THE PLAY DATE CAFE PDCC151

Thanks for the Cream In our Coffee recognition :)

How can anyone resist playing along with these colors?  I do have to admit though, that the Pumpkin Pie and that amazing layer cake DID capture my attention...Yum Yum Yummy!

 Scoot on over to The Play Date Cafe PDCC151 because I know that you're going to 'fall' for all the amazing DT creations and be inspired to play along!

White on white with a few splashes of color.  The leaves were die cut and popped up with those wee, tiny, cute foam pop dots. I shaded each leaf with Copic markers, sponged the edges with SU Pumpkin Pie & Mellow Moss.  The branch is also one of my latest purchases (Savvy Dies). The image panel and the frame panel are popped up with dimensionals.

Look close....there are two scored lines between the image panel and the bottom.  I tried everything from ribbon, to twine, to buttons...but it all seemed to be too much.  I really like the simple look of the scored lines (which do look really good 'in real life'). Some day I plan on learning more about my camera so that I can capture all the elements of a card!

We have an absolute beautiful 28C day here today. We haven't had rain since late June though (other than 10 spits) so I have been busy SOAKING my perennials for the past week, otherwise they will surely perish through the -40C that will soon be upon us....I shiver just thinking about it!

Happy crafting!

Unscripted Sketch #178 and CASology Week #12

This card is doing double duty! It was my entry into the CASology challenge (see below for link) as well as my DT entry for our Unscripted Sketch #178.

It was so exciting to see such a marvelous response to our last sketch!  So many beautiful entries. Hope everyone will find time to join us again this week.  As always, I am looking forward to seeing your interpretation of this week's sketch

Happy crafting!

11:30pm .... something was missing!  Wanda the Witch just seemed to be floating!  She needed something to ground her to the card so I added a deliberate uneven frame from one boot to the other.  I really do think that the line really did the trick....she isn't going anywhere now!

This was the original card...can you see the difference the line frame made?

I finally have a bit of free time this afternoon and decided to play along with the CASology Week #12 challenge!

The cue card word is :  SHOE.....hmmmm.......my stamp collection only contains two stamps that have a shoe/shoes...one belongs to Frankenstein and the other, I am safely assuming, belongs to the Wild Witch of the West!

So, here she is....out of control.  I had a giggle over this card, I hope you do to!

Paper is SU; the stamp originates from an obscure bargain store in ND!

Happy crafting!

September Gallery Challenge - Papercrafts Connections

Late this afternoon I decided to make a card for the the September Gallery Challenge at Papercrafts Connection !

The challenge was to make a project using natural elements like burlap, canvas, cork, twine, denim, leather, or wood etc.

I used denim (cut with zig zag shears), cork to make faux buttons/snaps (3 layers of cork for each button); brass rings and 100% cotton thread used to stitch the denim as well as to stitch the smaller brass rings on to the cork buttons.  Oh, and of course....paper!

I used foam dimensionals to pop up the face panel,  white paper is CTMH; More Mustard & Confetti White is Stampin' Up; Happy Birthday stamp - SU; denim - hubby's old jeans

Here is a link to the Flickr group for the September Gallery - check out all the wonderful cards!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy crafting!

Unscripted Sketches #177

... I can hardly wait to see all the submissions for this sketch!  No mater which way you turn the sketch, the possibilities are endless!

I used this small piece of sweetly colored, gorgeously polka dotted ribbon that I "found" in my ribbon stash as the starting point for my card..  I  punched the heart from some red sparkly SU paper that was screaming "pick me, pick me".  The circles were die cut from SU Real Red and CTMH white card stock.  I rounded the corners, punched the tag with SU Tiny Tag punch, stamped the sentiment (SU Tiny Tags), adhered the tag with a brad (that was colored with a red Copic marker) and the card was done!

I am not sure if I am going to use this as a valentine card (talk about getting the jump on that holiday) or a really cool, non traditional wedding card, probably more suited to "young-ish" bride & groom.

I also want to say a big thank you to our loyal participants that take part in our weekly Unscripted Sketches challenges and a warm welcome to any newcomers! You know the drill, just click to link!

Happy crafting!

CAS-ual Fridays - CFC70

Another entry into this week's CAS-ual Fridays - CFC70 - Create a Clean And Simple project that is black and white plus one color of your choice.   

I sponged the moon with a darker yellow ink gradually fading it out to the plain yellow color.  The witch (Inkadinkdo) was stamped with Stazon ink; the SU sentiment was embossed with white embossing powder.  I die cut a circle on the black panel and popped the panel up on dimensionals.  I wanted to give the card some depth to create the illusion of the moon in the night sky. You can see a bit of the shadow on each side of the circle.

This is obviously a REALLY POPULAR color combo that everyone must love because there are 180 entries so far!!!  You have to check out the entries - amazing!

Happy crafting!

Velveteen Stamping Technique in The CLASSroom

How cool is this technique?  Read on to find out how to create the velveteen look!

On my daily visit to The CLASSroom I was thrilled to find this fun  Velveteen Stamping Technique   the amazingly talented Karolyn Loncon from Paper Therapy.  Karolyn's clean and simple style has earned her many accolades - she was crowned a Stamping Royalty winner in 2011!

Check out Karolyn's card.....sweet eh?

Please refer to Karolyn's tutorial for full instructions as my card is an improvised version:

I did not have a suitable background stamp (I actually only have one background stamp and it is French script!) so I used a 2'" x 2" chevron stripe for my background....hence the 2" panel versus a full card!

Karolyn used stamps that have a good amount of solid space. Again, my supply was limited so thankfully this ancient SU set worked okay.  The tulip has a bit of a pattern on it so the chevron stripes are less noticeable than on the leaves.  

Don't you just love these Paper Smooches stamps that Karolyn used? She also has a hot tip on some great pigment ink..."No joke – this ink offers incredible coverage and a perfect image every single time!  I can’t imagine my crafting life without this ink – no craft room should be without it!".  Karolyn initially came across the Velveteen Stamping technique on Shari Carroll's blog a few months ago.

Just click on the links above for full instructions and to find out about more about the products that Karolyn used!

Happy crafting!

CARD DESIGN HANDBOOK WEEK: The Movement Challenge ... and...CAS-ual Fridays CFC70

 

Wow - a challenge indeed! Quoting Cath..."If you only have time for just one, skip the stuff that's easy for you and pounce on one that is the most difficult."  Ah, she knows us so well.

I was quite comfortable with the Repetition Challenge, so I entered two cards.  I got thinking abut the Movement Challenge, got scared, decided 'no way' .....

Today, however, I sat down to make a card for CFC70 and the Movement Theory (that is what I have named it) kept bouncing around in my we brain.  Once I got rolling, it just all seemed to come together.

I struggled a bit with what I thought would be the focal/starting point.  I literally covered my eyes, pulled my hand away, and zoomed right in on the "Thank You" sentiment.

From the "Thank You" , my eye seemed to travel to the top left corner where the swirls begin, then I followed the swirls down to the bottom left corner; then across to the bottom right hand corner.  I added two little dots pointing up towards the sentiment so that your eye travels back up to the top left hand corner of the card (the sentiment).....and around, and around, and around....NOW THAT'S MOVEMENT!

I may be out in left field on this Movement Theory....but at least I tried....and lived to tell about it!

Here is the link for those of you brave enough to step out of your comfort zone:
Card Design Handbook Week: The Movement Challenge

Now on to the second challenge!  This week's CFC70 - Black/White & One Color of Your Choice was a no brainer for me!  Black/white/blue is one of my favorite color combos to work with!  This optional color combo must be a hit with others because there are at least a kazillion cards posted already and they are all amazing!  Scoot on over and check them out :)

I used CTMH white paper; SU black & Tempting Turquoise, Sizzix Scribbles Swirls die; sentiment origin is unknown.

Happy crafting!

:) Geri

Just a quick post of two cards that I had submitted to the Papercrafts Call for Submissions....never got an e-mail, so here they are!

The top card is another Michael's $1 bin stamp with SU Mellow Moss ink.  The second card is MFT die along with SU sentiment.

Personally, I absolutely love the mauve/somewhat celery/lime green combo (how's that for a 'colorful' description!)...it is such an "it's a new day kind of color" (that sounds like I never passed English 300).

Happy crafting!

LIEBSTER Award - Discover New Blogs

Thank you to Ardyth for nominating me for the Liebster award!

I am truly honored.

ABOUT THE AWARD

This award was designed to be a blog award in the pay it forward fashion.  Once you have been nominated, you award it to blogs that you like that have fewer than 200 followers, to encourage new visitors to visit their blogs.

RULES FOR ACCEPTANCE

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog.  Post the award onto your blog.  Give the award to five bloggers who you appreciate that have fewer than 200 followers.  Leave a comment on their blog letting them know that you have given them this awesome award!

PAY IT FORWARD

Here are the blogs of 5 amazing women that I follow with interest and who, in my humble opinion, deserve to have a lot more followers - go check them out and leave them a comment!

Glee from Studio G
Anita from Crafty Girl Designs
Jen At Stampin' Up The House
Caroline at Poetry of the Heart
Teresa at My Musings

Unscripted Sketch #176 Piggyback Challenge

The piggyback challenge this week is to USE the card you make to either:  

- send it to a friend for their birthday, cheer up a co-worker, say thanks to a neighbor for letting you borrow their hedge trimmer for 8 years;

- send it to http://www.cardcupids.org/blog which provides cheerful cards for children facing difficult challenges in their young lives regardless of their economic background;  

- or send it to either of the two below listed organizations that send cards of encouragement to soldiers:

http://www.amillionthanks.org/send-lett ... et-started
http://www.redcross.org/support/get-inv ... for-heroes
- and lastly, this organization sends blank cards to soldiers so that they can send cards back home.
http://cardsforsoldiers.blogspot.com

I have chosen Card Cupids as my piggyback challenge.  Check out their blog and get busy making fun cards for wee little ones.  If you choose to donate your cards to Card Cupids, please visit their blog first as they do have some guidelines for the cards.   They ask that you refrain from using "Get Well Soon" type phrases and focus on positive encouraging words.  They have provided a list of preferred sentiments.

Card details: Stamped the happy face with Versamark & embossed with black ep.; punched the smiley guy out with a circle punch; coated with Crystal Effects, anchored with coordinating baker's twine and popped up with dimensionals.

It is hard to pick up in the photo, but I scored lines on the white paper.....BY HAND.....because my Big Shot broke last night!  I have come to the conclusion that it is almost impossible to make a card without it.  I  called the good people at Sizzix and received AMAZING customer service.  The parts were shipped this morning and if hubby can't put it back together again they will replace it under warranty! Now, how cool is that?

Happy crafting everyone!

What....Patterned Paper?

So not like me to have a card ready literally months in advance....
So not like me to use ribbon on my card.....
So not like me to use patterned paper on my card.....
So not like me to use layer upon layer upon layer.....

Don't know what hit me today, but this paper just caught my eye! It has been sitting in my 'patterned paper' box for quite some time (as are the other kazillion sheets) and was probably purchased back when I thought I needed to use patterned paper!

My mother-in-law loves the color coral so this was a slam dunk as to what kind of card this would be.  No challenges, just a card...

Unscripted Sketch #175 and The Repetition Challenge in the Card Design Handbook Week

Wow!  Now this was a whole lot of masking!  Seriously, I used almost a whole roll of tape!

I drew grid lines on my paper first, decided which image would be stamped in each section and then taped & stamped. taped & stamped, taped & stamped......You think I was a bit nervous stamping the last two or three images?  Thoughts of messing up on the last one kept running through my head, but in the end it all worked out.  I used this SU stamp to create the above image:

So .pour yourself a nice hot cup of coffee and check out what the rest of the Unscripted DT members have created!  It is so much fun to see the weekly entries, visit each of the blogs and leave some love for our loyal submitters!  You know the drill, just click to link!

I am also entering this card into the Moxie Fab Card Design Handbook Week: The Repetition Challenge because this entire card has some serious repetition happening!  You can find out more about all the fun challenges that Cath has posted in my previous post or by clicking the above link.  So, grab a second cup of coffee and check out the other submissions! Wow - so many talented people out there in blog land!

Happy crafting!

CARD DESIGN HANDBOOK WEEK: The Repetition Challenge

Wow!  Have you been following the amazing mini tutorials posted at the The Moxie Fab World?

What is it that has the paper crafting world all abuzz you ask?  Well, it's this sweet little must have handbook that features a total of 24 lessons on design.  

One of the many challenges posted is the Repetition Challenge.  The various challenges are all listed in the sidebar at the The Moxie Fab World.   The deadline for entry is Sept. 24th so there is still time to play along.

I love the striking contrast of the white/orange/red on black. This color combo definitely delivers the bold look that I wanted.  The butterflies are made from a MFT leaf die (three sizes).   The bodies of the butterflies  and the sentiment are white embossed. (SU  Punched Posies and Made For You). The wings of the butterflies are popped up with wee dimensionals, although it is hard to tell in the photo.

Happy crafting!

Stephanie's Blog Birthday Celebrations!

Hey everyone! A quick post to invite you to join in a birthday celebration.....read on!

Stephanie - one of our very talented Unscripted Sketches Design Team Members is celebrating her Blog Birthday and she has some goodies to share!

Boogie on over to LuvScraps to join in the birthday fun and giveaway! Happy Blog Birthday Stephanie!

colourQ challenge #152...

Another awesome ColourQ color combo!  I am so glad that our busy summer schedule has slowed a bit and I now have time to play in my craft room and take part in some of my favorite challenges......ColourQ being one of my favs!

Gumball Green just seems like such a good 'turtle' color to me.  I have had this cute Recollection set for quite some time but never had an opportunity to ink it up.  Trying to incorporate Basic Grey into my card was a bit tricky!  I initially matted "Max" (the name I gave this turtle) in Gumball Green and really liked the look, but figured I might just be pushing the challenge a bit by copping out on Basic Grey for the sentiment only..... so Max is now matted in grey!

Remember, ColourQ has made some changes to their posting schedule so you now have until Monday night to link up your projects.  The changes are great - more time to enter and more time for the Design Team to check out all the wonderful creations.

Happy Crafting!

Supplies:  SU Gumball Green, Basic Grey, Crumb Cake; CTMH White; Recollections Zoo-licious, DMC embroidery cotton, Copic markers