Yee-Haw, It's Your Day Case Study DT Challenge

*This is my second post today, for the Serendipity Stamps Summer Release post, please scroll down*

It's good to try new things...right?  Today I have a card to share that I made for the Case Study Design Team Challenge.  Week after week the Case Study Design Team draw inspiration from a guest "Muse", letting their imaginations run wild and always creating something fabulous for those of us who enjoy playing along.  Who wouldn't want to be a part of that team?  I know I would and my card today is my "audition".

For this challenge we were to choose a personal Muse, anyone from the crafting world whose work we admire.  For me, I admire far more crafters than I can name so I flipped through my Pinterest gallery and came upon a card that has always been one of my favorites.  Here it is:

Card by Stephanie Wincott

This beauty was created by a super talented designer, Stephanie Wincott of Clearly Besotted.  I loved those beautiful pleats and decided that the pleats would be the inspiration for my own card.  I wanted to  use pleats in a different way than I have ever done before and I also knew I wanted to use my favorite stamp set of all time...Waltzingmouse Back in the Saddle.  I love making western themed cards with this set.  Enough talk, here's my card:

I made a pleated belly band for a gate fold card.  Before I give you the details of my card, here's a closeup of those pleats.

I stamped a subway style pattern using at least 7 different stamps from Back in the Saddle for my background and made a simple belly band from kraft card stock and stamped the tiny star image along the top.  I folded some patterned paper pleats and used scor tape to add them to the belly band.  Some denim ribbon was wrapped around it to hide the gathers and I tied not only a denim bow, but a jute twine bow embellished with My Favorite Things Country Charms to dangle from it.  I embossed the galloping horse rider in navy and added it for a little more interest.

The inside of my card is stamped with the beautiful Woodgrain background from Waltzingmouse Woodgrain.  Wow, is that a huge stamp!  Sentiments from Back in the Saddle are framed within a new image from Waltzingmouse My Kind of Guy.  I had to add those cute cowboy boots for no other reason than I love them!  A few denim stars finish off my card.

I would like to thank Stephanie for the original inspiration...I have cased more than a few of her cards in the past.  I would also like to thank the creative Case Study Challenge team for considering me for their Design Team.  Yee Haw!

WMSC#124-Holiday Howdy

Howdy...Giddyup...Happy Holiday, what do those three sentiments have in common?  Besides being the reason I had a super fun day today, they are all sentiments I used from a few of my new favorite Waltzingmouse stamp sets.  Did I forget to mention plaid?  That's a new set too.  Yonder Star, Cabin Plaid Background and Back in the Saddle (one of my all time favorites)  work so nicely together to create a unique holiday card just perfect for a person like me who lives in Horsetown,  USA to send during the holidays.  This week's sketch, #WMSC124 is by WM Mischief Maker Karin Akeskdotter.  Isn't it a great one?

You could make a great card using this sketch and nearly any Waltzingmouse stamp set, but since I was dying to use some of my new stamps, I made a holiday card to send to my sister in law who loves everything western.  I shared a picture of just a fraction of her yard before.  Here it is again.

Her entire front and back yard is landscaped Western and the entire house...yes, the entire house looks like a western town, so beautiful and something you would see in a Home Decor magazine.
Anyway, here's my card:

Cabin Plaid Background full size stamp  on vintage cream cardstock, edges distressed is the base layer.  I used a Spellbinder die cut in navy embossed with a woodgrain background and several stamped layers of the gorgeous patchwork-style Yonder Star as the focal point.  That plaid full card size stamp is so pretty and easy to stamp.  It looks so much like denim stamped in the navy ink.  I can not wait to try this in other colors.  I stamped the great sentiment in red and added a few of the small Yonder Star stamps as embellishment.  The cute giddyup sentiment at the bottom is from Back in the Saddle, a very well-loved and very used set I have enjoyed using for quite a while now.  I added some navy twine and a die cut star from MFT Western Charms topped with the teeniest star from Yonder Star.  I love the cozy, country feel of this card and plan on making this in several color schemes as my main Christmas card this season.  Thanks for taking a look!

WMSC#121 - Wanted, Birthday Girl

Today I have made a card for Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #121, which surprised me when I discovered it was inspired by my friend, Waltzingmouse Mischief Maker Jeanne Jachna (A Kept Life).  Jeanne makes beautiful cards and her sketch is also really good and very "inspiring".  Here is the sketch:

Here's my card:

One final birthday card for my 21 year old daughter whose birthday is on Halloween.  I love Waltzingmouse Back in the Saddle and Way Out West.  The western images and fonts are perfect for a little cowgirl card.  I dug through my old photos and found one of Carly on her 9th Halloween birthday, where she dressed up as a cowgirl.  I printed out a little photo and added it to the pull out card tucked inside the pocket.

She will probably be mad at me for dragging out this picture as it is "pre-braces", but she looked so cute and I was very proud of that costume...I made the vest and managed to sew that fringe on.  Little did I know that nearly 10 years later I would be adding fringe and decorative trim to everything once I discovered I loved to make cards!  The sentiments are cut with deckled scissors and rope twine and gold brads add to the rustic feel of the card.  Birthday card making for Carly is now officially over!

4 of a Kind - September with Cathy

It's the 16th of the month and time for the September version of Four of a Kind.  This month I was the hostess and "Yee Haw", the theme is western!  I do live in a town nicknamed Horsetown, USA after all.  Here is a picture of the kit I sent Joyce, Kim and Renee.

Do you recognize the stamps?









If you guessed Back in the Saddle by Waltzingmouse Stamps, you're right.  This is one of my very favorite stamp sets, such a great mix of individual stamps that can be put together in endless combinations for all kinds of occasions.  Birthday, get well, thank you, and every one is really cute and fun to use.    The patterned papers are by My Minds Eye, On the Bright Side "Stitched" p0aper, Ride On, and Lucky Girl.  There is also some Reminise Cowboy Stripe in there.  I also added some burlap, twine, gingham ribbon, some diecut western charms by My Favorite Things Stamps called Western Charms.  I also threw in a few brass brads, buttons and embossed cardstock.  Here are the cards I made with the kit.

I used the Tim Holtz medallion along with the "girlie" plaid paper and navy gingham ribbon.  If you look close you can see the woodgrain impression and some really cute little navy stars on this cute cowgirl's boots.

My second card is my favorite.

I guess I used that stitched jean paper on all three cards, but I sure loved it.  The focal point is actually three different stamps, two from Back in the Saddle and the polka dots are from WM Faux Fun Circles.  I added a little pinked circle behind the sentiment and a few of the charms and one little brass brad.

Here is my last card:

More stitched jean paper and another combination focal point.  This time the label is from WM Vintage Labels #18 and the cowboy boots, horseshoes and sentiment are from Back in the Saddle.  I also added my version of a cowboy rope as an embellishment.

I had lots of fun going Cowboy this month, and I hope you will check out the cards that the other three very talented ladies in my group have created.  

Joyce

Kim

Renee

 

WMSC#106- Yee Haw!

Today I've made a card for Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #106 which uses a sketch by
Sandie Dunne.  It's a great sketch and lots of ideas popped into my head. Here is the great sketch:

I needed a birthday card for my sister-in-law whose entire house...inside and out is themed "Western".
Here's a pic of just the front porch entrance to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

I decided to make her a western-themed birthday card and used Waltzingmouse Stamps Way Out West Stamp set.

I used the woodgrain, star, western word and cactus landscape stamps along with some sentiments from WM Back In The Saddle.  Yee Haw, I love the sentiments in that set!  I also added a strip of brown burlap, some bakers twine and a few My Favorite Things Country Charm Die-namics star die cuts with a shiny gold brad.  I really love how this card turned out, it was one of my most favorite sketches to work with.