A toughy

This weeks Simply Scrapping Crafts card challenge is tough, no lying. I was going to sit it out, but then I challenged myself to participate, and I did! Here's the result....

The tag was made using a lovely sentiment from the Crafts Meow "Timeless Tags", and the hemp cord I used was originally cream, but I dyed it to a kraft color to match the cardstock.

Oh, and I've almost completed the move from my shoppe on the sidebar to my shoppe blog - take a look, and let me know what you think! :) I've majorly reduced the prices for the seam binding, and I've added some new colors!
Also entering this into the Moxie Fab World Fanatical about Botanical challenge - I really do love piling flowers on cards, but as of late, I've tried to tone it down to suit customer needs. ;)

Thanks so much for stopping in and have a great day! :)

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Card recipe
Cardstock: Bazzil
Patterned paper: Crate Paper "Portrait"
Stamp: The Crafts Meow "Timeless Tags"
Ink: Staz-on
Other: die cut (Crate Paper), twine (Bearydo Shoppe)

Tools: trimmer, adhesive, scissors, hole punch

You mooove me

...isn't that such a cute sentiment?! 

A quick post and quick card for this weeks Lawnscaping challenge - stamp a scene! Okay, so mine is a very CAS scene, but one nonetheless! 

This cow was just to much fun to paper piece! Can't wait to pair him up (I've named him Brunton after our local dairy which has the best chocolate milk!) with some of those new farm-themed lines coming out...Crate or October Afternoon's "Farmhouse" specifically. ;)

Anyways, I promised a quick post, so have a great day!

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Card recipe
Cardstock: LSS
Patterned paper: Making Memories
Stamp: Lawn Fawn "Critters on the Farm"
Ink: Staz-on
Other: brad

Tools: trimmer, adhesive, sewing machine, scissors, Glossy Accents

One of many

...cards that I have made with THIS stamp set - what can I say except, love! This card is made using this weeks PTI Make-it-Monday challenge (dry brushing), the Little Red Wagon challenge (music notes), and the Moxie Fab World challenge (fanatical about botanical).

I thought the card was lacking a little bit somewhere, so I added some glitter to the flowers - glitter is my new favorite thing right now. Oh, and the fabric is from an old, stained tablecloth we had that was about to get thrown away when I snatched it. :)

This big doily came from a package our grandma gave us to use for the cookie table at the wedding. I've heard this is a Pittsburgh/PA thing, so in case you haven't heard of it, I'll explain. At the wedding reception, there is always a large table full of cookies that the bride's family and friends have made, and afterward, guests can take some home. Even though a lot of cookies got eaten at the reception, there was still a ton left over - we are slowly making our way through the boxes and boxes of leftover cookies. ;)

And hard to tell from the photos, but the card base is stamped in white with Hero Arts "Music Background", with the sides being masked off. I can't help it, but lately I've been wanting to put music notes in everything I create lately...I've been listening to lots of piano music lately while I craft, which is probably the reason. My fave right now is THIS song...so beautiful, and the pianist plays it so well - I keep listening to it over and over again! ;)

Well, that's all for me today - enjoy your weekend!

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Card recipe
Cardstock: Core-dinations, Bazzil
Stamps: PTI "Garden Variety" and "Tag Its #2", Hero Arts "Music Background" and "Thinking of You Messages"
Ink: Ranger "Walnut Stain", "Shabby Shutters" and "Worn Lipstick", Studio G
Other: string, New Leaf seam binding, button, doily, glitter (Martha Stewart)

Tools: trimmer, adhesive, scissors, Cuttlebug, PTI die

Best Wishes

...for the new year. - lol! I wrote this post in December and was planning on posting it for New Years! Obviously got a little off schedule. ;)

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos - I like to take my pictures outdoors, which doesn't really work in the winter (when I took these). Indoor photos always come out a lot duller than the outdoor ones, and the details are harder to see.

How 'bout that paper though? Gorgeous, isn't it? Websters Pages "Postcards to Paris", my absolute FAVE collection from them. Got the 6x6 pad about two years, and now there are only bits and pieces left, something that can't be said for any other 6x6 paper pad I've ever had. Yum! :)


Oh, and the ribbon is from my shoppe - it's called Chocolate Milk. Don't you think it looks like chocolate milk? I do, and I should know, since I had some today. ;)

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

PS: the latest SSC challenge is up! Check it out HERE!

PPS:

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Card recipe
Cardstock: Bazzil
Patterned paper: Websters Pages "Postcards from Paris"
Stamp: Sugarloaf
Ink: Tim Holtz "Walnut Stain", Colorbox
Ribbon: Chocolate milk seam binding
Other: Doily

Tools: trimmer, adhesive, scissors, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, fabric

This day

....(or rather yesterday as had planned on scheduling this post for tomorrow, but got too busy), I do not "lose a sister, but gain a brother". Though I love the 'gain a brother' part as her new husband is awesome, I almost feel like I am losing the sister, as she's moving down to Texas. Such a long ways away from Pennsylvania. :( On the bright side, we will be going down there as often as possible, which is fun! :)

The card I made for the newly wedded pair...

Image look familiar? That's cuz the rose is a mini of the rose we used for the invitations - used it on purpose to remind my sister of the fun times putting those together, though if she'll recognize it or not, I'm not sure...maybe I'll let her know inside. ;)

It was rather a pain to do all the masking, painting, re-masking and painting again, but I had fun and it made me feel very accomplished - I'm not the type of cardmaker that like to put a ton of work into inking/stamping techniques, as I usually end up not liking it and throwing it away. But this one came out almost exactly like I pictured it - love it when that happens!!
Entering this in the Moxie Fab World Fanatical about Botanical challenge. :)

Well, I'm off to relax the rest of this day...maybe craft a little, because with this wedding, I haven't made a card in ages...well, maybe not ages, but it feels like it! ;)

Thanks so much for stopping in and for your super sweet comments - I really appreciate them!

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Card recipe
Cardstock: Unknown
Stamps: PTI
Pearls: Zva Creative
Coloring tools: Prismacolor watercolor pencils

Tools: trimmer, scissors

Another banner card

....even though I said before I wasn't into the whole banner thing. Turns out, I kinda like it now, though I haven't done it too much. :)

This card was made for this weeks Simply Scrapping Crafts challenge - you gals are really rocking the challenge so far! I smile when I see those fabby entries! For those who haven't jumped in yet, there's a great prize up for grabs - check it out HERE.

Though it's impossible to see in the photo (and hard IRL), I debossed the banners with GCD Studios Chip Art tools.
And I think it's kinda funny how my second banner card is so similar to my first - primary colors, simple layout, kraft & white, same stamp set, more string - well, you get the idea. ;)

Just a quickie post - my sister kinda dropped a bomb on me a couple days ago when she asked me to make 50 program fans for the wedding, which is this Saturday, so I'm rather short on time.

Anyways, have a lovely day! :)

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Card recipe
Cardstock: LSS, DCWV, Bazzil
Stamp: "Sending Smiles" by Hero Arts
Ink: Ranger 'Walnut Stain'
Other: string

Tools: trimmer, adhesive, scissors, Chip Art tool, Glossy Accents

Sweet friends

...that I'm feeling so very grateful for tonight. Things have been a whirlwind around here with less than a week to go till the wedding, and I'm afraid I've been sorely neglecting my lovely blogger pals. :( To make up for this, I'm going to post a giveaway soon, and I'm going to pass an award I received recently to you!

My super sweet friend Amy gave me this award...

...I have to say how happy I am to be considered Amy's friend - not only is she super talented, but she's also one of the sweetest, most genuine, funniest, outgoing crafters I've made. Even though we're not on the same dt now, we've still managed to stay good pals. Love you, Amy! :)

So now I'm supposed to pass this on to six other crafters - I'm going against the rule and giving to all of my wonderful blog readers. There's no way to narrow this down, as I (luckily) have many super talented crafting pals with amazing blogs, so I'm passing this on to anyone reading this very silly (but heartfelt) post.

And now I share seven things about me...

I love cows (yeah, Amy!!! :)

I can live with spiders, but centipedes freak. me. out.

I am a homeschooler with eight (well, technically nine since the last wedding, and soon to be ten!) siblings (who were also homeschooled)

I feel terrible about neglecting my blog pals. Seriously. I'm awful. :(

I sometimes pretend my new ATG gun is a real gun, just so I can make my siblings laugh at me and my silliness. ;)

I like most music (except rap and some country music), and my current favorite music to listen to while I craft/get on the computer, is classical music. Particularly THIS song. It's beautiful. Really. Please listen to it - if you don't like it, well,...I'll send you a card to make up for it.

I. Love. Cookies. Don't ever leave me with a bowl full of chocolate chip cookies, or you might find them all gone by the time you come back!

Well, night folks - I'll have a post for you tomorrow...maybe even two, depending on how busy I am. :)

Have a beautiful one!

Backyard inspiration

Hey everyone! Clare here today, and I'm so excited to be sharing some projects using some of Donna Salzaars gorgeous papers!

For my projects, I decided to take some inspiration from pics around our home this summer - first up, some gorgeous flowers in the back yard...

These are just so beautiful! It gets so busy around the bushes - you can hear the loud humming of insects as they wander to and fro.
Anyways, onto the card...

As you can see, I was mainly inspired by the colors here - I also added the butterfly, because I saw them hovering around the flowers, though I was never quick enough to get a pic.

I distressed the gorgeous Spring in Bloom collection with some white ink to calm down all the colors.

For my second card, I took inspiration from our pool (also in the back)...

Lookin' at the blue and greens in that makes me so happy!
Here is a card using some of those (much toned down) greens and blues...

The wood paneling surrounding one side of the pool inspired me to use this canvas cloth like paper, also from the Spring in Bloom collection.

And now I'm going to tell you how I got the glitter on my butterfly, and on my trees...

For the butterfly, squirt out some of the Essential Glue pad refill on to scrap paper, and brush over butterfly. For the trees, use a paintbrush (I'm using a tiny one!) and go over the area well with Essential Glue pad refill.
In both instances, make sure you wait about five to ten minutes before you add the glitter - that way the glitter will stick better than if you put it on right away.

Thanks so much for looking!

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Supplies
Butterfly card:
Spring sky for GCD Studios
Peachy dream for GCD Studios
S'mores for GCD Studios
Chip Art Chipboard Shapes Small Frames by GCD Studios
Chip Arts Alphabet Stamps Sparrow - Numbers and Glyphs by GCD Studios


Tree card:
Spring blooms for GCD Studios
White Colored Rose for GCD Studios
Peachy dream for GCD Studios

Birds of a feather

So sorry for not getting around and checking out your latest creations - a little over one week left before my sisters weddings, and now she tells me she needs help making sixty program fans! It's kinda funny - it seems all the girls in the house, except for the bride, are getting a little stressed! It's even funnier considering that the bride is the one of us who usually gets the more stressed over little things! lol

Anyways,  sweet little card I made for this weeks Simply Scrapping Crafts challenge; embossing! How easy it that?! If you've never participated in a SSC challenge before, I really encourage you to do so now - it's never been easier! You don't have to sign up to the site, join a group, add tags, etc - all you have to do is post your blog link at the bottom of the page and mention SSC in your post. Supppperrr easy!

Anyways, getting a little off track here...;) Here's that card I mentioned....

 (sorry if the photo's dark - I'm not adding as much exposure to my pics now in hopes that my pics won't blind people anymore! Hopefully this isn't too dark though....)

Using a lovely Crafts Meow stamps - the  frame, which is clear embossed, making it hard to see on the computer...

The Crafts Meow is our sponsor this month and they're offering up a great prize, so head on over to the blog for the deets on how to win!

Thanks for stopping in - I really do appreciate your sweet words! :)

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Card recipe
Cardstock: LSS
Patterned paper: Websters Pages
Stamps: The Crafts Meow "Timeless Tags", Waltzingmouse "Fancy Phrases"
Ink: Staz-on, Essential Glue Pad
Other: clear embossing powder (MS), pearls (Kaisercraft)

Tools: trimmer, adhesive, scissors, embossing tool

Inspirational cookies

Look at this colorful little photo - I don't know about you, but I've been seeing pictures of these cookies popping all over the place! So I thought I'd jump in the bandwagon, and make some cards inspired by one of those cookie pictures...

My first card using this delicious combo....

I used some Soul Food grid paper to mimic the stacked cookies in the photo....

And just look at these gorgeous Fun House cabochons! The circular flowers are there to imitate the cookies...

And now my second card...
I let the orange, dark pink and green colors dominate here (just because I love those papers from Soul Food so much! ;)), but I did manage to sneak in all the colors! The papers are in strips, arranged crookedly, once again, inspired by the crookedly stacked cookies.

I used a chipboard circle sticker to get the purple, tan and light pink in there, and then, just because even with the sewn circle framing the image, I hand cut two little arrows to draw more attention to the sentiment.

That sentiment totally fits this little procrastinator, so I think I may keep this card for awhile to motivate me! ;)

Thanks so much for stopping in today - remember to 'do it today'!

PS - be sure to check the GCD Studio's blog to enter an awesome giveaway!!

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Supplies

Birthday card

She Seeks

Cabochons

Chip Art Chipboard Shapes Small Frames

Today card

Soul Petite, Orange

Lovely Green

Funky Soul

Chipboard circle stickers