HIMCR #359 - Freestyle

Hello, everyone! I hope that your weekend is off to a good start. Vacation has officially started for us and that makes me very happy! It's always fun when we can spend time together with no set schedule.

Hiding In My Craft Room's weekly challenge is posted today. Since it is the 5th Friday of the month that means this week our challenge is - Freestyle - anything goes this week!

Our sponsor for this week's challenge is The Cutting Cafe and the giveaway is 3 sets from The Cutting Cafe store.

This week I got to work with their fun - 4th of July set 2 - images.

I used the stacked stars in the set as a template to cut my own stars and then I added some foam tape between each layer for a little dimension. I also printed off one of the sentiments from the set to add to my card. I then punched a bunch of red, white, and blue stars with my Fiskars hand punch to scatter around the card front.

Be sure to stop by the Hiding In My Craft Room blog to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. We would love to see you playing along with us this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!

AHSC #270 - Merry Christmas

Hello, everyone! Good Tuesday morning to you! We are waking up to some much needed rain this morning. The grass was already starting to turn brown and I am hopeful that this big rain will bring it back.

I am here to share my take on this week's card sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. Here is a look at the sketch:

I thought I would make another Christmas card with this sketch. I'm slowly getting my Christmas card stash built back up.

 For this card I have used Close To My Heart's - Beary Christmas - collection from last year. I just love the bear that is in this collection - he is so cute! I used the chipboard piece that came in the compliments pack and popped him up on some foam tape. The sentiment is from the - Fir Real - stamp set from The Ink Road stamps.

I'm not sold on the twine bow at the top...what do you  think? I can't decide if I like it so close to the top or not. It's just tied on so it will be easy to remove if I decide I just don't want it on there.

It feels good to have another Christmas card made and ready to be sent out this holiday season.

Head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge tomorrow for the full design team reveals and to see last week's Top 3. We would love to see you playing along with us this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful day!

UYS #318 - Mood Board

Hello, everyone! Good Monday morning to you! I can't believe it's Monday already.

One good thing about Monday is that there is always a new challenge posted at Use Your Stuff! This week our challenge is a mood board challenge. Take inspiration from the mood board below:

There are so many things to take inspiration from on this mood board - the colors, banners, triangles, fruit, stars, donuts, stripes, teacups, circles...the possibilities are endless!

For my card, I took inspiration from the colors and the overall party feel to the mood board. I even embossed part of the front panel with a triangle - or banner - embossing folder.

I based my card off of this sketch from Laurel Seabrook Designs - Sketchy Saturday sketch:

The sentiment is from Close To My Heart's - Birthday Sparkles (B1537) - stamp set.

So, how will you be inspired by this week's mood board? We would love to see what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!

LM #401 - Paper Stash

Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope you are having a good weekend. It's been a nice relaxing weekend for us - those are always nice!

We have a new challenge up today at Lasting Memories. I can't believe it is already the last challenge of the month - June is going by so fast! Our theme this month is "Stash Busting" and today our challenge is to use at least 5 different patterned papers on our layout.

I just love these photos of Miss Ada from this spring. She just looks so darn cute and she's getting so big!

For this layout, I used Fancy Pants' - Millie and June - collection. I did manage to use 5 different patterned papers - 4 of them are easy to see - the other paper was the cut apart sheet and I used bits of it for the pink circles and the gold and white heart paper for my date tab.

I also used this month's Blend - A - Sketch at Scrap Our Stash. 

You are to take inspiration from both of the sketches to create your layout. I took quite a bit of inspiration from both. From the left sketch, I used the big paper panel at the bottom of the page and from the right sketch, I used the two photos, the page split in half and the title and embellishment placement.

You also needed to add star embellishments and/or star patterned paper, so I punched out some gold metallic stars (to match the gold metallic hearts in this collection) and scattered them around like I would have enamel dots or sequins.

Since the gold metallic is hard to see in the photo, here are a couple of close-ups:

Be sure to stop by Lasting Memories to see the layouts from the rest of the design team using 5 or more patterned papers. We would love it if you played along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great day!

HIMCR #358 - Any Holiday

Hello, hello! I hope that your day - and your weekend - is off to a good start.

Hiding In My Craft Room has a new challenge posted today. Since it's the 4th Saturday of the month that means our challenge is "Any Holiday".


Our sponsor for this challenge is The Paper Shelter and the giveaway is a $15 gift certificate to their store. Be sure to stop by their store and check them out!

This week I had the chance to play with the "Pretty Little Sailor" pre-colored digi stamp.

When I first saw this image, this girl reminded me of one of the pin-up girls from the 40's. Since the 4th of July is right around the corner - and she's all decked out in red, white, and blue - I thought a 4th of July card would be perfect. I printed the sentiment off of my computer and punched tiny stars in red and blue to go around the edge of the circle. I also added a red puffy heart to the bottom sailboat steering wheel.

Head on over to Hiding In My Craft Room to see the projects from the rest of the team. We would love to see your holiday cards this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fantastic day!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge - Midsummer Madness

Hello, everyone! Is it already Monday? The weekend went by way too fast, but it sure was a fun one!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge has their second challenge of the month posted today. We want you to celebrate the summer solstice with your project. What's your favorite summer activity? What's your favorite part of summer? Share it with us!

Our favorite summertime activity is swimming in the pool! We got a new pool last summer and since then we spend every possible minute in it! We discovered that Ada is quite the little fish and the rest of the kiddos just like being able to swim whenever they want. It is the perfect way to spend a hot summer day!

Stop by the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog to see how the other design team members celebrate the summer solstice. We would love to see your take on the challenge!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!

LM #400 - Stash Busting- Rub Ons

Hello, hello! Good Sunday morning and Happy Father's Day to all of the Dad's out there!

There is a new challenge at Lasting Memories today and I - finally - am having a chance to play along!

The theme for June is "Stash Busting" and this week we want you to pull out those rub-ons and put them to use on your layout.

I don't have a lot of rub-ons in my stash, but I did purchase the Pink Paislee's Paige Evans' - Pick Me Up - collection earlier this year and I just happened to get the pack of rub-ons. That made the decision of what layout to make a really easy one!

I bought this collection for the simple fact that Ada has a navy shirt with red, pink, and orange flowers, and gold lettering on it just like the background paper that I have used on this layout. You can't see the shirt too well in the photo, but I do have more pictures of her in that shirt to scrap.

I took this photo of Ada waiting in the car for her Mom to finish work. She was looking so stinkin' cute and I couldn't resist another photo. There's actually more story to this photo - Ada really wasn't feeling well that day - but I just wanted to concentrate on how cute she looked. I'll cover the story of her not feeling well in my PL album.

Here are a couple of close-ups of the rub-ons that I used:

The red, pink, and yellow rub-ons I had to cut apart and put together the way that I wanted them to fit together on the circle. The little pink flowers on the other circle were all separate that I clustered together. Sometimes rub-ons can be a pain to work with, but these Paige Evans ones were a dream to put on!

Head on over to Lasting Memories to see the beautiful layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope to see you playing along with us this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

HIMCR #357 - Buttons & Bows

Hello, hello! Happy Saturday! Do you have any plans for this Father's Day weekend? I know Abby and her family are coming over tomorrow for a bar-be-que and some swimming - as long as the weather cooperates.

Hiding In My Craft Room's latest challenge is up on the blog today. This week's challenge is "Buttons & Bows". Let's see some buttons and bows on your projects.

Our sponsor this week is Graciellie Design and the giveaway is $10 to their store.

 I had the pleasure of working with the "Butterflies" digital stamp set. This is a great set with three different sentiments and two different butterflies. I know I will be using it again soon.

I used Heidi Swapp's "Dreamy" 6x6 paper pad for this card and I actually used up what was left of that baker's twine that has been in my stash for years!

For the butterfly, I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Mermaid Lagoon, stamped the ink onto a clear acrylic block and used my water brush to transfer the ink onto the image. I love the look that this technique gives.

Head on over to Hiding In My Craft Room to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. We can't wait to see your button & bow creations!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!

So, this just happened...

I am so super excited to finally be able to tell y'all that I am on the Scrap Our Stash Design Team for the July - December 2018 term! You can read all about the new design team here. I have been a fan of Scrap Our Stash for many years now and it is a true honor to be on their team.

Scrap Our Stash has two super fun and unique challenges each month and I am looking forward to bringing you inspiration for both of them. I do hope you will play along, too! My days to be featured on the blog are the 13th and the 27th, so be on the lookout!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and letting me share my good news! Have a great day!

Scribbles Designs Challenge #66 - Anything Goes

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Sketch N Scrap reveal, please scroll on down.

It's time for a new challenge at Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog. For the first time ever Scribbles Designs is having an "Anything Goes" challenge! That's right, your project can be absolutely anything, and since I need to get my Christmas card stash built up, I have created a Christmas card.

For my card, I have used #0151 Silent Night Wreath. I love, love, love this image! The first time I saw it in the store I knew I would be getting it and using it over and over again! Be prepared to see several Christmas cards using this image over the next couple of months.

I wanted to keep my card clean and simple so the image would stand out and I love how this turned out. I colored the image with colored pencils. I added a doodled frame around the edges of all of the papers to finish it off.

I am also entering this card in the 12 Months of Christmas Link Up. I think I need to be playing along with their challenges more! Their challenges are always "Anything Goes" as long as it's a Christmas card, of course, but then they throw in an optional challenge, too. This month their optional challenge is "Make It Masculine". I think this card is versatile enough that it fits that theme.

Head on over to Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog to see the beautiful projects from the rest of the design team, and check out 12 Months of Christmas Link Up. I know I will be joining in more of their challenges to keep me motivated to get my Christmas cards done!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!

Sketch N Scrap #155 - Hello Summer

Hello, everyone! Happy Friday to you!

It's the middle of the month and that means it's time for a new sketch at Sketch N Scrap! Heather has created a great sketch for us to work with. It is always great to find a two-photo sketch featuring a landscape and a portrait photo.

Ah - the first swimming photos of the summer! Ada, once again, loves the water and can spend all day in the pool. The pool is the most fun when Pops and Uncle Matt are swimming with her...from the photos I wonder why!!

For my layout, I have used Echo Park's - Summer Dreams - papers and most of the embellishments are from Simple Stories - Summer Vibes - collection. 

Here is a close-up of the embellishments:

I didn't add any personal journaling on this layout. I have more pictures that will tell the story in an upcoming layout.

For my title, I used two of the 4x6 transparencies from the Summer Vibes collection layered together. It's a little hard to see it in the photo above, but it really is easier to read in person. Here is a close-up of it where you can see it a little better:

Head on over to Sketch N Scrap to see the layouts from the rest of the design team. We would love to see your take on this sketch!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I will be back soon with another project to share with you!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #268

Hello, hello! I hope that you are having a good day! Today is my birthday and I have a feeling it's going to be a pretty great day! We woke up to some much needed rain this morning, Abby and Ada are coming over for a visit...it's shaping up to be a pretty great day!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge latest sketch has been posted over on the blog and I am here to share my take on it today.

I admit it - I have trouble with these types of sketches where it looks like you are supposed to stamp directly on the background - but I have to remember that a sketch is a starting off point and to not take it too literally - which is how I like to take them! So, here is what I came up with and I will also tell my reasoning behind it!

I am working on getting a start on my Christmas cards and sometimes, when I'm not feeling any other type of card, Christmas cards are easy for me to make!

Now, when I look at the sketch the first thing I notice is that the focal point is to the left side and in a semi-circle shape, so I die cut a circle shape and added it to the left side of my card. I didn't have any images that really fit the main focal spot, so I decided to add my sentiment there instead. All in all, I like the way this turned out and I think you can see where I got the inspiration from the sketch.

For this card, I have used the "Beary Christmas" collection from Close To My Heart. The sentiment is from KaiserCraft's "Mistletoe" stamp set. I added five silver glitter stars below the sentiment, which are a little hard to see in the photo, so here is a close-up:

Be sure to stop by Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge tomorrow for the full design team reveal and last week's Top 3. I hope to see you playing along this week - I would love to see your take on this sketch!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Use Your Stuff #316 - Magical

Hello, everyone! Happy Monday to you! Are you ready for the new week?

Use Your Stuff has a new challenge posted today. This week our challenge is "Magical". Create a "magical" project - this can be Disney themed, Harry Potter, wizards, unicorns, mermaids...whatever is magical to you.

I have used a super cute little unicorn on my card today:

This little guy just makes me smile! I have used papers and a stamp from an older Close To My Heart collection - Little Dreamer. I stamped the banner in the darker lagoon ink and the sentiment in the lighter glacier ink. I think I should have stuck with the darker ink for both - the sentiment is a little hard to see in the photo,  but in person, it's not so bad.

I cleaned my scrap room this weekend and found these turquoise colored star sequins and they were a perfect match for this card.

What's magical to you? We would love to see your creations this week. Head on over to Use Your Stuff to see the projects from the rest of the design team.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope you have a great day!

HIMCR #356 - Super Scraps Saturday

Hello and Happy Saturday! I hope that your weekend is off to a good start!

Hiding In My Craft Room has my favorite challenge today - Super Scraps Saturday - use up those scraps on your project. Goodness knows I have a lot of scraps to get used up!

This week our sponsor is Ike's Art and the giveaway is a $15 gift certificate to their store.

Ike's Art also gave the design team a few images to work with and I chose the "Blossom" digital image. 

The blue paper is a scrap that I had included in my June Counterfeit Kit Challenge, which you can read about here, and the pink was a scrap from my 6x6 paper scrap bin.

I embossed the blue paper with my large dot embossing folder and then "sanded" it just a little with my old Making Memories sanding block. I colored the image with colored pencils and then die cut it into the oval shape.

Once again I left off my sentiment, for the time being, because I think this card could be used for a range of things - birthday, thinking of you, sympathy. The sentiment can easily be added to the front or the inside of the card.

Head on over to Hiding In My Craft Room to see the beautiful projects from the rest of the design team. We would love to see your projects made from scraps.

Be sure to check our Ike's Art, too. They have a great variety of digital stamps in their store.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #123

Hello, hello! Happy Tuesday to you! Are you ready for a fun card sketch? Sketch N Scrap has the first card sketch of the month posted and I really like it!

Here is the sketch, courtesy of Heather:

I have not been doing so well this year with making a Christmas card here and there, so I thought it was time to get started on them! For this card, I have used the Fancy Pants - Merry and Bright 6x6 paper pad. I know one thing - this year when the Christmas collections come out I am going to need to replenish my stash!

The stamp and sentiment are from the - Fir Real - stamp set from Ink Road Stamps. This is such a fun stamp set with lots of fun tree images and lots of great sentiments. I added a gold glitter star to the top of the tree and a few around the sentiment. A quick and easy card all ready to be sent out this holiday season.

Stop by Sketch N Scrap to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. We would love to see what you create with this sketch!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge - Forgeries on the Fourth

Hello, everyone! Good Monday morning to you! I hope that you had a good weekend. We got a break from the heat that we had been having and enjoyed a beautiful - low humidity - day yesterday. It was nice to open the windows back up and give the air conditioner a break!

It's the 4th of the month and that means it's time for some forgeries at Counterfeit Kit Challenge. Here's a reminder of what the inspiration kit looks like:

When I saw the Wild At Heart - Stand Out - stickers in the main kit I knew I would be counterfeiting those first thing! Also, in the May Project Life kit, there was a sheet of stickers with a variety of banners on it, so I pulled out my dies and went to work. Here is a look at what I came up with:

To make the counterfeit stand outs I used my pinked circle die set from Paper Smooches and a 1-inch circle punch. I die cut a variety of colors and patterns, added a little foam tape for dimension, and then added some words that I printed off of the computer and some die cut hearts.

I always seem to be out of gold glitter paper, but I have quite a bit of gold glitter washi in my stash. To make the gold hearts I put two pieces of the gold washi side by side and then die cut the heart shape.

Here's a better look at the banners:

Of course, it would be just as easy to cut the straight banners by hand, too.

How about you? Do you see anything in the kit to counterfeit? We would love to see what you create, so be sure to link up with us on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog or in the Counterfeit Kit Community Facebook Group.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!

HIMCR #355 - Use 4 Colors

Happy Saturday! I hope you are having a good weekend so far! It is another hot one around here and I am lovin' it!

Hiding In My Craft Room's first challenge for June is up today and it is to use four different colors on your project.

Our sponsor for this challenge is Oddball Art Stamps and the giveaway is two images from their store. This week I got to work with the Kawaii Cute Call Me A Unicorn Image No. 228.

I colored the image with colored pencils and I had to add a bit of Wink of Stella to the unicorn horn, the bottom of the narwhal, and the cloud. 

I went with a square card this week, something I don't do very often. I color blocked the background with the four colors that I chose for my card. Once I decided on the colors this card came together really quickly.

Head on over to Hiding In My Craft Room to see the projects from the rest of the design team. We would love it if you played along this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I will be back soon with another project to share with you.

Scribbles Designs Challenge #65 - Midway - Make It Masculine

Hi, guys! I am back with my fourth post of the day! If you are looking for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop, my Sketch N Scrap reveal, or my Sketches In Thyme PL Style reveal, please scroll on down.

We are at the midway point of Challenge #65 - Make It Masculine - at Scribbles Designs. We want to see your masculine cards - use blues, greens, browns, stripes, plaids, etc. - just make it masculine.

I'm not sure how "masculine" my card actually looks...but I tried to put a masculine spin on an anniversary card. 

For my card, I have used a free image from the Scribbles store - #F 10 - Light Bulb (free).

I printed off the light bulb, created a circle mask with a piece of cardstock and a circle die and sponged some distress in around the light bulb to create the "glow". I also used my distress inks and a watercolor pen to color in the base of the bulb. I printed the sentiment on a piece of vellum and stapled it to the circle, and then I also printed "Happy Anniversary" and cut it into a banner piece for the bottom of my card.

This light bulb paper from Shimelle's - True Stories - 6x6 paper pad was the perfect backdrop for this image.

I think this is a fun alternative to the hearts and flowers anniversary cards that you usually find! What do you think?

Head on over to Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog to see more inspiration for masculine cards. We would love to see your take on the challenge, too!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great day!

Sketches In Thyme PL Style Sketch #103

Hello again! This is my third post of the day. If you are looking for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop or my Sketch N Scrap reveal, please scroll on down.

Sketches In Thyme PL Style has the first sketch for June posted today and I actually have my card and my layout to share with you! Here is a look at the sketch that Shawn created for us:

One of my goals this summer is to make an effort to get Ada's first-year album (mostly!) completed, so I have made a layout for her album about her first swimsuit. First, here is the card that I created with the sketch:

I knew I would be adding my journaling on another card so that gave me the space to use a bigger embellishment. I also added a sticker and a puffy heart to the left photo.

Here is the completed layout:

I have used my June Counterfeit Kit once again! Here we are on the first day of the month and I already have two projects made with it! This time I pulled out the 6x6 paper pad that I had added to my "add-on" kit and a few of the summer themed die cuts that I had added to my kit. You can read more about my kit here.

Here is a look at the other two cards

I have a photo of Matthew helping Ada stand up where you can see her swimsuit a little better, but it's a little blurry. I plan on getting a pack of flip pockets and adding that photo behind the above photo. 

We would love to see what you create with this sketch. Head on over to Sketches In Thyme PL Style and check it out!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back with one more project to share with you today!