Birthday Wishes in Pink & Purple

 

Hi Friends! I've got a quick post for a simple card. I made this card in just a few minutes for my daughter to give to one of her friends. I added yellow Stickles to the centers of the flowers after I took the photos. It looked really good, but it was time to leave for school, so I wasn't able to photograph it again before my daughter gave it to her friend. I hurriedly colored the flowers with Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits.  

I may make this one again, when I have more time. It's so easy, it would be great to have a few for girly birthdays.  

 Thanks for visiting today!  

 

Stamps: Making a Statement (Verve); Big Wish (Studio G)

Paper: Paper Studio

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink; Colorbox

Dies: Rounded Scallop Frame (Verve); Lattice Rectangles (Spellbinders)

Accessories: Seeing Spots embossing folder (Cuttlebug); colored pencils (Prismacolor); rhinestones; foam dots

Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Copics in a Can, Green

Here's my green Copic can. Just three more to go!

Thanks for stopping by today.

 

For a materials list, see my Blue Copic Can post.

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Autumn Leaves

Happy Thursday! I'm back with another fall card today.  I used the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge 147 for this one. I also went with three of the same challenges I used in my Celebrate Fall card a few days ago:

CR84FN39 Color Challenge: colors of orange, yellow, and brown;

Crazy 4 Challenges #106: theme of a Halloween or Fall card;

Heartsong Inspiration's challenge #17: to use ribbon and/or a tag.

I am loving these warm fall colors. 

All the stamps, as well as the leaf gems, on this card came out of the dollor bin at Joann's. Whoo Hoo! I love a bargain!

I colored the acorns and leaves with Copics, cut them out and popped them up on a stacked Spellbinders Beaded Circle and Std Circle Large. Eventually, I ended up coloring two more of the acorns and leaves, cutting them out and popping them on top of the first ones, but angled slightly to give it a more dense look. Coloring those leaves was a little bit of a challenge for me, because I wasn't sure what stage of fall I wanted the leaves to be in. In the end, I decided, what the heck, I'll use all of them, ;) and ended up using a deep red, bright orange, yellow, and two shades of brown. I like the result, but I'm not sure I could ever duplicate it. 8~D 

This card could be just about any kind of card you wanted it to be, but I chose to go with Thanksgiving, simply because I had this pretty stamp and wanted to use it.

I hope you're getting ready for a wonderful weekend. The temperature seems to finally be coming down a little bit here in Georgia, so we may be spending some time outdoors for a change.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Stamps: Fall Mini Assortment (Studio 112)
Paper: Cafe Mediterranean, Safari Chic (DCWV); Best of K&Co
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink; Staz-On; Copic markers; Gold Metallic Pen (EK Success)
Dies: Beaded Circles, Std Circles Large
Accessories: Scallop Diamond Edger (EK Success); Leafy Branch embossing folder (Cuttlebug); glitter embossing powder (Zing); Autumn Days Acrylic Gems (Studio 18); ribbon (Offray); Piercing tool; foam dots; sewing thread
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Copics in a Can, Red

Hi Friends,

Here's my Red Copic can. It's nice that my colors are starting to be grouped together now.

A couple of you have asked me how I will use these once they are finished. I think most people must store their markers on their side in cans, or little cubbies. My craft room is fairly large, with no windows, and the walls are almost completely covered in black cabinets, so I will probably store these on a low open shelf, to give the room a splash of extra color. When I'm finished with all of the cans, I'll post a picture of them together, wherever they end up. :)

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you're having a crafty week!

 

For a materials lists, see my Blue Copic Can post. 

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Celebrate Fall

Hi Friends! I hope your week is starting off good. Mine certainly is. Yesterday I learned that my "Just For You" card was chosen as a Froggin' Fantastic Four over at Lily Pad Cards! This is the second time I've enjoyed that honor! The other winners' cards are awesome--you should definitely check them out.  

There is another bit of exciting news, too...but I'll tell you about that in a few days! ;)  

My card today is seasonal, for fall, of course. I used the Viva la Verve September 2011 Week 4 sketch, the CR84FN39 Color Challenge colors of orange, yellow, and brown, the Crazy 4 Challenges #106 theme of a Halloween or Fall card, and Heartsong Inspiration's challenge #17 to use ribbon and/or a tag--I used both. :)  

To make the diagonal strips, I just cut strips of paper, sewed them to the bg paper, then trimmed the ends off. That didn't require much in the way of measuring--figuring angles isn't one of my strong points. I added the little orange leaves (Stampendous) to the orange strips as an afterthought.

In my materials list below, you'll see that I used waxed linen thread, but you might not notice it in the photo. See the orange flowers on the tag (Sunny Days, Verve)? It actually looks like a button in the center of the flower, so I pierced the holes and used the linen thread to "sew" it. Then I covered just the button part with Glossy Accents to make it stand out from the rest of the flower. Not difficult, just hard to see here. :)

I just love this meandering stitch (I don't know if there's an "official" name for it).

And, that'll do it for me today. Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate all my visitors and love hearing from you, too.

 

Stamps: Sweet Treats, Sunny Days (Verve); Everything Happy (Stampendous)
Paper: Best of K&Co
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink; Staz-On
Dies: Tiny Sweet Scallop (Verve)
Accessories: Polka Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug); ribbon (Offray); waxed linen thread; Glossy Accents; sewing thread; foam dots
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5x5")

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Thinking of You, Willow pattern

Hello Friends, and Happy Sunday to you! I have several photos of my card to share with you today, but I'll keep the commentary short.

I used this week's Tuesday Morning Sketch #112 for this card.

I stamped the Blue Willow image on vellum in Timber Brown Staz-On, then cut it with a Small Labels Spellbinders die. The edges have been inked slightly with Tea Dye Distress ink. After cutting a Lattice Rectangle die cut frame out of blue cs, I cut the interior from it with the same Small Labels die I used on the vellum. Using a gold opaque paint pen, I edged the inside of the frame, then inserted the vellum image and taped it in place on the back using 1/8" Score Tape. I trimmed foam dot scraps for the back of the frame to raise it off the floral dp.

 

 

 

In the picture of the entire card, you can see just a shadow of the dp under the vellum.

I won't get gabby with all the details on this card, but if you have any questions, just leave them in a comment and I'll get back to you soon. :)

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you have a crafty week!

 

Stamps: Blue Willow (Kodomo); Falling Leaves (Flourishes)

Paper: Lille (7 Gypsies); Best of K&Co; Bazzill; Vellum
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink; Staz-On 
Dies: Lattice Rectangles, Small Labels, Fancy Tags (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Ribbon (Simplicity-Fancy Pants Designs); pearls; Liquid Pearls; Gold Opaque Paint Marker (Marvy); Zots adhesive dots; foam dots; sewing thread
Size: xA2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Copics in a Can, Blue

Can No. 2, in Blue. You can see my original Copics in a Can marker storage post here.

Thanks for stopping by!!!
 
Stamps: Words of Wisdom (Verve); Four Leaf Grid (Hero Arts); Organic Fabric Flourish (Inkadinkadoo)
Paper: Recollections
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink; Memento; Copic Markers
Dies: Labels Fourteen, Std. Circles Lg (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Opaque White Pen (Inkssentials); Stickles; Paper Trimmer with Wave Blade (Fiskars); foam dots; empty Progresso Soup can; sewing thread; Glossy Accents; felt; craft foam
Size: 11" x 4-1/8" (finished size of label)

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Crazy for you

Hello Friends, and TGIF! Do people even say "TGIF" anymore? Am I dating myself? LOL!

My card today is for three challenges: Viva la Verve September 2011 Week 3 Sketch Challenge, Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #136 Challenge--"All Dolled Up," and Lily Pad's Bling Challenge--use any kind of bling.

I had more fun making this card today than any card I've ever made. It's as different as is possible from the last card I made that was inkless, crisp, bright, and clean. I'm not sure if you'd call this card grunge, shabby, or vintage, but whatever it is, I believe I've finally found my "style." Maybe I should call this "Kitchen Sink" style. On this card, I distressed with ink and a Distrezz-it-all, used my sewing machine, embossed and inked the raised areas, made a ribbon ruffle, used twine, paper pierced, used Liquid Pearls, Enamel Accents, eyelets, half pearls, and a metal charm, and made a "metallic" hinge out of cardstock and Perfect Pearls Mist. Here are a few close ups before I show you the whole card.

I used a page from an old dictionary for my sentiment stamp. First I aged it with Walnut Stain and Tea Dye Distress Inks and Distrezzed the edges. If you look closely, you can see the paper piercing. It's a little hard to see because the paper is so busy, but it's there. Then I used Black Soot Distress Ink and a Quietfire stamp for the word, "Love." To distress it even further, I spritzed the stamped image with water to make the ink run. I drew the swirl by hand and put the half pearls on one at a time (I don't have ready-made swirls yet). I adhered this to a Beaded Circle die cut which I had inked while still in the die. I used Liquid Pearls in each of the "beads." I finally learned how to use the stuff, and all my dots actually turned out round this time instead of blobby. 8~D

In this picture you can see the embossed strip. I used three different color Distress Inks to ink the raised areas, starting with the darkest color on the outside and working to the lightest on the inside. I attached four large copper-colored eyelets to the top of the strip and tied a metal charm to it by running twine through two of the eyelets. You can only see a smidgen of the ruffle that is sewn to the bottom of the embossed strip. I made it by folding a length of ribbon in half lengthwise and gathering it with basting, then sewing it to the cardstock.

You can see the edge of the faux metal hinge in this photo in the lower left corner. I misted it heavily with Perfect Pearls Mist and dried it with my heat gun, then added four dots of black Enamel Accents. See that loose thread at the top of the photo? I did that on purpose. I stopped sewing there, pulled the thread out of my sewing machine and continued stitching to the end of that edge so that it would look like the stitching had come loose. The top of those panels are distressed the heaviest, so it made sense to me to have loose threads there.

And, here's the finished card. See the stitching on the outer edges? I kept changing from a straight stitch to a zig zag and back to straight as I went around the card, and when zig zagging, I randomly changed the length and width of the stitches to add just a little more shabbiness. 

On the inside of the card, I layered up different papers from the front of the card. If they look a little crooked, it's because they are. I purposely tilted the two middle panels just a tiny bit. The bottom and top panels are both straight and fairly centered (I seldom measure--I just eyeball things. I figure if it looks right to me, it will look right to anyone else, unless, of course, they are going to get a ruler out to check).  ;D I'm not sure why I couldn't bring myself to make all the panels be straight. I fiddled around with it for quite a while and just was not liking it all proper looking.

So just what IS this style? I don't have a clue. But, I sure had a blast making it!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you've got a wonderful weekend ahead of you.

~Hugs,
 

Stamps: Quietfire
Paper: Once Upon a Time (DCWV); Que Sera Sera (K&Co); old dictionary page
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Inks
Dies: Beaded Circles, Std Circles Large, Lattice Pendant, Lattice Rectangles, Curved Rectangles (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Tropical Paisley embossing folder (Sizzix); ribbon (Michael's); embossed metal charm (Making Memories); Enamel Accents (Inkssentials); Liquid Pearls; half pearls; large eyelets; household twine; Perfect Pearls Mist; sewing thread; foam dots; Distrezz-it-all
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Birthday Wishes

Happy Thursday! If my card looks a little familiar tonight, it's because it's my second card for the CR84FN38 Color Challenge--bright pink, black, and gray. However, where my Big Wish card was heavily distressed, this card not only has zero distressing, it also has no ink other than the sentiment and a silver paint pen used to make faux stitches (the "gray" in the challenge). I don't remember ever having gone inkless before, and it took all I had to stay away from the ink, but I like the clean edges, and it was a breeze to clean up afterward!

A week or so ago, my mother had asked me to make a birthday card for one of her friends. Her only request at the time was that it be black and white. After seeing the Big Wish card, she liked the pink, too, but she wanted her card more "tailored" than that one, so I used the Mojo Monday 207 sketch this time, and went with an overall cleaner look.

I used a Nested Lacey Pennants die to cut the pink flag, mixed up some Mod Podge and glitter and painted it on for a little sparkle, then punched ribbon slots to attach the flag to the black layer. It looks a bit like a luggage tag, doesn't it? I used a Labels Fourteen die for the sentiment and a Sharpie paint pen for faux stitching on that and the black layer that frames it.

I think I like the inside of this card just as much as the front. The scrollwork paper makes for a nice frame. I left the inside blank so it could be personalized.

Well, Mom...is this what you had in mind?

I so appreciate your visit today, and hope you'll be back soon! Have a fantastic Friday!

 

Stamps: Making a Statement (Verve)
Paper: Elegance (Creative Imagination); Colorbok; Paper Studio
Ink: Memento
Dies: Curved Rectangles, Large Labels, Small Labels, Labels Fourteen, Nested Lacey Pennants (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Classic Butterfly punch (Martha Stewart); Ribbon Punch (The Paper Studio); Fleur de Lis embossing folder (Cuttlebug); ribbon (Michael's); Enamel Accents (Inkssentials); Liquid Pearls; rhinestones; glitter (Martha Stewart); silver paint pen (Sharpie); Mod Podge; sewing thread; foam dots
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Copics in a Can

I know...twice in one day?!? This is a quick one.

Kathy, over at The Daily Marker, has a great tutorial for making marker storage from soup cans. Have you seen it? Fabulous! So, guess what I had for dinner last night??? That's right, Progresso soup! I've got all my labels made, and one actually on a can. I CASE'd Kathy's design almost exactly, but used a different background stamp, different sentiments (Verve's new Words of Wisdom set was perfect for this), and different floral accents. Okay, maybe not exactly, but really, really close.

One note of caution: the cans are extremely sharp! I'd show you the proof, but it's nasty looking. I still can't believe I actually stuck my hand down inside the can to wash it out! :~$ My husband has since used a grinder to remove the sharp edges, so I'm safe for now. :)

I used my Sizzix to cut a circle of craft foam and one of felt for the bottom of the can. I'm putting the foam in first and the felt on top of that. Makes for a cushy and quiet can.

I'll post photos of the cans as I get them finished.

Guess what I'm having for dinner tonight???  :D

 

Stamps: Words of Wisdom (Verve); Four Leaf Grid (Hero Arts); Organic Fabric Flourish (Inkadinkadoo)
Paper: Recollections
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink; Memento; Copic Markers
Dies: Labels Fourteen, Std. Circles Lg. (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Opaque White Pen (Inkssentials); Stickles; Paper Trimmer with Wave Blade (Fiskars); foam dots; empty Progresso soup can; sewing thread; Glossy Accents; felt; craft foam
Size: 11" x 4-1/8" (finished size of label)

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Humble Pumpkin

Wizard of Oz Scarecrow Display, 2008

Hello Friends! Fall is almost here. You can feel it in the air. But, another way to know it's fall around here? Outdoor decor--hay bales, corn stalks, pumpkins, and scarecrows. I live in the Scarecrow Capital of the World--seriously, it's an official record--and every September, residents in our little town set out scarecrows by the thousands. It's quite a sight to see. On the way to my daughter's school this morning, we saw our first scarecrows of this year--three or four motorcycle-riding scarecrows in someone's front yard. Very safety-conscious scarecrows, I might add. I believe they were all wearing helmets. Pretty soon, nary a crow will be found in this town. *~D  Fall may not be here officially for two more days, but as far as I'm concerned, it's here now.

Every fall, my daughter loves to go to a big pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin to carve. A few years ago, she fell in love with this teeny little pumpkin. It was all she wanted. Now just look at that sweet face. How could we resist? ;) So we got it (and the big pumpkin, too). I think she kept it until it rotted. I love this picture of her.  

So, for my card today, I'm using a simple fall image. The humble pumpkin. 



Inside



The sketch is the Deconstructed Sketch No. 19. For some reason, when I was putting the different papers together for this card, I kept thinking I needed some light blue. I tried everything, but nothing felt right, so I ended up just coloring the water under the pumpkin blue, using a light blue and brown ribbon, and I put light blue Liquid Pearls in the corners of the card. I really like these colors together. You may see another card with this color combo in the near future. ;)

One more thing. If you like pumpkin bread (and even if you don't, give it a try--it's delicious), I've got a fabulous, super-simple fall recipe. For extra deliciousness, spread cream cheese icing on a slice!

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Fall, Y'all!  

  

Stamps: Pumpkin (Michael's); Large Plaid Pattern (Hero Arts); Happy Thanksgiving (Inkadinkadoo)
Paper: Paper Studio
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink; Memento; Colorbox; Copic markers
Dies: Foliage (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Love is in the Air embossing folder (Cuttlebug); ribbon (Michaels); Corner Chomper; Liquid Pearls; Glossy Accents; foam dots
Size: 4-1/4" square

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