Once in a While...

Don't you just love this iconic pink Anna Griffin paper?  I hate to admit it but it's probably about 10 years old!  It has survived every purge and I still love it.   The beautiful Chatterbox paper is a perfect background for this wedding card.  

The sentiment is printed on Vellum, the ribbon and hearts are from my stash.

The design is based on this week's sketch at Card Positioning Systems (258).  

Thanks so much for dropping by today.

Ivanka

Best Day of the Year

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I'm still catching up with challenges at the Winter Warm Up Crop at CardMaker Swap Board.  The challenge on Wednesday was to create a card using a quote or a poem.  I'm also joining in with the CPS 5th Anniversary Celebration, day 5 sketch.  It's been fun playing along with all sketches over at CPS.  I'm also playing with Lily Pad Cards patterned paper challenge.

Here's my card:

The sentiment is from a pad of quotes and sentiments on vellum from Jo-Ann's.  The paper was a gift from my friend Barb, I'll have to ask if she remembers who it's from.  Flowers are from Prima.

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope you have a wonderful day.

Ivanka

Manly yes.....

Hello there,

I dug deep into my stash for today's 'manly' card.  All of these products have been with me for years.  If was fun to discover them again. 

I'm joining in the 5th Anniversary Celebration at CPS.  The sketch is from day 1.  I'm also joining in with the CardMaker Winter Warm Up over at the Swap Board.   The challenge on Friday was to make a card with texture.

Here's my card:

 

I used the argyle embossing folder for the base and Happy Birthday for the side panel.  The patterned paper is from 7 gypsies and the text box is from Graphic 45.  Twill is from Martha Stewart and the metal brad thingy is from Stampin' UP!  Sentiment stamp is from Papertrey Ink.

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Ivanka

Baby Boy Card

January already...and a New Year.  My how time flies.

The Christmas things are down and it's back to work tomorrow.  Nice to get back to a routine.

Here's my first challenge card of the year.  This is for this week's sketch at CPS, the challenge at CAS-ual Fridays to use kraft paper and twine and the challenge at Less is More to use just one word.

Sticker is from SRM (Quick Cards), chipboard star is from Cosmo Cricket, embossing folder is from Cuttlebug, embossing plate for the background is from Sizzix.

Thanks for dropping by,

Ivanka

Father's Day x 2

The Create: Blog challenge for this week is make a card for Father's Day. Making cards for guys is not always the easiest thing but somehow when I started, these two came together quickly.

The journal note is from Echo Park, the embossing plate is from Sizzix, I inked it with platinum ink. The gaffer tape is from 7 gypsies and the letters are Thickers from American Crafts. This card and the next one are based on this weeks sketch 219 at Card Positioning Systems.

The great image is from Crafty Secrets, from the Summertime Images and Journal Notes. It's just perfect for a Father's Day Card. The black cardstock is embossed with the Argyle embossing folder from Cuttlebug and then inked with platinum ink. I used 7 gypsies gaffer tape again and Offray ribbon. The photo corners are from Canson and the sentiment is from SRM.

Thanks so much for dropping by.

Ivanka

Oldie Moldie Monday

My friend Barb and I came up with a challenge for ourselves to try and use long forgotten papers and supplies. And Oldie Moldie Monday was born. Barb has been very good about posting an OMM card each week but sad to say, I've been neglecting my stash in favour of 'new' papers.

So this morning I dug deep, right into the bottom of my scraps box and came up with these 7 gypsies papers from many, many years ago. I still love them, they are so perfect for masculine cards. Finding them was like running into an old friend. lol

My card today is based on this week's sketch at Card Positioning Systems and the Get Sticky challenge at Wee Memories.

The twill tape is from Martha Stewart, decorative label punch and brads are from Stampin' UP, stickers (happy) is from Jenny Bowlin, (birthday) is from SRM. Embossing folder is from Cuttlebug.

Thanks for stopping by today and taking a little trip down Memory Lane with me. I hope your Monday has been a good one.
Ivanka

Saturday

It's another fun Play Date Cafe challenge. These have been so great to do as they are color combinations that I would never bring together, but I'm having a ball trying to get it accomplished.

Here's the challenge:

And here's my card...based on this weeks' Card Positioning Sketch #201

The background paper is from Webster's Pages and is more green than is showing up here. I had the hardest time with lighting today. It must be the reflection of all the snow we're having! The stamp is from Studio G, sentiment sticker is from SRM, ribbon is from WalMart, trim is from the $ store.

Thanks so much for dropping in today...hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Post Christmas...

Hello...Are you happy to be on the other side of Christmas? I kind of am, it's been hectic, but it's also been a wonderful time of family and friends and fun gifts and lots of good food. I'm totally enjoying today...relaxing, watching old videos and making a card. A pretty perfect day, I think.

Today's card is based on sketch 197 at CPS. This week they are doing the year in review where you can choose any sketch from the past year. It's also based on the daily challenge at 365 Cards Plentiful Patterns - Use at least 3 of the following patterns on your card - plaid, paisley, gingham, hounds tooth, toile. I chose argyle, gingham and toile. The flower is from Prima, brad is from Making Memories and the sticker is from SRM stickers. It's also Oldie Moldie Monday where I dig into my forgotten papers and give them a new purpose in life. The argyle paper is from Dream Street and the toile is from Adorn It, Carloee's Creations.

I made a set of Luminaria's for a friend this Christmas. I found a fabulous video tutorial here.

These were so easy and so much fun to make. And using a battery operated votive makes these safe to use with paper and safe to have in my studio.

I used a Martha Stewart snowflake punch and Prism metallic paper. The metallic paper was perfect for this project because it is a heavier weight than card stock and the metallic shine is so pretty with the light reflecting off of it.

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you're having a great Monday.

Rainy Sunday...

All around us here in Southern Ontario, there is snow. Tons of snow. We seem to be in the middle of a snow free bubble right now...not that I'm complaining. But rain?? Doesn't really put you in the Chrismtas spirit, does it?

Onto today's cards, also not very Christmassy. :) The first one is for this week's sketch #197 at CPS and the Card Creations: Favorite Occasions Week All Occasion Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.


The paper is from Webster's Pages, image is from Crafty Secrets, ribbon is from Offray and the butterfly is from Prima.

This card is for the FTL 120 at Clean and Simple Stamping and Card Creations: Favorite Occasions Week Thank You Challenge in the Moxie Fab World The cardstock is from Jillybean Soup, patterned paper is from Webster's Pages again (love it!!), stamp is from Stampin' Up.

Thanks for dropping by today. Hope you've had a wonderful weekend.

Ivanka

CPS Christmas card

So it's Oldie Moldie Monday time. That's the day to dig into my supplies and show some love to long forgotten papers and embellishments.

Today's card is based on this week's sketch at CPS.

The paper is from K&Co., the rub on Santa image is from Bo Bunny and the sentiment rub on is from American Crafts. I used the Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder, Offray ribbon and Hero Arts poinsettia. All have been hiding in my Christmas box for quite some time.

And that's all for me today, short and sweet. I'm off to the dentist, then vollyball practise, then dance class...and none of those events are for me!!

Thanks for stopping by today...

CPS # 181

Today, we're shopping for things for my daughter to take to University.

Yup...my baby is that old! The years have just flown. She's excited though and I know it'll be an amazing experience for her. And I also know I'm going to miss her to bits. She will only be about 45 minutes away, so we'll hopefully see her often. The winds of change are coming.....

Today's card is an Oldie Moldie. I know I have been a really bad Oldie Moldie Monday participant so it's time to dig into the stash pile and use up some paper. This paper is from Hot Off The Press. I still like it, I'll have to use it more often.

This is based on this week's sketch at Card Positioning Systems. The bird stamp is from Inkadinkadoo, the sentiment is from Papertry Ink, flowers are from Prima.

Today's shopping should be fun (except on the wallet!) but in about 2 weeks, the Kleenex will be flying. And it won't be pretty.

Hope you have a fab Monday!

Lots to share...

Happy Saturday. I hope you're having a wonderful day. I've been busy and have a few things to share today. Hope you have a few minutes to spend here...

First, here's my take on Moxie Fab's 'Three Cheers for Chairs Challenge'. I know, it's simple and quick, but it will be perfect to send to a friend who I haven't seen for a while. I amazingly have no chair stamps or images so I went to Microsoft's Word program, searched for chair clip art and found this cute image. This is also loosely based on the sketch at 2S4Y. I am always in awe of Laura, Kazan and the DT cards. They are always so beautiful. My simple card is a distant cousin to theirs.....

Next is a card for this weekend's sketch challenge at the SRM stickers blog. Stamp is from Serendipity stamps, sticker is from SRM stickers. Love using them on cards.

Next is a project I first saw on eighteen25. I loved it the minute I saw it and Julia decided that this was the perfect thank you gift to give to a Student Teacher. So coupons in hand, we hit Michaels.

We found most of these things in the $1.50 aisle and then threw in some extra goodies.

For the outside we bought 2 pkg. of coordinating file folders, also in the the $1.50 aisle. They are double sided, sturdy and worked perfectly to decorate the the outside of the box. The letters are Thickers from American Crafts. The ribbon is from Offray.


Miss V. loved her gift and the best part of all of this was that Julia and i had fun working on a project together.


After we were finished, I realized that the file folders would be perfect to use on cards. And pretty inexpensive too. Here's my card based on this week's sketch for CPS.

And since I shared 2 (or more!) projects, I'm entering this week's Die Cuts R Us challenge as well.

So why am I being so creative today? I wanted to let you know about a challenge that Barb and I are having starting Monday, May 3rd. It's our Oldie Moldie Monday challenge and we're joining Operation Write Home in hopes of getting lots of cards made that the troops can send home. And we're each offering a prize (See mine at the top of the sidebar).

Hope you come back on Monday, join us in using our much loved, but often ignored supplies and creating cards for a great cause.

Whew...did you make it all the way through this post??

Paris Birthday Card

Monday again and it's time for another OMM (Oldie Moldie Monday) card. This is also based on this week's CPS sketch.

The paper is from Cherry Arte...a few years old. And the stamp is from Stampabilities, also a few years old. The border is from Colorbok and the flowers are from Prima.

It was a beautiful Easter weekend here and it was so nice to be able to work outside. Hope you've had a great weekend.

Ivanka

CPS 160

I love the sketch at CPS this week. It's clean and simple and has so many possibilities. It came at a perfect time to help me make the cards for a swap I'm in.

Here's my take on the sketch. The paper is from Basic Grey (Eva), the hand made pink paper was embossed with Cuttlebug's candy stripe embossing folder. The sentiment is a digital freebie from here. Love this!! 1/2 pearls are from Martha Stewart.

I love it when a sketch fulfills a need! Perfect.

Thanks for dropping by today.

Ivanka

Thank You Cards

A friend of mine recently lost her MIL and asked me to make a few thank you cards for her. It's never easy to lose a loved one and I know that she has wonderful friends who were generous in their time and support. I knew that she'd want these cards fairly quickly so I turned to some sketches to get these done quickly. For the first one I used CPS sketch # 156 .

The paper is from My Mind's Eye (Wild Asparagus). I had bought a paper pack with the whole Wild Asparagus line a while ago at Winner's (like Marshalls). I love, love this line and find myself using it a lot.

This next card is for Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge # 102. This is my first time playing with Taylored Expressions. My friend Barb has been playing with them for a long time now. Such amazing inspiration over at their site.

And so from there, I just kept going...

And going...

These all fall under my Olide Moldie Monday challenge. The paper is from 2007 and I'm sure I've had that stamp from Inkadinkadoo for many moons now. I think this is the first time it has seen any ink (gasp!). If you'd like to join Barb and I in our Oldie Moldie Monday challenge, we've set up a Flickr group here. The only requirements are that you use something that has been in your stash for a while. It doesn't really need to be that moldie...

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I'm sad that the Olympics are over, it was so nice to sit down in the evening and catch up with the day's events. It sure ended with tons of excitement yesterday frm the men's hockey game. Sad for the US to lose, it was such a nail biter! But I'm so glad Canada won it on home ice. Were you watching?

Ivanka

Cheery and Bright

Wasn't it just in the last post that I said I wasn't really adventurous with my colors? Umm, well I seem to be getting a bit more spunky!

The first card is for Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger and also for Caardvarks challenge to use stickers. The bright, clean look of the Moxie trigger photo really inspired me. I did have to pop out to M's to get this ribbon. Can you believe I did not own a stitch of yellow ribbon. With all my ribbon, how can that be?? I'm quite happy to give this yellow beauty a new home!

Ribbon is from Offray, Paper is from Cosmo Cricket (Lil' Man), the tag is a sticker from American Crafts and the rub on is from Melissa Frances.

The next card is for the sketch on CPS this week, still using the Cosmo Cricket papers. The chipboard swirl is from Cosmo Cricket as well, flower is from Prima, sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

And here is my new addiction. I recently won a prize on the Tombow Blog, and along with a bunch of great adhesives, the package included a pack of their dual brush markers. Not being a big stamper, I really had no idea where to start until I found Marie Browning's tutorial. On the weekend, I sat down and just played. When I realized how easy stamping with markers was, I pulled out some SU stamps that I've barely used and went to town. I just had so much fun coloring and punching!

Which leads me to my Oldie Moldie Monday card. The October Afternoon paper is really not that old, but it has been in my stash for a couple of years. I still love it. I used one of my newly stamped circles and a Papertrey Ink sentiment.

We're getting hit with a snow storm and they're calling for freezing rain. I don't have to go anywhere tonight, so I think it's back to my studio with more bright colors to cheer me up.

Oh and I'm planning to watch the ice dancing, the Can. team is in first place going into the final.

Have a great evening...Ivanka

CPS Sketch 154

Another week gone, amazing how fast the time goes. It's been busy around here and not much creating getting done. I didn't even get my Oldie Moldie Monday card posted til today.

The first card I made is for the CPS sketch #154 . The paper and chipboard are from Cosmo Cricket (Lil' Man), letter stickers are from Making Memories, felt # is from American Crafts, trim is from Michaels.
These next 2 cards are for a challenge on Cuppas and Cards and my Oldie Moldie Monday cards. It was our first anniversary celebration last week. The first challenge was to make a spring card and use only stickers. The paper is from K&Co. and Basic Grey, spring sticker is from Creative Imaginations.

The next challenge was to make a coffee/tea card. The paper and sticker here are from Creative Imaginations again, label die cut from Nestablilites (label 1), stamp is from Papertry Ink.

This next card was for a challenge on the SRM Blog, to use their blog title as inspiration to make a card. Have a look at their blog, my card was featured today. Woohoo. Wish I could find some SRM stickers, they should be arriving in stores soon, so I will keep searching.

I must admit that The Olympics are taking up a lot of our time around here for the past week. We seem to be glued to the TV. I'm looking forward to the Men's skating final tonight. Are you watching?

See you soon,

Ivanka

CPS #153 and SRM challenge

Exciting title to this post isn't it??? Maybe as the day goes on, I'll come up with something more exciting.

So my card today is for the February challenge at SRM. The challenge is to use stickers and chipboard together on a project.

The patterned paper is from Basic Grey, Nook and Pantry. The chipboard is from a K&Co. Christmas pack, I used the back of the tag. It turned out to be the perfect fit for a sticker that I wanted to use. The journaling sticker is from American Crafts, the rub on is from Melissa Frances. Not sure who makes the ribbon, Barb shared it with me.

This card is also based on the sketch over at CPS. It's another great sketch and so fun and easy to work with.

The challenge at SRM runs all month and is a great way to use these up some chipboard and some stickers. I know I have a ton of each!

Hope you're having a great Super Bowl Sunday. Any party's going on? We're probably not going to watch too much of the game, but we're planning to make a ton of munchies and watch the commercials!! It's only us girls home this weekend....

Thanks for popping by,
Ivanka

Valentine's Day Cards

This is highly unusual for me. Besides making Valentine's Day cards for Steve or the girls, I hardly ever make them. I think the gorgeous paper that's out there right now has got me inspired. I mean, look at this gorgeous Pink Paislee papers. You can't help but be inspired by this prettiness. Well, at least I couldn't help myself!!

This card is based on a sketch # 151 at CPS. The hearts are from the $ store.

This is also another card for Moxie Fab's start to finish challenge. The paper on the inside is Pink Paislee again, stamp is from Anna Griffin, heart is from Sandylion. I'm really liking finishing the insides of my cards. Fun.

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The rest of my cards today are made from a Freebie. I get daily emails from Craft Gossip and a few days ago they shared this great Valentine digital freebie from The Rubber Punkin. They were so cute that I couldn't resist trying them. Using Scenic Route paper, these cards were a breeze to make and are going out today to the ladies in my recipe swap.

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I'm entering these cards in for the Tombow contest, as my Tombow mono adhesive dots is the adhesive that holds my cards together.

Aren't these cards the cutest?? I'm loving Valentine's Day!

Ivanka

CPS #150 and Old Stuff Challenge

Hard to believe that it's Thursday already. This week has just flown by.

I finally got to create today, the sun was shining, but it's still cold. Perfect day to stay in and have some fun.

I made this card for a friend using CPS sketch #150. I love these Bo Bunny papers and journaling block. Such pretty colors and patterns. The flowers are from Prima, silver flowers are from Jolee's. And I just love how the Textile Texture embossing folder looks on the shiny paper.

I also recently came across the Tombow Blog and they are giving away great prizes for using their products. Since I am addicted to my MONO Adhesive Dots roller, I thought I'd enter these cards into the draw. I also got to use my new MONO Glue Pen for the small silver flowers.

The next 2 cards are for Teri Anderson's Old Stuff Challenge and Caardvarks Red Heart Challenge. The minute I came across Teri's challenge to use old stuff, I started digging through my stash for those old papers that have survived every purging. I found quite a few. Not sure why, but there are those certain pieces of paper that I just can't part with.

And this 7 Gypsies paper (from 2003, anyone remember it?) has been saved from purging many, many times. I'm so happy to finally give it new life. 7 years is long enough to hide out in the scrap box, I think.
The beautiful felt hearts are from Dolores Etsy shop. I love, love, love these! They are such sweet little creations. I have no idea how she has the patience to work on these little beauties, but I'm so glad she does. The rub on sentiment is from QuicKutz. Also something I've had in my stash for a few years now.

The chipboard on this card is from Scenic Route.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I'm off to find more old stuff to play with. With CHA this weekend, I need to make room for some new stuff!!

Ivanka