hoo's getting crafty?

it's me! and i hope you did too this weekend, or if not, i hope you at least had a good weekend with some good weather! :)

we had beautiful weather, i skype-scrapped (aka facetimed) with danielle and cleaned the house! so i can't complain! of course...my husband is sick...so that's too bad (read: i have an extra baby to take care of!). he he! he's the WORST when he's sick. sigh. :)

anyway, i made a card using unity stamps for the latest challenge at CAS(E) this sketch! a new challenge site that i am in love with! :) here's this week's sketch:

and on to my card; it's a birthday card! :)

for my card, i heat embossed the sentiment with white onto the 'tree'. the little owl is also heat embossed but with clear, and onto teal paper. i colored around the little fella's eyes with my white gel pen and then made his feet and nose orange. :) 

oh yeah! and to add even more interest to my white on white background, i dry embossed some clouds! fun - i really like that! both the cloud white panel and the owl are popped up for dimension. :)

i can't wait to send this to a certain someone i know for her birthday next week! :)
enjoy! :)
(oh, and if you're on the northeast coast, i hope you're safe and i'll be sending prayers your way while the frankenstorm comes your way!! :( ).

merry and bright (again)

*2nd post for the day! i'm on a ROLL!* 

ok, i think it's safe to assume two things...i love using 'merry and bright' as my sentiment for nontraditional christmas cards. and i'm a sucker for cityscapes.

so i have another take on a similar card i made recently (here), but this time with hero arts! :)
i made this card for two challenges:

the tuesday trigger over at moxie fab world (just LOOK, it's a city!!!!):

and for the latest challenge over at CAS-ual fridays - using kraft!

so, here it is:

i stamped the silly scape city onto some kraft paper and then used some glitter on a few of the windows. it's supposed to represent people being home there, maybe even a fire or two in the fireplaces - it is a christmas card after all! :) i also made the clockface on the tower glossy and orange, so it would stand out.
the sentiment was created using the fanciful swirl alphabet.

now, to the background...i used gelatos again!! and this time i flicked a little water on it (my favorite technique i think!) so it looked like a soft snow fall - it's hard to capture that in pictures. :(

i blended two purples and a pink to make the background. and i'm not even kidding...as i was writing this post, the sky here LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE the sky here (minus the snow, of course!). so i had to take a picture - talk about life imitating art! lol!! so pretty! (it looked even more like it in person!)

so that's it!
hope you guys have an awesome weekend!!!
enjoy!

this is how we do it

i am so excited about the new stamps from mama elephant! they are SO so SO cute and graphic and modern and eclectic all at the same time!! 
i have been wanting to get mine inky forever! and i finally got to last night when i made this card for the latest challenge going on at the play date cafe!

looooooooove these colors!! :)

here's my card:

 i used the 'good times' stamp set from mama elephant. LOVE!!!!!!!!!! the sentiments are so freaking awesome! i can't wait to make a scrapbook layout with some of them! it's PERFECT for that too! (or project life or smashing if you do that too!) i used the little music note as the dot to the i...i couldn't resist!! i want everyone who sees this card to start singing along to this song!! :)

i heat embossed in white the sentiment and fussy cut out the little people.
the mint washi is super fun, and i LOVE how it looks against the light and dark browns! :)

the kraft panel is popped up for dimension and the card is complete! a little card with a big impact! :)
so that's it! i hope you all have a fantastic friday!!! :) the weekend is almost here!!! yahoo!
enjoy!

bright lights in the city

hey there!
i have another card here and it's my favorite color combination right now! 
just check out the inspiration photo from the paper smooches sparks most recent picture perfect challenge!

grey + yellow (and usually + any other color!) is my favorite favorite color combination right now!
so i HAD to get inky for this challenge!

and i decided to make a nontraditional christmas card!

i used the city skylines from metropolis and raised one of them for dimension. i also colored in the windows with my white gel pen, colored them yellow and added some light stickles. :)

the sentiment was made by stamping it out 3 times in yellow, very close to each stamp mark. and then i completed it by stamping in the middle of the yellow sentiments with the gray. i wanted to showcase the sentiment and make it 'shine'. lol! :)

lastly, i added the pearls for snow, and vwa-la! :)
have a wonderful and day!
enjoy!

shaken not stirred

today i'm so excited to share this card i made for two challenges! 
the latest challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is all about making a project with elements off of the edge! sweet!!

and speaking of sweet! i also made this card for the most current challenge over at the sweet stamp shop! which is to make a project with black, white and one other color!

i used two different sweet shop stamp sets - furry friends forever and gnomies (for the little grass!) but i also used their dies to make the banner! both the banner and the little raccoon are popped up for dimension! of course, the banner (and part of the little guy's tail) are living on the edge! well, off of the edge! :)

but my favorite part of this card is that it's a shaker card!! i die cut some acetate into a circle and then sewed along most of the circle. then i added my little punched out circles and finished sewing the circle! i LOVE when i get to use my sewing machine on paper crafts! it's sort of in need of repair (*cough cough* little mann hands *cough cough* messing with my tension *cough cough*)! :) ha ha!

but it was actually cooperating with me yesterday, so i was happy! just like this card! 
hope it made you smile!
enjoy!

it's peanut butter jelly time

peanut butter jelly time! peanut butter jelly time! 
ha ha!! i bet that song is stuck in your head! it's sure stuck in mine! :) and if it's not stuck in your head...watch this! ha ha!

my favorite part of the weekends lately has been when i get to skype-scrap with my best friend! the little menn go down for a nap and we scrap and talk the afternoon away thanks to modern day technology! :) ha ha!

today, we both made layouts!!! SO fun! :) and wait until you see her layout...so awesome! :)
i made my layout with the latest challenge at the play date cafe's 3rd anniversary celebration colors in mind!! :)

let me preface this by saying, i do see that there is purple in the color inspiration ..but i powered through due to my love of peanut butter and jelly! ha!
here's my layout:

it's kind of a CAS layout...if that's possible, i don't know! :) and i used 4 lawn fawn stamp sets, though it's hard to tell! :) 

harold's abc's
say cheese too
a birdie told me
love n breakfast - i turned the toast into peanut butter and jelly! lol! 

*note - i'm sorry about the picture quality! i had to use my iphone because my camera is fritzing out on me. and i could NOT figure out how to rotate that picture!

also, basically everything you see here, started off as white, and i used ink pads to add the color! :) 

that's new for me! :) the chevron layers were die cuts from my favorite things. and i stamped some of the sentiment onto some orange washi! i also splashed some bright orchid mister huey spray for that messy look! :)
the photo strip, camera and pb&j guys are all popped up for dimension, and the hearts are glossied.

so that's it! it was super fun to make - even though i could NOT make a decision on anything (let's just say, i could make like 3 other layouts with all the extra stuff i did/remade and didn't use!).

hope you had a good weekend! 
enjoy!

it's owl i want

oh boy! i'm excited to share this card! :)
i made it for the latest challenge over at lawnscaping! it's all about trying out a new technique! and i definitely did that! :)

laurel is pretty much the queen of using gelatos, right? i'm pretty sure her son's video using them taught me how to use mine! :) ha ha! 
but really, i bought these for a friend of mine, but it turns out...she already got them! so i was like, alright!! fine! i'll try them out myself! :) ha ha! 

and it was very fun! and very messy! at one point my husband walked by and said..."what am i looking at here?" lol!! sigh. husbands just don't understand. ;)

ok, so here's my creation! (the background has been gelato-ed).

the gelatos i bought had 3 shades of blue and a purple, and they're ALL there! i was all in! :)
i used three lawn fawn stamp sets, 'winter owl', 'a birdie told me' and 'making frosty friends'. the background is popped up for dimension, and everything else is fussy cut and paper pieced.

the little heart in the speech bubble is glossied for some added interest. and i toyed with the idea of adding some snowflakes to the background of the card, but i wanted the gelatos to shine! lol! and they sort of do! the paper sort of feels like a magazine page now, instead of plain cardstock. weird! how did it go from being smudged all over the place (and i mean ALL over the place. read: desk, card, fingers, and even my face - itchy nose. sigh.) and worked together, to being completely 'dry' and shiny feeling? weird! i want to try other techinques with the gelatos, i just used my fingers and mushed it all together. 
a lot.

so that's it! i hope it made you smile! and if it didn't, at least it's friday!
enjoy!

a happy hello

ok, i'm going to start off by saying, i love getting crafty! :) whew, i just had to get that off of my chest! lol! :)

so today i have a card that i made for the current challenge going on over at a blog named hero! 

it's all about keeping your project clean! :)

this whole card started from the idea of wrapping the tag around the card with the twine! i don't know why, but i do love that look! i used some older stamp sets from hero arts: happy hello and fanciful swirl alphabet (for the little birdie!)

i cut out the clouds from the base of the cardstock and put some fabulous amy tangerine teal paper behind them! i like the look of the patterened clouds for some reason! :)

the tag and the owl are popped up (lots of dimension on this card!) :) i also paper pieced and colored the little owl (who i can't get enough of!).

so that's it! just a happy little card to send a happy little hello! :)
hopefully it brightened your day, just a little!
enjoy!

glad tidings

i made this super fun card today for this super fun challenge over at the runway inspired challenge!
i just love the combination of red and kraft (ok, anything and kraft!) :) and the photo inspiration was just so fun, i couldn't resist playing along!!

i used some of my new paper smooches stamp sets (chilly chums and joyful greetings)! love! 

of course i had to use some washi tape (i'm on a washi kick! i can't help it!), and i even colored the little seal myself! i only have 2 copics, and i used one of them to bring just a little bit of color and life to the little fella! :) ha ha! i also popped him up for dimension.

i added some pearls to the snow for a little bling, and that's it! 
i like the simplicity! and i still think it's super happy! hopefully it will bring some glad tidings to it's recipient this christmas! :)

hope you're having a wonderful week! 
enjoy!

best friends

i LOVE this card i made for the latest challenge at the sweet stamp shop!
i have been wanting and wanting to use the pb&j images for SO long, and i was finally able to get it from head to card! :) ha ha

i used their sketch:

and created this:

i can't wait to send it!! :) he he he!
the pb& j (from the 'perfect match' stamp set) is paper pieced and popped up! and of course i used some washi! love that bright pink! :)

i jazzed up the sentiment by flanking it with some star, wood veneers! i made them darker with my 'vintage photo' distress ink pad.

so that's it! :)
i hope it brought a smile to your face! i smiled the whole time i made it! :)
enjoy!

let it snow

i made this card for the challenge going on over at young crafters unite, which is all about trying a technique you've never done (or one of your favorite techniques!). so i chose to make a style of card that i usually don't do, in a technique that i've never done! this card is totally out of my norm! :)

i used the new 'let it snow' set from lawn fawn, which is adorable! it's just not as quirky as i usually go! :) ha ha!

i have never distressed a whole background before with distress inks! so i had a BLAST doing this (and my now blue, teal and purple fingers are proof of that! ha!)! then after i added the ink, i flicked some water onto it! yeah!! laurel beard has done it many times and each time i see her cards with this technique, i'm inspired!! the card that really got me interest in trying this particular water flicking technique is this one - i mean, look at that house!!!! just so cool. 

so anyway, i used shaded lilac, peacock feathers and salty ocean distress inks to create my winter background. i just think the flicked water makes it look like subtle little snowflakes! then i stamped the forest scene in white, which i think adds to the nostalgia and quietness of the scene! :) 
i don't know if you would call this a CAS card, it sort of is, i think! :) ha ha!

so anyway, that's it! :) i made a lot of other projects this weekend, and i hope to post them this week as well! it was a great crafty weekend! :) i hope you all were able to get crafty too! i can't wait to see what you make!
enjoy!

hello purple

here's another card i made for a certain, special someone who is having a birthday next week! :) i made with the play date cafe color story in mind...and you may want to sit down for this...it's purple!

and you may or may not know, but i really don't like crafting with purple! i can't explain it! i can look at things that people create with purple and think it's pretty, but i, always get a mind block when i use purple! sigh. :)

that being said! this person's favorite color is purple...so it had to be done. :) 
and here's my card! 

super simple! i used some paper smooches stamps from the 'sugar rush' stamp set! i actually combined the top of the ice cream cone and the bottom of the cupcake wrapper for the cupcake. i don't know! i was paper piecing anyway, so why not? :)

the cupcake is popped up for dimension, and then i added some white pearls to the top left of the card to balance it out and add a little subtle pizzaz! :)

i hope it tickled your fancy! do you have a certain color or technique that you just can't stand using when you craft? i'm so curious to know if other people feel this way too! :)
enjoy!

lawnscapings fall bloghop!

welcome to the lawnscaping blog hop!! I'm so glad you're here!  

you should have come to me by way of the very talented Sandi's blog! 

this month's theme is all things pumpkin and beautiful changing leaves: FALL! the hop runs from friday, october 5th, all the way until sunday, october 7th at 11:59pm.  make sure to comment on all of the blogs to be eligible for some FANTASTIC prizes!  all of the details can be found on the lawnscaping home page.

it's been a while since i created a layout, so of COURSE i couldn't let a blog hop go by without creating one! :) this one was all bout the colors and feel of fall! 

i used TONS of different kinds of texture (ruffled ribbon, satin ribbon, washi tape, twine, buttons, etc)! all of the images are paper pieced or fussy cut from lawn fawn paper, and of course my sentiment is taken right from one of the new fall lawn fawn releases! :)

i also made this fun, quick little quirky card, too! it's pretty straight forward! and i hope it makes you chuckle!

now, head on over to Yainea's AWESOME blog! i can't WAIT to see what she's created! If  you've gotten off-track, don't worry!  head back to the lawnscaping blog to see the complete list of designers and prize information!

enjoy! :)