Sunday Sunshine

Happy Sunday, peeps! :) I am so sorry for my recent lack of blog posts. Sometimes the uglies of life steal away my crafty mojo, and I can't bring myself to whip anything up that even resembles something cute. I think things are on the upswing though. I had a lot of fun creating this card yesterday using the Anita Be Stampin Bears & Bunches cling mounted rubber stamp set!

I created the sun by punching a circle out and then adhering hand cuts strips of paper. No fancy die cuts needed for me, I guess! LOL Did you notice the Cotton Candy Divine Twine trimming the edge of the main image panel? I am so used to layering my images with Nestabilities, so the main image panel looked like it needed a little extra oomph without that trusty scalloped layer. I think that little bit of Divine Twine added just the right touch.


I missed the deadline on Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #100, which was sponsored by Anita Be Stampin, but my card was truly inspired by the cupcake inspiration photo above. The sketch used is from the super sweet Jen del Muro's SFYTT Challenge for March. I usually never try sketches that have the main image layer on an angle, but I just had to give this one a try. This card will also be entered in the Flutterby Wednesday(anything goes) and Cute Card Thursday(spring) challenges. I sure hope you like my card! :)

Hope your day is filled with sunshine!

Stamps: Anita Be Stampin Bears & Bunches rubber stamp set
Paper: PTI SSW, aqua, blush, lemon, moss, MM Just Chillin' Girl pp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo black, Copic markers
Accessories: Cotton Candy Divine Twine, SU circle punch, label punch, TPC glitter brads

Flourishing Cupcake Inspiration Challenge

Hello, friends. I hope you are enjoying your weekend. I cannot believe it's Sunday already! Weekends always go by so quickly, don't they? ;)

One of my favorite things about Sundays is the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge. This week the CIC is sponsored by Flourish With a Bling, who has provided flourish embellishments for the design team to work with.


Here is the simple card that I created based on the cupcake inspiration photo above. I made those roses myself! Just in case it isn't entirely obvious. LOL This card shimmers in real life, as both the muslin fabric roses and the punched butterfly were painted with Shimmerz angel wingz paint. Also the vine flourish is quite shiny. I need to learn to capture these details better by improving my photography skills. I'm adding that to my to do list... ;)

Today's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge is bittersweet for me as this is the last week that I will be participating as a CIC Design Team Sweetie. Being a part of the design team has been such a wonderful experience, and the super sweet queen CIC Sweetie, Rachel , has been so good to me. I've loved every minute of it! I'll still be playing along in the challenge regularly as this is one of my all time favorite challenges, and Anita Be Stampin will be a regular sponsor of the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge too.

Have a sweet day!

A Love Filled Cupcake Inspiration Challenge

Hi there! :) Are you all ready for Superbowl Sunday? I am not really into the game this year, but I do look forward to watching the commercials. What can I say...I love a good commercial!

Check out the beautiful cupcake inspiration photo for this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge, sponsored by Di's Digi Downloads. Don't you just love those cupcakes!?! They look so rich and lovely. I know I would LOVE to have one! LOL



Please excuse the not so fabulous photo of my creation for the CIC this week. My crafty mojo is currently on hiatus, and apparently my barely there photography skills went with it. The main image is from one of my favorite Anita Be Stampin rubber stamp sets from our most recent release, Love Bear.



Making this card proved to be a real challenge for me, and things went wrong right away as I began coloring my main image. I decided to once again dust off a coloring medium that I hadn't used in awhile on my first attempt, using an aquapainter and dye inks. With my second attempt I went back to my "best friend" of coloring mediums, Copic markers. In retrospect I should have stuck with the second image and completed it. Nope, the third try is a charm, right? Wrong! LOL I laid down way too much marker ink which made the image look streaky. As a result, I took an old cloth and dabbed colorless blender to try to remove the ink. I would have tried again if not for pure exhaustion. ;)

Please scoot on over the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge Blog to check out all of the creations and play along with us!

Have a great day!

Stamps: Anita Be Stampin Love Bear cling mounted rubber stamp set
Paper: Papertrey Ink ssw, PTI pink, Teresa Collins Crush Mini Hearts pp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo black, SU chocolate chip, Copic markers
Accessories: Beaded Circle Nestabilities, Nesties, Stampin' Up! heart punch, SU ribbon

Cupcake Inspiration + Love Bear=True Love

Hello friends! :) I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. I am here to share my creation for this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge, which is sponsored by Prairie Fairy. My apologies for getting this posted so late. It has been a crazy busy weekend around here.


When I saw the cupcake inspiration photo above, I immediately knew I wanted to use vellum cardstock. Those frosty looking cupcake liners just spoke to me.

Recently I've noticed a couple of my crafty friends setting their Copic markers aside and reaching for their colored pencils instead. It has been ages since I've used my Prismacolor colored pencils and Gamsol mineral spirits, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Goodness gracious...my colored pencils skills must be really rusty, because it to me forever to color this image from the Anita Be Stampin Love Bear rubber stamp set.

My first attempt at coloring this image involved me coloring directly on the vellum cardstock. I quickly admitted defeat and decided rather to color on white cardstock and then layer vellum cardstock on top to achieve the frosted look I was going for. I am really happy with the way this card turned out, and so I am going to be sending this off to a special friend that I know could use a big love filled hug.



This is what the colored image looked like before I layered the vellum cardstock over it. It looks like that vellum helped hide a few imperfections, didn't it!?! LOL

Please join us over at the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge Blog to see all of the creations made by the CIC DT Sweeties and play along in the challenge.

Lots of love,

Stamps: Anita Be Stampin Love Bear cling mounted rubber stamp set
Paper: PTI ssw, aqua, blush, vellum carstock
Ink/coloring mediums: Memento Tuxedo black, Prismacolor colored pencils, Gamsol mineral spirits
Accessories: Divine Twine, Nesties, SU punches, Fiskars apron lace border punch, AC ribbon, Cuttlebug Perfectly Paisley embossing folder

A Great Pair

Hi everybody! :) I hope you are having a great weekend. I'm here to share my card for the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge, which is sponsored by Crop Stop this week.


Oooo...look at that gorgeous cupcake in the inspiration photo for the challenge. The first thing that popped out at me was that tiny playing card. Not only do I love the colors, I think that playing card is adorable!

I struggled making this card a bit. I knew that I wanted to give it to my guy, so I had to keep it light on frou frou. It looks a little plain to me, but every little thing that I tried to add really didn't look right. I think Joe will love it all the same! ;)


Here is an image of the Ace of Hearts that I'd love to share with you. I whipped this up quickly in Photoshop...nothin' fancy at all here. ;) Just click on the image to make it bigger, then right click and save it to your computer, and print at the actual size. You will have the perfect size to create a playing card perfectly sized for a greeting card. I used a paper trimmer to trim around the edges to make a 1.5 x 2.5 in. rectangle, and then I used the SU corner punch to round the corners of the rectangle shape.

Don't forgot to swing on over to the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge blog to see all of the creations by the other CIC DT Sweeties. Join us for this week's challenge for your chance to win a $10 gift certificate from Crop Stop...gotta love that!

Happy stamping!

Stamps: Anita Be Stampin Cherry Sweet rubber stamp sentiment
Paper: Cryogen white, SU black, PTI blush, Teresa Collins Bella Girl XOXO pp
Ink: Palette noir
Accessories: SU punches

You and Me, Baby

Hello friends! :) It's Sunday, and that means it's time for another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge...woot woot! This week the CIC is sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps, who has provided digi images for the design team to work with.

Here is the inspiration photo for the challenge. Do these cupcakes look baby-licious or what!?!? ;) I love the frosting colors on these super adorable cupcakes.

I based the layout of the card on Card Patterns sketch #97. When I saw this adorable card by Lindsay of Note to Self, I knew that I wanted to make a similar card. I love, love, love the way she used the ribbon on her card. Thanks so much for the added inspiration, Lindsay!

Please join us at the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge Blog to see the creations from the other CIC DT Sweeties and play along in the challenge.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Stamps: Bugaboo digi image

Paper: PTI SSW, summer sunrise, moss, SU melon mambo, DCWV Sweet pp

Ink: Copic markers

Accessories: Nesties, SU punches, Schiff ribbon, CB swiss dot embossing folder

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, friends! :) Can you believe that the end of the holiday season is here!?! Is that a collective sigh of relief that I hear? LOL While the holidays have been lovely, I am looking forward to the new year and all of the new opportunities ahead.

It's Sunday, so that means it's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge time...woot woot! Karber Digital is sponsoring the CIC this week, and one lucky challenge participant will receive 2 Karber digi images of their choice. We'd love to have you play in the challenge by creating a project based on the luscious cupcakes above!


I created this card inspired by the cupcake photo using a quote stamp from Unity and a whole lot of distressing. The patterned paper is from the 6x6 Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 Mini Deck. Circa 1934 is such a gorgeous paper line...I just love it! I typically like to use these crumpled layers on sentiment focal point cards, but I'm not totally impressed with the way it turned out this time. Eh...we win some, we lose some, right? ;)

Don't forgot to swing by the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge blog to drool over the creations from the other CIC DT Sweeties and play along in the challenge!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Unity
Paper: 6x6 Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 Mini Deck, SU vanilla, black, riding hood red
Ink: SU riding hood red
Accessories: EK Success embossed curve border punch, Schiff ribbon, MS butterfly punch

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge

Hi there! :) I hope you had a fabulous holiday! Today's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge is sponsored by Just Inklined, who has provided digi images for the CIC DT to work with.



Here is my creation based on the lovely inspiration photo above. I sure hope you like it! I may stop back tonight after my guests have gone home to add more details about this card. Until then...please stop by the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge blog and play along.

Have a great day!

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #90

Hello there! :) I'm stopping by quickly today to share my creation for this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge, sponsored by Sparkle Creations. Check out the photo inspiration this week, will ya!?! I can hardly believe this is a cake. It's just so beautiful!


The details in Santa's beard and coat trim really caught my eye, which is why I chose to use the white embossed background on my card. All of the white cardstock used on this project is shimmery white cardstock, and surprisingly the Copic marker ink blended quite well on the paper. I used the ABS Melva the Elf digi image, which will be available soon at Anita Be Stampin.

So for those of you who celebrate, are you all ready for the upcoming holiday? Not me! LOL My head is spinning as I have about a million and two things to get accomplished before Christmas. Eeekkkk!!! It's all so exciting, but oh so busy. Please tell me you can relate. ;)

Please stop by the CIC blog to check out all of the creations by the CIC DT Sweeties and play along in the challenge. You could win a rubber stamp from Sparkle Creations just for playing along in the challenge. I can't wait to see what you make!

Hugs,

A Chilly Cupcake Inspiration Challenge

Oh my goodness...I cannot believe it is Sunday already! Do the weeks go by faster the closer we get to the holidays, or is it just me? This card sums up exactly what I am feeling here in Nebraska...BRRR! LOL With all the blowing snow and wind here, I can't help but be inspired to make a creation with such a chilly theme.

Since it's Sunday, you know what that means, right? Cupcake Inspiration Challenge time!!! This week's challenge is especially exciting, because Anita Be Stampin is sponsoring the challenge...woot woot!

Check out this beyond amazing cupcake, will ya? I much prefer these snowflakes to the frosty cold ones outside.

I used the Anita Be Stampin Sasha digi image on my card today, which is also based on Card Patterns Sketch #94. Admittedly, this card isn't one of my favorite creations. I think I may have overdone it a bit with the Stickles. Eh...we live and we learn, right? ;)

Please scoot on over to the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge to check out all of the creations by the CIC DT Sweeties and play along in the challenge. The winner of the challenge wins a prize from Anita Be Stampin...gotta love that!

Have a warm and cozy day!

Stamps: Anita Be Stampin Sasha digi image, CC Designs sentiment
Paper: PTI SSW, Best Creations white glitter, TPS pp
Ink: SU bashful blue, Copic markers
Accessories: HL brads, EK success border punch, SU punches, Stickles

Holly Jolly Cupcake Inspiration Challenge

Hello blog friends! :) I hope you have had a fabulous weekend! I am here (a wee bit late) to share my project for the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge this week. This CIC is sponsored by Lawn Fawn, and by playing along with us this week you could be the lucky winner of a super cute Lawn Fawn stamp set. Please check out all the details at the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge Blog.

As usual we have a beautiful, yummy cupcake photo to inspire our challenge creations. Can you say gorgeous!?! I stuck pretty closely to the inspiration photo this week, and I'm glad I did. I even dusted off my Cricut to make the holly die cut. ;) I used the Anita Be Stampin Aspen digi image as my main image, and the sentiment is from a really old and most likely discontinued Elsie Flannigan for Fontwerks rubber stamp set. I am entering this card in several challenges, which will all be linked up below.

Please stop by the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge Blog to check out all of the creations by the CIC DT Sweeties and play along with us. :)

Challenges:

ABS Christmas Challenge: Y is for Yuletide
Card Patterns Sketch #93
Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #88
Design Dollies: 5+layers
Dutch Dare Card Challenge #92: Christmas card
Stamp Something Christmas Color Combo
Stamps R Us Challenge #10: Holiday card
Tuesday Throwdown #27: Embellish it

Have a great week!

Stamps: Anita Be Stampin Aspen digi image, Elsie Flannigan for Fontwerks Christmas Time sentiment
Paper: PTI kraft, red, brown, Prism green, SU vanilla, K&Co Evergreen pp
Ink: SU choc chip, Copic markers
Accessories: Nesties, SU border punch, label punch, Cricut Christmas Cheer cartridge, PTI ribbon, liquid applique, brads

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #87

Hello Sunday! :) It's that time again....Cupcake Inspiration Challenge time. Woot woot! This week the CIC is sponsored by Amber Ink, who has provided digi images for the DT Sweeties to work with.



Here is the beautiful cupcake that helped to inspire my creation. Now that is an absolutely gorgeous cupcake, if I do say so myself. ;) I love using non-traditional holiday colors, so much so that my Christmas tree is always decorated in pinks, silver, and crystals.

I used this ornament digi image with some Cricut Plantin SchoolBook die cuts to create the word noel. I really like the way this clean and simple card turned out, but the photo of my card...not so much. LOL It's difficult to see in the photo, but there is really a lot of shimmer going on there. Even the cryogen white cardstock shimmers!

I also want to be sure to mention that my card was inspired by Susan (aka LateBlossom)'s card that can be viewed on her blog here. Thanks so much Susan for the inspiration!

Please stop by the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge Blog to check out all of the fabulous creations by my fellow DT Sweeties and play along in the challenge. It should be a fun challenge this week. I can't wait to see your creations!

Mwah!

Stamps: Amber Ink ornament digi image
Paper: Cryogen white, PTI moss, blush, aqua
Ink: printer ink
Accessories: PTI silver ribbon, SU glitter

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #86

Happy Sunday peeps! :) Enjoying your weekend? I know I am! :) It's time for Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #86...woot woot! This week's challenge is sponsored by Robyn's Fetish, who has provided digi images for the DT Sweeties to work with.

I chose to work with this turkey image, which I paper pieced using papers from the K&Co Actopus to Zelephant paper collection. I popped the turkey's hat up to add a little dimension (oh yeah, and to hide a little boo boo I made while paper piecing too). I avoided adding any extra frou frou on this card since it is going to be sent to a fella.

Okay, time to check out the fabulous cupcake inspiration photo for this week's challenge. Aren't these fall cupcakes fabulous!?! Such pretty, soft looking colors! My creation for this week's challenge features colors that are a bit more rich. What can I say...I needed a boyish card. ;)

Please stop by the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge blog to check out all of the creations that the CIC DT Sweeties made and participate in this week's challenge. I can't wait to see what you make! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!