Saturday, May 15, 2010

Whoo Loves You?

As a card maker, I am (I hate to admit) guilty of sending my cards late. It's the old shoemaker's children have no shoes theory in action in my house for most occasions. That's why when I saw Hero Arts' monthly challenge to make a card for Dad or Grad, I decided to join in. I'm proud to say that Sal's Father's day card is signed and sealed and ready to be delivered FIVE weeks ahead of time. Yeah for me! Anyway, here's my card:

I based it on Sketch 166 which I saw on the Card Positioning Systems blog:

Let me tell you a little bit about this card. I got the idea for the owls and the "Who Loves You" sentiment right away. My only problem was that I only own Christmas owl stamps (which are all dressed in ski sweaters or Santa hats) and I didn't want to buy another stamp this week. Then the light bulb went on and I thought that if my owls were hiding in the tree, I could cover up their winter attire. So after stamping and embossing the wood grain for the tree, I got out my hole punch and created some hiding spots for my Christmas owl. (Note: I first cut out three circles from scrap paper and placed them on my stamped image with removable adhesive. I punched right around these scrap circles for perfect placement!) After coloring and dressing my owls (including pearls for the Mom owl), I attached them so that they were peaking out from behind the circles and then used foam dimensionals on the back of the entire piece. Wanting to add more texture, I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the brown card stock behind each owl. Here's a close-up:

When my new phonebook was delivered this week, i thought it was a shame to throw the old one out -- especially since I look up any numbers I need online. So, in the spirit of recycling, I tore out some sheets, scalloped them with my border punch and added glimmer mist. The result, A soft ruffle trim that reminds me of owl feathers. And as luck would have it, using pages from a phonebook is the challenge over at Paper Crafts this week! Talk about a hat trick!
Well now that the card is done, I guess I should start shopping for his gift!
Supplies
Card Stock: Stampin' Up! (Naturals Very Vanilla, River Rock); Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate)
Stamps: Hero Arts (Background Flourish; Designer Woodgrain; Curly Alphabet; Owl Christmas; Trees, Birds & Messages)
Ink: VersaMark; Ranger (Coffee, Vintage Photo Distress); Stampin' Up! (Riding Hood Red)
Stamp n Stuff Embossing Powder (Detail Clear)
Tools: Stampin' Up (Circle Punch, Scallop Punch); Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Distressed Stripes)
Misc.: Stampin' Up! markers; Recollections Pearls; Technique Tuesday ribbon

Monday, May 10, 2010

Badge of Honor

Just had to toot my own horn and point out the new Moxie Fab badge that I'm displaying on right side of my blog. Remember my "It's a Boy" card that I submitted to the Get Sketchy Challenge? Well it was one of the winners! You can see all of the winning entries by clicking on the badge.

I hope you have a Moxie Fab day! I know I will.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!

Just a quick post tonight to wish all of my family and friends a happy Mother's Day! Here's the card I made for mother:

This card came out nothing like I imagined it. First I randomly stamped a small rectangular scrap of paper with my sunflowers. However, since this is a big flower, I didn't get the look I was going for so I pulled out my Nestabilities and cut it into a circle. I placed my stamped piece on the brown scalloped circle (also cut with a Spellbinders Nestabilities) and put that on the white card stock. Still not what I was going for. Then I remembered that I had these circular felt coasters that I had picked up in the dollar bins at Michael's. I put foam dimensionals on the back of the scalloped circle, adhered it to the coaster and put that on the white card. Better but the card was still missing something. That's when I pulled out my Hero Arts background stamp and some clear embossing powder. After embossing the image and distressing the edges, I added a little twine and gem,rounded the corners and finally had a card that was worthy of all the love my mother gives. Here's a closer look at the embossing:

I am submitting this card to Clips-n-Cuts Around the World Challenge #2. (http://www.clips-n-cuts.com/2010/05/around-the-world-challenge-2/). I didn't have a tulip stamp, so sunflowers will have to do!
Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
Supplies:
Card Stock: Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Hero Arts (Real Flowers, Scroll Frames & Messages, Flourish Background)
Ink: Stampin' Up! (Crushed Curry); Tim Holtz Distress (Scattered Straw, Vintage Photo); Versamark
Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities (Classic Circles, Classic Scallop Circles)
Bling: Recollections Pearl Stickers
Misc.: Clear Embossing Powder; Twine from stash