Halloween

Happy Monday everyone!

Today I'm sharing a Halloween card made with this months' Stamp of the Month Purr-fect Halloween.

I'm using one of my favorite sketches from Originals again.  See another one here.  The patterned paper came from the retired Taste of Summer paper from last year.  I used tone-on-tone stamping to create the pattern on the top orange panel.  Then I colored the cat using regular color pencils and fussy cut it out.

I love this set because you can mix and match the cat eyes and hats.  You can also fill the bracket shape with different sentiments.  Two step stamping is always fun.



I'm entering my card to the following:
Crafty Awesomeness - coloring
A bit more time to craft - anything goes
One Crazy stamper - fall/Halloween

Thanks for stopping by!

More Magical and new Annual Inspirations

I've previously mentioned that the Magical paper is very versatile.  Today I'm sharing yet another project that is not theme park related.

My friend has a cat and a dog.  While he's away, I have done a bit of pet-sitting.  He's about to return and I think it will be fun to make a card for him from the pets' perspective:

Isn't that fun?

This card was extremely easy to make:  I followed one of my favorite patterns from the Originals book, then cut the Magical paper as instructed, then stamped the images to the main panel.  I added some red enamel hearts to the pets.  Finally I added a banner and stamped "Welcome Home" using Etched Alphabet and Jennifer's Hand.  I love these two alphabet sets - they have a lower price point yet the font are neutral.

So there you have it.  Magical paper is really fun and versatile!

The new Annual Inspirations 2016-2017 goes live today.  Click here to enjoy all the great new products!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Quick Christmas Card

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Last Saturday was World Card Making Day.  I got two cards made - one Christmas and one for a 3 year old boy's birthday.  But I managed to finish two mini albums.  Yay!  One of them was made to document part of the family trip last year; another one was made for my friend's son who is turning six month's old.  They are going to be gifts, which are perfect for the approaching holiday season!  Guess what, after I'm done making the albums, I keep looking at them and I know when the holiday season arrives, it will be difficult for me to part with them.

Even though I didn't get to keep the albums, I did have lots of fun making them.  :)  That's why I didn't get much time to make any cards on World Card Making Day.  In fact, I've already mailed out the little boy's b-day card without even taking a picture of it.  Urgh!

As for the Christmas card, here it is:

It is extremely simple a Christmas card.  I like that it is easy and quick to make and if necessary, I could mass produce it within a short time.  Don't get me wrong, I love personalized cards.  But when it comes to holiday season, things might get too busy (and crazy!) so I'll grab supplies and make cards wherever I go.  For instance, if I were to mass produce this card, I will first cut all papers then I'll likely grab one stamp mount on the block, Smoothie ink pad and the stack of cut Smoothie cardstock.  I could also bring the smaller stamp mount on a 1" block, Desert Sand ink pad and the prepared Kraft pieces.  The main panel, however, will be done at home.  The big green ornament was stamped using the rock-and-roll technique - where I first inked it up in Sweet Leaf and rock the edges of the stamp on the new Fern ink pad to create a bit of depth.

When I was looking for inspiration to create this card using the Stamp of the Month in October, I flipped through my Originals - a How to program by Close to My Heart.  This sketch always helps me out and this time is no different.  Oh, if you click on the link to see how this book looks, you'll see that the card on the book cover was created using the same sketch as my card too!  What a coincidence!

I'm linking up my card to the following:
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas - anything Christmas
Card and Scrap - use stamps
Sisters of Craft - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!

A card for my dad

Sometimes I feel bad that I am quite a lot closer to my mom than to my dad.  My mom and I talk about girl stuff, shopping, iphone 6 orders, and everything in between.  My mom and I even chit chat on WhatsApp.  My dad and I do video conference weekly, but, that's not a one-on-one meeting because my mom is usually sitting next to my dad when we are conferencing.  If I do the math, I feel that I spend a lot more time chatting with my mom than with my dad.

So I thought I would make a card for him to make him happy!  

It is a simple 5"x 7" card.  I used barn red as the card base, then stamped the Lawn Fawn Argyle backdrops in barn red to create that background pattern.  I cut a strip of patterned paper from the retired CTMH Dakota paper, added the frames and die cut letters from Lawn Fawn Louie's ABCs.  To balance layout I added three black button brads in the bottom right corner.

I was inspired by one of the patterns in the Originals How-To program.  Can you tell which one it is? When I use the CTMH how-to programs, I usually follow the guides very strictly but for some reason I went on to improvise the pattern this time.  I like that it is not too much deviated from the original sketch but I added my own twist! :)  I hope my dad will like it too!

My card is linking up to the following:

A Creative Romance - Anything Goes

Creative Corner - Male Challenge

Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps - For a man or boy

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes

The Squirrel and the fox - For a male

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Merry Christmas

Let's take a break from graphic stamps and go back to one of my favorite types of cards - Christmas cards!

At Stretch Your Stamps 2 we were shown some creative ways to use alphabet stamps.  I pulled out one that I haven't used for a while (interestingly this set was bought around Christmas time last year!) and wanted to play with it.

I did some stamping and some STITCHING!  Yep, stitching!

I haven't done stitching for the longest time and I think it would be nice to take a picture to capture part of the process:

The process is quite simple.  I first stamped the letters from Lawn Fawn Quinn's Capital ABCs on white cardstock, then I used the Tim Holtz tool to punch holes along the stamped image.  I used DMC floss to stitch on the letters using back stitching.

After making this white panel I stamped the snowflakes in grey on the grey card case.  The tone on tone effect remains one of my favorites for backgrounds!  I added a strip of patterned paper, and an earmuff onto the "M" to finish off the card.

This is a very special card as I have not done stitching on cards for a very long time.  Will it be so special that I won't be willing to part with it when Christmas comes?  We'll wait and see.

My card is linking up to the following:
Addicted to Stamps - Holiday
Kraftin Kimmie - Anything Goes
Creative Moments - Anything Goes
Stamps and fun - Christmas in Summer
Amusing Challenge - Christmas

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Easter

While I was making more and more Easter cards based on this card I shared a couple of days ago, I can't help but wondering if I could modify it a little bit so the prep work becomes more interesting.  Guess what?  I used another stamp set in the middle panel and voila, another Easter card:

It's the same paper and same sketch.  All I changed was the focal image.  I still got to play with coloring. :) 

If you need a few last-minute Easter cards, this is a good option. 

My card is linking up to:
Crafty Sentiments Designs - Easter
Cuttin and Stampin - Easter
Stampavie and more - Easter
Divas by Design - Easter
Cute Card Thursday - Easter
CCEE stampers - Easter
Moving Along with the Times - Easter
Hanna and Friends - Easter
Jo's Scrap Shack - Happy Easter
Addicted to Stamps - Photo Inspiration

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Easter

I'm still working on my Hello/Friendship cards but when I was preparing for yesterday's card the bunny reminded me of another bunny image.  Then I realized that I should prepare a few Easter cards.  I used one of my all time favorite sketches from Originals.  You can't believe that I like it so much that I do not even have to refer to the cutting diagram in the book because I have the measurements in my head!

I like this sketch because it is easy, simple but classic.  It can be used for all occasions and good for both horizontal and vertical cards.

For this card, I used the Lollydoodle paper, Sweet Leaf cardstock and the Some Bunny stamp set from hostess rewards sets.  The images were colored with ordinary color pencils and some Watercolor pencils from Close to My Heart.

If you need a few quick Easter cards, this is a go-to option.

My card is linking up to the following:
Cards in Envy - Easter
Artistic Inspirations - Easter animals
Craftin Desert Divas - Anything Goes
Created with Love - Easter
Lexi's Creations - Easter
The Paper Nest Dolls - Anything Goes
Love to Scrap! - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

A color combo

There is a color combo that I have been trying to play but keep forgetting about it.  When I was staying in this past weekend, I took out my ink pads and paper and started playing with it.  The colors are light blue, light and dark purple, light and dark brown.  Tricky, huh?

I was very close to giving up until I finished this acceptable version:

Color challenges are difficult but I will keep trying!

My card is entering the following challenges:
1.  Craftin' Boutique - Anything Goes
2.  Stampin for Weekend - Butterflies
3.  Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes
4.  Come and Get It Challenges - Things with wings
5.  Seize the Birthday - Birthday

Thanks for stopping by!

One Stamp Three Ways

I'm still working on the homework from last week and one of them is One Stamp Three Ways.

I just wanted to see if I could come up with three ways so excuse the same color combo on all the cards.  I've chosen a background stamp to brainstorm ideas and I got three.

The first one is to use the stamp as a background stamp.  The middle panel was stamped in pear with the polka dots stamp:

Next up is one that I used as as a "patterned paper".  I stamped it in pear, then stamped an outline stamp on top of it.  See the "H" and "B":

Finally I'm using it to kiss other stamps.  Notice that kissing and reverse kissing are used.  For the first, third and fifth letters (h, l and o), I inked it up well then stamped it on the polka dots background stamp to absorb some of its ink before I stamped it on the paper.  Then for the remaining letters and the exclamation mark, I inked it up and stamped it on the background stamp but I stamped the background stamp onto the paper.  If you look closely, you'll see that the two patterns are different.  Besides, the "e" is upside down and also right side left, because it is the reverse image that the background stamp has got.

It is quite a bit of fun to brainstorm ideas to use a stamp in multiple ways.  I'd love to do the same for other stamps.  Isn't it great that we can get more mileage from what we have?

Thanks for stopping by!

Yuletide Greetings

Merry Monday asks that we make a Christmas card with a focus on birds. 

I immediately thought of using the stamp set To You and Yours as I have barely used it.  I love that the bird gives me an opportunity to color:

The red panel is just a piece of red cardstock that I added random tone-on-tone stamping on it.  Making my own patterned paper is one of my faves indeed.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wicked Halloween

I started early with my Christmas cards but I have prepared very few Halloween/Fall cards so I have to catch up!

The Play Date Cafe's challenge is black, white and a splash of plum:

Yay!  Inspiration for a Halloween card!

This is what I have made:

I'm entering this card for Come and Get it Challenges, which asks us to pick three elements from the list to work with.  The list includes the following:  Purple, Green, Black, Glitter, Staples, Gems, Ribbon, Circles, Scallops.  I've chosen Purple, Black and circles. 

I'm also linking it up to Catered Crop, which asks us to make a Halloween project.

Thanks for stopping by!

Boo

This week Black Tie Friday challenge challenges us to use circles with the theme of Halloween, and a touch of black. 

I have previously made this card that could enter the challenge, but of course I want to make something new!

So I cut some circles with the Art Philosophy cartridge (1.5" and 1.75" in white and black respectively), took out the Trinity stamp set that has been collecting dust and stamped "BOO" on the circles.  What about mouting it on a 2" scallop circle?  The 2" scallop circle punch has not received much attention recently and I could use it for this card!

I've stamped the argyle background over the card base, then added a panel of Sunset cardstock as the focal point, put the scallop circle on it, and finally stamped some bats to finish the card.

This card is also entering the challenges listed below:
1.  Catered Crop, that asks us to create something with a theme of Halloween/Fall.
2.  My Crafty Spot - Halloween challenge
3.  Makeover Monday - I was inspired by the sentiment "BOO" in the featured Trick or Treat Bag

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks a Bunch

Have you got your Dotty for You paper packet yet?  Hurry!  It is only available until the end of this month.  This paper packet is so versatile that you really do not want to miss.  It is very affordable too, with a purchase of $35 of the current idea book you can buy it for $5.  There are 24 sheets of paper of 12 patterns.  How nice!

If you look at the previous posts you'll see how many cards I have made with this paper packet.  Yet I am not bored with it and can create a lot more.  Let me show you one today:

Heart 2 Heart Challenge - For a Wonderful Mom

Believe it or not, this year I've made more than twenty Mother's Day cards for my family and friends.  The list of recipients keeps growing each year as many friends are becoming moms!  This year I'll be celebrating with a lot of relatives so many of the cards go to them.

My mom's card keeps evolving.  I want to make hers most special, yet somehow carries the same theme as those I made for her sisters and her mom.  Her card involves a lot of consideration! 

Using the Dotty for You paper and a sketch from Originals, I've made this card for my mom:

Those for her sisters have the same layout but they are not as embellished. 

Materials used:
1.  White Daisy cardstock
2.  Dotty for You paper packet
3.  Cocoa Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
4.  Lagoon Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
5.  Baker's Twine - Paradise Assortment
6.  A Typeface stamp set
7.  Chocolate Alphabet stamp set - small
8.  Mini-Medley Accents Collection - White Daisy (retired)
9.  Mini-Medley Accents Collection - Spring Blossom (retired)

A Sketch from Originals

Originals, the card confidence program by Close to My Heart was sold out and has become retired.  Nevertheless, I like to slip its pages to be inspired.  I saw a sketch for a 3.5" x 8" card that I have never used and would love to give it a try.  It's Dotty for You paper packet again!

The flowers and their layers were cut by Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.  It was really easy to cut them different sizes.  Sometimes I am really amazed by how much this cartridge can do for us!

Heart to Heart Challenge - It's Lucky to Have You in My Life

Just in time to create this card for St. Patrick's Day and for this challenge.  Heart to Heart Challenge asks that we create something for someone special to show how lucky I am to have him/her in my life.  To step up the game, we need to use the color green.

Using Originals' pattern to start with, I've created the layout.  Then I used the cricut to cut four hearts at 1" and cut a branch as a stem.  After assembling the shamrock, I just stamped some shamrock on the colonial white cardstock, added some blings and a sentiment.  I have never made a card with so much "Green", it is fun!  Go check out Heart 2 Heart Challenge to see what other participants have come up with!

Cards for Dad

Even though I am excited to play with the new items featured in the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book, I do like to find creative ways to use up my stash.  I came to realize that I have quite a lot of leftover from the Passpage paper packet but my photos do not match with that theme.  Thus I tried to make two masculine cards with the paper:

The card above took me about three minutes to finish, thanks to the magic done by the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and the pattern provided by Wishes.  This pattern is called All Stacked Up.

This card involved just a little stamping, but with the cutting instructions from Wishes, it came together very quickly.

I did not put any sentiment in the interior of the card.  Which one should go for Father's Day and which one should go for his birthday?

Pyramid Flap with Florentine

I was in a hurry to prepare today's post and so I've consulted my friendly helper - Originals, The Card Confidence Program.  The sample shown in the Pyramid Flap reminds me our new paper pack Florentine and so I tried to make a card using the paper.  It turns out pretty nice!  This is my first time using this card sketch and I find it really easy and the card looks elegant. 

Materials used (All Close to My Heart products):
1.  Florentine Level 2 paper pack
2.  Bohemian Assortment
3.  Hemp - natural

February Stamp of the Month - Thoughful Tidings

I really love this stamp set because the sentiments are so useful.  Better yet, many of them coordinate with the Cricut Art Philosophy Collections.  I have made two cute little cards with this stamp set. I'll make them part of a Valentine's gift for my friends. 

The layout of these 3" x 3" cards comes from Originals, Close to My Heart's Card Confidence Program.  The book is such a friendly helper when I need ideas for cards!

 

Materials used:
1.  White cardstock
2.  Cocoa cardstock
3.  Tulip cardstock
4.  Colonial White cardstock
5.  Dimensional Elements - Hearts
6.  Glitz Glitter Gel - Stardust
7.  Sparkles - Clear
8.  Tulip Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
9.  Lagoon Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

January Stamp of the Month - Little Reminder

I have made a 5" x 7" card using a template from Originals, the Card Confidence Program by Close to My Heart.  This template is called Medallion.  This card shown below is unfinished - I'll highlight the receiver's birthday by stamping a heart or a star on the month and date. 

Materials used:
1.  Colonial White cardstock
2.  Bamboo cardstock
3.  Chocolate cardstock
4.  Sonoma Level 2 Paper Pack
5.  Chocolate Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
6.  Little Reminder Stamp Set
7.  For Every Occasion Stamp Set
8.  Bulk Ribbon - Colonial White Grosgrain
9.   Love Letters Rub-On (retired)