Just a Note

I spent the long weekend camping in Southern CA.  My first time camping in CA and wasn't quite prepared for the extreme temps.  38 degrees at night and 80 during the day.  Next time I will bring warmer clothes!

Now I'm back to my craft space designing cards.  The colors that CR84FN Color Challenge are so beautiful.  It has my favorite...green! 

Color Inspiration

As I perused the blogs that I follow, I saw this sketch again and again and just loved it.  I am so glad that I had enough time to play this week in the iSpy Sketches challenge.

Sketch Inspiration

Paper Memories

As I put this card together, this mismatch of colors, stripes, polka dots, my memory takes me back where I first saw each piece.  The solid green and blue cs is from my olden days of being a demonstrator of CTMH.  The solid oranges (the middle flower petal and the paper peeking out under the cream and polka dots) is origami paper that my mom sent one of my girls who didn't want it.  The orange polka dot paper is from Target $1 bin a few years ago. The stripes along the edge and the paper the rosette are from a pack I got when I belong to a scrapbook club.  I've had these papers for years, hoarding them, not sharing them with anyone.  Now I've put them together into this beautiful card.

As for the other elements of the card, the pearls are new.  The dies for the large flower petals are from Sizzix and the rosette and border are from My Favorite Things.  These are also new.  I don't mind getting these items that I can use again and again that only help me deplete my stash.

I''ve chosen a new challenge for me this week.  Just Add Ink has this super cool sketch.  This sketch will be one that I will use again and again.

sketch inspiration

Come & Get It with Colour Create Challenges

Another mint card has been created.  Colour Create Challenge #96 colors are green, white and brown with a hint of purple/lavendar.

Green, Brown, White and a hint of Lavender or Purple.

The optional extra is
 A Metal Embellishment.

And here's the beautiful inspirational picture our talented Edna picked for us

color inspiration

The sketch inspiration is from Come and Get It May Challenge.

sketch inspiration

Minty Blue Flowers

Yesterday, the hospital called me to see if I would work an extra shift today.  I like to help my team out when I can, so I said yes.  I got a phone call at 5 a.m. to let me down easy, no, afterall, they won't be needing me.  So, today is a bonus day in the craft room.  I have big plans for today, so let's see what happens.

color inspiration

This is the first card of the day.  CR84FN Challenge #54 is my color scheme.  Mint, Blue and Neutral are the challenge.  I happen to have ALOT of cardstock in the mint green.  As much as I love green, mint green is not my favorite.  I will attempt to make more cards today with this cardstock. No promises though.

inspiration

Freshly Made Sketches #36 is my inspiration.  Such wonderful DT examples.

Very Graphic

Card Pattern Sketch 166 is the inspiration for my card.  I used that in combination with The Play Date Cafe color challenge 132 of Black, White with a touch of Mustard Yellow.  My first thought goes to bees, but to me, that's too practical, predictable.  So I went with graphic. 


The striped paper in the bottom right corner is some scrap paper as well as the checkered paper above it.  The paper on the left side is my creation.  The leaves are dies from Sizzix, punched out the inside and put it against white.  The stamps are by {The Stamps of Life} by Stephanie Bernard.  The yellow scalloped edge is actually circles that are cut in half.

Excellent way for me to continue my journey...Depleting My Stash.

Round the Corner

I broke my old corner rounder a couple weeks ago.  Well, not sure if I really broke it or that it finally died.  I've probably had that since the beginning of my journey, 18 years ago.  It has served me well.  I really liked this sketch from Retro Sketches and I had to get another corner rounder.  This morning I zipped into Joanne's and found that their punches were 50% off.  SWEET!!!  I also got some Cuttlebug texture folders that were 40% off.  What a fun day I've had.

sketch inspiration

I Did IT!! Card 100!!

I really like the sketch from Fetch a Sketch 24 so much that I made two cards from my stash.  The strips that I used where from my stash that came on a 12x12 sheet.  I had used up quite a few of them and had just a few left.  I might as well use them up on these cards.  And drumroll please....these are actually card 99 and 100!!!  Whoop! Whoop!  Why is this such a big deal?  This means that I only purchased pearls from Michael's and a small roll of purple ribbon from a 2nd hand store totally $5.30 in the making of the first 100 cards.  And I didn't use any of these products on these cards.

inspiration

I am so on track with depleting my stash.  I hope I am encouraging others to deplete their stash too.  Maybe, just maybe we can trade part of our stash with others...wouldn't that be cool?

Just Us Girls 137

Just Us Girls has a Color Challenge 137 that must have been looking at my cards this past week or so.  The colors are....are you ready?  Wait for it....wait for it...Blue and Yellow!  Can you actually believe it?

Inspiration

My card was totally inspired by one of their DT members, Lynn.  I absolutely love daisies and was do drawn to this card.  But then I used Poseys for my flower of choice.  The flowers and leaves are dies from Sizzix.  I got this oh so French sentiment from Michaels.  I used embroidery floss at the bottom.  I even decorated the inside too. 

MOJO Monday 242

Just when I think I'm done making blue and yellow cards, I find another patterned paper in my stash that is calling my name.  The only thing is, I am running out of yellow, which is WONDERFUL!!!  My plan is working....(villain laugh inserted here).  I love seeing that my stash is truly being depleted.

I love the vertical stamps that I got from My Favorite Things.  I also got the rolled rose die from there too.  I decided to cut out about 20 or so of them in a variety of colors so I can add them to cards as needed.  I added a large pearl for the center.  And to think that I didn't know what I was going to do with those large pearls. 

I am entering this into Mojo Monday 242 sketch.  I have been to their site in a while.  They always have outstanding sketches with wonderful examples.  And they are too big or busy to leave comments from the people who enter their challenges.  As a designer, I think this is very important for challenges.  We all like to have a nice little something in our inboxes for the work we are proud of.

sketch inspiration

Pure Joy

I look forward to my days off that I can design cards.  I love looking at my fellow designer's blogs and their creations.  It only spurs me on to create more.  My first card was inspired by A La Card Monkey #109.  

Sketch Inspiration

  I absolutely love this elephant, such a happy guy.

I am also entering this into Friday Mashup: It's All Ribbons and Bows.

How fun is this!

CAS-ual Fridays 53

Yep, today is Friday and I surprisingly am not working today.  I spent the day prepping my card making by cutting my 12x12's into card size and scoring the cards.  I die cut a bunch of flowers for future cards. I watched some videos. Like this one from Lynn Ghahary. It's been fun organizing but times a wasting.

My card is inspired by Lynn Ghahary.  I didn't use my circle punches to make the flowers but I did for the leaves.  That was my first time doing that.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.  I tried not to overkill it with the pearls.  I added some other dies in the inside, which turned out rather cute.

I am entering this into CAS-ual Friday 53 challenge, using dies or punches.

Another Clean and Simple Card

As you can see, I am still in my yellow and blue color combo phase. I used several dies from My Favorite Things and from Spellbinders.  The sentiment is a rub on.  And I am so loving the pearls.  Still need to spruce up the inside.

 Always looking for great sketches to use up my stash.  Today I chose Clean&Simple 191. 

Clean and Simple 190 Card

I was still inspired to make blue and yellow cards.  I must apologize for the photography.  I am having a light box built and it's not quite ready.  Until then, my cards are kinda dark.  I will continue to find alternatives.

Clean and Simple 190 was my inspiration for these cards.  I got this cool saying set from Hero Arts about friends.  I mixed flowers from different Sizzix dies that I have for this nice accent.  I am glad to find a use for those use pearls.  I am super excited about making these cards because it used up quite a bit of my stash.

sketch inspiration

Blue and Yellow Cards

I started this Journey with sadness, having to say goodbye to my stash that I've been hoarding for years.  This week something happened.  I have gotten over the sadness and now look forward to seeing it gone.  I don't know why the switch in emotion for sure.  I think in my mind I know deep down inside that once it's gone, I get to reward myself with new stuff.  How silly is that!

Speaking of new stuff, I did have to break down and buy something.  My goal was not to buy anything and I've made 80+ cards without buying anything (applause, please).  I bought a package of pearls from Micheals.  It was a 480 pc pack that I used my coupon.  The total cost was $4.80.  How sweet is that?  A penny a pearl!

And I am attacking my stash with new vigor as well.  When I see a challenge, I like to make two cards instead of one if I can.  I saw Dynamic Duos has a Yellow and Blue color challenge. Ok, I thought it was blue.  Turns out it was green.  Oh well!  I looked through my uncut 12x12 paper and found this wonderful stripe.  I have enough to make 4 (or more) cards.  I've made these two so far.

I made this window card first.  I love the flowers.  I stamped a heart in green for the leaves.  I love how you can use stamps for something totally different that what it was intended.

This second card, I really liked the look of the sketch from Cardabilites #55. I really reached deep into my stash and found these fibers.  The sentiment stamp is from My Favorite Things. 

Oops!

I feel so bad that I let this go so long.  I designed a card for A La Card Monkey for the current challenge.  It's a very Girly Challenge.


Nothing says Girly like a vintage photo of a little girl standing on an alligator, right? Okay, this photo - found on Pinterest - cracked up Shirley and I, so I thought I'd use it for our A La Card Monkey Challenge #108: Girly + Sketch. Feel free to select a shape behind your main image that you have. We're looking for girly stuff like colors, lace, bling... whatever says "girly" to you. So have fun with it.

Here is my Girly Card:

Freshly Made Sketches 34

Forgive my photography skills here....trying out some new things

As I was rummaging through my craft cabinet, I came across this yellow fabric.  I think it was used at some point for a gift bag stuffing.  I love the sheerness, the crispness and of course the color of it.  I used my new swap meet find die to make lots of flowers.  I used the smaller flower on this card with about 10 layers.  By having a solid cardstock base, the petal shapes truly stand out.  This flower actually have a hole for the center.  That made it easy for me to add a button (I had to trim off the shank) and put 3-D tape underneath and held all the layers together. The leaves are a heart stamp that I stamped in green.   The light pink is some mulberry paper that I put a solid color underneath.  Otherwise, it was just too sheer for that I was going for.  As you can tell, I am trying to use up the rest of the stripe.  I've about got it all gone.  I used it in the inside of the card as well.

Sketch Inspiration

I used a sketch from Freshly Made Sketches 34.

CPS 264 and 365 Cards Day 69

It's it already Day 69 for 365 Cards?  I love these challenges when they have three items to combine into a card.  This day is 3 B's: Blue, Black and Button.

sketch inspiration

I chose to use CPS Sketch 264.

I was able to use those roll up flowers again.  This time I used two layers.  I tried to use them as one layer, but it certainly added dimension with the color variation.  The leaves are actually a heart stamp that I stamped in green and drew in veins with pencil.  The stamp is from Stampin Up! that I got as a prize.

Very Dimensional Card

I placed my first order with My Favorite Things this week and got these cute rolled up flowers and the monarch border, and Vertical greetings stamps and dies.  I had so much fun.  I made many more flowers in these colors than I used.  I loved it that I used up quite a bit of my stash, but added some new embellishments to my stash.

color inspiration

Our Creative Corner has a challenge for the Color Trifecta, yellow, kraft and ivory.

sketch inspiration

I used the sketch from iSpy Sketches 14

I was able to use all my new stuff on this one card.  I used yellow mulberry paper.  This scrap was a little thicker than some mulberry that I had in other colors.  I just found a little scrap, enough for the border and the flowers and it was gone.  Whoop!  For added accent I put those adorable pearls.  I am almost done with those.  And I am going to say right now, that I need to get more of those.  See, I used the word NEED not want.  I think it adds additional depth and texture to cards.

Journey Count: 84

I am doing my best to delete my stash.  I am getting a bit concerned because I am almost out of white cardstock.  I have white parchment and glossy white cardstock left.  I like the glossy, but it has a tendency to curl, so I am trying not to use it.  To be true to my journey, I may just have to.

I haven't done a card count in a while.  When I was done counting, I just couldn't believe it.  I've made 84 cards/project since starting this journey on Jan 1, 2012.  I have only purchased a small spool of purple ribbon that I bought at a resale shop for cheap.  I have won some fun products from A La Card Monkey. 

Making these 84 cards (mostly) doesn't even make a dent into my stash by looking at it.  I could make 840 projects and still have tons left.  I am up for the challenge still.  I hope I have encouraged a few more to take the challenge as well.

Ok, back to the card I made for Card Patterns: Sketch 164 challenge.  I just had a bit of the flower paper.  Enough for two cards.  I am saving the other half for my next card....I think.  The flower die from Sizzix has three flowers on it.  I got this die a couple weeks ago at a Swap Meet in Orange County.  What a surprise that trip was.  I stamped the bottom flower white a charcoal ink a itty bitty flower.  Popdots were used under the top blue flower.  The very top flower is pink vellum with a brown button center and a yellow dot.  The base paper is some old CTMH stash that I've had since the 90's.  I used the pearls and the edge trimmer that I won from A La Card Monkey.  This card is full of color and dimensions.

My inspiration

Shhh! It's a secret card

Last week, I had so much fun making bright colored cards with black.  I fell in love with the contrast.  So here I go again.  But you have to keep it hush-hush.  It's a card for my boyfriend's mother.  I wanted to make it extra special because I haven't even met her yet.  So this is actually my first point of contact with her.  I wanted to make a nice impression.  And to thank her for raising such a wonderful son.

It's super great that A La Card Monkey has "anything goes" with their challenge this week.

my inspiration

I simply love the sketch.  The MOM stamp are alphabets stamps from CTMH that someone gave me.  I was able to use LOTS of my stash.  I think the stripe is about gone.  I was really looking for something with a bit more orange in my stash....but (drumroll please), it's all gone.  I don't have anything.  This is good and bad.  Good because I'm using up my stash and bad because I love this color and now I have to find a substitute.  The yellow pompoms and the pearls are part of the prize I won from A La Card Monkey not too long ago.  I'm almost out of the pearls.  When those are gone, that will certainly be a sad day.  I may need to break my rule just a teeny tiny bit.

More and More Popsicles!

I am falling in love with this set.  I have designed so many cards with it and more ideas in my head.  The {Stamps} of Life is the only stamp club I belong to.  I get sent a wonderful set every month.  This month my mouth was watering at the Popsicles.  It shouts 'use up all your bright scraps', so I am!

This card was inspired from Wanda Cullen.  I loved the sketch, which she got from Verve.  I don't know how to upload to SCS yet, so I am not entering this one into a challenge.

This card is a totally different story.  As I was creating the first card, I found several strips of paper full of bright colors that would be perfect for these stamps.  I liked the idea of using black as a contrast with these colors.  Freshly Made Sketches #33 has the perfect sketch for my scraps.  I plan on making more cards with this sketch.

sketch inspiration

 So I thought I was out of the striped paper before, but found more when I started digging deeper.  I think that's it....or there's another card with these stamps.  I love depleting my stash.  It's bittersweet.  I love the colors and love using them.  And then they're gone.