Friends Having Fun and Some Little Cards

Have you heard the news about Friends Having Fun yet? It’s a brand-new challenge blog that is just about to debut!  And this one will be a little different – fun is the first priority for this site!  Challenges will be weekly, and will rotated among four teams – see below for the challenge themes and the team leaders:

Alison – Color Challenge (week 1)

Dani – Sketch Challenge (week 2)

Sarabeth – Recipe Challenge (week 3)

Erica – Pop Culture Challenge (week 4)

In addition, each team is looking for 3-4 friends (design team members) who would like to have fun!  All the details can be found here and the deadline for submission is this Friday, March 12th.  Details are still being worked out for the debut of the challenges, which is now tentatively scheduled for late March.  I will be sure to update here! 

Now, feel like seeing some little cards?  There are times when I seriously love making smaller-scale cards like the three pictured below.  They come together quickly and the size forces me to really keep them simple.  

This first one is my fave of the bunch – I absolutely loved using that sentiment stamp (by Verve Stamps) and that designer paper (by Pink Paislee).  Putting them together just made me happy!   I think I need to use that stamp again really soon – as a matter of fact, an idea is coming to me as I type this….hmmm….

The Twilighty card below went to the winners of blog candy prizes from the recent Twilight Tuesday Farewell Blog Hop.  It was a bit bittersweet making this final Twilight-themed project, but I HAD to use that sentiment from Beth’s StampInsanity Stamps set (called Otherworldly Loves).  Although I may very well make more Twilight-themed projects in the future, this definitely felt a bit poignant since I was officially done with my Twilight Tuesday duties when I mailed out the blog candy prizes and these cards.  I hope that the prize winners liked them!

And this last card also resulted from that Twilight-card-making session – exactly the same as the card above with a different sentiment and die cut shapes in the center. 

Thanks so much for visiting – see you again soon!

What I Used:

Anything is Possible Card:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock, Stampin’ Up! Ruby Red cardstock, Pink Paislee designer paper

Stamps:  Verve Stamps

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Ruby Red

Accessories:  Stampin’ Up! ticket corner punch, Kaiser red pearls, dimensionals

Twilighter and Thank You Cards:

Paper: Papertrey Ink vintage cream and black cardstock, Stampin’ Up! Riding Hood Red cardstock; K & Co. designer paper

Stamps:  StampInsanity Stamps Otherworldly Loves set (“Twilighter”); Verve Stamps (“thank you”)

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Riding Hood Red

Accessories:  Spellbinders Nestabilities labels dies, dimensionals, K&Co adhesive jewels

Stamp Happens Sketch Challenge, With a Chance to WIN!

My dear friends Tonya, of the Stamp Happens Shop, and Beth, of StampInsanity Stamps, are doing a joint Sketch Challenge, and this one has a PRIZE!  

A winner will be randomly selected from all challenge entrants and will receive a free StampInsanity set called Zeke & Maddie.  This set is adorable and perfect for Valentine’s Day – check it out here!

I love a good sketch – and this challenges happens to be all about love too!  That is the one rule to this challenge – to create something based on love or Valentine’s Day.  Oh, and to link back to the Stamp Happens Shop as well.  Click here for all the details and play along!

And here is my challenge card.  A very simple one at that, but definitely about love, in all its pink, Cupid-ish glory!   The designer paper on this card is BoBunny from their Persuasion line (and from Tonya’s shop).

Have a great day & thanks so much for visiting!

What I Used:

Paper: Papertrey Ink white cardstock, Stampin’ Up! Regal Rose cardstock, BoBunny Persuasion designer paper

Stamps:  Pink Paislee

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Regal Rose

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Sizzix embossing folder and Spellbinders Nestabilities curved rectangles dies; dimensionals, Kaiser pearls

Journal for the Breathings of Your Heart

I totally stole those words.  They’re not mine…but I can tell you where you can get ‘em!  That line is from a quote by William Wordsworth, and comes courtesy of a beautiful new stamp from Beth Schultz’s StampInsanity Stamps.  The stamp is from the set called Meet Henry & Morgan and is available exclusively at the Stamp Happens Shop.

Because I am totally obsessed with making Bind-it-All books lately, I thought of using this stamp on a journal as soon as I saw it.   This one is an 8”x8” journal covered with one of my all-time favorite papers from K & Company.   I know from past experience that carrying books around is really hard on any embellishments that are on the covers, so I like to keep books that will actually be regularly used (rather than displayed) really simple.  So to reinforce the die cut labels on the front of the journal, I backed them with a lightweight chipboard and then ran them through my Cuttlebug.  I think I ran them through twice to be sure they cut properly, and that resulted in a really clean cuts and embossing – see below: Here’s a view of the entire front of the journal.  For the labels, I used Papertrey Ink’s Rustic Cream cardstock, which is really nice with its flecks of fiber, and the green shade is Stampin’ Up’s Sage Shadow, a really lovely color. 

The inside covers of the journal were done in Sage Shadow and the back is covered with Stampin’ Up! Creamy Caramel, one of my all-time fave colors.

What I Used:

Paper:  K & Company designer paper; Stampin’ Up! cardstock in Sage Shadow and Creamy Caramel; Papertrey Ink cardstock in Rustic Cream

Stamp:  StampInsanity Stamps, Meet Henry & Morgan set, from the Stamp Happens Shop

Ink:  Versafine in Vintage Sepia

Accessories:  Cuttlebug with Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four dies; Zutter Bind-It-All machine, covers, antique brass o-wires

Pink!

Not P!nk the performer, but about the color pink.  I just wanted the chance to use that funny exclamation point in her name.  Just to amuse myself.  See below, and my post title will be clear – there is some SERIOUS pink going on on this card!  

This cards is a  5 1/4” square card.  I chose the sentiment early in the process and needed to design the card around its size.  This designer paper on this card is by Anna Griffin, one of my favorite designers ever.  How gorgeous is that paper?!!   Paper like this sort of does the work for me; since it’s a large print in such a bright color, I felt that I should leave it alone as much as possible.  The sentiment is on a Nestabilities Label (Four).  I embossed a strip of Stampin’ Up! Rose Red with a Cuttlebug border embossing folder, and that is mounted on Papertrey Ink’s Vintage Cream cardstock punched with an EK Success border punch.  And I added in a Prima rose and Kaiser pink pearls, and done!

See you again tomorrow – I have another Bind-It-All project to show you!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Rose Red cardstock; Anna Griffin designer paper

Stamp:  Inkadinkado from the Happy Days set

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Rose Red

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  border embossing folder from the Frills set, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four die; dimensionals; EK Success border punch; Kaiser pearls; Prima flower

New Wildflower Kids are Coming!

Hey everyone!  Want another sneak peek at a new stamp set?  Well, here you go – Wildflower Kids Stamps is releasing a new set called Autumn Splendor tomorrow and they are as cute as can be!  You’ll find Wildflower Kids Stamps exclusively at the Stamp Happens Shop – go check ‘em out!

And today this post will really feature only a “peek” – my project is still a work in progress.  I’m in the process of making up a little book for myself, filled with info. on the many, many, many steps that I undergo while cooking for Thanksgiving.  I’ve been meaning to collect all of this info. in one place forever – timelines, recipes, various notes, you name it.  And this Autumn Splendor set gave me the perfect image to work with – check out this beautiful cornucopia image!  This will be the cover of my book.  I am waiting a bit to assemble the whole book and to bind it, since I want to take some time to sort out what I want to include so I can determine how many pages the book will need.  I might add tabs for sections, too.  I’ll be sure to post the whole project after it has been completed, but for now, I wanted to give you an idea of the lovely images you’ll find in the Autumn Splendor set! 

The cover of this book was covered with designer paper by 7 Gypsies, and I colored the cornucopia image with Prismacolor pencils.  I used my Cricut to cut the letters for “thanksgiving.”

The Wildflower Kids Autumn Splendor stamp set is a digital set of images by artist Jen Shults, which will be available for purchase and downloading tomorrow at the Stamp Happens Shop. 

Today, the Senior Design Team members of the Stamp Sistahs Design Team will be previewing their projects from the Autumn Splendor set; hop over and take a look!

Beth, owner, StampInsanity Stamps

Jen, owner, Wildflower Kids Stamps; her own blog: Deconstructing Jen

 Tonya, owner, Stamp Happens Shop

The full Stamp Sistahs Design Team will be posting theirs tomorrow.  Visit here tomorrow for links for that.  See you tomorrow!

What I Used:

Paper: 7 Gypsies designer paper; Papertrey Ink cardstock in Vintage Cream and Summer Sunrise; Stampin’ Up! cardstock in Really Rust

Stamp: Wildflower Kids Autumn Splendor set

Ink:  Ranger Archival Ink in jet black; Papertrey Ink in Summer Sunrise

Accessories:  Zutter Bind-it-All chipboard book covers, 8×8” size; Cricut and Storybook cartridge; Prismacolor pencils and gamsol; Cuttlebug and Spellbinders Nestabilities dies in petite oval and scallop oval.

Introducing the New StampInsanity Sets!

Today’s the day!  StampInsanity Stamps has released three new, and fantastic, stamps sets, available now at the Stamp Happens Shop!  Two of the sets, Morgan’s Spell and Halloween Henry, are Halloween-themed.  I posted a card made with the Morgan’s Spell this week (to the right).  The third set, called Morgan’s Love, is a HUGE set that is perfect for all the bookworms out there!  It’s filled with sentiments related to losing yourself in good books and is sooo much fun.  I used this set for my project today.  Morgan is a regular character in the StampInsanity lines – you’ll see her in this badge (at the left) as well.  StampInsanity Stamps are sold exclusively at the Stamp Happen Shop – get ‘em while they last!

Today, the Stamp Sistahs Design Team is unveiling their projects from these three new sets; visit them to check them out!

Senior Design Team Members

Tonya, Stamp Happens; Owner, Stamp Happens Shop

Beth, Stamp Insanity; Owner, StampInsanity Stamps

Jen, Deconstructing Jen

Design Team Members

Alyssa, My Addiction

Donna, Donna’s Diary

Gayle, Little Bird Design

Jacquie, Family and Crafting

Leigh Ann, Stamping With Annie B.

Sarabeth, Scrap Happie

Stephanie, A Paper Buffet

My project today features Morgan, who is happily lost in a good book!  Beth Schultz, the creator of StampInsanity Stamps, is a avid reader and you can really see how much her love of reading inspired the images in this stamp set.  And evidently, Morgan loves to read so much that she even reads in French!  I stamped and paper-pieced the pages of her book with Stampin’ Up!’s French Script background stamp.  Just because it amused me, really. 

So, have fun visiting the Design Team members to see what they have to display today, and then – get yourself to the Stamp Happens Shop and get your own sets!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey ink Vintage Cream and Melon Berry cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Certainly Celery cardstock

Stamps:  StampInsanity Stamps, Morgan’s Love, available at the Stamp Happens Shop; Stampin’ Up! French Script

Ink:  Papertrey Ink Melon Berry

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Sizzix damask embossing folder, Nestabilities long rectangle die; Prima flower; Dew Drops; Copic Markers; dimensionals

StampInsanity Stamps Sneak Peek!

Exciting happenings this week — StampInsanity Stamps is releasing three new sets this week! And wait until you see these — they are FANTASTIC!   Two of the sets, Morgan’s Spell and Halloween Henry, are Halloween-themed.  The third set, called Morgan’s Love, is a HUGE set that is perfect for all the bookworms out there!  It’s filled with sentiments related to losing yourself in good books and is sooo much fun.  I will be displaying a project using that set as soon as I can!

To give you a little hint on the contents of the new sets, here is a card that I made the set called Morgan’s Spell. Morgan is a regular character in the StampInsanity lines – you’ll see her in this badge (at the left) as well. 

StampInsanity Stamps are sold exclusively at the Stamp Happen Shop, beginning on Friday, September 25th.   Today, the members of the Senior Design Team of the Stamp Sistahs are unveiling sneak peeks from these three new sets, and the full Stamp Sistahs Design Team will be posting their projects on Friday.  Visit the Senior Design Team members today to see their awesome projects!

Beth (owner, StampInsanity Stamps)

Tonya (owner, Stamp Happens Shop)

Jen, Deconstructing Jen

And here is my card!  I used the new set called Morgan’s Spell and I could not WAIT to get this witchy little stamp inked up!  How adorable is she? 

Coloring this image was so much fun.  I stamped the image with black ink and colored it with Prismacolor markers, with a couple of glittery highlights done with my fave Jelly Roll pens.  Her earrings just HAD to sparkle!  I used Stickles in Frosted Lace on the moon, and penciled in a little extra “moonglow” around the moon with a really pale blue-grey Prismacolor pencil.  The stars in the background are also from the Morgan’s Spell set and were stamped in metallic silver.  I embossed the white background with a stars texture plate from Fiskars. 

The quote on the card is yet another stamp from this set, and it features the classic witchy quote from Macbeth: 

Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.

~ William Shakespeare

Lots of details for you!  I had a TON of fun making this one.  Be sure to hit the Stamp Happens Shop on Friday to grab these three new sets before they’re gone!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Ballet Blue cardstock; The Paper Company silver metallic cardstock; Bazzill Bling in Tiara

Stamps:  StampInsanity Stamps Morgan’s Spell set (girl image, quote, and stars) from the Stamp Happens Shop

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Ballet Blue and Night of Navy

Accessories:  Cuttlebug: Fiskars texture plate in stars; Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Three die and ribbon slide die; Dew Drops in metallic silver; EK Success deco corner punch; dimensionals; ribbon; Prismacolor markers and pencils; Sakura Jelly Roll pens in silver and clear; Stickles in Frosted Lace

Twilight Tuesday Sketch Challenge 9 – A Great Birthday

A new Twilight Tuesday Sketch Challenge was issued this week, and it’s a great sketch to work with!  Here is one card I made using the sketch, and I’m just about to make a second with it as well. 

This is a masculine birthday card, and the sketch helped to make this one come together really easily.   Visit Twilight Tuesday so that you can play along with this sketch challenge too!  

What I Used:

Paper: Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream & Enchanted Evening cardstock; Graphic 45 Times Nouveau designer paper

Ink:  Papertrey Ink Enchanted Evening & Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tea Dye

Stamp:  Inkadinkado

Accessories:  Cuttlebug: Swiss Dots and Distressed Stripes embossing folders  & Spellbinders Nestabilities curved rectangle dies; Crop-a-Dile & eyelets; Stampin’ Up! ticket corner punch; brad; dimensionals

Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge 42 – Unlikely Friendships

Yay – Twilight Tuesday time!  I sat out last week’s challenge, which honestly felt a little odd, so I’m happy to be back in the swing of things. 

Our Guest Designer Erica came up with this week’s challenge to celebrate unlikely friendships.  Erica was inspired by the relationships in Breaking Dawn, and in particular, Jacob’s relationship with Leah (someone is not easy to get along with).  Here’s Erica’s description:

For the craft portion: Make a project using at least 2 items that you wouldn’t think normally go together. Whether it be two colors, or two different patterns or something elegant and rough, it is up to you. As far as the subject, have fun with it. Celebrate one of your unlikely friendships or an unlikely friendship in the Twilight Saga.
For the comment portion: Do you have an unlikely friendship? What makes you different but what unites you at the same time?

Click here for all the details on the challenge, and be sure to visit the blogs of the other Design Team members to see their projects!  (Please note – only those listed are participating this week; some team members are taking a break today, and Jen expects to post her project tomorrow.)

Alison ~ Dani ~ Donna ~ Eve ~ Jacquie ~ Rebecca

and, filling in for Margie, our challenge hostess Erica

So, my project…I think that an explanation would be helpful with this one.

The unlikely friendship that I focused on is that of Jacob and Rosalie in Breaking Dawn.  I’m not sure that they ever do feel very warm and fuzzy towards each other, but they do manage to unite a little bit over their shared devotion to Renesmee.  So, I decided to make a card that sort of portrays the conflict between Rosalie and Jacob. 

In keeping with the challenge, I include both rougher, masculine touches for Jacob, alongside feminine and elegant touches for Rosalie.  (As you can see, Rosalie won out on the color scheme.)

Here’s the round-down on what went into this card —

The Rough, Jacob Elements:  The main focal point for Jacob is a  panel of the blonde jokes that he taunted Rosalie with in Breaking Dawn.  This panel was computer-generated and I used the Jacob handwriting font called Almagro.  The background is embossed with a distressed stripe pattern.  I also added a wolf paw print stamp and rough-looking deckled edges to the panel.

The Elegant, Rosalie Elements:  Rosalie’s got the bottom half of the card – her background is an elegant damask print designer paper.  The Rosalie focal point is the stamp, which says “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”  Because, really – beauty’s a very important concept for Rosalie.  I glitzed up the stamped image with Sakura Jelly Roll pens and used a corner punch and purple Dew Drops to add a few more girly touches.   As usual, the sparkle doesn’t show up well in the photos, though.

So what do you think – did my ideas come across on paper?  This project may be a little hard to understand at first glance, but I hope that my explanation helped with that!

What I Used:

Paper:  Stampin’ Up! Elegant Eggplant, Lovely Lilac, and Amost Amethyst cardstock; Papertrey Ink white cardstock; Tinkering Ink designer paper

Stamps:  Artful INKables (paw print); Autumn Leaves (beauty)

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Elegant Eggplant

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Distressed Stripes embossing folder; Fiskars deckle edge scissors; EK Success deco corner punch; Robin’s Nest Dew Drops; Sakura Jelly Roll pens in Clear Star and Purple Star; dimensionals

If I Could Dream At All: Twilight Sketch Challenge

Here’s a card that I made for the Twilight Tuesday Sketch Challenge (TTSC6).  Dani has provided a great sketch for this month – check it out here and play along!

The challenge is to make a Twilight-themed card with the sketch, and I was a little liberal with that since the card is so very bright and not all that Twilight-like.  But they can’t all be red and black, right?  I was really in the mood to use this designer paper that matches very well with Stampin’ Up! Rose Red.  So I brought it back to Twilight by using a quote stamp from the Artful INKables set Fictionally Inspired set:

“If I could dream at all, it would be about you.” 

Oh, swoon-worthy Edward.  What a way with words he has.

Card components:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream, Stampin’ Up! Rose Red cardstock; Anna Griffin designer paper; Hambly Screen Prints transparencies

Stamp:  Artful INKables Fictionally Inspired Set

Ink: Stampin’ Up! Rose Red

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Birds & Vines embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities long oval dies; ribbon; dimensionals; Kaiser pearls