Laughadaisy

ColourQ and Viva La Verve

2012-01-26T11:19:00.002-07:00

I was sifting through my patterned paper stash and found some that I thought might work with the ColourQ #121 challenge, so I used that and the Viva La Verve January Week 2 Sketch (by Teresa Kline) to create this card:

I thought the bottom layer of patterned paper had touches of both the olive green and the mustard yellow, though this photo doesn't seem to do either of them true justice.

I tried not to over think the sketch too much, just took it straight up. Although, I did change the heart to a flower. I think I do better on sketch challenges if I don't try to be too artistically interpretive with them, whatever that means. I just think I have a hard time with them when my natural tendency of making them more than they are takes over. ;-)

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

So, here it is. Sketch.... straight up!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Challenge Photos:

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Dream Big, Great Friend (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Classic K Bailey Paper Pack, Life's Journey Paper Pack (K&Company); Dark Chocolate, Rustic White Cardstocks (PTI)

Inks: Chestnut (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft, Recollections); Machine Stitching

Tools: Cutter Bee Scissors; Square Squeeze Punch (Fiskars)

Papertrey January Blog Hop Challenge

2012-01-25T07:54:00.003-07:00

I have my computer and my files back, for now - thank goodness! - and a new computer ordered. Hopefully by next week things will be running more smoothly around here. ;-)

I am here with a card for Papertrey Ink's January Blog Hop Challenge. Here is the challenge topic:

First up, my favorite project from 2011:

I just love this card. I used one of Heather Pulvirenti's color challenges and some of my hand-dyed seam binding ribbon, and I pulled off my very first argyle background stamping. And I'll just be honest and say that I, personally, don't think I can really 'top' this card. It is just beautiful and perfect to me in every way.

But it was, easily, my favorite project from 2011, so I went to work CASE-ing it. The color combination was special to me, since using it was a HUGE step out of my comfort zone. The argyle background was important to me, as well. So I went with those two main features, added in some new supplies/products, and created this card:

I used my new Heart Border die (along with the Edgers #1 die) on the left side, and the Thank You stamp that came as a Christmas surprise in my December package.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I like this new card - it's really beautiful, too. But the 'original' will be saved forever as one of my all-time favorite cards. Well, maybe not 'forever'.... but at least as long as I'm alive and sane. ;-)

You can see all of the fabulous, inspirational projects on the hop at Nichole's blog.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: A Little Argyle, Mat Stack 1, Sending A Big Thank You, Turning A New Leaf (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Lemon Tart, Rustic White, Spring Moss, Sweet Blush (PTI)

Inks: Fresh Snow (PTI); Versamark; Black, Moss Green, Old Rose, Rosebud (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (PTI); Rhinestones (Kaisercraft, Recollections); Rhinestone Brad (American Crafts); Hand-Crocheted Flower from Embroidery Floss

Tools: Edgers #1 Die, Heart Border Die, Mat Stack 1 Die, Mat Stack 1 Layerz Die, Turning A New Leaf Die, Linen & Canvas Impression Plate (PTI)

Barbles #2 Project 4

2012-01-23T08:36:00.003-07:00

I am typing this from my laptop computer, since my big PC crashed/died during the early a.m. hours on Saturday morning. The power wouldn't even turn on. We tested all the connections and tried different cords, but to no avail. I am PRAYING and hoping that all the data from my old PC can still be retrieved and accessed, because even one month of records is a big deal to me in our homeschooling efforts! Until I know what's up with the computer and whether or not we'll need a new one, I am stuck on my laptop computer, which is terribly inefficient for me. But, oh well!

Anyway. Back to creativity...

I was thrilled to see my card set from my last post spotlighted on the last day of Clean and Simple Card Class. Such an honor for me! I had a really good time with the class, as much as I was able to keep up with it. And I'm happy that they give us continued access to the class website and files, so that I can return and complete my studies for the days I missed. I meant to work on more projects over the weekend, but Hubby came down ill, and I had church meetings to attend both days, and I ended up needing to do a lot of research for next year's curriculum, which always takes longer than I think it will, especially on a laptop computer. As it turns out, I didn't get a single bit of card making done.

And the last time I backed up my hard drive was at the end of November just before the rush of Christmas and the New Year... which means I don't have access to any photos of my most recent cards right now. So this post is one I started last week and had saved in Blogger. I'll just get to it and quit babbling!!

I wanted to create a card for each of the Barbles photos in the challenge collage, but when I saw that bird on a wire photo, I drew a complete blank! I had absolutely NO IDEA what to create for it.

As I thought more about it, though, the Mehndi medallion came to mind, as a way to mimic the cloudy sky. And I remembered my recent purchase of Verve's Making A Statement stamp set, which has the two little birds in it. So I pulled out those stamps and created this card:

Though the inspiration photo is pretty much monotone in black/white/grey, I had to add some color. So I made a mat layer from Ocean Tides cardstock. It's fairly simple and not very bright and such, because I was intending for it to be an encouragement/sympathy/I Love You card, of sorts. Not that encouragement/sympathy cards have to be boring and blah, necessarily - this is just how I saw the photo. So I kept it on the minimum. The little birdie is paper pieced from Ocean Tides cardstock, as well. And I masked the top of the stamp to have just the "I love you" portion of it stamped.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Not my favorite creation, but I hope it's not TOO drab or boring.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Challenge Photo:

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Making A Statement (Verve); Mat Stack 1, Mega Mehndi Medallion (Papertrey Ink)
Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White, Ocean Tides (PTI)
Inks: Black, Sky Grey (Colorbox)
Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Barbles #2 Project 3

2012-01-20T16:34:00.000-07:00

A third card for the Barbles #2 challenge, this time using the bottom right photo in the collage (photo shown at bottom of this post):

In this photo, all I saw was a large yellow flower, and black. No color or sketch challenge here, I just figured I would use the negative die technique on a yellow flower, front and center. A large rhinestone brad in the center, and a couple mini rhinestones by the sentiment, which is from Dawn McVey's Signature Greetings set. (LOVE that set!)

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

And then I was saw the Clean and Simple Card Class Day 10 topic - creating simple card sets - so I quickly worked up 3 more cards to complete a set of 4 Thank You cards.

I also tried Julie's little box template for them, but I loaded them in the opposite direction. I adjusted the size a little bit, to accommodate the large gemstone centers' adding bulk to the stack, but it's a tad bit too big in some spots. So I'll need to watch that next time. This is only my second template attempt, which turned out fairly well, I think.

I added a few little coordinating flowers to the box for decoration, but in retrospect, I guess I should have used gems for the flower centers. For some reason I grabbed buttons. Maybe that's weird, but oh well!

Seriously, these cards only took me 20 minutes to create. Add in another 10 minutes for the box, and this is a perfect project for a special little gift.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-) And have a great weekend!

-Ally

Challenge Photo:

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White, True Black, Harvest Gold, Melon Berry, Simply Chartreuse, Aqua Mist (PTI)
Inks: Black (Colorbox)
Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); White Buttons (My Favorite Finds); Embroidery Floss
Tools: Beautiful Blooms II #3 Dies (PTI)

If Friends Were Flowers...

2012-01-19T16:49:00.003-07:00

Stopping in with a submission for the Color Throwdown #175 challenge. I like these colors. Except, I wasn't too sure what to do with the red, and I didn't want a card that brought Christmas to mind in any way, shape, or form. Done with all that for a few months! I tend to want to minimize reds anyway, and I wasn't quite in a bold and bright and dramatic mood today.

Earlier today, I found myself down in the 'toy library' - which doubles as my backup craft room - waiting for PrincessM to search for and check out a toy. I happened to see my boxes of tissue paper sitting there looking lonely, so I grabbed some in cream on the way back upstairs.

This is what I created with the challenge colors in mind: (I threw in a little dark brown for a neutral.)

This is the second tissue flower I created. The first was exactly the same, except that (in a moment of pure weakness) I thought it might need a little extra touch of something. So I brushed on a little bit of red and brown ink to do some sort of highlights, and I spritzed on some shimmer spray to give it a little sparkle.

And then my weakness passed, and I made a new one closer to my style, as it should have been from the beginning - simple and straightforward. It's not flashy or artsy, per se, but it's exactly how I like it. ;-)

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I used the Dahlia Nestabilities to create this large flower, along with the Sizzix Branches and Leaves die for leaves to accompany it. The flower center is a Making Memories brad that I purchased several years ago, never knowing what to do with it, but... oooooh, wasn't it sooooo pretty??! And THAT is exactly the kind of emotional state of mind I am in when I purchase most of my supplies - LOL!! Then I return home and wonder what to do with all those irresistible supplies. Well, I am happy to report that some of my years-old supplies are beginning to be put to good use, at last!

The brad had the word 'love' printed on it, so I intended to make this a wedding/anniversary/Valentine card of some sort. But in the end, I caught sight of my beloved Verve stamps, and this one called to me. So I went with it. I suppose I could have left the 'love' visible, because love works for friends, too, right?. ;-) But I thought it would be fun to add a few Sharpie-colored mini pearls to embellish the center, and then added 3 more at the top left.

And as an aside, I am soooo happy with my Janome Sew Mini machine! I am so much more likely to add stitching now that I have a manageable and handy and predictable machine within reach, and that makes me happy.

And as another aside, PrincessA completed her 2nd Grade math program yesterday - WAHOOO!!! This is seriously a big accomplishment, for both of us. It has been quite a year in the math area. I am so proud of her for sticking with me and giving it her best effort, even when it seemed like we both would go crazy over it some days. Some topics are just tougher, I guess. Anyway, we are celebrating one of life's milestones. A few weeks of easy review for 'maintenance' before we move on to the 3rd Grade material should be good for both of us. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Ally

Challenge Photo:

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Dream Big (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream, Pure Poppy (PTI); Green Cardstock (Best Occasions, from Wal-Mart); Designer Paper (Colorbok, from Wal-Mart); Tissue Paper (Unknown Brand)

Inks: Chestnut (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Mini Pearls - Colored w/Sharpie Marker (Recollections); Decorative Brad (Making Memories); Machine Stitching

Tools: Dahlia Dies (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Branches and Leaves Die (Sizzix); Sewing Machine

ColourQ 120 and Card Class Project

2012-01-18T17:09:00.005-07:00

Day 7 over at the Clean and Simple Card Class is about white cards - plain white cards. I agree that while white cards can sometimes be perceived as boring, when they're done well, they can be fantastic and stunning. I don't know if I'm quite at that level yet, but I do love a good white card, and I definitely want to be able to do them well. So I gave this topic a try, using the ColourQ #120 challenge colors. I'm not sure that was the best choice, because using these rich, bold colors sparingly in order to produce a nice, clean, mostly white card certainly gave me fits of anxiety! ;-)

I think my first try at it had a little too much color in it, maybe (I'll show that card second). It wasn't quite what I was hoping for. So I tried again. And I like this one much better. This one is my 'official' entry for the ColourQ challenge:

I used Harbor ink by Colorbox for the butterfly trails (stamping off once first for each) and the sentiment (full ink), and Thistle ink by Colorbox for the background text. I am really pleased with how this card turned out. I think both these cards would also qualify for one of the other topics as well, that of creating our own elements for simple embellishments.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

This is what my first card looks like:

I like it. But It just felt like the blocks of color were a little overwhelming, in a way. And I found myself wishing I would have raised the banner just a tad bit higher on the card. But I was very happy to get out some of my new My Favorite Things dies for the banner and the flowers - HOORAY for using more supplies!!

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Challenge Photo:

Supplies Used:

Card #1
Stamps: Background Basics: Text Style II, Stitches and Swirls (Papertrey Ink); Love Story (Verve)
Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White (PTI); Misc Cardstocks (Unknown Brand)
Inks: Harbor, Thistle (Colorbox)
Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft and Recollections)
Tools: Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart Crafts))

Card #2
Stamps: Think Big Favorites #3 (Papertrey Ink)
Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White (PTI); Misc Cardstocks (Unknown Brand)
Inks: Harbor, Dusty Plum (Colorbox)
Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Brads (Unknown Brand); Rustic Cream Button Twine (PTI)
Tools: Banner and Flower Dies (My Favorite Things)

Make It Monday #49

2012-01-17T11:49:00.001-07:00

This card is all about learning, for me. I tried Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #49 challenge, for "ghost masking." This was very, very far out of my comfort zone. Not even sure why I tried it. It doesn't really fit in with what I perceive to be my style of card making, and I couldn't see using it very much in the future. I also just placed a huge purchase for the PTI release, so I'm pretty apathetic about winning a prize right now - I just want my box of new goodies to get here as soon as possible so I can play!

I guess I just really wanted to make a card. And rather than face my usual trip-up by trying to interpret a sketch challenge, and while waiting for another color combo challenge to come out, I decided to give it a try. This is another card that strikes me as wrong, wrong, wrong on so many levels, but maybe you all can give me an objective view on it.

I didn't have an overlapping stamp like the Labels one that Betsy used. So I improvised a little with my Mat Stack 1 dies. I cut both the regular die and the layerz die from vellum, using both the positive and negative dies in the whole process. But for the frame, I used the negative layerz frame on the outside, and the regular die on the inside, then I sponged that little opening between them with black ink to create the faux frame. Then I took off stamping the flowers.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I made the mistake of not letting the inks dry enough, because I tried to squeeze in some craft time amongst all the bedtime chaos last night, which makes me a little anxious. I should have waited till they were all asleep in bed, but I was worried about finishing in time to still get some sleep. So there are a few smudges here and there, and I didn't quite get the ink down in some spots, so it looks a bit splotchy around the frame.

And, I originally made it to be a one-layer card, but I ended up cutting it to mat it because I couldn't handle it as it was. The pearls look weird for a sympathy card, I know. But I used them to cover a few minor but noticeable mistakes, which didn't even get covered that well, so the pearls are really quite pointless. I wish I would have sent the main panel through with the Linen/Canvas Impression Plate for a little texture.

Actually, this would typically be a card that I would hide and not post, out of embarrassment. But I figured 'why not?' since this one represents the learning experience for me. Might as well share, right??

Besides, ya'll are so nice anyway, it's not like I'm expecting anyone to say "Wow, girl, this is so, sooo ugly!" I welcome all constructive criticism, because I want to get better at this craft, and I want to learn and stretch and grow. So,... have at it! ;-)

And thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Daydreamer, Think Big Favorites #3 (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Autumn Rose, Ripe Avocado, Rustic White (PTI)

Inks: Autumn Rose (PTI); Black, Dusty Plum (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Pearls (Recollections)

Tools: Mat Stack 1 Die, Mat Stack 1 Layerz Die (PTI)

Special Delivery

2012-01-16T08:33:00.003-07:00

This card was made with three challenges in mind:

1) The colors from CR84FN #46.
2) The scallop challenge from CAS-ual Fridays #35.
3) The simple embellishments exercise from the Clean and Simple Card Class Day 6.

I used scallops on the bottom border, accented with flourishes from the Mat Stack 2 stamp set, and then scallops on my 'lazy-crafter's' medallion/flower. I cut a Nestabilities scalloped circle from the DP and scored on alternate sides around the circle to create the medallion. I know it will likely get a little smooshed going through the mail, but I love how simple and cute it is, giving the effect of a medallion - at least for now!

I know the CR84FN challenge is for light pink - I hope my pinks here aren't too dark to qualify. I was just so thrilled to use these patterned papers, because they are seriously old stash stuff. Actually, I think I bought that striped pink paper nearly 10 years ago when I first started making cards, when they were just a quarter sheet of cardstock with a block of DP and a computer-generated sentiment. I hoard craft supplies, holding on to them forever, thinking that for sure I'll find a time to use them, regardless of how out of style they become, 10 years later. Yada, yada, yada.... I love when I am able to use my old stash supplies, even if it's just a teeny tiny strip of it! ;-)

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I know I use that lace on every other card I create. I can't help it!! I just love this lace - it's my favorite. Sorry you have to keep staring at it day in, day out!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Challenge Photos:

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Bundle of Love, Mat Stack 2 (Papertrey Ink)
Paper/Cardstock: Lemon Tart, Sweet Blush, Vintage Cream (PTI); Misc Designer Papers (Unknown Brand)
Inks: Chestnut, Dusty Plum (Colorbox)
Embellishments: Glitter Button (American Crafts); Lace (Offray); Embroidery Floss (Unknown Brand)
Tools: Large Scallop Circles (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Beautiful Blooms II #2 Die, Large Scallop Border Die (PTI)

Play Date Cafe 114 and Viva La Verve Sketch

2012-01-14T17:39:00.003-07:00

I was so happy to see my card as the winner for last week's Play Date Cafe challenge - I had to call my BFF and scream over the phone at her about it, and she was all excited with me, and it was like a fabulous dream come true, and, and!.... then my kids started to squabble and I came back down to earth. But what a fun moment for this Mommy card maker! ;-)

This week's Play Date Cafe colors are so rich and regal - I just LOVE deep, earthy colors like these! So I fiddled around a bit with them and eventually came up with something. I wanted to use more of my recently-received Verve stamps, specifically the flowers from the Great Friend set. I took the 'gold' in the combo quite literally, maybe too literally. But I envisioned some sort of deep, rich wedding card, so I knocked myself out with it. I also used Andrea Ewen's Viva La Verve January Week 2 sketch.

As an aside, this is one of those days when I desperately wish I were MUCH better at and knew anything about photography! I have tried multiple times yesterday and today to photograph this card so that it shows my BURGUNDY flower, but it keeps turning up really brown looking. ((sigh)) So, while you look at this photo, please do me a favor and try to imagine a burgundy flower where that brown blob is, okay...? Thanks so much! ;-)

The burgundy, gold, and purple are all shimmer cardstocks. I stamped the outline flowers in Versamark and heat embossed them with gold powder onto the burgundy cardstock, then fussy cut them and raised each layer with foam tape. The sentiment is also heat embossed in gold, and I used my Cane Print impression plate on the card front.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Challenge Photos:

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Great Friend, Love Story (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream (PTI); Shimmer Cardstocks (DCWV Shimmer Stacks)

Inks: Versamark; Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Gold Embossing Powder (Hampton Art); Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Lace (Offray)

Tools: Gothic Arches Border Punch, Leaves and Branch Deep Edge Punch (Martha Stewart Crafts); Labels Eighteen Die, Standard Ovals Die (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Cane Print Impression Plate (PTI)

Barbles #2 Project 2

2012-01-12T12:35:00.002-07:00

Here is another attempt at the Barbles #2 challenge (photo shown at bottom of post), this one inspired by the bottom left photo in the collage. I drew inspiration from the lovely pink flower with the green leaves, and the grey of that adorable cat! ;-) And since my next project is to create some sympathy cards for a friend, I turned those elements into a sympathy card. I also used the Clean & Simple Stamping Fall To Layout #172:

Again, I apologize for the late-night photograph. I have resorted to evening photography, since it's about the only time I can find for it in my days right now!

I used PTI's Smokey Shadow cardstock for the scallop square mat layer, and the bottom white layer is edge inked in pewter and impressed with the PTI Linen Impression Plate for a little texture. (If you look really closely at the photograph, you may even be able to see some of the impression!)

I used my favorite Simple Sunflower stamp and die sets for the flower. I know sunflowers aren't pink, but I can't help it!! This is just such a beautiful stamp, and it fits so perfectly in the die-cuts, and I just can't fight the urge to make these flowers in every color there is and ever was! I love it. I also pulled out my Sending You set for the sentiment, and I used a shimmer spritz on the flower & leaves, so there is a slight sparkle to it.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

This card looks so much better in real life, outside of my pitiful photography skills!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Challenge Photos:

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Sending You, Simple Sunflower (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White, Sweet Blush, Smokey Shadow (PTI)

Inks: Antique Pewter, Rosebud, Moss Green (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Shimmer Spritz (Tsukineko); Rustic Cream Button Twine (PTI)

Tools: Scalloped Rectangle Die (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Simple Sunflower Die, Canvas/Linen Impression Plate (PTI)

Card Class Project 3

2012-01-11T15:49:00.001-07:00

Finished up some more homework for the Clean & Simple Card Class. I am using another of Monday's sketches and also the technique from Day 3 on layering die cuts onto the same colored cardstock for texture effect. I also utilized the Color Throwdown #174 combo for this card.

My creation:

I used the smallest Beautiful Blooms II #3 die to cut a bunch of flowers from Harvest Gold cardstock, layering them onto a section of cardstock in the same color. I layered that onto Kraft cardstock and then onto some misc brown cardstock. The sentiment is from Verve's Miracles Blossom stamp set. LOVE my Verve stamps!!

This is the first time I have tried the technique of cutting a little slit in the fold of the card to thread the ribbon through and not have to adhere it to any of the mat layers. I haven't done it in the past, because I have this thing about wasting ribbon and I don't want to use any more than I have to. But really, it was only about 2 inches more to do the full wrap than to clip it and adhere the ends behind the mat layer, and a bit less cumbersome, too. I think the experience may have me one step closer to breaking my psychological hang-up on this issue.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I layered a couple of misc buttons from my stash that seemed to be a close match, threaded with some twine.

I know the class is about clean and simple cards, and I really tried to make it clean and simple here. But I feel like those flower centers are calling out for some kind of bling or shine or at least a center. But then I thought that might defeat the purpose of the layering die-cuts onto the same colored cardstock thing. So I just left them plain.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Challenge Photo:

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Miracles Blossom (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White, Harvest Gold, Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Misc Brown Cardstock (Unknown Brand)

Inks: Chestunut (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Misc Buttons (Unknown Brand); Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (Offray); Rustic Cream Button Twine (PTI)

Tools: Beamtiful Blooms II #3 Die (PTI)

Card Class Project 2

2012-01-10T21:38:00.002-07:00

Today's topic in the Clean and Simple Card Class is about flat cards. One-layer, perfectly flat cards.

I'm not very good at this kind of card. Yet. I have high hopes of getting it all figured out one of these days! And then being able to create fabulous cards. For now, I'm in practice mode. ;-)

I used the ColourQ #119 challenge colors to create this card:

This card is purely for the learning experience, so I hope you'll tell me what you think about it.

I think the black flower centers and such might be a little too much. I used it to tie in with the black text, and I was thinking it wouldn't be too weird, next to the grey leaves. I hope it's not too weird. Honestly, it's a little weird to me, too much black. Or all the colors don't blend or balance quite right. Or something. I don't know. But I didn't want to re-stamp the whole thing tonight just to use another color, because I'm really tired.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Anyway. I made a purchase from My Favorite Things Stamps a week or so ago, for a bunch of dies, and I guess the purchase qualified for a free stamp set, because I was pleasantly surprised to find it when I opened the package. I thought something was wrong, so I emailed them, but they said it's a free set for qualifying purchases. So, YAY! I had to break it open and try one.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Challenge Photo:

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Beautiful Blooms II, Flower Fusion #9, Turning A New Leaf (Papertrey Ink); Clearly Sentimental About Abundance (My Favorite Things)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Inks: Black, Pink, Mango Tango, Sky Gray, Antique Pewter (Colorbox)

I {heart} U

2012-01-09T21:10:00.005-07:00

I'm joining the Clean & Simple Card Class this month. Today's topic is sketches, so I utilized one of those. I also pulled the colors from one of the inspiration photos from the Barbles #2 challenge at Barb's blog. Aaaand... I tried to fulfill the requirements for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #48 for backgrounds made with border dies. Lastly, I think it qualifies for the CAS-ual Fridays #34 challenge of using chipboard.

Whew!

So here is what I came up with: (sorry for the late-night-no-light photo of this bright, bright color!)

From Barb's photo (shown at the bottom of this post), I was inspired by the hot pink and the swirls made from the glasses, which I tried to imitate through the use of the Moroccan Motifs impression plate and also the ricrac borders.

The ricrac borders are also the focus of the Make It Monday technique to use the die-cuts as the background. Although, I only used them for a small section of the background, in order to illustrate different textures/patterns, which I saw in the photo.

The white heart and letters are all homemade chipboard elements, so they stand up from the black circles a bit, with the black circles themselves also being raised on foam adhesive for a little depth.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to share the sketch, since it is part of a paid class, so I'm erring on the side of caution and not sharing it. But it is basically a card with a mat layer and three elements at the bottom. Hopefully you get the idea. You could always go join in the class if you want to pick up all the sketches and such. ;-)

And here is the photo collage from the Barbles challenge - this card is for the top left clip. You should create something and link up if you find time!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, True Black, Raspberry Fizz (Papertrey Ink); Misc Cereal Box Cardstock for Chipboard Elements

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Tools: Block Alphabet Dies, Heart Prints Die, Ricrac Border Die, Moroccan Motifs Impression Plate (PTI); Standard Circles Dies (Spellbinders Nestabilities)

Color Throwdown

2012-01-09T10:57:00.004-07:00

Thanks so much for all your sweet comments on my orange birds card yesterday - I think I will keep it and write the little experience with PrincessA on the inside and keep it in my craft room, for memory's sake. ;-)

Today, I'm sharing a card I made for the Color Throwdown #173 challenge, but apparently I missed the entry deadline. Oops! Lucky you, you get to see it anyway!

I don't mind the red/white/black color combo in general, but I often don't know what to do with it. The combo seems to call for something dramatic, and I'm not really sure how well I do dramatic... outside of dealing with everyday life - LOL!

But here is what I created:

I finally received my PTI package with the Love and Marriage stamp set, so I broke that out (barely - haha!) for this card. I tried using some of the other stamps for elements on the card, but I just didn't like how they turned out. I did use my Mehndi and Mega Mehndi Medallion sets, as well. The rhinestones here look a tad bit orange, but they are actually red in real life. And that teeny little one at the bottom obviously had a little slippage while I had my head turned, silly little thing.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

After nearly completing the card, I looked at the Color Throwdown graphic as an afterthought, and noticed that grey or silver was included in the colors. So I added a grey/silver-ish shimmer cardstock mat layer and used a metallic pen to color in a few spots on the large medallion. It's very rudimentary coloring, but at least there's a little grey now!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Love and Marriage, Mehndi Medallion, Mega Mehndi Medallion (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White, Pure Poppy, True Black Cardstocks (PTI); Grey Shimmer Cardstock (DCWV Shimmer Stack)

Inks: Chianti (Colorbox); True Black (PTI); Metallic Marker

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Tools: Heart Prints Die (PTI)

Viva La Verve and CR84FN

2012-01-08T09:10:00.001-07:00

A card created using Viva La Verve's January Week 1 sketch (sketch by Amber Hight) and also CR84FN's #45 color combo:

I just received some new Verve stamps in the mail this week, and I wanted to play. So I broke out these lovely little tulips.

I'm still relatively new to paper piecing and fussy cutting, so if I had to do this card again, I would try to remember to color beneath the tulips that are popped up, so it's not just stark white below them. And the brown flower stems,... might look a little weird and not very realistic (unless we're in the throes of Autumn, I suppose!). But I guess the blue flower might be able to join them, since that might not be too realistic either.

But I actually like this card! Which is saying a LOT, for the colors orange, yellow, and blue all mixed in together like this. ;-)

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I had fun making the card.

I had less fun making the following card, though - which is actually the first card I made with these challenge colors:

I have to laugh at it, though. Because nothing on this card seemed to be working, just about from the start. But I can't stand feeling defeated by colors, so I kept working on it. I was so determined to work in more orange that I just grabbed the bird stamps and started stamping birds. Then PrincessA walks up to see it and says, "Orange birds? There's no such thing as orange birds!" Then it hit me that I was stamping ORANGE BIRDS!!

I felt so silly! But we Googled 'orange birds' just to be sure there was no such thing, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that there are actually orange birds in existence. Which made me feel a teeny bit less silly.

I made this card to qualify for Papertrey Ink's current Make It Monday challenge, to use a previous challenge that we missed. I attempted to do some ink blending here. But there is no way I am submitting this card!! I feel silly enough just sharing it here on the blog! So, I guess no free PTI for me this week - LOL! (Does that remind you of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld?? "No soup {PTI} for you!" That line always makes me laugh.)

I don't know. I vacillate between thinking the card isn't all that bad and wanting to throw it in the trash.

Anyway - Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Floral Symphony, Big Wish (Verve)
Paper/Cardstock: Dark Chocolate and Rustic White Cardstocks (PTI); Polka-dot Designer Papers (Doodlebug)
Inks: Chestnut, Glacier Ice (Colorbox); Brown (Stampabilities); Brown Copic Marker
Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft - 3 colored with Copic Markers)
Tools: Standard Circles Dies (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Rounded Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers)

Play Date Cafe 113

2012-01-07T08:45:00.004-07:00

I was so thrilled to see that another of my cards was mentioned, this one for last week's Play Date Cafe challenge #112! Which... somehow... makes all the vomiting worth it...?? That doesn't sound right. Whatever! I'm just happy my card made the Fab 4 list! ;-) LOL

So, this week's Play Date Cafe colors are just gorgeous. Gor-geous. I mean, they always are gorgeous. But I just LOVE these colors - so calm and serene and peaceful and beautiful and fun and...

Yada yada.

When I studied the challenge photo, I kept coming back to those circles in the top left segment. I ignored them at first and created a card based on just the colors (I'll share that later). But then my mind came back to the circles, and I created this card next:

It's a lot more modern than I usually create or am interested in. And looking at the photo now, I'm thinking there are a tad bit too many circles. But I had this vision of the circles in my head, and I knew I couldn't rest until it was out of my head and onto a card. I debated whether or not to swipe the edge of the entire top panel in black ink, to give it a little definition. But in the end, I decided to just go with the nice, clean whiteness of it all.

I kinda like it.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

And though I'm not officially entering this card, I'm sharing the first card I made with the colors, to satisfy the curiosity of any who might be wondering how it looked:

This card came about from my desire to open up my new Waltzingmouse stamps I received in the mail this week. It's not really my favorite card. I fussy cut the flower and leaves from some DCWV Linen Closet DP I had. On the full 12x12 sheet, these look like flowers, amongst all the other little flowers and such. But here by itself, it just reminds me of a head of lettuce, or a cabbage.

Anyway.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Challenge Photo

SUPPLIES USED:

Card #1

Stamps: Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White Cardstock (PTI); Solid and Designer Cardstocks (DCWV Linen Closet Stacks)

Inks: Black (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Recollections, from Michaels)

Tools: Standard Circles Small and Large Dies (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Circle Punches (Marvy Uchida and EK Success); Rounded Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers)

Card #2

Stamps: Communique Curves Sentiments (Papertrey Ink); Very Vintage Labels 18 (Waltzingmouse Stamps)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream (PTI); Solid and Designer Paper (DCWV Linen Closet Stacks)

Inks: Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Pearls (Recollections, from Michaels); Machine Stitching

Tools: Labels 18 Dies (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Sewing Machine

ColourQ 118 and Mojo Monday 222

2012-01-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

After our long Christmas/New Year's break - with trying to get back into lessons and an inpromptu dinner visit from my in-laws tonight - it was a little hectic and disorganized today. I managed to make two cards, but I am fairly disatisfied with both of them. That could simply be due to mood, though, after a crazy day.

The first is for the ColourQ #118 and Mojo Monday #222 challenges combined:

For this card, I started out with one set of patterned papers, and it was going nowhere. So I changed to another set of patterned papers, and it likewise went nowhere. So I kept just two of the patterned papers and went with solids for the rest.

This card-making experience is a perfect example of how I not only don't do well with sketches, but I also struggle with using patterned papers. I kept trying to make things work, but the time investment was eating into our first day back into lessons, so I finally had to just pull something out of it all and call it good. Or, call it done, anyway.

I wanted to use Verve stamps for my Mojo card, but my stash of one-line Verve sentiments is very slim. So I used this birthday sentiment, bending it to go with the curve of the banner. LOVE THAT about clear stamps!! I think Verve sentiment stamps are next on my shopping list...

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I am happy that I was able to use another of my crocheted flowers.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Big Wish (Verve)
Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Hawaiian Shores (PTI); Designer Paper (DCWV Nursery 8x8 Pad); Misc Cardstock (Unknown Brand)
Inks: Coral, Merlot (Colorbox)
Embellishments: Polka-dot Ribbon (Offray); Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); White Brad (American Crafts)
Tools: Floral Doily Die, Standard Circles Dies, Ribbon Banners (Spellbinders); Scallop Trim Border Punch (Stampin' Up!); Elegant Leaves Die (Verve); Musical Flourish Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)

Hangin' Out The Wash

2012-01-03T15:48:00.002-07:00

Can you imagine my surprise when I clicked on the link in my email from Embellish Magazine and found my card listed as one of the What's Hot cards??!! Wow. I actually had to pinch myself. What a pleasant surprise for my birthday! ;-)

Back to my actual post topic, though...

While at my local Robert's store clearance sale last week, I found this adorable 12x12 paper by Three Bugs in a Rug, and I snatched up a bunch of it.

I fussy cut some of those clothes on the line and used them on a couple of baby cards. No challenge associated with these - just creating to keep myself busy.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Kinda squeezy on the clothesline, I realize, but oh well! I don't mind it so much. ;-)

I wasn't sure if they were all supposed to be girl clothes, but some of them looked like they could possibly be boy clothes, so I went with it.

Made use of my awesome Melissa Bickford 'Hanging Out' stamp set, as well. I just LOVE all my Melissa B. stamps!!

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Again, pretty simple. But still kinda cute, don't you think?

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Hanging Out (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Hawaiian Shores (PTI); White Cardstock (Georgia-Pacific); 'Out To Dry' DP (Chloe collection by Three Bugs in a Rug)

Inks: Aqua, Chestnut, Lime, Pink (Colorbox)

Tools: Pinking Shears (Fiskars)

A Little Bit 'O' Love

2012-01-02T20:12:00.003-07:00

I have a few more to share of the six cards I made while the children were ill last week.

I wanted to make a card with 3 hearts, for a Valentine's/Anniversary/Love You kind of card. And I originally planned to just use white cardstock with red for the hearts, for a nice, clean, simple look. But then I decided I wanted to add some stitching, to utilize my new Janome Sew Mini machine I received for Christmas. (Oh, who am I kidding! I bought it myself and had Hubby wrap it up for me!)

So I went fishing through my DP stash instead and found some cute, coordinating red/aqua papers in my 'Lovely' K&Company stack. And these two cards are the result:

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I still went with the 3 hearts. And my favorite Offray lace.

Then, for the next card, I finally broke out my Tiny Envelope die that I purchased months and months and months ago and still have not used! Tsk, tsk on me! I stamped my beloved Fancy Flourishes on the envelope for a little something extra and added the smallest Heart Prints die-cut from the same red DP for a little seal. The big arrow and the 'LOVE' stamp were pre-printed on the DP sheet, so I just fussy cut them out and used them as is (except that I distressed the stamp a little).

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I like how these turned out.

Tomorrow is my 39th birthday. No really, it is! I'm not just using that perpetual "I'm 39 - again!" line. I really am celebrating my 39th birthday tomorrow, but I suppose that I can use that line from now on, right??! ;-D LOL Actually, this will be the one and only time I'll use that line, because I'm not bothered by age. It's the fibromyalgia that whips my butt! If age were a factor, I'd be bothered by the fact that I'm only 39 but feel like I'm 90 - haha!!

Anyway. My plan is to spend the day making cards and organizing some craft stuff, and let the kids extend their holidays by one more day before we pick up lessons again. Then a little birthday chocolate silk pie tomorrow night and watching the Next Great Baker episode which I'm missing tonight because Hubby ~~needs~~ wants to watch all the bowl games he can. (No spoilers!! Don't tell me what happened if you've already watched it!!! On the Great Baker show, I mean - not the bowl games, hee hee.)

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

SUPPLIES USED

Card #1:

Stamps: Heart Prints (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream (PTI); 'Lovely' Designer Paper Pack (K&Company)

Inks: Black (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Lace (Offray); Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Machine Stitching

Tools: Heart Prints Dies (PTI); Scallop Trim Border Punch (Stampin' Up!); Sewing Machine

Card #2:

Stamps: Fancy Flourishes (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream (PTI); 'Life's Journey,' 'Lovely,' and 'McKenna' Designer Paper Packs (K&Company)

Inks: Chianti (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Pearls (Kaisercraft); Machine Stitching

Tools: Block Alphabet Dies, Heart Prints Die, Tiny Envelope Die (PTI); Sewing Machine

Play Date Cafe 112

2011-12-31T20:47:00.004-07:00

So, when my children are ill and vomiting, I tend to try to occupy myself with busy work in between 'episodes', so that I don't freak out about what's happening to them and end up frightening them because I'm so uptight and... well, freaked out.

Two of them have been down and out since Wednesday this week, so I spent a bit of my angst on Thursday by creating cards. Six cards, to be exact. In one day.

(I know!! You're wondering how on earth I can work card making in while they're going through all this vomiting!! It's weird, I know. Soooo very weird! But I don't know what else to do with myself while we're anxiously waiting for what's up next - if you know what I mean. So while they rest temporarily, I very nervously make a card. Bizarre, really, I know. But it helps keep me calm. And keeping me calm helps keep them calm. Which makes a big difference!)

Anyway!

My girls are finally feeling better today, so I may be finished burning up all that nervous energy. But I don't mind!!! I'd rather have my little ones healthy and well and me with no cards, rather than them not well and me having a bunch of cards! We'll see how Little Man fares in the next day or two - I'm hoping the bug will just pass him by without a second glance.

At any rate, I have a card to share with you. ;-) Haha! This one was created for the Play Date Cafe Challenge #112:

As you know, I put a lot of effort into cards for Christmas this year. So I'm about spent on Christmas-themed cards, and basically only used the colors from the beautiful inspiration photo.

So I made a little Thinking of You card instead with this color combo, using my Botanical Silhouettes stamp set.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Really simple. Because, let's face it, though I'm trying to spend nervous energy by making cards while my children are ill, under the circumstances, I don't necessarily have a lot of brain power to invest, whilst having to drop everything and run in a split second when their lunch comes flyin' back out at me!

TMI. I know. Sorry.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Botanical Silhouettes (Papertrey Ink)
Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White, Ripe Avocado (PTI)
Inks: Chestnut, Chianti, Moss Green (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)
Embellishments: Lace (Offray); Pearls (Recollections, from Michaels)
Tools: Rounded Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers); Scor-Buddy

Year In Review

2011-12-30T21:07:00.003-07:00

I'm following along with Karin Martin's Year-In-Review Blog Hop in doing a review post for my favorite cards or projects, as we bid farewell to the year 2011. And I'll warn you right now that this post is probably a bit more verbose than most are looking for, so if you're here for the cards, you may want to quickly scroll down for the 'drive-through' view of them all.

Otherwise, grab your cuppa and follow me - after all, the real reason I like to blog is because I like to write....

I began blogging again in January of this year. I actually started blogging in 2007 after our twins were born, as a way for extended family and friends to keep updated on our family, since we were keeping two preemie babies indoors through their first winter to help them stay healthy. But I quit in early 2010, for various reasons.

I began creating really basic cards about 8 years ago, but started getting into it more in 2009. Before quitting my blog, I did a Pay-It-Forward post where I gave each of the first three people to comment a pack of handmade cards. That's when I hatched my plan to give out card packs as Christmas gifts in 2010. I started looking around the internet for inspiration and was pleasantly surprised at the amazing quantity of craft blogs there.

It was an entirely new world to me, which not only provided awesomely fabulous inspiration at every turn, but it has also been the culprit behind my shrinking wallet, as I found new companies with all kinds of products to use! My stash of craft supplies has grown exponentially this year, and I'd like to think that my creativity has grown and evolved as well.

Anyway. Here's a little month-by-month walk down memory lane.

January - Hubby's Book of Coupons is the only project I posted in January. Great project, turned out much better than how I saw it in my head.

February - I entered this card in Dawn McVey's Color Combo Challenge as part of PTI's 4th Anniversary festivities this February. This card helped me step outside my favorite-earthy-color-combos comfort zone. I never would have thought to use colors like these together!

March - This card was my very first Papertrey Ink Blog Hop entry, also entered in a Heather Pulvirenti Totally Hues Challenge. It was singled out for recognition as one of her Top Five cards. My first ever recognized card! ;-) I taught myself how to crochet just so I could make those little flowers, and this was the first one I used on a card.

April - this bookmark meant I started trusting stamps more - using them for backgrounds, for heat embossing, etc. I have always liked to make my own bookmarks, and learning how to stamp better has made creating those even more fun.

May - One of my favorite cards, ever. I used online tutorials to learn how to hand-dye my own seam binding ribbon, and this was one of my very first 'Big Bow' projects (as I fondly refer to them). I was amazed at how well my first 2-step argyle stamping had turned out, and the colors (though not my typical colors!) just make me smile every time I see this card. ;-)

June - This card helped me start to make a tiny dent in my gargantuan stash of designer papers and cardstocks. I would buy up stacks of paper just because they were soooo beautiful, and when I came home, I had no idea what to do with them all! There is still much room for improvement in my DP-using skills, I know, but I'm happy to at least be using more of my DP's!

July - My first ever Papertrey Ink shoutout - for this card. I was so thrilled, but had to convince Hubby it was a big deal! Besides the shoutout, though, this card speaks me and my style and how I like things in general: earthy, practical, peaceful, pretty, but simple. I tried a new technique, I liked how my stamping turned out, and it turned out good enough to be recognized. Fabulous!

August - This card is special to me because of the special person for whom it was created. I love it when creativity has a personal meaning like this - makes it more worth the doing.

September - Love this card. I like that my brain is starting to see inspiration in the world around me, and that I am more able to channel that inspiration through to my creative projects with good results. Not only that, I am actually excited to create, rather than just doing it to make gifts for other people when I need them. Now, I am more likely to create just for me, just for fun. Although, creating for others always feels good, too.

October - I love this card, too, because it's more dainty and feminine than I am usually able to achieve. Even when I specifically aim for feminine, it often doesn't turn out overtly feminine. I also really like the colors and designer papers, and I love using my Verve stamps. ;-)

November - It's sometimes difficult for me to translate sketch elements into reality and make them look decent. I hope that more experience with them will make it easier for me to get good results. I like this card because I feel like I was able to create a fairly reasonable interpretation of the sketch and also able to use colors that would normally frighten me away at first sight. I am starting to enjoy more and more color combinations, and I like that.

December - This card just makes me smile. :-) Love the colors, love the simplicity, love that it's pretty much a one-layer card... Everything about it makes me happy. A perfect card to round out my list.

I've had a good year, and I am looking forward to another good one in 2012.

Happy New Year, sweet blog readers! Hope you have a good one, too. ;-)

To see more Year-In-Review Blog Hop posts, click here to go to Karin Martin's blog.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

ColourQ and Sketchbook Saturday

2011-12-29T08:12:00.004-07:00

Hubby went back to work for yesterday and today before having another 4-day weekend off for the New Year. And since we're still officially on Christmas break for our little homeschool, I took a little time yesterday to try to get back into the swing of making cards.

I used the Sketchbook Saturday #43 and the ColourQ #117 challenges to aid my very rusty creativity!

My creation:

The flower is from my summer vacation flower stash, and I was also fortunate enough to find in my craft stash an American Crafts glitter brad that seemed to match perfectly. The background paper and the black/white DP block are embossed specialty papers I found on ebay years ago. They're a little shimmery in real life, as is the cardstock I used to cut the Parisian Doily.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I broke out my recently received Love Story stamp set from Verve for the sentiment, embossing it onto a die-cut from the same shimmery cardstock. I used a little charm from a wedding pack I found at my local Roberts store clearance sale. They are closing their brick-and-mortar stores in our area, which makes me sad, because I appreciate being able to jaunt out and grab things when I'm in a hurry, rather than having to depend on the often-unreliable shipping from online companies. But, oh well. Hopefully my crafting life will go on!

Here are the challenge photos:

It was nice to be creative today, just for the heck of it.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Love Story (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White Cardstock, True Black (PTI); Ivory Shimmer Cardstock (DCWV Shimmer Stack); Coral Shimmer Cardstock (Unknown Brand); Designer Papers (Unknown Brand)

Inks: Versamark

Embellishments: Black Embossing Powder (Darice); Glitter Brad (American Crafts); Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Silver Double-Heart Charm (Darice); Black Ribbon (Offray)

Tools: Bloom Builders 3 Die, Parisian Lace Doily Die, Limitless Layers Dies (Papertrey Ink); Scallop Trim Border Punch (Stampin' Up!)

Mass Production

2011-12-28T13:55:00.003-07:00

I have a difficult time coming up with original Christmas gift ideas for co-workers and neighbors and such.

My husband works at a plastics manufacturing company, where they produce all kinds of craft bags and gift bags and gift wrap and cellophane rolls and paper bags and such. He likes to wrap up about 20 smaller-sized, gusseted bags in a larger-sized bag, tie a bit of ribbon at the top, tack on a label, and hand that out with a few rolls of wrap and cellophane to our neighbors. We have had good response to it over the last few years - apparently some look forward to receiving them so they can use them to wrap their own neighbor gifts! So we generally try to get them out the door 2 or 3 weeks before Christmas so they can do just that.

Here is a sampling of the types of bags:

And this is roughly what the compiled group of bags stuffed into a larger bag looks like:

(Sorry for the lame photos - those were from 3 years ago, taken with my old, lame camera on our old, lame sofa slipcover!)

This is our third year giving out these things, and Hubby insists that it's a great tradition that the neighbors look forward to. And being as totally unoriginal as I am, I lazily let him make me stick with it! We've already received about 6 gifts in return using some of the bags included, so that makes us feel like it's at least a usable thing to give. We compile upwards of 50 packs like these to deliver around the neighborhood and give to family and other friends.

Anyway. We do have a few people to whom we like/need to give something a little more meaningful (co-workers of his, very close friends, mother-in-law, etc). Last year I made a 10-pack of cards for those special people - about 12 people in total. I diligently and very orderly made 12 of one card each month so that by the time November arrived, all 120 cards were completed and ready to be bagged up into mixed packs and sent out the door. We had wonderful response to those, as well, so it's looking like I might make this a tradition also.

This year, though, in addition to being busy with large orders of Christmas cards for my family, I did some serious procrastinating (and adding in of a few somewhat unnecessary extras - i.e. 31 Days of blogging in October), and I didn't even get started on the cards until early November. That being the case, I narrowed the pack down to 5 cards this year, which made it a little more manageable. I chose a few of my favorite designs from the year and pared them down a smidgen for easier mass production.

Last year, I made 12 packs and ended up needing to scrounge around in my usual stack of cards for extras because Hubby kept spontaneously adding names to the list. So this year I just added 4 more sets of cards for a total of 16 and thought that would be fine. Somehow, 7 more people were (again) spontaneously added to the list!! So I still had to scrounge through my regular stack of cards to put some random sets together! I'm thinking I'd better just make 25 sets right from the start next year, and probably bump up my stash overall in case there are any more spontaneous additions.

Moving on, here is a group photo of the cards:

The differences are fairly subtle, anyway, but if you're bored and want to check out the originals for comparison's sake, you can find them here, here, here, here, and here.

A photo of them bagged up in one of Hubby's nice holiday bags and ready to go: (minus the little label we usually stick on the front)

For Hubby's co-workers, I created 8 of the following homemade tags to attach to their bags: (I made them weeks ago for a ColourQ challenge but didn't get a post up before the challenge expired.)

Please let me know if you'd like a supply list for these tags, and I'll be happy to share that with you.

I also made a pack of 20 notecards for my foster mom's birthday in January.

So here's the tally:
20 Christmas cards for my brother
44 Christmas cards for my mom
80 cards for planned gift packs
40 cards for spontaneous gift packs (one of the extra 7 included 10 and not 5 cards)
10 special cards for a very special friend
20 notecards for my foster mom's birthday
= a serious TON of cards! (214 cards, actually)

And when you add that to the 50 graduation cards and 40 baby cards I created earlier in the year, as well as all the other misc/random cards throughout the year,... I'd say I successfully found a little bit of crafting time this year! LOL ;-D

Which actually makes me feel pretty good.

It's been a fun, creative year.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Make It Monday #46 and Misc

2011-12-23T12:54:00.002-07:00

On Monday, I made a couple of folded tags for Papertrey's Make It Monday #46 challenge, also using the Play Date Cafe's color splash challenge (from last week). Then my daughter's dance rehearsal and recital hit that night and Tuesday night, and the week promptly fell to shambles.

Let's just say, I don't deal well with too much stress! It didn't help that the dress rehearsal was scheduled for 8:15pm, so I spent a good portion of the day worrying about whether her makeup and hair were okay (I've never done stuff like all this wonderful world of dance stuff, and I am soooo NOT a girly girl!). But we apparently didn't get the phone call or email messages that morning to tell us the rehearsal had been changed to 3:45pm, earlier that day. So I was totally set up for CRAZY right from the get go.

Fortunately, 3 other parents didn't get the messages either, so there were a couple of other girls there to practice the dance with her. The recital the next night went just fine, and she did a great job. So all's well that ends well.

Anyhoo! Here are the two tags I created, with outdated challenge colors, no less! I didn't even get a chance to submit them to the PDCC.

Remember when I said glitter and I don't get along very well?? Yeah, I don't know why this time would be any different, and I fully admit that the tag on the left was a very, very, very bad idea on my part. My glue pen must really be going dry, because the glitter was barely sticking to this tag, so it was all over my hands and clothes and counter, and is now all over the table where I photographed it, and my paper trimmer where I set it down afterward,....

Ahem. This little experiment did very little to improve my relationship with glitter.

But let's move on! Here are the insides of the tags:

I have a bit of trouble with my Tag Sale #3 die, getting too much pressure from my machines, which makes the little embossed dot areas punch clear through the cardstock instead of just being embossed. Anyone have that same problem or know what to do about it...?? I wish I knew, because it deters me from using the die, and I really, really like the die otherwise.

Anyway. I always think I'll start early and be prepared to coast into Christmas, but it's not working out that way this year. I am nowhere near ready, and my body is forcing me to slow way down after a crazy, busy few weeks of gift preparations, family parties, work parties, recitals, and such. So, this is the point where I do only the minimal that really needs doing, then let go of everything that didn't get done, and enjoy the next week with my family while Hubby has some time off from work, to celebrate Christmas, the New Year, and my birthday. Hopefully I'll get a few days of sleeping in accomplished!

Merry Christmas, my dear readers!! I'm sure you're off doing more important things than reading blogs, but in the unlikely event that you actually ARE reading blogs... I just wanted to say thank you for reading my blog and sharing some of your precious time with me. You've made this year a fun one for me, with all your lovely comments and encouragement. I hope you have a wonderful time over the next week or so, with many happy moments and memories!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Snowflake Tag

Stamps: Tag Its #9, Take A Bough (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Inks: Black, Turquoies (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Grosgrain Ribbon (Offray); Glitter (Unknown Brand)

Tools: Damask Snowflake Dies (PTI)

Ornament Tag

Stamps: Christmas Labels, Take A Bough (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Inks: Black, Chestnut, Turquoise (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Glossy Accents; Grosgrain Ribbon (Offray)

Tools: Tag Sale #3 Die (PTI)

Make It Monday #45

2011-12-13T15:51:00.001-07:00

Normally, I wouldn't think of attempting Papertrey Ink's current Make It Monday challenge (for coloring embossed images with copic markers), because when it comes to heat embossing, I totally stink on ice!

But I finally found myself finished with Christmas projects and standing around wanting to make a card but no longer having any 'official' reason for creating one.... So I gave it a go.

Because my copic marker beginner's supply is quite limited right now, I ended up using a couple of colors I wouldn't usually enjoy, but all things considered, I don't think it turned out too badly:

I tried some kind of two-tone stuff, to add more color, but it is blatantly rudimentary and amateurish, I know.

Seriously, though. I do avoid heat embossing when I can. So I'll just go ahead and pat myself on the back for even trying this technique - LOL! ;-D

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Daydreamer (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Melon Berry, Rustic White, Smokey Shadow (PTI)

Inks: Versamark; Copic Markers; White (Martha Stewart)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Saddle Stitch Ribbon (PTI); Misc White Embossing Powder

Tools: Edgers #3 Die (PTI); Pinking Shears (Fiskars)

Mojo Monday #218

2011-12-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

Having a try at the Mojo Monday #218 challenge:

My creation:

It is tough to see, but I embossed the red polka-dot layer with my Cuttlebug Musical Flourish folder. It didn't quite turn out how I thought it would, but I still like it.

Again, following through on my promise to use new supplies, I opened a couple of my new Verve stamp sets for this one - Dream Big and Notebook Paper Plain Jane. I love the quality of Verve stamps, they are so nice to use.

I used a PTI Beautiful Blooms stamp to create the center of the flower ensemble, just for something different. And I used a flourish from the Blessings stamp set as a watermark-type of image on the notepaper die-cut.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Blessings, Dream Big, Notebook Paper Plain Jane (Verve); Beautiful Blooms (PTI)

Paper/Cardstock: Designer Papers (K&Company); Misc Aqua Cardstock (Unknown Brand); Rustic White Cardstock (PTI)

Inks: Black, Chianti (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Tools: Rounded Rectangle Die (Verve); Thank You Embossing Folder (Sizzix); Musical Flourish Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)

Embellish Magazine Banners Color Trends

2011-12-07T08:23:00.005-07:00

I made a card for the current Embellish Magazine challenge, using banners:

It's my first time with this challenge, and I'm embarrassed because I think my printer was playing tricks on me again. My printout of the above photo made the purple look more lavender or pink than it looked when I came back to the computer after creating my card.

At any rate, this is the card I created in response to the challenge:

Though it is barely noticeable in the photos, I used PTI's Background Basics: Newsprint stamp set in grey for the background behind the banner. I received my new PTI ribbons in the mail yesterday morning, so I immediately put some of them to use here - making a little banner of ribbon strips held together by a strand of caramel-colored embroidery floss. The rhinestones are Kaisercraft champagne in color.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

The teeny tiny scallop circles are from the smallest die in the Spellbinders Dahlia Nestabilities set. I thought they were so very adorable.

And now, I am just going to go sit down and chill for a little bit and rest my poor nerves, because as I was typing this post, my little 5-year-old daughter darn near choked on a piece of orange. Thank the Lord that a little bit of the ol' Heimlich was all she needed to spew it out! ACK!!!! :-S Fortunately, I was able to stay calm. Unfortunately, I think I now have the shakes and probably won't sleep very well tonight.

Nevertheless, thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Background Basics: Newsprint, Communique Curves Sentiments, Tag Its #10 (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White (PTI)

Inks: Chestnut, Sky Grey (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Misc Embroidery Floss; Grosgrain Ribbon (PTI)

Tools: Dahlia Die Set (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Crop-A-Dile Hole Punch (We R Memory Keepers)

CR84FN #44 - Cross Stitching

2011-12-06T11:47:00.004-07:00

Now that I have a little time in my days again, I thought about participating in Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday for glitter masking projects. But glitter and I are really not on THAT good of terms!

So today's project is for the CR84FN #44 challenge using these delightful colors:

This is my creation:

Since I promised myself I would start using more of my unused supplies, I opened my new Stitches and Swirls stamp set from PTI. I've been eager to use this set anyway, because I have been a cross-stitching junkie since I was about 10 years old. It has been a wonderful passion in my life over the years. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do much of it lately, after the fabulous side effects of infertility drugs have taken their toll on my eyesight. But I always love to see anything remotely cross-stitch-y, so I quickly grabbed this set at release time.

I stamped the big flower/leaf clusters in light pink first, then used the individual flower blooms to stamp over the pink ones using a coral ink. Some of them weren't quite the right size - I hope it doesn't look too weird. I wasn't quite sure what to do with these colors, and my first project with them was a total bomb. (Brain cramp.) I'm just glad this one turned out decent! At least, I hope it's decent.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I really love all my Think Big Favorites stamp sets. I will probably shed a few tears when that series ends (if that's the plan).

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Stitches and Swirls, Think Big Favorites #1 (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Hawaiian Shores, Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Inks: Aqua, Coral, Rosebud (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Tools: Pinking Shears (Fiskars)

Sketchbook Saturday #40 and CAS-ual Fridays #30

2011-12-04T13:40:00.002-07:00

I tried two new challenges yesterday - Sketchbook Saturday and CAS-ual Fridays. Hopefully I've met all the requirements!

I've been blog-stalking both of them for a while, trying to work up the courage to join in. I always struggle with feeling like my creations are 'not that great' and doubting whether they are share-worthy, but I finally dove into the challenges yesterday. Actually, I guess it's today that I'm feeling brave, since the bravery isn't required for making the card, it's required for actually SHARING the card!

Anyway, here it is:

For the CAS-ual Friday challenge, I chose Scallops/Polka Dots/Pink as my Tic-Tac-Toe line. To be honest, though, I'm not really sure what 'clean and simple' means. I tried to do clean and simple here, so I hope it comes across that way. It certainly was a simple card to make - less than 20 minutes, I think (which is very, VERY quick for me!).

I'm not always great at sketch challenges, but this one felt comfortable right from the start. Maybe that's because I paired it with another challenge, both of which basically handed me all the elements necessary - color, placement, shape, design, etc.

I was also happy to introduce myself to my new Butterfly Dreams stamp set.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

It felt like a breeze to create this card, and I really like it. It suits me perfectly!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Butterfly Dreams, Communique Curves Sentiments, Harvest Berries (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, Kraft, Stamper's Select White, Sweet Blush (PTI); Polka-Dot Designer Paper (BoBunny)

Inks: Chestnut, Pink (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Frost Shimmer Spritz (Tsukineko)

Tools: Butterfly Die, Harvest Berries Die (PTI); Threading Water Border Punch (Fiskars)

Make It Monday #43 and Play Date Cafe #109

2011-12-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

I gave Make It Monday #43 another go, this time using the Play Date Cafe #109 colors (aren't they so fabulously beautiful??! Oh my stinkin' word!):

My creation:

I pictured a flower ensemble at the bottom with some pleated ribbon, and I was certain that my new Simple Sunflower stamp set would be perfect - and I've really been wanting to break it open and give it some attention. These sunflowers are my new absolute favorite, I believe. So gorgeous in detail, and fun to create!

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I'm a little stunned that I was able to pull off a card like this, because my constant urge/impulse is to add mat layers, because they give me the sensation that I have a way to hide my mistakes or weaknesses a little better. Single-layer cards are NOT my specialty. They intimidate me, actually. But I love them and always find myself wishing I could create them, like so many in Creative Blogland are able to do.

Anyway. This card makes me smile. I really love it. I think it's another perfect reflection of how I like my cards - simple but pretty. And I think I would pee my pants in glee if someone sent a card like this to me in the mail - LOL! ;-D

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Fancy Flourishes, Simple Sunflower (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White Cardstock (PTI)

Inks: Coral, Sky Gray (Colorbox); Chocolate (Hampton Art A La Mode)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Satin Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (Offray)

Tools: Simple Sunflower Die Collection (PTI)

Make It Monday #43 - Ribbon Pleating

2011-12-01T12:56:00.001-07:00

I finally took a few minutes yesterday to make an individual, just-for-fun card. It was made with PTI's current Make It Monday #43 challenge in mind, to use ribbon pleating.

My creation:

It almost ended up being a stamp-less card, made almost entirely from dies and impression plates and such. But at the last minute, I decided to shift the main panel to the left and include a bit of stamping along the right side. The Moroccan Motifs IP might seem random. I used it because it arrived recently, and I wanted to give it a try. And I'm not sure, but I think the letters and banner borders would've been better in reverse (letters in Hibiscus Burst and border in Sweet Blush), maybe.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I guess this the pink and yellow and grey/black are my favorite girl baby colors to work with, because I keep coming back to them over and over when I make baby girl cards. Just seems like a fun combo for baby cards, to me.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Hanging Out (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Smokey Shadow, Lemon Tart, Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush (PTI)

Inks: Black, Pink (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Twine (The Twinery); Hibiscus Burst Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (PTI)

Tools: Pinking Shears (Fiskars); Moroccan Motif Impression Plate, Banner Builder Dies, Block Alpha Dies (PTI)

Passing The Time

2011-11-30T11:52:00.012-07:00

So, does posting every day in October make up for posting next to nothing in November...??!

It seems like there has been one thing after another preventing me from sitting down to create just a single card, for me. I have been creating - a ton of cards, in fact. I finally finished my 80 cards for neighbors, and also the 20 Christmas cards for my brother, and 44 Christmas cards for my mom. So I guess I've made about 144 cards in the last month or so. But it would be nice to have some unhurried free time to just sit and think and create one little card just for creativity's sake, you know?

I originally planned to make our own 60 Christmas cards for sending out to friends and family, but after all those other cards, I just wasn't feeling up to it. So I went with the digital-scrapbook/photo card this year. Sometimes I feel like that's a cop out for me. But I did design it myself and spent a few hours doing so, so I definitely put the effort into it, however meager and amateurish it is! Oh well. I'm just ready for things to chill out and settle back into 'normal.'

I thought you might like to see what I've been up to the last few weeks, besides the mass production of Christmas cards. ;-)

A few weeks ago, I attended a ladies' church activity where we learned to make pie crust. I have never made pie crust before, most likely because pie just isn't my treat of choice and I have no real interest in making it. But I was sufficiently roped into this event, so I gave it a go. My husband is a die-hard pie lover, though, so I knew I would be WOTY (Wife Of The Year) when I brought that baby home. He was thrilled to see it, and even more thrilled when we actually filled it with apples and sauce and turned it into a dutch apple pie:

And I have to admit, it turned out really delicious, especially with Hubby's homemade ice cream. And I will probably try it again in the future. Funny, isn't it? How we spend time avoiding things that really aren't that bad in the end. ;-)

Two days before Thanksgiving, while still trying to finish up my mom's Christmas card stack, she called me to let me know my youngest sister - who is really struggling in life after having being injured in a car accident 12 years ago and having a portion of her brain removed, and whom I haven't seen in years - was planning to attend Thanksgiving dinner, and since her birthday was on the 19th, would I please consider making/bringing her a gift of some sort, maybe some bookmarks, because she loves to read.

Well, I was so busy finishing up her cards and feeling a bit scatter-brained, I barely managed to get to the store to buy her a reading book and some crossword puzzle books and make one bookmark to stick in the book:

I used last week's Make It Monday technique for background layering with stamps, but I never found time to submit it. I wasn't really pleased with the results anyway, so I guess I don't mind that it wasn't submitted.

But I somehow also managed to try my first gable box template (that I picked up from Nina Brackett's website more than a year ago) and make a little box full of chocolate goodies for her as well:

I can't believe I didn't try it sooner, because it was quite easy to assemble, and I think I'll use it again in the future. Although, I think the green I used here is a little overpowering, but I still kinda like the thing.

I guess my mind was calling me to create other things, because on the eve of Thanksgiving, late in the evening, I felt compelled to try to make some last-minute wine bottle tags for my non-wine bottles of sparkling cider (since we are LDS and do not consume alcoholic beverages) to give to my mom as a little token of thanks for hosting Thanksgiving dinner:

I've seen lots of the tags after the PTI release with the wine-bottle-tag die, and though I didn't order the die because I didn't think I would use it (being a non-alcoholic-beverage consumer, after all), I was suddenly overcome with the urge to make some tags for my non-alcoholic beverage containers. So I used my Tag Sale #5 die instead, cutting it a little longer by adjusting the die and cutting twice with it (to make it a little longer) and using a circle die to cut the top to fit the bottle.

I had received some complimentary Inkadinkado Thanksgiving stamps in an order I placed a few weeks back, so I used the words and leaf stamps to create the tags. I also used a PTI Fillable Frames die for the label, and PTI's Picnic Plaid Impression Plate for some texture, and some Rustic Cream Button Twine with a miscellaneous button and some rhinestones for embellishment. I thought it turned out pretty cute. I probably still won't purchase the wine bottle tag die, though, since these improvised tags worked our fairly well and weren't too troublesome to make, and I wouldn't really make them often as it is.

Following Thanksgiving is what can easily be described as my favorite time of the year - the 3 days after Thanksgiving. It's just me, my husband, and our 3 children - just our little family - with 3 days to be together while Hubby is off work, putting up our tree and decorating for Christmas, watching fun Christmas shows and listening to our favorite Christmas carols, watching some football, going out to dinner, driving around to see all the community/neighbor Christmas lights displays, and enjoying some really relaxing down time.

I decided this year to let the children put the ornaments on the tree, and then promised myself not to fiddle with them. I usually do fiddle with them, re-organizing them after they go to bed for a more even distribution. ;-) But this year, I actually don't feel any gumption to do so. We have little children, and our Christmas tree reflects it, so what?!

We also took on the challenge of painting Little Man's room on Saturday, since his was the only unpainted room in the house and has been since he was born:

He was so thrilled to be painting right alongside his daddy, and all day he kept saying, "I can't believe this is the best day of my life!" It was so dang cute. As you can see, we used green and blue (which he selected himself, with Mom's approval, of course) - two opposing walls in green, and the other two opposing walls in blue. I am so happy to have that project completed. Although, I keep losing my Little Man to his room because he loves being in there more than ever now!

I also like Christmas Day and the time off Hubby has there as well, but there is just something about the 3 days after Thanksgiving that makes me feel like I could die right then and go to heaven and life would have totally been worth every minute, just for those 3 days with my little family. I just love it!!

And then 'the Monday after' comes. And the homeschool routine has to be picked up again, and it's busy and sometimes crazy, and full of kranky-pants attitude from the kids.... and life goes on - LOL! ;-D

Christmas shopping is complete, the digital Christmas cards have arrived in the mail and are ready to be sent to loved ones in a week or so, and I finally did finish all my neighbor/co-worker/friend cards (hoping to post about those in the next few days), so now I just have to get them wrapped up all cute-like and ready for distribution, along with a few other little neighbor gifts, and I'll be set. I like to have most everything finished before December even begins so I can relax and coast into the Christmas/New Year's holidays and really enjoy the time, rather than rushing about and crazy.

During the month of December, at bedtime we like to turn out all the lights except the garland and tree and little village and then sing songs while lounging around at the foot of the tree. It's prime time for cuddling with little children!

I am also hoping that I will have some time to make some cards and start up again with some challenges and such. With the money I earned making cards for my mom and brother, I was able to purchase a few more PTI wish-list goodies, so I'm looking forward to when those will arrive. As if I don't have enough PTI goodies to play with already!!! But I'm sure you crafters know what I'm talking about, right??! ;-) Really, I only purchased some scor-tape and new ribbons, and replenished my spent supply of vintage cream felt. But PTI goodies are PTI goodies, just the same!!

And on a rather unpleasant personal side note, there has been growing concern that my gallbladder may need to be removed in the near future. Though I am promised it will help alleviate many different pains/symptoms I am currently having and possibly help me feel a little better overall, I am not exactly looking forward to it and hoping to put it off until after the new year begins.

Anyhoo! Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Papertrey November Blog Hop Challenge

2011-11-25T07:57:00.003-07:00

Long time no post, eh??! ;-)

Popping in with an entry for the Papertrey Ink November Blog Hop Challenge, which is based on this inspiration photo:

I used the colors from the photo, mainly, and maybe a snowflake. I have actually been in mass production mode for the last 10 days. I started to work on my lineup of 160 cards for friends/co-workers/neighbors, and got through 3 and a half sets (to be blogged about soon!) before my Mom called last Tuesday and requested that I make her some Christmas cards. Using the photo colors, this is what I created for her:

My mom is a quilter, so I tuned in to some quilting elements that I thought might be fun for her to see in a personalized card.

I cut a green mat layer and pinking-sheared the edges. Then I used the Cane Print Impression Plate to add what I thought was a perfect quilted-texture background. At the bottom of the card is a glitter-red rickrack border, from the same glittered cardstock used for the snowflakes at the top.

(And may I just say, trying to find RED GLITTERED CARDSTOCK in November is really, really difficult!! I had to make the rounds to all the local craft stores, and was lucky enough to find enough sheets at Joann! Ahem.)

I used my recently received Mat Stack 3 Layerz die to create a green mat for the regular Mat Stack die layer made from white cardstock. LOVE the Layerz and Mega Mat Stacks!! I stamped a Signature Christmas sentiment in black at the bottom, and then two poinsetta blooms from the Tag Its #9 stamp set in red. I used rhinestones to embellish this card, but in the end, I scrapped those for the entire set of cards in order to make mailing them a little more hassle free for her.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I thought it was very clever to incorporate some quilting type of elements (Can you hear that?? Yes, yes, it's me... tooting my own horn - LOL!), and she seems to love the design, thank goodness. I didn't get a photo of it, but I did use a Stylish Sentiments: Holiday stamp on the interior. Actually, it was a bit of a fiasco because, after finishing all the cards, I realized that I forgot to stamp the interior sentiment, so I had to go back and do that Wednesday afternoon, hoping the ink would dry in time to deliver them Thanksgiving morning!!

She originally asked me for 20 cards, and I thought, "No big deal! I can churn that out easily before Thanksgiving." (when we were due at their home.) She changed the amount to 33 the next day, and before I knew it, the final tally reached 42. So I made 44 - to keep the green and white mat layers in multiples of 4, for full-sheet cardstock cutting purposes, because I'm nice and orderly like that. ;-) The design wasn't quite simple enough to make the process go quickly, so it took me a few days longer than I first thought it would. But I hope she will love them!

A photo of the finished batch.

You can find more beautiful Blog Hop projects at Nichole's blog.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-) I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We are setting up our Christmas tree and other decorations today, then painting Little Man's room on Saturday. I look forward to this long Thanksgiving weekend all year!

Cheers!

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Signature Christmas, Tag Its #9 (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Pinefeather (PTI); Glittered Cardstock (from Joann)

Inks: Black, Cranberry (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Tools: Cane Print Impression Plate, Mat Stack 3 Die, Mat Stack 3 Layerz Die, RickRack Border Die (PTI); Snowflake Die (Spellbinders); Pinking Shears (Fiskars)

ColourQ 110 and VLV Nov Week 1

2011-11-13T14:09:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to create something yesterday, so I took on the ColourQ #110 challenge and paired it with the Viva La Verve November Week 1 sketch (by Amy Sheffer).

Here is what I created:

I wasn't sure exactly how to use the colors from the challenge, and it took a little bit of effort. But after some trial and error experimenting with shapes and colors, I think I am fairly satisfied with the results.

The flower was cut from some DP, and then I crumpled it, distress inked the edges a little and sprayed on some Tsukineko shimmer spritz.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Here are the challenge photos:

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Celebration of Thanks (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate (PTI); Misc Peach Cardstock (Unknown Brand); Designer Paper (K&Company)

Inks: Aqua, Chestnut (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Glitter Brad (American Crafts); Satin Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (Offray)

Tools: Beautiful Blooms II #1 Dies, Doily Details Die (PTI); Labels Four, Classic Circles Dies (Spellbinders Nestabilities)

Color Throwdown 167 and Mojo Monday 214

2011-11-12T16:19:00.002-07:00

I debated whether or not to share this card:

It seems weird to me, or something. I was desperate to use some patterned paper. But I'm not sure it worked out. It might be the pink.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

That being said, this card was created for the Color Throwdown #167 and Mojo Monday #214 challenges.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Kind Words, Bloom & Grow (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream Cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Misc Cardstocks (Unknown Brand); Designer Paper (K&Company)

Inks: Moss Green, Merlot (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Ribbon (Offray)

Tools: Leaf Die (Sizzix); Doily Details Dies (Papertrey Ink); Labels Four (Spellbinders Nestabilities)

Mr. & Mrs. - CR84FN #42

2011-11-11T13:53:00.001-07:00

I purchased the Thank You #5 set of Sizzix embossing folders back in May, and I am just now getting around to using any of them. I bought the set specifically for this one folder, and I've had it on my mind ever since the package arrived at my doorstep, but it just never happened. As is the case for a great deal of my crafting supplies, sadly. I am an overzealous shopper with not enough time to love each and every one of my supplies. I have pledged to make more of an effort to use my older and unused supplies in the future, though.

I finally went searching for that folder this week and used it for a wedding card:

I wouldn't call this card creative, really. I just sent the cardstock in the embossing folder through the machine, stamped a sentiment, added a few rhinestones, tied a ribbon with a charm, and adhered it onto a couple of mat layers. Sending it through the Cuttlebug was about the most effort I expended on this one!

Truth is, the pain is kicking my butt this week, and I have been feeling quite unmotivated to do anything more than the necessities. So I'm taking the easy way out on my cards, as well.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I did utilize the CR84FN #42 colors for this card (easy on the colors and heavy on the white!):

Simple, once again. Perfect for a week like this.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Big & Bold Wishes (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (PTI); Pink Shimmer Cardstock (DCWV Shimmer Stack); Misc Black Cardstock (Unknown Brand)

Inks: Black (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Metal Double-Heart Charms (Hirschberg, from Joann); Satin Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (Offray)

Tools: Thank You Set #5 Embossing Folder (Sizzix)

Make It Monday #40 - Project 1

2011-11-10T15:49:00.001-07:00

Stopping by to post a card for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #40 (with video tutorial by Heather Nichols), on doing a reverse applique:

First, I am terrible at photographing white!! It seriously kicks my tooshie, every time. Hopefully you can see some of the details here.

When I think of appliques, I think of cute children's clothing decor, and so my thoughts on this one went straight to baby land. I used pinking shears on the Spring Moss mat layer, because pinking shears remind me of sewing. I used two of the Heart Prints dies to cut into the white cardstock, then used the Cane Print Impression Plate to give a bit of a quilted feel to it. I hope you can see the cane print impression, because I think it adds so much to the project. The patterned papers are from my stash, some of them quite old.

My first attempt did involve the actual sewing machine. And you will not be seeing it, because it is highly embarrassing. The second attempt at stitching, which you see here, was created by hand, poking holes around the hearts with my piercer and then hand stitching through the pre-made holes. It's still a bit crooked, but oodles better than the machine stitching! Sorry. My perfectionist tendencies took complete control over my body on this one.

I added a bit of stitching around the perimeter of the white layer, for a little something else. (I just had to use the word perimeter, because PrincessA is learning about that this week! Practical application - LOL!) Then I added the banner with a button at the bottom.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Hanging Out (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Spring Moss, Stamper's Select White (PTI); Polka Dot Designer Paper (BoBunny); Misc Designer Paper (Unknown Brand)

Inks: Black, Pink (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Misc Pink Button (Unknown Brand); Misc Pink Thread; Yellow Embroidery Floss

Tools: Double-Ended Banner Die, Heart Prints Die, Cane Print Impression Plate (PTI); Pinking Shears (Fiskars)

31 Days Giveaway Winners

2011-11-07T08:22:00.003-07:00

Another busy day, hopefully getting back into the swing of things after a busy, exciting weekend. So I am here to quickly announce the Giveaway Winners before the day gets away from me.

First, a big Thank You to all who commented, blogged, Facebooked, Followed, etc, in order to enter this Giveaway. I appreciate all your effort!!

And I wish I knew how to capture or copy the little results graphic from Random.org to make it more professional, but I am sooooo not that techno savvy. So here it is in all its un-techno-savvy-ness, from Random.org:

Gift Certificate Winner - LISA, for comment #9:

"Well of course I am already a follower of yours. And now I'm off to give everyone a heads up on my blog about your fun give-a-way!!! Thanks Ally :)"

10 Cards Winner - KRISTEN, for comment #18:

"I just linked you up to my facebook. I really hope I win this!!!! :)"

Apparently, really hoping to win really makes a difference! LOL. ;-)

Congratulations, Ladies!

**Lisa, I need you to verify the email address to where you want your PTI gift certificate sent.

**Kristen, if you already know which 10 cards you want, please email me that list, or let me know if you want me to randomly select 10 cards for you. (I'm hoping you will choose the cards you want, though!)

You each have until 10:30 a.m. EST to respond. If I don't hear from you by then, I will randomly select another winner for the prize.

Thanks, again, to all who entered, and thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

Hopefully I will have some creations for you in the next few days as we find our routine again.

TTFN!

-Ally

Last Chance

2011-11-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

Just popping in for a quick reminder about my Gift Certificate and 10 Cards Giveaway going on right now.

Only a few more hours to enter - deadline is tonight, November 6, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Winners announced tomorrow.

Here's the Original Post for all the deets.

Thanks to everyone who has entered so far and helped me spread the word! ;-)

Happy Sunday!
-Ally

Make It Monday #39 - Project 2

2011-11-04T10:13:00.002-06:00

I've been baking and doing food prep since dawn for our little family gathering on Saturday. Although, I guess 50+ extended family members is not exactly a 'little' gathering - LOL! It's only been 3 hours, but my back and feet need a rest!

Halfway through the food prep process, I'm taking a quick break to post my second attempt at Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #39 challenge: (one of these days I am going to win that free stamp set, I just know it!!) ;-)

I set out to make some kind of pretty card with the Fancy Flourishes (my favorite stamp set of all time!) and the medallions from Iconic Images, and as I was working on it, the medallions seemed to come across to me as snowflakes in a blustery wind. So I used them as such, and turned it into a Holiday Greetings card, using one of the stamps from my recently-received Signature Christmas stamp set for the sentiment panel, along with a few more medallions.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Quite non-traditional, as Christmas goes, but it's starting to grow on me a little bit more.

Well, I was lucky enough to find extra time for a few more cards, but this time I really am checking out for a few days over the weekend. Hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll see you on Monday to announce winners of the Giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Fancy Flourishes, Fillable Frames #10, Iconic Images, Love Lives Here: Holiday, Signature Christmas (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides, Vintage Cream (PTI)

Inks: Chestnut, Glacier Ice, Harbor, Turquoise (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Satin Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (Offray)

Tools: Fillable Frames #10 Die, Mat Stack #1 Die, Linen Impression Plate (PTI)

Make It Monday #39 - Project 1

2011-11-03T08:36:00.002-06:00

I found some time to create yesterday. Hooray!!! And all I can say about yesterday, is thank goodness that making cards - for the most part - is something I can do during power outages. Really, though, thank goodness the power came back on before it got really cold.

I always like to try to participate with Papertrey's weekly Make It Monday challenge, although this week's technique is not one in which I am very strong. I think it's because it seems to require a good design eye, and I feel like I am mostly fudging things, since I really have zippo design experience and know how. Especially for a technique like this one - sometimes it feels like I'm throwing things at the wall and hoping that they'll stick! I might make cards, but I'm actually a wannabe well-designed-card maker. ;-)

Anyhoo. Here is the first card I created using this multi-stamp background technique, pretty much imitating Nichole's card:

The leaves from Turning A New Leaf were stamped using my new Spring Moss inkpad - fun! Also included are some Beautiful Blooms blossoms, and some small flower clusters from the Tag-Its #5 set. I ran that background panel through the Cuttlebug with my Linen Impression Plate for a little texture.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

The focal panel was made with my new Tag Sale #5 die, followed by some Limitless Layers circles, the top circle being stamped with the Tag-Its #3 frame, more flower blossoms, and a sentiment from Flower Fusion #4. The Tag Sale #5 die-cut is also impressed with the Cane Print Impression Plate.

Most of those products are ones that I have not used yet, so that made me happy to use them. I've been trying to make a point of using things I haven't used yet, rather than just using the same old standbys over and over and over - in spite of how much I absolutely ADORE all my old standbys!! I spend good money on crafting supplies, and I really want to make use of as many of them as I can.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Beautiful Blooms II, Flower Fusion #4, Tag-Its #5, Tag-Its #3Turning A New Leaf (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Scarlet Jewel, Sweet Blush, Spring Moss (PTI)

Inks: Spring Moss (PTI); Chestnut, Merlot, Rosebud, Dusty Plum (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Tools: Cane Print Impression Plate, Linen Impression Plate, Limitless Layers 1-3/4" Dies, Tag Sale #5 Die (PTI)

Clean & Simple Baby Cards

2011-11-02T07:20:00.003-06:00

Also on Saturday, in response to the Clean & Simple #164 sketch challenge:

I created this card:

In it's former life, I'm pretty sure this card was a wedding card, and not a baby card. I know it doesn't look like a traditional baby card, but I found a couple of designer papers that I really wanted to use, and this card just kindof emerged. And for some reason, I thought it would be fun to stamp on some ribbon for the sentiment panel and make it a baby card.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

But after finishing it, I wondered, "Who on earth would I give this card to?! The colors are masculine, but the glitter heart and the scallop matting are all dainty and feminine!" I can't give it to someone having a boy, and I can't give it to someone having a girl.

But really, though, I think I would be happy to receive this card if I were having a baby, so maybe I'm underestimating this card. It is still a nice card, in spite of suffering from an identity crisis, don't you think?

Anyway. Then I went to try again and created this card:

Definitely a girl card, but a little more involved in the details, so now I'm not sure it qualifies for the Clean & Simple category!

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Oh well. What's done is done!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Card #1

Stamps: Hanging Out (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Ocean Tides (PTI); Designer Papers (K&Company Elegance Stack)

Inks: Black, (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Glitter (Unknown Brand); Satin Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (Offray)

Tools: Rounded Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers); Double Loops Border Punches (Martha Stewart Crafts); Hearts Dies (Spellbinders Nestabilities)

Card #2

Stamps: Hanging Out (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Hibiscus Burst, Summer Sunrise (PTI); Designer Papers (BoBunny; DCWV Nana's Kids Stack)

Inks: Pink (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Machine Stitching; Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Tools: Rounded Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers); Double Loops Border Punches, Butterfly Punches (Martha Stewart Crafts); Butterfly Dies (Spellbinders Nestabilities)

Wedding Wishes for Play Date Cafe & VLV

2011-11-01T08:25:00.000-06:00

I was able to create a few cards on Saturday while Hubby was at work, so I do have a few leftover cards to share with you this week, even if I won't be creating much that's new. I figured I would post quickly before lessons this morning so the letdown from the end of my 31 Days isn't so harsh. LOL!

Or, maybe I'm just in the habit of posting every day now.... Which will be sad when I run out of cards to post tomorrow. ;-D

Today's card uses the colors from the Play Date Cafe Challenge #105 and the Viva La Verve sketch for October Week 5:

While we were out and about driving somewhere a few days ago, I took along a spool of tulle and some thread, and attempted to make a little flower. I think it turned out pretty well. But I had a bit of a time trying to find a brad or centerpiece that would work with it and keep it attached to the card. I ended up using a little circle of cardstock behind it and hot gluing the two layer of tulle, then also gluing the little beaded ensemble sticker you see there.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

It's more bulky than I'd like, but I can certainly still use this card even if mailing it is a little more of a hassle. And I could always hand deliver it, as well.

Here are the challenge photos:

I know the card is supposed to be square, I'm sorry, but I just couldn't do it. Too much brain power needed to do that, and I was definitely lacking brain power last week.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-) (Can you believe it's November already?! Ack!!!)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Blessings (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Blueberry Sky, Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Designer Paper (K&Company)

Inks: Chestnut (Colorbox); Sky Blue (Tsukineko Dew Drop); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Pearls (Kaisercraft); Flower Center (Prima Marketing); Lace, Tulle (Offray)

Tools: Labels Four Dies (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Paper Crimper (Fiskars)

31 Days of Card Making {31} - A Giveaway

2011-10-31T08:00:00.005-06:00

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT.

So, I've had a fun and interesting month of card making. And now I can rest. Haha!

Just kidding. ;-) I won't be resting much this week, with PrincessA's baptism happening this weekend.

But I do want to celebrate the completion of my 31 Days endeavor and say thank you to all those who commented, observed, read from afar, etc., by having a little Giveaway for you!

It's not much, just a little something to help celebrate.

I know some of my readers are craft lovers who already make their own cards which are more to their own liking. And I know there are also some family and friends reading my blog who don't make their own cards.

So, here is what I have to offer.....

For the card makers (or anyone who would like this), I have a $25 gift certificate from one of my two favorite stamp companies:

Papertrey Ink

or Verve Stamps

*****Please Note - this portion of the Giveaway is for ONLY ONE GIFT CERTIFICATE, either from Papertrey Ink, OR from Verve Stamps, but NOT FROM BOTH. The choice is yours. But I am giving away only one certificate for either one company or the other.*****

For non-card makers (or anyone who would like this), I would like to give you 10 of the cards that I have created and posted about during the month of October. Here are snapshots of the 24 cards that are up for grabs:

*****There were a few cards that I created for this series that were used for other purposes and so are not available. But all of the cards you see in the above 2 photos are available.

To see more details for the cards individually, click HERE for the lineup of 31 Days posts, or HERE for the main post with individual links to each card.

Also, the winner of the cards prize will have their choice of which 10 cards they would like. If you would prefer, or if you don't have time to sift through to personally select your cards, I can pick 10 random cards to send. But I really would like the winner to have their choice.*****

You decide which prize you would like, but you can only win one of them. So please specify which one you'd like in your comments.

There are 5 opportunities to enter this Giveaway, through the following ways:

Leave a comment here on this post telling me whether you'd like the gift certificate or the 10 cards. (You can say both if you'd like, and I will put your name in the drawing for both. If your name is drawn for one prize, though, I'm sorry but you won't be eligible for the other.)
Leave another comment here on this post telling me which card was your favorite from this month (October only. Please tell me the Day # of the card - i.e. Day 21 or Day 5, etc.).
Become a Follower of my Blog. (Make sure you leave another comment here to let me know you're an official Follower. If you're already a Follower and want to be entered, just leave a comment saying that you are already a Follower and are interested in the prizes.)
Post about this Giveaway on your blog. (Again, make sure you come back here and leave another comment to let me know that you did so.)
Click on the Facebook link at the bottom of this post to share this Giveaway on Facebook. (Once again, please come back and leave another comment to let me know!)

Each item you complete from the above list will give you one entry into the Giveaway, for up to 5 chances to win.

Comments/entries for this Giveaway will be open until November 6 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, and I will announce two randomly-drawn winners (one for each prize) sometime on Monday, November 7. Each winner will have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear from that person by then, I will randomly choose another name. And so forth.

*****You must be willing to provide me with your valid email address to receive the gift certificate, and your actual name and physical address to receive the cards.*****

So that's it! Good luck. ;-)

Thank you so much for coming along with me on this 31 Days adventure!!

I've had a lot of fun, and I appreciate each and every comment from you! I even appreciate it if you only watched from afar through your Reader, or by officially following my blog. ;-)

Even if you're just here for a chance to win a prize...

Thank You for stopping by today for my little Giveaway, and especially for stopping by during the month of October! ;-)

-Ally

31 Days of Card Making {Day 30} - Happy Birthday To My Baby Girl!

2011-10-30T06:00:00.001-06:00

Today is my oldest daughter's birthday. We had princess cake for the slumber party a few weeks ago, so I asked her to come up with a backup treat for today (because I really just didn't want to make another cake so soon!), and she decided on chocolate-dipped strawberries. A chip off the ol' block, that girl!! ;-D We are harvesting the last little bit from our strawberry patch - nearly 60 pounds of strawberries this season! - and using them for a birthday treat. Mmmm, mmmmm!

So today I am posting the card that I made for her. It doesn't coordinate with any sketch or color combo challenges or anything. It's just a card with elements that I thought she might think are fun. Mostly pink, and flowers, and pink, and butterflies, and pink - cuz she is definitely a girly girl who loves all things pink and princess-y!

She is officially 8 years old today and will be baptized this coming Saturday. She is one of our three miracle children, because the odds were that we would never have children. (Thank the Lord for blessing the world with medical discoveries to help fix those problems!)

I went through about 24 hours of labor to bring her into the world, and just after she was born, a gentle snow began to fall outside. So we lovingly refer to her as our Snow Princess who brought in the first snow of that year. And in spite of a C-section delivery, the days we spent in the hospital recuperating after her birth were some of the most calm, quiet, peaceful, magical moments of my life.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

She is my little singing child who isn't intimidated by stage fright, like her Mommy often is. I love seeing the light that shines through her eyes and her soul, never failing to be amazed by the wonderful, beautiful, delightful, imaginative person she is. I am grateful to be her Mommy and her 'teacher', to be able to help shape her education and her character in these early years. And I am eager every day to learn more about her and discover as she grows older who she is and what her purposes are in life.

Thanks for stopping by today and humoring me with a personal post.
-Ally

***Make sure you stop by tomorrow for a little surprise to wrap up my 31 Days series! ;-) ***

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Big Wish (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Lemon Tart, Scarlet Jewel, Autumn Rose, Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink); Yellow Polka Dot DP (BoBunny); Misc Pink Designer Paper (Unknown Brand)

Inks: Black (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Satin Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (Offray)

Tools: Double Loops Border Punches (Martha Stewart Crafts); Blossom Dies, Butterfly Die (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die (Stampin' Up!)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 29} - Thanks For All You Do

2011-10-29T08:11:00.001-06:00

Today's card was made with the Color Throwdown #165 challenge in mind:

Not what I would call an easy color combo, for me. And since I feel like I am barely chugging into the finish line of this 31 Days thing, I took the really easy way out for this one and made it as simple as I possibly could:

Grabbed a few of my recently-purchased polka-dot designer papers, cut them into 1.5" squares, rounded a few corners with my Chomper, added some rhinestones, and then stamped a Think Big sentiment at the bottom.

Click on photo to enlarge for details

Lickety Split!! ;-)

But you know what? I really like this simple card. I do!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Think Big Favorites #6 (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White Cardstock (PTI); Polka-Dot Designer Papers (BoBunny)

Inks: Black (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Tools: Rounded Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 28} - Thank Heaven for Little Boys

2011-10-28T07:13:00.003-06:00

Today's card was created for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #38 challenge for brayering and impression plate techniques:

I used the Book Print Impression Plate with the brayer and Colorbox's Robin's Egg ink over Vintage Cream cardstock. I liked the splotchy, grungy look of it, so I didn't work too hard to give it flawless coverage.

I think I am now half-heartedly creating with the thought in mind that this 31 Days challenge is essentially over. Either that, or I'm busier than I thought and my mind is considerably occupied by other things. Because this card took me a few hours to create and it felt like a very strained process.

I didn't really have a plan in mind for the card. I tried a few different impression plates with a few different ink colors, but this was the only one I liked at all. So I decided to use the alphabet theme for a baby card. And since I've already created 2 girl baby cards during this 31 Days time frame, I decided to go with a boy card.

Click on photo to enlarge for detail.

I'm not sure my blues work together, but with my brain and my creativity effectively stumped, I finally had to just stamp something on a Mat Stack frame and call it done at 11p.m. because I was desperate to go to sleep.

Well, I'm off to the dentist (oh joy). Have a great day, everyone!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Hanging Out (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate, Enchanted Evening, Spring Moss (PTI)

Inks: Chestnut, Robin's Egg (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Rustic Cream Button Twine (PTI)

Tools: Mat Stack #4 Die, Book Print Impression Plate (PTI); Scor-Buddy; Pinking Shears (Fiskars)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 27} - You Are Such A Joy To Me

2011-10-27T09:14:00.002-06:00

Playing along with the Mojo Monday #212 sketch and the colors from the CR84FN #41 challenge:

My creation:

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Not much detail again, sorry. Just too busy, and I have to move on to other things today!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Kind Words, Celebration of Thanks (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Lemon Tart (PTI); Misc Cardstocks (Unknown Brand); Designer Paper (K&Company Elegance Stack)

Inks: Antique Pewter (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Lace (Offray); Rustic Cream Button Twine (PTI)

Tools: Double Loops Border Punch (Martha Stewart Crafts); Musical Flourish Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug); Tiny Tags Die, Tin Types Impression Plate (PTI)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 26} - Kind Words Echo

2011-10-26T08:16:00.001-06:00

Since I'm wishing away all Halloween colors of any sort, I went with an earthy combo on my card for the Viva La Verve October Week 4 sketch (by Charmaine Ikach):

A bit of steel blue with brown and cream:

The little flower is from the same DP as the background, cut from a Nesties die and scrunched up a bit.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Short and sweet - gotta keep moving today! But Thanks for stopping by. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Kind Words (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate (PTI); Designer Papers (K&Company Classic K Bailey Pack)

Inks: Turquoise, Chestnut (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Glitter Brads (American Crafts)

Tools: Classic Circle Dies, Flower Bouquet Minis Die, Dahlia Die (Spellbinders Nestabilities)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 25} - Papertrey October Blog Hop Challenge

2011-10-25T07:27:00.001-06:00

One word: Orange.

The universe must really want to see me get comfy with orange.

Here is the inspiration photo for Papertrey Ink's October Blog Hop:

Photo Credit

It took me f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to gain any kind of inspiration from this photo and try to work it into a card.

Fortunately, though, I was able to get out for a little retail therapy a few days ago, and I found some designer papers that got my juices flowing a little bit. It still took me quite some time to create something, but this is what eventually bubbled up, at the last minute:

The DP is by BoBunny, and though they're not quite the shades of the inspiration photo, I actually like how this card turned out in the end, LOL. I'm glad I was able to participate in the Blog Hop, after all. And so proud of myself for using one of my PTI cardstocks that doesn't usually see much action - Terracotta Tile!

I used an extra piece of cereal box to create a stronger Mat Stack frame, and then used a Fancy Flourish stamp to decorate the frame, turning the flourish in the opposite direction each time I stamped it. I'm quite happy with how that frame came together.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I know it really doesn't resemble anything from the inspiration photo, except the colors, vaguely. And maybe the hint of a pumpkin shape in the Mat Stack die-cut frame. But we're talking orange here - I'm just glad I came up with an idea at all that was anywhere near the ball park! ;-D

Thanks for stopping by today. You can find more wonderful creations along the Blog Hop over at Nichole's blog.

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Flower Fusion #1, Flower Fusion #5, Flower Fusion #6, Fancy Flourishes (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Terracotta Tile (PTI); Designer Papers (BoBunny)

Inks: Black, Coral, Old Rose, Moss Green (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Tools: Mat Stack 1 Mega Die, Mat Stack 1 Layerz Die (PTI)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 24} - Special Delivery

2011-10-24T07:52:00.003-06:00

I'm on the home stretch for 31 Days! Only 7 more days to go. And I think I might actually make it - LOL!

I saw layout #163 for the Clean & Simple Stamping challenge on Friday, and I thought to myself, "That looks like a pretty easy project."

But this was actually quite a challenge for me. I know I don't like too many bells & whistles in the first place, but this seemed a little bit TOO simple for me!

Here is what I came up with, though: (Sorry for the really bad photos! White and I are not getting along right now.)

I wondered if I should add some twine or ribbon to the top, or stamp a row of Background Basics Text or Twinkle of some sort. Or maybe run the front panel through with an impression plate or embossing folder. But I kept thinking that adding all that extra stuff would take away from the simplicity of the layout.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

In the end, I inked the edges pink, added some rhinestones, and called it done. The whole card took me maybe 15 minutes to make, if you don't count the other 30 minutes where I stood around wondering what I should add to it, if anything at all. (Just kidding, I think - I hope it wasn't that long that I was standing around staring at a card!!)

Though it might be a touch too simple for a simple gal like me, I actually like this card quite a bit. So I guess that's that!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Bundle of Joy (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White Cardstock (PTI)

Inks: Black, Pink (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Recollections, from Michaels)

Tools: Rounded Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers); Heart Prints Dies (PTI)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 23} - Get Well Soon

2011-10-23T07:24:00.004-06:00

How about this pretty combo from the Play Date Cafe? I was happy not to see any orange in this one. ;-)

My creation:

Funny, that I made this card yesterday, because I have been feeling under the weather, and hoping it won't get much worse and will be over quickly, because I have a busy couple of weeks coming up. Hopefully I will 'get well soon' - LOL!

I noticed that minus the orange and add in the yellow, the Autumn Rose and the green are actually the same colors I've used for the past two cards as well. The next few cards I will be working on will be sketch challenges or just miscellaneous cards, so we'll see if I can find some other colors to work with for a bit.

I actually branched out a bit here and used the yellow for more than just one little accent spot. Yay me!! ;-D

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Fillable Frames #10 (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Autumn Rose, Harvest Gold (PTI); Designer Paper (K&Company McKenna)

Inks: Chestnut, Old Rose (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Pearls (Kaisercraft, colored with a Copic Marker); Pearl Brad (American Crafts)

Tools: Beautiful Blooms II #1 Dies (PTI); Leaf Branches Die (Sizzix); Fancy Tags Die, Mega Ovals Large Die (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Layered Arches Border Punches (Martha Stewart Crafts); Scor-Buddy

31 Days of Card Making {Day 22} - Thinking of You, Halloween Edition

2011-10-22T09:22:00.003-06:00

My second Halloween-colors-inspired card today, in response to the Color Throwdown #164 color combo:

also fits the bill for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #37 challenge (layered mats & frames):

These are pretty much the same colors as yesterday's card, but with black instead of brown. Just a smidgen of orange here today. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't do any more than that. (I am sooo weak!)

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

The rhinestones - though perhaps not noticeable in these photographs - are a slight orange color (Champagne is the color listed on the package). So I guess that's a tad bit more orange. Haha!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Little Labels, Peaceful Garden (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Rustic White, Ripe Avocado, Autumn Rose, Scarlet Jewel (PTI); Black Cardstock (Unknown Brand)

Inks: Black, Amber (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Recollections, from Michaels); Lace (Offray)

Tools: Edgers #3 Die, Mat Stack #4 Die, Fillable Frames #10 Die (PTI); Classic Ovals Die (Spellbinders Nestabilities)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 21} - With Sympathy

2011-10-21T08:03:00.001-06:00

Okay. I have to admit that October is a tough month to do a 31-Day blogging challenge based on creating cards with the assistance of color challenges - IF one of your least favorite holidays is Halloween. Personally, I don't know how many more orange/green/purple/violet/black/brown type of challenges I can handle in the space of 31 days!!

Rant over. If that qualifies as a rant.

I saw the ColourQ #107 challenge and planned to skip it. Until I saw the Color Throwdown #164 challenge. At that point, I just shook my head for a few seconds, laughed a little bit, then resigned myself to defeat and got to work on a card.

I thought I would just make one card for one challenge - because these colors don't exactly thrill me. But halfway through my process, I noticed that the ColourQ challenge uses brown, and the Throwdown challenge uses black. So I shook my head and laughed again, then got to work on two separate cards.

And actually, in the end, I find that I don't really mind these colors, when they are arranged in certain ways and have nothing to do with Halloween - LOL! ;-D

Anyhoo. Here is my first card:

I tried to follow my usual strategy of minimizing the colors I love least (which would be orange, in this combo) and maximizing the colors I prefer.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Thanks for stopping by today to see my 'Halloween' card. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Botanical Silhouettes, Peaceful Garden (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Autumn Rose, Dark Chocolate, Rustic White (PTI)

Inks: Amber, Chestnut, Merlot, Moss Green (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Recollections, from Michaels)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 20} - A True Friend

2011-10-20T07:56:00.002-06:00

Yesterday's card for the Make It Monday #37 challenge (for layered mats & frames) was fun, but I decided to give it another go, in something a little more soothing to me.

Here is another of my favorite color combos - aqua, teal, brown, & cream:

I was able to use my new Mat Stack 1 Layerz die for the brown layer of the frame, with the next layer being Mat Stack 1 in Aqua Mist cardstock stamped with a coordinating stamp in Versarmark from the Mat Stack 1 collection. I cut the sunburst layer from Ocean Tides cardstock, then cut through all 3 layers with the circle die from the Limitless Layers 1-3/4" collection.

The Ocean Tides base layer is impressed with the Mehndi Medallion Impression Plate, then edge inked in a little Tea Dye Distress Ink.

The photos wash it out quite a bit, but the inside layer with the True Friend stamp on it is also stamped with a Fancy Flourish in aqua ink. It's barely noticeable here, but it is there, I promise.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

This card was a quick project. Although, I have found that since beginning this 31 Days challenge and making more of an effort to join creative challenges and actually create each day, the ideas in my head for cards have been making their way into reality a lot faster. It has been a rare occasion when I sit stumped for hours on getting a card from concept to results, which is quite a happy thing for me! Because the more I am able to quickly work through my projects, the more I will be able to sneak crafting time into my busy days without guilt.

The practice and intentionality have been beneficial, I guess is what I'm sayin'.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Fancy Flourishes, Fillable Frames #11, Mat Stack 1 (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Ocean Tides, Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate (PTI)

Inks: Chestnut, Glacier Ice (Colorbox); Versamark; Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Recollections, from Michaels); Satin Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (Offray)

Tools: Mat Stack 1 Die, Mat Stack 1 Layerz Die, Limitless Layers 1-3/4" Dies, Mehndi Medallion Impression Plate (PTI)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 19} - Here's To Celebrating You

2011-10-19T08:57:00.001-06:00

Today's card was created using Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #37 challenge for layered mats and frames.

I broke out my new Mat Stack 1 Mega die for this one, and another of the fabulous felt flowers I made on vacation. Those Spring Moss corners might look a little odd. I grabbed my Corner Chomper thinking I would use the ticket stub side, but then changed my mind and used the deco edge side. Not satisfied with that result, I then changed my mind again and chomped the corners with the ticket stub side as well. Being tired and lazy from the weekend and not wanting to put much effort into.... well, into anything really!... I just used it as is at that point.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I can't explain the colors, other than that I was experimenting a little today. Hopefully they're not too weird together! I thought this would be a fun birthday card or something of a celebratory nature where one would enjoy excessively bright colors together - haha!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Inside & Out: Birthday (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Berry Sorbet, Perfect Plum, Spring Moss Cardstocks (PTI)

Inks: Black (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Glitter Brad (American Crafts)

Tools: Mega Mat Stack 1 Die, Mat Stack 4 Die, Beautiful Blooms II #1 Dies, Double-Ended Banner Die, Book Print Impression Plate, Polka Dot Basics II Impression Plate (PTI); Deco Edge/Ticket Stub Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 18} - Where Flowers Bloom

2011-10-18T08:11:00.000-06:00

As the weekend party came to an end yesterday, I spent a little time helping my brain unwind a little, by making a couple of cards. For today's card, I utilized the Mojo Monday #211 sketch, with another color scheme I found while searching through my designer papers.

My creation:

Used a little bit more of my new Bloom & Grow stamp set, along with the Where Flowers Bloom Plain Jane I purchased a month or so ago and one of those nifty flowers I created while on vacation in August.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I really like how this card turned out. And I'm starting to get into the spirit of using designer papers. Thank goodness! Cuz I have TONS of it in my stash that needs using!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Where Flowers Bloom Plain Jane, Bloom & Grow (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Designer Papers (K&Company McKenna Pack); Vintage Cream, Scarlet Jewel, Spring Moss Cardstocks (Papertrey Ink)

Inks: Chestnut (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Pearls (Kaisercraft); Rustic Cream Button Twine, Vintage Cream Felt (Papertrey Ink); Pink Pearl Brad (American Crafts); Satin Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (Offray)

Tools: Elegant Leaves Die (Verve); Eyelet Lace Border Punch (Martha Stewart Crafts); Rounded Corner Chomper (We Re Memory Keepers)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 17} - All Things Grow With Love

2011-10-17T07:23:00.001-06:00

I used the Viva La Verve October Week 3 sketch for today's card (the sketch is by Maureen Plut):

I went digging through my patterned papers for this one, and found some fabulous ones! (In my opinion, anyway.) ;-)

I was so excited Saturday when my new Verve stamps & dies showed up on my doorstep. So I immediately broke open my new Bloom & Grow stamp set and my new Jotted Heart die for this one.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

For the heart, I used the chipboard accents technique that I learned from the Make It Monday tutorial a few weeks ago. The top layer is the same red cardstock as the circle mat, sparkled up with some coordinating red glitter. I wasn't sure if glitter was called for on this card, but I couldn't resist. I thought I heard a voice calling me, and I thought it was saying, "Use some glitter, use some glitter!" So I did!

Could be that I'm just starting to hear voices, though. In my old age. (hee hee)

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Bloom & Grow (Verve)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Ocean Tides (Papertrey Ink); Misc Red Cardstock; Designer Papers (K&Company Classic K Bailey Pack)

Inks: Chestnut (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Pearls (Kaisercraft, colored with a Sharpie); Satin Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (Offray); Red Glitter (Hampton Arts)

Tools: Scallop Trim Border Punch (Stampin' Up!); Classic Circles Dies (Spellbinders Nestabilities); Jotted Heart Die (Verve)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 16} - Sow Seeds of Kindness

2011-10-16T07:14:00.002-06:00

Using the Clean & Simple Stamping layout #162:

I created this card:

While we're talking about colors that we're comfortable with,... Every single one of my cards would use these colors, if it were all about comfortability. Seriously, I think this is one of my all-time, absolute favorite color combos. So earthy and deep - and calm. ;-) LOL

I started out trying to heat emboss the wildflowers using clear powder, but something went wrong and it didn't work. But I liked the watermark effect that it left, so I went with that (even if it did get totally washed out in the lovely photo I took of it).

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Another busy day today! At church, this time, bright and early. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Wildflowers (Sweet & Sassy Stamps); Half & Half (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, Ocean Tides (PTI)

Inks: Chestnut (Colorbox); Brown (Stampabilities); Versamark; Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Rustic Cream Button Twine (PTI)

Tools: Cane Print Impression Plate, Mat Stack 3 Die (PTI)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 15} - Mehndi Thank You

2011-10-15T10:09:00.005-06:00

Almost halfway there! Actually, it's hard to believe I've posted for 15 days in a row, so far. I knew it wouldn't be easy to post something every day for 31 days, but I wasn't expecting just how tough it would be on some days.

We had cousins over last night for PrincessA's slumber party, and they wanted to stay up all night - thank goodness they went to bed just after 11:00 after all! And then a big breakfast this morning, and the toy mess just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and I confess, I'm a little tired. But I am so happy that she is having a great time with her cousins, playing dress-up and giggling herself to sleep, and I hope that this will be a fabulous memory for her for years to come.

And then this morning, PrincessA came to me and gave me a big hug and kiss, saying, "Thank you for making the princess cake - it's the most beautiful cake ever, so much prettier than I dreamed it would be." (Said with all the 8-year-old drama and enthusiasm she could possibly muster.) It totally made all the work worth it. ;-) Before I get to my card, I thought you might like to see the masterpiece I created for her:

Now, I fully admit that I am not the world's best cake decorator. But before you question my color sensibilities based on that photo, remember that I had an 8-year-old girl hovering over my shoulder the entire time, dictating to me how every single last little detail should be, from the pink skirt to the orange bodice, the purple polka dots to the poofy red sleeves, and even the blue 'lacey frills' around the neckline and sleeves. And apparently, this is the best cake E.V.E.R. So I'm going with that! ;-D

Okay! On to my card, which was in response to The Play Date Cafe challenge #103 to use the colors rust, storm, and deep sea:

Another combo I would not normally work with, if left to my own devices. But I kinda enjoyed the process.

I wanted to try a little emboss resist with the Mehndi Medallion from PTI, and I wanted a bit of a rustic look to the card. The medallions are heat embossed with white powder onto white cardstock, and then I sponged some blue ink all over it, with some tea dye distress ink around the edges.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-) Hope you're having a great weekend!

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Background Basics: Text Style, Mehndi Medallion, Communique Curves Sentiments, Fillable Frames #10 (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White Cardstock (PTI); Rust and Storm Cardstocks (Misc Stash)

Inks: Chestnut, Rousillion, Harbor, Antique Pewter (Colorbox); Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft); Rustic Cream Button Twine (PTI); White Embossing Powder

Tools: Fillable Frames #10 Die (PTI)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 14} - Celebrate Today

2011-10-14T07:56:00.003-06:00

First, thank you to those who gave me honest feedback on my card yesterday. I really, really appreciate it! While I do like to play it safe, I also have the desire to improve my card-making abilities and to fill in my knowledge gaps, in areas like design layout and color application and such. So I appreciate your taking the time to help me do that. ;-)

And now, here is something that makes me feel a lot more comfortable!

Actually, when I saw these colors over at The Color Throwdown, I wasn't very comfortable with them. A little bright and bold for my liking.

But then I figured I would just break out my Banner Builders stamps and dies and try something with those - since I've had them for a few months now and still hadn't broken them out yet.

My usual strategy for using red is to use as little of it as possible. (hee hee) I tolerate red a lot better than I do orange and yellow, but it still is a very overwhelming color for me, so I'm more likely to use it as an accent color rather than a main color.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

I thought that using just a little bit of each color, with a lot of white space, would be totally safe. So I went with that! Haha!

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Think Big Favorites #4; Banner Builder (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, Simply Chartreuse, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink); Misc Red and Aqua Cardstocks

Inks: Chestnut (Colorbox); Versamark

Embellishments: Rhinestones (Kaisercraft; and Recollections, from Michaels); Clear Embossing Powder

Tools: Pinking Shears (Fiskars); Banner Builder Dies (Papertrey Ink)

31 Days of Card Making {Day 13} - You Have To Be Honest With Me

2011-10-13T08:27:00.002-06:00

So, I was feeling brave yesterday. I tried the ColourQ #106 challenge and the Make It Monday #36 challenge.

The truth is, when I look at yellow and orange, I seriously have no idea what to do with them. These are probably the 2 colors I most try to avoid. (Although, I've been doing much better with yellow, lately. But orange? Orange I still don't get.)

And the Make It Monday challenge this week is about faux watercoloring. Which is funny, to me, because I don't even know anything about REAL watercoloring! Which, ironically, makes me a fine candidate to do something faux and not real, but I digress.

Well, the gist of the matter is, there are some colors and techniques that really make me scratch my head. ;-)

Enough babble??

Honestly, I don't know about this card. But here is my yellow/orange, faux watercoloring card.

I had no idea how to go about doing a faux watercoloring piece - which stamps would be best to use, which inks would be best to use, I didn't even have one of those nifty water brushes! I was able to get to my local craft store with a 50% off coupon to get a brush, though, so I tried a couple of stamps with the technique from Nichole's blog. The only combination I really liked was the Beautiful Blooms II #1 dies with the flowers from the Sending You stamp set.

I stamped the flowers in a bright orange, and by the time I had watercolored a bit, it was a more calm melon kind of orange, which I liked better but I'm not sure went very well with the yellow now. I think you can click on the photo to get a better look at the flower and how I watercolored it.

I'm thinking I should have just gone with the Halloween theme instead of trying to make it look all pretty n' such.

Click on photo to enlarge for details.

But I had no idea how to work in yellow and black and gray. So I just inked the edges of the card in grey, made a doily from black cardstock, and put a strip of yellow across the bottom.

Now, you have to be honest. Please tell me what you think!?! Does it work? Not so much? Did I totally miss the mark? It's okay, you can be honest - don't worry about hurting my feelings. Like I said, I have no idea what to do with yellow and orange, so it's not like I have special feelings about this card - LOL!

I really just wanted to make a card. And since I was feeling pretty low-key about it all, I went with something I wasn't comfortable with and tried something that was really weird to me. Not sure how it turned out, though.

Thanks for stopping by today. ;-)

-Ally

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Communique Curves Sentiments; Sending You (Papertrey Ink)

Paper/Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Harvest Gold, True Black (Papertrey Ink)

Inks: Black, Sky Grey, Orange (Colorbox)

Embellishments: Glitter Brad (American Crafts, colored orange with a Sharpie); White Mini Pearls (Martha Stewart Crafts); Black Pearls (Kaisercraft); Sparkle Shimmer Spray (Tsukineko)

Tools: Scor-Buddy; Doily Details C Die, Beautiful Blooms II #1 Dies, Damask Designs Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink); Double Loops Border Punch (Martha Stewart Crafts)