Stay Cool Card

Hello and happy Friday! Last week we had a brief cool down with some rain and now the heat is back. So, if you're like me and counting the days until Fall arrives, there is 29 days until the first day of Fall. Until then... Stay Cool!

Several years back I won a challenge at Pattie's Creations and selected this Dog Days of Summer image for my prize. Isn't she cute? The image was colored with Copic markers and die cut with a square Tim Holtz Alterations framelit. All patterned paper is from the Sweet Summertime paper pad by Echo Park (2014). Some twine was added for detail and the sentiment was created on the computer, printed, punched, matted and added to the card. That's it! Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Challenges entered:

• Creative Knockouts: Twine
• Dragonfly Journeys: Dog Days of Summer
• Pattie's Creations: Anything Goes
• Stinkin' Inkers: Steamed Heat

What's Up? Cat Chat Card

Hello! When the Tim Holtz Cat Chat stamp set came out I wasn't sure how I felt about the "funky" cats, but they finally won me over. I bought the Sizzix set from Michaels and this card is a slightly modified recreation of the example on the back of the package. The reason I decided to "case" the example was the inked embossed background. I wanted to try my hand at recreating it. I used distress inks in the following colors: Scattered Straw, Cracked Pistachio, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean with a little Peeled Paint which I quickly decided was a bad idea. The cats were colored with Copic markers and then die cut with the coordinating framelits. The background cardstock is Pear Pizzazz by Stampin' Up! and I used the stamp off method with Pear Pizzazz ink for the small stamped images. Black cardstock was used to frame the entire embossed panel and some black twine for detail, since the cats are playing with yarn it seemed like the perfect addition. Finally the What's Up? sentiment was stamped and I used scissors to cut the banner ends. That's it for this handmade card! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This What's Up? Cat Chat Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Sunny Day Crafting: A is for Animals
• The Crazy Challenge: Animals
• Craft Rocket: Anything Goes
• Show Us Your Pussies: Furrything Goes

Congratulations Card

On Thursday I bought a new stencil and couldn't wait to ink it up. It's called Crakle by Tim Holtz. I've used it on this Congratulations Card to create my background paper. The colors used are from the Color Throwdown challenge (ctd349). I love the pop of orange flowers in their inspiration photo and so I decided to use flowers on my card. The Congratulations sentiment was chosen to play along with "Just Us Girls" in honor of their 300th challenge.

Using the stencil, I inked a piece of Whisper White cardstock using Crumb Cake and Lost Lagoon stampin' pads with sponge daubers. The inked panel was then adhered to a piece of Lost Lagoon and then layered on top of Tangelo Twist cardstock. The sentiment is from the Sassy Salutations stamp set and was stamped using Soft Suede ink. I layered the sentiment strip onto a piece of Soft Suede. Using the Flower Shop stamp set and Tangelo Twist ink the flowers were stamped onto Tangelo Twist cardstock and punched using the Pansy Punch. For the center of the flowers three Itty Bitty Scallops were punched and adhered. Then I added sequins to the centers for a little sparkle.

I was a little afraid about mixing the flowers with the stenciled crackled background. So, I asked the hubby what he thought? He said it makes the flowers look like they are growing out of a stone path in a garden. That worked for me! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back soon.

With Heartfelt Sympathy Card

I don't usually keep many sympathy cards in my stash because I prefer to make them as needed. When the time comes that one is required I like to make the card special for the recipient. This With Heartfelt Sympathy Card was created for a male recipient. For this card I wanted to keep the card masculine without using black and so I used a color combination that I've used before. The colors are: Chocolate Chip, Lucky Limeade and Pacific Point all by Stampin' Up! Well, it's getting late. Thanks for stopping by!!!





My With Heartfelt Sympathy Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Bloggers: With Sympathy
• Make It Monday: Anything Goes

Embossed Butterfly Sympathy Card

Since I moved my crafting space into my spare bedroom, it seems I've been getting more accomplished. I added some more organizational storage which has made finding things much easier. I still have a hard time organizing single sheet patterned paper! It seems I'm always digging for that pattern I "know" I have somewhere. Any ideas??? I'm open to suggestion.

Okay- on to my card. When I create a sympathy card I want it to embody the person/family I've created it for. To me, a sympathy card is the most personal card one could receive. Just know, I haven't always felt this way, but death changed me. When my sister passed away suddenly almost two years ago, it was a very hard and emotional experience. From that point the sympathy card earned my respect and understanding of the great value it holds. This Embossed Butterfly Sympathy Card was made for The Paper Players challenge. Although, I didn't make this card for someone, thank goodness, it has the serene look that I like to create. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to hug the ones you love!

Embossed Butterfly Sympathy Card Supplies:

• Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Night of Navy, and Very Vanilla card stock by Stampin' Up!, Core'dinations French Roast sandable card stock, patterned paper by The Paper Studio (Vintage Butterfly and Quaterfoil - Navy/Cream).
• Stamps: Visual Artistry Collection by Tim Holtz, Teeny Tiny Wishes and Secret Garden stamp sets by Stampin' Up!
• Inks & Coloring: Classic stampin' pads in Crumb Cake and Soft Suede. ColorBox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan by Clearsnap. VersaMark watermark stamp pad. Embossing powders in Lapis Pearlustre by Stampendous! and blue metallic finish by Zing!
• Other Stuff: Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, Secret Garden Framelits, sanding block, heat tool, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, and dimensionals all by Stampin' Up! and rhinestone by The Paper Studio.

My card is entered into the following challenges:

1. The Paper Players: Sympathy
2. The Sweetest Thing: Sketch
3. Flutter By Wednesday's: Use Butterflies or Fairies
4. Artistic Inspirations: Embossing/Anything Goes
5. Vintage Stamping Challenges: Colours, Blues Browns Beige

 

With Sympathy Card

It's never my first choice to make a sympathy card. However, a father of a friend passed away yesterday and I wanted to make something special.  The recipient is a male so I wanted to keep the colours masculine and for the design I used this weeks Freshly Made Sketch  by Tui Nathan.   

With Sympathy Card Supplies:

• Paper: Brown cardstock, pacific point cardstock and International Bazaar dsp by Stampin' Up!, green patterned paper by Basic Grey (out of print, giclee/ m-out-3318), and metallic brown cardstock.
• Stamps: Tim Holtz Visual Artistry (CSS25856, Flights of Fancy), and Hero Arts (CL476, With Sympathy).
• Inks: ColorBox chalk ink in chestnut roan by Clearsnap, classic stampin' pads in lucky limeade and early espresso by Stampin' Up!.
• Other Stuff: Fiskars upper crest edge punch, blue gemstones by The Paper Studio (rainbow mosaic asst., 319236) and stampin' dimensionals.

Emboss Resist Card

This weekend I purchased a copy of Stamp It! by Paper Crafts Magazine.  In this wonderful magazine was an example of the emboss resist technique on a card by Windy Robinson.  I have been tempted to try this before but never have.  So, tonight I took the plunge and created this emboss resist card.  This card is being entered into the Moxie Fab World thank you card challenge.  Now it's your turn to try this technique.

Emboss Resist Card Directions:

1. Make card from white cardstock, finished size: 4.75" x 6.5".
2. Trim olive cardstock and adhere.
3. Trim black dotted swiss cardstock by Bazzill Basics, corner punch (Fiskars Budding Flower decorative corner lever punch, 01-005479), and adhere.
4. Using a VersaMark watermark stamp pad, stamp decorative image (Hampton Art , PS0662, Double Vision) on white cardstock.  Emboss image using Stampendous! Pearlustre embossing powder in Translucent Pearl (EP150) and heat tool by The Paper Studio.
5. Sponge image with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Peeled Paint by Ranger (TIM20233), wipe image with paper towel to remove leftover ink from the embossed areas, trim edges, and layer with white cardstock.
6. Stamp thank you sentiment (Hampton Art, 2009-10-23) with black dye ink, fussy cut image, layer with olive cardstock and fussy cut again.
7. Wrap and secure ribbon around image, tie as desired, attach sentiment, and adhere with foam tape.