a single layer card. Creating a single layer card is a REAL challenge for me because I have very few stamps. So today, I decided to make my own stamps. I used a piece of craft foam and cut it into the shape of a mushroom. Then I cut the shape into pieces, adhered them to an acrylic block and stamped away. I added additional color with colored pencils and a white-out pen.   I used a black marker to write the sentiment.I am sharing my "trial card" as well. It is a rectangle rather than a square. I couldn't decide which shape I liked best. The following is a photo of my handmade stamp pieces:

  

Hope you are having a terrific week! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Flower Card

I'm so happy! I just discovered yet another wonderful blog. It's  CASology. Each week they offer a cue card for a challenge that is clean and simple. This week's cue is HAPPY. I created this floral card because flowers are one of those simple things in life that make me very happy! Since yellow is one of those happy colors, I began by using a piece of Core'dinations Impressions yellow cardstock from the Happy Colors Collection. Next I used my sewing machine to stitch a red flower with a green stem.  Using the same green thread, I added some stitched lines around the edges intentionally making them uneven so the card wouldn't look boxed in.  I matted the yellow onto a piece of red DCWV cardstock and put a bow on as a final touch. The result was a quick, simple and happy card.

Let's Strip & Strip It Challenges

There are currently two challenges involving using strips. There is one at 3D Foam and a Sanding Block, which is also part of a blog hop at Core'dinations and a second challenge at Cas'ual Fridays. I used Core'dinations Impressions cardstock from the Brown and Cream Collection and the Happy Colors Collection to cut strips of cardstock and adhered them diagonally on a white card base. Between each of the strips, I added strips of black cardstock.  I used additional Core' strips to create the rectangle in the center and off set it on a piece of black cardstock.  I adhered a small black bow and the sentiment. To pull the card together, I used a marker to create lines around the outside edges.

Thanks for visiting!

Core'dinations all the Way!

I love to make my own embellishments so when I saw the embellishment challenge at Highly Entertaining, I was eager to get started. Since I learned about this challenge at the blog hop at Core'dinations, I also wanted to challenge myself to use only Core'dinations products .  Have you ever tried to use one product for every part of your project?  I gave it a try! I have to admit, the most challenging aspect was to actually use my Core' cardstock!  I love the textures and colors and it takes a lot of courage to cut into it and actually use it.  Of course, I save every itty bitty piece of it!

Here's how I constructed my pinwheel embellishment and card with Core' cardstock from the Happy Colors Collection:  

• I cut my Core'dinations yellow and orange dotted cardstocks into 2.5" squares, lightly sanded the embossed dots and used origami to fold the layers of the pinwheel.
• For the center of the pinwheel, I punched circles, made snips towards the center with scissors, crumpled around the edges to make it frilly and adhered layers of these to the center of the pinwheel. 
• Fully intent upon using the itty bitty pieces, I punched small circles from the scraps and adhered them around the center of the pinwheel. 
• I attached the pinwheel to a piece of Core'dinations that is covered with lovely words and used asparagus colored Core' for the card base.  

This was a fun embellishment to make and I love these colors and textures!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you enjoy the blog hop 

at Core'dinations!

Doing a Happy Dance....

Why am I doing a happy dance...because I am thrilled to have a very special opportunity!  Today I am the guest designer over at Paper Crafter's Library.  This is such an honor for me and my very first experience as a guest designer! I seems appropriate that my first experience as a guest designer is at PCL.  It is one of the first blogs that I discovered when I began using the computer as a  paper crafting resource. Let me just say PCL has it all!  I am so grateful to the creative team at PCL for all the ongoing inspiration and learning opportunities. Thanks PCL!


So....what am I sharing on this fabulous blog?  I am sharing two cards that I was inspired to create after leafing through a book called Decorative Ornament by Owen Jones. I am also sharing a paper bag mini album. To see the complete projects visit the PCLhere, but in the meantime, here are a few close-ups of my projects:

Thanks for visiting!