Think Spring!! - SNSDC98

This week's challenge at the Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge Blog is to make a Spring card.  Nothing says spring to me more than Easter.  I think in my mind, that's the "official" start to spring.  I love Rhubarb and hadn't made a card with him in awhile. I thought this image and the accompanying greeting were perfect for a card for our daughter.  The Rhubarb's Easter image comes with 2 sentiments.  What a great value!!

I really liked this week's Mojo Monday sketch so I used it for the design of the card.  The card measures 5.5" square.  I using scraps to make the card so I embossed a piece of cardstock to use for the banner on the sketch. Rhubarb was colored with Copics and cut out.  I traced some of the swirls and flowers in the patterned paper with a glitter pen but of course, it doesn't show up well in the picture.  :(  A little bling, a button topped bow and the card is done. 

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Copic, Georgia Pacific, The Paper Company
Patterned Paper:  The Paper Studio
Stamps:  Sweet 'n Sassy Digis (Easter Rhubarb)
Copic Markers:  R81, 83, B23, V04, E01, 07, 08, 09, 31, 33 ,35, 37
Tools/Embellishments:  Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Swiss Dots), rhinestones (The Paper Studio),  Spellbinders (Classic Ovals Large & Small, Floral Ovals), ribbon (Ribbon Trends), baker's twine (The Twinery - honeydew), button from stash, Sakura Pens (Glaze Pen, Gelly Roll Clear Star), washi tape (Freckled Fawn), CM square punch, Fiskars border punch (Apron Lace)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Mojo Monday #286 - Sketch
Word Art Wednesday #73 - Anything Goes
Stamptacular Sunday #208 - Fuzzy Friends
Catered Crop - Flowers
Craft Your Passion #155 - Make it Cute
Digi Darla #55 (DDC#55) - Flowers
Scrap Creations (GGSC149) - Easter
Delightful Challenges - Bunny/Rabbit/Spring (obviously, I chose Spring)
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Spark Your Creativity Now #7 Challenge - Anything Goes
Terrifically Thrilling Thursday - Anything Goes
Crafty Ribbons Challenge #42 - Anything Goes with Ribbon
4 Crafty Chicks #135 - Easter
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #200 - Mother's Day or For a Female
MFP Speedy Fox & Friends Challenge #152 - Easter or bunnies
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenge #35 - Bring on Spring


Thanks for stopping by today.  Sir Cuteness (our 3 year old grandson) is bringing his parents for a visit this weekend.  Can't wait!! 

Happy Easter!

Jesus Is Risen!

I've been seeing some pretty cards lately that have used vellum and/or parchment paper.  This type of paper is something I find challenging to use.  However, when I saw this Stained Glass Cross digi stamp I decided to give it a try.  I remembered the fun I had with a tent card (you can see mine here and find a great tutorial here) and thought a parchment stained glass window would work well for that type of card.

The image was printed on the parchment and then colored with copics.  I mounted the image, colored side down, on plain white cardstock to help it show up better.  The window in the card was made with nestabilities dies and framed with pearlized paper and a floral oval die cut.  The sentiment was given the same layering and some faux stitching was added.  Faux stitching was also added to the background panel.  I added lots of pearls, an organdy bow and a Prima flower to finish things off.  The finished card is 4.25" x 5.5".

I really like this sentiment from the Easter Blessings set.   It's such a great reminder of why we celebrate Resurrection Sunday.  Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin.  {He was sinless so He could pay the price that we could not.}  However, He didn't remain dead.  On the third day, He gloriously rose from the dead.  That's why we serve a Risen Saviour.  Christ died on the cross, paying the penalty for our sin, so that He could provide the way for us to one day live with Him in Heaven. Accepting Christ as Saviour is the THE most important decision you will ever make.  It determines where you will spend eternity. If you have not already done so, I'd encourage you to accept this free gift of salvation and ask Him to be your Lord and Saviour.  Not sure how to do that? It's as simple as A - B - C:

A - Admit that you are a sinner.
Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

B - Believe that Christ died on the cross for your sins. 
1 Corinthians 15:3b-4 says, "...Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

C - Confess your sin and ask Christ to save you.
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." 

If you have questions, need more information about salvation or if you've just asked Christ to save you, please let me know by either leaving a comment below or emailing me through the contact me link in the sidebar.


Supplies:
Cardstock:  Bazzill (green), Georgia Pacific (white),  Cor'dinations (pearlized), Fiskars (parchment)
Patterned Paper:  Basic Grey (Picadilly)
Stamps:  Sweet 'n Sassy Digis (Stained Glass Cross, Easter Blessings)
Embellishments/Tools:  Spellbinders (Classic Ovals Large & Small, Floral Ovals, Petite Ovals Large & Small, Petite Scalloped Ovals Large), Prima Flower, Ribbon Trends organdy ribbon, Stampin' Up pearls, CM fine point black pen

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Word Art Wednesday #73 - Anything Goes
Catered Crop - Flowers
Digi Darla #55 (DDC#55) - Flowers
Scrap Creations (GGSC149) - Easter
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Sentimental Sunday #147 - Stitching
Whimsy Inspires #57 - Stitching
Spark Your Creativity Now #7 Challenge - Anything Goes
2 Sisters Challenge #136 - Easter/Spring
Creatalicious Challenges #46 - Lovely Easter
MFP Speedy Fox & Friends Challenge #152 - Easter (or Bunny)
Terrifically Thrilling Thursday - Anything Goes
4 Crafty Chicks #135 - Easter

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a wonderful Resurrection Sunday (Easter) this coming weekend.

Happy Camper - SNSDC97

After a long week, it's always nice to see Friday arrive.  :)  This week is no exception.  Our weather has been absolutely crazy.  Last Saturday, we went about in shirt sleeves and no jackets, Sunday we were snowed in and by late afternoon couldn't get off our hill.  Monday brought LOTS of rain and today more snow.  Craziness!!  :)

This week's Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge is to make a masculine birthday card.  Since our son's birthday was yesterday (how can my first baby be 27?!?), I made mine with him in mind.  He loves to go to Ely, MN, camp on an island and fish.  So, I used the Campsite for the focal image and the campfire from Campfire Goodies to accent one of the sentiments from Masculine Birthday Greetings.

I knew I wanted to use kraft and for masculine cards, I really like brown & blue with kraft.  So, that influenced the mat color and the color of the tent. I found some old wood-grained paper in my stash.  A little embossing and direct-to-paper inking added to the woody look.  The tent scene was reverse-framed using nestabilities. The campfire and tent scene were colored with copics.  The sentiment and campfire were popped up for some dimension.  Stickles add some sparkle to the fire and a glitter pen adds some interest to the moon & stars.  Faux stitching and inking help the sentiment fit in with the theme.

I used lots of interior decorating. The interior sentiment was generated in Word using the Americana font.  More faux stitching and inking carry the rustic theme to the interior.

On the left side of the interior, I made a pocket to hold a gift card.  I used the same embossing/inking technique for the pocket. I mimicked the front sentiment by the computer generated label and the puppy from the Let's Go Fishing Puppy set.  The puppy was colored with copics.  A glitter pen adds metallic sparkle to the tag on his collar and a glaze pen makes his nose shiny.  The puppy and banner are also popped up on pop-dots.  You can see that a little better in the picture for the right side of the interior.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Recollections (kraft), Bazzill (navy), Copic (sentiments and images)
Patterned Paper:  Hot Off the Press
Stamps:  Sweet 'n Sassy Digis (Campsite, Campfire Goodies, Let's Go Fishing Puppy, Masculine Birthday Greetings)
Ink:  Memento (Toffee Crunch, Expresso Truffle)
Copics:  Tent (B21, 23, 26, G07, 09, 14, 17, YG05, BG10, Y11, 17, C-0, C-1, N0, N1), Fire (E33, 35, 37, Y11, 13, 15, R27, YR07, 21), Puppy (E24, 31, 29, 50, B21, 23, 26)
Tools and Embellishments: Sharpie fine point pen (brown), Sakura Gelly Roll pen (clear star), Sakura Glaze pen, Cuttlebug embossing folder (Distressed Stripes), Spellbinders (Deckled Rectangles Large & Small), Stickles (Star Dust)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Sentimental Sunday #146 - Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #72 - Anything Goes
Spark Your Creativity #7 - Anything Goes
The Kraft Journal - Use favorite color with kraft
V's Sweet Ideas #9 - Masculine theme
Terrifically Thrilling Thursday - Anything Goes
Crafty Ribbons #41 - One for the Boys  (masculine theme - doesn't have to have ribbons)
Whimsy Inspirations Challenge #57 - Stitching - real or faux

I hope you'll join us this week for our Masculine Birthday Challenge.  And I'd also like to wish Ian, the best son a mom could every hope for, a very Happy Birthday!!

For a Dear Friend and a Wordart Freebie

I have several friends who could use some encouragement right now -- OK to be honest, couldn't that be said of all of us?  Anyway, when I was "playing" with the new Sweet 'n Sassy Digi release, one particular friend came to mind.  I had the card I showed you yesterday planned out in my head.  I printed out the digis I'd need and colored them.  However, as sometimes happens, the card had a mind of its own {ha!} and went a different direction.  Since I had the digis on today's project already colored, I decided to make this bookmark for her and I'll send it with yesterday's card.

In Word, I re-sized each of the Flower Block digis to 1.25", lined them up vertically and then printed them out.  After coloring them with Copics (you will notice my flowers aren't always "real life" colors), I cut out the entire panel and matted it twice with patterned paper.  I highlighted each flower with some stickles.  The sentiment panel was also double-matted and each scallop got a dot of stickles.  I wanted the overall look to be feminine and cheery.  This is a larger bookmark - it is 7" x 2.5".  Since it's a bookmark, I resisted the urge to add bling, pearls or even ribbons.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Wassau, Copic
Patterned Paper:  The Paper Studio
Stamps:  Sweet 'n Sassy Digis (Tulip Block, Daffodil Block, Lily Block, Magnolia Block, Flower Block Sentiments 1)
Copics: Daffodil: Y11, 13, 15, YG03, 05, BG10; Tulip: R81, 83, 85, YG03, 05, BG10; Lily: V04.06, 09, Y17, YG03, 05, BG10; Magnolia: B21, 23, Y35, BG10
Tools/Embellishments:  Spellbinders (Petite Ovals Large & Small, Petite Scalloped Ovals Small), Stickles (Star Dust, Yellow)

I'm entering my bookmark in the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday #71 - Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday #260 - Anything Goes
Craft Room Challenge - From Me to You (Make a gift)
Spark Your Creativity Challenge #7 - Anything Goes
If you are feeling overwhelmed, go to God's Word.  Below is a verse that is a great encouragement to my husband and I.  Feel free to download my wordart and use it.  I would appreciate you sending folks to my blog rather than just sharing the digi.  If you like the wordart and would like me to share others, please leave a comment below. Thanks!

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a good weekend!

March Digi Release & SNSDC96

This is an exciting day over at the Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge Blog.  Not only is it time for another fun challenge, but it's also the day we get to showcase the March Digi Release.  This month's release is a great reminder that spring is on the way!  The images are fun to color or paper piece and the sentiments are fantastic for your spring cards and/or encouragement cards all year round.

I got to play with the Be Encouraged sentiment set and the Tulip Block digi stamp.  The challenge this week is to make a Z-fold card.  I've made one once before.  You can see that card here.  Beate has a great tutorial on how to make a Z-fold card on her blog here.  Completely folded, my card is 5.25" high by 6" wide.  The base cardstock is 5.25" x 12".  I scored it on the 12" side at 3" & 6".  I folded it as a normal card on the 6" score line and then folded the front backwards at the 3" score line.

I colored the Tulip Block with Copics and accented it with a glitter pen and then some stickles.  It is matted and framed with patterned paper and then popped up on the card with dimensionals.  A scalloped border and rhinestone flourish finish off the front panel.

For the inside, I used the same scalloped border die to cut the edge of my card and the pink and green patterned papers.  I embossed the green patterned paper with an M-bossabilities folder and accented the center of each flower with a bit of stickles.  I matted one of the sentiments from the Be Encouraged set and left room on this panel for a short message.   A Bow-Easy was used to tie a triple bow and I added my all-time favorite embellishment, pearls, to the ribbon for some extra pizzazz.  A pink rose finishes off the bow.

The cardstock I used for the base is a marbled green.  I'm not sure if you can see that in the photos but it really sets off the green paper and the green flower stem well.  When the card is completely closed, the tulip panel hides the interior sentiment panel.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Wassau (green marbled), Copic (image and sentiment panels)
Patterned Paper:  The Paper Studio
Stamps:  Sweet 'n Sassy Digis (Be Encouraged, Tulip Block)
Copics:  R81, 83, 85, YG03, 05, BG10)
Embellishments/Tools:  Spellbinders (Lacey Squares, Classic Squares Small, Big Scalloped Border Petites, M-bossabilities Splendid-B), rhinestone flourish (Recollections), pearls (The Paper Studio), flower (Prima), ribbon (Offray), Stickles (Star Dust), Sakura Gelly Roll pen (Clear Star)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday #71 - Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
Scrap Creations - Use Favorite Embellishment (mine is pearls, followed closely by bling flourishes, ribbon & flowers)
Catered Crop - Frame or mat
Clearly Inspired Challenge #70 - Die Cuts
Sentimental Sunday #145 - 3 embellishments that start with B (bow, bling, pink bloom)
Stamptacular Sunday #206 - Dies
Ribbon Carousel #78 - Spring is in the Air
Dream Valley Challenge - Mother's Day/Card for Female 
Terrifically Thrilling Thursday - Roll 'em {I rolled 1 (die/punch), 5 (dimensionals), 7 (glitter)}
Craft Your Passion #153 - 2 colors plus neutral (nothing says spring to me like pink flowers)
Spark Your Creativity Challenge #7 - Anything Goes
{Cupcake Inspirations} Challenge 201 - I was inspired by the floral motif and the overal pink and green color scheme


  Please be sure to leave a comment below and visit the rest of the design team's blog and leave a comment.  One of us is a "mystery blogger" and a random comment will be chosen from her blog to receive the entire March Digi Release.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Come back soon. I have another project with this release to show you.

Go Green - SNSDC95

Hi!  Happy Friday!!  It has been quite the week at work because our computers are on the fritz so I'm very happy to see Friday get here.  Friday means it's time for another Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge.  This week we're to Go Green!  Our card should either feature the color green or have some recycled item on it.  Obviously, I chose to use the color green.  I used this week's Mojo Monday #283 sketch for the card design.

I colored the Happy Flowers digi with Copics and then gave the flower petals a little sparkle with some stickles.  Want2Scrap bling finishes off the flower centers and adds some accents to the background panel and sentiment panel.  I used my faithful CM fine tip pen for the faux stitching.

My card was inspired by this cupcake on Cupcake Inspirations Challenges -- this cupcake is from Challenge #5.  I stuck with the overall green color and used flowers with black centers for my focal point.  I changed the color of the flower from red to yellow.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Georgia Pacific, Bazzill, Copic
Patterned Paper:  Basic Grey (Picadilly)
Stamps:  Sweet 'n Sassy Digis (Happy Flowers, Feminine Birthday)
Copics:  YG03, 05, YR07, Y13, 15, 17, BG10
Embellishments/Tools:  Spellbinders (Standard Circles Large & Small, Classic Squares Large & Small, Eyelet Circles), bling (Want2Scrap), ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon), CM Fine Tip Pen, Stickles (Star Dust)


I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Mojo Monday #283 - Sketch
WordArt Wednesday #70 - Anything Goes
Cupcake Inspirations #200 - Use past cupcake inspiration to make a card
Eureka Stamps #29 - 2 of Everything {2 patterned papers (background & floral), 2 stamps (sentiment, flowers), 2 embellishments (bling, ribbon & 2 loops on the ribbon)}
Scrap Creations - Go Green
Simon Says Stamp - A Bit 'o Green (use some green on your card)
Really Reasonable Ribbon #67 - Use green on project & ribbon
Spark Your Creativity Challenge #7 - Anything Goes
Pile it On #9- Happy Birthday
4 Crafty Chicks #132 - Use Dies

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you'll play along with us in our Go Green challenge.

It's a Girl!! - SNSDC94

This week's challenge at the Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge is to make a feminine card.  My manager at work just had a baby girl so this was the perfect opportunity to do all things pink & girly.  I included bling, buttons, bows, die cut edges, a tag and LOTS of pink!  I used last week's Mojo Monday sketch (MOJO281) for the card design. 

I'm still working on learning how to use my light tent so my white is a little over white.  Thanks for having patience with me while I'm learning how to use it.  :)

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Georgia Pacific, Bazzill
Patterned Paper:  The Paper Studio (footprints), Frances Meyer (gingham)
Stamps:  Sweet 'n Sassy Digis (Baby Blessings)
Ink:  Memento (Angel Pink)
Embellishments/Tools:  Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Swiss Dots), Spellbinders Standard Circles (Large & Small, Classic Edges 2, Classic Inserts 5), rhinestones (The Paper Studio), button from stash,  ribbon (Michael's), baker's twine (The Twinery - cotton candy)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday #69 - Anything Goes
SCS TLC418 Challenge - Gotta Love Circles
Shopping Our Stash #91 - Use a tag
Divas By Design - Anything Goes
Crazy 4 Challenges (C4C174) - Texture
Spark Your Creativity Now #7 - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Delightful Challenges - 3's a Charm (I used 3 bling, 3 circles and my bow has 3 loops)
Cute Card Thursday #258 - Something Old (pink papers are at least 6 years old, and the button and twine are probably 4-5 years old)
Crafty Ribbons Challenge #40 - Anything Goes with Ribbon
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #196 - Use Embossing

I hope you'll stop by the SNS Digi Challenge blog and see all the girly card inspiration my fellow DT members have for you.  Thanks for stopping by for a visit today.