Big Cheesy Kitty Grin!

It's like eating a bag of potato chips! I can't stop at just one! But this is the last of the Caardvarks sketch challenges . . . I swear . . . mission complete! I had to think about this sketch for awhile. You know let it stew, carry it around in your pocket for a few days and look at it every know and then. I knew I wanted to make a Halloween card and I wanted to make it rather simple and get away from all of the layering I've been doing lately.

So. . . my first step was to look through my Halloween stamps. When it comes to Halloween images, without a doubt Hocus Pocus and Spooky Expressions by Anna Wight are my absolute favorites. Hands down, no if's, and's, or buts! I love everything about them, especially those big cheesy grins!!

I don't think a lot of 'splainin is needed on this one. I did distress the edges of the oval, pp, and cardstock. The background was stamped with Versamark and I added the little rhinestones underneath Mr. Cheesy to cover up an ink smudge :0). As a final touch I used a white gel pen to make Mr. Cheesy's teeth a bright pearly white - he just cracks me up!!

Thanks for stopping by and hope all your smiles are big and cheesy! :0)

Recipe:

Stamps: Anna Wight for Whipper Snapper - Spooky Expressions

Paper: SU! Kraft & Whisper White , Bo Bunny pp

InK; Staz On Black, Ranger distress ink, Copics, white gel pen, Versamark

Accessories: CB, Oval Spellbinders, Michaels ribbon, button and bling

Pocket Love

I loved ALL of the sketches that Heidi Van Laar created for the Caardvarks challenge that I had to play along again! Here's the second sketch I decided to play with:


And here's the card I came up with:

I was going through some of my little guys clothes to either throw away or give away and found an old tattered pair of jeans that obviously had seen it's better days, probably with all three boys ;0) I decided to cut out and save the pockets so I could use them on a card - recycling at it's creative finest!!

The quirky flower and leaf is a die by Quick Kutz. The pp is from SU! and I used the notebook paper punch along the edge. The paper is matted onto kraft cardstock and the edges were distressed with Ranger distressing ink.

I think this would make a fun card for a teenager. And in case you were wondering. The jeans were a size 3T. Any larger size and the pocket might be too big for typical card fronts.

Well, off to enjoy my last few hours of the extended weekend. Hope yours was funtastic!

Recipe:
Stamps: NONE

Ink: Ranger distressing inks - vintage photo, sepia, SU! Marigold Morning

Paper: SU! Kraft, Office Ephemera

Accessories: CB, Quick Kutz die, bling, Jeans pocket, Family time sticker, Michaels ribbon

Cake Sketch Card

I hope everyone is having a wonderful EXTENDED weekend!! I can tell you I really needed it :0) So far the weather has been cooperating which makes it extra nice. Now on to the card!

I chose this cake by Carries Cakes as inspiration for the PMS weekly challenge


I paired it with this fabulous sketch from the Caardvarks challenge - created by the uber talented Heidi Van Laar :)


And came up with this multi-textured, multi - layered card

I used my Scor-Pal to create the diamond patterned background. I oopsied on getting my sentiment on their straight, but since I had it all put together already I wasn't about to start over!! Handmade right? :0)

PMS is gearing up for their monthly release and the sneak peaks are awesome!!

And Heidi created not1, not2, but 3 awesome sketches for you to play along with over at Caardvarks.

Hope your holiday weekend is filled with fun, friends, and stamps :0)

Recipe:

Stamps: PMS

Ink: Staz on Black

Paper: SU!

Accessories: SU! Flowers, Cuttlebug embossing folder, CB, Scor Pal, scallop edge punch, bling

NOT Going My Way!

Hello there! It's been a busy week trying to get back into the swing of things. The boys are having a hard time getting up and out the door in the morning. It seems the newness and excitement of school have worn off and the monotony has already set in . . . and it's only been 3 days :0) I was able to stay up late a couple of nights and created this card for this weeks 2Sketches 4U and CAARDVarks challenge to use black, pink and white.
This ended up being one of THOSE cards. You know, the ones you keep fiddling with and just can't seem to get right. I paper pushed, cut, glued, recut, reglued for what seemed like hours!! One of the best things for me to do when that happens is to just leave it, let it sit and come back to it later. Usually I either decide that I like it or know exactly what to do to change it. That didn't happen with this card. Maybe it was because I was stuck trying to incorporate both challenges - not enough room to change things.

Anywhoo. It's done. Either tell me what you like about it and make me feel better, or tell me what you don't like about it and how I should improve it :0)

Thanks for stopping by. I've got a couple of posts coming up this weekend, including Sketch Girl 4 on Sunday.

Have a great weekend!

Caardvarks is Da Bomb!

The Caardvarks challenge this week is a sketch challenge. I had all of these coordinating papers, trims and die cuts in the Making Memories "Just Chillin" line so I thought I would use a little of each to create a hip and happening teen card. I don't have a teen yet - next year :0), but I thought it would be fun to try to create something that age bracket might like! I was drawn to the Just Chillin' line because . . . 1. I have 3 boys, 2. It had some fun camouflage prints and trim, 3. It had some cool Fleur de Lis die cuts. Camo and Fleur de Lis fit well with the whole Scouting theme.

Many of the die cuts have a shiny colored foil to them (guys version of glitter :0) ) On this card the star, the outline of the sentiment, and the edge of the guitar all have the foil for lots of shine. Not too sure I achieved the "hip and happenin'" factor I was looking for, but it was fun playing with all of the coordinating items.

Head on over to Caardvarks and check out all of the other awesome entries . . . and have a hip and happenin' day. I'm off to chaperone a bunch of - way too cool Cub Scouts at their week long summer daycamp!!

Recipe:

Stamps: None

Ink: None

Paper: Bazzill Cardstocke, Making Memories - Just Chillin

Accessories: Making Memories - Just Chillin', EK Success large scallop border punch

Caardvarks Challenge - Shape Up

Buckley our chocolate lab (A.K.A Mr. Buckles, Buckaroo Blue, Big Brown Dog) turned 2 this past weekend! We didn't do anything special :0) But he did get some "panCAKES" for breakfast and a scoop of ice cream for dessert!!

So I decided to make him a birthday card for the Caardvarks challenge! The theme this time was anything but a square or rectangle shaped card. I was into simple mode lately so I had fun departing from that with this one!! I usually have an issue of not knowing when to stop but I didn't care with this card and just kept adding and adding, but I like the finished product!!! I used 4 different stamp sets, some chipboard embellishments, a little stardust glitter pen, some sponging and faux stitching, yada, yada, yada!

I showed him the card, he wasn't too impressed, but he did give me a wet slobbery kiss anyway!! Maybe I'll just hang on to it for another occaision :0)

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Recipe:

Stamps: Art Impressions, Studio G, SU!, The Paper Company Studio

InK: Copics, Memento Black, Ranger Distress Ink, Sakura Stardust glitter pen

Paper: DCWV Pet Stack, DCWV GreenStack, Neenah White, SU!

Accessories: Walmart Chipboard, Michaels Ribbon, Tracing wheel

A Sunday Full of Challenges

(ETA: Thanks to Lauren for pointing out that my card met the qualifications for one of the Moxie Fab World challenges currently going on! Whoo Hoo 4 challenges with one card :0) )

I got a lot accomplished with this card! 4 challenges in one!! I'm listing them all and providing links for your blurfing enjoyment :0)

1. SFYTT - Jen Del Muros weekly sketch challenges are always fun to participate in. She comes up with some excellent layouts. I love looking at everyones interpretation.

2. Caardvarks - The challenge going on right now is to use a verse or quote in your design. A winner will be chosen to receive a release set from Unity Stamps!

3. Paper Makeup Stamps - In celebration of their recent release, they are issuing a color challenge. The colors to use are Baja Breeze/Bashful blue (Light blue), black, white, and gray (optional) A winner will be chosen to receive a $10 gift certificate to PMS!!

4. Moxie Fab Rainy Day Challenge - Create an encouragement card with a rainy day theme.

I paired my fav rainy day girl designed by Anna Wight for Whipper Snapper with a sentiment from Paper Makeup Stamps. I think she may be an all time favorite of mine :0) I never get tired of coloring her!

Happy Moms day to all the wonderful moms out there. I wish everyday my mom lived closer. Love you Mom!!

Recipe:
Stamps: Paper Makeup Stamps, Whipper Snapper
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Paper: Su! DCWV embossed cards
Accessories: Cuttlebug, nestabilities, coluzzle, ribbon - Michaels, bling -??, sewing tracing wheel

Caardvarks Sketch Challenge

Here is my submission for the Caardvarks sketch challenge. I tried to keep it simple, which is hard for me to do. My mind kept saying "Add some scallops, paper piercing, distress the edges, ink the edges". I settled for a few brads and called it quits. I was frustrated that the black border was so much larger than the borders around the rest of the card. This is what happens when you don't have the small size dies. Sometimes the 1/4 inch border is too large a gap. But the more I look at it the more I like it. It definitely draws your attention to the butterfly :0)

Recipe:

Stamps: SU!

Paper: SU!

Accessories: Brads-SU!, Ribbon - Michaels

Feelin' Green!

Happy St. Paddy's day! This cute little beaver dude was an image cut out of a 12x12 piece of paper from DCWV's "Green Stack". The papers are made with 70% recycled paper and feature cute woodsy and environment related designs. Really CUTE! And the texture and weight of the paper is wonderful too.
The layout is from this weeks SFYTT. I don't have the oval die cuts so I just sponged the scalloped oval to give it some dimension. I doodled the grass and created the shamrock using 4 punched hearts. TFL

Hook, Line and Sinker

Here is a card I made for my 1st ever CAARDvarks challenge. The theme for this months was "critters". This cute little worm stamp is from Whipper Snapper, one of my fav companys. And the idea for this card was inspired by the ever talented Sweet Miss Daisy (Anna Wight). You can check out her card here. She will soon be releasing a new set, which I can tell from the sneak peaks, is guaranteed to be on my "must have" list!Recipe:
Stamp: Worm- Whipper Snapper, sentiment - unknown
Paper: DSP, cardstock - Stampin' Up!
Accessories: Mark Richards