PaperCrafting

JANUARY CCC Christmas Card Challenge & Goal Report

January 25, 2023January 25, 2023Erika L Hayes5 Comments

Well, as the end of January makes its way toward us, I wanted to share the first 10 of the 120 Christmas Cards for 2023. I put the main product used for each card in the caption. If you see something and want to know what it is, just shoot me an email and I can most likely give you the product name or where I picked it up. I keep pretty good notes in my Color My Life App.

JAN 2023 – MFT Stamps
JAN 23 – Simon Says Stamps
JAN 2023 – Stampin’ Up!
JAN 2023 Simon Says Stamps
2023 – My Favorite Things Stamps
JAN 2023 Cathy Z with Simon Says Stamps
2023 – Pink & Main
JAN 2023 – Spellbinders
JAN 2023 – Stampin’ Up!
JAN 2023 – CC Designs with Silhouette Cameo 4

I hope that you find some kind of inspiration from these cards, and know I am excited to show what’s in the mix for February. It’s kinda fun to know you can get out your Christmas goodies and play all year long. I have a lot of great ideas and am really excited to use some of the products I got this year more than just for a month!

Some other fun cards that went out this month include some birthday and and a few anniversaries. Of course some of my encouragement cards are going out tomorrow or the next day.

I completed a class from Sandy Allnock. The pen & ink class I started and didn’t finish is now done! Upcoming classes I am signed up for include, The Altenew/Spellbinders class in February and in March the Concord & 9th class. I am very excited for both of these classes. I have also several classes I have in the wings.

Some of the stuff I learned in Sandy’s class was amazing. I don’t want to share the techniques as it wouldn’t be fair to give away her content. I can tell you she has a way of teaching that is fun. You don’t really feel like you can do it wrong, or that you aren’t good enough. She really did give some great ideas and I enjoyed the class a lot! If you are interested, you can follow this link to the class I took. (It is NOT an affiliate link, I get nothing for sharing this class). As of the timing of this post, the class is at a discounted price so….check it out!

Feburary has some fun stuff I’ve made for Valentine’s day I will not share just yet.

Happy Thanksgiving

November 23, 2022November 23, 2022Erika L Hayes1 Comment

A day of thanksgiving. What are you thankful for?

I am thankful for my God, my family, my church and my friends. Today however on the eve of a traditional holiday for us in America I’d like to give thanks for something more.

The indigenous people of this land. Had it not been for them, there would be no celebration.

While the settlers came, the peoples that were already living in what we call the Americas were kind to help the new arrivals. They brought a peace that later would be exploited, but for a moment it was how it should be. It was kindness and thanksgiving, it was people living in harmony. It was how it should be.

This year along with a celebration of thanksgiving for all the blessings God has bestowed, I give thanks for the kindness, generosity, and blessings of that time. When we were harmonious, not seeking to tear each other apart with right and wrong. A moment in time when it was about people.

I am a first-generation offspring of an immigrant, I am thankful that my father was welcomed into this country. He was given the opportunity and was able to find and make it our home.

This year, as you sit and enjoy your family and some yummy food, remember that people that gave up so much so we could be a part of their land. Try to extend that thanksgiving the first settlers had toward those that aided them in an uncertain time. Extend your kindness to those living in uncertainty. Give more than you get and love each other.

May God bring you special blessings over the next year and try and live a life of ThanksLiving for all the people and seek harmony in all you do.

Have a good day of family and friends. IF you are local and don’t have someone to spend this time with or are just hungry and need a place to go, please consider our church, Desert Christian Fellowship. We have a Thanksgiving meal where all are welcome. If you need more information, please click here for location information.

Many blessings on you friends.

Erika Lee

100% Chance of fun

November 18, 2022November 18, 2022Erika L Hayes1 Comment

GOOD NEWS! I finally have my new computer! This is good news because I get to start playing with my videos. I am still learning the software and pray for your consideration while I learn and improve. Now onto our card for today!

I take a lot of classes. I love learning about my different mediums. One of the things about card making is I get these little canvases to try my newly aquired skills! This card is a combination of many of my classes and playing.

The background of this card has been built using several sets. I enjoy the masking and adding many different elements to create the one of a kind look. I loved this Whimsy Stamp set I ordered from Simon Says Stamps. Gnome Get Well (click image below to find it).

I also used Cathy Z Design for Simon Says Stamps and it was the actual inspiration. The 100% chance is what triggered my rainy day feel. Living in a state that sees very little rain, any chance to enjoy it (even if I am only creating it on a canvas) is a must!

I hope you like this card and get a little inspiration.

I really did enjoy making the rainy-day look. I hope to make a video with this technique for you very soon. Let me know if that is something you would be interested in seeing.

Have a wonderful day! I’ll be back soon!

Color Play and a Happy Hello!

September 30, 2022September 30, 2022Erika L Hayes1 Comment

with an Ode to Sarah Renae Clark

To begin, with a “hello”! Today I am exploring some color fun with My Favorite Things & Sarah Renae Clark. (Seriously, I don’t work for MTF, I just love the product and the business practices of this company!) Now, I want to share with you about a product.

It is important to me that you know, it is a product I purchased, and I do not gain anything from sharing about it but the knowledge that I have passed on 1. a great product to like-minded peeps, 2. supported an artist! 3. a bit of fun

I am drawn to bright colors in pure forms (ROYGBIV) under many circumstances. I do, however, love all colors and recently I noticed my cards had been drawn to pure colors again and I stopped adventuring a bit into other color tones. I do love me some pastels, but they are not a go-to. Have you ever been like that? Well, with the release of the “color cube”(more on that in a minute) I was reminded to play more in the colors tones I love but aren’t my go-to colors. It’s a great way to get your mojo in a good mood. It’s all play. Play is important to creators. Mojo needs new ideas and new play often. Sometimes I forget about all the resources I have.

What is a color cube you speak of? First let me tell you about The Color Catalog. There is an artist I follow mostly because she is as silly about color as I am. I just love her. She is an Aussie and one day I really hope we meet for a coloring jam. She is remarkable and I recommend if you would like to learn a lot follow her on YouTube HERE.

She spent thousands of hours I am sure, creating a tool for people that like to color (adult coloring books and cards and what I would call fine artists) called the Color Catalog. When I purchased this product, it was for the color palettes as much as the conversions to Copic and various color pencils I owned. Let me tell you if you are stuck this is a remarkable tool to get you going! She even made a keyword search so if you are not sure what colors you want but you maybe know it’s a summer color you are going for you can find a color pallet that is keen for summer. ALSO, if you know you are using a say soft pink you can search by COLOR she really put a lot of thought into this product. I like the detail I like the detail!

Picture from sarahrenaeclark.com click for more information

I did use the Color Catalog to make the card from the Tall Hello Card I made with My Favorite Things Tall Hello Die and the Stitched Blooms.

She has now created a sibling to the Color Catalog. It is called the Color Cube (Vol 1 & Vol 2) I purchased them in a pre-order and don’t have my hands on them yet. but You can return here soon to see the review of what I think is to become a staple on my desk. As of this post, there is a special pre-order price which I think is going through October. So, if you are crazy about coloring like I am check it out.

Hopefully, you can give Sarah Renae a peek and see what great things she is up to. DO yourself a favor and follow her on YouTube she puts out EXCELLENT content for artists!

Enjoy your weekend! It is World Card Making Day tomorrow so you know I will be back with more fun soon.

Keep Creating!

MFT Color challenge

March 6, 2021March 6, 2021Erika L Hayes1 Comment

You may not know this but one of my favorite stamp companies, MFT stamps, is updating and adding new colors to thier line up.

The new colors are fantastic! Fire Coral, Butterscotch, Candied Yam, Caribbean Blue and Riffle Tower. I have been enjoying them as well as the revamp of some of my favorite classics Sour Apple, Field Day, Limelight, Field Day and Milk Chocolate.

This week’s color challenge included most of the new colors. The 161st challenge was to use Fire Coral, Butterscotch, Caribbean Blue, and Eiffle Tower.

I had a great time playing with the new and came up with this. Fun colors and this super cute image from Fast Track Friends came together and made this card.