'N' is for . . .

I wanted to share a quirky little side note with you.  But, before we get to that, a little back story.

I am a fan of monograms.  I actually do like them.  Not the weird, misplaced ones of yester-year.  The one's of today.  With scrolling beautiful fonts, and clever ways of incorporating them into our everyday lives.  And with this notion, I started altering chipboards letters.  I adhered strong magnets to the backs, and use them for decoration.  Ok, so the first one I made was for my locker at work.  But, I digress.  I loved the whole process, picking out the papers, collecting little embellishments, and decorating these stark, life-less letters into works of art.  My friends loved them, too.  So, I started making some for the various craft shows I sell my products at.  And what a hit!  These little gems do take quite a bit of time. But, they sure do end up very pretty to look at.  

Anyways, one of my good friends, Nichole, just loved the first 'N' that I ever made.  And boy, does she have an eye for pretty.  That letter 'N' was the first altered monogram magnet I ever sold.  And Nichole has loved every 'N' I have made since.  I typically create 'N's in black and white color combos with splashes of bright yellow.  But this year, I went another route. Cream and black with a pop of lavender. And it sold at my first arts and craft fair this holiday season!

packaged, and displayed on a framed metal sheet

So, my quirky little side note is this:  out of all the altered magnetic monograms I have created, the letter 'N' is my top seller!  I have sold more 'N's than any other letter, I have created.  Isn't that just funny?  And do you wanna guess what letter I am crafting again this week, for the upcoming craft fair?  Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!  'N'

Thank you, Nichole for all your love, support, and encouragement!

Two Challenges Come Together

Wow, it's already Thursday.  This week, ok, this year is just flying by!  I am still working on some items for the few craft fairs that I am participating in this holiday season.  And the time I have to 'create' keeps getting interrupted with nonsense.

So, to help with the creative flow, I have decided to work with a sketch by Card Patterns, and use the color challenge by Creative Sketches.

Here is the sketch:

Here are the colors and inspiration photo:  So Saffron, Riding Hood Red, and More Mustard

Here is my card:

This challenge was just that for me...a challenge.  Right now I am working on different Christmas themed items, and any other scheme, is a challenge.  I hope you like it, and this card gives you some inspiration and a desire to play along!  We want to see what you can create with these perfect fall colors!

Congrats Friend

Well, I have certainly made my paper-crafting dollar stretch today!  I made a card for a dear friend, and it qualifies to be entered into not one, not two, but THREE challenges!  Yahoo!

I met this super lady thru a friend, while paper crafting.  Her name is Dorian.  She is the kindest person you could know.  Anyways, she has this boyfriend that she has been with, for a awhile.  And on Sunday, he asked her to marry him!  How exciting is that?  Well, since she is such a wonderful person I HAD to make her a wonderful card!  But lately my mojo has needed a little push to get going.  So, I went to the internet to find to inspiration.  And I did!

Mona, over @ Cupcake's Creations had a delightful color challenge, #29: light plum, plum, and kraft  (and their inspiration board has a wedding theme!).  The folks over @ Card Patterns has a super user-friendly sketch challenge this week, #116.  And the creative folks over @ {Lawn}scaping have a polka-dot challenge, #10.  Ok, now I have my focus.  Lets create!  

And so I did.  Here is my card: 

the sponsers:

Ok, so about the card.  I used Crumb Cake card stock as the base.  I had two purple scraps from a paper that is easily 6/+ yrs old, and so I don't know the name of the paper or company.  So, I added those to the card.  I cut one scrap with my largest scallop circle die and then cut it in half to the create the half-moon top and bottom.  I had just enough scrap crochet trim to wrap around the bottom third of the card.  I used Crumb Cake and Crumb Cake DSP to create the fancy shaped piece in the center.  I trimmed off the border of the polka dot piece and added some dimensional foam tape to 'lift' it off the solid piece.  I found this wonderful purple texture scrap and cut a butterfly out of it.  I sponged the edges, spritz with some home-made shimmer paint and added some gold ink to the edges.  I had two purple paper daisys that I stacked for the floral center.  I added some different beads from my 'jar o' beads' to a corsage stick pin.  I put a glue dot just under the last bead and tied some thin sheer ribbon around the pin and put it behind the paper daisy.  For the cameo, this was the fun part.  I made it!  Isn't it the greatest!  I bought some polymer clay from one of the big box craft stores, and a mold from MoldMuse.  (Its a virtual shop on Etsy).  Molded the clay and baked it.  Used my handy-dandy glue gun to attach it to the paper daisy and viola!  For my sentiment, I stamped 'Congratulations' in Perfect Plum classic ink onto a scrap of Very Vanilla cardstock and cut out the banner shape.  I edged that piece with some gold ink, as well.  I added three faux half-pearls to the bottom of the greeting, just to give it a little 'class'.

So, my card is now off to the mail box, to be sent to my dear friend Dorian.  I hope she likes it.  And I hope you enjoyed getting a sneak peak!  I encourage you to stop by the different challenge blogs and post your creation.  You never know, you could have an honorable mention, or be in the top three picks,  or be the winner! You'll be amazed how big your smile becomes when you see your card and name posted!  Happy paper-crafting!

Friends

Here is a card that I made Sunday morning. I used two past challenges to create it. I know, you're suppose to create something to enter a current challenge. But, I really loved the layout of one challenge, and the color combo of another. So, I combined them, and this is what I made.

I used all Stampin' Up! products on this card. A little stamping, some laying, and viola!

I sponged some of the champagne shimmer mist on the tags, and flowers. You know, just to give them a translucent gold-ish metallic shimmer. The flourish is from Friends 24-7 stamp set. The friends is from With All My Heart stamp set. I used two different textured flowers, a paper flower and a crochet flower. Both were sponged with the shimmer paint. A neutral glimmer brad gave the crochet flower a nice balance, and helps hold the color combo in the card. I added some of the rhinestone jewels, to help give the card some polished bling.

Thank you for looking! Leave me a comment, and let me know what you think. Have a great week!