Yesterday was World Card Making Day, and I didn't have any time to sit down to create at all! This afternoon, however, I set aside some time to make four cards that I need to get in the mail this month. The first two cards are a CASE of Maile Belles who created the card for Papertrey Ink's August release. I didn't change up a lot, but it was such a perfect design for a young couple celebrating their anniversary and an older couple who tied the knot this weekend. Not often the same card works for a wide age range.

Both cards use Papertrey Ink's Soft Stone cardstock and ink. The images came from the Monthly Moments: August collection. It's rare that I make cards with one of these sets before I use them for Project Life, but every month has a collection of stamps that's very versatile.  The Happy Anniversary sentiment is from Fillable Frames #4, and the Congratulations from "Banner Sentiments." The red metallic paper die cut with Simon Says' Holiday Shapes, and the metallic twine are from Paper Source.

My son-in-law's sister just had a baby girl this week, and I want to get the card and a small gift into the mail since it has to travel across the pond. 

I didn't have any die cuts for a baby card, so the last time I ordered from Papertrey, I tossed the Wonderful Words stamp set and die into my card. Glad I did. They're extremely reasonable, and it made for a quick card. The patterned paper is from an older Dear Lizzie pad called "Neopolitan." The little hearts from Hero Arts have also been in my stash for quite a while. 

Last, but not least, a card for a friend in Colorado who's birthday is the end of the month. We're off on a little road trip this week, and then to Sarah and Adam's for five days before heading back to Niagara-on-the-Lake for our annual Shaw Festival weekend with Karen and Mike. I had most of the October cards done and ready to mail, but this is the last one.

This is my newest stamp set, "Sparkle and Shine." You can build multiple messages with the different stamps. The dies were out of stock the very next morning after the release, so I'm still waiting for those. I like the message on vellum, but attaching it to the silver cardstock (Paper Source) turned out to be a challenge. (Didn't have any trouble with the vellum on the baby card; go figure.) I finally pulled out a little silver clothespin and covered it with Wink of Stella shine. Now, however, the card requires a padded envelope! The ampersand die is from "Grand Ampersand" and the enamel dots are from My Mind's Eye. 

I'm going to enter the last two cards in Virginia View's new challenge: Clean and Simple. I love her challenges, and Clean and Simple is dear to my heart, but these are the only ones that are likely to make the deadline.

Nothing like piling it all up on one post after hardly creating anything in several weeks. What little creative time I've had I've given to working through the book, You Can Learn to Draw in 30 Days. I have to say, I can definitely see improvement, and I'm looking forward to a semester at Sketchbook Skool that starts while we're away.

It's been the second crazed week in a row, filled with appointments and volunteer commitments, and almost no time at my desk. I'm managing to keep up with a daily sketching lesson, but that's been about it. I realized this morning that today was the Papertrey Blog Hop, and I loved the inspiration piece.

The first time I had to sit down and think about it was tonight after dinner. I have to admit it didn't come out quite the way I envisioned it, but there's no time to second-guess it either! I know my friend who's undergoing chemotherapy will enjoy getting it in the mail so I'm happy to have a new card to get off to her.

"Doodlie Do" is one of my favorite sets and I don't give it anywhere near the attention it deserves. The cardstock is Enchanted Evening with a bit of Sweet Blush for the greeting. I tried to match the colors in the scarf and sweater with Copic markers, and added the touch of orange in the scarf to brighten up the flower. The card design is one of the sketches Nicole provided in the September inspiration post.

Instead of buttons, I used the flower and leaves from "Doodlie Do" and added a few enamel dots. Off to see a few other entries before I head to bed. I'll be back tomorrow with the final post for Rinda's Summer Scavenger Hunt. 

Skylar will turn three years old on Sunday. They're planning a party at home, and I'm sure to be back with photos then. I wanted to post her card today since the challenge for patterned paper at Virginia's View ends tonight.

The card also fits this week's Simon Says Wednesday Challenge:  Tag It!

This is another card made with the Simon Says August Card Kit. I just loved the patterned paper, and started with that. It's been a bit cool for ice cream recently, but it's supposed to warm up again. Hopefully it will be a nice day for the party on Sunday. 

The images on the tag were colored with Copic markers and I combined stamps from two sets to create the sentiment. The ice cream cone has glitter added to it and I popped up the cherry with some dimensional tape.

The inside of the card took way longer that the card itself. It took three stamp sets as well as some partial stamping to create the greeting I wanted. I'd get almost done, and the last stamp wouldn't be clear. I think I did it four or five times until I finally decided it was good enough.

It's hard to believe that both my grandchildren will be three years old by the end of the year. Where does the time go?

The cupcake card making continued for the better part of a morning, and here are two more. The first one is based on the current Retrosketch challenge.

And it's another entry to Virginia's View Patterned Paper challenge.

On our way to Canada last weekend, we made a quick stop in Buffalo so I could run into Buffalo Stamps & Stuff to pick up some stamp cleaner that I can't seem to find anywhere else. I actually didn't come out of there with too much extra, but I did pick up an Avery Elle stamp set "Cupcakes." The store has a monthly coupon that I was able to apply to the stamp set. The sentiment is from Lockhart which I've owned for years.

The cardstock is Bazzil, and the patterned papers are from "The Good Life" by Fancy Pants (the cupcake liner) and "Mother Goose" by Graphic 45 (the stars). I used clear Stickles to add the glitter to the cupcake which shows up a lot better in a photograph than the Gelly Roll Stardust pen (which I love in real life!) I colored the cherry with a Copic marker and bumped it out with a bit of dimensional tape.

The last cupcake card started with a stamp from Mama Elephant's "Carnival Toppers." This time I stamped the cupcake liner on some vellum and colored it on the back with a Copic marker.  Once again the Gelly Roll glitter pen looks "dirty" in the photo.

I love this sentiment from the Mama Elephant "Carnival Toppers." It was the sentiments in this set that prompted the purchase and started this cupcake card craze. 

The card is a ready-made one by Memory Box, and it turns out to be an odd shade of pink. I finally found a Copic that matched it after trying a couple others that didn't work so well. I added two strips of Little B Washi tape to the top and bottom of the card. 

I think that's it for cupcakes. Now I'm hungry for one. I should head out to Deb's. She makes the most beautiful cupcakes ever!