Friendly Little Bats

 I mentioned that I really like bats, right? When I saw the Reverse Confetti challenge to create a card with a Thanksgiving or Friendship theme, I figured it was a perfect time to combine my love of Halloween and bats with a friendship sentiment for a cute little card.

I stamped the three little bats from the Reverse Confetti Best Witches stamp set and colored them with Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I am discovering that I REALLY love coloring with colored pencils. I honestly feel like I work better with them than I do with my markers a lot of the time. I am loving it. It is also wicked relaxing to feel the smooth pencil over the paper. I don't know...I just really enjoy it.

After stamping and coloring the bats I added a quick stamped star and then finished it off with a great Lawn Fawn Hello die. The friend is actually hand written with a Copic pen to get the look I was going for.  

This card was one of those ones that I just really enjoyed creating. It makes me smile.

What are the kinds of things that just make you happy when you create? Is it coloring? The actual stamping? Putting together various design elements? I'd love hear about it in the comments!

A Primary Rotation

It's a chilly Monday morning and it looks like we may be getting one heck of a blizzard tonight and tomorrow! That means extra time at home and THAT means extra crafting time! (This is me attempting to see the bright side of over two feet of snow coming this way. *sigh* LOL!) Today I have another fun card for the Winnie & Walter Birthday Bash to share with you. This one was challenging, but turned into something I really enjoyed working through! I was inspired by the In Rotation challenge.



Let me begin by saying that this card is not perfect. And I debated sharing it. BUT... you know what? I'm proud of it anyway, so I AM sharing it. Because it's kind of cool, you guys! For reals, though! Instead of basing my rotation on the center of the card I actually used the giant chevron from the Winnie & Walter V is for Chevron set to create a rotation in each quadrant of the card. I then colored them with THREE Spectrum Noir pens. Just three. I allowed the coloring to overlap to create new colors. LOVE!!!



As you can see, the coloring was SUPER bright and bold. Which was awesome, but also a bit strong. I layered a sheet of vellum over it and then die cut the Hello cutaway several times to create the sentiment over the vellum. It's simple, but I like it. I tried several things without the vellum and the background was just too strong. I haven't decided if I am glad I went with it or not yet. HA!



That design, though, you guys. That's why I shared it, despite the imperfection. That design is just plain COOL! And it was fairly simple to do... just a hollow chevron stamp. And a few pencil guidelines. LOL! Don't forget to try fun new things with your stamps! Pretty awesome stuff can come from it!

Have a Happy!

Using Up Die Cut Scraps

A short time ago, I created this card using a TON of Paper Smooches Rainbow Die cuts. I loved the card and it turned out better than I could have imagined, however, the process of creating it involved cutting the entire rainbow MANY times in several colors. That left me with a large pile 'o rainbow bits. HA!



In an attempt to use up some of those curvy bits of color, I decided to create a TOTALLY different card design using them! I pulled out a simple sentiment set from Paper Smooches and my trusty bottle of Tombow Mopo liquid and went to town!



I did a lot of weaving with the top left portion of the design and then kept the right side a bit simpler. I felt the gold wide strip MME paper complimented the bright colors well. This was really a lot of fun to put together. Pure play! LOVE those times in the studio!



SEE! FUN STUFF! And I only put a tiny dent in that pile o' scraps, but I am sure I can come up with something else! HAHAHA!

I am entering this one in the Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes Challenge this week!

Check out the links below to see the products I used for this card!

Have a Happy!!!

*Paper Smooches HEADLINERS Clear Stamps Kim Hughes *RESERVE Paper Smooches RAINBOW Wise Die Kim Hughes *My Mind's Eye 6 x 6 CHARMED Paper Pad Record It! REC101 *My Mind's Eye CHARMED Enamel Dots Record It! REC104 Simon Says Stamp Soft Navy Ink *Simon Says Stamp Card Stock BULK 100# RAINBOW PACK BULKRAIN *Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# SPRING RAINBOW PACK CSSPRB683 *Crafter's Companion 50 PACK ULTRA SMOOTH PREMIUM WHITE CARDSTOCK 752252 *Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE Powder Blue & Teal 657900 *Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two Applicators 62191

InLinkz.com

It Is What It Is

I love that phrase.  I use it often.  I use it to remind myself that sometimes, it simply is what it is.  Sometimes you can take strides to change things, other times, you must simply let them be, as, well, it is what it is.  Life moves all over the place.  We only have control over so much of it and I can't tell you how GLAD I am for that.  It would be dreadfully stressful, not to mention remarkably boring if we could control everything.  I like it.  It is what it is.  For reals.


My card today is inspired by this image from the Miu Miu Fall 2013 Collection shown on the Runway Inspired Challenge blog.

I was totally inspired by the strong black and white with the passing yellow, deep red tights, and the pink collars on the models. I decided to bring ALL of that together, along with a textured background, in my card.


That sentiment stamp? Awesome, right? Totally. It's from the super fabulous Hiya Gorgeous set from Unity. LOVE IT! The rounded diamond stamp and die are both from Avery Elle.


And here is my happy accident confession. See the sentiment flag? See how it has a cool graduated thing going on where it gets wider toward the end? See how that totally mimics the runway in the photo? Yeah. I totally didn't do that on purpose. I cut my sentiment strip. Somehow, I did not have my paper properly aligned so it didn't cut straight. I looked at the words ON the strip I had just cut, saw that they were well centered even though that had happened and decided, well.... It is what it is! At that point it pretty much seemed hypocritical to do a new one and I sorta loved the look, so I went with it. And there you have it folks, poetry in motion. It is. What it is.

Have a Happy!

You Make Me Smile

I have a fun little card for you today that I actually created using the February Simon Says Stamp Card kit a bit ago.  I just never got around to blogging it for some reason.  Hmph!  HA!


I went for a more collage style on this card, as I loved the pretty pattern papers and wanted to really let them shine along with that super fun polka dot envelope!


I really like this card. I don't know what it is about breaking out of my comfort zone now and then, but it just feels good to make something a little outside my usual style now and then. Does that even make sense? LOL! The soft colors, the collage design, the doily... really? a DOILY?! Not usually my kinda thing, but it all came together nicely for this one. I hope you like it, too!

Don't worry... tomorrow I will be back to my CAS happiness! LOL! Oh...and we filmed another Craft Dash video for the current challenge, so that will be coming up in the next few days, as well. Lots of fun stuff going on around here!

I've linked up the products used on today's card below, so feel free to check them out!

Have a Happy!!!

InLinkz.com

Under the Weather?

Not me. I'm fine. I'm a bit sick of the weather, but that's a whole other story. HA! This adorable little Paper Smooches walrus, however, he is a bit under the weather!


This was my final card to go up on the Paper Smooches blog yesterday for my term as Guest Designer. I have SO LOVED using these fabulous new dies from Paper Smooches and I do so hope you have been inspired by my designs! I can't thank Kim enough for this wonderful opportunity!!!


HA! He seriously cracks me up ever single time I use him! The expression on his face is just too fabulous! I love it! The walrus is from the Chilly Chums set and I pulled a couple of shapes from the Vogue Abode set to create the water bottle on his head and the thermometer. So fun!


I die cut the sentiment with the new Get Well Phrase die from Simon Says Stamp woodgrain cardstock. I love the added texture!

I hope you are, indeed, not at all under the weather and I wish you a wonderful day, my friends!

Have a Happy!!!

Jingle Out!

Simon Says: WHITE OUT!

First of all, I want to thank you all so much for the amazing birthday wishes! You guys rock! Thank you so much! It was a great day with lots of smiles!

Now...let's dive into this week's Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog Challenge! We have an inspiration photo for you today! I had to laugh, as I created this card over the weekend, and, you may or may not have heard, but Massachusetts got a *little* bit of snow over the weekend. By a little bit I mean we got over two feet with insane drifting and the entire state came to a hault for two days. Just a little. HA! SO...this week's challenge was a rather humorous inspiration, as it looked a LOT like what I was seeing outside!


Ummm... yup. A WHOLE lot o' white! LOL! And I love it! And...miracle of all miracles, I did not use a SINGLE stamp on this card! CRAZINESS!!!! I KNOW!!!! Actually, the whole team is showing off fun Cuttlebug products this week and I DID use one of those! Love that dotted embossing folder! Woot! Woot!


*sigh* I am SO loving the white on white. It makes me happy! I die cut a couple of clouds and added them with foam tape and then added the Studio Calico wood veneer heart along with the die cut 'you' for the sentiment. This is probably my favorite Valentine's Day card of this season. I just love it. Soft, simple, and happy. YAY! (I {heart} happy. Just sayin'.)


I do so hope this inspires you to go ahead and create a project based on the inspiration photo! One lucky participant will win a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Superstore!!! (Have ya been, lately? If not...you should probably head on over...it's a happy place...a VERY happy place! YAY!)


SO! With that, I hope you have a deliciously happy day! No...for reals.. Have a Happy!!!

To find the products used on today's card, check out the links below! Woot! Woot! And don't forget to enter my birthday giveaway that I posted yesterday, too! For reals, folks!

InLinkz.com