Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are a couple cards I made when I was playing with my stamps the other day.  I missed the cut off for Operation Write Home this year, so I'll save them for next year's box.

I think the Stickles heart adds just the right touch to this one.  What do you think?

Gotta love the background stamp that I pulled out of the garage sale box.  I just couldn't part with it!

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI Signature Greetings, Simple Sentiments, and Heart Prints, SU Looks Like Spring
Paper - PTI white
Ink - Memento
Accessories - Stickles

Hope your day is filled with love.

K

Thumped Fall Leaves

For this card, I used a layout that I cased from Susan (aka LateBlossom).  Here is her original card.  I changed it up a little with the placement of the stamps and sentiment, and I used different colored inks on my leaves.

Thumping is a great way to give leaves a changing colors/fall look. To do this, I first inked them with the lightest color ink, then thumped them with different colored markers, using different color combinations for each leaf.

If you are looking for a great but often forgotten technique to try, get out your markers and start thumping away!

Supplies used;

Stamps - PTI Leaf Prints, Hero Arts Classic Messages

Paper - PTI

Ink - Memento Pear Tart, Rhubarb Stalk 

Accessories - Various Memento markers

Hope you're able to enjoy the fall weather this weekend!

K

OLW and Three Little Pigs

I don't even want to think how long it's been since I've played along with One Layer Wednesday.  I just know that it has been way too long!

I was just going to post my 3 pig cards, but after a long night battling insomnia, I came down to my craft room and saw that the OLW challenge had been posted.  So I made a card for it and took pictures of all my cards to post.

Here is my card for OLW 82 this week...to use a swirl on your card.

Is it ok that I have 118 swirls?  I drew the individual swirls  because it would have taken way too long to mask off the stamp for each one.  I'm lazy like that.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Inkadinkado swirls and Stampabilities sentiment
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento Rose Bud, Tangelo, Pear Tart, Bahama Blue, Lilac Posies, Tuxedo black
Accessories - matching markers


And here are my pig cards.  I'm not quite sure why I made three pig cards, I guess I'm just trying to use up some of my stamps I've had forever.  :-)

Stinkin' cute!

This bacon looks like it got fried in the sun!

My favorite.  Love this little guy!

The first two pig cards use images and sentiments by Hambo Stamps, and are colored with Copics.  The third card has image by SU! and sentiment by Hambo.

And that's not all!  I have more cards to post, but they will just have to wait.

Happy Wednesday!

K

Okay, Better, Best

I got the itch to stamp last night.

Funny what touching all of your stash does to your creativity.

This one turned out just okay for me.  The colors didn't blend very well, and the shading is very uneven.  (I'm allowed to be critical because the other two turned out much better.)

Much better.  I like the colors on this one.

The best!  I love the rich colors, and I think the smaller linear sentiment is perfect for the layout of the flowers.  The sentiments compete with the flowers on the other two.

I will be back with even more cards.  Could this mean I am back to stamping?

Supplies Used:
Stamps - SU Button Buddies, PTI Signature Greetings, Everyday Button Bits
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento Angel Pink/Rose Bud/Dandelion; Cantaloupe/Tangelo/SU Choc chip; Lilac Posies/Grape Jelly/Dandelion


Hope you are having a crafty weekend!

K

Faux Washi Tape

After reading some discussions on faux washi tape, I thought I'd give it a try.  I haven't jumped on the washi tape bandwagon; given my completion tendencies, I refuse to go there.  So faux it will have to be!

I used paper tape from the dollar store.  It took a few tries to get it torn the way I wanted it.  Funny how it never tears straight when I go to put it on a patient's dressing at work, but that is all I could get it to do when I was trying to tear my drifts of snow.

Nichole posted a very cute snowman card and tag set that I styled my card after.  I loved the simple snowman stamp she used, but didn't have any similar to it, so what else was I to do but make my own!  I punched out a circle and two different ovals, taped them together and traced around them on my card.  Then I added his face, buttons, and mittens.  So fun!  I also made my own polka dot stamps a long time ago by punching out a piece of scrap rubber with both size punches from my Crop-a-dile, and glued each 'dot' to opposite ends of a chopstick.  *patting self on back*

Isn't he cute as a button?  Haha!  Get it?

I think it's past time for me to go to bed!

Supplies used:
Stamps - Hero Arts holiday sayings, home made polka dot stamp
Paper - Pool Party
Ink - white craft, Memento black
Accessories - 3/4" circle, large oval and wide oval punches, paper tape, markers, baker's twine, button, dauber

K

More Cards!

I loved all the fab modern-style cards I saw when PTI first released their Modern Basics stamp set.  So I bought it.  And it has been sitting, uninked, in my New Stamp Basket ever since.  I could never come up with something other than a CASE, and wanted to design something on my own.  When the stamping bug bit me a couple days ago, I gave it a little more thought.  But not much thought as you can see by the card I made with it...

Yea.  Pretty simple.  And pretty plain.  But the colors are pretty, aren't they?  This stamp was a lot easier to line up without a SAMJ than I thought it would be.  It is very forgiving.

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI Modern Basics, SU Birthday Greetings (retired)
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - tempting turquoise, Memento pear tart
Accessories - SAMJ (I didn't trust myself to get the sentiment straight and centered!)

Since I was digging around in my New Stamp Basket, I pulled out some other stamps that I bought many moons ago.  I got them at the $1 section at Joann's.  These cards got me excited about stamping again.  They are CAS at its finest.

I love this turtle.  It totally reminds me of turtles I've seen while scuba diving.  There is definitely something magical about swimming around with these magnificent creatures.  The sentiment is perfect for a turtle because if you ever see one when you are in the water, it will look at you as if to say "How are things?", but before you get a chance to answer, it has already swum away.

Yes, this one is a little cliche, but I couldn't resist.  The inside says "I was a crab".  I may have to make another one and give them to my kids when they go back to school.  Something about the incessant bickering, whining, and attempts at manipulation tells me I will be crabby until then.  (Bad Mom!)

I punched an oval out of a sticky note and used it as a mask for the sand that was made with the Speckled jumbo wheel.  Isn't the sentiment cute tucked in between his (her) claw?

This one is my favorite even though it is stamped a little too high on the card.  The hand drawn bubbles were an afterthought, but they are so small I don't think it makes it too off balance.

Did you notice all my sea creature sentiments were in gray instead of black?  I really like the look of gray for a sentiment, especially when the image is stamped with lighter colors.  It gets the point across, but doesn't yell it at you like black would.   In the crab's case, though, I could have used black!

Supplies used:
Stamps - Inkadinkado Summer assortment minis
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Rididng Hood Red, Kraft, Memento pear tart, tangelo, and london fog
Accessories - Speckled jumbo wheel, lg oval punch, sticky note for mask, London fog marker

I have lots of stamping ideas swimming around (no pun intended) in my head.  Lets just hope I can get them onto paper!

K

Catching Up on Challenges

I really missed participating in some of the challenges out there, so I got caught up with some of them today.

My first card is for this week's CAS107 challenge to create your own background.  I sponged mine, and used a stamp out of my new stamp basket.  Woohoo!

I tried spritzing the background with water to get a watercolor effect, but it didn't work and just ended up warping my card.  It isn't bad now that it has completely dried.  Maybe I needed more ink to get the effect I was after.  ??

I off-set the sentiment to the left to balance the image placement on the right.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts Leaf  Cluster and sentiment
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - various Memento dew drops for sponging and the image
Accessories - Nestabilities circle (to make mask for sponging), sponge, SAMJ

Next is a card for the Less is More week 3 theme challenge where the theme is spring.  Spring makes me think of planting pots of flowers, so that's what I made on my card.

Last year, I bought all new planters for our patio, and they were all blue.  I love how the blue makes the flowers seem so much brighter, so I colored my flower pot blue.

Supplies:
Stamps - Blooming with Love
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Copic markers, Star Dust Stickles for flower centers

And my last challenge card for now, this time for OLW42 hosted by Jennifer Styles.  The theme is music.

Another (lame) attempt at a collage card, but I guess it's ok.  My practice scraps were much worse!  I off-
stamped the gray once so it wasn't so dark.

Supplies:
Stamps - Extreme Elements, Extreme Guitar, Hampton Art sentiment
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento Rhubarb Stalk, Paris Dusk, London Fog

I'm glad there are so many challenges to choose from.  They help keep my mojo flowing!

K

A Very Large Flower and a Prize

Here is a card I made for the Less is More week 2 challenge.  This time it was to use trees or flowers for the theme on a one layer card.

I stamped the flower in eggplant, then used my aquapainter to pull the color from the image to color the flower.  It was hard to do on regular cardstock for such a large image, and I think using watercolor paper would have been a better option.  I'll make a note of that for the next time I want to try this technique.

It's amazing what a little bling will do to 'make' a card.  All the flower needed was just a touch of Stickles.  Coloring the entire center of the flower would have been too much, but just a little bit gave it just what it needed.

I even managed to use two of my new stamps, so they won't be living in my new basket anymore. Yippee!

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts large flower, PTI Simple Sentiments
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Elegant Eggplant
Accessories - Daffodil marker, aquapainter, Stickles


Our basement is almost entirely cleaned out now.  I still have a few odds and ends to get packed up, and the crew will be here first thing in the morning. 

I have a question for you.  What color would you paint a basement?  Our entire house is Shaker Beige with the exception of the bedrooms, and I don't think I want to do the same color in the basement.  I want more color, but nothing green.  Tell me what you think, and I may just have a prize for you if I use what you suggest!

Toodles,

K

OLW38 A Sketch

I made two cards today for the One Layer Wednesday challenge hosted by Jennifer Styles this week.  Although they are both one layer cards, one of them was much more involved than the other.  This will show you the extreme looks you can create on a one layer card.

I have been making a lot of warm, sun and beach themed cards lately, and this one is no exception.

I sponged the sand and water, and used a brayer for the sky.  I took Michelle Zindorf's brayer classes a little over a year ago, and love to play around with her technique.  As you can see, you can create very elaborate cards with just one layer.

Supplies:
Stamps - All Night Media, Short & Sweet
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Crumb Cake, Cool Caribbean, Turquoise, Pacific Point, Summer Sun, Pixie Pink, Orchid, Espresso
Accessories - Post-it notes for masking, circle punch, Copic markers, brayer, sponges, white gel pen

This card is much more simple, but still packs a punch.

The bird cage and stand are embossed to make it look like wrought iron.  The triangulation of red in the three image areas pulls the whole card together.

The large bird cage image in this set doesn't have a perch for the birds to sit on, so I drew one with a black marker before I stamped the bird cage.

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Love Birds
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Riding Hood Red, Versamark, Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - clear EP, heat tool, quilting ruler, SAMJ

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you're having a great week!

K

Christmas in January (No, I'm not kidding!)

I have some cards made that I could have posted today, but I ended up going through a box of random stamps that I had purchased as a lot on e-bay a couple years ago and made a couple new cards.  Every once in a while I find something in there I want to keep, and since my 'style' is still evolving, stamps I would never think of using become just what I was looking for.  My purchase gets more valuable every time I go through that box!

I came across the complete set of SU's Holiday Blocks that has been retired for a while now, and I managed to use every image on these two cards.

I really like the purposeful random placement of the squares on this one.  (How's that for an oxymoron?)  I was able to triangulate the images even though there are five squares.  There is good flow and color balance, and that makes me very happy.  I do wish the holly image was a little closer to the left edge.  It's funny what a difference 1/8" would make.

Supplies:
Stamps - Holiday Blocks, Hero Arts Holiday Sayings
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Memento tuxedo black

Here is my second card before.  Before what, you ask?

The SMUDGE!  I was stamping my last word - joy - and noticed a big black thumbprint on the front of the card.  It doesn't look that noticeable here, but you could definitely see it IRL.

UGH!!!

I finished stamping the word, and salvaged the card by cutting the images and sentiments into a panel which I popped up on another card base.

Disaster avoided!  I kinda like it better, anyway!

These images were first inked in Versamark, then in colored inks so the Dazzling Diamonds could be used.  This is a great technique for adding sparkle to your project, and this card really sparkles.

I used my SAMJ in conjunction with a quilting ruler (thanks, Susan, aka LateBlossom for that tip) for placement of the images and words.  Those are two of my most valuable tools.

Supplies:
Stamps - Holiday Blocks, Hero Arts Holiday Sayings
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Versamark, Razzleberry, Daffodil, Pacific Point, Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Dazzling Diamonds EP, heat tool, dimensionals, SAMJ

Another reason I wanted to stamp some Christmas cards is to help clear out my new stamp basket.  The Hero Arts sentiment set was part of my clearance purchase a couple weeks ago (it was 75% off!), and I couldn't wait until Christmas to use it.  So far this system is working well for me.  It has pushed me to used stamps that would otherwise get lost in the rest of my rubber.

My challenge for you is to find a stamp set you think isn't your style, and use it to make a card or two.  My two cards today are proof that you might just make something you like.

Have a great day!

K

A Productive Day

Don't stop me now, I'm on a roll!  I had a very productive day in my craft cave today.  Ideas were pouring out of me, and the best part was I was able to execute them.  Not execute as in mortally wound, but execute as in carry out.

Just thought I'd clarify.  You know how (non)productive I've been lately.

Today's cards came from a Hero Arts set I bought on clearance a couple weeks ago.  It has been sitting in my new stamp basket waiting for inspiration to strike.  And strike it did.

The stapler is embossed which makes it look really cool IRL.  Not sure if I like the staples all lined up like they are.  Maybe random stapling would have looked better??  The black panel is up on dimensionals.

For this one, I hand wrote the hello with a pencil, then stamped the pencil so the lead was lined up with the end of the "o".  I masked the pencil and stamped the paper, roughly lining the lines up with the angle of the sentiment.  I used Baja Breeze ink stamped off once for the paper, Memento London Fog for Just a Note, and colored the pencil with Copics.  I really like this one!

The envelope was stamped onto a mailing envelope and cut out.  I actually stamped it twice and pieced just the flaps to add a little dimension that you can't really tell is there unless you touch it.  Then I sewed SU's linen thread around the closure thingy.  What is that called, anyway?  I used Clear Dollar Stamps Military Sentiments, and popped up the envelope with dimensionals.

This is the card that started it all, and I really love how it turned out.  The paper is stamped with Soft Sky, cut out, and punched with a 1/8" punch.  I made a tiny slit at the top to put the push pin through, and popped up the pin on a tiny piece of a dimensional.  The paper is adhered only at the top edge, and I curled the corners to make it look like it was really hanging by a pin.  I applied Glossy Accents to the push pin after everything was assembled.  The kraft card base makes it look like the note is on a cork board.

One thing I love about this set is that you can hand write whatever you want for a note or a sentiment on the paper image.  I think that makes it look more personalized, and the options are infinite.

A couple tips:
*Baja Breeze stamped off once looks just like Soft Sky
.
*If you are using a dimensional on a colored card base for a very small layer, color the edges of the dimensional with the same color marker as the card base, and you won't be able to see the white dimensional under the layer!

Now I can store this set with my other "used" sets.  Woohoo!

Hope you're having a great day!

K

It's OLW Again!

I have tried unsuccessfully for the past few days to stamp something.  Until I saw the OLW challenge for today.  The challenge is to use more than one sentiment on your OLC, and no images.  That sounded easy enough for mojo-less me to tackle.

I pulled out my PTI Birthday Basics set and used every one of the Happy Birthdays in it.  (One of them got used twice.)  For perfect placement, I lined up all the stamps on a lined acrylic block.  Each one was inked with marker, and presto, my card was done!

I wanted to use one of my stitched lines stamps, but that would have violated the no image rule, so I scored lines instead.  I really like how it breaks up all the white space around the sentiments.

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Birthday Basics
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - various SU markers
Accessories - Scor-Buddy

Here is a tip for lining up long stamps on an acrylic block:  Lay the stamp image side down on your work surface, then press the acrylic block onto the back of the stamp.  Most stamps will be straight if they aren't clinging to anything.  This eliminates a long stamp from curving when you try to place it on the block by hand.  Since you can see through the block, you can line it up perfectly along the grid lines (if the block has them), and you can make minor adjustments as needed.

Happy Wednesday!

K

Have a Donut (or Two)

The donuts in my new Hero Arts set were not that appealing to me when I first saw them.  I bought the set mostly for the coffee cup.  Well, I'll be honest, it was mostly because I couldn't resist the 25% off sale.  That's why I bought the set.  But only because it had the coffee cup in it!

I'm not much of a donut-type person.  I'm more of a cupcake person.  And let's face it, donuts don't have the cute factor that cupcakes have.  But the donuts kept nagging at me, and I had to make a couple of cards with them.

This card turned out very different than my original vision.  I just couldn't work my original sketch idea into a card.  The only thing that carried through was the donut.  I thought I had a soft pink glaze pen, but it was much too "hot" for a donut, so I colored the pink with a Copic marker and used a clear glaze pen over the top.  Then I added some fabric paint sprinkles.  It turned out kinda cute!

Notice how the sentiment in the upper left 'sweet spot' balances the donut in the lower right 'sweet spot'.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Copic markers, Sakura clear glaze pen, iridescent white fabric paint, dimensionals, gingham ribbon, scor-pal

I was going to pop the sentiment up in the center of this card, but it looked way too busy.  There was just enough room between the donuts to stamp the sentiment, hence the OLC.  The donuts are colored with Copics, and I used my clear glaze pen once again, but this time on the loopy loops.  These donuts look good enough to eat!

I triangulated the three prominent donuts to be visually appealing, and only needed small portions of the other donuts to complete the visual balance.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Copic markers, Sakura clear glaze pen

And now that I have used this set, I can put it away.  One of my craft resolutions this year is to use every set or stamp I buy before I put it away.  I designated a basket for all my new sets and have it sitting on my craft table.  (I adopted someone else's idea that I read somewhere).  I figure if I have to have a stamp bad enough to buy it, I have to use it before it gets lost in the mass of rubber and photo polymer I have in my room.  And by the looks of things, I better get stamping!

What craft resolutions do you have this year?

K

A Potpourri of Cards

My mojo has slowly been returning to me after what seemed like being gone forever.  There have been so many things going on around here, and my creative energy vanished.

It started coming back after my Little Ditty post.  If you sent positive energy my way...thanks, it worked!  Then I looked at the OLW challenge for this week which is as simple as using yellow on your card.  So that's where I started.  I made three cards with yellow, but I'll only post one of them.  I'll spare you the pain of viewing the other two!

I rock 'n rolled the pears, and really like how the colors turned out.  The sentiment was hand written, and I was going to be cute and do a play on words to say "To a great pear", but it just didn't look right, so I wrote it the correct way.  I know, B-O-R-I-N-G.  But I'm weird that way.

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI Fruitful
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Daffodil, Celery, Choc chip
Accessories - Wild Wasabi marker
Techniques - rock 'n roll

I finally finished this card after many attempts.  My original thought for this card was to have the fruit out-of-the-box.  Then I was stumped.  It finally came together, though.  It's not the greatest, but hey, I feel like I just started stamping again!

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Fruitful
Paper - Only Orange, Green Galore, GKD PL white
Ink - Only Orange, Yo Yo Yellow
Accessories - rectangle Nestabilities, orange rhinestones

We are getting ready to finish our basement, and in moving stuff out, I ran across my box of sets that I am going to sell.  Of course I had to go through them again and found a set I was surprised was in there.  So I made a card with it.

Very simple, but the random placement of the bling makes it not so ordinary.  I think I'll keep this set for a while.

Supplies:
Stamps - Delight in Life
Paper - Lavendar Lace
Ink - Lavendar Lace, Lovely Lilac
Accessories - ribbon, rhinestones

Our local Xpedx store clearanced all their stamping supplies, so I picked up a few things today.  I've had my eye on the Hero Arts large coffee cup for a long time, and 25% off was the only excuse I needed to buy it.  Not sure what I am going to do with the three big donuts that came in the set, but at least I have the coffee!

I paper pieced the band on the cup and ran it through my crimper.  The photo doesn't show it well, but it gives it great texture.  All edges are distressed with Walnut Stain Distress Ink which completely transformed the look of the card.  It was very blah otherwise and lacked dimension even though the cup is up on dimensionals.  Sometimes clean cards just need to get a little dirty.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts, PTI Faux Ribbon (sentiment)
Paper - GKD PL ivory and white, Kraft, Enchante' DSP (retired)
Ink - Memento black, Choc Chip, Ranger Walnut Stain
Accessories - crimper, Nestabilities, dimensionals
Techniques - paper piecing, distressing

So there you have my feeble attempt at stamping again.  I even used up some of my retired papers (a lot of them, actually), and managed to use up a sizeable piece of patterned paper.  Woohoo!

I'll try not to be gone so long again!

K

OLW27 Holiday Card

I'm sorry it's been a while since I've posted.  I have been fighting my second nasty cold of the season, and haven't been doing much stamping.  I've been sleeping instead.  (And irrigating my sinuses - yuck!).  I decided I had to stamp something for the OLW challenge to get me out of my rut.

This week the challenge was to make a one layer holiday card suitable for the inmates in the North Dakota State Penitentiary to send to their friends or family.  One of Susan's blog readers heads up a group that makes cards to send to the inmates, and her letter to Susan inspired this challenge.  In addition to being a one layer card, we were not to use any metal (wire, brads, etc.), gemstones or pearls, and limit the glitter.  We could use ribbon, but I chose not to.

Here is the beauty I came up with.

The scored frame was an afterthought that totally makes this card.  (At least for me).  I like the clean lines of the card and scoring with the fancy font of the sentiment.  A single gold star adds just enough interest.

I am bummed I sold my long rectangle Nestabilities sets because I wanted to use one to emboss the frame.  I didn't think I used them enough to justify keeping them, and I have 'needed' them ever since.  I can't tell you how many times I've eyed them at Hobby Lobby when I have a coupon burning a hole in my pocket, but they never make it home with me.  Something else always wins out, and I end up eyeing them the next time I go.  I know I don't need long rectangle Nestabilities - it's pretty easy to cut a rectangle - so we'll see how long I last before I cave.  : )

Supplies used:
Stamps - Many Merry Messages, Patterned Pines
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Cherry cobbler, Encore gold
Accessories - Scor Buddy, SAMJ

If you haven't checked out Susan's blog for the challenge, go there now to get all the details.  Let's allow these inmates to send some love to their loved ones this holiday season.

Make it a great day!

K

OLW 26 - Black, White, and Red All Over

Today's OLW challenge is to use black, white, and red only on your card.  At first  I wasn't crazy about the challenge, but as the day went on, I started thinking about things I could do.  After I got home from teaching crochet club at the school today, I decided to play.

My first card is an example of what not to do.

The card is too big to have the flourish floating around in the middle of it.  Since there was so much space around the outside, I tried to fill it in with the flowers and ended up with too many.  It just looks weird and not cohesive at all.  I may end up cropping this one down to try to salvage it.

Here is my second attempt.

Ah, much better!  Having the flourish stamped off the edges of the paper just a little bit creates much better flow.  I was able to triangulate the flowers for a nice balanced look.  The sentiment stamped in the lower corner continues to balance the whole card.

Look what I just did.

Look familiar?  This is my first card cropped to 4 1/4" square.  See how it helps to have the image stamped off the side?  Once again the flowers are triangulated creating better balance without overpowering the design.  The flourish would look better if it were angled up a little more to fill in the gap at the top, but I think this was a great save.

Lesson learned.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Baroque Motifs, Small Script, Warm Words
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento black, cherry cobbler
Accessories - black rhinestones, SAMJ

Hope you're having a great day!

K

A Very Quick Card

Once again, my favorite neutral color combo spoke to me - kraft and soft suede.  I made this card in just a few minutes tonight.  As much as I love to color, solid stamps are great for making really quick cards, and I am finding myself using them more and more often.

The hardest part about making this card was trying to get the ink from my markers from beading up and separating on the apple stamp.  I tried stamping it several times, cleaning it in between, but still couldn't get a good impression.  I finally inked it up with my red pad, removed the ink from the leaf and stem with a cotton swab, and stamped it without the leaf and stem.  Then I took my wasabi marker and drew the leaf and stem right on the card.

I could have stamped more apples on the tree, but I really wanted to emphasize the single falling apple so I just stamped one.  I love how it turned out.

Supplies used:

Stamps - PTI Falling Leaves

Paper - kraft (crumb cake)

Ink - soft suede, real red, wasabi

Accessories - wasabi marker

Off to unmount some more stamps...

K

Oh, My!

I didn't realize how long it had been since I've posted here.  The last two weeks have been a whirlwind, and it doesn't look like things will be calming down for a while.

My new craft tables and cubbies from Scrap'n'Cube are going to be delivered this afternoon.  Since my craft show is over, I have been spending my time here and there cleaning out my craft room, and it looks like a tornado came through our basement.  It's amazing how much stuff one can pack into a 10' x 10' room!  Will it ever end?

Emptying my room has made me realize how much stuff I don't need, and when it's time to put it all back together, it won't be allowed in my room unless I use it.  Regularly.  No more hoarding pretty patterned paper.  No more buying dollar spot things to alter or saving altoid tins to alter because... I don't alter!  It has taken me years to realize that, but I'm done buying stuff I don't do anything with.  I'll leave the altering to someone else and stick to making cards.

Speaking of cards, here is a quick one layer beauty I made for our son for his birthday today.  I'm not very talented at the collage-y style, but I think this one turned out pretty good.  It's pretty hard to mess up when you use the Exteme Elements set.

One thing I love about SU's neutrals is how well they go together.  They can all stand alone, but combine a few of them, and you have a great looking color combo.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Extreme Dirtbike, Extreme Elements, PTI Birthday Basics
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Crumb Cake, Espresso, Suede, Night of Navy

It's hard to believe my first born is already eight.  He's halfway to driving a car, and will probably be trying tricks like this on his dirtbike by then - ack!  I'm just glad I'll have a great room I can hide out in!

I'll post pictures when it is all put together, and I hope to be stamping again soon!

K

Inspired by Nature

Susan has been talking about different sources of inspiration on her Simplicity blog this past week.  Her OLW challenge this week was to be inspired by nature.

I love the outdoors, and I am most inspired by colors.  I especially like the colors of sunsets.  Living in Colorado, we have spectacular sunsets over the mountains.  I would never be able to recreate the beauty of our sunsets on a card, but at least you can tell that is what it is.

The button was not planned, but I needed something to cover up a smudge from not masking adequately when I sponged the background.  That also changed my placement of the sentiment.  It still turned out ok, though, the image is just how I visualized it.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Teeny Tiny Wishes, Stampabilities waving wheat
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - versamark, Memento black, artichoke, so saffron, pumpkin pie
Accessories - 1 1/4" circle punch, post-it note, nestabillities label die, clear EP, heat gun, sponges, button, linen thread, SAMJ

By the way, my mom and I got beat 2 games to 0 in euchre tonight.  Just wait 'til tomorrow (tonight, since it is 2 AM now).  We're gonna take them down!

K

OLW a Little Late

You know how you can come up with a card design out of nowhere, but if you are challenged with that particular design you draw a blank?

You don't?

Oh.

Well I do!  That is what happened to me this week with Susan's OLW challenge to use three images and one sentiment.  It seems like I have used that layout a lot.  Using three images is a popular design because of the rule of 'odds' and forming a visual triangle to make the design appealing.  But do you think I could come up with anything?
        
Nooooooooooo! (voice raises and lowers)

Until today when I wasn't even trying.  I bought a border stamp set on clearance several weeks ago and finally inked it up today.  Here is the first card I made.

I was originally going to put a third strand in another color, not even thinking about the OLW challenge, but it would have been too crowded.  So I left it the way it was and stamped the sentiment.  I really liked how this turned out, even without the third color.  Then the light bulb went on (off?), and I thought of this...

Isn't it purty?

Supplies used:
Stamps - TPC Studio Dots & Stripes, Sincere Salutations
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Pacific point, old olive/cherry cobbler, old olive
Accessories - none!  Not even my SAMJ!

I really like my new border stamps.  There are so many possibilities for them!

Toodles!

K