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!