Warm wishes

 

Kristina Werner is right (of course she is!) - card challenges get you out of card slumps! I had this Craftin Desert Divas Java Fox coloured and lying around for a few weeks with no idea how to put it on a card, but this week's MFT Wednesday sketch challenge was just the inspiration I needed:

 

 

Thank you Craftin Desert Divas for the wonderfully cute image :) (and the sentiment too!)

 

This card is going to Christina Hor's Cards for Little Hearts winter card drive - I encourage you to check it out!

 

I am submitting this to:
Coffee Loving Cardmakers - Caffeine Fuelled Paper Play
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything goes
MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge - sketch #456
CHNC Challenge 457

Thank you as always for stopping by!

This little panda is going to...

This little panda is going to... Christina Hor's Cards for Little Hearts card drive - heart-themed cards, collecting until Jan 31st. Do check it out!

Christina was so sweet to send me the MFT Tiny Hearts background stamp, which made the perfect background for this adorable panda digi (also from Christina). #craftyfriendsarethebest

I am submitting this to:
SSS Work It Wednesday - Try Something New (new stamp)
YNS challenge #104 - Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday - Challenge #366-367
MFT sketch challenge #416

Thank you as always for stopping by!

Thinking of you

This month's GSD challenge image had me stumped for quite some time, but I quite like how this card turned out!

I am submitting this to:
Gerda Steiner Designs March Challenge
SSS Wednesday Challenge - AG
SSS Happy National Card Month
Word Art Wednesday - Challenge #328-329
MFT Sketch Challenge #378

Thank you as always for stopping by!

Just because...

... the monthly images from Gerda Steiner Designs are so stinkin' cute! Enough said!! :)

I am submitting this to:
Gerda Steiner Designs February Challenge
Word Art Wednesday #322-323
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper February 2018 Challenge
MFT Sketch Challenge #373

Thank you as always for stopping by!

Panda hugs

Playing along at the Gerda Steiner Designs' monthly challenge with a rather CAS card. This panda is so super cute! I hoped to give him a bamboo-looking background with the Altenew watercolor stripes stencil, but these must be super bamboos because they grow horizontally 😂 

I am submitting this to:
Gerda Steiner Designs January Challenge
SSS Wednesday Challenge - AG


Thank you as always for stopping by!

You're "sew" awesome

My first time to play along with the Gerda Steiner Designs' monthly challenge. This bunny is "sew" cute!

I wanted to paper piece a felt heart, but the -20ºC temperature outside dissuaded me from going out to get some; brrrr!

I am submitting this to:
Word Art Wednesday #314-315
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper December 2017 Challenge
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps - Wonderful Wednesday
SSS Work it Wednesday December 2017 (new stamp)
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Gerda Steiner Designs December Challenge
Your Next Stamp Sketch Challenge #79

Thank you as always for stopping by!

Card #7

And... squeezing in one last submission (card #7) to the 2017 summer coffee lovers blog hop! It's been a crazy fun ride! Thank you for all of your comments - I appreciate every one of them.

Inspired by:

I am submitting this to:
2017 Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps - Wonderful Wednesday
Little Red Wagon - Challenge #400, three of a kind (three vertical paper strips)

Thank you as always for stopping by! 

Books and coffee

Today is the last day for the 2017 summer coffee lovers blog hop; what is more summery than a stack of books waiting to be read?

Inspired by this old Mojo Monday sketch (which apparently was one of Julee's original sketches!):

The image is from Blackberry Jelly's little workshop. Love the clean lines. I did some digital masking to shorten the book stack.

I am submitting this to:
2017 Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps - Wonderful Wednesday 
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper June 2017 Challenge
DL.ART June linky challenge
Little Red Wagon - Challenge #400, three of a kind (three banners)

Thank you as always for stopping by! 

2017 Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop #3

The week-long coffee lovers blog hop has the effect of pushing me to work faster on cards! Sometimes, it takes me a week (or more!) to put a card together because I hum and haw on this piece of paper versus that shade of colour. Now, it's a card a day; I do hope it's not at the expense of quality...

Here is my card #3 to the hop. I was thinking along the lines of tea sippin' while watching a beautiful sunset:

This card features the Verve digi Rise and Shine, which Julee released during the 2017 spring CLBH. I love it! "Sending you a cup of happiness" (from YNS' Cup of Happiness) is what I've put on the inside.

I used a recent Mojo Monday sketch. I'm going to miss those sketches...

I am submitting this to:
2017 Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Use patterned paper (the watercolour wash paper) 
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #288-289 - Anything Goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps - Wonderful Wednesday
DL.ART June linky challenge

Thank you as always for stopping by!

Coffee cup thank you

I am on a duo-card swing! After the night and day cards yesterday, today's theme is hot and cold:

The "warm tones" card is for the 2017 summer coffee lovers blog hop, but I thought it would be cool (heh) to contrast with a "cool tones" card. Not sure if the colours are coming through, but the "warm" card uses a patterned paper that gradates from red to orange to yellow, and the "cool" card goes from purple to blues.

The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's So Much To Say. The coffee cup is a digi from Blackberry Jelly's digital stamps. Thank you! Finished with glossy accents and the SSS falling hearts stencil.


I am submitting this to:
2017 Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Use patterned paper
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #288-289 - Anything Goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps - Wonderful Wednesday
DL.ART June linky challenge
DL.ART Thankful Thursday Challenge #207
YNS Sketch Challenge #67

Thank you as always for stopping by!

Meet... Brentwood!

The 2017 summer coffee lovers blog hop is ON!! Woot! This is my third hop and I am preparing myself for a week of crafting frenzy :)

Card #1:

Meet Brentwood! I love it when stamp characters have names. This digi is from jessicalynnoriginal. Thank you! It's my first time to colour Brentwood and he is just the sweetest. Here, he is having a staycation and drinking coffee all day and all night long.

Funny story about this card: I showed it to my husband and he particularly liked the morning version because he says Brentwood, being nocturnal, would definitely need coffee in the morning to stay awake :)

I know the hop is hopping like crazy, so I won't keep you. Thank you as always for stopping by!

I am submitting this to:
2017 Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Use patterned paper
SSS Monday Challenge - Let's take a vacation (staycation!)
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #288-289 - Anything Goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps - Wonderful Wednesday
DL.ART June linky challenge
DL.ART Thankful Thursday Challenge #207

Merry Christmas!

This is the earliest I have ever started on Christmas cards! But I found this suuuuuper cute Gerda Steiner Designs Christmas tree digi, and thought I would start early for Christina Hor's Cards for Little Hearts card drive.

I am submitting this to:
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Going Dotty
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #282-283 - Anything Goes
GSD 32nd Share Your Design Challenge
YNS Challenge #64

Thank you as always for stopping by!

World's best birthday wishes

I've been enjoying the CASEing DT series at the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog, but was really stumped as to how to CASE this month's gorgeous card from Becca Cruger:

 

Here is my attempt:

 

My card started with the focal image from From the Heart Stamps' World's Best Coffee. And then it was one substitute after another due to my apparent lack of supplies, which amazes me because my stash is more mountain than molehill, or so I thought.

• I wanted to use one of the accompanying digi sentiments, but ran out of large-enough pieces of vellum that would feed through the printer. Therefore, I stamped a sentiment from Verve's Surely Goodness. 
• The circle embossing is in place of the small doily (which I didn't have)
• The swipes of alcohol marker are in place of the mixed media / gelato-like gorgeousness on the original card

On the bright side, I was able to print a miniature coffee cup on the envelope! Eeeep! Super cute; all's well that ends well.


I am submitting this to:
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Birthday
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #276-277 - Anything Goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps - Wonderful Wednesday (Anything Goes)
Dare 2B Artzy - Anything Goes
Coffee Loving Cardmakers CASEing DT Link Up Party #12

Thank you as always for stopping by!

Rise and Shine

... with a cup of coffee in the great outdoors. Here's sending a whiff of fresh mountain air your way:

Stamps: Hero Arts' Layering Christmas Tree and Verve's Rise and Shine (gorgeous set; thanks Julee!)

Added some glossy accents to make the sentiment "shine". Ink sponging a background is new to me and fun!

I am submitting this to:

Verve Stamps Blog
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #276-277 - Anything Goes 
2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop
SSS Work It Wednesday - Spring 
SSS Wednesday - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

You've Got This in the Bag

It's that time again: The Coffee Lovers Blog Hop - 2017 Spring edition! I am late to the (ginormous) party, but "better late than never" is my motto, so here is my first card:

The stamp set is a free digi: Verve's Rise and Shine. I scattered the cups, printed on a piece of yellow marbled paper, and then coloured in the cups. I love, love, love the style of this set and this punny sentiment! Thank you Julee for your generosity!

This card is inspired by Andreea Raghina's card over at the CASEing DT Link-Up Party #11. When I saw the layout, I was immediately reminded of this twisted panel card by Melanie Muenchinger, so I combined the two. I used the colours from Colour Throwdown #435.


However, I can't decide if I want to tape down the tag or leave it completely free-floating (how it is now). Thoughts?


I am submitting this to:
Colour Throwdown #435
Verve Stamps Blog
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #274-275 - Anything Goes 
2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop
Coffee Loving Cardmakers CASEing DT Link Up Party #11

Thanks for stopping by! Remember, you've got this in the bag!

From Me To You

Happy Sunday!

I CASE-ed the following card from Helen Gullett and used the colours from Your Next Stamp's Colour Challenge #58:

The stamp is a digi from Verve's Love From Me; thanks Julee!

The original plan was to repeat one of the other stamps as a watermark background (similar to the original card), but I decided to combine the sketch and colours with the following challenges:

• SSS Monday Challenge: Use your favourite tool: My Fiskars trimmer is my first and favourite tool. I love its portability and precise cutting.
• Little Red Wagon: Challenge #381 Season of Love: I love Bazzill cardstock (who doesn't?). I get happy warm fuzzies just looking at the various textures, and I have an inability to throw away scraps.

... and followed this scrappy background tutorial.

This is going to be a thank you card (with a coffee gift card inside), and I am going to write the recipient's name over the coffee sleeve area. Not how it's done in real life, but I think it works.


I am submitting this to:
SSS Monday Challenge: Use your favourite tool (Fiskars trimmer)
SSS Work it Wednesday: Make something new with a new product (This digi is new for me)
Little Red Wagon: Challenge #381 Season of Love (Bazzill paper)
YNS colour challenge #58
Coffee Loving Cardmakers CASEing DT Link Up Party #10

Thanks for stopping by!

Meet... Beans

I stumbled across Christina Hor's Hug A Heart Card Drive and this is one of the cards I sent in earlier this week; it's scheduled to arrive right on the cut-off date, so I'm really hoping there are no weather delays en route.

Apparently, I don't have a lot of heart stamps, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I searched online and I found this super-duper cute digi from Jessa Feig (https://uselesstrinkets.wordpress.com).

Meet... Beans! I printed a sheet of him on marbled paper and then the heart again on red cardstock, which I covered with clear embossing for a bit of texture / shine. Oh, did I mention how cute he is?? I am sure this is not the last we've seen of him. In fact, I made another batch of cards with Beans, but I forgot to take a photo of them before rushing the cards to the post office...

I am submitting this to:
SSS Monday Challenge: Young At Heart (This "heart" card is going to "young" children)
SSS Wednesday Challenge: Cute ('nuff said)
SSS Work it Wednesday: Make something new with a new product (Beans is new to me; digi stamps are also a relatively new realm)
YNS Sketch and Color Challenge #57 (love the bright colours, so I used a simple colour-block style for a kids card)

Thanks for stopping by!