Little Critters For 3 Challenges

The summer is quickly flying by, and for many the end of the heat will be a welcome change. My mind is already going to fun fall places like Autumn and Halloween. The pumpkin spice creamer is already in my fridge, and I'm starting on making some fall cards like this one.

I got the idea to use this older set of stamps when the Paper Players posted their Clean & Simple Critters Challenge. I was going to go with a more realistic critter, but hopefully these crazy little guys will count too. 

I loved the layout at Freshly Made Sketches, so I wanted to use that as a guideline. Does this remind anyone else of a Pokemon Ball? My kids loved that when they were little and I can't help seeing the design as that!

And the whole thing started when I chose the bottom row over at Retro Rubber's Tic Tac Toe Challenge (#rrcb261). I carefully coordinated the color of the enamel dots with the inks of each critter. But afterwards I realized I didn't watercolor anything, so I went with the left hand column, and since it's a clean and simple card, and that wasn't in my new column, I left them off. I was really proud of myself for thinking ahead though!

These enamels went so well with the 
little monsters. I'll have to go back and use
this color combo!

Here's my complete supply list:

• Close To My Heart Monstrous Halloween Stamps and Dies (2016)
• Stampin' Up! Fresh Freesia Card Stock
• SU! Azure Afternoon Ink
• SU! Parakeet Party Ink
• Memento Tangelo Ink
• White Card Stock
• Darice Embossing Folder
• Black Card Stock
• SU! Black & White Patterned Paper
• Newton's Nook Springtime Paper (Stripes)
• Misc. Ribbon
• Walmart Googley Eyes

As I frequently say, cards tend to take on their own shape, and while I had visions of this being a little more bold in color, I think it will make a really sweet card for a younger girl this Halloween. 

Thanks so much for playing stopping by and please stop over and see all the other cool cards at these challenges!

Three Quick Cards

I made a card earlier this week and left a bunch of scraps on my desk. Most of them were from a Paige Evans ephemera kit that I just love. But I also had some patterned paper from Joann's that just happened to match it perfectly. Rather than clean it all up, and perhaps these matching pieces would never meet each other again, I created three quick cards. There was still a lot to clean up, but at least it's a little bit less!

I love Paige Evans' designs because they're so bright and cheery, and in this case, the work was practically done for me. All I had to do was grab a bottle of glue and some embellishments.

In addition to the ephemera, I used mostly Stampin' Up! supplies. The twine is from Michaels. I love adding twine because it adds a lot to the card without adding bulk

I'm thrilled to have used just a few supplies and now I have three more cards to send out! It's such a good feeling to utilize all the stuff that I buy!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day! :)

Word Art Wednesday #712-#113

It's time for another challenge over at Word Art Wednesday. As always, anything goes, but if you'd like to use a scripture in your work, you can download it below or over at their blog. This round is sponsored by Stix To Anything and you can win some cool prizes there if you are a randomly chosen winner! 

In the scripture this week, three things jumped out at me. One, God is our rock. Two, His ways are perfect. That made me think of a mountain and I remembered this die that I bought a few years ago on eBay to make my daughter, who loves mountains and all things outdoorsy, a card. The words rock and way made me think this would be perfect to go with this scripture. And third, as I was making the card, the line His work is perfect made me think of the natural beauty that he created and that this card represents. So I think they go perfectly together.

Here's my complete supply list:

• Speckletone Oatmeal Card Stock
• Speckletone True White Card Stock
• Stampin' Up! Secret Sea Card Stock
• SU! Balmy Blue Card Stock
• SU! Garden Green Card Stock
• SU! Sahara Sand Card Stock
• SU! Soft Suede Card Stock
• Michaels Black Card Stock
• Unbranded Die

I usually don't buy unbranded dies, but I bought this for a special purpose and it worked out well for her. It isn't available any longer and the seller isn't there either, but I'm glad it's in my stash. It makes a great masculine card too, and that's who I'll be looking for to send this to.

Thanks so much for stopping by and we would love to have you join us over at Word Art Wednesday. Hope to see you there!

Peaceful Night For Little Red Wagon

This card is a first of what I hope to be 14 more. My mom loves this stamp set from Woodware and has asked me to make 15 Christmas cards for her this year. I usually color this in more neutral colors because that’s what I picture Bethlehem to be like. However Mom likes bright, happy colors, so I added some purple to make it seem more upbeat. 

Since there are houses, I’m entering this over at Little Red Wagon’s Challenge #819 Set A Course For Home. It also seems perfect for that because I can just imagine people walking around this town. And I would imagine that Mary and Joseph were all to happy to get back to their home after traveling to have the baby in Bethlehem. 

Here’s my complete supply list:

• Woodware Peaceful Night Stamp
• Michael’s Purple Card Stock
• Michael’s Gold Card Stock
• Gold Embossing Powder
• Stampin’ Up! Gold Thread
• Copic Markers

I’m hoping that Mom likes her cards. Christmas will be here before we know it and I’m excited to be getting ready so early. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day! 

Sweet Christmas Wishes

Today's card was made from the inspiration of two challenges. First, over at Colorful Options, their August mood board is a mix of browns inspired by a back-to-school/reading theme. I love that, but I used only the colors and went with a Christmas cookie theme. Then over at Christmas (or Not) BINGO Challenges, I used all the elements in the "B" column: Brown, Check, Digital Image and Christmas.

This costs less than $1.00 to print a page
and I was able to get 3 nice sized images
for that price!

It was fun combining these two challenges. I started by creating a digital image in Canva Pro. I downloaded it and had it printed at FedEx. You can see in the photo on the left that it was really easy to put 3 images on one 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. The largest is 5" x 7". But for this card, I used the middle size image and cut it out. I then mounted it on card stock and patterned papers. You can make your images any size you want. Often I put 4 on a sheet of paper. It's a great way to make cards for not too much money. Feel free to use the digital image below for your own cards or crafts!

Here's my complete supply list:

• 
  Digital Image (Below)
• Stampin' Up! Early Espresso Card Stock
• Houndstooth Patterned Paper (Big Box Store)
• Michaels Twine
• Bazzill Peanut Cluster Card Stock
• Stampin' Up! Mini Gold Dots

On the right there's a better picture of the mini dots.

I think this is going to be a really nice card for a guy since it has a lot of masculine colors in it. Christmas will certainly be here before we know it! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and feel free to check out my other FREEBIES for card making as well!

Betsy's Blossoms For Retro Rubber

Today’s card is made especially for Retro Rubber's Sketch Challenge #260 (#rrcb260). I think this is such a fun sketch, and there are so many different things I thought about doing with it, but I reached for one of my all-time favorite old Stampin' Up! sets. 

I think I love this set so much because the flowers and bird are so timeless. I'm also realizing that I enjoy stamping with more solid stamps rather than those you need to color in. Yet the images aren't so solid that you have to have a perfectly stamped image for them to look good. 

Here's my complete supply list:

• Stampin' Up! Betsy's Blossoms Stamp Set (from 2012)
  
• SU! Pacific Point Card Stock
• Hobby Lobby Green Background Paper
• Newton's Nook Patterned Paper
• SU! Polished Pink Ink
• SU! Parakeet Party Ink
• Memento Tangelo Ink
• Memento Danube Blue Ink
• Versa Mark
• White Embossing Powder
• Hero Arts Sentiment

Be sure to check out Retro Rubber's fun sketch challenge this round and play along!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Basic Lap Warmer Specifications

Even though it's smaller than other blankets, I think the residents will love how soft it is!

I'm in the process of making what I call "lap warmers" for nursing home residents this Christmas. I call them lap warmers rather than lap blankets because of their size. Officially the smallest lap blanket size is 30" x 40". Because yarn has gotten so expensive, I set out to create something that a resident could enjoy, while not costing me $40.00 each to make. This one ran me about $17.00. 

The thing that's special about these is that I use two kinds of yarn at once. One yarn is a plain yarn, and the other is fuzzy. The fuzzy yarn provides a nice, warm texture for people to place their hands on. And when I pair it with a cheaper yarn, it makes it more affordable while still being soft and comforting.

Another plus of crocheting this way is that, because I'm crocheting with two strands of yarn at once, I use a bigger hook. In this case it's a size "M" hook. Because of that, they are really quick to make. 

The border can be the same as one of the main yarns, or it can be one that's a third kind of yarn altogether. In this case I used the Red Heart Bitty Stripes. There was plenty leftover for a single double-crochet row all around.

I'm ready to branch out and try some different styles. One idea I have is a giant granny square.

For my own references, I've included the following pictures. It's easy to forget what you've made and I want to be able to refer back to this in the future. I hope you find it helpful too!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day! :)