Exciting News

I've got some great news to share today.  I've been asked to join the Blog Team for CardMaker magazine for the next six months.  I've looked at CardMaker for many years and on several occasions thought, "Gee, I can do that."  So I started to submit cards for publication.  It took a while, but I finally was published last year, which was very exciting to say the least.  And when they asked me to join their blog team, I was over the moon!  If you don't yet follow the blog, you should.  You can get it delivered to your e-mail just by signing up here.

On another note, I thought I'd share a couple of cards I made for challenges over on Splitcoaststampers this weekend.  Friday's Free 4 All challenge was a true "free for all."  All we had to do was upload a card we were working on at the moment.  I was trying to catch up on a couple of other challenges and made this one, using some new stamps that I had just purchased from Our Daily Bread Designs.

I love stamps and dies that coordinate with each other, and this is a perfect example of that.

My second card uses my new favorite Stampin' Up set, Four Feathers.

This was for the Inspiration Challenge on Saturday.  As it turns out, this card also has stamps and dies that coordinate.  I didn't realize at the time, but the color palettes of both cards are very similar.

Yesterday's Featured Stamper, Torico, has a really fun gallery.  As I was looking through it, I actually found two cards I liked and tried a little experiment to see if I could CASE both of them into one card.  Here are links to her two cards:  Let It Snow and 'Tis the Season.  Here's my card:

Card #1
Stamps:  ODBD Shine On
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Bamboo Leaves, Bahama Blue
Paper:  Recollections Heavyweight White
Accessories:  ODBD Sparkling Stars dies, Enamel Dot stickers, Foam pop dots

Card #2
Stamps:  SU Four Feathers, Sincere Salutations
Ink:  SU Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore; Versafine Deep Lagoon
Paper:  SU Green Galore, retired DSP
Accessories:  Feathers Framelits dies, Brad, clear embossing powder

Card #3
Stamps:  MFP Stamp Shop Crisp Winter
Ink:  Ranger Distress Tumbled Glass, Tattered Rose, Dried Marigold, Scattered Straw; Versafine Onyx Black
Paper:  Recollections Heavyweight White, Black
Accessories:  Heidi Swapp birch trees stencil, Sponge applicators

FRIDAY -- and two challenges

Fridays on Splitcoaststampers have two challenges I like to play.  We get an early invitation for one of them -- the Queen for the Day -- late Thursday afternoon.    I have been a fan of this week's queen for a very long time.  Betty Wright (a/k/a gbedwright) has a wonderful gallery -- full of big bows, fantastic embellishments, and over-the-top creations.  After looking through most of her cards, I chose this card to CASE.  In her description of the card, Betty said she used a paper pad called Lost and Found Christmas, even though her card is a friendship card, not a Christmas card.  So I decided to make a Christmas card.

That church image is one of my favorites from Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company.  Betty's card had more neutral colors, but I went in the other direction!  I even added one of Betty's signature embellishments, the curly wire!

The second challenge on Fridays could go in any direction the hostess takes it.  And so, it's the Free 4 All challenge.  This morning it was a boy's birthday card.  My three-year-old grandson William loves Thomas the Tank Engine.  So I immediately thought -- TRAINS!

I colored the trains in different colors, but I knew the engine had to be blue.  Thomas is definitely blue!  I thought it would be fun to put the birthday sentiment in the smoke.  I'll have to save this card for William's birthday in September.

Card 1
Stamps:  Mark's Finest Papers - Country Church
Paper:  MFP Fresh Cream, unknown DP
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Tim Holtz Distress Tumbled Glass, Scattered Straw, Wild Honey
Accessories:  Copic markers, Spellbinders Labels 7, MS border punch, Ribbon, Wire, Sponge applicators, Spica glitter gel pen

Card 2
Stamps:  Mark's Finest Papers - Train Talk, What a Fox (sentiment)
Paper:  MFP Flecked Dirt, Snow Storm Smooth; DCWV DP
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  (inkpad and marker)
Accessories:  Copic markers

Masculine Cards

I've been trying to add some masculine cards to my stash this week. Here are two of them:

The first one was done for Friday's Free4All challenge on Splitcoast -- to make a tri-fold card. One of my favorite types of tri-fold card is the Joy Fold Card. You can find the directions for this fold in the Resource Section of SCS. I used Green Forest and Hazelnut Tan cardstock from Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company, for the panel bases, and two different designer papers from Basic Grey's Oxford paper pad. The image, a new favorite, is from MFP's brand-new set New Pines, and stamped onto MFP Fresh Cream.



On the inside I stamped the single pinecone and overstamped the sentiment in Versafine Olympic Green.



My second guy card was made for the Inspiration Challenge on SCS. Pam Stang had suggested Urban Art Loft as the inspiration site this week. Believe me, it is chock full of all kinds of inspiration. I chose this print as my inspiration. I used the barn scene from MFP's A Trip to Lancaster for the main image, coloring it with Copic markers. The paper I used was MFP's Deepest Mahogany, Hazelnut Tan, Desert Tan, and Snow Storm Smooth. I added some trim with a thin strip of the Deepest Mahogany.



So I've got a few more guy cards in my stash now. Several birthdays are coming up, and I will surely use these. Thanks for stopping by my blog and hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Garden Pickin' Time at SCS

Today's Free4All challenge on SCS was Garden Pickin' Time -- make a card using things that grow in your garden. I made two cards, one with fruit and one with flowers -- neither of which grow in MY yard. I have a very brown thumb!

My first card was FRUIT.




I took the opportunity also to use a new (to me) Spellbinders die set called Assorted Fresh Fruit. For the image on the diecut, I just colored the flower portion of the smaller pear stamp with a Memento marker and then positioned the die over the flower when I cut it out. I sponged both pears with Tim Holtz Distressed ink -- Scattered Straw and Bundled Sage -- and then colored the flowers using a marker. I like the way the "out-of-the-nestie" pear peeks over the black mat. All materials on this card, including the Spellbinders Shapeabilities, are available at Mark's Finest Papers.

I had to do a second card using FLOWERS.

The flowers and the pot are two separate stamps, so I masked the flowers before stamping the pot. Both are colored with Copic markers. I don't have a lot of luck with CAS cards, so I had to add the little circle with the gardening tools. It felt better to me that way. To balance out that circle, I punched the flowers at the other three corners.

This is another set of salt and pepper shakers from my collection. It's not PEARS, but it is FRUIT!