Punch Art Owl Doctor

I had a request to make a graduation card for someone whose family member just graduated and is now a doctor. I knew I wanted to incorporate punch art in this card (one of my favourite 'techniques') and came across an adorable doctor/nurse get well card using the Owl Builder punch. I loved the clever stethoscope on the doctor owl and thought I would use this idea for the graduation card. Playing along with Mojo Monday's latest sketch, everything came together so nicely:

I used the Arrows embossing folder to add some texture to the card front. A strip of chevron designer paper in Midnight Muse is embellished with pleated ribbon in Baja Breeze (one of my favourite retired Stampin Up colours). I created the stethoscope using the Small Oval punch and the circles from the Owl Builder punch. The graduation cap was created using the Curly Label punch (to create the peak at the bottom of the cap) and the top of the cap was cut free hand. 

I finished it off with a matching envelope, which was so easy to make using the Envelope Punch Board! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Card Ingredients: 

Stamps: Family Reunion (ret.)

Paper: Midnight Muse, Baja Breeze (ret.), Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Basic Black, Comfort Cafe DSP (ret.)

Ink: Midnight Muse

Tools: Owl Builder punch, Curly Label punch (ret.), Small Oval punch, Arrows Embossing Folder

Accessories: Baja Breeze pleated ribbon (ret.)

A Masculine Birthday Card

We celebrated another brother's birthday this past week! My older brother, Jason turned 30 something!

I always find it somewhat challenging to create masculine birthday cards. I started off with a unique layout - sketching my own by combining different layouts that I saw on Pinterest. Then I chose the colours. Brown and blue generally come to mind. This time I threw in a brighter accent colour. I added a mixture of texture, patterns and punched out images. Here's how it all came together:

Here's wishing Jason a great year ahead!

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: Happiest Birthday

Paper: Crumb Cake, Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Well Worn DSP, Sweater Weather DSP, 2012-2014 In-Colour DSP, Neutrals DSP

Ink: Early Espresso

Tools: Circles nestabilities, Chevron punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, 1-1/4" Circle punch, 1" Circle punch

Accessories: Tangerine Tango Candy Dots

A Bold & Cheery Birthday Card

We decided to change things up a bit this week, moving our KCRR and "Inspired By..." challenges to a day earlier than usual. But, before I introduce our new KCRR challenge for the week, I wanted to share with you some recognition I received this past week! One of my cards was chosen as a Weekly Top Pick over at Stamps at Play! What a nice surprise!

Click here for the original post

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Rose Red

Little Leaves Sizzlits Die

Fancy Fan Embossing Folder

I wanted to combine this challenge with a sketch challenge over at Cardabilities, as well as a colour combo at Dynamic Duos. 

I was so happy to see that Rose Red was one of the colour options at Dynamic Duos this week! When we first randomly chose the three elements for this week's KCRR challenge, I wasn't quite sure what colours I would use with Rose Red. But, Dynamic Duos made it easy for me! I also love the layers in the Cardabilities sketch this week!. So combining all three challenges, here's the end result:

A bold & cheery birthday card! I love the patterns of the DSP and the texture of the fancy fan in this card! The stitched satin ribbon blends so well with the patterns. The flower is created from the Floral Fusion sizzlits die from Stampin Up. This recently came in with my last order and I'm so glad I decided to get it! It adds that extra special touch to this card, with a pearl in the center of the flower. 

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to visit Karly's Creations to see what she created with these elements! Join us tomorrow for a new "Inspired By..." challenge! 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: Family Reunion (ret.)

Paper: Midnight Muse, Rose Red, Whisper White, Subtles DSP, 2012-2014 In-Colour DSP, Floral District DSP

Ink: Midnight Muse

Tools: Little Leaves Sizzlit Die, Floral Fusion Sizzlit Die, Itty Bitty punch pack, Fancy Fan embossing folder

Accessories: Pearl (Michael's), Midnight Muse stitched satin ribbon

KCRR32 - A Triple Challenge

We are back with a new KCRR challenge today!

 

This week we decided to make it a triple challenge and add a 3rd element to the mix:

Comfort Café DSP

Sycamore Street ribbon & button pack (from Sale-a-Bration)

Apothecary Art Stamp Set 

To be honest, this one was a real challenge for me! Luckily Comfort Café DSP has the colour Pool Party in it, which is one of the colours in the ribbon & button pack. However, I still struggled with what designer paper to use. And then throwing Apothecary Art stamp set in the mix kind of stumped me! I decided to just simply use one of the sentiments in the stamp set.

I chose the latest sketch from Retro Sketches to use as the base of my card design because it was so unique.

I think this sketch actually added to my creative block... I'm not always a big fan of white space and as I was making this card, there was a lot of white space in my design. So I changed it up a couple times, adding more stamped images to it and some embellishments and I just love how it turned out in the end!

 

I think the colour combo Midnight Muse and Sahara Sand look fabulous with the soft pastel Pool Party! To fill some of the white space on the right panel, I added stamped images from the Flowering Flourishes stamp set - one I haven't used that often. I also embellished it with chevrons, pearls and a Pool Party button. I kept the other panel fairly simple and just embellished it with Pool Party ribbon.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! Click here to see Karly's take on this challenge!

 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: Apothecary Art, Flowering Flourishes

Paper: Midnight Muse, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Comfort Café DSP

Ink: Midnight Muse, Pool Party

Tools: Corner Rounder punch, Chevron Border punch

Accessories: Sycamore Street ribbon & button pack, pearls (Michael's)

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)

Proverbs 3:5

Today's card features another quote from Stampin Up's 'Trust God' stamp set. This stamp set has become one of my favourites. It has so many encouraging quotes that can be used to brighten someone's day or let someone know you are thinking of them.

One of my favourite Bible verses comes from Proverbs -- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight" (vv. 3:5-6). I try to live up to this verse in my daily life but often struggle with it. It's a challenge for me to put my complete trust in God and his plan for my future. I have come to realize that God is bigger than any problem or time of uncertainty that I may face. That gives me a sense of hope and relief, knowing that God is in control.

When I saw this verse in the 'Trust God' stamp set, I knew I just had to add this to my collection. I kept the card design simple with the focus on this verse. Here's how it turned out:

I added some texture by embossing the Old Olive piece of cardstock with my go-to embossing folder - square lattice. The striped Midnight Muse DSP is a nice contrast to the Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive. I added orange bakers twine and buttons to embellish the card.

 

Thanks for stopping by! After taking a long break, we finally have a new KCRR challenge tomorrow! Stay tuned :)

 

Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Trust God

Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, In-Colour 2011-2013 DSP

Ink: Midnight Muse

Tools: Square Lattice embossing folder

Accessories: Orange bakers twine (CTMH), Pumpkin Pie buttons

Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge #217

My mother-in-law recently asked for religious cards for baptisms and profession of faith. I knew the perfect Stampin Up stamp set to use. It's one I recently purchased and it's called "Trust God". It has such encouraging sayings in it and can be used for any occasion.
Since my in-laws will be visiting this weekend, I thought it's about time to stop procrastinating and get crafting! :)

For today's card I used a new sketch from The Sweet Stop. I discovered this sketch challenge blog not too long ago and I think it's a great source for inspiration! Here's the sketch for this week:

I picked a sentiment/saying and used it as the central image of the card. I chose Marina Mist, Certainly Celery and Midnight Muse as the main colours. Here's how it turned out:

 



The edges of the polka dot designer paper are distressed and I added a 'splatter' over the sentiment. The doily adds some detail to this simple design and small blue buttons embellish the card. I think it makes a great card for a baby boy's baptism or it could even be used for a baby shower. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Trust God
Paper: Marina Mist, Midnight Muse, Whisper White, Subtles DSP
Ink: Midnight Muse
Tools: Delicate Doilies sizzlit die, Spritzer, Distress Tool, Circles Nestabilities
Accessories: Buttons

Inspired By... a Shower Curtain!

I didn't get home till about 8PM last night. I had quite a few errands to run and wanted to stop at the mall. With it starting to feel like spring, I wanted to spice up my wardrobe a little with some new spring clothes (not that I need more clothes...). I ended up finding a couple of nice shirts from Dynamite. I find it's usually hit or miss at that store, and this time it was a hit! I don't have any greens in my collection, so I thought these would be a great addition!Here's a pic of my recent purchases. (I bought the shorts at Winners - love them!).

Now onto a new inspirational photo challenge!

It was my choice this week and after much thought and looking for inspiration around my own apartment, I took a photo of our shower curtain. How can a shower curtain be an inspiration to cardmaking, you might wonder...

IB #14

 



I love the flowers and colours on this shower curtain! I think it makes a great inspirational photo. I was inspired to make this beautiful Mother's Day card:

 

 

See how you can be inspired by items you see everyday?? I used a great sketch from Deconstructed Sketch as a guide. At first glance, I wasn't too sure about parts of this sketch. So I revamped it a little and left out parts of it. I still think my card resembles the sketch quite well!

 

 

The flowers were stamped in Midnight Muse (my new favourite blue!) and I sponged the edges of the oval shape with Baja Breeze ink. The Crumb Cake piece of cardstock is distressed on the edges with a distressing tool. I added bakers twine and pearls to embellish the card.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to visit Karly's Creations to see how this photo inspired her!

 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Subtles DSP, 2012-2013 In-Colour DSP

Ink: Midnight Muse, Baja Breeze

Tools: Ovals nestabilities

Accessories: Pearls, Bakers Twine







100th Blog Post and a 'By the Tide' Masculine Card

Just realized this is my 100th blog post! Wow! Crazy how fast time flies... I love blogging. It has become a great addition to my hobby. Some days it can be hard to keep up with a daily blog (so this may change in the future to every other day, or something like that), but for now it works out great. I love participating in card challenges and blogging is a great way to do that. It really motivates me to build up my stock of cards/projects. Thanks to all my followers for reading my blurbs everyday! Hope you have been, and continue to be, inspired by my cards/projects! If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, click here. I've created a board for all the cards I've posted in this blog.


For today's post, I created a masculine card using the new Sweet Sunday sketch. It's a great sketch with lots of layers!

 

I pulled out a new stamp set called "By the Tide". I love anything to do with the beach/ocean, so I just had to get this stamp set! I stamped the coral image in Crumb Cake and popped up a stamped fish that I cut out. Striped navy ribbon layers the bottom half of the card. I'm starting to love Midnight Muse -- it's a nice deep blue and is perfect for masculine cards!

 



I love how detailed the fish stamp is! It really stands out against the light Crumb Cake.

 

 

 



Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to come back tomorrow for a new KCRR challenge!

 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: By the Tide, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Midnight Muse, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Neutrals DSP

Ink: Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake

Tools: Circles Nestabilities, Owl Builder punch, Word Window punch

Accessories: Not Quite Navy striped grosgrain ribbon

Birthday Wishes for My Big Sis and a New KCRR Challenge!

Today I give a special birthday shout-out to my lovely sister, Monique!! She is such a beautiful person inside and out - so sweet, caring and thoughtful. Even though I don't get to see her often, we try to keep in touch as much as we can. I miss her! She is an amazing artist living in the beautiful country of Scotland. One day, I hope to visit her there! But for now I'm sending her birthday hugs and kisses from afar :)

I did send her a card, but I will post another time, as she hasn't received it yet! :)

 



Now on to today's KCRR challenge!

 

 

This week we randomly chose the following two elements:

 

Midnight Muse

Congratulations

 

I have to say... this one was quite a challenge for me! I think what was throwing me off was the sentiment "Congratulations". I usually associate this sentiment with wedding, graduation, or a baby card. But, I probably wouldn't turn to Midnight Muse as my first choice for any of these themes. Soo... after some sketching in my card sketch book, brainstorming and seeing the colour combo with Play Date Cafe, I was inspired!

 

 

What a great colour combo! And I think that Midnight Muse is a good resemblance of the blue in this inspirational photo. I used an older sketch (unfortunately, I can't remember the source) and put together layers of designer paper and cardstock to create this card: 

 

KCRR#13

 

 

I love how the orange colour just pops out of the card!

 

Thanks for visiting! Make sure to stop by Karly's Creations to see how she incorporated these two elements in her project!

 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: Fundamental Phrases

Paper: Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Pumpkin Pie, Regals DSP, Comfort Cafe DSP

Ink: Midnight Muse

Tools: Circles nestabilities, Scallop Circles nestabilities

Accessories: Pumpkin Pie button, Navy Bakers Twine (CTMH)

Rock 'N Roll Birthday Celebration

Happy Friday! It has been a looongg week. Friday took forever to get here! Looking forward to relaxing this weekend and getting some good crafting time in.

So yesterday, as we were driving home from work we got a phone call from someone who found our dog, Keta a couple blocks from where we live, playing with some kids just outside her home. We were SO grateful to those kids for taking care of her! But now is the question... how did she get out of our fenced-in backyard?? We discovered, this is how...

Bad girl... and super sneaky. Looks like we have some dog-proofing to do in our backyard. I'm glad that we live where we do - we have such great neighbours! I don't know what I would do if I lost Keta!

After all that comotion, Kevin and I had the pleasure of visiting with my coworker/friend, Karly and her boyfriend Matt. They prepared a delicious elk roast and deer tenderloin meal for us! This was my first time trying elk and it really was quite good! It didn't taste 'gamey' at all! The deer tenderloin was also delicious! I haven't always been a big fan of deer meat... But apparently the taste is quite different if it was an older buck versus a younger doe.
They sent us home with a bag full of moose meat, deer meat, and elk meat... my hubby was thrilled! (Thanks again Karly!)

Moving on to the card challenge of the day...

Today's random recipe includes these two elements:

Rock 'N Roll Technique
Midnight Muse

 

I struggled with this challenge a bit. While I love Midnight Muse, I don't have many options in my supplies, but I made it work! The rock 'n roll technique is a fun element to add to a card and it's quite simple! First, you pick a solid stamp. I decided to use the retired "Upsy Daisy" stamp, which is one of my favourites. You then stamp it in a lighter colour ink (in my case, I used So Saffron) and 'rock 'n roll' it in a darker ink, such as Pumpkin Pie. I used this technique on both the flowers and the sentiment:

 

 

I love the look of this technique! I added Midnight Muse designer paper, an eyelet border, rhinestones and pleated Pear Pizazz ribbon for some detail on the card. I fussy cut some of the flowers and popped them using dimensionals. The pictures below display this a little better.

 

 

Feel free to play along! Hop on over to Karly's Creations to see how she has incorporated these two elements in her card!

 

Come back tomorrow to see a new "Inspired By..." challenge! I'm excited for this one!

 

Card Ingredients:

 

Stamps - Upsy Daisy

Paper: Old Olive, So Saffron, Whisper White, In-Colour 2012-2014 DSP

Ink: So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie

Tools: Circles nestabilities, Eyelet Border punch

Accessories: Pleated Pear Pizazz ribbon (ret.), Rhinestones (Michael's)