CAS-ual Friday's #72--Toot your own horn!

Hey there, lovely people!  Thanks so much for stopping by today.  It's been an especially busy week at work, so I'm very happy to be *almost* to the weekend.  Luckily, that also means it's time for a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge!

This week we're asking you to "toot your own horn":  create a clean and simple project based on your own blog header.  How fun is that?!

We're sponsored this week by A Muse Studio, and you'll have to stop by the CAS-ual Fridays blog to check out the awesome prize up for grabs.

I think it's pretty obvious how I was inspired this week.  *grin*  I can't take credit for the design, of course, since I just copied the lovely colors and arrangement of elements that Karen Baker came up with for my new blog header.  Have I mentioned how much I love it?

The colors I used are SU's Island Indigo, Pool Party, and Peach Parfait.  Stamps are from WPlus9's Guiding Light and PTI's Faux Ribbon and Think Big Favorites #4.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Guiding Light), Papertrey Ink (Faux Ribbon, Think Big Favorites #4)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Island Indigo, Pool Party, Peach Parfait)

Tools:  WPlus9 Design Studio (starfish die), Papertrey Ink (Linen & Canvas impression plate), corner rounder

I always look forward to seeing the creations in the challenge gallery, but I think this week will be especially interesting.  How does your blog header inspire you?

Thanks again for your sweet comments, my friends.  I always appreciate your visits!

Have a great start to your weekend!

CAS-ual Fridays #66--Splish Splash!

It's Friday!  Yippee!  Do you have any weekend plans?  We're heading up to Mt. Washington on Sunday and going to an amusement park to celebrate my daughter's 7th birthday, which was Wednesday.  I can't wait!

There's a super fun theme for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge--we want to see your clean and simple creations that have been inspired by the water!  Whether it's the ocean, pool, or pond, we hope you'll get your craft on and share your results with us this week.

Our sponsor this week, offering up a gift certificate to the winner, is Stop and Scrap!  Be sure to visit their online store, where you'll find loads of beautiful papers and accessories to feed your crafting addiction.

This is the first time I've had a chance to use the Guiding Light dies from WPlus9.  I used them to cut out the starfish and sand dollar from Peach Parfait cardstock, and I love the detail on the sand dollar in particular.

The large lighthouse image and stripes were heat embossed in white on a Marina Mist panel, which is framed by thin strips of Peach cardstock and mounted onto a white card base with foam dots.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Marina Mist, Peach Parfait), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Guiding Light), Papertrey Ink (Birthday Basics)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Marina Mist, Peach Parfait), Tsukineko (Versamark)

Tools:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Guiding Light dies), Papertrey Ink (banner die)

Accessories:  Filigree (embossing powder)

I really love how this turned out, and it's already on its way to my dad for his upcoming birthday.  :)

Hop on over to the CAS-ual Fridays blog to find out more about this week's challenge and prize, and to see what the rest of the Girl Fridays have cooked up!

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back with a special post in a few hours, so feel free to come back and check it out.  ;)

Enjoy your Friday!

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!

ColourQ #125

Hello there, ColourQ fans!  Ready for a new color challenge?  Feast your eyes on this week's quilt-inspired palette:

As I was flipping through my stamp sets, WPlus9's Guiding Light caught my eye and seemed perfect for a masculine card using these colors.

I made a 4 1/4 inch square white card base and debossed it with PTI's Book Print impression plate.  I then die cut a window in a square of Baja Breeze cardstock and popped it up with foam tape.

The rocks, bird, and cattails were stamped and cut out by hand before tucking them into the window to make a little scene.  I added a Terracotta Tile button and starfish to the bottom corner and another button tied with floss around the top of the card.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Baja Breeze), Papertrey Ink (White)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Guiding Light)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Basic Gray, Lucky Limeade, Baja Breeze), Clearsnap (Terracotta)

Tools:  Spellbinders (Labels 1), Papertrey Ink (Book Print impression plate), corner rounder

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (buttons), DMC floss

No sentiment on this one--I'm thinking it will be great to pop in my hubby's bag one of these days "just because".

Check out the rest of the fabulous DT samples this week, then add your creation to the gallery to be in the running for Colour Queen!

Thanks for visiting, friends!  Have a wonderful day!

CAS-ual Fridays #34

Hello, friends!  Thanks for stopping by.  My crafty space was calling me this afternoon, as the last few days have been emotionally exhausting.  I won't bore you with the details, but this year has not gotten off to the best start for me, and I'm feeling like I need another vacation!

Now that I think about it, maybe that's what led to the soft-hued, beach-inspired creation I made for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge.  The challenge this week was to use chipboard, and this rosy piece with a sand dollar was calling to me from my stash.

I started by stamping the starfish from WPlus9's Guiding Light using tea dye ink on a Rustic Cream panel.  I inked the edges, rounded the corners, and adhered it to a Dark Chocolate card base.

I cut two strips of Hawaiian Shores cardstock, trimming one with my pinking shears, and attached them 1/3 of the way up from the bottom.  These help to ground the sentiment, from PTI's Ribbon Tails, and the chipboard piece.

I inked the edges of the chipboard and wrapped a bit of baker's twine around the top before attaching it with foam adhesive.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Rustic Cream, Hawaiian Shores, Dark Chocolate)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Guiding Light), Papertrey Ink (Ribbon Tails)

Ink:  Papertrey Ink (Tea Dye duo), Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip)

Tools:  Fiskars (pinking shears), corner rounder

Accessories:  Me & My Big Ideas (chipboard), The Twinery (Caribbean baker's twine)

I actually started this card yesterday, with the sketch already in my head, and had to walk away from it because it just wasn't working.  I decided to try to salvage it this afternoon, and I'm glad I did.  I've found that the only way for me to break out of a creative slump is to just keep creating, even if things don't turn out quite as I'd hoped.

Thanks again for visiting me today!  Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for a new CASE Study challenge!

CAS-ual Fridays #9

Hey there, friends!  I'm happy to have had a chance to play along at CAS-ual Fridays again this week.  The challenge is to create a masculine card using kraft paper.  Not too difficult for me, since kraft is my go-to color for masculine cards!

I had to take my pictures early this morning, before hubby left for the day with the camera, so they're looking a bit yellow.  The center panel is Rustic Cream cardstock die cut with a Labels 3 nestie and stamped with a coordinating frame from Waltzingmouse.  I like the nautical look of the rope.

I stamped the heron and piling from WPlus9's Guiding Light, a favorite go-to set for the ocean loving men in my family.  The sentiment is from PTI's Botanical Silhouettes anniversary set.  

The kraft panel is partially debossed with woodgrain, leaving a strip for stamping a nautical border from PTI's Men of Life.  Two Terracotta Tile buttons tied with jute twine add just the right amount of color.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Kraft, Rustic Cream), Stampin' Up! (Early Espresso)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Guiding Light), Papertrey Ink (Botanical Silhouettes, Men of Life), Waltzingmouse (Very Vintage Labels No. 3)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Early Espresso), Papertrey Ink (Chamomile Tea Dye)

Tools:  Spellbinders (Labels 3 die), Papertrey Ink (Woodgrain impression plate), Martha Stewart (Scoring Board)

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (buttons, twine)

This card will be fun to pop in the mail for my hubby while I'm away on my road trip starting at the end of next week.

Thanks for dropping in today!  I hope you're having a great week!