CF #126 and CASology #70

I love it when a couple of challenges come together.  The first thing I thought of when I saw the CASual Friday cue

was Mondrian.  That also works into the cue at CASology

I actually designed this on my old but very precious to me Cricut Design Studio.  I thought the sentiment fit such a bright card.

I also thought I'd show you a picture to go along with my card.

This is me, my granddaughters Emily and Kjerstin and DIL Christy painting a Mondrian mural on granddaughter Allyson's basement wall.   My daughter Lisa and granddaughter Anneka were also there for our annual Girls' Week Out.  Sad to say we didn't get it entirely finished.  Allyson had to paint all the black where the green tape is.

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep warm and create on.

CTS #49 and CF #117

I had a few minutes during Dancing with the Stars last night to make a card for CASE This Sketch

and CAS-ual Fridays.

The balloons were cut from George and Basic Shapes, the stitched lines are from PTI's Sew Simple Borders, and the sentiment is from Hero Arts.

I'm not sure when I'll have time to make another card.  I am making Spanish dancer skirts for the ballet company that my granddaughter is in and they need to be done ASAP.  Other things keep getting in the way and I'm beginning to wonder when I'll have time to sit down and sew.  I had to come up with my own pattern and I do have one skirt cut out.  After they are sewn together, I need to ruffle 10 yards of lace to sew on them.  Wish me luck.

Thanks for stopping by.  May your day be filled with joy.

Shock, ATCAS #17 and OCC

I am still in a state of shock.  I commented every day on Papertrey Ink's July Release posts and when the daily winners were announced, my name was not among them.  Then they drew for the $150 GC.  Glory Be and Gosh Darn., I won!!!  The only sad part about this is the stamp set I wanted to get is already out of stock.  I can wait.  Meantime I make up a list of the others things I want.  (picture me still smiling).

I've been a little slow with my card making.  The temperatures here are blistering and we do not have air conditioning.  Every time I turn on the lights in my crafts room, Mr H says, "You know those give off a lot of heat."  It's true, I know but I can't see to craft without them.  It's a tough choice to make - more heat or crafting in the dark.  I did get a few things done.

The following card is for Addicted to CAS.

I had a little trouble with this, not because I couldn't think of images but because I couldn't think of sentiments.  I had a wonderful (if I do say so myself) watery background that I made using Distress Inks but couldn't think of anything to put with it - image or sentiment wise.  Then last night as we were going out for supper, we passed the city water tower and the light bulb went off.

The entire card is colored with Distress Inks and water.  The tower was cut by welding a squished balloon, a rectangle and a couple of squished triangles from George and Basic Shapes.   I stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts All Occasion Messages to remind me of those "hometown" cards that you can buy.

My next card is homework from the Summer Camp 2 OCC.

I used one of the sketches and the color combo for the week.  The papers, all from We R Memory Keepers Anthologie stack, are either punched or cut with the Cricut.  They are inked with Walnut Distress Ink and I also used it to splatter the background.  Some of the circles are adhered directly to the card front and some are popped up.  I did this before I saw Julie Ebersole's card on Day 3 of Week 2 but I think I'll post it for this days homework.  The sentiment is from HA Birthday Bash.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Please let me know you were here by leaving a comment and I will return the favor.

ATCAS #15

The challenge word at Addicted to CAS this week is

With four teenage grandchildren, three of them girls,  this was easy for me.  What runs their life?  Why a cell phone, of course.  Here's my version.

I used George and Basic Shapes to make the phone so that it has a back, frame, screen and screen cover.  I used some clear packaging to make the screen cover and you can see it in this photo.

I wanted to include a text message, so I used something I've seen the kids do on FaceBook, which is actually a FB thing and not necessarily a phone thing but you get the idea.  And more importantly, any teenager would get it, especially the girls.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

MOJO #291

Just a quick post to make the deadline for Mojo Monday.  I used to do this challenge every week but haven't for a while.  I liked this sketch so decided now was the time to get back into it.

I decided on the square card 

and wanted it to be masculine.

The papers are from American Crafts' Soho Garden and the sentiment stamp from My Craft Spot.

Gotta run.  See you tomorrow with another card.

Umbrellas 123

Rain, rain, go away.  It's raining here for the third day and more is forecast.  No wonder a number of blog challenges are using umbrellas for their theme.  I have to keep saying "April showers bring May flowers."  I can't wait to see those little buds peeking up from the soggy soil.

I already made an umbrella for an earlier challenge so I had to come up with something different.  This umbrella is a replica of my own real life umbrella.

Using George and Basic Shapes, I welded a circle with a square, copied it to make two to weld together and made a rounded card that will fit an A2 envelope.  The umbrella is from B is for Boy (minus the little duck on top).  The sentiment is from the computer and cut using Elegant Edges.  The background is a Core-dinations whitewashed pale blue paper that was embossed with the Swiss Dots folder and then sanded to let the darker core show through.

I am entering this in Little Scrap Pieces "April Showers"
Bitten by the Bug "April Showers" and
Friday Mash-up - "Singing in the Rain" an umbrella, a double z fold card, or mash it up and do both.

ETA:  Friday Mash-up changed their deadline time to 6:00 pm Wednesday from noon on Thursday so I was too late.

Be Mine

I love the texture dry embossing adds to a card.  Here I used the heart folder from The Paper Studio for the background and Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots for the band.  The darker pink is a border punch from EK Success and the hearts are cut from scraps from George and Basic Shapes.

Challenges:

Celebrate the Occasion - Valentine, Anything Goes
Paper Playtime - border punches

Love is in the Air

Happy Mardi Gras, Everyone!  The rain held off for the parade here in Gulf Shores this morning so we got some beads and moon pies.  I don't know what it is that causes adults to yell and scream for beads that they don't really want - me included.  You just get caught up in the revelry.  What do they call that?  Mob rule?

Because I am in Gulf Shores, and not at home in Michigan, I have only a few cards that I can post that were made before we made the trip down.  They are valentines that I made for my grandchildren and are already in the mail.  I'll post one today and another one tomorrow, hopefully not too late for the challenges they are intended for.

This card was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest but don't recall the maker.  Using a white card base, I rounded opposing corners.  The sentiment was computer generated and the stamped grid is from a Tim Holtz stamp.  The hearts were cut from George and Basic Shapes in two sizes and I added a bow made from crochet thread to balance out the black sentiment.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

CAS on Sunday - Be Mine Valentine
Fantabulous Cricut - Be My Valentine
Bitten by the Bug - Love is in the Air, use heart or cupid
My Craft Spot - For Your Sweetheart
CASology - red

Lots of Love

Finally I get a chance to enter some challenges.  I made my valentines before I headed south for the winter and some of the challenges this week fit right in with this card.

This is a reverse cut heart using George and Basic Shapes.  Using Design Studio, I placed the hearts where I wanted on a 4.25 by 5.5 card.  Checking the measurments, I printed the sentiment from the computer before cutting.  Then I layered the white card base with a dark red print paper and the cut piece.  I thought it still needed something, so I dashed off some stitching lines.  (I did that for you, Darnell.  ;)  Too bad none of the CAS challenges can use this card this week because it sure was simple and I think clean.

I'm entering this in:
DLArt Thankful Thursday - Use red or pink
Die Cuttin' Divas - Anything Goes
My Sheri Crafts - Valentines
Fantabulous Cricut - Queen of Hearts

Soccer Star

It's been a while since I've posted.  First there was "Girls' Week" with my daughter, daughter-in-law, mother and three granddaughters.  This is a tradition that has been going on for 14 years although it's been whittled down from a week to a few days as times get busier.

That was followed by a week at the lake with my parents, sister, son and family.  We had a good time despite the often rainy and overcast weather.  Only two days out of the week were good enough to actually go into the water.  Now that we have all gone to our respective homes, it's time for me to get crafting again - before the next trip to the lake and more visitors.

While at the lake I got a call that my younger grandson, who enters high school this fall, tried out for the school soccer team and made it.  That's quite an accomplishment so I decided to send him a card.  Isn't it great that the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge this week is "2012 Olympics - make a card with a sport theme."

This was an easy one.  I did some scrapbook shopping during Girls' Week and bought a stack by Fancy Pants called Little Sport.  It came with this great soccer ball print.  I matted it with black on a cream card base.  I cut the star from George and Basic Shapes, matted it and popped it up on foam.  The stamp is from Tiny Tags 2 from My Craft Spot.

Oh, I should tell you that I made my own foam dimensionals for this.  Sometimes I think black dimensionals look better so I bought fun foam, cut it into a 5" strip and ran it through my Xyron on both sides.  It works great!  You can cut it in any shape or size you want which makes it nice for long, skinny images.