CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #72–Toot Your Own Horn!

 

Hola Peeps!!

 

Can you believe that it’s Friday again?!!  Like I just don’t know where the days have gone.  I just need time to stand still for a little bit – do you think that’s too much to ask?!!  LOL  Ugh!

Oh well, I guess if I can’t get time to stand still, I’ll fill you in on the latest CAS-ual Fridays Challenge, which is to create a CLEAN & SIMPLE card that is inspired by your own blog header.  Fun, right?!  NOTE:  If you don’t have a blog of your own, you can use the blog header on the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog!

We have a brand spankin’ new sponsor on board for this week’s challenge – A Muse Studio!! I know, right?!!  I am a huge fan of A Muse Studio and own many of their amazing products – I especially ADORE their ink pads!  Like they are second to none in my opinion.  A Muse has very generously provided an awesome 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.  While you’re there be sure and peruse the delicious samples that the other Girl Fridays have designed for your inspiration.  Thank you, A Muse Studio!!

 

Okay, so this challenge inspired me like no other!!  I love, love, love my blog header!!  It was designed by THE Karen Baker – The Bald Dragonfly.  I told Karen what my “vision” was, and she freakin’ made it happen!!  If you’re in the market for a new look for your blog, Karen is your girl!!  Tell her I sent you – you can thank me later!  LOL  Anyway . . . I digress!  So, I love the bright, happy colors, the clean and graphic lines and patterns, and the delicious simplicity of the font.  It’s so ME!!

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS:  Venetian Background (A Muse Studio), Chevron Background (Savvy Stamps), Designer Woodgrain (Hero Arts), Heart-2-Heart #4 and Background Basics: Circles (PTI)
INK:  Black Dye and Unicorn Pigment (Memories/Hero Arts), Provincial Gray (Fresh Ink)
PAPER:  Solar White CS (Neenah Classic Crest), Robin’s Egg, Juicy Pear and Circus Peanut CS (Bazzill Card Shoppe)
OTHER:  Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Linen Impression Plate (PTI)

 

Well, that’s it for me today, kids!  We’ve got a big weekend of packing planned –doesn’t that sound like fun?! NOT!!  LOL  But it is what it is – someone has to do it, so it might as well be me!  We hope to be in our new house by next weekend – crossing our fingers that that works out!  I’m hoping that you have plans for your weekend that are way more fun than mine!  LOL  Thanks for stopping by – the time you spend here means the world to me!

The Cameo Spotlight Challenge #4–Triangles!

 

Hello Friends!

It’s time for another Cameo Spotlight Challenge!  You all rocked the last one, so no doubt you’ll do the same with this new one, too. This week’s challenge is to create a card or tag, using your Cameo or Silhouette SD to create at least one aspect of your design, and include triangles.

We have an awesome sponsor for this week’s challenge – WOOHOO!!  Lettering Delights is an excellent online store for some of the cutest and most fun cutting files (as well as fonts and graphics) out there.  They’ve provided an uber generous prize for the winner of this challenge, but you’ll have to click on through to The Cameo Spotlight Challenge Blog to see what it is!  While you’re there, be sure and look at the samples that my teammates created for your inspiration.  Oh, and we have a very special guest designer this week, too.  I think I’ve mentioned Jin from Under the Cherry Tree before – she’s amazing, you all – no joke – so be sure and check her out!!  Thank you, Lettering Delights and Jin!

I had a ball with this challenge.  I love anything graphic – it just makes my heart skip a beat.  So I decided to give creating a quilt pattern using triangles a try.  Fun, right?  I downloaded the Quilt Block from the Silhouette Online Store, sized it, and cut it out of three different colors of cardstock.  The rest is pretty self-explanatory, I think.

PRODUCTS USED:

CUTTING FILE:  Quilt Blocks #2 (Design #9344 – Silhouette Online Store)
STAMPS:  Stitched Sentiments (The Craft’s Meow)
CARDSTOCK:  Lily White (Bazzill Basics Paper), Pool, Key Lime and Tangerine (American Crafts)
OTHER:  Fabulous Frames Dies (PTI)

 

That’s it for me today, kids!  We’re still babysitting so I haven’t had much time to craft the last few days.  I look forward to getting back into my craft room after our kids return on Monday night.  Thanks so much for stopping by today – your visits mean the world to me!  Have a great weekend!

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #71–Fall Fun!

 

Hello Friends!

Don’t you just love this time of year?!!  Seriously, we’ve had THE most gorgeous Indian Summer here in Western Washington.  I’ve been loving the cool crisp mornings and the uber sunny afternoons – there’s nothing like a sunny day in Seattle, I tell ya!  Well, if you’re like me and love this time of year, you’re going to LOVE this week’s CAS-ual Fridays Challenge, which is to create a CLEAN AND SIMPLE card using a fall theme.

This week’s sponsor is Great Impressions Stamps.   Great Impressions Stamps has provided an uber generous prize for this week’s TGIF Winner, but you’ll have to click on through to the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog to see what it is.  While you’re there, be sure and peruse the other amazing samples that the Girl Fridays have created for your inspiration.  Thanks, Great Impressions Stamps!

I especially love the turning of the leaves this time of year, don’t you?  That was the inspiration for my card.  I stamped three different leaf images in three different colors, and stamped the sentiment in brown.  I then ran the card base through my Cuttlebug using a canvas impression plate.  The pumpkin satin ribbon finished off the fall color palette.

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS: PAPERTREY INK (Leaf Prints), A MUSE STUDIO (Essential Sentiments)
INK: A MUSE STUDIO (Nutmeg and Pumpkin Pigment Ink), FRESH INK (Chocolate & Harvest Pigment Ink)
PAPER: NEENAH CLASSIC CREST (Solar White CS)
OTHER: PAPERTREY INK (Canvas Impression Plate), CLEAR & SIMPLE STAMPS (Orange You Fabulous Satin Ribbon)

 

That’s it for me today, kids!  We’re in full Gamma and Gampa mode this week as we’re babysitting our grandsons while our kids vacay at our house in Arizona.  We’re having a blast, so far.  Hoping you have amazing plans for this first official weekend of fall, too.  Thanks so much for stopping by today – I so appreciate it and you!!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!

Hello Sweet Friends!!

I wanted to thank you all for your amazing kind comments on the project I did for Ellen Hutson’s CLASSroom Blog.  You all have made me grin from ear to ear – and now I have a big fat head!!  LOL  No, truly, I am so humbled by your kind words and am so grateful to you for sharing them with me.

So let’s get down to business, shall we?  The winner of the extremely generous Blog Candy that Ellen offered up to one lucky commenter is Number 15 – BeverlyBL!!  Congratulations, Beverly!!  Please email me your snail mail address and I’ll get that information to Ellen just as soon as I hear from you!

 

Thank you again to everyone who visited – you’ll never know how much it truly means to me!  And a HUGE thank you to Ellen for giving me this amazing opportunity!!  Have a great day!

Guest Design Gig at the ClassROOM & BLOG CANDY!!

Hello, Peeps!

It’s the weekend!! Woohoo!!

Several weeks back I received an email from Ellen Hutson – OH EM GEE!  I’ve been lucky enough to have met her in real life, and adore spending time with her when I can (she knows all the best restaurants)!  She invited me to be a guest designer on her ClassROOM blog – I was both floored and flattered, especially in light of all the brilliant designers that have shared their amazing talents with Ellen’s readers before me.  Talk about freaked out!  But I love a challenge, and I didn’t want to let her down.  So I persevered . . . and I’m pretty stinkin’ happy with the end results.  I hope you are, too.


Here’s a bit of a sneak peek of my project on Ellen’s CLASSroom Blog.  I’d be ever so grateful if you’d head over there to get the skinny on how I created this baby and leave Ellen some love.



Oh, and before I go, I thought you might be interested to know that Ms. Ellen is offering up some amazingly generous blog candy which includes most of the products I used in my project (including what I think is THE BEST white pigment ink on the market today – this stuff is AH-MAZING!).  How freakin’ sweet is that?!  All you have to do is comment on this post here on my blog, any time between now and  Tuesday, September 19th at midnight (Pacific Daylight Time).  A winner will be chosen by the Random Number Generator.  Thank you so much, Ellen!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I’ll be back on Wednesday to share the name of the winner!  In the meantime, have a great weekend!

CFC70 - Black and White Plus One!

Hello Sweet Friends!!

I’m back again with the latest CAS-ual Fridays Challenge, and I’m sure you’re going to love this one as much as I did! Your challenge is to create a CLEAN & SIMPLE design using only black and white PLUS one other color! The possibilities are endless!!

Our sponsor this week is Neat & Tangled – a brand spankin’ new stamp company that has some of the cutest images ever! You so need to check them out! Neat & Tangled has provided a very generous 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! Oh, and be sure and check out the amazing bits of inspiration the other Girl Fridays have cooked up for your consumption while you’re there! Thank you, Neat & Tangled!

When I saw this challenge, I knew exactly what I wanted to do – especially since I had just received some of Memory Box’s brand spankin’ new wafer thin dies in the mail – be still my heart!! My photo doesn’t do this label die justice, but there’s some amazing embossing around the outside edge that just takes this die cut to another level. And how freakin’ cute is that dangling spider?!! I came very close to adding little beady eyes to him, but stopped myself. I’m not a huge fan of spiders, but the clean and simple lines of this baby just makes my heart skip a beat!

STAMPS: Happy Halloween (Impress Rubber Stamps)
INK: VersaMark (Tsukineko)
PAPER: Black Licorice CS (French Poptone), White Linen CS (Ellen Hutson)
OTHER: Penne Frame and Dangling Spider Dies (Memory Box), 1/4” Hole Punch (Fiskars), Lettuce Embossing Powder (Ranger/Adirondack), Simply Chartreuse Satin Ribbon and Linen Impression Plate (PTI)

That’s it for me today, friends! The remodel is in full swing at the new house, so that’s pretty much consuming my days. We’ll be babysitting our grandsons for a few days next week – can’t wait for that! Hope you have a wonderful weekend planned. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

The Cameo Spotlight Challenge #3 Color Challenge!

 

Happy Saturday!

(Additional neutral colors allowed are: black, white and kraft.)

We had some absolutely amazing entries for the last Cameo Spotlight Challenge – you all are so clever and creative!  So I know you’re going to love our next challenge, which is a color challenge!  Use the above graphic as your inspiration to create a card or tag and include the use of your Cameo or Silhouette SD in your design.

I was inspired to create a masculine card using these color swatches.  I never seem to have enough cards for guys in my stash, so this was my opportunity to change that!  I downloaded the Borders – Diamonds cutting file from the Silhouette Online Store and sized it to fit an A2 card front.  I cut it out three times with my Cameo – once in the kraft colored image panel, once in a slate blue, and once using a sage green.  I inserted the blue diamonds into the kraft image panel, adhered the green diamonds with foam tape, and then adhered the whole image panel to the kraft card base with foam squares.  I love the dimension that the negative diamond cut adds when you back it with the cream layer.  And who doesn’t love argyle?!!  Right?!

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS:  Grads & Dads (The Craft’s Meow)
INK:  Black Dye (Memories/Hero Arts)
PAPER:  Blueberry, Caramel and Vanilla CS (American Crafts), and Spring Breeze (Bazzill Basics Paper)
OTHER:  Cameo Electronic Die Cutting Machine (Silhouette America)
CUTTING FILE:  Borders – Diamonds (Silhouette Online Store Design #27966)

 

We’d love to see what you’d create using the color challenge graphic above!  If you’d like additional inspiration, you should totally click on through to the Cameo Spotlight Challenge Blog to see what the other TCS Cast Members have cooked up for you!  Oh, and you can find all of the details and rules of playing along with us there, too!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I’m off to meet up with my sister to pick out some carpet and tile and paint and bathroom fixtures and . . . oh my gosh – so many decisions to make for the new house!!  AACKKKK!!  Hope you have something more fun in store for your weekend!  LOL

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #69–Embossing

Happy Friday, Friends!!

My oh my!  It’s been quite a week around here with closing on the new house, listing the old house, and all the chaos that goes along with both of those things!  But I did have a chance to get inky for a few hours, so that was an amazing stress reliever for me!

This week’s CAS-ual Fridays Challenge is one that is very near and dear to my heart – embossing!  I love embossing – both heat embossing and dry embossing – and you have the freedom to do both, if you like!  The delicious texture that both add to a project takes an okay project to whole new level, don’t you think?

As is always the case on the first of the month, Simon Says Stamps is our sponsor this week!  They’ve offered up an amazing 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.  Oh, and if you’re the TGIF Winner this week, you get to be our Gal Friday Guest Designer next month.  How fun is that?  Thank you, Simon Says Stamps!

As I said above, embossing is a technique that is my go-to wow factor for any project that needs a little oomph!  I especially love heat embossing . . . there’s just something about the richness of that slick finish that makes my heart go pitter patter.  I stamped this darling pendant light four times using VersaMark – three times on the card base and once on the banner panel.  I used white and turquoise embossing powders on all four lights.  Then I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed that with black embossing powder.  I popped the banner panel up using foam squares, and wrapped some coordinating baker’s twine at the top to finish it off.

PRODUCTS USED:
STAMPS:  Bright Idea (Technique Tuesday)
INK:  VersaMark (Tsukineko)
PAPER:  Lemon Drop CS (French Poptone), White Linen (Ellen Hutson)
OTHER:  Caribbean and Lemondrop Baker’s Twine (The Twinery), Black Baker’s Twine (Divine Twine), White & Black Embossing Powder (Zing/American Crafts), Tempting Turquoise Embossing Powder (Stampin’ Up!), Half and Half Die (PTI), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers)

Before you go, be sure and stop by the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog to see what the other Girl Fridays have prepared for your inspiration.  I’ll be spending the day with my adorable grandsons today while mom goes to the fair with her girlfriends.  It’s a beautiful sunny day, so I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a good one!  Hope your day and your weekend are amazing!  Thanks so much for stopping by!