Have A Moo-tiful Birthday-Sweet Sunday Sketch #300

Hello all, and Happy Tuesday,

I'm winding down work for 2015 and today is officially my last day of it, then I'm on vacation for the rest of the year. I'm really not doing much work today though. I had my yearly review this morning with my manager, then met with one of the sales reps that I work with. After that, I pretty much said "done."  This afternoon I've been doing some sewing. I'm making some color blocked felted wool scarves. They are turning out pretty cute, too. I think they look like something you could pick up in a cool boutique in Haight-Ashbury. Super trendy!

Since this is actually a paper crafting blog, I guess I should get on to my card today. It's made using Karen's last Sweet Sunday Sketch. I'm sad to see this challenge go. When I first discovered blogs and challenges a few years ago, Karen's SSSC was the first one that I participated in, so it holds a special place in my crafty heart. I didn't always have the time to make a card every week, but when I look back through my blog, there sure are a lot of SSSC posts.

This is the BirthdayFarm Animals set from Simon Says Stamp. I used all four animals in the set by masking each after stamping. The order of stamping is the cow, then the goat, then the chicken, then the pig. They were stamped in Memento tuxedo black and colored with Copics. I used Expresso Dimensional Pearls for the cupcake frosting and Crystal Effects over all of the eyes. The balloon has a few layers of Wink Of Stella glitter.

Supplies
Stamps: Birthday Farm Animals set by Simon Says Stamp
Paper: SU Cucumber Crush and X-Press It Blending card stocks, SU DSP
Ink: Memento tuxedo black and Copics
Other: Die-namics Zig-zag circle die, Stickles, Expresso Dimensional Pearls, Wink Of Stella pen, enamel dots, the Big Shot, foam tape

Karen, I wish you lots of joy and happiness. I hope you have time to post a card or two once in awhile. Thanks for all the wonderful sketches over the years. They will be missed!

Colleen

Have A Purrfect Day!

Hello,

I'm back from my work travels with a horrible cold and I'm not feeling too well. Luckily, I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow, I just have some reports to finish, so I can make it an office day.

My sister's birthday was yesterday and since she has gotten her present and the card that I made for her, so it's safe to post a picture of her card. I made this last Sunday using a super cute SugarPea Designs set and the Sugar Sketch #33.

I stamped the image in Memento tuxedo black and colored it with Copics, then used a Die-namics circle die to cut  it out per the sketch. I love how these old SU felt flowers match the patterned papers. Unfortunately, I can't tell you where the papers are from. I have this bag of random paper scraps and these were in it.

Supplies
Stamps: What's Mew set by SugarPea Designs
Paper: SU heavy weight card stock and ??? patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics and SU Chocolate Chip
Other: Die-namics double stitched circle and Pierced Fishtail Flag STAX dies, SU felt flowers, white gel pen, SU mini glue dots, the Big Shot

Happy Friday and thanks for looking in,
Colleen

A Merry Little Wish

Hello and Happy Sunday afternoon,

I hope you are having a good weekend. I had to do some work, work this morning but I got it done early and then went right to my stamp table to make a few more Christmas cards. I think I have enough now so this afternoon I will be signing and addressing them so they can be mailed this week. I have another three days away from home this coming week, so I need to really buckle down on getting them done and out.

LeAnne has a traditional Christmas color palette for us this week at The Paper Players of Cherry  Cobbler, Mossy Meadow and Very Vanilla.

The sketch comes from CAS(E) This Sketch # 152.

I'm a little disappointed in how the candy cane turned out, but not enough to scrap the card. I stamped it in Cherry Cobbler, then colored over every other stripe with the Cherry Cobbler marker to give it dimension. It would have been fine had I left it alone, but I decided to sparkle it up with some Wink Of Stella and the marker ink ran some. I'm sure whom ever gets the card won't really notice. Just us stampers, LOL. I liked this holiday paper and it had the dark red and greens for the challenge. It also has the kraft, but I'm declaring it as a "neutral". My story and sticking to it!

Supplies

Stamps: Scentsational Season and Festival Of Trees (sentiment) sets by Stampin' Up

Paper: SU Very Vanilla card stock and Simple Stories Handmade Holiday patterned papers

Ink: SU Mossy Meadow, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede

Other: Die-namics circle die, SU punch, SU Cherry Cobbler Baker's twine, SU enamel dots, Wink of Stella glitter pen, The Big Shot and dimensionals

Have a great week everyone. Thanks for looking in,

Colleen

Peace and Joy

Hello stampers,

Last night we walked into our little village of Encinitas to watch the Holiday Parade. It's always so much fun. There were around 100 entries, all local. Lots of kids from the Scouts and YMCA clubs, schools, etc. It's so fun to watch the little ones on their scooters all decked out with lights.

The rest of the day will not be spent stamping. My manager signed me up for a Presentation Skills class several months ago and the class is three days this coming week in Los Angeles. We finally received the "pre-class" assignment on Thursday afternoon! We have to write three 10 minute Power Point presentations that we will be giving in class. Certainly not how I want to spend my Sunday, but with a full work day tomorrow, I really have no other option. I'd should be crafting cards rather than "crafting" Power Point presentations. (Many Dec. birthdays that I still need to make cards for).

But, enough ranting. I do have a card to share that I made for this week's theme challenge for The Paper Players. Claire's theme this week is "Let It Snow." I decided to play with water coloring again and this is what I came up with.

 

I combined three different stamp sets to make my snowy, North Pole scene. I started by stamping the snow flakes with VersaMark ink and heat embossing with SU white EP. To create the sky I used a variety of the darker blue markers. For the water, I stamped the waves with VersaMark and heat embossed with white EP and used the lighter blue markers. While still wet, dabbed in dark blue to make the deeper water. The bear and icebergs are stamped on X-Press IT Blending card stock and colored with Copics. I brushed over the icebergs with a Wink Of Stella glitter pen and IRL they look icy. The star was made with gold water color markers and punched with a retired SU punch. Lot's of steps, but very fun!

Supplies

Stamps: Polar Pals set by Avery Elle, Endless Wishes and Good Greetings sets by Stampin' Up

Paper: Tim Holtz water color paper, X-Press It Blending card stock and SU vellum

Ink: VersaMark, Memento tuxedo black, Copics, Zig Real Brush Markers

Other: SU white embossing powder, heat tool, Die-namics FishTail Flag banner die, white sequin, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Ok, time to get cracking on those presentations. Thanks for looking in today,

Colleen

Ho Ho Ho

Happy Monday stampers,

I'm traveling today, but not to far, for a work training class and team meeting in Los Angeles. I'll be gone two nights only so that's not too bad.

I made several Christmas cards yesterday and this is one of my favorites. It uses last week's Mojo Monday sketch #425.

And the inside:

Supplies:

Stamps: Jingle All the Way set by My Favorite Things

Paper: SU Real Red, Calypso Coral and Whisper White card stock, SU Nordic Noel DSP

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, SU Real Red and Garden Green, Copics

Other: MFT Jingle All the Way, Stitched Oval and Rounded Corner Rectangle, and 

Pierced Circle dies, TE Falling Snow EF, SU gold cord, gold sequin, the Big Shot, diemsionals

Thanks for looking,

Colleen

You're On the Nice List

Well Happy Monday morning,

I am hitting the highway in a few minutes, but first I wanted to post this card that I made last night after dinner. It was super quick to make and I love how it turned out. The inspiration for this Christmas card comes from this week's CanYouCaseIt? #97 inspiration photo. The layout is the 150th CAS(E) this Sketch.

I used the gold, red and white colors as well as the little red gift as the inspiration. The sentiment is heat embossed with gold EP and the gold ribbons were made with gold Stickles. 

Supplies

Stamps: Jingle All the Way set by My Favorite Things

Paper: SU Brushed Gold and X-Press It Blending card stocks

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics, VersaMark

Other: SU Gold EP, heat tool, Gold Stickles, TE red sequin

As always, thanks for looking,

Colleen 

Season's Greetings

Hi again,

One more post this evening. Another Christmas card this time using The Freshly Made Sketch #214. I really like this layout and I've used one of my all time favorite SU Christmas sets.

Stamps:
Scentsational Season set by Stampin' Up and Winter Scripty Sayings set by Lawn Fawn
Paper: SU Gumball Green, Pale Plum and X-Press It Blending card stocks and Taylored Expressions Gingerbread Lane patterned papers
Ink: SU Real Red and Soft Suede
Other: Scentsational Season dies, Spellbinders Scalloped circle die, Taylored Expressions Small Scalloped border die, Die-namics Fishtail Flag STAX die, sequin, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Have a wonderful week and thanks,
Colleen

Merry Christmas

Hello,

Sadly, it's the end of my long holiday weekend and I have to hit the road again next week. Actually, the next two weeks I'll be working out of town, but after that, it's almost vacation time again.

I squeezed in some stamping time on a couple my days off to get a few more Christmas cards made. Yippee! I still need to do a few more, but I'm getting there.

Using today's The Paper Player's challenge and Sweet Sunday Sketch I made this:

For Sandy's Tic Tac Toe challenge, I used the top horizontal choice of snowflake, patterned paper, and white. For the SSSC, I flipped the focal point to the other side of the card to accommodate the high side of the snowdrift.

Supplies
Stamps: Snow Place set by Stampin' Up
Paper: SU heavy Whisper White and X-Press It blending card stocks and Winter Time by Echo Park patterned papers
Ink: memento tuxedo black, SU Riding Hood Red, Midnight Muse, and Gumball Green, Copics
Other: SU Snow Place dies, Die-namics snowdrift dies, Crystal Stickles, SU sequin and snowflakes, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Thanks for looking,
Colleen

Baby, It's Cold

Hello again,

One more post tonight since I'll be away for the next three days. I wanted to play along with today's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

Supplies
Stamps: Winter Alpaca set by Lawn Fawn
Paper: Whisper White heavy card stock, X-Press It Blending card stock, SU Soft Sky card stock and Doodlebug Frosty Friends patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, SU Soft Suede, SU Soft Sky and Copics
Accessories: Spellbinders Scalloped circle and Die-namics zig-zag circle dies, Lawn Fawn wooden snowflakes, Wink of Stella pen, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Thanks for looking,
Colleen

Merry Christmas

Hello,

It's a very warm Sunday afternoon here in Southern California. I know that many of you in the Mid-West are dealing with snow and cold this weekend. I was in Nashville all last week for work and when we were all heading to the airport Friday evening, they were starting to delay and even cancel some flights going to Chicago. Luckily, I connected to San Diego through Houston, so there were no issues for me. I'm happy to be home for a few days, but I'm heading out Monday through Wednesday again next week.

I had a chance to do some stamping this morning after a few chores. It's Sunday and The Paper Players has a fun sketch for us this week. I took advantage to make another holiday card.

Supplies
Stamps: Toboggan Together set by Lawn Fawn
Paper: Stampin' Up heavy weight Whisper White and X-Press It Blending card stocks, Lawn Fawn Snow Day patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black and topics
Other: Lawn Cuts Toboggan Together co-ordinating dies, Lawn Cuts stitched circle tag die, Die-namics stitched rectangle and Fishtail Flag STAX dies, SU snowflakes and sequin, TE ribbon, the Big Shot, dimensional tape

Have a safe and fun week and everyone celebrating Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for looking,
Colleen

Let's Celebrate

Hello again,

One more post today. This time a change of pace from Christmas cards. Here's a Thanksgiving card for you.

Stacey has a super cute theme this week on her Curtain Call challenge blog called Foxy. I just had to play along with it. Who doesn't love the trendy fox theme? I used the Lawn Fawn Party Animal set with the holiday additions for my little Thanksgiving fox. The layout is from this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge and I'm also linking up to this week's CanYouCaseIt? Color Challenge. The colors this week are browns, yellows and neutral.

Supplies
Stamps: Party Animal and Party Animal Holiday Addition sets by Lawn Fawn
Paper: SU Heavy Whisper White, Really Rust, Summer Sun card stocks, X-Press It Blending card stock, Doodlebug Friendly Forrest patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics, SU Early Expresso
Other: Lawn Cuts Stitch Party Banners and Party Animal dies, Spellbinders classic circle die, white enamel dots, SU small circle punch, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Thanks again for stopping by my blog,
Colleen

Warm Wishes

Hi all,

I got quite productive yesterday making Christmas cards. I still have many, many more to go but I'm making a dent.

My card today turned out nothing like how I had in my mind. You know that paper crafter's mantra " there are no mistakes, just design opportunities,"well, that is totally what occurred with this card. I started out creating the background with my Zig Real Brush markers and some water color paper. I then decided to use the Sweater Weather cutting plate by TE to cut the design into the paper. Oops, the paper was too thick for the intricate design on the cutting plate. I almost pitched it, but after taking a second look decided I'd just use it as an "embossed" background and continue with the card. I actually kind of like the way it worked. So, I guess our mantra is a good one, LOL.

My personal mantra is don't be quick to judge before the embellishments go on. Before the gold string and gold sequin, the care still looked a little blah. After adding the gold embellishments, a whole new card!

The sketch from Sunday Stamps #114 inspired my card layout and with it's the fairly clean design, I think I can play along with this week's The Paper Player's Challenge of CAS Christmas.

Supplies
Stamps: Make A Mitten set by Stampin' Up and sentiment from Polar Pals set by Avery Elle
Paper: Tim Holtz water color paper, SU Cucumber Crush card stock
Ink: Zig Real Brush Water Color Markers and VersaMark
Other: Sweater Weather Cutting Plate by Taylored Expressions, Die-namics Fishtail Flag STAX die, SU white EP, heat tool, gold sequin, gold coil, the Big Shot, dimensionals

I'm off to Nashville bright and early tomorrow morning for the rest of the week. Work meetings all week. I hope you all have a nice one.

Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Celebrate the Season

Hello and happy Saturday,

What better way to celebrate the holiday season than with hot chocolate and a gingerbread man cookie? Two of my favorite goodies!

My Holiday card today uses this week's Freshly Made Sketch as the layout and The Challenge #50 color scheme of red, kraft, white and silver.

Supplies
Stamps: Scentsational Season and Endless Wishes sets by Stampin' Up
Paper: SU Crumb Cake and Whisper White card stock, SU Vellum, and SU Season of Style DSP
Ink: SU Riding Hood Red and Baked Brown Sugar, VersaMark
Other: SU silver EP, heat tool, SU Scentsational Season dies, Die-namics Fishtail Flag die, SU sequin, red liquid pearls, the Big Shot, dimensionals, SU mini glue dots

Thinking of our friends in France.

Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Fleece Navidad

Hello stampers,
I found some time last night after work to do some stamping. Yay! I've been working on some sewing projects lately so there's been no room on my craft table to stamp. But, I got to a point in my project that I felt I could clean things up and do some stamping.

When I first saw this new Baaah Humbug Christmas set from Lawn Fawn I knew that I wanted it. I think it's the "fleece navidad" sentiment combined with this knitting sheep. It just tickles my funny bone!

Joanne has an interesting color challenge for this week's Paper Player's challenge. The colors are black, white, silver or gold, and one other color. Since I hadn't used my new stamp set yet, I thought I'd see if I could make it work with these colors. The sketch is from CanYouCaseIt.

The sentiment is stamped in VersaMark and heat embossed with silver EP. The silver and snowflake sequin are SU. The sheep is colored with Copics and she and her accessories are cutout with the coordinating dies. The Christmas lights have Christmas red stickles applied over the coloring.

For the inside, I used one of the sentiments from SU More Merry Messages sets and another greeting from the Baaah Humbug set, both heat embossed in silver.

Supplies

Stamps: Baaah Humbug set by Lawn Fawn

Paper: X-Press It Blending white, SU Basic Black and Real Red card stock and SU All Is Calm DSP

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, VersaMark, Copics

Other: Lawn Fawn Baaah Humbug dies, Die-namics Fishtail Flag die, SU silver EP, heat tool, Stickles, Wink of Stella pen, SU sequin, the Big Shot and dimensionals

Thanks for looking. I hope everyone has a good week.

Colleen

Warm Wishes and Joy

Happy Thursday afternoon,

I finished work early today and had some time before a friend comes to go walking to post a couple cards that I finished this week. I'm finally starting to work on Christmas cards. I figure that I should make at least two or three of each that I do between now and time to mail them. Otherwise, I'm going to be lacking.

LeAnne has a great sketch for us this week on The Paper Players blog. I did end up making two cards.

Supplies
Card One:
Stamps: Wondrous Wreath set by Stampin' Up
Paper: SU Cucumber Crush, Soft Suede and X-Press It Blending card stocks, SU Into the Woods DSP, SU red Glimmer paper
Ink: SU Cucumber Crush, Mossy Meadow, Real Red
Other: SU Wondrous Wreath dies, TE sequins, Stickles, the Big Shot, corner punch, dimensionals

Card Two:
Stamps: Cool Day set by My Favorite Things
Paper: SU Soft Sky, Real Red and X-Press It Blending card stock, SU All Is Calm DSP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copics
Other: Spellbinders large oval die, Die-namics stitched oval die, Stickles, TE sequins, SU red stitched ribbon, the Big Shot, dimensionals

I'm looking forward to the weekend. How about you?

Thanks for looking,
Colleen

Thankful For You

Hi,

I sewed all day today and finished a two quilt projects that I've been working on for a few months. (I will post some pictures later in the week after I deliver them since they are gifts) After cleaning up the sewing "mess" I thought I'd relax by doing some coloring before going to bed.

This week, Nance has a seasonal appropriate challenge theme up on The Paper Players blog. Coloring some fall leaves sounded perfect. This card went together super quick. I made it a little 4x4" square note card.

The Autumn Wreath is from Taylored Expressions. It's stamped in SU Archival Black and colored with Zig Real Brush Watercolor pens and an aqua painter on Tim Holtz watercolor paper. It's cut out using a Die-namics double stitched square die. The enamel shapes are from Doodlebug.

On the inside, I stamped this sweet squirrel in the lower corner and left the rest of the space to write a note.

Supplies
Stamps: Autumn Wreath set by Taylored Expressions
Paper: SU Crumb Cake card stock and Tim Holtz watercolor paper
Ink: SU Archival Black and Zig Real Brush Watercolor pens
Other: Die-namics Double Stitched Square STAX dies, Doodlebug enamel shapes, SU linen thread, The Big Shot

Wishing everyone a fabulous, fall week ahead. Thanks for looking,
Colleen

Hey There, Pumpkin

Hi and TGIF,

It was a very busy week for me. Many nights I got home pretty late in the evenings and after having a fairly late dinner, I sat down to do some coloring to relax before going to bed.

Leslie's The Challenge #46 is a color challenge this week. The palette is a nice fall one. The sketch is the current SugarSketch 31 from SugarPea Designs. The stamp set is also from SugarPea Designs and one of my favorites.

Here's the inside of my card:

Supplies

Stamps: Bountiful Blessings set by SugarPea Designs

Paper: SU Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler and X-Press It Blending card stock, Lawn Fawn Sweater Weather patterned papers

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics and SU Cherry Cobbler

Other: Die-namics Stitched Curved Rectangle and Wide Fishtail Flags STAX dies, SU circle and flower punches, TE medium Scalloped Boarder die, sequins, the Big Shot, dimensionals

I'm ready to relax this weekend because I have to get ready for another busy, busy week. I hope your's is nice and relaxing too.

Thanks for looking,

Colleen

Celebrate the Season

Hello again,

This is my second post today. I could wait and post this tomorrow, but sometimes Monday's are crazy with work, so I'm taking the opportunity today.

I love to do sketch challenges. Yesterday after I finished the Halloween card I posted earlier, I looked to see what the girls at CAS(E) this Sketch had for us. It took me awhile to figure out what stamps I had that would work. I'm sure I have several, but for some reason I was stuck. After pulling out some sets that are stored behind others, I found this Merry Mini's set from last year that I hadn't even put together so I placed it on my stamping desk with plans for today. On Sundays, the first blog I always check is The Paper Player's blog. I usually try to play along each week. Today Jaydee has a color challenge for us and I thought the colors would be perfect for the Merry Mini's stamps.

I used SU DSP for the background. I originally was going to use just a white card background, but I liked the color better. The dies are from MFT and some bright gold sequins adds some sparkle.

I kept the inside simple and in the same color palette:

I realize that a few of the DT members used the CTS as well. I thought about trying to come up with a different card, but went with my original plan. Great minds think alike, right ladies.

Supplies
Stamps: Stampin' Up Merry Mini's, Endless Wishes (greeting) and Merry Little Christmas (inside) sets
Paper: SU Real Red and X-Press It Blending card stocks, SU Merry Moments DSP
Ink: SU Real Red, Crushed Curry and Cucumber Crush classic ink pads
Other: Die-namics Stitched Curved Rectangle and Stitched Fishtail Flags STAX dies, sequins, Fiskers corner rounder punch, the Big Shot, dimensional tape

Thanks again,
Colleen