Santa's List Vintage Card

Friday is The Character Cafe day. They have a challenge over at the blog for half of the DT while the rest of us go out into blogland to participate in other challenges. No aye problema! First, I wanted to use this adorable Santa's List digistamp - colored with copics. I also wanted to go with a vintage look. I really like the look of vintage on handmade cards depending on the image used.

I found a great card sketch over at 2S4U. This card has a kraft base, sewing, distressing and inking.

Incorporated Challenges:

• Pink Elephant - Plaid, Brad(s), no ribbon
• 2 Sketches 4 You - card sketch

So head on over to The Character Cafe Challenge Blog for your chance to enter this weeks challenge. You have until next Thursday night to post your creation using Mr. Linky.

Christmas with Stampin' Up

A few weeks ago I went to a stamp a stack hosted by the lovely Ruth. Here are two of the cards we made - just in time for Christmas.

I don't remember the name of this stamp set, but it is absolutely adorable! I really like the colors on this card. There's even a touch of glitter on his nose.

All the white on this card makes me hope for snow this year. Can you see the dimension on this one? The background uses a SU embossing folder, and the first ornament is hand cut and popped up.

Happy AiFactory Challenge Day

It's challenge day over at AiFactory where it's pretty much a free for all! So upload your creation using any layout or challenge for a chance to win. For my card, I incorporated several challenges.

This is a new digi over at the AiFactory Store, colored with my copics, cut and embossed with my nesties, and adhered with pop dots.
This card goes with the following challenges:

• Colour Create - Green, Red, White
• Daring Cardmakers - The First Letter (3 things using the first letter in your name: Little kids, Layers, La La La La La - does that make 7?)
• All Sorts - Christmas Carol (does my sentiment count?)
• Card Patterns - Sketch 42
• Whimsy Stamps - Christmas
• Frosted Designs - Paper Tearing (my green half circles)

So for your chance to enter the AiFactory Challenge, create something, anything, using any other challenge and an AiFactory image (there are plenty of FREEBIES if you don't have any already) and enter at the challenge blog by next Tuesday.

Happy Birthday Kent

Using a layout from Everything but the Kitchen Sink, I made the following card for my little cousin's birthday:

The inside reads:

"So I heard it's your birthday....no need to get all cocky about it!"

I know, cheesy, but hopefully he will get a kick out of it. I inked all the bird parts and added a googly eye. The circle is cut with my nesties (my circles are quickly becoming my favorites) on pop-dots.

The rooster is From My Kitchen cricut cart cut at 2 3/4" (regular, layers, and shadow), the CS is from DCWV Old World pack inked with Ranger distressing inks (fire brick, walnut, peeled paint), and CS from PTI.

Erin, You are Too Sweet

Erin from my AiFactory DT is just too sweet. Look at the lovely award she has honored me with:

I followed the award back and found out that I'm to list 5 things I like to do:

• crafting - papercrafts, baking, sewing, silversmithing, looking online for more crafts...just can't get enough
• spend time with my family and friends
• traveling - anywhere. We like to take road trips and we're so fortunate that Bean is so good wherever we go. She was asking just yesterday if we could go to a hotel (she likes taking her duck float into the hot tub).
• drinking - coffee and tea that is! Voodoo is my favorite tea, and I like white almond mochas.
• yard work - yup, I like working on my yard, trimming my roses, planting flowers and seeds

Thanks Erin!

Friday with The Character Cafe

This week we have a sketch challenge going on over at the Character Cafe challenge blog. Isn't he adorable? Once again, this is with my new copics. So I'm still learning. You can pick up this digi over at The Character Cafe Store.

Now I know the colors aren't traditional Christmas colors, but I couldn't resist this weeks SPCC color combo. Solid CS is PTI and the patterned strip is from my unknown pile. I added sewing, rhinestones, and distressed the edges. I also used my nesties for the rectangle and circle.

I hope you will head on over to Character Cafe to enter your creation for a chance to win this weeks prize. You have until next Thursday to upload your card to Mr. Linky.

Here are the challenges I have incorporated into my card:

The Character Cafe - sketch

Cupcake Craft Challenges - Digital Image (my super cute reindeer)

SPCC - colors: real red, certainly celery, bashful blue (don't you just love their fancy names?)

Little Red Wagon - distress

Also, I hope you will visit the rest of the Character Cafe design team. They have some awesome creations this week! You can find their blog links on the right --------->

November Challenge at Scrapnfonts

Over at Scrapnfonts, the challenge is to use ONE word on your creation. It took me a little while to figure out what I wanted to do, and I ended up with two cards. These were papers I had already cut, and I had an idea at the time, then put them aside - so I finished them off like this:

I used LD Beatnik for "Party!" and DB Hoos Birthday for the owl. See, my plan is to get SCAL someday so I can really use these fonts to their potential! Basically, I've been putting it off because I'm not sure if I'll be able to learn it.

I happen to like frogs. This is from DB Forest Friends and the "Hi" is freebie LD Going Nuts. I created a 1.5" circle template long ago, so whenever I do one of these cards, I just change out the color and put whatever I want inside. I use my 1.5" punch and place it on top a scallop circle. Instant embellishment.

Reminder: Have you made a creation that incorporates chipboard? If so, head on over to AiFactory to enter their chipboard challenge using Mr. Linky for a chance to win!

More Punches

This weekend I went to Ruth's Stampin' Up punch class. These classes are great and you make creations using all punches. Like I've mentioned before, I have a good time, but I would never do these on my own...I'm too spoiled with my Cricut. I still like to share since they really are creative!

Isn't he just too cute? Stampin' Up sells the little cups (M&M's not included ;) ) and I've seen them used in the most creative ways. The size of this card is going to be great for either a gift card or cash. I'm not sure who I'm going to give this to just yet, but I wonder if they will take the card apart to get to the candy.

The teeth on this little guy just makes me laugh! Last year we made a singing reindeer - and I'll post the pic if I have one. These singing creatures are just too cute!

Now this I didn't make. I like going to Ruth's classes because she always has some cute little give-away that makes me go "awwwww."

So the two little cards fit right inside. I feel so bad because the stuff I get at her classes, I never use or give away. It's like they're too cute to part with. But if I just keep them, then no one else will get the opportunity to enjoy them as well. Know what? I'm going to make an effort to pass these goodies along! Stop hoarding and start sharing! That's my new mantra.

Wish

Hello all. Just sharing a card with a super cute digi from Robyn's Fetish. I entered a challenge and won - I think I was the only one who played that week so I won by default...but I'm still a winner!!! LOL! So with my winnings, I picked out this princess.

I made the little embellishment: I covered the chipboard with patterned CS (using Tacky Glue), waited for it to dry a bit, then cut around using my xacto knife. I smooth all my edges with emory boards.

For this card, I used the latest layout at Mojo Monday, my Oops-a-Daisy paper pack, and super cute digistamp from Robyn's Fetish. I hope you like her as much as I do!

Little Bear

I absolutely LOVE this little guy. For those of you who follow along, I want to let you know I "won" the copics on Ebay. I always think it's so funny when people say they "won" because technically you don't win anything - you're just willing to pay the highest price. Anyway, I'm very happy with the purchase!

So this is the first image I colored with my new Copics:

You know, anything I photograph with red just doesn't turn out the same as in real life! So disappointing because he is SO super cute! This digistamp can be found at The Character Cafe Store. I printed 2 images, one to cut with my circle nesties, and the other for the balloons only. I used pop-dots to have the balloons "float" off the circle and added a little crazy sewing.

Friday's are The Character Cafe challenge blog days! Super fun challenges with a chance to win a digistamp....I hope you will join in. The challenge begins this Friday and you have until next Thursday night to upload your creation to Mr. Linky. The challenge this week is to create a 3D item. For inspiration, please visit the DT blogs ------> their links are on the right hand side under The Character Cafe DT----------> They are super talented and will provide much inspiration!

Such a Sweet Girl

I love this little girl. She is a digi from Softpencil (you can get her digis from either Etsy or AiFactory). I didn't include a sentiment because I think this card fits many occasions, so I'll just wait to see what I end up using it for, then stamp the sentiment. Or I can leave it as is and stamp something inside.

I really like the way this one turned out. You know how sometimes you're happy with something, or sometimes you hate it...well, I'm VERY happy with this one.

This one includes many challenges:

• Softpencil - flower(s)
• SP Color Combos - melon mambo, black, yoyo yellow, not quite navy (I used the closest colors I had)
• My Grafico - stitching (LOVE stitching)
• Card Patterns - layout
• Papertake Weekly - digi and sparkle (I put plenty of sparkle on her shirt and hair bow)
• Little Red Wagon - scraps (believe it or not, everything used was from scraps - even the kraft cardbase (which has stamping on it but I covered it))
• Daring Cardmakers - kraft (LOVE the kraft)

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you get a chance to create something today!

Anything But a Card

So before I got sick, I planned ahead for my DH's birthday. So these are creations from last month. I got him a few cigars along with a gift card, and thought one of those Pull Up Treats wrappers would be perfect.

I used my Scor-Pal for the measurements since the cigars are a little thicker than a candy bar. This came together so quickly, and I can't believe I haven't made these before. This works by pulling the ribbons straight up to reveal the surprise inside - and it worked perfectly.

The image is a digi from Dustin Pike, colored with Bics, cut out, and popped up. I stamped the sentiment on the ribbon with Stazon.

My other packaging creation is a small box-like container with an acetate window. I think it would have looked much cooler with colored tissue instead of white, but you get the idea.

Bean gave her Daddy a Harley cap - one of those knit, tight fitting kind. It was a little snug, but we managed to make it fit.

Again, this came together so quick and easy. I don't know why I don't do more non-card items. It's fun and quite satisfying. I can't find the tutorial I used for this one, but if you really want it, leave me a comment and I will hunt it down!

Character Cafe Blog Hop Winner!

Thank you to everyone who left such great comments on my Character Cafe Blog Hop shaker card. Now, on to the winner. According to random.org, the winner of the digistamp used in my creation is:

#16

Regina

Regina, please contact Kendra at kendra@thecharactercafe.com to receive your free image! And for all others who were great enough to play along, I hope you will visit me more often, and of course, visit The Character Cafe Challenge Blog for Friday Challenges, and Tek Tuesdays where you can learn something new!

Two 4 Tuesday Challenge with AiFactory

Hello all. It's Tuesday, so challenge time over at AiFactory. For challenge #11, De has us 1) using a freebie image from the AiF Store AND 2) using CAS38 challenge over at Splitcoaststampers which is to use brads and/or eyelets. Great challenge but I had a little trouble deciding which freebie to use, so I've come up with two cards.

Card #1 - Celebrate with Cake

The AiF digistamp is obviously the cake;) For the CAS38 challenge, I added 3 rhinestone brads for bling. The layout is from Clean and Simple Stamping, FTL7.

I used brown PTI cs, ribbon and pop-dots.

Card #2 - Masculine Happy Birthday

At least I think it could be a great guy card. I created the patterned paper in Word, using a this freebie from AiF. I did use editing software to change it's color. This also uses a great layout from Clean and Simple Stamping (FTL63).

Challenges in this card:

AiF - use a freebie and CAS38

Splitcoaststampers CAS38 - Ways to Use It - Brads & Eyelets

Colour Create - blue, silver, white

For your chance to win a free digistamp, head over to the AiFactory Challenge blog and upload your creation. It's super easy! Also, I hope you take a look at the other DT blogs for their take on this challenge. They are such a talented group of ladies! Their links are on your right ----------->

Blog Hop with The Character Cafe

It's the first Friday of the month, and that means new releases at The Character Cafe! That also means time for a blog hop (these are too much fun)! If you came here from Heather's blog, then you are in the right place. If not, go to The Character Cafe for the start of the hop.

I was inspired by Tek Tuesday at Character Cafe Blog. Meredith did a wonderful shaker card tutorial so I wanted to do one too. I used the latest layout over at Mojo Monday, colored my digistamp with Bics, made the frame using Accent Essentials cart cut at 3 3/4" (once in teal and once out of chipboard to create a sturdy scalloped square).

I sewed around the frame just for a little more dimension, and guess what? Not a single piece of glitter in site! Well, I'll let you in on a little secret: I used glittered embossing powder.

The snowflake is also cut with Accent Essentials at 2" (once regular cut and once on shadow feature in white). This card contains LOTS of Tacky Glue (Love that stuff)!

Want to win the digistamp used on my card? Simply leave me a comment and I will pick a winner at random on November 11th.

More Blog Hop details:

• Want to win the full set of new releases? Comment on all the blogs then leave a comment at the Character Cafe letting them know you commented on all blogs for an entry.
• To get another entry, post about the blog hop on your blog - make sure to leave another comment at Character Cafe letting us know you posted info on your blog.
• "Remember" is the discount code at TCC in order to receive 40% off your order (only good through Friday, November 13 at noon).

So head on over to Angie's blog next. And in case you get lost, here is the blog hop order:

Billie

Meredith

Angela

Piali

Sara

Deanne

Fink

Rachel

Diane

Heather

Lola (that's ME!)

Angie

Thanks so much for hopping with us!

Pop 'em Up!

I really enjoyed making a pop-up card for my brother's birthday, and thought I'd share just how easy it is to make one. I'm sure there are plenty of tutorials out there, but this is my strategy in making this card:

1) You need a card base. Mine is cut at 4.25" by 11", scored in the center to make a 4.25" by 5.5" card (PTI kraft is used here). You also need an insert cut slightly smaller. When folded, my white insert measures 5 3/8" by 4 1/8" and is also scored in the center. You will also need adhesive and something to pop-up. I'm using a cute digistamp from AiFactory already colored with my Bics.

2) With insert folded (right sides together), use a pencil to write out measurements. You can lightly mark this side all you want since it will be hidden in the end. I find the very center (since I want my pop-up in the center) and mark it with pencil. I then make a straight line at 1.5" from the fold (this can be at any measurement, but for this card, I chose 1.5").

3) With these two measurements, I then use the center line to determine my cut lines. For this card, I measured 1/2" on each side of the CENTER line (for a total of 1"). I indicated this with dashed pencil lines.

4) Cut on dashed lines. I also score the 1.5" line in between the two cuts only (not the entire line). This helps in the next step.

5) Carefully turn the cut portion to the INSIDE of the card. Your insert should look like this at the fold:

It should also look like this from the side (inside/right side of insert shown):

6) Use your adhesive to tape the insert to the card base. I adhere one side first, then the other side, folding the entire card to make sure the base and insert fit well together.

7) From here, add your embellishment to the inside of the card and decorate the outside however you want.

My completed card inside:

My completed card outside:

For this card, I used glittered CS and hand tore it to make the mountain inside and used glue dots to adhere Ivan and his snowboard. The front of the card has flocked snowflake CS, stamped sentiment, and "Snow" is cut using the Mickey Font cart at 1.5".

Festive Kitty

We recently got a kitten and named her Sid. I was hoping she was going to be an outside cat who hunted down bugs or mice (during certain times of the year, there are lots of field mice - they are incredibly cute, so I prefer they just go away...on vacation....I don't ask where, just that they are gone). Well, Sid doesn't really like being outside. She likes to snuggle on my pillow, sleep on me, drink fresh water from the faucet, and hang around while Bean takes a bath playing with the water. Anyway, this super cute digistamp from Softpencil reminds me of her:

Here are the challenges:

Softpencil - Bow

Creative Card Crew - Ribbon and Gems

Spoonful of Sugar - Sketch

The digi is from Softpencil. You can find her work at her Etsy site or at AiFactory. I colored it with Bics (my DH currently put in an Ebay bid for 76 copics! Wish us luck). Don't get me wrong, I love my bics, but I do "need" more colors. Circle cut with my nesties, and snowflake embellishment is a Cuttlebug die, all cut in the bug. Added sewing, a ribbon (bow) and gems on the tree.