Bits and Pieces of Me

Woo-hoo! Super Exciting {ippity} Changes!

2012-01-13T18:29:00.001-05:00

I am super excited that you can now order {ippity} directly from the Unity website! Simply scroll down to my photo and click "Choose". Then shop for your favorite {ippity} and Unity stamps at the same time! Oh, and how 'bout a little sale? 39% off ALL {ippity} and Unity stamps! Hurry on over! Just click the picture below to go straight to the {ippity} section of the Unity website!
Thanks so much for your support! You are helping "working mamas" like myself!

Growing in Unity!

2012-01-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to be the featured stamper this week for Growing in Unity! Here is a sneak peek of my project:
Please head over to this post my {ippity} blog to see the full project and for your chance to win some {ippity} and Unity stamps!

All Things Unity Challenge #44

2011-11-13T09:13:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to be sponsoring the All Things Unity challenge blog for the month of November! We'd love to have you play along with us. You could win a $20 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Just click on the challenge image below to go directly to the challenge post.

Our challenge was to buy something from the Dollar Store and alter it. I actually bought a jumbo clothespin from the $1 bin at A.C. Moore (I hope that counts!) and alter it so that it looks very different from it's original form. I used a mix of paper scraps from Imaginisce and Momenta with one of my favorite fall stamp sets from Ippity, "Fall for You".

I think I will keep this on my desk at school to hold important little notes. :)

What will you create?

Operation Julie's Smile

2011-10-07T08:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to your next stop on the blog hop! If you didn't start at the very beginning, you will want to make sure that you head over to the Sweet Stamp Shop's blog so that you don't miss any of the fabulous projects along the way. You have ALL weekend to hop with us and win prizes!
If you don't know about Julie Ranae, please read her story below. The blogging world has come together for a great cause. You can help by clicking the "Donate" button in my sidebar on the right. This is a safe transaction through Paypal, and you have the chance to win some AMAZING prizes (and help Julie out!)
Because I met Julie Ranae through blogging and cardmaking, it only seemed fitting to make a card with a computer. I just *happened* to have an adorable set from Market Street Stamps that would work perfectly! (And doesn't this little computer cutie look a little like Julie? I even "blinged" her glasses to look like Julie's!)

Here is Julie Ranae's story:

The creative blogging world is coming together this weekend to help one of our friends, Julie Ranae. You may know her as the design team coordinator for many wonderful companies from baker's twine, die cuts, rubber stamps, and more. What many people don't know about Julie Ranae is that she has had some pretty major dental surgeries in her lifetime due to medication she had to take as a child. It was in her plans to think about having all of her teeth replaced at some point in the next 5 years, a decision that was pretty easy to plan out. But then it happened...she chipped her front teeth on a weekend a month ago. The dentist told her there was no way to save them & that it was his recommendation that she give in and have all of her teeth removed soon. For that day, though, they needed to get her front teeth done so her gums could begin to heal. He said he would "work out" payments with her to have ALL this work done...but when she called to make her appointment for the first step of impressions, they told her the amount of money that was needed and that the "payments" only applied to the two teeth that were extracted that day. Her husband Paul was with her and that, too, was his understanding as well. So this is how she has found herself in this situation...needing at least $4000 to get started and another $3000 to finish the process...a total of $7000.

Nicole Rixon, owner of Sweet Stamp Shop, put together this benefit after learning of the situation and before Julie Ranae knew it, it took flight! Because she is an event organizer by trade, she has taken on the job of organizing all of the blogs in this hop as her way of "working overtime" for what she needs, the same as if she were able to work overtime at an outside job to pay for the work to be done.

It is the goal of all of these generous friends and sponsors to help make this situation more "do-able" for our friend so she can share a brand new smile with all of us soon.

If there is anything you can do to help with a financial donation, there is a donation button ready for you to click (see right sidebar.) ANY amount is appreciated, and ALL donations will be eligible for prizes from our sponsor pool of over $2500.

I hope you have enjoyed your stop here on the hop. The next stop is Rochelle Washington's blog. Make sure you leave a comment here before you go so that you can have a chance to win some of the amazing prizes up for grabs...and if you can, please consider making a donation so we can make Julie Ranae smile again!

Welcome to World Card Making Day!

2011-10-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

To celebrate World Card Making Day, we are hosting a blog hop with our amazing design team in hopes of inspiring your creativity with our fabulous projects! To participate, all you have to do is comment on each of the 14 blogs on the hop (a complete list of the blogs can be found on the Momenta blog.) The deadline for commenting is 11:59 EST , Sunday, October 2nd. Five winners will be chosen by Random.org on Monday, October 3rd and will be announced on the Momenta blog. Each winner will receive one of our 5 boxed card kits:

Each card kit contains 12 cards and envelopes, assorted stickers, cardstock borders, and gems!

We are even tossing in a BONUS ENTRY! Simply head over to our Facebook page after the hop "Like" us (if you haven't already!) and tell us that you hopped along with us!

For my projects, I decided to use one of my favorite Momenta products, the Butterfly Garden Pyramid Pad. I created a little tote and a set of 4 super-easy notecards that would make a perfect little gift!

Your next stop on the hop: the Momenta blog! Leave a comment there to let us know that you completed the hop!

September Blog Hop

2011-09-27T00:01:00.001-04:00

Welcome to your next stop on the Master Forgers' Blog Hop! If you didn't start at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog, please click HERE so that you don't miss any of the fabulous projects along the way!
For our hop, our challenge was to try a new technique. I decided to use my patterned paper as inspiration and create an embellishment to match using my stamps. I combined a bird and leaf stamp from Ippity's "Sing a New Song" set to make my bird embellie. See the feathered tail? It's really leaves from the branch stamp! I also pieced the flower layers to match the flowers in the paper.
So, I'm not sure if this falls into the traditional category of "techniques", but it is a fun way to stretch your stamp collection! I actually used 5 different stamp sets on my card. The flower is from "Now & Always", the label is from "Season of Joy", the sentiment is from "Flowers+Friends=Priceless", the photo corners are from "Fall for You", and the bird and branch are from "Sing a New Song."
These sets are all available HERE in my Etsy shop-and remember, I'm giving one away as a prize at the CKCB! Just comment on tomorrow's blog hop and you will be entered!
Your next stop on our hop is the blog of the fabulous Kim!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge-Stamp Your Own Patterned Paper

2011-09-15T00:01:00.000-04:00

The Counterfeit Kit Challenge (which I am sponsoring this month) issues 3 mini challenges each month to help you use up the supplies in your monthly kit. The first mini challenge for September is to create your own patterned paper using stamps. I usually use my Ippity stamps to make focal point embellishments for cards, so creating background paper was a great way to get me thinking outside of my comfort zone. I decided that I wanted to give myself an additional challenge to create a layout instead of a card.
There are quite a few stamped elements on this layout. Can you see them all? First, I created my background paper using a piece of ivory cardstock and Tattered Rose Distress Ink. I first stamped the cardstock with the Dots for Sure background stamp. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the dots. I then wanted to give it a bit of a vintage look, so I then stamped the paper again (randomly) with the postmark stamp from Cherish Your Dreams.

Now on to the embellishments. I used up all of the flower embellies that I made in THIS tutorial. The flower, leaf, and butterfly stamps are all from Ippity's Now & Always stamp set. I also stamped the journaling spot where my title is with one of the frames from the Season of Joy set. I just love that frame! I distressed the edges of the frame with Tattered Rose Distress Ink to tie it in with my background paper.

I hope that you are playing along with us at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge this month. It's not too late to start playing! Remember, you could win your choice of Ippity stamps if you join in! Check out the details at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog, along with all of the wonderful stamping projects from the Master Forgers. I know you will be inspired!

Momenta Blog

2011-09-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

I am blogging again over at Momenta today-go check it out! I have a budget-friendly, time-saving project for you! :)

Winner, Winner!

2011-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

I used Random.org to choose a winner from the comments on my 300th post: Lucky #9!

Congrats, Dawn! You are the lucky winner of the Gurnsey Gingham stamp from Ippity! Please email your contact info to me at sharecropperskits@gmail.com and I will get your stamp right out to you!

Thank you to all of you for visiting my blog and leaving me sweet comments! :)

Basket of Blooms Card

2011-09-10T07:32:00.002-04:00

I'm blogging over on the Momenta blog today! Check it out HERE!

Stitched Paper Tutorial and a GIVEAWAY!

2011-09-07T20:09:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite papers in this month's inspiration kit for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge was this paper from Sassafras Lass' "Indie Girl" collection. I have never been a fan of border prints, but I love the faux stitching on the reverse side of this paper! I love dimension on my projects, though, and I thought that actual hand-stitching would add just the right amount of detail to one of my kit papers.

First I marked where I wanted my stitching to go. I made a straight line with a pencil 1/2" from the bottom of my patterned paper. I also made two rows of dots, 1/4" apart, over my straight line. The straight line marked where I wanted my row of straight stitches, while the rows of dots marked where I wanted my cross-stitches to go. After marking my design with a pencil, I used my paper piercer to pierce holes for stitching.
I then used an emerald green embroidery floss to hand-stitch my design. (Please excuse the wonky colors in these photos-it has been rainy and overcast all day, and I just can't get good photos!)

Here is my finished 12x12" paper. I repeated the design at the top so that the stitches will really frame my project. I am going to be using this paper later in the month for one of our challenge projects. Hmm...I wonder what that challenge could be? You'll have to check back to find out!

This post is a fun one for me-it's my 300th blog post! I've shared a lot of projects over the past 2 years and met so many sweet papercrafters as a result of blogging. To celebrate, I'm going to give away a little blog candy: a Gurnsey Gingham background stamp from my Ippity shop on Etsy! Just leave a comment on this blog post by 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, and I will draw a random winner on Monday morning-it's that easy!

Layered Stamped Flower Tutorial

2011-09-06T13:03:00.005-04:00

Good morning! Today I am going to show you how I made the layered, stamped flower embellies in my September Counterfeit kit. These two stamps are some of my very favorite Ippity stamps-they are from the Now & Always set (get yours HERE.)

First, gather all of your supplies: 3x3 squares of patterned paper and a 2x3 scrap of green cardstock, stamps, acrylic blocks, and black dye ink. You may also want to add pearls or gems to the finished flower. (I used 3 different patterned papers, but I have also made this flower using the same patterned paper for all three layers and it was absolutely beautiful!)

Stamp the flower on each of the patterned papers. Stamp 2 leaves on the green cardstock.

Trim the flowers and the leaves as shown. This flower stamp is perfect for layering-simply cut around the smallest flower petals for the first layer, etc.

Gently curl the flower petals with your fingers, rolling them back slightly. (This step is optional, but I like the way it gives the flowers a bit of dimension.)

Adhere the layers together by using a glue dot or glue stick just in the center of each layer. (Don't put adhesive on the petals.) Finish your flower by adding a gem or pearl to the center. Here, I've done one of each so you can see how the type and size of the gem can change the look of the flower.
You don't have to use all three layers to make your flowers, either. Here, I've made a flower using just the two smaller layers, and also a single flower using just the smallest layer. This is a great technique is you want to create a cluster of flower embellies for your project.

Here is a card that I made using one of the finished flowers:

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. If you would like more information on tis stamp set, please visit my Etsy shop. You can purchase this stamp set there. You could also WIN this stamp set (or a stamp set of your choice) just by playing along with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge this month! See THIS POST on the CKCB for more details.

(*Note: This card also features a frame image from the Season of Joy stamp set and a sentiment from the Just Wanted to Say set, both available in my Etsy shop.)

My September Counterfeit Kit

2011-09-06T00:01:00.001-04:00

Today I get to share with you the kit that I made for this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge. We are counterfeiting a beautiful kit from Sweet Peach Crop Shop this month. The inspiration kit featured the Indie Girl collection from Sassafras Lass. The blues and greens in that collection, along with the pretty florals, had a soft and feminine feel, so I chose to use lots of coordinating papers from Momenta's new Butterfly Garden collection:
I then went through my cardstock and picked out some solid cardstock colors that coordinated with my papers. My cardstock is from a mix of companies-mostly Bazzill and SEI. I also use a lot of white, ivory, and kraft cardstock on all of my projects, but I have special open shelves for that in my scraproom, so I just pull those sheets as needed.

I always find myself running short on alphas toward the end of the month, so I try to include a lot. I have pink, charcoal, and yellow alpha stickers from Basic Grey, as well as multi-colored mini alphas from Momenta. My element stickers are from Basic Grey-the journaling spots on this sheet really reminded me of those in the inspiration kit.

Finally, I added the "fun stuff". :) For embellies, I included some phrase stickers (also from Moment's Butterfly Garden collection), lots of ribbons and lace pieces, and some little ribbon flowers from the Walmart clearance bin. I had some of the Bella Blooms from the inspiration kit, so included those, too. They are a little bit bigger than what I usually use-not sure yet what I will do with them! I also loved the metal embellies from the inspiration kit, so I added a few of those, too: some large decorative brads, engraved charms and painted tab embellies.

I created some layered stamped flower embellies using some of my Ippity stamps and patterned papers-I will be back tomorrow with a tutorial for you. Be sure to check out all of the Master Forgers' kits HERE on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog, and visit their personal blogs for details and to leave some love. :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

The September Release is Here!

2011-09-05T00:02:00.001-04:00

You can order both of these sets in my Etsy shop! Get BOTH new sets for just $21.60-and FREE SHIPPING in the U.S. and Canada!

Our Counterfeit "Inspiration" Kit for September

2011-09-05T00:01:00.000-04:00

Good morning! Can you believe that it's September already? Today, Labor Day, is kind of the "unofficial" end of summer. While I'm always sad to see summer go, fall is my very favorite time of year.
Today, the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog is revealing the kit that we are counterfeiting for September. It is the September 2010 kit from Sweet Peach Crop Shop. Click on the link HERE, then scroll down to see the September 2010 kit. There are actually 4 separate kits-you can pick one or all to counterfeit!
Come back tomorrow to see my version of this kit. I am using some new papers and embellies from Momenta, as well as lots of goodies from my stash. It's one of my favorite Counterfeit Kits so far!
Just a reminder that I am also sponsoring the CKCB this month-play along and you could win a set of Ippity stamps from my Etsy shop! Hope you can join us!

Master Forgers' Blog Hop

2011-08-27T00:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to your next stop on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge's August blog hop! If you didn't start at the very beginning, please head over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge. You won't want to miss any of the fabulous projects we have for you today!
We are so honored this month to have an amazing sponsor: Allison Davis of Sketch Support! Can you believe it? Allison created a 2-page layout sketch just for us! She is also sponsoring a fun giveaway for us-check out all of the details HERE.
I had these three photos of my dad, taken on his 80th birthday in May, and I knew that they would work perfectly with my birthday add-on kit this month. They were also the perfect fit for the right page of Allison's sketch. I decided to use just the right page and tweak the design to include my title instead of the two smaller photos.
Thanks so much for stopping by today! Your next stop on the hop is Kim's blog. Have a great weekend!

CAS Lanterns

2011-07-31T13:20:00.004-04:00

I am lovin' my new Copics! This card is really the first time that I have really used them since taking my class in April. I'm still learning how to shade and blend, but I was so happy with the way these lantern came out! The challenge for this card, believe it or not, was the size: 4"x9". This was the requirement for this week's CAS-ual Friday Challenge.
I used cardstock and stamps from this month's Counterfeit Kit. I can't believe the number of projects that I have made so far with this kit-more than all of the others combined, I think! So far, I have made 2 single-page layouts, a double-page layout, and 11 cards! Plus, I have 4 more layouts in mind-just need to get my photos printed! Hopefully I can get those done before the August kit is revealed!

Counterfeit Kit Cards

2011-07-31T12:42:00.005-04:00

Today is the last day of the month, so I am TRYING to use up as much of my July Counterfeit Kit as I can. I have three layouts in mind that I want to make, but I have to print some photos. I decided to make some cards using the smaller pieces of paper and some of my embellies. The lighting on these is a little wonky...not sure WHAT'S going on with that! Someday I'll learn how to use all of the features on my camera and photo software. :)I love the coral and teal color combo, so I made this card using scraps of each and some of the Basic Grey Hopscotch stickers. I reddened the pink sticker a bit with chalk to make it match my paper, and the butterflies are stickers from the same sheet.

(Sorry-these cards are now both out for publication!)

This one's kind of corny, but hey-that's me. :) I hadn't planned on using the "boombox "paper with this kit (the reverse is my "clothesline" print), but it was cute and I thought it would stretch my kit a bit to make a boy card. I think that all of the neutrals balance out the teal and orange. I used my chalks again to recolor the white letter stickers a teal color. Those chalks have been a great resource for me this month! I also "raided" my June kit for the tiny black alphas and black cardstock scraps.

Yep-another corny sentiment. :) I saw a stamp set once that had a camera and "Oh, snap!" as the sentiment. The idea was cute and stuck with me. I knew when I made my kit that I wanted to pair that sentiment with the camera paper. I attached a ribbon camera strap to the camera that I cut from patterned paper. I wrote "I missed your birthday!" on the inside of the card using those same black tiny alphas from my June kit.

Invited

2011-07-29T15:23:00.006-04:00

More paper piecing. I love it. It's my favorite technique. :)
Cute little cupcakes and a sentiment from Unity ("Mix-up of Cuteness" and patterned paper from Basic Grey's Lime Rickey collection. Love those fun colors and patterns! I also love that this card could go for a boy or a girl.
I also want to share a little trick with you. I originally stamped the sentiment directly onto the white cardstock mat, but the ink had a little bubble and it just wasn't a clear image. Since I had already stamped and pieced the cupcakes, I didn't want to start over completely. So, I stamped the sentiment again onto the green strip, notched the end, and adhered it over the original sentiment. I love the end result more than the original!
I used this week's sketch from Card Positioning Systems to make this card. Thank you for visiting! Make sure you stop by the Momenta blog today, too-I have a cute project to share with you!

Cool... :)

2011-07-29T15:00:00.004-04:00

This card just makes me giggle. It's silly and fun, and it's just the thing that I needed to make today. Isn't it cute?

I spritzed a piece of kraft cardstock with Mister Huey in Orchard, then stamped and paper-pieced the popsicle from Unity. The sentiment is also from the "Mix-Up of Cuteness" set. Papers are from Sassafras Lass' "Sunshine Lollipops" collection.
I am entering this card in two challenges. The first is the All Things Unity #36, Summer Feeling, Challenge.

I also used the sketch from this week's Card Patterns challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

Cuppy Cakes

2011-07-29T14:37:00.003-04:00

I made this cute little cupcake card using the "Cuppy Cakes" stamp set from {ippity} and papers from Basic Grey's Lemonade collection. These cupcakes were so fun to paper-piece! I can't wait to make more. I am entering this card in 2 challenges. The first is the {ippity} paper-piecing challenge. Although {ippity} chicks can't win, many of us play along just to share some fun ideas for how to use the stamp set. You, however, could win a $20 gift certificate to your favorite {ippity} chick! If you play along and win, I'd love to have you shop with me! :) You can find the details for the challenge HERE.
I am also entering this card in the Mojo Monday sketch challenge. This is my first time entering this challenge, although my friend Lesa has been playing along for quite a while. I am a bit intimidated by the numbers-there are already 148 cards entered in the challenge! WOW! The great thing about that, however, is that there are a ton of great ideas to peruse through the linky.
Thanks for visiting today-I will be back a little later with a couple more challenge cards to share!

Christmas (in July) Layout

2011-07-27T20:04:00.004-04:00

***Please note that this is my 2nd post for today. Please scroll down for the Master Forgers' Blog Hop post. Thank you! ***

I really wanted to use my 4th of July add-on kit from this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge, but I didn't have any pictures from this past 4th of July. I did, however, have these photos of a trip that my son, Ryan, and I took way back in December of 2007. We went to Washington, D.C. as part of the Wreaths Across America convoy. On this trip, Ryan placed a Christmas wreath on a grave at Arlington, and he also visited the grave of a soldier he had learned about in his Enrichment Resources class. We also got to meet the soldier's wife and daughter. It was by far the most meaningful trip that either one of has ever taken.

Everything on this layout is from either my July main kit or the 4th of July add-on. I stamped the banners at the top using a photo corner stamp from {ippity}. I also used a Unity Christmas bough stamp to stamp the red strip at the bottom with watermark ink. I am entering this layout in the "My Unity Place" Banners challenge.

Master Forgers' Blog Hop

2011-07-27T00:01:00.001-04:00

Welcome to our blog hop for the month of July! If you didn't start at the beginning of the hop, please head over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog so that you don't miss ANY of the fabulous projects that we have to share with you today!
Our challenge for this hop was to create a flower for our project. I made my flower by punching 6 circles from patterned paper. I folded each of the circles into a petal shape, then adhered them to a circular base. The center of my flower is a 1" circle punched from yellow paper, edges snipped and crumpled slightly. To finish my flower, I then used a 1/2" x 6" strip of coral patterned paper, fringed one edge, then coiled it and "puffed out" the snipped edge. The result is a fun pom-pom center for my flower.
The rest of my card is very simple, with layers of punched borders and a sentiment cut from patterned paper and handstitched to add a bit of interest. I also used my very last piece of coral seam binding (sniff, sniff!) I LOVE this color-thank you so much, Meridy, for sending it to me! It was the perfect pop of color for this card!
Your next stop on today's hop is Kim. I KNOW she has an amazing project to share with you. Thanks for hopping along with us today!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge #3 and a Giveaway!

2011-07-24T09:37:00.004-04:00

Challenge #3 for this month from the Counterfeit Kit Challenge is a fun one, with lots of room to make it your own. The "Gallery Standout Challenge" is to look through your favorite online gallery (such as 2Peas, Scrapbook.com, Splitcoast Stampers-ANY gallery of your choice) and find a project that inspires you. Then create your own project based on the one you love!
For my card above, I chose THIS card by Davinie Fiero, which I found on 2Peas. I switched things up just a little bit, using a little hand-cut house that I crimped and inked in place of the stamped house, but basically I lifted all of the design elements from Davinie's card. I hope that you will all play along with this challenge-don't forget to link up HERE!
Now for the giveaway! This month, we chose to counterfeit a kit from Polkadot Whimsy. One of the add-ons was the adorable Liberty Sparks kit. Guess what? Sweet Michelle Hill, the owner of Polkadot Whimsy, has sponsored a giveaway-you could win the ORIGINAL Liberty Sparks Kit! How awesome is that? Just check out THIS POST on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog to enter. Thanks, Michelle!

(Original Liberty Sparks Add-On Kit)

Priceless

2011-07-18T11:43:00.005-04:00

I love this card-I got a chance to try lots of fun little techniques! I made this card for a friend, using my July Counterfeit Kit and one of {ippity}'s newest stamp sets, Flowers + Friends + Priceless. I also made another one of Vicky's adorable little envelopes-I adjusted the scale to make it smaller to fit on the front of my card. I also included a little "something special" inside the envelope-a tiny tag with a cute little message.
This was also my first time embellishing crepe paper for a project. I trimmed the bottom edge with pinking shears, then used {ippity}'s Dots for Sure stamp to stamp teal polka dots. I then machine-stitched it to the front of my card. So easy, and I love the result! I will definitely use this technique on other projects.

I am entering this card in the current All Things Unity challenge-Wrap it Up. I used three kinds of twine and also used them three different ways. First, I tied on some buttons. Second, I used it as a clasp for my mini envie. Finally, I tried a new technique: I swirled it around on a round glue dot to create the center for my large yellow flower. I then surrounded the twine with a row of tiny gems.

Thanks for stopping by today-hope to have some more fun projects for you later this week!

Sweet 16

2011-07-18T11:27:00.002-04:00

I realized that I forgot to share the Sweet 16 card that I made for my daughter Jordan earlier this month. "Coffee" may seem like a strange theme for this card, but her Sweet 16 party had a coffee-shop theme, so it was very appropriate. :) I used my July Counterfeit Kit for this card. I am getting SO much mileage from this kit! I have another card that I will share later today which I also made using this month's kit. That makes a total of 6 cards, a single-page layout, and a double-page layout so far, and it's only the 18th! I still have quite a bit of product left in my kit. I have two more layouts in mind for this kit, then I will probably make cards from the rest of my kit. This is the most I have used from a kit since I started playing along back in January!

Mother's Day Picnic

2011-07-17T19:32:00.004-04:00

My last share for today is a 2-page layout that I made using my July Counterfeit Kit and the latest sketch (Two-Page Sketch #17) from Allison Davis at Sketch Support. As much as I love the look of large die-cut papers, I am VERY intimidated by them! So this was a huge step for me to use this paper. (I can't tell you how nervous I was to cut it right down the middle of that beautiful paper!) I changed the photo sizes on the left hand page slightly to work with my photos, but other than that, I stayed pretty true to the sketch. The butterfly garland was very fun to make, too. I got this idea from Pinterest, and it made a great substitution for the stars in the original sketch. Thanks for checking out the projects that I made over my scrappy weekend. I hope to be back tomorrow with another project or two!

Chicago Style Deep Dish

2011-07-17T19:19:00.003-04:00

I have been scrapbooking this weekend-not just cardmaking, but REALLY scrapbooking! This is a one-page layout that I made using my July Counterfeit Kit. If you haven't checked out the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, you need to hop on over there-right now! :) We have some amazing tutorials and inpsiration projects posted already this month, with more to come!
For this layout, I tried my hand at paper pleating. There are tutorials listed on the blog, but I tried my own version and machine-stitched across the top. This is a super simple layout, so

there's really not much else to say about it. One thing I would add is that I re-colored my chipboard letters and the "loopy" border sticker at the top using my old chalks. It really helped me to make the most of my kit contents, plus use up a little bit of my chalk! I also stamped a little "mmm..." near my title using a stamp from my donut stamp set that I included in my kit. Thanks for checking it out!

Hang in There

2011-07-17T19:03:00.003-04:00

Just another quick share-not for any challenges, just for a friend who needs to cheering up. I made this card from my July Counterfeit Kit. I changed up the chipboard letters a bit by chalking them with teal chalk. This color made them pop a little bit more on the green patterned paper. I also added the two pewter brads and the two mini clothespins. These were the last two pewter brads in my stash, and the clothespins have been clipped to my memo board for years! So even though these items weren't part of my original kit, I feel good about using them up. Oh, and the socks were hand-cut from the scrap of felt I had included in my kit. Thanks for checking out my card!

Along for the Ride

2011-07-17T18:37:00.004-04:00

Cards for guys are tough, especially anniversary cards! While I was playing with my July kit for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, I noticed that the back of one of the papers had a cute retro car and camper. My husband was just saying that he would love to find a teardrop camper and restore it to match our '55 Chevy Belair. I thought it would be cute to make an anniversary card for him using that paper. I couldn't believe it when I looked through my stamps and saw this cute little sentiment from Unity-uninked! It was the perfect message for this card. I added some twine and buttons to my arrow sticker and paper pieced the little details on the stamped image. I am entering this in the All Things Unity Challenge #35: Wrap it Up. I haven't participated in many challenges lately-it feels so good to be creative again! Thanks for stopping by!

Patriotic Thank You

2011-07-15T00:01:00.001-04:00

Today I get to share with you my creation for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge's first challenge for July. It is all about embossing-you can dry emboss or heat emboss. I chose to dry emboss, but with a twist. I wanted to emboss a coordinating border for my card. Since I wanted to make my card using leftovers from my 4th of July Add-On, I thought stars would be a fun accent. My only problem: I don't have a star embossing folder. So, I decided to make my own embossing plate.
First, I found a thin piece of chipboard (this piece came in a package of Stampin' Up patterned paper.) I trimmed the chipboard to be slightly larger than my card front. Then I used a star punch to punch 6 stars from the leftover chipboard. I arranged 3 of the stars on my chipboard base, then adhered them down. Because the chipboard was so thin, I stacked another star on top of each on the base and adhered them so that I could get a deeper impression.
Then it was time to emboss. It took a little trial-and-error to come up with the right "sandwich" for my embossing plate, but here is what worked for the thickness of chipboard that I used. You may need to adjust your "sandwich" if your chipboard or cardstock is heavier than mine. I started with Tab 1, one clear cutting pad,and the homemade embossing plate. (Make sure the star punches are facing UP.)

Next, I stacked my kraft cardstock on top of the embossing plate, making sure that the edges were placed slightly inside the edge of the embossing plate.

The next layer is the black silicone pad that I use with my Sizzix embossing plates.

The final layer is the hard black plastic pad, also used with the Sizzix embossing plates.

Carefully run all layers through your die cut machine. Here is what the finished cardstock will look like:

To highlight the embossing, I rubbed a Creamy Brown chalk ink pad over the tops of the stars and also around all of the edges of the kraft cardstock. I attached the embossed panel to the front of my card base, then embellished the card with rub-on letters and a handmade bunting embellie.

I love the Americana look, and the tri-color bunting looks slightly vintage. I can't wait to try this embellie using softer colored papers from my main kit. Thanks for stopping by!

DIY Mini Kraft Envelopes

2011-07-12T00:01:00.000-04:00

I put together a little step-by-step photo tutorial to show you how I made the mini kraft envelopes in my July Counterfeit Kit. I downloaded and printed THESE ENVELOPES from Vicky at Clips-n-Cuts. Isn't she amazing to offer these for free? :)
Step1: Cut out envelope following printed template. Score along tabs. Punch 1/8" hole near point on top flap.

Step 2: Fold along all scored lines. Ink all edges using Creamy Brown chalk ink.

Step 3: Insert a piece of twine through hole. Leave only a small tail behind hole (about 1/2").

Step 4: Cut out circles from template. Ink edges with Creamy Brown chalk ink. Punch 1/8" hole in center of circle. Align over hole on flap.

Step 5: Insert tan (or metallic) eyelet through circle and flap, making sure that the end of the twine is still pulled through the hole underneath. Set eyelet.

Step 6: Cut out and ink edges of second circle. Punch 1/8" hole through center of circle. With top flap closed, mark position for second circle. Punch 1/8" hole through ONLY the front layer of the envelope.

Step 7: Insert eyelet through circle and front of envelope. Set eyelet.

Step 8: Close envelope by wrapping twine around the circle clasps.

I hope that you found this tutorial helpful and not too confusing, lol! I find pictures very helpful when I am trying to assemble something for the first time. I am excited to check out the other links that Beth and Meridy have shared today on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog-fun ideas for how to use these mini envelopes! Thanks for stopping by today!

Get Well Soon

2011-07-11T18:32:00.003-04:00

Here's a sweet little card that I shared during my last ShareCroppers class. The heart stamp and sentiment are both from {ippity}'s "How YOU Doin' " stamp set. These pretty little patterned papers are from SEI's Happy Day collection.

Love these stamps! Visit my Etsy shop to see all of the sets I have available for purchase. I'd love to be your {ippity} chick!
To see other great cards made with {ippity} stamps, visit this week's Linky Party. Thanks for stopping by!

Orange You Fabulous!

2011-07-11T14:06:00.004-04:00

Just a quick share today-my entry for the Skipping Stones Design sketch challenge. I used the Birthday Purses stamp set from Skipping Stones Design-and I love this sentiment! It's my favorite in the whole set. :)

I also attempted some Copic coloring. I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't used these at all since coming home from Manchester. I have a limited amount of colors that blend, but I think they work well with this stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to come back tomorrow for a fun envelope tutorial that I made for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog!

July Counterfeit Kit

2011-07-06T00:01:00.001-04:00

Can you believe that it is the first week of July already? This summer is just flying by! One good thing about it being a new month, however, is that it is time for a new Counterfeit Kit Challenge! This month we are counterfeiting THIS KIT from Polka Dot Whimsy. Here is a sampling of my version of the kit:
I tried to match most of my papers as closely as I could, although I didn't have any of the papers from the original kit. The lace transparency in the top right corner actually should have been included with my add-on kit...oops! :)

Here are my embellishments. I included a sheet of felt instead of the die-cut felt border and lots of my favorite crinkled seam binding. The scooter chipboard sticker from Momenta coordinates perfectly with the scooter paper in my kit (an alternative to the airplanes in the original kit.) I also included some coffee-themed embellishments. They coordinated with my papers and will be perfect for my daughter's coffee-themed birthday this month.

My alpha stickers: Basic Grey, printed chipboard from Studio Calico, and my favorite tinies.

I realized that I haven't been using many of my stamps lately. I really miss stamping! So this month I chose 3 sets to include in my kit. The original add-on had stickers with Chinese lanterns, so I included my newest Lawn Fawn set, Lunar Lights. I also added two sets with a coffee theme that could work for both cards and embellishments.

Finally, here is my Liberty Shores add-on kit. I included some white crepe paper that can easily be altered and some silver crepe paper that came in a past Halloween kit. I hope to find some fun ways to use these embellies this month! I also included a little kraft envie that I made using a free download. I will post a photo tutorial soon showing how I made it.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! You can see all of the other Master Forgers' counterfeit kits HERE on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. Keep checking in at the CKCB over the next several days for tons of great tutorials and download links-we've got a lot to share with you this month!

Just Because

2011-07-05T15:57:00.003-04:00

A quick share today. :) This is one of the cards that I demonstrated at my last workshop. It uses the "How YOU Doin' " stamp set from {ippity} and papers from SEI. This set is super-cute and includes lots of great card sentiments and small icons. PERFECT for a beginner stamper or just to round out your own stamp collection. Email your order to me and get 10% off and FREE shipping! Also, today is release day for 2 new {ippity} stamp sets:

Thankful for You-ONLY $5.40!

AND

SHINE, SHINE, SHINE-$16.20

These prices are the absolute lowest that {ippity} will allow us to sell at, so there is no need to shop around! Plus, you get FREE SHIPPING! To order, email me at sharecropperskits@gmail.com. I accept PayPal, so ordering is easy!

June Kit Layouts

2011-07-01T09:29:00.006-04:00

Our first challenge this month was to find inspiration in an ad. This was a tough one for me-until I saw this Keds ad in a magazine:
I loved the clean design of the layout and knew that it would work well with the photo that I wanted to scrap. I substituted some of my favorite papers and a journaling box for the extra photos in the ad. The background is embossed cardstock from Core'dinations. I lightly sanded it to show the texture. This photo is of my dad and some of his brothers and sisters (taken around 1937). My dad is the little blonde on the right, next to the pink flower. :)

Challenge #2 for the blog hop was to make an "I" page. I immediately though of my Pinterest boards, which I labeled like Apple products (like the iPod and iPhone.) My boards include iBake, iSew, iScrap, etc. I also lifted this design from a layout that I have "pinned" on my iScrap board. Notice the subtle background stamping on the gray background? I did that with my homemade chicken wire stamp! The metal clips were leftover from my May kit.

My last layout was for Challenge #3, "Get in Shape". The challenge was to use a shape as a design element on your page. I had included this large chipboard heart in my kit and knew that it would be perfect for this challenge. I inked it with Creamy Brown chalk ink and then stamped a small branch with heart-shaped leaves all over with brown ink. I also realized that I used all patterned paper for this layout-the only cardstock is my background, but you can't see it because it is covered with patterned paper strips! I can't remember ever making a project using only patterned paper. I really like the look-it reminds me of an old quilt. :) These photos are of me and my parents last summer.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Today is my last "free" day before a very busy holiday weekend. I hope to get lots of scrapping done!

June Counterfeit Add-on Kits

2011-06-06T21:43:00.008-04:00

I admit that I got a bit carried away this month while I was creating my add-ons for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge. I created a small add-on kit based on the add-on from Burlap & Buttercups, which I shared yesterday with my main kit. When I was looking through some of the other kit clubs, however, I found that I really loved the Studio Calico Star Dust Add-on. After I assembled my main kit, I realized that I could counterfeit the Star Dust Add-on and have it coordinate with my main kit. So this month I have a mix of two kit clubs. Here is my counterfeit Star Dust Add-On:Everything was pulled from my stash or handmade. I really wanted to include a chicken wire background stamp, but didn't have any stamps in my stash that would work. My solution: an onion bag (thanks, Lesa!) I created a frame from a scrap of chipboard, then adhered a piece of the onion bag over the center of the frame. To use this, I applied ink to one side, placed it ink-side-down on my paper, then rolled a brayer over the top. It worked great! Can't wait to try this on a project!

Here are my counterfeit tin pins. I had one package of buttons to cover leftover from last month's kit, so I decided to cover them with paper to make my version of the tin pins. I used a cloth to slightly dampen my paper, then covered the buttons. I then applied a layer of Glossy Accents, and they look very similar to October Afternoon's tin pins!

These are the tapes that I made in place of the Smash Tape. I used some old first aid tape, and stamped the checked background with teal and red ink. I then used some different stamps from my stash to add words, phrases, and numbers. I'm not quite sure what I will use these for yet, but they were fun to make! Note to self: need more first aid tape. :)

Finally, I counterfeited the Kitch brads from the inspiration kit. I simply cut or punched circles from patterned paper scraps and placed them inside the rim of these buttons. I then covered the paper with Glossy Accents. Super easy, and no one will ever know that they are buttons, not brads, once they are on my projects!

I also made a Summer Add-On so that I can play along with Kim's Summer challenge later this month. I have had my eye on Echo Park's Splash collection for a while, but I simply couldn't justify buying it when I still have lots of last summer's paper in my stash! So I decided to counterfeit the Splash collection (instead of a kit) as my Summer Add-On. I had so much fun making the journaling blocks and the ticket embellies. You can see the "real" Splash collection from Echo Park HERE. Here is my counterfeit Splash kit:

I'm excited to use my kits to make some projects! If you haven't played along with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, you are missing out! Check it out HERE. I know you'll be inspired!

June Counterfeit Kit

2011-06-06T00:10:00.002-04:00

Can you believe that it is June already? Or that the Counterfeit Kit Challenge is 6 months old? This month, we are counterfeiting our 6th kit! It's a beautiful kit from a a brand-new kit club called Burlap & Buttercups. You can see the inspiration kit and add-on HERE.

Although this kit is very pretty, I knew that I would have to make some changes when I copied it. First of all, my style is much more cutesy and whimsical, so most of my supplies fall into those styles as well-not much cutesy or whimsical about the inspiration kit. Secondly, I wanted to make a kit that I would actually use a lot this month. Even if I could replicate the style of this kit, I'm not sure if I would use it as much as if I "tweaked" it a bit. Here is a breakdown of my kit:

I almost always start with my patterned papers. This month, I didn't have many papers that matched up well with the inspiration kit. I chose one paper from the inspiration kit to counterfeit (the doily print) and then built my kit around that paper. I chose the circle print that you see in the lower right corner of the photo above. It is a new print from Simple Stories, and I just love it. I knew that it would be the perfect paper to inspire my kit. My other papers were also loosely inspired by the inspiration kit, keeping in mind my own style and coordinating with my doily paper.The inspiration kit didn't include a ton of embellishments, so I added some extras. :) Instead of the Maya Road square chipboard frames, I included three scalloped circle chipboard frames and centers from Technique Tuesday. While I had the packages of chipboard out, I saw this large scalloped heart frame, also from Technique Tuesday. Although there was nothing like this in the inspiration kit, I loved it and knew that it would look great with my kit. It's also one of those embellies that I've been "saving" for the perfect project. I'm trying to get rid of that mentality! It is my goal to use that pretty frame this month!
Instead of the icon/phrase stickers in the inspiration kit, I pulled several vintage style die cuts from K&Co. (a gift from Meridy!) Many of them are travel-themed, and I am taking a road trip with my family this month. I think these will work perfectly in a mini album.

This add-on kit is inspired by the Burlap & Butterflies add-on. I didn't counterfeit many of the stickers-again, I wanted to make sure that I would use what I made. Instead, I saw one of the stickers had individual circles with letters in them. I found some chipboard circle stickers with numbers on them in colors that coordinated with my kit. I added them, and I already have a project in mind to finally use them! I also pulled coordinating inks, stickles, and flocking.
I am also making two additional add-ons this month, which I will share with you tomorrow. One is inspired by Studio Calico's June Star Dust add-on. The other is for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge's summer add-on. I will be counterfeiting a summer line from one of my favorite companies, Echo Park. Please check back-I will have some fun tutorials!

New Ippity Stamp Class for June

2011-05-29T11:16:00.004-04:00

Good morning!

This is just a reminder that I am having my next {ippity} stamp class on Saturday, June 18 from 12-3. We will be making 6 cards using {ippity}'s "How You Doin'" stamp set. Class fee of $25 includes the stamp set (yours to keep) plus all papers and embellishments to complete all 6 cards. Please register for the class by Monday, May 30. Class fee is due at the time of registration; I will accept credit/debit cards through Paypal or you can pay by cash or check if you're local. :)

I can also mail kits with instructions. The cost of these kits is $25 plus $4.95 priority shipping.

To register, please email me at sharecropperskits@gmail.com. Thanks, and I hope to see lots of you there!

May Counterfeit Blog Hop

2011-05-27T00:01:00.001-04:00

Welcome to your next stop on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop! If you didn't start at the very beginning, you will want to start HERE.

Our blog hop challenge was to be inspired by a project from a manufacturer's blog. This wasn't hard-although narrowing it down to just one inspiration project was a bit tricky! I immediately went to the Pink Paislee blog where I found THIS adorable layout by Caroline Ikeji. I have always loved Caroline's layouts-especially the way she mixes patterns and clusters embellishments. I tried the cluster technique on this layout. I think I have a new favorite technique!

I'm so glad you stopped by today. Your next stop on today's hop is the fabulous Kim's blog!

Us.

2011-05-26T15:57:00.005-04:00

***This is my second post for today. Please scroll down for my Momenta Faux Bingo Markers Project.***

When I look at this layout, it's hard to believe that I actually made it. First, it's a layout. And it's completed. Go me, lol! Second, it's a 12 x 12 layout. Usually I scrap 8.5 x 11, but the past few that I have done have been 12 x 12. I like it. :) Finally, I used eyelets. Amazing! I don't remember the last time I used an eyelet!

So, I finished a cute layout using one of my all-time favorite photos of Donny and the kids. I actually finished 2 layouts today, but you'll have to come back tomorrow for the second one. It's for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Master Forgers' Blog Hop tomorrow! You won't want to miss it!

Buddy Card with Faux Bingo Marker

2011-05-26T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello! I am super-excited to share that I am blogging over on the Momenta blog today! Over there I am sharing how I made my faux wooden bingo markers that I included in my May Counterfeit Kit. I used one of the star ones as an embellishment on this card. I love all of the textures and layers and happy colors here. :)

All of the supplies that I used on this card are from my May kit. I also used the fabric-covered brads that I made for this month's kit. Aren't they super-fun? If you're not familiar with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, you are missing out! Go check out all of the fun at http://www.counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com/. Don't forget to check out the Momenta blog for the tutorial, too!

Mini Challenge #3

2011-05-22T00:01:00.000-04:00

Mini Challenge #3 for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge is to choose an embellishment from your kit-and create your project around it! This was an easy one for me because that is usually how I start my cards! Ironically, my favorite embellishments from this month's kit were the ones that I made myself. I will have to remind myself of this the next time that I am scrap shopping, lol!
My little girl embellishment was made using scraps of cardstock and patterned paper and a cute stamp set from Hero Arts. The card came together really quickly using this embellishment-just a punched grass border and letter stickers for a sentiment. Super easy!
Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope that you have a chance to play along with us for the mini challenge!

Counterfeit Kit Mini Challenge #1

2011-05-21T10:53:00.002-04:00

Sorry this is late posting to my blog! I had two blog posts ready to go for last Friday, but then Blogger went down and I lost them both. Grr! This is the first chance that I've had to re-do them. There is still plenty of time to play along, though-hope you can join us!

Our first mini challenge for May over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge is to use THIS sketch from Sketch Support. I made a quick card using an adorable lemonade sticker from May kit and a super-cute sentiment stamp from Technique Tuesday.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Don't forget to check out all of the adorable cards from the Master Forgers. Enjoy your weekend!

Card Set featuring new Momenta

2011-05-21T10:33:00.004-04:00

Today I am sharing a sweet little card set that I made using the new Family Forever collection from Momenta. This collection has such beautiful colors and classic patterns. It is perfect not only for family scrapbook pages, but also all-occasion cards like these. These cards came together quickly because all of the papers and icon stickers coordinate perfectly, and the sentiments are all vellum quote stickers from Momenta.

Don't forget that Momenta is having a DT Call, too! Check out all of the details HERE on the Momenta blog.

Happy Wishes

2011-05-20T00:01:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday, everyone! I can't think of a better reason to celebrate this week. What a week!

Today I am sharing the card that I made for this week's Lily Pad Cards sketch challenge. Lucy has made a sweet little sketch for us-I know you will love it and hope you can play along! Our sponsor this week is one of my very favorites, too-Lawn Fawn! I just love Kelly Marie's adorable stamp designs, and I was so excited to get to play with one of the new releases from CHA Winter. The set is called Lunar Lights. Here is what I made:

I decided to use a Hero Arts acetate card for my card base. First, I stamped the lanterns and string on the white cardstock inside the card. Then I stamped the lanterns and string directly on my card front using black StazOn ink. Paper-piecing the lanterns allowed me to add lots of fun colors and patterns.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Don't forget to check out all of the Dream Team's cards and challenge details HERE.

Ocean Gift Bag Topper

2011-05-10T06:38:00.004-04:00

Welcome back! I'm excited to share a photot tutorial for this sweet gift bag topper with you today. It is also the featured project on the Momenta blog today. If you haven't checked out the new blog yet, you should head over! (After you're done here, of course!)
1. Trim embossed cardstock to fit the width of the gift bag. (My gift bag measured 7.75" wide, so I trimmed my cardstock to 7.75" x 12". Make two score lines across width of cardstock to fold over the top of the gift bag.

2. Trace edge of die-cut cardstock along short sides of embossed cardstock. (You can use any die cut paper because you are just using it as a template. You can also leave the edge of the bag straight if you prefer or are short on time.)

3. Trim along traced lines.

4. Mark handle placement on back side of cardstock.

5. Use paper trimmer to cut "slices" from the cardstock to slide over the handles. My "slices" were about 1/4" wide.

6. This is what it should look like. Notice that I cut the "slices" from the top of the gift bag topper, not the sides. This will allow the topper to sit flat on top of the gift bag.

6. Sand cardstock. (This is a great way to show the contrasting core of your cardstock. Pre-embossed cardstock, such as Momenta's Hidden Hues, works great for this project!)

7. Fit topper over gift bag handles and embellish as desired. I used cardstock scraps and my Create a Critter cartridge (Cricut) to create a little ocean scene. This is such a fun project, and such a great idea for your scrap budget! Not only can you embellish using scraps and leftovers from other projects, but also the plain gift bags are 2/$1.00 at Dollar Tree! You can get my favorite, kraft, or fun colors like the teal one used in this project.

Thanks for stopping by today!

May Counterfeit Kit Challenge

2011-05-06T00:02:00.001-04:00

***This is my second post for today. Please scroll down for My Lily Pad Cards post.***

I have a confession to make. Since joining the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, I have become even more impatient. I find it very difficult to wait for the next inspiration kit to be announced! So, I spend quite a bit of time hopping around to different kit websites, trying to get a sneak peek of the next kits to be released. There were a couple that I really liked this month, but when I saw this month's main kit from Work in Progress, I secretly crossed my fingers that Bethany and Meridy would like this kit as much as I did. Guess what? It worked! Not only did they choose this kit to counterfeit, but the original kit sold out on the first day! Can they pick 'em or what? ;)

Here is my counterfeit version of the main kit:

Here are more detailed shots of my kit. I always start my kits with my papers. I try to match each of the original kit papers as closely as I can. Sometimes I can match a paper almost exactly, but other times I have to make do with what I have. Sometimes it's as generic as "a die-cut paper"! You've just got to do what works for you. Remember that your goal is to use your stash, not buy more! Because of the way that I select my papers, I always have an eclectic mix of manufacturers. This month's papers are from Echo Park, SEI, Creative Memories (1997, mind you!), Doodlebug, Provo Craft (also late '90s!), Momenta, Colorbok, Imaginisce, Core'dinations, K & Co. and Heidi Grace. Quite a mix!

I always pull my cardstock to match my papers, even if the original kit doesn't include any. This month, I think I went a bit overboard, lol:

Choosing papers and cardstock is kind of fun, but what I absolutely love is choosing and creating the embellies for the kit. I LOVED the embellies in the inspiration kit-such cute products from Pink Paislee and Basic Grey. Almost all of the embellies in my kit are handmade, including the "Read" title, borders, and fabric covered brads.

I purchased two items for my kit. The first was the package of "Lemonade Stand" stickers on the right. I struggled to find some soda-inspired embellies like those in the original kit. I decided to skip over those-until I saw this set of stickers on the clearance rack at Michael's-for 97 cents! I snatched that package up so quickly, I think the rack is still spinning, lol! They were perfect for my kit, and they match my patterned paper perfectly! I also purchased a roll of yellow crepe paper at my local thrift store for 25 cents (after I had already taken my kit photos.) The color looks great with my lemonade embellies, plus it will give me a chance to try some fun crepe paper techniques. :)

Now for the Add-ons. Work in Progress offered a Mother's Day Add-on, so I created one, too, using papers and brads from SEI, vintage seam binding and a zipper (both courtesy of sweet Meridy), and a hot-off-the-press stamp set from The Craft's Meow.

I also made a Boy Add-on that is inspired by board games, puzzles, and outdoor play. I actually pulled some items that were leftover from my January Counterfeit kit, such as the stamped journaling spots and bingo cards. The Scrabble letters are a free printable download-I simply printed the jpeg at a 4x6 size on white cardstock and trimmed the letters. You can find the download HERE. The bingo cards were also a free printable download HERE.

OK, are you inspired? I hope so! I hope you will consider joining us this month for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge! You can see all of the other Master Forgers' kits HERE. There are some really fun ideas being shared there today! Over the next few days, we will be sharing lots of tutorials for making your own embellies, and I will have a couple here on my blog, as well, including one for making my faux bingo markers.

Oh, and don't forget National Scrapbook Day tomorrow! I will have new projects and challenges from Momenta and the Counterfeit Kit Challenge!

The Greeting Farm Presents...A New Lily Pad Challenge!

2011-05-06T00:01:00.001-04:00

It's Friday, so that means the Lily Pad Dream Team has a new batch of cards to inspire you, plus a new challenge and a new sponsor! Our challenge this week is another gorgeous color combination from Kathy-a collection of soft, muted colors that would be perfect for a Mother's Day card or any spring project.
Not only do we have a great color combo for you, but our sponsor this week is none other than The Greeting Farm! I have been in love with TGF's adorable images since I first saw them about a year ago. The sweet characters fit in perfectly with my cutesy card style! My card this week features a sweet digi stamp-it's called "Kissy Kissy".

It's true that these images are perfect for coloring. I am just learning how to use Copics, however, so my colors (and skill) are quite limited! My image is entirely paper-pieced, using scraps of cardstock and some Distress Ink. A touch of Crystal Stickles "eyeshadow" finishes off the image.
I hope you will all join us this week for our Color Throwdown! You can see all of the details, as well as the rest of the Dream Team's gorgeous cards, HERE.

Blog Hop Winner Announced!

2011-05-01T19:00:00.001-04:00

Random.org chose commenter #12...jjabauer! Congrats-you win my Counterfeit Kit Add-On! Please send me an email at sharecropperskits@gmail.com to let me know your contact info. Thank you to everyon who visited and left me sweetcomments! :)

Lily Pad Inspiration Challenge

2011-04-30T00:01:00.001-04:00

The Lily Pad DT had a fun assignment this week: we got to hunt through all of the submissions from the past month and create a card inspired by one of them! This assignment is perfect for me because I am always inspired by others' cards, and I always tell myself that I will "lift" their design someday. Well, life gets busy and I forget. Having this as an assignment was the perfect reason to make one of these cards!

I loved THIS card by Therese, who entered this for the Lily Pad Color Throwdown. I had that same scooter stamp in my stash, and I had never inked it up. Time to remedy that! Here is what I came up with:

I cut this fun shaped card using my Cricut Wild Card cartridge. It's hard to see the detail, but the pink cardstock is dry embossed with the same quirky heart that is on the scooter-love that! I also hope that you will join us for this fun challenge-you could win a gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp! Check out the challenge details and the rest of the Dream Team's cards HERE.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop

2011-04-27T00:01:00.002-04:00

Welcome to your next stop on the Master Forgers' Blog Hop for the month of April! If you didn't start at the beginning, you will want to head over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog so you start from the very beginning. You won't want to miss any of the beautiful projects created by (and inspired by) our amazing DT!

Our challenge this month was to surf the DT's personal blogs for inspiration. It was so hard to choose just one designer to scraplift! Finally, I chose a layout that I felt worked really well with my photo and the supplies remaining in my kit. I just loved this layout by Lisa:

Here is my layout:

I also have a fun giveaway for one lucky commenter! Master Forger Kim and I have made mini add-on kits inspired by this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge-and we're giving them away! All you need to do is leave a comment here on my blog and you will automatically be entered. I will announce the random winner on Sunday night. Here's the mini kit up for grabs:

Your next stop on our fabulous blog hop is Kim's amazing blog, Love-Joy-Scrap. Thank you so much for visiting with me today!

A New Winner...

2011-04-24T19:51:00.002-04:00

I had to draw a new winner for the Club SEI kit. Although I drew Melmal as my winner lastweek, I have not heard from her and have even sent her a message. Because I have not gotten a response, I chose another winner. Random.org selected #75, Brenda Urbanik! Congratulations, Brenda! Please email me at sharecropperskits@gmail.com to let me know your contact info and I will mail this out to you! Thanks so much for being a follower!

Counterfeit Kit Mini Challenge #3: Inspired by Food

2011-04-22T00:02:00.000-04:00

Our mini challenge was to create a project inspired by our favorite foods. My favorite food is ice cream-hands down! I knew that I wanted to scrap these photos from our trip to the Ben & Jerry's factory last fall. As I looked through my kit, I noticed my cloud papers and chipboard shapes, the scalloped borders, and the blues and greens. My mind instantly thought of the B&J's containers. I thought it would be fun to recreate the background from the packaging. Although it's not exact, it's definitely inspired by the packaging. I am so proud of myself for getting these photos scrapped and on a 2-page spread, to boot! :)
We would love to see your take on this challenge! You can see the original post HERE on the Counterfeit Kit blog.

Lily Pad Sketch Challenge

2011-04-22T00:01:00.000-04:00

I feel so honored to be working with the girls on the Lily Pad Cards Dream team. Our sketch artist in the amazing Lucy Abrams! She created this wonderful sketch for us to use this week:

We also have a generous sponsor this week, Penny Black! This was my first time using Penny Black stamps and cardstock. I used the Mimi in Paris set to create my card based on Lucy's sketch:

Ooh la la! Be sure to check out all of the details for this week's challenge HERE on the Lily Pad Cards blog. I know you will be amazed by all of the Dream Team's cards, as well!

New Lily Pad Cards Challenge!

2011-04-15T00:01:00.002-04:00

It's Friday, so it's time for another fun challenge over at Lily Pad Cards! This week, we're hosting a Frames, Dies & Dimensions Challenge. To enter, simply create a new card that uses a frame or die-cut mat that uses pop dots (or something similar) to add dimension. The design team got to work with these fabulous frames and cards from our very generous sponsor, Globecraft Memories. I paired my card with fun new papers from Momenta and a sweet stamp set from Hero Arts. Check out the Lily Pad Cards blog for all of the DT's gorgeous creations-hope to see yours linked there soon!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge-Memorabilia

2011-04-15T00:01:00.001-04:00

I am so excited to share my very first chipboard mini album with you! I had so much fun making this-I can't wait to add my photos and memorabilia! I can't yet because I made this album to document my upcoming weekend at CKC-Manchester with my scrappy friend, Lesa!

The page above has a fun pocket on the right-hand side. Recognize it? I "stole" a leftover pocket from my March kit! Then I dressed it up a bit with alpha stickers, a border sticker and some gems. This pocket will hold my class stubs from Friday and any other items that I want. The pocket is 5" wide.

This page also includes a fun pocket to hold memorabilia, probably the stubs from my Copic classes. Can you spot it? It's my mini transparency! I need to tell you how I made this transparency on a budget! I recently transferred all of my Imaginisce Snag 'Em stamps to a Cropper Hopper folder. Each stamp had 2 square transparencies in the package-one printed with the design and one that was "plain". Being the frugal scrapper that I am, I had to save those plain ones! They were the perfect size for the heart stamp that I used for this kit. I stamped the image with black StazOn ink, then colored the back side with Bic Mark-It markers. Then I trimmed around the top of the heart to add a fun edge and stitched it to my paper. Cute little free pocket!

And did you see the zipper flower! It was SO easy! I made it using Becky Olsen's tutorial, but I used Glue Dots instead of the double-sided tape that she recommends. Worked great!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my mini! Don't forget to visit the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog for the other designers' takes on this challenge!

Winner!

2011-04-12T18:56:00.004-04:00

I used Random. org for the first time ever to select my winner...but I can't figure out how to do a screen capture with my laptop. :( So, you'll have to trust me on this one. The winner is...#99, Melmal! Melmal, to claim your kit, please email me your contact info at sharecropperskits@gmail.com. I need to hear from you by Sunday, you lucky girl! ;) A big thank you to everyone who reads and follows my blog, both newbies and seasoned readers, lol! I appreciate you all! :)

Giveaway time for Followers!

2011-04-10T18:17:00.004-04:00

We're at 98 followers right now-so close to 100! How about I sweeten the deal a little bit by offering a giveaway? When we hit 100 followers, I will choose one random follower to win the May kit from Club SEI. So, what are you waiting for? :)

p.s. Be sure to check back later this week to find out the winner!

Lily Pad Cards-Our First Challenge!

2011-04-08T00:01:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the first challenge from Lily Pad Cards! Kathy came up with a beautiful Color Throwdown for us-I love the rainbow of colors, don't you? When I first saw this color combo, I knew that I wanted to do something fun and light-hearted.

I decided to ink up one of my newest sets-the Birthday Purses set from Skipping Stones Design. I paper pieced the stripes using scraps of cardstock. I also added a fun circle border using Versamark ink.

The Dream Team would love it if you would play along with us!

The challenge. Make a card using the color palette above (an exact match is not required-just land in the same ballpark.)

The prize. The lucky winner will receive her choice of ONE of the following fantastic marker sets from Letraset:

You can see all of the challenge details HERE. The deadline for this challenge is Thursday, April 14, at 11:59 PM. Now hop to it! :)

April Counterfeit Kit Challenge

2011-04-06T00:01:00.005-04:00

I am so excited to share this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge with all of you! This month's inspiration kit is from a brand new kit company, Front Porch Kits. We are counterfeiting their March kit (since their kits come out on the 18th of the month)-and their first month's kit sold out in just one day! Yup-it's just that cute! Here is what the inspiration kit looks like:

I told you it was cute. :)I went through the list of kit contents and tried to copy each item as closely as I could using only items from my stash. The only thing that I bought was a roll of aida material (used for cross-stitch.) I substituted this in my kit for the burlap. I even used a 50% off coupon, so I only paid $2.49 for the whole roll. :) Here is my kit. The first photo is just my papers-a mix of Cosmo Cricket, Stampin' Up!, Momenta, Colorbok, Echo Park, Sassafras Lass, My Mind's Eye, SEI, Imaginisce, American Crafts, and Jillibean Soup! The second photo is my embellies and extras.

I had a lot of fun this month trying to replicate the Fancy Pants cards and journaling spots. The two blue, two yellow, two kraft and coral journaling spots in the photo are all handmade-and I think they look pretty close to the originals! (I will have tutorials later in the month for these.) For my heart transparency, I used a stamp that has been in my stash for years, and I stamped it using black StazOn ink onto a piece of product packaging. I included two scraps of fabric, a recycled zipper, some fun yarn and other trims, silk flowers and leaves, a white feather and googly eyes, and a bird template. I also substituted some fun new metal flair stickers from Momenta in place of the bottle caps. In place of "Hank the Plank" from the inspiration kit, I included a wooden frame from Michael's dollar bin that has been in my scraproom for years. Time to use it up! I hope that you will play along with us this month. You can find the Counterfeit Kit Challenge HERE. Don't forget to link up photos of your kit and projects! We have some fun mini challenges in store for you this month!

Lily Pad Cards Blog Hop

2011-03-29T09:00:00.004-04:00

Good morning, Hoppers! Welcome to your first stop on Day 2 of the Lily Pad Cards Blog Hop! Today's cardmakers are literally going to make you ribbit out loud! Each day, the hop will span 7 different blogs, then culminate on Friday, April 1, with the grand opening of Lily Pad Cards. Lily Pad Cards is a new challenge blog that will feature interviews, articles, videos, challenges, great prizes, and more!

Although Lily Pad doesn't officially bloom until April 1, 2011, you'll be able to see a new sneak peek every day until then. And you'll definitely want to drop by because there are three prize packages with a total retail value of over $800 (WOW!)-including $100 worth of gift certificates to a very popular online store! Go HERE for specific prize details and contest rules.

The theme of our hop is "welcome"-not only are we welcoming Lily Pad Cards to the neighborhood, but we're also welcoming all of you to come in and join in on the fun.

Thanks for being neighborly and hopping by my pad today! Your next stop on the hop is the incredibly talented Jill Foster: http://www.stampinginspiredby.blogspot.com/. If you hit a bad link, you can always hop back to the Lily Pad and click on the next link in the hop. We'd also appreciate it if you would report any bad links to webmaster@inlinkz.com.

Happy hopping!

Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop

2011-03-28T00:01:00.001-04:00

Welcome to your next stop on the Counterfeit Kit challenge Blog Hop for the month of March! If you didn't start at the very beginning, you will want to head on over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. We have lots of great scrappers participating this month-you won't want to miss a single hop!

Our mini challenge for the blog hop was to scraplift ourselves. I don't do this very often, so this was a fun challenge for me. I knew right away that I wanted to scraplift this gift bag that I made for my mom's birthday back in January:

I really loved this project-the stamps, the label shape of the bag topper, and the fact that it was a fun way to give a gift. I tried to think of a way to make the bag differently. I was a little stuck, but I was quickly inspired when I saw the cute little boxes that Backyard Farms uses for their tomatoes:

I loved the die-cut fence on the front and the fact that it was made from kraft cardstock. Being the frugal girl that I am, I decided to take the elements that I loved from my gift bag and use them to create a gift box. Here is what I came up with (my sweet daughter even baked some Double Chocolate Chunk cookies so my box wouldn't be empty for the hop!)

Everything (except the box and the cookies) came from my March Counterfeit Kit. I hope that you like the project and are inspired to upcycle your produce packaging, too! Your next stop on the hop is with the fabulous Karen Williams. Don't forget to leave some love along the way!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge-Frames

2011-03-23T00:01:00.000-04:00

I have admitted many times that I have a seemingly endless supply of chipboard. It was one of those supplies that I bought a TON of when it first became popular, but didn't use very often. I just WANTED it. Now I am trying to use it more often-tyring to make a dent in that stash!

For our "Frames" mini challenge, I turned to my stash of chipboard. Many of you may consider this to be cheating, since the chipboard is not technically part of my kit. I keep my chipboard in the original 12x12 packaging, so it would be difficult to fit in with my kit. Also, I figure ANYTHING that will help me to use up my stash should be legal, lol! So I keep my chipboard sheets hanging in my scraproom closet, readily accessible.

Although I loved this scalloped chipboard frame, it was a little overwhelming for my 8.5x11" layout, especially since I wanted to include at least two photos. So, (gasp!) I CUT one side off of that pretty chipboard frame. Of course, I couldn't bear to throw it away-I tucked it into my kit to use on another project later this month. :)

This was a naked chipboard frame, so I first painted it with acrylic paint, then used Versamark ink and iridescent embossing powder to give it some shine and sparkle. I finished my frame by adhering a little aqua gem in the hole of each scallop.

How will you include a frame on your project? I can't wait to see your takes on this challenge!

Just Wanted to Say "Hi"...

2011-03-19T12:04:00.003-04:00

Just a quick share today of a card that I made this week using my March Counterfeit Kit, a cute digi stamp from Tiddly Inks, and a fun sketch from Twisted Sketches. I have had this little hedgehog saved in my digi stamp folder for a while now. Isn't he the cutest? A friend of mine recently lost someone very near and dear to her, and since she loves hedgehogs, I thought I would drop her this little note.

These aren't colors that I would have ever though to put together without the help of my Counterfeit Kit, but I love the finished card! I especially love the punched borders. These are two that I punched when Lesa, Cindy and I had our Punch & Lunch last month. I love having these borders all punched and ready to go! I added a tiny row of machine stitching across the flower border, then topped each flower with aqua gems. I think it adds a sweet, girly touch to this card. I hope it makes my sweet friend smile. :)

If you haven't checked out the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog lately, you need to head on over! Right now, we have an Etsy-inspired challenge going on, plus all of the new DT members are being introduced over the next few days. Stop in and say "hi"!

Some fun news to share!

2011-03-16T19:10:00.002-04:00

Did you hear the news? I am currently the Guest Designer at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, and I get to stay on as a member of the new Masters of Forgery Design Team! I am so excited! I had given up most of my design commitments during my student teaching last fall, and I am anxious to start up again. I've got something else exciting in the works, but I can't share yet. Soon, girls, I promise! ;)

Mini Challenge: Etsy Inspiration

2011-03-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

This week's Counterfeit Kit Challenge is to be inspired by a project from Etsy. HERE is the project that I chose. I have always loved the look of printer's trays, but finished ones tend to be a bit pricey. I knew I could make my own for a fraction of the price. To save even more money, I found a small shadowbox at Goodwill to alter. The price was definitely right: 45 cents!

Here is a before photo:

Pretty outdated and dusty, huh?

Here's what it looks like now:

Here are the details:

Top left: I cut this butterfly from my lace paper, but the color just didn't "pop" like I wanted it too. So, I covered the butterfly with Versamark ink and heat embossed it twice with silver embossing powder. Two bling brads form the body.

Top right: I stamped the sewing machine on a piece of clear packaging (from the Bella Blvd. fabric flowers.) I then paper pieced just the body of the machine and added an epoxy brad and some stickle-y thread. For the "fabric", I cut a little slit in the transparency and threaded a scrap of rickrack through.

Middle left: Just a rub-on and gems on a Spellbinders die-cut.

Middle right: I cut a Spellbinders die-cut in half, then distressed the edge so it looks like a tiny notebook edge. Studio G stamp and butterfly punches, plus a little doily that I created with an EK Success border punch.

Bottom left: My favorite! I stamped the dressform on the same clear packaging from the flowers and paper pieced the dress. The text flowers are just two punched flowers, adhered together with a foam square and topped with a button and gems. The little metal flowers are my soda can flowers. :)

Bottom right: I trimmed a corner off the stamped doily from my kit, then topped it with a butterfly rub-on on white cardstock. I popped the butterfly up with foam squares. I love this punched flower, too. I layered three Martha Stewart flower punches, attached an epoxy brad, then "squished" the petals up to give it some dimension. The tiny stamp is from an old (uninked!) Studio G set.

Thanks so much for stopping in today! I hope you can join us for this challenge this week! Check out the details at the Counterfeit Challenge blog!

My Counterfeit Wildflowers Kit

2011-03-13T18:36:00.003-04:00

With this kit, I once again started with one paper, inspired by the Studio Calico kit. I chose the butterfly print from Basic Grey, then found some coordinating papers similar to the inspiration kit. My lace paper has butterflies, which went perfectly with this kit! I printed the sign language and song cards from websites, and I was AMAZED to find the images identical to those in the inspiration kit! Glittery die-cut letters and vellum sentiment stickers from Momenta, and lots of fabric flowers from my stash complete this kit. I am hoping to try some fun things with Meridy and Bethany's flower tutorials, but I really want to use up these flowers, which have been in my stash for too long. :)
Be sure to stop back tomorrow, when I reveal my project for our Etsy-Inspired Challenge!

My Counterfeit Sunny Clearing Kit

2011-03-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

I love this little kit. The colors, the patterns...and how easy it was for my to pull together. :)
All of the papers are from Cosmo Cricket's Material Girl 6x6 paper pad. I also pulled a few Cosmo Cricket Elements from another line, some cute little chipboard flower buttons from Dollar Tree, and a set of Studio G number/alpha border stamps. I decided that instead of the large scalloped calendar from the inspiration kit, I would use my Hero Arts doily stamp. I really love this stamp, and I think it works well with the rest of the kit. I stamped it on Crushed curry cardstock with Versamark ink, then heat embossed it with white embossing powder.
My sweet mom crocheted me some tiny doilies, too, but I didn't have them when I took this photo. I also made a couple of embellished paper clips using buttons and oversized epoxy brads. You will see them both on a project or two very soon. :)
Don't forget to stop by the Counterfeit Kit challenge blog to see Meridy's kit and Bethany's kit, along with some fun links to freebies for your own kits.

My Counterfeit Mossy Knoll Kit

2011-03-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

This is the most masculine portion of my March kit-lots of geometrics and neutral colors. For papers, I started with the stripe in the bottom right corner because I felt that would be the most challenging to match in my stash. Once I found this stripe from My Mind's Eye, I was able to build my papers around it. I'm not sure if I would use the papers from just this kit, but I think they will make interesting additions to projects made from my other kits.
A fun addition to this kit was the package of metal flower brads. I LOVED these and couldn't wait to make something similar! I was able to make my own for literally pennies, which made me very happy. Scroll down to my next post for the tutorial for my flowers, plus see a sneak peek of a project that I made using them!

Metal Flower Tutorial

2011-03-09T23:59:00.004-05:00

Today I'm going to share with you how I made the metal flower embellishments in my Counterfeit Mossy Knoll Add-On Kit. They are really easy to make and you can make a couple of dozen from one recycled soda can. That's great for my scrap budget!

First, gather your materials: a clean, empty soda can, utility scissors, a small flower punch, small gems or bling brads, and a paper piercer (if you're using brads.)

Carefully cut off the top and bottom of the soda can. Cut a slit up the entire side of the can. Be very careful, as the sides of the can are very sharp!

Smooth out the sheet of metal enough to slide it into the punch.

Punch flowers from metal sheet.

For each flower, bend each petal up slightly. The center of the flower should sit flat on your work surface, and each of the petals should stand up just a bit.

Now curl each of the petals by gently pulling on them. Shape as desired-the metal is very pliable.

Add a small gem or bling brad to the center of each flower (use your paper piercer to poke a hole if using a brad.) I used a smoky gray gem to the center of each-I thought it looked great against the metal.

Here's a sneak of a project that I made using these flowers:

This is my project for our first mini challenge-make sure to check back on the 13th for all of the details and to see my project in full!

My Counterfeit Babbling Brook Kit

2011-03-08T00:02:00.000-05:00

Here is aphoto of my kit:

Lots of handmade goodies there! I used punches and my sewing machine for one (see the next post for a tutorial), a text stamp for another, and lots of Cricut fonts for the last! Here is the full image of my font paper:

I also used my Cricut to make the small scalloped circle. I made it much smaller than the inspiration kit's because I have the smaller Cricut. That's OK with me, though, because I already have a layout in mind for this one!
I used an EK Success border punch to make my aqua flower border. Doesn't it look just like the trim in the inspiration kit? I also cut up one of my die-cut ledger papers for my faux envelopes. Can't wait to try these on a project!
Thanks so much for stopping by today!

"Get the Look"-Cosmo Cricket's Cocktail

2011-03-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

My first example of how to "get the look" of Cocktail, one of Cosmo Cricket's fun new Social Club papers, is very similar to what Bethany shows you in her tutorial HERE on the Counterfeit Kit blog. I simply machine-stitched over each row of circles, using a contrasting thread. Fun look, don't you think? Try this with other shaped punches, too-think butterflies, hearts, flowers...

The next way to "get the look", but on a smaller scale, is to punch a solid cardstock border using a large scalloped border punch (mine is from EK Success.) I also punched lots of 1" circles from scraps.

Next, flip your cardstock border over and apply adhesive adross the entire border. I put my border on scrap paper and just ran a tape runner over the entire strip, right over the punched holes. You can see the shine of the adhesive in the photo.

Now you're just going to layer the circles over the back of the border. I overlapped each circle so you can only see one pattern through each punched hole.

Here is the finished border:

I love those pops of color! And because this was made from the materials from my kit, I'm going to use this border on a project this month, too! Thanks for stopping by!

Island Lunch

2011-03-07T12:34:00.003-05:00

Today I'm sharing my first layout of the month from my March Counterfeit Kit. I used papers and embellies from both my main kit and my add-on kits. You can see the contents of my main kit in THIS post. I will be sharing my add-on kits all this week, so be sure to check back to see what goodies I've unearthed in my scrap room!

For this page, I kept the design pretty basic, but added some fun little accents. I had this lonely yellow flower in my stash, so I folded it in half and added a button to to top. Although it is meant to be a flower, it kind of reminds me of a little sunshine peeking up above the photos. I tucked a little journaling spot behind the flower, then added a sprinkling of buttons and bling brads.

I embellished my buttons by using some of the tiniest rub-ons from my kit. I think they add just the right amount of whimsy to this layout. I even made a few extras just to have ready in my kit. These would make great little accents for a card or tag, too. It helps those little rub-ons from getting lost on the project.

Hope you can stop in tomorrow for the reveal of my first add-on, my Counterfeit Babbling Brook kit. Lots of handmade papers and accents, and some tips for how you can "get the look."

March Counterfeit Kit Challenge

2011-03-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to be the Guest Designer this month at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog! This month's inspiration kits are from Studio Calico. That's right-I said kits, with an "s"! Not only are Meridy, Bethany and I counterfeiting the main kit, but we also are each making the FOUR add-on kits! Lots of scrappy goodness, I tell you!
Today, we are each sharing our main kits on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog, and I am sharing mine here with you. Here is the main inspiration kit from Studio Calico:

And here is my kit:

With this kit, I was able to match almost all of the papers very closely. The only exception was the Woodland paper (top, second from the left.) I chose a repeating aqua pattern from Basic Grey. The colors in this pattern worked well with the other papers in my kit. My cardstocks are Lagoon, Watermelon, Crushed Curry, Kraft, White, Ivory and Black. I have also included a couple of small scraps of green that matched one of my add-on kits perfectly.

When it came to the embellishments, however, I had to make some substitutions. I started with the bee stamp. I don't have a bee stamp, but I saw this pretty butterfly stamp that a friend recently gave me. I added that to my kit, and that inspired me to add the chipboard butterflies. My label stickers are from Martha Stewart, and the colors go well with my papers. Finally, instead of the larger letter stickers and title die-cut, I included a rub-on alphabet and a package of Basic Grey rub-ons. The rub-ons have lots of icons (including some bees) and sentiments which would work well for either cards or layouts.

I will also add buttons as I make my projects. I discovered in January with my first kit that it is much more practical for me to keep my buttons in their original jars and just take what I want as I go.

Thank so much for stopping by today! I can't wait to show you my add-on kits, plus I am itching to start making some projects to share! Don't forget to take photos of your kits and share them on the blog or on the Counterfeit Kit Facebook Page-we'd love to see how you're inspired by the kits!

Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop

2011-02-28T00:01:00.001-05:00

Welcome to your next stop on February's Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Melissa's fabulous blog. If not, make sure that you start the hop right at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog so you don't miss any of the amazing projects!

This month's inspiration kit was from Scraps of Darkness. You can see photos of the inspiration kit HERE, and you can also check out my blog post HERE that shows the contents of (and the logic behind) my counterfeit kit. Here are a couple of projects that I've made with my kit.

Here is the sketch from Scraps of Darkness:

And here is my layout:

It's hard to see in the photo, but I finally used my Perfect Pearls mists! I sprayed the background and the brown chipboard flourish with Interference Red mist. So pretty when the light hits it!

I also made a couple of cards (of course!) The first uses supplies from my kit plus a cute little button card stamp from Unity Stamp Co. I'm embarrassed to say that I've had this stamp for a few months and didn't know what it was, lol. I just saw a new set from PTI that had a similar stamp and realized what it was! Now it is one of my favorites. :)

The next card was actually the first project that I made using my kit, back at the beginning of the month. The card base is made from the postage stamp die cuts (from the Create a Critter Cricut cartridge). The flower and sentiment stamps are from Ippity. If you would like these stamp sets, I happen to know a *fabulous* Ippity chick. ;) Plus, I think I finally achieved the vintage look with these two cards!
I am so very glad that you had a chance to hop along with us today. I'd love it if you left me a comment, too! Your next stop on the hop is the amazingly talented Marianne!

A Fun Birthday Card

2011-02-26T06:06:00.007-05:00

I can share this one with you now that the recipient FINALLY got it in the mail! I am really good about MAKING cards, but not-so-good about actually MAILING the cards. Many of you know this about me. ;) I should probably just stamp every birthday card I make with a belated birthday sentiment, just to be on the safe side.
This card uses Lawn Fawn's "Bake Me a Cake" stamp set and fun new papers from Momenta. Lots of paper piecing here, which is one of my favorite techniques ever. I think it comes from my love of patterned paper (and the hoarding of said paper!)
Thanks for stopping by!

My first layouts of 2011!

2011-02-23T13:08:00.003-05:00

It's been months since I've made scrapbook layouts. I was inspired by the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog to finally make a page. Guess what? I made 2! I will share one here today which uses mostly Jillibean Soup and Pebbles, Inc. products. I also used a PageMaps sketch that was shared in the Scrapbook Daisies forum. The other page (made with my Counterfeit Kit) will be shared here on Monday as part of the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog's monthly blog hop.

Just a quick share today. Many of you know that this has been a very traumatic and hectic week for my family, as my older sister passed away Sunday from complications of pneumonia and leukemia. Trying to keep things as normal as possible, but it's tough. There have been some really rough moments over the past week. Thanks to all of you for sharing loving thoughts and hugs over the past few days. Hugs to you all. xoxo

Tall Oaks

2011-02-17T05:58:00.002-05:00

Just a quick share this morning before I head out. This is a simple card, stamped only with brown ink and then shaded with a few colors of colored pencils. I love this look-the colors just seem to pop off the kraft cardstock! The large tree, leaves, and acorn are from DeNami Design, while the sentiment is from Studio G.

My Counterfeit Kit for February

2011-02-16T17:45:00.005-05:00

I have to admit that this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge was a huge challenge for me. While I loved the color swatches that Bethany and Meridy posted before the kit reveal, I was very intimidated when I saw the actual inspiration kit. It was totally not my style-not the colors, the patterns, embellies, anything. But I really wanted to play along, so I thought a lot about how I could use the inspiration kit.

I decided to make a list of kit contents, but in a very general way. First, I started with the papers. Rather than try to match the papers in the inspiration kit exactly (which would have been impossible from my stash), I wrote down what the inspiration kit contained: a distressed solid, a flourish/heart pattern, a polka dot, a basic geometric pattern, and three all-over patterns. Now this was a list I could work with! I started with the flourish/heart pattern. I looked through my patterned paper and found this beautiful heart flourish paper from the Bittersweet collection from Basic Grey. This is the paper that I built my entire kit around. I had the matching stripe, so that took care of my basic geometric. I was then able to pull other papers that coordinated. I added a distressed pink solid from Basic Grey (a different line, but still matched), a kraft/cream polka dot, and three all-over patterns: the heart woodgrain (Imaginisce), cream flower (My Mind's Eye) and little fruits (an old Basic Grey line-Recess.) I added one other patterned paper-the numbers-which remind me of the bingo card in the inspiration kit. I didn't end up using the bingo cards from my January kit, so I substituted patterned paper. I think that I am more likely to use this paper than the actual bingo cards.

For embellishments, I found some great printable postcards, tags, and vintage images on Flickr. I also fell in love with the printable doily tags, which I believe were linked on Write. Click. Scrapbook. I also threw in some journaling boxes which were leftover from an SEI album kit.

I found that I didn't include enough letter stickers in my January kit, so I really loaded this kit up with some fun stickers and rub-ons. More mini alphas from Making Memories, a sheet of Basic Grey stickers that have sat untouched in my stash for 3 years (since my very first CKC class!), two different sets of rub-ons from Imaginisce and Cosmo Cricket (thank you, Eryn Hagen!), some pearl flourishes and Momenta Bubbles & Bling. The Bubbles & Bling will work great in place of the mirrored embellies in the inspiration kit, which really weren't my style.

For 3D embellies, I included some chipboard pieces from Colorbok (flourishes) and Fancy Pants, large postage stamp die-cuts which I plan to use for a card base, tiny pearl ribbon slides, and assorted trims. I am anxious to make some of the faux Prima flowers, but I will do that as I make my projects. I also plan on using buttons on my projects, but I found it was just as easy to add the buttons to my kit as I go along. My buttons are all sorted by colors in individual jars, so I can easily just pick what I want. :)

Finally, I added two sets of seriously neglected clear stamps. The smaller set is The Language of Love by Technique Tuesday. The flourishes are from Gel-a-Tins. These stamp sets will work really well with my papers, and I hope that by including them in my kit I will remember to use them!

Thanks for stopping by today. I know this was a long post. Hopefully I have inspired you to think outside of the box a little bit when it comes to finding inspiration in other kits or projects. Can't wait to start creating with my Counterfeit Kit!

Yakkity Yak...

2011-02-15T21:22:00.004-05:00

This is another of my favorite "rejects" from the recent PaperCrafts pub call. I don't know what it is about this card, but I just love it. Just a fun little card to mail a friend. It's a great way to use a journaling lines stamp, too! I have had this set of journaling block stamps from Autumn Leaves for a couple of years now, and they have been sitting on the shelf, uninked. I paired the journaling block with a Hero Arts speech bubble stamp and some cute little Lawn Fawn stamps. All papers are from SEI. Thanks for checking in!

Welcome Home

2011-02-14T05:52:00.003-05:00

The challenge over at All Things Unity this week is to use your favorite Unity or {ippity} set. HERE is the link. I have lots of favorites, so it's hard to choose just one! Right now, however, I find the one that I'm using most is Devoted by {ippity}. I love the house, especially! Lots of paper piecing on this card-everything on the house. I also used two other {ippity} sets: Just Wanted to Say and Live Simply.

Love these sets as much as I do? You can order them from me! Just visit my {ippity} site by clicking the link at the top of this page or visit http://www.sharecropperskits.blogspot.com/.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T05:18:00.002-05:00

Today's share is one of my "rejects", lol! It is perfect for Valentine's Day. Around the outside of the spinner, I have stamped "I think you are..." and then the spinner has four different images and cute little words to end the sentence. I just thought this stamp set was the cutest when I saw it at Michael's a couple of weeks ago. I exercised great willpower when I left it sitting there in the $ bin! My sweet daughter had seen me looking at it in the store, however, and surprised me with it after we got home. How sweet is she? I have to finish up a couple other Valentine cards today, so I will hopefully get a chance to share those later.

Stamps are from Studio G and patterned papers are from the Love Me Do collection from My Mind's Eye. Thanks for stopping by!

Colorful Hello

2011-02-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

I realized that I hadn't shared this little CAS card with you yet. I made this card for {ippity}'s January challenge to use brads. I stamped this little flower and hello from the How YOU Doin' set. The hello stamp had a row of little dots underneath, so I used those dots to place lots of little micro brads from Queen & Co. As much as love these tiny brads, I have had them in my stash for 3 years now (since my very first CKC) and it is time to USE THEM UP! I am now down to just a handful and it feels so good to have actually used them!

The flower was stamped on several different solids then paper pieced. I used the solid sides of patterned paper for this one. It is much thinner than cardstock and works great for piecing small images like this one. Easier to cut, too!

A couple of quick snips to the corners made for an easy tag, and then some cute American Crafts ribbon at the top. The tag is then pop-dotted up to give it some dimension. Super easy card-a great one to keep on hand.

Birthday Cupcakes

2011-02-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today's card is for my SIL, Jeanie. Jeanie is a cardmaker, too, so I wanted to do something fun! I made this card during the Hero Arts 90-minute Scramble last weekend. The challenge was to make a birthday card with more than one fold. My card has the "main" fold at the bottom, and then the top has a flap that folds down. After scoring my folds, I used my circle cutter to round the flap. Then I covered the card front and the flap using papers from My Mind's Eye's Quite Contrary collection. Such pretty and fun colors! The string and button closure holds the top flap down, and can easily be untied to open the card.

The cupcake and sentiment stamps are all from Hero Arts. I paper pieced the cupcakes and added some Crystal stickles to the frosting. I originally stamped the sentiment directly on the card front, but it just didn't "pop" the way I wanted it to, so I stamped the words again on cardstock scraps, trimmed, and adhered them right over the originals using foam squares.

Thanks for stopping by! I will have lots more shares in the next few days (all of my submission rejects, lol!)

Counterfeit Kit Challenge Cards

2011-02-11T07:11:00.006-05:00

I've been MIA for a couple of weeks here in blogland, but I do have a couple of shares today using my January Counterfeit Kit. If you're new to the Counterfeit Kit challenge, you can check it out HERE. It's a great idea-you "copy" the items from monthly kits using items from your own scrapbooking stash! There are also some amazing tutorials for making your own embellishments. THIS post has links to some amazing faux Prima flowers. I can't wait to try them!First of all, this is what my January kit had in it, using only items from my stash and elements that I was able to download for free online. (This is also perfect for me, as I am still on my spending freeze until I get my 365 projects done!)

I have only made two cards so far using my kit. I've been so busy with DT work and magazine submissions that I haven't had a chance to play with it much! I loved the way these two projects came out, however. I don't think that I would have ever thought to pair up some of these embellishments without having them right in this kit. Because I still have tons of supplies left in my kit, I am not going to "dismantle" it yet. I have everything (except my stamps and ink) in a separate paper holder so that I can just grab my kit and get to work.

This first card was for the Card-Bling-Fashion mini challenge on the Counterfeit Kit Blog. I found a picture of a retro red-and-white polka dot sundress online and used it as my inspiration. While making this card, I decided to add a package of white chipboard letters to my kit. I realized that the alpha stickers that I had included were not enough and that I wanted to be able to mix and match alphas on my projects. I also used a chipboard tag that was not in my original kit. I am trying to use up some big packages of chipboard shapes from my stash. These packages are really large and will literally not fit in my kit, so I keep them near my scrap table. Hopefully I can start to make a dent in my chipboard stash!

The second card that I made was for the Sketch Mini Challenge. I took the layout sketch and changed it up a bit to work for a card. Everything on the card was from my kit, and I used the added chipboard letters for this card-but with a twist. The white letters didn't show up on the white journaling block. I knew that I would need to alter them somehow. I looked through my supplies and saw that I had some dark brown flocking from Studio G. I played around for a bit and found that if I flipped over the HI, it looked the same. So, I kept it flipped over and covered the sticky side of the letters with the flocking. Voila-perfectly flocked letters without having to mess with adhesive! Obviously this wouldn't work for all letters, but it will work for some and also most shapes.

I'm excited to start building my kit for February. I'm a bit behind, but hopefully will get to it this morning. This one's going to be a real challenge for me because the elements in the kit are totally not my style so who knows what I will end up with, lol! Maybe I will find things in my stash I didn't even know I had! :)

Nesting Doll Thank You

2011-01-29T21:08:00.005-05:00

One final share tonight-this Nesting Doll Thank You card. I loved this stamp set when I bought it last year, but I have to admit that I have really struggled to use it. I've tried lots of different color schemes and mediums (ink, markers, colored pencils) and it just never comes out right. Today I decided to just use dark brown ink and stamp the doll on kraft cardstock. I loved it! Then I just distressed the edge of the kraft cardstock with Creamy Brown chalk ink.

I created this card for three different online challenges. First, I used this month's sketch from Sketch For You To Try. I chose this image for the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge, which was to make a card based on a childhood memory. My memory was my trip to the Soviet Union (back when it WAS the Soviet Union!) I went as part of a school trip when I was 13. I spent two weeks there. One of the souvenirs that I brought home was a set of nesting dolls. This stamp was perfect, and I paired it with a floral patterned paper from Stampin' Up! that reminded me of the design on my nesting dolls. Finally, because I used my favorite kraft cardstock, I am entering it in Kraft Journal's Anything Goes challenge. Speaking of The Kraft Journal, my Vintage Thinking of You card won a Top 3 in their Flourish challenge!

Thanks for stopping by again tonight-I'll be back tomorrow with more shares!

Valentine Hoot

2011-01-29T21:01:00.002-05:00

I made this VERY pink Valentine last weekend as part of the Hero Arts 90 Minute Scramble. This little challenge was so much fun. At the announced time, a Hero Arts hostess (Barb was this week's!) announces a theme or embellishment that you must use on your card. After the announcement, you have exactly 90 minutes to complete and upload your card. Barb's challenge was to use a frame on your card. I used my Spellbinders Nestability die to cut a scallopoed square, then I cut out a circle from the center. I then popped the frame up around my owl image using pop dots.

Stamps are from Hero Arts; papers are from the Target Dollar Spot a few years ago. Still trying to make a dent in my stash!

Lots of Projects featuring NEW Momenta!

2011-01-29T20:34:00.008-05:00

I can finally share all of the projects that I made for CHA! I'm SO excited that my cards are on display at the show. I'm hoping to see a pic of them on display there! :D

All of the products used will be available on the Momenta website in a few weeks.

Krafty Hello

2011-01-28T19:11:00.004-05:00

I made this card for several challenges. The colors were inspired by the photo above, from the CR84FN Color challenge #12. Soft and pretty, and very feminine, don't you think? These would make great colors for an Easter card, too.

I used the Card Patterns Sketch #99 for this. I loved this sketch-it's a great design that I know I will use again and again. I think it's the scalloped border-one of my favorite things to include on a card. You could easily change this up by using a different border punch in place of the scallop. My scalloped border is actually a premade chipboard border from Technique Tuesday. As I try to use up some of my stash, I am finding lots of goodies that I had forgotten about! The chipboard circle, scalloped circle, and flower stamp are also from Technique Tuesday.

I'm lovin' my kraft cardstock lately, and this is my entry for the Kraft Journal's Anything Goes challenge this week. finally, it is also my entry for the new Altered Alice challenge blog to create a hello or goodbye card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Teal and Orange Thank You

2011-01-27T17:00:00.003-05:00

I have SO many projects to share with you! I'll start with this one which I made for the Hero Arts "Catalog Inspiration" challenge and for Kim's Off the Wall Craftiness Challenge #42 to use white, orange, and teal. It's such a fun and sunny combination, don't you think?

For this card, I used both colored pencils and markers to color the little girl. I stamped the Thank You background using Broken China Distress Ink. then I just combined these stamped images with some papers from my stash. I really dug deep into my scrap bin for these! The orange Double Dot cardstock is some that I've had for 3-4 years, and the aqua solid (which has the script Thank You stamped on it) is about 10 years old! It is from one of the original SEI sets! I am really making a dent in some of my stash! The flower is from Hero Arts, the button is from DeNami Design, and the ribbon was from my bottomless stash of ribbon. :)

I will be back later with some of the cards that I made for Momenta's booth at CHA. Now that they have been shared on Momenta's Facebook page, I can share them here. You're gonna love the new products!

Love You Tons

2011-01-18T06:26:00.003-05:00

Even though this card is really simple, it was a hard for me to make! Tiddly Inks' "Refresh Me" challenge was to make an all-white card (the image could be colored.) I don't think that I have ever made a card like this before. I started with the image, which was fine because I could use my colors. Then I struggled because I wanted to use patterned paper-I chose embossed cardstock instead. Then, I wanted to add some fun green ribbon-I chose white twine instead. Finally, I REALLY wanted to add a colored button-but chose white instead. It was tough, I tell you!

This cute little elephant is a free digital stamp from Tiddly Inks. When I printed him, I was trying to think of a cute little saying. As I was looking through some of my clear stamps, I saw this cute little saying in a pack of Studio G valentine sentiments. I had never had a stamp that worked with it, so it had sat, un-inked, for a couple of years. I can't wait to make more using these two stamps! While I do feel "refreshed" by this challenge, I can't wait to add some fun, colorful embellishments to my next cards!

Also, I have not heard from my second place winner from last week's [ippity} stamp giveaway. So, I have drawn another name. Congratulations to...KELLY CRANFILL! Woo-hoo! I know Kelly has a sweet little boy and a new little girl at home, so I know she will have lots of occasions to use the "Love in Return" stamp set from {ippity}.

Vintage Thinking of You

2011-01-16T17:46:00.005-05:00

I rarely make cards that are vintage-looking or shabby chic, but I think this one might be close. The Kraft Journal blog posted a challenge to use kraft cardstock (their specialty) and a flourish of some kind. I have been "saving" this lined kraft cardstock for YEARS and thought today was the day to use it. In addition to the Kraft Journal's challenge, I was inspired by CASE Study #22. Many of the elements of my card were inspired by that challenge, such as the colors, the notebook edge and scallop border punches, the scrunched ribbon, the die-cut label, and the gems. See-lots of inspiration there! I also decided to play along with the 365 Cards Challenge #318 to punch a border on just the front edge of my card.

***Notice to jmahugger: You were my second random winner of a Unity stamp kit, but I haven't heard from you! Please email me at sharecropperskits@gmail.com to claim your prize! If I don't hear from you by midnight on Monday, 1/17, I will have to draw another winner on Tuesday. If you know jmahugger, please let her know!

Just Saying Hello

2011-01-16T15:44:00.004-05:00

I made this card in response to a friend's Facebook post that said her mom was feeling a bit down because of poor health. She had asked if any of her cardmaking friends would want to make her mom a card to make her smile. I know that I always smile when I see an envelope in the mail from a fellow cardmaker. :)

It also uses papers that my sweet cardmaking friend Stephanie Muzzulin recently sent me. Aren't those patterns and colors so spring-y? I hope they make Jana's mom smile. The stamps on the outside are from Gel-a-Tins (flower) and Hero Arts (sentiment.) The greeting inside (hello) is from Lawn Fawn.

Although I used a sketch I found online, this card is not for any contests, challenges, or submissions. It's a "just because" card. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in all of the competition, as one cardmaker recently commented. Underneath it all, we do this for the craft. I love to make cards, and every once in a while, I make a card "just because." I hope you do, too. :)

Do you like Cosmo Cricket, Copics, and Some Odd Girl? GIVEAWAY

2011-01-16T11:55:00.003-05:00

Some Odd Girl is celebrating their anniversary with some great giveaways all week long! You can check it out HERE. If you leave a comment, please add that I sent you-I'd appreciate it!

Here is the "run-down" of the week's events:

Sunday, 1/16: Kick Off and Run-Down (with a little question)
Monday, 1/17: 1 Digi, 3 Ways Challenge
Tuesday, 1/18: An Odd History and Mini Blog Hop
Wednesday, 1/19: Some Odd Girls Color Challenge
Thursday, 1/20: Kids Coloring Challenge
Friday, 1/21: Some Odd Elements Challenge
Saturday, 1/22: Mini Card Challenge

Each daily challenge has its own prize, plus there are some BIG prizes, too! Hope you can play along!

Birthday Butterfly

2011-01-16T08:06:00.004-05:00

This is a card I made for my friend, Connie. Her birthday was yesterday, but I didn't want to post the card until I knew she had it. I didn't want her to see it on the blog first!

I used this sketch from Stepping Stones Design. The colors were inspired by EAD Designs' Turtle Love Color challenge. All of the stamps used on this card are from {ippity}. This week's Unity Addicts Challenge (UAC34) was to pick one of your oldest Unity stamps and pair it with one of your newest. I just started using Unity stamps last summer, so they are all pretty new to me! I decided to take a stamp from {ippity}'s first release in Fall 2009 and use it with one from the most recent release. The butterfly is from Devoted and the sentiment is from the new Party Hat Wishes set. I love this butterfly stamp. It is perfect for layering. The bottom layer is pink marbled cardstock and the top layer is pink patterned paper. All of the patterned paper on this card is from Stampin' Up! Finally, I knew that the sketch included 5 little accents under the sentiment. I have been using a ton of gems lately, and I was all out of pink and brown rhinestones. So, I pulled out one of my cases of brads and found these rich chocolate brown brads that matched perfectly. This week's challenge over at 4 Crafty Chicks was to use metal on your card, so this fit the bill perfectly!

So, Happy Birthday, Connie! I hope you have a great day and got lots of scrappy birthday goodies! ;)

Happy Couple Card and Glitter Giveaway

2011-01-15T06:44:00.005-05:00

You all know I like to add a touch of bling to my projects. Just a touch. ;) Sometimes it's gems, sometimes it's pearls, sometimes it's glitter. Wanna get some FREE glitter? Meyer Imports is having a giveaway on their blog. You can check it out HERE. Tell 'em I sent you!

For this card, I used a submission sketch from PaperCrafts magazine. I made the card, but I didn't submit it. I don't know why I didn't, I was just having a "not very confident" kind of day on the day of the deadline. :( Now I kick myself for not submitting all of the cards I had made for the call. The good news is that I will be sharing them with all of you sooner!

First I cut a panel of white cardstock, then covered it with rectangles that I trimmed from patterned papers. I used monochromatics, but I think that I will try this card again with brighter scraps. It makes for a fun background! Then I just popped this panel up using foam squares. And look-no stamping! I used a puffy sentiment and chipboard wedding ring stickers. I added a touch of bling to the diamond using Rock Candy Distress Stickles. I love that the photo caught the sparkle of the diamond!

I have been working hard on tons of new cards for Momenta's booth at CHA. You're going to love the new products-they are SO CUTE! That's all I can say for now. Sworn to secrecy. :)

Lots of Love

2011-01-13T09:26:00.005-05:00

Today's card was originally a new baby card-I just thought that these soft colors reminded me of a new baby. You could easily change this card up by using reds and pinks and making it a Valentine. All stamps are from Unity's "Mix-Up of Cuteness." Cardstock is from Momenta. Many of Momenta's cardstocks have a bright or deep shade on the front and a softer color on the back. I used the softer colors for this card.

Thanks for stopping by today! I know this was a quick share, but I have been super-busy making some Momenta projects that I can't show you yet...not until CHA starts. ;)

Birthday Eye Chart

2011-01-12T07:17:00.004-05:00

I had to chuckle when I saw this stamp in the new Party Hat Wishes set from {ippity}. You can see the whole set HERE, and you can order it by emailing me at sharecropperskits@gmail.com. How cute is that birthday eye chart?! For this card, I paired this set with a fun color combo from ColourQ challenge #67. The sketch is part of the Hip Hop Twist Challenge for January. Thanks for stopping by today! Today is a snow day here-which means lots of inky time today. :) Stop back tomorrow for more projects