Get Sketchy #36

I was so excited when I saw the digi stamps that the Get Sketchy designers got to play with this week! First let me explain that I am pretty much digi-challenged. I don't even have Photoshop on my laptop! So I get a little nervous when Bree mentions anything digi. This week's digi stamps, however, are not only beautiful, but they're SO EASY to use!

The images are from Cutting Cafe, and they are sponsoring this week's challenge along with Glue Dots (also one of my favorite products.) The images come in a pdf file, so all you have to do is download, open the file, and click "print"! Super easy and great for paper piecing or coloring.

I used the bushel basket, leaves, butterfly and sentiment on this card. I printed the bushel basket on kraft cardstock, and the other images on white cardstock. I then colored the details with markers and pieced everything together. The bushel basket is popped up with pop-dots.

I used Glue Dots to attach these pretty little buttons from DeNami Design. I also adhered the ribbon around my card so that it would lay flat, then attached a ribbon knot on top of that with a Glue Dot. It's a great way to fake a tied ribbon when you want the ribbon to lay flat. :)

Cardstock, The Paper Company; patterned paper, Die Cuts With a View; digital stamps, The Cutting Cafe; markers, Bic Mark-it; buttons, DeNami Design; floss: Karen Foster Design; coral ribbon.

Hope you can play along with this week's challenge! Oh, and if you haven't logged your vote for your favorite Get Sketchy Designer, today is your last chance. Be sure to leave a comment on the Get Sketchy blog and the Creative Charms blog to be eligible to win a $20 gift certificate to Creative Charms!

Please check in tomorrow for a BIG announcement that I've been dying to share with you! :)

Creative Charms Challenge

Hi, everyone! I'm sad to say that vacation is over now and it was back to school today. :( That first morning is always tough!

I do have some new projects to share today. I have a lot of projects made that I will be sharing over the next week or so, along with some ***EXCITING NEWS!*** (That was just a tease-I will share my news with you all on Saturday, which is National Scrapbooking Day!)

Today's projects feature some fun embellishments from Creative Charms. They were a generous sponsor of the Get Sketchy designers this week. Our challenge was to create a few projects showcasing their beautiful embellies. The fun part is that there is a friendly competition going on this week among the Get Sketchy girls. Readers are voting on their favorite designer based on the projects we've created using the Creative Charms products. To see all of the projects and vote, please visit the Get Sketchy blog. You have until Saturday, May 1, to vote. Also, if you leave a comment on both the Get Sketchy blog and the Creative Charms blog, you will be entered to win a $20 in goodies from Creative Charms!

Thanks for stopping by today!

It's Get Sketchy Time!

It's Friday, so that means it's time for a new sketch and challenge over at Get Sketchy! This week's sponsor is Hot Off the Press. You may receive their catalog, Paper Wishes, in the mail like I do. I had seen the new Dazzles stickers in the catalog and thought it would be fun to try them. This week, I got that chance!

This week's sketch featured a half-circle with a scalloped border. At first glance, I imagined a frilly, feminine card. Then I saw that the bonus challenge was to make a masculine card. Hmm...I started turning the sketch and thinking about variations that would work with these stickers. After turning the sketch on its side, I pictured a campsite under the moon. After struggling with a moon, I realized that a sunrise would be the more logical choice, and I could substitute the sun rays for the scallops! And that's how this card was born.

First, I covered my card base with patterned paper from the Mr. Campy line by Cosmo Cricket and added a green cardstock strip to the bottom for grass. Next, I cut an oval and "rays" from yellow cardstock. I inked all of the edges, then assembled my sun. The tree border worked perfectly, as it allows the sunlight to peek through, just like a real camping sunrise. The tent is made from one of the Dazzles stickers on rust cardstock. I trimmed around the edge of the sticker and adhered it to my card front with foam squares. Finally, I added a sentiment-which I trimmed from the edge of the Mr. Campy paper! I love it when companies put cute sayings or designs on the edges!

I have been making a lot of cards lately for various challenges and design team assignments. I hope to be able to show them all to you soon! Just be patient... :)

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you get a chance to play along with us this week at Get Sketchy!

Safari Animals

When I received this set of stamps in the mail from DeNami Design, I was a happy girl! As you can tell from many of my cards, I LOVE critter stamps, and these little guys are no exception. I have had so much fun using them on different cards. I showed this set used on a card for one of the Get Sketchy challenges (see it HERE).

For this card, however, I wanted to create a safari scene. As I was moving elements around, I realized that this would make a fun interactive card. I created two pockets on the front of my card using green cardstock for grass. The, I made three tiny cards and stamped the safari animals on those. The animals are also covered with fuzzy flocking. I finished each of the mini cards with a little strip of "grass" and tucked them into the grass pockets on the card front. I also created a sun using triangles cut from patterned paper and an oversized button from DeNami Designs.

Sometimes cards for boys can be challenging, but I think this is perfect for a little guy. Because the mini cards can be taken out and tucked back in, this little scene may even become something he will play with later. (I'm thinking road trips or waiting at a restaurant! Why not tuck it into your purse for such "emergencies"?)

Thanks for looking, and don't forget to check out the DeNami blog to see what the other designers came up with!

(All cardstock, stamps, and button by DeNami Design, patterned paper by Heidi Grace, flocking by Studio G.)

Another Spring Card Featuring DeNami Design

After making the set of mini cards that I shared yesterday, I found that I really liked the lime-periwinkle-black color combination. I decided to make a couple of cards while I had everything handy. (Not that my stuff ever really gets put away, right?)

This card is made from a Lime card and features the Fancy Butterfly stamp. I colored in the image using a periwinkle marker, then covered it with Sparklets glitter. I also added some pearls from Creative Charms. To finish my card, I stamped a sentiment from the Let's Get Together stamp set and tied on some sheer ribbon.

I finally got a chance to play with this border punch that I got recently. It is from Fiskars and has a built in corner punch. I wish all border punches had this feature! It made a beautiful and elegant mat for this image.

Thanks for looking!

Spring Mini Cards-DeNami Theme Challenge

Have you checked out the DeNami Design blog lately? So many adorable ideas, and lots of fun challenges and chances to win! Yesterday I shared a card that I made for the 2S4Y Challenge sponsored by DeNami Design. Today, I am sharing a little mini card set that I made for DeNami Design's Spring Theme Challenge. These were made using the Elegant Spring Flowers set and the Assorted Greeting stamp set.

Mini cards are easy to make: simply fold a piece of cardstock to A2 size, then use your paper trimmer to cut it in half, forming two mini cards. These cards are made using Lime cards from DeNami Design. I then trimmed a little bit from the card front and adhered a contrasting paper to the inside of the card.

For the flowers, I first stamped the images with StazOn black ink and lightly colored the flowers with a periwinkle marker. Then for the bling! I recently discovered the Quickie Glue Pen, and it is perfect for adhering loose glitter to your projects. I used Sparklets glitter from DeNami Design and loved the results. (Other supplies: pearls from Hero Arts, sheer ribbon.)

I hope you can all play along with the Spring Theme Challenge! You have until April 30th to upload your entries.

DeNami is this week's 2S4Y Sponsor!

It's been a little while since I've played along with the 2 Sketches 4 You challenges, so I was so happy when Paulina (from DeNami Design) told me that DeNami was this week's 2S4Y sponsor. There are a lot of sketch websites out there, but 2S4Y is one of the best. And I love this week's sketch because it features a scalloped border and the ever-popular label die-cut.

For my card, I started with a hot pink cardstock base from DeNami Design. I added two patterned paper strips to the right side of the card, then attached some mini pompom trim over the seam using micro brads from Queen & Co. For my image, I stamped Mimi on a white die-cut label, then paper pieced the image using various cardstock scraps and coordinating papers from Imaginisce. I also matted the label shape with paper from Imaginisce and pierced around the edge of the shape. Finally, I cut some flowers from the patterned paper, adhered them to my card front with pop dots and added some cute buttons from DeNami Design. (Did I mention that this week's prize over at 2S4Y was 5 bags of DeNami buttons? Love these things!)

Hope you have a chance to visit 2S4Y this week and maybe play along with the challenge. You have until Saturday, April 24th, to upload your card. Thanks for looking!

A Scrappy Invite...

I am in love with the Mimi's boutique line of stamps from DeNami Design. Mimi is just the cutest girl on the block-she's so stylish and she seems to do all the "fun stuff"-like scrapbooking! I created this Crop Invitation using THIS stamp and THIS stamp, both from DeNami Design.

Normally, I would have chosen bright colors like green and pink to color this image, but I wanted to try something different. I was really happy with the result-it's a classic combination. Normally I think that red and black look formal together, but throwing in the gray and using a fun stamp made it look trendy, don't you think?

Today was the first day of vacation for me...I stayed in my jammies all day long. :) A day full of relaxation and lots of cardmaking for the upcoming issue of Scrap Street magazine. I got to play with some new goodies, which is always fun. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should head over to http://www.scrapstreet.com/ and check out all of the issues-it's fun and free!

Butterfly Thinking of You

Hey, everyone! It's been a busy week here, to say the least. I am so happy that today is the last day of classes before having a week of vacation. If I wasn't so completely exhausted, I might just do a happy dance. :)

Today I am sharing my card made from this week's sketch at Get Sketchy. I didn't adhere to the sketch, but instead I used the sketch as a springboard. It's OK to do that! Just because you're using a sketch doesn't mean you can't modify it however you want. Here's what I mean:

The sketch shows two hearts, each being "cut off" on the sides of the card. I decided to use butterfly shapes instead of hearts. (These butterflies were actually traced using a retired Stampin' Up template.) I chose to angle my butterflies slightly and have them overlap in the middle. Instead of cutting the edges off the butterflies, I folded them under and adhered them behind the green paper on my card front. In the center of the card, however, I wanted a little more dimension, so I adhere the butterflies wings to the card front with pop-dots. This gives them a slightly layered look.

For the butterfly bodies, I cut a piece of double-sided patterned paper to 2" X 4". (I used the same paper that I used for my butterflies, but you could use anything that coordinates. Tip: Use thin paper. Cardstock is difficult to roll and may crack.) I then cut my scrap of paper on the diagonal, so I had two triangles. I rolled each of these triangles into a tube-shape and adhered the ends with a glue stick. Finally, I used Glue Dots to attach them to my butterflies. I also "squished" a Glue Dot around a piece of folded/curled wire and inserted it into the top of the butterfly bodies for antennae.

All of the supplies for this card (paper, ribbon, die-cut, pearls) are from the Club SEI.

Also, just wanted to let everyone know that I am currently looking for card submissions for my July article for Scrap Street. The call is for "Summertime Cards." Please send your submissions (max. size 600 X 600) to submissions@scrapstreet.com. Deadline for submissions is April 29th. Thanks!

Over-the-Top Excited!

I got the most amazing email yesterday from Dora at Scrap Street magazine. I am joining their staff as a writer! I will be responsible for my own column, Card Corner. Please read the official announcement HERE and welcome all of the new staff members. I am in good company with the girls who work there. :)

Scrap Street is a FREE monthly ezine, featuring scrapbooks layouts and cards. Hope you can check out the latest issue, April 2010, as well as the previous issues (they are all available at http://www.scrapstreet.com/.) There is currently a call for Summertime Cards for the July issue. I'd love for you all to send in submissions! Please email your submissions (digi photos, no larger than 600 x 600 pixels please) to submissions@scrapstreet.com. I can't wait to see what you all create!

Safari Thank You

It's Friday, so that means that there is a new sketch and a new Challenge at Get Sketchy! This week's sketch is so versatile! All of the DT members came up with amazing but completely different cards. It's always fun to see all of the different projects posted. Please check out the challenge HERE and play along!

My card features an adorable set of stamps that I just received from DeNami Design. The set, Safari Animals, includes three little critters: a zebra, a lion and an elephant. Aren't they so cute? Many of you know I have a weakness for critter stamps. The patterned paper and cardstock is from Creating Keepsakes, and the ribbon and most of the buttons are from DeNami Design. I love their buttons-they come in coordinated assortments, so you get a ton of different styles of buttons that look great together. I also used some flocking that I picked up in the dollar bin at AC Moore. It is from Studio G and worked great! I used a Quickie Glue pen to color over his mane, then sprinkled the flocking on. So easy, and it added just a bit of texture to this card. (Attention bling girls: This pen is also great for adding loose glitter!)

One other "good thing" I want to share: My friend Lisa Forsythe (a fellow Get Sketchy designer) has a card featured on the cover of the latest issue of Cards magazine! I'm so excited for her. Please check it out, and visit Lisa's blog for more great inspiration. Be sure to leave her some love!

DeNami Product Challenge

I was so excited to see the official post on the DeNami Design blog today welcoming the new design team members! Also up over at the blog is a new challenge-this one focuses on one of my favorite embellishments: buttons! Check out the challenge HERE. To play along, simply create a project using buttons and at least one DeNami stamp. The winner of the challenge will win a $30 DeNami gift certificate!

For my card, I used the Cupcake Tower stamp. I stamped the image onto white cardstock and used my oval cutter to cut out the image. I then mounted an assortment of pastel buttons to the back of the image, letting only half of the button show. This created a multi-colored, dimensional scalloped border around the image. Then I simply mounted the image onto my Cuttlebugged card base. A simple punched edge and gathered ribbons complete this card. Simply but fun, don't you think?

PaperCrafts Winner from the Get Sketchy Blog Hop

And the winner is: Lynn M! Lynn, I tried contacting you through your Blogger account, but haven't heard back from you. Hopefully, because you are a Follower of my blog, you will see this post and contact me. Please email me with your mailing addy so I can get your issue to you! Thanks to everyone for the sweet comments on my cards, and I hope that all of you who are now following the blog find lots of great ideas and inspiration!

Looking for more Easter card ideas?

Check out this week's Cards blog for some great inspiration. I was so excited to see that my Easter egg card was one of the ones chosen for the blog! It's been a great week. :)

Vintage Easter Bunny

I just finished a last minute Easter card based on this week's sketch at Card Patterns. I picked up this adorable bunny stamp a few weeks ago at A.C. Moore for just a buck, but have been a little hesitant to use it because it's not my usual "cutesy" style. I paired it with some Anna Griffin polka-dot paper, antique lace, Imaginisce flowers and SEI pearls. How's that for a hodge-podge of materials? :) I love that I made a teeny tiny dent in my stash. I may have to make some more of these before Sunday (minus the handstitching around the edge. Too time-consuming for multiple cards!) Speaking of the stitching, I added that so that it would fit with another web challenge-this on for Embellish magazine. Their challenge was to use kraft, light pink and light aqua, plus incorporate some sort of stitching.

I want to wish you all a very Happy Easter. Hope the bunny hops by to visit you!

Get Sketchy #32-Thanks a Bunch

Have you noticed that there are flowers everywhere in papercrafting? Not just flower stickers or die-cuts, but some REALLY creative handmade flowers? I love the layered look, so the flowers made by layering lots of crinkly, distressed paper circles really caught my eye. I had seen directions for making them in several magazines, but couldn't get the look I wanted. Finally, after a little trial-and-error, I came up with a technique that I really like, which I used on the card above.

First, I cut several circles out of patterned paper scraps. It really doesn't matter what the patterns are, as long as the colors coordinate. I cut five different sizes of circles from Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday collection. Then, using the edge of my scissors, I distressed the edges of the circles. To bend them into the shape that I wanted, I took each circle and "smushed" it over the tip of my finger. I did this a couple of times with each circle, until it was all nice and crinkly-looking. Finally, I layered the circles all together, used my paper piercer to poke a hole down through all of the layers, and inserted a big brad. I then used a Glue Dot to adhere the whole flower to the front of my card. The soft fuzzy leaves are actually ribbon from May Arts, one of this week's sponsors over at Get Sketchy.

I hope you will all play along with us this week! You can see the challenge and all of the team's beautiful cards HERE.

Happy Day, Happy Easter, Happy Everything!

Have you ever had one of those days where EVERYTHING just goes right? Today is one of those days for me. Actually, the past 24 hours. And I gotta tell ya, Denami Design has had everything to do with it! First of all, I found out yesterday that my "Bake Shoppe" card (from my last post) won the Denami Sketch Contest! I was so excited-that company is seriously generous with its prizes. Lots of new stamps, embossing powders, etc. And as if that wasn't enough, I found out today that I was chosen for the Denami Design Team! I was so excited-my daughter and I did a "happy dance"! Our two dogs wanted to join in (they LOVE happy dances!) so the four of us did a"happy dance" in the living room. Anyone who happened to peek in our windows would have been convinced that we were absolutely nuts!

I am sharing two of the cards that I made using stamps from Denami Design. The first one features a Mimi stamp-is she not THE most stylish gal out there? I paper-pieced the image using patterned papers from Bo Bunny that I received from another generous company, Northridge Media. (They sent me a goody box when one of my cards was published in Cards magazine.) I finished the card with a fabulous red ribbon sash (also by Denami Designs.)

The second card is so different, although it also features an image, ribbon, and button from Denami Design. After making my egg-shaped card base, I cut a circle from the card front and nested my image inside, so that it is still visible when you open the card. This card features new papers from SEI and Recollections pearls from Michael's.

I am off to do some scrapbooking (that's right-an actual layout!) for the Imaginisce blog. It's been ages since I did a layout...hopefully I can get back in the swing of things. (The new Lucy Bird paper from Imaginisce is adorable, so I'm sure it won't be too hard!)
Don't forget to check back tomorrow for my latest card for the Get Sketchy Challenge. I tried something new, and I was very pleased with the results!