Get Sketchy #62

I loved this week's sketch at Get Sketchy.  It's a pretty versatile design that you could adapt for any occassion.  I needed a birthday card for a friend's son that turned 6, so I used this sketch. 

Here's my card:

I just love that little monster from Hero Arts.  He makes me happy!  And that patterned paper does too!  It's so bright and colorful. I probably should pick up a few more sheets of it.

You can play along with the challenge by clicking here.   And here is the great sketch:

Thanks for visiting today!

Quick Halloween Treats

ETA:  Thanks to Kim Wilson at Off the Wall Craftiness and her random number generator for picking these cards as the winners of Challenge #31! 

I made these quick Halloween treats for some of my co-workers on Thursday night.  I wanted something quick, so I used my Halloween Tags set and the Limitless Layers dies.

If I had more time I would have added a few embellishments or glitter, but I was happy with the quick and easy turn-around with these.

This also fits the challenge this week at Off The Wall Craftiness this week. I think it's pretty funny that Kim's Challenge #31 is Halloween week and she chose Halloween colors.  Here's her inspiration:

Here are my steps for my quick cards:
1.  Scor the paper at 3 inch intervals and cut the paper 3x6.
2.  Run all 4 dies through the Big Shot four times (I made 16 of these.)
3.  Stamp favorite tag images four times each and punch them out.
4.  Adhere image to mat and mat to cardstock.
5.  Stamp the inside with "Happy Halloween!"
6.  Fold at scor-line.

Thanks for looking today!

Supplies:

Stamps:2009 Halloween Tags (Papertrey Ink)

Paper: white, orange and black cardstocks

Ink:  True Black (PTI)

Tools: Limitless Layers Dies (PTI), 1.75-inch punch (EK Success)

Sending Birthday Wishes

There's nothing like waiting until the last minute to make a card for someone you care about!  My co-teacher's birthday is Saturday, and I wanted to make her something special.  But when I sat down to begin, nothing came to me; nothing happened.  After throwing away a couple of panels stamped in Turning a New Leaf (gasp! I know!), I turned to an old stand-by, much like I turn to my old friend whose birthday is Saturday. 

Here's my card:

Yes, that's right.  My old stand-by is Every Day Button Bits.  This really is one of the best stamp sets from Papertrey Ink...ever.  Who doesn't love buttons?  My friend's favorite color is purple, so I knew that I had to be the main color in her card.

Here's the inside:

Ahhh. Another favorite - Signature Greetings.  And this set isn't mine; it's on loan from Tanna, my fellow PTI addict.  She may never get it back.  (Click on her name and check out her blog.  AMAZING!)  The left panel is a spot for me to tuck in a gift card.  The only envelope I could find was a clear one, so I decided to dress it up a bit.

This is the first time I have used Fillable Frame #9.  Wow!  How cool is that going to be for Christmas and birthdays!  Can't wait to get started on some Christmas tags.

That's all I have for you today.  I'm not sure how much I'll get done this weekend since my sister and brother-in-law are coming to see me, and it's Halloween!  Hopefully, I can sneak in some time, but I'm not counting on it.  If not, I'll see you early next week!


Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Every Day Button Bits, Signature Greetings, Fillable Frames #9

Paper: Stampers Select White, Plum Pudding, Bitty Dot Basics (Plum Pudding)

Ink:  Plum Pudding, New Leaf

Tools: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Nesties Blossom Dies

Other: Plum Pudding Buttons, Rustic Cream Button Twine (PTI), Hero Arts rhinestones

wee Memories - Cute Holiday

Have you been playing along with the wee Memories challenges?  They are so, so fun!  This week's challenge is this:

Not having any cute kittens to use, I opted for the next cutest holiday symbol - the snowman - and I LOVE the Cling Snowman from Hero Arts. 

Here's my card:

Paper piecing, fussy cutting, felt cutting, glittering and glossy accenting all took part in the making of this card.  It was some work, but I loved it.

Here's a close-up:

You still have a couple of days to play along with this challenge!  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps: Share the Joy (Hero Arts)

Paper: Blueberry Sky, Bitty Dot Basics, Stampers Select (Papertrey Ink)

Ink:  True Black (PTI)

Felt: Vintage Cream (PTI)

Hero Arts Prisma Glitter, Glossy Accents, flower, rhinestones

Thinking of You

I thought I would post a card that I created last summer using Life, a set designed by Lisa Johnson.  Every time I use this set I am still amazed at its versatility.  I love how with just a little change from one project to the next, I can create a big difference.

Here's my card: 

I used one of my favorite Nesties dies for the mat and stamped the flower image in Ripe Avocado and Plum Pudding.  The lighter colors are the second stamping without re-inking.  The sentiment and butterflies are from Hero Arts.

Thanks for dropping by! 


Supplies:

Stamps: Life (Papertrey Ink), Every Day Sayings (Hero Arts)

Paper: Ripe Avocado, Vintage Cream (PTI)

Ink:  Ripe Avocado, Plum Pudding, Vintage Tea Dye Duo

Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities

Other: Rustic Jute Twine & Plum Pudding Button (PTI), pearl, rhinestones

Papertrey October Blog Hop Challenge

This month Nichole challenged us with this:

There is always a lot of focus on Christmas in our industry this time of year, as that is what the majority   of the population celebrates.  However, this month's blog hop is dedicated to those that celebrate winter  holidays other than Christmas.  Create a project that celebrates Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or some other  winter holiday as we embrace everyone's beliefs in a celebration of diversity through paper crafting.

Because I celebrate Christmas,  this was a stretch for me.  After researching some information on Kwanzaa, I realized that it wasn't always celebrated integrated with Christianity, but over the years it has evolved into a double celebration for many people.  The principles that this African-American Holiday celebrate are:

• Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
• Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
• Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems, and to solve them together.
• Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
• Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
• Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

I was glad to learn something new.  For my card I used a popular symbol for Kwanzaa, a Kinara, a group of 7 candles to represent the 7 principles.  Here's my card:

 Thanks for looking! Enjoy the hop!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Scattered Showers

Paper: Pure Poppy, True Black, New Leaf, Summer Sunrise

Ink:  Pure Poppy, True Black, New Leaf

Tools: Linen Impression Plate

Other: Wood paper, Sakura Stardust pen, Hero Arts Cupcakes set

Off theWall Craftiness #30

I loved this week's color challenge at Off the Wall Craftiness!  I couldn't wait to get started and I knew just the stamp set I wanted to use.    Check out this photo inspiration Kim chose:

I haven't had a chance to ink up one of my new stamp sets I recently had delivered, so I knew that it would take center stage.  I dressed it up a bit by running the stamped images through my Big Shot using the Canvas Impression Plate.  I have to admit, I wasn't crazy about this side of the plate when I first got it, but it sure is growing on me.  Think I'll give it more love and see what else I can do with it.

Here's my card:

I just love those two little birds looking at each other!  A couple of buttons, a scallop die and some twine and I was finished. 

Thanks for looking!  Tomorrow I have a card for you that is way out of my comfort zone!  Come see!

Supplies:

Stamps: Merry Little Christmas, Big & Bold Wishes (Papertrey Ink)

Paper: Stampers Select, Dark Chocolate (PTI), Kiwi Crush (Bazzill)

Ink: Dark Chocolate, New Leaf (PTI)

Tools: Canvas Impression Plate, Medium Scallop Die (PTI)

Other: white buttons and Rustic Jute Twine (PTI), Sakura Stardust pen (on birds)

wee Memories - part 2

Don't forget to get over to the wee Memories blog to participate in the  

Wee Memories Scrappy Saturday challenge!

A Scor Buddy is up for grabs and who doesn't need one of those! 

Hurry! You have until midnight!

EBKS #25

I loved this week's sketch challenge at Everything But the Kitchen Sink blog.  You can see all the details and play along if you click here.  I was able to complete two cards for this challenge.  Hope I'm not breaking any rules by submitting both.

Here's the sketch that Courtney gave us for the challenge.  Cards are due on October 24th if you want to play along. 

Here's my first card:

I was able to use lots of new goodies that my UPS man brought me yesterday.  New paper, new dies, new stamps.  Wow!  I was very happy yesterday!

My second card is for my ever-growing stack of Halloween cards.  I got my work out with my Big Shot today and recreated my spider from a previous post.  I just love that guy!  A punch, a die and some googly eyes and he's all done.  I mixed up some stamps for the sentiment here.  The "Happy" is from a birthday set and the Halloween is from another set.  Love how my things can work well together.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great weekend!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Tiny Treats Christmas, 2010 Holiday Tags

Paper: Blueberry Sky, Stampers Select

Tools: Limitless Layers dies

Other: Versamark, white Zing embossing powder


Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Birthday Basics, 2009 Halloween Tags

Paper: Stampers Select, Orange Zest, True Black, 2008 Bitty Dot Basics in True Black

Ink: True Black, Orangerie (on edges)

Tools: Rik-Rak Die and Large Rik-Rak Die

Other: rhinestones, googley eyes, EK Success 1.75 punch, Sakura Stardust pen (on legs)

Fall Thank You!

This is another card I made during my Fall Frenzy.  I love the colors of Fall, and the patterned paper from Crate Paper is perfect.  It's from the Lemon Grass Collection.  The tree is Hero Arts colored in with my aquacolor pencils. I love that tree.  It's so versatile that you can use it for any season.  I masked the bottom portion of the trunk so that my sentiment from PTI could take center stage. 

The focal point needed a little extra something, so I rounded the corners at the top and added the twine.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Hero Arts Stamping Green Tree (K5062), Papertrey Inks Inside & Out Thank You
Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate, Summer Sunrise, Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper:  Lemon Grass (Crate Paper)
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Orangerie (PTI)
Ribbon: Rustic Jute Twine (PTI)
Aquacolor Pencils & Dove blender pen

wee Memories Challenge #27

This is my second post for today! Please scroll down to see what else I've been up to!

I was so excited to see the new challenge at wee Memories.  This week the challenge is to create a card for any celebration.  I have been stock-piling fall and Halloween cards, so this was a refreshing change.

Here's what I came up with:

 Oh, how I adore all cupcake stamps.  I have several of them and want even more.  This is the Hero Arts Cling cupcake stamp.  I stamped it once on Kraft and once on the light pink polka dot paper.  Then I cut both out to paper piece the full cupcake.  I colored in the hearts and sprinkles on the top, then added Hero Arts Prisma Glitter and Glossy Accents to the swirls and the center of the heart.  Love doing that.  Here's a close up:

Thanks for looking!  Hope you can find something to celebrate and participate in the challenge!


Supplies:
Stamps:  Hero Arts Large Cupcake Cling, Happiness Messages
Cardstock: Hibiscus Burst, Stampers Select, Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper:  2008 & 2009 Bitty Dot Basics (PTI)
Ink: Dark Chocolate (PTI)
Ribbon/Button: Hibiscus Burst (PTI)
Hero Arts Prisma Glitter, Fiskars pens, Gelly Roll pens, Silver twine

Shabby Tea Room Pumpkin Challenge

Talk about waiting until the last minute! Today is the deadline for this week's Shabby Tea Room challenge, and it's one I have been thinking about all week! I finally was able to get busy and complete.  This was their photo inspiration:

Pumpkins!  I love them.  Pumpkins had to be the main theme in our project.  This is what I came up with:

I cut out the pumpkin and then stitched along the seams to create the "lumps" in the pumpkin.  I went over the edges and the stitching with some Dark Chocolate ink to give it some depth.  The background is stamped in New Leaf with Turning a New Leaf set.  I love the little grass border from K&Memories.  So fun and versatile.

Thanks for looking!  You have a few hours left if you want to participate in this one!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:
Stamps:  Turning a New Leaf, 2009 Halloween Tags
Cardstock: Fine Linen, Orange Zest, New Leaf
Ink: New Leaf, Dark Chocolate
Ribbon: Dark Chocolate, Rustic Jute Twine
Other:
Border: K&Company Actopus to Zelephant
Thread & sewing machine

Embellish Felt Challenge

I have lost sleep over the new Embellish Challenge!  Do any of you do that?  Do you try to work something out in your head before you even get started?  That's what I was doing.  It didn't get any better when I was working on the card.  I spent way too long on this and have changed the design several times, but I think I'm finally happy with it. 

Here's what Ashley gave us for this week's challenge.  You can see all the details here. 

I love using felt on my cards, and the colors she chose are beautiful.  I still don't know why I lost sleep over it.  Here's my card:

I used one of the new Impression Plates on the Sweet Blush cardstock.  I just love the soft texture it gives to the card.

Thanks for dropping by!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Signature Greetings

Paper: Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate

Ink: Dark Chocolate

Buttons & Bakers Twine: Dark Chocolate

Tool: Beautiful Blooms Dies, Linen impression plate
Felt: Pure Poppy, Harvest Gold
Other: Spellbinders pink felt

Tuesday Trigger

Cath gave us a fabulous piece of inspiration on her blog, Moxie Fab World, on Tuesday.  She named it "A Funky Fall" probably because the colors in the picture aren't quite what we picture as Fall.  Here it is:

Pretty, isn't it?  I mulled this one over for quite some time.  I really wanted to stay true to the colors and shapes, but I didn't have a tree in that same shape.  So, I decided to work with my hot air balloons.  I haven't in awhile, and I have forgotten how much fun they are.  Here's my card:

 
I tried to mimic the shape of the foreground by sewing some chartreuse felt on the aqua mist cardstock.  I added a little texture to the cardstock with an impression plate and inked the edges in white to resemble clouds. 

I loved this challenge!  Thanks, Cath!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Up, Up and Away, Every Day Button Bits (sentiment)

Paper: Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet, Ripe Avocado, Stampers Select

Ink: Fresh Snow, Berry Sorbet, Versamark

Ribbon: Berry Sorbet Satin

Tool: Up, Up and Away (balloons), Linen impression plate
Felt: Simply Chartreuse
Other: Spellbinders tag, thread, clear embossing

Happy Fall!

As you know, if you have been visiting my blog lately, this is my favorite time of year!  So, creating Fall or Halloween inspired cards has made My Happy Place even happier! 

I'm trying to get a lot of Fall cards ready to give out to friends in family after Halloween is over.  So, the color challenge this week at Off the Wall Craftiness was perfect! Here's their challenge:

I decided to combine the color combination with this week's Card Patterns sketch.

Here's my card:

 

 

This also fits my blog group's challenge for this week.  Suzanne inspired us to create a Ffall or Halloween themed card without using orange!  You can click on the Paper Dolls Blog here to play along with us!  We have a lot of fun challenging and supporting each other!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Turning a New Leaf, Wreath for All Seasons

Paper: Dark Chocolate, Harvest Gold, Stampers Select

Ink: Dark Chocolate

Ribbon: Harvest Gold Twill

Tool: Fillable Frame #1 Die

Play Date Cafe #50

They have some fabulous color combinations at the Play Date Cafe, and their challenge this week challenge is no exception.  Here's the inspirational picture:

I haven't had a chance to play much with my Berry Sorbet, so I wanted to use it!  Here's my card:

I also finally got to use my Wreath for All Seasons set from Papertrey Ink.  It has stumped me for some reason.  I knew it would be perfect for this challenge.

Thanks for looking!


Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Wreath for All Seasons

Paper: New Leaf, Berry Sorbet, Stampers Select

Ink:New Leaf, Berry Sorbet

Tools: Eyelet Lace Die

Other: rhinestones, Diamond Stickles

One Lovely Blog

I received a little something the other day from a sweet girl named Kristy Smith!  You can see her fabulous work here. We must follow each other around in Blog Land because she participates in a lot of the same challenges that I do.  Her work is amazing!  Go see her!

Here's the award she passed on to me:

Sweet, isn't it?  I was shocked and surprised that someone would take time to send this to me.  Thank you, Kristy!

Now, I get to pass it along to a few others! I think I'm supposed to only give this award out to 7 people, but I can't limit myself to that.  All of these girls bring their own flair and inspiration, and I love to visit them every day! First:

Tanna - Scrapaliciousness-

She has great color ideas and isn't afraid to try something new! Whatever she does always looks perfect to me, and she makes it look so darn easy!  Plus, she's the one who dragged me kicking and screaming into card-making!


If you look to the right and scroll down a bit, you will see that I am a member of a blog group called Paper Dolls.  Click on any of those names over there and you will see where I get a lot of my daily inspiration.  I'd love to pass this award on to all of them.  You can see their blogs if you click on their names.  Below I've listed what I love about their work. 

My Blog Group: 

Amy - perfect at adding details

Anika - has a great mix of fun and classic styles

Bonnie- CAS and awesome pop (and a fabulous ribbon collection!)

Cecilia - great use of patterned paper and clean designs

Deena - Have you seen her color with copics?

Laurie - die-cutting queen

Jen -  wonderful color combos!

Katie - A CAS crafter with a touch of bling

Laurie Beth -  clean and detailed (is that a style?)

Leish - another wonderful copic user, especially on images of people

Lisa - another great color combo

Meg - vintage and pretty - just like her blog's name

Michelle - Every detail is perfect on her projects!

Suzanne - Wonderful colors and eye for design!

So, you 15 ladies that inspire me every day, pick up your badge above and put it on your blog!  Pass the love around to others that inspire you!

Thanks!
Lee Anne

Another Go-To Sketch Challenge #7 Card

I'm back today with my second entry to the Papercrafts Connection  Go-To Sketch Challenge.  This month the challenge was to create a card based on this sketch:

I wanted to do something different for this one, and I had this stack of free paper from Archivers that I could never find a use for.  The colors were never what I was using, so it has just sat in my room for awhile.  I grabbed my new Christmas Tree die from PTI and here's what I did:

 The colors were really hard to capture here.  The tree is on silver paper and the strip at the bottom is gold/silver/white.  I loved the background paper and thought it went well with the tree die and paper.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:

Stamps: Wreath for All Season (Papertrey Ink), Galaxy of Stars (Hero Arts)

Paper: free paper from Archivers, light grey, Stampers Select (PTI)

Ink: Smokey Shadow (PTI)

Other: Christmas Tree Die (PTI)

Go-To Sketch Challenge #7

ETA:  This card was chosen as one of the winners of the Sketch Challenge!!  Thank you Papercrafts!!

Every couple of weeks Papercrafts Connection has a Go-To Sketch Challenge.  This month the challenge was to create a card based on this sketch:

I love making cards based on sketches.  It gives me a place to start and then I can get as creative as I want within the parameters of the sketch.  I submitted two to the contest this month.  Here's the first:

As you can see from many of my posts, Halloween and Fall are on my mind.  I love them both.  There was a time that I did not enjoy Halloween.  Even as a child I didn't like dressing up.  Now that I have a son, Halloween is more fun than ever for me, and we have a blast during this month.  You'll probably see a few more Halloween cards from me in the coming weeks.

Thanks for looking! I'll be back with my second card tomorrow - not Halloween, however!

Supplies:

Stamps: 2009 Halloween Tags (Papertrey Ink),  Galaxy of Stars (Hero Arts)

Paper: Stampers Select, Harvest Gold (Papertrey Ink), Purple (Archivers)

Ink: True Black(PTI) , Versamark

Other: 2008 Bitty Dot Basics Paper, Harvest Gold Twill, Cloud die (all PTI), EK Success circle punch, Spellbinders tag die

A Card for Two Challenges

This card is for two challenges!  

1.  Card Patterns Sketch #84 - They've challenged us with this:

2. Happily Ever Challenged #11 sponsored by Ted (of PTI forum fame.)  His challenge was to email him that we wanted to participate, and he would email us back with either "TRICK" (meaning we had to create a Halloween card with non-Halloween colors or images), or "TREAT" (meaning we could go ahead with a traditional theme.)  Thank goodness I receieved a TREAT!

Here's my card for both challenges:

Thanks for looking!  Hope it was a treat for you!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Dot Spot, Background Basics Tin Type, 2009 Halloween Tags

Paper: Smokey Shadow Orange Zest, True Black, 2008 Bitty Dot Basics in True Black

Ink: Fresh Snow (on edges)

Tools: Rik-Rak Die

Other: rhinestones, clear & silver embossing powder, Versamark, silver twine, googley eyes

Get Sketchy #58

This week's sketch at Get Sketchy was a tough one.  I struggle with circle cards, and this was no exception.  It was going in a completely different direction before I decided to step back and take a break.  I'm glad I did, because I like this one a lot better now than when I first began.

Here's my take on the sketch:

That's some more striped patterned paper that I love and have no idea where it came from.  Digging through my paper scraps is sometimes like digging for treasure.  A lot of fussy-cutting, heat embossing and sewing on this card made for a long morning, but I'm excited about how it turned out.
Thanks for looking!


Supplies:

Stamps:Turning a New Leaf and Falling Leaves (Papertrey Ink),  Hero Arts: Happy Thanksgiving

Paper: Stampers Select, Orange Zest, Simply Chartreuse, Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Orangerie (PTI) , Versamark

Other: Rhinestones, Clear Embossing, orange thread, fabulous unknown patterned paper

Hero Arts Fall Contest

This was another entry for the Hero Arts contest this month - Everything Autumn.  I wanted to do a fun Halloween card using one of my owls. I think this is my sixth card I submitted to the contest this month.  I love fall - everything about it, and it thrills me that October is finally here.  Its' my favorite month. 

Here's my card:

 

Sometimes when I sit down to create something, it looks nothing like what I first envisioned. Other times, I have something in my head, and when I finish with the project it looks EXACTLY like what I had first envisioned.   This was it for me.  I was excited about how it turned out.  Love it when that happens! You may not be able to see the glitter and glossy accents on the clouds, but they are there.  They took a looonnngg time to dry, so I let them sit overnight while I finished up everything else.  

Besides Hero Arts, there is a lot of Papertrey Ink product here.  Love them both.  

Thanks for looking! 

Supplies:

Stamps: Hero Arts: Birds and Branches, Cute Letters, Stamp It Owl

Paper: Plum Pudding, Kraft, True Black, Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: True Black, Dark Chocolate (PTI)

Tools: Beautiful Blooms die, Cloud dies (PTI)

Button: Orange Zest with Rustic Twine knot (PTI)

Felt: Simply Chartreuse (PTI)

Other: Glossy Accents, striped patterned paper that I love and have no idea who makes it