Geometry Is Fun!

Today's card is a really simple one but I really like it.  Putting it together was much more of a case study in playing with geometric shapes.  I literally just took all the pieces that I wanted and thought coordinated together well, and I spent some time just arranging them into different configurations until I found one that worked.  This is what I settled on.

This card was pretty difficult to photograph with my phone because for some reason the deep salmon colored circles wanted to show up as neon pink.  This photo was as close to true color as I could get.  This of course sent me down a googling rabbit hole about cameras and color and now I unfortunately have more questions than answers.

I can't identify any of the pieces as they are all from a large bin I have been collecting as I reorganize my craft room.  The have no home and no names and were truly the orphans of the piles.

Another Comeback?

It's that time of year again when I convince myself that I will start blogging again and make a come back to this platform.  I'm not sure that it will stick as the pattern seems to be that it won't, but I'm hoping my renewed vigor and a craft room under major reorganization will help the cause.

This is a simple little card I threw together with pieces from said craft room reorganization.  I'm still obsessed with bling and even though these paper patterns aren't necessarily my immediate go-to choices I think I made them look pretty good together.

The card itself is a little flimsier than I would usually prefer as well, but I think a good envelope and some care on my part and it will survive on to it's recipient just fine.

Christmas in July #4

I couldn't resist the llama set and made another version of the card from earlier this week.

The little guy is just too snuggly and his hat is too perfect for me to ignore.

Identifiable elements:

• Red ribbon - "Real Red" by Stampin' Up!
• Red dot paper - Carina Gardner collection by Carta Bella
• Green paper - "Two Scoops" by Bazzill Basics Paper
• Stamp Set - "Llamazing Christmas" by Samantha Labonte from Scraps of Love

Christmas in July #3

 At this point I would say we're all well aware of my love for bling so I was very excited when I came up with the idea for this card and got to use a lot of it.  I've had this stamp set for a long time and it's seen a lot of use.  I just can't bear to get rid of it because the various tree stamps are so flexible in their use.

The card shape is a little funky because I had some funky shaped envelopes and decided to use them and make some cards that would fit nicely!  I like the quick simplicity of this card and was able to knock a few out pretty quickly which is great.

Identifiable elements:

• Stamp set - "Lovely as a Tree" by Stampin' Up!
• Ink - "Always Artichoke" by Stampin' Up!

Christmas in July #2

I really like having this Christmas in July tradition because it's nice to know that I'm saving myself future headaches plus, this little Christmas guy is so incredibly cute, I'm so glad I impulse bought him last year!

I've really been getting into coloring with markers lately (as you can tell by the previous Christmas card).  There's something very relaxing about coloring in the lines.  Takes me back to kindergarten!

Identifiable Elements:

• Red ribbon - "Real Red" by Stampin' Up!
• Red star paper - "Well Traveled" from the Carina Gardner Collection by Carta Bella
• Stamp set - "Llamazing Christmas" by Samantha Labonte for Scraps of Love

Christmas in July #1

 It's that time of year again when I try to get at least some of my Christmas cards done so that I don't have to panic come December.  Last year I decided to actually make multiples of some of the same card designs because the year and subsequent holiday season had been stressful enough without adding on the pressure of coming up with 30+ unique card ideas.  It was suprising how much more productive I was able to be so this year I am hoping to do the same.  I'll have multiple different designs, but I'm not planning on over exerting myself like I've done in the past.  

This card is one that I know I can duplicate fairly quickly.  I enjoy taking my time coloring in this cute little elf buddy, but the assembly of the overall whole is fast and easy.  It's simpler than cards I've made in the past, but his happy little smile is all that I think people will really care about.

My goal this month is to set myself up for success later in the year and so far I think that I'm off to a good start!

I'm Back For Now

I'm bored, so that means I'm back!

This little hedgehog might be one of my all time favorite stamps.  There's a lot you can do with it and it's just so darn cute!

Anyways, I woke up this morning and looked through my box of cards to see what I was potentially lacking in my stash.  I noticed I have a lot for very specific occasions but not many that could be flexible in their use.  You never know what might arise in life that calls for a card so I decided to try and make some this next week that can be multi-purpose.

A bonus to this card was that I was able to use up some of my ribbon stash which is disproportionately large compared to how infrequently I use ribbon in my projects.

Identifiable Elements:

• Pattern paper - "Mac" from the Cricuit collection by Bazzill Basics Paper

• Red Marker - "Raspberry Ripple" by Stampin' UP!

• Yellow marker - "Summer Starfruit" by Stampin' Up!UP!

• Green ribbon - "Celery" Grosgrain Ribbon by Stampin' UP!

• Yellow ribbon - "So Saffron" Tafeta Ribbon by Stampin' Up!

Fast Card Friday

Along with bringing back the blog, I'm bringing back my old Fast Card Friday routine.  This card was also a part of the ribbon clearing I started this week as you can probably tell.  You also probably realize it is a part of my never-ending button purging.

I have come to realize that I have more buttons than I will ever know what to do with and so those will likely be next on the chopping block in my quest to purge a large portion of my stash.  They take up so much room in my craft area and I feel like I force myself to use them more than I genuinely desire to use them.  We'll see how it goes as parting can be such sweet sorrow.

I'm finally feeling it again...

It's been a long time since I've done anything with this blog, but that's because it's been a long time since I've felt like crafting.  I don't entirely know what it was, but I just wasn't feeling up to it.  I'm finally feeling the bug again, though, so I'm back for now!

This page was one that was made after I decided to clean out my ribbon stash.  I have a lot of ribbons that I just haven't touched in a very long time and that I know I should probably just clear out, but it's so hard to part with pieces that I think could still be useful.

I enjoy how it came out and I'm glad I was able to use up pieces that I'd long forgotten about.  I'm looking to do more projects like this, because on my break I realized the sheer volume of crafting supplies I've accumulated over the years and decided that I think I could half them and still have more than enough.  We'll see if I can ever bear to just part with things without a "proper send off" of creating with them one last time.

Identifiable Elements:

• Blue ribbon - Stampin' Up! Grosgrain Ribbon in the color "Pacific Point"
• Flower paper - Cosmo Cricket "Sunday" from the Girl Friday collection
• Green letters - Three Bugs In A Rug "Chaos & Confusion" green alphabet cardstock stickers
• Flowers - Prima Flowers

Crazy Love #3

Today's Valentine's Day card is actually one that I made for the holiday but also decided to keep it vague enough that I could use the same design for more generic occasions.  The flowers and pink color scheme lend itself well to the romantic holiday, but they also could be used as a general note or even Mother's Day card.

I've been looking to make some more versatile designs so that I can have more cards on hand for last minute occasions.

This entire card was made with bits that I got from an estate auction last year so while I can't identify most of the elements, I'm glad that I was able to work my way through more of my stash.

Identifiable Elements:

• Gold puff paint - Studio G

22 Days...

Today, I am one step closer to finally using up all of the estate sale buttons.  I've got a long ways to go still, but one step is better than none.

I'm not really the biggest fan of the color scheme I chose for this card, but it took me out of my comfort zone which is always something I look to do, and it turned out good enough for me.  I've been feeling like I'm in a bit of a Halloween rut as of late so I thought trying something different might spark the creative spirit again.

27 Days...

This spooky card was extra fun for me to make because this color combination is one of my favorites for the Halloween season.  I love the contrast the purple, green, and black create.  It's very witches-brew-esque.

My favorite part of the card is the green puff paint on the green paper.  It makes the paper look dimensional with the monochromatic scheme.

Identifiable Elements:

• Felt skulls - DIY Craft by FLOMO
• Green puff paint - Nuvo Crystal Drops in the shade "Apple Green"

31 Days...

 It's that time of year again, my favorite year in fact, and I'm so excited!  I'm starting off with this funky (and extremely heavy weight-wise) card.  That spider and cauldron are metal and suspiciously hefty.  I used a bunch of bits and pieces I had from Halloween cards past and I love how it turned out.  

I swear these felt skulls I bought a couple years ago are going to haunt me for forever because just when I think I'm about done with them I find more.  I've always wanted a good ghost story, but this one isn't good so much as sad.

Identifiable Elements:

• Boo! - Stampin' Up! Paper Pumpkin Set
• Felt Skull - DIY Craft by FLOMO

Christmas In July #6

I hope this little Santa makes you smile just as much as he made me smile!  I had time to kill while I was at my parent's house last year and decided to play with my mom's large collection of markers.  I stamped this little Santa and after one previous "practice" Santa, I made him.  He's so cute and I absolutely love him.  I think that I did him justice and really like how he turned out.

I wanted Santa to be the star (he's a diva nd deserves it) so I kept the rest of the card very simple.  I also kept up my quest to purge the button stash as well, so that was a bonus.  I really like this card and I love that Santa gets to spread the joy he gave me.

Identifiable Elements:

• Paterned paper - SEI
• Santa - "Cookie Cutter Christmas" by Stampin' Up!
• Markers - Stampin' Up!

Christmas in July #4

This card was completely inspired by my desire to color.  I stamped the wreath before I'd even cut the card stock for the base of the card itself.  I was relaxing to color it in and add the pearlescent dots.  Afterwards, I just let the other elements fall into place.

The buttons are more from that massive stash of thousands of button I bought from an estate sale 2 years ago.  I feel like I've barely made a dent in the stash, but progress is progress.  I conservatively estimated the number of remaining buttons and figured out that I only need to make 400 more 5 button cards to be free of them.  At a pace of 7 cards a month I'll be done in 4.76 years...

Identifiable Elements:

• Washi tape - Zakkalover Etsy
• Pearl puff paint - Perlen-Pen by Viva Decor
• Green marker - "Gumball Green" by Stampin' Up!

Christmas in July #3

This Christmas in July card is very simple, but I like it because of how versatile it is.  Simply swapping out the greeting and perhaps the color palette, and you could have a pretty quick and simple Valentine's Day card.  I try to not duplicate cards often, because I really do enjoy the creative process of coming up with something new, but sometimes I don't have a choice and any card that I can quickly replicate appeals to me.

Working through these cards, I have come to realize that I don't have as many holiday themed stamp sets as I thought I did.  I could've sworn that I had more, but I took all of my sets out and dug through them and came up shorter than I thought.  Because of this, I'm glad I had these chipboard hearts that look vaguely seasonal to help pick up the slack.

Identifiable Elements:

• Chipboard hearts - Bo Bunny
• Ribbon - Stampin' Up!

Christmas in July #2

Today's card was an unexpected struggle.  The stamp I used for the red pattern on the white strips absolutely did not want to cooperate.  It was patchy every single time I stamped it so eventually after trying and failing about 6 times to get a clean image I just decided to cut some of the "better" parts out to make the strips.  This is definitely one of those times where mishap turns into "artistic choice".

Despite not being my first choice for card design, I do like how it turned out.  It was quick and simple to make which means I can make a few duplicates rather quickly if I find myself in a pinch come December.

Identifiable elements:

• Red ribbon - Stampin' Up!
• Red ink - "Real Red" by Stampin' Up!

Christmas in July #1

We're kicking of Christmas in July with an adorable little kitty cat!  I bought this little guy from our local scrapbooking shop because he was just too cute to pass up. 

I decided to jazz up his Christmas lights with some markers and glitter.  I actually got to use one of my fine art markers because it ended up being the perfect shade of red for the piece.

My hope is to get some of my Christmas cards done and out of the way so the holiday season becomes a little less stressful for me come December.  I really cut it close last year and I refuse to have a repeat this year.

Identifiable Elements:

• Gold glitter - Glitter Glue by Studio G
• Red marker - Pigma Micron
• Gold marker - American Crafts
• Washi tape - Create 365
• Cat stamp - "Tangled Kitty" by Rubbernecker Stamps

Coloring Time

 I know it's been awhile since I've been able to post on this blog and I completely missed the rest of my Crazy Love series.  I made the bad decisions to take too many online classes, but now that I've let two of them go (by choice...there are some professors that just aren't cut out for online learning) I've finally had time to get back to creating.  I purchased some new markers to try out and I made this little card.

I don't really care for the way they look (particularly in the balloon).  They remind me a bit too much of Crayola and kindergarten mishaps.  I still like the card although my phone's camera really had trouble accurately picking up the pink.  It looks way more neon than what it really is.  

The stamp set is adorable, however, and I want to experiment with it further.  Wish me luck!

Identifiable Elements:

• Felt Buttons - BlumenthalLansing Company
• Stamp set - "Norbert's Birthday Party" by Becky Moore by PHOTOPLAY

Crazy Love #1

We're kicking off this year's Crazy Love event with a pretty funky Valentine's Day card!  Last year I accidentally missed one day of this series so hopefully I keep on track this time around.  

I'm always looking for ways to use non-traditional colors for my holiday cards and when I was looking at my stash for inspiration the yellow heart gems I've had for years really jumped out at me.  I paired them with some scrap paper I'd had saved for quite awhile as well and this lovely card was born. 

Identifiable Elements:

• Ink- So Saffron by Stampin’ Up!
• Sentiment- “Wacky Wishes” by Stampin’ Up!