Friday 30 August 2013

Inspired By... Funky Nail Art!

Just one more day of work and we are on the road again! This time we are making our way down south to Kelowna, to get one last taste of summer! Looking forward to a relaxing weekend of camping, shopping, and sun-tanning on the beach!

Friday means a new inspirational challenge!

 
It was Karly's pick this week and she chose a fun photo of funky nails. Love these colours together! 

 
At first I thought of doing a nautical-themed card... However, these colours would be a great non-traditional combo for a Christmas card! And with Christmas coming up in just 4 months, it's time to start building my stock! I chose the Retrosketches sketch to use as a guide and pulled out my new collection of Christmas DSP.
 

 
What do you think? I cut strips of DSP and glued them on a piece of white cardstock. The ornament is stamped in Coastal Cabana and popped up to give the card some dimension. The sentiment is stamped in Smokey Slate and rhinestones are added to embellish it. After taking a look at it again, there was something missing on the top portion of the card so I added pieces of ribbon in similar colours and I like how it turned out!
 
 
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
Enjoy the long weekend ahead!
 
 
Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Sentiment - unknown; Delightful Decorations
Paper: Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Winter Frost Specialty DSP
Ink: Coastal Cabana, Smokey Slate
Tools: Ornament Punch
Accessories: Rhinestones (Michael's), Coastal Cabana ribbon, Silver 1/4" ribbon, Pool Party Satin ribbon (Sale-a-Bration)

Thursday 29 August 2013

An Autumn Thank You Card

I know I've been neglecting my blog lately... Once this summertime busyness slows down, I hope to blog more regularly! But then there's craft fair season... It never ends! In any case, I hope to share my papercraft creations that I'm preparing for the upcoming craft fairs on a more regular basis.

We return with a new KCRR challenge!


We chose three items for this week:

Whisper White
More Mustard
Seam-Binding Ribbon
 
While this may seem like an easy combination, my selection of seam-binding ribbon is very few. The only colour I have that seemed to work with this combo was Cherry Cobbler. It turns out this colour, combined with More Mustard, makes a fabulous autumn-themed card! I used the sketch from Mojo Monday this week and made a simple thank-you card:
 



 
I like how the deep red (Cherry Cobbler) stands out against the More Mustard. It reminds me of the red maples in Ontario. I miss the rich beautiful colours of fall in Ontario! 
I used paper from one of my favourite DSP collections - Orchard Harvest - for the card front and wrapped Cherry Cobbler seam-binding ribbon around it. The sentiment is the central image of the card. To keep with the 'thanksgiving/fall' theme, I added stamped leaves and an acorn. Candy dots complete the card (my new favourite embellishment from Stampin Up!).
 

 
Thanks for visiting! Head on over to Karly's Creations to see how she used these three elements in her card creation!
 
Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Vintage Verses (Sale-A-Bration 2013); Wonderfall
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard, Whisper White, Orchard Harvest DSP
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip
Tools: Ovals Nestabilities, Autumn Accents Bigz Die
Accessories: Cherry Cobbler seam-binding ribbon, Candy Dots


Monday 26 August 2013

Little Boy Overalls

Happy Monday!

I feel rejuvenated after a productive, yet relaxing weekend! Here's hoping this week flies by as next weekend we are on the road again for one last road trip before summer ends :)

A couple weeks ago, one of our nephews, Micah, celebrated his 1st birthday! He is such a cutie and is growing up so fast!


All smiles! :) Unfortunately, I haven't met this little guy yet :( But, I'm looking forward to seeing him at Christmas!

I thought I'd make a fun-folded card for his birthday. I saw this awesome card on Stampin Pretty's blog and wanted to CASE it. Her simple instructions made it so easy to make and it looks super cute in the end!

 
I added cute little jumping frogs to the overalls, as well as a sentiment "wish big" and a #1 that is cut free-hand. The pockets were created from a full circle cut in half. For some added detail I used a white gel pen to create stitching on the outer edges of the overalls and on the pockets.




How cute is that?!

Thanks for stopping by!

Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Moving Forward, Short & Sweet
Paper: Night of Navy, Gumball Green, Whisper White, Bashful Blue
Ink: Night of Navy, Gumball Green, White Gel pen
Tools: Word Window punch, 1-3/8" Circle punch
Accessories: Rhinestones

Friday 23 August 2013

Mojo Mixed With Modern

Friday is finally here! Feels like this week has dragged on, however I did get quite a bit accomplished! There are no longer messy piles of paperwork on my desk at work and I've got a good head start on my papercraft stock! I hope to have a productive weekend ahead as well!

Time for a new inspirational challenge! 
It was my pick this week and I found a modern inspirational photo on Pinterest.

Aren't these colours fun together? I can't say I would decorate my own living room like this, but it's great as inspiration! I decided to pull a few different ideas from the photo: the pattern on the rug, the colours (Gumball Green, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White), and the vases. I used the Mojo Monday sketch as a guide.

 
 
I love this layout! I first embossed the card front with the Fancy Fan embossing folder. I think it resembles the pattern in the photo quite well. The vases are created by using the Ornament punch and the Blossom Builder punch - just snip off the edges of the flower petals and you have a vase! Genius! I used the leaves from the Bird Builder punch and added a small flower button and rhinestones to embellish the card.
 
 

Thanks for visiting! I hope you also feel inspired by this photo! Hop on over to Karly's Creations to see what she has created!

Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Petite Pairs
Paper: Whisper White, Gumball Green, Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Pear Pizzazz
Ink: Gumball Green
Tools: Circles nestabilities, Ornament punch, Blossom Builder punch, 1-3/4" Circle punch, Bird Builder punch, Fancy Fan embossing folder
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie flower button, White bakers twine, Rhinestones

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Thinking of You - Clean & Simple

It has been a little while since I wrote my last post - so much on the go these days! I hope to post more regularly, however they may be short and sweet. Craft fair season is coming quickly and most of my evenings will be spent crafting!

After a few weeks off, we welcome you back to another KCRR challenge!


The two items randomly chosen for today's challenge are as follows:
 

Leaves
Thinking of You
 
Now this is a combination with lots of options! I thought about using leaves from punches/dies, but decided to turn to my favourite stamp set - French Foliage. With fall season coming up, I thought this would be perfect. Using the sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge this week, I created a clean and simple thinking of you card:
 
 
 
 
The edges of the Crumb Cake cardstock are distressed and sponged with Chocolate Chip ink. I used Orchard Harvest DSP for the flagged strips and added a third strip for the sentiment. The large circle with stamped leaves is popped up using dimensionals. I love using the colour combo of Cajun Craze, More Mustard and Old Olive for fall!
 

 
Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to visit Karly's Creations to see how she used these two elements in her card.
 
Come back tomorrow for a new "Inspired By..." challenge!
 
Card Ingredients:
Stamps: French Foliage, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Orchard Harvest DSP
Ink: Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Tools: Circles nestabilities, Distress tool




Saturday 17 August 2013

A 5th Year Anniversary!

Yesterday, Kevin and I celebrated our 5th year anniversary! (wow!) Can't believe how fast time flies. We have had so many awesome adventures over the past 5 years... I can't wait to see what the next 5 bring!

The night before our anniversary, Kevin surprised me with this absolutely gorgeous vase of flowers:


We recently saw purple wildflowers just like this one in Revelstoke, BC on the Meadows in the Sky Parkway and I absolutely loved them! They are so beautiful!

To celebrate we enjoyed a delicious dinner out at a local restaurant called North 54. They have the best ceasar salad we've ever tasted! We tried some lobster ravioli, garlic prawns, lobster tails, and topped it off with some wine and dessert (a white chocolate mousse cake, crème brule and a chocolate truffle) - yum!

It was a bit of a challenge to think of a unique design for my anniversary card this year. I  turned to a sketch from Mojo Monday this week as a guide (sketches always help!). I recently saw an idea on Splitcoast Stampers using the owl builder punch to create silhouette owls. I decided to CASE this idea and incorporate it into the Mojo Monday sketch and just love how it turned out!

 

How cute are those owls? I sponged Midnight Muse and Baja Breeze to make the night sky, and then sponged a 2nd circle with So Saffron ink to create the moon. The branch with leaves comes from the Bird Builder punch and the little hearts add a nice touch. The card front is embossed with stripes and burlap ribbon adds some texture to the card. Here's the Mojo sketch I used:




Thanks for looking!

Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Memorable Moments
Paper: Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Midnight Muse, Baja Breeze, So Saffron
Tools: Owl Builder punch, Bird Builder punch, Heart to Heart punch, Scallop Circle nestabilities, Circle nestabilities, 1-3/8" Circle punch
Accessories: Burlap ribbon (CTMH)

Thursday 15 August 2013

3 Cheers For You!

Hello!

I'm back again after taking a little break! I had the most enjoyable time with my sister and brother-in-law! We had a nice long weekend in Prince George, spending time at the local pool, floating down the river and going for walks. We then took a road trip and went camping throughout parts of Alberta and BC. It was fun to show them around and to enjoy God's beautiful creation! I can't get enough of the turquoise blue lakes and the spectacular rocky mountains!

I think our road trips are coming to an end for this summer season... which always makes me sad. Over the past couple years I've really grown to love traveling!

But now it's back to reality!

It was nice to step away from my crafting projects for a couple weeks, but I'm looking forward to getting back into it again! Sometimes I need that break so I can gain inspiration and motivation.

In one of my last posts, I promised to share the birthday card and gift I made for my sister's birthday. I wanted to make a fun-folded card, so I turned to my binder of ideas and came across one of my favourite folds -- the waterfall card. My sister has a bubbly fun personality so I thought I'd choose a fun colour combo and stamp set. Here's how it turned out:

 
 
Pull on the ribbon and....
 
 
 
 
Pretty cool eh? I hope to make more of these in the near future, so I will try and write up a tutorial to share with you!
 
I also decorated a greeting card box as a gift to go along with the handmade card:
 

 
 
The rose on top of the box is handmade, using cardstock and the ornament punch. I love how it turned out!
 
Ingredients for Waterfall Card:
Stamps: Happy Hour, Especially For You
Paper: Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Birds of a Feather DSP
Ink: Island Indigo, Raspberry Ripple, Real Red, Rose Red
Accessories: Rhinestones, Rhinestone brads, Island Indigo Ruffled Ribbon
 
Ingredients for Card Box:
Box - CTMH
Paper: Sycamore Street, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Tools: Cricut, Ornament Punch
Accessories: Pearls (Michael's)

Thursday 1 August 2013

Inspired By... a Rainbow of Butterflies!

Today's the day I get to pick up my sister and brother-in-law from the airport! It'll be so good to see them again (a year is too long!). After enjoying the upcoming weekend just relaxing here in PG, we have planned a camping trip to Lake Louise/Revelstoke/Clearwater area next week - so excited! 

Time for a new inspirational challenge!

This week it was Karly's pick. She chose a bright and colourful photo for inspiration:


How pretty is this?? My first thought was to use the "Beautiful Wings" embossing folder. I picked subtle neutrals for the card front (Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla) so that the colourful butterflies would stand out.

 
My thinking was to closely resemble the final product in the picture above and I think I did just that! I added the simple, but fun sentiment from "Blooming Marvelous" and embellished it with rhinestones to complete the card. I love how bright and cheerful this card is!
 
 
 
What do you think?
 
Make sure to hop on over to Karly's Creations to see how this photo inspired her!
 
I'm taking a break from blogging for the next couple weeks as I spend time with my sister and brother-in-law. I look forward to sharing with you when I return!
 
Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Blooming Marvelous
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist, Island Indigo, Elegant Eggplant
Ink: Island Indigo
Tools: Beautiful Wings embossing folder
Accessories: Rhinestones (Michael's)