Hybrid Birthday Card - MIM Challenge

The MIM wild card challenge this week was to create a hybrid card. To that end, I printed out the frame and sentiment onto a transparency, thinking I could use it on a card somehow. The frame is a freebie I found somewhere and I think it's beautiful! I colored the backside of it with my Copic markers to give it just a little color.

There's a micro challenge going on right now over at Caardvarks, too. Their challenge is to make a card WITHOUT using patterned paper. Back in the day I'd say "No problem!" and stamp something... but lately I've been much more of a patterned paper user, so this proved a little more challenging! I discovered a sheet of cardstock I bought a while back - brown on one side, teal on the other. And that gave me an idea...

I cut a frame out of the front of the card, then adhered the transparency using some Iron Orchid Designs from an old Sweet Pea Scraps kit. This particular blue tape I hadn't found a good use for yet, but it turns out that it makes a pretty sweet border! I'm pretty happy with the card and might just make a second out of the remaining half sheet of cardstock.


How are YOUR hybrid cards coming along?

I WON!!!!

Just for kicks, I decided to participate in the Caardvarks Junk Bowl Micro Challenge the other day. And I won!! I never win anything, and I wasn't *thrilled* with my entry, so I was surprised to get up this morning and see my name as the winner. Woohoo! Thanks, Caardvarkians!

That's more like it! (Caardvarks Micro Challenge - Junk Bowl #2)

After my first, somewhat unsatisfactory, attempt at the Junk Drawer challenge, I went back to my craft table to see what was left of the pile. From the remains I pulled a shard of ric-rack, rhinestones a plenty, an eyelet, and a couple clips, as well as a half-completed card face that got thrown into the reject pile when I was experimenting with card ideas for my card classes this summer. Then I put them all together and came up with this. Yes, THAT's more like what I was looking for.

Caardvarks Micro Challenge - Junk Bowl

See this jar? It's got little things in it that need to be put away. These are the few goodies that didn't get dealt with when I cleaned my craft room earlier today.



Lucky for me, a micro challenge was posted over at Caardvarks this afternoon and it specifically called for cards made from such a stash as this. Good thing I didn't put absolutely everything away, isn't it? So... let's see what we have in this little jar of mine, shall we??



Flowers, rhinestones, GOBS of white paperclips, some random brads and snaps, a couple beads, a couple mini tags, a bookplate... There was NO WAY I could use ALL the paperclips. No way. But I did use quite a few of them. It's cheesy, busy, and the heaviest card I think I've ever made. It might even be the ugliest card I've ever made. But I'm entering it anyway, and it was a fun challenge. So here is the final messypiece....

Caardvarks Challenge - Ravishing Ribbon part 5

So... this card is getting entered just for kicks. The wide green strip on the card is ribbon. The rest is my attempt at doing a card "Elsie style". I hand drew, colored, and cut the scalloped edge. The pp is Scenic Route, stamps are Purple Onion, and the star is Heidi Swapp.

This card is also part of my attempt to get as many cards as I could out of a single sheet of SR paper. I made 12 cards using a single sheet of patterned paper, plus cardstock and embellishments. I was pretty happy with that, and I got quite a variety of cards from it!

Caardvarks Challenge - Ravishing Ribbon part 4

I saw a tutorial on how to make ribbon flowers and that started me on a HUGE ribbon flower kick. It's basically all I've been crafting the past week. Lots of cards. Lots and lots and lots of cards going on in my craft room. Combine the new love for ribbon flowers with a new HS stamp, a new Sizzix embossing plate (that I learned works great in my Cuttlebug) and a few paper scraps and you get this card. I'm pretty happy with it and the kind folks at Caardvarks DID leave a comment saying I could enter as many cards as I wanted, so... I'm adding it to the line up!

Caardvarks Challenge - Ravishing Ribbon part 3

Inspiration struck last night, so I raced to the craft room to get my idea onto paper, er - cardstock. Another wedding / bridal shower card, but I love how it turned out. This ribbon challenge is great for getting my creative juices flowing!

The specifics:

This is a free form dress card cut from white cardstock. I sewed across the bottom of the neck/top of shoulders to form the card hinge. The dress has a silver embossed design, with an off-white script overlay (basic grey) over it. The ribbon ruffles at the bottom of the skirt are attached to the overlay, as is the stamped sentiment. The overlay seam is at the waist of the dress and is covered by a bow. The veil is made from a doubled over wide organdy ribbon gathered and sewn, and a scallop of lace for the top. I was trying to give the illusion of a bride walking down the aisle after the ceremony (thus the back of the dress...). I don't know if I succeeded in that, but I do like how the card turned out.

Here are pictures of the card:



I had some detail pics, too, but blogger seems to be having issues with my photo uploads, so I'll just have to post those a little later.