Adventures of a stamping writer

Woo-hoo.   I feel like I might finally be back to being a crafter. I have spend the last 3 months packing, moving and unpacking. Sadly, the crafty stuff had to be the last unpacked, and it's finally close to being organized. Yay.  So I took the time to play in a few challenges.
I used the current Mojo Monday Sketch for this card, featuring a digi image from Pattie's creations. The image is colored in pencils. The dark green layer is actually from a advertising brochure, but it has a nice mottled texture and it's glossy, so it's an interesting element.  The start is a sticker, and there are a few tiny gold star stickers  sprinkled about as well.

This card is for these challenges:

Mojo Monday #451
ABC Christmas -- L is for (lamppost)
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #284-- vintage
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge -- anything Christmas
Word Art Wednesday #234 -- anything goes.

It's time for another challenge at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie, and it looks like we're heading to a wedding. The prize sponsor for this challenge a AliciaBel, a digistamp company, and Beccy's Place, which is giving away three images or an  entire set.

The image used for my card is an AliciaBel digi called Elegant Bride.

A few touches of sparkle on the Elegant Bride image.

Inspiration cookie #45.

I went digging through my stash and found a
"wedding words" dp to use behind the image, which is colored in pencils, with a few accents in Wink of Stella and Spica pen. An elegant white ribbon and some flowers with matching pearls were the perfect finishing touches.

I hope you can join us at the Cookie Challenge. (Go wherever the inspiration takes you. It doesn't  have to be wedding-related as long as it was inspired by the cookies).

I am entering my card in these challenges:

Catch the Bug- Stella Says Sketch #409 -- sketch
The Paper Shelter #251 -- Gems/pearls
Crafty Sentiments -- Flowers Everywhere
Word Art Wednesday #232-33 --anything goes

It's time for another cookie-inspired challenge at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie. This week, the sponsor is Fresh-Brewed Designs.






Pixie's Snippet Playground #225 -- use snippets
Word Art Wednesday #227 -- anything goes
Double D Challenges -- April showers bring May flowers
Craftyhazelnut's patterned paper challenges -- use patterned papers

It's time for another cookie-inspired challenge at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie. This time, the sponsor is Kitty Bee Designs.

My card features a Kitty Bee image, colored in pencils with a little sparkle from a spica pen on the candle flame. Even when I was a child, I loved the pink/gray color combo, so I embraced it for this challenge.  The image is matted on a snippet of gray, and I used a snippet of pink dotted paper as well.  The embellishments are a couple of flags of grosgrain pink ribbon and a pink flower with a pink mini gem. (It's all about pink power!)  The gray ink for the sentiment came out a little lighter than I expected, but it's an SU sentiment that says:  The more candles the bigger the wish.

This card is for these challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- Birthday
The Ribbon Girl -- April Anything Goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #223 -- Use snippets
Word Art Wednesday #224 -- Anything Goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Wonderful Wednesday -- Anything Goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- Use patterned paper.

Aren't these cats cute? I used them for a quick Christmas card, with also incorporates the current sketch at Sketch Saturday.
The cats (a Bugaboo image) are colored in pencils.  The big button is chipboard I found when I was looking for a star-shaped metal tag (I have a bag of them, but I have no idea where they are hiding right now. I'll find them when I least expect to).
The card is for these challenges:
Sketch Saturday #404 -- sketch
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- cute and cuddly
CRAFT #355 -- Christmas
ABC Christmas -- frills or no frills (I tend toward the minimal frills side)
Holly Jolly Christmas #68 -- use your stash (chipboard button and metallic floss)
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #273 -- Cute
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra -- anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge 
Word Art Wednesday #222 -- anything goes

I made a shaker card, utilizing a variety of beads and sequins as the shaking element. The robot is colored in pencils, and the sentiment is computer generated.
Hope you can join the Cookie Challenge this time!

I'm entering these challenges:
Clear It Out -- Use old Patterned Paper (I used some from a stack about 5 years old).
Shopping Our Stash #242-- In a Galaxy Far, Far Away (a robot/droid like in Star Wars)
Word Art Wednesday #221  -- anything goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Wonderful Wednesday -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Here are the inspiration cookies for the new challenge at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie.  This challenge is sponsored by Sami's Stamps and Robyn's Fetish, so there are two opportunities to win prizes.

My card was created with an image from Sami's Stamps.  I used paper piecing on the onesie and colored the baby with pencils. The dotted paper is a very old Stampin Up pattern.The sentiment is from a small unlabeled clear stamp set; not sure if it's Studio G.


I'm entering the card in these challenges:
Crafty Sentiments -- Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #220 -- Anything Goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

I haven't done a shoe card for a while, and I came across this digi of a fun looking boot, so I decided to do a boot card. (Everyone hum along -- These boots were made for walking....)
The sketch is from the Taylored Expression Share the Joy Challenge.The image is colored in pencils with a little out-of-the-box cut (because I cut it too close when I was rough cutting before using the circle die.), nounted on a slightly larger purple circle, cut from a snippet.  For the narrow white panel, I used a sentiment stamp from Impression-Obsession ("Pretty shoes can cure the blues") and stamped it repeatedly on a white snippet. There's a ribbon (purple with white stitching) running alongside the white panel.  The embellishment picks up that same ribbon and features a pink flower with a pearl in the center. I think the DP is probably Heidi Grace; it was just sitting on the paper cutter when I got there and seemed like a perfect match)

The card is for these challenges:
Simon Says Monday: inspired by a song ( Everyone hum some more -- These boots were made for walking...)
Kraftin Kimmie #319, amethyst
Catch the Bug -- Bingo (designer paper; flower; pearl)
2 Crafty Girls #13 -- Anything goes with option of pearl
Share the Joy Challenge #23 -- sketch
Pixie's Snippet Playground #217 -- use snippets
The Ribbon Girl, use any image (plus ribbon)
Craftyhazelnut's patterned paper challenge -- use dp
Word Art Wednesday #220 -- anything goes

I've never tried embossing folder stamping before, but I watched some videos, and it couldn't get any easier.  You ink up the raised side of an embossing folder, spritz on some water, then make an impression on your card stock.  I made several impressions -- reinking and spritzing each time.  It looks a little different each time, depending upon how much ink and water you apply.  For this project, I used a snowflake embossing folder (which says both Sizzix and Stampin Up on it) and a little blue cube of unmarked ink (one of these little inch-square ink pads you get in a cheap stamp set).

After trimming the resulting images down, adding a sentiment, and mounting them on some blue snippets, they made quite nice Christmas cards. I made a set of three, and have a few more versions of the snowflakes left over for possible use.

The card is for these challenges:

ABC Christmas -- Don't Overdo It
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #268 -- blue
Happy Little Stamper's CAS challenge -- embossing folder stamping
Catch the Bug -- Keep it Simple.
CRAFT #351-- Christmas
Kraftin Kimmie Wonderful Wednesday -- anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #220 -- anything goes
 Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra -- anything Christmas
Pixie's Snippet Playground #216  -- use snippets

I am not only a cat lover, I am especially a lover of orange cats (I've just had the best experience with them), so of course I wanted to do a card featuring an orange cat.  The image I used is from The Alley Way Stamps.  It's stamped in Colorbox Chalk Amber Clay ink on the white circle and paper-pieced with an orange plaid snippet and a blue plaid snippet.  The cat is framed in a stitched circle (die from Whimsy Stamp) cut from a blue snippet. The sentiment is from the same TAWS set, stamped in the same color and mounted on more of that blue snippet. Since this is my idea of a valentine (no frilly pink hearts from me), I added little hearts  (Paper Smooches die) cut from a red dotted snippet to the cat and sentiment.

Go pull out some cat or dog stamps and have some fun with the Cookie Challenge.

I'm entering this card in these challenges:
Crafting For All Seasons #119 -- Love Is in the Air
Pixie's Snippet Playground #215-- Use Snippets
Kraftin Kimmie's Challenge #317 -- love
Die Cut Divas -- Love/Anniversary
Creative Inspirations #344 -- Love and Kisses
Word Art Wednesday #219 -- Anything Goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use Patterned Paper

It's time for another cookie challenge at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie.  Here are the inspiration cookies.

The sponsor this week is The Stamping Boutique, source of the cute snow globe image on my card.

For my card, I colored the image in pencils and fussy cut it out.  I created the card using the January sketch from Kraftin' Kimmie.  I used snippets of brown and blue snowflake paper (buried deep in my stash) and a coordinating mostly brown paper snippet, and cut them with a stitched edge die.  The white strip is another snippet that was already embossed with snowflakes and cut to the perfect size when I found it in my stash.

I am entering these challenges:
Kraftin' Kimmie Wonderful Wednesday/sketch challenge
Pattie's Creations #118 -- fun in the snow
Pixie Snippet Playground #213 -- use snippets
Word Art Wednesday # 218 -- anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper challenge -- use patterned paper

I spent days trying to do a brooding, photo inspired winter scene card that featured embossed bare trees, masking,  a  fawn and other arty stuff. I could not get the deer stamp to work no matter what -- different inks, different papers, no masking, I even used a fine-grit sandpaper on it.  I gave up and made this instead.

The sweet kitties are from From the Heart Digis and the card also uses the current sketch from the From the Heart blog, I {heart} Sketches.  The kitties are colored in pencils with the sentiment done in Lipstick Red.

I am entering these Challenges:

I {heart} sketches #136 -- sketch
Craftyhazlenut's Christmas Challenge #265 -- use a sentiment
Craftyhazlenut's Christmas Challenge Extra -- anything Christmas
Rudolph Days -- Christmas
Addicted to Stamps and More #178 -- holiday
Craftyhazlenut's Patterened Paper Challenge  -- use designer paper
Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #218 -- Anything goes

It's all about the cute today. I have had the set Mindy's Zoo from Autumn Leaves for years 9since I picked up at Target on clearance) and I'm reluctance to use it because it looks so childlike. I just decided to embrace that look for this card.

The giraffes are stamped in Colorbox Chalk Chestnut Roan and colroed with pencils.  The little balloon is a random unidentified stamp I own, the with string drawn in and collected to the little guy's paw. The distressed rrame is made of craft card stock I roughed up with a scissors's edge and pulled the layers of paper apart.  It's a birthday card (see the balloon) but I didn't have a birthday greeting small enough for the tiny tag, so it goes inside.

The layout is the current sketch at Sweet Sketch Wednesday.

I'm entering these challenges:
Sweet Sketch Wednesday -- sketch
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- Create with Critters
The Paper Shelter #232 -- rough it up
Catch the Bug Birthday Celebration -- Bingo (2 animals/Kraft, twine)
2 Crafty Girls/jade's Sparkling Butterflies #11 -- anything goes with option of adding a tag
Craftyhazelnut's patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper
Kraftin Kimmie's Wonderful Wednesday -- anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #218 - anything goes

I used glittery gold EP from Powder Keg, which I'm pretty sure has been out of business for a while. On one white snippet, I gold-embossed a tree (Manufacturer unknown) and on another I gold-embossed the sentiment (Hero Arts?  -- yes, I am being very helpful on the supply list today, aren't I?).
I embossed a 1/4 sheet snippet with the Swiss dot folder and cut it in two, applying the wider piece to my base card. Following the sketch, I used gold washi tape for the line between the embossed and unembossed areas and created a little fish-tail flag. I matted the gold tree on a snippet of gold paper, added it to the card, The sentiment has fish-tail ends on both sides.
I made a second, similar card to use up the other Swiss-dot-embossed snippet, using a gold-embossed ornament image that's been sitting around since before Christmas as the main image. So, two cards done.

I'm entering these challenges:

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #264 -- Cute or anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra -- anything Christmas
Sketch Saturday #395 -- sketch
Pixie's Snippet Playground #212  -- must use snippetwss
Word Art Wednesday #218 -- Anything Goes

I have joined the Design Team for If You Give a Crafter a Cookie, which sponsors the Cookie Challenge every two weeks. [Folks who know me will believe this is most appropriate because: 1) Cookies are pretty much my favorite food group, and 2) Cookies are the food item I actually cook/bake the best of anything that comes out of my kitchen).]

The Cookie Challenge is easy-peasy.  Just be inspired by the current cookie photo to make a craft project -- it doesn't have to be a card.  Post a photo on your blog and link back to the challenge. 

Prizes available this go-round are digi images from Sherri Baldy and from Bugaboo. (The winner is chosen by random draw. There is also a top pick badge up for grabs.)

Hope you can join us! Visit If You Give a Crafter a Cookie blog to see other inspiration from the DT.

My card uses a digi from Bugaboo, and I also used the current sketch from Bugaboo's Catch the Bug challenge for my card.

I am entering these challenges:
Catch the Bug -- Stella Says Sketch
Krafting Kimmie's Stamps #313-- primary colors
Craftyhazelnut's patterned paper challenge -- use patterned papers
Word Art Wednesday #217 -- anything goes

I added a sentiment in mint and some dots on the butterfly die-cut to tie in into everything else.

I'm entering these challenges:
Butterfly Challenge #45 -- Butterflies + X is for Xanthine (a fancy word for yellow)
Stamplorations -- January CASE challenge
Simon Says Monday Challenge -- stencil it
Word Art Wednesday #217-- Anything Goes

I admire people who can do one-layer CAS cards, but it hardly ever works for me.
Except this time. I really like how this came out. (In fact, I liked it so much and it was so easy I made a bunch.)
The bird is from Clear Art Stamps, colored in pencils. The falala (from the same set) and sentiment (Hero Arts, maybe?) are stamped in red.  The branch is a Tim Holtz die cut from a snippet of brown card stock.

This sweet little bird is entering these challenges:
STAMPlorations January CAS challenge -- CAS
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenges #263: Red
the Paper Shelter #230 --punch or die
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra -- anything Christmas
Kraftin' Kimmie's Wonderful Wednesday --  Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #217  --  Anything Goes

My niece, who is far too young to be a widow, lost her husband suddenly the day after Christmas. I saw here briefly at the funeral, but I wanted to send her a note, and this is the sympathy card I made to go with it.
To create the central panel, I used a smoosh technique.  I put ink from 3 SU inkpads (Mint, Bordering Blue and Bliss Blue) on an acrylic block, spritzed with water and smooshed a snippet of watercolor paper on it a few times.  After letting the paper dry, I added the sentiment (All Night Media).  I cut the flowers (from a  new Darice die I recently got) out of a snippet of black, and matted the panel on black, then on a cream colored card.

The card is for these challenges:

Taylored Expressions Share the Joy #16 -- CAS
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- something new (die)
Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge -- smoosh
Die Cut Divas -- something new
Artistic Impressions -- ATG with twist of winter blues
Word Art Wednesday #216 -- anything goes
Crafty Sentiments -- Anything goes
CRAFT #344 -- Anything goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground

Happy New Year to everyone.
I have a few vials of microbeads that I never use, but the Teapot Tuesday challenge at SCS was "bubbles," and it gave me an excuse to use the beads to be bubbles.  The images on this card are by Bird brand digis.  I printed out the sentiment, cut the paper to the size I wanted, and scored it to look like a vintage paneled wall. Then I cut out the tub, added some silver gel pen on the legs, and used glossy accents to adhere the beads.  Once that dried, I popped the tub up on Pop Dots.  The bath scene is mounted on a green snippet, and I used a snipped of dotted paper, which looks kind of bubbly, to cover my card base.  The ribbon picks up the silver on the tub legs and frame around the sentiment.
The card is for these challenges:
Word Art Wednesday #216 -- Anything goes
CRAFT #344 -- Anything goes
Creative Inspirations #341 -- Anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's patterned paper challenge -- use patterned paper
Pixie's Snippet Playground #208-209 -- use snippets

I went into Christmas overdrive yesterday, doing my first round of shopping and decorating the Christmas tree. I also made one more card, so hopefully I have enough now.

The card was inspired by the photo inspiration at the Share The Joy challenge, and the sketch is from Mojo Monday.  The ornaments are from a set by Hero Arts (maybe... it has disappeared in the current mess) and they are silvere mbossed on green snippets (the green paper has a slightly raised stripe pattern that showed up in the embossing, but I'm calling that texture...).  The sentiment is from the dollar bin at Michael's, also on snippets, with the silver paper recycled from some advertising brochure that arrived in the mail and got added to the snippets bin.  The red, still another snipped, is cut with a Marianne border die.
I am entering these challenges:

Mojo Monday #427 -- sketch
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- Christmas
Share the Joy #14 -- inspiration photo
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #259 -- anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra -- anything Christmas
Holly Jolly Christmas -- Merry Christmas
Word Art Wednesday #213 -- anything goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #207 -- use those snippets