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

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

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

Cheers!

Hello stamping friends,

I have a fun birthday card for you today that I made on Sunday afternoon using this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch #288.  For the background, I masked off about 1/4" all around the card base and randomly stamped the images using the "stamping off" technique to achieve a softer ink application. I used the square and circle elements to make a shaker card. I hadn't made one in a long time and I think the sequins and cocktail theme go well together here.

Supplies
Happy Hour set by Stampin' Up
Paper: X-Press It Blending card stock, SU Pistachio Pudding and Crisp Cantaloupe DSP
Ink: SU Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe, Blushing Bride and Old Olive classic ink, Memento tuxedo black
Other: Die-namics double-stitched square, stitched fishtail flags STAX, circle STAX and martini glass dies, SU window plastic, foam tape, sequins, the Big Shot

Thanks for looking,
Colleen

Happy Harvest

Well, it's back to work Monday,

I know I have another busy week in store, but hopefully it will "fly" by, LOL. Yesterday I made a card using the Sweet Sunday Sketch #283. It was a little breezy and foggy at the coast, so I was in a fall mood.

This is a fun sketch with the three panels. It has tons of possibilities though I kept my card's layout very close to the sketch. After coloring with Copics, I used my Wink of Stella glitter pen over the mail box and some green Stickles on the random dots in the image.

I'll keep this one in my stash until September, then it will probably go to my sister or my niece.

Supplies
Stamps: You've Got Mail - Fall stamp by Taylored Expressions and Happy Harvest stamp also by Taylored Expressions
Paper: SU Early Expresso card stock, X-Press It Blending card and Doodlebug Friendly Forrest patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, SU Early Expresso and Copics
Other: SU small corner punch, sequins, Wink of Stella glitter pen, green Stickles, dimensionals

I hope you have a great week and thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Let's Party!

Hi,

I started coloring these cute "party animals" last night and finished them up tonight after work. I think this will make a perfect birthday card for my cousin who lives on a ranch in Northern California. He is the ultimate outdoorsman.

The layout is from this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch.

Supplies
Stamps: Party Animal set by Lawn Fawn
Paper: SU Crumb Cake, Watermelon Wonder and Bermuda Bay card stock, X-Press It Blending card stock, SU Cherry On Top DSP paper stack
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copics
Accessories: Die-namics pierced circle and fishtail flags dies, Stickles, Expresso Dimensional Pearls, Wink of Stella pen, enamel dots, the Big Shot and dimensional

TFL!
Colleen

Happy Birthday To You

Hello,

Monday is done, so I only have two more days to work until I fly to Portland to see my sister's family and attend my nephew's graduation. I'm really, really looking forward to spending some time with them.

Yesterday after dinner, I made this card. The theme, masculine card, is for the Paper Players and the layout is from Sweet Sunday Sketch. I kept it simple and brown, LOL.

The main panel is water color paper that I streaked with Tim Holtz markers and water in various shades of brown ink. After it dried, I stamped the greeting with SU Early Expresso.

Supplies

Stamps: Another Great Year set by Stampin' Up

Paper: SU Tip Top Taupe and Early Expresso card stock, Tim Holtz water color paper, and Giddy Up by Carta Bella pattern paper

Ink: SU Early Expresso and Tim Holtz Distress Markers

Other: SU aqua painter pen, SU expresso candy dots, Die-namics die, the Big Shot and dimensionals

Have a great Tuesday and thanks for looking in,

Colleen 

Friends. . .

Hello stamping friends,

I made four cards yesterday afternoon. I was in heaven, aka my craft room, all afternoon having loads of fun. Sunday's are when two of my favorite weekly challenges start. One of my favorites is Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge. Today's post is a birthday card that I made using this weeks #268 layout.

As you can see, I flipped the sketch to accomodate my image. Isn't this little elephant the cutest? I stamped him and his mouse friend in Memento tuxedo black and colored them with Copics.

Supplies
Stamps: Ella and Friends set by Mama Elephant
Paper: SU Calypso Coral and Smokey Slate card stock, XPress-It Blending card stock and SU Watercolor Wonder DSP
Ink: SU Island Indigo, Memento tuxedo black and Copious
Other: Die-namics stitched curved rectangle die, SU embossing folder, enamel shapes, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Oh My Goodies!

Happy Monday,

Today's card uses the Sweet Sunday Sketch #264 layout. What an interesting design! But, also a fun one. I had no idea what to do for it, so I just looked through my collection of stamps and patterned papers until inspiration struck. For this card, it all started with the papers, specifically the row of mason jars.

The stamp set that wanted to use at first didn't work out because the image required too big of a circle element. So, I went looking for something that was the correct size and that also fit with my papers. I found this SU set that I had not used before called Oh My Goodies! Since I just happened to have the correct dies to match, it was meant to be.

As the set is just contains labels, more appropriate for the outside of cards or packages, I needed to find something for the inside. I mixed it up and choose a Lawn Fawn set, and I think it all works.

I stamped the jar in Baja Breeze ink and used my aqua painter to watercolor the inside of the jar with the same ink. The jar's label is cut from the same patterned paper used on the front and where I stamped the "thanks"sentiment. The lemon slice and flower are fussy cut and after gluing them in place I added some Glossy Accents for a shine.

I love how the 3 enamel hearts on the front makes the whole look so much more!

Supplies
Stamps: Ouside- Oh My Goodies set from Stampin' Up, Inside: Summertime Charm set from Lawn Fawn
Paper: SU Very Vanilla and Calypso Coral card stocks and Dear Lizzy-Lucky Charm by American Crafts patterned papers
Ink: SU Calypso Coral, Summer Starfruit, Baja Breeze, Memento tuxedo black and Copic Lemon Yellow
Other: SU labels die, SU large oval punch, Die-namics Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX die, enamel hearts, Glossy Accents, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Have a lovely week and thanks for looking in,
Colleen

You're the Bessst

Hi and Happy Monday,

I'm supposedly working in my office this morning, but I'm SO OVER my work computer's antics that I'm taking a short break from it to post to my blog. My MAC does not behave like the Windows based machine, thank goodness!

I mentioned that I got in lots of stamping time yesterday. One of the cards I made is this birthday card for my sister's boyfriend. I used the cute new set from Lawn Fawn called Critters In the Jungle. I'm not a fan of snakes, but this guy is kind of cute and I like the sentiment that goes with.

The images are colored with Copics and cut out with the set dies. I can't seem to make a card lately without using my Wink Of Stella glitter pen and if you look closely, you can see mr snake is shinny. The papers are old SU DSP. The sketch is from the current Sweet Sunday Sketch # 262.

Supplies
Stamps: Critters In the Jungle set by Lawn Fawn
Paper: SU Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive card stock, XPress-It Blending card stock, SU retired DSP
Ink: memento tuxedo black and Copics
Other: Die-namics pierced circle and large chevron border dies, Lawn Fawn Critters In the Jungle dies, SU corner punch, Wink of Stella glitter pen, SU candy dots, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Have a great week and thanks for coming by,
Colleen

Somebunny. . .

Hi and a very happy Friday to you,

I got home from a week long work trip around noon today and as always, it's good to be home. Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight! The weather here in SoCal is pretty great and I will be hanging with my crafty buddies tomorrow for our monthly get-together. I'm bringing supplies for Easter tag make & takes.

Speaking of Easter, I made this card Sunday night, but didn't get around to photographing it for my blog before I left for my trip. I made it using the SSSC #260 sketch.

I rotated the sketch for the stamp that I wanted to use. I also used a larger "wonky" panel because I wanted to see more of the patterned paper.

Here is the inside:

Supplies
Stamps: You've Got Mail - Spring set and Tag-a-long Easter set both by Taylored Expressions
Paper: XPress-It Blending card stock and SU Pink Passion card stock. I'm not sure of the patterned paper, it's pretty old.
Ink: memento tuxedo black and Copics, white gel pen
Other: Die-namics stitched rounded rectangle dies, Die-namics pierced fishtail flag stay die, Wink of Stella glitter pen, enamel hearts, The Big Shot, foam tape

Thanks for looking in. Have a great and restful weekend,
Colleen

HAPPY

Hello,

After traveling all last week, I am enjoying some stampy time this weekend.

My mom's birthday is next Saturday, so of course I need to get her card made and in the mail. Since I always like to see what Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch has for us on Sundays, I went to the new SSSC blog to check it out. It's a fun one this week where we get to pick a sketch from all the previous sketches. It was a hard choice, but I really wanted to use my new Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Frame dies so I picked sketch #195.

This is not one of those 10 minute cards, LOL. Lots of coloring, paper piecing and die cutting, and boy, was it fun to make! I think mom will love it too.

I used some SU mini glue dots to glue the banner pieces and hair bow over the stamped image. They are just fat enough to give some dimension without being too high. After coloring her shoes with black and gray, I used my Wink Of Stella clear glitter pen to add some shine. I also used it on the white polka dots in the hair bow. After using my R20 Copic to color her cheeks, I used my white Gelly Roll pen to add white freckles.

The inside gingham frame is raised with foam tape to look like a true frame around a picture.

Here is the inside, much simpler.

Supplies
Stamps: Pure Innocence Happy Banner set by My Favorite Things
Paper: SU Pale Plum and XPress-It Blending card stocks and My Mind's Eye Kate and Co patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics, SU Strawberry Slush, White Gelly Roll pen
Other: Die-namics Rectangle Stitched Frame dies, Wink Of Stella pen, SU small banner punch, Doodlebug brad, the Big Shot, SU mini glue dots, foam tape

Thanks for looking in today,
Colleen

Find Vodka and Party

Hi all,

I hope your Monday is going well. I love this sentiment in the new Avery Elle set called Berry Good. I did a little shopping at my local paper crafting store on Saturday afternoon and picked up this set and the co-ordingating dies. I had seen it on the Avery Elle website and was excited when I saw it in the store.

New toys, had to use them. The layout from this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch fits it well I think.

I colored the lemon with Copics then stamped the sentiment in MFT Hybrid black ink. The image was cut out with the Avery Elle Berry Good dies. Instead of the "flags" element, I decided to use the martini glass die from MFT. It's popped up with dimensionals and I glued on some gold sequins. I kind of like the way it turned out.

Supplies
Stamps: Berry Good set by Avery Elle
Paper: SU Daffodil Delight and Gumboil Green card stock, XPress-It Blending card stock, Doodlebug Fruit Stand patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, MFT Hybrid black and Copics
Other: classic circle Nestie die, Avery Elle Berry Good die, MFT martini glass die, SU large dots EF, Fiskars corner rounder punch, yellow sequins, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

For You, My Friend

Hello,

I had a great stamping weekend. Two cards made yesterday and three today. Whoo-hoo!

Today's post is a card that I made for my "bestie" using the The Paper Player's color challenge 231 combined with Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch 255. The colors for the challenge are Real Red, Calypso Coral and Basic Black.

The stamps are Reverse Confetti "Whole Lotta Hearts" and "Frieda Fox" sets. Frieda is fun, fun, fun to color. I'm trying to figure out how to color fur with Copics. There are some really talented folks out in blog-land to use for inspiration.

For the small side panel, I stamped the X and O {heart} stamp in a line down the paper to make my own patterned paper and to incorporate more black since it's one of the challenge colors.

For some added sparkle, I went over the heart with Christmas Red Stickles and over her shoes with a Wink of Stella clear glitter pen, though in the picture it doesn't show up well.

Supplies
Stamps: Frieda Fox set and Whole Lotta Hearts set by Reverse Confetti
Paper: SU Calypso Coral and Real Red card stock, Neenah cream card stock, Paper Heart by Crate Paper patterned papers
Ink: MFT Hybrid Black ink and Copics
Other: Die-namics stitched rectangle STAX and Speech Bubble dies, Michaels black ribbon, Stickles, enamel heart, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Have a Whopper of a Birthday

Hello stampers,

I made this card Sunday for a friend who has a birthday next week. I know he doesn't read my blog so no chance he'll see his card before I mail it. I used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch 253.

I stamped the image in Memento tuxedo black and colored it with Copics. I drew in the grass by using the "flicking" technique and used a cloud stencil to add the sky. The image was cut out with Die-namics stitched circle STAX and I used this technique by Debbie Olson to not cut the fishing hook off. A few enamel dots finish it up.

Supplies
Stamps: Great Catch set by SugarPea Designs
Paper: Taylored Expressions Buttercream card stock and We R Memory Keepers "Happy Campers" patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics, and SU Early Expresso and Soft Sky
Other: Die-Namics stitched circle STAX die, cloud stencil, large sponge dauber, enamel dots, the Big Shot, and dimensionals

Happy Hump Day tomorrow. Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

S'Up?

Hey! Hello,

I'm on a roll, LOL. This is my second post tonight.

While watching (listening to) The Golden Globes tonight, I thought I'd play along with Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch. I combined it with Ann's color challenge for The Paper Players. The colors are Sahara Sand, Lost Lagoon and Crisp Cantaloupe.

I kept my card really simple using the fun SU set called "Hi There."

Supplies
Stamps: Hi There set by Stampin' Up
Paper: SU Crisp Cantaloupe, Lost Lagoon, Sahara Sand and Whisper White card stock, SU Crisp Cantaloupe Chevron DSP
Ink: SU Sahara Sand
Other: Die-namics Stitched rectangles and chevron dies, SU chat bubble dies, enamel dots, the Big Shot, and dimensionals

Thanks for looking,
Colleen

Sweet Sunday Cards x 2

Hello,

On Sunday I made another get well card. This one is for a friend that lives in Chicago, because she had foot surgery on Friday. Since the latest Sweet Sunday sketch was up, I decided to use it for my card.

I love Karen's sketch this week. Very easy to use and I think very versatile so I will be pulling it out again I'm sure. For my get well card I used a fall theme with papers from Fancy Pants and some TE leaf dies used to cut TE felt. It's bright and cherry IRL, so hopefully it will put some cheer into Jackie's day when she receives it later this week.

While I was at it, I decided to use last week's Sweet Sunday Sketch to make a thank you card for another friend. He travels abroad for work and the past two weeks he was in South Africa. He brought me a BEAUTIFUL scarf from his trip and gave it to me when we went to dinner at their house on Saturday evening. So thoughtful! It really is pretty too. Here's his thank you card.

I rotated the sketch to accommodate the image. This is a new SugarPea Designs set that I hadn't inked up yet. I had fun coloring it with my Copics. As you can see, his clothes are paper pieced with the same patterned paper that I used for the background.

Supplies
Card 1
Stamps: Sentiment stamp from Taylored Expressions set "Doctors Orders"
Paper: SU Riding Hood Red and Very Vanilla card stock and Fancy Pants "Happy Go Lucky" patterned papers
Ink: SU Riding Hood Red
Other: TE leaf dies, TE sequins, SU wooden leaf embellishment, Fishers corner punch, sewing machine, the Big Shot, mini glue dots

Card 2
Stamps: Let's Fiesta by SugarPea Designs
Paper: SU Smoky Gray and Basic Black card stock, XPress-It Blending card stock, Basic Gray "Knee-highs" patterned papers
Ink: memento tuxedo black and Copics
Other: Die-namics pierced rectangle dies and pierced Fishtail Flags STAX dies, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Now to get everything mailed. Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Happy Birthday

Hi friends,

In my last blog post I posted a masculine birthday card made for the male half of friends who are twins. Today, I have the card that I made for his sister.

The layout is based on Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch 242. I really had fun coloring this image from SugarPea Designs called Tin Can Chat. Kalie is constantly on her cell, so I thought this was appropriate, LOL.

Most of the image is colored with Copics. I did some paper piecing on their outfits.

Supplies
Stamps: Tin Can Chat set by SugarPea Designs
Paper: SU Purely Pomegranate and XPress-It Blending card stocks and Friendly Forrest by Doodlebug patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics and SU Rose Red, Soft Sky and Smoky Slate inks
Other: SU chat bubble, cloud stencil, sponge dauber, the Big Shot, white gel pen, Doodlebug heart brad, dimensionals

That's it from me tonight. Have a great Wednesday and thanks,
Colleen

A Holiday High Five

Hello again,

Karen has another great sketch for us today. Here's my take on this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch number 241.

I received my new release order from My Favorite Things yesterday. Such cute Christmas stamps! I couldn't wait to ink them up. Besides the stamps, I ordered the pierced snow drift dies and pierced rectangles. Both are used on this card. 

Supplies

Stamps: Christmas Cuteness set by My Favorite Things

Paper: SU Lost Lagoon and XPress-It Blending card stocks and We R Memory Keepers Winter Frost patterned paper

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics and SU Lost Lagoon

Other: Die-namics pierced circle, pierced snow drift, pierced rectangles and pierced fishtail flags STAX dies, the Big Shot, dimensionals

I hope you have a great week and thanks for looking in,

Colleen