Fun Christmas Cards

I needed a couple simple cards for some neighbors, and I used the fun sketch over at Card Positioning Systems this week as my starting point. For the first one, I made the snowflake from some leftover faux mother-of-pearl paper (that I'd done with a grayish blue ink), and then after I'd cut it out I coated it with my son's favorite Crayola glitter glue. You can never have too much sparkle! I layered it with some paper (impulse buy from the Target dollar spot last week), and tied on a "hope" charm. The finished card is 5 1/2" square.

The second card is smaller - only 4 1/4" - and the colors were chosen by my daughter :) I liberated the hot pink foam circle from her art box, and then embellished it with an edge strip (doodlebug designs), tiny gems, and an actual ornament hanger. This was really fun to do, and I'm thinking that the kids and I will make some more of these for the teachers, friends, etc. I used a Martha Stewart edge punch for the ornament topper (just clipped out a tiny piece) and the turquoise layer. I couldn't make 2 cards in a row without any stamping whatsoever, so I stamped JOY with the Alpha-02 set.

Don't know if I'm going to find any more "creative time" in the weeks ahead - we're hitting the road for Christmas this year, and there's still a lot I need to get done. If I don't make it back to the blog, I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday!!

Getting Lovey-Dovey

I know that Christmas is looming large on the horizon, but Valentine's isn't all that far off, right? Anyway, that's the excuse I'm offering for this card :)

I used this week's layout from Card Patterns - fun layout to combine patterned papers. The images are from smARTworks' Happy Silhouettes and the paper is from Memory Box. Everything is pretty straightforward - I made the card base from dark purple cardstock, which you see right below the ribbon. I really love the sentiment: Forever. For always. No matter what. Definitely going to use that for my hubby's card this year (he won't be receiving this particular one!)

Hope you're having a great week!

Christmas Blessings

Well, things are back to semi-normal around here and I wanted to share this card I made for the Christmas challenge. When I sat down to create something, I wanted to keep it simple so it could be mass-produced, and also flat to minimize mailing costs. In other words: practical for the craziness of the Christmas season :)

I started with the holly label from Addy Keepers Fancy, and then added a greeting from Little Things. I colored in the holly with prismacolor pencils, and then went around the frame with stickles - simple but very pretty! Matted the panel with black, and scored around the edge on the red layer just to add a bit more interest.

Have you been busy making Christmas cards? You have until Dec 22 to post a link over at the smART-Word challenge. Hope you can join in the fun!

December!

I can't believe it's December already - 2009 has been a hectic year for us, and the months have definitely flown by. Between family visiting and sickness I haven't had much stamping time these past couple weeks... and well, even if I *did* have projects to share, we're currently having technical difficulties with our computer so no photos right now. Hope to get those issues resolved in the next couple days, though, and look for fresh inspiration next week.

In the meantime, be sure to swing over to the smART-word challenge for some cute ideas. The word of the month is Christmas, and we'd love to have you create a little something and play along with us!

Fannie Mae

No, I'm not talking about mortgages - today is the reveal for the challenge from smARTworks featuring the Victorian lady herself!

The images in this set are elegant and exquisitely detailed. As I was playing around with it, I often felt my ideas came off looking too busy due to those details... and then inspiration struck! She has a strong profile, and I decided to create a silhouette by simply coloring her in. I think I've finally discovered a coloring technique I'm good at :) Anyway, with the blacked-out image, the card came together much more easily, and I finished it off with the sentiment (partially inked, from Together).

I used gray Versafine ink and a black Prismacolor pencil on this - and I think it's kind of neat that when you tilt the card just right you can actually still see the details underneath.

So would you like to see what the other smART cookies made? You can see all the creations here. And be sure to click over to Susan's blog, too, for a chance to win a set of your very own.

Merry Snowman

I haven't had much time to stamp this week, but I did manage to make this for the Card Patterns sketch challenge. And yes, I did take some liberties with the layout again, but the little snowguy looked awfully bored when he was all symmetrical :)

The stamps are from Unity (October store kit), and I used Brilliance inks. The snowflake die-cuts & brads are from Making Memories. Sorry about the lousy shot - it's late and this is the best it's going to get for now...

You're A Blessing

For this month's smART-word challenge of gratitude, I initially sat down to make a simple "thank you" card, but after pondering it a bit more, I pulled out this sentiment from the Frames set. I wanted to send a card to a new friend who has really encouraged me, and telling her what a blessing she has been more fully expressed my gratitude.

I used printed papers from Making Memories, but found I wanted some soft color to balance things - so I stamped the flourish from Happy Silhouettes onto some pale yellow cardstock. I stapled a snippet of ribbon and added a few gems to finish it off.

So how would you express gratitude? You have until November 24 to play along with us here.

Card Patterns, Round 2

I was really unsatisfied with my other version of the Card Patterns sketch, so I decided to take another crack at it. I even managed to use fall colors - tough when it's still in the mid 80s every day and I'm surrounded by lush plants...

Anyway, I used the great papers from Making Memories, and "blocked" them on an ivory card. The lovely sentiment is by Wordsworth, and I thought it went well with the pear paper. I used rick rack and a couple buttons from my stash to finish it. And while I still tweaked the sketch a bit, at least it's recognizable this time :)

smARTworks Info

It's new release time - and I can't wait to get my hands on this rubber! There are some gorgeous sets designed by Dina (shown here), Christmas images, and as always, fabulous sentiments. Click on over to the online catty and check them all out for yourself, starting at page 179.

And I've also just realized that I've neglected to mention this month's smART-word: gratitude.

You have until November 24 to create a card of your own - hope you can play along!

Small Pleasures

It's been a few days since I posted - we (meaning me and my not-quite-so-enthusiastic-but-loves-me-very-much hubby) decided to tackle the laundry hallway. Let's just say things didn't go quite as we'd anticipated... but then do home improvement projects ever work out that way?! :)

I managed to get this little card done earlier this week, and am finally getting it posted. I wanted to make something for the Moxie Fab Plum challenge using the sketch from Card Patterns - and, well, it didn't turn out quite as I planned, but I still like the result! I stamped the sweet image (from Happy Silhouettes) with versamark eggplant ink, and also used that for the sentiment (partially inked image from the same set). I paired it with the cute Crate Papers, but ended up leaving the top right panel from the sketch off completely, as it just looked too choppy... and well, when I dove into my ribbon box, the dark purple grosgrain that I'm absolutely certain I own was nowhere to be found, so I resorted to the sheer white stuff. I did add the 3 brads - but again, not according to the sketch. Do you see a trend here?

Hoo boy -- off to see what else I can "improvise" on today!

Just dreaming...

As I've gotten settled into this house, I've had fun pulling out many of my supplies that have been packed away for months - and this card uses quite a few of those things! I started by stamping everything (smARTworks Cloud Dancer) onto some speckled white cardstock, then painted the scene with twinkling H2Os. I stitched the panel to the card base, and then accented the clouds with some fine glitter.

Off to rediscover more treasures... and possibly do some dreaming :)

Quilted Die Cuts

One more card for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge, based on this week's sketch at CPS. The verse is from the Christian Sympathy set (Clear Dollar Stamps) and I paired it with this "quilted" piece I had made a couple weekends ago at a library class, but it had yet to find a home. I know the CPS sketch features circles, but I really like the interest that the shape provides here.

Below you'll find the 2 cards that I made using the same quilted technique - punch squares from patterned paper and adhere to standard copy paper, then die cut. These panels were also dry embossed (with the CB paisley folder), and I accented it with some ink on the left card. Fun and easy! The sentiments are from Unity (praying for you) and a*muse (relax...)

The strength of my heart...

I always find the posts over at Stampin Sisters in Christ so encouraging, and this week's challenge was no exception: a reminder that God is always with us, even when it may not feel like it... it's so easy to rely on our own strength, and treat God as a last resort. But whatever our shortcomings may be, He is faithful - the one and only thing in life that is truly dependable. What a blessing!

Anyway, as I was reading through the post, my thoughts went to this verse (Psalm 73:26) - we fail even ourselves, but God is the "strength of my heart." Isn't that a wonderful phrase? I ended up using the layout from the Card Patterns sketch, but did adjust the circle just a bit to fit the verse. I used a variety of bits and pieces for embellishments, but it still has a clean, simple feel to it. I think I may end up playing around with this layout a bit more to create a few masculine cards - just need to lose the flower and lace :) Hope you all have a fabulous day - and remember, God *IS* with you!!

Bless You

Just a quick card to share today, made for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch. The oval die with the sweet birds was from a Making Memories pack, and the only stamping on the entire card is the small sentiment (Wordsworth). Everything else, from the card base (4" square) to the embellishments, was just piled on my desk. I think that's a sign it's time to do some cleaning up!

Finding Beauty

I've had this image colored for months and finally got it made into a card this past week. It's colored with a mix of metallic and prismacolor pencils; you can see a hint of the lustre on the moth wings and the eyelids (which look a bit creepy in this pic, but I promise are much nicer IRL! :) I highlighted the word forever with a yellow pencil, which helps it pop from the background. The card front is scored 1 1/4" from the fold, and then I added the ribbon and glued the spine, so the open part is 4 1/4" square.

images: smARTworks Daydream Collage, and the saying is from Tennyson/Emerson/Keats.

Count Your Blessings

Another sketchy card to share today, this one based on the challenge over at Card Patterns. I decided I wanted to challenge myself even more and use only stuff that was piled up in the "this is too good to toss" box. I ended up using some scraps of BasicGrey paper and accented it with a flower and button. I wanted to make another card for the challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ and encourage thankfulness, so used this sentiment from printworks.

I can't say it's my best work ever, but I have a weird sense of satisfaction from actually using some of my junk pile, plus I know that my Grandma will love it regardless :)

White Thanks

Well, here's the result of 3 of the challenges I wanted to participate in this week: Mercy's Tuesday Sketch, Stampin' Sisters in Christ: Thankfulness, and Color Create Challenge: White.

The main sentiment is from Impression Obsession, and it's stamped with versamagic sage - I needed 1 color with the white, and I thought this was worked pretty well. The panel underneath was embossed with a Sizzix folder, and then I made the "ruffle" with some Making Memories paper (which admittedly does have a soft print on it). I pulled out some velvet rickrack that I honestly don't even remember purchasing, but it really fit the design nicely.

I know it has a wedding vibe to it with the color scheme and all, but I can think of plenty other "thankful" times that it would work well, too!

Custom "White" Board

A couple weekends ago, I was able to attend another crafty class at our local library, and this time around we created personalized white boards using a standard 8x10 frame. Now I've used the acrylic frames for dry-erase projects, but never thought of glass... but how cool is this?!

My frame definitely has a shabby chic vibe to it, mostly due to the K&Co papers I used. There's also a diecut initial (covered with rock candy stickles!), flower cut from an old book, lace, and ribbon. For the main "white" panel the paper I wanted to use was a bit too dark, so I brushed on some Making Memories white pearl scrapbook glaze to mellow it out a bit. Perfect!

Best of all - now I have a place to jot down all of those challenges I want to participate in. Check back later this week to see whether I pulled it off :)

Happy Birthday, Susan!!

Today just happens to be the birthday of a very special lady - Susan, the owner of smARTworks! In honor of this event, each of us from the design team will be sharing the birthday card we made for her. Fun!!

I used these great printed papers from Making Memories, and "jazzed up" the striped design with a swirl (Stella) and butterfly (Botanicals "Cookie" Plate). The happy is from Combo Sentiments, and I went over it with Rock Candy distress stickles so it's rich and sparkley. A bit of twine and a few buttons provide some more texture.

Click over to see creations from Giovana, Dina, Donelda & Donna - and please take a moment to wish Susan a very happy birthday, too!

My card layout is from a sketch I'd made while blog-surfing, but I neglected to note where it was from. If you recognize it, let me know!

Fall Creations

As I'd previously mentioned, I'm really missing the fall colors down here in TX, so I ended up whipping up a whole batch of fall cards to console myself :) The first card was this "Thinking of You" number - the leaves are from Revel, and the sentiment is from Thinking Trio. On this one, I used a kraft rame that I'd die cut but never used, layered it up with a few more colors of cardstock, and accented the corners with some gems.

For the remaining cards, I took a "One Sheet Wonder" approach. It's been a long time since I've done that, and I'd forgotten how much fun it could be. I limited myself to a couple colors of cardstock and a box of metal embellishments from We R Memory Keepers just to keep things simple.

I used a variety of sentiments - the "Happy Fall" is from Little Say, the memories quote is from Faux Van Gogh #1, and "Blessings to You" is from Opportunity Trio.

So there you have it - my little ode to autum despite the 90 degree temperatures! :) And finally, one last reminder that you still have until tomorrow night to post a fall card of your own for the smART-word challenge.

Gettin' Sketchy

As much as I love stamping, sometimes it's just fun to sit down and play with paper. I really liked the simple layout over at Card Positioning Systems this week, and I needed to make a card for my SIL's upcoming milestone b-day, so I pulled out a K&Co pad that with a vintage feel that I knew she'd love. Everything is pretty simple here - a few rounded corners, edges hit with some ink to make them pop, and a couple pearls. The sentiment is from Cloud 9 Design.

While I had everything out, I did end up making just one more card :) I just got a package from Unity Stamps yesterday, and I couldn't resist inking up this tree. There are some cute little flowers already on it, but I covered them all with these little primas, and then accented them with some glitz stickles. The sentiment is from Verve.

Back tomorrow with a few more fall cards!

Joys Abound

I stamped while watching TV last night (anyone else a fan of NCIS?)... I had several challenges I wanted to incorporate in this card, and I must admit that I'm thrilled with the end result!

First, the challenges: Caardvarks Tall Order, Card Patterns Sketch, and Joanne B's Buttony Bow. Check, check, and check! I started by creating the patterned paper that I used along the side - I love that flourished botanical image from Happy Silhouettes, and I stamped it with 2 Brilliance inks so it's very rich looking. I didn't want to use a plain old circle, so I traced the scalloped shape from a large die cut I had in my stash, and then inked up the edges. I stamped the sentiment (from the same set) onto a scrap of cardstock, and then went to work on the bow. A word of advice - don't try this with single sided ribbon! I made it work, but it involved a lot of fiddling. I do love how it turned out with the button and twine, though.

And look, no pink or lavender in sight :)

Think Pink?

Well, I did put that other paper pad away, but I still ended up making a few more cards with pink... I was trying to make a card for someone in particular and was having *NO* success whatsoever, so I ended up just playing around and this is what I came up with. All the paper is from Making Memories (Sabrina collection), with a few accents from the GCD Paris Nights pad.

On the first card, I stamped the crown (Kings) with Brilliance Lightning Black and then added the sentiment (Happy Silhouettes). I added a couple rhinestones to the crown, but everything else is pretty straightforward. This would be a great card for a guy if it weren't for the color! The second card was created with the Iris Bloom set, and the tab with the word is actually the piece that was left after I trimmed the sentiment panel - just couldn't bear to throw it away! The strip right above that is paper folded to create a ruffly effect, but unfortunately that detail didn't photograph well.

Off an running again - will be back at some point this week to share more. I've had a sick daughter and life in general is still pretty crazy, so I'm not promising anything :)

Card for Bekah - Spina Bifida Awareness Month

The past few years, I've been amazed at how many pink products companies roll out in October as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month - but did you know that October is also Spina Bifida Awareness month? One of my bloggy friends, Giovana, is marking the occasion with a card drive for a sweet little girl. You can read all about it here.

I really wanted to make her a card, and I still had all the stuff from the past couple projects sitting on my workspace, so... I started out with the Mojo Monday sketch (and ended up taking some liberties with it! :) I wanted to use another adorable layered flower with a button (Making Memories), but couldn't help thinking that it was sort of a shame to just "waste" it as a card embellishment - but wait, I know I have some barrettes in my stash! I added a bit of tulle behind the flower to give it just a bit more substance, then stitched it all onto the base. Cute, cute, cute if I do say so myself! I attached it to the card with a couple glue dots so it can easily be removed. The sentiment is from Daisy Bucket Designs (#5151) and the printed papers are all Memory Box Sprout. And on that note, I really think it's time to put those papers away and move onto some other colors!!

Joy Enough...

No specific challenge with today's card - just some plain ol' stampy fun! :) The images are from the Happy Silhouettes sheet, and I used Brilliance Lightning Black ink for it all so there's some rich shimmer. For the base of the card, I adhered strips of paper (Memory Box Sprout) that I had left from my last project - great way to break up the plain cardstock base. I rounded the corners and "grubbed" up the edges a bit with two different brown inks, and then pulled out an old Making Memories embellishment jar to create the layered flower with the button.

On a side note, these stamps are not available for purchase, but can only be "earned" with smART bucks... and you can earn 1 by playing along with us over at the smART Word blog. There's still plenty of time to make a fall card!!

Growing...

I always love the challenges over at Salt, and seeing the artistic interpretations that each team member creates. This time around, the theme was growth, and I just knew I had to make something! Since we've moved, I've found myself stretched in many ways - relocating 2,000 miles definitely took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to take a hard look at myself. Was I truly relying on God to meet my needs, or was I more often turning to friends, and then putting the matter to prayer as the next step? Also, was I stepping out in faith, sharing the Lord, or being content in my happy little box?

Anyway, I made this piece as something of a souvenir of this transitional time - as well as a reminder to not grow so content as to stagnate. I also wanted to make another example of the "earth rejoicing" for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge - and I'd say those trees look pretty joyful! The verse is from smARTworks' Walk Trio "That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossions 1:10) The papers are all from Memory Box (Sprout), and I mounted it onto some plain cardstock so the finished size is 5x7. The tree image is from Unity, and I paper pieced it, as well as doing a bit of coloring with pc pencils. Oh, and can I add that I love that the trees have hearts on them - because that's exactly the fruit I want to bear: a heart for HIM. I had picked up the clip frame from the Target Dollar Spot eons ago, and was so glad to actually use it :) After I put it all together, it needed something else, and after digging through my stash I came up with these fabulous corners (glimmer chips from Tattered Angels).

And now that it's all done, it will be residing on the bathroom counter, where it will serve as a good daily reminder. Plus it looks way nicer than all my other junk :)

Beautiful Sunset

This week's challenge over at Stampin' Sisters in Christ was to somehow show the earth rejoicing - and since moving to South TX, every time I see a palm tree outlined against a sunset sky, I can't help but think of Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Anyway, I tried to capture some of that glory in this card!

The layout is adapted from Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge. I stamped the palm silhouette (TAC) then created the "sunset" with prismacolor pencils - trust me when I say that God does a much better job! :) I masked off the circle on the card base, and stamped with a swirl (smARTworks) then went over it with a couple different Brilliance inks. I stamped the verse(Unity) and added some gems for sparkle.

Pretty simple card, and I might just have to mail it to my folks in Montana (where they had snow this weekend!) - just to give them a hint of what they'll discover when they come down to visit over Thanksgiving...

Merci

The Daring Cardmakers challenge this week was folding, and when I saw the sketch over at Card Patterns, I immediately was envisioning this combination... finally had some time to actually create it!

The papers are all Making Memories Chloe's Closet, and I simply cut the little flower strip from one of the papers. I love the look of the folded paper - gotta remember to do that again! The layer with the rounded corners is stamped with CHF's ledger block (faint, but I promise it's there!), and the sentiment is Printworks.

New Challenge - Fall

You may have noticed that the smARTworks Design Team hasn't had a "Tea Party" in awhile... well, we've changed things up and have launched a new challenge! You can find all the details over at the smART word blog - but the basic gist is to create a card inspired by the word fall. Pretty easy, right?!
Now that we're in South TX, I'm missing the beautiful fall colors, so decided to recreate them here. I randomly inked up the leaf image from Revel with a variety of Brilliance inks (love those little Dew Drop pads!) to create the background, and the sentiment is from Wave Good-Bye. The spine of the card was scored, glued, punched, and laced up, so the part that opens is 4 1/4" square. And you see that lovely leaf embellishment? Well, that was liberated from my kids' craft stash (leaf craft kits from Oriental Trading). The hazards of having a craft crazed mother - nothing is safe! :)

In My Prayers

I made this card for the challenge over at Stampin' Sisters in Christ. It was such a great idea, and as I was reading, this phrase from Daisy Trio #1 immediately came to mind. I ended up pairing it with the heart flowers (Autumn Leaves Stampology) and some Cosmo Cricket paper. I added the little doodles to the flowers to pick up the detail in the paper, and then tied on a fluffy bow and threw on some pearls to jazz it up a bit more. (Click on the card to enlarge it and see the details) And it's already in the mailbox, ready to encourage a friend that I know is going through a tough time.

I'll be back tomorrow with a fun new challenge that we're kicking off with smARTworks. See you then!!

Coffee Encouragement

Today's card is based on the sketch over at Card Patterns. Definitely a fun layout, and I thought it went well with the Mug Trio set. The mug was done with versamagic wheat, versamagic pink petunia, and then brilliance pearlescent orchid as the last layer - had to end with some shimmer! ;) I created the "coffee" with a colored pencil, and then went over it with glossy accents. The papers are BasicGrey Sugared, and I think the ruffled brown ribbon is May Arts. I promise this is cuter IRL than it looks here; I took a ton of pics, but just couldn't capture the richness of the pinks. Anyway, I'm already planning to package up some coffee and biscotti and pass this along to a friend for a little pick-me-up!

Flight of Fancy

Don't you just love it when a card comes together just as you've imagined it?! It seldom works like that for me - I start out in one direction, but then I end up in a totally different place (not that it's a bad thing, but still...)

Anyway, I wanted to play along with a couple challenges this week, namely the sketch over at Mojo Monday, and the "Shaby Chic" theme over at Daring Cardmakers. I wanted to use the Cloud Dancer set, and I was also thinking that the focal diamond would be a great way to incorporate a bookmark (always fun to have a giftie built right into the card!). I started by creating the bookmark* then stamped the darling fairy, colored her, and accented the wings with a glitter pen. I mounted the bookmark to the other square by gluing only the bottom of white square (roughly the size of the bookmark) to the patterned piece, and then slipping the bookmark over it.

The papers are all from the BasicGrey Wisteria pad, and the lace was something I've had in my stash for years (I remember using this to accent a mop doll I made for my Mom back in junior high!) I strayed a bit from the Mojo sketch by only using the lace as opposed to scalloped layers, but I didn't want to detract from the main panel. A few flowers and pearls, and it was done!

One other comment - after this was all completed, I managed to smear a tiny bit of ink onto the bookmark. I wasn't about to start over, but I didn't want to glue anything onto it, either (wanted to keep it flat for use in a book). I covered the smudge with a white gel pen, and then proceeded to do a bit of tiny swirly doodling all over the background around the girl. I then did the exact same thing with a pale colored pencil just to break up the white a bit more. What started as a mistake ended up being a design element!

*I know there are a couple different ways to make these - I simply started with a square piece of cardstock, then found the center on one side and brought the two edges together to create a folded point (so it sort of looked like a little house at that point), and then trimmed off the excess. Thanks to Sandy, our local stamping librarian, for reminding me about these!

Simple Recipe Card

When I first started stamping, one of the things that really drew me to it was the way that I could "jazz up" simple everyday items. And that's exactly what I did today!

I went to a little gathering last week and took this pumpkin dip to share; I've now been asked for the recipe, and after writing it out, it looked awfully sparse. Stamps to the rescue! I grabbed this swirly image from Little Bits #2 and added a simple border. Much better!

And if you're looking for a quick, tasty treat to share, then I definitely recommend this pumpkin dip!

Birthday Time

It's my Dad's birthday this week, and of course I couldn't send him a store-bought card!! I decided I wanted to go with a time theme, so I pulled out the Time Flies and Gifts sets. I had a scrap of this faux mother-of-pearl paper that I'd made quite some time ago (click here for a tutorial), and with the beige ink on it, I thought it worked pretty well for a masculine card. I layered it up with blue (his favorite color), did some light shading around the clock, and added a couple brads for good measure. Of course I know I can't begin to compete with the pictures his grandkids drew, but I think he'll like it :)

Shine!

I made this card to send to our niece, who is a freshman in college, just to let her know that she's in our thoughts and prayers. She's a loooooong way from home, and doing great, but there are always bumps along the way...

Card is pretty straightforward: images are from Unity, and the paper is BasicGrey Wisteria. The lamp is paper pieced, and I accented the "danglies" with a stardust pen. Rounded the corners, tied on some ribbon, and popped it into the mailbox!

Piggy Dreams

For this cookie challenge, each of us was given the set Piggy Dreams to work with. After playing around with it a bit, I decided that rather than going for a standard card, I was going to go for an altered clipboard. A friend had given me this small board with the alpha paper already adhered, and I'd been "saving" it for just the right project. I used papers from the BasicGrey porcelain line for the project because I liked the way the pink tones worked with the little piggy. I started by stamping the pig onto some soft pink, then trimmed it out. Added some shimmer to the wings for good measure. Next was the sentiment, and then another print for the base. I also added a couple buttons just for balance.

As I was making this clipboard, I was thinking of all the different ways it could be used - I think it would be great to use as a "message station" with a pad of post-it notes and a pen tied onto the clip, hanging on the inside of a cabinet door. Or perhaps a place to store business cards, or mailing labels and stamps, or... Well, you get the idea! It's small size makes it portable so it would work well for kids, too.

Pop on over to the smARTsite to see check out what the other cookies made, and enter at In the Works for a chance to win a set for yourself!

"Bee" is for Baby

A pregnancy card on Friday and a baby card on Monday... how's that for fast?! Sorry, but my sense of humor can be a bit odd at times :)

Seriously, though, this card is for a different friend who just had a darling baby boy. No traditional baby stuff for her, though - she's not the bootie, bottle, etc. type - so I grabbed this cute bee (TAC) and came up with this little number. I stamped the bee, did a bit of piercing, then wrote the sentiment (inside says, "to say congrats and wish you all the best!"). I used an orange card base, and used 2 large circle punches to do the fun background. I do love how it turned out, and will definitely be using that technique again. After I had it all assembled, I decided it needed just a little something, so I coated the wings with new Rock Candy distress stickles - love the shimmer of this stuff (without obscuring colors or being overly sparkley!)

Have a great Monday, and I'll be back tomorrow to share the latest round from the smART Cookie challenge!

Bun in the Oven

I made this little 4 1/4" square card for some friends that we just learned will be welcoming another little bundle of joy. The silhouette and sentiment are both from Studio G (one of those little $1 impulse buys!), and the paper is Jenni Bowlin. Fun, quick, and sure to make the expectant mommy smile!

Everything Beautiful

There was another great sketch at the Mojo Blog this week, and once again I made a "scrappy" card. The verse is from Unity Stamps and the paper is all from the BasicGrey Lemonade line. I did add a few pearls (Kaisercraft) just to give the main panel a bit of dimension, but aside from that, all I did was stamp, cut, and paste.








I really loved this sketch, and I decided to make a second card, but took it in a very different direction: no printed papers, and a fall palette. I pulled out the Botanicals "Cookie" Plate from smARTworks and stamped the leafy image repeatedly with sepia Versafine and champagne Versamark Dazzle inks (which frankly isn't all that "dazzling" but the subtle shimmer works well here). I stamped the small sprig image onto the dark green panel along the bottom also using the champagne ink. For the three strips, I rounded the upper edges and then laid them flush with the lower panel. The brown strip looked a bit too stark, but a Martha Stewart edge punch took care of that.

So there you have it - 1 sketch, 2 completely different cards! :)