Category: SPARKS challenge

Paper Smooches Guest Designer Search – October

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Hi, everybody! I’m stopping in today to share a card I made for the current Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge. I’m also sharing other cards I’ve made with Paper Smooches stamps to try for a Guest Designer spot at Paper Smooches in October!
October is my favorite month, not only because it’s fall, but also because my birthday’s in October! (This year is also a “milestone” birthday, but I won’t say which one, because I certainly don’t feel that I’m that age!)
Today’s card features a rockin’ cat from the “Chubby Chums” set and some elements from the “Beboppin” set. I also made the leopard print paper with a stamp from the “Little Lady” set. To make the headphones, I punched and trimmed two circles from matching cardstock.

The layout is inspired by Deconstructed Sketch #167:


And here’s a peek at the inside of the card.

You can find all of the details on the current “Anything Goes” SPARKS challenge, and link up your entry, at the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog! Details on the Deconstructed Sketch challenge can be found at deconstructing jen.
Here are the other cards I’m entering into the Paper Smooches guest designer contest! Each one was entered into a past Paper Smooches or SPARKS challenge, and are some of my all-time favorite PS cards. (You can click on each picture to make it larger.)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week and a super fun weekend!
Hugs,

A Pair of Photo-Inspired Challenge Cards!

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Happy Friday, crafty friends! I have a couple of cards to share with you today for two photo inspiration challenges at Moxie Fab World and the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog! 
My first card is for the “Trendy Triangles” challenge at Moxie Fab World. I made the triangle paper by sponging shades of neon ink through a stencil, then flipped the stencil to sponge on the black triangles.
I created the stencil with one of the “Rectangle Card Background” cut files from Some Odd Girl Stamps. Instead of cutting the pattern on card stock, I cut a transparency sheet to make a reusable stencil. I did a tutorial on this technique a few months ago on the Some Odd Girl Stamps blog. The sentiment is from Some Odd Girl Stamps’ “Party Girl Gwen” clear stamp set.
Here’s the inspiration photo for this challenge. I was inspired by the colors and the confetti, which led me to making of a fun birthday card! 
The deadline for this challenge is Wednesday, August 20. Stop by the Moxie Fab World blog for all the details and to link up your entry, or to check out the other entries!

My second challenge card is for the Paper Smooches SPARKS “Picture Perfect” challenge. I used Paper Smooches’ “We Totally Click” stamp set and the “Thanks Word Die“.

Here’s the inspiration photo for this challenge, which ends Saturday, August 16th at 11:59 PM PST. I chose the gray of the lamp and pink (although the pink that I used is much brighter than what’s in the picture.) I’m also entering this card in Paper Smooches’ September Guest Designer Search!
For all the details on this challenge, or to link up your entry, visit the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog!
Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend with some crafting time in there somewhere!
Hugs,

Paper Smooches SPARKS: Designer Draft Challenge!

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Hi, crafty friends! I hope your week is off to a great start. Today was a busy day for me, but I managed to fit in some time to play along with the current Designer Drafts challenge at the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog!
The sketch for this challenge is perfect for building a scene. For some reason, the image of a dachshund pulling links of sausage out of a birthday present got stuck in my head, so I put that scene together on this card!

All of the stamps on today’s card are from Paper Smooches stamp sets: the dachshund is from the “Woofers & Tweeters“set, the sausage is from the “Wake Up” set, the party hat was made from small stamps in the “Party Posse” set, and the sentiment is from the “Birthday Sampler” set. The only image that isn’t from a PS set is the present/box, which I made with a metal square die, and outlined the edges with a black pen to match the other parts of the scene.
Here’s a look at the sketch:
For all the details on this challenge, and to link up your entry (the deadline is Saturday, August 2nd at 11:59pm PST), please visit the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog! 

I hope you enjoyed my card…thanks so much for stopping by today! I’ll be back tomorrow with the newest digis at Some Odd Girl Stamps! See you then!

Cards for Paper Smooches SPARKS and July Guest Designer contest

Hi, crafty friends! Just wanted to stop in to share a few cards that I’ve made for the Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge and for the Paper Smooches July Guest Designer contest.

First in the lineup is my card for Paper Smooches SPARKS:

Paper Smooches stamp sets used: “Chubby Chums” and “Woofers and Tweeters” 
I colored the fire hydrant with a gold gel pen to reflect the inspiration photo for the “Trend Watch” challenge. Do you think a dog would love to receive a gold fire hydrant as a present?
Here’s the inspiration photo collage:
For all the details on this challenge, or to link up your own entry, visit the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog!
I’m also entering some cards in the Paper Smooches July Guest Designer contest. Here are a few Paper Smooches cards that I may not have shared with you before that I’m submitting to the contest, in addition to the SPARKS card that I shared above:
Paper Smooches stamp sets used: “Wake Up” and “Good Gab” 
Paper Smooches stamp sets used: “Reflections” and “Sentiment Sampler” 
Paper Smooches stamp sets used: “Word Salad“, “Alphadot“, “Sentiment Sampler” and “Good Gab“
Thanks so much for stopping by…I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Hugs,

A nautical Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge!

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Ahoy and happy Sunday to you! I hope you’re having a great weekend!

For me, it’s just a regular Sunday, but if you’re a mom, happy mother’s day to you! I’ll be calling my mom today…we sent her a box of strawberries, which arrived yesterday, and a special surprise inside of a handmade card (which unfortunately won’t show up until Monday).

Meanwhile, I’m stopping in today to share the card I made for the “Trend Watch” challenge at the Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge blog.

This week’s theme is some nautical photo inspiration (I’ll include the photo below my card), and I combined a few sets of Paper Smooches stamps to make this:

Paper Smooches stamp sets: (“Woofers & Tweeters“, “Alphadot“, “Sentiment Sampler“)

Other supplies: chevron paper (“PB&J” 6×6 pad – Basic Grey), woodgrain paper (My Mind’s Eye), polka dot paper (Bo Bunny), cardstock, opaque white marker, ink (Memento Tuxedo Black, Nautical Blue; VersaMark), Copic multiliner, assorted Copic markers, white embossing powder.

I drew the striped shirt, bandanna and eye patch on the dog to fit the theme. Here’s the challenge photo that inspired this card:

For all the details on this challenge, or to link your own entry, stop by the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hugs,

A Few Challenge Cards!

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Hi, everybody! Just stopping in today to share a few cards that I made for the latest Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge, the Deconstructed Sketch and the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog.
My first card is for Sweet Sunday Sketch #177, and features a super adorable digi by Whimsy & Stars Studio. I printed him a little big, I think, so he got cropped a bit for my card. 
Supplies: digital stamp (“Valentine’s Little Boy” –  Whimsy & Stars Studio), patterned paper (“Devoted” mini pad – Carta Bella), sentiment stamp (“Daily Designs” set – PaperTrey Ink), metal die (“Whatnots Seasons Set One” – Your Next Stamp), watermark ink, white embossing powder, white marker, sewing machine, Copic markers.

Here’s the sketch that my card is based on:

All the details for this challenge can be found at “The Sweetest Thing.”

My second card is for Deconstructed Sketch #86. There’s no time limit for submitting a card based on this sketch, so I wanted to make sure that I posted it! You might recognize some of the papers from my first card…I love that paper pad!

This card features another digi stamp from Whimsy & Stars Studio. I am so happy that I design for Mabelle’s company…I love coloring her images!

Supplies: digital stamp (“Valentine Bear” –  Whimsy & Stars Studio), patterned paper (“Devoted” mini pad – Carta Bella; “Dots and Stripes – Homefront” – Echo Park), sentiment stamp (“Daily Designs” set – PaperTrey Ink), metal dies (Spellbinders circles, classic and scalloped hearts), watermark ink, white embossing powder, white marker, sewing machine, Copic markers, Liquid Applique, heat embossing tool, foam tape, Stickles.

Here’s the sketch that my card is based on:

My third card is for the “Trend Watch” challenge at the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog. The inspiration for this challenge is a picture of a polka-dot purse:

So, I made this little “get well” card by paper piecing the pink and green paper onto the stamped image :

Patterned paper (brown polka dot – SEI, Bo Bunny Double Dot – Soft Assortment mini pad), Paper Smooches stamp sets (“Chubby Chums“(cow/bull),  “Chilly Chums” (ice bag/hat),  “Boob Tubes” (thermometer), “Sentiment Sampler” (get well), “Alphadot“; ink (Tsukineko Memento & Brilliance Graphite Black), Copic markers, twine (The Twinery).

All of the details on this challenge are at the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog. The deadline for this challenge is Sunday, February 10th at 10:59pm EST.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed these cards!

Paper Smooches SPARKS: Picture Perfect

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Greetings! Just popping in today to share my card for the new SPARKS challenge at Paper Smooches! This time, it’s a “Picture Perfect” challenge!

For my card, I used images and a sentiment from the “Woofers & Tweeters” set:

Other supplies: card stock, patterned paper (Echo Park), embossing folder (Lifestyle Crafts/Quickutz), metal dies (Spellbinders), button, twine (The Twinery), Copic markers, Brilliance Graphite Black Ink, orange ink (Stampin’ Up).
To make the background, I die cut the heart from the white card stock, then embossed the panel. Finally, I inked up my brayer and rolled it along the embossed panel. To make sure the heart was placed in the dog’s mouth, I cut a slit with my craft knife, then slipped a corner of the heart underneath.
You may already know that I almost always color my dog stamps grey/black in honor of my dachshund, Midnight. I thought the color scheme for this challenge was perfect!
And here is the photo that inspired my card:
For all of the details on this challenge and for more picture perfect inspiration, stop by the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog! The deadline for this challenge is Sunday, February 3 at 10:59 PM Eastern.


Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Hugs,

Paper Smooches SPARKS: Cool Shades

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Hope you’re having a great Tuesday, crafty friends! I’m just popping in one more time today to share my card for the latest “Cool Shades” challenge at Paper Smooches’ SPARKS blog!

Here’s my card! I’ve included the list of all the stamps that I used from several different Paper Smooches sets under the photo:

Paper Smooches stamps used: Turtle, party hat (Party Posse set); gift (Santa Paws set); sentiment (Word Salad set). Other supplies: card stock, twine (Whisker Graphics), metal photo frame die (Your Next Stamp), patterned paper (Echo Park – chevrons, Basic Grey – polka dots), Copic markers, white pen, cotton ball, watermark ink, white embossing powder, button.
And here are the “Cool Shades” that inspired my card:

For all of the details on this challenge and for more royally colorful inspiration, stop by the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog! The deadline for this challenge is Sunday, January 27th at 10:59 PM Eastern.
Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Hugs,

Paper Smooches SPARKS – Picture Perfect Inspiration

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Happy Christmas Eve, crafty friends! I’m popping in today to share a card I whipped up for the latest “Picture Perfect” challenge at the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog.

Here’s the inspiration photo:

and here’s my card! I was inspired by the winter-y colors in the photo, and combined stamps from Paper Smooches’ “Chilly Chums” and “Warm Hearts” sets.
This challenge runs until Sunday, December 30th at 10:59pm EST. For all the details, and to see the samples created by the super-talented Paper Smooches Design Team, please visit the Paper Smooches blog!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas holiday!

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge!

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Hi, crafty friends! Thanks for stopping by for a closer look at what I created for the latest Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge!

Here’s the photo inspiration for this challenge:

So, I was inspired by the pinky orange color, the kraft, the heart and the red thread. I also wanted to do a love card with the dog from the “Chubby Chums” set, and here’s what I made:

Other supplies: patterned paper (Crate Paper – Neighborhood , Echo Park –  Yours Truly),  Sizzix embossing folder,  twine, wooden button, heart brad, tab die (My Favorite Things), cardstock, card base, Copic markers.
Since there’s technically not a “girl” dog in the set, I stamped the dog again, drew eyelids, lashes and changed the mouth. I stamped the flower from the “Hot Concoctions” set to make her a little more girly. The photo frame is cut from one of the TVs in the “Boob Tubes” set. The hearts over the boy dog’s eyes are also from the “Boob Tubes” set. They’re just stamped on red cardstock and popped up with foam tape. The sentiment is from the “Good Gab” set.
Thanks again for stopping by! Hope you have a wonderful and crafty weekend!