Happy 1st Birthday, CAS-ual Fridays!!

This week's challenge celebrates the First Birthday for CAS-ual Fridays!!

                                                                  Happy Happy Birthday!!!
                                       
  It's a first for me, too...my first post as a Facebook Girl Friday!   I will be posting my card for each week's CAS-ual Fridays's challenge on my blog on Mondays as my cards will be posted on CAS-ual Fridays Facebook page each Monday!!  There will be a different card shown  on every day of the week's challenge by me(Mondays) and a number of other gals on the CAS-ual Fridays Facebook page, giving you daily inspiration for the week!!
The challenge this week is to make a clean and simple Birthday card, the winner will be given a guest designer spot in June!
                                           
OH MY...and the celebration is only getting started!!  Simon Says Stamp(one of my personal favorite places to shop!) is the sponsor this week, and the prizes are AMAZING!!!
                                                                  
I copied this right from the CAS-ual Friday Blog so I didn't miss a thing!!...

This week's winner will not only receive a $25 shopping spree at 

Simon Says Stamp,

 but will also earn a guest spot with the Girl Fridays for the June guest challenge!

*****  But WAIT! There's MORE!! *****

This week, because it's our birthday, our four VIP's will win this super fun stamp set  from Simon Says Stamp called Savor Sweet Cupcakes!!


*******  But WAIT! There's EVEN MOOOOORE!!! *******
Be sure to comment on the daily inspirations featured on the facebook page- One random comment will also win this darling stamp set from Simon Says Stamp!
AND, to keep it fair for everyone who isn't on facebook, one random comment on this blog post will win this set too!

Make sure you join in the fun with us all and maybe even win a "sweet"  prize!!!!

My card was made with a balloon stamp from Inkadinkado (Patterned Balloons) and Papertrey Ink letter dies.  The baker's twine is Doodlebug.  I stamped with Stazon black on Bazzill swiss dotted paper and hand cut out the balloons.  I die cut the letters for "HAPPY"  layered them with thin chipboard and then gave the letters 2 coats of Glossy Accents...just wanted to show you a letter without and what the finished letters looked like close up:

I think that Glossy Accenting the letters give them a really cool look!!  

Thanks for checking in with me...hope to see you in the challenge:)!!!  Hugs!! Lisa

Less is More 66...Yellow!!

The challenge at Less is More this week is to make a card using Yellow:)!!  I LOVE yellow...and  I chose BOLD yellows...I made 2 cards...the first one for the challenge...the other(s), well...just for the love of yellow!...

I was inspired by THIS beautiful card from Heather Telford...her work is amazing!  My card was made with a stamp from Inkadinkado(Meadow). I masked an area on the card and then I stamped the image once with versamark and then clear embossed.  I sponged with Apricot Appeal, So Saffron and then Daffodil Delight.  I then took the same stamp with So Saffron and stamped randomly while still masked and once off the sponged area unmasked. Added a scored line on either side with Martha Stewart scoreboard and  Hero Arts sentiment(Everyday Sayings).  Used my Papertrey Ink Linen/Canvas Impression plate for some texture.

This second one I made being inspired by JJ Bolton another amazing artist...she made not one, but two beautiful cards that can be found from THIS post...I loved them so much, I had to try my hand at making one myself...not nearly as lovely...but still fun!!   Hats off to you, JJ...This was not hard, but the placement of my flowers...I just couldn't seem to find the perfect arrangement...then there was the photographing....the flowers always looked a bit "off"...I liked the placement of my flowers better on my other one, but the pictures were wierd.  My card, I think was a bit easier than JJ's because my sentiment is all one word instead of separate letters.

I used a Sixxiz die(Phrases, Hello) and Papertrey Ink (Floral Frenzy) with Summer Sun ink and paper.  If you visit JJ's site,linked above,  she has detailed how to make this....what fun!!!  Wasn't sure about the layers and such for the LIM challenge, so I put the other card up first :):)!!  The card is 4" x 6 1/4".

I decided to put up the first one I made...you decide...

This one measures 5 1/4" x 4"...hmmm....I think the Hello shows better in the second one I made, but the first card in this post:)!! I think I need to try a third one for a yet different flower placement...you know what they say about third times???!!! What do you think?  

Thanks to Mandi and Chrissie for ShowCASing my butterfly card from 2 weeks ago...I am so very honored!!!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Less is More 65...A Sketch

Oh my...how life can get chaotic...I am down to the wire with one of my favorite challenges, Less is More !  This week the challenge is a sketch...here's the two sketches we are to choose from
                                           
Oh how I tried and tried to do something so different and unique...I especially tried to do an out-of-the-box...Chrissie and Mandi's inspirations were so lovely, but try as I might...nothing worked.  I was sifting through some stamps trying to find that "special something" when this little elephant by Verve fell out of the box...all by himself.  I decided to give him some love and came to find out, he was the perfect size for the square of this card...

I stamped the elephant twice on dotted Papertrey Ink paper and once on light gray(for the ears) and cut out the legs, arms, ears and head.  The head, I cut the trunk...here's a side view... 

The oval is from A Muse and I stamped it with versamark and cut out.  Placed the elepant a little off center...thought it looked cool that way.  The sentiment...I don't recall where it came from.  I used the Papertrey Ink Linen/Canvas Impression plate for added texture.  Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Another Old Inspiration

This is my second record cover inspiration card for today!  Here's the inspiration and my card...

I used My Favorite Things Upsey Daisies flower dies...using the smallest leaf and the middle sized middles and cut a strip of each color for the stem.  The sentiment is Hero Arts.  I layered each petal and center with a light piece of chipboard...yes a bit tedious...but I wanted some dimension!!  Now I can chalk off another picture I've saved in my pictures folder....yeah!!!  Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

An Old Inspiration

I was cleaning out my card picture folders on my computer the last couple days....eye ye ye...what a mess!!  Well...that led to a few pics I had downloaded from an inspiration challenge at Splitcoaststampers  2 YEARS AGO...using old record covers:)!!  The challenge was based on a site called Project Thirty-Three which showcases vintage record album covers.  You might be interested in taking a peak if you're needing some inspiration...very cool colors and shape!!  Here's the inspiration album cover and my card...2 years after the challenge:):)...

Just in case you're curious...this is how I did it...  I punched 1" circles from cardstock and very thin chipboard and layered 25 circles....yes, it's a lot of circles...but NOT hard!!  This is a 4 1/4" square card, so I used a 3"square spellbinders square die and cut out from a 4 1/4" square piece of copy paper

Then I layered the middle 9 circles into the 3" square and adhered them on to black card.

Then I used a ruler to line up the side circles

and then trim all the edges.  Here's a closer look at the added dimension of the circles

Added Paper Smooches sentiment in the bottom corner whole circle

Yeah!!!  Now I can delete another photo out of my folder!!!!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Just a Note

I got out a set from A Muse(Avian Notes) that I hadn't inked in a while and made another pink card:)!!...

I decided to bling it with light pink and celery colored rhinestones...to kind of mimick the spring ... pink blossoms with new leaves.  I chose the grosgrain ribbon, and it doesn't show too well in the picture, but ran my My Favorite Things Grosgrain texture plate from top to bottom at almost the middle of the card for a little interest...looks cool IRL as it "goes" with the pink ribbon....Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Runway Inspired Challenge #10

Oh my...I thought I had another week...then checked and I had 35 minutes to put up the card I planned on putting into the challenge tomorrow morning...aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!  And if that weren't bad enough...the battery in my camera just went dead...so while it's charging...I write!!  The Runway Inspired Challenge had some very interesting colors and patterns!!  I knew I wanted to do chevrons, and lo and behold, my order from Simon Says Stamp came today with my My Favorite Things chevron die....talk about PERFECT timing!!  Also had a grosgrain ribbon texture plate that I used as well...enough talking...here's my card and the model...

I used the chevron die for every color except the orange...they are all fit  together like a puzzle on the orange card. The sentiment is Inkadinkado...I did a cool thing....I took my versamark marker and traced over each letter and then clear embossed AFTER embossing the first time...gave it a REALLY glossy look...try it...very cool!!

 Here's a close up of the grosgrain impressions...really like the added texture

Ok...15 minutes and counting...gotta run!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

CAS-ual Fridays Flowers or Trees

 The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays this week
                                                       

 is to make a card using flowers or trees!  I just couldn't resist using a couple dies from Memory Box...and made a couple cards!!...

I used these two dies from Memory Box.  I only used the top three petals from the tulip die and used the leaf die for the stems and leaves for the tulips.  The sentiment is Hero Arts

THEN...wanting to do another card a bit simpler, I opted for just 2 tulips on a kraft card...

Another Hero Arts sentiment and used Papertrey button and impression plate(Linen/Canvas) for some added dimension and texture.   Flowers are fun... what a fun challenge!!  Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Loving that Pink!

I followed a sketch from a Papercrafts magazine to make yet another card in pink...pink is perfect:)!! ...and especially with black...

Used flower dies from My Favorite Things and sentiment from Paper Smooches...stick on dots are from Mike's...short and sweet!!  Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Bright Butterflies

I absolutely LOVE the colors at Play Date Cafe Challenge this week!!   I decided to combine this challenge with Less is More's challenge this week which was to have a charm on your card!  This is a redo of a card I made a couple days ago with the sentiment and charms being much lower and over to the right...I kept looking at it...couldn't put it up...didn't like my placement of the sentiment or of the butterflies either, so last night I redid it.  I will save you all the gory details of my 8 or 9 FAILED attempts(darn those inky fingers always messing things up), but here's what I made...

I

 I decided to use the shaping of the sentiment's stamp to cut the sentiment out, rather than cut it out with my own shaping(which is the way I did it on my first card).  

I traced the shape over the stamped sentiment with a pencil and cut it out.   I didn't have any charms, so I made my own with some flower rhinestones that I glued along with black wire.  I used the same black wire and with the flowers attached and around the "o" of "of"  with a blender pen, twirled the wire around the pen until it snapped off...making the charms loop. 

I used  Inkadinkado All Occasions and Papertrey Ink Beautiful Butterflies

Here's my first card I made for Play Date Cafe when I pulled some felt flowers out of the bottom drawer of supplies...long lost flowers. I couldn't decide what to do with them, but when I separated them, thought they looked cool...so put them on separate blocks and added Paper Smooches sentiment and colored with Melon Mambo and Tangerine Tango.

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELE!!!

Today is Michele Gross's Birthday....Happy, Happy Birthday, Michele !!  Karen Baker(thanks, Karen!) has gathered together current and retired Girl Fridays to celebrate Michele's day by making her birthday cards and setting up links to each of the Girls'  blogs, so together with you, we can all easily be a part of the celebration:)!!
Here's my birthday card for you, Michele....

Michele....I've made you a bouquet of daisies...daisies symbolize beauty, patience and simplicity.  You are a beautiful woman, inside and out!!  You are a woman of patience...to own and run a challenge blog with the number of women you do and do it soooo well...there is a well of happiness within CAS-ual Fridays...it is a testament to your patience!  Simplicity is what CAS-ual Fridays is all about...couldn't think of a better flower to symbolize what you and all those of us who are a part of your blog love...simplicity!  I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of your birthday celebration...I hope your day is WONDERFUL!!

You can join in the celebration by visiting with the other ladies who are wishing Michele a happy birthday!:

Karen
Dana
Stephanie
Karolyn
Angie
Laura                                               
Debby                                                          
Lorena
Suzanne
Kimberly
Jenny
Virginia
Julie Ranae
Christina
Laurie
Lisa   You are here:)!
Deb
Gayatri

You can leave some Happy for Michele at her BLOG,,,I'm sure she'd love it!!!

Things I used on my card: Daisy Dies from My Favorite Things, Hero Arts sentiment, floral wire, Papertrey Canvas/Linen Impression plate, and gingham ribbon.  My card measures 4" x 7".  Thanks for visiting...Hugs to you!!  Lisa

Making My Life Sparkle

I just couldn't resist just one more card from Papertrey Ink's Green Thumb set!  I used another image and decided to bling the "trees" up with lots of rhinestones!!  I looked at some cards at Target the other day...and it would seem the "trend" with using bling on a card is to use LOTS of it !!  There were a number of beautiful cards with lots of bling!!...so in keeping with that idea...

I stamped the images in black and then used light and dark pink rhinestones to cover the dots that had holes.  The solid dots, I dotted with Glossy Accents twice...to give them a little rounded look...

The sentiment is Hero Arts(Find Joy).  I had a lot of fun with this set...now it's time to give another some lovin'!!
Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Thinking of You

The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays this week is a sketch!  Here's the sketch and my card:

 I used a set by W Plus 9 Design Studio Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions and stamped with versamark on Soft Suede cardstock.  I embossed with white powder and then cut the leaves out with scissors and exacto knife.   I used woodgrain impression plate from Papertrey Ink and Hero Arts sentiment.  Dotted with plum colored pearls.  Here's a side view to show the dimension of the leaves(used pop up dots to give depth).

What a great sketch...a simple design with endless possibilities!!  FUN!!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Mother's Day Watering Can

I just couldn't put away the Papertrey Ink's Green Thumb set before I made a couple more cards(I made a card yesterday with it, as well)....still have a couple more images that are "calling" me...but here's one I made for Mother's Day...my mom LOVES gardening and flowers!!

 Used sentiment from Verve (Because of You) and watering can from PTI(Green Thumb) the flowers and leaves are separate dies from Memory Box Fancy Blossoms(LOVE their dies!!!).  I stamped with versamark on silver paper and embossed with silver powder.  I cut the watering can out, then took versamark and MORE silver powder on handle of can to cover up the tough cutting edges:)!!  Loved the emboss on the leaves...yes, they die cut JUST like you see them...here's a closer look at the shiny can...

AND...I made another card, this one with a pot and stems from Green Thumb. Stamped the pot in Cajun Craze and used the same Memory Box flowers in Turqoise with Paper Smooches sentiment...

Used the Linen/Canvas Papertrey Ink Impression Plate...FUN!!  Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

A Happy Birthday Bursting with Color!!

I pulled out an old Papertrey set yesterday and decided to ink it up:)!!  The set is Green Thumb...and it has some wonderful images!!  Well...I MEANT for this to be a lot cleaner and simpler, but it still has clean lines and quite a bit of white showing, but it kind of took on a life of it's own as I kept putting it together...

It's so funny...we inspire others and then those that we inspire, inspire US!!!  Susan O....if you're reading this...this card is because of you:)!!  I LOVE bright, bold colors...and this card's colors just make me soooo
happy and I love all the circles!!!  I stamped the bursts and stems, dotted with matching rhinestones and did a ribbon treatment I had done on another birthday card, which is great when you can't decide which color to use....just use them all:)!! I added a Paper Smooches sentiment and was going to leave it, but it looked too "plain"...needed a bit more color...  I decided to add a 1/2 cut panel adorned with matching colored strips...and why a separate panel???...so I could emboss it with dots similiar to those on the bursts on the main panel....now I felt REALLY happy with all that color!!  The colors I used were: Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun, Lucky Limeade and Tempting Turquoise.  Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

CAS-ual Fridays...Opposites Attract

I thank you all so much for the sweet comments on my Friday post...it made me feel so special in the midst of all my nervousness!!  I will be straight with you...there is a bit of self imposed pressure to make the most amazing cards after you've been invited to be a part of a design team...but I realized something the other day(although I've always known it, but have to keep reminding myself).  I am me...and my cards are me...it's not my charming personality, or smashing good looks :) by which Michele invited me to be a part of her team...so I have decided... I will just keep doing what I've been doing, always trying to do better, and it'll be ok!!  Just be yourself!!...hmmm... a great sentiment for a card but it's a fantastic thought for life!!!   I am a bit nervous but so very excited:)!!!   That being said, the challenge for this week at CAS-ual Fridays is to make a card using 2 opposite colors from the color wheel .

  I googled color wheel and chose the 2 tertiary colors on the left and right...I chose Tangerine Tango and Taken With Teal to make the flowers for my card:

I opted to keep the card as white as I could to show off the color of the flowers.  I used the postage stamp die from Papertrey Ink, the flowers are Memory Box, the sentiment is Hero Arts.  Layered the postage stamp rectangles for depth and dimension, and scored 2 lines on top and bottom of flowers.  The card is 4 x 6...I just liked having 3 of each flower, so made it a bit longer than A2 card.
Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Exciting News!!

Just wanted to share some exciting news with you all!! There was a Design Team call at CAS-ual Fridays, I applied, and I can hardly believe it, but I have been chosen for a newly developed facet of this wonderful blog as a Girl Friday on Facebook!!!!!
                                                 

You can find out all the details of the new Design Team and Facebook Team by going to the BLOG...the team is filled with some very talented and amazing artists....I am humbled, honored, excited, and thrilled at the opportunity that Michele Gross has given me to not only work with such amazing ladies but also garner design team experience, never having been on a design team before!!!!  I KNOW that I will learn a lot...wow...who would have ever thought??!!  Thank you, ladies, for your support, and encouragement ...you helped me decide to apply...now I just have to keep breathing and hope my nerves will subside soon ....Make sure you check out the blog for all the details of the new ladies on the Design Team and the new Facebook venture and join in this week's challenge...can hardly wait to get started!!!   Hugs to you all!! Lisa

Runway Inspired Challenge 9

I made a card for Runway Inspired Challenge ...here's my card and the model:

 

Ok...I WAS a bit stumped by this challenge!  It seems that I tend to interpret these kinds of challenges very literally, so the green and patterned piece in the upper corner were a MUST for me...That being said, it was hard for me to make a card that I actually LIKED and would want to send to someone, based on simply those two criteria... so I broke up the rest of the card to add some interest and stamped on the entire panel minus the patterned paper(which I DID take my versamark marker and DREW along the swirls then clear embossed to tie in to the rest of the card)with Hero Arts Flower Dot Pattern background stamp and clear embossed (oh, I put the Paper Smooches sentiment on FIRST...only know it doesn't work the other way...how do I know...yes I tried it first the other way:):)!!).  I tried to capture the pretty sheen of the embossed pattern...hope you can see it just a little better here:

Interesting challenge...interesting card....I think??!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa