fresh & fun

Sorry my sample for the challenge is a bit late. I didn’t get work on it until 8:30 a.m. (EST) in the morning and I am not the fastest stamper. I did know I wanted to use My Mind’s Eye “The Merry Days of Christmas” Paper to tie this card in with today’s Holiday blitz Tutorial sample. I will post that a little bit later.

I started with stamping the tree from Verve’s Christmas in the Air once on White cardstock, then two times each on two different greens from the My Mind’s Eye paper pack. I cut the white tree out completely. The green tree tops were cut out one a bit shorter then the next. They were layered on my white tree. The edges were sponged with Walnut Stain Distress ink.

The blue layer underneath was cut with Label 8 Nestabilities dies from The Merry Days of Christmas paper. The edges were slightly sponged with Walnut Stain ink. Chocolate chip cardstock was cut with the next size up label 8 die and sponged with Walnut stain ink. I punched a whole with the Crop-a-dile and tied white Taffeta Ribbon through it. The blue layer was adhered to the chocolate cardstock with dimensionals, the tree with dimensionals on the blue layer. Tiny Twinkles on the lower right corner finish off the main image.

The card base is a 4 1/4″ x 11″ piece of Core’dinations cardstock folded in half.  My patterned paper pieces measure 1 1/2″ square, 1 1/2″ x 2 1/4″, 1 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ and 2 1/2″ x 3 1/4″. They were layered on a sponged 3 15/16″ x 5 3/16″ piece of Chocolate chip cardstock. The edges were stitched by machine.

The sentiment is also from the new set Christmas is in the Air. It was stamped on the bottom right with Walnut Stain Distress ink.

 I will be back a bit later with today’s tutorial sample. Hugs and smiles

I thought I could use yesterday’s Way to Use it Challenge to create a card for today’s sketch. Boy…that was a tough one! Julia challenged us to use purple on our card! Purple? Really? I don’t like purple…I wasn’t even sure I had any purple Designer paper. I checked my stash and found a few sheets with purple in my Basic Grey Euphoria pack.

I recently received my first order of Bella stamps, but hadn’t played with them yet. I picked the darling butterfly to try out first. It’s just so adorable. I stamped it with Tuxedo Black Ink on Neenah cardstock, cut it out with Circle Nestabilities and colored it with Copic Markers (YG000, YGoo, YG21, YG23, YG25,RV02, RV04, Rv10, RV17, V15, V17). The image was then first layered on black cardstock, then on Purple Core’dinations cardstock. Stardust stickles was added to the pink dots and Tiny Twinkles on the bows on her antena.

I really like how my butterfly looks, but I am not so sure about the rest of the card. Oh well….I can’t love all of my cards, right?

The Core’dinations card base measures 4″ x 12″ and was folded it half. A 3 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ piece of Euphoria Paper was adhered to a 3 11/16″ x 5 11/16″ piece of Black cardstock and sewn together. The two wider strips measure 3/4″ x 4 3/4″, the smaller one 1/2″ x 4 3/4″. The thinner strip has a layer of punched black cardstock underneath (EK Success border punch).  I had these layer originally like the sketch, but the black border looked better on the right, so I switched it around.

To finish off the card I added three Kaiser Rhinestones on the top left  and a bow out of May Arts Polka dotted organdy ribbon underneath the butterfly.

I will have to try again to come up with a better card for the sketch. Have a wonderful day! Hugs and smiles

When I saw last week’s color challenge I thought I could use the color combo for recreating another old tutorial of mine: Serigraph. It’s fun to revisit these old tutorials and try to come up with a new sample.

The card base is a 4 1/2″ x 9″ piece of cardstock from Core’dinations Chocolate Box Collection folded in half. The background was created with Distress ink Colors: Old Paper, Worn Lipstick and Fired Brick. The stamps used were Verve’s Happiness Found and Harvest Blessings.

The background base is a 3 13/16″ square of Whisper White cardstock. It was layered on a 4″ Whisper White square and was stitched to it. The strip on the side was cut and embossed with Spellbinders Harvest Border out of the same Core’dination cardstock as the base. It was sanded and taped to the side. 1″ Wide Organdy Ribbon was taped around it. The bow was made with Bow-Easy.

For the sentiment I cut Whisper White cardstock with Spellbinders Label 4. It was sponged first with Old Paper, then with a hint of Worn Lipstick. Leaves were stamped over it in Old Paper and second generation Worn Lipstick before the sentiment was stamped in Vintage Photo. The leave is a punchout from the Harvest Border Borderabilities.

The inside of the card is rather simple. I love that the Core’dination cardstock from the Chocolate Box collection has a different core then it’s front. Here it’s a soft red that went perfectly with my leave colors. The leave on top is stamped in Worn Lipstick and is from the stamp set Harvest Blessings. The two leaves on the bottom are punchouts from the Harvest Border.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day!

Here is a video for the visual learner:

I love Flourishes stamps but hadn’t played with mine in a while. When the color challenge came around a couple of weeks ago, it was perfect for these poppy stamps.

The images were stamped with Tuxedo Black ink on Gina K. Pure Luxury White cardstock, cut with Circle Nestabilities and colored and airbrushed with Copic Markers (YR61, YR65, YR68, YG95, YG99, E25, BG11). The cutout was layered on a slightly bigger Chocolate chip circle, followed by a Bermuda Bay circle that had been cut with Spellbinders Eyelet Pendant Dies.

The card base is created out of a 4 3/4″ x 11″ piece of Confetti White cardstock. It was scored at 4 3/4″, 9 1/2″ and 9 3/8″. The front flap was cut and embossed with Eyelet Borderabilities. Retired SU Valet Ribbon was tied around the flap.

The 4″ Apricot piece of cardstock is from Core’dinations. It was embossed with a cuttlebug folder, sanded and then stitched to a 1/4″ bigger piece of Chocolate Chip. Two Kaiser Chocolate Pearls were added to the left top.

The sentiment is also from the Poppy set. It was stamped in Tuxedo black on Gina’s white cardstock, cut out with Oval Nestabilities, airbrushed and layered on a slightly bigger Chocolate Scallop oval.

I worked ahead this week and already made this card on Monday as my entry for the Technique Challenge, which was to create a Wiper card.

I haven’t made a square one before, so it was perfect to use the sketch with the challenge. As my main image I chose this cute stamp from JustRite’s Old Fashioned Christmas set. Frosty was stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on Gina K’s Pure Luxury White cardstock, cut out with Circle Nestabilities and colored with Copic Markers (RV13, RV14, RV17, YG01, YG03, YG05, W1, YR04, YR07) and airbrushed with Copic Marker B000. White Flower Soft was added the to the pompom on the hat.

My card base consists of two 4 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ pieces of Textured Whisper White cardstock scored at 1 1/2″ and 3″. A 3 3/4″ square of Fancy Pants Happy Holidays Patterned paper was sewn to a 4″ Black square. The three smaller patterned paper squares measure 2 5/16″ and are from the same paper pack. They two outer ones were layered on a 2 7/16″ black cardstock square, the one in the middle on a scalloped black square that had been cut with Square Nestabilities.

Melon Mambo dotted ribbon was tied around the big square layers before the smaller square were adhered. A retired felt snowflake from Stampin’ Up! with a My Mind’s Eye Brad in it’s center was added to the top right corner of the main image. Three little pink rhinestones filled the left top corner.

For the sentiment I chose another JustRite stamp from the Merry Little Christmas set. It was stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento ink directly on Fancy Pants patterned paper, punched out with a 1 1/4″ circle punch. It was layered on a 1 3/8″ black circle and adhered to the bottom left of the main image.

My wiper pop up image was a little Santa hat cut out with Spellbinders Holiday Cheer die. It was cut out twice, once out if White cardstock, once out of red/pinkish patterned paper from the Happy Holidays Paper pack. I cut the red center out, sanded it a bit and taped it to the white layer. White Flower Soft was added to the rim and pompom of that hat.

You can find the step by step tutorial for wiper cards on Splitcoast. Here is the video for the visual learner:

Last week’s Technique Challenge was to create an Easel Card. I love the look of them and had a fun time creating this card for the challenge.

I started out with stamping the Angel from Crafty Secrets Believe in Black Tuxedo Ink on Natural White cardstock. I colored it in with Copic Markers, cut it out with Rectangle Nestabilities and layered it first on a slightly bigger black rectangle, then on a scalloped Natural White rectangle.

The card base/Easel part was created out of a 4 3/4″ x 9 1/2″ piece of Cardinal Core’dination Cardstock. It was scored at 2 3/8″ and 4 3/4″.  The card front is a 4 3/4″ Cardinal Core’dination square. A 4″ square of 7Gypsies patterned paper was stitched to 4 3/8″ Basic black square. The corner image and border decor are stamps from the Crafty Secrets Serenity Prayer Set. They were stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink. May Arts Crochet ribbon was taped over the layers and  White Organdy Ribbon was tied over that. The bow was topped off with Prima Flowers with a Basic Grey Button in it’s center.

For the inside I created another Black Square. This time topped with a 4″Natural White Square that had a strip of the same 7 Gypsies paper taped to the bottom of the card. The word Believe was stamped in Tuxedo Black on Natural White cardstock, punched out with the large oval punch, sponged with Vintage Photo and Worn Lipstick Distress inks and layered on a black scallop oval punchout.

Harmonious Sprig is another gorgeous new background from Unity.  I used it to create a card for one of the Splitcoast Sketch challenges.

The image was stamped on Natural White Cardstock in Tuxedo Black ink and watercolored with Ranger Distress inks (Vintage Photo, Old Paper, Shabby Shutters). White Liquid Pearls were added over the pines and branch. White Organdy Ribbon from May Arts was tied around the lower half. One of my Mom’s old buttons was tied with Linen Thread around the ribbon.

The card base is a 4 1/4″ x 12″ piece of Textured Chocolate Chip cardstock folded in half. A 4″ x 5 3/4″ piece of Natural White was layered with 1/4″ narrower pieces of Basic Grey Fruitcake and Wassail Paper. The layers were stitched together. A 2″ x 4″ piece of Textured Chocolate Chip Cardstock was punched with the Eyelet border punch and adhered slightly above the center of the card. Three white brads were added to the left of the image.

This weekend was bad. Lucas, Rebecca, Rick and I all had the flu. Austin already had it last weekend. Fever, achiness and nasty dry cough is not good. The kids are better, but Rick and I are still trying to recover. I couldn’t help myself though….I needed to make a sample for my challenge.

My image is from JustRite’s Autumn Blessings. It was stamped in Tuxedo Black on Gina K.’ Pure Luxury White cardstock and colored with Copic Markers (leaves: YG23, YG25, G94, Pumpkin: YR02, YR04, YR14, E15, Sky: YR31, bottom: E31). It was cut with Circle Nestabilities and ground and sky were airbrushed.

The Chocolate Chip card base measures 6 1/2″ x 8″ and was folded in half. A 3 1/2″ x 5 7/8″ piece of Basic Grey paper was stitched to a slightly bigger piece of Whisper White cardstock. A 5 7/8″ wide Chocolate Chip cardstock strip was cut, embossed and stenciled with Spellbinders Harvest Border and stitched to the middle of my Basic Grey paper. Champaigne Satin Ribbon was tied over the layers.

The smaller patterned paper rectangle measures 2″ x 4 3/8″ and is from the Basic Grey Pad Offbeat. It was stitched to a  1/4″ bigger piece of Whisper White. The focal point was first layered on a slightly smaller Creamy Caramel, then on a Chocolate Chip Scallop circle before adhered with dimensionals to the smaller rectangle. The sentiment is also from JustRite’s Autumn Blessings. It was stamped in Tuxedo Black on Whisper White cardstock punched out with the large oval punch and then layered on a sponged Chocolate Chip Scallop oval. The edges were paper pierced and the entire layer was airbrushed with YR31. The little pumpkin was cut with the Harvest Border out of a scrap of Basic Grey Offbeat paper.

To finish it off I added clear Dew drops with Crystal Effect to the top left and bottom right of the card. Since I already had the Crystal Effect out, I added some over my colored and cut out pumpkins.

Have a wonderful day! Hugs and smiles

Bella’s WCMD Challenge was to create a  card that shows what your girlfriends like to do in 80s colors. I don’t own any Bella stamps yet (they are ordered, though…can’t wait for them to get here). I figured eating baked goodies is always something I enjoy doing with friends.

The stamp is from Unity’s August 09 KOM stamp set. It was stamped in Tuxedo Black ink on Gina K.’s Pure Luxury White Cardstock. It was cut out with Label 3 Nestabilities, airbrushed  and colored with Copic Markers (YG06, G07, BG000, BG00, BG02, RV10, RV14, E53, E55) and Spica glitter pens Melon and Pink.

Chunky Crystal sparkles were added to the cupcake frosting before the entire glass bowl was covered with Crystal Effects. The image was layered on a bigger black Label 3 die cut. a White Gel Pen dotted border was added.

The card base is a 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ piece of Basic Black cardstock folded in half. It was layered by a 4″ x 5 1/4″ piece of Whisper White folled by a 1/4″ smaller piece of Gyspy Basic Grey patterned paper. The horizontal strip measures 1 7/8″ x 5″ and is from the same paper pack. A thin strip of Basic Black cardstock was taped underneath. It had been punched with the scallop Edge Punch. 1″ wide White Organdy Ribbon from May Arts was tied around the strip.

The sentiment is from the same Unity Kit. It was stamped in Tuxedo Black ink on Gina K.’s white cardstock. It was cut out with the large oval punch, airbrushed and taped to the left of the image. A Prima Flower was attached with a Rhinestone brad and small Rhinestones taped under the sentiment to finish off the card.

The WCMD challenge for MFT was to create a card with Pink, White, Black and Bling. I bought Grow Love Plant A Tree and hadn’t used it yet. This was the perfect occasion. Okay…maybe not perfect, but trees could be pink, right? LOL

I stamped the tree threee times in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Once on Gina K.’s Pure Luxury White cardstock, twice on Basic Grey Blush patterned paper. I cut out the top of the patterned paper tree, sponged and stamped them and taped them on top of my white layer. Then I colored in the trunk with Copic Markers (W1, W2). The image was cut out with Spellbinders Small Label Nestabilities , air brushed with Copic R00 and layered on a black scallop layer cut out with Rectangle Nestabilities. The edges of the white layer were paper pierced.

The card base is a 3 1/2″ x 10″ piece of Regal Rose cardstock folded in half. The front was partially embossed with the Paisley I added White Craft ink directly on the Paisley Cuttlebug Folder before embossing the card front partially with it. White Organza Ribbon was tied around the card, right where the dry embossing ends. The lower edge of the card was punched with the scallop edge punch. A slightly smaller then 3 1/2″ x 5″ piece of Whisper White cardstock was taped behind the card front.

The sentiment is from the same set. It was stamped on the same paper as the trees, cut out with Circle Nestabilities, sponged and stamped just like the biggest tree top layer. Then it was layered first on a White, then a black dircle. Kaiser Rhinestones finish off the card.