One for the Card Concept Challenge

I started this card last week at Scrap and Stamp, but never felt I had finished it. It just looked incomplete to me. So last night, a couple of pings ponged, and I put the finishing touches on it. Too late/dark to photograph, I had to wait till this afternoon (and post Confirmation for granddaughter) to get to the post. And what do you know, here it is! As the post title suggests, I'm popping this card into the Card Concept Challenge, #6, where we are directed to make a birthday card. And while it is relatively flat, it has paper layers, so this little card will fit nicely into the "Clean & Layering" section.

I don't make enough "boy" cards. This will help remedy that issue:

All bright and happy. I am finding this rather cute, if I do say so myself! Other than the Neenah white base, all papers came out of my scrap box. Some Doodlebug enamel dots, Amuse stamps, Copic markers, and that's about it. Have a great weekend everyone, and do some happy dancing!

there'snoplacelikehomethere'snoplacelikehomethere'snoplacelikehome...

Dorothy was right. There is absolutely no place like home! After an uber busy March thus far, and being gone forever (or so it seems), it's just plain good to be home. This last trip was particularly brutal on many levels. We had to go to my sil's funeral in North Carolina. Marilyn lost her battle with cancer but is no longer suffering its ravages. For that last part, I am truly thankful. It was good to see her husband and children, and her sisters and brother, but I would have much preferred to see everyone in a happier setting. We could only go for the day, so flew in and out on Monday. Harsh. Too many hours spent on an airplane, but there was no other choice; we wouldn't have missed being there to support family for anything. DH doesn't travel well, especially overnight, due to health concerns. But we just had to go and thought this would be the best option. I can't recommend this kind of trip for anyone. I hope never ever to have to do an in-and-out kind of trip like this again. I'm doing my best to get caught up with the housework, and DH is just trying to 'catch up.' He's still beat. Poor thing.

I did get some crafting time in yesterday, and since I've written enough already, I'll get to the cards I'm posting today. The first one up is for two challenges. Retro Sketches #106, and also for Lawnscaping #78, where we are to go CAS.

         

And this is my card:

The dp and stamp are both LF. A scrap of navyish cardstock and white, a Neenah white base, some SC sequins and that's it. Pretty CAS, or QACAS as Darnell says (quick and clean and simple). 

My next card will be popped into Curtain Call, where we are challenged to be "Farm Fresh."

If you look closely, you'll see some corn, and also some red gingham ribbon on the vase. Those were my inspiration for this card:

Everything about this card (paperwise, anyway...) are scraps, except the Gina K. kraft base. Sorry, couldn't tell you who made the scraps. LF corn images, stamped and fussy cut, and the sentiment is from Joys Life. With both I used SU black ink. The die is from SU, but it belongs to Sandy, and I can't remember the name of it. Really and truly an easy card to make. And since I'm in a crafty mood, I'm going to get back to it! Have a great first day of Spring, and go out among the tulips and happy dance for the joy of life.

Surprise!!! Happy Birthday Anita!!!

Happy, happy birthday! It's a party, a soiree, a bash, a shindig, a celebration for our dear, dear friend Anita! WooHoo! A group of us are having a little birthday party for her today, so come on and join the fun! Here's what to do: after you finish here, pop over to Darnell's blog, and hook up to the linky party!  Several of us have been in on this little surprise, so be sure to click on the links of the other cards in the gallery too. And hey! Let's all get together for real and form a Cardmaker's Conga line!!!! It's time to party!!!!!!!!!!!

A message to the birthday girl!

Happiest of (belated) Birthdays, my dear friend. Even though your birthday was FEBRUARY 18th, you didn't think we forgot, did you?! We just didn't know exactly when it was, so when we found out after the fact, we decided we'd surprise you with a party exactly one month later. So....surprise!! You are such a sweet friend, so creative, and a blessing to me and all who love you. How wonderful to know you. May this little "birthday party" bring you joy that lasts the entire year. 

And for anyone out there who reads this blog, if you haven't visited Anita's blog, My Papercraft World, stop right here and go. I'll wait.... Oh good, you're back and we can proceed with the party! And what's a party without the proper party elements?!! Let's see...I think we should have at least one rule about how we're going to party...:

Sounds good to me! Though, I think I'll keep my dancing feet on the ground, lol!

Next we need some party atmosphere:

Balloons, I think, are in order!

And party decorations and food!

and of course....CAKE!!!!

And naturally, there must be a card. I've cased one of Anita's own beauties, as she makes the most scrumptious cards! This is her card (very difficult to choose just one...)

So happiest of birthday my friend. Big Hugs and Party on!

Fast one for Friday

Not going to chat, just get a card up. Too much to do. And I'm behind in my commenting; so, so sorry, but I hope to get to that too. Wanted to play along over at the Addicted to Stamps challenge this week. Haven't been able to play there for quite some time. Darnell from djkardkreations is Guest Designing over there for this challenge, and Deepti is back, so it's a good time to try to jump back into things. This is an "Anything Goes" challenge. 

Here's my card:

A simple little thank you card made with scraps of cardstock. Sorry I can't remember the name of the flowers, but I dumped them into a little container a long time ago...LF stamp with SU ink. That's it. Have a great weekend and happy dances everyone!

A little running...

I have to do a little running today, but then it's back home to my craft room! Probably should do some laundry and a bit of cleaning....hmmm....between crafting and chores, what do think will win out?! Yeah, me too...

You have to hear this story. I am still chuckling over it. Four year old granddaughter Kelly will be getting a brand new baby brother early in May. Mom, dad, and Miss Kelly have been discussing names. One of mom and dad's favorites was Patrick. Nice name, right? Well, they have a dog named Patton, aka Paddy. So Kelly vetoed Patrick, as "we already have a Paddy!" She did some serious thinking though and came up with  a name she liked much better and thought was funny....."Ham Sandwich." Oh what a girl! Mom and dad are thinking of going with Shawn Patrick, though I suspect Kelly will call him "Ham" anyway!

Beyond the outline of my day and funny stories, I actually have a card to share with you. I went all CAS for this one. Though it's full of embellishments, it still manages to have a boatload of white space, and is definitely not busy! My inspiration came from this card by Ryann Salamon. Where she used buttons, I chose sequins. I'm playing along with the AEIheartU Challenge. Love AE stamps. Love their DT. And I'd like to encourage you all to play along!

My very, very QAECAS card:

One stamp. From Avery Elle. And I just love it! Perfect font with a rather amusing sentiment. A Neenah white base, which I scored along the lines where I wanted my sequins to go. Left the sentiment area unscored. SU black ink, and various sequins. Quite like this. Happy dances everyone!

Home

It is true, there is definitely no place like home. Having been gone most of this week, I am more than glad to be home! The early part of the week was spent watching the four little ones in Madison. Pure delight. Amazing children, and so much fun to be around. No time for me to craft there, even if I had brought goodies along. Just wondering how all you young moms manage to find the time to craft?! Babies, bottles, laundry, sports, after school classes, piano lessons, dinner, work, and everything else....I am in complete awe of all you moms of young children who still find time to create the lovelies I see out there in blogland.

After coming home, I had to make a fast round trip up north. Long drive, short stay, another long drive. Made it though. Had great company along, and hours upon hours of great conversation with my sister Sue. The trip went smoothly and quickly. And since I hadn't had time to feed my addiction craft in some time, and  since I didn't feel like cleaning or doing the laundry, I thought today would be the perfect day to make cards. Not sure if I hit the mark with any of them, but sure enjoyed creating them.

There are three cards that will be going into multiple challenges, so if you want to bail now, I'll see you later. This first card will visit three challenges: CAS(e) This Sketch, Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, and also into the Lawnscaping Challenge.

    

A blingy shaker tag card. Here are the deets: Neenah white base and tag, SC sequins, MS glitter, a scrap of striped dp, a scrap of pink cardstock, MFT "happy" die, PTI "birthday" die, LF tag and star die. LF star stamp, Studio G green ink, a leftover bit of pink ribbon and some green floss.

Card number two fits into The Card Concept challenge, and I worked it into Muse as well. I'd call this card Clean and Layered, as it's not quite CAS. I was inspired by the overall layout created by Vicki Dutcher, especially the chevrons, white space and left-sided focal point.

    

Pretty easy to make. Except for the Neenah white base, the cardstock bits are all scraps. A smattering of SC star sequins, Studio G ink (love the way the ink smeared unevenly on the stamps), CTMH stamps, TE polaroid die, and my MFT chevron dies. 

And I promise, truly I do, that this is the last card and final challenge of the day. I've wanted to play along at Curtain Call for some time now, but haven't had the opportunity. Today changes that! Yippee!

For this, I used my new Gina K. stamps and cut files (for my Silhouette). I used a scrap of peach paper, and stamped them with Versa Color Sand Beige, and marked up the centers with my white pen. I also added some depth with a Copic marker. The sentiment is from PTI, and I added a bit of lace and a peach-colored pearly thing I have had laying around for some time. The stitched frame is from Mama Elephant. I inked the edges of the larger panel in the same Sand Beige. And as promised; done. Happy dances everyone!

Cramming Craft Time

Trying to get as much done as humanly possible today. Cards, that is. Housework and laundry will wait until after church tomorrow (yippee!!). If you missed my first post of the day, it's here. And who knows, I just might be so inspired and creative that I'll do even more (insert sarcastic laughter here).

Had a small wedding in the family yesterday. Just the bride, groom, minister, and two witnesses. Really small. Neither of them wanted a fuss. I'm sure it was just fine, and 'mission accomplished!' The new Mrs. said not to bother sending a card, as it was "no big deal." But I figure that one should mark significant days, and so I ignored what she said, and will hopefully catch the letter carrier in a bit! This one went together quickly, and I'm rather smitten with it. I was inspired by this week's Muse, and didn't want to miss it this time. Lisa Haines was the Guest Muse this week and this is her card:

Daughter Cathy would love this color combination! Me...I was inspired by the three circles/hearts, and the clean lines around the sentiment. This is what mine looks like:

I was fortunate in that Studio Calico restocked this Gold Punchinella vellum paper. It's one of those special things, that when you see it, it just doesn't call your name, it SCREAMS your name. Had to buy it!!!! No choice in the matter. Ever since 1989, when I didn't buy the diamond/lapis/gold ring in Jamaica, and am still kicking myself, I listen to those screams. Sorry, got off on a little tangent there.... I printed out the "Congratulations" on Neenah white, and it's really matchy-matchy to the gold paper. The shiny gold letters and bands are scraps from the dawn of time. I did use my Cameo to cut the letters. And that's it for now. I'm headed back into the mess and see what else I can come up with! Happy dances everyone.

ETA:  Just found that this card is also eligible for Hexagons: Happy For Hexagons Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. Fits perfectly! 

Back

I'm back home. Had an incredible mid-week adventure with my four little grandchildren. I got to go watch the little ones in between nannies. "G-man" is 7, "Lady-L" is 6, "D-boy" is 4 (well...he will be on the 12th of this month), and then there is 5-month old "A-girl". What I time I had. So much fun, but I'll be the first to admit that little kids are the domain of younger folks than I! Came home exhausted, but in such a good way! My son and dil are raising really sweet children. I wish you all could come and play with us when I go back this coming week. But I'm guessing that many of you out there either have children or grandchildren quite like them! Enjoy your families. Time passes so quickly. Relish each and every moment.

Had to run DH on a few errands once I got home, and have been trying to get back in the groove for the last day and a half. A few chores, with more to do, and the need to feed my addiction. Had. To. Make. Cards. Worked on rejects yesterday. Pretty sure Mr. Mojo was back with the little ones.... Today is a better day. Broke out the NBUS (love that acronym Darnell!!), and got busy. Less thinking, more doing. Sometimes that's just the ticket!! Am playing along with AEI©U Challenge # 1, Birthday. Just adore Avery Elle stamps. Killer quality...you should see my wish list...or maybe not.... ; )

This is what I worked on this morning...

I made a teeny shaker card. I love shaker cards, don't you?! Just a bitty bit of a shaker. In fun, happy colors. Lots going on here, but I don't think it's overwhelming. Neenah white base, and also the stitched panel. A scrap of that lovely aqua, as well as the polka dot frosting. All stamps are from Avery Elle. Studio G inks, MS glitter, a bit of ric-rac from Michaels, three white sequins, and though you can't see it in this photo, some Wink of Stella on the "MORE" part of the sentiment. ME stitched die. So, while the mojo seems to be working, I'm going back to crafting. Have a wonderful weekend. Happy dances everyone!!