Altenew's FANTASTIC Card Drive! Please Help Spread the Love!

Hello all :)

Just dropping in real quick to mention a fantastic card drive that Altenew is hosting right now.  Card drives are an important way to spread love, hugs and cheer across the miles, and although they're all important, this one is different than any I've seen. Day after day; week after week; month after month; and even year after year, so many elderly people in nursing homes go without a single visitor.  Whether their children have passed or sadly, if they just don't care, they too often spend their days alone. You can help, even if you're hundreds of miles away!  This card drive focuses on collecting and delivering Mother's Day and Father's Day cards for these lonely souls! Isn't that so darn cool?!

I'm not affiliated with Altenew in any way, I just love how special this card drive is and I want to invite you to share the love to those who really need it. Altenew is collecting cards between March 21 and April 26 and per Altenew's website, here are the guidelines:

• Cards may be for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.  Sentiments should be generic – a specific greeting such as “so happy you’re my dad” wouldn’t really work.

• Please sign your name on the inside of each card.  You may also include a note and where you are from!

• Include an envelope for each card you send, and make sure they are not sealed.

• To be eligible for the giveaway, please include a post-it note with your name and email address. (one post-it note per package, please.)

• We would love for you to use Altenew products, but of course your cards may use products from any companies!

• Send cards to:

         Altenew
         PO Box 249
         East Meadow, NY  11554

I hope you're able to spread some smiles and join us in the fun!  Check out Altenew's blog for more information.

Happy day!

NON "Over the Rainbow" Challenge + DT Call!

Hi everyone! This is such an excited month at Naughty or Nice Challenges!

It's spring! The trees and flowers are coming to life and it's time to open the windows to enjoy the breeze!  Along with warmer weather comes rainy weather (and allergies!) and if we're lucky....rainbows, which brings us to our new challenge.  For the month of April, we want to see what you can create when you're inspired by rainbows.  In addition to this fun theme, we are also having a design team call (YAY!!), so if you've dreamed of being one of the troublemakers and can commit to a deadline with one or two cards a month, if you can have fun without drama, and can meet a few other easy requirements, please join us in this month's challenge by linking your card up on the NON blog and add "DT" after your name :) We're a fun group of ladies and are excited to have new members :)

I made this card for the wedding of two of my friends and they were so happy with it :)  I used my Silhouette to weld the hands of the two women together and used the negative space as the focal point. I wanted to add some depth to the card so I trimmed the white layer so that the silhouettes would be in the corner and adhered it to a foam sheet before adding it to the card base. The rainbow hearts were made with a stencil. embossing paste and Distress Inks, which can be fun, but it's so very messy! Clean up as you go to make it easier on yourself :)

Don't forget to stop by the blog to see what my teammates came up with and submit your entry! You have until April 25...and don't forget to add "DT" after your name if you'd love to join the team!

Supplies:

Silhouette

Neenah Solar White

Black card stock from stash

Silhouette file 

Stampin' Up 

White Embossing Powder

Heat tool

Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste

Palatte knife

Simon Says Stamp Falling Hearts Stencil

Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Festive Berries, Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade, Mowed Lawn,  Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves)

Foam paper

Movie Inspired + NON Challenge #25

Hello out there!

Who doesn't love a good movie?!  I really love watching movies and have been doing a lot of it lately since my husband recently had surgery.  It's a great way to kick back and relax with great entertainment :)  This month I was excited to hear that our theme for the Naughty or Nice Challenge is "At the Movies". SO many possibilities with this one! Let's see if you have a guess as to what inspired this month's card....

Any ideas?

As soon as I got it I thought "Alice in Wonderland"! I love that movie and the remake with Johnny Depp was the first movie my son saw when he was a baby. We went to a drive in and I expected to nurse him so he'd fall asleep the whole time, but he had other plans and watched almost the entire thing, which absolutely amazed me!  He must have loved all the beautiful colors in it :) OK back to the card....if you're going to analyze all the details, sure some of the things are not in the movie at all. Alice didn't have a bear, she had a cat, BUT she did have singing flowers all around, and everyone remembers the Queen of Heart and the cards. There's even a little teacup! She's got long hair and a dress like Alice, and even has (what I assume) are earmuffs, which can totally represent Alice doing what she pleases and not listening to anyone else.   The movie is so wackadoo and all over the place, so I made the colors do the same thing.  Love :)

I tried to use Copics at first, but I didn't like the way it looked. It was too put together and wasn't exactly what I was looking for.  To make this one, I took watercolor paper and used three colors of Distress Ink to create the background.  I then heat embossed the Gorjuss image in black embossing powder and added a few sequins and called it a day. It's. Perfect :)

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you join us at the NON blog to see what the rest of my teammates came up with and to join us in the fun!

Supplies:

docrafts Gorjuss Santoro Rubber Stamp in Dear Alice

Strathmore Watercolor Paper
Neenah Solar White Card Stock
Distress Ink (Seedless Preserves, Cracked Pistachio and  Abandoned Coral)
Sequins from stash
Black Embossing Powder
Heat Tool
Anti-static bag

"Dear Apple" Gorjuss + Seeing Red Challenge

Hello, hello!

I wanted to stop in today with another card for the "Seeing Red" challenge at Naughty or Nice Challenges. The contest ends at midnight PST on February 25. so you still have time to join.   This is such a beautifully simple card, but I just love it. I wanted the apple to stand out because it was just perfect for this theme. It reminds me a lot of Snow White and the apple the witch wanted to give her.

I made this card using the "Dear Apple" Gorjuss stamp set from DoCrafts. I will be doing a blog review on some of their things in the near future so stay tuned :)  They are the most gorgeous stamps that I've seen in both quality and appearance. They're made of rich thick red rubber and the image is flawless. Flawless, people!  I'm not kidding when I say I just stared at them when I first got them. I was amazed at how pretty and sturdy they were!

To make this card, I made an A2 base out of Neenah Solar White Card Stock and heat embossed the image in Ranger's Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder. I colored the apple with Copics (R 12, 14 and 17; YG 07), then stopped there because I was happy. Gorgeous :)

Thanks for stopping by today! Don't forget to join us in the challenge!

Naughty or Nice "Seeing Red" Spinner Card

Happy February!

This month's challenge at Naughty or Nice Challenges is "Seeing Red", so get that red ink, ribbon, card stock and embellishments together and join in the fun!

This technique is really fun to do! To make this card:

--Cut a circle out of both your card base and another piece of card stock, then die cut two scalloped hearts.

--Sandwich the thread in between the hearts making sure to leave several inches of thread on both ends.  If you use glue, it may be helpful to tape the thread on before gluing the hearts together.  If you're a tape kind of gal like me, just make sure to tape it down before adhering the hearts together.

--Center the heart in the window of the card base.  When you're happy with the placement, make sure the thread is taut and tape it to the card base.  Trim the ends so you cannot see them. 

--Use a background stamp for the second piece of card stock and attached ribbon to the bottom.  

--Line up the windows and adhere the pieces with dimensional tape.  

Supplies:

Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Ribbon from stash

Herringbone Impression Obsession Cover a Card

Red card stock

Silver string

Big Shot

QuickKutz Nesting Lace Hearts

Spellbinders Circle Dies

Thanks for visiting today! I hope to see some of you join in the challenge :) You have until Feb. 25 to submit your creation.

Runaway Dogs!

Hello there :)

I was recently running late to go shopping and run some errands with my mom when we drove past a woman trying to catch her dog on a busy street. It was at that moment I realized exactly why I was running behind! I stopped and rolled down the window, asking if she needed help. While trying to catch this dog, she told me she did need help and that another dog of hers was also loose. Yikes!  She was having trouble walking and we weren't sure what was going to happen with two loose dogs that may possibly go in different directions on a busy street, but of course we pulled over to help because that's the kind of people we are :)

We ended up catching the dogs and drove them and owner back to their home safely :) She was such a sweet woman and was so thankful for us. She was crying and saying we were her angels. It still makes me smile to think about her and her sweet Houdini dogs :)   We didn't exchange names, but she briefly held my hand and hugged my mom. Such a sweet woman and I'm so glad we could help her!  Mom and I thought it would be a  nice idea to drop off food and a card for her escape artists. I hope they like them!

I just had to buy this Playful Pups stamp set from Mama Elephant because the little grey dog reminded me of one of my dogs :)  I stamped them and colored with Copic markers.  I'm very excited because I normally struggle with creating shadows under images, but feel like I did great with them on this card. I always want to make them big but I guess that small is the key LOL  The sentiment was embossed with white embossing powder and I used an old Stampin' Up background stamp to create the distressed background.

Supplies:
Neenah Solar White Card Stock
Black Cardstock
Playful Pups Stamp Set from Mama Elephant
White Embossing Powder
Anti-Static Tool
Heat Ttool
Copic Markers
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Memento Ladybug Ink
Stampin' Up Canvas Background Stamp

That does it for me today. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Let's Get Silly! + Naughty or Nice January Challenge

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!  

Our first challenge of 2016 at Naughty or Nice Challenges is a silly one. Do something that makes you chuckle, something that makes you smile. Be silly.  Every time I see this card I giggle, so I know it definitely fits the bill :)

I started by masking off a rectangle on my paper, then used Distress Inks to fill in the space and  added Perfect Pearls on top of it for a cool shimmery effect.  I have these really great wood glasses and mustaches from Oriental Trading that I colored black and added to it to give it some personality.  I love these wood pieces! They are very reasonably priced and you can do so much with them!  I stamped on the bow tie and hat because, let's just face it, glasses and a mustache just look better with them :) Finally,  I drew on the little arms and legs and used patterned paper from my stash on the card base.  Fun, huh?!

You have until Jan. 25 to join us in the challenge so head on over to the blog and share a bit of your creativity with us :)  Thanks for stopping by today!