CFC76–Kraft On and a Sad Farewell . . .

 

Hola Friends!

 

How the heck is it possible that it’s almost the end of October?!!  This month has been like a blur for me, between moving, transitioning from WA to AZ for the winter, and then having our kids visit for 10 days.  But life is finally back to normal for me, and I look forward to enjoying the boring routine of my days now that the dust has settled.

It’s time for the next CAS-ual Fridays Challenge, and this week’s challenge is to create a CLEAN & SIMPLE card or tag design and include kraft in some aspect of your design.

This week’s amazeballs sponsor is, of course, CAS-ual Fridays Stamps – because TODAY is the day that the brand spankin’ new CAS-ual Fridays Stamps are available for sale!!  That’s right, ladies – the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps store is open for business TODAY!  CAS-ual Fridays Stamps has provided a wonderful prize for this week’s TGIF Winner, but you’ll have to click on through to the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog to find out what it is!  Thanks, CAS-ual Fridays Stamps!

I had the pleasure of working with another of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps new releases called Woot!  Woot!  Don’t you just love that name?!  Seriously, Michele has the most clever mind, and so, so witty!  In fact, I created this little bit of crafty goodness for Michele and her new venture!  I am so happy and thrilled for her, and know that this stamp line is going to be a huge success!  I will most certainly be adding the other CAS-ual Fridays Stamp sets to my stash and will be using them as often as I can!

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS:  Woot! Woot! (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps)
INK:  Orange (A Muse Studio), Black Dye (Memories/Hero Arts)
PAPER:  Hawaiian Shores CS (PTI), Orange Fizz CS (French Poptone), Solar White CS and Desert Storm CS (Neenah Classic Crest)
OTHER:  Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Linen Impression Plate (PTI), Star Trio Dies (A Muse Studio)

 

So, this is an extremely sad post for me as this is my last CAS-ual Fridays Challenge.  Yes, I’m so sad to say that I’ve decided to step down from the team.  I am ever so grateful to Michele for giving me such an amazing opportunity to work beside some of the most incredibly talented designers in our business.  I learned so much and am thrilled to be able to say that I can call each and every one of the ladies on this team my friend – even though I’ve never met most of them in real life.  I wish Michele all the best with CAS-ual Fridays Stamps – Michele has worked her little booty off to make this company a success, and I know there are great things in her future.  I so hope you all will continue to support her and her new company – I know I’ll be buying those new stamps and playing along in many of the upcoming challenges – I hope I win something! *wink*

 

So that’s it for me today, kids.  I have a huge weekend of crafting planned.  How about you?  Do you have some fun plans in store for your weekend, too?  Thanks so much for stopping by today – you all are my world!

The Cameo Spotlight Challenge #6–Halloween!

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR MY CAS-UAL FRIDAYS STAMP SNEAK PEEK POST!

Happy Saturday, Friends!

 

I’m back today to share the latest and greatest Cameo Spotlight Challenge, which is to create a Halloween-themed paper crafted project (we’ve changed the rules as to what can be submitted, so be sure and visit the Cameo Spotlight Challenge Blog to find out what the new rule is – I think you’re going to be very happy!).  Be sure to use your Silhouette electronic die cutting machine to create at least one aspect of your project.

Gel-A-Tins has very generously agreed to sponsor this week’s challenge, and have provided a great prize for this week’s winner.  But you’ll have to click on through to the Cameo Spotlight Challenge Blog to find out what it is!  Thank you, Gel-A-Tins!

I had such a great time creating for this challenge!  I knew I wanted to create a spider web and use that googlie-eyed spider – isn’t he too cute for words?  I was having a hard time getting a clean cut spider web from card stock because the lines are so fragile.  Ultimately, I cut the spider web image out of vinyl and then adhered it to my card base.  I love that the web looks so bold and precise.  Both the web and the spider are cutting files that I purchased from the Silhouette Online Store.  I’ve listed them below.

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS:  Ghostly Greetings (Hero Arts)
INK:  Black Dye (Hero Arts/Memories)
PAPER:  White Linen CS (Ellen Hutson Essentials), Orange CS (Hobby Lobby), Beetle Black cS (Bazzill Basics Paper)
OTHER:  Black Vinyl (Ora-Cal 631 – Paper Accents), Googlie Eyes (Michael’s)
CUTTING FILES:  Halloween Spider (Silhouette Online Store Design #21468) and Spider Web (Silhouette Online Store Design #2954)

 

We have a very special guest designer for this week’s challenge, as well.  Jocelyn Olson has designed a fabulous project that I know you’re going to love.  And, of course, the other Cameo Spotlight design team members have created incredible projects, as well – many have included free cutting files and detailed instructions as to how they created their cards.  Click on through to the Cameo Spotlight Challenge Blog to see what they’ve cooked up for your viewing pleasure and inspiration!

 

That’s it for me today, friends.  I’ve got a big day of cropping with my girls planned today – loves me some girlie time!  Hope that you have some amazing plans for your weekend, too.  Thanks for stopping by – it means the world to me!

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps–Sneak Peek: WHAT THE . . . ?!

 

Hello Again!!

Now that Michele Gross has spilled the beans about her new stamp line – CAS-ual Fridays Stamps – I’m here today to help get this big party started!  I’m so excited to be a part of this amazing celebration and am beyond thrilled to share a sneak peek of what we’ve been keeping under our hats for quite a while now!!  But let’s get some business out of the way first, shall we?

• CAS-ual Fridays Stamps are the finest quality photopolymer and made in USA.
  
• The Girl Fridays (as well as some very special guests) are sharing sneak peeks of the first CAS-ual Fridays Stamp sets, starting today.  Each day for the next five days, a new set will be featured, and prizes are available for commenting on each day’s post on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps store blog HERE.  You’ll have until Wednesday, October 24th at 11:59 PM EDT to comment on each day’s blog post (NOT on my blog, but on the CFC STORE BLOG – although I’d appreciate any love that you’d like to leave behind for me! ) for a chance to win that day’s featured set.
  
• You can win THE ENTIRE RELEASE (five sets in all!) if you’re the TGIF Winner of CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #75.  You’re going to want to play along with CFC75 – just sayin’!
  
• All winners will be announced on Thursday, October 25th on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamp Store Blog!
  
• CAS-ual Fridays Stamps will be available for sale on Friday, October 26th – the launch of the website will be announced on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamp Store Blog!!  Be still my heart!!

Today’s featured set is called WTF!  I’ll be honest – the first time I saw this set, I gasped – just for a split second.  Then I laughed hysterically because it’s just so DANGED clever!!  Seriously, this concept is absolutely brilliant, and I am so in awe of Michele for having such an original idea. I’m including a thumbnail of the set here for you to see just how stinkin’ clever this is!  I know I’ll be using this baby on a regular basis and I hope you will be, too!!  If you look at this post from yesterday again, you’ll see that I used the “Where’s the Fun” and “Who’s Turning 50?” sentiments on my Wine Bottle Tags.  I mean seriously, could this be more genius?!

 

Now hop on over to the CAS-ual Fridays Stamp Store Blog to see who else is posting sneak peeks for today!  Be sure to comment on each day’s post for a chance to win that day’s featured set!

 

Thanks again for stopping by today – we’re so excited to finally share this big secret with you all!  I hope that you’re as excited as we are!

CFC75–Over the Edge

Hello!!

Man oh man, do we have some exciting stuff in store for you this week, so be sure and read through my entire post for some VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION!!

First off, we have another fabulous challenge for you!  Your challenge this week is to create a CLEAN & SIMPLE card or tag and have some element of your project hanging over the edge.  Good one, right?!

 

We also have a very special sponsor for this week’s challenge, but you’ll have to click on through to the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog to find out who it is and to see a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.  No, seriously – you NEED to click on through to the Challenge Blog!!  Go on – I’ll wait!  Then, please come back here so I can share my samples for this week’s challenge with you!

So, I decided to deviate from my usual A2 card.  In light of all the exciting stuff going on over at the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog, I just HAD to create some celebratory wine bottle tags – I mean, who doesn’t like to combine fun and excitement with wine?!  LOL

Notice how the sentiment banners extend over the edge of the wine tags?  To be honest, having things hang off the edge of my projects really stresses me out – it’s so not linear.  But I followed the rules and did as I was asked!  LOL

 

Well, that’s it for me today, kids.  I so hope that you are as excited about the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT and CAS-ual Fridays’ “new little sister” as we are!  The celebration will continue through the next week, with tons of amazing prizes and special guests, so I hope you’ll join us in celebrating our “new little sister!”  It’s gonna be a blast!

Mama Elephant - Winners, Winners, Chicken Dinners!

 

Well, hello long lost crafty friends!!

 

Did you think I dropped off the face of the earth the last several days?  After the last two weeks, I kind of feel like I could fall off the face of the earth.  We finally got settled in our new house, and literally the next day we left on a two-day trip to Arizona.  Phew!  We’re here in AZ now, and enjoying the company of our daughter and son-in-law and two adorable grandsons – be still my heart!  Gamma needs to get her baby fix because it’s long time until Christmas!

Anyways, I wanted to share a second card that I made with the brand spankin’ new Mama Elephant stamp set called Believe In Magic.  This time I head embossed one of the snow globe bases with white embossing powder on white cardstock.  I love that subtle effect that the tone on tone gives.  I stamped the snow globe, cityscape and reindeer onto aqua polka dot paper, to look like snow.  The sentiment was stamped onto red cardstock and cut out using some fishtail flag dies.  Had to add some buttons and baker’s twine, just for fun.

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS: MAMA ELEPHANT (Believe In Magic)
INK: MEMORIES/HERO ARTS (Black Dye), TSUKINEKO (VersaMark Watermark Ink)
PAPER: ELLEN HUTSON ESSENTIALS (White Linen CS), ECHO PARK (Dots & Stripes Homefront Collection), STAMPIN' UP! (Real Red CS)
OTHER: PAPERTREY INK (Mat Stack 3 Die), MY FAVORITE THINGS (Fishtail Flag Staxx Die), ZING/AMERICAN CRAFTS (White Embossing Powder), WE R MEMORY KEEPERS (Corner Chomper); A MUSE STUDIO (White Buttons); THE TWINERY (Red Baker's Twine)

 

So, I know I promised some winners in my last Mama Elephant post, so here ya go!!

WINNER #1:

WINNER #2:

WINNER #3:

Each of you has won a $15 gift certificate to the Mama Elephant store.  I can say, without a doubt, that the Mama Elephant images are some of my most favorite to play with these days – in fact, I plan to do some more stamping with them this weekend!  Winners, please email me (garkarlon@msn.com) and I’ll provide you with the PIN # for your gift certificate so that you can start shopping right away!

 

That’s it for me today, kids.  We plan to do some fun kid outdoor activities today – gotta get our dose of Vitamin D before the kids leave!  Thanks so much for stopping by today – I’m so glad you did!

CFC74–Put Your {Heart} Into It!

 

Phew!  What a crazy week it’s been around here! We’re almost finished moving – one more day, and I think we’ll have it licked.  NOTE TO SELF:  Next time you think about moving, just light a match and walk away – you’re too old to move again!  LOL

I’m popping in today to share the latest and greatest CAS-ual Fridays Challenge, which is to create a CLEAN & SIMPLE card or tag and include a heart or hearts in your design!  Fun, right?!

This week’s sponsor is a company that is near and dear to my {heart} – get it?!  LOL  i{heart}papers is one of my go-to online stores, especially when I need something amazing and I need it now!  Kate’s customer service and product lines are second to none, and she’s as sweet as can be.  I {heart} her!  Oh, I’m killing myself!  LOL  i{heart}papers has provided an awesome prize for this week’s TGIF Winner, but you’ll have to click through to the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog to find out what it is!  Oh, and while you’re there, be sure and check out the other Girl Fridays’ projects that they created for your viewing pleasure.  Thanks, i{heart}papers!!

I enjoyed this challenge so much!  I pulled out my heart shaped die to create a die cut negative – I love how the bright pink cardstock shows through and creates some fun dimension, yet is still very simple.  I then used a banner die to create the banner out of vellum; I die cut the words out of black cardstock and adhered them to the banner, which I adhered to the card front so that it draped across the bottom of the heart.

PRODUCTS USED:

PAPER:  Blackbird and Avalanche CS (Bazzill Basics Paper), Taffy CS (American Crafts CS), Vellum CS (PTI)
OTHER:  Folded Banner Die, With All My Heart Die, and Thank You Heart Die (Simon Says Stamps), Peel N Stick Adhesive Sheets (ThermoWeb)

So have you seen the other exciting stuff that’s going on at the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog?!  CAS-ual Fridays has a new “little sister” and there’s a big announcement that’ll be made on October 19th. We’re having a little linky party that we’d love for you to join in on to help spread the word about the new “little sister” announcement.  You can find all the details about that HERE.  I believe that there’s a prize involved, so you really should check it out!

 

That’s all I’ve got for you today, kids!  Things will again be somewhat quiet around here as we’re headed south for the winter on Sunday.  Once I get settled there, our kids will be there to visit.  But I have a few posts ready to go while I’m in transition, so I hope you’ll stop by often.  Thanks for stopping by today – it means the world to me!

Mama Elephant Grand Opening Stampede–Blog Hop Day 1!!

 

*THIS POST CONTAINS LOTS OF STUFF, INCLUDING PRIZE INFORMATION, SO PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH!*

 

OH EM GEE!!  I have been keeping a secret that has been KILLING me!!  LOL  The amazingly talented  and adorable Kryssi Ng contacted me a while back and asked me to help her launch her brand new stamp line, Mama Elephant, and of course I HAD to do it – Kryssi’s my girl!!  To say that I was blown away when I saw the images is an understatement – I was rendered speechless when I saw them.  The images that she and her friend created together are so right up my alley, I nearly cried.  Clean, simple, graphic and amazing – be still my heart!!  So let’s get down to business, shall we?

First off, here’s a little bit of info about Mama Elephant:

Mama Elephant is owned and operated by two childhood friends from NYC. We are so happy to bring the collaboration of our aesthetics to Mama Elephant! Our stamps are designed with card makers and scrapbookers in mind! Our stamps are carefully curated to provide optimal versatility with a wide variety of styles - cute, whimsical, bold, graphic, and fun!

So today is the Grand Opening of Mama Elephant.  Kryssi has arranged an amazing blog hop for your inspiration and viewing pleasure. The hop begins at the Mama Elephant Blog.  You should start there so that you don’t miss a thing!  Hopefully you arrived here from Kalyn Kepner’s blog.  If not, please head back to the Mama Elephant Blog to get caught up (I believe that there are prizes involved!!)

I seriously swooned when I saw the images contained in the Believe In Magic set – cityscapes, snowglobes, silhouettes . . . they took my breath away!  To create my sample, I cut out a circle using my Circle Nestabilities for the snow globe.  I then stamped the cityscape, some snow and stars, and the bubbles at the top (the detail in this set is amazing, I tell ya!) using gray pigment ink.  I stamped the reindeer silhouette using black dye ink.  The base of the snow globe was stamped in the gray pigment ink and then cut out by hand – easy sleazy!  The sentiments in this set are so perfectly unique and perfect for the season.  I know you’re going to love this set, as well as the other new releases, as much as I do!

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS:  Believe In Magic (Mama Elephant)
INK:  Provincial Gray (Fresh Ink), Black Dye (Memories/Hero Arts)
PAPER:  Going Gray CS (Stampin’ Up!), Lido Venetian Patterned CS (A Muse Studio), White Linen CS (Ellen Hutson Essentials), Solar White CS (Neenah Classic Crest)
OTHER:  ScorTape (ScorPal), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (Stampin’ Up!), Quickie Glue Pen (Sakura), White Satin Ribbon (PTI)

 

Before I send you off to your next stop on the hop, I wanted to let you know that in celebration of the Grand Opening, Mama Elephant is offering a 10% discount on all of the new releases (there are 8 awesome new sets) for the next two days, so you want to be sure and place your order right away!  Please use the code GRANDOPEN when checking out for the 10% off!

Now hop on over to Jennifer McGuire’s blog.  I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll be blown away by her genius!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today and for participating in the Mama Elephant Grand Opening – I appreciate it more than you know!

CAS-ual Fridays’ New Little Sister!

 

Hola Friends!

Popping in really quick (and happy for the distraction from endless packing and purging!)  to let you know that there’s some amazingly exciting stuff going on over at the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog and I didn’t want you to miss out!  A big announcement will be made on October 19th, but you can get involved in all the excitement if you click on the above graphic (or HERE) to see how you can have a chance to win an awesome prize!  Seriously, you are going to be soooo excited!!

 

Hope you had a great weekend!  I’ll be back very soon!!

The Cameo Spotlight Challenge #5–Color Challenge!

 

Happy Saturday, Peeps!

I’m up to my eyeballs in packing tape and boxes as I type this, so I won’t bore you with a bunch of blah, blah, blah today.  But I wanted to pop in and let you know that there’s a brand spankin’ new Cameo Spotlight Challenge today, and we’d love for you to play along!  This week’s challenge is a color challenge, so all you need to do is create a CARD OR TAG using the above color graphic as your inspiration, and you must include at least one element in your card or tag that is created using any Silhouette electronic die cutting machine (i.e., Silhouette Cameo or SD).  Easy peasy, especially considering the time of year, right?!

I created this super simple chevron pattern using my Silhouette Cameo and the 6 Borders Cutting File that I purchased from the Silhouette Online Store.  I simply sized it in Silhouette Studio and then copied and pasted it multiple times to create the pattern.  I drew a rectangle around the chevrons so that the chevrons would be centered on the card front.  I then cut out that card front from white card stock.  I repeated this process three more times using the three different colors contained in the challenge graphic.  I adhered each colored chevron border to the card base with my glue pen, stamped the sentiment, and then popped the card front up with foam tape.  I love the pops of color, don’t you?

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS:  Handwritten Sentiments (Simon Says Stamps)
INK:  Black Dye (Memories/Hero Arts)
PAPER:  White Linen CS (Ellen Hutson Essentials), Yam and Bazzill Yellow CS (Bazzill Basics Paper), Orange CS (Hobby Lobby)
CUTTING FILE:  6 Borders (Silhouette Online Store Design #27671)

 

I’d love to stay and chat, but I really must get back to my packing and moving.  I hope you’ll pop on over to the Cameo Spotlight Challenge Blog for all the details of the challenge, information about an amazing prize from our sponsor, Avery Elle Stamps, as well as some incredible samples that my other design team members have created for your inspiration and viewing pleasure.

 

Thanks for stopping by – I hope you have a great weekend!

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #73–For the Girls!

Hello Crafty Peeps!!

This week’s CAS-ual Fridays Challenge is a very important one!  Of course, I’m sure you’re all aware that this month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  What better way to bring this very important cause – finding a cure for breast cancer – to the forefront than to challenge you to create a CLEAN & SIMPLE card that celebrates the “girls” in your life?!  Right?!

This is also the challenge where this week’s TGIF winner will not only win an amazing prize (you’ll have to click on through to the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog in order to find out what it is) from our most awesome challenge sponsor, Simon Says Stamps, but they’ll also get to be our guest designer in November!  Can I get a woohoo for that?!!  As always, we are ever so grateful for our sponsors, but most especially Simon Says Stamps.  Thank you Simon Says Stamps!!

I think we all have someone in our lives who has been touched in one way or another by breast cancer.  I have many dear friends who are survivors, so finding a cure for this horrible disease is so very important.  The women in my life that have survived are some of the most amazingly strong women I’ve ever known, hence the sentiment of my card.  I cut out the aperture (the banner shape started out as a bottle tag design) as well as the awareness ribbon with my Silhouette Cameo – that baby cuts like buttah, I tell ya!  I stamped the repetitive subway art onto pink cardstock and placed it behind the ribbon cut out.  The word Strong was created using a wafer thin metal die that I purchased from Simon Says Stamps – it’s Kristina Werner’s handwriting, and comes in a set of three different words.  I thought this one was PERFECT for the occasion, don’t you think?!  I’ve listed all of the products I used below:

STAMPS:  Hope (Paper Smooches)
INK:  Unicorn Pigment Ink (Memories/Hero Arts)
PAPER:  Lily White CS (Bazzill Basics Paper), Cotton Candy CS (American Crafts)
OTHER:  Bottle Label Tag – Flag Cutting File (Silhouette Online Store Design #22156), Awareness Ribbon Cutting File (Silhouette Online Store Design #3055), Silhouette Cameo (Silhouette America), Strong Wafer Thin Metal Die (Simon Says Stamps), Quickie Glue Pen (Sakura)

 

Well kids, that’s about it for me today.  I so hope you’ll join us in celebrating all of the amazing women in your life!  We can’t wait to see what you come up with!  Be sure and click on through to the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog to see what the other Girl Fridays have cooked up for your viewing pleasure and inspiration – you won’t be disappointed!

 

Things are about to get real crazy here at our house.  The movers are coming tomorrow morning, bright and early.  We will be sleeping in our new house tomorrow night (if all goes as planned, that is . . . LOL) and working our little fingers to the bone to get as settled as possible before we head south for the winter.  So if things are a little quiet around here, you’ll know why.  I have some prescheduled projects that I’ll be sharing with you along the way, so I hope you’ll come by when you can.  Have a great weekend!