Chicks with Inkpads 4 and Mojo 82

Here is a pretty simple card for the Chicks with Inkpads Inspiration Challenge #4. I used the Mojo Monday 82 layout for this card. The DP is from DCWV Pocket full of Posies Matstack. The other papers are SU pumpkin pie and blue. The tan piece is from my stash. I embossed the tan behind my image with my Cuttlebug mesh folder and the blue background was embossed with the swirls folder. I added the orange ribbon from my stash and a velvet star brad from Making Memories. The edge punch is the SU scallop punch. I double stamped the surf board using another DP scrap, embossed it twice, then cut it out and pieced it over the original. I also double stamped the swimsuit and the hat on solid papers and cut and pieced them on the original image too. I colored in the flesh parts of the image with my prismacolor pencils and a little gamsol to blend. I also sponged around the edges of the image and on the front and sides with blue SU ink. The stamp image is Inkadinkadoo and includes the "Happy Birthday" and the verse I used on the inside which says "You're only a kid once, but you can be young for a lifetime." Of course, I did pop the image with dimensionals to give the card some depth.

There's a whole lot you can do with this layout and if I have some time this week, I may try doing another card using it. It's been fun seeing what other people have come up with on the Mojo blog.

I have a bunch of birthday cards to finish up this week because I will be out of town babysitting my grandson for 2 weeks starting next week and all the birthdays will happen just after I get back. Hopefully, I will have some down time during my babysitting time so I can at least go out and see what everyone else is up to even if I don't have time to craft some cards. Don't forget about me while I'm gone:)))

Chicks With Inkpads #3 and Basic Grey Challenge 29

Here is the card I created for the latest challenge at http://chickswithinkpads.blogspot.com/search/label/Chicks%20Inspiration%20Challenge and for the Basic Grey Spring/ Easter challenge at http://basicgreychallenges.blogspot.com/ . I hope my card will qualify for the Spring part of the challenge as Mother's Day is in the spring:)

The two chicks will pick their top 5 cards each week and ask the creators of those cards to be guest designers for the next challenge. How great is that? Of course, if you're shy, you can always decline:)

Now for the card details: The DP is from Basic Grey (Euphoria). I don't think I've met a Basic Grey paper that I haven't liked, but I'm really lovin' this stuff. They have several different patterns in this color and I bought them all. The pink paper is Bazzill and the blue is from American Crafts.

I cut the white circle and the scallop with my Nestabilities. I embossed the white piece using my Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers embossing folder. If you click on the picture you can probably make out some of the detail of the embossing. Now for those flowers; I stamped 3 different flowers from an Inkadinkadoo (Garden Words) stamp set, embossed them and cut them out. For the last small flower, I used an embossed reject image as my paper and punched out 3 flowers with my new Fiskars daisy punch. I joined all the flowers together with a glittered brad from my stash, added pieces of ribbon that came from Michael's and then popped the flowers with dimensionals. I added the pearls around the scallop and punched the branches around the flowers with my MS branch punch. The sentiment is Studio G, that I stamped and sponged with SU Purley Pomegranate.

I was really pleased how this card turned out so it definitely will be going to my Mom.

Chicks With Inkpads Inspiration Challenge #2

Okay, so I don't need another Mother's Day card right now, but this one will go in my stash for next year.

This is for the second Chicks With Inkpads Inspiration Challenge that you can find here
http://chickswithinkpads.blogspot.com/search/label/Chicks%20Inspiration%20Challenge. I went with pink and white with just a splash of green. I used my Cuttlebug dots embossing folder to back the borders flowers on the right side of the card and then used the stylized flowers embossing folder to create the flower on the left. I colored in the flowers on the right with my Pebbles, Inc. pearlescent pink and green chalk. The scallop border is SU and the sentiment is from a little set of clear stamps I picked up at a local craft store. The pink stripe DP backing the flowers is from Pebbles Inc (My Baby Girl Stripe) and the floral DP is from Little Yellow Bicycle (Baby Safari). The dark rose paper is Bazzill and the ribbon is some I picked up at JoAnn Fabrics. I added those cute little buttons, a pink crystal by Mark Richards and those little pearls to accent the DP flowers. I popped the framed flowers with dimensionals as well as the sentiment after I inked the edges.

I wasn't intending on making it a Mother's Day card, but it just looked like one when I got done. Hope you like it.

Chicks With Inkpads Inspiration Challenge #1 & Cuttlebug Challenge #23

I decided to enter this card for both the Cuttlebug Challenge #23 Spring http://thecuttlebugspot.blogspot.com/ and the chicks with inkpads challenge. This is the first time I am entering a card for the Cuttlebug challenge. I might be late for it, but I think I am confused with two different sites doing cuttlebug challenges. I tried to post last night but couldn't find the right link after I edited this post. Guess I was just up too late catching up on the blogs I follow:) Does that happen to anyone else???

I linked to the chicks 1st challenge http://chickswithinkpads.blogspot.com/through Karen Motz's blog http://paperplayhouse.blogspot.com/. Karen is an awesome card artist whose blog I have been following for a while. As soon as I saw the challenge I knew what I was going to do. I love the soft colors in this challenge and it immediately made me see butterflies and flowers. (It helped that I had just recieved a card in the mail from a friend who does the most awesome paper creations and then die cuts images from them. Her card had a butterfly die cut done with the really cool nestabilites butterflies dies that emboss the die cut too.) Here is her card:













Isn't that just awesome paper that Jane created for that butterfly? She's so talented!

The butterflies on my card were created with my new double die QuicKutz butterfly that I have been itching to try. The card base is Stampin Up pumpkin pie cardstock followed by marigold morning. The white background was embossed with my Cuttlebug birds and swirls embossing folder. The butterflies are cut out from tangerine tango and sherbet DP from Stampin' Up and a piece of scrap polka dot that seemed to match well with the other DP. I punched the white circles with a 1 3/4" punch and put them through my Cuttlebug with the dots embossing folder. I punched the scallop circles with a 1 7/8" scallop punch. I popped the white circles with dimensionals and then added the white pearls to each butterfly. The sentiment is stamped in certainly celery with an acrylic stamp from Inkadinkado and I used a MS punch for the leaves on a green Bazzill paper. I punched out some little flowers with my EK Success flower punch and added the little pearls for centers. Finally, the polka dot ribbon across the middle of the card is produced by The Paper Studio.

A big thank you also goes to Sonia, http://www.scraps4fun.com/, who continually shows me how pretty white on white can be with her awesome creations. Check out her blog, you won't be sorry.

I think I may use this card for one of my Mother's Day cards. Now to decide which mother gets it:)