Trendy Mama

The CAS Challenge over at SCS this week is to make a card with no sentiment but where it's not needed because the image conveys the occasion. When I first started thinking about this challenge the obvious path was birthday or a holiday like Christmas, Easter, Valentines, or Halloween. I pushed myself for another approach and couldn't think of one for Mother's Day but came close at Baby.

I missed the opportunity really decorate a nursery since as we prepared for our adoption we didn't know gender, age, or even how many kids we would end up with. If I had it to do over and knew I would have an infant arrive I'd go trendy with gender neutral colors of grey and yellow with accents in aqua, lime, and orange. I'm sure there would be chevrons in some form and many other DIY projects stolen from Pintrest. This card has my dream trend forward nursery all wrapped in one.

Happy Mother's day to all the women out there who have held a baby in their arms or their heart. Thanks for the visit!

Supplies: Crib from A Muse Studio, Chevrons from Savvy Stamps, Barely Banana ink, black, various copic markers.

Pigment Ink and Wood

For the most recent round of submissions for a Paper Crafts Magazine special issue featuring supplies I really pushed myself to use supplies in new ways to me. I've had a thing for wood veneer embellishments and usually use them "naked" because I like the look. I've occasionally stamped them but this time I experimented with pigments inks and I LOVED the results. Unlike water based inks, it doesn't stain the wood but it coats it like paint would. The squishy pigment ink pads are the perfect surface to gently push your embellishments into.

These pieces were my testers and I've finally used them up. I was lucky enough to have the card I made after my test accepted and can't show you that but this is the next best thing. I hope it inspires you to use your supplies in new ways.

I cased my layout from Bon2Stamp as my submission for the Splitcoast Stampers CAS challenge this week. Bon2Stamp is our featured stamper so I hope you join us to play along!

Supplies: Pima wood veneer, A Muse Studio Inks in Grass, Spruce, and Bureno, Mad for Plaid and retired sentiment are also from A Muse Studio

Monster Party

My little man is turning 2 in May and we're celebrating with a monster themed playtime and lunch. I'm not one for over the top kid parties so my aim is to make it festive and fun but not to go overboard. My instinct was to color in these little monsters with perfect shading and details like spots or fur but I resisted. That's a lot of time for 20+ invites and a whole heck of a lot of copic ink! Instead I let my little guy color them himself and added only the touch of washi tape. Sometimes keeping it simple is the way to go.

I'm also working on a bunch of felted monsters so each kid can "adopt a monster" to bring home with them. I'll post photos of that and the monster making station as we get closer to the party at the end of May.

CAS(E) this Sketch #25

Here's my submission for this fun CAS sketch. I'm usually challenged to use sentiments that have a vertical shape but this sketch was the perfect inspiration I needed to use it. Black ink, a single strip of washi tape, and white paper...does it get much more clean and simple than that? I didn't set out to be that minimalist but it's how it turned out and I'm really happy with the results. Thanks so much for the visit!

Supplies: Doodle Bug Designs washi tape, A Muse Studio Images - Geek Chic

Accent of Cork

I thought for a bit about throwing my hat in the ring for the Stamping Royalty contest this year but when it came to sending something in I got lazy like every year in the past. Making the cards is no problem, even mailing them is cool. It's the listing out each element and instructions then printing and attaching the stops me dead in my tracks. Maybe next year will be my year but for now I'll share a card I had considered sending in.

This features my favorite thing about stamping. You can create patterns with any colors you want and even just one image can make an amazing card. All images and inks are from A Muse Studio.

Be who you want to be

It's the first chance in a few weeks I've been able to play along with the Muse Challenge and I'm sure glad because it's so inspiring this week! I just love the background Virginia created while masking a spot for her sentiment. I did a play on the same thing and created this little card with a sentiment I just adore: Just be who you want to be not what others want to see.

The images are from A Muse Studio, ink and paper from Stampin' Up! - Baja Blue, Kiwi Kiss, and Cameo Coral. Wood accent is from Studio Calico.

Thank you so much for your visit!

Hello There

I loved the retro feel of this week's Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World! I was inspired by the colors and feeling of Americana. It's a very simple take on the trigger but a fun card to send off to someone who you want to send a cheerful hello to. Thanks so much for looking and I hope you play along too!

All supplies are from A Muse Studio.