Tall Oaks

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.

Teal and Orange Thank You

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!

Thank You and Birthday cards

First up is a different type of card than what I usually do. All black and white! This one is based on last Thursday's challenge at 365 cards. The challenge was to use a silhouette on your card, and the twist was that you could only use black and white. This was a hard one! I stamped one of my Mimi images (from DeNami Design) and just colored everything in with a black marker. I was quite pleased with the results! I then reached into my scraps and found a piece of black and white patterned paper from American Crafts. The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn. I stamped it with Versamark ink and then embossed it with white embossing powder. I thought it needed some "oomph", so I gave the girls a little bit of bling with Icicle Stickles.

I just love this next card, Peachy Birthday. This card was also made for the 365 card challenge blog. Last Wednesday's challenge was to "Keep It Simple" by only using one image, one sentiment, and one embellie. Another twist was that you could only use 1/3 of the card surface. Again, quite a struggle for me since I love embellies! I love the patterned paper cake layers, though-I think they are an embellishment in themselves. All of these papers are from an old DCWV stack-Nana's Nursery. The cake stamps are from Lawn fawn, and the sentiment is from imaginisce. The colors were inspired by Mona Pendleton's new challenge blog: CR84FN.

Finally, I have a birthday card for my Hero Arts friend, Marilyn. I missed her birthday the other day, but I still wanted to send her a pretty card. Plus, I owe her one! Marilyn sent me an adorable card last summer, so it's my turn. :) This card is based on Sketch #2 of sketch week by Lucy Abrams. I used another stamp (the dressform) from Lawn Fawn, and the same Imaginisce sentiment. I also embellished the tag a little bit with a Martha Stewart border punch. Making a dent in my stash, too-the red polka dot paper is AT LEAST 10 years old! It came in a Bitty Paper stack from Provo Craft which I got when I first started scrapbooking way back when. I loved the color and the print, though, so it never made it's way into the circular file. I love the combo of red and teal. They look great with the kraft and white, don't you think?

My Scrappy New Year's Goals

I have set a big goal for myself this year. Several scrappy friends have been talking about doing the popular Project 365 albums, where they take a picture each day and scrapbook it. At the end of 2011, they will have 365 photos. I'm not much of a scrapbooker, but I am a die-hard cardmaker. I also like to hoarde scrapping supplies. :) I am combining these two "talents" to create my own spin on Project 365. I am going to post a new project each day (usually a card, but sometimes a layout, tag, gift bag, etc.) My goal: to have completed 365 projects by the end of 2011. The twist: I am not allowing myself to buy ANY new scrappy supplies (other than adhesive) until I meet my goal. That's right-no new stamps, papers, punches, or ribbon. These are all major weaknesses for me! I am, however, continuing to design for Momenta (a VERY generous company that sends me monthly goody boxes) and I am also going to be entering many, many challenges in hopes of winning some new supplies. (Winning is very different from buying, lol!

(This card is out for PUBLICATION!)

I am sharing a few cards with you today. The first two are for this past week's 365 Cards Challenge. This is a new challenge site for me, but it will hopefully keep me both motivated and inspired this year. Monday's challenge was to pick 3 patterns from a list of choices. I chose houndtooth, paisley, and plaid. Since I am trying to use up my scraps, I punched hearts from each of these patterns (and I threw in a polka dot just because I liked it!) Then I stitched the hearts to my card front, scored the edges, and added a stamped sentiment and three tiny gems. Not a bit of adhesive on this card! This card is also based on Day 1 of Lucy's Sketch Challenge.

Tuesday's challenge was "Let's Make Some Noise!" The task: add something that makes noise to your card. I thought about this one for a long time. As I was looking through my stamp sets, I saw the VW bug stamp and the "Just Married" license plate. I thought it would be cute to tie some "cans" to the back of the car. I searched through my embellies, looking for silver beads for the "cans". What I found instead were these two album extenders which came in a package of page protectors. They jingle when you tip the card, making just a bit of noise. I thought it was a pretty creative idea. :)

The third and final card of the day is for my friend and fellow Momenta designer, Kelly Cranfill. She recently had a little girl, Braelyn Joy. Congratulations, Kelly! This card uses a premade card base and chipboard stickers from Momenta. I tried a new technique that I just saw in the new Scrapbooks Etc. magazine. I put masking tape on the back of plain white muslin, then embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder. It really works! It was the perfect touch for my card. This is also my entry for the Cardabilities Sketch Challenge #18.

Thanks for stopping by today! Please come back again tomorrow for some cute and easy "Thank You" cards and the rest of my 365 Cards Challenge entries. As always, I would love to have you leave me a comment-they keep me smiling and motivated!

DeNami Sketch Challenge #4

Good Monday morning! It is 42 degrees here in Maine this morning-a chilly start! It's almost fall, though, so I guess that is inevitable.

My card for this month's sketch challenge features some other signs of fall, like a cute little scarecrow, leaves, acorns, and pumpkins. Not to mention some warm and cozy fall colors! I used DeNami's new little Scarecrow and the Autumn Stamp Set, along with Leaf Green and Cream Cardstock. A few Harvest Boutique Buttons finish the card off nicely.

I'm so excited about this month's sketch-it's MY sketch! It 's my first time drawing the actual sketch for a challenge. What do you think? When I first drew this, I had planned on using just buttons for the little accents. As you can see, I changed that idea when I saw how perfectly the autumn stamps matched my scarecrow.

What would you use for accents? We want to see! You can see all of the details for this month's Sketch Challenge over on the DeNami blog. I'm anxious to check it out myself so I can see our fabulous DT's creations! By linking your project made from this sketch, you have a chance to win some yummy DeNami goodies! check it out!

Cuddly Critters Blog Hop!

Welcome to your very first stop on DeNami's Cuddly Critters Blog Hop! I'm so glad you could stop by! You should have arrived here from the DeNami Design Blog. If at any time during the blog hop you get "lost", you can always head on over to the DeNami blog and start hopping again! Remember to leave comments as you hop along because DeNami Design is giving away two $20 gift certificates to two random commenters along the hop!

I've been making a lot of CAS cards lately. CAS stand for "clean and simple". It's a great way to showcase your stamps and sentiments! I chose cute and cuddly pups from the Playful Puppies stamp set. I was a little unsure of what I wanted to use for a sentiment on this card. When I saw the "Let's Get Together" stamp from the Let's Get Together stamp set, I knew it would be perfect with these little critters. Square Raspberry Boutique Buttons finish this card off perfectly.

I am so honored to be linking you to the next stop on our blog hop. This designer is one of the sweetest people I've ever worked with. I know you'll be in awe when you see her creations!

Vera Yates

Product Spotlight: Halloween Petit Fours

I love Halloween! Anyone who visits my house in October can easily see that-I go a little overboard when decorating for Halloween. Nothing scary..just spooky-cute.

"Spooky-cute". Now there's a phrase that describes this month's Product Spotlight perfectly. This month, DeNami is featuring it's adorable new Halloween Petit Fours set. This set is really cute. It contains a little jack-o-lantern face, a cute little spider, a spiderweb and "Boo!" I've used three of these images on my card above. First, I used the spiderweb to make a fun background on purple cardstock. Then, I used the "Boo!" stamp with StazOn ink to stamp my sentiment on DeNami's 5/8" white grosgrain ribbon. Finally, I stamped a little tag with spider and tied it to my ribbon. A few buttons finish off my card.

Please make sure you visit the DeNami blog today-we're hosting our September Blog Hop beginning at 11 AM EST (8 AM PST). Lots of inspiration and prizes to be won!

Yay-It's Scrappy Saturday!

Saturdays mean that it's time for a new Wee Memories Challenge! Our theme this week is: FALL! So appropriate, too, because it is starting to feel like fall here in Maine. The leaves are starting to change here at my house, we bought fresh apples yesterday, and I was in the mood to bake! I love this time of year. :)

Our sponsor this week is one of my favorite companies-SEI. I have a subscription to the Club SEI kit club, and let me tell you, I LOVE IT! Especially now that I am super-busy with school. It's so nice to have everything perfectly coordinated for you. Works great for layouts, cards, altered projects...you can use the instructions provided or just use the supplies for your own project (which is what I usually do.)

My project today features the fun new Apple Cider collection from Imaginisce (papers and chipboard sticker.) The ribbon and button are from DeNami Design. I love the colors in this collection. Don't you love fall as inspiration?

What kind of inspiration will you take from our photo above? My card features the colors and apples, but you can create anything that uses fall as your inspiration. Please head over to the Wee Memories blog to see the details of this challenge and to see all of the fabulous cards by our Design team Darlings!

DeNami Design Color Challenge

We're bringing our color challenge to you a little early this month-so you will have the long weekend to play along! Our colors were selected by DT member Michele. These colors look fabulous together! I always admire cards that feature black and white with a splash of color, but I have to admit that I struggle to use just one color! Most of my cards feature lots of colors because I love patterned paper and images that you can color or paper-piece. So this "Challenge" was definitely a challenge for me! If I can do it, though, so can you!

While I love patterned paper, I didn't have any that used just the featured colors. So, I made my own! I stamped black polka dots on hot pink cardstock using DeNami's Polka Dot Background. Then I stamped my focal point image-one of my favorite DeNami stamps-the Cupcake Tower. I colored the image with markers and added some Crystal stickles to the frosting. Although this didn't add any color, it added some sparkle and a little bit of texture., which I love. The final touch was to stamp Happy Birthday and add a touch of bling. Easy design, but a fun result.

I hope that you can play along with our Color Challenge! You can see the details of the challenge, along with the Design Team's beautiful cards, over on the DeNami Design blog. Thanks for stopping by today!

It's a Birthday Challenge!

About half of the cards that I make are birthday cards. Sometimes, I feel like I have made the same designs over and over again. Do you ever feel that way? Well, the DeNami Design team is here to inspire you! Today over on the DeNami Design blog, each of the DT members has created a special birthday project. Lots of great ideas!

My card features Mimi with Birthday Cake, Polka Dot Background, and All Occasion Sentiments. I also used Magenta and Charcoal cardstocks, and I added a splash of color with Lime Green grosgrain ribbon.

DeNami is also sponsoring our third "Theme Challenge". The theme, of course, is birthdays! All you have to do is create a birthday project using at least one DeNami stamp and link it to the DeNami blog. You can see all of the details HERE. Can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Lawn Fawn {Hearts} Cards for Kids Blog Hop

Good morning, blog hoppers! This is such an exciting day for all of the bloggers who are participating in the blog hop. Thanks, Kelly Marie, for organizing this for us!

You should have been linked here by the fabulous Libby Hickson. I am always so nervous to follow these wonderful papercrafters! You won't want to miss ANY of the cards created by the 80+ bloggers participating in this hop. You can start the hop HERE on the Lawn Fawn blog. If you get lost along the way, you can find the complete list of bloggers HERE. To learn more about Cards for Kids, please visit Jennifer McGuire's post HERE.

OK, let's get on to the cards! I made two cards using Lawn Fawn stamps. The first uses the "How Delightful" stamp set. I paired it with a cute Jillybean Soup paper and added some yellow stickles.

The second card combines a sentiment from "Sew Lovely" with a cute little girl from Hero Arts. I thought that this sentiment just went perfectly with her-isn't she just as cute as a button? Papers by Momenta and buttons by DeNami Design.

You can see another card set that I made for the Cards for Kids drive HERE.

I'm so glad you hopped on over today. Now you're headed to Tami Jo's blog to see her adorable creations!

Just a Note(card)

Good morning! Today I have a cute little notecard to share with you using DeNami's Apple Basket stamp. This is one of my favorite stamps from the new release. (I say that about every stamp, though!)

I decided to try something different with my card. I decided to make a notecard instead of a card that opens. You simply jot a note on the front.-perfect for busy teachers! I can imagine several of these bundled together with jute or red-and-white baker's twine as a back to school gift for a favorite teacher. I may have to make up some of these before school starts in a couple of weeks!

Stamps used on this project: Apple Basket and All Occasion Sentiments by DeNami Design. Border Punch: Lace and Lattice Border and Corner Punch by Fiskars.

Please check out the DeNami blog to see all of the DT's fabulous projects using the Apple Basket stamp!

Welcome to the Polka Dot Blog Hop!

Today is going to be so much fun-I love blog hops! Even more, I love participating in blog hops and giving away prizes! If you are just joining the blog hop, please make sure that you start at the beginning HERE on the DeNami Design blog. You will want to visit all of the blogs on the hop for chances to win some fabulous prizes from DeNami and to see all of the Design Team members' cards. We also have three special guest designers for the hop, as well!

I got to play with some of DeNami's newest releases for this card. I started with the new Polka Dot Background. This is a Polka Dot Blog Hop, after all! I paired this background with punched circle embellishments-kind of like "over-sized polka dots", heehee. Each circle is stamped with a two-step stamping technique. I used the apples from the Apples and Pears Stamp Set. First, I stamped the solid apples using red and lime green chalk ink. Then I stamped over these with the apple outline stamp using black ink. You can use a stamp positioner to line them up perfectly, or you can stamp them randomly (like I did) for a more whimsical look. A little touch of polka dot ribbon finishes it off.

There is one more stop on the Polka Dot Blog Hop. You are now off to visit the lovely and fabulous:

WENDY ELLIOT

Thanks for joining us today! Remember to leave some love on each of the blogs for your chance to win some yummy DeNami goodies! Enjoy!

Some upcoming events to share with you...

I haven't mentioned these enough on the blog, so I thought I would dedicate a special post just for these upcoming events:

Wee Memories Challenge #17: Butterflies! You still have time to enter this challenge! Anything "butterfly" goes-think patterned paper, die cuts, stamps, stickers, rub-ons, anything! Check out all of the details HERE.

Craft Fair to benefit the Kennebec Historical Society (tomorrow from 9-2 at the Augusta Armory.) I will be there with lots of new {ippity} stamps and cards available for purchase.

DeNami Design Polka Dot Blog Hop-our first hop ever! Start HERE at the DeNami blog after 9AM EST on Sunday. So excited for our special guest designers, too!

Little Scarecrow

Just a quick share tonight-a last minute entry for the Card Patterns #75 Sketch Challenge. For this card, I used DeNami's Scarecrow from the new releases. Isn't he just too cute?

I am also entering this in the Papertrey Paper Dolls Challenge #14. The challenge there has two parts: 1) use a color you don't normally use, and 2) use a technique that you haven't used for a while. The color that I chose to use was yellow-I never use yellow! It was only after choosing the yellow cardstock that I decided what the theme of my card would be. The technique that I haven't used for a while was to use the negative part of a punch. I actually used the negative of the pumpkin punch to dry emboss the orange border. I then shaded the pumpkins with orange and brown colored pencils to make them show up a bit more.

Another technique that I tried on this card was to make a watermark background using Versamark ink and DeNami's new Polka Dot Background. Because the cardstock was slightly coated, it didn't absorb the ink much. I wanted to see the polka dots a little more, so I shaded each polka dot slightly with a colored pencil. Not too carefully-I wanted it to look a little distressed.

And last but not least, it fits in with the color scheme for Color Throwdown #104. although my cardstocks were from Momenta, they are similar to the Color Throwdown colors of Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, and Old Olive.

Thanks for stopping by again today-three posts in one day is a record for me! I just have so many projects accumulating and I need to share them, lol!

DeNami Product Challenge: Glitter!

It's the 5th of the month, so that means that it's time for a challenge over on the DeNami Design blog! This month your challenge is to use glitter on your project!

First of all, I decided to make an easel card. I love these! I used papers from SEI's Play Day and Happy Day collections, and ribbon and buttons from DeNami Design. I also love the Mimi with Birthday Cake image! Call me crazy, but as I coloring Mimi, I was picturing the adorable Michele from the DeNami DT! Don't you think they look alike?

After coloring Mimi with colored pencils, I added Strawberry Freeze Sparklets Glitter to the cake. Even though I had colored the cake with a cream colored pencil, the pink glitter added just a hint of color but a lot of sparkle. The Quickie Glue Pen makes adding glitter to your images so easy. I love this glue pen and I use it for glitter, flocking, and paper-piecing.

So do you have some glitter that you've been saving for a special project? Show us what you can do with it! Head on over to the DeNami blog to see the challenge details and to see the amazing projects by the other members of the Design Team.

Color Splash

When I saw this week's challenge for the Play Date Cafe, I was a little confused because I didn't know what a color splash was, lol! I had to read further in the post to learn what it was (thank goodness they defined the word for me!) Color splash means using primarily black and white, but adding a "splash" of just one color. This week it was green. I hope it's OK that I included several shades of green!

I really don't have any images that would work using just one color, so I decided to use just a simple "Happy Birthday" sentiment from DeNami Design and make a pennant using various green scraps from my scrap file.

Cardstock by Georgia-Pacific and American Crafts; patterned papers by DCWV, Momenta, and Scenic Route; stamp by DeNami Design; gems by Creative Charms.

DeNami Projects

Sometimes I get carried away with my cardmaking and forget to do things-like post the finished cards. :) As I was using my DeNami stamps this morning, I realized that I had a couple of cards made using some DeNami images that were just sitting on my camera's memory card, waiting to be shared. Here are two projects that I haven't blogged yet. I will have at least one more card to share with you later today, using some supplies from the New Releases from July 1st.

The first card is one I made when I first got my new Halloween stamps. I just love the little Trick-or-Treat Chickies! I tried something different on this card by stamping the image on kraft cardstock instead of white, then coloring it with colored pencils. I think it gives it somewhat of a vintage Halloween look. I also stamped the little jack-o'-lantern face from the Halloween stamp set randomly on the bottom of the card, then added a glow around each face with some orange chalk. Leaf green cardstock and some of my favorite buttons (I used Tangerine on this card) add more of that vintage holiday look.

For my second card, I was inspired by Ayana's owl card to create a window. I haven't done one of these for a while and had forgotten how much I love have the image visible when you open the card. I used the Rosebud Trio, colored it with markers, then punched a mat using the same Leaf Green Cardstock. This color, along with the Amethyst Cardstock that I used for my card base, were both part of the new release from July 1st. These colors look so pretty together. I finished the card with a simple ribbon bow and an Amethyst Boutique Button.

I will also be back in a couple of hours to share my project for this week's Wee Memories Challenge! You won't want to miss out-Cosmo Cricket is our awesome sponsor this week!

DeNami Feature Product: Owls!

I think my owl stamps are slowly taking over my craft room. They are just so cute I can't help but buy them all! :) These little cuties from DeNami Design are no exception, plus they are the perfect size for creating fun scenes. The Owls Stamp Set is this week's Featured Product over on the DeNami Design blog.

For this card, I started with several tree images from DeNami. I used the Small Leafy Topiary, Round Leafy Tree, and Small Narrow Leafy Tree. Then I stamped one of the little owls (there are four in the set) on the middle tree. After coloring these images, I embossed this piece using the Swiss Dots embossing folder. I then stamped my little owl on a scrap of cardstock and layered her using a pop dot. This just made her stand out a bit more. I "need" dimension on my cards! :)

I finished my card with the "love you" sentiment from the Assorted Greetings Stamp Set, some American Crafts valentine ribbon and orchid pearls by Queen & Co.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. Please be sure to check out the adorable cards made by the other DeNami DT members using these cute little owls! Just head over to the DeNami blog to see everyone's creations.

Up for a Challenge?

A sketch challenge, that is, from DeNami Design. :)

This week's sketch was created by Jenny and is so versatile! I literally could have used any stamp I own (which is quite a few, LOL) to create a card. I chose the Fancy Butterfly from DeNami and paired it with Sky Blue Cardstock and white dotted swiss cardstock. I think it came out elegant, don't you?

We'd love to have you join us over at the DeNami blog for this week's sketch challenge! All you need to do is create a card using the Jenny's sketch. The prize? DeNami goodies, of course! Happy stamping!