Tuesday 30 April 2013

CASology 42 - Care


This week's CASology Cue Care is CARE!



Well, who cares more than your mom? Or more than you do as a mom? I decided to make a Mother's Day card  for this week's Cue Card. (although this one can't be for my mom, who does not care for hot pink! lol!)

Late last week, I received my new Silhouette Portrait (smaller than a Cameo) which I purchased from my 'local' (2 hrs away) scrapbooking store, Scrappingreatdeals, who is also this week's sponsor (see details on CASology). Fortunately, SGD also has a thriving online business, so while I always drop by when I am in town visiting my parents, for those 'in between' shopping times, shipping works, too!

I was playing around with my new Portrait and ended up with this MOM cut. The symmetry of the word makes for a very pleasing design.

When it landed on my desk, over top of a 4x4 square scrap, I thought - why not?

Because this card is 4.25x4.25, having the word hang over the edges will not prevent it from fitting into a standard envelope. And it's fun because it's different and unexpected. I kept the card clean and simple by not adding any texture or pattern to the colours (the Sour Apple cardstock is slightly textured - Bazzill, I think). Just some Stickles on the edges for sparkle!

Now it's your turn to show us what you care about. Don't forget to link up before the deadline on Sunday at 4:00 CST (5:00 Toronto time).

Here are links to the blogs of the other DT members - drop by to see what 'care' means to them!


Monday 29 April 2013

CFC 99, Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger - Happy 65th Birthday


Remember my neighbour? I made this card for her friend on her 90th birthday. This week is my neighbour's daughter's birthday. Her 65th to be exact. My neighbour asked me to make a card. No problem, I said - what colour would she like?

Mauve.

Um. No. I don't have mauve, I don't like mauve, I'm not doing mauve. Does mauve still exist? It's such an 'old' colour*.

Actually I spent most of Saturday trying to do mauve and it just would not work! Regal Rose will have to do (I did get permission to use any pastel colours). I used Stampin' Up's Big Blossom, MSE Parfait numbers and an Impress sentiment. I used my Versamark pen to create the silver dots around the flower and the silver border around the 65 flower centre.

I'm going to link this up to CASual Friday's 2 week Birthday Bash challenge.


cfc99

And to this week's Tuesday Trigger.



*PS - I fully respect your right to be a mauve-lover. I just can't do it myself, sorry!


Saturday 27 April 2013

Pinterest Inspired




Time for a not-for-a-challenge, Pinterest-inspired, just 'cause I felt like it card.

Here's the inspiration:



I cut 1/4 inch wide strips, which should have fit equally across my 4 inch grey panel, but I ended up trimming about 1/16 inch off the two ends somehow. I love the fun bouncy feel of the brightly coloured strips against the grey. I think this will be perfect for my friend's 13 year old niece!

Friday 26 April 2013

'80s Thank You


Remember the '80s? All that preppy madras plaid? Vuarnet sunglasses and Ocean Pacific shirts? I channelled my high school years when I was playing around  with some sponging for Wednesday's card, and came up with this fun, masked plaid. (which is not difficult, but you do go through a lot of Post it Notes!)

As often happens in a plaid, I felt that the darkest colour was too predominant, and that solved my problem of where to put my (Printworks) sentiment. I added the white strip to break up the big solid pink line.

This could be a fun colour combination for a baby girl card, too. Or swap out the pink for turquoise for a boy.

Thursday 25 April 2013

CTS25 - Joy to the World



Time for this week's CAS(E) This Sketch, this time by Jackie Rockwell. We have a new DT member this week - the super-talented Donna Mikasa! Welcome Donna!



I turned the sketch on its side to create this graphic Christmas card in classic colours, using Memory Box Parker Upper Case letters. The red mirror card looks almost liquid in this photo, doesn't it?

Now it's your turn. Don't forget to link up before the deadline next Tuesday at noon!


Wednesday 24 April 2013

OLW137 - Makeover



Oh this is fun! Karen is hosting this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge and the challenge is to remake one of your cards.

I chose this one, from almost exactly a year ago (April 12) that should have worked, but didn't quite.



I de-layered it by sponging the colours rather than cutting them, lightened the whole thing up by adding some white space and made the sentiment clearer by stamping it in between the colours rather than on them.

I hope you'll play along - we've all got cards that deserve to have a makeover!


Tuesday 23 April 2013

CASology 41 - Giggle!


Today's CASology Cue Card is Giggle!



I don't know about you, but to me, giggle is different from laugh. Or chuckle. It's a visual, 'bouncy' word. I have a 10 year old daughter and one of the things I love best about this age is that she still embraces fun enthusiastically (not so much, my 14 year old son, who is 'too cool' to enjoy anything). I love to hear Kate and her friends giggling away like no one's listening. I wanted to capture that feeling in this card, and I'm happy with the result.

Stamping dots all over a card is sure to create movement. Add in a fun little smiley face, and you have to giggle, right? That little face is from DeNami, and I just love the way you can place it differently on the circle to make the 'guys' look like they're giggling with each other. (ETA - at Becky's request, here's the link to the DeNami set of faces)

Yes, there are 3 layers here, but lots of air between the background panel dots and lots of white space on the front panel, and absolutely no embellishment (not even Stickles, gasp!) all help to keep it CAS.

Now it's your turn - before you go, here are links to the blogs of the other DT Members - stop by for a good giggle!


Monday 22 April 2013

Muse 14 - Evolution of a Birthday Card


For this week's Muse challenge. This week we have a Guest Muse! Here's Virginia's inspiration card:



An explanation may be in order. I loved the graphic flowers and the idea of the black sentiment inside a circle surrounded by colour. So I took it a step further and put each letter (Kelly Purkey Plain Jane) in its own  lifesaver-circle.

This idea did not come to me all at once - it evolved over time. It is much easier to see how Virginia's card inspired my first attempt at this challenge (Hero Arts sentiment). I have not shown you the 27 (I didn't actually count, but that's probably not far off) in-between steps that now fill my recycling bin!



Sunday 21 April 2013

FFC06 - Retro Christmas Take 2


Another card for the current Festive Friday theme challenge:



I used a Penny Black sentiment, and a Stampin' Up Forest Friends deer, which I've always felt had a retro illustration feel. I added a little red rhinestone so you know who he is. I used a mat of red mirror card because my sense of 'retro' is that everything was very shiny!




Saturday 20 April 2013

Confirmation


Today is my niece's Confirmation. I find it hard to make Confirmation and First Communion (my nephew, next month) cards. First, I'm not Catholic, so while I can appreciate the importance of these rites of passage, I did not experience them firsthand.  Second, I find it difficult to strike an appropriate balance between the sacred solemnity of the occasion, and the fun-loving ages of the kids who are receiving the cards. Especially the girls - they love glitter and sparkle and often have a limited appreciation of subtlety.

I can tell you confidentially, that I'm not 100% sure of this. Although it's almost all white (more on that in a minute), it still feels busier than I intended. I started with Papertrey's circle die - which fits perfectly on a 4.25x5.5 card front. I emptied out all the shapes, and then filled in the ones that form a cross, with a sandwich of one white circle, 2  hot pink and then one white one on top. This added a bit of dimension and is an old trick of mine for adding just a touch of colour. On the central circle, I embossed the 'e' (for Ellie) from MFT's Monogram alpha in glitter ep - it fits perfectly! And then I added the bling (maybe that's where I went overboard, but I know she'll like the sparkle!)

I'd love to hear what you think! Most importantly, I can't wait to hear what Ellie thinks!

PS - thank you for all your good wishes - I am now in love with the defense counsel who used one of his peremptory challenges to exclude me from this jury and free me up to continue with my life! All before lunch on Friday!


Thursday 18 April 2013

Muse 13


For this week's Muse challenge. This week's inspiration is from Marion:



Now that I look at the two of them together, I wonder how I ended up where I did! But here was my thought process

1) 3 images
2) pink, purple and green
3) black sentiment
4) scattered bling

I created the 'frame' on a separate white layer - I just used the same 3 copic markers I used for the balloons, and  with the thicker end, created little squares (the 'inside' edges are ragged and ugly but they're hidden under the  top white panel).

I'm posting early because I have to go to court on Friday to find out if I'm going to be a member of a Jury for the next two months. I should know by the end of the day. Wish me luck!


CTS24 - Happy Birthday!


Time for the next CAS(E) This Sketch challenge! This week's sketch is by N@ Ali:



This was a fun one to play around with. I ended up putting it on a 45 degree angle just for fun. I used MFT's Vanity Plate alphabet, Walztingmouse 'birthday' and a little star. Looking at it now, I think it looks like a spotlight or a bat-signal. lol!

Now it's your turn - don't forget to link up by next Tuesday at noon!

Wednesday 17 April 2013

One Layer Wednesday 136 - A-ok!



I'm hosting this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge. It is called A-ok.

Use elements on your card that begin with A. It could be a word, a colour, an image, a technique or even an embellishment (remember not too many of those!)

Here, I used the word Amazing (Papertrey Outline Alphabet)). I used an Asterisk. And I used the following colours: Ash, Apple, Amethyst, Azure, Amber, Avocado, Aubergine and Aqua.

I think I deserve an "A" for this! lol! Now it's your turn!

OLW136 Rules
1. A one-layer card is defined as a single piece of card stock folded in half. No other layers allowed!!!
2. Use something on your card that starts with A. An image, colour, word, technique or embellishment. Remember to keep embellishments to a minimum.
3. Post your card somewhere online and link to it using the InLinkz box on the sidebar of MASKerade. In your post, tell us what you've used in your card that starts with A (if it's not obvious!). If you link to your blog, please make sure it’s to the individual post and not your home page.
4. The most important rule of all: HAVE FUN!

Tuesday 16 April 2013

CASology 40 - Word


Today's CASology Cue Card is Word!



You can make your card by focussing on a word (or words), like I did here, or you can take the challenge to another level and play a word game with your card.

 Like I did with the word 'word':

W- Whisper White (and LOTS of white space!)
O- Only Orange
R- Real Red
D- Daffodil Delight

This is completely optional, and if you do choose to play like this, you can choose any word you like to build on.

It's impossible to cut foam tape or dimensionals to fit behind the delicate die cut, so to make the word 'birthday' stand out (literally) and give the card a bit of dimension without giving up white space, I cut 3 birthdays and stacked them together. (Unfortunately, this technique, along with the very grey weather we're having here in Toronto, made it difficult for my little camera to get a clear photo!)

So now it's your turn - give us the word! But before you head off, drop by the blogs of the other DT members and see where word took them!







Monday 15 April 2013

LIM115 - Film Inspiration


This week's Less Is More challenge is to make a one-layer card inspired by a film.

Shall I give you a hint?

1) It's not that well-known film 'Blue Star Baby' (thanks to my husband for that suggestion).
2) It has more to do with the placement of the sentiment, than the colour or the star next to it (ie the sentiment is in the centre and not in a corner)
3) It starred Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey
4) The famous line I was going for here was "No one puts Baby in the corner"

Right! Dirty Dancing!

I used an old Lizzie Anne Designs sentiment.

Sunday 14 April 2013

QFTD160 - Bonnie


Lately, I haven't had much time to spend at Splitcoast or playing along with their challenges. But I'm always so excited when I discover that one of my friends is chosen as Splitcoast's Queen for the Day or Featured Stamper! This Friday's QFTD is Bonnie. I really enjoyed going through her gallery, there were so many amazing cards to choose from - I finally settled on this one:



You know I love a rainbow, and this card of Bonnie's shows a clever way to use your scraps. I used distress inks to create my rainbow, but I over-stamped using Stampin' Up's Mixed Bunch to represent the patterns on Bonnie's rainbow.

Saturday 13 April 2013

FF06 - Retro Christmas


The current Festive Friday challenge is a theme challenge:



I gave that word some thought. Retro. I mean if you really want Retro Christmas, you should go right back to the first one and have a manger, right? But based on the inspiration photo, I thought I should do something a little more recent.

Remember those aluminum Christmas trees? I used a Hero Arts tree and a retro-feeling sentiment, stamped in Versamark and embossed in silver. Then, taking a cue from my friend Susan at Simplicity, who reminded us this week that one way to get rid of some of our old supplies is to actually use them, I used some brads as ornaments to add some colour and texture. I'm glad I didn't follow up on my "promise/threat" to mail all my old embellishments to her, since she's using hers so well! Besides, as I said to her, based on the amount I've got, I don't think I could afford the shipping!

Friday 12 April 2013

OLW135 - Tall and thin



This week's One Layer Challenge is being hosted by Heather. It's called Tall and Thin, which made me laugh. Tall and thin is something I've spent some time in my life aspiring to, but it's too late for tall, and food's too good for thin! I try to focus on healthy food, lots of exercise (walking) and occasional treats and not to worry about it too much beyond that!

The trouble with oddly sized or shaped cards is finding a matching envelope. But I think I found a solution. This card is not actually tall - it's 5.5" so it will fit into a standard envelope. But it is thin - 3". So I've created the illusion of tall and thin! I know, I know, you can hardly stand my brilliance, right? lol!

Very simply stamped with (I think) a Gina K flower and an old Rubber Soul sentiment. The flower centres are filled to the brim with Stickles for some dimension and sparkle.


Thursday 11 April 2013

CTS23 - Thank You!

This is my second post today - scroll down for some big news!


It's Thursday, and time for another CAS(E) This Sketch challenge! This week's sketch is by DT Coordinator Chrissy Larson:


Wait 'til you see how versatile this sketch is - every member of the design team did something completely different with it!

I masked a circle before I stamped my sentiment on the diagonal. I then used a stamp positioner to place this Stampin' Up starburst. A few extra dots in bold colours, and stickles for added zing, and done!

Now it's your turn - don't forget to link up before the deadline next Tuesday at noon!

Paper Crafter's Library Featured Designer



Today is a BIG DAY! Last month I received an email from Andrea Walford of the Paper Crafter's Library asking me to be a Featured Designer!  Of course I said YES and these are sneak peeks of my projects being shared there today. Pop over to see more!



Wednesday 10 April 2013

FFC05, Love, Peace, Joy


I've been playing around with this week's Festive Friday challenge for a while. It's a colour challenge:



As pretty as the inspiration photo is, I could not get this colour combination to work for me for the longest time. But in the end, I went with a basic CAS rule. Add LOTS of white.

I used The Stamps of Life Minis4circles set for the sentiment, spacing the 3 words out out to take advantage of the height of the panel.

ETA (April 10 at 5:20) - look what I just found on Pinterest! Man, I'm so on trend! lol!



Tuesday 9 April 2013

CASology 39 - Travel


This week's CASology Cue Card is Travel!



I know, I know, it's barely spring and here I am with a Christmas card! But as you know, one of my main projects for this year is to make cards for two church congregations - 300 cards all together. There's no way that I can wait until November to make them - having 300 cards to make in a short time is the fastest way to destroy Christmas spirit, for sure!

So during the year,when a challenge can be used to make a church Christmas card, I jump on the opportunity. Travel seemed like the perfect cue card to adapt for Christmas - the wise guys traveled A LOT to meet baby Jesus. (Just this year I learned that they're not actually mentioned in the bible. Interesting - I'll have to look into that one!) ETA - Clarification, they are in Matthew 2, it's just their names (Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar) that are not biblical.) Guess I have some reading to do! lol!

Another thing about making these 300 cards - I donate them to the churches. I'm happy to do it, but I do try  to keep my costs down. One way is to limit layers. But on a very simply stamped card like this, I like to add a little something special. To create a frame on my white panel, I simply edged it with a Versamarker and then embossed it with the same embossing powder that I used for the star.

Now it's your turn to show us how far you'll go with our travel cue card! Don't forget to link up by the deadline on Sunday at 4:00 CST.

Before you mosey off, take a look at the blogs of the other DT members and see how they interpreted this week's cue card.


Monday 8 April 2013

Muse 12 - Thanks!


Well I'm happy to say (after a nojo* day on Saturday) that I had no trouble at all being inspired to make this card - and who would, with this week's Muse, the talented Therese Calvird, providing the inspiration with this gorgeous, spring card:



I focused on the purple and green, the black sentiment and the kraft card base.

I masked a portion of my white card base, and coloured it with copics. I put sticky strip on top and covered it with glitter. I then stamped the Inkadinkado sentiment on the Sahara Sand panel, and positioned both panels so that the strip of glittery colour is just peeking through.

I hope you'll play along with this week's Muse!


*nojo = No Mojo!

Sunday 7 April 2013

Over Challenged


What a day! I did all my commenting for 'my' challenges (CASology, Muse, OLW, CAS(E) This Sketch) in the early afternoon, leaving lots of time to make a card for MASKerade today. When I got up to my craft room, I had "challenge paralysis"! There were so many of my favourites floating around in my brain - Fusion, Festive Friday, CASual Friday, Less Is More. And I couldn't move. 

I  know that for many of you that would all come together nicely (maybe not the two colour challenges) and you would come up with a super all-in-one challenge card. Sometimes it even works for me! But not this time.

My husband and kids made dinner (home made calzones - YUMMY!) and got everything ready while I filled up my recycling bin. I finally came down for dinner, resigned that I didn't have anything.

Then I looked at my fridge (specifically, the Lego magnets, all in almost-rainbow order - who me, OCD? lol!):


All thoughts of challenges flew away and I settled into the familiar Ardyth terrain of a rainbow. A Lego rainbow.

So Michael and the kids ended up cleaning up after dinner, so I could dash upstairs and get my idea down on paper (aren't they great?!). But I still had to drag out some lamps to take the photo since the natural light was pretty much gone for the day.

I used a Papertrey dot stamp (Polka Dot Basics?) and a Just Rite sentiment. Glossy accents for shine and texture (still wet in the photo!).