Play Things

I don't usually get a chance to participate in Sassy Cheryl's Show Me Thursday but since my friend Ann English and I have been playing in her craft room, I thought I would show you the results.

As I mentioned in the post below we have been trying out my Gelli plate.  More practice is required and trying different paints but our initial efforts aren't too bad.

We used some stencils, die cuts, embossed pieces, corrugated cardboard and even bubble wrap.  Getting covered in paint was fun and in this case the print is really wild.

Day Dreaming

I am in Chestertown, Maryland this week visiting a lovely crafting friend, Ann English and we have been playing in her well-appointed craft room.  We have also made some day trips - one to Winterthur, which is a du Pont home and gardens - fabulous.  The other trip was to some craft stores and then out for a super dinner.  I had wanted try crab cakes while I was here and got my wish - yummy.

We have played with my Gelli plate and while we need more practice, we did have fun.  Then she let me use her supplies and I made this card for the current challenge at Sassy Cheryl's, which calls for STITCHING.  I have never used a sewing machine to do my stitching so this was a first and it is certainly easier than hand stitching as I usually do.

The image is called Better Than a Thousand Words and can be found here.  The papers are all from My Mind's Eye and the card stock is all from Ann's stash as are the ribbon and the brads.  I also used a Martha Stewart lace edge punch and the flowers were made using a Martha Stewart punch and a McGill Craftivity punch.  The leaves were made with a Punch Bunch punch.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenge:

Sassy Cheryl's challenge - Stitch Away with a Sassy Cheryl's Image

Spring Cleaning Time

The new challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow is called CLEAN IT OUT.  We want you to make vintage or shabby chic cards or other paper-crafted projects using items from your stash and scraps.  We don't want you to go out and buy anything new.

I decided to add to my Christmas card pile and made this card out of bits and pieces.  The image was a freebie from The Funkie Junkie.  The background paper was printed last year from a digital freebie (Cuddlebeez - no longer online) but I ended up using something else.  The ribbon from Fabricland has been hanging out in my sewing closet for a few years and the burlap came from an old project.  The poinsettia was cut from scraps of paper using a Marianne Creatables die while the flourish was cut from a scrap of card stock using the Spellbinders Venetian Motifs die.  The sentiment was computer generated, cut with a Nellie Snellen die and then inked with some Aged Mahogany Distress ink (Ranger).

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Our Creative Corner - Anything Goes
C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
Charisma Cardz  - No Digis Allowed
Milk Coffee Challenge - Shabby Chic/Vintage

Sassy Flower

I got busy this morning and created a card for the new challenge over at Sassy Cheryl's.  The challenge asks that you use lace and handmade flowers on your card and of course, you must use a Sassy Cheryl image.

I made this card using all sorts of scraps from my craft supplies, including the yellow and purple card stock.  The background polka dot paper, the stripe and the big flower paper are all from Provo Craft and the little polka dot paper is from Making Memories.  I don't remember who made the the paper I used to make the flower.  I did the bottom layer with a 1" circle punch from Recollections following a tutorial I found here but then decided it needed another layer and that was cut using an EK Paper Shapers punch.  All the petals were inked with Wild Honey Distress Ink (Ranger).

The Sassy Cheryl image is called A Simple Gift of a Flower and was coloured with Prismacolors and blended with Gotrick OMS.  Then it was cut using the Labels 16 die from Spellbinders and inked with Milled Lavender Distress Ink (Ranger).  The lace is from my sewing closet and the button came from Fabricland.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Sassy Cheryl's - Lace & Handmade Flowers
Lady Anne's Challenges - Anything Goes
Artistic Inspirations - Flowers & Lace
Card Mania - Flower Power
Forever Friends - Pastels
Get Inky - Die Cuts
Love to Create - Flowers
Stamp with Fun - Selfmade Flowers

Spring Flowers

The challenge this week at Sugar Creek Hollow is all about Spring Flowers and if it would just stays warm we might have some here soon.  OK, so there are a few crocuses and pansies around but not much of anything else yet.  The garden centres are starting to get stocked up and normally we would be planting annuals in 2 weeks but that may not happen this year.

Please note that starting with this week the challenges at Sugar Creek Hollow will be running every two weeks, which will give us all more time to create and to fit our lives in.

We would like to welcome a new sponsor this week.  Heather Hudson who just left our Sugar Creek Hollow Design Team has now come on board as a sponsor with her fabulous collage sheets that you can find here.

For this card I cut one of the hearts from Heather's Blue Hearts with Polka Dots & Pink Roses collage sheet to use as my focal image.  The background paper is from the Just Breathe digital kit by Vicki Stegall that I picked up as a freebie ages ago.  I added some cheesecloth from my kitchen drawer along with some white corrugated cardboard (The Funkie Junkie Boutique) that has been lightly sponged with Tattered Rose Distress Ink (Ranger).

All the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and I know you don't usually see roses in the spring, at least not where I live, I just love the look of them and of course they matched the image.  The butterfly was made with a Martha Stewart punch and has some Recollections pearl stickers added to it.  The pink fiber, the pearl and the double hearts were attached to a card I received a couple of years ago so I have recycled them.  The filigree corner came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique but I painted it white and then scuffed it up a bit.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Fresh Brewed Designs  - Flowers
Natalie and Amy's Challenge - Things with Wings
One Crazy Stamper - Flowers
Our Creative Corner - Anything Goes
Sandy's Crafty Creations - Anything with Flowers & More Flowers
The Cupboard Trilogy - Spring Flowers
DRS Designs - Butterflies
Crafts and Me - Floral Frenzy
Inky Chicks - Shabby Chic
Critter Sketch - Flowers
Fashionista Challenge - Shabby or Vintage

Vintage School Days

The challenge this week at Sugar Creek Hollow is called Numbers & Letters and we want you to make vintage or shabby chic cards or other paper-crafted projects with number and letters on them in any form.

As soon as I saw the name of this challenge, I immediately thought of school so that is exactly where I went with this card.  My Grandchildren were here yesterday morning and my Granddaughter saw the card and immediately said that she knew I had made it for my Grandson since he heads to Junior Kindergarten in September but I have a different card ready for that - she was actually disappointed.

I started with the background paper, which is vintage ruled paper from Sprouting Seeds (site is no longer active) and then I covered most of it up (dah) but not before I inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Ranger).

I made the ruler paper from some digital scrapbooking elements from Fuzzimo.  Then I found the great vintage image at Vintage Fan Girl but the blackboard was actually a pale coloured ad so I changed it into a blackboard and then added the numbers and letters with a font called Learning Curve, although I wish I had made them more bold.

I found the flash cards online but forgot to mark the site (oops), the star is hand cut with some Card Candi (Craftwork Cards) added to it, the little paper clip was a gift but I think it is from Tim Holtz and the word Explore is a sticker from K & Company.

The apple border is something I created myself with my Cameo and inked with a bit of Aged Mahogany Distress Ink (Ranger) - I hope I have made my friend Shirley (The Cameo Queen) proud of me - LOL.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafting For All Seasons - No Stamps Allowed
Crafting By Designs - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Free For All

Baby Face

The challenge this week at Sugar Creek Hollow is called Baby Face.  We want you to make vintage or shabby chic baby cards or other paper-crafted projects.

Starr Timmons is joining our wonderful Design Team this week as a Guest Designer.  Please check out her blog and her creations. 

I started by finding this fabulous image online at By Vintage Design and gave it a little distressing.  The paper is from my scrap box and it has been there for so long that I don't remember where it came from.  Since it was old, I decided to make it look older and added some Frayed Burlap Distress Ink (Ranger) to it and to the other elements.

The heart doily was a gift from my friend Shirley.  The seam binding, button and eyelet trim were all from my stash.  The corner is a Nellie Snellen die and I have added a few little Dollarama pearls to it. 

The alphabet blocks were created with my Cameo.  I started with a font and then broke it up so I could cut the frame and letters separately from the background in order to give them some dimension and make them look a bit more like real baby blocks.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - One Paper
A Little Bit Crafty - Anything Goes
By The Cute & Girly - Vintage
Cards Galore - Vintage
Cupcake Craft Challenges - Cute & Cuddly
Lexi's Creations - Lace and/or Ribbon
Corrosive Challenges - Life's Special Occasions