For Mother

Hi guys. I know it's long past Mother's Day...but I didn't get around to show casing my card then...so I figured now is as good a time as ever. :)

My card features a Flourishes stamp called "Forget Me Not Notes". I love this stamp set -- especially the big bouquet image. Since my mom is big into flowers, I figured the stamp fit perfectly. :)

I colored the stamped image with alcohol markers. I think I'm hooked now!!! I love love love images on cards...and now I'm also big into coloring images. I think I've discovered a whole new world of cardmaking!!! :)

I want to give a shout out to Silke over at My Life. I love her cards...and this card is big-time inspired by her cards. ...with a few little differences to make it my own. :)

Using my Martha Stewart Score Board I embossed some lines across the top of my card's "white space" ...to give it some detail. Then I added some beautiful ribbon (love the fact that it has hearts on there!) and tied it all off with a bow.

challenges for this card:

Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes
Party Time Tuesday -- Anything Goes
Rhedd and Rossie Challenge: Blooming Lovely
Fresh Brewed Designs -- Lots of Flowers
Creative Inspiration: Anything Goes
Oh La La Creations: Inspired by Nature
Milk Coffee Challenge -- Load on the Flowers
Crafty Ribbons -- Anything Goes with a Ribbon
Craft Dee BowZ -- Anything goes with Handmade Bow 
613 Avenue Create -- Anything Goes
Deep Ocean Challenge -- Ribbon and/or Lace 
Created with Love -- You Lift Me Up

The rubber Buggy -- Anything Goes

For a Loss

Hi guys. It's been a sad week. One of my friends lost a baby girl this week. I can't image how hard that must be...to let go after waiting for so long! It makes me hold my little guy just a little bit tighter and a little bit longer...and be thankful for his cute little smiles even more.

Of course I had to sit down and make a card to send my friend some encouragement...cause I couldn't be there right now. It turned out sweet...

I used a new Cuttlebug folder called "Kimberly's Card". It's very pretty...and I love the border it leaves where you can add a sentiment. It makes card making so fast and easy. I stamped a sentiment from a sweet sympathy stamp set from Michael's. Finally, I added a butterfly punch. I love the softness of the card -- subtle, yet classy. :)

supplies:

Kimberly's Card embossing folder

Martha Stewart Butterfly punch
Clear Stamp from Michael's (not sure of the stamp set name)

challenges:

 Crafty Catz:Anything Goes
Lexi's Creations -- Punches and/or dies
Cute Card Thursday -- Butterfly Kisses 
Flutterby Wednesday -- Anything Goes (with a butterfly on it)  
Forever Friends --  Punches/Die Cuts 
Lili's Little Fairies -- Clean and Simple
Mema's Crafts -- Anything Goes
Creative Moments -- Anything Goes

Love without Words

Hi guys. Can you believe it's February already?!! Seriously, time seems to be passing by soooooooo fast these days!!! Wasn't it only yesterday that we were celebrating the New Year?!! Totally nuts!!!

Anyways, in true February fashion...I decided to make a card to go with the month's theme. LOVE. Of course, that meant getting out the red ink...and a valentine/heart stamp...

I'm trying to use up scraps -- and this card was perfect for that. Using a Clear stamp I borrow, I stamped the heart image multiple times onto a strip of white cardstock. Then I layered the strip onto some red cardstock to bring out the red a bit.

Finally, I embossed some white cardstock with a Sizzex embossing folder called "Flower Rings & Clusters set". I was really impressed with how the embossing folder showed -- very deep groves! There's definitely a difference in Cuttlebug folders and Sizzex folders -- although I still love my Cuttlebug and wouldn't trade it! :)

I adhered my stamped strip onto the embossed cardbase...and there's my card. :) Clean and Simple....and perfectly LOVE-ly. :)

Ignore warning

Thanks for dropping by my blog today. Be sure to leave a comment and I"ll drop by your blog as well. Have a fabulous day! :)

card recipe:

"Flower Rings & Clusters Set" Sizzex embossing folder

Heart Clear Stamp

red ink
white bling

cardstock 

challenges:

Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes
Sweet Stamps -- Valentine/Love
Sweet Stampin' Challenge -- Love is all around
Delightful Sketches -- Red & White
2 Sisters Challenge -- Red & White and/or Pink
Basic Grey Challenges -- Love is in the Air
Glitters and Sparkle -- Love/Valentine
Hiding in my Craftroom -- Red 
V's Sweet Ideas -- Love Theme
Let's Craft and Create -- CAS Love
Lexi's Creations -- Love/Valentine
Word Play Saturday -- Anything

Christmas Angel

Hi guys. My Christmas cards this year are very CAS (clean and simple) type of cards. I make a lot of my cards using the Inkadinkado Christmas clear stamps -- used two different stamping sets. They were such a blast to work with! The stamps themselves have a lot of details...which I blinged up...and that's pretty much all it needed. :)

The "Angel Silhouette" is my favourite stamp from these Inkadinkado stamp sets. Angels played a big part in the Christmas story. From the angel Gabriel who told Mary about how she would conceive the Christ-child, to the wonderful gathering of angels in the sky proclaiming "Glory to God in the highest...and on earth...peace, goodwill towards men..." -- angels and Christmas just go together for me. So when I saw this angel silhouette stamp, I was sooooooo impressed! :) Just the perfect stamp for some Christmas cards...

Here are the two Inkadinkado clear stamp sets I used:

I loved how the card turned out! Simple....but striking -- especially once I added all the bling. :)

I made a few different variations -- just color wise, 'cause I loved the overall look of the card too much to change it. Here's another bunch of Christmas cards finished and ready to sign and send off! :)

 some challenges for these cards:

The Stamp Spot -- Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: What's your Favourite?
-- Stampin' Up Cardstock, Inkadinkado Clear Stamps
Word Art Wednesday -- Anything Goes 
Sweet Stampin' Challenges -- Christmas Anything Goes
 

Christmas is Coming & Some Giveaways

Hi guys...I'm back with another Christmas card to share with you. This one features ribbon. Ribbon is one embellishment that I love to see on cards, but when I try using it on one of mine, they often don't turn out quite right.

This card actually turned out the way I had it planned in my head. :) Thanks to an online friend, I have the Easy Bow maker to help make the perfect bows.

The Easy Bow Maker doesn't look like a whole lot, but it makes perfect bows every time...and saves lots of time trying to get the bows look pretty. It's definitely a time-saver. :)

Here's the full view of the card:
 

supplies used:

Inkadinkado Christmas Silhouette Stamps

Cuttlebug Folder -- Victorian

Ribbon from Stash

Red Bling

Also want to let you know about an amazing giveaway. Nicole's Stamp Addiction is having a Thank You giveaway -- 50 promarkers!!! I have never used one of these markers, but if you're into using stamped images for your cards, this giveaway is for you! They look like a lot of fun to play around with. :) Her giveaway ends when she reaches 3450 followers -- so head on over to Nicole's Stamp Addiction and sign up. You can't win if you don't try. :)

Also, The Scrapbook Garden is having a fabulous November/December giveaway. Head on over to her blog to get all the details. You could be the winner of this:

I've never actually tried Distress Inks, but from the tutorials I've seen using them, they look like sooooooo much fun! And there so many different ways of using them! I would love to win this! :)




Really Reasonable Ribbon is having a pre-holiday blog candy. I have been the lucky winner of the RRR blog hop twice (they have one every month with an amazing ribbon prize), so from experience I know their ribbons are awesome! They are great quality and great looking too! :) Plus, their pre-holiday giveaway has a lot of extras. Head on over the Really Reasonable Ribbon blog to read all the details.

And if you're looking to be further inspired with Christmas related cards and projects, head on over to the At Studio D blog. They're having a 25 days of Christmas giveaway -- and there's lots of inspiration to find there as we head into the Christmas season.

challenges:

Stamping Sensations -- Traditional Christmas
Word Art Wednesday -- Anything Goes
Totally Stampalicious -- Bling
Through the Craftroom Door -- Anything Goes
House of Gilli -- Celebration

The first of many to come

Hi guys...can you believe it's November already?!! Like wow!!! We're a month away from the Christmas season!!! And with time flying by so fast, I think it's time I got some serious Christmas cardmaking done,  'cause time ain't slowing down anytime soon! ....and I don't want to have them all pile up on me at once...

So today I headed to my scrapping table to get started on some Christmas cards...

I decided to try using some clear stamps -- "Christmas Silhouettes" by Inkadinkado. (love the name of the stamping company, don't you?) LOL

This set of stamps is so much fun to play with!!! One thing I love about them is that you don't need to add a whole lot to the card to make it look amazing! Just a little color and bling...and whah-lah! I had created my first Christmas card. :)

Wanna see???

Not my typical Christmas card that's for sure....

...but I decided to try the reindeer stamp anyways, 'cause I love the trail of "snowflakes" and "flowers" it has behind it. It's just a fun stamp...and so pretty! :)

I love the bit of extra blitz the image gets when you add some bling to spice it up...

Here's a look at the whole card. Clean and simple...just the way I like it! :)

 Thanks for dropping by today. God bless you. :)

challenges for my card:

Crafts & Me Challenges -- Bling it Up
Word Art Wednesday -- Anything Goes
Willow Sketchie Challenge -- Sketch 

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge -- No Patterned Paper
HotShot Crafts -- Bling it On
Anything Goes Challenges -- Anything Goes
Totally Stampalicious -- Anything Goes
DL.Art Challenges -- Any Holiday from October to End of the Year
Crafty Pad Designs -- Christmas is Coming
Creative Craft Challenges -- Special Occasion, Not Birthday