Elegant Wedding Card

Challenge time, challenge time, let's all go for a challenge time. *humming*

I'm always in a good mood when I have a great challenge to play along with and today is no exception.  STAMPlorations Theme & Sketch challenges are back for the year after a short summer nap. 

This month our theme is Stamps & Two Colors and here's the sketch: 

 

For my design, I used an embossed card base and watercolored in the florals with a light shade of pink and a shimmery blue. 

Then I used the CUTplorations Forever Word die in a shimmery gold and added some gold splatters. 

OOOO! I'd say that is all sorts of elegant and a perfect design for a CAS wedding card.

This guy is also going to play along at Tuesday Throwdown's Clean and Simple challenge.
 I hope you'll come play along in our STAMPloration challenges! 

My Valentine... A Valentine's Day Memory

Valentine's Day has always been my favorite holiday - mostly because the weekend before was always spent with my Grandma Mead, cutting up sparkly bits of pink and red and creating cards, laughing and gabbing away the hours. 

My grandma loved all 22 of her grandchildren and managed to take time for each of them in unique ways. Valentine's cardmaking weekend was "our" time and I looked forward to it every year.

I'd always buy the basics - cardstock and V-day papers, but I cringe now to think about the expense she incurred in embellishments, ribbons, stamps, inks, embossing powders and specialty tools she kept at the ready for her young granddaughter.

She'd patiently show me the latest cardmaking techniques, let me mess up her kitchen for two days, and then put it all back together again once my whir of valentine's energy subsided. My favorite part, though, was when our creative retreat came to a close. I'd line up my collection of creations on her kitchen counter and we'd carefully vote on the order of best cards. She always pretended like there wasn't a bad one in the bunch, but hey - I'm sure in my 10-11-12-year-old cardmaking infancy that she was a big ol' lovable liar.

I can't remember when or how or why this tradition started... but I miss it terribly. Her patience and love created the foundation for the papercrafting artist I am today. She's been gone now for 3 years. 
 

In the years since she's been gone, I haven't really done much of V-day crafting (at least not on the scale that I used to). No pun intended, but my heart just wasn't in it. This year, though, I'm starting a new tradition. I am teaching a Valentine's Day card class and following it up with a crafty crop. I'm excited to share my love of all things red and pink and sparkly with new crafters.

Would you all send some extra good vibes my way this weekend? They would definitely be joyously accepted! 


Now that storytime is over, I suppose I'd better share one of the designs I'll be teaching.

Check out that metallic goodness, loved up with some InkaGold paste. 

My card was derived from the Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

That scrawly "love you" comes from Verve's Stronger Love sentiment set, which has theee most beautiful sentiments. <3 <3 Seriously! Go check it out!

I also want to play along in the following awesome challenges:
Simon Say Stamp Monday - Young at Heart
Crafty Cardmakers - Love Love Love
Paper Players - Will You Be My Valentine

Thank you for stopping by and reading my memories! <3 <3

Stencils and Embossing Paste - STAMPlorations Blog Hop

Whoa. You guys. You guys. YOU. GUYS! You are not going to believe just how incredibly clean this card I'm about to spring on you is. Not only is it clean, it is PURE white (unlike my heart). Somebody better take my temperature because this card is the antithesis of what I normally design. 

But before I jump right in, I should tell you that STAMPlorations is kicking of another stencil hop. Our hop will be filled with techniques and tricks you can do with stencils and, of course, there are TONS OF PRIZES up for grabs! 

Plus, at the end of the hop, we'll ask you to link up your stencil creations for even MORE chances to win. 

For my card, I busted out some texture and then added a little more texture. 

First, I used the ARTplorations stencil: Christmas Reindeer and a little bit of embossing paste. 

If you've never used embossing paste (also known as texture paste, or whipped spackle) it's a really great way to add texture and dimension to your projects with relatively little mess. It's got the consistency of shaving cream and comes in many different colors. You can also use things like gelatos or reinkers to color the white paste. 

Smooth it on your stencil and make sure to scrape the paste flat, then return any excess to the jar. 

As I warned you, I decided to go white on white on white for a crisp, clean look. 

If you squint your eyes hard enough, you'll be able to see that my deer head looks extra textured. That's because I added some glittery white flocking to it, to give it a little sparkle and some extra glamor. 

I'm going to send this card on over to the following competitions:

AAA - For the guys (CAS)

Cardz 4 Guyz - World Wildlife

Addicted to CAS - Animal

As for you, check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here.

We're giving away more than 10 prizes during the hop!! That's a crazy good chance to win!

And in case you thought my mind was permanently CAS broken, stop by again for day 2 of the hop tomorrow, where I'll be getting all sorts of messy with gelatos and stencils. Thanks for popping by!

Oh My Stars! STAMPlorations Sketch and I'm Back!

And I'm baaaaack! Last week was an amazing whirlwind of all things Philadelphia. Actually, I mostly got to see the inside of a conference room. I did sneak out Friday morning *shhh* to go see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, though.

These are some of my crazy cool coworkers, along with myself, standing in Love Park. It was a really great time and I feel like I knocked it out of the park work-wise, but I was definitely ready to step off that plane and get back into my craft room. 

I've missed you guys (or gals, mostly, I guess)!! 

So I'm brushing off the rust and what better way to do that than by showing off the latest STAMPlorations sketch:

So many ideas popped into my head for this sketch, but in the end, I decided to go with stars! I also stepped outside of my normal comfort zone and did things a little bit more clean and simple.

I stenciled the stars using ARTplorations Oh My Stars! Stencil and Distress Inks in Mustard Seed, Salty Ocean, and Festive Berries. The amazing sentiment is from the Fond Expressions set.

Come play along with me at STAMPlorations!  We've got some great prizes and some awesome inspiration for you, including guest designs from the very talented Suchi, Coni, and Robyn.

As for me, I'm sending this on over to the following challenges:
Allsorts - Quick and Simple 
Hiding in my Craftroom - Freestyle/ATG
Just Add Ink - Sequins 
Mod Squad - Color Wheel challenge - I used primary colors


Now, I'm off to go a visitin'! There's so many beautiful things in the blogosphere that I've missed, I'm sure. Thanks for popping by for a visit! 

Oh - And there are 5 days of fun going on over at STAMPlorations! They are having a blog hop to celebrate the new release and there are TONS!! of prizes. Go check it out! I'll be hopping along with them this week, so keep your eye out!

CAS? Yep, I can! Guest Designing at Cardz 4 Guyz

It's always tricky when a challenge blog asks you to guest design for them, because you never know what challenge they'll assign you before you say a (in my case) very resounding, happy, gleeful, giggling yes!!!!

If you've been following my blog, you know that I was asked to guest design for the WHOLE MONTH over at Cardz 4 Guyz. Now this already stretches my crafty muscles because most of my work is extremely girly and frilly and glittery and all the other good things in life.

But this week my muscles are definitely going to get a workout because the challenge is:

Clean. And. Simple.

Cue dramatic impending doom theme music here.

But I did it!!!

Luckily for me, I had a really good other inspiration for this piece. My boyfriend just started a new yesterday. Since he's worked for 15 years at the same company, this is a major change for him!! It essentially doubles his salary (momma needs a new pair of shoes) (just kidding - I'm very self sufficient) but it comes with some drawbacks - namely that he has to start at 3 a.m. and has to work every Saturday - blargh!

So I set this card out, along with a pack of coffee, a breakfast bar, and a new pair of work gloves to make his first morning a little less awful.

I actually love the way it turned out! I used an embossing folder on the background and then I embossed a suit from Penny Black's Lost Without You set.  I finished it off with a (very true!) sentiment from STAMPlorations Blossom Overture.

So Haha - Cardz 4 Guyz!! You didn't stump me. I know you all need some more manly man cards in your stashes, so you should go play along!

I'm also sending my card over to the following challenges:
Virginia's View - All things Embossed
Addicted to Stamps - Celebration (because it was to celebrate his new job)
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Oh Christmas Wreath, Oh Christmas Wreath - STAMPlorations Sketch Challenge

Deck the halls with spring and sunshine Fa la la la la, la la la la! Maybe it's all the warm weather, maybe it's the excess vitamin D, but I have finally recovered from the Christmas card overload that happens from November to December. 

By the way - this is my 2nd post of the day (sorry, I usually try to put them in one, but they needed to be posted at different times). I got asked to guest design at The Challenge, and I would be so super happy if you looked at my first post of the day, too! You can find it >>>here<<<!! 

Anywho, I'm making a card for STAMPlorations latest sketch! I also wanted to play along at Jingle Belles challenge Mission: Embossible (because I love a good pun and just can't resist!) Hence, the Christmas card. 

I wanted to incorporate both wet and dry embossing so I started with a piece of patterned paper and a cool circley-ish embossing folder:

I kinda like how the pattern looks underneath the embossing. Next, in order to really bring out the raised parts, I used Perfect Pearls Green Patina to add a little shimmer:

Lastly, I dabbed some embossing ink randomly over sections of the raised area for a little extra contrast, texture, and shimmer. 

Next, I set to work making a display panel. I used the fabulous, sketchy wreath from the Joyful set and inked it with Perfect Medium before painting over it with Perfect Pearls again. 

Somebody commented that PPs weren't the latest and greatest product, making it seem like they were retro, but they will always be fresh in my book!! You can do so many cool things with them!! And they create the most gorgeous shimmer. 

Anyway, back to the design! I added some felt and embossed a sentiment and....

Taaa daaaaa!

So play along with STAMPlorations sketch challenge and you could win some pretty neat things. Like some free digi stamps or a chance to be a guest designer!!! 

Speaking of, my amazingly talented friend, Robyn Oliver, is guesting with us this week, along with the awesome Stephanie and Kathy! Go check out what they did!

As for me, I'm linking up to the following challenges, too:
Naughty or Nice - Go Green (I'm definitely being nice) 
Jingle Belles - Mission Embossible
Pile it On - 3 of something (3 wreaths and 3 layers) 

Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment and I'll be sure to return the favor! 

Love is in the... Wood?

It's almost my most favorite time of the year... Valentine's Day! Usually I am a Valentine's Day card wizard, and I make them on a scale equivalent to Christmas cards, but this year has been pretty hard. I haven't even wanted to look at a love stamp. 

My Grandma and I used to stamp V-day cards every year - it was our special thing. So picking up a heart-shaped stamp hurts my heart-shaped pumper. I've been avoiding my collection of love, and this week I finally determined that I just can't anymore. 

So I did two things:
1. I made a Valentine's Day card
2. Over the weekend that I was supposed to stamp V-day cards with my Gram, I signed up to do a 12-hour crop til you drop at a local stamping store. I figured meeting new crafters in my community would be a good way to force myself not to give up on our tradition.

You maaaayyyyy remember me bubbling over in a fit of blissful sentiment about a certain Cuttlebug machine I received at Christmas. Well I have my first Cuttlebug project to proudly display!!

I LOVE IT! I just want to hug it and stare at it and squeeze it! That's how you know you're in love right?!

This is the PERFECT entry into the Simon Says Stamp "Work it Wednesday" challenge. 

 They wanted to see things that you LOVE. It could be a technique you love, or the actual word love, or however you want to interpret that theme. For me, I used a ton of things that I adore - Distress Ink dipping technique for the background, my new Cuttlebug, and those adorable wooden panels that came in a pack from the Butterfly Reflections Ink online store. 

After I ran my distress ink panel through the Cuttlebug with a heart embossing folder, I inked over the raised hearts with white to make the shine through. I also used my Spectrum Noir Markers to tie in the wooden panel with the background. The markers bled and created this rad effect! Lastly, I attached this wicked cool cardboard heart and hand-drew some patterns onto it (and of course I added some sequins, too - Momma likes her shine). (I'm sorry I just referred to myself as Momma, it won't happen again.)

I'm also going to enter this beauty into the following challenges:
Sweet Stampin' Challenge: Anything Goes
Creative Card Crew: Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

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Now there is one other item of business pleasure that I'd like to discuss: I MADE THE CRAFTY GALS CORNER DESIGN TEAM!!! Wooooo!

Crafty Gals Corner is a new kid on the block and their challenges will start up on January 9th. The realllllly cool thing is, the challenges are already sponsored for the entire year, and some weeks have TWO different sponsors! So check it out, sign up to follow, and enter those beautiful cards and you can win some awesome prizes! They have a sneak peek of the DT projects posted right now.

Thank you all for stopping by! There are big things on horizon for 2015! I look forward to cheering you on and leaving lots of comments on all of your blogs. Thank you for taking the time to do the same. It really makes my day!