You Did It

I have about 5 minutes to post before running my littlest dancer to her hip hop class.

So here goes...

Today is the start of a new challenge blog called Poppy Sketches

by Laura Davis

And in an effort to bounce around and try as many sketch challenges as I can, I decided to plunge right in on the first sketch

It's a sketch with a color challenge and this is what I imagined

I'd like to tell you all about the yummy new ink I bought from Papertrey Ink, but I think this close-up picture will do a better job

Um, can ya tell I'm in love with gold right now?

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to do a floral thing -- it seems the DT did, so I went with this fabulous Teresa Collins paper that made me think of overlapping flower petals.

I have another card to post and details from my oldest daughter's recent trip to Washington D.C.  I'm one proud momma and I have to share.

The short version is that she went to represent the state of Washington to advocate for diabetes research.

Back soon with more crafty business...

Thinking of You Part II

Here's another sympathy card -- it wouldn't have to be, I suppose, but that is its intended purpose in this case.

There's a new challenge up at Moxie Fab World, so I am submitting this to the Stencils: Styling with Stencils Challenge.

I've had this Jillibean Soup stencil/stamp set for a few weeks, so this was a great opportunity to use it (the stencil only).  I used my Copics to create the dots, and as they bled into the paper they created a really cool effect.

The sentiment (same one as yesterday, so I can't recall the manufacturer), was stamped on adhesive-backed fabric from DCVW.

The sequins are a random mix, but primarily from Doodlebug Designs.  I rounded two of the corners with a punch from Stampin' Up.

The sun is shining and I'm off to run some errands...

Thinking of You

Here's a quick little post with a sympathy card that I needed to make

No challenges, just because I wanted to play with my Copics and some Heidi Swapp Color Shine.

I don't recall who the stamp manufacturer of the sentiment is - I've had it for about 3 or 4 years now, but it was perfect for this design.

Here's a close-up image

I colored around a chipboard butterfly (Stampin' Up, I believe) which I used as a mask.  

I'm still working on thank you notes -- that'll teach me to put it off *wink*

Kind and Lovely

I had that stunning moment recently when I realized that I never sat my oldest daughter down to write thank you notes for her birthday (which was more than a month ago!).  So I decided to put a little more effort into creating some extra special cards.  Of course, this takes time and so they will go up on the blog one at a time.

Here's the first one

So the gold cardstock with the white threads running through it was one of my impulse purchases.  Gold is definitely "in" right now, and I wanted to give it a whirl.  The sentiment stickers were a must have - I was eyeing them the last time I went shopping and I couldn't resist them this time.  They are Maggie Holmes from Crate Paper/American Crafts.  It was all I could do not to buy up the whole collection!  

The stars, clear sequins and the giant & are from Paper Issues Swag Bags & kits.  Pink sequins are Doodlebug.  Patterned paper is Teresa Collins.  I spritzed it with some Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Primrose.

Here's a close-up of the glittery, shiny gold goodness

On a completely separate note, but along the lines of "Kind & Lovely", I had a "YAY ME" moment recently when I received an honorable mention award from the Fusion Challenge Blog.

I was so very proud of my card, and it meant a lot to have received recognition for it, so thank you for that!  I will be playing along whenever I can because I adore the idea of their challenges.

I made a completely unnecessary and frivolous purchase at Craft Warehouse today, but I am pretty excited about this one set of items in particular

Notice the price tag in the corner - American Crafts scissors from $29.99 down to $7.00 - um, yes please!  I always resent having to spend $$ on boring old supplies like glue, tape and scissors, and yet they must be a part of our crafty collection of things, so I'm happy to have stocked up.  My daughters get their hands on all of that stuff and I never see it again (until many months later when I do a thorough cleaning of their rooms!).

Alright, back to crafting - I have a few more thank you notes to create...

XOXO DS141

Wandering around blogland yesterday and found this sketch at The Deconstructed Sketch.

I was immediately inspired to create this card

I've definitely fallen in love with the sequin craze, but my other new addiction is paper straws.  I found these at Target over the weekend and put them to use right away.

The patterned paper is from the Crate Paper Love Notes collection, the woodgrain stamp is Lawn Fawn (colored with a Tsukineko Memento marker) stamped on white card stock and cut out using a Spellbinders die (and my handy dandy Cuttlebug), the cork circle is My Little Yellow Bicycle, and the other little embellies are from the Paper Issues monthly Swag Bag (which means I don't recall the exact manufacturers, lol).

Here's a close-up

I have the whole day in front of me and maybe even more crafty time.

If so, I'll be sure to post again later...

You're Somethin'

I've known about the Fusion challenge (clever idea!) for a while now, but have finally had time to play along.

Here's the challenge

And I used both the sketch and photo as inspiration to create this card

I layered card stock (All Bazzill) by punching holes, each one slightly smaller than the layer on top of it.

The stamps are Lawn Fawn sentiments, yellow sequins are from a Paper Issues Swag Bag, teal sequins are Doodlebug Designs. Punches are EK Success, and I'm not sure about the wooden heart.

Here's a close-up with some fancy photo editing

I'm super excited, this is the first Saturday in weeks that I didn't have to run around all over the place, so that means some crafty time all to myself!

I could clean the house, but.....

Happy Birthday

To my nephew, who turned 8 on the first of this month!

He's a cutie (but he probably wouldn't want me to say that) and I needed to create a "boy" card.

I turned to sketch #15 at Seize the Sketch, which you can find HERE

Great sketch!  And here's my card

You can see I smushed it down, but stuck closely to the sketch otherwise.  I went a little star crazy, playing with some goodies from the March Swag Bag from Paper Issues.

The stamp is from a Lawn Fawn set of sentiments.

I have several cards in the works, but lately it seems it takes me several days to complete one.  That's okay, though, sometimes I think they turn out better that way because otherwise I would be too rushed and I think it would show.

Crossing my fingers that I get some time to craft this weekend, have a good one!