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

Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge: Touchy-Feely Valentine

Oh my goodness, I feel like I have been away for so long!  A little injury has slowed me (and my crafting!) down a lot lately, but things are improving now – yay!

So here is my better late than never project for this week’s Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge theme.  Donna has come up with this week’s theme, and here is what she has to say about it:

Craft Portion: Make a VALENTINE’S card/project for your favourite character or for YOUR valentine… but…. with texture!! That’s right I want you to add things like lace, raised embossing, distressed edges, fuzzy fibres, metal, cloth, cracked glass, leather, flower soft, sandpaper, anything that adds texture!

Comment Portion: Tell us your favourite Valentine’s story…Or if you haven’t got one, Tell us who you would like to snuggle up on Valentine’s day with from the Twilight Saga.

Click here for further details about the challenge and how to play along.  And as always, our Design Team has fantastic projects to display for this week’s challenge – please go and check them out!

Alison ~ Dani ~ Donna ~ Erica ~Jen ~ Jodi ~ Margie ~ Rebecca~ Tonya (who expects to be a little late)

And here is my card for this week – one that features fabric!  I have lots of fabric on hand since I often make fabric-covered journals, but I rarely use it on cards.  Donna’s challenge gave me a great opportunity to give it another go.

Here’s a closer look at the fabric heart.  I die-cut the fabric with a Spellbinders heart die and backed it with batting to give it lots of dimension.  I am loving the feel of this thing — it’s puffy like a little pillow!  I’m not sure that comes across in this photo, but hopefully you will take my word for it.    The background of the card is also embossed, adding in a little bit more texture.

Thanks very much for visiting – I’ll be back again soon!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream and Smokey Shadow cardstock; Stampin’ Up!  Riding Hood Red cardstock

Stamp:  Autumn Leaves/Rhonna Farrer

Ink:  Stampin’ Up!  Riding Hood Red

Other Materials:  Cuttlebug:  Sizzix embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities heart die and curved rectangle die; fabric; batting; Sakura Jelly Roll pen in clear; buttons; ribbon; dimensionals.

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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

Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge – Seeing Red

Hey – it’s Twilight Tuesday time! Our Design Team member Erica has chosen today’s challenge theme, and it’s all about the color red.  Here’s what Erica has to say:

Create a project either using the color red or expressing what red means to you. Comment portion: Tell your best “red” story.  Is it that great red dress that caught everyone’s attention?  Have you “seen red” before?  Anyone like Red Velvet Cake?  Anything goes!

Click here for further details about the challenge and how to play along.  And as always, our Design Team has fantastic projects to display for this week’s challenge – please go and check them out!

Alison ~ Dani ~ Donna ~ Erica ~Jen ~ Jodi ~ Margie ~ Rebecca~ Tonya

Here’s my project for today – lots of red here!  And lots of photos too, so you can get a closer look at some of the details.  I used this week’s Mojo Monday sketch for this card as well.  (Sketch + deadline = a big help!)

A closer look at the stamped portion —

And the beaded pin —

Thanks so much for visiting – have a great day!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock, Bazzill Bling Red Carpet; Basic Grey Wassail designer paper

Stamps:  Cornish Heritage Farm

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Riding Hood Red

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Victorian embossing folder; Vintage corner die; Spellbinders Nestabilities petite circles dies; ribbon; dimensionals; Kaiser pearls; beads, wire. 

Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge – Our First Color Challenge!

Happy Tuesday!  Twilight Tuesday has a really cool thing happening for today – our very first Color Challenge!  The challenge colors for this week feature the colors of lovely Edward’s features.  Alison is our hostess this week; check out her description below: 

The first color is Butterscotch for his eyes (when he isn’t hungry!), second is Alabaster for his pale, pale skin, and third is Reddish-Brown for his fabulous hair!

As always, be sure to visit the lovely members of our Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge Design Team to see what they have in store for this week’s challenge! 

Alison ~ Beth ~ Dani ~ Donna ~Erica ~ Jen ~ Jodi ~Margie ~ Rebecca

And here is my project for this week – an ode to Edward.  Hehe.  It seems that every so often I need to do an ode to Edward, and this is my New Moon-era version. 

This card looks better in person – I could never get an accurate photo of all the glitter!  But see that glitter cardstock there?  This stuff is the nicest glitter paper EVER.  I transported this stuff home with me all the way from Texas!  (Tonya!  Hey girl!)  During my visit with Tonya,  of course we had to do a little crafty shopping, and I found this glitter paper at a store local to her.  It’s the BEST – it’s sort of soft to the touch and the glitter does not fall off of the paper.  I don’t know how they do it – you’re usually covered with glitter when you use paper like this! The paper is made by a company called Best Creation – look for it!  Trust me – it’s amazing stuff – SO bright and sparkly! 

I only wish you could see the glitter better on this card!  It is so very bright and shiny in real life that I had to stop myself from embellishing the card any further!  I used a gold glitter cardstock (covering the Butterscotch for Edward’s eyes) and a bronze glitter shade (for the Reddish-Brown of his hair).  Some Bazzill Bling paper in an “Alabaster” shade called String of Pearls stands in for that pale Cullen skin tone.  That is the shade of the embossed background of the card.

I was absolutely THRILLED with this sentiment (Beauty is Soul-Deep) for Edward – does that capture him or what?  He doesn’t seem to fully comprehend his beauty, nor does he really believe (at some points in the books, at least) that he is capable of having a soul.   But we, the readers, know better, don’t we?  Of course we do!

Thanks so much for visiting – have a great day!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Creamy Caramel cardstock; Best Creation glitter cardstock in gold and bronze; Bazzill Bling in String of Pearls

Stamps:  Artful INKables from the Fictionally Inspired set (Edward name stamp); sentiment from Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink:  Brilliance Ink in Coffee Bean, Papertrey Ink Vintage Touch distressing inks

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Sizzix embossing folder, Cuttlebug tag die, Cuttlebug Vintage corner die, Spellbinders Fancy Tag die, and Spellbinders Nestabilities petite oval die; brad; EK Success corner punch.

Photo of Robert Pattinson from The Twilight Saga: New Moon, property of Summit Entertainment

Birthday Wishes

Oh, my poor neglected blog!  Rather than dwelling on my guilt over my lack of posting, how about I just show you my card?

This one, a birthday card for my sister, is my latest attempt with my Copics. I believe that this Elisabeth Bell stamp is meant to be a holiday image (note the holly!), but I overlooked that for this card since I wanted to use purples.   Hopefully I got away with it! 

Here is a look at the entire card:

And a closer look at the stamped image that was colored with Copics:

I hope you all have a great weekend!  I’ll definitely be posting more projects next week.  Thanks so much for visiting!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream cardstock, Stampin’ Up! Elegant Eggplant cardstock; Tinkering Ink Provincial Fair designer paper

Stamps:  Elisabeth Bell for Whiff of Joy stamps; Inkadinkado (sentiment); Stampin’ Up! Baroque Motifs (swirl)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black; Versamark; Stampin’ Up! Almost Amethyst

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eight die; EK Success border punch; Kaiser pearls; ribbon; dimensionals; clear embossing powder; Copic markers; Sakura Gelly Roll pens

Wildflower Kids New Stamp Release

Two new Wildflower Kids stamp sets are being released today and are available at the Stamp Happens Shop!  Check out these little cuties – the girls’ set is called Pretty In Pink and the boys’ set is called No Girls Allowed. 

And here is my card that features the Pretty in Pink set – this little one is Ivy.  

This card is also loosely based on a Twilight Tuesday Sketch Challenge (TTSC9, to be specific).  We’re doing a review of all 15 of the past sketches this week – click here to check them out!   And while you’re clicking away, be sure to visit the members of the Stamp Sistahs Design Team to see what they have created for today!

Jen, Deconstructing Jen; Owner, Wildflower Kids Stamps

Tonya, Stamp Happens

Alyssa, My Addiction

Donna, Donna’s Diary

Gayle, Little Bird Design

Leigh Ann, Stamping With Annie B.

Sarabeth, Scrap Happie

Stephanie, A Paper Buffet

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock; Bazzill Bling (peach) and Bazzill cardstock (pink); Chatterbox designer paper

Stamps:  Wildflower Kids Pretty in Pink stamp set, available at the Stamp Happens Shop

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black and Stampin’ Up! Cameo Coral

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Floral Fantasy embossing folder & Spellbinders Nestabilities flower die; dimensionals; ribbon; Prima flower

Create, Inspiration Will Find You

I have a project to share with  you today, but first, a quick note about New Moon – Friday’s the day for the movie release (of course) and also the day of the Twilight Tuesday New Moon blog hop! Visit Twilight Tuesday for all of the details and join in!

And here’s my project for today — a journal that I made for the lovely and talented Alison, one of my fellow Design Team members for Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge. Alison very kindly sent me a package of gifts, including a beautiful necklace that she made herself, and I wanted a way to thank her.   So this journal is for her!  Alison is very creative so I could just imagine her sketching or writing away in this journal.  Here’s a look at the front cover of the book.

And a closer look at the quote on the front cover, with a quote that I love and thought was suitable for Alison: 

Create – follow your heart, inspiration will find you.  Find your heart.  Be yourself.

What I Used:

Paper:  Anna Griffin designer paper; Stampin’ Up! Rose Red & Pink Pirouette (on inside covers); Bazzill grey

Stamp:  Hero Arts

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Rose Red

Accessories:  Zutter Bind-it-All machine and o-wires; Spellbinders Nestabilities long rectangle and scalloped long rectangle dies; Prima flower, Dew Drops

For the Birthday Girl!

For my post from earlier today about Twilight Tuesday and the New Moon Blog Hop, please click here!

And onto the new post – I am excited to share these two projects because I had such a fun time making them!  This set, including a birthday card and a journal, is for an 8-year-old girl and I loved using these bright, cheerful colors and the lovely fairies!  I’ve got lots of photos to share – let’s get going!

Here is the front cover of the journal.  The fairy stamp is from Inkadinkado and the letters for the name were cut with my Cricut and the Don Juan cartridge.  I love the look of that font – it’s clean-looking and whimsical all at the same time.  I wanted the fairy to be really colorful, so I stamped the image with a Kaleidacolor Spectrum ink pad and colored it with Copic markers with touches of glitter from Sakura Gelly Roll pens. Here is the inside of the journal. The inside covers are covered with Stampin’ Up’s Cameo Coral and the pages are plain white.

And here’s the birthday card! Another fairy image from the same stamp set is on here, and I colored her with Prismacolor pencils and added lots of glittery touches. I managed to get a couple of photos that actually show that, which never happens – see below! I am loving these new Nestabilities Labels (these are Labels 9) – such a lovely shape.

I don’t yet have any items like this for little girls in my Etsy store, but I hope to add some items like this there soon.  Thank you for visiting – see you again soon!

What I Used:

Journal:

Paper:  DCWV Posies designer paper; Papertrey Ink white cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Cameo Coral cardstock; Bazzill Bling in diamond (white); Bazzill purple cardstock (for back cover of book, not pictured)

Stamps:  Inkadinkado Beautiful Fairies stamp set

Ink: Kaleidacolor Spectrum ink pad and Stampin’ Up! Cameo Coral ink

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Spellbinders Nestabilities petite oval dies; Cricut with Don Juan cartridge; Prima flower; Copic Ciao markers and Sakura Gelly Roll pens

Card:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Cameo Coral and Lavender Lace cardstock; DCWV Posies designer paper

Stamps:  Inkadinkado Beautiful Fairies and Collaged Expressions stamp sets

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Stampin’ Up! Cameo Coral

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 9 dies and ribbon slide die; Fiskars Threading Water border punch; EK Success deco corner punch; Kaiser rhinestones; Papertrey Ink ribbon; Prima flowers; Robin’s Nest Dew Drop; dimensionals; Prismacolor pencils; Sakura Gelly Roll pens.

Halloween, Vampire-Style

Happy Halloween everyone!  This is a good day to share a project I made with Beth’s StampInsanity Stamp set called Halloween Henry.   This set, along with all of the other stamps in the StampInsanity line, are available exclusively at Tonya’s Stamp Happens Shop.

And here is Henry himself, in full vamp regalia.  One thing I love about this guy is that he seems so happy to be a vampire!  He’s quite pleased about the whole situation.   Another thing from Tonya’s shop, used in this card – my new of Copic markers!  I’m not sure, but I believe this might be my first Copic-colored card.  It honestly didn’t occur to me to record the information on which colors I used, but I will definitely work on that for future posts.

Have a great weekend, and thanks so much for visiting!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream and Black cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Riding Hood Red cardstock; Jenni Bowlin designer paper

Stamps:  StampInsanity Stamps Halloween Henry set (vampire, sentiments, and bats)

Ink:  Versafine black and Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tea Dye

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Swiss Dots embossing folder, and Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels and tag dies; Making Memories black brads; black adhesive jewels, Copic Markers;  Sakura Gelly Roll pens