Card Mojo

I have neglected my first love---cardmaking---for too long.  Scrapbooking has definitely been my main objective for about the last year or so.  I realized looking at some stamp sets that I had many a set that had not seen ink---ever or in a long time.  So, I thought I would try making a card a day, no matter how simple.

Some pals and I started a Pinterest board for our creations.  The fabulous Ann Cox posted this challenge for us.

I rolled a 5.  Here's my submission to the challenge.

Size: 5.5 x 4.25

Paper: Stampin' Up! Yo Yo Yellow and Neenah Solar White

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Smile and Stampin' Up! Yippee-Skippee!

Ink: Stampin' Up! Yo Yo Yellow and Basic Gray

Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug Dots

Ribbon: Ribbon Trends Organdy Ribbon

Also used: Stampin' Up! Dimensionals for embossed base and sentiment

Jawhol, Mein Kommandant!

My crafting buddy and all-around pal, Ann, and our dealer, um, demonstrator, Karen, and I were joking about giving each other challenges.  Or so I thought.  Ann was bemoaning that, while searching for a challenges,  she found many ways to spend her crafting dollars.  Thus, the challenges joviality began.

So I told her, my clean and simple friend, to create a card with at least 3 layers and 3 embellishments.  She threw in that she would do that AND make it a masculine card!  Well, she whipped that challenge off pretty quickly.  My challenge from her: pink.  I had to use pink.  I rarely use pink (except I sure did use it for a little six year old's birthday card just last week, but did I take a photo?  Why no, I did not.).  Then, the day after we discussed this challenge, CAS-ual Fridays announced this week's challenge: to use pink in honor of National Pink Day (Saturday).  Oh my.  All roads were leading to pink.  

It is my last, YES LAST, week of taking two classes at the same time (insanity).  I have two papers due this week.  Yes, that's right, time to procrastinate.  While doing very important business on Facebook and Pinterest, I get a wall post...a demand that my challenge be tended to, by--yes--Ann.  Suddenly, I am flashed back to one of my dad's favorite shows, Hogan's Heroes, where Sgt. Shultz (shown right) is known for his buffoonery and his cheery and bellowing, "Jawhol, Mein Kommandant!" to his leader, Col. Klink.  So, for you, "Mein Krafty Kommandant," here is my pink card.

I first started with patterned paper, as I figured that's where I could sneak in some pink.  I found this sheet from SEI that had pink as an accent color.  I saw a very cute scrapbook page design today using circles, but they were hand cut and full of whimsy, and I was not feeling that way, so I used circle punches.  {A side note: holy cow, do I have a large amount of circle punches!}  I decided to ink up my PTI Signature Greetings set and I wanted to do two colors of the "So Sweet of You."  That was interesting.  The SU! Pretty in Pink marker did not want to work well with that, but Baroque Burgundy did.  So,I ended up using the Pretty in Pink stamp pad and coloring over the "of You" with a marker.  I am not 100% in love with the sentiment treatment.  I was going to stamp in white without a panel, but I wanted to add that one more kick of pink.  I did an accordion fold above the sentiment panel.  If I could work my sewing machine, I would have added some stitches to that for good measure.  

So there you have it, a circuitous explanation (ha! get it?) of a pretty simple card.  Thank you for reading this far.  Challenge complete! :)  Now, back to my comfort zone...

A challenge on a few levels

I decided to participate in a challenge while I still had some time.  I will be getting things ready for my classroom soon, so my craft time is fleeting... I know the realities of the school year.  Sigh.

This card is for the wee Memories Scrappy Saturday Challenge.  Yeah, I know it's Tuesday.  Things go a little slowly in the Plato household.

I made this card for my new student teacher.  For those of you looking from the outside in, student teaching is exciting and frightening all at the same time.  You are FINALLY going to get your feet wet, well, soaked, doing what you trained at least 3 1/2 years, and spent thousands of dollars, to do.  You kind of know what you're doing, but not really.  I love student teachers because they are so excited and their ideas are so full of life.  They remind me of why I am, and continue to be, a teacher. 

I tried to find a sentiment that would inspire, or that would be funny, or that would completely fit the situation.  I finally just came up with one from SU! Warm Words: welcome.  That's really what it's all about.  I want her to feel welcome to the school, my room, my students.  I want her to feel welcome to try things, to embrace successes, to learn from failures (yes, you heard it here... teachers mess up... and we know it... and we're not perfect... and many of us are OK with that because we are human).

The challenge asked us to use chipboard.  Man, I have way more chipboard that I will ever use.  And, at one point, I was a hoarder of really chunky chipboard!  I found this medallion that came with an SEI mini album and was left over from the kit.  I coupled it with some SEI Dill Blossom patterned paper, some SU! Sahara Sand cardstock, attached it with a Basic Grey brad (which is one of my favorite parts of the card) and used some SU! Sage Shadow taffeta ribbon for that linear part of the design so near and dear to me.  I used my Fiskars scallop blade on my cutter for a cute little edge.  SU! Tempting Turquoise ink was used on the sentiment to pull the blue in a bit more.  I put an additional strip of patterned paper on the inside, as I am digging the tie in of the inside of cards as of late. 

Enjoy!

There's a little giveaway going on...

Check out this site for cards ideas, a chipboard challenge, and a giveaway!  How fun is that?!