Viva la HYCCT (and Verve!)

Hello friends & followers!  I have three more cards for your viewing pleasure as I slowly but surely catch up on my HYCCT challenges.  The first was for HYCCT1116 - to make a card using a pink ribbon.  I borrowed Verve's Viva la Verve sketch for Week 4 of October to create this card:

There is no actual stamping on this card - the BIG 'i' & 'u' are die cuts from Verve called 'I Heart U'.  The heart is from a heart trio punch by Stampin' Up!  The patterned papers are all from retired SU hostess stacks.    This card also fulfills the requirements of Wags n Whiskers Challenge 66 since I used ribbons & the color black.  
   My second card was for HYCCT1113 - to make a card with a butterfly on it.  I used Verve's Viva la Verve Week 1 October sketch and their Blue Skies set to create this card:

I added pearl accents to the butterfly's body and the tips of its antenae.  This card also fulfills the following additional challenges:

• Wags n Whiskers Challenge 66 - To use the color black plus ribbons or pearls (I used both in this one), 
• Our Craft Lounge Challenge 89 - Going Pink, and
• Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Challenge - Monochromatic.

     My last card was for HYCCT1125 to make a birthday card, which I did using Verve's 'Big Wish' set and Viva la Verve's October Week 5 sketch:

The papers are from Basic Grey's Indian Summer collection (I think they work great for autumn too!) and I colored in the cake with markers and adds rows of pink rhinestones around the top & bottom edges of the cake for a little sparkle.  This card also fulfills the requirements of Basic Grey Challenge 56 - Anything Goes with a Basic Grey Product, and Dolce Stamps & Cards Challenge to make a square card with at least one die cut.
     Well, that is all I have for you so far, but I have a lot of stamping in my future as I still have several HYCCT challenges upon which to catch up, so please keep checking back!  Have a great day!!  :D
~Crafty Math Chick

Distressing HYCCT

Good evening again friends & followers!  I have two more creations for your viewing pleasure this evening - both are distressed creations for the Hope You Can Cling To card drive over at Splitcoaststampers.  We do not get the newspaper regularly, so I tend to go through those freebies thrown in our driveway each week and cut out the sections that have text (vs. ads) and every now and then when I am in the mood I distress them up (since my hands get very messy when I do this I try to do them in batches, then when I need one - TA DA!  Nice and handy...).  The first card uses Week 3 Viva la Verve!'s sketch, designed by Maureen, and Verve's Sip & Savor and Better with You sets:

This card was completed for HYCCT1115 - P.I.N.K. - where you had to use an element that began with each of the letters in the word 'pink' - I used the color pink, ink, newspaper, and kraft cardstock (since the hostess Patricia spelled it this way I say it is fair game!).  I used to the crimper on the section of kraft down the center to resemble one of those coffee cup cozies you see in the fancy coffee stores.  In addition, this card also fulfills the requirements of the following challenges as well:

• Stamptacular Sunday Challenge 133 - So Distressing,
• Karen's Doodles Challenge - Distress It, and 
• Truly Scrumptious Challenge 67 - Distressing.

My second card was designed for Dina's Challenge over at SCS: HYCCT1103 - Real Men Wear Pink where you are supposed to take a masculine card and add pink to it.  I used My Cuppa Joe by Gina K. Designs to create this card:

In addition, this card also fulfills the requirements of the following challenges as well:

• Stamptacular Sunday Challenge 133 - So Distressing, and
• Truly Scrumptious Challenge 67 - Distressing.

Well, that is all I have for you this evening, I hope you will come back tomorrow!  Have a good night!
~Crafty Math Chick

A VSN Late Arrival

Hello friends & followers.  Have you ever made a card that you weren't thrilled with?  It always bothers me when I do this because I hate wasting precious crafting supplies and money doesn't grow on trees in the present day and age; that is how I felt about the first two cards today.  I looked at them and just knew they were not my best work, did not come out how I envisioned them, considered not even posting them... Then I felt like the cards were sad, as if they were saying "Mom?  Am I not good enough to put on your blog?" and I felt bad (yes, I do realize I am ridiculous and personify things waaaay too much).  So I gave them a little makeover courtesy of Photoshop and here they are.  If you like them - great!  If you don't, that's fine too (no need to be nasty of course), they are my babies and I am still going to give them a little love.  Besides, this way when I am a world re-known card designer on the design team of every major stamping company in existence and everyone is intimidated by me, you can all find comfort in the fact that I came from humble beginnings and find confidence that you too can become the card designer of your dreams (just humor me here okay? laugh as much as you want, I can't hear you anyway).  They are both for Stamp TV's Free-for-Friday Challenge which was a sketch by Suzanne Dean with the twist of having to incorporate at least 4 shades of the rainbow.  

The red card uses 'Stenciled Spring' and the turquoise card uses 'Garden Silhouettes', both by Gina K. Designs, incorporating the chalkboard technique, which I usually execute with more precision than this.  My white craft ink pad seemed a bit dry, I made it too juicy, smearage, smearage, smearage... this is the result.  I still suggest you give this technique a try sometime if you haven't before, it looks really pretty... when it is executed well...


This next card I created for the extended VSN hurricane deadline on VSN - the challenge was to create a coffee themed card.  I used Andrea Ewen's sketch for Viva la Verve! - Week 2 and created this card using Verve's new set 'Better with You':

(Please click on any of the photos for clearer resolution).  I created background DP using the cute to-go cup from this set paired with the steam image and a saying that is perfect for my friend Barbie, who loves her coffee.  Don't you just love that Offray ribbon with this?  Doesn't it look like steam curls?  I will be so sad when I run out of this ribbon.  I crimped the brown strip of cardstock under the ribbon to resemble those coffee cozies the fancy coffee places give you so you won't burn your hands on the cups.  Lots of sponging around the edges on this one.


That is all I have for you now.  It is early in the day so I may have some more cards for your later if you wish to check back.  Thank you all for your warmth and your loyalty.  I hope you have a Happy Wednesday!
~Crafty Math Chick

April Showers Bring Verve Flowers

Hello friends and followers!  Today I have a CAS card for you for Verve's Diva Dare: April Showers Bring May Flowers.  I used Verve's 'Hope Blooms' & 'Bloom & Grow' sets, the sketch from Clean & Simple Challenge 138, and the colors and inspirational picture from The Play Date Cafe Challenge 80:

Here is my card:

Nice and simple right?  I used PTI's Lemon Tart and Summer Sunrise inks & papers with a little Dusty Durango marker accents.  I love these flowers, so versatile, so many options.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my card.  Make sure you stop by tomorrow for my There She Goes 'Mother of All Blop Hops' creations!  Have a good night!
~Crafty Math Chick

Weeeee Are the Champ-ions, My Fri-end...

Hello friends & followers!  I am happy to share the four cards I created for the Viva la Verve! sketch challenges for the month of April.  You may be shocked to learn that I completed all four without rotating or flipping a single one - rare for me!  Without further ado, here is the first one, based on Week 1's sketch created by Amber Hight:

The sentiment is from Verve's 'Grateful Elegance' set.  My original intention was to put red rhinestones in the centers of those punched out 1/4" black circles, but the two sizes I had were either too large or two small, so I placed them around the edge of the big black circle and under the sentiment instead.  Card one, clap clap done! 

My second card is based on week 2's sketch by Andrea Ewen, I loved the balance of this sketch:

The elegant filigree butterfly is from Verve's 'Thankful Blossoms' set.  I embossed the top & bottom real red panels, added some tiny red rhinestones to various parts of the butterfly, and found this shiny red & black ribbon from Michael's that was perfect to complete the card.  Here I did decide to place the bigger red rhinestones inside of the punched out black circles - notice how you can barely see the black behind them?  Card two, clap clap done! 

Here is my card based on the sketch for week 3 designed by Teresa Klein:

I was originally planning to stay with the kraft-red-black color combination and make a set of cards but for some reason Verve's 'Cupcake Affair' spoke to me on this layout and that color combo. just didn't fit.  Of the four cards this is my least favorite, the cupcake and flower I used to replace the 2 circles in the sketch just look crooked or something.  Love the chocolate velvet ribbon though and this pretty paper from Basic Grey, and the yummy 'chocolate and butter' color combination.  Card three, clap clap done!

Here is my card for week 4 based on a sketch by Shannan Teubner; it is my favorite of the four:

The portion where I fanned five different colors of yummy twine was actually five different sections on Shannan's original sketch, but I got frustrated trying to cut the pieces just right and thought this looked like rays of a sunshine rainbow streaming from the sun I created using a Nesties' classic & pinking circles.  'Hello sunshine' seemed like the perfect sentiment to complete the card - it is from Verve's 'Accent notes'.  I am also submitting this card for Paper Sundaes Challenge 66: a toppings bar where you have to use at least two of the following toppings: sparkle, pearls, die cuts and the color yellow - I only used the last two: die cuts (I created the sun using Nesties circles & pinking circles dies) and the color yellow (in the sun and the twine).  Card four, clap clap done.  So, which one is your favorite?

Alrightie, time to go upload these cards to my SCS gallery and post them on the Verve Champions thread - you can be a Verve Champion too - all you have to do is complete all the Viva la Verve sketches for the month posted every Friday.  Alrightie, I am off to take my victory lap (hypothetical of course, I still can't run).  I might have something else crafty for you to see later if you wish to check back.  Happy Thursday everyone!!
~Crafty Math Chick

Six on the Seventh

Hello my friends and followers - I cannot tell you how it makes me smile as I see your numbers slowly increasing.  :)  Today I have not one, not two, not even three cards to show you but six.  (I KNOW!)  There are lots of cool challenges on the horizon that have piqued my interest.  The first one is for  Skipping Stones Design Sketch 71:

I used their humorous 'Birthday Donuts' set (the inside says "...sometimes it's best not to count how many you've had") with some Regal Rose patterned paper from one of Stampin' Up!'s retired hostess stacks and this cool chocolate chip morsel DP I found at JoAnn's.   (Someone out there has to come up with some chocolate morsel shaped brads, don't you think?  They would have been awesome on this card!) The donut is embossed using American Crafts' Brownie embossing powder onto Creamy Caramel Cardstock.  I popped the donut up on dimensionals and added a few fun pink & brown ribbons.  Oh yeah, and the brown brads in the corner - do you know how difficult it is to find brown brads?  Not bronze or copper, but brown?  Psst - try Hobby Lobby, they sell them in the combo six packs by Spare Parts and go on sale pretty regularly.  Since this card is humorous, as are several of Skipping Stones Design's sets, it satisfies the requirements of this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge - Comedy Rocks.

This next card I created for Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge 49 - to spotlight an animal.  I have not tried the spotlighting technique before:

...so how did I do?  My friend Lee Murphy turned me on to House Mouse stamps, aren't they cuties?  So I created this birthday card for her using some patterned paper from the 'Birthday Extravaganza' stack by the Paper Studio and layering two of the yummy ribbons she was kind enough to send me in a 'get well soon' care package.   She is a big fan of pink and the meeses, so I am hoping she will like this card.  (Note to self - you do not have a 5/8" or 7/8" circle punches in your collection and, yes, you do need them).  This card also fulfills the requirements of the following challenges:

• Really Reasonable Ribbon's Challenge 21 - to use punches or die cuts and ribbon,
• Paper Play Challenges Week 14 - Critters Galore, and
• Wee Memories Challenge 50 - rainbow inspired - isn't Jenny's inspiration picture GORGEOUS:

Okay, on to my third card, which was created for Verve's 'Color Me Spring' Challenge.  I used the my new 'Egg-stra Special' set that I won during a sneak peek blog hop from Jackie Pedro's Blog (thanks Jackie!) and some patterned paper and ribbon from a past Sell-a-bration Freebie to make this little number:

Believe it or not, I struggled with this one; I am just not a pastel person.  Other than light blue and making an all white and blue or all white and pink baby card, I tend to shy away from my pastels, but I wanted to give this cute little chickie some love.  This card also fulfills the requirements of the following challenges as well:

• The Shabby Tea Room's Challenge 56 - based on this inspirational photo (I thought of the chick hatching from one of these eggs and the pastel colors):
• 
• Tuesday Throwdown 43 - Spring theme, and
• Dutch Dare Card Challenge 107 - Spring has Sprung.

Now for my last three cards, a trio of itty bitty 3 x 3 cards (LOVE this size to include with 'happy mail' packages sent to fellow crafters, because you just can't send something to a fellow card maker without a handmade card in it) for you courtesy of Waltzingmouse's Sketch Challenge 41, which was to make 3 itty bitty cards this week.  I used their 'Sewing Box Hugs' set and made these little cuties:

Again, I used patterned papers from retired hostess packs from Stampin' Up! in Pretty in Pink and Apricot.  The birdie was stamped three times on white, apricot daisies and apricot swirls papers, then cut out and layered, popping up the wing with a dimensional and corner-punching the corners to add pink pearls in some of the corners (discovery - I don't have nearly as many pearls as I do rhinestones!).  Since faux stitching is used in the images of this card is also fulfills the requirements of Challenge 39 by Your Next Stamp - stitching.

That is about it from me.  Tami Mayberry of Gina K. Designs fame is having a HUGE giveaway on her blog if you wish to go check it out, it is pretty spectacular.

I hope everyone has a happy Thursday evening!
~Crafty Math Chick

Happy Blogaversary Mustang Sarah!

Hello friends and followers.  This really nice fellow stamper that I met at Verve's release party last week announcd she had a Sketch Challenge on her blog in celebration of her 4th blogaversary (can you imagine?  I don't even think my blog is a month old yet, LOL!).  I missed her birthday blog hop, but I made this card in honor of her blogaversary:

I love the combination of River Rock and Black together, don't you?  All the images and sentiment are from Verve's 'Forever in our Hearts' set.  Now that I think of it, it seems a little odd to be making a sympathy card in honor of a blogaversary (what was I thinking?!!) but really, I think this is the perfect, calming set for a sympathy card, and I wanted to use it when I saw Sarah's appealing sketch.  I don't know about you, but for me, sympathy cards are the most difficult to make because they are for a somber occasion and stamping makes me happy, but I have found if I don't have a few set aside in my stash that trying to make them on the spot when you really need one is far more difficult.  So Sarah, when you see this, don't read into it?  Okay?  Please?  And there is still time to play so I hope some of you will, Sarah even has a little Vervey blog candy to entice you, or at least stop by to wish her a happy blogaversary.

I made a second card today for Sketch Challenge 135 at Taylored Expressions, using Taylor's cute 'Pet's Place' set.  I found some striped pre-glittered patterned paper from my DCWV's Pet Stack (thanks Barbie!!) and basically found papers that matched the colors in it - Taken with Teal (which I hardly ever use), Regal Rose and Chocolate Chip.  I attempted to have half of the pups turning their heads in opposite directions using a reverse image stamp, but after 5 tries I decided my back would appreciate it more if I used the doggies as they were.  I punched them out with a 1 1/8" circle punch, colored them in with Copic Markers, stamped the paw prints on the teal cardstock with a marker of the same color and added the sentiment and twine.  I hope you like it.

Thank you Sarah and Taylor for the cool challenges, and thank you all for stopping by my blog today to see my cards and listen to my ramblings.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
~Crafty Math Chick

Viva la Tuesday Trigger

Good afternoon friends and followers.  :)  Today I have four (count 'em) cards for your viewing pleasure. The first is for this week's Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger Challenge, using this picture as inspiration:

I was inspired by the jar image and the turquoise, orange & white color palette.  I came up with this card:

I used Papertrey Ink's 'Studio Style' set, and let me tell you, it was pretty tricky trying to ink only the jar in turquoise and only the buttons in orange without bleeding.  Then I wanted to create a frame of buttons playing off of the buttons inside the jar.  At last, a sentiment that will be perfect for one of the many thank you's I need to send to all of my supportive and kind crafty friends.  (Card one, clap clap, done.)

I am happy to say I was successful in completing cards for all of the Viva la Verve! challenges at SCS this month.  I had such a block with Week 2's Sketch by Charmaine, so I did what I always do when this happens, I rotated it and flipped it over for a fresh perspective.  And I thought 'Hey, that circle in the corner kind of looks like a balloon..." and I came up with this card:

The balloon was punched out using a Mega (purple) Marvy Uchida punch from this pretty pre-glittered sparkly paper by Making Memories.  I cut the 'balloon tail' out of the same paper and tied some twine by Martha Stewart around the end to substitute for the ribbon in the photo.  For the side strip I found this brown piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock that had been embossed using the CB 'Branches' embossing folder and though it resembled bark and would make a good tree trunk behind the balloon (light bulb -> at this point the idea for the next card popped into my head).  I stamped the cute little birdie from Verve's 'Wordy Birds' set onto Real Red cardstock and colored in his wing for a little depth and positioned him as if he was holding up the greeting.  Another birthday card for my stash.  (Card two, clap clap, done).

Here is the card that was conceptualized while making the previous card - when I was adhering the trunk I thought "Hm, I should have just made this a tree instead of a balloon..." and (ding! ding! ding!) realized I could do this using a few scalloped punches and thus became the card above.  I turned the bow from the sketch into a yellow ribbon (You all have "Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree..." going through your heads now, don't you?) and created a bird nest for another little Wordy Birdie to nestle in using some scraps that resulted from trimming down the tree trunk.  On both of these cards I created the cloud background by sponging Bashful Blue ink around a scalloped oval punch (I kept the one from before - every day is Earth Day!)  (Card 3, clap clap, done).

My final card was made for the Week 3 Viva la Verve Challenge by Maureen.  This one took me a while to come up with but I am happy with the final result.  It uses both Verve's 'Glad Tidings' and 'Merry Wishes' sets.  The white berries were embossed onto Real Red cardstock and the red berries were stamped with Real Red ink.  The snowflake-poinsettia was stamped twice - once embossed on red cardstock and one onto white cardstock with red; both were cut out and layered.  I attached a velvet ribbon and bow and some rhinestones to random red berries and to the center of the snowflake-poinsettia.  (Card 4, clap clap, done AND all five of the Viva la Verve challenges are now complete - so I am a Viva la Verve Champion for the month of March - WOO HOO!...Now you hear Queen's 'We are the Champions...." in your head, right?)

Holiday card count: 15 (As a personal goal, I try to complete at least 10 holiday cards every month so that I am all set when the holidays arrive and I do not have the stress of trying to create a gazillion cards in addition to all of the tradition holiday shtuff we all have to do, and I usually have plenty left over to send to family, friends and Operation Write Home; I am a little behind at this point because of my surgery, but I am confident I will be able to catch up as my healing progresses, even if I have to take the CAS approach - hey, they are easier and cheaper to mail anyway right?)

Thank you Cath, Charmaine and Maureen for the cool challenges and inspiration, and thank you all for taking the time to read my blog and look at my cards.  Have a great day!
~Crafty Math Chick

Viva la Verve!

Good afternoon friends and followers.  Today I decided to work on some of the Viva la Verve! Sketch Challenges over at Splitcoaststampers.  Here is my first card for Week 1, designed by Amber Hight:

The butterfly and sentiment are from Verve's 'Blue Skies' set and are embossed in black onto brushed gold cardstock.  I LOVE the patterned papers on this card - they are from the 'Simple Elegance' mat stack by the Paper studio, and in addition to those beautiful golden tones they are foiled (not sure you can tell from the photo).  The butterfly is popped up with dimensionals and a touch of black velvet ribbon completed the card.

My second card followed Week 4's Sketch by Jackie Pedro.  I decided to go with a patriotic theme using Verve's images from their 'Blue Skies' and "American Hero' sets.  I stamped the notebook paper image (isn't it the cutest?!!) using Soft Sky ink to try to resemble the look of real notebook paper.  The stars in the background, which match the embossed stars using the stars Cuttlebug folder, which you can barely see, are stamped in Ridinghood Red and Night of Navy; I really like these two colors together, so classic.

My last card followed Week 5's Sketch by Sankari Wegman.  I took the liberty of converting the circles into butterflies and found some pretty patterned papers that I liked in DCWV's Blossoms & Butterflies stack and found colors in my stash to match them: Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink and Peach Cobbler.  Again, I used images from Verve's 'Blue Skies' set and stamped the notebook paper in Soft Sky on white cardstock and added the sentiment in Chocolate Chip ink.  I loved how the swirls in this set closely matched the DP, and added a few flourishes in Melon Mambo.  So, which of the three is your favorite?

My hope was to finish all five of the Viva La Verve Challenges today, LOL, yeah, I know, a little ambitious given my health, but I have only two sketches left - week's 2 & 3 (which were trickier for me for some reason) and two days to complete them, so hopefully I should finish all five in time to post in the Viva la Verve Sketch Champions thread (insert Queen's "We are the Champions" music here).  We will see, health comes first and I hurt my back pretty good when bending down to pick up a stamp set I had dropped on the floor (I KNOW!  But my grabbers are not effective at picking up relatively flat items off of the floor!!) 

Thank you all for taking the time to visit my blog and see my creations.  I hope you like them.
~Crafty Math Chick