The Perfect Sentiment: Anything Goes

Hi Everyone! Hope you are having a great week. It's Wednesday and time for a new challenge at The Perfect Sentiment. This week is everyone's favorite challenge: Anything Goes!

Since anything goes and I needed to get a start on Christmas cards and I've always wanted to try pink and green for Christmas...this is what I ended up with...

I used one of my favorite Webster's Pages Collections, "Waiting for Santa/Sweet Season". This collection is probably now retired but, I have a nice stash of it left.

This card also gave me a reason to try out my Frosty Border die by Memory Box. It's hard to tell here but it's actually very elegant.

And of course I used one of my favorite sentiments from Verve's Bright Spirits stamp set.

Challenges I would like to enter:

• LEJ Designs: Die cuts or punches
• Vickie's Anything Goes
• Get Inky: Die Cuts 
• Lawnscaping: Clean & Simple 
• Make It Monday: Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are blessed.

CCNS & The Perfect Sentiment: Feminine Grace

Hello Everyone! It's been a long while since I've posted anything on my blog. I was on a creative roll and getting quite a few cards made but then my 78 year old Mom fell and broke her leg which required surgery and a week's stay in the hospital. I do have her back home with me now and she is slowly recovering with the aid of in-home physical therapists and lots of rest. She can't put any pressure on that leg for two months so, bare with me as I care for my Mom and try to create when time allows.

It's Wednesday and time for a new challenge at The Perfect Sentiment. This week our theme is "Make it Feminine".

I created my card using several products from the Classy Cards N Such Online Store.

I really love the different patterns and color combinations in the Laced with Grace Designer Paper Collection by Glitz Designs. Each pattern already has a pre-distressed look to it and since I love distressing anyway, that just makes me love the collection even more. Today I decided to work with the pale teals in the collection. One pattern in particular was jumping out at me (the zebra stripes) and that's how I came up with my teal and black color combination for the basis of this card.

My card base measures 5.5 square. For my first layer I distressed the edges of the solid teal pattern with the sheet music on it and then inked the distressed edges with Black Soot Distress Ink. Using the largest circle from Spellbinders Lacey Circles I cut out a lacey circle from the teal zebra print pattern and adhered that in the center. Next, I cut out a 2.5 x 4.5 rectangle from the teal ledger pattern and matted it on black cardstock; placing it on top of the circle.


With the basics of my card done, it's time to get fancy! Using the Spellbinders Fantastic Flourish One and black cardstock I cut out a flourish and placed it off-center to the left. I added a couple drops of Mint Green Liquid Pearls to the flower centers to make them stand out. Using Very Vanilla cardstock and Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight, I cut out a label and stamped my sentiment. To finish things off, I added one Prima Calcutta Mini in Willow. 

My card design was inspired by the April Week 1 Viva la Verve Sketch...

Thanks for stopping by!

Classy Cards N Such: Reverence & Grace

Happy Monday everyone! Hope your week is off to a great start.

Today I have a card to share made with some fun products from the Classy Cards N Such Online Store.

New in the Classy Cards 'n Such store is the Reverence M-Bossabilities  embossing folder by Spellbinders. I love the designs on both sides; one being crosses and the other being lilies and both are appropriate for Faith-based cards or cards of encouragement and comfort.  I created a simple yet elegant card using the folder so that you could see just how beautiful the details are. 

 I started with a pre-made card base that measured 5.5 x 6. Using a piece of Champagne - Reich Shine cardstock that measured 5.25 x 5.75, I embossed it using the crosses and filigrees side of the embossing folder. With the beautiful shimmer from the Champagne Reich Shine and the incredible detail from the Reverence embossing folder, I knew that I couldn't add much more to this card or it would lose it's elegance.
 
With that being said, I used Spellbinders Fancy Tags to stamp my sentiment on and popped it up with foam pads. I needed just a little something else to complete the card so, I decided to decorate the corners with Cheery Lynn Designs Lace Deco Corner E. In between my decorative corners and sentiment you can see all the fantastic detail of the Reverence embossing folder. It measures 5 x 7 so it is perfect for making larger cards as I tend to do. Definitely a must have!

SCS Fan Club Christmas Challenge: The Great King

I had the honor of being asked to guest design for the April SCS Fan Club Christmas Challenge. Our theme this month was "We Three Kings" and of course they provided us with a few ideas for getting started. One idea was to use a crown, which was the direction I decided to go in.

Rarely will you see me make a clean and simple card so take a good look!

I now have my first Christmas card made for 2013!

Classy Cards N Such: Deepest Sympathy

Hello Everyone! It's been over a week since I've posted anything. Sorry about that. I also need to get out and visit a lot of you as well.

Here is another card made with fabulous products available at the Classy Cards N Such Online Store.

None of us really like to think about it but unfortunately, there are times when we least expect it and we need a sympathy card. So, I like to make at least one sympathy card a month to have on hand.

I started with a 5.5" square card base of Stardream Emerald. It has such a beautiful subtle sheen to it and really coordinated well with the greenery in the designer paper from the Webster's Pages Ladies & Gents/Trendsetters Collection Combo Pack. This collection is also in the clearance section of the store now! Since I already knew in my mind that I wanted to work with the 3-D Die-cut Red Roses, I chose a rose pattern to add to the base of my card.

Before I assembled my rose I knew that I wanted a nice base to display it on. I used the French Pastry Doily Die and the Stardream Chiara Coral cardstock to create a lovely pale pink doily to mat the rose on. Then I began to assemble the rose using foam pads.

I used the Verve Scroll Plain Jane stamp and matching die to create the scroll to stamp my sentiment on. My sentiment comes from the Verve Borderline Stamp Set.

For finishing touches I added a Mini Flourish Band in Stardream Emerald.

My card design was inspired by this Viva la Verve Sketch...

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a fabulous week!

Classy Cards N Such: A Butterfly

Happy Saturday everyone! It's time for me to share another card made with fabulous products available at the Classy Cards N Such Online Store.

I started with a card base of 4.25 x 5.5. To that base I added a distressed layer of designer paper from The Lake House Collection. Next, I added a rectangle layer of designer paper matted on cardstock and then embosssed with the Lovely Lattice M-Bossabilities.

On my next layer, I rounded the top edges of the cardstock and then wrapped some Pink Polka Dot Trendy Tape around it in an "X" shape. I love using trendy tape in place of ribbon. You get all the fabulous colors and patterns and the adhesive is already built in. Makes card making so easy. Once I had the tape wrapped around I went ahead and stamped my sentiment. Then I adhered a scallop die cut border to the base of it. This border is a die-cut that comes from The Lake House paper pad.

Now, for finishing touches...using the same patterned paper and the Cheery Lynn Designs Exotic Butterfly die (small #2) I die cut a butterfly and added Pink rhinestones to the body. This, along with three Hot Pink rhinestones under the sentiment topped it off perfectly.

 Thanks for popping by. Have a wonderful weekend.

CCNS & The Verve Diva Dare

Happy Wednesday everyone. Are you enjoying the Daylight Savings Time? I know that my family is.

Today's card was inspired by the March Verve Diva Dare and many of the products I used today are from the Classy Cards N Such Online Store.

The Diva Dare was to combine the styles of Diva Laurie and Diva Maureen into your creation. I love both of their styles and have several of their cards pinned on my Verve Inspiration Board on Pinterest. When I think of Laurie I think of several layers, soft colors, bling and distressed edges as in this card. When I think of Maureen, I see bright colors, big fluffy bows, buttons and bling, and a focus on the sentiment as in this card.

So I set off to creating my card. I started with the first Viva la Verve Sketch for March and rotated it 90 degrees to the right.

Here is what I ended up with...

It was no issue at all for me to distress, layer it up, or add bling. The real dare for me was to include a bow. Seriously I cannot make a bow if my life depended on it. I even have that tool, I think it's called Bow Easy. Bow Easy for who? Certainly not me. But, in honor of Maureen I pulled out the seam binding and set about making my poor excuse for a bow. Other than that I am thrilled with the way the card came out.

The inspiration to use this particular sentiment from the Wonderfully Made Verve Stamp Set came from some struggles I've been facing with my health lately. It's encouraging and it speaks volumes about what God has brought me through.

Supplies available at Classy Cards N Such:
Graphic 45 Secret Garden Paper Collection
Spellbinders Lovely Lattice M-Bossabilities
Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight
Finesse Swirl in leCreme
Cheery Lynn Designs Exotic Butterfly Collection (small #2)

Thanks for dropping by. Have a blessed day.

CDS March Blog Hop: Spring Cleaning

Hi ya'll! It's time for the...

Our theme this month is Spring Cleaning: use something from your stash. If you arrived here from Jen's Blog then you are in the right place. If not, you may want to go back to the Clearly iStamp Blog so that you don't miss any stops on the hop. Each of us participating in the hop gets to pick one lucky random commenter to win the digital stamp set that we used today. So you have a chance to win at every blog instead of just one winner. But you only have a chance if you leave a comment. So, don't forget to comment!

Today I am using the Butterfly Bunny digital stamp set...

From my stash I used the Green at Heart designer paper from Basic Grey and those bright fuschia flowers from Prima. And of course I have a big ole glass bowl full of buttons that I've collected over the years.

Supplies: DCWV cardstock; Basic Grey Green at Heart Designer Paper; Spellbinders Lacy Circles; Prima Flowers; Butterfly Bunny Digital Stamp Set by Clearly Digi Stamps. 

This set comes with a friendship sentiment but with this cute little bunny you could make some darling Easter cards. Like it? Leave me a comment for your chance to win it. Make sure you leave an email address in your comment if you are interested in the prize.  Deadline to comment is Wed, March 20th at 3pm EST. 

Your next stop on the hop is the talented Cassie. 

Thanks for stopping by.

CDS: March New Releases

Happy Friday Everyone! It's the 15th at that means it's time for new releases at 

I'll be showcasing 2 of the new releases right here on my blog and you can see the rest at the Clearly iStamp Blog.

First up is Everyone is a Genius:

Supplies: Everyone is a Genius Digital Stamp Set by Clearly Digi Stamps; computer generated sentiment; EK Success Waves border punch; Photoshop Elements.

 


Next is Josephine Clematis...

  

Supplies: Josephine Clematis digital stamp set by Clearly Digi Stamps; K&Co. Watercolor Bouquet designer paper; Queen & Co. felt border; Spellbinders Lacy Circles; Concord Crush Distress Ink. 

 

I printed out the extra pieces that came with this set and fussy-cut all of them out and layered them from the base up with pop-dots to create a 3-D effect.

There are a ton of new digital sets being released today so be sure to stop by Clearly iStamp to see all the releases and fabulous samples from the Clearly Digi Stamps Design Team.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed day.

Our Daily Bread Designs 5 Year Anniversary

Happy Sunday Everyone! I am the final stop on the Our Daily Bread Designs Anniversary Linky Party. I am so thrilled that Kelley allowed the customers to join in on the celebration. If you don't know about it the details are at the end of this post.

Here is what I created...

Stamps used: Save Time & Bird Border and Corners

Thanks for joining us! I hope you enjoyed my creation. Have a blessed day.

Below are all the details & links for the Anniversary linky party in case you just dropped in to visit me today and didn't know about it. You'll want to join in on the hopping as there is a prize.

March is an exciting month for Our Daily Bread Designs as it celebrates it's fifth year anniversary!! Kelley so appreciates the customers of Our Daily Bread Designs and is excited for the opportunity to celebrate with them today with the ODBD Anniversary Linky Party celebration!!! Below are the links of several fans and customers that have created cards or projects using stamps from Our Daily Bread Designs. To make the linky party even more fun, Kelley is offering one random participant/ hopper a $15 gift certificate toward stamps!!! The party will run from 2pm EDT March 10 until 2pm EDT March 11 Winners will be announced on the ODBD Blog March 12 at 7 am EDT There will be one prize including a $15.00 Gift Certificate toward stamps which must be claimed within two weeks!! Simply stop at each link on the link below , leave a comment and return to the ODBD Blog to tell us you completed the hop and let us know if you had any problems along the way! That's it! Enjoy! These links will also be posted on the Our Daily Bread Designs blog as well.