You're Pretty Fantastic

Hi there!

I recently received my October Simon Says Stamp Card Kit that is just full of the beautiful new My Story collection by My Mind's Eye. I also picked up some more of the collection at my LSS, so I couldn't wait to get creating with all of my new goodies.

I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch for this card although I decided to just go with the standard card size rather than tall & skinny.

I made it for my best friend who has some really great opportunities opening up for her right now.

I am also linking this up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog

where Anything Goes this week!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Share Joy Challenge No. 4

Hi there!

I had a chance to play along with the  Taylored Expressions Share Joy Challenge #4 this week.

I chose to go with the Clean and Simple part of the challenge.
My card is sort of inspired by this card created by Betsy Veldman for the MFT blog a week or so ago. I love the way she used the brick stencil for the background of her card.

Here is my entry:

I used the Rectangled stencil from Winnie and Walter with Wild Honey Distress Ink. I cut the Glorious Gerber Daisy die by Memory Box  from Bazzill Licorice Twist cardstock. I finished my card off with a sentiment from the Strictly Sentiments 2 set by WPlus9 and some Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh. 

This card will be sent to one of my aunts that live in another state... just because!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Ahoy There, Matey!

Just thought I would share this fun little card I made for my nephew's 8th birthday.

I used an old stamp set from The Cat's Pajamas and the Authentique Seaside papers that were still on my desk from last week. I used some dies from Simon Says Stamp and My Favorite Things and did a lot of fussy cutting.

I am going to give this card to my nephew today... Hope he likes it!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Share Joy Challenge No. 2

Hi there!

Just wanted to share my entry for the Taylored Expressions Share Joy Challenge #2.

This week my card is going to my uncle who will be celebrating his 93rd birthday this Saturday!

I used the Authentique Seaside Collection, along with MFT Fishtail Flags Stax, Pierced Fishtail Flags, Pierced Square Stax, Technique Tuesday All Aboard and MFT LJD Celebrate You stamp sets.

I really love this sentiment - I have been using it a lot in the last week. There are quite a few September birthdays in my family.

I am really loving this challenge! It gives me the push I need to send out cards.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Share Joy Challenge No. 1

Hey there!

I am just popping in from my long crafting and blogging break to share a card I made for the Taylored Expressions Share Joy Challenge.

It is a fun new weekly challenge hosted by Taylored Expressions with a sketch and a color component. 

I love this statement taken from the SJC blog: "We hope that the Share Joy Challenge will inspire you to express your creative joy. More importantly, we want you to share your creations with others because we believe that there is nothing quite like giving and receiving a handmade card!"

My first card is going to go to my cousin who is battling cancer. 

I used the colors and the sketch, but unfortunately do not have any TE products. I will have to remedy that soon! Hopefully this will inspire me to get back into creating. I definitely had fun making this card and I am really excited about sending it out!

Thanks so much for stopping by, enjoy your day!

The Deconstructed Sketch No. 204

Hello there!

Welcome to the final edition of The Deconstructed Sketch!

For my last card, I wanted to use my favorite papers, stamps, and dies to create something to express my gratitude to Jen for choosing me to be on her team 120+ sketches ago. It has been fun and challenging. I love how her sketches always stretch me to see things differently and try new things.

Thank you Jen, and all of the members of the Design Team for inspiring me to become a better papercrafter. It has been an awesome ride!

Here is the list of the other DT members so you can see how they were inspired  by this week's sketch:

• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley 
• Sheri Gilson
• Tangii Crain  
• Tracey Pickersgill 

If you want to play along with us at The Deconstructed Sketch this week, the linky tool and details are over on Jen's blog!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Stamps: Many Thanks {Mama Elephant}

Dies: Thanks Script {Mama Elephant}, Cross Stitch Circle STAX, Blueprints 25 {My Favorite Things}

Paper: Nightmist {Bazzil}, Homespun {Simple Stories}

Embellishments: Tag {American Crafts}, Silk Ribbon, Crochet Trim {May Arts}, Twine {Hemptique}, Sparkling Clear Sequins {Pretty Pink Posh}

The Deconstructed Sketch No. 203

Hello there!

Welcome to this week's edition of The Deconstructed Sketch!

I had so much fun making this week's card. I had an order of My Favorite Things goodies waiting for me when I returned from my trip, and I couldn't wait to play with them. 

For my card this week I used:
Stamps: The Whole Herd, Green Pastures {My Favorite Things}
Dies: Rolling Hills, Cross Stitch Circle STAX, Blueprints 25 Die-namics {My Favorite Things}
Paper: Kraft {Papertrey Ink}, Heartland Farm {Imaginisce}, Solar White {Neenah}
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black {Tsukineko}, Copic E00, C1, 100.

Here is the list of the other DT members so you can see how they were inspired  by this week's sketch:

• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley 
• Sheri Gilson
• Tangii Crain  
• Tracey Pickersgill 

If you want to play along with us at The Deconstructed Sketch this week, the linky tool and details are over on Jen's blog!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

The Deconstructed Sketch No. 202

Hello there!

Welcome to this week's edition of The Deconstructed Sketch!

I have finally returned home from my awesome adventure. 4000 miles, 3 weeks, 9 National Parks. It was amazing! As soon as I got home, I was hit with a terrible migraine that put me in bed for a couple of days, so I am a little late in creating and posting my card. 

My mom's birthday is coming up in  a few days, so this card is for her. I used Graphic 45's Home Sweet Home paper collection and stamp set. Lots of inking and distressing, a bit of burlap and lace trim and a couple of PTI Enchanted Evening buttons finish it off.

Here is the list of the other DT members so you can see how they were inspired  by this week's sketch:

• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley 
• Sheri Gilson
• Tangii Crain  
• Tracey Pickersgill 

If you want to play along with us at The Deconstructed Sketch this week, the linky tool and details are over on Jen's blog!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

The Deconstructed Sketch No. 201

Hello there!

Welcome to this week's edition of The Deconstructed Sketch!

I love this sketch (as I always do, right?). I always love sketches that are super versatile and have banners! 

I am still on my awesome vacation, but I brought along a little travel kit of papercrafting goodies so that I could participate in the weekly sketches. It was fun to challenge myself to use only what I had brought with me, rather than an entire craft store room full of product.

For this week's sketch I used Basic Grey's Vivienne collection and a sentiment stamp by Ali Edwards from Technique Tuesday's So Very Thankful set.

Here is the list of the other DT members so you can see how they were inspired  by this week's sketch:

• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley 
• Sheri Gilson
• Tangii Crain  
• Tracey Pickersgill 

If you want to play along with us at The Deconstructed Sketch this week, the linky tool and details are over on Jen's blog!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

The Best of the First 200 - The Deconstructed Sketch

Hello there!

Welcome to this week's edition of The Deconstructed Sketch!

Since we just passed the 200 mark, Jen thought it would be fun to go back and let us choose our favorite sketch from the last 200 (!) sketches to showcase this week.

I chose sketch 66 for my card this week. 

I used one of my all-time favorite (and nearly gone!) paper pads for this week's card --  Simple Stories: Homespun. I also used the sentiment die from the Avery Elle Gift Card Elle-ments. I added a flower cut from the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die, topped it with a PTI Pure Poppy button and some Hemptique twine to finish it off.

Here is the list of the other DT members so you can see which sketch inspired each of them this week:

• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley 
• Sheri Gilson
• Tangii Crain  
• Tracey Pickersgill 

If you want to play along with us at The Deconstructed Sketch this week, the linky tool and details are over on Jen's blog!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

The Deconstructed Sketch No. 200

Hello there!

Welcome to the 200th edition of The Deconstructed Sketch!

200 sketches. Wow. I am amazed every week at the awesome sketches Jen creates. They are so fun to work with. Congratulations on your impressive milestone, Jen! Here's to 200 more!

My card for this week was made to celebrate a 3-week road trip that my bestie and I are embarking upon beginning today. I am super excited!

I used papers, stickers, and chipboard from the Hello World collection by My Mind's Eye along with a fun stamp from Ali Edwards.

Here is the list of the other DT members so you can see how they were inspired by this week's sketch:

• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley 
• Sheri Gilson
• Tangii Crain  
• Tracey Pickersgill  

I hope you are inspired to give this fabulous sketch a try. If you want to play along with us at The Deconstructed Sketch this week, the linky tool and details are over on Jen's blog!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

The Deconstructed Sketch No. 199

Hello there!

Welcome to this week's edition of The Deconstructed Sketch!

Jen has created another great sketch for us to play with this week.

I started with a circle of watercolor paper and added a wash of Worn Lipstick and Abandoned Coral Distress Inks, then added some splatters of the same colors of Distress Spray Stains, along with a spritz of Tarnished Bronze Distress Spray Stain. I then used the wreath image from the Happy Christmas stamp set, along with a couple of small chevrons from V for Chevron, sentiment from Winter Woodland and the 'happy' die from The Big, The Bold and the Happy Cutaways collection from Winnie and Walter. The Memory Box Lunette butterfly was cut from vellum and layered with gold glitter paper.  

Here is the list of the other DT members so you can see how they were inspired by this week's sketch:

• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley 
• Sheri Gilson
• Tangii Crain  (posting later today)
• Tracey Pickersgill  

I hope you are inspired to give this fabulous sketch a try. If you want to play along with us at The Deconstructed Sketch this week, the linky tool and details are over on Jen's blog!

I am also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is Anything Goes.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

The Deconstructed Sketch No. 198

Hello there!

Welcome to this week's edition of The Deconstructed Sketch!

Jen has a super fun and unique sketch for us to play with this week. I really enjoyed it.

This time around, I used my all-time favorite stamp and die set from Mama Elephant: Up and Away. Those little critters just make me happy. I also used the fabulous Birthday Creative Cuts and Cross My Heart stamp set as well as Lawn Fawn's Beachside Pint-Sized Patterns 6x6 paper pad. I used Copics to color the animals and balloons and then added a coat of glossy accents to the balloons for a little extra fun.

Here is the list of the other DT members so you can see how they were inspired by this week's sketch:

• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley 
• Sheri Gilson
• Tangii Crain  
• Tracey Pickersgill  (sitting out this week)

I hope you are inspired to give this fabulous sketch a try. If you want to play along with us at The Deconstructed Sketch this week, the linky tool and details are over on Jen's blog!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

The Deconstructed Sketch No. 197

Hello there!

Welcome to this week's edition of The Deconstructed Sketch!

As usual, Jen has created another great sketch for us to play with this week.

I used the You're Super stamps and die set from My Favorite Things to make this fun card for my mom for Mother's Day.

Here is the list of the other DT members so you can see how they were inspired by this week's sketch:

• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley 
• Sheri Gilson
• Tangii Crain  
• Tracey Pickersgill  

I hope you are inspired to give this fabulous sketch a try. If you want to play along with us at The Deconstructed Sketch this week, the linky tool and details are over on Jen's blog!

I am also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is MAKE YOUR OWN BACKGROUND, showcasing My Favorite Things products this week.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Mojo Monday 393 - Such a Joy

Hello there!

I have been having a great time in my craft room the past few days! I am trying to make some cards for my stash so that I have them when needed, instead of freaking out and making a card at the last minute. :)

I decided to sit down with this week's Mojo Monday sketch and see how the creative process moved me.

I used Heidi Swapp Hello Beautiful papers along with Verve's Kind Words and Each Day stamp sets.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

SSS Monday Challenge: In The Middle

Hello there!

I had some time for creating today so I decided to play along with the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. The theme this week is In The Middle.

I chose to interpret that as a focal point in the middle of my card.

I masked a circle and sponged Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers, and Mermaid Lagoon Distress Inks and then covered that with the SSS Tiny Dots stencil and Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste. I then added the Darling Poppies die from Memory Box and the SSS Small Hello die cut from black cardstock. A butterfly cut from gold glitter cardstock and vellum using the Memory Box Effera and Rhone Butterfly Wings dies and a few Pretty Pink Posh Metallic Gold sequins finishes things off.

I am also linking this up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: April Showers/ Spring Flowers.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Creating Just for Fun!

Hello there!

I haven't had a chance to do much of anything creative lately, but I found myself today with some extra time, so I made a few cards.

I used the Mojo Monday Sketch for the first one -- it is for my sweet cousin who is still battling some serious health issues.

Hopefully this will bring a little sunshine to her day.

I made the background paper by spritzing some water on white cardstock, then adding some Mermaid Lagoon and Peacock Feathers Distress Spray, sponging on a bit of Vintage Photo and Wild Honey Distress Ink and then using the Tim Holtz 'Spritz and Flick' technique. I used the Trellis Die by Tim Holtz/Sizzix to cut the design from Kraft Resist paper and added a bit of Maya Road Rose Trim. The beautiful sentiment is from one of my all-time favorite stamp sets by Verve: Wonderfully Made.

The second card is for my niece who will be turning 13 in a few weeks! They are all growing up so fast! 

This card uses papers and stamps from the Simon Says Stamp April 2015 Card Kit. Such fun colors. Hopefully a 13 year old will like it. ?

Well that's all from me for now.

Hope you have a wonderful day... Thanks for stopping by!

The Deconstructed Sketch No. 196

Hello there!

Welcome to this week's edition of The Deconstructed Sketch!

As usual, Jen has created another super fun sketch for us to play with this week.

For my card this week, I used two of my favorite stamp sets from Avery Elle: Petals and Stems (and coordinating dies) and So Happy. I stamped the images with Tim Holtz Distress Ink and then went over them with a water brush to give them a softer, watercolor look.

I also used the Chicken Wire Die-namics from MFT, Stitched Circles die from Simon Says Stamp, all three sizes of Sparkling Clear Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh, a Studio Calico wood veneer butterfly, and a bit of crochet trim by May Arts.

Here is the list of the other DT members so you can see how they were inspired by this week's sketch:

• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley 
• Sheri Gilson
• Tangii Crain  
• Tracey Pickersgill  

I hope you are inspired to give this fabulous sketch a try. If you want to play along with us at The Deconstructed Sketch this week, the linky tool and details are over on Jen's blog!

I am also entering this in the AE I ♥U Challenge, which for this month, is Watercolor and in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is April Showers/Spring Flowers this week.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!