Googly Eyes!! ATG at Crafty Gals Corner

Well folks, it's my swan song over at Crafty Gals Corner. I can't believe I've spent a whole term with the fabulous ladies on their DT, but it's true! I've been inspired, cheered on, and beyond honored to spend the last few months creating with them. 

A giant thank you to fabulously talented Samantha of Designs by Sammy for giving me the opportunity and for crafting the challenge blog from scratch. You are incredible!

So for my last card, I knew I wanted to do something crazy, outside the box, and fun. Luckily the sponsor of CGC this week is Rick St. Dennis who is KNOWN for crazy outside the box digital images. Woop!

I chose to work with Cat Glasses, a funky sassy retro woman. 

Here's the card I made:

I can't even look at it without laughing! Haha! I chose some funky wild papers from Bo Bunny and I chose to put googly eyes on her to make her look a little ga-ga. 

Did you catch that sentiment? It's not what you think at first glance. Here's a close up:

It's from a hilarious Lil' Inker Designs stamp set that's packed with snarky sentiments like this. And it also has a little illumination stamp for the inside, just in case the recipient misses it the first time. 

I'm going to link this up to the following challenges:

Retrosketches - thanks for the awesome sketch!


Inkspirational: Wild


As for you all - you should head on over to Crafty Gals Corner and link up any and all creations you have made! We'd love to see them and you could win an amazing prize: 

Our sponsor this week is:

Rick St. Dennis

Etsy Shop / Zibbet Shop

Prize: 2 Digital Images or 25% Coupon to Zibbet Shop

By the way - if you don't hear from me for the next week, please don't think I've forgotten you. Starting tomorrow I'm heading off to a 4-day children's grief counseling camp where I'll be paired up with a kiddo and we'll do all sorts of fun things. But I will be completely away from the interwebs and will come back completely pooped out if last year was any indication. 

But I promise I'll make the rounds to see what you've all been up to when I come back. :) 

Watercolored Country - Crafty Gals Corner The Great Outdoors Challenge

The theme over at Crafty Gals Corner this week is: The great outdoors! 

I don't want to say I'm a city girl, because that's probably the farthest thing from the truth, but I will say I am a creature of material comforts. 

I actually grew up on a small hobby farm on 40 acres in Minnesota. In my adult life, however, I moved to the "big city" (read 50,000 people - yes... that's big to me) and I've stuck ever since. I enjoy riding bike, and rollerblading along the river paths, but camping? Count me out.

So when thinking about the great outdoors and going through the images over at Beccy's Place, I came across this image called Old Mailbox. And I just fell in love. 

When I drive home to see my parents, I turn onto this dusty, old country road. There are usually two or three dogs - sprung up from a neighbor's farm - that trail my car. I pull up to my parents' mailbox, which is usually surrounded by tall grass and I drive down the long, tree-lined drive. 

And I just feel at home. 

 

As I was creating this card, those were the thoughts I had in my head. This is WHY I love crafting so much. You can really put a lot of yourself into a creation and your artwork can really express who you are as a person, even though nobody else may ever know it. 

So that's my Great Outdoors story. Thanks for listening!

I'm going to enter my card into the following challenges: 

 Simon Says Stamp Monday: For the Love of Plants

Hiding in My Craft Room - Summer colors

Just Us Girls - Summer

Anywho - back to the challenge. How do you interpret the Great Outdoors? Come on over to Crafty Gals Corner and show us! 

We have >>3<< sponsors this week, which means >>3<< prizes!

DeeDee's Digi's

Prize: $15 Gift Certificate

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My Besties
Etsy /  Scrapbook Stamp Society

Prize: 3 of Digital Images the DT used

Beccy's Place

Prize: 3 Digital Images or 1 Digital Set

Summertime Fun - Crafty Gals Corner

Summer. In my neck of the woods, that time of the year lasts for exactly the blink of an eye. And yet, that one blink of a second is the most glorious, sushiney, warmth-filled moment of bliss. 

Over at Crafty Gals Corner, we are celebrating summer with cards! Since one of my favorite symbols of summer is the monarch butterfly, that's what I chose to focus on this week. 

I got to use a gorgeous digi stamp from Eureka Stamps called Butterfly and Sunflower. I paired it with a color scheme I hadn't used before - Orange, yellow, and blue. I thought it looked really summery but then I showed it to my boyfriend for the post-make assessment and he said "Wow. Very Autumny." *Facepalm* Well.... I tried! Haha

I used this awesome sketch from The Challenge

to inspire my layout. 

And the color challenge from ColorQ

I'm also entering it into:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Make your Mark

  So come and get summery with us this week at Crafty Gals Corner. 

We have an awesome prize for you: 

Eureka Stamps

Prize: 3 Digital Images

Thanks for popping by!

A Funny Mermaid Card - Crafty Gals Corner Color Challenge

Ahoy Mateys! I'm going to go all nautical today with my card and impress you with my mermaid skills. In real life, I'm slightly petrified of water that's deep enough to hold giant fish that can bite your leg off while you swim. This is a real thing. I'm convinced. Don't get me wrong, I will plop into the deep, murky water with the rest of them, but my stomach will convulse a little and, while I might appear to be smiling, I will only be thinking in my head "There goes my leg...".

But I digress!

This week at Crafty Gals Corner, we have a couple of sponsors and I got to work with a beautiful mermaid image from Nikki Burnette called Symphoni. I don't have a link for you because the fabulous Ms. Burnette is taking a short break from work because she's expecting! :)

Now, I could have done some pretty, beautiful things with Symphoni, but I decided to do a little snark:

This is the sentiment that I created to go along with my mermaid image. I love it! It makes me giggle every time I see it.

Crafty Gals Corner is having a color challenge this week: 

I don't normally work in pastels, so this was definitely a challenge for me! But I decided to incorporate the colors into the mermaid. 

I really TRIED to make it pastel... but this is as close as I got. haha. I added a little starfish in the corner and some bling (because who doesn't like sparkles).

So come on over and play at Crafty Gals Corner! Our prize is 3 digital images from Nikki Burnette.

Nikki Burnette

Prize : 3 Digital Images

As for me, I'm going to link this up to:

Sentimental Sundays - Funny Sentiment

Corrosive Challenges - Every Little Thing She Does is Magic

Thanks for popping by!

May Flowers - Crafty Gals Challenge

Spring has finally hit North Dakota in the form of torrential rainstorms. Woohoo! Unlike most people, I prefer a good drizzly, overcast day to a bright, sun-filled one. It makes me less guilty about wanting to hole up in my craft room, getting my fingers all inky. 

Over at Crafty Gals Corner, we're celebrating spring, too! May Flowers is our current challenge and I decided to go a little vintagey with my design. 

I used some digital paper from Graciellie Designs Floral Frame paper pack and a digital image from QKR Stamped called Girl Reading.

 

I just colored in bits of her dress by watercoloring with gelatos do give that old photo feel. I wasn't really sure what sentiment to put on the card and have playing around with hand-lettering lately so I wrote my own sentiment to match. 

So if you're thinking about getting all floral-y this week, let me give you a little nudge for why you should duck over to Crafty Gals Corner and link up. 

We've got >>3<< Sponsors this week!

Our sponsors this week are:

My Besties

Etsy /  Scrapbook Stamp Society

Prize: 3 of the Digital Images the DT used

QKR Stampede

Prize: 3 Digital Images

Graciellie Designs

Prize: Floral Frame Digital Paper Pack

So lots of prizes to be won!

I'm also going to link my card up to the following challenges:

Party Time Tuesdays - Anything Goes 

Creative Inspirations - Shabby Chic

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On a more personal note: If you guys would join me in welcoming my little sister, Allie Kreft, to the bloggy world, I'd be forever grateful! She just started a blog called Crafting Crazy (because she is) and made her very first blog post today. I know it would mean the world to her to get a kind comment or two. :)  

Thanks for popping by!

Mother's Day Card and A Sketch Challenge - Crafty Gals Corner

With Mother's Day fast approaching, I realized that if I wanted to once again be my mom's favorite child this year, I had better get working on a card!

I am a member of a family of four children and though my siblings may strongly disagree, my mom loves me best of all. Just kidding. That title goes to my brother. *Cough* I mean... my mom loves all of us equally. *Cough*

It wouldn't be Mother's Day without showing a crazy picture first, though.

So this card is for my crazy, zany cooky mother... who loves me and whom I am growing to be more and more like as I get older... Yes. I admit it.

 I started with the latest sketch challenge from Crafty Gals Corner: 

I made some gorgeous flowers from the Stamping Boutique - an image called Poppies. I colored them with Spectrum Noir Markers (DR2, DR4, DR5, DR7).

Then, due to my penchant for coloring outside the lines, I realized my green stems were filled in with red. GRRR!!! What was I to do but to bust out the Perfect Pearls and paint in some shimmer. Problem solved!

I added some sparkly bits to the dots and drawn shimmer stars along the edges as well. And then I paired it with some pearls and some striped paper.

So now my mom will know that she's the best mom, and I will once again be in her good graces.

So head on over to Crafty Gals Corner and play along with our sketch this week! We've got some cool prizes for those of you who do. 

Our sponsors this week are:

Di's Digi's

Prize: $12 Gift Certificate 

STAMPlorations

Prize: $10 Gift Certificate

The Stamping Boutique

Prize: 2 Digital Images / 3 Digital Images if you use a TSB image

That's right! >>>3 sponsors<<<!!!

Anywho, I'm off now to go gloat over the fact that I'm actually going to manage to send out a card on time. Thanks for popping by!

Stripes and/or Polka Dots - Crafty Gals Corner

Hello lovelies! Anybody in the mood for some fantastic polka dots? Well, I'm so glad you asked, because I can deliver! 

This week at Crafty Gals Corner, we're talking on dots and stripes in style. You can choose to use one or the other in your card and share them with us for some Fantabulous prizes.

As for me, I didn't want any second-class premade polka dots... oh no! I set about making my OWN version of polkies.

I stamped a scrawling script on my card stock base and then used a stencil (Wendy Vecchi Polka Dotty) and some texture paste. I let the dots dry, and then sponged over them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. 

I used an image from Bugaboo called Rose Tag and colored it in using some Spectrum Noir Markers (PL2, PL4, PL5) and then I added some die cut leaves. I added stripes around the edges of the tag, too. 

Also - a super important thing: I learned how to tie a triple bow thanks to the help of a very handy dandy bow maker that I got from the fabulous Lisa from A Mermaid's Crafts. She's got a tutorial up at her site if you're interested. 

So head over and link up to Crafty Gals Corner and you could win:

Bugaboo Stamps

Prize: 7 Digital Images

As for me, I'm going to link my card up to the following challenges:
Simon Says Monday Challenge: Anything Goes
Through the Craft Room Door: Anything Goes
The Challenge: Polka Dots

On a more personal note: the weekend is over and I'm back from my grandma's estate sale. A big thank you to all of you who left kind comments or sent me happy thoughts. It was... rough... but it's done now. At least I got to go home with her Valentine's Day stamps, which are more than priceless to me. 

I'd say ranges of emotion rolled through me... A momentary panic when I saw some stranger with a stamp set that had a scrawling MM down the side, my gram's signature way to keep track of what was hers. And then the happiness as a lady with a handful of music boxes checked out and explained that she was going to put them in piggy banks that she was making for her grandkids - exactly what my gram had done with them... 

Again, thank you for all the happy thoughts. I'm sending a ton your way, too! I'm glad you stopped by! Please leave me a comment or follow my blog and I'll try to return the favor!

Girls, Girls, Girls - Crafty Gals Corner

Girls, girls, girls! I'm really sorry for getting a classic rock song stuck in your head, but it's not my fault - really! It's the challenge going on over at Crafty Gals Corner!

This is my second post of the day - be sure to check out what STAMPlorations has going on in my last post because there's a 5-day blog hop with lots of prizes.

Speaking of prizes, this week at Crafty Gals Corner, we've got two of them. Paper Nest Dolls and Lemon Shortbread. 

Our theme is all about girls and I got to use an adorable digi stamp from Lemon Shortbread called Mermaid Shoujo. 

I really love all of the layers, and there's even a super cute mermaid charm that was sent along with a package from my friend Lisa from A Mermaid's Crafts.... so what I'm sayin' is... this is a whole lotta mermaid on one card. 

I also wanted to talk about the way I made the sand because I think it looks kind of cool. I used my Spectrum Noir markers TN3 and TN5 and made little dots everywhere - the same as the fur technique. It gave a lot of cool dimension and makes a flat surface look sort of textural. 

I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday for my mermaid card. 

I also made another card that I am soooooooo in love with. Why? Because it's feathers and art deco and fancy - all things I wish I could be. 

I went with the classic art deco color scheme of black and gold. That fantastic lady is from Rick St. Dennis, who has some gorgeous vintage digi stamps. It's called Paris en Plume. 

I'm linking this up to the Color Throwdown challenge:

Because of the style of card, I wanted to keep the image simple, but still give it a little extra oomph. 

I used my Faber Castell artist pen (size M) and colored around the edges. Theses pens are pretty neat because you can smudge the ink as you go and give your image a really cool charcoal-like effect. 

I also added a backing of DCWV black gem paper. It's like a plastic, but it is SO shiny and gives such a sparkly effect. 

I topped it all with some feathers and bits of gold. 

Head on over to Crafty Gals Corner and show us what your Girls are all about! Link up to the challenge and you could win one of two prizes: 

Our sponsors this week are:

The Paper Nest Dolls

Prize: $20 Gift Certificate

AND

Lemon Shortbread

Prize: 3 Digital Images

Thanks for stopping by! 

Winter Shaker Card - Crafty Gals Corner - Any Holiday

Quite frequently as a card-making artist I will find myself collecting random things that I think I will be able to slap on a card at some point in time. Many of these items later find their way to a trash can after I've attempted something that doesn't work, but it is the rare few instances of sheer genius that make me keep collecting all over again. I'm not a hoarder. Really. :) 

I have been eating these yummy oatmeals in the morning that have clear plastic see through lids and decided to try putting them to use on my card for the latest Crafty Gals Corner  challenge which is:

Any Holiday

So I crossed my fingers and gave it a shot! 

That adorable little image is Arielle Ice Skater Oopsie Snowman from Faery Ink and that, my friends, is what she looks like all colored up inside an oatmeal lid. I added some snowflakes and some glittery white flocking to make "snow". 

I added some snowflakes and sequins to the outside and a big ol' Let it Snow sentiment along with some pink baker's twine. I dub this card one of the most adorable I've ever made and I didn't have to spend a million dollars on the premade shaker circles either! 

So make a holiday-themed card (any holiday) and link it up to Crafty Gals Corner for your chance to win your very own Faery Ink images. 

Our sponsor this week is:

Faery Ink

Prize: 3 Digital Images


As for me, I'm going to link up this little gal to support the following challenges:

Jingle Belles - Caroling we Go (Inspired by "Let it Snow")
ABC Christmas Challenge - G is for Glitter
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes
Sparkle and Sprinkle - Use Glitter or Flocking

Thanks for stopping by! And thank you to my new crafty followers! Leave me a comment or follow my blog and I'll try to return the favor!