i've got sunshine

i have been lucky enough to have a little down time with work (we're usually go-go-go and don't stop ever!!!!! lol!). but for some reason, we're a little slow, and that means more fun time for me! :) so i'll take it while it lasts! :)

last night, i made a card for the current CAS(E) this sketch challenge! i love this challenge blog!! but this week, i have to admit, it was hard for me. i don't know why exactly, but i was finally able to come up with an idea that i liked with the sketch! :)

so i took the sketch and rotated it about...45 degrees (according to my engineer husband). here it is:

it's ok, right? maybe not stunning, take your breath away, but i'm happy with it! :)

i used some gold embossing powder to create the sun 'rays'. then i stamped the sentiment over that with some black staz-on ink. oh yeah, all of the stamps are from mama elephant's sunny skies stamp set. love that one! :)

then i added some enamel dots (to emphasize the rays, of course) and popped up the whole grey panel onto some black cardstock. fun! 

so that's it! :) i'm off to the beach with my little menn (love love love love love the beach). i'm sure to get some inspiration (and rays!!) there!

enjoy!

oh hello there

and hello to you too!
i'm here to show off a card i made for the current play date cafe challenge! the colors are black, white and a splash of neon yellow! hello!!! i love it! 

so i pulled out of my newton's nook design stamps and got to it! 

i used the campfire tails and winged wishes stamps sets. 
everything was heat embossed in white onto black cardstock. then i added some neon yellow to make the little bugs 'glow!'. and that bright yellow is actually my inktense watercolor pencils! hello virbant on black!! i used only a little bit of water and lots of lots of 'color' straight from the tip of the pencil.

then i added some glossy accents to the bugs' wings and popped up the black cardstock to make it stand out a little from the neon yellow and white background.

and that's it! it's a pretty clean and simple card, but fun! :)
hope you're enjoying your weekend! i'm going to get scrappy again with danielle!
enjoy! 

a little birdie told me

i have been wanting to play along with the AEI(love)U challenge ever since they posted the inspiration picture! i LOVE it!! 

but after several failed attempts with washi tapes, wood veneers and mists...i almost gave up. lol! and then the idea for my card hit me, and after (literally) 45 minutes of masking, the card was finished! :)

i used all of my avery elle stamp sets for this card! granted i only have 4, but they're all on there! the little birdie was stamped and fussy cut and then popped up for dimension, along with one of the clouds.

then for the 'omg', i stamped it on the white cardstock, then stamped it again on that light pink. i used my craft knife to cut out the letters and then glued it to the card. so fun! and i can't wait to do it wiht more of the sentiments on the 'celebrate' stamp set! :)

now, onto the sentiment, i used sayings from 'hipster-potamus', 'funky monkey' and 'what's up?'. combine those sets with lots of washi tape, and ink (and inky, inky fingers) and i created the 'little birdie' sentiment on my card! :) i also stamped it out on a scratch piece of paper first to make sure it worked. and on the card it's not perfectly straight, but oh well! :)

so that's it! i purposefully chose the colors to match the ones in the inspiration photo. and the background of my card was chosen to mimic the feathers on some of those arrows in the picture! :) 

so that's it! 

enjoy!

inky paws challenge - sketch

are you ready to get inky? newton's nook designs is having their first inky paws challenge! how exciting!! but wait, don't have any of the brand new newton's nook designs stamps? that's ok! they're offering up a FREE digi to use too! and it's super cute!

the very first challenge is a sketch challenge! my favorite!!

i colored in newton to make him look like my in-law's cat (patches) with my inktense pencils. i went with coloring the image with a grey, instead of black, because i thought the black would look too dark with the lines of the stamp).
i know i know, i'm no artist! but it was as close as i could get! (a picture of their cat is at the bottom of this post) i love that he looks like he's playing with the string for the banner! so fun to mix and match the sets!

i used both 'newton's antics' and 'winged wishes' for my card. i also used my inktense pencils to color in the banner, fussy cut it out and popped it up (like the cat and the yarn).

so that's my card! hopefully it inspires you to get your 'paws' inky and link up to the challenge, too! i can't wait to see what you create! 
enjoy! 

(and here's a picture of my in-law's cat: patches. adorable, right?)

daydreamer

hello there!
the song stuck in my head while i made this card today was 'daydream believer'...yeah. sorry if it's in your head now! it's a good one, though! :)
anyway, the challenge at little tangles is 'into the woods' and i love it! 

here's my card (with neat and tangled stamps of course!):
i used distress inks to watercolor the bird image (from the 'my heart sings' stamp set), which i then fussy cut out and popped up for dimension. then i added half of the thought bubble (from the 'just thinking of you' stamp set) to the top of the card because that bird just looks like she's lost in her thoughts! 

and the sentiment - come on! i think it's perfect! i personally don't use #'s in my posts, but a lot of people do, and i when i thought of this, it was a sort of a-ha moment! :) it's my favorite part of the card! 

so besides a little stitching added to the wood panel background, that's about it! 
enjoy!

lawnscaping facebook inspiration team post (sneak peak)

hey there! today is my first post for the lawnscaping facebook inspiration team over at the lawnscaping challenge blog!! i'm so excited!!

i made a new card for the current challenge which is all about paper piecing!!

go check it out! here's a sneak peak of my card:

it's a fun one! if i do say so myself! :)

there may even be a mini tutorial over there...! :)

enjoy!

Newton's Nook Designs Launch Party - Campfire Tails

it's the last day of the newton's nook designs release party!! and all stamp sets go on sale at 12:00am EST on Friday! i'm so excited!

today we're showing off the super fun (and funny!) stamp set 'campfire tails!'! and once again, i made two cards to share in the fun! :)
for my first card, i had to use that little raccoon!! he is so cute!! i just love the look on his face!! he's so busted!!

the raccoon was paper pieced and popped up for dimension (as was the flashlight). i added just a hint of glossy accents to his nose and the yellow of the flashlight. love this!

my next card is more CAS.
i paper pieced the campfire and added some sequins of various sizes to the 'flames'. i think it adds just the perfect shine!

the sentiment was heat embossed in gold and the little marshmallow on the stick was fussy cut, colored and then only the marshmallow was popped up for dimension.

now, on to the fun part!
As part of the release, Newton's Nook is giving away this set to two lucky winners. You can comment to win on the NND blog and on each of the launch party participants' blogs. You will have until Thursday (July 18th) at 9pm to comment for the drawing. The store is also giving away a gift card on Facebook, so be sure to check it out HERE.

Here are the other participants in the NND Launch Party. Be sure to check out their blogs!

Jennifer Ingle

Emily Leiphart

Samantha Mann  (that's me!)

Jocelyn Olson 

Tessa Wise

Heather Campbell

Jean Martin

Audrey Tokach

Chari Moss

now go hop! you're going to be amazed, i just know it!

enjoy!

Newton's Nook Designs Launch Party - Winged Wishes

the fun keeps coming! and today is no different! 

it's day 3 of the launch party at newton's nook designs!! and if ever there was a whimsical, wonderful set, it was winged wishes! and i'm so excited to share the two cards i made with this set! i could make (and probably will...) a thousand more!! :)

my first card is a totally CAS card!

i stamped all of the images onto watercolor paper and colored them with distress markers and water! :) yay! the images were also all popped up, too. 

i also masked part of the sentiments that come with the set to make it my own! :)
love this card!

my second card is really fun, too! 

hello cloud shaped card! :) i wanted to add some sun rays coming up form the cloud too! i love the warmth it adds! 
the birds and hearts were also watercolored with distress markers and i added some enamel dots to enhance the sentiment.

now, on to the fun part!
As part of the release, Newton's Nook is giving away this set to two lucky winners. You can comment to win on the NND blog and on each of the launch party participants' blogs. You will have until Thursday (July 18th) at 9pm to comment for the drawing. The store is also giving away a gift card on Facebook, so be sure to check it out HERE.

Here are the other participants in the NND Launch Party. Be sure to check out their blogs!

Jennifer Ingle

Emily Leiphart

Samantha Mann  (that's me!)

Jocelyn Olson 

Tessa Wise

Heather Campbell

Jean Martin

Audrey Tokach

Chari Moss

now go hop! and prepare for fun!!

enjoy!

Newton's Nook Designs Launch Party - Just Say Cheese

day 2 is here for newton's nook designs release party! and this is one of my favorite sets!! LOVE it! ha ha!

i created two more cards with this stamp set! here's my first card:

love that little heart speech bubble! i popped it up and added glossy accents to the heart. the brie is paper pieced, fun! i stamped the sentiment and then cut a wood veneer in half to emphasize the sentiment! i love that! :)

i also added a panel of bright, happy, and FUN stripes under the grey background. i love the touch of color that adds!! :)

my second card also uses that fun heart speech bubble! (ha!)

i cut out that little mouse and chunk of gouda cheese and popped it up for the dimension.
i added some fun washi to the card and there you have it! a fun, easy card! :)

now, on to the fun part!
As part of the release, Newton's Nook is giving away this set to two lucky winners. You can comment to win on the NND blog and on each of the launch party participants' blogs. You will have until Thursday (July 18th) at 9pm to comment for the drawing. The store is also giving away a gift card on Facebook, so be sure to check it out HERE.

Here are the other participants in the NND Launch Party. Be sure to check out their blogs!

Jennifer Ingle

Emily Leiphart

Samantha Mann <--you are="" font="" here="">

Jocelyn Olson 

Tessa Wise

Heather Campbell

Jean Martin

Audrey Tokach

Chari Moss

no go hop! and prepare for fun!!

enjoy!

Newton's Nook Designs Launch Party - Release 1

it's here! it's here - it's finally here!

newton's nook designs is having their release party this week!! and each day there will be two winners!! below are the details!

in the meantime, today we're showcasing the amazingly cute newton's antic's stamp set today!! i LOOOOOVE this set!! that little kitty steals my heart!! ha ha! 

i made two cards with this stamp set for the release! (i was so excited!)

here's my first card:

it is that sneaky little kitten hiding in a box! eek!! so cute, right? i paper pieced him and popped it up for dimension.

i added some ribbon behind the wood veneer and speckled the sentiment with some soft and pink enamel dots! what cat doesn't love playing in a box, right? the sentiment works perfectly together!

for my next card i masked the sentiment to customize it! :)

it's so easy to mask these sentiments and create your own for a special occassion!

both cats were paper pieced again, and popped up (along with the heart). 

and to add to the 'purr-ty-ness' of it, i added some sequins jazzed up with pearls! 

now...would you like to win Newton's Antics?

This set will be given away to Two lucky winners! 

Here's how to win: 

1. Comment on Newton's Nook Design blog: http://www.newtonsnookblog.com. One Winner will be randomly chosen from the comments on the launch party post.

2. Comment on the Design Team Member and Guest blogs (see list below)! One winner will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the Launch Party. Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Thursday, July 18th at 9 pm Central Standard Time to comment  -- winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, July 19th.

But wait… there's more. We will also be giving away a gift card on Facebook this week to celebrate our launch - so be sure to pop over there to like our page and enter to win! https://www.facebook.com/newtonsnook

Make sure you check out all the blogs participating in the Launch Party below to enter:

http://justjingle.blogspot.com/ Jennifer Ingle

http://leiphartonart.blogspot.com/ Emily Leiphart

http://samsscrapcandy.blogspot.com/ Samantha Mann

http://redballooncards.blogspot.com/ Jocelyn Olson

http://craftygrl.blogspot.com/ Tessa Wise

http://parkermolly.blogspot.com/ Heather Campbell

http://stampin-scrapper.blogspot.com/ Jean Martin

http://pinkinkoriginals.blogspot.com/ Audrey Tokach

http://www.mossymade.com/ Chari Moss

so that's it!

go hop and enjoy!!

lawnscaping challenge - paper piecing

it's time for a new challenge over at the lawnscaping blog! 
this time, it's all about paper piecing!! 

you can paper piece virtually any image on a card (or other paper craft!) and it's by far my favorite technique! i LOVE it!
so here's the card i created for this challenge:

so fun, right? and SUPER summer-y! that was my goal! i used the waves to create the 'ocean' from the 'critters in the sea' stamp set. i created blue, vellum and mint waves! 

the flamingo is from lawn fawn's, 'gnome sweet gnome' stamp set (as is the other little chickadee) both of which are paper pieced, too! 
the 'sand' of the beach  was created with the bee trail from the same stamp set which i popped up for dimension (along with the birds and letters)! 
the sentiment was created using harold's abc's and quinn's abc's and coordinating lawn cuts! 

lots of paper piecing, lots of layering and lots of dimension! :)
and lots of fun! 
so now it's your turn! get to crafting and check out the lawnscaping challenge blog to get your creative juices flowing! and if that's not enough - go to the lawnscaping challenge page on facebook for even MORE inspiration! you'll find it, i promise! 

enjoy!

you color my world sweet layout

i was able to play along (again!) with the sweet stamp shop's use what you have challenge! LOVE it! crafting, playing and also using up supplies i have a TON of, or supplies that are older? i accept! :)

this time, i made a layout! and i really like how it turned out! but i must warn you, it has a lot going on! :)
i used up some of my wood veneers stash! as you can see...i have a lot of it...ha ha!!

i used lots of arrows and even a camera! all of the wood veneers were colored white with some white enamel. :) oh and score! i also used up more of my thicker stash (you can see THAT crazy amount that i have here)!

i looooove using stamps on my layouts and this one was no different! i used the color wheel stamp set (duh - this layout was CALLING for this stamp set!) and also view finder from the sweet stamp shop (of course!).

i used some soft, subtle grey washi on the layout and created some banners in MAGENTA and grey to add the color and layers. i really like how the only POPS of color are the magenta color! the same color that my littlest little used to color on his head...in permanent marker. sigh. talk about cliches. 

oh, and my perhaps my favorite part of this layout - i LOVE that camera patterened paper, but i thought it might be a little much for an entire layout. so i tried to calm it down by adding some vellum over top. and then i splattered some magenta spots all over using my watercolor brush and pencils. FUN! 

so that's it! another memory captured and a fun time in the process!
i definitely think you should get your stamps out and try this 'use what you have' challenge - it's one of the best challenges!!! 
enjoy!

happy birthday dude

today i have a FUN card to share! i made it this morning (in literally like 15 minutes! in between making the little menn their breakfast and them eating it!)! i had to make a card for my brother and get it in the mail today...although, even then, i know it will be cutting it...close. oh well!

i used two challenges for inspiration: little tangles (birthday challenge!!) and runway inspired challenge photo.

both are super FUN! and both were perfect together for a boy-y birthday card!

here's my card:

first i laid some funky traingle washi down in uneven strips. i'm loving triangles and bold right now. so it called to me! :) and i like how it reflected the pattern going on in the dress in the photo, too! then, i paper pieced the cupcake (of course adding that little smirk!), then popped it up for dimension! i LOVE that cupcake image from sketchy cupcakes! then i added lots of arrows from studio calico's hearts and arrows wood veneers. and finished it off with some fun yellow enamel dots! :) 

it screams FUN! 

oh, and you can't see, but in the inside of the card, i stamped the happy birthday sentiment...in case that wasn't coming through clear enough. ha ha! :)

enjoy!