Card Patterns - Sketch 100

I have been trying like the dickens to challenge my creativity lately. I get in a rut. You know that rut, right? Well, that's where challenges come in!! Challenges to the rescue!!

My dear friend, Leslie (aka The Crooked Stamper) totally suggested that I check out Card Patterns blog. I did. And I love it. How, as a crafter, do I not know these things? HOW?!?! Anyway, I'm just glad she did. Because I'm making my first Card Patterns Sketch card today and it's for their 100th Sketch. Cool, huh?

I'm actually in NEED of making cards. (Which is one of the reasons why I was searching for sketch challenges.) Two of those reasons are that 1) my dad is in the hospital (hopefully no big whoop and will be out Monday) & 2) a dear friend of our family had a knee replacement and is feeling blue. So...I thought I'd make some cards.

Now, you'd think I'd make my dad's card first, right? HAHHAH! No. Making masculine cards is hard. So, I need to ponder that one.

Here's the sketch:



Super cute!

And here's my pretty literal take on it:



Didn't drift from the sketch, flip it, or alter it. Just used some fun paper from Basic Grey & that lovely ribbon (which I hoarded from SU!) is just a dream.

Congrats on the 100th Sketch, Card Patterns! I had a lot of fun.

{Supplies:
Paper: Baja Breeze cardstock (SU!); Pure Luxury Heavy Base weight white (Gina K Designs); Marjolaine & Basics White DSP (Basic Grey)
Stamps: Kind & Caring Thoughts (SU!)
Ink: Faded Jeans & Peeled Paint Distress Inks (Tim Holtz for Ranger)
Embossing: Clear EP (Ranger)
Diecutting: Tags Five (Spellbinders), Die-cutting/Embossing Machine (Cuttlebug by Provocraft)
Accessories: Pearls (Martha Stewart), Ribbon & ribbon slide (SU!)}

All my best,

Jingles Belles Rock - Week 5 - Gettin' Sketchy!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged! But I had all that surgery mess to deal with, was out of town, etc. Now that I'm back I can get back to business. And get crafty again! Yay!

This week the phenomenally gifted Amy Tsuruta gave us a super awesome sketch challenge to do. Check out this sketch:



Cute, right?

So I just flipped it a little, used a little stitching, some ribbon, some really nifty holly leaves I found on my trip in Vegas (which works fabby with that SU Holly paper, doesn't it?), and put it all together with that cute Hero Arts sentiment.

It's really not a complicated card, but I like it.



I was a little bummed I missed the Pink & Green challenge from last weeks Jingle Belles Rock. :( <-- Me pouting. So I decided to make a card even though the submissions links are all closed. I don't like pink, so that's EXACTLY why I wanted to do the challenge. That's what a challenge is all about, right? Here's my homage' to pink & green:

How ya like my stitched "Christmas"? Neato bandito, huh? :D The DSP on that one is all Basic Grey - Sultry, NO stamps or ink were used. (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!) Just the stitched sentiment, the Prima bling pearls, and the little K & Co. adhesive button thingy.

Hope all of you are checking out these Jingle Belles challenges. They are waaaaaaaay too much fun!

All my best,

Jingle Belles - Week 3... PAINT

When I first heard (or read) that our prompt for the Jingle Belles this week would be paint I was so happy! I love paint and I rarely use mine, but this week has been SUCH a nightmare. So much going on and I have a TON to do before I leave tomorrow (and...ack!...oral surgery on Tuesday) that I feel like I just can't get everything done. :(

I actually started making TWO separate cards that each completely got thrown away. Completely destroyed. Beyond rescue. Ugh!! What an utter waste of time. Oh! And my little sewing machine went on the fritz. *rolls eyes* So my card today was completely not what I had planned, but after trying and failing so many times I just wanted to do SOMETHING!

Not one of my better cards, but... I STILL HAVE TO PACK! So I hope you like it anyway.



(Forget to tell ya! The snowflake is cut out of grungepaper & then painted with Pearl Acrylic Paint. While it was still wet I threw some of Rangers Holographic EP on it for some extra shimmery-ness. As for the flourish, that was cut out of grungeboard and painted first with Willow. Then I mixed some Pool & Willow together and highlighted some of the edges. Also threw a little of the Holographic EP on this (also while wet) for that extra sumthin'-sumthin'.)

I won't be around to join in on the fun next week. I'm so bummed. I may make the card after I get back anyway. (It's too much fun NOT to!) But, I'll hop along & check out all the beautiful creations.

I have an early flight and this non-morning person has a squillion things to do before then.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all send positive vibes my way, ohhh...around 8:00 am PST on Tuesday. ;) xoxo

{Supplies:
Paper: Naturals White & Vellum Cardstock (SU!), DSP - Jovial (Basic Grey)
Ink: Distress Inks (Ranger)
Paint: Acrylic Dabbers in Willow, Pool & Pearl (Ranger)
Die-cut: Cuttlebug 3x3 Snowflake, Flourish (Tim Holtz for Sizzix)
Embossing: Snowflakes A2 Embossing folder (Cuttlebug)
Accessories: "Screw" brads (Tim Holtz for Ideaology), Letters (Girls' Paperie), Pearl (Recollection), Glitter (Holographic Emb. Powder - Ranger).}


All my best,

CONGRATULATIONS TO.....

Wow...I had NO idea that there would be so many entrants for my little 'ol give-away. I thank you all for entering and for spreading the word all over the interwebz.

YOU ROCK!!

Because comments were not only here, but also on Facebook (I think I was too vague...oops) I had to copy & paste all the comments (delete some that didn't qualify), print them out, THEN hand cut them all out. With a LOT of help from Eddy. He's the best.

Now...drum roll, please....


For the September KOM!

The Winner is: Chelle (Michelle Hanway) Congrats!! Woooooo!


Next up, the October KOM!

The Winner is: Bogner's (Rachel Bogner) How fun!! YAY!!


And now for the December KOM! Super cute!!

The Winner is: Mary Dawn!!! YIPPEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!


We have one prize left. That's it! And it's a biggie! The HERO ARTS!!!

Are you all ready? I'm nervous as Eddy is getting ready to draw the name...


JAY GEE!!!!

WOW!! You got some HERO ARTS there, girlie!! CONGRATS ON A MASSIVE STASH OF STUFF!!

(I know you live far so we'll e-mail & talk details, okay? ! So happy for you! Yay!)

Thank you ALL for your HUGE participation in my give-away! Your response was awesome. I can't possibly thank you enough. I love to give stuff away, so you have to follow to know when I do this. Yes, that's a hint. :)

PS - You can e-mail me with your deets over there on the right where it says "E-mail". And I'll get your goodies out ASAP! :)


All my best,

Winter White - Tuesday Trigger, Moxie Fab Style!

Even though I freeze all through Winter I love the clothes and the colors of Winter. ESPECIALLY Winter White! When I saw this Tuesday Trigger on Moxie Fab World:



I knew I just had to play!

I wanted to represent the layers of the cake a teeny bit differently (other than just stamping a cake image), so I added some super pretty off-white crochet lace (that my mom gave me), some ruched-kinda twisty ribbon, and a lovely taffeta ribbon. I just layered those...like layers on a cake. I adore crochet lace ribbon so much. I also knew I wanted to add a dry embossed background to add a beautiful background. I think this Cuttlebug folder in Victoria is just luscious! I added a paper flower, a twisted ribbon rose, a stick-pin (Jenni Bowlin) and added just a few rhinestones in the corner. So soft & pretty. Hope you like it too. :)



This card just makes me feel good. Hope there is someone I can send it to. SOON!

{Supplies:
Paper: Naturals White c/s (SU!)
Ink: Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger)
Embossing: Victoria Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft)
Accessories: Crochet Lace (stash - from Mom), Ruched ribbon (unsure - maybe SU?) Taffeta Ribbon, ribbon for rose, rhinestones (SU!), paper flower (Petaloo), Stickpin (Jenni Bowlin), Corner Chomper (We-R-Memory Keepers)}


All my best,

Jingle Belles - Card Deux

So an inchie or a twinchie? Wha? These gals at Jingle Belles are CRRRRRAAAZY!! "Have Yourself a Merry LITTLE Christmas", they said. VERY funny.

I don't have small stuff. I have cat hair!! I could gather a pile of that in an inch or two and stick THAT on some Christmas paper and call it DONE. No? Okay, fine. But what do you do when you have absolutely NO SMALL STAMPS?!

Ahhh....punches! Yes!! So I start gathering up all my teeny little punches and tried to devise a plan. THEN, when I was going through my Pink Paislee Father Christmas patterned paper I let out a mini-squeal! (I swear, I did!) There were 2 6 x6" sheets of Santa all EXACTLY ONE INCH CIRCLE SIZED!! WOOOOOOO!!! (However, I cropped him to 3/4" circle for my purpose and the paper behind the Santas are all 1" circles.)

I also decided since I wasn't varying too much in color from my tried and trued red & white theme from last week, that I'd at least vary the type of card. So, I made this one an easel card (<--click for the tutorial on SCS on how to make one). Haven't made these in a while. And, I've never made one that was vertical before (I don't think). Usually they're horizontal or square. I like these. They're fun to make. I really like how this card eventually turned out. I have to admit I started out hating it.

First is the card flat (un-easel-ized):



Now here it is in its full easel glory! ;)




Now go to the Jingle Belles and check out the other cards! This is just waaaaaay too much fun. And make a card yourself while you're at it. You'll be way ahead of the game by the time December rolls around. :)



{Supplies:
Paper: Cardstock (SU!), DSP - Father Christmas (Pink Paislee), Wassail (Basic Grey)
Ink: Distress Ink (Ranger), Frosted Lace Stickles (Ranger)
Stamp: Mega Mixed Messages (PTI)
Punch: 3/4" & 1" circle punch (EK Success)
Accessories: Foam snowflake & pearl (Michael's), Seam binding (SU!), Thickers (American Crafts)}


All my best,

New Challenge Blog - Jingle Belles! And they ROCK!

Okay, so I was full of the Bah-Humbuggery spirit and all that. And it took EVERY ounce of energy I had to make Christmas cards this year. Once they were sent I thought, "Thank you, sweet Jesus!! I don't have to even THINK about Christmas cards until next December 15th!! YIPPEE!!!". Yes, that Scrooge was me. I admit it.

Then I heard about this blog...Jingle Belles. I kind of hate them now. But only in a totally makes sense kind of way. If you make one measly Christmas card A WEEK...you'll have 52 unique Christmas cards made by Christmas next year. Yes, it's a slap yourself in the forehead kind of thing.

And, yes, I resisted. Kind of like you resist getting the flu. You don't want it, but you get it anyway? Uh-huh. Yes, I'm getting infected. ;) *cough, cough*

So, without further ado, I present my very first Jingle Belles challenge card. Something old, something new. It's mostly old. Whatever.



(If you're blind, like me, and can't read the sentiment it says, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen")

Can ya dig it? :)

The old is the DSP - Basic Grey (Wassail) and the base layer of c/s Always Artichoke (SU), the label-maker tape is practically ancient, and the label-maker itself is semi-oldish, flowers (Petaloo), tissue tape, acrylic tag, shimmer paint...all old. *blush*

The new(ish) stuff - The first layer of paper (c/s). Got that & never really broke into it! And the Antique brad. Been hoarding those. Also the swivel clasp. Bought those & never used 'em. Super cool!

{I usually list my supplies. Since I just basically did that I'm not going into the deets. If you have questions about anything I used, just shoot me an e-mail!}

All my best,

1/1/2011 - Want Some stuff?! :D

Okay, so not the best blog title ever...but perhaps it caught your attention? :D

I decided to give some stuff away this very first day of the New Year. This day has LOTS of ONES in it! It's the first day of the first month of 2011 and it's my 100th blog post! Whoooo! Seems like as good a time as any to me! How about you?

Alrighty then! On with the show!

So. Here's what I have to give away. Some BRAND NEW Hero Arts yumminess. (I looooove Hero Arts.) And....some Unity Kits of the Month from September, October, and December. The Unity kits were ordered by me, but never used. I have no idea why, just didn't. So I thought they'd be cool to give away. Hope you think so, too.

Here's what you need to do!

1. Leave a comment. (Way too easy!)
2. Become a fan of papergrace designs on Facebook and leave a comment on there.
3. Ask your crafty/stampy friends to "like" papergrace designs on Facebook and leave another comment (Please tell them that in their comment to say who sent them to me. If I don't know, I can't count the comment. Boo! )
4. Follow papergrace_dsgn on twitter and tweet about the giveaway! (You can say anything such as, "Have you seen the big give-away at http://papergrace.blogspot.com? Make sure to @papergrace_dsgn so I can see your tweets!)
5. Follow this blog through the blogger follower or through Google Reader and leave another comment. (If you already follow, you know you've gotten extra options of getting goodies already!) If you're not following my blog (why?!) I know it seems mystical or difficult, but the "Follow" is right up at VERY top of the page, above the header. I'd love it if you did. :)

So that's at least FIVE chances! More if you were already a follower and commented before today. :)

*** You do NOT need to do all of these things, but the more you do...the more chances you have to win. And that's a good thing, right? RIGHT!!

Ready to see what you were waiting for? Here we goooooooo....

From Unity:

The September KOM


The October KOM


The December KOM


Nice, huh?

AND NOW!!! For the BIG PRIZE (like those weren't big enough!) The Hero Arts!!



I think that's some awesome crafty goodness right there!

I think I'll give you a solid 7 days to get the word out. I may even throw some extra stuff to the person who gets me the most followers!! How 'bout that?!

Oh! Before I forget...wow...so much to say! This give-away IS open to all US AND Canadian residents. I love me some Canadians. ;) If you want to be considered & live somewhere else...please let me know. These prize packs are pretty big, but maybe we can work something out. Sound good?! GREAT!

So!! Get to following, commenting, and passing on the word. If you post the give-away on your blog let me know that, too! :) And... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

** COMMENTING CLOSED!! I will begin tallying up all the comments tomorrow! 1/8/11 YAY! :)**


All my best,