Wishing You a Beautiful Day

Hey crafters! It's Wednesday and that means it's time for another super fun Whimsical Wednesday challenge at Whimsical Designs! Our new challenge is all about using an item that you would normally recycle on your project. For my card I chose to use a bottle cap:

What a fun card this was to make! Everything came together so nicely and I love when that happens. :) The card is 6x6 and has papers from My Mind's Eye (woodgrain background) and DCWV (the floral prints). The bottle cap is used to hold the bow in place, which happens to be 3 Girl Jam crinkle ribbon.

I used white sunflower pearls and lace trim as accents on the card, and the sentiment is from the Whimsical Fun Vol. 1 stamp set.

This digi is called "Clothespin Fairy" and is from Inky Impressions - our sponsor this week! One lucky winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to their shop. 

Here are the Copics I used to color this cute, little fairy:

Have a whimsical day! :)

You're a CUT Above the Rest!

Anyone else feeling like it's Monday?! Long weekends always throw me off! Anyways - today I'd like to share with you a card I made for a relative who gave me an unexpected graduation gift. Last weekend I graduated with two Associate's degrees (one in Art & one in Science - don't ask how - it has something to do with the way my credits worked out). And now I'm halfway to becoming a teacher! Super exciting. 

Here's the card... did I mention this particular relative is a hairdresser?

I used a combination of papers - Kraft, DCWV, My Mind's Eye, and Recollections. The card is 6x5.

The scissors are cut from the Simply Charmed Cricut cartridge and then distressed with Shabby Shutters and Pumice Stone Distress Ink. The scallop is distressed in Broken China Distress Ink. I also embossed the white circle with polka dots using my Cuttlebug. The Peachy face is a combination from sets PK-573 (eyes) and PK-943 (mouth). 

I cut the sentiment using my Cameo (used both my Cricut and Cameo on this card - yeah!) and used Latte crinkle ribbon from 3 Girl Jam, embellished with a few enamel dots from My Mind's Eye. I love these! The scallop is also embellished with White Opal Liquid Pearls.

Entering a few challenges!

Peachy Keen - Anything Goes

3 Girl Jam - Anything Goes + Ribbon

Sweet Stamp Shop - Use What You Have

(No new items used on the card!)

Bikini Ellie

Good morning and Happy Memorial Day! I hope those of you who have a long weekend are enjoying it - I know I sure am. The weather here hasn't been all that great (cloudy, rainy, and in the 60's) so I've been inside doing a bit of crafting these past couple of days.

Today's the start of a new challenge over at The Paper Nest Dolls challenge blog and it's all about ribbon & lace! I used some fun Heidi Swapp trim along with the Bikini Ellie stamp on my summer-themed card:

I used paper and embellishments from the "My Girl" collection by My Mind's Eye. Such a fun collection! The "so sweet" sentiment is an SRM sticker (love these!) and I bordered the tab with some Pink Sorbet twine from The Twinery.

Bikini Ellie is colored with the following Copics:

One lucky winner of our challenge will receive this awesome, scrappy prize pack! The top three submissions chosen by the design team will also receive their choice of one digital stamp. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Summer To-Do List :)

Hi! Now that my semester is over (finally - woo hoo!) and I'm officially on summer break, I thought it would be fun to make a Summer To-Do List and share it with you all! It'll also be nice to refer back to this post as motivation if I ever fall behind on my goals. :) 

1. Craft my little heart out. My goal is to craft something every day, even if it's just coloring an image or putting finishing touches on a project. I already try to craft as much as possible, but I know as I get further into my education and closer to receiving my degree, my workload will increase, and I want to craft as much as I can before my time is limited.
2. Start Project Life! I bought my PL kit back in March during an HSN special, and have been craving playing with it ever since! I knew I wouldn't have time until the summer, but couldn't pass up the deal. I'm looking forward to searching for PL inspiration and getting started on some pages!
3. Complete my online Copic class. I'm getting Copic certified in June (both Standard & Intermediate - yay!) but purchased a serious of online Copic courses to practice working on new techniques. It's a series of 30 different lessons, and I would love to complete each lesson and document them for future reference. I'll be sure to share!
4. Submit cards for publishing! I think it's finally time I work up the nerve to submit some cards and projects to magazine calls. You never know if you don't try, right?
5. Get organized. I'd love to work out some new craft storage ideas to make the most out of my tiny crafty area. I think I've done a pretty good job so far, but know there's always room for improvement.
6. Clean up my laptop. I have so many old files and photos that I no longer need anymore. My files and folders are in dire need of a deep cleaning! Time to get rid of those virtual dust bunnies.
7. Work on my marketing skills. I'd love to learn more efficient ways to promote myself and my blog through other social media networks. I've done a bit of reading already, but am looking forward to learning more.
8. Try new recipes! Whenever I can spare a few minutes to hop on Pinterest, I always find mouthwatering recipes (usually sweets and desserts) that I can't help but pin and drool over. I'd love to finally try some of those out.
9. Exercise. So that after I make and devour all those yummy sweets, I can burn them off. :) I've been going on bike rides lately and really enjoy it, I can do about 6 miles in 40 minutes. I'd love to get a regular routine in place and keep up with it.
10. Enjoy life. I'm all about embracing the little things, and over the course of this past year or so I've finally started focusing on myself and what makes me happy, and I can't even begin to describe how amazing it feels.

So there you have it, my summer to-do list. I hope to look back at this post in mid-August or so and see that I've accomplished everything. One of the best feelings is accomplishing a goal!

What's on your summer to-do list? :)

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree...

Man, does it feel weird to have the tune of a Christmas song in my head! Feels like Christmas was just last week, and now it's nearly 7 months away. It'll be here before we know it, that's for sure!

 

The reason I'm singing this Christmas tune is because our new challenge at Whimsical Designs is "Song Inspired." Looking at the Whimsical stamp sets, I saw this sentiment and thought it would be a perfect fit for the challenge!

 

 

This Christmas Tree box is a cut form the Silhouette store. I used DCWV brown and green cardstock to cut the pieces, and distressed the edges with Peeled Paint ink by Tim Holtz.

 

I embellished the top of the tree with pearls to act as ornaments and also some stickers from SRM Stickers to act as garland. Super easy and quick to make! I think I'll keep this idea in mind to use as Christmas gifts for my future students.

Our sponsor this week is 3 Girl Jam! One lucky winner who enters the challenge will receive a $15 gift certificate to their shop.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day. :)

You Are My Happily Ever After

It's that time again - time for another Whimsical Wednesday challenge! We have a fun one for you this week - mixed media!

I'm not a regular mixed media gal, but I do like to try some mixed media techniques here and there just to experiment. For this challenge I decided to make a tag using Tim Holtz Distress Inks, and I used a technique very similar to this one. 

The inks I used were: Dusty Concord, Milled Lavender, Spun Sugar, and Worn Lipstick. Such a pretty color combo! I was in the mood for purple and pink - no idea why!

After distressing the tag and letting it dry overnight, I stamped the sentiment and the heart from the "With Love" stamp set from Whimsical Designs. I also added some lace trim and a flower that I distressed as well to match the tag.

The pearls are from Miriam's Crafting Supplies and I added an SRM Sticker to the bottom and then embellished it with Flamingo Liquid Pearls. I love how it all came together!

Our sponsor for the mixed media challenge is Tabitha's Designs. One lucky winner will receive 2 digi paper packs of their choice!

Hope to see you linking up! Don't forget to stop by the blog for more DT inspiration. :)

Life is Sweet!

Happy Monday! It's the start of a new Paper Nest Dolls challenge - all about pearls! I'd like to share with you the card I made for the challenge using the super cute and adorable Ice Cream Ellie stamp!

I love the color scheme of these papers!As soon as I saw the ice cream cone background I knew this collection would be fun to work with for this card.

I chose to use a sentiment from SRM Stickers to accent the card. The "Life is sweet!" sticker is from We've Got Your Sticker - Sweet. I love how they're stickers - yet so transparent! You would never know it wasn't a stamp just by looking at it. :) The heart up in the top right of the card is also an SRM Sticker from the same set as the sentiment.

I colored litle Ellie using these Copics:

One lucky winner of our pearls challenge will win this awesome prize pack!

AND the top three submissions (chosen by the design team) will receive their choice of one, free digital stamp from The Paper Nest Dolls!

Hope to see you linking up! Happy Monday!

Like the Flowers In a Garden...

I hope all you moms out there had a lovely Mother's Day! I saw a movie with my mom and then we had a delicious dinner. :) Today I'm sharing with you a card I made for a couple occassions - our new Get Inky! die cut challenge, the Peachy Keen challenge this week, and it's the card I made for my sister to give to our mom. 

I love the bright, bold colors of this paper. So fun! And definitely non-traditional "Mother's Day colors," which I like because it's always fun to do something different.

The paper flowers are from my stash and the crinkle ribbon is new from 3 Girl Jam.

The sentiment is a digital stamp from Get Inky! that I printed on white cardstock and then rounded the corners. I colored in the flowers using Copics Y26, BG18, YG25, and YR27. The green scallop is embellished with Cantaloupe Liquid Pearls.

I accented the card with a gardening shovel to match the sentiment and adhered it to the card using pop dots. I couldn't resist giving it an adorable Peachy face! The eyes are from set PK-573 Paper Doll Faces and the mouth is from set PK-493 Everyday Character Face Parts and More. 

Hope to see you linking up at Get Inky!

Whimsical Wednesday Altered Item Challenge

Happy Hump Day! What a long week it has been already, and it's only Wednesday! This week and next week are so crazy for me - I'm finishing up all my classes and working and taking finals.. and.. and... the list goes on. :) BUT the nice thing is, after next weekend, I will be a free, crafty woman for the entire summer! Yay!

This week Whimsical Designs is having an altered item challenge. Altered items can be tricky for me sometimes, so this was definitely a challenge! I chose to alter an old cigar box I've had sitting around forever and gave it some flair.

Here's the box before altering:

And here it is after:

There wasn't a particular color combo sticking out in my mind while making this, so I chose to go neutral with some glitter-treated paper by DCWV. Before applying the paper I painted the entire box with gray acrylic paint. Then, I measured each side of the box, cut a piece of paper accordingly and used Mod Podge to seal it. 

View of the top of the box. Where there was leftover gray, I added Star Dust Stickles to match the sparkle in the paper, and added some Prima bling and white flowers as embellishments. Keepin' it simple!

Added some 3GJ ribbon in Sterling Silver to the sides.

I used a stamp from the Whimsical Fun Vol. 1 stamp set and stamped it on chipboard, then distressed the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Black Soot. 

Our sponsor for the altered item challenge is V's Sweet Ideas! One lucky winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to their store.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

A Peachy Flower Vase

Happy National Scrapbooking Day! I hope you all spent it doing what you love - I know I sure did! I actually kicked off the party early and got crafty all day, yesterday, too! Couldn't help but take advantage of the (very rare) two days off in a row!

One of the projects I worked on yesterday was a creation for this week's challenge over at Peachy Keen - 3D and flowers! How fun!

Using a glass vase and some leftover Easter grass, I made a vase of Peachy flowers! The flowers are from the Silhouette store and they are adhered on paper straws. 

Using SRM Stickers, I made a little thank you card to attach to the vase. The zig zag border is from the We've Got Your Border - Valentine set, and the {thanks} is from the Quick Cards - Thanks set. Paper is DCWV and pearls are from Miriam's Crafting Supplies. 

I stamped faces on the flower centers using PK-493 Everyday Character Face Parts and More. They're stamped in Memento ink and the eyes are colored in with a white gel pen. The papers are DCWV and I distressed each of the flowers with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Dusty Concord, Stormy Sky, and Victorian Velvet. 

Have a lovely rest of your weekend!

Just BEE-cause...

It's my DT posting day over at Get Inky! Stamps, and today I'm excited to share with you a treat bag I made using their adorable Buzzing Bees stamp set!

To make the treat bag topper, I cut a 4x4 inch square out of white cardstock and scored it in half so that it would fold easily. Then I cut a piece of Recollections cardstock for the background, and stamped the bee right on the patterend paper. I colored him with Copics Y23, and Y26, which luckily were both a perfect match for the paper.

Then I stamped the sentiment the trail (also from the same set) and added some Star Dust Stickles to the bee's wings and also to the flower that the bee had just visited. :) The pearls are from Miriam's Crafting Supplies.

I filled the treat bag with lemon drops - I should've thought about what candy I was going to use before I adhered the paper... do you know how hard it is to find yellow and/or black candy?! Thankfully one of my crafty friends gave me the lemon drop idea, and I'll be sending her my dentist bill for when I have to pay for all the cavities I'm going to get from snacking on all the leftovers! :)

This treat bag is also being used as inspiration for our current Get Inky! challenge - Fabulous Floral Fun. Create a project using flowers for a chance to win a stamp set from Get Inky! AND everyone who enters the challenge receives their choice of THREE free digis! How cool is that?!

Thanks for dropping by! Have a great weekend. :)