wish you were here

the new sketch for CAS(E) this sketch is fun and unique and i love it! 

i couldn't wait to try my hand at it! i broke out my mama elephant stamps and got to work! i used full house and bling stamp sets.

i paper pieced the little houses into two towns and then added a colored a few of the 'rows' with a grey copic marker and then used one of the single houses (with the yellow heart in the middle) to symbolize the subjects (the miss-ee and the miss-er)! :) two of the rows were also popped up for dimension.

i stamped the sentiment/speech bubble onto vellum (love that!). and then added a sewn border with my sewing machine!

i love that teal background, and not just because i love teal, yellow and grey! ha! i love it because it has the days of the week, like i'm thinking of the recipient everyday of the week! perfect!

well i hope you all have an excellent weekend and i hope you have time to get crafty (i'm hoping too!!)!
enjoy!

mummy loves you!

today, i'm being featured on the newton's nook designs blog today! and it's all about some halloween fun!

i have to say, i LOVE the little mummy bear on the newton's nook designs stamp set, boo crew. he's too cute!! eek!! so i had to use him again on my card today!

i colored the little bear with my copics (i'm on a kick!) and then popped him up onto a fun little sceneic tag i created! LOVE the bear with those vibrant sky/grass colors! 

i used some white ribbon and 'mummified' the grey panel to mirror the bear! fun stuff! 

well that's all i have! i hope this card made you smile, i sure smiled every step of coloring and layering! :)
and if you're feeling the vibe, get your newton's nook stamps out and play along with the most current inky paws sketch challenge! :)

enjoy!

nothing but blue skies

i have to say, i love love love this inspiration photo for the most recent AEI♥U Challenge at the avery elle blog! the colors, the vintage feel, and the FUN! it's awesome!!

i couldn't wait to play along! ...and then i got a creative block! i couldn't make or think of anything! i hate when that happens.
anyway, i pulled through and made this card, which i do adore! 

i used some peacock feathers and distressed the sky background on my card. i reeeeaaaallly like it! i was going for darker at the top and lighter at the bottom (an ombre, if you will). :)

then i stamped and fussy cut out all of the stars from the celebrate stamp set! i added some glossy accents to the little stars, and then popped up the larger ones.

finally i added some white enamel dots (because i really love the white accents on the inspiration photo!!) and stamped the sentiment from happy camper!

i can't help but smile when i see this card - just like when i see the inspiratin photo! :)
i hope this card brightens your day too!
enjoy!

monochromatic mini look

hey there!
i'm over on the lawnscaping blog today!! it's a 2nd look at monochormatic cards and i LOVE the card!! it's super fun!

here's a little peek at what you can expect:

enjoy! :)

i believe in magic

*if you're looking for my inky paws sketch challenge post - please click here**

i had an unexpected few minutes to get crafty today, so i was excited to try out the latest paper smoches sparks cool shades challenge! the colors are super fun, trendy and a little neon even! what's not to love?

for some reason, my head went christmas with those colors, weird, right? but i do LOVE how the card turned out! :)

i used four different paper smooches stamp sets for this non-traditional christmas card: joyful greetings, swanky snowdudes, my peeps and gently seasoned!

i have been in a coloring mood lately (instead of paper piecing...wow, i know!). the good and bad with that is that i am not very good yet and i mess up a LOT! lol! so on one hand, i want to color, and on the other hand, i'm no good. ha ha!! sigh.
anyway, i colored the images (cough cough) with copics and then cut them out and popped them up.

i just love that little bird looking up at the snowman waiting for him to come to life (he totally believes!). and yeah, that's why i chose that particular sentiment too! 
after a few snowflakes and lime green enamel dots (um, LOVE those by the way - lime green snow - yes please! ha ha!)!

so that's it! i'm glad i was able to play along and share a bit of some neon christmas with you!
enjoy!

inky paws sketch challenge #3

woo-hoo!
time to get your paws inky again! newton's nook is having they're 3rd inky paws sketch challenge! yahoo!

super fab sketch right? yeah, it's pretty great! and so fun!

while i was thinking about my card for this challenge, i remembered that the wizard in the new magical dreams stamp set has always reminded me of dumbledore - wait for it, you see it too now, right?? :)
ha ha! anyway, one of my all time, hands down, favorite revelations from any book, ever in the world, was when snape tells dumbledore he's still in love with harry potter's (unfortunately, deceased) mother. here's a recap:

*picture found on pinterest - original credit is here.

yeah, insert heartbreaking here. sigh.
anyway those were the inpsirations for my card:

i colored the wizard (read: dumbledore) with some copic markers and popped him up for dimension.
i also added some stars to the grey background with my versamark ink. LOVE the subtle hint of the stars with that ink. oh, and those are the stars from campfire tails! hello two stamp sets working well together! :)

i used some alpha tabs ($1 at the target dollar section - score!) and some flowy thickers for the sentiment.

so that's it! a super fun and personal card that i can't wait to send to my best harry potter fan friend! :) ha ha!
i hope you are able to get your paws inky and join in on the fun! 
enjoy!

lawnscaping challenge - monochromatic

yahoo! it's monday and that means it's time for a brand new lawnscaping challenge! 
get your thinking caps on people - this one is monochromatic! love it! :)

i loooooooooove creating (mostly) monochromatic cards! but i usually try to pop a contrasting color! so it was a challenge for me to avoid adding any neon yellow and pink to this card! lol! i wanted to SO bad! :)
i only used one lawn fawn stamp set for this card - that is unheard of for me!! :) i used let it snow! such a pretty set!!

first i cut out a rectangle and used the border from that to create a mask. then i heat embossed the trees and hills with clear ink.
i used my white ink pad and a foam make up triangle...thing, to color in with white (making a very snowy scene, i think!) :)

to finish off the card, i added some silver sequins and light grey enamel dots! fun fun! and my first christmas card of the year -s core!! it always me so long to make all of my christmas cards, so i have to start early and sprinkle them in, ortherwise i'll never finish! :) 

for even more inspiration (if you can stand it!), check out the lawnscaping facebook page! we're dedicated to keeping your creative juices flowing! :)
so, enjoy!

Newton's Nook Designs September Release - Day 2 - Magical Dreams

it's day two of another newton's nook release! yahoo!
prepare to be dazzled by the magic! :)

today is all about the magical dreams - just looking at the set makes me think of harry potter and everything i love (despite being a muggle!)! :)
which is why i had to make two cards today! :)

again - two cards people - you know i love my newton's nook stamps, i can't be limited to just one card! :)

for my first card, i paper pieced the images and then added some enamel white and black dots to make the eyes pop! i love it! oh, i also added some white enamel to the mushroom spots too!

and those stars? i colored them with my wink of stella brush pen to add some magic!! (aka - glitter, ha ha!).

the second card is totally fun! i love that little dragon! :)
i watercolored him with my distress markers and then added glossy accents to the horns and some of his scales (and of course the magic potion bottle, too!).

i layerd some washi tape at the bottom and i have to say, i am loving that card! it's super fun and bright and whimsical! all things i love!

Would you like to win you're very own magincal dreams set?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 September release posts.

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 September release blog hop. 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, September 12th at 9 pm Central Standard Time to comment  -- winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, September 13th.

Tessa Wise

Jocelyn Olson 

Samantha Mann  (that's me!)

Emily Leiphart

Jennifer Ingle
Kim Singdahlsen

thanks so much for visiting, and don't forget to comment for your chance to win! :)

enjoy!

Newton's Nook Designs September Release - boo crew

super excited today!
newton's nook is releasing their next round of stamps - and they're so cute!! get ready to be spook-ified! :)

today is all about the boo crew - and trust me, this one seruously cute crew! :)
which is why i had to make two cards today! :)

first up - LOOOOOVE that kitty ghost! i mean!! come on!! so cute, right? i had to make him the focal point!

i paper pieced him out and then added some candy corn and sequins to make the card even more whimsical! :)

next up is the really fun, and adooooooorable fairy princess doxie!! LOVE it!!
i decided to make a non-halloween card with this one - these images are so fun! so i went with a little gir's birthday card! :)

oh, and the sentiment, it just may be a sneaky insight into another new stamp set (being featured tomorrow!). the little pup was also paper pieced and i added some glitter to the wings and one of the layers of the skirt with the really fun wink of stella brush pen! :)

Would you like to win boo crew?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 September release posts.

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 September release blog hop. 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, September 12th at 9 pm Central Standard Time to comment  -- winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, September 13th.

Tessa Wise

Jocelyn Olson 

Samantha Mann  (that's me!)

Emily Leiphart

Jennifer Ingle
Kim Singdahlsen

thanks so much for visiting, and don't forget to comment for your chance to win! :)

enjoy!

surprise!! it's kelly marie's birthday blog hop!

happy birthday to the lawn fawn maven herself and all around wonderfully sweet and very talented - kelly marie!! :)

as part of the lawnscaping facebook inspiration team, i was asked to be part of this awesome hop to show kelly marie just how much we all love her and the lawn fawn products!! :)

and, just case you get lost, or need a refresher, head over to tiffany's blog to start at the beginning! :)
it's a super long hop (hey, we can't be faulted for everyone wanted to participate and show the birthday girl some love, right?!), so we'll get right down to it!
you should have hopped this way from samantha casey's blog! and if i know her style, it was an amazing, colorful and super happy scene!! :)

now, here's my card - a fun, cheery (and cheeky) card made just for kelly marie herself (and en route to lawn fawn headquarters too!).

i used my all time favorite stamp set - harold's abcs for my (per usual) custom sentiment! then i (tried to) transform the cute little rocking horse image from the pa-rum-pa-pum-pum stamp set in a donkey, or close to it! :) a few water color wood veener stars were added, and there you have it!

a card, whose sole purpose is to make people (and kelly marie!) smile! :)

now, off to the next stop - the amazing, fabulous, and freaking talented latisha yoast!

enjoy the hop! and wish kelly marie a very happy birthday along the way! :)
enjoy!

a little love note

when i saw the inspiration picture for the latest paper smooches sparks trend watch challenge, i almost swooned. i LOVE it! the softness, the colors and the pop of gold! i could not resist!

you see? it's such a wonderful source of inspiration! i have another idea too, but we'll see if i can make it come to life in time! :)

here's my card:

first i stamped the sentiment from pretty phrases (one of my favorite sets ever!) in the most awesome gold ink pad ever! the delicata golden glitz ink! it looks almost like it was heat embossed! it's so fun!

then i did heat emboss (in clear) the hibiscus flower from get outta town multiple times onto water color paper. then i colored in the images with distress markers (spun sugar and worn lipstick) with a nod to the awesome ombre fade from flower to flower.

the flowers were popped up and then i used the wink of stella glitter pen to add a little glitter to the center part (stamen) of the flowers then added some pearls to the card base.

and that's it! i hope my card encapsulates the soft, happy feel of the inspiration photo! 
enjoy!

a little hello

hey there! 
i wanted to share another card i made for the current inky paws challenge over at newton's nook designs!! 

as a refresher, here's the sketch:

so fun, right? here's my card:

i used winged wishes and newton's antics for the card and i think it's so fun! and i hope the recipient gets some warm fuzzies when they get it! :)

the hearts were first stamped on the background and then stamped again on red paper, fussy cut and then added to the card. i added glossy accents to the hearts too!

the paws were also fussy cut and little newton was paper pieced and popped up! i had a little fun paper piecing him with different colored patterned papers (ears, tail, paws, etc). love it!

so that's my card!
now it's your turn! get your stamps out and get inky! :)
enjoy!

merry wishes

i'm totally loving this card i made for the current CAS(E) this sketch challenge! :)

i used mama elephant polar pals stamp set - yahoo for starting christmas cards early! i make my own christmas cards, and i need to pace myself since i create different cards for each person! (i LOVE the idea of mass producing the same card for everyone, especially a very special card, but i just lose interest and get bored! so that's me in a nutshell - i create more work for myself!)

anyway, here's the card:

i paper pieced those cute as can be penguins and then cut them so they appeared to be peaking out frmo behind the washi tape! ha ha!i also made a custom sentiment by masking some of the provided sentiments! a simple tap on my staz-on ink pad and vwa-la! you can stamp right onto washi tape! :)

i added a few sequins for...fun and also because i have a slight addiction to them! :)
that whole base was then popped up onto the a white card base i had liberally sprayed with mr heuy's shine mist! to add a little more sparkle! :)

so that's it! 
do you make your own christmas cards? and if so, do you make one or two layouts or 1000 different cards like i do? i'm so interested to know! 
enjoy! 

lawnscaping challenge - a few of my favorite things

yahoo! it's monday and that means it's time for a brand new lawnscaping challenge! 
this is a super FABULOUS challenge! why? because it's all about using your FAVORITE lawn fawn stamps!!

so what could be easier than that?!
at first, i thought it was going to be hard to pick just a few lawn fawn stamps that i LOVE more than the others! (truth time - they're all amazing! and i love them all!!)
and then i remembered, i used harold's abc's on almost EVERY lawn fawn card i make! i LOVE that set! and i love creating my own sentiments! so here's my card:

i chose some paper that i LOVE, but i've been hoarding (*whistle*) and then got down to it! 
the glasses are from clear to see, and used glossy accents to 'tint' those bad boys! then i popped them up for dimension!

i ddin't have the exact color of pearls to embellish my card, so i used my white ones and colored them with some markers and BAM! perfect match to my 'shady' letters! :)

for even more inspiration (if you can stand it!), check out the lawnscaping facebook page! we're dedicated to keeping your creative juices flowing! :)
so, enjoy!