Project Life mixed with Traditional!

Today is June 30th and this is my first layout for the month! aaahhh!!! Why, yes, I AM going thru withdrawals!
Seriously tho, last night I picked out some photos that go with my cute Project Life (PL) kit and used the supplies on a traditionally scrapbooked layout! Partly because they are for my son's book, and anything pre-2010 for him is in 8x11 albums...and yes, these pics are that old... and partly to show that you don't have to use the PL albums to use the supplies! Fun, huh??
I used the Let's Get Away Card Collection, the Let's Get Away Accessory Pack and the coordinating Let's Get Away stamp set, along with a little bit of card stock, and that's all it took! Oh, and a few Candy Dots too.

Supplies:
Stamps: Lets Get Away
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Memento Black, Bermuda Bay marker
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Basic Black card stocks
Accessories: PL Let's Get Away Card Collection, PL Let's Get Away Accessory Pack, Brights Candy Dots

And here's a bit of a close up of the stamps, journaling card and a cute sticker embellishment too!

The sticker letters for the title and all the embellishments, the journaling cards, and the stamps are all part of the complete kit! AND if you check page 85, you can get all three items for a bundled (discounted!) price!!
(psst...This Is The Life, Happy Times, Moments Like These and the Hello Baby PL products are also available in bundled prices!)

TGIF Throwdown!

Happy Friday!! My boys (husband and son) have been at scout camp all week and they come home this evening- us girls are pretty excited about that! We have missed them!

Today I tried a new-to-me challenge blog that really, is fairly new to the 'net. They started up in April and I follow some of the design team blogs so it's about time I play along! Their current Throwdown challenge appealed to me so that's where I began, and then I made this:

Supplies:
Stamps: Work of Art
Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Blushing Bride
Paper: Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Paper Doilies, White Baker's Twine, Butterfly Thinlits, Big Shot

This challenge works like the Food Network show Chopped. So from the Throwdown "basket" I used:
Butterfly Thinlits
Work of Art stamp set
Blushing Bride ink
Blackberry Bliss ink

And from the "pantry" I used:
White card stock
White Baker's Twine
Doilies
Big Shot
Paper Cutter
Clear Blocks

The butterfly was cut out of that layer of cardstock, then all the bits punched out. I stamped the large swish from the Work of Art stamp set in Blackberry Bliss ink on the card base, and just kept stamping off as I went across the paper! Then I used the skinny swish to add some Blushing Bride to his body, and laid the white butterfly on top. And I love how it turned out!! What do you think?

A Burst of Summer!

It is very warm around here now! Summer has so definitely arrived! We had a cold, rainy May and now it's just hot and dry. The news keeps saying it's at least 10* hotter than it should be so there you go. The heat is bleeding thru to my crafting because today I made a stack of cards that look a lot like summer to me! Lots of hot colors together and a big splash of white! So this:

became this! (along with the help of the June 3 sketch from Viva la Verve!)

Supplies:
Stamps:Let's Get Away
Ink: Calypso Coral
Paper: Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay card stocks
Accessories: Let's Get Away Project Life Accessory Pack (washi tape) Butterfly Thinlits, Arrows Embossing Folder, Regals Candy Dots, Big Shot, Dimensionals

And then I ran out of Crushed Curry Candy Dots so I used some white. What do you think? Which is your favorite?

I think it's a happy card and my daughter fell in love with it too, haha! Praise is always nice to hear!

Quick and Cute!

Since we just had Father's Day, my stash of masculine cards was diminished! I have seen this idea on Pinterest quite a lot lately so I thought I'd give it a try with some of my favorite images for masculine cards! And to keep it quick, I used last week's Freshly Made Sketch.

First up, this watery ship card! I stamped the larger swishy square in the two corners in Soft Sky, then I stamped the smallest swish in the new Mint Macaron- but I stamped that one off first! I was surprised how 'dark' it looked next to Soft Sky! Then I used a phrase from the Let's Get Away Project Life (PL) stamp set! I can't wait to put that set to more use very soon!

Supplies:
Stamps: Work of Art, The Open Sea, Let's Get Away
Ink: Memento Black, Soft Sky, Mint Macaron
Paper: Soft Sky, Mint Macaron & Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Subtles Candy Dots

And how cute is that?! I loved it so much I tried again with a few more colors!

Supplies:
Stamps: Lovely As A Tree, Work of Art
Ink: Early Espresso, Old Olive, Delightful Dijon, Cajun Craze
Paper: Cajun Craze, Delightful Dijon, Whsiper White card stocks

So there you go- a fun, quick way to watercolor and add backgrounds to anything!

June 2015 Paper Pumpkin!

Well, happy Monday to you! How was your weekend and Father's Day? We had a nice, productive weekend and got to see lots of family so I count all that as positives.

My latest Paper Pumpkin kit arrived last Thursday, and I got to play with it a little bit on Friday. I even messed up both cards, *giggle, and they still turned out cute! Take a look!

On the first card I forgot an entire panel, which would have helped me center the pennant design, but oh well- it still works nicely. hahaha!

And on the second card I had a hard time getting the stickers to fit, I forgot the stamped greeting, and after I had it all put together (and pulled apart a few times) I realized I probably should have turned the white panel the other direction to make it fit easier....hahaha!!
Clearly, I was busy doing five things while making these cards!
I think it's a fun kit tho and I see a lot of potential for future projects. The kit is designed for four cards of each design, plus the matching envelopes. I'll tell you a secret- I see no reason to line the entire envelope with the pretty paper, I trimmed off a good portion to use later!
Are you a subscriber yet?? You should definitely consider it! I love getting these fun kits every month!

Recently Retired....

Today's cards use products that just retired at the beginning of June, from the Occasions Mini. I decided to share it anyway since it's too late to order new supplies for Sunday, and maybe you need a last-minute idea for a Father's Day card! Also, I did not get to use these enough since I didn't get them til nearly June!

First up, I used the Viva La Verve June #2 sketch...and I left off a bit...
This is a card for my son to give my dad...the greeting might sound odd, but, it totally applies to their relationship, and the DP could not be more perfect!! See the grassy paper hiding back there? I live in a townhouse complex and the lawn care is all done by a company. Last summer, my dad decided that he would hire my son to mow his lawn and have the chance to learn how. The words completely suit the lessons my son is learning so there we go!

Supplies:
Stamps: Adventure Awaits
Ink: Early Espresso
Paper: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso card stocks, Adventure Bound DP
Accessories: Natural Chevron ribbon, Crushed Curry baker's twine, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder Punch

And, while I had these great retired products sitting out, I created a "get well/thinking of you" card for someone who had unexpected surgery this week and needed a pick-me-up. This time I used the latest from Retro Sketches.

Supplies:
Stamps: Adventure Awaits
Ink: Island Indigo, Tip Top Taupe
Paper: Sahara Sand card stock, Adventure Bound DP
Accessories: White Jute Ribbon, Neutral Candy Dots, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Super Dad!

Today's card is a two-fer! I used two challenges for this card! The Mojo Monday sketch and the Nacho Average color challenge helped me make this fun super hero card for my son to give my husband for Father's Day....which is this Sunday in case you're having summer-brain too!! I didn't use three circles like the sketch calls for, but she has a note on all of her sketches that if you don't have a specific shape to feel free to substitute. I decided that meant I could use a star, circle and oval! haha!

I should note that this set is still available even tho it isn't in the new catalog... The photopolymer stamp sets that were released monthly over the last two years are staying available until they sell out. Some from that time frame have sold out, but not all of them. I'm really glad this one stuck around, because I haven't gotten nearly enough use out of it yet! My husband really enjoys super heros and comic books and everything that goes with it. I don't love it, but I'll join him for most of the movies and tv shows. So even when this does retire, I'm pretty sure I'll hang on to it for ever. And my son is the one who requests it for my husband most often. Hence today's card, haha!

Supplies:
Stamps: Calling All Heroes
Ink: Island Indigo, Smoky Slate, Hello Honey, Tip Top Taupe
Paper: Island Indigo, Smoky Slate, Hello Honey
Accessories: Extra Large Oval Punch, Stars Die, Big Shot

Funny story...when I first stamped the city skyline it looked like this:

My kids had no idea what I was going to do with it, but after seeing my annoyed face, one said "have a villian exploding that hole in the building." and the other said "Yeah, and have Batman come take them out." ....alrighty then, I'll just carry on with my plan, haha!! But I flipped it over and restamped it anyway....maybe the big star would have covered it, but there are enough flaws on the card, I didn't need to intentionally add another, haha!

Playing with old stuff....

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend! Saturday was rough at my house but Sunday was packed with fun that looked like this:

Yep, family picture date with my parents family! Plus a yummy dinner and homemade ice cream!

So, remember THESE graduation cards I posted last month, and the fact that the retired product lives at my mom's house? She has needed a few more cards made, and since the current stuff is all at my house (so I can fill my board...) everything at her house is retired! (except card stock and some inks and markers....) And since that is what I have made, that is what I have available to share! Just know you can't order it.... So here we go....!

First, I made this birthday card today, for my mom to send my aunt. I used the latest CAS Sketch as the jumping off point, but it might not be totally clear how I used it. The three items are obviously the two frogs, and the greeting, which is washed out in the sunshine, but shows up nicely IRL.

Supplies:

Stamps: Unfrogettable (retired)

Ink: Memento Black, Summer Sun (retired)

Paper: Whisper White & Summer Sun card stock (retired), Prints Pack DP (retired)

Accessories: Lucky Limeade baker's twine (retired), Watercolor Wonder crayons (retired), Blender Pens

Next, I made two wedding cards, both using the Viva La Verve May 2 sketch. These are for my two cousins getting married, and my mom is making a denim quilt for each of them- perfect for picnics and fireworks! The colors in the cards came completely from the quilts, so that's kind of fun! 

Supplies:

Stamps: Ever After (retired)

Ink: Memento Black, Ballet Blue (retired)

Paper: Very Vanilla & Ballet Blue(retired) card stock, Ginger Blossom DP (retired)

Accessories: Vanilla Flower Trim (retired) Glue Dots

And here's the quilt it goes with:

And here's the second wedding card...

Supplies:

Stamps: The Art Of Life (retired), Ever After (retired)

Ink: Hello Honey, Night of Navy, Green Galore (retired)

Paper: Night of Navy & Whisper White card stocks, Sweet Dreams DP (retired)

And here's the quilt it goes with! 

That's all for today, but hopefully tomorrow I'll get more current stamping done to share! :) Til then...! 

A full board!

So, the point of all the crazy stamping on Tuesday was that I needed to fill my display board before my event. I started by picking out which stamp sets I own that didn't show up on the board, then I went thru the colors and left the inks that aren't largely featured on the board. THEN I got to creating, haha! After I used up the latest sketches, I still had a few empty spots and today's card fills one!

I started by cutting the whole Hexagon Hive die in Basic Black card stock. Then a cut a section of it with Crushed Curry card stock, and used scotch tape to attach the Curry on the back of the Black. And then I stamped some happy images in a few of the spots! ...I just this second realized I filled them all in, haha.....! Anyway, I think the color combo is quite striking and it makes for a very happy card for my board!

Supplies:
Stamps: Honeycomb Hello
Ink: Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango
Paper: Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Basic Black card stocks
Accessories: Subtles Candy Dots (So Saffron), Big Shot, Hexagon Hive die, Dimensionals

Boys & Toys!

Today I have a two-fer! I wanted to play with the stamp set Boys Will Be Boys and a I thought few of the sketches worked for it! Since I couldn't decide, I used both, haha!

First up, the robot, which I've never used! I chose the Mojo Monday sketch for this guy, and some very bright, little-boy colors!

Supplies:
Stamps: Boys Will Be Boys
Ink: Memento Black, Real Red, Pacific Point, Cucumber Crush
Paper: Pacific Point, Real Red, Cucumber Crush & Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Oval Punch, Stars Dies, Lucky Stars Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Blender Pens

Next, I've got this fun lego card, using the same sketch as yesterday, from the Clean & Simple blog, and I used some of the same colors, throwing in a few more bright shades! You know the legos is why I bought this set, right? haha.... This card is super simple except for the fussy cutting "outside the box", which I love the look of much more than the doing.... hee hee....

Supplies:
Stamps: Boys Will Be Boys
Ink: Pacific Point, Crushed Curry, Real Red, Cucumber Crush, Pumpkin Pie
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Cucumber Crush & Whisper White card stocks

Choose Happiness

Remember I set a stamping goal yesterday? I totally reached it! Wahoo! *grin
This card helped me use up Dimensionals?? haha... Really, I'm featuring the new In Color Delightful Dijon. I'm not sure how much I love it, but it works together really nicely with Cajun Craze and makes for a great autumny color combination! And for the layout I used the latest Clean & Simple sketch.
I also used the Hardwood background stamp to add a bit of texture, but this time I used an old technique- to lay the card stock on top of the stamp, and "walk" your fingers across it to get a subtle touch of background stamp. I really like how it turned out!

Supplies:
Stamps: Petite Petals, Choose Happiness, Hardwood background
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Cajun Craze & Delightful Dijon
Paper: Delightful Dijon, Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Natural Chevron Ribbon, Neutral Candy Dots (chocolate chip), Regals Candy Dots (cajun craze)

And come back tomorrow for even more!

So Sweet!

I set a goal to get a lot of stamping done today! That means a quick post and back to stamping! Here's my first project! Simple and cute!
I used the latest Nacho Average Challenge for the layout and made this sweet card that has the approval of the little girls in my house today- the 3yr old even asked to take it home, haha! I liked the offset outline of heart over the patterned hearts.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hello Life
Ink: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzelberry, Memento Black
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Silver 1/8" Ribbon