Happy Thursday!!

Hello everyone!! It has been crickets here on the blog for almost a month.

I had some computer problems and when my husband tried to "fix" it, (he is a software engineer with experience in mechanical and electrical engineering) I was not able to open up my profile at all!!! Then he bought some memory, thinking that was part of the problem but that wasn't it either. After much speculation I went out and bought a new 21" Mac. My old one was a 27" screen and though I didn't think I would miss it that much, I do. I just couldn't justify the expense right now as we are saving all our pennies for Charlotte's college.

On a different note, I have been creating somewhat. I made a card for CAS(E) this Sketch #241 but never was able to post it. I sent some packages out this week for two college freshman-my nephew and one of my neighbors. The sketch was perfect to make a card for one of them!!

I used Ranger Oxide Ink to make the rainbow stripes and then the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps "Smiling" Fri-dies to die cut the sentiment.

I then added an emoji that I die cut using Spellbinder's "Emojis" dies. I used a bit of "Christmas Red" Stickles on the smile of the emoji, as well as "Clear" Wink of Stella" and Glossy Accents over the sunglasses.

Here is the sketch I used:

I also created a second card for my nephew using the same products in a different way. Again, I used Ranger Oxide Ink and did some ink smooshing over some watercolor paper.

I die cut the sentiment out of black and blue paper, then layered them so that appeared there was a shadow in back of the word.

I used my MISTI tool to stamp the sentiment using CAS-ual Fridays Stamps "Sassy Smiles" stamp set and popped it up with some foam tape beneath the sentiment.

Again, I used a die cut emoji and popped it above the sentiment. I layered the whole panel over a black A2 card base.

That is it for me today. I thank you for stopping by and hope you will all stick with me even though I had a long absence. Now that I have a working computer, all is well in my world!!!

Have a FABULOUS night!!

Supplies

(Affiliate Links Used when possible at no extra cost to you.)

Card #1

Paper-Neenah Solar White, MFT "Red Hot," "Daffodil" and "Black Licorice" Card Stock

Dies-CAS-ual Fridays Stamps "Smiling" Fri-dies, Spellbinder's "Emojis"

Inks-Ranger Oxide Inks-“Candied Apple," "Wild Honey," "Fossilized Amber,""Twisted Citron,""Salty Ocean," and "Wilted Violet"
Other-Christmas Red Stickles, Sizzix Big Shot Machine, MISTI, Glossy Accents, "Clear" Wink of Stella

Card #2

Paper-Strathmore 9 x 12 Watercolor Paper Pad, MFT "Black Licorice" Card Stock, Doodlebug Bright 12x12 Textured Card Stock
Dies-CAS-ual Fridays Stamps "Smiling" Fri-dies, Spellbinder's "Emojis"
Ink-Ranger Oxide Ink-"Twisted Citron," "Salty Ocean," and “Peacock Feathers” Memento "Tuxedo Black”
Stamps-CAS-ual Fridays Stamps "Sassy Smiles"
Other-Christmas Red Stickles, Sizzix Big Shot Machine, MISTI, Glossy Accents, "Clear" Wink of Stella

CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge #228 and A Little Experimentation

Happy Friday!! I hope everyone is relaxing and is anticipating their holiday weekend. This post is a little photo heavy, so I apologize in advance!!

Busy day at our household. Had a new front window put in. Thank goodness I had the forethought of bringing Zack to the groomers or he would have freaked out with the men in our house!!!

The window looks fabulous but it forces us to re-paint our living room. Since we have not painted it for eight years, I am not crying about that. Chris on the other hand is not happy as he is the painter in the household!!

At the same time the window was being put in, Chris ripped apart the bathroom to repaint it. It is not going to be easy because it is presently red. That is a tough color to paint over.

Our kitchen is filled with boxes of stuff, as well as the pulled apart cupboard that housed our towels and medicine cabinet. We are having company tomorrow so it will be interesting to see how we can clean all this mess up before they come!!

Amongst all this chaos, I had a chance to play with some supplies that I have had sitting waiting for me to use. It was in stages because things had to dry but it was the most fun I have had in a long time.

On my first card I played with Ranger Oxide Inks in Cracked Pistachio, Wilted Violet, Broken China, and Faded Jeans. I have NOT been very successful with these inks in the past but I had fun doing layers and layers with the "smoosh" technique. I used both a piece of watercolor paper and then tried it on a piece of card stock. Both were successful but I think that the watercolor paper took the ink better.

On the white card stock piece, I used the Hero Arts “Peacock Feather” Stencil with some Nuvo “Mother of Pearl” Embellishment Mousse over the inked background. I LOVE this Nuvo Mousse!!! It didn't warp the paper and gave the front a really fun, shiny look!!

When the front was dry, I die cut it with the "Stitched Slopes and Hills" from Simon Says Stamp so I could play along with the CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge #228.

After I cut the panels, I adhered it to the smooshed watercolor paper. I adhered the Hero Arts “Prayers” die cut and a stamped sentiment below from the matching stamp set.

I then covered the "prayers" with sparkle pen and used Glossy Accents over that. The last step was to adhere the sequins.

This was way out of the box for me and I am not totally sold on how it looks. However, it was a lot of fun to play with.

That is all from me today. Have a fabulous night!!

Supplies:

Stamps-Hero Arts “Prayers”

Paper-Neenah Solar White

Dies-Hero Arts “Prayers” and "Stitched Slopes and Hills" from Simon Says Stamp

Stencils-Hero Arts “Peacock Feather” Stencil

Ink-Ranger “Cracked Pistachio” Distress Oxide Ink, Ranger “Wilted Violet” Distress Oxide Ink, Ranger “Broken China” Distress Oxide Ink, Ranger “Faded Jeans” Distress Oxide Ink,

Other-Tonic Studios Nuvo “Mother of Pearl” Embellishment Mousse, Ranger Ink Palette Knife, Little Things from Lucy’s Cards “Caribbean Dream Sequin Mix,” Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Wagner Heat Tool, Ranger Ink Multi-Matte, Scotch ATG ¼” Adhesive Gun, Tombow Adhesive Foam Squares, Glossy Accents,

CAS(E) This Sketch #224

Happy Tuesday everyone!! Just a quick post today for a challenge. I created a card using "CAS(E) this Sketch #224."

I think this is the most fun I have had with a card in a long time. I actually created it before yesterdays card but had to add some extras before I took a photo of it.

As with yesterdays card, I used Spellbinders "Emoji" dies, patterned paper from my endless drawers of scraps and Simon Says Stamps! "Summer Greetings" dies.

Here is the sketch that I used as my inspiration. I pretty much took it literally.

I used a retired Prima stencil and blended some Tide Pool ink for the background.

I used clear Wink of Stella with Glossy Accents to give the hearts and the sunglasses a bit of shine.

The sequins were the last touch for this card. 

I cannot tell you how HAPPY this card makes me. It is a bit out of the box for some people but I LOVE it. 

I am also going to enter this into Simon Says Stamps Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes."

Before I go I want to post a photo of some little birds that we have nesting in one of our shrubs. Chris went to cut it down and saw the nest so stopped.

I have been taking peeks over this week at them-something the mother and father are NOT too happy about!! We also have another nest on our porch awning. I cannot see into it but those babies are LOUD!!!

Thank you for taking the time to stop by today. I hope you have a FABULOUS day!!!

Updated:

I was a challenge favorite for CAS(E) This Sketch #224 for this card. I am so excited!!

Supplies:

Valentine's Cards for CASE this Sketch #208, The Card Concept and MFT's Sketch #319

Happy Saturday!! I hope you had a great day!!

Fighting a bit of a headache today. My sister and I went to see "Lion" today at the movie theatre. It was a wonderful movie but I literally cried through the whole thing. Fabulous performances by Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel but definitely not a "feel good" movie. My face was ugly cry swollen by the end of the film.

Despite my headache, I wanted to post two Valentine cards that I created yesterday. Both were inspired by two different sketch challenges. I have been kind of obsessed with sketches as of late. I find that I like that I can use my own supplies but have fun confining them to the parameters of the sketch.

My first card that I created was using CASE this Sketch #208 as my inspiration. I used my new Sunny Studios "That Sucks" stamp as my focal point for this project.

 Here is the sketch that I used as the basic design:

 I started off my card by doing an ombre effect using Ranger Distress Inks. I then misted it with water, blotting it off to get the mottled effect. I also did a little bit of ink splattering with some white Distress Spray but it is hard to see as most of it is covered with the stamped image.

 Next I stamped my sentiment in black and mounted it onto gray card stock. I adhered it to the middle of a white, A2, top folding card.

I added the black sentiment strip that I heat embossed in white with foam adhesive. I then adhered adorable vacuum that I colored with Copic markers above the sentiment strip. (I actually looked up vacuums to get the color "right" and could have used anything from orange/gray to blue/gray as a color scheme. However, the red and gray was perfect because I knew I was making it into a Valentine.) I used a Clear Spectrum Sparkle Marker on the red bag of the vacuum, as well as some glossy accents on the handle.

I die cut some red hearts using Simon Says Stamps "Tiny Hearts" die and used foam adhesive to adhere them to the card. Once again I added a bit of sparkle to the card using the Spectrum clear marker and then covered them with Glossy Accents to make them shine. I ADORE how this card came out!

For my next card, I was inspired by The Card Concept Challenge #66-"Love and Romance", as well as this weeks sketch from My Favorite Things.

I knew that I wanted to keep a lot of white space on my card to showcase the adorable hedgehog from My Favorite Things "Happy Hedgehog" collection.

Here is the sketch and the photo that were my inspiration.

 

I started off this whole card by embossing with a retired MFT Cover-up die on white paper. I then die cut the panel and adhered it to a white, A2, top folding card.

I used foam adhesive to adhere the heart and doubled the foam adhesive up to adhere the sentiment.

I used a bit of pink floss underneath the die cut hearts and added Glossy Accents over the hearts for some shine.

Really happy with the way both these cards came out. I only wish I did not wait until the last minute to make them!! When will I learn?

I hope you have a great night!!

Supplies:

Stamps-Sunny Studios "That Sucks"

Ink-Ranger Distress Inks "Pumice Stone," "Festive Berries," and "Candied Apple," Memento "Tuxedo Black," and Versamark

Paper-Neenah Solar White, Black and Gray Bazzill

Dies-Simon Says Stamps "Mini Hearts"

Other-Big Shot, Glossy Accents, Spectrum Clear Sparkle Marker, Ranger "Picket Fences" Distress Spray

Supplies:
Stamps-My Favorite Things "Happy Hedgehogs"
Dies-My Favorite Things "Hugs and Kisses Cover-up" (retired), "Happy Hedgehogs," "Pierced Heart Stack" and Simon Says Stamps "Mini Hearts"
Paper-Neenah Solar White, "Red Devil" Bazzill, Pink Bazzill
Ink-Memento "Tuxedo Black" and Simon Says Stamp "Lipstick Red"
Other-Sizzix Big Shot, Spectrum Clear Sparkle Marker, Copic Markers, Floss, Scrapbook Foam Adhesive
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