Outside the Box

I visit countless blogs, watch crafting You Tube videos, participate in sketch challenges and still find myself making cards with very similar styles - patterned paper, lots of layers, an image stamp, and a sentiment. I wanted to do something outside the box (at least outside of MY box) and really loved the way this card turned out!

First off, I adore the bright yellow/turquoise combination and any card that includes butterflies on it is a winner in my book! This card took me literally just a few minutes to make, but it is so vibrant and interesting. It's not quite a single layer card, but it does NOT include any patterned paper, so that counts, right?

Supplies

Cardstock - Stampin' Up!, Bazzil Basics

Stamps - Hero Arts (image), Jillibean Soup (sentiment)

Ink - Stampin' Up!

Spray Ink - Lindy Stamp Gang

Ribbon - American Crafts

Jen's Sketch Challenge October 2011

Can you believe it's already October? Where did the summer go? October is actually one of my favorite months, but I wish that it did not mean winter was right around the corner. The evenings are starting to cool down and some days a light sweater is appropriate. My favorite thing about October is watching the leaves change. They are absolutely magnificent! I also love the smell of pumpkin candles and making soup and chili and looking forward to the holidays.

Jen del Muro gave us another fantastic sketch to work with this month. Go here to get all the details and play along. This month the sponsor is Waltzing Mouse Stamps. They have the most adorable stamps! Don't forget if you play along every month for the year, there is a chance to win a huge prize package.

For my card I decided to make a birthday card for my dad. I found this fantastic patterned paper last night at Archivers (did you go and get 43% off of all patterned paper????) Me either :).

Supplies:

Patterned Paper - Theresa Collins

Cardstock - Stamin' Up!

Stamps - Stampers Anonymous, Stampin' Up!, Papertrey Ink

Ink - Ranger Industries

Button - Basic Grey

Scrapper's Floss - Karen Foster Designs

Cricut Cartridge - Pack Your Bags

Zig Writer

Gel Pen

Jen's Sketch Challenge September 2011

It's that time again! Time for another sketch challenge from the fabulous Jen del Muro. I truly look forward to playing along with these sketches month after month. I love the rounded corners on this particular sketch! We are in the process of buying a house right now, so our priorities are paperwork and packing and that doesn't leave much time for crafting, but I had to make a card for my amazing sister so I decided to use this sketch for her card. I had fun with the pink and black color combination and don't you just love the polka-dots I created? So fun! I would like to play with this sketch again when I have more time, so I will be saving this one for future projects! I think this sketch would be fantastic for a baby card. Then again, wouldn't any sketch be fantastic for a baby card?

I must mention that this month's sponsor is Skipping Stones Design. Be sure to visit Jen's blog to play along!

Supplies

Patterned Paper - Stampin Up!

Cardstock - Stampin' Up!

Stamps - My Mind's Eye (images), Hero Arts (Sentiment)
Ink - Stampin' Up!

Embossing Powder - Stampin' Up!

Jen's Sketch Challenge August 2011

Time for another one of Jen del Muro's amazing sketches! You have a couple of days left to play along to have an opportunity to win a prize from this month's sponsor Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. You can see all of the details here.

I decided to make a birthday card for my new brother-in-law using this sketch. He eats, sleeps, lives and breathes baseball so it was very easy for me to decide on a theme for his card! I used my Cricut and these adorable star embellies from Theresa Collins to give it a little something special. I loved this sketch so much that I will be saving it and making some fun projects in the future.

Supplies

Patterned Paper - SEI

Stamps - Stampin' Up!

Ink - Ranger Industries, Stampin' Up!

Cricut Cartridge - Potpouri Basket

Star Embellishments - Theresa Collins

Sunshine and Laughter

I made this card for my step mom Valerie's birthday. I sat down with no design in mind. I don't do that often, but there are those times when I don't know what I'm going to do until I sit down at my table and cling onto something for inspiration. When I sat down to create this card, I started with the patterned paper. I love the sunny colors and the combination of the yellow with the teal. After choosing the patterned paper, I picked up m Storybook Cricut cartridge and decided to cut this flower (I have been eyeing this image for quite sometime.) As I was going through my flower bin I came across these resin flowers that I had forgotten all about. I absolutely love them and am so glad I came across them!

I need to go "shopping" in my craft room more often. I have so many products that I have never used and I need to get out of the habit of using the same products constantly and get outside of the box a little more and try new things! Like resin flowers. They are so yum!


Supplies
Patterned Paper - Crate Paper
Cardstock - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Cricut Cartridge - Storybook
Resin Flowers - Prima
Stamp - Hero Arts
Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers

With Thanks

I don't know if this card could be considered CAS, but it is pretty clean and simple for me! There are not a lot of layers or a lot of stamping, but I think it turned out really elegant and beautiful. I wanted to make a special thank you card for Kendall's Learning RX teacher and I felt good giving such a special person this special card.

I let the patterned paper take center stage on this card and didn't add too much to it. I also took the opportunity to use some baker's twine and this gorgeous rose that has been sitting in my scrap room for about a month now. Sometimes simply stated cards can work so well! I must challenge myself to do more of these in the future.

Supplies
Patterned Paper - My Mind's Eye
Cardstock - Papertre Ink
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Stamp - Stampin' Up!
Baker's Twine - The Twinery
Mulberry Rose and Leaves - I am Roses
Punches - Stampin' Up!, EK Success

That's a NASCAR

D2's (my step dad) 65th birthday was on July 2. My sister and mom went in on some tickets to a NASCAR race for a gift for him. The race is not until October, but he was surprised with the tickets for his birthday and has something exciting to look forward to. He loves auto racing (as does D1, coincidentally).....and we know he is going to have a blast. We cannot be there with him, but we sent a check to my sister to help pay for the tickets. My sister suggested a NASCAR themed card so I headed over to Archiver's to their themed scrapbooking area (I LOVE the way that store is organized....totally right up my alley) and found these adorable checkered flags in the sports section. This little flag embelishment pack also had the number 9 in it but I am not sure of drivers and their numbers since I am not into auto racing, so I left the number off and put the sentiment over the area where the number would go so that it didn't look so bare. I used my Cricut to cut out this license plate frame to hold the sentiment. I also found some checkered patterned paper to tie everything together.