Group Challenge - Stickers or Rub-Ons

Our small Yahoo! group has several monthly challenges.  I don't usually participate.  (I have a hard enough time getting the other cards done each month that I have to do!)  But, one of the challenges this month was to use stickers or rub-ons.  I have a whole drawer full of them and I thought it would be a quick and easy card to make.  So, this was my card for the swap.  EDITED TO ADD:  Recollections is Micheal's "house" brand.


I started with the strip of white.  I added the sparkly rub-ons.  The bottom layer is textured green.  I punched the bottom edge with a Recollections punch.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.  That's it!


Speaking of our Yahoo! group.   This Sunday we'll be meeting in Des Moines, Iowa for our annual Group Gathering.  There will be nine of us this year - two from California, two from Omaha, me from Minnesota and four from Iowa.  We're so excited!  We look forward to this all year!  We'll spend all day Monday and half of Tuesday at the Archiver's in West Des Moines, if anyone wants to stop in and say hello:)  Then my friend Harriet will come back with me and spend a couple days before she heads back home to California.  (Two more of the group have blogs, too: Sheri and Vicki.)   I probably won't be posting anything more until after I get back, unless I sneak a little time to create something:)


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

SplitCoastStampers Color Challenge - a Smile

I made this card for SplitCoastStampers' Color Challenge #326 - Melon Mambo, Regal Rose and Pink Pirouette. I used Melon Mambo and Pink Pirouette cardstock, a Melon Mambo marker, and I substituted Rose Romance ink.

The background is stamped with a Tattered Angels stamp from Flowering Vine stamp set. The sentiment is a dollar stamp from Studio G that I picked up at Michael's on Tuesday - I loved it! The butterflies are done with a Martha Stewart punch. I used a Melon Mambo marker on the edges and I added gems for the dot on the "i" in smile and the butterfly bodies. Super simple, but it works:)


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

Repeat Impressions - Designers Choice Challenge: Father's Day With Texture

Today is Wednesday, so that means it's challenge day at Repeat Impressions. Today's Designer's Choice Challenge (DCC) was chosen by ... me!  I chose the theme of a Father's Day card with texture.  Your "texture" can be anything - embossing, Flower Soft, distressing - whatever you choose.  Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for the details and to see the other Rock Stars' creations.  Make your card, upload it to your blog or an on-line gallery, and link it to the RI blog.  You will be entered into a random drawing to win a full sheet of unmounted rubber!  Here are links to the other designers' blogs:

Darsie ~ Dawn ~ Harriet ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Maki ~ Miriam ~ Robin

For my card, I used the Shade of the Elm stamp.  I colored the chair and added Flower Soft to the tree trunk and leaves and the grass.  I matted with brown cardstock.  The sentiment is also from Repeat Impressions.  I embossed the card base for more texture.  


Won't you please join us?   You also have about a week to enter the WHAT IF? Wednesday sketch challenge for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.  See details here.

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

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week - His Words

Time for another Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week.  This week's stamp is called 4134-K, His words . . . and can be found on this page.  It's available for 50% off through Sunday, June 12.  Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for all the necessary details and to see what the other Rock Stars have created with this stamp.  Or follow these links:

Darsie ~ Dawn ~ Joy ~ Karen ~ Michele

For my card, I stamped on shimmery ivory paper and embossed with clear embossing powder.  I cut with an oval Nestability and sponged Baroque Burgundy ink before removing the die.  I matted with Baroque Burgundy cardstock cut with Large Scalloped Nestability.  I embossed the shimmery ivory layer with a Cuttlebug border folder and matted that with Burgundy, also.

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

A CASE of My Own Card:)

Running short of time and projects, so I'll share this CASE of my own card.  It's almost identical to one I posted a few days ago - just a different color.  This is one of my favorite color combinations, so I had to try the card with a daisy and using yellow and white:)


Just like the other, this one uses patterned paper from Debbie Mumm's Baby Girl matstack.  I punched the top edge with a Martha Stewart Four-Petal Eyelet Edge punch and rounded the bottom corners with a Fiskars corner rounder.  I also rounded the bottom corners on the card base.  I added a couple scored lines with my Scor-Pal and sanded them down a bit.  Then I punched the row of white flowers with a Martha Stewart Daisy Chain Double Edge punch.  I added pearls to the top row of flowers.  I stamped the sentiment, from Papertrey, with black ink and added the daisy from K & Co.


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

Fall-To Layout 142 - Anniversary

I made this card using the Fall-To Layout #142 from Natasha's Clean and Simple Stamping blog.  I love her sketches.  You can find this one here.
   
I inked up my Spellbinders Butterflies Impressabilities plate with Ballet Blue and embossed. I trimmed it down to the size I wanted and added the white piece on the right. I taped them together, added Versamark on the edges and then some silver embossing powder. I matted with Ballet Blue after adding some silver ribbon. I embossed the sentiment (from Gina K) with silver also, matted, and mounted on Dimensionals. The silver butterfly was punched with a Martha Stewart punch, and is mounted on a piece of a Dimensional. I added a couple pearls for the body.


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

June Calendar Page

Not only is it June already, it's already June 2nd! LOL!  Time for my calendar page.  If you are interested in my file to print your own (blank) calendar pages, you can find the Excel and Open Office files by following this link.  I have my cutting instructions in a Word file on the same page, too.  The link to these files is always at the top of my blog, under the title.


For this month's page, I started by stamping a square shadow stamp from Hero Arts with Memories Soft Leaf ink.  I stamped the tree over it with a stamp from Studio G from the dollar section at Michael's.  I colored the tree with Stampin' Up!'s Close to Cocoa and Old Olive markers.  I trimmed the tree panel down and punched the mat from black with a Marvy square punch.  Before adding it to the calendar page, I stamped the leaves background (from Technique Tuesday) with Soft Leaf.


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

Repeat Impressions WHAT IF? Wednesday Sketch

Time for a new WHAT IF? Wednesday sketch challenge from Repeat Impressions.  Here is the sketch for this time.  You (hopefully) know the drill:)  Make your card based on this sketch, upload it to your blog or an online gallery, and link it up to the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built.  Check out the blog for complete details.  One random winner for the month will win a $25 gift certificate from Repeat Impressions.  You can see all the Rock Stars' cards on the blog, too, or follow these links to their fabulous blogs:

Darsie ~ Dawn ~ Harriet ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Maki ~ Michele ~ Miriam ~ Robin

For my card, I started with the 512-H, Apple Basket stamp.  I stamped it on some textured goldish cardstock and cut out the basket.  I added a little shading with a Copic marker.  I stamped the image again on white cardstock, colored the apples, and cut them out.  I glued both the basket and the apples onto a square of textured white cardstock and added Diamond Glaze to the apples.  I matted with Stampin' Up!'s Riding Hood Red cardstock and mounted on Dimensionals.  The patterned paper on the left is from a Summer Matstack from Die Cuts With a View and is also matted with Riding Hood Red.  The thin strip across the lower part and the tiny flowers are the same red cardstock.  The flowers were punched with a Punch a Bunch punch and I added tiny pears to the centers.  The sentiment is from Repeat Impressions, also.  We'd sure love to have you join us in using this fun sketch!


PS.  My calendar page will be posted tomorrow:)

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

Embossed Thanks - and a Last Chance at a Great Prize

This is a card I made using products available from the Creating Everlasting Memories eBay store.  They are closed through today, and will re-open tonight at 12:01 a.m.  (I'm assuming that's PDT, but that's only a guess!)  The embossing folder, the frame die, and the dragonfly die are all from there and are all from Lifestyle Crafts, formerly Quickutz.


I did a simple little pictorial tutorial, which is posted on the CEM blog, Creating Memories In Time.  I brayered ink onto the embossing folder before embossing.  The ink I used is Kiwi Kiss from Stampin’ Up! I also used Kiwi Kiss cardstock for my matting. The sentiment is from Studio G, stamped in Kiwi Kiss. I cut it with a Lifestyles doodle frames die #DT0095. The outer frame is also Kiwi Kiss. I used Dragonfly #KS0615 die to cut the body of the dragonfly from black cardstock and the wings from vellum.

Also, check out this awesome prize package on the CMIT blog.  You have through today to submit an entry.  One person will be the lucky winner of it all!  All you have to do is to make a Mother's Day card (get a head start for next year!), upload it to your blog or on-line gallery, and link it up to the CMIT blog. The linking widget (is that really a widget?  I don't know!) is down the page a little ways.  Last time I checked, there were only about nine entrants, so your chances of winning are very good!


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

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week - Birdhouse

Happy Memorial Day to my American readers!  I hope you are enjoying your long weekend - and have taken some time to honor our veterans.


It's also the day for a new Stamp of the Week from Repeat Impressions.  This week's stamp is 4317-E Birdhouse.  You can find it on this page.  Through next Sunday (June 5) you can purchase this stamp for 50% off.  Just visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for all the necessary details.  You will also find creations from other Rock Stars.  Or, follow these links to the RI design team members' blogs:

Harriet ~ Karen ~ Maki ~ Miriam ~ Robin

I didn't have a chance to make a new card with this stamp, but I found a card I made last year for a SplitCoastStamper Sketch Challenge.  I apologize for the duplicate post:)  Here is the description, from my post from April 23 of last year.

  "The birdhouse stamp is from Repeat Impressions.  I stamped it three times and hand drew the posts.  I colored them with Stampin' Up! markers - Mauve Mist, Bliss Blue, Certainly Celery, Pale Plum and Perfect Plum.  The matting for the layers is the corresponding cardstocks from SU!  The center layer is embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder.  The sentiment is from Repeat Impressions, also."

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

Pink and Brown Thank You

I made this card just for fun, and then I used it for the SplitCoastStampers Free4All Challenge - anything goes, but you must use something that you got for free.


I started with the pink patterned paper from Debbie Mumm's Baby Girl matstack.  I punched the top edge with a Martha Stewart Four-Petal Eyelet Edge punch and rounded the bottom corners with a Fiskars corner rounder.  I also rounded the bottom corners on the card base.  I added a thin piece of brown-edged pink ribbon under the punching.  (I got this ribbon free at CHA in January.)  Then I punched the row of brown flowers with a Martha Stewart Daisy Chain Double Edge punch.  I cut a very thin piece of white cardstock to put underneath it for the flower centers and added brown pearls to the top row of flowers.  I stamped the sentiment, from The Paper Company, with brown ink.


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

A (Bright!) Green Birthday

I was playing around with a Martha Stewart corner punch, and came up with this.


I just lined the corner punch up from the back, and used it to make this border.  I used Green Galore (I think.  I can never remember which is Gable Green and which is Green Galore!)  I stamped a strip of white with a stamp from the stamp set "Trimtastic" from Stampin' Up! with the same color green as the border.  I glued it on the green, and added a couple scored lines on each side of the stamped border and pearls between the punched designs.  I matted the whole piece with black.  The sentiment (from The Paper Company) is stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink.


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

CAS Leafy Birthday

A quick card and a quick post!


The border was punched with an EK Success border punch called Floral Leaf Large Edger.  I matted it with Stampin' Up!'s Always Artichoke cardstock.  I embossed the dots with a Cuttlebug border folder, using my "no-lines" method.  (You can see a very unprofessional video tutorial here with the completed card in this blog post.) I used my Scor-Pal to score lines on both sides of the embossing.  The sentiment is from Impression Obsession.

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

Repeat Impressions - Designers Choice Challenge: Stitching

Time for another Repeat Impressions Designer’s Choice Challenge.  This time it is Michele’s choice, and she chose to use stitching – either real or faux.  Check out the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for all the details and to see everyone’s awesome cards.  Or follow these links to see the cards with the details.

Darsie ~ Harriet ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Maki ~ Michele ~ Miriam ~ Robin

We’d love to have you join us in this challenge, too.  Just make your card with stitching, upload it to your blog or on-line gallery, and link it up to the Repeat Impressions blog.  One random participant from the DCC challenges for the month will win their choice of a full sheet of unmounted rubber.

I keep meaning to use stitching on my cards, and never get around to it.  It always seems to be too much bother!  So, I decided to open up the sewing machine (which is right in my stamping area!) and do some real stitching.  I first used my Scor-Pal to score a grid on some white cardstock.  Then I used my pastel variegated thread to stitch in the grooves.  I didn’t get in the grooves perfectly, but it’s just a card!    I taped all the loose ends down on the back.  And there were a LOT of them!  I matted with some Sage Shadow cardstock from Stampin’ Up!  The sentiment and toy ducks stamps are from Repeat Impressions.  You can find them here and here.  (The sentiment comes in two lines – I stamped it in one line.)  I colored the image with Copics.

You still have about a week to upload your cards for the WHAT IF? Wednesday challenge, too, for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.  See the details here.

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

Challenge Card - Anniversary

I made this for yesterday's SplitCoastStampers CAS challenge, which is a sketch. I also made it for the CAS-ual Friday challenge, which is to use bling.

My card base is Papertrey Ink Kraft. My matting is shimmery gold. The beautiful patterned paper is by Kanban. (You can get it in the Creating Everlasting Memories eBay store.  Here is link to the Kanban selection.)  The gold strip across the middle is made with a Martha Stewart punch called Double Link. The little medallion was made by cutting the circle (from the lower patterned paper) with a Circle Nestability and the matting with an EK Success punch. I hope pearls count as "bling" because I added small and medium sized pearls along the punched chain. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink and is embossed with detail gold embossing powder.


You still have a week to enter to try to win the awesome blog candy from the Creating Memories in Time blog.  It's a great prize and there are not a lot of entries yet.  Check it out here.


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

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week - Stork

No surprise if you follow my blog that Monday is Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week. :) This week's stamp is 4318-K Stork, available on this page.  For this week, you can purchase the Stork for 50% off - through Sunday, May 29.  For all the details, and to see what the other Rock Stars have created with this stamp, please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built.  You can also visit the other Design Team members' blogs by following these links:

Darsie ~ Dawn ~ Joy ~ Karen ~ Michele

For my card, I stamped the image on textured white paper and cut out the stork. I stamped on patterned paper from Die Cuts With a View and cut out the "baby bundle."  I colored the legs and beak and glued on the pieces.  Then I cut the image out with a Lifestyles Crafts/Quickutz Nesting Oval die.  (The links to the Creating Everlasting Memories eBay store and the items that I have created cards for are on another page of my blog, found near the top.)  I sponged green ink around the edges, because I didn't want to do a mat.  I stamped the Welcome BABY stamp on the same patterned paper as the baby bundle, and also on the striped paper.  I cut out the lettered blocks and glued them on the stripes.  I embossed the front of the card (ivory) with a Sizzix folder, glued the striped piece on, and added some ribbon.

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

Simple Elegance - Where We Love Is Home

I'm pretty sure the "frame" on this card came from another card quite a long time ago.  I remember cutting the inside out with a craft knife, but I'm not sure where it came from.  At any rate, I finally used it!


Having the frame already done, the card was very quick.  The sentiment (from Repeat Impressions, on this page) was stamped in Versafine Gingerbread ink on shimmery cream-colored paper and embossed.  I then glued the frame to the shimmery paper.  The flower was colored with a Copic marker and I added a pearl for the center.  That's all there is to it!  I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.


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

Challenge Card - thinking of you

I made this card yesterday for the SplitCoastStampers Free 4 All challenge #65 - to use colors opposite each other on the color wheel. I chose lavender and pale yellow. It's also for the Fall-To Layout #141.

I started with white textured cardstock. I added the lavender on the bottom - punched with a Martha Stewart border punch. The yellow flowers were punched with a Martha Stewart punch, also, and I added pearls to the flower centers. The sentiment is an older Stampin' Up! rubon. The flower came from my stash, and I added a black brad. I matted with yellow and then black and used a white card base.


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

Friends Like You ...

A super-simple card for today.  I actually made three or four cards yesterday.  I just brought my grandson down into my stamping area and he played in his bouncy seat and I played at my stamping table!  And then when he napped, I did some more.  It worked out well for both Owen and me.

A few weeks ago, I got some Basic Grey items from PeachyCheap.com.  They have a daily special and on a very rare occasion it's something that I want.  This time it was a set of seven little packages of Basic Grey things - stamp set, stickers, etc.  I should have passed it up, but I didn't.  This sticker was in one of the sets.  I cut the bottom of the stem off because I thought it was too long for my layout.  The stamp is an unknown one I got as some blog candy once upon a time.  The left side of the card is scored at a half inch in and glued shut in the half inch.  The patterned paper is from Die Cuts With a View Linen Closet.  I rounded the corners with a Fiskars corner rounded. 

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

Kanban Birthday

 

Another card using Kanban products.  This is such gorgeous cardstock!!

One problem I have with cardstock like this, is that I hate to cut into it!  Another problem is that I hate to cover it up:)  This started as a full 12 x 12 sheet.  It's double-sided and also comes with some extra "stripes."  (They are not really stripes, but the designs are in rows.  You can see a picture of what I'm talking about here.)  This card is done with parts of the 12 x 12 - I didn't cut into the "extra."  The thin sparkly pieces at the top and bottom are strips that I cut.  The rest of the background is as it comes.  The sentiment panel is from the backside.  There is a design on the back, but I just used a relatively plain part.  The border on the top of the sentiment panel was cut from the 12 x 12, also.  The sentiment is from a Kanban stamp set and the butterflies are punched with a Martha Stewart punch.  I added pearls to the butterfly bodies and also to the flower centers.  I wish I could convey the beauty of this paper through pictures, but I can't.

For anyone who is reading this far - thanks!  I just had to thank you all for visiting.  I see I have over 200,000 hits.  Amazing!  I appreciate you taking time from your busy day to stop by.

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