Challenges

I started participating in color challenges earlier this year with a fellow Close To My Heart Consultant, Marjorie, over at Mommy Scraps. It was the first time I'd ever done paper crafting challenges and I was hooked! The color challenges really took me out of my box and helped me try things that I don't think I ever would've thought of on my own. Not only did I use color combinations that I wouldn't have used on my own, it also helped bring out stamp sets that had been sitting uninked in the drawer for far too long. There are days when I want to create yet I will sit at my desk wondering where to start. Most of us paper crafting hobbyists have so many papers, stamps, embellishments, etc. that I think it is just a bit overwhelming at times. When I do have time to create, it's usually not much time at one sitting, but I certainly don't want to spend that precious time staring at my various products wondering where to begin! Whether it's a color challenge or a sketch challenge or product challenge, it's a good starting point. And when I've finished my project, I not only have accomplished something, whether it's making a card for someone or scrapping some more pictures from my mountain of photos, I've also learned something new. And that feels good! It has often helped with my next project too. And it gets you going - sometimes all we need is a gentle kick and the ideas start flowing.

When my friend Debbie over at Creatively Speaking also bought the Pagemaps book earlier this month, she thought it'd be fun to have a weekly challenge, randomly picking a page and giving ourselves a week to complete it. So far we've done three and it's been great!

So if you find yourself staring at your stamps or papers, log on to one of the many challenge sites or sketch sites and get going! You'll have fun, I promise!

Marjorie has done 31 color challenges. I think I've participated in about 15 of them, with every intention of catching up on the ones I've missed. The nice thing about challenges is there really is no time frame (unless there is a contest associated with it and you want to try to win!). So I don't feel the pressure to keep on top of every challenge that interests me. I joined in Marjorie's 31st challenge this week with one of Close To My Heart's new colors. I hadn't opened the stamp pad yet and this gave me the perfect excuse.


I don't think the Star Struck stamp set will ever get old with me. I also used the July Word Puzzle, Happy Birthday, and Journaling Jots stamp sets. I used a star punch to punch out the small "honey" and the one "cocoa" stars and popped them for added dimension. Everything else looks self explanatory I think. I LOVE the SU! notebook paper punch. It's so very handy that you can line up your next punch to make even punches every time -very cool.

The color combo is Olive, Juniper, Honey and Cocoa. Great boy colors!



And now for our 2nd Papemaps sketch challenge:




I'm trying to use up my stash I've been hoarding for too long....

I got out the retired Building Blocks paper kit from CTMH. The ABC border is from Rusty Pickle (I've had it for a few years now) along with some stickers (ack, stickers!) that have also been sitting in a drawer...still in the packaging. No stamping on this one - I can't believe it! :-)

I even got out one of my DCWV quote stacks and found one that went well with the pictures of my sweet baby boy (who is not such a baby now at 5 years old). Once I had the pictures and supplies figured out, it didn't take me long to complete this LO. I had looked at the pictures several times before and wasn't sure how to lay them out, but seeing the sketch and knowing the paper I wanted to use kicked this one page creation into high gear.


Our 3rd challenge:

Stealing Snuggles. My 3rd child is not a snuggler. My husband and I are a little sad about this since she is our last. So when she fell back asleep on the couch after her nap one day, my hubby took advantage. And I was able to snap a few pictures of the rare moment.

I've been wanting to scrap these pictures for a few months now and without the sketch, I never would've done circles with 2 of the photos! Circles can be tough to incorporate in a LO but they are a lot of fun and bring a fresh look to your pages.

I painted, stamped, used buttons, brads, ribbons, felt stars, sheer letters, bling...lots here on this one!


I hope you enjoyed the products of my challenges this week! Now go out and challenge yourself today or tonight and get something done!


Happy Creating!
Kim

I am a Friend of PageMaps!

Yes, it's true. I've said it before and I'll say it again and again and again. http://www.pagemaps.com/ is a great site for sketches for layouts and cards. I was a featured friend this month for CardMaps. If you'd like to design a layout or card for Becky, follow one of the links on her web site for more information on how you can be a friend too.

I was **so** excited to find Becky's sketch book available in Michael's this last week. It was an early birthday present to myself since I already had my 40% coupon in hand and happened to be browsing the book section when I came upon it. I love all the pictures and tips and can't wait to get started using it with that never ending pile of pictures in my crafting corner.

Here is my card for the sketch I was assigned. So many possibilities with each sketch. Being the literal person I am, I followed the sketch pretty much detail for detail. Well, I did change the sentiment on the front. :-)


Don't forget to check out all the other fabulous layouts and cards (new sketches for cards are posted every 3 months) this month!

Happy Labor Day! Happy September!

Thank You Card - PageMaps

I {heart} http://www.pagemaps.com/. Becky Fleck has great LO ideas for scrapping and card making and I look forward to the beginning of each month for new ideas.

I used CardsMap from June 2007 for this Thank You card.




All supplies are by Close To My Heart
Paper Garden Paper Pack
Cottage Floral Edge Anchors (the green flower on the buttercup CS)
Cottage Floral Stamp Set
Spot-On Backgrounds Stamp Set
Say It In Style May SOTM

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Creating!

Wedding Card

Did you know that 35% of weddings occur during the summer and that June is the most popular summer month, followed by August? Even though I missed posting my wedding card in the most popular month, it's still considered wedding "season" so here is one for all the newlyweds and those celebrating their anniversaries. If you like trivia and have a few minutes, I found some interesting wedding statistics on this site.



You'll recognize this paper from my Teacher Appreciation Gift post below. This is one of my favorite paper packs from Close To My Heart. A touch of color to this paper adds a lot to a card or layout or is simply elegant just as it is.

I love so many things about acrylic stamps. My "Always & Forever" is actually an all in one horizontal stamp. I often take pieces of one stamp and move them around as needed to fit in certain spaces. For this, I inked "Always" first, cleaned the stamp, then inked the "&", cleaned the stamp, and finally inked the "Forever". I love to be able to see through the block for placement. Also, before stamping to paper, I always check to see if the other words/symbols that I don't want have any ink that needs wiping first.

Thanks for stopping by and happy creating!

Adding Dimension

It's hot, hot, hot! These colors are so summery and bright that I thought I'd share this card with you today.

I made this card for a swap I was in. I hadn't used these colors together before but I like how cheery they are.

Here is the card at a different angle. I have used more pop-dots on my projects lately than I have in the last few years! I love the way they add dimension to a card or LO. It's a quick and simple way to give your project that extra something that it needs sometimes. I also cut out the purple and bright pink flowers and adhered them to the card front instead of stamping them directly on the card as I did the yellow flower. Although cutting out stamped images isn't always quick, it also gives a certain pop to your project.

Stamp Sets (All CTMH): Cottage Floral, Spot-On Backgrounds, Just Because, and Playful Flourishes

Stay cool and thanks for stopping by!

Super Boy!

Isn't this Super Hero just the cutest? I bought him from Stamping Bella. My son loves to put on his red cape and pretend he's a super hero. I made this card for one of my son's friends this weekend. I'm working on a super hero layout and was inspired to make a birthday card too since I already had the stamp out on my desk. The sentiment is also from Stamping Bella. Emily from Stamping Bella has a free shipping offer that lasts through July 1st so if there are any stamps or accessories you want, now's a great time to stock up! Check out her blog for the shipping code.

The rest of the stamps are from CTMH: Star Struck and the July Word Puzzle.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Teacher Gift - Envelope Purse

When I first saw this envelope purse on Lisa's Creative Corner, I knew I wanted to make one. The tutorial can be found here on the Stamps, Paper, Scissors blog. It just so happened that the end of the school year was coming up and after deciding upon a gift card for my daughter's 1st grade teacher, I realized this purse would make a perfect presentation for the gift card. She loves to shop and she loves her purses.

Front and Back




You'll notice in the purses on the other blogs that the middle panels are also stamped...and beautifully so. After going back and forth about what I was going to include on my panels, I decided to involve my daughter by having her draw a picture for her teacher and write her a letter. Once the gift card has been spent, this will make a nice keepsake (I'm assuming...and hoping she'll be keeping this!).

I used a velcro closure to close the purse. If you had BasicGrey's magnetic snaps on hand, those would work well too.

I adhered the gift card to a piece I random stamped. I used CTMH's Random Thoughts and Youthful Heart stamp sets for the card. The colors are a little funky. I had to take this at night so I didn't get natural light.

I tucked the gift card tag and my thank you note - also random stamped (with CTMH's June SOTM, With Love) inside the envelopes. I put a small piece of ribbon on the tags so they are visible while in the pockets (the pockets are under the pictures).

Gift cards are appreciated by teachers and easy for us moms (and the dads that do end of year school gifts.. :-) but I knew I wanted to do something a little more than including it with a thank you card. This was the perfect solution.

Thanks for making it through my first artwork post!

Supplies:

2 white envelopes, 2 Jumbo Eyelets, Velcro Closure

CTMH Silhouette Paper Level 2 Pack

CTMH Just Blooms Big Pinks

CTMH Sparkles

CTMH Black Collection Ribbon Rounds

Stamp Sets (all CTMH): Random Thoughts, With Love, Youthful Heart, Memory Labels, Adorable, Rustic Flowers