CASEing Kelly Blog Hop

Good morning everyone! Welcome to my stop on the CASEing Kelly Blog Hop! Are you having a fabulous day soaking in all the creativity? I know whenever I look at Kelly's blog I'm like a kid in a candy store, in awe of all the beautiful colors and unexpected pops of fun techniques around every corner. I always loved when it was Kelly's turn to post on the a2z Scrapbooking blog because I knew it was going to be something super cool and beautifully colored.

We have some fabulously generous sponsors for this hop as well, because hey, what's a hop without some fantabulous prizes?? Leave a comment by 11:59 pm EDT on Thursday, October 29th along each stop in the hop to increase your chances of winning a prize from one of our sponsors: a2z Scrapbooking, Altenew, Create a Smile Stamps, Dee's Artsy Impressions, DJ Kard Kreations, Hero Arts, Ink Road, Lia Stampz and Simon Says Stamp! Winners will be notified by email after October 29th.

Ok, on to the cards! Let me tell you, I spent hours pouring over Kelly's blog looking at card after card for inspiration. Then I discovered that she has a Pinterest board of her cards, so I lost a few days looking at those. What is it with Pinterest - every time I get on there, time seems to speed up around me and it's suddenly three days later by the time I'm done. In the end, these three beauties really spoke to me:

I just love the bold stripes here! The sailor knot twine is so fun, and the coloring soft yet eye-catching.

So much love here - the sequins, the rainbow, the unexpected pop of black, the random die cut pieces...yowza!

I love the CAS feel of this one, and the bravery to die cut such a beautifully colored flower! That's scary.

So, what did I come up with?

I went bold! The stripes from the first card were so cool, I knew I wanted to use those. The die cut sentiment from the third made for an easy way to incorporate a greeting without detracting from the bold stripes. You should have seen me sweating while I die cut that panel...yipes! I pulled the color palette and the sequins from the second card; black & white with pops of color. This card is so different than my norm, and I love it!

It needed a bit more shimmer than just the sequins, so I coated the flowers in Clear Wink of Stella for some added sparkle.

Time for you to keep hopping! Thank you so very much for stopping by my little caffeinated corner of the internet today. :)

Blog Hop Lineup:

a2z Scrapbooking

Amy Tsuruta

Ardyth Percy Robb

Brandi Hall

Char Kochensparger

Cindy Chiu

Darnell Knauss

Dawn Turley

Debra James

Deepti Malik

Donna Idlet

Elizabeth Campau

Ellen Haxelmans

Heather Ruwe

Jennifer Loftfield <<< you are here!

Joan Bardee <<< go here next!

Kara Vrabel

Kara-Lynne

Kathy Wade

Katie Gehring

Kristie Goulet

Kristina Beagle

Kymona Tracey

Laura Jane

Leigh Penner

Lin Brandyberry

Linda Trace

Lindsay Amrhein

Lydia Evans

Maria Sabina Raita

Marika Rahtu

Martha Lucia Gomez

Michele Cunningham

Michele Ferguson

Michelle Lupton

Michelle Williams

Monica Maier

Niki G.

Nina-Marie Trapani

Rubeena Naz

Shelly Kurth

Taunya Butler

Thordis Dogg

Vera Yates

Happy Crafting!

So Suzy Stamps June Blog Hop

Welcome back! This is my second post today featuring the kick-off of the June Challenge over at So Suzy Stamps. If you're looking for my new release post, scroll down! :)

You should be arriving from Justine's pretty blog - I always love seeing what she comes up with! As for me, I pulled out the new Congratulations! sentiment from the new June release and paired it with the lovely Peony and Leaf 1 stamps to make a CAS card perfect for wedding season:

I have to say, I love how elegant it turned out. I stamped the peonies in Hero Arts Bubble Gum and Red Royal, then fussy cut them out. The leaves were stamped in Hero Arts Green Hills and fussy cut as well. I played with where I wanted them on the card, then used foam tape on the peonies and just regular adhesive on the leaves to add depth. The sentiment was stamped with black VersaFine ink for a crisp finish, then all four corners of the card were rounded. For a final touch, I added a few 4mm clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh. Of course, then I realized it needed more shimmer, so out came my Wink of Stella!

Boom - shimmery flowers. Love.it. Now this card was done!

Remember to enter our fun blog hop giveaway by leaving us some love on each blog along the way. Comments are open until June 3rd at 11:59pm and the winner will be announced on the So Suzy Stamps blog and Facebook page on June 6th. There's a $15 gift certificate to the store for the lucky winner! Makes me wish I was eligible to win...LOL

All right, I'm sending you off to Kymona's colorful blog now - she's the last stop on this party train!

Remember that all orders ship for free today (even international ones!) over at So Suzy Stamps to celebrate the new release. Happy hopping and crafting!

Also linking up to - Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes

The 12 Days of Cards - Day 5

Welcome back for Day 5 of the 12 Days of Cards series! Let me just say that a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into editing this video as it was not cooperative at all...the card, however, is just adorable. Because PENGUINS!

Yeah, stinkin' cute if I do say so myself. Now everyone better watch the video and like it so I didn't waste 2 hours of my life for nothing. And no, it should not have taken that long. I really hope Santa is bringing me a video camera!



Once everything was dried it looked even cuter. I love how the Enamel Accents turned out! I did realize that the steam from the coffee cup doesn't get cut, so I drew some back in with a black Zig marker.

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you know when Day 6 is up, and don't forget to stop by my Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop posts for a chance to win some blog candy!

Supply List:
Lawn Fawn Love You a Latte stamps
Mama Elephant Arctic Penguins stamps
Mama Elephant Arctic Penguins Creative Cuts
Hero Arts White Embossing Powder
Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Paper
Wink of Stella Pen
(remember, when shopping at a2z Scrapbooking use code JENNIFER15 for 15% off your purchase of $25 or more!)
Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue
Ranger Enamel Accents
Versamark Ink
American Crafts Galaxy White Marker
Spectrum Noir Markers
Core'dinations Glitter Paper
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Scor-Pal Scoreboard
3M Scotch Foam Tape (the best!)

Happy Crafting!

So Suzy Stamps - Instant Hug

Good morning everyone! I'm blogging over at So Suzy Stamps today about this bright and cheerful card I whipped up to snap me out of my winter blues.

Go read all about it! And if you simply must have the Hero Arts ink pads I used, be sure to swing by the a2z Scrapbooking store and use code JENNIFER15 to take 15% off your purchase.

Happy Crafting!

Supplies Used:
So Suzy Stamps - Peony, Herb 1, and Instant Hug
Hero Arts Shadow Inks in Mint Julep, Soft Vanilla, Soft Apricot, Passion Flower, and Bubble Gum
Versamark Ink, Zing! Platinum embossing powder, Pretty Pink Posh 4mm Clear Sequins

MPC Giving Thanks Blog Hop!

Hello hello everyone! Welcome to my stop on the Mountain Plains Crafters Giving Thanks blog hop!

We're so thrilled to be sponsored by Tombow and Unity Stamp Co. this month, and boy do they have some fun products to play with. Tombow's Xtreme Adhesive may be my new favorite "I said stick and stay stuck, dagnabbit!" adhesive. Seriously; you do not mess with this stuff! Of course, I own several (dozen) Unity stamps, so it was just a matter of finding one for the project.

I admit, I was a bit stumped at first...a DIY that isn't a card? Hmmm...been a while...so I went to Pinterest to see what I had pinned for future inspiration. Five hours later I finally made it to my idea board (don't laugh; you know you've done it) and rediscovered a mini calendar idea I found a while ago. Perfect!

Sort of.

The directions were a little...lacking. The idea was there, but I was left engineering some steps myself. So here we go, the Caffeinated Papercuts way of creating these adorable stand-up calendars:

• Start with a standard 4.25"x11" piece of cardstock. 
• Score at 5.5" to make a top-folding card
• Cut a second piece of cardstock down to 4.25"x5"
• Score at 1", 2.5" and 4" to create the interior 'stand'
• Using the Tombow Xtreme adhesive, attach the interior stand to the top folding card, applying tape at the 1" and 4" folds

To create the calendar, I simply purchased a digital calendar file and scaled it down to 2.5" wide. I used my Tombow Aqua Liquid glue to create a tear-off calendar; make sure the pages are even, then clip them on both ends with binder clips. I then applied a healthy dose of the glue with my finger and let it dry. Pretty easy!

While that dried, I stamped my sunflower and colored it in with my Spectrum Noir markers. A little fussy cutting and some clear Wink of Stella on the petals finished it off.

To decorate the top, I pulled out some 6"x6" patterned paper from my ginormous stash and ran it through my Big Kick with the gorgeous border from the Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Borders 2 set. A little Distress Ink to finish off the edges (Marmalade, I believe) and it's ready to go.

Assembly time! The scalloped border went on with foam adhesive, topped off with some Lawn Fawn twine. I attached my calendar pages with the Xtreme adhesive and the sunflower with more foam adhesive. Easy peasy! I've linked all the supplies I used after the giveaway. ;)

I'm the last stop for today, so head on back to the blog to see all of today's participants and get ready for round 2 tomorrow! Don't forget to enter our giveaway, winner will be announced 11/17 on the MPC blog:

Rafflecopter link: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Supplies Used:
Neenah Exact Index Cardstock, 250 Sheets, White, 94 Brightness
Zig - Zig Memory System Wink Of Stella Brush Tip Glitter Marker - Glitter
American Crafts Autumn Crisp 6x6 Fall Paper Pad
Tombow USA - Crafts Xtreme Permanent Adhesive High Performance Tape Runner Applicator, 1/3-Inch by 39-Feet
Mono Aqua Liquid Glue Carded, 1.69-Ounce
Lawn Fawn Lawn Trimmings Natural Cord
Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Borders 2
Unity Stamp Company 'Turn Toward the Light'

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Crafting!

Cancer Sucks

Cancer sucks. There, I said it. It's not a mind-blowing concept or even a new one, but how often do people actually just come out and say it? Cancer. Sucks.

The Mountain Plains Crafters DT agree wholeheartedly, and today's topic on the blog is all about cancer awareness. Head on over to see what everyone created, and keep reading to see how I made my card and the inspiration behind it.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, but I went further than just the pink ribbon. See, my family tree is riddled with this disease in various forms, so I wanted to acknowledge and draw awareness to all that have touched my life.

I inked up the small poppy flower outline stamp from a Unity kit and created my own patterned paper background. To keep the flowers from messily overlapping, I created a mask from a Post-it note and used it to keep my previous impressions clean. So when I went to stamp the light blue poppy, I stuck the Post-it to the pink poppy to keep the inks from mixing.

Each color I used on the card was chosen with care; pink for my Gram, who's now fighting breast cancer for the 3rd time at nearly 90 years old. Light blue for my Poppy, for it was prostate cancer that finally won. Gray for my mother-in-law, brain cancer took her from us before we were married. Gray ribbons also represent Parkinson's so a second nod to my Poppy there. Dark blue for my Aunt that didn't find the colon cancer until it was too late. Black for the skin cancer that also tagged Gram and that I have a high risk for. Plum purple for all those who take care of those with cancer, for they're warriors as well.

The sentiment is also from Unity, though I have no idea what set as I got it in a grab bag. I love the sentiment for anyone hurting, and cancer certainly hurts all those around it.

On a lighter note (got the tissues out yet?), if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you'll remember that I mixed up my white & clear Wink of Stella pens the other night; it was on this card. I tried to add some shimmer to the middle of the poppies, but it turned out opaque thanks to my grabbing the white pen by accident! Ah well, it still works.

Now go hug your friends, family, cat, dog, and/or gerbil and remember; early detection saves lives. Keep up with your yearly exams so you can live longer and craft more things.

Happy Crafting!

Wedding Roses

Tired of all of my wedding-related posts yet? ;) Now that I'm quite sure my sister and new brother-in-law have received their card, I can finally share it with all of you!

Funny story; this card was sort of done before the wedding. Kind of. Ok, a few pieces were and then I packed up everything else I needed (including the heat gun) and brought it to the hotel with me and finished it the morning after the ceremony. What, am I the only one who's ever done that? Hey, I had 75 fan programs to finish first!!

I bought the new Ranger Texture Paste and simply went to town with my stencils one night playing with it, so that lovely background was already sitting in my stash. The red ribbon was actually part of some packaging from an online order (yay for reusing!) so all I had to really create were the roses. My dear friend Annette over at Feeding the Soul with Art handed me her DeNami rose stamp and said "here, this is what you need for a wedding card" and she was so right.

I heat embossed two of the roses with the gorgeous Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder; OMG is this stuff beautiful! I almost could have left the roses alone, but instead went in with the Distress Markers in  Fired Brick and Peeled Paint for just enough color. After letting the markers dry for a moment, I fussy-cut them out and used my favorite foam tape on just the rose buds and some of the leaves to stick them to the card. The stems were tied with the ribbon and then tacked down under the ribbon. Made them more three-dimensional and made it so that I didn't have to try and glue down those little stems!

I opened up my brand new Wink of Stella clear pen and proceeded to get a HUGE drop of it right on the card. ACK! I freaked out, looked again, and added 3 more to balance it all out and make it look intentional. Yup, when in doubt, act like it was intentional. Then I added it to the rosebuds as I had planned all along. All done!

We have two more weddings to attend this month, so better be prepared for more wedding posts! I'm also blogging over at Mountain Plains Crafters today about a stunning (if I do say so myself) fall card I made up for our latest card challenge. Be sure to stop on by and say 'hello'!

Linking up to: Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge; Bold

Happy Crafting!