Christmas in July

Hi Friends!! Today I am popping in with a quick card I created for some challenges. There are a TON of challenges out there right now for Christmas Themed cards so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and create one.

I created this using this weeks AAA Card Challenge #194-A Twinchie and optional twist, Christmas in July, The Male Room Challenge #152 Christmas in July, the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge WWC320-Dawn's All About Occasions

I created this card by using Mama Elephant's Little Snowman Agenda stamps and Hello Bluebird's Holiday Flurries stamp set and Typed Christmas stamps. It isn't perfect but I tried to get the sentiment to hug the edge of the circle.

I used *Tumbled Glass Distress Ink for my "sky" and Hero Arts *Tide Pool to stamp the snowflakes. 

Clean and simple are NOT my forte but I love how this card came out!!!

That is all from me today. I thank you for taking the time to stop by!! Have a FABULOUS night!!

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Some Cards for Challenges

 Hi everyone!! I hope you are all doing well. 

I am FINALLY on summer vacation!! I have been super busy-visiting a park to see the rose garden in bloom, going out to eat with friends, walking with other friends and hanging out with family. It is such a relief after this difficult school year!!

I have also been able to get to my craft room. I am still working on moving my craft room from one floor to the next. It has been a long process. I have been doing a little more now that I have time. It is a HUGE deal and my desk is a mess because in between, I have been making cards.

Today I am posting some cards for some challenges. My first card was inspired by this weeks AAA Card Challenge #192. It was to create a card using one corner, with the optional twist of using the inspiration of a childhood memory. Here is what I created.

I created a retirement card for this challenge. I used a SB.com Domed Blending Tool with Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass to shade in my sky, and a combination of Mermaid Lagoon and Salty Ocean for the ocean.

I combined two die sets for the light house scene. I used Cottage Cutz Lighthouse and Lighthouse with Clouds. I used to paper-piece long ago and these dies reminded me how much I enjoyed doing that!!

I shaded the light house slightly with gray Copic markers and the "sand" was done by shading Distress Ink in Vintage Photo and Gathered Twigs. The sentiment was done with the Keep it Simple: Retirement Stamp Set from PaperTrey Ink.

I chose the light house theme for two reasons. First, it reminded me of going to Cape Cod when I was little. I always went with a friend's family. My parents could not afford to go on vacation so going here was a treat. Second, it reminds me of summer. 

I am also entering this card into this weeks Watercooler Wednesday Challenge WWC318 by Kath. The theme is All About Occasions. My occasion is retirement!! (do I need to even write this???)

For my second card, I created two cards for this month's Rainbow Card Challenge.

I chose to use some products that were on my desk. Do you over stamp things and then have extra?

I had stamped these envelopes from the Simon Says Stamp Sending Happy Thoughts stamp set on pieces of scrap paper YEARS ago. I had cut each of them out and they have been sitting in a container on my desk. I figured it would be fun to use them on some cards and the Rainbow Challenge was perfect!!!

The sentiment on the "slimline" envelopes card is from My Favorite Things (cannot find it right now or I would post the name of the set. I think it is retired) that I had heat embossed with white embossing powder.

I thought it was perfect for this card!! The sentiment on my second card is from Reverse Confetti's So Many Sentiments stamp set.

I know the rainbow is a stretch on my second card but I liked how it came out so I am posting it as well. 

Since I had a TON of envelopes left over, I made a bonus card. 

I tried to use a ton of pink and red envelopes on this one. The die cut hello sentiment is from the Say Hello die set from Concord and 9th. I believe it is retired.

I had die cut it out of white cardstock three times, adhered the layers together and colored it with a black marker. Sometimes I just layer sentiments like this together when I have a creativity block so I have them to use for a later date.

I believe the embossed sentiment is from My Favorite Things? I cannot find the set I used. 

Well, that is all from me today. I rarely post this many cards but I have been busy!! I actually am going to post some more tomorrow that I have created!!!

I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by. I hope you all have a fabulous night!!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post (not all) are affiliate links. If you use them I get a percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.

A Card for AAA Card Challenge and a Few Photos

Hey Peeps!! This is my second post for today. I have had a great weekend and am awful chatty today so I apologize ahead of time. I should probably have picked up a phone to one of my friends to talk but instead I just rambled on to all of you!!

I had a bit of mojo today so I decided to run with it. I used the sketch from this weeks AAA Card Challenge #148 as my jumping off point and the photo from the Paper Craft Crew Challenge #349 for my card.

Here is the sketch from the AAA Card Challenge that I used and the Butterflies and Blooms Challenge #349 from the Paper Craft Crew.

Since I had my design inspiration set, I picked what type of occasion to make by thinking about what I needed at the moment. I had two thank you cards that needed to be made so this was the theme of the card.

I am going to admit something here. I usually send out store bought thank you's I buy at TJ Maxx. Yup, I am lazy like that!! I always need one and they are not my favorite cards to make so buying them is just easier.

Anyways....I used the My Favorite Things "Beautiful Butterflies" stamp set with "Golden Sunset" and "Pocketful of Sunshine" ink cubes from Altenew for my butterflies.

I then masked off a border with Post It tape and blended the lightest color orange ink above and below the butterflies.

I added a skinny piece of orange pattern paper above and below the blending, as well as a popped up sentiment strip to complete the card. Oh, and the sentiment strip? A mistake as well. I had originally stamped it right on the card but even with a MISTI, it was crooked!! I had to cover up this mistake with that darn strip.

In other news, I was busy cleaning this weekend. My dog was mad at me for leaving him yesterday when I went to the gym and peed on the floor. I took the opportunity to wash my kitchen and downstairs bathroom floor on my hands and knees. It was a feat!!

My kitchen is long and has a lot of tile. I scrubbed it with a scrub brush, mopped it, THEN rinsed it and dried it with an old towel. It took me about two and one half hours when all was said and done.

Before you think I am crazy, I don't do this often. When I was younger and at home, I would wash the floor like this once a month. Now it gets done when I am in the mood. I do wash it (or more like Chris does!) but with a Swiffer Wet Jet after we have vacuumed the dirt up sometimes twice a week. It does not get as clean as when you do this, though.

In other news, Charlotte FINALLY decorated her walls on her side of the dorm room. It was looking like a prison when she FaceTimed me, so I am glad that she put in a bit of effort!!

Notice the Micky Mouse Ears to the left on the command hooks. Thought she was going to use those in her bathroom but she put them to an alternate use!!

Last night I couldn't sleep so stayed up binging on Netflix and die cutting until 3:00 a.m.

Am I the only crazy person that does this? I sometimes die cut different dies in white all at once so when I am making a card, I just pull them out, color them up (or leave them white) and voila, instant gratification. Some I put on Press'n Seal wrap to keep pieces together.

I wish I could say I slept late today but woke up coughing from allergies at 6:00 in the morning. I did go back to sleep for a bit but was up by 8:30 because went for a walk with a friend at 9. Glad this happened on a weekend and not a workday!!

Anyway, that is enough from me today. I thank you for taking the time to stop by and read this long post or just skim, as the case may be. Have a FABULOUS night!!

Some Challenge Cards

Happy Sunday everyone!! This is my second post for today. Here is a link to my first post in case you want to peek.

I have had time in my craft room this week and FINALLY my mojo has kicked in a bit. It has been absent for a while-not sure why. However, on Friday night it came FLYING back so I took advantage of it while I could.

My first card was really by accident. I was trying to make a card for this weeks AAA Card Challenge #142 of making a one layer card with the option of using only black and white. One layer cards and I do not get along. I ALWAYS seem to get a smudge somewhere I don't want or make a mistake so I wind up having to do layers. Once again, that is what happened with this card!!

I made lemons out of lemonade, though, and used this weeks Freshly Made Sketches #392 as my inspiration, as well as Watercooler Wednesday Challenge: All About Occasions.

I originally stamped the blocks from Altenew's "Dare to Dream" stamp set, intending on this being a one layer card. HOWEVER, as I said before, I messed it up. I had to cut the panel down and adhere to the card front.

This is not a HUGE deal but I hate when I make mistakes!!

The sentiments are from Altenew's "Label Love" stamp set, which I popped up off the card using foam adhesive.

I actually like this card and think when I have time I will make a few more but with a different color. I will also connect the blocks better!!

My second card I am posting today is one I created LAST week but never posted. I used Freshly Made Sketches #391 as my inspiration. By the time I was ready to post, the challenge had closed. I am not letting it get me down, though. I am going to enter it in to Seize the Birthday Challenge #167: Anything Goes.

Here is the card I created:

I had stamped and die cut a TON of Sugar Pea Design's "You're My Type" typewriters in tons of different colors and really wanted to use them.

I searched through my pile of pattern papers that are presently on my floor (don't ask) and found this piece that was PERFECT to use on a typewriter card.

I pulled the blue out of pattern paper to match with the cardstock piece at the top. I also added some sparkle pen and Glossy Accents to the typewriter.

I absolutely ADORE this stamp set/die set and cannot wait to use it again on something else!!

My last card I am posting is similar to my first one BUT is one layer!!! Again, I used Altenew's "Dare to Dream" and "Label Love" stamp sets to create it. An I masked the sentiment!!

I did have a boo boo on the lower right that I had to "erase" with a sand eraser. You can still see it but it isn't horrible.

I also was better at stamping the blocks in straight line on this card. Who knew I could actually accomplish it!!

I know that this is a fluke, though and will not be trying this again any time soon.

So I am going to enter this card into AAA Card Challenge #142, One layer with the added twist of black and white.

Well, that is all from me TODAY!!! Tune in tomorrow because I am posting some other cards I created for some other challenges and I actually did SOME COLORING!!! (Gasp!!)

Have a FABULOUS day!!!

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Card #1 Supplies:

Neenah Solar White Cardstock, Altenew "Dare to Dream" and "Label Love" Stamps, Gina K Designs Black Amalgam Ink, MISTI, Foam Adhesive

Card #2 Supplies:

Neenah Solar White Cardstock, Vicki Boutin Kaleidoscope Collection for American Crafts "Odds and Ends" patterned paper, Lawn Fawn "Black Licorice" and "Mermaid" Cardstock, Sugar Pea Designs "You're My Type" stamps and dies, Nuvo Aqua Shimmer Pen, Glossy Accents

Card #3:

Neenah Solar White Cardstock, Altenew's "Dare to Dream" and "Label Love" stamps, MISTI, Inkadinkado Stamp Mask Paper, Gina K Designs Black Amalgam Ink