Jen's Sketch Challenge November 2011

It's sketch time! The always fabulous Jen del Muro has provided us with another fantastic sketch and another wonderful sponsorship! This month, the sponsor is Verve Stamps. I absolutely adore Verve! They have such elegant designs and some of the most beautiful sentiments with classy and gorgeous fonts. Their stamps are of the highest quality and give an excellent image every time! They also have a fantastic DT with some of the most talented designers you will find.

I decided to make a card for my mother's upcoming birthday. Although the sentiment doesn't scream "birthday" I loved it for her, because she does make me smile and really, who says just because a card is for a birthday that it MUST say, "Happy birthday?"

I used a new paper pad from Authentique that I recently purchased from Archiver's and I have to say that this is probably one of my favorite paper collections I have ever come across. I adore the designs and the color combination.....absolutely stunning! I used an image stamp from Verve to create my own design on a sheet of paper from the collection that had a little bit of distressing on it. On the flowers, I just dabbed a little bit of color, purposely making them uneven to give them a little more natural look.

Enjoy!

Supplies

Patterned Paper - Authentique

Stamps - Verve Stamps (image), Hero Arts (Sentiment, Heart)

Ink - Stampin' Up!

Gems - Michael's

Flowers - Prima Marketing

Paint - Lindy Stamp Gang

Stickles - Ranger Industries

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

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.

Jen's Sketch Challenge 07-11

Time for another sketch challenge by the fabulous Jen del Muro. You can view the post for this month's sketch here http://iheart2stamp.com/2011/07/02/july-sketch-for-you-to-try/ (Blogger STILL refuses to allow me to add links correctly.)

I love the sketch for this month. In fact, I might do another card using this sketch very soon. It is so versatile...you can rotate it every which way and the possibilities with the little circle elements are endless.

The sponsor for this month is My Favorite Things and you have an opportunity to win some awesome prizes. I didn't se any MFT stamps because I don't own any (yet) but I am going to be placing an order soon. MFT has fantastic dies and very whimsical, fun image stamps.

I decided to build a scene for this card. I will admit, I am not very experienced at building scenes in cards so I have a ways to go, but I had so much fun creating this scene and I was inspired to try this technique more and really strengthen my skills in this area. I always like to stretch myself and CAS cards and cards where you build a scene are the areas I need the most practice in.

I love the stamps and patterned paper I used on this card. I was at Archiver's about a week ago and saw this adorable bear stamp and had to get the tree stamp as well and then...and then.....as I was walking through the store I spotted this paper from October Afternoon and knew I had to get some paper to go with the stamps. I didn't buy the entire collection because I don't see myself making a lot of cards or scrapbook pages with a camping theme, but I did pick up a few pages and they are all absolutely adorable. If we had some camping pictures from a recent trip I would most definitely be creating a mini out of these papers!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Supplies
Patterned Paper - October Afternoon
Cardstock - The Paper Co, Stampin' Up!, Papertrey Ink
Ink - Stampin' Up!, Tsukineko
Stamps - Imaginisce (Image), Hero Arts (Sentiment)
Buttons - Basic Grey (Orange, Green) Unknown (Brown)

Scrapper's Floss - Karen Foster Designs

Cricut Cartridge - From the Nest
Copic Markers - E33, E25, E27, E29
Prisma Color colored pencils

You Rock!

Making cards for teenagers is another challenge (maybe even more difficult than masculine cards.) The card has to be cool, not geared toward someone too young, and suited to the taste of the recipient.

My beautiful step daughter Nicole was just promoted to 9th grade and Jay and my MIL drove across Kansas to be there. Kendall and I had to stay back (boo!) because Kendall had finals and we had to go to Learning RX every night. The weather was absolutey awful during their trip (downpours, hail, tornado warnings....) but they made it and were able to be there to support Nicole and made it home safely. It meant so much to Nicole to have them there, which totally made it worth it and they created lasting memories.

Here's the card I made for her. I used this adorable Grunge stamp set I recently purchased from Papertrey Ink. It was my first PTI stamp set and the quality is incredible! I absolutely love everything from them that I have purchased (I am already hooked on their ribbon and CS) and love the versatility of their stamp sets. As soon as I saw the Grunge stamp set, I knew I had to purchase it to make cards for the girls. Nicole's favorite color combination is black and pink, so I just did a single layer card and played with the stamps. I added a few nail heads for a little added interest. I think the card is fun and cool and perfect for our little (big) graduate!

Supplies
Card Base - The Paper Co.
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Papertrey Ink
Nail Heads - Mark Richards

Life is Good

I made this card several months ago for my brother-in-law. I always have a heck of a time coming up with designs for masculine cards, but Graphic 45 to the rescue!!!! Who doesn't love the gorgeous designs by Graphic 45? Each sheet of paper is a complete work of art and one of my favorite collections is A Proper Gentleman. It is a classic collection reminiscent of days when men wore top hats and opened doors and treated women like true ladies. I love how far women have come in the work place and the opportunities we now have, but I do miss the days when men would stand up when a woman got up to go to the restroom (my husband still does that, by the way) and would hold doors open and take the hand of a lady when walking in the rain. This collection reminds me of those days.

I also love the pocket watches! When my husband and I got married, we got pocket watches for our best man and groomsan, which happened to be my father-in-law and brother-in-law. My father-in-law passed away 4 years ago and we miss him every day, but whenever I see a pocket watch, I think of him and my heart sings.

Supplies
Patterned Paper - Graphic 45
Stamps - Stamper's Anonymous, Verve Stamps
Ink - Ranger Industries, Stampin' Up!
Hardware - Tim Holtz
Nestabilities Dies
Embossing Powder - Ranger Industries

Jen's Sketch Challenge 05-11

I'm a little late to the game on this month's SFYTT by Jen Del Muro http://iheart2stamp.com/2011/05/07/may-sketch-for-you-to-try/ (Blogger is acting up....still and won't let me post links), but you still have a few days to play! Remember if you participate in the sketch challenge every month, not only do you have a chance to win the monthly prize (providing you use the sponsor's stamps), but you will have the opportunity to win a fantastic prize package at the end of the year. Go to Jen's blog for more details.

For this month's challenge, I made a card for a very crafty friend at work. It is always more challenging to make cards for crafty friends than it is non crafty friends because the non crafty friends are impressed no matter what you do and the crafty friends will always be supportive, but you know that they are noticing the details so you are extra conscious of any mistakes you have made.

I used the lovely (and I DO MEAN LOVELY) Stella and Rose collection from My Mind's Eye. I am seriously in love with this paper and have purchased two different 6x6 pads and may end up purchasing all 4 in time because it is just so gorgeous and the quality of My Mind's Eye papers in unmatched.

Since this sketch has a lot of layers I used plenty of layers, but I also created extra layers by placing cardstock behind the patterned paper and sponged the edges of each layer for additional interest.

The butterfly stamp is one of my favorites from Unity and one that I had never used for some crazy reason! I think I got it so long ago that I kind of forgot about it. I know this never happens to you, so please don't judge me :).

I finished off the card with some MME buttons, which are just so vibrant I couldn't help myself.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy and go and play along if you haven't already!

Supplies
Patterned Paper - My Mind's Eye

Cardstock - The Paper Co, Papertrey Ink, Stampin' Up!
Ink - Clearsnap, Ranger Industries, Papertrey Ink
Stamps - Unity (Image), Hero Arts (Sentiment)
Buttons - My Mind's Eye
Nestabilities Dies

Special Card - Special Lady

Kendall has been going through Learning RX since October now. I will have to do a separate post all about Learning RX, because it is really worth of its own post entirely. While you are waiting, you can go to http://www.learningrx.com/ to learn more. For some reason, the link function in Blogger is not working for me right now, so you will just need to copy and paste the address. The program has been life changing in so many ways!

Kendall's trainer Katie has been a gift from God. We originally heard about Learning RX from my friend Carrie at work. Carrie's son Kyle went through the program and she told us about it and we went and had Kendall tested and once we decided to move forward, they assigned a trainer for Kendall. As it turns out, Katie was Kyle's trainer also and she is absolutely amazing. She is so kind and patient and amazing at what she does. She is a Christian with a beautiful spirit. We just fell in love with her.

A little birdie (Carrie) told me that it was Katie's birthday, so I made this card for her and we bought her a Barnes and Noble gift card. Katie is an avid reader (also a reading major in college) and belongs to a book club so we knew that would be the perfect gift for her.

She was so grateful for the small gift and card. We are SO grateful for her, it felt good to do something special for her to let her know how very much she is appreciated.

Supplies
Patterned Paper - My Mind's Eye
Cardstock - Stampin' Up!, Papertrey Ink
Stamps - My Mind's Eye (Image), Hero Arts (Sentiment)
Ink - Stampin' Up!, Papertrey Ink
Cricut Cartridge - From the Nest
Ribbon - American Crafts
Pearls - Basic Grey

Lantern Banner

I am loving all of the adorable banner images that are coming out lately and when I saw this stamp set from American Crafts with lanterns on a wire, it made me think of a banner only with a twist and I couldn't wait to ink it up and play with it.

I decided to make a CAS card, which is actually more difficult for me than making a card with lots of layers. I tend to gravitate toward more patterned paper and less white space and loads of layers, but I enjoyed deviating from my usual style and going with something more clean and simple. I did add some stickles for a faux glass look and some liquid pearls for the hardware that connects the lanterns to the wire, which doesn't come out real well in the photo, but came out really realistic in person.

I absolutely love the new Stella and Rose collections from My Minds Eye. I can't get enough of it. To be totally honest, I can't get enough paper in general and really, really need to use every sheet in my craft space before I buy another sheet but I'm afraid I'm just too weak. I just love pretty paper!

Supplies
Patterned Paper - My Minds Eye
Card Base - The Paper Company
Ink - Tsukineko, Papertrey Ink
Ribbon - American Crafts
Stamps - American Crafts (Images), Hero Arts (Sentiment)
Stickles - Ranger Industries
Liquid Pearls - Ranger Industries
Border Punch - Martha Stewart Crafts

Jen's Sketch Challenge 03-11

Time for another fantastic sketch by Jen del Muro. Our lives have been very insane lately and time I haven't had much time for crafting lately, so when I do sneak in a few moments or hours, those moments are treasured to me. Our priorities are right and we are doing what we need to do, but still I wish there were more hours in the day.

I find that when I do steal away a few moments, I make them count and make projects for specific events coming up. One of these days I will have time to just sit down and create but right now I don't have that luxury so when I sit down in my craft room, I make specific projects for specific people and that is ok!

I am a very blessed woman with some a-mazing friends! I made this card for my dear, sweet friend Leisha who I have known since High School. Leisha and I were friends in High School, but not super close. We always got along really well and admired each other, but we never developed one of those solid friendships.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago and we re-connected on Facebook. We started chatting over private messaging and then she met Jay and I at Disneyland with her kids on my birthday. Her kids had season passes and I got in free for my birthday, so they met us there and we all had a blast together! Ever since that day, Leisha and I have been very close. We have such a special bond and I love her with all my heart. She is in CA and I am now in CO, but thanks to Skype and free long-distance on our cell phones (and Facebook of course!) we are able to stay in contact. She is the most wonderful mother and friend and I have tremendous respect for her.

Supplies

Cardstock - Stampin' Up!

Patterned Paper - Stampin' Up!

Ink - Stampin' Up!, Versamark

Embossing Powder - Stampabilities

Stamps - Unity (Image), Verve Stamps (Sentiment)

Brads - Making Memories

Nestabilities

Jen's Sketch Challenge 02-11

Hi Everyone!

The fabulous Jen Del Muro has another wonderful sketch challenge on her blog. This month, you have a chance to win a beautiful prize from Anita be Stampin. And, if you participate in the challenges every month for the entire year, you will be eligible to win a prize package worth over $200!!!! Go to Jen's blog for details.

For this month's sketch, I made a card for my amazing friend (more like a sister, really) Susan. Susan was my roommate for 9 years before Jay and I married. She was in our wedding and she is THE most incredible woman and friend I could ever ask for. She is truly a blessing from God. I just had the opportunity to spend the weekend with her when she flew out and surprised me for my 40th birthday. I can't even put into words what it meant to me. But, that is typical Susan. You can't outgive her and she just loves to give to others. And more important than anything, she has the most beautiful heart.

Being that Susan is so amazing, I thought it appropriate to use this sentiment stamp from Verve stamps. And it is true.....I strive to be more like my wonderful friend. I love you Susan!



Supplies
Cardstock - Papertrey Ink, Bazzil, Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper - My Minds Eye
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - Papertrey Ink
Flowers - Prima Marketing
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist
Pearl - Basic Grey
We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Tim Holtz Distress Tool

Jen's Sketch Challenge 10-02-10

For this week's sketch challenge on Jen Del Muro's blog, I used some absolutely adorable travel-themed paper that I got from Stampin' Up! a while back. It was from the summer mini catalog and I absolutely love the colors. I purchased the paper for scrapbooking, but I decided to try using it for a card. I used my Cricut to cut out that adorable tag and when you swing it open, there is an adorable image behind it. I just attached the tag with a brad and then cut out a square piece of cardstock, stamped the truck image onto it, and then rounded the corners so that it would fit behind the tag. The stamps are all Tim Holtz and are of incredible quality and I absolutely love the artistry! Anyway, if you haven't done so already, stop by Jen's blog and play along.

Supplies

Patterned Paper - Stampin' Up!

Cardstock - Stampin' Up!, Michael's

Ribbon - American Crafts

Stamps - Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous

Ink - Stampin' Up!, Ranger

Emobssing Powder - Ranger Distress Embossing Powder

Punches - Martha Stewart Crafts (Border), We R Memor Keepers (Corner Rounder)

Cricut Cartridges - Sentimentals (Stamp Border, Tag), Heritage (Luggage)

Jen's Sketch Challenge 08-21-10

Well, big news....I got a Cricut! It was totally a gift from God, I just know it was. I was looking at the Cricut Expressions and saw the $400 price tag on the machine and then saw the $70 price tag on the cartridges and had decided it wasn't something I would invest in right now. I was considerig putting money aside each month and saving up for one, but it really wasn't a huge priority. I just started investing in Copics and felt like using dies in my Cuttlebug would be just fine for now.

Then my friend Carrie at work comes in one day and tells me I'm getting a Cricut. What???? She was bidding on machines on eBay and accidentally bid on a Cricut personal cutting machine and she wanted the Expression, so she was giving me the personal machine. Of course, I could not accept it for free, so I offered to buy it from her. She got it for $100 and it came with a cartridge that she wanted, so she took the cartridge and I paid her $75 for the machine. So, I got a Cricut for $75!!!! It's brand-new and I think the size will work just fine for my needs, since I am primarily a card-maker.

I also found some cartridges for great deals online. I made this adorable tea set using the Heritage cartidge. I hand-stamped it with a damask stamp from Unity to give it a little added interest. I am still learning to use my machine (and will be learning for years), but thanks to all of the great tutorials on You Tube, I don't feel like I have to start from scratch!

Jen, thank you for yet another great sketch.

Supplies

Patterned Paper - Making Memories
Cardstock - Stampin' Up!
Stamp - Unity Stamp Co. (Damask), Stampin' Up! (Sentiment)
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Cricut Cartridge - Heritage
Die Cutting Machine - Provo Craft
Punches - Marvy Uchida (Large Scallop Circle), Stampin' Up! (Border, Mini Hearts, Word Punch), Corner Punch (We R Memory Keepers)
Flower - Prima Marketing
Glimmer Mist - Tattered Angels
Gemstones - Kaiser Crafts

Jen's Sketch Challenge 04-10-10

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for the long pause between posts. I have been spending a lot of time creating and enjoying family time and spending less time updating my blog. Sometimes the pressure of having to post everything takes away the joy of the actual moment. First of all, I made 3 mini albums for Mother's Day (I will post the others here soon) and making lots of cards in between. Additionally, my Dad & Val were here for a fantastic one week visit where we were on the go constantly, but had a wonderful time and then Nicole was here for a month so we spent lots of family time.

At last, things have slowed down a bit and I feel like I can get caught up on everything else that got neglected.

So, to start off, here's a card from Jen's April 10 SKFYTT. I made this card back in April, just didn't get around to posting it until now.

I made this card for my sister-in-law for her birthday. She is absolutely amazing (love you Lisa!) and was fortunate enough to be able to give it to a mutual friend to be hand delivered. Not quite the same as delivering it myself, but I'll take what I can get ;).

Supplies

Cardstock - Stampin' Up!, Papertrey Ink

Patterned Paper - Papertrey Ink

Stamps - Unity, Verve Stamps

Ink - Stampin' Up!, Papertrey Ink

Embossing Folder - Cuttlebug

Ribbon - Papertrey Ink

Button - Papertrey Ink

Scrapper's Floss - Karen Foster

You're Sweet

Here's another thank you card I did to send out for all of the wonderful birthday blessings I received. I used a screen and some Tattered Angels glimmer mist (how much do I love this product?) sprayed onto some Kraft cardstock. I let it dry completely, then stamped it with some Basic Black ink and then adhered the panel to some CS that I embossed with my Cuttlebug. I finished off the card with an oval scalloped circle that I punched with my Marvy punch and then added the You're Sweet sentiment and a punched butterfly using my Martha Stewart punch.

It's definitely a card that is out of the norm for me and I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it. I like the idea, but I think I would tweak it a bit if I were to make it again.

Supplies
CS - SU!
Stamps - Hero Arts (background), Studio G (sentiment)
Emobossing Folder - Provo Craft
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist
Screen for Glimmer Mist - Archiver's Exlcusive

Thinking of You

A very dear friend of mine has been having some medical issues lately and it's really hard to be away from her and be so helpless. I made this card to send to her to let her know that no matter how far apart we may be, she is never far from my thoughts and prayers.

I found this fabulous create stamp from Hero Arts at Archiver's for 75% off. Why it was in the sale bin, I have no idea because it is gorgeous and is my new favorite stamp. Ok, it doesn't hurt that it is adorned with these beautiful butterflies, but I love everything about it!

I started with a piece of Basic Black cs that I embossed with my Cuttlebug. Then, I used this beautiful patterned paper from Little Yellow Bicycle for the bottom layer and for the scalloped circle. I stamped the Create stamp using Basic Grey ink from SU! and stamped onto Going Grey cs and then rounded the corners and adhered to the pp. The small butterfly is from Unity's Bevy of Butterflies new set (another fav!), the sentiment is from Hero Arts, and the small flowers are from Inkadinkadoo. I added some polka-dot ribbon from Colorbok and a little bit of bling to make it extra special.

Missing You

Well, I am missing everyone right now, but I made this card for my Mom. She has been so incredible in helping me during this transition. I can call her any time, day or night, and she is available to listen and offer support and encouragement. She doesn't make me feel silly or weak, I have complete permission to feel how I feel but she offers me great advice. I love my Mom!!!! Thanks for being there for me.

I did have fun making this card. I really wanted to do something in blue and green. I was able to use this adorable bird stamp and sentiment from Unity's July KOTM. I paper pieced the bird and then covered it with Stickles to give it some shimmer and shine. Then, I colored in the flourish with my blender pen and added a little bit of bling.

I embossed the bottom part of the card with my Unity Distressed Dots stamp and some clear embossing poweder and used a Heidi Grace heart chipboard piece that I stamped in Bashful Blue ink from SU! and then sprayed with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Pearl. This is my new favorite product. I recently took a card class at Archiver's and we used this product and it offers so many possiblities!!!

Flowers For You

Sorry I've been out of touch lately. This move has been all-consuming and to be honest, I am looking forward to being through with the transition period. Right now we're preparing the house for the renters (and still searching for renters), getting our address updated with all creditors and subscriptions, packing up items we want to pack ourselves, trying to entertain a teenager and a preteen, visiting everyone we love as much as we can, and right now, preparing for 3 days at the Happiest Place on Earth. All of this has left little time for paper crafting, but I did manage to squeeze in one card about a week ago. I am very excited that I will have space for a craft room in our new home!!!! It will be probably about a month before I'm able to sit down and create anything, but it will be wonderful once I do!

The dp in this card is from Basic Grey. I am soooooooooo in love with their paper! I still love and will always love my SU! patterns, but Basic Grey has become my 2nd favorite. The green cs is from The Paper Co and the pink cs if from Bazzil. I am going to give this card to my Aunt Millie for her 90th birthday. We're going to be heading out to Valencia on Saturday for her party and to see the rest of the family one last time before we start our journey on the 5th. I'll post pics as soon as possible. Please pray for all of us. Not only is it stressful, but it's an emotional process and your prayers and support are so important to us.

Aren't You Sweet

With my new order from SU I finally got this great scalloped square punch that I have been drooling over every since it came out. I just can't seem to get enough punches! I also got this adorable Washington Apple DSP. I love the colors in this paper! All of the stamps in this card are from Unity. The sentiment and ornamental design from the top are from March & October KOTM kits. I had fun making this card, I didn't realize that the Bashful Blue and Riding Hood Red looked so great together! Bold and subtle.....kind of like salty and sweet!

True Friend

I just got my SU order in the mail (I love that I can order online now) and to mostly Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery. I had the DSP from the Sale-A-Bration and found that I didn't have any ink, ribbon or CS to go with it so I had to place an order to stock up. I am not sure how I feel about this card. At first I didn't like it, then it grew on me and now I'm not so sure again. The distressed dots are from Unity and the rest of the stamps are from SU. I definitely love the color combination, but I wasn't feeling exceptionally inspired when I sat down to make this card. I guess I should have waited until 11:00 at night! For some reason, inspiration hits at the same time my eyelids get heavy. Why is that?