Splitcoast sketch challenge

To try and get back into the groove of card making, I decided to try this weeks SCS193 challenge.


I decided to pick a Halloween theme for this card. Apart from the fact I took the photo on an angle which makes the card look lopsided (oops!), I think it turned out OK. Not great...just OK.




I stamped the tree and owl image from Stampin' Up's House of Haunts stamp set on Whisper White card stock, sponged Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Barely Banana classic inks onto the card stock working from the base up and then layered it with Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive card stock.

I had some of Stampin' Up's Halloween designer paper left over from last year, so i whipped that out, sliced and diced it, layered it with Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive card stock again and then put it all together.

Cheers,
Marie

Back on the wagon...

Hi all,
Wow, it's been forever since I have posted to the blog. Life has definitely taken over these past months.

This is the card I made for the regular swap for my monthly Inner Circle Swap this month.








Stamps: Stampin' Up! Upsy Daisy stamp set
Paper: Stampin' Up! Upsy Daisy designer paper, Always Artichoke, Going Grey, Bashful Blue, Very Vannila
Ink: Bashful Blue, Going Grey
Misc: Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip ribbon, generic buttons


I will be sharing more cards with you over the next few days.


Happy Stamping!

Marie

Circle Top Card

This month's mystery challenge for my monthly card swap group is the Circle Top Card. Here is what I have created for my swaps. I really liked this challenge!





For these cards, I used;
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie and Very Vanilla cardstock, Boho Blend Simply Scrappin' Kit patterned paper.
Stamps: Stampin' Up! "Time Well Spent: stamp set, Savvy Stamps "One Little Flutter" sentiment stamp
Misc: StampingBella Baubles, Martha Stewart Ombre Bow Stickers (ha! and you thought I became a ribbon tying queen...I wish!)

Simple Birthday Card

Sometimes, quick and easy is exactly what I need to get my card making mojo going again.

Life has been hectic lately between work, business travel, home life etc. Here is a simplistic approach to a birthday card that I made the other night. I am about to head back into the craft room to craft for a couple of hours. Stay tune for more creations!

For this card, I used SU! Whisper White and Basic Black cardstock, Only Orange, Real Red, Blush Blossom and So Saffron SU markers as well as SU! Bitty Birthday Stamp set.

Blog Candy Winner

And the winner is........

#10 Lori!! Congrats Lori!!!

Lori, please email your address to me at marie@stamplounge.com. I hope you enjoy your candy!!

Decor Elements Wall Art

I have to say, initially I was lukewarm about the new Decor Elements line from Stampin' Up! I decided to order one and see what it looked like. Well! What can I say, as soon as I saw it in person, my head started to spin and I felt a new love affair beginning! Crazy isn't it?!

I am not one for sticking things to my walls (i think that might change soon!) but new exactly what I was going to do with it. I am totally into creating wall art and this was perfect for the green/black canvas.

I was pleasantly surprised how easy the transfer was from paper to surface. Now I suppose I have to order different ones and start more art wall projects.

This little fella, is currently sitting pride of place on my fireplace mantel until a permanent home can be found for him.




Thanks for looking and don't forget to enter for Blog candy 2 posts down!

Inner Circle Swap Cards - June

YAY! My technical issues with uploading photos has been fixed!

Here are the cards that the were made by the wonderful group of ladies who participate in my monthly card swap club. I love all these cards!











If you would like to join my monthly card swap, please email me at marie@stamplounge.com

Celebration and Blog Candy!

Wow! My blog just received its 25,000th visit! How totally amazing that you are all checking in with my on my crafting journey - THANK YOU!

To say thank you, I will be giving away some blog candy. As I cannot currently post pictures to the site....yeah, still working on that technical glitz... I will describe to you what I am giving away and will post a picture as soon as I can!

What will be included, 2 stamp sets, assorted ribbons, rub-ons, 12x12 paper and some die cuts.

To enter, please leave me a comment with the number of your posted comment and I will use the random number generator tool to pick a winner at 9:00am PST on Saturday July 19th. Please check back on Saturday to see if you have won and instructions on how to provide me your address.

Thank you again for sharing my journey and good luck on the blog candy drawing!!

Technical Issues

Hi all,
Just letting you know I am having technical issues uploading photos to blogger. Once I can overcome that, I have Inner Circle Card swaps to share as well as my recent Decor Element Wall Art. Can't wait to share both of those with you all!

Cheers,
Marie

Card Of The Week Sketch Challenge #3

We had another great Sketch Challenge for Card Of The Week this week. I can't seem to just do one card! :)

Here was the sketch for the design team which will be posted today on the site;




This card I used a transparent journaling sentiment from My Mind's Eye and paired that with Blush Blossom, Sage, Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip card stock from Stampin' Up!. For the weathered edge, I cut my sage card stock 1/4 inch larger than the sentiment layer and wet the edges and turned them up with my fingers. I stitched the bottom layers together using a zigzag stitch and added some bling to the corners.


For this card, I used a collage stamp. I stamped the image in versamark and heat set a my own custom mix of black embossing powder and fine glitter, and then simply layered the image on black card stock and mounted that onto the card base with dimensional pop ups.

Card Of The Week Sketch Challenge #2

Hi all - I am a day late uploading my cards for the Card Of The Week Sketch Challenge as I have misplaced my camera battery charger! I was lucky enough, moments ago, to be able to use a friends camera and get these shots...phew :-D

Pop over to the Card Of The Week site and see the great sketched by the other girls!

4th July Parade

We had so much fun yesterday attending the 4th of July Parade and Fireworks in town.

Happy 4th July weekend everyone!

Some great news!

Woohoo! Great news! I have been selected as Susanna Boyd's First Design Team Member for the Card Of The Week site! Yiiiiiiippeeee!!!! I am SOOOO happy I am flying around on cloud nine!

Be sure to jump over to the Card Of The Week site at http://cardoftheweek.ning.com/ or click here to browse around, share your cards, view others work and participate in a cool new paper crafting community!

Thanks Susanna!!!!!!!

My Beautiful Mother...

I adapted the Card Of The Week Sketch Challenge to this scrapbook layout. Yes, I am starting to scrapbook again. As you can see, this is pretty simple as I don't have much scrapping mojo right now but I am working on it. I have 3 scrapbooks to make for my family...wowsers!

Once I get a little more creative, I think I will go back and add some additional embellishments but I want to live with it for a little bit before doing that.

I took this photo of my mother when I was in Australia recently and we were having our hair done for my sisters wedding. I love the natural color of my mothers long beautiful hair. It starts off snow white on the top and slowly turns gray as it gets longer. She had her hair pulled into a french twist for the wedding and it looked absolutely stunning. Love you Mum :x



All paper is from My Mind's Eye except for the Stampin' Up! Pretty in Pink card stock I used to run through my printer for the sentiment. I glued on some baubles also for this simple scrapbook layout.

Card Of the Week Sketch Challenge

Do you love sketch challenges? Well if so, Susanna Boyd who created the great new paper crafting community site Card Of the Week has started Sketch Challenges! Yahoo! Here is my take on the first ever Sketch Challenge. If you haven't check out the Card Of The Week site yet, hop on over, browse around and sign up! :-)




I love this sketch so much, I am going to apply it to a 12x12 scrapbook layout that I have been twirling around in my head all morning...more to come! :-)

Shabby Chic Wedding Card

It's so warm here, I was easily distracted all day. I did manage to head over to Aaron Brothers to take advantage of their Buy One, Get One for a Penny Sale. I picked up some artist canvasses and a couple of frames that will go well with some of the family shots I took while in Australia. They are now in the "Projects To Do" pile.

I can't wait for my Stampin' Up! Decor purchase to arrive...I have my wall art project already worked out and I am chomping at the bit to get started on it. I prepped my wall art surface this afternoon so I can create away as soon as it arrives.

OK...well, enough rambling :-D

I was trying to get my card swaps done for this month but no brilliant idea was coming to me, so I made this pseudo Shabby Chic Wedding Card instead. I picked up some really elegant paper and printed transparency sheets while in Australia and I think they work pretty well together. I cut the paper down to size and mounted it on some Shimmery White Card stock. Stamped the Bride from the SU! "She's all That" stamp set, punched her head out with a 1 3/8" punch, layered it on a scalloped punched piece of pretty in pink cardstock, added some "hairy" ribbon I had on hand, threw a couple of Baubles on it and mounted the whole piece onto Blush Blossom card stock and wallah! As in a lot of my cards that I make for my stockpile, sentiments are deliberately left off just in case I want to use it for a bridal shower card instead..you just never know!




OK...back to those swap cards!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Cheers,
Marie

Back home and May Inner Circle Card Swap

Hi everyone!
I am back home after two glorious weeks in Australia with my family. It was so nice to reconnect with my family again after 4 long years. As a kicker, my sister tied the knot. The wedding was beautiful and a good time was had by all.

Here are a few snapshots taken when my mum (mom), sister and I went to the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne. On the weekends, it's amazing. You can purchase everything from Fresh Fruit, Vegetables, Meat, Eggs, Clothes and Souvenirs...fun fun :)



I thought a few of you would get a kick out of this. The American "Doughnut" truck has been a staple at the Market for as long as I can remember. Of course, they have Australianized the Doughnuts by coating them in granulated sugar as opposed to frosting them or rolling them in powdered sugar.



These "doughnuts" are so friggin' delicious, it is criminal. Who would have thought you could eat 4 of them at one sitting!!...ohh....me of course :)

These were my primary motivation for going along! :-) Yes, it's weird what you miss from the Motherland :-D


OK, enough of my that :)

Here are the long awaited cards from the May Inner Circle Card Swap. As usual, I was totally loving opening each envelope to discover the great cards within. Mine are in the previous post.

These are the cards made for the regular swap:







The challenge for last month was the Criss Cross Card and here are the fabulous creations of each lady who participated in the challenge.

Card Swaps...

Every month I host a card swap and have a great group of ladies participating throughout the US and Canada. These are the cards I made for this month's card swap.

For the regular swap, I used the Stampin' Up! True Friend Stamp set, Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal and real Rust cardstock and coordinated it with some 5 Gypsies paper and some ribbon I had on hand.



The Challenge for this month was the Criss Cross card. I used Stampin' Up! retired Just Delightful Scrappin' Kit to pull these cards together. I loved this kit and I only have one left! :-D


As I am heading to Australia for two weeks tonight and not all swaps are in as yet, I will swap them out and take photos of each card and post them when I get back.

Flowers a' plenty

Yippee camera has been found and battery is charged up!

I saw this cute tutorial for making vases so I thought I would give it a try myself. It is quite easy to do. All you need is an oval punch (you could also use a round or square punch), a pair of scissors, a sponge and ink.

Punch out your vase shape, for oval or round, you would need to snip the top and bottom of the oval to make your vase.

Using the same color ink as your paper, sponge ink on one side to create shadowing and wallah, you are done.

The first card resembles the tutorial I saw except they punched out their flowers as opposed to using prima's and I added the bling brads. The second card, I got a little more creative.

Sentiment are deliberately left off so I can stamp a Happy Birthday, thanks etc, as needed.



Happy Memorial Day everyone!

I wish....

I wish I could post the cards I have made over the last couple of days but I can't find my camera! The beauty of my camera is that it's a sleek, light and very slim camera. It fits in my handbag and pockets without weighing it done. The downside is it's small and when you place it down in a "safe" place, well....good luck remembering where that "safe" place was!

So, what to share?

Are you all thumbs when it comes to ribbon tying? I know I am, so when I stumbled across these bow tying videos on You Tube, I screamed a huge Hallelujah!! There are a ton of them on there and it's very easy to become distracted and it is VERY easy to end up watching hours of You Tube videos, so be warned!! :-D If you find any cool ribbon tying video's share them with me...I would love to see them!



















Also, I have been reading a lot of campaign news as one does and I came across this cool virtual campaign badge on Yahoo! News. OK, OK, I know I know, I don't usually share any views on politics or religion because as you can imagine, conversations turn ugly very quickly and that's not my intention. I just think the badge is cool! So skip off and go grab yours, regardless of who you support!

See latest stories on Yahoo! News

Camper's Happy Birthday

I used Beate's weekly sketch #48 for this layout. I decided before making the card that I was going to use masculine colors and a masculine theme as I always tend to make girlie cards - sounds a lot easier than what it was. I had to refrain several times from adding bling and flowers to it and well, I suppose it's OK....I can't say I am thrilled with it. The 3D tree I added last as it needed a little something....and I think that's my favorite part of the card...LOL. For the tree, I used Floral (see i did get a flower like thing in!) Paper leaves I had in a bucket I found the other day.



Stamps: A Muse Tent stamp, Stampin' Up! Dot's background stamp, Impression Obsession Happy Birthday stamp
Paper: All Stampin' Up!- Navy, Bashful Blue and retired Buckaroo Blue, Vanilla
Ink: All Stampin' Up! - Black, Always Artichoke, Blush Blossom, Sahara Sand, Bashful Blue, Buckaroo Blue
Misc: Blender pen, floral paper leaves.

Weather Warning...

Here I am sitting in my office feverishly cranking out work. A sweat bead rolls down the side of my face and I think to myself..."Self, typing like a maniac sure does give you a work out!" I then realize that it's getting unusually warm in my office so off I go to the weather.com and check out the forecast for today.

Severe weather alert??? it's 91 degrees already!!!!!!!! It's going to hit 101 today????!!!!!!!!!! (for my family that's 38 degrees Celsius!)



I click the Severe Weather Alert link and this is what they say - my little notes are in lower case :-)

THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO WILL REACH AT OR NEAR THE CENTURY
MARK ON THURSDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. 
OFFICIALLY (well, I have something unofficially to tell them
....Surprise!!  lol) SUMMER WILLNOT ARRIVE UNTIL FRIDAY JUNE
20TH AT 459 PM PDT. RESIDENTS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR THE
UPCOMING HEAT OVER THE WEEKEND (eerrr....maybe we should
have been told this earlier!!)AND THE COMING SUMMER OF 2008.

RESIDENTS (tourists....don't worry about it, you wont be affected) 
SHOULD PLEASE (wow..that's polite of them...should and please next to
each other...I think that's a grammar faux pas in someone's book)
FOLLOW THESE HEAT SAFETY TIPS...

*DRINK PLENTY OF WATER (check)
*STAY IN AIR CONDITIONED PLACES BETWEEN 11 AM AND 7 PM.
(I ran and turned on the air conditioner, so check!)
*CHECK ON THE ELDERLY...ESPECIALLY OVERNIGHT. (yep, I am
coming knocking on your door at 2am to make sure you are ok...)
*NEVER LEAVE SMALL CHILDREN OR PETS ALONE IN A CAR. (errr...heello!!)
*REDUCE OUTDOOR STRENUOUS ACTIVITY. (yeah baby....no after
dinner 4 mile walk today!)
*DRESS APPROPRIATELY TO AVOID SUN BURN
(that means no shorts and tank tops people...jeans and long sleeved shirts please!)

FOR DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO...and here comes the trivia which is quite interesting...

1. LAST YEAR...THE FIRST 100 DEGREE READING OR HIGHER
OCCURRED ON JUNE 13TH.
2. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF 100 DEGREE READINGS OR HIGHER
IN 2007 WAS 16.
3. THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS WITH 100 DEGREE READINGS
OR HIGHER IN A CALENDAR YEAR IS 22.
4. THE MOST 100 DEGREE READINGS OR HIGHER IN A MONTH
IS 17...SET JULY 1988 AND IN JULY 2003.
5. THE MOST 100 DEGREE READINGS OR HIGHER IN A CALENDAR
YEAR IS 41 TIMES SET IN 1988.
6. THE EARLIEST IT HAS REACHED 100 DEGREES OR HIGHER
IN A CALENDAR YEAR IS MAY 4TH IN 1990.
7. THE LATEST IT HAS REACHED 100 DEGREES OR HIGHER IN
A CALENDAR YEAR IS OCTOBER 10TH IN 1991.
8. THE RECORD FOR MOST CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH 100 DEGREE
READINGS OR HIGHER IS 11 SET IN 2006...FROM JULY 16TH TO

JULY 26TH.
9. THE RECORD FOR MOST CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITHOUT REACHING 100
DEGREES IS OVER 1100 DAYS SET AUGUST 1879 TO AUGUST 1882.
10. THE LEAST NUMBER OF 100 DEGREE READINGS OR HIGHER IN A
CALENDAR YEAR IS NONE...SET 3 TIMES. THE LAST OCCURRENCE WAS IN 1907.
11. THE LEAST NUMBER OF 100 DEGREE READINGS OR HIGHER THE LAST 25 YEARS
DURING A CALENDAR YEAR IS 5 TIMES SET IN 1982.
12. THE HOTTEST DAY IN RECENT MEMORY WAS 112 DEGREES ON JULY
10TH 2002.
13. THE HOTTEST DAY IN SACRAMENTO HISTORY WAS 114 DEGREES SET
ON JULY 17TH 1925. ACTUALLY THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 113.6 DEGREES ON
THAT DAY WHICH ROUNDED UP TO 114 DEGREES.
14. IT HAS REACHED 113 DEGREES JUST ONE ADDITIONAL TIME IN
SACRAMENTO HISTORY ON JULY 14TH 1972.

HAVE A SAFE AND ENJOYABLE SUMMER (hang on...summer
doesn't start until June 20!) FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.

OK...now that the shock of the temperature is over, it's back to work for me!

Have a good day everyone and stay cool!!

Monogram note cards

Here are some Monogram note cards I have made. My Inner Circle Swap members each received a personalized monogrammed note card a couple of months ago as a thank you from me and I loved them so much, I made more :-D

I used Stampin' Up!'s scalloped notes, Stampin' Up! Boho Background stamp set, versamark pad, ivory taffeta ribbon, rhinestones and chipboard letters from K&Co's Hopscotch collection.

Put it all together and wallah, some super cute personalized note cards!

Mother's Day Card

Happy Mothers Day everyone!

Here is the Mothers Day card I made using Stampin' Up! Touch of Nature stamp set, SU Grey and Soft Sky cardstock, My Mind's Eye designer paper, SU! ribbon, Stickles, SU! Markers and of course, my sewing machine.

Moving

Here is a card I made for a friend who is moving house shortly and considering she is of Irish decent, the sentiment is totally fitting.



Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, SU Designer paper
Stamps: Penny Black "Moving!!" and A Muse "Irish Proverb"
Ink: All SU, Black, Tempting Turquoise, Cameo Coral, Old Olive, Basic Brown, Close to Cocoa
Misc: Blender Pen, Black Buttons, Ribbon, Diamond Glaze

Inner Circle Card Swaps

**Drum roll please** :-)

The cards are in for the April Inner Circle Card Swap and here they are!

Ladies, great cards once again...thank you! I hope you all enjoy your cards :)

Regular Swaps:










Monthly Challenge: Flap Cards





If you would like to join this monthly card swap, please email me at marie@stamplounge.com

Lot's of Stitching

I am so totally falling in love with real stitching on cards. Here are two cards I made recently that have zero stamping and lots of stitching, the bottom one especially. I used die cuts from My Mind's Eye line of faboo designer papers and coordinating die cuts.

Not sure if you can see it but every die cut has been stitched on to the background paper and then the background paper has been stitched to the card stock.

It's time for me to change up the thread colors now that I am feeling UBER confident with the sewing machine now!

Nothing like a little fun and experimentation in the craft room! :-)

Happy Birthday

This is my twist on the Spotlight Technique. I just received my Bloomin' Beautiful stamp set and couldn't wait to play with it.

This card uses; Bloomin' Beautiful stamp set, Afternoon Tea Double Sided Designer Series paper, the sentiment from the Bitty Birthday's stamp set, Basic Black Cardstock, Black Cord, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie Classic Re-inkers, Aqua Painter and my sewing machine.


Happy Tuesday everyone!

Imagine Freedom

Here is a wall hanging that I have been working on for the past week. I was inspired by the Tim Holtz Grunge Board samples at the Rubber Stamp Convention in Sacramento last week.



For this wall hanging, I used a small plaque I picked up while antique browsing for $3. Imagine Tag stamp from Invoke Arts (invokearts.com), SU Soft Sky and Very Vanilla Cardstock, Grunge board, Tim Holtz distress inks, Black Staz On ink, SU close to cocoa and choc chip inks, SU Weathered Background Stamp, Flourish from the Baroque Motifs stamp set, a key charm I had picked up a while ago at a LSS, Copper round bling I had lying around.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Sweet Little One

I made this card for our friend's new baby girl. Her nursery colors are black, pink and white, so this cards works in with the colors selected.

I used Basic Black cardstock, My Minds Eye Designer paper and die cut, Stampin' Up! Rub-ons from the Cherished Moment set and of course, zig zag stitching around the border.



Here is a close up of my stitching...I'm getting better at it and no, I haven't stitched a finger yet :-)

Judy's 6x6 Envelope Brag/Card Book

Yay for Judy taking pictures of the 6x6 brag book she made while visiting!

Here are the pics of her adorable creation. She used the Chocolate Chip 6x6 envelopes from the Scallop notes set, a Soft Sky Scallop note (halved), SU Le Jardin Double Sided Designer Series Paper, Soft Sky cardstock, Stampin' Up! Ribbon, Flowers from a local scrapbooking store and SU! Hodgepodge elements....so cute!

Thanks for the photos Judy!

Beate's weekly sketch challenge

So I had some time today to play and one of the cards I made was for Beate's weekly sketch challenge. Surprisingly enough it's the same layout I used for my March Card Swap card, so I was a little excited to play again with the layout.

I used Chocolate Chip cardstock and My Mind's Eye Birthday Girl/Aqua Paper double sided designer paper from the Wild Asparagus Line as well as their die cuts to pull this card together. I love my new sewing machine (thanks again Judy!!) and used the straight and zig zag stitches on this card. The Cropadile was used to apply the brads...I just wish I could align them straight! lol

Priceless

4 drawers of unorganized ribbon
11 jars
188 clothes pegs
Colorful, easy to see ribbon storage....PRICELESS!!



I am often found in the predicament of looking for that perfect ribbon to finish off my card. I know I have it because I am a ribbon buying addict but I just can't find it and really, I would choose Chinese water torture to having to go through the multiple drawers and plastic containers of ribbon for 1 card but now I have all my ribbons are separated by color and SOOOO cutely displayed on my craft table. :-)

6x6 Envelope Brag Book

We had such a great time with Judy and Ron this week, it was definitely sad to say goodbye at the airport. Another great visit ended...sigh.

Judy and I did get a chance to craft for an afternoon and we each made a 6x6 envelope card/brag book made from the 6x6 envelopes supplied with the scalloped round notes from Stampin' Up!

I was a doofus and forgot to take a photo of Judy's creation before she left. If I can get Judy to take a picture of hers, I will post it :-D (hint hint Judy! lol)

For my version, I used Chocolate Chip envelopes, Soft Sky Cardstock and left over DSDSP from the Rose Cottage Scrapin' Kit. SU Organza Ribbon (Retired) and SU jeweled brads. The Prima flower comes in a set of 12 that I recently picked up from a local scrapbooking store, Versamark and the flourish stamp from the Stampin' Up! Baroque Motifs stamp set. The brown and blue ribbon I have had for a while. I picked up a couple of yards of it at Vintages in Los Gatos, CA. They have (or had...not sure, I haven't been there for a while) a great selection of unusual and vintage ribbons.