Why Is There a Cow?

Hi everyone! Happy Monday.

It's my last post with Paper Smooches SPARKS. :( It's been such a great team! I want to thank Kim for giving me a chance...she is such a sweet person. Savannah has been a fantastic DT Coordinator, and I'll miss my awesome teammates, too. The new SPARKS team will be fab, and I'm looking forward to seeing their projects.

This week, it's the Picture Perfect challenge. Want to see the inspiration picture?

I was instantly drawn to the yellows and the balloons. My card had a few lives, but here's what I ended up making:

I stamped, colored, and fussy cut the cow from Green Acres. For the balloons, I masked, stamped, and colored a balloon from the Hullabaloo set. That set has probably been my most-used Paper Smooches set...I love it! I originally was going to put the balloons wrapped around his tail, but then they looked like some strange gas. Ha ha

For the background, I misted on white paper with a variety of mists, and added a sentiment from Group Hugs. I hand-cut the top of the denim paper to add a little dip...I'm digging that hand-cut look lately. Here's a close-up:

My husband saw the card when it was almost done, and at that point I showed him the inspiration photo. He asked, "Why is there a cow on there?" LOL! I figured it was "big" like the sentiment...I think I over-thought it. ha ha

If you'd like to play along with this week's SPARKS challenge, you can link up your projects HERE.

You can see more inspiration from my fab teammies:

Wida

Jenny

Jocelyn

Alice

Savannah

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!!


Supplies
Cardstock: (white letterpress), (white) PTI
Patterned paper: (denim from About a Boy) Echo Park
Clear stamps: (sentiment from Group Hugs; cow from Green Acres; balloon from Hullabaloo) Paper Smooches
Copics
Mists: (Taxi, Opaque White, Custard mists) Studio Calico; (Lemon Zest) Tattered Angels; (Tangerine) Lindy's Stamp Gang

Let's Taco 'Bout It

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend! I got to see a Cirque de la Symphonie show today, which was awesome. The aerial stunts freak me out a little, but I suppose that's the point. :)

It's time for another Paper Smooches SPARKS Designer Drafts. Want to see the sketch?

My new Paper Smooches stamps came last week, but since I was in D.C., I haven't had a chance to use them. I've been looking forward to using the Calorie Free set--it's a hoot!

I masked the taco from the Calorie Free set and stamped the beer mug from A Magical Spring. I colored them with Copics and layered them over Glitz paper and a journaling card from BasicGrey.

On the journaling card, I die-cut a hang tab using the Paper Smooches Toppers Dies. I *love* these dies! I will definitely be using them frequently. Here's a close-up:

You can link up your Paper Smooches projects using the sketch HERE. I hope you'll play along. For more inspiration, you can see my fab teammates' projects:

Wida

Jenny

Jocelyn

Alice

Savannah

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!!


Supplies
Cardstock: (White Linen) Ellen Hutson; (white) PTI
Patterned paper: (red gingham from Cashmere Dame) Glitz Design
Clear stamp: (taco, sentiment from Calorie Free; beer mug from A Magical Spring) Paper Smooches
Ink: (Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko; (Inky Black Mr. Huey's mist) Studio Calico
Embellishments: (journaling card from Fact or Fiction) BasicGrey; (sequin) Kelly Purkey
Die: (hang tag topper from Toppers dies) Paper Smooches
Embossing: (Stripes Impression Plate) PTI
Copics

Whitewashed Leaves

Hi everyone! Are you ready for Monday? My brother-in-law and his wife have been visiting from Oklahoma the past few days, and this weekend flew by!

It's time for Paper Smooches SPARKS' Picture Perfect challenge. Here's the inspiration picture:

Cool, eh? Here's what I made:

I wanted it to have an artsy feel. I used the stamping-off technique for the background, using a maple leaf from the Paper Smooches' Leafy Greens set. Since I wanted it to look a little more watercolored, I then watered down white paint and went over the top with a dry brush.

The sentiment is the Love Word, which I die-cut from glitterstock. I intentionally weathered the edges with my fingers and even added a bit of embossing paste to the bottom edges (thanks for the enabling, Debby!) Here's a close-up:

I'm linking up this card in the Moxie Fab World's Enthralled with Fall image. My colors are more muted, but I was inspired by the overlapping leaves in the picture:

I actually made two cards for the SPARKS and the TT. Before I decided to stamp off the leaves, I stamped them directly as a background:

It's kind of hard to believe they're the same colors and stamp. I heat embossed a sentiment from Simply Said.

Like the SPARKS image? You can link up your entries HERE. It's a cool picture, and I hope you're inspired!

Be sure to check out my teammates' cards:

Wida

Jenny

Jocelyn

Alice

Savannah

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies
Cardstock: (Rustic White, white) PTI; (silver glitterstock) Best Creations
Clear stamps: (leaf from Leafy Greens; sentiment from Simply Said) Paper Smooches
Ink: (Lilac Posies, Tuxedo Black Luxe Ink) Tsukineko; (Tide Pool Mid-Tone) Hero Arts; (Honey, Mango, Provincial, Peach) Fresh Ink
Embossing Powder: (clear) Wow!
Die: (Love Word die) Paper Smooches
Twine: (natural) Hemptique
Tissue Paper

Wishes Come True

Hi everyone! It's going to be a crazy week on the 'ole blog--lots of posts. I'm writing up my posts now and trying to minimize the blah, blah, blah. Who am I kidding? There's still a little blah, blah...I can't help but talk. ;) I hope you'll check them out the posts this week.

First up, it's time for Designer Drafts at Paper Smooches SPARKS. Here's the sketch:

You can use either version for the SPARKS challenge. Now that I look at the sketches again, I guess I used a combination of both. Oops! Here's my card:

Since I have a 7-year-old girl, I always seem to need little girl birthday cards for birthday parties. I started by stamping the castle from Paper Smooches' Royal Cuteness onto the easel from I Heart Art. After I colored and fussy cut the image, I added the sentiment.

For the background, I stamped on scratch paper and then stamped the stars from Space Cadet onto the panel. I stamped a few first- and third-generation stars to create a bokeh effect. Here's a close-up:

If you'd like to play along with this week's SPARKS challenge, you can link up your Paper Smooches creations HERE. You can also check out the rest of the design team's projects:

Wida

Jenny

Jocelyn

Alice

Savannah

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies
Cardstock: (White Linen) Ellen Hutson
Clear stamps: (sentiment, castle from Royal Cuteness; easel from I Heart Art; stars from Space Cadet) Paper Smooches
Ink: (Bubblegum Mid-Tone) Hero Arts; (Slate) Fresh Ink; (Tuxedo Black, Dandelion Brilliance) Tsukineko
Copics

New Years?

Hi everyone! Well, it's Monday. Are you ready to take on the week? :)

It's the Picture Perfect week over at Paper Smooches SPARKS.

Here's the inspiration picture:

When I first saw the image, I wasn't quite sure what to do. I don't have a Paper Smooches jar or butterfly. The jar reminded me of water, which reminded me of ice, which reminded me of snowmen...

Or maybe I was just thinking about wine. ;) I paper pieced and colored one of the snowmen from Freezy Fellas. I stamped one of the arms before fussy cutting the image. For the wine, I die-cut a Free Spirit Icons glass and stamped the images from the Free Spirits set. The sentiment is from the same set.

I added a little heart from Hullabaloo to look like one of the butterflies. Here's a close-up:

If you'd like to join in this week's SPARKS challenge, you can link up your projects HERE. I hope you'll play along!

My teammates have some fab projects. Be sure to check them out, too!

Wida

Jenny

Jocelyn

Alice

Savannah

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies
Cardstock: (Kraft, white) PTI
Patterned paper: (aqua from Maggie Holmes's Flea Market collection) American Crafts; (notebook, rose) My Mind's Eye
Clear stamps: (snowman from Freezy Fellas, heart from Hullabaloo, wine glass and sentiment from Free Spirit) Paper Smooches
Ink: (Rhubarb Stalk Luxe Ink; Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Dies: (glass from Free Spirits Icons) Paper Smooches, (Jumbo Fishtail Banner) My Favorite Things
Punch: (Scallop) Fiskars
Twine: (mint baker's twine) May Arts
Copics

Wassup Foxy?

Hi everyone! Happy Monday!

It's time for another Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge.

Want to see the sketch?

I used the vertical version of the sketch to make this card:

I was excited to use my brand new Paper Smooches Royal Cuteness stamps and Royal Icons dies. I LOVE the girl stamp, which I paper pieced and colored. I was going to put her on one of my Paper Smooches tags, but I could not find the die (I still haven't found it--argh!). So, I die-cut the Duo Die 2. When I was looking at the die-cuts, I realized it could look like a mirror. Score!

Here's a close-up:

Yep, that's my shirt in the mirror. LOL!

I masked off and stamped the sentiment from Smoocheroos horizontally across the banner. I kind of missed the polka dots on the sketch, but I'm counting the stripes. Okay? ;)

I hope you'll be able to play along with this week's SPARKS challenge. You can link up your projects HERE.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (white) PTI; (silver) Bazzill
Patterned paper: (peach polka dot) Bo Bunny Basics; (floral from Hello Again) Carta Bella
Clear stamps: (girl from Royal Cuteness; sentiment from Smoocheroos) Paper Smooches
Dies: (girl from Royal Icons; frame/mirror from Duo Die 2) Paper Smooches; (banner) PTI
Digital element: (yellow stripe paper from Stargazer) One Little Bird for The Lilypad
Copics

2, 4, 6, 8... (& a Giveaway)

Hi everyone! I hope you had a good weekend. Normally I'm not overly excited about a Monday, but today I get to meet my dear blog friend Joscelyne. Woo hoo! I'm sure we'll take a picture or two, and I'll share one.

It's time for a new challenge at Paper Smooches SPARKS. Here's the uber-cool inspiration image:

I love that image! There were so many possibilities, but I focused on the colors in the image:

I wanted it to be a play on the "2-4-6-8-Who do we appreciate?" chant. ha ha Using the Paper Smooches Digits dies and stamps, I cut and stamped the numbers. Then, I used the Word Bubbles die and stamped the He Said, She Said speech bubble over it. I didn't realize it beforehand, but they dies aren't nested. It took me a few tries to realize the stamps don't fit in the bubble. I had to add a little ink to the top edge. ;)

I added the little fish from Briny Blue and made him say the "freakin' great" (from Slang Gang). I chuckle at that every time. Here's a close-up:

If you'd like to play along with this week's SPARKS challenge, you can link up your cards HERE.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team's projects!

Wida

Jenny

Jocelyn <--You're here

Alice

Savannah

It's also been a while since I've done a giveaway. It means so much that you take the time to look at my blog. Sometimes it's hard to blog--it's a busy time, I don't like my card, I feel like my comments are lame, etc. But, the kindness and support mean everything to me. :)

As a thank you to my blog followers, I'm doing two giveaways this week. Just comment on any or all of the posts this week, and I'll draw two names from all of the comments (through next Sunday). Here's the first giveaway package (the second I'll share on Thursday):

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!


Supplies
Cardstock: (Nightshift Blue) My Favorite Things; (white) PTI
Clear stamps: (number from Digits; speech bubble from He Said, She Said; sentiment from Slang Gang; fish from Briny Blue) Paper Smooches
Ink: (Red Currant; Sky Blue; Pool) Fresh Ink; (yellow Brilliance; Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko; (Lavender) Color Box
Dies: (Word Bubbles; Digits) Paper Smooches
Copics

I'm Impressed

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend! We had a pretty quiet weekend, but I did start a blog make-over. It's still in transition. :)

This week is Designer Drafts at Paper Smooches SPARKS. Here is the sketch for this week's challenge:

I love that the sketch is pretty open, and yet, I still managed to deviate a little. I went with a literal interpretation of the balloon for my card:

There was a lot of Paper Smooches on this card. I started with the using the Borders 1 Dies to make the hill and stamped a sentiment from Squeaky Clean. For the tree, I paper pieced a tree from Spring Groves and colored the trunk.

For the basket, I used a laundry basket from the Squeaky Clean set, masked it, and stamped the squirrel from Spring Groves over it. I fussy cut the image and placed it in front of the balloon from the Hullabaloo set. Here's a close-up:

When I was making this card, I thought I had a Paper Smooches acorn, but I didn't. I improvised with the button instead, and now I kind of like it.

If you'd like to play along with this week's SPARKS challenge, you can link up your projects HERE.

Be sure to check out the rest of the DT's projects (I'm sure they're awesome because they're really fab card makers):

Wida

Jenny

Jocelyn

Alice

Savannah

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (white) PTI; (Paver) My Favorite Things
Patterned paper: (orange houndstooth from About a Boy) Echo Park; (green block from Acorn Avenue) Crate Paper
Clear stamps: (basket, sentiment from Squeaky Clean; tree, squirrel from Spring Groves; balloon, string from Hullabaloo) Paper Smooches 
Dies: (Borders 1 Dies) Paper Smooches
Copics

You Light Up My Life

Hi everyone! Okay, after writing that title, now I'm singing some Debby Boone (anyone else humming it, too?).

On that note (yuck, yuck), it's time for a new Paper Smooches SPARKS Picture Perfect challenge. Here's this week's inspirational picture:

I focused on the sun and colors (and now that I look at the image again, the ocean too) for this card:

I  used stamps from three different Paper Smooches sets for this one-layer card (well, one layer plus the yarn). Since my card uses the masking technique, I'm linking up to Savannah's challenge at Do More With Less. I'm also linking up with the Paper Crafts Magazine July Gallery Challenge.

I started by stamping the waves from Wicked Nauticool repeatedly to create a horizon. I masked off the water and stamped the boat from the same set. I created a mask for the boat and stamped the circle from Off the Charts to create the sun--this stamp is going to be my go-to for a sun from now on. I finished the stamping with the sentiment from Smoocheroos.

Here's a close-up:

After I finished the stamping, I went to work on the coloring. I colored the sailboat with Copics. For the water, I used Distress Inks and a couple of spritzes of Pearl spray mist, and I watercolored. I like the mottled look for water, and the Pearl looks cool in the light:

Ready to play along with the SPARKS challenge? You can link up your Paper Smooches projects based on the inspiration picture HERE.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week.


Supplies
Cardstock: (white) PTI
Clear stamps: (sailboat, waves from Wicked Nauticool; sun from Off the Charts; sentiment from Smoocheroos) Paper Smooches
Ink: (Sky Blue, Sunflower Yellow Brilliance Ink; Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko; (Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Stormy Sky Distress Inks) Ranger; (Pearl spray mist) Tattered Angels
Copic markers
Yarn: May Arts

You're Super!

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend. We've had family in town since last week, and it's been (a good kind of) busy. :)

It's time for another Paper Smooches SPARKS Designer Drafts challenge. Here's the sketch for this week:

I was happy I got my new Paper Smooches stamps so quickly and was able to use them right away:

Hee hee. I love that Superman guy. The superhero and skyline are from the new Super set--love him and love that set!

For the background, I misted the black panel with white and silver mists. Then, I embossed the skyline, fussy cut it, and popped it up with foam tape. The sentiment is from the Market Fresh set. Here's a close-up:

I mounted the panels on some cool blue metallic paper that appeared in my stash. I have no idea where it came from, but it worked well for this project.

Please check out my teammates' cards, too:

Wida

Jenny

Jocelyn

Alice

Savannah

If you would like to play along with this week's challenge, you can link up your projects HERE. I hope you'll play along!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (True Black, white) PTI; (blue metallic) craft supply
Clear stamps: (superhero and skyline from the Super set; sentiment from Market Fresh) Paper Smooches
Ink: (Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko; Versamark
Embossing powder: (Ultrafine Clear) Ranger; (white) Inkadinkado
Copics
Mists: (Opaque White, Silver) Studio Calico

Hoppy Birthday

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend! I think I spent almost the entire weekend crafting up a storm for the last round of the Gallery Idol contest. But, it's time for another Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge.

For the Picture Perfect challenge, you'll need to use your Paper Smooches stamps to create a card based on this inspiration photo:

I must have looked through my stamp sets 20 times to figure out what kind of image I could repeat. I saw the bunny stamp from the Squeaky Clean set and used it to make this card:

It's like bunny hurdles!  I think the bunny stamp is one of my favorite Paper Smooches stamps. :)

I started by stamping the candles from the Hullabaloo set, and then I stamped and colored the bunnies. The "HOPPY" is made using Alphadots and the "birthday" is from Sentiment Sampler.

Here's a close-up of the little bunnies:

If you would like to join this week's SPARKS challenge, you can link up your projects HERE. I hope you'll join in! Be sure to visit the rest of the team's blogs to see what they have created:

Wida

Jenny

Alice

Savannah

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies
Cardstock: (Neenah Solarcrest) Neenah; (kraft) PTI
Patterned paper: (pink from Cool Summer) Carta Bella
Clear stamps: (bunnies from Squeaky Clean; candles from Hullabaloo; Hoppy from Alphadots; birthday from Sentimenet Sampler) Paper Smooches
Ink: (Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Twine: (Marigold) The Twinery
Copics

Best Wishes

Hi! It's my first post for the Paper Smooches SPARKS team. Yeah! I'm excited and a little nervous to share my card. My teammates are such amazing designers (oh, the pressure!).

For this week's SPARKS challenge, it's Designer Drafts time. Here's the sketch:

I used the horizontal version of the sketch and went with a rustic theme:

SPARKS is shifting to a CAS emphasis, so I did a pretty CAS take on the sketch.

I started by stamping the yellow flower from Bold Blooms and layering the smaller flower with foam tape. I finished the flower by adding a leaf from Leafy Greens. For the background, I simply cut a piece of burlap and sewed it to the card base. Here's a close-up:

I apologize for the blurriness of the sentiment...the macro worked great for the flower.ha ha I finished the card off with a sentiment from Simply Said and a mix of stickpins.

If you would like to join this week's SPARKS challenge, you can link up your projects HERE. I hope you'll join in! Be sure to visit the rest of the team's blogs to see what they have created:

Wida

Jenny

Alice

Savannah

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies
Cardstock: (Rustic White) PTI
Ink: (Chamomile, Grass) Fresh Ink; (Tuxedo Black) Memento; (Antique Linen, Scattered Straw Distress Inks) Ranger
Twine: (Natural) May Arts
Stickpins: (from the Fact line) BasicGrey