Hello Sweet Thing

For my third week watching and participating in Craft Roulette it was Episode #201. The parameters were:

Project: Easel Card

Element: Sweets

Colors: Quiet

Random: Bokeh

While I got a little carried away with my colors (they are SO forgiving on what you use), I was able to hit all the requirements. Here is my easel card that I CASEd from the Pretty Pink Posh website. I'm also sharing it over at the Inkspirational Challenge #309: Hearts.

Products I used: 

Pretty Pink Posh: Valentine Mug Additions die set

Concord and 9th: Orange You Sweet dies, Enamel hearts

Park Lane: Tiny Pearl Hearts

Stencil: Handmade with a variety of dies

Sunny Studio: Loopy Letters Lower die set

Distress inks

Blending brushes

An easel card is simple to make. Cut a top-folding A2 card (4 1/4" X 5 1/2"), then score the front panel again half way down from the top at 2 3/4" for the easel. Attach your decorated shape or panel to the bottom half only of the card front. (I created a heart stencil for my bokeh background.) Then create something that will hold it in place to keep it from closing/collapsing. I used three 1/4" strips of heavy cardstock as a "ledge" for the card front/easel to rest when standing. Sometimes people use a button or other thick-ish embellishment.

You should check out Mary Gunn's Craft Roulette. It is really detailed and has so many followers from all around the world. It airs Friday Night 7:30 pm EST here.

Right now you can go look at the cards shared this week on her Facebook page. Last week 407 cards were shared!

See you back here soon,

-Carol

Love You

I love the photos that the Inspired By Challenge shares each week. This week Challenge #275 is Pink Hot Chocolate. Isn't the graphic pretty and fun? This Valentine was fun to make...choosing colors to stay with the holiday and their graphic, but make the hot chocolate pink. Here is my take on their challenge. 

I am also linking up at Coffee Loving Cardmakers who are teaming up this week with Inspired By and using the same graphic. This card is also shared over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Love is in the Air.

Products I used:

Pretty Pink Posh: Layered Coffee Cups stencils

Simon Says Stamp: Love you stamp and die sets

Pink Fresh Studio: Diagonal Stitched rectangle die

Concord and 9th: Mini Ink pads

Ranger: Distress inks

Vellum

The choices are endless with the three stencils in this set. My pink hot chocolate is made with different pinks depending on how dark the cup or mug is. Don't you wish you could design your own cups, bowls and dishes in real life? I would love to do that! I could have moved over the mug handles to touch the actual mugs...next time!

See you back here soon

-Carol

A Little Bit of Love

Hello! Can you believe this is the second week of February? At Just Us Girls #713 it is Word Week: Love. You can go with the obvious Valentine's Day or make a card with things you love such as cupcakes, a beach, flowers, a season, etc. Check out what the design team has come up with for you! Here is my card.

Products I used:

Concord and 9th: Sweet Sayings Dies, mini ink pad

Sentiment: Unknown set of four wooden mini stamps

Silver stretchy cord

Hand cut mini tag

All it took to make this card is die cutting and lining the postage die cuts up in rows. I contemplated putting a silver heart inside each opening but opted to keep it simple. On the inside, I did add pink behind the openings of Hugs + Kisses. I made the little "love" tag in about a minute and tied it on with a silver stretchy cord.

We hope you will join us this week...with whatever creative idea you come up with for Love!

See you back here soon,

Carol

Ready, Set, Snow!

For the 200th episode of Craft Roulette last Friday night, GinaK was the guest. The "funn" parameters selected by spin of the wheel were:

Project: Kid's card

Element: Comic or Cartoon

Colors: Brrr

Random: Button(s)

I knew I had a couple of Snoopy stamps from waaaaaay back, so I started hunting. I actually found four!!! I adore the one I used here with the cliché originally from the first phrase of the opening sentence of the 1830 novel Paul Clifford by English novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Cartoonist Charles Schultz's character Snoopy sometimes felt he was a world-famous author and often started his novels with "It was a dark and stormy night." As a child, I read every Peanuts book that Charles Schultz wrote. I had pillows on my bed with the characters on them, and a wastebasket with Peanuts characters. I'm a big Peanuts fan from way back.

I used blues for the Brrr feeling with lighter dots as snowfall. I added more snowfall with colorful enamel dots in the colors from each cartoon and a handmade snowflake button tied with silver cord (inspired by Gina herself who made one). I colored with Prismacolor pencils.  The red was added due to Snoopy's doghouse roof and yellow because of his little bird friend Woodstock. I stamped snowflakes to show the stormy night and added Wink of Stella for sparkle.

Since the novel he is writing begins with the famous cliché, I thought that the way to teach a child not to fret about an actual dark and stormy night is to be positive and embrace the snowfall, like Snoopy in these images. As a child, it is fun to play in the snow, right? Children don't have to shovel it or drive in it! I think a child would like this card for the Snoopy character, the enamel dots, and the colors.

If my pictures appear in my inbox soon, I will make the deadline and enter my card at Craft Roulette. At high internet traffic times it takes forever for a photo to go from my phone to my computer. (Airdrop takes a while as well for some reason.)

I can't wait to see all the versions of the parameters for this challenge! And congrats to Mary Gunn Funn for achieving 10,000 followers during the 200th episode! Two great milestones!

See you soon,

-Carol

Pandastic Birthday

I was invited to make cards at my friend Nancy's house and she has made several adorable cards with this Spellbinders Dancin' Birthday Panda die set, so I asked if I could make one. I love cards that move, and his legs dance left and right...so cute! I am playing along with this card at The Color Throwdown Challenge #778 where they are using green, blue and kraft this week.

I cut a white banner from white card stock after printing my sentiment on my computer. I die cut the patterned paper rectangle using a Simon Says Stamp Wonky Rectangle die. The pattern in this paper made me think of a place where pandas might live. Using a circle die, I created a stencil for the background on the banner. I stenciled over the circle stencil with one Hero Arts and then another Pink and Main stencil to "separate" the mostly white panda from the banner. I assembled the panda and adhered him to the banner so that his legs would move back and forth. This card is for my punny husband, so I added a bow tie to make it more masculine. I will enclose more panda puns inside the card (not attached) for the Punmeister to get a taste of his own sense of humor.

See you back here soon as I have another challenge card to make by today!

-Carol

Collecting Art Supplies

Are we cardmakers or are we art supply collectors? I'd like to say the former, but lately I have embodied the latter. Hard to keep up with all the products and ideas online that catch my eye. I mean, look at the name of my blog! I am so excited to be Guest Designer for Time Out Challenges #256, which is a photo inspiration CASE the Designer theme. Here is my card and the challenge graphic. Read below for all the challenge details and prize sponsor Sarah Gray of Funky Fossil Designs. With this card I am also playing along with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes.

Sarah thought that the people who play along for this challenge might want to CASE the theme, the layout, or the color combo. I ran with the theme. This challenge is sponsored by Funky Fossil Designs. The challenge winner will win a store credit of £25.00! In addition, the winner of this challenge will be offered the chance to Guest Design with Time Out for a future challenge.

Products I used:

Waffle Flower: Favorite Hobby stamp set

Stampin' Up: Tote-ally Tess stamp set (from years ago), patterned paper

The Greetery: Curio frame die

Prismacolor pencils

Distress inks

Ink blending brushes

Versafine Onyx Black ink

My card has a lot of masking so that I could ink blend color behind the craft supplies. The "I (heart) Stamping" rectangle was made by cutting a Post It down to cover the sentiment and stamp the brushes "behind" it.

Check out all of the great Time Out DT cards for this fun challenge! It is right up our card making alley and made me think I need to make cards on this theme more often for my fellow crafters!

-Carol

Love you

This is Color Week at Just Us Girls Challenge #712. I have been waiting for a holiday or fun theme for the Waffle Flower postage products I have, and now Valentine's Day is on its way soon. Here is what I came up with for the maiden voyage of my WF sets. I am also playing along with Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes.

Products I used:

Waffle Flower: Postage Collage Dies, Postage Collage Everyday Stencil, Postage Collage Coloring Stencil

Concord and 9th: Seaside Postage Stamp Set, Dove Grey ink pad

Tin Can Mail: Paris Postmark wood stamp

Stampin' Up!: Love you sentiment die

Ranger: Distress Ink pads

The stencils do all the work. They coordinate perfectly with each other and provide the ability to fill in the background. I have never had a better use for my Paris postmark than now. That stamp is reeeeeeeeally old!  I love the postal stripes along the edge. They are made with two stencils that line up so easily. Warning! This won't be my last time using these products!

We hope you will join us with red and pink this week...a fun pairing!

-Carol