PPA 57 Sketch Challenge

I got some really awesome birthday gifts this year, so, of course I'm going to make some pretty awesome thank you cards in return ;) This one is for my sister and brother-in-law. They both love sushi, and she loves Asian things, so I think they'll like the card :) I used all SU papers. The stamp set is from A Muse (had to get it when I saw the sushi rolls! I had the hubby look up what arigato means... its thank you in case you were wondering!). The dies are from Nestabilities, and the embossing folder is from Cuttlebug. The felt flowers I found on clearance, and that is where I got the color idea for this card. The little black pearls are fro A.C. Moore and the border die from Paper Trey Ink. The rhinestone brads are from SU. Oh, and I used a black gel pen to go over the designs in the kimono and make them a bit 3D.

Baby

It was so much fun getting to make a baby card! This is one of the first I have made. I used this awesome Sizzix die to make the shape of the card, used SU patterned paper and the adorable elephant stamp from the new catalog. The button and ribbon are from SU and the cute little closepin I got at a local stamp store. The little pearls on the bottom are from A.C. Moore and I used a magnet to hold it shut. I used a scallop circle punch and punched a regular circle out of it to get the curved scallops around the collar and closure. Sorry the pics are too white. I didn't realize it and I already sent the card :(

CPS #181 Sketch Challenge

Happy National Dog Day! For those of you who know me, you know how much I love my two dogs, so I HAD to make a card for national dog day :) This cute bulldog stamp I've had for awhile but hadn't used, yet, so I had to pull him out. The little bones are from a set that my DSS (Divine Secret Sibling-she sends me cards and happy mail and I send another person, it is SO awesome, and I got the BEST big sis EVER!) sent me recently. The big buttons I've been loving using, they're from the new SU mini. I used nestabilities dies for the shape around the dog, love those! The little clip and glitter brad are also from SU, as well as the ribbon punch. The border punch is from Fiskars and all paper from SU. You can see I'm loving using the crumb cake paper since I used it on the last two cards, LOL My friend Ann was the lucky recipient of both the card and little candy wrapper box which I filled with buttons and ribbon for her :) The box is the new Sizzix die exclusively for SU.

TESC #125 Sketch Challenge

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to my husband's grandparents. What a great milestone! I knew I wanted to make them a card, and hadn't used this cute adirondack chairs stamp, yet, but thought it would be great with the cloud paper. It is actually an exclusive stamp made for this awesome stamp store on the Cape in MA called Colorful Creations. All paper is from SU except for the cloud paper which is from A Muse. The heart is a punch from SU. The "Life is Good" sentiment is from A Muse. The little mosaic tiles are from Michaels. I used Stickles on some of the clouds to give them a silver lining and used A Muse ribbon on the top for a finishing touch. One day Phillip and I will make it to 50 years :)

Asian Flair

My friend Ann loves things with an Asian flair, so when I needed a thank-you note for her, I knew just which stamp I wanted to use. I actually watercolored here, which I never do. I used Stampin' Up water color pencils and an aqua painter. The paper is actually a special paper that is blue on one side and brown on the other. When you run it through the sizzix with the embossing folder and then sand it, the design comes out with the blue from the other side. It wasn't as dramatic as I thought, but it was still neat to do. The little accents (brown pearls) are from AC Moore and actually came as a big swirl. I cut out part to use here on the card. She liked it :)

National Cupcake Day

My mom got me this awesome die for my birthday to use in my new Sizzix Big Shot Pro, and it was perfect timing since today is national cupcake day! I used my paper crimper to crimp the wrapper, used chunky glitter from SU for the sugar on the cupcake. I used this cool new sparkle spritzer I got from A.C. Moore on the cherry, you can't tell that well from the pic, but it looks so neat! Very subtle, but sparkly. The "sprinkles" are green pearls from A.C. Moore. The ribbon and big button are from SU. The paper is all from SU. I love this card! It is the most unique card I've ever made :)

CPS 180 Sketch Challenge

My brother is a musician, so for his birthday, I wanted to make him something personalized. When I saw this cute drumset stamp, I immediately thought of him. I really like how this card turned out. I used rub ons on the three lines in the sketch, and it had been awhile since I had done that, it was fun. I also used Crystal Effects on the bass drum so it stands out. I used Stickles on the new large curly label punch from SU that I used under the word sticker Live Loud. I also used these cute sparkly mosaic tiles that I found at A.C. Moore. You can't tell but I used a Sizzix embossing folder on the blue card background. The solid papers are SU, the patterned papers I'm not sure, but they all came together with the rub ons, stamp, stickers, ribbons, and papers that I bought from a local stamp store's yard sale a few months back. This is one of my favorite cards that I've ever made, hope he likes it, too!

PPA55 Color Challenge

This is the first color challenge I've ever tried. It was fun! I don't think I would have ever put these colors together myself, but I really like them. I got to use a lot of new stuff on this card, too. The ribbon border punch is brand new from SU (got it in the mail today!) along with the adorable dog stamp set. The clouds are from A Muse and I used Stickles on the edges to give them a "silver lining". I also pulled out my Viva pearl pen for all the little turquoise dots you see. I even used my glaze pen on the wheel and leash. I used a Sizzix embossing folder for the layer with the 3D texture. My grandparents called today to say Happy Birthday and they asked me how I was celebrating. I said, I'm in my craft room making cards! :) This is a thank you card for an awesome birthday!

TESC #124

I have a lot to be thankful for lately, so I made some cards to let some awesome people know that They Rock! This adorable set is from Paper Trey Ink called Chair-ished. I just had to get it because it had the dog in it, and I liked the chairs, too :) I used a Sizzix embossing folder for the card base to give it 3D texture. The paper, inks, and ribbon are from SU. I stamped right on the ribbon, which is something I hadn't ever tried before. The border punch is also from SU. This was a fun sketch from Taylored Expressions to try.

CPS Sketch 179

Here's another sketch challenge. One of my new stamping friends suffered a family loss recently, and I wanted to let her know that I'm thinking of her, so I decided to make her a card. I ordered this SU set because I have the tree image as a wall rub on in my living room. Everything on the card is from SU this time, including the new champagne glass glitter which I received at SU convention. The little black pearls are the only thing not from SU and they're from AC Moore.

TESC 123 Challenge

I thought it was about time that I try another challenge, so I did a sketch challenge from the Taylored Expressions blog. Sometimes I don't really know what colors I want to use together, but I knew I needed two coordinating patterned papers for this one, so off to the Stampin' Up DSP I went! I love that the DSP coordinates perfectly with the cardstock, and the colors are all from the color coach, so I just took the colors out of the Designer Series Paper package and put them to work :) I also wanted to use the Old Olive satin ribbon that I was given last night as a birthday gift, so I had to find colors that would work with that :) This stamp set is from the brand new SU catalog and it is a level two hostess set! Everything on the card is from SU this time except for the thank you sentiment (which I was given a long time ago, not sure which stamp company) and the little brown pearl embellishments which are from Michaels. I'm giving this card to Phillip as a big thank you for my awesome birthday/anniversary gift...the Big Shot Pro!!

Happy "Bird" Day

August is the month of birthdays in my family. This card is for my sister-in-law whose birthday is two days before mine which is a week before my brother's. Anyway, she loves birds and green and pink, so I put them all together. The stamps are from a cute set from Lizzie Anne Designs. The cloud paper is from A Muse and all other cardstock from SU. Ribbons, felt flower, and markers from SU, punch from EK Success, and rhinestones from A.C. Moore. I also broke out the Crystal Effects from SU (which I had actually never used) to make the birds and part of the banner shine. Hope she likes it! Happy Birthday, Whit :)

"Sew" Cool

This card idea came from my local stamp store, Ink About It. If you buy a stamp or stamp set and they have a sample card, they'll make a photo copy of it for you. This is the adorable, quick, and easy card that they had displayed, the box is my creation :) The box was fun because I got to use my new anniversary/birthday present from Phillip.....the Big Shot PRO! It can cut 12X12 dies! I have some coming in the mail and can't wait to use them, but it can cut any die that Sizzix has ever made, too, so I brought out one of my embossing folders from SU for the box's belly band, and a Bigz XL box die from Jo-Ann. You can't really tell in the picture, but on both the card and box there are VersaMark stitching lines. The ruler and sicsiors are both patterned papers. I thought that the cute tiny closepin really made the box :) Cardstock is from SU, markers are Copics, button and ribbon from SU. I made a couple of these cards to send out and will give the box and card together to my friend Ann who has been there for me through a lot lately. She is truly "sew" nice :)