Happy Valentines Day

Hello crafty friends! Today I have a couple of cards to share with you. I couldn't decide which one I liked best for the Freshly Made Sketch challenge, so I'm sharing both with you. I used one of my favorite Iron Gate Stamps sets along with some washi tape from my stash and some hearts from Stampin' Up.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Warmest Wishes

Yes, definitely a warm 85 degree November day here in North Texas! To cool things down, I decided to make this card using these adorable snowflake stamps from Iron Gate Stamps and some of the new dies from Reverse Confetti for the Freshly Made Sketches and Merry Monday challenges. The patterned card is from The Little Yellow Bicycle's Winterings stack.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Give Thanks

Here is a card I made for the Sunday Stamps sketch challenge. I used one of my favorite stamp sets from Iron Gate Stamps along with patterned card from American Crafts Pumpkin Patch pad.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Thinking of you

Made a couple of cards for the CAS(E) this sketch! and Crafty Calendar card challenges. Okay, I got a little carried away and went outside of the "simple" definition, but I thought I'd post it anyway. I love using my friends stamp sets, Iron Gate Stamps. The first card I used was from the Weathervane set and the second card was from her Birdhouse set.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Another sketch challenge

I was able to disappear to my craft room for a short time today in order to make a quick challenge card. This one is for another fun sketch challenge I found at Pals Paper Arts.

I used one of my favorite stamps from Iron Gate Stamps Snowflake set along with some patterned card stock from Fancy Pants Winterland. I embossed the brown card stock with the Darice Snowflake folder. AND I used some Crystal Stickles!! I know you are so surprised;-)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Tuesday Morning Sketch #184

I was so very fortunate to have found a fabulous scrapbooking supply store close to where I live. There aren't very many in the Sydney area, so it was by chance that I found Catchy Crafts. I was actually going to an electronics store to buy a power transformer for some of our US electronics when I saw this  "little" store a couple of shops down. I quickly made friends with the lovely ladies who work at the store. It's probably why I've been more in the mood to paper craft lately:-) Anyway, the shop started monthly card kits this year. It includes stamp sets, embossing folders, patterned papers and card stock. I had so much paper left over that I decided to use it up on challenge cards while I had it all out. My first card I made with my "leftovers" is for the Tuesday Morning Sketch this week.

The solid card stock is Vanilla from Stampin' Up out of my supplies. Patterned card stock is by Kaisercraft - Tea Break collection. The floral stamp is from the Penny Black Petal Party set that was included in my January kit and the sentiment is from Iron Gate Stamps Weathervane set from my own collection.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

A July Birthday Card

So happy you stopped by today:-) I have a "patriotic" colored birthday card to share with you. I have quite a few birthdays coming up. Most importantly my son who will be turning three on the fourth:-) This card, however, is for my oldest nephew.

I used one of my favorite October Afternoon stacks, Rocket Age, along with some of my favorite stamps from Iron Gate Stamps, Birthday Wishes. I added a tad of dimension using a punched out star from a set of grunge board shapes by Tim Holtz.

Challenges

Seize The Birthday - sketch

Pause Dream Enjoy - Anything

Paper Playtime - Red, White, and Blue

2 Sisters - stripes

Card Crafters Circle - Birthdays

Loves Rubber Stamps - Red, White, & Blue

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Happy Birthday Fortune

Another rainy day yesterday let me put off yard work and let me to tinker in my studio:-) I came across a few fun challenges to enter this card in.

I used one of my favorite Iron Gate Stamps sets, Fortune Cookie, to make an asian inspired birthday card. The kraft layer is dry embossed with Darice's Basketweave folder. The patterned cardstock is from Graphic 45 Birdsong collection with the stamped image on top from Iron Gate Stamps. The sentiment was printed using 7 Monkey Fury font inside of the fortune border stamp.

Challenges

Tuesday Morning Sketches

My Cheri Crafts - birthday

Inky Chicks - anything

Party Time Tuesdays - anything

Hobby House - anything

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Hello!

Welcome back! Today is my last FCCB DT post for awhile. My DH and I have decided to take the plunge and accept a job promotion to Sydney, Australia! I have gone through a lot of anxiety and excitement for the past three months, but I think I/we are ready. With that being said, my craft room supplies will be on a boat and quarantine for about three months so I will not be able to do much crafting on my blog. I did scope out the Sydney area back in May for craft stores, but they are slim to none. My BFF will need to be my supplier for awhile:-) Thank you Mary!!

For my card I used Lovely Floral and CCR basics to make and size the frame. It was cut from a wood panel patterned card stock. The cute little robin is from IGS Birdhouse stamp set as well as the sentiments. I colored in the bird with my Stampin' Up watercolor pencils (I haven't ventured into the alcohol markers yet - a little intimidated). Now it's your turn to show us what fabulous ideas you have using frames and your Cricut:-) Stop on by the FCCB site to get all of the details and see all of the other fabulous DT projects! Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Hello Summer!

I know, it's not officially summer, but I got a little inspired by the warm weather to do a little stamping! This card was made using Iron Gate Stamps Treehouse and Birdhouse sets. I just love that Treehouse set. That little tire swing is just adorable!! I cut the small star out with my Cricut and the Doodlecharms cart and then stamped the sentiment in black. The base is 5 1/2" square layered with some left over Pebbles patterned paper. The red is dry embossed with Darice's Woodgrain folder. The circle and star's edges are inked with Pumice Stone Distress Ink.

Challenges

ABC Challenges - Summer

Cards Galore - Sketch

Creatalicious - Color Palette

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Mustache Father's Day

Why do weeks go by so much more quickly during the summer than during school days?! I can't believe it's Saturday already and I've missed quite a few blog challenges. Well, here is my quick Father's day card for my dad. I just did a CAS card with this fun felted mustache found on Etsy. I also used Iron Gate Stamps' Treehouse set for the sentiment.

 

Challenges

Polka Doodle - Male theme

Simply Create Too - Father's Day

DL.Art - Father's Day

Sisterhood of Crafters - man or boy

Paper Playtime - anything

Craft Your Passion - Father's Day

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend:-)

Make A Wish

A quick card for a last minute entry to Seize The Birthday sketch challenge before heading out the door.

I used stamps from IGS Birthday Wishes set along with Bazzil chipboard star and a cut star from the George Cricut cart. The blue was embossed with the Cuttlebug Happy Birthday folder. Yes, a little Stickles, too:-)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

A Little MoJo

So happy you stopped by today. I made a quick little card for this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge. I used one of my favorite patterned cardstock packs, Authentique's Lively Collection. I decided to use some of my recently organized Washi tape with this challenge along with one of the cute little bird and sentiment stamps from Iron Gate Stamps' Birdhouse and Weathervane sets.

Other Challenges

Critter Challenge - washi / fabric tape

Love To Scrap - recipe

Creative Moments - things with wings

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Go Green! (and go away flu!)

Ugh, what a miserable couple of weeks here with the spread of influenza :-P First my 2 YO, then me, now I think DH has it. I sure hope the other two don't come down with this. Not fun:-(  So, before the projects I started on "expire" I want to post what I have finished.

I started this little guy thinking there was a masculine card challenge I wanted to enter it for but, can't remember. The base is a size A2 using textured Bazzill. I dry embossed most of the patterned paper from an old DCWV spring stack with the Darice St. Pat's folder. The flat bottom I used to stamp the cute sentiment from Scrappy Moms Spring Fling set.  I used the image from the Cricut Smiley Cards cart to make a mug of "green beer". I used scrap black, cream, and a old piece of Bo Bunny dotted CS.  I've been obsessed with this mustache my BFF has in one of her stamp sets Birthday Wishes. I stamped and heat embossed the 'stash in black and popped it on the front of the mug with foam adhesive. Makes me giggle every time I look at him. The whole mug is popped up on the card with an Action Wobble. I think I set the wobble up too high so the bottom keeps hitting the card and stops the wobble. At least it jiggles:-) The twill ribbon is from PTI that I've had for awhile. Thanks for stopping by:-) Have a healthy and creative day:-)

Challenges

Scrappy Frogs - green/St Pat's

Tammy's Scrapin Corner - Shamrock

The Pink Elephant - Happy St Pat's/green

Clear It Out - St Pat's

Cuttin & Stampin - St Pat's

Loves Rubber Stamps - St Pat's

Party Time Tues - Luck of the Irish

Creative Belli - St Pat's

Papercraft Star - Green

Whimsical Designs - St Pat's

The Crafter's Cafe - St Pat's

Just a Note

I found this fun new challenge blog, The Outlawz, a few weeks ago. I'm finally going to submit an entry. It's not the typical "blog" challenge that I'm used to. A few hoops to jump through so I'm hoping I do this correctly. When I saw this challenge I new exactly what I was going to do. A quick "note" with a little inspiration from my BFF at Iron Gate Stamps. She recently did a card and used both sides of the same textured cardstock to create a subtle mat.

I used a die and stamp set that I purchased last year from PTI and never used. The set is called Happy Trails. I was drawn to it because of the many wonderful sentiments along with the multiple items and their "trails". I die cut the fountain pen from the same white Bazzill cardstock as the base and stamped the image in black. I popped up the pen for a little added interest after stamping the other images and sentiment with the same black dye ink. I think I'm going to make a few more of these. It was quick and easy and I really like how it came out:-) Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day!

Birthday Girl

I cleaned up my studio this week and found a stack of challenges that came and went. There are so many good ones going on now, it's so hard for me to only do a few. I get so "gung ho" and try to do multiple cards at the same time. Life happens, time gets away, and there ya go... several unfinished cards. So I put them aside and make a resolution to do one at a time. I put my supplies in stacks with my "ideas" on the top, but refuse to start until I get the previous card done. This way I'm not "wasting" valuable crafting supplies;-)

Here is one of the cards I finished today. It is for a brand new (well, almost new - I missed the first 8) challenge blog, Seize The Birthday. Love this idea. One (1) sketch for two weeks - 1st week-  boy card, 2nd week- girl card. How brilliant is that! I'm always needing birthday cards. In fact, I finished up the boy card from the last sketch to give to my Bestie's son this Sunday.

I used my favorite set from Iron Gate Stamps, Birthday Wishes. I masked the sparkler and stamped the cake over it. Hard to tell from the picture but it makes it look like one stamped image. Pretty cool:-) The patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Hey, Girl stack. Super cute! I found some coordinating DCWV solid and used the ric-rac die from PTI. Of course, I couldn't leave out the Stickles, sugary pink frosting and sparkly sparkler:-) Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

FCCB "Bye Bye Birdie" challenge

This week we would like to see you use a bird in your project. My DT inspiration is a 5x5 sized card using Bazzill Kraft and distressed around the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The blue and white checked, red, and green cardstock comes from The Paper Studio's Farm Fresh stack. The green cardstock was embossed with Distressed Stripes Cuttlebug folder and the red cardstock was stamped with Iron Gate Stamps Chicken Wire background stamp. I used the Country Life cart to cut out this cute little hen. The eye was stamped using an eye stamp from the Everyday Character Face Parts and More Peachy Keen stamp set and a white gel pen. I used a Stampin' Up tag punch and faux stitched around it after stamping the cute sentiment from My Pink Stamper's Tweetie Hoo Puns (retired). I tied the tag with some hemp twine from my stash.

Make sure you check out this weeks DT inspiration projects as well as all of the challenge details at The Fantabulous Cricut Challenge blog. Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

More Snowflakes:-)

Oh, I am so happy to have a somewhat free day to make some cards! This one is for the Come and Get It Challenge Blog and the Sketchy Colors Blog challenges. My trick to getting several cards done without too much fussing is using these fabulous card layouts and color combos that other bloggers have already put together. Cuts my designing time down more than half!:-)

I used one of my favorite IGS sets, "Snowflakes" to create this quick card. I cut out a scalloped hex at shape at 1 1/4" using my Cricut and the Winter Woodland cartridge. I stamped the snowflakes with S/U Brocade Blue and used Diamond Stickles in the centers. I popped them up on 1.5" squares of purple PP. I cut two 5/8" strips of white CS and used the IGS Snowflake border stamp. The sentiment is also from the IGS Snowflake set. All of the what edges were inked with S/U Brocade Blue and the purple squares were inked with S/U white craft.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

FCCB Challenge - Man's World

Happy Monday crafters! I am so excited to tell you that this week's sponsor is one of my very close friends. She has created and produced her own line of clear photopolymer stamps. They are just fabulous! I just can't say enough about her creative talent. You may have seen some of my projects in the past utilized some of her fabulous stamps. She sells them along with other paper crafting supplies at her store, Iron Gate Stamps. This week I used her Fortune Cookies set for the sentiment and border and her soon to be released, Birthday Wishes set for the mustache.

I cut the cupcake out at 3" from the Something To Celebrate cart. I embossed the red background layer with the Cuttlebug Houndstooth folder and the black flag with the Polka Dots folder. The cardstock are scraps. I used Candy Cane Stickles on the heart. Yes, I know this isn't exactly "manly", but I thought it needed a little sparkle:-) I punched a hole in the cupcake in order to insert a toothpick with the HVD banner attached to it.

Please make sure you head on over the The Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog to see the other DT's inspirational projects as well as the challenge rules for this week. Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Pink Snowflake Mittens

I have been having so much fun making Valentines for my Etsy store that I totally lost track of time and realized I haven't been doing any challenges this week. I came across Trendy Twine's challenge on their blog yesterday and knew I could get this one done.

I used the Holiday Cakes Cricut cart and pink BoBunny cardstock to cut out the mittens. I stamped them with Iron Gate Stamps' Sweater background stamp and embossed the cuff with Sizzix Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I tied the pink buttons with some Valentine Cherry Cupcake Trendy Twine and stamped the sentiment from Iron Gate Stamps' Snowflake set. The base layer is embossed with Cuttlebug's Snowflake folder. I inked the edges of the mitten and cuff with Tea Dye Distress Ink to help give it definition. I know... no Stickles:-( I thought about it, though:-)

Challenges

Trendy Twine - mittens

Bitten By The Bug 2 - snowflakes

My Craft Spot - Frosty Days

The Perfect Sentiment - winter

Simply Create Too - Let It Snow

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)