365 Cards Sunday Sketch

Well, I don't know about you, but I had a wonderful Christmas. We weren't sure if my husband would make it home because he was in the Midwest right went the winter weather arrived, but he made it out of there and home late on Christmas Eve.

Our daughters still very much believe in Santa Claus, and it's always a pleasure for us to surprise them with things on their lists for Santa. We also carried on our tradition of looking at Christmas lights --so much fun!

So....moving on to today's sketch at 365 Cards, here it is:

I made this card for my dad, whose birthday was yesterday. I don't know that I would call it a masculine card, but I think it is fairly gender neutral. Either way, it was fun and easy to make.

I've been busy lining up some more great sponsors over at 365 Cards, and I'm also working on a makeover for the site shortly after the new year arrives...

Christmas Comes Early

Well I am making a super late post here - it's currently 1:40 AM on the West Coast - yikes!!

Although I'm getting this posted late at night, it was worth it because I had a wonderful date with my husband today. We went to see Beauty and the Beast on stage in Portland and then we had a delicious seafood dinner - yum!! We don't really exchange gifts, so instead we usually go out on a special date.

Anyway....

Here's today's 365 sketch and my card:

I'm not going to lie, this one was tough for me. I actually really liked the sketch, but I was so tired when I sat down to make the card it took me a while to get motivated. HOWEVER, I like the result, which is good since I'm sending this card to a friend who just got her PhD.

If you are celebrating Christmas, I wish you a very merry one!!

Another "Bazaar" Weekend

I've been spending my days this weekend at America's Largest Christmas Bazaar in Portland, OR, and I am thoroughly exhausted at the end of each day. I've learned a few things, too. My best selling cards are my 3x3 gift cards. I cannot keep enough of them on the table. It helps that I sell them "Buy 2 Get 1 Free", I think. But also, they are perfect for packages, and this time of year there are a lot of packages going around!!

But enough about that...

Today I am very excited to introduce our new Design Team member, Audrey, over at 365 Cards. She is very talented and we are thrilled to have her on board!

Here is the sketch for today:

Does it look funny? Well, it should because I flip-flopped it so you can see how my card actually came from the sketch. And here is the card:

I really wanted an excuse to use up some of the Core'dinations paper I got to play with for an event over at SNR Magazine. (If you want to see what all the staffers did with the Core'dinations paper that was so generously given to us to play with, stop by here.) I used it to create the snowman's body from the Hello Kitty Cricut cartridge. Then I did some sanding around the edges, and I distressed the edges of the white and yellow cardstock.

And if you have some time to play along at 365 Cards this week, we'd love to see what you create!

12 Days of Christmas at SNR Magazine!

Welcome to Day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas blog hop!

I recently tried out a house-shaped card using my Wild Card cartridge with the Cricut Expression to create a haunted house for Halloween. It was so much fun, I tried it for Christmas:

You can see the star on the tree peeking out the front window, and then when you open it up...

You'll see the full tree and some presents.

The finishing touch is a little crocheted blossom from GCD studios and a peppermint brad from Karen Foster to create a wreath on the front door. This was so much fun, I think I'll make several more!!

KLM Angel & Dove

Today is my last day sharing in the Tuesday spot - and I'm happy to say it's because I am reviewing applications to fill that spot!! Some amazing designers are turning this into a very tough decision :)



So here's my card...well actually, it's a gift tag (are the challenge police going to cause trouble??) Oh wait, that's me, so I guess I'm safe ;)

The tag is Bazzill Basics, and I'm afraid I can't remember where the tree paper came from. The ribbon is May Arts, which I was fortunate to receive in order to create cards for a May Arts event at Scrapbook News & Review Magazine. I had some of this lucious green ribbon left over, and it was just the right amount for this tag.

Here's a link to the image I used, and thank you for taking a moment to drop by for a visit.

A New Sponsor at 365 Cards!

It's KLM Designs Week at 365 Cards, and it's going to be a lot of fun!

For today's sketch card, I had the pleasure of working with the Emily Ballerina digital image.

Here's the sketch and my card:

I used Copics to color in that beautiful image. I will be giving this to my oldest daughter for her birthday in January. She takes ballet and tap, and even though she's only on her second year, I love to watch her dance.

If you have some time to make a card for this week's sketch, please join us!

Sketchy Birthday Card and a Happy Thanksgiving

Here's a card I made for my cousin - and it needed to be a masculine card. Sketches are fun, masculine cards are hard (for me), so this was a challenge indeed.

Anytime I'm unsure where to start, I check out one of my favorite sketch blogs - besides 365 Cards of course ;)

I took a peek at 2 Sketches 4 You and decided that Kazan's sketch 40 was a great fit for my needs. So here's my card:

You're looking at some Cosmo Cricket patterned paper - I just love that stuff!

It's also Thanksgiving and I had a fabulous day with my family!! My husband and I even got to sneak away for an afternoon date. So we went to the theater to see New Moon, and we both enjoyed it (although on this particular day hubby felt conspicuously male...)

If you are celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday, I hope it's a wonderful one. And if you are venturing out into the mob scene that is Black Friday -- Good Luck!! I will be sitting at my booth at America's Largest Christmas Bazaar in Portland, selling my cards. But that's a post for another day!!

365 Cards Sunday Sketch

Another sketch at 365 Cards, and I gotta tell ya, it wasn't my favorite to work with! What?? Yep, my own sketch and I just wasn't feeling very inspired. So I pulled out some Making Memories Autumn papers, stickers, etc., that I picked up at Michael's last week for something like 70% off!!

Anyway, here's the sketch:

And my card:

In the end, I was pleased with how it turned out.

So I know it's early to be thinking about New Year's resolutions, but I'm disappointed in my lack of blog surfing lately. I do make LOTS of cards every month, but there are several I can't share here, which you can see over at SNR Magazine -- BTW, we've been having several events over there with some AMAZING manufacturers. This weekend I've shared several projects over there that I made with product from Core'dinations (I'm in love with that stuff!!) and GCD Studios (which IMHO is perfect for creating altered projects), so stop over there and check it out. Oops -I got off track...anyway, I know there are some fabulous blogs out there that I'm missing out on, so it's time to start blurphing again!!

Stocking Card

I'm up again this week with my take on a challenge, and the challenge is called "Let's Patch Things Up".

So I added a patch to my stocking, check it out:

All that patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye and the button is Basic Grey. Since a patch would suggest that the stocking is worn out from years of love and hanging by the fireplace, I thought I should distress the edges of the stocking, too. Click on the image for a close-up.

And speaking of love, my 5 year-old daughter loves this one so much, she has already claimed it as her own!

Paper Popsicles Comes to 365 Cards!

Yay - a fun week is ahead at 365 Cards! We're working with digital images from Paper Popsicles this week, and it's been great so far. I worked with Abbie 2, and she is so darn cute, it was easy to come up with a card to fit the sketch!

So here's the sketch and my card:

As you can see, I flipped the sketch on its side and made a 4x6 card. Thanks for taking a look and jump in and play with us any time this week!

Feathery Tuesday

I'm filling the Tuesday spot this week at 365 Cards (Tammy, I miss you!!!) with my take on the Imagine This challenge, which is all about Feathers.

It was easy thinking of these fibers from Basic Grey that I added to my card, but I struggled with the sentiment. In the end, I decided on this cardstock sticker from Fancy Pants because it represents what this card makes me feel.

It's no secret that I am very proud to have such an amazing DT at 365 Cards, but I am especially humbled when I have to do a challenge other than a sketch, and have it try to be some of my best work. Thanks for stopping by!

365 Cards Blog Hop

Thanks for hopping over to my blog!

Here are my 7 random facts:

1. My favorite color is pink
2. I grew up in Minnesota

3. I'm a chocolate lover

4. I'm left-handed

5. I play indoor soccer

6. I love Dancing With the Stars and never miss it

7. I have a cat

Over at 365 Cards we are featuring our cards for the Sunday sketch and blog hopping, too. Here is my card for the sketch:

And there's a little surprise under the flap:

So, all you have to do is leave a comment for me here, and then move on to the next blog. Leave one comment on all seven blogs on our sketch posts for this week, and you'll be entered into a random drawing to win a Mac Mae Card Kit! I'll be giving 2 of them away at the end of the week, and one of them might just go to you!!

So now you can hop on over to Gloria's blog and check out her 7 random facts.

SNR/OCL Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Scrapbook News and Review/Our Craft Lounge Spotlight Blog Hop. Today, we are featuring a hop around to the blogs of SNR staff members who produced art for the Our Craft Lounge manufacturer spotlight article that first appeared in the giant Aug/Sept double issue.

Have you ever wanted to see a peek inside this great digital magazine? Well, today is your chance. Today, each blog on our hop will give you a look at projects from right inside the magazine.

I got the pleasure of working with some wonderful stamps from Our Craft Lounge, and here is a card I made using the stamps from the Pat the Dawg House set:

If you click on the image, you can see a close-up of the coloring, which I did with Copics.

Looking for even more fun? Our Craft Lounge Stamps and Scrapbook News and Review have a couple of great prizes for a couple of very lucky winners. Two prizes are up for grabs, today. One lucky winner will receive 2 sets of OCL stamps, and a 3 month subscription to SNR magazine. The grand prize winner will receive 3 OCL stamp sets, and a 6 month subscription to the magazine. Wow! So, how do you win? Simple. Visit the blog of every staff member on the hop, and take note of the titles of their featured projects. Then, just drop a note to games@scrapbooknewsandreview.com and give us the list. All entries must be received by 10 pm EST Oct 25, 2009. Be sure to include your full name, the names of all featured projects, and your email address. Winner will be chosen at random.

So, time to hop on to the next blog...

When you are finished here, we invite you to hop over to Tina's blog, Wooded Views. If you are joining us in the middle of our Hop, you can find the first blog post at the Scrapbook News and Review Blog The blog hop will conclude on the Scrapbook News and Review main page, where you will have the chance to read the entire Our Craft Lounge article, and enjoy all of the art and ideas included. Have fun!

365 Sketch and a Sponsor

This week we have a new sponsor at 365 Cards. The ladies from Torendi generously shared some product from their October kit, so I played with a little of it for my sketch card.

From the October kit, I used Cosmo Cricket Earth Love paper, and some rubons from E.A.D. Designs. Come join us this week and play along!

World Cardmaking Day!

It's nearly 9 PM as I write this, but I believe it is still technically World Cardmaking Day, so this is my celebratory card! It took me several hours to complete because I had to start and stop a bunch, but I got it done.

I was looking for some inspiration, and I really wanted to use a digital image that I created for a 365 challenge, so I hopped over to 2 Sketches 4 You to see the weekly sketch - and to my pleasant surprise they have one created especially for today and it works beautifully with my pumpkin. So here's the sketch and my card:

I think I'm definitely in the mood for Halloween, so I had fun making this card. It's been ages since I've played along with Kazan and Laura's sketches, so I was glad to pop over there and see what they've been up to.

Have a GREAT weekend!!!!

365 Cards Sketch and SNR Happenings!

Hi Everyone and Happy Sketchy Sunday!!

Here is my card for today's sketch:

This one came together pretty quickly - due to the nature of the sketch, I suppose - I think it's a bit easier than some of done recently...wait until you see next week's sketch ;)

So over at Scrapbook New & Review there is a lot of fun to be had. Check this out:

For one day -- save BIG TIME!For one day only, get an annual subscription for $29.99! You'll save $20.00 from the normal $49.99 and even more should you choose to do the monthly subscription of $4.99 per month. Do not delay -- you have until Sunday, September 27, 2009 at 8 p.m. EST. Click here to save BIG!

Also this weekend we're celebrating a big re-Grand Opening Event and you must see the amazing new look of the site. It has been such a pleasure to be on staff over there!!

Sassy Studio Designs Comes to 365 Cards!

I'm pleased to announced that 365 Cards is being sponsored by Sassy Studio Designs this week! The digital images are gorgeous - take a look at my card for this week's sketch:

And a close-up of the mask:

I created the glittery look on my card using my atyou Spica pens, and of course I love any excuse to load my card up with rhinestones and pearls :)

Come play along this week, you might just win a fabulous prize!

Kit Release and a Blogoversary Winner!

First, I must say I am SUPER DUPER EXCITED about the release of my September Mac Mae Card Kit - it has such a beautiful and warm color scheme. Please pop over there and check it out and let me know what you think!

Second (and Last), I have a winner for my blogoversary giveaway. Thanks to all of you who left me a (or several) comment. And the winner by random drawing is..............

Michelle at Made by Michelle!!!!

who left this comment:

"Love the Basic Grey Lime Rickey!!! and love Bazzill too!"

Well then, you'll love this prize package :)

I'm looking forward to another fabulous blogging year!

Michelle, contact me here with your mailing info~

Look What I Made!

I recently went to a pottery painting place with a friend of mine, and I spent about 3 hours painting this platter:

Here's a close-up:

The letters and images were STAMPED on - how cool is that? So it's not my usual card that I would share on this blog, but I sure had fun making it!

The Official Prize

Here's the prize, and I'll be drawing a winner at random on Friday! I might just even add a thing or two ;)

Blogoversary Prize...

Yikes! I meant to post a photo of the prize by now, but I've been getting my girls ready for their first week of school, not to mention the release of the September Mac Mae Kit. So.....you can expect that tomorrow....

Did you know...

...that I'm celebrating my blogoversary this month?



First let me share today's sketch card at 365 Cards:

I had such fun with this card, which features a stamp from InStyle Stamps - and her name is PAM! I stamped on some beautiful Basic Grey paper and colored in with Copics.

So, I'm sharing a pretty nice prize package with a lucky random winner, just for commenting on my posts starting with this one. For every comment you leave you get a chance at the prize. I'll be sharing more prize photos this week, so check back for those!

Prize Photos

So.........lots of fans of Basic Grey, huh? Well, then you'll like this photo:

How about any Sassy or Bazzill Basics fans?

Stay tuned for more pictures!!

Blogoversary Prize

Tomorrow there will be a sneak peek at some of the goodies I've put together, but before I share that, I'm just wondering - who are some of your favorite manufacturers? Maybe one or two of them will end up in the prize package...

Super Sketchy Sunday and My Blogoversary!

It's been a year since I officially started blogging - yay me! It has been so much fun, I'm going after another year...

And so, I must celebrate, and I would like you to join me. I'll be posting off and on for the next two weeks, sharing some cards and details about an amazing prize package - all in celebration of my first blogging year!!

For now, I would like to share today's sketch at 365 Cards and my take on the challenge:

Yes, I definitely imagined a tri-fold card after I finished the sketch. But if you look at all the DT cards, you'll see that it works for any style, and I think this has been the best variety of takes on one of my sketches so far!

So, are you wondering what you have to do to win my celebration package? Well, first, you just have to comment on this post. There will be a random drawing at the end of the month, but several opportunities to enter in the drawing. More details soon...

Art Glitter Week at 365 Cards

So this week we are playing with glitter over at 365 Cards - lots of messy fun!

I have been working on some cards for this week's challenge, and the first one up is the Sunday sketch:

The DT and I got to play with some glitter given to us in kits by art glitter. It came to us with some special clear adhesive with a special applicator tip. It was so easy to work with, and the result is shimmery and eye-catching! I'll be back later with another card...

RAW and a Card

We are celebrating Reader Appreciation Week at 365 Cards as a way to thank the MANY readers. I have been blown away by the positive response to the blog and enjoy it more and more each day.

Here is this week's sketch:

It's funny, because I really didn't have a plan for the card. I just had some adorable 6x6 Basic Grey paper (which came from my July Mac Mae card kit), that I wanted to use. So I sat down in front of the TV with my very pointy scissors and cut out these wacky little birds:

Thank you readers for keeping 365 Cards going!

365 Cards Sketch #19

We just finished a fun week at 365 Cards thanks to the sponsorship of Shortcuts. Today I'm sharing my card from this week's sketch.

Here is the sketch:

And my card:

My nephew, Gabriel, will be celebrating his 5th birthday next month so it was a good opportunity to make his card.

I'm so excited, I'm celebrating my blogoversary in less than a month, and there will be fun and prizes to go with!!

Mac Mae Card Kits Sponsors 2S4Y!

And I've decided to play along with Kazan's sketch over at 2 Sketches 4 You this week. The design team has done a truly wonderful job with my card kits - you must pop over there and check it out (unless that's where you came from *wink*).

I am visiting my family in Minnesota right now, but I brought along my July kit so that I could join in the fun. I think it's great to test my own product, and I can happily say that I only used what was in the kit, and I'm pleased with the result. Here is my card:

I must say, the beauty of my parents' backyard makes a perfect backdrop for this card!

If you would like to see several gorgeous cards that can be made with the July kit, check it out here - Gloria and Kristie did an outstanding job!

Oh Say Can You See!

It's a blog hop...

I'm so glad you could join the SNR Card Universe Blog Hop! If you came from Holly Young's blog you are on the right track! If you didn't you may want to hop to the Card Universe by clicking on the image above and start at the beginning.

I made a super cool card in honor of the birth of this fine nation. I wanted stars and stripes all over it, so I created a star-shaped card, and here are the details:

Step 1: I cut three large stars, 2 5-inch stars and one 4 3/4-inch star, and seven 1-inch stars using my Cricut (Plantin Schoolbook cartridge).

Step 2: I adhered the small stars to some blue card stock, which I adhered to the 4 3/4-inch star. Then I adhered several 1/4-inch red stripes so that there was 1/4-inch distance between them to create white stripes.

Step 3: I trimmed the blue and red card stock to the size of the star.

Step 4: I adhered the 4 3/4-inch star to one of the 5-inch stars. Then I scored a line at the base of the top point and adhered the top star to the other 5-inch star to create a card with a fold.

It's a little bit of work, but the final result is fun and festive. I think it would make a wonderful little note of thanks for a 4th of July party host!

Now how about a little giveaway? Just leave a comment on this post, and I will enter your name in a drawing for a free 1-month subscription to SNR! Leave a comment by 10 PM CST on Sunday, July 5th.

And guess what....you have arrived at the post of an SNR staffer, which means that I need to give you a code word if you're chasing after that fabulous 1-year subscription to Scrapbook News and Review. So here it is: ask. Keep on looking for those staff blogs on the blog hop!

Thanks for dropping by, and if you are celebrating the 4th, I hope you have a safe and happy holiday!!
Now it's time to hop on over to Jana Mays' blog, so I'll see ya over there...

Oops! Almost forgot to tell ya about the amazing weekend we've got planned over at SNR. Check it out: