fresh & fun

AJ challenged me last week to create a two layer card. Well….I couldn’t quite make it happen unless you say my card is two layers plus card base.

My card base is a 4 1/4″ x 11″ piece of Kraft cardstock. It was partially embossed with the Swirl Cuttlebug Embossing folder. The embossed swirls were highlighted with Snow Cap Adirondack ink. Celery Silk ribbon was tied underneath.

The sentiment as well as the main image are from Unity’s February KOTM. The sentiment was stamped underneath the ribbon in Rich Cocoa Memento ink. Red Kaisercraft Rhinestones were added to the left of it.

The main image was also stamped in Rich Cocoa on Solar White Neenah Cardstock. It was cut out with Classic Rectangle Nestabilities and first airbrushed, then colored with Copic Markers. To finish off the image I stitched a border around it and added a tiny bit of white Satin ribbon (Stampin’ Up!) with a Basic Grey brad on the top right. Underneath the image I placed a scalloped, sanded and stitched circle cut out of SEI patterned paper with Classic Circle Nestabilities.

Make sure to check out all the other amazing Friends with Flair entries. You can find a list of all participants on the Unity blog.

Have a wonderful weekend!

I had so much fun last week with Unity’s Hip Hop Blog hop…I had to play again today. I created this card for a VNS challenge last weekend. I really like how it came out so I used it to update the older Dazzling Diamond Dust tutorial on SCS and create a video tutorial for that tutorial. Make sure to check out all the other wonderful blog posts with Unity today. You can find a list of all participants on the Unity Blog.

My card base is a 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ piece of Chocolate chip cardstock folded in half. The edges of the front were sponged with Walnut Distress ink. A 3 3/4″ x 5″ piece of Just Dreamy 2 Patterned Paper was distressed, the edges were sponged with Peeled Paint and it was sewn to a 3/16″ bigger piece of Whisper White cardstock.

The scallop edge was created with Spellbinders new Big Scalloped Border Borderabilities. It was taped to a 2 3/4″ x 3 3/8″ piece of Just Dreamy 2 paper that had been distressed and sponged with the new Wild Honey Distress ink. Polka Dot Ribbon (Stampin’ Up!) was tied to the left hand side before the layers were adhered to the card front. Three KaiserCraft Pearls were added to the top right.

The main image is from Unity’s Savor the Journey stamp kit. It was stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento ink on Neenah Solarwhite cardstock, cut out with Petite Oval Nestabilities and airbrushed with Copic Marker B02. Next the flowers were colored with more Copic Markers (Y35, Y38, YG23, YG25, R22, R24, R29, R59).

I use a small air compressor to power my airbrush, you can also purchase air in cans. Here is a quick video on airbrushing with copics:

I placed the Oval Nestabilities back over my image and added embossing ink over the entire center. It was then embossed with Stampin’ Up!’s Iridescent Ice Embossing powder. The image was stamped again on three different Just Dreamy 2 papers, flowers were cut out, sponged with matching distress inks, embossed with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder and adhered to the image with dimensionals. The oval image was layered on a slightly bigger scallop oval before it was adhered to the card front. Each flower received a pearl center.

The sentiment is also from Unity’s January KOM 2010. It was stamped on Just Dreamy 2 paper, cut out with Oval Nestabilities, sponged with Wild Honey Distress ink and adhered to the main image.

Here is a video for the Dazzling Diamond Dust technique for the visual learner:

Last Friday and Saturday was Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) at Splitcoaststampers. I actually got to participate in some of the challenge. I am not good stamping at night, I am a early morning person,…..but I did create a card for the first challenge on Friday. It was a sketch challenge. You can find the challenge thread here.

All stamps on this card are from Unity’s February 2010 KOM. I stamped the tree and bird first in Rich Cocoa Memento Ink on  Gina K Luxury Ivory cardstock . It was cut out with Nestabilities Label 1. While leaving the die still on the cardstock, I airbrushed the cardstock with Copic Marker BG72, the grass with  Copic Marker YG93. I then stamped the images again in Rich Cocoa ink, this time on Cosmo Cricket Early Bird Paper, cut them out and mounted them on my main image with dimensionals. The outer edges and diamond wedges of the tree were colored with copic Marker YG93 before Lime Green Stickles was added. The bird center was topped with Diamond Stickles.

The card base is a 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ piece of Chocolate chip cardstock folded in half. The edges of the card front were sponged with Walnut Stain distress ink. A 3 3/4″ x 5″ piece of Early Bird Paper was stitched to a 3/16 bigger piece of Baja Breeze. On top of that three more pieces of Early Bird Paper were added. The wider pieces measure 1 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ the narrow strip measures 7/8″ x 3 1/4″.

To add a little something something, I added a small strip of lace (Walmart) on the upper edge of the lower rectangle, topped with a Recollection brad (Michaels). One the top left Rhinestones from Kaisercraft were added, the rhinestones on the right hand side are Tiny Twinkles.

The sentiment is also from February’s KOM and was stamped with Rich Cocoa Memento Ink. I messed it up a bit, but I thought it would still work.

Have a wonderful day! Hugs and smiles

Today is a sad day on Splitcoast. There is an announcement on the front page telling everyone that Jenn and Daven will be leaving the site. I have known that for a few days and I am still in shock. Daven started the site and Jenn and I worked with him on it since 2003. I can’t imagine Splitcoast without them. If you have a few minutes, head on over to this thread to wish them good-bye.

While I was moping around my house, I was coloring this flower from the Creative Stamping kit Natural Beauty. My thoughts were with them the entire time, so I used a color combo Jenn loves: Orange and Red.  I stamped the flower four times in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on Neenah White cardstock. The first I cut out with Nestabilities Label 3. The rest I just part of it, colored them with Copic Markers ( Flower: R32, R39, R29, R46, R59, R0, YR04….yes, I colored for a while. It’s therapeutic!   Leaves: YG93, YG95, YG99   Surrounding: YR21, YR31, YR000) and layered them on top of each other with dimensionals. Stardust Stickles and Glossy Accents were used to finish off the flower.

The card base is a bit bigger then usual to hold all the layers from the Mojo125 sketch. The black base is created from a 4 3/4″ x 12″ piece of cardstock. A 4 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ piece of My Mind’s Eye Oh La La paper was stitched to a slightly bigger piece of Whisper White and attached to the card base with dimensionals.

A 3 3/4″ x 5″ piece of Oh La La Paper was rounded on one end, sanded and stitched to a slightly bigger piece of Basic Black cardstock. May Arts Silk Ribbon was taped around the middle vertically. Then the image was attached over the ribbon with dimensionals, after it was layered on a black Label 3 cut-out. A white gel pen border was added to that black layer to give it some um-pf. A Silk bow was tied directly under the image.

The sentiment is also from the Creative Stamping Kit: Natural Beauty. It was stamped on Neenah White cardstock, punched out with Stampin’ Up!’s large oval punch and colored with Copic Markers. It was layered on a Black scallop oval and adhered to the card front. Small KaiserCraft Pearls finish off the card.

Last week I created a video for the Stipple Basic Tutorial. I received my January KOM from Unity right before I left for the CHA and hadn’t had a chance to play with it until then. I LOVE these cute mushrooms that came in it. They are just darling.

I stamped the image in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on Neenah White cardstock and cut it out with Petite Oval Nestabilities. The image was colored with Copic Markers (stems: Y23, Y26, Y28  mushroom under top: YR04, YR07, YR18  Grass: YG07, YG17  Snail: R01, R02, R05). The top of the mushrooms were stamped on Bo Bunny paper and cut out. The edges were sponged with Aged Mahogany Distress ink and the mushroom tops were adhered to the over the main image. Fruit Punch Stickles was added over the orange dots on the mushroom dots, Christmas Red Stickles over the hearts. The snail body was covered in Stickles Stardust. The rest of the mushroom top and snail were covered in Glossy Accents.

The image was stamped again on Eclipse Tape, cut out and placed over the main image as a mask. Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress ink were stippled over the image while the Oval Nestabilities die was still placed over the cardstock. The image was then adhered to a slightly bigger black scallop oval.

The card base is a 4 1/4″ x 11″ piece of Basic Black cardstock folded in half.  The next layer is a 4″ x 5 1/4″ piece of Whisper White cardstock. The edges were stippled with Broken China Distress ink. The strip on the left hand side measures 2 1/8″ x 5″ and is the same paper that the mushroom tops were cut from. It was sanded and stitched to the stippled layer.

The 3 1/8″ x 3 3/4″ piece of paper in the center is from the Bo Bunny Love Bandit collection. The corners were punched with a corner rounder, the edges were sanded before it was stitched to a slightly larger piece of Black cardstock.

A Basic Grey button was tied to a Prima Daisy Doodle with waxed linen with a organdy bow behind it. It was adhered to the main image with a glue dot. Five Bo Bunny Rhinestones finish off the top right of the card.

The sentiment is also from Unity’s January KOM. It was stamped on Neenah Cardstock with Tuxedo Black ink and cut out with Spellbinders Double Ended Tags. While the die template was still on the paper, I stippled the cardstock first with Scattered Straw, then with Dried Marigold Distress ink.

Here is a video for the visual learner:

Here is another card I created for the Flower Soft Ultra Fine Product Review. I created it the day before I left to the CHA. By the time I was done stamping, I had really poor light, hence the not so great pictures. I am sorry about that.

The card base is a 4 3/4″ x 9 1/2″ piece of Old Olive cardstock, folded in half. The edges of the card front were sponged with Pine Needles Distress ink. A 4″ square of My Mind’s Eye Dreamy 2paper was stitched to a 3/16″ bigger piece of Whisper White cardstock after the edges had been sponged slightly with Aged Mahogany Distress ink. May Arts Lace was taped to the lower half of the layers, then May Arts Organdy Ribbon was tied above the lace before they were adhered to the card front with dimensionals.

Wags’n Whiskers Angel Whispers was stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on Neenah White cardstock and colored with Copic Markers (R35, R39, YR65, YR68, E09, E18, E00, E02, T3, T5, W00, W01). The image was cut out with Nestabilities Label One and air brushedwith Copic Marker B24. Sage Flower Soft Ultra Fine was added as grass, Stickles Stardustover the wings, butterflies, hairbow and the dots of the dress.

Have a wonderful day! Hugs and smiles

Wednesday’s tutorial on Splitcoast was for a Folded Paper Frame. It’s easy, fun and fast and adds a different look to your card.

My card base is a 4 1/4″ x 8 1/2″ piece of Real Red cardstock folded in half.  A 3 3/4″ square of My Mind’s Eye Pretty Please  Paper was stitched to a 3/16″ bigger piece of basic black cardstock and adhered to the card front with dimensionals.

The paper frame was created out of a 4 1/4″ square of Pretty Please patterned paper. It was adhered to a slightly bigger black scallop cardstock square that had been cut with Square Nestabilities.

The darling image is from Taylored Expression’s new release. It’s called Fish in Love. It was stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento ink on Neenah White cardstock and colored with Copic Markers (green fish: YG00, YG01, YG03 Orange Fish Y32, Y35, Y38, R35 Hearts: R32, R35  Water: BG0000, BG000, BG01  outside fish bowl: YG00, YG000). Squiggly lines were added with a Quicky Glue Pen and Glitter was added over that (Thanks to Taylor’s Mom for that cool idea!)

The sentiment is from Taylored Expression’s Animal Love Sentiment. It was  stamped with Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah cardstock. Then it was punched out with Stampin’ Up!’s large oval punch, colored with Copic Markers (R32, R35, YG00, YG000), adhered to a black scallop oval punch-out and covered with Stardust Stickles.

The flamingos stamp  used in the video is also from Taylored Expression. The image was stamped in Tuxedo black on Neenah cardstock with Copic Markers (Flamingos: R32, R35  Beak: BG72, W2  Sun: Y21, Y23, Y26). Here is a video for the visual learner:

Happy Valentine’s Day! Hugs and smiles

Today Taylor is posting her 100th sketch challenge. While I stopped creating sketch challenge due to the time it takes to create the sketches and comment on all the entries, I think I will start participating in Taylors Sketch challenges. I miss creating cards for challenges.

The sketch is just up my alley. Although it’s not a square, it has lots of circles! I love circles and ovals on my card. Of course  I had to change the sketch just a tiny bit. I flipped it over and scooted those three brad circles down…and added more then three. But other then that…well, and a sentiment oval on the bottom, other then that I was pretty true to the sketch.

My card base is a 4 1/4″ x 11″ piece of Chocolate chip cardstock folded in half. The edges of the card front were sponged with Walnut Stain Distress ink. A 3 3/4″ x 5″ piece of My Mind’s Eye Dreamy 2 Patterned Paper was layered on the 3/16″ bigger piece of Whisper White cardstock. The Dreamy 2 horizontal strip measures 1 1/2″ x 3 3/4″. A strip of lace (Walmart) was sewn to the bottom edge of the strip. A Prima Flower and different sized Rhinestone gems (Bo Bunny, Kaisercraft and Tiny Twinkles) add finish to the top right of the strip.

The half circle is also a piece of Dreamy 2 patterned paper. It was cut and embossed with Circle Nestabilities before it was stitched to  top layers. A white organdy bow was taped to the upper part of that layer with glue dots.

For the main layer a circle was cut out of yet another piece of Dreamy 2 patterned paper with Circle Nestabilities. It was sponged with Mustard Seed and Vintage Photo Distresss ink before it was layered on a sponged scallop Chocolate Chip circle. The edges of the circle were paper pierced.

The Dragonfly is from Taylor’s  set Discover your Wings. It was stamped twice in Rich Cocoa Memento Ink on Neenah White cardstock,colored with Copic Markers (YG21, YG23, YG25, BG05, BG09) and cut out. The layers were adhered on top of each other with dimensionals holding the wings up. Then it was adhered to the Circle layers with more dimensionals. To make it look more like a dragonfly Stardust stickles was added over the swirl lines of the wings and the entire body was covered in Glossy Accents.

The sentiment is also from the set Discover your Wings. It was stamped in Rich Cocoa on Dreamy 2 patterned paper and punched out with Stampin’ Up!’s small oval punch. The edges were sponged with Mustard Seed and Vintage Photo before it was layered on a large oval punch-out of Dreamy 2 paper.  Tiny Twinkles were added under the sentiment for more sparkle.

I hope you have a wonderful day! Stay warm! Hugs and smiles

Flower Soft has a great new product out…well actually two. But the latest product review on SCS was all about the new Flower Soft Ultra Fine. I really like the much finer new product. It makes it easier to use on more detailed stamps. The other new product is their beautiful new line of stamps called Moments in Time. 

My image is from the Moments in Time stamp set called Man of the Hour. This image reminds me so much of my two boys when they were little. Kids grow up way to fast, don’t they? The image was stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento ink on Neenah White cardstock and colored with Copic Markers (Shirt and socks: R24, R27, R29, BG93, BG96  Ball E33, E34, E35  Shorts: E70, E71, C00 Grass: YG01, YG03, YG05  Skin: E50, E51, E53  Shoes: E44, E47  Hair: Y18, Y26, YR28, E15, E8). The image was cut out and embossed with Curved Rectangle Nestabilities. While leaving the die on, I airbrushed the sky with Copic Marker B24.

On the ground I added Flower Soft Ultra Fine Sand, for the grass I used the Flower Soft Ultra Fine Sage. The sand color was to light, so after the glue dried, I airbrushed that area with E47. The top right of the image was paper pierced.

The card base is a 4 1/4″ x 11″ piece of Always Artichoke cardstock folded in half. A 3 1/2″ x 4 7/8″ piece of Kraft cardstock was stamped with the ball from the same set in Frayed Burlap Distress ink. The edges were sponged with the same ink. That layer was stitched to a 1/4″ bigger piece of Chocolate chip cardstock. The stitched layers were attached to the card front with dimensionals.

The sentiment is from Verve’s Dare To Be You stamp set. It was stamped in Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah White cardstock, punched with SU’s large oval punch and sponged with Frayed Burlap ink before it was adhered to the image.

The rubber stamps from Flower Soft come as unmounted rubber sheets along with Kling-on cushion. I created a quick tutorial on how to mounting unmounted rubber stamps. I used my Flower Soft image for the photo tutorial and a Stamp’n Whiskers image for the video tutorial that you can see here:

In yesterday’s newsletter the “Tutorial you might have missed” was the Free Standing Pop-Up card. I used the colors from this weeks color challenge to create this sample for the video tutorial. I had been waiting for a chance to use Flourishes Waterlily stamp set. I the color combo (Hunter, Celery, Bermuda Bay and optional pink) were perfect for the image.

The card base was created out of a 4 1/4″ x 11″ piece of textured Bermuda Bay cardstock. The strip had been stamped with the Vintage Wallpaper background stamp in Broken China distress ink. Each edge was sponged with the same ink.

The tag base was cut with long rectangle Nestabilities out of Hunter cardstock. It was sponged with Pine Needles Distress ink. A 2 11/16″ X 5″ piece of Certainly Celery Patterns Designer Paper was embossed with the Textile Texture Cuttlebug embossing folder and first sponged with Shabby Shutters, then with a hint of Pine Needles Distress ink. It was sewn to a slightly bigger piece of Whisper White cardstock. Lippy Red Kaiser Rhinestones on the top right and bottom left corner finish off that layer.

The main image was stamped in Tuxedo Black on Neenah White cardstock and colored with Copic Markers (R32, R35, R39, G40, G82, G85, Y15, Y18) and cut out. Star Dust Stickles were added to the flower center. The flower was adhered to a Bermuda Bay circle with dimensionals. The circle had been stamped with Vintage Wallpaper in Broken China, the edges were sponged and it was sewn to a slightly bigger scallop circle out of Handsome Hunter cardstock. Both circles were cut with Petite Circle Nestabilities.

The sentiment was stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento ink on Neenah White cardstock. It was cut with Circle Nestabilities and layered on a slightly bigger scallop circle that had been cut with Petite scallop circle Nestabilities. The edges of the white circle had been sponged with Shabby Shutter ink and a smaller waterlily had been stamped over the sentiment in the same color. Celery Silk ribbon was tied around the card base.

Here is a video for the visual learner: