Happy Fall

Happy Halloween everyone! I know I promised more Halloween cards, but I've been so busy lately... Instead, here's a Thanksgiving/fall card for this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge. I hope you'll play along! Check out the delicious inspiration. :)

DEEtails:

I really wanted to try recreating the leaves from the inspiration cupcake, so I started by stamping a leaf from my Fall Flair set in Riding Hood Red on Naturals White card stock (it works well because it is slightly thicker than Whisper White). Then I colored my leaf in with various Stampin' Write markers (Riding Hood Red, Dusty Durango, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard and Summer Sun) and blended the colors with my Aqua Painter. It was surprisingly easy and created a beautiful leaf in no time. My second leaf was not quite as easy. In fact, my second leaf is probably really my sixth leaf - haha. I actually free handed the leaf with my Old Olive Stampin' Write marker and used the same technique. The only difference is that there isn't' quite a good gradient in color between greens and yellows, so it was a little harder to blend the colors (Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Crushed Curry, So Saffron and Barely Banana). I'm not 100% pleased with the outcome, but the sixth leaf was definitely the best. After my leaves dried, I cut them out. I also stamped the mum from the Fall Flair set, this time on Riding Hood Red card stock with matching ink (twice) and Daffodil Delight card stock. I cut out the layers and adhered them together. Then I took a piece of Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon and wrapped it around my card. I tied the pieces together with a piece of Linen Thread, which I tied in a bow. I tucked my leaves under the ribbon, using a bit of adhesive on the bottoms and some Stampin' Dimensionals towards the top, and adhered my flower with some Sticky Strip. I used some pinking shears to trim the ends of my ribbon. Then I stamped my sentiment, from my Falling Leaves set in Early Espresso ink. I love the simplicity of this card (although it really did take a while to create!). I hope you like it too!

Pretty Pleats

When I saw the 2Sketches4You challenge this week, I immediately knew that I wanted to do pleats - my new favorite technique. :) It's really perfect for this sketch, don't you think?


Here are the DEEtails:

Of course, I started off with creating my pleats. I chose to do smallish pleats this time, with paper from the Secret Garden Simply Scrappin' Kit. Then I stamped my flower from the Bella Blossoms set. I stamped the stem and leaves with Old Olive ink on River Rock card stock and the bloom with Cameo Coral ink on Naturals White card stock. I cut out the blossom and adhered it to the card, allowing some of the petals to go past the edge of the base (which you can't see in this photo - sorry!). I adhered my pleated paper to the back of my card stock with some Sticky Strip. I added an Old Olive Satin ribbon to my card, then adhered my stamped image to the card. For a final touch, I stamped the sentiment from my Wings of Friendship set in Old Olive ink on Groovy Guava card stock. I punched it out with my Designer Label punch and added some Hodgepodge Hardware. I am so loving this girly card!

Love Birds

Whew! I just made it in time for this week's Off The Wall Craftiness Challenge. Life has been very busy for me (which explains my absence), but I made time for this challenge! I am in love with the inspiration because it reminds me of my own wedding! :) Our colors were very similar and we incorporated a lot of earthy and natural decorations.

Here are the DEEtails:

This card is so simple. I simply ran some Naturals White cardstock through my Cuttlebug with the PTI woodgrain embossing plate. Then I mounted it onto some Old Olive card stock. I tied a bow with some Early Espresso Taffeta ribbon and adhered my birds, punched out of some Brocade Background DSP. I added a layer of DSP on my Early Espresso card, then adhered everything onto it. I hope you like it!

Hope you're having a great week! :)

Happy Birthday Big Bro!

Today is my little brother's birthday. He's much younger than me, but I like to call him my "big" brother because he is quite taller than me and he's the oldest of the bros. Plus, this week's wee Memories challenge is Celebrate Good Times! What a perfect challenge for today! :)


Here are the DEEtails:

I used a lot of patterned papers from the Good Morning Sunshine DSP because I like the bright and bold colors. Big Bro's favorite color is orange, so I wanted to be sure to use a lot of Pumpkin Pie, without it being too orange-y and I thought the colors in my DSP helped to offset the Pumpkin Pie. I started off by matting the multi colored background paper with Old Olive and Pacific Point card stocks. I got to work on my banner, made with triangles cut out of Pumpkin Pie card stock adhered to some hemp. I wrote the letters on, and adhered the excess hemp to the back of the card. I used a little bit of adhesive to tack down some of the letters. I cut out some Pacific Point and Pumpkin Pie card stocks and layered them underneath some Marina Mist Grosgrain ribbon, which I sewed down with some green thread. Then I pulled out some more Good Morning Sunshine DSP and adhered it to some On Board Simon Upper case letters. I used an Exacto knife to cut the paper around the letters, then sanded the edges. Then I took my Pacific Point and Old Olive Stampin' Write markers and colored the edges of the card stock, including any white edges, left from sanding. I added some embellishments, like a piece of Old Olive Taffeta ribbon and two Brights Designer buttons, threaded with Linen Thread, and adhered the letters to my card stock using a combination of glue dots and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope Big Bro has a great B-day! :)

Trick Or Treat!

Here's another Halloween card that I've made for the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. Here's something you may find interesting... I don't actually like Halloween... I never really have because I've always found it just a bit too scary for my liking! This year, I've made the most Halloween cards ever! (check them out here and here) Plus, there's more to come...



Here are the DEEtails:

I sort of just piled things onto this card until it looked just right, starting with some Basic Black Waffle Paper. Then I added a layer of Kiwi Kiss card stock and some Urban Oasis DSP. I added some Crumb Cake "ric rac," which I cut using my Tasteful Trim die, then tied a piece of Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon. I added some Trick or Treat tickets, from today's sponsor, Raindrop Echoes, which I printed on Crumb Cake card stock. Then I sewed on some Pumpkin Pie ribbon with some bright green thread. Finally, I added some cute little bats from my Fang-tastic set, stamped on Basic Gray card stock.

This will be a fun card to send to my brothers for Halloween. :)

Layered with Thanks

Today I am the Featured Artist at Pals Paper Arts. I hope you'll join me in this week's fun challenge, using layers to create a thank you card.

Ready for the DEEtails?

I started off with a Pumpkin Pie card and started building layers. First, I tied a bow with some Old Olive Striped Grosgrain Ribbon. Then I added a piece of Tangerine Tango (this layer is hard to see in my photo because I only let a sliver peak out underneath). Next was a strip of Haiku DSP at the top on my card, followed by a layer of Chocolate Chip card stock. Then I added some more Haiku DSP, which I pleated. I stamped my image from my Wandering Words set, inked with my Stampin' Write Markers in Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, and Real Red on Naturals White card stock. Finally I added some Pumpkin Pie Taffeta ribbon (I added a sliver of Pumpkin Pie card stock under the ribbon, since it is a little sheer).

There you have it! A fabulous fall card! Enjoy! :)

Greenhouse Butterflies

I know I'm late for the W Plus 9 Color Cue Challenge, but I was totally intruiged by the color combination that I had to try it out!


DEEtails:

I started out punching the butterflies out of Greenhouse Gala DSP, using my Martha Stewart Butterfly punch. I punched out some solid Daffodil Delight butterflies as well to use in the back. I adhered my solid butterflies, flat onto a piece of Naturals White card stock that I had in my scrap pile, that looked like a good size. Then I bent my patterned butterflies slightly, and used a glue dot to adhere them to my solid butterflies. I added a row of Rhinestone Jewels to the center of each butterfly for a little bit of bling. I added a Rich Razzleberry Satin bow, then matted my card stock with a sliver of Rich Razzleberry and some more Greenhouse Gala DSP. I adhered everything onto a Kiwi Kiss card. I love this color combination!

Celebrate Your Day!

It's Sunday, so time for another Cupcake Inspirations Challenge!

Here are the DEEtails:

I used a Ruby Red base for my card, which for some reason is looking rather PINK in my photo... I used my Top Note Die with some cork, stamped with a sentiment from PTI's Signature Greetings set. Then I printed out two Black Eyed Susan images from today's sponsor, Passion for Stamps. I colored them in with my Stampin' Write Markers in Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, and Old Olive. I apologize that my coloring is not up to par. I think I should explain, since we've gone several weeks with some sad coloring... When I was in elementary school, I always had TONS of homework, so often times, my mom would color stuff for me so I could focus on the academic stuff. Thanks to my mom, I'm pretty smart, but my coloring skills are weak! Seriously, if anyone has any good coloring tips, please share! So back to my card... I tied a floppy bow, with Pumpkin Pie Satin Ribbon. Then I cut out my flowers and adhered them with glue dots onto my card to frame the cork piece.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll play along! :)

I Wood Like To Thank You...

I'm really excited about today's card. I finally pulled out my Wood Sheets and created something fun! My card is for the Off The Wall Craftiness challenge's gorgeous gold and chocolate brown inspiration.


DEEtails:

I've had Stampin' Up!'s Wood Sheets sitting on my shelf for quite some time now... I finally pulled them out, along with my Lattice Die (another one of those shelf sitters...) I took my Chocolate Chip ink pad and "stained" my wood for a rich, choclately color. I adhered it to some Naturals White card stock, then added a Scallop Edge Border in Chocolate Chip. I stamped a sentiment from my Eight Great Greetings set and puched it out with my Decorative Label punch. I created a crumpled, distressed flower with some Summer Sun card stock, punched with my Scallop Circle Punch. I added a pearly button from my stash. Then I tied some Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon around the bottom, to frame the whole thing.

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you're having a great weekend! :)

A Bird For You

Today's card is for this week's Color Throwdown Challenge. I adore almost any color combination that includes brown, so of course I loved this one:

The DEEtails:

I had a birdcage leftover from when I made this card and I love to use up my scraps, so I grabbed it for today's card. I cut strips of Stampin' Dimensionals (from the outside excess edge), and adhered my card to some Very Vanilla card stock. I'm trying hard not to mat everything I add to a card, so I didn't mat this one! Instead, I added some Scallop Edge Border, which I ran through my crimper several times to add a little bit of dimension and texture. I layered Early Espresso and Perfect Plum borders and adhered them to my card with some glue dots. I added my Very Vanilla piece with some more Stampin' Dimensionals. I added a little sentiment on the bottom from my A Word For You stamp set with some Early Espresso ink. Then I added a tattered flower. I quickly sewed one edge of a 6" piece of Early Espresso Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, and pulled it to create a ruffled flower, then I made vertical cuts and allowed it to fray a bit. I added a Kraft Corduroy button, then adhered my flower to my card. I guess I like hanging tags on the top of the bird cage with linen thread, because I did it again! The cage just looks too plain without the tags. I used Very Vanilla and Perfect Plum card stocks and stamped images from my Tiny Tags set in Perfect Plum and Early Espresso.

Razzleberry Daisies

Today's card was made for the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge.

Here are the DEEtails:

I love the Crumb Cake patterned papers in the Thorougly Modern DSP, so I pulled out a sweet daisy print, cut it down to size and rounded the corners for the background of this card. I added some Striped grosgrain ribbon in Rich Razzleberry, then stamped the Upsy Daisy image in VersaMark ink on Rich Razzleberry card stock and and embossed it. I trimmed the image and rounded the corners and adhered it to my card. I then stamped the sentiment from the Flight of the Butterfly set. I added a Crumb Cake butterfly with a Rich Razzleberry button and a Linen Thread bow. So simple, really!

A Halloween Hi!

It's time for another Cupcake Inspirations Challenge.


The inspiration is this cute little jack-o-lantern! Isn't it neat how it actually glows inside?!


Here are the DEEtails:

I started by printing and coloring the image from Soft Pencil, using my Stampin' Write markers. I trimmed the image and matted it with some Garden Green card stock. Okay, I will confess... The reason why I used only a portion of the image is because I'm not very good at coloring, and messed up the cute cat on the other side of the image. I was so frustrated and didn't want to start over, so I decided just to cut him out of the picture! It seemed to turned out okay. :) I adhered my image to some Basic Black card stock, then added my sentiment from my The More The Merrier stamp set, punched with my Modern Label punch and a couple of silver brads. Then I added some Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon and ric rac to add some texture. This will be a great card to send to my little nieces and nephew for a Halloween Hi! :)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you'll play along!

Lovely Bird

Yes! I made a card today! This one is for this week's Off the Wall Craftiness challenge. I love these colors and the inspiration photos are just gorgeous!


Here are the DEEtails:

I started off stamping the image from my Wings of Friendship set. I inked the branches in Early Espresso and stamped it onto Baja Breeze card stock. Then I stamped the bird separately with VersaMark ink, embossed him, then cut him out. I adhered him to the branch with Stampin' Dimensionals. Then I took a few cream flowers from my stash and arranged them on the card. I took one, and folded it up for the flower on the right. I took two flowers, adhered them together and added a cream halfback pearl from my Pretties kit for the flower on the left. I added a Very Vanilla mat before tacking on a crimped Early Espresso eyelet border and a strip of Early Espresso Satin ribbon.

Hope you like it!

Inspire DEE Challenge Winner!

Happy World Card Making Day everyone! This week has been so busy that I've only spent 15 waking hours at home from Monday through Friday. Crazy! And I still have so much work to do! So, I'm trying to play catch up today. Hopefully I'll have a bit of time to make a card or two...

I wanted to pop in to thank my participants in the Inspire DEE challenge this month. Thanks to Darlene, who gave us the inspiration to make our button butterflies, and thank you Regina, Mary, and Gail for your fabulous creations! Here they are:

made by Regina from The Stampin' Bean

made by Mary from Stampin' Pretty

made by Gail from Gail's Crafty Goings On

As a special Thank You to Darlene, she will receive 3 of my card DEEsigns that I created just for her, including my original Button Butterfly card!

Thank You Darlene!

And now for our winner...

Congratulations Regina!

Regina will receive a selection of 50 colorful buttons from my collection! I can't wait to see what she creates with them!

Darlene and Regina, please contact me so I can make arrangement to get your prizes to you!