Eight

Today's blog is brought to you by the number 8 and CAS-ual Fridays blog challenge to create with 8.
I feel like I'm back on Sesame Street!LOL!

And like Sesame Street, you don't just get the number 8 once but multiple times so you won't forget it!
The 8 butterflies are Hero Arts. Happy day has 8 letters. And 8 purple sequins are scattered among the swirls at the top of the card.
I hope you enjoyed our presentation today of the number 8.

Gift Bag

Straying from my normal card making for Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week. I wanted a special gift bag for a hostess gift.

I think this sketch worked very well for the bag decor.

The DP is from SU. Green from my scrap file. 2 flourishes are cut with Tim Holtz die. Flower is from SU Mixed Bunch set, stamped in Cherry Cobbler and punched out, then popped up with deminsional Sequins glued in the center make it sparkle. The tag is 2x4 folded in half. The little flower is also from Mixed Bunch. I made a bow with SU's Cherry Cobbler tulle ribbon and tied it on with Cherry Cobbler seam binding.
I will not write on this tag so my friend can reuse the bag, thus the bag is part of the gift. I think it can be either Christmasy or any occasion I'm all for recycling. This bag is actually recycled. It came from a gift shop and had the name stamped on it. The DP covers that name. 

Thinking of You Today

And thanking Mojo Monday sketch for getting my creative juices flowing this morning.

The DP is from SU. The "weeds" from Inkadinkadoo stamped in Tim Holtz Distress Tea Dye. Sentiment from PTI. Butterfly cut with Sizzlet and Big Shot. The lace was retrieved from my scrap bin, fastened with a safety pin--Got that cute idea from  Megan Daves
Here is the Mojo sketch:

CAS Sketch

A sympathy card for this week's sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch

Card base and black chevron DP and sentiment from SU. The chevron is from a Halloween paper. I'm always glad to find new used for it. I used a Stampabilities label die with a punched oval over it. The flowers are done in black StazOn stamped off once to get a softer effect. Then a little butterfly from a Sizzix Sizzlet adds a little touch of color..
This is the sketch I followed:

get well

This is a fun get well to bring a smile to anyone who is under the weather.

When you need a quick, easy card, try this one. Those are real bandaids stamped with bugs. The sentiment is Lawn Fawn but you could easily write your own,
This is for the sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches

Thanks

I read a research report on the brain and creativity. The researcher found a higher percentage of creativity in people with bipolar and other mental disorders than in the general population. Huh?
I am not bipolar but I do know spending time on creative projects certainly helps keep my sanity. How about you?
Therefore, today for all the inspiring creative ideas on all the great blogs, I say

And especially for Tuesday Throwdown challenge of "grateful" and  Tuesday Morning Sketches

I think my card has that old Hollywood glam style. The cardstock, DP, and sentiment are from SU and the glitter paper from Michael's.
This week at Simon Says Stamp Blog is also a Thanks theme so I will link up there too.

Bamboo Set

Honestly when I first saw the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches I thought it looked incomplete. But after looking at the DT creations, I decided it was a really creative design so I should give it a try. Here is their sketch:
 
I found this pretty bamboo paper in my file. I think I had bought it for a scrapbook of a tropical island trip we took but never used it. It is from Paper Studio. I have been working on a gift set for a few days with this paper and didn't yet have the "thank you" so went with that for the sketch.

The flower is from SU done in Melon Mambo and fussy cut. The stripes are from SU's Gorgeous Grunge. and the sentiment is from Inkadinkadoo. And because thank yous are really special, I added a big sparkly rhinestone as the flower center. And now that the card is done, I'm really loving the sketch.
Here are the other cards in the set.

Now I just need to design a gift bag to hold them.

Tuesday Get Well

Today is my Tuesday Two-fer: Tuesday Throwdown challenge to "tag it" and   Tuesday Morning Sketches

I used Cuttlebug dots IP on white cardstock then  placed a tag of DCWV stack DP as the center element on my card with a SU punched oval with Get Well Soon by The Angel Company.

The green swirl is a Tim Holtz die. The pink flower is a Sizzix die. I cut between each petal so they would have some dimension. The flower center is a dahlia button from SU. I tried 3 of these flowers but it was too crowded so I opted for just one. For the staple elements on the sketch, I cut some of the sparkly strip from the DP and glued in place. 

CAS embossing

CAS-ual Fridays challenge is embossing--dry or heat. I used Kraft cardstock--CAS doesn't always have to be white does it? Embossed with SU hexagon IP. A strip of burlap ribbon. Dark orange banner and SU hexagon punch and sentiment.

A pretty quick and easy card.

Speed Limit

While blog surfing this morning, I found a new sketch challenge at Reverse Confetti I am always looking for new inspiration so glad to find this one.

These DPs are all from SU and my scrap file. I like their double sided papers because they can be used for multiple occasions. The black chevrons are the reverse of a Halloween paper and the red diagonals are from Christmas collection. I found the sentiment at a trade show. It is by Morning Star Stamps. And the little car is Inkadindadoo colored with colored pencils and star gel pens. Under the sentiment I used a diagonal IP and smudged it with black to look like a road.
Here is the sketch from Reverse Confetti: