*CASology #408*

It is with some sadness that I am here with the final challenge at CASology... after many years of wonderful clean and simple challenges, Melissa has decided it is time to retire the CASology Challenge.  I think it would be an awesome send off to have a lot of cards submitted for this final challenge... an awesome tribute to a great challenge and to a great team of inspiring CAS creators.  I sure hope you'll share your CAS card with the cue of cozy on the CASology Blog!

I chose to create my favourite type of card for this challenge...  a Christmas Card... with cozy wishes...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Lawn Fawn holographic silver

*Images:  Simon Says Stamp Warmest Wishes

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Picket Fence Studio Lydia Snowflake; Waffle Flower Additional Circles

*Challenges:  CASology #408

Thanks for so many wonderful challenges CASology!  I will miss you!

*CASology #407*

It's the first Tuesday of the month which means there is a new CASology challenge.  Our cue for this month is HAPPY!

The cue is easy for me as the majority of the cards I make are for birthdays... I pulled out some rainbow colours and an alphabet die set and created this for you!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Pacific Point, Highland Heather

*Dies:  Concord & 9th Tall Type Alpha; Hello Bluebird Happy Birthday Words; MFT Stitched Rectangles

*Tools:  Perfect Layers
*Challenges:  CASology #407

*CASology #406*

It's time for a new challenge at CASology and the cue for this month is SAND. I hope you'll check out what the rest of the design team has created and maybe even share a creation of your own!!  You'll find the CASology blog HERE

Despite loving the beach, I don't have a lot of a things that are beach themed... so I had to think about how to create something with this cue.   I decided to "sand" the raised parts off of an embossed piece... but how to make it clean and simple?  As you can see from the photo, I placed a circle in my embossing folder to create a small embossed element instead of an entire background. Foil cardstock is great for this technique because the white core of the paper shows when you sand it.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black; unknown matte silver and teal mirror

*Images:  Taylored Expressions Simple Strips

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Taylored Expressions Simple Strips, Simple Strips Backer; Waffler Flower Additional Circles

*Etc:  Taylored Expressions Graphic Impressions Birthday embossing folder

*Embellishments:  Studio Katia Pearls

*Challenges:  CASology #406

*CASology #405*

It's time for a new challenge at CASology... our cue for you for July is WINDY.

I have a funny wind story... last fall we put up some security cameras over our garage.  Since the trees have leafed this year, we often get alerts from the cameras of "motion"... the other day we had hundreds of alerts in the morning when we work up... each one of them was the leaves on the trees thanks to the wind!

I went with the birthday candle idea for my windy card...  as I approach 52 later this month I'll have to have a lot of "windiness" to get all those candles blown out!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Island Indigo

*Paper:  MFT Party Time

*Images:  Picket Fence Studio Good Vibes

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  MFT Stitched Circles; Waffle Flower Additional Circles

*Challenges:  CASology #405

*CASology #404*

It's time for a new challenge at CASology...  I hope you'll pop by the blog to see what the rest of the design team has done with the cue of RIDE.  We love to see your clean and simple creations too... share them HERE!

I almost skipped this challenge but then remembered this cute set from My Favorite Things and decided I'd give it a go.  It's not really my "style" but I'm glad I pushed myself a little.

Card Info

*Images:  MFT Farm-tastic

*Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics; Tim Holtz Distress Salty Ocean, Twisted Citron

*Dies:  Stampin' Up! Layered Ovals (to create the mask)

*Tools  Brother Scan 'n Cut

*Etc:  foam adhesive

*Challenges:  CASology #404

*CASology #403*

Happy Tuesday creative friends... I saw my surgeon yesterday and as expected, the plaster splint was removed and I now have a removable brace.  I can wear the brace when I'm up and about or if the arm/wrist is fatigued.  I have some stretches thatI've started doing that are really tough but I am told it will all get easier... I am to use my arm and wrist as tolerated for anything non-weight bearing.  I will start some physical therapy in a few weeks to help me regain motion and strength.  It will be about another 4 weeks before I start looking at a gradual return to work.

Anyway... it's time for a new challenge with CASology... our cue word for this month is "botanical"

If you've been around a while, you know I love creating with florals, so this was not a difficult challenge for me!

I love the look of a white on white layer... but I do like to step it up a bit by adding foam adhesive for some dimension.

I hope you will play along with us by sharing your creation HERE.

*CASology #402*

I'm back with the design team at CASology for our April challenge.  There are a lot of wonderful cards by the design team to see, so I hope you'll head to the blog to see them!  We'd love to see what you create as well!  Share your creations with us HERE!

When I saw the cue card for this challenge, my mind automatically went to animals....  but honestly, I've made a lot of cards with animals on them in the last little bit and I was a little tired of them.  So I had to put on my thinking cap and find something else that could be fluffy.  The hard part was finding something else that is fluffy that I have in my stash!  I almost gave up... but then I thought about this cloud stencil I bought a while back...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  unknown blue sparkle

*Images:  Pink Fresh Studio Happy Birthday Sentiments

*Ink:  Catherine Pooler Oh Boy; Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Lawn Fawn Party Balloons

*Stencils:  Lawn Fawn Slimline Clouds

*Challenges:  CASology #402

*CASology #401*

It's time for a new challenge at CASology... we want to see your cards that feature hats!

It's too late in the season for me to think about winter hats (or toques as we call them here in Canada), so I went for a gnome with a fabulous hat!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Wisteria Wonder

*Images:  Photoplay Norberts Birthday Party; Studio Katia Birthday Greetins

*Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Versafine Clair Nocture; Copics

*Dies:  Photoplay Norberts Birthday Party; Stampin' Up! Banners

*Embellishments:  Sprinkled Sugar Stickles

*Challenges:  CASology #401

*CASology #400*

It's the first Tuesday of February (how on earth did that happen??!!??) which means it's time for a new clean and simple challenge at CASology!  Our cue for this month is "affection".

I honestly don't make a lot of "love you" type cards... cuz I don't send them LOL.  Not that I don't have people in my life that I love, but that I just don't give them.  With design team work, I need to push myself to make cards that I wouldn't normally make... I like how this card turned out... kinda fun!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Real Red; gold mirror

*Pattern Paper:  Stampin' Up! Pampered Pets

*Images:  Gerda Steiner Dachshunds

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Hero Arts Infinity Hearts

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  CASology #400

I hope you'll play along with us this month!  Just upload your card HERE for your chance to be chosen as a guest designer in an upcoming challenge!

*CASology #399*

It feels like everything is about renewal and new-ness in January.... and card challenges are no different!  As you can see, the CASology challenge for January is "renew". 

I struggled with this prompt, not sure what I wanted to do.... but then I thought about old friends and friendships that are harder to maintain because of distance... and I decided to make a card to say hello to an old and awesome friend.  I used Post It tape to section off only a part of a larger sentiment stamp to suit my needs.  The key to this is to *remember* to take off the Post It tape after inking, before stamping LOL!

Items Used

*Paper:  MFT Over The Rainbow Brights

*Stamps:  MFT Sassy Pants Best friends

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Stampin' Up! Playful Alphabet

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

I hope you'll play along with us this month!  Share your clean and simple card HERE for your chance to be chosen as a guest designer in an upcoming challenge!

*CASology #398*

It's time for the last challenge of 2021 with the design team at CASology.  We are so thankful that you have joined us this year and we hope to continue to inspire you to play along with us in 2022!  

As you can see from the prompt card below, our cue word is "above".

My first thought was an angel, but I don't have any angel stamps... so I went with a simple star instead.  To add some interest, I cut the star in two different sizes and layered them with foam adhesive.

To add a little something more to the card, I added a simple 1/16" mat behind my front panel using my Perfect Layers Tool and some gold glitter paper.  Rather than wasting all that glitter paper behind the panel, I used a rectangle die to cut out the the centre of a piece of paper that was already slightly larger than I'd need it.

I really hope you'll play along with us by linking up your creation HERE

Items Used

• Cardstock:  unknown gold glitter
• Images:  Simon Says Stamp Clean Line Christmas
• Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne
• Dies:  Simon Says Stamp Clean Line Christmas; We R Memory Keepers Stars
• Tools:  Perfect Layers
• Challenge:  CASology #398

*CASology #397*

Hello clean and simple card friends... it's time for a new challenge with CASology... this month our card theme is TYPE.  Congratulations to Claire who was chosen as our guest designer for this challenge.  I hope you'll play along and share your clean and simple creation HERE for your chance to be chosen as a guest designer for an upcoming challenge.

I wasn't honestly sure what to do at first .... but then I thought, any card that used letters as the focal point would be following the cue.... so here we are!

Items Used:

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Shaded Spruce, Cherry Cobbler

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Wrapped in Plaid

*Dies:  Lawn Fawn Oliver's Stitched Alphabet; Concord & 9th Iconic Christmas

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Etc:  white gel pen

CASology#396*

Welcome to the October challenge with CASology.... this month we are looking for your take on the cue word of "view"... remember to keep the creations you submit clean and simple so that you have a chance to be chosen as a guest designer in an upcoming challenge!

Our guest designer this month is Asa... please be sure to visit her blog and leave her a comment!

Once again I had a few ideas in my head and it took a while for me to choose the one I wanted to play with.  But then it got hard!  Do you remember the Viewmaster toy from "back in the day"?  I loved that thing and could look at those reels for hours!  I found a cut file for my Silhouette and started to play...

I didn't have the sentiment I wanted.... so I typed in the words on my computer and played with fonts and sizes for a bit before printing it off and cutting it out.  My printer doesn't do too well with my favourite cardstock so I printed it on paper and then adhered it to a piece of cardstock for stability.

Items Used

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Real Red

*Dies:  Waffle Flower  Additional Circles; Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banners

*Tools:  Silhouette

*Etc:  foam adhesive

*CASology #395*

In previous years, CASology has spent the summer with monthly challenges and then gone back to every two weeks in the fall.... however this year, we are sticking with the monthly challenge.  We hope that this gives you more time to come up with some ideas to play along with us.  Be sure to share your cards following the cue card below HERE!

I had a lot of ideas in my head...  but I settled on this fun stamp by My Favorite Things to tie in with the ONE theme...

Items Used:

*Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Smoky Slated; unknown glitter cardstock

*Images:  MFT Anything But Basic Birthday Wishes

*Dies:  Lawn Fawn Party Balloons, Everyday Sentiment Banners

*Etc:  foam adhesive

*CASology #394*

Welcome to a Tuesday that feels like a Monday thanks to a Provincial Holiday yesterday.  Although with my job, I work Wednesday thru Saturday every week so holiday Mondays don't usually affect how I feel about a week.  For some reason, I felt like yesterday was Sunday instead of Monday and now I'm all messed up LOL

It's time for the monthly clean and simple challenge at CASology... for the next month we want to see your clean and simple cards following the cue of MASK.  You can interpret this any way you want, which is what I love about this challenge.   Please head over to the CASology blog to see what the rest of the design team has come up with.

I masked off a rectangle in the centre of my card and stamped some colourful floral images around it (masking off some of the flowers and leaves as well).  I honestly wasn't sure how I felt about the panel until I stepped away from it for a bit... and now I really love how the colours just POP on the card.

Items Used

*Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb

*Images:  Altenew Henneh Elements; Gina K Crazy Daisy

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne, Verdant, Summertime, Glamourous

*Dies:  Waffle Flower A2 rectangle dies
*Etc:  foam adhesive

Now it's your turn!  Share your creations with us HERE for your chance to be chosen as a guest designer in an upcoming challenge. 

*CASololgy #393*

The team at CASology is back with a month long clean and simple challenge that we hope you'll play along with!  Simply post your cards following the cue in the graphic below HERE for your chance to be chosen as a guest designer for an upcoming challenge!

I had a few ideas drifting through my head for this challenge but ultimately, I had to go with this fun dachshund image.  We have a little doxxie cross named Watson and this stamp totally makes me think of him.  He loves to run and play when we head to the off leash dog park.

I learned something with this card....  I stamped the doggie and ball in Versafine Clair ink as it is my go to ink and then realized I should have stamped with something else since I wanted to colour it with my Copics.  I decided to try my Copics and it worked!  I let the image dry for a few minutes and there was just a hint of bleeding when I coloured the ball, but otherwise it worked great!  I am so happy since I LOVE the crisp image I get from the Versafine Clair!

I wanted to add some grass or shadow under his cute little belly but I was afraid I'd ruin the card... so I left him floating in air instead LOL

Items Used:

*Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Images:  Gerda Steiner Dachshund

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Copics

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

Now it's your turn!  Show us how you used the word PARK to create your clean and simple card by sharing it HERE (and be sure to visit the other design team blogs to leave them some love!!)

*CASology #392*

Welcome to challenge #392 with CASology!  We are a group of clean and simple loving card makers who not only love to share what we create but also see what others want to share with us!  With every challenge, we encourage you to play along and share your creations with us for your chance to be a guest designer in an upcoming challenge!

So get out your card making supplies and start creating your clean and simple card using the cue of STRENGTH!  Don't forget to share it with us HERE!

I came up with my main idea for the card and then went through several sentiments to make my card "strength"...  this wasn't the perfect shape and fit, but it was the perfect words...

Items Used

*Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb

*Patterned Paper:  Stampin' Up! Pattern Party

*Images:  Altenew Bouquet of Love, Sincere Greetings

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Embellishments:  Studio Katia Arctic Breeze Pearls

*Tools:  Misti

*CASology #391*

The team at CASology is playing again!  For this challenge, we are looking for clean and simple cards using the theme of "photo".  Be sure to check out the CASology Blog to see how each member of the design team interpreted the prompt!  I know I love seeing how each person on a design teams takes the theme or prompt or cue and makes it their own!

I have this awesome stamp set from My Favorite Things that I decided to use...  the images make me think of having some fun in a photo booth with my friends!  I stamped on a piece and cut it out after colouring it with Copics.  I cut a panel with a stitched frame die and put it on my card front with foam tape and then set the coloured image on the card front to ensure perfect placement.

Items Used:

*Cardstock:  Hammermill Premium Color Copy Cover 100lb

*Images:  My Favorite Things Picture Perfect

*Ink:  Gina K Amalgam; Copics

*Dies:  My Favorite Things Selfie Square

*Etc:  foam tape

*CASology #390*

Welcome to another clean and simple challenge with the team at CASology!

I faced a little trouble with this cue card because I had an idea in my head but I wasn't sure it was going to work.  So, instead of playing and figuring it out, I tried to talk myself in to other ideas.  It was Sunday morning when I realized I had procrastinated more than long enough so I sat down and tried it....  and while you might not get the "outside" feeling from this card, let me explain....

I coloured "outside the box"....

I started out by cutting out the shadow die that goes behind this word stamp... I put some Pixie Spray on it to keep it in place on my front panel and used some Tim Holtz inks in a streaking motion from the inside of the die to the outside, leaving a streaky look on the cardstock.  I then stamped the word smile in the centre of the shadow die and then added the rest of the sentiment.  I put it all together with some foam tape.

I hope I didn't stray too far from the cue...

Items Used
*Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb

*Images:  unknown and My Favorite Things All Smiles

*Dies:  unknown

*Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Twisted Citron, Shaded Lilac and Picked Raspberry; Versafine Clair Nocturne

Be sure to head to the CASology blog to see what the rest of the design team created for this challenge... and link up your creation for your chance to be a guest designer in an upcoming challenge!  Also be sure to check out the card our current guest designer, Cecile, created.... and leave a little love for her on her blog!

*CASology #388*

Hello!  And welcome to another clean and simple challenge with the team at CASology!  For the next two weeks, we want to see your creations that embrace the cue word of "hello".  The best part of these CASology challenges is that it doesn't matter how *you* interpret the cue....  in fact, we love to see it when people think outside the box!  You have just shy of two weeks to link up your creations for a chance to be a guest designer in an upcoming challenge!  Just go HERE to link up your card!

Our Guest Designer for challenge #388 is the creative Asa.... I love her style!  Please pop by her blog and show her some love!

I did not think outside the box for this card.... the photo isn't great as the word "hello" is really lost on the patterned paper I chose.  It is more obvious in person.  I was going for a summery happy vibe with this card...

Items Used

*Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb

*Patterned Paper:  Catherine Pooler

*Dies:  Picket Fence Studios Hello Word Die; My Favorite Things Stitched Rectangle

*Embellishments:  Studio Katia Centra Park Fusion, Tiny Iridescent Bubbles

*Etc:  foam adhesive

  

Head on over the the CASology blog for more inspiration from the wonderful design team... maybe even take a few minutes to visit each of their blogs and leave them a little love!  And don't forget to share your clean and simple "hello" cards for your chance to be a guest designer in an upcoming challenge!