Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge

Happy World Card Making Day!  I haven't played along with the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge in a little while, so I was glad to finally make it happen this week!  I am trying to build up my Christmas card stash whenever possible, so I pulled out the new CTMH Snowhaven papers and last year's WOTG stamp set to make up two slightly different cards:

For this one, I just added a few red sparkles and the new silver adhesive sequins from CTMH. 

And this one got a few sequins and some twine.  Here was our sketch:

Patterned papers are Snowhaven & Dakota; Cardstock is Slate & Glacier; Ink is Whisper; Stamp set is Frosted Cardmaking WOTG; Silver sequins & Red sparkles - all Close To My Heart; American Crafts twine.

 

Snowman Shaker card

 I am kicking off October on the One Crazy Stamper blog with a Christmas shaker card using the Window & Frosty Snowman stamps from High Hopes:

Being a snowman, I knew that I wanted to have him outside peeking in, so I decided on making a shaker card to have a few snowflakes fluttering around him.  I coloured him with Copics on a small piece of white cardstock, and glued a few of the punched snowflakes around him, so that whether the card is shaken or not, there will always be a little snow.

After stamping & cutting out the window, I adhered a piece of clear acetate over the opening, and surrounded it with foam adhesive strips on the backside.  Before pressing it onto my base, I made a little pile of punched snowflakes and sequins on top of the image that became encased in the little pouch that I created after the adhesive was pressed down.  It's Holiday crafting season!  So head on over to the OCS store to stock up on all your supplies. 

One Crazy Stamper store products: High Hopes Window S277

High Hopes Frosty Snowman

Sentiment - Art Impressions Sleepy Santa Try'folds

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Xpress It Blending Cardstock

Copics: W5, W3, W1, W00, B02, B01, B00, B000, B0000, R27, R24, R22, R20, YR15, YR12

 

Art Impressions Christmas 2014 Launch & Blog Hop!

The Art Impressions Design Team is helping to launch the Ai Christmas 2014 collection with a blog hop today!  And oh, my - the new holiday sets are WONDERFUL!  You should be coming here from Sharon's blog.  I am sharing the Season's Greetings Set (Sku#4518 ):

We have four fabulous new Christmas sets available through the Art Impressions website today, plus the two fun shaker images that debuted last week:

Be sure to head on over to the Art Impressions blog where the hop begins, and you'll want to leave a comment on each of the blogs, as Ai is giving away TWO of the new stamps sets to commentors on EACH blog on the hop!!

There is one more week left in the Art Impressions Holiday Sparkle challenge, so you'll want to link up your creation here. 

 For a full list of today's hoppers, head over to the Ai blog... but right now your next stop is the very talented Kerry's blog!

Copics used: R35, R32, R30, Y26, Y23, Y21, C1, YR16, YR15, BG18, BG13, BG11.

Snowman Set

It's the first of the month, which means a brand new challenge on the
One Crazy Stamper blog!  Once again, the Design Team will be bringing you the latest High Hopes release throughout the month of October - so our challenge will continue as Halloween/Christmas projects.  Details are on the OCS blog.

I've put together a little trio of items today to show how this cute little frame stamp can be used on the front of a card, or as a gift tag - just waiting for the "To and From".  I also used my Gift Bag Punch Board to make a matching gift bag to tie my tag onto.  Here are some closeups:

 Happy stamping!

 

Products from the OCS store: High Hopes Rubber Stamp

Copic Markers: G46, G43, G40, R81, R83, R85, R89, B00, B000, B0000, E71, E74, E77, R59, R27, R24, R22, YR15, YR12.

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Xpress It Blending Cardstock

We R Memory Keepers Gift Bag Punch Board

Girls Night Out

 Have you all seen the latest Art Impressions Halloween sets??  I'm sharing the cute little flying witch from the Girls Night Out Set (Sku #4526):

When I saw this sweet little witch, I knew that I wanted to have her flying - so I made a circular die cut through the front of my card, and suspended her on a piece of thread in the opening:

 She's a little hard to photograph, since she likes to twirl around when the card is propped open!  So I've taken a few different shots so that you get the idea.  Below it shows the card laying flat so that you can see her a bit better.  I've also used the Funky Halloween (Sku# 4312) sentiment on the front of the card - and the inside sentiment is "Girls Night Out".

Forgive the photos!  The base is a vibrant lime green colour, not quite as neon as the photo shows on the blog!  I used my Gift Box Punch Board and a piece of 6x6" cardstock to create a tiny matching pumpkin to hold a few little chocolate goodies:

I started by assembling my card base mounting lime green on the front, and a warm yellow on the inside.  I cut a 3" circle through the entire front.  I coloured the witch with Copic markers and fussy cut around her.  I cut a black shape with my Cricut, and glued a piece of thread onto the back:

I ran a line of glue down the back of the witch and placed her under the thread before gluing the die cut onto the front of my card.

You can see all of the Ai 2014 Halloween sets here!  Happy Stamping Everyone!

Copics used: C7, C5, C3, C1, C00, YR15, YR12, YR00, YG05, YG03, YG01, V09, V04, V01, Y26, Y23, Y21, E57, E55, E53.

 



Coffee Lovers Blog Hop & Creative Bloggers Hop

Happy Monday everyone!  This is a big post today, so bear with me - I am participating in the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop, and at the end of the post, I am answering a few crafty questions to participate in the Creative Bloggers Hop.  When I first heard about the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop initiated by Chaitali, I knew that I wanted to take part by making a card, but when I got set up in my craft room, I decided to make a set of four...

I pulled out October Afternoon's Farmhouse papers, three Verve sets (Coffee, Notepaper & Better With You) and three Verve dies!  I also managed to use four different sketches, so here they are:

This is the Viva La Verve Sept. Week 4 sketch

 

This is the Viva La Verve Sept Week 2 sketch

 

This is Freshly Made Sketches #155

 

This is the sketch from The Challenge #15

I had a great time making this little set... I just may have to make some kind of a holder for them when I get a chance.  And isn't that little coffee word die wonderful?  It just may be the best die ever created (thanks, Julee!)  Be sure to head over to Chaitali's blog to see the entire hop list, and if you can create a coffee themed creation today, you can link it up, too.

 

And now for the Creative Blogger Nomination!
Creative Blogger is a chain of blog hop tours.  You will get to meet new bloggers, gather loads of inspiration, and connect with blogs that will expand your creativity.  I have four questions to answer, and then I will pass along my nomination.  But first - I need to thank the incredibly talented Brenda Rose for asking me to join the hop!  I'm a little humbled by her nomination, as she is one of the most inspirational people that I know - there is a link to her Rose Blossom Legacies blog on my sidebar - you'll want to head over and start pinning all her fabulous creations :o)  Here goes:

What am I currently working on?
My two design teams keep me pretty busy all the time both colouring & cardmaking.  I have four projects due this week (and I took time out this weekend to make my four coffee cards!), so even though almost everything is completed, I'm in the middle of getting it all photographed and preparing blog posts.  I also colour ahead whenever possible, so I have about 10-15 images coloured and ready to go.  Another creative hobby of mine is photography... and the fall colours are in full swing in Ontario, so I've been taking a lot of photos this week, and have a photo shoot field trip with a girlfriend this week!

How does my work differ from others in it's genre?
I wouldn't say that I have a really unique look, as there are just so many talented people out there!  My style leans towards bold & bright colours, lots of patterned paper but fairly clean lines.  I don't use a lot of embellishments, often just a button or a few pearls.  I try hard to create cards that are well balanced using colours & papers that work well together.

Why do I create what I do?
A little creating time makes my world go 'round.  It really does.  In fact I probably 'need' more creative time than the average person!  Since I was a little girl making clothes for my trolls & Barbies... I have done embroidery, needlepoint, smocking, sewing, painting, knitting, scrapbooking, cardmaking and variations on all of the above.  I considered becoming an accountant, but no - I became a clothing designer!  Ha!  Creativity is an important part of everyone's life - whether you're baking, gardening or cardmaking - you should find what makes your own world go 'round, and do it!

How does my creative process work?
I love sketch challenges.  A well designed sketch will inspire me to head into my craft room and start picking out papers.  Then, based on the elements of the sketch - I'll determine what stamp set I plan to use.  If there is a large square or rectangle shape - I'll reach for a large image to fill it.  If there is a long and skinny piece, I'll look instead for a quote or sentiment that fits on it.  When I'm working on a design team project - my process is completely different!  Because now I am working with a specific stamped image, so that is where I start.  Then I select my papers that I'll be using, and I bring those over to where I colour with my Copics.  I'm almost obsessive about colouring my images to coordinate with the papers that I've chosen.  After the image is coloured, I'll head to my drafting table to design the card.  My absolute favourite thing to do is to create a grouping of coordinating cards (like my coffee cards above!) - mixing and matching papers and images to make a set of different cards that work well together.  I know this is a direct result of my background, making seasonal clothing lines that coordinate - it's simply the way that my brain works.  Another thing that I do - is to draw out absolutely everything!  At any given time, my drafting table is covered with dozens of tiny little sketches - I draw out all my cards (and occassionally scrapbook pages) in miniature before starting to cut papers so that I know if the card is well balanced or not.

Enough about me!  Now I'd like to extend the Creative Blogger Nomination to Amy Moore!  You can see her blog here.  I've followed Amy's work for years - she is one talented lady with a real design flair!  And she can really rock a sketch challenge :o)

If you made it all the way through this post - thank you.  And Happy National Coffee Day.

Witch Wanda in Greyscale

Halloween is just a few weeks away... so I am sharing an Art Impressions stamp called Witch Wanda today.  I've coloured her all in 'greyscale' using just the warm grey Copic markers, which gives her a bit of a creepy/vintage look!

 

I've used a cream cardstock - but she looks even creepier on white!  Give it a try - it's kind of like colouring a black & white photo?

Lora has some wonderful Halloween papers in the One Crazy Stamper store, whether you're making cards, crafts or scrapbooking.  And here's a tip: when you're on the homepage of the OCS online store, click on "New Items" on the sidebar - and it will show you all the items that have just arrived in the store!  With the holidays coming up, you're going to want the latest & greatest products asap!

Copics used: W9, W7, W5, W3, W1, W00

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Art Impressions Witch Wanda Set

Making Memories Frightful 6x6 pad

Memory Box Grove Branch die

Happy Stamping!