Of all the cards that I’ve made this week in various styles, I think the hardest one for me was Classy & Elegant, because I kept wanting to put more stuff on the card, like I did with the Shabby and Vintage one!

Here’s some info on what makes a “Classy and Elegant” card, courtesy of Cath at Moxie Fab World:

The classy and elegant style is polished. A shiny finish, sparkling embellishments, a rich color scheme, and sophisticated sentiment treatments are all part of the classy and elegant pedigree. Its look is regal, stunning, and dashing. And while its lines are clean, sweeping, and dramatic, it can also incorporate monochromatic color schemes with layered textures that awe and impress equally as well.

Moxie Fab World is celebrating Card Style Week with challenges that inspire you to create cards in each of the four styles featured in the Paper Crafts special issue that was just released: “Fun and Cute”, “Clean and Graphic”, “Shabby and Vintage” and “Classy and Elegant.”

Here’s my entry for the Card Style Classy and Elegant Challenge in the Moxie Fab World:

The background paper is from Pink Paislee’s 365 Degrees collection. I used SU cardstock in Natural White and Basic Black. The sentiment is from SU’s “Occasional Quotes” set, which is a new Level 3 Hostess Set. I stamped the sentiment in Basic Black ink and finished off the card with some adhesive rhinestones and satin ribbon.

All of the Card Style contests run until August 2 at midnight MDT…so there’s still time to get inspired and enter!

Next up in Moxie Fab World’s Card Style Week Celebration: Shabby & Vintage! My personal style is usually in the “Fun & Cute” and “Clean & Graphic” categories, but from time to time, I’ve made cards in a more vintage style.

To celebrate the release of Paper Crafts’ special issue, Card Style, Moxie Fab World is hosting contests this week in each of the four styles featured in the magazine. Each contest runs until August 2 at midnight MDT. For more information, click HERE to visit Moxie Fab World!

Moxie Fab World’s Cath explains what defines the Shabby & Vintage style:

What makes a card shabby chic? Well, shabby chic is a style characterized by layering. It is soft, utilizing ribbon, lace, and techniques such as inking and distressing. The final product looks comfortable, weathered, and worn.

What makes a card vintage? Vintage goes a step further by adding old images, found items, and antique trinkets to the mix.

With those guidelines in mind, I created this card for the “Card Style Shabby Chic and Vintage Challenge in the Moxie Fab World”:

With that in mind, I created a card based on this style for the Card Style Clean and Graphic Challenge in the Moxie Fab World:

For the card base, I used smooth kraft cardstock and stamped oranges from SU’s “Tart & Tangy” set in Only Orange ink. I made a border strip with Whisper White and Pumpkin Pie cardstock and used an SRM sticker for the sentiment from the “Thinking of You” set. To finish the card, I used a tissue box stamp by Lockhart Stamps, colored it with a gel pen and a colored pencil, and used a foam square to pop it up!

Thanks for visiting and checking out my card…I hope you’ll play along with these challenges (and why not? The deadline is midnight MDT on August 2)! For more contest details, information and design inspiration, click HERE! Next up…shabby & vintage!

Many of the cards that I make fit this style, so here’s my entry for the Card Style Fun and Cute Challenge in the Moxie Fab World:
 

 
I used SU kraft cardstock for the base, and combined a cute monkey stamp from Stampin’ Up (Fox & Friends set) with a branch stamp from aMuse (Sushi set). I fussy-cut a heart for the monkey to hold, and colored it with gel pens. The papers are from Cosmo Cricket and Sassafras. I used rub-ons from ScrapWorks to make the sentiment. The ribbon is from American Crafts.

There’s still time for you to play along, too! The contests run until midnight MDT on Monday, August 2. Click HERE for the contest rules and other details!

Thanks for visiting!

This month, Unscripted Sketches is celebrating Christmas In July! There’s something new every day on their blog, from guest designers (I was the guest designer for the first weekend in July), journaling tips, free downloadables, and more! (Click HERE to join in the fun!)

I forgot that there was a bonus color challenge this week (although the colors are in my card “somewhere” by chance), but I did make my card based on the sketch:

 
I grew up in South Louisiana, and one of the best parts of summertime there was getting sno-balls (sometimes referred to as sno-cones or shaved ice in other parts of the country)! Nothing was better at cooling me down on a hot, muggy summer day than a cold, sweet sno-ball…lots of sugary syrup poured over finely shaved ice…delicious!
 
I found a sno-ball stamp at a craft store other day in the dollar bin and couldn’t wait to use it on a card! I altered it with a craft knife to remove the tropical umbrella.
 
 

It’s been a while since I bought the stamp that I used on the card that I made for colourQ #41. I love buying the little dollar stamps that Imaginisce releases with each collection, although sometimes it takes a while for me to actually use them!

This week’s colourQ inspired me to use a cute poodle stamp that I’ve been holding on to! The challenge colors and inspiration photo for this week got me thinking of a girly, chic card:

This week’s CardPatterns sketch is great for using up scraps of your favorite patterned paper! I chose to work with some of Cosmo Cricket’s DeLovely collection for my card.

Here’s this week’s sketch, so you can play along, too!

Normally, I’m not a fan of going to the beach, but now that it’s summertime, I’ve been thinking of beachy colors and ideas for making cards! For this week’s CPS sketch (#175), I chose some stamps that a friend gave me…I thought they’d be perfect!

Here’s this week’s CPS sketch:

I think I do some of my best work late at night…I’m probably not the only one who feels that way! Things are much quieter then, and I find that I don’t “overthink” my cards and projects as much as when I’m working on something during the day.

At first, I was a bit intimidated by this week’s Get Sketchy challenge (#46). I wasn’t sure how I’d fit everything onto one card without it looking too busy, but crafting at night helped my creative process on this one. The iced coffee that I drank this afternoon probably helped a bit, too!

Here’s the sketch…I hope you’re inspired to play along! This is a fun one!