Penny Black Saturday Challenge: 201

This week's theme over at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge blog is In The Garden.  I had so much fun creating this card. I wanted it to be a little different, so I created the image on the inside of the card and framed around it. I created the card using my Gypsy. I recently acquired some more Copics and I'm practicing using them. They are definitely addicting. I think I've reached a turning point in shading. It's not good yet, but it's not hideous. LOL. Those butterflies are Penny Black stamps. That cute little flower on the bottom left is from My Creative Time's All Around Everything Accessories set. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

Throwback Thursday Challenge: Frames

This week's Throwback Thursday challenge with My Creative Time was to create any project using a frame. I couldn't pass up another opportunity to use my new Penny Black stamp set. Isn't he adorable?! I colored him with Copics. I need to take a class. I did have a lot of fun with this challenge. For my circle frames, I used Mini Monograms.  I'm sorry I didn't use any MCT stamps :(.  I just had a vision with this cutie and had to go with it. LOL.

Organization Tip: Color Chart

I have been wanting to do this for sooo long and last night I finally did it! I used a 2 3/4 circle punch and punched out a circle of every single color cardstock I own.  Most of it is Stampin Up! but I have a handful of Papertrey Ink in there. I keep my paper organized in generic plastic paper holders, about 24-30 of them, but I don't have enough for each individual colors. Some slots have 2 or 3 colors in the same family and it makes it so difficult to know exactly what I have. The lighing in that area of my craft room isn't very good either, so when I'm trying to match a patterned paper, it becomes more of a chore than fun.  Well, all that is changed now! I'm SO proud of myself! It took me about 2 1/2 hours last night, but I'm all set. Now, as I get new colors in, it will take no time at all to keep this up. I used my computer to print out all the color names, then punched them out with SU! Word Window punch (one of my all-time favorite punches ever!). Anyway, I feel so organized now. I also wanted to do it so I'll have the color name on the actual cardstock because it is very hard to keep track if you buy assorted packs. Next, I want to do this with my SU! patterned paper. I want to write down what cardstock colors it coordinates with because I never remember. Luckily, I only have a few DSP packs. I highly recommend doing this if you haven't already. Although, knowing me, I bet everyone already does this and I'm just waaay behind. LOL.

Here are some more pics:

Happy Mother's Day: Terrific Tuesday Challenge

Mommy, if you're reading this blog post...stop. Your Mother's Day card is pictured below.  hee hee.

The challenge over at Scrappy Moms Stamps was to use the Forever Young cartridge.  I had so much fun making this card!  I used paper from My Mind's Eye: Ooh La La and Lime Twist: Life of the Party. These two stacks complement each other SO perfectly.  Here's the Lime Twist pad:

The circle sentiment is from Emma's newest release: All Around Everything and the stamped flower in the center is from the All Around Everything Accessories set. These sets are a must have!  The combinations are endless. Of course, that's Emma's Scallop and Stitched circle die.  Now, I LOVE all of Emma's stamps and dies, but I didn't purchase her latest flower dies. I'm not that into 3-D flowers. But, after seeing her projects and her fabulous Design Team's projects, I wanted a 3-D flower for this project and was sorry I didn't puchase the set. I'm an instant gratification kind of gal so decided to try layering some flowers from my Cricut to get a similar look. I chose a flower from the Forever Young cartridge. I had to do some snipping, but by and large, I love the way it came out. I made a pom-pom from twine for the center. The "mommy" on Emma's oval stitched die is from Pink By Design Our Mother's set. Isn't this card so beautiful?!

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 199

Wow, it's been such a long time since I've posted here. I was in a scrapping rut for quite a while, got out of it, and then was in a blog-posting rut. LOL. One rut I wasn't in was a purchasing rut. Oh boy have I made a lot of purchases. But, I'm hopefully finished for awhile. One of my purchases was Penny Black's Critter Party stamp set. I've been having so  much fun with this set. I have a few other hedges from Penny Black so this set was a great addition to my collection.

So, this card is for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. The challenge is to create a Spring themed card.  The paper is from my most favorite paper stack ever. It's from My Mind's Eye and it's called Ooh La La for Her. I purchased this pad about 2 months ago and when I got it home, I was more in love with it than I realized. Two weeks ago I finally went to make a project with it and found myself not wanting to use any of the papers. I decided I needed to buy a couple more pads. Well, they are NO WHERE to be found. I searched every website and AC Moore didn't have it. I went to Michael's yesterday (50 minutes away) and they still had them in stock. I bought all 6.  Now I'm not afraid to use the paper. LOL. Here it is; isn't it adorable?! It just screams spring!

Isn't this the cutest stamp ever?! The sentiment is from an old Hero Arts Valentine set I had. The base of the card is Stampin' Up! Island Indigo. That adorable oval is Emma's oval stitched die from My Creative Time. That stitching makes this oval so unique. The matching strip is a piece of Island Indigo that I ran through my crimper. It was just the added touch this card needed. Thanks for looking!

Throwback Thursday

Emma's challenge over at My Creative Time this week is to create any project you want but it has to be Cricutless! Ack! That has proven to be very challenging for me in the past. I'd always think I accomplished a Cricut-free project, only to realize at the last minute that I, in fact, used my Cricut for a circle or other ancillary shape on the card. LOL.  Well, this time, I accomplished it! I didn't even turn the machine on.

For my card, I used Emma's scallop and stitched circle die set. Those adorable faces are Peachy Keen faces, of course: Wide Eyed Kids, Critter Faces and Wide Eyed and Bushy Tailed. The sentiment is Emma's set Just a Little Note to Say...  I find myself using that set more and more. That pretty paper is from a 6x6 My Mind's Eye pad I picked up at Michael's last weekend.  The twine is from The Twinery. 

Snail Mail

Hi everyone! Boy, it's been a while since I posted a project. I hadn't been in a crafty mood for the past 2 weeks, but I'm back! I made this card a couple of weeks ago as soon as this awesome stamp set from My Thoughts Exactly arrived. I bought Lovey Food Puns and I'm so glad I got it when I did because it's sold out now. It is the cutest set ever! I love how the sentiments can be mixed and matched for an endless variety of adorable phrases. You need this set, trust me!

For my card, I used a simple circle shape with a scallop layer. That adorable snail is from the Birthday Bash cartridge and that awesome paper is from a Fancy Pants 6x6 pad called Beach Babe.  The "sending you" sentiment is from Lovey Food Puns and the "Snail Mail" sentiment is from a PaperTrey Ink set whose name escapes me now. Sorry.

Have a great week!