TGIFC50 - Sketch Challenge with Awesomely Artistic

TGIF!! Happy Friday!! 

Okay, you're probably a little more excited than I am because my Fridays are like a Tuesday for our family.  But nonetheless, Friday means there is a new challenge going on over at TGIF Challenges!  Last week I did not participate.  The first weekend of the month usually means a Sunday post and Monday post with two other design teams that I am on, so the break was needed.  BUT the cards were all great!  Always tough to choose our favorite!

This week we have a sketch challenge for you and I looooooove it!  It was so fun to make this card and I think sketches are my favorite kind of challenges!

I chose 3 colors I don't normally use (one of which I hate to admit, I didn't even know was still current!)

I never use Elegant Eggplant but wouldn't you know I've used it twice now this month!

I also chose Delightful Dijon and Cucumber Crush.

I think the pop off of the kraft cardstock really brings it together.  

The panels really stand out - literally and figuratively :)

I shaded around all of the flowers with Sahara Sand and then added a few splatters as well.

I hope you join us for this week's challenge!  Make sure you tag your creations on IG, Pinterest and share around the web!  We love to see you tag TGIF Challenges facebook page too!

Have a great weekend!

-Holly 

Love You Sew!

I have been visiting my parents this week in PA.  My mom is my upline and has a bigger stamp collection than I do... So lucky for me, I get to ink some up that I don't own!

Sometimes this is good, sometimes it's bad!  She can be quite the enabler. 

This set is the hostess set from the Occasions Catalog called Love You Sew.  Pretty cute, huh?

I love the look of real stitches on cards too!  It's one of my favorite things to do on a card.

 

And of course I had to add some extra on the inside.  Now I have to pick which friend gets the card! I have many that love sewing, including my mom!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Holly

Congrats on Your Retirement!

 

Today my dear friend Kellie is retiring from the Air Force after 20+ years of dedicated service and sacrifice.  She looks way to young to be retiring doesn't she??

I'm so glad our paths crossed during my military career.  I can honestly say I have never worked for someone so caring and devoted.  Congrats on your career Kel!  Thanks for all you do!

 

Here is the card I made her.  I had this in mind as soon as I saw the set - driving off into a sunset - great way to start an adventure =)

 

 

I used the Shimmer White Cardstock which is perfect for watercoloring and it has a shimmer already on it - even after you add color!  Cool, right?  I did add some Wink of Stella to the balloons for some extra glitz.

 

I did break out an old retired set.  Comes in handy for my military friends. :)

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Leave some love for my friend Kellie!

 

-Holly

 

(Another) Mother's Day Card - SUO Challenge

I feel like I've only made Mother's Day cards for the past few weeks!  I hope you aren't getting sick of seeing them either!  I know I have posted at least 3 times - once for my etsy shop, once with the OSAT Blog Hop and just this past Sunday with the current CYCI challenge.

But I have been wanting to do the SUO Challenge.  I noticed their site had been down and thought maybe they were done, but they're back!! Woohoo!  I've been trying to enter challenges lately because they really are fun to take on!  I like to be challenged and sometimes they can really help get the stampin' mojo flowing.  

I was happy when I stumbled upon the SUO challenge site.  I really like to stick to SU stamps only (I only own about 3 Neat & Tangled stamps and I love SU for their coordinating ribbons, colors, paper, etc.   Stampin' Up! only chaalenge?  :) yes, please!

So here is the card I came up with for the challenge!  I love the flower branch from the Indescribable Gift set.  There is only another month left to get it - and I certainly recommend it!  It's been more that an Easter set to me!

I also chose to use 3 of the 5 current in-colors.  While I will certainly miss the in-colors that are done in June, I am really starting to love the 2014-2016 colors.

I added some gold shimmer to the middle of the flowers and cut the petals to really give it a 3D look.

I saved the sentiment for the inside as to not take away from the beautiful flowers on the card front.  These sentiments are retired, but a favorite.  Moms surely do shape us into who we are today.  I know my mom did. <3

I hope you enjoyed this card!  You may or may not see ONE more post about Mother's Day :)

Happy stamping!

-Holly

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Boys Will Be Boys & Pals Paper Arts Challenge

Happy Thursday everyone!  Today I have 3 cards for you - all featuring the Boys Will Be Boys stamp set from Stampin' Up!.  As a mom of three boys, this set was a must have.  I'm certainly glad I waited a bit to get it though because it was a weekly deal a few weeks ago.  Sometimes it's worth the wait! 

 

They also have 3 different backgrounds.  The first one is a neat coloring trick.  I stamped the robot in memento ink on whisper white and colored in between all of the robots with my light daffodil delight blendabilities.  These are no longer available to order, but what good are they if I don't use them??  The other option would be to buy a copic marker and do the same.

 

 

 

For the second one, I lined up the robot and stamped it vertically right onto the Lost Lagoon card base.  This was my 4yo son's favorite of the three.

 

I think that this card could pass for the sketch, but since it's not as close to the sketch as I'm sure the design team intended, I'm going to use my third card for the challenge.

 

For the last card and my very first Pals Paper Arts challenge entry, I used a piece of Sweet Taffy DSP for my background.  I thought the little hexagons went well with the robot. 

 

Here is the sketch for the challenge.  You can find the design team's inspiration here on the Pals Paper Arts page.

 

 

 

 

I added some basic black twine angled the sentiment to go with the sketch.  I also shaded the robot with smoky slate to give it some dimension. 

 

It was a hard choice of which one to enter.  I hope all three inspire you to have a little fun today!  Happy stamping :)

 

-Holly

 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Oh Baby Baby <3

I had to fill another order this weekend - this time for a baby boy card.  I was a little pressed for time and quite honestly needed to clean my room more than make another mess, so I kept it simple.  

For the first card, I chose a piece of DSP from the Best Year Ever pack.  This was a freebie from sale-a-bration this year, but have no fear - you can still get your hands on a pack.**

I used the Little Letters dies to cut out the word baby and I saved the letters for the other card. The "welcome" is from Celebrate Baby and the banners were just a simple and easy added detail.  

This card came together fairly quick too.  The alligator was a last minute choice.. I always hate adding something and then regret it later... This, however, I didn't regret.

A little frayed detail to the edges and it was complete :)

Two sweet coordinating cards <3  Now if you're wondering how you can still get the DSP from Sale-a-Bration, here's how! 

From the day Butterflies Thinlits are again available through April 30, we are bringing you two special offers:

1. Get the Butterflies Thinlits at a 15 percent discount--just $21.20!
2. Buy any of the Butterflies Thinlits Bundles at the already-discounted price and choose one of three FREE Sale-A-Bration items (only available while supplies last)!

• Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper (item 138633)
• Best Year Ever Accessory Pack (item 138634)
• Irresistibly Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper (item 138635)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!  See you tomorrow for Ten Minute Tuesday! :) 

-Holly

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

The Waters of Baptism...

A few weeks ago my friend Karishma ordered a few cards from me that she needed for April.  On Wednesday I asked her when she needed the baptism card and she said it was this Sunday!  I procrastinated and now here I was without the card made AND no idea what to do.  I don't own any stamps pertaining to baptism specifically, but I did have some current (and retired) biblical stamps.

Knowing that's all I had, I went to Pinterest to get some inspiration.  I found the punched out cross cards using the modern label punch.  I liked the idea, but wasn't sure I quite liked the look of the cross.  Then I remembered the PLxSU framelits and knew they'd work better for me.  

I was going to look for the woodsy paper in my adventure bound DSP stack.  As I flipped through I saw it!  Right there... WATER - waves of water :) it was perfect!!

I cut out the cross using one of the Project Life labels framelit.  To get the smaller piece across, I only ran it through halfway, flipped my platform and ran it halfway again.  I added dimensionals to give the card a little detail.  

The inside features a verse from the Blessings from Heaven (retired) and a strip of the same DSP.

I'm so glad it worked out like this! I hope you enjoyed this card! Don't forget to pin it, and thanks for stopping by!

-Holly

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Watercolor Wednesday

Well I think we can all talk about the big white elephant in the room and say that Tuesday came and went and my blog sat untouched.  Yesterday we spent the morning at the Mystic Aquarium, finished some shopping for the weekend and ended the night watching my husband play hockey at the rink.  My husband also finished my chalkboard banner for the kitchen!  

This was less than $15 :)  Please don't judge our carb intake haha!  Busy day for sure - sadly I didn't have 10 minutes for Ten Minutes (or less) Tuesday…

So I figured I would combine yesterday's quick thinking of a card and Watercolor Wednesday together.  The "quick" part about water coloring is that you can color fast and not worry about going outside of the lines!  

For today's card I chose the sets Choose Happiness and Feel Goods.  I had originally stamped the sentiment on the same layer but decided to cut it out and give it some dimension.  

See - have fun! Color outside of the lines! Who cares? =)

The very vintage buttons have been sitting on my desk for awhile now.  I just had yet to make a card I wanted to add one to.  I think it works here, don't you?  And the detail on the button - LOVE! 

So there you have it - TMT & WW mixed into one card! 

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to pin this card so you can make one too!

-Holly

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

PP237: Your Perfect Day

Anyone else out there wait until the last minute to do something??  

This week's Paper Player's Challenge was posted here on Sunday.  I made a card on Monday but I just wasn't feeling it.  It needed something.  So I scratched the idea and decided last night around 9 that I would make a brand new card and submit it before noon today!  

Yes, I procrastinate!  

Nonetheless, the card is done and I like it more than I thought I would! :)

Here is the sketch for The Paper Players Challenge #237:

And here is the card I came up with:

The original card I made was the horizontal sketch, but when I started thinking about a vertical concept, the cake from Your Perfect Day came to mind.

I added a few flowers that punched out perfectly with the old itty bitty punches.  Much easier than fussy cutting :)

So there you go!  Better late than never.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

-Holly

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog