Creative Accents

A taste of CHA...

2012-02-01T00:24:00.001-08:00

This is my first mobile blog post, so I'm keeping it short in case I mess something up :). We're having a fabulous time in Anaheim and are excited to share with you all the fabulous new products coming soon!

Here's a few photos from the trip thus far... You can see more, and some extra details, on our facebook page! (link on the right side of the blog). Hope you enjoy! There are more to come as I find time!

Off to C.H.A. (hours changing)

2012-01-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

Effective Thursday, the store hours will be:

Thursday, January 26 - Saturday, January 28: 10:30am-5pm
Sunday, January 29: CLOSED
Monday, January 30 - Tuesday, January 31: 10:30am-5pm
Wednesday, February 1 - Friday, February 3: CLOSED
Saturay, February 4 - regular hours resume

Tara & Julie are very excited about our trip to CHA, the big industry trade show in California! We'll be scoping out the hottest new products, taking lots of photos (you'll want to be a follower of our facebook page for sure!), and hopefully picking up a few samples to bring back and show you! We're also taking some classes with Prima before the show, and can't wait to show you what we make there!

As fun as it will be, making the choices of what we'll order is not an easy task, so we value your help! Please let us know what your favourite new releases are! Paper Crafter's Corner is a website that posts photos and links to most of the new products as they are released! Check it out and let us know your favourites. We'll offer 10% off any pre-orders until the end of the month! Call the store at 250-392-3829 to place your orders. Think about pre-ordering...

the set of 12 new Copic markers ($70- no discount)
dies from Sizzix, Spellbinders & Lifestyle Crafts
Paper collection packs and 6x6 pads
fabulous embellishments (like Prima flowers!)

Ranger products (like new Distress Ink Pens, Perfect Pearls & Ice Stickles...)
stamps

and more! Let us know what you want, we'll do what we can to bring it in!

Page of the Month- Join us!

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Join us for a year of fun!

A new year of Basic Grey's Page of the Month classes begins again in March, and we'd love to have you join us!
Here's what you get:

A monthly class featuring New Product – we’ll be featuring only the latest and greatest new releases from Basic Grey... with lots of extra product to create cards with or take home for other projects!

Free color printed instructions – whether you join us in class, or take the kit home to do it yourself, these instructions will give you what you need to complete similar projects again.

Sketches and Theme suggestions – designed to keep your creative juice flowing. You'll get a peek at the upcoming layout about a week in advance so that you can select photos to coordinate with each set of pages.

Here's what will be different this year:

An End-of-year incentive. This year we’ve got a super-cute and EXCLUSIVE designer tote bag if you sign up by January 31, 2012 that you can take home as a reward for going to the class all year-long!
EXCLUSIVE bonus projects. Some of the leftovers in the class will now be used in bonus projects. These may be projects taught in class or "homework" to do at home.
EXLUSIVE digital content. Each month we’ll feature a fun digital element which can be downloaded and used on the layout or in the bonus project.
Fun journaling prompts to help you think of what to scrap

The price will stay the same! POTM is still just $27 a month for those that commit to a full year (whether you join us in class or just purchase the kits).

We are looking for confirmation so we can get our numbers figured out for the new year of classes. We look forward to hearing from you! Contact us by phone (250) 392-3829 if you are interested in joining the fun! We'd love to show you project samples from previous months and answer any questions you may have in the store.

Kissing Booth Cards

2012-01-23T15:32:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna keep this post short and sweet, with lots of pictures :) Here's the cards Mom & I came up with using scraps from the January Kissing Booth POTM class! Some of these papers may not be the same as everyone who took the class has, since we do two different layouts with the same papers... but we've also used an assortment of leftover stickers, die cuts & transparencies! All we added was cardstock and perhaps some bling or ribbon. They're quick and simple, but oh so fun to make with the scraps leftover from a layout!

Enjoy!

stamp by Magenta

Birthday Joy

2012-01-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

We've just come through a week of our Page of the Month classes, featuring the new Kissing Booth paper collection from Basic Grey. Unfortunately, the COLD weather (it hit -39 degrees!) a lot of people weren't able to come to class, but those that did had a good time :) As you know, we always make cards with the leftover bits and like to share them with you here on the blog.

These are not those cards... heehee. I'll be back with those in a day or two. These cards also use Kissing Booth leftover bits... but these are birthday cards I made for my "Sister Dear" and a friend, whose birthdays are today and yesterday!

This first card is for Marianne. The kraft panel features a wonderful new friendship background stamp from Hero Arts. I LOVE this stamp and will be using it a lot, I'm sure! I went way out of my comfort zone on this card, adding some ruffled lace. It's very feminine, but I am pleased with the end result! Flowers, ribbon, bling... all good things :) Also on this card is a sneak peek at our February SOTM... but that's all I'm gonna say about that!

My "sister dear" is celebrating her birthday today! Joy loves pink so it was easy to use these papers for her card as well! I've used a die cut transparency on my card, as well as some stickers (flower & letter) and one of the envelope embellishments. It's all layered on a 4" easel card, with that fabulous friend background stamped on it.

Here's what the card looks like open/standing. Major cuteness factor on a 4x4 easel card!

And that's my birthday joy for ya :) I'll be back soon with the rest of our Kissing Booth cards :)

Let it Snow!

2012-01-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

We've got a new challenge over at our Seriously Creative Challenge Blog: Let it Snow!

Hope you'll join us this month & play along!Here's the cards that Mom & I created. Mom used this fun Sledding Chicken image from Whipper Snapper- isn't it a hoot? She's planning on using this for a winter birthday card- perfect! The snowflake 'rosette' is from Little Yellow Bicycle, isn't it fun? They come pre-cut and scored along with pieces to layer together with them- it's a great little pack of embellishments!

I used the same paper collection (definitely the hottest winter collection to go through our store this year!) from BoBunny, but I decided to continue making Christmas cards... I had stamps that hadn't been used yet (nevermind all the cards that haven't been sent yet... looks like they'll be New Year cards instead!) and ideas still going through my head for them... this features a great stamp set from Unity, my Tim Holtz on the edge Doily die and some wooden snowflakes from Maya Road- LOVE these things, so I'm glad I stocked up since we can't seem to get them any more :(

And now... we wait for snow! Looks like other parts of BC got a good dose yesterday, and our turn should be coming very soon :) Happy snowy creating!

Hero Arts Card Class

2012-01-06T13:23:00.000-08:00

Join us and create four fabulous cards featuring brand new stamps from the Hero Arts 2012 catalog!

We'll be using an assortment of wood, cling & clear stamps as well as Hero Arts/Sizzix Stamp & Die cut and Stamp & Emboss sets. These cards are perfect for a variety of occassions and will help you start your card stash for 2012!

Cost $10 class fee + $10 materials (includes a $10 voucher to be used on a Hero Arts stamp purchase!)
(you can see the cards up close in the store!)

January 2012 SOTM

2012-01-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

Introducing "Quinn with her boots" from Stamping Bella's new Uptown Girl collection- our Stamp of the Month for January 2012! Quinn is a fun winter image that could be used for all sorts of winter occasions to warm these chilly days... She's quite a large image (about 5" tall) but is fun to play with in a variety of colour schemes! Sarah worked with me on this month's samples, which all feature the Upcycle collection by Cosmo Cricket!

Sarah made these first two samples:

This simple card features the sentiment which comes with the image- so sweet and simple!

I (Tara) created these next cards. Both were stamped in Grey (London Fog) Memento ink for a change from the harsh lines you get with black ink. I was thrilled to find this ribbon in the store with a fuzzy edge on it- such a fun wintery feel! The purse charm is also new in the store- perfect with these papers!

This next card uses the current deconstructed sketch- it was a fun one I'll be using again! I was thrilled again to find another perfect ribbon for these papers- another one that's been in the store for a while that I hadn't had an opportunity to use yet! Love it!

We'd LOVE to welcome more ladies into our Stamp of the Month group this month- it's a great way to build your stamp collection with a lot of diversity and great savings (35% off) on a new stamp each month! Check out the details by clicking the link at the top of the page.

We'll be creating one of these cards at our 'Warm Wishes' class on Saturday, Jan. 14 and there is a discount for SOTM members- we'd love to have you join us!

January 2012- SOTM peek

2012-01-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! It's January 2012- not only a new month, but a new year, full of creative possibilities... I've got a couple cards for you showing our new Stamp of the Month for January- I'll be back with the full sample board in a couple days!

We would LOVE to have some new ladies join our SOTM for 2012- you can see all the details about the program when you click on the tab at the top of the blog!Our stamp is by Stamping Bella, and I'm gonna save the rest of the details for ya on our next post and just get to the cards! This first one was created by Sarah:

This next card was made by me!

This is a big image, so we're gonna have to get creative with our next cards to fit 4 samples on a 12x12 page... I look forward to sharing them with you in a couple days!

Hope you're enjoying 2012 so far!

Holiday Cheer: Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T12:19:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to say Happy New Year- hope you'll be enjoying last bit of Holiday Cheer however you celebrate New Year's Eve tonight!

These are the cards I made with leftovers from our Page of the Month class for December, which featured Basic Grey's Little Black Dress collection. These first cards feature one of the new stamp & die cut sets by Hero Arts & Sizzix- I just love this stylish gal and had fun embellishing her with an ornament stamp from my stash and one of my new wine glass brads. She'll be fun to create with year round!

This card mimics several details from the page layout we did, using a half circle and tissue paper flower (which we also used only half of- those things are 4 layers thick!). It was quick & simple to assemble, but I love the finished look.

Here's a close up of the textural details- I added some Prima bling to the center of the flower to finish it off.

And that's it... my final blog post for 2011! I'm looking forward to many more creative days in 2012- hope we can share some of them together :)

Happy New Year! Thanks for reading!

Boxing Week Blowout 2011!

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

We're celebrating the end of 2011 with the best Boxing Week Sale we've ever had at Creative Accents! Help us reduce our inventory (before we have to count it!) and make room for all the fabulous new arrivals that are coming in 2012.Savings this good won't last, stop by and see us when we re-open on Wednesday, December 28 at 10:30am.

All Patterned Paper- Buy 10 Get 10 FREE!
Christmas Stamps- 50% off!
All QuicKutz dies & accessories with the OLD logo- 70%off
Clearance Products- 70% off (SAVE 80% on Wednesday ONLY!)
2012 Hero Arts Stamps 20% off
ALL stamps & stickers- Buy 1 Get 1 FREE
Cardstock- 30% off when you buy 10 or more sheets
Lifestyle Crafts, Sizzix & Spellbinders dies 25% off
almost EVERYTHING else* 35% off

(*sorry, no discount on Copic markers & Die Cut Machine Bundles and any new arrivals not yet on the shelves. Valid only on in stock items, not applicable to items on hold or pre-ordered items)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

December always feels like the shortest month... it's Christmas Eve already and I'm excited about celebrating Christmas with family & friends, as I hope you'll also be doing!

Creative Accents is CLOSED for the holidays and will re-open for our Boxing Week Sale on Wednesday, Dec. 28 @ 10:30am. Everything in the store will be on sale and there will be some huge savings, so I hope to see you there!

We'd like to invite you to join us for our Wrestling Day Crop, which is on Monday, January 2 from 10am-10pm! You can see the details on Facebook right here.

I have one more project to leave with you, which has been a Christmas project for me, but I've had so much fun I'll keep making them through the year...

I've been making these great glass pendant necklaces, using materials we are now selling at the store. These make fantastic, personalized gifts and they're very reasonably priced! Here's a few samples... I wish I'd taken photos of more of them! (If I gave one to you... I'd love a photo of it!).

The kits we're selling include either: glass, a pendant tray and a chain OR glass, a jewelry bail, and a ball chain. I know several of you bought kits to do over the holidays, so I thought I'd share some instructions with you! The instructions for both start out the same:

cut patterned paper, photo, etc to the correct size for your glass
apply a generous amount of Glossy Accents (or Diamond Glaze) to the back of the glass (don't completely cover it, but add enough that it will spread to cover the glass)
gently place the glass on the paper, allow it to rest on the paper and press lightly if needed to spread the Glossy Accents & remove air bubbles
let it sit until completely dry- this may take several hours
turn over and trim away excess Glossy Accents, then brush Glossy Accents lightly over the back of the paper to cover. Allow to dry (shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes).
apply a jewelry bail to the back OR adhere into the pendant tray using E6000 glue (for pendant tray only, Glossy Accents will work as well)
let it sit at least 24 hours before wearing, it will have set enough to wrap, etc after 3-4 hours.

Have fun, and Merry Christmas!

More Christmas Cards inspired by 12 Tags

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

I had a great time making Christmas cards on a base of cards from Tim's District Market collection- I love the vintage prints on heavy weight kraft cards (yep, I have a thing for Kraft!). The fabulous base made it so easy to create fun card, all of mine were inspired by Tim's 12 Tags from 2010 and earlier...

this first card uses an on the edge die from Tim Holtz, cut from grungeboard and painted with acrylic paint. I distressed by sanding and added some glittery snow. The 'smoke' was bent from wire and the sentiment (Hero Arts) is stamped on a tattered banner (also from Tim Holtz).

... and the second card uses embossing techniques- embossing grungeboard (the deer) and stamping in an embossing folder. Pretty simple card, but I love how it turned out.

So there ya go... some more simple cards for some last minute card making. I've got so many more card ideas I haven't had a chance to create yet... I just might work on next years cards through January if I get a chance ;)

Hero Arts & Sizzix (Quick & Easy Christms Cards)

2011-12-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to share some quick & easy Christmas cards with ya- both feature fabulous products from Hero Arts & Sizzix

This first card uses a Stamp & Cut set which includes stamps & coordinating dies- I can't tell you how much I LOVE these sets, several companies have done them and the concept is fantastic... but this combo really makes it user friendly! I stamped simply black on kraft cardstock, then layered my pieces over an embossed background (also from Sizzix), which was done on Kraft Core cardstock- love this stuff too! The sentiment was also part of the stamp & die set, though I stamped it on a tag from the Lifestyle Crafts Tag It Kit.

This second card uses one of the brand new 2012 Hero Arts Stamp & Emboss Sets- unfortunately it didn't photograph real well, but there are embossed stripes in there that complement the stamped image as well. This card was our Coffee & Card project last week, and it really is quick & easy with simple additions of a white embossed sentiment, a poinsettia paper flower & some bling.

So ya see... even though Christmas is just a few days away, there's still time to create some handmade cards!

Stop by the store and see what we have in store- new sets from Hero Arts & Sizzix are 10% off right now!

My 3 Tags

2011-12-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

Here's how I'm displaying my three finished tags from Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas this year- they fit great together on an 8x12 canvas, so I got out the paint and tissue wrap and here's my finished project:

Here's a close up of the texture on my canvas background... I tweaked the tissue technique Tim used on his Tag #12 and added a brown glaze over the tissue for deeper colour, then sprayed with Cappuccino Perfect Pearls Mist. Love how it turned out!

Christmas Deer Tag

2011-12-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

I'm back with my third of Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas (3 more to go to reach my goal!), my version of Tag #2 by Tim Holtz! I made just a few minor changes in this one, again Tim's layout was fabulous and I had most of the supplies already... I really love how this turned out and may have to make it into a card or canvas as well... very simple overall, but lots of fun details. Enjoy!

... and here's some close ups for ya! First, here's the charms I hung from the ribbon- the key is actually chipboard that I finger painted with Inka Gold by Viva Decor- LOVE how it covers and gives such an awesome shine. The decorative edge at the bottom of the tag was painted the same way.

... and the embellishment I've been waiting for finally arrived so I could finish up today... the mini pine garland for my wreath- yay! I think I'll be using it on a lot (okay, maybe just a few LOL) of cards this year! Check out the star I hung around it's neck, too... it's one of the Vintaj charms that we've embossed & sanded- such a fun textural element, and it works in the Big Shot or Vagabond (or the Vintaj machine, if you're like me and you loved the look of it more than the Big Shot!).

Hope you like it! Now that I have three completely finished tags, I'm ready to get them displayed... I'll post a photo of the finished project when it's done!

And in other news...
TODAY in the store is our Hero Arts 2012 Catalog Preview Party- we've got some wonderful new cling stamps in the store, as well as new Stamp & Die Cut and Stamp & Emboss sets with Sizzix! Until ~~Saturday~~ December 23 you can save 10% on the new products! PLUS we've got a card using one of the new Stamp & Emboss sets for Coffee & a Card today from 11am-5pm! Hope you'll stop by and see all the goodies!

Snowman Tag & Canvas

2011-12-12T20:19:00.000-08:00

It's December 12... which, among other things, means that the 12 Tags of Christmas are officially done for the 2011! I'm kinda sad... but there is still sooo much fabulous inspiration it'll keep me going for a while! Today I'm sharing with ya the projects I created based on Tim's Tag #4. My tag stuck pretty close to Tim's, I just loved it so much it was hard to stray! I love all the textures and details on this one- be sure to visit his blog for all the techniques!

As I said, I loved it so much... so I decided to make a 6x6 canvas using the same techniques and products! Of course, I had to expand it and add some details to fill the canvas. Here's how it turned out:

I used the 'peace' movers & shapers die in the snowman instead of the '25' and added 'Joy' cut from the same music paper. I've also used some of the new tissue wrap along the bottom of the canvas, and a little jar of 'snow' as well :) I made this canvas for Mom as part of her Christmas gift- she wanted me to use some of the pretty new heart bling on the canvas as well, so you can see a few of those scattered around!

Did you play along with any of Tim's tags? I'd love to see them if you did! I've got one more (nearly done) tag to share... just waiting on an embellishment I ordered to finish it off :) If I'm lucky, I'll find some time to create more soon.!. thanks for stopping by!

12 Tags of Christmas: Pinecones

2011-12-07T16:42:00.001-08:00

Have you been checking out the amazing things happening with the 2011 set of Tags by Tim Holtz? So many fabulous techniques jammed into 12 days! I've also been following along with Mario on Twitter this year for his BTS (behind the scenes) look at the 12 Tags... it still amazes me that Tim creates each tag the afternoon before it goes live on his blog- Crazy!

Anywho, for the first time I'm attempting to play along with Tim! I have no expectations that I'll get all 12 done (though maybe in the new year!) but my goal is to complete 6 tags this month. I've got 3 (almost) done so far, and today I'm sharing my tag inspired (okay, almost identical to LOL) Tim's tag #1! I created this one alongside some friends who came by the store to get inky together (we must do it again, Cheri, Carla & Sarah!) and it was a lot of fun... those fabulous pinecones are harder than they look, though ;)

Here's my finished tag:

and here's another shot, just for fun, showing off my incredibly inky fingers- one of my fave parts of playing with ink :)

Check out all the step by step details of tag 1 on Tim's blog. His tutorials are really fabulous, with lots of step by step photos and informative videos almost every day, too! This year Tim is also using inlinkz so people can share the tags they're creating... so cool to see what everyone else is inspired to do!

12 Photos to take...

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

We loved the 30 day photo challenge this summer (even though I haven't printed all the photos yet, and never did get them all blogged...) and thought it would be fun to host a similar challenge for December, BUT since it's a busy month we decided to simplify and come up with 12 PHOTOS to take this Christmas! Take them in any order you like and enjoy the challenge to think outside the box with your photography this month...

We'd love to have you share this challenge with friends, and if you decide to share your photos online, please enter the links here using the inlinkz gadget you see below! Submit as many links as it takes to share your 12 photos :) We can't wait to see who will play along! (You have until January 6 to submit your links- which will hopefully give time to do some photo editing after Christmas!)

Christmas Challenge!

2011-12-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

It's a new month and time for a new challenge over at our Seriously Creative Challenge Blog! We're keeping it easy for December and challenge with "All Things Christmas!"

In past years we've had a Christmas Card Contest in the store, but we're replacing it with the challenge this year, so we'd love to see you play along! You can enter online on the Challenge Blog website OR you can bring your project into the store to show us :)

Normally on the challenge blog we award a prize to a random winner... and we're doing that this month as well, but IF we get more than 10 entries, we'll also award another prize to one participant selected by members of our Design Team! Our random prize will 'grow' depending on the number of entries... starting with a 6x6 pad from one of our fave paper companies. Watch for more specifics on the prize next week, but for now... get out there and create something for Christmas!

Now that I've said all that... here's a couple Christmas cards I wanted to share with ya! These are two of the cards from my "Totally Tim Christmas Card Class" earlier this week. Both start with base cards from Tim's District Market Collection.

This first card features a tag (inked with the new, Limited Edition, Festive Berries Distress Ink) embellished with a rosette (red inked kraft resist paper) with mica fragments on it and yummy crackle coated grungeboard numbers. The ticket is also a stamp of Tims, and the other die cuts are kraft glassine misted with Perfect Pearls Mist.

The second card was quite simple- a green inked tag, more Kraft resist (this time with white Distress Stain), Movers & Shapers dies and a die cut word with Distress Stickles. The yummy glitter brads are from We R Memory Keepers.

Hope you like... and hope you'll play along with our challenge!

December SOTM

2011-12-01T12:50:00.001-08:00

Introducing our December Stamp of the Month, a fun (and sometimes sassy) snowman set by Graphicat Designs:

We've used the images in this set together with 'Snowfall' papers by BoBunny- it's a favourite this year, for sure! The title on our sample board was cut with the Silhouette, using the 'Font Diner Sparkly" font, which is the same one used on many of the sentiments in this stamp set.

Here's a simple card featuring one of the sentiments on an embossed background together with snowflake & doily dies:

Roxy created this vintage looking card:

Roxy also created this lovely card- I really like how the snowman pops out here!

Lastly, here's the card I (Tara) created. I added liquid applique to my sentiment, real buttons on Mr. Snowman (which I coloured with Copics to make them all match), and lots of glitter on the "snow bank" as well as on the patterned paper.

As always, these cards look much better in person! Hope you'll come by and check it out and that you have fun creating with your SOTM, which is always 35% off for members!

Have a creative day! We'll be back soon with more fun projects!

Totally Tim Christmas Card Class

2011-11-28T13:42:00.001-08:00

Join Tara & create four Christmas cards built on base cards from Tim Holtz's District Market card collection, embellished with elements inspired by Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas from previous years. Prepare to get inky... and play with the new set of Seasonal Distress Ink as well! (Please bring your set if you have them!)

This class is happening tomorrow- Tuesday, November 29 @ 6:30pm. You'll create 4 cards for less than $20 and play with lots of great Tim Holtz, Sizzix & Ranger products and use some fun techniques! Call the store to sign up! 250.392.3829

Peaceful Birds

2011-11-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

We love taking 'everyday' stamps and using them to create a seasonal card. Mom created this pretty little thing using the scalloped circle & birds on branches stamps from Memory Box- with a red & green colour scheme, a Christmas sentiment and a simple holly embellishment, it makes a lovely Christmas card!

These are some of the same stamps I used on this anniversary card last month, so they really are versatile images!

Customer Appreciation Night

2011-11-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

Join us onFriday, November 25

for a CustomerAppreciation Night!

Bringa friend and stop by to see us between 3 and 8pm!

(Savings are valid all day, but the make & take and goodies will only be available between 3 & 8pm)

enjoy Sweet Savings- discounts on your entire regular priced purchase up to 40% (pick your discount- from 15 to 40% -from our 'sweet savings' cookie sheet!)
a FREE Christmas make & take project
enter to win a door prize/gift certificate bundle worth at least $50
complimentary hot beverages & goodies
great prices on some special purchase items! (Savings valid all day! Sign up for our email list to learn about the savings, phone orders with payment will be accepted.)

Blue Christmas Cards

2011-11-22T17:39:00.001-08:00

Join Tara & make some Christmas cards (2 each of 3 different cards) in shades of blue, each of which is featuring new Kraft Core cardstock for under $20! Call or email the store by NOON on Wednesday to reserve your spot in this class. I'll be back next week or later this week with full images of the cards!

Graphicat Sketch: Gotta love the Gingerbread Man!

2011-11-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

I love the new Gingerbread Man set from Cheri at Graphicat Designs, so I knew I had to use Gingie for my sketch card this month! I've paired him with these fabulous new BoBunny papers, mounted him on a simple silver 'cookie sheet' and embellished with a flourish from Lifestyle Crafts (cut from Fuzzy white vinyl), some May Arts ribbons & some bling from Prima.

Here's a peek at the rest of the sentiment, which is on the inside of my card:

Hope you like it and will join our Graphicat Sketch Challenge this month!

Merry! {Nov. Sketch Challenge Reminder}

2011-11-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

Can you believe we're already more than half way through November? It's time for a reminder that we'd love to have you play along with our November Challenge! I'm just sharing one project with you today, but there are more over at our Challenge Blog!

I've used the sketch to create a 6x6 card featuring adorable "Holly Jolly" papers from Echo Park, Tim Holtz dies (pennant & new alpha) and an adorable image I got last year from Stamping Bella. I really wanted to use red & white twine with him, but couldn't get my hands on any last year, so it was perfect that I could use the combo for this! Nothing too elaborate about this card, I pretty much stuck to the sketch... but I had fun with my image, adding Liquid Applique, Stickles & Glossy Accents for fun textures & shine!

Hope you like it, and I hope you'll play along with us this month! I'd love to see what you create with my sketch!

p.s. we are sooo close to getting 100 followers on our blog, if you're not already one, we'd love to have you join us as a follower! ;)

Basic Grey: Picadilly Cards

2011-11-17T15:30:00.001-08:00

We've got Basic Grey POTM this week, and this month's kit, featuring Picadilly, seems perfect for cards (though our layouts were lovely too!), with so many great sticker designs! Here's what I've created with my leftover papers & stickers...

Isn't the row of apples sweet? I just added some silk ribbon and a tiny tag (from the new Tag It kit from Lifestyle Crafts)

I used a simple but fun zig-zag fold for this card, featuring a berry sticker & letter stickers (I hand wrote the rest of the sentiment)

Aren't these chickens sweet? I printed up the sentiment on white cardstock for everyone, and simply embellished it with black & white twine.

And here's another zig-zag fold, this one uses one of the die cut labels in our kit, embellished with a butterfly & letter stickers. Inside is another "Tag It" kit tag.

These cards are great for using up scraps when you're finishing up a project... hope they inspire you to make some fun cards soon!

Introducing our new Kitchen Corner!

2011-11-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Introducing something completely different at Creative Accents... our new Kitchen Corner! We've been looking for ways to expand our customer base, and with quality kitchen gadgets (many of them Swiss!) we're hoping this will be it! So please, tell your friends who have kitchens (that should be all of them!) to stop by and check out our Kitchen Corner! If we have a positive response, we'll be bringing in even more variety soon!

Here's a sampling of the products available in the store starting Monday:

Holly Jolly Christmas Card Class

2011-11-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

Join us on Wednesday night (tomorrow!) and make some Holly, Jolly Christmas Cards! We're working with fun & colourful papers from Echo Park to create 3 each of these three cards for just $17. Space is limited, so please call the store to sign up today if you'd like to come!

Class is at 6:30pm on Wednesday, but feel free to come a bit early if you'd like to get a head start on your colouring (there may be a bit of 'homework' with this class if you don't).

You will need your basic class kit (adhesives, distress ink, scissors...) as well as your favourite colouring supplies (Copics, pencil crayons...). See you there!

November Challenge: Sketch!

2011-11-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's time for another challenge over at our Seriously Creative Challenge blog! Today I'm sharing with you a scrapbook page that Mom (Julie) created inspired by the sketch.

She's used papers & stickers from Kaiser Craft's "Hunt & Gather" collection... I love how perfect they are with this old photo of my Dad & my uncle when they were young boys. She's kept things pretty simple here, with just the addition of some silk ribbon (new in the store!) and some bling.

Here's the sketch (by ME, Tara!) we're all playing with this month... hope you'll join us! Visit the challenge blog and some of our DT members to see what they did with the sketch!

Life loves the passionate

2011-11-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post today to share a card I made for Mom & Dad's anniversary this year... It was a couple weeks ago, but they've been away this week to celebrate!

All the papers & flowers are from the Printery collection by Prima- it's gorgeous! I've used stamps from Memory Box for my main image- many layers of ink & spray to create the fun texture you see! The sentiment is from stickers by Cosmo Cricket.

November Stamp of the Month

2011-11-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Wow- time is flying by, isn't it? It's a new month and therefore time to share with you our new Stamp of the Month- a great set of 4 border stamps from Hero Arts & Basic Grey! There are four distinct designs, all of which coordinate with the new Basic Grey collection, Little Black Dress.

Our Design Team member, Janet, worked with me on our samples this month- hope they inspire you! There are so many possibilities when you're working with border stamps! Here's a closer look at our cards! These first two are by Janet, you can find out more about what she did on her blog (I'm not sure if they'll be on the blog too, but she brought me several other fun samples as well, so check them out when you're in the store next!)

I (Tara) made these next two, using the LBD papers with the stamps. This next one is my fave, featuring a new 'Snow Diva' stamp by Whipper Snapper. I've used the leopard print border stamp on her paper pieced hat & bag as well as on the border of the card. I stamped it simply in black, then added some shading with brown Copic Markers where the design had some natural shading. I've also used a border die from the new Border "IT KIT" gift set from Lifestyle Crafts! I love the punch of turquoise with the animal print- so fun! Liquid Applique on her hat and the snow at her feet add additional texture to this card.

This next one is really simple- I created a frame with the crosshatch design and added a simple embossed sentiment and paper flowers. Again, I've used LBD papers for a bit of extra texture.

Hope you like our cards! As always, this set of stamp is available for SOTM members for 35% off the regular price! Pick up your stamps by the 15th of the month and you'll save on any other Hero Arts stamps you purchase as well!

Nordic Holiday Cards

2011-10-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

Once again I have a few simple cards to share which used products that were extras in our Basic Grey POTM class. Though I did have some extra embellishments, they didn't make it on a card yet... so I was simply working with paper & stickers, like this cute red bird, together with a snowflake border sticker. We added a simple white die cut shape (Tim Holtz/Sizzix) and stamped sentiment.

This next one used just stickers from the kit- I spelled out 'snow' on perforated papers from SEI, which was really a fun detail.

Again, a really simple card with a bit of twine added for texture.

It can be really easy to make quick and creative cards when you have the right materials, and these POTM kits always leave us a lot to work with!

p.s. Happy Halloween! Stop by the store TODAY for a TREAT! Just say "trick or treat" when you're in the store today and we'll give you an exclusive coupon you can use that day or save for a future purchase!

Please bring along your children wearing their costumes... we've got some treats for them as well!

Happy Thoughts

2011-10-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun card I've been meaning to share for a while... the birthday card Mom made for me! She's used a fun mix of a papers from one of the "Lost & Found" 6x6 pads by My Mind's Eye- love them! The card layout is from a recent Card Maps release (my guess is September's!) and features some gorgeous bling by Basic Grey as the focal point and sentiment stickers from Cosmo Cricket (love these!) as well. It's a happy card that made me smile... hope it does the same for you :)

Boo! (Savings for you!)

2011-10-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

Mom (Julie) put together this fun card today featuring the ghost border die from QuicKutz, which is 25% off right now (as are ALL QK logo dies)... PLUS we've got all Autumn & Halloween products on for 20% off until Saturday!

The card has an acetate front to it, which really showcases those ghosts which are cut from vellum! It's a fun look that was easy to put together- trust me, it looks even cuter in person! (It was tricky to photograph though... see my reflection in the first photo?)

And in other news... we've filled a suitcase in the store with assorted dies, flowers, tags, etc... that are all on SALE for just $2! Great stocking stuffers or treats for yourself ;) There's some everyday low prices and some awesome bargains (up to $29 regular price!) in this case, so check it out next time you're in the store!

Christmas Emporium Card Class

2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

I wish I had card photos to share with you today... but this whole shorter days thing always messes with me & my photo taking abilities at the store! I'll get a system figured out soon...but for now I have pretty paper to show you at least!

I mentioned a bit ago (on THIS post) that I'd have a class coming up featuring the side-step card technique and it's coming NEXT TUESDAY (totally snuck up on me!) and will be featuring the fabulous Christmas Emporium collection by Graphic 45!

Join me and we'll create three vintage looking Christmas Cards using papers & stamps from this collection, along with fabulous die cuts, mists and bling! Samples are up in the store- hope you'll join me! Call or visit the store to sign up soon!

p.s. if you'd like to take the class but the date snuck up on you, too... please let us know as we may decide to reschedule it!

October Challenge: ORANGE

2011-10-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's the middle of the month and time to remind you about the ORANGE challenge going on at our Challenge blog! There is still lots of time for you to enter any project you've created using orange!

I have to confess, I completely forgot it was reminder time already until just a couple days ago, so I have some simple projects to share today- sticking with what seems to be the theme of the week, treat bags!

First, I played with the new pumpkin & face dies by Tim Holtz! Isn't it great? I love that you can arrange the face parts wherever you like or leave them out and cut them from another paper... so many options with Movers & Shapers!

I stamped the front of a tiny brown paper bag with a Hero Arts Background stamp, then misted it with Maya Mist so there is a slight shimmer to it. I then adhered my pumpkin to the bag and that's about all there is to it!

Next is what has been called a 'sour creme container' for some reason... I don't know why, but they're cute and easy and fun to make! I used a 4x4 piece of patterned paper from MME, glued along one edge to form a tube and then squished one end shut. I both glued and stapled it just to make sure my candy was safe (plus I love those tiny attacher staples by Tim Holtz!) I filled it with candies and then squished the other end at the opposite angle and sealed it shut.

I embellished the treat container quickly with a stamped Hero Arts sentiment, a bit of bling and a few leaves (TH border strip- love them!) which had been sprayed with Perfect Pearl Mist.

Both of these would be quick & easy projects to mass produce for parties! Our Autumn Masquerade Crop was this weekend, and I added some inked up leaves (TH dies and new Distress Stains colours) around the bottles as a small decoration for the crop and decided to include them in the picture posted on the challenge blog. Hope you like my simple, ORANGE projects!

Head on over to our Seriously Creative Challenge Blog and show us your ORANGE this month!

Halloween Treats

2011-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have some Halloween treats to share with you today!

We have these fun magic wand tubes in the store and Halloween seemed like the perfect time to fill one and embellish it! Here's a close up of the treat wand, we used Spellbinders dies and Coredinations cardstock. We finished it off with some curly ribbon and some cute bone ribbon we have in the store. We filled the wand with purple candy corn we found in the grocery store- pretty!

Here's the card we made, which was actually the coffee & card project this week! It's very simple with an embossed background (Couture Creations) behind the moon (Lifestyle Crafts), fence (Sizzix/Tim Holtz), cat (Spellbinders) & finished it off with a bat from QuicKutz & a Hero Arts sentiment. Quick & Cute!

Hope ya liked it!

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!

2011-10-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

Or TURKEY dinner as it were... since we just enjoyed Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada :)

I have some winners to announce today!

FIRST: from Graphicat Designs Grand Opening Blog Hop- the winner from my blog is #14: Chelle! If you didn't win here... all is not lost! Check out the full list of winners from all the blogs on Graphicat's blog. Maybe you're one of the lucky ones :)

SECOND: World Card Making Day Blog Hop- I offered a surprise package of ribbon, papers & Canadian stamps to one person who commented & is a follower of our blog, and random.org has selected...
#28: lilscrappers said...
ohhhh, I so NEED that stamp, lol.....i laughed when I saw it. I love what I see coming from Graphicats :)

Send me an e-mail with your address (creativeaccents (at) telus.net) with "Blog Candy" in your subject line and I'll get your candy sent off to you!

CONGRATS to both of you! Hope you enjoy your winnings :)

Friends in Oz

2011-10-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

Here's another card I created on World Card Making Day! I'd been wanting to play with this sidestep fold for ages and thankfully Janet brought a sample with her so I could figure out the measurements :) I've used papers from the Magic of Oz collection by Graphic 45. (Plans are in the works for a Christmas card class using this fold!)

The only stamping on my card is the sentiment- and oldie but a goodie from Hero Arts. I did use Distress Ink on pretty much anything, and I got to play with a sample of a product that's coming soon... Shimmer Goosebumps from Tsukineko! We've had the regular Goosebumps in the store for a while and it's pretty cool- I think of it as a spray on version of Glossy Accents, depending how much you spray and how close you spray, you can get a raindrop effect or a solid gloss. I went pretty thick, but little enough that there's a fabulous texture... made even more fabulous with that gorgeous shimmer in it! I hope you can see the shimmer & texture in this next picture. It's a fun way to add to pre-printed images like I used for this card!

In case you missed it, I used those fabulous new crystals from Prima- I just love them and have ordered many more to arrive in the store soon!

Bundle Up!

2011-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday was World Card Making Day and this year I actually got to make a couple cards, including a Christmas/winter card- yay for getting started... even if I didn't use any Christmas papers!

This image of Willard from Kraftin' Kimmie cracks me up! I used some tips from Cheri at our last Copic Club to colour him up Sepia tone, using the E40 family of Copics. I used the current Sketch Saturday layout for the card. Here's what else I used:

papers & brad by My Mind's Eye papers
text stickers from Cosmo Cricket
wooden snowflakes from Maya Road (I'm already ordering more!)
crystal bling from Prima (LOVE the new bling!)
velvet ribbon from May Arts.

Thinking of the birthday girl...

2011-10-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's someone special's birthday today... here's the card I made just for her:

The only thing missing is a cat (it's inside the card!)... can ya tell who it's for? Yep, it's Cheri's special day and I decided to make a card that could double as a sample that will match her Graphicat Designs logo/ booth perfectly :) Hope it makes her birthday even more cheery :)

Papers & ribbon : Webster's Pages
Doily: Maya Road (sprayed with Maya Mist, Glimmer Mist and Perfect Pearls Mist... lotsa shimmer!)
Charms: from the stash
Image: Graphicat Designs (rubber stamp arriving soon!) & Copic Markers
Sketch: CLP (twisted & tweaked... but it's there!)

WICKED!

2011-10-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

There's a new sketch over at Graphicat Sketches AND there's new digi images being released at Graphicat Stamps as well! The Crafty Catz have some great projects to share with you today, and mine is a scrapbook page this time!
When I saw this new "Something Wicked this way comes" image I instantly new that it would be perfect as a title for a layout I've been wanting to do since getting back from my trip to see Wicked in June (SO amazing, if you get a chance to see it, do not hesitate)! Of course, I wanted to use the 'Magic of Oz' collection from Graphic 45 as well, and I think you'll agree they are a perfect fit!

Here's some close ups:
'Wicked' has a very steampunk feel to it visually (amazing sets & costumes!), so the gears had to make their way onto my page!
Papers: Graphic 45 "Magic of Oz"
Title: Graphicat Designs digi image
Dies: Spellbinders Wonky Rectangles and Sprightly Sprockets
Cardstock: Black Magic by Coredinations
Other fab goodies: Glossy Accents, Copic Markers, Glitter Glaze by Tattered Angels, Mica Fragments from Stampendous, Distress Ink, Flourish stamp, Pin & Charm by Tim Holtz, Web Ribbon from May Arts, assorted bling

October 2011 Stamp of the Month

2011-10-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Our October SOTM is a great COFFEE themed set of stamps from Impression Obsession! Carla helped me out with the samples this month and we went seasonal with our samples, using some great Halloween papers from Authentique & Echo Park! I have to confess though (and I know Carla agrees with me LOL), it was a huge challenge... and I look forward to playing with these stamps again with some other papers ;)

Here's my cards:
I've covered the mug with Glossy Accents and the ribbon I used was white before I coloured it (and the rhinestones on this card) with Copic markers. The label die I used is a Tim Holtz movers & shapers die.

This next card is fairly simple, but I had fun with the grouping of images here and painted over them with Rock Candy Crackle Paint after colouring and distressing it. It's hard to see in this picture, unfortunately! The ribbon on this card is one of the many new ribbons in the store over the past weeks :)
These next two cards were created by our Seriously Creative Design Team member, Carla! She has details on the cards on her blog, so pop over and check them out!

Hope you love the SOTM stamp set like we do, I hope to be sharing more samples using them very soon ;)

Canadian Blog Hop! (Celebrate World Card Making Day!)

2011-10-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Happy World Card Making Day!

At Creative Accents we're celebrating the day with a Card Crop in our studio- it will be fun to see how many cards get completed today, but regardless of numbers it's sure to be a great day!

We're excited to also be celebrating with a Canada-wide blog hop featuring over 30 Canadian bloggers & card makers! Whatever it is that brought you to our blog today, we hope you'll take some time to HOP along with us and see some great Canadian talent! We have so many stops along the way, that we've divided the hop into two parts. This is your first stop for this part of the hop, when you're done we hope you'll find some time to hop over and do the rest of the hop!

Without getting too wordy, here's the card I made for you today:
I've used a soon-to-be-released-as-rubber stamp from Graphicat Designs, a brand new Canadian stamp company located here in Williams Lake, BC! I'm proud to be part of their design team and to carry these entertaining stamps in our store here.

Papers: Authentique & Girl's Paperie, Ribbon: May Arts (the purple was coloured to match with Copics), Flowers: Prima & Petaloo, Die Cut: QuicKutz.

I am also offering some CANDY today... all I ask is that you follow this blog and leave a comment on this post! I'll select a random winner to receive a card making prize pack, which will include stamps from some Canadian companies, ribbon & a random mix of 6x6 papers, including some that I used on my card!

Next up, hop on over to pay a visit to GAIL!

Here's a full list of stops in case you get lost along the way! Please note there are two parts to this hop, we'd love to have you visit every blog along the way so you can start the second part at Nicole's blog.

If you're going the distance... here's the other half of our blog hop list!

Nicole http://www.canadiannickelscrapn.blogspot.com/
Seriously Creative Challenges http://creativeaccentschallenges.blogspot.com
Graphicat Designs http://www.graphicatstamps.com/_blog/Blog
Heather http://princesspaperprojects.blogspot.com
Connie http://www.inkspotsandstampblocks.blogspot.com/
Karey http://www.creativecraftcorner.com/
Kelly http://craftingcreatively.blogspot.com
Tracey http://thecroppingcanuck.blogspot.com/
Chelle http://maybecreative.blogspot.com
Barbara http://barbscreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Janet http://hilltopcreations.blogspot.com
Chris http://chrisscreations.blogspot.com/
Sarah http://stampinsars.blogspot.com/
Kerry http://mommakcrafts.blogspot.com/
Jill Sarginson http://jillelizabethsarginson.blogspot.com
Tara http://tarashomemadehappiness.blogspot.com/
Kim http://kraftinkimmieskorner.blogspot.com/
Becky http://beckscricards.blogspot.com/

Hope you have a fabulous World Card Making Day... and get LOTS of inspiration for your upcoming projects :)

Autumn Masquerade Crop!

2011-09-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

Join our Autumn Masquerade Crop October 14 & 15, 2011

Reserve your spot today for a weekend of Card Making & Scrapbooking Fun!

Tickets are just $40

Includes: freebies, Make & Takes, prizes, lunch & dinner on Saturday, special savings at the store & more!

Friday: 6-11pm (bring an embellished mask or bra for our contest!)

Saturday: 10am-11pm (bring an autumn appy or dessert to share)

Many of you have enjoyed a delicious cup of coffee brewed in the Suncafe Pod Brewer when you've come to our Coffee & a Card drop ins, and now you can enjoy the same drinks at home! (Machines & coffee pods will be available for purchase here in our store.)

Together with Blackstock, we are offering tickets to win a beautiful metallic RED Suncafe machine ($120 value) with all profit going to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada! Tickets are $3 each or 2 for $5.

We hope to draw the winner at our Autumn Masquerade Crop, but we will be waiting until we sell a minimum number of tickets so we raise enough to send a good donation!

Basic Grey POTM cards: Indie Bloom

2011-09-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's Basic Grey POTM week here at Creative Accents, and so far we've created three different cards using the leftovers from our page kit. This month we used fun felt flowers, glazed brads, stickers and canvas borders! There's no canvas borders on this fist card, but I used a bit of everything else! The Indie Bloom collection is so bright, cheery and warm feeling- a nice touch as we're beginning to face the cool days of Autumn.
I created this card, using inspiration from a sketch posted on the Basic Grey blog last week. The green frame sticker was originally a rectangular shape, but I trimmed it down to a square so it would work better with the layout. The stamped sentiment is from Hero Arts. You can see the sketch I used here, it's a fun one!

Mom created this two cards, the one on the left features a die cut border from the canvas & cardstock borders package. Don't you love those bold, bright colours? We've got one more group of ladies for POTM meeting on Saturday... who knows, maybe I'll have some more card samples for you after that :)

Graphicat Designs Grand Opening Blog Hop!

2011-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Graphicat Designs Grand Opening Blog Hop! If you're on the hop, you should be arriving from Nicole's blog. If you just came to see me and find out what's happening at Creative Accents, thanks! BUT if you want to check out the fabulous Grand Opening Celebration (you know you wanna...) please head on over to Cheri's blog to kick things off, you'll be back here in a jiffy ;)

Along with all the fabulous cards you'll be seeing from the Crafty Cats & friends, there will be BLOG CANDY available to people who comment along the way... Graphicat Designs is giving away 3 digital stamps at EACH stop along the hop (so leave some love and you might be my lucky winner!) PLUS a $25 gift certificate for her new online store to ONE lucky person among all of you! The more comments you leave, the better your chances to win something fabulous! There's also one other freebie anyone can enjoy, and that's FREE SHIPPING on all orders placed this week! Fab-u-lous!

So, along with my excitement at being part of this hop and celebrating with Cheri the opening of her new business, I'm thrilled that these wonderful stamps will be available for purchase at Creative Accents! Very soon we'll have a lovely display of gorgeous new stamps in the store... and the ones I'm using on these cards will be among them!

First up, the Happiness Fairy sentiment, which I have been wanting to use for a long time now... This image is now available as a beautiful clear polymer stamp!
I've used this fab sentiment together with a fairy from Kraftin' Kimmie, some flowers, papers & embellies from MME & my trusty tiny attacher (thank you, Tim Holtz!). I twisted and turned it, but used the latest Mojo Monday sketch for this one. Here's a close up, which was supposed to show off all the glitter on the fairy... but I'm thinking that didn't work out so well!
And my second card, which was actually my first... features the fabulous Coffee Girl image. She will be available very soon in red rubber and comes with four different sentiments you can mix & match. This one is my fave... she looks so serene, enjoying her cup of joe, but check out that sentiment:
heehee! Tell me I'm not the only one that feels that way some mornings!? I've used my current FAVE paper collection (in case you hadn't noticed...), Forever Fall by BoBunny. I've also added a ton of awesome glittery cardstock (we've got at least 20 colours in stock!) kept the embellies to a minimum.
Isn't she fabulous? There's so much more to see on our Grand Opening Celebration... so hop on over to Yvonne's blog and see what she created using Graphicat Designs images!

Here's the full hop list in case you get lost along the way:

START at Cheri's Personal Blog
Sarah
Nicole
Tara (that's me!)
Yvonne
Eulanda
Gloria
Tanya
Chris
Shelley
Janet (and Marianne!)
Carla
END at

Getting Inky...

2011-09-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

I got inky yesterday with some Alcohol Ink, Distress Ink & Distress Stains... always a good time :) I had a small group for our Canvas Class Sat. afternoon, but we had a great time! As I had interest from people who couldn't make it this weekend, we'll definitely be rescheduling this one- watch for the new date on our calendar!

I decided to demo the techniques using some fall colours & shapes, and after the class I put it together on a tag (so I could enter it into the current challenge to make a tag over at Scrapbooker's Paradise). It's pretty much all Tim Holtz goodies here... I used one of our new ribbons (we got 40 new spools in the store this week!) with Distress Stains to coordinate perfectly with my project, and you can also see a gorgeous lacy copper ribbon that is new along the bottom of the tag. So pretty! Autumn is my fave season and the quote on this stamp really grabbed me... it's kinda where I'm at right now, where fears and dreams intercept! Anywho, enough rambling- I hope you like my tag! It'll probably make it's way onto a tag front, or canvas or something, eventually...
I also wanted to share with you what my amazing students created- aren't their colour choices fabulous? I was telling them that I would add some contrast if I made the project again, and I just adore the colours they chose!

Here's Marianne's:

... and Jacqui's:
Hope you like them and are inspired to get inky sometime soon!

September Challenge: Easy as 1, 2, 3

2011-09-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to remind you there is still plenty of time to play in our September challenge over at the challenge blog! Here's a card I put together using 1-ribbon, 2-embellishments & 3 patterned papers!

I've used a sweet 'A la Mode' image from My Favorite Things together with the Out of Print collection by Basic Grey (which we were finally able to get in the store in 12x12 sheets!). It's fairly simple, but I did add extra embellishments for fun... don't you just adore those big blingy Sparklets from Kaiser? so much fun! I paper pieced the book she is reading for some extra texture. Here's a close up shot of the paper piecing the big Sparklet:

Sweet, right? Hope you like it and I hope you'll play along with us this month with this Seriously Creative Challenge! Please visit the blog and see what else the team has to share with you :)

It's coming...

2011-09-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

Coming soon...

Yep, the countdown is on! Be sure to set aside some time on Tuesday, September 20th to check out the Grand Opening of Graphicat Designs! Dreams are coming true that day, folks, and Cheri's amazing stamps will be available for you to purchase in RUBBER & Polymer! It's gonna be fabulous and she's got a bunch more surprises as well!

Of course, you'll be able to buy these stamps at Creative Accents as well! I can't wait!

Also coming up... World Card Making Day is on Saturday, October 1 and we'll be part of a Canada wide blog hop to celebrate! If you're a blogger who would like to participate in this hop, you can check it out and sign up on our facebook group page. There will also be a day crop at the store on October 1, so plan to join us then :)

Hope the weekend ahead is full of creative things for you!

Creative Outlets Class with Alcohol Ink

2011-09-12T15:30:00.001-07:00

Creative Outlets Canvas: Alcohol Ink Saturday, Sept 17 @ 1pm

Join Tara for this class inspired by tags designed & taught by Tim Holtz. You'll create a 6x6 canvas using Ranger Alcohol Inks on a variety of surfaces. Your canvas will include stamps, die cuts and embellishments as well as a stamped sentiment & colour scheme of your choosing.

Please sign up at the store by Thursday, Sept 15 to ensure your spot!

Graphicat Designs September Card

2011-09-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Can you feel the excitement building? There's just 15 days until Graphicat Designs goes LIVE with real rubber stamps for sale and a gorgeous new website! We'll be celebrating Cheri's future success with lots of hoopla that day, but today we're introducing a new challenge for the Graphicat Sketch Challenge... and this month, Anything Goes!

I didn't even use a sketch this month (gasp) but I did use one of the Graphicat Designs Sushi sentiments- coming soon as part of a 4x6 clear stamp set!
I've paired the sentiment with Kimiko from Kraftin' Kimmie and together they're rockin' out with 'Forever Fall' papers from BoBunny. You'll can also see new dies from Spellbinders (Orchard Harvest tags & accents), which I pulled out my Copic Airbrushing system for, and Sizzix (Tim Holtz Autumn Gatherings Strip Die) leaves. The rest of the card is pretty simple as I didn't want to cover up all that fabulous paper!

Hope you like my card- if you wanna see some more Graphicat Designs goodness, pop on over and see what the rest of the Craft Catz have been creating!

September Challenge: Easy as 1, 2, 3

2011-09-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's time for another challenge on our Seriously Creative Challenge Blog and this month our challenge is Easy as 1, 2, 3!
We'd like you to create any paper crafting project with at least 1 ribbon, 2 embellishments & 3 patterned papers! You can check out samples from the Design Team on our Challenge Blog- we hope you'll join us and play along!

Mom (Julie) created this sweet layout using papers & stickers from BoBunny's 'Garden Girl' collection. For her ribbon, she braided three lengths of Twinery Twine together and tied it around her picture! Her embellishments are buttons and a piece of 'flair' from American Crafts.
Isn't this old picture of her & Joy blowing bubbles adorable?
We look forward to seeing what you create this month!

September 2011 Stamp of the Month

2011-09-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to introduce to you to our fabulous Stamp of the Month for September, which is actually a combo pack of stamp set and 6x6 paper pad from BoBunny's Forever Fall Collection... it just makes me happy looking at it and I hope it does the same for you!
Tanya practically begged to help me with this month's samples, so of course I was happy to oblige her :) Here's what Tanya & I created with the stamp & paper combo:

Here's a closer look at the cards. First up, I used the sunflower stamp from the set and stamped it three times on Copic Xpressit Blending Cardstock in Brown Memento Ink. I coloured two of them with Copics then spritzed them with 'sunflower' Perfect Pearls Mist- it's so pretty and shimmery in real life! I snipped the petals apart and shaped the flowers for extra texture, then layered one on top of the other and put the two of them on a flat sunflower which I'd coloured up with Distress Ink. The center of my sunflower is tiny beads coloured with Distress Stains. The rest of the card is very simple- patterned paper, a stamped sentiment (Hero Arts) and some green ribbon.
Here's a close up of the flower
Here's my second card, featuring the leaves & dragonfly stamps. Even though we've got a pad full of gorgeous patterned papers, I wanted to design my own background image using these stamps. I started by stamping leaves in Versamark on glossy white cardstock and blending Distress Ink over it, then I layered some images stamped with the same inks on top of that for extra texture. (You can watch for this technique and more in an upcoming class featuring Distress Inks!) I have matched it with some of the more 'solid' papers in the 6x6 pad for layering.
I also wanted to use some Glitter Ritz that came into the store, so I decided to make a border piece with it- this is from one of the Limited Edition sets called "Aztec" and the colours are perfect with this paper collection! Love it! The die cuts on this card (label and branch shapes) are from the Wildflower Gift Set by Lifestyle Crafts- so nice to take these shapes into autumn!
Here's a close up of the glitter and the stamped background- I cut the branch image from adhesive chipboard and applied glitter to a piece after adhering it directly to my card.
Here's the cards that Tanya created- I'll just share them with you here, but you can visit her blog to get some more details and leave some love with her :) This first card features the dragonfly stamps:
And this final card features the leaves & sunflower (isn't it fab as a 'background' type image?):
And that, my friends, is our September SOTM! As always, it's 35% off for SOTM members- and since we don't have much for BoBunny stamps to offer you at 15% off if you pick up your stamp by the 15th... you can save 15% on Hero Arts stamps instead :)

We always welcome new members to join our SOTM program, it's a great way to add a versatile selection of stamps to your collection! Feel free to ask us about it next time you're in the store!

Waterfall Sale

2011-08-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

We're having a WATERFALL SALE this week:

The more you spend, the more you save!
Spend $30 & Save $5
Spend $50 & Save $10
Spend $80 & Save $20

(max $20 discount)

Discounts valid only on Regular Priced Merchandise until Saturday, Sept. 3.
Excludes Copic Markers & already discounted items.

PLUS: New arrivals are 10% off! These include...

New BoBunny products (a great assortment from seven new collections!)
New Basic Grey (6x6 pads, embellishments & card kits)
New Graphic 45 (two new collections)
New Lifestyle Crafts (including fabulous borders & nesting shapes)

Sneak Peek: Creative Outlets Class with Alcohol Ink

2011-08-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

We're working on our autumn class schedule right now, but we wanted to share a little peek with you at one of them. We'll be continuing our Creative Outlets Class Series- featuring 6x6 canvas projects inspired by tags designed by Tim Holtz.

We did our first canvas featuring Distress Stains in May (and we'd be happy to re-do it if there is interest!) and are moving on to a project featuring some of the many uses of Alcohol Ink! Here's a peek at my project, which you can choose to do in any combination of colours you choose!
We're looking forward to some exciting classes with you this fall! Please let us know if there are any specific classes you would like to see us offer!

Happy Birthday Janet!

2011-08-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's a BIG DAY for our design team member, Janet- she's celebrating a monumental birthday, but we're not gonna talk about numbers today ;) We're just celebrating our fabulous, creative friend with a birthday blog hop! You should be arriving here from visiting Janet's friend Nancy, who's joining our team and hopping with us for this special occasion :)

I've got two cards to share with ya today... from me (Tara) and mom (Julie). Here's the card I made for Janet:
I used the crazy hat ladies stamp from Art Impressions (no idea if they're actually called crazy hat ladies... but don't ya think they should be?) together with some cheery papers by My Mind's Eye that I've been wanting to play with for a while! I also used one of my brand new nesting dies from Lifestyle Crafts- really love this one, and the way they've set it up with perfect layers! I've used last week's sketch from Scrap Creations... it was a bit tricky finding one that would work with such a large image AND the edged paper I wanted to use :)

And our second card for Janet today was created by Mom (Julie). She is mixing her artsy with a little bit of fartsy this time LOL, isn't it fun?! She saw an idea on Pinterest and decided to run with it, using Steampunk papers by Graphic 45!
We hope you like em, Janet!

Now... get ready for more fun and hop over to see what Cheri has for ya!

{30 Day Photo Challenge} Days 13-17

2011-08-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more pics for the August 30 Day Photo Challenge! I think I'll have fun scrapbooking these come September. I'm a few days behind, but I'll get them done eventually. Who else is still trying to take daily photos this month?

Day 13- From a Distance (I pulled over somewhere in the middle of the Fraser Canyon to take this one)

Day 14- Flowers (in my grandparents' yard... these ones survived the fire this past winter)

Day 15- My Shoes (Joy and I are both sporting sandals after our pedicures last week!)

Day 16- What I Ate (Greek platter for two... yum! And up in the corner is the most delicious bellini I've ever tasted! We enjoyed this fabulous meal before watching Mama Mia in Vancouver.)

Day 17- On the Shelf (new 'friends' sign fits great on top of my book shelf)

... and my 'catch up' photo (just a couple weeks late)
Day 1- Self Portrait
Maybe I'll be current with my photos by the time I'm posting again? A girl can dream, right? ;)

Die Cut Bundles!

2011-08-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

available at Creative Accents while supplies last...

Vagabond Machine Bundle
Just $299 (value $395- save $96)

Includes Vagabond machine, 6 embossing folders, extended cutting pad, extended adaptor plate, M&S base tray

Silhouette SD Bundle
Just $225 (value $300+ Save $75+)

Includes Silhouette SD, 2 rolls of vinyl, 1 roll of transfer tape, demo/1 on 1 class, CD of home decor designs

Letterpress Bundle #2
Just $75 (value $99- save $24)

Includes: Letterpress Starter Kit & one extra printing plate

Letterpress Bundle #2
Just $159 (value $229- Save $70)

Includes Epic 6 Machine, Letterpress Starter Kit, nesting circle dies, two extra printing plate sets

Challenge: USE your stash!

2011-08-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

We're half way through the August Challenge over at our Seriously Creative Challenge Blog and of course, there is more time for you to join in the fun and USE YOUR STASH this month! I absolutely LOVE this challenge because it feels fantastic to use up those products you bought cuz you loved them but never got around to actually showing them some love ;) I have a whole pile of projects I could do for this challenge... and maybe there will be more, but for today I have a layout to share with ya!

I'm kinda loving this layout, and not just cuz it features sweet photos of me as a baby and my dad... I'm loving it because I actually USED a bunch of products that have been sitting around waiting to be used for a very long time (much of it has been waiting at least 2 years)!

Yep, I really took to heart the current challenge we have going on over at our Seriously Creative Challenge blog and pulled out the first Tim Holtz "paper stash" I ever bought, the grungeboard alphabet set I've only used a few letters out of and a bunch of amazing paper flowers that I often look at, but never use. Here's my project:
and here's some close ups for ya- I did use something new, kraft doilies from Maya Road, inked up with about 3 colours/types of mist products! I've used a bottle cap to go along with my 'pop' theme :)
some fun little charms hanging from a twine bow:
I used some grungeboard letters, covered with crackle paint, distress ink & glossy accents- which gave a fab texture!
Lots of fun on one 12x12 page :) I can't wait to see what you create, too!

Oxford: Basic Grey Cards

2011-08-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

I'm back after a fabulous little mini-vacation (Mama Mia in Vancouver-my my!) and I took a couple spare minutes today to photograph the cards we made at last week's Page of the Month class!

Our kit included one of my fave cardmaking embellishments, the 'pieces' set with tons of die cut tags, perfect for stamping a sentiment and making a quick card! Here's what we made with our paper, sticker & pieces that were leftover after creating our layouts:

I didn't add much to these- just some liquid pearls on the flower and distress ink, of course :) These were all nice & quick to put together and it was nice to make a combo of masculine and feminine cards this month! I used stamps by Stampendous, Magenta & Inkadinkado.

30 Day Photo Challenge {Days 10-12}

2011-08-13T21:12:00.001-07:00

Sorry I don't have any paper creations to share with ya today! I have been busy creating things this week, but much of it needs to wait for me to share with you... and the rest I forgot to take photos of. Ooops!

I have been taking my daily photos though, so I'm back to share them! I would love to hear about it if you're doing this 30 Day challenge, too- you can even start now and go for 2 photos a day until you're caught up :)

Day 10- Something I made (I'm always photographing my cards and other creations... so I made a quick cocktail instead. ahhh.... great way to end the day!)

Day 11- Something fun (I'm not loving this photo, or the action I used on it... may have to re-take, or at least re-edit, BUT Performances in the Park are a highlight of my summers in WL! It's always fun to hear the music & watch the kids dance & play!)

Day 12- Close Up (What can I say, I love sunflowers and this one stands alone in the front yard! It's fun playing with my 'zoomy' lens, too!)

{30 Day Photo Challenge} Days 6-9

2011-08-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

I'm back with more pictures for the August 30 Day Photo Challenge! Not sure I'll ever be 'caught up' as far as sharing goes, but I'm taking them... most of the time it's even on the right day ;) I'd love to see the pictures you're taking if you're doing the challenge too... even if you're a bit behind, like me! Check out all the details here!

Day 6- Childhood Memory (I loved to read as a child and I still do, I have fond memories of my dad reading my brother & I this book many times!)

Day 7- Something New (This sunflower was just opening up to full bloom in our front garden!)

Day 8- Technology (I feel a bit behind the times technology wise, no iPhone and my iPod is a classic... but I am addicted to Pinterest & love the technology it uses!)

Day 9- Faceless Self Portrait (I cheated a bit here and did not take this pic on day 9... but I had to have evidence that my feet did make it into a lake this summer at least once!)

... and my catch up photo:

Day 2- What I wore (My friend Elizabeth made this fabulous jewelry set, it brings a smile when I wear it!)

Life is a Journey {Canvas}

2011-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

My current budget has me in a spot where I am creating gifts instead of buying them... which is actually okay with me, because I love to give gifts that are customized for the recipient! This project is one such gift, a birthday present for a close friend of mine who has a love for Africa and her decorating shows it! I'm hoping this canvas will fit into some small nook in her home and brighten her day when she sees it...
I was inspired by the new challenge to USE YOUR STASH for this 6x6 canvas and everything but the paper (Bo Bunny) was from my stash... some of it has been waiting for years to make it onto a project! Like the chipboard letters- I have a fabulous drawer unit all organized and full of letters in assorted styles and colours, so I selected the ones I wanted, painted & inked them.
I used a bunch of Ranger products (Glossy Accents, Distress Stickles, Rock Candy Distress Crackle paint, Claudine Helmuth Paint, Distress Stain, Distress Ink, Matte Multi-Medium...), a Tim Holtz vial (filled with Glass Glitter), some charms from Making Memories (I think) and other ribbon & charms from my stash. I used part of a stamped sentiment from Whipper Snapper as my title. I'm so glad I finally got to create something with these fabulous papers, and it feels great to get my fingers all inky and pull out and use some of those items I've had stashed for a while!

Do the Art Walk!

2011-08-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Our city's annual Art Walk & Sale is happening NOW through September 9th. Take the opportunity to participate in this FREE activity and show your support to 35 local artists showcased at 35 different businesses around town.

Pick up your passport today (or find it in the Weekender or other local newspapers)! You can enter to win door prizes at participating businesses and enter your completed passport for a chance to win a pair of diamond earrings!

August Challenge: Use Your Stash!

2011-08-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Over at our Seriously Creative Challenge Blog, we're kicking off a new challenge for the month of August! You can see all the details there, but the general theme is gonna be a pretty easy one for you to play along with because this month we want you to USE YOUR STASH!
Is that easy or what? Pull out something you've been wanting to use- photos, paper, stamps... anything in your stash and USE IT this month!

Here's what Mom (Julie) made for the challenge:
She pulled out some old photos of my cousin and paired them with some Basic Grey paper that's been around for a while! She used a die cut ice cream cone (if it looks familiar, it's because I made an extra when I made this card), some ribbon from the stash and cut out the letters (Tim Holtz) using a scrap of blue paper from the stash. She had fun raiding the stash for this one!

Next up, here's the layout Leslea created:
Isn't that photo just adorable? Leslea used some fun papers and chipboard elements by My Mind's Eye from her stash to put this together. I love the list of descriptive words she's added- such a great journaling element!

Hope you're inspired to dig into your stash! I'll be sharing another project with you (that I made!) in a couple weeks- hope you'll join the fun!

{30 Day Photo Challenge} Days 3-5

2011-08-05T23:25:00.000-07:00

So I started a couple days late, but I'm joining in on a 30 Day Photo Challenge that I came across on Pinterest. I've shared it on our Facebook page, and have the Challenge list posted here. Sherry over at Oh So Lovely is also giving opportunity for us to link up our photos and see what other people playing along are taking photos of! So fun to see everyone's interpretations of the theme!

Anywho, I'm starting with Day 3-5 here (I'll probably post a few days at a time, since taking a daily photo is a big enough step without trying to blog them all daily too!). Somewhere along the line I'll add in days 1-2...

Day 3: Clouds (taken from my backyard)
Day 4: Favourite Colour (I love them all, and forgot to take my photo until late at night...)
Day 5: Someone I love (Tazo was my only live model this morning, but isn't he handsome?)
... and that's me, working on using my camera every day this month! Hope you'll join me! Please feel free to let me know in the comments if you are playing along, too!

Get Your Groove On

2011-08-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm kinda a die hard rubber stamp lovin' girl... and up until now, the only digi stamps I've ever used have been from Graphicat Designs (cuz they're fab, and Cheri makes em, and she's turning them into rubber very soon! yay!) BUT my Dad had a birthday recently and I'd had my eyes on an image by Kenny K for a while now, thinking it'd be perfect for him... SO here's what I did with it:
I've paired the Groove Dude from Kenny K with a sentiment by Graphicat Designs, cuz they're a perfect fit, are they not?

I've used papers from My Mind's Eye and minimal embellishments- a little metal clip, a bit of ribbon, a few pieces of bling and some Crackle Accents on the music notes (from the border punch by EK Success) and sentiment.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Kenny K's Krafty Girls Challenges: metal embellishment
Our Creative Corner: Red & Aqua
The Corrosive Challenge Blog: Manly
Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes

Hope you have a groovy day!

August Stamp of the Month

2011-08-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

I'm back with close ups of our August SOTM! This month we're featuring a lovely set of Sympathy stamps by Kraftin' Kimmie, which includes a floral image and EIGHT different sentiments, making this a very versatile set!
Here you can see all eight of the sentiments:
I think you'll find this to be a very versatile set and hopefully it will make it a little bit easier to make those difficult sympathy cards. My thought on sympathy cards is that we should make them ahead and have them in our card stash, as it can be so hard to create the perfect card when you are faced with sadness.

This month we decided to give our Design Team a bit of a break and Mom (Julie) and I created all the samples on the board ourselves. We chose to use a "Chapter One" paper pad by KaiserCraft together with some BoBunny & Making Memories papers.

This first card features gorgeous lace & glitter papers by Making Memories. One of the sentiments was stamped in black on a die cut tag from Kaiser Craft.

The design for this next card was borrowed from a member of the Kraftin' Kimmie Design Team. I loved the simplicity of it, but decided to kick it up a notch with some fabulous glossy paper and a 3D flower.
Here's a close up of the flower, which was stamped twice (I cut the petals apart on the second one), sprayed with Perfect Pearls Mist and shaped. I used Perfect Pearls and Stickles in the center of the flower.
On this next card I decided to focus on the flower. I coloured it up in shades of BlueGreen to match the papers from Kaiser Craft. The turquoise bottom layer on this card is by BoBunny. I chose one of the smaller sentiments and stamped it on a scrap of paper, cut it into a tag shape and tied it to the stem of the flower.
Mom made this final card. She embossed the sentiment on vellum and embossed the flower on patterned paper and vellum. The base of the card is Core'dinations cardstock which has been dry embossed. Mom used Glossy Accents to put some lovely glass glitter in the center of each flower.
I hope you like this month's stamp set... and I hope you won't have to use it for a very long time!

Graphicat August Sketch!

2011-08-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's time again for a new sketch over at the Graphicat Sketch Challenge Blog! Cheri has a great new sketch for you to use this month, so we hope you'll play along with us! Check out all the details and see the cards created by the rest of the Crafty Catz over at the Challenge blog! Here's what we're playing with this month:
... and here's what I did with the new sketch:
I've used Graphicat's Boomer Cat image & Coffee Cat sentiment together with Angie by Kraftin' Kimmie. I sized Boomer Cat so he's real small (though clearly a large cat- much like my own kitty, Tazo!) giving me a perfect combo of cat & coffee for my sentiment ;)

Other fun stuff I used:
- Tattered banners die by Tim Holtz
- Weathered clock die by Tim Holtz
- Trendsetter papers by Webster's Pages
- Brads from my stash (My Mind's Eye?) & Distress Ink
- Copic Markers- with Memento Ink on Copic Xpress It Cardstock
- Glossy Accents on my coffee, cat eyes and clock hands

My card is pretty low on embellishments... just a few brads! Unfortunately not quite low enough to enter it in the Kraftin' Kimmie challenge this week, which is to make a card with NO embellishments- yikes, not an easy one! Maybe I'll try that on another card... or maybe I just love my embellishments too much LOL.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll swing by and check out what the rest of the Crafty Cats have created with the sketch! If you're not already a follower on my blog, I'd be delighted to have some more friends join me here!

and the winner is...

2011-07-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks for making our 12 Years Celebration so much fun! We ended our Christmas in July Card Crop by having our sweet assistant, Joy, draw from the box of entries.
The lovely Barb (aka Mrs. T.) is our lucky winner! Congrats Barb, we hope you'll enjoy the bag of fun we've put together :) Stop by and pick it up next time you're in town- we'll be open again on Tuesday!

August SOTM- early peek

2011-07-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

Our August Stamp of the Month is here, so I thought I'd share a look at the samples we have created with it before the long weekend! We'll be back with close ups and details on the cards next week :)

The stamp this month is a set of Sympathy stamps by Kraftin' Kimmie. It's a far cry from the fun girlfriends set we featured last month, but unfortunately sympathy stamps need to be an essential part of everyone's stamp collection.

Here's what we've created so far with this beautiful set.
We'll be back with more details! If you're a SOTM member, you can come pick up your set today or Saturday! We'll be closed on Sunday and Monday, enjoying the long weekend!

p.s. we do have some extra stamp sets available from both our July & August stamps!

It's TANYA's birthday!

2011-07-27T00:05:00.000-07:00

We're celebrating our fabulous friend TANYA today cuz it's her *ahem* 28th birthday and that is worth a party, don't ya think? ;) So... we're having a blog hop party and it doesn't really matter where you started, you're gonna get to see some lovely cards and of course you'll get a feel for how much we love our girl Tanya! I've got lots of pics for ya today, so we'll get started...

Here's the card I made for Tanya, using a gorgeous new Stamping Bella image, "Lulu loves poppies" together with yummy poppy paper by Graphic 45 (Magic of Oz), Glass Glitter, and a bunch of goodies our man Tim Holtz created just for Tanya & I... because I'm sure he loves us as much as we love him, Tanya... and you just go right ahead telling yourself that this card is from me AND Tim ;)
(the Tim Holtz goodies are: kraft resist cardstock, Distress Stain, Film Strip Ribbon, Muse Token, Memo Pins, Distres Stickles... I think that covers it. Gotta love Tim!)

Here's the inside of the card- I used an old fave birthday stamp from Magenta.
and here's a couple close ups for ya:
I made a couple of the poppies 3D.
Mom (Julie) created this sweet card for Tanya, too! She made this flower using... wait for it... coffee filters! Stamped em with a Hero Arts background stamp, cut with Tim Holtz die & sprayed with Perfect Pearl Mist. Does that background look familiar? Yep, more of that yummy lace doilie from Basic Grey's Out of Print collection!
and we've still got one more fab card for ya... this one by Marianne! She created an adorable chocolate shop scene using new images from Art Impressions:
Aren't those flower boxes great? Here's the inside of the card... so you can see what they were all so intently looking at :)

Are you ready for some more eye candy? I'm sure you will not be disappointed if you hop on over to visit Eulanda's blog! She's always got pretty papers there :)

Just go with it!

2011-07-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm back with another card, which features brand new products in the store-yay! I fell in love with this image from Kraftin' Kimmie and was thrilled when I clued in that it would work with the new "Friends Furever" papers we got in from We R Memory Keepers! I love that some of the 12x12 papers have 6x6 designs on the back- great for mixing & matching!
I've also used some fun large, glittery eyelets from We R Memory Keeps, Bakers Twine and a bling flourish. That little fire hydrant was cut from one of the pieces of patterned paper. I added extra 'water drops' with glossy accents, and couldn't resist using it on the dotted paper as well. My sentiment came with this image, and was stamped on a speech bubble die from QuicKutz/Lifestyle Crafts.

I've used the July Sketch from CLP for this card. I think I used a Kraftin' Kimmie image with their sketch last month, too! It gives a totally different feel than what their design team comes up with, but I'm finding their sketches to be very versatile and fun to work with!

Slowpoke & Smiles

2011-07-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in my last post that I had some half finished cards just waiting for stamped images... here's one of them all ready to go! I coloured up the adorable new "slowpoke" image from Kraftin' Kimmie (quick & easy!) and cut it with my Spellbinders nestabilities. I finished it off with a sentiment from Hero Arts & some pearls. The base of my card features 'Out of Print' papers by Basic Grey and some Tissue Tape from Tim Holtz- they're perfect together!
It's quick & cute and sunshiney! Hope it makes you smile! I'll be back tomorrow with another card I created with some new arrivals :)

Out of Print: Basic Grey Cards

2011-07-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a slow blogging week... sorry 'bout that! We've been busy with our Page of the Month classes this week and spending time making roads towards an organized studio rather than doing some actual creating... hopefully it'll be a different story next week, though! I've got my new stamps from Kraftin' Kimmie all mounted on EZ mount and ready to go! My Copics are looking lonely so I think I'll spend some time with them soon!

We've got our last group doing the July POTM class tomorrow morning, but I figured it's not too early to share the cards I've made so far using scraps left over from our layouts. This month we're using the fabulous Out of Print collection & I adore the grungy look it has and the bits of text throughout all the papers. We use a gorgeous lace doily in the class and had lots of good bits left over for our cards, so I've used it on 2 of them (so far).

This one features the lace paper over yellow and the sentiment is a fantastic sticker:
This bird was in a corner of the patterned paper... so we made sure to save him for a card :) The kit also included new fabric yo-yo's to match (though the one on this card was actually made by Mom, since we used all of ours up!). The stamp is an old fave of mine from Hero Arts.
And this last one was just a quickie using extra alpha stickers from our kits & prima flowers from my stash.
I've got a few other cards partially finished that I'm hoping to add some stamping to! Hope you've got some sunshine, wherever you are... and if not, hope you find some time to create :)

Inspired by a card

2011-07-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

Today I was inspired by a card I created a few months ago, and I thought I'd share it with you today!

I created this margarita themed card, with a sentiment that says "when life gives you limes, make margaritas!" and have been saving it for someone special... Then today I had the idea to assemble a bouquet for a girlfriend of mine whose life has been full of 'limes' lately. She really is an inspiration to me with her faith in God and upbeat attitude through it all. While we haven't made margaritas (yet) we've certainly turned a few limes into mojitos ;)

I was inspired by the card to make a 'lime' bouquet. Here's how it turned out, along with the card that inspired it. I hope it brightens her day!
Here's what I did. I went to the local dollar store looking for a drinking glass and a vase or other slightly larger container. I found a cute little pitcher, which suited my margarita theme nicely :)

I wanted the glass to fit with a small border around it, just deep enough to fit slices of lime all around it. I'm pretty impressed with the fit!
Assembly was pretty easy- I set the glass inside the pitcher, filled the glass with water and the surrounding pitcher about 1/2 full of water. Then I sliced up 2 limes and placed the slices around the edge and placed my flowers in the cup! I love how it turned out, and it has so much more personality than a store bought bouquet :) It smells really yummy with the lime in there, too!

p.s. We've got new stamps in the store from Kraftin Kimmie today- a selection of images from her last 4 releases! Stop by and pick up your favourites this week and save 10%

Happy Birthday Leslea!

2011-07-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

We're sending out birthday wishes to another Design Team Member today... our not-yet-a-blogger (heehee) friend, Leslea! We hope your day is full of fun and celebration, Leslea!
I've used papers by Bo Bunny, twine from the Twinery, stamp by Hero Arts & the Ice Cream cone was cut on my Silhouette & inked with a combo of Distress Stains, Distress Ink & Perfect Pearls Mist.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Cute Card Thursday: Going Round in Circles
CAS-ual Fridays: CFC11: Create a Clean & Simple Project Using a Sweet or Treat (ice cream!)
Going Grey with Scrap Creations: at least 2 DP & 2 Embellishments

I also used a sketch from CPS, but alas... it's last week's challenge :)

Here's the card Mom (Julie) made for Leslea!

A few other members of the team have made cards for Leslea as well! You can visit their blogs to see the cards they have made, too!

Have a fabulous day!

Basic Grey POTM twist & cards

2011-07-16T17:26:00.001-07:00

Our July POTM classes are coming up this week and I realized I didn't post the cards we made at our June class... oops! I also had requests to post my layout using the same techniques/measurements but different papers than the original design. I went a whole lot brighter and bolder with my layout and it turned out perfect with pictures from my trip to Las Vegas last summer. As I said in my journaling here, the two Cirque du Soleil shows we saw were the highlights of our trip :)

I used a flourish border die by Lifestyle crafts together with grungeboard pieces & dies from Tim Holtz to bling up my layout.
and here's the cards we made with our scraps! Mom (Julie) made these first two:
And I made these two, which are really simple:
All projects featuring the Lauderdale collection, which is perfect for summertime! We still have an assortment of embellishments & papers in the store, as well as 6x6 pads from the Lauderdale collection.

Fun & Simple {coffee & a card}

2011-07-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to share with you what we've been doing at our Coffee & a Card Drop ins at the store this month! If you're not familiar with it, we do a drop in on Thursdays at the store (normally every other week, but for the month of July... EVERY Thursday!) where you can come and enjoy a cup of joe & make a fun, simple card for just $2! It's a bargain, I tell ya, and a great way to take a little time for yourself!

Here's the card we did yesterday- we featured Cosmo Cricket's Upcycle collection with this fab coordinating stamp by Unity. We inked it up with a kissing technique using the Reflections stamps by Tim Holtz.
... and last week we make this little cutie- featuring some fun colour blocking and instead of stamps, we used rub-ons! Simple & sweet!
We'd love to see you next Thursday at our Coffee & a Card drop in- we're also extending the hours of the drop in this summer, so you can come anytime between 11am-5pm to make your card! If you're not a coffee lover (gasp!) we also have tea and juice available :)

Celebrating 12 years!

2011-07-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

Creative Accents is
12 years old
and we're celebrating with a dozen deals!

Enjoy SALE-abration savings throughout the store July 11-30!

Ranger Distress Ink is 10% off
Stamps are 20% off
Stickers are 20% off
QuicKutz/Lifestyle Crafts Alphabets are 30% off
Seasonal Products (Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day) are 40% off
Clearance items are 50% off the lowest marked price
Clearance papers are 5 for $2.00
Distress Crackle Paint just $5.00 (Clear Rock Candy not included)
Making Memories Metal Embellishments 20% off
Twinery Baker's Twine: Buy 5 yards, get 1 FREE
QuicKutz (old QK logo) 4x4 dies just $5 (singles) or $7 (doubles)
QuicKutz (old QK logo) 2x2 dies just $2 (singles) or $3 (doubles)

Plus, we've got a tote bag full of scrapbooking & stamping goodies worth over $200 that one lucky customer will win! See all the details in the store to find out how you can earn a chance to take it home :)

Tea & Flowers

2011-07-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a card I made just for fun... so nice to do that :) I had some stamped images (Hero Arts flowers) left from Coffee & a Card a couple weeks ago and they went perfectly with some other elements that needed some loving- Gabrielle papers by Bo Bunny and this sweet image from Stamping Bella. I inked up a tag cut from some resist paper by Pink Paislee (so excited about their upcoming releases- love using my Distress Ink with resist!) and this fab new sentiment from Graphicat Designs (I'm more pro-coffee than I am anti-tea, but this cracks me up!). This card is mostly ink & paper, with some ribbon, lace and gorgeous glass glitter by Melissa Frances.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
- Papertake Weekly "Anything Goes"
- CES Challenges "Recipe Time" 1 image, 2 ribbon, lace or twine and 3 dp's (papers)
- Cute Card Thursday "Lace"
- Sentimental Sundays "Inky fingers"

July 2011 SOTM

2011-07-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

Here it is... our July Stamp of the Month sample board! This fabulous set of stamps "Comfy on the Couch" is from the Girlfriends collection by Art Impressions and is perfect for creating cards for your girlfriends! This large (5.5" wide!) stamp is cling mounted and comes to you as a set with three great sentiments, which you can see here:
... and here's the cards we've created so far with this fun image! This first card came to us as a sample from Art Impressions- it was created by a member of their design team, Soili-Maria. You can visit her blog to see what else she's up to.

Cheri created this gorgeous card- don't you love the bold colours? (I want that green couch!) Cheri & I both used papers from the Beach Babe collection by Fancy Pants on our cards.

And here's a card I (Tara) created, using just a portion of the image. This is a great way to get more variety from your stamps, as it allows you to change the look completely (and it was the only way I was going to fit more samples on this board- heehee). I was thrilled to be able to finally have a project to use this gorgeous ribbon on finally! LOVE it!

... and a close up of the girlfriends ;)
Lastly, here's a quick gift card holder created with the same patterned papers, featuring one of the sentiment stamps from the set. The coffee cup shape is a Lifestyle Crafts die.

And that's our July Stamp of the Month! You can read all about our SOTM program here. There's always room for more to join us!

Happy 60th Anniversary!

2011-07-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Mom & I worked together to create this card for my Grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary, which is coming up this week. What a huge honour to celebrate such and monumental event! I'm so lucky to have a legacy of love in my family!

We had a family gathering this past weekend to celebrate, but it was bittersweet since my Grandma is quite sick in the hospital. I'm hoping and praying that she'll recover and we will be able to have a family celebration that she is able to join us for :)

I know they're not online to read this... but Happy 60th Anniversary Grandma & Grandpa! Thanks for being such an amazing example of lasting love!

New Stamps & Sketch by Graphicat Designs!

2011-07-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

There's a new sketch challenge up at Graphicat's Sketch blog and we're all using some of Cheri's fab new TEA images! I chose to use a sentiment as the focus of my card this month- I've always loved this quote and I can't wait to get it in rubber ;)

I used photoshop to edit the digi stamp so I could print it in brown instead of black and created this card...
I didn't stray far from the sketch this month and kept it really simple to focus on the image... but I did have fun with that vertical panel of paper, which is actually the new Kraft Glassine from Tim Holtz. I embossed it with one of his embossing folders, then inked it with orange Distress Ink & I brushed Perfect Pearls over it to set it. It looks very cool IRL! Some of the pieces I added to the bottom corner were also cut from Kraft Glassine- it's fun to crumple and crinkle ;) The embellished brads are from My Mind's Eye to coordinate with the papers and the rest is flowers & pearls from the stash. Here's a close up of that cluster:
Hope you like the new sketch and love the new images! You can get them for yourself over at Graphicat Designs. Hope you'll play along with us this month!

SUMMER Challenge projects!

2011-07-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Introducing our new SUMMER Challenge at our Seriously Creative Challenge Blog! For the month of July, we're challenging you to create projects that are all about SUMMER... let this photo inspire you and have fun creating! All the details are over at the Challenge Blog today.

Here's a couple projects we've done lately... I (Tara) created this simple card featuring papers & a stamp from Basic Grey's Lauderdale collection. I've used a some circle stickers (left from our POTM class!) and added a selection of flowers & bling from our stash. I left this card without a sentiment so I can customize it for a birthday or thank you as I need it this summer!

Mom (Julie) created a fabulous 6x6 canvas to highlight a photo of my brother, Peter, fishing when he was a boy. The background paper and small fish accents are by Fancy Pants, but she's usued lots of great paints and textures here- including a Tim Holtz embossing folder, a stick & some twine (for a makeshift fishing rod) and some waves we cut on the Silhouette and then painted in various shades of blue.
Hope you like our projects and are inspired to create something summery yourself! Check out the full details and all the projects created by our Seriously Creative Design Team over at the Challenge blog!

Introducing our July 2011 SOTM!

2011-07-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

We're excited this month to be featuring a fun new stamp set from Art Impressions, "Comfy on the Couch!" This LARGE set of stamps is cling mounted and comes with three great sentiments for you to mix & match with the image!
We haven't had a chance to finish up our sample board yet, but got this gorgeous sample (which is just shy 5x7") from Art Impressions created by one of their design team members!

I'm looking forward to sharing with you what Cheri & I create with this stamp as well! Until then... Happy Canada Day! Hope you're enjoying the holiday weekend! We'll see you back in the store on Monday.

Happy Birthday Carla!

2011-06-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's our fabulous, glitter loving friend CARLA's birthday today! Actually... her birthday is tomorrow, but we thought we'd try to surprise her with a birthday blog hop a day early :) We hope your birthday is full of all things glittery and wonderful, Carla! If you're already hopping, you should have come here via the talented Eulanda... if not, just keep following & you'll end up there eventually :)

We have two cards for Carla today... from both Tara & Julie. First up is the one I (Tara) made:

I spent a lot of time contemplating what sort of image or theme I should go with for Carla's card... there are so many things she loves, it was hard to choose! But I kept coming back to this sentiment from Graphicat Designs... and I tell ya, it screamed out to me, begging to be featured on this card ;) (If it is screaming out to you, too... you'll find it is a freebie on the Graphicat Designs blog! Gotta love that!) Here's the front of my card:

... which opens up into an Easel card (hadn't done one of these for a while)! As you can see, I filled a little glass vial with some pretty Glitter Ritz glitter and I used a glue pen to apply the same glitter onto my main image, which has been layered on some glitter coated papers & embellished with glittery ribbon, a glittery brad and some glitter coated flowers! Then I added a good smattering of bling to finish it all off :)
I loved using this fabulous mirrored butterfly from my stash...

The patterned paper I used to choose my colour palette is by Pink Paislee... I adore this paper and had fun pulling out a bunch of fun embellishments for this card. Hope it brightens your day, Carla!

And here's the card Julie made:

and the inside is decked out too, but it's a surprise for Carla :) Julie used a fun Peacock stamp by Hero Arts together with Basic Grey papers, mounted on a card cut with a Grand Nestabilities die. She added assorted flowers & blingy things from our stash and adhered a Tim Holtz facets piece to paper stamped with a birthday greeting :)

Now in case I forgot to mention it... we are celebrating Carla today with a blog hop- so HOP on over and visit the amazingly talented Cheri! She'll tell you where to go from there :)

Perk Up!

2011-06-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we all need a little something to help us perk up, and the combo of Cosmo Cricket's Upcycle papers and this stamp by My Favorite Things is perfect for such a time! Isn't this a cheery card?

I think perhaps I was creating with the message I needed to hear when I made this card. I don't share a lot of personal stuff on this blog (since it's focus is the store) but I've had a rough week... I've been hit with the annual end-of-the-school year-cold (SO stuffed up!), I got laid off (no, the store is still here! My other job... the one that provided steady income for the past 9 years...), and a dear family member is sick in the hospital. Sigh. I'm so grateful for friends who have been there for me with hugs, and Starbucks and time to hang out and CREATE with me or just sit and watch movies with me! This card is going to go off to another friend who has been having a rough time lately, too... hope it brightens her day!

Here's a close up of the sentiment and embellishments- I love the Twinery twine and the cute 'doilies and butterflies' which are also from Cosmo Cricket! The little flower sequins are from Hero Arts, they've been in my stash for a while but they were fun to add!
I've used a sketch from Deconstructing Jen, which was perfect for my image & paper choices! Love it when that happens :)

A Simple Hello

2011-06-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share a simple card with you, in case you didn't make it in to create one on Thursday for our Coffee & Card drop in!

This card features Hero Arts stamps, simple stamping and fun accents like this glittery loop ribbon and chunky glass glitter by Melissa Francis. I love the simple colour combo (kraft + almost anything is a fave of mine!) and the fabulous floral images... next up, I'll have to pull out my Copics and colour them. Actually, next up will be another card I made with the extra flowers I'd stamped off- watch for it in a few days!

Canvas {Distress Stains}

2011-06-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

I realized the other day that I never did share the entire photo of my canvas from our Creative Outlets Canvas Class which featured Distress Stains! So... here it is!
This project features all things Tim Holtz- kraft resist paper, dies, stamps & embellishments... and we used Distress Stains on them all! So much fun!

Look for the next installment in this series of classes to come this summer, and let us know if you're interested in a summertime repeat of this one, I'd be happy to teach it again!

(You can see some close up shots that were posted previously here.)

Happy Birthday Chris!

2011-06-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrate a special birthday girl- our former design team member & fun loving friend, Chris! Wish you were here to share a celebratory margarita & some chocolate cake, girl... Today, I'm providing the cake... but I'm willing to bet that somewhere along this birthday blog hop you'll find a margarita, too! ;) I hope this collection of cards brightens your day and gets your birthday off to a fabulous start!
My card features a cute cake lovin' a la mode image by My Favorite Things stamped on Copic paper cut with a Tim Holtz styled label. I've used papers from BoBunny & Jillibean soup (because they must be BLUE for Chris!) and some pretty new ribbons we got in the store recently!
The card (based on the current CPS sketch #222) is pretty simple... I paper pieced the frosting on the cake, stamped a Tim Holtz flourish around the edges, added touches of Spica glitter, some blingy pins and sprayed the whole card with Perfect Pearls Mist!

Chris- I hope it brings a smile! Birthday wishes come from Mom today, too... her card will be late though, she's away having cataract surgery today!

Now... HOP on over to see what Janet has for you on her blog! Enjoy... and be sure to eat some cake today!

Hey Daddy-O!

2011-06-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

As I'm sure you know... Father's Day is coming up this weekend! Since my Dad is going to be away, I gave him his card early... which means I can share it with you early :)

I had so much fun making this card, once I finally got on with it, and I'm totally ready to keep making masculine cards now! Here's my card, featuring Danny by Kraftin' Kimmie & and his shiny bike (seriously... it sparkles with Spica pen!):

... and the inside:

... and a close up:
I went a little crazy using Tim Holtz products on this one... in fact, I think the only things that aren't by Tim are the bookplate (from my stash), the stamps (Kraftin' Kimmie) & Copics, the punch, ribbon and the chunky glass glitter!

Tim Holtz goodies I used:

Patterned Paper (not sure why I waited till now to cut into this pad!)

Film Strip Ribbon

Tissue Tape

Stick Pin

Edge Distresser

Stamps (on background paper)

I'm entering this card into a few challenges, too! My sketch is from CLP #37, Kraftin' Kimmie Challenged us to add "24 Krafty Karrots" (aka GOLD), Stamptacular Sunday is celebrating Dad's & Grads and Scrap Creations says Anything Goes and Stamp Something wants Something Punched! I love that I get to play along with challenges for my friend's DT's! this month, and it's always nice when I can join a few challenges!

p.s. if you are looking for a fab sketch to use on a project... check out the month long challenges at Graphicat Sketches & Seriously Creative Challenges! Both feature fab sketches by Cheri this month!

... and the winner is...

2011-06-14T23:54:00.001-07:00

You may remember we had a 'little things' contest on the post about our June SOTM, and we've selected one random person who commented on that post to win a Free Hero Arts stamp!

Well, I'm a day late posting, but we have a winner...

Roxy said...

Oooooh, I looooove background stamps, and this one is GOR-JEE-USS!!! I love all of the cards, but I think the typewriter one is my fave - I just really like all of the layers, distressing, the sentiment, the glossy keys, etc. etc. etc. Nice work, ladies!

Congrats, Roxy! Send us an email or talk to us next time you're in the store and we'll have a fab Hero Arts stamp for you to take home and play with :)

Happy Birthday Mother Dear (BLOG HOP TIME!)

2011-06-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday Dear Mommy...
Happy Birthday TO YOU!

Today we celebrate the lovely lady who spends her days helping you pick the perfect papers for your projects and showing you the latest fabulous arrivals in our store... my wonderful MOM, Julie! We hope she is enjoying a well deserved day off today and that this collection of cards created by Design Team members totally kicks her day off to a great start! The hop begins here and you'll see some lovely birthday cards along the way!

Feel free to leave birthday wishes for Mom here, or stop by our Facebook page when you've finished the hop to leave some love on the wall there! (I'm posting this in LARGE print so Mom can read it- she's looking forward to seeing again after her cataract surgery next week!)

Without further ado... here's the card I made for mom!

Since Mom's not seeing so well these days, I focused on colours & textures on my card! My papers are from Webster's Pages "Trendsetter" collection. I used the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die to cut this flower from paper, denim and tulle and stacked them together to make this flower, with a snap from We R Memory Keepers in the center. I added some burlap leaves from our stash (Prima?) and a butterfly (also Tim Holtz) cut from grungeboard & decked out with Distress Stains, Distress Stickles, bling and Glossy Accents. Crepe ribbon, a sentiment from Hero Arts and a mist of Kiwi Perfect Pearls Spray finish it off! Here's a close up:

The current Sweet Stop Sketch inspired the layout of my card.

Now then... you're probably ready to get hopping and see the rest of the cards! First off, you'll be hopping over to see JANET. If you get lost along the way, you can check back here for all the links!

Tara (you're here!)

Janet

Sarah

Tanya

Eulanda (always great to have a former DT member celebrating with us!)

Carla

Cheri

Our guest DT member (and Mom's sister!), Mary wants to send her birthday wishes as well, but she's away from the computer right now so couldn't participate in our hop!

June Sketch Challenge (part 2)

2011-06-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, it took me a while to get my mojo going on this card for our June challenge... but once I stopped trying to make it a Father's Day Card (must be too early LOL) and bought myself the new Tim Holtz Umbrella Man die (heehee) it all started flowing! I've used BoBunnys Timepiece collection and lots of Tim Holtz goodness (die, sentiment, embellishment, distressing tool...) on my card- I took a few liberties with the sketch, but I think you should be able to recognize it (eventually... right, Cheri?)! If you look close at the top left corner, you'll also see our June SOTM in there- it adds some great texture!

I had some fun digging through my stash for embellishments for this one... here's my little cluster, including a fabulous 'courageous' charm by Tim Holtz and some yummy crepe ribbon.
Here's a glimpse at the textures on this card- after colouring my sentiment with a Spica Glitter pen, I sprayed new "Goosebumps" by Tsukineko on the main image for a rainy texture and added Glossy Accents to the larger words. Mr. Umbrella Main was cut from grunge paper, painted with brown crackle paint and inked with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink for some extra dimension.
Hope you like my card :) Please make your way around to the rest of our fabulous Design Team and leave them some love for their fabulous creations- we'll have even more to share with you from other team members part way through the month!

Graphicat Designs June Sketch

2011-06-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

It's time for another fabulous sketch from Graphicat Designs this month... and we've got exciting news, too... Cheri has decided to start a brand new Sketch Challenge blog to host these challenges on! You can check it out HERE- and be sure to bookmark it or start following so you can play along with the fun!

I've used the June sketch together with some of Cheri's fabulous sushi images and it all came together for me once I decided to make my card with the gorgeous Gabrielle papers from BoBunny!
Apart from my image (coloured with Copics, of course!) & papers, I used Spellbinders Nestabilities & an EK punch along with some funky brass flowers & a photo corner from my stash, ribbon, twine and paper butterflies from Prima, which I blinged up in a big way :) First, I smeared some Distress Stickles on the wings (orange- I didn't check which one!) then I sprayed them with Perfect Pearls Mist- both copper & red! It added a lot of shimmery colour, which is fun! Here's some close up shots of my blingy butterflies:
and you can see the touch of glossy accents on my soy sauce in this photo, as well:
Hop on over to the new Sketch Blog and check out what the rest of the Crafty Catz have created- I'm sure you'll find inspiration there and will play along with us!

(In case you missed it- we're featuring another one of Cheri's sketches on our Creative Accents Challenge blog this month as well and we'd love to have you play along with us there!)

June Sketch Challenge (part 1)

2011-06-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Over at our Challenge Blog, we've got a fabulous SKETCH to challenge & inspire you this month, designed by our friend, customer and amazing designer, Cheri (who is also owner of Graphicat Designs- I tell ya, this girl does it all!). We can't wait to see what YOU will create with this layout!
As you may have noticed, our sketch this month also has a twist... a Masculine theme! This twist was actually a challenge for me (turns out flowers are even more attractive when you know you can't use them! LOL), but Mom, on the other hand had her mind spinning and created this fantastic layout:
As the page says.... "Mmn..." gotta love coffee! And according to my dad, who took these pics of my brother and the coffee they enjoyed on a hiking trip a couple years ago, camp coffee is extra delicious! Here's a close up of Mom's corner embellishment cluster- a tag by Maya Road, real coffee beans and a stamped coffee cup on the folded corner.
Mom's used Distress Core'dinations cardstock & paper by My Mind's Eye, as well as some masculine touches from the man, Tim Holtz- tissue tape and his tattered banner die.

Mom was so inspired by the sketch, she kept on going and made a second layout! She flipped the sketch on it's side and simplified it a bit... but here's page 2, with more coffee photos from the same trip:
Hope you like 'em and are inspired to create something of your own for our challenge this month! Hop on over to the Challenge blog to check out all the details, and take a wander around to see what the rest of the Design Team has created as well!

Check back with us... I'll be back soon to share the card I created for the challenge as well!

Creative Accents

A taste of CHA...

Off to C.H.A. (hours changing)

Page of the Month- Join us!

Kissing Booth Cards

Birthday Joy

Let it Snow!

Hero Arts Card Class

January 2012 SOTM

January 2012- SOTM peek

Holiday Cheer: Happy New Year!

Boxing Week Blowout 2011!

Merry Christmas!

More Christmas Cards inspired by 12 Tags

Hero Arts & Sizzix (Quick & Easy Christms Cards)

My 3 Tags

Christmas Deer Tag

Snowman Tag & Canvas

12 Tags of Christmas: Pinecones

12 Photos to take...

Christmas Challenge!

December SOTM

Totally Tim Christmas Card Class

Peaceful Birds

Customer Appreciation Night

Blue Christmas Cards

Graphicat Sketch: Gotta love the Gingerbread Man!

Merry! {Nov. Sketch Challenge Reminder}

Basic Grey: Picadilly Cards

Introducing our new Kitchen Corner!

Holly Jolly Christmas Card Class

November Challenge: Sketch!

Life loves the passionate

November Stamp of the Month

Nordic Holiday Cards

Happy Thoughts

Boo! (Savings for you!)

Christmas Emporium Card Class

October Challenge: ORANGE

Halloween Treats

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!

Friends in Oz

Bundle Up!

Thinking of the birthday girl...

WICKED!

October 2011 Stamp of the Month

Canadian Blog Hop! (Celebrate World Card Making Day!)

Autumn Masquerade Crop!

Basic Grey POTM cards: Indie Bloom

Graphicat Designs Grand Opening Blog Hop!

Getting Inky...

September Challenge: Easy as 1, 2, 3

It's coming...

Creative Outlets Class with Alcohol Ink

Graphicat Designs September Card

September Challenge: Easy as 1, 2, 3

September 2011 Stamp of the Month

Waterfall Sale

We're having a WATERFALL SALE this week:

The more you spend, the more you save! Spend $30 & Save $5 Spend $50 & Save $10 Spend $80 & Save $20

(max $20 discount)

Discounts valid only on Regular Priced Merchandise until Saturday, Sept. 3. Excludes Copic Markers & already discounted items.

Sneak Peek: Creative Outlets Class with Alcohol Ink

Happy Birthday Janet!

{30 Day Photo Challenge} Days 13-17

Die Cut Bundles!

Challenge: USE your stash!

Oxford: Basic Grey Cards

30 Day Photo Challenge {Days 10-12}

{30 Day Photo Challenge} Days 6-9

Life is a Journey {Canvas}

Do the Art Walk!

August Challenge: Use Your Stash!

{30 Day Photo Challenge} Days 3-5

Get Your Groove On

August Stamp of the Month

Graphicat August Sketch!

and the winner is...

August SOTM- early peek

It's TANYA's birthday!

The more you spend, the more you save!
Spend $30 & Save $5
Spend $50 & Save $10
Spend $80 & Save $20

Discounts valid only on Regular Priced Merchandise until Saturday, Sept. 3.
Excludes Copic Markers & already discounted items.