Make it Monday #276

Hi everyone! Just a quick post for a challenge...

Happy Monday... if that's possible! :) One of things that I do look forward to at the start of each week is PTI's Make it Monday. This week's was fun and introduced me to a technique that I never would have dreamed up: colored pencils on kraft paper. At first when I watched the MIM #276 video from Melissa, I thought, "Aren't the pencils going to fade out on the paper?" But they don't - yay! It's actually a really nice way to make the colors pop against the brown tones of the paper.

So here's my take on this week's challenge:

I really LOVE the "What the Doodle" series from PTI and thought the feather would be a good way to incorporate a Papertrey product into the card. The details on this feather image are so beautifully designed, and it's great for coloring! Hope you like the final design, and have a great week!

Freshly Made Sketches #256

Happy Monday! Who participated in World Cardmaking Day over the weekend? There were some GORGEOUS cards out there! I love WCD because it's a chance to see the amazing talent out there! There were some great examples to use as inspiration.

I spent some time this weekend making a card for this week's Freshly Made Sketches #256. I thought about this sketch a few times before jumping in - anyone else ever do that? Some of the sketches I can just roll with immediately, but this one took some thought.

Here's the sketch from FMS:

And here's my take on it:

I recently bought that holiday music paper at Hobby Lobby, so that was my jumping-off point! I played off of the red in the printed paper with some red cardstock, ribbon, and ink. I also thought some gold in there would be a nice complement to all of the red. The gold embossing just adds a little elegance to the card, right?

Hope you all got in some cardmaking time over the weekend, and have a great week! Excited to see this week's winner over at FMS!

PTI September Blog Hop

Hi all! Hope you had a good weekend! :)

I'm joining in the Papertrey Ink monthly blog hop today. This is one that I'd like to participate in more frequently. They always pick the most gorgeous inspiration photos and colors for us. This month's picture is no exception...

I love the combination here of white, black, gold, kraft, and green. All of them could really be used as neutrals on a card, and they look beautiful together. There's also a slight hint of Christmas with the pine cones and greenery, so that gave me the idea for a card. I was inspired by Betsy Veldman and this week's Make it Monday (check it out here - I am always SO impressed with her and ideas), and I used her sketch for my own card.

Now, it's no Betsy Veldman card, but I really loved the way this turned out. The color combination is just so elegant and rich, and there are so many different sentiments I could have included here. This is maybe the 3rd or 4th Christmas card I've made so far this year, and it's my favorite! Still deciding what my card is going to look like, but this one will also be going out to someone this holiday season! Have you started your Christmas cards yet?

Have a great week!


Stamps - PTI (wreath and gold branches), Paper Smooches (sentiment)
Paper - Simon Says Stamp (black), Studio Calico (brown and white patterned paper)
Leaf die - Simon Says Stamp 
Black twine - Hobby Lobby
Versamark ink - Hobby Lobby
Gold & white embossing powder - Hobby Lobby
Gold ink - Michael's
Dark green paper - Stampin' Up
Powder tool - Amazon 

SIP Challenge 52

Hi all! I'm back today and participating in the SIP Challenge for the first time. They're celebrating their one-year anniversary, so I encourage you go over and check them out! I love seeing their themes, sketches, and inspiration, and their team is AMAZINGLY talented! I usually see at least one card each week that I want to try out.

This week, with their one-year anniversary celebration, their theme is "card makers choice," encouraging fellow crafters to use make a card using your favorite stamp set, ink colors, and paper. This worked out just right as I just found some new favorite stamps during a recent trip to Hobby Lobby. So I started out with the stamps and took it from there! Here's what I came up with...

I really love how those soft colors blended well in the background, and that pop of black and white really makes the sentiment stand out. But I have to say that my favorite part of this card is a little hard to see... there's a light heat embossed pattern in the background. See it now? :) When you have the card in your hand, it's a little easier to notice, and I think it'll make you want to actually touch the card and feel the heat embossed pattern. I will definitely be trying this out again!

That sentiment is going to be great for so many uses. I think it's a great reminder, especially if you're like me and tend to get a little caught up in details, that the organized chaos of life is a beautiful thing! (Even if maaaaaybe we don't appreciate it at the time - been there!)

Excited to see the other cards over at the SIP 52 challenge this week. Congrats again, SIP team! Look forward to many more years of cards and inspiration! :)

Simon Says Stamp April Kit: A Colorful Life

Hi all! I'm back again today with a review on the Simon Says Stamp April card kit: A Colorful Life.

I'm gonna be honest - when I first saw this kit, I wasn't too thrilled. The colors were bright, and it did include lots of flowers (which I love), buuuuuuut...

• I really look forward to coordinating stamp and die sets in the kits, and this one doesn't have that.
• I don't use clips and stickers too much in my cards, and this kit has A LOT of those.
• Many of the small patterned sheets also have small squares or sections to cut apart for your card designs, and I prefer the papers that are all one pattern or design.
• Even when I searched for preview cards from the design team, I wasn't loving it. This has NOTHING to do with the impressive talent from the team. The cards were designed very well. It's just that nothing was jumping out at me.

So, my first impression was... meh.

For the first time in a long time, when the kit was delivered to my home, it just sat there. I decided to give it a try to prep for some cardmaking time with a friend. We each bring a card to share, and then we make the cards together. I found a sketch online that I wanted to try, so I start pulling out some elements of this kit.

As I played around, I really liked how the different elements came together. Here's the card I came up with...

The sentiment, floral patterned paper, black card stock, and red, yellow, and light blue paper that the flowers are cut from are all from the kit. I do love that script sentiment, and the coordinating papers make matching super simple. This isn't my normal style, but I wanted to try out a simple technique I saw about how to make your card look like a chalkboard. This works, right? :) I have grown to really like this card... I think it's becoming one of my personal faves.

So after some cardmaking time with my friend, I just wanted to keep creating! So I went home and make a couple more cards from the kit...

So, my new verdict is... I like it. This kit is not one of my favorites, and I'm still challenged by those stickers and clips. But as cards have come together using different parts of the kit, I have been surprised that I like the final results. Another good thing about this kit is that it's not specific to one season or holiday. You really could use this all year round (though those bright florals are just perfect as spring blooms arrive outside).

Are you a SSS card kit subscriber? What have you made with this kit? What kit has been your favorite?

Have a great rest of your weekend!