Christmas Hearts Card

Hey there crafty folks, today's card is another Christmas card, I've never made anything Christmas-y before Thanksgiving and I'm kind of digging it.  The sketch I was working with today just screamed "ornaments" to me, so that's where I went with it (sort of!).  I love the color Cherry Cobbler from SU and their matching twine is awesome.  It ties really nice, and I've been having issues with other brands lately where they get all twisty, come unraveled or won't lay down and play nice when tied in a bow.  Not OK!  Here it is:

I used SU Crumb Cake cardstock to make the mantel and punched it with my Fiskars postage stamp edge punch. Thank you baker's twine for playing nice today! (I'm not the only one who talks to their supplies, right?) I added glossy accents to the little hearts and faux stitching to "hang" them with a white gel pen.  I embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder so it would stand out against the red.

This card is for two challenges, I was working another fun sketch from the Retro Sketches Challenge.

Over at the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge the theme this week is "Put your heart into it."  Hearts hearts everywhere! I'm all for it.

Thanks for stopping to look!

Life is Good card for CAS-ual Fridays & CAS(E) this Sketch!

Every day is a good day when you can make a card.  Or be with the important people in your life.  Today is one of those days on both counts, and here is the card:

The theme this week over at CAS-ual Fridays  is "For the Girls" in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.  All week I've been waiting to be inspired to make something honoring all the wonderful women in my life.  I have amazing family and friends, some of whom are breast cancer survivors, so the topic is near to my heart.  

When I saw the sketch today for the very first CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge an idea finally came out of the crafty recesses of my brain.  Here's the sketch:

Finally and most importantly, to all the amazing, smart, kind and talented women in my life...Life is Good with You Around!  

Thanks for looking!

A Reindeer Card for Nathan (and Mojo Monday 262)

Hello!  I made this little reindeer card for the Mojo Monday sketch challenge.  It's my first Christmas card of the year, it's strange to have my crafting brain switching back and forth between Halloween, Fall & Christmas themes but I'm having fun with all of them.

I got this reindeer stamp in a dollar bin last year and hadn't put it to use yet.  I stamped it onto white cardstock and colored it with colored pencils, then cut it out by hand.  He turned out pretty cute, I think.

Of course he needed a red glitter nose and I added some glossy accents to his scarf, antlers and spots for a little extra shine.  I stuck with subtle patterned papers so he would stand out and I love the SU colors Real Red and Pool Party together for a switch from traditional red and green.  Here's the Mojo sketch we have to work with this week:

 I was inspired to make a Christmas card after seeing this post by Catherine Pooler where she invites anyone to join her in sending Christmas cards to a little boy who is fighting cancer and coping with this hardship by celebrating Christmas with his family a few months early.  His name is Nathan and you can check out the news story about him  HERE.  You'll also find the mailing address there if you'd like to send a card their way.  It's a sweet idea and I think I'll join in and send this card to them.  Thanks for looking!

Grateful Card

Hooray! I found some more great challenge sites, and I'm dying to play.  Here's a card I made for a friend who just gave us some of her old bookshelves, so of course I needed a thank you card.  (She's also a Stampin' Up demonstrator so it has to be a good one!)

I found my inspiration from 2 different challenges, I used the color palette from The Cameo Spotlight challenge.   It's to use deep red, deep orange & harvest gold.  I love the fall feel to them. 

and I used the following sketch from The Fab Friday Challenge Blog:

Put 'em together and here's what I came up with: 

I used the SU colors Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie and More Mustard and cut the trees with my Silhouette Cameo.  The more I use that thing, the more I love it!  I love that you can have so many images available right at your fingertips when the urge to create something hits you.  Thanks for looking!  I'm super grateful :)

Trick or Treat Card for Retro Sketches #32

I need to begin this post with a note to self: "SELF, when posting cards for challenges, please remember to add your card to the challenge entry link...it's pretty much mandatory". Yes, I made a rookie mistake in my previous post and never linked my card to the last Retro Sketches Challenge.  Such a bummer!  Oh well, I must move forward and I made a card for this week's challenge.  Another great sketch this week, here it is:

Here's my take on the sketch:

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I've been itching to make a Halloween card, and the button in this sketch made me want to use these cute little sparkly ghost buttons I have.

The cat stamp was pretty simple so I added some Perfect Pearls to the collar and Glossy Accents to the eyes to give a little extra something.

OK Self, Time to actually enter this one! Thanks for looking. :)

Hey You! Happy Birthday! Card

The amazing crafty ladies online have led me to yet another awesome challenge site! This one is Retro Sketches. Love the stuff there! I'm finding that there is an endless amount of sources for inspiration (or fuel for a papercrafting addict's fire), and I'm loving it.

The sketch for this week's challenge is great and I decided to give it a shot. Here's the sketch:

And here's my take on it:

I wrestled with the sentiment for a while...the "Hey You" had a very strong Ransom Note-y vibe, but I was going for something fun and maybe a little different because these papers feel so bright and exciting to me, (and none of my stamps were feeling right). I was really feeling like it needed an exclamation point, but the alpha stickers I was using didn't have one.  Finally it dawned on me that with a little trimming I could flip the "i" upside down and use that... far less threatening, lol!

 I made the bow out of the striped paper and a little brad.  Cuter than any ribbon in my stash!

Finally, to make my intentions clear (no ransom notes or accusations here, no sir!) I decided to put a Happy Birthday inside the card with this cute little owl.  

Thanks for looking!

A Header in the Making and a Thank You

I want to say a huge thank you to the ladies over at Hand Stamped Sentiments who chose my Snips & Snails  layout as an Artist Pick in their Inspiration Challenge last week.  Everyone's comments were super nice, they made me feel amazing! Thanks so much! Congrats to the other picks, they were wonderful!

In a previous post, I entered a card into a challenge that was supposed to be inspired by your own blog header, and since I haven't been at this blogging thing very long I didn't have much to work with.  This got my wheels turning and I put together something that will be my new header (soon!).  I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, now I just need to figure out what to do next...hmm...

It's so cute, I think I'll have to add some critters to it and frame it for my daughter's bedroom.  

I have to say I'm absolutely loving the Silhouette Cameo.  It's so cool to have an idea and be able to purchase an image INSTANTLY and go with it!  No more searching through all your cartridge handbooks to see what's there.  Although I still can't bring myself to part with my cricut just yet...we've been through a lot together! ;)

Thanks for stopping by!