Mailing Challenge

Seeing as how I had everything out, I decided to go ahead and make another card (hooray!) and play along with Lisa's Make it + Mail it challenge. I just love the idea of her challenge, and have been wanting to make a little something for my hubby's grandma, so pulled a good ol' standard manila tag out of the stash and went to work... The sentiment is from smARTworks, and I went super simple with everything. The background paper (with FLOCKED dots!) is from Kaisercraft, and I layered on washi tape and a flower. Beauteous!

Now off to the mailbox.

Tag! You're My Friend :)

Can't believe it, but I'm back with a second post today!

I really liked the sketch over at Card Patterns this week, and when I saw that it featured a tag, I immediately started thinking about the 12x12 BasicGrey I have in my stash. I used the Phresh & Phunky pack for this card - no stamps whatsoever, and a minor dip into my embellishments for the twine & buttons. I chose the tag first, and lightened it up a bit with some white ink. I picked which papers I wanted to use for each element, and then started cutting. (I love that the paper is sturdy enough to be used as a card base, and I still have a white "innard") I used the coordinating letter stickers to spell out friend, and trimmed a piece of dotted paper to accent the bottom of the tag. Quick, and ready to pass along to a dear friend for Valentine's Day!

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!

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!

Fun with Crafty Secrets

Vicki Chrisman (my glimmer mist idol!!) recently hosted a little challenge: she sent out packets with misc bits & pieces from the Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage collection and each recipient was to make at least one card. Well, I was lucky enough to participate, and now it's time to unveil the creations :)



Neither creation has any stamping on it - definitely unusual for me. The CS images were absolutely adorable, though, and I just didn't think anything else was needed.


This first card features a kewpie image - I had to laugh when I saw this in my package because I am sooooo not a gardener! Regardless, it was cute and lots of fun to work with. I cut it out with my Fiskars "stamp" edged scissors, then added the cute prima. I layered a bit of lace onto Bazzill bling, then added the buttons. Super simple!









We only needed to make one item, but I was dying to use this lady! It was too small for a standard card, though, so I pulled out a manila shipping tag to use as the base. I started by hitting it with a bit of glimmer mist - no pattern, but a nice layer of sparkley color. I then layered the houdstooth paper across the bottom and punched the edge with a Martha Stewart scallop punch. The little strip above that was from the page with the kewpie, and I added the rickrack and adorable copper heart clip. I matted the central image with some floral paper (had to get a bit more red in there somewhere!) and accented her aching head with a button. I looped the green trim through the top, and it's now hanging above my workspace. It may not be good economic advice, but it makes me smile every time!

Anyway, be sure to head over to This Art That Makes Me Happy to see what the other ladies have done. It's a veritable plethora of crafty inspiration!

Tea & Cookies

Yes, it's time for another shindig with my fellow smART cookies! Today's challenge was provided by Heidi, and we were to create something based on the colors in this photo (from Pottery Barn). I picked out a few colors, jotted down some notes, and dove into the stamp pile!



This first card is quite small - only 3x5 but I love how it really showcases the verse (Deut 6:5). I matted it with black, and ended up accidentally punching the entire thing with my corner rounder (loooong story) - funny thing is that I actually liked how it looked so I went ahead and did the other 3 :) I stamped the flower (Sunflowers) onto cranberry cardstock, and trimmed it down to a nice accent piece. I spritzed the card base with glimmer mist just to add some interest, then just glued everything down. Very simple!

I also needed to make a card for a little birthday party we attended this morning - the kids' friend is turning 4, and I happen to know he really likes bright colors so I decided to go ahead and make his card using orange and green - he's also really into bugs right now. I started by stamping "Happy Birthday" (Cake Time) onto a piece of orange cardstock, then I placed a 4 (Heidi Swapp mask) over it and misted it down with 2 colors of glimmer mist. Very cool effect! After it had dried, I trimmed it down to a tag shape then stapled on just a bit of rick rack. I stamped the bee (Winging It) onto some BasicGrey paper (I'm pretty sure it was from the Cupcake pad), and then trimmed another scrap of orange cardstock with some decorative edge scissors just to add another punch of color. I stamped the sentiment on the card base, and it was done! Definitely not your stereotypical boy card, but he really liked it.

Check out what the other cookies have created at In the Works, Mama Dini's Stamperia, Dee's Studio, & Sweet Somethings!

Tea & Cookies

Time for another "Tea Party" with the smART Cookies; Donna was our hostess this week, and challenged us to make a card without adhesives. Fun challenge!

I considered just going for a simple no-layers card, but decided that I wanted just a bit of dimension, so started playing around. I started by stamping the flowers (Sweet & Simple) onto white cardstock with black versafine ink, then adding pink & green with prismacolor pencils. I then misted it down with glimmer mist (pink taffy) - I love the shimmer that stuff gives! I then stamped the sentiment (Opportunity Trio) onto a scrap of white, and punched it with the keytag punch (SU) and added a tiny hole. I wrapped some pink chenille yarn around the card, then tied on the tag. Simple, and perfect for spring!

Want to see what the other smART cookies have created? Then head to In the Works, Mama Dini's Stamperia, Dee's Studio, & Sweet Somethings!

Tagged

I've been itching to make a tag ever since Tim Holtz did his "12 Tags of Christmas." I started playing around with this house image and sentiment (House Warming and Home) and decided the time had come... The papers are all from the DCWV Old World Stack (although they've been altered pretty heavily). I started by stamping the house onto the brown paper, then thin metal, and finally a coral print. Cut out the individual pieces and reassembled onto the base. I knew I wanted to give the house wings, so I pulled a set out of my grungeboard elements, covered it with some versamagic ink, then ran it through my Big Shot with the textile folder. I then went over the edges and raised texture with platinum brilliance ink.

For the tag base, I started by stamping the sentiment onto a 3x5 piece of light blue paper. I stamped on a few images (Screen, script from One Smile) then misted it down with latte & snowflake glimmer mists. I brushed on a tiny bit of blue crackle paint, but it looked awful so I cleaned it off with a baby wipe and was happy with the blue wash it left behind. I then stamped the clock (Bits of Time #2) and accented the edges with brown ink. I layered the piece onto navy cardstock, then added a green print as a hole reinforcer, and punched it all with a slot punch. Next, I dug through my ribbons and fibers until I came up with a handful of pieces, and threaded them through. The tag still needed something on the bottom, so the final touch was adding a small metal key (from my embellishment stash). Whew! Finally done :)

But my post title has another meaning - Jacki was picking on me yesterday (her words! :) and I've been tagged. First off, seven random and/or strange things about me:

1. I love to read. Magazines, cereal boxes, billboards, novels, whatever. When I was growing up, I would often curl up in my bedroom (down in the basement) and lose myself in a good book. Mom would yell for me, but I was in another world and wouldn't hear, so she'd often "call" for me by flipping the breaker. Yes, I noticed when the lights went off.
2. My first car was a '71 Dodge Coronet. I even had vanity plates (super cheap in MT) that read "BLU WALE."
3. I used to say that I wanted 4 kids. Now I'm absolutely convinced that 2 is the magic number for us. Oh, and I knew way more about children before I had my own :)
4. Spring is my favorite season. When I start seeing daffodils, I know that it won't be much longer before I can start wearing flip flops again.
5. I can't stand curry. I've tried many different varieties, but there's some base spice in all of them that seriously triggers my gag reflex. (Turmeric maybe?)
6. I have horrible vision and am legally blind - but thankfully fully correctable. Glasses are the very first thing I reach for in the morning (so I can read the clock).
7. I used to work in HR, and once had a dream I was drowning in resumés.

Jacki also rated my blog "E" for Excellent. Wow, thanks!! She is a gifted artist (her coloring skills are amazing!!) who freely shares her knowledge - but even better, she has a godly spirit that really shines through.

I'm not going to tag anyone, but feel free to play along with the "randomness" if you'd like. And as for other excellent bloggers, I kindly direct you to my sidebar of recommended reading :)

Have a great afternoon!!

Gift Tag

Our family attended a birthday party this past weekend, and rather than making a card for the birthday boy I opted for a tag. Why? Well, his Mommy is a scrapper and I figured this would be a good page embellishment. Thankfully she loved it! And he loved his gift :)

I started with some scraps of blue paper, and laid out the basic design. Next, I die cut "Aaron" and 3 from thin sheet metal using the Sizzix boxed brush alpha die set. I stamped "Happy Birthday" (smARTworks, "Time To") onto caramel paper with navy versamagic ink. I made the hole reinforcer with a couple punches, and then tied on some great American Crafts ribbon. Nothing too fancy, but I thought simple was better in this case.