CASology Joy in White

Did you miss me?  You didn't even know that I was gone, did you?  I have been away for four days babysitting those charming nieces that I mentioned last week.  (For the first time ever, I got cards made in advance and scheduled posts for while I was away!)

But now that I am back, I am hurrying to get a card made for CASology because I haven't missed a week yet.  (I'm going to have to miss one at some point because I don't craft well with the stress of HAVING to do something!!  However, this week is NOT the week that I am missing because I love the challenge - ALL white!)

I got some new dies (turns out my nieces' house is just a few miles from an Archivers!) and wanted to include them on a wintery white card.  They are quite big and I was struggling with how to do it.  I went browsing challenges and, as usual, a challenge came to my rescue...the sketch at Pals Paper Arts!

(I apologize for the shadows on this picture - I have never figured out how to show embossing without keeping shadows)

I did add some glimmer spray to the letters to make them stand out a bit more...

I am also going to submit to the Simon Says...Emboss It challenge.

• Stamps: none!
• Paper: white
• Ink: none!
• Accessories: Cuttlebug snow folder and snow border folder, Lifestyle Crafts stripe folder and JOY dies, Tattered Angels Pearl Glimmer Mist, Stampin' Up sizzlit snowflake strip, crochet thread, Making Memories shimmer white brads

The First Snow

I love this week's monochromatic colors at Dynamic Duos.  The soft colors reminded me of a misty forest when the snow first starts to fall.


Here are the first few snowflakes...

I used this week's Merry Monday sketch.

And I'm going to enter this card into the Simon Says Stamp: Emboss It challenge.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Dynamic Duos design team has done with the colors - it's a gorgeous gallery!!  Then try it yourself and head over to link it up...we love to see what you have done!

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Trees Three, Labelicious
• Paper: Stampin' Up Always Artichoke
• Ink: Stampin' Up Always Artichoke and Certainly Celery
• Accessories: Cuttlebug Embossing folder, Stampin' Up Label Punch and celery ribbon, Martha Stewart Snowflake border punch and Crystal Fine Glitter

The Spider and the Web

I have had so much fun with Ghoul-Friend by The Alley Way Stamps this month, that I am almost sad that this is my last post before myself and the rest of the design team move on to using the October release.  (I'm not that sad...I've seen the October release...my favorite small TAWS image has been "bigged"...yeah!!!...check back next week!)



This was supposed to look like a spiderweb wreath.  I'm not sure the wreath part comes through?!  But I still love the little eyes peeking from the inside.  The bow is a 10 cent bandana from Hobby Lobby.  I just ripped strips to tie into bows.
The sketch came from Tuesday Morning Sketches.

I am also entering at Simon Says Stamps: Emboss It as the background is dry embossed and the web and the spider are heat embossed.

• Stamps: The Alley Way Stamps Ghoul-Friend
• Paper: Stampin' Up Black, Crumb Cake, Papertrey Ink Summer Sunrise
• Ink: Versamark
• Accessories: Stamp'n Stuff Starry Night Embossing Powder, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle dies, Halloween bandana

A Play Date with TAWS

Two of my favorites are getting together: The Alley Way Stamps is posting the Play Date Cafe!!

The colors in the Play Date inspiration seem very modern and bold to me, so I tried to step a little out of my comfort zone...a very little.  I kept a LOT of white, then used these bold colors in my little "cameo".

I originally just had the little cameo by itself in the corner and it was getting lost.  So I remembered this week's Less Is More challenge of "ovals".  I added a row of orders as a border.  I like the concept, but I should have popped them or something as it gets a little lost.

I am also entering at Simon Says Stamp: Emboss It as this card includes dry embossing and heat embossing.

• Stamps: The Alley Way Stamps Awesome Blossom
• Ink: Versamark
• Paper: Stampin' Up More Mustard, Papertrey Ink Raspberry Fizz
• Accessories: Creations Unlimited Teddy Bear Embossing Powder (brown), Sparkle White Detail Embossing Powder (no name on jar), misc sheer ribbon, Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate Twine, Stampin' Up Oval and Scalloped oval punch, gems colored with Copics

Quarterback...or Kicker??

My youngest child cannot decide whether to try out for quarterback or for kicker on his middle school touch football team.  (It sounds like he would prefer not to tackle nor be tackled on a regular basis!?)  I made a quarterback card here and I thought I better have a kicker card ready.


I really had no idea what the little "peg" stamps were in the Touchdown set by The Alley Way Stamps. So I used the pair of short ones for grass and the long one for a kicking tee.
I started out with school colors on this card but the red and blue with the green grass was not working.  So I browsed current challenges and found CAS-ual Fridays...black, white plus one.  I love the way it worked out!

Then I originally had the sentiment along the grass but the card seemed bottom heavy - so back to browsing challenges and found this week's at The Paper Players...CAS plus pennants.  Yeah!!

• Stamps: The Alley Way Stamps Touchdown
• Paper: Stampin' Up Gumball Green CS and dsp, Black dsp
• Ink: Stampin' Up Gumball Green, Memento black
• Accessories: MFT Fishtail Flag Stax

An Autumn Anniversary

My brother and his wife have an anniversary coming up soon.  As soon as I saw this week's CAS-ual Friday challenge, I knew it would be perfect for their card.

The black and white is perfect for them.  They have family photos and photos from their travels on their walls - all in black and white.  It's a wonderful look.  They had their wedding in the autumn and used fall colors so I wanted to honor that with a little orange.  

The three panels on this week's retrosketch were perfect for Papertrey Ink's Take Three die.  I have all of the seasonal sets that go with the die - and, funny enough, I used the winter stamps for this fall card!

• Stamps: Papertrey Ink Take Three: Winter, Tag-Its 5 (sentiment)
• Paper: black, Black Market Paper Ebony and Alabaster
• Ink: Papertrey Ink Canyon Clay
• Accessories: Papertrey Ink Canyon Clay satin ribbon and button, misc twine, Cuttlebug dot embossing folder

CAS Challenge: Leaves on Pinterest

Today's Clean & Simple Challenge at splitcoaststampers is a Pinterest inspiration challenge.

Isn't it gorgeous??

I die cut a number of leaves out of patterned paper and cardstock and then laid them onto a rectangle to replicate the print as a whole.  My picture does not do a great job of showing my water drop inspiration - I spritzed the cardstock leaves leaving puddles of shimmer.  (You can kind of see the splotchy part, but sadly the shimmer doesn't show!)

• Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy Blessings & Thanks
• Paper: Stampin' Up Cajun Craze, Papertrey Ink Fine Linen, K&Company Alleghany Plum
• Ink: Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate
• Accessories: Sweet 'n Sassy Season of Change Leaf Dies, Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream Button Twine and Dark Chocolate Button, Rectangle Spellbinders