Warm Wishes - Coffee Lovers Bloghop

Hello there and good morning!  Today I'm sharing a card that I created for the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop hosted by Chaitali Narla and Amy Tsuruta.  The focus of the blog hop is all about coffee and creating with coffee themed products, so I used the fun new Lawn Fawn stamp set Love You a Latte with coordinating dies to create a birthday card.

For some added fun, whoever is participating in the hop could post answers to the questions below

1. When did you start drinking coffee? Freshman year in high school (my first hour was English where the teacher would make us do silent reading at 6:30am).  I am NOT a morning person, coffee is the only way I survive mornings.
 2. What is your favorite brand. My husband spoiled me with a Keurig coffee machine and flavored K-cups, but after having two of those machines breakdown I'm back to good old Folgers coffee.
 3. What is the most amazing coffee that you had? Remember where... and when? Honestly, anytime I can go to Starbucks and have a Salted Caramel Mocha or Skinny Peppermint Mocha it brings me little bit of bliss.
 4. If I don't drink my needed coffee, I will...  We WON'T go there, it's not pretty!

 

Grab a cuppa coffee and enjoy the hop!

 

Happy Haunting - {SSSC#238}

How about a little Halloween fun for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge? 

It's hard to believe that it's the last Sunday in September, especially since our temps here in Michigan have been so warm and sunny (I'm not complaining).  I'm a fall loving girl and usually by July I'm ready for the cooler weather and autumn colors, but this year since our summer felt so short, I feel like I'm not ready for fall.  I'm hoping that a little fall crafting will get me in the mood.

For my card today I used the cute Papertrey Ink stamp set Happy Haunting along with some Doodlebug Design paper, PTI border dies (stars & chevron), glittery orange button with black bakers twine, some enamel dots, a little Copic marker for my ghost and some Glossy Accents for their eyes to finish it off.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Sketch Stampers have created:

• Dana White
• Jackie Pedro
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron 
• Karen Motz
• Lisa Henke
• Lori Tecler  
• Sarah-Jane Kalé
• Tracy Clemente
• Vicki Burdick  
• Barbara Anders
• Jenny Peterson
 

Shakers & Sprinkles - {TYIC#7}

Hello everyone!  It's time for the Tag You're It Challenge #7.  Our inspiration for today's challenge is Gayatri's beautiful card using tags.

 Other than the tag, there were different elements I pulled from Gayatri's card, like her lovely water colored background and tag, the colors she used and the silver from her stars.  I started out with a piece of watercolor paper and used a yellow and pink re-inkers to add color to my background.  I used the Papertrey Ink stamp set Shakers & Sprinkles for my card and instead of layering two tags, I used the die cut frame from the Shakers & Sprinkles set to imitate the tilted tag on Gayatri's card and add interest.  I die cut silver sprinkles and added them around my tag along with a few rhinestones to finish off my card.

We hope you'll take the time to play along with the Tag You're It Challenge!   Thanks for stopping by!  

Happy Birthday to You! - {PTI September Blog Hop}

Hi there!  Today is the Papertrey Ink September Blog Hop and whether you're popping in just because or following along with the hop, I'm glad you're here.

For this month's blog hop we were given the photo below as inspiration, Papertrey Ink also provided sketches we could use if we wanted to but I already had something in mind.

 I created my card for a very special friend's birthday and used three PTI stamp sets to create it.  I used Rosie Posie, Turning a New Leaf and Flower Fusion #9 (for the sentiment).

 Colors: Night of Navy, Brocade Blue, Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence, Simply Chartreuse.    Thank you for your visit and enjoy the hop!  

Love you to the core - {SSSC237}

 Hey there!  I'm popping in today with a clean and simple card for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #237. I used the Papertrey Ink stamp set Apple Prints along with the coordinating dies and some PTI pure poppy patterned paper.  It's difficult to see from this photo but the center of the apple was die cut twice and stamped using pink pirouette ink and both pieces were scored down the center and layered.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Sketch Stampers have created:

• Dana White
• Jackie Pedro
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron 
• Karen Motz
• Lisa Henke
• Lori Tecler  
• Sarah-Jane Kalé
• Tracy Clemente
• Vicki Burdick  
• Barbara Anders
• Jenny Peterson
 

 Hope you're enjoying your weekend!  

A Happy Trails Hello

Hello everyone!  I'm sharing another card that I created using this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

I used the Lawn Fawn stamp set Happy Trails along with some Lawn Fawn dies to create a little night time scene.  I die cut a square of night of navy and then stamped stars on to it using the LF stamp set Starry Backdrops, then used a silver metallic pen and added a few dots throughout the sky along with a moon.  I die cut all of the pieces for this scene and colored them using Copic markers before putting it all together.  This was a fun card to create.

  Have a great day!  

Creative Blog Hop

  I am honored to have been nominated to participate in the Creative Blog Hop by Karen Giron!  Thank you so much for thinking of me, Karen.  

Karen has always been a huge inspiration to me and I've admired her work from the first moment I discovered her blog.
 

The Creative Blog Hop is an ongoing blog hop that works as a nominating system; I'll nominate two other designers who inspire me and I admire.  The idea behind it is to learn a bit about other creative bloggers by answering four questions.

Question 1: What am I working on right now?

Now that my three kids are back in school, I've been "trying" to stamp and create ahead for the design teams I'm currently on (and new one coming up :).  I say trying because I'm usually one to stamp a card the day before or the day I need to have it posted.

Question 2: How does my work differ from others in my genre?

I'm not so sure my work is that different from others in my genre.  The cards that I create are usually referred to as clean & layered.  I guess that's a cross between clean and simple with a layer or two but generally nothing overly fussy. The one thing that is really hard for me to create is a one layered card (that's NO layers, none!) and have it come out looking good.  The clean and simple look is what's hot right now with a focus on techniques like watercolor, stenciling, embossing pastes etc.  I find all of it interesting and would like to dabble in it and learn something new to incorporate into my style without completely changing it.

  Question 3: Why do I create what I do?

The answer to this question is probably similar to a lot of mother's out there...I needed/wanted something that was all my own, a creative outlet, some quite time to create something fun with paper and stamps.  Originally I started scrapbooking to preserve my children's memories (that was almost 20 years ago and a lot has changed since then), and still do that as well from time to time but for the most part stamping and card making fits the bill.  With scrapbooking I always felt that I was behind (and still am) but with card making, I could complete a card usually within an hour and it fills and crafty need.

 

Question 4: How does my creative process work?

Usually my creative process starts out with either a sketch challenge or a color challenge.  If I can't find a challenge that works, I usually go to the little note book I keep at my desk where I've drawn out sketches I like. Then I get into the stamping inspiration board I've made on Pinterest and try to combine the two to get my mojo going.

 

Are you ready for my nominations?  Here they are:

 Wanda Guess Wanda has a gorgeous style and is always inspiring me with her work.  Her cards and projects have a clean look with excellent design.  She's never afraid to try a new technique, a fun color combination or new product, but what she's also great at is openly sharing and teaching her blog readers as she creates (I love that!).  Wanda's photography is wonderful, I love that she shares her pictures from her life (especially her sweet cat Buddy) on her blog and also uses her photography skills to capture detail in her work.  Her recent Tim Holtz tags have blown me away with there incredible detail and style and her fall cards have me yearning for cool weather and trips to the cider mill.   Kay Miller Kay's style is a breath of fresh air. It's clean lines and beautiful designs that inspire me. Her die cut cards with layered flowers are stunning and her stamped cards with fun scenes using critters are perfectly colored and sweet.  Kay's handcrafted ornaments that she creates are amazing, so much wonderful detail and absolutely adorable.   Both of these women are incredible designers who inspire me daily with their work.  Not only that, but both women are friendly, sweet and uplifting.  I hope you will stop by their blogs and pay them a visit.   Thanks so much for stopping by!  

Tea for Two - {SSSC236}

Hello there friends!  It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.  Karen has another fantastic sketch for us to create with and we hope you'll play along.

For my card, I used the Papertrey Ink stamp sets Tea for Two & Tea for Two Additions (this is one of my favorite PTI stamp sets).  Along with my card, I created a batch of little favors with matching tags for a tea party my sister-in-law and I are throwing for a few friends.

 Supplies: Tea for Two, Tea for Two Additions + dies, My Minds Eye designer paper, scallop border punch, Copic markers, flowers, pearls, bakers twine, foam tape.  

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Sketch Stampers have created:

• Dana White
• Jackie Pedro
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron 
• Karen Motz
• Lisa Henke
• Lori Tecler  
• Sarah-Jane Kalé
• Tracy Clemente
• Vicki Burdick  
• Barbara Anders
• Jenny Peterson
  Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!    

You Shine - {FMS153}

Hello there!  Today I have a card to share that I created using the Lawn Fawn stamp set Lucky Stars.  I used the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #153 for my layout.

 

First, I have to say, 1) my picture is really bad (sorry), I had no sunlight today, it's been raining. 2) It's difficult for me to make a super clean and simple card. I keep wanting to add to my card and I keep thinking I could improve it by just doing a little more.  With that being said, this really was a challenge for me. 

Supplies: Lucky Stars, Puffy Star Stackables die, Bumblebee chevron glitter paper & striped paper (Doodlebug), Bakers twine, Foam tape.  

Birthday Collection - {SSSC235/CQC257}

Hello there!  It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.  My mother mentioned to me that she was low on birthday cards and asked if I could make her a few more so she would have some on hand.  So I thought I'd use this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch for a start, along with the colors from this week's Colour Queen Challenge #257 and created seven birthday cards for my mom.

 All of the cards use the same colors and most of the same supplies so it was easy to mix up the layouts and create a few doubles to come up with a supply of cards for my mom.

Supplies: Friendly Flower + dies, Beautiful Butterfly die, Tag die and Oval dies PTI, Scallop border punch, Polka dot embossing folder, Buttons, Rhinestones, Ribbon, Foam tape. 

  Be sure to check out what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Sketch Stampers have created:

• Dana White
• Jackie Pedro
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron 
• Karen Motz
• Lisa Henke
• Lori Tecler  
• Sarah-Jane Kalé
• Tracy Clemente
• Vicki Burdick  
• Barbara Anders
• Jenny Peterson
  

 Hope you have a wonderful day!  Thanks for stopping by.