A little message

Okay, okay I know I should be working on my oral presentation, my group isn't gonna be happy with me if I have nothing done. But, but, I just couldn't focus until I made this card. I promise I will spend the afternoon reading about nurse executives.

This card was inspired by the challenge at The Male Room, a challenge site that asks for cards with  a masculine bend. This weeks challenge was to make your own background.

I have had this idea poking around in my head for a bit. I stamped wide stripes with Simon Says Stamp  ink on craft paper. Then using the same khaki ink I stamped Hero Arts- Newspaper background . It makes a really cool background, huh? I stamped the pool base card with Simon Says Stamp sea glass ink using Hero Arts Envelope Pattern background stamp to add some texture. These big background stamps are the perfect way to create quick and easy backgrounds.

I thought the typewriter from Lawn Fawn's Just My Type. They have the cutest typewriter. I colored it with matching copic colors, some enamel dots and there you have it. The message inside can be anything, birthday, thank you, get well, congrats. A perfect guy card to have on hand for any occasion.

Check out the other backgrounds at The Male Room and maybe you will play along too.

Life is Sweet

This week's challenge at Just Us Girls is to create a water color background. Of course I never read the directions. i thought we were suppose to just use any watercolor technique. So, I spent last Saturday making these really cool watercolored flower cards. Then I noticed today the challenge was for a background! There I was scrambling to remake my challenge card.

The good news is I used the same technique for today's card that I had on my other cards. I took the background flower dot pattern from Hero Arts and sprayed it with water and scribbled it with watercolor crayons in blues and greens. I spritzed it lightly again and stamped it onto watercolor paper.

I used the same technique with the flowers from Simon Says Stamp. the saying is from My Favorite Things.  

Check out this tutorial to see how I made this card.

I will post my other cards soon showcasing this same cool technique. Please join us in this great technique challenge at Just Us Girls!

May your dreams blossom

Yesterday when I was driving home from work, I noticed that everything is blooming! I should have figured by the way I have been sneezing!

I love May, I love seeing the dogwoods, my sweet smelling vibernum, the irises showing off their beards, and the daffodils. The smells of spring just put you in a good mood.

In honor of all blooming things I created this card. At CAS-ual Fridays, they are challenging us to stamp on designer paper. I had to think about that one. I remembered my Hero Arts fabric backgrounds and thought yeah- that's the ticket. I stamped this background on several different sheets of DP, but none of them worked. You couldn't use anything to bold with too much color, it needed to be subtle. I found a pack of Basic Grey papers and the pink sheet worked great. I die cut and stamped the flowers and leaves from Papertrey Ink's Embroidered blooms set. All together you have that fabric, tapestry feel.

Another one of my favorite challenge sites- CASology is having us being inspired by the word "bloom". I think this card works for that challenge- don't you?

So even though it is cool spring day, my window to my studio is open and I can smell of blooming things.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

I got very behind this year with my St. Patrick's Day cards and had to make 15 in one day. So I cranked out these guys. I love this blueprint for cards. I suppose I could do Easter with a collage of eggs!

Anyway- I took me about an hour to make 15 of these. So I was able to get them in the mail in a timely fashion.

Hope all of you are having a lucky day!

Peace on Earth

Sorry for not being a good blogger, between my new class, work and trying to make over a 100 holiday cards I haven't had time to blog. My class, work and cards are done till after Christmas so I have no more excuses. I will try to make up for lost time this week.

I saw a card somewhat similar to this and knew the tree die from Impression Obsession would be perfect. The peace is from the Papertreyink wondeful holiday words. I have used them over and over again this season. Click on the picture and you will see the trees are cut from glitter paper.

Here are 2 other versions of the same card.

I hope you are all able to relax and enjoy the holidays.

Peace,

Happy Halloween!

Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween from a cute kitty to a scarrrrrrrry kitty.

I hope your Halloween is all treats and no tricks!

Red Christmas

Every year I find a color combo that I really like for my holiday cards. This year it is red and white. I especially like the idea of red snowflakes for some reason. I had to use my Impression Obsession snow flake background again and I had to do it in red again. 

I am submitting this card to the "Over the Edge" challenge at Cas-ual Friday.  An element needed to hang over the edge. Out came the PTI set- in the meadow with my sleigh running right off the edge.

I am also submitting it to the CASE study challenge, where an adorable card by Julia Stainton was the inspiration.

Stay with me for the next few months and see how many ways I can use this great background stamp!

Holiday Card Workshop Card with updates.

Yesterday my buddies and I traveled to York,  Pa. for the fall Heirloom Convention. We have never been to this particular location. Not sure we will go back, every year the conventions get smaller and smaller, I recognize fewer and fewer folks.

Impression Obsession didn't disappointment though. I waited in line for 25 minutes to check out and it was worth it. I am beginning to see the draw of the big 6x6 background stamps. This particular snowflake background drew my eye and I knew I was going to have to stamp it in red.

I added my new "merry die" from Papertreyink, a few snowflakes and some bling and waa laaa one of my first holiday cards made with all new things.

Over at Just Add Ink the challenge this week is using something new. Well this card is all new so I am submitting it.

Oct. 30, 2012 update. The Holiday card workshop at Online classes with Jennifer Maguire and Kristina Werner is going on right now. You can still sign up and the classes are always excellent with many new techniques to learn and ideas to kick start your creativity. Lisa Spangler used a HA background stamp to create her holiday cards and it reminded me of this card I made a few weeks ago and i wanted to share it with my fellow students.

Take care all and happy creating!