Summer Fun!!

  Today started out as another sunny summer day, but it's now a bit overcast and we have a nice little breeze too.  A perfect day to open up the windows and leave the AC off for a bit and enjoy the fresh air.

   It's also another day of being creative for me,  and being in Summer Camp has really been help in inspiring me to create some bright summery cards.   I have two new cards to share today and both were created with the color inspiration we have this week at Card Camp.

   The first card was also created for a challenge over at The Outlawz and it was based on the sketch, I shared yesterday.   My image is another cute digi from Bugaboo Stamps and I used colored my little 'Surfer Boy' and used my ABS to spray paint the background.   I also added some Glossy Accents to the water to add more shine and dimension.    

  I am submitting this card to each of these fun challenges and everyone is invited to play along:

• The Outlawz Challenge Group - Wednesday Sketch Challenge
• Scrapbook Sisters - Challenge # 42 - Summer Fun
• Bearly Mine Challenges - Challenge # 13 - Summer is Here

   My second card was created today and based on the sketch and design video that Kristina shared with us today at Camp.   The video inspired us to think of how we look at a sketch or how we start a card design and it also focused on three different design styles and ideas.   Our challenge for today at Camp was to choose one style/sketch and create our own card, also including this week's colors.

  I chose to create a Symmetrical designed card, and mine started with this cute Digi Image created by Lori Boyd.  There is a very touching story that goes along with this sweet image, which was created to raise awareness for a sweet little girl name Macie and you can read her store Here!! 

      
  And now I'm heading back to my craft desk to work on some more cards and especially excited because the mail just arrived and so did two new packages of craft goodies.   I have two brand new Hero Arts Stamps to create with and both were bought after reading about how much Jennifer McGuire  loved them!    
  I took advantage of the promo code she had shared on her blog, and went right over to Simon Say Stamps and placed my order.  That was on Monday night, and my goodies are already here!   These are the two newest stamps I have added to my collection and both were based on Jennifer's rave review --

     I also received the stamps that I won on Bay, so needless to say, lots of fun new things for me to play with, I mean Create with this afternoon!   I think these are both going to be a lot of fun to work with and I'm so happy I bought them early, before they sell out!

     I am back with an afternoon update and one additional card to share, which was inspired by Camp and also by this week's POM Challenge over at The Outlawz.  This is a fun circular card and that was another type of design we learned about in our design video today.   This was a very quick and easy card to make, as as the coloring was done with Distress Inks and I simply created a background with the inks, and then chose an image to stamp on top of the background.    It's the same Hero Arts Stamp that I used on Monday, but used with a different technique.     My card base was then created in bright pink, with a Grand Nestie Scalloped Circle Die set in my Grand Calibur.   Once everything was dry, I used the largest die from the  Lacey Circles Spellbinder Die to cut it out and then used Viva Decor Pearl Pens to add another level of dimension and color to my flowers.  

  And that's it for today, but I am looking forward to another FUN day tomorrow, and it's another day I'm free to create ALL day!!  

Wacky Wednesday....

....Yes, that's today, it's Wacky Wednesday and that is the name that Bugaboo Stamps have given to their new weekly challenge which is hosted at PCP and also over at CDAC.  It's a fun challenge and is open to all and if you one of the lucky winners in either group, you'll be able to chose five new Bugaboo images for your collection.
 
    I am excited to have been a winner and I'm also a huge fan of these adorable fun images, making it extra fun for me to try and play along each week.  This week our challenge (#8), is an easy one too.  All you need to do is create a project and include some type of 'Embossing'- it's your choice.  You can heat emboss something for your project or dry emboss.   For my card I decided to try emboss and I used my Cuttlebug today along with two different embossing folders to add some fun texture to the bright pink and orange section of my card.

  My card was also created based on this week's wonderful Color Combo that were are using in Summer Card Camp and my goal this week is to try and make ALL my creations use these fun colors.

    This is the card that I created for Bugaboo's Wacky Wednesday Challenge and my image is also one of my favorites from Bugaboo.

  This is also the card that I am submitted to Summer Card Camp today!!   I am having such a great time a camp and really love it.  I also found out that two more friends are there, one is Trina who is one of the Designers at The Outlawz, and also my friend, Patricia from the Paper Temptress has also signed up and will also be in CAMP!!   Yippee!   She sent me an email last night and told me the good news after seeing one of my cards in the class gallery!     I'm also a big fan of shopping at her store and that is why I buy my Copic Coloring Cardstock.  My favorite,  of course, is the Cryogen and I love the wonderful hint of iridescent shimmer, but I have to admit, I also also really like the Heavenly white for cardmaking and have also bought many other wonderful things from her store.    If you are not familiar with it, be sure to stop by and check out her wonderful Ribbon too!!   

   I also have one more card today and this is another one that I was inspired to make by the wonderful colors we are using in Card Camp.  It also features one of my new Hero Arts Stamps, which I first in Versamark, heat embossed in White and then used Distress Inks to color my flowers and added another hint of color using my Gelatos.  My butterfly was also colored with distress inks and I actually made several in a variety of colors.   I camp up with this idea after seeing THIS video Jennifer had done about coloring several all the the same time.  She had colored them with Copics, which I have also tried, but you can do the same with Distress inks and it's even faster!   I did stamp these in Black Staz-On, but for Copic coloring, you'll want to be sure to use Memento, or another Copic approved ink. 

   I am off now to work on another card and I'm going to try to see what I can do with the sketch, below that I have copied over to share from 'The Outlawz Challenge Group'.   

The Outlawz - Wednesday Sketch Challenge

  Wednesday is Sketch Day at The Outlawz and I thought it would be fun to also play along using ideas and inspiration from our class!   If you love challenges, then feel free to hop on over to 'The Outlawz' and join.  It's a fun group -- open to all and offers a new challenge every day!   Yippee!!

   See you all a bit later!  A special welcome to my new Cardmaking Summer Camp friends who have arrived her from Summer Camp.  It's a great to have you visit and you are welcome to become a follower and come back any time!! 

Another Creative Camp Day!

   I'm back at Summer Card Camp and that is where I will be spending most of my time for the next few weeks.  I'm totally enjoying it and know it'll a perfect way to try new things and play with all my newest goodies.

   I'm stopped by to share a card that I have completed and this is based on a fabulous video that Jennifer created for us today.  This card is also similiar to one I created in her Workshop when she taught at my LSS, so I was lucky to have some of the same products she used.

     This is my completed card and I hope I can inspire you to try a Window Card or some of the gorgeous colors were are using in Camp this week:

   This is close up view that shows a bit more of window, which I created from recycled packaging.  You know those clam shell type boxes that are always so hard to open?  Well they work great for this kind of projects, so I have learned to keep a few handy in my stash.  You can also use Acetate, but why spend money, if you don't need too!

   One of my favorite things and my favorite new product today, is the die we used to cut out the window in this card.   This one, which also comes with matching stamps, is from  My Favorite Things.   This die is one of the very first Die-namics that I bought and I have added more to my collection since I found out about these wonderful thing dies   You can find them also online directly at MFT under 'Die-namics' or by going HERE!  

    I also wanted to say a special hello to my friend Melanie who is now also attending Summer Camp.  Yippee!!   It'll be really fun to compare notes and it was great talking to you this morning.  I'll be looking forward to seeing your Camp Creations too.   If any one else is interested in joining the fun, you can find all the details here!!   But, be sure to hurry -- Tomorrow is the last day you can sign up!! 

    Happy Crafting!!  I'm heading back to camp and to visit some of my fellow campers, who are all making the most amazing cards!   Yippee!!

Card Camp and More....

  This is my second post today and I decided it would be easier to start a new one, rather than make a super long post.  I am back to share two new cards and the first card is my very first card for Summer Card Camp.

   The theme for Summer Camp is bright fun colors and all of our classes will focus on a variety of color combos.   This is our first collection of colors and they are ALL colors I really like.

   I decided to try and use as many colors as I could for my background, which was created with a combination Ranger Distress Inks and Perfect Pearls Mist in 'Pearl'.   I started by stamps my image - Garden Bouquet from Hero Arts onto white cardstock with Versamark.  I then embossed it with White Hero Arts Powder.  Once it was all cooled down, I simply starting blending in a variety of the inks colors and ended with my Perfect Pearls Mist.   I used my heat gun to dry it and felt like it still need to be brightened up a bit, so I used my wonderful Gelatos to add color.  

   In the end, I put it all together and make this Happy Bright card  -- I hope you like it!   Note:  I still do not have good lighting, so my pictures are kind of dark, but I'm hopeful my new OTT bulb will be here soon!

  Here is a different view on a white background

   I am in the process of making a second 'color combo' card and hope to add it later this afternoon.   In the meantime, I wanted to share some pictures of the new Stamps I bought this weekend during the big 40% off sale at my LSS.   

 My Weekend Haul!!

Wooden Stamps

Hero Arts Clings

And More...variety!

     I also won a Hero Arts Auction on eBay and won a set of (5) More Hero Arts Cling Stamps -- ALL for only $8.24 plus $4.00 shipping!   YIPPEE!!   As you can guess, ever since I took Jennifer's first Workshop, I've become a huge fan of Hero Arts stamps and now have a wonderful collection.  I know they will all be put to good use and I'm very pleased with the money I saved.

    Next, I have my new Copic Coloring Challenge Card and this is for the Challenge being hosted over at the Color Me Creative Classroom.   Our theme this week is to color Pleats/Ruffles and our sponsor it Tiddly Inks.  I chose to use this really fun digi image 'Katrina' from Tiddly Inks collection and colored her in deep shades of blue.   I normally don't color a lot in Blue, but I really love how the colors look, so I'm sure I will use them color more often.

 

    That's my update for now!  If I finish my second Color Combo Card, I will be back to share.  I am also working on one more card and it's for the new Challenge at The Outlawz.  The theme for today's Greeting Card Challenge is also a 'Color Combo' and one that is very popular this time of year.  It's all about Red, White and Blue!    I have my image all picked out and hope to work on that today too!  :)

    Update:   I decided to make a different card for the Color Combo Challenge at The Outlawz, and I went with making another "Flag Card', the one that you create using strips of scraps and the Top Note Die.  It's much like the cards I made last week, that you'll find HERE, along with a link to the Tutorial at OWH!

    This is today's new version and on this one, I did not add any flowers, but did add a little 4th of July Sentiment, which is actually a digi sentiment that I bought HERE!!   

    I have so much fun with Paper-piecing now and almost all of my digi papers have some from Shery's Store!  I love her selection and think the prices are wonderful!!   Happy Shopping!!

    I'm off now to clean up my room a bit, and then I'm heading back to Camp for the evening!   Bye Bye!

I'm off to Summer Camp!!

.....Yes, you read it right - today is my very first day of Summer Card Camp and I am super excited.  If you don't seem me online as much, you'll know that I'm having a wonderful time at Camp and making some fabulous new cards.

    And if you think you might want to attend Summer Camp with you, there is still time to join the fun!!   If you follow me often, you know that I am a big fan of Jennifer McGuire and was lucky enough to take two workshops she taught at my LSS in April.  I've also been a fan of Kristina Werner and took part in two years of her 'A Year in Cards' classes at Two Peas and totally enjoyed them.  As soon as I saw they were putting together this 4 week card camp, I knew it would be awesome!  I'm so happy to be starting today!

 

    Registration is Open through Wednesday, June 28th - you can find all the wonderful details HERE!!  I already had my first set of PDF Files and I'm off now to work on my very first project YIPPEE!!   Love Love Love the colors that we'll be working this week - you can see them below --- They are perfect fun Summer Colors!

   If I finish a card today, I'll try to come back an post it here and will post my work throughout my camp session.  I can only share my work, as ALL the files and wonderful perks are for the Campers ONLY!!!

    ~~~~~~~~~~

   I have one more very special share today and it is HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES to my Mom, who is celebrating her 77th Birthday !!   I just came back from spending the morning with her and giving her some nice new gifts.   She is meeting her gal-friends for a nice lunch and then she and Don will be doing out to dinner! 

    This is a little image of the card  that I created for her Birthday and she absolutely LOVED it.   It was a fun card to make and the inspiration had actually come from a color combo challenge, I took part in a few weeks ago.  

  Happy Birthday Mom!!!

I love you!!!

Shop, Shop, Shop!!!

.......And what a nice little shopping spree I had at my LSS today!    I was really sore when I first woke up, and I almost didn't go, but knowing today was the last day of the Stamp sale and after hubby offered to give me money to spend, the decision was pretty easy for me.  I took my time getting ready and left the house just in time to get there by noon.

    I arrived just at the Spring Market was beginning and there were some many wonderful treasures.  If I were a rich girl, I'm sure I could have brought home a lot of nice things, but I really wanted to use my money for new Stamps, LOL!   I did buy a really pretty pair of handmade earrings, a card (to CASE) and also a cute little altered notepad that I also think would be fun to try and re-create.

    After leaving that area, we were given a 20% off  coupon to use at the store and that was on ALL items, except Stamps, which were on sale for 40% off!! Yippee!!  I was very happy to add a wonderful selection of new stamps to my collection.  I bought four more Hero Arts Stamps I had on my wish list, two Tim Holtz large background stamps, two Memory Box Stamps (Thank you and Circle Word), a very nice Outlines Background Stamp and a few misc. small stamps.   I also bought the "Bitty Scallops" Memory Box die and a few more of the Big Brush Markers to complete my collection.  I did really well and at the bottom of my slip, the savings showed at being over $50 -- WOOHOO!  That's why I LOVE sales!!  

   I was back home within about 2 hours and then started to play with some of my new goodies.  My first cards were created based on the new Sketch over at the Stars and Stamps Blog .   This week the we have another fun sketch and one that is prefect to use up those scraps you have been collecting.

   This is  copy of the sketch and you can also find it here over at the Stars & Stamps Blog.   You can also find all the archived sketches at this LINK!

Sketch 75

My Cards

    I'm not very good at tieing bows onto my cards and if anyone has a easy tip please share!  On the first (green) card, I added the ribbon, then made a bow with my bow easy and simply glued it on.  On the second card, I gave up on the bow and layered on some matching flowers!   I admire those of you who have the natural talent of making wonderful bows - I was not given that gift and I'm always looking for new ways and ideas of who to make the very best bows!!
 
   My next card was created for today's CAS Challenge over at The Outlawz and I fell in LOVE with the inspiraiton card that Carla created and my card is based on her card, which I have copied over to share with you below.  You can also find it along with all the details on her blog HERE or over the Group.

  This is a copy of the sketch that you will want to use if you are entering this week's challenge, followed by a copy of Carla's stunning card.

CAS Sketch

Carla's Card

My Card

   I chose to make a Thank You card and added three layers of circles.  I also did happen to have the same die for my Sentiment, but added mine to the center.  In looking at both, I think for the future I would add it off center, like Carla did.  I also really LOVE her designer papers and colors and really think that make her card extra special.       Note:  Due to the cloudy weather, and my broken OTT light, my pictures are coming out dark and not so good.  I have ordered a new bulk for my OTT light and hope to have it soon.  In the meantime, bear with me for the next few days!!

   And now I'm off to clean up a bit and try and finish up two more cards I had started yesterday.  Tomorrow is my Mom's Birthday and I'll be visiting with her for a little while in the morning and will likely spend a lot of time in Summer Card Camp!!  Yippee!!  It starts tomorrow and our first PDF files and inspirations will be emailed out at midnight tonight.  I can't wait to see what we'll be working on first.  There is still time to enroll and you can find all the details over at Jennifer or Kristina's blogs!!    If you ARE coming to camp, leave me a note with your user name, so that I can find you!!    You should be able to find me, if you see my 'Chibi'!  avatar.    

My Chibi!!

A soggy Saturday....

   After raining all night, I woke up the the sound of thunder in the distance and then even MORE rain came in.  Luckily, as the day went on the rain stopped and we did have a few breaks of sun, but not many.  It's pretty cool too, and not at all what it should be like in late June.  Please bring back SUMMER!!

    I spent my morning catching up on chores and laundry...Yuk, but I think I may head off to my LSS tomorrow for a big stamp sale (40% off ALL stamps)!  If I do feel okay and can go, then I don't want to have to waste time doing a bunch of extra laundry and chores first.  I would much rather, sleep in -- then take my time getting ready to head to the store.   They are also hosting a Crafter's Fair at my store tomorrow and several vendors are coming to sell handmade items, which are the types of things, I LOVE and are perfect for gifts. 

   I'm also very excited to be starting Summer Card Camp on Monday and think it's going to be awesome.  I am already enrolled and have access to the classroom and I can see already there are some wonderful crafters in the class.  I can also tell it's going to the jam packed with wonderful projects inspired by Jennifer and Kristina.  That's another reason I thought about going to my LSS, so that I can pick out a couple more  Hero Arts Stamps!   I have a couple still on my wish list and I may have to get them before Camp starts, especially at 40% off!!  Yippee!!  You know me and I LOVE a sale, but then again--don't we all??

   After I did finish my chores today, I was right back to my craft room.  I am working on some new cards and finished up one more for OWH that I had started yesterday.  It's a very CAS Style card and I have not added a Sentiment yet, but I think it would be a nice Thinking of You kind of card?  How about you -- what if any sentiment, would you add to this card?

  This card is also being submitted to a few new challenges and I hope you'll also play along:

• Designed by Lisa - Bloggers Challenge - Something with Wings
• Simply Create Challenges - Come Fly with Us (Wings)
• The Stamp Man - Challenge # 25 - Butterflies and Dragonflies
• Four Crafty Chicks - Clean and Simple
• Dutch Dare Card Challenges - Clean and Simple

  I also started on two new challenge cards and wanted to invite you to join me in both challenges.   The first is over at the Color Me Creative Classroom and our Copic Coloring Challenge is to Color Ruffles and Pleats.     This challenge is being hosted by Tiddly Inks and you can find some adorable images in the store that would work perfect for the challenge!   Here is a card I colored a few weeks ago for a Copic Challenge at 'The Outlawz', --  Ironically, I had chosen a cute digi from Tiddly Inks.  (Note:  My card for the CMC Challenge will be new and will feature another image from TI) --

     When I saw the new challenge, I was originally doing to color this image again, but then decided to head to Tiddly Inks and pick out something new.    Today, I bought  Katrina, which I am coloring for CMC Challenge.  I do not have my card done, but you'll see it posted in another day or two!!   

   My next card today was inspired by a several challenges that are all going with the Red, White and Blue or Patriotic theme this week.  I chose my image from Bugaboo and it's one of the cute Turtles, all decked out and ready to celebrate the 4th of July.  He's been colored with Copics and my Ribbon is from this month's Ribbon Club from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  It's a perfect set for this time of year - you can see the see in the store -- HERE!!

  
   My card is being submitted to each of the fun new challenges and I invite you ALL to play along:

• Catch the Bug - Bugaboo Challenge - Red, White, Blue & Ribbon
• Designed to Delight - Red, White and blue Or Christmas too
• Card Making Mama's - Red, White and Blue
• Off the Wall Craftiness - Red, White and ANY shade of Blue
• Stamp Something Challenge Blog - Celebrate July
• Craft Us Crazy - Red, White & Blue or Summer Theme

  Phew!!  I'm sure there are probably more challenges with this theme, but my neck is now killing me from typing, so it's time to get OFF the computer and rest!!  Grrrr - darn Fibro!!

 


 

Love and Hugs....

      Happy Friday!!   Can you believe that it's already Friday?    This week seems to have flown by and it's been a lousy week here in Massachusetts.  We've had rain and clouds for the past four days and it looks like we won't see much of any sun before Sunday...I sure hope this is not the sign of how our Summer will be.   We all look forward to warm Summer weather and no one wants a rainy Summer -  Yuk!!

       Another great part of having this wonderful hobby is that it's perfect for rainy days and today I'm back in my craft room working on more cards.  I have two now to share and both will be going off to OWH, but both were inspired by Copic Coloring challenges.

        My first card was inspired by a Copic Challenge over at SSC and sadly, we found out yesterday that SSC will be closing the group at the end of the month.   It's a group that I've been a member of for a long time, and I've met some fabulous people because of that group, so it's bittersweet to know that it will no longer exist.  I also was very sad to hear that Judy, the owner is battling with terrible health issues and that's a shame...my heart goes out to anyone who had poor health.  It's scary and it can happen to any of us at anytime...another reminder of taking things one day at a time and trying to remember to cherish each day!!

      This is my 'Teddy Hugs' card and it was created with one of the adorable digi images from Teddy Bo and Go.   I've always been a fan of images with Teddy Bears and found these cuties after seeing them on another blog.   You can find their store/blog HERE along with a gallery for inspiration -- Very Cute!!

    My Hug card is also being submitted to these challenges:

• Southern Girls Challenges - Challenge # 21 - Anything Goes
• Simply Scrapping Crafts - Copic Coloring - Color Yellow
• PaperCrafting Journey - Blog Hop and Anything Goes

  My next card is also another card that was inspired by a Copic Challenge and this one is over at 'The Outlawz', where the challenge this week is 'Anything Goes'.  I chose to make a cute little LOVE card, since that is the theme the OWH is looking for this week.   I picked out one of my Bugaboo images and this was the card that I created.

     This card is being submitted to each of the challenges and then will be sent to OWH in my next package!  

• The Outlawz Group - Copic Coloring - Anything Goes
• Stars & Stamps Blog - Operation Write Home - LOVE YOU
• Scrapbook Sisters - Challenge # 41 - Anything Goes
• Ladybug Crafts Ink - Challenge # 33 - Use Red

    And to my Favorite product of the die and it's a product I use almost every time I make a card.  It's my Cuttlebug and I love it!!   I still have one of the original lime green first editions, but it's still in great shape and even though I also now have a Grand Calibur, I find it easier to do almost all my 'embossing' in my Cuttlebug.   I also really love adding to my embossing folder collection and I have found that some of my favorites come from Stampin' Up and also from the Craft Concepts line.

     If I were starting ALL over today, there is no doubt I would by another Cuttlebug and it's a tool I would recommend for all card-makers.   The only difference is that I would choose one of the new models and I would LOVE to have a Pink one to match my Cricut Expression.

 

     Now as much as I do LOVE my Cuttlebug, I recently bought the new Cuttlebug All in One Unit along with two sets of the All in one Folders and they get a Thumbs DOWN from me.   I absolutely do NOT like them and they don't work in the way I had hoped.    I wonder if anyone actually likes them and uses them often?  Maybe I'm doing somethign wrong, but I have watched a few videos and it's pretty easy to figure out, but just is not what I had hoped it would be, which means, I'll never use them and they'll sit around taking up space.     If you have been thinking about buying one and are not sure -- my suggestion is to save your money and buy something else!   Or, if YOU really want these -- I'll be happy to sell you mine or even consider a trade!   The two sets of  Folders I have are the  Thank You and the Bloom and Grow Set and I'll happily calculate the shipping for you too!

   And that's my update for today!  I'm off now to work on some more cards and looking forward to having a very creative weekend too!!  

All we need is LOVE!!!

    Isn't that the truth and there is not better feeling then to be loved and to love others with all of your heart.  My post today is all about LOVE and I'm hoping I can inspire you to create some LOVE themed cards for Operation Write Home's - Midweek Throwdown Challenge.

   I am posted my first two and will be working on some more this afternoon.  OWH is currently in need of Love Card, Missing you Cards and basic cards for everyday use.  You can always go HERE to the main site to find out the current needs along with wish lists from each of the shippers.

   These two cards are very basic and were fun and easy to make.   I started both with with two red cards from DCWV.    I buy boxes of these card bases in a variety of colors, whenever they are on-sale and they are really prefect for OWH cards, because they are A2 size, they are white inside, have a nice texture outside and also all come with their own envelope.  If you are looking for them they are currently on-sale this week at Jo'Ann's and are only $5.99 for a box of 50.   You can even use Mr. Rebates at Jo's to earn 5% back on each of your purchases.    I also always check for any promo codes before I shop and I am also on the mailing list for Jo's, that way I receive all of their promo codes directly by email!

   I think HUGS cards are always my favorites to make and LOVE is probably second.   It's kind of fun to make LOVE cards and not be thinking only of Valentine's Day, even though both of these cards, could also be used as Valentine's.

   

   I am back now with an afternoon update and have two more cards to share, both created again with the LOVE theme in mind.  I also meant to tell you about these really cute die cut images that I bought from Lili of the Valley.  I used one on the card above - from the Romantic Times collection.   These are totally adorable and are pre-printed and colored on white cardstock.   You use them the same way you would use a stamped image and they make really fun and super easy cards.   You can cute them out, litterbug them, or even add more color - use them in whatever way works for you.   I really did not know what to expect when I ordered them, but I really like them and I'm happy I tried them.  They are perfect when you need a very quick card and don't necessarily have time to color an image. 

   They are also my Favorite product of the day and you can find them in the store HERE - Note:   They are a new product (at least to me and are called 'Die Cut Design Sheets'.  Each sheet contains six different images and they are scored, so that you can easily punch/cut them out.  The price converts to just under $1.50 USD, which I think is very reasonable.    If you are not familiar with LOTV, it's a wonderful craft store based in the UK and they have a wonderful line of stamps and other craft products.     All the prices shown are in Euro, but you can easily use a currency converter to figure out the price and PayPal will also calculate it for when when you make payment.   I have ordered stamps from them a few times and always been very pleased with the prices.  The shipping rates are very reasonable and the shipping time is very good.  My last order arrived just about a week after I placed my order.   

Die Cut Design Sheet

Friends and Flowers

   My next card features one of the cute die cuts from the Friends and Flowers Sheet and I simply cut it out, edged it a bit with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, and layered it onto my card.  To make the balloons more dimensional, I ocated them with 3D Crystal Lacquer.   It was a really easy card to make and the options are endless!!

  And I have one more card today and this one is again another LOVE card and was inspired by a card tutorial that was featured at OWH and on the OWH TV channel a few weeks back.  They are called Dimensional Ruffle Cards and you can find a tutorial on how to create them over at the Stars and Stamps blog HERE!! 

   I had made a couple of them when the tutorial was first shown and today I did one all in shades of pink, using scraps - this is a great way to use scraps and you can use ANY colors!   I found that I like them best when I used a simply scallop punch, but you can use any type of border punch or die!!   This is my new one and the more I make the, the easier I find it to be.  Today, I layered everything first onto a plain piece of white cardstock and made all my layers just under 4 1/8" in width -- that made it very easy to keep the layers even and in the end I simply trimmed it all even and adhered it to my card base.

   The 'ruffle' cards can also be created in any color or with any papers, making it a card that can be used for a vareity of themes!   I think it will be fun to make some in Holiday Papers this year and will plan to do so!!

    Well that's it for today - I have had a nice day and now have four more created for Operation Write Home!!  Yippee!!

 

Flags, Flowers and FUN!!!!

    Today, was another good day for me and I'm here now to share the newest cards that I created.   I have a really fun variety today and I am happy to be here to share them with you.
 
    The first card is one that I think everyone will really enjoy and I want to give a special shout of to Angela of Midnight Crafting, who kindly offered her tutorial to the Stars and Stamps Blog.   As soon as I saw her wonderful 'Quilted Flag' card I knew I wanted to try it and was found her tutorial very easy and fun to follow.   I did change my card up a bit and used a different style of flower, but that's simply what I had on hand and made it a bit easier for me. 

    I actually love that Angela created her own Rose flowers and love the little tag she used too.  I think her card is fantastic and I'm happy that wanted to share it with us all.  To she he finished card - please go here!!  I'm going there next to leave her a comment and let her know that I've linked her blog and tutorial to give her credit for her wonderful inspiration!

    These are my first two attempts are creating my very own Quilted Flag cards --  As noted, I am not very good as making my own rose style flowers and mine did not come out nearly as nice as Angela's, so I decied to use my Tim Holtz Rosette die and make those flowers for my card.  I then topped off the flowers with a Star!  (I don't have a little tag punch, but do have it on a wish list).

   I think this style of card could be created with a variety of colors and themes, but with the 4th of July coming up, I was happy to make the flags and loved the tutorial!!

   I'd also like to invite you all to join me in the new 'Midweek Throwdown Challenge' being hosted at the Stars and Stamps Blog today.   This week's the theme is LOVE and everyone and OWH, wants to see what wonderful LOVE card you can create.  I'll be working on mine tomorrow, so please stop back by to see it in another day.

    My next two cards were inspired by a variety of challenges and the first was a Color Combo Challenge over at SSC.  The colors for this week's challenge are:  Green, Brown, Pink and Yellow and you can find all the details HERE!   This is my card and it was another card I made that will be saved and sent off to OWH.  It's also a card I created with goodies from my stash and all of the flowers on my card, were actually created from a sheet of designer paper.  Unfortunately, I can not remember which set this is from, but I think it's an older Basic Grey set?   Do you recognize it?

  I have one more card today and this was inspired and created for two different challenges.   The first was the new Sketch Challenge at The Outlawz and the second was the Wacky Wednesday Challenge that is hosted by Bugaboo Stamps at both CDAC and also over at PCP.

  I started off thinking I would color an image for my Wacky Wednesday Challenge and then decided to see if I could also work with the sketch.  Sometimes, I challenge myself to see if I can create a card that meets the specifics of more than one challenge and that's makes it harder, but in a way...more fun!!

  Sketch Inspiration

My first take....(sketch based)!!

And my second take

for Wacky Wednesday

NO Designer Papers and 3 Buttons

   I think this actually makes a really cute LOVE card and I am thinking I may give this to Hubby for our Anniversary with is coming up in a couple of weeks.   We will be celebrating 21 Years on July 8th, which seems so hard to believe - times flies when you are having fun!!

    My favorite product for today was another  new set of papers that was part of my last order from Susana's store.   I'm a bit of a paper junkie and the majority of my order was paper!   This set is called Sweet Owl and all the the papers are Pink, White and Brown a wonderful and favorite color combo.  I also love that these Stacks have 64 sheets.  Half are glittered and the rest are double-sided.    It's also a really nice thick and quality cardstock and the colors and designs are awesome. 

   And lastly before I sign off, someone (and I forget who), had once been looking for a chart or list of all the names/colors of the Distress Inks from Ranger.   Today, I came across a great page over on Ranger's Blog that has several printable PDF files  for a variety of their products.   I have already printed out the Ink Label Chart for the Distress Inks and will be labeling each of my ink pads, which will make it a breeze to see the color, when they are all stacked up.     

  And that's it for today -- see you all tomorrow....

Happy Crafting!