Sketch Challenge 118 and Hambo Hoedown

I tried out the OWH weekly sketch challenge, found HERE,  this week, and I used a Hambo digi image, so I'm going to try out the Hambo Hoedown as well.  Here's a chillin' cat all ready for summer (Just like this teacher is!).

What link-ups do you participate in?

Digi Stamps

I've never tried using digi stamps before.  I always kinda found them silly, like clip art from Microsoft word.  But after looking at my shrinking bank account, I realized that I can't keep buying stamps.  So I looked up a bunch of freebies.  Holy cow!  There's some awesome stamp art out there.  And a lot of it's free.  I found a lot of these by using FREE DIGITAL STAMPS.   It has great resources.

It was SO much fun to color.  I'd forgotten how much I enjoy coloring.  What a wonderful way to de-stress.

I really like how they look like they are stamped.  Yet stamped well and not smudgy like I tend to do.  I also like how they can be sized to whatever size I need.  Next time, I think I'll make the images smaller.  I had a hard time visualizing what size they would be and when they printed, they take up pretty much the entire card.  It makes it hard to do any designing.

This one with the hedgehogs is my favorite card of the bunch.  I tried out the folded paper ribbon technique seen HERE.  It turned out really cute.  I added a glittery button (glitter is sealed into the button so it's safe for our heroes to receive) for a fun blingy touch.  I also added a small bow to one of the hedgehogs because they both looked exactly the same.  I like the soft gentle colors and the happy image on the card.

I also downloaded and printed out lots of other digis so there'll be lots more cards to come.  Happy downloading!
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Make 'em Laugh, Make 'em Smile

Have you checked out OWH's Make Them Laugh Blog Hop yet? If not, click HERE for some great cards.

I love blog hops. What do I love most? The candy! And to enter to win prizes from this hop, you need to make and share a funny card. Here's mine:

Thankfully, you don't have to have a good card to enter, just a funny one. (Does horrendous looking count too?) I'm not sure if this card will be joining the others overseas or if it'll be going straight in the trash. Thoughts?

This card does have a funny history. My in-laws are divorced. To say it was ugly is a bit of an understatement. One day, I was talking to my mother-in-law, who is the nicest, kindest, gentlest person you could ever meet. However, she was having a bad day, bitter over something that her ex-husband had done. She looked at me and said, "Send him a card. Tell him that he's an a$$." And naturally, I do what any card maker would do. I instantly make a 'You're an a$$' card up in my head. Doesn't a butt crack make an awesome Y? After a bit of editing, this is what was left. When I saw the theme for the blog hop, I knew exactly what card to make. Too bad it's not quite as good as the one in my mind, but it still cracked me up.

And since I refuse to post only a bad card, here's a card I made today for my mom. It's certainly a happy card. The paper is from 3 Bugs and the stamp is from Stampin' Up. I'm much more proud of this one.

So what do you think? Should I send the one? What do you do when your projects fail?

Link ups! Sharing the crack card at: OWH Stars and Stamps, Market Street Stamps, The Lawn Fawn, and Art Impressions. Sharing the pinwheel at: Shine On Fridays and Pomp Party.

I'm Back

I'm back after a 9 month hiatus. Sorry to disappear for so long. Being a first year teacher means that everything else in life takes a back seat for the duration of the school year. It's been super stressful, which has made me realize that not everything should take a back seat to teaching. I need my cards to keep my sanity.

Here's some of the cards that I made throughout the year:

This is an autumn/Thanksgiving card. It uses paper and embellishments from Autumn Leaves.

This fun card uses Provo Craft paper and a stamp that I got from Michael's dollar section (Best part of Michael's is their dollar stamps!).

This card is inspired by THIS BLOG HOP. I used We R paper and stamps from Stampologies.

Here's a few more. I cut the felt on the Christmas card using a Sizzix machine. I haven't dared cut anything but paper using my Cricut. Have any of you?

Finally, here are the Christmas cards that I mailed to friends this year. No cards for heroes though :-( because the paper was glittered. I think I'll make a variation of this card without glitter for OWH. You can find the tutorial for that awesome dimensional tree (along with a second awesome Christmas tree) HERE.

Well that's all I've got for now. I'm way behind on getting 104 cards finished within the year. But that's okay if I don't make that goal. Every card donated counts and one is better than none.

So tell me crafters, how do you find the time to craft? Any tips for a stressed out teacher? Any card ideas to share? Let me know.