Keepin' it CAS-ual with Color Blocks

It's Friday and that, my friends, means we have a brand new CAS-ual Fridays CHALLENGE!  Woot!  Woot!  This week it is all about COLOR BLOCKS!  Yup.  Blocks.  Of color.  I know you can handle this one, folks, I just KNOW it!  Our sponsor is Cut Cardstock and they will be offering a great prize to the winner this week!  The winner will receive a $25 Gift Certificate!  Yayness!!!

For my card I pulled out some of the brand new and totally awesome squished hexagon dies from Paper Smooches.  (No...they aren't actually CALLED squished hexagons, but they are kinda squished and I just think that sounds more fun, so I'm rollin' with it.  Just sayin'.)


Umm... yeah.... this card makes me totally happy. For reals, though. Just sayin'. I die cut the hexies in lots of pretty colors, tossing in a couple of woodgrain whites to add both texture and a bit of a place for the eye to rest from all that color insanity. *sigh* I love it. Happy colors, happy hexagons, happy...h... card. (K... so my alliteration can only go so far. What do you people WANT FROM ME! OH THE PRESSURE!!!!!)

Tee-hee. K... so .. anyway....


So...here's the deal.. it's YOUR turn! Run on over to CAS-ual Fridays, check out the rest of the AMAZING TEAM's inspiration, and then make a CAS color block card to link up!!!

K...that's all!

Have a Happy!!!

Jingle Out!

We Go Together Like Rama Lama Lama Ka Dinga Da Dinga Dong!

HA!  I'm totally getting good at this getting songs stuck in people's heads thing... think one could make a career of that, 'cause DUDE, I'm so there!  Just sayin'.

BUT... the newest set from Fresh Squeezed Stamps REALLY IS called We Go Together!  And it's TOTALLY RAD, folks!  Like, totally.  For reals.


Tee-Hee!!! Isn't that just FUN?! And there are so many great images to use with this set! PB&J, yup..it's got it... salt & pepper... totally there... milk & cookies... got that, too, folks! It ROCKS!


I used glossy accents over the fork and the knife to make them shiny! I like shiny. Just sayin'.

Head on over to the Fresh Squeezed Stamps blog to check out this AWESOME set and the amazing other samples created by the DT! Those girls are fabulous, simply fabulous.

Have A Happy!!!

Jingle Out!

It's Time for a Bit O' Green!

***This is my second post of the day! Be sure to check out the Fresh Squeezed Stamps NEW RELEASE post before this one! CLICK HERE or scroll down!

Yes, well, it is that time of year, now, is it not? And we, over at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog have decided to GO GREEN this week! This week's challenge encourages you to use a Bit O' Green in your project!


The design team is using WPlus 9 products this week and I chose a gorgeous set of stamps from their line! This is the first time I've used their stamps and I LOVE THEM!!!


I kept it simple for this card. I added some green pearls to the center of each medallion to give it a bit of interest. The navy sentiment and navy card base allow the green to really pop, beautifully! YAY! And yes... I admit it... I am officially addicted to my Hero Arts Mid-tone Navy ink. I LOVE THAT STUFF!!!


(I don't know why that pearl is trying to sneak away in this shot. I PROMISE I didn't say anything mean to it! For realies! I promise! ANYway... he decided to stay because he is securely positioned on the card now... hmmm... )

ONE lucky participant in the challenge is going to win a $50 Gift Voucher to Simon Says Stamp! WOOT! WOOT!


So...here's the rules... be sure to link back to Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog, be sure to use a direct link to your blog post when you link up, and be sure it is a NEW card...no backlinking, please! You can enter up to FIVE TIMES! Woot! Woot!

InLinkz.com

A Breath of Fresh Flair from Fresh Squeezed Stamps

It's RELEASE WEEK! Yup! Fresh Squeezed Stamps has four BRAND NEW sets to showcase and release this week! I am so excited about the sets I am sharing with you! Today, I get to show off the set called Breath of Fresh Flair. First of all.. SUPER fun name for a set! Second of all... this set has SO many fun icons! I just love it!!! Here is my first card using it!


Yup. Totally loving this little whale! And that sentiment is just fabulous! I also LOVE this Glitz paper!!! LOVE IT! They went together perfectly, so... it had to happen. Just sayin'.


Be sure to head on over to the Fresh Squeezed Blog to see the full set and check out what the other designers have created! They are ROCKING this set, you guys! For reals!

Have a Happy!!!!

Only An Instant

So...today's project is a bit outside of the box...okay...well, actually, it IS a box. But it's a bit different from what you normally see around here. It's a mini album! In a box. Yeah... I know... but just watch... I think you will like it! YAY!


If you happen to follow me on Instagram, then you know that I love it. I take instagrams of stuff just to see what it looks like photographed. Literally. So... I thought I'd create a fun little album with some of those shots and a few words on each one.


I created a paper pieced version of the Instagram logo using cardstock and colored pencils. Instead of the 'Insta', I took some creative liberty and made it 'Ingle' instead. *wink* *wink* See what I did there?

HA! I totally just said that. Whew! K... Moving on...


Inside I have the photos connected with two long strips of ribbon to allow them to fold Jacob's ladder style inside the box. There are loops at the top and bottom so it's easy to get them in and out. On the back of each, is typewritten journaling.

This was WAY fun to make! I think the most fun was a toss up between finding/taking cool shots for it and recreating the logo - I love how the colored pencils worked so nicely to create the lens look! LOVE IT!!!!

So...there you go... a bit of something different! AND...I am linking this up to the Camera Craze Challenge over in the Moxie Fab World! I hope you love it!

Have a Happy!!!

Colored Pencils Can Offer Brilliant Colors, too!

So, here's the thing... you want to add bold, vibrant color to your cards, but you don't have a degree in coloring from the Alcohol Marker Institute of America? Yeah, me, neither. I totally get it. All that numbering and blending and ... whew! It gets a bit daunting! So, while I do use my Spectrum Noir markers, I have actually found that I can get those same bold, vibrant looks using colored pencils and, personally, I find them a lot easier to work with than markers. Let me show you...


Yup. Totally did that with colored pencils. Prismacolors, to be precise. For reals. I wouldn't lie about something like this, folks. This is serious stuff! HA! And the best part is... all I did was choose three colored pencil colors and worked my way from the outside in. You could do it from the inside out, if you prefer... I just knew what I wanted on the outside first, so I started there. This girl... not so much a 'planner'. Just sayin'. LOL! I did apply mineral spirits with a tortillion after coloring to bolden up those colors and give the full vibrancy. It also helps blend them even more, although, good colored pencils tend to blend well just while you use them, so that's handy, too.


As for WHAT to color? Well, that parts easy! Just pick out some GORGEOUS stamps like these fabulous Sheena Douglas images from Crafter's Companion! I used Sheena's Through the Rain and Flower Power sets for this card. You can actually get a good deal on both if you choose them for this bundle offer. Just sayin'.

So... if you are not the coloring type and part of that is due to a dreadful phobia of fancy markers... I hope you will give Prismacolors a try. I think you might find them a lot easier and totally fun! Oh...and the results are pretty cool, too. Just sayin'.

A CASE of Serious Fun!

Did you see the giveaway I posted over the weekend for a FREE PERSONALIZED STAMP from PSA Essentials? If not, you should totally go check it out! It's easy to enter and an awesome prize!!!

As for today, well, I decided to play along with the challenge over at CASE Study! The muse is Teri Anderson... so naturally I pulled out a set of her new adorable stamps from Technique Tuesday!


Wow! This card has LOTS o' stuff on it. I know... I could have created a CAS card inspired by Teri's original, but when I saw it, I kind of wanted to challenge myself to go ahead and use lots 'o stuff! It was fun! And I do like the results! YAY! Love it when that happens! Woot! Woot! (P.S. The bag has a Michael's gift card tucked into it.. Love that they have fun colors on their cards!)


I have created links to the supplies I used below just in case you want to check out all that awesomeness! For reals. Just sayin'.

InLinkz.com