Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Snowflakes & Sparkles

From The Funkie Junkie
Whoo hoo! My friend Wendy, aka Looby Lou, of Digital Delights is sponsoring the challenge at the Creative Card Crew this week. She generously gave each of the DT their choice of one of her latest releases to work with. I picked Jingles the Snowman. Isn't he adorable? And not much to color, either - hehehe!! The challenge theme this week is favorite things. Isn't that the most fun challenge ever? You just make a card using your very favorite things and you are qualified for the challenge. If you are one of my blog readers, you have probably already guessed that one of my favorite things is TAGS!! So here I am, back again with another tag this week. Plus I added some bling. So here is a pretty simple card this week. The base is Soft Sky topped with a layer of Whisper White run through the Snowflakes Cuttlebug EF. Used my Top Note die to cut a piece of BG Figgy Pudding designer paper and a Spellbinders tag die to cut the tag. Creamy Caramel was used to ink distress the edges. I masked Jingles and sponged Soft Sky around him then colored him a bit with Copics. The tiny snowflakes were punched with a Martha snowflake border punch and the other snowflakes are Cuttlebug dies. A little Dazzling Diamonds glitter and some Prima crystals and the card was good to go. Oh, the flowers? They were handmade by punching four small hearts and four larger hearts with my old CM Heart Maker. The hearts were ink distressed and either stamped or embossed, crumpled up and formed together to shape a flower. The crystal brads are from the Pretties Kit.

And now I'm checking out for the week. Wishing all you Americans a happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

A Simple Scrapling


Today's challenge over at Our Creative Corner is a color inspiration - a perfect pallet of autumnal colors - Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie and White. I really thought I was done making fall cards and was ready to move on to Christmas when I read the details of this challenge. I think my mojo has moved on too. That's when I remembered seeing scraplings recently and decided it was just the thing I needed to get this challenge rolling.


This was a quick and fun little card to make and I think scraplings are definitely something I will do again in the future. However, I haven't figured out an envelope solution so if you have, please share it with me!

Here are the simple details: Card stock in above colors, designer paper by Melissa Frances, rectangles cut with Nestabilities Long Rectangles, stamp is Inkadinkado, stamped in Versamark and clear embossed, panel edged with Tim Holtz Distress Stickles in Antique Linen, brass clip from SU, branches are MS punch, Prima white flowers colored with Pumpkin Pie and Creamy Caramel markers, leaves punched with CM shape maker and glossed with Crystal Effects, gold half pearls from Michaels. Inside stamp is SU's Curvey Verses and the dry embossing is the Organic Flourishes border embossing folder from Cuttlebug.




Be sure to drop by the OCC to see what the other talented designers have in store for your inspriration.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Harvest Bouquet

From The Funkie Junkie

Lucky me! I got to set the challenge on the Creative Card Crew challenge blog this week. I chose "Strings Attached". You can use any kind of string/fiber on your card. I chose this cool rope hemp, but you may use plain old string, embroidry thread, crochet thread, yarn, hemp twine or ribbon to name a few suggestions. I can't wait to see what beautiful embellishments all the participants come up with.

For my design team card, I used the recent free digi from the Layers of Color fall release party over the past weekend. Owner and artist, Laura, offered eight free digis and two are still available. So be sure to stop by to pick up your free digis and check out the awesome new stamp sets, nine in all, released this weekend! Unfortunately, this was one that was only offered for a few days so I'm sorry if you missed out. I really love it and am very happy with the way this card turned out.

Okay, now for the details: the shell is More Mustard followed by a layer of textured green from the DCWV Heritage pad (last year). The designer paper is from MME and I stamped aand clear embossed the top layer with one of the sunflower stamps from the old SU Summer Sunflower set. The paper it is stamped on is More Mustard sprayed with Tim Holtz Butterscotch alcohol ink. I printed the digi onto Neenah Solar White and heat set the ink so it wouldn't smear. It was colored with Copics, masked and sponged with Tim Holtz distress inks - first Old Paper, then closer in with Scattered Straw and last around the very edges with Faded Corduroy. To give the image a little background, I added some dots with Copic #YR23. Then, in the spirit of last week's CCC doodle challenge, I added dots around the Nestie frame and carried that throughout the card. The little fall leaf flourish stamp on the inner panel is from Inkadinkado. Spellbinder dies used were Nestabilities Labels 4 and Lattice Borderabilities.



Be sure to stop by the Creative Card Crew to see what those talented ladies came up with for the Strings Attached challenge. If you have time, check out some of the participants' blogs too. Lots of talent there! Hope you can play along with us for this challenge!

Other challenges I am entering this card in:
Quixotic Challenges - add stitching to your card
Lots To Do - use dry or heat embossing on your card
Creative Inspirations - New or Neglected

Saturday, November 14, 2009

A Holiday Postcard

From The Funkie Junkie
Whoo hoo! I think the Our Creative Corner challenge this week was designed just for me - LOL! I simply love making "post cards" on my cards! If you scroll back through my blog, I'm sure you will find several more. So when I read Jennifer Meyer's challenge to the design team for this week, I jumped into gear. Of course, Post Card translates to Vintage in my mind so I sorted through my vintage images looking for something seasonal. I found three full sheets of Melissa Frances stickers that I simply had to have last year. I went so far as to order them off eBay and then of course, I used one or two stickers and the rest are still in my stash. So I picked this interesting "ice time" sticker with thoughts of using the SU Winter Post set to finish off the inside.

I am still running short on crafting time so was unable to finish off the inside panels of this card. The outer shell is Always Avacedo, followed by a layer of Real Red and Cosmo Cricket DP from last year's Oh Joy collection. The lower Real Red panel is punched with a Marth Stewart border punch. The 'Post Card" was created with the SU Winter Post set and a Melissa Frances sticker. The Merry Christmas stamp is from the SU Yuletide Montage set. Ribbon and a few buttons finish this creation off.

I am also entering this card into:
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge. This week's challenge is Four Seasons - make a card inspired by any of the four seasons.
Gingersnap Creations - use buttons on your card
Charisma Cards - Merry & Bright

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Rejoice!

From The Funkie Junkie
I made this card with the free digi Herald Angel from Layers of Color. Don't forget, their big Fall release party is coming up this weekend, November 14th and 15th. There are already four free digis on their site to celebrate this event and there will be even more at the release party! And have you entered their $100 gift certificate drawing and the drawing to receive all nine newly released stamp sets? If you haven't, hurry on over to the Layers of Color bog and get yourself signed up!

Whew, I got so excited about the release that I almost forgot to give you the details of this card. The background was stamped in Versamark with a flourish from the Old World Flourishes set and gold embossed. I really am loving this flourish set to create my own designer paper! And the Herald Angel was printed out on my home computer with the Layers of Color digi I picked up on their site. The medallion was cut with a Spellbinders die and backed with SU gold paper. The star (die cut with a Sizzix die) is binged up a bit with JudiKins Egyptian Gold embossing powder - the glitter is right in the EP. That EP was a big favorite of mine last Christmas season, but this is the first time it's been out this season. I'm sure you'll be seeing much more of it over the next few weeks.

Almost time for work - wishing you blessings on your day!

Update: This card was featured on Card of the Week.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Doodle Dots and Dashes

From The Funkie Junkie
This week's challenge at the Creative Card Crew is to add a doodle to your card. Well I tried and failed quite miserably. So I dug out this doodly set from SU called Time Well Spent. My concession to doodling is the dots and dashes around the edge of the circles. The other girls in the CCC DT have some great samples to help you get started on this challenge so be sure to hop over and check them out. Conindendently, the Flourishes blog has a wonderful tutorial by Jenny Gropp on doodling. You might want to stop over there and read it before you start your doodling.

My DT card is pretty simple this week. The base and matting card stock is from last season's SU In-Colors - Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss which happened to match up pretty well with the colors in the Early Bird papers from Cosmo Cricket. The bottom panel of Kiwi Kiss was run through the Bloom Dots Cuttlebug EF. The coloring was done with Copics on Neenah Solar White card stock and the circles and tag were cut with Spellbinders dies. Thanks for visiting. Can't wait to see what you all come up with for doodling this week on your cards!


Update: This card was featured on Card of the Week.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Pumpkin Inspired

From The Funkie Junkie
Here's my DT card for this week's Our Creative Corner challenge. Jennifer Meyer will be our hostess for the month of November and her first challenge to us is an inspiration challenge. Hop over to the OCC challenge blog and check out the graphic for inspiration. Here's my response to the challenge. I feel like I have to apologize thought because the inside isn't finished off per my usual M. O. It doesn't feel quite finished, but you will notice I had to take the same shortcut earlier in the week. I have had a really heavy work week plus my husband and I made a snap decision to travel to the University of Florida football game on Saturday for the UF/Vanderbilt game. We'll leave early Saturday morning so I had to finish this card Friday night plus one other DT commitment for Sunday.

A few details for this card: Base is Chocolate Chip, next up is Really Rust clear embossed using an Inkadinkado stamp. The patterned paper is Melissa Frances and the wrought iron looking embellie is a tag die from Spellbinders heat embossed with copper EP. The image frame is cut with the Spellbinders Mega Nestabities and clear embossed using an Inkadinkado setamp. The image is from SU Sweet Seasons stamped with Momento Tuxedo Black on Neenah Solar White and colored with Copics. It's sponged with Tim Holtz Old Paper and around the edge with Brushed Corduroy. And close to the image it is sponged with Scattered Straw. That's it.

Wishing you a great weekend and GO GATORS.


Update: This card was featured on Card of the Week.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

A Time to Mourn

From The Funkie Junkie
Quick post this morning because I have to fly out the door for work in exactly 31 minutes and haven't even started to get ready! No time to finish off the inside of this card before posting. When I finish it later this week, I'll update this post with shots of the inside.

This card was made with the Old World Flourishes set from Layers of Color. It is so wonderfully flexible and I have a suspicion that it is going to be my go to set for dozens of future cards. I needed a sympathy card and another Beatitude came to mind while I was sitting in church this past Sunday listening to the homily on the Beatitues. I used the large flourish from this set to create my background paper. Plus I clear embossed the same flourish pattern on the black for a black-on-black effect. The sentiment was computer generated. I think everything else is pretty self evident, but post any questions you have and I'll be happy to fill in any details of interest.

Don't forget, Layers of Color has a huge autumn release coming up November 14th and 15th. Get your pre-release party favors the week of November 7th. More details here.

Have a BLESSED day!

Update: This card was featured on Card of the Week.

Monday, November 2, 2009

This Week at Creative Card Crew - Ribbons & Gems

From The Funkie Junkie

It's Sam's turn to be hostess this week at the Creative Card Crew challenge blog and she has selected something that is close to my heart - ribbons & gems! That wasn't hard at all!



Here's my DT card for the challenge. I started by stamping this darling Sarah Kay image onto Neenah Solar White cardstock and coloring with Copic markers. After cutting with the Nestability Oval die, the panel was sponged with Tim Holtz distress inks starting with Old Paper from the other edges inward. Once I achieved the desired color, it was then sponged very lightly just on the edges with Brushed Corduroy. To give the image an inner glow, Scattered Straw was sponged next to it and then I also surrounded her with a series of tiny dots using the Yellow Ochre (YR23) Copic marker. This panel was then mounted on a scalloped panel of Mellow Moss with the edges lightly sponged with Brushed Corduroy. The DP used was Cosmo Cricket Gretel: Gingerbread, another horded piece from my stash.

Sentiment panels: Both are computer generated. The bottom calendar strip is a digital download from Katie Pertiet at Designer Digitals. The top one was simply printed on my computer and lightly stamped in Creamy Carmel with a flourish from the Layers of Color Old World Floruishes set. Both panels were stamped on white cardstock and then sponged heavily, first with Old Paper and then with SU's Creamy Caramel.

The bottom "Golden Orchard" tag is a Melissa Frances sticker, again sponged with Creamy Caramel. The eyelet trim is from Lace Heaven and the ribbon from SU! The safety pin is Tim Holtz. The oposite corner features both Prima and silk flowers, orange gems and branches and leaves from MS punches.

The sentiment inside is from the retired SU set Season of Plenty. The stamped frame is Inkadinkado and the embossed floruish on the bottom panel is one of the new Cuttlebug border embossing folders called Oranic Flourish. All panels were sponged with distress inks.


Update: This card was featured on Card of the Week.

Thanks for stopping by. Blessings and hugs to you!

A Hug for Jaimie

From The Funkie Junkie

Greetings and welcome to my blog! I know it's been a long hop and you must be getting tired. Thank you for hanging in and making it this far. You've come full circle and after leaving here, you'll head back to the main blog Stamp Something...for Jaimie.

If you haven't arrived here through the Spread the Love Blog Hop, here is a brief recap of what this blog hop has been about. On the night of October 4th in Mont Vernon, New Hampshire four local teenagers with knives broke into the Cates home. They murdered Jaimie's mom, Kimberly Cates and severly wounded Jaimie. It was an act of random violence for no other reason than to commit violence. Here is a link to the news article if you wish to read more.

A good friend of a Cates neighbor, Erin Bailey, started this internationl blog hop to raise awareness of the crime and to show love and hope to Jaimie. Anyone who can, is asked to send a card as soon as possible to Jaimie.

Here is the card I am sending to Jaimie. I don't know much about her, but was told she is 11 years old, is not a girly girl but loves pink and black. She enjoys snowboarding and has a black belt in karate. Even though she isn't a girly girl, I still wanted to make something sweet and soft, something loving and nurturing. So I searched through my stamp collection and found this sweet Sarah Kay image. I wanted the card to be bright so I found this striped paper from Creative Memories in my stash and paired it up wth Certainly Celery. The Night of Navy was run through the Cuttlebug with the Paisley embossing folder, which I thnk sponged with white craft ink. I love the way it looks - sort of like faded denim. The "Hug" seal is a digital download from Katie Pertiet with Designer Digitals. A little hemp ribbon (not too girly) plus buttons and a double hemp bow finish off the front of the card.


The inside of the card was finished off with coordinating papers and colors. The 'With Love' is a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I also sponged it with white craft ink for that soft faded denim look.

I hope you will take the time to show Jaimie some love by sending her a card. All the details can be found on the Stamp Something...for Jaimie blog which is your next and last stop on this hop.

Update: This card was featured on Card of the Week.