Day 5 of OCL and May Arts!

What a great week it has been with Our Craft Lounge stamps and May Arts ribbon!  I hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have!

My card for today features an encouragement from Kendra's Everyday Sentiments, stamped directly onto Simple Stories designer paper. The seam between prints is covered by some beautiful scallop-edged trim.  A multi-looped bow of sheer iridescent wired ribbon forms the foundation for the Petaloo magnolia corsage-style embellishment.

Be sure to visit the OCL blog and FaceBook fan page for all the details on prizes for this week's hops!

Here are today's designers:

• Amber Hillman
• Debbie Fisher
• Kendra Wietstock
• Lori Barnett
• Michelle Pearson
• Tammie Edgerton

Days Gone By!

I absolutely love cream and black together, especially when paired with vintage images!  This old sewing machine from OCL's Days Gone By is one of my favorites!  My mom actually has an old treadle machine much like this one!  She taught me to sew on a much newer Singer, and it is a skill I'm very grateful to have been given.  I used to sew most of my own clothes, but now I mainly sew on my cards!  :)

This Teresa Collins paper reminds me of beautiful fabrics:  dainty calico, delicate dotted Swiss, and masculine pinstripes.  I punched an eyelet through the sentiment banner and then used a few dressmaker pins to attach it to a May Arts gingham bow...LOVE how all these elements work so seamlessly together!

Visit the OCL blog to find out about prizes and see much more inspiration using OCL and May Arts.

• Amber Hillman
• Broni Holcombe
• Debbie Corbari
• Debbie Fisher
• Kendra Wietstock
• Lori Barnett
• Melissa Cash
• Michelle Pearson
• Stephanie Serrano
• Tammie Edgerton

Only a Number!

Here's a funny punny card made with Debbie Corbari's new OCL set, Miles to Go!  My husband happens to turn 55 in about a month, so this will be his birthday card.

This layout is *sort of* this week's Paper Craft Planet sketch.  I didn't adhere the front of my card because I wanted to use that octagonal "stop sign" shape and the arrow to indicate that it should be pulled open.  The inside (oops, I forgot to take a picture of it opened, so I'll have to add it later!) says "and yours happens to exceed the speed limit!"  :)  Hahaha, he and I remember well when 55 was the speed limit!

That beautiful May Arts velvet ribbon matches this designer paper so perfectly!

• Amber Hillman
• Broni Holcombe
• Kendra Wietstock
• Lori Barnett
• Melissa Cash
• Tammie Edgerton

May Arts/OCL Special Delivery!

I asked my husband what he thought of this card and he said something about a lighthouse?  Ummm...don't you see parcels, boxes, airmail letters?  LOL!  Makes me think of all those love letters I wrote and mailed to him while he was deployed back in the days before email...when it took about a month for them to get to the ship!

Here I'm using May Arts twisted burlap, which comes in several thicknesses and styles!  It's paired with a sentiment from my friend Kendra's new OCL set, Everyday Sentiments.

If you haven't already, check out the OCL blog and the info on prizes!  Here's more inspiration!

• Debbie Corbari
• Debbie Fisher
• Kendra Wietstock
• Lori Barnett
• Melissa Cash
• Stephanie Serrano
• Tammie Edgerton

May Arts Week for OCL!

It's the beginning of a special week featuring May Arts ribbons and Our Craft Lounge stamps (can you say prizes?).  I adore both, and thought it was appropriate to start the week with this particular card since orange and pink say OCL to me!  That gorgeous pink ribbon takes center stage on this colorful card front (the layout is SC395).  Here's what the inside looks like:

Notes:
MME Happier designer paper
Molla Cutie
Memento ink
Copic markers
frayed floral ribbon
white solid two-tone ribbon
Tim Holtz heart charm
pink burlap string
pink button

I mentioned prizes!  There are  plenty to be had in this week's celebration!  Winners will be selected from those who comment on our blogs, the OCL blog and the OCL FaceBook page from Monday through Friday at midnight Pacific time/3 a.m. Eastern time).  Kendra will announce winners on the OCL blog on Monday, August 13th.  And THAT's just the winners from OCL!  May Arts will have prizes too!  :)

Here's some great inspiration for you!

• Debbie Corbari
• Debbie Fisher
• Kendra Wietstock
• Lori Barnett
• Stephanie Serrano

Before you go, another little reminder...I'm uploading this card with keywords for two of the SCS Dare to Get Dirty challenges.  The deadline is tonight, so there's still time to play along with a challenge or two!

Thankful Thoughts!

It's been a fabulous week with Our Craft Lounge and May Arts Ribbon!  I am so grateful to be a member of the OCL team, to be among such talented women who get to play with such wonderful art!  It has been a great privilege to work with May Arts this week...I use their products on a regular basis, so it was nice for them to be in the spotlight!

Today's card is also for this week's Our Craft Lounge challenge, Pretty Petals, using another set illustrated by Debbie Corbari, Thankful Flourishes.   This layout is SC373.  I love the rich, vibrant colors of this Basic Grey designer paper.  The flower was colored to match, using Copic markers.

Remember to visit our designers each weekday this week (find their links on the OCL blog), comment on the OCL blog, and "like" our Facebook page to qualify to WIN!  Winners will be announced on the OCL blog next Tuesday.

Notes:
Thankful Flourishes
May Arts ribbon
Memento Rich Cocoa ink
Tim Holtz tea-dye distress ink
Copic markers
Nestabilities petite ovals large and small dies
button
jute thread
dimensional adhesive
1/4 inch redline tape

Happy Birthday, Debbie!

It's been a week-long celebration of the birthday of my OCL design team mate, Debbie Corbari!  She is a very talented illustrator and card-maker, and I'm so happy that I can also call her my friend!  I just LOVE when Debbie comes to my blog, because she leaves the best comments!  She has such a great sense of humor, and that comes across very genuinely in her art and in her words!

This stamp set, Love in the Air, is one of Debbie's very own designs. Hot air balloon images make me smile, because the place where I met my husband was decorated with them!  I love that they've become so popular lately!

The OCL challenge is not only Debbie's birthday celebration, but an inspiration challenge! The brightly colored balloons in this photo  inspired not only my choice of stamp sets, but the October Afternoon designer paper that I used.  Pink and red look so great together!  I'm really glad that May Arts shared these beautiful ribbons which so perfectly harmonize with the green of the leaves!  

There is one more day of inspiration with May Arts and Our Craft Lounge!  Tomorrow will also bring a new challenge...I hope to see you here again!

Visit the OCL blog (each weekday this week!), because you absolutely do NOT want to miss your chance to WIN, nor do you want to miss the gorgeous creations by my DT mates!

Notes:
Love in the Air
October Afternoon designer paper
Memento ink
Copic markers
Tim Holtz tea-dye distress ink
Spellbinders tag
Kaiser Craft pearls
May Arts ribbons
dimensional adhesive

More OCL and May Arts!

More OCL and May Arts!  This is an image from the vintage set, Years Gone By!   It looks lovely with this Authentique designer paper and the contrast of some dark gray card stock.  That big ole bow reminds me of the ones on the dresses that my mom made for me when I was a young girl!  With two older brothers, you can bet she wanted me to be a girlie girl!  I'm so glad that she taught me to sew!

I am usually very particular about using white OR ivory, but in this case, the cabbage rose print has both white AND ivory, so I mixed the two.  The image and sentiment are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink stamped off once since I do not have any gray ink yet!  I cannot WAIT to get my hands on the new Memento colors that we saw at CHA!  They were gorgeous!  So...after stamping off and stamping the image, the sewing machine was lightly tinted with some warm gray Copics.  I thought about sponging on some tea-dye distress ink, but decided against it...

This layout is SC277.

Remember to visit the OCL blog for all the information about how to WIN!  :)

Notes:

Years Gone By

Authentique designer paper

Memento ink

Copic warm grays

May Arts ribbon

button

jute thread

Kaiser Craft pearls

Jenni Bowlin pearl pins

sewing machine

CPS, OCL, and May Arts!

I'm so excited that May Arts has shared some wonderful ribbon with the Our Craft Lounge design team...we're making some great projects using products from both of these companies!

You'll want to check the OCL blog each day for the rest of this week as we'll be posting little peeks of the samples our team has prepared. Now don’t forget to leave some love everywhere each and every weekday because there will be FIVE prize packages of blog candy this week!

My project for today features this week's CPS sketch, Cosmo Cricket's Joy Ride designer paper, OCL Sparkly Fluff and an image from Love Potion, brightly colored with Copic markers.  Hopefully this May Arts ribbon reminded you of a helix of DNA or some other complicated chemical compound!

Thanks so much to Bethney and May Arts for sending our designers such FANTASTIC ribbons and trims to play with this week!

Now for some blog candy! May Arts sent us lots of YUMMY ribbon to share with all of you! WOOHOOO! So we’ll have 5 Prize Packages to give away this week. You have lots of ways to enter EVERY SINGLE DAY this week + one BONUS entry!

Daily leave 1 comment on each…

1. the OCL Blog (please leave contact info),
2. each designer’s blog playing along that day, and
3. our Facebook page.

BONUS ENTRY: If you “LIKE” OCL on Facebook, you’ll get a bonus entry (as long as you tell us you did it) ~ if you've already "liked" us, let us know that too!

We will pick 5 random comments this weekend and our winners will be announced next Tuesday, March 20th here on the OCL Blog.

Final Day of May Arts/OCL Product Share!

Hasn't this week of exchange of products between OCL and May Arts been an amazing week?!  I have loved seeing the different ideas our designers have shared!  I've always been a huge May Arts fan, and I am so grateful for all of the fabulous ribbon that they sent!  I still have yards to use, so you'll be seeing more in the weeks to come!  Remember, we've got an OCL blog hop coming up really soon!

Today's card is for a brand new OCL challenge with a "Lots o' Dots" theme!  I decided to go with a cheeky bird, dotty tree, a button and some rustic burlap string.  This Basic Grey background print caught my eye since the pad was still on my desk from a previous project (I've used it a lot this week!), so I worked the colors of this dotty pattern into the image using Copic markers, adding even more dots for shading.  Finally, I added some "skippy lines and dots" multiliner details to all the edges, so there truly are "lots o' dots" everywhere!

Notes:
Our Craft Lounge Tree-rific Trees
Basic Grey Oxford designer paper
Nestabilities classic circles die
Memento Rich Cocoa ink
Copic markers
Copic multiliner
May Arts burlap string
button

Be sure to visit the Lounge and the May Arts blog once again!  You'll find information about challenges, prizes, etc!  Come back next week for sneak peeks and blog hop featuring stamps from our new release!

Vintage Paris!

I've really been enjoying this week's focus on May Arts and Our Craft Lounge!  One of the things that has been fun about it is the variety!  The ribbons and fibers the generous folks at May Arts shared with me ranged from cutesie, happy polka-dots to rustic jute, elegant velvet, organza, and tinsel.  This gorgeous lace and rich velvet combo is one of my favorites!

Do you have stuff that just sits in your stash for ages, waiting and waiting for the right moment?  I have had these swirly Prima pearls for a really long time, and finally found the perfect occasion to use them.  They brought forth the old world elegance that I was hoping for with this lovely vintage image of the Eiffel Tower from OCL's Vintage Traveler.  I have only been to Europe once, and am grateful to say that this was one of our stops!  Sooooo romantic!  :)

The background print from Basic Grey's Oxford designer paper pad is reminiscent of a beautiful brocade traveler's bag.  I used Memento Rich Cocoa ink to stamp some other images from Vintage Traveler collage-style onto a layer of card stock, then tea-dye inked and distressed everything, machine stitching  the background layer to draw the eye to its worn, frayed edges.

The blossom accent is actually from May Arts' beautiful chiffon wedding floral ribbon with wired edges...I snipped the stitching to remove the flower and replaced its single pearl center with a cluster of pearls to match my pretty Prima pearl swirly.  A few strategically placed mini-glue-dots helped shape the petals into something resembling a dogwood blossom.

I really love how simple and yet elegant this card turned out!

Notes:
Our Craft Lounge Vintage Traveler
Memento Rich Cocoa ink
Ranger tea-dye distress ink
Basic Grey Oxford designer paper
Prima e. pearl embellishments
May Arts velvet lace
May Arts wired floral chiffon ribbon

Once again, remember to visit the Lounge and the May Arts blog for more inspiration and details on entering for a prize!  (My apologies to those of you who are having trouble leaving comments on my blog.  Blogger seems to be intermittently having trouble, and I'm not sure what the solution is!  Some have suggested logging out and commenting anonymously, leaving your name/email within your comment, although even this workaround seems not to be consistently working!)


And remember, we have one more day!  I hope to see you again tomorrow!

More OCL and May Arts!

Back with more May Arts and Our Craft Lounge goodness!  Gotta love this little garden hedgehog from Growin' with Granny!  This gorgeous two-toned satin ribbon is a perfect match for Basic Grey's Sweet Threads designer paper.  I tied on a pink button with some May Arts burlap string, and added some pretty May Arts lace to girlify this pink concoction even more!

This layout is Mojo Monday sketch 205.  I've listed the products I used below...most of them, with the exception of the gift of ribbon that I received from May Arts, are from i {heart} papers.  You can find lots of these and other May Arts ribbons there also!

Remember, visit the Lounge and the May Arts blog for more ideas...and while you're there, look for details on how to win some great prizes!

Notes:
Growin' with Granny
Basic Grey Sweet Threads designer paper
Memento ink

Copic markers
Nestabilities large and small classic circles
Pumpkin Delight Sparkly Fluff
May Arts lace
May Arts burlap string
May Arts two-toned satin ribbon
Curio button
MS corner and border punch set

If you're having trouble leaving comments on my blog, try not signing in, leaving your comment as "Anonymous"...but remember to leave your email address so you can be contacted if you win!

May Arts and OCL!

I'm so thrilled that May Arts has teamed up with the Our Craft Lounge team this week!  They sent each of our OCL designers the most amazing package of ribbon, so I'll be sharing cards with cute OCL stamps and gorgeous May Arts ribbons and fibers over the next few days!  I cannot say thanks enough!

My CAS card for today features a cute Copic-colored gator from OCL's Shout It Out and some fun May Arts grosgrain polka dots!  I paired them with a teensy background print from Basic Grey's Oxford designer paper pad, adding a few heart-shaped buttons laced with May Arts burlap string.  Simple, quick and cute!

Kate from i {heart} papers has a whole page full of gorgeous May Arts ribbons and fibers to choose from!  Check it out!

Be sure to visit The Lounge and the May Arts blog for more inspiration using May Arts and Our Craft Lounge products!

Notes:  
OCL's Shout It Out
Basic Grey's Oxford designer paper pad
Memento ink
Ranger distress ink
Copic markers
May Arts grosgrain polka dots
May Arts burlap string