Happy Birthday, Ellen and Lera!

Happy Birthday to some special ladies!

Materials

Paper: Neenah - Solar white, misc. Bazzill cardstock, Lawn Fawn DP

Stamps/Inks: Paper Smooches - XXX, SSS - XXX, Verve - Treasured Words, Memento - Tuxedo Black, HA Shadow Ink - Bubble Gum and Grape Juice

Cutting/Embossing/Stencil: Martha Stewart Craft punch - Grass

Misc.: Perfect Pearls, Wink of Stella silver glitter pen, copic markers, dimensional adhesive, verve seam binding

Stretch Your Stamps 2: Days 9/10 - Floral and Floral Builder Stamp Sets

Floral and Floral Builder Stamp Sets

Sketched Outlines and Color Embossing

Materials
Paper: Misc. Bazzill cardstock, Neenah - Solar white
Stamps/Inks: Versamark, PTI - Turning a New Leaf, Rosie Posie, and Frilly Flowers, Verve - Trasured Words
Cutting/Embossing: Zing Embossing Powder - Opaque Leaf, Opaque Aqua, and Opaque Grapefruit; Judikins - Opaque white embossing powder

Sketched Outlines - liked this technique so much that I made a couple cards - I feel a card set coming on.

Materials
Paper: TH Glossy alcohol ink paper, misc. Bazzill cardstock, Neenah - Solar White
Stamps/Inks: Clear and Simple Stamps - Flower Buds. HA Shadow Ink - Grape Juice, Butter Bar, and Corn Flower; SSS - Green Leaf
Cutting/Embossing: Lawn Fawn - Scripty Thanks die
Misc.: Superfine sharpie marker, copic blending solution

Materials
Paper: TH Glossy alcohol ink paper, misc. Bazzill cardstock, Neenah - Solar White
Stamps/Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black, SSS - Green Leaf ink, Altenew - Label Love, HA Shadow Inks - Raspberry Jam, Butter Bar, Field Greens, Pool, and Green Hills; DeNami - Solid Flower Accents
Misc.: Superfine sharpie marker, copic blending solution, dimensional adhesive

Stretch Your Stamps 2: Days 5/6

Stretch Your Stamps 2 (loved today's topic): Outline Stamps

Here are mine: 

 
Materials
Paper: Neenah - Solar white, DP: Knee Highs
Stamps/Inks: TH Distress Ink, Penny Black - Blooming Garden, Versafine - Onyx Black, SSS - Handwritten Borders
Cutting/Embossing: Judikins - Opaque white embossing powder, Ranger superfine clear embossing powder

Materials
Paper: Neenah - Solar white
Stamps/Inks: TH Distress Ink, Penny Black - Blooming Garden, Verve - Treasured Words
Cutting/Embossing: Judikins Opaque White embossing powder
Misc.:  Paper Sweeties Seam Binding, Neat and Tangled white sequins

Distress ink backgrounds/Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog

These cards were inspired by Jennifer McGuire's post/cards for today --- although I'm not big on the iron-off embossing. I just left them embossed! I happened to make a birthday card that fit in with Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for this week... they are celebrating 5 years of blog challenges --- Happy Birthday!!

The Card for the SSS Challenge...

Materials
Paper: Neenah - Solar white, misc. Bazzill cardstock
Stamps/Inks: Memento - Bahama Blue and Tuxedo Black, Versafine - Onyx Black,Versamark, TH Distress Inks - Salty Ocean, Picked Raspberry, Wild Honey, and Shaded Lilac; HA - Flower Bursts Pattern CG315, SSS - Handwritten Borders
Cutting/Embossing: Ranger superfine clear embossing powder
Misc.: Dimensional adhesive, perfect pearls mist

And a couple of other similar cards using the same technique...

Materials
Paper: Neenah - Solar white, misc. Bazzill cardstock
Stamps/Inks: Memento - Bahama Blue and Tuxedo Black, Versamark, TH Distress Inks - Salty Ocean, Picked Raspberry, Festive Berries, Mowed Lawn, Wild Honey, and Shaded Lilac; HA - Large Lotus Pattern CG350, and Floating Blossoms CG147; MFT - Polka Dot Greetings, Verve - Treasured Words
Cutting/Embossing: Ranger superfine clear embossing powder
Misc.: Dimensional adhesive, perfect pearls mist, May Arts Twine

Clean and Simple 3: Days 3/4

Days 3/4:

Topic: Masking and Stamp Layering

Materials:
Paper: Neenah - Solar White
Stamps/Inks: Neat and Tangled - Party Dots, Verve - Treasured Words, Impress dot stamp, Onyx Black Versafine, TH Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass, HA Shadow Ink - fresh peach, green hills, tide pool, and stone wash
Cutting/Embossing/Stencil: Spellbinder's Nestabilities - Standard Circle

Clean and Simple 3: Day 7/8

Day 7/8: Creative Coloring

Topic: Tracing Images

Materials:
Paper: Neenah - solar white
Stamps/Inks: TH Distress Inks - Antique linen, Onyx black - versafine, Verve - Treasured Words, HA - Floating Blossoms
Embossing: Ranger superfine clear embossing powder
Misc.: Copic markers, dimensional adhesive, gold gel pen

Card Set #5 and a Thank You Notecard

The finale of card sets...

Materials:
Paper: Misc. Bazzill cardstock, Neenah - Solar white
Stamps/Inks: TH Distress Inks - Salty Ocean
Cutting/Embossing/Stencil: Inky Antics Cloud stencil, Memory Box: Adorable Posies and Hayden Twigs
Misc.: White Liquid Pearls

And Thank You...

Materials:
Paper: Neenah - Solar white
Stamps/Inks: Memento - Rhubarb Stalk, HA Shadow Ink Midtone - Butter Bar, Impress - Mom and Baby Giraffe Combo, Verve - Treasured Words
Cutting/Embossing/Stencil: Stampin' Up heart punch
Misc.: dimensional adhesive, zig wink of Stella clear glitter brush

Wplus9 Birthday Extravaganza

Still celebrating with WPlus9!

Create a card, tag or layout with a focus on a current trend. Use at least one Wplus9 product and upload your project to your blog or online photo gallery such as Flickr. Then link it up using the InLinkz widget below by 11:59 PM EST, Sunday, February 23, 2014. Winner will be posted by 12:00 PM EST on Monday, February 24, 2014.

Here are mine (2 each of 3 designs):

Trend: I've noticed a lot more layered stamping and stamps - my favorite is WPlus9's Fresh Cut Florals.

Materials
Paper: Neenah - Solar white, misc. Bazzill cardstock
Stamps/Inks: WPlus9 - Fresh Cut Florals, Verve - Treasured Words, HA Shadow Inks - Butter Bar, Soft Cantaloupe, Soft Blossom, Pool, Corn Flower, Grape Juice, Green Hills, Cup O' Joe, Field Greens,; SSS ink - green leaf; Memento - Tuxedo Black, Fresh Ink - French Lavendar
Cutting/Embossing/Stencil: Martha Stewart Score Board

Pretty Pink Posh Craft Dash

Sad to see the 10 minute Craft Dash ending, but have to play along for the last time!

1. Create a card/craft project within 10 minutes.
2. Post the time it took to create.
3. Be sure to include the challenge graphic in your post and link to the challenge.
4. You may combine a total of three challenges with your entry. You may enter the challenge a maximum of two times.
5. Subscribe to Pretty Pink Posh via Email

Here's mine:

Time: 9:26

Materials
Paper: Neenah - Solar white, misc. Bazzill cardstock
Stamps/Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Lawn Fawn - Love You Tons and A Birdie Told Me, Verve - Treasured Words
Cutting/Embossing: Corresponding Lawn Cuts, Martha Stewart grass border punch
Misc.: Copic markers, Zig wink of stella clear glitter pen, Neat and Tangled red raspberry sequins, dimensional adhesive, twine from The Twinery

And some knitting!

Pattern: Cranberry Sauce
Yarn: DIC Groovy - Green Lantern
Needles: 9/10.5
Size: One Size

Pattern: Chunky Baby Mitts
Yarn: DIC Groovy - remnants!
Needles: 6
Size:Newborn

Summer Card Camp 2 - Day 5!

Day 5  --- 1/3 of the way through class!

Materials

Paper: Neenah - Solar White, misc. Bazzill cardstock, Vellum

Stamps/Inks: HA Shadow Inks - Soft Cantaloupe, Butter Bar, Mint Julep, Bubble Gum; Versamark, Clear and Simple Stamps - Flower Buds, Verve - Treasured Words

Cutting/Embossing: Ranger superfine silver embossing powder

Misc: Sequins from Neat and Tangled,

Not as much in the cardmaking front, because I have almost finished my sweater.  Stay tuned for photos later this week (A - don't be appalled --- I just needed a break from knitting any more puerperium).

June Diva Dare

  "Puddles of Colour".

Puddles of Colour, June Diva Dare

This month's dare pays tribute to Diva Jen (Deconstructing Jen) who is an amazing colourer (word can be found in any crafter's dictionary wink, wink) and Diva Janelle (Rain Puddles Design) who uses paints on her cards and is a wonderful mixed media artist.  So what we're daring you to create this month is a card using colouring and/or painting.  If you want to kick the dare up a notch, you can add kraft card stock to the mix (Jen's specialty) and/or make a mixed media card (Janelle's specialty).  Here is the link to Splitcoast Stamper's "Mix It" Forum for some tutorials and ideas on Mixed Media should you want to try it out.  This is not a requirement but a fun "extra" should you wish to add it to your card. Just remember to use at least one Verve product on your creation!  

Here's my creation for this month's Verve Diva Dare:

Materials:

Paper: Misc. Bazzill cardstock, watercolor paper, Neenah - Solar White

Stamps/Inks: TH Distress Ink - Brushed Corduroy, mowed lawn, raspberry, Versafine - Onyx Black, Memento - Desert Sand, Verve - Treasured Words and Wonderfully Made

Cutting/Embossing: Ranger Superfine Clear Embossing powder

Misc.: Verve seam binding, Perfect Pearls, TH Distress Paint - Salty Ocean, Raspberry, Mowed Lawn, Mister Huey's mist

Diva Dare - May

Here's this month's Diva Dare over at Verve Stamps! So excited to actually have a Verve star die to give it a go..

"This month's dare pays tribute to Diva Amber's (Stamping Scrapbooker) military service and Diva Laurie Wilson's (Soapbox Creations) wonderful use of stripes on her cards.  So this month, we dare you to create a card using stars and/or stripes.  If you want to get really daring, you can add the extra challenge of making it a CAS card with stars and/or stripes, as that is Diva Laurie's signature style.  However, that is not a requirement, just an optional twist to the Dare if you want to get really daring!"

This card was inspired by Paulina over at Pretty Pink Posh -- been seeing all these neat cards with die cuts and sequins, so had to give it a try!

Materials:
Paper: Neenah - Solar white, misc. Bazzill cardstock
Stamps/Inks: Memento - Paris Dusk, TH Distress Ink - Dusty Concord, Faded Jeans, and Spiced Marmalade, Verve Stamps -Treasured Words
Cutting/Embossing: Verve - Starry Die, Poppy Stamps - Pine Tree Border (I think)
Misc.: Dimensional adhesive, twine from The Twinery, sequins from Neat and Tangled, TH Stickles - Rock Candy, Inky Antics - Cloud Stencil

Verve Stamps: April Diva Dare

This is my first time playing, but I love the Verve stamps that I do have... and they actually work for this challenge!

"Bright Blooms and Butterflies

"So this month, we dare you to create a colorful card using either a flower or butterfly image, (or if you'd prefer... a fun die shape) as the focal element."

The Rules

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our April Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

Here's my card:

Materials
Paper: Neenah - Solar White
Stamps/Inks: Verve - Surely Goodness, Versafine - Onyx black, Hero Arts Shadow Ink - Grape Juice
Cutting/Embossing: Verve - Surely Goodness coordinating dies, Judikins Opaque white embossing powder
Misc.: Dimensional adhesive, diamond stickles, pearl embellishment, copic markers, Mister Huey's Mists - Splash, Mister Huey's Mask - Intertwined Circles

Mystery KAL and the finale of the big project...

I'm trying something totally new for me, and I'm pretty excited about it!

Here's the information from Michelle Hunter's blog:

How does the Knit Along (KAL) work?

• A portion of the pattern is posted every Thursday in April at knitpurlhunter.com
• Questions are monitored daily and on Ravelry in the Knit Purl Hunter group
• Completed projects are eligible for prizes furnished by our sponsor, Skacel Collection
• No registration is required
• It’s FREE!

All I know is that every week there will be a new post with the next part of the pattern, and Ridgely is "A two-colored shawlette perfect as a stylish neck accessory or to warm the shoulders on a cool spring evening!"

Here's the start for Ridgely...

1. Beautiful yarn... I can't believe how soft and lovely this yarn is...

This is CoBaSi.

55% Cotton

21% Nylon (Polyamide)

16% Bamboo

8% Silk

2. Week 1:
Gauge close enough on 6's. I was grateful for the video on lifelines - I only needed to use one once, but that's all it really takes for a BIG goof up on a lace projects. And this is a little bit of a slippery yarn.
Photos below:

 Looking forward to the next section of the pattern being released tomorrow!
And the finale for my big project! Class at Yarn Harbor was helpful.

Will be moving the buttons around a bit so everything is even on both sides.
Sirdal
Size - 1 year
Needles - 0 and 1 1/2

And the tags for the Mission Conference baskets...

 Materials:
Paper: PTI - kraft, misc. Bazzill cardstock, Neenah - Solar white
Stamps/Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black, TH Distress Ink - Antique Linen, Verve Stamps - Wonderfully Made
Cutting/Embossing: Memory Box tag die, Poppy Stamps - Vegetable border, Ranger superfine clear embossing powder, Spellbinder's Nestabilities - Standard and Scalloped Circles
Misc.: Liquid Pearls - Peacock, dimensional adhesive, May Arts twine, button, ribbon

Day 4 Pattern Play

Day 4: Altering Patterned Paper

Technique/Homework: Grab your favorite patterned papers and try altering it for a new look.

Materials: 
Paper: PTI - kraft, Teresa Collins - Spring Fling 6x6 paper pack, Neenah - Solar White, misc. Bazzill cardstock
Stamps/Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black, TH Distress Ink - Peacock Feathers, Verve - Treasured Words
Cutting/Embossing: MB - clouds, Spellbinder's Standard Circles
Misc.: Mister Huey's Mists - Opaque White and Splash, TH Picket Fence Distress Stain, dimensional adhesive, Distress stickles - Rock Candy

A little stamping and a lot of knitting

Here's a little thank you card (playing with new stamps)...

Materials
Paper: Neenah - Solar White
Stamps/Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Hero Arts Shadow Inks - Red Royal, Grape Juice, Field Greens, Green Hills, Raspberry Jam, TH Distress Ink - linen, PTI - Sweet Life, Verve - Surely Goodness
Misc.: Dimensional adhesive, Verve seam binding - Spring Fling


And some fun and easy knitting...

I'm obsessed with the Yarnery's Malabrigo linen stitch scarf - these are scarves #2 and #3. I've made two from kits, the third is just a mix of Malabrigo that I picked out to go together - more jewel tones. And I just ordered the Yarnery's NEW kit in a springy colorway - should be able to make a trip down to the TC to pick it up in a couple of weeks.  I think I will actually try the twisted fringe for the next one.

And another Seyfert?!

Crystal Palace Yarns - Mochi Plus 

In the meantime, I've started on a new project... stay tuned, it's going to be one of the most complicated knitting projects I've done in a while.

A little fun with some new products...

I just received some lovely new stamps, and I had to try them out! I cased this card, based on a lovely card made by Andrea Ewen.

Here it is...

Not the world's best ribbon bow, but it was a quick one.

Materials:
Paper: Neenah - Solar White, misc. Bazzill cardstock, kraft
Stamps/Inks: Versamark, Hero Arts Shadow Ink Midtone - Raspberry Jam, Verve - Surely Goodness, Neat&Tangled - Party Dots
Cutting/Embossing: White Judikins embossing powder
Misc.: Verve seam binding, sequins from Neat&Tangled, dimensional adhesive, jewel embellishments, Prismacolor pencils

Christmas Cards!

It's that time of year... copious Christmas cards....

Here are just a few simple cards that I've been working on in my spare time:

Materials:
Paper: Neenah - Solar White, Kraft
Stamps/Inks: Archival Jet Black ink, TH Distress Ink - Antique Linen, Hero Arts tree stamp
Misc.: Tombow markers

Materials:
Paper: Misc. Bazzill cardstock, Neenah - Solar White
Stamps/Inks: Hero Arts - Wire Star and Clear Holiday Sentiments, Versamark
Cutting/Embossing: Sizzix Embossing folder, gold embossing powder

Materials:
Paper: Misc. Bazzill cardstock, Neenah - Solar White, Best Creation Inc. - Winter Wonderful
Stamps/Inks: TH Distress - Salty Ocean and Peacock Feathers, Verve - Peace on Earth, Memento - Tuxedo Black, HA - Snow Dots, Colorbox - Frost White
Cutting/Embossing: Memory Box die - Country Landscape
Misc.: Twine from the Twinery