Monday, March 30, 2020

Ship-shape for the Chip-shape Challenge!

Over at the Double Trouble Challenge Blog, Trouble Maker decided to celebrate National Goof Off Day along with National Potato Chip & Dip Day. The one-week challenge runs from Monday, March 30, through Sunday, April 5, 2020. In order to meet the "Chip Shape" theme and after a concerted hunt through a bag of Wavy Lay's Chips, during which I was forced to eat more than a few of them, I came across what looked like a mermaid's tail.  As I worked with it, of course, it broke, so I started the hunt again, eating even more chips, and finding what resembled a simple boat. Lesson learned - keep hand wipes nearby!
Onto a navy card base, I adhered a panel of red cardstock with patterned paper then a strip of aqua cardstock edged in navy blue was added. I had a scrap of the wave-patterned paper so added it for fun. I hand cut the sails, glued them to a "Party Pick" and adhered with foam tape to the card. A tiny nautical flag was cut from patterned paper and adhered to the mast. I used a red marker to add stripes to the chip's ridges. I chose not to add any dip.
I thought once I photographed the card, I would remove the chip and add a cute boat shape for future use. It is not going to happen because there is a significant greasy spot behind the chip and a few greasy prints on one of the sails. Hmmm... wonder where I left those hand wipes...

The challenge is not limited to potato chips. Be sure to look at the guidelines for this goofy challenge.

I hope you'll check out Trouble Maker's fun and silly challenge at the Double Trouble Challenge Blog. There will be a prize!

Materials
Ink: Sharpie marker (red)
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Night of Navy, Real Red & Coastal Cabana
Designer Series Paper: Stampin' Up! "Maritime" Collection (retired)
Misc.: Lay's Chip, Party Pick (my kitchen), foam tape, Sharpie Marker (red)

Merry Christmas with Washi Tape


Here is the second card I made for Double Trouble Challenge #53. To see my first card and challenge details, click HERE
Onto a panel of cardstock, I crisscrossed five different Washi tapes to create what looks like the ribbon on a package. The poinsettia pieces were die cut from red glitter cardstock and adhered to the front panel. The front was decorated with red rhinestones and gold sequins. I chose to omit a sentiment for now. The panel was adhered to a card base using foam tape. The inside was decorated with a smaller die-cut poinsettia on a gold foil doily. 
Be sure to visit the Double Trouble Challenge Blog #53 to join the challenge.

Materials
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White; The Paper Studio (red glitter cardstock)
Die: Reasonable "Filigree Poinsettia"
Misc.: Washi tape, sequins, gems & foam tape from stash

Happy Birthday with Washi Tape


It's the fifth Monday of the month and time for a one-week challenge at Double Trouble! Here are the requirements for Challenge #53:
Thing 1 (required): Trouble Maker says that this is Some Thing, Any Thing, Every Thing challenge. In other words, it's a "Free for All".

Thing 2 (optional): Double Dare would like to see you link your project with one of our previous partners. There is a list on the blog.


Thing 3 (optional): Twisted Sister has decided that we should use some scraps or Washi tape or paper scraps to create a background.

On the front of a white card base, Washi tape was added along the two vertical edges and the focal panel was adhered using foam tape. The inside was decorated with additional Washi tape and a heart. To create the cake and candles I adhered Washi tape to a panel of cardstock. Embellishments were added to set a festive tone. The die-cut sentiment was added to the cake and then the focal panel to the card base with foam tape for dimension.

I also made a holiday card for this challenge, which can be viewed HERE.

We will resume our biweekly schedule on Monday, April 6, with Challenge #54. Please join us at Double Trouble Challenge #53. There is a very nice prize for a randomly selected winner!

Materials
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White & Melon Mambo
Die: SSS "Painted Happy Birthday"
Misc.: Embellishments, Washi tape and foam tape from stash

Friday, March 27, 2020

A Big Hello


This card is for a quick and easy challenge at Color My Heart Color Dare #387. The requirement is simple: Make a monochromatic card using the color red. Also permitted are black and white. This biweekly challenge begins on Friday, March 27, and runs through Wednesday evening, April 8, 2020.
The sentiment was die cut from white cardstock and adhered to a shadow, die-cut from red cardstock. This was backed with two shadows die cut from black cardstock. Onto a black card base, a background cut from white cardstock was adhered. The sentiment with shadows was adhered to the card front with foam tape. I decided not to add red sequins as planned. The inside of the card was lined with white cardstock trimmed with punched flowers.

I hope you will visit the Color My Heart Color Dare Blog to review our guidelines and play along in Challenge #387

Materials
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Real Red & Basic Black
Dies: Reasonable (large Hello w/shadow) &  MFT Die-namics (Floral Fusion Cover-up)
Punch: Stampin' Up! "Boho Blossoms" (inside of card)
Misc.: Foam tape from stash

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Santa and Friends

April 2, 2020 Update: Top Three Winner at AHSC #361!

The weekly sketch is available at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #361. This fun challenge began on Monday, March 23, and will end on Sunday evening, March 29, 2020.
I decided to use a Christmas theme with a long and narrow orientation using digital, which I colored and fussy cut. Onto a white card base, panels of red then white cardstock were adhered followed by the green patterned paper. Next, strips of red patterned paper were added along with paper lace and strips of black cardstock. The sentiment was computer-generated. Finally, the images were added using foam pop up tape. The inside was decorated with the red stripe paper and lace.
Visit the AHSC Blog and participate in their weekly challenges!

Materials
Stamp: Computer-generated (sentiment); Bugaboo Digital "Christmas Trio"
Inks: Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black & Real Red
Paper: CTMH "Holly Jolly" Collection
Misc.: Paper lace (self-adhesive) & foam tape from stash

Monday, March 16, 2020

Thank You

March 25, 2020 Update: Top Three at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #360.
March 22, 2020 Update: Weekly Favorite at Splitcoast Stampers for the week ending March 21, 2020.
Today my card is focused on a paper collection I've had in my stash for several years. I really love this paper and it continues to be a favorite. I used the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #360 to create my card. This weekly challenge began on Monday, March 16, and will end on Sunday evening, March 22, 2020.


I am also submitting this card to Bitten by the Bug 2 for their "Spring Equinox" challenge. Their challenge is biweekly and runs for 14 days beginning on Monday, March 16, 2020.

First, a cardstock panel was dry embossed with a stone imprint. I adhered it to a panel of white cardstock then onto the gray card base. I matted a square of patterned paper with a yellow patterned coordinate, sponging the edges for definition. In place of the vertical rectangle, I placed a gold foiled honeycomb die cut. A few of the hexagons were filled in with gold glitter paper. 
I proceeded to add the remaining layers following the sketch. The bee was fussy cut. The bee images and small flowers were decorated with Wink of Stella. The inside was lined with white cardstock and decorated with a strip of paper, another fussy-cut bee, and a bit of honeycomb.
Be sure to visit BBTB2's blog to play along. I always enjoy the sketches at AHSC's blog so if you're looking for inspiration to make a card, look no further!

Materials
Stamp: Stampin' Up! "Free As a Bird"
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Gray, Lost Lagoon, Gold Foil, Gold Shimmer
Paper: Dare 2B Artzy "Honey Bloomz" Collection
Die: Hexagons (borrowed)
Misc.: ZIG Wink of Stella (clear), Stampin' Up! EF "Stone", foam tape

Kind Words Are As a Honeycomb


I have always loved the spring season no matter where I was living. Here in Arizona where the transition from winter to spring goes almost unnoticed, the bees are in great abundance. When our cacti are in bloom, you'll have a sore nose if sniff the flowers without checking for bees first!
At Double Trouble Challenge #52, we are celebrating spring with a new theme - "Die-lirious and Punchy." Here are the details:
Thing 1 (required): Troublemaker says she needs to see at least one spring item on your project. This item must be created by using a die, a punch, a Scan n' Cut, Cricut, Silhouette, etc. Even something fussy cut is acceptable.


Thing 2 (optional): Double Dare is daring you to create a project that can also be linked to our partner, Bitten by the Bug 2, where they are also celebrating spring. This challenge usually requires the use of a Cricut but we "cut" a deal with them that you can use any mechanical means to create your items. If you opt to play along at Bitten by the Bug 2 and use fussy cutting, be sure to also include a mechanically made element.
Thing 3 (optional): Twisted Sister is looking for some sweetness. She is hoping to see a bee or its honeycomb on your project. While she's floating like a butterfly I hope she doesn't get stung by a bee!
Using a favorite paper collection, I adhered "English Garden" to a panel of white cardstock and then to a panel of cardstock, adding a length of narrow ribbon. From gold glitter paper, hexagons were die cut and backed with patterned paper. Into a few of the openings, hexagons in gold foil and gold glitter paper were added. I adhered this to the card front using foam tape. A flower was fussy cut and adhered to the background paper over the identical image adjacent to the honeycomb. 
The sentiment was added along with two bees fussy cut from "Artzy Bloomz". The card front was adhered to a white card base. The inside of the card was decorated with a fussy cut flower from "Artzy Bloomz" and another bee along with the remainder of the sentiment. To finish the card, I used a gold-inked gel pen and highlighted all images on the paper that are yellow in color. It measurably brightened the card. Wink of Stella was added to the bees. (The sentiment is taken from Proverbs 16:24.)
"Die-lirious and Punchy" is open from Monday, March 16, through Sunday, March 29, 2020. To enter, visit the DTC#52 Blog or the BBTB2 Blog for details and play along. We look forward to seeing your springtime entries.   

Materials
Stamp: Computer generated sentiment
Ink: Boxun Gel Pen (gold)
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Lost Lagoon, Gold Foil, Gold Glimmer
Paper: Dare 2B Artzy "Honey Bloomz" Collection
Die: Hexagons (borrowed)
Misc.: Stampin' Up! Gold Ribbon (1/8"); ZIG Wink of Stella (clear); foam tape from stash

Saturday, March 14, 2020

Adventure Bound Birthday - Masculine CAS


Tic Tac Toe challenges are a fun way to challenge oneself. Sometimes the ideas simply fall into alignment with one or more directions on the grid and other times it can be a struggle. I like making masculine cards and one of my brothers will be celebrating his 62nd birthday in April, so this grid inspired my card. I kept the card low profile for easy mailing.
This is a monthly challenge for March, The Joy of Sets #015. In the end, I selected the top row - Birthday, Forest, Silver - although my card is also masculine, which first drew me to the challenge.
I added a panel of dark brown cardstock to a green card base, then adhered patterned paper depicting a forest. Although there was a hint of green in the forest design, I lightly sponged additional color onto the patterned paper so it would coordinate with the card base. Finally, I die cut three sentiments - one each from silver, green and white, stacked them in an offset style and adhered directly to the card.


The inside was lined with a panel of white cardstock and decorated with coordinating paper and another die cut greeting, leaving sufficient space for a personal note.

If you enjoy Tic Tac Toe challenges or are looking for one to try, visit the JOSTTT015 Blog and play along!

Materials
Ink: Stampin' Up! Old Olive
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Old Olive, Early Espresso & Silver Foil
Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up! "Adventure Bound" Collection (retired)
Die: Spellbinders "Happy Birthday"

Friday, March 13, 2020

Little Leprechaun

03/16/ 2020 Update: Favorite of the Week at Splitcoast Stampers for week ending 03/14/2020.


It's time for another biweekly color challenge at the Color My Heart Color Dare Blog. Challenge #385 uses a photo for inspiration, which includes a rainbow and plenty of the color green. (There is no requirement to include a St. Patrick's Day theme.)

The leprechaun image on my card was downloaded, resized, printed, colored with Copic markers and then fussy cut. The coins in the pot were colored with metallic gold ink along with the leprechaun's buttons and the buckle on his hat. Onto a white card base, I added two layers of cardstock along with some thin strips of cardstock representing a rainbow for the pot of gold. Wink of Stella was applied to the rainbow. The tree, cloud, grass and dragonfly were die cut. The sentiment was added and the inside was decorated with several tiny gold foil dragonflies.

Color My Heart Color Dare challenges begin weekly and last two weeks. Challenge #385 begins on Friday, March 13, and closes on Wednesday, March 25. For guidelines, visit the Color Dare blog and join us!

Materials
Stamp: Stampin' Up! "Peaceful Moments" & Whimsy Stamps "Little Leprechaun" (digital)
Inks: Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake; Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue, Garden Green, Pistachio Pudding, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Marina Mist, Perfectly Plum, Gold Foil
Dies: MFT (cloud), Memory Box (tree), The Stamp Doctor (dragonfly), Lawn Fawn (grass)
Misc.: Boxun Gel Pen (gold metallic ink), ZIG Wink of Stella (clear) & foam tape. 

Monday, March 9, 2020

You Are Awesome


Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #359 is open, beginning Monday, March 9, and ending Sunday evening, March 15, 2020. This sketch has plenty of possibilities!


In my continuing effort to use up my hoard of patterned paper, I found this silver and green stripe with coordinating floral paper. I like the silver metallic throughout this paper. The stripe is different from the sketch but that's what sketch interpretation is all about - right?
Onto a card base, I adhered a panel of white cardstock then the striped paper. The images were fussy cut from the floral paper.  The vellum was added to provide contrast between the floral images and the striped paper. I like the way the silver stripes show through the vellum. Using foam tape, the images were popped up onto the vellum. The sentiment was die cut and added. The inside of the card base was lined with a panel of white cardstock and decorated with paper and another fussy cut flower. 

Be sure to stop by and visit the AHSC #359 blog - you'll be glad you did!

Materials
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry & Vellum
Paper: Stampin' Up! "Sweet Soiree" Collection (retired)
Die: Sizzix
Misc.: Stampin' Up! Candy Dots & foam tape from stash

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Craft On - Birthday



Today I am posting a card using a sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #358. They always have great sketches. This weekly challenge started on Monday, March 2, and will end on Sunday evening, March 8, 2020.


First, the floral banner was cut and matted with cardstock then adhered to a matted blue stripe panel. This was adhered with foam tape to a panel of embossed cardstock than onto a white card base. The sentiment was computer generated and adhered with thin foam tape. The inside was decorated with scraps of coordinating paper and a Happy Birthday sentiment.

For inspiring sketches visit Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and join in the fun!

Materials
Stamp: Sentiments computer generated
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White; CTMH Carolina & Bluebird
Paper: CTMH "Craft On" collection
Misc.: Stampin' Up! EF, foam tape

Monday, March 2, 2020

Irish Gnome


Being a family history fanatic, several extended family members and I decided to have our DNA tested. There were no surprises as to the origin of our family but the results showed that I had more Irish than I knew. The catch is that we have Northern Irish roots, meaning my ancestors are represented by the orange color in the flag, not the green. 
But I'm going along with the traditional green for St. Patrick's Day. Double Trouble Challenge #51 is giving a nod to those of us with Irish roots - or not. Here are the "Things" you need to know to play along:

Thing 1 (required): Troublemaker wants to see the color green used in your project. (This does not have to be a St. Patrick's Day project.)
Thing 2 (optional): Double Dare is challenging you to create a project that can also be linked to Heart2Heart - The Wearin' o' the Green. (See the Double Trouble Blog for specific guidelines.)
Thing 3 (optional): Twisted Sister has asked her Twin Sister to present the twist.

Thing 4 (optional): Twisted Sister's Twin Sister insists you include something gold on your card if you wish to earn an extra chance to be the random prize winner.
To create my card, which will be mailed to a sibling, I downloaded, resized, printed, colored and fussy cut this cute gnome. He's not a Leprechaun and I am unsure if there are gnomes in Irish lore, but anyone can celebrate the day - Irish or not. Several panels of cardstock were adhered to a green card base. A panel of wood grain patterned paper was adhered. The "badge" was also a download that I processed and added to the card front with foam tape. The gnome was also adhered with foam tape. The amber, green and gold bubbles were added. The inside was lined with a panel of white cardstock and decorated with a glittery shamrock.
Double Trouble Challenge #51 begins Monday, March 2, and ends on Sunday, March 15, 2020. Heart2Heart begins Monday, March 2, and runs through Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Visit these blogs - DTC#51 and H2H and you're in for some great fun!

Materials
Stamps: Whimsy Stamps (gnome); badge (free digital download)
Inks: Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Garden Green, Cajun Craze; cardstock for Copics
Patterned Paper: The Paper Studio "Old White Fence"
Misc.: The Robin's Nest Dew Drops & foam tape