Fruitastic!

Trying to squeak in an entry for the Casology Challenge:  Fruit!

*Edited*:  Darn!  Had some problems uploading my pic to my computer so I wasn't able to link this blog post to the challenge in time :( 

Such a simple card really but it took FOREVER for me to finish it!  The heart strawberry and sentiment are older Papertrey ink images.  Decided I needed to ground them with something so I masked the strawberry and overstamped the woodgrain circle from Hero Arts My Happy set in HA soft sand shadow ink.  THEN I thought I needed to offset the woodgrain circle with something so on went the twine from Creative Impressions.  STILL felt too plain to me so out came the corner rounder and a few HA clear gems.  Well, you get the picture:)

There's always next week's challenge.........

Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes!

The current challenge at Simon Says Stamp is Anything Goes!  They are featuring the awesome Simon Says Stamp dies although you don't need to use them to join in the fun.  Good thing as I don't own any of them......... yet:)  If you check out what the Design Team did with them on the challenge post you'll see what I mean!!

I do have several of the Memory Box dies that I've ordered from SSS in the past and I was inspired to use one of them in a 50th wedding anniversary card I needed for some close friends of my hubby's family:

I die cut the Memory Box Tessatina Border from some white, gold and pool cs.  After affixing the white die cut border to a white cs panel I adhered some of the pool and gold pieces.  A circle was then die cut from this panel and the sentiment and wine glasses from My Sentiments Exactly Anniversary clear set (a gift from my stampin' friend Ruthie!) were gold embossed on a separate die cut circle.  The numbers were die cut from the Cricut Keystone cart. 
Other Materials Used:  Stampin' Up pool party cs, Papertrey ink white cs, Office Supply store gold cs, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder, Spellbinders Nestie

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I'm Back in Black!

The current challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is:



I've been humming that old AC/DC song all morning:)  Don't ever use black as a card base but I'd been playing with some Ranger distress inks (squeezed lemonade, peacock feathers, worn lipstick) and water and thought these bright colors would pop even more against black:

Modern Landscape Border from Memory Box was die cut from black cardstock.  Cloud from Hero Arts Right At Home set was embossed on vellum.  Sentiment and heart are from the same set.  Card base was embossed with a Stampin' Up/Sizzix chevron embossing folder.

Back to the craft room - I need to start working on some cards I actually need :)

Moxie Fab World: Stamp It! Cards Week The Birthday Card Challenge

One of the challenges for Moxie Fab World's Stamp It! Cards Week Challenge is to create a birthday card in which stamping is the primary technique:

Didn't use a lick of patterned paper on my card:

Although I couldn't resist using some gingham pp in the bg of the pic.......:)

I inked up one of the images from Hero Arts Floral Blossoms set with Ranger spun sugar, worn lipstick and peeled paint distress markers and did some first and second generation stamping on a piece of Stampin' Up confetti cream cs.  Butterfly from one of the labels in the Hero Arts set Just Because was embossed then colored with distress markers.  The embossed sentiment from an old SU set was die cut with a Spellbinders Nestie.  Edges were lightly distressed with Ranger antique linen distress ink.

Other Materials Used:  Stampin' Up old olive and raspberry ripple cs, Michael's black pearls

Temps reached 99 here in upstate NY again yesterday and I've all but given up on our lawn and flowers :(  I'm thankful for ac but don't want to spend my whole summer indoors either!!  Hubby and I went to see the new Spiderman movie yesterday to get out of the house - you will not believe one of the design elements I kept seeing in the architecture!!!  Yep, HEXAGONS!!!!  My hubby just shakes his head when I point this kind of stuff out to him :)

Stay cool and thanks for all your lovely comments!

I Like Ewe

Decided to squeak one more card in for the current Lawnscaping Challenge ending tonight to:

Still playing with my new Lawn Fawn set Critters on the Farm:

Wanted the sheep's body to have a little texture so I burnished some Glitter Ritz microfine glitter on a sheet of P K Glitz sticky paper before stamping the sheep with Ranger jet black archival ink.  Embossed the sheep's face and legs on black cs and paper pieced them to the glittered image.  Love the punny sentiment that's part of the Critters on the Farm set and thought it would pair nicely with the Hero Arts Friend Definition.  Word bubble was die cut using Cricut George & Basic Shapes cart. 

Other Materials Used:  Amy Tangerine Sketchbook pp, K & Co. heart gem, Papertrey ink white cs, Nesties, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder, Michael's black pearls

Since I used text in the design I'm also linking this up to the CAS-ual Fridays current challenge ending tomorrow to:

Our cool down in upstate NY was short-lived:(  After one glorious day of opening all the windows in the house and breathing "real" air back on went the air conditioning.  Taking a boat ride on one of the Finger Lakes tomorrow with my mom and some of the other residents of her assisted living facility - hoping for some cool lake breezes :) 

Lawnscaping Challenge #37 (Use Dimension) and Simon Says Stamp (Tags/ATC's)

I recently acquired the cutest Lawn Fawn set called Critters on the Farm and this week's Lawnscaping Challenge gave me the perfect excuse to ink it up:



I incorporated a tag into my design as I'm also linking this up to the current Simon Says Stamp challenge to create a tag/ATC. 

Using the negative space from a circle die cut as a mask I stamped Hero Arts Designer Woodgrain in Ranger barn door distress ink on both the tag and base to simulate the side of a barn.  Sun is from Hero Arts Kiss From the Sun set.  The cute little piggy(looooove this little guy!), the sentiment and hay bales are from the Lawn Fawn Critters on the Farm set.

Other Materials Used:  Papertrey ink cloud die and white cs, MFT grass die, A Muse gingham pp, My Mind's Eye Lime Twist pp, Stampin' Up cs, ribbon and hole reinforcer, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder, googly eyes from stash, Nestie and Creative Impressions twine

And since "Hay There" probably qualifies as "barnspeak" for "Hello" I'm going to link this up to the Moxie Fab World Stamp It! Cards Week "Hello" Card Challenge  :)

Hope everyone has a great start to their week!  Temps are cooling down here in the Northeast so it looks like we'll finally be able to venture out of the air conditioning:)

CAS-ual Fridays #59: Round & Round

The current challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is:

Using popped up circles to spotlight parts of a stamped image is one of my fave design elements:

I embossed Stampendous Flower Fields on a piece of watercolor paper and then colored it with a water brush and Ranger peacock feathers and peeled paint distress inks.  Sentiment is from Hero Arts CL544 Big Ticket.  Base card was embossed with a Stampin' Up/Sizzix embossing folder called Fancy Fan as it kind of reminded me of a garden trellis.  All edges were lightly inked with Ranger antique linen distress ink.

Other Materials Used:  Papertrey ink cs, Hero Arts clear gems, Spellbinders Nesties

Hope everyone in the U.S. has a Happy 4th tomorrow!!  We're going out on our friend's boat later tonight to watch some fireworks.  Temps are still very hot here in upstate NY and we're thankful they didn't decide to cancel them :)