Sigh...You are Fabulous.

What?  Two shares in two days? 

That's a record for me this summer. :)

 

This is a "reject" from a recent call that is a bit different from my usual style. 

It was my first time using gold paint,

but with gold trending right now, I wanted to give it a try. 

I love all of the Pinterest pins that combine pastels with gold,

so I thought it would look great on a card.

 

 

The chipboard sticker and papers are from Basic Grey's Knee Highs collection, sentiment stamp is from Unity, and that fun gold paper fringe is from K & Co.

 

Thanks for popping by!



February CKCB Projects

Oops-just realized after posting my March Counterfeit Kit that I haven't shared any of my February projects yet. *blush*

 

Lots of cards! 8, to be exact, plus one tag.  One of the cards I can't share, however, because it is being published in Cricut magazine!  I am so excited! :D

 

Here's what I made:

 

 

Thanks for popping by!



Well, it does...

This next share is VERY cheeky-but I hope it makes you giggle!

I used my fiesty gal stamp from Unity's March 2011 KOM.  Love this stamp!  It goes perfectly with this sassy sentiment from {ippity}.

This pretty new paper is from Basic Grey's "Fiction" paper pad, and the Best/Worst journaling card is from a Smash pad.  Chipboard flowers from Sassafras Lass.

This is my entry for the December KOM Sketch challenge over on the Unity blog.  Here is the sketch:

Check it out! 

Just Be Awesome :)

How about another quick share?  This card was also one that wasn't picked up by Paper Crafts magazine.  Do I love it any less?  Nah-I think the sentiment rocks!

Papers from Basic Grey (Paper Cottage and PB&J), stamp from Unity Stamp Co., felt star from Pebbles, Dream Big brad from Studio G, mini paper clip and gems.

Stop Pinning? I think not...

I have been pinning cute little quotes (OK-some of them are downright sassy) on Pinterest.  I love funny and sarcastic cards, so I thought that some of these quotes would make fun card sentiments.  Like the one on this card:

"I'm getting tired of pinning things

on Pinterest.  Maybe I'll stop,"

said no one ever.

Heehee! Loved this one!  I typed the sentiment in Word, printed it on cardstock, and paired it with this sassy lady stamp from Unity's March 2011 Kit of the Month.  She looks like a pinner, don't you think? :)

I also used (and flipped) the sketch from the June KOM Sketch challenge:





Thanks for popping by today!  Hope I made you smile! :)

Lily Pad Cards' First Birthday Blog Hop

Welcome to the Lily Pad Cards’ First Birthday blog hop! You should be joining us from Pia’s blog. There are three prize packages with a total retail value of over $300! These prizes will be awarded by random draw. To be eligible, you need to “like” us on Facebook HERE. For even more chances to win, comment on the blogs participating in this hop (including the Lily Pad). For each comment, you get your name entered again (just one comment per blog, please!) Many of our blogs have some blog candy of their own to give away, too! Start hopping at the Lily Pad Cards blog so that you won't miss any of the fabulous birthday cards or blog candy!

This hop features birthday cards, but I chose to make a 1st birthday card, since it's Lily Pad Cards' 1st birthday. You could easily change this for any birthday by just changing the number, or leaving it off altogether. Get ready for some Paper Smooches cuteness:

Isn't that pup just too cute? He is from Paper Smooches' Chubby Chums. I just got this set and couldn't wait to ink it up! I love to mix and match my stamp sets, so I added a party hat from {ippity}, a number 1 from Unity, and a sentiment from Studio Calico. Spreading the love, lol! Paper is from a mix of companies, too: Cosmo Cricket, DCWV, Heidi Grace, Bo Bunny, and Basic Grey.

Ready for some blog candy? I have some brand-spanking new {ippity} to give away! It's so new that I can't even share a sneak with you yet, but I have it right here on my desk, ready to send to one lucky winner! Unity designer Angie Blom has created our April release sets for us, and I am giving away a set called "Let Your Heart Take Flight." To be entered to win, you must leave me a comment on this post AND be a follower of my blog. All comments for the Lily Pad prize package and my blog candy must be received by midnight (EST) on Sunday, April 8th. Check back on Monday, April 9th to see if you are a winner!

I am so glad that you hopped by today! The next stop on the hop is the amazing

Vanessa Menhorn:

http://www.wingsofabutterfly-vanessa.blogspot.com/

If you hit a bad link, you can always go back to the Lily Pad (http://www.lilypad.inlinkz.com) to view the master list of blog links. Please report any bad links to aris@inlinkz.com. Happy hopping!

Some Spring Cards...

I got to play a little bit today with some new stamps and my March Counterfeit Kit.  I struggled a bit with these colors, and I'm not quite sure that I was successful.  Getting inky made me happy, though!  Here are the 4 cards that I made today-but I still have a ton of paper in my kit that I want to use up!  I see a few more blue and yellow cards being created before the weekend is over. :)

This card uses some older stamp images from Hero Arts and Art Impressions.  My wonderful sister-in-law, Patti (the one who got me hooked on stamping a few years ago), recently passed all of her stamping supplies along to a few lucky recipients.  This is a thank you that I made for her using some of those stamps. 

I am in love with this little bunny stamp from Unity and Jillibean Soup's "Chicken Dumpling".  Isn't he sweet?  This is a super-simple CAS card that used just a few scraps of patterned paper from my kit.

I'm not quite sure about this card.  I think it needs a "pop" of color somewhere.  What do you think?  I think it just may be a bit too much blue for me.  I love the white lace over the kraft, however.  To make the kraft border, I traced a blue die cut border from my kit onto kraft, trimmed it with scissors, then used a brass stencil to dry-emboss the edge.  You can see just a hint of it in the picture.  Adds a little "oomph". :)

This card is super bright and cheery.  I used a Hero Arts flower set and a "vintage" sentiment from PSX (another pressie from my SIL.)  The blue and green patterned paper on the bottom is actually a journaling box that was on the back of one of my kit papers.  It worked perfectly as flower stems!  I added some bling to the centers and a little notch to the sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by today-and remember the Lily Pad Cards' Birthday Blog Hop starts tomorrow morning at 9 AM!  Lots of inspiration and goodies up for grabs!

Happy Halloween

I have a few projects to share using {ippity}'s newest releases. This was a card that made for a recent Paper Crafts magazine. Sadly, it was not chosen, but I still wante to share it!
I used {ippity}'s new stamp set, "Sucks to Get Old". I just love that sweet little lollipop! I colored my lollipops and bows with Copic markers, and I layered the round "pop" to give it some dimension.
The "Happy Halloween" sentiment is from a retired Unity stamp set. I really love the background paper on this card, too. It is an embossed chevron design from SEI. I *think* it is from the "Spooks" collection. Super fun and glossy!
Thanks so much for stopping by today. If you would like to order this stamp set, just head over to the Unity Stamp site-HERE is a direct link to "Sucks to Get Old". I'd appreciate it if you would also click on me as your {ippity} chick!

Growing in Unity!

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!

Invited

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... :)

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!

Christmas (in July) Layout

***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.

Along for the Ride

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!

June Counterfeit Add-on Kits

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!

Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop

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!

My first layouts of 2011!

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

Counterfeit Kit Challenge Cards

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! :)

Lots of Love

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. ;)

Plum Birthday

I made this elegant card for my mother-in-law's birthday. I started out with a very different design in mind, but ended with this simple design. I loved it! The embossed background was just what this card needed to make the white space as elegant as the image.

As you can see from the inspiration photo above, this card is made using the beautiful colors that Kim has selected for this week's Off the Wall Craftiness Challenge. The plum/burgandy and taupe cardstock are from SEI, and I think that the ribbon is from SEI, too. I'm not sure-I've had it in my stash forever! The paper, however, is brand-new. I just received it from CARDS magazine as a goody for being published in the September 2010 issue. :)

The design is based on this sketch from Create with Connie and Mary. The JUGS Challenge this week was to decorate and line a matching envelope for your card. It gave it such a finished look!

Happy Birthday to my Mom...and a present for YOU!

Today is my mother's birthday. Shh...don't tell her I told you, but she is 75 today! We are having a little party for her here this afternoon, so I'm just going to do a quick post...with a GIVEAWAY!
First up, though, is the card. I made this card to match the gift bag from THIS post. The card is based on the sketch from Unity's Hip Hop Sketch Challenge #39. I really loved the design, plus I added the scalloped border that extends beyond the edge of the card. I love that look!

Now for the GIVEAWAY! I am giving my mom lots of different cardmaking supplies for her birthday, including some {ippity} stamps (of course!) Would YOU like to win some {ippity}? I'd love to give you some! Here's how you can win:

1. Leave a sweet comment for my mom for her birthday. :)
2. Become a follower of my blog.
3. Check back here on Monday for a winner!

I will take comments until Sunday, 1/9, at 11:59 PM EST. I will draw a random winner and post the name here on the blog on Monday. You've got to check back! The winner will have one week to email me at sharecropperskits@gmail.com to claim their prize. If I don't hear back from her, I will draw another name.

BONUS: I am giving away the "Life's Little Moments" set to one lucky winner. HOWEVER, if I get 100 followers, I will draw 2 names, and the second winner will win the "Love in Return" set. AND, if I get 200 followers, I will draw a third winner to get the "Farm Fresh" set! How cool is that? Be sure to spread the word! :)