{ cas 109 }

Here is a card I created for Natasha's sketch. I combined it with the color chef challenge that I am hosting this week.

Loving the sentiment font and the funky frame it fits inside of. Can't wait to play some more with that set!

Card Recipe

stamps- pennant party- CTMH, woodgrain- PTI

ink- pear, black- CTMH

other- EK Success large scallop punch

{ color chef challenge #65 }

Color Chef Challenge #65

black    bright green   cream

 

Happy Monday!! They sure come around quick, don't they?

I played with some new ink and new stamps for my card today. 

I created the polka dot border and then stamped the coffee cup repeatedly in the middle. Finished it off with putting the coffee steam on the sentiment layer.

Card Recipe:

stamps- a sip and hit the spot- CTMH

ink- black, pear- CTMH

paper- black, cream, pear- CTMH

other- cuttlebug, nestabilities, foam dots

Hope you'll find some time to play along this week!

{ boo }

I created this card for the Fabulously Artsy Tresa Black. She's hosting a halloween blog hop- how fun is that!

Here is a card I created using an alphabet set that I had to dust off a bit first...as well as a brand new set of stamps I got called hit the spot- totally loving that set of stamps....I purposly didn't ink it completely so that I had sort of a shabby/primitive look going on. 

My card was super simple- inked the edges of the creatm stocks in black and popped the letters. As you can see below, I repeated the dot pattern on the inside of the card as well.

Card Recipe

stamps- hit the spot, homestead alphabet- CTMH

ink- orange, black- CTMH

other- EK Success circle punch, sponge for inking- CTMH

{ new stamps }

 I sat down to play with some new stamps that arrived today. See the lace type stamp in the upper right corner of this Triple Play stamp set?

I wondered if I stamped it 4 times if I could achieve the look of a doily??? Sure did!! Love fun discoveries like that with my stamps! It paired perfectly with the coffee cup stamp. I'm sure somebody else has already made this discovery, but I thought it was pretty fun to have it work out the first time!!

Card Recipe:

stamps- A Sip and Triple Play- CTMH

ink- bamboo, chocolate and smoothie- CTMH

{ glitter & pumpkins }

I love the contrast of kraft paper and something less rustic, for instance....glitter.

I HAD to havesugar coating from doodlebug designs but it's one of those things that I rarely use. I had something in my head and I was actually able to translate it onto paper.

I created three lines and glittered them one at a time- two in orange and one in black. Then I added the nestabilities label layers. First I stamped the pumpkin in black and then I added amounted, orange pumpkin although I totally hated to cover up the crisp image of the pumpkin below...

That's all she wrote!

Card Recipe:

stamps- holiday hoopla- CTMH

ink- black and orange- CTMH

paper- kraft- Hobby Lobby, black- CTMH

other- wonder tape, doodlebug designs, inc glitter, nestabilities, cuttlebug

{ H2H Sketch Card }

there is a really fun sketch going on over at H2H this week. Since I'm on a roll with my Color Challenge, I decided to use those two as the basis for this card:

I created the background with the boutique borders stamp and then inked the edges in the same color ink (Juniper). The rest is pretty self explanatory. 

For the inside, I create just a bottom border on the cream stock.

Card Recipe:
stamps- boutique borders, treasure life- CTMH
ink- juniper, autumn terracotta, petal
other- cuttlebug, nestabilities, pearl brads- Hobby Lobby

{ color chef challenge #64 }

Color Chef Challenge #64

autumn terracotta      juniper     petal

Happy Monday! I hope you'll join in on this weeks Color Chef Challenge! I have just completely been drewling over the new CTMH catalog and this is one great color combo- it's a rustic orange, a greenish-blue and light purple.  I incorporated the CAS108 sketch for my card. It's been a long time since I've made a round card and this was fun!

Card Recipe:

stamps- Posy, For Every Occasion- CTMH

ink- juniper, autumn terra cotta, petal- CTMH

paper- autumn terra cotta textured cardstock, cream and juniper- CTMH

I hope you'll find time to play along! 

P.S. I am leaving the color challenges open for a year because I've had people want to join late even though the weekly contest has expired....so if you want to be considered for the challenge, your card will need to be uploaded by Sunday night at 9pm for that week.  Any questions, just click on the Color Chef Challenge tab!

{ color chef challenge #63 winner }

Check out this adorable card that Jackie created for the Color Chef Challenge #63. Her card was drawn to win last weeks challenge!

You gals made some A-W-E-S-O-M-E cards! I was so excited to see them all! Thank you to everybody for playing along.

Jackie- here is your badge to display on your blog if you'd like!

{ techno sketch }

I've followed The Button Junkie for some time now and not only is she a fellow Minnesotan but she also is friends with my sister-in-laws mom as well as worked for the same company that I did a few years ago. When I first started following her, we didn't know all this but found it out along the way...How weird is that? SherryAnn is part of a new design team called Techno Stamper and I played along with a great sketch for this next card:

I trimmed the orange and purple card stock to 1 x 3 and then taped them onto the black layer then the white...I randomly stamped all over and found a random gingham brad that pulled in the black and white. These colors look like Halloween to me so I finished the sentiment layer with the happy halloween sentiment (don't you love that font combo?) and used the round shape of the stamped image for the placement of that layer. 

Card Recipe:

stamps- mehndi medallions- W9 Plus Design, holiday hoopla- CTMH

ink- black

paper- hydrangea, orange, black and white- CTMH

other- nestabilities circle, cuttlebug, fabric covered brad- Hobby Lobby

{ Crazy for Challenges }

I realized that i have not put ink to paper all week. I did pick up a few goodies this past week at Hobby Lobby and I have a HUGE order from CTMH coming this week. I just couldn't help myself. 

I've been saving a few sketches to play with so here's the first one from C4C.

For my card, I pulled out one of my new acquisitions that I found at Hobby Lobby- their stamping/scrapping section of the store has really grown in the last few weeks and am I ever happy to use that 40% off coupon on some new stamps!  

I stamped and trimmed the ruler stamp twice and created a border around a piece of black stock that I ran through the cuttlebug using my argyle folder (one of my faves). The clock was paper-pieced by first stamping in Tim Holtz distress ink and then again in Hollyhock and mounted to the top. That layer perfectly fit my paper punch, so that was easy!

I added ribbon and some adhesive pearls. I think I'll add the ruler border stamp to the bottom of the inside. I always find "improvements" while I'm posting the card to my blog. 

Card Recipe:
Stamps- Paper Girl- the girls' paperie by Margie
ink- hollyhock- CTMH, Tim Holtz distress ink
paper- kraft paper- Hobby Lobby, cream and black- CTMH
other- cuttlebug, argyle cuttlebug folder, nestabilities, adhesive pearls- Michaels

{ color chef challenge #63 }

Color Chef Challenge #63

Black    White    Purple    Orange

For my card, I stamped one of the smaller images onto paper and then stamped them out using my circle punch. I attached them all to the back of the layer with the sentiment, alternating the colors. 

For the lace-y border on the bottom I stamped the image upright and then turned my paper and nested it upside down and stamped a gain.

Since I used a black card, I repeated the white layer and border along the bottom.

I hope you'll find time to play along this week and I hope you enjoy the color combos.

Card Recipe:

stamps- Mehndi Medallions- W9 Plus Designs, For Every Occasion- CTMH

paper- black, white- CTMH

ink- orange, black and lilac mist- CTMH

other- circle punch- EK Success, cuttlebug, circle nestabilitie, foam mounting tape

{ color chef challenge # 62 winner }

Check out Romaine created- super cute!

Romaine has a super cute blog- go check her out!

Romaine- here is the code for your blog if you'd like to display this banner...

Here's to a great week!

{ best wishes }

Ashley created a beautiful sketch for Skipping Stones Design. Here is what I created. 

I had a little of the black ribbon left over and I intended to make a halloween card but I took it in an entirely different direction and decided to soften it up a bit by stamping the lacey background in grey wool and then adding a scalloped layer under the blue textured layer. I added the clear adhesive pearls and then a sentiment layer. For the inside of the card, I repeated the blue and cream layer. 

I love the skipping stone design stamps- especially the humorous ones!

Card Recipe:

paper- grey wool, crystal blue textured stock, cream and black- all CTMH

stamps- boutique borders- CTMH, darcey collection- Anna Griffen

ink- crystal blue, grey wool and black- CTMH

other- scallop punch, adhesive pearls- Hero Arts, Ribbon- May Arts

{ color chef challenge # 62 and a birthday recap }

Color Chef Challenge #62

brown     red     cream

Here is the card I created using some new goodies as well as goodies I've had but not stamped with yet. 

I pulled out this little library card stamp from fancy pants- this was one of those stamps I just had to have but then didn't know what to do with it. Do you have any of those kinds of stamps?

I stamped it in Tim Holtz disress ink on kraft paper and then stippled the edges to give it a bit more of a distressed look. I mounted it onto some cream stock that I created a border with using my EK Success border punch. Then, I incorporated my bakery twine that I picked up on my birthday trip to Northfield at a FAB store called Digs. I added a trimmed out bird that I found in the dollar bin at Michaels. Love this bird. Added a sentiment layer and then finished it off by adding a distressed-edged piece of kraft paper on the inside of the card.

I do hope you'll play along!

Now, here is a recap of what turned out to be a great birthday weekend. Friday was a vacation day for both me and the mister. We headed over to a nearby town called Northfield. Northfield has cute little shops, with the downtown area situated on a damned river. Home to Carleton and St. Olaf colleges, it's a super-quaint town. The weather was cool and breezy with crisp fall leaves blowing in front of shop doors. Near the center of the shopping area is an old-fashioned popcorn stand. 

We had a recommendation to visit Froggies for lunch. We enjoyed an appetizer and a couple of beers on the patio overlooking the river. 

On our way back to Mankato, we hit an apple orchard and picked up some divine fudge. Yum. 

Sunday we celebrated my birthday with my family at a Sushi place that opened here in town. Before we left to meet my family, Dusty surprised me with some mums and roses. Can't wait to plant those mums! 

It's a fun experience and if you are local to the area, I totally recommend it. We ordered Hibachi grilled food and requested a table next to the grill.  We ate fried spring rolls and avocado and salmon Maki Rolls for an appetizer and then we shared the seafood combination hibachi dinner which included shrimp, lobster and scallops. To Die!!! So good. And, it was fun to have it cooked in front of us! Here's a photo of the "volcano"

 Above is squid, chicken, lobster, scallops, shrimp and the vegetables. 

Hope you all had a nice, long weekend! It's rainy here today- a perfect fall day in my book! Chili is on the stove and I've got a book to read today... 

{ light & bright trigger }

I made this card for Cath's Tuesday Trigger...that turquoise couch would a lovely reading spot, wouldn't it?

The clean lines of the railing on the deck as well as the curve of the couch inspired my straight lines through the center of my card as well as the round focal image where the sentiment is stamped.

My card could not have been more simple to make. The stripes were made made by stamping the image in turquoise and then yellow (it's the same stamp turned with another stamp in the middle-red. HI was stamped in the center of a cuttlebug embossed circle, mounted on a larger yellow circle.

Card Recipe

stamps- boutique borders- CTMH, mid-century- Inkadinkado

ink- ocean, honey, cranberry- CTMH

other- cuttlebug, nestabilities, foam mounting tape- Hobby Hobby

{ clean and simple }

I loved Natasha's card for the challenge today and her colors totally inspired me. I love the vineyard berry on the kraft paper. For this card, I stamped the woodgrain on a scratch piece of kraft paper in versamark with the sentiment stamped over it, then I used my corner rounder on it. The flowers were also stamped on kraft paper, trimmed and mounted. That's all!

card recipe:

stamps- woodgrain- PTI, Endless Friendship- CTMH

ink- versamark, vineyard berry- CTMH

other- corner rounder- Creative Memories

{ practicing creativity x 3 }

I woke up to some great challenges this morning in my google reader. So I got right to it and made some cards today! I don't have any practicing creativity stamps, but it didn't stop me from enjoying Courtney's sketches. I couldn't pick just one sketch, so here's a card for all three!

For this card I randomly stamped the leave outlines in various colors and then finished it off with the same stamps as the focal point in the center of the circle.

Card Recipe

Stamps- season of change- CTMH

ink- garden green, goldrush, chocolate- CTMH

other- cuttlebug, nestabilities, foam mounting tape

For this card, I combined the woodgrain stamped in versamark on the kraft paper. Then the tree was stamped in distress ink and finished off with a couple of orange pearls, as well as in the corner of the card.

Card Recipe

stamps- woodgrain- PTI, Scroll Tree- Hero Arts

ink- versamark, tim holtz walnut distress ink

other- adhesive pearls- Michaels, cuttlebug, nestabilities

The last card I stamped is super simple. I randomly stamped the pear stamp in two rows, layered it on the garden green cardstock then distressed the edge using my Heidi Swapp edge distressor. THe Happy Birthday was stamped in chocolate and mounted on top of the sentiment. Then I trimmed a teeny, tiny strip of the garden green stock again.

Card Recipe

stamps- autumn splendor- Making Memories, happy birthday- CTMH

ink- garden green and chocolate- CTMH

other- Heidi Swapp edge distresser, foam mounting tape- Hobby Lobby

{ and then it was fall }

I ran to Hobby Lobby today and picked up the most delish little pack of paper- Linen Closet from DCWC.... and I picked up a little flourish tree by Hero Arts. Here is a card I made using both.

And, all of a sudden it's like fall here in MN. So happy about the weather. Football is on TV tonight although I'm really watching Real Houswives-DC. Can't decide how I feel about this cast. You?? Anyhow, I'm going to light my pumpkin-scented candle and poke around a bit here at home.

I have a 4-day weekend starting right now! Me and the mister are headed to a sweet little town,Northfield, tomorrow with cute shops, bakeries and eateries along the river to celebrate the start of my birthday weekend!

About the card- I trimmed some of the DP from Linen Closet and stamped the tree directly onto that paper using Tim Holtz distress ink. Finished it off with a few adhesive pearls. The hello sentiment is stamped on a layer of kraft paper that I ran through my cuttlebug using my label 1 nestabilitie.

Hope you have fun plans for the weekend!