Saturday, March 30, 2013

a bokeh-ful celebration

i decided to play along with the latest tuesday trigger at moxie fab world - pastel pretties!


i have had this idea to try to add some bokeh to a card for a while, but i have never attempted it...until now.
and i'm not sure my attempt was 100% successful. sometimes i look at the card and think it does look like bokeh, and sometimes i look and just see a bunch of polka dots. :) ha ha!

so here it is:


i used the awesome, lovely sentiment from the paper smooches stamp set pretty phrases. and the 'bokeh' was created using the three different sized circles from the gently seasoned. then i added some fun, gold sequins to add to the dimension/bokeh/dreamy feel. :)


i stamped the circle and then first stamped the image onto a scrap paper and then stamped onto my card. so all of the colors are second generations. 
like i said, i tried! i also created a version of this card on white cardstock (my first, first attempt!), but the circles looked even more like polka dots because of the stark color contrast!)

so that's it! 
enjoy!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

a shiny sequin-y salutation

yesterday, i made a card for the super trendy and super fun runway inspired challenge!
i LOOOOOOVE any color that's paired with grey! it's my current favorite color combo! (grey + any thing! lol!) so the inspiration photo this week is right up my alley! :)


i wanted to play on the shiny sparkles with a different kind of shiny element - silver embossing powder! ooooo, ahhhh!

i used the tiny triangles from the mama elephant stamp set, trifecta. i heat embossed them in silver, and let me just tell you...it's AWESOME! i don't know if it's just because it's on top of the grey cardstock, but i'm loving the silver look even more than i thought i would! lol!


ok, moving on. i stamped out one of the speech bubbles and sayings from the hello stamp set and popped it up for the dimension factor! then i added some shiny, silver sequin and a few pearls and vwa la! 
fun fact - i only have white pearls, so i used my markers (my best friends the sharpie markers!) to color the pearls this super fun fushia! it totally works seamlessly, and that way, i don't need 25 different colors and packs of pearls! :) oh yeah.

so that's it! 
enjoy!

Monday, March 25, 2013

a little bit of watercolor, anyone?

today i'm super excited to share my card with you! :)
i made it for the current challenge over at the play date cafe! the colors were just stunning, and i couldn't pass it up (despite the appearance of purple, and my strong aversion to that color! ha ha!)


uh, see, gorgeous colors! :)

**a little background info:
i used three mama elephant stamp sets: hello, trifecta and good times. and for this card i tried my hand at the watercolor technique that i've been seeing everywhere!! i've been so jealous of all of the awesome creations i've seen with that technique! couple that with my overwhelming desire to own either the tim holtz distress markers and/or the inktense color pencils...the watercolor bug has been in my head! so yesterday when i was able to skype-scrap with my bestie, we both decided to try watercoloring!

here's my very first watercolor attempt:


i stamped the large triangles from the trifecta stamp set three times, staggering them to the right each each time. then i literally, randomly colored in the triangles! truth time - i don't own any watercolor paper yet. i didn't want to invest in it, if this wasn't for me. so this is just plain white cardstock, and you can see it did bleed a little, but i think it just adds to the charm! :) 


i literally used my distress ink pads, smeared them onto my acrylic block and used my water pen to color in the triangles. IT WAS SO FUN! oh yeah, i also tried to give each triangle a little shading, eh. i tried. :)

to finish off the card, i stamped the speech bubble, fussy cut it out, and popped it up. i also fussy cut out one of the potty people and adhered him under the speech bubble (it occurs to me know, i could have just masked the little potty guy...but alas, that was not the case! ha!).

so that's it! 
i'm pretty sure i'm going to watercolor everything in sight now. lol! 
but first - watercolor paper! :)
enjoy!

Friday, March 22, 2013

love you - in 10 minutes

i really think the 10 minute craft dash is a super fun change of pace for me! i usually spend way too long agonizing over the exact placement, or starting over, or restamping until i deam something perfect (read: passable) :)
so making a card in 10 minutes is definitely a challenge and i love the extra push! for this card, the colors couldn't be more lovely:

(possible fun fact: these were my wedding colors! how could i not play along, right?!)


so before i started the clock, i gathered my supplies and made sure everything i needed was within arms length! :) 
i used lawn fawn's stamp sets - a birdie told me, quinn's abc's, gnome sweet gnome, and home sweet home. 

the card is a 'square' with the corners rounded. the birds and word bubble were stamped and popped up! at the end i used some distress inks to 'vintage-ify' the card. in my head it was a better effect. next time i'll used a lighter ink. :)

as you can see, i cut it close - but i made it! :)















so that's that!

enjoy!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

dream on

i have a super sweet layout to share today. 
it's for the lawnscaping challenge this week - stitching! 


i think stitching on cards or layouts looks so cool! and my layout today channeled the softness that stitching can provide too.


i sewed a sheet of vellum paper over the cloud background. but (and it's hard to tell in the pictures), before i sewed it on, i placed the moon/stars and cloud border direcrly on top of the cloud paper. so that when the vellum was sewn on, it would be under it! i was trying to add dimension, here. ha ha! then i added a star on top of the vellum, and some cloud dies popped up and layered for the bottom of the page. 


i love these pictures of my little menn - the same night, i found them sleeping in almost the same position! :) i used some harold's abc's from lawn fawn to call out that sweet memory - which i then underlined with some sewn lines to highlight. 


i also added some soft, light colored washi more clouds, and arrows (gotta love arrows!)! oh yeah, i also used one of the sentiments from critters ever after and then stars from a few different lawn fawn stamps all over the page.

the sentiment is some really cool white thickers. and that's it! a treasured memory now saved! :)
enjoy!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

a cute little saurus

i was able to get some creative juice flowing today for my card for the latest paper smooches sparks challenge! it's a cool shades color challenge! 



and here's my cute little scene - warning: there's lots of cute happening here. :)



i used 4 paper smooches stamp sets: happy camper, sentiment sampler, metropolis and party posse.
the images are all paper pieced and fussy cut out. i popped up the clouds and marshmallows for a little added fun! 

the sentiment is heat embossed. and here's where it gets questionable...i started by added glossy accents to the fire...ok. but then i thought, hmm, i used ribbon the other day...why not use another supply i have a ton of and don't use...glitter! 



i immediately regretted that decision. like a lot of glitter ventures, it was messy, overwhelming and (in this case) permanent! lol! i was imagining just a hint of glitter to replicate sparks in a bon fire...but alas. glitter is not delicate medium! at least not in my house with the little ones running around knocking things over, reaching for containers and 'wanting to help'! :)
come to think of it...there's a reason that glitter was in a bottom door of my expedite...

ha ha!
so that's that! i still think it's one card with a lot of cute, even if i am still finding glitter on my desk. 
enjoy!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

happy day

today's card is one that i made for new friend of mine who just closed on their new house! it's an exciting time! and i thought, why not use some hero arts products and get in on the fun over a blog named hero, right? :) this time, it's free style - no limitations! oh yeah!



so here's my card:

**the lighting is not the best, it' has been raining all night and all morning, so there's no sun to assist me!**

i must say, i do like it a lot! :) it is arguably my favorite color combination (just ask my littlest mann - his room is done in these colors!)! 
i stamped the row of houses stamp set with the wet cement mid tone ink - LOVE me some shadow ink! :) then i stamped one of the houses with the tide pool (looooooooooove that color!) mid-tone shadow ink and popped it up to really make it stand out. i love popped up white on white on a card, so the 'background' panel on this card is white, as well. 


then i just happened to have some matching ribbon (ribbon, you say? what's that?! lol! side note: i realized as i was making this card, that i have not used ribbon on a card...in...well, a while! i blame it on washi - you can't beat it! and i even thought about going the washi route with this card. but i really wanted a bow...so i went with ribbon!). 

the sentiment is from the studio calico/hero arts set oh snap! and finally, i finished it up with some fabbie sequins and pearls. the end! so that's it! 
enjoy! :)

Sunday, March 17, 2013

nuts and bolts

alrighty! here's the other card i created for the alley way stamps be inspired challenge and their stampy sunday liny party! :)

here's the photo:

and here's the card:

i shaded this super cool robot from lighter than air and popped him up! then i added some glossy accents to accentuate the robot-ness! :)

i also cut out some actual nuts and bolts that are scattered along the card. :) the cogs are popped up as well.

i fussy cut out the hearts from the sentiment and adhered them and then added some glossy accents to those as well.
just a fun card, right? i love that robot shaded in grey - totally neat! :)
so that's it! 
enjoy!

a little note of hi

there's lots of fun happening at the alley way stamps blog today! so i decided to get in on the action! :)
although, full disclosure: i was totally feeling crafty today, and i made two cards and a layout...but i am not in love with any of them! lol! has that ever happened to you? i was all into getting inky, just nothing panned out how i imagined! oh well! :)

the first card i made for the be-inspired challenge and the stampy sunday linky party at the alley way stamps, was of course inspired by the challenge photo:

and here's the card:

i misted the background of the card with some teal heidi swapp color shine (love!). then i added some green 'grass' washi and some yellow 'sun' washi! the birds are from the lighter than air stamp set, and the sentiment and 'speech bubble' is from the cover ups stamp set! :)


the birds and the bubble are popped up for dimension. 
while i was at it...and since i was already not in love with the card, i decided to add a heart and some sparkle! lol! so i added some stickles to the birds wings and the heart. 

just a simple card to brighten someone's day, hopefully! :)
enjoy!
*i have one more card to share for these same fun happenings! :) 
stay tuned! :)

Thursday, March 14, 2013

bright lights, big city

it's my first time playing along with the little tangles challenge blog! and what a time to join - anything goes! :)


i had a ton of fun making this card:


i tried to think of a creative way to use the on the strip 2 stamp set and created a city scape scene! i'm all about city scapes, and i thought that yellow and orange paper might make the strip with dots look like a sky scraper! i also used some really fun heidi swapp teal color shine for the background. it's the perfect blue for a sky and it's soooo shiny and shimmery! :)


i popped up some of the 'buildings' and also added a wood veneer heart (which i covered with white enamel). i added some old sassafrass letter stickers that i found in my stash for the sentiment. and that's that!

super fun, right? well, that was the idea, anyway! :)
enjoy!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

a touch of masculine birthday card

today i'm here to share a card i made for my brother in law! so i tried to make it less feminine...which is hard for me! ha ha! 
i used the super fun sketch from the retro sketches challenge!


here it is:


first, i layered some really fun, geometric, navy washi down on my cardstock. then i used some really fun, lime green chevron cardstock for the panel, which i popped up.
i used some mama elephant stamps for the sentiment (the say what stamp set), which i also stamped in navy! love them!


then, to finish it off, i added some super fabbie wood veneer arrows from freckled fawn! i added 'color' to the arrows by using some white enamel. i really wanted them to be white, white, like the background! and the white enamel was the way to go! 

so that's it!
enjoy!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

a little roar

ok, so here's my 2nd entry for the current runway inspired challenge, and i LOVE it! lol!


i can totally imagine giving this card to someone who is having a rough time and just wants to go on a rampage! (i sort of felt that way yesterday, if i could have set a small silhouette-d town on fire it just might have made me feel better! lol) what's not to love about the bright fun colors, and a giant pink monster! it would totally turn a bad day around, right?


i used the stamps from my cute stamps, eek! a monster! the monster is paper pieced and then i colored in her teeth with my white gel pen. i also added some glossy accents to her 'scales', after i colored them in with a soft grey, to add some dimension to them. i also added the glossy accents to the spikes on her back and her belly. 

the city was stamped directly into the white background, but then i also stamped it again on fussy cut it out, i then popped it up for dimension. i added some 'flames' to the city, too! of course! lol! i used my heidi swapp color shine leftover scrap paper then i stamped the flames out and fussy cut them out. to top it all off, i splattered some heidi swapp onto the 'sky' to emphasize the fire. 

i am really digging how this card turned out! i hope it brought a smile to your face (especially if you're having a bad day!).
enjoy!

Monday, March 11, 2013

thanks with shine

ok, i am so in love with this inspiration photo over at the runway inspired challenge that i created two cards! i'm sharing the first one today and probably the second one tomorrow. i can't decide which one i like more, they're both so bright and fun! lol! 

i'm also entering this into the moxie fab world washi tape challenge!




so here it is:

i used some awesome black and white chevron washi tape to create the background of card - how fun is that?! then i used some my cute stamps for the flower and sentiment (ella's flowers and eek! a monster).


i fussy cut out the middle of the flowers (the pink) and sprayed some white card stock with my heidi swapp color shine - one of my current obsessions! i just love the shine that it adds! i also added some glossy accents to the pink of the flower. and the whole flower is popped up for dimension.


it's hard to get a good picture to capture the true shimmery-ness of the color shine in the flower. but in real life - kabam! it's there! :)
i just think it's delightful! and i hope the brightness brought a smile to your face this monday morning.
enjoy!

Sunday, March 10, 2013

every little thing


i made a (relatively) quick and (definitely) clean and simple card for the latest challenge at a blog named hero.and truth be told, i'm not exactly sure i did it correctly, so you be the judge! :)
the challenge was to use a stamp set to create an embellishment. sound easy, but for some reason i had a hard time wrapping my head around it! lol!


in the end, i came up with this idea, and i really like the end result!


i used the hero arts/studio calico houndstooth background, which i stamped tone on tone onto some pretty, teal-y papers. then i used my circle punch and created some rolled paper flowers. bada bing, bada boom - hello embellishments! :)


i did add some pearls to the center of the flowers, which i think looks really clean and bright. 
the sentiment is from the hero arts/studio calico hooray stamp set, which i also stamped in a sort of 'tone on tone'. and oh right, i added some splashes of mr huey's lunch tray, as well.


so that's it! 
enjoy!

Saturday, March 9, 2013

party like a rockstar

so i decided to make another card for the mama elephant sketch challenge
i also made this for the moxie fab world speech bubble challenge! and moxie fab world ombre challnege because i sure do love me some speech bubbles and ombre! :)


i heat embossed all of the stars on the background (from the on target stamp set) and then i fussy cut out the colored stars (stamp from polar pals). i sewed all along the stars with my sewing machine to give a sort of 'falling stars' look. 

the sentiment and 'party rock hand' are from good times, i popped up those speech bubbles. 

so, once again, i loosely interpreted the sketch, but i totally think it's cool! and i can't wait to send it to my brother in law for his birthday!

hope your saturday is shaping up well! i am hoping to get inky and creative again this weekend! that's my goal!! :)
enjoy!