Christmas Stampin All Year Long

Happy Friday!

I've got a brand new challenge posted over at the CSAYL challenge blog and I'd love for you to play along with us.  A free template from Perfect Presentation is up for grabs!!

Hop on over and check out the details and great samples from the design team.

HUGE news from the Pink Kitty!

Have I ever mentioned that Melissa, over at Pink Cat Studio is a GENIUS?!  I absolutely love that girl - such a smart cookie.

I know you've all missed PCS while they were on a mini break for summer, but now they're back and better than ever!  The new digital designing program that she came up with was SOOOOOOOO worth the wait!!  (Is my enthusiasm coming across??)

It will be releasing next Thursday Oct. 6th. 

All of the DT gals designed their very own digi and will be showing them to you along with sample cards on release day. Our designs will also be available in the PCS store so if you really like them you can own them too.  Ehem....mine came out pretty cute if I do say so myself.  I can't wait to share it with you!

We'd love your help in spreading the word about the new Digi Stamp Designer. There is a blinkie at the top of the PCS blog. If you post the blinkie on your blog then you will be entered into our contest to win a credit to make your own digi stamp for free! From everyone who participates, Melissa will randomly pick 3 winners.

To enter the contest, post a comment on this PCS blog post to let Melissa know you have posted the blinkie on your blog. This contest will close Wed. Oct. 5th at 5pm EST. The winners will be announced on Thurs. Oct. 6th.
Good Luck!

Ribbon Awareness Girl

My friend just had surgery for colon cancer and I wanted to pop a card in the mail for her.  Just a little something to let her know that she was in my thoughts.

This image by Inky Impressions was absolutely perfect. It's called "Lili's Awareness Ribbon" and you can find her right here.  A portion of the proceeds go to the American Breast Cancer Association and the American Diabetes Association - very cool. 

I used a sketch from Create with Connie and Mary for my layout and embellished with some blue rhinestone brads from Inky Impressions.  I paper pieced her overalls with a fun striped pattern for the challenge over at Splitcoast, and drew in some concrete and grass to ground the image. 

I colored the ribbon light blue, because that's the "color" for colon cancer awareness.  I found a great website that lists all of the different ribbon colors and meanings.

Here's a peek at the inside. 

I just used scraps left over from the front of my card and stamped the same image in a pale blue color.

I put together a quick photo tutorial on how I drew in my concrete.  Hopefully you'll find it helpful and give it a try.

First, I took a Copic multiliner with a very fine tip and drew in a solid line.

This will be the "top" of the concrete.

These are the three colors I always use for this technique.

Next, I took my darkest color (C7) and drew in a small shadow under her feet.

Then I filled in with my medium color (C5).

Then, I took my lightest color (C3) and filled in the rest using small circular strokes.

I also decided to draw in some grass and flowers. 

If you'd like to see my tutorial for that, click here.

Hope that all made sense!  If you give it a try, share a link to your project - I'd love to see it!

Thanks for poppin' by today.  And don't forget, you can always check out the Inky Impressions blog for daily inspiration.

Keepin' it Clean and Simple

I've always been a "more is more" kind of crafter, so the 'Clean and Simple' challenge at CSAYL this week was really a challenge.  Wanna know the funny part?  I'm the one who comes up with the challenges!  It's all about stepping out of that comfort zone.  Here's what I came up with...

We're being sponsored by Karber Digital Images and this little guy is appropriately named "Rudolph".  He's cute cute cute.

I added brown glitter to his antlers and that little belly of his was just begging for some white velvet flock.

I'll be giving away two free digis to one of our participants, so hop on over to the CSAYL challenge blog and leave us your link!

Inky Challenge Time!

Hey Inky fans!

Today is challenge day over at the Inky Impressions Challenge Blog.

The challenge this week is to make a shaped card.

Here's what I came up with...

Shaped cards are a bit out of my comfort zone, so I decided to go with a circle.  The card measures 5 1/2" and the patterned papers are by DCWV.

This little cutie is called "Pirate Christopher" and he was part of the new release at Inky Impressions.  You can check out all of the new "Christopher" stamps right here.  I wanted to make a ship wheel for the focal point of my card, so I grabbed a few punches and put one together.  Then I added a rub-on sentiment and eye patch to finish it all off.

Here's how I made the wheel...

I used the SU word window punch, a circle Nestability, and kraft cardstock. 

I punched out 7 word windows and the circle.

Then I inked the edges with Creamy Caramel ink and stamped on a wood grain pattern.

Once I had it put together, I added a 1 3/8" circle to the middle so I could add the sentiment.

Easy-Peasy!

Inspired to play along?

Hop on over to the challenge blog to see all of the dt samples and the details of the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'd also like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Top Tip Tuesday - For the Kids

Cards for Men - Anything but Square

A Creepy Creation

One of my absolute favorite people in the whole wide world, just so happens to be a zombie lover.  And it just so happens that she celebrated her birthday last week.  Here's the card I made for her...

Eeek!  Isn't it fun?!

The BEST thing about this hobby is being able to make someone a personalized card that just perfectly suits them!  Love love love it. 

This is "Zelda the Zombie" by Kraftin Kimmie.  I colored her in with Copics and then drew in a sidewalk underneath her.  You can check out a tutorial on how I did the concrete right here. 

I added some sparkly die cuts, lots of jewels and a sentiment to finish it off. 

Here's a peek at the inside...

What fun cards have you made lately??

Christmas Stampin All Year Long

Today is challenge day over at CSAYL and this week we're teaming up with Bugaboo Digi Stamps for a group post.  The challenge this week is to create a holiday card or project inspired by this photo.

*photo credit - Pinterest

I used an adorable image called "Ava Christmas - Sitter" for my card.

Isn't she cute?

The inspiration photo was so pretty, but that big red velvet ribbon really caught my eye.  One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is all of the beautiful ribbons and packaging.  So that's what inspired my card.

I started by printing her out twice.

I colored one image with Copics and then covered the other image with red velvet flock.

Here she is in soft fluffy flock. 

(I ended up just using the hat on my card)

And here's Ava all put together.  I popped up her velvet hat with dimensionals and embellished it with a glitter pen.

Every holiday card needs a little sparkle, but I didn't have any red jewels on hand,

so I grabbed a red Copic and made my own.

We've got loads of inspiration today from the CSAYL team and the Bugaboo team.  Be sure to check them out and then leave us a link over at CSAYL to your project.

Inky Inspiration

Today I'd like to introduce you to Nicholas. 

He's part of the Inky Impressions family and you can find him right here.

This image was SO much fun to color.  Nicholas is such a cutie!

After I colored his chameleon friend, I had to add some clear glaze over him to look shiny and more "lizardy".

And then I added a googly eye - couldn't resist.

Not only does Inky Impressions have great images to play with, they also have incredible embellishments.  One of my favorites are the Inky Dinky Drops.  The clear ones are great because you can leave them clear OR color them with Copics to match any project. 

I used a sketch from CPS for my layout and papers from the "Wander" collection by BasicGrey for the "Spots and Stripes" challenge over at Crafty Sentiments.  The sentiment and charm are both from Inky and work great with this Nicholas image.  The charm was inspired by the "Things with Wings" challenge over at Papertake Weekly.

Here's a peek at the inside...

I rarely finish the inside of my cards, but now I'm determined to start doing it on every single one.  It makes a card look so much more finished.  And it's actually really simple to do.  When I was done with the front of my card, I had a small pile of paper scraps.  I just cut them to size and then used a neutral color to stamp the same image that I had on the front of the card.  Easy - peasy!

If you'd like to see a quick tutorial on how I colored the grass, hop on over to the Inky Inspiration Blog and check it out!

Something for the boys

Even though I have a son, I never seem to have enough boy cards on hand.  Ribbon, glitter, jewels and all of that girly stuff is SO much fun to play with, and seems to end up on every card that I do!

Today I was determined to make a BOY card with none of that foo-foo stuff on it.

This image by Paper Makeup Stamps is called "Me and Pops"  - love it!

The papers are from the "Wander" collection by BasicGrey and the rub-on sentiment is by Stampin Up.

I added a couple of lime green glitter brads.  I know, I know....I couldn't help it.  But I think they work.  Also added a couple different colors of faux stitching.

I used this sketch by Deconstructing Jen for my layout.  You should really check out her blog - great sketches!  I rarely have time to play during the current challenges, but I print out LOTS of sketches to save for later.  In fact, I have an entire 3-ring binder just for sketches.  When I need a little inspiration I reach for my sketch binder to get the mojo-a-flowin'!

Works every time!

Thanks to those of you who popped in today.  Have a fantastic week! 

I'll be back on Thursday with a fun card and tutorial for Inky Impressions.

PS - For those of you who have asked, Pink Cat Studio has been taking a mini break over the summer.  They'll be back in the next month or so with cute new goodies!