Card Patterns Sketch #172--The Final Sketch

Well friends, the time has come.  Sadly, the Card Patterns Sketch Challenge is closing its doors, leaving you today with one final sketch.  I hope you'll join me this week in saying a huge thank you to Michelle and Tracy for sharing 172 fabulous sketches with us, including this beauty:

I kept my card fairly simple to keep the focus on this gorgeous flower from Waltzingmouse's Roses in Bloom.  I stamped the flower and leaf twice onto papers from My Mind's Eye and cut them out, popping up a second layer of central petals on the rose.

The background pattern was created using a stamp from The Craft's Meow's Retro Foundations.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Kraft), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Quite Contrary)

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse (Roses in Bloom), The Craft's Meow (Retro Foundations), Papertrey Ink (Iconic Images)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip, So Saffron)

Tools:  Spellbinders (circle die), We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Accessories:  Michaels (pearls)

I am so thankful to Tracy and Michelle for inviting me to be a part of the Card Patterns challenge for the past 6 months.  Sketches are always the most difficult challenges for me, but I have thoroughly enjoyed being on this team and stretching myself creatively.  The weekly inspiration at Card Patterns will definitely be missed!

I hope you'll join us one more time and link up your creation at the Card Patterns blog!

The 12 Kits of Christmas--June

It's that time again!  I just love the end of the month when I get to share my super secret creations using the Christmas kit of the month, but I get even more excited to see what the other 11 ladies in the group have created!

This month's host is Amy Kolling, and she provided us with a darling kit full of goodies from Lil' Inker Designs.

Photo courtesy of Renee

I was especially happy to see this beautiful debossed frame.  I cut out the center using a craft knife and backed it with patterned paper (love that the 12 & 25 are prominent).

I layered two of the tree die cuts, scoring the top one down the middle and folding up the sides for added dimension.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Rustic Cream, Ripe Avocado)

Patterned paper:  Simple Stories (25 Days of Christmas)

Stamp:  Lil' Inker Designs (Holly Jolly Sentiments)

Tools:  Lil' Inker Designs (Holly Jolly dies, Sentiment Flag die, Texture Plate Frame 1)

Accessories:  Hobby Lobby (ribbon), Papertrey Ink (buttons), Michaels (gems)

I kept my second card very CAS, keeping the focus on the stamped word "joy", which I embellished with a red button "o".  The candy striped borders are an addition I made to the kit, using a stamp from Practicing Creativity's Retro Christmas set.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, Rustic Cream)

Stamps:  Lil' Inker Designs (Jingle Joy), Practicing Creativity (Retro Christmas)

Tools:  EK Success (border punch)

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (button), DMC floss, thread

For my last card, I used one of the gorgeous pieces of patterned paper from Simple Stories and embellished it with a pretty frame from Flags and Tags.  

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Cherry Cobbler), Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream)

Patterned paper:  Simple Stories (25 Days of Christmas)

Stamps:  Lil' Inker Designs (Flags & Tags, Holly Jolly Sentiments)

Tools:  Lil' Inker Designs (Holly Jolly die set, Flags & Tags die set), EK Success (border punch)

Accessories:  Dollar Tree (ribbon), Michaels (gem), thread

I'll keep this short so you can hop along and see what the rest of the gals did with the kit!  (Just a note:  Cathy will be posting her cards a little late this month, so stay tuned!)

Suzanne:  The Card Yard
Joyce: Cards-by-the-Sea

Kim: CupcakesCardsandKim

Amy: Stamp-n-Paradise

Kara: KandRDesigns

Sharron: OnPapillionWings

Marybeth: Marybeth's Time for Paper

Jeanne: AKeptLife

Jessica: The Paper Parade

Renee: ItsAPatchworkLife

Many thanks for your visit today!  I'm currently vacationing in Acadia National Park, but I'll be back soon.  Have a great day!

CAS-ual Fridays #59--Round & Round

Happy Friday, friends!  I loved seeing all of your pink creations last week for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge.  This week we have another fun challenge, along with a great sponsor.

This week's theme is "Round & Round"--use 2 circles in your clean and simple design.  A circle card base can count as one of the circles.

Our generous sponsor is The Twinery, and they are offering up a fantastic prize to this week's winner. Thanks to The Twinery for providing the DT with some of their beautiful baker's twine, too!

I think I got a little carried away with the circles on my card, but technically you can only see 2 full circles--the scalloped circle "sun" and the orange button in the middle.  *smile*

I've been trying to use some stamps that haven't seen any ink yet, including the Grunged Rays from A Muse Studio and the starburst from WPlus9's Super Star.

I wrapped Lemondrop baker's twine from The Twinery around a scalloped circle, then nestled an orange button with a sparkly heart in the center.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (So Saffron, Peach Parfait), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  A Muse Studio (Grunged Rays), WPlus9 Design Studio (Super Star), Papertrey Ink (Tag-its #3)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (So Saffron, Peach Parfait), Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tools:  Spellbinders (scalloped circle die), Papertrey Ink (impression plate)

Accessories:  The Twinery (Lemondrop baker's twine), Papertrey Ink (button), DMC floss

Sorry to keep this short, but I have two more posts to schedule, then I need pack for my weekend trip!  Be sure to stop by the CAS-ual Fridays blog to see the rest of the Girl Friday creations and find out what you can win this week.

Have a great Friday!

Giveaway winner!

Hi folks!  It's time to announce the winner of the Half Pint Heroes stamp set.  According to Random.org, the winner is...


Banu!

 

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:29Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congrats, Banu!  And thanks to everyone who entered!

Card Patterns sketch #171 & An Announcement

Hello!  I'm back with a card using this week's Card Patterns sketch, but first I want to share some news.  It was announced today on the Card Patterns blog that the challenge will be closing at the end of June.  The Card Patterns sketches have been a source of inspiration to many of us for a long time, and it will be sad to see them go, but you will still be able to access the archives of prior sketches and design team inspiration to help jump-start your projects in the future.

I have enjoyed being a part of this wonderful team and want to thank Tracy and Michelle for all of their hard work!  I hope you'll stop by and wish them well in their future endeavors, too.

Please play along with us on our last 2 sketches, including this week's layered beauty:

This is the last day to enter my giveaway for the Half Pint Heroes set!  I've shown you cards this week using the rocket and car images, so today it's the submarine.  I love how it turned out!

I stamped the sub onto white cardstock, colored it with Copics, and cut it out.  It's popped up on the white panel, where I added three fish and a sentiment from the set.

The starfish are from WPlus9's Guiding Light--I thought they were perfect for this design.  I also stamped "waves" on the background strip using a border stamp from The Craft's Meow's Retro Foundations.  I added shading with a Copic marker to give the waves some depth.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Smokey Shadow), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Patterned paper:  Papertrey Ink (Men of Life)

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse (Half Pint Heroes), WPlus9 Design Studio (Guiding Light), The Craft's Meow (Retro Foundations)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), A Muse Studio (Apricot), Stampin' Up! (Pool Party), Copic markers

Tools:  Spellbinders (circle die), We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back tomorrow to announce the winner of the Half Pint Heroes set!

CAS-ual Fridays #58--Pretty in Pink

Welcome back for another CAS-ual Fridays challenge!  Did you know that June 23 is National Pink Day?  We're celebrating with a Pretty in Pink challenge this week.  Just use pink on your clean and simple design--it couldn't be easier!

Many thanks to our sponsor this week, The Ribbon Carousel, for providing a fantastic prize to this week's winner!

Although ribbons aren't required for the challenge this week, I thought it would be fun to incorporate them into my design.

I'm showcasing images from Half Pint Heroes and Half Pint Heroines again today.  Have you seen my giveaway for the Heroes set?  You still have time to enter!

I couldn't wait to make a sweet little pink car with pink ribbons trailing behind it.  I think I would prefer a thinner ribbon, but this was what I had on hand.  It would be fun with baker's twine, too.

The card was stamped and colored with Copics, with silver pen and Stickles accents.  I cut out the body of the car and popped it up with foam dots.  I tucked the ribbons under the car, then stitched the ruffles into place.

The road was stamped using PTI's Library Ledger and colored with a T4 Copic marker.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse (Half Pint Heroes, Half Pint Heroines), Papertrey Ink (Scrapbook Series:  Library Ledger)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic markers, silver pen

Accessories:  Stickles (Candy Cane, Diamond), ribbon, thread

The Girl Fridays always have amazing designs to inspire you, so be sure to visit them for some fantastic ideas using pink!  I hope you'll join us this week, too.

Thanks for your visit, as always!  Have a great Friday!

Giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for your comments!

Who likes giveaways?  I know I do!  I haven't done one for a while, so it's definitely time.  *smile*

There's a little back story to the prize I'm offering, so bear with me for a moment while I offer up some praise for Claire Brennan of Waltzingmouse Stamps.

As soon as the new stamps were released at Waltzingmouse last month, I put in my order for the darling new Half Pint Heroines, a perfect companion set to one of my all-time favorites, Half Pint Heroes.

In usual Waltzingmouse fashion, I got my order (from Ireland to Massachusetts) in just over a week.  Unfortunately, I had been sent Half Pint Heroes instead of the new Heroines.  When I contacted Claire and offered to return the set in exchange for the Heroines, she told me to share it with a crafty friend instead.  How sweet is that?!

Of course, I only mention the initial mix-up so that I can relate to you, my friends, how gracefully it was handled.  I never get bent out of shape over an honest mistake, and any business large or small can make them.  What earns my respect and loyalty is when those little hiccups are dealt with in a prompt and attentive manner, and Waltzingmouse definitely passed that test with flying colors!  Thanks to Claire for her generosity in allowing me to share this set with one of my followers!

**Just so you know, I haven't been asked by Claire or anyone else to share this story with you, I just love giving praise where it is deserved and letting other stampers know about great customer service.**

Here's the set up for grabs:

For your chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post telling me about a great Customer Service experience you've had--it doesn't have to be craft-related.  

International friends are welcome to enter, too!

I'm going to be sharing some cards made with this set starting tomorrow, so be sure to come back for those!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great day!

Card Patterns sketch #170

Hi friends!  I hope you had a great weekend!  Unfortunately we didn't get to go out in the canoe as planned, as the weather was cooler than expected and my daughter wasn't feeling 100%.  But today is her last day of school, so I'm sure we'll find time for some fun adventures in the coming weeks.

Have you checked out this week's Card Patterns sketch?  We hope you'll play along with us this week for a chance to win a prize from Annabelle Stamps.

Annabelle Stamps provided the DT with the cute Dotted Flowers set to use on our samples.  I decided to rotate the sketch vertically so that I could stamp the fun, curly stems for these flowers.  I cut out the blooms by hand and popped them up with foam tape.

The papers are from My Mind's Eye--I folded the strip of blue houndstooth to make a paper bow.  The sentiment was selectively inked to stamp each word on the banner.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (So Saffron), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye

Stamps:  Annabelle Stamps (Dotted Flowers)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red, Lucky Limeade), Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tools:  We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Accessories: Papertrey Ink (button), DMC floss, thread

Keeping this short and sweet, as I'm off to work!  I hope your week gets off to a great start!  Thanks for visiting.

Stamps for sale & a link

Hi there!  Just a quick post to share a couple of bits of info.

First, I've added a page of Stamps for Sale--just click the tab at the top of the page to check them out.  Feel free to email me at christinamaclaren @ yahoo.com (without the spaces) if you have any questions.

Next I wanted to share a link to a card by Kathy D., who was inspired by a recent card I made and asked if she could CASE it.  How sweet!  Thanks for the link back to my card, Kathy!

I hope you have some fun and/or relaxing plans for the weekend.  We're planning to take the canoe out to an island off the coast of southern Maine to have a picnic lunch on Father's Day.  As long as we don't come home loaded with ticks, it should be a good day.  *smile*

I'll be back soon with a new card for this week's Card Patterns sketch!

CAS-ual Fridays #57

It's Friday!  It's Friday!  Are you all as excited as I am?  I'm thrilled to have my hubby back home and ready for a beautiful weekend.  My daughter's last day of school is Monday, so summer is about to officially begin!

If it's Friday, that also means a new challenge at one of my favorite blogs, CAS-ual Fridays.  One of our very own team members is offering up an amazing prize this week, but you'll just have to click over there to find out the details.  *wink*

Your challenge this week is "clear as day":  use acetate or vellum on your clean and simple project.

I didn't have any acetate or clear cardstock handy so I chose to work with vellum.  I decided to make some vellum clouds for a scene with stamps from Waltzingmouse's Half Pint Heroines.

A co-worker has been going through a rough patch, and I knew this balloon and sentiment would be perfect to let her know I'm thinking of her.  I paper pieced the balloon in bright prints from Echo Park's Dots & Stripes collection.

The clouds were stamped onto vellum and cut out by hand.  Since the vellum is transparent, I was able to flip two of the clouds over to the back to use them in the reverse orientation.

To adhere the clouds, I used a tiny drop of Glossy Accents on the back of each cloud, then added a clear gem on top to hide the adhesive.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Spring Rain, White)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (Dots & Stripes, A Boy's Life)

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse Stamps (Half Pint Heroines)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic markers, black pen

Accessories:  Queen & Co. (rhinestones), vellum

Thanks so much for stopping by on your Friday!  I'm definitely looking forward to seeing your creations in the CAS-ual Fridays gallery this week, as I don't often use acetate or vellum and could use some more inspiration.

Speaking of inspiration--be sure to visit the rest of the Girl Fridays to get the ideas flowing.  Those gals are the best!

Have a great start to your weekend!

Card Patterns sketch #169--Sponsored by Annabelle Stamps

Hi there!  How's your weekend going so far?  I'm still entertaining my parents for a few more days, plus my hubby is away at a conference in New Mexico.  As much as I love the summer, it definitely wreaks havoc on my schedule!

In my few free minutes today, I thought I'd pop in and share my card for this week's Card Patterns sketch.

We're sponsored this week by Annabelle Stamps.  Thanks to Annabelle for providing the DT with stamps for our projects this week!

I used the sweet Dotted Flowers set to paper piece a vase and fill it with flowers, then stamped a sentiment from the set.

I used papers from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy Girl collection, which inspired my color palette of aqua, coral, and espresso.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet), WPlus9 (White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Fine and Dandy Girl)

Stamps:  Annabelle Stamps (Dotted Flowers)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Early Espresso), Copic marker

Tools:  Spellbinders (circle die), Papertrey Ink (polka dot impression plate)

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (ribbon)

Stop by the Card Patterns blog to see the rest of the DT samples and to enter your creation for this week.

Thanks for your visit!  Have a great day!

CAS-ual Fridays #56--Sponsored by DeNami Design

Welcome back, friends!  This week has just flown by!  My parents are visiting, so I've had very little time for stamping or visiting blogs--I hope you'll forgive me.  *smile*

I had so much fun looking at your blinged-out creations for last week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge, and I know you're going to love the new challenge for this week.  We want to see your clean and simple designs using polka dots or spots!

Our generous sponsor this week is DeNami Design, where you'll find tons of cute rubber stamps.  They provided the DT with stamps for our projects today, and I had a lot of fun working with them.  Thanks, DeNami!

I used DeNami's Polka Dot Circle with my stamp positioner to create a rainbow of dots across a white card front.  Next I stamped the Hello Friend sentiment in black and added scored lines on either side of it and below the row of dots.

As a final touch, I attached a black-and-white twine bow under the sentiment.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  DeNami Design (Polka Dot Circle, Hello Friend)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo), Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tools:  Martha Stewart Crafts (Scoring board)

Accessories:  The Twinery (Charcoal baker's twine)

I hope you'll find some time to join us this week with your polka dotted, CAS design!  And don't forget that the rest of the amazing CAS-ual Fridays ladies have even more inspiration for you over on the challenge blog.

Enjoy the start of your weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by!

Card Patterns sketch #168--Sponsored by Prickley Pear

Hi, friends!  How was your weekend?  We had a wonderful time at my daughter's recital on Saturday night, and now I'm just trying to catch my breath before hubby goes out of town for a conference.  Is it just me, or is this the busiest time of year?

I do want to share a quick card I made for this week's Card Patterns sketch, which uses a lovely sentiment stamp from Prickley Pear, this week's challenge sponsor.

I stamped the Find What you Seek sentiment onto a cream cardstock panel and rounded the corners, then added three drops of black Enamel Accents.

The papers are from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Union Square collection, stitched with black thread onto a cream card base.  I simply used a small plate to trace a circle onto the back of the black paper, then cut it out by hand.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Lost & Found Union Square)

Stamp:  Prickley Pear (Find What you Seek)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tool:  We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Accessories:  Ranger (Enamel Accents), ribbon, thread

We're having a particularly rainy and miserable day today and are expected to have more of the same all week.  At least I won't have to water my plants!

I hope the sun is shining wherever you are today.  Thanks for visiting!

CAS-ual Fridays #55--Sponsored by Simon Says Stamp

Happy Friday!  I can't believe we're starting the month of June!  Time has been flying by, and I'd give anything for a few more hours in each day.  I'm several days behind on my blog reader and leaving comments, but I hope have a chance to catch up later this weekend.

For now, I have a card to share for a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge, which also happens to be our monthly Guest Designer search!

This week we're challenging you to "put a bling on it"!  We want to see your clean and simple designs with rhinestones, glitter, etc.  Sound like fun?

Our sponsor for this challenge is Simon Says Stamp, so be sure to check out the CAS-ual Fridays blog to find out more about this week's prize.

One reason why I'm so busy this week is that my daughter's dance recital is Saturday night, so the week has been full of last minute errands and rehearsals.  So when I heard "bling", I thought of my girl's sparkly tap costume and immediately thought of making her a card for her big weekend.

I started with some fabulous glittered cardstock that I've had forever and cut a piece for the card front.  Using my Silhouette, I cut the word "star" from a piece of white cardstock, then stamped the rest of the sentiment above it.  I debossed a large star over the sentiment using a star die and an embossing mat.

Cardstock:  American Crafts (Ocean glittered), Papertrey Ink (White, True Black)

Stamp:  Papertrey Ink (Star Prints)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tools:  Silhouette Cameo, Papertrey Ink (star die)

I hope you'll play along with the challenge this week for your chance to be our next Guest Designer!

Thanks for stopping by tonight!  Have a great weekend!