Fab Friday 21

Well, today is not Friday. I'm sad to say it's Sunday. A beautiful but HOT weekend has once again slipped by. Where does the time go? With my daughter having a sleep over at the neighbors house, and my hubby and son at another neighbor's house... I decided to lock myself in my craft room. Oh what fun I had! I FINALLY got to use this stamp set. Honestly, this card looks much better in person. For some reason my photos aren't turning out very well. I'll have to re-photograph this one when I figure out what's going on. This is my entry for Fab Friday's challenge #21.

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment DSP (retired), Vellum

Ink ~ Riding Hood Red, Pool Party, Gumball Green, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand
Stamp Sets ~ You're Amazing, Gorgeous Grunge, Itty Bitty Banners, Hearts a Flutter, Ciao Baby

Other Supplies ~ Soda pop tops, 1/8" brads, red ribbon, staples, pool party embossing powder

Anything Goes!

I participate in a weekly challenge put on by A.R.T. Challenge. This week's criteria: Anything Goes!!! Here is the card I submitted. I'm in {LOVE} with this card. I made one a while back and had to make another one. I think I'm going to make this card in every color!

 Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Strawberry Slush Core'dinations, Whisper White, Designer Paper Series (retired)

Ink ~ Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand

Stamp Sets ~ Hello Lovely, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Lovely Little Labels

Other supplies ~ Designer Builder Brads, 1/8" brads, Soda Pop Tops, Designer Faceted Vintage Buttons, Pearl Basic Jewels, In Color Boutique Details, Doilies 

Thirsty Thursday

It's been a DOOZY of a day. Busy, busy, busy! And HOT. Did I mention it was HOT? I think I drank a gallon and a half of water while I worked outside in the yard...and I'm STILL parched! After dinner I gave my hubby the look. You know, that look an obsessed crafting crazy paper freak gives their husband when they want to escape into la la land? He knows that look all too well. I don't even have to say anything. I just look at him and he laughs and shakes his head. He'll never understand. He's a man.

I locked myself in my craft room and turned up the music. Good ole' Pandora! Here is what I came up with tonight. It's a spin off of lastnights card. Same design, just different colors. I love how it turned out!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Basic Gray, Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, Crisp Cantaloupe Core'dinations

Ink ~ Sahara Sand, Blushing Bride

Stamp Sets ~ Chalk Talk

Other Supplies ~ Pool party embossing powder, Vintage faceted buttons, pool party button, cream ribbon, basic pearl jewels, 

The Paper Players Challenge #151

Just the name of the blog grabbed my attention. The Paper Players. Sounds like a challenge to me!

I stumbled across this blog today on Pinterest. Good ole' Pinterest. I can always count on it for inspiration. This looks like a really fun blog with wonderful challenges. I'm bound and determined to overwhelm myself with as many challenges as possible. I feel like it's the only way I can come up with new stuff. I need a little {push} in the right direction.

Here is the sketch for challenge #151. I will definitely be doing this one. I already have so many ideas in my head.

So... Here is what I came up with. My original idea was already used as an example. Yes, I thought of it before I saw their card. Darn it! I think plan B worked well though! 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Fan Fair DSP, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand

Ink ~ Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake

Stamp Sets ~ From My Heart

Other Supplies ~ Comfort Cafe designer fabric, Sizzlits large paper doily, basic grey ribbon, basic pearl jewels

Trying Tuesday

Good morning peeps! Once again, I was up before the crack of dawn. My son fell out of his bed at 1:30am. I heard him hit the floor. He slept right thru the whole thing. I just don't get how they can do that. He's done it many times. He almost never wakes up. That's crazy! So, I've been tossing and turning since then. I've already been out working on a few projects and decided to sit down with a cup of coffee to see what the new challenge from Try Stampin' on Tuesday looks like. It's pretty simple, which gives me LOTS of room to create. I'm not sure if I like simple or not. Sometimes it gives me too much to think about. This one should be fun though. I haven't tackled a sketch like this one before.

Well, here is what I came up with. It's altered from my original idea in my head. 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Crisp Cantaloupe Core'dinations

Ink ~ Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride

Stamp Sets ~ Chalk Talk, Oh Hello, Lovely Little Labels

Other Supplies ~ Vintage faceted buttons, designer builder brads, (retired) stampin' up ruffle ribbon, natural colored thread (misc), crochet ribbon

Monday Madness!

I now wake up giddy on Monday morning. I never thought I'd see the day. Monday's have a whole new meaning to me now that I'm an OBSESSED stamper. I wake up, feed my horses, grab a cup of coffee and go straight to Mojo Monday's blog to see what the new challenge for the week will be. Here it is. What will YOU come up with?

Here is what I came up with. I am {smitten} with the new In Colors. This is the first time I got to use this stamp from Chalk Talk. I LOVE how this turned out. Sweet!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Specialty DSP, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Crisp Cantaloupe

Ink ~ Crisp Cantaloupe, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight

Stamp Sets ~ Chalk Talk, Gorgeous Grunge, Lovely Little Labels

Other Supplies ~ Paper Doily, yellow ribbon (misc.), white ribbon (misc.), pool party ribbon, vintage faceted buttons, vintage boutique buttons, Sizzlits large paper doily

Technique:

*I created by own DSP for the banner behind the Chalk Talk stamp, with Whisper White cardstock and my Brayer tool. Using Bermuda Bay ink, I rolled it then built different layers with Gorgeous Grunge stamps. I really love making my own DSP. It seems a lot more personal to me. It's something that no one else has. <3

A Retro Kind of Sunday

I got to have a day all to myself! Well, it actually ended up to be more like 3 hours, but it was just enough time to get my design finished for Retro Sketches challenge #69. I had so much fun creating this card. It turned out pretty darn close to what I had pictured in my head. Love it when that happens!

Supplies Used: 

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pool Party Core'dinations, Very Vanilla

Ink ~ Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand

Stamp Sets ~ Gorgeous Grunge, Chalk Talk, Lovely Little Labels

Other Supplies ~ baker's twine, soda pop tops, basic pearl jewels, vanilla ribbon

Retro Sketches Challenge #69

Another day, another challenge. I think I need to find a challenge for everyday. I'm ADDICTED to them! I love pushing myself out of my comfort zone and trying new things. I really need help when it comes to layouts. I draw a blank when I have to come up with one on my own. Here is the latest challenge from Retro Sketches. I think there is a lot of room to be creative with this one. I can't wait to get started!

This challenge closes on Friday, June 28th. I hope you have a chance to submit something too!

Retro Challenge

Here's today's card. I created this for Retro Sketches challenge #68. I love how it turned out. I think Crisp Cantaloupe is my new favorite color. I'm totally addicted to making my own designer paper. I hope you like it too! 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Crisp Cantaloupe Core'dinations

Ink ~ Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe

Stamp Sets ~ Chalk Talk, Daydream Medallion, Gorgeous Grunge, Lovely Little Labels

Other Supplies ~ Designer Builder Brads, Vintage Faceted Buttons, Pool Party Ribbon, Pool Party Embossing Powder, Early Espresso Embossing Powder, Basic Pearl Jewels, misc. brads

Got my Mojo on!

The kids are away at Vacation Bible School this morning, so I had a chance to get something put together for Mojo Monday's Challenge #298. I had so much fun with this. Although, it took me nearly 3 hours to complete. RIDICULOUS! I kept changing things as I went along. I started out with a completely different vision for this card. I do love how it turned out though!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Baked Brown Sugar Core'dinations, Pool Party Core'dinations, Very Vanilla, Epic Day DSP

Ink ~ Pool Party, Calypso Coral

Stamp Sets ~ From My Heart

Other Supplies ~ Tea for Two Designer Fabric, Spice Cake Designer Fabric, Vintage Faceted Buttons, Crochet Ribbon, Pearl Basic Jewels, Pool Party Ribbon, misc. Sizzlix Embossing Folder (not Stampin' Up!)

Try Stampin' on Tuesday...

Here is my card for Try Stampin' On Tuesday's challenge #123. I had a little bit of fun and a little bit of frustration on this one. I'm not the kind that measures things out. I like to eyeball everything. I have no patience for rulers! So, this one kind of fought me a bit. I had a TON of fun creating the Pumpkin Pie cutout. I inked it with Everything Elenor, then added the Pool Party Embossing powder on top of that to add dimension and contrast. LOVE LOVE LOVE how it turned out. I'll be using this technique more often!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, DSP

Ink ~ Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Pumpkin Pie, Pool Party, Soft Suede

Stamp Sets ~ Itty Bitty Banners, Everything Elenor, Gorgeous Grunge, misc. letter background

Other supplies ~ Pearl Basic Jewels, Soda Pop Tops, Brads, Pool Party Embossing Powder

Whoop Whoop! This card made the Top 3 at Try Stampin' on Tuesday!!!

Morning Post

I just barely made the last challenge by the skin of my teeth! Now that my hobby room is set up, I have no excuses. I'm getting a head start on Mojo Monday's challenge #298. It's very similar to a challenge they had not too long ago. Ironically, I missed the deadline by 1 hour so I didn't get to submit my card. I'm going to be ON it this time. Can't wait to get started, this one should be fun! This one is due Sunday, June 23rd.

I just joined a new blog called Retro Sketches.I think I'm really going to enjoy creating cards based on their sketches. They definitely share my love of vintage design. Here is Retro Sketch's challenge #68 This one is due Friday, June 21st. 

Boy, do I have my work cut out for me this week or what??? I just recently started following yet another blog with wonderful challenges. Darn it, I'm competitive so I have to enter, right? Here is the latest challenge from Try Stampin' On Tuesday Due Tuesday.

Oh Baby!

So happy to have FINALLY gotten my new craft room put together. I have a few odds and ends to finish up, but I am at least able to work now. I think I just BARELY got this challenge card completed for Mojo Monday challenge #297

Sketch template:

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede

Ink ~ Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Soft Suede

Stamp Sets ~ Hello Lovely, Gorgeous Grunge, Ciao Baby

Other Supplies ~ Brads, Soda Pop Tops

Why didn't I think of that?

My mother is a GENIUS! Here is her idea of storing Framelits Dies on a giant magnet. Why didn't I think of this? Now I can see all of them and they're so easy to get to! Thanx Mom!

I got the crafting blues...

I'm in the middle of moving my crafting cave from the back corner of our scary basement to my husband's (used to be) man room. Yes ladies, I've officially taken it over. It's a HUGE job. He... okay we are packrats. I've been working my tail off cleaning, packing, making a donating pile, a toss pile and a burn pile. I feel like I'm just moving stuff from one end of the room to the other. I seriously just need a dump truck backed up to the door. Ugh!

So, for now my creativity has been put on hold. It doesn't stop my mind from filling up with ideas though. I'm ITCHING to get this project done so I can get back to work. Today I have the help of a sweet little 7 year old that is excited to have her own stamping space. I also am privileged to have the help of an obnoxious, destructive, hard-to-entertain 4 year old boy. He's definitely not into all this cleaning stuff. Every time I turn around, he's making something into a weapon and chasing my poor little puppy, Stella.

Fingers crossed that I'm not going to have to duct tape him to a wall. Fearing for the life of my daughter and my dog. Hoping we'll get through the day without maiming one another.

For the rest of you lucky gals, happy stamping!

By the Tide

Last night I realized that I needed to make one more Father's Day card. I got my on dad taken care of, even got my hubby taken care of... but forgot my father in-law. Oops! We  normally don't do gifts for my father in-law because he goes on a week long fishing trip that ends on Father's Day. He always says that's gift enough. But, it's me we're talking about and I have to break the rules. 

I received this stamp set today. I know it's been out for a while, I have just been on the fence about whether or not I would use it enough. I have to admit, I really like it. This card went together so smoothly. It was so much fun to do. I hope you like it. 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Baked Brown Sugar Core'dinations, Whisper White, Island Indigo

Ink ~ Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Cajun Craze, Midnight Muse, Island Indigo, Sahara Sand, Crushed Curry

Stamp Sets ~ By the Tide, Family Reunion

Other Supplies ~ Sycamore Street ribbon in Island Indigo