Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Happy Bluebird



I love to do challenges. Everytime I come across a challenge in my blog-hopping I make a note of it, and if I have time I try to get a card made. Well, this time the challenge is on Kim Hughes blog, and she is giving away a stamp set that she created for Cornish Heritage Farms. Her challenge was to use 2 of the colors - red, white, and blue (because of Memorial Day). I chose blue and white.

I started this card by stamping the branch in White Craft ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. Then I stamped the bird on a seperate piece of white paper and cut it out. I wish my camera showed the detail better, because the bird is lifted up on a pop dot. After that, I mounted the whole piece on white cardstock and cut around with scalloped edge scissors. As an afterthought, I added the rhinestones to the corners.

The rest of the card is pretty self-explanatory except for a couple things. First, the entire bird layer is also popped up. Secondly, the sentiment is a rub-on. Lastly, the faux stitching was done with the mat pack from Stampin' Up and a Signo white gel pen.

Supplies:

SU Spring Solitude stamp set, SU Brilliant Blue cardstock, Georgia-Pacific white cardstock,

My Minds Eye patterned paper, SU white craft ink and Bashful Blue ink, white embossing powder,

pop dots, Me and My Big Ideas rhinestones, blue grosgrain ribbon, decorative edge scissors,

SU rub-on, SU mat pack, Making Memories paper piercer, Signo white gel pen

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Cupcake Challenge



Taylor of Taylored Expressions issued a cupcake challenge on Friday, as she does every Friday. Her challenge this week is a sketch challenge. Here is my attempt at her sketch.
I wanted to use my Just Celebrate set, since it's still pretty new, so I didn't use a cupcake...but a regular cake is close enough, right? After I stamped the cake, I colored it in with watercolor pencils and added yellow Stickles to the candle flames. I thought the candles needed an extra something so I gave them little polka dots with a fine tip marker. I don't think this shows very well in the photo, but if you click on it, you can see it a little better.
I had watched a Make a Card Monday video on Kristina Werner's blog where she used small circle punches to create a scalloped border - so that is what I did to create my scalloped frame. Later on in the card making process, I got an ink boo-boo on the edges of the cake image, so I covered the edges with dots of Liquid Pearls...I like how it gives the image a little oomph!
For the base of the card, I stamped Polka Dot in Basic Brown on Creamy Caramel cardstock, and then sponged the edges. Then came the Sultry paper that I had colored my image to match. To seperate it from the base, I attached some polka-dotted ribbon to the top and bottom. The buttons were the perfect accent for the circles in the original sketch. Finally came the sentiment, which was stamped with a Studio G alphabet (that I used on my last 2 cards as well - can you tell I like it yet?) and a little bling to brighten it up.
Supplies:
SU Just Celebrate stamp set, SU Polka Dot bg stamp, Studio G alphabet,
Versafine Onyx Black ink, SU Basic Brown ink,
Georgia Pacific white cardstock, SU Creamy Caramel and Regal Rose cardstock, Basic Grey 6x6 Sultry patterned paper,
Pro Art watercolor pencils and Niji Waterbrush, black Le Plume marker, yellow Stickles, Liquid Pearls,
1/2" circle punch, American Crafts ribbon, Making Memories buttons, Darice rhinestone

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Colorful Mojo


I thought I'd try another Mojo sketch from Julee's blog, Poetic Artistry. This one is Mojo Monday 38. I also followed the color challenge for Verve Visuals contest - Cool Carribean, Regal Rose, So Saffron, and Pumpkin Pie.
I started by inking the flowers in Regal Rose, and using the Rock and Roll technique to rock the edges in Pumpkin Pie. For the centers, I punched out a 1/8" (I think) circle and glued it to the faux dew drops from Michaels, using Diamond Glaze. I attached them to the Carribean, which had been Cuttlebug embossed using the Swiss Dots folder. Two of them are popped up on foam dots. To finish the panel, I added a strip of polka dotted ribbon, and an oval bookplate. Inside the bookplate, I stamped Happy using a Studio G alphabet.
The background was created with a piece of the Palette of Prints paper, cut the length of the card. Then I created the Carribean and Rose pieces using the same set - Spring Solitude - and then sponged the edges to give them some depth and to help seperate them from the yellow. The ric rac and Birthday tab were added as the finishing touches.
I will be giving this card to a friend at work who just got back from vacation. She told me when she got back that she celebrated her birthday while on vacation. I hope she likes it!
Supplies:
Spring Solitude stamp set, faux dew drops, American Crafts ribbon, Joann's brand bookplate,
Pumpkin, Saffron, Caribbean, Regal Rose cardstock by SU, Georgia Pacific white cardstock,
Palette of Prints SU designer paper, Cuttlebug and Swiss Dots embossing folder,
Around the Block tape writer, Pumpkin and Regal rose inks by SU, ric rac, sponge

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Mother's Day Mojo

I'll admit it...I am quite the procrastinator. It is the night before Mother's day, and I just now finished my Mom's card. I thought I'd use the sketch from Julee's blog. I asked my mom if she had any requests for her card (she stamps too), and she said she would like me to use her new set, Garden Whimsy. The butterfly from that set was stamped in Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue ink and has a lovely shimmer, the camera actually caught some of it at the top. Then I stamped the same butterfly in black on the orange Bali Breeze paper and attached just the wings that I had previously stamped. There is also Stickles glittering up the little white dots on the butterfly, that one the camera didn't catch.
The Mom sentiment was stamped with an Studio G alphabet, and then I added a line of piercing. Just above that, I attached this American Crafts ribbon. You can't see it in the photo, but it has tiny white polka dots on it. The sheer Maya Road flower started out plain, but I ran it through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss dots folder and highlighted the edge with a Sharpie. For the center of the flower, I created a Build-a-Brad with a punch of the Bali Breeze paper.
I created the background by using the front and back pattern of the same sheet of the patterned paper. So all I had to do was cut one big piece for the background, and when I cut that piece into the rectangles, I just turned 2 of the pieces around.....BAM, instant background. To finish off the background, I sewed around each piece. I am still learning to sew, so it's not very straight, but I'm told that is the "fashion" for sewing anyway, LOL! Anyway, the last step to finishing this card was to lift the focal piece by attaching it with Pop Dots.
P.S. I didn't realize that I made the background backwards until it was all finished and glued down! But it does still follow the sketch! Honest!
Supplies for Mom card
Garden Whimsy stamp set, Studio G alphabet stamp set,
Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue ink, Versafine Onyx Black ink,
SU Bali Breeze designer paper, Old Olive cs, Pumpkin Pie cs, GP white cs,
Stickles glitter glue, American Crafts ribbon, sewing machine,
Maya Road Sheer flower, Cuttlebug and Swiss Dots embossing folder,
SU Pewter Build-a-Brad kit, paper piercer, pop dots

Thursday, May 8, 2008

A Good Try




Hi, a few weeks back Jacksonbelle had posted that she was looking for a Design Team. I thought I'd try out for it, and so I am going to show you the 2 cards I made for the submissions. I didn't make it...but, at least I can say that I tried!

For card #1, I bought this butterfly stamp in an Inkadinkado set from Jacksonbelle's store. I got the idea to cut it out and use only one of the wings, so it looked as if the butterfly was landing on something. I wondered what for awhile, and then came up with a sentiment. I already had these Heidi Swapp acrylic letters, and the Boxer 6x6 pad - so I glued each letter to some of the Boxer paper with Crystal Effects, and cut and sanded where needed. After that, they were adhered to the white cardstock and I rounded the corners. The Rust cs from SU was a good match to the flowers in the patterned paper, so I used that as the mat, and once again rounded the corners with a punch. I picked out this soft blue cs for the base, and decided to stamp the butterfly on it as well. Once stamped, I colored the 'body' black with a marker and cut out. I knew the antennae would be difficult to cut, so I tried inking it up with a black marker and stamping direct to cardstock. It gave me a faint line, but didn't go so well over the 3 layers, so I traced the faint line with the fine tip end of the same marker. Only the body is adhered so that the wing stands out. The final touches to this card was the ribbon, and the dotted Liquid Pearls on the wing. By the way, I believe the Boxer pad is also for sale at Jacksonbelle Embellishments.



---> For card #2, I had also bought some Crate brand rub-ons, from which the Superstar sentiment comes. (I just looked at her store and I don't believe these are still available.) I really liked the Superstar rub-on, so I looked through my stamps and found my Rockabella from Stamping Bella. She was perfect! I paper pieced her clothes and guitar with various Boxer papers, and colored her skin and hair with markers. A Stardust pen added some glitz to the guitar strings and cord, and a green Stardust for her eyeshadow. I cut her *out of the box* and then mounted it on the same Boxer paper that I used for the guitar. Autumn Leaves swirls stamped in chalk ink brought out the corners, and the rub-on that started it all was applied to vellum. I wanted the vellum to pop a bit, so I carefully mounted it with a very small strip of foam tape, and only on the white cs. Even though it shows, the tape and the background are both white, and it doesn't distract anything. I wanted just a bit more, so I stuck on the bling.
Even though I didn't make the team, I'm still glad I tried out. I hope to have the time to try out for other options, and you never know I just might make it!
Supplies for card #1
Heidi swapp acrylic alphabet, Basic Grey Boxer 6x6 paper, Crystal Effects,
Georgia Pacific white cs, Really Rust cs, and Archivers light blue cs,
Inkadinkado Patterned Bugs stampset, Pumpkin Pie ink, Le plume black marker,
Liquid Pearls, Joanns polka dot ribbon
Supplies for card #2
Rockabella stamp, Basic Grey Boxer 6x6 paper, Sakura stardust pens,
Crate rub-on, Kraft cs, Georgia Pacific white cs, cardstock vellum,
Autumn Leaves Swirls stampset, Colorbox Chestnut brown chalk ink,
foam tape, MAMBI rhinestones, various Prismacolor markers.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Ruffles and Pleats Challenge


This is my card for the Thursday Ways to Use It challenge at SCS. Julia challenged us to incorporate ruffles or pleats to our creations. After much trial and error trying to fold paper strips, I found a way to use ribbon and lots of small Zots (glue dots) to get the pleated look.
I used my new SU Occasions mini set, Just Celebrate - I mounted the sentiments seperately so I could stamp just the images, if I wanted. The butterfly was colored with Regal Rose, Rose Red, and Going Gray markers and then I highlighted the wings with Stardust Stickles. A Coluzzle template was used to cut out the circle, and then I cut out a square mat and rounded the corners.
I had just gotten my Swiss Dots folder....finally (it was sold out everywhere I looked, but I was able to find it at Stamper's Dream), and I wanted to add it to something on this card. The mat for the circle seemed to be the perfect place. The butterfly was originally colored to match the Sultry line by Basic Grey...this is the 6x6 version. On the Sultry paper, I rounded the corners again and finished it off with some faux stitching. To complete the card, I added a couple felt brads and a rub-on from SU's Saleabration.
I hope you like it! It just says girly and feminine to me with the pleated ribbon!
Supplies:
GP white cardstock, SU Rose Red cardstock, Basic Grey Sultry 6x6 patterned paper
SU Just Celebrate stamp set,
Coluzzle cutting system, EK Success corner rounder punch, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder
Stardust Stickles, markers stated above + black for stitching, mat pack and paper piercer
Queen and Co. felt brads, grosgrain ribbon, and SU rub-ons