Red, White and Blue

I thought I'd skip the challenge at BBTB2 because I really didn't have any printed red, white and/or blue paper and plain just wouldn't do.  Then I stopped in to my local "dime store" where they have a very small scrapbook section.  That's not what I went in there for, but couldn't resist taking a look.  And there it was, a red stripe and blue polka dot.  I snatched them up and decided to use the sketch from Mojo Monday to make my patriotic card.  I'm also entering it into the My Sheri Crafts "Oh I Love America" challenge.

My square card is 5 1/2 by 5 1/2.   I used plain red for the layer under the stripe, and navy blue under the star embossed rectangle and the circle.  The flag cut is from A Child's Year. 

It promises to be a great day at the lake.  Hope you all have fun plans for the weekend and coming holiday week.

Hot Summer

It really has been a hot summer this past week.  I'm glad we're headed up to the lake for the week.  Today's card is for the Hot Summer Colors challenge at My Craft Spot.

I started out picking what I thought were hot summer colors from a Core-dinations 6 x 6 stack.  In trying to decide how to layering them, I stuck scrap pieces of white between.  I liked the look so well I decided to keep it.  Each double layer (white and color) are popped up.  Next I needed to decide what to put on the top layer.  I wanted bright green and nothing says green like a lizard.  He's from Life is a Beach and it even had the sentiment attached.  Perfect!

Call Me!

Whew!  I just made the deadling for CAS-ual Friday and their "Pretty in Pink" challenge.  I saw the card I made last week in my folder when adding other cards.  My notes say the deadline is Wednesday noon, so I thought I missed it.  I was so glad to see it's Thursday at noon. 

I cut the cellphone from Paisley.  There is also one on Going Places and it might have been a better image but I didn't know it was there at the time.  This one I had to alter to make a space for the vellum screen that I printed the "Call Me!" on.  I cut the bottom layer in silver metallic and the pink from a DCWV Glitter stack.  Cellphones don't look much like this anymore (in fact I cut the ariel off this one), especially if you have an iPhone like I just got.   It still makes a great card, though.  Any young girl would love to have a glittery pink cellphone I'm sure.

In a Pickle?

Okay, I admit it.  I like to do things differently.  When the Fantabulous Cricut made their challenge "BBQ Time", a lot of people made hot dogs or hamburgers.  Not me.  lol  Here's my card.

The minute I saw the pickle on "Just Because Cards" I knew that was my card.  You do eat pickles at a BBQ, right?  This card is 3 1/2 by 7.  I cut the bottom layer of the pickle in a darker green and the top in a lighter Core-dinations cardstock.  I dry embossed it with the Swiss Dots folder, sanded and then inked with Peeled Paint Distress Ink.  Sanding first made the green ink show up more. 

I printed the sentiment on the computer, then cut a piece of green print paper (from a Recollections stack, I believe) to fit just inside it.  I layered on a piece of white cardstock and popped up the pickle on it.  Yum!

I am also entering this in Paper Playtime's "Anything Goes plus Sentiment".

Harley Birthday

The sketch this week for The Paper Players inspired me to make this card for my husband's son who is celebrating his birthday the end of this week.  

He rides a motorcycle so I thought the circle cut from Going Places would be the thing to use for the center of the sketch.  And I HAD to use Harley Davidson colors. :)

I tried something new on this card, too.  Sewing.  I always wanted to do some but hesitated to use my good machine on paper.  What can it hurt?  It's the needle that takes the beating so I'll save a needle just for paper.   The stitching doesn't show up much on the black in the picture but it's there.  Next time I'll do a closer zigzag stitch but it's not bad for my first try.

The sentiment was stamped with VersaMark and embossed with white and the circle was popped up.  I even used the negative (positive?) cut on the inside of the card.

I'm also entering this in the Happy Birthday challenge at Celebrate the Occasion.

Summer Colors

Red is my favorite color.  I don't usually mix it with orange and yellow but I don't know why not.  Those colors remind me of a beautiful sunset.  They are also the colors for the Die Cuttin' Divas challenge this week.  I combined the colors with this sketch from Freshly Made.

I had a piece of paper from K and Company that had the colors in it and it was screaming "use me!" 

The card base is yellow.  The print has what looks like dahlias on it so I took a similar image from Elegant Edges and cut the loopy part in yellow, the background in red, added another circle of the print in the center and popped it up on dimesionals.  The bottom section is a coordinating orange with the sentiment stamped in red.  I thought I was done until I looked again and noticed the three little dots on the sketch.  Out came some yellow rhinestones to finish it off. 

I had some trouble photographing this card.  I took one in natural light and the color was WAY off.  I took another one in my paper light box and it looked very yellowy.  I changed the bulb in my lamp to one of the new compact fluorescents and this is what I got.  It still doesn't look very bright although the color is pretty close.  Any suggestions?

Cool Treat

The challenge for My Craft Spot is "Cool Treats".  What's a cool treat to me?  I don't eat ice cream anymore so I didn't want to do a cone.  Popsicles are nice but a few others had already used that idea.  When I did one of my Father's Day cards, I was looking through Life is a Beach and came across this lovely looking drink.  Aha!  That's my cool treat.

I used a lot of distress inks and a little sanding on my layers to make them more realistic.  I loved the drink when I got done but then - how to mount it on a card.  I just HAD to have Elegant Edges but hardly ever use it.  I figured this would be a good time to get it out and make a top note.  Then I wanted something bright for the background but most of my papers wouldn't show much around the edges.  This diagonal stripe from Studio G was the answer.  Makes me want to make one for real, except I think I can do without the hollowed out pineapple. 

Stamps?

When I saw this sketch from Mojo Monday, I immediately thought of postage stamps for some reason.  Maybe because I just got a postage punch?  ( I didn't even use it for this.)   And what goes better with stamps than postcards. 

The background paper, with light writing on it, is from MMI Lost and Found.  I used the middle of the paper to cut the postage stamp background with MS Seasonal Cake cartridge.  It's actually a font but I hid the contours of the letters with DS.  I fussy cut some other paper from Lost and Found that looked like images you would find on stamps.  They are barely visible but I rather liked that look.  There's a crown, bird and bike.  The postcard section is cut from a photo stack and everything is aged with Antique Linen Distress Ink.  I wrapped the twine from My Craft Spot to look like a stack of cards (?).  This could be used for a regular note card or almost any occasion with the right sentiment inside.

Sunny Outlook

It's been hot and humid here.  How about where you are?  We don't have air conditioning but fortunately our house stays rather cool.  I don't exert myself much, just sit and craft. : )

My card for today is for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge, "On a Clear Day" (use vellum or acetate).

The card is 3 1/2 by 7.  I cut the glasses from Nifty Fifty in 3 layers, black for the bottom, yellow vellum for the "glass" and green texture (from a DCWV texture and finishes stack).  I added a little green rhinestone to the frame.  The sentiment is computer generated. 

Purple Hat Day

I've been swamped but still trying to get to my favorite challenges.  When I saw the "Use Purple" on the challenge at Little Scrap Pieces, I knew just what to do.  Actually, what I have done.  These cards have been done since the first of the year but I never had the opportunity to post it.  Now's the time.

I send birthday cards to my Red Hat sisters (anonymously but I bet they know).  This is the card for this year.  For those of you who don't know, Red Hatters wear purple hats during their birthday month, so I made this one from Kate's ABCs.  I embossed the background with the Paisley folder.  The sentiment inside says "Put on your Birthday hat and Celebrate!"

Now I'm off to get another card ready for a challenge deadline and then to lunch with some female classmates.  We got together last month and decided it should be a monthly event. 

Bluebirds in Love

I quickly made a card this morning so I could get it into the Freshly Made challenge before the deadline.  Here's the sketch.

I just happend to have an image from pcCrafter laying on my work table that I printed out the other day.  I thought it would fit in perfectly with this sketch.

While looking for some coordinating paper, I ran across this border print in a K and Company stack called Best of Brenda Walton.  It matched the flowers in the image almost perfectly.  I fussy cut around it to give it more of a natural look.  The green card base and pink circle were both from a Core-dinations 8 x 8 pack.  I inked the circles with Tea Dye Distress Ink and popped them up on foam.

I wanted this to be an anniversary card because of the cute, loving bluebirds but alas I didn't have an anniverary stamp and didn't want to add another piece of paper with a computer printout.  Hmmm.  Lightbulb!!  I recently purchased some transparency film, so I printed the sentiment on it, reverse image and used it as a rub-on.  I need a little more practice with this technique but I think I'm going to love it.

You're a Lifesaver

 Fantabulous Cricut,  Die Cuttin' Divas and My Craft Spot all have Father's Day challenges.  I have already made the card I'm giving my Dad this year but still wanted to enter these challenges.  The one for FCCB is to use an outdoor theme.  I don't have a lot of images that would qualify but when I saw the lifeguard chair on Life's a Beach I knew I had to use it.

My Dad used to be a lifeguard when he was younger.  He also taught life saving to his Boy Scouts  and worked the waterfront at Scout camp for years and years.  He's also been my lifesaver at times not having to do with water.  *_*  Thanks, Dad, for all you've done.

Now, before I tear up, here's my card:

I cut both layers of the chair in white and then added some Weathered Wood Distress Ink for shading.  I really didn't like the looks of it using another color for the bottom layer.  The umbrella paper was from my scrap pile.  The sky and sand papers were just that.  lol  The life preserver was cut from the same cartridge.  I ran some twine from My Craft Spot through the holes and stamped the Dad from part of the Tiny Tags set from My Craft Spot.  It originally said "for Dad" but I used a marker and colored just the Dad part.  As I was working on it, I wasn't sure about some of the elements and how they came together but seeing it here I think it's kind of neat.

Smile

Today's card is based on the sketch at Card Patterns.

I tend to follow sketches pretty closely but was determined to change that on this one.  I had in mind an image I wanted to use.  I eliminated the circle and used the image in it's place.

I cut the camera from Create a Critter.  The paper is from a glimmer stack except the black, which I covered with Glossy Accents to make it look like glass.  The other paper is from random places.  I cut the tag from a punch and stamped it with a TPC stamp that I colored with a marker to get it the same orangey color.  I also antiqued the edges to fit in more with the antiqued background.

Now that I've made this image, I want to use it on some of my scrapbook pages.  Speaking of, I NEED to get back to scrapbooking.  I am so far behind, although I do have all my pictures organized in chronological order by event.  It will be easy to pull out a group of photos and start scrapping.  I just need to put cardmaking aside for a while.  It breaks my heart to say that.  Maybe I can make time for both.



Best Dad

So many Father's Day challenges and only one father.   The card I have today doesn't qualify for all of them, so I guess I'll have to make another one (I already have one I made for a challenge a couple of weeks ago.)  I actually made this for the Friday Mashup - It's for the Birds (use sketch, use bird or mash it up and use both).

The image is from my pcCrafter collection (by Laurie Furnell).  The patterned papers are from DCWV's Amber Autumn stack.  I inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  The little tag and sentiment are from My Craft Spot.  I won this "Tiny Tags" set last week on Kimberly's challenge. Thank you, Kimberly.  I'm loving it!

I am also entering this in the following challenges:
My Sheri Crafts #87 - Father's Day
Little Scrap Pieces - Father's Day
Celebrate the Occasion #66 - Father's Day

Changing Spots

The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is polka dots.  I decided I wanted to try out one of the stamps on the Tim Holtz Ultimate Grunge collection that I purchased a while ago.  I don't know why I bought it, but it intrigued me.  Even though most of my cards don't show it, I really like old, rusty, grungy things.  

I started out experimenting.  At first I colored the dots with markers and stamped on white.  I liked the look but when I did the second stamping, I forgot to reink one of the colors.   I had this scrap of kraft cardstock and decided to stamp it in white.  Then I changed my mind again and stamped it with VersaMark and embossed it with white.  Now what?  Okay, stamp the sentiment from the new set I got the other day from TPC Studio but in what color?  Decided that the dark brown would look good.  Let's grunge it up a little more by tearing one corner and inking the edges with the same brown.  Looking pretty good but something's missing.  Wait!  What about some bling in the O?  Bling and grunge?   Maybe not, at least in this case.  Well why not emboss it, too, so that's what I did.  Not as fancy as some of the entries I've seen in this challenge but I'm having fun trying different things.  And that's the point, isn't it?

Pandamania

Pandamania is the theme for Vacation Bible School this year.  I thought I'd send this little card made from the Freshly Made sketch to the director, thanking her for all the work she does.

The panda image is from my collection of HugWare by pcCrafter (already colored for those of you who might think I do a great job of coloring).  I mounted him on green to bring out the bamboo he's chewing on.  The background purple is embossed with the Floral Scene folder.  I thought it looked a little like bamboo and as I was doing it, I wished I had reversed the colors but the green was a scrap the perfect size.  I wrapped some twine from My Craft Spot and cut the edge with decorative scissors. 

I stamped the sentiment (yes, I said stamped, unusual for me) partly because I broke down and bought a stamp set 50% off at JoAnn's the other day.  I went in to get some blades for my paper trimmer and found out all their scrapbooking stuff was on sale.  Unfortunately one of the other things I really needed they didn't have.  If my husband hadn't been waiting in the car, I might have spent more time looking - and buying.  Maybe that's a good thing.  lol

Lightning Bugs

I'm taking a trip down memory lane here.  When I was growing up, I remember catching lightning bugs with the little boy next door.  We grabbed them out of the air and put them in a canning jar.  When we had a jar full, we'd let them go.

When my oldest children were young, we'd always say "Want to go see the lightning bugs?"  It was a treat for them to drive along the country roads and see the little blinking lights.   They were unaware that it was just a ruse to put them to sleep.   For some reason, a car ride would put them out like a light (no pun intended) but we had to have a reason to go.  Lightning Bugs it was. 

So here is my bug card for Fantabulous Cricut Challenge - Don't Bug Me.

I cut the jar, first in white, then in vellum, from Kate's ABCs.  I prefer the jar on Doodlecharms but I needed the outline on this image to help cover the glue on the vellum.  I handcut bugs, adding yellow rhinestones to their tails, and sandwiched them between the layers.  I hid the contours on the lid and embossed it with silver embossing powder.   The dark blue background (night sky?) was embossed with my new Cuttlebug folder - Baby's Breath.

Here is a closeup of the lightning bugs - fireflies if you prefer.

You can see how their tails look like they are lit up.  It makes me want to go find some.  I haven't seen any around where I live in quite a while.

Summertime

When I typed my title, music popped into my head.  It has a tendency to do that.  There's Summertime and the livin' is easy, or Summertime, summertime, sum sum summertime.  Or how about In the good old summertime?  No I'm not THAT old, I just know the song.  lol

There were a couple of summer time challenges I decided to enter, plus a sketch from Die Cuttin Divas  that brought it all together.

Nothing says summer like sand between your toes, bright colored beach towels and flip flops.  I put them all together into this one card.  The flip flops are cut from Life is a Beach as are the tiny star fish.  The two different sand papers  (notice that's two separate words - * wink*) have their edges roughed up a little before inking.  The straps on the shoes were embossed with UTEE and I used a water paper for the bottom layer.  Everything is popped up on foam tape.

I'm also entering this into My Sheri Crafts' Summer Loving challenge and Paper Players #98 Summertime.



5 Little Scraplings

Here is the "Friday Mashup" Challenge :

Make a project using " Scraps of Pattern Paper or Ribbons ".

Or Make a " Scrapling ".

Or "Mash it Up" and create a " Scrapling using Scraps or Pattern Paper or Ribbons. ".

Here is my answer:

I recently made some dividers for the boxes I keep my cards in.  They needed to be 5 1/2" by 7" which meant I cut off the ends.  I had a number of these 1 1/2" by 11"  scraps which I trimmed to 1 1/2" by 8 1/2" and then folded in half.

I went through my pattern paper scrap folder and came up with these.  The first one, on the left, is sheet music background and I wrote "for you" in brown pen.  The second is an embossed left over that was 1 1/2" wide - it was meant to be (wink).  I rounded the corners just to make it different.

The middle one I attached a punched piece of black to the black and white check.  Believe it or not, the next one is made from the back of the label on a designer paper.  I stamped "Happy Birthday" in the white space.  The last one is a piece of orange that matched the little flowers in the middle.  I didn't even have to trim the flower piece at all.  I stamped "Thanks so much" at the bottom.  This is the little CTMH stamp I got from "She's a Sassy Lady" a while ago when I posted a card on her blog.

I punched a hole and tied matching ribbons on to make gift tags.  They were so much fun - and easy.  Thanks, Friday Mashup for the challenge.

Eh?

Some sketches speak to me and some don't.  They call them challenges because that's what they should do, challenge you to work it out.  After seeing some of the cards, either by the DT or those who've already submitted their entries to Card Patterns, I was thinking I might not follow through with posting this.  Then I decided "Art is subjective."  What appeals to some, does not appeal to others, so here it is. 

I had this paper from K and Company laying on my work table just waiting to use it.  I thought this challenge provided the right sketch.  Maybe it's the proportions that are wrong.  I'm not sure but I'm not in love with this card.

Red, White and Birthday

I recently purchased the chevron die from Papertrey Ink and was anxious to make a card with it.  The Less is More challenge, use red, white and blue, seemed like just the thing. 

The checked background is not part of the card.  I just used it so you could see the card edge.

School Time

I got a new punch from Fiskars and was anxious to use it on a card.  I thought maybe the sketch from Freshly Made might be the answer.

When I saw the "any shape", it conjured up more ideas - and a card was born.

The card base is kraft cardstock.  The new notebook punch was used on a lined paper from Lost and Found by MME.  The chalkboard paper was something I had in my stash.  I now wish I had cut it square but I tend to stick to the actual sketch, much to my creative detriment.  And what better for a school theme than a pencil that was cut from Simply Charmed.  I made it red to coordinate with the lines in the paper.  It was looking a little plain so I did some pen stitching around the edge.  I like the overall idea buy may tweek it a little for another card.

You're a Star

I originally had a different card in mind when I saw the challenge at CAS-ual Fridays "Put a Bling on It."  Then I heard that my granddaughter's 3 person team is one of six in the semi-finals out of 100 teams in the Capstone program at her Middle School.  I think she deserves a card.

I knew I wanted the star theme and remembered that I had gotten these double-sided sticky stars at a now defunct Dollar Daze store a long time ago.  I knew they'd come in handy someday.  *_*   I printed the sentiment on the computer and embossed with the Stars embossing folder part way up.  I stuck on the star, peeled off the top layer and poured glitter all over it, patting it down well.  If they win, I may have to add a little something to this card. 

Sew Thoughtful

There is some paper in the Lost and Found stack by My Mind's Eye that looks like a clothing pattern.  I thought about how to use it and when I found the dress form cut on the Nifty Fifty cartridge, I knew I had a plan.

I'm not much of a buttons and bows kind of card designer but that was the challenge at My Craft Spot this week.  I figured this was the right card to use them on.  The bow is from actual seam binding that was in my sewing cupboard.  I might as well confess that I have quite a stash of buttons, too.  They were bought to use on blouses or dresses I was going to make and never did. 

I cut two of the images, one in kraft cardstock and one in black and cut them apart.  I heat embossed the black to make it look like wrought iron.  The sentiment was computer generated and printed on a scrap of the pattern paper. 

I am also entering this in two "Anything Goes" challenges.  Celebrate the Occasion and Die Cuttin' Divas.