My Top Ten Cards

Saw this fun blog hop that's happening at The Manic World of Mrs Weyremaster
and thought I'd join along.  Here are my top ten twelve cards (click on the picture to be taken to the original post)

Dog, CAS, Eat Cake Graphics, Waltzingmouse, Polka Dots, Embossing

Dog, Eat Cake Graphics, Embossing

Dog, Eat Cake Graphics, Rubber Romance, Polka Dots, Embossing, for DH

Pig, CAS, Polka Dot, Embossing

Dog, Eat Cake Graphics, Polka Dots, Dare To Get Dirty (DTGD) Challenge

CAS, One-Layer Wonder Challenge, Embossing, for DH

Dog, PTI, Polka Dots, Glossy Effects, Embossing

WPlus9, Flowers, Pretty, Embossing

SU, Pretty, Embossing, for DH

SU, CAS, Pretty, Embossing, Virtual Stamp Night Challenge

Dog, Glossy Effects, for DH

PTI, CAS, Polka Dots, Glossy Effects

TOTALS:

Embosssing and/or Glossy Effects: 12

Dog: 6

Polka Dots: 6

CAS: 5

Eat Cake Graphics: 4

for DH: 4

PTI:2

SU: 2

Rubber Romance: 1

WPlus9: 1

Waltzingmouse: 1

Judging from these totals, my next cards should involve an embossed polka dotted dog!  :) Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

Ok, one last Christmas card!

Now this card did make me see the genius of having a computerized cutting machine, because, yes, I cut all the letters out by hand.  I created the card in Word using WordArt, which makes it handy to play with the layout by moving, resizing, and rotating each word.  The font is Gill Sans.  I printed it directly onto the Echo Park patterned paper in a light grey and cut out using a craft knife and glass mat. I adhered it to another sheet of Echo Park paper using a glue stick.  Hint: an old magazine is great for this-just throw away the page after it gets all gluey!  The heart was punched out and popped up. And then the awesome part...

wait for it....


wait for it....


wait for it....

Heck yeah!!!!  (I couldn't resist adding some festive Picnik lights).  I did the same thing as above: printed, cut out, and adhered.  The corgi is from Eat Cake Graphics, stamped on a piece of felted paper.  Another hint: don't use copics on felted paper!  Pencils work much better.  The hat is from The Cat's Pajama's, stamped on red felted paper with some snow-writer accents (have I mentioned my hatred of the snow writer recently?  It is evil, but looks good).  Another hint: line the back of your felted paper with some clear packing tape before cutting out to make it a bit sturdier.  Here's a corgi close-up:

Merry Christmas to all of you....I hope you get everything you want for Christmas!

(except the corgi is all mine!!)

Harumph.

Is there anything funnier than a disapproving bunny?  Well, perhaps a disapproving cat.

Yup, "Marmie Decides to Leave" from Eat Cake Graphics cracks me up every time!  And such a quick and easy card...stamp Marmie and color with copics.  Stamp ornament from PTI's Tiny Treats: Christmas.  Stamp again on scrap paper, color ornament, cut out and adhere.  Spell out "paw humbug" using The Cat's Pajamas Coolvetica alphabet set (bonus: the "n" can be a "u" so you can stamp the whole phrase at once).  Giggle to yourself the whole time.

And more news to giggle over....we may have a white Christmas here in Alabama!  Wouldn't that be exciting!

Santa's Farm

So I have a certain fondness for farm animals.  Especially farm animals that are doing everything they can to help celebrate Christmas.  Case in point: these guys.

My goodness, I could totally write a post on how many attempts it took to get this card from idea to finished card.  Let's just say I have enough of each animal cut out to make at least two more cards.

The stamp is "All the Animals Stacked Up" from Eat Cake Graphics, stamped on October Afternoon and Stampin' Up patterned paper and heat embossed with black (makes it a bit easier to see on the patterned paper and to cut out).  I stamped the entire image onto Papertrey Ink Ripe Avocado and cut it out, leaving a small border.  Almost all of the animals could fit through the small Xyron adhesive runner, which I love to use to adhere paper pieced things.  To get Miss Bessie Cow through, I took out the cartridge from the X and it gave me enough room so she just fit.

I stamped the message (also from ECG) onto some kraft and tried out my new distress ink (fun!).  Then the whole stack was popped up with dimensionals onto some Echo Park Christmas paper (yes, more distress ink practice the edges), bordered with Ripe Avocado and kraft.

I'm just sayin' that the recipient of this card better love it or I'm asking for it back.

Hellllooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

My apologies for such an extended blog break!  You know how the holidays are!  But I finally got some cards made this weekend, so I have lots to show you over the next few days.  First up:

Making a doggie christmas card with new stamps + watching Survivor finale = vacation happiness!

I started with Eat Cake Graphic's A Scarf for Ferguson.  I took some SU Pumpkin Pie paper and crumpled it until it was soft enough to pull apart into two layers.  I then rolled this felted paper through the cuttlebug with just an embossing mat and cardboard shims to flatten out some of the "extra-felted" portions.  I stamped Ferguson on two sheets, and cut out his ear so it would fold up on one.  I layered the second one underneath so you wouldn't see polka dotted paper, and used a small piece of dimensional tape to prop the ear a little.  The scarf I stamped and cut out from some Echo Park paper-I also stamped and cut it out twice so I could have the pattern going opposite ways for a more realistic look.  I fringed the ends and also popped them up on small dimensionals.

The window is from Waltzingmouse's Twas the Night Before Christmas, embossed and cut out from SU Chocolate Chip.  The shutters and sentiment are stamped onto Close to Cocoa and Santa is stamped onto Not Quite Navy, with some stars added with a stardust pen.

The background paper is also Echo Park.  It's a big card--8 1/2 by 5 1/2--but I think Fergie deserves a nice big card, don't you agree?

I hope all your holiday plans are going well...I just sent off gift packages and cards today so all I have left to do is wrap DH's gifts!  It's nice to have almost a whole week to enjoy the tree and lights without present-buying-and-wrapping stress, and hopefully that means some more stamping time, too!  Stay tuned!

Tags, tags, and (you guessed it) tags!

First of all, a much belated thank you to Angela of Paper Cupboard for this ultra-fabulous Thanksgiving card:

I love how Angela has no fear of mixing papers and always comes up with the most creative accents!  I love the little fabric trim, the stickles in the middle of the eyelet border, and the wonderful shimmery glittery accents she added to the wreath berries.  You can read all about it on her blog here.

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted a card!  You know how it is around the holidays (and the end of the semester).  I've been hard at work this week making gifts for my fellow teachers...a set of holiday gift tags.

I try to have fun making the tags, remembering that the point is that they are handmade and each one does not have to be perfect!  I also try to make an eclectic mix, and this year was no different:

Clockwise from top left (you can always click on the pic above to get a bigger view):
Joyeux Noel: Oooh, I love this fun retro look.  The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse, and the snowflakes are from all sorts of different sets (I arrange the stamps, then stick a block over all of them so I can stamp them all at once), embossed with some Zing embossing powder.
Merry Kiss-mas: Used PTI's Tiny Treats: Christmas and Mat Stack 1 die.  I added some white gel pen to the mistletoe.
Deck the Halls: Waltzingmouse Vintage Labels 4 combined with PTI's Tiny Treats.  If you plan cleverly, you can get 13 of these labels from one sheet of paper.
Oh, deer: PTI's Fillable Frames 9 plus Tiny Treats.  I didn't buy the die for this frame, but they were pretty easy to cut out and you can get 24 tags from a sheet!
Merry Christmas: Waltzingmouse stamp, love the vintagey look of PTI's Fine Linen
Is it too late: The Cat's Pajama's stamp, added some white gel pen and stickles accents.
Warm Wishes: Waltzingmouse Vintage Labels 4 combined with PTI's Tiny Treats.
Let it Snow:  PTI's Fillable Frames 9 plus Tiny Treats.  I love the icy look of the Brilliance ink.
Be Merry and Bright: Ah, my absolute favorite and so easy!  Waltzingmouse stamp and sentiment, heat embossed with silver.

I stamped the "to/from" from Fillable Frames 9 on the back of each tag.  Also, in case you were wondering, I used Versafine Satin Red for all of the red ink on the tags--it is such a wonderful red, and I don't know why I always forget about it!

Whew!  Glad that project is checked off!  Now I need to make a few more cards and then start wrapping some presents.  Oh, and I guess make some tags for me to use!  :)

How are you coming along on your Christmas to-do list?

I May Have Addiction Issues.

So, I'm not sure if you've heard but I'm a BIG fan of picnik for playing around with photos (LOVE thier new winterize effect!).  I may have gotten so addicted that I'm actually-gasp!-going to send out photo Christmas cards this year. I know, I know, it's like I've crossed over to the dark side.  But, let me explain:
1) That Addison is a cutie patootie.
2) Especially when you picnik her photo
3) With only about 2 weeks left before I have to mail out cards, and having only about 10 done, there's no way I could get enough done to send out, even if I went completely clean and simple.
4) With the card I picked out from Shutterfly, we will totally win the "best photo card" contest of any mantel!
5) Shutterfly is offering 50 free photo cards in return for blogging about said photo cards.  It's the last day to sign up for the promotion, check it out here.

Plus it's been a while since I sent out photo cards-we sent one out with our engagement photos the December before we got married, and then sent out one with wedding photos the next December.  Both times we ordered from Shutterfly and got so many compliments.  We've been slackers the past couple of years for no real reason, and then I go to check them out this year and-wowza-they have really stepped up their game!

I mean, how cool is this top ten list?

Or I do always love a monogram!

This last one was a very close second to the one I finally chose. I love the aqua mist and red color scheme:

Which one did I choose?  Well, you'll just have to wait and see what shows up in the mailbox!

(ps--I'm in the middle of a tag-making frenzy right now, but I hope to have some new cards to post soon!  Thanks for keeping tuned in!)

Joy!

Arg!  I made this card for last week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge, but forgot to post it and link it up before I left for Thanksgiving!  Oh well, at least it's also for Wplus9's Color Cue 10 challenge (I used Hannah Craner's light blue, white, red, and kraft combo), which is still open!

The "Joy" stamp is from Taylored Expressions, colored with copics (B00, BG10, and BG23 for the blue, R22, R24, and R27 for the red). The dotted border is Waltzingmouse, then I cut and embossed using Nestie Labels 4.  The paper is..you guessed it, Echo Park!  Added some red baker's twine and embossed the card base using PTI's text impression plate, and ta-da!

My Christmas card box is getting more and more cards added to it...I hope there'll be enough when I start sending them out!

As I mentioned, I was out of town for Thanksgiving, so I did not get to wish everyone a happy day and let you know how thankful I am for all the inspiration from your blogs and all the warm fuzzies from your comments.  And how thankful I am to have found not only a hobby that I love, but that has some of the most awesomest ^[1] supportive people on the interwebs!

Thank you!!!

^[1] Yes, "most awesomest," because y'all are that awesome.

Quick Sunday Post

Because it's almost time for TAR ^[1] (and of course the required TARcream^[2])!

So these are my three current crafting loves:
1) Echo Park Paper
2) Waltzingmouse
3) Eat Cake Graphics

Put them all together and what do you get....

 Some serious cuteness!  I stamped ECG's "Sophie Willoughby and her letter" onto PTI Vintage Cream and colored with copics. I also stamped her again on a piece of white scrap to cut out and pop up for her letter. I framed her with Waltzingmouses's Vintage Labels 4 stamped with PTI Hibiscus, die cut, and sponged around the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink.  The "note" was a journal card from Echo Park's Everybody Loves Christmas pack, and the stickers are from the same pack (I know!  Echo Park makes me like stickers! Who am I?).  The background is PTI Simply Chartruese, stamped with PTI Polka Dot Basics II in Ripe Avocado, then bordered with PTI Hibiscus and Scarlet Jewel because I couldn't decide between the two!

Also wanted to send a BIG THANK YOU to Emily Keaton of My Little Slice of Bliss. She gave away blog candy for reaching 5,000 hits and I won!  Just look at the stack of awesomeness that arrived yesterday:

Thanks again, Emily, and thanks for always leaving such lovely comments.  Definitely check out her blog if you haven't already--you're in for a treat!

Ok, TAR is calling my name, so I'm outta here!

^[1] The Amazing Race, aka The Best Reality Show Ever.
^[2] Ice cream consumed while watching TAR.

Invasion of the Blog Snatchers!

I know, you're going to look at today's cards and think to yourself, what alien has taken over Meg's blog today?  Can you count the number of ways this is Not My Style?

1) White card base (I'm just not a WCB type of gal!)
2) Jewel tones!!  Including PURPLE (PTI's Plum Pudding).
3) PURPLE AND RED.  Living together on the same card!  Right NEXT to each other!  (I was going to include this with #2, but I think it deserved its own bullet point)
4) Massive amounts of imperfection!!  That I LIKE.
Did you spot any others I left off?

I made a set of these for my MIL's birthday.  Here they all are:

I versamarked and white heat-embossed SU's Upsy Daisy on PTI's Scarlet Jewel, Plum Pudding, Ripe Avocado, and Enchanted Evening, then cut out the strips and pasted them back together onto a scrap square of cardstock.  And I must admit, the colors looked pretty good together.  But then I decided to do a little cracked glass technique, and wow, the colors just got so rich and beautiful!  And when I was melting the UTEE (ultra-thick embossing enamel), it melted the original white embossing and made it streak-which I  thought looked all artsy.   I cracked three of them, and the fourth one left alone.  Here's a couple more closeups:

In other Meg news, I recently started devouring books again.  You know how it is when you're reading an "ok" book and it takes forever to finish it?  Then you read a good book and you finish it in a day because you stay up all night reading it?  Then you remember why you liked to read in the first place, and start reading more and more?  And start checking out armloads of books from the library and amazon starts daily dropoffs of used books at your doorstep?

Or is that just me?

Well, the two most recently devoured book have been It Sucked and Then I Cried by Heather Armstrong (of dooce.com)--very funny and very good birth control (ha).  And then I picked up The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber.  Why?  I have no idea.  It's not like I even like historical novels.  But, oh my, once I started it driving home from Atlanta (edit: DH was driving, I was riding!), I stayed up all night to finish it!  Could not put it down.  It was certianly not a story I've read before, and that goes a long way with me.  I would say Sucked is about 4 stars out of 5, and Rachel is definitely a 5 out of 5.

Let me know of any books that have kept you up late recently!

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

You know how sometimes a card makes you happy the whole time you're making it?  This was one of those cards!  I cut out Eat Cake Graphic's Ethan and Oliver snowy saucer fun image, colored with prismacolor pencils  (I did have to ask my DH what color saucers are-he said definitely go for bright red!).  The dp is Echo Park (slight addiction issues), and the bottom layer is PTI Aqua Mist, embossed with Cuttlebug snowflake folder, then inked with white ink.  I added some red twine, and the handwritten tag.  I think I may put "....wish you a Merry Christmas" as the sentiment on the inside.

So I know what you're thinking, aw, this is cute and all, but really, how did it make you happy the entire time you were making it?

Because Ethan and Oliver tilt!

I used this tutorial from Splitcoast and it was really pretty easy.  And fun!

Oh, and another thing that made me happy making this card?  I've been telling Holly that she keeps accidentally putting tails onto dogs that are obviously Corgis (of the Pembroke variety, don't try to get fancy and tell me they're just Cardigan Corgis) and this one has big ears, short legs, and no tail!  Definitely a for-real corgi!

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

Brrrr!

Are y'all starting to get some winter weather?  I think we've officially tipped over into winter this weekend, so that certainly got me in the mood to start making some Christmas cards!

Brrrr!!  I feel cold just looking at this card!  I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch and this wonderful Eat Cake Graphic image, "Sarah pulls Nicky and Otto."  Of course the girl has to do all the work while the boy and dog just take in the view!  I used watercolor crayons and SU markers to paint the image with my aquapainter. Here's a close-up:

The green Echo Park DP was cut with Nesties Labels 4 and the sentiment is a K&Co rub-on.  The brown DP is also Echo Park.  I punched two snowflakes, inked them with PTI Chai, added a button and some twine, and attached it to PTI Scarlet Jewel ribbon.  I made this a larger card-5x7-to accomodate the larger image (and because I just found a new stash of 5x7 envelopes in a drawer), and also put the image panel off-center so the lil' doggy could look up at the snowflake.

Now I'm going to go wrap myself up in a blanket to get warm!

Stay tuned for another fun winter card tomorrow!

Waltzingmouse Tag Challenge

SQUEEEEE!!!!  Have you seen Waltzingmouse's upcoming release? Holy moly, I know I NEED at least two of the sets, if not three!  Plus I'll probably have to pick up her Labels 14 set, too....watch out, credit card!

Unless, of course, I win the random pick for the Tag-You're It! challenge -the prize is 100 pound shopping spree (plus an extra 25 for using Waltzingmouse stamps)-I'm pretty sure I could spend that in a heartbeat!  So without further ado, the lucky, lucky, lucky (I hope!) tag:

Claire wanted "beauty" and "elegance" and I think the sentiment, stamp, and paper certainly fall under the "elegance" part.  I stamped Waltzingmouses's Vintage Labels 4 using Colorbox Deep Green chalk ink, then applied a K&Co rub-on I picked up for pennies on clearance. Hint: run your rubon through your cuttlebug with some paper/cardboard shims for a perfect application.  The larger label die cut is from Echo Park's Merry Christmas paper pack-expect to be seeing a lot more of this paper in the next two months because it's just gorgeous.  I used PTI Dark Chocolate ribbon to wrap the larger label around the bottle of wine.  Then I punched a hole in each end of the smaller label and ran some red twine through (of course had to add some buttons), then attached the label using foam tape for a little dimension, and tied the twine in the back.

I went into our huge wine stash (of 3 dusty bottles) and was so excited to have one with the perfect winter scene:

How could this not bring comfort and joy?

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Swell News!

A friend requested a card for a relative's baby shower.  There didn't seem to be a "theme" on the invitation, so I went with this cute stamp from Amy R Stamps (from All That Scraps).  My friend told me she was giving a gift card, so when I saw this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge, I knew it would be perfect!  The paper is the current SU baby paper.  The preggo shirt was cut out and pop dotted, then framed using Waltzingmouse's Vintage Labels 4, which was also popdotted.  I sewed the pocked onto the card, then made the tag pull by attaching one end cut from a Nestie Labels 4 to a rectangular piece of cardstock.  I put two removable adhesive dots on the tag (with the backing still on them) so my friend could attach the gift card. I tied up the baja breeze ribbon with some chocolate twine and added the "baby" tag from PTI Mini Mixed Messages. Here's a close-up:

In entertainment news, we finally jumped ship from Blockbuster.  We were using their mail-in service, which was pretty sweet because you could trade in the DVDs at the store, so we used to have 3 mailed DVDs and 3 store DVDs out at one time.  Then I guess they figured out they weren't making much money that way, and cut it back to 3 only.  Then they filed bankcrupcy AND they didn't have The Office Season 6 AND my brother-in-law has been bragging about instant downloads, so we joined NetFlix.  Why did we wait so long?!?!?  I'm loving the instant play feature in my stamping room!  We also hooked up our Wii to it as well.   If you're a DVD or TV watcher, I'd recommend trying it out.  You can do a google search and easily find a free 4-week trial.  What are some of your favorite "background noise" movies?

Happy Halloween!

My card for DH today...Eat Cake Graphics image, SU Halloween Specialty paper, and handwritten white gel pen sentiment.  I used a warm grey prismacolor pencil to add some color to the mummy couple, cut the image using a deckle-edge nestie rectangle, and sponged some black ink on the edges.

Hope everyone gets some good candy tonight!  Happy Halloween!

Dog Riding Vacuum

I think Dog Riding Vacuum is now going to be the title of my memoirs (replacing Answers May Vary: See Student Work^[1] as my working title).

So without futher ado, here is said dog: 

I just had to have this Eat Cake Graphics "Hank on his Hoover" image as soon as I saw it!  For Mr Hank (although I must say it was not until now that I realized Hank was a boy witch.  Do they make boy witches?  Wait, are they called warlocks?  I guess you can tell I was never in on the goth scene), I stamped and heat embossed on SU Soft Suede, PTI Smokey Shadow, and some Fancy Pants "All Fall" patterned paper, added some details (like coloring in the hat, eye, and bottom of the vacuum) with prismacolor pencils, cut out, and paper pieced.

[ETA: Doh!  I completely forgot I had used this week's fabulous Waltzingmouse Sketch for this card!]
For the moon, I brayered Memento Tuxedo Black over orange All Fall paper with a post-it circle on it, then removed the post-it.  The fabulous twine is Martha, from Angela, and the "boo" is from SU Tiny Tags.  For the bottom layer, I spritzed Gingersnap SmoochSpritz over the same patterned paper I used for the vacuum, which leads me to two Spritzing questions:

1) I've tried using Spritz twice (I don't want to talk about the first time).  Each time, it ends up running down my fingers and hands.  I must be doing something wrong, but what it is?  I thought I knew how to use a spray bottle.
2) Does this stuff ever dry?  I left it out for 24 hours and I still got some on my hands as I was taking the picture.

We stocked up on Halloween candy at Target yesterday, so we are all ready for Saturday and/or Sunday.  DH is trying to talk me into dressing up as Princess Leia, "you could just wear the normal white costume, not the Jabba Slave costume!"  Gee, thanks, buddy!   What are y'all or your little ones dressing up as this year? 

^[1] Explanation of my previous memoir title: I had a student a few years ago who was sent to the alternative school and, based on the work that I received back, it seemed that maybe he was just copying from the teacher edition.  As I checked futher, my suspicions were confirmed when he wrote the answer to one of the open-ended math problems as, "See student work."  Classic!

Too Cute To Spook!

Yippee!  I got my first Official Design Team Stamp Package from Eat Cake Graphics in the mail this week and got to make my first Official Design Team Card (can you tell I'm a wee bit excited about being on a DT?).

Aw, poor Zero wants to be scary, but I think he's like Addison and just too cute to spook!  The paper is SU's Halloween specialty paper, and the bats are flocked-how much fun is that?  I cut it down to 5 3/8 by 5 3/8 and mounted it to a PTI Smokey Shadow base.  I stamped Zero on Gina K Pure Luxury, colored him with grey copics (C1, C3, C5 and C7), and cut him out.  I stamped the bat wings on another piece of paper from the same SU pack that has Halloween words on it, embossed with black embossing powder, cut out, and attached to the back of Zero.  I used foam tape to pop Zero and his wings up.  The letters are stamped with a Basic Grey $1 set and embossed.  Although hard to see, the ribbon is American Crafts cordoroy ribbon that coordinates with the flocked bats. 

Only a week until Halloween--I better get going on some more cards!

My Exciting News!!

First, I'd like to sincerly thank y'all for the heartfelt comments on yesterday's post.  I treasured each one (Well, I treasure every comment, but these even more!).  I hope you said your "I love you"s yesterday!

Now back to your regularly scheduled blog filled with rainbows, sunshine, and puppies:

I've been waiting since last week to share my big exciting news and it's finally official!

I made the Eat Cake Graphics Design Team!  Yippee!!!  This is my first design team so I am really excited!  Hence all the exclamation points!!!!

I've got a plan for my first card that I hope to make this weekend, but I thought I'd post an oldie-but-goodie:

I think this was a Mojo Monday sketch.  Stuart and Puppy Scooter fly were paper pieced with some rugged kraft paper and colored with prismacolor pencils, and given some sponged clouds and fringed grass to fly among.  As you can see, my obsession with SU Sweet Slumber DP goes back quite a while.  The sentiment is from The Cat's Pajamas.  I like these type of cards...not CAS, not "heavy lifters," just some fun layers and ribbon.  Be sure to check out ECG's A Sprinkling of Samples blog for more inspiration!

Whoduthunk when I started all these stamping shenanigans that I would end up as an Eat Cake Graphics Design Team Member, a SCS CAS Guest Designer, and be featured on the SCS Facebook page all in one week?  Just goes to show you it pays to DREAM BIG!

In Memory of Cindy

My sister should be celebrating her birthday today with our parents, her husband, and her two wonderful boys.  Instead, breast cancer stole her away from all of us last December.  She was one of the most generous, caring, drop-everything-to-help-you person, so I know she would be happy knowing this card was being sent to MD Anderson as part of Splitcoast's Hope You Can Cling To card drive.

To celebrate her birthday, I'd like to ask you to go tell someone you love them, be it your husband, your child, your dog, your cat, your brother, your niece, your aunt, your best friend, your second-cousin-once-removed, or your sister. 

Because you never know when life will be too short.

CAS 89 Guest Designer

Yippee!  I was chosen as a Splitcoast CAS Guest Designer for the fall, and this week is my week!  It was based on a super sketch by kstamper, a card that was already in my faves (love the hand drawn cord border and the wonderful "glow" she sponged around the bulbs).  I was a bit stumped when I sat down to make a card, so I asked my DH for some ideas.  He suggested using a branch in place of the bulbs, and then this card resulted (ok, to be honest, two and half fails resulted first, and then this card):

This card makes me want to put on my fall boots!  I started by masking the left side of the card with a 3/4 inch border.  I also masked off part of the top, just so I could eyeball the top leaves to break the border. I used PTI's Out on a Limb stamp set, and I found it easier (read: fail number one) to stamp the leaves first and then the branch.  I used SU Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, and Really Rust classic ink for the leaves, and Really Rust for the branches.
The set also comes with individual leaves, so I stamped four of those falling from the tree.  I tried to be really artsy (read: fail number two) and have one of the leaves be behind the sentiment, but it ended up looking better just above the sentiment.  After stamping the PTI Vintage Picnik Sentiments sentiment (ha) in Pumpkin Pie, I used a ruler and SU Really Rust marker to draw the border.  Fail 2.5 involved the left side not being lined up perfectly, so some of the branches came out the other side of the border.  As Ben Franklin once said, "When life gives you branches outside of the border, just make your border thicker."  Such a wise man, that Ben.

After the first card, my mojo started working on its own, so I made this one for my DH.  I masked off a 1/2 inch border all the way around the card and used a paper towel to sponge in Fresh Ink Blue Slate.  I stamped the sentiment, from PTI's Tiny Treats: Valentines, in SU Chocolate Chip, then hand drew the border with the Chocolate Chip marker.

The airplanes flying in formation are also from Tiny Treats, stamped on Riding Hood Red with Crystal Effects applied (a little silver and pink prismacolor pencils, too).  I threaded one piece of brown and white twine through the eyelets and tied the planes on, so you can pull one down and the other will go up.

I hope you're inspired to try the sketch out this week!  Thanks again to the fabulous CAS DT team for picking me as a guest designer!

(Random blog question: do you need/like/want the in-depth description of the card making?  Or should I assume I'm dealing with fairly well-educated stampers that can figure most things out on their own, besides a few supplies and such? I always say I'm not going to write a novel about a card, and then I end up with War and Peace.  I teach teenagers, so seriously, you can't hurt my feelings with your opinion on the matter!)