Question Answered

Joan left me a question in the comment section of the March 26th post:

Very nice, I like what you've done here. I especially like the black strip....is it designer paper or stamped? Joan

To answer your question, I lightly inked up the flower stamp (same one I used on the main image) with Whisper White craft ink and just stamped on the Basic Black strip of card stock.

Thanks for asking. Sometimes I just skim over what I've done and think it is self explanitory by looking at the card or at the supply list. So please feel free to ask me how I did something.

By the way, I did make another post, so keep scrolling down :)

Andrea

Chalkboard Technique

A while back, Splitcoaststampers had a tutorial on the Chalkboard Technique. Rather than me explaining the process of making this card, why don't you take a look at the great tutorial that Beate put together. I tried it and have had the card sitting on my desk, ready to be posted and entered into My SCS Gallery. I have a bunch of cards that I need to post, but just haven't been able to get around to doing it. Well, today is the day. Ta da. Here it is.

Supplies:

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks, Much Appreciated

Paper: Basic Black, Pale Plum, Whisper White, Designer Paper by Basic Grey

Ink: Whisper White Craft,

Accessories: Chalks, Sponge Dauber, Corner Rounder Punch, Black Stickles, Plum Ribbon (Gale's), Dimensional

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Misting with Markers

I tried out the tutorial that came on Splitcoaststampers weekly newsletter. What a fun technique and so easy!! If you want to try it out too, click HERE for the Misting with Markers Tutorial.

I need to make this post quick since DH is putting the boys to bed and needs the computer as soon as he is done. So if you have any questions regarding this card, please leave a comment.

Here is a close up of the flowers. You can see how "watery" this technique makes your image look. I will definitely try out this technique again!

Supplies:

Stamps: Garden Silhouettes, Everyday Flexible Phrases

Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black, Certainly Celery

Patterned Paper: Scarlett's Letter by Basic GreyInk: Whisper White, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Real Red Marker, Certainly Celery Marker

Accessories: Water Spritzer, Dimensionals, White Thread, Sewing Machine, Corner Rounder Punch, 1/16 Hand Held Punch, Silver Ribbon Slide, Red Ribbon (Gale's)

4.75 x 4.75 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Flap Fold Card

Try A New Technique Challenge #161

This morning I had a peek at the challenge on Splitcoaststampers and was able to try out the Flap Fold Card this afternoon. I kept it fairly simple with not a lot of layers. I had Liquid Pearls sitting on my shelf just waiting to be used so I tried to pick out the patterned paper and colour scheme with them in mind. I added the Liquid Pearls to the scallops, the top and bottom edge of the card and the centers of a few blossoms.


One thing to take note of: I don't have any magnetic snaps, like the tutorial calls for. (You can view the tutorial HERE.) What I did instead was just adhered the bottom of the scalloped piece only. That way I can lift the top part of the scallops to fit the flap underneath.

The measurements are a bit bigger from the tutorial. The pink paper was cut 11" x 4 1/4". I used the coluzzle to make the rounded flap and then cut the bottom part off to measure at 10 3/4" x 4 1/4". I scored at 4 1/4" and 9".

Here is the inside. Very simple.

Supplies:

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Basic Black
Patterned Paper: Midnight Rouge by cherryArte
Ink: Black Stazon, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Circle Coluzzle, Circle Punch (Marvy), Scalloped Circle Punches (Marvy), Liquid Pearls, Blender Pen, Sponge Dauber

4.75 x 4.25 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Weekend Sketch Challenge #40

This afternoon I have had a bit of time to play around with my paper and stamps. The "boys" are out watching their babysitter play hockey. (They are in the play-offs so it is supposed to be quite exciting. I'm not sure if my three and five-year-old will appreciate it as much as my husband does.) So... I have the house to myself. Yippee!! What a treat.

I was able to play do Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. This card came together quite quickly today. You might notice that I sewed on the outside layers of the card with white thread. I had my sewing machine out to put patches on the boys' jeans. Before putting it away, I made a few card backings for future use. I'm a little rusty with my sewing skills.

A few other details:

* I distressed the edges of the various paper layers.

* The butterfly is paper pieced (I stamped on the patterned paper, cut it out and glued it to the stamped image.).

* The strip of green in the circled image is cut into little strips to give the effect of grass.

Supplies:

Stamps: Fun and Fast Notes

Paper: Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Designer Paper (Fancy Pants)

Ink: Brown Stazon, Creamy Caramel

Accessories: Distresser (Cutter Kit), Mega Scallop Punch (marvy), Circle Punch (marvy), Olive Satin Ribbon (Gale's), White Thread, Sewing Machine

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

PS We had over forty adults and children at our house yesterday and it went very well. Our house didn't feel crowded, but almost all the rooms were being used. (Our house is only 1350 square feet, not including the basement.) It was lots of fun and food and I'd definitely do it again!

Over 4,000 Hits.....

on the visit counter. Wow! Thanks to everyone who stops by to take a look at some of the cards I make. And thank you to those of you who leave comments. I began this blog to keep a record of the cards I make and never thought I'd have people visit my blog on a regular basis (Hugs to my friends out there. You know who you are.) Sooo, please keep visiting. I will be giving some blog candy once I reach 5,000 hits. Whoo hoo!!

Sorry, I don't have a card for you today. And I'm not sure if I'll be able to post one tomorrow. On Friday we are having over forty adults and children for brunch at our house after the Good Friday Service. I have been busy baking for that. Tomorrow the cleaning begins.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll try to have a card soon.

Be Inspired Challenge #5

This is the first time I have done Beate's Be Inspired Challenge, let alone any Inspiration Challenge. In the past I've usually steered clear of them. I think I am expanding my horizons. LOL.


I have used this layout before. When I saw Beate's challenge I immediately thought of THIS card. I wanted to use circle punches when I saw the funky ovals and circles in the example. I thought it would work well for the Challenge just by changing the colours (which I just happened to be similar to the Phoebe Basic Grey paper). I used a wide variety of punches ranging from 1/2" to 1 3/8" circles. The circles are sponged with Chocolate Chip ink. I think the card is pretty much self explanitory. If you do have any questions, please leave a comment. Hey, please leave a comment anyway. I love reading your comments and I ALWAYS check out your blog (if you have one).



Supplies:


Stamps: Polka Dots and Petals, In the Spotlight (retired hostess set)
Paper: Phoebe Designer Paper (Basic Grey), Bohemia Line Designer Paper (My Mind's Eye), Whisper White, Cool Caribbean
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean
Accessories: 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Green Brads (makingmemories), Pewter Brads (Dollarama), Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Sponge Dauber


4.25 x 5.5 card


Thanks for stopping by.

Baroque Motif in Vellum

I saw Julie Buhler's card on Paper Pleasing Ideas and had to CASE it. I changed the colours, stamp set and tag. But the idea is definitely hers. Thanks for the inspiration.

I think this card is quite formal. I would probably use it as a Wedding or Anniversary card.

Supplies:

Stamps: Baroque Motifs

Paper: Sage Shadow, Whisper White, Vellum Card Stock

Ink: Sage Shadow, Whisper White

Accessories: Silver Brads, 1/16" Hand Held Punch, Glue Dot, Small Circle Tag, Ribbon (Michael's), Sponge

4.75 x 4.75 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Weekend Sketch Challenge #39

Embrace Life with Copper Stickles

I worked on Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge ALL Friday afternoon, or so it seemed like, and it didn't come together until late Friday night. It actually took two tries before this card to finally make something I liked. I think the challenge card wasn't coming together because I was wanted to use the Brocade Backgrounds Designer Paper (from the Winter Catalogue). I like the paper, but I just can't seem to make it look good on a card. I think I might have to give it away. *wink, wink*

On this card I began with a Chocolate Chip card base and layered on Mellow Moss and the muted Chocolate Chip pattern from the Brocade Backgrounds DP.

I stamped the leafy branch from the Embrace Life set on Vellum Card stock in Brown Stazon. I layered the vellum on Mellow Moss and Chocolate Chip. I adhered the vellum down with adhesive on one corner - the corner I knew would be covered by the scalloped circle - and a photo anchor in the opposite corner. Most adhesives show through vellum so I always try to attach it using some sort of embellishment.

I used my Marvy punches to punch out circles in Vellum and Chocolate Chip DP and a scalloped circle in Mellow Moss. The "thanks" was stamped in Brown Stazon again as well as more leaves. With the leaves I stamped-off on a scrap of paper before stamping on the vellum. I wanted it to look more muted. Then I coloured in the leaves with Mellow Moss in, and attached the vellum with brads. I also popped up the scalloped image with a dimensional.

Once all the layers were attached, I used my new Copper Stickles on the leaves, "thanks" and scallops. I love that stuff! Haven't I said that before in a previous post. I now have black and copper stickles and there are LOTS more colours out there. LOL.

Supplies:

Stamps: Embrace Life, Much Appreciated

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, Vellum Card Stock, Brocade Backgrounds Card Stock

Ink: Brown Stazon, Mellow Moss

Accessories: Antique Copper Brads and Photo Anchor, Copper Stickles, Blender Pen, Dimensional, Marvy Mega Scalloped Punch, Marvy Circle Punch

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Black, Vanilla & Celery...

Doesn't that sound edible? Some kind of wierd icecream flavour or a drink garnished with a celery stick. How can you tell it is getting late on a Friday night. Thank goodness it is the weekend!

Seriously now, those are the colours I used on these two cards. Looking at them now, I realize I should have used a different sentiment. Maybe not "Happy Birthday" or "Thanks". How about "With Sympathy" instead? Must have been late at night when I made these cards. LOL

I used the Garden Silhouettes set for both of the cards. On the Queen Anne's Lace flower (or is it Yarrow??) I added Black Stickles. I LOVE the stuff even though it is glorified glitter glue. Tsk, tsk, did I say that? Unfortunately I couldn't get it to show up in the picture. (I am still trying to figure out how to take good pictures of the cards I make using natural light. I don't have room for one of those photo tents. Do you have any suggestions?)

Supplies:

Stamps: Garden Silhouettes, thanks from Much Appreciated, Happy Birthday from Warmest Regards

Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Trendy Double Sided Designer Paper (Crate Paper)

Ink: Black Stazon

Accessories: Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Dimensionals, Photo Corner Punch, Prima Flower, Crystal Brad (makingmemories), Glue Dot, Black Stickles

4.75 x 4.75 cards

Thanks for stopping by.

Circle Punch Cards

Lately I have been trying to "take control" of my paper crafting area by organizing and cleaning things up a bit. One of the things I did was look through my scrapbook and card making magazines. There were some that I knew I would not look through again and others I wanted to keep. A few Papercraft magazines had one or two ideas I wanted to use, but I didn't want to keep the magazine for just for that. So, I decided I would CASE them.


I took a picture of the examples I CASEd. Both ideas come from the Paper Crafts magazine and use Circle Punches.


This is the first card I made. Isn't it hideous?!? I thought I would show it to you anyway....but not in the large picture version. LOL



I really like the card in black and white, but I didn't want to copy it exactly. Thus the pink and brown. Doesn't really work for some reason. Oh well.

















Supplies:


Stamps: Everyday Flexible Phrases, Stitched BG
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Bohemia Line Designer Paper (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Whisper White
Accessories: Prima Flower, Vintage Copper Brad, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch


4.5 x 4.5 card


Isn't this next card pretty? The designer paper and brads really caught my eye.

Well, this is the card I made. The Circle Punches I used ranged from 1/2" to 1 3/8". I used glue dots to adhere the circles with the brads. I didn't need to use dimensionals because the brads are fairly thick and add dimension automatically. By the way, I found these brads at Dollarama in a package of nine for $1. When I was at Michael's the other day, I noticed that they had some of the same brads (by makingmemories) for about $4 - $5 (Sorry, can't remember the exact price).

Supplies:


Stamps: Polka Dots and Petal, Alphabet Set (All Night Media)

Paper: Designer Paper (Fancy Pants), Naturals Ivory, Old Olive
Ink: Close to Cocoa
Accessories: 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Brads (Dollarama), Glue Dots


4.25 x 5.5 card


Thanks for stopping by.

Isn't THIS a lovely card? I saw it on Paper Smiles and had to CASE it. I love the colours and the layout.
Supplies:

Stamps: Wonderful Words, Garden Silhouettes
Paper: Romani Designer Paper (Basic Grey), Close to Cocoa, Brocade Blue, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Brocade Blue
Accessories: Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Ticket Corner Punch, Oval Coluzzle, Twill Tape, Glue Dot

4.25 x 5.5 card

Sorry, not much chit chat this evening. I did have a chance to make some new cards, though. I will post those soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Celebrate You

I made this first card a couple of weeks ago. It was a Sunday night and I was inspired to send in something to Stampin' Up!'s monthly contest. Well, it had to get there by mail in five days - the end of February. Not sure if it made it. But I had fun making it. All supplies are Stampin' Up!


Supplies:

Stamps: Celebrate Everything, Stitched BG, Everyday Flexible Phrases
Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Certainly Celery
Ink: Old Olive, VersaMark
Accessories: Flower Fusion, 3/4" Twill Tape, Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon, silver Brad, Sponge Dauber, Mini Glue Dots, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Embossing Buddy, Stamp-a-ma-jig

4.75.x.4.75 card



This second card is similar, but with different dimensions. Last week I was coming up with card samples for someone who is having a "Stamp-A-Stack" Workshop. (If anyone has a better name for it, please let me know.) They will be making twelve cards in three or four designs. I made a bunch of samples for her to choose from. I really enjoy doing these kind of workshops because everyone there is into making cards and we all have a good time. Or at least I do. LOL.



Supplies:



Stamps: Celebrate Everything, Stitched Exotics, Stitched BG
Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Certainly Celery
Ink: Old Olive, VersaMark
Accessories: 3/4" Twill Tape, Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon, Crystal Brad (makingmemories), Sponge Dauber, Mini Glue Dot, White Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Stamp-a-ma-jig



4.25 x 5.5 card



(I took the top picture at night. That's why it is darker than the bottom picture. Sorry, can't take another since it is in Utah. :)


Thanks for stopping by.

Love Birds

Lately I've been coming across the Anniversary Birds stamp by Verve Visual on Splitcoaststampers or various blogs. What a neat stamp. I don't have that stamp, but I do have a bird stamp as part of Nature Stamps by Rhonda Farrer (Autumn Leaves). So I made my own version of that set.
Reflection Technique:

Here is how I stamped the two birds facing each other: I used a piece of Vellum Card Stock and stamped with Brown Stazon on one side of the vellum. I flipped the vellum over and stamped the bird again on the other side so that it is facing the other one. It is as easy as that!!

There is a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers using acetate/transparencies with this technique. Just click HERE to view it. I'd like to try it sometime.

I coloured in the birds with Certainly Celery and Cool Caribbean ink with an Aquapainter. By the way, I did not stamp with Stazon the first time, so when I coloured the birds, the brown ink ran into the other colours. Oops. Then I remembered that I should have used Stazon. Vellum is a non-porous surface and Stazon works much better!!

I didn't use any adhesive to adhere the vellum to the Whisper White Card Stock underneath it, since I don't have anything that would not show. What I did instead was used the brads and photo anchor to hold the vellum in place.

I am happy with the way this card turned out. And I love the Designer paper. I think it looks like crazy,colourful, doodled eggs. Enjoy.

Supplies:

Stamps: Bird from Nature Stamps by Rhonda Farrer (Autumn Leaves ), Love (Studio G Clear Stamps)

Paper: Phoebe Designer Paper (Basic Grey), Whisper White, Cool Caribbean, Vellum Card Stock

Ink: Brown Stazon, Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Certainly Celery

Accessories: Slit Punch, 1/8 Hand Held Punch, Vintage Copper Brads, Vintage Copper Photo Anchor (Dollarama - believe it or not!)

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Weekend Sketch Challenge #38

Back in the 70's.....

Doesn't this card remind you of the 70's? I thought I had left that era behind. When I was a little girl, I had a room with orange carpet and orange wallpaper with a Holly Hobbyish girl pattern all over. That is what this card reminds me of. I really like this patterned paper... all four of them... but next time I don't think I will put them ALL on one card. LOL.

I used Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge to make this card.

Supplies:

Stamps: Celebrate Everything

Paper: Designer Paper (Fancy Pants), Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Naturals Ivory

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive (sponging)

Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Dimensional, Square Brads (makingmemories), Orange Brad (makingmemories), Flower Fusion

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Happiness in Black and Vanilla

I saw THIS card on Pink Tulle with Feathers and Sequins . I liked the layout and the large button tied with ribbon. It was the button really, that inspired me to make the next two cards. I couldn't find a button at first so I used a circle punch instead. I just didn't like the look of it. So, I looked a little harder and luckily I came across a black button. It wasn't quite as big as I wanted so I just put it on top of the circle punch out. See, you can always make things work.

Here are a couple of details about the main image. It is kind of hard to see on the photo. I stamped the leafy branch with Black Stazon, coloured in the leaves with Very Vanilla with a Blender Pen and then embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. It gives it a very subtle textured/raised look to the leaves with a bit of shine.

As you can see I made this card in two different sizes. It is nice when a card design can work as a square or rectangle card.

I think this patterned paper by Crate works so well with this stamp. Don't you?

Supplies:

Stamps: Embrace Life, Warm Words, Everyday Flexible PhrasesPaper: Designer Paper (Crate), Basic Black, Very Vanilla Ink: Black Stazon, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Blender Pen, Gingham Ribbon, Black Ribbon (Michaels), Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Circle Punch, Black Button (unknown

4.25 x 5.5 card & 4.75 x 4.75 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Howdy Y'All

I hope you are having a good day. It is shortly before 10am and I've dropped Zachary off at school, gone for a walk, gone for a blood test and now I am here to write a post. Wow. It feels like I've done a lot already and yet I have the whole day ahead of me. Let's hope the rest of the day is just as productive. Isn't it funny how some days you can get lots done and other days you get nothing done.

I made this card a while ago. Finally decided to post it. I love these cowgirls. They are just so fun. Their dresses are paper pieced with Basic Grey patterned paper.

Supplies:

Stamps: Cowgirl & Howdy (clearly wordsworth)

Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Mellow Designer Paper (Basic Grey)

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Sponge Dauber, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1/8" Hand Held Punch, Hemp Twine, Paper Snips

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

A Very Big Blossom

Once in a while I like to pull out Stampin' Up!'s retired sets. They get lonely sitting out of the way, high up on a shelf :). On this card I used the Big Blossom stamp from the 2007 Sale-A-Bration promotion. With this stamp I have often seen people use the Kissing Technique. This is a fun technique to use and works especially well on bold stamps that are large. Big Blossom is perfect for it.


On my card, I inked Big Blossom in Apricot Appeal and set it down facing up. Then I inked the Paisley Background stamp in Ruby Red and stamped on the Big Blossom stamp. Finally I stamped the Big Blossom stamp that had been "kissed" on Whisper White card stock.


What a fun card to make and it came together fairly quickly.


Supplies:


Stamps: Big Blossom (retired), Much Appreciated, Fabulous Flowers (small flower)
Paper: Whisper White, Ruby Red
Ink: Apricot Appeal, Ruby Red
Accessories: Cream Grosgrain Ribbon, Corner Rounder Punch (to make the scalloped edge), 1/16" Hand Held Punch, Button (unknown), Dimensionals


5.5 x 4.25 card


Thanks for stopping by.