Happy Trees

Here is another cute card I made this week.  I am not a big fan of putting buttons on my cards, just because of the mailing issue.  I love the look of them, but choose not to make them that way myself.  So I made my own buttons out of paper.

(Can someone please tell me why I still have buttons in my stash and refuse to get rid of them?)

I even used a scrap of patterned paper that I have had for close to 10 years.  It's embarrassing to admit I've had stash for that long, but then you all probably know what I am talking about.  Like I said before, if it makes it back into my craft room, it is going to get used!

(I can use the buttons on my fabric crafts.  Riiiiight.  So that's why I am keeping them!)

The buttons are made with only one layer of paper.  I could have made them thicker, but then that would have defeated the purpose of not using real buttons.  The center button is popped up on dimensionals, you know, for a little dimension.  ; )

And because the postman just now, as I am writing this, delivered my first order of Washi tape (from Pick Your Plum - if you haven't checked out PYP, you must!), I had to make another card using my new tape.

I found out that you can't stamp on Washi tape, so I had to color in the bottom of the trunks with a Copic marker.  It took several coats to get a solid image instead of little beads of ink.

These Spring-y cards are the perfect indication of the weather we are to be having for the next week.  My tulips are starting to come up, and it is supposed to warm up to the 70's by Monday.  Yea for Spring!!!

Hope you have a great weekend.  My husband informed me (somewhat jokingly) that I am to have his new office painted by Monday.  A small price to pay for my big craft room!

K

One Down, Two to Go

This morning, I was determined to do something with this unfinished card.  It started out as a different color combination, and once I colored my image, I knew it needed a change.  I decided to play off of the pink ice cream, so pink it was.  Then that meant I had the perfect ribbon to go with it.

And I was a happy camper!

This time I remembered to embellish my card before I took the picture, and used a Sakura glaze pen on the hot fudge.  It looks so yummy!

Supplies:
Stamps - Our Craft Lounge  Life is Sweet
Paper - Rose red, Pretty in Pink, Daffodil, GKD PL white
Ink - Pumpkin Pie, Memento tuxedo black, Rose red for sponging
Accessories - Copic markers, Sakura glaze pen, dimensionals, Nestabilities, Big Shot, dauber, ribbon, linen thread


Here is a tip for cutting out images:
After you cut out your image, run a black marker along the edges to eliminate any slivers of white from showing through.  See pics below.
Also, if there is a thin area on your image, put a piece or two of scotch tape on the back to lend a little support and keep the cardstock from tearing at the narrow point.

This is my image before the black marker.

This is after.  See how it takes all the white edges away?  Having a solid black edge helps it to "pop" off the background.  On this cut out, I put tape behind the spoon and a little bit into the image for a little more support.


I have been using a lot more color and layers lately, even though the cards are still pretty simple.  Maybe that is what is helping me out of my slump!

Whatever works, right?

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

Rainbow Fish

I picked up a cute little fish set from the $1 bin at Joann's this past week.  Sometimes I get lucky and find a great set.  I had also been wanting the boundary waters border punch, and this set was the perfect excuse to get it.  (Not that I need another punch.  Just wait 'til you see the picture of the punch wall in my craft cave.)

As I'm still trying to get my cave organized, I was also making color swatches of all the Twinkling H2Os I have, and decided to use them for my card.

Isn't this fish the cutest?  He looks just like Rainbow Fish minus his large glittery scales.  This one glitters, but in a more subtle way.

I cut the circle out with a Nestabilities die, then used the border punch on the top.  I made the fish by dropping various colors of Twinkling H2Os on wet watercolor paper so they would run together and feather a little.  After the paper was completely dry, I stamped the fish and cut him out.

The fish's bubbles were made by gently touching my aquapainter to the dried paper and letting the water drops dry naturally.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Studio 112, All Night Media (seaweed)
Paper - GKD PL white, Canson 140 lb cold press watercolor paper
Ink - Memento black
Accessories - Twinkling H2Os, paintbrush, aquapainter, circle Nestabilities, Big Shot, boundary waters border punch, SAMJ, dimensionals

Hope you're having a great day!

K

What Day Is It?

I spent all day yesterday not realizing it was Wednesday, my favorite card making day of the week (because it is OLW).  I don't know what day I thought it was, but it most certainly wasn't Wed.  My kids did make it to their regularly scheduled activities, though.  I'm thinking I need to catch up on my sleep!

Jennifer Styles is hosting the OLW challenges for a while on her blog, and this week it is The Birds and the Bees (and the Flowers and the Trees).  We are to use any combination of two of the above.

I immediately thought of the bee stamp in the In Full Bloom set, one of my all time favorites.  I make coasters with this set all the time, so I never thought of using it to make cards.  Until now.

When I was searching my stamps for a sentiment for this card, I came across this one in the Butterfly of Happiness set.  I loved the style of the font with the image, but I especially liked how it conveys the message of the image perfectly.  Bees certainly spread the love by pollenating all those flowers out there in the world.  Where would we be without bees?

Hungry!

(Ok, I'll stop answering my own questions.  It's just that I've been up for 3 hours and haven't eaten breakfast yet, and I am hungry.)

The bonus was I got to use my Copics to color it in!  After yesterday's post about using solid image stamps more frequently, I turn around and use something today that requires coloring.  I sure am consistent, aren't I?

I won't answer that one!

Supplies used:
Stamps - In Full bloom, Butterfly of Happiness
Paper - GKD PL white (120 lb as always - no Copic bleed-through)
Ink - Memento black
Accessories - Copics, SAMJ

Ok, ok, I'm going to go eat breakfast now.  Make it a great day!

K

Music to my Eyes

Whenever I go to a craft store, I always browse the stamp aisle to see if there are any new stamps I can't live without.  The keyboard stamp I used on this card caught my eye, so I used my 40% off coupon to buy it.  I'm really glad they didn't have the storage jar I was looking for, because then I wouldn't have been able to buy this stamp.

I started playing the piano when I was in kindergarten, played the clarinet and tenor sax in band all through high school, and both of our kids play the piano now.  I love music stamps, and their teachers always appreciate the cards I make for them.  So this made a nice addition to my music stamp collection.

This started out as a OLC, but I smudged it when I was using my SAMJ to stamp the keyboard.  It turned out better because I ended up stamping another keyboard and matting it in black.  It really makes the keyboard pop.  I love the curvy line of the sentiment to add a little interest to an otherwise line-y card.

I plan on making a bunch of these to give as music teacher gifts.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Stampendous and Stampabilities
Paper - GKD PL white, basic black
Ink - Memento black
Accessories - SAMJ

K

It Doesn't Pay to Go to Bed Early

I have been fighting a nasty cold for well over a week, and have been burning my candle at both ends as usual.  I was so exhausted after I got the kids to bed last night, I went to bed, too.  I was in bed before 9:00.  That never happens.  Ever.

I was hoping to get a good 8-10 hours of sleep.  My body could definitely use it.  So I was a little peeved when I woke up at 2:00am, ready to go for the day.  After all, I had gotten my usual 5 hours of sleep.  Who needs more than that?  Apparently not me.

As I tried to go back to sleep, I heard a faint cry coming from my craft room.  I tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't stop.  It was saying something about an unfinished project waiting for me.  Tossing and turning wouldn't get my card finished, so I got up and came to my cave.

Here is what I finished.

I know this looks familiar, because I cased myself.  I got so many nice comments on my other butterfly card, I decided to change it up a bit with this one.

I used the Twinkling H2Os technique that Susan (LateBlossom) posted on her blog.  If you haven't tried this yet, I highly encourage you to try it.  It is so easy, and you can use it for so many things.  I used cold press watercolor paper, so there was a lot of texture before I ran it through the Cuttlebug.

The CB pretty much flattenend the texture, but you can still see a little variation in the color.  To add some distressing, I lightly sanded the embossed area.  I love SU! paper, and use their colors exclusively, but if you want to have a white core show through when distressing, this is a great technique to use.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Teeny tiny wishes (this has quickly become my go-to sentiment set)
Paper - GKD PL white, cold press watercolor paper
Ink - Memento black
Accessories - Twinkling H2Os, paintbrush, butterfly embosslits die, sanding block, half pearls, dimensionals, ribbon, SAMJ

I hope you enjoyed Susan's Twinkling H2Os technique.  I know I will be using it for many things.

K

Guy Card and some Simple Daisies

My brother's birthday is tomorrow, and like usual, it snuck up on me, and I didn't have a card made for him.  I was going to make it last night, but nothing came to me until I was lying in bed trying to go to sleep.  It was already almost time to get up, so I thought I'd better stay in bed and wait 'til morning to make it.

I used the new Espresso cardstock that SU is adding to their core colors this year.  It is so rich in color, I already know it will be my go-to brown.  I didn't think I would like anything better than chocolate chip (how could I like anything better than chocolate?), but we're talking about coffee here!

Isn't this a great color combo for a guy card?  I will have to file this one away for future reference.  You could substitue navy, artichoke, riding hood red, eggplant, wasabi, Baja breeze, or Pacific point for the embossed panel, and it would still be a great combo.  Don't you just love the espresso and suede together?

Supplies used:
Stamps - Angler, teeny tiny wishes
Paper - naturals ivory, espresso, not quite navy, soft suede
Ink - Memento rich cocoa, creamy caramel
Accessories - CB folder and machine, linen thread, HS edge distresser, dauber


Then I was playing around with my Both Way Blossoms set that I have had for at least 3 years.  I only know that because it retired in 2007.  Can you believe it had never seen ink?  I have too many sets in that situation, so I am trying to use them so I can decide if I want to keep them.  After all, I have to make room for the new sets I don't have yet!  heehee!

It may be a little hard to see, but the center card has a frame around the image made with my scor-pal.  I was just playing around with different frames to make a one layer card.  I made one image panel and colored in the leaves, but decided to leave these black and white with just a pop of color from the flock.  As I am cleaning out and reorganizing my craft stash, I am finding all kinds of fun things to use.

These don't have sentiments stamped on them yet.  Too many times I have a card I want to send to someone, but it has the wrong words, so I thought I'd wait to put them on until I know who I am sending them to.

Supplies used:
Stamps - both way blossoms
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento black
Accessories - Glue pen, flock, gingham ribbon, glue dot, scor-pal, Zig writer, SAMJ

I think I'll keep this set!

K

Hello Again plus Springtime in the Rockies Continued

One of the freebie sets I picked or SU!'s Sale-A-Bration this year was Hello Again.  I vacillated with the idea of ordering it, because it isn't really my style.  I thought it was cute, but knew I would have to work at getting it to work for me.  So it sat for several weeks longing to be inked.  I finally had time to search the SCS gallery for ideas, and decided on what I was going to do.  Then I just happened to see the CAS64 challenge to use orange, and this is the result.

The pierced line wasn't planned, but when I embossed the flowers, the edge of the folder left a line in the cardstock.  It looked really bad, so I improvised and added the piercing.  I lightly sponged pumpkin pie over the embossed flowers to give them a little more pop.

Supplies used:
Stamps - hello again, teeny tiny wishes
Paper - GKD PL white, old olive, pumpkin pie
Ink - Memento black, pumpkin pie
Accessories - pumpkin pie, so saffron, old olive, melon mambo and soft suede markers, CB folder and machine, ribbon, brads, paper piercer, sponge

I had fun using my new set, and thought I might as well make another card while I had it out.

I ended up making four.

Supplies used:
Stamps - hello again
Paper - kraft
Ink - pacific point, real red, rich razzleberry, melon mambo
Accessories - all the above colors plus summer sun and old olive markers, SAMJ (I won't stamp a sentiment without it!), stickles on flower centers

What do I think of my new set that I was going to have to work at using?  I love it!  It is really fun, and I can see lots of possibilities for it.  Sometimes you just have to think outside your comfort level and try something new.  I'm glad I did!

Springtime in the Rockies, continued

Remember my Colorado saying from yesterday?  Well someone must not have liked the weather because this is what we woke up to this morning.

More snow!!  It was only about an inch, but still!  All I can say is it's good for the grass and all the plants.

It also makes it that much harder for me to get my planting beds prepared.  Wet clay soil and tillers don't do well together.

Hoping for a dry spell...

K

A Purging Find

I was prompted to purge my craft supplies after I read a post on SCS.  That will be a different post, but today, I wanted to show you what I made with one of my discoveries.  Shoved way in the back of one of my drawers was a pack of 6 flower brads I had bought at Target's dollar spot many moons ago.  As I looked at it, a card idea popped into my head, and this is what I made...

Two very quick and easy cards that are cheery, bright, and colorful.

Supplies used:

Stamps - Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper - GKD PL white

Ink - Memento black

Accessories - felt flower brads, scor-pal, glue dots, SAMJ

Enjoy your day!

K 

Feeling Punchy Today

I got my XL Two-Step Bird punch that was backordered from SU! today, so I had to make a quick card with it.  I also stopped by Michael's today and got a few punches and some more ribbon since they were on sale.  One can never have too many punches or enough ribbon!

I love how this ribbon coordinates perfectly with tempting turquoise and Pacific point. My whole idea for this card was planned around the ribbon and my new border punch.

After I cut the circle out of GKD PL white cardstock, I sponged the whole thing with So Saffron.  Then I masked the sun with a 1 1/4" circle punched out of a sticky note and sponged more saffron, then pumpkin pie around the edges, being careful not to go all the way to the sun.  Then I removed the sun mask and softened the sun edges by sponging a little more saffron around it.

The branches were punched twice from old olive and garden green and layered to create a little dimension.  I sponged the bird with turquoise, then Pacific point just around the edges.  Half pearls were colored with Copic markers to match.

Supplies used:
Stamps - none
Paper - GKD PL white, pacific point, old olive, garden green, tempting turquoise, black
Ink - so saffron, pumpkin pie, tempting turquoise, pacific point
Accessories - Nestabilities, wizard, XL Two-Step Bird punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1/16" punch, Scallop Diamond edger punch (ek success), sponges, dimensionals, ribbon, half pearls, Copics

Toodles!

K

Guest Designer Week

This is my week to be a guest designer for the CAS57 challenge.  This week, our challenge is to layer 2 different shapes while keeping it clean and simple.  I struggled with many different ideas, and in the end, they all came together for me.

Here is the card I submitted as a designer.

This was the first idea I came up with - an oval on a circle.  When I first put the shapes together it looked like an eyeball, or the CBS logo, and that weirded me out.  Then I saw a beach ball and knew that is what I could make.  Then I had to figure out how to get it into a card design.  A day or two later, this is how it came together.

Supplies used:
Stamps - none
Paper - SU whisper white, real red, yoyo yellow, brilliant blue
Ink - yoyo yellow and brilliant blue for sponging
Accessories - Nestabilities oval and circle dies, circle punch, black marker, daubers, pop dots, computer generated sentiment using Write me a memory journaling font volume I.

Here are the other cards I made for this challenge.

I love this cute little image from A Muse, and decided to use stars in my design.  I didn't have a star big enough to go around the circle, so I enlarged one of the punched out stars by hand and cut it out.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Rock star by A Muse
Paper - GKD white, brilliant blue, tempting turquoise
Ink - Memento black, brilliant blue for sponging
Accessories - Copics, circle and star punches, dauber, Zig writer

Another one...

This one is very simple - a square on a rectangle.  I just learned how to make this kind of bow from ApricotRose on SCS.  I had tried many times before, but just hadn't fiddled with it enough.

Supplies used:
Stamps - baby firsts, warm words
Paper - GKD white, barely banana, bashful blue, prints pack
Ink - Memento black
Accessories - Copics, square Nestabilities, ribbon, pop dots

And another one...

This cute image is by Stamping Bella, and I came up with the color combo from the Bali Breeze DSP pack.  I colored the button to match with a Copic marker.

Supplies used:
Stamps - pots o' stuff and sentiment by Stamping Bella
Paper - GKD white, taken with teal, Bali Breeze DSP
Ink - Memento black, pumpkin pie for sponging
Accessories - Copics, Nestabilities label die, ribbon, button, embroidery floss, glue dot

I had a great time as a guest designer this week.  I hope you enjoy all my creations!

K

New Challenge Category - F4A1

Here is a card I made for a new challenge category at SCS.  The coordinators decided that the Limited Supplies Challenge had run its course and it was time for something fresh and fun.  They came up with the Free for All challenge, a kind of anything goes challenge.  It sounds like it will be a lot of fun.

This week the challenge was to use textures, colors, and patterns.

My texture came from the dry embossing, ribbon, button treatment, and even the image itself.  We were to use a color we don't normally use, and that would be yellow for me.  I didn't include any patterned paper, but there is a pattern on the ribbon!

I think this layout with the buttons and gingham ribbon would make a great baby card with a different image.

Supplies used:
Stamps - True friend
Paper - GKD pure luxury white
Ink - celery, pretty in pink, and summer sun markers
Accessories - CB folder and machine, gingham ribbon, button, half pearls

Have a fantastic day!

K

I'm a CAS Guest Designer!

Things have been busy over at Splitcoast with the CAS Spring DT search.  It was really fun this time as Jen chose an Olympic theme for all the challenges.  I didn't even make the first cut, but then Jen asked me to be a guest designer during the month of March.  I was so honored!  How could I say no?
All the guest designers were to make a card for the Closing Ceremonies and the new DT reveal.  Jen provided us with 3 sketches we were to choose from.  I chose this one http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1357465?&cat=500&ppuser=178156&sorttime=all&sortby=l&way=desc  Here is the card I made.

I usually don't use black for my base layer, but I really think it makes the card on this one.  Talk about pop!  I love this card!

Doesn't it feel good to make a card you really like?

Both butterflies are stamped with apricot ink; the small one on white cardstock, the larger one on apricot cardstock.  Then I stamped the flowered butterfly with white craft ink and embossed with white detail EP.  The dots on the small butterfly were inked with a Versamark pen and also embossed with white detail EP.  Both butterflies were cut out by hand.  The swirl and sentiment were both stamped with white craft ink and embossed with white detail EP.

I won't write "embossed with white detail EP" again...I promise!

Supplies used:
Stamps - Flight of the Butterfly, Priceless, So Many Sayings
Paper - GKD white, basic black, Prints Pack, apricot appeal
Ink - Craft white, apricot appeal
Accessories - Versamark pen, white detail EP, heat tool, SAMJ, gingham ribbon, brads

I hope you enjoy my lovely card!  Thanks for stopping by!