Apple Of My Eye

Today's card was created for the latest Retro Sketches challenge. I have been making quite a few cards lately for the Send A Smile 4 Kids charity. If you're not familiar with them you can check it out here. I started with a white card base and then layered some basic black cardstock from Stampin' UP and some fun patterned paper from Crate Paper's Pretty Party 6x6 paper pad. I cut down a small panel of crumb cake cardstock from Stampin' UP and used a punch from EK Success to create the notebook edge on top. I added a bit of black jute at the top from American Crafts and tied it off into a little bow. I stamped the sentiment from Lawn Fawn's My Silly Valentine at the bottom in black ink and then stamped the apple from Paper Smooches Falling For You onto some white cardstock. I Copic colored the image, fussy cut it out, edged it with a black dual tip marker to make it look like a die cut and then popped it up off of the panel using some Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I added some black dashed lines around the card for some interest and contrast and then popped the focal panel up off of the card using 3M foam tape. I hope you like it!

I'd Like To Espresso My Thanks

My card today was created for the Summer Coffee Lovers Bloghop using a digital freebie from Verve Stamps. I started with a panel of cherry cobbler cardstock from Stampin' UP and cut some strips of patterned paper from the Authentique Pride 6x6 paper pad. I cut the strips into a starburst pattern and layered them onto my cardstock starting from a center point. I adhered the panel down to my white card base and added some faux stitched lines all around. I die cut the sentiment from the digital freebie out using a pierced oval die from My Favorite Things and added some faux lines around the edge for a cohesive look. I colored the coffee cups using Copic markers in colors to match the papers, fussy cut them out, and edged them with a Memento dual tip marker for a nice, clean die cut look and popped them and the sentiment panel up using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I plan on giving this card to a good friend of mine who always buys her cards from me. This will be my little "thank you" to her. I hope you like it!

Relax And Enjoy

I have had a lot going on personally lately and was planning on bowing out of the Summer Coffee Lovers Bloghop but after seeing Julee's digital freebie on the Verve web site I really couldn't pass up the chance to play with it and create something fun. I will plan on giving this card to my swap buddy on this month's Coffee Lover's card swap. I started by printing the digi page out onto some Copic friendly white cardstock and die cut one of the sentiments out using an MFT pierced circle die. I added some black dashed lines around the outer edge of the circle for some additional impact and interest. I colored one of the cups using Copic markers, fussy cut it out, and edged the outer edges with a dual tip Memento marker. I adhered a panel of cherry cobbler cardstock by Stampin' UP to my white card base and then layered on some patterned paper from Authentique's Pride 6x6 paper pad for a nice patriotic color scheme. I added some more dashed lines around the edge of the patterned paper to match the die cut piece and adhered my die cut piece directly onto the card base. I popped the cup up off of the card using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals and added a tiny clear rhinestone in the center of the star on the cup as a finishing touch. I hope you like it!

Sup?

Today's card was created for both the AAA Card and the Send A Smile 4 Kids challenges. I wanted to keep this card kind of simple since it would be donated to the Send A Smile 4 Kids card drive and I like doing general sentiments so that the organizers of the drive don't have to worry about saving it for a particular time of the year. I started with a white card base and layered on some early espresso cardstock from Stampin' UP and cut a smaller panel of patterned paper from the American Crafts Welcome Spring 6x6 paper pad and layered it on top. Using my Stampin' UP Build An Owl punch I punched the base for the owl using the early espresso cardstock and the same paper pad for the stomach. I punched the base for the eyes using crumb cake cardstock from Stampin' UP and then mounted googly eyes on top. I then die cut a stitched rectangle from plain white cardstock from Staples using a Gina Marie Designs die. I wanted to create a clothes line effect so I used the string stamp from the Lawn Fawn Lunar Lights stamp set and the tiny heart from Lawn Fawn's Bee Mine mini stamp set to create  that effect. I stamped the sentiment at the top left using Gina K's charcoal brown ink and a sentiment from the Paper Smooches Slang Gang stamp set. I popped the stitched rectangle panel up off of the card using 3M foam tape and then popped the owl up using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. Love how simple and adorable this card is. I hope you like it too!

You're Frytastic

I sat down this afternoon with the intention of creating a coffee themed card for the Summer Coffee Lover's Bloghop but I just wasn't feeling it. I've had a lot on my mind lately and needed to make something light-hearted and fun. What's more fun than a kid's card, right? So, I decided to create another card for the Send A Smile 4 Kids card drive. I started with the adorable french fry character from Your Next Stamp's Happy Meal stamp set and added on the smiley face from the same set. I created a mask by stamping the same image onto a post-it note and fussy cut it out and adhered it to the body of the image. I then stamped the arms and legs from the Your Next Stamp's Create A Character mini stamp set. I then Copic colored the image, fussy cut it out, and edged it with a black Memento marker to give it a nice die cut look. For my card I layered on some pretty turquoise paper from Hobby Lobby onto my white card base. I then layered on the polka dot patterned paper from Ki's Color Crush 6x6 paper pad. I cut a smaller panel and edged it with the same turquoise paper and adhered it to the panel. I stamped the sentiment from the stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink for a nice crisp look and then stamped the hearts from the stamp set using Gina K's red hot ink. I popped the french fry character up off of the card using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals, added some Glossy Accents to the eyes and hearts and some black faux stitching along the smaller panel edges and all around the polka dots on the card panel. I think this card is just too stinking cute and I hope it will bring a smile to some child's face when they receive it in the hospital! Thanks for stopping by and looking at my creation!

Just A Note

Today's card was created for the latest The Paper Players color challenge. I wanted to keep my card pretty clean and simple so I chose a small stamp with impact that would really stand out on my card. I stamped the musical butterfly from the Skipping Stones Design Heartsong I stamp set using Gina K ink in navy. I then colored the butterfly using Copic markers to make it look like an American flag. I stamped the sentiment below from the same stamp set and then die cut the panel out using a stitched rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs. I layered some red, white, and blue cardstocks onto my white card base and then popped my focal panel up off of the card using some 3M foam tape. A few clear Recollections rhinestones to the center of butterfly finished this fun card off!

Father

A friend of mine asked me to make her a card for her father who she recently reconnected with after many years of separation. I felt honored to make such a special card for her. I decided to keep it simple and let the inside sentiment stand out. I stamped the beautiful pocket watch from Forever In Time's Timepieces stamp set using Memento rich cocoa ink. I stamped the front panel sentiment using Verve Stamps World's Best stamp set. I matted the sentiment strip onto some rich cocoa cardstock from Hobby Lobby and then adhered it onto the main panel. Using a stitched rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs I die cut the panel out and then mounted it onto some more of the dark brown cardstock. I popped the center panel up using 3M foam tape for some added dimension. For the inside I formatted a personal message using a word document and printed it out onto some coordinating cardstock. I love how clean and simple this turned! I hope you like it too!

Send A Smile 4 Kids

I have another shipment of cards for Send A Smile 4 Kids going out this week. In case you're not familiar with this charitable organization they collect handmade cards from cardmakers all over the world and deliver and donate them to children hospitalized in children's hospitals. This cause is near and dear to me because of my granddaughter Journey. She was born with cCMV and spent her first two and a half weeks in the NICU at Cardinal Glennon in St. Louis. I stayed with my daughter and my granddaughter during the entire hospitalization and I cannot recall a more frightening and uncertain time in my life. I can recall many charitable organizations who were very present during our stay in the hospital who offered things like handcrocheted blankets or little personalized name plates to hang on a child's door. Their support and personal touches certainly helped alleviate some of that fear and I greatly appreciated all that they did to help us through a very frightening time. This will be my second donation to this organization and I wish I could be sending more but I will have to do another shipment later. I tried to keep my card selections generic so they could be used year round for nurses or family members to hand out and I try to make a selection of cards both male and female ranging in age. Anyway, if you are reading this and you are a cardmaker I implore you to check out their website here and consider a donation of some wonderful hand-crafted cards that could brighten a child's day!

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday

Today's card was created for a card order for a friend. I recently picked this pretty stamp set up during a recent sale at Unity Stamp Company but hadn't had a chance to ink it up until last night. Glad I did because it's a beauty! I started with some woodgrain paper from the Glitz Sunshine In My Soul 6x6 paper pad and layered that onto my card base. Then I cut down a panel of Canson coldpress watercolor paper and tore the edges. I stamped the floral image onto the paper using Versafine onyx black ink and then quickly covered it with Recollections clear sparkle embossing powder and heat set it. I tried to pick up the sparkle in the photo but couldn't really capture it...it's too subtle. Using Tim Holtz distress inks in squeezed lemonade, wild honey, and brushed sage I watercolored the image. I heat set it and mounted the entire panel up off of the card using some 3M foam tape. I stamped the sentiment from the Skipping Stones Heartsong I stamp set and cut it down into a small rectangle banner and mounted it directly onto the focal panel. I love how pretty this turned out!

Happy Birthday

Today's card was created for the latest Retro Sketches challenge. I love this layout and knew I had to create something using it. I started with a white card base and layered on a piece of apricot cardstock from Hobby Lobby and some white cardstock from Staples. I layered a pretty piece of patterned paper from the Crate Paper Notes & Things 6x6 paper pad. I took another piece of the apricot cardstock and cut it down into a narrow panel and punched the scalloped edge using a Fiskars punch. I adhered that down to the card panel and then layered on another piece of patterned paper from the same Crate Paper pack and edged it with more apricot paper. I cut that piece at an angle to mimic the sketch. I then stamped the birthday sentiment from the Skipping Stones Design Heartsong I stamp set using Gina K ink. I die cut the sentiment using a pretty stitched banner die from Lil' Inker designs and edged it using some more of the apricot cardstock. For my focal panel I stamped the beautiful rose trio from the Waltzingmouse Stamps Old Country Roses stamp set using Gina K inks. I die cut the roses using a pierced edge circle die from My Favorite Things and mounted it and the banner sentiment up off of the card using 3M foam tape for added dimension. I love how pretty and feminine this stamp set is and am pleased with how the card turned out using this great sketch. I hope you like it!

Dad

My second card today was created for The Paper Players theme challenge. My dad's favorite past-time and recreational hobby is sailing. We grew up around the water and he's always loved it and had an affinity for it. So, I thought I would make him a nautical themed card for Father's Day this year. I started with some navy cardstock from Hobby Lobby and then layered some Stampin' UP crumb cake cardstock over it that I had stamped with a woodgrain background stamp from Heidi Swapp using the same color ink from Stampin' UP. I then die cut two decorative panels using Spellbinders dies and some red and navy cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I stamped the word Dad onto the top panel using Versamark ink and the TPC Studio Classic Alphabet stamp set and heat embossed it using some Recollections Detail white embossing powder and my heat tool. I then stamped the boat from the Tim Holtz Here & There stamp set and colored the water in using my Copic markers. I die cut the stamped image using more Spellbinders circle dies and then created a frame using the same size and one size larger die. I pierced the paper in intervals and inserted white brads from a nice finishing touch and mounted the panel up using foam tape for some added dimension. Love how this turned out and am hoping my dad will too! 

Fan-Freakin-Tastic

Today's card was created for the latest The Paper Players theme challenge. I started with a pretty striped pattern paper from the Simple Stories Urban Traveler 6x6 paper pad and, using the center, die cut the letters DAD  for my in-laid die cut sentiment. I covered the die cut holes by layering a piece of white cardstock over that panel and stamped the fan from The Sweet Stamp Shop Spin Me stamp set. I colored the image using my Copic markers and then inlaid the die cut sentiment underneath. I added some faux black stitched lines around the outside of the white center panel just to add a bit more contrast. I hope you like it!

Need Caffeine

I have to admit that my mojo has escaped me here as of late and it's left me feeling a bit down. I got my list for June participants in the latest Coffee Lover's card exchange this weekend and it prompted me to crack out some stamps and get remedy that situation. I started with the mug from a set I recently picked up called Funny Coffee Volume #1 from Skipping Stones Design. I love this fun stamp set because the stamps are large enough to take center stage on any A2 card. I stamped the mug onto some cardstock by Stampin' UP and then created a mask using a post-it note. I cut the sleeve portion of the cup out using my X-acto knife and then stamped the pattern using the Floral & Script Background stamp by Julie Nutting and removed the mask. I then stamped the sentiment from the Latina Crafter's Need Caffeine mini stamp set and die cut the whole thing using a pierced circle die from MFT. I popped the circle panel up off of the card using some foam dimensionals from Stampin' UP.  I stamped the same floral background again onto some crumbcake cardstock and then cut it down into a panel and mounted it onto some early espresso cardstock, both from Stampin' UP. It's not one of my favorite cards I've ever created but at least it got me out of my creative funk!  

Blogs 4 Boobies Blog Hop: Bras Are Like Friends

Hello and welcome to day 3 of the Blogs 4 Boobies blog hop hosted by Skipping Stone Design. You should have arrived here from Ashley's blog.  If you are not familiar with this cause it is a blog hop and card auction to help raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. This hop runs for 7 days and has over 60 designers participating so be sure to hop along and check out all of the wonderful talent to support a great cause!

Up for bid today is my collection of 4 cards. They all have a common sentiment on the outside...Bras Are Like Friends...but there is a different sentiment on the inside:
1. They help you hold it together even when things are falling apart. 
2. You can always count on them when you  need a lift. 
3.The good ones never leave you hangin'. 
4. They lighten your load. 

To bid on this card collection you will need to leave a comment in the comment section below with your starting bid and your email address. Starting bid on this card set will be $5. Only comments left on this post will be eligible for this auction. If you don't leave an email address your bid will not count. Since all bids will be posted in chronological order you can check back each day to see if you are still the highest bidder. The bidding will end on June 9th at 8pm Mountain Time. The winning bidder will be contacted via email and will be invoiced at that time. Once the invoice has been paid the card set will be mailed out to you. 

Up next on the hop is Theresa. For a full line-up of all 7 days of the blog hop you can start here and check out all of the inspirational and creative projects along the way! Please spread the word to all of your friends and help get the word out on this great cause! And without further ado here is the card set up for bidding. I hope you like!