The Perfect Sentiment: Friendship/ Sketch Challenge!

It's time for another challenge from The Perfect Sentiment!

This week, your challenge is to create a card with a sentiment of friendship on the front.

The "twist": Use the following sketch to inspire the design of the card. The sketch is of a circle shaped card. However, if you do not have the ability to create a circle card, then you may create a square card and incorporate circles as the "layers".

Here is the card I was inspired to create:

I absolutely love this romantic paper! And I adore these gorgeous flowers, so I figured the combination of the two could make a really pretty card. The sketch, with it's row of 3 flowers brought them to mind, and I really like how it all came together.

For a delicate layer of background texture, I embossed the Swiss dots on the white layer using a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

I also added a pretty satin bow which gives a nice softness to it all.

Hmmm.... my only dilemma now: which of my dear friends shall I send this to? ;-)

So now it's your turn! Play along with us and link your challenge card to The Perfect Sentiment! You have until Tuesday at 10:00PM EST. Our lucky winner will be awarded one free digital image of choice from our wonderful sponsors at Pattie's Creations.

And be sure to check out the challenge cards from all of The Perfect Sentiment's Design Team:

Jan

Sassy

Abby

Theresa

Jessica

Maggie

and our Guest Designers:

Ashley

Karen

Tabitha

Thanks so much for stopping by today and checking our our latest Perfect Sentiment challenge. And don't forget: you sill have time to get entries in for my Valentine Blog Candy Giveaway!

Blessings Always,

Sarah

Items used to make this card include:

Card base: PTI White

Patterned paper: Stampin' Up! Bella Birds

Ribbon: SU! Pretty In Pink satin

Misc. flowers

Circle punches

Sentiment: Stamp from SU! set "Fourteen Phrases" stamped in Bordering Blue ink

Valentine Blog Candy Giveaway!

Well, I have been promising you some blog candy, so here it is!

How would you like to win ALL of this?!

I put a bunch of paper crafting products with a Valentine theme together to give away hopefully in time for Valentine's Day! But.... it's all up to you!

These products have a msrp of nearly $90.00 and I am excited to give them all to one lucky winner (only to be shipped within the U.S. due to high costs of shipping, please).

Here is what you can win:

Making Memories Noteworthy embellishment jar (with blossoms, buttons and felt flowers)

Magic Scraps micro beads

Colorbok Mini Antique Rose scrap kit

Sizzix set of 3 dies: Flower Set #4 medium Sizzlits

Spiral notebook/ journal and matching address book- to leave as is or alter

Tin for altering

Stampin' Up! Heart Of Hearts scalloped embosslits

Two heart border punches

House Mouse rubber stamp

Maya Road heart trinket pins

Pack of 50 5x5 squares of assorted foil papers

3 spools of ribbon

Prima Sprites flowers

Stampin' Up! package of 200 Fresh Favorites II eyelets

Now here's what I am asking from you:

I would love to have more blog followers. To those of you who already are followers, I thank you and I appreciate you! Please leave a comment and let me know you are a follower and you will have an entry to win. If you become a new follower, tell me and you also will have an entry.

If you post this with a link back to me onto your own blog- another entry. And, if you also add this picture and link onto your sidebar (along with your blog post), you'll get yet another entry!(Just be sure to let me know you have posted to your blog so I can add your entries!)

I would love to draw a winner and give this all away two weeks from today- February 1st, and get it all shipped out to the winner in time for some Valentine crafting. But here's the catch: If I still do not have over 100 blog followers by then, I will not do the drawing. My giveaway will continue until I have at least 101!

So please leave me your comments, become a follower (if not already) and spread the word through your own blogs. I think someone will be really happy to receive all the goodies pictured above, and it just might be YOU! :-)

Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

~Sarah

The Perfect Sentiment: Birthday Challenge!

We have a great challenge for you this week over at The Perfect Sentiment challenge blog!

It is to create a card with a birthday sentiment (on the front, as always). And for the twist: To use the "emboss resist" technique! In case this is a new technique for you, check out THIS easy to follow tutorial from SplitCoastStampers.

Here is the card I came up with using this fun technique:

I decided to take this opportunity to create a masculine card, since I often need birthday cards for men, but don't often think to make them ahead of time. I thought this image would be a fun one to use the technique on.

So check out the tutorial, and get your embossing powder and heat gun ready! I can hardly wait to see what you come up with!

I am donating the prize being offered this week, which consists of the following items:

Marcella By K floral accents with pearls

Pack of flower Clear Stamps

Pack of Stampin' Up! Earth Elements eyelets

Family Treasures Hearts border punch

Tin for altering

Spool of Sweet & Sassy floral grosgrain ribbon

This prize is limited to a U.S. participant only. In the event that our winner is a non- U.S. resident, The Perfect Sentiment will award digital images as a prize substitute.

Be sure to get your card linked up over at The Perfect Sentiment by Tuesday at 10:00PM EST.

For more inspiration, please check out all the great cards made by the other Design Team members here:

Jennipher

Jan

Sassy

Abby

Theresa

Jessica

Maggie

and our Guest Designers:

Ashley

Karen

Tabitha

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you'll join us and share your emboss resist birthday card, too!

I'll be doing my blog candy giveaway any day now, so keep checking back.

Please continue to leave your comments- I always love reading them!

Hope you're having a great week!

Wishing you many blessings~

Sarah

My Shabby Valentine

It's going to be Valentine's Day before we know it, so I have created another card for you with February 14th in mind. But since I often try to have my cards be as versatile as possible, I decided not to put any words or a sentiment on the front. That way this card could be used for other occasions besides just Valentine's Day. Maybe for no occasion at all- only to say "I love you".

In any event, it's kind of "shabby" looking, so I am calling it "My Shabby Valentine".

I have long loved the combination of pink and brown, and here I think it works really well. After using the hearts embossing folder on Pink Pirouette card stock, I sponged some brown ink on it and distressed the edges. That was adhered to a brown card stock base.

I used vellum card stock over brown card stock to soften things up. And then added the pearls, hearts, flowers and rhinestones to really make it feminine.

My dear friend Maureen gave me these awesome patterned butterfly die cuts. Don't they look great on here?

Yep- pink and brown. And shabby. Just my style!

So just hang on a little longer and I will be having my blog candy giveaway real soon. Hint: It's going to be filled with lots of crafty things to make.....

Valentines!!! :-)

I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please leave me a comment. Thanks for visiting!

And for more info on this card, please check out the Classy Cards 'n Such blog.

Items used to make this Shabby Valentine include:

Card Stock: Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip; Pink Pirouette; Vellum

Ink: Chocolate Chip (for sponging)

Spellbinder's Fancy Tags Three die

Nestabling Want2Scrap Fancy Tags Three pearls

Prima Flowers

Want2Scrap pink rhinestones

Nestabling Want2Scrap pink pearl heart

Making Memories butterflies

Hearts Embossing folder from Classy Cards 'n Such

The Perfect Sentiment: Inspiration Photo Challenge!

It's time for another card making challenge over at The Perfect Sentiment!

This week the challenge is to make a card with a sentiment of sympathy.

And for the twist- Use this awesome photo to inspire the design of your card:

Isn't that a wonderful photo? Sympathy cards are often difficult to make, but this photo is so great for inspiration. And it's always great to create sympathy cards before you need them! Sadly, we should always have some on hand, and this challenge really helped me get the creative juices flowing for one. Here's what I came up with~

It's a fairly simple card. I feel it's not only good as a sympathy card, but could actually be used for other reasons as well: maybe for someone who is sick, or just going through a hard time. In any case, I really like how it came out. I don't think I'd ever have thought this up without having seen the inspiration photo. All that snow on those big beautiful trees immediately made me think of this stamp, and white polar flower soft seemed like an obvious choice as well. I love how the tree turned out. I also think the dry embossed swiss dot background reflects the feel of the snowy photo as well.

I added the ribbon for more blue and white, but when I made my sentiment I went a tad off course and put in a little peachy color just for a tiny bit of contrast. I just like how it looks. But the pearls around the scalloped circle again came to mind because of the snow.

So to get you a little more inspired, Shelly's Images at www.shellysimages.com is our sponsor this week and will be giving our challenge winner their choice of any one digital image free!

For even more inspiration, be sure to check out all of the other blogs from The Perfect Sentiment's design team member's:

Sami

Jan

Sassy

Abby

Jessica

Maggie

and our Guest Designers:

Ashley

Karen

Tabitha

I can hardly wait to see what you are inspired to create! Just remember to add your submission over at The Perfect Sentiment by Tuesday at 10PM EST.

I am also entering my card to the Sentimental Sunday's Challenge #84: Snow, Blue and/ or glitter challenge.

I'll be back soon with more to share with you. And no, I have not forgotten that I promised to do a blog candy giveaway soon, so stay tuned :-)

Blessings to you!

Sarah

Items used to make this card include:

Stampin' Up! Marina Mist; Bashful Blue; Blush Blossom and PTI White Card Stock

Stampin' Up! Thoughts & Prayers stamp set (tree image)

PTI Scattered Showers stamp set (sentiment)

Stampin' Up! Top Note die

Spellbinder's Beaded Circle die

Polar White Flower Soft

Stampin' Up! 1/2" striped Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon

Stampin' Up! 1 1/4" hand held circle punch

Want2Scrap white baby pearls

Cuttlebug dotted embossing folder baby pearls

Ranger Archival black ink

Card Gift Set Trio

Happy Saturday! I hope your weekend is off to a great start!

Well now that we are all through our holiday gift giving (and busy paying the bills that follow!) I thought I would share with you an easy, inexpensive hand made gift idea. If you are like me, you have plenty of friends and family members who have birthdays early in the year and are often stumped- or too broke, lol- to know what to get them.

So, I came up with this trio of notecards:

I had such fun making these! I actually started out making just one card. And once I realized how easy it would be to make variations, I kept going until I had three made. But the possibilities are endless! To finish them off, all you would have to do is add a few envies to which you could stamp a little flourish or scroll, or even line the flaps with some of the matching patterned paper.

Tie them up with some pretty ribbon, tulle or raffia and you're all set!

People love hand made gifts. This is an easy way to make a thoughtful gift for someone special.

You can read all my instructions and see more detailed photos on the Classy Cards 'n Such blog. And remember, use the discount code SARAH-10 and get 10% off your order when purchasing items to make these cards or for anything else in the store!

Thanks for stopping by today.

I'll be back soon with more to share, as I have been creating a lot of cards lately! :-) Plus, I am gathering items for a blog candy give-away coming soon!

And please leave a comment to let me know what you think. I always love hearing from you!!

Wishing you many blessings,

Sarah

The Perfect Sentiment: Valentines!

Happy New Year!

I wish you a wonderfully happy 2012, filled with much happiness and good health!

I hope you are as excited as I am for what lies ahead for us in our card making and crafting adventures for the coming year. Now that we have put the Christmas stamps aside, it's time to be thinking about our next holiday: Valentine's Day!

Over at The Perfect Sentiment we have an awesome challenge for you: To create a Valentine, of course ;-) The twist: to use vellum on your project! Here is what I have come up with in hopes of inspiring you:

I chose some wonderfully romantic patterned paper made by Prima* layered over card stock which I distressed along the edges.

The vellum card stock is what I decided to use for my sentiment. I die cut it using a Spellbinder's Fancy Tags Two die* and then embossed my sentiment using Versamark ink and black embossing powder. Over the tag I added the Want2Scrap coordinating pearls*. I absolutely love these!

The flowers in the corner are some I had in my stash (not sure, but I think I got them at WalMart). The lovely ecru lace is from Classy Cards 'n Such*.

The butterflies were made by punching card stock with a Martha Stewart butterfly punch, adding 2-way glue to them, and sprinkling Stampin' Up Dazzling Diamonds on them. I folded them slightly to pull the wings up a bit for dimension, and then adhered them with glue dots.

Inspired? I hope so!

The winner of this week's challenge will receive a sheet of Vellum stickers from our sponsor:

You have until 10:00 PM EST Tuesday to link up your creation. For all the details, check out The Perfect Sentiment. And, for more inspiration, please be sure to visit these awesome blogs from our other design team members!

Jenn

Sami

Jan

Sassy

Theresa

Abby

Maggie

Jessica

and our guest designers:

Tabitha

Karen

Ashley

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you will make your own vellum Valentine and share it with us at The Perfect Sentiment.

And be sure to check back with me again soon, as I am planning on having another blog candy giveaway before long!

WISHING YOU MANY BLESSINGS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

* The items marked with an asterisk can all be found here at Classy Card 'n Such online store. (I have linked them for you; just click on the items listed in this post.) Be sure to use the code word "SARAH10" to receive a 10% discount on your order!

Note: I have entered my Valentine into the "Love is in the air" challenge at Crafter's Companion HERE.

I also entered this Valentine into the the Crafty Sentiments Challenge as well, HERE.

And, I have entered it to The Pink Elephant "Anything Goes" challenge HERE.