Avery Elle's June AEI♥U Challenge Part No. 2

Happy Sunday!  As I am on a crafting/blogging roll, Thursday night I made a second attempt at the Avery Elle's June AEI♥U Challenge.   You can find my first attempt HERE. 

 

 

This time around I began with the adorable smaller tag from the Simply Tags: Everyday die designed by uber talented Nina Yang (yes she created the sketch above too).  I cut 4 tags out of the My Girl 6x6 paper pad by American Crafts...such a sweet collection with pretty summery colors.  I added some grey and white baker's twine to each tag.  Now this is when things got dicey.  I ended up playing around with these four tags a lot.  And I mean a lot.  Some cards come together quickly and easily and others just don't.  This one was hard fought.

Here's the great sketch by Nina Yang again:

I decided to emboss the white panel with a nifty honeycomb embossing folder which mimics the hexagons found on the multi-colored hexagon patterned paper.  I pulled out the yellow from the hexagon patterned paper and stamped the sentiment from Air Mail and then die cut it out. 

A little digression, if I may.  Mail and travel themes go for my jugular.  They slay me.  I can't resist them.  Seriously, can...not...resist.  So imagine how thrilled I was with Air Mail.  More thrilled than the camel on hump day.  Watch out as I have a We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board coming my way and I have not even scratched the surface on this baby!  End of my little digression.

After placing the tags on the panel I figured what it needed was a central image.  I went through chipboard, pages of stickers, cabochons and diecuts until I found a lovely diecut from the Amy Tangerine/American Crafts' Yes, Please collection Bits (die cut cardstock shapes).  It was adorable, but not the right colors and a tad big for what I needed.  Still it was a jumping off point.  (Note to self: next Avery Elle order add Petals and Stems).

Here's my inspiration by Amy Tangerine/American Crafts from the Yes, Please collection:

I got out a pencil and drew a rose and some leaves in a similar fashion, painted it in with watered down Distress Markers and to get the right tone distressed the flower with Distress Inks.  Now I was getting somewhere!

I adhered everything down onto the white panel.  Then I added some aqua blue sequins (needed some sequins!) and some stickles to the flower and leaves just for something extra.  Last I adhered the white panel to a yellow card base.

Voila!  The tale of a challenging card.  I hope you enjoy it and thank you for staying with me during my rambling.

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:
Stamp: Air Mail, Avery Elle
Ink: harvest gold, Papertrey Ink; antique linen and scattered straw, Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger
Cardstock: stampers select white, Papertrey Ink; yellow, stash
Patterned Paper: My Girl 6x6 paper pad, American Crafts
Die: Simply Tags: Everyday die, Avery Elle
Other: Cuttlebug, Provo Craft; Honeycomb embossing folders, Lifestyle Crafts; circle nestabilities dies, Spellbinders; baker's twine, Whisker Graphics; pencil; worn lipstick, spiced marmalade and barn door, Tim Holtz Distress Markers, by Ranger; paint brush; water; Inkssentials ink blending tool, Ranger; aqua sequins, Studio Calico; star dust stickles, Ranger;dimensional adhesive

Avery Elle's June AEI♥U Challenge

Ever have some products parked in a shopping cart because you are eyeing them something awful, but the craft money is already spent?  This was me with Avery Elle for a few months before I vowed that I would buy something.  When they sweetened the offer for their first anniversary with an adorable free stamp set, Party Animal, I knew the time had come.  That stamp set was way too cute to pass up!  For your information, the offer is good until the end of this month, June 2013 {wink}.  Let me also assure you that their customer service is excellent! 

Avery Elle has a monthly AEI♥U Challenge that I am finally going to enter using this great card sketch:

I took a chance and went with purple.  I decided to mix the purple with a lot of white and touches of grey and silver.  Here is what I created:

I used a mix of stamps and dies from Avery Elle and just had fun playing around.  I love the Chevron Border die and used the little diamond pieces from inside the die designed by JJ Bolton (for more examples on how to use this die and others check out JJ Bolton's blog).  I plan on experimenting with this awesome die some more!  Another fun stamp set with matching dies are the Simply Tags: Everyday stamp set and dies designed by Nina Yang (who also designed that cool sketch above).  I used the larger tag die which I embossed and stamped the sentiment in purple only to stamp over it with VersaMark and emboss with silver embossing powder.

For the subtle background behind the diamonds I stamped the ikat chevron (love!) from Ikat Additions in grey.  This stamp set is a doozy and under $5.00!

One last picture where you can see the silver of the embossed sentiment a little better:

So the moral of the story is that if you have been itching to buy some Avery Elle products I recommend doing so before July 1st or any time really as you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:
Stamps: Ikat Additions and Simply Tags: Everyday, Avery Elle
Ink: weather vane and lavender sachet, Jenni Bowlin for Ranger; VersaMark, Tsukineko
Cardstock: solar white, Neenah Paper
Patterned paper: Hero Arts
Dies: Simply Tags: Everyday ELLE-ments and Chevron Border ELLE-ments, Avery Elle
Other: Zig Zag embossing folders, Lifestyle Crafts; Cuttlebug, Provo Crafts; silver embossing powder, Ranger; jewels and pearl, Hero Arts; dimensional adhesive

Mama Elephant Sketch Challenge 03

Happy Sunday!  Today I am here with a quick card for Mama Elephant's Sketch Challenge 03.

Triangles and arrows are all the rage right now.  Perhaps I am not trendy, but with Mama Elephant stamps at least I can pretend to be!  For some reason I thought about paper weaving which became the the beginning of this card.  I picked out a rainbow, ombre triangle patterned paper from Studio Calico's Snippet 6x6 paper pad.  Ombre + rainbows + triangles = trend-tasticness!

Here is the card I came up with:

Fun, right?  I was happy that I was able to stack the sentiment from Geotagged over the bull's eye from On Target.  All of the arrows are from On Target as well.

I accented the patterned paper with three enamel dots following the sketch.

That's it for now, but I will be back tomorrow for Man Oh Man Monday.

Happy creating,
Shay.

Stamps: On Target and Geotagged, Mama Elephant
Inks: limeade ice and ocean tides, Papertrey Ink; charcoal, butter bar, soft cantaloupe and pale tomato shadow inks, Hero Arts
Cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific
Patterned Paper: Snippets collection 6x6 paper pad, Studio Calico
Other: He Said She Said (She Said) enamel dots, Teresa Collins; dimensional adhesive

Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger: Pattern Play

Good evening!

Tonight I thought I would quickly share a card I created for this week's Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World:

I think my take is pretty literal...again.  I was inspired by the colors and design.  I searched through my embossing powders for colors similar to the Trigger.  Here is what my card ended up looking like:

 

 

Most of the stamping is embossed, with some accents added with Distress Markers, Copic colored gems and a tiny bit of cross stitch.  I hope you like it.

Have a magnificent Monday!  And thank you so much for taking the time to stop by.

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:
Stamps: Delightful Doilies, Giga Guide Lines and Pretty Peonies, Papertrey Ink
Ink: VersaMark, Tsukineko; rich razzleberry, Stampin' Up!
Cardstock: rich razzleberry, Stampin' Up!; pale grey, stash; vellum
Patterned Paper: Census from Basics collection, Basic Grey
Other: old paper and milled lavender Tim Holtz Distress embossing powder, Ranger; powder Zing! embossing powder, American Crafts; Double-Ended Banners die, Papertrey Ink; Cuttlebug, Provo Craft; embroidery floss no. 415, DMC; rusty hinge, broken china and dusty concord, Tim Holtz Distress Markers by Ranger; blue violet (BV08), hydrangea blue (BV13), sepia (E37), Copic; gems, stash; Tiny Attacher, Tim Holtz

Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #104: Handmade Pinwheels

Dear Reader,

I found myself taking some time off blogging this week and was enjoying being the observer of beautiful art, creating and crafting that happens all over the world.  I did make a card during my siesta.   This week's Make It Monday #104: Handmade Pinwheels caught my attention.  Does anyone else remember the show "Pinwheel"...as in "pinwheel, pinwheel spinning around look at my pinwheel and see what I found?"  Good times.  Anyway, Ashley Cannon Newell did a video showing a couple of options for making pinwheels that are super easy, but so fun and capture the happiness from childhood.

I went with cutting a larger square and a smaller scalloped square to create a double layer pinwheel.  All the patterned paper for this card come from Dear Lizzy's Neapolitan collection.  This may be a slightly older collection, but it is gorgeous and perfect for spring and summer which can be mixed up with other Dear Lizzy collections or numerous collections and products.

I stamped the lined ray from Hello Sunshine in yellow on piece of white cardstock cut from Tag Sale #5 Die...this is an endlessly useful shape and paired with the Wine Bottle Tag Die makes an instant statement.  I added a little border of the floral design (from a strip found on the sea breeze paper) to each side of the Wine Bottle Tag Die.  I adhered my pinwheels to the tag and then adhered it all to a piece of white cardstock.  I stamped the sentiment in soft stone ink.  Last touch was a yellow enamel dot to the center of the smaller pinwheel.

There you have it...a pretty pinwheel card. 

I hope you have a delightful Sunday and enjoy the Oscars!

Happy creating,
Shay.

A Note of Thanks card
Supplies:
Stamps: Hello Sunshine and Happy Trails, Papertrey Ink
Ink: lemon drops, Jenni Bowlin for Ranger; soft stone, Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific
Patterened Paper: Sea Breeze and Cheerful Notes from Neapolitan collection, Dear Lizzy/American Crafts
Other: square and scallop square Nestabilities, Spellbinders; Tag Sale #5 Die and Wine Bottle Tag Die, Papertrey Ink; Cuttlebug, Provo Craft; The Sweetest Thing Honey "Love" Enamel Dots, My Mind's Eye

Simon Says Stamp Challenge: White on White

Dear Reader,

First, I wanted to welcome all the new followers to my little blog as well as all of the kind comments.  Thank you so much!  It is a real joy and honor.

 

Now on to tonight's offering.

 

 

I took on the Simon Says Stamp! challenge from their challenge blog for the first time--the White on White challenge.  I won't lie I did some struggling with this one especially as I pulled out the Sew Easy for the first time.  It wasn't the actual tool that was the problem, but my inability to sew.  Talk about a learning curve!

I used two embossing folders from the Fabric Swatches Set by Cuttlebug to add some texture and interest.  I decided to use the Midnight Letters from Mama Elephant...I have been wanting to use this stamp set (oh so cool!) and they were the perfect size to fit in the squares.  I added just a touch of pale grey. 

I hope you enjoyed my card.  Thank you so much for visiting.  Have a terrific Tuesday!

Happy creating,
Shay.

Wish Big Card
Supplies:
Stamps: Midnight Letters, Mama Elephant
Ink: soft stone, Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific; grey, stash
Other: Fabric Swatched Set embossing folders, Cuttlebug; Cuttlebug, Provo Craft; Sew Easy Stitch Piercer Handle and zig zap attachment, We R Memory Keepers; circle and scallop circle Nestabilities, Spellbinders; white embroidery floss (25), DMC; fresh snow buttons, Papertrey Ink; brad setter & piercing tool, We R Memory Keepers

Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger: I've a Notion

Dear Reader,

It was one of those days when a 20 minute chore blossomed into a 2 hour project.  I don't mean the card I am going to share with you presently...I was able to fit working on it today in fits and starts.  It began with an image from Moxie Fab World for it's Tuesday Trigger: I've a Notion:

I am digging the peach/melon/orange and grey color scheme and I love the notions.   I thought why not make a card with the colors and the design of this picture?  It may be pretty literal, but I had fun.

I got out my Label Basics stamp set from Papertrey Ink again as this card HERE sparked the basis of this card only this time around I was very specific about where I placed the shapes and also paper pieced.  I searched my collection of 6x6 paper pads for various patterned papers that worked for the color scheme and sort of followed the picture for placement.  I added a piece of lace dyed with very watered down Mister Huey's for a peach color, baker's twine, three grey buttons and a little silver embossed vellum square for the sentiment.

I hope you enjoyed tonight's card!  Have a great beginning to your week.

Happy Creating,
Shay.

I've a Notion Card
Supplies:
Stamps: Label Basics, Borders and Corners Square and Tiny Tags, Papertrey Ink
Ink: soft stone, Papertrey Ink; VersaMark, Tsukineko
Cardstock: grey, stash
Paper: vellum
Patterned Paper: Plumeria 6x6 paper pad, Basic Grey; Tangerine and Honey the sweetest thing 6x6 paper pads, Love Me 6x6 paper pad and Nostalgia 6x6 paper pad, My Mind's Eye; Paper Heart 6x6 paper pad, Crate Paper; Now & Then 6x6 paper pad, Teresa Collins; and Hello Friend 6" Glitz Paper Pack, Glitz Design
Other: buttons from Sasaparilla collection, October Afternoon; Lucille Mister Huey's Color Mists, Studio Calico; grey and white baker's twine, Divine Twine by Whisper Graphics; silver embossing powder, Ranger; circle nestabilities dies, Spellbinders; Cuttlebug, Provo Craft; dimensional adhesive

Papertrey Ink's 6th Anniversary: Boutique Accessory Challenge

Dear Reader,

Today on Nichole Heady's blog is a different challenge in honor of Papertrey Ink's 6th Anniversary: a boutique accessory challenge to make something to adorn your person.  This is certainly a challenge for me...in fact I considered sitting this one out.  Still we don't grow unless we push ourselves, right?  So I pushed myself.  Actually the hardest part of my project was locating a needle after recently going through a large reorganization of my studio.

 

 

I have one piece of felt from Papertrey Ink in true black so that is where I began.  I cut out of it with the middle sized die from delightful doilies die collection.  A little aside: this was my first time using the felt and like others have mentioned before it cut like a dream.  I found a cool black and gold mesh fabric in my stash that I cut a couple of hearts out of.  I attached the layers by sewing on buttons for a punch of color.  I added a hair tie to the back of each piece.

I decided to decorate a tag to place the hair ties upon for presentation or gifting.  I used aqua, red and black inks to stamp images from Delightful Doilies.  The tag ended up too busy so I added a layer of vellum that I attached with a piece of ribbon and tiny attacher.  Before I attached the vellum I added an edge of gold with a gold leafing pen.

It is pretty elementary, but I am happy I attempted this challenge.  I hope your day was a delightful one!

Thank you so much for visiting.

Happy creating,
Shay 

Supplies:
Stamps: Delightful Doilies, Papertrey Ink
Ink: speckled egg, chili powder and fountain pen, Jenni Bowlin for Ranger
Paper: vellum; manila tag
Other: delightful doilies die collection, Papertrey Ink; true black felt, Papertrey Ink; aqua mist twill tape, Papertrey Ink; holiday mix vintage button mix, Papertrey Ink; black emboidery floss (no. 310), DMC; gold leafing pen, Elmer's; TIm Holtz Tiny Attacher

Papertrey Ink's 6th Anniversary: Color Inspiration No. 5

Dear Reader,

Tonight found me scrambling to come up with a card after I spent a good bit of time unpacking my Studio Calico box full of my February goodies after I got home from work.   It is a good day when my Studio Calico box is delivered by my friendly UPS guy.

Anyway, Nichole Heady of Papertrey Ink challenged us with six color inspiration options.  You can find out more about it HERE.

I went for a soft pretty color combination which is different than my norm:

This is the card I created using the colors (perhaps you can see that I was inspired by Maile Belles?):



I started my card by stamping nearly every image from Label Basics in soft stone ink on a piece of cardstock that is similar in color to fine linen.  I rounded the bottom corner of the cardstock and adhered it to a kraft card base rounding the bottom corners.  I cut a piece of scarlet jewel cardstock using photo finish strips die collection (simple strip) and also cut a piece of patterned paper from Hello Friend 6" Glitz Paper Pad (which happens to have shades of fine linen, kraft and melon berry) using the same die that I then cut thinner than the scarlet jewel strip.  I cut out the tiny tags die and stamped "love" from the Tiny Tags stamp set in a ink similar to scarlet jewel.  I tied the tag onto the strip using twine.  I adhered the strip to the card base using dimensional adhesive and lastly I "sprinkled" sequins in colors that reminded me of melon berry.

There you have it.  That is all from me tonight as it is time for sleep.

Happy creating,
Shay.

Love card
Supplies:
Stamps: Label Basics and Tiny Tags, Papertrey Ink
Ink: soft stone, Papertrey Ink; raspberry jam mid-tone shadow ink, Hero Arts
Cardstock; earthstone, Neenah Paper; scarlet jewel and kraft, Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Hello Love 6" Glitz Paper Pack, Glitz Design
Other: photo finish strips die collection and tiny tags die, Papertrey Ink; hemp twine; sequins; dimensional adhesive; Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, We R Memory Keepers

Papertrey Ink's 6th Anniversary: Sketch Challenge

Dear Reader,

I am back with a couple of cards I created using the card sketches over on Nichole Heady's blog for Papertrey Ink.  You can find the sketches HERE.  I decided to try my hand at Sketch No. 2 and Sketch No. 3. 

 

For Sketch No. 2 I was immediately reminded of the free printable by Heather Nichols that I had not yet had an opportunity to use.  I also happened to have a piece of vellum I had cut earlier in the day using the doubled-ended banner die from vellum and from there this card practically made itself!  I embossed birthday from Botanical Silhouettes with white embossing powder and then I inked the vellum with spring rain and aqua mist inks to get it the light happy blue that mimicked the blue I was covering up on the printable.  I folded the banner for more dimension and that made it easier to attach to the printable without seeing the adhesive.  The printable is adhered using dimensional adhesive to a kraft panel that I notched with 3/4" circle punch on each side.  I tied some hemp twine around the notches and adhered the kraft panel to a white card base with dimensional adhesive.

 

 

For Sketch No. 3 I decided to use the XOXO border die to create the v pattern.  I cut the XOXO four times from dark chocolate, pure poppy, raspberry fizz and hibiscus burst card stock.  I love that one of the remnants from the die are several dots.  I used one of each color dot on the bend of the v which I adhered with dimensional adhesive.  I then added a little bling onto each dot.  For the last touch to the card I stamped the sentiment in raspberry fizz ink from Heart Prints.

And there you have it.  I hope you had a delightful weekend and that your Monday is a brilliant beginning to your week.

Thank you so much for visiting!

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:
Stamps: Botanical Silhouettes (limited edition) and Heart Prints, Papertrey Ink
Ink: VersaMark, Tsukineko; spring rain, aqua mist and raspberry fizz, Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific; white (printable), Neenah Paper; kraft, dark chocolate, pure poppy, raspberry fizz and hibiscus burst, Papertrey Ink
Paper: vellum
Other: opaque white embossing powder, JudiKins; double-ended banners die, Papertrey Ink; 3/4" circle punch, Stampin' Up!; hemp twine; dimensional adhesive; XOXO border die, Papertrey Ink; clear jewels

Moxie Fab Challenge: Stamp With a Homemade Stamp

Dear Reader:

I have a little card for you tonight for the Moxie Fab World Challenge: Stamp With a Homemade Stamp.  I have two handcarved stamps of ladies with a lot of hair...sure, not the finest examples of handcarving or art, but I thought I would try making a card with them.

The gals with hair to spare:

The card:

I decided to do a friendship card using Glitz Design's hello friend stamps and patterned paper from Fourteen 6x6 paper pad by Crate Paper and Dear Lizzy's Neapolitan 6x6 paper pad.  I created the equal sign from exclamation point (without the point) from American Crafts' Remarks Chelsea.

I added a little bit of aqua Divine Twine, pink button (notice the equal looking design on it?  Perfect) and pink polka dot washi to finish it off.

Another look at the card:

Okay, I have an admission to make.  My sister thought this card was slightly creepy in a "Single White Female" sort of way....I hope she is the only one!  If she's right, if you have a friend who is like your twin (or mirror image), this is the card for you!

Happy creating,
Shay.

You & Me = Friends Card
Supplies:
Stamps: women, handcarved; you & me and friends from hello friends collection, Glitz Design
Ink: chewing gum and speckled egg, Jenni Bowlin for Ranger
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific
Patterned Paper: Neapolitan 6x6 paper pad, Dear Lizzy/American Crafts; Fourteen 6x6 paper pad, Crate Paper
Other: pink button, Buttons Galore & More; aqua bakers twine, Divine Twine; Remarks Chelsea, American Crafts; washi

Winter Wonderland: Lawnscaping Challenge No. 50

Dear Reader,

I am making a last minute entry into the Lawnscaping Challenge No. 50 Winter Wonderland.  Lawn Fawn is adorable and the ladies of Lawnscaping are adorable so how could I not be motivated to make something?

I also realized that this little number is going to be entered into Moxie Fab World's Make a Card with a Window Challenge (Challenge No. 60).  Love when these sort of serendipitous occurrences happen!

I am suddenly back into embossing and putting my embossing folder collection to work!  This morning I saw a video by My Craft Channel about embossing acetate and decided to give it a whirl.

Here is the card I cooked up:

Because I added dimensional adhesive behind the little reindeer you can see the white from inside the card, but it still looks pretty cute.  The gold embossing on the reindeer doesn't really show up too well...in real life it is a sweet little touch all colored in with Tim Holtz Distress Markers.

Perhaps you can see the gold a bit better here as well as the scene behind the acetate:

I used Let It Snow and Critters in the Snow by Lawn Fawn for this little number with lots of white embossing powder and Versamark on some unusual choices of paper from Basic Grey's Soleil 6x6 paper pad and the wood grain from Studio Calico's Heyday 6x6 paper pad.  With some additions of a Spellbinder's circle Nestabilities die and winter themed Cuttlebug embossing (I did sand it lightly to help the pattern show a bit better).

Here is a little better view of the embossed acetate:

And a last look at the card:

I am bit pressed for time so that's it from me tonight.

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit!

Happy creating,
Shay.

Let It Snow Snowglobe Card
Supplies:
Stamps: Let It Snow and Critters in the Snow, Lawn Fawn
Ink: Versamark, Tsuineko
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific
Patterned Paper: Soleil 6x6 paper pad, Basic Grey; Heyday 6x6 paper pad, Studio Calico
Other: opaque white embossing powder and detail metallic gold embossing powder, JudiKins; Tim Holtz Distress Markers, Ranger Ink; Corner Chomper, We R Memory Keepers; circle Nestabilities die, Spellbinders; embossing folder, Cuttlebug; acetate from packaging