Be Still

Hello!  For today's creation, I combined this weeks sketch at Freshly Made Sketches and the color challenge at the Color Throwdown.  Here's a look at the sketch and the colors:

I used my new stamp and die from Papertrey Ink on the sentiment.  I wanted to stamp the stripes in the background.  After some looking, I finally found this stamp in a Christmas set from Close to My Heart.  I cut the "God" part of the verse out with the matching die.  I cut it with both black and gold paper.  I layered the black beneath the gold to give it a shadow.  It made the gold stand out better.  For the rest of the sentiment, I opted to stamp it with Versamark and heat emboss it with black embossing powder.  

I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog.  This week, it's anything goes.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Jingle Borders - Close to My Heart, Inspired: God - Papertrey Ink

Inks:  Buttercup, Pear - Close to My Heart, Aqua Mist - Papertrey Ink, Versamark

Die - Papertrey Ink

Gold Metallic Paper - Creative Memories

Paper Players Graduation Card

Hello!  I combined two challenges for the inspiration for today's card.  I like this sketch from The Paper Players.  This week at Just Us Girls it was a photo challenge.  I also used Sparkly Dreams again (can you tell I'm loving this stamp set?).  Here are the challenges:

I opted to use two sentiments from the stamp set and the butterfly to create a graduation card.  

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Sparkly Dreams - Verve Stamps
Ink:  Archival Black - Close to My Heart
Sweet Sorbet DSP - Stampin' Up!
Cardstock:  Sorbet - Close to My Heart, Limeade Ice - Papertrey Ink
Ribbon - Maya Road

Be A Good One MOJO490

Hello!  I was super excited to open my mail yesterday, my new stamp set from Verve Stamps was in.  It's called Sparkly Dreams and I know I'm going to use it a lot.  I love the quotes and other sentiments that it has.  Verve packages their stamps so beautifully, it makes me so happy to open the shipping envelope to see the pretty blue tissue paper wrapped around my new stamps.  This time there was a little extra surprise tucked in with the stamp set - this great patterned paper, a card base, and a generous length of black seam binding.  The colors were perfect for using with my new stamps.  What more could I do then to combine them with this weeks Mojo Monday?

Here is the card that I made with my new stamp set and the extra surprise paper and ribbon:

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Sparkly Dreams - Verve

Ink:  Tuxedo Black - Memento

Simple Christmas Wishes

Hi there.  I was so excited to combine 2 challenges for today's card.  I'll start with the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch!, it was perfect for showcasing a textured paper as the base.  I chose to use a new embossing folder that I hadn't even taken out of the package called Cable Knit.  I lightly misted the cardstock with water before I ran it through my Big Shot, the paper is deeply embossed with a sweater pattern with no cracking of the cardstock.  

Since I used the Cable Knit dynamic folder, I decided to combine the sketch with this weeks Merry Monday Christmas Challenge to use red, green, and white.  I cut the New England Ivy with my new die set from Papertrey Ink, I love the stitched border it adds.  I stamped the sentiment with Versamark and heat embossed it with Real Red Glitter Embossing Powder for some color and sparkle.  

I had a hard time capturing the sentiment, so here is a close up:

On a different note, I'm surprised how much of a difference cameras made in these photos.  I have an older point and shoot Canon that I keep in my craft desk for taking pictures for my blog.  I was having a hard time with it focusing on the sentiment, so I switched the memory card to my new camera that my husband got me for Christmas.  What a huge difference in photo quality.  I'm going to retire the Canon and let the girls use it when they go to church camp this summer.  

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Cozy Christmas - Stampin' Up!

Ink:  Versamark

Real Red Glitter Embossing Powder, Real Red Cardstock, Cable Knit Dynamic - Stampin' Up!

New England Ivy Cardstock - Close to My Heart

Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Double Ups: Rectangle Die Collection - Papertrey Ink

Strong Coffee

Hello!  I so badly wanted to create a card using this weeks sketch challenge at Split Coast Stampers, it took me a few days of pondering to figure out all of the layers in the sketch.  I'm so happy with how this card turned out.

I used this cute, free digital set from Verve Stamps called Rise and Shine.  I touched the open loops on the sentiment with some color, and colored the mug with Copic markers.  After they were colored, I brushed the sun on the mug and the lines on the sentiment with Wink of Stella for some shimmer.

Supplies Used:
Rise and Shine - Verve Stamps
Cardstock - Aqua Mist - Papertrey Ink, Sorbet - Close to My Heart, Solar White - Neenah, Kraft - Stampin' Up!
Sweet Sorbet DSP - Stampin' Up!
Copic Markers
Ribbon - Close to My Heart and Maya Road
Wink of Stella

Pink, Grey, and Purple Mojo Birthday

I loved the idea of the color challenge at "Just Us Girls" this week, it's pink, grey, and purple.

I combined it with this week's Mojo Monday 489 sketch.

I wanted to dress up the Pansy Purple medallion I cut out, so I decided to use my brand new Distress Oxide ink to stamp a background.  After stamping, I spritzed it so it would oxidize, and quickly dried it with my heat gun.  After that, I stamped the butterfly over it with platinum pigment ink.  

The Wednesday challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog is to use more than one die or punch.  I opted to make a pink ombre panel using a loop punch that I layered.  I stamped the sentiment and used the corresponding die to cut the banners, and I cut the purple medallion out with a Spellbinders die.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Itty Bitty Banners, Bliss - Stampin' Up!

Inks:  Smokey Plum - Close to My Heart, Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide - Ranger, Platinum Planet - Brilliance

Cardstock - Soft Stone, Smokey Shadow, Sweet Blush - Paper Trey Ink, Pansy Purple, Blush, Hollyhock. Petal - Close to My Heart

Embossing Folder and Banner Die:  Honeycomb and Bitty Banners - Stampin' Up!

Ironworks Motifs - Spellbinders

For Baby

I went super clean and simple for this weeks CAS(E) this Sketch #213. I wanted to combine it with this weeks The Paper Players theme, which was a CAS baby card.  When I sat down to create a card for both challenges, I couldn't decide between  boy or girl, since it was such a simple card, I decided to do one of each.  Here they both are:

Please forgive the photo quality, it's time to retire this camera.  I noticed especially with these photos the odd spots, and lack of focus.  My youngest daughter dropped it about 2 weeks ago, and I think its done.  Here is the boy card:

I've been playing with new inks and cardstock from different companies.  I still like my Close to My Heart inks, however, it's been long enough that some of my colors are retired and I can't order matching cardstock for them.  So this card has some new to me brands of ink and cardstock.   Here is the girls:

If you look closely at the cards, I wanted to do some sort of border on the main white cardstock.  I don't have any dies that emboss a border, but I did have a stitching stamp set.  So I played around with the color for stitching and ended up using a second generation stamped in Grey Wool.
Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Baby Love, Simple Stitches - Close to My Heart
Inks:  Grey Wool, Sky - Close to My Heart, Tuxedo Black - Memento, Lavender Glaze - Taylored Expressions
Paper - Neenah, Winter Wisteria - Paper Trey Ink
Sequins - Target Dollar section