Bling and a Vase

As I've said many times, I am blessed to have a house full of blue jeans, dirty socks, mud caked boots, cars and trucks and two little boys. Not too much pink around this part of town...

Whew! This monochromatic card marks the final challenge for me for Moxie Fab World's Color Inspiration for Card Maker's Week and thus the most personally difficult in terms of color. So happy that I stuck with creating something for all six color schemes! I am not exposed to much pink in my house and it extends to my craft area so I search high and low for solid colors that matched the swatches. (I think I might have blown about ten inches of dust off each paper piece.) I also resisted the urge to pile on the frills and layers that I usually associate with this hue and kept it clean and simple with a few stamps from Furnishing Fun by Schlosser Designs.

A few notes to myself: Stamped the shelf in chalk ink and then kissed it with the woodgrain stamp-cool effect, must try again. Softened the edges of the main panel with some white ink to add a bit of dimension (hard to see in the photograph)-remember this ink gets everywhere! Make more of these in other monochromatic hues for a card set, perhaps adding glossy accents instead of rhinestones if the bling is running low...

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Pinks) The Paper Company
Stamps: (Vase, Flowers and Shelf from Furnishing Fun) Schlosser Designs, (Woodgrain from Woodgrain Silhouettes) WPlus9, (Sentiment from Fillable Frames #2) PTI
Ink: (Pixie Pink Pigment) SU, (Pink Chalk) Colorbox, (Fresh Snow) PTI
Markers: (Regal Rose, Rose Red) SU
Embellishments: (Rhinestones) Basic Grey
Other: (White Gel Pen) Signo, (Colored Pencils) Prismacolor

Cranberries & Cake

Cranberries, the glossy shiny gems of burgundy red become a focal point for her winter wedding decor. A few days before the big event, she convinced her future husband to trek through the long driveway of the marsh, full of snow, with her to pick up a crate of fresh berries to adorn their reception tables. Thousands of glorious, elegant, unmarred burgundy red beads held together by rustic, worn wooden slabs of wood...what a perfect couple.

Oh, the colors of Off the Wall Craftiness brought back so many tucked away memories of my very own wedding. I started by stamping a series of patterned circles from Schlosser Design's Circle-A-Thon repeatedly in burgundy shades of chalk ink onto kraft paper and then added white enamel accents (these are so awesome, by the way!).

I liked the design and concept so much that I decided to take on the Winter White Tuesday Trigger Challenge at Moxie Fab World, this time using the stamping-off technique of brown ink onto cream paper. White enamel accents were also added, although the photograph does not show it well.

Supplies:
Cranberry Celebrate:
Cardstock: (Kraft) PTI
Stamps: (Circle-A-Thon, Furnishing Fun) Schlosser Designs
Ink: (Chalk Ink) Colorbox
Other: (White Enamel Accents) Ranger
Tools: (Corner Chomper) WR Memory Keepers


Cream Celebrate:
Cardstock: (Ivory) Georgia Pacific
Stamps: (Circle-A-Thon, Furnishing Fun) Schlosser Designs
Ink: (Vintage Photo Distress) Ranger
Other: (White Enamel Accents) Ranger
Tools: (Corner Chomper) WR Memory Keepers

Blue, Blue Christmas

...And when the blue snowflakes start falling / That’s when those blue memories start calling / You’ll be doing alright with your Christmas of white / But I’ll have a blue Christmas"

I made a card pack for a wonderful woman for Christmas, using various stamp sets and graduated shades of the color navy (Night of Navy and Not Quite Navy Pigment ink from Stampin' Up), the recipient's color of choice. I was inspired to make a monochromatic set of cards for Caardvark's last challenge.

Here's a look at the individual one-layer cards in the pack.

 Schlosser Design's Build a Border with a Waltzingmouse's Teeny Trees sentiment.

 Schlosser Design's Hexagon-A-Thon and Furnishing Fun, with a silver rhinestone.

 Schlosser Design's Circle-A-Thon with a sentiment from WMS's Teeny Trees and hand-drawn lines.

 Schlosser Design's Circle-A-Thon and Furnishing Fun.

Butterfly from Practicing Creativity Design's Nature's Wonder and sentiment from Wplus9's Ever After.

And I wrapped them up in some blue vintage wool thread...

 

Put A Little...

Think of your fellow man / Lend him a helping hand  / Put a little love in your heart / You see it's getting late / Oh please don't hesitate  / Put a little love in your heart / And the world will be a better place  / And the world will be a better place  / For you and me  / You just wait and see... Put A Little Love In Your Heart (Annie Lennox duet with Al Green)
Couldn't help but think of that song while making this card for the Scrappy Saturday Challenge over at Wee Memories! It is similar in design to the card here, but this time I've embossed the Schlosser Design's circles from Circle-A-Thon and added a few more layers, a put a little pink in the design with the ribbon tab. Some might recognize these as the colors for a recent submission call, I still had them out and realized how perfect it would be for the challenge (I actually like this one better than the one I submitted). So all in all, the card came together quickly,  gotta love that!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific
Patterned Paper: (Olivia) Basic Grey
Stamps, clear: (Circle-A-Thon, Furnishing Fun) Schlosser Designs
Ink: (Watermark) Versamark
Embellishments: (Pink Grosgrain Ribbon) SU, (Rhinestone) Hero Arts
Other: (White Embossing Powder) SU, Thread

Ring Around the Rosie

She grabbed the hands across from her and gripped them tight. They both gave full trust in each other and closed their eyes as they started to move around and around. Slowly at first, then quicker...then fast, faster! "Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down!"

Hmm, I remember one time someone telling me the meaning behind this nursery rhyme, perhaps I subconsciously made it a get welI card! I combined two challenges for the basis of my card. The soft color palette comes from the beautiful inspiration picture at Off the Wall Craftiness and the CAS layout from Artful Delight's Challenge (ASC 2). I love the versatile round designs from Schlosser Design's new stamp set, Circle-A-Thon.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Vintage Cream) PTI, (White) Georgia Pacific
Stamps: (Circle-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs, (sentiment from Teeny Trees) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: (Pretty in Pink Pigment) Stampin' Up!, (Vintage Photo and Antique Linen Distress) Ranger, (Watermark) Versamark
Embellishments: (Rustic Twine) PTI, (Rhinestones) Michaels
Other: (Honey Dew and Vintage Pink Glimmer Mist) Tattered Angels, (Clear Embossing Powder) Stampin' Up
Tools: (Circle Punch) Creative Memories

On How to Name a Baby

This is how the conversation all went down:
Grandma: What should Auntie name her new baby?
Cole: Dot.
Grandma: (with an awkward pause...) Dot?
Cole: Yes, Dot.
Grandma: Why Dot?
Cole: Uh, I don't know.
Grandma: Can you think of another name for the baby?
Cole: How about Cole?

I used Limelight's Sketch Challenge with Halloween Colors for this Thank You card for after Baby Dot arrives. The mama wanted bright, bold boy colors for the layette and nursery, so I thought to continue that with the thank you's. I've decided that Halloween colors can be fun outside of Halloween too! I pulled out Lawn Fawn's Bannerific and Sophie's Sentiments and used Schlosser Designs Hexagon-A-Thon to fill in the banners with a solid and contrasting woodgrain pattern. I slightly inked the edges of the banners for a bit of dimension and then sewed them onto the card. Oh, and a drew some hair on the little smiley face to transform it into a baby! A flat card for a quick and easy mailing!

The other Limelight Gals also have a fantastic take on this sketch, so please check out the blogs of  Mandy Lisa, Lynn and JenMarie! You don't want to miss out on playing along with this versatile sketch and color challenge, as one lucky winner will receive a Pink Paislee Father Christmas 6x6 Paper Pad and Artisan Tape Roll!
(I just ordered mine today!)

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific
Stamps: (Bannerific, Sophie's Sentiments) Lawn Fawn, (Hexagon-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs
Ink: (Purple, Green, Yellow Chalk) Colorbox (Onyx Black) Versafine, (Basic Gray Pigment) SU
Other: (Thread), (Corner Chomper) WR Memory Keepers

A Tutorial Attempt

He asked his girl if she had a friend that his friend could write too, as his friend was sort of lonely out there in the south by himself. She said she had the perfect friend in mind and the friends of the friends started writing. Letters. The old school way to fall in love. A long-distance relationship that has lasted 37 years with many more to come. Happy Anniversary to the best parents in the world.

I wanted to something a bit different and new to me with sprays/mists. Shimmerz is having a Hooray for Halloween Challenge so I grabbed a few supplies, my new set from Schlosser Designs and created the above little number. (Original wreath concept found here.)

So here's my attempt at a tutorial:

 Start with watercolor paper, a punched circle, distress and pigment ink and a stamp of your choice.
Make sure your paper sized for just a bit of trimming on your final piece-
that way, where you spray is a bit more controlled.

 Stamp image repeatedly around circle.

Experiment by spraying Shimerz Vibez at different angles.
(Directly on top of the piece and/or one side or the other.)

And different heights from your paper.

The spray acts like water-the image looses its crispness

and takes on a muted effect due to the watercolor paper.

The number of spritzes depends on how deep you want your coverage and how well you want your coverage of color.

Remove the circle and spray lightly to tone down brightness of paper where the mask was.

If you've made it thus far, a reminder to you to enter my two giveaways found here and here! Thank you all so much for your kind words and wishes, and suggestions!

Supplies Used:
Paper: (Mustard Cardstock) Recollections, (Watercolor Paper) Archers
Stamps: (Furnishing Fun) Schlosser Designs
Ink: (Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress) Ranger, (More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie) Stampin' Up
Embellishments: (Vibez Spray in Penny Pincher) Shimmerz, (Brown String) May Arts
Tools: (Circle Punch) Creative Memories

Mummy-To-Be

She's going to be a fantastic mama. I know it. She'll love him and cuddle with him, she'll be stern when she needs to and soft when she can. Even though I won't be right around the corner if she needs my help, I will be a phone call away to offer advice when she asks for it. I absolutely cannot wait until Halloween when I can see "the mummy-to-be", who is coming from out of state for a visit!

When I emailed Ted for his latest challenge at Happily Ever Crafter, I dreaded the word "Trick" contained in his response. My challenge was to create a Halloween Card with pastel colors and non-traditional icons! Sheesh-what was I going to do? It took me literally days before I realized that I had the perfect opportunity waiting for me and created a card that is my most favorite to date.

After lightly stamping the deer from this Christmas set, I drew the mummy costume and colored her lightly. I stamped a hexagon pattern in peach that one could say represents pumpkins, and then bordered it in pastel purple and topped it off with a green button-both baby versions of traditional Halloween colors.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Vintage Cream) PTI, (Pale Plum) SU
Stamps: (Retro Christmas) Practicing Creativity Designs, (Hexagon-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs
Ink: (Soft Subtles Pigment) SU, (Antique Linen Distress) Ranger, (Close to Cocoa Marker) SU
Embellishments: (Ivory String) May Arts, (Button) PTI, (Pearl) Kaisercraft
Tools: (Labels 4 Nesties) Spellbinders, (Corner Chomper) WR Memory Keepers
Font: (Ali Edwards) Creating Keepsakes

The Beehive

I stood on the corner of the lot surveying the crew's work. They made a quick job of tearing down the one tree and were going to start on the next. Suddenly I felt something drop into my hair and then...felt the sting. Oh, how that hurt! Turns out that there was a beehive half as tall as me in the soon to be non-existent tree and the big wasp was none to happy to be disturbed.
So of course I had to pull out the hexagons from Hexagon-A-Thon by Schlosser Designs and create a beehive card. The Baker Beehive had TONS of hexagons within it, and it was really quite an inspiration. (Glad to see it gone though.) To give my hive a bit of depth, I gold embossed the hexagons, outlined them with black and then sponged a few ink colors.
There are only a few hours left to participate in the Happily Ever Challenged Challenge, the golden opportunity.
And only a few hours until we sneak the newest designs from Practicing Creativity Designs! Check back, you won't be disappointed!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific (Basic Black) SU (Gold) Unknown
Stamps: (Hexagon-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs
Ink: Versamark, (Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, Summer Sun Pigment) SU
Embellishments: (Gold Embossing Powder) SU (Gold String) SU (Stickers) SRM Stickers, (Black Pen) Pilot

Coveted Blankets

I have coveted many a crocheted blankets from my grandma. Some I use to ward off the chill of the cold Wisconsin winters, others I save because they are just too special-such as a pink one from my tenth birthday and the all white one trimmed with blue satin ribbon made especially for my boys' christening. She tried to teach me a couple of times the art of crochet, and I managed maybe a 100 yard string, but never mastered second rows. Everyone has their special crafty calling so I think I'll leave the crocheting up to Grandma.

The Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab World was calling to use Hexagon-A-Thon from Schlosser Designs. I grabbed the general shape and colors of the blanket as well as the color and texture of the bench it resides on. (Which, by the way, I adore, and think it would look lovely in my house.) I've also learned the power that a single embellishment can have, like one rhinestone, from Kelley at My Front Porch.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Turquoise Card) Joann's, (Very Vanilla) SU
Stamps: (Hexagon-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs, (Sentiment from Mega Mixed Messages) PTI
Ink: (Earth Elements Set Pigment) SU, (Vintage Photo, Antique Linen Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Rhinestone) Studio 18

The Linen Closet

There was a little door in her hallway that contained the freshest, cleanest, most exhilarating smell. I remember trailing at her heals as she would walk to her linen closet door, open it and pull out the crispest sheets around-white speckled with big, bright pink rosebuds. She would then carefully spread the sheet on the couch, pinch the edges and tuck me in tight. It never failed, I would always sleep well at Grandma's house.

The colors of the feathers and the shape of the hair net on this piece at Pegasusmaiden's Shop for the Etsy Inspired Challenge reminded me of Grandma's sheets and the whole while I could smell that wonderful smell again....and shaking my head as to why my linen closet doesn't smell the same. I sure hope that you can see that the background is stamped repeatedly with a stitched hexagon shape from Hexagon-A-Thon by Schlosser Designs and there is a faint polka dotted hexagon pattern to the rose.

Supplies Used: 
Cardstock: (Gold and Copper Flecked) Archer's Paper
Stamps: (Hexagon-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs, (Rose from Roses in Bloom) Waltzingmouse Stamps, (Sentiment from Communique Curves) PTI
Ink: (Rose Red and Pretty in Pink Pigment) SU, (Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Rustic Twine) PTI, Button

Hey Friend

When your down and troubled / And you need a helping hand / And nothing, whoa nothing is going right...Winter, spring, summer, or fall, / All you have to do is call / And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah. / You've got a freind.  (Lyrics from You've Got a Friend sung by James Taylor)

A clean and simple card created for the Aspiring To Create Challenge where we were to use a photo as inspiration as well as a supply or tool that you own but have not used before. A while back I found a tracing wheel at a local thrift store to create the faux stitching technique and can't believe I hadn't tried it out until now. So much fun! (By the way, Teri Anderson's tutorial is here!)The polka circles were stamped with the polka hexagon from Schlosser Design's Hexagon-A-Thon set and simply punched out. Love that these stamps can take on a different look and even shape.

***If you are up to a challenge or need some inspiration, try out the challenge I issued on Yvonne's blog! Copy your blog post's link into the comments field for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Limelight Papercrafts!***

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific
Stamps, clear: (Sentiment from Key to my Heart) Practicing Creativity Designs, (Polka Hexagon from Hexagon-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs, (Butterfly from Woodgrain Silhouettes) Wplus9
Ink: (Antique Linen Distress) Ranger, (Teal Chalk) Colorbox, (Onyx Black) Versafine
Other: (Pink Acrylic Paint) Apple Barrell
Tools: (Circle Punch) Creative Memories, Tracing Wheel

Building Blocks

Can you watch a baby discover the joys of stacking items over and over again? I think about the skills that they are developing with just a few objects and am simply amazed. I think most of our fine motor skills were developed with the simple building block, and that today, as adults, we still can learn from building blocks.

This card features Hexagon-A-Thon from Schlosser Designs and a bit of Divine Twine available at the uber talented Ryann Marin's Etsy Store. Love it. (Hint: It also is a predecessor to some fun things that will be available right here on my blog very soon!)

Supplies Used: Cardstock: (Kraft, Cream) PTI Clear Stamps: (Hexagons from Hexagon-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs, (Sentiments from Chatterbox) Practicing Creativity Designs Ink: (Pink Chalk) Colorbox (Versamark) (Antique Linen Distress) Ranger Other: (White Embossing Powder) SU, (Green Bakers Twine) Divine Twine

Jazzy Ornaments

Decorating the tree was always an exciting event when I was little. We always had a live tree (why oh why don't I do that now?) and it would take a bit of time to fill it full of decorations. Not the matchy-matchy ones but ones that had meaning. The best ones were saved for last and they were the beaded icicles, as we called them. We'd hang them by the little colorful lights and they would make the whole tree glimmer and shine.

Silver embossing adds a lot to a card but dang, it is hard to photograph. Let's overlook that part shall we? This card is based off the sketch and colors at Jazzy Paper Designs, in which Schlosser Designs is sponsoring! For this clean and graphic card, I started by stamping the smallest of the hexagons from Hexagon-A-Thon by Schlosser Designs with watermark ink and then silver embossed them. After punching holes in both the ornaments and card base, I strung them with red thread.

Supplies Used: Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific Stamps: (Hexagon-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs, (Joy from Mega Mixed Messages) Ink: (Versamark), (Onyx Black) Versafine PTI Other: (Silver Embossing Powder) SU, Thread