Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A Whole Lotta Paper Piecing Goin' On!

Hello friends & followers!  I have three cards for your viewing pleasure today and I guess I was in a paper piecing mood.  The first was for CAS-ual Friday's Challenge 36 - to make an all black & white card in honor of Penguin day.  I decided to use some pretty black & white striped paper I have had in my stash for quite some time and paper piece the chaise lounge image from 'Fine Furnishings - Additions' by Gina K. Designs to come up with this untraditional valentine:
I created a 'floor' for the image with a scrap of black cardstock with one edge run through the scalloped edge border punch.  This card also fulfills the requirements of the following additional challenges:


My second card was created for Stamp TV's Free-for-Friday Challenge to CASE DT member Jennie Harper - not an easy task if you have seen her impressive gallery!.. I decided to CASE this card, I selected the same bird image & 'Te Amo' sentiment from 'Warm & Fuzzy' by Gina K. Designs, different patterned papers (from Echo Park's Victoria Gardens stack) and a regular scalloped border punch rather than the one with ones that Jennie used to come up with this card:
I sponged around the oval image like Jennie did also, though I am not sure it shows.  This card also fulfills the requirements of the following additional challenges as well:


My last card was created for Sweet 'n Sassy's Inspiration Challenge 23 over at Splitcoaststampers based on this lovely photo selected by Taylor Usry:
I was inspired by the wood elements and the sparkly mint bird and created this card:
I used SNSS' 'Winter Friends' set and colored in the snowman's scarf, hat and bird in a mint color (don't use that one too often!) and added some sparkle with some matching glitter from Martha Stewart and some glittery white snow using a Quickie Glue Pen.  I embossed a piece of kraft cardstock with a woodgrain embossing folder by the Paper Studio that I picked up at Hobby Lobby and ran my Palette New Canvas ink pad over the raised surface to give it a wintery feel.  I added a touch of twine for a rustic look.  (Holiday card count - 3).  This card also fulfills the following additional challenges as well:


Well, that is all I have for you today.  Thanks so much for stopping by to visit my blog and view my creations.  Have a great week!
~Crafty Math Chick

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Flipping Over SSD

Hello friends & followers!  I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday.  I am so happy that I was finally able to play in this week's Sketch Challenge 111 from Skipping Stones Design - I never used to miss one, but things got so hectic around the holidays and are just settling down.  Here is the sketch we were given this week by Pamela Young:
which I flipped of course because heaven forbid I leave a sketch alone (get the title now?  'flipping' over SSD?  LOL!) to create this card with SSD's Grey Hares set:
I morphed the circles into balloon shapes punched out from colors that coordinated with the 'streamer' patterned paper using Martha Stewart's balloon punch and created strings from them using twine and then had the hoppy bunny hold them by stamping his arm a second and sandwiching them between the popped up layers.  So, what do you think?  (BTW - Heather is having a sale over at SSD, if you were eyeing any of their sets, now would be an opportune time... just sayin'...).  This card also fulfills the requirements of the following additional challenges:

Thanks so much for stopping by to see my creations and read my ramblings!  Have a wonderful evening!
~Crafty Math Chick

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

I Have No Witty Title Today...

Hello friends & followers!  Thank you all so much for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers for our Ty baby and his healing.  He does seem to be a bit peppier lately, and in the hopes of preventing him from yelping in pain in the future we placed a baby gate at the base of the stairs thereby restricting him to the lower level, which breaks my heart because my craft room is upstairs and I don't feel right crafting without him keeping me company, so now I am trying to craft when my husband is home and can keep him company on the lower level.  LOL, as I write this he is lying in his sherpa bumper bed on the floor, sprawled on his back with his little front legs folded over his chest, looking at me as if to say 'You are writing about me on your blog again Mommy, aren't you?"  Hee hee hee...
     Today I have two cards for your viewing pleasure, both based on inspiration challenges.  The first is Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' Inspiration Challenge 22 over at Splitcoaststamps:
Pretty color combo, isn't it?  I used Sweet Stop Sketch 141 and SNSS' 'Fall Time Cocoa' to create this card:
I paper pieced the pumpkin from some old Stampin' Up designer papers in my stash and colored in little Cocoa mouse with Copic markers.  I really like these colors together.  This card also fulfills the requirements of the following additional challenges:


On to card 2...  which is based on this picture from the Play Date Cafe Challenge (to use burgundy, gold & purple):
I don't know what about this color combination said 'Hanukkah' to me, but it did and I used There She Goes Clear Stamps' "HSH - Hanukkah Additions" to create this card:
I think I might play around with this color combination a bit more, I never would have thought to combine these colors on my own, but I like them!  I think I need to invest in some fine detail EP, my embossing always looks chunky.  Since I used two kinds of embossing on this card, heat embossing and the Swiss Dots CB EF, this card fulfills the requirements of the Digi Doodle Shop's Challenge 90 - Embossing.
     Thanks again for stopping by my blog to see my cards and for your kind thoughts & prayers for Ty baby - keep 'em coming!  That sweet little dog's messed up back needs all the prayers he can get.  Have a great night!
~Crafty Math Chick

Friday, January 13, 2012

Poppin' By to Say Hi - The Sequel

Hello Friends & Followers,
     I have a request - most of you know how much my little furbaby means to me, he had back surgery a mere 6 months ago and it seems like he is having back problems again out of the blue.  I am beside myself and just want him to feel better.  It breaks my heart because he is SUCH a good little dog!  SO well behaved and loving, and has already had a hard life before we adopted him, can't he just be healthy and enjoy life already?!!  :(  So, if any of your are praying folk, could you please put in some positive thoughts & prayers for our little furbaby?  He means the world to me, both of us would be most grateful.
     After staying up basically all night with him and being stressed and exhausted my husband insisted I go upstairs (my craft room is upstairs in our house and we are too afraid to lift Ty up and down the stairs in his condition to keep me company in there) and make a card to calm down and take my mind off of things for a while, that he would watch Ty.  It really wasn't easy, it is difficult for me to be creative when I am upset, but I had this card largely thought out before last night so that helped.  I used The Sweet Stop Sketch SSS140 which reminded me of a film strip at an angle, so I combined it with this cute little Popcorn Cocoa mouse digi from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps with some popcorn patterned paper by the Paper Studio that I have had in my stash for a while to create this card:
I like the image and the paper and the ribbon together, but I am not in love with the sentiments I chose (they are from SNSS' 'Somebuggy Loves You') I would have preferred something like 'Poppin' By To Say Hi!' to go along with the popcorn paper.  I am not in love with my rhinestone placement either.  I guess that is what happens what you try to be creative when you are stressed and worried.  This card also fulfills the requirements of the following additional challenges:


   Thank you so much for stopping by to see my creations, thanks in advance for prayers for Ty baby.
~Crafty Math Chick

Sunday, January 8, 2012

First card of 2012

Hello Friends & Followers!  It feels so good to be back at the craft table again!  I am trying to re-arrange my schedule so I get more stamping in this year because it makes me so happy.  So here we have the first card of 2012, and my first holiday card of many for 2012 as well (only made a total of 54 last year - I can do WAAAAY better than that!) for Taylor Usry's Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps Release Party Challenge to make a card using black, white and one other color, I picked red and used 'Santa's Little Helper" to create this card:
The sketch is actually last week's sketch from Card Positioning Systems that I never got a chance to use, but I thought it worked perfectly with little Cocoa resting on the top of the Ribbon Tags Nestabilities die.  I love this DP stack - it is by the Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby.  This card also fulfills the following additional challenges as well:


There were two more SNSS Release Party challenges on SCS, and I had planned and hoped to participate in all 3 of them, but life got in the way...  sigh... hopefully next month.  Thank you all so much for stopping by to see my creations and read my ramblings.  Have a great week!
~Crafty Math Chick

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

HAPPY ADOPTION DAY TY!

Hello Friends & Followers!  Today is a very special day for me - three years ago today we adopted a little furbaby who is the sun of my solar system and a never-ending source of joy for me, Ty.  Here he is the day we brought him home as we waited for his turn at the PetSmart salon (so that he would come home all clean & sweet-smelling):
And 2011 was a rough year for our little guy when he gave us a scare and needed back surgery:
Thankfully he came through the procedure with flying colors (and an funky haircut) and we will always be grateful to his surgeons and doctors for their wonderful care and expertise so that he was able to enjoy his happy adoption day with us this year:
(Ty loves cake).  WE LOVE YOU TY BABY!!  YOU ARE THE BEST DOG EVER!!  Thank you so much for being the sweet little pup you are and filling your Mommy's life with happiness and love. <3