Strength & Hope - Sketch Challenge

Here's a Sketch Challenge that was bugging the living daylights out of me for over a week.  

Madeline over at INKspirations 4U had written "here is an easy one for you" on the challenge info and I have to tell you it still makes me laugh thinking about that.  It was NOT easy for me!  Don't even know how to explain why... I am proud of my much improved Stamp-a-majig skills, so getting something repeated three times in a row neatly wasn't a problem. The flower or addition on top shouldn't have been hard, but try as I might, 2+ cards ended up in the trash before I gave up & tried something else for awhile.  

Then, I pulled out my pre-ordered Strength & Hope stamp set from Stampin' Up! and  finally got my act together & came up with something...

Whew!  This card is a load off my mind and pretty to boot.  It makes me feel calm & pleased with myself to get this challenge behind me.  

Hope everyone's mojo is working today!   Have a great weekend!

Yoga Anyone?

Quick post tonight in honor of my wonderful fitness challenge team on Jillian Michaels site.  Team Taurus is one of the last 2 teams to "compete" in the SuperStars Challenge.  We're a proud group of women who met just by linking up with fitness and weight loss goals in mind.  I'm so happy to meet these wonderful people.  I hope they like this card as it's "yoga week" in a way... PLUS there are several Canadian members on the team so I thought they may also appreciate that I used a Canadian brand stamp (Yoga Bella  and the sentiment shown are Stamping Bella stamps)  

Colors are all SU! - Poppy Parade & So Saffron.

And the JOYS of paper piecing!!!  Love that quick & easy way to achieve a custom look without coloring in a stamp.  I stamped my Bella image in both the yellow & patterned paper shown then cut out the shirt & pants and glued them on.  It's an outfit cute enough I'd like to wear it!  

Have a great week everyone and GOOD LUCK to all my new found Sistas!

Happy Birthday Deuce!

Canine craft buddy, Deuce, is turning 2 today!  He's had fun outside (getting very muddy) and also fun inside with new toys & treats.  Here's a photo of him enjoying one if his new toys (that probably will only last for today!)...

Taking craft break to spend time with the dog for now... 

Check back next week for some more crafting fun. 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.  

Color Challenge with a Rock N Roll Birthday!

Here was an interesting Color Challenge over at Madeline Marcelo's 

INKspiration 4U online stamping classes.

I wasn't sure about this combo when I first saw it, but then that's what a challenge is all about.  

I decided it makes a great combo for a masculine card, so here's what I came up with...

I used the "Rock n Roll" stamp technique on the Happy B-Day stamp from Stampin Up!'s Engraved Greetings.  That technique is simple- cover the stamp with the lighter color, in this case More Mustard, then "roll" the edges of the stamp around in the darker color, in this case Bravo Burgundy. This achieves the look with the darkened edges on your image.  Simple, eh?  Could make a great Stamp-a-Stack idea!

My image was stamped on the super smooth Very Vanilla cardstock. The base of the card is Sahara Sand (and one layer behind the sentiment is also Sahara which was lightly sponged), layered with Bravo Burgundy cardstock, and of course, the striped Bravo & Mustard DSP.  Note, two rectangular pieces cut on the diagonal for this look-it is easy to instantly have the paper to make 2 cards this way!

I've also got to take this opportunity to wish HAPPY BIRTHDAY to 2 very important guys in my life- my nephew, David, who's birthday is Thursday, and to my wonderful dog, Deuce!  His birthday is Saturday!  He'll be 2 years old this year! 

Hello boys!  I know at least one of you can read this!  :)

I'm No Spring Chicken...

....but my new fitness friends can help me feel like one again!  

So this is just a quick post to thank them for making this fitness journey with me a fun one!

I'm enjoying fitness challenges with some wonderful new friends on Jillian Michaels' site.  Nothing like getting back into shape to make you feel your age, even though the benefits should be look & feel younger.  

Ah, the irony...

 Anyway, when I saw this Penny Black stamp I just HAD to get it!  I hope my friends enjoy it.  

Technique Card of the Month

This was my "technique" inspired card for my last demo swap.  Emboss resist technique used to make the background.  Stamp sets used are Vintage Vogue and Have a Seat.  This may look familiar, as I made a couple "Vintage Chair" cards & posted those last month.  However, I got this "Shoji screen" style layout idea in my head after I made those & had to do this card all over again.  I really like how it turned out.  I hope everyone is doing well, and taking time to enjoy the weekend.  Our hearts and minds are with those in Japan and those with loved ones there... This is a difficult weekend for many.  Take care.

INKspiration often comes late at night...

I'm playing along over at Inkspirations 4U and this was an inspiration photo for us.  Well, it's one of those things you see & feel that you MUST do something before you call it a night, so I came up with this card...

Amazing how much time it takes to stamp randomly some times... the composition isn't exactly what I wanted, but close... and it's getting late.  I used SU! Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set and sentiment from All Holidays. Colors are black, white & daffodil delight.

  If you have a chance you too may want to stop over & see the fun stuff over at Madeline's site!  Have a good evening and a good weekend everyone!

An Irish Monkey for St Patricks Day

Gotta get another post in this weekend... Today my husband & I took some time to start our list of spring cleaning chores and household updates that we think need to be done before summer.  Looks to be a LONG list... EEK!  So that inevitably means posting may be harder to squeeze in.  SO, just so I don't miss the chance, here are a couple quick & easy St Patrick's Day cards I made at the charity craft event this weekend:

I love this little Irish monkey!  (no, I'm not Irish, the monkey is!)

Monkey is from Fox & Friends stamp set.  I typed & printed the sentiment from my computer, and also printed and cut the little hat from some clip art.  

I just think he makes such a cute little guy dressed up like this!

And for a really easy card...

GREEN BEER is perfect for this holiday, isn't it?

Beer mug is from Cheers to You stamp set and the greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Well, it was fun to get these cards made in plenty of time to mail for St. Pats.  I am also looking forward to being even more inspired by my demo pal, Madeline Marcelo's INKspirations 4U!  She always has wonderful projects- check it out!

Gearing up for a hectic week ahead... I may need to drink a few mugs of that green beer!

Have a great week! 

True Friends... PPA83 Celebrity Color Challenge

This week's challenge over at Pals Paper Arts is a color challenge for the listed combo.  This was a very enjoyable color combination to work with- thank you, Pals!  I loved every minute of making this card.  It really meant a lot to me to work on it with some fellow crafters at a charity crop/craft-a-thon for the American Cancer Society.   AND this was one of those cards where I felt tremendously inspired & just happened to have all the coolest, coordinating embellishments ready to use!

I used a Crumb Cake card base, then layers of Soft Suede & Baja Breeze.  I sponged edges of the Baja Breeze cardstock & patterned paper (clearance rack dsp from last year!).  I used an All Night Media Splatter Pattern stamp with Baja Breeze ink on white cardstock for the sentiment background, then sponged that a bit with some Crumb Cake ink to tone down the white color. The True Friends sentiment is a Stampabilities stamp which I stamped with Soft Suede ink.  I cut & layered using Nestabilities dies, sponging edges and embossing the Crumb Cake layers with SU! Lattice embossing folder.  I added some Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon, too.  Having all the coordinating extras for this card just gave me the best thrill!

Here's a close up of the Baja Breeze corduroy button 

(buttons were another great SU! Clearance Rack find!):

Five petal flower punch used for the layered flower.  I embossed the Crumb Cake flower with the same Lattice embossing folder I used on the Nestabilities layer behind the sentiment.  Attached some hemp twine thru the button holes, and adhered the button on Soft Suede circle.  I layered the items & attached with glue dots then tucked in a couple more Soft Suede leaves punched from the Three Step Bird punch.

If you've not been in touch with one of your True Friends lately, take the time to give them a call or send them a note!  I hope you find time to enjoy your friends this weekend!

The Technique Card that Didn't Work...

This post is for my fellow demos in Operation Inky Paws.  I just had to share a photo of the "technique card" that I chose NOT to do for last swap (Claudia asked us to choose a technique for March, remember?)...

Black Magic technique is simple (or so it sounded when I first read about it on Splitcoast Stampers).  You stamp an image in white craft ink on black (or dark) cardstock, let dry or heat set, then color in with pencils, and later highlight spots with a white gel pen.  Below is example I made using Ornate Blossom stamp...

I really wanted to try this as it is unusual and a more dramatic effect on a card than I'm used to, but as soon as I showed my husband my creation, his first words were "Looks like one of those cheap black velvet paintings."  He was not giving it a compliment... Well, that settled it, I chose something else.  (I'll post it next weekend after Claudia's meeting).  It's great to try a new technique, even those that don't turn out as you may hope. Claudia, thanks for continuing to share your stamping wisdom and helping us keep our creativity muscles in shape!  Time for something new... 

It's Friday- Have some Fun!

Just squeezing in a quick dog report post as my puppy is on my mind & Friday calls for something joyful.  My puppy will turn 2 years old this month!  I took a quick little video of him playing with one of his Christmas toys.  Thanks, Patty for sending this to him!  I thought you may like to see what happened with it.  I shot a video of how we used the toy for some reinforced training.  He can wait so politely when asked!  I'm proud of him for that..  I meant to share this back in January, but only now got around to it...

The "Craft-a-torium" is also the fun place he likes to take his toys (that's where he likes to play while I craft- he loves the carpet... it does show less hair I'll admit!). 

Then I feel I must post a follow-up photo of the toy after we let him play with it a bit more.  A toy lasts a lot longer when you use it to fetch/play/train, but it's hard not to deny a dog to do what he truly loves - destroy the toy! 

Yes, he is spoiled rotten, but he loves his toys!  Enjoy your weekend everyone!