Big news!! And a huge thank you!

Whaaaatttt??! Less than a week into the new year, and a resolution 

(more of a wish actually) is already checked off my list.

Mind. Blown.

I'm super excited to announce that I'm joining the CASology Design Team! 

This host of amazingly talented card artists have inspired me with their

weekly contributions to the awesome CASology challenge blog...

where you should totally pop in and play along :)

I hope that I can create some sparks of creativity for all the players,

so let's get started!

This week's cue card is: SIMPLE

Talk about a CAS (clean & simple) card, huh? 

One layer, 3 colors, and all stamps from the same stamp set.

I love the combo of yellow, gray, and black. That pop of brightness...yum :)

The  stamp set is "Time to Say Thanks" from Create a Smile;

it's a great set with graphic floral images and sentiments.

So, from my whole heart,

danke, gracias, merci, and THANKS for stopping by,

supporting my crafting, and your kind comments!

Check out the other CASology Design Team member blogs and their inspirations:

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Deidre Payne (already here)
Hannelie Bester
Hazel Hodgkins
Jacquie Southas
Jen Wills
Joyce Mehrberg
Judy Marino
Kymona Tracey
Melissa Chipperfield
Sherrie Mannion
Tracey McNeely

Can't wait to see what you create!

And by the way, there's a great prize for this week's winner :)

Deidre :)

Merry Merry Merry

Here's one last holiday card for the road :) The CASology challenge blog wrapped up 2015 with the cue card: MERRY. As much as I wanted to do the "Deidre thing" and use a play on the word, I figured I'll have plenty of time for that with Feb 14th around the corner lol. Here's a fun way to end the holiday season:

Ok, so snowmen are my favorite winter icon and when I saw this guy, I got totally excited. This was a free digi stamp (hugs for that) from Free Dearie Dolls Digi Stamps. 

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