Love Hearts

Hello dear followers. I know I've not been posting as often as I used to. With several of my DT closing down, I'm afraid I've gotten a bit lazy about creating. Of course, the unusually cold weather we've had in the south this year hasn't helped. However, Sami has a wonderful new release that I'm very excited to share with you. I was a bit more conservative this week and only took one image with which to work -- but isn't it a cutie? Well, ALL of the new images are cuties and since I've not yet shared my card with you, you don't know which one I'm speaking of. OK, here it is:

Now these images are perfect for Valentine's Day, but don't stop there. They would also make adorable cards for anniversaries, birthdays, thinking of you -- well, just because they have hearts in the design doesn't mean they have to JUST be for Valentines, eh?

I used the Pretty Kitty Heart image. I colored the kitty-baby to look like a Siamese in honor of a beautiful Siamese kitty I had for 14 years before she peacefully passed away. I paper pieced the heart using some old paper I had in my stash and then cut the image into a square shape. I matted it with black card and then placed it onto a lacy square by QuicKutz. My card base is white, 5.5" square, matted with black and then a beautiful DP by Paper Crate. Keeping with the red and pink colors of the DP, I added a red gingham ribbon and bow, pink rose and a lovely swirl from a Marianne die. Lastly, I added two red baubles to the top right corner. I rather liked how everything turned out and hope you do, too.

Please visit Sami's blog and see the lovely cards that the other DT members made using the images from this adorable release, and then hop on over to the store and pick up a few. You'll so love playing with these images!

Tuesday Morning Repeat

Good morning Tuesday followers. We have another blast from the past sketch for you this morning, and it is one that I picked. It was originally featured 19 November 2013. This is our great sketch:

Our sponsor this week is Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, and I've used Molly's Flower. Even though we are in the middle of winter and spring doesn't technically arrive until 21 March, I needed a bit of a break from all the COLD, so I thought Molly looked rather spring-ish!

I printed Molly onto X-Press It brand card and colored her with Copic markers. I then fussy cut her. My card base is white, 5.5" square, and my matting is pink card. The DPs are scraps from my bag (the bottom piece is Basic Gray, but I don't know what the top is from). The grosgrain ribbon is chocolate brown (although the photo makes it look a bit black), and the charm is from my stash. The charm really photographed wonky as it is a solid piece with the heart raised up. In the photo, it looks as if the heart is cut out and is a smiley face (which isn't the case). I tried six photos and got the same result in all of them, so just gave up. The charm also has "A token of my love" engraved around the raised heart. I used two scalloped/decorative squares (the top one is by Spellbinder, and the bottom is by QuicKutz)

I hope you have the opportunity to join us in our challenge this week at Tuesday Morning Sketches. Also, please take a few minutes to stop by and have a look at the DT cards. We always enjoy your visits.

YNS Inspirational Post

This is an inspirational post that we will have on the 22nd of each month.  People can find more YNS inspiration on Facebook, Pinterest, the YNS Newsletter, and YNS Challenges. We will have special deals each month during this special post.

I would like to invite you to visit the YNS Blog to see the rest of the DT projects. Leave a comment at the YNS Blog for your chance to win a stamp set of your choice. This is a really good deal because the Your Next Stamp stamps are just the cutest images around (smile).

YNS Special Deal is a "welcome baby" deal and will be good  for the remainder of the month.    Karen will share photos of baby Jessica soon, so check the blog regularly as you don't want to miss pictures of the new little Princess.

Whew, did I miss anything? Oh yes, a description of my card (LOL)! I've used this month's challenge sketch as an inspiration for my card. Instead of hearts, I've used flowers, and I've also scalloped my cross piece. I stamped off my image onto X-Press It Brand card using Momento tuxedo black. I have colored the image with Copic markers except for the umbrella. I actually did color it, but wasn't satisfied, so I stamped off the top half of my image onto yellow dotty paper and pieced the umbrella.

I've used a white card for my base, green card for matting and the strip across the front, and yellow and green DP. The flowers are by Recollections and Wild Orchid Crafts. The additional leaves for the flowers are a Martha Stewart punch, and the border on my green piece is punched with a EK Success border punch.

The Doodle Pantry at TMS

Good morning TMS friends! Thanks for stopping by today to be inspired. I hope you will play along with us this week in the Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge.

We're working through our favorite sketches from last year before presenting you with new ones for 2014. This week Debbie is hosting with her pick from 2013. This is one of those awesome sketches that you can keep pretty simple or really fancy it up.

Sketch:

Debbie's sketch pick is TMS #199 which was featured on May 21st. Our sponsor this week is The Doodle Pantry. My card features Loving Critters Beaver and Loving Critters Valentine Sentiment.

I printed my image off onto X-Press It brand card, then cut it using the Spellbinder Floral Ovals (S4-356) die. The card base is white, and the matting is black card. The DPs are from a Recollections all year long pad. The grosgrain ribbon is from my stash. I did paper piece the balloon with a bit of the background DP to make it match.

If I haven't inspired you, then drop by the TMS blog and have a look at what the other DT members have made. Lots of eye candy there, and surely something will inspire you to join us this week (smile)! Have a great week!

Challenges:
Doodle Pantry - Any digital image

Snuggle Up With a Good Book

I warned you that you'd be seeing a lot of cards today. These three cards are from the new release by Sami's Stamps. Aren't they just wonderful? Here is a picture of all the reading images:

I have to confess that I'm a bibliophile (lover of books), so these images really appealed to me, and I requested two of them straight way. Then Sami's pencil got away from her with a mind of its own and created that adorable Valentine image -- well, glutton for punishment that I am (teehee), I couldn't resist doing something with that one, too. The results? Well, those three new cards at the top of this post!

OK, so you all know that I really enjoy the coloring part more than the card making part of this craft, and did I ever have a blast coloring these wonderful images. The coloring possibilities are endless, so my biggest "problem" was deciding which color combinations to use. I let the papers dictate the colors on my first and last card, but I wanted something a little more masculine for the middle card, so I worked backwards with that one -- coloring my image first and then picking the papers. Whichever way you decide to use these images, you will have no problem creating a "winner" and having fun!

You must run over to Sami's Stamps Blog and have a look at the beautiful creations my team mates have made this week -- get a tissue or napkin first because you WILL be drooling.

Friday with Your Next Stamp

I am afraid you are going to be inundated with cards and images from me today. The two here are for Your Next Stamp. The first one was actually supposed to have been posted last Friday (hanging my head) at the same time it went live on the YNS blog. It was my introductory card (although I'd already participated in the new release blog hop) as guest designer for the month of January. Sadly, because I'm a guest for one month only, making a post wasn't part of my "regular" routine, so I completely forgot. I've got a couple more posts due yet, but have no fear, I've gotten my schedule and calendar on target now.

The second card is this weeks Fun Friday card. Isn't that just the cutest little image? That squirrel looks so happy -- who can blame him, though, with that yummy chocolate nut cupcake on his mind?

I'm afraid my post today is going to be a little vague on details. I don't remember what papers I used for my last week's card, and the little squirrel card was done at my girlfriend's house (using her supplies), and I didn't make notes as to the brands (again, hanging my head, sigh!).

I have colored both images using my Copic markers. The little images are rubber, so I've inked them with black Momento ink and stamped them onto X-Press It brand card. The two hearts on my first card were cut using Nellie Snellin's die MFD043. The flower is handmade. The dies used for the second card are both Spellbinders (classic circle and scalloped circle). The fish-tail banner was handcut.

Please check out the Your Next Stamp blog and the Your Next Stamp Challenge blog for more wonderful ideas and delightful images/stamps from this fabulous company. I know you will be delighted.

Monochromatic Tuesday

Today at Tuesday Morning Sketches, we have another blast from the past. This week, Bonnie chose the sketch.

This is the second challenge of the month, so it is our judged challenge with a TWIST! These are always fun! Follow the sketch, add the twist, and you can win! We also will pick a Top 5. This week's TWIST is - TONE ON TONE (Monochromatic).

This week's sponsor is our very own Jessi Fogan and the prize is a set of her lovely hand-crocheted mats. . . 

12 small circle mats - 4 each in red, pink, and white, perfect for Valentines!

Jessie's mats have been a favorite among the DT members and among our prize winners, so you will want to make sure you play along this week for a chance to win these lovelies -- a whole dozen of those gorgeous creations!

Now, time to share the sketch with you, so here it is:

I used one of Jessie's brown mats for my card. Isn't it beautiful? My card base is brown with a layer of crackled brown from Core'dinations (Tim Holtz pad). The fish tail banner was cut from a scrap from the Recollections pad called Habitat. You've seen me use that paper before, and this was a scrap I had left from my previous card. I really like that Recollections pad very much.

The butterfly on top of my doily is by Cheery Lynn Designs. It is called Small Lace Faerie Queen with Angel Wing (DL161). I cut the butterfly out of the Core'dinations, and I cut the angel wing (part under the lacy butterfly) from the brown used for the card base. I also matted the fish-tail banner with the same brown. The sentiment is an acrylic stamp. I used brown ink (Colorbox dark brown) and stamped it onto the Core'dinations piece, then matted it with the dark brown. Last of all, I added three small rhinestone gems -- one on the head of the butterfly and one on each of the tail swirls.

Your turn to play!  Can't wait to see what you create. Remember our twist for this week (monochromatic) and post your lovely to our challenge blog at Tuesday Morning Sketches.

TMS and A Look Back

Good Morning TMS friends and Happy New Year!  We're looking forward to 2014 with a line up of great sketches, sponsors and inspiration.  We're going to kick off 2014 with a look back to 2013.  For the next 7 weeks, we'll be featuring a favorite sketch from the past year picked by one of the design team members. Angela is the first, and her sketch pick is TMS #190 which was originally featured on 19 March 2013. No, I'm not going to make you go hunting for the sketch (smile). Here it is:

Our sponsor for this first challenge of the new year is DeeDee's Digital Designs, and I've used DeeDee's "Up, Up and Away" set. The set includes line images, colored images and nice sentiments -- quite a bargain for the price! I've used both the image and one of the sentiments from this adorable set. 

My card base is white. The DP (both) are from an American Crafts 6 x 6" pad called "Dots and Stripes" which I happened to find on sale. Since I'm a dotty kind of gal (that was dotty, not ditzy, by the way), I most definitely grabbed it up! I've matted the DP and my image with black card, and I added some wonderful gem stones that I received (among other things) from my BFF for Christmas. I popped my image up with foam dots, and I attached my sentiment at an angle (gasp) with a combination of regular adhesive on one side and a foam dot on the other (to keep it even with the image).

We look forward to having all of you back with us this year. We will do our best to pique your creativity with great sketches and DT inspiration. 

Your Next Stamp Jan. Release

Hello and welcome to the Your Next Stamp January New Release Blog Hop!  Love is in the air this month with some fabulous new Valentine stamps and dies!  The hop begins on Kerri's Blog, and if you've been hopping along you should have arrived from Jen's blog. 

You have until Tuesday, January 7th at midnight (EST) to hop and leave comments for your chance to win some awesome prizes!  As an added bonus, every stop along the hop has a secret prize!   It could be gumdrops, a YNS stamp of choice, a YNS die of choice or a YNS gift certificate!!!! WOW!!!  Karen will announce the winners on the YNS Blog Wednesday, January 8th.

For my project today, I've used this fun acrylic stamp from the "Clearly Your Next Stamp" series. Isn't she adorable? She is called "Jessica" and is the newest addition to the Penny Johnson "In Vogue" collection. In addition to the "cheers" sentiment, you also receive another sentiment that reads, "to a fruity fun day!" I colored the image using my Copic markers, and in keeping with this month's challenge, I've used the sketch found on the YNS challenge blog.

As always, Karen is offering an amazing hop special!  You will receive 15% off your entire order including sale items through January 10th!

Now it's time to hop on over to Laura's blog, but don't forget to leave a comment before you go!  Happy hopping and shopping!

1. Kerri

2. Peggy

3. Jen

4. Jenée

5. Laura

6. Wendy

7. Thanh

8. Maureen

9. Julie

10. Karen (YNS)

11. YNS Store

Thank you for joining us!

Sami's January Challenge

Happy new year to all of you. Are you ready to make it a crafty year? I have to admit that I'm having a little trouble restarting my crafting engine, but Sami's wonderful images were a good primer, and Sami has made the challenge simple to get you started, too.

It is ANYTHING Goes!!

First place will recieve a $ 12 Gift Certificate to Sami Stamps shop

Second place will recieve $ 8 Gift Certificate.

Remember you must use a Sami Stamps image to enter. You can find some freebies in here 

The whole design team have been using some of Sami's gorgeous winter stamps for this challenge and here's what I did with my project:

I've used My Snowman for my card and you can find it in Sami's store here.

I printed my image onto X-Press It brand card and colored it with Copic markers. I then cut the image into a circle using Spellbinder classic circle die. I used a white card base and placed a layer of blue and white dotty paper (from my stash) as the dots remind me of snow. I then cut a white layer using Spellbinders Resplendent Rectangles die, and on top of that, I added another layer of white which I embossed using the snowflake background folder by Darcie. I cut the blue circle from card using the Spellbinders Splendid Circles die (a Christmas present from my BFF). I popped the image circle up using foam dots and added a double looped bow. The sentiment is one I typed/printed off from my computer, and I matted it with with the solid blue.

Sami is running a "special" on her winter images. All of them have been reduced to $3.00 or below, and she also has a sweet cup of hot cocoa for you in the freebie section, so please take a few minutes to visit the blog and the store and then join in this month's challenge. We'd love to see what you create.

A Look Back and a Break

During November 2011, I received an offer to be on a brand new design team. Card Crafter's Circle was just forming, and Pauline was assembling her team. My BFF, who had been on a previous DT with Pauline, submitted my name. I had never been on a DT before, so I really had no idea what to expect. As it turned out, the experience was a wonderful one. I met some lovely ladies around the craft circle, and I know we will remain good friends despite our diverse geographic locations. 

I tried to find my very first DT card for CCC to share with you today. However, in looking, I found this one which I thought more appropriate for the new year. This was still one of the first (shared in Dec. 2011), but not the very first.

Our founder, Pauline, has had a difficult year. She has had to deal with computer problems, new medications for her autistic child, personal health problems and various other trials and tribulations. Consequently, her time and attention are needed elsewhere, so CCC is taking a break. The future is up in the air, and I am not sure if the break will be temporary or permanent. However, I would like to thank all of you wonderful CCC followers who have supported the team for the past two years. We have so enjoyed seeing your beautiful art work and creations. I would also like to thank the wonderful sponsors who have been so generous with providing images for our weekly challenges. Without your generosity and support, we could not have enjoyed two wonderful years.

We wish each of you a prosperous new year. May you find ever lasting joy in your crafting!