Still Here & Blog Candy

Hi everyone!  I am still here, and still blogging, just a little sparsely at the moment as I am packing up my crafting supplies for the big move - please do NOT give up on me... I will be back.


To thank you for stopping by I wanted to share news of a little blog candy for you from Gina K. Designs illustrator Tami Mayberry - she has a new set coming out with their upcoming release and you can win it before you buy it!  Just visit Tami's blog here before 8 am CST Wednesday for a chance to win!  Here is the sneak peek (it coordinates with Spellbinders' Grommet Tags dies!):

Thanks for hanging in there with me!  I hope you all have a great week!  (Hope I don't mess up my back packing...)
~Crafty Math Chick

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!!

Hello friends and followers - I am thrilled to report our furbaby is okay!  As long as their are no complications or side effects and he heals smoothly he is going to be FINE!!  WOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!  I cannot express how incredibly grateful and elated I am - thank you all so much for all of your thoughts and prayers that helped our little guy pull through this.  


On the subject of thank yous, that is the theme of today's card, which was created for this week's SSD80 sketch Challenge at Skipping Stones Designs based on this sketch:

Here is my card based on this sketch using Skipping Stones Design's newly released 'Dogs. Vol. 1' and some DP from DCWV's Pet Stack:

I masked the cute shaggy dog in the middle by stamping the Labrador and the chihuahua twice - once on the cardstock, once on post-it notes - cut them out and created a mask and stamped the shaggy fella in the middle.  I used a bone shapped paper clip in the upper left corner and lined up the dots in the DP to serve as the three dots in the upper right corner of the sketch.  The lower left corner was supposed to be a medallion, but I could not quite get it to fold the way I wanted it to so I turned it into a half medallion banner instead; I still like the way it looks.  The sentiments 'Thank You' on the outside and "From All of Us' (get it?  since there are lots of doggies?) on the inside are from SSD's 'Chick Chat'.  This will be a thank you card for Ty baby's vet from all of us.


It turned out that one of the cartilage discs in his back decided it wanted to vacation in his spinal canal and was pressing on all kinds of nerves and that is what was causing our poor little guy's pain.  A neurological surgeon went in and removed the part of the disc causing and problem and then preformed a hemilaminectomy (removing a portion of one of the spiny protuberances of one of the vertebral discs) and now he is resting and recuperating and we are trying to get him to take it easy, but he is so happy not to be in pain anymore our little guy just wants to play, play, play.

This card also satisfies the requirements of the following challenges:

• Delightful Challenges - Anything Goes, and 
• Wags N Whiskers Challenge 56  - One for the Boys (Ty's vet is male).

Thank you all again so very much.  I am off to spend a little time with my baby.  It is SOOOOO good to have him home and on the mend!
~Crafty Math Chick

SSD79 Quartet

Hello friends and followers, today is a somber day.  My sweet little dog is not showing signs of improvement, in fact, he might even be worse, so I just don't know if I will be able to make cards anymore. He is my heart, if something heaven forbid happens to him I will be sadder than I can even imagine, and can't imagine I will have any interest in anything let alone crafting.  I am beyond terrified, and I know I have said it before but if you have ANY prayers you can offer on my baby's behalf we both would appreciate them more than you know.


That being said, here are what I hope won't be my final four cards.  All of them are based on Skipping Stones Design Sketch 79:

My first and favorite of the bunch uses SSD's 'Home of the Brave' (currently on sale):

The moment I saw this set I knew those fireworks images would look AMAZING heat embossed in different bright colors against a black background, so that is what I did here, lots of stages of heat embossing in red, gold & blue tinsel EP.  The plane is actually embossed with Silver EP, but in this light it looks white.  In addition to the SSD79 sketch challenge, this card fulfills the requirements of the following challenges:

• Fab N Funky Challenge 76 - Magnificent men,
• Cards for Men Challenge 12 - Black & Blue (hopefully they won't mind the touches of red & gold), and 
• Totally Stampalicious - Anything Goes (and they are having a prize if they have at least 100 participants, so I hope you will play along!).

The next three cards were meant to be a CAS set of holiday cards, all using SSD's 'Christmas Swirls' set (also on sale), such a pretty set to whip out a ton of elegant CAS style cards even when you are short on time.  First I used gold EP and the star image:

This card also fulfills the requirements of Winter Wonderland's Swirls & Pearls Challenge. 


Then I used the blue tinsel EP with the dove image:

Finally I used the red tinsel EP and the ornament image:

It looks much more sparkly in person, though I wish the sentiment had been a little straighter.  (Holiday card count - 35, still way behind)


So.... those are my cards...  I am going to go and spend some time with Ty, I wish I could stop crying, it is killing me to see my little guy in so much pain and unable to do anything to relieve it. In case this is my last post, best wishes, G-d bless.
~Crafty Math Chick

TESC140

Hello friends and followers!  Today I have the honor of being a guest designer for this week's Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge 140 over at Splitcoaststampers.com (Thanks Taylor!).  Here is the sketch we were provided this week:

And here is the card I created based on it using Taylored Expressions' adorable "Pets Place" set and some DP from DCWV's Pet Stack:

(Please click on the photo for clearer resolution).  As you can see, the set has a ton of really cute pets in it, I figured showcasing all these pets like this was perfect for a 'from all of us' birthday card.  Make sure you play along!  You have two weeks to make a card based on this sketch and add it using the tag "TESC140" on Splitcoast - you could win a gift certificate to Taylor's store, and she increases the value if you use her stamps on your cards too!  Here is a list of the other designers in the TE Sketch Crew so you can check what they created with the sketch as well:

• Dawn Easton
• Jami Sibley
• Lisa Hjulberg
• Melissa Sauls
• Monika Davis
• Rachel Sztonyk
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tracy Clemente

In addition to TE's sketch challenge, this card fulfills the requirements of the following additional challenges as well:

• Stamps R Us - Pets R Us (make a card with a pet image or theme),
• Cupcake Craft Challenge 145 - Things with Tails (all 5 of the animals in my card have tails),
• Tuesday Throwdown 52 (where my friend Emily is guest designing this month - GO EMILY!) - cards with animals or an animal theme,
• Birthday Sundaes Challenge 12 - Anything Goes Birthday Card, and 
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes.

As a side note, our little dog is having some health issues.  Any of you who know me well knows he means the world to me, any happy thoughts or prayers you can offer on his behalf for a full recovery are most appreciated.  Thank you all so much for taking the time to stop by my blog and see my creations.  

~Crafty Math Chick

Flashback Friday 12.0

Hello Friends & Followers!  I hope you are well.  Today I have a blast from the past with my entry for this month's Flashback Friday 12.0 Challenge; the theme was 'summer colors'.  I went back on Splitcoaststampers and the first card made with summery colors and Stampin' Up!'s now retired 'Sparkling Summer' set was this one in the first VSN in which I ever participated back in May of 2009:

The beverage was colored with green and yellow watercolor pencils which I swirled together to make it look like a fun & frosty beverage using a blender pen.  Ah, I remember when I used to make tons of CAS cards like this all the time... the good old days...  Thanks for the fun walk down memory lane Amy!


Thank you all for stopping by my blog - on another note, our little dog is dealing with some health issues and I am very worried about him; if any of you are praying folk and have a kind word to offer on his behalf, we would be most grateful, he really is the sun of my solar system and I love him like a child.  When he hurts, I hurt.  Thank you so much!  Have a great day!
~Crafty Math Chick

TSG & SSD

Happy Sunday friends & followers!  Two I have two cards for your viewing pleasure, the first is for There She Goes Challenge 109 - to make a card using the colors red, teal & ivory which I borrowed the layout from Sketchbook Saturday Challenge 14 to create:

(Note - I do not understand why, but recently all the photos I upload to post on my blog look blurry when the versions I have saved in my computer do NOT - my husband thinks it is a problem with Blogger because I have not been doing anything differently - if you have any suggestions as to what I might be able to do to get those crisp clean images I got previously, I would be most grateful.  Because seriously - if my photos are going to look this bad, why bother having a blog at all?).  I used TSG's adorable 'Wonderful Winter Wishes' set illustrated by Torico.  The image is stamped on ivory Gina K. Luxury Cardstock and colored in with copic markers.  I added some Stardust stickles to the furry edge of the little girl's hood, and to the snowman and snow as well, but it does not show up in this photo, and threaded some Maraschino twine through some ivory buttons .  (Holiday card count - 32, I am WAY behind - it should be at least 50 by this time of year!).  This card also fulfills the requirements of the following challenges:

• Ribbon Carousel Challenge 5 - anything goes with ribbon or twine,
• Inky Impressions Challenge 16 - shine on (I used Stickles),
• Cute Card Thursday 167 - embellish you main image (which I did with Stardust Stickles).

My second card was created for this week's Sketch Challenge SSD78 at Skipping Stones Design created by Danielle Flanders:

Kinda tricky no?  Here is what I came up with:

I used various chocolate images for the hearts and sentiments in place of the dotted lines from Skipping Stones Design's "Chocolate Vol. 1" & "Chocolate Vol. 2' sets (because the first one would get lonely without the second one to keep it company).  All three chocolates were embossed using Zing's Brownie EP onto Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight cardstocks to give them a shiny appears like real chocolates have.  I wish I had moved the top 'Chocolate' a centimeter to the left though, upon after thought.


Thank you for taking the time to look at my creations, even if the pictures of them are not uploading sharply for some reason unbeknownst to me, and read my ramblings.  Hope you have had a great weekend!
~Crafty Math Chick

New There She Goes Clear Stamps

Hello friends and followers!  I hope you are having a happy Saturday.  Today I have two cards for your viewing pleasure.  The first was based on The Pixie Cottage Sketch 72 and the zesty color combination of yellow, orange, green and white from Cupcake Craft Challenge 144 using a set from There She Goes Clear Stamps' recent release called 'Freeze the Moment':

I masked the popsicle into this cute little girl's hand and colored her in with Copic markers, though her dress was paper pieced, and some Stickles were added to her hair bows and her lime popsicle (which remind me of Edy's lime bars - yum-MAY - like a non-alcoholic margarita on a stick!) for a little sparkle.  In the corners are 3/4" punched squares from pre-glittered papers from DCWV that I cut in half to complete the sketch.  This card also fulfills the requirements of the following additional challenges:

• Truly Scrumptious 58 - Summer sparkle,
• Paper Play Challenge Week 22 - Citrus summer splash,
• Cute Card Thursday 167 - Embellish your main image,
• Inky Impressions Challenge 16 - Shine on (I used Stickles & pre-glittered cardstock), and
• For Fun Challenge - Favorite End of School activity (who doesn't love enjoying popsicles during the summer?).

For my second card, I used Card Positioning Systems Sketch 220 and drew inspiration from this week's Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger photo:

The wallpaper and pillows gave me the idea to use blue & white patterned paper to resemble upholstery and I came up with this card:

The patterned paper is from a retired Stampin' Up! hostess patterns pack and the images are from 'Fine Furnishings' and "Fine Furnishings Additions' by Gina K. Designs.


That is all I have to show you this Saturday evening.  I hope your weekend is going well.
~Crafty Math Chick

Wilson Designs Chocolate & Navy Duet

Hello friends and followers, happy June!  Today I have two cards for your viewing pleasure, both created for Off the Wall Craftiness Challenge 54 using the Wilson Designs' Nautic-COOL set and the colors chocolate, navy and white based on this inspirational picture:

The first card is based on Sketch Saturday's Sketch from Week 157:

I used Brilliant Blue cardstock, embossed in my Cuttlebug using the D'Vine swirls EF to give the appearance of water, and Chocolate Chip cardstock, embossed using the Distressed Stripes EF, and some strategically placed twine.  The image panel and the little life preserver (isn't it adorable?) are popped up using dimensionals.  This card also fulfills the requirements of the following additional challenges:

• Cards for Men Challenge 11 - no patterned paper,
• Ribbon Carousel Challenge 5 - anything goes with ribbon or twine,
• Fussy & Fancy Friday Challenge - to make a card for a man or a boy, and
• Catered Crop Follow the Recipe Challenge 13 - I used the following ingredients from the original recipe in my card: 

1. colors - blue & white
2. stamps - sailboats
3. coloring mediums - stamping ink
4. embellishments - twine

My second card is based on Verve's Mojo Monday Sketch 193:

I decided to go with the round version of the sketch, since it reminded me of that cute little life preserver and created this card:

I cut out the little life preserver, punched a hole in the middle using a 1/4" circle punch, and threaded some thick jute twine through it.   Just as with my first card, this card also fulfills the following additional challenges:

• Cards for Men Challenge 11 - no patterned paper,
• Ribbon Carousel Challenge 5 - anything goes with ribbon or twine, 
• Fussy & Fancy Friday Challenge - to make a card for a man or a boy, and
• Catered Crop Follow the Recipe Challenge 13 - I used the following ingredients from the original recipe in my card: 
1. colors - blue & white
2. stamps - sailboats
3. coloring mediums - stamping ink
4. embellishments - twine

So, which is your favorite?  I actually think I prefer the first one.  

Thank you all for the fun challenges and for taking the time to stop by my blog and see my creations.  I hope you have a fabulous weekend!
~Crafty Math Chick