My Distraction Card

Today I took my 15 year old cat, Smoat, to the vet.  He's pretty sick, but they can't tell precisely what is wrong with him.  He's very despondent and won't eat or drink (except tonight he had a few licks of yogurt) anything.  He's also not using the litter box very much.  There are so many details which I will leave unsaid, because it makes me cry to relive all of it. 

While he stayed at the vet hospital for several hours today, getting fluids, x-rays, blood panel, etc., I came home and felt hopeless and useless.  I cried and cried and could not focus very well on anything, and felt very agitated.

I poked around on challenge blogs and found a couple that I decided to "go for."  I made my card, even though I did not feel like making a card.  I forced myself into doing it, to get my mind off things, if only for a little while.

• Play Date Cafe 50 - color inspiration using this color palette:

If you don't mind saying a prayer for a little furry one, please say one for Smoat.   I would so deeply appreciate it.

Gratefully yours,
Colleen

Stamps:  MFP Seasonal Poinsettias (sentiment), Patterned Pines (SU)

Paper:  old green greeting card, Whisper White, Melon Mambo

Ink:  Basic Black, Melon Mambo

Punches:  Martha Stewart doily lace border punch

Other:  dimensionals, Crystal Effects (painted on trees), button, old ribbons

Pumpkin on a Vine

This one is similar to an earlier post today, 'Leaf on the Wind'.  I used the same Baroque Motifs swirl (loooove that swirl), but this time I imagine it to be a vine.

The pumpkin is from Autumn Apparitions, and the sentiment, too.  I think if I had to do it over, I'd stamp the sentiment in a brown color instead of black, but, alas, it is already done.

The sentiment is 'banner style', with notches cut out of each end.  I propped it up with dimensionals (my favorite workhorse) with a bend in the middle, so the banner pops off the page.  Might not work so good in an envelope, but oh well.  Guess I'll hand-deliver this.

My sketch inspiration was from Waltzingmouse:

A close-up of the pumpkin, which was colored with markers first, huffed on, then stamped.

Gotta get ready for work now.  Thanks for joining me, I really appreciate your visit and your comments!  

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  Autumn Apparitions, Baroque Motifs
Paper:  Whisper White
Ink:  Basic Black, Old Olive
Other:  dimensionals, Stampamajig, SU markers, orange rhinestones

Leaf on the Wind

How about a quick (in my book) Halloween card without much effort?

I stamped the *beautiful* swirl from Baroque Motifs off to one side, to represent the wind.  The Halloween sentiment is from Inkadinkado's All Hallow's Eve.  I used a Chocolate Chip marker by Stampin' Up! to ink only a portion of the sentiment, because it was too long to fit in the space. 

Helpful Hint for a clear stamp:  I had never used this stamp before, and it did not want to take ink very well.  I used a nail file (the kind that is a block) to rough it up a bit, and then it worked better.  Of course, you have to clean the grit off first, but you know that!

The leaf was fun to do.  It is from Autumn Fest, and I used Stampin' Up! markers once again.  I began with Pumpkin Pie, then outlined the edges with Tangerine Tango.  As a final step, I used Cajun Craze along the edges for a silhouette and in the vein areas, too.  I huffed on the stamp to moisten the colors again, then put it to paper.  I cut it out and used dimensionals to lay it on the "wind".

That's it!  Aside from the fussy cutting, it's very quick.


I'm entering this over at Waltzingmouse, with this sketch for our inspiration:

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  Autumn Fest (SU), Baroque Motifs (SU), All Hallow's Eve
Paper:  Whisper White
Ink:  Old Olive
Other:  SU markers, dimensionals, orange rhinestones

I Know Why The CASE'd Bird Sings

I just couldn't resist that title. 

This is a card I am CASEing from my friend, coffeestamper/aka Sue, on Splitcoaststampers.  It pretty much looks just like hers.  And when I thought of a post title, "CASE'd Bird" sounded like "Caged Bird" to me and this poem from Maya Angelou came to mind.  If you'd like to read it, visit here.

After I made this clean and simple card, I decided to add a couple more branches for the bird to rest upon.

My family preferred this version unanimously.

Then I wanted to get a bit fancier and brought out a punch and a die cut.

Which one do you prefer?

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

• Caardvarks - be inspired by one of the Crew's cards (I chose Christmas)
• City Crafter - holidays
• Stamp Something - celebrations
• Sweet Stampin' - Punch It Out

Six holiday cards down, many more to go!

Can I share a bit of happy news?  Yesterday I found out that I was the winner of some fabulous blog candy over at The Stampin' Schach.  If you go to Ann's blog through this link I gave, the photo of my prizes is a bit further down her post.  Recently, I discovered Ann's blog, and I really like her creations.  A neat coincidence:  when Random.org picked my number as the winner, it was #139.  That was the number of the house I grew up in!  It made me smile.

It's raining here today, and my 12 YO is home sick.  Gonna go hang out with her now. 
Thanks for joining me!

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  Heard From the Heart (SU)
Paper:  Always Artichoke, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink:  Chocolate Chip
Punches:  SU punched scallops border
Other:  Big Shot, scalloped rectangle die from Spellbinders, dimensionals, black pearl, Stampamajig

Christmas Bows

This card looks simple in design, but it took a while because of the bows.  I used glue to help construct them and had to rely upon clothespins to hold them for me so I could continue on with the rest of the card.

That worked fairly well, but you have to keep checking on the bows so they don't adhere to the clothespins.

It's hard to photograph a white card base on a white background, so I took pix on a darker one too, so you can see it better.

I used a sentiment from my new, recently-won Mark's Finest Papers set, Seasonal Poinsettias.  Have to say I really like that set a bunch.  There are many beautiful sentiments in different fonts, and I am a sucker for unique fonts (that might sound kinda weird).  And there are, as the name implies, some beautiful poinsettias as well.

I ran a glue pen around the edges of my label, then sprinkled on my favorite, no-name iridescent glitter.  The "o" in the word "holidays" was just begging for a ruby rhinestone.

I am entering the card in these challenges:

• Mark's Finest Papers #23 - use buttons and bows
• Stamp Simply #159 - 'Three's the number'
• Pals' Paper Arts #62 - use a button on your creation

I wish you all a belated Happy World Cardmaking Day!  I was busy the whole weekend and was not able to participate.  Hope you made lots of fun stuff!

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  Seasonal Poinsettia by MFP
Paper:  Riding Hood Red, Always Artichoke, Whisper White
Ink:  Always Artichoke
Other:  Big Shot, Cuttlebug Holly and Ribbons embossing folder, Lots of Tags Sizzlit die, dimensionals, ribbons, red rhinestone, Zig Two-Way Glue Pen, iridescent glitter, SU buttons, red thread & needle, Aleene's Tacky glue, clothespins and lots of patience!

The Lone Leaf

Busy days call for easy cards.  This one couldn't have gotten much easier.  The leaf, from the With Gratitude set by Stampin' Up!, was already stamped like this and cut out!  All I did was add dimensionals to the back.  This leaf was in one of those $1 Scrap Bags I get from my SU demo.  She's the best, I'm tellin' ya.

I used a palette of Really Rust (subbed for Cajun Craze), More Mustard, and Certainly Celery (subbed for Pear Pizzazz) so I could play in the Picture Perfect Creations challenge.

I hope to get in more stamp time soon (after all, it's World Card Making Day tomorrow!), but this weekend looks pretty busy with a school event, a soccer game, dinner with friends, church, and me working.

Thanks for visiting me, and I hope you have a great weekend!

Colleen

Stamps:  With Gratitude, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Really Rust, More Mustard, natural, Certainly Celery dp
Ink:  Chocolate Chip
Other:  Stampamajig, dimensionals, pre-cut and -stamped leaf

Box O' Cards Birthday Gift

Okay, this is it for the monogrammed birthday cards for my MIL.  I LOVE how it all turned out; I hope she does too!

This was the final set I created yesterday, using all scraps (except for the card bases).  It makes me super-happy to use up scraps; I feel clever and creative and thrifty all at once!

The card looked too bare with just a circle monogram and its Sahara Sand mat, so I used my Fancy Tags Spellbinders dies underneath that.  Love how that looks!

And this is  the entire monogrammed series I made this week:

This project was so much fun for me, and certainly a labor of love.  I couldn't ask for a better mother-in-law, and she deserves every extra effort.  She is a kind, classy, Christian lady who loves my children and my husband beyond belief.  And she's a gourmet cook, to boot!  It's always a pleasure to be in her company.

Thanks for joining me, and may you have a blessed day!

Colleen

Stamps:  JustRite Monogram set and Damask Borders
Paper:  Whisper White, Certainly Celery, retired SU dp, Sahara Sand, So Saffron
Ink:  Certainly Celery
Punches:  1 3/4" circle, Lattice Edge border by Martha Stewart
Other:  Big Shot, Fancy Tags by Spellbinders, dimensionals

Pastel Monograms

Are you tired of seeing my JustRite Monogram set yet?  ;)

I'm still creating cards to put into the box of goodies for my MIL's birthday this weekend.  Today, I made a set of 4:

Everything but the card bases were scraps.  I get these awesome $1 Scrap Bags from my local SU demo, and these designer paper strips were already in there, along with scraps of Orchid Opulence and So Saffron cardstock.  All I had to do was cut everything to size. 

I used my new Spellbinders Labels Ten nesties, a circle nestie, and a 1 3/4" round punch to create my horizontal element, as per this sketch here at the Waltzingmouse Challenge: 

Also got a chance to play with my new Cuttlebug "Organic Flourishes" embossing folders.  They come in a pack of 5 and they are skinny, so you can put one along the edge of a card.  Fun!

I think I need a few more cards for this gift I am putting together...so hope to see you soon!

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  JustRite Monogram set
Paper:  Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla, Orchid Opulence, So Saffron, retired SU designer paper
Ink:  Old Olive
Punches:  1 3/4" circle
Other:  Big Shot, Cuttlebug Organic Flourishes embossing folder, Spellbinders Labels Ten and circle nesties, olive pearls, dimensionals

"N" is for Wonderful Mother-in-Law

"N" actually stands for Nancy, my MIL whose birthday rapidly approaches. 
I made two of these for her to use, and they are going into a beautiful box I bought recently.  Here's the box (it looks like and opens like a book):

The photos of that box don't do it justice.  It is so very beautiful.  I plan to fill it with a few more cards, and a couple of other treats. 

The card has a vintage feel to it, which is exactly what Alphabet Challenge Blog wants from us this week in their "V is for Vintage" challenge.  And I'm also submitting this to the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #72.  This is the sketch:

Because the card base is made from Basic Gray paper, I lined the inside with a piece of white cardstock so handwriting is more easily read. 

Some details:  Morocco Lace punched border, fussy-cut flowers from Vintage Vogue (SU), my favorite pearls, a flower garland (also from Vintage Vogue) stamped in white craft ink to create a frame.

Thanks for joining me, and I always appreciate your comments - I truly do.  :)







Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  Vintage Vogue, JustRite Monogram/Damask border
Paper:  Basic Gray, Going Gray, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink:  Basic Black, Going Gray, Basic Gray, Craft Whisper White
Punches:  1 3/4" circle, Spellbinders circle nesties, Morocco Lace by EK Success
Other:  pearls, dimensionals, sharp scissors

Best Witches

Mondays make me happy.  It's usually my best crafting day, because the family is off at school and work.  On weekends I typically don't stamp because I'm working, or there's lots of family/house stuff going on.

This morning I was able to make 4 cards, 2 each of 2 designs.  Here's the first one:

Mark's Finest Papers is challenging us this week to use a pumpkin on our card.  I've got my pumpkin images from the Stampin' Up! set Thoroughly Thankful on designer paper, then cut each one out. 

And over at EtsyInspired, the inspiration site this week is Indigotwin.  I've chosen this photo here for my challenge: 

Cute witch, huh?  I used the green skin color on my own witch, and the purple shows up on the border surrounding the image, as well as the trim on her hat, and the ribbon.

I tried something new-to-me today.  These Spellbinders Labels Eight dies do not allow for a tight-fitting mat, so I visited Becca Feeken's blog, Amazing Paper Grace.  She does a video tutorial explaining how to get that tighter fit.  Look at the difference:

The photo on the left shows the tight-fitting mat, while the pic on the right shows two mats cut from the dies provided in the package of Nesties.  I prefer the snugly-fitting one better.  May I also suggest you use the sharpest craft blade you have....don't do as I did, and hack the thing up.  :)

I hope this helps put you in the "spirit" for Halloween.  It is only 34 days away!














Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  Thoroughly Thankful, Tricky Treats (both SU)
Paper:  Basic Gray, retired SU designer paper, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Apricot Appeal, So Saffron
Other:  Big Shot, Spellbinders Labels Eight, ribbon from Target $1 bin, dimensionals, craft knife, self-healing mat, Copic markers

Happy Birthday, Nancy!

My wonderful mother-in-law is celebrating a birthday soon, and this card is for her, as it incorporates some of her favorite colors.

I like how this turned out, as compared to my other post today.  :)

Over at Embellish Magazine, this is the inspiration photo:

This is where my card's colors came from, and they happen to be among Nancy's faves.  Happy coincidence.  Embellish also wants us to create background paper using stamps.  I pulled out Vintage Vogue by Stampin' Up! and used one of the flourishes on the gray scrap.  Can that count?  ;) 

Over at Flourishes, the Timeless Tuesday Challenge 85 is "Celebration".   My MIL's birthday is definitely cause for celebrating!  I can't wait for her to see this card.

Got to use a new rhinestone brad from my local craft store,
and of course, I had to add pearls.

As for the layout, I looked through an older SU catalog and found a sketch that appealed to me. 

Older SU catalogs are often bed-time reading for me and I get so many ideas from them!

Have a terrific weekend, everyone.

Colleen

Stamps:  Vintage Vogue, Warm Words

Paper:  So Saffron, Going Gray, Basic Gray, Whisper White

Ink:  Going Gray, Basic Gray, Basic Black

Punches:  double scallop by Martha Stewart

Other:  pearls, Stampamajig, dimensionals, yellow rhinestone brads 

Apple of My Eye

My 8 year old daughter encouraged me to put this on the blog, even though I'm not nuts about the tree.  She thought I "might win a prize," bless her heart. 

See this sketch here by Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge? 

I used it for my layout inspiration.  The tree is the oval and the apples are the embellishments.  But the way the tree came together is not how I pictured it in my mind.  I had these pre-cut large scalloped ovals, already embossed, from a dollar bag of goodies from my Stampin' Up! lady.  I cut them up and layered them, and that's where things got screwy.  The top most layer is NOT as I would like it to be, but I just couldn't make it work.  I'm hoping that the apples and their leaves draw the eye away from my mistake.

The Shabby Tea Room challenge, "School Days", is all about this photo's colors and something to do with school.  

I noticed the chalkboard looked like Not Quite Navy (an SU color), so I used a panel of that, and a lighter blue is there on the textbook page, so I used a panel of that, too.  The ruler and chalkboard frame are represented by the Creamy Caramel card base.  The apple, of course, is on my card too.   

I used a red marker to give the apples some depth and shadow,
and chocolate ink and a sponge on the tree trunk.

Thanks for letting me ramble on. :)

Colleen

Paper:  Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Close to Cocoa, Real Red, Garden Green, Handsome Hunter, light green handmade paper from California Paper Goods

Ink:  Chocolate Chip

Punches:  3/4" circle

Other:  Big Shot, Real Red Marker, Real Red grosgrain ribbon, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, Elegant Lines embossing folder, dimensionals

Winter Post Mojo

The Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #157 was the inspiration for my Christmas card layout today.

I went with a color palette that I have used before, on this card here:  kraft, chocolate, red, and vanilla. 

Using the Top Note Bigz Die from Stampin' Up!, I stamped Sahara Sand with the Weathered background, then went over it with a snowflake from Winter Post in Chocolate Chip, used full-strength and stamped-off as well.  The Post Card stamp is one of my faves from that set; it has a wonderful vintage look to it and can be used in so many ways (not just on holiday cards).

Another of my SU faves is the Medallion background stamp, applied in Whisper White craft ink on the bottom left corner of the card base.  I dried it quickly with my heat tool, because I'm too impatient to wait for that stuff to dry.

You can see the Weathered background better here.

I made 4 of these cards (one goes in my "Keep" box, the others will be given away) so this was all the stamping I managed today. 

I seem to be addicted to stick-on rhinestones and pearls.

We have Back-To-School Night for my third grader tonight, and my 12 YO has soccer practice.  Busy, busy - I guess it's a Hamburger Helper night.

Thanks for visiting me!











Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  Weathered, Winter Post, Medallion
Paper:  kraft, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Very Vanilla
Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Real Red, Whisper White craft
Punches:  Martha Stewart Modern Garland, 1 3/8" + scalloped circles (SU)
Other:  Big Shot, Top Note Bigz die, red rhinestones, dimensionals

Groovy Monograms and Honorable Mention

I made a quick set of monogrammed cards today for a friend whom I am visiting tomorrow.  If you've read my posts before, you know I hang on to my designer paper stash with a death grip and rarely pull them out to use.  Well, since this is for a friend, I dug out my Groovy Guava designer paper and cardstock, both of which are retired from Stampin' Up!.  I used a variety of patterns from that pack to mix and match, so the cards in the set won't all be identical. 

And my JustRite Monogram set saw ink for the first time ever!  You don't want to know how long that has just been sitting unused in its box.  :) 

I really like the way the JustRite system works, and that set of Damask Borders is so beautiful - can't wait to use it again.

This morning, my card - Fresh Living - won an Honorable Mention over at The Shabby Tea Room for this past week's challenge! You don't get a badge for the Honorable Mention, but I wanted to toot my own horn on that. Hope you don't mind!


Thanks so much for joining me today.  I really appreciate all of you who read my posts.  :)



Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  JustRite monograms, Damask Borders
Paper:  Groovy Guava, Groovy Guava designer paper, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa
Ink:  Close to Cocoa
Punches:  1 3/4" circle (SU)
Other:  Big Shot, Spellbinders circle nesties, dimensionals

Autumn Pear

I squeezed this card in today, between cleaning the house and taking a walk with a friend.  We have company coming for dinner tomorrow night, so the house must be clean; no getting around it!  But all morning I was thinking about what kind of fall card to create for the Mark's Finest Papers challenge that ends today.  Here's what I came up with:

I am also playing in the City Crafter Challenge, where the inspiration photo is this:

The picture seems to glow, and I love that swirly tree. 

I tried to capture the essence of that with the swirls and sponged background.

A couple of close-ups:

This picture shows the black embossing best.

A trio of olive pearls.

To create this look, I started by using black embossing powder/heat tool/Versamark ink and the swirl stamp from Baroque Motifs (SU).  Once the embossing was done on the white cardstock, I then sponged on the following colors in this order:

• So Saffron
• Summer Sun
• Apricot Appeal
• Pumpkin Pie
• Certainly Celery
• Old Olive
• Elegant Eggplant
• Basic Black

I began with the lightest color in the middle of the paper and as I progressively added colors, my sponging moved outward.  After using just a bit of Eggplant and Black at the end, I also used the direct-to-paper technique to edge the layer with Black.  It is matted on a black layer of cardstock as well, then attached to a white card base.

I feel like Michelle Zindorf when I play with sponges like this.  She is uber-talented with sponges and brayering, if you've never seen her work.  It's worth taking a visit to her blog, even if all you do is look (and never try the stuff she does); she's amazing.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Colleen

Stamps:  Baroque Motifs, Pear by Rubber Stampede

Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black

Ink:  So Saffron, Summer Sun, Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black; Memento Tuxedo Black for pear image

Other:  heat tool, dimensionals, pearls ($1 selection at AC Moore), SU black embossing powder, Copic markers, sponge