Lots of cards

If you followed my blog last year, you will remember me participating in a monthly Christmas Card Challenge. The gals at RCS and I are at it again. My goal is to complete 5 Christmas cards a month so I am not frantically trying to get my cards done on December 1. Each month, a participant also posts a challenge to go along with our Christmas cards if we want to participate. Here is the challenge for January:

I know for me, when I look at my stash, I can get a tad overwhelmed,
so challenges and ideas help me focus.

Remember - these are just to provide some inspiration or a little
extra fun - they are not required, and there is no pressure!

Here is the first challenge you may wish to incorporate when making
your CCCs.

"Cleaning up"

I know some of you may be super organized and already have everything
put away after the Holidays - but for any of us that have extra small
bits of wrapping paper, small bags, Christmas cards from that distant
relative that you don't want to keep, but you like the design of....or
even a spare ornament hanger you found in the carpet....

Find a way to incorporate those last few bits of your 2008 into your
first set of 2009 cards.

I didn't have anything lying around as I had all my Christmas cleaned up by the 2nd of January. In a small apartment, you can't just leave things like that lying around or you won't have a path to walk. I did however, keep to all scraps/stash to make my cards. I did 5 of the same card with the only difference being the sticker found in the bottom right corner. These are simple and not too Christmas-y for those friends that don't celebrate. I found last year I didn't have enough generic wintery-type cards for some friends so I am hoping these work this year.





I also got a few thank you cards finished. Five down, only 20 more to go.

Three of this one: Each card has different photos of flowers, otherwise they are the same.





Two of this one: These are identical.

Another Sketch Challenge

Last Wednesday's sketch challenge at SCS was devoted to a holiday card for a someone that is sending cards to troops. All paper is from Paperbilities with the exception of the gold designer paper from a 6" x 6" paper pack. I started with a card base 4" x 8" folded in half and rounded the corners. I then stamped the snowflake from Stampin Up! Delightful Doodles set in Archival Teal on a piece of white then rounded the corners. I layered that on a piece of red and rounded two opposite corners to give the shape of a Christmas ornament and added a green brad to the center then set aside.

I cut a piece of gold designer paper and rounded the corners then tied a piece of blue ribbon around the middle. I used Rhonna Ferrer flourishes stamp set inked in Versamark Black to stamp third generation flourishes on the dp. I adhered that to the card base. I then cut a piece of green 3 3/4" x 1" and used my corner rounder to scallop the edges. I used my Archival Teal to ink the edges. I then cut a piece of basic white 3" x 1/2" and used toilet tissue and the Archival Teal to sponge the white just to tone down the brightness. I layered the white and green then adhered it to the card. I used a blue gel pen to doodle faux stitching along the white.

Next I used dimensionals to adhere the snowflake stamp to the middle of the card. For the sentiment I used a green gel pen to write Happy Holiday on a piece of basic white and then layered that on the dp and drew faux stitching around the edges.

Flower Princesses

Everyone knows I had a busy busy weekend and so I didn't get to post the layout I completed yesterday so I have to catch up. But first, I told you there was another celebration over the weekend and it KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF! I was so privileged to watch the F-16 Air Force Thunderbird Jets perform over Waikiki and Magic Island. Let me tell you, there is something about jets flying at 400 miles an hour upside down, doing loops and barrel rolls, all the while only mere inches away from 5 other jets thats is quite the adrenaline rush! I think it is safe to say that it is an amazing show and if you are ever able to watch, go for it.

Ok, now back to the schedule. I had so many beautiful photos from the Flower Parade of the Island Princesses that I had to scrap another page. I had not been able to use a sketch from Valerie's Sketches so I decided to give it a try and I must say I love how it turned out. I started out with an 8 1/2" x 11" peice of beautiful flower paper from American Traditions that is just yummy! Next I mounted my photos-the first on a piece of lime green card stock, the second on a piece of stripped paper from Paperbilities Vacation Paper Pack, the third on a piece of desert tan card stock. Next I used my corner rounder to make scalloped edges on three pieces of the same paper I mounted my photos on. I layered those together and placed one set between my photos and the other set on the right side where I tore off the longer edge to add some detail. At this point, I adhered my photos and scalloped edges on the paper. Next I cut a flower from pink card stock using my Sizzlits Flower Die and adhered it to the top of the first photo. For the sentiment I used a blue gel pen to write Flower Princesses on basic white but made sure to leave a gap between the F and L to add the flower frame. This frame is simply the excess of the flower die-cut. I used Color Box Pastel Pink and sponged the edges of the sentiment and adhered it to the bottom of the photos. The journaling is on a piece of basic white. I rounded two opposite corners and folded down the last two. I used the same pink ink to sponge the folded down corners and attached with brads. I inked up my Delightful Doodles Stampin! Up stamp with Pastel Pink and stamped third generation in the middle of the journaling which I don't think you can see in the photo. I finished the page by writing my journaling and adding a flower with button center to the middle of the page.

Say Thanks with Spirals

Aloha everyone. Today's Ways to Use It Challenge at SCS was to Spiral Out Of Control! We had to find creative ways to use spirals and swirls and create anything! I decided to use the sketch from Colleen's Throw-Done Thursdays and use lots of spirals.

I started out with a card stock 4" x 9" folded in half. I had cute designer paper that was green spirals and swirls that worked perfectly for this challenge. For the side I used red card stock to create this big flower using a template from Craft TV Weekly and embossed with Fiskars Texture Plate in wood grain. I used the Delightful Doodles flower inked in Color Box Pastel Pink on basic white card stock and cut that out.

The vine was created using a green gel pen and I doodled spiraling lines on baby blue card stock and then layered that on a darker blue piece of card stock. I added the flower with a dimensional to the vine. I wrote my sentiment "thanks" in green gel pen on white card stock and made sure to use lots of spirals on my letters. I layered that on the darker blue as well and then drew faux stitching around both layers. Lastly, I added a white ribbon down the flower.

Happy Holidays!

Aloha everyone. Another weekend is here and that means giving another Beate's Weekend Challenge a try. I have a project underway, well actually just started, where I am making cards to send to the children's hospital down the road for the holidays. I decided to use this challenge to try and create the card I will be mass reproducing for this project. The sketch seemed simple enough but held lots of potential. Be sure to check out the sketch challenge by Beate and her other creations.

Because I will be making more of these I decided I had to limit myself to only the supplies in my two duffel bags. I had to resist the urge to head out to the LSS and get new stuff! So this is the card that I created. I wanted to keep it holiday neutral so I stuck with Happy Holidays. My card base is a 4 1/4" x 9" piece of white card stock folded in half. I started by cutting a 1" circle out of white card stock (this is where I wanted to run to the store and by a larger circle punch) and stamping a snowflake from the Made From Scratch stamp set in Archival Teal. I layered that on a piece of black card stock and cut around the edges with Scallop Scissors from Provo Craft to give it that fluffy effect.

Next I cut out a 4" x 2 3/4" piece of white card stock and a piece of green card stock that is 1/4" smaller than the white. I decided to stress the edges of the green card stock (I also wanted to run out here and get a stressing tool) with a fingernail file and my fingernail to give it that fabric look. I layered these two and used a glitter gel pen to do faux stitching around the green. I adhered the card stock layers to the left side of a 4 1/4" x 4 1/2" piece of red card stock. I then used the corner rounder and rounded two corners of the opening of the card. I then adhered the snowflake and tied a small red bow to attach to the bottom. Lastly I used a gel pen to write Happy Holidays on white and then layered on red card stock for the sentiment and added a button to the opening of the card.

Accordion Scrapbook

Aloha! Happy Labor Day Weekend! I hope you are taking advantage of all those great sales that are going on :)

As I come across things that catch my attention my immediate thought is~well, how can I use that or who can I give it to. I'm sure this is the thought process that most of you follow. I came across an accordion-style scrapbook on the Exploring Womanhood Website that was just too cute and I just had to give it a try. We had been searching for such a tutorial on SCS and this was the one we came up with.

This is the cover of the accordion. I started out with 2 sheets of Cream Card stock from the AMERICAN TRADITIONS paper pack and 1 sheet of Blue Card stock from the same brand. Fold each of these sheets in half, unfold, then fold in half the other direction, unfold and then fold so that one corner meets the opposite corner (only do one corner) and unfold. You now have smaller squares within the larger sheet.

Next I took 2 pieces of chipboard and cut each to be 6" square. I adhered one sheet of Hearts designer paper to one piece of chipboard. I then attached a 1" square strip of tan card stock over the designer paper and used my Made from Scratch stamps to create a cute border. There were inked with Pink Pastel. With the 2ND piece of chipboard I covered with a piece of hibiscus paper locally made here in Hawaii. This first piece will be the front cover of the album and the second will be the back cover.

Next I folded up my album to create the 6" x 6" square. I adhered the chipboard to the appropriate sides to create the album. To embellish I took 2 pieces of green plaid paper, 2 sheets of pink plaid paper, 1 sheet of silver designer paper and 1 sheet of gold stars designer paper and cut them into triangles to fit the outside squares of unfolded album. I used a gel pen to write quotes about grandchildren around the edges of the designer papers.

I haven't added photos yet but you can adhere your photos in the four middle diamond/square shapes. These are the sqares that are not folded when you fold up your album. I am going to get photos of my cousin's and place them in the middle and give this to my Aunt as a Christmas gift. I think she will love it. For a more complete tutorial visit the Womanhood website link above.

Country Bumpkin

Aloha and Good evening! This is going to be a busy weekend! The opening game for Hawaii is Saturday against Northern Colorado so I decided to hurry and finish the weekend challenge soon! This card was created for a Beate's weekend sketch challenge. The sketch was too cute and I had to give it a try.

Here is the card I created. Falls shy of Beate's fantastic work but I think it came out great. After all, I am still a beginner :) I saw the pinwheel technique on a post at SCS although I am not sure who posted it. I decided to give it a try as the sidebar for the card. The pinwheel takes 8 tags to make the wheel. I used two different colors of paper-Paperbilities Polka-Dots and plaid. The tags were the cresent shape from the Sizzlits Tag Set. These are on the small side but make a great addition. If you want complete directions for this pinwheel leave a comment and I will be glad to send them to you.

The base is a Basic Green color. I added a strip of Basic Red that measures 2" x 5 1/2". This was stamped with Delightful Doodles Leaf stamp from Stampin' Up that was inked with Teal Archival. I used cropping scissors from Provo Craft to create the semi-circle in Basic Blue and then layered that on a slightly larger semi-circle of Basic White. This was adhered on top of the red layer.

I then used a gel pen in metallic blue to create faux stitching along the top and bottom of the red layer and along the white circle (which you can't really see in the photo, sorry). I used red ribbon to attach a tag in the same plaid paper to the top. The ribbon is wrapped around that top corner and adhered to the back of the green. I used glue dots to attach three blue buttons along the semi-circle. Lastly, using the gel pen I scribbled country bumpkin between the leafs.

There you go. This is probably the most detailed card I have made so far. I hope you enjoy the card and give it a try! Especially the pinwheel-there are endless possibilities for that one! FYI-I also posted this in the GALLERY at SCS if you want to check out all the cards featuring Beate's challenge.

Mahalo!!!

Flower Doodles

Aloha everyone!!! Another card for everyone. This was a sketch challenge for today at SCS with a little inspiration from a fellow stamper. Be sure to check out the sketch HERE. This was the most difficult sketch I have tried. I was a little overwhelmed by all the layers, but what the hay? I decided to give it a try anyway :)

This is what I was able to come up with. My camera doesn't do justice for the colors of the card which is pretty upsetting. I hope you can grasp the concept of the soft colors anyway. I started out with a 4" x 4" card this time because I knew it was going in the mail as soon as I finished. The first layer is a plaid designer paper with shades of green and tan. Very adorable :) The second layer is another designer paper approximately 1" wide and barely overlapping the plaid paper. This one was a silver metallic color. Wasn't sure about it but I think it came out okay.

The third layer is a lovely basic lilac. My dimensions for this layer were pretty small so you can adjust your dimensions for the card size that you use. I used a corner rounder punch to round two opposite corners of the layer. The last layer, the two square pieces, is a neutral color; I used desert tan here. Again these dimensions are pretty small because of my card size so feel free to create your own dimensions for both of these. I used the Delightful Doodle flower stamp to stamp a cute pink flower on the top piece in Pink Pastel Color Box ink. This piece was attached with a small brad. The smaller square has a pretty purple flower and the edges are inked with teal archival ink.

I thought this card came out extremely well. I ended up using it for a sentiment card to send to one of our fellow SCS Ladies...Maddy. She is such a talented artist. If you have time please visit her GALLERY

Let's Shake Things Up a Bit

Aloha everyone!!! Like I said earlier I got my first set of Stampin Up stamps. So today I am going to share with you my first card ever made showcasing those cute SU stamps. In the SCS resources there is a tutorial for the cutest SHAKER CARDS. This is a great twist on your everyday average card. Be sure to check out the tutorial and of course, Beate's other work :)There is a link to her blog on the left side of my blog.

This is the Shaker Card that I made..."Thinking of you" is the title. Cute yea? I started out with the 4 1/2" x 5 1/2" card and covered the front with a designer hearts paper that was darling. The frame is a basic cream cardstock approxiamtely 4 1/2" tall x 3" wide and is broke apart so that the outside of the frame is on the card and the inside of the frame is elevated. There is a smaller frame that is pink cardstock as a border.

The stamp is the heart from the Made From Scratch stamp set stamped on the back part of the shaker card. There is a pink flower attached to the top right of the shaker frame and a white button as the flower center. The sentiment was written with a colored pencil and reads Thinking Of You below the stamp. The shaker material is silver glitter. For more specific directions please go to the tutorial above. It will make more sense after reading that :) This card was so much fun. If you want to see all the shaker cards made by the wonderful SCS talent, visit HERE

My First Purchase

Aloha everyone! I just received my first Stampin' Up stamp set in the mail today and I am totally stoked! I purchased two retired sets-the Delightful Doodles set and the Made from Scratch set. These two sets are just too cute! I love them. I can't wait to get creating!

I also received a great mystery envelope from Ebay that had tons of great stuff in it. What a great day!!!!!!! It had two pair of cropping scissors, foam alphabet stamps, embossing plates, paper pack, and tons of other little goodies! How awesome is that???