Color Throwdown: Happy Birthday!

Hello Everyone!

Here today to share a card using colors from the Color Throwdown challenge. It was refreshing to use some bright spring themed colors after making so many winter cards.  

I used stamps from Verve, Hero Arts, and Simon Says Stamp to make this fun birthday card. I also used the sketch from the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog for inspiration.

Keeping the post simple today. Have a great day and thanks for visiting with me. I'll see you again soon!

Challenges:

1. Color Throwdown: 
2. Inspiration Destination: Anything Goes
3. Simon Says Stamp: Things that Fly
4. Cards and More: Chevrons
5. Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch

You're fantastic...and Bloglovin talk.

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all having a wonderful week so far. Mine has been good. I wanted to share another card I made using Simon Says Stamp September Card kit.  Ok, so confession time...once I got this card together and photographed, I realized that I didn't love it as much as I was hoping I would. Does that ever happen to you? I've set this one aside to ponder and maybe tweak and redo a bit at a later date. I'll be sure to share the updated version as well. However, for today it will have to do. I did have a lot of fun building the bookshelf scene with this set. This is a very fun and versatile stamp set to work with. I don't think you could ever run out of ideas for it!
Before I do the challenge list for today's card, I want to take care of a couple of blog "housekeeping" things. Honestly, if you're still reading by this point...thank you! I know many just look at the pictures and move on, which is fine. I've been know to be guilty of that as well. It's an awful habit, that I'm making efforts to squash! First, I'm looking for people to follow me on Bloglovin. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's a website that allows you to put all the blogs you follow in one place, you don't have to search through hundreds of open tabs on your computer to find the ones you want to read. I love it! It has really changed the way I read blogs and I find I'm reading more and finding more to follow as well. Right now, however I am at 6 followers! I'm grateful for those 6; but would very much like to have a few more. So, if you would please click on the "Bloglovin" tab at the top and follow me! I will absolutely follow you back.
In addition, I'm also thinking of doing a blog candy give away soon if I reach a certain number of followers. Stay tuned for more information on that.
I'm sure at this point, you're more than ready to move on with your journey through blog land or maybe you have laundry to do or a screaming baby to tend to...so I'll save the other housekeeping item for another time!

Some challenges for this card (Tuesday and Wednesday challenges from Paper Playful)

1.  PDE Linky Party: Dies/Punches
2. Through the Craft Room Door: Anything Goes
3. Top Tip Tuesday: Anything Goes.
4. Tuesday Throwdown: Anything Goes
5. Tuesday Morning Sketch: Sketch
6. Crafter's Cafe: Punches/Dies
7. Inky Impressions: Anything Goes
8. Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes

Have a wonderful day everyone! Thanks for visiting me today and I'll see you again soon!

CASE Study 4th Anniversary

Hi Everyone!

Inspiration Piece from Julee 

I was very excited when I stumbled upon the CASE study 4th Anniversary blog hop and challenge. I was so inspired by all the lovely creations I saw while completing the blog hop and commenting. I decided to play along and CASE this card from Julee Tillman over at Poetic Artistry. I was inspired by a number of elements in Julee's card. First, the colors and soft grungy-ness look of the card. Second, I liked the skewed panel in the front as well.

In order to replicate the background, I got out my distress inks and blending tools and got all inky and experimented and threw stuff away and experimented again and finally ended up with a couple of backgrounds I liked. I used the following distress inks for the backgrounds: Antique Linen, Worn Lipstick, Victorian Velvet; and Pumice Stone for the bottom layer. For the top layer, I used Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, Scattered Straw and Pumice Stone. I used Verve's "Build a Poppy" set and mixed and matched some more distress inks and used the dies in the set  to cut them out. I layered the panels on to a piece of Fine Linen (PTI) card stock cut to
4 1/4 x 5 1/2 which I scored and folded from the top. I then added some liquid pearls for embellishments, and sequins to the center of the flowers. Finally, I added a bit of sparkle to the flowers with my wink of Stella pen.
I also decided to enter this card into the Diva Dare Challenge over at Verve where they are showcasing cards that celebrate! 

Challenges for this card today from Paper Playful:

1.Crafty Girls Challenge: Anything Goes

2.Quoth the Raven: Anything Goes (non cute)

3.Scrapbooker PhD: Die cuts and Sparkle (the poppies and leaves are all die cut)

4.Kraftin Kimmie: Anything Goes

5. Inky Impressions: Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and visiting me today. Have a great evening and I'll see you again soon! 

Brilliant and Amazing

Hi Everyone! I'm back with a crafty post as promised. If you missed my "I've returned to blogging" post from yesterday, you can scroll down and take a look and get a yummy recipe as well!

So for today's card, I decided to visit the lovely ladies over at Paper Playful and get some challenge ideas so I could share my card and hopefully a few people will see it...like you! If you're reading this and visiting my little blog here, thank you!

I've linked and listed the challenges I'm participating in below my card. I don't think there's a whole lot to say about the card. My color inspiration came from this swatch I had pinned on my Pinterest color inspiration board a while ago. I scrounged around, found some scraps and put the card together! I realized after I got it all put together and photographed, that the aqua greens and blues look a little different; but oh well! 

Have a fabulous evening and I'll see you again soon!

Challenges:

1. Creative Card Crew: Embossing (Wet or Dry)

2. Through the Craft Room Door: Anything Goes

3. Crafting from the Heart: Anything Goes

4. Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch

5. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Anything Goes

Mojo Monday: Coffee and Friends

Hi Everyone!

I am so thankful that I brought my Nook and keyboard to my son's doctor appointment today since they are running 2 hours behind!! I mean, seriously...how ridiculous is that?!

Well, at least I can be productive and blog a little. This is my card for yesterday's Mojo Monday sketch. This sketch was super fun to play with because it was easy and worked well with pattern papers. I could definitely see myself using it again. Oh and hopefully you can tell that the picture quality has improved a bit too. I finally found a place with some decent lighting and a good "on the go" photo editing app. I think the results turned out rather well, if I do say so myself!
I added lots of distressing and inking to the edges of the panels in hopes to make it warmer and inviting which is the feel I was going for especially considering that I will be giving this card to a friend along with some coffee and some chocolates.
I also found some fun challenges for this card:

1. Anything Goes Challenge: Anything goes (optional Coffee Break theme)
2. Loves Rubber Stamps Challenge: Anything Goes
3 Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes
4. Top Tip Tuesday: Embossing
5. Crafty Cardmakers : 1 image, 2 patterned papers, 3 embellishments
6. Mojo Monday: Sketch
7. The Pink Elephant Challenge: texture

That is all for me today! Thank you so much for visiting with me! Until next time....

Supplies:
Paper: Dark Chocolate, Terracotta Tile, Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink) 
             My Mind's Eye Stella Rose
Inks:  Rusty Hinge, Tumbled Glass and Vintage Photo Distress Inks
Stamps: "Delightful and Delicious" Verve Stamps
Accessories: Geometric Rings embossing folder, brads, button