Moxie Fab World - Happy for Hexagons

Hello!

I was motivated to play along with the Moxie Fab World's February challenge, Happy for Hexagons. Since I've seriously lacked motivation lately, this was exciting to me. The bad part is I made this card (and started another) more than a week ago, but I've lacked the "mojo" to even share it here! I'm trying my best to get myself going again. Why - I'm even going to get wild and crazy and take care of some laundry this morning. :)

I do love hexagons. A lot of the new trends that pop up take a while to grow on me. I'm just not that "with it", but the hexagons spoke to me early on.

This card was fun and I just started playing around with my new Fiskars Hexagon squeeze punch. After I got it, I was asking myself why I didn't get one a long time ago! I had a stamp set, but loved the look of the patterned paper hexagons, too (maybe more).

For this card, I used a negative from a punched hexagon and sponge inked the pattern using masculine colors. I've needed more masculine cards lately, particularly "Thinking of You" cards.

 

I used CTMH ink colors Indian Corn Blue, Cashmere, and Olive. I splashed CTMH Black reinker using a small paint brush and heat embossed the sentiment (Simon Says Stamp On the Edge stamp set) using Recollections Snow Ultra Fine embossing powder. Some enamel dots from my collection and a stamped "stitched" border (CTMH Simple Stitches) at the top finished it off.

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

Pin It

PaperTrey February Blog Hop Challenge

Hello!

I'm back. (Kind of). I have been dragging around here lately. A little cold got me down late last week and then I've still had the misfortune to not have much energy or mojo around here -- for much of anything! Luckily, I've got enough to keep everyone from starving and/or stinking. So we'll count our blessings there.

I noticed the PaperTrey Ink February Blog Hop Challenge up on some blogs I perused today and decided that it might motivate me enough to make something, actually take a photo of it, and then -GASP- blog about it! Since it had to be all done today, it seemed a good place to start. That way I can't sit the card on the bar in my kitchen and walk around it for 5 days thinking - "Oh! I need to post that card!" and then still continue to walk past it. Whaaatttt??? Insert shameful face here. What can I say? Mommy's tired!

I always see the Blog Hop and think awww that's fun. Then I realized today -- Hey I have some of these stamp sets, I can do this! ;) So, since I had a box I just received yesterday (I fell prey to the marketing wizards at PTI and bought some stuff during the big Anniversary sale. I was logging on to reorder some staples like white cardstock and came out with several stamp sets b/c of the sale. Yes, white paper = new, unnecessary stamp sets --- always! That makes total sense! I have a problem, perhaps I need a support group?)

So with this inspiration photo in mind, I inked up the Garden Grace stamp set. The pink dogwoods spoke to me. Because I love them.

 

 

I chose to stamp with the individual flowers and make a little bouquet. I couldn't get the large grouped bouquet to do what I wanted, and since that was clearly the stamp's fault and not mine, I just stuck that little gem back on the carrier sheet and picked up the little ones. It was fun. And I felt like I was boss over my own card again. That's always a plus.

 

I wanted it to be all soft pink and green with a touch of brown. So I stamped all the blooms in CTMH Baby Pink (1st and 2nd generation ink) and the leaves in Sweet Leaf (also, 1st and 2nd generation). The sentiment is using Tsukineko's VersaFine ink in Vintage Sepia. I stamped the little "berries" in CTMH Desert Sand, just to fill in gaps in the design and put a little of the natural brown into the image, as well.

 

 

 

 

 



I really like how it turned out. It's so soft and feminine. Country beautiful. I've always loved a soft pink and soft green together.  The colors of my "teenage self's bedroom" -- with, you guessed it, the natural brown trim. (It was the early 90's - please don't judge. I loved it and I can still picture it in my mind.) The only other design items on this card are the piece of green patterned cardstock from the Sweet Girl 6x6 pad from My Mind's Eye and May Arts jute twine.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

 

Pin It

MUSE Challenge #55

I LERVE the inspiration piece over at the MUSE Challenge this week. LERVE. IT. And, since I'm needing several masculine Thinking of You cards, I found it to be quite inspiring.

 

For my card, I used the Cuttlebug "Love Triangles" Embossing Folder and stamped an accent panel using Avery Elle's "All Squared Up" stamp set. I stuck with blues and greens to keep it masculine, but am thinking another version with the rainbow colors like pictured above may be in order.

 



My colors are CTMH's Sky, Pacifica, Sweet Leaf, and Olive for the masculine feel. I added some enamel dots in a navy blue from Teresa Collins. It was a pretty quick one to make.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

God Bless,
Mandy Pin It

Retro Sketches #102

Hello!

My last few posts I've mentioned my "job" of working on "thinking of you" cards this week and this one is no exception. I love how it turned out. I've loved this piece of patterned paper ever since my Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic 6x6 pad came in the mail from scrapbooksteals. But it was so "busy" I wasn't sure how to use it without making it look janky. (That's a sister/West TN term -- but still quite relevant!)  =)  I decided that it worked perfectly with this sketch. I also am smitten with this sketch over at Retro Sketches. I have to file it away for future use!

Here is my card using that coveted piece of paper:

 

I layered a piece of Cashmere (CTMH) colored cardstock using foam tape. All of the stamping was done from WPlus9's Fresh Cut Floral stamp set (total yumminess!)

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

God bless,

Mandy

Pin It

CASE Studay #178

And hello! (If you are in the Nashville area, that's Gerry House and one of his funny impersonations of local government official!)

I've been trying to make up for lost time in my crafty space the past couple of days AND while I'm doing that catch up on some 'thinking of you' cards. I'm plum out!

Here is this week's CASE Studay inspiration piece. It's really cute. I was "inspired" but I'm not sure I like mine near as much as the original. =)

 

Here is my card using PTI's Autumn Pattern Pieces in CTMH's Tulip, Sunflower, and Sunset. (LOVE these colors together!)

 



I layered my stamped panel on a piece of BoBunny cardstock in a matching red and over a piece of gray patterned paper from the Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic 6x6 pad. The sentiment comes from PTI's Heart to Heart mini set #6. The wood veneer clouds are from Freckled Fawn (thanks Big Daddy). They've been out on my desk since Chrstimas and I decided I had to glue them to something!

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

God Bless,
Mandy Pin It

CAS(E) this Sketch #64

Hello there! I've been so busy lately and deeply missing my crafty space. Fortunately, the kids were able to play outside this morning and I spent a good part of my day giving a little TLC to my Fortress of Solitude. It was long overdue. I'm happy that I now have some cards to share!

I've been trying to catch up on some Thinking of You cards, I seem to need those a lot lately, but for some reason don't make them until I need them. I'm aiming to change that! I need to have some on hand -- if I wait til I need them, I'm not very good at sending them out. (which is part of the point right? ...and notice I say part of the point -- I think even if I had nowhere to send them or use them, I would still craft away. I am so grateful I have this hobby because I really do believe it keeps me sane!)

Here is a sketch from over at CAS(E) this Sketch I used for inspiration today. Sadly, the family needs a sympathy card this week. In fact, Big Daddy is driving to a visitation now. :(

 

I'm quite a fan of all of CAS(E) this Sketch sketches. (say that 20 times really fast) and I decided today, I need to save a bunch of copies for when I am "stuck".

Here is my card using one of my favorite flower stamps, "Mum's the Word" by PaperTrey Ink. I do tend to forget about it, but today I found it stuck back in the very back of my PTI stamp drawer! GASP. (But, it's kind of like getting a new stamp all over again when I find one I forgot about.) hee hee.

 

I'm still totally enamoured with all things wood / woodgrain and I don't expect that to change anytime soon. I love this yellow piece behind the accent panel. I stamped the mums in CTMH Sunflower and Goldrush. And actually made the effort to mask off the first one I stamped before adding it's little 'friends'. I love how it looks when it's masked, but for someone who LOVES to spend every free minute crafting, I can be a little lazy. But, I'm working on it. That's my goal this year. ... if I'm going to be lazy and not do it "right", I shouldn't make it at all. As the kids used to say when in pre-school, "It's not a race!".

 

The sentiment is from PTI's Boutique Border mini stamp sets. I've got a few of those because I adore them, but I've failed to ink them up very  much. Prior to laying down the accent panels, I stamped the Hero Arts Envelope Pattern background stamp on the Kraft card base.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

Pin It

Colour Q #227

Hello crafty friends -- I'm popping in to share a fun "Valentine's Card" I made using Avery Elle's Ikat Additions stamp set and pink, pink and red! I'm not a huge Valentine card person and I don't usually dig the colors, but I decided it was a challenge I could get on board with. I love taking "non-holiday" products and altering the colors to make it correlate. It just seems fun to me. And I feel like I can stretch my supplies that way. Since I don't dig on the Valentine's goodies, I don't really have any specifically themed stamp sets. (Which is a shock in and of itself) but I'll make it work with what I have.

I used the Colour Q colors when inking up my new set. And think this turned out quite cute. I'm telling myself I need to make a few more and ACTUALLY MAIL them to my nieces and nephews - but I tend to do far more idea generating than I do idea implementing. (Insert emoticon of shame here). I know I have a busy week this week and won't be home near as much as usual, so I'm not going to hold my breath. But it's still early and I can bask in my optimism for one more day.

 

 

 

Here is my card:

 

 

I am using CTMH colors of Tulip and Blush and Distress Ink's Worn Lipstick (don't ask). I added sequins from Lawn Fawns's Peace Joy Love collection (GREAT red in there. They were out on my desk and a great match. LOVE when that happens!)  The base is Blush cardstock embossed with my PTI Canvas & Linen impression plate. The sentiment is from Avery Elle's Laurels stamp set. (another font nerd addition - just look at that script)

 

 

Thanks for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

Pin It

Monday Mood Board #26

Good evening!

I'm popping in for a quick post after a busy weekend. The kids had "play dates" all day Saturday and I did housework all day today while Big Daddy had to work! Hopefully, I won't have to be rocked to sleep tonight. We have another busy week ahead of us and no time off in sight for the man of the house, it's still just me and The Piglets holding down the fort. And with the weather being so uncooperative, we barely get out of the house. We will ALL welcome spring time for so many reasons! Big Daddy and I keep laughing about the youtube video we saw of the little boy who was tired of shoveling snow after 10 minutes and screams up to the sky "JESUS MAKE IT WARM!". The background of the video is so obviously the mother laughing, in hysterics. I shouted this myself tonight after cleaning up another kitty cat mess -- we've bit the bullet and let them sleep inside because of the cold. We are such softies. But I am counting down to warmer days and the absence of guilt for making them sleep in the garage! =)

Ok - enough about that! I should finish this post. I played in my room Friday night and then all day Saturday while the kids were otherwise occupied with their friends. (BLISSFUL) Here is a card I made with my newly acquired (hoarded Christmas gift card finally spent, thank you very much) WPlus9 Fresh Cut Florals. (I SO LOVE IT!!! So versatile!)

Here is the photo inspiration over at WPlus9's Monday Mood Board:

 

And here is my card:

 

The background patterned paper is a piece from Dear Lizzy's 5th & Frolic 6x6 pad. The front banner is hand trimmed from Colonial White CTMH cardstock and then stamped from Fresh Cut Florals. The bottom layer flower is Blush ink, the inner flower is Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, and the leaves are 1st and 2nd Generation Olive Ink. It was SO fun! and I REALLY like how it turned out! I fell in love with the fonts in this stamp set (I've decided I am a font nerd)  and some of the others out with WPlus9.

 

Thanks for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

 

 

Pin It

Seize The Sketch #13 and CASology #81

Good evening.
I have fooled around and got myself so busy this week, I've been neglecting my blog posts. I've made a few cards this week that I want to share. It seems waiting for everyone to get to bed is my only time right now! And, that time is usually reserved for me sitting, staring at the walls, and drooling. Phew. This motherhood thing is not for the faint of heart, is it?!

I had so much fun with this card earlier this week. I combined the sketch from over at Seize the Sketch and this week's cue card from CASology.

  

The fun part comes in (for me) with my sentiment. I used my new sketch pen holder for my Silhouette and a black Pilot G-2 pen! I really felt like I was high on the hog the day I got this working. IT IS FUN.

I needed a wedding gift card for a shower coming up later this month and I thought the sentiment was perfect. I created this in my Silhouette Design Studio using a font I had picked up sometime ago for scrapbooking, SNF Ambrosia. I moved things around til it was close enough for goverment work and also used the welding tool. Since I'm not as adept at it as I'd like to be, I was pretty pleased with how it came out. The pen holder allows your pen to mark up the image just as a blade would cut it. Once it was out and off the mat, I used a light gray Spectrum Noir Marker to fill in the centers of each letter, VERY CAREFULLY just to give it some extra highlighting. 

After matting it and laying out my card base, I added the resin flower leftover from my CTMH Pemberly kit and stamped the little leaves from Paper Smooches Reflections stamp set. For a final touch to "fancy it up" for a wedding shower, I added the tiny adhesive pearl gems. 

Thanks for stopping by and sharing the fun! =) 

God Bless, 

Mandy

Pin It

Fusion Challenge #3

Hello --
After a busy (and quick - the kids went to school 2 hrs late!) day, I'm catching up on a blog post in silence. It's almost scary! The kids are showering while supper is in the oven and I'm cheating by avoiding the mountains of clean laundry I need to fold! Hee hee!

I made a card over the weekend to play along with the current Fusion Challenge. I really liked the sketch.

Here is my card using my papers from Echo Park's Head Over Heels 6x6 paper pad. I love this one because most of the patterns do not have  to be used on Valentine's projects. And it threw in some Sky Blue - which I'm a sucker for -- especially if paired with red. (ever since my Baby Boy came into the world)

I covered most of my Kraft card base with the red dotted paper and covered that in vellum to tone it down a notch. A little wonky stitching on the top and bottom keeps it from floating around and no adhesive showing. The paper scraps were cut into mostly similar sized rectangles and adhere and wonky stitched onto a cardstock strip before adhering to the card base. I die cut the heart using my Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge and added a couple of wood veneer hearts to balance it out. The sentiment is white embossed from Paper Smooches Scripty Sayings set. 

Thank you for stopping by! 

God Bless,

Mandy

Pin It

CAS(E) Study Challenge #176

Happy Weekend!

It's so sunny and warm here in TN today. Not supposed to last, but it's still a nice little break. The kids are getting to play outside and that means ALOT. Anyone with kids knows how important that is -- for everybody in the house!

I got a chance to play along with CASE Study this week. I love all of the beautiful cards shown this month by Donna Mikasa. Her stuff is always so pretty!

Here is this week's inspiration:

Here is my card using Paper Smooches Reflections stamp set and Scripty Sayings (I can't get enough of!): 

I used PTI's Simply Chartreuse ink and stamped the leaf branch in a circular pattern, lining up the base of the stems in the center. The "berries" are stamped in PTI's Rasberry Fizz ink. I trimmed a piece of vellum and stamped the sentiment in Onyx Black pigment ink before adhering. Everything is matted on Gray Wool cardstock base. 

Thanks for stopping by to visit! 

God Bless, 

Mandy

Pin It