A "stinky" valentine card

I bought a new stamp the other day at Pointer's scrapbook store on my lunch hour.  It is from Great Impressions and I couldn't wait to play with it.  I found a sketch challenge that I really liked so decided to play along.  Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

The matching sentiment which I stamped inside the card reads "it would stink if you weren't my Valentine."  Lace, ribbon, flat back pearls & crochet flower are all from my stash.  I used a Fiskar's scallop heart punch and the paper is from a Recollections 6 x 6 paper pad - With love.  I coloured the hearts and grass with my Prisma pencils and I added Glossy Accents to the heart the skunk is holding.  I love this card and will probably give it to hubby come Valentine's Day.

 

Freshly Made Sketches

I felt like crap this morning when I woke up - headachy, nauseous & dizzy.  I was hoping I would feel better in time for me to go to work, but that didn't happen so I stayed home today.  I was feeling a lot better later this afternoon so decided I wanted to join the Freshly Made Sketch Challenge.

Here is the sketch:

Here is the card I made:

White card stock, design paper is from Bo Bunny - A gift of love, stamped sentiment from my stash, (not sure who made the stamp), white heart is a Fiskars punch, red heart is a Martha Stewart punch, tag is a Sizzix die. and the ribbon and heart bling is also from my stash.  I am quite pleased with how this card turned out.  

 

My favourite things sketch challenge

I love sketch challenges.  I really like My Favourite Things sketch challenge as it is CAS (Clean and Simple)

Here is the sketch:

And here is the card I made:

This was so easy to put together, a rose die, some bling, and some ribbon.  Paper is from Jillibean Soup 6 x 6 paper pad - Grandma's Lima Bean Soup.  There are some interesting and different papers in this pad.  I can't say that I like all of them but this particular one I really like.

I am also entering this card into the One Crazy Stamper - Anything goes challenge.


 

TLC 413

I love challenges, be they sketch challenges, colour challenges or technique challenges.  The challenge this week on Splitcoaststampers Try a New Technique is to Focus on the Dies.  Just yesterday I went to One Crazy Stamper in Bolton to pick up an online order I had placed.  While there, I picked up a new Marianne Craftable Die as well as a pack of 6 x 6 Papermania paper pad - Jesse Edwards Capsule Collection - Parkstone Pink. I love the paper in this collection and couldn`t resist buying it.

I wanted to make a card this morning using the new paper and die and decided to try something different.  Instead of cutting my die out with cardstock which I normally do, I decided to cut it out of the design paper. I was so happy that I was able to find card stock in my stash which complemented the design paper.  Without further ado, here is my card:

I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder and also used a Fiskars corner punch and added some tiny flat back pearls to the corners.  Then to fill in the space on the bottom, I added some larger flat back pearls.  I am very pleased with how this card turned out and am looking forward to using the die in this manner again.

I am also entering it into One Crazy Stamper`s January Challenge which is Anything Goes.

 

Tasty Tuesday & Sketch Saturday

I found another sketch that I like so decided to make a card for Tasty Tuesday.  The inspiration photo is good for the entire month of January.  I just love the colours!

Here is the photo:

Those cookies remind me of donuts and look good enough to eat!

Here is the sketch I used to make my card:

I love this sketch!  The Sketch Saturday challenge can be found here

Here is my card:

This little cutie is Scrapfest Fhiona.  I bought her about 2 years ago at one of my first Scrapfest visits.  Scrapfest is held 2 x /year.  It is in Kitchener in the spring and in Oshawa in the fall.  I think my wallet and credit card groan when it comes time to attend one of their shows.  This stamp was designed exclusively for Scrapfest.  All the scrapfest stamps can be seen here in the YNS Store. The shopping bags are also from YNS. Cardstock & the velvet ribbon are from my stash.  I got the velvet ribbon from Flourishes.  Design paper is from First Edition Summer Breeze 6 x 6 paper pad.  The flower on Fhiona's purse inspired me to use this particular paper.  The sentiments I will be using on the inside read:  A good Friend helps you shop for stamp supplies but a True Friend helps you hide your stash when you get home!  Unfortunately, I had to use the flash on my camera this morning when I took the photo.  It is so much prettier IRL.

Dynamic Duos paired with the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge

I love entering the cards I make into challenges.   I found 2 challenges this week that I wanted to partake in.

1st up I found the Dynamic Duos # 36 Challenge which was to use the colours Red & Black with an optional theme of Valentines:

The sketch challenge that I found to base my card on was The Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge # 176:

Here is my card:

To make this card, I used red, black & white card stock; design paper from Recollections 6x6 paper pad - With Love, a Spellbinder's Nestability and a Stampin Up Sentiment which I heat embossed with blushing pink onto the Nestability.  I am pleased with how this card turned out.  Looking at it, it appears that the Nestability is not quite centered but it actually is on the the banners which aren't quite centered.  Unfortunately, I tried to re-center (is that a word?) the banners but it was glued on very firmly and if I try to shift it, I would ruin the design paper underneath.  Ah, well, we can't all make perfect cards now can we?

Patrice from The Old Back Porch has invited me to play along on her blog this week so I'm linking this post up on her blog.

Valentine - Freshly Made Sketches

One of my favourite sketch challenge blogs is Freshly Made Sketches.  They post a new sketch every Wednesday and then you have until noon on Mondays to upload your card.  I really like this week's sketch so decided to play along.  Here is this week's sketch:

Here is the card I came up with:

 Red card stock, white card stock, designer paper from Recollections (Michaels) 6 x 6 paper pad - Love.  Buttons from Michael's.  The center stamped heart is from Stampin Up stamped with Versa Color Rose Red which I punched out with a Marvy Punch which just happens to be the right size.  I also stamped the smaller hearts with the Rose Red and then glittered and then punched out with a Fiskar's scallop heart squeeze punch.  Ribbon is from Flourishes - Satin pleats.  I'm sure this card will probably go to one of my grandchildren.
Thanks for stopping by!

Dynamic Duos Challenge

The challenge this week is to create a card with the theme a Breath of Spring using the colours yellow and green.  And who couldn't use a taste of spring in January?  We are experiencing a January thaw at the moment and our temps here in Toronto ON Canada hit 12 Celcius or approximately 58 Fahrenheit.

Here are the colours  for the Dynamic Duos Challenge:

And here is my card:

 Nothing says spring to me more than spring flowers and my favourite spring flower is the tulip. I used a Cheery Lynn Frame Die - Swedish Spring Oval Frame.  I also used a Taylored Expressions tulip die.  I had to run the Oval die through my new toy I bought in the States (my Fiskars Fuse Creativity System) twice to cut out all the intricate pieces.  I tried to cut it out using my Cuttlebug but had to run it through 4 times even though I used the steel plate that Cheery Lynn recommends.  Then the last time I ran it through, the die shifted and totally ruined it.  Aaargh!  It cut much better in the Fiskars machine.  I love that the Taylored Expressions dies emboss and cut at the same time.  I also used some ivory ribbon on this card.  I really love this card even though it is clean & simple.  The inside is still blank as I do not yet know who the recipient will be.  It will probably be a birthday card for one of my friends. 

 

Seize the Birthday challenge & YNS Tasty Tuesday Challenge

There's a new challenge to make birthday cards using the sketch that they provide.  The name of the challenge blog is Seize the Birthday.  The 1st challenge started Thursday Jan. 10th.  This week the challenge is to make a girly birthday card using the following sketch:

I am also entering it into Your Next Stamp's Tasty Tuesday challenge.  The first Tuesday of every month they will present a yummy inspirational food photo for the given month. 

Here is the inspiration photo:

Here is the card that was inspired by both the colours of those yummy looking cookies and the sketch:

I used the Mini cupcake cutie Phiona stamp along with the matching die.  I tried to incorporate as many colours of the inspiration photo as I could using my prisma coloured pencils.  I popped her up on my EK Success punch. I also used the sketch to make my card. I really like this card but am not sure yet as to who the recipient will be so the inside is still blank.

I am also entering this card into the Sweet Stamps Challenge which is to use a die cut and punch.

 

Sierra's & Brooke's Kards for Kids

Brooke's card:

Sierra's cards:

I thought they did a good job colouring the images.  They had a lot of fun and were more than happy to give the cards back to me so I can send them off in December for Kards for Kids.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kards for Kids

During November and December, I was a busy little crafter.  I made 23 cards for Kards for Kids  for the sick children at the Hospital for Sick Children here in Toronto.   I sent the co-ordinator 25 cards - 2 cards were cards that I made last year.  Bela the co-ordinator always has prizes for the Smiley Team.  I won a $25.00 gift certificate to one of my favourite stamp companies namely, Your Next Stamp.

I am planning on making a lot more cards for them.  On New Years Eve, I looked after Sierra, Brooke and Amber and we made some cards for Kards for Kids.   Sierra and Brooke enjoy making cards with me.  Amber wasn't too interested this time but did colour an image which I made into a card which I let her keep.

Here are some pictures of the girls making their cards:

Brooke - age 5 1/2

Amber - age 26 months

Sierra - age 7 1/2

The girls did an awesome job and I will post pictures of the cards they made soon.  I still need to take pictures of them.

The theme for the next 2 months is the Zoo.  I bought an Inky Antics stamp set called Balancing Elephant from Pointers Scrapbooking (which I visit on my lunch hour) and made a card with it this morning:

As I did not have a grey coloured pencil, I stamped the image onto grey card stock - easy peasy!

I also used this stamp which was created for the Smiley Team of which I am a member by

High Hopes Rubber Stamp Company:

I am also planning to make some valentine cards for the children.  I am thoroughly enjoying my new little venture with Kards for Kids.  Afer all, one can only make so many cards for the granddaughters and other family members and friends!

Thanks for stopping by!