Merry Monday #287 - Inspiration Photo

Back for another Merry Monday post - I'm glad you stopped by! This week Colleen offers a fabulous inspiration photo for Challenge #287.

The fun mix of colors and all the snowflakes struck me right away. You might see buildings but I saw an array of gift tags. With that idea in mind I headed to my crafty stash to look for tag dies. Instead I found a grid die and my mind went bouncing off in another direction - does this happen to you?! Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Recollections printed card; Paper Studio holiday red;

Hero Arts Lawn; Poptone Bubblegum; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White;

Tim Holtz Metallic Kraft

Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Sq Grid Cover-up (retired)

Lawn Fawn Mini Snowflakes

Stamps - Avocado Arts - poinsettia (retired); Inkadinkado Home for Christmas - present

Hero Arts Origami Happy Holidays - wreath; Paper Smooches Warm Hearts Icons - holly

Hero Arts Let the Angels Sing - dove (retired); Lawn Fawn Snow Day - heart

Lawn Fawn Let it Snow - bell, Ready Set Snow - snowman, & Peace Joy Love (retired) - tree

Hero Arts Color Layering Wreath - sentiment

Other - Hero Arts Red Royal & Black inks; Copic Markers; 

Xmas Red Stickles; Lucky Clover Distress Ink; May Arts string twine;

Silver & gold gel pens

I started with a prefab A2 card from Michaels in the light pool color from the inspiration photo. Hard to see in my photo but it's printed in little snowflakes. I diecut the grid in four colors, using the red outline (just love red with pool) and inlaying squares of the three other colors. I left three windows open to the pool card. Next I went through my Christmas stamps looking for images to fit my windows. I stamped the sentiment in one open pool window and added a gold and a silver diecut snowflake in the others. I stamped the chosen images and colored with Copics. Three of the images had no outlines so I carefully traced them with a black Copic marker - a bit wonky in spots, oh well....

This was a fun card to plan and assemble! Also a nice flat card for mailing. If I'd been smarter, I would've stamped a few more squares while I had the stamps set up in the MISTI. Surfing my stash for images to fit took the most time in the process - the rest went pretty quickly. Yay - another Christmas card for my growing set. Seventeen weeks into the year; how many cards do you have ready? The Merry Monday Christmas Challenge will help you reach your goal so you're not scrambling come December!!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the challenge details and all the awesome Design Team cards HERE. Hope you have a crafty week and I can't wait to see what you'll create!!

Twofer Card Challenge #4 - Pets

Hi all - I'm playing along fairly late in the game with the latest Twofer Card Challenge - # 4 already! This time we get to use pets on our cards. I enjoy the Twofer challenge for many reasons, especially getting cards made for two different occasions! This time I went with thanks and graduation.

Since age 5 I have been a cat person - yes, a crazy cat lady!! So, I just had to use kitties on my cards. Thought I'd show some love to Tim Holtz Crazy Cats which I bought ages ago but have never used. The TH Crazy Things set has a bunch of coordinating hats and icons set (another NBUS) so I could cover both occasions easily! I need a thank you card for a gift I rec'd this weekend from my roommate at our Regional Sweet Adelines convention. I also need graduation for two cousins - I think the girl cousin will get the cat one. 

Supplies - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Poptone Bouquet (dark purple);

Basic Grey Kelly Purkey Second City; Bazzill lavender

Stamps - Tim Holtz Crazy Cats & Crazy Things

Hero Arts CL663 Thanks a Bunch (retired)

Dies - Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits Crazy Cats & Crazy Things;

My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 (retired);

Hero Arts DI337 Nesting Oval Infinity Dies;

Hero Arts DI364 Thank You Messages Frame Cuts

Other - Copics; foam tape

Supplies - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Poptone Black;

Two-sided Grad patterned paper by unknown; scrap of orange

Stamps - Tim Holtz Crazy Cats & Crazy Things; Raisin Boat Drinks Anyone?

Dies - Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits Crazy Cats & Crazy Things;

My Favorite Things Blueprints 21 (retired); 

Hero Arts DI198 Nesting Rectangle Infinity Dies

Other - Copics; foam tape

I had two orange cats like the one on the grad card but they passed away about 10 years ago. I'd had them for nearly 19 years and was too sad to get any more. Instead I kitty sit for my brother's cat Misty who I mention every now and then on my blog. She's such a sweetie and grey like the City Cat. I enlarged the black dot eyes on the stamped image and put some color around them. I turned the mouth on the City Cat into a little smile to fit the theme better.

You have until the 24th to enter a pair of cards and I hope you'll check out this fabulous challenge. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll visit tomorrow when I'll be sharing another Merry Monday Christmas Challenge card!!

CAS Christmas Challenge - Ornament

Popping in with a quick entry to Bonnie's challenge over at the CAS Christmas Card Challenge. I'm supposed to be getting ready for our Regional Sweet Adelines contest this weekend. Instead, I worked on my ornament card - oh well.... Here's my card:

Supplies - Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Paper Studio glitter;

Poptone Black Licorice; scrap of red; Tim Holtz kraft metallic

Dies - Poppystamps Double Stitch Scalloped Rectangle Frames;

Elizabeth Craft Designs Ornament Set 2 (retired);

My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 26 - bow

Stamps - Hero Arts CL727 Lisa's Mix & Match Messages - hanger (retired)

CM100 Christmas Messages - sentiment

Other - Xmas Red Stickles; Joy! Crafts 1.5mm foam

 I met Bonnie (Stamping with Klass) online when she was a Designer over at Merry Monday Christmas Challenge - just love her style!! Also love Christmas ornaments and have quite a collection (stamps, dies, and real ones!). Just had to play along with Bonnie's challenge even though CAS is not my usual style. Today I used yet a neglected ornament die along with a new Poppystamps frame die set. I bought the frame set on Tuesday and used it right away (can you believe it?). I cut the largest frame in both white and black - the black one called to me when I was planning my ornament card.

Ever have one of those days where things go wonky time after time? Well, I was having one of those days yesterday! I already adhered my frame to a white card and then decided to stamp the hanger for the ornament - bad idea! Should've masked the white above the frame - some ink, even though I had wiped it off, got on it!! So, I carefully peeled off the frame and put it aside while I masked a new card where I didn't want the hanger, then stamped the hanger and sentiment, and THEN added the frame. Worked much better that way! I had to wait til this morning to finish my card because I wanted to inlay some glitter paper into the ornament outline. The paper was a bit shabby so I added Stickles which needed to dry. Better to get a photo of my card in the morning light anyway. I read on Bonnie's blog here that Poppystamps has a frame challenge so I'm entering my card there too!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Merry Monday #286 - Favorite Christmas Verse

Hi all - over at Merry Monday this week, Sue hosts Challenge #286. 

She'd like to see your favorite Christmas verse on a card.

Wow - this was indeed a challenge for me! Do I even have a favorite Christmas verse?! Definitely couldn't find a good one among my crafty supplies. Luckily I found a clear stamp set at Michael's with a couple of sweet little poems I liked - on sale too - bonus! I decided to use the "From Home to Home" verse since I had a die with a house on it. From there, my design came together quickly.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; BoBunny Altitude 6x6

Stamp on It cover weight shimmer vellum

Verse Stamp - Recollections Snow Inspiration

Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 (retired) & 13; 

Memory Box Countryside Circle; Lawn Fawn Mini Snowflakes

Other - Icy Stickles; Foam tape; Stormy Sky Distress Ink

So - funny story about the verse stamp. The quality isn't as good as the US made stamps I usually buy. When I got it out and stamped a test image, some of the lines didn't look even with the rest of them. The word Christmas especially looked wonky. This lead me to do surgery on the stamp, carefully trimming lines away and stamping them separately. Isn't perfect but better than it was as one image!! From a diecut panel I didn't like, I ended up cutting off a house to pop up with foam tape. The sentiment says "from home to home" after all, so I needed two houses :) Decided there was too much open blue space in the half circle so I added two sizes of the mini snowflakes. A sparkly roof on each house - done!!

Thanks for stopping and I hope you'll have a chance to play along with us this week. See all the fabulous creations of the Design Team, plus challenge details HERE. Enjoy!!

Merry Monday #285 - Add Ribbon!

Merry Monday everyone! Nina hosts Challenge #285 and would like to see ribbon on our Christmas cards.

What a pretty wrapped package in the inspiration photo! I always envy people who create such lovely gift wrap!! At least I can tie a halfway decent bow - if I do say so myself.....

Supplies: Paper - DCWV A2 dark brown card; BoBunny Merry & Bright 6x6 pad

Stamp - Hero Arts DI037 Christmas Ornaments Stamp & Cut (retired)

Dies - Lifestyle Crafts gingerbread people (retired); My Favorite Things Blueprints 13; 
Hero Arts DI199 Nesting Circle Infinity Dies

Other - Silhouette ID 245242 Love You Card; Hero Arts Red Royal ink
May Arts ribbon & twine; foam tape

I started out playing around with ribbon weaving but that idea didn't pan out. I had the gingham ribbon in the pile of ribbons I was trying to weave and decided to tie a bow on my card. I also had a pile of gingerbread people from some past cards. They ended up being dangled from twine along with a heart left over from Valentine's Day and an ornament attached with a regular staple. Sorta crazy but I like how it turned out. I had a grey ornament laying on the counter but it didn't look right so I went though my stash and found this ornament from 2012. The sentiment appears right in the ornament oval - perfect stamped in red to match the heart. Decided to put the entire ribbon dangle atop a banner over a stitched rectangle (both from MFT's Blueprints 13). I used the teeny circle die from the fabulous Hero Arts set to die cut the hole in my dangles.

Thanks for stopping and be sure to check out all the Design Team cards and challenge details HERE. Can't wait to see your Christmas card featuring ribbon!!

Merry Monday #284 - Colors Red & White

Merry Monday everyone! Marcia has a red and white color scheme for Challenge #284 this week.

Such a pretty color combo and I love her inspiration photo with all the red ornaments! I decided to go with white snowflakes though, using a fun frame die set for the first time.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Paper Studio red

Dies - Spellbinders Snowflake Snippets

Sentiment Stamp - Hero Arts CL454 Sending Holiday Cheer (retired)

Snowflake Embossing Folder by Darice

Other - Foam Tape, Darice sequins, 

DCWV clear gemstones, Hero Arts Red Royal ink

The sentiment looks washed out in the photo but it's really as deep a red as the backing to the snowflakes. The lower right snowflake panel is about the truest for the real life red - a rich cherry. The die cuts are a bit of a pain to glue - probably should've used Stick-it! And, of course, I got some glue on the red where I didn't want it - covered that boo-boo up with a sequin :) I arranged the pieces on a white panel embossed with snowflakes & adhered it to a top fold white A2 card. The die set contains 2 other squares - 1" & 2" with different snowflake designs. I'll have to try them next time!

Please click HERE to see all the wonderful inspiration from the Merry Monday Design Team & the challenge details, including the link-up for your creation. Can't wait to see your red and white card!

Thanks for stopping and have a crafty week!!

Easter Wishes!

Happy Easter everyone! Thought I'd pop in for a quick post after spending a few days with my parents. I made my dad's favorite meatloaf for Easter dinner and everyone got a little Easter basket with yummy candies. My favorites were the caramel filled bunnies - yum!! Anyway - besides the Twofer Challenge cards here and here that included Easter cards, I made 5 other cards. First, a card for my friend Heather and her family - she assured me it arrived safely - yay!

Supplies: Paper - DCWV green A2 card; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Lawn Fawn plaid & watercolor

Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 13, 20 (retired) & clouds (retired)

Hero Arts DI198 Nesting Rectangle Infinity Dies

Stamps - Your Next Stamp Hey Chickie; Sunny Studio A Good Egg

Other - foam tape; 3M washi tape; Copic Markers; Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink

I love the LF plaid papers and have them in many colors! Really like how they look with the crisp white scalloped mat. The little ceramic bunny and egg in the photo were made for me years ago by a friend; I bring them out every Easter along with a ceramic basket and more eggs - so sweet!

Now for the rest of my Easter cards - I squeezed them into one photo to save time. One of them was similar to the card I sent Heather but simpler without the scalloped layer.

Supplies: Paper - DCWV green  & lilac A2 cards; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Lawn Fawn plaid & watercolor; Stamp on It pre cut window card;

BoBunny Cottontail 6x6 pad

Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 13, 20 (retired) & clouds (retired)

Hero Arts DI198 Nesting Rectangle Infinity Dies

Stamps - Your Next Stamp Hey Chickie; Sunny Studio A Good Egg

Other - foam tape; 3M washi tape; Copic Markers; Hero Arts green ink

Mermaid Lagoon & Wilted Violet Distress Inks; Hobby Lobby bunny sticker

I made the butterfly on the Spring card using more bits of the tulip die from my Twofer cards. Used a MFT butterfly body and put an orange backing on it. Just love the bunny sticker from Hobby Lobby - came in a set of 4 and I bought several. Didn't get anything made for Cards for Hospitalized Kids this year but I'll use some bunnies on CFHK cards next year. The Happy Easter and label on the bunny card are both ancient Hero Arts items, long retired.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll check back tomorrow when I share a card for the new Merry Monday Christmas Challenge! Meantime, don't eat too much Easter candy!!