Paper Sweeties June Release Sneak Peeks!

Summer is finally here and Paper Sweeties' June new releases are perfect for a fun, summer-time project. Fair warning, though...you are going to want to get every single new set. They are so cute, and they all work great together!

For this card, I used the new Surf's Up stamp set and Let's Go to the Beach die set. I fussy cut the surf board stamp and layered 3 wave die cuts behind it. I sponged some white ink along the tops of the waves to give each layer a little more definition. How do you like that funky zig zag stitching? I love trying new stitches on my sewing machine.

I made the frame on the inside panel by using an embossing diffuser, inking the edges of the folder before embossing. Just for kicks, I added tiny fishtail banners to the inside to match those on the front of the card.

I'll be back tomorrow with another new release card, but in the meantime, here's a little teaser of what's to come:

Visit the rest of the DT to see some awe-inspiring cardmaking using this month's fun releases:

Angel Johns 
Cheryl Lea - That's Me!

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Emily Frasier 
Jill Norwood 

Kathy Schweinfurth

Larissa Heskett
Mackie Robertson

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala
Mynnette Kitchen

Nancy Penir

And, you've still got time to enter the June Paper Sweeties Party Time Inspiration Challenge for a chance to win a Paper Sweeties Gift Certificate!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Tuesday Morning Sketches #304
613 Avenue Create Challenge #127: Anything Goes
Sugar Pea Designs SPD16: Hey Dude!
Corrosive Challenge #226: Pile It On
Freshly Brewed Challenge June 1-16: Dude!!!
Paper Issues: Mist-er Fix-it 

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Ballerina Birthday

I was visiting the Tuesday Morning Sketch blog and they have a sponsor this week who has the most adorable digital images--All Dressed Up. The images are sold on Etsy, but they also have a blog. This is my first encounter with these little cuties, but it won't be my last!

Abi Ballerina is one of All Dressed Up's freebies. Isn't she adorable? :~) I colored her with Copics and used this week's Tuesday Morning Sketches sketch for the layout.

I used a new-to-me Spellbinders die set on the inside, sponged Spun Sugar Distress Ink inside the die on the white sentiment layer, and stamped a Verve birthday sentiment in Peacock Feathers. I ran out of the dark pink dp that I used on the front, and wanted to use it on the inside, too, so I decided to try to duplicate it. Since you could only see the edges of the dp on the front of the card, I think it turned out pretty close. I used a fiery red cs, spritzed it with Bubble Gum Pink Dylusions Ink Spray, then stamped it with an old Inkadinkado stamp (I think it is called Heart Blossom Square) in Frost White Colorbox pigment ink. A word of caution on Dylusions Ink Sprays...rather than take the time to get out my spray box when I sprayed the ink, I decided to just hold the die cut over a trash can and spritz it. BIG MISTAKE! Here's what happened:

You can't see it in this picture, but my thumb, including the nail, is completely pink on the other side, too, and it won't come off! Oh, I know it will eventually wear off, but for a few days I'm stuck with this! I've tried soap and water, baby wipes, stamp cleaner, Staz-On cleaner, and even mineral spirits. Nothing works! I'm used to having ink stained hands, but never anything this vivid or permanent. It would have taken me all of 15 seconds to set up my spray box. You know I won't skip that step again! ;)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge #236

613 Avenue Create Challenge #58: Anything Goes

~Hugs,

 

Supplies:

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Sweet Birthday Girl

Hi there! Are you having a good week so far? I hope so! Our air conditioner and the home theater system went out at the same time, so we've been dealing with service techs to try to get it all running again. Sometimes I miss the days of only 4 television channels and a TV that required nothing more than an electrical outlet and maybe a rabbit ear antenna.

In between service techs, I did find time to make my DD a birthday card. ;)

I just love this Chloe stamp. She looks so sweet, and reminds me of my DD. I colored her with Copics, and used a die cut negative to frame her. The frame is lifted off the image with layers of crimped cs, and the image is positioned behind it so that you can still see the little bee buzzing around. The diagonal stripes are Washi tape with Stickles. The sentiment is stamped on a Verve Floral Circle die cut, then popped up over a larger Floral Circle. The bling under the sentiment are Swarovski crystals. They sparkle so much more than other rhinestones.

The metal charms are on a chain necklace, which is wrapped once around the foam dot behind the sentiment, and the excess is draped over the top of the card and hangs down the back. It is easily removed so that my DD can wear it. One of the charms is a sunflower and the other says "Laugh Often" on one side and "Love Much" on the flip side.

A bit of Stickles sparkle on the red and white flowers. That's Distress Dry Glitter on the blue flower.

On the inside, I added Stickles to part of the sentiment and used red brads as an accent. You can't tell in the photo, but the sentiment panel has a puffy, pillow look. I used 3 layers of crimped cs behind the word, "BIRTHDAY," and glued just the outer edges down. It's a subtle detail, but it looks great IRL. :)

I mentioned last week that I had made 14 fabric-covered boxes for my DD's upcoming birthday party. I've finally gotten all the spray adhesive off nearly everything in my craft room (tip: never use spray adhesive indoors, even with a color catcher box for overspray--it gets airborne, and covers EVERYTHING!), so I thought you might like to see how they turned out.

With the boxes open, you can see that no two are alike.

I also made the birthday party invitations, using a La-La-Land digital stamp. I colored the stamp in my photo editing program, and made the disco ball using the pixelate effect. It's amazing how many tutorials are out there on how to make a disco ball. :)

Well, that's all I've got for now. Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a fantastic day!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Tuesday Morning Sketches #198 (Twist: use Flowers)
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #220: Blue & Green (I used blue & green dp, Washi tape, and flowers)
Verve May Diva Dare: Stars & Stripes
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Things with Wings
Color Throwdown #242

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Chloe (Elisabeth Bell); Blue Skies (Verve); Birthday Sentiments (MFT Stamps)
Paper: Basics (Paper Studio)
Ink: Copics; Memento; white gel pen; Versafine; Distress
Dies: Labels 14 (Spellbinders); Floral Circles (Verve)
Accessories: Washi tape; flowers; Stickles; rhinestones (Swarovski); Glossy Accents; Distress Dry Glitter; brads; Glossy Accents; chain necklace; metal charms; foam dots; sewing thread
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Serve the Lord

Hi there! My friend, Lori, gave me some beautiful napkins a few weeks ago, and I used one of them to make this card. It's sealed with Sparkle Mod Podge. It was a lot easier than I thought, and I love the look.

The blue pearls on the left side were made with a Pearl Pen.

The color is more accurate in this pic, and the big jewel is much more sparkly in real life. :) See all that sparkle on the napkin!

A lot is going on on the front of the card, so I left the inside simple.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Our Daily Bread Designs Shining the Light Challenge #152 (ODBDSLC152): Needle It! (Piercing)--   [UPDATE: ODBD Shining the Light Challenge Award Winner!]
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Happy Mail (a "just because" card)
Really Reasonable Ribbon #71 (RRR71): Sparkle, Bling, and Ribbon
Tuesday Morning Sketches #196 (TMS196)
Color Throwdown #240 (CTD240)

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Serve the Lord (Our Daily Bread)
Paper: Paper Napkin
Ink: Memento; Distress
Dies: Classic Rectangles Lg, Labels 25 (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Textile Texture embossing folder, Decorative Tile embossing folder (Cuttlebug); sparkle jewel; Pearl Pen; paper piercing tool; Mod Podge; Sparkle Mod Podge

Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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TMS #177: Merry Christmas to Ewe

Hi Friends! Well, it's exactly one week until Christmas, and I still haven't mailed my Christmas cards! I have got to get on the stick!!! At least all my shopping, wrapping, and decorating is finished. :) How are you doing with your holiday preparations?

It's time for another Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge, and this week's sketch is an easy one, so jump in with us for a chance at a prize from our fab sponsor, Bugaboo Digital Stamps. They generously provided images for the team this week, and I think you'll love all of the ones we chose.

Isn't this little guy adorable? Having been an obsessed knitter for many, many years, I still have a soft spot in my heart for all things wooly. I needed the image printed on white cs, since I wanted to color it with Copics, but I wanted a colored background, so I layered the image on top of a digital paper in my photo editing program (I use Paint Shop Pro X2). The edges of all the layers are sponged with Distress Ink. See those little glittery gems behind the sheep? Those are Clear Mini Round Gems from Michael's. After I glued them to the card, I covered them with red Stickles. I wasn't sure how well it would stick, but it ended up turning out great. Even up close you can't tell that they weren't manufactured like this.

I used my Snow Marker to give some texture to his fleece.

Check out his ears! The Snow Marker worked like a charm on them. They even feel a bit like fleece.

Sparkly Fluff was perfect for the trim on his hat.

The eyes have Glossy Accents on them.

The sentiment on the inside of the card is part of the image from Bugaboo, but instead of printing it directly onto cs, I used my trusty transparency sheet and made my own rub-on. The sentiment comes in black, but it's easy to change the color in Word to anything you want it to be. The little ornament and Christmas tree are stamps from the Hero Arts Holiday Sayings Christmas set.

See, this is a simple sketch that won't take you any time to whip into something fab. So, why don't you hop on over to the Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge blog, check out the rest of the DT's wonderful creations, then show us what you can do by linking up your own take on the sketch. 

If I get busy, maybe I'll be able to get my cards addressed today and have them in the mail tomorrow, so at least they'll get where they are supposed to go before Christmas Eve!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a Merry Week!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Merry Christmas to Ewe (Bugaboo Digital Stamps); Holiday Sayings Christmas CL343 (Hero Arts)
Paper: Traveler (My Mind's Eye); Christmas Damask Paper Pack Digi (Print Candee)
Ink: Copic markers; Distress Ink; White Gel Pen
Dies: A2 Matting Basics A; Labels 4
Accessories: Mini Round Gems; Stickles; Sparkly Fluff (Our Craft Lounge); Glossy Accents; Snow Marker (Marvy)
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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TMS #176: Dear Santa

Hi Friends! I'm super excited about this week's Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge because...drum roll, please...I designed the sketch!

This is my very first sketch, and I hope you like it! It was fun to design, but "drawing" it on the computer was hard. Sure makes me appreciate all the beautifully rendered sketches out there a lot more. ;)

Our awesome sponsor for this challenge is Close to My Heart Demonstrator, Debbie. I'd never heard of CTMH before now, but after using their stamps this week, you can bet I'll be going shopping there real soon. :)

This week is our judged challenge, which includes a "twist," in addition to the sketch. The twist is "non-traditional Christmas." You can interpret the twist any way you want, but I chose to use the non-traditional colors of blue, brown, and green. I heat embossed the "Dear Santa" text and stamped a "splatter" on that panel to give a little texture to it. The edges of each die cut, as well as the edges of the bg and the dry embossed scroll were sponged with Distress Ink.

The rocking horse is a CTMH stamp, which I colored with Copics, fussy cut, and popped up with foam dots.

On the inside, I heat embossed the "I Believe" sentiment with gold glitter embossing powder. It didn't show up as well as I wanted, so I also stamped over that with a dark green Memento ink, offsetting the stamp to create a shadow effect. Since the music sheet dp is such a light color, I used it for my signature panel, rather than a solid cs. The "Happiest of Holidays" stamp is from Flourishes.

I hope you'll play along with us this week, and give my sketch a try! For plenty of inspiration, be sure to visit the Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge blog to see the rest of the DT's beautiful creations and to link up your project, too.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a happy week!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Christmas Delights Holiday (Close to My Heart); Sentimental Christmas (Flourishes); C-A-C Spatter (Impression Obsession)
Paper: Madeline (Prima)
Ink: Versamark; Distress; Memento; Copics
Dies: Classic Ovals Sm, Classic Scalloped Ovals Sm, Classic Rectangles Sm & Lg, Labels 18, Fleur de Lis Squares, A2 Matting Basics B (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Organic embossing folder (Cuttlebug); Zing embossing powder; ribbon; pearls; flower; foam dots
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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TMS #175: Splendor of Nature

Hi Friends! If it's Tuesday, then you know it's time for another Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge!

This week's sponsor is Sweet n Sassy Stamps, and Melissa's sketch is one that is wide open for your own personal spin. I bought a new Hero Arts stamp a few weeks ago and have been dying to use it, and this sketch was perfect. :)

I love the look of this stamp because you are stamping the background, not the trees. I used a silver shimmer cs to give the trees and snow-covered ground that silvery look that bare trees get in moonlight, and heat embossed the image with super fine embossing powder so that all those delicate branches stayed crisp. The image layer is mounted on a piece of celery colored dp, and finally on a layer of black cs. Rather than try to miter cs to get the 45 degree lines that are in the sketch, I used my scoreboard and scored diagonal lines on white cs. Then, just for fun, I added three short lines along each side of the panel...kind of an art deco look. I considered using a stylus to emboss dots on either side of each diagonal line, but in the end went with a white opaque Pearl Pen. The center of the twine bow is just a black button that I covered in Glossy Accents then sprinkled with glitter.

For the inside of the card, I stamped the same sentiment that I used in my card last Tuesday (I can see that that stamp is going to get a LOT of use), then using Pear Tart and London Fog Memento Inks, I randomly stamped snowflakes. (To keep them subtle, I stamped off once before stamping the card.)

I hope you'll join us for this week's challenge! You can see all the awesome creations from the rest of the team, as well as our newest Best of the Best Guest Designer, Lee Murphy, on the Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge blog, then play along by linking up your own card there, as well.

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a great week!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Winter Trees (Hero Arts); Beauty of Nature Christmas Greeting (DRS Designs); Small Snowflake 2 (Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps)
Paper: Susan Winget: Glad Tidings (K&Co); Shimmer Stack (DCWV)
Ink: Memento; Versamark; Distress Ink
Dies: A2 Matting Basics A & B (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Scoreboard; Superfine Detail Embossing Powder (Ranger); Distress Stickles Dry Glitter; brads; twine (The Twinery); Glitter; Glossy Accents; Pearl Pen; button
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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TMS #174: Celebrate the Season

Hi Friends! With Tuesday here, it's time for Tuesday Morning Sketches.

DRS Designs is our sponsor this week, and they generously provided stamps to the team for this challenge, and our Melissa came up with a great sketch.

I think I've been influenced by our Best of the Best Guest Designer, Silke, and her gorgeous white, embossed cards. I thought about using my Scoreboard to create embossed lines on the cs as she does, but I knew I could never come close to her gorgeous creations, so I used an embossing folder instead. :)

I stamped the Winter Trees stamp with Rhubarb Memento Ink, then added dimensional snow with my Snow Marker.

The sentiment on the front of the card was part of a piece of DP, which I cut out with a Splendid Circles Spellbinders die, and the pine is from a McGill punch.

In keeping with the sparse color on the front of the card, I simply stamped the Beauty of Nature stamp on the inside of the card base, without any other adornment.

I hope you'll join us this week in this fun challenge, but be sure to check out the Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge blog first, to see the rest of the DT's cards, as well as our Best of the Best GD's card. You'll truly be inspired!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week.

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Winter Trees, Beauty of Nature Christmas Greeting (DRS Designs)
Paper: Father Christmas (Bo Bunny)
Ink: Memento; Distress Ink; Snow Marker (Marvy)
Dies: Splendid Circles, Curved Rectangles, A2 Matting Basics A & B (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Designer Pine punch (McGill); Decorative Tile Set embossing folder (Cuttlebug); ribbon (Michaels); jeweled brad
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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