Etsy Inspired Challenge 132

Etsy Inspired is featuring a fabulous shop called Fresh Metal Jewelery that sells beautiful jewelery. When I created my card I was inspired by this necklace, the colors and the shine of the metal. The stamps are Basic Grey and papers are Pink Paislee. This weekend should be full of schoolwork, crafting, and a hike. I'm not doing too bad with the homework but my crafty mojo doesn't seem to be around.

Etsy Inspired Challenge 130

The Etsy Inspired challenge is based on Artwork by Lori. I found this cool print and was inspired to use lots of strips of patterned paper to make a design they way she combined patterns to make the hair on the print. Best part is I wound up using lots of rather small scraps. Paper is Basic Grey Kioshi.

Etsy Inspired Challenge 126

It's been awhile since I've played along at Etsy Inspired but I loved how the Etsy shop this week was all about making some simple and functional with great patterns. So I look through my patterned paper to find a piece that I thought was beautiful on its own. This is an MME paper I simply added jewels and a sentiment. I was inspired by the shop generally but the colors of this piece.

I still have Christmas cards...

I'm still whipping up some Christmas cards because I will be meeting up for a Secret Santa on Jan 9th and I'll be meeting up with my dad and his wife tomorrow. So here's one more Christmas card. I used Sassafras Life at the Pole. I've been hoarding a few sheets of the paper and the stickers for a long time, but I really need to use it. What's the point of buying latest trendy papers to put them away (in my case in plastic 2 gallon ziplocs sorted by manufacturer and line)? I based this card on the Etsy Inspired Challenge featuring the Muffa shop. The cute little snowman in the link was my inspiration. The snowman is Christmas in such a cutesy way like the little reindeer on this card and the colors also inspired my color choices. Hope you're all having a wonderful New Year's Day. A good portion of my day will be spent studying for my Praxis exam on Monday. I will be taking two Praxis exams this month :( but I'm pretty confident I'll do well.

Etsy Inspired 117

My LSS has $5 card kits each month. You always get more than $5 in product, make a card then bring it back to the store to be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate. Love it! I made a card with the contents for the contest (see below) but then combined leftovers with some other Echo Park paper and the Etsy Inspired Challenge 117. I was inspired by this collage heart from Paper Seeds the inspiration shop this week. EIC is sponsored by Digis With Attitude. I also made these cards for the Card Creations: Favorite Occasions Week Birthday Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. I encourage you all to visit the Moxie Fab World and take part in any of the challenges.

Etsy Inspired Challenge 103

Another Etsy Inspired challenge this week. I've been wanting to get a head start on Halloween cards because I know of at least two people who will be expecting them and I don't want to forget. I love the Eerie papers and stickers I picked up on clearance. The Caged Fairy is the etsy shop this week and she has so many fab jewelery pieces. I was inspired by this cool blinged out skull ring. I made sure to add some bling to the skulls from the Eerie stickers to go with the ring.

Cards to Share

I'm going to keep this quick because I'm quite tired. I've been commuting to Burlington about an hour away (hour and a half with traffic) for my student teaching. We are just setting up the classroom and I'm exhausted from the drive. I hope I adjust quickly when the year starts. Anyway on to the cards. First up a card using scraps for the Etsy Inspired Challenge. The Etsy store of the week is Global Child Connection and I was inspired by this print.

Next up on Tuesday I was able to pick up the new Pixielicious at my LSS. I crafted with it that night but the craziness of the past two days means I'm only now sharing. I made it for the 2S4Y sketch. I used one of the elements and then the cut off strip on the bottom of the paper is my bottom border. I love Cosmo Cricket so much I'm already thinking of ways to stretch my new collection. Have a fab night and I will be back soon hopefully more well rested with a more thought out post.

Etsy Inspired Challenge 101

*** If you're on the Lawn Fawn blog hop please scroll down for that post***

I'm back with my card for Etsy Inspired this week. This has fast become one of my favorite challenges to participate in each week. The Etsy shop for inspiration this week is Lover Dovers which sells adorable aprons. I was inspired by this retro apron. I loved the colors and the general cuteness of it. I tried to capture that in a simple straight forward card. Right now I can't seem to stop adding black faux stitching on the edges of the card. I've been trying to play with simple and white space but I can't seem to leave the edges of the card blank. The sponsor this week at Etsy Inspired is Sassy Studio Designs.

Etsy Inspired Challenge 100

Etsy Inspired is celebrating their 100th challenge with a blog hop, some fabulous giveaways, and a huge 100 item prize! Now the prizes are certainly a good motivation, but the Etsy shop this week Cathy Walter makes some beautiful inspiring pendants that had me motivated to play by themselves. For this card I drew my inspiration from this Be Free pendant. In the pendant I love how the text is framed by the beautiful florals. I used Basic Grey rub-ons for the sentiment and the surrounding foliage images. I added a few small gems for pops of color.

Etsy Inspired #99

I created this card using Basic Grey's Kioshi for two different challenges. First up Etsy Inspired where Becky Kazana is the Etsy store being used as inspiration and Bugaboo Stamps are sponsoring. For my card I was inspired by the bird wedding toppers especially the flowers on the 'brides' heads. So I used a Kioshi bird sticker topped with a Prima flower. This card was also made for the Basic Grey Challenge 25 to use stitching. Basic Grey Challenges is as always sponsored by Simon Says Stamps.

Cards and a Recipe to Share

This first card is for challenge #17 at Easy Craft Projects Challenges. A new to me challenge blog with a photo inspiration. The photo is various word strips similar to the one on my card. I loved the American Craft background paper and unfortunately the colors are a little off in the photo but I like the way it looks IRL.

This second card is for the Etsy Inspired Challenge. I just found them last week and was lucky enough to win my first challenge. I love the inspiration there so I'm back for a new challenge. This week the store is Mermaid Tears Jewelry and there was lots of beautiful jewelery there. My card was primarily inspired by this pastel stacked sea glass necklace. Head on over to the blog to play along. This card features 4 different PP from Basic Grey's Kioshi 6x6 pad. I used my Fiskars punch for the borders.

My last card is based on the CPS sketch. I was also inspired by the vintage typewriter posted atPaper Crafts as part of their Inspired Style challenge. I used Basic Grey Kioshi again with some Prima flowers.

One last thing... I am currently procrastinating from my school work by making muffins and sharing some cards with you. The smell of banana nut wafting through the air is delicious. Need a recipe?

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 mashed overripe banana

crushed walnuts

1/2 egg

1/3 cup applesauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 brown sugar

Mix all dry ingredients together and mix all wet ingredients together separately. Then combine and add walnuts. Stir just until combined. Put in the oven at 350 for 25 mins. There is applesauce instead of oil so simply spray the cupcake pans with some cooking spray or use foil liners. It makes only 6 standard sized muffins. The recipe can be doubled though. With only two people in our house six is plenty.

Etsy Inspired #96

I've heard of Etsy Inspired in the past but never played along. Lately I've been trying to stretch my creativity a bit more though so I thought it would be a good challenge to try. The Etsy Shop this week is Octavia & Brown which sells vintage goods. I loved the vintage letters and numbers as well as the bird statues. I remembered the bird stickers from the Basic Grey Kioshi line and so I combined the image with the papers and letter stickers. I added a rubon in the corner for a bit of the elegant feel of the items available. The challenge is sponsored by Octavia & Brown and Charleston Scrapbook Company. Hope you all have had a great weekend. I have to go catch up on some reading for class tomorrow. Oh the joys of summer classes!