Really - no bling?

First, let me say "Thanks" for all the lovely comments about my profile picture. We had a professional photographer come to the house to take several pictures of our family, including my hubby in his pilot's uniform (and WOW!), and my daughter's 5-year photo. So I figured, why not have some headshots done. The last time I had that much personal attention from a photographer was when I had my senior portraits done 15 years ago!

Now for the focus of today's post...This is my card for Kazan's sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You this week. A challenge for sure, but that's what makes it so fun!

This is my first time using card stock from Papertrey Ink, and let me tell you - I LOVE IT! It's nice and heavy, which is good, because I like to load my cards up with lots of embellishments. Did you notice, though, that I didn't add my usual bling? It took all my strength not to put any on the card, but I just wasn't sure it was necessary. Ironic, I know, since stars are supposed to sparkle.

Ah well, thanks for dropping by, and don't hesitate to leave a comment.

Card stock: Papertrey Ink

Patterned Paper: Sassafras (stars cut on Cricut Expression)

Ribbon: American Crafts

Star Sticker: Sassafras

Button: Making Memories

Sentiment: Computer-generated

Card Patterns Sketch 12

Here is my take on the weekly CP sketch. I didn't get a chance to play last week, although that didn't stop me from checking out all the wonderful cards everyone submitted.

Haven't played along with a Card Patterns challenge? Check it out here.

Sunday Sketch #8 at 365 Cards

Here's the sketch this week at 365 Cards:

Card Stock: Bazzill Basics Paper

Patterned Paper: Making Memories and Basic Grey

Alphas: October Afternoon and Making Memories

Pearl and Rhinestones: Martha Stewart

It's always fun to see what the rest of the DT comes up with - as usual, there is lots of variety in all the cards.

My card is already in the mail on its way to my SIL who is celebrating a birthday next week. I'll be back later this week with some more cards.

365 Cards - See-through Saturday

Today's 365 challenge is to make a clear card (front, back, or all of the card). I had such fun with the challenge, and I will be making more of these for sure.

I have three photos, so you can see what I did. I created a little 3x3 card for the inside to write a personal note. Check it out:

Card Stock: Bazzill Basics Paper

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey

Blossom: Making Memories

Stamp: Stampin' Up

Ink: Marvy Le Plume Marker

Pearls: Kaiser Scrapbook and Martha Stewart

Button: Making Memories

Ribbon: American Crafts

I'll be back tomorrow with my take on the Sunday sketch!

365 Cards - Card Recipe

I don't call them challenges for nothing - because this was certainly a challenge for me~

Here's the recipe:

5x5 card (solid colored card stock - may be smooth or textured)

4x4 patterned paper (you may alter the edges if you'd like)

1 shape (circle, square, star, heart, etc.) - must be solid color

3 jewels

alpha stickers

I think I would've added much more:

Card stock: Serria Pacific Crafts

Patterned Paper: Making Memories

Square rhinestone: Making Memories

Blue rhinestones: Manufacturer unknown

Alphas: Pink Paislee

Chipboard Flower: Melissa Frances

And yikes! It looks like I broke my own rule. The flower shape is glittery - and I required that it be solid color. Oh well, I'm happy with it anyway :) Thanks for stopping by!

Well.......I tried

So, I really wanted to complete today's 365 Cards challenge, which is to use at least one recycled item on a card. I clipped out this crossword from the newspaper today and used it for 2 challenges. The other challenge is this week's Use It! challenge presented by Anja. Here are the specifics:

-Use either black or white cardstock as the base of your card. I used black cardstock.
-Do some serious digging in your paperstash and use at least 4 different papers from different brands. All the flowers are punched out of paper from Making Memories, Paper Trey Ink, Basic Grey, and Cosmo Cricket.
-Do some more digging I think we all have some items laying around that are non scrap so take a look and use them. That would be my newspaper clipping.
-Get those pens and do some doodling. I used a Sakura glitter pen to write the words and doodle on the crossword.
-For the finishing touch take whatever is laying around, some pins, buttons, ribbon or what else you like. As always, I've got bling on hand which you can find in the center of each flower.

I used some Distress Stickles to give the "coffee ground" effect - something I wanted to try, but I'm not sure I like the outcome. I began to wonder if someone would want to receive a card that looks like it was just pulled out of the garbage. Oh well, we all have cards we're happy with and others we're not so happy with. In the right light, the "coffee grounds" glitter - which is something real ones don't do!

Have you stopped by Use it! Challenges yet? It's a lot of fun :)

A Card and an Award

I received another wonderful award from a fabulous person, Tammy Wark, who happens to be on the 365 Cards DT! Here it is:

Tammy is a very talented card maker and an all around lovely person - thanks, Tammy!

The rules for the award:

The winner may put the logo onto their blog.

Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
Nominate 10 blogs.

Put links to their blogs.

Leave a message for the nominees.

Here are my 10:

Audrey

Fi

Lori

Rose

Carla

Terrie

Rae

Lois

Leah

Kayla

I really enjoy visiting all your blogs!

My card for today comes from Laura's sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You. I've had this Cherry Arte paper for a while now, and I'm pleased with how it fit with this sketch. It's funny that orange is definitely not my fav color, but I sure have used it a lot lately.

Card Stock: Bazzill Basics Paper
Patterned Paper: Cherry Arte
Square rhinestone: Making Memories
Ribbon: American Crafts
Pearls: Kaiser Scrapbook
Stamp: Scenic Route
Ink: Colorbox

Some Awards

I am honored to have received a couple of blog awards from some fun and fabulous bloggers out there. The first award is from Diana, and it's the Lemonade Stand Award:

BTW, if you've not been to Diana's blog, it is well worth a visit! This award is for being a blogger who shows great attitude and gratitude. Thanks, Diana!

I would like to pass along this award to the following bloggers:

Ann
Mandy
Rieca
Paula
Stephanie
Sandy

Stop by their fabulous blogs and see why they deserve this award!

The other award is from Glenna (aka Fabric Butterfly) who is a regular at 365 Cards, and an all-around lovely person who always has kind comments for her fellow bloggers. She gave me the Karma Award:

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

And I would like to pass this on to these lovely ladies:

Gloria

Amy

Kristie

Tammy

Vicky

Sophie

Diana

Maz

--The first 6 are members of my design team, who I feel so fortunate to know and work with! Diana and Maz are two kind and thoughtful ladies who are wonderfully uplifting :)

Thanks again for these awards!!

******SALE***********

We still have a few April kits left, and any that remain after May 1st will go on sale when the May kit is officially released.

There will be more sneak peeks of the May kit on Monday, April 27th...

More details here.

365 Cards Accordion Card

The final challenge of Scor-it Week has been posted at 365 Cards! Vicky has provided an excellent tutorial on her blog, and it's not too late to join in the fun. If you want to enter in the drawing for the Scor-it Mini, you can still submit links to the challenges until 11:59 PM EST tomorrow (the 19th).

My daughter, Paige, is attending a birthday party today for one of her preschool friends. So I whipped up this little 3x3 accordion card for her. It was fast, easy, and fun to make - and it works as a gift tag for a gift bag.

Card stock: Bazzill Basics Paper (Smoothies)
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee and Basic Grey
Blossoms: Making Memories
Bling: Manufacturer Unknown
Button: Making Memories
Twine: Martha Stewart
Alphas: Basic Grey
Fiber/Ribbon: Darice

CPS 111 and 365 Cards Score a Pattern Challenge

This is my first time participating in a sketch challenge at Card Positioning Systems. I used my Scor-it Board to "frame" my card (Click on the photo to enlarge for detail) - a very simple, yet effective technique. One more day of Scor-it Week to go!

Card stock: Sierra Pacific Crafts
Patterned paper: Pink Paislee (Office Lingo)
Ribbon: American Crafts
Bling: Manufacturer unknown
Stamp: Stampin’ Up
Ink: Colorbox
Embossing powder: Hampton Art Stamps
Alphas: Basic Grey (Marrakech)

Have a great weekend!

365 Cards - Pop-Up Challenge

This card took me HOURS to make - no kidding! But I did have fun with it. One of my daughters has Winter in White - a mini pop-up book by Robert Sabuda, and I studied it to get some ideas. Although my card is nowhere near that complicated, I think it's pretty cute. I'd like to give a tutorial, but I'm not sure I could reproduce it - LOL!

I'll be back with my take on tomorrow's challenge!

365 Cards Matchbook Challenge and Use it!

Do you see a pattern on my Scor-it Week cards? Each day I combine the 365 scoring challenge with a challenge from another blog - usually a sketch; however, today I am finally participating in a Use it! challenge. Rae Barthel, whose personal blog is definitely worth a visit, has created this challenge blog to help us use up our stash. Each week, a different hostess gets to present her challenge, which is geared towards using up what you've already got. Well this week's hostess, Regan, has definitely presented a challenge for me. Here are the specifics:

1.Go out of your comfort zone - for Regan that would be a "guy card", and I concur, so I did one as well.
2.Use something you’ve been hoarding for a while. - I used some trim, thread, fiber (whatever you want to call it), that I've had for about 4 years!
3.Use some of your new favourite things...paper, embellishments whatever - I am loving those friendly forest creatures from Colorbök, and this Offray ribbon that I've only had for a couple of weeks.
4. Heat Embossing - ugh, definitely a challenge for me because it's not my favorite thing to do, but in the end, I'm happy with how it turned out. I don't know if you can see it very well, but I did a close up of the sentiment on the inside of the card.

As for the 365 challenge - Kristie provided an excellent example along with a tutorial on her blog of a matchbook card. Once again, I turned to my Scor-it Board to create the clean, professional folds that I've come to rely on every time I make a card.

If you haven't been to Use it! Challenges, and you want more help using up your stash, then head on over there :)

365 Tri-Fold Challenge and a Card Patterns Sketch

This week has been so much fun - all the 365ers are sharing some really creative cards. Today's challenge is to create a tri-fold card, and it's Tammy's turn to share a tutorial. Here is my card. I had the basic design figured out, and then I turned to this week's CP sketch, which lent itself well to this type of card. You can see from the pictures below that I spread out the sketch over all three layers.

What's especially cool is that Scrapbook News and Review, where I am very happily on staff, is sponsoring a prize this week - a 3 months subscription!! That will be one very lucky winner :)

Money Holder - 365 Cards

Another scoring challenge at 365 Cards today, and it's Gloria's turn to share her tutorial. I wanted to give this one a go, so I did one this morning, and I combined it with Kazan's sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You this week.

I am really enjoying my Scor-it Board - it's handy and the score lines are professional looking! Here's how I created my card today:

Step 1: I started with a 6.5x8 piece of card stock that I scored and folded to create a 4x6.5 base card.

Step 2: I cut down a 3.75 x 5.75 piece of decorative paper for the front of the card, and then adhered only 3 sides to the card base -- this will ultimately be the pocket in which I slip in some cash.

Step 3: I popped onto my computer and created a 3.5x5.5 box with a dashed line in a Word doc. Then I printed it out, cut it down and adhered the corners (using a removable tape) to the decorative paper. I used a lightbox to be certain that the dashed box would be fitted evenly over the paper underneath. If you look closely you can see the dark shadow underneath the white paper.

Step 4 - Next I pulled out my paper piercing tools and poked holes along the dashed lines on 3 sides.Step 5 - The photo below shows the first stitch.


Step 6 - I decided to go for a second stitch (though it's not necessary), so I went back around the other way with the needle and thread. Then I tied the ends together at each starting/ending point.

Step 7: I finished the inside of the card, in part to cover up the stitch lines. I embellished the outside using Kazan's sketch for inspiration.

Card Stock: Bazzill Basics Paper
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
Ribbon: Offray
Pearls: Kaiser Scrapbook
Stamps: Stampin’ Up!
Ink: Colorbox
Oval Punch: EK Success

I decided to go with a pocket on the front of the card just for a change of pace. Thanks for stopping by, and skip on over to 365 and jump in anytime!

Scor-it Week at 365 Cards!

The time had finally arrived for us to celebrate Scor-it Week with SEVEN scoring challenges. My challenge is up first, and here is the tutorial for my Gift Card Holder:

Step 1: I began with two pieces of card stock, 1-4x7 and 1-2.5x5 inches.

Step 2: I took the 4x7 piece and scored it at 3.5 inches:

Step 3: I folded the card along the score line, and set it aside.

Step 4: Placing one of the 5 inch sides of the second piece of card stock against the ruler, I scored just under 1/2 inch in from the edge.

The reason I go just under 1/2 inch into the card stock is that once it's folded, I want the other piece of card stock to lay flat against this piece. You'll see what I mean when you adhere these pieces together.

Step 5: After I scored both ends of this piece, I turned the card stock so the 2.5 inch side rests against the ruler, and then I scored exactly 1/2 inch from the edge. The picture below shows what one of the adjoining corners looks like:

Step 6: At this point, I like to cut off the corner so the flaps don't overlap when I fold the flaps and seal them to the main card. I cut them at an angle so it isn't quite a straight line:

Step 7: To adhere the pieces together, I add double-sided tape to the flaps on all three sides. I like to use Provo Terrifically Tacky tape because it's unbelievably strong and will keep the pieces of card stock together. If you don't use a strong enough tape the flaps will start to come apart.

This is what it looks like before I remove the plastic backing.

Step 8: I stuck the pieces together and decorated the card. One thing I like to do is take a 1" circle punch to create a half-circle on the inside piece of card stock:

And here's my finished card:





I love making these, and I always keep a few around because I never know when I'll need to give a gift card to someone. Have fun and feel free to throw a question in the comment section if you want any other details!

Here's a diagram with the measurements and such:

Laura's Sketch 23

What a fun week it's been for me -- I've made a lot of cards. Unfortunately, I can only share one, because the others are for Scrapbook News and Review! So here's the one I'm sharing for Laura's sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You. I love to make 3x3 gift cards, and I am very pleased with this one. Lots of fabulous cards over in the gallery already, and a fabulous sponsor, too! Scor-it has sponsored their challenge this week, and I'm excited to say that Scor-it is sponsoring a prize over at 365 Cards next week - woo-hoo!!

So here's my card:

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Marrakech)
Stamps: Scenic Route Laurel Flower, Stampin' Up! (sentiment)
Ink: Colorbox
Oblong punch: EK Success
Bling: Making Memories (Chloe's Closet) and Martha Stewart
Blossom: MM

That's a lot of stuff on one little card ;) TFL and have a happy Easter!