Happy Everything!

Like many card makers, I have become obsessed with slimline cards.  I recently purchased a bunch of slimline stencils from STAMPlorations.   I have a card for you today using one of them:  Aperture.  I ink-blended four different Ranger Distress Oxide inks for my background -- Wilted Violet, Dusty Concord, Blueprint Sketch, and Tumbled Glass.  The stamped image is Dare2BArtzy's BEE-utiful.

I hope to have lots of fun this week using some of the other stencils from my recent purchase.

C4C554 - Slimline Cards

Today the Crazy4Challenges team revisits the popular slimline card.  Frances said, "Yes, I know we had this theme earlier in the year, but Slimline cards are fun and on-trend right now.  They are also addictive!  Which is why I created a Facebook Group dedicated to Slimline Cards called Slimline Card Addicts.  So this week, create a slimline card.  The most common sizes for Slimline cards are either 8 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches or 9 inches x 4 inches and will fit in a standard business-size envelope."

I recently purchased this Rainbow Builder die from Trinity Stamps, and I love it.  The sentiments are from Waffle Flower Stamps.

Be sure to check out the Crazy4Challenges blog for some more trendy slimline cards.

CCEE2039 Mushroom Month

For her final CCEE Stampers challenge this week, Frances told us that September is Mushroom Month and asked that we include one or more mushrooms (either stamped or die cut) on our creations.    The mushroom on the front of my card is both -- stamped and die cut.  I remember doing paper tole many years ago, and Riley & Company has a cute line of stamps called Mushroom Lane that you can use for paper tole.  The gnome on the front of the card and the ones on the inside are from Karen Burniston's new release.

Here is a close-up photo of the mushroom so you can hopefully see the paper-tole layers.  There are three layers.

The inside of the card has some more mushrooms, along with the Flip Frame Pop-Up die from Karen Burniston.

Check out the CCEE Stampers blog for some more mushrooms.

C4C553 - Sketch Challenge

This week's Crazy4Challenges challenge is a sketch.

I decided to make a Christmas card this week.  No stamping, just a couple of die cuts and some patterned paper.  Easy-peasy!

Check out the Crazy4Challenges blog to see how the rest of the team handled this layout.

STAMPtember -- Simon Says Stamp meets Riley & Company

STAMPtember is a fun month of collaborations between Simon Says Stamp and various other stamp companies.  Today that company is Riley & Company, and they produced a cute stamp set called True Friends.

The Karen Burniston (KB Riley, LLC) Design Team got to play with this cute set to show it off.  As I have become addicted to slimline cards, that is what I made -- using the Karen Burniston Katherine Label Pop-Up die and a few dies from a couple other sets.    I created a background with one of my favorite techniques -- Bokeh Background -- using several Ranger Distress inks and some sponge daubers.  I "attached" the little sign with a push pin from the Karen Burniston Office Charms.  Be aware that there is a coordinating die set to go along with the stamp set, but I fussy cut Riley and his friends before popping them up on foam pop dots.

I carried the Bokeh Background to the inside along with the Happy Birthday phrase die and the Katherine Label, one of my go-to Karen Burniston dies.  I added three copper sequins to coordinate with the copper-colored trim cardstock.

That stamp set was such fun I decided to make a second card, this time using the Karen Burniston Frame Pull Pop-Up die set.

When you pull that little arrow/tab, up pops the frame.  Those scissors are from Karen Burniston's Office Charms set.

I want to thank Simon Says Stamp for giving me the opportunity to play with the cute new set.

CCEE2038 Shaker Cards

Frances told the CCEE Stampers that September is "Shake Month," which is a day to celebrate all things Milkshakes!  One of the very first interactive cards she had created when she first started stamping over 30 years ago was a shaker card, so for our challenge this week, she asked us to incorporate some sort of shaker element on our card.  Bonus points if we include a milkshake!

No bonus points for me, I made a Christmas card, using some cute gingerbread kids from Paper Nest Dolls.

Check out the CCEE Stampers blog to see if anyone did, indeed, put a milkshake on her card.

Beach Days

One of the new Karen Burniston dies is the Purse Pop-Up, and  I've created several cards using this die.  Did you ever wake up in the middle of the night, can't go back to sleep, and a card design pops into your head?  I'm sure we've all done that.  My card today is the result of one such middle-of-the-night occasion.  I thought the purse would make a cute beach bag.  So, using several other KB dies (Beach Charms, Tiny Accessories, Crosshatch Rectangles, Natures Edges, Border Blends and Tropical Scene), I created this card.

I'm still trying to think of more ways to use this cute Purse Pop-Up.

C4C552 - Stripes

This week the Crazy4Challenge team members are creating cards that include stipes.  We could create our own striped background by using paper scraps, striped stamps, or patterned paper.  As I have a ton of patterned paper, I went that route.  I also used several brand-new Karen Burniston dies.  The front is a tree from the Landscape Scene . . .

. . . and the inside shows off the Flip Frame Pop-Up, along with some Backyard Charms.

Check out the Crazy4Challenges blog to see how the rest of the team handled this striped challenge.

CCEE2037 Slimline Cards

Frances continues as hostess for the CCEE Stampers and mentioned that slimline cards seem to be very popular at present, especially with a few companies releasing dies especially for the use of creating this style of card.  For our challenge this week, we were to create a Slimline card.  There are two popular sizes for Slimline cards:  8 1/2" x 3 1/2" or 4" x 9".  Actually, many of my Slimline cards are 8 3/4" x 3 3/4".

I recently purchased a couple of slimline die sets from Mama Elephant and used one of them for my card today, along with some stars of the silver screen from Kindred Stamps.  I love that filmstrip die!

Check out the CCEE Stampers blog for some more examples of this popular card style.

C4C551 - Shaker Cards

Apparently September is "Shake Month."  Technically, this relates to Milkshakes; however, for the Crazy4Challenges team is going to shake in a different way by creating shaker cards.  My shaker card is also a slimline card.

Check out the Crazy4Challenges blog for some more fun shaker cards.

CCEE2036 Masculine Card

Frances takes over as hostess for the CCEE Stampers for September.  She told us that the 1st Sunday in September is Father's Day down in Australia, and our challenge this week is to make a masculine card.

Masculine cards are not always easy for me, but clocks seem to be a good choice of image for them.  I pulled out an old stamp set I haven't used in a long time to make my card.

Check out the CCEE Stampers blog for some more masculine cards.

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge -- In the Wild

While the Karen Burniston Designer Challenge this month is called "IN THE WILD," my card is not too wild.  What we were to do was to use the Surprise Ball Pop-Up along with the new Bitty Ball Pop-Up to make an animal.  I did that, but my animal isn't very "wild."  In fact, he's pretty tame!  From the front of the card, you can get the idea of what is going to pop up at you when you open it.

And, sure enough, here's Mickey!

I think the use of the Bitty Ball for the head of your Surprise Ball critter makes the proportion better.

Scor-Pal "More Than One Score"

The theme of this month's Scor-Pal "More Than One Score" challenge is school/storage.   For my project I chose an accordion card box, which you can use to store some greeting cards; but it could also be a nice little gift to someone.  I couldn't resist putting that Riley & Company stamped sentiment on the front because it is so true!

On the inside are three dividers to separate the various types of cards you could place into the box . . .

. . . which you can see here.  There are nine cards in my box, with room for a couple more.