fresh & fun

When it was time to shoot a video for the Magic Snowflake tutorial, I had to think for a while to come up with a sample. After I created the focal point, I had to put it aside for a while before I finished it.  I just couldn’t think of a layout. Mojo works on it’s own schedule I guess.

The card base is a 4 1/4″ x 11″ piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock sponged with Walnut Stain Distress ink. A 3 3/4″ x 5″ piece of Very Vanilla cardstock was embossed with a cuttlebug folder, then sponged with Vintage Photo distress ink, layered and stitched on a 1/4″ bigger piece of Vanilla cardstock.

A 3″ x 4 1/4″ piece of Merry Days of Christmas was stitched to a 1/4″ bigger piece of sponged Chocolate chip cardstock. The horizontal strip started out as a 1 3/4″ x 3 3/4″ piece of Vanilla cardstock. Vintage Wallpaper was stamped on it with Walnut Stain ink. It was sponged with Vintage Photo and Walnut stain ink and layered on a slightly wider strip of Chocolate chip cardstock. The bottom of the Chocolate strip had been punched with the scallop edge punch from Stampin’ Up! Cream May Arts Silk ribbon was tied around it.

The main image is from Flourishes Forest of Trees stamp set. It was stamped in Snowcap Adirondack pigment ink on Glossy White cardstock and embossed with clear embossing powder. Old Paper and Vintage photo distress ink reinkers were used with rubbing alcohol to create the background. The image was cut with Label Nestabilities, layered on a sponged vanilla layer and a scallop chocolate chip rectangle.

The sentiment is from the Dove and Holly set. It was stamped in Walnut Stain ink on Vanilla cardstock. The Holly was stamped in Antique Linen distress ink. The sentiment was punched out with a 1 1/4″ circle punch, sponged with Antique linen and layered on a 1 3/8″ sponged Chocolate chip circle. The circles were stitched together and Kaiser Rhinestones were added to finish it off.

I created the inside to reflect the outside of the card and to show off that gorgeous Vintage Wallpaper background stamp. It was stamped again in Walnut Stain on Vanilla cardstock and sponged with Aged Mahogany ink. The tree was stamped in Antique Linen. I love those Distress inks. They are my kind of colors!

Here is a video on the Magic Snowflake Technique:

Ever since I saw the sneaks for Flourishes Dove and Holly set, I knew I NEEDED that set. Marcella creates the most amazing stamp sets.

So when the set came right before I had to come up with a video for the Joy Fold card, I knew I was going to use it. And to mix it up a bit, I created a square Joy fold card….because, I LOVE square cards.

My card base is a 4 1/4″ x 6 1/4″ piece of Chocolate chip cardstock scored at 4 1/4″. The edges were sponged with Walnut Stain Distress ink. For the backing I layered a 3 3/4″ square piece of Basic Grey Boxer paper on a 4″ square of Very Vanilla cardstock. The layers were stitched together and adhered to the card base.

A 1 7/8″ x 4″ piece of Basic Grey Fruitcake paper strip was adhered to the front flap. Behind the front flap I taped a strip of Vanilla cardstock that had been punched with an EK punch. It was sewn to the card front. May Arts Olive Silk Ribbon was tied around the flap.

The flap base is a 3″ x 6″ piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock, sponged with Walnut Stain ink and folded in half.  A 2 1/2″ square of Old Olive Cardstock was stamped with Vintage Wallpaper and Peeled Paint ink, the edges were sponged and it was sewn to a 2 3/4″ square of Vanilla cardstock.

The doves were stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento Ink on Gina K’s Pure Luxury Ivory cardstock and colored with Copic Markers (E51, E55, E57, YR23, YR24, YG93, YG95, R46, R59, W1). It was cut with Circle Nestabilities, sponged with Antique Linen and layered on a Burgundy cardstock scallop that was sponged with Aged Mahogany. It was attached to the flap with dimensionals. Crystal Effect was added over the Holly berries.

The inside of the flap was layered with a 2 3/4″ square of Old Olive cardstock and a 1/4″ smaller piece of Pure Luxury Ivory cardstock. The holly stamp was stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento ink in the right bottom corner and colored with the same markers that were used for the Dove image. Again Crystal Effect was used to enhance the Holly berries.

Here is the 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.

Saturday was our 16th anniversary. Time flies. When we first started dating I just turned nineteen. I hit forty this year and the gray hairs are starting to sprout. It boggles my mind that I know Rick for more then half of my life. (for all your Bejeweled player…, can you hear Incredible…in that Bejeweled voice? LOL)

Thursday I had some time to play. It’s been too long since I could participate in a challenge. I checked out the sketch and had fun with it.

My card base is bigger then usual, only for the fact that I already had that cardbase cut and in my scrap pile. It turned out it worked great that way. The card base is  4″ x 12″ piece of Chocolate Chip and is folded in half.

A 3 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ piece of Patterned Paper from BasicGrey Cupcake collection was adhered to a slightly bigger piece of Very Vanilla Cardstock. The edges were first sanded with a sanding block, then zigzag stitched. The horizontal strip measures 2 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ and is from a different BasicGrey collection (sorry, my 6×6 paper packs are falling apart and I have no idea where it is from). A Vanilla strip as added to the left hand side. That strip had been punched with the Eyelet Border Punch. The long sides of these layers were straight stitched. Then blue Taffeta ribbon was tied around the right hand side and a hat pin from the Pretties Kit was added.

The main panel pieces were cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities Label Two. The bigger layer was cut out of Chocolate Chip cardstock and sponged. The smaller layer was cut out of Very Vanilla Cardstock. After embossing that layer, I left the Nestabilities die on the cardstock and airbrushed it with Copic Marker B21.

For the top panel I stamped the flower pot from Flourishes Chairs For You stamp set in Memento Black ink. It was colored with Copic Markers E43, E44, G21 and G24.

For the sentiment I cut two extra layers with Circle Nestabilities. The Vanilla Circle was airbrushed with G21, then paper pierced. The sentiment is from Flourishes I love Roses and was stamped in Chocolate Chip. The flowers are from the Prima flowers from the Botanical Mix. I added Ice and Clear Rhinestone brads in each center.

For the inside I taped a 2″ x 3 5/8″ wide strip of BasicGrey paper on to a slightly bigger piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock. The top had been cut with the Eyelet Border punch. The long sides were zigzag stitched. The sentiment layers were cut with Oval Nestabilities. The Vanilla layer was airbrushed with G21. The sentiment from Flourishes I Love Roses was stamped in Chocolate Chip.

Have a wonderful Sunday! Hugs and smiles

I am sorry I haven’t’ shared with you over the weekend. I did have stuff to share, but SCS work is crazy right now. That server switch will be wonderful in the long run, but boy does it create more work right now…..I didn’t get to do much all weekend but work.

When I was shooting the video for the stained glass technique, I had to create another image just like the one I already shared. I used the same sketch as on the last card, but turned it into a 4 1/4″ square. You know me….that’s my comfort zone.

Paper, ink….everything else is the same. No surprise though that I like this one better, right? The ribbon is different. It’s Stampin’ Up!’s Organza Ribbon. This time I left the image a rectangle and cut it and the Chocolate Chip layer behind it with Rectangle Nestabilities.

The inside is super simple, just a 3 15/16″ square of Whisper White cardstock and a 1 1/4″ x 3 15/16″ strip of the gorgeous BasicGrey patterned paper.

Keeping you updated on my thought process regarding my decision about Stampin’ Up!

I am still debating about whether or not I should sign the new Stampin’ Up! IDA. While I have spoken with Stampin’ Up! and they would allow me to continue my work on SCS and to stay a demonstrator, I still feel conflicted.
It would not be right for me not to post the details of projects I create with non Stampin’ Up! products - it would hurt the quality of my tutorials. While I do understand the reasoning behind asking demonstrators not to overtly market other products, I’m not sure if that restriction will work for me and my work on SCS.
Daven doesn’t tell me what to post on my blog and what not (how sweet he is! ). But I like what I create for SCS and I want to be able to post it here…along with the details of how I made it. So…as of right now I am leaning towards not signing the new agreement. If Stampin’ Up! changes their rules a little bit more and allows us to give credit to the companies whose products we use on our personal blog, then I will probably change my mind. But I feel I need to prepare you should that not happen.

 This is a very difficult decision for me. I started stamping with Stampin’ Up! products and I LOVE their products and the company. I really love being an upline to my downline members. But I love my work for Splitcoast more. I think that’s what it will come down to. I want to share all my work here, not just the projects that feature Stampin’ Up! products. I want to mention all the products I use to give credit where credit is due. It’s respectful and the right thing to do.

I will keep you posted.  Hugs and smiles

I created this card for yesterday’s sketch challenge on SCS.

I still needed a Stained Glass sample, so I could shoot a video for the technique.  I stamped Flourishes, Birds on Vine, in Chocolate Chip ink on Vellum Paper, added clear embossing powder and embossed it. Classic ink stays wet long enough on Vellum that you can do that. Then I used Copic Markers to color the image on the back. I used my airbrush tool to spray Whisper White cardstock with B00, ran it through my Xyron and attached the Vellum over the sprayed cardstock. It was then cut with Label 4 Nestabilities and layered on next bigger label die cut out of Chocolate chip cardstock.

The patterned paper is from BasicGrey Sultry pack, the rhinestones from Kaiser.

 For the visual learner, here is the video tutorial for this technique.

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday. I still have some cards to show you, but I was waiting for the SCS Newsletter to come out. Then mine didn’t come at all (see, it happens to team members too. LOL) and I didn’t post.

 Yesterday we published our Product Review on Scor-Pal Products. I LOVE THEM all! I love the Scor-Pal and don’t know how to do multiple cards without them. It saves soooo much time. I LOVE the tape. I don’t like the Sticky Strip no more. That red liner is always sticking on me. Not with the tape. The liner goes in the trash can the first time you throw it there. And then there is the mat and the new Scor-Bug. That tool won’t come out until April, but it will be worth the wait. It makes quick paper pierced rows. The piercing isn’t quite as definite as with the piercer, but it only takes as long as a score to do it! LOVE it!

I am not sure if you know, but the Scor-Pal has markings for a Gate Fold Card. I wrote a quick tutorial for that for SCS. I love that! No more having to remember the measurements or having to do math to figure it out. Your gatefold will be ready to decorate in 5 seconds!

I colored the image after coming home from the Copic Class two weeks ago and really wanted to use it for this card.

The stamps are from the Flourishes set Signs of Spring. It seems to be sold out right now, or I would link to it. The little chickies come as single stamps and the flowers are in a basket. I only linked the flowers, masked the chicks and stamped the flowers behind.  The images were stamped with Memento ink on Neenah cardstock and colored with copics. It was cut out with Nestabilities dies.

After the image was cut out, I left the Nestabilities die over the cardstock and added the sky with my air brush tool. I am using cans now, but I ordered myself a compressor. I can’t wait to get that in. My poor children…air brushing is so much fun. Nothing will be save from me. LOL

The card base is a 4 1/4″ x 8 1/2″ piece of Basic Gray cardstock. The designer paper is from the Kiwi Kiss Pattern Pack.

I kept the inside pretty simple. I just added more designer paper on the sides and a 4″ Neenah square in the center.

Two more chicks were stamped and colored. The banner was stamped and cut out. A black brad was added and it was adhered to the card inside with dimensionals.

Have a wonderful weekend!

We had sunshine and warm weather here for the last three days! I snug out for a couple of hours each day to read in the sun. I can’t help myself. I love to lay in the sun like a lizard. And I better catch the rays while I can before I move up north. I am sure I won’t be layout out in a two piece in the beginning of March in Ohio. Sigh….getting used to change is hard!

Make sure to check out Jenn’s blog tomorrow morning to see the sketch for the weekend sketch challenge! It’s a good one.

Wednesdays sketch challenge on SCS was fun.

I had colored poppies sitting here that I had colored while attending the Copic Seminar with Marianne Walker.

I cut those out and layered them on a 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ piece of Juntos Designer paper. It was taped on a slightly bigger piece of Basic Black cardstock. Lace, bought at Walmart, was tied around the bottom layer. Both layers were attached to a Scallop Rectangle cut out of Always Artichoke cardstock with Nestabilities with dimensionals.

The card base is a 4 1/4″ x 11″ piece of Always Artichoke cardstock folded in half.

Next is a 4″ x 5 1/4″ piece of Juntos Designer paper. The edges were distressed and paper pierced before the entire piece was sanded.

The following layers are a 3 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ piece of Basic Black cardstock followed by 1/4″ smaller piece of Juntos paper. Again the designer paper was sanded after adding a paper pierced edge on the top right.

The two vertical strips measure 7/8″ x 3 3/4″ strips of Pumpkin Pie cardstock. They were stamped in Riding Hood Red with the Damask from Friends 24-7. The edges were distressed with the cutter kit and sponged. The top strip was layered on a 1″ x 3 3/4″ piece of Basic Black cardstock. For the bottom strip I punched a 3 3/4″ wide strip of basic black cardstock with the Eyelet border punch, taped down the pumpkin strip and then cut down the black cardstock strip. Lace was tied around the top strip, a Jumbo white brad was added to the left hand side of the lower strip.

The sentiment from Many Sentiment was stamped in Black Memento ink on Neenah white cardstock.  The damask (I don’t have to mention what set that is from anymore, right?) was stamped in Mellow moss over the sentiment. It was punched out with the large oval punch and a paper pierced row was added under the saying.

Have a wonderful Sunday! Hugs and smiles

I made this small gift card a while ago for the Faux Cloisonne Tutorial on Splitcoast.

The card base was cut with the small Nestabilities Label. I used the largest one, folded Chocolate Chip cardstock in half and cut the card base.

The next layer is cut with the next smallest die out of Kraft cardstock.

The stamp rejoice is from the stamp set Flourished Christmas. It was stamped with Chocolate Chip craft ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.

I stamped the swirly horns from the deer of the same set in VersaMark on the Kraft cardstock and paper pierced a row under the sentiment.

The small Poinsettia from Flourishes Poinsettia and Boxwood was embossed in gold on a red Cadillac ad, cut out and mounted with dimensionals.

Kiwi Satin ribbon finishes off the card.

Today’s tutorial on SCS is for Sparkly Stained Glass. It’s easy peasy, it just takes some patience to let the glue dry completely before finishing the card.  Any outline image that can handle sparkle will work great for this technique. I thought the Flourishes Set All that Glitters would be perfect for that. I love Flourishes stamps. I wish and hope that Stampin’ Up! will start carrying more Botanical/Vintage/Elegant stamps.  I miss those in our catalogs.

My card base is a  4 1/4″ x 8 1/2″ piece of Basic Back folded in half.

It’s followed by a 4″ square of My Mind’s Eye designer paper.  The edges of the paper were distressed with a sanding block. On the bottom a 2 1/2″ x 4″ piece of BasicGrey Figgy Pudding Paper was adhered. May Arts Red Satin ribbon was tied around both Designer paper layers. On the top left a double photo corner was added. The bottom layer is punched out of Basic Black cardstock, the top layer is punched from the Figgy Pudding Paper. Three 1/4″ circle punch-outs from the My Mind’s Eye paper were added and topped with three black brads.

The ornament was stamped in Black Palette ink on Acetate. After it dried, I turned it over and added Martha Stewart glitter with Crystal Effect. Once that was dry (I let it sit for a day to be sure….don’t ask me why. Let’s just say this wasn’t my first try to make this card.LOL) cut the Acetate along with White cardstock underneath with Circle Nestabilities. I taped them together (add more adhesive under your glittered image, that way the adhesive won’t show), adhered them first on a slightly bigger My Mind’s Eye paper circle, then on a black scallop circle. They were adhered to the card base with dimensionals.

The sentiment is from the set Flourished Christmas (Can’t link to it. Out of stock right now). It was stamped in Black Memento Ink on My Mind’s Eye paper, cut out with the large oval punch, distressed with the sanding block and taped to the lower left of the card.

For the inside I layered a 4″ Whisper White square with a 1 5/8″ x 4″ strip of the red designer paper, followed by a 1 1/2″ x 4″ piece of Figgy Pudding paper. ( I have to smile every time I type Figgy Pudding….such a funny name. LOL. What can I say? I am easily amused.)

I promise, the next few posts will be strictly Stampin’ Up! again.

Have a great day! Hugs and smiles