Birthday cards for challenges

I was able to get some more birthday cards done this week.  I created these two for some challenges.  First, the Annabelle Stamps Splash it On challenge.  I was lucky enough to win a couple of Annabelle's new stamps during their last release, including Splat Attack, which was perfect for this challenge.

A really simple card to create, I got out my neon inks and created a background print, I always work from lightest to darkest when stamping with neons.  An Avery Elle sentiment with a handwritten "to you", and that was that.  The great news is that I still have some of that print I created, so I'll be able to make at least one more of these.

Next, I thought that the 10 Minute Craft Dash would be a great one to start regularly participating in to create some quick birthday cards, although I confess that I probably take way more than 10 minutes to figure out what's going to actually go on the card and to lay out the supplies.

I thought my last craft dash card looked really stark as I went very CAS on it, so this time I pulled out some patterned paper and larger embellishments.  I definitely like this one better than my first try, and was doing pretty well until I decided to go a bit off-road from my plan....when I decided the oval frame needed a little something and added marker dots all around it....but I finished just in the knick of time.

Hope your weekend is going well!

Supplies Used:
Card 1
Paper/Cardstock:  CTMH - White Daisy and Black cardstock
Stamps:  Annabelle Stamps - Splat Attack; Avery Elle - Everyday Tags
Ink:  Hero Arts - Neon Yellow, Orange, Pink, Green, and Blue; Memento - Tuxedo Black
Other:  American Crafts - Black Precision Point 05 Pen; Tombow - Mono Adhesive
Card 2
Paper/Cardstock:  Pebbles - Family Ties Cards; Glitz - Uncharted Waters 8x8 pad; CTMH - White Daisy and Chocolate cardstock
Stamps:  Avery Elle - Everyday Tags
Ink:  CTMH - Honey and Twilight
Other:  Pebbles - Family Ties Chips; Twinery - Buttercream Twine; Spectrum Noir Marker - CT4; Tombow - Mono Adhesive; CTMH - Liquid Glass, Dimensional Foam Tape

I totally lied - 10 Minute Craft Dash #23

I once swore up and down that I would never ever do the 10 minute craft dash.  I was compelled to make myself a liar this week as there's a huge prize up for grabs and I couldn't resist trying.

I went for a super simple card, pulled out my supplies in advance and had a general idea of what I was going to do.

This is what I came up with:

And this is how much time was left when I was done:

In general I'm kind of meh about the card.  It's not a show stopper, and I can see lots of flaws/issues with it, but it was an interesting experiment for me.

I'm a very deliberate/trial and error crafter.  I will take hours to make one card or layout because I like to spread out, put something on, take it back off, move things around, try different color/pattern combinations to find what I like, oh and I make a TON of mistakes.  There's a whole forest out there that I had a hand in slaying because I mess up my stamping, smudge something, whatever.

Anyway, the point is, that it was good to step out of my comfort zone and to force myself to not over think.  In fact, I think this was a really good 'jump start'.  Each year Nathalie Kallbach has a series of Creative Jump Starts on her blog - to get your creative juices flowing.  I remember one year (and unfortunately I can't remember who it was, maybe Julie Balzer) one of the presenters shared that before she started really working, she would make a few tags to just get her creative juices flowing....and I think this type of challenge is perfect for that.  When I was done, I was ready to sit down and craft....unfortunately it was not to be as I actually do have to dash.  We're heading down to pick up Ellie today.  Can't wait to see her!  Mama/Carina time has been great, but I think we're both ready for some fresh blood. 

Thanks for stopping by, come back tomorrow to see my Artful Delight card for this week.

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  CTMH - White Daisy and Twilight cardstock
Stamps:  The Craft's Meow - Birthday Pun
Ink:  Hero Arts - Soft Pool and Soft Granite
Other:  MME - The Sweetest Thing enamel dots; American Crafts - Amy Tangerine chevron ribbon; Tombow - Mono Adhesive; CTMH - Craft Knife