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.

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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

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

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

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