Sunday 31 March 2013

LIM112 - Happy Scalloped Birthday


For this week's Less Is More challenge, to use scallops. I created my multicoloured scallops by outlining a circle in pencil, then stamping dots on the pencil line. I popped up the circle sentiment panel, so that half of each dot is hidden underneath. This is one of my favourite colour combinations for girl birthday cards!

I was really hoping to have lots of time in my craft room this long weekend, but these (ie my) kids have kept me very busy - lots of outside time on the two nicest days of 2013 (so far!). If this trend continues for much longer, we're going to have to call it Spring!

ETA - I love the comments about how I managed to fit the circles perfectly around with no space or overlap. (and, if you notice, a complete cycle of colours). I wish I could explain my mathematical calculations and predictions, but it was pure dumb luck!

Saturday 30 March 2013

OLW133 - More Shapes Galore


I love playing around with shapes, so I knew I couldn't play only once with this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge, hosted by Susan. It's called Shapes Galore and you're supposed to use a shape repeatedly on your one layer card.

My shape is the 'o' from Papertrey's Outlines alphabet. I used it to make my line of interlinking  'buttons', coloured it in with copics, and then added The Stamps of Life miniabc2stamp for my sentiment.

This is completely not what I intended to make when I sat down, but my plan didn't work out and this is just way more fun! (and versatile - think of the possibilities!)

Friday 29 March 2013

OLW133 - Shapes Galore


This week's One Layer Wednesday challenge is hosted by Susan. The challenge is Shapes Galore. I hope this flower counts as a geometric shape.

This card was inspired by this photo on my Inspiration board on Pinterest (except I made 4 layers, because it's so darn hard to divide 4.25 by 3!):



I love the white background and the cheery bright rainbow of colours!

My jury duty's been delayed until April 18, so I'm free for now to continue to visit you all in blogland!

Thursday 28 March 2013

CTS21 - Welcome Baby!



Time for another CAS(E) This Sketch! This week's sketch is by Lisa Arana:



I decided to hop on the 'make your own plaid' bandwagon that Laura Bassen started (and perfected). I love this colour combination - the unexpected hits of green and grey make it fun for a baby girl card.

I used Papertrey's Faux Ribbon, My Stamp Box "baby" and Waltzingmouse Stamps "welcome".

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

Wednesday 27 March 2013

Christmas Cheer


Everyone is playing with sequins this week and I thought I'd join in, even though I'm not on the official blog hop. These sequins are from Hero Arts and were probably bought in my first year of stamping (2006) - when I was buying everything in sight, JUST IN CASE I might ever need it. The day has finally arrived!

I kept the treatment very simple, but popped each sequin up a little by using two stacked glue dots (I didn't want to use foam because the sequins are translucent). The die is from Simon Says Stamp and the sentiment is from Stampin' Up (Sweet Essentials).

Tomorrow is my first day as a member of a Jury Selection panel. While I understand the need for citizens to do their duty by providing this service (for free), I can tell you that I'd really rather not spend 3 months of my life listening to a criminal (drugs and weapons) trial and then having to decide whether the defendant is guilty or not. But I will take a page from my friend Susan, who keeps a gratitude journal and is grateful for SNOW this week. I figure I can be grateful for the opportunity to participate in our legal system - it's a new experience and I'm sure I'll learn a lot and maybe even meet people. I can be grateful that I have this duty because I live in a free country where I can believe and say what I like. And I can be grateful that we don't have any fresh SNOW! lol!


Tuesday 26 March 2013

CASology 37 - Hope!



Today's CASology Cue Card is Hope!



My nephew will be turning 8 soon. I HOPE that he'll love this Star Wars-themed card I've made for him. I KNOW he will love the light-up lightsabre popsicle making set I've bought him!

I know that really, Episode IV is A New HOPE, where Princess Leia begs "Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only HOPE!" (ah, if only we'd known that Alec Guinness would "grow up" to be Ewan McGregor! lol!). But it's more appropriate to use VIII (Memory Box Parker Caps) for this year (besides, there are 3 new episodes coming - I guess you know you've really, really made it when Disney buys you out! lol!).

The paper I used for the lightsabers is some opalescent Japanese stuff that really changes colours in the light, and the 'handles' are the Stampin' Up jewellery tag punch. I knew that to really show of these 'glowing' lightsabers, black was going to be my 'white space' this time!

Now it's your turn. I HOPE you can see that this (and every) cue card can take you in some unexpected directions. I really HOPE you'll play along this week - don't forget to link up before the deadline at 4:00 on Sunday afternoon.

Before you do, here are links to the blogs of the other Design Team members - go check out what Hope means to them!



Tracey McNeely
 Rosemary Dennis
Melissa Chipperfield
Meghan McMillan
Maureen Merritt
Judy Marino
Jen Wills

I'm also going to link this up to this week's CASual Friday challenge - No Stamps.

Monday 25 March 2013

Muse Guest Designer



I'm so excited! Today, Jackie has asked me to be the guest designer at Muse Card Club! 


I have tried to create a card that is really true to my style and by using some of my favourite elements  - circles, rainbow colours, a black card base, heat embossed sentiment, lots of white space. I think this feels like an "Ardyth Card". I created the circles using masks and sponging around them. The sentiment was created using Gina K's Lots of Letters.

Now it's your turn! I can't wait to see how this card inspires you!

Remember, the inspiration can come from the colors, layout, or anything else that may catch your eye. Be sure to head over to Muse and play along.

Here are the simple rules:
  • Use the Muse card as inspiration, explain your interpretation and link back to Muse. 
  • Provide supportive comments to at least 3 of your fellow member’s submissions. 
  • Vote for 3 of your fellow member's submissions that you find inspiring.

Sunday 24 March 2013

LIM112, CFC94, FFC04 - Bead Merry!




Oh my! I came home from the spa on Saturday afternoon, all waxed and buffed and  ZEN. Then I panicked that I didn't have a card for today. I spent a bit of time looking through blogland, and saw that this week's Less Is More challenge is to use beads. What?! Beads?! I figured I would skip this week.

But then as I sat down and thought about the current challenges, I remembered Festive Friday's Merry and CASual Friday's No Stamps challenges and I happened on some alphabet beads on my daughter's desk. And the rest, as they say, is history!

And now, I just have to build a box to put this in for mailing! lol!

Look what we made for dinner last night - home-made cheese ravioli  (before cooking)! (a bit of a fuss to make but so yummy with fresh marinara sauce!)



ETA (April 6) - look what this card got!


Saturday 23 March 2013

FFC04, CFC94 - If you can't beat them.....


This card is for this week's Festive Friday Trigger challenge - Merry.



And for this week's CASual Friday challenge - no stamps.




I spent a day reminding myself why I don't use my Cricut very often (sorry, Anita!). My recycling bin is full but in the end, I'm very happy with this. The "Merry" is from the Simply Sweet font cartridge. I cut 3 of them out of Whisper White and used the negative die cut over strips of Lucky Limeade and Real Red that had been run through the cuttlebug with my grosgrain texture plate.  The ends of the strips overhang the card slightly, to add a little interest. The card is 4.25 x 4.25 so it will fit into a standard envelope, even with the little overhangs, no problem.

As for today's post's title - it's STILL looking a lot like Christmas around here, so I figured I may as well embrace it and be Merry! lol!


Friday 22 March 2013

OLW132 - Inspired By Packaging


This week's One Layer Wednesday challenge is being hosted by Heather, and the challenge is to be inspired by packaging. 

This is my second 'made-in-Canada' post this week - anyone who lives in Canada and shops at a Loblaws-affiliated grocery store will recognize this brand immediately. It's the store "no name" brand (their basic, low cost generic). They also have a more upscale store brand called President's Choice.



The product range in these two store brands goes from basic groceries to  frozen dinners, batteries and shampoo to banking and insurance. They even had a reality-TV show, where they chose their next products from enthusiastic home cooks. In my house alone I had these crackers, chicken stock, butter chicken sauce, marshmallows, flour, olive oil, frozen fruits and vegetables - I'm sure you get the idea! 

Thursday 21 March 2013

CTS20 - Birthday Blues



It's Thursday, and that means CAS(E) This Sketch time! This week's sketch is by Jackie:



When I started this card, I had a 4x4 white panel, which I was going to put on a navy blue card base. How predictably "Ardyth", right? Sometimes you have to try something that isn't quite 'your style' so that you don't get into a big rut!

So I cut the two blue panels and the cardbase and thought that since the white panel is bottom-left -heavy with the image and sentiment, I would lift it by matting the layers high and right - it's certainly a little more interesting than plunking it all down in the centre. What do you think?

Anyway, enough philosophy of design....now it's your turn. The Design Team has lots of inspiration for you and then I can't wait to see what you come up with! Don't forget to link up before the deadline next Tuesday at noon!

Wednesday 20 March 2013

Muse#9 - Best Buds


Tuesday was my clear day this week. NOTHING to do but make cards. I had a whole list of them to make, including some future CASology and CAS(E) This Sketch  Design Team cards, so that I could get ahead (in case I actually get selected for Jury duty next week, but that's another story).

And then I got on the phone with my sister. (I should say, one of my sisters - I have 3). I really only had a quick question, but we ended up chatting for quite a while. If you're lucky like I am, your sisters really are your best buds. And maybe that was on my mind when I made this card (the only card I made on Tuesday) for this week's Muse challenge, based on this card from  Marion Vagg:



I focused on the different-sized stripes of cool colours, the flowers and the friend theme, using this Hambo Stamps sentiment.

You'll have noticed that the flower is hanging off the edge. That's ok - most of my cards are 4.25 x 4.25 so that they can fit in a standard 4.25 x 5.5 envelope (and avoid the additional postage required for square items) - as long as this card goes into the envelope the correct way, there will be no problem.


Tuesday 19 March 2013

CASology 36 - Song


This week's CASology Cue Card is SONG!



We've got a sponsor this week - The Alley Way Stamps. Check out this week's CASology post for all the details.

I used 3 TAWS sets - It's Fall About You (leaf and 'eh'), Awesome Blossom ('from') and The Gang ('love'). I don't know the background of the illustrators at TAWS, but I think there's at least a 'secret' Canadian - the maple leaf is the perfect Canadian icon, and those of you who've met us, know that we say 'eh' a lot, eh? lol!

When the requirement is song, I generally go to David Bowie for my inspiration. No, he did not write O Canada. But he did write a song that loosely fits with this card. "This is Not America" is the theme song to a 1985 film called The Falcon and the Snowman, starring Sean Penn and Timothy Hutton. The film was based on a true story about two young American men who sold government information to the Soviets.

I hope you're not offended by my lighthearted ribbing - we Canadians just like to remind our American friends from time to time that we are NOT the 51st State! lol!

Now it's your turn to sing! Choose a song and make a card inspired by it - don't forget to link up by 4:00 CST on Sunday.

Before you go - take a look at the rest of the cards made by the Design Team for SONG!







Monday 18 March 2013

FS319 - A Rose by any other name....


This graphic card had several sources of inspiration:

1) Nancy Littrell's card (she's the Featured Stamper on Splitcoaststampers this week!)




2) This graphic design on my Pinterest inspiration board, which reminded me of a rose:




3) Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a Scottish designer from the late19th, early 20th century whose roses look like this:



I used my (increasingly frustrating) circle nestabilities to create the rings (I may have to haul out my Cricut at some point! lol!), added just a touch of Stickles for a little sparkle.



Sunday 17 March 2013

CFC94, LIM111, ABNH22 - Happy Mother's Day




Wow! I managed to hit 3 challenges today!

A Blog Named Hero: Free style, CASual Fridays: Chipboard and  Less is More - Frame It!



















I have had these chipboard shapes forever. I sponged them with Hero Arts Neon pink and green, used a Hero Arts sentiment and added pearls and green Stickles to dress it up a little.

We're off to pick up my son from his week long stay on a US Marine Base in South Carolina (we pick him up where we dropped him off here in Toronto) - I can't wait to hear what he's seen and done - what a fantastic experience for him and his fellow members of the Canadian Air Cadets!


Saturday 16 March 2013

OLW130 Remake



Look familiar? This card looked like this last week:



I really liked the idea of the tiny focal point, but when I tried to picture myself actually sending this card to someone, I realized I didn't feel like it was finished. (interestingly, my friend Janet had the same feeling! And BTW, what a wonderful feeling to go to Janet's blog and see that she had CASed me - the ultimate compliment! )

I added a dramatic black card base, cut out a bigger circle from the centre of the white panel to create a large black circular frame, popped up the centre circle panel and edged it with some sparkle and now I know EXACTLY who to send it to.

It's been a busy week (March break here) and I feel like I haven't been able to completely keep up with all my commenting and blog viewing. We had a ton of fun but I'm also a girl who loves routine, so I can't say I won't be looking forward to Monday, when the kids head off to school and 'normal' life resumes for a while!

Friday 15 March 2013

OLW131 - Green, Orange and White


I'm finally back with my card for this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge, to use the colours of the Irish Flag - Green, White and Orange.

It's post-birthday time in my house (my daughter's birthday was last week), so I'm making lots of thank you notes for her to use. It's so nice to be using spring images and colours at last!

Isn't this image wonderful? My friend, Lisa Lara created this stamp (as part of a whole set called Flutters and Flowers). I love the big open centres - lots of space for blending and getting really wonderful colours. As soon as I saw Lisa using it on her blog, I bought it - I know this will be a favourite for a long time because it's versatile. Just by changing your colours slightly, it can be used for Mother's Day, birthday, thank you, even sympathy!

The sentiment is Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday.

I hope you'll play along with us - remember to link up to the InLinkz button on the right of the page!

Thursday 14 March 2013

CAS(E) This Sketch 19 - Thanks





Time for the next CAS(E) This Sketch Challenge - this time, it's from Karolyn:



This sketch is so versatile - you can see that the cards from the Design Team are all very different from each other, as we use our own style and preferences while incorporating the basic layout.  I used Papertrey's Dot Spot and a My Stamp Box sentiment.

 I can't wait to see what you come up with! Don't forget to link up before the deadline next Tuesday at noon.


Wednesday 13 March 2013

OLW 131 - Green, White and Orange

Welcome to One Layer Wednesday. I know. No card. We had a last minute scheduling change and I'm in charge today, but wasn't able to get it together in time to have a sample card for you (it's March Break and Kate and I are actually visiting my parents today!)
Our challenge this week is a colour challenge - in honour of St. Patrick's Day, use the colours of the Irish flag - green, white  and orange. It does not have to be a St. Patrick's Day (or Irish) card - just a card that uses these colours.  I will post my card as soon as I can - probably sometime on Thursday morning.
OLW131 Rules

1. A one-layer card is defined as a single piece of card stock folded in half. No other layers allowed.

2. Create a card using green, white and orange as your main colours.

3. Upload your creation somewhere online, and link to it using the InLinkz button on the sidebar of MASKerade. Please make sure if you link to your blog that it's to the individual post, not your homepage.

4. The most important rule of all...HAVE FUN!!!!

Tuesday 12 March 2013

CASology 35 - Extraterrestrial


Today's CASology Cue Card is Extraterrestrial!



With these simple shapes and colours and not an alien in sight, I hope you got "phone", "home", and the little trail of Reese's Pieces as references to everyone's favourite alien, E.T.

When I showed it to him, my husband didn't get this card at all, but he didn't have the benefit of the Cue Card as a clue. Or the benefit of having grown up in North America. Really, sometimes I just ask too much of him! lol!

I slipped this into my son's suitcase this weekend when he headed off for his March break trip to Parris Island, SC with his squadron of Canadian Air Cadets. I'm sure he'll have a great time and learn a ton of really interesting military-type stuff, but he'll appreciate knowing that we miss him.

So now it's your turn - Area 51, Beam Me Up, Space Oddity (did you notice the Bowie reference? lol) -  take it away and show us what Extraterrestrial means to you! Don't forget to link up by Sunday at 4 pm (CST).

And drop by the blogs of the other design team members, to see their unearthly creations!





Monday 11 March 2013

CFC93, LIM110 - Happy Birthday!



For this week's CASual Friday challenge - Colour Blocks and Less Is More - One Layer Spots and Stripes.

My husband looked at this and said "Why is it upside down?" He thinks the spots make it look like candles. lol!  I used Papertrey stamps (Birthday Basics, Faux Ribbon and Background Basics: Superstripes).

My son has left on his March Break trip with the Air Cadets so it's just me and Kate hanging out this week - visiting friends, shopping, watching movies - we can't wait!

ETA (March 15) - Woohoo! This one's a favourite!


ETA (March 22) - This one WON at LIM! (see, Michael (hubby), you have to be an 'artist' to get it!) 

Sunday 10 March 2013

ROTD#1, LIM 110 - Happy Birthday!



Have you heard about this new challenge? It's called Rockin' out the Digis - Jackie provides us with FREE digital stamps and then we make cards with them. Then, like Muse, (Jackie's other cool new challenge) you go back and comment on the other entrants' cards and vote on the winner at the end of the week.



When I saw it, I thought it was a really brilliant idea, but I am digitally-challenged. I wasn't going to play. Then I saw some of the amazing cards being submitted and thought maybe I could just play around and see how difficult it really was. NOT AT ALL! I literally copied and pasted them right into a Word document and then printed it and coloured it. The whole card was finished in about 20 minutes!

I'm going to also link this up to this week's Less Is More Challenge - one layer with stripes and dots.

I hope you'll give it a try - it's really fun!

Birthday Girl




Yesterday was Kate's birthday party. I took 11 girls to see "OZ The Great and Powerful" (quite good!) and then we all came back to our place for pizza and cake.

I found this cake on Pinterest and decided to give it a try.  You can see that my cake decorating skills will not earn me a job as The Next Great Baker with Buddy Valastro, but the girls were surprised by the bright colours and really enjoyed it!

CFC93 - Colour Blocks


For this week's CASual Fridays Challenge - Colour Blocks.



This challenge is right up my alley - it inspires graphic style with bold colours, two of my favourite things!

I used Papertrey's Fresh Alphabet (I bought two of them, so that I would be able to spell words like Happy without having to re use the p - these days most alphabets come with extra letters to make stamping common sentiments like Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas a little easier). Then I used Papertrey's Background Basics: Superstripes to add the colours.