Tag You're It! Clear Tags

It's been a great Christmas break, but back to the daily grind...and dusting the cobwebs off the creative centers in my brain :) I'm jumping in on the Tag You're It! challenge that provided a beautiful clear tag as inspiration. 

Here's my tag:

The flower and diagonal lines of the layout on the inspiration tag really caught my attention.

Christmas Countdown

Don't you just love the "___ Days Before Christmas" countdowns?? For most people, they're thinking about shopping days left...I'm thinking cardmaking/mailing days left :)

Just thought I'd pop in and show some of the cards I've been crafting to fulfill orders for some of my supporters. I love when I get asked to make cards and I'm given carte blanche. I get to incorporate their personality and just create.  Take a look.

Whew! Busy, busy, busy. Hopefully, your crafting and Christmas shopping is going well :) Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Deidre :)

Twice is Nice at CASology!

Wowsers! Who would have guessed that my cards would win in back-to-back weeks over at that the Casology challenge blog?? There are lots of fabulous cards and talent playing along each week. Can anyone say "cloud nine" :) 

With that said, I get to guest design again this week (woo hoo!). This week's cue card: TOY. My take on it:

Design defined:
Plenty of white space and some masking help to frame your focal image.

*DISCLAIMER: Long post ahead, but lot of details lol :)

CAS(E) this Sketch!- Playing with Layers in White

This week's challenge over at CAS(E) this Sketch! left my mind racing in a hundred different directions...

My first thoughts because of the holidays were snowflakes, Christmas trees, stockings, and ornaments, but I knew there was something else stirring deep in the recesses of my brain LOL....my totally unused Wildflower Garden dies from Ellen Hutson! A little watercoloring and lots of layers and here's my card: 

Finding the layout for all the flowers was a ton of fun for a spatially challenged person such as myself LOL, just ask my brothers :) I used some Peerless watercolors and a Pitt marker to outline the flower in black for an accent. I curved the sentiment on the stamping block and stamped it in the white space created from the layout. I can't wait to put this card in the mail to a friend!

Thanks for stopping in today :) Have a great hump day!

Deidre

Guest Designing Over at CASology!

Silly me :) I was so excited about winning the owl challenge over at the CASology challenge blog, that I forgot two major bonuses: 1- I won the Pop-Art Pineapple stamp set from Concord & 9th (yay!) and 2- I get to be the guest designer for this week's challenge (woot woot!).

This week's cue card: TREE.  My card for this week:

Design defined: Monochromatic layers of a single stamp keeps it CAS.

Pie...I Mean Pi

The nerd in me loved this week's CASology challenge code word: PIE! My mind definitely thought like Kymona's (DT member) on this one. So here's my take on this week:

Berry Merry Christmas!

Ok, time to make a confession...I'm a total nerd! I love to find out of the box ways to interpret every creative prompt provided by the challenge blogs. This week's Addicted to CAS challenge was code word: dimension. Hmmm. I thought about the galaxy, I thought about dimensional foam to add depth, then I was struck by last month's Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015. Yes, yes, and yes! This Penny Black "Berry Merry Christmas" stamp worked wonders.

My card...and my entry for their design team too (fingers crossed)...couldn't have come out better. My photography skills were stretched a little bit too lol.

I bet you're asking about the dimension, aren't you?? Look what a very cool technique created!

Trio of Snowflakes

Who said snowflakes had to be white...or blue...or frosty??  Certainly not me :) See what I mean:

I'm playing over at the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge blog. Blame it on the season, but I knew this was a great time to pull out my Simon Says Stamp snowflake dies. I think the holiday season's colors of red, green, gold, and white are great against the neutral base provided by kraft cardstock. After die cutting the center snowflake, I smooshed it around on top of my Versamark ink pad then layered 2 coats of gold sparkle embossing powder and covered a punched heart in Christmas Red Stickles. It's so sparkly and happy, I wish I'd taken better photos before the rain set in (yes, I prefer taking photos using the natural light on my backyard deck lol).

Thanks for stopping by my blog and...it's almost the weekend :)

Deidre

CASology and Fusion Card Challenges

I'm excited to get some real craft time...that's not on my lunch break at work, or in the car during a road trip, or while waiting on car repairs :)

The CASology challenge blog had me at first glance with the cue card: owl. These mostly nocturnal birds bring back wonderful memories of my grandmother, who collected owl figurines made of every imaginable material. I wanted to do something special for this challenge around the holiday and found the extra umph I needed from the photo over at the Fusion Card Challenge blog. 

This card was fun to make, combining watercoloring, silver embossing (which I still think is real life magic lol), and a clean and simple one-layer look.

                    

I used Salty Ocean and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks and a cutie patootie owl from Lawn Fawn. Frisket (masking fluid) has become one of my best friends!! The absolutely waterproof seal it creates (like I did for this owl) allows me to go crazy with my watercolors and paints and still gives me a clean canvas for whatever I masked.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and make it a great day!!

Deidre :)

Batman or Superman??

I'm back "knocking out" challenges today. This one was "super" fun to make :) I was inspired by both the layout over at CAS(E) this Sketch! and the code word at Addicted to CAS. I think this card packs a real "ka-pow"!

Postable! Yay for Snail Mail

I've seen this shared online and I think it's wonderful! It's an address book where I can send you snail mail. Crafter's rejoice!

I want to share happy mail with you...seriously :) If you'd like to receive one of my handmade cards, tags, etc. please add your info to my address book.

First 5 people to add their addresses will get a card for them and a pre-stamped one to mail to a friend! Free card, free postage, handmade happy mail...winning :) Click the Postable graphic below or type in the URL.

I've got my postage stamps ready and can't wait to start sharing with you! And I pinkie promise that I won't share your info or use your address for advertising crap...nobody likes that junk. Thanks, thanks, and thanks!

Deidre :)

CASology 171: Vehicle....Totally Not What You Expect

I'm playing along over at the CASology challenge blog again this week :) What an interesting cue card:

I racked my brain (and after this weekend, there wasn't much in there lol) to find something a little bit different. Here's my submission:

Heart of Gold for CASology

What an exciting week! My mommie visited for a few days, got some art journaling done, created cards for challenges, received an honorable mention and a feature for two of my creations, had my last appointment to finish my latest tattoo, traveled to DC for a couple of days, and still managed to go to work...whew!

I'm playing along today over at the CASology challenge blog. I was super inspired by Sandy Allnook's Go for the Gold series and really wanted to incorporate something shiny and gold into my creation for this challenge.  The cue card:

What a broad concept for me, but yes, I did take the lovey dovey road :) Here's my final card.

More Hedgehog Love with Gerda Steiner Designs

If you haven't noticed already, I adore hedgehogs :) They're soooo cute! This month's challenge over at Gerda Steiner Designs was to use this little guy to create a card, tag, scrapbook page...you name it :)

I bought the digi stamp along with another set of digi stamps 

("Halloween cat and more") so that I could add more pumpkins to his patch. 

Zombie Apocalypse

Okay, so I may not have quite joined The Walking Dead sensation, but I do adore the game Plants vs Zombies :) I got this free little download and dove head first into it with Copic markers...I used about 20 colors on this image. I think he'll at least get me an honorary membership in the Zombie Apocalypse club lol.

Warm Colors for CAS(E) this Sketch!

I know we haven't quite gotten through the pumpkin carving and trick or treating, but when I saw the new sketch inspiration over at the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge blog, I was dying to play with some warm golds, oranges, and reds for Thanksgiving.

I'm loving experimenting with watercolors and finding ways to let them work their magic on my projects!

Halloween Hedgy

Sitting around on this rainy Saturday in October and I pulled out one of my hedgehog stamps... I so adore them :) This little guy is hanging onto a jack-o-lantern balloon and I thought he was just perfect for the season. Out comes my Copic markers, a background stamp, some embossing powder and before I knew it, I had a finished card. Amazing how your creative mojo can jump out of nowhere lol. I'm submitting this one to the Tag You're It! Challenge #32 because this layout was shaped by the inspiration tag below.

Tag You're It Challenge #31

It's getting a little cooler and the leaves are turning colors here despite the rain last week. This has to be one of the prettiest times of the year. 

I happened to pop in over at the Tag You're It! challenge blog and saw the inspiration tag was perfect for the season- a beautiful tag with a gold leaf and bright orange and teal accents. I knew it was time for me to get my feet wet with a technique that I hadn't tried yet...granted, I bought the supplies a year ago lol. It didn't let me down!

the inspiration tag

My Tag :)