Strong Coffee

"Some things are just better strong: coffee, men and the button on my jeans!"

I've had two cups of coffee this morning, feeling like a I got a lot done although I never really moved from the computer chair! Lots of designing, lots of organizing...which I suppose are good things.

Stopping by quick to let you know that I had a quick tutorial on how to achieve a "comic book look" on the Skipping Stones Design Blog this past Thursday. It's a really fun technique that gives a different feel to stamps.

I was inspired by the Warm and Cozy Challenge over at Young Crafter's Unite, pulling out the coffee colored tones of brown, tan and then threw in a punch of red. Nothing says warm and cozy like sipping on a hot cup of coffee on a chilly fall morning.

Your Someone

Beside the obvious in your children, parents, spouse, and any family in general, or any romantic interest, who is your someone special? There's a gal at my work that keeps me sane. She dutifully answers any questions that I have (and I ask a lot!), doesn't get impatient, has some really crazy stories and makes me laugh. With all the tough times and many transitions that we've had, she's been the constant, the reliable, and the someone special~at work anyway!

I'm here today with a few cards made with Artful Delight's October Card Kit. I'm delighted to say that I've been accepted back for another term as an Artful Delight Card Kit Design Team Member, and look forward to showcasing more projects, tutorials and tricks for the next six months. I really enjoyed working with the ladies from this past term as well. I keep saying it and each time I mean it even more: I love these kits.

So these two cards feature labels trimmed from a sheet of patterned paper, wood veneers, card bases all from the kit, the sentiments were stamped and the stamp set was part of the kit too! I only added some burlap string and used a branch die on the first card.

Contents of the November Scrapbook and Card Kits were just announced on the Artful Delight Blog yesterday and its another fantastic kit!

A Reindeer Blessing

Welcome to The Craft's Meow's October Release Blog Hop showcasing our holiday sets! You should have arrived from Jessica Fick's blog, or you can start at the beginning over at The Craft's Meow!

I've had these wooden reindeer in my stash for a while, they were a gift from my sister who saw them and knew she had to get them for me. Great sister, eh? Sometimes my husband wonders about the amount of stuff I accumulate, but I keep telling him that I will use my favorite things some day. Well, today's one of those days!



One thing that I absolutely love about The Craft's Meow stamps are their versatility and ability to be combined, even when designed by two different designers! Today my card features two of the background pattern elements from Holiday Foundations, and the sentiment is from Nina's set, Christmas Angel. I love how by just combining two background stamps in these colors gives a nordic holiday sweater vibe!

After stamping the series of polka dots and snowflakes and a saffron and light blue and the sentiment in brown, I inked the edges, mounted it onto a blue panel and then onto a saffron base. The card was then tied with some crinkle ribbon from May Arts and finished with the wooden veneer reindeer.

So glad that you stopped by today to help celebrate this month's release! You can be eligible to win all six new sets from The Craft's Meow by visiting and making a unique comment on each design team member's blog. The deadline to comment is 9:00pm PDT, Saturday, October 27th. I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that the absolutely amazing set designed by Aimes, O Christmas Tree, is this month's free gift with a $50 purchase!

Your next stop on the hop is Lin Brandyberry!

Foundations

***For the final day of CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Release Sneak Peaks, please scroll down!***

"Build this day on a foundation of pleasant thoughts. Never fret at any imperfections that you fear may impede your progress. Remind yourself, as often as necessary, that you are a creature of God and have the power to achieve any dream by lifting up your thoughts. You can fly when you decide that you can. Never consider yourself defeated. Let the vision in your heart be in your life's blueprint. Smile!" ~Og Mandino

I'm so excited to showcase both of the sneaks today fromThe Craft's Meow's October Release! (You can read more about the releases at The Craft's Meow!) Today is the debut of Holiday Foundations, a staple Christmas set designed on the same principals of Retro Foundations. There are many large and long background strips, two large sentiments, and several smaller sentiments, all with a distressed flair. You can use this set to create quick and easy, yet eye-catching holiday cards, or go as elaborate as you want (there are some images that can be used all year round as well, a bonus I know I look for when finding seasonal sets)! I kind of went in between on my card today. I stamped a number of the candy cane inspired stripes, trimmed and ink distressed the edges and then assembled them onto a card base. I then die cut a sentiment panel and stamped one of the large greetings and paired that with a smaller greeting. The card was finished with another staple of mine, burlap string.

The next set, O Christmas Tree, is brilliantly designed by Aimes. I think that you will like it as much as I did, because there is a mix of modern and vintage all in one set, plus some fabulous sentiments. For my card today, I stamped a trio of trendy chevron trees, trimmed them out and applied some dots of black enamel accents. After stamping the trunks, the trees were adhered to the card base and topped with a yellow gem. The card base received a treatment of some washi tape, black floss and a stamped sentiment from O Christmas Tree.

So are you super excited about this month's release from The Craft's Meow? So glad that you stopped by today to help celebrate! You can be eligible to win the two featured sets today from The Craft's Meow by visiting and making commenting on the blogs. And I'll be back tomorrow with a card for the Blog Hop!

The Truth Is

The truth is out, I love these CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. I hope you enjoyed five days of inspiration featuring the inaugural sets from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. Today is the last day for sneaks, and the feature is Truth Is, a beautiful set that includes a large striking image and absolutely amazing sentiments.

The base for my card today started out with inked orange watercolor paper. I sprayed some pearl mist and water for a cool effect, waited for it to dry and then stamped the flowers and sentiment. To get the blue on top of the orange, I colored in the blank areas of the flower in with gel pen and then covered that with an alcohol based marker. As you can see, I used the CAS-ual Fridays colors again, going as bright and bold today as the colors were soft and gentle yesterday!

I'm sure you already know, but as a reminder...CAS-ual Fridays Stamps are the finest quality, photopolymer stamps made in the USA. They stamp like a dream! The stamps aren't just for the clean and simple crafters out there, Michele has designed them with all types and levels of card makers out there! Being the sweetheart that she is, Michele is giving away a set each day..all you have to do is comment on the store blog and comment on each of the sneak posts for your chance to win! Don't forget that you also can play along in this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge too: Over the Edge for your chance to win this entire new release of CAS-ual Fridays Stamps!

I'd like to thank Michele again for the opportunity to showcase her designs and the grand welcome back as a Girl Friday for the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge. I love the fact that I was able to help out in just the teeniest way from the beginning, and to see her dream grow is amazing.

Just in Time for the Holidays

***For Day 4 of CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Release Sneak Peaks, please click here!***
***For my Skipping Stones Design Sketch card, please scroll down***

The boys, both big and little, keep presenting good cases as to why they would like a new inside puppy for Christmas. They look up at me with their big brown eyes (or in case of the husband...he has to look down at me with his beautiful green eyes as he is over a foot taller than I) and I find myself slowly caving in...

The Craft's Meow's October Release Sneak Peaks is all about the Christmas Holiday! You can read more about the releases at The Craft's Meow! Today we are debuting Winter Fibi and Lily, designed by Mabelle R-O. Another cute set featuring adorable kitten images all decked out for the holidays. I decided to create a gift card holder as I know I'll be needing them this year in abundance. I colored the stamped image with markers, fussy cut it and adhered it to a small paper bag. The sentiment was stamped and a bow tied for the final presentation.

The next set, Christmas Cheer, is also designed by Mabelle R-O and features classical holiday images in a whimsical style. I stamped the Christmas Ornaments in different colors onto a card base and drew the lines for them to hang (I do this technique often...must like it!) I went back and stamped the sentiment and snowflakes, and added some glitter to each snowflake center for extra sparkle.

So glad that you stopped by today to help celebrate this month's release! You can be eligible to win the two featured sets today from The Craft's Meow by visiting and making commenting on the blogs.

Irrevocably

***For Day 4 of CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Release Sneak Peaks, please scroll down!***

"About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was part of him — and I didn’t know how potent that part might be — that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him." ~Bella Swan, Twilight, Chapter 9, p.195

In preparedness for the latest and last release of the Twilight Saga movies, Skipping Stones Design is featuring a fun set called Fangs or Fur. The design team has some amazing samples on the blog, and you can read all out the sketch challenge too! I hope you get a chance to play along in the Skipping Stones Sketch Challenge!

My card features the colors from the latest JUGS Challenge, I thought that they were a good choice for this "lovey-dovey" card featuring a sentiment from Fangs and Fur. Which are you-Fangs or Fur?

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I'm doing my part in the enabling process and keeping you busy today...Please check out my previous post, Day Four of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Sneak Peaks, and stop by later for the second day of previews from The Craft's Meow October Release.

Calm and Gentle

"To be pleasant, gentle, calm and self-possessed: this is the basis of good taste and charm in a woman. No matter how amorous or passionate you may be, as long as you are straightforward and refrain from causing others embarrassment, no one will mind..." ~Murasaki Shikibu, The Diary of Lady Murasaki

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps is showing its softer side today with sneak peaks of Calm and Gentle, and I'll be straightforward: these stamps are a must have!

Today I did use the CAS-ual Fridays color combination, just in a softer tones. I stamped the trunks in brown/black onto patterned paper and then embossed the leaves with white, coloring in small areas to depict blooming flowers. I also lightly stamped more buds behind the embossing to create a fuller tree. This set has many beautiful, comforting sentiments, and I chose one that I will use often: I'm here for you.

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps are the finest quality, photopolymer stamps made in the USA. There are five sets to the inaugural release. The stamps aren't just for the clean and simple crafters out there, Michele has designed them with all types and levels of crafters out there! Michele is giving away a set each day..all you have to do is comment on the store blog and comment on each of the sneak posts for your chance to win! Don't forget that you also can play along in this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge too: Over the Edge for your chance to win this entire new release of CAS-ual Fridays Stamps! Stop by CAS-ual Fridays Stamps for more information!

The Angel

***For Day 3 of CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Release Sneak Peaks, please scroll down!***

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Luke 2:8-12

Welcome to The Craft's Meow's October Release Sneak Peaks-it's all about the Christmas Holiday! You can read more about the releases at The Craft's Meow! Christmas Angel is a beautiful set designed by Nina B. and for my card today I've stamped and embossed her in white, colored the wings with silver and the sash in gold. One of the many beautiful, intricate sentiments is grounded by a tied silver bow. The angel is such a perfect size not much else is needed to create a meaningful Christmas card.

The next set, Hearth and Home, is designed by Elizabetta and has beautiful, large and iconic holiday images as well. I chose to highlight the berries from the holly leaves stamp with red marker, and then left the leaves a vanilla color, bringing in the green through the lush ribbon and background papers.

So glad that you stopped by today to help celebrate this month's release! You can be eligible to win the two featured sets today from The Craft's Meow by visiting and making commenting on the blogs.

Big Thanks

Each day keeps getting better and better as CAS-ual Fridays Stamps releases yet another fantastic set! Today marks the third day of sneak peaks for the release, and today's feature is Big Thanks

Little card, big thanks. The sentiments say it all in this set. Once again, I used the CAS-ual Fridays color combination with some older patterned paper and added a teal twill ribbon tab to compliment the large, bold sentiment.

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps are the finest quality, photopolymer stamps made in the USA. There are five sets to the inaugural release. The stamps aren't just for the clean and simple crafters out there, Michele has designed them with all types and levels of crafters out there! Michele is giving away a set each day..all you have to do is comment on the store blog and comment on each of the sneak posts for your chance to win! Don't forget that you also can play along in this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge too: Over the Edge for your chance to win this entire new release of CAS-ual Fridays Stamps! Stop by CAS-ual Fridays Stamps for more information!

High Fives

Have you seen the news? There's a new kid on the block, and they are coming out with a bang! Let's get a Woot! Woot! for CAS-ual Fridays Stamps! Today marks the second day of sneak peaks for the release.

The second set is called Woot! Woot! and it too is so much fun, especially for us card makers out there! I know I'll be using this set a lot when it comes time to congratulate someone! Once again, I used the CAS-ual Fridays color combination and arranged a few of the sentiments in a collage.

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps are the finest quality, photopolymer stamps made in the USA. There are five sets to the inaugural release. The stamps aren't just for the clean and simple crafters out there, Michele has designed them with all types and levels of crafters out there! Michele is giving away a set each day..all you have to do is comment on the store blog and comment on each of the sneak posts for your chance to win! Don't forget that you also can play along in this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge too: Over the Edge for your chance to win this entire new release of CAS-ual Fridays Stamps! Stop by CAS-ual Fridays Stamps for more information!

Wow That's Fantastic!

Warning: There are a lot of explanation points because, well, I'm just so excited!!

Wow, that's fantastic! What is fantastic, you ask? The super sweet, very talented mastermind behind CAS-ual Fridays Challenge, Michele, has expanded to include her very own line of stamps, CAS-ual Fridays Stamps! What else is fantastic? I've been asked to help with this fabulous release! And another fantastic thing for me is that I'm coming out of retirement! I'm proud to say that I'm a Girl Friday again!

This first set is called WFT, and it is so much fun. There is a ton of fun combinations for these three letters, and today I've used some washi tape and one of the sentiments to make a clean and simple bold creation. I paid homage to CAS-ual Fridays colors this week as well by using teal and orange in all of my creations.

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps are the finest quality, photopolymer stamps made in the USA. They stamp like a dream! There are five sets to the inaugural release, and I, along with the other Girl Fridays and special guests, will be showcasing a project a day featuring each of these sets. The stamps aren't just for the clean and simple crafters out there, Michele has designed them with all types and levels of card makers out there! Being the sweetheart that she is, Michele is giving away a set each day..all you have to do is comment on the store blog and comment on each of the sneak posts for your chance to win! Don't forget that you also can play along in this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge too: Over the Edge for your chance to win this entire new release of CAS-ual Fridays Stamps!

I couldn't be more proud of Michele, the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge and now her new adventure, CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. I knew about this for a long time (I'm good at keeping secrets!) and have been blessed to help out a wee bit in the beginning to help Michele make her dream come true. Stop by CAS-ual Fridays Stamps for more information!

That Kind of Awesome

Don't you just love when you have really awesome days? Yesterday was an awesome day. I took half a day vacation, enjoyed a nap, ate a piece of carrot cake, received many well wishes from family and friends...Yes, the day was awesome. (And that is the kind of awesome said with the same enthusiasm as when my eight year is told there is no school for the day!)

The October Artful Delight Card Kit includes a really stylish sheet of alphas, and I have some tips and tricks over on the Artful Delight Blog on how to customize the stickers for use on a card. All elements on the above card, with the exception of the embroidery floss, are from the kit. And here's another clean and simple card featuring the technique:

Dress them up or dress them down, these alphas from the kit are just awesome.

Fright Night

An insurance company recently aired a commercial depicting a girl that believes everything written on the internet is true. I find the internet fascinating, and if it can tell me something, anything, that I have no clue about, I'll believe what I read until proven wrong. Case in point, I searched the origin of skulls during Halloween and found this: The skull is a symbol used by many different cultures to represent either the brevity of human mortality, the fear of death, or danger that can result in death... Skulls and skeletons are associated with Halloween because they represent the end of the physical part of life, something that is connected to Halloween both because of the death of the “light” seasons and because of the perceived connection to the spirit realm."

Lifestyle Crafts has this really cool, very detailed Skeleton Die from their Tricks 'N Treats Collection, and while I normally don't send out Halloween cards, I couldn't resit trying it out. (I've got plans to use this guy for other holidays!) The first card is a series of skulls die cut with vintage magazine paper, adhered to a custom made stamped and inked background. While I was attempting to adhere the first skull on the right, the paper tore a bit so I went it and ended up with a transitioning skeleton, I kind of love it!

This next card, also a one layer card, is more whimsical, and features the skull from the same Skeleton Die, this time cut out of black paper. Before adhering the skull to the card base, I coated it with glossy accents and then added some washi tape behind the eyes. A few strips of washi tape under the skull along with a sticker sentiment finished the look.

Lifestyle Crafts has given me a code to share with you...enter the keyword DRAGONFLY for 20% off! They just released their winter collection too, and there are some amazing products already on my wish list.

Smocking

According to Wikipedia, "Smocking is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can stretch..." or made for a really cute outfit for a little girl. My mom had made the cutest pale yellow dress with a smocking detail and pale pink flowers across the bodice for my cousin, over thirty years ago. My aunt saved the dress and just a year or two ago, my cousin put this pretty little dress on her own girl.

I'm entirely delighted to being doing a Carbon Copied post today with the talented Trinh Arrieta from Cardediem! We are playing along with CAS-ual Fridays Challenge: Put Your Heart Into It and using Iconic Images from Papertrey Ink.

Since Iconic Images didn't have any hearts as stamps, we both had to get creative with this challenge. I kept thinking of the dress, and how entirely way too cute my cousin's little girl was in the dress when making this card. I used the sweet flower images which reminded me of the flowers from the dress, stamped them onto the card base and then die cut a heart and stamped flowers onto that as well, after a bit of inking the edges. The heart was sewn onto the card base and then I stamped the sentiment.

I can't wait to see Trinh's take on the challenge! Have you checked out her blog yet? As mentioned previously, she is so talented! I love her clean and simple style and creative use of stamps. Oh how I admire her work!

5 Things

What makes me unique?
1. I have a degree in graphic design but spend 40+ hours a week at a hospital doing Medicare billing.
2. I drive a 2001 four door Malibu that is in dire need of new tires before the inch of ice, gallons of sleet and feet of snow arrive.
3. I desperately want a new puppy so that the house isn't so eerily quiet when the boys and I arrive home after a long day.
4. My favorite soft drink is Diet Dr. Pepper and it is best served with a slice of cold pizza.
5. I secretly aspire to achieve the shabby chic/vintage look while keeping things slightly clean and simple.

I probably say this every month, but the October Card Kit from Artful Delight has got to be my most favorite yet.  I simply adore that the papers and embellishments lend themselves to an easy shabby/vintage look, yet, you can also go bold and graphic! The top card features all items from the kit (except for the May Arts Linen Burlap String) and was inspired by the latest card featured over at CASE Study Challenge. I was inspired by the way the strips of paper fell to the bottom of the card and the design was punctuated by a large flower as a focal point.

This next card features all items from the kit, accentuated with dies from my stash. The design was inspired by the new CAS(E) This Sketch Challenge. I'm entering this into the current Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Use Dies too!

So to sum things up, the Artful Delight Card Kit is very versatile, no matter what kind of card style you fancy. There are elements in there for everyone! You can check them out here. Also, link up to the Artful Delight Scrapbook or Card Sketch Challenge for your chance to win a free kit. Details are here!

"The Cone"

It never fails, I usually end up feeling sorry for those puppies and kitties that have to endure "the cone". I want to not chuckle when they walk and randomly hit "the cone" against something and back up only to do it again a few seconds later. I want to resist the urge to unsnap the fasteners and just let them run free. But alas, I know they serve a purpose, and they serve it well, I'm just glad that we humans don't have to endure "the cone."

Skipping Stones Design has another retro sketch up for their challenge this week. You can check out all the details for the challenge along with prize information and sensational design team samples on the Skipping Stones Blog.

I was inspired by the bold vs. soft colors of the Runway Inspired Challenge picture, I realize this is an unconventional image and sentiment to use for it though, but I somehow think the colors ended up being perfect, especially the cone and the yellow collar. The dog and sentiment came from Skipping Stones Design's Dogs Vol. 1 set.

Tomorrow a Hangover?

**For my Lawnscaping Fall Blog Hop card, please click here.**

I had every intention of creating away yesterday, for World Card Making Day, but I spent much of my free time visiting blogs and getting inspiration! I woke up this morning to a quiet house and read the blog of one of my good crafty friends, Erin. She had posted a parade of great cards for WCMD challenges and I got inspired! That's the best thin about this industry, right? I never thought some of my dearest friends would live on the opposite coast as I do and to be inspired by their work! So while Erin's nursing her crafty hangover today, I'm sure I'll be nursing my own tomorrow at work...

i {heart} papers is one my most favorite on-line stores for crafting supplies. They have excellent customer service and speedy shipping.

I chose to participate in the color challenge. I purchased a few sheets of their wool felt and used it with an intricate die cut on my card today. This felt is such high quality that I had no problems with the bird fraying or looking freaky. The sentiment is from In Bloom from The Craft's Meow.

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Next up is a one layer card (that is also pink!), for the WCMD Paper Smooches Challenge! I stamped one of the cute bug images from Giddy Bugs and a sentiment from Sentiment Sampler. The bug was colored with Copics and its wings with Stickles. If you haven't figured it out, I'm on this kick to add freckles to every cute image I stamp, so freckles were added with white Enamel Accents. I'm sending this card to sweet little Addison, who could use some hugs for the next couple of months. You can read about the card drive for her here, or click on the image in my sidebar.

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Last but not least is an image inspired by Chari's Pinterest Inspiration Challenge for Ellen Hutson's Celebrations for WCMD. Chari is a crazy talented crafter that I met online after I read that she went to the same design college as I did!

I chose to replicate the kraft base and white, bold vines, with flowers shaded in purple. The flower came from Beautiful Spring from The Craft's Meow, the sentiment from Lovely Labels 14 from The Craft's Meow, and the vines from Wplus9's Woodgrain Silhouettes.

Now, it is time to clean up this grand mess that I made and prepare for another long day at work tomorrow! Thanks for taking the time to look at my cards!