Attempt number two...

I realized something as I was making this condolence card. I don't actually know if my co-worker's mother died. For all I know, I could have made "the wrong" card again. *Sigh* Guess I'll find out today at work.

Anyway, I decided that I would make another challenge card. I like having sketches to work with and I like being a part of something. It makes me feel like less of a nerd in a basement. (Even though, deep down, I know that I'm a nerd in the basement.)

Here's the list 'o challenges that I did this card for.
 - Raise The Bar's Debut Day Challenge
 - Get Sketchy #21 (Ok, this is a little bit of a stretch, but the Papertake and Get Sketchy sketches were SO close, I had to try it!)
 - Cute Card Thursday - Pink & Grey Color Challenge
 - Papertake's Weekly Challenge Sketch #32

I am hoping that it will be lovely enough to convince Mr. Randomizer to pick me as the guest designer for Papertake's design team. *crosses fingers* Wish me luck!

On to the card, I used 2 new stamps the butterfly is from the Martha Stewart clear butterfly stamp set and the sentiment is from Stampology's Remember stamp set. I used silver ink (generic) and stamped both pieces onto pink vellum from Making Memories. (Yay, clearance bin!) I used gray metallic (Yes, it's gray metallic and not silver; I also have silver in this set. :) )  embossing powder from Al A Mode on both stamps and then colored in the back of my butterfly with pink Sharpies and Vellum Writers. The cardstock that the elements rest on is from an unbranded "mulberry" pack that I got at Ben Franklin's in Havre, MT. Why is it that Havre has a BF but Butte doesn't? Lame. Back to the card, the pink glitter dotted paper is from Target's $1 deals and the gray cardstock (the small one that the butterfly is on) is from DCWV. I think that about covers what I did and where I got it from. Oh, if you want to check out a really awesome tutorial for "stain glassing" stamps check out Erin's Inky Smiles blog where she shows a multicolored butterfly! Thanks, Erin!

Oops! My major card faux pas!

Monday, I was called into work because a co-worker's mother had fallen ill. I, in my own special way, assumed that the illness was standard "elderly parent needs care". Unfortunately, her mother had been given only a few hours to live. Something I learned after making this card. So, I brought the card back home with me. As you can see, it's a bit too whimsical for a condolence card. I think I might send it as part of the cards that I'm planning to send for Jennifer McGuire's latest Cards For Kids drive.

Anywho, the card is intended for two card challenges
- Sketch and Stash's Sketch 26 (I tweaked it a little bit, the sentiment and cloud make the little rectangles in the top right corner.)
- Lucy's Monochromatic challenge (A very slight deviation with the ear and cheese, these were pre-colored.)

Oh, there are some new bits in my card - a new image (thanks to a Creative Commons search) and a new stamp (Sweet n' Sassy sentiment stamp from Owl Occasions). Also, the paper and the brads are all SEI Moravia leftovers from the Swappin' Sistahs' latest card swap. A great way for me to use some scraps...wait, I think I saw a scrap challenge recently. Hold please...nevermind, I can't find it now. But now, I'm determined to find it! Expect an update soon!

Two two-challenge cards in two days! How two-riffic!

(Wow! Talk about FAIL blogging. Earlier today I updated to say that this card was meant for 3 challenges. But, in my hurry to get to work, I updated the wrong card. Now, I'm at work and looking at a very un-embossed card and asking myself "does that look like an embossed beer mug? I don't think so. If you're looking for the the actual YNS #7 - Embossing challenge card, click here, otherwise, read on!)

Well, I have to go back to school on Wednesday. *Sigh* Unfortunately, all of my crafty time will be obliterated with the start of my LAST SEMESTER! (This is my last semester though, that deserves a big WOO HOO!)

In the meantime - I present to you another multi-challenge card! This card is my entry for 2 challenges

 - Get Sketchy's Card Challenge #20 - sketch

 - SPCC Color Challenge #29

I just found out about Stampin' UP and I am kind of sad that I had to scrounge through my Bazzil and DCWV cardstock instead of using the SU colors. I tried my hardest to find something close to Melon Mambo and Rose Red. Honestly though, I just scrounged through my stack o' paper and said "Melon Mambo, Mambo Melon" over and over because it was fun to say aloud. ;)

This image is from Pollycraft Designs and it was last week's freebie. So, if you want it for free you'd better move fast! It won't be free much longer. I actually pre-colored the image while at work this weekend (now you know why I have the job I have!) before I decided to do the challenges. I love how the color combo and the sketch worked well to pull out the colors from the image. Not sure if you can tell, but the flower and hearts are popped up and all of the hearts and the flower have "Glossy Accents" over them. Oh, and the hearts along the bottom are pretty close to matching the color combo. I love it when things come together like that. Also, please note that my glitter addiction is alive and well, I outlined the hearts and sentiment with my glitter pen. It's not a boy card, therfore, it's ok!

Card Details
Paper: Cream (The Paper Company); Melon, Red, Blue (DCWV Adhesive Matstacks), Lavender (Bazzill Basics)
Stamp: Digital Image from Pollycraft Designs
Embellishments & Tools: Glossy Accents by Ranger, Glitter Pen by Gelly Roll, and Rub-on hearts and sentiment by Colorbok, 3-D foam by 3L Adhesives, Loew-Cornell watercolor pencils, waterbrush by Zig, Xyron Make-a-sticker 250

And now I'm even double dipping!

(Edit: After learning of the amazingness of Your Next Stamp, this card is now for 3 challenges! w00t!)
This frosty birthday card is for three challenges. (That's pretty big for me!) The first challenge is the Pollycraft Monday Challenge. The challenge this week is to use winter/christmas stamps on a birthday card. So, I pulled out my DCWV Holiday matstack and my trusty Inkadinkadoo Snowflake stamps and made my own patterned paper (under the beer glass). I colored the beer glass with colored pencils and popped up the beer foam. I used light blue shading and some clear embossing powder to make it look a bit more enticing. Yum-o! Fantabulous embossing on the foam makes this card YNS #7 - Embossing worthy! Score!
 I then used my making memoried magnetic stamp set (and the Rummage Alphabet) to make my sentiment. After I decided what I wanted to make, I decided I needed a sketch. I'm a little predictable with my layouts! So, I headed over to Tuesday Morning Sketches and found the perfect sketch. To make the sketch fit my bubbly beverage I pulled another piece of patterned paper from the Holiday matstack and cut out some equal sized snowflakes.
I think I've finally made a card for a guy without using glitter, ribbons, pink, or flowers. I'm beaming with pride now! And it worked for three challenges. Lovely!
Card details
Paper: All from DCWV Holiday Collection
Sketch: Tuesday Morning Sketches
Stamps: Magnetic stamp set by making memories, Grunge Alphabet
Embellishments: Clear embossing powder from A la card, Snowflakes cut from DCWV Holiday Collection paper, 3-D foam from 3L adhesives, colored pencils by Crayola, image from stash

Swappin' Sistahs Card Swap - My turn for torture!

Note: We have a "name" now - we are the Swappin' Sistahs. I'll try to add this into my post titles from now on! :)

It was my turn to send the supplies this month so I headed to my LSS and picked up 2 SEI sets of paper and embelishments. I was the December sender (he he, that rhymes!) so the ladies got some extra supplies as a cheery holiday surprise!

I made two cards! Up first is this one - I used paper and acrylic brads from the SEI Winter Song collection and a stamp from the G Studio (AKA Michaels $1 bin). The scalloped edge comes from the special blade I picked up for my Fiskars rotary paper cutter. Even though I plunked down $40+ for a nice Purple Cows Cutting set (the freestyle mouse) I still prefer my rotary cutter. It probably has something to do with my poor dexterity and obsession with straight cuts! ;)

You might notice that I actually layered my card. Impressive, no? I used my new Cuttlebug die to cut out the intricate squares and made them into stickers...using the Xyron Create a Sticker 250 this time. :P While the paper is part of a Christmas collection, I really don't feel like the card is overly Christmassy. Thoughts?

The second card is also a thank you card, noticing a theme yet? The card uses paper and embellishments from SEI's Moravia collection which also came from my LSS. I actually had a dream that lead to this layout. (Don't ask, it's better that way!) I resisted the urge to put this on a solid background and went with the "subtle" pp approach. It's not too patterny and it seems to ground the lines under the copper panels well.

With the exception of the G Studio stamps (again, Michael's $1 bin) and embossing powder, I didn't add anything from my collection. I did cheat a little though. I used ribbon that I had from the Moravia set...but not ribbon that I sent out to everyone. Is that really cheating though? :) Also, I'm admitting to a cover-up mission. The oh, so, cute button embellishment is covering my crappy stamping/embossing job on the Thank you image, where there were supposed to be flowers there were roundish blobs. But I meant to do that! ;)

Hope you enjoyed my cards now head on over to the others' blogs so you can see their wonderful creations!

Belinda

Ren-Yi

Laurie

This month is Ren-Yi's turn to send out supplies and I can't wait to see what she's going to challenge us with!

The Wedding Scrapper - Part Deux

As promised, here's the rest of the wedding scrapbook for Miss Jen. The title page features an 8x10 of my favorite wedding photo and uses all of the colors from the scrapbook. I kind of thought the book needed to begin on the same level that it ended on so I titled the page "Our Wedding". (For the record - All of the embellishments are from K & Company and all of the Vellum quotes are from Colorbok.)

Then we have the card I made for the pocket. I wanted it to match the book which meant it needed to be (1) simple, (b) in the same color spectrum, and (4) use the same set of embellishments (if any). (<- Sorry, that's a terrible reference to Home Alone...I apologize!). However, my rules didn't state that I couldn't go nuts and abuse my Sizzix! So, the "love" and <3 come from a Sizzix Bigz die, the blue base is from the labels 3 Nestabilities set, and the corners are from a Cuttlebug die. I couldn't help adding a little bling with the round gemstone from the K & Company embellishment from the album.

I used the sticker machine, again, to make the corners sticky. Which seems to have worked well. I kind of feel like it needed a little dimension but it's not bad the way it is. It's just kind of plain...oh, wait. In this case that works, and it's good! Woo hoo! I did something right!

On that note, I'm out of here! Have a happy Friday! Find yourself a date and get some love! ;)

We "owl" wish you a happy birthday!

This week, I found another obsession - Skipping Stones Design. They had a blog hop earlier this week and just opened their store. I wanted some of their super awesome stamps pretty bad but, Christmas left me broke so, I just used their Card Sketch 2.
The details --
     I used the 1/4 inch corner rounder on my Crop-a-dile Corner Chomper for all of the rounded corners. The balloon, hat, present, and Olivia the Owl are all cut out from the Owl Celebrations set by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. I used foam sitckies to raise the hat, balloon (but not the string), and the whole "Happy Birthday" section off of the cream base. I colored the stamps with my black Copic markers and assorted Marvy Brush Markers. The plaid and blue papers are from Die Cuts With A View and the Cream cardstock is from the Paper Factory. Being the queen of thrift, you can guess where the buttons came from. That's right - Goodwill! Best $7 giant bag of crafty stuff ever! I accented the Happy Birthday stamp, from Making Memories, with my Clear Star Gelly Roll pen. Yay, glitter!
It's a pretty darn cute card. I must say, I'm liking all of this time I have right now for crafting. :) Enjoy!
Check out the Skipping Stones designer that inspired me to make this card - http://scraptasticvoyage.blogspot.com/2010/01/tuesday-alreadyand-blog-hop.html

A wedding present: a little early and a little late, all at once

My friend Jen got married in September and I (along with a friend) took photos for the wedding. Her very late but oddly early wedding/anniversary gift is this scrapbook. I will be giving it to her tomorrow, I let you know what she says about it.

Anywho, I'm being lazy, so this is just going to be a picture post with some assorted commentary from me (aka, the peanut gallery)! (Please note, the book is missing a front page and a card. Both will be completed when I get the photos I ordered after work. Look for another post in a day or two!)

Jacob & Jennifer McCulloch

10 September 2009

Each section is color coordinated: Ceremony, Formals, Portraits, Flowers, Reception 

 

It's a little odd but, I felt like titling the family page...don't ask why!

Also, please note that I am merely an accesory to the assault of the bride in the spread above!

With the spreads on the left, above an below, I started to play with 2 pages that "go" together.

I like these 4 pages the best! (Plus I finally used some of the ribbon that I bought for invitations in July!)

While the flower page on the right (above) does have bling, you could tell that I was at a loss for layouts at this point. Oh, well. There has to be a "least favorite" part of every project!

On the left, we have photos from the micro-reception and subsequent car painting. And finally, I had a blank page...so, I filled it. Since I already gave the bride all of the pictures on a thumb drive, I figured that I would use the CD slot/envelope/thingy to put in a handmade card that matches.

There it is. 19 pages of "simple elegance". If you had any knowledge of the planning phase of the wedding you would totally understand the reasoning behind the super "plain" pages. I like to think of it as "clean" since I'm not one to go gaga over a 1 lb. scrapbook page! :) Oh, and before you ask - the album is in black and white because the two cameras used were not shooting in the same color profile...oops!

Copics, a pepper, and glitter on my man's card

Poor guy...I don't have the decency, or restraint, that Belinda and Laurie have when it comes to making masculine cards, well, masculine. The only thing manly about my hubby's v-day card is...well, there's red on it...

I mean, seriously, it's for Valentine's Day! How manly is the holiday in the first place? On to the card!

This is another one of those "I'm a n00b" type of posts. This it the first time using:

 - Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (Punny fruits and vegetables)

 - Copic markers

 - my Xyron 150 sticker maker

 - a knot instead of a bow

 - paper from Target

 - a Cuttlebug embossing folder in my Sizzix BigShot (Spots and Dots)

 - a real easel to hold up my card

You see, I'm a total n00b!

I think the card turned out well even if I did use all of my Copics on this card! (Ok, I own these three!) They are actually really nice to color with, I'll be using these a lot! I also have an apple and pear that I can use from the Punny Fruits & Vegetables set! Oh, boy!

The only real problem I had was that the Cuttlebug folder cut out the Spots & Dots design instead of simply embossing it. I may need to review my "sandwich recipe". Oh, there was also a bit of "user error" with the 150 sticker maker. I didn't know which way was "face up." No, I wasn't at a crop. No, there's nothing wrong with my 250. Yes, I just wanted to play with the new toy that the hubby got me. For all of his caring and love, he got glittery hearts!

Enjoy the card and the artsy photo of my new markers...I think I'm in love! (Shh! Don't tell the hubby!) I'm braving the world of challenges again and submitting this for this week's A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge. Wish me luck!