a heart to heart adventure

The Fab Friday color challenge is perfect for a Valentine card, don't you think?  I replaced the colors used by the designer on the sample card on page 3 of the new January-June Mini Catalog:

stamp set - Heart to Heart; ink - Poppy Parade, Rococo Rose, Highland Heather, Sahara Sand; card stock - Whisper White, Sahara Sand; die cutting machine with Detailed Hearts, Stitched Labels and Rectangle Stitched dies; Whisper White baker's twine and Peaceful Poppies sequins

I made a few other changes.  The biggest change was using a sponge brayer instead of water color wash for the die cut piece.  It seemed easier to me because I'm not really confident with my water color skills.  A wash may be the easiest way to water color, but I never like the way mine turn out.  I used the narrow strips left at the edges of the card stock after die cutting the detailed hearts for the sentiment and accent strips.

adventures with Christmas cards and other challenges

I'm still up-to-date with #365somethings2018 which is #365cards2018 for me. Here are cards 23 through 29:

Why, yes, there is a new Christmas card, on the left in the center row - I used the Fab Friday sketch and the Jingle Belles prompt "Text Me":

stamp set (on envelope) - Patterned Pines (hostess, retired); card stock - Real Red, Old Olive; designer series paper - Merry Music (retired), Christmas Around the World (retired); punch - Decorative Ribbon Border

I made another Christmas card today, using the expired (oops!) fairy theme from 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, which I think paired brilliantly with the new Merry Monday prompt for pastel colors:

stamp set - Endless Wishes (retired), Christmas Fairy (from Cardmaking © Origin Publishing); inks - Sweet Sugarplum, Soft Sky, Pink Pirouette Sahara Sand; blender pen; Stampin' Write marker - Soft Sky; Wink of Stella - gold (retired), clear; card stock - Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Soft Sky; Big Shot with Deco Labels framelits (retired)

I'm not claiming the decision to make the fairy sparkly gold was as brilliant as the fairy + pastel colors pairing, though :\ I'm trying to reserve judgement on that for now.

For another challenge, I completed my #12PaperClipsOf2018 for the February "hearts" theme, and gave away three of them.  I'll use mine in my planner, to help keep me organized, and to qualify at Cut It Up! Challenge:

stamp sets - Labeler Alphabet, Heart Happiness; ink - Versamark; Stampin' Emboss powder - white; card stock - Real Red, Whisper White; punch - Cookie Cutter Builder; Big Shot with Sweet & Sassy framelits; Fine-Tip glue pen  

Finally, I'm also still up-to-date with #LlamasLoveLettering for January 2018, but I'll spare you a picture since there is much scribbling on that page now :0  I've learned to appreciate the "crop" requirement for Instagram posts!  

I could probably stick with a daily challenge for one more month, but I'm not really excited about doodling or lettering.  I've been toying with going back to the 4x4 format, which I originally tried for the 100 days project; maybe 28 faces...

adventure with a sketch for any occasion

Frequently I have trouble falling asleep while visions of stamping challenges dance in my head. Recently, the swirling thoughts brought together CAS(E) this Sketch! #254 and my newest stamp set, which I think will be perfect for wedding/anniversary cards as well as Valentine's Day and the Watercooler Wednesday Occasions challenge:

stamp sets - Heart Happiness, Sunshine Sayings; ink - Rose Red; card stock - Rose Red, Whisper White regular and thick; Big Shot with Stitched Shapes and Sweet & Sassy framelits

My next thought was the We Three Kings challenge at Jingle Belles, and the colour challenge from 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, which also work well with the same sketch:

stamp sets - Santa's Sleigh, Colorful Seasons (on envelope); ink - Real Red; card stock - Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Real Red; designer series paper - Wood Textures; Big Shot with Pinewood Planks dynamic embossing folder, Seasonal Layers and Swirly Scribbles thinlits

snowman & love adventure

I saved a link to this cute card of Laura's earlier this month, and when I saw the Paper Craft Crew sketch this week, I had to try my own version:

stamp set: All Things Thanks; ink - Tempting Turquoise; card stock - Tempting Turquoise, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Peekaboo Peach, Basic Black, Watermelon Wonder; Big Shot with Snow Friends and Layering Ovals framelits and Softly Falling embossing folder; Fringe Scissors

I have one spouse, two grandsons, and three children; I've already made four full-size and three mini-size Valentine cards this year - more than I need - so I almost skipped Libby's Love in Red on White Clean and Simple Challenge at the Watercooler this week.  But, I had an extra strip of the pop-up heart border that I'd cut earlier from Real Red when I wanted Cherry Cobbler, and I wondered what the heart framelit with the extra middle strip was supposed to do, so here they are:

stamp set - My Hero; ink - Real Red; card stock - Real Red, Whisper White; Metallic Sequins; Big Shot with Love Notes framelits

Since I'm pretty sure I'm really done making Valentines, now, I'd like to also link up at Stampin' Royalty for #361. And, I guess I can save one of the cards for our anniversary, since red is Tom's favorite color...

clean and simple triple play adventure

At one of my favorite hangouts, the Watercooler, Marsha requested CAS with hearts.  I found the perfect (after I rotated it) sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch!.  And since the lovely ladies at Less is More prompted us to add dimension, I cut and stacked three sentiments and used our convenient foam-tape hexagons to give the focal layer a little extra height over the base layer:

ink - Real Red; Stampin' Sponge; decorative mask - Hearts & Stars; card stock - Real Red, Whisper White; Stampin' Dimensionals

Because I love to combine challenges and that's exactly what Pile it On promotes, I'll link this card there, too, for their "any holiday or special occasion" theme.

Thanks for stopping by today!

love adventure

Perhaps you've guessed that I love adventure, even simple everyday ones.  When I started my blog, I couldn't think of a name, but I thought, "Well, it's an adventure."  Every now and then when we've been going along with no agenda, just whatever comes up, I ask Tom, "What's next, Mr. Adventure?"  So you know I thought Stampin' Up!® designed this stamp set with us in mind, and it was meant to be my valentine card for him this year:

stamp set - Going Global; ink - Versamark; Stampin' Emboss powder - silver; card stock - Whisper White, Real Red, Brushed Silver (retired); punches - Sweetheart, Itty Bitty Accents; Big Shot with Happy Hearts embossing folder

I almost didn't get a card made, since I've been battling the flu, but the hearts and metallics at Cupcake Inspirations gave me the impetus I needed to get started.  Here are some other Valentine/Love/Heart challenges I'd like to join:

Cardz 4 Guyz - Valentine or Love

Cards in Envy - From the Heart

Little Red Wagon - Happy Valentines Day

Stamp Ink Paper - Love 

a very vintage adventure

For my Card Buffet at the end of this month, I had five designs picked out, one bright Valentine card and two masculine designs which could be Valentine or birthday cards.  I didn't have anything feminine in the lineup at all - the other two are gender-neutral thinking of you cards.  I really thought something frilly that could be a Valentine or a birthday card was called for, but it took me some time to find the right inspiration - Lesley posted it at the Challenge today, so I paired it with Match the Sketch #107:

stamp sets - A Dozen Thoughts, Rose Wonder, Timeless Textures; ink - Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Tip Top Taupe; card stock - Blushing Bride, Very Vanilla; Big Shot with Deco Labels framelits; 1" dotted lace trim - Tip Top Taupe; Very Vintage buttons

four-letter word adventure

When I first saw MtS 105 at Match the Sketch, the four blocks looked like numbers to me (as in 2-0-1-6) - a lot of people saw that, but I didn't need a New Year card.  Suddenly it popped into my head that the four blocks could be letters, and l-o-v-e would fit perfectly. Sunday Stamps posted a sweet Valentine color combination, so they came together like this:

stamp sets - Morning Post (retired); I Love Lace (retired); ink - Crumb Cake, Rose Red; card stock - Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake; punch - Postage Stamp (retired); Big Shot with Pretty Print embossing folder (retired) and Hello You thinlits

When I was fairly new at demonstrating Stampin' Up!® products, I thought I needed an alphabet stamp set.  It was a fun set but I didn't use it much.  Then it retired, and when this set was introduced I loved it and thought it would be much more versatile than the previous set, so I bought it.  Then it retired, and I bought another set that I thought would be much more versatile.  sigh.  I did learn from the error of my ways, and have not bought another set since, but I had to *mount* half of this set to use it!  While I was pulling out retired products, I decided to go all out - besides the ink and card stock, the only other current item is the die.

Valentine love hearts adventures

Yes, I know I'm a day late for Valentines' but I'm not really a dollar short - the hearts challenge at Cards in Envy, the love challenges at CASology and House of Cards, and the Valentine challenges at The Pink Elephant Challenge and The Watercooler Challenge are still current.  And, I didn't want to post my sweetheart's card before he had a chance to see it.  He doesn't read my blog often - ok, only once that I know of - but you never know, this might have been the week ;)

stamp set - Teeny Tiny Wishes; ink - Real Red; card stock - Silver Glimmer, Red Glimmer, Whisper White, Real Red; punches - Sweetheart, Word WIndow, Modern Label; Big Shot with Decorative Dots embossing folder

I'm not going to try to take any credit for this sublimely clean and simple card, it's the design my upline brought to our team meeting shoebox swap.  

This next card, which I think is the focal point of the Stick It Down card sketch, was the shoebox swap from another team member:

stamp set - {well, I'm embarrassed to admit I have no idea - anyone?}; ink - Melon Mambo; card stock - Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive; pumches - Itty Bitty Accents, 7/8" Scallop Circle, 1" circle, 1/2" circle

I thought about putting it on an A2 card front so it would more nearly match the sketch, but it's just too darn cute this way, so I left it alone.

CAS valentine adventure

Although I don't usually send many valentine cards, I wanted to make one for a male friend who's had kind of a tough year.  It needed to be clean and simple, and I expected it to qualify at The Pink Elephant and The Card Concept (because I love my friends) as well as CASology (friend theme) and Addicted to Stamps and More! (holiday theme).  I was inspired by the photo at Just Us Girls, especially the colors (except for the pink bits) and I intended to have a single red heart with a small sentiment as the focal point.  I also planned to use it as the shoebox swap card at my upline's team meeting, so everything needed to be currently available from Stampin' Up!®.  Imagine my surprise (and shock!) when I realized that I still don't own the Sweetheart punch!  I will correct that with my next order, but meanwhile I replaced the planned heart with a bow:

stamp set - none! (oh, Teeny Tiny Wishes on the inside); card stock - Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White; punch - Bow Builder; Big Shot with Happy Heart embossing folder

It may not still qualify at all of the challenges, since the purpose isn't obvious with the sentiment on the inside, but it qualifies at Pile It On, as it does still have hearts.

a back-in-the-saddle adventure

Yeah, not a really good analogy, but it's all I've got this evening.  Well, that and this card:

stamp sets - Hardwood, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Hearts a Flutter (on envelope); ink - Cherry Cobbler, Smoky Slate; card stock - Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White; punches - Small Heart, Modern Label, Word Window; bakers twine - Cherry Cobbler

I used this (current!) sketch from Freshly Made Sketches to make a Valentine card for The Pink Elephant Challenge (and Tom!).  {edited to add} - I intended to link this to the current Punch Parade challenge at SUO Challenges, as well, having used three different punches.  I was pretty pleased with myself for using the Word Window as an actual "window" in the Modern Label, and not just a layer on top -I don't know how I could have forgotten that.

Hmmm - I could have mounted the sentiment a little higher, but otherwise really really close.

I found my cable, uploaded my photos, and noticed I only clicked the shutter button 3 times in January.  Since two were photos for the insurance company's housing coordinator so she could arrange for additional rental pieces, that's pretty sad.  I did find my cable, now I just have to be inspired to get the camera out of its bag a little more often.  It will certainly help that I've started (one is a start!) making cards again.

adventures with excitement

whoot whoot! (that would be me tooting my own horn)   My Meljen's Monkey Toes card made the Top Three at Shopping Our Stash - I'm so excited!  Next week after Andrew receives it, I may make him and Heather read my blog.  ;) 

Speaking of reading my blog, it's a good thing Tom doesn't (unless I make him read it), because I'm so excited about this card that I can't stand not to show it off:

stamp sets - Take it to Heart, Petite Pairs; ink - Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride; Stampin' Write Marker - Riding Hood Red; card stock - Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride; punch - Heart to Heart, Hearts collection framelits dies, Blushing Bride 3/8" pleated satin ribbon, Bitty Buttons, white Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals

I saw the original on the Stampin' Addicts Occasions Blog Hop a couple of weeks ago.  I printed the sample and it was watermarked so I thought I could credit the original creator - Paula Wright - but it didn't have quite enough info, so I had to learn to use Google image search to find it today.  I'm pretty excited about that, too.  And that I made that Petite Pairs stamp set say what I wanted to say by judicious use of my Stampin' Write marker and stamp-a-majig.  (hmmm maybe I'm a little easily excited today...)

 

I made this card last week for three challenges, and then my computer froze up, I got busy with life, and it didn't get posted in time.  I still want to share it (hope you don't mind):

stamp sets - Take it to Heart, Curly Cute; ink - Concord Crush, Wisteria Wonder; card stock - Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush; punches - Postage Stamp, Full Heart; Hearts Collection framelits dies, Stampin' Dimensionals, stamp-a-majig, stamping sponge

I had a color scheme from Less is More (predominantly purple) a theme (All You Need is Love) from The Paper Players and a sketch from Unscripted Sketches, so the card nearly made itself. I was kind of excited about that, too. Now if I could just get the blog posts to write themselves, it wouldn't be too late to play along.  It's always fun to browse the other entries, don't let my lack of timeliness stop you from following the links.  :)