Suck it, monkeys!

I've been making a series of goodbye cards this past week as I realized I did not have a one.  Not a one!  Some will also be good for encouragement.  I'm showing them in my personal order of preference.

Card 1 Details:  The Good Life PP, Marianne Bicycle Die, red dot paper made with my Cameo in like 2 secs (love!), the sentiment is from my kid sis that she bought while she was here--Hero Arts maybe?  Came in a set all in that font.  Pop Tone card stock in Sno Cone for the base.

I'm entering this one in Cards for Men #22 Way to Go.

 

Card 2 Details:  The Good Life PP, Pop Tone Sno Cone circle, PTI sentiment, black card stock from old stash

Card 3 Details:  I finally jumped on the bandwagon with this one--stenciling and envelope looking card.  The white stuff is Dreamweaver Embossing Paste (aka spackle--seriously).  DCWV Citrus paper, PTI sentiment, Heidi Swapp arrow.

 

Card 4 Details:  card stock from old stash, mystery PP (bought this at Michael's on clearance recently), sequins, Versa Magic Red Magic & Pink Grapefruit chalk ink, Hero Arts sentiment. 

Recognize the dots?  I used the red dot grid from Card 1 as a stencil before using it in this card.  Two-fer!

I'm entering this one in STAMPlorations November Stamps & Sequins.

Card 5 Details:  Pop Tone Sno Cone for the speech bubbles, Colorbox cranberry pigment ink, Hampton Art embossing powder, Hero Arts & PTI sentiments, Esse Texture Espresso cover stock for the base, Penny Black speech bubbles die, mystery PP.

Card 6 Details:  Pop Tone Sno Cone, Hero Arts sentiment, my MS mini scoring board for the vertical lines, Lifestyle Crafts circle dies, mystery PP, PTI white card stock for the base.  Note to self:  I really like the play of score board dots with the designer PP dots.

I'm entering this one in Addicted to Stamps and More! #69 Clean and Simple. 

I'm entering all of the cards in Simon Says Wednesday Anything Goes, Loves Rubberstamps Challenge #77 Anything Goes and Papertake Weekly Anything Goes.


And for those of you unfamiliar with 30 Rock or wanting to relive the moment Liz says goodbye to her team, I leave you with this.

At least 2 things you can do with ferns

My kid sis gave me a set of 12x12 designer PP with this one being my fav.  Beautiful, isn't it?  It reminds me so of the Pacific Northwest.  A while back I had run across a card made with fern stamps and markers (I think).  This paper immediately came to mind.  I wanted a little more interest so used a fern die and popped it up.  I like how it draws the eye back to the sentiment.

For the other card I kept circling back to one of the scraps, thinking it would be perfect for a sympathy card.  Just a simple stamped sentiment and matting was all it needed.

The Details:   mystery designer PP, card stock from old stash, Spectrum Noir for the berries, Fiskars All That Glitters "May the simple joys...", Hero Arts Everyday Sayings ("deepest sympathy"), Spellbinders die


I'm entering both cards in The Male Room Nature and card 1 in Penny Black and More Anything Goes, Simon Wednesday Anything Goes, Christmas Card Challenges Pop It Up, and All Sorts #231 Christmas Cheer.

Christmas, 50s style

I was going through my embossing folders and ran across a 5x7 folder that's been lurking unused since I got it on clearance at my local Freddy's.  Fred Meyer's is like the Costco of the grocery/all-in-one stores in my area.  Love.

Oh, dear, I reread the post title and have "Gangnam Style" running through my head.  You too now, huh?  Sorry ;-)

The Details:  Cuttlebug embossing folder, PTI white card stock, Heidi Grace epoxy bird (you knew I would find a way to include one!), Cameo to cut out the letters, Recollections star brad, Paper Studio Santa and Friends 6x6 paper.

I'm entering this in CAS-ual Fridays CFC119 Embossing, Simon Wednesday Anything Goes, Allsorts Challenge #231 Christmas Cheer, and Jingle Belles Creatures.

One Technique, Two Different Results

 

I was on FaceTime with my kid sis last night and I mentioned I had seen a simple sponged wreath card on a now-defunct blog.  Ten minutes into our conversation and I had worked up both of these.  Sa-weet.  I'm torn between which I like more.  On the one hand the first card is modern and festive, while the other is more traditional with more visual movement--you can see the swirls the sponge dauber created as I made the circle.  I thought about using my finger instead of the dauber but learned how messy that can be with an earlier card!

The Details:  Memento Northern Pine & Pistachio ink, Versa Magic Red Magic Chalk ink, Paper studio embossing folder, Q-tip (to dot the chalk ink on card 1), Bazzill red card stock, Pop Tone craft card stock, PTI white card stock, Xmas Red Stickles, Penny Black sentiments ("wishing you health and happiness all through the year" and "best wishes for a wonderful holiday and a happy New Year"), sponge dauber.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:  Curtain Call Welcome Home,  Festive Friday Wreath, Cute Card Thursday Sparkles, Simon Says Wednesday Anything Goes, Weekly Christmas Card Challenges #48 Bows, Addicted to Stamps and More #69 CAS, and CAS-ual Fridays CFC119 Embossing.

My usual pop of red

Hmm, it seems like my signature style might include adding that little pop of red to my otherwise plain cards.  Oh, how I love that.  This card was so so fun.  I used another image from Papercraft Essentials (I so love them!) then did a partial die cutting thing for the snowman's hecka tall hat.  Isn't he cute?!  There's really a lot going on with this card if you look closely but at a glance it's so simple.  Happy sigh.

My current plan is to use this as a birthday card (lots of winter birthdays in my world), maybe with the sentiment "happy belated birthday!  I'm just helping you s-t-r-e-t-c-h out the celebration" (from Stampendous).  Cute!  And, yes, I will inevitably be late for somebody's birthday LOL.

The Details: 
Papercraft Essentials image, Spectrum Noir, Hammermill cardstock for the snowman and layer behind snowman, black card stock from my old stash, PTI card stock in white (base), Spellbinders die, Paper Studio ribbon and embossing folder, Memory Box Resting Birds dies.

I'm entering this in Simon Says Wednesday Anything Goes, Seize the Birthday, CASology, Crazy 4 Challenges Favorite Stamp Set, Jingle Belles, CAS(E) this Sketch!, and Wordplay Saturday Anything.

Thank You x4

I swear is there nothing you can't get at Costco?  I was there this past weekend and discovered they had a We R Memory Keepers washi tape dispenser and 20 rolls of washi in fall/retro colors for $20.  20 rolls!  See Card 4 for examples.  Also the bold black honeycomb and Greek key in cards 1 and 3. The others are tapes that I got from Etsy a while back.

Anyway, obviously I had washi on the brain when I got home plus recall that I had been running low on thank you cards. I was toying around with placement, liked how the washi looked on the slant and just ran with it . . . 4 times.  This would make a really cool gift set, dontcha think?

Card 1 Details:  PTI white and Pop Tone Black Licorice card stock, the 2 dark black washi are We R Memory Keepers, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Inkadinkado Thank You Words

Card 2 Details:  Inkadinkado Thank You Words, Bazzill Icy Mint and Pop Tone Black Licorice card stock, Darice embossing folder, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Martha Stewart mini scoreboard

Card 3 Details:  PTI white card stock, Stampabilities sentiment, We R Memory Keepers washi (the dark ones), Memento Tuxedo Black ink 

 Card 4 Details:  PTI white card stock, Inkadinkado Thank You Words, We R Memory Keepers washi, Stazon, Martha Stewart mini scoreboard

I'm entering cards 1-3 in the CASology #68 Black challenge, card 4 in the Crazy for CAS #30, and all of the cards in Catered Crop Washi Recipe Swap and Simon Says Monday Challenge Anything Goes.

It's somezombie's birthday

I love me some zombies.  And now that they're so darned popular, they are everywhere, even in the stamping world.  Finally!

Since I live in the Seattle area, I decided to color the zombie like one you might actually see here.  Notice the dark red flannel shirt, jeans and work boots?  It was either that or find a zombie wearing shorts and flip flops in the winter!  I'm particularly fond of this guy's skin.  Oooh, and the pooling of blood at the bottom of the present; maybe he's like my Frankie and just brought along a tasty present to share.  Yum!  Oh!  Almost forgot to mention on the inside it says "make it memorable".  Get it?  LOL.

The Details:  Stamper's Anonymous Zombie Birthday stamp, Pop Tone card stock in Black Licorice, Paper Source card stock in Chartreuse, Bazzill red card stock, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders Homespun dies, Spectrum Noir markers, Crafter's Companion white card stock for coloring.

I'm entering this one in Seize the Birthday, Penny Black and More, Simon Wednesday Challenge Halloween, Whoopsi Daisy Halloween, Try It on Tuesdays Halloween, Wordplay Saturday Challenge Anything, Alphabet Challenge S is for Scary, Crafter's Cafe #34 Spookable, The Sisterhood of Crafters Trick or Treat, and Freshly Made Sketches 109.

My first challenge win!

I was so excited to learn that I was given a shout out for this past Festive Friday whimsical challenge.  Woo hoo!  I entered a few times but it was that cute cute penguin card that won. I want to thank the gals over at FFC for the shout out and for running the challenge.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I made this thank you card during the same card making week as the challenge--kismet?  I so need to make more thank you cards--nearly out!

The Details:  
Red rickrack, red transparent sequins, American Crafts PP, Bazzill Basics paper in Rock Candy, Pop Tone paper in Sno Cone, glossy accents, PTI sentiment, and Penny Black speech bubbles die.

I'm entering this in (CAS)e this Sketch! #51, Penny Black Anything Goes, and Wordplay Saturday Anything Goes.

Christmas is coming

 

I grew up in the country and each year you'd know Christmas was well and officially near when you'd see wreaths pop up on doors and mailboxes.  And being the country, the boughs often came from your own evergreens.  I love love love that smell.  Lights were popular too but not starting in October!

The Details:
Martha Stewart punch and score board, Inkssentials white enamel accents, Fiskars stamps (All that Glitters "Christmas" & snowflakes, and Sentiments "cheer"), PTI white card stock, Brilliance Graphite Black, Color Box Cranberry, green cardstock from old stash, Spellbinders cardinal, Cheery Lynn Alison's Ribbons, Hampton Art clear embossing powder, Sizzix embossing folder and my beloved glossy accents.

I'm entering this in Festive Friday FC20 Wreaths, Casology 67 Country, Penny Black and More Anything Goes, Jingle Belles Critters, and Wordplay Saturday Anything challenges.

Chevron Forest

You may have noticed that I don't use a lot of blue blue in my cards.  So I was quite beside myself when my kid sis gave me this chevron trees paper that I really really really like.  What to do, what to do?  I know you know what I'm talking about.

I love how this card turned out.  Can you see the subtle evergreen (blue)  forest in the background (perfect for the Pacific NW)?  Then you have the close up of the bird on the limb with just a touch of ice/snow.  Wintery nature at its stylized best.  I'll definitely be adding this to my collection of cards (I'm thinking my BIL's birthday in January--shh).

The Details:
Memory Box Woodland Branch die, Marianne Designs Fence, Bird & House dies, Stickles, glossy accents (as glue), foam dots, mystery PP and dark blue card stock from my old stash.

I'm entering this in the CASology Country, The Male Room #7 Nature, and Less is More #142 Trees challenges.

Update:  also entering this in the Papertake Weekly Challenge Oh Christmas Tree.