Tracy's Sketch Challenge #52

Congratulations to Tracy on a year of sketch challenges! If she gets 52 entries this week, one lucky person is going to get an amazing prize! Check out her blog for more details. This is my interpretation of her sketch. My card is a non-traditional size; it's actually a 5 1/2" x 2 1/2 " card scrap left over from some kraft cardstock I cut and scored for another card base. It was fun to make an alternative size, and yet another great way to use up those scraps!

Card details:
Basic Grey paper; A Muse stamps; Koh-I-Noor pencils; Memento ink; Marvy punches.

Chicka Challenge #3

This week's Chicka Challenge is to create a card using both ribbon and brads--uh oh, I see that's brads, not a brad. Well, I'm too lazy to redo my card! I seem to be on this kick lately to use up scraps from my stash. Every piece of paper on the card with the exception of the card base was a scrap. Ever since I joined the Copic marker bandwagon, my color pencils have been rather neglected. I decided it was time to break them out again. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to use the Prismacolor pencils, so I'm going to try not to neglect them so much from now on.

Have a great week!

Card details:
Kraft cardstock from PaperTrey Ink; candy backgroun paper, pumpkin bucket and jack o' lantern face stamps by Memory Box; sentiment by The Cat's Pajamas; striped paper by Making Memories; ribbon by The Paper Studio; brad by Queen & Co.; Prismacolor pencils; Stampin Up! scalloped border punch; We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

Using up scraps

I had quite a few scraps left over after I made these two cards for Dawn's challenge last week, so I decided I would try to use them all up without cutting up any more cardstock. It got tough there in the end, but I managed to follow through.

This first card is my favorite of the bunch. It was one of those where I really didn't have a specific plan for it when I started, it just sort of took on a life of its own, and I'm really happy with the end result.

Card details: Cardstock, designer paper, ink and sentiment by PaperTrey Ink; pumpkin image by Rubber Soul; ribbon unknown source; Copic markers. Marvy circle punches.

At first I thought this teapot card was a bit busy, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. It's very cheery. My mom told me she loved the color combination as it reminds of her a set of dishes her grandmother had.

My supply of PaperTrey buttons is rather limited, but fortunately I was able to find close color matches with some Making Memories buttons I had on hand. That brown polka dot paper is from a collection of Stampin' Up paper featured last year. Again, it was a scrap I had on hand, so I didn't have to cut a fresh sheet!

Card details: Stamps, cardstock, ink, ribbon by PaperTrey Ink; buttons by Making Memories; SU! word window punch; SU! scalloped border punch; We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.


This flower and butterfly card was the last one I made. By this point, my scraps were very limited once I used the biggest piece of yellow cardstock as my card base. I was lucky I had enough to get the flower and butterflies punched out. I covered the butterflies with a yellow Spica glitter pen, but it's hard to see them sparkle in the photo.

Card details:
Cardstock, ink by PaperTrey Ink; Sentiment by Hero Arts; Spica glitter pen; Martha Stewart butterfly punch; EK Success flower and circle punches; Making Memories buttons; SU! scalloped border punch; We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

Thanks for looking! Hope you're having a good week!

Chicka Challenge #2

This week Dawn and Jane's challenge is to create a card with a distressed look. I have a few of Ranger's distress crackle paints, and decided to pull out Dried Marigold, which is a color I hadn't used before. The color made me think of fall and pumpkins and Halloween, so I decided to make my first Halloween card for the year. I ran a scrap piece of thicker craft cardstock through my Cuttlebug with the swirl embossing folder, then painted over the top of it with the crackle paint. After it dried, I used a sanding block to sand some of the paint off and expose more of the embossed design. I think my technique needs practice, but it turned out okay for the first attempt.

I haven't purchased anything from the new A Muse Halloween release yet (I'm trying to be good and limit my spending, and also use what I already have), so I dug into my collection and found this great candy apple stamp from Hero Arts that I bought several years ago. I don't think I've ever used it. I added Diamond Glaze over the caramel after I'd colored it to give it that realistic shine.

Card Details: Lime note card, red cardstock, sentiment from A Muse; ribbon from unknown source; star button embellishment from Making Memories; candy apple stamp by Hero Arts; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Copics, Memento ink; Diamond Glaze; Ranger distress paint

Thread Your Day with Happiness

I thought I'd share one more card I made recently. The color combination and scraps from today's card inspired me to create this card that I posted earlier this week. The sentiment is from Hero Arts, and one I purchased recently. I just thought it was so cheerful and could be used for many occasions. I was really pleased with how this card turned out. It's very cheery, and just what we need when it's gray and raining outside (like today).

I was just thinking how more and more companies are making things so easy for crafters by designing full product lines that coordinate--paper, ribbon, ink, stamps, embellishments. I do like the convenience of being able to use just one company's products to pull together a card and know that everything coordinates, but I find I get even more satisfaction when I can mix things up and see what interesting creations result from a variety of different brands. I think that's what I like best about being a crafter.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy the holiday weekend, and I hope you get lots of time to craft!

Card Details: Cardstock, ribbon, designer paper, button, ink by PaperTrey Ink; Martha Stewart butterfly punch; glitter glue by PSX; sentiment by Hero Arts.

Playing Along with Dawn's Color Challenge

This time I made two cards for Dawn's Color Challenge. I made the "Hello Sunshine" one first, and since I still had all of my scraps out, I decided to make another one, so pulled out the Tea for Two set. I think I like the tea one best, but they were both fun to make, and challenged me to use a color combination I normally wouldn't think to use.

Cards Details:
Cardstock, Text Style designer paper, stamps, ink and ribbon by PaperTrey Ink; buttons by Making Memories; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper; SU! Word Window Punch.

Tracy's Sketch Challenge with PTI

I'm having so much fun with sketch challenges lately that I decided to do a couple more. I will post my other card tomorrow, but today I'm showing the card I made for Tracy's sketch challenge featuring PaperTrey Ink stamps, paper and ink. My color combination and image were inspired by Nichole's card on this post, with a little bit of Summer Sunrise designer paper thrown in. I'm really pleased with how this turned out. I altered Tracy's sketch a bit by adding the extra layer behind the scalloped square.

Thanks for looking! Happy September!

Card Details: Stamps, ink, cardstock and Text Style designer papers by PaperTrey Ink; Copic markers; Nestabilities square scallop die.