Birthday Wishes

Today I have two cards to share with you inspired by the Tuesday Trigger photograph over at Moxie Fab World.
Ay yi yi - do you ever have something so perfect in your mind that just doesn't translate on to paper? Well, this first card was just that. If it was a "flop", why am I showing it to you? Well, because it has grown on me a bit and I think I'm starting to like it some more. And, perhaps as some kind of inspiration to try, try again? :) I'm definitely going to try this technique again and hope it will turn out better next time.

I'd never inked up my lily of the valley set and since those were our special wedding flowers, knew they'd mean a lot to my mother in law (her birthday is coming up and I wanted to make her a special card.) I decided to stamp over a page from a vintage book (French, c 1920! Man, did I think twice about tearing that page out!!) I clear embossed the flower image and sponged on ink for the leaves and flowers. The big problem is that the text was way too bold and you definitely see more of the text than the flowers. I used some Stickles to outline the flowers to try to make them stand out a bit more but to not great avail.

Anyway, I went a different route for the second card pretty much straight stamping of the flower images, a bit of scissor work, and a cute vintage button.

Supplies Card 1: Stamps - Year of Flowers: Lily of the Valley (PTI), Big Wish (Verve), Ink - Dusty Durango, Garden Green, Whisper White (Craft) (SU!), Versamark, Card Stock - Gold Shimmer (PTI), Dusty Durango (SU!), Vintage Book Page, Filigree Embossing Powder (PTI)

Supplies Card 2: Stamps - Beautiful Blossoms II, Turning a New Leaf (PTI), Big Wish (Verve), Ink - Dusty Durango, Old Olive, Yoyo Yellow, Cameo Coral (SU!), Card Stock - Dusty Durango, Confetti (SU!), Gold Shimmer (PTI), Edge Punch (Fiskars), Foam Squares, Vintage Button (eBay)

Exiting News!

I am so excited to share that I have been selected to be on the Design Team at Papercraft Star and you can see my work over there starting at the end of this month!

Papercraft Star is a great challenge blog that presents crafters of all levels with weekly challenges and inspiration. One of the greatest things about Papercraft Star is that there is a challenge calendar so you can plan your work in advance. Each week there is a different sponsor and a chance to win some wonderful products! You help decide who wins each week by voting for your favorite! I can't wait to see what all of you create!

I'm really looking forward to working with Beth, Kristina, Jan, Tracy, Regan, Liz, Angi, Kim, and Cecilia! Being a part of such a great group of crafters is already such an inspiration!

Valentine Be Mine

I am so proud to take part in the Operation Write Home Blog Hop today and couldn't be more thrilled to support such a wonderful organization! If you're here from Jan's blog, you're in the right spot! If you've happened here by accident, head on over to the OWH blog to start from the beginning!

Operation Write Home's mission is to support our nation's armed forces by sending blank greeting cards for soldiers to write home on as well as to provide them with cards of gratitude and encouragement! If you're interested in supporting this wonderful organization, please check their blog for more details!

It was fun to take a break from holiday cards to focus on a Valentine! I made sure this card could be sent overseas by not using any glitter and making sure all pieces were adhered solidly to the card. I hope to get many more Valentines finished and sent to OWH. I know how much I love getting them from my husband and can't imagine how much they mean to all of the loved ones at home from someone special far away.

A quick reminder that the deadline has already passed for holiday cards but they would love it if you could send some Valentine's cards (due by January 7th!) and hope you'll be inspired by this hop! Also, please vote daily for OWH at Joann's "Craft for a Cause" contest. I can't think of a more worthy organization to receive much needed funds!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Now head on over to Yvonne's blog for more Valentine's Day goodness!

Supplies: Stamps - Heart's Desire (Verve), DP - Be Loved (MME), Card Stock - Select White (PTI), Ink - Versamark, Rose Red, Riding Hood Red (SU!), Heart Punch (SU!), White Embossing Powder (SU!), Ribbon (Michaels), Heart Pearls (Hero Arts), Foam Squares

Let it Snow!

Home from Spain and back to a bit of crafting! I'm still under the weather from my Spanish cold but am trying to clear my head by making a couple of cards! I made this one using the sketch from this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch challenge. Since we've been gone nearly two weeks, I'm desperately behind in my holiday card making. I will be a busy bee over the next few weeks finishing our Thanksgiving and Christmas cards but think I will be able to catch up soon!

It is a bit tough to see in the photo but I used some shimmery navy cardstock as my background and some white glitter paper as my snowdrifts. The large snowflakes were stamped in white craft ink and embossed with clear powder. While the embossing was still tacky, I covered them with some glitter for extra shimmer. The small snowflakes were stamped in metallic silver ink.

Supplies: Stamps - Compliments of the Season, Very Vintage Christmas, Seasons of Love - Tags (WMS), Shimmer Navy Cardstock (PTI), White Glitter Cardstock (Martha Stewart), Ink - Not Quite Navy, Whisper White Craft (SU!), Silver (PTI), Clear Embossing Powder/Glitter (SU!)

Snowflakes

*Edited - we're home now and I realized the photo never came through for this post! We had a wonderful trip and I have so many wonderful memories to use as inspiration over the next while. Back to crafting in a day or so - right now I'm still a bit tired and recovering from the cold I caught while traveling!

For the next week or so I will be going through the archives for some projects to share with you because my hubby and I will be celebrating in Spain! Celebrating the end of a tough year that we made it through by Grace not of ourselves, celebrating milestone birthdays we both had, and celebrating our future. Things are pretty darn good! :)

I made this card a while back for a script challenge over at Paper Crafts and is the companion card to this one. When you punch holes, you can always use the leftovers, right? I decided to punch two snowflakes out of the pretty script paper and keep it pretty simple on the kraft base. I finished the card with some evergreen twine/buttons and added a cute silver charm.

See you back, live on the airwaves, soon! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy what I've picked out for you!

Supplies: Cardstock - Confetti Kraft (SU!), DP - Handmade (K&Co), Punch (Marvy Uchida), Twine (Pink Hedgehog), Charm (Frost Creek Charms), Buttons (my stash), Foam Squares

Just My Type

How adorable are the stamps from Lawn Fawn?! They are perfect for paper piecing or coloring because there is lots of white space. I'm new to this company and love the whimsical style!

Keeping it short today because I'm trying to get packed for Spain! By the time you see this, we'll just about be wrapping our trip up and I'll see you again with some new goodies very soon! I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of the "I'm Crafty" archives!

Supplies: Stamps - Just My Type (Lawn Fawn), DP - Monstrosity (Sassafras), Cardstock - Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White (SU!), Ink - Basic Black (SU!), Hearts (Hero Arts), Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Classic Hearts (Spellbinder), Corner Chomper, Foam Squares

Thanks a Million

Today I have a card to share with you using vintage-inspired designs from Stampin D'Amour! I love the vintage images and thought this stamp would be the perfect addition for a "Thank You Teacher" card! This card is inspired by my 5th grade math teacher, Mrs. Camp, who taught me that it was okay to be smart! I will always thank her for that confidence! The Webster's Pages papers are a great background for this image!

Supplies: Stamps - Vintage Children (SDA), DP - WonderFALL (Webster's Pages), Card Stock 0 Not Quite Navy (SU!), Ink - Basic Black (SU!), Tea Dye Duo (Papertrey Ink), Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Labels 10 (Spellbinders), Corner Chomper, Ribbon (Etsy), Pearls (Hero Arts),