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I've seen some beautifully done examples of black and white cards, but executing them has always been a huge struggle for me. I've never been one to back away from a challenge, so I decided to pick out some pretty pattern paper and try again this afternoon.

This was the result:

I like the variety of pattern papers I picked out. The old-fashioned ads are maybe a touch unconventional for an otherwise elegant card, but I like the quirkiness of the overall effect.

I'm playing along with the Catered Crop challenge this week. The theme is "ribbon" -- one of my favorites!


Supplies
Pattern Paper: Echo Park "Happy Days" 6x6 pad
Stamps: Autumn Leaves "Borders Love Each Day"
Ink: Stampin' Up! "Basic Black" Pigment Ink
Embellishments: Stickles "Silver", Bo Bunny "Enchanted Brads", Bo Bunny "Enchanted Trinkets", Bazzill Basics Paper "Paper Flowers: Daisy White",  black gel pen, ribbon from my stash.

It's snowing here today. After a mild winter, we've been getting buried under a mountain of snow for the past week, and I'm tired of it. It's March - shouldn't spring be here by now?

I wanted a bright card to cheer me up. I pulled out the "Springtime" 6x6 paper pad from Echo Park, and set to work. This was the end result:

Unfortunately, the photo doesn't show the silver accents as well as I'd like. They're bright and glittery, and very pretty in real life.


Supplies
Cardstock: Recollections "Vanilla"
Pattern Paper: Echo Park "Springtime" 6x6 pad
Stamps: Fiskars "Grateful" stamp set
Ink: Versafine "Imperial Purple" ink
Embellishments: Stickles "Silver", Prima Flowers "Sugar Blooms Celebrate", Jillibean Soup "Apple Cheddar Soup" labels, ribbon from my stash.

Alright, enough with the pink for a while. (I can hear you -- yeah, you over there -- breathing a sigh of relief.)

Simon Says Stamp also has an "Anything Goes" theme this week for their challenge, and I couldn't resist playing along. This is what I came up with:

I like the end result so much, I'm going to save it and give it to my parents for their wedding anniversary. It's not until June, but they don't read the blog, so I'm safe revealing this so far in advance. :-)


Supplies
Cardstock: Recollections "Vanilla"
Pattern Paper: Fancy Pants Designs "Beach Bum" 6x6 pad
Stamps: Autumn Leaves "Borders Love Each Day"
Ink: Dew Drop Brilliance "Cosmic Copper", Inkadinkado "Terra Cotta", Memento "Rich Cocoa"
Embellishments: Stickles "Platinum", Recollections Adhesive Faux Pearls, Prima Flowers, ribbon and buttons from my stash.

As you already know, I've been on a pink kick... and it continues today, with this very bright, cheery card:


I wanted to create something for the Ribbon Carousel Challenge, which this week features the ever-popular "Anything Goes" theme. The only requirement was to use ribbon, bakers twine, jute twine, lace or thread somewhere in the project. I used the cute pink organza ribbon at the top of my card. I pulled it out of my scraps pile, so unfortunately I'm not sure where the original came from. I hope that doesn't disqualify me from participating in the challenge. :-)


Supplies
Cardstock: Recollections "Pastel"
Pattern Paper: s.e.i Bright Blossoms 12x12 pad
Stamps: Hero Arts "Spring Borders" stamp set
Ink: VersaMark, VersaFine: Crimson Red
Embossing Powder: Recollections Opaque White Embossing Powder
Punches: Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly Large Double Punch, Stampin' Up! Butterfly Punch
Embellishments: Recollections Adhesive Faux Pearls, Martha Stewart Butterfly Stickers, ribbon from my stash.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been enamored with the color pink of late. I can't get enough of it! So I figured I'd give in to the urge to make another pink paper craft, and came up with this adorable card.



Supplies
Cardstock: Recollections "Pastel"
Pattern Paper: K & Company "Sweet Nectar" Designer Mat Pad
Stamps: Hampton Art "Carpe Diem"
Ink: "Festive Berries" Distress Ink, Memento "Bamboo Leaves"
Die Cuts: Sizzix Tags, Scallop Combo #2
Embellishments: Recollections Adhesive Faux Pearls, Forever in Time Floral Embellishments, Recollections Butterfly Brads, ribbon from my stash.

I've been drawn to the color pink lately. I know Valentine's Day is over, but I'm not done with frothy, girly color hues. Despite that, this card ended up quite a bit more Christmas-y than I was expecting. I think that's due to the green hue and the way the stripes are placed in the pattern paper.

I really like the twine made to look like it's just floating out there on the card. I assure you, it's quite securely laid in place with some Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

I'm also crazy about the scalloped blue ribbon, and the way the sentiment fits just perfectly on top of the green ribbon.

Supplies
Cardstock: Recollections Signature Shimmer
Pattern Paper: K & Company "Sweet Nectar" Designer Mat Pad
Ink: Evergreen Bough Distress Ink
Die Cuts: Sizzix Tags, Scallop Combo #2
Embellishments: K & Company "Sweet Talk Love Birds & Butterfly" Grand Adhesions, Bo Bunny "Sweet Tooth" Brads, ribbon from my stash.

I'm a big fan of Tim Holtz' artistic stamps, and fell in love with the image of the man holding an umbrella as soon as I saw it. Because it's such a striking image, I thought it needed to be placed on a card that would allow it to shine.

Here's what I came up with:

I've mentioned my newfound love of all things from the Unity Stamp Company, right? Their stamps are absolutely fabulous!

A couple of days ago, I pulled out their January 2012 Kit of the Month, and picked a few of the stamps that called to me. This was the result:

Today's card was inspired by the gorgeous pattern paper I used. The moment I saw the beautiful blues and golds, and that stunning palace, I knew I had to do something with it. And this is what I came up with:

It's my mother's birthday this month, and I wanted to create something sweet and just a touch whimsical. This is what I came up with:

I've got a super simple, but very cute card to show off today. I was inspired by this week's "Less is More" challenge, which had us using this sketch:

Cute, huh?

Here's what I came up with:

Valentine's Day... It's almost that time of the year again! Hubby and I always go out for a nice dinner, but we don't exchange gifts. I do, however, always give him a card.

And this year, this is the card he's getting.



I admit, it's a little girly with all that pink, but hey, it is a celebration of love and romance, right?! I think this is the one time of the year I'm allowed to give him a pink, glitter-covered card. :-)

I'm also entering this card into this week's Color Throwdown challenge. Their color palette was the inspiration for the card.

I started with a piece of pattern paper from the Echo Park: Yours Truly 6x6 paper pad. How cute are those hearts?! I distressed the edges and then inked them in Memento Ink: Rose Bud, before adhering the paper straight down to the cardstock. I chose a piece of lace ribbon from my stash and wrapped it around the bottom of the card.

Then I took another pattern paper from that same pad, and die cut two pieces using the Spellbinders Nestabilities: Small Labels die. I used both sides of the paper, inked the edges with more Memento Ink, then glued the pink side directly down to the card front, and adhered the black-and-white side down using foam adhesive.

The hearts came next. They're from the Scenic Route: Chipboard Hearts set. I adhered them using glue dots. I created the flower using some Prima flowers and a brad from the Bo Bunny: Sweet Tooth Brads package, and adhered it with a glue dot as well. Then I chose a sentiment from the Scenic Route: Loveland Valentine's Chipboard pack and placed it at the top of the card.

Finally, I filled in the hearts using Stickles in Glam Pink, and ran more Stickles along the edges of the pattern paper die cuts.

I recently purchased my first stamp kit from Unity Stamp Co., and I have to admit, I'm hooked! The stamps are beautiful, and of very good quality. So of course, I had to join in on their monthly challenge for another excuse to use those lovely stamps.

This month's Unity Stamp Challenge is for us to create a card using stamps from Unity Stamp Co. on the theme of "new beginnings". I love challenges that are open to interpretation, so armed with that theme, I set to work. And this is what I came up with:

Well, it's been a great week for challenges! I wanted to enter this week's Stampin' For The Weekend challenge, simply because I couldn't resist the theme. It's super simple -- "Out with the Old". Basically, we were encouraged to use our stash from last year. I've got a ton of supplies I bought in 2011 that I never got around to using, so I pulled some of them out and went to work.

And here's what I came up with:


So, so cute! I'm in love with this card. I already know who I'm going to send it to. :-)

I started with a piece of textured black cardstock, which I cut into a standard-size card. Then I cut a piece of pink cardstock and another piece from that same black cardstock and layered them together. This created a very sturdy front panel that I really like.

I cut out the main shape using a die from the Spellbinders Nestabilities: Small Labels set, and then went around the edges with a black gel pen to create the dotted frame.

The adorable stamp is from the Hero Arts: Life of the Party stamp set. I stamped the image using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored it using Copic Markers.


I used the same ink and stamp set on the sentiment, which I stamped on white cardstock. Then I grabbed some textured ribbon from my stash and tucked it under the sentiment.


The pretty flower added the finishing touch to the card.

I'm on a challenge roll this week! I wanted to create something to enter into this week's Simon Says Stamp Challenge, which is to use this lovely sketch:

And this is what I came up with:


I started with some brown textured cardstock, which I used to form the card base. Then I cut out a piece of pattern paper (I just love that design!) from the Recollections "Charming" 12x12 pad, and adhered that to the front of the card. For the yellow panel, I used paper from the same collection, and die cut it using the Spellbinders Deckled Rectangles die and my Big Kick machine. I did the same to the top panel, which I die cut out of the same brown cardstock as the card itself.

I stamped the balloon in VersaMark Ink, and embossed it using Detail White embossing powder from Stampendous. The stamp is from the Autumn Leaves - "Birthdays" by Tia Bennett set.

For the sentiment, I used brown cardstock again, and the same stamping technique as for the balloon. This time, I used a sentiment from the Fiskars "It's Your Day" stamp set.



I adhered the sentiment and the balloon panel using foam adhesive. And for a little more bling, I used three pearls from Prima's "Say It In Pearls"package. Finally, I tied a piece of brown silk ribbon into a knot.

I wanted to enter this week Tuesday Trigger challenge and panicked because I thought I'd missed the deadline. But lucky for me, the deadline was extended due to CHA, so I had time to join in.

This week's inspiration comes from this gorgeous photograph:

I recently returned from my annual anniversary trip - this time in beautiful Jamaica - and I couldn't wait to get reacquainted with my crafting supplies. :-)

This card started out as my contribution to this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge (the theme is a black-and-white card), but... well... it didn't exactly turned out like I originally planned. By the time I finished, the card wasn't all that clean or simple, but it's still pretty cute!

Sometimes, sitting down to make art for art's sake produces the loveliest cards. This particular one was a happy accident all around, but I'm delighted with the end result.