Pink Elephant Birthday Blog Hop and Blog Candy

Today I'm hopping along with Pink Elephant in celebration of their first birthday! If you've arrived from Janna's blog you are on the right track. During the hop everyone will share a new card with their favorite challenge from the past year. I decided on Challenge #40 which is a theme challenge of Be Thankful.

I also used the Sketch Girl sketch 11 for my card in part because I adore the sketch but also because I wanted to remind you about my blog candy. If you would like to win the goodies in the picture below visit this post. Remember for each entry I will add one more flower and piece of chipboard to the prize and if you share a link to you card using Sketch Girl #11 you will get an extra entry.

You're next stop is Heather! Happy hopping!

A Layout

I don't make LOs as often as I should and even less often do I share them but when I saw the sketch at Ella Publishing as part of their six weeks of sketches I was immediately inspired. I loved the simple arrangement of photos in the sketch and they were perfect for the ones I had printed from a trip to Rutgers Gardens last semester. I used Marrakesh from Basic Grey, some felt letters from Making Memories and lots of gems from Studio 18.

I think I'll have to keep an eye on the next few sketches from the challenge because it felt good to get an event scrapped finally. I encourage you to check out the site because they are giving away an amazing ebook to selected winners and the grand prize is a Cricut Expression!

My blog candy is not quite as exciting but if you would like a chance to win please visit this post!

Caardvarks with Sketch and Stash

Caardvarks has teamed up with CARDS magazine to offer an amazing prize of being published in the magazine. The challenge is to make your very best wedding card and you can enter as many cards as you want before the 15th. Now I know my card isn't the most traditional but I can see if going with so many gifts. Many wedding gifts are things for the home and so I thought of Nook and Pantry by Basic Grey.

I used the challenge over at Sketch and Stash as well. I loved their sketch and knew immediately that I wanted to use the teapot sticker from Nook and Pantry. Last weekend at my LSS I got my hands on lots of new to me BG and this is my first card with the Nook and Pantry collection. I added some faux stitching, a Making Memories rub-on, gems and Stickles for interest. Sketch and Stash is being generously sponsored by Simon Says this week.

Remember to enter to win my blog candy at this post. The more entries the bigger the prize and those who participate at Sketch Girl will get an extra entry if they link up their creation!

Bo Bunny and Blog Candy

BoBunny has begun Card Challenge Tuesday and the first challenge is a sketch! So I had to join in. During my last score in the LSS clearance section I found these gorgeous papers from the Persuasion line and I've been hoarding them, but now it was time to put them to good use. I covered two chipboard pieces with the paper and added some hand stitching and a rub-on sentiment. I love the mix of bold and subtle in this collection which make it perfect for all the layers the sketch called for.

In other exciting news this is my 200th blog post and I'm in the mood to celebrate! I have a little prize package and anyone who leaves a comment will be entered to win. To spice things up for every entry I will add another flower and another piece of chipboard so tell all your friends in order to sweeten the pot. One last thing, to reward my fellow Sketch Girl lovers, if you want more than one entry simply leave a second comment with a link to your project made from Sketch Girl 11. This means a double chance to win for all Sketch Girl participants because Perfect Presentation, our lovely sponsor, is offering up a free template this week to the winner.

Here is my blog candy featuring some fun green chipboard elements, a variety of metal rimmed tags, a few primas, and a My Mind's Eye overlay. Remember the more entries I received the more you can win. I will leave the contest open until the 14th (midnight EST) and announce the winner on the 15th when the new Sketch Girl sketch goes up!

A Quick Card

I always feel like I don't have time to make a card or join in a challenge during the school week but I decided to prove to myself that I could. So here is my 25 minute card using the simple but cute sketch from Paper Popsicles. Lynda challenged us to use her sketch on a friendship card which is the theme of the week at Paper Popsicles. In order to create a really quick card I went to my GCD Studios stash because the paper packs include coordinated paper and tags.

Also I kept in mind the Dutch Dare Card challenge which was a Summer in Winter challenge. Yellow and of course sunshine (the little suns on the tag) remind me of summer. Pile it On says enough with winter colors so those two challenges went hand in hand.

Sketch Girl Valentines

So I told you all how I loved the new Sketch Girl sketch and well I couldn't get it out of my head so I made two valentines with the sketch. I decided to combine the sketch with some challenges because I can't turn up a good challenge. I incorporated Creative Belli's challenge to use hearts and Caardvarks red hearts challenge. Also Crafty Creations wanted to see a celebration card and these are for Valentine's Day so that's certainly a celebration. Pile It On wanted enough of the winter colors so I have lots of bright spring colors.

I made these cards with the Basic Grey Sugar Rush papers and stickers I bought at the LSS this weekend. I was trying to go four months and make 40 projects without new supplies but I only get a chance to go to the scrapbooking store maybe 3 times a year and it was their big anniversary celebration so I broke my challenge. But I didn't feel too guilty because I had made 19 projects in less than the first month so I've been using quite a bit of stash lately.

Sketch Girl #11

Sketch Girl 11 is up!

I absolutely love this sketch because its simple enough to be used in so many ways that I can see returning to it time and time again. Instead of making a card, I created a box with the Perfect Presentation Favor Box template who is our sponsor this week. Which is perfect for you because that means you'll have a chance to win one of these adorable templates. I used some Sassafras paper and stickers to cover the box and it was super simple because Leigh Ann includes all measurements with her template downloads. However I urge you not to wait to get your hands on one of these templates because they are perfect for Valentine's Day especially if you have a cutter like the Wishblade or Cricut because Perfect Presentation sells them as a cutting file and as pdf templates.

Check out the other Sketch Girls!

Alyssa

Harriet

Tiffany

Randee

Bonnie

Amber

Katie

Jennie

Sara

Annie

Julie

Guest Designer: Laurel

Caardvarks and Card Patterns Valentines

I wanted to do another card swap because I love receiving handmade cards from other talented crafters and fortuante for me I saw that Tricia was hosting one over at Paper Popsicles for valentines so I joined in on the fun. These are the cards I made as valentines. I know they are not the most traditional valentines but I recently realized that I don't have much valentines stuff. So I used the cute owl paper piecing from the newest issue of Scrapbooks Etc and DCWV Once Upon a Time paper collection. Since they are valentines they work with the Paper Popsicles theme of love this week.

I used two challenges to complete the cards as well. I followed this week's Card Patterns sketch and also the Caardvarks red hearts challenge with the red hearts on the owl's tummies. I can't wait to see the valentines from the swap!

Owl Favor Box

As I'm sure you know Perfect Presentations is the sponsor of Sketch Girl this week. Well Leigh Ann was kind enough to let the Design Team members try out her fabulous templates for ourselves. I was going to wait to use it for the next sketch but I wanted to share what cute things you can make. I worked with the favor box template and Sketch Girl sketch 10. This little box is the perfect size for giving Valentine's treats so I covered the sides with Love Birds paper from Chatterbox but tried not to make it too Valentine so the recipient could display it after the holiday or reuse it for another occasion. If you're looking to give a great little gift on a budget I'd suggest ordering a template because even at the dollar store gift bags add up fast without the homemade touch and this template will still be saved to your computer when Easter and all the other holidays roll around.

I of course could not resist adding a couple of other challenges in besides the sketch. The Simon Says challenge calls for punches which is my Fiskars round punch used on the flower and handles. I also was inspired by the Charisma Cardz challenge to use fruity colors. I decided to go for a more citrus-y take on the idea. The chipboard flower which I inked fits in with the Frosted Designs challenge to use chipboard. The little owl which coordinates with the other side of Love Birds is from a Sassafras Lass set. Well now I need to do a bit of homework after all the crafty fun of these last few days. Have a great weekend!