CTS #67

Good morning and welcome to another week of CTS fun!  I'm excited to share the sketch and card with you this week and hope you will like it and come play along.  I'm busy packing to head to Minneapolis, MN for a puppet conference.  I work with the 4th - 6th graders at our church creating fun puppet shows for the congregation.  The kids just love it and it's just one more outlet for my creative juices.  I look forward to the puppet conference every year as it is packed with fun ideas and inspiration.  I'm just hoping the weather cooperates with me.  I'm always fearful (especially this year) when I'm going north during the winter months.  Here's hoping the warm weather they have been predicting sticks!  ;)

This week's sketch is from me.  It came about when I was playing with my pocket scrapbooking cards.  It's pretty simple but I hope you enjoy it!  Here's the sketch:

Can you see the pocket card inspiration?  Here's my card that I made using, amazingly enough, pocket cards!  ;)

Not a single stitch of stamping on this card making it super easy.  I hope you enjoy my card and come join in the fun at CAS(E) this Sketch!  We'd love to have you.  Have a great and WARM day!  ;)

March: 2x the Sweet!

Every month that I get to share another release from Sweet Stamp Shop with you is a good month but this month is especially awesome.  I get to share two releases with you this month!  Isn't that wonderful?  I'm warning you though, you are going to want it all.  I sure do!  ;)  So, hopefully, you have already checked out the new release post over at the Sweet Blog and are coming here to see my "extras".  If you haven't been over to the blog, you MUST go check it out.  You will be amazed with what the design team came up with for this release.  There's a little bit of everything (cards, scrapbooking, etc) and you won't want to miss it!  For now, here's how the stamp sets inspired me for this first installment of March's Sweet release!

First up, I got to play with Speech Bubbles.  How cool are these shapes?  I've seen speech bubble sets out there but nothing nearly as cool as these.  They are so cool that they flew right off the shelves already and you'll have to pre-order them if you want them as badly and I know you will.  The sentiments are just as fun and unique as the shapes themselves.  Check it out:

Did I have fun playing with this set?  YES WAY!!!  ;)  

This card was inspired by pop art.  I just loved how bold it turned out.  Basically, I checked my stash for some fun dotted paper to help make the Speech Bubbles really pop.  I colored the 40 (Numbers - Symbols) with some colored pencils to get a gradient effect and added a little sparkle with a glittery heart punched out of glitter tape.  I just LOVE how it turned out.

This was a super fun card to create.  I embossed the Speech Bubbles, cut them out, and then inked them up.  I love how that turned out!  I found these super fun papers in my stash and got to layering.  I just LOVE this color combo but couldn't figure out what the bubbles should say.  Then I thought it would be fun to use some happy birthday sentiments from other sets (Foxy, Panda Face, Just the Basics) to make it look like people were yelling out their windows.  I found some bling and, I have to admit, the bling took on a life of its own and jumped all over the card.  Good thing it knew where to go.  ;)

The next set I got to play with was the ADORABLE Doggy Dog set.  Seriously, how could you not love this set?  It's totally perfect.

This little guy will make everyone smile and he's so versatile!

My first card uses some pocket scrapbooking supplies.  I used a 4x6 pocket card for the background and a 3x4 card (trimmed) for the popped focal background.  I colored my dog and bowl with copics and made a sign out of wood veneer paper (hard to tell in the pic).  I cut up my sentiment to make it fit on the sign and added an arrow from the Anatomy of Love set to show just were this dog wanted his bones.  A few pop dots and blingy hearts later and you have a pretty precious little puppy card!

I must admit that I love this card and how it turned out!  I layered a couple pocket scrapbooking (3x4) cards to get my focal background this time and embossed my card base for a little extra interest.  My dog was colored with copics again and I figured he totally needed a little eye patch.  Since I knew he was going to be telling us something, he needed an open mouth.  This was the perfect time to bring in Panda Face and the fun mouth shapes in that set.  It worked PERFECTLY for my pup.  I used my favorite Speech Bubbles shape (shhh...don't tell the others) and some alphabet stickers to get my bark.  The "say what?" and "..." are embossed on the front and with a little chipboard heart, wood banner end, and a bit of bling, I ended up with this adorable little card. 

I hope you enjoyed my SWEET creations for this first part of our March release.  Make sure you check out the blog for even more wonderful creations and I hear that there will be some interesting stuff happening on the Sweet YouTube channel this week and in the future.  You will TOTALLY want to subscribe so you don't miss a thing.  Also, have you seen all the work Nicole has done on the Sweet Stamp Shop Pinterest boards.  If you ever get stuck like I do sometimes, this is a great place to mosey around and be inspired.  Check it out!  Also, don't forget to use the coupon code (MFR10) to save 10% on the new releases.  Awesome stamps and a discount are a super SWEET combo! 

Have a great day and I hope you enjoyed this release as much as I did!

CTS #66

Good morning and welcome to another fun week of CAS(E) This Sketch sketchy goodness!  We've got a really fun sketch for you today from Julie and I think you are going to love it.  Here it is:

Pretty cool, isn't it?  I had a million ideas with this sketch but for some reason I couldn't get my ideas to translate to my card.  I'm going to continue to play with it though because I love the sketch and I love the cards the rest of the team created...you MUST check them out!  Hopefully, I'll have another card to share with you using this sketch soon.  Until then, here's what I came up with:

I used a fun card from my Studio Calico Project Life kit for the focal point of the card and then an awesome Happy die from PTI.  I'm not super happy with how it all turned out but I like it enough.  Ha ha!  Aren't we always our own worst critics?  Anyway, I hope to see you play along this week with us at CAS(E) this Sketch.  You guys always inspire me and I thank you for that!

Today we are doing our mad rush from online class, to drum lessons, library, and finally piano lessons.  I'm tired just thinking about it!  Ha ha!  I hope you are having a less hectic day.  Can't wait to see your creations!

CTS #65

Good morning!  I'm feeling a bit under the weather so pardon me if this is a little brief.  I wanted to be sure to share with you this week's sketch, however, because I think it's awesome!  Sam did a great job with this sketch and I think you'll agree that it's super fun to play along with.  What do you think?

Ready for the full reveal of my card?  I hope you like it!

 I used some awesome Sweet Stamp Shop stamps for this card.  I just can't resist that adorable fox!!  ;)  Hope you have a great day and come play along with us at CAS(E) this Sketch.  Back to bed for me.  Ick.  ;(

Sweet Stamp Shop: Sketches 2 Ways

Good morning, everyone!  I'm up today on the Sweet Blog and I really excited to show you what I've created!  You'll get a peek of CTS sketch #65 that's coming up on Thursday and two fun cards created with the sketch in mind.  I really hope you will go check it out.

Instead of showing you a card that you'll see when you head over to the Sweet Blog, I decided to give you peek of the card I made for this week's CTS sketch.  You'll see the whole thing on Thursday but I hope you enjoy this little peek.

My Sweet Stamp Shop sets are getting a real workout this week.  So, go over to the Sweet Blog and check out the upcoming sketch and my two fun takes!  See you back here Thursday for our CTS challenge!  Have a great day!

CTS #64

It's Thursday again and time for another great sketch.  This week's sketch is totally fun and unique.  When N@ Ali sent this to me, I knew it was going to be a hit.  Well, except for the fact that it's a snowman and I think we are all ready for winter to be over.  ;)  So turn it into something else springy and lets have some fun!  Here's the sketch:

You know my favorite part of this sketch is that there are no outlines on the snowman but you still picture them with your eyes.  SO cool!  Ready for my take?

I cranked out a pretty simple card for this challenge but I LOVE it!  I used the idea of the sentiment cutting into the snowman but instead used the heart to cut into the bubble.  This set from PTI worked perfectly for a super quick, super fun card.  I hope you like it!

Today we are getting a bit of a warm up and I'm hoping to take full advantage but getting out and cleaning the chicken coop from top to bottom.  The poor girls have dealt with me cleaning it out only minimally for a couple weeks.  I suppose it was a good thing though since the extra feathers and mess that collected in the coop between my quick cleans has helped keep them warm in this frigid winter.  Today, with warmer weather predicted for the next week, they are getting scrubbed from top to bottom.  Lucky girls!  ;)  I'm going to try to shovel some of the snow out of their run also to let them get out and dig in the dirt a bit.  I'm sure they have missed that and they are wimps when it comes to the snow...they won't even go near it.  Silly chickens.  The boys and I will be SO happy to get out and about in the yard.  My boys are already anxious to get planting our garden.  If only it was going to be THAT warm already.  ;)

What ever you are doing today, keep warm and take the time to enjoy what you are doing.  We'd love for you to take the time to join us at CAS(E) this Sketch.  It's always awesome to see what you create!  Hope to see your creations in the mix!  ;)

It's SWEET time again!

It's that time again!  I can't wait to share just how awesomely inspiring this month's release has been.  I swear, you are going to want it ALL!  First, I have a little info for you.  Hopefully, you all LIKE the Sweet Stamp Shop Facebook page and already know all of this but just in case, I'll fill you in on the news for this release.

Each month there is a super SWEET release event on Facebook which you can find by checking the Events tab on the SSS Facebook page or by being invited by one of the designers (you are welcome to friend me to get invites from me).  By joining this event each month, you get early access to ordering the new release stamps and an extra special discount for the event.  Well, the pre-release event was SO popular this month and the stamps are SO awesome, that they are almost all gobbled up!  Can you even believe it?  Lucky for you, Nicole is already on it and has stamps on the way so you won't have to be Sweetless for long.  ;)  Even cooler, she's letting you use the new release coupon code (NRF20) now or if what you're hunting for is out of stock, you can use the same code when the stamps are back in stock.  Is that awesome, or what?  What's the big take home from all of this?  YOU WANT TO BE IN THE NEW RELEASE EVENTS GROUP!  If you are like me and can't wait to get new stamps in your hot little hands, you want first dibs, right?  So, LIKE our Facebook Page, check the Events tab, and friend one of us on FB to make sure you get the invite.  You DON'T want to miss it next month!  ;)

Now on to the fun stuff.  This month was a super fun one and I can't wait to show you what I created.  First up, Stuck On You. 

How adorable is this set?  I ended up creating one of my favorite cards of all time with this set so I only made one card!  Can you believe it?  Don't worry, you'll be seeing more of this awesome set on Monday when I show it off in my Sketches 2 Ways series.  For now, this will have to do:

How perfectly adorable is that spiky little cactus?  What about that bling?  The sequins are courtesy of Pretty Pink Posh.  Paulina was gracious enough to share some goodies with us for this release and boy were they fun to play with!  Even cooler...Nicole has a giveaway on the blog right now so you can win some PPP goodies for yourself!  So, go try to win but you MUST go check out Paulina's amazing selection of goodies.  You won't leave without ordering though...be warned!  ;)

Next up, Sparkle and Shine.  

LOVE this set!  Who doesn't need a great set of stampable bling?  You will love the sentiments in this set and talk about fun jewels and sequins.  I love that you can pair they with dimensional bling to get a super cool look.  Plus, there are tons of ways to use them.  I was so inspired, I made three cards!  ;)  These first two you have probably already seen on the Sweet FB page or blog.

The card above was super fun to make and I love how versatile these awesome jewels are.  What other creative ways can you come up with for this set?

The last set I got to play with this month was Announcing.  Super elegant and who doesn't love banners?

 
I had some fun with this set, creating two cards:

I love that I can use the birds on their own, with the banners, or forget the birds and only use banners.  SO many ways to go with this set and so many different banner options.  I'm dying to make a card with the little pennants hanging on the string and floating away with some birds carrying it.  Makes me think of Cinderella when the birds help her create her dress with scraps from around the house.  Ok, I know, my mind is going off on a tangent.  Ha ha!  Some sweet little birds most have brought some sequins in for this card and placed them just right!  Again, more Pretty Pink Posh goodness!

I hope you enjoyed my creations with the new release.  They are super fun stamps and you will not want to go without them in your stash.  So, get over to the shop and order!!  Don't forget the coupon code (NRF20).  Thanks for checking out my blog and I can't wait to see you back here soon.  Have a great day.