One Layer CAS Holiday Card

This is the fifth weekend, so that means a wild card week over at Just Us Girls. Today Nancy is challenging us to create a one layer card with a winter theme. What a great challenge! You have no where to hide with a one layer card! 

I had fun with this and used a technique I saw awhile back on Jennifer Maguire's blog. She showed a way to use your dies to emboss with. I grabbed the Frostyville border die from Memory Box. 

Let me show you how I made this card. I have a Big Shot so I will be showing the technique using it

I opened my platform to page one and put one plate down. I put down the soft mat, then my card base, the die, second plate and a metal shim.

I ran this through my machine.

The image will be embossed but not cut through because of the soft mat under the card.

I sponged blue ink over the embossing to make it stand out and added stickles to make it glittery and added a sentiment. Quick and easy and ohhhh so pretty!

Please head over to JUGS and see what the other design team made and be inspired to join us in this one layer wild card challenge.

Return to our roots Memory Box style

My focus as a returning design team member for Memory Box, is returning to our roots. Please check out Memory Box's Outside the Box blog to see what I am talking about.

Send in the clowns, a circus holiday

How does a photo inspiration challenge jump start your creativity? 

As I was adding my card to the Just Us Girls blog, I got a chance to see what my fellow team members came up with. I was so amazed with their creativity. They really think outside the box! Me? I tend to take these challenges to literally. I can't help it, it is just way my mind thinks.

I liked the results of my card this week, but does have a somewhat "circus holiday" feel. Well, I know a few clowns, I can send this too!! :) Only kidding!

Let me know the photo inspires you. Is it the colors? the patters? the layout? or the images? I can't wait to see what you all come up for this great photo challenge at JUGS

Let it snow!

Last week we had our first hint of snow, snow showers on the way to work. Areas north of me received a dusting and yet today it was 60 degrees! I say enough is enough! I am ready for winter and I am ready for it to snow! Just in time for this week's sketch challenge at Try Stampin' on Tuesday.

I had fun with this challenge. I turned the sketch on its side, just so my sentiment would fit!! 

The background turned out gorgeous- looks like scrap book paper huh? It is a big background stamp from Impression Obsession-Snowflakes. I love this stamp and it inks so well. I won a challenge at Just Add Ink using it with red ink last year. 

Let this great sketch kick start your creativity and join us at TSOT this week!

Crossover card...

Last week's technique challenge at Just Us Girls really inspired me, especially after I saw all the cool cards everyone made! I had fun continuing to play with the technique and incorporated this weeks color challenge and last week's challenge. I love this week's color challenge- reds and browns- great holiday colors!

I had such fun with this technique that I made it with red, gold and white.

And I made it in kraft and turquoise.

Which one do you like? Please join us at Just Us Girls this week for this great color challenge!

I'm baaaaaaaackkkkkkkk.......

Today is my return to the Memory Box design team!! I had to step down for awhile due to the demands of school.

Please hop over to the MB blog Outside the Box to check out how I made this card- there are a few tricks involved!

Unconventional Christmas

Today at House of Cards we are having a color challenge. Wow, I just loved the color combo!! Gorgeous red oranges, apricots and  greens. Usually, I am moaning about the challenges, but this one spoke to me! During the summer I bought this holiday set from Papertrey Ink called Snowflake Flurries. It didn't necessarily read holiday to me, which made it really useful. 

This is the first set I grabbed, after spending some fun time going through all my inks to find ones that matched the challenge. I thought about popping some of the flakes up, but it just looked too busy. While the colors are unconventional for the holidays this card just says Christmas to me. A bit of bling and this CAS card was finished.

Please join us for this great color challenge at the House of Cards!

Holiday Word Salad

This week's challenge at Just Us Girls is what I call "word salad", some others call it subway art. It involves using sayings as the central design of the card. It is a great way to use many sayings all in one card.

Check out Jennifer Maguire's blog posting on this technique.

I didn't add anything extra to my card, because I found the diversity of fonts, sayings and colors fun in  and of themselves. The technique isn't hard but I did have to plan a bit at first.

I laid out all the sayings I wanted to use on a block and stamped it off to test the design.

As you can see I did change it up a bit because some of the proportions just didn't work for me. I used a plethora of companies for this card. I am not going to tell you unless you specifically ask. I want to you to use what you have. i know all of you will have more then enough to make a great card!

Here it is done in shades of blues, works just as well huh?

I really can not wait to see what all of you come up with for this awesome and challenging challenge at JUGS this week.

Life is Beautiful

The theme to go with the sketch this week at Try Stampin' on Tuesday is vintage. Yikes! This has never been anything that I dabbled in. In fact I really had to go through my stamps and papers to find stamps that might work. Plus I had to do a bit of research on the net. 

I will let all of you be the judge of what I created. Is it "vintagey" enough? 

I started with the "lace border" from Papertrey Ink's Love and Marriage set in distress ink colors, victorian velvet and bundled sage. I built the card from this stamp and colors. I added the dogwood stamp from Hero Arts colored in matching colors with copic markers. I used some vintage rose paper that I distressed and the Memory Box trellis die. The card is finished off with this great saying from Papertrey Ink's Meadow Greens set.

While this was "fun" and it really stretched me- let me get back to what I enjoy and am good at- CAS with a cute and whimsical bend.

Please show me how it is done, by joining us in the challenge at Try Stampin' on Tuesday!

Holiday Mojo

Last Thursday I spent the day putting my Halloween stamps away with a sad face. I quickly was smiling again though when I pulled my Christmas stamps out. 

I know it is scary everyone, but Christmas is just seven and a half weeks away! Time to get started on all of your holiday projects. 

The best way to get your holiday mojo going is by participating in today's sketch challenge over at Just Us Girls.

I have to admit it took me quite a bit of time to get the right size strips for my card. Once that was done, the rest was easy. I pulled out a set called Polar Bear from Frogs Whiskers Ink. The bear reminds me of the polar bear in the old coke commercials.

You all blew me away with the response from last weeks challenge. Lets keep up the momentum and please join us for today's sketch challenge.