Rainbow Birthday...Addicted to Stamps and More #109~Clean and Simple, CAS(E) this Sketch #88, Stretch Your Stamps 2

Hi all!  I'm delighted to share a DT card for the new Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #109: Clean and Simple.  

My creation today is one of my homework assignments from Day 7 of  Stretch Your Stamps 2 online card class,

inspired by Laura Bassen's lesson on transforming a graphic shaped stamp into a new shape.  I went with an image from my Annabelle Stamps Scribble Scrabble 2 set and pretty much cased Laura's card.  It's simple (especially to recreate), clean, crisp...and a wonderful way to see the possibilities of graphic stamps.

In fact, to show you how easy this technique is, I made a second one

sparked by CAS(E) this Sketch #88

Head over to see what the amazingly talented DT has created to whet your creative appetite, then whip up a CAS card of your own and share it in the gallery. The winner will receive a choice of 3 digis from

http://www.eurekastamps.com/

Looking forward to seeing your CAS-ilicious delights!

Thanks so much for dropping by; your visit and comments add sparkle to my day! 

Wedding Day...Uniko Studio Surprise Bridal Shower for Ren-yi; Uniko Studio Challenge #13: Special Occasions

Tuesday..a cloudy Tuesday with the threat of thunderstorms...and I'm feeling exponentially 'lazy' and in slow-motion mode today! So far, my accomplishments are nil! Yeesh!! I have several cards to post, so time to turn to that task and, hopefully rouse Mr. Mojo from wherever he's hiding.

Sweet, talented and within-mere-days-of-becoming-mom-to-twin-boys, Bev, from Uniko Studio, is hostessing a 'surprise' bridal shower for one of her DT members - Ren-yi - who is getting married on August. 22.  I've received a number of encouraging, uplifting comments from Ren-yi over the span of my blogging enterprise, so making a card for her was simply a given.  I went for a stroll to round up some inspiration, found it here, at the talented Kimberly Harris' site, rounded up my dies and the remnants of my one sheet of lovely 'collage' butterfly paper, and went a-creating...

My card features a three-layered Uniko butterfly and sentiment (congratulations is stamped inside), so in addition to posting this at the special * for Ren-yi* gallery, I'm also sharing at Uniko Studio Challenge #13: Special Occasions.

To Ren-yi and your new husband: wishing you a wonderful wedding day, filled with all the sparkles that come with such a special occasion, and a lifetime filled with an abundance of blessings! 

Oh goodness..that reminds me that our 3rd anniversary is right around the corner! Perhaps I should do something extra nice for my husband *grin*.  A surprise warranted for him having put up with me all this time.  At the moment, it will be a surprise to me, too, because no ideas are storming my brain...yet.  Chocolate cake would work. Hmmmm....

Thanks so much for dropping by; your visit and comments add sparkle to my day!

Two Little Roses...City Crafter Challenge #224 ~ ROSES, FUSION {Bright Floral Celebration}

A second post for this sunny Monday - and I'm 'this close' to one of the challenges closing, so I'll aim to be quick.

The in-a-nutshell review of yesterday's casino volunteering: not particularly demanding in terms of casino tasks (in our 9 hour shift, I did one chip run and my husband did four), but totally enjoyable in chatting with a few cyclists we know - also volunteering - and meeting some new ones. A couple women riders, who ride for a team sponsored by Crave cupcakes, arrived with...yes, cupcakes to share! Mini cupcakes, laced with mega icing...my husband was in his glory!  Sweet gals to bring sweet treats. Although I'm fully capable of nattering my face off for 9 hours, I didn't. My book received some attention (quite interesting!) and then, I was distracted from reading because my husband, flipping channels on the TV in our little volunteer enclosure, landed on a 'bring back the memories' show: Love Boat! I loved the Love Boat back in the day...along with Fantasy Island (Friday night excitement!), and Dark Shadows, and Knight Rider...The time, overall, passed quickly. He tootled off for his second, and final, casino shift, this morning and I stayed home, doing what I do most...

New Uniko stamps received some attention, and I created two cards that are heading off to City Crafter Challenge #224~Roses

and FUSION~Bright Floral Challenge

These little roses are darling, with their sweet leaves, so I decided to give them center stage on my very simple and cas cards.  One with and one without a sentiment, just because...

I'll be back soon with some of my online Stretch Your Stamps 2 homework; some are done and ready to post, others are in various stages of completion, or incompletion...Need to finish, because the gallery in class will be closing soon! Hope you'll bear with as I share my assignments...

NOTE:  Honoured and thrilled that Julia selected my cards for Honourable Mention at FUSION. THANK YOU!!!

Thanks so much for dropping by; your visit and comments add sparkle to my day!

Celebrate...Guest Designer for STAMPlorations Bi-Weekly Sketch Challenge #18

Hello!

No Monday morning blues here because I'm thrilled and honoured to be the Guest Designer for STAMPlorations Bi-Weekly Sketch Challenge #18!  Thank you to the amazingly talented STAMPlorations team for inviting me to play alongside them with this sketch:

I took a bit of a 'liberty' in widening the front panel (sorry...), but I had, had and had to use the cake stamp and it wanted space to show off its triple tiers, layers of decorative icing and all around sweetly decadent essence.  When you're this pretty, you get all the space you need *grin*.  All background are sponged; all stamps are STAMPlorations, found here and here.

Head over to the STAMPlorations site to see what the team has created; you'll be inspired x 100000000 to play along!!  Hope my little card brought a Monday morning smile...

Thanks so much for dropping by; your visit and comments add sparkle to my day!

Wish...CASology Week 108~Magic

Sunday morning and we're heading off for our volunteering gig right away.  No crafting from me.  I may have to read a book to while away the time (hope I remember how *grin*) and I have one ready to go. I"m quite intrigued by the premise of The Painted Girls, by Cathy Buchanan,

especially since my amazing sister-in-law has a strong ballet background, having trained at the Royal Ballet in London.  Here's a snippet of the novel's overview, from the author's website, that drew me in: 

"A heartrending, gripping novel set in belle époque Paris and inspired by the real-life model for Degas’s Little Dancer Aged 14 and by the era's most famous criminal trials."  

Since I know little about ballet, I'm excited to see what I'll learn, and I do love the promise of mystery...

 I'm rushing in to share my cas card for this week's CASology Week 108 Challenge: Magic

New Uniko stamps debuting, paired with little bits of red and gold foil paper...

NOTE: Honoured and delighted that Tracey M selected my card as an Honourable Mention over at CASology! THANK YOU!!!

Thanks so much for dropping by; your visit and comments add sparkle to my day!

Summer Treats...AAA Cards #15~Enjoy Summer Foods, 4 Crafty Chicks #207: Pink, Turquoise and LIme

Hello!

A rainy, cool Saturday yesterday; perfect conditions to spend the day at my craft counter, trying to catch up on my Stretch Your Stamps 2 homework (some epic fails with trying to make a wreath a la the style of Julie Ebersole...issues with 'random' stamping...).  In so doing, however, I totally missed posting my very simple, yet fun-to-make card for AAA Cards #15: Enjoy Summer Foods challenge

with a colourful 'treat' inspired by the talented team over at 4 Crafty Chicks #207: Pink, Turquoise and Lime

Except for the sentiment, all die cuts. Yayyyy....

This leads me to an announcement: in an effort to keep my last remaining nerve intact, the distress inks/markers and I have decided we need a separation to determine exactly what our future relationship, if any, holds.  Aside from some sponging visits, we're having nothing to do with one another, particularly water-colouring!  A de-stress from distress is required! Truly, they're fabulous products, but right about now the land of Enough is Enough has been reached.  We'll likely reconcile at some point, but for now, I'm focusing on dies and 'normal' inks for a bit. Feeling a bit rusty (as the simplicity of this card shows), but I'll get back into a groove...Happy, happy, happy me...

We're volunteering at a casino all day (blech). On the plus side, if we have internet connections, comment catch-up time!!

Thanks so much for dropping by; your visit and comments add sparkle to my day!

:

Just a Note...Inkspirational Challenge #63: Red, Orange and Yellow, Seize the Sketch #26

Hello! I hope your Saturday is off to an excellent start, and that it gets even better as the day goes on!

Once again, I'm delighted to share with you some inspiration for Inkspirational Challenge #63:

As is often the case, I made two cards; first, as back ups in case one didn't turn out as expected and second, because they literally took very little time to make, once the 'pings' harmonized.

Card 1 is a red-orange-yellow sponged number, using memento dew drop inks, then stamped with my script stamp in SU Real Red.  I die cut a NBUS note from CAS-ual Fridays, added a wee tag (I wasn't going to, since I figured the solo note was self-explanatory, but then reversed my decision...), and ta dahhh....Done!

Red embossing powder would look cool with the script...coloured EPs are on my wish list.

My second card is a sponging repeat, this time showcasing my NBUS Memory Box Cheshire flower. A simple and versatile card to use for any variety of occasions.

The Design Team has created delightful cards to spark your creativity; you can see them at Inkspirational, as well as on their blogs found here:

Marina

Sandie

Shauna

Yvonne

Nonni

Pia

Kim (family time)

I know they'd welcome your visit and comments.

Red, orange, yellow - choose two or all three colours - and let your creativity run wild! Ink up a card and share it with us; winners will have the opportunity to be Guest Designers for a future challenge.

By the way: thank you to everyone who participated in the previous "Designer's Choice: Use Markers and/or Pencils" challenge - you bowled us over with the number of entries!! WOW!!

Looking forward to seeing you in the gallery!

I'm also submitting my cards to Seize the Sketch #26

Thanks so much for dropping by; your visit and comments add sparkle to my day!