Cute Daisy Jumps Rope

I've got to get this post finished. I promised myself a good snack once I complete this (hee, hee, gotta bribe myself). I've been working on this all morning but it feels so good to have the time again to play! My son went back to college (miss him but I was tired of feeding him that's for sure) and my hubby is helping a buddy do some work. Hurray! House all to myself!
Funny how I had the whole summer to work on projects, but I seem to be more creative and motivated now that school has started up again and I'm back at work. I know a big part of that is that crafting is my after work and weekend treat, so it's more special now that I am limited in time.
But part of having limited time is cramming a whole lot into a little time slot! So, to be frugal with my time and participate in some of my favorite challenges, I combined some of them with this project. Digital Tuesday's challenge this week was "Hop To It". Something had to hop or jump. This little cutie from Cute Daisy May was just perrr-fect! And to meet the challenge over at the Cute Daisy May Challenge blog, I had to use blue and green, so I dressed my little girl in blue jeans and a green jacket and mixed in some of my retired SU Baja Breeze DSP and Green Tea DSP. So far, so good! Next up was the Dare U2 DigiStamp Challenge which was as easy as 1,2,3: 1 ribbon, 2 patterned papers, and 3 flowers. I pulled this velvety ribbon out of a scrap jar so I'm not sure anymore where it came from, but I thought it gave it an old-fashioned charm. To continue the old-fashioned look, I sponged the edges of just about everything on here. I gave my prima flowers a little shimmer, too, with some candlelight shimmerz. Then, I added in the Making Memories Wedding brads.
That does it! I think I've earned a tasty treat and then I'll see what else I can cook up (in the craft room, that is).
Project Recipe
Paper: SU Baja Breeze CS (retired), SU Baja Breeze DSP (retired), SU Green Tea DSP (retired), SU Old Olive CS, SU Chocolate Chip CS, GinaK White Pure Luxury CS
Stamps: Cute Daisy May Digital Stamp (freebie!)
Accessories: SU 5-Petal flower punch, Carl Craft flower punch, Prima flowers, Making Memories Wedding brads, Candle Light Shimmerz, PTI Chai Distressing Ink, ribbon (unknown), cuttlebug, Spellbinders Oval Nestabilities, copic markers

Cattails With Sympathy

It just seems like this has been a summer of losses. One of my former colleagues lost her husband earlier this week. Lindsay told us about a former design team member who was killed in a car accident this week. My great nephew died in an accident earlier this summer. And a long-time friend of the family lost her fight with cancer about a month ago. To top it all off, one of my dear friends and colleague moved away a couple of weeks ago. It just seems like I've had to say a lot of goodbyes lately.
I created this card to send to Cindy whose husband died Sunday night from a heart attack. She and I used to teach at the same high school a few years ago when my boys were still in school. I went to Tuesday Morning Sketches to get my weekly design inspiration, but Melissa changed things up this week. She issued a color challenge. So the sketch is pretty simple and clean (best I can do on my own). I am glad for the color challenge because I don't think I would have picked these colors on my own for this particular card, but I really like how they worked together.
The cattail image, which just looks so serene, is from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff. I colored it in with my copics, masked it, and airbrushed the blue background. The background paper is PTI Green Tea Leaves. I used the SU Teeny Tiny Wishes for the sentiment and punched it out with the SU modern label punch and the the movers and shapers modern label die for the mat.
If you haven't been to Lindsay's shop in a few days, you need to head on over. She's added several new images. If you are getting Halloween projects started, you definitely need to see what she's got in the shop and you need to check out the whole design team because one of them has a little Halloween freebie for you and it is super cute. Start at Lindsay's blog so you can be sure to check out the whole list of team members.
Project Recipe
Paper: PTI Kraft CS, SU Elegant Eggplant CS, GinaK White Pure Luxury CS, PTI Green Tea Leaves DSP
Stamps: Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Cattails #2, SU Teeny Tiny Wishes
Accessories: copic markers, copic air brush system, SU Modern Label punch, SU Movers and Shapers Modern Label die, sheer ribbon (unknown), Kaiser pearls (colored with copics)

Owl Always Be Your Friend

My dear friend, Jana, had a birthday a couple of weeks ago and this is the cutie patootie I made for her. I totally cased a card made by the very talented Angela Martinez at Scrapbook Gadgets. To cut out my little owl I used my Cricut and the Happily Ever After cartridge. She's embossed with two different Cuttlebug embossing folders--the Herringbone folder on the dark brown part and the Swiss dots on the lighter brown. I used a heart punch to create the "belly".
I was able to use almost the very last of my Stampin Up Bella Rose dsp (retired). Just tiny scraps are left of this beautiful paper. I used my computer to print out the sentiment.
The birthday present that went along with this card was a trip to the big city (Houston) to visit several scrapbook stores including Archivers. We had such a good time! If ya gotta get older, may as well have fun doing it! I hope she enjoyed her birthday as much as I enjoyed it for her.
Project Recipe
Paper: SU Ridinghood Red CS (retired), SU Bella Rose DSP (retired), PTI Very Vanilla CS
Accessories: SU 5-Petal punch, SU Spiral punch, Paper Studio Spare Parts Gemstone flower brads

Back to School

Yep, it's that time of year again. Back to school in Texas. This is my 19th year to do this "back to school thing" as a teacher (not counting those years I was on the other side of the chalk board). I teach junior high, so that means instead of having just 20 to 25 kids in a class all day, I have over a hundred students during the day. I really like papercrafting gifts to give people, but it's hard to make something for a hundred plus people and not spend my entire pay check. So, I don't have anything but a smile for students on the first day. However, to lift the spirits of my fellow staff members, I decorated these little pencil boxes that I found on sale last spring at Walmart for a quarter. I was able to get 40 of these in the four different colors you see above. A little paper, a little cutting with my Cricut, a few embellishments and some embossing with the cuttlebug and a day later, I had 40 of these ready to go.
I filled each one with a pencil, a binder clip and some assorted candies. I used Papertrey Ink's Handwritten Notes stamp set to create a little note for the inside that reads "Have a great day!" and I signed each one. Hopefully, everyone (teachers, staff, and students) will have a great day today and another great year!
Project Recipe (some of the stuff, anyway):
Papers: SU Ridinghood Red CS (retired, CTMH Perfect Day PP, SU Orchid Opulence CS, SU Cottage Wall DSP, SU Not Quite Navy CS, SU Baja Breeze DSP (retired), SU Pumpkin Pie CS, SU Tangerine Tango DSP (retired), PTI White CS
Stamps: SU Sincere Salutations (good luck sentiment), Rubber Stampede Paw Print, PTI Handwritten notes (not shown)
Accessories: Cricut, Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, SU 5-Petal Flower Punch, SU Eylet border punch, Making Memories Blossoms and Buttons flowers, K&Company flowers with brads

Cookie in a Box

Last school year I gave each of the staff members a cake in a can on their birthdays. This year I decided to make a cookie in a box (a mini pizza box to be exact). There are lots of tutorials out there for this box and probably Splitcoast is the best place to find the tutorial and examples. Inside my pizza box is a scrumptious, large Coffee House Cookie. I found the recipe on Lauren Meader's blog. I made sure I taste tested them before giving them to anyone (wink)!
The image on the top of the box is a Cute Daisy May (Sheet 51). I used the Cute Daisy May Challenge for the week on this project. The challenge was to make words (sentiment) the focal point. Those Daisy May's are so cute, it's kinda hard for anything else to share the spotlight, though. At best, I may have given the sentiment equal billing with the image which is colored with copics.
I barely got this project in under the deadline for the challenge but I was really busy yesterday assembling a little gift for the first day of school for all the staff. I'll post those later so you can see what I was up to. This is going to be a busy week as we get the kiddies tomorrow and school gets into full swing. Hope your week zippy!
Project Recipe
Paper: DCWV Nana's Kitchen Stack, SU Pretty in Pink, PTI Lemon Tart CS, GinaK White Pure Luxury CS
Stamps: Cute Daisy May Sheet 51, SU Sincere Salutations (sentiment)
Accessories: copics, cuttlebug, Spellbinders Oval Nestabilities dies, Imaginisce Ring Around the Rosies pink flowers, Prima yellow flowers, Basic Grey glazed brad, buttons and twine, Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Rockin Out

It's official...I'm back at work and boy, can I ever feel it! I'm exhausted and the kids haven't even arrived yet. How will I ever survive next week? It's been a crazy busy week on top of it being a work week. I have had so little time for crafting, but as always, I was inspired by the sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches and the Digital Tuesday Challenge which was to make a masculine card. I love being challenged to make masculine cards because I have so many men in my family. I love all the "fru fru" that goes with making cards for the girls and women in my life, but I have to really work to keep things simple when I'm going masculine.
To give this card a masculine feel, I kept the elements simple and pulled more "guy" colors. This patterned paper is some retired SU DSP that gives a funky edge to the card. That fantastic image is from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff and it could so easily be punked out or pinked out for a different look or a more feminine look. Definitely, need this image if you've got teenagers to make cards for because these guitars are "hot" right now! You can get this image for a dollar at Lindsay's Stamp Stuff and you can take advantage of her everyday special and spend $5 in the store and get a free image of your choice. Also, sweet Lindsay is giving away one of her brand new digital images. But you've got to hunt it down with a blog hop to the whole design team. Start here.
I'm off to bed now because mornings suddenly come sooo early these days (only 10 more years until retirement!)!
Project recipe
Paper: SU Autumn Vine DSP (retired), SU Baja Breeze CS (retired), SU More Mustard CS, GinaK White Pure Luxury CS
Stamps: Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Bass Guitar, CC Designs SugarPlum Sentiments (sentiment)
Accessories: cuttlebug, SU Movers and Shapers modern label die, SU Modern Label punch, copic markers, Sakura glitter pen, twine

Messy Little Boys

I have three sons who are now grown men. But let me tell you what! They invented the phrase "rough and tumble"! They were always getting into something (another way of saying "getting into trouble") and coming in the house dirty, sweaty and smelly. They were ALL BOY! I have a hard time finding images of less-than-perfect (but ever so cute) boys, especially digital images. Then, Lindsay The Frugal Crafter pointed out a free coloring book website which has images of "Precious Moments" kids that you can download for free. I was able to find several utterly adorable little boys!!!
This little guy with his canine companion reminded me of those messy but still cute boys I raised. So after coloring him with my copics, I created a card for one of the now-big guys. The inside will read "You've grown into a fine, young man."
This card was designed to meet the requirements of THREE, yes three, challenges. The Dare U2 Digistamp Challenge was distressing, so I took some Core'dinations Vintage ColorCore Cardstock and tore the edges. Then, I ran it through the cuttlebug inside the distressed branches embossing folder, and finished the look with a little sanding. The great thing about this cardstock is it is made for distressing giving you a great contrasting core color.
Next up, I used the sketch from Digital Tuesday Challenge. I really like the clean design of this sketch. Finally, the Copic Creations challenge was "eyes". The Copic Creations design team used anime images which have these gorgeous big eyes. My image has the lovely Precious Moments characteristic tear drop eye, so I just was able to add a subtle touch of color to the boy's eye and the dog's eyes. This was the first time I've added color to eyes before. Once I got over my fears, I really liked the look. You can see a closer look at the eyes below.
Wowzer! I know people who can enter 3,4,5 challenges with one card, but usually I can only manage 2 at best. This project just seemed to come together fitting easily into the requirements of my favorite challenges. But it all started with that great image.
Project Supplies
Paper: PTI white CS, Core'dinations Vintage Collection CS, SU Old Olive and Baja Breeze CS, SU Green Tea DSP (retired), GinaK White Pure Luxury CS
Stamps: Coloring Pages Precious Moments, PTI Star Prints (sentiment)
Ribbon: PTI Ripe Avacado twill
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Provo Craft Distressed branches embossing folder, Spellbinders Oval die and ribbon slide die, shaped paperclips (unknown but I think JoAnn's), copic markers

Dream a Little

Get your shopping shoes on! Lindsay's got some new stamps in her shop. And you've just got to have this lovely dragonfly! So much fun to "sparkle up". I colored her in first with my copics, and then added stickles for all that sparkle. On the left side of the card I also gave you a little sneak peak of this week's freebie.
One of the ladies has this complete image to give away. That Lindsay is so sweet to offer all these weekly freebies. Be sure to send a little love her way, too. I printed out the freebie three times, colored each one, added stickles, and then used a 1.25 square punch on random parts of the image, creating a patterned paper look.
This sketch, by the way, is the Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge #6. I really like combining Melissa's sketch challenge with the Digital Tuesday challenge, but this week Digital Tuesday was also running a sketch challenge. I'll have to come up with something else for that one, I guess.
Okay, here's your to do list: (1) hop around to all the design team blogs looking for the freebie and checking out all the pretties (start here), (2) go visit Lindsay's Stamp Stuff and get this dragonfly, (3) spend at least $5 in Lindsay's store and get another freebie because Lindsay is making this an everyday special (can I get a big "WooHoo!"), (4) dream a little and then get busy making those gorgeous projects you've been wanting to make!
Project Recipe
Paper: GinaK White Pure Luxury CS, SU Black CS, SU Green Tea DSP (retired)
Stamps: Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Elegant Dragonfly, SU Dream a Little, retired (sentiment)
Ribbon: PTI True Black twill
Accessories: Ranger Stickles, copic markers, Making Memories 5th Avenue Blossoms and Buttons flower, brad (unknown)

Watering the Flowers

After 10 months of drought, I definitely know how valuable this little watering can is! This is a sweet little digital image from Cute Daisy May. The challenge this week on the Cute Daisy May Challenge Blog is "Floral Fantasy". Be sure to check out that challenge blog link. The design team did some cards that are over-the-top-drop-dead-gorgeous. There's a beautiful umbrella full of Flower Soft Flowers--scrumptious. And Michele Spera has some beautiful papers and flowers and rhinestones. Oh my! Just go look at all of them! They are really spectacular!
Now, back to my modest creation. Since my image doesn't have a lot of flowers, I punched out flowers with several different flower punches. I created a "vine" to join them with some green floss. I used some glittery cardstock from my DCWV Spring Glitter Mat Stack to add just a touch of shimmer here and there on the flowers. The layout for the card is the Splitcoast Card Sketch Challenge # 241. Now, I'm off to water some of my real plants before the heat kills them! Don't know who it'll get first though--me or the plants! Stay cool folks!
Project Recipe
Paper: SU Pink Piroutte CS (retired), SU Sweet Nothings DSP (retired), SU Ridinghood Red CS (retired), DCWV Spring Glitter Mat Stack, GinaK White Pure Luxury CS
Stamps: Cute Daisy May Sheet 51
Accessories: Martha Stewart Cosmo punch, Paper Studio flower punches, Imaginesce button brad, Paper Studio red and pink rhinestone brads, cuttlebug, Spellbinders Classic Circles nestabilities dies, copic markers

Thoughts and Prayers

After my neon-bright card in the previous post, I decided to pull out some more calming colors. I'm getting geared up to go back to work (we start Monday and the kids come back the following Monday) and I decided to make a few sympathy cards for just in case. Things can get kinda busy at work and I don't always have the time to create sympathy cards as needed. So, this is one type of card it is definitely a good idea to make and have on hand in advance.
I used my branches cuttlebug embossing folder for the background layer. I just think it makes a perfect non-frilly card background. Love that texture. I even got to use up a little bit of some retire SU DSP. I sure have a lot of this stuff I need to use. I'm going to have to be on the lookout for a BIG project that requires retired Baja Breeze papers!
So there's my quiet, calm card made especially for a serious occasion, but don't think I won't be pulling out all the stops and sparkles again soon! So don't put away those sunglasses just yet!
Project Recipe
Paper: PTI Very Vanilla, SU Old Olive CS, SU Close to Cocoa CS, SU Manchester DSP (retired)
Stamps: SU Thoughts and Prayers
Ribbon: PTI Very Vanilla grosgrain
Accessories: Cuttlebug, branches cuttlebug embossing folder, SU Markers, PTI Chamomille and Chai inks

Mushroom with a View and a Whole Lotta Color

This thing is crazy, bright! I pulled out my little pack of DCWV Spring Glitter stack and the whole room just started glowing. I just wanted to play around today...nothing serious, no deadlines, no rush, no real need to even make a card...just for fun. Once I picked out that radioactive paper, I found a digi stamp from Sweet and Sassy stamps that I bought but had never used before (got any of those around, lol).
I'm not really sure what mushrooms should look like. These look nothing like the ones I see around here, but I didn't feel like following any rules! So, I've got lime green and hot pink mushrooms! Grabbed my EK Success Swiss Cheese border punch, some SU Melon Mambo dotted ribbon, and my Tim Holtz mini fastener and pulled together a card that just screams "it's your birthday and you need to live a little!!!" Man, that felt good! Thanks for stopping in! Hope your week is truly zippy!
Project recipe
Paper: PTI white CS, DCWV Spring Glitter stack
Stamps: Sweet n Sassy mushrooms, SU A Little Birdie Told Me (sentiment, retired)
Ribbon: SU Melon Mambo dotted grosgrain
Accessories: cuttlebug, Spellbinders classic circles nestabilities dies, EK Success 1.5 scallop circle punch and 1.25 circle punch, EK Success Swiss Cheese border punch, Tim Holtz mini fastener, copic markers

Sparkling Lily

Wear your sunglasses for this one! The challenge at Digital Tuesday was Bling!!! I accomplished that mainly with sparkly paper. The glittery papers are from Die Cuts With a View Spring Glitter stack. I did also add a touch here and there of sparkle to my lily with my spica glitter pen.
You can find this beautiful lily at Lindsay's Stamp Stuff. You can grab it for only a $1, but while you're there, you may as well pick out a few others because Lindsay has decided to extend her July sale into August. That means you can still spend $5 in her store and get a free digital image of your choice, too. And if you're still in the gardening mood, one of Lindsay's design team has a little freebie for you that's sure to please your green thumb (hint, hint). Be sure to visit Lindsay's blog and all the other members of the design team this week.
Thanks to Tuesday Morning Sketches for the card sketch this week. Another great sketch to combine with the Digital Tuesday challenge.
Project Recipe
Paper: GinaK White Pure Luxury CS, SU More Mustard CS, DCWV Spring Glitter Mat Stack
Stamps: Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Lily, SU Matchbox Messages (sentiment)
Ribbon: SU More Mustard Grosgrain ribbon, PTI Summer Sunrise Dotted Satin Ribbon, PTI Lemon Tart Satin Ribbon
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Spellbinders Classic Ovals die, SU Movers and Shapers Curly Label die, SU Curly Label punch, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Martha Stewart Cosmos punch, copic markers, spica glitter pens, buttons (unknown)