Just One Tip at CraftStorageIdeas.com

Hi there! I have a fun tip to share with you over at CraftStorageIdeas.com today! Hope you can take a minute to check it out!

hugs, Noelle

A Foxy Little Card...

Hi all, wanted to pop in with a lil' card today. I made this one the same day I made my last card for the ColourQ. One of these "well, I have all this stuff out anyway, might as well make another one!" kinda cards. Do you see some similarities between this card and that one?

I am giving this to my brother and his wife. They are expecting their 2nd baby! A boy this time! They have a 7 year old daughter already. I can't wait for him to come and neither can his big sister :)

I think this fox stamp is to cute! Cannot believe he hadn't been inked before now.....

Hope you like it! "See" you soon with some more fun projects.

xo, Noelle

TCP New Release BLOG HOP!

Hey all! So, what did ya think of the Release this week? So many fun goodies to play with! We have our Blog Hop going on right now! Hop along and leave comments if you can! If you are Hopping, you should have come here from Nancy's blog. If you want to start at the beginning to get all your Hops in, go to Jen's blog.

This is such a fun set! It's called "All Tied Up" and such a cute set for a belated birthday card, I think. :) I also used the lock from the "Key To My Heart" CutUps...

I colored my little bear guy blue and made the ribbons tying him up pale green, and added a little Stickles for some glam. Going on the "tied" theme, I wrapped the card stock behind the bear with gold and white baker's twine and tied a bow at the top.

That's it for me today! Hope you have enjoyed all the fun of this Release! I sure have enjoyed my first Sneaky Peek week as a Cat Packer! Go next to Kimberly's blog to keep Hopping! 

hugs, Noelle

Sneaky Peek Week "Key and Heart Background"

Hi all! I am SO excited to share with you today's Sneaky Peek! I love the way this card turned out so much, I may never part with it. :) First things first, here's the set STAMP we are "peeking" at today, it's a large RUBBER background stamp called the "Key and Heart Background."

I also used "Sock Monkey" on this card, LOVE him!

Here's my card :)

You can see I used the Key and Heart background, not only as a background, but also to paper-piece Mr. Sock Monkey's suit with.

This was a fun card, you know I love a plethora of layers, and as you can see, this card has them! 

I hope you like my card and this Peek! Our Blog Hop begins at midnight, and I'll be back then with my final card! 

Big Sock Monkey Hugs, Noelle

You're My Rock (SPARKS Challenge, and Moxie Fab Emphasize the Negative)

Hi all, you have been seeing all these posts come out of here left and right, but the truth is most of them were written weeks ago! I haven't actually made a card in over a week and I was itching to get inky this morning. :) My dear hubby has really always been my rock. This last year has been tough, having lost 2 grandparents in less than a year, I definitely go through my down times. I'm also an insomniac (I think many creative types suffer from this!) and the worse the sleep deprivation gets, the harder life seems to feel, you know? Anyhow, this week has been a record sleep loss week for me, ugh! Last night I took a Rx sleeping pill at 1030, and still didn't get to sleep until 2am. Yuck! We were supposed to be at church early (my son is an acolyte and was scheduled for the 8am service this morning) and after my shower I was on our bed dissolved in a flood of tears. This sweet man patiently listens to all my woes, gives me a hug, offers to take 3 boys to church alone, and then to swim practice after that, he shoos the cat out, finishes getting the boys all ready, shuts the door, and I am hugely grateful to say I got 3 more hours of sleep and woke up feeling much happier and energetic. When I woke up all I could think of is how grateful I am for him. He truly is one of the greatest blessings I've ever been given :) I also was thinking how I make cards all the time, but rarely any for him unless it's our anniversary or something. I remembered I'd made another PS "rock" card recently, and thought I could use the rock stamp again to make a card for my husband.

Snowshoeing in January

PS stamps mix and match so well, I was able to create this custom sentiment with the "you rock" stamp from Sentiment Sampler, and two other sentiment stamps from Space Cadet. I also used some new stamps and dies I recently got from there: the Clipboards Dies, the Clipboard Stamps, and the Streamers Dies. The rock image came from Cuteasaurus. This is for two challenges, the Emphasize The Negative Challenge at Moxie Fab AND challenge over at Paper Smooches SPARKS this week, it's a Cool Shades Challenge, and the palette is called "Fiesta," here it is:

Here's my card again, I started with the clipboard/office supply theme and went from there, using DP that looks like graph paper. I punched 3 circles in it, and popped the whole thing up with 3D dots after adhering the clipboard top.

Then I created my banner, using 3 different stamps. If you've never tried you can get a whole lot more mileage out of your stamps this way, mixing and matching words to make a custom sentiment. I just inked up the word I wanted with a marker and stamped just that word. Then remove the stamp, and repeat until you have you sentiment finished. I used 3 different pens since I wanted the word "rock" to really pop. The rocks were paper pieced from scraps and then I added a fun paper clip, a library clip, an orange eyelet, and some gems as accents.

Well, I have 3 kids that need haircuts, and a lot going on this week, so I've got to fly. hope to see you TCP Fans at the Pajama Party on Splitcoaststampers tomorrow night! Big hugs, Noelle

Sneaky Peek Week "Show Me the Magic"

Hi all! Happy Palm Sunday! Hope you are having a lovely day with family today :) I'm really looking forward to Easter next week, how about you? I did want to pop by with another Sneaky Peek, this one is "Show Me the Magic." I also used the Heart Swirl CutUp again on this card.

Here's my card, this was a fun set to play with, I really accentuated the "magic" coming out of his honey pot! He's so funny, just as obsessed with his honey pot as Winnie The Pooh! ;)

I used a swirly print DP in the background, to coordinate with the Heart Swirl. I also used a rhinestone swirl. The colors I chose came right from the paper itself. You can see here how I really tried to add motion to the love coming out of the honey pot.

I also used the Circus Panels CutUp for the sentiment.

What do you think of this set? It could play nicely with some of the circus sets that we have at TCP. I hope you like my card! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and tomorrow I'll be debuting my MOST fave card I've made so far with this release! Hope you can pop back by :)

hugs, Noelle

Sneaky Peek Week "Words of Love"

Hi all! Here today with another Peek! This set is called "Words of Love." My card today also "peeks" the new Heart Swirl CutUp.

And here's my card...

This is a fun set, there is a whole LOT you could do with it! It would also mix really well with the "Key Phrases" set also part of this release. Subway art was mentioned when the Cat Pack was first shown this set, and that's the way I went with it, using several of the stamps on a single panel of DP. I love this Heart Swirl CutUp, and cut two of them for this card creating a shadow effect with the light blue Swirl. You can also see that I used one of the small stamps to create a little punched circle that I accented the stickpin with. 

I love to stamp on patterned paper. As long as the pattern isn't too wild, it usually creates a cool effect like it did here.

This is such a versatile set, I really think I'll be using it a lot! :) Hope you like it too, and you like my card. Have an awesome day! :)

Hugs, Noelle

Neutral Noel:take 2!

Hiya crafty peeps and friends, It is the SECOND week of the "Neutral Noel" challenge at Jingle Belles! I am the Guest Star for this challenge, and I am challenging YOU to make a holiday card with only neutral colors! That's right, here's the info:

***Create a holiday card which embraces the neutral colors:  white, cream, ivory, ecru, black, grey, charcoal, obsidian, brown, tan, kraft, oatmeal, sienna; use them all together, or choose one and rock the monochrome!  in whatever way you desire, if it's NEUTRAL, it's *IN*!!!  and yes, for the record, we consider gold and silver to be the "bling" equivalent of neutrals, so you may use them all you like!  

When I came up with this prompt (as the Guest Star we have the option to choose the challenge), I was really thinking about how I *love* color and normally use as much color as possible on my cards. However, recently I've found myself really digging on all-neutral cards. When you lose one of your "go-to" tools for adding interest (in my case, color) then you are forced to look elsewhere for ways to add interest. Texture, pattern, metallics, and glitz are all ways to do that without adding color.

I wanted this card to be rustic and elegant with a touch of whimsy. This card has lots of fun layers to add to the interest as well. I started with a chocolate brown card and dry embossed it with a texture plate. Following an older sketch, I cut an acetate scrap printed with snowflakes and a crackle print scrap of DP with the same die. I adhered them together with no adhesive showing by running the acetate through a Xyron. The rectangular panel was created with a scrap of kraft DP that has a woodgrain print on it. Cute Mr. Snowman was paper pieced onto that panel from a subtle snowflake DP. His nose and heart were colored with a copper pen (to keep it neutral!) and then some Stickles for a bit of added interest. The final accent is made with a glittery silver snowflake and a stamped banner for the sentiment. 

This is the sketch I used, an older retrosketches #15.

The stamps are Paper Smooches: Warm Hearts and Christmas Sampler. 

I really hope you like this card and you can come play my challenge at Jingle Belles.

A HUGE thank you to Lauren and Stef for being just as awesome as ever! Love ya, girls! :) 

Hugs, Noelle

Sneaky Peek Week "Key Phrases"

Hi all! I have another peek for you today! I love this release so much and I KNOW you are going to love it, too! I literally got my package, sat down that very evening, and made 3 cards. Then got up the next morning, and made 3 more. It is simply THAT good, I tell ya! Todays set is called "Key Phrases."

Here's my card, I used the stamp set, the Heart Toppers CutUp, and the Key to Your Heart CutUps.

I decided to use a literal interpretation of the "A Small Key can open BIG doors" by creating a card that looked like a door. To create the panels on the door, I used the Window CutUp from a previous release. It's very easy to make more than a 4 pane/panel "window" with that die as it's really easy to line up and keep cutting a larger panel. Once the panels on the door were done, I created a decorative gold kick plate at the bottom with a rectangle of gold cardstock and the decorative part of the Heart Toppers. I created the panel to stamp the sentiment on with the other dies in the Heart Toppers set. I added a bit of decoration at the top of my door with the Toppers CutUps from the last release. The doorknob is a decorative brad. 

The key was cut out of the same gold cardstock as the kick plate and dry-embossed. A simple eyelet and some twine make a nice accent at the top of the card.

I hope you like these fun new goodies and my card! I'll be back soon with another great Peek! :)

Hugs, Noelle

Sneaky Peek Week and a TCP Tuesday, too!

Hiya crafty peeps, I'm back with another TCP Tuesday card.....
Ok, ok, AND it's the beginning of Sneaky Peek Week! Are you so excited for this release? I know I am! The first set we are debuting is called "Hare Today."

 I love this little guy! I decided to make a little hanging sign. I thought it might be fun to give to a friend who's going through a rough time. You see, Mr. Bun is looking for rainbows without realizing there's one right behind him! :)

I started by using the doily and adding the punched circle of black DP, added a rainbow, then I added a layer using the Cloud Border CutUp and the Wave CutUp. I trimmed around the bottom of the wave piece to match up with the scalloped edge of the doily. The sign is a red cardstock circle and a smaller piece of the b/w patterned paper I used on the doily. I used a sparkly white paper for the cloud layer and the circle that the sentiment is stamped on, that's why it looks a bit dim in the photos, but it's SUPER cute in person! :)

Mr. Umbrella Bun was colored with Copics and fussy cut. I colored the umbrella with rainbow stripes to match the rainbow theme I was going with.

I added some brightly colored ribbons to hang my sign on. Do you like it? Would you like to have this as a cheerful reminder of good things to come?

Ok, *now* onto the card for this month's TCP Tuesday! Here is the scoop for the challenge:

*You can use the colors: White, Cream, Kraft, Black + one actual color of your choosing.

*You may have your base card, plus only 2 layers.

*You may only use one patterned paper.
*Embellishments do NOT count as a layer, we have decided! :) 

Here's my card for this week's challenge... I ended up using almost the exact same layout as my LAST TCP Tuesday card for this month! 

The layered stamped and inked circular panel on the bottom right adds a lot of interest, I think. I started by stamping the nest. Then I cut a mask with the Cloud Border CutUp & created the clouds with some homemade spray ink. Then I added my bird outline, polka dot bird, and sentiment. 

The final touches were three adhesive buttons and some Aqua Divine Twine. The stamp set used is Nesting.

Whew! That is all for me today! I will be back several more times this week with some more fun Peeks! I can't wait for you to see this awesome release! It's fab! :)

hugs, Noelle