Easter SPARKS

This week there is an inspiration photograph at the Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge blog:

I took away from this the squareness of the image, the white framing an off-white, and the cluster of images in the bottom-right corner. 

A little happy Easter card for my husb. The chicks, heart and exclamation mark are from Woofers and Tweeters (the exclamation mark is the upside-down 'i' from 'i dig you') and the 'happy' is one half of 'happy bird-day' from Birthday Buddies. I coloured in the chicks with an ink dauber! This is going into Simon Says Stamp's Anything Goes challenge, as well.
Happy Easter! 

Supplies: white & Stampin' Up naturals ivory cardstock, Woofers and Tweeters & Birthday Buddies stamps, Memento tuxedo black, dandelion, tangelo & Stampin' Up real red inks, Stampin' Up ticket corner punch

Pin It Now!

Easter at Crafty Creations Challenges

It's almost Easter (hello, long weekend) and at Crafty Creations Challenges, we're looking for those Easter projects you are making. I needed another Easter card, so the timing was perfect for me! 

Is that bunny in his shades not the coolest? I was so happy when the little sunglasses stamp (I don't know if that's what it's meant to be, but it worked for me) was a perfect fit for this rabbit. I scored the red panel to look like brick and popped the cool dude bunny.
I'm really happy with this card -- but wait till you see what the rest of the design team created! After you've been inspired, show us your Easter creation! We have a great prize from My Mum's Craft Shop for a lucky winner, too. 

Supplies: white & Stampin' Up ruby red cardstock, vellum, Echo Park Sweet Summertime Blue Sky patterned paper, Rubber Stampede Bunny Face & Paper Smooches Jive Turkey stamps, Memories black & Versafine onyx black inks, clear embossing powder, watercolour pencils, 3/4" square punch, Twinery Caribbean twine, Fiskars glue dot

Pin It Now!

Spring Flowers

So it's not exactly spring, but it doesn't totally feel like winter anymore, so that's something, right? And my cards are definitely leaning to spring more than winter these days. Case in point:

Tulips are so spring. I embossed these in white before watercolouring the background in distress inks. Then I coordinated the colours (because I never think to pick the papers first) with a couple of Plumeria patterned papers. A few rounded corners softened the overall design, and I have a springtime card. (I actually had a matching gift bag, too, but of course used it before I remembered to photograph it.) 
This card is popping into some springtime challenges! Simon Says Stamp and Addicted to CAS, as well as A Blog Named Hero's freestyle challenge and My Graphico's anything goes challenge.

Supplies: white cardstock, Basic Grey Plumeria patterned papers, Hero Arts newsprint tulip stamp, Colorbox frost white, tumbled glass & peeled paint distress inks, WOW white embossing powder, Creative Memories corner-rounding punch, dimensionals











Pin It Now!

Friday Friends with {Easter} Flair

TGIF! I think my sincerest hope for you on this first Friday of spring is... that it is or will be spring where you are soon! (I know, it's opposite below the Equator. Believe me, my readership there is small. :P) Perhaps because it continues to be so wintry in my backyard, I am in the mood to make spring cards. So today's Unity Friends with Flair card has spring colours, tulips, and will be one of my Easter cards:

I didn't think I'd be able to use the colour inspiration for this month's Unity {be inspired} Challenge, (so many!!!) but then Sizzix was nice enough to offer this free patterned paper download! It seemed to capture the spirit of the colours quite nicely. I also used the current card sketch. 
Since it's both a spring and an Easter card, I will be adding it to Simon Says Stamp's current challenge as well. And look! The patterned paper qualifies me for the current Moxie Fab World chevron challenge, too. 
If you're looking for some inspiration this weekend, be sure to check out all the Friends with Flair entries! 

                                         

Supplies: white, Bazzill basics melon & Stampin Up certainly celery cardstock, Sizzix digital patterned paper, Unity stamps (Giving it all Meaning, sentiment from Sweet Paper Pals; tulips unknown), Memento bamboo leaves & Versamark inks, WOW white embossing powder, Laurentien markers, Spellbinders tulips border die, Twinery Caribbean twine, unknown flower brad, dimensionals

Pin It Now!

SPARKS for Easter

This week the challenge at Paper Smooches SPARKS is a colour one. While it's called "Fiesta", I immediately thought, "Easter"! Possibly because I need a couple of Easter cards, but anyway... 
After playing around with a few ideas, I ended up taking my layout inspiration from this card I added to Pinterest a few days ago. 

How cute are these little chicks? I didn't have quite the right sentiment, so I printed this one on the computer. I traced over it with my clear sparkle marker for a little extra fun. I like that this is a card that will work for just about anyone!
And I almost forgot! I'm linking this up to Simon Says Stamp's latest challenge, for Easter or spring cards. 

Supplies: white & Stampin' Up garden green cardstock, Paper Smooches Woofers & Tweeters stamp, Memento dandelion, caneloupe & tangelo inks, atyou Spica clear glitter marker, EK Success 1 1/4" square & Marvy Uchida corner-rounding punches, pop-dot tape

Pin It Now!

Growing in Unity: Winner Time!

Thanks so much for visiting and saying such nice things last week while I was the Growing in Unity girl! Time to pick one comment to see who gets two Itty Bitty stamps of her choice. Day of the week:

From Thursday's comments: 

Congratulations, Gaylynn! Good luck narrowing your choices down to just two, though. :D 
Thanks again to everyone for coming to visit my blog last week! I hope you'll drop by again sometime. 

Pin It Now!

Growing in Unity Friday: Friends with Flair!

It's Friday already! My last day as a Growing in Unity girl. For my last card this week, I wanted to use another favourite I received in my very first Unity grab bag. 

I love this bird image, despite it being totally outside my usual style. I'd never tried stamping it on patterned paper before, but I think I like it! The branch is lightly sponged with vintage photo distress ink to give it a little dimension. For the sentiment... for the first time EVER I cut apart a stamp!!! In the kit All You Need, there is a transom window stamp with this sentiment right underneath. I knew I couldn't mask it successfully, so out came the craft knife. Scary, but I'm glad I did it. 
Don't forget, a comment on this post puts your name in the running to win two itty bitty stamps from Unity! Hope you'll come back and visit again soon. Have a great weekend! 

Supplies: white & Gina K. soft sand cardstock, Memory Box brioche patterned paper, Unity August 2010 Kit of the Month (All You Need...) image & grab bag sentiment stamps, Memento tuxedo black, teal zeal & Stampin' Up real red inks, Quickutz heart die, Memory Box woodland branch die

Pin It Now!

Growing in Unity Thursday: A Small Stamp...

Hello again! It's time for the Thursday installment of my Growing in Unity week. Today I've used a small stamp from an {ippity} set and turned it into what I hope is the star of the card.

I stamped the music notes randomly on a cardstock panel in Memento Paris Dusk before sponging with distress inks. The water droplets I flicked on the panel reacted much more with the distress inks (as I'd expected/hoped). I punched three squares from the panel once it was dry, matted them, then added a sentiment from Bevy of Butterflies. I think I still had yesterday's Crafty Creations challenge, Singing in the Rain, in mind as I made this!
Just in case you missed the news, commenting on this or any of my posts for Unity this week puts you in the running to win two itty bitty stamps of your choice! (I have my eye on the some of the new Wit and Wisdom ones, myself.) Hope you'll come back tomorrow as I wrap up my Growing in Unity week! 

Supplies: white, Bazzill Basics blue & Stampin' Up bashful blue cardstock, (ippity} by Unity Sing a New Song & Unity Bevy of Butterflies stamps, Memento Paris Dusk,  stormy skies & faded jeans distress inks, pop-dot tape, Creative Memories corner-rounding punch

Pin It Now!

Growing in Unity Wednesday: One Stamp, Three Cards

Looking for today's Crafty Creations Challenges post?

Click here.

It's my half-way day as a Growing in Unity girl, and I have three different cards to share with you today! One clean and simple, one a little more involved, and one holy-moly-it's-a-collage card. :D If you've arrived here for the first time via the Unity blog, welcome! Hope you like what you see. Now, on with the show! 
I decided to use one of my favourite stamps that I've received in grab bags through the generosity of Unity's Friends with Flair giveaways. (I plan to use another favourite later this week.) I wanted to play with the idea of using one stamp in three different ways. My first card is typically clean and simple:

I stamped this bicycle stamp in teal, then debossed a square frame around it using a few layers of cardboard stuck together. High tech all the time around here. :D The simple 'hello' sentiment is also from a grab bag. Someday, I'll learn to match ink to paper instead of the other way around, but luckily this paper went perfectly. Plus, I like how the polka dots echo the bike wheel.
My second card has a few more details to look at:

You can see how I rotated and simplified this layout from Tuesday Morning Sketches, right? The bicycle is stamped this time in pale green, trimmed closely, and popped on cardstock I swiped with the same green ink. The sentiment, in a handwriting I really like, is stamped in a darker green. Again, luckily I had patterned paper and twine to match. Oh look, polka dots to echo bicycle wheels again. 


Then I decided it was time to really mix things up:

Yes, once again I stamped the bicycle first, then went looking for other elements to coordinate. (Full disclosure: I'd stamped this one meaning to make a second card like the first, but messed up the debossed frame. Time to cut out and use the image a different way!) Except for the cloud from my die cut stash, the papers are all from Simple Stories' Summer Fresh pad. And they matched my die cut sun, the washi tape AND the paper tape! This almost never happens. Total coincidence that there are polka dots again. ;)
What do you think -- do you have a favourite? Hope to see you back here again tomorrow for another Unity creation. 

Supplies: (hello) white cardstock, My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose Hattie papers, Unity stamps (from grab bags), Memento teal zeal ink, pop-dot tape; (beautiful day) white cardstock, My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Fly a Kite patterned papers, Unity October 2010 Kit of the Month (Take Time to Laugh) & grab bag stamps, Memento new sprout & bamboo leaves inks, Divine Twine green apple twine, pop-dot tape; (live laugh play) white & yellow cardstock, Simple Stories Summer Fresh patterned papers, Unity grab bag stamp, Memnto rhubarb stalk ink, Lil' Inkers small sunshine & rainbows and clouds dies, We R Memory Keepers washi tape, Basic Grey Oliver paper ribbon, dimensionals

Pin It Now!

Singing in the Rain at Crafty Creations Challenges!

Looking for today's Growing in Unity post? Click here.

Our inspiration this week at Crafty Creations Challenges is the phrase "Singing in the Rain"! You could choose to be inspired by music, rain, the movie of the same name... or maybe all three? We are sponsored this week by Bugaboo Stamps, and I used one of Jodie's fun images for my card: 

I decided to colour in this Deacon Rain image simply, using bright, primary colours. I added a little sparkle to the rain and puddle with a clear glitter marker. He still didn't really look like he was in a singing mood, though, so I went with a get well theme, creating the sentiment on computer and printing it onto patterned paper. 
I'll be back in a few hours with Wednesday's installment of my Growing in Unity week! 

Supplies: white & teal cardstock, Creative Imaginations dots and stripes warm patterned paper, Bugaboo Deacon Rain digital image, Sharpies, Prismacolor pencils, atyou Spica clear glitter marker, Creative Memories corner rounding punch 

Pin It Now!

Growing in Unity Tuesday: Photo Frame

Happy Tuesday, and welcome to my second day of Growing in Unity. in contrast to yesterday's busy card, today I have a super-simple one:

While it's certainly not showing off any mad stamping skilz, it highlights how perfect this image is for framing a photo, particularly anything beach-related. And FYI, it's so not me in that picture! While the book may be accurate, it's really just a random Bahamian beach shot. Later I can slip the photo out of the right side (which I left open) and put a more personal one in. 
Leaving a comment on this or any post this week gives you a chance to win two itty bitty stamps from Unity. I'm back tomorrow with not just one, but three cards to show you! 

Supplies: Stampin' Up naturals white cardstock, Unity/Iron Orchid Designs Beach Cottage Collection stamp, Stampin' Up crumb cake craft ink, clear embossing powder

Pin It Now!

Growing in Unity Monday: Movie Time

It's the first day of my Growing in Unity week! That certainly makes Monday worthwhile for me. I've got an entire week of cards made with Unity stamps ready to show you. Today's card was one of the most fun to make:

This was one of those cards that started with an idea (stamping "movie night" on tickets) and then grew from there. I did have some die-cut tickets, but decided that the movie night stamp fit better in the larger Unity ticket stamp. I thought the numbered patterned paper was reminiscent of the countdown numbers at the start of old newsreels and films. The scalloped stamp and punched scallop border made me think of old-time theatre curtains. (Which I suppose should be in a dusty red velvet colour, but today I wanted bright blue movie curtains.) The colours are also inspired by the current Unity {be inspired} challenge. To further continue the curtain theme, I scored the blue cardstock to be reminiscent of drapery pleats -- they aren't really showing up in the photo. The clipboard is to set a date for going to the movies! This would have been the perfect opportunity to use some filmstrip washi tape or Tim Holtz filmstrip ribbon... but since I don't own those, I used cutouts from an ad I had saved long ago for just such a purpose. Even the red ribbon has tiny stars on it to further the movie/Hollywood theme. 
Be sure to comment on today's post for a chance to win your choice of two Unity itty-bitty stamps! I'll be back tomorrow with a card much more true to my usual clean and simple style. 

               

Supplies: white, black, teal & Stampin' Up very vanilla cardstock, manila tag, Stampin' Up newsprint patterned paper, Unity stamps (scalloped border stamp from September 2011 Kit of the Month-All Seasons; the balance from assorted grab bags), Memento tuxedo Black, Teal Zeal & Stampin' Up Real Red inks, Stampin' Up scallop border punch, scrap red ribbon, pop-dot tape

Pin It Now!

Smile!

This week, the Paper Smooches SPARKS Trend Watch Challenge is all about smiles. 

One of the great things about Paper Smooches stamps? Pretty much everyone and everything is smiling. I played around with a bunch of different ideas, but ended up with one of Kim's digital images: 

This time of year, seeing some sunshine definitely brings a smile to my face! So this image seemed perfect. I also used (half) a sentiment from Smarty Pants to make this a happy thank you card. Also, look -- patterned paper from three different companies that mixed together! 
Psst... hope you'll come back tomorrow, when I start my Growing in Unity week! 

Supplies: white & textured Bazzill Basics yellow cardstock, Creative Imaginations Dots and Stripes Warm, Cosmo Cricket Clementine & Echo Park Sweet Summertime patterned papers, Paper Smooches digital sunshine image & Smarty Pants sentiment, Versafine onyx black ink, pop-dot tape

Pin It Now!