December 31, 2013

Happy Cool Year!

Hi Everyone,

Happy New Year to each one of you!  Or should I say Happy Cool Year!  Since so many of my friends and family are "enjoying" cool, snowy, icy weather these days, I am sharing so "cool" penguins (ready for summer fun!) from Kadoodle Bug Designs.  Enjoy!









December 30, 2013

Tweet Gradient with Balloon Birdie

Hi Fellow Crafters,

Thank you for joining us on the blog today.  Whew!  The holidays are behind us, and now I must have 40 Valentine cards ready by the first of the year.  Perfect time to bring you some quick & simple cards.  

Today I am bringing you a slightly different way of coloring your digital stamps.  For some time now, I have been wanting to learn how to use the gradient tool in Photoshop for select elements of a digital stamp.  I found a great tutorial and had my balloon on the Balloon Birdie digi colored (gradient) in no time at all! (Yes, I am just so proud of myself....tee, hee.)  So this cute card is ready to go in less than five minutes!  Very easy project!


You can learn to gradient color your digital stamps here, compliments of Adobe.

December 29, 2013

The Father-Daughter Dance

Hi Everyone,

Today I am showcasing a delightful card for Dad from Daughters of any age...a beautiful choice for beautiful moments.



Have a great day!

December 28, 2013

Happy Saturday

Hi Everyone,

Happy Saturday to each one of you! We are near the end of the year.  Today I am bringing you a card that sparkles with simplicity....using the Delicate Aster die from Heartfelt Creations. 


December 27, 2013

Sunny Yooper Memories

Hi Everyone,

December has gone so quickly and with it my family and friends in Michigan have some crazy weather!  So for them, today I am showcasing cards I made to sell in the Fort Wilkins Gift Shop during the summer...maybe they will keep hope for the Yoopers that spring is really just around the corner.















December 26, 2013

Happy Thursday!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome! Oh my goodness...Holidays are finished and I have some time to update my posts!

This card is a simple card I made using scraps from various projects.  Mixing images from Graphic 45 and Bo Bunny creates some variety to my cards.


December 23, 2013

Fox Present

Hi Everyone,

It's great to be back with you today!  

We are bringing you another inspiration-packed week from the design team. My card today features 2 Cute Ink's new Fox Present.  Enjoy!  And have a very Merry Christmas!  I will see you right back here next Monday.


December 16, 2013

Penguin Extravaganza!

Thank you for visiting my blog today. It is so much fun to play with new files and bring you different projects each day that showcase different styles.  Sit back with your favorite hot beverage and be inspired this week!

Today I am bringing you a card using 2 Cute Ink's newest members of the Penguin family - Ice Skating Penguin and Penguin Gifts.


I embossed the front of a lime-green card.  I printed the penguins in the middle of a clip art Christmas ornament - then printed an ornament slightly larger for the blue matting.  The penguin ornaments hanging from a couple of Poinsettia flowers makes for a cute, festive card.

Enjoy this week's posts....and we'll see you again next week.

December 9, 2013

Santa Claus Mouse

Hello and Welcome,

Oh, I am just super excited to share Santa Claus Mouse from 2 Cute Ink's Christmas collection.  Santa Claus Mouse makes it fun to create your Christmas cards this season.  And he's not alone - 2 Cute Ink hasn't forgotten Mrs. Claus.  Click here to see this fun couple.  They are absolutely festive and fun!


I wanted to give Santa a little dimension, so I printed two copies - running one through an embossing folder.  I fussy cut Santa's beard, cap fur, and chimney snow and layered on top of the original colored Santa.  

Make sure you check out all of 2 Cute Ink's Christmas digi stamps to see how fun it is to use them for your Christmas cards! Enjoy and have a craftastic week!

December 2, 2013

Sweet Sparkle Tree

Hello Paper Enthusiasts,

Today I am pleased to bring you a card spotlighting 2 Cute Ink's Sparkle Tree.  Not only is it cute - but it's FREE!  Using this cute tree - complemented by the perfect Christmas papers - will enable you to craft classic creations to send your friends and relatives.


November 25, 2013

Sweet Reindeer Lights

Hi Everyone,

Welcome and Happy Monday! I'm so glad you joined us today.  2 Cute Ink's Little Reindeer make a sweet collection - clearly Reindeer Lights is perfect for the holiday season.


Today's card is a shaped card using a free label file (Maggie's Label 3) from Magnamity.  I took the "label" file and sized it to to be 5-1/2" x 5-1/2".  I welded it to a rectangle for the card base.  I resized the label for each layer, then added a strip across the front (accented with a border punch).  The reindeer is colored with Copic Markers - with Stickles added for the Christmas lights, his nose, and accent dots in corners.  He is popped up alongside a big holiday wish created with just a word processor.


  
This card brought a little serendipity - I did not intend for the card shape to resemble a Christmas ornament.  When I was finished, however....there it was!  So I added a piece of rumpled ribbon to the top to finish off the ornament.

Have a fabulous crafty week, and I will see you next Monday.

November 18, 2013

Sweet Snow Globe

Hi Everyone,

Isn't this such a wonderful time of year! In some parts of the country, the crisp fall air is combined with beautiful soft snow.  Yet I am able to still enjoy temps in the 80s!  But that doesn't stop me from the inspiration of snow-themed ideas - and what says snow better than a snow globe!  This snow globe houses some special 2 Cute Ink characters - The Gingerbread Boy and Gingerbread Girl - dancing around the Sparkle Tree.

  

November 15, 2013

Scraps to Treasures Blog Hop - Best Friends Forever

This month's challenge was to use a Tic-Toe-Toe board as our inspiration.  The board is shown here - with the diagonal line I chose.


The blue and black paper are scraps left over from the big wedding order I did this summer.  The white paper is embossed with words - purchased years ago and just rising to the top of my scrap pile.  The butterflies come from a digital stamp (forgot the source - sorry!) used on some of the wedding cards.  The BFF is a free digital stamp from Lazy Daisy Designs.  The lacy card shape is an svg file from SVG Cuts - Lacey Mom Card.  And, finally, the pearls are left over from a baby project I made for a coworker.

Enjoy today's hop and we'll see you right back here again next month, when we'll be using scraps to make cards inspired by a specific color scheme.

Your next stop is Paula.  Here is the entire line up in case you get lost.


Robin S. ~ http://scrapandchat.blogspot.com/
Camille ~ http://shortonideasaz.blogspot.com/

November 11, 2013

Sweet Lady Bug

Hi Everyone,

It's Monday! Today I used the cute little image Sweet Lady Bug.  I used two techniques with this image.  I printed and colored the lady bug (both on the front and inside with a sentiment)....I also cut a couple strawberries on my eClips and pieced them together for an embellishment.  The fabulous word art is a free image by Elegant Wordart by Bethany.


Inside Sentiment
Enjoy all the fabulous projects this week, and we'll see you right back here next Monday. 

November 7, 2013

Cornucopia

Hi Everyone,
The holidays are near - this past year flew by so fast!  Today I took some time to jump-start my creative juices by making paper cornucopias to share with family members.

My inspiration came when I was looking for a unique project for "Craft It Forward."  I found this pattern at SVG Cuts.  Although it's difficult to take a good picture of the cornucopia itself with the flowers and ribbons that finish it off, it's an inspiring project - and a great family activity idea, as they are extremely simple to make...I think I've made a dozen so far!  These are just a couple of the ones I made today.









November 4, 2013

Sherlock Mouse

Hi Everyone,

This is such a fun time of year! Leftover Halloween Treats, Thanksgiving approaching, Christmas shopping, Holiday Festivities with friends....the list of activities and events are endless.  With Christmas on its way, many of you are scrambling to get Christmas cards made.  I challenge you to spend some time working on those everyday cards for all the other activities throughout the year.  

Today I am excited to share Sherlock Mouse.  Don't say you weren't warned - this little guy can be addictive!

Inside Message

Enjoy this week's projects, and we'll see you back here next Monday.

November 3, 2013

Operation Write Home - Sketch Challenge 197

Love Sketch Challenges from Operation Write Home. Working on "Yooper" cards today - so designed one using OWH's Sketch Challenge 197 - simple enough!

Here is my Yooper card (turned sideways from the original sketch).



Visit OWH to see other cards in the challenge - better yet, join the challenge!

October 28, 2013

Doesn't Get Easier Than This!

Hi Everyone!

Today I am back with more inspiration - this time for a quick & easy card.  We are so glad you can join us. Today's card uses the Panda Love digi stamp.  Pretty much two pen colors - and a couple rectangles for matting.  Doesn't get easier than that!

Have a great week! 

October 26, 2013

Halloween

Hi Everyone,


Greetings to you on this fine Saturday morning. 


Today I am bringing you another digital stamp I won from The Paper Nest during the Craftin Desert Divas Halloween Linky Party.


October 25, 2013

The Paper Nest Winner

Hi Everyone,

Halloween Greetings once again. I had a wonderful time viewing all the Halloween projects at Craftin Desert Divas's Linky Party. And I was the lucky winner of three digital images from The Paper Nest.

So today I am showcasing my first card using these images.


Be sure to visit the Linky Party to see more fun Halloween projects! Have a great weekend.

October 23, 2013

Oh, Sheet! - Blog Hop

Boo!

Oh, didn't mean to scare you; but just wanted to have some fun - so do these incredible crafters who have made things that involve ghosts. I hope you will join us today and hop along to see what each person made.

Our hostess is Jearise from Lorby's World, and her blog is the place to start at http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com. She will be having a give away; so make sure to start there and see what she has to offer and learn how to get a chance to win.

Our sponsor for this hop is Jessica from SVG Attic; so you have got to stop by her blog to see what she has up her sleeve. I'm sure you will gasp with delight!


Here is my ghostly creation for this hop...



I've been concentrating so much on fast & easy cards, that this one was fun to make - yet fast & easy!  My ghosts look more awesome in person - they are from a shimmery vellum - great effect that didn't photograph well.  But when I finished....I literally did have to say "Oh, Sheet!"  I was so intense on getting the right cuts made for the center step - that I had the paper the wrong way - MY BATS ARE ALL UPSIDE DOWN!!!!!!  Oh, well....crazy days of Halloween!


This card is also being entered in Crafty Desert Diva's Linky Party.

Thanks for floating in today to see what spooktacular creation I did, and now float on to Janet's blog.

Complete line up:

Jearise ~ http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com

October 21, 2013

Magical Monday

Hi Everyone!

I have spent the past several weeks focusing on Thanksgiving cards....with those finished and ready to go out, I chose Harry Potter Owl to help someone celebrate a "magical" achievement.




Inside Sentiment 
Have a fantastic week! 

October 20, 2013

My Halloween Collection

Hi Everyone,
We are breezing right through October. Today's post is for Craftin Desert Diva's Linky Party.  Be sure to stop by there and enjoy all this week's projects!






Enjoy today's projects! Have a creative week and we'll see you back here tomorrow with 2 Cute Ink!

October 18, 2013

Scraps to Treasures - Candy Wrappers

Hi Everyone,
 
We're bringing you another fabulous Scraps to Treasures Blog Hop.  This month the theme is "Candy Bar Wrappers."  Now I don't know if this makes a difference....but I had it in my head it was just "Candy Wrappers."  So I decided to "wrap" my candy in pillow boxes - extra-special treats for neighbor kids on Halloween.  Then when I went to post - I saw that word "bar."  Okay, so I took some creative license - but then I'm generally a rule follower - so I did have to also make a candy BAR wrapper.  LOL!  Enjoy my projects - and the great candy bar wrappers throughout the hop, and we'll see you back here next month when we'll be playing Tic-Tac-Toe.  Won't you join in the fun?

Candy Bar Wrapper

I was inspired for the pillow boxes by Brenda from Pebbles in my Pocket.  Each of these holds a full-sized Hershey's Bar and a couple bite-sized pieces of candy.


  








Your next stop is Jearise.  Here's the entire line up in case you get lost.

Lissa Marie - www.somanycrafts.com