Happy Spring Birthday

My one and only niece is having a birthday in April. She loves to play outside and get all muddy and friendly with bugs, so I thought the new caterpillar digi from Hambo Stamps would work perfectly on a card for her. They’re offering a challenge over at the Hambo Hoedown blog. You can use any of their images and the colors HOT PINK and BRIGHT GREEN.
I used a patterned paper from one of those 365 Days of Scrapbooking calendars for the card base and cut out the sentiment. The caterpillar is a cross between paper piecing and Copic coloring. I printed the image onto We R Memory Keepers Tiffiney’s paper line for the body, and colored his shoes and head with Copics (G14, YG05, Y17, R29, B04, V04, RV04). I popped him out with dimensional dots, after I messed up adhering his shoes to the card---it went on crooked with a lump in the middle, so I thought use the error, don't cry over it, so he's got dimension as an afterthought! I also used a black glitter Spica pen and some CTMH Liquid Glass for shine. His antennae were too difficult to cut out, so I made some from green wire. Finally, I embellished (just a little) with some sequin flowers.
The challenge at Hambo Hoedown has just started, so get over there and get your game on. Each time you enter their challenge, they will send you a free digi image—how cool is that?!

New Stamps from Queen kat

I received some blog candy from my crafting friend, Holley, via Queen kat Stamps. They generously sent me the one I used for this card that I am putting into a few challenges. These are the first stamp I own from Queen Kat, and they have a delicious assirtment of images I am craving right now!
I got the idea for the card over at the Corrosive Challenge Blog. Their newest challenge is to make something with STARS.
Except for my new stamp, I used everything from my stash! I had glitter cardstock that I used for the card base (that deep copper red peaking out on the sides); white cardstock to frame the star-studded patterned paper from my paper pieces; one scallop circle diecut that i cut in half for a snow bank; stamped sentiment from a sentiment swap last year; Queen kat stamp; dimensional dots for that 3D effect; Liquid Glass from CTMH and STickles for the shine!
I colored my snowboard boy with Copics (twice, in fact) so that his board and his glasses could have some dimension.
Can't wait to try out my other new stamps from Queen kat, thanks to Holley and her extreme generosity!!

Never Ending Card for SBP Blog Hop

I just discovered the Never-Ending Card, and thought it would be a perfect project to share during Scrapbook Place's Blog Hop! If you're a hopper, and haven't been directed here from Anna's Blog, then you probably need to start at the beginning, Your Scapbook Place blog.
Now, I’m sure this card has been out there forever, but I just discovered it and wanted to share it with you, just in case you’ve never seen one of these before. The card consists of only four pieces of cardstock, cut at 3”x6”. I used double-sided My Mind’s Eye Bohemia line Bella “Pretty Little Girl” patterned cardstock.
You simply score 1-1/2” from each end while placing the pieces of paper horizontally in front of you. How east is that???

Then, laying the first two pieces side by side horizontally (makes a 6x6 square), place dbl-sided tape in each corner and attach the other two pieces of paper, but laying them vertically on top of your first layer.

Far be it for me to tell my crafting buds how to embellish their own cards! The real beauty of this card is all in the way it’s folded! Here is a video of folding a card after it's been embellished. Each time you fold it, the card reveals a new "face" with a totally different look:

There are lots of YouTube tutorials out there for any and all to watch and learn. Just type in Never Ending card in the YouTube search bar and prepare to be amazed. I love this new (to me) card, which I hear is from Stampin Up originally!
Now that I have amazed you with my new card, it's time to go on to the next stop on the hop! That would be _______'s. Don't forget to leave some love!!
Btw, if you get stuck and need a blog roll, here it is:
Linda
Annette
Allie
Donna
Lindsy
Anna
Pat

Here's to Blog Challenges

Every week brings another Hambo Hoedown

! This week the challenge was to use a Hambo Stamps image (I used Coffee Girl digi image) with its sentiment AND a sketch. I played again with paper piecing, using up some of my smaller pieces of leftover patterned papers, to decorate her dress, the coffee sleeve and the background (on which I printed the sentiment).
Putting the image all together and popping her out with dimensional dots was quite an adventure, but I think she’s kinda cute, in a crazed kind of way. LOL I added a second sentiment from a rubber stamp I found at a garage sale, and I distressed the edges of the card base by sanding the core-dinations paper and then inking them with purple ink. I cut the circles with my Creative memories circle cutter, colored with Copics, and stamped a few coffee beans with a stamp set from Stampin Up (let’s give credit where credit is due!).
For your chance at this challenge, go to Hambo Challenge Blog. Every time you enter a challenge, they will send you a free digi image for the next week. Cool beans, huh?!
Other challenges:
Crafts & Me ANYTHING GOES, handmade/papercrafted.
Craft your Days Away Ac ard for mom or a special friend
My Time to Craft chaLLENGE BLOG ONE FOR THE lADIES!
Penny's Challenges A kitchen/food themed card

Party Elephant!

Today's card is one for my nephew, who will be turning 9 next week. He loves the zoo, so I thought this cute digi image from Hambo Stamps was perfect. Their challenge at the hambo Hoedown is to use the Party Elephant digi image (or any others of theirs) and create a project with BLING!! How easy is that?!
For my papers I used The Paper Co. Cardstiock in pine greenand a sheet of paper from DCWV's patterned cardstock Boy stack.
I colored my Hambo image with Copics: Elephant=C1,C3,N3,R11,RV11; Hat=B034,BV04,G14, YR16.
The sentiment is my own that I typed on Word with LB Marci font and diecut with my Nestabilities Label Four set with my Epic Six (Hope your birthday stacks up...to be unforgetable!")
Now for the glitz! besides an embossed patterned paper, I used CTMH Liquid Glass for shine, and Stickles in Lavender, Magenta, Yellow, Lime Green and Waterfall.
The ribbon is a leftover piece from a garage sale find.
Once I decided to use multiple elephants on the card front, the sentiment fell into place. I actually colored FIVE elephants to get a 3D look that never comes across well in photos.
So what are you waiting for? Go Hoedown at Hambo and receive your own free digi for entering!!

Spring is Sprung!!

SPRING Layout

While visiting my mom, I noticed her crocuses struggling to wake up from their winter nap. What a great photo that would make, I thought. And my thoughts led to this layout! Of course, I was asked to design something with the word SPRING in it for Your Scrapbook place Challenge blog, so everything feel into place nicely!!
The base is patterned paper from a DCWV Stack; Cardstocks from Paper Trey and WalMart and leftovers; Title from Studio18 Alpha Stickers; Journaling was on computer and from The Quote Garden; Misc embellies were punched with the Paper Studio 1-7/8” scallop circle punch and 1” circle punch from Cosmo Cricket Earth love Stack.
I can’t wait until they bloom! Don’t you love Spring? Then scrap it! LOL
Spring card

I love the colors of Spring! This card was put together in about ten minutes using leftovers from my stash drawer, as well as Core-dinations paper for the card base and lovely handmade quilled flowers from Anna Nikander (thanks, Anna). Can you tell that I love to distress my paper, especially Core-dinations??? I used a sanding block from CTMH, one of my fave tools.

I hope you will be inspired by my Spring projects to create your own. If you do, please head over to Your Scrapbook Place and show it off!

Spring is in the Air

And with Spring comes Spring cleaning, and lovely leftovers from which to create Springtime cards. Here is my card, which I am offering in the card challenge over aT Joan's Creations blog
Here is what you need to do for Joan's Gardens Weekly Challenge #9:
Use the colors orange and blue
Create a card with a spring theme
Use a die cut
Use a circle
I truly found all the lovely materials used for this card from my stash, well, all but the besutiful quilled flowers I received from the very talented Anna Nikander! Even my image was already colored by me a long time agho, then put away for a rainy day.
For this challenge, A winner will be chosen from the Random Drawing for week #9 challenge will receive apackage of Tim Holtz NEW Idea-Ology Accoutrements -Shabby Buttons
And will also be entered in the end of the year $100 gift certificate drawing.
So go on over there and check out the inspiration created by everyone, and post your card!