Cookie challenge #37

Here is the inspiration cookie for this fortnight's Cookie Challenge at If you Give a Crafter a Cookie. There are two chances to win this time, with prizes from SLS Lines and Fred She Said.

I am not only a cat lover, I am especially a lover of orange cats (I've just had the best experience with them), so of course I wanted to do a card featuring an orange cat.  The image I used is from The Alley Way Stamps.  It's stamped in Colorbox Chalk Amber Clay ink on the white circle and paper-pieced with an orange plaid snippet and a blue plaid snippet.  The cat is framed in a stitched circle (die from Whimsy Stamp) cut from a blue snippet. The sentiment is from the same TAWS set, stamped in the same color and mounted on more of that blue snippet. Since this is my idea of a valentine (no frilly pink hearts from me), I added little hearts  (Paper Smooches die) cut from a red dotted snippet to the cat and sentiment.

Go pull out some cat or dog stamps and have some fun with the Cookie Challenge.

I'm entering this card in these challenges:
Crafting For All Seasons #119 -- Love Is in the Air
Pixie's Snippet Playground #215-- Use Snippets
Kraftin Kimmie's Challenge #317 -- love
Die Cut Divas -- Love/Anniversary
Creative Inspirations #344 -- Love and Kisses
Word Art Wednesday #219 -- Anything Goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use Patterned Paper

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone.
I have a few vials of microbeads that I never use, but the Teapot Tuesday challenge at SCS was "bubbles," and it gave me an excuse to use the beads to be bubbles.  The images on this card are by Bird brand digis.  I printed out the sentiment, cut the paper to the size I wanted, and scored it to look like a vintage paneled wall. Then I cut out the tub, added some silver gel pen on the legs, and used glossy accents to adhere the beads.  Once that dried, I popped the tub up on Pop Dots.  The bath scene is mounted on a green snippet, and I used a snipped of dotted paper, which looks kind of bubbly, to cover my card base.  The ribbon picks up the silver on the tub legs and frame around the sentiment.
The card is for these challenges:
Word Art Wednesday #216 -- Anything goes
CRAFT #344 -- Anything goes
Creative Inspirations #341 -- Anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's patterned paper challenge -- use patterned paper
Pixie's Snippet Playground #208-209 -- use snippets

Bundled up

Here is another card using up the snippets left from an Echo Park Christmas stack. I think I'll try to use them up and be done with them this Christmas so I can start fresh with something new next year.

The sketch for this is from Bugaboo's Christmas Chaos.  The choir kids are colored in pencils mostly, with a little gel pen for some of the smaller areas. I'm debating whether to add a sentiment, but the strip down the bottom says Christmas Joy, which is the message anyway.

I'm entering the following challenges:
Bugaboo Christmas Chaos -- day 2, sketch
Creative Inspirations #339 -- All wrapped up
Clear it out -- Anything Goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #206 -- snippets
Word Art Wednesday #213 -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas extra -- anything Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned paper Challenges -- use patterned paper

Caroling in the snow

I am down to nothing but snippets from this collection of Christmas papers from Echo Park.  This layout from the Catch the Bug challenge turned out to be a great way to use snippets, and I may repeat it to use up the rest of the bits of papers from this set.

The cute carolers are from The Artful Stamper. They are singing in the snow (signified by glitter).


I'm entering these challenges:
Catch the Bug -- Stella Says Sketch #317
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge  #253 -- it's time to sing
Creative Inspirations #334 -- Sparkle
Pixie's Snippet Playground # 201 -- use snippets
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra -- anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper
Word Art Wednesday #208 -- Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly -- Anything Goes

Blue jay way

I have this thing about coloring realistic images of animals -- I call up a photo on Google images and try to copy the colors. (I'm fine making fantasy-looking animals any color.) I am really happy with how this blue jay came out.

The card was inspired by the photo inspiration challenge at Creative Inspirations. I cut the image to give it a tile look, matted it on a matching snippet of blue card stock, put it on a neutral cardstock, and added a die-cut sentiment.

I'm entering these challenges:
Creative Inspirations #333: Photo Inspiration
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps #304: Nature
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #207: Anything Goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground # 201:  Snippets

CAS purple Christmas

I made this card based on one I had pinned a few weeks ago. The original was blue and white. I think this one would be easy to mass produce.  I used Versamark to make the purple snowflakes, so I let it dry overnight before adding the embossed elements, so that did add some time. However, I made a similar version in blue where I used a darker blue ink instead of Versamark, so there was barely any drying time required.
The fabulous snowflake stamps are from Impression-Obsession,  I'm not really sure the origin of the sentiment (possibly CTMH?).
I'm entering these challenges
52 Christmas Card Throwdown -- purple or blue and metallic
Creative Inspirations -- CAS
Word Art Wednesday #205 -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra -- anything Christmas

Krafty Christmas

Here's another for the Christmas card pile, using the coffee and cream color combo from 53 Christmas Card Throwdown.  The tree (which I think is CTMH) is white embossed and mounted o a frayed burlap layer for texture. Sketch is the current Sketch Saturday layout.

I played in several challenges to create this card:

Sketch Saturday #356
Crafty Hazelnut Christmas challenge #224 -- add texture
Crafty Hazelnut Christmas Extra -- anything Christmas
52 Christmas Card Throwdown -- coffee and cream colors
Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge -- trees
Inky Inspirations #205 -- Kraft it
Creative Inspirations #309 -- seeing stars
The Ribbon Girl -- any image plus ribbon
CRAFT Challenge #307 -- Christma

Christmas cardinal

It's snowing up a storm, so let's make a Christmas card.
The image is from Stamping Boutique, colored with pencils, with Antique Linen Distress ink sponged around the edges. I used the sketch from Papertake Weekly Challenge. There's crocheted lace along the bottom, and I wove red baker's twine through the center of it. The sentiment is a cardstock sticker, and the embellishmennt is a flower and brad.

This fits a lot of challenges, so here goes:
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas challenge 217: Feature a Creature
Papertake Weekly : Take  your pick (I chose their sketch 98)
Rudolph Days Challenge, Feb -- Christmas card
Catch the Bug -- bingo: lace, sentiment, 3-D element (flower/brad)
Loves Rubberstamps #140-- lace or ribbon
Creative inspirations -- Luscious lace
Clear it Out -- Animal and striped paper
Addicted to Stamps -- holiday
Christmas Card Challenge #12 -- anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes

A bit of paradise

The temperature is hovering around freezing, and it's anybody's guess where it will be when we get precipitation tonight, but "wintry mix" is probably in our immediate future. Who wouldn't be dreaming of  a sunny day at the beach?
I combined Crafty Ribbon's theme of nautical and Simon Says Stamp's theme of a piece of paradise and got this. The digi image is colored with pencils.  The quote is stamped in brown ink on kraft paper.  The ribbons have an ombre-blue effect and have frayed edges, so they look sort of weathered and beachy.
I'm entering this card in these challenges:
Crafty Ribbons 112: Nautical
Simon Says Stamp Monday: Piece of Paradise
Word Art Wednesday #170: Anything Goes
Creative Inspirations #300: Anything Goes

A case of red

Today I learned it's really hard to photograph scoring on white card stock.  I tried four times, under different lighting conditions, in multiple angles, and finally got a decent image. That was important, as the scoring is one of the things that really attracted me to the card I CASEd.
This is the card that the Time Out Challenge asked us to CASE. I loved the scoring, the delicate colors and the white-on-white.  In my version, the top half of the card is scored with diagonal lines, with three horizontal lines separating the diamonds from the plain bottom part of the card. For the tag, I used some chipboard stickers of red roses (My Mind's Eye) along with a die-cut branch (from a Tim Holtz die).  The red striped ribbon (Christmas clearance at Michaels a few years ago) is a little bolder than on the original and the sentiment (Stampin' Up) a little less bold.

I am entering these challenges:
Time Out Challenges #24: CASE this card
Clear It Out:  Use your red stash
Crafty Sentiments: Use some Red
Creative Inspirations #300: anything goes
Loves Rubberstamps #138: Show me some red
Word Art Wednesday #170: Anything Goes

Caring Hearts cards

I spent the last month working as hard as any of Santa's elves making cards for Vera Yates' Caring Hearts card drive. She collects cards for senior citizens in nursing homes, and had a goal of 7,000 cards this year.  I managed to make about 60. (Vera needs to receive cards for this year by 28 November, but keep it in mind for next year.)

 This is a CAS design I used for maybe 15 or 20 cards. Each one was slightly different, as I used snippets of different paper to cut the ornament; I also had some pretty ornament stickers I used on a few.

This was an easy design to mass produce. I used a Prickly Pear die for the ornament. The pine branch stamp is from the same set. I stamped it twice, didn't even bother to re-ink -- that gave me a little variation and depth on the branch.

It's fun to see how different papers for the ornament change the look. I like the striped paper -- it reminds me of the striped glass ornaments we had when I was a kid.

I'm showing two cards for the last Rudolph Challenge of the year. The card is for these challenges:

Rudolph Day Challenge November -- two cards
Crafting for all Seasons #91 -- Tis the Season
Creative Inspiration #291 -- Seasons Greetings
CHNC#203 -- getting ready for Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- Anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #160 -- Anything Goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #152 -- snippets.

Pretty in pink

Sometimes CAS is the only way to go.  I wanted to show off this beautiful, so I kept it clean and simple.
The image is from Rubbernecker.  To get the water color effect, I colored on the stamps with Distress makers, spritzed them with water, then stamped the image.  I added a little velvet ribbon, popped the image up on a mat with a litter border punch action, and it's done.

I'm entering these challnges

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge -- Watercolor
Inky Impressions 180 -- flowers and leaves
Sister Act #78 --anything goes
Creative Inspirations #284 -- anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #153 -- anything goes

It's flocking time

I've mentioned before I have one pot of Flower Soft, and  use it to make flowering trees on spring cards. I realized today I follow the same pattern with my flocking -- I use it in fall cards, for the center of sunflowers. I think I need to find some other images to use it with....
The image on this card is from Mark's Finest Paper, colored with pencils and with that lovely brown flocking.  The leaves are cut from Spellbinder's die called Little Leaf Sets.  The dotted paper is from my mind's eye, and the closely matching baker's twine is Martha Stewart. The ribbon behind the leaves and  twine has a tiny checked pattern.

I would like to enter the card in these challenges:
Crafting for All Seasons #86-- colors of autumn
Paper Shelter #174-- ribbon or twine
Creative Inspiration #281-- Going Dotty
Cuttlebug Mania -- die cuts
Clear it Out -- polka Dots
Crafy Hazelnut's patterned paper challenges, September  -- anything goes with dp
Word Art Wednesday #150 -- Anything Goes

Dragonfly dance

Mrs. A, owner of The Butterfly Challenge, asked us to bring other winged creatures this time around for an Ugly Bug Ball.  Since I have several dragonfly stamps (remember were dragonflies were everywhere?) I decided to bring them.
The dragonflies (Inkadinkadoo) are silver-embossed on black paper, and matted on a white panel. Behind that panel is a piece of polished stone, which is actually a snippet that's been sitting around since who knows when. It's made with various Ranger alcohol inks, and some silver mixative. (It fits the make your own challenge at Simon Says).  
I sponged some Bliss Blue on white prima flowers and pierced around the lower right edge of the main panel.
I would like to enter the card in these challenges:
Butterfly #14, bugs with wings
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, make your own background paper (polished stone)
Simon Says Stamp Monday, Stamptember
The Paper Shelter #173, embossing of any kind
Pixie's Snippet Playground #141 (everything is a snippet, including the polished stone, black and white)
Word Art Wednesday #149, anything goes
Creative Inspiration #280, Anything Goes

Not too much like a flag

I challenged myself to do a red, white and blue card with stars and stripes and keep it from looking like a flag. I think I succeeded.

The layout  for this is the current sketch at Sketch Saturday.

The image is from Impression-Obsession, colored in pencils, with the sentiment from Mark's Finest Paper.  I used a variety of stars and stripes DP snippets to provide the various layers, and added a scalloped edge to what is a rather thin strip on the sketch.

I wasn't really sure what to use for the embellies near the bottom of the sketch until I stumbled upon these snaps that were a perfect color match.  I have a hoard of snaps and of eyelets that I hardly ever use because, let's be honest, they are a pain. But I took my time, measured out exactly where each one should go, and they actually came out straight and even.

I'm entering this card in these challenges:
Sketch Saturday #317
The Paper Shelter #166, birthday card with sentiment
Creative Inspirations #273, your favorite occasion
Papertake Weekly Challenge, Stars and Stripes
Loves Rubberstamps #111, Red, white and blue
Pixie's Snippet Playground #132

Quick thank you

Isn't this die cute? It's one I had admired on several cards, and lucky me won it on the Sketch Saturday blog hop.
This card was inspired by the current BE Inspired challenge at The Alley Way Stamps. I love the delicate little flowers on the tin of cookies, and pink and pale green are one of my favorite color combos, so this seemed like the perfect occasion to try my new die. I cut the die once in green, then a second time in pink, and applied the pink bits where I wanted some colorful flowers.
The sentiment is from The Alley Way Stamps, Delicate Doilies set. Embossed with white detail EP.

I'm entering this card in these challenges:

The Alley Way BE Inspired #54: Photo inspiration
CRAFT Challenge #265: Thank you cards
Creative Inspirations #271: Clean and Simple.

For a friend

First off, has Google been tampering with Blogger?  I can only see one blog post where there should be a whole scroll of lovely blogs you people have posted.  There's a "see more" button, but it's not working. If anyone knows if there's a way to fix it, or if you're having the same trouble, please let me know.

This card is for a friend who is having knee troubles. Bad knees run in my family, so she has all my sympathy for what she's going through. I pulled out a couple of old Stampin' Up sets for this. The flower is a two-step, and I think that might be the best I've ever done at lining up the two stamps.

The green layers are Coredination paper -- I embossed with Swiss Dots and sanded the dots. Frankly, probably not the best EF to use for that particular technique. The bottom layer looks black, but it's actually a deep purple that matches the deep purple spots on the ribbon.

I'm entering in several challenges

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- friends
Crafty Ribbons #94 -- ribbon with spots
Loves Rubber Stamps #108 -- Spots and dots
Creative Inspiration #270 -- add a bow
Sketch Saturday #315 -- the sketch
Pixie's Snippet Playground #130 -- All the papers are from the cut-up snippets file.

Rainbow of parrots

I love rainbows, including rainbow colors on cards, so when I saw The Alley Way Stamps latest inspiration challenge, I was all in. If you follow the parrots from right to left, you'll see the old rainbow ROY G. BIV in neat little pairs on the birds: red/orange; yellow/green; blue/violet.
I knew I wanted to use bright colors, so I decided to try paints instead of my usual pencils. (No matter how bright or dark I think I've colored something, people always leave comments: "Love your soft colors.")  I found an old set of dry watercolors (so limited I had to mix my own orange and purple). Just for fun, I flicked a contrasting color on each parrot rectangle.
Since I set the parrots to dry  before assembling the card, a though occurred to me while they were drying -- why not use Glossy Accents on the eyes?  It worked out brilliantly; they look like goggly eyes, only better.
The parrot is from TAWS set Land Ho; the sentiment is a freebie download from their  website.

The card is entered in these challenges:

TAWS BE  Inspired #53.
Simon Says Monday Challenge: Paint 
Creative Inspiration 269:  Bold,Bright Colors
Word Art Wednesday #136: Anything Goes
Loves Rubberstamps #107: CAS
Sister Act #60:  Anything Goes

Black and yellow

Black/white/yellow is a good color combo that isn't used nearly as much as black/white/red.  Here's a birthday card I made with that color combo.

The daisies (from the Stampin' up set that absolutely everyone has or had) are stamped with Cadmium Yellow chalk ink on  yellow/white dotted paper, just to add a little more interest to the image.  The sentiment is from the same set. The layout is Sketch Saturday's current sketch.

The filigree butterfly die is from Simon Says, and I used a leftover snippet of some black/white dp for it.

I would like to enter the card in these challenges:

Sketch Saturday #311
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Botanical
Butterfly Challenge #8: Bingo -- die cut/butterfly/dp
Creative Inspirations #266: Birthday
Word Art Wednesday #133: Anything Goes
Sister Act #58: Anything Goes

Butterfly card

I'm probably not unusual in that I have loads of designer paper that's never even been cut into. That was the case with these papers, from a Cosmos Cricket stack I got ages ago. I had to make something for a "Printed Paper" swap, and this is what I came up with.

The sketch is the current Sketch Saturday Sketch, #305.  The center circle is the same paper as the base.  The orange/white/gray layer has distress ink on all the edges -- the original paper is made to look distressed around the edges, so I had to keep the theme when I cut the paper. The pretty white filigree die cut was an RAK gift, and I added some black half pearls to draw a little more attention to it.

The butterfly is cut out of coordinating paper and topped with a vellum filigree butterfly. (The dies are from Simon Says; they come separately, and I frequently use one or the other, not always together.)

This card is for these challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday: Winged Things
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday:  Animal Antics
Sketch Saturday: #305
Creative Inspiration: Lots of Layers (I count the filigree and both butterfly dies as layers, resulting in a total of 6)
Word Art Wednesday #128: Anything Goes.