CASology #262: PRICKLY

Hello, friends!  Things are getting a bit prickly this week at CASology!

My first thought was of a prickly heat rash, but I can't think of any good reason to make a card for that occasion!  Next thing that came to mind was a prickly cactus, but I don't have a cactus stamp (I know that is hard to believe, they are so IN right now).  Then I thought of the many times I have handled roses and their prickly thorns...and that is what inspired my card, using a pretty digi image and sentiment from our sponsor, STAMPlorations.

I printed the cup of roses digi image onto white card stock, then die cut it so the image would be in the bottom right corner.  I stamped the sentiment from the "Fond Expressions 2" set in the upper left corner for balance.  The image was water colored using distress inks, and I added a gray base using a Copic marker.

While my image was offered as a free digi image during a Coffee Lover's Blog Hop some time ago, there is a clear stamp of this same image in the "A Cup of Roses" set.

I'm going to link this card up to the current STAMPlorations Summer CAS Card Challenge as well as the STAMPlorations Never-Ending Anything Goes Challenge.

  

I can't wait to see how you interpret the cue card this week!  Be sure to link up your card by noon on Monday (Central time). Check out the Guest Designer and Design Team blogs for more PRICKLY inspiration!

Anna Uhras
Deidre Payne

Hannelie Bester
Jacquie Southas
Janet Ribet
Jen Wills
Joyce Mehrberg
Judy Marino --> that's me!
Kymona Tracey
Melissa Chipperfield
Rachel Bergfeld
Sherrie Mannion

Guest Designer: Amy R.

Our Sponsor This Week: STAMPlorations

Thanks for visiting,

Judy

Fusion: Pastel Pencils

Hello, friends!  I'm here today with a thank you card that fits the bill for the current Fusion Card Challenge.

I was inspired by the inspiration photo of the pastel pencils, and I combined several pastel colors on my image as well as my card base.  This fun image is a 2CuteInk digital image called "Nerdy Pencils."  I added a computer-generated sentiment under "Just a Note" to make it a thank you note. 

 Glossy Accents on the glasses really make them shine!

Thanks for stopping by today.
Have a good one!
Judy

ATSAM #254: Clean and Simple

Hello, friends!  I'm here today to share a card I made for a friend as part of a monthly coffee lovers card exchange using a fun new-to-me Unity stamp I recently bought on sale.  I'm entering this clean and simple card into the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More #254 where the theme is, in fact, "Clean and Simple!"

Supplies:

Unity "Love To Go" stamp

Darice "Brick Wall" embossing folder

Wonky Stitched Rectangle die

Wink of Stella 

Copic markers

Twine

It's hard to capture in a photo, but I added Wink of Stella all over the heart and it adds some fun sparkle!

Thanks for stopping by today, I appreciate your visits!
Judy

CASology #260: JUICY

Hello, friends!  Phew, what an amazing week we had for the Five Year Anniversary Blog Hop!  I am so grateful to be a part of this team, and for all of you who took the time to hop along with us...thank you!  According to my blog statistics, my post last Tuesday was the second most viewed in my blog history!  Thank you to all who left such lovely comments along the way, I do appreciate it.  Thank you for making CASology such a great challenge blog, too!

So, on to a new week and a new cue card at CASology.  This week things are getting JUICY!

Nothing says juicy to me like a big Red Delicious apple.  Yum!  I figured this is as good a time as any to start my teacher thank you notes, and I paper-pieced an old retired apple from Sweet Stamp Shop for a fun pop of color!  Paired with a bold sentiment from Concord & 9th as well as an apple-embossed card base, this apple takes center stage.

Supplies:
Stamps: Sweet Stamp Shop (The Core of It); Concord & 9th (Grateful)
Inks: Memento (Black Tuxedo)
Other:  Lifestyle Crafts QuicKutz (Apples) embossing folder; patterned paper

I am also linking this card up to the current MUSE Challenge #227 where Anything 
Goes -- for the first time ever -- this week!

I can't wait to see how you interpret this JUICY cue!  Be sure to link up your card by noon on Monday (Central time). You will also be inspired by the many ways our Design Team and lovely Guest Designer interpreted the cue this week...be sure to check out their blogs, too!

Anna Uhras
Deidre Payne

Hannelie Bester
Jacquie Southas
Janet Ribet
Jen Wills
Joyce Mehrberg
Judy Marino --> that's me!
Kymona Tracey
Melissa Chipperfield
Rachel Bergfeld
Sherrie Mannion

Guest Designer: Michele

Thanks for visiting,

Judy

PP #355 and SSS Wednesday and Flickr Challenges

Hello, friends!  I'm happy to be here today to share a card I made for a few challenges this week:

(1) The Paper Players #355: Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge from Laurie/Joanne

(2)  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

(3) SSS Flickr Challenge #76: Anything Goes -- I used a Simon Says Stamp sentiment and die set on my card.

This card uses the bottom row across (blue/animal/circle) on the Paper Players tic-tac-toe board.  I used a cute Serendipity image paired with a Simon Says Stamp die cut sentiment and a pretty Concord & 9th watercolor card.

Supplies:
Stamps: Serendipity (Kitty with Balloon); Simon Says Stamp (Thanks stamp and die set)
Inks: Memento (Black Tuxedo); distress inks; Copic markers 
Other: Concord & 9th watercolor card

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Take good care,
Judy

CASology #259: BALLOON

Hello, friends!  It's a very special Tuesday at CASology this week!  We are celebrating the 5 Year Anniversary of CASology and we have a lot of fun in store for you!  We have former design team members joining us, and we will also be hopping along with some of the wonderful CASology challenge sponsors.  Check in at the CASology blog for the full list of blog hop participants.

You should have arrived here from Concord & 9th, one of our awesome sponsors and one of the participating companies in the hop this week.

This week our cue is a celebratory one, for sure!  Break out the balloons, there's a party going on here, people!

I made my own balloons out of a Christmas ball layering stamp (Holiday Style by Sunny Studio Stamps) and paired them with a banner from the Sunny Borders set.  A few sequins and hand-drawn strings finished it off.

I'd like to take a minute to say THANK YOU to all the companies who have sponsored our challenges and offered such generous prizes to our participants each week.  They have added to the fun of the challenge, haven't they?  Thank you, thank you to ALL of our sponsors!

Thank you also to all of the participants who have joined us at CASology over the past five years.  I am always inspired by your creative CAS designs each week!

I do hope you are able to play along with us this week as we celebrate!  What does BALLOON bring to mind for you?  Link up your card by noon on Monday (Central time) and hop along the links listed at the CASology blog for lots of inspiration and fun!  Now, off to your next stop in the blog hop, our former design team member Tracey McNeely!

Thanks for visiting,

Judy

CASology #258: DIAMOND

Hello, friends!  We are already in mid-July and it is time to play with our new cue card at CASology.  It also happens to be my design teammate Rachel's birthday today -- Happy Birthday, Rachel!

This week we are getting sparkly!  I thought about some of the unusual diamonds that exist, such as the Hope Diamond I saw at the Smithsonian Museum (a beautiful steel blue diamond).  I also thought of black diamonds, and that was the inspiration for my card!

Our sponsor this week is STAMPlorations so I stamped this bold stand-alone STAMPlorations sentiment in black.  Then I paired it with six clear gems ("diamonds"), three on each side of an exceptional black gem.  The card base is embossed with an argyle pattern; the angles and lines remind me of the many facets of a diamond.

Supplies:
Stamp: STAMPlorations (Be the Exception)
Ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Other: STAMPlorations dies (Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies - CUTplorations); Sizzix embossing folder (Argyle)

I will also be linking this up to the STAMPlorations Never-Ending Anything Goes Challenge.

I can't wait to see how you interpret the sparkly cue card this week!  Be sure to link up your card by noon on Monday (Central time). You will also be inspired by the many ways our Design Team and Guest Designer interpreted the cue this week, for sure!

Anna Uhras
Deidre Payne

Hannelie Bester
Jacquie Southas
Janet Ribet
Jen Wills
Joyce Mehrberg
Judy Marino --> that's me!
Kymona Tracey
Melissa Chipperfield
Rachel Bergfeld
Sherrie Mannion

Guest Designer: Lana

Our Sponsor This Week: STAMPlorations

One last reminder before I go...did you see my post yesterday (here)?  Next week we will be hosting a 5-Year Anniversary Blog Hop at CASology!  Be sure to check back next Tuesday for all the details!

Thanks for visiting,

Judy