Happy Birthday Dad!

I have been having a lot of fun playing with the Close to my Heart Zoe paper.  Love the colors and the patterns!  They are easy to work with and very versatile.  Because of that I have been making layouts with it non-stop.  Thus far I have made 5-single page layouts and I'll be sharing them here on my blog and pinterest.  Stay tuned!

Today I am sharing a card that didn't make use of the Zoe paper.  Instead, I was inspired by the color scheme of it.  It's a birthday card for my dad:

I've used Pear cardstock as the background, then used the stamp from the Zoe Workshop on the Go to fill the background.  Tone on tone is one of my favorite stamping techniques!  It adds interest but doesn't make it too busy.

The sentiment was one that I designed on Cricut Design Space using the Cricut Artfully Sent fonts.  I first created an open circle, then lined up each letter to the circumference of it.  It was quite a bit of work but I totally love it!  Further, the designed shape can be scaled up or down and used for many many cards! I cut it first in Slate cardstock then three more times in White Daisy cardstock.  The cut outs are stacked to create some three dimensional effect.

"Dad" was created similarly, except it is a lot easier.  The font used was from Cricut Artbooking.  I like to weld the letters - it's much simpler to stick one word then one letter at a time.  This time I have two "Dads" stacked up.  I like that it is not on the same level as Happy Birthday.

Another source of inspiration was from Freshly Made Sketches.  I've used its sketch as a starting point:

I'm also linking up my card to:
Cards Und More - Clean and Simple
Ruby's Rainbow - It's a Man's World
Retarte - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday

I am speeding up the typing for this post as I have to rush out for work!  Please excuse any errors.  This post should have gone live yesterday but alas, that's the fate of procrastination!

I'm playing with three things that I have not played for a long time.  One is sticky back canvas.  I almost forgot where I had this good stuff.  This card shows a resist technique where white embossed flower is showing through the canvas that was heavily colored with Peacock Feather distress stain:

Now that I got the sticky back canvas done.  What do i do?  The easiest thing is to get a sketch for it!  I got this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  Boy it has been the longest time I can remember since I last played this challenge:

The third thing to which I have not given love is my buttons!  I have my buttons nicely stashed away in a neat box.  The box was sitting quietly in the corner of a drawer when I retrieved.  Poor thing.  The sketch provides for some space in the middle panel and I think that's a good place for buttons!  I threaded through some waxy flax so the holes are covered to give a more finished look.

That's about it for this card.  I'm also linking up my card to Dies R Us - Birthday and Crafty Calendar - Anything Goes.

Thanks for stopping by!

Similar?

I am not even embarrassed to tell you that today's card is similar to last post's card because I had not cleaned up my desk so I grabbed the supplies on my desk to made today's card.  Just promise you won't tell anyone, ok?

I made this card late last night and I was really tired after a long day at work.  I could not resist the materials that are ready for me to play with.  Sometimes the part that takes the longest is to pick the materials that coordinate with each other, so last night when I knew those materials make a good match, I heard a voice says "go for it!"  In fact, I heard that some crafters would like to keep the leftover materials from a project together for future uses, so don't jump to the conclusion that I'm lazy. 

It's another masculine card:

My card is based on the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

and it is entering the following challenges:
1.  The Male Room - Anything Goes
2.  Addicted to Stamps and More - Anything Goes
3.  Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Flowers

Are flowers blooming in your neighborhood?  How do you like walking in nature and smelling their aroma?

I have seen quite a lot of flower blooms in my neighborhood and on my craft desk!  Who doesn't like flowers?  Flowers can be considered my go-to item for a girly card.

I've made a card with five flowers to share with you:

Perhaps the photo is not doing its justice here.  It is very difficult to see the Sweet Leaf (light green) scallops beneath the pink panel.  But trust me, a tiny scallop edge does exist!

The flowers are really easy to make with the magic done by Cricut Art Philosophy.  I really like this stamp set from the retired Lucy Workshop on the Go as base and shade stamping is one of my faves.  I first cut out the flowers using Art Philosophy, then stamped the shade in Blush, followed by the outline in Whisper, and finally the center in Buttercup.

The card is based on a sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

The card is also entering the challenge at
1.  Bitten by the Bug 2 - April Showers Bring May Flowers (Flower Challenge)
2.  Heart 2 Heart challenges - Let's See Those May Flowers
3.  Tuesday Throwdown - Smell the Roses
4.  May Anything Goes with a Twist Challenge (with Flowers)

So much for my flowers today.  Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the flower bloom!

 

Something different

Yesterday I shared a card made without using stamps.  Today it's the opposite - it's all about stamping!

My inspiration came from Freshly Made Sketches and the inspiration photo from Inspired By.

The background is handstamped and I love the fun of stamping!  Why this color combo?  Check out the rainboots at the Inspired By challenge here.

Here's the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

 

Even though I am having fun with some new dies, I can't have fun without stamps!

 

Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!

A Mother's Day card

Now that Easter is over I can move on to my next big project - Mother's Day.  I have made a couple but really have a long way to go.

I'm sharing this card today that made use of a wide variety of products:

The origin of the sketch came from Freshly Made Sketches:

This card is so fun to make!  I have used the paper, stamp, textile and buttons from Close to My Heart, ribbon and Die from Stampin Up! and a die from Memory Box.  I think they match quite well for this card and I love it!

Thanks for stopping by!

At a crop

What do you usually do at a crop?  I tend to make cards and sometimes, make a bulk of the same one.  For me, I find it challenging to come up with a new project or idea at a crop.  I guess I am "product-inspired" and so when I don't have all the supplies with me I feel inadequate. 

Since I started going to this crop last year, I have been making some Christmas cards every time I go.  This practice reduced a lot of my stress last year so I tend to start Christmas cards early this year.  Last night we had great fun at the crop.  I was actually playing with some Father's Day cards but I happened to have some Christmas supplies so I whipped up this card:

Quick and easy and I like it!

This card is based on the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches (love this sketch!):

and the color scheme is based on Merry Monday Challenge:

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

A Romantic Birthday

What is a romantic birthday? Birthday spent in Paris?  That was the inspiration for my card today:

The card is based on the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches:

I'm going to dream about a birthday in Paris.  In the meantime, please be reminded that all Workshops on the Go from the Autumn/Winter 2012 Idea Book will only become available until end of this month.  If you'd like to make this romantic birthday card, seize your opportunity to get the La Belle Vie Workshop on the Go while you can.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Birthday card with Chantilly

Just a quick post today.

I'd want to share a Birthday card that I've made with the Chantilly paper.  The patterns in this paper pack are gorgeous and the color combo makes your eye stare at it.

I've used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches to make my card:

And my card substitutes the scallop circile with a butterfly:

I'm thinking that I could change the color of the butterfly to give it a different look.  Let me try that out!

Materials used:
1.  Chantilly paper packet
2.  Sweet Leaf ribbon (retired)
3.  Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge
4.  Sparkles - clear assortment
5.  Card chatter - Birthday
6.  Olive Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

Little Card Big Impact

Sometimes I think it is a bit boring to make standard size cards.  Yesterday I made a 6x6 card and today I'm making a small 2.5" x 3.5" card.  The sketch is based on this week's Freshly Made Sketches:

This little card made use of mostly cardstock, with just a strip of the retired Lucy paper:

The images all come from the A Blossom stamp set.  It is a small A size stamp set that costs only $6.95. This little stamp set has got quite a bit of mileage and is still running.  When I need a small card this is always on my mind.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stella

I'm just back from a short vacation.

I missed my craft area while away but it is super difficult to get back to it while there are chores awaiting.   I was able to whip up a quickie to share with you though:

It is based on the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

The card was made with the Stella paper packet and the Bohemian Assortment embellishment, which will both become unavailable soon.  If you have been wanting them you'd better act fast!

Thanks for stopping by!

One Cupcake Card is not Enough

After a short break on Christmas day, let's continue our Cupcake Week.  Looking at my stash, I believe that I could make another cupcake card with the same supplies used in my first cupcake card.  Yes, same supplies and same cupcake but the cards look different:

Which one do you like better?  This one above or the one shown on Monday? 

This card is entering the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches and made use of the sketch provided by it:

It is also entering the challenge at Addicted to CAS and the theme is SWEET:

I hope you can find some time for crafting even if you are busy shopping or entertaining guests.  Enjoy!

Detour from Christmas cards

Christmas is getting closer and closer and I am resisting to make more Christmas cards, because the inventory of my other cards is so low!

I'm sharing a birthday card today based on the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

Using the Clementine paper and Workshop on the Go, I've created this simple Birthday card:

Clementine paper is so cute and the color combo is wonderful.  I look forward to creating more projects with it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas card without a Christmas tree

I saw this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and wanted to give it a try:

For some reason the stamp set from Believe Workshop on the Go walked to my craft area and I thought it could marry the sketch very well!  So a Christmas card was born:

I was not the biggest fan of the stamp set last year.  In fact I hardly used it.  I wish I had this sketch sooner and gave the stamp set some more love!  Nevertheless it is not too late to give me some more attention and I think I'll use the images on many more Christmas cards!

Thanks for stopping by!

Materials used:
1.  Believe Workshop on the Go
2.  Cranberry ribbon
3.  Tulip Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
4.  Olive Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
5.  Cocoa Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

Happy Holidays

Heart 2 Heart Challenge is asking us to make one and guess what?  When I saw this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches, I had this clear vision of my card. 

My clear vision did not eventually become my card.  The vision has evolved to this card:

My vision had some similar elements to my card's elements, but the sentiment, ribbon and the accent have changed quite a bit.  Does the Christmas tree look familiar?  It was actually part of the accent from Dimensional Elements in Color - Holiday.  I've detached this tree from its green background.  I know, scary!  But having the tree standing alone on this card looks so much better than with the base so I went ahead and ripped the tree off. 

I like this card.  Hope you do too.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Merry Little Christmas

Today, I'm sharing a card that is based on two challenges:

A sketch provided by Freshly Made Sketches:

Then a tic-tac-toe challenge presented by The Paper Players:

 

I have chosen the top row - Christmas, Sparkle/Bling and Ribbon.  Even though I started making Christmas cards early this year, I think I am still short so I need to continue making them!

I'm sorry that the front of the card is rather heavy so it slides forward and the angle makes it look a little funny.

I'm entering this card for the challenge at That Craft Place Challenge blog that asked us to create our own background.  I've used a background stamp set from Universal Background to stamp the Kraft paper to create a muted background, then used burlap ribbon to go across the card.  With the Artiste cartridge a label shape was cut out to serve as a mat for the sentiment.  Finally some red and silver sparkles were added to give it more bling!

This card looks different unique in a way that it is based on kraft cardstock with only a hint of Cranberry.  This is quite a subtle Christmas color combination and I like it!

Oh la la

The sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches is really cute:

I've flipped it 90 degrees clockwise to make my card:

If you are intimated by the "special" colors in the La Belle Vie paper packet, never fear.  The La Belle Vie pink actually coordinates pretty well with the paper from Dakota paper packet.  Bamboo, Black and Barn Red go well with it too.  Seems boring?  I've used some tulle ribbon in the middle panel to give it some interest, raised the bicycle with some 3-D foam tape. 

Materials used:
1.  La Belle Vie Workshop on the Go
2.  Dakota paper packet
3.  Barn Red cardstock
4.  Black cardstock
5.  Bamboo cardstock
6.  Tulle ribbon
7.  Barn Red Excluisve Inks Stamp Pad

Fall Favorites

We are getting into the last four months of 2012!  Fall is approaching!

Close to My Heart's September Stamp of the Month is called Fall Favorites.  It is a set of 11 stamps and all of them are pertinent to the theme of fall.

My card based on the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches :

Two stamps from the set were used:

I just used the Flirty paper as the background, then added the New England Ivy and Chocolate panels.  Finally Cricut Art Philosophy was employed to cut two ovals - one in Colonial White and one in Smokey Plum.  The word "fall" was stamped in Autumn Terracotta and raised by using 3-D foam tape. 

Merry & Bright

Oops.  It's two weeks in a row that I am almost late for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  That's probably what we mean by crazy Mondays, right?

The sketch provided by Freshly Made Sketches looks like this:

I've flipped the sketch 90 degrees anti-clockwise for this Christmas card:

This card uses both new and old supplies.  The patterned paper is the new Pear and Partridge packet, and the wreath comes from the Merry & Bright stamp set.  You see the circles in the background?  I love creating my own background paper.  The stamp also comes from the Merry & Bright stamp set.  The ribbon is part of the old B&T paper.  What about the stamp Merry & Bright?  Interestingly even though the Merry & Bright stamp set has a sentiment that says "Merry and Bright" I am actually using one that comes from a retired stamp set called Christmas Melodies.  I just masked off its brackets and stars to show this partial image. The wreath was also stamped with masking.  Who doesn't like the red bow?

Boo!

Just in time to put this post up for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  Its sketch gives me a lot of inspiration, but I chose to start it off with a Halloween card.

The sketch looks like this:

I have got my Spellbound Workshop on the Go kit.  It's not time for the Halloween party yet, but I got the kit, why not try to make a card with some scraps?  I have gone through the cutting guide and found that I'll have leftover after preparing for the party.  Then I  cut some of the paper and played with it.  Love it!

I love owls and can't have this card without the little guy.  I like that web filling up the space, too.  How can I not try the themed keys of the Close to My Heart Artiste cartridge?  BOO! was easily cut out.  The paper of the Spellbound Workshop on the Go is very cute.  The small repeating patterns are great for cards.  I'm going to see how much more scraps I can cut out to make cards.  BOO!