Paper Addicts Anonymous

Show us your bears

2012-01-30T17:43:00.004-05:00

A little bit sad today as this is my last post for Craft Your Passion. It's been a great six months and I've really enjoyed my time, but I promised DH I would limit myself to 2 DT's. Hee hee, he actually tells me I should scrapbook more now, he doesn't really get the whole card making thing!
An easy challenge for my last one and the theme is: Beary Sweet. All you need to play along is a bear and isn't this the cutest little bear?

Anyway, a big thanks and goodbye to Jenn and my fellow teamies - see you around, I'll be back to play for sure!

Challenges:
Unscripted Sketches - sketch
ICopic weekly Challenge - Red Love (actually there was no red love with this card, I am having serious trouble keeping strong colours like red from bleeding on the XpressIt cardstock. Any thoughts?)
Crafty Boots - Song Title (Teddy Bear's Picnic, what else?)
Lollipop Crafts - Anything Goes

All the news that's fit to print...

2012-01-26T17:39:00.004-05:00

Boasting Alert - my Button tree card won the Catered Crop Challenge and I get to drop in as a guest designer! Yea!
The Catered Crop challenge is Text/print and this is what I've come up with. I just got this cute Fizzy Moon stamp and I thought the bear holding a sign would look great with a text background. Perhaps not the most original, but it turned out super cute.

Other Challenges:
Sketch - Mojo Monday
Shelly's Images - Use Text
Gingersnap Creations - Going Green
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Inspirational Eye Make Up?

2012-01-26T17:26:00.003-05:00

This is certainly not your average inspiration photo, but it ended up being quite a fun challenge this week at Fab N Funky. The colours, the spots, the butterflies...there's so many ways you can go with this.

As you can probably tell from my card, I went with the green/yellow colours. They're so nice and fresh and cheerful in dreary old January. I also used an older Messy Rabbit stamp that I got from Joanna Sheen - love this little bunny although I did cut off his flowerpot he was sitting on!

Challenges:
Craft Us Crazy - Valentine's or Animals

Colour Bingo!

2012-01-23T09:10:00.003-05:00

Bingo twice in one week? Sure, bring it on! Besides, this is colour Bingo with Craft your Passion! Grab some come colours from the Bingo card and get playing! I went with part of a line - my card is mainly brown and orange. And if you think my card layout looks a little like yesterday's card with all the circle - it's because it was the first attempt at the MME sketch. Luckily, I was able to rework it to suit this image from Limited runs!

Challenges:
Hooked On Crafts - Something Bright
Make It Monday - Linky Party
Make My Monday - Flowers and Leaves
Pollycraft - Warm it Up (warm colours)

New stuff!

2012-01-22T14:33:00.003-05:00

Woo hoo, it's always a good day when new stuff arrives! I placed an order from the Glitter Pot, and it got here to Canada in under a week. I also got a little package of goodies from Lou, thanks very much!
I don't order often from Britain as it's stinking expensive, but I had to make an exception for these cute new stamps. The line is called Hot Diggity Dog and they are so cute! I just love the dogs and all the hopping frogs!
This card was designed for the My Mind's Eye card sketch. I love My Mind's Eye papers and I really wanted to play along. However, I don't have anything except paper, so I'm not sure if this will make the 80% requirement. (It is all MME except the stamps and twine)

Other Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps Challenge blog - Summer in Winter
Craft A Scene - Anything Goes
Dream Valley Challenges - Animals
Let's Ink It Up - Anything Goes (no digis)
Paper Sundaes - paper piecing (I did the surf board to match the colours, not sure if that's enough?)

Delightful doilies

2012-01-22T07:00:00.001-05:00

Been a rough week around here, it's cold and snowy (I had to take a hammer to get into my mailbox) and my mojo seems to have gone south with the sun. Luckily, I got invited to a crop and managed to get things back in gear - I made a few cards, a few pages and I'm stuffed full of yummy food.

This week's challenge at Pile It On stumped me for a bit though - I don't have any Lace, none. However, that just means it's time to go shopping! Off to Michael's I went and found these cute little lace blooms in the dollar section, yippee! Funny enough, I already had the card base, I made it for another project and hated it, but I'm glad I didn't throw it out now!

Challenges:
Pile It On - Use Lace
Alphabet challenge blog - Y for You can choose
Card Making' Mamas - Something Old (the whole card base is one I gave up on months ago and re-used)
Clearly Inspired Challenges - Pastels
Fairytale Challenge Blog - Inspired by a movie (this sweetie reminds me of old Shirley Temple movies)
Joyful Stamper - Inspire me Fridays linky party
Stamping With the Dragon - Anything Goes
PaperPlay Challenges - Ribbon Every Which Way (look close, it's there!)
Scrappy frogs - Lace

B-I-N-G-O

2012-01-21T19:54:00.000-05:00

Catch up post alert - yup, here I am on Saturday night with Wednesday's post. Let's just say it was a busy week, shall we? (I had good intentions, I started this on Thursday night...) The top card is my card for Fab N Funky and this week's challenge is BINGO. I choose 2 papers, bakers twine and butterflies for my card. Be sure to head to Fab N Funky to see the whole Bingo board, there's lot of fun choices.

The other two cards belong to my boys, these are their masterpieces for this month's Craft Your Passion Kid's Challenge - Hearts. As you can see, they went a little wild with my Nesties! (They're really more about colouring the images than making the cards - they do love seeing their work online though!)

Challenge (Brown and Pink Card):
Mojo Monday - Sketch

Challenges (two heart cards):
Send A Smile 4 Kids - Anything Goes
Stamp, Scrap and Doodles - Have a heart
Simply Create Too - Love Is In the Air
Just Us Girls - Colour Challenge (red, pink and white)

A big slap on the wrist

2012-01-16T20:48:00.003-05:00

A slap on the wrist? For what you might ask? Well, apparently I can't read and missed the whole 'handmade' part of the 'In the Bag/Box' challenge this week at Craft Your Passion. For those of you who would like to play along correctly, this week's challenge is:

To make a handmade gift box or bag

I had this gift bag stashed away (cough cough) and thought it would be fun to dress it up for my oldest son's birthday. I kept it super simple with fun, bright colours and a huge dollar store (cough cough) bow. It turned out super cute, even if it's only partially handmade! (cough cough)

Ah well, there's always next week!

Challenges:
Incy Wincy - Bold and Bright
Lexi's Creations - Anything Goes
Make It Monday - Linky party
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Not a card (not sure if this is ok, it's not vintage!)
Pink Elephant - Fave colours (bright!)
Truly, Madly, Craft Challenge - Anything Goes

Button, buttons and more buttons

2012-01-11T19:57:00.005-05:00

Since discovering Feline Playful, (which is a wonderful site) I haven't been designing so much with challenges in mind. Rather, I design and then find challenges, kwim? So when I saw the button challenge at Catered Crop, I decided to really go for it and try something new.
I spent some time on Pinterest, browsing buttony things and came across a few button trees that I thought I would like to recreate. This is the result, pretty huh? I tried to keep the card simple, leaving the tree as a focal point. Not so sure about the banner, but I wanted something that would break up the long tree trunk.

Challenges:
Catered Crop - Buttons
CPS -Sketch (although my tree covered more of the background that I planned)
Top Tip Tuesday - Anything Goes
Crafty Creations - Something New (new to me technique, lots of buttons)
Heart 2 Heart - use a stamp you haven't used in a while or haven't used (this stamp is an oldie, but I love it and should pull it out more)

Recycling Day

2012-01-10T20:43:00.003-05:00

I like to recycle. In fact, I like to recycle so much that I didn't have much on hand for this week's Fab N Funky challenge - recycling. Maybe it's too many episodes of Hoarders, maybe it's genetic, but I have to purge my stuff on a regular basis or go crazy!

In the end, I found some tissue boxes with neat patterns - they're very artistic these days! I cut the circle from the side of the box and then found some cardstock to match. Added a bow and some bling and it looks pretty good. Unless you had the same box, I don't think you'd guess where it was from!

Challenges:
Sketch n Stash - Sketch (neglected item is purple cardstock, I never use purple!)
Anything Goes Challenge Blog - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Use a die cut and make it cute
Partytime Tuesdays - save the eagle/feathered friends
Shopping Our stash - Glitter, sparkle or shine

Mythical Creatures

2012-01-08T18:38:00.004-05:00

Before we get to the new Craft Your Passion challenge, I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who's stopped by lately. I've had a ton of sweet comments and a few new followers and I really appreciate the love!
This week's Craft Your Passion challenge is a fun one for me - Mythical creatures. I love dragons and don't seem to get to use them enough, so I jumped on this sweet dragon from our sponsor - Day for Daisies.
I used some old Basic Grey paper I had - I almost never use purple, so this was kind of fun. Don't look to closely at the stitching though, I cannot for the life of me keep my paper straight in the sewing machine. Any tips?

Challenges:
Just Inspirational Challenges - mythical/fantasy pic
CCEE Stampers - Grimm's Fairy Tales (was there a dragon in a Grimm tale? Can't quite remember)
Dream Valley Challenges - Anything Goes
Sparkles Forum Challenges -Anything but Christmas
Squirrel and the Fox - Something New (new digi)

Getting manly

2012-01-07T23:59:00.001-05:00

Hi all and welcome to my second post (and last night, what seemed like my last post!) for Pile It On. Woo boy, I'm still not 100% with this card, but after 4 versions, 3 images printed out, too many paper scraps to count and 3 episodes of Downton Abbey, this is the finishes results. Of course, the fact that I was watching Downton Abbey may have had something to do with my general lack of crafiness! (I got season 1 from the library, and only have a week to watch the whole thing.)
Hopefully, your efforts with a manly card will go easier than mine! (Cause that's the challenge this week!) Come play along!

Challenges for Emma:
Pile It On - Manly cards
Dude Time Doodles - Anything Goes
Catch the Bug Challenge - Anything Goes
Crafty Calender - new new (new image)
Crafty Emma's Challenge blog - Anything Goes
Crazy 4 Challenges - Something New
Card Patterns - Sketch
Delicious Doodles - All things New
Fairy Tale Challenge blog - Something New
Simply Create - More Than 2 layers
Glitter Geeks - Hand in hand (men and gears)
Whimsical Designs - On the Edge (border punch)

More bunnies

2012-01-06T18:20:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine said 'that I must really like these bunnies' when she saw this latest card. I gotta say she's mostly right. I love these bunnies, don't ask me why. Something about their giant floppy ears maybe...
Anywhoo, this is my latest bunny, flying away in a balloon. I used some CTMH that was part of a special, I've got just enough left to squeeze out another card or 2. It's silly, but I'm happy to use it up (and God knows, I've got lots to use) but sad to see the end of a pretty pack. Good thing the new CTMH catalog is on it's way, more new paper for me!

Challenges:
Mojo Monday - Sketch
Card Makin' Mammas - New Year or Something New (new stamp)
Inspire me Fridays (Joyful Stamper) - Linky Party
Cute Card Thursday - What's New
CASE study - inspiration (I'm all over the balloons)
My Mum's Craft Shop - Something New

Hopping with Fab N Funky

2012-01-03T23:59:00.000-05:00

Woo hoo, we're hopping! Yup, we're having a blog hop at Fab N Funky to ring in the New Year and to welcome you back after a bit of a break. The Fab N funky DT took a much needed break, but now we are back at it!
To play along with the hop (and yes, there's prizes, so make sure you check out the FnF blog to see what you can win.) just visit all the DT and collect a number. Add all the numbers up and leave your answer on the FnF blog to win! I'll make it easy for you, my number is:

9 nine 9

But wait, there's more!
We're also running a new challenge this week, and the challenge is NEW. We want to see new scrap goodies, new cameras, new ideas...you get the picture! To play along, just add your card or project to Mr.Linky! I got some new SU stuff just before Christmas (Merry Christmas to me!) including this sweet snowman and fun banner punch. Love it!

You should have come here from Sharon's blog, and when you're done, hop over to Anne-Marie's blog. Just so you don't get confused, here's the hop order:
Fab N Funky
Alexis
Rachel
Ginny
Pat
Lou
Wendy
Sharon
me!
Anne-Marie
Fab N Funky

Challenges for my card:
Crazy Amigo challenge - winter
Creative Card Crew - Snow Day
Everybody Art Challenge - Snow
Going Grey with Scrap Creations - Old and New (new - see above, old - Nestie and Liquid glass)
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes + new
Partytime Tuesdays - Something New
Top Tip Tuesday - Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown - Shiny New Year (shiny snowflake)
Ribbon Carousel - Anything Goes

So very distressed!

2012-01-02T10:29:00.003-05:00

Hi all, hope you're all good. I'm a little bummed, as it's my last day of vacation today. Sigh, how can 10 days fly by so quickly? They never go that fast when I'm sitting at my desk...

Despite that, it's a new week at Craft Your Passion and the first challenge of the New Year. We're looking for:

Anything Goes + Distressing

I realized after I picked my image that cute Westies and distressing don't really go, so my distressing is fairly subtle. I used paper that were already a little 'shabby' and then crumpled and inked them a bit more. Turned out cute, I think.

Challenges:
Critter Sketch - Celebrations
Kaboodle Doodles - Let's Celebrate
Lawnscaping - Birthday (ooh, would so love to win some of those cute stamps!)
The Kraft Journal - Anything Goes
Paper Creations Ink - Punches/die cuts (good old nesties!)
The Crazy Challenge - Party

Pile It On Challenge #1

2011-12-31T23:59:00.001-05:00

It's a brand New Year and a brand new DT job - I'm very excited to present my first post for Pile It On! This will be an easy challenge for everyone - Anything Goes!

I wanted to celebrate for the new year, but didn't want to do a New Year's card. (I really only give out Christmas and Birthday cards) I dug out a fun stamp from my stash that I hadn't used in awhile and my fave papers and went to town on a colourful birthday card.

I apologize though, as the colours seem a little dull - however the card is a 4 hour dive from my MIL and I have to make do with the photo I've got!

So let's see what you've got - pull out all the stops for the first Pile It On challenge! And don't forget to visit the other DT and see what they've been up to!

Challenges for Emma:
4 Crafty Chicks - Something New (New Year, new challenge, new DT!)
Splendiferous Creations - Celebrate (Bloggers Challenge celebration challenge)
Card Crafters Circle - Anything Goes
Daring Cardmakers - Spots and Stripes
If the Shoe Fits...Scrap It - Use It Up! (must use this lovely paper...)
Fussy And Fancy - Animal Print or Happy Birthday
Stamping For the Weekend - Anything Goes
Totally Papercrafts - Time to party
Do You Stack Up - Inspiration picture (rainbow!)
Charisma Cards - Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion Bloghop Winner

2011-12-31T12:21:00.002-05:00

Hi, Happy New Year! It's been a nice week off, filled with food and presents and Lego. (2 boys at my place) I have totally been ignoring my poor blog, but I'm back now. A slight oversight, I have yet to draw for the candy I offered during the CYP blog hop. So without further ado:

Wifey Cookie!

Please email me with your address and I will get your stamp set out to you!

Also stay tuned for my first Pile It On Post and a new Craft Your Passion post for the New Year.

Late, late, so very late!

2011-12-22T20:46:00.004-05:00

Yup, this should've been up Monday - remember I told you I was cutting short the 12 Days of Craftiness? Hee, hee, apparently everything else got cut short too! So this is a catch up post - Craft Your Passion's Things with Wings Challenge and a new challenge at Craft Your Passion kids - winter.

So the top card is mine, and the two wintery cards belong to my boys Warren and Graham. Cute, huh?

Challenges (my card with the bird cage):
Sketch - Sketchbook Saturday (love these sketches!)
Anything Goes - Scrapbook Sisters
Brown and Blue - Allsorts

Day 7 of the 12 Days of Crafitness

2011-12-18T20:38:00.004-05:00

Looking for the Craft Your Passion Holiday Havoc bloghop? Go here!

Ok, with that out of the way, I have a small confession to make. I may or may not get to the end of my 12 days of craftiness. Don't all cry at once now! I just came to the stunning realization that Christmas is a freakin' week away and I am totally not ready! I need to plan menus, grocery shop, wrap presents, finish buying presents and wrap those too, clean my house (yes, my Mum is coming over), prep for my DT jobs in the new year and try and sleep at some point. So I regret to say that there may not be a day 12.

I have truly enjoyed just posting random stuff though, so that is my goal for the next year - just publish stuff, not DT related, just for fun. We shall see how it goes...

For now, here's Day 7 - I'm pretty sure there will be an 8, but 9? We'll see...
These cuties are an outright lift - not something I do too much of, but I couldn't resist. Darlene does beautiful work, be sure to check out her blog! I changed mine up a bit - added legs and different antlers (a snowflake Nestie, very creative if I do say so myself!) but they're the same animal. Too cute, my table's gonna rock!

Challenges:
Christmas - Dream Valley Challenges
Christmas - the Squirrel and the Fox
Cold and Frosty - Crafty Calender (I think reindeer are frosty enough!)
Anything Goes for Christmas - Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge

Craft Your Passion Holiday Havoc Bloghop!

2011-12-16T23:21:00.006-05:00

Welcome to the Craft Your Passion Challenges "Holiday Havoc 2011" Blog Hop!!

We are very excited about the holidays and wanted to add to the chaos and havoc. What better way to do that, than to have a BLOG HOP!!!

If you have hopped over from Melissa's blog then you are in the right place. If you just happened to stop by and would like to join our hop from the beginning, please go to Craft Your Passion Challenges and follow along for a chance to win some AMAZING blog candy along the way and PRIZES at the end.

All the Craft Your Passion DT members are going to be playing along in the hop with some very special guest designers. Each designer along the way is featuring a project that showcases a digital image from at least one of our amazing Blog Hop Sponsors.

What’s more exciting is you can participate too by creating a project and linking it up over at Craft Your Passion Challenges for a chance to win one of several prizes.

But there’s a twist. Be sure to visit all the stops and leave a comment (we will be checking). Once you have finished the hop, we would like you to create a HOLIDAY project using at least one digital stamp and enter it with our Linky tool.

While you are hopping, be sure to check out the blog candy the designer's have to offer you. You don't want to miss out on any of it! Here's my Holiday project, a sweet and simple Christmas card:

I choose an image from Stretch and Bubbles, isn't this rustic snowman just adorable? And I love all the little birds! Because it's Christmas, I dug into my CTMH stash and found this cute stamp set to offer you - just leave a comment! (Normally, this comes in a bigger envelope, but I don't want to pay too much for shipping!)

Next stop by Joanne's blog, to see what she has in store for you today.

Remember, once you have hopped to all the stops and left your comments (we will be checking), it's your turn to show us your "Holiday Havoc" project.

Make sure to include a digital stamp somewhere on your project, and link up your project over at Craft Your Passion Challenges by Midnight CST December 23 to be eligible for the prizes. Winners will be announced on our Monday, December 26th Challenge post.

Day 6 of the 12 Days of Craftiness

2011-12-16T22:54:00.004-05:00

Hi all, how's December treating you? It's ridiculous where I am, it was 11 degrees Celsius here yesterday and nary a snowflake in sight. Our Canadian winter is a bit of a joke so far this year!

I have been crafting away though, no matter the weather and I have finished up a few more things. Today's is a cute gift card holder. I had a hard time here, as the sheep stamp was much smaller than I thought, it really wasn't working as a focal point. So then I started playing around with my new postage stamp Nesties and thought, 'hey, that looks like a stamp' and that's how it ended up.

I used a template for the pop up bit - check out Paper Punch Addiction here, she has a ton of tutorials for you to use. (Although looking at her site agin, maybe I should have decorated the inside a bit more!)

Challenges:
Colour Scheme - Colour Create (blue, white and silver)
Inspiration Photo - For Your Inspiration
Celebrations - Card Crafters Circle (new challenge!)
Christmas Creations - Inkspirations
Beginning to look a lot like Christmas - Raise the Bar
Christmas - Stamping for the Weekend (this may be a second entry, can't remember!)
Christmas - 4 Crafty Chicks
Christmas Card with removable item - C.R.A.F.T challenge

Day 5 of the 12 Days of Craftiness

2011-12-14T20:59:00.004-05:00

Day 5 and I'm back with something different, at least for me. I've done some 'manly' cards before, but never a teen card, so I'm hoping I hit the mark with this one. I don't have any teens I can poll, so what do you think? Hee hee, I still think I'm cool and then I overhear a bunch of kids talking at the mall and realize I'm hopelessly out of it. Sigh...
I got this Mo stamp on sale, and was wondering what to do with it when I saw the Mojo Monday sketch and an idea was born. I added a few text strips to the front, although I'm still wondering how you say Happy Birthday in text!

Challenges:
Sketch - Mojo Monday
Anything Goes - Cooking it up with Katie (second entry I think!)
Two Colours - Scrapbook Sisters (brown/black)
Anything Goes - Paper Variety

Day 4 of the 12 Days of Craftiness

2011-12-12T20:59:00.004-05:00

It's Day 4 of the 12 days of Craftiness and I'm right on track. My poor blog is spinning with all the activity, I don't think I've posted this much in forever! Went off on a bit of a tangent here with a lovely, summery layout. This is my DH with my 2 boys (in hats) and my sister in laws 2 kids - we had them over for a week this summer. Love this cheerful photo with all the beautiful sunflowers, although if you look closely, they're squinting a bit from the sun! (oh, and sorry about the magnets - this is hanging on my cubicle right now, and I took the photo without thinking, magnets and all!)

This is being added to Lisa Stenz' Art Philosophy blog hop - this is the only artwork I have using the CTMH cartridge as I don't have a Cricut. My upline Nat cut me a bunch of flowers so I could spiff up my layout. Maybe someday I will own one...

Other challenges:
Linky Party - Make It Monday
Whew, slim pickings for non-Christmas challenges today!

Tag, you're it!

2011-12-11T20:51:00.003-05:00

Back to the regularly scheduled stuff for a bit, it's a new week and a new challenge at Craft Your Passion. This week, we want to see:

Day 3 of the 12 Days of Craftiness!

2011-12-10T20:44:00.003-05:00

Meant to get this up last night, but I forgot we had a Christmas dinner to go to, one that included the kids. Ugh, should've got a sitter - it was in a scuzzy sports bar and it was past 8:30 by the time we got our food. (and the boys are normally in bed at 8:00!) However, DH had a nice time and that's whats important.

So on to Day 3 of my 12 Days of Craftiness - can't believe I'm so organized, I've got 2 projects already photographed and a couple more in the works! I saw a bunch of 'non-traditional colour' challenges and I thought I'd give that a go. I pulled out an older CTMH stamp set and went to town. In my opinion, this may be one of the most popular CTMH stamps ever - these little snowmen are so cute!

Challenges:
Sketch - Mojo Monday
Christmas - 2 Sisters
Snowmen - Paperplay
Non -traditional colours - The Stamping Boutique
Non-traditional colours - Sassy Studio Designs
Snowmen - Craft Your Days Away
Cold and Frosty - Crafty Calender
Super Scrap Saturday - Hiding in my Craftroom (many of my cards are made from the scrap bin!)
Christmas - Card Makin' Mamas
Let It Snow - Glitter Geeks

Day 2 of the 12 Days of Craftiness

2011-12-07T21:41:00.003-05:00

Woo hoo, Day 2 of my 12 Days of Craftiness is here! I wasn't going to post tonight, but then I realized I have a Parent Council meeting tomorrow night so I needed to get my butt in gear. (Given a choice between parent Council and being a Beaver Leader, I chose council as the lesser of 2 evils!)
So Voila, here are my Christmas Cards - this is what I'm sending out to everyone on my list this year. I'm deeply indebted to Vicky Wizniuk, an amazing talented CTMH consultant, she put together a great card work shop which I have shamelessly stolen and adapted! I really like these cards - they're clean and simple, flat (easy to mail) with just a touch of glitter. Which totally doesn't show up in the photos - Santa sparkles, really!
See you on Friday for Day 3!

Challenges:
Anything Goes - ABC Christmas
Winter and Christmas - Creative Belli
Traditional Christmas - My Mum's Craft Shop (red, green and Santa, it doesn't get much more traditional!)
Christmas - Penny's Challenges
Inspired by song - The Paper Variety (Here comes Santa Claus!)
Tis the Season - Creative Card Crew
It's all about the big guy - Try It On Tuesday
Celebrate the Season - Tuesday Throwdown

12 Days of Crafting...

2011-12-06T19:38:00.007-05:00

What do you think about the blog decor? Nice, huh? It's funny, cause I'm really kind of a bah humbug Christmas person (I know, I know, I can't help it, it's so in your face) but my tree is up, the lights are on and the presents are bought. (well, some of them) My sister is horrified, she thinks there should be no decorating before December 15, but she doesn't have kids to contend with!

To further my festive spirit, I'm making my own 12 days challenge - a crafty 12 days! There will be some Christmas in there, but not all. To start off with on Day 1, let's have something completely non Christmas - this cute bunny from the Cat's Pajama's!

I absolutely love these bunnies, their ears just crack me up. This card is for a co-worker who has been off sick for 3 weeks now with pneumonia - I wanted something fun and cheerful for when she finally makes it back! Join me again tomorrow (or the next day, luckily I have more than 12 days left!) for more of the 12 Days of Craftiness!

Challenges:
Sketch - Sketch Saturday
Anything Goes - Papertake weekly
Linky Party - Make It Monday

All that glitters...

2011-12-05T17:19:00.003-05:00

That's the challenge this week at Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes + Glitter! Easy huh? You'll have to look closely at my card though, as my glitter has not shown up well in the photo. I used a couple of colours of Stickles to decorate my tree and snow, plus I embossed my Merry Christmas for shiny finish!
(yep, it's a quick post, my little guy has Beavers and I'm on call to drive him...)

Challenges:
Heat embossing - Crafty Cardmakers (There's not a lot of embossing, but it's there!)
Seasonal + Glitter - Make My Monday
Bling It Up - Paper Creations Ink
Emboss It - Stamps R Us
Anything Goes - The Crazy Challenge
Christmas Images and Colours - Truly, Madly, Crafty Challenges
Anything Christmas - Come and Get It Challenges
Sparkle - Dream Valley
Sketch - Unscripted Sketches

Anything Goes!

2011-11-30T17:51:00.003-05:00

Yup, that's the theme this week at Fab N Funky. We know you're stressed and Christmas is coming, and most of us (including me) haven't done anything yet. I just found out my Mum and Dad are coming for a few days at Christmas, which means a surgical scrub down of the house, plus extensive meal planning. Love em dearly, but it's Mum right? It's gotta be good.

This card is super simple, but turned out really cute. It's for a friend who had a little baby boy a month or so ago, so I really have to get it into the mail! Love this Lily of the Valley stamp, it's so versatile. And yes, there's the strip on the inside of the card again!

Challenges:
Anything Goes - Cooking it up with Katie
Anything Goes - Divas by Design
Anything Goes - Simon Says Stamp
Free for all - Creative Craft Challenges
Anything Goes - Party Time Tuesdays
One for the lads - Lexi's creations

'Tis the Season,

2011-11-28T19:23:00.004-05:00

Yup, 'tis the season all right. The local easy listening station has switched to carols 24-7, the halls are all decorated and the kids are whining about the tree. Good thing the boys are big enough to put the tree up and decorate (with supervision) and even bring the boxes up from the basement - I just have to sit back and direct traffic!

'Tis the Season is also the challenge at Craft Your Passion this week. Due to a boo boo on my part, I wasn't able to get the sponsor image this week, so I had to get creative! I made some cute gift tags for the presents - I left a space for the names so they're ready to go. They turned out so nice, I may have to make some more!

Challenges:
Christmas Tags - My Partner in Crafting Crime
Christmas - Paper Creations Ink
Christmas Fun - Pollycraft
Christmas/Winter - Gingerloft
Christmas - Stamptacular Sunday
Holiday - 2 Sisters

Happy Birthday!

2011-11-23T18:01:00.003-05:00

Hi all, hope you're doing well. We've had our first load of snow here, after an extended warm November and the kids are out snowballing each other and theoretically getting the driveway cleared. It's supposed to warm up and melt again, which is totally OK by me as long as it snows for Christmas!

Totally un-Christmas like at Fab N Funky this week, we want to see Birthday! Fun and easy, so let's get crafting!

I went with a layout rather that a card, I just love this fun, bright CTMH Hooligans paper! The 2 photos actually lift up to reveal more photos underneath, but for some reason I didn't take a picture of that part!

Challenges:
Birthday - More than Favours
Anything Goes - Papercraft Star
Scrapbook page - Stamping Royalty
Free for All - Creative Craft Challenges

Inspiration time

2011-11-21T19:10:00.003-05:00

The challenge this week at Craft Your Passion is an inspiration challenge. However, I think I was more inspired by the sweet image we got from our sponsor this week, Doodle Pantry. Isn't this little bird the cutest? It is a great inspiration photo though, it's got pumpkins and leaves and rich fall colours and....yeah, getting a little carried away there.

So let's see some fall artwork! Stop on by Craft Your Passion, check out the DT's fabulous work and get creating!

If you've poked around my blog at all, you may have noticed I'm actually posting photos of the insides of my cards now. Gasp! Hee hee, I'm so lazy, I usually don't bother, but I'm trying to gussy them up a little more. Nothing fancy, but a little strip of matching paper sure makes a big difference. Maybe one day I'll really dress up the inside....not!

Challenges:
Linky Party - Make it Monday
In the Garden - Touch Twin Markers (I don't have any Touch Twin markers yet, but I'd sure love to win some!)
Recipe - Catered crop (kraft, birds, ribbon)
Female Birthday - Crafting When We Can (It's not pink and sparkly, but def not a boy card !)
Anything Goes - Lollipop Crafts
Beautiful Bows - Paper Sundaes
Something With a P - Pile It On (Pumpkins!)
Clean and simple - Quirky Crafts
Use Kraft - Scrappy Frogs
Sketch - Deconstructed Sketches
Kraft - The Spotted Chick (Ok, this is totally backlinking by like a week and a half, so feel free to pull, I just love this challenge!)

Brrrr...

2011-11-18T11:50:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone - I'm a little behind the times here, it's been a crazy, crazy week! I was away scrapping last weekend, saw Mamma Mia Tuesday night, had parent teacher interviews last night, and I'm working inventory all weekend. I also have been plans for the weekend after - absolutely nothing! hee hee!
I have managed to get online for a bit this morning, as I'm home with my little guy who is stuffy and snotty and otherwise bleh. Poor thing is sick on a PA, he's not even missing school! Older son was given the choice between staying home with sick little brother and playing with the sitter's boys, not much of a choice really! Makes it nice and quiet around here.

The challenge at Fab N Funky this week is :

Baby It's Cold Outside

Easy Peasy, just show us some snow and you're in!

Oh, and before I forget, it's the second challenge at Craft Your Passion Kids, so check it out if you have some crafty kids. This is my little guys card - I think older son thinks it's a bit uncool unfortunately!

Challenges (Christmas card):
Christmas Girls - Cute and Girly
Traditional Christmas Colours - Card and Scrap
12 Days of Christmas - Christmas Crafting (one of the 9 ladies dancing takes a break with one of the four calling birds!)
Sweet Christmas - Cupcake Craftroom
Christmas + Ribbon - Really Reasonable Ribbon

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2011-11-14T20:21:00.003-05:00

Really quick post here, as I am beat! I was away all weekend on a scrappy retreat, however all good things must come to an end, and end it did. And 3 boys have had the house to themselves, so it's welcome home and start cleaning. Sigh...

The challenge at Craft Your Passion this week is "Let It Snow" - so let's see something wintery. I kept my card super simple, my little bunny is skiing down a colourful hill. Looking at it now, it's maybe too simple - I think a few snowflakes are in order!

Bright White

2011-11-08T21:13:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone, I hope you're having a good week. I'm gearing up for a scrapping weekend away, so now this card is done I have to pack up all my stuff (groan) and get ready to go. Very much looking forward to it, it's the second one I've run and I'm already booking for a February weekend. Anyone in the Ottawa/Cornwall area is welcome, drop me a line!

This week's challenge at Fab N Funky is:

White + one other colour

I went with white and pale blue, although there are a few other spots of colour on my image. This sweet image is a Stamp Fairy digi, it was fun to pull it out again, I haven't used any since I was on the Stamp Fairy DT, shame!

Challenges:
Fave Holiday - Clear it out (both the Nestie and the digi stamp have been kicking around for a while)
Clean and simple - Creative Craft Challenges
Anything Goes - Digital Tuesday (digi stamp)
First Christmas - Papertake weekly
Bling It On - Party Time Tuesdays
Anything Goes Christmas - Top Tip Tuesday
Bling + animals - Forever Friends
Winter - Stamps + Fun = Creativity
Things with Wings - The Crazy Challenge
Sketch - Fetch a Sketch

Brown it is

2011-11-06T20:48:00.004-05:00

Whew, what a weekend! The weekends are supposed to be relaxing, but mine always seem to end up more like this - fighting through Toys R Us to grab Christmas presents for the boys (with the boys no less!), running through the grocery store and then trying to make lunches and clean the kitchen while DH replaces the kitchen tap. Sound familiar?
I'd like to pull a Rachel (the stamp is called 'Reading Rachel') and pull out a book, but I'm afraid I'd pass out!

The challenge at Craft Your Passion this week is:

Anything Goes + Brown

Easy Peasy, just show us some brown and you're good to play along. We have a couple of great sponsors this week, Sassy Studios (Reading Rachel stamp) and Bearly Mine Designs (cute digi paper) so I stuck to a simple design to let the image shine. Sweet huh?

Challenges:
Sketch - Unscripted Sketches
Anything Goes - Dream Valley
Rectangles - Paper Sundaes
Anything Goes - Crafty Catz
Snuggle Up - Glitter Geeks (my fave spot, snuggled up with a book!)

Success!

2011-11-03T21:44:00.003-04:00

My post for Fab N Funky is a tad late this week - I've been on course and it required some homework! I took an instructional techniques class and we had to teach a 15 minute class - I had a bunch of big, burly type guys stamping! Hee hee, nothing better than stamping at work!

The theme this week at FNF is planes, trains and autos - but we're pretty lenient, anything male or transport related will do! This cute image is from our sponsor, Robyn's Digital Fetish, sweet huh? Although looking at my card now, that celebrate is really, really crooked!

Grrr...Google woes

2011-10-31T20:13:00.005-04:00

I'd like to apologize to everyone who played along at Craft Your Passion last week and didn't get a comment. I sat down Sunday morning to write some comments, and in between one blog and the next - 'your account has been deactivated'. WTF??? I spent a good chunk of the rest of Sunday trying to figure out where my blog went and how to contact Google. (Vicious circle, they want you to log in to leave a comment, but I couldn't log in, round and round we go...)
Magically, the blog is back today, Google emailed an apology but didn't say what happened, and my blood pressure has almost come down to normal. Sigh....

In other news, Happy Halloween! We just got back from trick or treating and the boys are busy (all of them, DH included) stuffing their mouths. Good times, hopefully they will be asleep before the sugar kicks in!

And of course, the point of the post - the new challenge from Craft Your Passion. The challenge this week is a fun BINGO board, just choose a row and get creative! I chose ribbon, free space (button) and pearls. Our sponsor this week is Bugaboo, I just have to add a 'Happy Anniversary' to this fun card featuring Stella and Gus to finish. I also might shrink the sentiment on the card front - I think it's a bit big and overpowers the card. Still cute though!

Challenges:
Dots and Stripes - Incy Wincy
Linky Party - Make It Monday
Anything Goes - Paper Playtime
Anything Goes - Pollycraft
Buttons - Stamp With Fun
Anything Goes - Come and get It
Anything Goes - Lollipop Crafts
Sketch - Sketchbook Saturday

Things that go bump in the night...

2011-10-26T17:23:00.003-04:00

The challenge at Fab N Funky this week is a spooky, creepy one:

Hubble, Bubble, toil and trouble

And in case you can't translate that, that means Halloween! Now to be honest, I'm not really big on Halloween. I have a few spooky stamps that don't see much daylight, yet I'm continually tempted to buy more. Sigh. Anyone else have this problem?
For this card, I used some scraps from the bin (don't ask, cause I have no idea what they are) and a There She Goes stamp - love those little ghosties in a row!

A few challenges:
Sketch - Mojo Monday
Halloween - Shopping Our Stash
Trick or Treat - Tip Top Tuesday
Orange, black or purple - Use it Tuesdays
Halloween - Creative Stamp Friends
3+ patterned papers - Critter Sketch
Halloween - Magical Monday
Halloween - Paper Creations

Catching Up

2011-10-24T14:02:00.003-04:00

Well, DH was off to Halifax this past weekend, which meant some extra crafty time for me. However, I sent the camera with him, which meant I couldn't take any pictures of what I made. (all the worse because he didn't take any pictures with it!) So this is a catch up post as I was very inspired!

Up first is a card I made for fun - I wanted to use this fun sentiment from Art Impressions, it just cracks me up. I paired it with Stella from Bugaboo cause she cracks me up too! The papers are Mischief from CTMH. One of the challenges was to use lace, which I don't have - I used some lace ribbon and will hope for the best!

Challenges:
Sketch - Pals Paper Arts
Lace - Art Impression Stamps
Recipe - Catered Crop (fall colours, lace, seniors, Copics)
fall/halloween - One Crazy stamper (fall colours and Stella is kind of a witch, right?)
Scary Ladies - The Crazy Challenge (yup, that's Stella!)

These cards are thank yous for my Mum and Aunt for my little guy's birthday present. He sat down and wrote his note on the inside, I just have to mail them off. I just got this gorgeous cane 'anywhere on the page' punch from Martha Stewart, and now I've figured it out - wow. I want to use this punch on everything! The card layout is a direct lift from Windy Robinson in Paper Crafts magazine, I wanted a great card to showcase this punch and volia!

Challenges:
Just a sentiment - Lexi's Creations
Anything Goes with kraft - The Kraft Journal

Krafty fun

2011-10-24T11:44:00.004-04:00

Hi there, happy Monday. Or not so happy depending on where and what you're doing! I'm at home with my little guy, who's recuperating from a cold. We're still hanging out in our PJ's, so a very good Monday here!
This week's challenge at Craft Your Passion is a personal fave as I love kraft. It's a wonderful neutral, goes with everything and can be dressed up or down. So let's see what you can do with Kraft paper - lets' get krafty!

I used my kraft with some cute papers from My Mind's Eye called Summer's End. I used some CTMH stamps for the sentiment, a CTMH kraft star and a cute image from this week's sponsor - Crafty Sentiments.

Challenges:
Sketch - Unscripted Sketches
WISH - Bird is the Word
Be happy - Pile It On (not sure if this counts, but it's a happy birthday card!)
One for the girls - The Squirrel and the Fox
Halloween colours - Craft Your Days Away (orange!)
Use a colouring medium - CAS-ual Fridays (Copics)

Distressing news...

2011-10-19T16:01:00.004-04:00

Hee, hee, no news, just distressing! That's the challenge this week at Fab N Funky! I went with a fun, bright card, and then I toned it down a bit by crumpling and inking my paper. Since it's definitely a 'boy' card, I thought the whole 'grubby' look would go well. (I have 2 boys and if they're not grubby, they're sticky, snotty or just plain dirty! Sigh.)

The papers are a mix of SU, Close to My Heart and My Mind's Eye - it was kind of fun to just throw patterns together! The stamp is an oldie, one from October Afternoon that I just had to have!

I do have a second card for you today, this one is courtesy of my youngest monster, Graham. He's part of the brand spanking new Craft Your Passion Kid's challenge blog - if you've got crafty kids, be sure to check it out! (Oh, and if you can't tell, Graham loves dogs!)

Challenges - Monster Card:
Colours - Color Q
Spooky Fun - Creative Card Crew
Spooky Hues - Papertake weekly
Make us laugh - Cards for Men

Challenges - Graham's Puppy Card
Fall Colours - Deep Ocean Challenges
Fall or Halloween - Crafty Boots
Anything Goes + Animals - Forever Friends

Pink is in!

2011-10-16T22:01:00.003-04:00

So you may have noticed the missing Fab N Funky post this week - I got my card on the Fab N Funky site, but didn't manage to post on my own blog. I'm just going to say one word: Pinterest. I got my invite and since then, I have spent a ridiculous amount of time surfing all the pretty pictures. If you haven't been there yet, go now. Seriously. (Then I won't be the only one neglecting my blog!)
I have torn myself away however, to present this week's challenge for Craft Your Passion. (I love both my DT spots and I'd kind of like to keep them!) The challenge is:

Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Yea pink! With the 2 boys, it sure is fun to pull out the pink and frilly stuff and this card turned out super cute. I used this sweet image from our sponsor, Karen's Doodles, and went with a simple sketch. I was a bit annoyed as my expensive Basic Grey rub-ons stuck to the backing - I'm hoping it looks like the distressing was on purpose!

So - go have fun, play with pink and don't get lost on Pinterest!

Challenges:
You Choose - Stamptacular Sunday
One for the Girls - The Squirrel and the Fox
Anything Goes - By the Cute and Girly
Recipe - Desert Island Crafters (fave colour, stripes, candy colours)
Sketch - Cardabilities

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-10-10T09:32:00.005-04:00

Before we get to this week's Craft Your Passion, a couple of things. First up, a Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends, I hope you're all full of turkey and stuffing.

Second, a question. I got my hand slapped for 'backlinking' - I posted on Sunday and the challenge went live on Monday. (This is what happens when I post one day, but am too lazy to find challenges until the next!) I always thought that backlinking was to keep people from re-using older cards (like 6 months or a year) and that one or 2 days was no biggie. Thoughts, opinions please? I'd like to know so I don't commit this dastardly crime again!

Ok, on to the challenge! The challenge this week at Craft Your Passion is "All occasion cards". I left mine blank so I could use it for whatever I wanted later - birthday, thank you, etc. The little cutie on the front is from our sponsor this week, Guylou.

Challenges:
Linky Party - Make It Monday
Punches - Card Cupids
Anything Goes - I did It Creations
Fave colour combo - Paper Sundaes (pink and brown)
Just Because - Pile It On
Anything Goes - Stampin' Sisters in Christ
Girly - Digi Designs Challenges
Use Your Scraps - Hiding In my Craft Room (Yea, this is totally out of my scrap bin!)
Brown - Do You Stack Up?

Die Cuts R Us

2011-10-05T17:17:00.002-04:00

Hi all, hope you're having a good week. I just got a bit of a shock, seems that due to lower than expected student enrollment, my kid's school is losing a teacher. And both of my boys are being affected by the shuffle...Grrrr. I know they will be all right after a couple of weeks, but I wish they could have done this earlier in the school year!

OK, rant over (at least until the next post!) let's get down to business! The challenge this week at Fab N Funky is Diecuts and Punches. Easy Peasy, you should have no problems with this one! We have a great sponsor, the Stamping Boutique, which is where I got this adorable little clown.

Simple lines, bright colours, I think this will be a great birthday card for any kid!

Challenges:
Sketch - Mojo Monday (I twisted this a bit, well OK, a lot)
Die cuts/punches - Anything goes Challenges
Happy Birthday - Deep Ocean Challenges
We like to party - Digital Tuesday challenge
Anything Goes + punches - Papertake Weekly
Anything Goes + ribbon - Ribbon Carousel
Keep It Minimal - Try It On Tuesday

Is it a card? Is it a tag?

2011-10-02T22:26:00.004-04:00

Oh, I don't know, I haven't decided yet. Right now, it's still a card, but I may just lop the back off and turn it into a tag! The little card/tag turned out pretty cute, I used a strip of kraft cardstock and just played with some scraps until I was happy.

This is for the Craft Your Passion challenge this week -

Anything Goes + Ribbon

That's right, anything goes, you just need to jam some ribbon on there to play along. (And judging from what I've seen, that won't be hard!) We have 2 sponsors this week, and this little bear is from one of them, Digital Delights. So have fun and get crafting!

Challenges:
Zoo or animal - Crafty Boots
Anything Goes - Crafty Cardmakers
Fall - Icopic Challenges
Fall colours - Creative Stamp Friends
Halloween - Stamp with Fun
Autumn/fall - Stamps R Us
Trick or Treat - Pink Elephant

Recipe Time

2011-09-29T12:53:00.003-04:00

Hi all, welcome from the House of Horrible Germs, AKA my place. Bleh, DH came home from a business trip with a nasty cold and has since been busy passing it around. I'm hanging out at home today, hoping a quiet day with lots of snoozing will help me beat it fast!

However, the real world goes on, so I better get my Fab N Funky post up! The challenge this week is an easy recipe:

1 ribbon 2 papers 3 buttons, brads or gems

Our sponsor this week is the wonderful Di's Digi Downloads, and yes you have seen this bunny before, but how could I not use him again? He's so cute! I had a real hard time with a sentiment though, and ended up leaving it blank for now - I think I'll need to stare at it for awhile more before I decide.

A few challenges:
Inspiration photo - Cupcake Inspirations (I went with the pinks and blues)
Anything Goes - 4 Crafty Chicks
Animals - Cute Card Thursday
Animals and monsters - Little Miss Muffet
Anything Goes - Digistamps 4 Joy
Anything Goes - Penny's Paper Crafty Challenges

2011-09-25T22:07:00.003-04:00

Hey all, it's nice to be back. The mojo was sadly lacking this week (and my Fab N Funky post, I do apologize) but I think things are up and running again. I took a break from cards and made a few layouts, which was a nice treat. I got a whole bunch of commissions at the same time, and sometimes that just sucks the fun out, when you gotta do it.
Without further ado, here's this week's challenge from Craft Your Passion: A colour Challenge!

Black White Yellow Green

This was a fun colour combo to play with, nice and fresh, although I snuck in some pink and blue on my image. This pretty image is from Cocodingo, one of our sponsors this week.
Make sure you check out the challenge blog to see what the other DT have done this week, lovely as usual!

Challenges:
Stitching - Addicted to Stamps
Recipe - Catered Crop (birds, flowers, leaves)
Anything Goes - Paper Sundaes
Sparkle - Sparkles Forum
Stitching - The Crafty Pad
Things with Wings - Mark's Finest Papers
Sketch - Sweet Stampin' (the bird is a digi, the ticket a rubber stamp)

Occupational Hazards

2011-09-18T20:42:00.002-04:00

Occupational hazards...hmm...that could mean a lot of things. Annoying co-workers, overbearing bosses, trying to source radioactive material for an engine inspection...minus the boss part, that was my week!
This challenge was really fun, especially since we got these cute images from Dude Time Doodles to play with. Oh, and this is the challenge from Craft Your Passion this week!
I can't wait to see what you come up with!

I'll try to come up with some challenges tomorrow, too lazy tonight...

Christmas Countdown

2011-09-18T16:48:00.003-04:00

Utterly ridiculous, I know, but the stores are starting to think Christmas. Thank goodness we won't get the full blast until Halloween. I was once in the Dollar store in January and they had Valentines and Easter out ugh.

However, when you're planning on making a few dozen Christmas cards, the earlier the better. I have started with the new Believe paper from CTMH and this is sample #1 of Christmas possibles. What do you think?

The base of the card is lifted straight from the talented Leisa, then I just used the paper and stamps I wanted. I'm waiting to see what she does with this paperpack, last year I completely lifted my Christmas cards from her! (Does that make me a stalker?)

Challenges:
Anything Goes - The Squirrel and the Fox
Glitter - Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge (Not much, but it's there!)
Christmas - Kraftin' Kimmie
Photo Inspiration - Christmas Stamping

PS, if you're still hopping, the Craft Your Passion Hop is here.

Craft Your Passion Blog Hop

2011-09-16T13:36:00.003-04:00

Welcome to Craft Your Passion Challenges VERY FIRST "Anything Goes" Blog Hop!!

We are very excited about all the changes our blog has gone through in the last couple of months and wanted to throw a party. What better way to do that, than to have a BLOG HOP!!!

If you have hopped over from Tanya, then you are in the right place. If you just happened to stop by and would like to join our hop from the beginning, please go to Craft Your Passion Challenges and follow along for a chance to win some AMAZING blog candy along the way and PRIZES at the end.

All Craft Your Passion DT members are going to be playing along in the hop with some very special guest designers.

Each designer along the way is featuring a project that showcases a digital image from at least one of our amazing Blog Hop Sponsors.

What’s more exciting is you can participate too by creating a project and linking it up over at Craft Your Passion Challenges for a chance to win one of several prizes.

But, there’s a twist. Be sure to visit all the stops and leave a comment. Once you have finished the hop we would like you to create a project using at least one digital stamp and enter it with our Linky tool.

While you are hopping, be sure to check out the blog candy the designer's have to offer you. You don't want to miss out on any of it!

This card features a fabulous Mo Manning image:

And this one features a super cute Bugaboo image!

Next stop by Miranda's blog, to see what she has in store for you today.

Remember, once you have hopped to all the stops and left your comments (we will be checking), it's your turn to show us your "Anything Goes" project.

Make sure to include a digital stamp somewhere on your project, and link up your project over at Craft Your Passion Challenges by Midnight CST September 21 to be eligible for the prizes. Winners will be announced on our Monday, September 26th Challenge post.

Thank you all for hopping with us today and don't forget to "like" Craft Your Passion Challenges on facebook and join in our September Facebook Fan of the Month Challenge under the "discussions" tab!!

A fun card

2011-09-16T13:30:00.001-04:00

Have you ever that feeling...you have this idea and you can't wait to try it...and then it works just like you imagined? So many times reality doesn't quite match up to what's in my head, but this time the stars were aligned and I love the results!

I've been seeing a lot of these stars everywhere lately and thought they'd look great on a card. They do, although they don't fit into an envelope! Super easy to make, if a bit fiddly, but no one's looking closely, right?
The colour scheme was a 'have to play with' - I saw the bright, fun colours and just had to play along.
Happiness!

Challenges:
Sketch - Cards und More
Colours - Color Q
All things bright and beautiful - By the Cute and Girly (bright, colourful stars!)
Anything Goes - Creatalicious Challenges
Anything Goes - Crafty Ribbons
Anything Goes - Cute Card Thursday
Backgrounds - I Brake for Challenges (I stamped the white center area)
Anything Goes - Papercraft Star

Edited to add: I did not create these stars and if you hunt around you can probably find videos, but a few people have asked how I made them. Take any size star, score the red lines on one side, flip and score the blue lines on the reverse. Then it's just a matter of accordion folding it into shape. Clear as mud, right?

BINGO time!

2011-09-13T20:29:00.003-04:00

It's BINGO time at Fab N Funky and we've got a Bingo board for you to play with! Bear with me, I had trouble grabbing it, so I'm re-creating it here!

Embelllishment

Button

Rubber Stamp

Digi Stamp

Ribbon

3 Papers or 3 Layers

Flower

Sentiment

Die Cut

Pick 3 in a row and get creating! I went with an embellishment, ribbon and a die cut - easy! I also used a cute image from our sponsor Just Some Lines, sweet!

Challenges:
Sketch - The Sweetest Thing
Colours - Cr84fun

The 'F" word!

2011-09-12T19:13:00.003-04:00

And no, that isn't what you think it is, it's this week's challenge at Craft Your Passion! Go wild and see what you can come up with that starts with F - although I copped out and went safe with flowers!
A great image from our sponsor Kenny K - she so reminds me of the Rosie the Riveter posters! The inside reads 'and twice the love' and there's 2 baby boys, but I didn't get a pic as I was in a hurry. Turned out pretty cute, I hope the mom to be will like it!

Challenges:
Anything Goes - Crafty Boots
Baby Love - Pollycraft
Anything Goes - Crafting When We Can

Tickle my funny bone!

2011-09-07T18:49:00.003-04:00

Whew, it's my first week hosting at Fab N Funky and I'm so worn out, I couldn't even do my own post! (More like I ran out of time, but that's another story!)
As part of my responsibilities, I get to write the post for the week and choose the top 3, and I'm really looking forward to that! Of course, you do need to know what the challenge is right?

That's so funny!

We want to see your funniest, silliest cards and layouts so get posting! Be sure to check out the DT's work, definitely funny stuff!

Challenges:
Birthday - Crafting for all Seasons
Embossing - The Paper Shelter
Use stamps - The Paper Variety
Party Time - Spoonful of Sugar
Anything Goes - Creative Card Crew
Anything Goes - Papertake Weekly

An apple a day...

2011-09-04T21:01:00.003-04:00

It's been a bit quiet around here this last week, but I do have a good excuse! My Mum and Dad are here for the long weekend and I've been cleaning like crazy to get the place up to snuff. You know, the stuff you do once a year (or less) like cleaning the top of ceiling fan blades - bleh. However the house is sparkling (for 5 minutes anyway) and I even managed to squeeze in a card.

The Challenge this week at Craft Your Passion is:

Anything Goes plus flowers

That means you can enter anything you want, but we want to see some blooms! We also have 3 great sponsors this week:

Digi's By Phooka

AI Factory
The Robin's Nest

My little cutie came from AI Factory, so sweet!

Challenges:
Back to School - Come and Get it Challenges
Not bright/muted colours - Stampin' Sisters in Christ
Sky's the Limit - Stamptacular Sunday
Make Your Own Flowers - Craft Your Days Away
Back to school - Crazy 4 Challenges
Fall Colours - Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge
Flowers/use digis - Card Mad Fairy
Go Digi - Card Makin' Mamas

Funny Bunny

2011-08-30T21:01:00.002-04:00

It's that time of the week again, Fab N Funky time! It's an easy challenge this week, so easy I almost forgot it! That's why I only have a little embossing on my card, as I was 3/4 through before I remembered! Much cursing and swearing later, I like my card but am resolved to pay more attention in future...
Oh, if you haven't figured it out, the challenge is:

Embossing!

Go embossing mad, dry, wet, we're not picky! Be sure to check out the Fab N funky blog to see the other DT's work and to check out what's new. (I get to pick a top 3 next week, that will be interesting!) Also check out our sponsors this week, PolkaDoodles and Letraset. Woo!

I grabbed this cute bunny stamp (Cat's Pajamas) recently, I was at Scrapping Great Deals in London, ON. The stamps hadn't even hit the floor yet, but I had to grab them, this bunny wrecks me. I will be buying more for sure!

Challenges:
Sketch - Mojo Monday
Colours - CR84Fun
Farm Animals - Paper and Such Design
Linky Party - Make It Monday
Paper Piecing - The Pink Elephant
Birthstones - Shabby Tearoom (blue zircon)

Vintage Wings

2011-08-29T18:03:00.005-04:00

Note to self - Sunday night is not a good time to write posts. For future reference, Sunday morning would be a much better bet. Besides, I've heard this blog thingy can schedule posts, must try that sometime...

Hee hee, ok, one of these days I'll get my posts up on time, really! This week's challenge at Craft Your Passion is a great sketch:

We also have a great sponsor, Delicious Doodles. So many images, so little time! Let's see what you can do with the sketch, and be sure to see what the rest of the DT have done with it!

Challenges:
G is for... - Cards for Men (green)
Anythings Goes - Daisy Doodles Creative Challenge
Travel - Simon Says Stamp
Wings - Hooked on Crafts

Grumpy Gus

2011-08-28T12:00:00.003-04:00

The Challenge at Craft Your Passion this week is sarcastic/funny, and no sooner had I finished a card starring Stella I got a request for a funny 50th. Back to Bugaboo, picked up a few images and got to work. Stella and Gus totally crack me up and I hope the recipient of this card will crack a smile too!
Kind of a cool, blustery day here, we're getting the very fringes of hurricane Irene. A good day to stay inside and make some more cards! I have 2 more commissions to do, so you'll be seeing those shortly. Crossing my fingers for all of you closer to Irene's path, hopefully she'll go easy on you!

Challenges:
Boys and their toys - 2 Sisters Challenge Blog (OK, he's a big boy!)
For the men - Challenge Up Your Life
Hot Colours - Crafty Calender Challenge
Male themed - Crazy 4 Challenges
Boys/men - Do You Stack Up?

Pretty in Pink

2011-08-23T21:40:00.003-04:00

Hi all, happy Wednesday! Hope you've been having a good week. Mine's been a bit rough, and it's been tough to get the mojo working, but I think I've got it going.
This week's challenge at Fab N Funky is:

Monochromatic

I like these challenges, I find it far easier than trying to mix colours up. However, I was a bit stuck this time as all the images from The Stamping Boutique (our sponsor) were so wonderful, I couldn't imagine doing them in one colour. I ended up picking this gorgeous carousel horse and I think it turned out great! It had to be pink as a co-worker recently cleaned out the last of my girly cards and I thought I'd better replenish!

Of course, if you need more inspiration, be sure to check out the DT's work, fabby as usual!

Challenges:
Sketch - Critter Sketch
Happy Birthday - A Spoonful of Sugar
Cute and Girly - Digital Tuesday (digital stamp)
Here come the girls - My Time To Craft
Use Dies - Papertake Weekly (used my new Nestie, the banner, yea!)
Fairytale - Stamps + Fun = Creativity (This horse looks like he's straight from a fairytale to me!)
Girlie - The Corrosive Challenge

They said what?

2011-08-22T17:20:00.004-04:00

The challenge this week at Craft Your Passion is:

They said What?

A super fun challenge of course, cause we got to pick an awesome Bugaboo stamp. Gus and Stella never fail to crack me up, and if you haven't seen them, you should head over there now! You should also check out the DT's work, it's side splittingly funny!

So let's see your silliest, snarkiest, craziest cards!

Challenges:
Blue, brown + one other - Paper Pretties
Anything Goes - Stamps R Us
Clean and Simple - Creative Inspirations Paint (looks yummy, check out the store!)
Sundae Bar - Paper Sundaes (green, buttons)
Sketch - Card Patterns (well, that was where I started anyways!)

A stitch in Time

2011-08-17T20:59:00.003-04:00

That's the theme this week at Fab N Funky -

Stitching

A pretty easy one, you can fake it with a pen or go whole hog with a sewing machine, it's all good with us! Make sure and check out what the rest of the DT have been up too (fabby as usual) and our sponsor, Pink Petticoat.

I used this cute typewriter image from Pink Petticoat, isn't it sweet? I also used lots of stitching on my card, once I get the machine out and set up I tend to use it more. Just love the look of stitching on my cards!

Challenges:
Back to School - Amber's Crafts and stuff (Not quite the original intention, but it does look rather schoolish!)
Back to School - Little Red Wagon
Back to School - Penny's Paper Crafty Challenges (Hmm, sensing a theme going here!)
Stitching - Rudy's Rainbow
Thread - The Paper Variety
Weakest Link - Shopping Our Stash (sigh...paper...sigh...more paper!)
Anything Goes - Try It On Tuesday
Vintage Plus Red - 365 Cards

Ack...anything but a card!

2011-08-15T20:57:00.003-04:00

A little late tonight, we've only just made it back from the wilds to civilization and the internet. Cleaned off the worst of the dirt, washed a few loads of laundry and got the kids to bed so now I better get this post going!

The challenge this week at Craft Your Passion is:

ABC (Anything but a Card)

Those of you who know me know this is probably my least loved challenge - but I am determined to overcome this handicap. I wanted to do something practical - so I went with a bookmark. I'm forever losing bookmarks, so I should probably make more!

Be sure to check out what the rest of the DT is up to this week and our awesome sponsor - the Pixie Cottage - isn't this kitty adorable?

Challenges:
Pink, green and coffee - Die Cut Dreams
Linky Party - Make it Monday
Anything Goes - Paper Playtime
Anything but a card - Allsorts

Christmas in August?

2011-08-09T21:40:00.004-04:00

So Christmas in August doesn't have quite the same ring that Christmas in July has, but we still need to make Christmas cards right? This makes 2 cards done, leaving me with only 37...38...? left to go!

Despite all this, that is the challenge this week at Fab N Funky! We have a wonderful sponsor this week, Fred She Said, check out the cute (pre-coloured!) robins on my card. I've made quite a few 'bright and busy' cards so it was nice to sit back and make a nice simple one.

Challenges to come tomorrow, DH wants the computer and I need to go to bed!

Edited to add - So tomorrow turned into the next day, ha ha. Trying to pack for a week away for 4, and I can't find oldest son's bathing suit. Urg. It's going to be a bit quiet around here, I have my 2 DT posts scheduled, but we'll be without internet for a few days. Will be back at full strength next week for sure!

Sketch - CPS
Embossing - the Crazy Challenge
Merry Christmas - Aud Sentiments Challenge
Clean and Simple - Cute Card Thursday
Emboss It - Do You Stack Up
Birds - Little Red Wagon

New stuff!

2011-08-09T21:19:00.004-04:00

2 posts today, be sure to scroll down to see what's doing at Fab N Funky this week!

Whoo boy, I had just barely finished my last post and the dog started barking - new goodies to play with! And I managed to squeeze just about all of them on this card - new Copic colours, Basic Grey Life of the Party paper pack, Your Next Stamps and a Whimsey stamp and die. (Duh, I almost threw out the plastic guide - I didn't know what it was!) Sigh - now I just have to pay off the credit card so I can order more goodies!

A few challenges:
Sketch - Mojo Monday (flipped)
Happy Birthday - A Spoon Full of Sugar
Birthday - Anything Goes Challenges
Birthday - Tuesday Throwdown
Sew Mad - Cupcake Craft
Colouring Fur - Icopic Lover
Carnivals, Parades and Parties - The Kraft Journal

Dealer's Choice

2011-08-08T13:08:00.004-04:00

It's a brand new week here at Craft Your Passion and we have a brand new challenge for you - actually a choice of challenges:

Under the Sea or Favourite Holiday

I'm still in summer mode, so I went for a fun fishy card starring this cute mermaid from our sponsor, Simply Betty Stamps. Simply Betty is offering the whole line up of mermaids as a prize this week, awesome huh?
I was playing around, trying to mix some busy patterns - I think it came out OK, what do you think? Definitely busier than my usual! Getting better at matching the Copic colours to my papers, I've got another 30 markers coming tonight, that should help!

A few challenges - I've been loving Feline Playful, finding tons of different challenges all in one spot.
Sketch - Sassy Lil' Sketches (flipped, but mostly the same!)
Anything goes with a digi - KB cute Monday
Banners, bunting & glitter - Magical Monday (no glitter, but I've got sparkle!)
Projects with water - Paper Playtime (can't have a mermaid without water!)
Summer - Creative Inspirations
Colour your own embellies, friendship - Color Me Creative Copic challenge
Hot colours - Crafty Calender Challenge
Water It - Crafty Emma's (gotta play along with this one at least once!)

Friendship

2011-08-02T21:41:00.004-04:00

(The inside)

I love being able to send handmade cards to all my friends, so this week's challenge at Fab N Funky was great - Friendship. We want to see all things 'friendly' in your artwork, so get crafty and start submitting! Check out the DT's awesome cards and don't forget our awesome sponsor, Robyn's Digital Fetish!

I really struggled with this card, I had no idea where to go. This is the 4th incarnation - I tried 2 different paper packs and 3 different stamps sets before I hit on this combo. Strangely enough, it turned out to be quite a mish mash, I have CTMH, Stampin' Up and Creative Memories on there! Best of all, it turned into quite a fun little card, aren't these owls the cutest?

Challenges (will try and add more tomorrow, I'm falling asleep as I type!)
Sketch - Pollycraft
Colours - Colour Q
Free and Easy - Allsorts
Things with wings - Little Claire's (must check out the shop, they have cute stuff!)
Friends are Heaven sent - Stamptacular Sunday
Celebrations - Lollipop Crafts
Cute and Cuddly - Hooked on Crafts
Buttons and Bows - Scrap-Creations
USe 2 hoarded Items - Use it Tuesday (sadly, both the owl stamp and punch have been languishing in my giant pile of stuff!)

Flying Frog

2011-08-01T20:39:00.005-04:00

Just a card for fun tonight - I saw an interesting Challenge at Penny Black and wanted to play. The challenge was to use your Penny Black stamps in your background. Hmm, most of my Penny images are 'focal' images. So I stared at my sets for awhile and then decided to play. I used this cute froggy set and used the flies in the background. It kind of looks like they're fleeing the frog!

Another interesting challenge was too make a tent card - turned out to be ridiculously easy and I love the effect. However, I still think this card needs something - any ideas?

Challenges:
Penny Black/ground - Penny Black Saturday Challenge
Paws for thought - Stampin for the Weekend
Fave Animals - Simply Create
Red/aqua - Our creative Corner
Circles - Frosted Designs
Tent card - Crazy 4 Challenges
Linky Party - Make It Monday
Kraft - The Spotted Chick
Happy Birthday - Stamps R Us
Something Clear - Crafty Pad
Tent card - Crafty Sprouts (thanks for pointing this challenge out to me!)

The Big Reveal

2011-08-01T09:30:00.003-04:00

Woo, I've been sitting on a big secret for a month now - today I finally get to tell you I've been selected as a DT member for Craft Your Passion!

It's been a nice break with only 1 DT spot for July, but I'm very happy to be back to up to full strength and super excited to be working with a new team. To start us off, Jenn was pretty easy with us and gave us a challenge of:

Anything Goes!

We have two great sponsors this week - JLJ Designs and Doodle Pantry. I was very lucky to be given this super cute image from Doodle Pantry, I just love how these ants are floating away! Be sure to check out our sponsors, and of course the rest of the DT's awesome work. I will be getting their links up ASAP, that's next after this post!

A few challenges:
The Sun is Out - The Crazy Challenge
Clouds and Skies - Paper Sundaes
Summer, sun and sunshine - Fairy Tale
Digi image, summer - Paper Playtime
Summer Fun - Critter Sketch
Recipe - Catered Crop (colours - red, blue, green, kraft, theme - hello/just because)
Buttons, blooms and Bananas - Shopping our Stash (no bananas here!)
Summer is here - Divas by Design

And just to those of you who think that ants might not be summery enough - I live Canada, we only get ants in the summer, and for me, the whole ants/picnic/summer thing is stuck in my head!

Old and new

2011-07-26T22:17:00.006-04:00

Woo hoo, my new CTMH stuff arrived today, I'm very excited. The new paper packs are gorgeous and I'm loving the heavier weight paper. Still on the fence about the Cricut cartridge though - CTMH has a Cricut cartridge which works with many of our news stamps, but I'm not sure I can justify the purchase. Plus the fact that I have no idea where I'd put it!

So the first 2 layouts are made while waiting for the new stuff to arrive. (Gotta do something instead of looking at the tracking info for the 50th time!)

The last layout is with the new Typeset paper pack, I've been saving these photos since I saw
it online. I also used Milepost shapes, which is a fun pack of corrugated shapes. (very hot right now)
The card (at the top) is the Dreamin' paper pack with the flutter paper shapes. I also used the Hooray Bouquet stamp set, but I had to cut those out by hand! Ah, the creative juices are flowing, more soon!

Edited to add - I'm adding this to the fabulous Tresa Black's linky party for new CTMH product at her blog - Fabulously Artsy. Check it out, there's sure to be a ton of new stuff!
(Hope you don't mind I've got new and old here!)

Clash of the Colours

2011-07-26T21:56:00.004-04:00

Whoo, this challenge made my eyes water! So many bright colours to choose from, I was very lucky to find this fun Basic Grey paper in my stash which fit the challenge perfectly. Fab N Funky is looking for your boldest, brightest, craziest colour combos this week, and we mean crazy!

Don't forget to see what bright creations the rest of the DT have come up with, I'm sure they're equally fun!

I kept my card super simple as the colours are so intense - I also left a tiny white border on my image (from our great sponsor, Bonibleaux Designs) to help him stand out from the background. When I saw him, I couldn't help but think of an ad I saw for a new show - Hillbilly handfishin'!

Challenges:
Sketch - Sweet Sunday (I really simplified it though)
For Him - Cute Card Thursday
Fun in the Sun - Pink Elephant
Summer - Lollipop, Fussy and Fancy, Fairytale
Beach/summer - Paper Sundaes
Digi Monday/summer - Paper Playtime

Furry love

2011-07-19T21:21:00.003-04:00

Aw, the furrier and fuzzier the better! We love our mutt, Sasha, even if she does leave white hair everywhere and the occasional icky present. She knows she's in trouble when I threaten to turn her into a rug!
In honour of our fave 4 legged friends, this week's challenge at Fab N Funky is:

Animals

That should be an easy one! I ended up digging through my stamps, looking for one I hadn't inked up yet. Sad to say, there's more than one! (and yes, I know that technically penguins are birds, but who can resist a penguin? Not me!)

Challenges:
Sketch - Sweet Sunday (I don't know how the banner turned into an arrow, apparently I can't read my own scribbles!)
Wish upon a Star - Cupcake Craft
Animal Antics - Stamptacular Sunday
Wings - Stamping for the Weekend
Holidays - Saturday Challenge
Christmas - The Crazy Challenge, Paper Sundaes, Simply Create, 2 Sisters

Time for a layout

2011-07-16T09:52:00.004-04:00

So far I'm failing miserably at my goal to post more layouts. But I got to order some brand new CTMH stuff yesterday, so I thought I'd put a dent in my stash (hah!) and make a few layouts. The first layout is my's son's 8th birthday, we had it at the pool (when it's -25 you don't have a huge amount of choice) and it was awesome.
This layout came together really easily, which is a surprise, normally I struggle more. Maybe I need to use more sketches when I scrap!

Challenges:
Sketch - CPS
Felt - Pink Elephant
Stitching - Do You Stack Up
Birthday - Penny's Challenges
Sporty - Here Come the Boys
Boys/Men - Crafty Creations
Birthday - Icopic (I didn't do any fancy blending on these fish, I was just trying to match the colours as close as possible with my limited range!)
Out with the old - Shopping Our Stash (busting out the old to make room for the new!)

This second layout isn't entered in any challenges, I just liked it and wanted to post it!

Yummy!

2011-07-13T20:50:00.005-04:00

Boy, the tumbleweeds sure are blowing around blog-land lately. Must be something to do with the sunshine as everyone heads outside for awhile. Here in Ottawa it's been too hot to do much of anything - we seem to end up watching TV in the dark with the fans going full blast. However, I did manage to squeeze out a project for Fab N Funky this week. The challenge is:

Baker's Dozen (food!)

Have fun and let's see what tasty goodies you can come up with! (If you can drag yourself away from the pool that is!)
I made a cute little set of gift cards - when I saw these cute images from our sponsor Whimsie Doodles, I knew just what I wanted to do.

Challenges:
Free and easy - Allsorts
Summertime Fun - 2 Sisters, Crazy 4 Challenges, Card Makin' Mammas, The Crazy Challenge (Watermelons' strawberries, ice cream, it's all summer!)
Clean and Simple - Catch the Bug
Ice Cream - Paper Cutz
Recipe - Catered Crop (strawberries, copics, red/green)
Fave Technique - Pile It On (colouring with Copics, just a little obsessed!)

Purple Haze

2011-07-05T21:49:00.003-04:00

It's a new week here at Fab N Funky, and that means a new challenge. We loved all your 'triangular' creations, now we want to see some:

Purple!

Let me tell you, I struggle with purple - I am really not fond of it. (Maybe it's cause I OD'd on it as an 11 year old, walls, bedspread, everything!) However, it did really seem to suit this rainy little window from our sponsor, Robyn's Digital Fetish. I used cardstock and a wood grain stamp to make a 'window frame' and then I finished off the card with some stitching in the background. I wanted to play with this particular sketch as it was featured on 2 different challenge blogs. Great minds think alike, I guess!

On a side note, my triangular card from last week was featured on one of the Make It Monday DT's blog - I love this blog, such a happy place full of great artwork and comments! Check it out if you haven't already!

Challenges:
Sketch - CPS, Critter Sketch
Squares - Do You Stack Up?
Stiching - Paper Sundaes, 4 Crafty Chicks
Anything Goes - Craft Your Passion, Lollipop
Home - Polka doodles
Relax - Pile It On (so maybe not the way most people would like to relax!)
Free and Easy - Allsorts

My kind of Fairy

2011-07-01T10:14:00.004-04:00

I am so not a fairy person - I don't get the whole fairy thing, and if I had to pick a mythological creature it would definitely be a dragon. But when I saw this Mo Manning fairy I had to get her - a housework fairy, that's so totally what I need! I bought the rubber version cause she came with the cute saying - too bad the digis don't cause there's a few more images I'd like!
Just chillin' at home today, it"s Canada Day (long weekend, woo!) today. We'll be heading into town later to catch some fireworks, but I'm hoping to catch a little crafty time before that!
Whether or not you get a long weekend, I hope you enjoy this summer weekend!

Challenges:
Sketch - Pink Elephant (the punched bottom of the card I lifted from a card I saw in Papercrafts magazine)
Stamped Image - Pear Tree
Colours of Summer - Crafty Catz
Fly with us - Simply Create
Fairies - 2 Sisters
Things with wings - Crafty Calender, By the Cute and Girly

Bermuda Triangle

2011-06-29T16:47:00.004-04:00

Don't worry, not the real Bermuda Triangle, it's this week's challenge at Fab N Funky! The challenge this week is to either use the provided sketch or to use triangles somewhere on your card. Think party hats, pennants, etc.

Once you're in your triangular groove, make sure you load your card up, because we have three prizes on hand this week! We have two great sponsors, Inky Impressions and Funky Kits and Lou has a prize to give away too!

Need some inspiration? Hop around and see what the Fab N Funky team has been up to! I decided to go with a pennant theme, once I picked my cute Penny Black stamp set I knew just what I wanted to do. I do think I should have moved the 'party this way' sign to the left side, but it's well and truly stuck!

Challenges:
Stamped Images - Pear Tree
Bugs - Lexi's Creations
Recipe - Catered Crop (Bright colours, dots, bakers twine)
Linky party - Make it Monday
Spots & Stripes - Here Come the Boys

Last Stamp Fairy Post

2011-06-26T19:35:00.005-04:00

A little bittersweet tonight, as this is my last post for Stamp Fairy. I've had a lot of fun, played with some super cute images and worked with some great teamies - can't believe 6 months goes so fast. Before I get too maudlin, I still have a post to do! The challenge this week at Stamp Fairy is:

Teddy Bear's Picnic

We want to see bears, 3 flowers, 2 ribbons and a sentiment. Phew, that's a lot for one card! I did manage, though the flowers are more like stars. I will admit that my card is a bit confused, I think I'm celebrating July 1 and July 4 in one card. (There were a bunch of red, white and blue challenges, but I'm Canadian, so I went for both!)

Challenges:
Red, white & Blue - Stamp Something, Penny's Challenge, Catch the Bug, Designed To Delight, Craft Us Crazy
Spots & stripes - Totally Papercrafts
Embossing - Saturday Challenge, Sew Many Cards
Red - Scrappy Frogs

Double DT call

2011-06-26T17:53:00.004-04:00

Nothing like killing two birds with one stone, right? I hope nobody minds me using one card for 2 DT calls, but it turned out really cute!
The first DT call is for Pollycraft, which I have not a snowball's chance of winning but I did get two cute freebies to play with so what the heck! For their DT call, you must use one of their images. (and you can even grab them if you're not applying.) It was a tough call, but I went with the cute little bluebird - so sweet!
The second call is for Our Creative Corner. They are looking for a card in 'your style' and that's what this is. My style is mostly clean, simple and graphic. I love bright colours, and I'm really loving my Copic markers. (and hopefully getting better with them too!)

So fingers crossed, here's my entry, I hope you like it!

Challenges:
Sketch - Mojo Monday
Colours - CR84FN
Clean and Simple - Dutch Dare
Use your tools - Shopping Our Stash (I'm not sure I've ever used this embossing folder, must do it again though!)
Embossing - Saturday Challenge
Favourite Things - Stampin' for the Weekend (bright colours, copics!)
The letter G - Creative Belli (G for gems)

Summer lovin'

2011-06-21T21:57:00.003-04:00

Ah, so nice now that summer is properly here. Hot sunny days, kids running through the sprinkler while I putter in the garden. That should give you some great inspiration for this week's challenge at Fab n Funky!

Summertime!

We've got a great sponsor this week too, Sassy Cheryl! I picked this cute little bear cause nothing says summer to me like a load of laundry on the line. Not that I can hang anything on the line right now, as we had to take down the tree it was attached too. Just another job on DH's never ending list!

A few challenges:
Wobble Card - Daring Cardmakers (so easy and so fun, looks like my bear is swinging!)
In the Garden - Cute and Girly (my laundry line is a permanent addition to my garden, or will be!)
Colours - Playdate Cafe
Song Inspired - Lollipop Crafts (Hang me out to Dry by the Cold War kids, love it!)
Fun in the Sun - Stamptacular Sunday
No sentiment - Lexi's Creations
Summer - Kraft Journal (my little bear is kraft)
Paper Piecing - Craft Your Passion

Getting sketchy again...

2011-06-19T21:11:00.005-04:00

Ah, so many sketches, so little time, I only wish I could actually join in with all the challenge blogs I peruse each week! Hee hee, maybe if I spent more time making cards and less time surfing...

Anyway turns out the sketch I used last week from Create 4 Fun was similar to the one Gerda created for the Stamp Fairy Challenge this week, so I changed it up a bit using stars instead of buttons and an oval instead of a rectangle so they don't look too much like the same card. Isn't that the greatest thing about sketches, you can make something new everytime!

A few challenges:
Pretty papers - Stamp Something
Lemon and Lime - Stampin for the Weekend
Colours - Just Us Girls (red, kiwi, saffron, aqua)
Sketch - Create 4 Fun (might as well enter again, they've got a great prize!)
Birthstone - Cute Card Thursday (Peridot)
Border punch - Stampin' B's
Die Cuts and Punches - Totally Paper Crafts
Stars - Do you stack Up?

Tempting Template

2011-06-14T21:46:00.004-04:00

Something a little different this week at Fab n Funky, we're going 3D! We want to see your wonderful creations using templates! To help us out, we've been sponsored by Creations by AR and they gave us some fun templates to play with! I choose the card plus gift combo - it's a card with a gift box inside.
Thank goodness we've finally got a working printer at home, as I would have had a hard time printing this out at work! It was actually pretty easy, especially after I read the instructions. The little gift box inside slide out so you can put whatever you want inside. I just need to find some plastic to make the window with, I ran out of time.

Challenges:
Friends - Stampin with the Dragon, Penny's Challenge (These guys look like they're good buddies!)
Ribbon and flowers - Pollycraft
Handmade flowers - 4 Crafty Chicks
Boy oh Boy - Cupcake Craft
Birthday - Do You Stack Up?
Ribbon and brads - Creative Card Crew

For the guys

2011-06-13T21:05:00.004-04:00

The challenge this week at Stamp Fairy is for the guys - we want to see your best masculine cards. Pretty easy with so many cute images to play with! I went with Lenny Father's Day, doesn't he look so sweet with his little guy?
A whole bunch of challenges this week, lots of Father's Day/masculine ones:

Sketch - Create 4 Fun
Punches - Stamp Something (border and Nesties shape)
Stitching - Frosted Designs
Recipe - Allsorts (masculine, 1 paper, 2 punches, 3 buttons)
For a guy, masculine, male - Fussy and Fancy, Simply Create, Crazy 4 Challenges, Saturday Challenge, Paper Variety, Stamptacular Sunday, Polka Doodles
Recipe - Catered Crop (blue, brown, kraft, copics, die cuts)

Allsorts DT call

2011-06-09T17:52:00.003-04:00

Yea, one of my favorite challenge blogs is having a DT call! Allsorts is looking for 2 new DT, so I'm on it!
To apply, you have to create a card just for the application. I had to think about this, as I wanted to make a great card that would showcase my (mostly!) clean and graphic style.
I started with some fun, colourful papers as this card is to cheer up a co-worker who just lost a friend. Then I made my own background by embossing the flower shape and brayering the ink over it. (I just got the brayer, must find Youtube videos as I'm not really sure what to do with it yet!) A cute image and some ruffled ribbon to finish off, turned out great!

Got my fingers crossed!

Magnificent Men

2011-06-07T21:53:00.003-04:00

So OK, I do realize that the old geezer on this card is not exactly magnificent (Maybe that's a digi stamp category someone should look into!) but that's the challenge this week at Fab N Funky:

Magnificent Men

Our great sponsor this week is Karen's Doodles, that's where my guy came from. He may be old but he sure is having a great time! We had such a great week last week, a ton of entries and lots of awesome applicants for the GT/DT positions. It was lots of fun visiting everyone's blogs and we can't wait to put the new DT to work! (Oops, sorry, to welcome the new DT, hee hee!)

I went with a super simple CAS card this week, and left the image uncoloured for a challenge. Still trying to decide if I like it or if it looks unfinished, what do you think?

Challenges:
Sketch - Sweet Sunday
Orange - Do You Stack Up
Father's Day, Manly, For the guys - Crazy Challenge, Lexi's Creations, The Kraft Journal, Here Come the Boys
Kraft - Critter Sketch
Anything Goes - Craft Your Passion
Uncoloured Image - My Partner in Crafting Crime

Cute babies!

2011-06-06T17:02:00.003-04:00

This weeks challenge at Stamp Fairy is a fun one:

New Arrivals (with Pastel colours)

Babies are always fun, and I've got a friend in mind for this one. I've used this little peapod stamp before, too cute huh? You can get it here. One of the challenges I played in this week was white with a coloured image. I did another white card a couple of weeks ago and loved how it turned out, so I couldn't wait to do it again. Love it!

Challenges:
White with a coloured image - Allsorts
Digi Day - Stamp Something
Sketch - Just Us Girls
Inspiration photo - Dutch Dare (pink and green)
circles - Crafty Catz

Butterfly Overkill?

2011-06-03T23:03:00.003-04:00

Is it possible to use a stamp too much? I just looove this CTMH butterfly stamp, and I find myself reaching for it again and again and again...can't help it! (I don't think I've touched any of the other stamps in the set, maybe I should try them sometime, huh?)
A simple card, this one is all CTMH product. I used some of our 'mocha' pearls, they're so pretty, aren't they?

A few challenges before I fall into bed, it's been a long Friday and the weekend's shaping up to be busy too. Yea soccer, why do I keep signing my kids up for you when you steal so much of my time? (Very philosophical tonight, aren't I?)

Sketch - Heart to Heart
Colours - CR84FN
Embellish It - Cute Card Thursday (Image is embossed)
More than 1 image - Crafty Ann's
Anything Goes - Make It Monday

Anything goes and a DT call

2011-05-31T20:11:00.003-04:00

Whew, it's a busy week here at Fab N Funky. We've lost a few members of the DT (Who will be sorely missed!) and we're looking for a few good crafters to take their place and help out. If you think you'd like to give it a whirl, the insructions are on the Fab N Funky blog. We're also looking for a few guest DT, so if a full time gig isn't for you, you can still take part!

Onto the challenge, an easy one for everyone - Anything Goes!

Let see your craftiest, blingiest, floweriest, bestest creations and lots of applicants for the DT.
Get crafting!

A few challenges:
Pets - The Crazy Challenge (I haven't figured out what a mermaid needs with a cat, buy hey, it's a pet!)
Sketch - Sweet Sunday
Sparkle -Pear Tree
Song inspired - Lollipop Crafts ("Under the Sea" from the Little Mermaid, love that song!)
Animals - Do You Stack Up? (If you're a glutton for punishment, they've got a DT call too!)
Father's Day, manly, for men - Polka Doodles, Lexi's Creations, Here Come the Boys (not sure if it's weird, but my Dad likes mermaids, so this is what he's getting!)

PS - Does anyone know how to keep your Copics from 'dripping'? I tend to start with the lighter colours and my blue ink blobbed onto her belly button (you can see it if you look close) - I was almost done and didn't want to start over. Maybe I should've given her a belly button ring? hee hee!