Fun with Framelits ...

I am just loving playing with the new Framelits and want to thank my upline Liz for this inspired card which I am using for playing along with some Challenges this week cause it fit in perfect with the layout for A La Card Monkey and the Color inspiration over at Utah Divas.

The framelits are so versatile because they can be placed anywhere on the paper - so in this case it was placed in the middle of a 2 1/2 inch circle punched cardstock 'backwards' to create the embossed section and than flipped and centered with the cutting edge down to cut out the middle and another Framelit with the Apothecary image stamped on it nestled inside it. Our punches work perfect for popping up the middle section which was colored with the blender pens using shades of reds and pinks.

Pop on over to the Utah Divas International to see the inspirations by other card makers ...

and than over at the A La Monkey card blog with this wonderful layout!

Happy Stampin'
Margaret

Guest Designing - what an honour!

Over at the A La Card Monkey blog I have had the honor of being asked to be a guest designer showcasing this wonderful Holiday sketch that will go live tomorrow morning - so you get a little sneak peek tonight!

Here is my take on the sketch ... as you can see i opted for a holiday other than Christmas as all my Christmas cards are addressed and en-route to loved ones ... so I chose to get a head start of my Valentines cards! I just love this Little Friends stamp set from Stampin' Up ... perfect for just about any holiday!

Here is a close up to showcase my DIY glitter paper in the Tempting Turquoise color using versamark, heat and stick and fine glitter as well as adding a little bling to the little girls flower and sash for extra bling! 

The sentiment I chose here is from Petite Pairs and I added some Cottage Garden accents to my one piece of paper, the sentiment and my envelope.

Would also like to thank the ladies over at Just Add ink  and the Color Q for the Color inspiration on my card from their color challenge photos seen here - they were both so similar this week I could not choose which ones ... so I opted for Old Olive, Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise and Silver for the 'bead' representation.

Thank you to everyone who stops by to leave comments on my blog - I work from home running an Early Learning program with young children so being able to read adult offered comments during quiet time really makes my day!

Happy Stampin'
Margaret

A La Card Monkey Challenge 85 ...

Made this little 'Sweet Pea' color combo card using my Color Coach for inspiration along with the sketch from the awesome ladies over at the A La Card Monkey this week ... isn't it cute?

Hard to see in the photo but the pink 'flower' is stamped with a Snowflake from Serene Snowflakes using a bleach technique - it is a very subtle Winter Holiday card that I thought would be awesome for a Thank you card this season!

Still time to play along if you want - here is the sketch! And come on back on Friday night and check out the card I am making as Guest Designer for Saturdays Sketch of the week!

Happy Stampin'
Margaret

Doing the Monkey Mash ....

Having fun this week combining The Friday Mash Up color challenge of Aqua, Chocolate and White...

With the A La Card Monkey Challenge layout below ....

And coming up with the following Tempting Turquoise, Early Espresso and Whisper White / Silver offering!

 

 I used the branch from the 2 Step Bird Builder punch to create the Glimmer wreath and than I created my own Tempting Turquoise glitter for the berries on it ... how cool is that?

All you need to create your own glimmer paper is some Versamark,  Heat and stick powder and glitter of your choice - I made up a 2x2 square of this and than punched out my berries as well as a tag for my sentiment!

Happy Stampin'

Margaret

A La Monkey JUG Challenge ...

Love that I had lots of time in the craft room this weekend to PLAY and therefore to play along with some of my favorite challenge blogs!

Over at A La Monkey Card they had this layout inspiration ...

 Over at JUG'S they had the following color inspiration ....

And here is my offering based on these inspirations .... Holiday Line Up Snow friends on a blanket of glittering snow with some half back pearl accents ... Seasons Greetings!

 Up close ... I love coloring ...these dudes they are so whimsical!

 Click the link below to get awesome savings on our Hot Holiday Deals including huge discounts on the Stampin' Score Board AND our Holiday Cookie Stamps .... both amazing products ... plus 20-60% off many more amazing products!

If online shopping is not your cup of tea - no worries you can still get the deals on these products just drop me a line or give me a call as I am placing an order this evening at 9pm!

Happy Stampin'
Margaret

Spooky Cute Monkey Challenge

Fun with the A La Card Monkey this week as well ... click the link to check out how others were inspired!

Here is my take on the sketch ... making use of the Fright Night DSP and my Wicked Cool stamp set!

Of course being a punch addict - I love that the Owl builder punch can be turned into a spooky ghost and also that the Tiny Tiny tags boo makes an awesome mouth sentiment for him!

I wanted some brads for this section but realized I was out of the 'black' ones - so I made my own glitter 'brads' by using some Chrystal effects and black glitter!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving so many encouraging comments!

Happy Stampin

Margaret

A La Card Monkey Challenge 77

I am so very excited to be chosen to be an A La Monkey Guest Designer this week ...  click the Monkey to check out my card that was honored over there and see all the wonderful cards that other followers shared!

So this weeks Monkey Challenge #77 was to use the following sketch and leaves as inspiration in making a card ...

And here is the card that I was inspired to make and offer up as Guest Designer this week .... the leaves are really starting to turn here in London and I was inspired to use some of the colors I am seeing everyday while out and about enjoying the Fall weather with the kids!

 

My card features the Stampin' Up  French Foliage stamp set with the colors of More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Elegant Eggplant and Always Artichoke with Vanilla accents.

The smaller leave in the Foliage set makes a wonderful floral accent which reminds me of a poinsettia and the Basic Pearls are perfect addition to the middle ... so this card is a tribute to fall with a foreshadowing of the Winter ahead!

 No handmade card is complete without a matching inner place to write your handwritten sentiment ... I am going to use this one as a thank you to a special someone who has gone above and beyond in supporting me this month!

A close up of some cool texture incorporated into the card in case you missed it in the overshot photo ... I used a piece of Cajun Craze with a strip of Very Vanilla to create a 'ribbon'. I stamped the Vanilla strip with the water spots stamp from French Foliage in the Cajun Craze and ran it through the crimper. It still needed something so I than added some additional hemp thread wrapped around and using a brad attached the sentiment from the Tiny Tags stamp set which I punched with the Jewellery punch.

 You can see a little bit in the photo below how the card all coordinates with the outside, inside note and envelope all stamped!

Happy Stampin'
Margaret

A La Card Monkey Challenge 75

Finally had some time to play along at A La Card Monkey this week ... been lurking with longing but did not have time to carve out! 

However excited to get to play along  with the following sketch and a Christmas theme!

So here is my inspiration ... featuring the Greeting Card Kids image water colored and two way glue pen used to give some Dazzling Diamond accents and paired with the Snow Swirled snowflakes  and sentiments and a little Jingle Bell accent on our Bakers Twine.

  

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stampin'

A La Card Monkey Challenge 68

Playing along with the A La Card Monkey this week and having some fun showcasing our awesome 'Pocketful of Posies' Designer Series Paper!

So here is my inspired  card using the above sketch ... this DSP is designed to coordinate awesome with the My Friend Stamp set which I used in the middle strip on Baja Breeze cardstock run through the Square Lattice to create an additional piece of my own designer paper!

The sentiment accent features the Perfect Pennants Die in Not Quite Navy cardstock and the Happy Greetings stamp set from the Summer mini on a piece of Whisper White punched with the 1 3/4" circle punch which was than distressed with our Cutter Kit distressing tool and sponges with Not Quite Navy ink and than I choose a lovely piece of Baja Breeze seam binding to tie it all together!

Happy Stampin'

Happy 'A La Card Monkey' Easter

Hope everyone is having a peaceful and restful long Easter Weekend ... I have so been relishing the wonderful extra days! Friday we took in a Toronto Blue Jays game which was totally awesome - close action packed game that went into extra innings!

Then 'reality' hit for yesterday with errands - what a zoo at Holiday can make of the grocery stores man - twice as many shoppers equals three times as long line ups for some reason!

Thankfully today I got to spend lots of time in the craft room catching up and relaxing ... partaking in some challenge inspired card making!

Thank you to the Colour Q for the following color combo ...

Along with the A La Card Monkey Challenge for the following layout challenge ... which was just too cute and inspired the card belong!

So had to tweak the Color Q colour combo a wee bit using a Subtle's collection of Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, So Saffron and Pink Pirouette and incorporating the Easter Blossoms stamp set with the Inspired by Nature set and using the Scallop Edge border punch with the Decorative Label punch ...

and of course a nice close up of some bling on the sentiment as well as in the basket of the little girl!

Happy Easter too all - and for those of you who get tomorrow off as well enjoy the extra long weekend and for those heading back to normal work life - hope the Bunny was good to you and that his arrival will continue to mean sunny warm days for those of us who have so been longing for more signs of SPRING that we have had this weekend!

A La Card Monkey Challenge 52

So this weeks Challenge over at A La Card Monkey was lots of fun ... make a card using following layout and a theme of your favorite hot beverage ....

Now unfortunately I do not have any traditional stamps that have a 'beverage theme' at this point and well I finally got back into my craft room and was itching to use hands on stamps ... so came up with a compromise and I boiled up the kettle and made a nice cup of Hot Chocolate and threw a shot of Baileys into it and come up with the following ....

I just loved that it is show casing the awesome color combination of Marina Mist and Crumb Cake with the new Fabulous Florets stamp set .... such a pretty set! I paired it with the Baroque Motif vine with Versamark on the Crumb Cake cardstock as I thought this set matched nicely with the mini version on the Tiny Tags set to tie it all together and well that wonderful Chantilly Crocheted lace - just divine!

Here is an up close of the Tiny Tags Stamp set combined with the Tiny Tags punch ... and the Ice brads were a perfect compliment to add some bling!

As much as I move My Digital Studio - I have to admit it felt so great to be back in the stamp room getting down and dirty with my stamps and inks!

Challenge Giveaways

I absolutely love a good challenge ... and well who does not like the chance to win free giveaways ... over at A La Card Monkey they currently have BOTH going on! Hop on over and check them out!

Last week's Sketch Thursday 3.31 sketch ....

Here is my inspiration from this sketch ... I tweaked it to create a two page layout from my very first Christmas!

Using the Jackpot Designer Series Paper, All Scallops, Baroque Motif and Build a Blossom brush sets and accenting with drop shadow colored Paper Daisies!