Get Well Thoughts for a Special Aunt

Hello there and happy Monday (if that's possible *lol*). I hope you had a fantastic weekend :) I sure did. Saturday I spent in the wilderness kayaking and fishing. I went to Tacheeda Lake, about 30 minutes by highway and 45 more minutes by forest service road, North of Prince George. It was such a beautiful day. Here are a few pictures of my quest:

The last pic is of a bear cub that was hanging out on the side of the road. I saw it on the way in and the way out, but I did not see the momma bear (I am sure she wasn't too far away tho!).

Now onto the cards! I made a couple cards to send to a special aunt who is battling cancer for a second time. Here's a shot of us from my graduation a couple years ago:

The first is a "thinking of you" card. My aunt is very artistic and I thought she would appreciate the "artsy" aspect of the card:

Personally, I just LOVE this one! It is so fun and fancy at the same time :) For the background, I stamped the DSP (lined paper from Beau Chateau, retired) with the flower from Elements of Style, then tore and sponged the edges. The flowers were spritzed with shimmer spray then crinkled them up to dry. Once they were dry, I unscrunched them to the shape I wanted. Then I added the feathers, pearls and a little lace & linen thread. I am very pleased with the way it turned out :) plus there was just enough room to add the sentiment at the bottom of the card *lol*

I was inspired by a local scrap store here in town, who posed the challenge of creating something based on her card below.

Then I wanted to make something a bit more fun to send as my aunt is also a very fun-loving person. I case'd (pretty much exactly) from this talented lady and love the results:

The owls are so adorable, I think my aunt will just love them! While I love this punch, the small pieces that make up the eye are sure tedious to work with... I got some good use out of a few pairs of tweezers I got as a gift for Christmas :)

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you have a great week! :)

Supplies used, Card 1:
Stamps: Elements of Style, Loving Thoughts
Paper: Concord Crush (ret), Wisteria Wonder, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Beau Chateau DSP (ret)
Ink: Concord Crush (ret)
Tools: Delicate Doilies, Blossoms Punch, 5 Petal Flower Punch (ret), Small & Large Oval Punches
Accessories: Vanilla Shimmer Mist, Lace Ribbon, Linen Thread, Pearls, Dimensionals

Supplies Used, Card 2:
Paper: Sunshine & Sprinkles DSP, Lucky Limeade, Real Red, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Core'dinations, Early Espresso, Pool Party, Whisper White, Basic Black
Tools: Owl Builder Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Crop-a-dile (ret)
Accessories: Pearls, Yellow Sharpie

Inspired by... Summer Fruit

Hello again! Time for this week's Inspired by... challenge and I wanted to play along with Mojo Monday as well:

This week's photo was my pick, a nice selection of watermelons:

Yummy! Watermelon is one of my favourite summer fruits so I thought this picture was fitting :) Here's my card:

Cute, right? I CASE'd the punch art from this talented lady. I loved it and thought it would be perfect for a baby card :)

Thanks for stopping by! And don't forget to pop over to Charissa's blog, Snippets by Design, to see how this photo inspired her!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Short & Sweet (ret)
Paper: Red Red, Gumball Green, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Summer Smooches DSP
Ink: Gumball Green
Tools: Circles Nestabilities, 1" Circle Punch, Word Window, Scallop Border Edge
Accessories: Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Pearls

The Rest of the Mother's Day Cards

Hello there! I hope Monday wasn't too bad to you, my day zoomed right by! Here's a quick post to showcase the other two cards I made for various mothers this past Mother's Day. The first card was for my mother-in-law which I CASE'd from Charissa Laarman (see her original post here). I love the way it turned out!

As you can see, I CASE'd the layout, technique and paper feathers from Charissa. I LOVE the paper feathers. I punched out an extra large oval and a large oval, then trimmed them into a general feather shape (it doesn't have to be perfect). Then I made a rough crease running down the center of each feather (I didn't want the harsh line of the scoring board). Then I made tiny paper snips down both sides of each feather. They turned out so great!

Next, Michelle asked me to make a card for her "forever mom", who likes to enjoy a nice glass of wine. So, I whipped out my 1-3/4" circle punch and a brand new pack of vellum and made this wine glass punch art:

Then I added a 1-1/4" circle of raspberry ripple (the perfect red wine colour, no?) inside the glass.... as you can see, the raspberry ripple is tipsy (much like I would be after a few glasses of wine *lol*)... that was unintentional... Regardless, she loved the card!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies used:

Card 1:
Stamps: Memorable Moments, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Loved Ones (ret)
Paper: Island Indigo, Calypso Coral, Basic Grey, Very Vanilla, In Colour Stacks
Ink: Island Indigo, Calypso Coral
Tools: Labels Framelits
Accessories: Seam Binding Ribbon, Pearls

Card 2:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Crumb Cake, Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit, Vellum
Ink: Raspberry Ripple
Tools: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Word Window
Accessories: Stitched Satin Ribbon, Rhinestones  

Mojo Monday: Punch Art Lily

Hello there! Well, it has been a sad couple of days. We had to say goodbye to our beloved dog, Taz, who has been a member of our family for 15 years. It was so hard to see her go, but I am glad she is in a better place. You know, all dogs go to heaven :) Here's a few of my favourite photos of Taz taken in the last couple of years:

Before I start tearing up again, onto the challenges! I am finally getting to last week's inspired by challenge (I am soooo late!) I am combining it with yesterday's Mojo Monday sketch:

The photo for last week was my selection, some beautiful stargazer lilies grown in my garden a couple f summers ago. I can practically smell them from the photo :)

The card I created is definitely not a mail-friendly card. This is an in person not-in-an-envelope card *lol* here it is:

Can you guess what I was inspired by in the photo? *lol* I got the video tutorial for the lily from this lovely lady. I like way the card turned out, but I think it could use a little more colour in the lilies!

Thanks for stopping by :) Don't forget to pop over to Charissa's blog (and go back a few days *lol*) to see how this photo inspired her!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Word Chatter - Birthday (CTMH)
Paper: Whisper White, Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals, Daffodil Delight, Summer Starfruit
Ink: Raspberry Ripple
Tools: Extra Large Oval Punch
Accessories: Linen Thread, Pearls

Three Challenges in One! Part 2

Good morning :) wow, it's already Wednesday! Let's hope this week keeps zipping by (then let's hope the weekend slows right down) :) I had my first session of a kick-boxing class last night. Let's just say this kind of exercise is going to let me know about muscles I didn't know I had/I didn't know could be sore *lol* but it is a lot of fun too :) Now onto the challenges! I wanted to play along with Dynamic Duos, The Pink Elephant, and Mojo Monday again:

Our challenge theme this week is to:

"Use 3 Decorative Papers & Your Favorite Embellishment"

Since this was for the 5th week of March, Dynamic Duos lets you pick the second colour. I chose summer starfruit (a colour that is quickly making its way into my "regulars" collection). I thought the Mojo sketch worked so well with the Pink Elephant's challenge, that I just had to use it again. My favourite embellishments are pearls and baker's twine, which both happen to be perfect for a baby girl's card:

I made the sweet punch art dress again for this card (originally showcased here). My bestie Michelle pointed out that it would be adorable on a baby card, and she was right!

I love the combination of designer papers here. The summer starfruit in the circle is from Birds of a Feather and the polka dotted strip is from the Print Poetry stacks (in the mini).

Thanks for looking today! Leave me a comment, I love reading them all! :)

Supplies used:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Primrose Petals, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White, Birds of a Feather DSP, Print Poetry Stacks, In Colour Stacks
Tools: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Heart to Heart Punch (ret), Corner Rounder (CTMH), Scallop Circle & Circle Nestabilities
Accessories: Pearls, Baker's Twine (CTMH)

"A Bit O' Green"

Hello there! With St Patrick's day approaching this weekend, I have my finest green duds picked out! Got to avoid getting pinched! :) I wanted to play along with a couple St Patrick's Day related challenges today: Simon Says Stamp Challenge & The Pink Elephant. Both of these fantastic blogs are challenging us to use green! :) Here's what I made in honour of this "holiday":

Fun hey! This little clover is a St Paddy's Day staple in the stampin' world :) It is super cute and easy to make. I enjoy the total gumball green overload on this card! (Maybe because I am a red head and green compliments red? hehe)

Now off to card class! :)

Thanks for looking! :)

Supplies used:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Whisper White, Gumball Green, Be of Good Cheer DSP
Ink: Gumball Green
Tools: Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Small Heart Punch, 1" Square Punch
Accessories: Stitched Satin Ribbon, Polka Dots Embossing Folder

CASology Easter Bunny

Good evening! This week has flown by, tomorrow is already Friday! Yahoo :) Nothing but smiles from this gal about that. I am looking forward to the weekend, as always. Tomorrow is shopping with my bestie, then Saturday is shopping with my mom (lol, I am not a shopping addict) and then getting dressed up and going out to dinner for my bestie's birthday, and Sunday... Hopefully nothing!! :) Maybe some catching up on crafting and things around our apartment. Anywho, on with the challenge! Today I wanted to play along with CASology:

I have seen cute punch art bunnies all over the web, and decided to create a version I saw on Ink Spot Creations (see her original post here). It is such a CUTE little guy:

I really like how this card turned out :) super cute :) or as my bestie says: "cutest card ever!" (I think I have reached the maximum allow usage of the word "bestie" in this post LOL) Here's a close up of the little "daisy" details:

Thanks for looking and I hope you do check back for tomorrow's KCRR Challenge!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Inspired by Nature (ret)
Paper: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
Ink: Old Olive, Blushing Bride (sponging - ret)
Tools: Boho Blossoms Punch, Word Window
Accessories: Sponge, Mini Brads (unknown source)

Inspired By... #7: A Tasty Treat

Good morning! Ah Saturday, such a good day! Today I am going shopping with my mom for the majority of the day and later having a little bit of a girls night. Games, snacks and a viewing of Magic Mike (hehehe) are planned :) Anywho, I need to clean up a bit before the ladies come over! We'll see how I feel after shopping... :) Now time for this week's:

It was my pick this week and I chose a picture from my anniversary celebrations last weekend:

This is a delicious beverage from the restaurant Moxies called a raspberry kiwi crush. It is my most favourite cocktail of all time... so yummy! I was inspired to use this photo in a clean and simple fashion with some punch art from Stampin' T (see here original post here). I think this is the perfect prelude into summer!

So, summery yes? I am looking forward to the summer and a cocktail or two on the beach :) Here's a close-up of the cocktail/wine glass:

Thanks for looking and don't forget to pop over to Charissa's blog, Snippets by Design, to see how this photo inspired her!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Happy Hour
Paper: Orchard Harvest DSP, Lucky Limeade, Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White
Ink: Raspberry Ripple
Tools: Boho Blossoms Punch, Ornaments Framelits, Oval Punch
Accessories: Mini Brads (origin unknown)

Inspired By... #2

Happy weekend! Here's hoping the weekend takes its time this time :) Time for another addition of:

This week's inspiration photo was selected by Charissa, a beautiful bag she saw on Etsy:

 I thought about this photo all week, and finally, last night, came up with what I wanted to create that was Inspired By... this photo.

I drew on the colours and the circles in the bag to create this baby boy card. The best thing about this card is that aside from the card base, all the paper was out of my small scraps bin! Yay!

Thanks for looking and be sure to check Charissa's blog Snippets by Design for her card based on this week's photo!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Island Indigo
Paper: Island Indigo, Comfort Cafe DSP, Patio Party DSP, 2010-2012 DSP Stacks (ret), Michael's Grey, Whisper White
Tools: 1" Circle Punch, 1" Square Punch, Word Window
Accessories: Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Michael's Star Brads, Island Indigo Baker's Twine, Dimensionals