Life Happens . . . Chocolate Helps!

Today's card was inspired by the photo inspiration at Just Add Ink.

I was inspired by the chocolate and really wanted to try my hand at a box of chocolates with a stamp and die that had been in my set for quite some time.

My one regret was not using gold paper for the wrappers for each candy. The last box of candy I had was from a company in Ohio who has gold foil box covers, which I did go with if you see the outline of the box. Their papers for each candy were brown, and I knew that wouldn't stand out so I used white. I felt like the gold would be too much, so I went with white. 

My overall goal was to create a card with chocolates that looked real, with that shine upon them. I used embossing powder to get the shine, and it definitely has shine. I may take this in a different direction next time.

But now I crave chocolate.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Life Happens . . . Chocolate Helps

Stamps and Dies:  Quilted Heart Backdrop Landscape (Lawn Fawn); chocolate2stamp and chocolates2Love Dies (The Stamps of Life);

Ink & Embossing:  Embossing Pad and French Toast Embossing Powder (Wow); Jet Black (Lawn Fawn);

Paper:  White Cardstock (Scrapbook Cards Today); Brushed Metallic Cardstock (Stampin' Up); Solar White (Neenah); Cranberry Cardstock (Concord & 9th); Early Espresso Cardstock (Stampin' Up);

Other:  Liquid Glass and Resin Mini Hearts (Close To My Heart);

My Favorite Color?

My card today was inspired by Seize the Birthday's inspiration of favorite color. 

I'm horrible with favorites. From colors to music. Movies to books. Beverages to foods. I never can choose. And if I do choose, it can only last about 42 seconds, and then my mind changes. 

And so my card today is inspired by my favorite color across the span of time it took me to create the card.

I am drawn to color combinations, and nothing beats a rainbow card. There is something about it that just makes me happy. I had the pattern paper on my desk from cards over the last few weeks, so I brought it in some matching inks to create my birthday card.

Am I the only person that stinks at determining favorites? (I secretly tell all my dogs they are my favorite.)

Crafting is my favorite! 

Debbie

Supplies Used - Celebrate

Stamps and Dies:   Celebrate Today Dies and Cardscapes Stamp Set (Concord & 9th);

Ink:  Honeysuckle, Buttercup and Oceanside Ink (Concord & 9th); Jet Black (Lawn Fawn);

Paper: White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today); Pattern Paper (Concord & 9th);

Other:  Clear Sequins (Concord & 9th); Silver Trim (Concord & 9th);

Another Ruff Day Design

I had the critters still on my desk from a few days ago when I created another card, so a CAS card for CAS on Friday seemed to be right in front of me.

Similar pups and sentiment that I used the other day, but a completely different look. Dogs on parade commiserating with you about a "ruff" day - who doesn't need that? 

If you have a furry friend in your life, tell them I said hello!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Heard You Had a Ruff Day, Sending Pawsitive Vibes

Stamps and Dies:  Bow Wow Dies (Photoplay); Newton's Kite Stamp Set (Newton's Nook); Simply Celebrate Pets Stamp Set (Lawn Fawn);

Ink & Embossing:  Midnight (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: Bow Wow Pattern Paper (Photoplay); White Cardstock (Park Lane); Licorice Cardstock (The Stamps of Life);

Other: Black Smooth Discs (Spellbinders); 

Masculine Shaker - Out of This World

Tonight's inspiration came from Little Red Wagon's prompt for a masculine card. For this card I pulled out a set from Pretty Pink Posh.

I kept my colors masculine, which is easy when it's space themed! I had fun with the little shaker windows. Shakers are always fun!

If you haven't created a shaker recently, you should definitely shift gears. They can be magical!

Shake it up! 

Debbie

Supplies Used - You're Out of This World

Stamps and Dies:  Stacked Squares Dies and Outer Space Stamp Set and Die (Pretty Pink Posh);

Ink & Embossing:  Jet Black (Lawn Fawn); Copic Markers; Black Jack (Catherine Pooler Ink);

Paper:  White Daisy Cardstock (Close To My Heart); Vintage Dots Pattern Paper (Simple Stories); Acetate (American Crafts);

Other: Clear Star Gel Pen (Sakura); Star Duo Stencil (Dare 2B Artzy); Starry Galaxy Mix (Pretty Pink Posh);

Ruff Day for Freshly Made

My card today was inspired by Freshly Made Sketches. I flipped the sketch for this one and went portrait (because I needed all the dogs). Here is the card . . . 

This particular card included paper and dies to match a stamp set. I only used the stamp set for the bone borders top and bottom. The rest of the card is all paper. 

I find that when working with matching paper/dies, you get a tremendous amount of dimension if you cut dies from white cardstock and stack your paper images on top. The images are sturdier, and it makes them pop. 

Love the message this card sends - perfect for dog lovers.

Go be creative!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Heard You Had a Ruff Day

Stamps and Dies:  Bow Wow Stamp Set and Dies (Photoplay);

Ink & Embossing:  Buttercream (Catherine Pooler Ink);

Paper: Bow Wow Pattern Paper (Photoplay); White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today);

Other: Washi Tape from Stash; Clear Sparkling Confetti (Pretty Pink Posh); 

Heat Embossing Goodness!

Another holiday card today, and this one was inspired by the challenge prompt at Christmas Card Throwdown. The current challenge is a technique challenge to use foil or hot embossing. I went with heat embossing for my card, and I used both gold and clear.

I have a number of sets with holiday lights. I used a Stampin' Up set in my stash that came with a punch. My gold embossing is in the center ring, in the base of the bulbs, the sentiment, and the edges of the cardstock panel. 

I used the clear embossing for each of my bulbs, stamping them with varying colors of ink and then triple embossing them with clear embossing powder to get the maximum shine.

Time-consuming, but worth the results for these bulps. 

Heat-gun goodness. Nothing more satisfying than melting embossing powder.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Friends Make the Season Shine Slimline

Stamps and Dies:  Making Christmas Bright and Making Every Day Bright Stamp Sets (Stampin' Up);

Ink & Embossing:  Embossing Powder, Clear Gloss Regular Embossing Powder (Wow); Cranberry Fizz, Martini, Glitz, Glam, Dress Blues, Uptown and Flame Ink (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock (Close To My Heart);

Other: Christmas Bulb Builder Punch (Stampin' Up); Crater Lake Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Design); 

Joy to the World - Color Inspiration

Today's card was inspired by Color Dare Challenge, where the colors led me to a holiday card. I tried to keep the colors as subtle as the image and have more greenery than the pinks. 

Pinkfresh Studios has such a great suite of products, and these were from a holiday event a few years ago.

I really enjoyed creating with this set. I hope you find time to enjoy the sets in your stash.

Be creative! 

Debbie

Supplies Used - Joy to the World

Stamps and Dies:  Art Deco Frame, Christmas Sentiments Stamp Set and Dies, Snowflakes Die, Berry Brach Stamps Set and Dies (Pinkfresh Studios);

Ink & Embossing:  Embossing Pad and Cream on the Top Embossing Glitter (Wow); Rose Petals, Peppermint Scrub, Sage, Spruce (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: White Cardstock (Scrapbook and Cards Today); White Glitter Cardstock (Close To My Heart);

Other: Ballet Slimmer Dies (Pinkfresh Studios);

Holiday Cheer for Christmas Kickstart Challenge

Today's card is inspired by Christmas Kickstart Challenge, where the challenge prompt was . . .

I created my card using some ornaments dies in my collection.

I went with ornaments in all the fun colors . . . perhaps I was thinking of a real merry-go-round? Most of my focus was on shading the ornaments. Once I had them done, I pulled them together with gold thread, gold sequins and gold foil cardstock. 

I love how this turned out and will happily add it to my holiday card stash!

Here's to making something festive this week.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Holiday Cheer

Stamps and Dies: Ornament Cover Die (Pretty Pink Posh); Christmas Friends Stamp Set (Gina K Designs);

Ink & Embossing: Jet Black (Lawn Fawn); Grape Crush, Something Borrowed, Deck the Halls, Limoncello, Cranberry Fizz (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: White and Gold Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today);

Other: Diamont Gold Thread (DMC); Gold Smooth Disc (Spellbinders); Tinsel Time Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs); 

Happy Birthday Cupcake Truck!

Today's card comes from the archives of my crafty supplies. I just adored creating with this stamp and die set from The Stamps of Life, and I pulled it back out along with some other crafty items when I saw the challenge at Seize the Birthday. 

For me it's about the details, and I took great pleasure in the awning and the treats on my "stainless steel" serving counter. Good enough to eat!

I hope you find some time to work on the details.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Happy Birthday Step Card

Supplies from The Stamps of Life December 2018 Card Kit:  Cardstock, Pattern Paper, and Ribbon

Other Supplies:  icecreamtruck2stamp Stamps and Dies, Licorice Ink (The Stamps of Life), Black Pigment Ink (Ranger), Various Markers (The Stamps of Life), Gloss White Crystal, Gold Coast Glitter, Holiday Cheer Glitter, and Purple Rain Glitter Drops (Nuvo);

Merry Christmoose!

My creative week continues, and today's card was inspired by the prompt at Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog, Christmas in July.

I created this card using a lot of supplies from Dare 2B Artzy. I might have used more dies than ink on this one. The creativity goes how it goes. 

The moose were just too cute.

I hope you have some "too cute" items in your crafty space.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Merry Christmoose

Stamps and Dies:  Christmoose Stamp Set and Dies, Center Step Die (Dare 2B Artzy);

Ink & Embossing:  All That Jazz (Catherine Pooler Ink);

Paper:   Daisy White Cardstock and White Glitter Paper (Close To My Heart); Chocolate Moose Pattern Paper (Dare 2B Artsy); White Glitter Paper (Close To My Heart);

Other: Rock Candy Glitter (Ranger);

3 of the Same for Inkspirational

My card today was inspired by Inkspirational Challenges' prompt of "3 of the same". 

I used this set from Concord & 9th to create three pair of eyeglasses, and I honestly could not have had more fun. As an eyeglass wearer, this was right up my alley. Such a fun die set. 

I have to admit that I have a pair of glitter rainbow frames in my collection, and while they aren't wire frame, they were a bit of the inspiration for these three pair.

I hope you can find some glittery, rainbow fun in your craft room.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Great To See You So Happy

Stamps and Dies:   Buttercup Cabin Gift Die (Concord & 9th)

Paper: White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today); Oceanside, Parsley and Pattern paper (Concord & 9th); Disco Ball Glitter Paper (Reminisce);

Other:  Enamel Dots (Concord & 9th);

Thinking of You

My card today was inspired by Tic Tac Toe Challenge. I technically hit two rows but was originally going down the middle column. The florals in my stamped butterfly images also cover the bottom row. I created these cards using some Catherine Pooler products in my stash. 

I went with the monochromatic color scheme and love the results. These sets all complimented each other so well.

Enjoy the time you spend in your crafty space. 

Debbie

Supplies Used - Thinking of You

Stamps and Dies:  Heart Trio Slimline Die, Scripted Thoughts Stamp Set, and Flourished Butterflies Stamp Set and Dies (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Ink & Embossing:  Merlot, Pink Champagne, Sparkling Berry and Midnight Ink (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper:  Premium White Cardstock (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Other: Rose Smooth Disc (Spellbinders); Stardust Stickles (Ranger);

Snappy Birthday - Water Fun for Just Us Girls

My inspiration today comes from Just Us Girls. It was Word week, and the word was "water" which is perfect for a good summer birthday card.

I love creating waves with torn paper, and especially love the bubbly, frothy edges I get when combining some stickles with those torn edges. 

I added some Ranger Glossy Accents to many of the swim elements that the crocodiles are enjoying. Love these Pink & Main images. 

I hope you have some fun summer creations happening in your crafty space. 

Debbie

Supplies Used - Snappy, Snappy, Snappy Birthday

Stamps and Dies:  Smile Crocodile Stamp Set and Dies (Pink & Main); Spring Showers Dies (Lawn Fawn);

Ink & Embossing:  Jet Black (Lawn Fawn); Copic Markers; Oceanside (Concord & 9th)

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock (Close To My Heart); Gingersnap Cardstock (The Stamps of Life); Birthday Candles Watercolor Wishes (Lawn Fawn);

Other: Unicorn Stickles and Glossy Accents (Ranger); 

Let it Snow for Little Red Wagon

My goodness, it's been a while! I've been crafty but lurking in the background. I've decided to check-in to the challenge world again to be inspired by the prompts as well as all the participants' amazing creations from week to week, so here I am. 

Taking my first inspiration from Little Red Wagon's Christmas in July prompt.

A gray stenciled background, and who doesn't love a truck with a tree over the holidays.

I love pulling products from different companies when making creations. I really mixed it up today, and I hope you have a chance to mix things up in your craft space!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Let it Snow

Stamps and Dies:  Layered Holiday Truck Stamp Set and Dies (Avery Elle); Scripty Holidays (Lawn Fawn); Essentials Die (Pinkfresh);

Ink & Embossing:  Peppermint Scrub, Rouge, Sage, Spruce, Twilight and Black Jack (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: Opaque White Cardstock (Accent); Patterns and Pine Pattern Paper (Catherine Pooler Designs); White Glitter Paper (Close To My Heart);

Other: Diamond Stickles (Ranger); Gelly Roll Sparkle Pen (Sakura); Zig Zag Tree Stencil (Hero Arts)

 

Season's Greetings in Spring Colors

Oh my! I'm not sure where I've been. I have not posted any creations in quite some time. Life gets in the way!

Today's card was inspired by the color combination at Color Dare. 

I love these soft pastels and decided to use some darker shades to fade into some colorful watercolor snowflakes in the lighter shades.

I love how the color bleeds out from the snowflakes. Watercoloring can be so relaxing.

I hope you find some time to relax with some fun creating.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Season's Greetings

Stamps and Dies:  Frosties Stamp Set and Dies and Snow Much Fun Stamp Set (Lawn Fawn);

Ink & Embossing:  Sugarplum and Peacock (Lawn Fawn); It's a Girl and Midnight (Catherine Pooler);

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock (Close To My Heart), Watercolor Paper (Canson);

Other: Crater Lake Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs) and Unicorn Stickles (Ranger);

What if I Fail . . . Oh but . . .

Today's card was inspired by the Tic Tac Toe Challenge board.

Here's my card . . . 

And here's the challenge board . . . 

By way of explanation, I went down from the middle row. Kraft carstock, which is amazing in the right places. A die cut, which was stamped, and then a color medium which for me was my Copic markers.

Here's my image . . . went darker with Pooh because it was vintage Pooh in my humble opinion. 

And the inside, where the inspirational message appears . . . 

My recipient will fly!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Pooh Window Card - What if I Fail?

Stamps and Dies: Winnie the Pooh Hundred Acre Wood and Pooh Just Knew Stamp Sets and Dies (Unity Stamp); Oval Die (Sizzix);

Ink & Embossing:Sand Castle (Catherine Pooler Inks); Jet Black (Lawe Fawn); Copic Markers

Paper: Desert Storm and Solar White Cardstock (Neenah);

Other: Vienna Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs); 

Just Choose Two Creation

 Today's card was inspired by the Just Choose Two Options at Just Add Ink. 

For my options, I chose the sentiment and the embossing. I did some embossing on my background with an ink resist technique, and I also embossed my sentiment.

My colors were inspired by the pattern paper that I chose from Catherine Pooler Designs. I love how their inks match their pattern paper packs perfectly. 

Find some time to be creative - never a bad decision.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Thinking of You

Stamps and Dies:  Towering Blooms Stamp Set and Dies and Through the Prism Stamp Set (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Ink & Embossing:  Crushed Violet, Lilac, Terracotta, Whipped Honey, Matcha, Sage and Spruce (Catherine Pooler Inks);   Embossing Pad and Opague Bright White Embossing Powder (Wow);

Paper:  Premium White Cardstock and Because Flowers Paper Pack (Catherine Pooler Designs); Other: Hallerbos Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs); Key Lime Jewel Drops (Nuvo);

Color Dare - Hello Card

I had a busy weekend using supplies that were collecting over the last several months on the side of my desk. When I saw the color combination at Color Dare Challenge, I grabbed some pattern paper that was left from a class I had taken several months ago. 

This is an example of letting your pattern paper do the work for you and finding the right card layout to highlight the paper. 

This is an example of letting your pattern paper do the work for you and finding the right card layout to highlight the paper. 

Supplies Used - Hello

Paper: Premium White Cardstock (Catherine Pooler Designs); Simple Vintage Linen Market Pattern Paper (Simple Stories);

Other: Simple Vintage Linen Market Bits and Pieces (Simple Stories); Dyllusions Stickles (Ranger); Jewels (Spellbinders);