Remember Paper Lunch Bags?

I remember my dad writing loving notes in big black sharpi on my paper lunch bags.   Looking back now it is fond memory but back then, especially in high school, I thought my dad was one big geek and it was embarrassing.  At least Mom had the decency to tuck a little note inside my lunch.  In the end though it was nice reminder that I was loved and appreciated.

I was browsing the featured Etsy shop Bee Things for the current Etsy Inpired Challenge, I came across these adorable graphic monkey paper bags. I knew then exactly what I wanted to do.  Something for my kids except much cooler than black sharpie.  I think it's even something I could give my son (at least in kindergarden or grade one minus the ribbon).  I decided to stick with the graphic feel of Bee Things shop and created a sun with those fabulous Practicing Creativity rays.  I'm very excited with how this came out.  I know that it looks simple to do (and it is) but I was holding my breath and praying every time I stamped those rays.  I didn't want to have to start all over again.

Thanks for checking out a decorated paper bag.  If this is your first visit today, I would be delighted if you were inspired by my earlier post by scrolling down or clicking here.

Steps:

1) Trim 4 inch square Cardstock (CS); stamp rays; mat with cs; attach ribbon and adhere to bag

2) Trim 3 inch square cs; stamp rays; mat with cs; attach ribbon and adhere to bag

3) Trim 2 inch square cs; stamp rays and sentiment; mat with cs; adhere to bag with dimensionals

4) Thread ribbon through library clip and time; attach to bag.

Elements:

Paper: Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive

Ink: Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive (2nd ink), basic black

Accessories: stripe ribbon (May Arts, PCD), polka dot ribbon (unknown)

Stamps: You're Dandy, Look Up (PCD)

Let Your Sun Shine

Good Afternoon friends!  Hope the day is bringing you many blessings.  Currently I am blessed with a quiet house.  2 kids are eating lunch and one is sleeping.  Silence really is golden...

Anyhow here's a card that I made for the current Viva la Verve challenges inspired by the picture I included on the right.  Today I'm trying something knew and adding directions for the card I made.  Not that they aren't straight forward but it's good practice for when I submit my creations for publishing.  Also what may seem straight forward for me might not be for someone else.

Thanks so much for spending some time here with me and I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Steps:

1) Make card from Cardstock (CS) A2 size

2) Punch border on CS; trim and adhere to card

3) Trim pattern paper and adhere to card

4) Mat pattern paper on CS; adhere to card

5) Cut square from CS; stamp sentiment; mat with CS and adhere to card

6) Thread buttons and adhere with glue dots.

Elements

Paper: Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise, floral dp (Chatterbox), Ashville dp (Scenic route)

Ink: Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: Scallop Trim border punch (SU!), linen thread, Hawaiian shores buttons (PTI)

Stamps: Feel the Sun (Verve)

Mad Hatter Tea Party! HOTP Prize

Now what would the Mad Hatter say about a tea party?  That's what I was thinking as I created the card for the current challenge over at Off the Wall Craftiness.  The prize the week is a bundle of supplies from Hot Off the Press.  I've included a picture for you to entice.  There are currently only 4 entries (including mine) so you have a very good chance of winning.  All you have to do is make a card using the inspirational colours from the photo.  It doesn't have to be fancy.  

Mine's was CAS inspired.  I didn't want to get into layers and pattern paper.  I wanted the colours to speak for themselves.  As I went to stamp my tea cups I decided to do something topsy turvy with the cups Kind of like the Mad Hatter himself.  Then it occurred to me exactly what the Mad Hatter would say as he finished sipping his cup of tea. "(Slurp) Ahh, Delightful and delicious to the very last drop!"  Then I added the drops spilling out of the cups and my hand printing to the inside of the card.   I prefer using stamps since I have such unsteady hands....but I had nothing else to use.  The line is slightly slanted but it will do for now.  The little clip in the top right isn't actually part of the card.  I just needed something nice to keep the card together so I didn't get such a shadow through the Label cutout.

Can't wait to see what you create with that inspiring photo.  Happy Crafting. 

PS.  This is my second post of the day so if you have little bit more time please scroll down for another challenge at Wee Memories sponsored by Simon Says.

Paper:  White cs (PTI)

Ink: Green Galore Craft, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Black pen

Accessories: Labels 1 nestie, clear embossing powder

Stamps:  Delightful and Delicious (Verve), Just Dandy (Practicing Creativity)

Verve April Week #2 ~ Someone Special

I meant to post this card last night but I was surprised to see the changes to uploading pics and I was to tired to try and comprehend.  So I logged out and went to bed.  Now here I am, cup of coffee in hand, and able to attempt this post and little ticked that blogger has added another step for posting and sharing.

Anyhow, on with the show. The picture to the right was the inspiration for this card. I was really caught up  with the colours (especially that light green) and the floral rug and cushions.  There was also a hint of blue in the background in the vases. This card really doesn't have anything special but the layout and a the fabulous Fancy Pants paper (Celebrate).  I also got a chance to use a new SU! colour I received in the mail with my last Stampin' Magazine.  (My demonstratorship officially ends on Friday).  The colour is Early Espresso and while very similar to Chocolate Chip it's darker and works better with different colours like yellow and green. 

While I made this card for the Viva la Verve Challenges, I also kept in mind the current challenge over at Wee Memories which was to add flowers to our project.    The sponsor this week is: Simon Says.  I was going to add those paper flowers that it seems everyone has been trying but I really didn't like how big they turned out and opted for the felt flowers that worked perfect with the colours.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you're having a fantastic week.  The weather has been really gloomy in the mornings here so I'll be happy if I get a chance to take pictures of my finished card for the Off the Wall Craftiness. They have a sweet prize as well.

Paper: Whisper White, Early Espresson, Melon Mambo, Lime green cs (bazzill orange peel), Celebrate dp (Fancy Pants)

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Felt Fusion Flowers (SU!),  brads, pink rhinestones, oval nesties.

Stamps: Feel the Sun.

Taking the Scenic Route

Hello friends!  How's your Monday going?  The nice thing about Monday's is that there are 4 more days in the week for it to get better.  And your reward for perseverance is the weekend.  Who am I kidding?...I loathe Mondays too!  Are your weekdays just a count down to the weekend?  It's like the weekend is the destination and the Weekdays our journey....one big scenic route one that is too often taken for granted.  My crafting can get like that....I'm so focused on the end product that I don't spend as much time focusing on the steps that got it there in the first place.  

This card for the Sketch Girl Challenge and Embellish challenge was a journey for me.  I stamped and stamped and stamped this scene until I got it exactly as I wanted it.  First, I played with the stamps then finally got to a 'prototype' scene and then did it for real keeping and getting rid of techniques or elements that I used in the draft.

The Embellishment colours are very vivid and I thought I could shy away from it and pick toned down hues or I could just go for and pick the brightest colours I have.  So much fun working with those Dandy sun rays.  I haven't met a Practicing Creativity Set I haven't liked.  Since January I haven't run out of ideas on how to use them.  I haven't gotten the latest set "For The Love of Dots" yet having a stricter budget but it's definitely on the wish list. I was going to add bling and sparkles to the sun but it really took away from the natural scene I created.  There is embossing for the clouds, the raised dandelion, and the sentiment. I've got an angled shot here that shows it much better.  Lots of dimensionals and paper piecing for some detail.  At the risk of sounding proud, I'd have to say this is one of my favourites.  Probably because of the amount of thought and work that went into it. 

I realize that black and kraft weren't in the colour selection but white really was too bright and I just couldn't bring my self to make pink, blue, yellow or green dandies.  The selection colours are the main focus of my project though and I'm willing to bend the rules just a bit to make a better piece.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see my work.  Happy Crafting!!

Paper:  Kraft, Whisper White, Pacific Point, Crushed Curry, Razzleberry Lemonade dp (SU!), Night Light Louie dp (Oct. Afternoon)

Ink: Basic Black, Whisper White Craft, Crushed Curry, Garden Green, Versamark

Accessories: dimensionals, black embossing powder, white embossing powder, 1 3/4 circle punch (SU!), 1" circle punch (EK success)

Stamps:  You're Dandy (Practicing Creativity Designs)

Recapturing Old Wonders ~Edited

Hi Ladies!  Until tomorrow morning, when I can properly right and take better pictures, this post is going to be short.  This is an entry for the Second challenge at Wee Memories and there's a whole lot of May Arts ribbon up for grabs.  Anyhow,  here's what I came up with from the beautiful image and some wonderful gifts from my talented friend Jessica.

I'll be back soon to update you on all the ins and outs.  Sorry for the rush!

EDIT April 24th:  Okay so now I finally have some time to finish this post and add some better pictures.  I had Wee memories inspiration picture on my desk all week but with all the Verve fun I put it aside waiting for just the right ideas and materials to come together.

Well yesterday I received a package from Jessica from Recapturing Wonders (hence my post title).  About a month ago I saw her using a pattern tracer on her cards and wanted to do the same but for all my trying to the right one (don't want the straight blade) I couldn't find it so she decided to do the sweetest thing and send me one. Such a sweet gesture to begin with but then she sent a few more goodies on top of it all!!! That girl just made me feel so special and I hope to pay that feeling forward very soon. 

Anyhow one of the items in the package was Making Memories Funky Vintage ribbon....exactly what I needed for the challenge!  I decided to use the 2S4Y sketch and flip it.  I decided to make a Mother's Day card for my grandmother since she would probably like something with a vintage feel.

I inked the edges of the card base with Soft Suede and and ran the pattern tracer around the edges.  It's hard to pick up so you might have to click on a picture to get a better idea.  I also got a chance to play around with the Delightful Dahlia set from PTI.  I embossed the small flower on the Blush Blossom with White Pearl Translucent embossing powder.  That stuff is amazing and I like it better than clear embossing powder!  It's got a nice pearly sheen but still takes on the colour of the ink (I used versamark) or paper underneath.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Paper: Kraft, Blush Blossom, Very Vanilla

Ink: Soft Suede, Versamark

Accessories: Ribbon (Making Memories), White Pearl Translucent embossing powder, felt fusion flowers (SU!), Wild Wasabi brad (SU!), Rhinestones, pearls, labels 3 Nestibilities, pattern tracer

Stamps:  Delightful Dahlia (PTI)

Last One!

Here's my final card for the Verve Beach Party Release Challenge!  By finished all 5 challenges I have a chance to win the entire Release!!!  Wouldn't that be wild??  Plus if I finish my half done card downstairs using the Delightful and Delicious I have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.  That would be sweet!  The deadline is tomorrow and I have to load up all the cards to my splitcoast gallery.

Anyhow on with the card.  I was searching through all my paper on my computer (I have most of my collections pictured and organized on my laptop to save me time and they don't get forgotten in the mix).  I came across this fantastic cheerful Fancy Pants collection called CELEBRATE that I have yet to cut into. It's been in my boxes for well over a year.  How disgraceful is that?  I was really drawn to the bright stripes and polka dots.  By using my Verve Feel the Sun set it gave me a chance to paper piece and I also decided to do some more paper folding for texture.  This time I distressed the edges of the folded paper.  The last interesting dimension to this project is the Scribbles 3D paint added to the center of the flower. 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my multiple posts this week.  I'm so proud to have finished all the challenges and I thank you very kindly for encouraging me and letting me share.  Enjoy the beauty of the rest of your day!  I'm off to phone my hubby to see how his day is going.

Paper:  Kraft, Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi, Celebrate dp (Fancy Pants)

Ink: Ruby Red, Wild Wasabi

Accessories: Scribbles 3D Paint, dimensionals

Stamps: Feel the Sun