simple and cute

Delight in the Snow

Snow came so early this year. It wasn’t just a little bit either, it was one huge blanket of snowman-worthy snow. It’s always so strange to see the fall leaves still on the trees when there’s snow on the ground!

I wasn’t ready for it. I had to scramble to get my winter tires on my car and try to find winter boots to fit my kids who keep growing and have their own sense of fashion. It’s harder to buy clothes for them now that they have an opinion! LOL! Though, I had a “mom win” moment this week after I bought a winter jacket for my 14 year old daughter and surprised her with it. When I saw it advertised in a flyer, I just knew it was perfect for her AND it was a door crasher Black Friday deal! It fit! She loved it! I won SO HARD!!

We weren’t ready for the snow. We didn’t build a snowman and we didn’t even enjoy the snow. It was more of an annoyance, really.

Now the snow is melted. Now I’m wishing for it to come back. I’m ready.  I’m ready to be delighted by the winter wonderland.

Today’s card is a design inspired by the As You See It Challenge blog. It’s an assortment or recipe challenge!

The only current snowflakes I have are in the Feels Like Frost DSP and my Snowman Season stamp set, so I used BOTH!

This little snowman is so cheerful and delighted, don’t you think! I stamped him on Whisper White cardstock with Tuxedo Black Momento ink and die-cut the it with a circle from the Circle Layers Dies. Pool Party and Pumpkin Pie Stampin Blends Markers give him a spot of colour. Wink of Stella gives him a bit of a frosty sparkle. It’s so hard to capture that sparkle in a photograph!

The Feels Like Frost Designer Series Paper was cut with one of the dies from the Stitched Rectangle Dies (a staple in my die collection!)

I layered these over the Poppy Parade cardstock and the polka-dot patterned paper from the Trimming the Town Designer Series Paper. Some white Crinkle Seam Binding ribbon wrapped around the layers behind the circle and tied in a bow, adds a touch of softness to this playful layout.

A couple of the layers are raised with Stampin’ Dimensionals – another staple in my craft supplies!

The design is complete with the large Merry Christmas sentiment stamped in Poppy Parade ink on the Thick Whisper White card base.

This card makes me feel very merry! How ’bout you?

The Beauty of Friendship

I love speed challenges! They get my creative mojo flowing AND I get a card completed lickety-split!

This card came together in my mind really easily. Let me tell you, these used to be REALLY hard for me! The more I do them, the easier they seem to be. It’s such a great creative exercise. I highly recommend you give a speed challenge a try. If you don’t know how it works, you basically think about the card you want to make. Once you have a plan, you can gather your supplies together, but you CANNOT pre-cut any of your paper or ribbon before you start the clock. When you DO start the clock, you move with confidence until your card is complete. Stop the clock and record your time!

Sometimes, the finished product is a little bit lacking, but you will ALWAYS find that your creative brain has jumped into high gear and something about the card you made has inspired you to try it another way. I love how a speed challenge gets my creative mojo flowing freely!

The As You See It Challenge this time, is a Speed Stamping Challenge with a butterfly theme! You can check out what other people created for this challenge and also share your own design with us over at the As You See It Challenge blog.

I borrowed the Beauty Abounds stamp set from a friend for this challenge because I don’t have ANY butterfly stamps! Can you believe it!!?

I stamped the sentiment on the Whisper White cardstock with Tuxedo Black Momento ink, then stamped the bokeh circles with Balmy Blue ink and Granny Apple Green ink. The butterfly images were stamped with Versamark Ink, Gold Embossing Powder was applied and heat set with my Heat Tool.

I added a second layer of Whisper White behind this piece, partly to create a stiffer layer, but also to give a subtle layered look with the white on white edges.

Linen Thread was wrapped around the white layers and tied in a bow before attaching it to the Artistry Blooms Designer Series Paper and Crumb Cake cardstock card base with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

You can check out the video of this card that only took 9 minutes and 3 seconds to make. In our busy world, even 9 minutes can feel like a long time, so I sped the video up for you! LOL! You’re welcome!

Plaid Thank You

My card design today is actually rather fitting, considering what happened yesterday.

You may not know this, but for the past few years, I’ve been riding my bike (David now, I named my new bike David, LOL!) in the Great Cycle Challenge to raise funds in the fight against childhood cancer. The challenge is to ride your bike through the entire month with a riding goal that you set for yourself as a way to raise support for the cause. Yesterday was a very special day in the month, as we had a donor who was willing to match all of the donations received on that day (up to $1,000,000!!). As a whole, the Canadian Great Cycle Challenge riders raised $1,566,526 in that ONE day!!

It was such an emotional day for me as I watched donations come in from my friends and family and my Stampin’ Up! customers who stepped up to join me in the fight for the little lives battling cancer! I can’t even put into words how much my heart is warmed by the generosity and supportive messages. That one day allowed me to reach my personal fundraising goal and more! I can’t even count how many times I found myself wiping the tears from my cheeks as my heart swelled with gratitude.

The card I have to share with you today has the sentiment that says, “I can’t thank you enough”. This is my heart. This is my heart and so much more!

Before I show you the card design, let’s see the inspiration behind the card. It begins with a colour challenge from the As You See It Challenge Blog for which I am a designer.

Aren’t these great colours!

Here’s my card, which features the So Sentimental Bundle from Stampin’ Up!

I used patterned paper from the Plaid Tiding 6×6″ Designer Series Paper (LOOOOVE this paper!). The sentiment is stamped on Whisper White cardstock with Tuxedo Black Momento Ink. This is die-cut and layered on the Bermuda Bay die-cut piece of cardstock and Crushed Curry cardstock strip, which both had the Linen Thread wrapped around them.

I adhered the Cajun Craze cardstock and the yellow plaid patterned paper to my Thick Whisper White card base before using Stampin’ Dimensionals to attach the layers to the front of the card.

You can follow along with the creation of this card and two other sweet and simple cards by checking out the Facebook Live class at: https://www.facebook.com/inkingonthefly/videos/611332663082219/

As always, if you are in Canada, like I am, you can order any of the products you see on this blog post by going to my online store. Just click on the blue “shop” button on my page or click on the menu at the top of the page and choose the online store option.

Be sure to check out the challenge at the As You See It Challenge Blog as well! You can play along with us and share your final results. We love to see your take on the challenges.