Playing cards with Anita

I am sure that you are familiar with a sweet gal in France, Anita, and her genuinely lovely comments!

Well, today is her birthday!

My friend Michele of I Card Everyone and I are playing cards together and CASE-ing Anita over at the Stamplorations blog!  Anita is the Guest Designer for the month :)

Here are Anita's beauties...

And here is my card that I created to celebrate Anita and her special day!
As you can see, Anita's cards are always perfect and CAS!

I went in a different direction with mine.

I focused on her hearts inside the circular shapes and her colours.  I used a lonely and old but NBUS Stampin' Up stamp from an unknown set.  She was begging to get inked up for this event!

I first stamped in SU Smoky Slate and made masks for the 5 heart encased florals.  When masked, I sponged distress inks over the panel, blending as best as I could.

The inked sentiments are from PTI Big Hugs as well as the Hugs die cut.

The sunshine die cut is from SSS. 

I am wishing Anita a most beautiful day filled with everything wonderful!
Bonne Fete ma Belle!
Bisous xxx

Muse 147

Playing cards with Michele today with her Muse post!

I am making Valentine's Day cards and had the perfect card... in my head.  

It's a little skunk with a sentiment that says "I stink I LOVE you" and I knew Michele would get a kick out of this.  Guess what...she is missing :(

So, I had to come up with something else.  I knew that I was inspired by the use of patterned paper and the stitched oval so I pulled out my stitched circles (no stitched ovals here) and black heat embossed this old SU mouse with Happy Heart Day sentiment onto my water colour die cut and painted with KTGansai paints, except for the green.  It is sparkly and from an inexpensive set from Michael's.  The patterned paper is an ode to Michele's popcorn...doesn't  it remind you of the popping motion?  I must say, I had a lot of fun making these, even though I couldn't find my little stinker skunk!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is super!

I Heart You...CAS

Happy Sunday!

I have made quite a few Valentine's Day cards for the local grocery CoOps and wanted to show a few of them today.  This first one is a CAS card and it qualifies for the Time Out challenge with the Valentine's day theme and optional twist of hearts...the little buttons I had in my stash and the Versamark heart.  I stamped a Pistachio Pudding card front with SU Smokey Slate for the SU floral stems and also the sentiment from Technique Tuesday.  The sentiment is stamped over a PTI heart that was inked with Versamark.  Simple, right?

I will be back showing some more cards later today...

Thanks for stopping in!

Chriss

Have a great Sunday!

Lovely Colours

Another Friday!

I have been running around like a crazy woman prepping for a community garage sale.  Oh yes, time to clear out some stuff :)
I saw the new Colour Throw Down #310 and thought, now that's a pretty amazing trio of colours.  I would have never thought to put these together.
I started with a Heidi Swapp chevron stencil and sponged my 3 colours, a light and a dark version on the rows.  I then stamped this leafy branch from SU and added some petite stamps images from PTI (various sets that I have the teensy images set aside, apart from the mother stamp set).  This did not turn out like I thought it might, but I still love the colours together!
Happy Friday all!
hugs-Chriss

Three for #2

Told you I would be back!

I saw the current cue word over at Casology and have lots of ideas to make cards with, as 3 is such a natural thing to gravitate to in our card making hobby!  I am using 3 NBUS items on this card and offering it up for Darnell's NBUS #2!  In my first ever order from SSS, I ordered this gorgeous Season's Greetings die (exclusive to SSS and entering for the Monday challenge) and decided to die cut in a rich red (Pure Poppy from PTI or Real Red from SU...I have them mixed up by mistake) and also die cut into my brushed silver card front and inlaid.  I am also using a brand new to me SU floral and matching punch set "Flower Shop" that I stamped in Versamark on vellum and used a Ranger brand red embossing powder and heat set.  3 of these for the Casology cue.  The centers in the flowers are rhinestone from SU from last Christmas that I had to have right then...this is the first time I have used them.

So, that's my card for these three challenges...

Thanks for stopping in-Chriss  

Card Concept with beloved Spiro and Starfruit

Have you ever seen something so striking that you can't get the image out of your brain?
That's what happened to me when I saw the current photo inspiration over at The Card Concept challenge 17.  I loved at first site and knew that I wanted to create with Stampin' Up's Starfruit colour...but what stamp to use.  I have a Dahlia stamp, that would do, but I wanted something a little more interesting and challenging to me.  Something that I could build the design with.
Enter my beloved Spiro Garden set from Technique Tuesday.  This little baby had been missing in action for a little over 6 months and two weeks ago I found her!
That's what happens when you commit to a partial hour a day in the craft room for "organizing"!  I am so pleased (insert happy face)

I was inspired to create the large flower in the left hand corner.  I started to build with the 8 petal image and then used the single petal and masks to build out.  one end of the single petal has a natural "shadow" when you stamp it, so that determined which end of the petal I would use to align with the one before.  I really had a blast making this and I attribute the challenges, like this one,  that I have been following for several months now for the influence.  I would also like to add that taking the Stretch your Stamps 2 classes the last couple of weeks has given me a different direction and confidence!
I am finding that I am embracing the "white space" more and more these days...along with distress inks.  I had 1 distress ink for a couple of years and yesterday I purchased 9 more :)  yipee!
So, I think the white space on my card allows me to tag as CAS...don't know about the seed beads I added.  The sentiment, a SU favourite of mine was stamped in Memento Dove Gray ink.
I am also entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge "Anything Goes"

So, that's it for now!  I am working on creating a Smoking and Grilling journal/scrapbook for my dear hubby.  I love that man and today's his birthday!  Mine is a few months away, so I get to say I am the year younger for a little while longer !
Thanks for your visit, I sure do appreciate every one of them.
hugs,
Chriss

It's a Girl!

A second post for me today...I forgot to link up this little baby girl card for the Card Concept challenge # 13.
I have been spending a few minutes, here and there, trying to reorganize in the craft room.   I have come across lots of leftover pieces of paper and when I saw these two patterned discards, I thought a baby card could be made.  I covered a card front with the larger polka dotted piece of paper and made a top layer for that which is popped up and scalloped at the bottom.  I pulled out an older SU oval sentiment and pram stamp and used PTI Hibiscus Burst for the ink onto a vintage cream CS.  I die cut a Spellbinders Mega Oval to layer under this and I cut out a SU sentiment to use as a little flag.  I added a few sequins to finish it off.  Happy for this challenge as I don't have many baby cards in the stash.
Thanks for taking a peek,
Chriss

Shout it from the rooftop!

Hi there, here is my submission for the CASology 100th challenge-CELEBRATE!
This little guy is shouting from his rooftop so that all can hear.  I am also entering this for the Magenta Stamp challenge for "School's Out!", because this little Magenta birdie(one of my favourites)is very happy for school's end and the start of Summer vacation :)

I used a Memory Box die cut branch and added a few snipped leaves from a Sizzix die.  The Magenta bird was coloured with Copics to mimic the local titmouse that are around this time of year.  He is usually a cardinal!
I can't remember the little birdhouse manufacturer...an old Cornish Heritage Farms stamp...I think?
I also made the speech bubble from a PTI coaster board.  I just cut out freehand and rounded the corners then used a Copic to outline the edges a little.  The Celebrate stamp is from Stampin' Up and I added some bracket stickers and exclamation.
Congratulations CASology and happy summer to all with children at home.  Have a memorable and safe one!

CASology Bee Birthday

Good morning!  Here is my "bee" card that I created for the latest CAS-ology week 97 challenge...

I used a Memory Box fancy die (cut the extra flourish edges on either side) that I cut from DCWV metallic copper foil card stock, cut out an oval with the standard Spellbinders original oval out of a black and white patterned paper, coloured in some of the lines in yellow and popped up for the body.  The sentiment is from SU and I embossed in copper.  I placed on a white and yellow stripe patterned paper and then over-layed some black card stock that was shaped with MFT "snowdrift" die.

Oh, just making the deadline on this!!!

Thanks for peeking!

Have a great Monday

Chriss

CAL-Card Concept #4-Himalayan blue poppies & CAS(E) this sketch #65

Hi there!  It seems to be the week for poppies over at my two favourite card challenge sites...
I did not see anything else at the moment to stamp my card for the two challenges that I am entering this card into, just not using my own imagination for interpreting differently, but I do like this Clean and Layered card that I made for the Card Concept challenge #4 and CTS # 65 with an older Magenta poppy stamp and a fern frond from K and Co. that I stamped and cut out.  The poppies were stamped onto a card stock weight velum from PTI in black craft ink and then heat embossed with black and I cut out, replacing the stems with some that I free hand cut out of PTI Limeade Ice CS.  I coloured the back of the stamped/embossed poppies with a blue Sharpie.  The colour on velum looks very close to SU Baja Blue and that is what I used under my floating white panel.  The sentiment is from Stampin' Up.  This was also black craft ink and heat embossed onto a parchment velum and I trimmed to look like a thin banner.  The little Mason jars are from Unity and I stamped in white PTI Fresh Snow and heat embossed with SU Tempting Turquoise powder onto the same heavy weight velum and then I trimmed out.  The backs of the mason jars are also coloured with a Copic.  To give a little base weight, I stamped a PTI border with Baja Blue ink.  So, as you can see, I used this sketch quite literally and for the Card Concept theme, to use florals, I also used the poppies for inspiration, just a different colour theme.
Hope that you are having a fun day and getting some crafting in!  Thanks for stopping by!
Chriss

Romantic in Mint

I have a little card to share tonight for the Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger "A Little Romance".
I created a birthday card using the CTS 37 sketch as a starting point and this patterned paper that is a soft mint green with a delicate doily pattern. I created 5 little flowers from mint green mohair that I have in my knitting stash and placed a pearl on a paper center on each of them.  The twig is a Memory Box die and the sentiment is a SU. 
Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great start to your week!
Chriss

Shells on coral

Hello everyone, hop this first week of July is going well for you.  I wanted to pop in to post a birthday card that I made recently.  I used this rich colour coral card stock from Stampin Up that I embossed and I think it is a nice match to the pretty patterned paper.  I used a shell border punch (Martha Stewart) and stitched to an older piece of Memory Box bluish/gray paper for the center panel.  Sponged the edges with the matching ink and added the Stampin Up sentiment panel, sponged and adhered to some chipboard.  I then stamped various shells in gray and coral, more spongeing and added a shell from Mother Nature herself.  Simple and I now have another card for the stash!
Have a great week and Happy 4th!

Elegant Easter blessings

Good morning!  I made another Easter card last night...that means another entry into the challenge at Splitcoast for Spotted Canary.  There is a huge prize up for grabs.
I don't often create with yellows, but this card is chock full of yellows.  Inspiration is from the Magenta tile and the yellow daffodil.  I found some Bazzill card stock that I thought was a good match and created from there.  The patterned paper that I layered under the cs is a K & CO. one that I have had for a couple of years, you know the collections that Michaels had in the pretty pink boxes?  I can almost always find a pattern or colour in there when I am looking for a match of some sort.  As you can see, I used a MS border punch again on the edges.  I also stamped this PSX elegant egg in black onto the same patterned paper and cut out 5 of them to use as a border, instead of a lace.  The Magenta tile is sitting on a mega scalloped oval.  The Easter Blessings sentiment is also an older item, from SU Fancy Flexible Phrases.
Thanks for taking a peek!
Chriss
It's cold here today, 46 right now, but we have promises of the temps going to the low 70's.  Still no rain here and we sure do need it!

Easter basket birdie

Hi there!  Today's card is my take on a pink Easter card using Card Patterns Sketch 108.  This is definitely a spring card, so I am entering over on SCS for this challenge that's going on.  I have had these two patterned sheets of Neapolitan Ice Cream? for over a year now...so time to cut into them!
I embossed the front of the card with a Sissix EF, cut the center panel strip from one of the patterns and used a MS border punch on either side (swirling lace I think)and cut the other pattern for the top shape with a Spellbinders Mega scalloped ovals die.  The SU basket stamp is from the A Season of Flowers.  I stamped it in SU gray and coloured with Copic markers and layered the pink and white circles, then adhered with foam.  I used a CB die for the circular ribbon sentiment holder and stamped the sentiment from SU elegant Sentiments.  A paper flower from Michaels and a K & CO. stick pin in the center of the flower finish it off.
Thanks for taking a peek today,
Chriss

A Cameo appearance

Hi there!  I am still in Austin, leaving for Montreal tomorrow as my flights were cancelled today through Dallas.  It sure is cold and windy here in Austin!  The temperature fell 30 degrees early this morning from 64 to 34.  The wind picked up and did some damage to a fence, knocked down  five panels, oh dear.  DH is in a snowy part of the country until Friday, Boston.  What a thing to have to deal with upon his return, but I just could not do anything about it today.

I had started this Cameo card on Monday, but did not have time to finish, so that's what I spent a little time on today.  The cameos that Cath showed us on the Moxie Fab World blog are so breathtaking.  Here is my humble attempt at making a card with one.  The Cameo is one that I had in my stash from Webster's Pages and I touched the ivory parts of the flower with a peach Copic marker and some craft SU blush blossom ink to add a very slight hi-light to the piece.

The papers are from Graphic 45 "Once Upon a Springtime", a very romantic collection of 8 X 8 sheets with some whimsical images on the reverse side.  I added teeny tiny black rhinestones around the Cameo that was layered onto a scalloped oval.  I stitched around a Label one die cut (I cut out a section of the label shape to make it more rectangular) and used this as the "frame for the Cameo.  The sentiment is from the Well Scripted SU set and I also made a flower from the same patterned papers and added a Tim Holtz button to the center and set some of the same black rhinestones in the center. 

All of the paper edges are sponged with craft SU blush blossom ink.

That's it friends...

So, hopefully I will be getting to my destination tomorrow, although I just checked the weather and Montreal is expecting 20 centimetres of snow tomorrow...I will get to test my driving skills after having not driven in wintry weather for 12 years now!  Wish me luck,

Until later,

Chriss

MFW Gray and Pink Bee

I've been working on some Valentine cards for my family and designed this one for my DD.  She is 24 and very active, like a little bee!  She mentioned to me just this last week that IF she ever decided to get a tattoo, it would be of a pink and gray bee, a tiny one.  Well, this is a thought, I can make a card for her that will mean something to her and I can enter it into the MoxieFabWorld Gray is the new Black challenge :)

Do any or all of you out there suffer from tying everything back into stamping and creating?  Do you see an article of clothing and think, oh! I must make a card with that colour combo?  Do you save something from packaging to make something else with it?  Maybe I'm just weird, but it happens to me all of the time.  This flower is made from a Spellbinders Flowerability bouquet that I embossed with the die and tan mat, added a jeweled center and added some loops of gray twill (the handles from an Anthropologie bag !) that I thought gave the flower a nice homey look.
The bee is a Pink Paislee stamp from the Queen Bee series and I stamped once on the pink cs and the sparkly bee wings were stamped with SU basic gray ink onto some SU sparkly white cs and I then went over the sections with a clear Spica sparkly pen and a pink Spica that I used on the wing edges.  The polka dot gray paper is some old SU and the circular border is a PTI die (1st time that I am using it ~ love it!) I hope she likes this :)

Hopscotch Valentine

Another Hopscotch Valentine!  Love this Basic Grey Hopscotch pad for Valentines cards, yummy colours!
I used another coloured Lockhart cupcake and this time I used Claudine Helmuth multi medium gloss on the pink hearts.  I like this effect as it gives a little dimension to them and they stand out more with the shine.  I used the end of a paper clip to apply the medium.  The punched shape is a SU punch from a while ago.
The border is layered with a wide white ric-rac length, a MS lacy borders punch and a narrow strip of the brown pattern paper.
The sentiment is an older one from SU and I used SU basic brown and added a few pink pearls to frame the hugs & kisses.
Here are a couple of close-ups.
Thanks for stopping by
Hugs,
Chriss

HYCCT08 Make a Flower

Good Friday morning everyone!  I have been busy making cards, cards and more cards.  Here is one that I want to share with you that I made for one of the SCS Hope You Can Cling To month long challenge.  The challenge...to make a flower.  I made three for my card, simple ones using a PTI flower die on some SU pink cs, another layer in SU Pear Pizazz and I added some PTI pink buttons for the centers that I embellished with embroidery thread and also with seed beads.
The paper is BG Eskimo Kisses and has all of the colours in it for the SC colour challenge CC292 earlier this week, so 2 challenges!
I will be adding this card to my package for the 


UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
The Department of Volunteer Services – Unit 115
Attn: Maggi Suttles
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
1515 Holcombe Boulevard
Houston, TX 77030

Dear Friend CT100!

It's the Color Throwdown's 100th!!!

This is what I came up with using THE big challenge colours.  
There is quite the party going on over at the CT blog, trust me and go check it out for yourself!  Lots of wonderful prizes, waiting to be won.
Onto my little card...the card base is Baja Breeze and I used this wonderful dp from the Cosmo Cricket Early Bird line as it has BB and Certainly Celery in this cute pattern.  I then created a center panel with BB and gave it a tiny pierced scallop border with an EK border punch.  I stitched that onto the center of the card and added this great SU sentiment and cut out with a Spellbinders Label One die, edged it in BB and popped it onto foam.  I had these great glazed Heidi Grace pieces, a button bird and a cute bird tile sitting on the window ledge that I thought would work quite well with this colour theme, so I cut out two flowers in Certainly Celery with a PTI flower die and edged these in BB.  I added the HG bird to one of the flowers and a button from my stash.  Both of these "buttons" are threaded with a length of narrow pink silk ribbon that I bought at a brand new needlework shop...today!

Here is a close up of the bird tile and the red blind pull.  That's all the red I could manage...


I have to tell you, these colours really made me work and think, but I like the way it turned out :)
Thanks for taking a peek...now go and check out this wonderful Color Throwdown Bash!


Happy 100th Color Throwdown gals!
Thanks for taking a peek,
Chriss

CCCB11 Shades of Green

The theme for this week's City Crafter Challenge 11 is to use shades of green.

Here is my try...

I made a very simple card using this pretty textured green and ivory patterned card stock from JoAnn's called Mint Green Porcelain (no brand name on the back?)for the card front and parts of a couple of the flowers and the sentiment label.

The flower punches are Martha Stewart and I layered the two different sizes...easy!

I made a border of laces and ruched ribbon that I had in my stash and sewed the top edge of the border with the sewing machine.

I had sewn the perimeter of the two card stock fronts together with the old sewing machine previous.

The SU! sentiment was stamped and cut out as was the teeny Inkadinkado bird cage. I added some tiny green rhinestones that I cut apart from a fancy rhinestone cluster and added these to the birdcage.

I popped the flowers, sentiment and birdcage on foam and placed on the card front.

That's pretty much it! I love how it turned out!

Great challenge!

Have a great Friday. It's raining here in Austin and will be raining for the whole weekend they are saying...

I am sure there will be some sort of break in the weather to do some grilling. Hope it is warm and sunny for you to celebrate the holiday weekend!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Chriss