Graphic Christmas

Hi everyone! Are you sick of Christmas cards yet? I hope not because the CAS-ual Friday team is teaming up with the Curtain Call team for a joint challenge.

Both teams are making projects based on the Curtain Call inspiration picture. We're also using CAS-ual Fridays Stamps (although you can use any products to enter the challenge).

I was inspired by the greenery:

I die-cut a wreath from A Little Hut on my Cameo. For the bow, I stamped and heat embossed one of the stars from Christmas Carols, fussy cut it, and added it to the center. I finished the card by stamping the sentiment from the same set.

Here's a close-up:

If you want to join in this week's CAS-ual Fridays/Curtain Call challenges, the winner will receive a prize from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps:

You can link up your projects HERE.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!


Supplies
Cardstock: (White Linen) Ellen Hutson; (green, red) Bazzill
Clear stamps: (sentiment, star from Christmas Carols) CAS-ual Fridays Stamps
Ink: Versamark; (Onyx Black) Versafine
Embossing powder: (Gold Ultra Fine) Ranger
Die: (wreath, bow from Wreath Gift Set) A Little Hut

Joy to the World

Hi everyone! Want to see something different than a card?

It's time for a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge, and the challenge is to make a tag and either a treat bag or gift box. This challenge is a two-weeker. :)

I broke out my CAS-ual Fridays stamps and dies to make this tiny treat box:

I die-cut a basic box using my Cameo, adjusting the width of the box to fit the die. The tag ties around the box, and you could slip it off to open the lid.

For the tag, I used the larger Bubble Labels die from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, punched holes in the sides, and scored it. The sentiment, from the new Christmas Carols set, is heat embossed in gold. Here's a close-up:

If you'd like to play along with this week's CAS-ual Friday's challenge, you can link up your tag and bag/gift HERE.

So are you gearing up for the holidays yet? Anyone else making cards already?

Thanks for checking out my post!


Supplies
Cardstock: (textured red) Bazzill; (Rustic White) PTI
Clear stamps: (sentiment from Christmas Carols) CAS-ual Fridays Stamps
Ink: Versamark
Embossing powder: (Ultra Fine Gold) Ranger
Digital element: (red stripe digital paper from Crazy for You) One Little Bird at The Lilypad
Die: (Bubble Labels Fri-Dies) CAS-ual Fridays Stamps

Paper Crafts' Birthday Creations Blog Hop

Hi everyone! If you're looking for my CAS-ual Fridays post, you can find it HERE.

Today is the Paper Crafts Magazine's Birthday Creations vol. 3 blog hop (woo hoo!).

I'm so happy to be participating! There are some crazy-talented ladies in the hop:

Jocelyn Olson <--You are here

Angeline Yong Jeet Leen

Vanessa Menhorn

Amanda Coleman

Alice Wertz

Leigh Penner

Erin Lincoln

Kalyn Kepner

For the hop, we're supposed to make a birthday card based on one of the three sketches found in the issue. I picked Kim Kesti's sketch:

I went round and round whether to do negative die-cuts, stamping or something else. Finally, I decided to make a card for my mom's 70th birthday party in a few weeks. My mom is an avid quilter, so I used the inspiration for this card:

I made a similar card last year (HERE) using the same Dresden Plate die-cutting file. I started by stamping the sentiment from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps onto some lightly patterned paper. 

Next, I die-cut two different sizes of the Dresden Plate files. I ended up with four different paper companies, but I liked the patterns together. When I adhered the plates, I off-set them slightly to show a little more of the quilt pattern. Here's a close-up:

Now the stitching...truth be told, I was only going to sew a border. In the moment, I decided to sew around the circle centers. I did a good job on the top one, but the bottom one--yikes! I made the best of it by going around the card a second time with some wonky stitching to make the mistake look like part of the card. ;)

There are tons of great ideas for birthday ideas in this issue and lots of jaw-dropping projects. Want to win a copy? You can leave a comment here and leave comments on each of the other blogs by Tuesday, July 16th. Or, if you can't wait, you can buy a copy of the issue HERE.

If you make a birthday project or a mixy-matchy project, be sure to link up to Moxie Fab World's challenges. :) I'm linking my card up to the Mixy-Matchy Style Challenge and the Birthday Card Challenge. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Next up in the hop is the fabulous Angeline.

Supplies

Cardstock: (Kraft) PTI

Patterned paper: (background--Cloud Cream from Cool Summer) Carta Bella; (music notes from Lucky Charm) Dear Lizzy/AC; (yellow damask from Sweet Girl) Echo Park; (other papers from Atlantic collection) Studio Calico

Clear stamps: (sentiment from Casual Elegance) CAS-ual Fridays Stamps

Ink: (Crumb Cake) Stampin' Up; (Antique Linen Distress Ink) Ranger; (Unicorn) Hero Arts

Die-cutting file: (Dresden Plate) Silhouette

Gallery Idol Round 5

Hi everyone! Every time I think about making it to the Top 5 at Paper Crafts Magazine's Gallery Idol contest, I want to jump up and down. :) Thank you for your support!!

The challenge for Round 5 was to make four cards in four different card styles using coordinating colors. Phew! It was a CRAZY weekend working on cards. I got very little sleep all weekend, but in the end, I perservered and made four cards I'm proud of.

I found a color scheme from The Sweetest Occasion that I used for all of the cards:

For my four card styles, I picked Fun/Cute, CAS/Graphic, Shabby Chic/Vintage, and Freestyle/Collage. If you have any questions about what I did, feel free to drop me an e-mail. :)

First up is the Fun/Cute card:

Oh, he just cracks me up (or quacks me up, as my 7-year-old would say). Here are a few highlights about the card:

• The duck (Starving Artistamps) and hat (Lawn Fawn) were colored with Copics and fussy cut (those legs were tough!)
• I made the speech bubble digitally and masked off and stamped the sentiment (CAS-ual Fridays)
• I didn't have the right patterned papers, so I made my own. I made the gingham patterned paper in Photoshop using a template. I also altered the polka dot paper digitally--it was yellow on yellow--but I wanted to bring in the aqua.

Here's a close-up:

Next up is the Clean and Simple/Graphic card:

This style is definitely in my comfort zone. While I normally make a lot of CAS hybrid cards, this card doesn't have any digital elements. Here are a few highlights:

• I die-cut the Memory Box heart six times and filled in the the negative space in the white die-cut with the various coordinating colors.
• Since the card is graphic, I went with fully-saturated colors instead of patterned papers like the other styles.
• I finished the card with a sentiment from Technique Tuesday. 

Here's a close-up:

Next up, is the shabby chic/vintage card:

I'm not going to lie, shabby chic does not come naturally for me. I wanted to take on the challenge and did a lot of homework studying blogs and back issues of Paper Crafts.

This vintage image made me laugh (is the mom in the back seat and the kids are in the front seat??). I thought the cheekiness reflected my style well. Here are the details:

• The vintage circle (Pretty Little Studios) and sentiment are both digitally created. I altered the colors in the illustration slightly to reflect the coordinating colors.
• I altered the scalloped Chic Tags die cut by flipping it over and misting the backside. I also whitewashed the wooden tag. 
• I used six different patterned papers from four different manufacturers (SEI, Webster's Pages, Fancy Pants, and BasicGrey). 

Here's a close-up:

Lastly, I made a Freestyle/Collage card:

This card was the most fun to put together. :) Here are a few details:

• I altered three of the embellishments with paint (the flower and wood veneer mini frame) and spray mist (the canvas oval).
• There were twelve unrelated elements on the card (misting, stitching, die-cut patterned papers, sticker sentiment, metal flower, wood veneer frame, canvas oval, metal clip, and sequins).

Here's a close-up of the collage:

As part of the Gallery Idol contest, there's a final vote for the winner. If you like my cards, I would *really* appreciate it if you would take a moment to vote for me. You can click on the link at the top of the sidebar or go HERE, click on my cards, and vote. You do have to register, but if you have already registered, you can simply long in. Making it to the Top 5 feels like I've already won. But, winning would be the icing on the cake. :)

I wanted to throw out a special thank you to my husband and my in-laws for watching the kids and the moral support during the Gallery Idol contest. Thank you to everyone who has voted for my cards, given advice, and been a great listening ear. I have the best crafty friends! It's been such an honor to be in this contest. 

Thank you so much for stopping by!!

Supplies

Let the Shenanigans Begin!

Cardstock: (white) PTI

Clear stamps: (duck “Squirt”)Starving Artistamps; (sentiment from Shenanigans)CAS-ual Fridays Stamps; (hat from Hats Off to You) Lawn Fawn

Digital elements: (gingham from Patterns vol. 7) Wishing Well Creations at Sugar Hill Co.; (polka dot paper from Maritime collection) One Little Bird at The Lilypad; (speech bubble from Blah Blah Blah) Splendid Fiins at The Lilypad

Embellishments: (Whipped Cream button) My Favorite Things

Thank You For Simply Being You

Cardstock: (white; Aqua Mist) PTI; (dark orange, orange, yellow, grey) Bazzill

Clear stamps: (sentiment from Studio AE This One) Technique Tuesday

Die: (La Rue Heart) Memory Box

The Adventure Begins

Cardstock: (Aqua Mist) PTI

Patterned paper: (orange and red stripe from Vanilla Sunshine collection) SEI; (triangles, arrows, honeycomb from Composition and Color) Webster’s Pages; (polka dot from Hopscotch) Fancy Pants; (clouds from Serenade collection) BasicGrey

Paint: (Picket Fence Distress Ink) Ranger

Ink: (Dewey spray mist) Mr. Huey’s; (Antique Linen Distress Ink) Ranger

Embellishments: (scalloped tag) Chic Tags; (stickpins from Fact or Fiction) BasicGrey; (wooden tag) Maya Road; (scalloped ribbon from Mistables collection) Pink Paislee

Digital elements: (vintage circle ephemera) Pretty Little Studios

This Little Light of Mine

Cardstock: (white woodgrain) Simon Says Stamp

Patterned papers: (Sweet Composition) Allison Kreft at Webster’s Pages

Ink: (Tangerine Metallic spray mist) Maya Mists; (Letter Jacket mist) Mr. Huey

Stickers: (sentiment strip from The Sweetest Day) My Mind’s Eye

Embellishments: (mini wood veneer frame) Maya Road; (metal flower) BasicGrey; (metal clip from Fact or Fiction) BasicGrey; (orange sequin) Avery Elle; (silver sequin) Kelly Purkey at Simon Says Stamp; (canvas oval) BasicGrey

Dies: (Tag Scallop Die) Paper Smooches; (Jumbo Fishtail Banner) My Favorite Things

Other: (craft paint)

What Is That?

Hi everyone! Thank you for all your comments on my Gallery Idol card. It has meant so much to me!

Woo hoo! It's Friday, and time for another CAS-ual Fridays Challenge. This week's challenge is:

Create a CAS project with panels or elements that extend past the edge of the project.

I started making one card, and it looked terrible (beyond terrible--more like heinous). On to plan B, which  was this card:

When I was younger, I remembered hearing good news and getting on the phone to share the news with my friends. I suppose it's the same now, except my phone is a little different. We haven't had a land line in several years, and I was surprised my 7-year-old knew what the phone on the card was (she said she saw one on The Brady Bunch). ha ha

I started by stamping the sentiment from the CAS-ual Friday Stamps Ka-Boom set. The inside was colored with an Inktense pencil and kept it simple. I sewed across the panel with pink thread.

Next, I die-cut the Ring Me die in some new American Crafts paper and gold cardstock. For the center heart, I painted and inked a wood veneer heart. Here's a close-up:

The cord was an issue. I used some Stiffen Stuff on gold cord I wrapped around a pencil, and heated it with my heat gun. In retrospect, I should have used a dowel and heated the cord on a low heat in the oven.

The receiver does come off the phone, too. It's a fun interactive element!

If you want to play along, the winner of this week's CAS-ual Friday challenge will win some CAS-ual Fridays Stamps!

You can link up your creations HERE. I hope you join in!

Thank you so much for stopping by!


Supplies
Cardstock: (Aqua Mist, Vintage Cream) PTI; (gold) craft supply
Patterned paper: (pink stripe from Mayberry) American Crafts
Stamps: (Ka-Boom) CAS-ual Fridays Stamps
Ink: (Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Color: (Pink Carnation Inktense Pencil) Derwent
Die: (Ring Me) My Favorite Things
Twine: (gold) Martha Stewart
Embellishments: (wood veneer heart) Studio Calico

Like a Peacock

Hi everyone!

Just a quick post for this week's CAS-ual Friday Challenge. This week's challenge is:

Yep, make a CAS card with a congratulatory sentiment...for graduation, wedding, a new home, a new baby--anything you can think of.

For such a broad theme, I had trouble narrowing down my ideas. I remembered a submission reject I made a little while ago, and decided to revise it. I changed the color scheme for a more summery feel, but I kept the design the same:

The card is a digital journaling card from the Kraft Edition collection at AC Digitals. I enlarged the journaling card, recolored the background white, and then played around with the petal colors. Seriously, I bet I spent 45 minutes obsessing over fiddling with the colors (but it was okay because I was watching some cool Weather Channel show at the same time).

The winner of this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge wins stamps from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. There are some cool new designs to choose from. :)

To enter your project, you can link them up HERE.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!


Supplies
Cardstock: (white) PTI
Other paper: (Premium White Photo Paper) OfficeMax
Digital element: (journaling card from the Kraft Edition collection) AC Digitals
Font: (Ostrich Sans) 

You Make Me Smile

Hi everyone! I hope you've had a great week.

It's time for another CAS-ual Fridays challenge. The theme for this week is stamping on patterned paper:

I used some of my CAS-ual Friday stamps to make a collage card:

Somehow I managed 7 layers on a CAS card. ha ha I started with a little Dewey mist and splattered it. I started by die cutting the pink chevron banner from the Atlantic collection. I stamped the sentiment from the Casual Elegance set on the banner, and then I stamped the leaves from the set four times on the Mint Julep paper to make a flower.

After the stamping was done, I die cut the small tag and used other elements from Chic Tags and BasicGrey. Here's a close-up of the layering:

Want to play along? This week's sponsor is CAS-ual Friday Stamps:

You can link up your projects HERE.

I also need to announce the winner of the Paper Crafts Magazine's 350 Cards and Gifts blog hop (drum roll....):

#28 Cheryl (Clee)

Cheryl, please contact me at redballooncards at yahoo dot com, and I'll get your information to Holly at Paper Crafts. Thanks for your comments!

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies
Cardstock: (Rustic White) PTI
Patterned papers: (light blue on tag from Mint Julep) BasicGrey; (pink chevron from Atlantic) Studio Calico
Clear stamps: (sentiment, leaves from Casual Elegance) CAS-ual Fridays Stamps
Ink: (Chocolate Chip) Stampin' Up; (Dewey mist) Studio Calico
Embellishments: (yellow doily tag) Chic Tags; (blue journaling spot, red chipboard, red transparency arrow from Mint Julep) BasicGrey; (sequin from Kelly Purkey) Simon Says Stamp; (red enamel dot) My Mind's Eye
Fibers: (Natural twine) Maya Road
Dies: (Tag, Large Fishtail Banner) My Mind's Eye

All About You

Hi everyone! I tried to think of something clever or noteworthy to open my post, but I couldn't think of anything. I think I'm in a blogging haze. ;)

It's time for another CAS-ual Fridays Challenge, though, and this one is a great one. It's Michele's birthday during this challenge period, so the theme is:

Make a CAS birthday card (or project). You'll have two weeks for this challenge. :)

I went with a little scrappier my card:

True confession: I almost never make birthday cards. In fact, I typically only make "happy birthday" cards for publication. In real life, I use sentiments more like this one.

I started by stamping the sentiment from CAS-ual Fridays' Only You set. Then I stitched around the heart--even though I wasn't going for perfect stitching (clearly!), I was still sweating with the blind stitching.

I finished off the card by adding the cute Mini Wooden Hearts from Simon Says Stamp...I wanted the tip of the heart to point toward the "you." Here's a close-up:

There are three manufacturers' papers on this card (American Crafts, BasicGrey, and Carta Bella)...I was feeling brave. Ha!

The winner of the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge will win a whopping $45 from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps:

You can link up your birthday projects HERE.

I wanted to give a big shout out to Kim Hughes. Thanks, Kim, for picking my card for the May Guest Designer spot at Paper Smooches! Eek! I'll be back with some PS projects in a couple of weeks. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend.


Supplies
Cardstock: (Natural) My Favorite Things
Patterned Paper: (coral from So Noted) Carta Bella
Clear Stamps: (Only You) CAS-ual Fridays Stamps
Ink: (Tuxedo Black) Memento
Ephemera: (banner, heart from Lucky Charm) American Crafts; (label from Maggie Holmes) Crate Paper
Embellishments: (wooden heart) Simon Says Stamp