My First Tri-fold Shutter Card!

Hello Friends & Followers!  Welcome back!  Today I wanted to show off my new Newton's Nook Designs stamp sets: Sweetheart Tails & Love a la Carte and try something new - my first tri-fold shutter card!  It was a LOT easier than I expected - basically you take a 5 1/2" x 12' piece of cardstock, turn it so the 12" side is horizontal and score at 2", 4", 8" and 10", turn the card 90 degrees, and then connect the 2" scoring line with the 10" scoring line with a ruler & a craft knife 1 1/2" in from each side - VOILA!  Basically, that's it except to embellish the sections you created!  I used the tutorial I found on Splitcoaststampers.com HERE.  I thought it would be a fun way to showcase a lot of the cute images in the two sets, with all the little sections.  (I especially like how I covered the little squirrel with the pink 'You stole my heart' heart when the card is closed).  Here is the front when the card is closed (please ignore the clip on the side, these cards are tricky to keep shut and to photograph):

And here is what it looks like when it is opened up:

Here are some close up shots of some of the other sections:

Originally I left the center section blank for a handwritten greeting, but at the last minute I decided I wanted to stamp the heart border image there instead (I can still write between the 'lines'...).  

All the critters were colored in with Copic markers, fussy cut by hand and adhered individually on the card, except for the cuddling fox & raccoon couple - I masked the fox and stamped the raccoon over her.  Both of these sets are available at Newton's Nook Designs and there is even a color challenge on the blog right now where you can have a chance to win a gift certificate to NND as well, so be sure to check it out!
     Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you like my card and have a great week!
~ Crafty Math Chick

Newton's Nook Designs Reveal - Love a la Carte

Welcome to my first official Newton's Nook Designs Sneak Peek post as a design team member!  WOO HOO!

Today we are showcasing Jennifer's new 'Love a la Carte' set, filled with whimsical treats and pet names perfect for creations for your favorite special someone.  I really thought all the images in this set were so adorable I wanted to showcase as many as possible, so I decided to create my first ever waterfall card.

Of course, I had to put the pumpkin on the top since it is my hubby's nickname for me (Sorry if that is an overshare, I love it, LOL!).  And for the little 'pull' I stamped 'you're' and 'my' on red cardstock and punched it out with a scalloped heart-shaped punch and added some heart shaped eyelets for some extra reinforcement.  Let me show you some of the other panels in this card:

(seriously, how cute would this be attached to the top of one of those single serving pies tucked into your husband's or child's lunch box?)

(Wouldn't this look adorable stamped on a onesie for a newborn baby?!!)

(you could make your sweetheart some cinnamon rolls, or buy them from the bakery or Cinnabon if you are short on time, LOL, and attach a little tag with this cute image on the top of the box!)  
My hubby travels a lot and I love tucking little notes into his luggage for him to find after he arrives.  That gave me the idea for a compact note using the chili pepper image:

Granted, my hubby doesn't use a compact, he has a different mirror, but this one looks prettier for the sake of the picture, LOL!  But there is no reason you can't stamp this and tape it to your sweetie's mirror so it is the first thing they see in the morning right?  See why I love this set?!!  SOOOOO many terrific gift giving ideas!  And if you can't pick a favorite image, since there are so many from which to choose - use a bunch!  They make adorable background patterned paper sort of collaged together like this:

Would you like to win Love a la Carte?  
This set will be given away to TWO LUCKY WINNERS!!  
Here's how to win:
Comment on the NND blog and the Design Team blogs (see list below)!  Two winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs' January release posts.  Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win.  You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on - the better your chances are of winning!  You have until Thursday, January 16th at 9 pm CST to comment -- winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, January 17th.
Check out all the blogs of my awesome teammies below to enter:

Newton's Nook Designs
Taheerah Atchia
Christine Drogt
Samantha Mann
Larissa Heskett
Crafty Math-Chick
Danielle Pandeline
Valerie Ward
Tessa Wise

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Hopping!
~ Crafty Math Chick

PS - Have any extra valentines?  If so, my friend Winter Sims is having a 'Cards From the Heart' card drive to collect handmade valentine cards to distribute to sick children in hospitals.  

I know I won't be using ALL of the valentine cards I will make this year, so many of the cards I create as my NND sneak peek projects will be going to her.  If you are interested in sending some as well (and did I mention there are sponsors giving away PRIZES to some lucky participants?) please check out the details on her blog here, but don't wait too long, cards need to be received by January 31st to allow for distribution time.  

SNSDC62 ~ Fun Fold Cards

Hello Friends & Followers!  I hope you are having a wonderful July!  For today's Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge is to make a 'Fun Fold' card - a card with something other than one traditional fold.  I found this great tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.com for a Double Dutch Fold Card and used SNSS' adorable You & Me digi set (which is also available as a clear set if you prefer) to make this card:

I had to keep it simple as the majority of my stamping supplies are going to remain packed until well into August, but I thought the whimsical paired items in this set fit this fold quite well.  And for those of you who are intimidated by 'fancier' fold cards - this one is EASY! - two pieces of papers scored a few times and put together and VOILA!  We hope you will play along with us - although we certainly love to see SNSS digi images any digi will do, and for the month of July every card you enter puts you in a drawing to win 3 SNSS digi images of your choice! 
     This card also fulfills the requirements of the following additional challenge:

• Shopping Our Stash 59 - Extra Folds or Pleats, and
• 365 Cards Day 134 - Fun with Food.

     Thanks so much for stopping by my blog to see my creations!  Have a great day!
~Crafty Math Chick

The Last of my HYCCT Cards

Hello friends and followers!  It took me so long to upload all my HYCCT cards to SCS that I didn't have time to post them here for you last night, so I am doing so now.  I have five for your viewing pleasure today.  The first was for a challenge to make a card inspired by 'your happy place' - well, to me, that is when I am cuddling the sweetest little dog on Earth so I made a dog card using this adorable 'I Woof You' digi from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps along with the sketch from their release party and some patterned paper from DCWV's Pet stack to create this card:

I really like how my copic coloring came out on this little guy.  I had no idea what to do with this little quarter circle tucked behind the intersection of the two strips so I came up with the idea of having the cute little doggie peek out from behind them.  My husband adores this card.  This card also fulfills the requirements of the following additional challenges:

• Digital Tuesday Challenge 135 (DTC135) - Cute & Cuddly with a digi image,
• The Poodles Parlour Challenge - Let's Hear It for the Boys (to make a masculine card),
• Stamps R Us Challenge - Masculine Theme, and 
• Charisma Cardz Challenge 44 - Cutesty.

     My next card was made for the HYCCT challenge to use paper like it was ribbon.   This was the most difficult challenge for me.  I saw in the SCS gallery that a lot of folks were punching tissue paper with a border punch to resemble lace so that is what I did with some hot pink tissue paper.  It kept jamming my punch and I can't say I will be doing this again anytime in the near future, LOL, but here is my card using the cute There She Goes Clear Stamps' 'Freeze the Moment' set and The Deconstructed Sketch 26:

In addition, this card also fulls the requirements of The Play Date Cafe's Color Challenge 106, to use pink, yellow and grey based on this inspirational picture:

   My third card was for the HYCCT challenge that required us to disguise our stamping style.  I like to think my stamping style is varied and I don't really have one set style, but I rarely do any fancy folded cards so I figured I would go with that and make a center step card using Gina K. Designs' Snow Much Fun set:

This card was surprisingly easy - though it turned out requiring a large square envelope, and I rarely make card that don't fit into the standard A2 envelopes either so - double disguise.  It doesn't show up well int he photo, but the bottom is all pre-glittered paper I used to create snow mounds for this little guy.
     The fourth card was made for HYCCT's challenge to 'send a little sunshine' with a card of encouragement, so I made this one using Gina K. Designs' You Are Not Alone set:

The floral images in this set are really perfect for the thumping technique with markers.  I embossed the background using CB's Birds & Swirls embossing folder and some yummy ribbon from the Offray outlet.  This card also fulfills the requirements of the Stamp-n-Doodle's Emboss it Challenge.  
     That brings us to the last card of the five I have for you this morning, made for the HYCCT challenge to make a card with lots of girlie embellishments.  This was also a challenge for me - I would rather make a masculine card than make one with lots of foofy embellishments any day - but I stretched myself for the challenge and came up with this one using My Favorite Things' Flopsey Flowers and MFT's Gettin' Sketchy Week 44 sketch (I substituted Flopsey in for the oval), some papers from the DCWV's Flower stack, lace, velvet ribbon and prima flowers with rhinestone centers:

'Girlie' enough for you?  LOL!  This card also fulfills the requirements of the Forever Friends Bling-Bling Challenge - to use rhinestones with a cute & cuddly animal image, and I for one certainly think Flopsey is cute & cuddly.  That's it - all 33 HYCCT challenges complete!  Now to mail all of these to their new home at the UT MD Andersen Cancer Center where I hope they will spread some joy...
   Well, that is all I have for you this morning, I hope to do some stamping later today but am not sure if I will have much time after straightening up my craft room, I have a few scraps to organize and put away.  Thanks so much for stopping by and seeing my creations!  I hope you have a wonderful week!
~Crafty Math Chick