One Stop Craft Challenge 44 - Cute & Cuddly

It's been a long day...we went to Manhattan to see Whitney's new apartment, so this will be a very quick post. Over at One Stop Craft Challenge Maggie is looking for "cute & cuddly"...and what's cuter or cuddlier than a pet!?! Here's one of the pet themed cards I have for sell at a local pet hospital.

Simon Says...Back to School

What an appropriate theme the team over at Simon Says came up with this week! It was back to school for me this week. A time I look forward to for the simple fact that I love new school supplies! And it's fun to get the year started with a new group of Smarties, tho' that part of this time of year is rather exhausting...I always forget what "babies" they are when they start Kindergarten. So, I altered this tin as a part of a swap/challenge during the Christmas in July Crop over at CardMaker magazine Card Swaps message board. Lora enticed us to sign up for the swap...then announced the theme, which was to alter a tin to depict our favorite childhood toy. Well, I loved to play school and I had to have school supplies for that. *grin* These three views of my tin show the top, front side & inside (the goodies displayed with the tin were included for my partner in the swap...and I went with the snowflake theme for them since not everyone is as nuts about school supplies as I am)! The paper I used to alter my tin is from Stampin' Up's Summer Picnic DSP.

A Spoon Full of Sugar #66

Sonja's sketch over at A Spoon Full of Sugar was probably the most fun sketch I've ever worked on! All those opportunities to use different patterns of paper, just sent me over the edge of happiness. This sketch was perfect to use some of my new Basic Grey Lemonade papers. I picked those up in Tulsa on Saturday when I went to my first scrapbook convention...don't think I wasn't in heaven and wandering about with my mouth hanging open!! Anyway, the patterns I used on this card starting in the top left corner and working clockwise are Sundress, Picnic Table, Dandelion (my personal favorite), and Honeybee. Of course, I've used the Blooming With Happiness stamp set from Stampin' Up, and two of the yellow Square Fire rhinestone brads (which were on special as a deal of the week in July) as flower centers. Again, this was just a FUN card to make!!

Speaking of fun, I found another fun blog...Steph stopped by to see the Jazzy Inspirations card I posted yesterday and left a nice comment. So, I hopped over to look at her blog only to discover that she's offering some nice blog candy right now. Head on over to Where'd All My Money Go?! and see for yourself what a great blog she has. I signed up right away to be a follower...and not just cuz she offered blog candy. Steph is a very talented card maker & how could I resist making a connection with another paper crafting addict?? I suppose we all know the answer to the question she asks in the title of her blog...don't we?!

Jazzy Inspirations 18 & Card Positioning Systems 130

Only one more day of the first week of school left! What a week...

I'm sharing a card this evening that fits two of this week's fun challenges. Over at Jazzy Inspirations there's a fun color challenge (use gray, black, white & green) which was inspired by a Sonny Rollins CD cover. And when you drop by to check it out, you get a special jazzy musical treat!!

The sketch that inspired this card can be found over at Card Positioning Systems. Their sponsor this week is Jillibean Soup! Check out some of the products the design team used on their cards. I unfortunately don't have any Jillibean products...poor June Renee'! My patterned paper is Bo Bunny's Unforgettable Night, and that deslicious rub-on flower is from Daisy D's.

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge - #32

I'm back...had to take a little break to get geared up for the first day of school, but things are underway now and I had a little bit of time for card making last night. Here's what I came up with for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #32.

This was a challenge for me because circles are not my thing...I don't have circle punches, so it's difficult for me to get excited about circles (even halves of them)! I'm also using this for Lori's color challenge which is this week's challenge over at CardMaker magazine Card Swaps message board. When I read "green, red & black"...I told myself I would not do Christmas, so I've got a fun late summer card instead. The gingham circle and the watermelon border are both out of a package of goodies I got out of the Target $1 bin!

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 74 - Lazy Dayz!

The gals over at Cute Card Thursday are looking for summery cards this week. And I just happened to make one last night at a Technique Class I attended! We used a masking technique to make this bright, summertime border. This was my first time to try masking...and like everything else, I love it! I especially loved the versatility...the same ink pads could've been used to make a springtime card by just sponging the colors on lighter for a more pastel effect. I'll be using this card for a baby shower on Sunday...they're expecting a little girl, so I went heavier on the pink, but blue or green could also have been the focue. Just lots of options!!

Anything But A Card - PPA #4

I was so excited to see the Anything But A Card Challenge at PPA this week! Because any of you who know me at all know that I just finished putting together my son's wedding...and so much of it was "anything but a card". For those of you who don't know me, my son's wedding was the driving force behind my passion for card making. I decided right after the engagement that I wanted to MAKE the rehearsal dinner invitations. Well, I had no idea where to start...but one thing led to another and before I knew what had hit me I was addicted to stamping and card making. (That's the very short version of a long story!) One part of the story tho' does have to do with me rushing over to see the engaged couple with two sheets of card stock..."Which will it be, Kiwi Kiss or Old Olive?" As I was leaving my son looked at the bride-to-be and asked, "Did she just come over here to show you construction paper?" LOL Anyway, before all was said and done the wedding looked like something designed for a Stampin' Up photo shoot...and all done up in Old Olive and Elegant Eggplant!! The theme of the reception was grapes/wine, thus those two colors. Anyway, in addition to the rehearsal dinner invitations and two of these gorgeous boxes (one for cards & one for advice)...I also made coordinating wine tags, pew cones, and favor bags! (If you want to see more photos click here and here.)

Simon Says...Christmas in August!

The girls over at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog are counting down the days 'til Christmas...they say 128!! Hmmm, wonder how many days 'til Christmas Vacation? *grin* Anyway, if you're like me when I think about Christmas I head right to my stash of red & green...so to get me out of that rut, I challenged myself to use non-traditional holiday colors (and abosolutely no red & green)!

Good Tuesday morning! Today is my last official day of summer vacation, but like yesterday I'll be in my classroom working on tasks that should've been completed long ago. yikes!

Here's a pretty purple card I put together recently. I had these So Precious rub-ons from Cosmo Cricket in my stash and they were just begging to be used. The patterned paper came from Lora, part of a card kit swap over at CardMaker magazine Card Swaps message board.

Card Positioning System #129

My idea for the CPS #129 sketch is this fun, love-filled orange card. I used Carefree Flower patterned paper from Pebbles Inc. I glittered up a stamp from Stampin' Up's Event Full set for the front of the card and inside I stamped a Birthday sentiment from Stampin' Up's Something to Celebrate stamp.

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #31

Karen has a fun sketch for us over at her blog, the sweetest thing! I completed it with layers of Bo Bunny patterned paper from the Alissa line. The black layer is called Twirls and the other two layers are the reverse sides of Kissable. I also managed to use some card candy from Rainy B. over at CardMaker magazine Card Swaps message board.

One Stop Craft Challenge #42 - Pink & Black

I'm home from a wonderful trip to Tucson, but feeling very overwhelmed at everything that needs to be accomplished! Whitney and I spent a couple of hours in my classroom yesterday afternoon hanging things on the wall, but I am not anywhere near ready for school to start...HELP!

Over at One Stop Craft Challenge they're looking for cards in pink & black for their #42 challenge. I just happened to have this wedding card in my stack after my fairly recent afternoon of card making with Janae. Though the more I look at this card, it just may end up being Wayne's birthday/anniversary card...which is today. He's turning 49 and we've been married 28 wonderful years!!

This is a very simple card using basic cardstock and a little bit of black & white patterned paper. I'm sure you've all got similar stuff in your stashes! I borrowed the pretty heart stamp from Janae, but more than likely it's from Stampin' Up...she's an SU kind of girl. I put the pink accented with black & white scallops inside to facilitate the writing of a message...since whenever I have a dark card I can never find a silver or white pen to write with!

Some Pet Cards

I figured I'd give this posting ahead another try, since I'm currently in Tucson I imagined everyone pining away back in cyberland for another June Renee' creation. Since I have so much fun making cards and I make them faster than occasions for card giving arise, I've been looking for a place to try to sell a few. My first thought was the local Farmer's Market, but that ship pretty much sailed without me due to my preoccupation with a wedding early on in the summer. So, I told myself "next year" and had let the idea drop...then Whitney came home from work and said the vet she works for wanted to have some pet cards at the clinic. And now I'm in "business". Whitney and I sat down and made a few cards one night last week and I'm sharing two of those in this post. Enjoy!

PPA2 - Simple Sketch

Have y'all seen the fun stuff happening over at PPA (Pals Paper Arts)? I have been following the blogs of the girls on the design team for several months and let me tell you they are all awesome!! So, I was very excited when they announced their PPA Challenge site. I didn't get to play along last week because it was a color challenge using the new Stampin ' Up In Colors, which I currently don't own. *sniffle* So, I was happy to see that this week's challenge is a simple sketch and I was excited to whip up this fun birthday card. The only SU products I managed to use were the Happy Birthday sentiment from Something to Celebrate using Bashful Blue ink. My patterned paper is from Making Memories...I love this doublesided Flower Patch series! The butterfly is cut out of the reverse side of the pattern the sentiment is mounted on. Oh, and I can't forget to mention a couple of goodies I used from a CardMaker magazine Card Swaps message board kit swap...the pretty flower is from Ellie & the yellow ribbon is from Teresa. Thanks girls!

And that concludes my marathon of posting, I'll let you get back to your regularly scheduled lives!!

Papertake Weekly...Four Seasons

Over at Papertake Weekly they're looking for cards that represent one of the four seasons. I chose this card to represent Spring...yellow is my favorite color and always makes me think of Spring (not my favorite season) and of course I've put a Spring flower on the card using Stampin' Up's Pick a Petal set. Pick a Petal is my absolute favorite stamp set, it is so versatile...not that I think up any creative uses on my own, but I do spend a lot of time looking at the SCS gallery for fun ideas!!

Simon Says...Buttons and Ribbons

Yes, I could've submitted the previous card for both that challenge and the Simon Says buttons & ribbons challenge this week, but there's a method to my madness (which shall be revealed later...*grin*). For a girl who really does not like green...I have to say, I love this card. I wouldn't have been able to do it without Lori & Lora over at CardMaker magazine Card Swaps message board! The green dragonfly was a part of Lori's swap of card candy and the green buttons came out of a tin of goodies from Lora. The paper is from Stampin' Up's Rainbow Sherbet, my all time favorite DSP. And that darling little gingham ribbon is from TAC's Lily Anna set!

Crafty Creations Challenge #27

Prepare yourselves for a marthon of posting today...I've got four challenges completed and I'm leaving for Tucson tomorrow, so they all have to go up today!! And without further ado, let's talk about Deena's challenge to use buttons on a project over at Crafty Creations. My sentiment for this card came from Jeanette B. in a sentiment swap over at the CardMaker magazine Card Swaps message board. The patterned paper is from Fancy Pants...their Delight series, the flowered paper is Potpourri & the striped is called Spice.

Just Christmas and Brithday Cards #41

What a fun sketch Kristen has over at Just Christmas and Birthday Cards! I got to use a sentiment from a swap and some of Jeanette B's card candy on this fun card. The sentiment & card candy both came from swaps over at CardMaker magazine Card Swaps message board. And see that cute gingham border around the sentiment...out of a summer package of goodies from Target's $1 bin. Don't you just love a bargain??

Card Positioning Systems #127

Here's my idea for the Card Positioning Systems #127 challenge. The beautiful image came from a card candy swap over at CardMaker magazine Card Swaps message board.

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Challenge 63 - Floral Fantasy

The girls at A Spoon Full of Sugar are looking for cards that feature flowers this week! This was an easy challenge for me, especially using this pretty Raspberry Tart paper and the five petal flower punch. I first made this card design at a Stampin' Up party, so I'm sure it's a familiar design to a lot of you!

Happy Saturday!

I'm trying out the feature that allows me to post at a later date today! We've gone to Beaver Bend State Park in SE OK for a family weekend arranged by Wayne for everyone we've ever been related to or may ever be related to in the future! OK, so not everyone...but almost! All of our kids will be there, my sister, her husband & two of their three girls, my mom, Wayne's sister & her family, and Wayne's mom. I made this card for Wayne to thank him for all the effort he's put in to planning this so that we can all have fun & relax together!