Another masculine birthday card

On Monday I shared a card for my friend B's birthday.  My creative juices were flowing and I made one more masculine birthday card.  This card is more geared towards younger gentlemen:

I made this card and will put it in my stash for now.  Just happy to play with my inktense color pencils.  Now that I think about it, I have acquired many coloring medium over the years:  regular color pencils, then regular watercolor pencils, inktense color pencils, distress markers and my latest addiction Copic markers.  Oh gamsol too!  Even though it is not technically a coloring medium I do use it with color pencils to help blend the colors.

I do feel guilty I have so many coloring medium but never seem to be able to master any one of them.  :P  At certain times I thought a new acquisition would make me abandon the old ones but every time I play with them I feel that our love is re-kindled.  They are all different and I love them all!

I'll share a secret with you:  I forgot to use watercolor paper when I colored the images with inktense color pencils.  Fortunately I used some 110lb cardstock and it didn't warp much.  I just added a lot of adhesive at the back to ensure that it will stay flat.

Do you have a favorite coloring medium?  Is that the only one you use or you play with others as well?

I'm linking up my card to:
Cardz 4 Guys - Flight  
Digi Choosday - CAS
Cuttlebug Mania - stamp
Die Cutting Divas - kids
Loves Rubber Stamps - use two dies
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Masculine Birthday card

My friend M and I co-hosted a Mediterranean theme birthday party for B this past weekend.  I am a terrible host as I am a terrible cook.  And Mediterranean food?  OMG!   I had searched many many recipes and picked a few side dishes that seem to be not-too-difficult to make.  My friend M made great kebabs and I just hoped that my side dishes would not ruin her food.  I am glad that everyone liked the food I brought (or did they say they liked it out of politeness?)

Even though a lot of time was spent on searching for recipes and trials and errors, I couldn't go to this birthday party without a card.  I'm very happy that the card itself didn't take forever to make:

Thanks to the CTMH Artfully Sent cartridge, this card came together extremely easily.  It got the card front for me, then I cut the banners, stamped the sentiment and added some dots.  Easy peasy and I think I could easily transform it to become a feminine version. :)

My card is entering the following:
Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
Craft your passion - Anything Goes
Heart 2 Heart Challenges - Anything CTMH goes
Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
The Pink Elephant - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

I love you so mush!

I'm playing another sketch challenge!

This is my card:

I followed the sketch from Sweet Sunday:

I like this sketch!  Clean and simple sketches continue to be my favorite!  I have tried and tried to stretch my comfort zone, and I'd really like other styles such as freestyle collage , multiple layers, etc.  Yet I always return to clean and simple style.  That makes me happy!

I finally broke open my Lawn Fawn Gleeful Garden set!  No reason why I didn't use it sooner and now I just wished I started using it earlier.  It's so fun a set!  Isn't that sentiment I love you so mush a cute one?

My card is entering the following:
Sweet Sunday - see above
Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes
Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes
Cut it Up - Funny Card
Chocolate, Coffee and Cards - Use a die cut

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

You are Awesome card

This is one of those cards that I don't make often.  Not that there are not enough awesome people around me, but it's just not something I'm used to make.

However, there is this one person who really rocks and I think that a regular Thank You card is not enough to show my gratitude.  So I decided to make one that says "You are Awesome" on the front of the card:

Do you think this color combo is not feminine at all?  After I am done with it, I was a bit worried about it.  But the recipient does not strike me as a girly girl, does it matter it is not in pink or pastel colors?  I hope not.

My card is linking up to the following:
Stamp and Create - Anything Goes
Mema's Craft - Die/Punch
Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
Creative Card Crew - Sentiment
Party Time Tuesday - Anything Goes
Pinspirational - Anything Goes
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

A Christmas card in April

Yup, I just made my first Christmas card this year.  Gotta start the preparation early to avoid the last minute hassle. 

There is a CASE-ing Christmas challenge and the inspiration is:

I am a sucker for window cards and I've simplified it to become:

First, instead of making scalloped edges , I've left the edges straight.  I still keep the scallop element but just in a different way.  I've switched up the red and kraft cardstock - the main panel is in red then I've added a scalloped edge in kraft cardstock.  Because my card does not have any pop-up element, I've included the sentiment below the window.  Oh, my greeting is the same as the inspiration card.  Not on purpose but a happy co-incident!

The card is entering the following challenges:
CHNC - something beginning with F (feathers of the bird??)
Christmas Card Challenges - Anything Goes
CASE-ing Christmas - see above
Dream valley - use Kraft
Craft your passion - Anything Goes
Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks

My stash of Thank You card has dwindled so it's time to make a few more.  I'm looking for sketches online for inspiration (and motivation).  I like the one at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge:

Using the Blossom paper and Cardmaking Workshop on the Go from Close to My Heart, I've made a simple Thank You card:

I love love love this Blossom paper!  It's so pretty!  I like the floral prints, the blues and greens with a pop of orange, the elegant style and everything else.  I've previously made a card here and that's already on its way to my mom!

My card is linking up to the following:
Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge - see sketch above
Scribble and Scrap - Anything Goes
Lil of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
613 Avenue - Anything Goes
Amuse - Feminine

Thanks for stopping by!

New addiction

My latest addiction is spotlight stamping.  I heard that it has been around for a long time but for whatever reason I didn't bother trying it before and now I can't stop doing it.

It will be a lot easier if you have a solid stamp image for this technique but no worries if you don't have one.  As a matter of fact, I didn't have one either so I created my own.  The sentiment comes from three Lawn Fawn sets and guess what?  If you look at the two Ps in the word happy, you should notice some difference.  Got it?

I'll tell you this secret:  The second P is actually a D but to make it faster and easier to stamp out the word happy, I just flipped the D over and used it as a P.  It is really one of those happy a-ha moments!

My card is linking up to the following:
Lawnscaping challenge - dimension
Fresh Brewed Designs - Birthdays
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes
The Paper Shelter - For the Boys
Simon Says Stamp - Make your Own Background

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday balloons

I am seeing spotlight stamping everywhere and I want to give it a try.  What I have seen most is a background stamped with a bold sentiment then some shapes are used to do the spotlight.  I searched everywhere in my stash but couldn't seem to find such a good stamp for spotlight stamping.

Determined to give it a try, I made my own "background" by stamping the sentiment repeatedly.  Here's what I have made:

And yes, I stamped the sentiment "Happy Birthday" 20 times - 5 times on each cardstock.  Good thing is that clear stamp allows easy alignment so it actually didn't take that long.  Of course, had I done a better job at planning where the balloons would go, I wouldn't have to stamp so many times on the colored cardstock.

A happy dance for understanding the reason for poor quality pictures for the past few days.  Ever since I took pictures of my newborn nephew, I forgot to change the settings.  Oops.  I blame the cold I caught on Easter, which left my brain working in a slow motion.

My card is entering the following challenges:
Crafts 2 Celebrate - Anything Goes
613 Create - Anything Goes (I've picked A2, birthday, metallic)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
Penny Black - Birthdays

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Mother's Day

I know it seems a bit early to have a Mother's Day card but as my mom will be traveling so I do want to make sure she gets the card before she takes off.  

The sketch at Mojo Monday is a perfect way to start the card.  I love love love this sketch:

I feel that I do not use patterned paper enough and this sketch gives me an incentive to use it.  I am using the *new* Blossom paper from Close to My Heart:

I'm very happy with how it turned out and I know that this is what my mom will like too!  So happy!

My card is entering the following challenges:
Mojo Monday - see above sketch
Suzy Bee's Bloomin' - Flowers
Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes
Heart 2 Heart Challenge - Mum' the Word

Thanks for stopping by!

A "fan" of my friend

I'm a fan of my friend.  She is a mom to two little girls and work full time.  She recently got a position and it is a significant career advancement.  I'm so proud of her.

Instead of sending her a Congrats card, I've made this one:

I'm sorry the picture doesn't have the best quality and guess what?  I can't figure out why! Argh!

I got the inspiration from the Muse here. 

Apparently I was drawn by the sketch of the Muse.  Similar to the Muse, I used the simple pattern as part of the background, then put the focal point in a circle to the right of the card, then a sentiment to its left.  While the Muse used watercolor to color her image, I used color pencils.  I like her colorful image on the black and white background, but I chose to have the colors spread across the focal image and the background.

What a fun challenge!  I learned how to dissect an awesome card and used some of the elements on mine! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Eggstra Special

Alright I am getting back onto my Easter card making.  Before I started making the Easter cards, I had browsed various challenge blogs in search of a sketch to work on.  I did start the card with the sketch in mind, but later on I simplified it to the extent that the original sketch was no longer recognizable.  LOL.  Time is really limited as Easter is approaching but I still haven't finished my cards!  I cheated by making simpler cards.

This time, again, I used Prismacolor pencils to color the images.  I also used gamsol to blend the colors.  That gamsol does make a huge difference!  Even though I am not seeking to color images with a realistic look with shades and such, gamsol helps blending the pigments evenly as if I had colored them with markers.  I can see how helpful gamsol could be if I use different tones of colors on a single image.  Compared to markers, color pencils could be frustrating because it could take a long time to color to make it a solid image.

My card is entering the following:
Deep Ocean Challenge - Easter/Spring
Die-Cutting Divas - Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps - Holiday
The Crafter's Cafe - Easter
Crafting by Design - Anything Goes
Double Click - Funny/Punny
Moo-Mania and More - Eggs
The Paper Shelter - Easter time

Thanks for stopping by!

Fortune Cookie

I'm in the middle of making Easter cards but as always, I got distracted easily.  So today I am sharing a birthday card:

I'm using the Lawn Fawn Good Fortune set to make this simple birthday card.  I have always had difficulties making a guy's card and every time I feel that I have run out of ideas.  While I have an absolutely overflowing amount of supplies, they do not appear to be that great for manly cards.  I'm so glad that this Lawn Fawn set has cute images that are great for masculine cards, and also feminine cards.

My card is entering the following:
Simon Wednesday Challenge - Happy Birthday
Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!