Why I'm a Bit "Scarce"

I thought I'd share a picture of why I don't have quite as much time for card-making as I used to:)

Meet our grandson, Owen.  I am taking care of him every day while his parents (our son and daughter-in-law) are working.  It's a big responsibility - and I LOVE it!  He is just so sweet and adorable and also so good.  What a joy!  So, if I go a day or two - or more! - without blogging, you'll know why.  Owen is three and a half months old now.

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

Repeat Impressions - Designer's Choice Challenge!

There is a new challenge at Repeat Impressions starting today.  We are calling it "Designer's Choice Challenge," or DCC.  Every other Wednesday, opposite the WHAT IF? Wednesday Challenge, one of the Rock Stars will come up with a "theme" and we'll make cards for it.  We invite you to join along!  Darsie has volunteered to be first.  Her theme is "Scenic."  How cool!  Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for the details and to see what the other design team members have come up.  Or follow these links to their creations:

Ayana ~ Darsie ~ Harriet ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Maki ~ Robin

For my card, I used these three stamps:  629-I Mountain Vista, 2908-I Shade of the Elm, and 3413-C Grass.  I stamped them all with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink, starting with the tree.  After stamping the tree, I masked it and stamped the other two images, stamping the grass several times.  I sprayed the image with my own "glimmer mist" - Perfect Pearls Gold and water, in a Mini Mister.  I matted with brown and mounted on foam squares.

We'd love to have you join us!  Make your card, upload to your blog or on-line gallery, and link to the RI blog.  One random winner for the month will win a full sheet of unmounted rubber!!!  You still have nearly a week to join us in the WHAT IF? Wednesday challenge, too!

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

Gee - Another Daisy Birthday Card!

 

I had fun last night taking a few minutes to make a card "just because" - not one that HAD to be done.  I still have plenty of those to do, though!

Not much time for description, so just let me say the embossing is done with Cuttlebug folders, I brayered yellow ink on the daisy panel, the daisy is from Martha Stewart, and the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.  Oh, and I sanded the row of daisies just a little bit.

This is not for my granddaughter (I posted her card here) but I wanted to say that Amelia is one year old today:)

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

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week - Easter Egg

 

It's time for another Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week.  This week's stamp is 4505-F, Easter Egg (sm).  You can find it on this page.  Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, to learn how to purchase this stamp this week only at 50% off the regular price.  You will also see the wonderful examples made by the other Rock Stars.  Or you can follow these links:

Ayana ~ Darsie ~ Joy ~ Karen ~ Michele

For my card, I stamped an image of the egg, masked it, stamped another, then masked them both and stamped a third.  I colored them all with Stampin' Up! markers and added pearls.  I matted with SU! cardstock cut with a Nestability.  I sewed around the edge using variegated thread using a zig-zag stitch.  The sentiment was printed on my computer.  I cut and matted it using Nestabilities and mounted it on foam squares.  I choose the background paper because it reminded me of Easter grass.  It's from Sizzix. 

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

A Day of Lovely Surprises

I haven't had any stamping time for about a week or more, so I just had to take a couple minutes and finish up this card.

I already had done the main image.  I had carefully cut the pieces when I made the birthday card for Wendy, so I used the leftover pieces on another image.  I simply matted it with the patterned paper and the solid paper, added a couple scored lines, and then the sentiment.  I NEED to get busy on some projects that are due!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

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

Happy Birthday, Wendy!

Today is Wendy's birthday and we (the RI Rock Stars) wanted to do something to help make her day special.  We thought it would be great to have everyone stop by and wish her a Happy Birthday!  Wendy is the owner of Repeat Impressions (along with her husband, Bill) and she is also the artist behind the stamps.  So, please check out the birthday cards we have made for Wendy, and then stop by the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, and leave her some love:)

I saw this card on my blogging friend Barb's blog in December.  I meant to try it out then, but never got around to it.  Then I saw someone else make one and I knew I had to give it a shot.  I used my own measurements.  I used the Repeat Impressions stamp called Rebecca for this card.  It's such a great stamp.  I paper pieced her clothing using Die Cuts With a View papers.  I used markers for her skin and hair.  I stamped the sentiment (from RI, of course!) on strips of white cardstock, embossed them with a Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder, and adhered them to the sides.  I also used the DCWV paper to cover the rest of the front of the card.  I used oval Nestabilities for the image panel.  Here is a side view, too, so you can see the dimension better.

Won't you please check out the other design team members' birthday cards, and then stop by and wish Wendy a happy day?

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

I just found a challenge for this design of card!  I think the measurments are even the same as what I came up with on my own:)  You can find the challenge here.  It's on the Sweet Stamps blog.

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

Repeat Impressions WHAT IF? Wednesday

 

Today is another WHAT IF? Wednesday challenge.  Wendy has given us a sketch to use and the Design Team members have used it as a basis for their creations. We ask you to do the same!  Here is the sketch for the current challenge:

Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for all the details and to see what the other Rock Stars have come up with.  Or follow these links:

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

Then, create your own card using this sketch, upload it to your blog or an on-line gallery, and link it to the Repeat Impressions blog.  You have until Tuesday, April 5 at 5:00 p.m. EDT to enter for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from RI.

For my card, I started by stamping the flowers with the Morning Glories stamp, found on this page.  I also stamped them on a piece of scratch paper and cut them out.  I used removable double-sided tape to stick it over the stamped and colored image.  Then over the mask, I stamped with the Live, Laugh, Love stamp (found on this page) and removed the mask.  I scored a couple lines along the sides and used a very thin mat of black.  The circles are Certainly Celery cardstock from Stampin' Up and are matted with black, also.  I used a punch for the circles.  I embossed the background with a Sizzix embossing folder and matted with black.  The ribbon is Certainly Celery.  Oh, I also added black brads, but omitted four of them:)

I hope you'll join us!  You still have time to enter last week's challenge, too.  It's to CASE Karen, and you can find the details of that challenge here.

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

Butterfly Birthday

I woke up early this morning, and used the "extra" time to make this card.:)

The butterfly is a rubber cling stamp from Hampton Arts.  I stamped it on a fairly solid-colored sheet from a Sizzix matstack, embossed with black embossing powder and cut it out.  Then I stamped it on a patterned piece from a Die Cuts With a View Summer matstack.  I also stamped the sentiment (from All Night Media) and embossed them both with black powder.  I glued the butterfly down by the body only, allowing the wings to be free.  I matted with black cardstock and added the swirl of black crystals from Zva.  Simple, but kind of pretty, I think. 

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

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week - Celebrate Spring

Oh my gosh - it's Monday again!!!  Are you ready for a new Stamp of the Week from Repeat Impressions, available at 50% off this week only???  I hope so, because here it is:)

Check the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for all the necessary details and to find the other Rock Stars' creations.  You will see that the new SOTW is 3908-I, Celebrate Spring, and can be found on this page.  Here are links to the other design team members' blogs, too.

Harriet ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Maki ~ Robin

For my card, I started by choosing my papers.  The patterned papers came from a Die Cuts With a View Matstack called Cafe Mediterranean. I stamped the image directly on the yellow paper and colored with Stampin' Up! markers.  I punched a border on the blue cardstock with a Martha Stewart Birds on a Wire punch and used it to mat the yellow layer.  I added the pearls, and called it done!


Don't forget - you still have time to participate in the CASE Karen challenge and the WHAT IF? Wednesday challange and have a chance to win some stamps!  Check out the RI blog for details.


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

Wishing You ...

 

I do love my "white space." :)

This is another card using my new Cindy Loo Cuttlebug folders set.  The paisleys and the border around the patterned paper are just a part of one of the folders.  I allow myself to buy the bigger folders and then am dissappointed when they're too big for me to use!  This folder is 5 x 7, but my card is the standard size.  The whole front panel is a separate piece that I embossed.  The patterned paper is from Die Cuts With a View and the sentiment is from Verve.  The inside of the card says "a very happy birthday."

 

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

Flowery Thank You

I got this stamp in the dollar section at JoAnn's last week, and I wanted to use it right away.  I don't actually like is as much as I thought I did!

I colored it with markers and cut it with a Nestability.  I sponged some light yellow ink on it before removing from the die.  I felt it was really lacking something, so I put it back in the die and added the dashed black lines.  I embossed the patterned paper with a Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder and then used a sanding block to sand the dots down to expose the white core.  I used my Martha Stewart scoring board for the lines.  I matted those layers with black and mounted the image panel on foam squares.

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

Letterpress Thank You

Here is the other Letterpress (from Lifestyle Crafts, formerly Quickutz) that I promised you.

Today's card uses plates from the Flourish set.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but I used gold ink for the flourishes, and the matting is also shimmery gold.  This card would be very easy to mass produce.  The pearls add a touch of elegance.

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

Letterpress Thinking of You

I did a little more playing with my new Letterpress (from Lifestyle Crafts, formerly Quickutz) last week, and came up with this card and another I'll share with you tomorrow.

For this card, I used the Blossoms plates.  There is a very large background plate that I used for the piece on the left side.  I also punched the butterfly out of part of it.  The sentiment is from the same set.  I  added some pink rick-rack and pearls to the butterfly.

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

Repeat Impressions - CASEing Karen

Today's Repeat Impressions challenge is to CASE Rock Star Karen.  Here is Karen's card:

The Repeat Impressions design team members have CASED Karen, and we challenge you to do the same!  Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for all the details and for the Rock Stars' creations.  Create your own card, upload to your blog or on-line gallery, and link back to the RI blog.  One random participant will win a full sheet of unmounted rubber!!  You do not need to use RI stamps, but if you do, you will be entered twice - how about that!  Here are links to the Rock Stars' blogs: 

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

I took a little liberty with Karen's card.  I had to turn her oval panel sideways, and I eliminated the pearls.  My stamps, of course, are from Repeat Impressions.  They both can be found on this page.  I paper-pieced the bells and colored the rest of the image with Copic markers.  I added some of the purple to the patterned paper, to match the roses.  I used an EK Success border punch for the center matting and Long Oval Nestabilities for the sentiment panel, which is mounted on foam squares.  We'd love to see what you come up with!

EDITED TO ADD:  I'm also submitting this for the Flourishes challenge "A Cut Above the Rest" - to use some sort of a cut edge.  The border punch works!

Also, don't forget about your chance to win a $25 gift certificate from our WHAT IF? Wednesday Challenge, found here, and a chance to win a $35 gift certificate from our Blogaversary Hop, found here.

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

Welcome Little One

I hope you're not tired of my Clean and Simple cards. 

The main image on this card is part of a new Cuttlebug folder that came in a set that I picked up at Michael's.  I embossed it, cut it with a scalloped Marvy punch, and lightly brayered over it with Stampin' Up!'s Mauve Mist ink.  I then cut a circle with a Nestability and Mauve Mist cardstock and matted the image.  I mounted that on foam squares.  I embossed a piece of white cardstock with a Swiss Dots folder for the top.  The bottom is Sizzix paper.  I added a piece of olive green rick-rack ribbon.  The sentiment is from Studio G and stamped with Old Olive ink.

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

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week - Bird and Blossoms

 

With a new week comes a new Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week.  This week's stamp, available through Sunday, March 20 at 50% off, is 1321-M, Bird and Blossoms.  You can find it on this page.  What a gorgeous stamp!  For all the necessary details, and for links to the other Rock Stars' creations, please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built.  You can also follow these links to see the design team's cards.

Ayana ~ Darsie ~ Joy ~ Karen ~ Michele

Here are the specifics for my card.  I stamped the design with black, embossed with black embossing powder, and colored with Copic markers. The sentiment is 4025-F, Deepest Sympathy, found on this page.  I simply matted the image panel with black and mounted on a white card base.

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

Dotted Birthday

Another Clean and Simple birthday card - my very favorite kind. :)

The embossing was done with a Cuttlebug folder.  The butterflies and the sentiment are from a Papertrey Ink set called Wishing You.  I added two rhinestones to each butterfly for the bodies, and then drew in the antennae.  I used some old Memories ink from Hero Arts. (Edited to add:  Not that it truly matters, but the ink is NOT Memories.  It's called "Archival Ink" and it's from Ranger.  The color is Plum.)   I also matted the embossed panel with some wine-colored cardstock.

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

Super CAS Thanks

I really, really wanted to make a card last night.  Time is so short now:)  So, I made this super simple card.

I went to Michael's last week with my 50% off coupon.  I got a set of Cuttlebug folders.  The border I embossed was a part of one of the folders.  The sentiment and the butterfly are older Stampin' Up! rub-ons.  That's all there is to it.

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

Happy Anniversary to The House That Stamps Built!

Today is a special day at Repeat Impressions.  Today, the blog, The House That Stamps Built, celebrates its first anniversary!  We are having a “Blogaversary” party for this special occasion.

All the Repeat Impressions Rock Stars have created cards commemorating the event, and we’re asking our readers to help us!  Just create a card that celebrates, congratulates or simply wishes a Happy Anniversary.  You can participate in two ways:

1)  You can “hop” your way around to each of the Rock Stars’ blogs and leave a comment on each blog (including the Repeat Impressions blog – don’t forget that one!) and you will be entered in the random drawing for a Repeat Impressions gift certificate.

2)  Follow all the rules above, plus create a card to celebrate our Blogaversary and link it to the RI Blogaversary Hop post.  By uploading a card, you will earn three entries into the drawing!  You don’t have to use RI stamps, but we’d love you to use them if you have them!

Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for all the details and be sure to leave a comment.  Cards and comments will be accepted until Wednesday, March 16^th.  The winner will be announced on March 18.  One lucky stamper will win a $35 Repeat Impressions gift certificate!  Here is a link to the other RI Design Team members’ blogs:

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

For my card, I used the 904-L, Daffodils stamp, found on this page.  I colored it with Prismacolor pencils and Goo-Gone.  I cut it and embossed it with an oval Nestability.  I sponged yellow inside the oval before removing it.  It was still lacking something, so I added the dashed lines around the edge of the Nestability.  The butterfly (107-F Monarch Butterfly) is from RI, also.  You can find it here.  I colored it with Copics, then I cut it out. I stamped it on the edge of the daffodil panel also and mounted the oval layer on foam squares.  I used large scalloped Oval Nestabilities for the matting.  The paper is from My Mind’s Eye.  The sentiment is from Repeat Impressions, also, of course!  (The greens actually match in real life!!)

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

Happy 16th Birthday, Brooke!

I made this card for my neighbor.  She turned 16 yesterday.  I can't believe it!  I used to do day care for her when she was just one year old!


I used an EK Success border punch, and then embossed the design with a Cuttlebug border folder.  I also scored a single line with my Scor-Pal.  The letters are cut with my Hippie Chick alphabet die set from Cuttlebug.  The paper is from My Mind's Eye Simply Delightful.  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!

Repeat Impressions WHAT IF? Wednesday Sketch

Today starts a new WHAT IF? Wednesday Sketch challenge from Repeat Impressions.  Here is this week's sketch:

We would love to have you play along with us!  Just make a card using this sketch, upload it to your blog or on-line gallery, and leave a link to it on the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built.  You can also find all the details on the blog.  One random winner for the month will win a $25 gift certificate to Repeat Impressions.  Check out the Rock Stars' creations:

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

For my card, I started with the 630-H, Iris stamp from Repeat Impressions.  (You can find it on this page.) I colored it with Copic markers.  I cut the circles with Nestabilities and sponged a little light yellow ink around the edges.  The patterned papers are from a Die Cuts With a View Nana's Nursery Baby Boy matstack.  The sentiment is from Repeat Impressions.  The butterflies are punched with a Martha Stewart punch.  I can't wait to see what you come up with - have fun!

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

Letterpress Thank You

 

I finally got another Letterpress card done.  I'm excited to make more, but my mojo seems to be missing!  I'll keep working at it.

At any rate, here is a simple card that I think would make a great wedding Thank You card to be mass-produced.  (That's the beauty - well ONE of the beauties! - of the Letterpress.  Once you get it set up, you just brayer the ink on the plates, and run it through your die cutting machine.)  I combined three plates.  The scrolly flourish is from this set.  The sentiment and straight-line flourish are from other sets.  The color I used is Dark Purple.  I added a small pearl to the straight-line flourish.  The Letterpress de-bosses and inks.  Pretty cool!  The Letterpress Starter Kit is available here.

Many (most?) items from Creating Memories in Time now have free shipping.  (Not the Letterpress Starter Kit, though.)  Check it out:)

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

Baby Boy - and Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week

I saw this link and thought it was a cool card.  I wanted to make it "normal" size, though, so I started with a piece that was 12 x 5.5 inches.

I used a textured white cardstock for the base.  The blue is also textured, and then embossed with a Swiss Dots folder.  The "hello" is a Papertrey Ink stamp.  The "little one" is a rub-on.  The cute little blue zebra is a puffy sticker.  Here is a picture of the card opened up.

Today is Monday, so that means it's time for a new Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week.  I'm sorry to say I don't have a card to share with you today using the new stamp.  This week's stamp is 4215-I, Bunny Hop.  You can find it on this page.  Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built , for the necessary details to purchase this stamp at 50% off this week only.  You will also find the awesome cards created by the other Rock Stars.  Remember to check out the WHAT IF? Wednesday challenge and the CASE challenge, too. 

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

Simple "Card Parts" Birthday

I really wanted to make some cards yesterday, but just couldn't do it.  So, I'm sharing a super-simple card I made last week. 

The image in the center came from my "card parts" pile.  I mounted it on foam squares, then I mounted the middle layer on foam squares.  Before putting it on the card base, I used a square Nestability to emboss the frame on the card front.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics set.  When it was complete (or so I thought!) it just didn't seem finished, so I hand-doodled the border on the middle layer.

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

Turquoise and Black Birthday

Another card using my new Martha Stewart border punch.

I started by punching the horizontal border.  Then I matted it on black.  Then I used the scrap pieces to put under the black to make the turquoise mat.  I used a Fiskars punch to do the vertical border.  The black paper with turquoise dots started out with white dots:)  I had a highlighter marker out for other purposes, and happened to notice it matched my turquoise cardstock exactly!  The flower started out white, also.  I added a little black gem to it.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.  (I noticed that the very same stamp is in two of their sets - Birthday Basics and Year-Round Puns.)  Just an easy card.  It's also the last one that I have to blog about.  Hopefully I can get something done today for tomorrow!

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

Tulip Birthday

 I have a simple card to share with you today.  Taking care of a newborn sure cuts into one's stamping time!  What a wonderful thing to be able to do, though.  I'm loving it!  (I'm taking care of our new grandson.  He's about two and a half months old.)

The stamp on this card is from Northwoods.  I colored it with Copic markers.  I stamped again, colored the tulips, and cut them out.  I mounted them on pieces of foam squares.  After I put them on the full piece, I glued down the bottoms of them so that the whole piece did not stick up - a little more life-like.  I matted with black.  The sentiment is from Papertrey.

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

Repeat Impressions CASE Challenge - CASEing Harriet

Wednesday is challenge day at Repeat Impressions, and today it's another CASE challenge.  Be inspired by this card by Harriet and create your own masterpiece based on Harriet's card, below.   

Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, to find out all the details on how to win a full sheet of unmounted rubber!  You will also find the cards by the other Rock Stars.  Or you can follow these links to the Design Team members' blogs.

Ayana ~ Dana ~ Darsie ~ Harriet ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Maki ~ Robin

For my card, I used the Repeat Impressions stamp 5910-M, Party Negative, found on this page.  I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink on My Mind's Eye paper and embossed with black embossing powder.  (The upper right corner looks like I didn't get it stamped well, but it's just the light reflecting off of the embossing.)  I trimmed it down and matted it on black paper which I had punched with a Stampin' Up! border punch.  The bottom matting is also from My Mind's Eye (Simple Delightful - and it really is!) and is matted with black.  I also used some grosgrain ribbon.  Won't you join us??

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

March Calendar Page

Wow - another new month!  The year is just flying by!!

I found this clip art of kites from Microsoft.  I paper-pieced the kites with paper from Die Cuts With A View Fun in the Sun matstack. I used markers to color the tails.  I sponged the edges with Bliss Blue ink (from Stampin' Up!) and used Frosted Lace Stickles on the clouds.  The sentiment is from a dollar set from Studio G.

If you would like my Excel file to create your own calendar pages, you can find a link to that page of my blog in the blog header - above my latest post.  EDITED TO ADD: In response to a comment - there are tabs on the bottom of the Excel sheets which have the other two pages for the rest of the months.  The first tab has January - April, the second tab has May - August, and the third tab has September - December.  Hope that helps!

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