O is for Ostrich

Hello, and welcome once again, dear friends, to my blogging for comments portion of the evening! ;D Not really, I'm just tired and goofy! It has been quite a while since there has been a challenge on Wee Memories, so I decided tonight that I NEEDED to do this challenge--#65 Back to School!

This was an awesome challenge--I used a stamp set I've intended to take to school and actually use, but never have...

Here's the card's story:

I work for the school district here. I know that school has just started, but you have to understand that an educator's job is hard and compliments are ever harder to come by. I personally know how helpful it can be to just get a smile from a co-worker, let alone an actual, "Well done!" That's why I made this card. I can use it to give to a co-worker I notice may need a pick me up! And because of the simplicity of the design, I can replicate it quickly! :) So, I am gonna make a stash of them...soon...hopefully! If not, I will make little bookmarks. ;D

(PS: I LOVE my co-workers and we try to create a very positive environment and we do succeed most of the time! Life just kinda gets you down sometimes when it's been a bad week, etc.)

I wanted to keep the color palette whimsical and basic, because I work at an elementary school...so I kept to bold basic colors--blue, red, green and black. I call this card "O is for Ostrich" because...there's an image...of an ostrich...on it. It was nice that the bird was an ostrich because I only had to color in the beak...there's the lazy side of me comin' out! ;D

But enough words...without further ado...THE CARD~

And THE DETAIL~

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you take the time today to say "great job!" to someone who you work with or someone who has taught you today!!! Happy stamping!

Make My Monday #13: Photo Inspiration

Okay, I was a bit of a rebel this week for my MMM card. I DID use the above photo for inspiration, but I knew that most entries would have a bird cage, and so I purposefully did NOT use one. Instead, I used the colors of the photo to inspire me more than the overall picture. :)

Before I show my card, I just want to send warmest regards to the ladies of Make My Monday and tell them how incredibly thankful I am that they have chosen me for Top Three two weeks in a row--thank you! I really needed it more than you will ever know. Okay, now to the card...

Here it is!~

I embossed the bird image and the EVERYTHING part of the sentiment in silver to match the centers of the flowers.

Here's a closer look at those two details~

I had so much fun putting flowers and leaves together for this card! I purposefully wanted the leaves to spill over the edges because the flowers in the photo look like they are almost hanging off the table.

A closer look at the flowers~

Thank you so much for taking a little bit of time out of your day to come and look at my blog! You are awesome! I hope you're inspired to create something of beauty today! Happy crafting!

LIM #30: Take 3 Recipe

Okay, this was such a way fun challenge! I got to go back through all the Less is More challenges and choose 3 to use as my guidelines! It was really hard, but I finally got it narrowed down. The three challenges I chose were Week 1: black, white and pink; Week 4: 3 squares; and Week 12: off center.

Here's my first card (I call it SUH-WEET!)~

A better view of the luscious strawberries with glitter seeds~

So, I loved this layout so much, I decided to do some one layer cards with the same idea. I made two.

Here's the first (not my fave, but it's ok)~

And the details~

Here's the second (gonna use this for my nephew's birthday this weekend)~

And it's details~

Thanks for stopping by my little blog and looking at my cards! Your presence is very much welcome! I hope you take the time today to stamp something--quick and easy or long and difficult, I know it'll bring you joy! Happy stamping!!!

SSS: Use Dawn's Sketch

What a great sketch it is! I haven't played along at Simon Says Stamp for a while now, so it's about time I got over there! They always have the best challenges! I love sketch challenges--then I get to see what awesome products others used but still get to see the same eye pleasing layout! :)

Here is my submission~

A closer look at the blinged up details~

I got to use some patterned paper and rub-ons I have had for ages--it was really satisfying! I've been really into bling lately on my cards, and these rub-ons lent themselves to rhinestones perfectly!

Thanks for taking a peek--I hope you are inspired to join the fun at SSS next week and I hope you take the time today to make something fun! Happy creating! :)

COLOR THROWDOWN!: So Saffron, Perfect Plum, Crumb Cake

I do not know why I haven't ever heard of Color Throwdown...but I'm glad I found then thanks to another blogger! What a fabulous color challenge blog! Here were this week's challenge colors:

Aren't they great? Yellow and purple are my two favorite colors and crumb cake is my favorite neutral at moment, so this color scheme was perfect for me!

Here is my submission~

I started with perfect plum as my base and then I dry embossed the card base for extra texture. I stamped my flowers onto my panel, layered it onto so saffron and then added the sentiment on crumb cake. It needed something extra, so out came my bling--ribbon, pearls and 3D stickers. :)

Here's a close up of the sentiment--it's so cute~

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you like what you see, and I hope you take the chance to create something that will make someone smile today! :) Happy crafting!

Also linking to Faith Artistry. :)

Two in One! :) CASual-Friday #17: Stickers/Rubons & PDCC #96: Mint, Ivory, Coral

Hello, all! Today I have one fabulous card to link to two fabulous parties! The parties are CASual-Friday and Play Date Cafe! Go take a look at the other fab entries!

So, I was feeling rather blah the day the other day, but I really wanted to participate in these challenges. I was going through my stickers and not feeling terribly inspired when it hit me that I could also use rub-ons for the CASF challenge! And I have TONS that I bought on clearance at our local craft store and have never used! So, I rummaged around and found the most beautiful ones that just happened to coordinate with the colors of the PDCC! I used the rub-ons but felt the card was still a little too blah. SOOOOO...I grabbed the stickers that NOW inspired me and added some dimension to my card!

Here it is~

The pictures aren't the greatest, but the card base IS ivory...the flowers ARE coral and the leaves are MINT-y... ;D

A close up of the flowers~

And a close up of the sentiment--isn't it beautiful?~

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek! I hope that my card has inspired you to create something today for someone who is important to YOU. Happy stamping!

POTENTIAL

I'm really happy with how my card for the JUGS challenge this work turned out! I wanted to use a sentiments stamp set that I haven't used a lot and use stamps to "tell a story".

Here's the sentiment:

Notice the bare branch? It's from a set that I haven't used! So, the branch and the sentiment kinda tell the story of "what will it be?"

What will it be?! Here's what:

Shiny, juicy apples! Another stamp I hadn't used yet! I stamped the line image with Stazon black, colored the image with blender pens and ink and then added the clear glitter gel pen to give a bit more dimension. :)

So...to wrap up the story, our potential becomes the fruit of our labors! Get it? Okay, if it's kinda weird, it's probably because I'm very tired...

Anyway, here is the complete card:

So nice with the fall colors and all!!! I think it's great for the changing of the season...

Unfortunately, they'll never see it over at JUGS. :( GRR. Going back to work full time is really messing with me! I've been making all these cards for online challenges, but I'm too late to link them up! :(

Oh, well! I'll just have to link up to these fabulous parties:
Strut Your Stuff
Hooking Up with HoH
I Like to Link it Link it

MMM-Things With Wings Continued!

Okay, I'm gonna be EARLY this week! I missed out on uplinking my card last week, so I HAVE to be early! :) I am so glad to be able to use more butterfly stamp sets! This weeks Make My Monday challenge was to make something with wings and use acetate on the project.

My first thought was do do a black and white card...but it was just so...well, boring! SO, I used black and white for cardstock, stamped my image onto the acetate with black ink, and then used TON of accent colors!

Here's what I came up with:

Like I said before, I stamped with black Stazon ink for my acetate panel and then colored the images on the back with Sharpies.

Here's a closer look:

Then, I stamped the butterfly with black ink onto white cardstock, cut it out and then colored the accents with Sharpies. I popped it up off the acetate panel and added BLING! :)

Here's a closer look at the pretty flutterby!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'm so glad you did! Thanks to the ladies at Make My Monday!!! I hope you take time today to create something new! Happy crafting! :)

CASF #16: Embossing

Yeah...I've been really busy and haven't had a ton of time to blog, so I'm doing it a lot for the next few days and then I'll probably have to take another break. Being back to full time employment (working with special needs children) is wearing me out!

Anywho, this little post is about the CASual Friday #16 challenge--embossing!!!!! I LOVE embossing--dry and heat! I think it makes a simple card look incredibly elegant! So, I was really excited to use BOTH techniques on my card!

Here it is!

I used dry embossing on the card itself and heat embossing to create the golden plant life. I had this card haunting my dreams the night before I made it. I wanted to make a sunset card and use clear blocks to do ink blocking to create the sunset and then emboss the plant life on top. I think it turned out quite nicely! I especially love the sentiment.

Here's a closer look of it:

Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate you taking a look at my card! Thanks for another great challenge, CASual Fridays! Can't wait for the next one!!! Happy embossing!

CR84FN #36: Yellow, Kraft, White

Another FABULOUS color challenge from CR84FN! Look at those scrumptious colors and the wonderful inspiration! Here is the story of my submission:

I LOVE the blog Simplicity by Late Blossom. She does amazing CAS style cards and is a great inspiration to me, so when I saw this card layout, I knew I HAD to try it! And I really wanted to do a more subtle color scheme, so CR84FN definitely came through for me! Then it came time to choose the stamps. I knew I wanted to copy Late Blossom and use solid flower images, but I wanted to add some bling...because I LOVE bling! And then there was the sentiment...I found a retired SU! set that I forget I have, and the sentiment was perfect!

Anyway, here is what I came up with!

And a closer view of the sentiment:

Thanks for taking a peek--and thanks for a wonderful challenge, CR84FN! Happy stamping!

Angels: Missed Make My Monday Challenge, FOUND LIM Challenge!

Oh, well. I was late this week! I keep forgetting that the lovely ladies over at Make My Monday live on a different continent than I do! So, I thought I had until midnight tonight...but really I didn't. Because midnight in Britain is NOT midnight in Kansas! ;D LOL! Oh well, live and learn! I'm not usually that clueless...am I?!

Anyway, so I had made this card for the wonderful Make My Monday challenge--things with wings, angels or fairies! I LOVE this angel image. It's gorgeous! The whole set is awesome, actually. THEN, I found out that the LIM challenge for this week is THINGS THAT MOVE. So I get to link the card to a challenge after all! :)

Here is the card:

I stamped the angel in a dark brown ink and then used my Versamark pen to add dimension around the lined image. After that, I added minimal glitter.

A closer look at the angel:

BUT, I didn't want to do another Christmas card, so I made this into just a religious inspirational card!

Hence the sentiment on the inside (at the top so you can write a short message to your friend):

A closer look:

Thanks so much for stopping by to take a look! I hope that you are inspired to create something today! Happy stamping!

In addition to LIM, I'm linking to:
Check ME Out Week 77
Saturday Spotlight #58

Masculine Card for Wee Memories #64

Wow. I don't know why I have a hard time with masculine cards. But I do! So this challenge at Wee Memories was especially....challenging? ;D I usually stress about a color scheme, and what papers to use and what sentiments aren't too girly! Plus, can I use ribbon?! Oh, the stress! But, I did it!

My inspiration? Coming up soon is Labor Day! And what do you do on Labor Day? Bar-b-que! And who usually does the BBQ at our house? My DH! And HE'S masculine! There's my train of thought...

Anyway, no more whining or weirdness...here is my submission:

And here's a better look at some of the details:

Oh, yeah. There's ribbon on a masculine card. And my DH said it works. And he's masculine. So it DOES!!! ;D

Thanks so much for taking a look...and putting up with my whining! :) And thanks so much to Wee Memories for another fabulous challenge! I hope you're inspired to do something out of your comfort zone! Happy crafting!!!