CTS #379

Good morning and happy July! This week at CAS(E) this Sketch we have an awesome retro sketch and because I've been sick this week, I'm taking it WAY back. I'm hoping to get down to the craft room today to actually make a new card for this week's sketch but I didn't want to leave you with nothing this week. So I used one of the many cards I made for this sketch way back in the day. This one is from when I was on the Sweet Stamp Shop design team and what a fun gig that was! Here's the card from way back then:

Wow, is this ever a blast from the past. I know the Artsy Fartsy set isn't available still but I know a ton of companies have created similar sets since then. So, you shouldn't have a problem finding something similar but I will link to other options below. I kept this card pretty darn simple with just some coloring and some layering. Hopefully, now that I'm feeling better I can get a new card up but I do hope you at least enjoyed this one. I don't know what it was about his year but my allergies decided to plug my head full in February and sit there until this week. Finally, it all drained but that is a weird and painful process in and of itself. Lucky, things seem to have evened out and I can hear again! Woo hoo!

I hope you have a great week and hopefully, I will have a new post up tomorrow with a new card! Have a great day and see you over at CAS(E) this Sketch.

Some of the product links included are affiliate links. You can use them at no cost to you with a big thanks from me!

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A Bit of an Oops!

If you are looking for my CAS(E) this Sketch post for the week, it's below.

Boy, did I discover a big oops today!  I was looking through my post list and realized that the super fun post I had created for Sept 12th, didn't publish!  UGH!  Apparently, I had gone in and made changes and hit "save" instead of "publish".  So, it was sitting there in draft form this whole time.  Some days!  So, since you missed out on the fun of that post.  I've tossed the card in with this one giving me two cards to share!  How fun is that?

First up, a card I made using the Reflections Kit and Sail Away Sayings stamp set from the Sweet Stamp Shop.

I used three of the cards from the Reflections kit and cut them to create a fun sunburst type base for my light house.  I stamped and used a circle punch to cut out my light house and sentiment.  I colored the stripes and the word "light" in the stamped image to reflect the colors of the card.  I layered this whole thing on some fun polka dot paper and added some bling to finish things off.

Next, I used a fun die and the Reflections kit to make this fun card.

This card couldn't have been any easier to create.  Nicole has made some cards in this kit that can hold a card all on their own.  They are awesome!  I found some nice bold chevron paper to really make this card pop.  Then I diecut the Congratulations from a coordinating color, added some bling and the card was done!  Easy!  I have to say that this is one of my favs!  I just love how bold and graphic it is.

I hope you liked my cards today.  So SO sorry about my big oops.  Go check out the Reflections kit and all the fun stamps at the Sweet Stamp Shop.  You'll have a blast! 

Fishy Fun

TGIF, everyone!  Is anyone else glad it is Friday?  My kids aren't even doing school yet and I'm thankful for Friday, especially on a long weekend.  Do you guys have any big plans for Labor Day?  I hope to do a whole lot of nothing!  How's that for a plan?  It feels like we have been go go going all summer long and I could just use some downtime.  I do hope to get a little card making done and maybe get started on my Christmas cards this year.  I really need to get going on those.  I feel like I'm SO behind since I usually try to get them done in the Jan, Feb, Mar time frame when I'm forced to be indoors much of the time anyway.  I haven't had very good luck with that for the past two years though.  Hopefully, I can change that.  Speaking of card making, I had a little extra fun with the Ahoy kit  and the Fishy stamp set from Sweet Stamp Shop last night and made this super fun card.  What do you think?

I really love the die cut frames in this kit because they give me the perfect spot for making a little scene.  For this scene, I die cut two shades of blue vellum with a ric rac border die to create the illusion of waves.  I layered my waves along with some patterned blue striped paper in the frame window to make my ocean.  When I had that done, I loved the monochromatic look it had and decided to carry that through to the rest of the card.  I colored my fish and starfish in the same colors and added them to the scene.  To create my sentiment, I stamped "Perfect Catch" on some vellum which I trimmed into a banner and added the "my" with alpha stickers.  I tossed on some enamel hearts and the scene was complete.  I set this finished card on multiple different pieces of patterned paper but as soon as it hit this piece from Studio Calico, I knew it was a match made in heaven.  I only had a small piece of it left so I used some glitter tape on the edge to fill up the card front.

I hope you guys are making the most of the fleeting days of summer.  I know I shouldn't say this but I'm really REALLY looking forward to fall.  ;)  Have a great day!

On Cherry Street: August Special Release

Hi everyone, I'm super excited to show off this awesome kit celebrating Nicole's 30th birthday and self reflection.  This Reflections kit is wonderful and gorgeous and super fun to play with.  My creation today is really personal and I was hesitant to share it in the beginning but I'm slowly embracing my weight loss journey and accepting that it actually is a part of my life.

I have struggled with my weight all my life but never as much as I have since having kids.  I had a million excuses for how I got to where I was but they were just excuses.  I was so embarrassed about my weight that I never took pictures of myself or allowed people to tag me in pictures on my Facebook page.  I didn't want anyone who knew me "before" to see what I had let myself become.  It makes me sad thinking about untagging myself from pictures my nieces and nephews were so excited to share because I couldn't stand anyone seeing the real me.  Then, my niece tagged me in a picture from her high school graduation party.  I immediately jumped on Facebook to untag myself but I froze when I saw the picture.  That couldn't be me.  The picture was shocking and it was the turning point in my life.  It was time to make a change.  I've worked my butt off since seeing that picture to get to where I am today, a place where I will gladly share pictures of me.  I love being in silly pictures with my family and I'm proud of where I am.  I know I have a ways to go but I'm SO happy with my hard work and so proud of the changes I have made that I want to show it off.  To really be proud though, I need to embrace and accept where I started and admit that I needed to make this change.  I can't just act like I never went through this challenge.  So, I'm embracing it and sharing it with you now and the Reflections kit is the perfect kit for starting to embrace my journey and document my progress.  Here goes nothing...

This page celebrates the work I have done.  I didn't weigh myself around the time of the top picture because I was afraid to know what I weighed.  Because of that, I don't know my true starting weight but 236 was the number on the scale the first time I decided it was okay to weigh myself.  That's the number I have used as my starting weight but I know it may be more.  Since then, I have lost over 50lbs, got back into running, and started crossfit-like workouts 3x a week.  I've also revamped my view of food.  I no longer think of it as a way to cover my emotions.  Now, it's fuel for all the things I want to do and there are tons of things I want to do.  ;)

I LOVE the "you are enough" card.  It is exactly what I have been learning through this weight loss journey.  No matter what, I'm enough!  I thought this card needed just a touch more sass so I got out, Stuck On This, to add a little fun.  I stamped, colored, and cut my cute cactus and layered it with the stamped "Can't Touch This" and "Duh Nuh Nuh Nuh" sentiments as well as a button and some bling.  It really helped me personalize the card to show off my rockin' transformation.  I used the soon to be retired, Numbers - Symbols set to document my starting weight on my motivation picture as well as the "Ouch" sentiment from Stuck On This.  My next 4x6 card uses the 3x4 "Nothing worth having comes easy" card from the Reflections kit layered on some patterned paper to fill the pocket.  I LOVE this card because it sums things up perfectly.  For a glimpse of some of my hard work, I added a picture of my friends and I running the Midnight Madness run.  I added a strip of vellum stamped with a stamp from the Magical Kit.  I love how all the kits can work together. 

I used the "Right Now" card to show how far I've come by adding an arrow and 50 indicating that I'm down 50lbs.  My "now" picture was taken two weekends ago and I had just as big of a reaction to seeing this picture as I did when I saw my "before" picture.  I again, didn't realize I looked like that.  Wow, I've really come a LONG way.  It made me think of the Chris Brown song, "Look At Me Now".  I went with that and used one of the adorable polka dot cards in the kit to make my "look @ me now" card as a transition from the before and during pics to the after pic.  I love how it turned out and it totally gets the song in my head every time I look at it.

My final card was another stretched 3x4 that couldn't contain a truer quote for me.  I can now officially say that I measure up and no matter what, I'm proud of myself.

I hope you enjoyed my layout and will go check out the rest of the team's work on the Sweet Stamp Shop Blog.  It was fun showing off my creation and my struggles and just so you can see the difference, here is the before and after pics together.  Enjoy and have a great day!!

CTS #89

Let me just tell you that this is my FAVORITE sketch yet.  I know, I know, I say that ALL the time but, seriously, the creations made with this sketch are AMAZING!  You must check out CAS(E) this Sketch today and see the design team's take on this sketch.  I swear you will be blown away.  For now, I'll share the sketch with you and my card but you have to go see all the other cards, oh, and play along!  ;)

 

I used lots of Studio Calico kit bits and pieces for this card as well as the Balloons and Princess stamp sets from the Sweet Stamp Shop.  I love the little crepe paper fringe from Studio Calico!  It's super cute and, in my opinion, it makes this card!

Today we don't have drum and piano lessons to run around to and I almost don't know what to do with myself, ALMOST!  ;)  We are going to head to the REC center and do some lap swimming and playing.  Should be fun!  I hope you guys have a great day and don't forget to check out the new challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch.

Fair Fun, On Cherry Street, and the Sweet Stamp Shop Blog

Guess who's up on the Sweet Blog today sharing another creation made with the newest kit from On Cherry Street?  Yup, this girl!  I'm showing off just a bit of the fun we had at the Iowa State Fair on a pocket scrapbook spread using the new Ahoy Kit.  I really think you are going to love it and I hope you'll check it out.  Here's a peek...did someone say chicken fried bacon?  ;)

Have a great one!

Sweet Stamp Shop: Sketches 2 Ways

It's a lovely Tuesday morning here in Iowa and I just wanted to pop on to the blog and let you know that I'm up over at the Sweet Stamp Shop blog.  In case you didn't know, I'm sharing a sneak peek at this week's CAS(E) this Sketch challenge that won't be on the blog until Thursday!  How fun is that?  So, go check me out.  I think you'll enjoy it!  Here's a peek of one of the cards I made...get over to the blog to see the whole thing!  ;)  See you guys tomorrow!

On Cherry Street: August Release!

Good morning everyone!  I hope you are coming here from the Sweet Stamp Shop blog after checking out all the amazing On Cherry Street Ahoy kit inspiration.  If not, be sure to check it out!  You won't want to miss this kit.  It's jam packed with awesome supplies for everything you could possibly want to create.  Just look:

I had a blast working with this kit and I keep turning to it to make more.  Like I said, it's packed with stuff!  The stamp set is super fun for card making, scrapbooking, and just about anything else you could ever want.  It's awesome!

Are you ready to see my projects for this release?  First up is a card I made using two of the adorable pocket cards and the new Ahoy stamp set. 

To me, the stripes totally looked like a modern ocean/sky landscape so I used that 4x6 card as my background paper and cut the boat and waves out of a 3x4 card to add to the front.  I stamped and embossed the "Ahoy there, Matey!" sentiment from the Ahoy set and added a few colorful enamel dots to pick up the colors on my boat's flags.  Finally, I decided it needed just a bit more so I used glossy accents to give a shine to the sail and flags. 

My next card uses the kit and the Ahoy stamp set as well. 

This card uses two 4x6 pocket cards.  I trimmed down my life preserver card to fit as a background and then cut out the sentiment on the explore more card to make a sentiment strip for my card.  I layered a bit of red glitter tape under my popped sentiment to give it some sparkle.  Finally, I stamped and cut two life preservers from the Ahoy stamp set to accent my card.  I tied them together with some cross stitch floss and adhered them in place on the card.  Super fun!

My final card uses an oldie but goodie, Too Hip, along with the Ahoy kit and Ahoy stamp set.

 
When I saw all the fun in this kit, I just knew I was going to have to have a card with a pirate hippo!  How could I resist?  I stamped and masked my pirate hat on some white cardstock before stamping my cute hippo in place.  I then colored and cut him out.  For my background, I used the anchor 4x6 card and a strip of glitter tape.  I layered my 3x4 Sink or Swim card from the Ahoy kit and then tried to decided how to tie it all together.  What kind of card was this going to be?  At first I thought, "Sink or swim:  I'm here for you" or "Sink or Swim:  I'll always love you".  Both are good options but then I saw this little flag I had in a pile of banners that said "Go Big".  Big, Hippo...perfect!!!!  My banner layered with the pirate hippo, life preserver, and some bling finished the card off perfectly.

I hope you enjoyed my cards today using the Ahoy kit.  Don't forget to check out the Sweet Stamp Shop blog if you missed it.  You won't want to miss the rest of the amazing creations from the design team.  I can't wait to share more of this amazing kit with you.  So keep checking out my blog and the Sweet blog for more fun all month long!  Have a great day!

Sweet Stamp Shop August Release!

Good morning everyone!  Hope your weekend was awesome and you enjoyed the sun and surf or, in my case, the sun.  ;)  Well, this release is all about summer and you are going to LOVE it!!  I just can't wait to show it all off and don't forget to check the Sweet Stamp Shop Blog.  You won't want to miss the amazing creations from the rest of the team.

First up, Fishy.  LOVE THIS SET.  Have you ever seen cuter sea creatures and that shark...wow!  Here's what I created with this adorable set.

For this card, I used a 3x4 journaling card that had a polka dot background.  The large bubble stamp matched the polka dots perfectly!  Can't beat when that happens!  So, I stamped some bubbles on the journaling card to make it look like an underwater party.  I then embossed my "Happy Birthday" sentiment on the card and stamped out my fish and starfish for coloring.  I die cut a banner and modified the "Make A Wish" stamp from last month's Princess set to say "Make A Fish".  Ha ha, SO punny!  ;)  After stamping my fish, I realized they needed party hats, so I re-stamped them masking off the hat from Too Hip.  The hats fit PERFECTLY and finally my fish were ready to PARTY!  I added them to the card with some foam tape and then popped on some bling I have that looks like frosted and shiny bubbles.  The bling finished it off and made just about the cutest card EVER!   

This card has a super fun/silly/crazy/weird technique behind it and you'll have to tune into the Sweet Stamp Shop Blog tomorrow morning for Sketches 2 Ways to find out just how I made this card.  It was too good not to share today though.  ;)

My next card uses the Ahoy! stamp set and the Sail Away Sayings stamp set. 

 

For this card, I layered two layers of blue vellum that I die cut with a ric rak die to make waves.  I attached the vellum to the backside of the card front so it would keep a loose wave look to it.  I embossed the sentiment from Sail Away Sayings in white on the top sheet of vellum.  Then I embossed the anchor from Ahoy! on some white paper in silver and colored it in with a silver glitter pen.  I cut out my anchor and punched a hole in it for my length of twine.  My anchor is attached to the card front with some foam tape and then I tied my twine to the anchor, pulled it over the fold, and ran it through a hole I punched in the card back.  I taped that end down and then covered it with a strip of fun glitter tape on the inside to make it look finished.  Finally, a few silver glitter enamel dots finish off the card front.  I LOVE how this one turned out!  Totally fun.

My final card uses Beach Bum.

This card was SUPER fun to create using another 3x4 journaling card.  I die cut three different colors of glitter tape with a hill die to create my layers of beach sand.  I stamped all my images from Beach Bum and colored them with copics so I could layer them in my sand.  The words in this set were perfect stamped in red to extend the existing sentiment.  I contemplated using this in a layout instead of making a card because the 3x4 card turned out SO cute!  Then, I found the two patterned papers for the background and my decision to make a card was sealed.  The "enjoy" circle is a sticker I had in my stash that I popped up with some foam squares.  The finishing touches...three enamel dots to bring out the colors in the card.

I hope you enjoyed my cards today and that you'll go check out the Sweet Stamp Blog to see all the fun happening today for the release.  Don't miss it.  You never know what Nicole might have in store for you!  Have a great day!

Sweet Stamp Shop: Sketches 2 Ways!

Are you ready for another awesome sneak peek at the upcoming challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch?  Well, you asked for it and Sweet Stamp Shop and I are giving it to you.  Just check me out on the Sweet Stamp Shop Blog for your exclusive peek at this week's challenge and two cards made with the sketch.  You won't want to miss this one, there is something EXTRA special about this challenge.  ;)  Here's a peek at one of my cards:

See you over at the Sweet Blog!  Can't wait to spill the beans.  Ha ha! 

On Cherry Street on the Sweet Blog!

Hi everyone!  Just checking in really quick while I'm waiting for the iron to heat up (do you hate ironing like I do?).  I wanted to let you know that I'm up on the Sweet Blog today with yet another fun way that I have used the On Cherry Street Magical Kit.  I think you'll like it.  Here's a look at what I created but you'll have to check out my post to get the real down and dirty.  ;)

Well, my pile of wrinkly laundry is calling to me.  I would totally rather be crafting!  ;)  Have a great day and I hope you enjoy my post!

On Cherry Street Blog Hop

Good morning and I hope you are enjoying the Sweet Stamp Shop:  On Cherry Street blog hop.  I know I am!  If you are just joining us, we've got tons of fun inspiration for you.  This kit is fabulous and the projects from the design team really show off just how much fun you can have with it.  The best part?  All that fun comes at a really reasonable price, $15.95!  One note though, if you order the kit today you'll want to know that Sweet is on vacation so it won't ship right away!

Enough with the formalities, let me share my creation with you!  I am trying to get back into scrapbooking since I did really well keeping up with it until 2010 when my youngest was born.  I had big plans for scrapbooking:  I would scrap each boys' first year in their own scrapbook and then do a family album for each year.  I finished each of the boys' first year books but our family books only go to 2010.  I decided to get caught up by jumping on the pocket scrapping trend.  Well, most of my supplies for that end up on my greeting cards.  Ha ha!  Also, I'm a scrap in chronological order kind of gal and that can be overwhelming when you are SO far behind.  So, I've decided to focus on the now and when I get the "bug", I will start doing older pages.  So far, that plan is working and much of that has to do with this new Magical Kit.  It's fun combining my stamps and my kit.  I'm having a blast with it.  Ready to see my first big layout in 4 years?

I did a mud run with my niece and her boyfriend and this kit just fit that perfectly.  Here are some close ups:

I love Monogram Alpha and  Outline Lower Alpha for titles.  I used copics to color in my mud and make a nice mucky mess under my title.  It looked so fun on that 3x4 card.  I knew I wanted to use that card in that spot but the page I was using had a space there for a 4x6 card.  I figured I could use the 3x4 card as an embellishment on a 4x6 card that I made with some vellum and a scrap of matching paper.  It quickly turned a 3x4 card into a 4x6 title.  PERFECT!  Seriously, how cute are those wooden stars from the kit?  LOVE!

This pic shows two of my favorite cards in the kit.  The card with "Ok, everyone look this way..." on it could totally be me trying to take a pic of my kids.  It worked perfectly with my group picture because we were actually all looking at different cameras and that just made me laugh.  The bottom card is perfect for a mud run but I could think of a million other things to use "We came.  We saw. We conquered." for.  I layered our medal pic on it with the wooden banner piece (in the kit) and added some of my own alpha stickers for a little extra personality.

I hope you liked my page and are enjoying the blog hop so far.  I can't wait to share more of my "catch up" pages with you guys as the month continues.  Until then, keep hopping and check out the rest of the team.  You will LOVE it!  Have a great one!

Sweet Blog 

Anna

April Joy

Cathy

Chrissie T.

Chrissy L.  <------  You are here!  ;)
Evelin

Heather

Jennie

Laura

Hope you have a great day and don't forget to check out the kit and July release over at the Sweet Stamp Shop!  

Sweet Stamp Shop: Sketches 2 Ways!

Good morning!  I'm about to run out the door to get my 2 oldest boys to their first day of Bible Camp.  They are SO excited and I can hardly wait to hear all about it.  They are going to have a blast.  I didn't want to run off before letting you guys know that I'm up on the Sweet Stamp Shop Blog this morning and you won't want to miss the peek at this week's CAS(E) this Sketch challenge.  The cards I created with it are pretty darn cute too plus, you'll learn about a fun product I found at tried out on my card.  I hope you stop on over and say "hi".  I'd really love it!  Well, off I run!  Have a great day and see you soon!

Even More Sweet: On Cherry Street Release!

 

It's here, it's here!!!  I must say that I have been waiting for this and I'm just bursting with excitement over the release of the very first On Cherry Street kit.  Want to know why I'm so excited?  Well, as you know, I'm pretty much a card maker at heart.  Sure, I dabble in pocket scrapping, traditional scrapping, and an occasional tag here and there but I'm a card maker deep down to my bones.  That is why this kit excites me SO much.  You're probably thinking I'm nuts about now as you look and see what to most people looks like a pocket scrapping kit...there are 3x4 and 4x6 cards in there for crying out loud!  Well, Nicole knows that I'm obsessed with using 3x4 and 4x6 cards in my card making...heck, I've sucked her into my vortex as well!  She also knows that most 4x6 and 3x4 cards can be tough to use on a card because the sentiment or picture is just not in the right spot for card making or it just doesn't fit with a stamped image you might want to use.  She's a smart gal and she knows that what card makers need is a kit designed for the card maker that wants a quick easy launching point for a card and THAT is why this kit is SO awesome.  Can it be used for scrapping, TOTALLY!!  Will tag makers love...well sure!  Card makers rejoice because, finally, there is a kit designed with you in mind.  Just wait until you see all the parts and pieces and the STAMP SET!!!  WOW!  Plus, remember those adorable stamp sets that I showed off yesterday?

This kit works with those.  It's simply perfection and the price can't be beat ($15.95).  You must read more on the Sweet Blog about this awesome kit and then get your butt to the store and buy it.  You will be cranking out adorable cards, layouts, tags, etc in no time.  Wanna see?

Have I told you how much I love that little frog from Royal Wish?  Wait, I did...yesterday!  Ha ha!  Well, pair him with the Polaroid frame, stripey card, wood embellishments, and an adorable sentiment from the kit's stamp set and you have a card that pretty much made its self. 

I added a few of my own supplies but the frame and card started it all for me.  The rest just fell into place.  That is why I LOVE working with 3x4 and 4x6 cards.  They really make card making a breeze and they give you a great focal point to start from.  AWESOME!  Remember that I said tag makers would like this too?  Check this out:

Now, I do not consider myself a tag maker in the slightest.  I can sort of create a tag to put on a card but I've never been completely satisfied with them.  Give me a cute 3x4 card though and I can make a tag!  I almost passed out from the shock of actually creating a tag that I liked...no, LOVED!  This 3x4 card from the kit was just too cute to not make an awesome tag.  All I did, was add some glitter paper and patterned vellum to each side and stick it on an already made tag.  I added some bling because why wouldn't you?  Then I decided I wanted a little more than just a bow or tie at the top.  So, I stamped some of the jewels from Royal Wish, colored them, and added them on different lenghts of colored bakers twine.  It finished it off perfectly!  OMG, I made a tag!!!  It looks pretty awesome on my fun chevron gift bag too.

No matter if you are a card maker, scrapbooker, tag maker, or anything in between this is the perfect kit for you but you don't have to take my word for it.  Go check out the Sweet Blog to see all the amazing creations that can come from one kit.  You'll get to see a peek at some projects that I'm going to show you this month in more detail.  Also, you will want to join our Facebook page and keep checking the blog to get even more inspiration using Sweet Stamps and the On Cherry Street kit.  It's all really too good to miss!