Scrap weekend

Last weekend was part one of Virtual Scrapbook Night on SCS, so I decided to check out the challenges. Sometimes it's hard for me to scrap using a challenge, because the pictures usually dictate what I use on my pages. But the first challenge was perfect for me; it called for scrapping a performance. Of course, I had the perfect photos for that! I did a two-page spread of the Garth Brooks concert I attended with my mom last month.
The main journaling reads:

Garth Brooks World Tour 2008
When I found out Garth Brooks was playing in Los Angeles in late January as a benefit for the Southern California wildfire victims, I called up Mom and asked if she’d like to fly down for her birthday. Then that Saturday morning, I got online and on the phone, typing and dialing as quickly as I could to see if I could get tickets! I kept getting a busy signal on the phone, and online I would get: “No tickets available for that show.” Then a message popped up saying “Another show has been added.” I was so excited when the screen popped up with tickets for us! Garth ended up selling out five shows over two days in less than an hour.
Our tickets were for the Friday night 10 p.m. show, which turned out to be perfect. Even the music critics agreed that our show was the best of the five. Our seats were straight back from the stage and slightly elevated, so we had a perfect view, even if Garth was a bit small. Fortunately, we also had giant screens to watch from! The crowd was terrific and we all sang, danced and cheered as Garth played all our favorite songs with all the energy he showed 10 years ago before he retired. He also had Trisha Yearwood and Huey Lewis join him on stage for some duets. He played for nearly 2.5 hours, and we didn’t want him to leave the stage when it was over! But we left with souvenir sweatshirts and some fun photos to prove we were there!

I pulled the paper colors from the photos, added a few embellies and of course, the set list! Gotta love the internet - I googled "Garth Brooks set list Los Angeles" and found several sites where people had posted set lists for the shows. I love having this as a detail on the page. The VSBN continues this weekend, so I may try to get a few more pages done!

Supplies: bazzill, SU lilac and turquoise, shimmery blue, handmade blue, vellum papers, Queen and Co. sequin stars and swirls, Making Memories brads

A little more V-Day

This was the last Valentine's Day card I made and it never made it on my blog! This one went to the son of one of my very good friends. Boy Valentines are hard, but he's just a toddler, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with bright colors!
Supplies:
Stamps: Toucan of my love
Ink: Stazon black, bold brights markers
Paper: Retired dots and dashes, whisper white, only orange, tempting turquoise, bashful blue, green galore
Accessories: Stardust stickles, googlie eyes
Also, my sweet mom sent me flowers for Valentine's Day! They actually arrived Feb. 13, so I could enjoy them all day on the 14th. This picture was taken after I brought them home from work on the 16th. It was a beautiful basket filled with all kinds of bright colored flowers! I took them out of the basket a few days ago and several of flowers are still doing well in a vase. Thanks Mom!

February Dirty Dozen for Shannon

This month's Dirty Dozen theme is "Anything but Average." I've actually had a chance to try some of the challenges associated with the theme this month, which has been great fun. This card was made using this month's sketch and is also a non- A2 sized-card. The card measures 6.5 by 3.25 and fits in a check-sized envie (I scored a box of 50 of them at the $1 store - woohoo!)
I also used Shannon's color challenge for her 15K blog challenge! The challenge called for tempting turquoise, almost amethyst and basic black. It was fun trying to fit within all of the different challenge parameters on one card!
Supplies:
Stamps: Winged things
Ink: black stazon, amethyst and turquoise markers
Paper: amethyst and amethyst prints dp; turquoise, whisper white, basic black
Accessories: ribbon, flower brads, Stardust Stickles

Inspired duo

When I saw this week's inspiration piece for the SCS inspiration challenge, I immediately thought of the Stemma 8x8 scrap pad I recently received in a secret friendship swap! Thanks Karen! The colors and some of the modern lines in the designs reminded me of the inspiration piece - a picture from Country Living magazine. So I used the papers and the diecut stickers and tags to make these two quick cards. The cards are 4x4 squares.
Supplies:
Stamps: short and sweet
Paper: Stemma
Ink: chocolate chip, basic brown
Accessories: Making Memories and Target $1 spot brads, stardust Stickles, diecut stickers from Stemma, SU corner rounder

VSN secret sis

I had a wonderful secret sister for the last round of VSN. Erica, aka msdaquiri, sent me some beautiful cards, including the one above, which came in my reveal package. I'm so jealous she has new SU stuff! I can't wait to finally place an order at the end of the month.
My fun reveal package included an embossing folder for my new Cuttlebug (woohoo), some cool brads, great ribbons and a package of pretty Petaloo flowers. I can't wait to put it all to use! Thanks again Erica!

Flowers for spring

I made this card a few weeks ago for the Papercrafts Joy of Cardmaking sketch and color combo. The color combo was to use purple and gray, and I used going gray paper with pale and perfect plum. The colors seemed perfect for my favorite stamp, this iris from Penny Black. I love to ink the flower in one color, then roll the edges in another color.
Supplies:
Stamps: Iris, Penny Black; sentiment, A muse
Paper: Going gray, perfect plum pale plum, whisper white
Ink: Basic gray, perfect plum, pale plum
Accessories: My Mind's Eye French kisses buttons

This card was a RAK from my dear friend Joni. She'a a demo for CTMH, which is where that cool flower came from. They also have paint you can dye then use on the blooms. It is such a cool effect! Thanks, Joni, for brightening my mailbox!

Inspired stripes

I can't believe it's only Tuesday! It's been a super busy week already! The hostesses for the April VSN have been selected and announced, and they are keeping me hopping. I love their enthusiasm and I know we are going to have a blast during the VSN Fashion Show March 8 and the VSN Fashion Weekend April 4-5. I managed to make one card Sunday night, but still haven't had a chance to photograph or upload it. I do have this one from Saturday, though!
When I saw this week's inspiration piece on SCS, I immediately thought of this Taylor Crate paper I've had in my stash for ages. I built the card around it, and in keeping with this month's Dirty Dozen theme, I made it anything but average - it's 5.5 inches square. The greens match much better in real life. I watercolored the flower and leaf, then paired them with the cool acetate swirl from My Mind's Eye's Bohemia collection.

Supplies:

Stamps: All natural (SU retired)
Paper: chocolate chip, very vanilla, watercolor, garden green, textured blue (maker unknown), Crate Taylor collection
Ink: stazon brown, soft sky, blue bayou, handsome hunter, certainly celery
Accessories: bohemia acetate swirl, aquapainter, eyelets and Cropadile from WeRMemoryKeepers

Revealing gift

My friend Karen adopted me for a swap on SCS that is designed to secretly honor a friend or someone you admire, with that person sending a card and gift, then revealing themselves on a specific date along with all the other swappers. I received an awesome card and box of goodies in December, so I was shocked when I received another awesome card and box of goodies in January! The official reveal was Feb. 1. Thanks so much Karen! I love the card she made with the Papertrey set.
And look at these great goodies - a lovely altered journal, chocolates, a cool scrap pad, ribbons, beads, brads, flowers - so much cool stuff! Thanks again, Karen! You definitely spoiled me.

Pretty pendants

I have a new addiction - making pendants using metal washers and alcohol inks! I saw this idea on Splitcoast around Christmas last year, and finally tried it before Christmas this year. I made some for Christmas gifts and they were a big hit - to the point that some of my cousins were asking me to make some for them and offering to pay me to do it! I finally restocked supplies and made some a couple of weeks ago. The one above was a gift for my sweet friend Joni who recently had a birthday. I bought the shiny silver washers, about the size of a 50-cent piece, at Lowe's. They take Ranger's alcohol inks very well. I used Stream and the pearl mixative on this one, then when the alcohol ink was dry, I stamped a CTMH flourish around the washer using black stazon. I embossed it using clear EP from Ranger, which can be tricky because the metal gets super hot! I'm also thinking it might be worth investing in some ultra-thick EP for this, because I had to do about three coats to get the look I liked. Before the final coat of EP cooled, I added a small rhinestone gem for a little sparkle. To finish the pendant, I looped some black satin cord through and tied the ends in a knot.

Here's a set of three finished washers. On some of them, instead of finishing with EP, I just sprayed them with acrylic sealer. It gives it a less polished look, which is kind of cool. And they look great without any stamping or other embellishing.
I also made some using cranberry and butterscotch inks and copper mixative. These turned out really cool, colorwise. On the right and left washers, I stamped the branch from Artfully Asian in stazon over the washer. The center one has no stamping, but I did emboss it and attach a gem.
Supplies:
Stamps: Artfully Asian, SU; Free Spirit, CTMH
Ink: Ranger acohol inks (from the Nature Walk and Farmer's Market collections) and mixatives in pearl and copper, versamark for embossing, black stazon
Accessories: washers, alcohol ink applicator, EP, satin cord

Froggy bright!

I actually had time to play in the color challenge this week on SCS! This week's combo was green galore, tempting turquoise and kraft. I always need kids' birthday cards, and these colors are so bright, they're perfect for kids' cards. I'm also trying to use up scraps, hence the strip of Basic Grey lollipop shoppe paper. The image was stamped a few months ago when I borrowed this set from a friend. It is such a fun set - I love that frog!
Supplies:
Stamps: Unfrogettable, Happy everything
Paper: kraft, green galore, tempting turquoise, whisper white, basic grey Lollipop Shoppe
Ink: tempting turquoise, green galore, stazon black
Accessories: dimensionals, Cuttlebug, googlie eyes

Sweetheart challenges

Last month I shared the first of four challenges I participated in with some friends I made during a previous VSN. We were known as the Sweethearts, and it's now been a year since we met and developed our friendship, which continues today! I feel very lucky to have them in my life. We decided to celebrate the anniversary of our meeting with a few challenges. Here are the other three cards I made for those challenges! The first card was designed around an inspiration piece from Mrs. Fields, since Joni Fields (jstarbright) was our ringleader! I made a tall card, traditional business envelope-sized, out of chocolate chip paper. I then added a layer of vanilla and another layer of chocolate chip - spritzed with gold iridescent glimmer mist fo sparkle. The stack of presents was made with Au Chocolat DP. I finished the card with some pomegranate satin ribbon and a sentiment.
Supplies

Stamps: Short and Sweet

Paper: chocolate chip, vanilla, Au Chocolat (retired SU)

Ink: Pomegranate
Accessories: Glimmer Mist, pomegranate ribbon, ticket punch

The challenge for this card was to make a card for a Sweetheart who might need some cheering up! I love this little bird image from Very Punny, and I paired it with some goodies I received from one of the Sweethearts in a RAK - this pretty DP from Making Memories and those cool Heidi Swapp ghost flowers.

Supplies:

Stamps: Very Punny

Paper: Close to cocoa, cool caribbean, close to cocoa, whisper white, pretty in pink, MM Boho Chic

Ink: pink, caribbean, basic brown, soft sky

Accessories: ghost flower, Prima jewel flower, bazzill brad, blender pen (for watercoloring), CM Circle Cutter

And the last challenge was to make a some kind of wrapper or container to hold chocolate! We sweethearts love our chocolate! I have had a package of die-cut white paper boxes from Stampendous in my stash for ages. I thought this was the perfect challenge to use one. I love this pyramid box and it comes together so easily! The chipboard star was sprayed with Frosty Nights Glimmer Mist. I embossed two tiny Queen and Co. star sequins with silver craft ink and EP, then attached them with glue dots. I also lightly sprayed the entire box with the Glimmer Mist. I filled it with Hershey Kisses -yum!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stars and swirls

Ink: blue bayou, soft sky, silver craft (colorbox)

Accessories: die-cut box, chipboard star, eyelet, Frosty Nights Glimmer Mist, Queen and Co. sequins

Birthday ensemble

I made this set for Eclectic Paperie's anniversary last month. They posted a couple of challenges on their forum, and I have a tough time passing up challenges! The challenge was to make a birthday gift ensemble - with a card and gift or packaging. I needed to make my mom a birthday card, so I started there. She loves the beach, and I wanted to use my Cuttlebug shell diecuts on the card, so that's where I started. The patterned paper was embossed with my Cuttlebug swirl folder. I cut out the shell shapes using my CB dies, then added some stardust stickles to add some dimension and some sparkle. I then made a matching pillowbox to go with the card. I've had a few of these pillowboxes for awhile - I picked them up at a LSS a few months ago - but this was the first one I altered. I made a band to wrap around the center, which I embossed with the CB swirl folder as well. More patterned paper, die cuts and Stickles finished it off! Sadly, when I went to put my mom's gift in the package, it didn't fit! So I saved the packaging and used it for another friend's birthday gift.

Supplies:

Stamps: Sincere salutations

Ink: ballet blue

Paper: Ballet blue, whisper white, buckaroo blue (SU retired), bashful blue, DCWV patterned

Accessories: Pillow box, organdy ribbon, CB embossing folder and die cuts, Stardust Stickles, dimensionals

First birthdays!

My cousin's twin daughters will celebrate their first birthday soon! They are such cuties and are still very small, partly because they were born about two months early. I made these cards for them the other day. I wanted something cute and girly but not too fancy. Then I found these pre-printed cards from DCWV in my stash and knew they'd be perfect! I used the "1" from my Alphabet Attitude numbers set and backed it with a scallop punch and another circle. A bit of ribbon finished them off!

Supplies:

Stamps: Happy Everything, Alphabet Attitude Numbers

Paper: DCWV notecard, rose red, celery

Ink: celery, rose red

Accessories: horizontal slot punch, scallop punch, CM circle cutter, ribbon

Best dressed baby!

Today was an exciting day for me and for the VSN forum on Splitcoast. My friend Denise and I are coordinating the next VSN and today we announced the dates and theme, and kicked things off with a little challenge. Our theme is VSN Fashion Weekend and the dates will be April 4-5. We're also planning a mini VSN Fashion Show on March 8! We are looking for hostesses, also known as Fabulous Fashionistas, to help us put on this fun event. If you're interested in playing or hosting a challenge, you can find more information HERE!
Now on to the challenge. Denise came up with this one for us to warm everybody up! The challenge was "Best Dressed Baby," or to make a card featuring or shaped like something a baby might wear, such as a onesie, booties or a bib. The challenge is open for the next week and we'd love to have you join us! I whipped up a set of three 3x3 cards using the cute onesie from A Little Love. I just added some ribobn and scallop punches for a little more color.
Supplies:
Stamps: A little love (SU, retired)
Paper: DCWV notecards, pretty in pink, bashful blue, barely banana, whisper white
Ink: brilliant blue, pixie pink, yoyo yellow
Accessories: Ribbon, scallop punch

Tin fun!

Sorry I've been neglecting my blog of late. My plate suddenly got really full! I haven't stamped a lot lately, but I do have a bunch of stuff in my picture folder that hasn't been posted here. Here's one of them: I made this tin for a friend for Christmas, though I actually made it in January because we didn't get a chance to see one another over the holidays. Funny enough, I got her gift about the same time she got mine! This was a simple card tin. I actually like them best this way. I finally found a good use for some of my giant Prima daisies, too. They fit perfectly on top of the tins! I should have more for you tomorrow, maybe even something new!
Supplies:
Paper: Marcella K from Target
Accessories: card tin from Provo Craft, ribbons, Primas, big brad from Karen Foster, SU chocolate chip satin ribbon, small brad

Before winter ends ...

I thought I should post these cards I made at the holidays. I sent some "secret elf" packages out to some stamping friends and made the cards above to go with them. I was so happy when I realized this Creative Memories patterned paper was a perfect match for SU's Soft Sky and Blue Bayouo inks and papers. I thought the little round circles looked a bit like ornaments or tags hanging from the ribbons. The recipients seemed to enjoy their goodies, too!
I couldn't fit all the goodies in the little boxes I made, so I put the boxes and the goodies in cello bags. The boxes are called "Jenn" boxes because they were designed by Jenn Balcer. I used my corner rounder to make the scallop across the top edge, and my scallop punch for the image. I also used some of my retired Holiday Thyme paper - I love that stuff!
Supplies:
Stamps: Riveting, short and sweet, Michael's $1 snowflakes
Papers: blue bayou, soft sky, bashful blue, artichoke, whisper white, Holiday Thyme, Creative Memories
Ink: Blue bayou, soft sky, bashful blue, artichoke
Accessories: ribbon, CM circle cutter, scallop punch, crop-a-dile, ticket punch

Chocolate-dipped flower

I made this quick and fun card a few weeks ago to send to my VSN secret sister with her reveal package. I thought I had forgotten to photograph it, then I found it! I thought the flower from Fabulous Flowers was a good match for this paper from My Mind's Eye (from the Costco pack last year - I love that stuff!) I inked the flower in tempting turquoise, stamped it off once, then rolled the edges in chocolate chip. I love the effect on the edges. Some Stickles and ribbon finished this card off - simple and fun!

Weekend Sketching, part 2

I made the top card for Beate's weekend sketch challenge. This is the kind of sketch that really challenges me! I have trouble selecting the right images and getting the right perspective with tall cards. So instead of doing a traditional tall card for a business envelope, I made a smaller version, 3.25 by 6.5 inches, to fit a check-sized envelope. I happened to pick up a box of 100 of these envies at the $1 store - talk about a deal! I'm not sure what my deal was, but I was in a pomegranate/fabulous flowers mood this weekend. The center flower is stamped off once then spritzed with water - it just lightens up the color a bit. Thanks for the fun sketch, Beate!
After I made the first card, I decided to make a second one to send as a RAK. After I got started, I realized I had run out of natural hemp twine. So I thought I would substitute black, and add some other black accents, as well. So it has a layer of black under the print paper, and the brads and eyelets are black instead of antique gold. I also used the other tags that were cut out when I die-cut the first ones, which gives it a slightly different look. I'm not sure which one I like better!
Supplies:
Stamps: Fabulous Flowers, Happy Everything, AYC
Ink: Pomegranate, black stazon
Paper: Pomegranate, Kraft, shimmery white, black, Rose Red prints DP
Accessories: Cuttlebug dies, eyelets and brads, hemp, dimensionals

Weekend sketching

Yesterday I had a chance to play with some bloggers' sketch challenges. I love the sketches because they are a great prompt to get me going, especially after a stamping drought! This card was for Anna's (aka Sweet Miss Daisy) sketch challenge. I love this sketch because it is simple, yet so versatile! The card measures 4.25 inches square; the flower was inked in pomegranate and stamped off once to lighten the color. I added stardust Stickles and a fun flower brad to the center for a little bling. I love that the SU pomegranate ink and paper match the rose red prints designer paper. I've been using that combo a lot - the rose red from my sampler pad is almost gone! I sitll have a ton of the saffron, though, so I guess I best get busy and find something to do with it! I'll share more pomegranate cards later today; I'm fortunate that I have NO plans for the day. I'm not big into SuperBowl (I just like the commercials) and it's raining again, so I'll be at the stamp table this afternoon!
Supplies:
Stamps: Fabulous Flowers, Happy Everything (SU)
Paper: Pomegranate, whisper white, prints DP
Ink: Pomegranate
Accessories: SU and May Arts ribbons, stardust Stickles, brad (I think it's from Making Memories), corner rounder

Back to the stamp table

I finally made it back to the stamp table last night after nearly two weeks away. It's amazing how much I miss the crafting outlet when I have a break like that. I'm hoping to make up for it today; I have several cards to make in advance of Valentine's Day and a few upcoming birthdays and such. I love to kick off my weekend stamping with the Inspiration Challenge; it's hosted by my friend Karen, and she usually posts it on Friday nights so I can work on it when I get home from work. This week's piece was a living room suite in white and natural colors, almost like a beach retreat. I love the freshness of the inspiration picture, so I tried to use replicate the clean, crisp look here using a combination of white, river rock and sahara sand. I applied some antique linen distress ink direct to the card base to give it a more rustic look. I inked the flower (which looks similar to the rug in the inspiration piece) in sahara sand and then rock and rolled the edges in river rock. I added some stardust stickles and a do-jiggie for a little sparkle. Thanks Karen, for getting me stamping again!
Supplies:
Stamps: fabulous flowers, short and sweet, linen BG
Paper: river rock, sahara sand, whisper white
Ink: river rock, sahara sand, antique linen distress ink
Accessories: Twill (Martha Stewart), do jiggie (Borders), stardust Stickles, dimensionals