Inspired by Challenge

I'm coming in close to the wire on this one but I always try to make time to play along with Laurel at  the Inspired By Challenge Blog.  The challenge this time around is Hot Chocolate.

This certainly looks yummy!

Because I'm a Florida girl (and most of my cards go to my local friends) I decided to go with the color scheme which just happens to be one of my favorites.  You can't go wrong with black, red and cream (or white for that matter).  I dug in to my stash and came up with this....

Center stage is a coffee cup die exclusive to Simon Says Stamp which I paired with a sentiment from an exclusive Ellen Hutson stamp set called Totally Random Sayings.  (See how I got both of my favorite online stores into one focal point?)  The postage card die is from Avery Elle and that awesome sweater background is from the Ink Blot Shop.  (I certainly don't wear cable knit sweaters here but I LOVED this stamp.)  Here's a closer look....

To create the texture I stamped the background image onto Rustic White card stock from PaperTrey Ink usingVersamark ink and then heat set it with clear embossing powder.  It came out so pretty!  The striped paper is from an MFT Stamps paper pack and the hearts were cut from an old Martha Stewart punch.  I added a thick layer of Nuvo Crystal Glaze over the hearts to create the shine.

I had a lot of fun creating this and my version is ready to send to any of my Florida friends.  

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules

CC&S #353

It's Tuesday and that means it's time for another challenge over at the CAS Colour & Sketches blog.  This time around we are using a sketch from Karen.

I recently missed the birthday of a friend.  (For the record, I didn't forget the birthday.  I just didn't get the card sent out due to an unplanned weekend trip.  Just want to be clear on that.  LOL!)  I filed that original card away to use at another time and created a new card specific to the occasion.  I gave it a rustic feel since the recipient is male but I think it would work for anyone.

The stamps are all from MFT.  The striped paper is from Memory Box (am I the only one who didn't know they had their own paper line???).  The background frame impression as well as the note card are from Paper Trey Ink.  (The frame is actually a die that I ran through my machine with an embossing pad to create the texture without actually cutting through the card stock.)

I hope some of you will play along with us this week.  I'll be back next Tuesday with another color challenge.  

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules

Reigning Queen of Snark

One of my favorite challenges on the web is the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers and I closed out the year 2019 in style by once again being crowned the Queen of Snark.  Perhaps that's not something I should be proud of but I do love a good snark and I hold that title near and dear to my heart.

As reigning queen, I was invited to be their first Guest Designer of the new decade.  The theme this time around is H is for Headache.

Of course the first thing that came to my mind was Headache = Hangover but I decided not to go for the obvious.  *wink*  I searched my stamps and in the end, went for something a bit more subtle.

I can think of several "occasions" where, with the right sentiment inside, this could be a great all occasion card.  (or it could be that she's extremely hungover and really regrets her decision to drink the previous evening....)

Thank you to the Sisterhood for letting me play along!  I am so looking forward to the 2020 challenges.

Supplies ---

WPlus9 --- Oh My Gostrich Set

Ink Blot Shop  --- Get Grounded Set (This one stays out on my desk.  I use it THAT much.)

Kelly Purkey --- a retired sentiment

Honey Bee Stamps --- tiny stars

Happy Little Stampers Watercolor Challenge

One of my crafty goals for 2020 is to delve more into the world of watercoloring.  I love the look but I have yet to achieve a level that is acceptable to me.  Today I'm joining in on the watercoloring challenge over at the Happy Little Stampers challenge group.  I'm grateful that their first challenge of the year is simple.

In my watercoloring world simple means "I do not have to color in a stamped image" so I decided to take my goal slow and do something uncomplicated.  Yes, I'm very unimaginative and boring but hey...baby steps.  :-)

I used Distress Inks to slap on some stripes in rainbow order.  I matted the watercolor paper onto white card stock that was cut with a scalloped die from WPlus9.  For the actual die cut portion of the challenge I used a sentiment die from MFT Stamps and then sprinkled the whole thing with clay hearts from Trinity Stamps.

I feel like I cheated but hey....they said "Anything Goes".  LOL!  I'll slowly work my way up to florals, another one of my crafty goals for 2020.

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules

Seize the Birthday #180

It feels so good to be back to making challenge cards on a regular basis.  Today I'm joining in at the Seize the Birthday challenge where the toppings option is layers.  I can do that.  :-)

I'm loving their new graphic.  Very fun and festive.

I took advantage of some great crafty sales over the holidays.  (Who am I kidding?  Some?  How about A LOT of crafty sales.) I'm pulling from my "new things" bin to create my cards this month.  

For this card I started with a white card base onto which I layered two pieces of patterned paper from The Stamp Market....first a pink and then a stripe from which I die cut a pattern using one of my "new to me" products from the Essentials by Ellen line over at Ellen Hutson shop.  The diamond pattern lets the pink show through from underneath.  I then used two layers of a Pink Fresh Studio leafy branch die using pink and green card stock from The Stamp Market.  (This die is also another "new to me" product.)  I then layered all of that with some black acrylic paint splatters and then finished it off with a final layer that was my sentiment and some strategically placed clear droplets.  How's that for layers?  :-)  

My style leans primarily toward CAS stamping so it was really fun to get a bit out of my comfort zone.  I am in desperate need of birthday cards right now so you may see another entry into this challenge before the deadline.  

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules

Inspired By Challenge

The first Inspired By Laurel challenge of 2020 is up and I'm so happy to be (done with snowmen) playing along.  The inspiration photo she chose is absolutely gorgeous.

It may be in the 60s here today in Florida but I know that doesn't count as winter for most of you.  No need for ice skates here either so I chose the color scheme as my inspiration.  Here's what I created....

I really should be focusing on birthday cards as that's what I need the most of right now but this Thankful die from CZ Designs at Simon Says Stamp was calling to me.  Other supplies include a background cutting plate from Reverse Confetti, a wreath from Avery Elle and a sentiment from MFT Stamps.  

I'm off to see what other challenges need to be conquered!  

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules

CC&S #352

It's time for the first CAS Colours & Sketches challenge of 2020.  We're starting the year off with a color challenge.  The color names are designated by Stampin' Up hues however you may use any brand of ink, markers, colored pencils, watercolors, etc for your cards as long as they match the color scheme designated below.

For this challenge I used Copic markers to color in a sweet little image from Avery Elle.  Living near the beach as I do, I loved these cute little beach houses when they were first released but I waited until a recent sale to snag them.   

Then birthday sentiment is from Altenew and the grass line stamp is from the Ink Blot Shop.  (It's called Get Grounded and is one of my most used sets.)  I added in a few clay hearts from Studio Katia and in the spirit of CAS (Clean and Simple) I called it good.  

I hope you will play along with us.  New challenges are released each Tuesday morning at 8:00 AM EST and they alternate between color challenges and sketch challenges.

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules