I Made a Card!

I know it is hard to believe, but yes, I made a card.  In fact, I have made lots of cards lately.  It has been fun playing with rubber (or photopolymer) and ink again.

And if you're lucky, I may even post some of them here.  :)

I love the bright colors and the simplicity of this card.  It doesn't even need any bling to make it pretty.  It is gender neutral, too, which makes it a welcomed addition to my card stash.

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI Birthday Bash Sentiments
Paper - PTI white
Ink - Memento

Have a happy day!

K

Lines Love Curves, and Stripes Love Dots

My niece's 18th birthday is coming up next week, and I am trying not to procrastinate so long in getting cards out this year.  So far so good since her big day is one week from today.

This is only a little like the image I had in my mind when I started, but it is such an improvement.  It is always encouraging when my cards turn out better than planned.  : )

I love how the chevron panel looks like a cell phone, and the message could be a text.  That is the part that I didn't plan.  I think an eighteen year old might appreciate that more than flowers and butterflies!

The bling was also an after-thought, but is just what the card needed...it was definitely nekkid without it.

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI Big Birthday Wishes, Chevron Stripes
Paper - PTI white
Ink - Memento black, SU Cool Caribbean (retired)
Accessories - washi tape, SU designer label punch (retired), markers, rhinestones, dimensionals, corner rounder punch

On a side note, just after I posted my "Spring is Just Around the Corner" post, we received over 8" of snow, and it is snowing again today.  It is so beautiful outside, and finally looks like winter around here.  Yippee!  Time to curl up under my afghan with a cup of tea and a good book.

K

Birthday Greetings

My niece is turning 16 in a few days, so I thought I would make a card with a vehicle on it.  She is having fun driving with her learner's permit, and I remember how important it was to drive when I was her age, so in this case, a car is ok for a girl card.

Or a truck.

I had fun coloring with my Spica pens yesterday, so I used them to color this image.  Plus, having sparkles on the truck made it seem more girly.

Supplies:
Stamps - Loads of Love, Loads of Love Accessories, My ABC's wheel
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Spica glitter pens, Copic markers, dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a happy day!

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

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

Balloon Bouquet

Here is the sample card I made for the CAS84 challenge - Inspired by a Birthday Wreath.  Here is a link to the picture.

I was inspired by the balloons and the colors.

After the balloons were colored in, I went over each balloon individually with my Sakura glaze pen.  That gave each balloon a little shine and dimension.

This was a really fun card for me to make, and I love how it turned out.  The ribbon ended up being the perfect touch after trying every other imaginable solid color ribbon.  I had a mess to clean up, but it was worth it!

Supplies used:
Stamps - button bear, PTI birthday basics
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento black
Accessories - Copics, various SU markers, ruler, ribbon, Sakura glaze pen

Thanks for stopping by!

K

Cake On Fire

I didn't realize it had been over a week since I had entered a blog post.  I guess summer is in full swing at our house, and all the activities have cut into my stamping time.  That's ok, though, I wouldn't want it any other way!

My husband's step-grandmother is turning 90 in a few days, and I wanted to make a funny 'old' card for her.  I have made a couple of these in the past, and they are really fun for those 'landmark' birthdays.  I got my idea from jpardoe's card on SCS seen here.

I changed mine up a bit by making my cake out of punches and white applique, since I don't have a really good cake stamp that doesn't scream wedding!

You can use your punch to make any size shape with rounded ends.  Cut a strip of paper as wide as your punch minus just a hair so it will fit into the back side of the punch like this.

Once the paper is in the slot, punch it out, and you will have one rounded end.  If you want both ends rounded, stick the other end in in the same manner, making the shape as large or small as you want, and punch again.  If your shape is going to be on the small side, you can always use temporary adhesive to attach a strip of scrap paper to your cardstock layer so it is easier to handle getting it into the punch.  I didn't have to do that for this size cake.

Here is a close up of the charred card.  I sponged more mustard and chocolate chip before and after distressing the corners.  It really looks like burned paper.

The inside sums it all up.

A few tips if you 'char' your edges.  Make sure the ink is dry before you do any more distressing, or just make sure you don't touch your card with your inky fingers.  Lots of smudges can happen during this step.

This is the back of my card.  Oops!  All the smudges are from microscopic (yes, I need reading glasses) pieces of sponge that came off during my frantic sponge distressing.  I didn't notice them on my work space, and the effects can be seen all over the back of my card.  Hopefully her 90 year old eyes aren't much better than mine and she won't notice it.  So make sure your work space is clean after you 'char' your card!

Supplies used:
Stamps - roughing it, GKD you know you're old when...
Paper - GKD PL white, brushed silver, cool caribbean, yoyo yellow
Ink - Memento black, real red, more mustard, choc chip
Accessories - small and large oval punches, liquid applique, heat tool, sponges

I am hopeful I will be able to post again before the week is done.  Have a great summer day and thanks for stopping by!

K

My FIRST blog post!!

Well, I finally did it and jumped on the blogging bandwagon. I never in a million years thought I would ever do this. It will probably take me a million years to figure it all out!

Here is a card I made for the CAS50 (Clean and Simple) challenge over at Splitcoaststampers.com. I ended up putting Stickles on the cupcake frosting after I took the picture, and it looks so much better.

Supplies used:

Stamps by Penny Black and PTI Mixed Messages

GinaKDesigns pure luxury white cardstock (120lb for base, 80lb for image)

SU! Cool Caribbean and Pretty in Pink cardstock

Memento tuxedo black ink

Oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities

CM corner rounder punch

pink gingham ribbon (unknown source)

Various Copic markers

Thanks for stopping by!