Make Your Designer Paper

This is a scheduled post as I am in Calgary for a family reunion.

Our challenge to you this week at Sugar Creek Hollow is to MAKE YOUR OWN DESIGNER PAPER. We want you to use your stamps or digital stamps and create your own background paper. Then we want you to turn that into a vintage, shabby chic or primitive card or other paper crafted project. We are a vintage challenge blog so please ensure that your images and embellishments are of a vintage style and that you follow the challenge theme.

I must admit that I took a little liberty when I created my background paper.  I don't have any rubber stamps so I created a transparent picture using a number of vintage stamp brushes for Photoshop and then I printed the picture on some vintage digital paper from Far Far Hill.  I originally printed it on a plain background but it had no life.  If I had more time I would have tried creating the patterned background as well. 

Image:  Suitcase Stack (Isabella's Sketchbook)
Card Stock:  Cream (Wassau)
Papers:  Simulated Leather (Curry's Art Store), Cream Vintage Paper (Far Far Hill)
Colouring Medium:  Pencil Crayons (Prismacolors) with OMS (Gatrick)
Tools & Embellishments:  Old Suitcase Keys (My Stash), Burlap (My Stash), Map (online - don't remember source), Rusty Hinge and Walnut Stain Distress Ink (Ranger), Snaps (Making Memories)

Bearing Gifts

This is a scheduled post as we are in Calgary visiting family for a family reunion. 

Our challenge this week at Phindy's Place is to create a card or other paper crafted project featuring DIE CUTS.

I encourage you to pop over to Phindy's store and check out all the wonderful images, including her new $2.70 collection of basic but very versatile digis.  Any of these would look wonderful with die cuts and if you enter a project featuring a Phindy image, don't forget you can enter a second time this week.

I have used one of Phindy's new images called Garden Gnome and made my die cuts with both my Cricut and Spellbinders.  Add a lot of distressing to some lovely papers, a big butterfly along with some pearls and you have a card.  Sounds simple, so why do I take so long to make each card - hmmmm?

Image:  Garden Gnome (Phindy's Place)
Sentiment:  Create with TLC
Card Stock: Red (Wassau), Gold (Recollections)
Papers:  Floral/Dot (October Afternoon)
Colouring Medium:  Pencil Crayons (Prismacolors) with OMS (Gatrick)
Tools & Embellishments:  Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Pearl Stickers (Recollections), Chalk (Mungyo), Cricut, Labels 10 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Circle Punch (EK Paper Shapers)

Let's Play Tag

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow.  I hope you are enjoying your summer so far and are managing in the oppressive heat happening in many parts of the United States and Canada.  For those of you in other areas that are not so hot, can I come for a visit to get some relief?  Thursday, we had a humidex of 48C or 106F.  Thank heaven for central air conditioning and for an air conditioned car.

This week our challenge to you is TAGS.  You can create a single tag or put a tag on your card or other paper crafted creation. Don't forget we are a vintage, shabby chic or primitive challenge blog and would ask that your project be in one of those styles.

This week a random winner will receive a digi or our choice and a badge to display on her blog.  The Design Team will also choose one project as Card of the Week and that creator will also receive a badge to display and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Our designers have created some lovely tags for your inspiration and if you want to check out the details, just click on their names and you will be taken directly to their blogs.

I did some playing in Photoshop to create the pram in the background.  I found a photo of the pram (sorry, I can't remember where) and then I chopped it out of the background, which was more work than I expected because I had all sorts of stray bits to erase.  I changed the colour and I found some grunge brushes online and  made it look scratched and sort of like a vintage stamp.  It was fun to do but when you don't have a clue as to what you are doing, it can be time-consuming.  Finally I printed it directly onto the floral paper.

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

Paper Play Challenges - Ribbon, Lace, Buttons
ABC Challenge - "Y" is for Yesterday
A Spoonfull of Sugar - Create a Tag
Bearly Mine - Tag, You're It
Ooh La La Creations - Tag It

Image:  Baby (The Graphics Fairy)
Card Stock:  Pale Pink and Dark Pink (Recollections)
Papers:  Pale Pink Floral (Coreen Silke from Computer Scrapbooking.com), Bright Pink Floral/Pink (Basic Grey), Vellum (Curry's Art Store)
Tools & Embellishments:  Lace (My Stash), Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Pearl Stickers (Recollections), Narrow White Ribbon (My Stash),Pink Crinkly Ribbon (Gift), Button (My Stash), Flower Dies and Circle Die (Nellie Snellen), Corners (Cut with Cricut)

Seeing Double

This week our challenge to you at Phindy's Place is to DOUBLE UP. We want to see two of something or you can show us a number of pairs. So you can use two flowers, 2 images and/or 2 ribbons, etc. Please note that three of something does not count - it must be exactly two. On my card I have 2 die cuts, 2 designer papers, 2 flowers and 2 tags.  I digitally paper pieced the chair and then added some shading with my Prismacolors.  I also added a little Prismacolor markings to the cream flower so that it would coordinate with my burgundy flower.

Phindy has begun to release a new line of basic stamps that can be used for a variety of occasions and they are just $2.70 each so check out the store. Don't forget to click on Random Surprise on the left sidebar to see if she has a treat for everyone.  And when you do enter a card in the challenge using your newly purchased Phindy image, don't forget you are entitled to a second entry this week so follow the instructions in the Challenge Rules.

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

Crafty Creations - Seeing Double
Freshly Brewed Challenges - Animal or Animal Print
Die Cut Dreams - Animals (4-legged)

Image:  Not So Hot (Phindy's Place)
Sentiments:  Computer Generated
Card Stock:  Cream (Wassau), Dark Blue (Provo Craft)
Colouring Medium:  Pencil Crayons (Prismacolors) with OMS (Gatrick)
Tools & Embellishments:  Chalk (Mungyo), Cream Flower (Recollections), Burgundy Flower (My Creation), Cream Pearl Sticker (Recollections), Tag Punch (Martha Stewart)

Guest Designer at Little Miss Muffet

A couple of weeks ago I won a challenge over at Little Miss Muffet Challenges and was pleased to accept an invitation to be a Guest Designer. This week the challenge is SUMMER, which is so timely and appropriate for all of us who are melting in the heat and humidity.

I am using this image from the Little Miss Muffet store called Treehouse Headquarters. I can just picture every child with a vivid imagination spending their summer up there - what a fun place to be but I hope it has air conditioning.  Since this is a card for a child I decided to go with bright primary colours and keep the layout pretty simple, which is difficult for me when the flowers, pearls and lace are calling out to me from my craft cupboard but it showcases the great image.  I encourage you to pop over to the Little Miss Muffet store and check out all the other fun stamps available for purchase.

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

Creative Stamp Friends - Summer
Daisy Doodles Creative Challenges - Anything Goes
Paper Playtime - Summer
Pollycraft - Summer Fun
Stamps & Fun = Creativity - Digi Stamp
Dream Valley Challenges  - Summer Theme

Image: Treehouse Headquarters (Little Miss Muffet)
Sentiment: Create with TLC
Card Stock: Red & Green (Wassau), Blue (Recollections)
Papers: Stripe (Sandylion Sticker Designs), Yellow Dot & Red Gingham (My Scraps)
Colouring Medium:  Pencil Crayons (Prismacolors) with OMS (Taltine)
Tools & Embellishments:  Buttons (My Stash), Sun Punch (Marvy Uchida), Chalk (Mungyo)

Phindy's Place DT Call

We are looking for creative designers to work with Phindy's Place digital images, for a six month term, from 1 September 2011 to 28 February 2012. You will be expected to create a card or project each week to be published on the Challenge Blog (currently Friday) as well as to your own blog and occasionally there may be further requirements such as a blog hop. You are also expected to comment on a proportion of the entries to the Challenge Blog. Membership of the Papercraft Planet Group is encouraged and you need to upload your weekly cards to the PCP gallery so that they can be uploaded to the slide shows for the group.

The ideal team member need not have experience of being on a Design Team, however their commitment and enthusiasm are important. It is important to have a regularly updated blog, to comment regularly on entries to the challenge and it is important to meet deadlines.

What is in it for you? - -

• You will get a generous allowance of digis from the Phindy's Place shop to work with each month, more than enough for each month's challenges
• You will receive an additional discount on designs from the Phindy's Place shop
• You will get the fun of working with brilliant designs, sometimes before their release to the public and be part of a close-knit and friendly team

Successful applicants will receive more specific details of the benefits!

If you would like to apply, please email Anne at raypack@btinternet.com with the following information:

• Your blog address
• Links to any online galleries of your work
• Photos of 3 cards/projects that you feel are typical of your work
• Details of any Design Team/ Guest Design Team experience
• A little info about yourself and why you would like to be part of the team

DT Call closes15 August.

Christmas Wings

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow.  This week we want to see cards with WING THINGS.  Your vintage, shabby chic or primitive card could feature fairies, angels, birds, butterflies or other insects. 

We will be choosing one random winner who will receive a digi of her choice and a badge to display on her blog.  The Design Team will also choose a Card of the Week.  The creator of that card will receive a badge to display and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Our designers have created inspiration for you with a variety of things with wings on them.  To get the details, click on their name and you will be taken directly to their blog.

This week we are pleased to introduce you to CHRIS VENERUSO who was chosen as the Guest Designer from the June Cards of the Week.

My card isn't as embellished in a vintage style as normal but if you recall, there is method in my madness. If I did what I really wanted to, it would cost a fortune to mail and considering what happened last year with my Christmas cards when the postage went through the roof, I am on a mission to deny Canada Post any more money than is necessary. Besides we had no mail service for a few weeks while the workers were on strike and then locked out so I figure they owe me rather than the other way around.

This sweet little fairy is all dressed up for Christmas and even has her Christmas wings on - shaped just like holly leaves :)

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

Craft Us Crazy - Christmas in July and/or Distressed/Vintage
Paper Play Challenges - Things with Wings
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Image:   Christmas Fairy Holly (Mo's Digital Pencil)
Card Stock:  Buff (Recollections), Red (Bazzill)
Paper:  Memory Box
Colouring Medium:  Pencil Crayons (Prismacolors) with OMS (Gotrick)
Tools & Embellishments:  Chalk (Mungyo), Lace (Fabricland), Card Candy (Craftwork Cards), Petite Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Poinsettia Creatables (Marianne Designs), Gold Ink (Martha Stewart), Gold Seed Beads (My Stash)

Pretty Pastels

Summer has really landed where I live and it is hot, hot, hot - with lots of humidity thrown in - so it is now very uncomfortable. I think I want to live in a more moderate climate where the weather stays roughly at 72 all year, where there is no snow, little rain and no humidity. I wonder where that is and if I can convince my husband to move - hmmm.

The challenge this week at Phindy's Place should cool things off a bit. We want you to create a card in PRETTY PASTELS so get out those softly coloured papers and embellishments and let's see what you come up with.

You don't have to use a Phindy image but we do hope you will.  If you do, make sure you enter it twice.  There are lots of fabulous images at Phindy's store that would look wonderful in pastels.

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

Divas by Design - Pastels
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
KB Cute Monday - Something Cute

Image:  Hush A Bye (Phindy's Place)
Card Stock:  White (Staples)
Papers:  Stripe (sandylion Sticker Design), Floral (My Stash)
Colouring Medium:  Pencil Crayons (Prismacolors) with OMS (Taltine)
Tools & Embellishments:  Pearl Stickers (Dollarama), Die Cut (Nellie Snellen), Chalk (Color Box), Ribbon (My Stash), Flowers (Wild Orchid Crafts)

Paper Piercing

Welcome to Sugar Creek Hollow and another Sensational Saturday.  This week our challenge for you is to create a vintage, shabby chic or primitive card using the technique of PAPER PIERCING.  You don't need any special tools to prick holes in your paper because a sewing needle will do the trick.  If you want to use a pattern rather than just pricking holes in a line or circle and don't have any, there are quite a number of freebies out there (just Google "Free Paper Piercing Templates").  There are also lots of tutorials available.

This week we have a wonderful sponsor, PHINDY'S PLACE, who will provide our random winner with a $10 gift certificate to her store.  The random winner will also receive a badge to display on her blog.

I had fun with this card on all sorts of levels.  First, I am on the Phindy's Place Design Team so I love working with her images and this is one that I didn't have.  I thought it would make a gorgeous sympathy card, which are often hard to make. Secondly, I went on a little road trip last week with a couple of gal pals and since I was driving they were held captive while I stopped at a craft store and picked up this new die. Lastly, I found a tutorial online that showed how to use digital images and fonts as pricking templates so I found a great font and then created the border pattern - easy peasy.

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

Digi Doodle Shops Best - Butterflies
Truly Scrumptious - Things with Wings

Image:  Birds Go By (Phindy's Place)
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Card Stock:  Buff & Kraft (Recollections)
Paper:  Victoria & Albert
Colouring Medium:  Pencil Crayons (Prismacolors) with OMS (Taltine)
Tools & Embellishments:  Doily (Wilton), Open Scalloped Die (Nellie), Chalk (Mungyo), Skeleton Leaf (Graphic Products), Pearl Stickers (Recollections), Victoria Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Scalloped Cutting Blade (Fiskars), Butterfly (Gift from SCH Team Mate)

Christmas Pageant

When I was a child, I looked forward to being in the annual Christmas pageants at church and at school.  I always got picked to be an angel and got to sing, usually Away in the Manger.  When I saw this adorable image at Phindy's Place it reminded me so much of me except that my hair was below my waist and wish as I might, I have never had curls.

The challenge this week at Phindy's Place is to use BUTTONS so I created another Christmas card and used these teeny buttons.  The colours are a little more brick red than you usually see at Christmas but I loved the papers and decided non-traditional was just fine.

This week you can use any image again but if you do use a Phindy image (and we hope you will), don't forget to enter your card twice.

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

Divas by Design  - Die Cuts and Punches
Flutterby Wednesdays - Open (must include butterfly, fairy or angel)
Lil Red Wagon - Christmas in July
The Paper Shelter - Lots of Dots
The Paper Variety - Christmas in July
Truly Scrumptious  - Things with Wings
Your Next Stamp Challenges - Button Up
Bearly Mine - Anything Goes
Clear it Out Tuesday - Wings

Image: Sweet Carol (Phindy's Place)
Card Stock: White (Staples)
Papers:  Snowflake & Dots (Summertime Designs), Silent Night Sheet Music (Online)
Colouring Medium:  Pencil Crayons (Prismacolors) with OMS (Taltine)
Tools & Embellishments:  Buttons (Dress it Up), Star Dust Stickles (Ranger), Chalk (Mungyo), Labels 10 Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Celebrating Canada

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow.  This week we have a PATRIOTIC challenge for you.  We want you to celebrate your country and its history and make your vintage, shabby chic or primitive card using the colors of your country as represented by its flag.

This week we will reward a random winner with a badge to display on her blog and a digi of our choice.  The Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and the creator of that card will receive a badge to display and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Most of the ladies on the Sugar Creek Hollow Design Team are from the United States so their patriotic cards have a red, white and blue theme.  I am a proud Canadian and have used a classic Canadian icon and done my card in red and white as those are the colors of the Canadian flag.  We are really looking forward to getting a colorful history lesson of the countries of our challenge participants.

As it happens yesterday was Canada Day and Canadians celebrated the 144th birthday of the country. It was fun to watch the festivities from Ottawa, our nation's capitol, especially since the newly married Royal couple are here. And now Monday, is the birthday of the United States so I wish all my American friends a Happy July 4th.

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

Digi Doodle Shops Best - Anything Goes
Cooking It Up With Katie - Colours of your flag
Lil Red Wagon - Patriotic
Stampin Royalty - Go Patriotic

Image: Mountie (online - do not remember source), National Anthem (Government of Canada web site)
Card Stock: Red (Wassau)
Papers: Maple Leaf (My Design), Stripe (My Stash)
Tools & Embellishments: Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Ranger), Yo-yo Flowers (Hand Made), Button (My Stash), Houndstooth Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Double Loop Corner Punch (Martha Stewart)

Phabulous Phindy Phriday

Today is the first monthly Phabulous Phindy Phriday, which is the name of the challenge we will have on the first Friday of every month at Phindy's Place. You must use a Phindy image but it is Anything Goes from there. You can create a card, a scrapbook layout, an altered item or anything your creative mind can dream up and use whatever colours, embellishments, techniques or sketch you want as long it revolves around your Phindy image. Phindy has lots of phabulous images in the store to work with and if you check on the left sidebar, she often has random surprises that are great deals.

I have gone a little vintage this week and created a card with Mr. Brown Goes Shopping. He is gazing intently at an old truck he really wants to buy.  I distressed everything and inked the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink, added some gears cut with my Cricut machine, some woven fabric as a ribbon and a couple of little brads - a real card for a guy.

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

The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes
Craft Your Days Away - Vintage

Image:  Mr. Brown Goes Shopping (Phindy's Place)
Card Stock:  Tan & Kraft (Recollections ), Brown (Bazzill)
Papers:  Diamond & Leather (Provo Craft), Definition (Computer Generated)
Colouring Medium:  Pencil Crayons (Prismacolors) with OMS (Taltine)
Tools & Embellishments:  Walnut Stain Distress Ink (Ranger), Brads (Making Memories), Mesh (Making Memories), Woven Fabric (Fabricland), Cricut, Antique Gold Paint (Creative Inspirations Paint)