oh noooooo..... not paint chips again!!!!!

A few years back,  I was on a paint chip roll. I thought they were the coolest things going. I was going to every hardware store around to collect them. I had hundreds of them. Well that passion soon faded and the paint chips were relegated to the back of the closet.

Through out several purges, I would almost throw them away, but something would stop me. And thank goodness, because when I saw the challenge at Tag, you're it, I went straight for the paint chips...oh no.... my friends are going to say..... not the paint chips again!!

I can honestly say, I don't think I ever thought to white emboss them. Wow! I was pleasantly surprised to see how beautiful the white embossing is on them. 

What great tags they make too. Quick and easy, add a hole and a ribbon or twine and voila an awesome tag for any occasion!

CAS(E) this Sketch is using a tag in their sketch, which fit perfectly into my plans and this card just came together.

Oh nooooooo.....I can just feel the pull to go to Home Depot for more paint chips!  

Old Bird

Birds, now there is a bit of stretch when it comes to a guy card huh? But that is what the challenge is at the Male Room this week.

 I love birds and watch them from my studio windows. I have a million bird stamps, but when it came to this challenge, I had to go to the bin of stamps rarely used anymore to find just the perfect stamp. I picked up this set from one of those big box craft stores- Inkadinkado "bird assortment". The birds are so much fun and there are some great sayings to go along with the images.

 I used watercolor paper as my card base and did a light blue wash and then sponged light blue with a screen stencil. I stamped the branch with a brown ink and colored the leaves with copics. I stamped, colored, and fussy cut the terrifically grumpy cardinal and popped him up on the card. Add the perfect sentiment and this fun guy card was done. I am saving this for my brother's birthday.

Please play along at the Male Room and show us your best guy bird cards!

It's all about the space

It's all about the space, 'bout the space, 'bout the space, no clutter!

Hi Everyone! Today I am the guest designer at Inkspiration! How exciting! They picked me because they really liked this post. That was a fun card, but today's card is much more in my wheel house.

When Marina sent me the inspiration I realized many folk will go in a certain direction. Not me, I always have to push and buck the system. So what is the word? It is SPACE!!!! Now you might understand tribute to Meghan Trainor.  I am a CAS gal at heart so it really is about the space, no clutter. Susan from Simplicity is one of my idols. She is definitely about the white space!

I actually made several different designs but I take being a guest designer seriously and did not want to disappoint you with something that was just too simplistic. This design was based on a favorite Easter card from my DH and is a great way to use those tiny stamps that often perplex us. Today I used a very old StampinUp stamp paired with an equally old sentiment from A Muse. 

Be sure to head on over to Inkspiration and see what the DT has come up with. I am heading over their now myself! An remember- SHOW ME YOUR SPACE!!!

Thanks bunches

I have a million reasons to be thankful a bunch of them!! Today is is the most glorious spring day thus far this year. I am looking out my studio window and the daffodils are blooming their hearts out! I am done school till June and I have a free day to stamp. What could be better.

I needed a thank you card. For some reason I have a million birthday cards stock piled, not so many thank yous. Since I had to make a card, I decided to check into some challenges to give me inspiration. 

Much to my surprise ShowCASe Your Style was looking for thank you cards! Perfect!

Happy Little Stampers,  a new to me challenge site was looking for the use of stencils in your project. I used a very old and the first stencil I ever purchased, way back when.... even before they were trending.

Curtain Call had a photo inspiration using a bouquet of flowers. 

And AAA cards had the word "springtime" as your inspiration.

I got very busy and created this fun tag thank you card. I die cut the tag and sponged inspiration colors through the stencil. To create a more dramatic effect I outlined the stenciled image with a sharpie. This is one of my favorite tricks to use with stencils.

Check out all of these great challenges and I am sure your creative juices will begin to flow!

Exciting news!

One of the challenges I have been playing along with the most lately has been the Male Room. It is challenge site dedicated to making cards for guys. How much fun is that! They recently had a design team call and I thought, "what they hey, I am gonna try out." And guess what I made it!!!

So today is my first official challenge as a DT member. What  fun challenge to start out with.

You have to use letters or numbers in your work. This challenge gave me the opportunity to use my new set of alphabet dies from My Favorite Things that I got at the Heirloom Rubber Stamp Convention.

Now, I know there is some hearts on this card, but I think the sentiment and the kraft card makes it guyish. Is that a word- "guyish"? I think it should be.

I am saving this card to give to my guy for our 28th anniversary that is coming up at the end of May. Because he is my #1!!

Sooo in honor of my being on team at the Male Room, I hope you will play along for this fun challenge!

Shake it, shake it up

Shaker cards-wow they are the hottest thing around! Do you think is is a coincidence that Taylor Swift has switched to pop music (not that she wasn't always popular) just when shaker cards were being reinvented. I think not- I mean her new song is "Shake it Off". It is pretty darn close dontcha think? Talk about reinventions.

So when Just Us Girls decided to make shaker cards as part of the trend challenge this week, I put Taylor's Shake it Off on and went to work!

I used a butterfly die from Memory Box and had some fun. I love the flower confetti in the butterfly bellies.

Be sure to check out what the Just Us Girls DT created. I know it will give you inspiration and if that doesn't work, put Taylor on!

Roots

Do you remember what sucked you into stamping, oooooooohhhhhhh sooooooo long ago? I remember like it was yesterday. I went to a stamping class at one of those "big box" craft stores and they embossed an image in gold. As the image rose and popped off the paper I was hooked.

Today, I rarely pull out my embossing powders. I am not sure when I began to think they might be beneath me. Yes, What an stamping elitist you are thinking. You are right. So when the Male Room had a challenge using metallic embossing powders, I thought "oh great". But, you know what I had so much fun going back to my roots. I got my gold, silver and copper powders from the back of the drawer, dusted them off and had some fun!

I used a perfect stamp set for a male card, "bold wishes" from CAS-ual Friday. I embossed the entire card and added some male looking enamel dots. Yeah, real men like bling!

Head on over the Male Room and see what others have come up with using metallic embossing powders.

House of Cards April

Soooo this card is kinda like find Waldo, or an optical illusion. Can you see the flight of butterflies? Just keep looking and you will see them. I saw this technique at the Online Card Class Stretch you Dies. While the technique was not that hard it was a bit time consuming, but the results are way cool, dontcha think? 

This month is a photo color challenge at House of Cards. I used both the colors and the idea of the butterflies in flight.

Here is another view, maybe it is a bit clearer.

I hope you will join us at the House of Cards  this fun photo color challenge. I can't wait to see what you all come up with!