CWC012 ~ It's SIMPLE

Happy Wednesday!! I just can't believe it is the middle of July already! This summer is flying by. Any big plans for the weekend? I think we are just going to at home and maybe have a cookout.

It is time for another challenge at CAS-tastic Wednesdays. This week our challenge is SIMPLE...your card should use at least 3 of the following:

Stamped (or printed) Image
Inked Edges
Masking
Paper Piercing
Lace
Embossing

For my birthday card, I used a stamped image, paper piercing and embossing. I finally got to ink up my Enjoy the Ride set from PTI. I used some great flowered dsp to paper piece the car and the sentiment is from Signature Greetings.

To join in on the fun and be eligible for this weeks fabulous prize head over to the CAS-tastic Wednesdays Challenge Blog and link your creation by 9:30 pm EST Tuesday July 20th.

Thanks for stopping by,

CWC011 ~ Kraft-y Kreations

Happy Wednesday everyone!! Hope everyone is having a great week so far. We are having quite the heat wave in Ohio this week! We are headed to the water park today to try and keep cool!!

It is time for another fun challenge at CAS-tastic Wednesdays. This week we our sharing CAS cards using Kraft. My mom needed a last minute Graduation card so I used my For the Graduate set from PTI to whip one up real quick.

To join in on the fun and be eligible for this weeks fabulous prize head over to the CAS-tastic Wednesdays Challenge Blog and link your creation by 9:30 pm EST Tuesday July 13th.

Thanks for stopping by,

Paper Maniac Inspirations and CWC009 ~ Colors of Summer

Happy Wednesday everyone!! Hope everyone is having a better week than me! It started out awesome but has since gone downhill. My card today is for CAS-tastic Wednesdays and Paper Maniac Inspirations (both of which are late...ugh). My internet has been absolutely wacky since it stormed here on Monday night and I have been unable to upload anything!! It finally seems to be back to normal as of about an hour ago so I am typing this post as fast as possible in case it crashes again!

Anyway, this week at CAS-tastic Wednesdays we have a color challenge...Blue, Yellow and a Neutral and at Paper Maniac we are celebrating Summer!! For my card, I used the Could I Be Any Cuter set from Unity and the dsp is from Cosmo Cricket's Delovely.

It is Week 4 of the BIG Summer event at Paper Maniac. Remember every Tuesday until Labor Day, there will be a different deep discount sale. There will also be a digital download of word art or an image for your use. The whole event will lead up to the Big Birthday Bash on September 1st! You won't want to miss a thing, so make sure you are registered in the store to sign up for the newsletter.

To join in on the fun and be eligible for this weeks fabulous prize at CAS-tastic Wednesdays Challenge Blog head on over and link your creation by 9:30 pm EST Tuesday June 29th.

Thanks for stopping by,

CWC008 ~ Father's Day

Happy Wednesday everyone!! Hope everyone is having a great week so far. Besides get a little too much sun at the waterpark yesterday, it has been a really nice week so far. Almost drama free LOL! Anyway, It is time for another awesome challenge at CAS-tastic Wednesdays.

This week we our sharing CAS cards with a Father's Day theme. I still had the Max and Whiskers paper laying out on my table from my last card and decided to use it again for this card. It just so perfect for masculine cards!! This adorable image is from our sponsor this week - Di's Digi Downloads. Isn't is just too cute and perfect for Father's Day? I colored the image with Prismacolor markers and cut it out with an oval nestie.

To join in on the fun and be eligible for this weeks fabulous prize head over to the CAS-tastic Wednesdays Challenge Blog and link your creation by 9:30 pm EST Tuesday June 22nd.

Thanks for stopping by,

CWC005 ~ A Touch of Green

Happy Wednesday everyone!! It is time for another fun challenge at CAS-tastic Wednesdays.

This week we our sharing CAS cards using a Touch of Green. I just LOVE this adorable Daddy's Girl digital image from Tiddlyinks. It is just the perfect image for a Father's Day card. I printed the image on Select White cs and colored her with Prismacolor Markers. The sentiment is from PTI's Star Prints and I finished it off with some silver pearls.

To join in on the fun and be eligible for this weeks fabulous prize head over to the CAS-tastic Wednesdays Challenge Blog and link your creation by 9:30 pm EST Tuesday June 1st.

Thanks for stopping by,

CWC003 ~ CAS Cards with Circles

Happy Wednesday everyone!! It is time for another fun challenge at CAS-tastic Wednesdays.

This week we our sharing CAS cards using Circles. I printed these great flowers from the Cutting Cafe's Sentiment Stems and Flower Tops directly onto Raspberry Fizz cardstock and then cut them out. The sentiment is from Unity set Could I Be Any Cuter. I added black candy dots to the flower centers and finished it off with a little bling!

To join in on the fun and be eligible for this weeks fabulous prize head over to the CAS-tastic Wednesdays Challenge Blog and link your creation by 10:30 pm EST Tuesday May 18th.

Thanks for stopping by,

CWC002 ~ CAS Birthday Cards

Happy Wednesday everyone!! I am so excited about today's post. This week we are officially kicking off my new challenge blog ~ CAS-tastic Wednesdays. These challenges are all about keeping it clean and simple!

Our challenge this week is our first challenge with our AMAZING Design Team!! This week we our sharing our CAS Birthday Cards. My card was inspired by this card that I saw on Splitcoast and just loved the layout! I printed the adorable Birthday Ivy from Wild Flower Kids directly onto my card base and colored her with Prismacolor Markers. I used my Cricut and SCAL software to cut the scallop border out of Basic Grey Green at Heart and covered that with some Raspberry Fizz satin ribbon from PTI. I finished it off with a little bling in the corner and Voila...easy peasy Birthday card!!

To join in on the fun and be eligible for this weeks fabulous prize head over to the CAS-tastic Wednesdays Challenge Blog and link your creation by 10:30 pm EST Tuesday May 11th.

Thanks for stopping by,

Paper Maniac Inspirations ~ Krafty Kreations

This week at Paper Maniac, we are showcasing cards and projects using kraft paper! I love to use kraft for making masculine cards. I usually have a really hard time with masculine cards so I was thrilled that this card came out exactly how I wanted it to!

I used a star stamp and sentiment from two different Unity Store Kits. I stamped the stars in enchanted evening and chocolate chip ink onto white cardstock, used the Heidi Swapp edge distressing tool to rough it up a little bit and added a little distress ink. I used a Fiskars star punch on the kraft cardstock and popped it up to add a little dimension. I used a paper piercer to add the row of dots in the upper right corner.

Don't forget about the Paper Maniac online Garage Sale. Dozens of sellers, hundreds of papercrafting items, all in one place and a single shipping charge! It all starts May 19.

Also head over to the store to check out Tim Holtz Idea-ology, all in its own section. Plus Daisy Bucket stamps and Shirley's 2 Girls reduced 20%.

Thanks for stopping by,

Paper Maniac ~ Peace * Love * Recycle

This week at Paper Maniac, we are celebrating Earth Day! I was immediately inspired by one my daughters tees to create this card. There isn't much to it but I think it is a great card for Earth Day and I am definitely going to send these to a few friends!!

I used my Cricut and SCAL software to cut the symbols from Basic Grey's Green at Heart dsp. I used pop dots to add a little dimension and the sentiment is computer generated.

A little birdie told me that if there's 150 followers on the Paper Maniac Inspirations Blog by Saturday morning, Patti will draw a random number and the winner will receive a $30 gift certificate!

Thanks for stopping by,

Paper Maniac Inspirations ~ Cards in Distress

A few quick updates...

**Starting a new challenge blog for all you CAS lovers called CAS-tastic Wednesday and we are looking for a few DT Members....Check it out here!!

** Team MACCK needs your help to move on to Round 4 of The Greeting Farm Challenge...Please vote for our scrapbook layout here...It is Tu-Tu Cute!!

**If you are hopping along with Bugaboo...my card is here!

Now for the good stuff! This week at Paper Maniac, we are all about distressing and showcasing the wonderful Tim Holtz products now available in the store! I do not normally do a lot of distressing on my cards so this was quite a challenge for me. I decided I would create a CAS card and use the scraps from Cosmo Cricket's Garden Variety that were scattered all over my table.

I cut the scraps into small rectangles and after they were all together I used distress ink all along the edges of the dsp and the Martha Stewart garden trellis punch. I also used the distress ink along the edge of the card. I finished it off with a sentiment from the Unity stamp set Could I be Any Cuter?

Make sure and swing by the store and check out all the Tim Holtz products. Also, if you haven't already check out the Garage Sale info here!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Paper Maniac Inspirations ~ CAS Cards

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a pleasant weekend and for those that celebrated it a Happy Easter. It was beautiful in Ohio this weekend. It has been a long time since we've had such nice weather on Easter!!

This week at Paper Maniac, we are sharing some Clean and Simple cards with you! I absolutely adore CAS cards and I was thrilled when I saw they were the theme for this week! For my card, I used stamps from the Unity store kit for March and the polka dot dsp is from the Sassafras Lass Sunshine Lollipops wee bundle.

Make sure and swing by the store and check out all the new products. Also, Patti is having a Garage Sale where you can sell some of your extra stuff for either a store voucher or cash!! Get all the details here!!

Thanks for stopping by,

AiFactory #30 ~ Anything Goes

Hello everyone!! I am so sorry for my lack of blogging this week! My camera has been on the fritz since Sunday. We still can't figure out the problem, so I finally went and borrowed one while mine is out for repairs! I have some exciting news and a few cards to share now that I can take pics of them so stay tuned!!

This week at AiFactory we are featuring some elegant and very versatile clipart flourishes. For a chance to win this fab set of images, head over to the AiFactory Challenge Blog and add your card. This week we are having an Open Challenge ~ You can make anything your heart desires!!

As always, you are not required to use AiFactory images but if you have them we would love to see them. We also have quite a few Freebies available at the store.

My card was created almost entirely using GIMP, I layered the background, flourish and sentiment and then printed them out onto white cs. I used lemon tart cs and ribbon to add a little color to the black and white. I also used two butterfly punches as well as the Martha Stewart trellis punch to finish everything off.

Please visit the DT Blogs to see even more beautiful cards using these beautiful flourishes....

Carole
Cheri
Kerry
Penny
Monica
Fliss
Fink
Carlie
Laurie
Michelle
Lola

To play along visit the AiFactory Challenge Blog and upload your creation by Wednesday, March 7th at 11:00pm EST.

Thanks for stopping by,

Paper Maniac Inspirations ~ Scrapbook Layouts

Hi all! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! The weather was amazing in Ohio so we spent a lot of time outside soaking in the sunshine! Around here we have to enjoy whenever we can as it has been known to snow in April!!

This week we at Paper Maniac, we are scrapbooking!! I gotta tell ya it has been awhile since I have made a scrapbook layout so I was a little wary about this challenge LOL. I happened to stumble on this great blog for scrapbook and card layouts called Got Sketch? and saw this awesome sketch and from there it went smoother than I expected.

This picture of my DD watering flowers at Grandmas was just perfect for the Material Girl designer paper from Cosmo Cricket. I also used my circle Nestabilities and my favorite punch from Martha Stewart called Garden Trellis. I finished it off with some prima flowers and a rub-on quote that says "Play is really the work of childhood."

Be sure and swing by the store and check out all the new things as well as some great clearance items!! Patti will also be announcing our newest DT members so stay tuned to the PM Blog!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Paper Maniac Inspirations ~ Wishing for Spring!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a pleasant weekend. It was cold and rainy here so we really didn't do much. I'm not complaining though, I will take rain over snow any day.

This week at Paper Maniac, we are celebrating Spring! I for one cannot wait to see flowers blooming and leaves on all the trees. Until then, I will have to settle for flowers on my cards! There is nothing more spring than the new Making Memories Flutter paper and embellishments. I also used my new favorite punch from Martha Stewart called Garden Trellis. I really love that you can just the edge, as I've done, for an entirely different look! The sentiment is from PTI's Scattered Showers stamp set.

This card is for quite a few challenges:

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #60
Treehouse Thursday ~ CAS
Secret Crafter ~ Anything Goes
Stampin' B's ~ Spring or Easter
Rosie-D's ~ Think Spring
Crafty Calendar ~ Flower Power
By the Cute and Girly ~ Spring is in the Air
Tanda Stamps ~ Simply Spring

Make sure and swing by the store and check out all the new products. Also, Patti is looking for two new DT Members, one specializing in the Tim Holtz Idea-ology lines and the second is a for a Copic Certified Designer, you can get all the details here.

Thanks for stopping by,

AiFactory #27 ~ CLEAR and SIMPLE

This week at AiFactory, we are featuring the Lily Collection Digital stamp set.

For a chance to win these gorgeous images, head over to the AiFactory Challenge Blog. The challenge this week is to incorporate something CLEAR into your SIMPLE card or project:

1. the clear item must be something that remains on your finished project (clear stamps are not considered a clear item for this challenge)
2. your card or project should be somewhat simple, making your main image the focus of the creation.

As always, you are not required to use AiFactory images but if you have them we would love to see them. We also have quite a few Freebies available at the store.

For my card, I used the Lily of the Valley image. I colored the lilies with Prismacolor markers and pencils. I used the oval and scallop nestabilities to create a frame on the card front and adhered the image to the inside of the card. My clear items are dewdrops and flower pins.

Please visit the DT Blogs to see even more beautiful cards using all the gorgeous Lilies.

Carole
Cheri
Kerry
Angie
Penny
Erin
Monica
Fliss
Fink
Carlie
Laurie
Michelle
Lola

To play along visit the AiFactory Challenge Blog and upload your creation by Wednesday, March 18th at 11:00pm EST.

Thanks for stopping by,

Paper Maniac Inspirations ~ Think Spring

Happy Monday everyone! Hope everyone had a great weekend. I was able to get a ton of things on my to do list completed this weekend so I am hoping to keep that momentum going throughout the week.

This week at Paper Maniac, we are celebrating Spring! February in Ohio was back to back snow storms so I am more than ready for some flowers and sunshine!! I really wanted to keep my card clean and simple this week and I was browsing the SCS gallery and was inspired by this card by Miss Boo.

I stamped the flowers and sentiment from the Unity December Store Kit ~ Sweet Affections directly on my card base. I used a strip of Basic Grey Origins and finished it off with some Lemon Tart satin ribbon from PTI.

Make sure and swing by the store and check out all the new stuff arriving daily as well as the Unity Store and the Copic Coloring Club kits for March. You will be so glad you did!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Paper Maniac Inspirations ~ Pretty in Purple

Hi all! I hope everyone had an awesome Valentine's Day!! The kids are home today for President's Day so we are headed to the mall to do some shopping. They are calling for more snow in Ohio tonight so we will probably make a quick trip to the grocery store just in case.

This week at Paper Maniac we are focusing on monochromatic cards using either blues, greens or purples. I am in LOVE with the Lilac Avenue paper pad from Kaisercraft, so of course, I chose purple! The image and sentiment are both from the Unity November store kit. I stamped the image first with Fresh Snow and then again with Plum Pudding. I used a Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to line up the image so the Plum Pudding ink would give it a shadow effect.

Make sure and check out all the NEW arrivals rolling into the store. While your there use the coupon code HEART22 to take 22% off the new Graphic 45 8x8 paper pads.

Thanks for stopping by! Check back later for the winner of my Blog Candy!!

Paper Maniac Inspirations ~ Masculine Valentines

Wow!! Can you believe it is February already? January just flew by in a flash!! If you are anything like me, you just love to make cutesy cards with pretty paper, hearts and tons of bling but when it comes to cards for the males in our lives I struggle to make just the right card! When I saw this awesome set from Our Craft Lounge, I knew it would be perfect for my masculine Valentines this year.

I stamped the image onto kraft cs and colored it with PrismaColor markers. I decided to keep my card clean and simple with just a few embellishments. I used Polka Dot Basics II stamped in fresh snow from PTI on the bottom of the image panel and finished it off with some chocolate satin ribbon.

I just wanted to send a quick Thank You to everyone who participated in the Magical Mystery Blog Hop this weekend. I loved seeing all the different interpretations of the songs and all the cards were just amazing!

Make sure you check out the specials going on at the Paper Maniac store this weel. There are still a few Unity Stamps available at 40% off!!

Thanks for stopping by! If you haven't already check out my Blog Candy!

Paper Maniac Inspirations ~ Image is Everything

Don't you just love when you find an image that becomes all you need to make a card that is simple but still makes a statement? That is why I love Flourishes stamps. The images just speak for themselves and many of them are the perfect size for making great CAS cards. You can find a huge selection of Flourishes stamps at the Paper Maniac online store.

For my card, I used the Flourishes Strawberry Set. I colored the image with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol and cut it out with the Nestabilities Large Label. I scored lines on the card base and stamped the sentiment in Tuxedo Black ink.

Reminder ~ The shipping department at Paper Maniac is closed until 1/26...During this time please use the code PATIENT_ME to take 10% off your entire order of $25.00 placed during this period. Nothing excluded. One use per customer.

There is still time to sign up for the Magical Mystery Blog Hop happening January 30 ~ You'll receive a $5 credit at Paper Maniac just for participating!

Thanks for stopping by,

AiFactory #11 ~ Live Free with Brads and Eyelets

Hi everyone! Hope everyone is doing well. It is time for another awesome challenge from AiFactory. This week we are challenging you to Live Free ~ make a project or card using one of the freebies from the AiFactory Store. We are combining this with Splitcoast CAS38 to use eyelets or brads.

For my card, I am using this awesome digital image ~ Yummy Cake. I masked over the flowers and cut off the base. I used Angel Wings Shimmerz to "ice" the cake and added black and pink brads for decorating.

To play along and be eligible for this weeks prize please upload your card or project to Mr. Linky on the AiFactory Blog by next Monday at Midnight EST. What are you playing for...a Christmas Digital Image. If you upload to an online gallery please use AIF011 & CAS38

If you haven't already, be sure and check out the new AIF Kit Club! You can get all the details here! For more inspiration, be sure and visit the rest of the fabulous Design Team:

Mia (Owner) * Ashley * Carole * De * Erin * Kerry * Lola * Fink * Betty

Thanks for stopping by,


{Happy Birthday Supplies}

Image: Yummy Cake (AiFactory), Vintage Picnic Sentiment (PTI)

Paper: Select White, True Black and Raspberry Fizz CS (PTI)

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Accessories: Black and Pink Brads, White Pearls, Black Satin Ribbon, Swiss Dot Embossing Folder