It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Wow...I cannot believe it's been so long since I've posted.  Well, I guess I can- It seems like life has been on fast forward since the summer ended and school started.  I really haven't had much time to dedicate to my cards or stamping so it's been really fun getting ready for Christmas cards this year.  I am making a list ( and checking it twice :) ) for those special friends and family who will receive a handmade card this year.  My friends think I'm nuts because I want to make each one different but I get bored with mass-production of the same card.  Here's a sampling of what I've done so far:

Washi tape has to be the easiest and cutest way to add some real flair to a plain white card

I've used Pure Innocence Presents for You from My Favorite Things on the first card and Naughty, Nice, Not Sure from Unity Stamp Co. on the second. Really simple to do but what a cute and fresh look!

 

Another favorite stamp company of mine is Papertrey Ink. I've used their Friendship jar set with the holiday fillers coordinating set for this holiday creation

 

 

A few down and lots more to go! Wishing you lots of creativity this season...

 

 

 

MFT Pure Innocence - Thinking of You

Picking back up with my go-to girls of the Pure Innocence line from MFT. I love coloring my PI's with Copics and paper-piecing their dresses.  I used my Echo Park- Hello Summer paper to bring just the right, bright colors to the card. I am also in love with the new Plentiful Petals flower die from My Favorite Things.  It is so full and playful and adds a wonderful embellishment to every project.  I usually have a hard time making these flower dies look just right but this one came out just perfectly without much help from me.  I will be using this a lot!!

Flipping Out for Papertrey Ink!

Wow...I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted.  It's been a super busy time at work and as much as I'd like to be crafty instead of work....there are bills to be paid.

I was able to catch up a little today with some cards. The picture is not the greatest but I love the summertime feel of this card.

I had seen this gingham technique several months ago and finally got around to playing with it.  I think it adds a perfect summer touch to this card.  You simply use your stripe embossing folder, ink up the raised side with a brayer, run your paper through and repeat with the paper the opposite direction.  Simple!

I also fell in love with a new stamp supplier this month - www.papertreyink.com. Can I just say "Wow!" They have a wonderful selection of clear stamps, coordinating dies, paper and inks.  I'm a sucker for flip flops so when I saw this set it was a must-have.

                      

I was so impressed with the quality of the stamps, the packaging etc.  They have a linked gallery for their stamp sets to provide inspiration and a wonderful blog.  I highly recommend you check them out!

Adventures in Digital Scrapbooking

My first love is scrapbooking but let's be honest, I always feel like I'm so far behind!  I can't seem to make myself break from chronologically scrapbooking so I'm always stuck in the past.  At least with card-making I can usually start one, design it, finish it and move on in one sitting. 

In an effort to try to make some real progress with my scrapping this year I decided that I would try to do the next year of my boys' books digitally.  I found some great classes from Jessica Sprague that really helped me understand Photoshop and kick me into gear.  Here are a few of the layouts that we worked through in her class:

Isn't that awesome??  I was so impressed with the class and how easy it was to pick up.  I highly recommend checking out her website for any crafting things that you've wanted to learn how to do. I would almost guarantee she has a class on it!

Here's one that I did on my own for my facebook timeline banner.  Super cute!

My Favorite Things Guest Designer Contest-July

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of My Favorite Things.  Their stamps and Die-namics feed my addiction and get my creative juices flowing.  The July Guest Designer contest is on and once again this month they have provided a wonderful sketch to work from.



I am really digging this trend of the banner/pennants in paper crafting right now.  I've been so drawn to all of the papers, stamps and scrapbook layouts using this element.  It was fun to use it with a card for this sketch.  I chose MFT Pure Innocence Make Mine a Double for this card.  The stamp set was largely inspired by my recent purchase of the 6x6 paper pad of My Mind's Eye- On the Sunny Side.  Love ice cream cones and popsicles when it's hot out-  And trust me-  it's HOT out here in KY.  Temps this week expected to reach 104!!

I put a lot of time into the details on this card-  the addition of the twine on the dress waistline to match the banner twine, stitching and the tiny custom flowers on the dress and banners.

  The flowers are actually three individual bitty blossoms punch pieces folded and pinched together on a glue dot.

Finally a look at the inside of the card

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge- Design Team Call 2nd Entry

The second card for the sketch was quite different from what I'm used to doing but I found this stamp set a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with it. I have a hard time doing this style of card but was happy with the result.

The papers used on this card are from My Mind's Eye- Stella and Rose. MFT Die-namics for the flower embellishment and some crochet lace to finish it off.

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge- Design Team Call

I'm getting braver- another entry into a design team contest!  I ran across this sketch challenge during my blog hopping. I love Karen's work - her cards are always gorgeous and I always find inspiration in them.  








What a great sketch!  I decided to make two different cards with this sketch. 

The first is definitely more my style- a bit whimsical.

I actually took the time to hand-stitch the larger blooms on this one to add a bit more detail to the flower. I wasn't nearly as ambitious with the rest of the stitching and used my Janome Sew-Mini to machine stitch the borders and background for the flower.  My papers are from the Simple Stories Summer Fresh line. I LOVE this paper, now that I've used a bit of my stash I feel like I need to go hoard more so I never run out.  I've had this stamp set for years and not even sure what it is called or who manufactured it.