Nature Scraps

I've been making an effort lately to use some of the massive amount of scraps I have lying around. It really has gotten out of hand; the nice organized container of colored file folders has evolved into a gigantic heaping mound of paper.

I will be participating in some annual craft fairs in a couple of months and the smaller items will be a perfect way to whittle that pile down a bit.

I recently sent these items to one of my fellow VC Rockers; they were so quick and easy to make and I love how they turned out.

This is a 3" x 3" acrylic frame with a magnet on the back. The First Edition DSP was stamped with the stem image from Fabulous Florets in Wild Wasabi, and the edges sponged with Marina Mist. It was then mounted on Marina Mist card stock and simply slid into the frame.

The flower, also from Fabulous Florets, was colored with Early Espresso and Pink Pirouette markers and stamped on Pink Pirouette card stock. Once cut out, I sponged the edges with Pink Pirouette for some dimension and attached it to the front of the frame with a couple of glue dots.


I seem to be very fond of this tag combination lately, but it is just so quick to do and adds a great little accent. As you can see from other projects, like here and here, it is quite versatile too.

This time I stamped the bee from Nature Walk in Early Espresso and added a little So Saffron for just a touch of color. I hand wrote "notes" and stamped a background using one of the Tiny Tags stamps before punching it out with the Jewelry Tag Punch. Tied them on with some linen thread and done! Took me under 10 minutes to complete.

Stamps: Fabulous Florets, Nature Walk, Tiny Tags
Ink: Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi
Paper: Marina Mist, Pink Pirouette, Wild Wasabi, First Edition Specialty DSP
Misc.: Mini Vintage Tags, Jewelry Tag Punch, Linen Thread, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Magnetic Acrylic Frame, Sticky Notes pad




After making this notepad key ring for Carey, I decided to make a bunch of these for the craft fairs in all sorts of shapes and sizes. (I will be showing those in a future post.) They are an excellent way to use up those scraps! I got the idea from another fellow VC Rocker, Mary Jo, who sent one to me as a RAK.

Simply glue your patterned paper of choice to some thin cardboard, the type that comes in the DSP packages from SU works perfectly. Once dry, cut it down into smaller pieces to run through your die cut machine~I used the Big Shot and the Beautiful Butterflies die from SU. Next, just cut some plain copy paper into the same shape; I have found that about 40 sheets or so makes a nice size "notepad".

I used the Crop-A-Dile to punch the hole and then added the O ring. You could add a little decoration to them if you wanted, but I would suggest not putting too much on there as it will tend to get caught on other items and get ripped off.

Paper: Gabrielle Collection (BoBunny), Copy Paper (Staples)
Misc.: Crop-A-Dile, Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Tombow Multi Glue, O Ring (Staples), Thin cardboard

Enjoy the Day!

Blog Candy Winner

Congratulations to...

Debbie M.

Random.org selected the first comment on the bold bright birthday card post. Yeah Debbie!! I will be contacting you soon.

Have a great day!!

A Rare Card

Today's post is most definitely a rare event and probably won't happen again for a long, long time...

I intentionally used bold bright colors on a project!

Yep, I did it. I broke out some of the brighter In-Colors and the new Just Add Cake DSP.

You may be aware from comments I have previously made, as well as looking at past blog posts, that bold bright colors are not my first or favorite choice. I am really trying to step outside my comfort zone once in a while though, to see how the other half lives. :)

Anyway, since I have such a difficult time with these types of colors, I figured I better get a little inspiration rather than attempting something on my own. This is my interpretation of Stampin' Up!'s sample on page 66 of the current Idea Book and Catalog.


The base of the card is the new Island Indigo; unfortunately in my picture it's not showing up as bright as it is in person.

Here is a close-up of the banner:

I am (im)patiently waiting for my order with SU's white Baker's Twine. It won't be here until Wednesday, so I used some string I had lying around. The Baker's Twine is much nicer.... Both sentiments on the card are from Bring On The Cake (which is also shown on page 66).

Stamps: Bring On The Cake
Paper: Island Indigo, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White cardstock, Just Add Cake DSP
Ink: Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride, Island Indigo, Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi Markers, Basic Black classic ink pad
Misc.: Scallop Trim Border punch, Basic Rhinestone Jewels, Tag Punch, String

To make the little banner for "wishing you a wonderful day", I used my tag punch to punch out the edges. Any type of square shaped punch will do.

Place your paper into one of the corners of the punch and center it as much as possible, then just punch to get the fun little ends on your paper.


In celebration of my bold bright birthday card, I am giving away some blog candy! :)

Just leave a comment on this post by midnight Wednesday, August 24th for a chance to win one package each of SU's Basic Rhinestone Jewels and Basic Pearls.



Please let me know either your favorite color combination, or the colors that you struggle with the most. I will feature some of the combinations I receive in future posts.

I will use random.org to select a winner Thursday evening. Don't forget to leave an email that I can contact you at in case you win. If your comment is selected and I can't reach you, I will have to select someone else.

Have a great day!

What a Deal!

Time is running to stock up on your favorite Designer Series Paper packs and get a great deal at the same time!

Only two weeks left to get a FREE package of Stampin’ Up!’s® Designer Series Paper when you buy three!


You can order online Here. Get your FREE pack today!

Kym

VC Rocks Blog Hop ~ Punches Galore

Welcome to the final blog hop weekend of the VC Rocks season. If you'd like to find out more about VC Rocks or to see how to join up for next year's fun, check out the VC Blog. You will also find all of the stops for this hop listed on the site.


If you are following along on the blog, you should have come from Diane's blog, Stampin Ldyglfr62 . She has some fabulous projects on her site.


As the caption states, the theme this round is punches. We were challenged with making projects that showcased the wonderful punches that SU offers, both past and present.

My card today is actually inspired by one of the beautiful cards that I received from my VC Roomie, Mary Jo. I changed the colors and switched out some elements to incorporate our theme of punches, but the layout is from her fabulous card.

Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze and Soft Suede is the color theme I chose. I tried to incorporate as many punches as I could without it looking ridiculous.


The bird is stamped with Versamark on a sheet of Soft Suede from the Neutrals Patterns DSP stack and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I sponged some Cherry Cobbler on it and then punched it out using the Bird Builder Punch. The Baja Breeze piece was created with the Scallop Trim Border punch. The DSP and trim piece is popped up on dimensionals.

That wasn't enough punches for me, so I decided to create an accent piece for the card. These are the unassembled elements:

I cut the knot off the string from a Mini Vintage tag and used that to thread my button. The button "back" was created using First Edition Specialty paper which I sponged Baja Breeze onto. It was then punched out using the matching punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack and adhered to the button with Crystal Effects. Since the cord of the Mini Vintage tag is silky, I used a small drop of Crystal Effects on the knot to keep it secure on the button.

The round Mini Vintage Tag was stamped in Cherry Cobbler with an element piece from the stamp set Artistic Etchings. The same stamp was used with Baja Breeze as a background for the friends tag that was created with the Jewelry Tag punch. The friends tag and Mini Vintage tag were then tied together using Linen Thread and the button adhered with a mini glue dot.

Here is a close-up of the completed accent piece:

It was attached to the card with a Mini Library clip.

Punches: Bird Builder, Jewelry Tag, Scallop Trim Border, Itty Bitty Shapes Pack
Stamps: Fabulous Florets, Artistic Etchings, Tiny Tags. Afterthoughts (retired), Punch Potpourri (retired)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, First Edition Specialty Paper, Patterns DSP Stacks-Regals (Cherry Cobbler), Neutrals (Soft Suede)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Versamark
Misc.: Itty Bitty Buttons, Mini Vintage Tags, Mini Library Clips, Linen Thread, Crystal Effects, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Sponges,

Well, I hope you enjoyed my project today!

The next stop on your hopping journey is Barb's blog, The Love of Stamping. Check out her fun projects!

If you get lost along the way, find a broken link, want to start at the beginning, or just want to check out some more great projects, please visit the VC Rocks Blog.


Have a great Day!

Vintage Blue Butterfly

Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted. (Oops!) Well, I have been able to do some creating lately, so I will start sharing again. :)

This is a card I made for my VC Rocks roomie. I love the new BoBunny papers and had a great time creating this card.



The focal point of the card is cut from a collage sheet in the collection. The papers match wonderfully with many of the SU colors. I used Early Espresso for the card base and to ink up the edges of the papers and the chipboard sticker in the corner.

I also broke out my Twinkling H2Os that I haven't used in ages. I cut the butterfly out and highlighted the blue of its wings with Sky Blue to give it a little sparkle and then added some pearls for the body.

I also added some Sky Blue H2O highlights around the card as well to tie it all together.


Paper: Gabrielle Collection (BoBunny), Early Espresso Cardstock (SU)
Ink: Early Espresso
Misc.: Chantilly Crochet Trim, Vintage Trinkets, Linen Thread, Basic Pearls, Cutter Kit Distress Tool (SU), Chipboard Sticker (BoBunny)

Have a great day!