Celebrate -- An Anniversary Card

When I first bought this Itty Bitty Unity stamp, I envisioned using just two chairs for an anniversary card.  

So, I masked it, stamped it twice --once on cardstock and once on patterned paper -- and made this card:

Not only does this card use some of my favorite October Afternoon papers, but it also uses two of my favorite techniques, namely embossing (the doily stamp) and paper piecing on the chair.  Here is a closer look.

So now that I used part of this stamp on an anniversary card, I just may have another use for the entire stamp.  I just learned that my nephew and his wife are expecting their second baby!  I think the four chairs may offer some fun symbolism for a congratulatory card.  What do you think? Should I go traditional baby congratulations or stretch the chair stamp?  Let me know.
Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink;
Patterned Paper and Sticker: October Afternoon (Farmhouse);
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company (Enjoy Your Company): Papertrey Ink (Mat Stack 1); Hero Arts (Circle Design);
Inks: Ranger (Jet Black); Versamark;
Tools: Martha Stewart Border Punch (Doily Lace Edge)
Misc.: Zing Embossing Powder (white) Ribbon (Recollections)

Scrap Pile Challenge

We are in week five of our kitchen remodel so I thought it would be a good time for a Scrap Pile Challenge. Most of the pieces for this card were leftovers that that I had cleaned off the dining room table when I was packing up the kitchen. The card base had been cut and scored.  The flower made from a Nestabilities die was ready to go. Even the cardstock for the sentiment was scalloped and somehow trimmed to the right size.  All I needed to add was a background stamp, a sentiment stamp, the black mat and a few jewels.  Easy, peasy, right?  Here's my card: 

 And here's a close-up of the flower and the embossed sentiment.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink;
Patterned Paper: Fancy Pants (Love Collection);
Stamps: Hero Arts (Dash Pattern); Papertrey Ink (Think Big Favorites #13)
Inks: Versa Mark; Ranger (Jet Black):
Tools: Spellbinders Shapeabilities (Blossom 1); Fiskars Border Punch (Scalloped Sentiment)'
Misc.: American Crafts Zing Embossing Powder (Opaque White); Recollections Rhinestone stickers.

Cave Tubing

I realize that I haven't shared as many layouts on my blog as I have cards so today, I have a layout.  This one was inspired by the wood embellishment that reads "All Time Best Day Ever" and it includes some very imperfect pictures that were taken with a disposable underwater camera when we were in Belize.  Here's my layout:

I started this layout by making a grid with my pictures.  I cropped the picture on the bottom (which was mostly black since it was taken inside the cave) to fill the gap under the 4x6 vertical picture.  I think its 4x2 size works much better than the original and really pulls your eye to the opening of the cave.  The papers are all My Mind's Eye.  The green stripes are actually washi tape.  I heart washi tape! I created the effect of the water using my EK Success Zig Zag punch.  I really like how this carried out the theme of my page and  grounded my journaling.  

To create my title, I stamped cardstock using the Hero Arts Envelope Pattern stamp.  I love the texture that this adds to the letters.  Then, I used my Cricut to cut the title out three times.  Why three times?  So I could stack each letter.  These homemade Thickers add more dimension to my page!

The journaling reads: After a 1-hour bus ride with our very entertaining guides, we reached the site, picked up our tubes and hiked to the river.  The only way across was to swim or jump off the cliff like Mark did.  After a 30-minute hike through the hot jungle, we reached the caves, got in our tubes hooking our feet under the arms of the person in front and began our float trip.  Best day ever! 

Supplies:

Cardstock: Bazzill;

Patterned Paper:  My Mind's Eye;

Embellishments:  My Mind's Eye (wood sub-title); October Afternoon (Tidbits & Tin Pin);

Tim Holtz (mini paper clip): Queen & Company (washi tape);

Stamps: Hero Arts; (Envelope Pattern: Travel Journal)

Ink: Ranger (Coffee)

Tools: EK Success Border Punch; Provo Craft Cricut. 

Dear Lizzy Happy Birthday!

Sorry for the unexpected hiatus from blogging.  We took a cruise to Bermuda the first week of August. Upon my return, I had one week to finish packing up the kitchen for the remodel.  We are completely gutting the room and raising two headers so the dust and dirt have gotten in the way of all things paper.  Another thing that has gotten in the way of crafting is a temporary lack of space.  Right now, the dining room table and chairs are in the living room under drop cloths; the kitchen table and refrigerator are in the dining room and we are "cooking" in the basement in a toaster oven and microwave or, when we can walk through the kitchen, on the BBQ out back.  With all this mess, scrapping and card making have taken a back seat.

When, I needed to make a birthday card for my niece over Labor Day weekend, I had to make space.  So, I pulled out the keyboard tray on my desk and basically made this card on my lap.  Since my space was limited, I let the pattern paper do the work.  Here's my card:

To create it I pulled cut strips of pattern paper in a variety of widths.  Since I didn't have much desk space to work on, I used just one 6x6 pad of coordinating papers. For the sentiment, I used a combination of Thickers and stamping.  (Did I ever confess to my Thickers addiction.  I seem to buy them in every color -- especially pink and green -- and then only use the black and brown ones on my projects.  I thought this card was the perfect time to start using up my pink Thickers!) To finish off the card, I added a piece of ribbon, chipboard embellishment and button, and rounded the corners.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper/Chipboard: American Crafts (Dear Lizzy Neapolitan);
Stickers: American Crafts Thickers (Honey puffy letters);
Stamp: Papertrey Ink(Tag Its #10);
Ink: Ranger (Coffee);
Embellishments: ribbon (My Mind's Eye Lost & Found); button (Melissa Frances).

Our Broadway Tradition

Wow!  It's been a while since I posted a layout to the ole' blog.  It's been a busy summer and although I have created quite a few layouts, I have been a little slow to photograph them.  I hope that will change but I can't promise anything since my kitchen demo, I mean remodel, begins on Wednesday.  It's hard to believe how much stuff I have accumulated in one room over the past 20 years.  I couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it must be to pack up a house.  I haven't quite figured out where I will be scrapping for the next month since my dining room table was relocated to the living room to make room for the kitchen table and refrigerator which will live temporarily in the dining room.  My sanity will depend on me finding a way!  Anyway, here's today's layout:  

It uses the Cosmo Cricket  Circa 1929 collection.  I started with the grid paper and adhered photos, paper strips and stickers across the middle.  I created the city scape at the top with some Creative Imaginations rub-ons that I purchased for a dollar a few years ago. I grounded the title with a journaling block from the collection.  I used a mixture of fonts for the title, stamping the word "Our",\ and using Tiny Type for the word "Broadway." For the word "Tradition", I used a circle punch to cut the letters from patterned paper.  I covered each letter with an epoxy dome sticker and used foam dots to adhere them.

The journaling reads: In 2003, I took you to see 42nd Street.  It was your first Broadway show.  Now that you are older, Girl's Day Out on Broadway is an annual event!

And, yes, for you Seinfeld fans, that is, indeed, John O'Hurley with Melissa!

Supplies:
Patterned Paper, Stickers: Cosmo Cricket (Circa 1929);
Rub-Ons: Creative Imaginations;
Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Just the Ticket, Library Ledger); Technique Tuesday Perspectives by Ali Edwards);
Ink: Stampin' Up  (Riding Hood Red) Ranger (Jet Black);
Tools:  EK Success Border Punch (Postage Stamp);
Misc.: Making Memories buttons, Epoxy Dome Stickers (Papertrey Ink).

Birthday Flip Flops

I have been trying my hand at clean and simple cards lately -- partly because I love the style and partly because it's all I have time for.  I have to admit that sometimes clean is not so simple for me.  Sometimes it actually takes longer to get clean look just right!  However, this birthday card for my niece came together just like I imagined it would.  Here it is:

 After running an A2 card through my Cuttlebug with a linen impression play, I adhered a patterned paper scalloped rectangle that was cut and embossed with a Nestabilities die.  Next, I cut a piece of cardstock with a smaller die, stamped the image with Memento ink and colored with my Copics.  Since my Copic collection is somewhat limited, I added shading to the image by going over certain areas more than once.  When I finished coloring, I added the stamped image to my main card using foam adhesive.  Some rhinestone stickers and a stamped sentiment finished the card.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Stamper's Select White)'
Patterned Paper: American Crafts (Margarita);
Stamp: Imaginisce Snag 'Ems; Papertrey Ink (Birthday Basics)
Ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black); Stampin' Up (Dusty Durango) Copics;
Tools: Papertrey Ink Impression Plate (Linen); Nestabilities (Classic Scalloped Rectangles);
Misc.: Rhinestone stickers (Micheal's).

Choo Choo!

I just found a bunch of projects that never made it to my blog , so there should be lots of new content in the coming weeks!

Anyway, last year, my great nephews were into into trains.  (You may remember the card I made for Thomas.) For Paul's card, I decided to put my Cricut to work again.  Here's the card:

 I used foam dimensionals to pop the train off the track.  Glossy accents added texture to the wheels.  And, the cloud proved to be the perfect place to stamp the sentiment.  (That seems to be my thing.  LOL!)  Here's a closer look.

 For the gift bag, I repurposed a navy American Eagle shopping bag by adding a cardstock layer that was stamped with all different emergency vehicles.  I added a border that was punched from a scrap of paper and some stickers to personalize it.  Here's the gift bag:

Both nephews turned three this year and Disney Cars is their thing. Thanks to Google, I found the perfect stamp and will share those cards soon.

Supplies:

Card:

Cardstock:  American Crafts;

Tools: Cricut Cartridge (My World); 

Stamp: Papertrey Ink;

Ink: Ranger (Jet Black);

Misc.: White Signo Gel Pen; Glossy Accents

Gift Bag:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink;

Patterned Paper: Imaginisce;

Stamps: Technique Tuesday (Life Savers);

Ink: Ranger (Jet Black);

Tools: Fiskars Border Punch (Scalloped Sentiment)

Stickers: K&Company

  

Celebrate the 4th!

Just a quick card to share today. Here it is:

 I used the star from a Technique Tuesdays set to make my own patterned paper and matted it on Night of Navy card stock.  For the card base, I stamped my sentiment to the right and adhered a strip of stars (made with a border punch to the left. I tied some twine around the strip of stars and adhered it using foam adhesives.

Wishing all of my American friend a happy and safe July 4th!

PTI Blog Hop

Welcome to the June 2012 Papertrey Ink Blog Hop.  This month's inspiration was a fun take on florals, ruffles and pleats.  Here's the inspiration:

And here's my card:   

I was definitely drawn to the large pillow in the inspiration photo so I pulled out a piece of Aqua Mist cardstock and began stamping.  (The green ink is an old "In Color" from Stampin' Up!  The yellow flower centers were stamped on Lemon Tart and punched out with a small circle punch. The pleated trim is actually washi tape from Target. I just manipulated the tape back and forth until I got the pleats the way I wanted them.  Here's a closer look:

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Aqua Mist; Lemon Tart); Stampin' Up (Naturals White);

Stamps: Papertrey Ink (All About You);

Ink: Stampin' Up! (Wild Wasabi);

Tools:  Stampin' Up! (circle punch) Spellbinders Nestabilities (Classic Scalloped Rectangles Large);

Misc.: Target (washi tape); My Mind's Eye (twine).

u r a grt txtr

That's text speak for "You Are a Great Texter"! This layout is all about my son's affinity for texting. I used a picture of him texting on a shore excursion on our cruise to New England to tell the story. (Guess it really didn't surprise me that he spent our tour of the Newport mansions texting his friends.) Here's my layout:

I went through our phone bill for statistics cited in the journaling. It reads: 13,679...That's how many texts you had this month alone. You texted as many as 67 messages in one hour. You texted before school and as late as 2 a.m. on a weekend. Thank goodness we have an unlimited plan!

The inspiration for this layout was the number paper from Cosmo Cricket's Circa 1934 collection. I added layer upon layer of die cut tags from Pink Paislee's Hometown summer collection. To add a touch of whimsy, I used several fonts for the title.

Supplies

Cardstock: American Crafts; C'Oredination;

Patterned Paper/Die Cut Tags: Cosmo Cricket (Circa 1934);

Letter Stickers: American Crafts Thickers; October Afternoon (Tiny Types);

Stamps: Studio Calico (alphabet); Papertrey Ink (Library Ledger);

Pen: Stampin' Up!

Tools: Fiskars Border Punch (Scalloped Sentiment): EK Success Border Punch (Postage Stamp).

Wild Flower Birthday Wishes.

I have yet another card to share. This one is a one-layer card that was easy to mail -- if you don't count the pearls. Here it is:

To create this card, I cut cardstock to a standard size card and scored it at the top. Since I wanted to vary the colors of my flowers, I colored the stamp with markers and huffed on it right before stamping. I stamped the sentiment in black, distressed the edges of the card, rounded the corner, added the jewels and the card was done!

So, I seem to be favoring top-folds lately. Do other cardmakers out there gravitate to scoring cards in the same place or do you mix it up? Let me know in the comments.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Wintage Cream):

Stamp: Hero Arts (Wild Flower); Papertrey Ink (Think Big Favorites #&)

Ink: Stampin' Up markers (Rich Regals); Memento (Tuxedo Black): Tim Holtz Distress (Antique Linen);

Misc.: EK Success corner punch; ZVA pearl stickers.

Old, New Borrowed and Cool Birthday Card

Lately I feel like a scrapbooker who makes card. Next to December, when I made 80 Christmas cards, May and June is the biggest card-making season for me. Between birthdays, anniversaries, confirmations and graduations, I am in a card-making frenzy! Today, I have a card that fits Kelly Goree's Old, New, Borrowed and Cool challenge. This card uses an old Hero Arts butterfly stamp (one of the first I bought and still a favorite) a new background stamp, a borrowed design from a sketch I found on the Hero Arts blog, and some very cool bling. Here it is:

I started with a standard sized card base and four of my favorite patterns from the 6x6 pad of Basic Grey's Out of Print. I created the background pattern on the striated pink paper using a Hero Arts background stamp, VersaMark ink, white embossing powder and my heat tool. I adhered this piece and a coordinating pattern to the front of my card. Next, I stamped the banner and cut it out. I masked half of the sentiment so that I would have a clean spot to place my butterfly. I stamped the butterfly, cut it out and filled in all of the openings on the wings with Diamond Stickles. After adding the butterfly with foam adhesive, I felt the card needed a little something extra so I added some rhinestones to the banner and rounded the corners. Here's a closer look:

Supplies:

Cardstock (Not shown): Papertrey Ink (Stamper's Select White);

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Out of Print);

Stamps: Hero Arts (Flower Dot Pattern; Calico Borders);

Ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black); Versamark;

Misc: Zing embossing powder (white); Diamond Stickles; Recollections rhinestones; EK Success Corner Rounder.

Airmail Birthday Card

When I saw the JFK luggage tag stamp from Hero Arts for Studio Calico, I knew I had to have it. Not only do I live close enough to JFK airport to make this stamp a part of almost every vacation, but my brother-in-law used to work at JFK. Talk about the perfect stamp for those hard-to-make masculine cards! Here's my card:

Inspired by a sketch on the Hero Arts blog, I adhered a scrap of patterned paper that was loose in my scrap pile to my card base. The circles on that paper always reminded me of the globe in Pan Am's logo so I knew it would coordinate well with the travel theme I had in mind for this card. I added a stamped border to the top and bottom of the patterned paper using the Hero Arts Calico Borders set. I stamped the tag on a separate piece of card stock. After cutting it out, I attached it to a Maya Road chipboard airplane that was in my stash with some twine.

For the inside, I stamped the sentiment and added a trail of the cute planes from the Airmail set.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Neenah (Solar White);

Patterned Paper: Studio Calico;

Stamps: Hero Arts for Studio Calico (Airmail; Calico Borders);

Ink: Stampin; UP! (Crumb Cake; Soft Sky); Memento (Tuxedo Black):

Misc.: Maya Road chipboard plane; My Mind's Eye twine

Welcome, Baby!

I made this card a while ago and never posted it so today seems the perfect time to do so. While the real card went to a co-worker's sweet baby girl, I am using it today to send virtual wishes to Jennifer McGuire and her family. Welcome to the world beautiful Lila Grace! Here's my card:

The inspiration for this card came from a Carter's onesie which I purchased as a baby gift. Love that I was able to create a card that matched the gift and so did the new mama!

For my card, I cut down my cardstock to measure 4.25 x 8.5 inches and scored it at 4.25" to make it a square card. There's something I love about square baby cards! Next, I stamped the herringbone pattern with Technique Tuesday's Storm Cloud ink. (I am so disappointed that they no longer make this perfect shade of grey ink!) For the image panel, I cut and embossed the white cardstock using a Spellbinders die. Then I stamped the elephant and sentiment using the only baby stamp set I have -- a baby BOY set! I used a masking technique for the sentiment to make it appear on two lines. I know plenty of people cut their acrylic stamps but the though of doing that makes me break out in hives! LOL! Finally, I stamped the background on a scrap, punched out the heart and adhered it using foam adhesive.

You can hop over to Jana Millen's blog to see the other cards that were made to welcome the world's newest little stamper!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Neenah (Solar White); Stampin' Up! (pink);

Stamps: Hero Arts for Basic Grey (Dash Pattern/Oxford): Inkadinkadoo (Baby Boy);

Ink: Technique Tuesday (Storm Cloud); Stampin' Up! (Pink Piourette);

Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities (Classic Scalloped Squares Large); EK Success (Corner Rounder); Stampin' UP (Heart punch).

Blogging My Heart Out & A Card

The fabulous Stephanie Howell pours her heart and soul into her blog posts on a regular basis. This week, she challenged her readers to do the same.

In less than a month, I will turn 50. There. I said it. But saying it doesn't make it seem any more real. Fifty always seemed to be the age of my mother and her friends. But, now that my mother is 80, I guess that's no longer true. Maybe the fact that my mother acts much younger counts for something. Maybe. Maybe the fact that my daughter thinks I should get style advice from Seventeen magazine counts for something. Maybe. Most days, I wake up wondering how 50 got here so fast. But then there are days when I wake up and my body feels every day of it's almost 50 years. And then some!

Turning 40 was no big deal to me. I embraced my 40's. After all, those were the years where I could go out without carrying a Peter Rabbit diaper bag. They were the years where I could run to the store without getting a sitter. In my 40's I became confident enough to stand up for myself and speak my mind. They were they years when I finally realized that reading was something I did for pleasure so I didn't have to finish every book I started. (Sadly it took my 40 years to figure out that last one!)

I remember my co-worker, Elaine, who I met at my first job out of college. I was 22 and she turned 50 just a few short months after I met her. She could never say the word "fifty." Instead she stumbled over the "f" as if she head a speech impediment. It became a running joke and for the weeks leading up to her birthday, we all talked about her turning "f-f-f-f-f-f-fifty"! Now that it's my turn, I am not making any jokes!

I know I should be looking forward to my fifties. After all, these will be the years when our mortgage is paid off, college tuitions are a thing of the past, and an empty nest may mean more time for date nights and scrapping! Yes, I should be looking forward to my 50's. But, for now, I am going to relish in the fact that I still have another 25 days left before I have to check a different box on a survey, be solicited for membership by AARP, or be considered an antique by wikipedia!

If you made it this far, I will quickly share a 5-minute card i made using washi tape from Target and a Papertrey Ink stamp. Here it is:

Three strips of washi tape and a stamped sentiment. It doesn't get any simpler than that. And maybe that's why I should be looking forward to my 50s because they are the years where, just maybe, life gets a little simpler!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Stamper's Select White);

Washi Tape: Target (solid; dot); Bella Blvd. (stripe);

Stamp: Papertrey Ink (Think Big Favorites #2);

Ink: Memento (Black)

Club CK Mother's Day Card

I don't buy my mom a Mother's Day gift. Instead, a few years ago, I decided to enroll her in Netflix. Keeping those movies coming for the year is her every-occasion gift. No more shopping for another blouse or something that she has to dust makes us both happy! It's the perfect gift for a retiree! But since I didn't have something to wrap up for her on Mother's Day, I wanted to make her card extra special! When I spotted Kim Watson's Mother's Day Card class on the Creating Keepsakes forum, I knew it would be perfect. I didn't have time to make the card "live" with Kim but there are detailed instructions to make it on your own. Here's the card:

It really is more like a min-album. I ran the twine through the tag so that it stays attached to the card when it is opened. Here's a closer look at the front panel:

Note that I didn't have my sewing machine threaded so I used a rub-on for the zig-zag stitch. For the papers, I chose a mix of old (Cosmo Cricket Everlast and Girl Friday) and new (October Afternoon Farmhouse). The tag is part of the Martha Stewart collection that is sold at Staples. Love the grey accent!

Once you untie the bow and open up it up, this is the panel you see. It's my first time using a doily and I think I am hooked. The doily was white so I antiqued it a bit with some distress ink. added the "love you" stamp, punched heart and yellow floral rub-on to the journaling card before adhering the kraft flower.

Finally, here's the inside of my mini-album/card:

I printed the photos using a Vintage Photo action in Photoshop Elements and then added some washi tape for a pop of color. Another kraft flower, more elements stickers, some stamping and a hand-cut banner finish off my project.

I thik this design would be great for graduation or anniversary cards as well!

Supplies:

Cardstock: American Crafts;

Patterned Paper: October Afternoon (Farmhouse); Cosmo Cricket (Everafter; Girl Friday);

Stamps: Papertrey Ink; Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday;

Ink: Technique Tuesday; Tim Holtz Distress Ink

Letters: American Crafts Thickers; Studio Calico

Misc. Embellishments: Flowers (Maya Road); Buttons (Crate Paper); Tag (Martha Stewart); Label Stickers (October Afternoon); Rub-ons (October Afternoon, Hambly) Doily (Wilton); Twine (My Mind's Eye); Chipboard (Studio Calico, Crate Paper).

Wild About Washi Tape!

So I broke out the washi tape I found in Target's office supply aisle and I am hooked! Thanks to the washi tape and the pop of color it gave, this card came together in 15 minutes! Here it is:

To create, I cut my cardstock to a standard size with the fold at the top. I cut patterned paper to measure 3 3/4" x 5" and black cardstock to measure 3 7/8" x 5 1/8. Next, I stamped my background image with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with black embossing powder. After layering the image over the black cardstock, I added the washi tape, twine and chipboard letters. Since I was mailing the card I used regular adhesive to affix this panel to the card. Here's a closer look:

I originally wrapped the twine around the card three times and knotted it. When I cut off the ends, I felt that it needed a little something else so I took the tail and made an additional knot on each of the other two lines of twine.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink;

Patterned Paper: Lawn Fawn;

Stamp: Hero Arts (Formula Fun);

Ink: VersaMark;

Embossing Powder: Stamp 'n Stuff

Embellishments: Washi Tape (Target); Twine (Martha Stewart)

Local Color

I am OFFICIALLY tired of Christmas! There, I said it! It's true that I LOVE Christmas. It's my favorite holiday of the year. But, working on my December Daily all Spring and then posting those pages here on my blog has really started to affect my Christmas spirit...I mean scrapping mojo. That's why this weekend, I took out the brightest papers I could find and scrapped a NON-Christmas layout. Here it is:

To create this layout, I used a sketch from Valerie Salmon's "Got Sketch?" blog. The layout also fits Kelly Goree's Old, New Borrowed & Cool challenge.

• Old: American Crafts Margarita patterned papers, flairs and rub-ons; SEI and Me & My Big Ideas letters; Little Yellow Bicycle buttons and Stampin' Up! scallop circle punch. (Yes, I really shopped my stash for this layout!)
• New: Elle's Studio Tags.
• Borrowed: Valerie Salmon's sketch.
• Cool: Colorful banner made from twine and scallop circle punch.

Journaling reads: Upon returning from our shore excursion, we came upon a group of street performers dancing the flamenco.

Supplies:

Cardstock: American Crafts;

Patterned Paper, Rub-ons, Flair Buttons: American Crafts (Margarita);

Letters: SEI (Grapefruit); Me & My Big Ideas ();

Journaling Tags: Elle's Studio;

Embelishments: buttons (Little Yellow Bicycle -- Zinnia); twine (The Twinery -- Pink Sorbet );

Tools: Stampin' Up Scallop Circle punch; Spellbinders Nestabilities (Lotus Pendants);

December Daily -- Days 7, 8, 9 & 10

I am back with more pages from my December Daily. Day 7 was all about shopping in my pj's online! I took a picture of my screen when I was on amazon.com. I used a kraft tag that I dressed up with some stamping (chevron pattern) ribbon and brad as the mat for my journaling card. I added other brads to the center of the flower and the postcard to form a visual triangle. Here it is:

On the Simple Stories postcard, I also stamped the tree and added the word stickers.

Day 8 tells the story of our Christmas lights and how the lights kept going out. I used a big picture of the house fully decorated and a smaller picture with most of the lights out. (Poor Sal!)

For this page, I typed the journaling on my computer. Here's the layout:

Day 9 completes the two0page spread in my album. For this page, I used smaller pictures of some of my favorite house decorations in our neighborhood. I added some glitter stars to the patterned paper for more texture and created a journaling strip on my computer like the one I did for Day 8. Here's the layout:

Finally, Day 10 tells the story of our Christmas wreath and how Sal and Melissa always go together to pick it out. The journaling is layered on a kraft tag much like the one I created for Day 7. I love the metal "numbers" for this page. The one from Tim Holtz metal numbers was the same size as the wreath from his metal charms set. Talk about scrapping karma! And, I didn't even fudge this. We really got the wreath on December 10th this year! Here's the page:

Ten down, fifteen to go! I will be back later this week to, hopefully, finish posting my December Daily!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

So, remember how I said I had very little time to make Easter cards this year? Well my clean and simple design from last week's post was perfect for the adults on my list but I have two grandnephews who are 2.5 and 3. For their cards, I pulled an 8x8 pad of Cosmo Cricket out from my stash. The nice thing about this pad is that it includes several elements sheets with springtime themes. Once I cut out the tags I wanted to use, the cards practically made themselves!

Here's the first card:

I started by cutting out the Peter Cottontail piece. I stamped the two butterflies, doodled their trails and added Glossy Accents to the bunny to make him look as chocolaty as possible! While the bunny was drying, I layered the various patterned papers. I used my Martha Stewart Fringe Scissors on two strips of green paper to make it look like grass. I rounded a few corners to soften the edges, adhered the papers, and added some faux stitching. I used my paper piercer to poke a tiny hole in the fold of my card, threaded the twine through and tied a bow. Here's a closer look at the details:

For the next card, I used a tag that had a cute little chick on it. Here's the card:

To make the chick pop, I smeared a thin layer of Glossy Accents and then sprinkled on the glitter. I cut the words for the sentiment from another tag, distressed the edges with ink and added them to the tag with foam adhesive. The rest of the card is pretty self explanatory. Here's a close-up of the details.

Now that I am done sharing my Easter cards, it will be back to Christmas here on the blog. I finally finished my December Daily (Woo hoo!) and I am ready to finish sharing it.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! (kraft);

Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket (Honey Pie);

Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Barn Door; Vintage Photo); White Signo Gel Pen; Stampin' Up!Marker (Chocolate Brown);

Stamp: Technique Tuesday (Growing Wild);

Tools: Fiskars Border Punch (Scallop Sentiment); Stampin' Up! (Spiral); EK Success Corner Rounder;

Misc.: Twine (My Mind's Eye -- Lime Twist); Ribbon (Cosmo Cricket -- Honey Pie); Glossy Accents.

Playing Favorites!

When it comes to Hero Arts stamps, it's hard for me to pick a favorite! So, when the new blog called A Blog Named Hero challenged crafters to make a project using their favorite Hero Arts products, picking the stamps was, for me, the hardest part of this challenge. Since I needed a birthday card for a Sweet 16, this is what I came up with:

To make this card, I created my own patterned paper using my favorite cupcake stamp a little black ink. I layered that on top of some teal cardstock to make it pop. I used score tape to affix two rows of that perfectly matched ribbon to a one-inch strip of cardstock and trimmed with the teal scalloped cardstock. Next, I used Nestabilities to cut the two circles. I used my newest and most favorite Hero Arts background stamp plus Versamark ink and clear embossing powder to give the black circle a little more detail. (Did I tell you how much I LOVE the new Zig Zag stamp?) I adhered the circles to the card with foam adhesive and finished it off with Thickers. Here's a closer look:

I am really happy with the fresh, graphic feel of this card for a teenager.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Stamper's Select White); Stampin' UP! (Bermuda Bay);

Inks: Tsukinedo Memento (Tuxedo Black); Versa Mark;

Stamps: Hero Arts (Zig Zag; Cupcakes);

Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities (Circle Large; Classic Scallop); Fiskars border punch (Scallop Sentiment);

Embellishment: American Crafts (ribbon; Thickers).

Let Us Rejoice and Be Glad!

Can you believe that Easter is here and I am still working on my December Daily. Yep! I have two days to go plus a layout with all of the Christmas cards we received. But, since it is Easter, I am going to take a little break from posting my December Daily. So today I have an Easter card to share with you.

My Pinterest board is filled with inspiration for Clean and Simple card designs yet, when I sit down to make a card, I do anything but. Well, it's amazing how Clean and Simple one can get when it is two days before Easter and the mailman will be by in 20 minutes! Here's my card:

I told you it was clean and simple! To create it, I stamped the fabulous sentiment in black ink. Then, I used markers to color my flower stamp, starting with the lightest color and working my way to the darkest. Once I was done coloring, I huffed on the stamp and Voila! Clean and simple! I did add a few gems to the center of one of my flowers. I just couldn't help myself!

I wish you all a wonderful Easter or Passover!

There's a fun new blog you may want to check out called Kristin Wilson Handmade. Kristin is offering great blog candy for her followers!

Supplies

Paper: Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream);

Ink: Tsukineko Memento (Tuxedo Black); Stampin' Up! Markers (So Saffron; Regal Rose; Bordering Blue; Always Artichoke );

Stamps: Technique Tuesday (This Is the Day by Ali Edwards; Growing Wild);

Embellishments: Recollections Rhinestones

Guest Designer at City Crafter

A while back, I asked to be the guest designer at the City Crafter Challenge Blog. My initial excitement turned into fear when I saw that the challenge was called "Seeing Double." The challenge was to use both the positive and negative of a die or punch. Now I most often use the positives of a die and I sometimes use the negative of the punch but I usually don't use them together. So I thought and I thought and I thought some more. Then, I saw this new patterned paper from My Mind's Eye 2012 CHA release:

I was drawn to the rows of butterflies and the paper quickly became my inspiration for my card. Here is my card:

Please note that Purple Cardstock + Glossy Accents + Cloudy Day =Major Photography Challenge!! I'm just saying!

To create the card, I stamped the background onto a piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock using the same color ink. I added the sentiment in black ink. Next, I punched five butterflies from a scrap piece of paper and affixed them with removable adhesive to the cardstock. These served as positioning guides for me to punch the butterflies in a straight row. I backed the negative I created with a piece of patterned paper and added some coordinating paper strips to frame it. I used a 6x6 pad so that the scale was not too big. I adhered the punch butterflies to the card using Glossy Accents as my adhesive. I put rolled up glue dots under each wing to maintain the dimension. To make the butterfly wings stand out even more from the background, I coated each with Glossy Accents.

You can visit the City Crafter Challenge Blog to see what the other designers did and join in the fun. This week's prize is a Guest Design spot of your very own. If you do play a long, please link up to the comment section of my blog. I would love to see your project!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Stamper's Select White); Stampin' UP! (Rich Razzleberry)'

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Sweet Threads);

Stamps: Hero Arts (Envelope Pattern, Luscious Frames);

Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black); Stampin' UP! (Rich Razzleberry)

Tools: Martha Stewart punch (Classic Butterfly); Fiskars border punch (Scallop Sentiment);

Misc.: Recollections rhinestones