Purr-fect!

Howdy and happy Friday again! Today I am sharing with you all a card I made as part of Mountain Plains Crafters' inspiration post earlier this week; we all decided to make cards with cute critters on them and after an allergy attack from my furry friend Salem, I decided to go with kitties!

It didn't come out exactly as I had envisioned, but it's growing on me! I used Nancy Girl from Unity Stamp Co and watercolored her with my Distress Markers and Anna Griffin Watercolor Markers, neither of which I have had much luck with using before. I actually quite like the soft colors here! I think they go well with the SU! Pink Pirouette base. I also threw on some pretty iridescent sequins by the hearts. The little specks are the punched-out centers of the sequins. Take a closer look:

Aren't they pretty? The sequins are white with an iridescent finish, so they really sparkle and shien in the light. Sorry, don't have a brand name for you; got them in a bargain bin at a scrapbook convention this summer. I'm not a big sequin gal but I think these came out pretty. :)

That's it for today, I hope you liked my kitty card. Thanks for stopping by, friends!

Best Witches!

Hey howdy hey and happy Friday! Today I have my first Halloween card of the season--yay! Halloween is my favorite holiday. People who know me know I LOVE to dress up and wear silly hats any old day, so any holiday where I get to dress up all over town is a winner in my book. I really love how this card came out and I plan on making it in a bunch of different colors for people at work!

Isn't it so fun?!? I used the Witch Boot Card Kit from SVG Cutting Files and cut it on my Explore. I had this gorgeous black glittery Bazzill cardstock I've been dying to use and it worked so perfectly for the boot and skirt! You can't tell from a photograph, but the glitter has all different colors when you move it in the light--so witchy! I also threw on my Wink of Stella in purple on the scalloped circle for more glitz. I stuck with pretty fall colors with the deep purple, dark green, burnt orange and cream. I will definitely be trying the next one with brighter spooky colors. My favorite part of this are the details on the boot!

Aren't you in love with it? I swear photos don't do it justice. I used some purple Queen & Co Bubbles for her buttons and tied up some pretty purple and white baker's twine just for an extra touch. I love how those details look on her glittery glam boot! :) I almost forgot to mention, I used the Halloween Chatter {october 2013 sentiment kit} from Unity Stamp Co; I love this kit!

That's it for today! I am entering this in the Unity Friends with Flair challenge and the SVG Cutting Files Anything with Fall Colors Challenge! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend. :)

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Yay, school has started and that only means one thing: fall is imminent! Well, this is Texas so imminent might not be the right word, but it's on it's way...at some point. Autumn is my favorite season, when it's cloudy and blustery, chilly and windy, time to break out the cardigans (yay!) and jackets and watch the leaves change colors when we're not watching football. ^_^

Over at Mountain Plains Crafters, we've got another fun challenge for you! This month, create something with a leafy/autumn theme and you'll have the chance to win a Donna Downey Mixed Media paint set from PanPastel--awesome! Head over to the MPC blog for all the details. Here's what I created:

It's simple but I I had fun making this one! The pretty browns and golds on all the trees is one of my favorite parts of this season, so I wanted to show that on my card, but still keep it simple. CAS is my favorite style, you know. :) It will be a sweet "just because" card to send to a friend once the weather changes.

The leaves are from Kelly Purkey's Thankful (an old Simon Says Stamp exclusive)--I LOVE THEM!!! I bought this set forever ago and hadn't used it yet, but I plan on using it a lot this autumn season. The quote, so lovely, is from the August Unity Kit of the Month - Summer Collapsed into Fall. You know I love my Unity. If you're not a KOTM member, you should be! It's my favorite stampy shipment of every month. :)

That's it for today! Make sure you swing by the MPC blog and enter the giveaway! There's 25 days left to enter, so you've got plenty of time to make your best creation and link it up. Thanks for stopping by!

A Christmas Card for the Cutting Edge Blog Hop!

Hey hey hey! I've got a quick CAS Christmas card for you as part of the Pretty Pink Posh Cutting Edge Blog Hop! This is a very simple one, but I love how it came out! Take a look:

I am in love with the clean white and bright red. I used the Mama Elephant Dainty Bow Creative Cut die--isn't it adorable?! The bow is so easy to assemble and is such a cute little size. I should also mention a "behind the scenes/workhorse" type die I used here, and in most of my cards, are the Spellbinders A-2 Matting Basics sets. They're just the best die investment I've ever made and they help me keep my sanity by spacing my layers perfectly for me! :)

That pretty red is Real Red and stamp set is Wishing You, both from Stampin Up!

I wanted something simple, clean and a little "masculine." By leaving the cutesy tails off the bows, they almost look like little red bow ties. This will probably be a Christmas card for my manager, with just the right amount of cheer without being glittery or glitzy! Check out the inside sentiment:

I love the tiny present! Again, see that wonderful, perfect layering...yeah, I love those Spellbinders dies. :)

That's it for tonight; thanks for stopping by and make sure you hit some other creations on the hop!

Back to school!

Happy Saturday, crafty friends! This week on the Mountain Plains Crafters blog, the design team has created a bunch of fun inspiration cards for you to celebrate the end of summer and back to school season. It's still baking hot out there (at least it is in Texas!), but thoughts are turning to backpacks and new teachers as we head into the new school semester. For me, my thoughts are of senior level classes (eep) and figuring out how to pay for books! ;) Check out the card I made to celebrate going back to school and read a little about my own inspiration behind it...

Special teachers have always made a strong impact on me throughout my life and continue to do so to this day. I made this card with one of my favorite sociology professors in mind, as she definitely encourages her students not only to think outside the box, but to approach all matters from a place of love rather than judgement, which is crucial when studying sociology. Hope you enjoy it!

I love how this card came out. I used JEN Girl from Unity Stamps; isn't she cute? Her dress is paper-pieced using the peace joy love petite paper pack from Lawn Fawn. The cork layer is trimmed from the DCWV pastel cork stack, which I am super in love with right now. The sentiment layered on top reminds me of those inspirational quotes teachers tack up above the chalkboard in grade-school classrooms. :) Oh! And the green pearls are from Queen & Co, as is the fun red Twinkle Flower I used on her lapel. Isn't it cute? I love me some Queen & Co. ^_^

Thanks for stopping by; have a wonderful weekend!

Bright Butterflies and a winner!

Happy Monday, everyone! Today I've got a new card for you and oh, the winner of my Unity Stamp Co random grab bag giveaway. Yay! First up is the card; the fabulous ladies of the Mountain Plains Crafters design team decided to make a flurry of butterfly cards this weekend. Here's mine, which I am also entering in the card sketch part of the Unity {be inspired} challenge!

I love the embossed butterflies! The Hero Arts Neon ink went great with these bright patterned papers! I love any reason to use Queen & Co embellishments (bubbles and rhinestones) and, as usual, I used a Unity Stamp here, the Wish with Your Heart {august 2014 sentiment kit}.

Now it's time for the grab bag winner announcement! And the winner is...Katie S.!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats, Katie! Everyone else, thanks for entering! I will be doing another giveaway sometime in September, so stay tuned here and on my Facebook page for updates. :)

Thanks for stopping by today; y'all have a great week!

Mountain Plains Crafters Christmas in July Blog Hop

Happy Friday and welcome to the Mountain Plains Crafters Christmas in July Blog Hop! This is the first blog hop I've had the privilege of being a part of, so I'm really excited. :) 

The ever-rad Clearsnap gave us three awesome products to play with: Colorbox ink, Smooch Spritz and Smooch pearlized accent ink! I've never used Smooch accent ink, so I was excited to try it for the first time. Here's what I came up with for our fabulous Christmas in July hop!

This is my absolute favorite Christmas stamp, Small Stuff Christmas from Unity Stamp Co! I used the Smooch Spritz in Cashmere to give my background some shimmer and texture. Next, I used the Colorbox ink in Saddle for both my sentiment and my tree. Note: Saddle is great for wood/branches when stamped off first! Then, I used the awesome Smooch pearlized accent ink in Spruce for my little pine needles; I really loved this stuff! Finished off with some glitter ribbon and a single red rhinestone and just like that, my first official Christmas card of the year is done! :)

Super big shoutout to Clearsnap for these awesome products; I am definitely going to be investing in more of the Smooch pearlized accent inks! The color is so pretty and shimmery and it layers so well. Woohoo, new craft supply discovery! ;)

I am going my own giveaway seperate from this awesome blog hop! I will be giving away one random stamp grab bag from Unity Stamp Co! This is super easy to enter using Rafflecopter below; this giveaway starts on Saturday and will run for a week, so stay tuned for the winner!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now it's your chance to win these awesome products from Clearsnap! All you have to do is comment on all the blogs listed below for your chance to win. The blog hop runs through this weekend, so don't delay!

Your next, and last, stop on the hop is the wonderful and talented Paula! Happy hopping!

Mustang Creations - Pam

Waving my Wand - Terri

Sheryl's Creative Corner - Sheryl

Mississippi McGyver - MariLynn

Meticulosity - Debra

Caffeinated Papercuts - Jennifer

Christina's Creations - Christina (you are here!)

Scrap Addict's Attic - Paula