CASology Week 115: Chocolate

I spent this past weekend card crafting with my sister-in-law and she introduced me to the CAS method of creating clean and simple cards.  She also told me about the CASology site and card challenges, so I decided to check it out.

This week's challenge - CHOCOLATE!!!  It comes to us in so many wonderful forms:  cake, pie, brownies, ice cream, pudding, hot cocoa, and more!  Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.  However, this week's chocolate challenge is about creating a recipe for a card, not a yummy dessert. This is what I came up with.  It's a pink and chocolate brown card with a cute little cupcake in the center.

First, I cut a large piece of hot pink cardstock for my background.  Next, I cut a smaller rectangle from brown cardstock and dry embossed it with hearts.  It needed to be softened a bit, so I used my corner-rounder to trim the corners.  Then, I cut a white circle and stamped it with the circular background stamp using pink ink.  And after that, I stamped the miniature cupcake and sentiment using brown ink.  I colored the stamped image using alcohol markers.  Finally, I adhered the brown cardstock to the pink using double-stick foam pads and did the same with the circle in order to create a little more dimension.  So, there you have it - chocolate cupcakes and hearts.

My supplies:  brown, pink, and white cardstock by Paper Studio
                       Papertrey ink stamps from Tiny Treats Valentine set
                       Mementos Dew Drop ink in rose bud and rich cocoa

Merry Monday Challenge #128: Polka dots and/or Stripes

This week's Merry Monday Challenge was to use polka dots or stripes.  As soon as I read that, I immediately began rummaging through all of my Christmas paper pads.  When I discovered this cute combination of polka dot and stripe print, I knew it would be perfect for my card.  I decided to begin with a card base cut from kraft cardstock.  I then cut a slightly smaller rectangle from my patterned paper for the background.  I thought that this blue snowflake print from the same paper pack would coordinate nicely, so I cut a small tag from it.  I cut a small strip from the dotted stripe paper and taped it to the bottom of the tag.  Next, I stamped the word "joy" and added two snowflake stickers.  To help the tag stand out more, I cut a larger tag from kraft and tied the two tags together with a satin ribbon.  I taped the tag to the front of my card and "Ta-da!," my card was finished.

Supplies:  Kraft cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
                 Lost & Found Christmas paper from My Mind's Eye
                 PTI stamp from Filled with Joy
                 PTI ink pad in ripe avocado
                 Snowflake stickers by Paper Studio
                 Burgundy satin ribbon

Merry Monday Christmas Challenge #127

My sister-in-law just recently introduced me to the Merry Monday Christmas Challenge, so this is the first week that I am participating.  I really liked the Christmas Bingo as it allowed for so many different card options.  The most difficult part of this challenge was deciding which combination of three squares to select for my card.  I sometimes have a habit of over-complicating things which leads frustration, creative block, and a waste of materials (wonder if I'm the only one???).  After experimenting a bit, I decided to go with a (CAS) clean and simple card.  The three square I choose were patterned paper, twine, and punch.  I used white cardstock for the base and covered the front of my card with a green and white snowflake patterned paper.  Next, I cut a rectangular strip from red and white snowflake pattern and adhered it to vertically on the left side of the card front.  Then, I punched a white circle and stamped it with a red snowflake and green sentiment from PTI's Tag its collection. I used a mini hole punch to turn my circle into a tag and finished it off by tieing a simple bow with red & white and green & white twine.

Materials:  white cardstock
                  Paper Studio Christmas Basics patterned paper
                  Papertrey Ink Tag-its stamps
                  Mementos Dew Drop ink in ladybug and cottage ivy
                  Baker's twine in red & white and green & white

This challenge was so much fun, that I decided to create a second card.  Although none of my choices matched up with three Bingo squares, I still enjoyed putting together this sweet card that reminds me of Christmas cookies and warm cider.  This was also a very simple card.  I cut some patterned paper for the card front and die cut a scalloped frame from white cardstock.  I selected the tall mug die and stamped it in tan.  Lastly, I cut a fancy die from white cardstock and stamped my sentiment.

Materials:  white cardstock
                  Paper Studio Christmas Basics patterned paper
                  Mementos Dew Drop ink in Desert Sand
                  Papertrey Ink Warm Happiness stamp and die
                  Papertrey Ink sentiment from Holiday Lights
                  Papertrey Ink die from the Sprinkles and Shakers Make-it Market Kit
                  Sizzix die

Make it Monday #180: Paper Weaving

For this week's PTI Make it Monday Challenge, I tackled paper weaving to create an interesting and unique card background.  Following the steps outlined in Ashley's video, I cut serveral thin strips of patterned paper.  I laid the strips diagonally across my card, adhering the edges with scor tape.  I then began weaving additional strips over and under on the opposite diagonal.  When finished, I trimmed the edges and taped them down to the card front.  With such an intricate background, I wanted a simple sentiment and stamp for the center.  I cut a large scallop front black cardstock and a smaller scallop from white cardstock.  I stamped the kitten and matching sentiment from the Tiny Treats Valentine set on the white scallop.  Finally, I taped the black scallop to the center of the card front and taped the white scallop in the center of the black scallop.  The paper weaving was a bit time consuming, but it was a fun challenge and I'm really pleased with how the background looks.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Make it Monday #178: Back to School Easel Card

Creating a back to school easel card for this week's PTI Make It Monday challenge was such fun.  School began on Tuesday, so this theme was right in line with getting my children and myself back into our school year routine.  This card was super easy to make and I love the techniques used for making the cute little chalkboard.  First I measured and cut my cardstock to create a top fold card.  Then, I used a die to cut the bottom to make two "legs" for the easel.  I embossed the cardstock to create a woodgrain look.  Next, I cut a small rectanglefrom dark gray cardstock to serve as the chalkboard.  I stamped the edges with white ink and dabbed a little all over with my finger.  I stamped some large and small apples across the top of the board and letters at the bottom.  Then, I cut a red scalloped circle and a white plain circle.  I stamped the apple tag with paper lines (from PTI's 2009 Autumn Tags) with lime green ink and the sentiment, "Back to School" (from PTI's Tag-Its #6) with Tuxedo black ink. Finally, I glued a miniature clothes pin to the chalkboard and clipped the tag using the clothes pin.  The chalk inking is a bit smugged, but I think that adds to the chalkboard feel.  Overall, I am happy with the result.