In-Color Emboss Resist

Finally playing with some of the new catalog items.  The new in-colors are great for summer projects and are a great compliment to Stampin' Up!'s core colors.  Warning-you may tend to get hungry when you use them though. :)

Using a paint brush and some Versamark refill, I "painted" areas of the white cardstock for embossing.  I decided to use white embossing powder instead of clear to make sure the white really popped against the colors.

After heat setting the embossing powder, I sponged the in-colors over the card.  Starting from the bottom, I sponged Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, and then Coastal Cabana.  I then edged the piece in Baked Brown Sugar and added a little in the center.

Then I took a soft cloth and wiped the ink from the embossed areas and stamped the flowers.  I inked up only half of the sentiment from Feel Goods and then cut it out with the Apothecary Accent framelit; sponging around the edges with Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding and Baked Brown Sugar.

Finally I used pop dots on both the sentiment and the focal point when adhering to the card base.  When stamping over embossed areas be sure to use a solvent based ink like Staz-on or Ranger Archival so that it doesn't rub off the embossed area.

Supplies
Stamps: Feel Goods, Field Flowers
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Versamerk Refill, Jet Black Archival (Ranger)
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White
Misc.: Apothecary Accents Framelits, Big Shot, White Embossing Powder, Paint Brush, Heat Gun, Sponges, Pop Dots

Collage Money Holder

Well, once again it has been a while since I posted.  It's frustrating when the daily grind gets in the way of my creative time.  I have several projects lying around my studio just waiting for the finishing touches, but I just can't seem to get them done.  While I am grateful that I have a paying job, said job has been literally sucking the life out of me lately and in turn my creative spirit.

As my daughter so eloquently puts it, "Life rips the creativity right out of you and repeatedly stabs it to death".  Yes, a little dramatic, but she is a teenager after all.  :)

I did manage to complete a swap for a demo meeting and am extremely happy with the results.  I didn't feel like making a standard card this time so I created a money holder.

I adapted the size of this money holder from previous ones I have made.  We can only use current product for these swaps and since the slit punch has been retired for awhile now, I needed to find another way to keep the money in place.

This holder measures 3 1/4" x 7", and the inside slider measures 3 1/8" x 6 3/4".  I used the 1 3/4" circle punch to make the "holders" for the money on each end.

I used an Aqua pen filled with re-inker and water to make the splotches on the front of the holder.  Lay your project flat.  Make sure that your work area is protected and items that you don't want colored are not close at hand; I use an old lidded box when I do this so that I don't get ink where I don't want it.  I then took the pen in my right hand and knocked it against my left hand, moving it around the project.  For the larger dots, I let the pen drip onto the project. I also used the Spritzer tool to get a fine mist in some areas.

The flowers were colored by rubbing them over the ink pad and then misting them with water for a softer tone; I used Pool Party, Island Indigo and Midnight Muse.  The doily was folded and torn into fourths, then lightly sponged with Island Indigo.


Stamps: That's The Ticket
Paper: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Naturals White, Fan Fair DSP
Ink: Island Indigo, Midnight Muse, Pool Party
Misc.: Fabric Flower Trim, Pool Party Bakers Twine, Victoria Crochet Trim, Paper Doillies, Ticket Builder, Itty Bitty Butterfly, Scallop Edge, and 1 3/4" Circle punches, Basic Pearls, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Crop-a-dile, Aqua Pen, Color Spritzer tool, Sponges, Mini Glue Dots


ETA:  I started this post a while back, many of these items are retiring.  Today (5/31) is the last day to get items from the Spring Mini and Monday (6/3) is the last day to order retiring items from the 2012-2013 Annual Catalog.  If you are interested in purchasing any of the retiring products, click here.

Taking a break from Christmas, sort of..

It's been a bit of Holiday overload the past few days, company Christmas parties, making cards, baking cookies, decorating, etc.  So, I decided to take a break and work on some non-holiday themed gifts.

Here are a couple of cards that will be going into a stationary set for a relative's gift.

One of my new favorite color combos is Midnight Muse and Pool Party.  They are so soothing and make me feel more relaxed just working with them.  Getting rid of some of the excess stress is always a good thing during the Holidays

I lightly sponged a 2" high strip of Whisper White with Pool Party.  Using Pocket Silhouettes (retired), I stamped the wildflowers in Pool Party and then Midnight Muse on top of that.  The edges were sponged with both ink colors. 

The sentiments on both cards are from the set Warmest Regards (retired).  These are very quick and easy cards to do, they don't use a lot of supplies, and you could use any color combo and sentiments on them.  So, if you need any last minute gifts you could make a set in about 20-30 minutes.

Happy Holidays!

Stamps: Warmest Regards, Pocket Silhouettes
Paper: Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Whisper White
Ink: Midnight Muse, Pool Party
Misc.: Modern Label Punch, Sponge, Dimensionals

Still Gluing Away

I am still working with the Distressed Glue technique that I used in the previous post.  It really is a lot of fun and so easy to do.

Since the leaves are already changing here and Fall is my favorite time of year, I decided to use my new Autumn Accents Bigz Die.  I love the oak leaf on the die and this technique gives some great depth and interest to the piece.

Instead of using my finger to move the glue around, this time I used a dry brush which made things a little streakier..  I really like the effect and the detail it gave to the leaves.  I also like using sponge daubers, as you have more control over the depth of color as well as placement, than with a sponge.

To define the acorn a little better, I used my stylus to create definition between the cap and the nut.  The distressed glue technique was used only on the cap and them sponged with Early Espresso, while the nut was sponged with Soft Suede.  I tied it up with some linen thread and popped it up on dimensionals.

The color combos for the leaves are:  More Mustard and Pumpkin Pie, Summer Starfruit and Gumball Green, and Pumpkin Pie and Raspberry Ripple

Since the leaves are so "polished" and bold I wanted to give the card some texture, so I Inlaid Embossed the mat piece.  I stamped the sentiment on Very Vanilla and punched it out with the Modern Label punch using the technique I showed in this post.  I adhered that to the Early Espresso mat piece then ran the whole thing through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  It makes it look like the sentiment was "inlaid" into the Early Espresso.

Supplies
Stamps: Day of Gratitude (sentiment)
Ink: Early Espresso, Gumball Green, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Raspberry Ripple, Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit
Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla
Misc.: Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Autumn Accents Bigz Die, Big Shot, Modern Label Punch, Linen Thread, Scotch Quick Dry Glue, Sponge Daubers, Dimensionals


I LOVE the background on this card!  This is a piece I created when I was initially playing around with the technique.  I used my finger to move the glue around on this one.

The colors are Pool Party and Midnight Muse.  So awesome together.  I actually don't think I will be keeping this as a card.  I thought about placing a single word sentiment in the upper right corner, but I really don't want to cover up anymore of the background.

I am thinking about framing it and/or using it in a mixed media piece.  What do you think?  What would you do with this background and silhouette?

Speaking of mixed media...I will be sharing some pieces I have been working on pretty soon.  I am very excited about the pieces I have created and how this art form has expanded my creativity.


Supplies
Stamps: Just Believe
Paper: Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Whisper White
Ink: Midnight Muse, Pool Party
Misc.: Scotch Quick Dry Glue, Sponge Daubers

Primrose Inspiration

I made this card for a Big Shot card swap. I wanted to break in the new edgelits I just bought, but needed some inspiration.  I found it on page 83 (far right sample) of the new Annual Catalog.  I just tweaked the layout a bit and used a different stamp set.

I didn't have any of the new DSP yet, so I made my own by stamping and  using My Digital Studio (MDS).  I'm not really a digital crafter, but the MDS program has come in handy several times to fill a gap in my traditional crafting.

For the patterned paper that I ran through the Big Shot with the edgelit.  I stamped Pretty in Pink cardstock with Primrose Petals ink.  The stamp used is the medallion from Artistic Etchings.


This is what the paper looked like before die cutting.

 
I printed the Textile pattern in So Saffron on Very Vanilla cardstock, then simply cut it to the size I needed.

To give the card a little more depth and interest, I ran a piece (4" x 5.25") of Soft Suede through the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and then sponged it in Soft Suede.

The final Big Shot piece is the sentiment which I stamped in Soft Suede and then used one of the Apothecary Accents Framelits to cut out.  I popped it up on some dimensionals.  I love framelits.  It's so easy to create a cute accent or focal point with them.  And, I use up more of my scraps since I can easily align them over a stamped image before cutting.  Saves so much paper!!


Stamps: Field Flowers, Artistic Etchings,
Paper: Primrose Petals, Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, So Saffron Textile DSP-MDS
Ink: Gumball Green, Primrose Petals, Soft Suede, So Saffron
Misc.: Adorning Accents Edgelits, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Victoria Crochet Trim, Dimensionals, Sponge

Very Feminie Swap

For this swap we were to make very feminine cards.

I really like the designs in the Patterns Paper Stacks, they cover all styles from elegant to fun.  To dress up the DSP even more, I used one of the flourishes from the Vintage Ornaments stencils (retired) with Pretty in Pink ink.  Several punches were used on this card and I think they added some wonderful frilly detail.

For the flower, punch out 3 flowers with the Blossom punch from the Pretty in Pink DSP.  After lightly misting them with water, crumple them up into loose balls.  Let them set for a few minutes, then carefully unfold them and set aside until they are completely dry.  To speed the process, you could dry them with a heat tool.  Once dry, sponge the edges with Pretty in Pink.  The center of the flower used Raspberry Ripple and the Boho Blossom punch; and Gumball Green and the Itty Bitty Shapes punch, with a pearl.

Stamps: Four Frames, You’re a Gem

Paper: Early Espresso, Gumball Green, Pretty In Pink, Raspberry Ripple, DSP Subtles Patterns Paper Stack

Ink: Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, Raspberry Ripple

Misc.: Blossom, Decorative Label, Scallop Trim Border, Boho Blossom & Itty Bitty Shapes Punches, Victoria Crochet Trim, Basic Pearls, Vintage Ornaments Décor Stencil (retired), Dauber, Sponges, Dimensionals, Cutter Kit Distress Tool (retired)

Have a great day!

Adrift at Sea

I really like this set for masculine projects, however I always seem to struggle with how to make all the pieces work together on a card.  Basically feeling a little lost and adrift.:) 

The base of the card is a new In-Color called Midnight Muse which will be available for purchase on June 1st!  I stamped the globe and compass randomly on the Cherry Cobbler piece using it's respective ink.  The ledger was stamped with Early Espresso and then "aged" by rubbing So Saffron over the piece and sponging the edges with Early Espresso.

I stamped the anchor on Very Vanilla using Midnight Muse.  After cutting it out, I sponged it with Early Espresso.  To give the card a little more texture and depth, I wrapped the Hemp twine around the anchor and adhered it to the card using mini glue dots.  The Cherry Cobbler and Bashful Blue pieces were also distressed and sponged with their respective inks.

Stamps: The Open Sea, Pennant Parade
Paper:Midnight Muse (new In-Color), Bashful Blue, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Midnight Muse, So Saffron
Misc.: Natural Hemp Twine (retiring), Distress Tool from Cutter Kit (retiring), Sponges, Mini Glue Dots

 Have a great day!

VC Rocks-Have a Heart-Blog Hop

It's that time of year again...where those of us that can not attend the SU annual convention create our own convention fun ~ virtually!

If you don't know what VC Rocks is, please check out the VC Rocks Blog for more info and to see the entire list of blog hop participants in case of broken links. There is some wonderful additional art work on the site as well.

If you are following along the hop from the beginning, you should have come from Robin's site-Robin's Craft Room.  What a great doodling project!

I have done two cards for our Have a Heart Hop featuring sneak peaks of the new 2012-2014 In-Colors that will be available June 1st!! This color combo is not one I would normally choose to do, but it looked very intriguing on the Color Coach chart for the new In-Colors so I gave it a try.

Since the color combo was very bold {at least for me :)}, I kept the card itself pretty simple.

Recipe:

1. Create a standard {4.25" x 5.5"} card base from Basic Gray cardstock and stamp your sentiment in the bottom right corner.  The one I used is from Loving Thoughts and is stamped in Basic Black.
2. Cut a piece of Summer Starfruit (new IC) to 3" x 3.25" and sponge the edges with its respective ink.
3. Cut a piece of Primrose Petals (new IC) to 2.75" x 3".  Punch a heart out of the center of the piece using the Full Heart Punch.  Sponge the edges with Primrose Petals ink, including around the cut out heart edges.
4. Punch a heart from a scrap of Pink Pirouette cardstock.
5. Run the heart through the Big Shot using the embossing folder-Vintage Wallpaper.  Sponge the edges, and the raised embossing, with Pretty In Pink ink.
6. Place pink heart in center of Summer Starfruit mat.  Use dimensionals to pop up the Primrose Petal piece over the heart.*
7. Add three small pearls to bottom right corner of the heart piece and adhere to card base in upper left corner.

*Helpful Hint:

To make sure that your punched heart is centered under the cutout heart, center the Primrose piece on the Starfruit mat-NOT using any adhesive.  

Put adhesive on the back of the punched heart and place inside the negative space of the Primrose piece. 

Once the heart is adhered, remove the Primrose piece, add dimensionals and reposition it on the Starfruit mat.

Supplies
Stamps: Loving Thoughts
Paper: Primrose Petals, Summer Starfruit (new In-colors), Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray
Ink: Primrose Petals, Summer Starfruit, Pink Pirouette, Basic Black
Misc.: Full Heart Punch, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Big Shot, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals, Sponges


For the second card, I went from bold and simple to muted and vintage.  I also used the Color Coach to choose the combo for this card as well.  Raspberry Ripple (new IC), Pretty In Pink and Old Olive;  I added Soft Suede as the base.

Recipe:

1. Create a standard card base {4.25" x 5.5"} using Soft Suede cardstock.  Sponge the edges of the card with Soft Suede Ink.  Also drag the sponge across the top of the card a few times to add a little depth.
2. Tear a piece of First Edition Specialty DSP from the corner, leaving the two outside edges un-torn.  I sponged ink on this piece in Soft Suede, Old Olive and Pretty In Pink.  Adhere to card base.
3. Cut a piece of Raspberry Ripple approximately 3" x 3.25" and punch a heart from the center of this using the Full Heart Punch.
4. Center the second to smallest framelit from the Labels Collection over the negative heart space and run through the Big Shot.
5. Punch a heart from a scrap of Pretty In Pink.  Place this inside the negative space of the Raspberry Ripple piece.  Emboss the pieces using the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and the Big Shot.  Sponge both pieces with Raspberry Ripple and Soft Suede ink.
6. Using the next size larger framelit, cut a piece of Old Olive cardstock.  Sponge with Old Olive and Soft Suede ink.  Layer under the Raspberry Ripple and Pretty In Pink die cut.
7. "Age" a 7" piece of Victorian Lace Ribbon by sponging it with Old Olive, Pretty In Pink and Soft Suede ink.  Tie in a bow, trim and fray the ends.
8. Stamp a sentiment from Tiny Tags on Raspberry Ripple, punch out using the Jewelry Tag Punch.  Sponge with Raspberry Ripple ink.  Use the paper piercer to make a hole in the top of the tag.  Thread with Linen thread and pin to the lace bow using a Vintage Trinket safety pin.
9. Stamp sentiment on card base with Soft Suede ink.

Supplies:
Stamps: Tiny Tags, Wings of Friendship (retired)
Paper: Raspberry Ripple (new In-Color), Old Olive, Pretty In Pink, Soft Suede, First Edition Specialty DSP
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Old Olive, Pretty In Pink, Soft Suede
Misc.: Full Heart Punch, Jewelry Tag Punch, Vintage Trinkets, Linen Thread, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Big Shot, Victoria Lace ribbon, Sponges,

I hope you enjoyed my projects and find some inspiration in them.  The next stop on the hop is Dawn's site-Stampin' At Dawn.  She has a really cute project waiting for you.



   

A Charming Farewell

This adorable little set is on the retiring list and will no longer be available after May 31st.  Charming was originally marketed to coordinate with Stanpin' Up!'s Simply Adorned jewelry line.  However, it is a great set for adding little details to a scrapbook page or even being center stage on a card.

The patterned paper for the focal point is from the Beau Chateau DSP.  I stamped the script image from Charming in Early Espresso.  I didn't want it to be to dark or bold so I just barely touched it to the page.  The flower was colored with Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz markers.  The Pear Pizzazz mat behind the flower is from the 2010-2012 In-Color Patterns Designer Paper Hostess Pack, which is currently on the Clearance Rack (while supplies last).

All of the cardstock/paper pieces' edges were sponged with their respective ink colors.  The focal point was first sponged with Blushing Bride and then lightly sponged with Early Espresso.

I didn't want to use just a plain rectangle for the word Create, but I didn't have a punch that would make the right size decorative piece needed.  So I created my own...

Cut a strip of paper just a hair less than 5/8" of an inch wide.   Stamp the word or phrase of your choice.  Turn the Modern Label Punch upside down and place the strip of paper through the punch from the "top"

Like this...

Line up the paper, and then punch.

For the other side, place the strip of paper through the punch from the side making sure that the image is pointing up out of the punch.

Again, line up your paper and then punch.

Viola!

I added some small pearls and then popped it up on dimensionals.  You can use this same punching technique to make a longer label too.

Stamps: Charming (retiring)
Paper: Blushing Bride (retiring), Early Espresso Textured (textured cardstock is retiring), Pear Pizzazz Belle Chateau DSP (retiring), 2010-2012 In-Color Patterns Designer Paper Hostess Pack (retired, but currently in Clearance Rack) (retiring),
Ink: Blushing Bride Pad and Marker (retiring), Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz Pad and Marker (retiring)
Misc.: Modern Label Punch, Basic Pearls, Pear Pizzazz Pleated Ribbon (retiring), Dimensionals, Sponges

Have a great day!

Fresh Vintage

Here is a peak at another of the great FREE stamp sets you can earn during Sale-A-Bration (SAB). The Fresh Vintage set includes this beautiful floral stamp that can be used as a focal point or to create great backgrounds.

I used my In-Color markers to color the stamp. I took the color combo from the patterns in the DSP, Everyday Enchantment, which you can also earn for FREE during SAB. If you struggle with color combinations, then the SU Color Lab is a great place to find inspiration. You can even add your own favorite color combos!


This was a pretty easy card to put together. The item that took the longest was coloring the stamp and that only took a couple of minutes. Once stamped, I simply added the layers, placed the focal point, stamped the sentiment, and added the pearls. With this versatile layout you could create any kind of card, all you need to do is change the sentiment and the focal point.

SAB starts January 24th, so don't miss out on your chance to earn FREE products!!

Stamps: Fresh Vintage, Bring on the Cake
Paper: Baja Breeze, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Everyday Enchantment DSP
Ink: Baja Breeze, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade Stampin' Write Markers
Misc.: Basic Pearls

Enjoy the 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!

VC Rocks - Big Shot Hop

Welcome to the second Blog Hop of the summer for VC Rocks. If you don't know what VC Rocks is, please check out the VC Rocks Blog for more info and to see the entire list of blog hop participants in case of broken links. There is some wonderful additional art work on the site as well.

(Blog Candy has been added-see details below)

If you have been following the hop from the beginning, you should have arrived here from Jackie's blog Creative Designs By Jackie. She has some great cards and sketches on her blog.

The theme for this hop was to make items featuring the Big Shot and Sizzix Dies offered by Stampin' Up!

For the gift box below, I used a project design that I saw on this blog, with a little tweak. I used the new Nautical Expedition DSP for this project as I needed a masculine gift box.

The tweak I made to the design was to make the box lid a bit longer than in the original design and to have the fancy edge from the die on the lid as well as the box. To do this I simply used a wider strip of paper, 3.75" x 12" and ran it through the Big Shot twice. You could make it any length that you like!

After running the DSP through to cut the shape, I simply moved the paper up over the fancy cutting edge a bit, making sure the end edges matched up with the steel blades, and then ran it through again. Here is a sample pic before the first run through.

When prepping your paper to run through the Big Shot the second time, make sure that the bottom of your cut-out is lined up with the score lines on the die (purple lines) and that the sides of the cut-out are lined up with the metal cutting blades (turquoise lines). This will ensure that you do not cut off edges that you don't want cut, and that the fancy edge cut will be straight across the top.


Once you run it through the second time, simply assemble it as you would the Fancy favor Box and decorate as desired.

Stamps: The Open Sea
Ink: Early Espresso
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Nautical Expedition DSP
Misc.: Fancy Favor Bigz, XL die, Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Antique Brads, 2" Circle Punch, Coluzzle Cutting System, Sponges


For this card I stepped a bit out of my comfort zone, color wise. I am not at all a fan of the peach/orange color family, but I am trying to make a deliberate effort this year to use items that are just hanging around and taking up space in my craft room - at least once anyway. :) The color combo I used can be found on Stampin' Up!'s Color Coach and is Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz and Concord Crush. All current In-Colors.

In keeping with the Hop theme I used the Fun Flowers Bigz L die; and for the sentiment, I used the smallest label from the Matchbox Bigz XL die. All the patterned paper is from the In-Color Designer Series Paper Pack (Hostess Level 1).

For the design element in the top right corner and behind the sentiment, I used the "&" stamp from Together Forever and Peach Parfait ink to randomly stamp the paper. I am not sure that I am totally thrilled with this card, but I can live with it. Maybe the colors will eventually grow on me. :)

Stamps: All Holidays, Together Forever
Ink: Concord Crush, Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz
Paper: Concord Crush, In-Color Designer Series Paper Pack (Hostess Level 1)
Misc.: Fun Flowers Bigz L die, Matchbox, Bigz XL die, Antique Brads, Spiral Punch, Sponges


The next stop on your hopping journey is Heather's blog Stamp and scrapbook with me! She has some darling layouts on her site.

Edited 6/11: Due to the wonderful and encouraging comments I have received so far, I have decided to give the box and card, on this post, away as blog candy, along with an additional gift box in the winner's color choice. Just leave a comment by midnight June 12th to this post and your name will be added to the drawing. Those who have already left comments will be included too. :)

Hope you have a good time on your hopping journey this weekend and find a little inspiration for your own projects along the way.

Enjoy!

Blushing Flower

I've had an order of new stamp sets from the Summer Mini sitting around and decided that they needed to be broken in.


Now, I am not typically a floral type girl, but Fabulous Florets has this great silhouette stamp in it that I couldn't pass up. I embossed it with white embossing powder on Naturals White cardstock; then I created a mask with post-it notes and colored it in using a sponge dauber and Blushing Bride ink.

The green mat is a piece of Pear Pizzazz patterned paper from the In-Color Designer Series Paper Pack (Hostess Level 1); and the card base is Blushing Bride.


After stamping the Mini Vintage Tag with part of the leaf in Pear Pizzazz, I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and Blushing Bride and embossed it with clear embossing powder so that it would stand out a little more. The tag was then tied to the piece using Linen thread.

Stamps: Fabulous Florets, Tiny Tags
Paper: Blushing Bride, Naturals White, Pear Pizzazz DSP
Ink: Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Versamark
Misc: Mini Vintage Tags, Linen Thread, Clear and White Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Sponge Daubers


By the way - Wednesday, June 1st, the retiring stamp sets and accessory lists will come out. Make sure you don't miss out on the items you want/need! Retiring items go fast, so make sure to contact me early with your order; or place your order online on my website by clicking on the Shop Now button.

Unloved Colors

I've pretty much ignored the in-colors this past year, so I figured it was time to give them some love. For this card I featured Poppy Parade.


I used the Faux Silk technique to create the focal point. After coloring the large floral stamp from Just Believe with Old Olive and Poppy Parade markers, I spritzed it with water before stamping onto Naturals White cardstock. I crumpled white tissue paper into a ball and then carefully un-crumpled it. Don't rush through the un-crumpling because you will end up with holes in the paper. Cover the focal piece with glue, I used Tombow Multi for this one, and then place your piece of tissue paper on top. Carefully press the tissue paper over the cardstock to get any bubbles out. Take care not to rip or stretch your tissue. Set aside to dry-it won't take too long.

Once dry, I trimmed the excess tissue paper from the piece and matted it with Poppy Parade. Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain covers the bottom of the piece. Using the Scallop Trim border punch and Old Olive cardstock, I created an accent for the side.

I colored the stamp again with Poppy Parade and Old Olive and stamped a Vintage Mini Tag. Due to the coating on the tag's paper, the colors ended up in a paler shade of the original. It gave it a kind of watercolor effect, which I really liked.

The sentiment is from Tiny Tags and I used the Jewelry Tag punch on it. I cut the string on the vintage tag, right under the knot, added the punched tag then tied it around the olive ribbon, trimming the excess string. I added a basic pearl for just a little more detail.

Stamps: Just Believe, Tiny Tags
Paper: Baja Breeze, Old Olive Poppy Parade, Naturals White
Ink: Old Olive and Poppy Parade Markers
Misc.: Mini Vintage Tags, Basic Pearls, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon Jewelry Tag punch, Scallop Trim border punch, Tissue Paper, Tombow Multi-glue


Have a great day!

Distressed Razzleberry Birdie

I made this for one of my upline's demo meeting swaps. I definitely would not do this for a LARGE swap; it's a bit time consuming, but so much fun to make and I really like how they turned out.

Rich Razzleberry is the base of this card. The larger mat is Soft Suede and the DSP is from the Cottage Wall collection. For the main image, I colored the Wings of Friendship stamp with Razzleberry and Old Olive markers and then misted the stamp with water before stamping on Naturals White cardstock.

After stamping and cutting out several of the open flowers, I sponged the edges, placed a rhinestone brad in the center and popped them up with dimensionals. I wasn't happy with the size or look of the olive ribbon on it's own, and didn't want the polka dots showing on the soft suede ribbon, so I flipped it over and layered the olive grosgrain on top.

Editing to Add: I used the distressing tool from the Cutter Kit on all the layers. On the focal layer with the bird, I also used my scissors. I opened them up, like if I was going to curl ribbon, placed the edge of the paper in the "v" of the scissors and ran them down the edge of the paper. I then added a few small slices along the edges. Be careful though, you need a light touch when doing this, otherwise you could slice your image in half. Ask me how I know... :)

Enjoy!

Tiny Vintage Tags

I really like the new punches that SU has come out with! The little tag punch and Tiny Tags stamp set are so fun to use. I think the tags add that perfect little touch to your cards. And while I am generally not a fan of a scalloped edge, I do like the new Scallop Trim Border punch. What's really great is that right now, you can get this punch Free during Sale-A-Bration. It has a matching corner punch in the Occasions Mini.

For these I used a card base of Kraft cardstock. The Bella Bleu dsp lent itself nicely to the color scheme of yellow and blue. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I really like this DSP. I have had it for quite a while and this is the first I have used it. It has some gorgeous patterns and a great muted/natural color scheme.

The flowers are from the Vintage Vogue stamp set. Would it surprise you that I absolutely adore this set???? For those that know me probably not. :) I stamped the large flowers in So Saffron on Barely Banana cs, the smaller flowers are stamped in Barely Banana on banana cs and Brocade Blue on Kraft cs, the leaves are also stamped on Kraft cs in Always Artichoke. I distressed the mat pieces and inked the edges of all the pieces in coordinating colors.

I couldn't find my Natural Linen thread (need to do some organizing!) and I thought the Hemp Twine was too thick for the look I was going for, so I "split" the Hemp Twine into two strands to attache the tag. It worked great, plus it stretches the amount of twine I have!!

For this one I used the masking technique. I stamped the large flower from Vintage Vogue in Rich Razzleberry and the leaves in Old Olive on Naturals White cs. I then masked them with a post-it cut into each shape and stamped over that with the French Filligree background stamp in Soft Suede. The small flower and scalloped edge are Crushed Curry, the mat is Rich Razzleberry and the base is Soft Suede.

Razzleberry Heaven

Sorry I missed posting last week! I've been working on several projects for two upcoming craft fairs and my 12 Day Holiday Extravaganza.

Purple has always been my favorite color and pretty much in any shade too. I have to say though that Stampin' Up!'s new in-color, Rich Razzleberry is just divine! It's so beautiful and purpley. :)

I will definitely be buying way more than I will ever use of this color just so I can gaze upon it's wonderfulness everyday. I used the faux silk technique on this card; stamping the main image on white tissue paper with Rich Razzleberry ink, then crumpling it up, gently flattening it out again and then gluing to white cardstock.

The image and sentiment are from the retired Essence of Love stamp set. I also used Old Olive cardstock and Cottage Wall DSP to complete the card.


I used the same color scheme for this card and more Cottage Wall DSP. I inked the Upsy Daisy stamp with Pale Plum and then used a sponge dauber to add some Rich Razzleberry to it. The sentiment was stamped using Old Olive.

Enjoy!