Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Working with a Lemon Shortbread digi

Hi Stampers,

What a time I've had working with the digi from Lemon Shortbread (don't you just love that name), offered to my team members at Get Creative Challenges. I can color, but faces, hair. skin...well they proved to be my undoing on this lovely girl. I need to look at some tutes big time. Her nose is too dark...maybe she was skiing on some sunny slopes somewhere and got burned. I also didn't want her to be quite so dark-complected. I tried to fix this with some skin-tone Derwent pencil. Can you say mess? About the only thing successful on this card is the double bow which I achieved for the first time with my home-made bow-maker. I'm not giving up. I have way too many Copics to do that.


Blessings,
Erica

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Let's celebrate Less Is More and their 200th Challenge

Oh dear, I am now experiencing Too Little Time to Get It All Done syndrome. It's started with making a card for Less Is More as the divas and all the members enjoy celebrating their 200 Challenge. I am just under the wire for my submission.  How time does fly. LIM is the first challenge where one of my entry's made top three. I will never forget my excitement when that morning, I opened the LIM email and saw my card and name. My dear hubby was bewildered, as I happy danced for hours. What an incredible mood I remained in all day. Well, I still get happy on Saturday morns, with a few groans now and then, even though I've never been chosen again. I'm still inspired by the submissions. Though I don't submit regularly, LIM is my go to CAS challenge blog.

So to celebrate, I'm submitting two cards and here they are. It's been cloudy in my neck of the woods, and I've had my best with editing. Please bear in mind I do not own Photoshop and wouldn't know what to do with it if I did.



The second card is my fave. Do you SU folk remember this stamp image? It's one from my very first year with them. I've passed many of my SU stamps on, but I had to keep this set. It's perfect for this card. The base is white and the banner is vellum stamped in Encore gold and embossed with embossing powder. The heart is a a long ago retired SU punch. I never get rid of SU punches. They're the best in terms of durability on the market.

My second card with a creme bases also uses stamping items from my past. the numbers are die cut using a Cuttlebug set of letters and numbers. I'm not sure why CB stopped making these sets. Yes, they were pricy, but very useful when you didn't want to use stamps. The "yay" sentiment is from a set of die cuts by SU.

Go play with the divas whenever you need to get your mojo up and running.

Blessings,
Erica

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Bare Trees for Less Is More

Hi Stamping Friends,

It's been a while since I posted a card for LIM. I miss them, but design team projects, as well as family keep me from doing more. If I had my way, I'd craft all day with an occasional break for the basic sustenance...PB&J anyone?

So LIM is on challenge no. 199. WHOW! I don't think there are many people in the stamping world who haven't heard of them. I know I've benefited enormously from the divas and the posters who have given a major boost to my creativity. Moving along, the divas are truly in the Christmas spirit as they should be and all things that make you think Christmas are the challenge for the week.

I was inspired by CAS blogger Susan at Simplicity. I'd say I've copied her card 98%. My trees are a bit different and my sentiment is too, however, I gotta give credit where credit is due.  Please view Susan's card on her blog in all its simplicity...sorry, couldn't resist.
And now for mine.



Once you've seen hers, I think you'd have to agree I'm a copycat.

I've used Recollections heavy weight 110 lb. card stock white for the base and mat. The trees are by Rubber Stampede, the sentiment is Hero Arts and the little tweets are IO dies. I used my Nestabilities for the mat. I've stamped in Memento London Fog. It's a bluish gray, so I thought it was perfect for winter bare trees. I think I should placed the bird sitting in the tree down on the snow. The design seems a bit top-heavy. I think it's because the sentiment is bolder than Susans. Ah well, card-makers regret is soon remedied by making another.

The LIM challenge has just begun, so stop by cause this is an easy peasy one.

Blessings,
Erica

Monday, November 17, 2014

Get Creative Card Challenges - Design Team Member

Hi Stamping friends,

We are quite chilled here in AZ. It is welcome. We had one of our hottest summers on record.

I have been invited to be a design team member of a challenge blog led by the talented Angie Addison. Angie and I are team members at Simply Create Too and she is an artist in her own right with Etsy stores to boot.

Get Creative Card Challenges is brand spankin' new and on their second challenge. This challenge is sponsored by Whoopsiedaisy, who graciously supplied us with the sweet image you see here. She actually reminds me of my youngest grand-daughter. I had fun coloring her with my Copics, but as I say frequently, my coloring needs improving.

This is a 5x5 card on an SU certainly celery base. The yellow mat is from Bazzill stack I got in a windfall in a Tuesday Morning haul and the dsp is from a  6x6 pad by American Crafts, Dear Lizzy Neopolitan Paper Pad. The papers are a perfect match for her. The sentiment is from a clear stamp set by Stampendous called Birthday Wishes. I used an SU banner punch, and a button and baker's cord from my stash. The sentiment is popped up on a bit of punched paper done with a very old SU punch.

The card could have benefited from a few more embellishments, but I had a deadline for my first entry and I was bound and determined to get it up. Oh, and did I mention this is my second digital image that I've used ever. I struggle getting images sized properly for placing on a card. As with coloring, practice makes perfect.

Please check out this new challenge blog. You could win some fab digi stamps. And you know you'd love that.

Blessings,
Erica

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Simply Create Too Challenge #74 Thanksgiving/Thank You

Good Morning Friends,

At Simply Create Too, it's mid-post time. That means my card along with the rest of the team is up and ready for you to be inspired by.


I have an adorable hedge duo for you from Penny Black and the sentiment which is a rarity because it is vertical is from Impressions Obsession. I colored with Copics and actually enjoyed doing it. The apples needed more shading though. The cs is SU. I used a honey-comb embossing folder for the card front. Flowers are from Prima and the leaves are punched with an MS punch. Pearls from my stash.

Head on over to the challenge and have some fun with this challenge before we are completely enveloped in the wonder of Christmas craftiness.

Blessings,
Erica












Sunday, November 2, 2014

Let's get those Christmas Cards Going

Good afternoon.

It's finally turning chilly here in Arizona. We will go no higher than 72 degrees today. Sweater weather, right? I know, the rest of the states are laughing at us. Seriously, I don't function in anything lower than 50 these days. I never want to see and/or feel those east coast days again.

On to my card. I decided to hunt for some challenges and found this one, Festive Friday.
I decided to enter this card. It's a 6x6 card which is a very unusual size for me, I recently splurged and purchased a British magazine from Barnes & Noble. It was quite pricy, but several British craft magazines include goodies all packaged up in good quality plastic. Cardmaking & Papercraft, October no. 28, had an embossing folder and papers and stamps. The price was totally worth it when you think about it. A folder this size can cost around $9.00. A sramp set such as the one included can cost $10.00. There you have it,

To round out my card, and make it totally Christmas, I added a die cut from CheeryLynn Designs, one that incorporates the words into the wreath, yet can be used with or without them. I aded a miniature ornament from my stash, as well as a ribbon. I am not sure I love this wreath. It is large which I do like, but rather skimpy. I think the next time, I will cut three of them and then overlap slightly askew to give it more dimension.

I'm going to keep dinner simple and probably skip my treadmill routine so that I can make cards all day. I'm planning posting a YouTube video of a haul I made yesterday at a semi-annual Convention held in a nearby town. It's huge. I'll link it up in my next post.

Hope you get to stamp today too.

Blessings,
Erica


Friday, October 31, 2014

Whatever

It's time for another fun card and I found the perfect digi....alas, it was a while ago and that's why I'm posting it for Simply Create Too's challenge no. 73, Shop in Your Craft Room, open now. Go join the fun.

I found this free digi and didn't take down the info about a month ago. It takes me forever to figure how to reduce/manipulate digis on my Mac so she sat smiling at me for weeks. Finally, I got her right and colored her up giving using lots of fun papers, flowers, and butterflies. The sentiment is a Studio G one word image that I sampled onto a word bubble. I felt it was perfect as I'm often accussed by friends and family of hiding out in my craft room far too often. What can I say? It brings me pure joy.



There is a RS Event in the next town over from me this weekend. I'm trying very hard to talk myself out of going, but I don't think I'm succeeding, so look for a haul photo early next week. GROAN!

Blessings,
Erica

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Simply Create Too DT Submission for Challenge #72

Hi Stampers,

We don't celebrate Halloween in my home, but I don't think a little treat bag posted on my blog counts as a celebration. It's just an idea for the holiday, right....OK, humor me will ya'?


I created my bag using a tutorial on the Tube and added a few embellies. No need to buy a sentiment or the paper as they were both included in sets with other sentiments. and dsp. This bag can hold quite a few treats in it.

So play along with our challenge no. 74, "Halloween/Use Orange." Just have some fun before we head into my absolute fave holiday....THANKSGIVING!

Blessings,
Erica

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

The Popular Block Card

Hi Stampers,

Have you had a chance to check out the block card tutorials on YouTube? They look difficult and pack a big WOW factor, but they are quite easy to make. I think I'll be creating lots of these.




There are several tutorials to choose from. One I particularly like is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkK9r2taoms. This is from Dawn 5377. She is a regular on YouTube and an SU demo. I actually first saw a tutorial by Papercrafter45 on YouTube and many of her samples can be found on Pinterest here http://www.pinterest.com/papercrafter...
earlier this year. It's got so many possibilities.
I hope you will give this card a try.

Blessings,
Erica

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Perfect Blend

Good afternoon Stampers,



It was National Coffee Day yesterday. Several of the larger coffee house chains had specials going on. I just stayed in my house and sipped on my very own freeze-dried Douwe Egbert's coffee from Amazon. With the addition of Dunkin' Donuts vanilla creamer and a bit of raw sugar...I like it sweet and light, I settled in to make a card to celebrate my love of coffee.

If you need some inspiration of your own, there was a one day blog hop going on here  Cuts, Crops & Creativity and since I love coffee and have quite a few coffee related stamps, I thought I'd create a card. Of course, I was late to the party. It was only for one day, but judging from all the entries, there's a lot of stamping friends just like me.

I chose a sunflower hue card stock from Recollections Spice Market for my base and added a creme border using a Whimsy Stamps border die. The images were all from an older Fiskars clear stamp set called Latte Love. I stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia and embossed with Zing brown embossing powder. I colored the circles and heart with my pencils. The long labels are from a pack by The Paper Studio called Ninth Street and die cut with MFT's dies. I added 3 small sequins after the pic was taken and they definitely were needed. Try to envision my strategic placement please. :D

It was a quick card so that I could hurry and jump on my treadmill for a quick 4,000 steps. I may get in another 2,000, but 10,000. How do people manage this???

Blessings, Erica

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Simply Create Too DT Challenge no. 70

Hi Stampers,

I have a new card up for the design team I'm a member of. It's a double embossed card. That's where you place and glue down a die cut of your choice and then emboss the entire piece as one. This one uses CB dies on Recollection's creme cs and a Tim Holtz' Tattered Leaves die cut from a scrap of green from my stash. I colored in the dots with a Stampin' Up dazzle gold marker.

As usual, I've been creating, but not taking photos and posting. October is going to be different....you heard it here.

Now go join in on the mid-post week at Simply Create Too and post your Autumn/Fall cards.

Blessings,
Erica

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Devil Smackdown Card

Hi Stampers,

I love attending Rubber Stamping/Scrapbooking conventions. We have two that come to AZ each year. I can only afford one though. I stock up on un-mounted stamps and these two were irresistible.
They are from Rubbernecker. I don't see them in the big box stores, but their prices are great.



I just love this image and sentiment. They weren't sold together, but they sure go together in my opinion. The sink and her curlers are pink, but I think I used too dark a copic for the coloring. Can you ever have enough of these markers?

I sent this to a dear friend and she absolutely loved it.

Blessings,
Erica

Friday, August 29, 2014

I've Been in a Hole

It's bedtime for me, but I had to post this card since I plan on playing along with the Less Is More challenge tomorrow before I do a few house-keeping chores and bake a cake and a pie...will post pics if all turns out well.

I made this card for my daughter in CA. She's such a strong woman that I forget she may need encouragement once in a while. I usually say the right words to her on an as needed basis, but seldom do I send a card other than birthday and Christmas. I also give her my cards to use for others. On her last visit, Danielle advised me that she needs the written word sometimes. It's something to hold on to she said. I know the feeling. So I did a 3D card with lots of YouTube help. It took three different videos and two tries, but I finally got it and I must say, I love how it turned out and I'll be making more. They're actually easy, once I wrapped my non-mathmatical brain around it.

I love the sentiments from Stampendous and the die cut images and the colors. Everything just fit. YIPPIE!

Now here's my letdown. I knew it was bulky and that I'd better take it to the post office to make sure I had enough postage. The customer service representative did her thing and asked me a zillion questions, you know, did I want insurance, date of delivery confirmation, priority, was there anything hazardous, etc., and did I want stamps and on and on. Then WHAM! That'll be $2.32. I gulped. Are you kidding, I said. Nope was the reply. I expected no more than $1.25. Well, I guess I've been in a hole somewhere. I forked the $$ over and walked out  From now on, I'm taking a picture of the card and emailing it to her or posting on FB with a notation...here's a lovely card for you and it's sitting on my craft desk waiting for you to pick it up.

Enjoy the weekend.

Blessings,
Erica

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Simply Create Too Design Team challenge no. 68...Mono/Madness

Hi Friends,
That's monochromatic madness to you, but I quite grew exhausted typing the entire word when thanking bloggers for entering this latest Simply Create Too challenge. So, I like blues and here is my card.


Kindly ignore the junk in the back...must just get some white poster board from Walmart soon!

A bit of work went into this, but I was inspired when I had a bit of a windfall at Tuesday Morning and found Spellbinder dies deeply discounted. I had to control myself, as there were sets available, that I'd never get because of the expense and my limited artistic capacity to use them. But the bird cage? Well, I'd been wanting either this one from Tim Holtz. I am thinking I do prefer this one. TH has a larger one and my cards are most often A2 size. This card is filled with die use...the Anna Griffin embossed and colored flowers, the sentiment, the tiny flowers, and the cage. I died the ribbon and used a Cuttlebug embossing folder for the card base. rounding the corners. Several brands of card stock were used...Bazzil, SU, and DCWV.

Won't you head on over to Simply Create Too and play for the second week of our challenge?
We'd love to see your creations.

Blessings,
Erica

Thursday, August 14, 2014

LIM Challenge no. 184...sort of

Good intentions is what I had Saturday morning, but how the days get away from me. And along with the days went the directions and I ended up not quite getting it right since it was supposed to be a one layer card.

I created these three cards before the weekend was done, and then procrastinated, then the weather was cloudy and I get better pics outside, so that dashed that. And so finally, today here are my cards.
BUT... Take Note, in the end, neither qualified.




To be brief, cause people have lots of cards to get to. I put to use the Tim Holtz "Tattered Leaves" die was used fork these. Various embossing folders from Cuttlebug, Darice, and Stampin' Up were used. Cardstock is either white or creme from Recollections. A special cut, a little trim and various washi tapes and a sentiment on the last one complete my trio. I'm partial to the last one, but I do like how they all turned out. Into my stash they go for autumn mailings.

Blessings,
Erica


Friday, July 25, 2014

It's Mid-Post at Simply Create Too

Good Evening Stampers,
We're getting tons of wind but no rain here in AZ and it's desperately needed. I am praying for the people of Washington State who are fighting a battle against the forest fires devastating so many acres of beautiful country. It's not the norm for them to be watching this kind of disaster.

At Simply Create Too, it's time for the mid-post of the design team and that means there's an entire week left for you to enter our 66th challenge, For a Child.  Generally, I don't make many children's cards as there aren't many little ones in my immediate family. But I know how to improvise. This little hedge with his balloons falling through the sky behind the fence was perfect.




The card is a long one. The hedgie is on a Studio Action Wobble, making him more fun for a child to play with. So, I'll put him someplace safe...kittie was giving him the eye as I made him wobble, for a day when he's needed.

Get on over to the challenge blog. I know there are plenty of grand-parents, aunts, etc., who need a card on-hand for that special little ones birthday.

Blessings,
Erica

Sunday, July 20, 2014

My Grandson is Turning 16 this week!

Good Morning Stampers,

I spent all of yesterday...well almost, making this card for my firstborn grand-child. He's a good kid, but  has so much to learn in the "real world." I love him to pieces and pray for him everyday. I pray for all the adolescents of today. They have a rough road ahead of them, like no other before in my opinion.
So Greg has his driver's permit and is coming along great with his skills. He loves the Cake Boss series, so we have cupcakes. What's a card without balloons and he lives for basketball. This card is called a Pop-up Matchbox card. You can find a tutorial on-line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq38N76YOrQ. This tute is from Elizabeth Dyson, an SU demo. There are others. I found hers the easiest for me to follow. It's a bit time-consuming, but the results are super fun. I hope you'll considering giving it a try.

Greg loves my 3D cards and told me he saves them all. WOW! Coming from a teen boy, I'm impressed.

I'm entering this into my team's challenge no. 66 http://simplycreatetoo.blogspot.com/2014/07/challenge-66-for-child.html   For a Child.
Sorry about the long link. Blogger is not letting me change it.
Have a Blessed Day.

Erica



Saturday, June 21, 2014

Less Is More challenge...Watercolor

Evening Stampers.

I can't believe the mojo I've had all day and no, let's not talk about the fact that the bed never got made, only one load of laundry did get done and lots of playing with our new puppy in betwixt making the cards.

So, what do you want to see first, puppy or cards...let's see...here they are. Which is cuter?




Let's just say the card is prettier and the puppy is cuter, shall we?

I stamped a flower from an SU set called Blooming With Kindness. I used Tim Holtz distress ink pads brick red and pine needles for the stem. First loading the with ink, then spritzing it 3X and stamping on water color paper I've had for a while. I held he stamp in place for several seconds to let the paper absorb the ink. I think I was supposed to do that. I decided I'd better make the card base from the same paper. I'm glad I did. If you can over-look the shadow cast on the left, you can see the texture of the paper. The sentiment is from the SU set Bring On the Cake and is stamped in black watercolor ink. This is a 5x7 card. I went ahead and tried this popular technique with some other inks and found that the one I started with worked best for me. Memento inks are supposed to be good to work with, but I'll need to see a video. Watercolor paper isn't cheap.

Oh, and that rather large puppy is a 10 wk. old Great Dane. We're in love and you will need to humor me as I post a photo now and then. 

Whew! I'm down for the count now and will be up soon enough to continue house-breaking chores shared with family. I have the 5 AM call, i.e., a plaintive cry asking to be let out of his crate.

Blessings,
Erica

Let's Give it Another Go!

Good Day Stampers,

If you're looking for my first submission/DT challenge for Simply Crate Too, scroll down.


Since big and bold sentiments seem to be trendy, I seem to have collected quite a few, so thought I'd enter a second card featuring Stampendous clear stamps again. The die for the sun is from "iostamps." I've embossed with the very first SU embossing folder to add a bit of umph, and the clouds are W-9 dies that are sponged with Memento London fog. I clipped corners with an old SU punch and stamped on black cs with SU craft white and then used detailed white embossing powder. I'm not sure if this is the method for the chalk-board technique, but it works for me. The base is my 'go-to' Recollections heavy weight card stock. A few yellow dots finish the card.

Have a blessed weekend and get some stamping done. I'm on a roll today...so much more fun making cards than house-cleaning, laundry, exercising, etc. :D

Erica


Friday, June 20, 2014

Simply Create Too Challenge #64, The Sentiment is Your Highlight

Good Morning Friends,

Here is my design team card for our challenge at Simply Create Too. I almost always lean toward putting a sentiment on the front of my cards. Usually this is the Happy Birthday sentiment, but if I find some beautiful wording or a quotation that is appropriate, I will use it. In this case, I couldn't resist this inexpensive Stampabilities clear stamp. I think it was meant to be stamped using the chalk technique, but I'm not a fan of that style, so I'll use it the usual way.


I have been un-intentionally hoarding scrapes of paper and I'm trying to use them up, so I don't know the source of the dsp. The card stock is Michaels Recollections heavy weight cream. I used a beautiful corner die from Our Daily Bread Designs and used more scraps. The sentiment is stamped on a Nestabilities die-cut mat in Memento rich cocoa. The ribbon is a lucky $1 find and is a soft vintage print green. Flowers are Recollections and leaves an MS punch. I distressed all the papers with Tim Holtz frayed burlap...I do love the distressed look, but I'm not very good at knowing when to use it. I noticed some stampers distress everything, but I don't think it always works and some use very dark colors consistently which again, not sure if I like that look.

So join us in our challenge. We all have beautiful sentiments in our collections and if you don't, you can always find a digital one. The challenge will be fun.

Blessings,
Erica

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Father's Day Card for a Grandpa who Piddles

Hi Everyone,

Quite a while since I've been here. My mojo deserted me a week before I left for my trip to NY with one of my daughters and grand-daughters. Then after I got back last week, it didn't return and my email box was daunting to say the least. Realizing how close Father's Day is, I had to get to work fast. So here's my card for my daughter and her husband's father. He is a car piddler living in North Carolina on acres of land. Some 5 to 10 cars reside in the back yard at any given time. I suppose piddling' with them can be called his hobby. He also sells trees from his land now and then, so this card was perfect.


I used some textured CTMH brown cs with a white core and sanded it to reveal the core for the base. The next layer is DCWV's neutral' corrugated paper. This paper is currently a trend. A cream layer mat, followed with a Darice folder called forest background that is on the CTMH paper and has been sanded. I love how this turned out. I made a banner and added a Hero Art's sentiment. And can you believe I am still finding ways to use the retired SU Loads of Love stamp set!? I colored with Copics and fussy cut the truck and hearts out and mounted them. I'm very pleased with how the card turned out since my mojo is not peaking. Too bad I can't use this theme for the other two cards I need to make.  I guess I'll be dreaming about cards tonight.

Hug the father figure in your life if you can this weekend.

Blessings,
Erica




Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Teacher's Day Card

Good Morning. I believe school's close to summer break in almost every state of the Union. In my day they didn't make a big deal for teachers. There were no presents given and definitely no Teacher's Appreciation Day. Perhaps these professionals were better compensated than now. So, I joined the band-wagon and made this card for my grandchild's 1st grade teacher. I know from Melea that she works another part-time job. I suspect  it's to pay off the student aid she had to get as she has no children yet.

So here's my card to which I've added a gift card for her.

The little apple, books and arrows are long-gone dies by Cuttlebug. I added twine, a button and some faux white stitching to an SU card base. Other papers were bits from my stash.  Coloring was done with Copics. The tiny sentiment was a freebie from Lawn Fawn.

We wrote a note inside as we truly did appreciate her teacher's dedication to Melea who was a challenge having been diagnosed ADHD this year. The poor teacher had a class of 19 boys and 6 girls. And, we all know how boys can be.

Have a great rest of the week.
Blessings,
Erica


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Post Mother's Day Card

Hi Mother's everywhere...and that includes animal moms, plant mommas, aunts who pick-up the slack and, of course, grandmothers. All women who  nurture in any way are mothers. Perhaps having lost my own mother at a very young age, I am more sensitive to this and God blessed me with three wonderful children and three wonderful grandchildren. Lots of animals, flora and fauna in between too.

So, I made this card for the child whom I live with. That's Greeting Farm stamp, Beauty. I don't think she's been released yet, as I belong to a club who gives us a head-start on their releases.

Coloring her was fun, though I realize colics are quite challenging for me. Recollections flowers are on a Martha Stewart punched "trellis" with MS punched leaves. The sentiment is from Hero Arts and layers are Nestibilities. Some pretty pink ribbon with pearls attached are on the side of the trellis. The background behind Beauty was sponged with Rangers Distress Inks. She has sparkles on all the flowers and her hair barrette. Beauty is a keeper.

Blessings,
Erica

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Squeezing in...just under the wire

Hi Stampers. I had every intention of posting to the Less Is More sketch challenge early this week. Yup, even told the divas, I'd be right back. Well, you know the saying, the best laid plans, etc. Or, what I like to say, make a plan and watch God laugh.

So here's my card. It's on white Recollections cs, with a circle aperture. I taped two flowers at the bottom of the circle and flanked them per the sketch, with a ladybug and bee. Everything stamped is from Sizzix/Hero Arts collaboration and the sentiment is from Lawn Fawn. Coloring was done with Copics.


Gotta run and get this linked up. Get ready for a new challenge at LIM soon. I'm also entering this onto Simply Create Too, where I am a design team member. Challenge no. 60, Stack 'Em Up. Oh, and  one more, Delightful Challenges, where dimension is the challenge.

Blessings,
Erica

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Simply Create Too challenge no. 60, Use at Least 2 Layers

Hi Stampers.

Windy day in AZ today, and a busy one too. I'm just now getting my card up for our design team challenge, but I've been enjoying the entries over at our blog, Simply Create Too.

Here's my card. Recently, I entered a challenge requiring we use turquoise, I've been loving doing just that. I paired it up with SU's more mustard card stock and white card stock from Recollections. My first layer is a Cuttlebug die designed by Anna Griffin, called Flourish. It is is for 5x7 cards. I have been branching out into these larger cards lately. The second layer is the Recollections white and atop it is a 'hello' die, from Savvy Dies in white. Have you noticed how very popular the hello sentiment has become? You can find it in many different fonts. I stamped the sentiment from TPC Studios and the feathers are Quik-Kutz die cuts in SU's turquoise layered over a more mustard strip.


Layering is fun, but it can also be tough if you're using patterned dsp. You can solve that by sticking with solids and trying dry embossing (folders work great for this) to add emphasis.
So head on over to the challenge and play for a bit.

Have a great weekend.
Blessings, Erica

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Less Is More challenge no. 168

Happy Easter to All!

I've managed to squeeze in a card for the Less Is More challenge this week. But I cheated a bit. I actually made it for the turquoise challenge, but it was never posted, so I'm allowed to use it. And the sentiment really does make me smile, since I've lost 25 lbs. in the last 11 months and THIS time (smile), I intend to keep them off. However, when my birthday rolls around in a few months, I've no intention of not eating cake....portion controlled, of course.

Oh, I may have a teeny piece of the cheesecake I'm making right after this post too. It's sort of a carb-control recipe. :D

Have a blessed Easter.
Erica


Monday, April 14, 2014

My very first stamp

Hi Stampers. I'm expecting to have a busy week as we lead-up to Easter. I signed up to volunteer with the children's ministry for two services and I will need to actually attend one, so that makes for a very busy Sunday morning. Fortunately, I'm not planning on doing lots of cooking. Just a baked ham, sweet potatoes, a veggie and maybe a cheesecake for dessert.

So here's a fun card using a frog...which I'm known in my family for collecting. I also got my first and only tattoo of a frog on my 62nd birthday. I wear it proudly I must say. Though I'm told tats can be addictive, I'm satisfied with one only and am quite content to hone my stamping addiction instead. So this stamp is literally my first rubber stamp, purchased in the mid-90s. I was working in a tightly run office and wanted something whimsical to put on notepads...ahem, I had no idea what digital images were, though my daughter was a graphic arts major. I would stamp this froggie in the corner of notes I sent to staff and I kinda became recognized for them. Thus, began a love affair with many things frog. I limit myself drastically these days to an occasional frog image, as I live with my daughter and family. They don't exactly share my adoration of these creatures, though they do indulge me with a frog gift now and then. I'm good with that.

No details on my card, as I have to get on the dumb treadmill for my 40 minutes of walking. Blah blah, blah, Unfortunately, it's part of keeping off the 22 lbs. I've lost in the last year. I was supposed to be there hours ago, but I made two adorable cards instead. :D


Blessings,
Erica




Saturday, April 12, 2014

Less Is More Challenge no. 167

Hi Stampers,

It's Less Is More challenge time again. I'll let you head on over to see how the divas are asking us to create a one-layer card, but with a "new to me" technique.

I've used SU's Around the World stamp set and stamped the airplane in  Rubber Monger's Steel Blue, repeatedly on a slant to achieve the challenge look. The word sentiments are also from the set.  I've used Michael's Recollections 110 lb. white card stock.


Enjoy the rest of the weekend and find a bit of stamping time for yourself.

Blessings,
Erica

Thursday, April 10, 2014

LIM Challenge no. 166...card #2

Hi Everyone.
I really did enjoy using turquoise with the divas this week.  It's even got me looking for an outfit or two with turquoise somewhere on it. So far, no deal, but I have only just begun and I'm in no hurry. Isn't that the best way to shop?

Here's my other entry using a 5x7 card this time. I used Recollections 110 lb. card stock in cream. It's a very fair hue of cream and may appear white in my photo.  This card stock dry embosses fabulously. I am hoping they will make black in this weight soon. The decorative strip is a Cuttlebug "strip" embossing folder that fit right across my landscape direction card. Since the folder made slight creases on each side, I just flipped the card over and enhanced them with my scoring tool. I think it works. The flower is a LifeStyle daisy die that I cut in triplicate. The addition of some pearls...a few colored with copic close to turquoise...OK, I made that up. The marker is blue and it's on my desk somewhere and I'm not searching.


There's still a bit more time to play with the challenge. I think I have one more card in me so check back tomorrow.

Have a great day.
Blessings,
Erica

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Less Is More Challenge no. 166, "Color"

Good evening stampers...another lovely spring-style day in sunny Arizona. If it keeps us, we're gonna be spoiled. I just love it, although I was at the movies for the late afternoon. Prior to that, my family enjoyed a day at a local festival.






So, what did we see...Russell Crowe in Noah. From a Christian point of view, it was awful...filled with inaccuracies. In my opinion, the comment literary license, which the term being thrown about, is far too tame a description. Really, transformer rocks helping to defend the ark and the family! UGH! Don't waste your money or your time.

OK, off my critique stool and onto my card. Less Is More is challenging us for the 166th time. WoW! Time flies when you're having fun.  Here's my entry. I've used the wonderfully thick 110 lb. white card stock by Recollections...a great bargain at Michaels, and a die from Impression Obsession, DIE066-C. There's no name on it. All of the little leaves are connected by thin wire, yet when they are die-cut, they turn-out separated. So I used the negative space and backed that up with SU's turquoise cs dry embossed with one of the first SU embossing folders called 'textured impressions'. With all the folders I own, I still enjoy using this one. The daisy (which I stacked 3 of) is a die-cut from Quik-Kutz.  The center is blue Ranger's Liquid Pearls. The butterfly is a Cheery Lyn die-cut with a tiny bit of more Liquid Pearls in bisque. And the sentiment is brand new from Spellbinders Shapeabilities Die D-Lites Sentiments One.  There's no dot for the letter "i", so I used a blue sparkly Gelly Roll Sakura pen to make one. You're gonna see this set lots from me.

Why not head on over to LIM and join in or just browse. You'll get a true dose of CAS from their challenges. Turquoise is such a fun color to play with. I'll have one more entry to upload there tomorrow.

Have a blessed week.
Erica

Friday, April 4, 2014

Simply Create Too Design Team no. 58 Easter and Bunnies

Good Morning Stampers, here comes the weekend.  In Arizona, we are having a lovely spring. Knowing how short it tends to be, we're taking advantage of every moment possible.

I have made some cute simple Easter treat bags for our mid-post challenge. I used a Quik-Kutz (who I believe is with Life-Style crafts, who I think has been bought out by yet another company) paper bag die. It is very easy to manipulate and even goes through my Cuttlebug...but just barely.


I used kraft card stock and some green from Recollections...this is my go-to paper now, even for card bases. Have you had a chance to try their new wonderfully thick 110 lb. card stock yet. It is only $12.99 for 100 sheets. Use your coupon for the best deal. Try it, you won't regret it. I used an oval Nestabilitie die for the frame, some acetate, ribbon from SU and the grass is a die from Cheery Lyn Designs. The bunny is one I picked up from convention, by Impression Obsessions. and the flowers are from my stash. The egg background was created stamping all over with a tiny Judi-Kin peg stamps. I used whatever markers I had on my desk to color the bunny. 

I will be giving these to the teen volunteers in our church ministry. 

Head on over to Simply Create Too and play along. Everybody has bunnies in their stash.

I'm working on some 5x7 Easter cards with a religious theme, so I'll be back to show them off. I got paid for them too. Gotta love it.

Blessings,
Erica

Friday, March 21, 2014

Stone Paper? That's what the Kickstarter says.

I'm such a sucker for beautiful paper. So when I saw this video from Kickstarter...you do know what and who this innovative company is right? I'm a huge fan. Just google if you don't.
So, YouTube had this video.
I

I am so intrigued by this and went right on over to give my encouragement. I hope they get the funding. It sounds exciting.

I just purchased a package of disposable fountain pens by Pilot Varsity. I love fountain pens, but the nicer ones can be quite costly. Preferring to spend my dollars on stamping related items, these fit into my budget at 9 pens for $21.00 plus tax..no shipping for me as I'm prime. Did you hear they are going up on the membership to $99. Groan! Not sure if I want to pay that much yearly. I don't order more than one or two items per month...nothing huge, just crafty or cooking things mostly.
Go on over to Amazon and check them out.
By the way, I was enabled by Natasha Hensel. She blogs quite regularly and on quite a variety of subjects.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Stampin Up Box in a card

Good Morning. I hope your Sunday is off to a bright and blessed start. Before I head out to a late church service, I wanted to share this adorable box I found on the Tube late last night. I couldn't resist putting one together as it was so versatile and "new to me'. Above is a video from  http://papercraftbutton.blogspot.com  Papercraft Button on how it's constructed. And here are photos of mine. My photos may not be doing the style justice, so do check out the video by Papercraft Button and visit her blog. Hopefully when I return later this afternoon, I can do this post better justice. 
I'm back, so I wanted to add that the size of my box is big enough to hold five to eight 3x3 notecards plus envelopes. The paper is Studio Calico Take Note. The papers are 6x6. The flower and butterfly are from Hero Arts/Sizzix Butterflies 3, though it's the flowers that said buy me. The set has stamps plus dies for the images. If you don't have your Easter treat box designed yet, I'm thinking this one may be perfect sized to fit almost anything.

Have a blessed day.





Wednesday, March 12, 2014

A 2nd card for LIM Challenge 162

I decided to squeeze in one more card for my fave challenge before it's over for the week. This sweet image is from Art Impressions. I don't see this company around anymore...fyi, must google. I originally purchased the set for it's gardening aspect and Easter theme. I never used it until now. Perfect for the LIM challenge. The sentiment is Studio G. I think I did a great job coloring the wheelbarrow and pots, not so great with the tulips. Copics can be tough to use. Guess I need lots more practice and that means watching more tutorials.

Blessings,
EricaLIM

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Less Is More Challenge no. 162, One Layer Week

It's time for one layer card week at Less Is More. And we are too use flowers. Yes, America is so very tired or cold weather. Here in AZ, we have some beautiful wildflowers that many consider to be weeds. Since I'm not native to Arizona, I love even the weeds. That set me to googling and I discovered an amazing fact about about this state. According to Wikipedia, Arizona has more native edible plants than anywhere else on earth. Now put that in your trivia basket for later use.

Onto to my card. I'm feeling very springy. Hmm is that why they call the season spring? Since you feel like springing up and down in anticipation of beautiful weather and all that comes with it. Again, I digress. Here's a one layer card with a cute little hen chick wearing the most adorable bonnet. She's ready for Easter I'd say. She's "Floral Bonnet Baby" from Stampendous and the sentiment is a Studio "G" stamp. All of her beautiful feathers and hat were colored using various Copics. I didn't quite center the sentiment, so I added some scoring on the right-side corners hoping to "draw" the eye a bit to center. She will be posted (love that British word) to one of my more whimsical friends back east.


Blessings,
Erica

Friday, March 7, 2014

The Wood-Mounted Convention haul

The Popcorn Stamp

It Could be Worse
I make stamp promises I can't keep, especially when conventions come to town. I wisely limit myself to one per year and try not to buy many wood-mounted stamps, but rarely succeed. This show was no exception. At least what I bought is only enough to fill the top of a rather large shoebox top.  The empty space in the middle is where the popcorn stamp was located. That is the stamp used in the card on my previous post. I'll share more haul this weekend.
Blessings,
Erica

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Anyone for Popcorn?

Today is my youngest daughter's 41st birthday. She can't believe it and neither can I.  We were going to get her a dog, but she prayed long and hard and wisely made the decision that she simply didn't have the time and energy to devote to raising a puppy. So she's put it off for a few years. Having a rambunctious (as in ADHD) 6 yr. old probably was a major factor. And there's a full-time quite intensive job. GROAN! I'm not sure just how young women make it these days.

Onto to my card. I bought this adorable Judith popcorn stamp from the weekend stamp convention. I had her in mind. My daughter adores popcorn...will eat it every day if she has the time. Air-popped, loaded with salt and butter and she doesn't gain a pound or have high blood pressure, unlike her mom. GROAN! She also loves movies. She's a Twi-girl especially, but anything romantic will do. The tickets are from Tim Holtz and the sentiment is from SU. The popped corn has crystal effects on it and is actually quite bright yellow IRL. Everything is stamped in Memento tuxedo black and the sentiment is on a vellum pennant shape with a couple of SU yellow candy dots for a little umph.
The embossed mat is one of Cuttlebug's first issues.

And finally, my dd loved the card. Especially since there was a movie gift card inside.

Coming soon, a photo of all the mounted stamps purchased from the convention.

Blessings,
Erica

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Simply Create Too Challenge 56...Use Your Stash

And my of my, have I ever got a stash. I had the audacity to add to it today. It was Stamp Convention Day in Mesa, Arizona, and despite much-needed  rain and a well-known Marathon Day that snarled traffic, I braved it to increase my hoard. Actually, I was quite selective in my choices, but still managed to spend more than planned. My excuse, prices have gone up. And of course, the usual  plea...quite valid in my opinion, I don't drink, smoke, cuss, and rarely eat out. A girl has to have some sort of addiction.

On to my entry for the Simply Create Too design team.


There's not much to this. The card base is a pre-made card from a Recollections Assorted Box of Cards n Black & Creme. Michaels will now run a sale of 40% off these collections. They come in super handy when you are stressed for time. If you don't like the majority of the cards, consider buying them for the envelopes. There are 40 envies and cards. At 40% of the $9.99 regular price, it's not bad. You can also cut up the cards to use as mats. Sure works for me.

The only other addition is a mat with the sentiment from InkADinkADoo, stamped in ColorBox charcoal chalk ink. I love the boldness of it.  Whenever I won't be coloring, I use this ink. It's spot-on black.

You have two weeks to submit. I know you want to use your stash. No worries about having "just the right stamp or die cuts, or flowers...etc. Head on over to Simply Create Too and link up.

Blessings & Hugs.

P.S. I'll be sharing some of my goodies all this week right here.



Friday, February 7, 2014

Simply Create Too challenge no. 54

Hi Stamping Community,

At Simply Create Too, we are in full swing with our challenges. For our 54th, we've chosen Mothers Day/For a Female. And without further ado, here's mine. It's a 5x7 card. I'm learning to feel more comfortable with these now that I have purchased an envelope punch board. It's easy peasy to make perfect envelopes for any size card with these. If you don't have one yet, I'm letting you know it's one tool you will learn to love fast. Check out the Pinterest boards for lots of pins on how to make more than just envelopes.


I went all out and created the inside with lace, dies from Papertrey,  Nestabilities and Cheery Lynn. A pearl swirly, as well as rhinestone bling, Wild Orchid flowers, leaves punched with a Martha Stewart punch and two embossing folders in 5x7 card size so there's no trouble with creating a mat for a larger card. To my knowledge, there aren't too many to choose from. I'm hoping they'll be more, as I'm planning on making larger cards more now.

I've also found a delicious new heavy weight card stock (110 lb.) at an unheard of price. It's in Michaels' Recollections line at less than $.13 per sheet and it comes in packages of 100, in both white and cream. My card uses the cream color. The paper is smooth and easy to work with using most commonly used colored mediums. Needless to say, I'm stocking up. I'm basically getting three to four times as much paper as if I ordered a "select/premium" heavy weight card stock from SU....I can say that now, as once again, I'm leaving the fold. There are just too many companies I love to stay tied to one. 

Happy Weekend. Have fun stamping and do make a card for the Simply Create Too This is our mid-post time, so you have one full week.

Blessings,
Erica

Friday, January 31, 2014

Hero Arts Framelits

Did you know Hero Arts, in conjunctions with Sizzix, makes framelits to go with some of their stamp sets now. Well, I didn't and I caught a sale at JoAnn's and got 'em for half price. Oh Dear, I put a real hurting on my budget there last week. First I purchased $50 worth of sale items and they gave me a 30% coupon on my next purchase...sale items included, so I went back two days later and...well you know. Suffice it to say, no more buying power and $$ in my budget until March.

This flower was fun to color and the sentiment plus the embossing folder which is mounted inside of a card cut with a Nestie to make a window, matched perfectly. My coloring was done with Faber-Castell Aquarelle pencils.  I will be using this set frequently, I'm sure.

Happy Weekend
Erica


Monday, January 6, 2014

A Card for Lots of Reasons

Hi Stampers.
My daughter needed a housewarming card to go with a gift card for a friend. I had some whimsical images available, but she said this was not that type of couple. Just prior to Christmas, I had placed an order from Papertrey. I own very few of their products, because I'd read some very negative emails about customer service. I actually did end up having some slight delivery issues due to an address change that they didn't correct, but since I wasn't in a hurry, I was able to wait for it.
I don't exactly love the quality of the stamps. They're polymer and kinda wimpy, and you have to affix the label onto the stamp yourself. For the price of the stamp sets, I think they should come with it on. But I do like is their designs and the matching dies.


This die set is called One-Liners, and there are stamps to go along with them. A ton of versatility waiting to happen. Inside I used one of the few other sets by Papertrey that I own for the sofa and pillows. The sentiment is from an old CTMH set. I die cut a heart and made a quick gift card envelope using my Envelope Punch board. I fit it right onto to the top of the inside. My dd loved it and hopefully, so will the happy couple.

Back soon with more of this Happy One-Liner set soon.
Blessings,
Erica