A Couple of Challenges

As I was looking for a challenge to do, I ran up on two that this card would fit. Though it is not my favorite card, it still fits a couple of challenges. The first one is for CAS71 to make a card for things that fly. Balloons fly...kinda! She didn't say it had to breathe, ha! The second one is for WT275 to use ribbon. This is probably my favorite way to use ribbon: neatly knotted. It just looks so tailored, clean and crisp.

Stamps: Everyday Button Bits (PTI)
Paper: All SU
Ink: Memento Black
Other: Dotted Ribbon (Michael's), various buttons, various sizes of circle punches, twine

Stampin B's #62

Today's card is for Stampin B's Challenge #62 to make a card connected to a seashore. The stamp set I used is one of my favorites and I pull it out a lot when it comes to making my hubby a card. This image is so romanticly serene and reminds me of our times at the beach just sitting together looking at the ocean. I didn't want to add water as such because I wanted to leave the view to the imagination.


Stamps: Summer by the Sea (ret. SU)
Paper: DCWV Sweet Stack, white, Old Olive
Ink: Memento Black
Misc: Copics, Nestabilities Oval and Scallop Oval, foam adhesive

Thanks for looking!

Speedy's Challenge #5

I had to make a couple of sympathy cards - I really need to keep some of these on hand as they are hard to do just off the cuff and are usually needed quickly. What better way to make a nice card than to emboss it and/or use silhouette images. This worked great with Mark's Finest Papers Challenge this week. I don't know if you can tell or not but Stickles were used in the center of the little flowers.


Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers (SU)
Paper: White, Black
Ink: Basic Gray
Other: Fleur de Lis Pendant and Octagon dies-Spellbinder, Triple Butterfly Punch-MS, Textile EF, Star Dust Stickles, Black Satin Ribbon, foam adhesive

JUGS #35

This week's challenge at Just Us Girls is to use dry embossing on your card. This is my first love. I've always thought it looked so elegant and classy. I love all the birds in this Martha Stewart stamp set. Though they look similar, they are all different. So here's my card:


Stamps: Martha Stewart
Ink: Silver Encore
Paper: Ivory, Apricot Appeal
Misc: Green Satin Ribbon, Textile EF, Lime Green Kaiser Rhinestones, Silver EP, Various Copics, foam adhesive

This is simply done with emphasis done on the shading of the bird and the addition of the flowers and leaves for dimension. The main panel was raised on foam adhesive as were two flowers and leaves.

Circles and Dots

This card is for The Shabby Tea Room #11 Challenge to use tea/tea pots or dots. Well, I'm a dot kinda gal! I love all things dotted: blouses, decor, ribbon, cards, you name it. With that said, one of my favorite embossing folders is the Dotted Swiss! I thought a couple of things came together for the "dotted" theme: circles, lollipops, jewels and brad.

This white card base has a Yoyo Yellow layer followed by a piece of real sweet sparkly paper. Over that I took a piece of Real Red and embossed it then cut the bottom with the Spellbinders Scallop Border die. Another piece of the sparkly paper was cut with a Circle Nestability with a Yoyo Yellow piece cut with a larger Circle Nestability. The smaller circle was matched to the bottom piece, raised on foam adhesive and placed on the yellow circle. This was then raised with more foam adhesive and placed "in line" with the design. A couple of small clear rhinestones were put in the middle of the lollipops and a couple were put in the border cut. After all of this was adhered, a very pretty sheer yellow ribbon was wrapped around the top portion of the card. The "wings" of a red fire circle rhinestone brad were cut off and adhered to the center of the bow.

I love the bright, happy, sugary sweet little card. This designer paper is filled with glitter and sparkle. The picture does NOT do it justice. The lemony yellow almost makes your mouth water!


Stamps: None
Paper: White, Yoyo Yellow, Real Red, The Glitter Sweet Stack (DCWV)
Misc: Spellbinders Jumbo Scalloped Border Petites, Circle Nestabilities, Clear Yellow Ribbon, Clear Rhinestones, Fire Circle Rhinestone Red Brad (SU), foam adhesive

A "Speedy" Challenge

For you stampers out there, you probably get the title. Yeah, I'm referring to Speedy the Cat! This is my first challenge with Mark's Finest Papers. Don't know why this has escaped my attention before but this is only their 4th challenge. This one is to create a card or project with an animal on it.

The one I want to share is a teeny, tiny card with a little bird on it. I hope birds can be classified as an animal...hmmm. The card is actually the More Mustard piece. It lifts up for a tiny message. I cut a piece of Old Olive from the Fleur de Lis Pendant Spellbinders die as a base. The "card" is a 2x4 piece of More Mustard folded in half. A scrap piece of Naturals Ivory was Cuttlebugged with the Textile EF and cut a little smaller to fit on top. I used two graduating Nestabilities Squares for the main image with the Old Olive piece raised with foam adhesive. I thought the Naturals Ivory was a better choice since it was a little bird...it had a more "natural" feel to it. The tiny bird from PTI's Everyday Button Bits was stamped in More Mustard with an Apricot Appeal button placed in the center and the tiny wing stamped in More Mustard and cut out and placed on the button. On the inside is the sentiment, "hey there, chickadee". It's the sweetest, teeniest card. Hope you like it.

A Simple Case of Casing

I wish I could take credit for this card but I can't. The changes I made were: the upper portion in a different stamp, the sentiment, the main image stamp and color of button. Okay, it may seem I've changed a lot, but it looks a lot like the original.

Using a Kraft card base, I stamped the larger Damask design in Rose Red. In the spaces between the large image, I used a smaller Damask stamp and stamped it in Versamark. A piece of Baja Breeze was stamped lightly with the Linen stamp in Blue Bayou. To the side, the sentiment from the Damask Designs stamp set in Blue Bayou. Adhere this on the card base.

Small twine was wrapped around th card and threaded through a Rose Red button and tied in a sweet little bow.


Stamps: Damask Designs (PTI), Linen (SU)
Paper: Kraft, Baja Breeze
Ink: Rose Red, Blue Bayou, Versamark
Misc: Twine (SU), Rose Red Button (SU)

Stampin B's #59 Challenge

This card reflects my love for the beach...rather, just hints at it. It is a standard but landscape card using 3 circles (the challenge). I had these inchies that I'd been wanting to use and thought it just perfect for this challenge. The focal image was more emphasized with the addition of the texture of the Bahama Beach Mudd Puddles. This is the coolest stuff!!!

I used stamps from Michael's dollar bin by Studio G. from three different sets. Images were colored with Copics and Clear Stickles were added to the waves. Each image was raised on one foam adhesive before placing on the orange circle. The main image (center) was raised with foam adhesive x 3. Hope you enjoy this...because I'm headed to the beach!



Stamps: Studio G (3 different sets)
Ink: Black Memento Ink
Paper: White, Only Orange
Misc: Copics, Bahama Beach (Mudd Puddles), Clear Stickles, foam adhesive

A Little Distressing CAS #WT270

I can't believe it has been so long since I've posted!! I have taken a break mostly because things were everywhere...some packed and some not. My lack of posting isn't that I hadn't wanted to, mostly been quite busy lately and disarray.

This card is for the WT270 challenge. Distressing is one of my FAVORITE things to do!! I was glad to see this challenge. I used a sentiment I really liked. You can use this card anyway by using any color combination and end up with a great looking card, fast and easy. Felt a little patriotic, so I went with the red, white, and blue theme. This sentiment would make a great graduation card, too. The card base is 6x3. Stamps used were from the Seeing Stars set from Verve.

Faux Passion

Today's card is one I enjoyed making. I used a sketch from somewhere but forgot where I got it. As you know, I love aging, distressing and shabby looks. This is the first time I've done the faux stitching. I do not own a sewing machine (don't gasp too hard) so this was the next best thing. Not sure I did any more than an "okay" job on it. I used a fine pen point but think I may need an extra fine next time.

My card is a 5x5 Certainly Celery base. A slightly smaller piece of Apricot Appeal has been distressed and layered on the base. Baja Breeze was cut in a rectangle, paper pierced and edges distressed. A Not Quite Navy pen connected the piercing holes to similate sewing. A retired piece of SU DSP was then cut, pierced, "sewn", overstamped with the SU Sanded stamp in Creamy Caramel, edges distressed then sponged with Ranger Walnut Stain Distress Ink. To give this card a softer look, 2 pieces of Ivory Organdy ribbon was tied in a knot to the front side. This piece was then layered on top of the Baja Breeze piece. The next piece is Baja Breeze, edges distressed and Antique Linen Distress Ink sponged on the edges.

The main image piece was stamped with the Inspired by Nature stamp using SU markers, huffed and lightly pressed on white cardstock. I wanted a faint image, not a distinct one. The "Live With Passion" sentiment was stamped in Close to Cocoa on top of the flower. The edges were then distressed followed by a sponging of Worn Lipstick Distress Ink. This layer was raised with foam adhesive and centered on the Baja Breeze piece. Three bronze graduating size opaline pearls were placed in the bottom right corner to finish it off.

I used several things that will be retired from the SU product line. I am VERY saddened to see Creamy Caramel leave their stock. It is my absolutely favorite light neutral I reach for so many times. Apricot Appeal cardstock I love as it goes with just about everything, too. It makes a great card base. I hope you enjoy this card. It was a little time consuming but I love the outcome. Your comments are always welcomed!


Stamps: SU Inspired By Nature, Sanded
Paper: Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, Baja Breeze, ret. SU DSP, white
Ink: Close to Cocoa, SU Markers Ranger Distress Inks: Walnut Stain, Antique Linen, Worn Lipstick
Other: Ivory Organdy Ribbon, Basic Grey Bronze Opaline self-adhesive Pearls, scissors for distressing, Paper Piercer

Big Wishes

PTI's Big & Bold Wishes are great! They are simple and I love the size of the sentiments. Today I want to share with you a card that can be used for literally anything. It reads "Wish Big" and tends to lend itself to birthdays, although I think about wishing big for a great day, graduation, cruise or even wedding. Depending on the sentiment used inside, it can go many ways. I love the classiness of red, white and black cards.


Stamps: Big & Bold Wishes (PTI)
Paper: White, Real Red, Basic Black
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Other: MS Butterfly punch, Black Satin Ribbon, Clear Rhinestones, Rectangle Nesties, Glue Dots and foam adhesive

Hey There

Here are the last two cards from the set mentioned in the post below. These two use the "Hey There" sentiment from PTI. In the first one, the inside sentiment reads "May your day be filled with happiness". This was stamped on a little smaller white piece of cardstock with mini dots (next to the smallest) from Polka Dots Basics II on the bottom. These were stamped in Brocade Blue.


Stamps: Big & Bold Wishes and Polka Dot Basics II - PTI
Ink: Brocade Blue
Paper: The Sweet Stack-DCWV, Regal Rose
Other: Regal Rose Grosgrain Ribbon, Self Adhesive Pearl, Glue Dot (for securing the ribbon knot)

On the second one, a little dragonfly punch was punched out using Apricot Appeal DSP. It has tiny flowers on it like the sparkly patterned paper. "You've been on my mind" sentiment was stamped inside in Brocade Blue. I'm not sure I like this as it seems a little busy. What do you think?


Stamps: Big & Bold Wishes - PTI
Ink: Brocade Blue
Paper: White, The Sweet Stack (DCWV)
Other: Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Lime Green Rhinestones (Kaiser), Clear Rhinestones, MS Dragonfly Punch, Glue Dot for securing ribbon knot

Cold vs. Spring

The war is on!! The winter cold is having trouble giving up its stronghold in the south. A cooooold front came through with strong winds expressing its vicious fight in leaving for the season. Though there might be another "snap" on Easter, as it usually is, it is on its way out...YAY!!!

With all of that said, the warm days struggling to stay around and more sunny, happy days appearing had me making some springtime cards the other day. I found a layout I really liked and ended up making a set with simple differences. Here are a couple of them.

I love the sparkle of the DCWV The Sweet Stack. Click on the image if you can't see it on the post so you can see how pretty it is. This is such a happy pad of paper. It is great quality and thick like cardstock.




The inside sentiment of these say "a hug with a fold in the middle". I love this set from PTI! It has such cute sentiments and a nice variety of them, too.

Stamps: Big & Bold Wishes (PTI)
Paper: Pretty in Pink, White, The Sweet Stack (DCWV)
Ink: Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie
Other: Cream Grosgrain and Blue Satin ribbons, self adhesive pearls and rhinestones

I'll be sharing the rest of the set in the next few days. Stay tuned!

Wedding Card

Today I am sharing a wedding card for a friend's son. I began with a white card base. Then I took an 1/8" smaller piece of white and placed the D'Vine Swirls EF on 2/3 of the piece leaving 1/3 at the bottom for the sentiment. I like this sentiment and thought it would be nice for a wedding. Marriage is a simple pleasure and does fill your heart with joy! A white piece of narrow organdy was tied in a simple knot on the front. Tiny Kaiser pearls were randomly placed on the "swirls" and Basic Grey Opaline silver pearls were placed beside the sentiment. A true wedding sentiment was stamped and embossed in silver on the inside. Though this is simple, it makes an elegant statement. Hope you like it...


Stamps: Floral Whimsey (Verve), retired SU for inside sentiment
Ink: Silver
Paper: White
Other: White narrow organdy ribbon, Kaiser and Basic Grey self-adhesive pearls, Silver EP, D'Vine Swirls EF

Sunny Days Are Coming ...

My card is for the SSNOTIME129 and FTTC56 Challenges. One is to use a punched border and the other is to use scallops, so this fit both challenges. I'm beginning to get Spring fever and really felt the urge to make something cheerful. Yes, little umbrellas can be cheerful!

This is a white square card base. A larger white piece was cut and a scallop border was punched all around it, then placed over the front of the card base. Another piece of white was cut to fit inside the scalloped piece and stamped with a Basket Weave. A Barely Banana circle was cut with a Nest. die, as well as a white scalloped die. The BB piece was also stamped with the little raindrop in this stamp set in Versamark. It's hard to see. The umbrella was stamped in Orchid Opulence and cut out. A rhinestone tops the umbrella and a touch of Yellow Stickles were touched inside each little fun flower. This was raised with foam adhesive and placed over the umbrella handle. The yellow circle was also raised with foam adhesive. (There is a shadow behind the umbrella handle...it is not suppose to be there.)


Stamps: Scattered Showers (PTI), Basket Weave (Flourishes)
Ink: Orchid Opulence, Versamark, Pink Passion
Paper: White, Barely Banana, Memento Black
Other: Yellow Stickles, Circle and Scallop Circle Nesties, Scallop Border Punch (MS), foam adhesive

The Sweet Sounds of Birds

Today, I want to share a card that reminds me of spring. Listening to the birds happily returning to the area and seeing more daylight and the warmth of the sun just makes me want to sing.

This card uses a Pretty in Pink card base. A Rose Red piece was embossed using the Textile EF. Small square lemon nail heads were put in each corner then this panel was placed on top of the card bsae. The bird image was embossed on white cardstock using silver detail EP and colored with Copic markers, then cut out. A PIP piece was cut out using a Rectangle Nestie and embossed. A smaller piece of musical patterned paper was placed inside the embossed area of the PIP. The bird image and PIP with musical piece were raised with foam adhesive.


Stamps: Martha Stewart Clear Bird Stamps
Ink: Silver Encore
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, White, Patterned Paper
Other: Silver Detailed EP, Copic markers, yellow nail heads, rectangle Nestabilities, Textile EF, foam adhesive

Lots Happening

First off, I have to share a little of my absence. I ran the Half Marathon last weekend in New Orleans at the Mardi Gras Marathon Race. Everything was great: temp, excitement, felt good, etc., etc. When I was approaching my 7th mile, my world changed! I tripped on New Orleans' finest street repairwork and fell hard! I got banged up pretty bad but am thankful I didn't break anything. If you are interested in reading my report, go here.

Now back to my stamping. I won the Flourishes Challenge for last week and am soooo excited about that! It was such a surprise and I "needed" some good news, ha! I can hardly wait to go shopping.

Today, I have a card that I'm submitting for the SCS CAS56 Challenge. It is "spring"y and feminine.

The card base is white cardstock. A square piece of Pretty in Pink was placed on top. Two different PIP dsp were cut in different sizes and placed an 1/8" smaller than the PIP solid piece. Regal Rose ribbon was placed around where the two pieces meet. Light pink taffeta was placed around it and knotted. The sentiment was stamped in Regal Rose on a scrap piece of PIP then die cut using Spellbinders Fancy Tags. A tiny Kaiser pearl was placed on either side.


Stamps: PTI Button Bits (sentiment)
Ink: Regal Rose
Paper: White, Pretty in Pink, PIP DSP
Other: Regal Rose Grosgrain, Light Pink Taffeta, Spellbinders Fancy Tags die, Kaiser Pearls

Whimsically Elegant

Okay, so I don't know how to title this. But as I look at my card, this title still comes to mind. The challenge today on Splitcoast is to use textures (think embossing folders, ribbons, and/or flowers, etc. – most embellishments fit into this category!), and at least ONE color that is one you don’t NORMALLY use (be sure to identify it in your card description). The third part, though optional, is to use some patterned paper in your creation. Without further adieu, here is my card for the very first F4A1 Challenge.

The base is a 6x6 white card. Black 6x6 cardstock was placed over the top for the first layer. Someone gave me this paper recently and I love it. The thing I love about it is the sparkle which gives it a feel of silver. This is one "color" I do not use much. The patterned paper was cut an 1/8" smaller than the black piece. I wrapped white organdy ribbon around this piece finishing it with a bow in the front. I cut a piece of silver cardstock from the Labels I Nesties. A large white flower chipboard was raised with foam adhesive and centered on the Label. The center is black glitter. It came together well.


Stamps: None
Paper: Patterned Paper (unk.), silver cardstock, black, white
Other: Labels I Nestie, large flower chipboard, white organdy ribbon, foam adhesive

I hope you like this and look forward to knowing what you think.

Pink Cards

Today I have a couple of cards I want to share with you that use shades of pink.

The first one is for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge to use flowers of any kind on your card. Beginning with a white card base, I chose this beautiful Basic Grey paper to begin with. I stamped a sentiment from Verve's Beautiful You set in Mellow Moss, cut and embossed using Labels I die cut and sponged Pretty in Pink along the edges before removing the die. The second piece was cut and embossed using an Octagonal die, sponged with Mellow Moss and lightly stamped in PIP with SU's retired floral stamp from Petite Patterns. The sentiment was placed on the octagonal piece with foam adhesive. Martha Stewart's edger was punched on the bottom of the designer paper and laid on top of the PIP cardstock. After placing a strip of Mellow Moss along the bottom edge, the patterned paper piece was placed above it. Pink taffeta ribbon was then wrapped around the card and run through a floral ribbon slider by SU and tied in a knot. Tiny pink rhinestones were added to the octagonal piece. MS triple butterfly punch was punched out of PIP cardstock. To small pearls were added to the large butterfly and raised with foam adhesive; then put on the corner of the sentiment. Inside (not shown) a piece of Mellow Moss was placed on the bottom edge with a scrap piece of Basic Grey pink on top of it. The two smaller butterflies that were punched out of the PIP for the larger butterfly on the front is gracefully put at different angles along the left side above the double strip.


Stamps: Beautiful You (Verve), Petite Patterns (SU, ret.)
Paper: Basic Grey Porcelain, Mellow Moss, Pretty in Pink, white
Ink: PIP, Mellow Moss
Other: Octagon and Labels I Nesties, tiny pink rhinestones, small pearls, MS triple butterfly and edger punches, SU pink taffeta ribbon, SU flower ribbon slide, foam adhesive

The second one is Flopsey with pink cheeks holding "her" pink cup of coffee and wearing pinky Spring Mix Flower Soft houseshoes. She was fun to color, too. Just look at her sweet little cheeks and inner ears! Aren't they worth kissing?? Flopsey was stamped first on a piece of white cardstock; then stamped a second time, colored, cut out, raised on foam adhesive and placed over the first one. A scrap piece of white cardstock was embossed with the D'Vine Swirl EF and cut a little smaller than the card itself (4.25 x 4.25).A smaller piece of Creamy Caramel was wrapped with SU Chocolate Satin ribbon and placed on top of the embossed piece. The top layer was then placed on top.


Stamps: Flopsey (My Favorite Things)
Paper: White, Creamy Caramel
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Other: D'Vine Swirl EF, Copics, Spring Mix Flower Soft, foam adhesive

I hope you like these. I welcome any constructive criticism. I'm loving these Copics!!

Floral Cards

These were made for a couple of challenges, but since I made several cards at one time, not at home, and was not where I could post them then, I forgot which ones they were for. NOTE: Keep post-it notes on hand to document the names of challenges!!

I wanted only a little bit of the black showing under the main panel as if it was a shadow, so I took 2 black scalloped Nesties, pieced them, then taped them together to give it that look without looking like a completely different panel. The top piece (white) was embossed, raised on foam adhesive and placed on the Baja Breeze piece.


Stamps: Inspired by Nature (SU)
Paper: Basic Grey Two Scoops, Baja Breeze, Basic Black, White
Ink: Ruby Red
Other: Rhinestones (Mike's), Square and Scalloped Square Nesties, foam adhesive

This one was, also, for a challenge, but didn't get posted as such. I used More Mustard and Kraft to bring out the colors in the patterned piece. This stamp set is so versatile and a must-have. I stamped the flower in black on More Mustard and cut out. Three Kraft leaves were attached to the back of the flower and raised on foam adhesive. Rhinestones were placed in the center of the flower and the edge of the Label 1 piece. A piece of Basic Grey golden patterned paper was embossed with the Dotted Swiss folder.


Stamps: Beautiful You (Verve)
Paper: Kraft, More Mustard, Basic Grey Two Scoops
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Other: Labels 1 Nestie, Very Vanilla Grosgrain, Studio 18 Rhinestones, Dotted Swiss EF, MS Leaf and Edge punches, foam adhesive

'Specially For You

Throughout the next week I'll be posting cards I made at the Crop last weekend. Here are a couple.

The first one I used a Naturals Ivory 4x4 card base layered with some Basic Grey Two Scoops. I thought Blue Bayou and Wild Wasabi colors matched this paper well. The main image was stamped in Blue Bayou and watercolored using the ink pad method. It's a little hard to tell but the center flower was lightly watercolored using Wild Wasabi. The flower was cut out and "formed" by bringing the petals up in order to give it more character. A large brad was added to the center of the flower. Square Nestabilities were used to cut out the Blue Bayou and Wild Wasabi pieces with the WW piece embossed before adding the flower, which was pop dotted to the center.

The sentiment piece was stamped on NI in Blue Bayou. This was punched out using SU Oval and Scalloped Oval punches. A small black Kaiser pearl was added to the "so" of You're So Special. One of the trio of flowers stamp in that set was punched out using the corresponding SU punch. It was then raised on foam adhesive. A piece of Blue Bayou double stitched ribbon was wrapped around the bottom and layered with the main image on top.


Stamps: Boho Blossoms (SU)
Paper: Basic Grey Two Scoops, Naturals Ivory, Blue Bayou, Wild Wasabi
Ink: Blue Bayou
Other: Square Nesties, Oval, Scallop Oval and Boho Blossoms SU punches, Blue Bayou double stitched ribbon, Black Kaiser Pearl, Brad, foam adhesive, brush for watercoloring

The next one was made using NO stamps. Actually I just love making cards with or without stamps. This one is very simple as you can see. I found these gorgeous flowers from a vendor at the Crop last weekend. I got one of every color they had. They are large and came with the large, pretty colored brad in the center and only for 50 cents! Just couldn't resist these. A scrap piece of the Cranberry Crisp was punched with the SU scallop edge. A string of rhinestones were placed on it. This was as straight as I could get them; even though they were not cut apart they look crooked. It doesn't show IRL as it does here.



Thank you for looking!

The Last of 'em

Here's the last two Valentine's cards I came up with. I think my hubby is Sweet Stuff and remembered I had this cute little stamp retired from SU. I used Glossy Accents to top the lollipop and give it some shiny dimension.


Stamps: Very Puny (SU, ret.)
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Real Red, white
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento
Other: 2 shades of pink Copic markers, Glossy Accents, Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestie, D'Vine Swirl EF, Red and White striped SU grosgrain, foam adhesive

A new found friend at the Crop saw my cards and wanted me to make her husband a card. We came up with a design and she chose the cardstock. No stamps were used on this one. I'm really liking the square cards and can see more in my future, ha!


Paper: Pink and Red (unk. source), Note dsp (DCWV Music Stack)
Other: Labels 1, Heart Nesties, White sheer ribbon, heart brad, double sided and foam adhesive

Crop Connection 2010

Last weekend was so much fun! Revisiting friends and making new ones were great! Though this was a Crop, I attend so I can have dedicated time to spend making cards. As a matter of fact, I think I'm the only card maker there. Not to say some don't make them, but that's all I do. I was productive in making many cards and am pleased with that. In the next few days, I'll be sharing them as I upload them to my site.

For now, I want to share some pictures of my friends!

Beth and Me

Amanda and Tiffany

Amanda and Me

Tiffany and Me

Fantastic Tablemates: Me, Terri and Caroline

Jo (who is trying to figure out how she can say that SHE made my cards...) Jo worked the Crop and wasn't able to "play" with the rest of us. Glad to get to see her; she's so sweet!

A Little Birdie Told Me

If only I would "practice" more with my Copics. This is a new tool, if you please, for me and I haven't spent enough time playing with them. BUT, every time I do I fall more and more in love with these. They are wonderful!

I got this sketch from SCS somewhere and really liked the layout so I thought I'd give it a try. It really makes a statement and so easy to do. To me, anything layered on even a tad of black makes the layer "pop".


Stamps: Martha Stewart Clear Bird Stamps
Paper: White, SU Apricot Appeal 6x6 DSP (ret.), Black
Ink: Silver Craft
Other: Silver Detailed EP, Copic Markers, Textile EF, tiny blue and clear rhinestones, black grosgrain (SU), foam adhesives

Comfy?

I just love PTI's stamps or have I told you that yet? They are so "me" and I find I reach for those quicker than any other stamp line. Can't wait to get more...I AM making a new list. Waiting for the new sets to be available. Okay, now on to my card.

This one uses the On My Couch set. I paper pieced the couch using SU dsp paper. Using one piece of Apricot Appeal, I embossed the top with the Dotted Swiss folder and the bottom part with the Textile folder. These are my two favorite folders, too. Don't you just love the sentiment?


Stamps: On My Couch, PTI
Paper: Black, Apricot Appeal, White, SU DSP
Ink: Memento Black
Other: White polk dotted black grosgrain ribbon, Labels 1 Nestability, small SU corner rounded, Dotted Swiss and Textile EF, foam adhesive

One More, I Think

Needed another Valentine's card (at least I think one more). The card base is a Pretty in Pink 5x5 card. A smaller piece of white cardstock was embossed using the Dotted Swiss Cuttlebug embossing folder. Hearts were punched out of Martha Stewart's Holidays Punch Pad using her heart punch. The center heart (For You) is raised on foam adhesive. The only stamps used was for the sentiment inside.


Stamps: Sentiment inside (So Many Sayings, Ret. SU)
Paper: Pretty in Pink, White, MS Holidays Punch Pad
Other: Dotted Swiss EF, foam adhesive

CAS

Just a clean and simple (CAS) card for you today. I saw this on Splitcoast and just had to do one. I WILL do more of this soon! It makes such an elegant statement. Thanks for looking!


The base card is 6x6 out of Naturals Ivory. Cut another piece of NI 1/4" shorter around two sides. Repeatedly stamp Damask design in Summer Sun. I wanted mine to look like an aged piece of handwork so I didn't press hard nor did I line up the images "perfectly". Then the Linen stamp was inked with Summer Sun and pressed lightly over the Damask image. Piercing edged this panel and finally I roughed the edges with my scissors. This is my favorite way to distress. I've tried other tools and continually come back to this way of giving a rough look to my pieces. Place plenty of foam adhesive on back and place on main card.

Die cut a scrap piece of NI with the Fancy Tags from Spellbinders. Stamp "Just Because" in Pumpkin Pie. Add pearls. Raise the tag with foam adhesive and adhere to card.

Stamps: Damask Designs (PTI), Linen (SU)
Paper: Naturals Ivory
Ink: Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie
Other: Fancy Tags (Spellbinders), piercer, Basic Grey tiny pearls, foam adhesive, scissors for roughing edges

Note Cards

These two cards will be for friends I will soon get together with this weekend. I can hardly wait to see them again. These as well as one I posted yesterday are cut using the largest Labels One Nestabilities being sure to leave an edge to make the fold for the card. Double is the word for the first card. There are two Labels One cuts, two hearts and two butterflies. Have I told you how much I love my Nesties!! This one should justify what I mean. Actually, I didn't realize all I used were Nesties on this card until I began describing it! And I certainly didn't realize I had so many doubles, ha! It just happened. The only thing you may not notice is the sponging I did on the white base card inside the larger die.


Paper: Basic Grey Two Scoops, Bravo Burgundy, Pretty in Pink, Vellum, White
Other: Nestabilities: Labels One, Hearts, Butterflies, foam adhesive for the butterflies

I just love the softness to this next one. Pink, pink and more pink. Delicate, feminine and whimsical. Turning the card on its side made this a landscaped card. The base was lightly sponged in Pretty in Pink with tiny flowers stamped in second generation PIP. A couple of Martha Stewart leaves (one of my favorite punches) were punched out of PIP. A Labels Three was punched out of PIP to "house" the main image. An Oval was punched out of white c/s, stamped, sponged and placed on top with foam adhesive. Only two of the three layered stamps were used from the Cutie set of Stampology. The first layer is in PIP and the outline was in Rose Red. This oval was edged in PIP. The small flower of the Flourish Accent Spellbinders die was cut, embossed and then stenciled in the Rose Red.


I hope you enjoy these little cards. Thank you for your sweet comments!

More Valentine's Cards

I Love the Martha Stewart's Holidays Punch Pads for Valentine's Day. The DSP is shiny and the red strips are reflective as well. I punched out 3 hearts from the heart page and added pink rhinestones.


Stamps: So Many Sayings (Be Mine, row of hearts) SU, retired (used inside)
Ink: Real Red (inside)
Paper: Martha Stewart, white
Other: MS heart punch, pink rhinestones, MS heart border punch

The next card was cut in the shape of the largest Labels One Nestie being careful to leave a little outside the cutting line to make a fold for the card. Pretty in Pink and So Saffron was sponged inside the template. The cup was stamped onto designer paper, cut out and raised with foam dots.


Stamps: Coffee with Friends (Flourishes)
Paper: White, Basic Grey Two Scoops
Ink: Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Real Red
Other: Labels One Nesties, foam dots

So Much Fun!

Well, yesterday was a fantastic day of card making for me. FINALLY.... I got my mind together and made several cards and had the best time in a loooonng time! The first two I want to share are for a couple of challenges.

I love Cindy Haffner's cards and her challenges (though I've not participated in any lately). This one is for FTTC52A


I loved the pinks, red and white colors. I used some new paper from Martha Stewart's Holidays Punch Pad for the dotted squares as well as the pink sparkle strip along the bottom. Nesties are my favorite tools now and I used my new Labels Three and layered a red and pink Octagonal embossed shapes on top. The double heart is from K & Company, Wild Raspberry adhesive chipboard set. It had the pink rhinestone on it and I added clear rhinestones in the corners of the Label Three pink piece. This piece along with the octagonal piece are raised with foam dots.

"Hugs & Kisses" is from SU's retired So Many Sayings Set. I used SU's oval and scallop oval punches to cut the sentiment out; this was raised on foam dots, too.

Stamps: SU So Many Sayings (ret.)
Paper: MS Holidays Punch Pad (dotted and pink paper, pink sparkly strip), textured pink c/s (unk.), white (base card), Real Red, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Real Red
Other: Nesties (Labels Three & Octagons), SU Oval and Scallop Oval punches, double heart (K & Company, Wild Raspberry adhesive chipboard), clear rhinestons, foam dots

The next card is so soft. I used Bravo Burgundy I think for the very first time. It seems soooo dark but seemed to go well with the Basic Grey cupid sheet from the Two Scoops pad. This card is for SSNOTIME124.


Using three Nesties made this card come together quickly. The Labels Three piece was sponged with Pretty in Pink.

Stamps: MS Small Christmas Phrases for "Love", Row of hearts from SU's So Many Sayings (ret.)
Paper: Basic Grey Two Scoops, white,
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Bravo Burgundy
Other: Nesties (Labels Three, nested Hearts, Labels One, Dotted Swiss EF, white ribbon, clear rhinestones, foam dots

I hope you enjoy these. I'll be uploading more in the next few days. Thanks for looking! Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

Crazy!?!?!

That's the best word I can come up with. I'm just about to go crazy over here! [No comment on the normal status!] I've bought SEVERAL things lately and am dying to jump in and use them. To begin with, I've been trying to re-organize my stamping room and since I can't work in chaos I'm trying really hard to get finished along with doing many other things at one time; i.e., cleaning the house, increase my running (time consuming), going through a huge amount of daily e-mails, updating ALL of our blogs, etc., etc., etc.

I'm also beginning to get ready for a large crop weekend in less than two weeks. I'm the only card maker/stamper there, but we share all the same tools and I love to be with other ladies. It is 3 days of never ending fun, food, creativity, laughter, making new friends and visiting with old friends!!! I'm going to take some things to give away as well as try to sell a few tools I've upgraded from.

Now, for the dilemma: I've recently got some new things: Nesties (my most favorite tool evah!!), a new paper trimmer (this is different from any I've had in the past and is a learning curve as it does several things), new stamps, new punches, new papers and some new embellies. I can hardly wait to get it together enough to actually do something. With bated breath, I'm anxiously pushing to get through this needed change of cleaning out, reorganizing and straightening so I can starting creating again. As long as things continue to go as in the previous couple of days, it won't be long before things return to normal ... is this really possible??

Great Find!!

I went by Michael's yesterday and boy did I find a treasure! They were having a huge sale AND 30% off on all Martha Stewart scrapbooking things!!! I was beside myself. So off I went to get a buggy 'cause I KNEW there were new punches in my near future. I love her punches. They are so pretty and some are so elegant. I ended up getting 10 of them!! I even got some of her stickers, paper, and clear stamps. And, no, these weren't all Christmas items like you'd think. Some of my punches are pop-up ones, some border ones, some embossed ones, a couple of regular ones and even one that had 3 stamps with the punch of that stamp. It was a bird stamp/punch. Each stamp is a little different and when you punch it out you have three completely different ones. So cool!! I'd never seen these before. Now, I wanted more (I love punches - Ü) but restrained myself. I had so much fun...wish you had been there with me! Off I go to finish working out, getting lunch and playing with these for a while. See ya soon ...

Still Alive

To those who might be wondering...I'm still alive. We have been so very busy since Christmas, there's not been any "play" time for me. Right now I'm decorating an SU calendar I got several years ago. I've used it from the beginning but never decorated it. That's right...it's been naked (blush, blush). This is one of the reasons to get one of these kind...to decorate it. Okay, so I'm late. But it really is a cool calendar to have. It is not a true calendar as you know one, but a page per month with the dates down the side. All you do is place the name and event next to the number (date); it is reuseable every single year. I change the person's age or anniversary in January to reflect the present year's age. I hope to get back soon with some card making. Got a few birthday cards to do. Actually, February and March are huge months for birthdays in our family. So just because I haven't made anything lately doesn't mean that the buying has stopped!! Oh well...see you soon...and keep on inking that rubber!!

Christmas Card

Here are a few cards I made for Christmas. I just LOVE these images. Supplies are as follows:
Stamps: Winter Wonderland Kit (don't remember who makes it; got it last year)
Paper: SU
Markers: Copics
Accessories: SU ribbon, Star Dust Stickles, Sparkly Fluff (got from CHA-no brand listed on container), CB Snow Dots EF








Stickles were used on the snowballs, snowdrifts and ground. The fluff was used on mittens, the little ball on the end of the caps and the band on the little girl's hat. You probably can't tell, but the sparkly fluff really makes it. This was the first time I used my new Copics Sketch Markers. What do you think?