Use It! #20/CPS 126

Hi friends! I haven't had much time to craft at all this week (and I do NOT like this!) but tonight I squeezed in time to do this week's Use It! challenge, and to catch up on my neglected craft fair merchandise. I also paired the Use It! challenge with a sketch by CPS.

I've been trying to use up my older Christmas patterned papers, so I knew I wanted to use this snowflake paper by... actually I don't know who made it. I remember finding that odd when I bought the paper. It just says "The glittered Christmas Stack", but it doesn't have a company name. I don't think it's DCWV, but it's on that order. Anyway, I knew I wanted to use that paper, so that was my starting point. I paired it with some deep purple cardstock by DCWV. What else goes with snowflakes besides a jolly snowman? Nothing. So that's what I used! :) The snowman and hat stamps are by Hero Arts, and I colored him in with my water color pencils. My trusty StazOn ink pad is starting to dry out, so tonight I used black chalk ink instead. I found out that coloring over chalk ink isn't the greatest idea- anywhere I colored started to pick up the black ink. :( A trip to Michael's for more ink is definitely in my immediate future! :) To the snowman image, I added a bit of silvery blue ribbon to fill in the space at the bottom :)

Denise's Use It! challenge asked us to use an unusual item, so I figured now was a great time to use some old sheet music my mom was going to throw out. I used my 2" scalloped circle punch for the background. Next I took the back of a clear circular sentiment stamp and stamped it with Versamark on top of the sheet music. Then I added purple, blue, and green chalk to the ink for a bit of see-through color. To that I added these snowflake "sequins" that I bought on clearance last year. I got about 200 for 99 cents :) I glued those on top of the sheet music (which is why I had to add the chalk... the snowflakes didn't show up on just the sheet music) and added a coordinating gem. I just bought a one-pound variety bag of gems- there are a TON in the bag! YUM! :D The only downfall is they don't come with adhesive, but I fixed that with a glue dot. Okay, so that sums up my handmade snowflake embellishments.

Here's a recap of Denise's challenge:
1. An unusual item
check! sheet music

2. One stamp
check! Hero Arts

3. One die cut or embellishment
check! my handmade snowflake embellishments :)

Thanks for bearing through such a ramble-y post... hope you like my card set! :D

-Suzanne :O )

the little things

Super quick post:

Hero arts image, colored with my water color pencils
Patterned papers and ribbon by Heidi Grace
Cardstock by WorldWin
Vellum sentiment by Joann's

I made this card for my dad to send to my grandmother's best friend (since age 7!!!). He wanted to send her some photos he found, so I thought this was a nice way to capture the sentiment. Hope you like, thanks for stopping by! :)

-Suzanne :O )

Turning Two

Hi everyone! Just a quick post tonight- I made this little card for my cousin's son, who will be turning two next week :) I used papers by ATD, chipboard alligators (or are they crocodiles?) by Making Memories, some orange polka dot by Michael's and a chipboard 2 by Colorbok. The yellow dot paper came from a swap, so I don't know the manufacturer. I should also mention that I ran the red cardstock through my Cuttlebug. :) It's a busy card, but I tend to pick bright, colorful papers/embellishments when I'm making card for kids! Anyway, I hope you enjoy- thanks for stopping by!

-Suzanne :O )

Use It! #19

Hi friends! I've been working VERY hard to prepare myself for my second craft show. I'm going to have a table set up at my town's Grape Harvest Festival (held at The Brotherhood Winery, America's oldest!). I did a craft show in December of 2007, but I think I had too much going on- I made Christmas cards, notepads, small boxes, Snowman Soup and jars of ready-to-go cookie mix. This time, I'm just going to focus on making packs of cards. Over the past couple of weeks I've been focusing on making Christmas cards, but soon I'm going to focus on making birthday or thank you or wedding, etc. I've really been USING my paper- that was one of the reasons I decided to go with mass producing. I can get four cards out of every 12x12 sheet of paper, and it's much easier to make 4 of the same exact card than it is to make 4 different cards :) The show is not until October 3, but I still feel like time is slipping away from me!

Anyway, on to this week's Use It! challenge, hosted by Ellen:

1 Dive into your old papers box and search for some "scrap" papers in MONOCHROMATIC colors.

check! I used 3 different Christmas papers from my Christmas scrap pile. :)

2 Add a TAG or a LABEL to your card.

check! I used regular manila tags- I forget to use them as a stamping surface, but I need to keep that in mind more often!

3 Use at least one of your favorite STAMPS.

check! How adorable is this little Inkadinkado Santa? The sentiment is so warm and cozy, too!

4 Add a LAYERED FLOWER.
check x4! For a while I was on a flower kick, but I haven't been lately. This brought me back to my flower frenzy, and bonus- I got to use more of my flower stash! Yay! :)

I also used some Making Memories brads, Dashes, Dots & Checks ribbon and my Copic markers to color in Mr. Claus. I really love these cards... but hopefully other people think so too and they SELL! lol Thanks for stopping by, hope you're having a great week!

-Suzanne :O )

Hi everyone! This is a baby card I made a loooong while ago (like January?) and I never posted it :( The entire background is a sheet of DCWV paper, and I tried to line up the "baby girl" sentiment so it was in the right spot. I embossed a bit of WorldWin cardstock, added a yellow ribbon and some chipboard stickers by Basic Grey, and that was it! A super simple baby card for my boyfriend's co-worker :) The sentiment is a vellum sticker by K&Co, I believe. Hope you like it, thanks for stopping by! :)

-Suzanne :O )

PS- My boyfriend "helped" me with this card- he advised me to use the little chick, which he thought was cute. :D

Use It! #18

Hi everyone! Quick post tonight- this is a card I made for my cousin's daughter who is about to turn 13! I based it off of Ann's challenge at Use It!:

Here is Ann's challenge:
...
•Add some texture
check! I embossed a couple of the papers.
...
•Use at least 2 punches
check! I used a border punch and a circle punch, both by EK Success.
...
•Use paper from your favorite manufacturer.
Doodlebug is my favorite company, but I don't have any of their papers! :( I used Hidden Hues cardstock by ATD instead- that's a close second right now. Their papers have a hidden color inside, which comes out when you emboss or tear it. Yum!
...
•*Bonus*
check!

Since I couldn't use any Doodlebug paper, I thought I would at least use some stickers I've been hoarding :D The inside sentiment is ATD. I hope you like my fun, BRIGHT card! :) Thanks for popping in!

-Suzanne :O )

So Sweet of You

Hi everyone! I made these cards a couple of months ago when everyone showered me with Secretaries' Day flowers! :) I bought these "cell phone bling" rub-ons at Michael's on clearance for 30 cents a pack. Does anyone actually buy things like that FOR their cell phones? Seriously. ;)

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to get on the "sweets" band wagon, especially since these fruits were so sparkly and cheerful! I cut up the rub-ons so I could get two cards out of each sheet. The sheet was small, not even 3x4", I would say :) I'm pretty sure I followed an old Mojo Sketch here, but I don't know which one.

The pink cardstock is by Miss Elizabeths, the patterned papers are old Making Memories, and the red cardstock is DCWV. I used one of my Stampin' Up! stamps that coordinates with the scalloped circle punch (love these!), and added a green gem. I only had enough "thank you" ribbon for one card (hooray for using up my stash!), so I finished the other five with ribbon I won in a blog contest (that ribbon was used up too- hooray again!) :) I can't remember who made the dark green brads, but they were some of the first I ever bought! I think I only have a few left... amazing how long it takes me to use some of my things!

I don't know why it took me so long to post these, but they were a big hit at work! :) My best compliment is always when someone doesn't even realize they were handmade!! :D I hope you're all having a GREAT week! Thanks for taking a peek!

-Suzanne :O )

Sugared Baby Shower

Hi friends! The family friend for whom I made the barnyard baby shower invitations is having her big hoopla this Saturday. My mom and I are giving her a bassinet, so when I saw that image on my New Arrival Cricut cartridge, I knew I had to use it :) All of the papers and "Girl" sticker are from Basic Grey's Sugared line. I added a bit of sheer pink ribbon, a Prima flower, and a gold button, which I hand-stitched to the flower. I also couldn't resist adding a big of Doodlebug's Sugar Coating to the ribbon on the bassinet- yum! :) The scallops aren't perfect, which irritates me, but I traced one of my ShapeCutters templates and hand-cut it with scissors. I would have just cut it using my ShapeCutter, but the corners wouldn't have lined up b/c the template is 8 1/2 x 11. Oh, well. :)

The sketch is caardvarks, sponsored by ShortCuts!:
I hope you enjoy my little card, thanks for checking in!

-Suzanne :O )

Use It! #17

Happy Monday, friends! I'm actually *early* for this week's Use It! challenge! Hooray! :) This week Joke is the hostess, and she asked us to:

1- Use your newest papers.
check! I know I'm late, but I finally got my hands on Basic Grey's Cupcake line.

2- There has to be a name on the card.
check! My friend John from high school loves my cards so I wanted to do it up for his birthday. We call each other "Friend", so I promise I'm not cheating on this part! lol

3- Use at least one button.
check! check! I bought these awesomely vibrant buttons at my dollar store.

4- Use your sewing machine, if you have, or try to stitch, a tiny piece, by hand.
A seamstress I am not, but I sort of like the messy stitches I did around the top of the card. It seems to go well with the funky paper :)

I also used a brand spanking new stamp set that I found at AC Moore last night. It has tons of cupcakes and ice cream cones, and the "spoil yourself" was one of the sentiments. Yum! The bow on the present seemed to be calling out for something, so I added a gem by Darice ;)

I have just one gripe. I bought a pack of matching Basic Grey Cupcake rub-ons and I was going to use the "Make a Wish" sentiment only to find that it would NOT adhere to the paper! At all! I've had some rub-ons that tear or need some SERIOUS pressure, but never this! I rubbed REALLY hard, to no avail. I'm extremely disappointed, especially since I paid $7 for them! :( If anyone has any tricks or tips, please let me know! I don't know why they won't stick. :(

Anyway, I hope you like my card, rub-on or not! Thanks for passing by!

-Suzanne :O )

"You know you're getting old when...

you get that one candle on the cake. It's like, see if you can blow this out." I wish I knew who made that sentiment- I LOVE making funny cards! I made this one for my uncle, who I knew would get a kick out of it ;)

The blue and green papers are My Mind's Eye, the orange is KI Memories and the yellow is a scrap by DCWV, I think. I'm not totally sure if that's a bear or a beaver or whatever, but he's a chipboard piece by DCWV (love these little critters!) I stamped the Doodlebug cake in tangerine chalk ink, added one of those candle "buttons" and attached it so it looked like it was in his palm. I also added a bit of American Crafts ribbon.

I always have a bit of trouble making masculine cards, even for birthdays, but I think I pulled this one off. :) I hope you all had a nice fourth of july. Thanks for stopping by!

-Suzanne :O )

PS- If you're someone who just likes to look, don't forget I have my quick comment check boxes that are easy and anonymous! :)

Fourth of July Frenzy!

Happy Fourth of July, friends! :D These are the cards I made this year. I used up a TON of my stash so now I'm allowing myself to keep an eye out for end-of-the-season clearance :) Feel free to click on any image to see the details. I don't think I have the energy to list out all of the supplies I used, but if you have any questions, just ask! I hope you enjoy my cards and are having a FABULOUS weekend! :D

-Suzanne :O )

Use it! #16 and Mojo #93

Hi everyone! I'm working on making thank you cards for my dad to send to his students, and this is the first one of 12 (big project, but it means using tons of supplies! yay!). Kay is hosting this week's Use It! challenge, and she asked us to:

1. Use something inspired by nature.
check! I know apples are cliche for teachers, but they're also fun! :)

2. Use polka dots.
check! check! They're on some of my paper (all by DCWV) and I ran the red cardstock strip through my Cuttlebug for extra dots. Yum!

3. Use your favorite embellishment.
check! check! Brads and ribbon- two of my very favorites! The gold brads were in my mom's junk drawer (I only have 1 brad left, and it was a pack of 100. woohoo!) and I just bought the deep green ribbon- 20 yards for $2.50! :D

4. Mail your creation to someone special.
check! My dad will be mailing these creations to LOTS of someone specials ;)

My card is loosely based on this week's Mojo Monday sketch. I didn't have a giant scalloped square die-cut, so I settled for a Fiskars Shape Cutters template. The apple stamp is also Fiskars, which I colored with my Copic Ciao markers. The lime green ovals came in a pack of labels, so I stamped them with a Fiskars sentiment and stuck it right on my card. The chipboard is by Colorbok- I bought a whole pack of chipboard embellishments, but there were tons of this shape, so I wanted to use them on a bulk project :)

I think this card is a little busy, but I figure it's good for 9 year olds :) Plus, I wanted to use up that alphabet and apple paper! :) :) :)

I will post all 12 of these cards when they're made. I also have to make 9 more thank you's (he had 21 students total), but I'm going to use different papers, so I'll post those later as well. I hope you're having a great start to your Fourth of July weekend! Thanks for stopping by!!! :D

-Suzanne :O )