a CAS saturday

well, i should have been doing while everyone else in the apartment was sleeping, was cleaning...but instead, i decided to make a CAS card for the latest challenge at CAS-ual Fridays!! :) i'll just tell my husband, 'no i didn't get a chance to clean for your mom's visit, but check out this clean and simple card, eh? eh??' ha! oh well! it was worth it!

the latest challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is to create a 4x9 card that is, well, clean and simple! check! and it was so much fun!

i have had this idea brewing in my mind for a while and it just had to come out! so here is my card:

i used some old brown paper packaging and folded it up accordion style for the cupcake wrapper. the icing for the cupcake was made by folding and overlaying some ribbon, and of course the 'candles' are my 'frankenstein creation' of some lawn fawn stamps from the 'cozy christmas' stamp set. one of my favorite stamp sets! it's so versatile! the sentiment was stamped with 'harold's abc's' - another go to stamp set, i couldn't live without!

so, i made the candles by stamping the glass of milk image. before i actually stamped it, i used a q-tip to remove the 'milk' waves. and the fire for the candle is the fireplace image - minus the wood of course! then i just used a ruler to make the pink diagonal lines (because in my mind, birthday candles should always have those swirly colors!). i paper pieced the images together and vwa-la! easy peasy! side note - i did add a little bling (just a little!) to each flame of the candle, because what's a fire without something bling-y, right?



well that's it! i hope you are having a productive weekend too! *wink wink*

enjoy!

another paper smooches layout

i almost completely forgot to post this layout! i made it earlier this month for the july sparks challenge at paper smooches! but then i got busy and posted other things...yikes! lol! oh well, at least there's still time to enter it! :)

i used the cool shades below:

i had been wanting to scrap this event for a while, because it was just so fun! here's the scene: my little one just HAD to have these monkey rain boots. and once he had them, he wore them everywhere. to the store, in the house, to hockey, etc. rain or shine. and mostly shine, there was a span of a few months when we didn't get any rain! so he wasn't able to test them out! then one day it was a beautiful rain and he had a ball! the monkey rain boots finally paid off! :)

anyway, i made a pocket of sorts at the bottom of the layout for the 'journaling'. thanks to danielle at girlracer scrap for that suggestion! i spelled the word 'splash' with some awesome vinyl thickers - LOVE thickers! :)

the monkey was cut out from the create a critter cartridge for the cricket. and it's so cute! and really, that's why put in the little backstory, because otherwise you may be like...what's the monkey have to do with rain puddles? :)

i used the 'let's play' stamp from the 'chubby chums' stamp set and used it as a sort of border at the bottom of the page. add in some popped up clouds and heart shaped rain...and well. you know, that's all she wrote! :)

enjoy! :)

fawny flickr (close enough to) friday!

eek!!

imagine my excitment when i woke up and checked my one of favorite blogs...lawn fawn of course...and i was featured in the fawny flickr (not on) friday post for one of my cards!!!!

*squeal*

here's the card:

how fun! kelly marie and everyone over at lawn fawn are so super nice and it's so wonderful of them to take the time to spotlight their customers like this!! and let's face it, lawn fawn is one of the best stamp companies out there, right? :)

anyway, now back to your regularly scheduled wednesday! :)

enjoy!

loving lawn fawn

i love all things lawn fawn! and when i heard that my cbf (college best friend) was engaged - i went right to my lawn fawn stamps for her card! side note - i couldn't be happier for her! i still get all happy and smiley when i think of them being married! :)

anyway, i'm entering her card into the latest challenge at lawnscaping - stamping a scene! and just wait for the adorable-factor of this card, i made it, and it's almost as cute as they are together! lol!

anyway, here it is:

ok here's a tiny backstory: they live in colorado and were camping when he popped the question! they are both super outdoor, adventurous, wonderful and amazing people! so naturally, i went with a nature theme for my fellow tree hugger!

i turned the trees from the stamp set 'critters in the forest' into a bride a groom! the bride even has a veil! (which is re-used packaging from one of my little mann's toys)! and the top of the 'groom' tree is black to represent his 'top hat'! he he he! i also used the leaves from the same stamp set to make a littler heart bouttaniere for the groom! :) the 'bride' tree has a little bow made from the leaves and a tiny button. :)

the background of the card was stamped with the tree image just using a watermark ink pad. then the bride and groom tree were popped up for dimension. and i even tried to make it look like the two trees were 'holding hands'. lol. i'm such a nerd!

well, that's my card! i hope it makes you smile! what's not to love about trees with smiley faces and googly eyes, all dressed up and ready to get married?! :)

enjoy!

a paper smooches celebration

ok, so this card was a challenge for being 'clean and simple!' lol! it went through many transformations before it was finished! let's just say, it started out as a cupcake...and after scratching 2 or 3 ideas, the result is what you see! not anywhere near a cupcake! lol! oh well! i'll save that for another day, another card, and another idea!

so i made this card for the paper smooches july sparks challenge and the wee memories latest challenge - clean and simple! perfect!

here's the designer draft from paper smooches that i used for this card:

and here's my card! isn't it neat? i love the colors and the cheeriness of it! :) i white, heat embossed the sentiment from the paper smooches stamp set 'pretty phrases' - LOVE emobossing!

and i used my circle punch to create the circles. i then used a whole bunch of bright and cheery buttons to go behind the circle. i used 3-d square pop ups to attach it to the back of the front of the card.

it's a simple card with a lot of happy!

enjoy!

on a {sweet} roll

i've been able to get a lot of crafty time in lately, and i'm loving it! sometimes when i'm in a lull or rut, i just make it worse by not making myself craft. but when i'm on a roll and the ideas and fun is flowing, i remember how much i love this stuff! it's much better than sitting on the couch and wanting to craft but being too lazy or coming up with excuses! lol!

anyway, i made this card for the paper smooches july sparks challenge (again!). it's such a fun challenge with so many possibilities!

here is the designer's draft that i chose to model my card after (even though i flipped the sketch)!

i used the monster (probably my all-time favorite single image of the PS stamp line so far!) from the 'falling for you' stamp set and added an arm to hold the popsicle from the 'sugar rush' stamp set. i also used the sentiment from that same set. :)

i popped up the clouds and the monster, and for some fun texture i layered two different green ribbons for the 'grass'. he he! i think it just makes the perfect thank you card - it's light and happy and colorful! :)

i sure hope my crafty streak continues! :) i'm loving it!

enjoy!

funny bone check

ok, so my husband classified this card as a 'dad joke'. you know, one of those jokes that are so punny they're both silly and lame at the same time? anyway, i just don't care, because i have had this idea in my head for a while and i'm super excited about it! lol!

i made the card for the latest challenge at wee memories, clean and simple! which just happens to work perfectly with my card! :) tee he he.

ok, so here it is:

get it?? instead of saying 'must dash' it's a 'mustache'!! ha hahahaha! i hope it brought at least a smirk to your face!

ok, so on to the details. i spelled out the saying with lawn fawn stamps (of course!) and i really wanted to add a small pop of color with the heart. so that's bright red. yeah. :)

i cut out the mustache from a free mustache downloadable i found online. easy! and then popped it up for some dimension. then i added some brads to the corners of the card and vwa-la! clean and simple (and funny!). i can totally see giving this card to a friend after i've stayed at their house for a visit!

ok, that's enough of me cracking myself up. :)

enjoy!

news flash - it's a birthday alert

i actually created a card! i've been on a layout kick, but i wanted to get back to the basics and make a card, and my friend's dad was just the reason! he's been having some health issues, so i wanted to make an extra fun birthday card for him!

of course, it's another entry for the paper smooches july sparks challenge too!

i used this color pallete from the 'cool shades' and this sketch from the 'designer draft'! how fun, right? i thought the colors were perfect for a masculine card!

anyway, on to the show - here's the finished card!

i mostly used the stamps from the 'boob tubes' set (love that set!!), but i also used the saying 'happy birthday' from the 'sentiment sampler' set. the words just fit too perfectly inside the tv's! oh, and in case you didn't notice, i paper pieced the tv's...and fussy cut out all of the hearts! yeah, i'm crazy! but the alternative is using copics which a) i am just not talented enough to use (believe me, i've tried on multiple occassions!!) and b) i don't have any. lol! :) but i really don't mind paper piecing, i like the look of it, so win-win! this time i decided to paper piece the tv's in various shades of kraft for some fun!

i popped up the tv's onto the green ribbon (which i let overhang on both sides of the card) for some dimension. gotta love dimension! :) and speaking of dimension, i *double heart* the heart button and green button in the first tv. lol! i think it's my favorite aspect of the card.

well, i have to go, time to get this puppy in the mail!

enjoy!

sparks of paper smooches

so, paper smooches came out with a new challenge: the july sparks challenge!

the idea is to use any of the color combos and/or sketches for the month of july! see below:

i decided to make a layout inspired by one of the designer drafts! here's the one i chose to model my layout after:

and here's my layout:

i took the pictures for this layout for my parents and in-laws (who all live out of state) when i found out we were expecting again. the little mann is holding the first ultrasound picture of the new little mann. we put the pictures in a frame and sent it to the grandparents-to-be-again that said 'grandkids'.



anyway, i went with a 'big brother' theme for the paper smooches stamps! i used both apples from the 'falling for you' set, the peas and the tomato from the 'vegtastic' set. i also altered one of the peas from that set to be a mini-tomato! :) i popped up different elements from each of the stamps for some dimension. and then for added texture, the thickers i used are felty!! so of course i had to incorporate some of my handmade felt circles with buttons! :)

i really like how this layout turned out, i just love combining dimension, color and texture! i can't wait to make more projects for this challenge! :)

enjoy!

m-i-a no more!

i can't believe i haven't posted anything since may 15th! and what's worse than that, i wasn't crafty at all for the majority of this break!! yikes!! but inspiration has finally struck me, and i'm back in the game! for the past week or so, i've been scrapping and feeling my creative juices flowing again! :)

unfortunately, i have to make this post quick! lol! leave it to me to get all crafty and then slack on the blogging! i'll do better soon, i promise!

i made this card for two challenges - lawnscaping (one of my favorites, of course!), where the challenge this time is to create a card and also decorate the inside, and another contest at any occasion, where she's giving away a chance to win some lawn fawn! sweet!! all you have to do is use lawn fawn stamps, but i decided to also go with the rainbow theme to cheer up the card!

so anwyay, here it is:

i traced my son's hand and then cut it out on cardstock twice. then i added a little accordian-type strip of cardstock to connect the two hands.

on the strip i fussy cut and paper-pieced some lawn fawn birds! the standing still bird is my favorite bird - from the 'critters in the forest' stamp set, and the other bird is from the 'critters in the burbs' stamp set!

i also created a background on the folded up strip of cardstock with hearts from the 'my silly valentine' and 'plus one' stamp sets. :)

it's just a simple card, but i think it's so cute! i alwasy tell my little mann (and show him with my hands!) how much i love him (hint: it's thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much!). i can see an alteration of this going in a scrapbook layout one day!

thanks for stopping by, i promise i won't be a stranger anymore! well, i hope not! :)

enjoy! and happy friday!