Two Simple Birthday Cards

I needed a birthday card for our niece's husband, so no flowers. That makes it really tough for me! I remembered I had this stamp by Art Impressions that would work nicely.

I stamped it three times on three different patterns of paper with similar colors and cut out the nine packages. Then I stamped it on three card fronts. I adhered one of each pattern on to the stamped image on the card front. The sentiment on this first one is from Studio G. I got out a Long Oval Nestability and traced around the inside with a black glaze pen, moving the Nestability to make it the size I wanted to frame the image and sentiment. The sentiment for this second card is from Scrappy Cat. I used a Rectangle Nestability and a black gel pen for this frame and traced the outside. I knew I had seen Natasha Trupp do this for a Fall-To Layout in early June, but I didn't realize just how much I followed her sketch without having seen it for almost two months! You can find her layout here. (The third card, not pictured, is the one that went to Jason.)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

2RedBananas Challenge - Cardstock Only

I made this card for the 2RedBananas challenge. The “challenge” is to use only cardstock - no patterned paper - and only one embellishment. You can find the challenge here. Not too much of a challenge for me, though, as I rarely use patterned paper! I love patterned paper, love to see other people use it, and have LOTS of it. I just wish I knew how to use it!

I used Anna Griffin ink cubes for the colored squares – just “smooshed” them on the paper. The stamp is by Inkadinkado and I stamped it with Versafine Vintage Sepia. I added a little color to the flowers and leaf with the ink cubes, also, by just rubbing it carefully on the stamped image. It wasn’t meant to be perfect! :-) I mounted the image panel on Stampin’ Up!’s Rose Romance cardstock. The sentiment is from 2RedBananas and is also stamped in Vintage Sepia.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

SCS CAS: Ways to Use It

This week's SplitCoastStampers Clean and Simple (CAS) challenge is to use bling. I knew what stamp I had to use! I’ve had it for several years, but have never used it.

The stamp is by Global Solutions. I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black and watercolored the critters with Stampin’ Up! ink pads and a wet paint brush - to keep them subtle and focus on the bling. The crown and the hearts are Stickles in gold and red. The crown also has pearls. The kitty's necklace is made of rhinestones, and the wolf's (is that a wolf? I sure can’t tell!) earring has a small pink rhinestone. The panel is mounted on sparkly silver paper and then on black.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Two "Same-Stamp" Cards

I’m sharing two cards today with you, using the same main stamp on both cards. The flower and the leaves are from Gina K’s Year of Flowers, and I stamped them when my friend was here in June.

For this first one, I made it a sunflower. Not sure it can be, but what the heck! I colored the flower and the leaves with Stampin’ Up! markers and cut them out. For the flower I used Barely Banana and So Saffron, and for the leaves I used Mellow Moss and Sage Shadow. The center of the flower is Flower Soft. I drew the stem with a black Sharpie, then went over it with the Mellow Moss and Sage Shadow markers. I popped the flower and leaves up on Pop Dots. The sentiment is from Scrappy Cat and the card base is PaperTrey Ink’s kraft.
For the second one, I did no coloring on the flower – just used Flower Soft in the center. I used the same color markers for these leaves as the first one – Mellow Moss and Sage Shadow and drew the stem. The sentiment is again from Scrappy Cat. I embossed the background with my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder, mounted the whole thing on black, used my Stampin’ Up! punch for the photo corners and mounted the flower, leaves and sentiment on Pop Dots.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Anniversary Roses

When my friend Harriet was here in June she brought a few stamps with her, so I stamped some images to have for later. This card uses some of them. (Thanks, Harriet!)

The stamps are from Gina K's Year of Flowers. I colored the roses and leaves with Stampin' Up! markers and carefully cut them out. I colored the roses a couple times each with Mauve Mist and Pale Plum. I tried doing a little shading, but I'm not sure you can see that in the picture. I colored the leaves with Sage Shadow and Mellow Moss. I mounted them on an ivory oval which was cut and embossed with an Oval Nestability. They are all adhered directly to the oval except for the bottom-most rose, which I mounted on Pop Dots. I matted the oval with a small rectangle of Pale Plum cardstock. The whole image panel is mounted on Pop Dots, also. The sentiment is from Stampendous, and the card base is Stampin' Up!'s Very Vanilla.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

My New Stamp!

I was so excited to get my new personalized stamp, I had to share:)

A friend from my Yahoo! group ordered some personalized stamps from Chris in Malaysia through eBay and was very pleased, so I checked them out, too, and ordered one for myself. There are MANY options. I love flowers, so of course, that's what mine had to have. I wanted my stamping email address on it, too, and that was done at no extra charge. Talk about reasonable prices - it was only $7.50 including shipping. And now I see the stamps are 10% off. The stamps are clear unmounted, but are available with foam and adhesive backing at no extra charge. I ordered mine with the foam and adhesive backing, and then mounted it on a Stampin' Up! block that I had. (It was a defective block that I had had replaced, but kept it in case I ever wanted to use it.)

If you are interested in getting something for yourself, you can find Chris' eBay auctions here and the eBay store here. Shipping is VERY reasonable and there is no charge for additional items.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon. I'll have a card to share with you tomorrow.

Just a Note ...

Just a Clean and Simple card to try and cheer up a friend.

I embossed the background with a Sizzix texture plate when I was down in Des Moines in June. The 'tag' is a Sizzix die cut that I cut out of Mauve Mist cardstock by Stampin’ Up! The sentiment is from a Studio G dollar set and I inked it with Perfect Plum. The main image panel is done with a retired Stampin’ Up! set called Sweet Dreams. I colored the flowers and stems with SU! markers in Perfect Plum and Mellow Moss. The background is done with Pale Plum. The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch. I added white dots with a gel pen to the butterfly and also to the flower centers, and pearls to the sentiment panel and the butterfly body. I matted everything with Pale Plum

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

CAS Challenge - Stitching

Two cards again today – both for the Clean and Simple Challenge for this week. The challenge was to use stitching – either real or faux. I chose to use real. I bought this variegated thread a couple years ago to use for sewing on some cards, but I think I had only used it once.

The flowers on this first card are from Stampin’ Up!’s Sweet Dreams and the sentiment is also Stampin’ Up! from Lots of Thoughts. I inked both up with Stampin’ Up! markers from the Bold Brights family – Brilliant Blue, Real Red, Yo-Yo Yellow and Glorious Green. The image is matted on Real Red and mounted on Pop Dots. I added tiny pearls to the flower centers. The card base is Papertrey Ink’s Stamper's Select white.
For this second card, I used the same variegated thread and alternated between straight and zig-zag stitching. The stamps are from Studio G clear dollar sets, and the ink is Versamagic – Spanish Moss, Red Brick and Night Sky. I wanted the flower center to be a bright yellow, but I had no bright yellow buttons. So, I found one the right size and dipped it in Colorbox Canary yellow pigment ink. Then I added Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder and heated it. I tied it on with navy DMC floss. The image panel is matted on Night of Navy cardstock and mounted on Pop Dots.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Tri-Shutter in White

Today’s card is another Tri-Shutter card. I really wanted to make one that was predominantly white. And with the stamps I wanted to use, it worked better to change the orientation. You can find the tutorial here.

The only stamping was done with two stamps from the Stampin’ Up! set called Elegant Greetings. I thought they fit with the elegance of white. All the white that I used is textured. I embossed some sections with a Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder and some with a D'vine Swirl folder. I left the areas unembossed that had stamping. I used Oval Nestabilities – plain and scalloped - for the front sentiment panel and sponged the edges with Baja Breeze. All the matting is done with Stampin’ Up!’s Baja Breeze cardstock. I punched the butterflies with a Martha Stewart punch. I added white dots with a gel pen, and then pearls for the bodies.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Simple Thanks

My husband needed a quick thank you note, and he was kind enough to let me make it! He did not want anything fancy, and I was happy to do that for him. I made him two, and let him choose.

The image for both cards is stamped on Papertrey Stamper’s Select white cardstock and colored with Stampin’ Up! markers. I cut it out and sponged the edges, then mounted it directly on the card for the first card, and on a small piece of matting for the second card. The sentiment on the first card is computer-generated, and on the second card it's from a Stampin’ Up! set called “Much Appreciated” and is stamped with Old Olive ink.

By the way, he chose the second card:)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

SCS Technique Lovers Challenge - Quilling

These cards are for a Technique Lover’s Challenge on SplitCoastStampers – to use quilling. I also combined a Clean and Simple Challenge for the second one – a sketch challenge.

On the first card, I simply used a sticker I’ve had for a while with quilled flowers on it. I loved it when I bought it, and I still do. I cut the white mat and the Mauve Mist mat using Oval Nestabilities. The sentiment is from a Studio G set and the background is embossed with a Sizzix folder. The quilled panel is mounted on Pop Dots, mostly because I thought that's the way it would stick the best. For this second card, I did do the quilling. I guess it's a hyacinth- that's what the directions call it:) (I got a calendar a few years ago with a different quilling pattern and paper for each day. Very fun, but I still have a lot of them left!) Not much explanation necessary. I used a color I almost NEVER use – Stampin’ Up!’s Glorious Green - for the matting. It matched the quilling paper. I had to hand-emboss the dots, because I forgot to emboss it before I added the quilling. Oops - didn't want to run it through my BIGkick with the quilling on! The sentiment is from a Studio G set and is stamped with Stampin’ Up! Elegant Eggplant.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

August Calendar Page

Here is my calendar page for August.

Not much to it. The stamps are all from a dollar set from JoAnn’s except for the border around the scalloped circle which is from Papertrey Ink’s circle borders set, and the grass, which is from a retired Stampin’ Up! set called “Pasture Birthday.” I did the coloring with Stampin’ Up! markers. The circles are punched with Marvy Uchida punches. I sponged around the edge of the inner circle. I really should start thinking about starting my calendars for next year.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

A Recycled/Re-used Card

A “recycled” card for today – something I’ve never done before. I received this pretty thank you card from a friend. Well, it didn’t look quite like this when I got it. It was a one-layer printed card.

I cut the center “Thank You” out of the card with a Long Rectangle Nestability and then embossed it. I cut a mat from Riding Hood Red to mat it on. I used my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss the background, then matted it on Riding Hood Red, also. I put the sentiment back in the middle of the card and added some pearls.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

CAS Challenge - A Sketch

This card is for Clean and Simple Challenge #25 - a sketch challenge using this card of Krystie Lee’s.

The stamps I used are by Inkadinkado. I used some kid's watercolor paper that I've had for years (my youngest 'kid' will be 29 in less than a month!), stamped it, misted it, and colored it with Stampin’ Up! markers. The patterned paper on the bottom of the image panel is from Stampin’ Up! I added the black gingham ribbon and mounted it on black. The card base is Very Vanilla. I also added some 'googly' eyes. Just a simple card - my favorite!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Punched Thanks

I got a new punch yesterday, so I had to use it! It's a Martha Stewart border punch. I've always had a "thing" for Thank You cards, so this was perfect for me. :) The new punches are more expensive (a dollar more) but the edges fold up, so they take up less room. Yippee!

Anyway, here is the simple card I made with it. The paper came from a scrap pack I got at Target a few years ago. I still love these colors and the texture of the paper. I embossed the top part with a Sizzix embossing folder. I sponged a little Versamagic ink on the matting behind the THANKS. I came across some silver cord as I was cleaning up earlier, so I threaded that through the holes under the THANKS. The flower was already in my "card parts" pile (made with a couple different punches and a Bazzil brad) so I just cut a circle out and put the flower on it. I sponged the edges of the circle, too.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Another "Three-Fer" Day

When I was in Des Moines last month, Vicki brought some papers along with her and said if we wanted some, to help ourselves. I chose, along with a couple others, three 6 x 6 sheets of this Lasting Impressions paper.

I added a few things - a flower with a brad, stamps, butterfly punched with a Martha Stewart punch, scoring with my Scor-Pal, hand-doodling with a white gel pen, border punch by Martha Stewart. That might be about it! Quick post for today - have to get some things done! If you have any questions on any of these cards, please feel free to send me an email. I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you”ll come back and visit again soon!

A Fall-To-Layout Card

I made a card for Natasha Trupp’s (Clean & Simple Stamping) “Fall-To-Layout” #52 and while I was at it, made another card using the same stamp.

This first card is the one for the FTL. I stamped the image and colored it with water-color pencils, then used an Aquabrush to “paint” it. I matted it on black and Stampin’ Up!’s Certainly Celery, which I punched with an EK Success border punch. The sentiment is from Stampendous. The card base is Stampin’ Up!’s Mauve Mist and the button is from SU! also, with a piece of DMC floss tied in the buttonholes.
This second card is even simpler. I stamped it on some kid's watercolor paper, misted it, and used SU! markers to color it. I cut and embossed it with a Long Rectangle Nestability, matted it with black, and then on SU! Mauve Mist which I cut with a scalloped Nestability. The sentiment is stamped directly on the Very Vanilla cardstock.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Multiple-Challenge Card

First off, I have to link you to a blog post by Barb that really made my day. Check this out. I can’t believe she wrote that post – thank you SO MUCH, Barb!! Your cards and your blog are wonderful!!! (And there is still time to enter to win her blog candy:) )

Today’s card is for three SplitCoastStampers Dirty Dozen challenges, as well as the House Mouse challenge. The House Mouse challenge can be found here. It is to use only white except for the coloring of the House Mouse image. The SCS Dare to Get Dirty challenges that I participated in are: a sketch challenge, a challenge to use wings (the challenger was NOT expecting to see a mouse show up in this category!), and the challenge to use punches and die cuts. My House Mouse stamp is actually a Halloween stamp, but I left off the pumpkin. I colored it with Stampin’ Up! markers, one Copic marker and a couple Prismacolor pencils. I cut it out and embossed it with a circle Nestability. The matting layer is also cut with a Nestability and embossed with a Cuttlebug folder – Bubbles. I used a Martha Stewart punch for the border at the bottom of the horizontal panel, and scored some lines with my Scor-Pal. The bottom layer is embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder. I almost intentionally “forgot” the three items to the upper left of the image on the sketch, but I decided the tiny punched flowers would work. I added tiny pearls to their centers. I was trying to figure out how to pop them up. There was no way I could cut Pop Dots to fit those itty-bitty things! I figured seed beads might be a good solution. I glued a seed bead to the bottom of each of the flowers and then glued them on to the card base. The flower on the right is from the wedding section at Michael’s and also has a pearl center. I added Star Dust Stickles to the wings. They had to sparkle, of course! As I was uploading I realized that I made a mistake and the round layer under the main image was supposed to be a semi-circle. That would have looked very nice, but I wasn’t going to remake it!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

SCS Ways To Use It Challenge - Charmed!

Today's card is for this week's SplitCoastStampers "Ways to Use It Challenge" - to use a charm. It's also for the 2RedBananas challenge for the week - to 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.' You can find the 2RB challenge here.

My charm came on another item and I've had it for over a year, waiting for an opportunity to use it. I've also had the Amuse orange ribbon for over a year.The embossed background was done with a Sizzix texture plate. (I always mist my paper before embossing for a deeper impression.) I punched the bottom border with an EK Success punch, and sponged the edges with Stampin' Up!'s Only Orange ink. The charm is tied on with the orange ribbon. I crocheted a flower to match (with embroidery floss that I've had for YEARS!!) and added a pearl to the center. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up!'s retired set All Occasions and is stamped in Only Orange.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

SCS CAS Color Challenge

This card is for Clean and Simple Challenge #24 - a color challenge to use turquoise, orange and yellow.

I punched the flowers with a Paper Shaper punch and the flower centers are cut with a Circle Nestability. I embossed them with Cuttlebug folders - Swiss Dots and Bubbles. The patterned paper is by Die Cuts With a View - Summer matstack. The sentiment is a dollar stamp from Michael's and is stamped with Versamagic Turquoise Gem. I added double scored lines with my Scor-Pal. Kind of fun colors!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

SCS Sketch Challenge - Soaring!

Today’s card is for SplitCoastStampers’ Sketch Challenge #238. The stamps are all from a 2RedBananas set called Caring Critters.

I stamped the bird with Versafine Onyx Black ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I trimmed it down to the size I wanted it, leaving the underhanging leaf, which I then cut out. (OK - that was my PLAN! In actuality, the branch accidentally got cut off, and I had to tape it back on. That made it easier to do anyway! :) ) I stamped the butterflies on another square and colored them. The coloring was done with Stampin’ Up! markers in Really Rust, Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke and Brocade Blue. The butterfly on the right was cut out and then popped up with Pop Dots. The squares are mounted on a mat of SU! Always Artichoke cardstock. The ribbon on the left is from Basic Gray. The sentiment is embossed, also. After I uploaded it to SCS and got comments about the “scene” I had created it, I added a link to it from Danni’s blog for Flutter By Wednesday. The theme yesterday was to create a scene! And as always, to use a butterfly or a fairy.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon.

Special Day

One more “card parts” card using parts from my Yahoo! group’s “Gathering” in Des Moines. The card base was cut with a Sizzix die cut of Kris’. I believe it’s called a “Movers and Shapers Die.” It cuts the card base and the squares, and scores the folding line.

After the base was cut, I embossed it with a Sizzix embossing folder. I used some Purely Pomegranate ribbon from Stampin’ Up! through the bottom square, then mounted some white cardstock behind the card front. I stamped the flowers using Papertrey Ink’s Beautiful Blooms set and Versamagic inks. The leaves are punched from SU!’s Old Olive cardstock with an EK Success punch. The sentiment is by Stampendous.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon.

Monochromatic Birthday

Today’s card is done with more “card parts.” Funny thing, even though I’m using up some card parts, my parts pile still seems to be growing!!

The background was embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder, courtesy of Vicki, in Des Moines. The white panel was done with a tracing wheel and Scor-Pal. I used a Martha Stewart border punch on the matting, which is the same cardstock as the background. I sponged it, and the white panel, with Certainly Celery ink and raised it on Pop Dots. The sentiment (from Stampin' Up!'s All Occasions set) is stamped on a tag cut with a Spellbinders die, sponged and threaded on ribbon. I added some Prima flowers and added white brads for the centers.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon.

Tulip and Lace

When I was digging through a box of ribbon and fibers and things last week, I found this lace I had saved from a project several years ago. It was about time it got used!

I had an extra tulip that I had stamped while "practicing" for another card, so I cut it out and embossed it with an oval Nestability and matted it on a scalloped oval. The tulip is from Papertrey Ink's "Wishing You"' set, the ink is Versamagic Spring Pansy and Aloe Vera, the scalloped oval is Papertrey Ink's Plum Pudding cardstock, and the bottom layer is Certainly Celery cardstock from Stampin' Up!. The sentiment is a retired rub-on from Stampin' Up!.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Celebrate!

This is another card front done with a Sizzix die while I was in Des Moines. (Thanks, Kris!) The die cuts the card and the three circles.

The patterned paper is from Die Cuts With a View - I used the same paper for the butterflies and the panel. I sponged the edges with Night Quite Navy ink from Stampin' Up! - both on the panel and the butterflies, which are punched with a Martha Stewart punch. (The three butterflies towards the bottom are on the inside of the card, mounted on white cardstock.) Of course I had to add pearls for their bodies! I drew their antennae with a Not Quite Navy marker. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up!'s Wonderful Words and is also stamped with Not Quite Navy. I added a few lines with my Scor-Pal. Oh, and the sentiment panel is mounted on Only Orange cardstock from SU!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you come back and visit again soon!

Cricut Thanks

When i was at our "Group Gathering" last month, a friend brought her Cricut and demonstrated it. I got some of the pieces - thanks, Joyce! :)

The "THANKS" and the border around it were done with her Cricut. I mounted them on white and popped the panel up with Pop Dots. The background was done with a tracing wheel and my Scor-Pal. I sponged around the edges with Rose Romance and added the ribbon. The butterflies were punched with a MS punch and each has a pearl on its body. It needed a little something more, so I stamped a tiny circular stamp from Papertrey's Beautiful Blooms in the centers of the diamonds. I think that added just the right touch.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

SCS Ways To Use It Challenge - Seeing Double

This card is for the SplitCoastStampers Way to Use It Challenge #227 – to use two identical items or images. I chose to use two of the small tulips.

The stamps are from Papertrey Ink's “Wishing You” set. I used Versamagic inks in the following colors: Purple Hydrangea, Spring Pansy, Pixie Dust, and Aloe Vera. I used a Martha Stewart punch for the border at the top and another Martha Stewart punch for the butterfly. I mounted that panel on Plum Pudding cardstock from Papertrey. I added the pearls to the butterfly body, and that’s about all there is to it

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Thanks, Julie!

I made this card for Julie using stamps that I won from her blog. The stamp set is from Inkadinkado.

I colored the flower stamp with Old Olive, Cameo Coral and Summer Sun markers. I colored the “Thank You” with Old Olive, also. After stamping them, I used my Swiss Dots folder for texture. The matting is Papertrey Ink’s Berry Sorbet, punched with a corner punch by Stampin’ Up! The ribbon is also Berry Sorbet by PTI. The patterned paper is from Die Cuts With a View Nana’s Nursery – Girl. I added a couple pearls on the corners.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you come back and visit again soon!

Embossed Tree Thanks

I've been trying to use some more of my "Card Parts." This embossed tree is one I did in Des Moines at our "Group Gathering." I embossed it with a BIGkick. I don't know who makes the stencil - possibly Dreamweavers??

I decided to lightly rub the tree with a white ink cube (from Papertrey Ink - Fresh Snow.) The "thanks" is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. I rubbed that with the white cube, too, and then did the edges of both panels. I mounted the tree panel on white, added a ribbon, and it was done.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you come back and visit again soon!

CAS Inspiration Challenge

This card is for Clean and Simple Challenge #23. It was to use a piece of artwork from Art.com for inspiration. Here is the artwork that based my card on:http://www.art.com/products/p14515535-sa/posters.htm

The vases are vellum that I sponged with Stampin' Up! Bliss Blue ink and cut. I drew the stems. The flowers are punched and I dabbed them in ink pads. (I set the flowers on the ink pads, and pushed them down a little bit with the handle of a very small paint brush.) It's mounted on More Mustard, and the sentiment is stamped with More Mustard, also. I used a Close to Cocoa marker to add centers to the flowers.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you come back and visit again soon!

Another "Two-fer" Day

Two cards today using the same stamp. It was a stampoff from a friend, so I don't even know who makes it. (Edited to add: Sheri informed me the stamp is by Serendipity.)

The first card is done using paper piecing. Sheri (Thanks, Sheri) even sent me the dresses stamped on patterned paper. All I had to do was cut them out! I added a little bit of color with markers. The background paper is really different. It's a kind of home-made-feeling paper, almost like a very heavy mulberry. It was sent to me from Thailand a few years ago. I embossed it with a Sizzix folder, then rubbed a Real Red ink cube over the high areas and edges. The sentiment is from Inkadinkado. I mounted the image and sentiment with Real Red.

For the second card, I colored the dresses with markers and added dots to the one dress and piping to another with a white gel pen. I cut the image and matting out with Nestabilities. I used a Swiss Dots folder on the background. The colors are More Mustard and Old Olive. The sentiment is by Stampendous.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you come back and visit again soon!

Super Simple!

I was just sitting here waiting for my sister-in-law to come up for the weekend. I figured I could just as well make something, so here is my super-simple card.

The main panel background is a card from Martha Stewart. I think it was supposed to be a placecard or something. I got it quite a while ago on clearance, figuring I could do something with it some day. (I think I have 24 or 48 of them - four designs.) I matted it with a retired Stampin' Up! In Color. I'm pretty sure it is Cool Caribbean. The "warm wishes" sentiment is from Stampin' Up!'s Beautiful Borders set. I stamped it with Versamagic Sea Breeze. The ribbon is from a local paper company. The flowers were clearanced at Michael's. (I LOVE a bargain! A whole big bottle of Prima flowers was $1.99!) I added some scored lines with my Scor-Pal and called it done!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Casing SusieB!

I got a VERY pleasant surprise in my Inbox yesterday – it was an email from THE Sue Nelson – SusieB on SplitCoastStampers! Talk about making my week – or should I say month or year! I LOVE her gallery and she has been my inspiration for so many cards. She has totally influenced my cards since I first set eyes on her gallery about a year and a half ago. You can check out her SCS gallery here, or her website gallery here. You will be amazed!

Well, I already had a recent card of hers in my Favorites (on SCS) so I decided it was time for me to case it. Here is the card I cased. The matting is Stampin’ Up!’s So Saffron cardstock. The circles are embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. The daisies are stickers from Martha Stewart. (I had read that some people had gotten Martha Stewart things at Big Lots, and we came across a Big Lots on vacation last week, so I had to stop.) The Happy Birthday stamp is from a dollar set from JoAnn's in a set from Dimensions. The fence is punched with a Martha Stewart punch and backed it with Old Olive cardstock from Stampin’ Up! I used my Scor-Pal for the lines beside the ribbon and my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder for the bottom. The ribbon is Mellow Moss from SU! That’s it!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Butterfly Birthday

Well, we’re back from vacation and I finally got a chance to stamp again. It was nice, and I’m looking forward to doing some more. Just before we left, I won some more blog candy – I’ve been very lucky that way lately! This is what I won from an on-line friend, Julie. (Thanks again, so much, Julie!!) If you are a fan at all of the Twilight series of books, you will LOVE her blog. Actually, you will love her blog even if you’re not!

I haven’t really had much chance to use the stamps yet, but I did use some of the ink. I just took the Weathered Wood ink pad and rubbed it directly onto some white cardstock. Then I stamped using a Stampendous butterfly stamp and Versafine Onyx Black ink. I liked it, but couldn’t leave well enough alone. I stamped the butterfly again, this time using the Weathered Wood pad. It was a little dark, I thought, and didn’t like it very well. But, it lightened up as it dried and I like it much better. I used my Scor-Pal to add some diagonally scored lines. I wasn’t sure what to do next! I knew I didn’t want to cover up much of the background. So, I stamped “Birthday Wishes” (from the Inkadinkado set from Julie) on white and again rubbed the paper with the Weathered Wood. I mounted both of the pieces on black and added a couple butterflies (punched with a Martha Stewart punch) with pearl bodies.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Crocheted Flower Anniversary

An anniversary card for another Yahoo! group member. Their anniversary was on July Fourth.

Not too much explanation necessary, so this will be short. The flower is crocheted using directions from Nichole Heady’s blog. You can find them here. I did the “one-layer” flower for this card. I added a brad in the center, and attached it to the base which I had stamped with my JustRite Stamper. The leaves are punched with an EK Success punch. I sponged the edges and mounted it on a scalloped circle, also sponging the edges. The border is embossed with a Cuttlebug border embossing folder and I added some lines with my Scor-Pal, both on the border and on the card base.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Happy Birthday, Jeanette!

This card is a birthday card for another friend, Jeanette. Our Yahoo! group met her last year at our “Group Gathering” in Des Moines. I guess she liked us, because she joined our group! And we got to see her again this year.

I used a stamp from her company – 2RedBananas – called Flourish With Flowers. I stamped it with my Essential Glue Pad and sprinkled it with glitter. I’m on vacation and can’t remember where the paper is from, but I’m guessing Die Cuts With a View. I embossed a strip of it with a Cuttlebug border folder, and sanded down the dots to make them white. I punched the flowers with a tiny punch and added pearls to the centers.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

July Calendar Page

My July calendar page.

The hat is embossed with a brass stencil. I embossed it on white and also on the red shimmery paper. I cut the entire hat out of the white, and the band out of the red. I colored the stars with a blue marker and the stripes with a white gel pen. The star background paper is from Die Cuts With a View Summer matstack. The firecracker is also embossed and lightly sponged with red ink.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you”ll come back and visit again soon!

Anne's Birthday Card

A birthday card for a friend – Anne.

The butterfly is from the dollar spot at JoAnn’s - by Inkadinkado. I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink on Cameo Coral (or it might have been Papertrey Ink’s Berry Sorbet) and colored with markers, then cut it out and popped it up on Pop Dots. I colored the “trail” too, which was from another stamping of the same stamp on white cardstock. I matted it to match the butterfly, added black brads, and mounted it on black. The background paper is from Die Cuts With a View, and the sentiment is from Scrappy Cat.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Color Swap - Black and White

This card is for a color swap for my Yahoo! group. (Well, that's what it was made for, but then I didn't want to deal with extra packaging and a trip to the Post Office because of the brads, so I made another one - slightly different. I didn't use brads - instead I stamped flower centers on white with black, cut them out and adhered them.)

The flowers are cut with a Spellbinders Nestabilities die using paper from a Die Cuts With a View matstack. The ribbon and brads are from Michael's. I used a Sizzix embossing folder for the background, and also my Scor-Pal. The sentiment is from Inkadinkado.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!