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!