Creativity Catch Up for CASology and StampNation

I'm into the fifth week of school, and am really feeling "blah" from my lack of creativity.  So I decided to play a little catch up today and create a few cards that I will post throughout the week. Here is one that I created with two challenges for inspiration. 

Inspired by the CASology Cue Card this week, which was "love", and inspired by StampNation's challenge this week for a stamp with a heart, here is a little something I cooked up . . .

The heart die was popped using some Sookwang Scor-tape that I rolled horizontally, a little tip I learned from a member of StampNation.  One of my favorite things about StampNation is the knowledge sharing from the amazing membership there.  It is my go to place for creativity.  

Rolling horizontally, you ask?  Basically, you take a length of tape, lay it down on a surface such as a cutting mat or a craft mat, and you roll the long side to make a very long string of glue that is super thin and bends with your project.  It gives a little dimension too, which is awesome. 

Hard to notice, but I also embossed hearts onto the pattern paper inside my heart frame.  They were embossed using a new powder from Ranger that has a little bit of sparkle. 

One-layer cards are usually pretty tough for me, but this one came pretty easily. 

I cannot wait for my class to be over so I can get back to creating on a more regular basis.  My "heart" needs paper, glue and ink a whole lot more than statistics, scatter plots and predictive models.  I've definitely learned that in the last five weeks! 

I hope you find time to create when you can! 

Supplies Used

Cardstock:  Simon Says Stamp*

Pattern Paper:  Crate Paper*

Stamps:  Paper Hugs*

Dies:  Surely Stitched Heart Craft Die from Simon Says Stamp

Ink:  My Favorite Things, Versamark, Ranger Embossing Powder

Ribbon:  Twine from The Twinery

Other:  Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh

*from Simon Says Stamp February Card Kit

Flying High for Color Throwdown

A little something out of my wheelhouse for Color Throwdown . . . not the colors, just the way it all came about.

Kite paper . . . required a kite die.  Lots of bold color here . . .
 

I had a lot of fun building my kite and creating this card. 

Supplies Used

Cardstock:  Neenah

Pattern Paper:  Authentique

Stamps:  The Stamps of Life

Dies:  The Stamps of Life

Ink:  Stampin' Up, Versamark, Ranger Embossing Powder

Ribbon:  The Twinery

Mixing Dies and Stamps for Merry Monday

I mixed several stamps and dies to get the sentiment on the front of my card for Merry Monday. 

"wishing" + "you a" + "Merry Christmas"

. . . all came from three different die/stamps sets.

The challenge at Merry Monday was to use a bow on your card.  Enter another stamp set, and another die.  That's five stamp sets and five dies.

The swirls around the frame of the sentiment are from a bow stamp in a set that I have.  And then a real bow.  For the "wishing" die, I cut through both my pattern paper and my white frame die.  The "you a" was a stamp I masked off just to get those two little words.  

Always fun to create on a Sunday afternoon.  I hope you find some time for some creative release today! 

Supplies Used

Cardstock:  Bazzill* and Neenah

Pattern Paper:  Lawn Fawn's Snow Day Collection*

Stamps:  Presents & Ornaments, Holiday Greetings, Circles for the Holidays, all from Simon Says Stamp

Dies:  Circle Card Border, Suspension Tree, and Stamp Script Wishing, all from Simon Says Stamp

Ink:  Stampin' Up

Ribbon:  Stampin' Up

Other:  Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh

*from Simon Says Stamp November Card Kit

Critter Card for The Paper Players and CAS(E) this Sketch

I had a blast creating this card.  I combined the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch and the inspiration of using a critter on a card from The Paper Players. 

The stamped image is from Unity, and along with my order they sent the little paper bag/tag which i used for this card.  Fun to stamp and color on!  

From the combination of pattern papers to that awesome little tag, this was a fun one to create.  

Supplies Used

Cardstock:  Bazzill

Pattern Paper:  Basic Grey Vivienne

Stamps: My Person, Far Better Things Ahead Grab Bag from Unity

Ink:  Versafine, Clear Embossing Powder, Distress Markers, Stampin' Up

Ribbon:  Paper Smooches

Other:  Tag and Brown Bag Pocket from Unity Stamp, Heart Stone from Prima

A Couple of CASE'd Cards

Sharing a couple of cards that I made for challenges at StampNation.  Both of these were challenges where you had to CASE a particular card. 

This one had some horizontal borders, and while the card I was CASEing had brighter colors, I stayed a bit on the subdued side. 

 The card below was a CASE of another member's card.  The card I was CASEing was a black and white card, and I went with a monochromatic, peachy card. 

Love how this one turned out.  That heart stone gem is so stinkin' cute.  

Hope your day is peachy! 

Supplies Used - Thank You

Cardstock:  Bazzill

Pattern Paper:  Studio Calico*

Stamps:  Howdy from Studio Calico

Dies:  Howdy from Studio Calico and Heart Parade from Simon Says Stamp

Ink:  My Favorite Things

Ribbon:  Stampin' Up

Other:  Pretty Pink Posh Sequins

*Items noted were from Studio Calico Park Avenue Card Kit

Supplies Used - Happy Birthday

Cardstock:  Neenah

Pattern Paper:  DCWV

Stamps:  Happy Birthday from Whimsy Stamps

Ink:  Stampin' Up

Ribbon:  Stampin' Up

Other:  Doily from Bo Bunny, Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh, Heart Gem from Prima

You Matter for Card Concept

I created a clean and layered, card for The Card Concept . . .

The cardstock, pattern paper and stamp set are from my February Simon Says Stamp Card Kit.  I added a few supplies of my own. 

Piecing together die cuts is like putting a jigsaw together.  The hardest part is keeping track of all the little pieces. 

Supplies Used

Cardstock:  Simon Says Stamp*

Pattern Paper:  Crate Paper*

Stamps:  Paper Hugs*

Dies:  Surely Stitched Heart Craft Die from Simon Says Stamp

Ink:  My Favorite Things, Versamark, Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder

Ribbon:  Stampin' Up Ribbon

Other:  Heart Stone from Prima

*from Simon Says Stamp February Card Kit

Musical Critters for Merry Monday and Freshly Made Sketches

I spent the entire night dreaming of "box and whisker charts", outliers and data, thanks to my homework assignment from the class that is keeping me away from creating.  I would wake up, think, "wow, that was a ridiculous dream" and fall asleep to dream more about data and outliers!  When I finally woke up this morning, I said, "Girl, you've gotta get busy with some ink, paper and glue!

So Freshly Made Sketch and Merry Monday it was, as I used the sketch from one and the inspiration from the other.  
 

Merry Monday's challenge was to create a card with carolers or a music focus.  I didn't have carolers on any of my stamps (note to self), but I did have a set from Simon Says Stamp that had some critters with some musical notes.  They caught my eye this morning.  I also had some leftover paper from my November Simon Says Stamp Card Kit!  Cha-ching!

I had lots of fun coloring these critters, although I had a lot of interruptions, so the blending was a little difficult because areas had dried.

The musical notes on the banners and sentiments are confetti. 

Hopefully I'll dream about deer and penguins tonight . . . or paper and ink.  Hopefully not data, scatterplots, box and whiskers, outliers . . . Blech!

Hope you find some time to create and dream about fun stuff!

Supplies Used

Cardstock:  Simon Says Stamp*

Pattern Paper:  Lawn Fawn's Snow Day Collection*

Stamps:  Simon Says w/Clearly Besotted

Dies:  Simon Says Stitched Circle Die and Sizzix Scallop Circle Die

Ink:  Memento, Versafine and Clear Embossing Powder, Copic Markers

Other:  Musical Note Confetti (from stash) and Wink of Stella

*from Simon Says Stamp November Card Kit

Using My Stash for Simon's Wednesday Challenge

I set out to use my stash of supplies for this week's Simon Says Stamp Challenge, which was "Have a Heart!  I used supplies from the Simon Says Stamp November Card Kit, which had some supplies that were perfect for a Valentines Day card. 

I used that awesome Heart Parade border die, and because the paper had a sentiment on it, stamping was optional.  A super easy card. 

Supplies Used - You Warm My Heart

Cardstock:  Simon Says Stamp*

Pattern Paper:  Lawn Fawn's Snow Day Collection*

Dies:  Heart Parade from Simon Says Stamp

Other:  My Mind's Eye Wild Jubilee Enamel Shapes* and Stickles

#HBD Share

 I have a few cards to share.  They were all created during StampNation's 4th Birthday Celebration as part of challenges for the members. 

Now let's see if I can remember the details. 

There was a challenge to create a card with FOUR of something . . . 4 circles!

And that card included a spot for a gift card . . .

And then there was a challenge to create a birthday card for anyone . . .

And that one included a one-layer embossed card, so it did sparkle and shine!

Next up was a card "for her" . . . 

Just a few #HBD cards. 

Cheers! 

Supplies Used - #HBD

All supplies from Studio Calico Park Avenue Card Kit except sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and Ink from Memento

Supplies Used - Sparkle and Shine

Cardstock:  Simon Says Stamp*

Stamps:  Sparkle and Shine*

Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink*, Ranger Gold* and Pure Platinum Embossing Powders*

Other:  Pretty Pink Posh, EK Success Circle Punch

*from Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit

 

Supplies Used - Celebrate

Cardstock:  The Stamps of Life*

Pattern Paper:  The Stamps of Life*

Stamps:  November Card Kit Stamp Set*

Ink:  Colorbox from The Stamps of Life

Ribbon:  Twine*

Other:  Enamel Dots*

*from The Stamps of Life November Card Kit

Mahalo Dude!

Paper piecing was the order of the day today, as I was playing along with the AEI[heart]U challenge.  I set out to create a bit of a scene.

 My background piece was created on Neenah Desert Storm cardstock.  I used Avery Elle pigment inks, which I streaked across the paper, to create sky and water.  I then stamped my images of sun, van and trees and set out to "color" them with pattern papers from The Stamps of Life. 

The van windows were filled in with Liquid Glass, and the bumpers and hub caps with silver Liquid Pearls.

I love the sentiment on this card!  Super fun card to create.

Supplies Used - Mahalo Dude

Cardstock:  Neenah

Pattern Paper:  The Stamps of Life (from November kit)

Stamps:  Surfs Up from Avery Elle

Ink:  Avery Elle Pigment Ink, Versamark, Ranger Black Embossing Powder

Other:  Silver Liquid Pearls from Ranger, Liquid Glass from Close To My Heart, Stickles

Our Home to Yours for Merry Monday

I have lots of house dies and house stamps, as that is a super huge trend.  Do you think I could find any of them for this challenge?  I really need to reorganize my "collection" of stamps and dies. 

I did finally find this stamp set from Studio Calico, and I set about to create a little something for this week's Merry Monday challenge.  I also wanted to use up the paper from one of my kits. 

 All of the stamped images were done in Versamark and black detail embossing powder.  I glued silver heart sequins on each of the houses.  They're like tiny little mirrors! 

Always fun to play along and explore creating.  It's not one of my favorite cards, but it's one to had to my holiday card collection.  We're 11 months from Christmas! 

Supplies Used

Cardstock:  Bazzill

Pattern Paper:  Studio Calico Park Avenue Card Kit

Stamps:  Holiday Joy by Mama Elephant for Studio Calico

Ink:  Versamark and Ranger Black Embossing Powder

Ribbon:  Close To My Heart

Other:  Pretty Pink Posh Sequins (silver hearts and clear)

It's Your Day!

Today I'm sharing another card created over the weekend for StampNation's 4th Birthday! 

The Simon Says Stamp Challenge this week is "It's a Guy Thing".  I created a masculine card using some supplies from the December Card Kit, along with that awesome confetti circle die. 

I love the look of that confetti die when it's popped on a background piece. 

Supplies Used - It's Your Day Masculine Card

Cardstock:  Simon Says Stamp*

Stamps:  Sparkle and Shine*

Dies:  Confetti Circle from Simon Says Stamp

Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink* and Ranger Embossing Powder*

Other:  Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh

*from Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit

Celebrating StampNation's 4th Birthday!

My favorite place for inspiration, StampNation, is celebrating it's 4th birthday with a birthday celebration that includes some challenges.  If you are ever looking for an amazing community of craft people, coupled with an awesome design team that keeps up with the trends and products, I highly encourage you to check it out!  Yes, there is a monthly membership fee . . . worth every penny. 

I matched up some of the challenges with some online challenges so that I would have some time to play today.  I'm in a creative drought due to demands at work, and today was earmarked as a day to create!  That is just what I did. 

First, for Freshly Made Sketches and StampNation's 3rd challenge of the celebration week, I created this card for kids.  The sketch is noted further below along with my supply list. 

I went with some bright fun paper from The Stamps of Life card kit.  I love the touch of black and white on the sides of the card.  

For my second card, I used the color palette provided by the color throwdown challenge.  The color palette is noted below with my supply list.  I matched it up with StampNation's challenge to create a non-traditional birthday card (no cakes, balloons, presents, etc.). 

Hot air balloons hardly say birthday.  This is a stamp set from Unity which also included the little banner sentiments.  It could be used for any celebration, but in this case it will be birthday.  The circular sentiment is from another unity set. 

While making this card, I was reminded of how much I enjoy making cards with a kraft background.  And . . . more importantly . . . I was reminded how much I missed creating this past week while work duties called.

Happy 4th Birthday to StampNation!  

Supplies Used  - Happy Birthday Bicycles

Cardstock, Pattern Paper, Stamped Sentiment, and Bicycle Clips all from The Stamps of Life November Card Kit

Dies:  Sizzix Framelits - Circle, I Love You

Ink:  Colorbox from The Stamps of Life

Other:  Washi Tape from Little B

Supplies Used - Celebrate You

Cardstock: Neenah

Stamps:  Unity Everything Wonderful and Absolutely Priceless

Ink:  Stampin' Up

Ribbon:  Stampin' Up

Other:  Stampin' Up Circle Punch

Oh, My Stars for ShowCASe Your Style

I had a lot of fun creating this card for ShowCASe Your Style.  The challenge was to use at least one die cut on my project.  I actually used the negative images of my die, and then one big die . . . the big die being the stitched rectangle. 

 But I do love the way the background of diagonal striped bag shows through in the card. 

And I didn't stop die cutting there.  The bag has a pocket for a pull out where a gift card can be attached.  

And there was still room inside for my sentiment, which is blank for now as I await the occasion. 

I hope you find some time to create.  Cheers! 

Supplies Used - Oh My Stars

Cardstock:  Bazzill and Neenah

Stamps:  Shiny Happy Sentiments from Lil' Inkers, Jolly and Joyful Sentiments from Lil' Inkers (that tiny little star) and Gifting Fun from My Favorite Things

Dies:  Stitched Stars and Stitched Mats from Lil' Inkers

Ink:  Ranger Archival and Stampin' Up

Ribbon:  Close To My Heart Colorless Seam Binding and Stampin Up Stitched

Other:  Diagonal Striped Bag from The Stamps of Life October Card Kit, Pretty Pink Posh Sequins and Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher Staples

Happily Caffeinated for Colour Me Challenge

Happy 2015!  A new year of creations.  The sentiment on this card may be my New Year's resolution.  Are you happily caffeinated?  

This week's Colour Me Challenge was to use a past challenge from the year.  I decided to go with a challenge from early in the year - Colour Me Challenge #19 - as it was from before I had found this challenge.  Cherry Cobbler is also one of my favorite inks.  Here is my card using Cherry Cobbler ink and ribbon, along with some neutrals.

That cup image makes me want some coffee . . . right now!  I stamped the cup in Versamark and used Cherry Cobbler embossing powder.  The steam ended up a bit darker than I anticipated, as I used Iridescent Ice embossing powder which looks dark on the cardstock.  If I were to make this card again, I would probably use white pigment ink in place of Versamark (Note to self!). 

First card of 2015 . . . I think I will take the advice of the card!  

Supplies Used - Happily Caffeinated

Cardstock:  Neenah

Stamps:  Versamark, Stampin' Up Ink and Embossing Powder

Ink:  Impression Obsession Coffee Word and Happily Caffeinated and Simon Says Stamp What's Brewing

Ribbon:  Stampin' Up