CASology - Style, NBUS #4 & Simply To Create Anything Goes

                                               

                                                             

                                                             

Stamping & paper piercing - tough to get any simpler! A sweet PTI stamp that reminds me of the weave on a basket which resulted in this CAS easter card. BTW, the last image is stamped with a lovely warm shade of peach and is very pretty in real life (as opposed to the blah coral color that refused to be tweaked in Photoshop).

My card is headed in three directions:

The first challenge is over at CASology where the cue word is Style. My interpretation may be a stretch, but there are others in the gallery that interpreted "Style" as referring to a card making style. So, I'm throwing my card into the ring with my usual Clean & Simple style.

The second challenge quite likely needs no introduction because Darnell is mega famous in blog land for her NBUS challenges.  The NBUS that I've used is a Papertrey Ink stamp set that my dear friend and fellow BABE Bev (thanks pal) tucked in my craft box before we left our crafting getaway at the Lakehouse. NBUS #4 closes at midnight on March 31st, so get busy if you haven't already entered.

The third fun challenge is Simply Create Too - Anything Goes! You really need to pop on over to the challenge blog and take a look at the gallery...tons of inspiration from all the amazing projects that are posted!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Happy crafting!

SWEET "BUN BUN"

2015-03 A big than you to the DT for choosing "Bun Bun" as one of the favorites!

Popping in with a quick post to share my card that missed the CASology "Blossom" deadline! It likely was a bit of a stretch anyway....

"Bun Bun" by Penny Black, sentiment by Hampton Arts, Copics and a bit of dazzle courtesy of Stella. I know I sound like a broken record but in real life the pink is much softer and the aqua more vibrant. 

We are in the middle of a ca-razy blizzard! Honestly, I can barely see the house across the street and the snow is forecast to continue until noon tomorrow.  Hmmmmm....snow day? Thankfully the temps are mild.

Happy crafting! Thanks so much for stopping by :)


Edited to Add:

My dear friend Darnell suggested the following challenges for this card (thanks Darnell!)

- Addicted To Stamps Challenge #137 - Make Your Mark where you are to tell your readers what your 'mark' is. My 'mark' is the Penny Black image that I stamped using Momento Die Ink.

- and Simply Create Too - Challenge 81 with a theme of Easter or Bunnies! 

Did you know that Darnell has just posted NBUS Challenge #4? 
Don't dilly-dally because this fun challenge closes March 31st. And there are prizes! Darnell is generously giving away 5 - $25 gift certificates from any US company!!! How sweet is that?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM

Our dear friend Kim has a birthday today

And we're getting together to party and play

She crafts, she sews, she bakes and she teaches

And lives really close to some beautiful beaches.

Over at Bev's house you'll find treats & great fun

With cake and yummy goodies, second to none!

Kim's creations feature colors so bright

And never fail to amaze and delight

Her talent in endless, she's sweet as can be

I've been lucky to meet her in real life, you see

A soul so kind, generous and sweet

I'm so very thankful we were able to meet

In real life, we crafted at a house on a lake

And nibbled on yummy, baked walnut cake

We all hit it off from the very first day

And can hardly wait for the next trip to play

Sweet wishes Miss Kim for a day that was fun

My poem's now over and off I will run

To craft my next card, the deadline is near

Ooops, I've missed it - oh dang it, oh dear!!!

Hope you had a swell day pal! 

CARD CONCEPT CHALLENGE #37 - Cupcake

0 calories if you devour these treats standing up! Yeah right...only in my dreams!

But let's look at this from a positive point of view. The raspberries could be considered a serving of fresh fruit!  And...I know that you will be inspired! How could you not be?

A quick & easy creation using a Silhouette cut file. It took me longer to color the polka dots with a white gel pen than it did to put this paper pieced card together. Bits and pieces of DP, swooshes of winking Stella and a sweet Paper Smooches sentiment. 

Dag-nabbit though...another grrrrrrrrr photo!!! At least this time the unintentional pink tint matches the icing!

I hope that you will find time to play along with this challenge.  See you in the gallery :)

Thanks for stopping by :)  Happy crafting!





CAS-ology - Week 137 - Tropical

 

                                


Edited to add a big Thank You to Judy for the  HM Honor for this challenge :)

                                              

I spent a bit of time in my craft room last night, trying to come up with a different angle for 'Tropical'.  

Zip Lining 9,000,000 feet above the ground would have been really hard to put to paper! Although, a screaming streak across the paper would have 'captured the moment' quite adequately!

Next idea was surfing.  I never did manage to stand up on the darn thing but got a good workout paddling around on the board all day!

Easy peasy, quick and easy with a Silhouette cut file (tweaked a bit) and a $1 stamp from Michaels! A coat of Wink of Stella gives the water droplets some nice shimmer in real life! The perfect b-day card for Danny's nephew who will soon turn 18. He's a sweet, polite, athletic kid. But most important, he's respectful.  And that equals cool in my book!

If you don't have time to play along, then take a moment to check out the cool DT cards and the fabulous talent filled gallery!

Happy crafting!

Aloha!

MUSE Challenge #107

This week's Guest Muse is none other than the mega talented Vicki, who has crafted up a stunning creation featuring warm, subtle earthy colors, glammed up with a bit of bling. 

Feast your eyes on this beauty:

It took me about 2 seconds to decide on a simple black & white color combo for this clean and graphic design.

I stamped the 'swirly' triangle image (origin unknown) repeatedly with Versafine black ink, edged the stamped panel with a thin strip of black cardstock, popped on some white side panels and inked up this fabulous bold SU sentiment. 

I made it sound easy, didn't I? 

Truth is...it took several tries before I got the entire panel stamped to my satisfaction. Ya think that I was holding my breath on the last few images? Oh Yeah! 

In fact, I think I'm still feeling lightheaded!

So please take a minute or ten and pop on over to Muse and see how others have been inspired by Vicki's amazing card! Perhaps you'll be inspired to play along too :)

Happy crafting!

Card Concept #30 - Thinking of You

Welcome back! We have another sweet inspiration photo for you this week at the Card Concept Challenge. "Thinking Of You" could be sympathy, get well, support, encouragement....

I focused on the pretty mauve lilacs (bottom right hand side of the pitcher). Hmmm....on second thought, could it be a hyacinth?

The stamp is an old Studio G stamp that has a bit of a graphic look, but in a soft way. I chose a curvy sentiment to mimic the 'movement' of the pretty flower petals.

For some ca-razy reason (again!), the sentiment ink looks like it's a different color....but it is exactly the same as the image (SU Lavender Lace)! Go figure! 

I hope that you will find time to join us for this challenge. It's always a pleasure visiting your blogs and enjoying your artistic creations.

Happy crafting and thanks for stopping by!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANITA!!!

 

Happy, happy birthday dear friend!  As usual, I'm a bit late to the party (will 'splain later).  I hope you had a fabulous day filled with uninterrupted craft time, warm sunny skies, yummy b-day cake and a glass or two (or ten) of nice red wine! You are an amazing woman, blessed with a sincere, kind & caring soul. I feel honored to call you friend!

And....it was so dang cool to meet you in 'for real life'.

I decided to case one of my all time  favorite "Anita cards"! This chorus line of sweet birds seriously rock...take a look at the shading - it`s FABULOUS!

Anita`s fussy cutting is amazing! Mine isn`t...so I stamped the images directly on the card stock. The colors truly are much nicer in real life (Tweety on the right is actually yellow!). Hopefully a nice sunny day tomorrow will yield better results.

I`m off to  Bev`s blog now to join the party! Rumor has it that there may be a `beef cake` or two (and I`m not talking party cake ladies) joining in the celebrations....just sayin`.....

 

Nancy (Scrapper at Heart) has just let me know that the theme over at Paper Players is Feathered Friends so my card will also be headed in their direction. Thanks Nancy! There are some really 'tweet' cards posted - check them out!

Happy Birthday pal :)

Card Concept #29 - Get Well Soon

Such pretty colors this week at the Card Concept Challenge.

I chose to add just a wee schmick of color to my card. I love the effect of the white on white - so clean!

Did you happen to notice the thin black line running through the center of the stars in the photo? That was my inspiration for a hand drawn border. I really like how the border defines the flowers and the sentiment.

The flower dies are 3 layers thick and are popped up with foam dots, as is the base of the card.  A quick & simple card to create (once I got my measurements right!!!).

This is my absolute fav CCC inspiration photo to date! I hope that you will feel just as inspired to create as I was...so please do share!

Happy crafting!

CARD CONCEPT #28 & MUSE #104

SAY WHAT??? 

Rest assured, Card Concept Challenge #28 went live last week.  And where was my post? Well, it was sitting nice & quiet in my draft folder....waiting to be published!

I have been quite busy lately and it suddenly dawned on me this evening that there were 0 comments on this card! It is definitely NOT one of my fav creations, but I know that you folks out there in blog land are very kind and very polite and would have found something nice to say! 

So here it is! A tad bit late - as in over a week! I do know that there is still time to play along and perhaps this late arrival will help to spark your creativity for challenge #28, which closes on Feb 16th at noon (PST).

The box of flowers and the heart colors are so pretty. My monitor was playing color tricks on me again so apparently their grey is my steel blue.  Let's just call that "artistic licence" rather than "totally missing the boat".  

I'm also submitting my masculine themed card to the current MUSE #104 challenge - "How about one for the guys?"

Happy crafting!

Hello

A quick post to share a super CAS card. I had a couple of these curvy strips sitting on my desk and thought they would look good paired with this new SU stamp. A few MME enamel dots (love this color!) and done!

Well...that's a wee falsehood as it took 3 tries to get the sentiment in a place that looked balanced!

A favor if I may...

I am having issues with my 'white balance' in my photo editing program and would  love your feedback. On my home computer, the white is a nice clear white. However, on my work computer the white seems to have blotches of florescent purple/pink tints! I would love to know what you see.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy crafting!

CAS(E) this sketch #107 & TIME OUT Challenge #23

Did your heart skip a beat when you saw this sketch?  Mine did.  At 12:20am. Climbed into bed around 2:30am. But I did get this card finished!


The DT projects and the gallery cards are incredible! So many different approaches to this great sketch and tons of inspiration.

This card will also join another of my V-day cards in the gallery at Time Out Challenge #23.

We are in the middle of a snowy, snowy day that is forecast to turn to freezing rain! In January!  In Manitoba!!! Something is not right! 

We're off to Calgary early tomorrow morning to visit our daughter (and hopefully a wee visit with Carol - Just Me C).  It's a 12 hour drive which can be exhausting if the roads aren't great! 

The card details - CTMH white base, SSS heart dies, AC paper, AE slopes/hills die, and MFT alphabet and the lovely Miss Stella supplied the sparkle (love that stuff!).

Thanks for stopping by :)

Happy crafting!

CASology - Friend

Sneaking in just before the door is ready to close at CASology - Week 130 - Friend.

Easy peasy and ultra clean & simple! A $1 stamp from Michaels, inked up with Memento Grape Jelly. The photo makes the ink look black on the butterfly...but it's the same Grape Jelly! 

The wings are simply winked with Stella as color seemed to compromise the simplicity of the design!  Lovely shimmer in real life.Three wee blings and done like dinner!

Tons of amazing designs by the DT and in the gallery. 

Happy crafting! Thanks for stopping by :)

TIME OUT Challenge #23 & SSS Have a Heart

A quick post to share a card that I made that was totally inspired by the design of this amazing card created by Ardyth and the fun colors in this amazing card created by Jean Manis. 

I'm entering my card in Time Out Challenge #23 where we have been given the option of adding hearts to our creations. So many "love"-ly cards, crafted by the talented DT gals that will have your heart going pitter-patter!

It's also headed over to SSS Wednesday have-a-heart challenge where you will find inspiration galore from the DT and the 260 and counting entries!

Square Nestabilities (with their bottoms cut off), AC textured cardstock, part of a SU sentiment and CTMH cardstock! 

Done! It took longer to get a good photo than it did to make the card! 

And...another card that had me smiling with just one try!  Must be something I'm drinking!

Happy crafting! Thanks for stopping by :)

NBUS #3

Where did I get this cute "Cozy Christmas by Julie" stamp set you ask?  Well, it was a gift from my dear friend Darnell. She spoiled all of us with fabulous crafting goodies during our BABES adventure! A sincerely kind and generous soul :)

So apropos to ink it up for the first time for NBUS #3!

BTW, did you know that apropos is a real word?  I had no idea! I thought it was a texting shortcut word for appropriate! 56 years old and still learning!

Stamped the little houses with Momento inks. Added a SU sentiment and popped up the panel with some foam dots. Quick & simple (if you don't count the 5 remakes that were trashed due to inking mishaps!).

NBUS #3 closes at noon tomorrow, so get crafting!

BTW, did you notice the new watermark?  Would you like one for your blog? Get started by contacting Kylie, who offers amazing, speed of light customer service and great technical help.

CARD CONCEPT CHALLENGE #27 and NBUS #3

Okay folks...how fabulously funky are these "LOVE" letters and weathered barn boards? You'll find tons of inspiration from the CCC  gals - check it out!

I think this may be a record - I made a card that I liked on the first try! It's graphic, but in a soft way. Perhaps it's the lovely movement in the sentiment font, a new SSS acquisition. I've popped up the hearts to add a bit of dimension. 

BTW, the colors are beautifully pink-ish and co-ordinate nicely in real life! 

My card is also heading over to Darnell's blog (yes....THE  Darnell, with 763 followers and counting) for her NBUS Challenge #3.

Darnell is a dear friend with a smile that lights up the world, a kind heart and a sense of humor that will make you smile all over your face. If you haven't already linked up to NBUS #3 you best get busy because the gate closes at noon on January 22nd!

Happy crafting!

BTW, did you notice the new watermark?  Would you like one for your blog? Get started by contacting Kylie, who offers amazing, speed of light customer service and great technical help.

the Card Concept Challenge - One Year Anniversary

...the lovely shimmer of the paper, so pretty IRL

Wow - how time flies when you're having fun! 

I've thoroughly enjoyed this past year...visiting your blogs, meeting new people, delighting my senses with your amazing creations and enjoying the comradery of our crafting world. Your endless creativity is so inspiring! You should see my 'Must CASE' folder....it's huge!!!

The moment I saw the challenge photo I had a 'ping' (quoting my BFF Bev). I love the pink & white striped paper...but it was the wee box in the top left hand corner of the photo and the angle of the partially removed lid that really caught my eye and influenced my design. 

I created a Silhouette cut file, pierced a border on the angled panel, popped it up with some foam tape and added the rhinestones to the bottom panel. Nice dimension in real life.

I'm sure that most of you are anxious to get your craft on now that the hustle & bustle of the holiday season has passed so why not play along with us at CCC ?

Happy crafting!

COFFEE LOVER'S BLOG HOP

 

Today's the Day!

 

I'm totally thrilled to have been invited  to join Amy and a whole crew of coffee lovin' crafters for this fun hop! Thanks for the invite Lyndal .

 

I created my 'coffee themed' project by slicing & dicing a few Silhouette files to create this multi-functional tag! Check it out:

As a tag....

As a gift card or money holder...

or as a bookmark!

Amy is once again hosting THE coffee break of the year! You do not want to miss this party! Grabba hot cup of whatever it is that you like to drink  and enjoy the company of  some coffee loving crafters!

PRIZES you ask?  OH YEAH!

If you think a coffee buzz is great, just wait until you see the 'treats' that Amy has lined up! The generosity of the sponsors is out of this world amazing!

Happy hopping!

CAS(E) This Sketch #101

Hey there...hope you're all enjoying your Wednesday! Temps have warmed up a bit here but the wind is still nasty cold!

I welded bits and pieces from various Silhouette cut files using Anita's lovely linen paper, added a layered Spellbinders Holiday Sentiment die, shimmer card stock base, a bit of bling and done like dinner!

This card is headed to CAS(E)- thiCs-sketch #101.  You really need to pay a visit to the challenge blog and check out the amazing cards posted by the DT! But hurry...because the door closes in less than 16 hours so you best get craftin' if you're planning on entering!

Happy crafting!

CAS-ology WEEK 123: EAT & PAPER SMOOCHES ANYTHING GOESng Goes

??????

Let me explain...it's a cow...which translates to meat and milk...which translates to "EAT"...

Thing is, how do you get past this sweet wee bovine ending up as dinner? Well, you add hearts and a 'tender' sentiment and right before your very eyes, the card morphs into a cute little love card!

"Bossy" is also headed to Paper Smooches "Anything Goes" Challenge

Paper Smooches Chubby Chums, Versamark Ink and CTMH white paper. The punched hearts were glossed up with Liquid Glass. 

The faux stitching was drawn with a fab new pen that Anita discovered at one of the craft stores we visited during our crating holiday. It is a PIGMA MICRON .005 (Archival Ink). No smearing, no blobbing, love it!

That's it...easy peasy!  Thanks for stopping by.

Happy crafting!