Just A Number

Hi there and welcome back!  Tonight my card again uses the new Just Sayin' stamp set (love those word bubbles!).  It's definitely a more a masculine style card, with clean lines and limited embellishments.  I actually made two with a slight variation and you'll have to let me know which one you like better.  I used the current challenge at Seize the Sketch for the layout.

http://seizethesketch.blogspot.com.au/

I drew the color combination straight from the designer paper Birthday Basics and really loved how it all came together.

Raspberry Ripple is such a rich, saturated color, it is a wonderful backdrop for the embossed Summer Starfruit circle and the fun print of multicolored numbers.  So on this card I used the Summer Starfruit twine from the Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack (free during Sale-A-Bration for a $50 order).  On the next card I used some Stitched Satin ribbon.

I think I like the twine better than the ribbon; I just like the texture it brings to the card.  I have a friend at work that asked to buy some masculine birthday cards; I hope she like these.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you have a great week ahead!

Hugs,

Stef

Product detail:

Stamps:  Just Sayin'

Paper:  Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Birthday Basics designer series paper

Ink:  Bermuda Bay

Other:  Brights Candy Dots, Decorative Dots embossing folder, Word Bubble & Circle Collections framelits, Summer Starfruit Stitched Satin Ribbon, Summer Starfruit Twine (Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack)

Birthday Elegance

Welcome back!  Tonight my card is for Pals Paper Arts, where they had a sketch challenge this week:

http://www.palspaperarts.com/

After choosing to use Eastern Elegance designer series paper, I knew I wanted to make a clean but layered birthday card, striving to live up to the elegance in the dp name. Don't know if it fully succeeded or not (LOL!!) but the paper really carried that part.  The Coastal Cabana flag was cut with the largest of the Banners Framelits then embossed with the Polka Dot embossing folder.

I was searching for a way to include some ribbon without the bulk of a big bow, so Silver 1/8" ribbon was wrapped around the bottom of the flag.  It was a great thought, and I still like the bit of shiny silver it adds, but in the end the card ended up with a bit of bulk anyway when a Coastal Cabana decorative piece was added to the flag of Smokey Slate Chevron ribbon.

The sentiment from Four You was stamped on Whisper White and cut out with the largest horizontal framelit from the Word Bubble set, but it got lost in the busy pattern of the designer paper.  So I lopped off the little tale and put a slightly larger piece of Coastal Cabana to put under it for contrast.

Well, that's all for tonight, I must run to catch the last Downton Abbey episode of the season. Thank you so much for dropping by, it would be wonderful if you had a moment to leave a comment.

Hugs,

Stef

Just Sayin' Soho

Hi there, and welcome back!  I'm so thankful tomorrow is Friday, looking forward to the weekend to relax and sleep in a bit.  This will be a quick post that I'm squeezing in before dinner is ready.

I have a fun birthday card made for a brother-in-law, whose birthday is coming up the beginning of March.  I used the Sweet Sunday Sketch for the card design.  Here is the sketch...

http://kgiron.blogspot.com/

...and here is my card:

A super simple card, great for both giving to a guy and sending through the mail.  I grabbed some Soho Subway designer series paper and used the colors from that paper for the matching card stock.  The eyelets and the hemp twine lend a bit of "manly" accent.

Thanks for taking a look!  I hope you have a great Friday and I'll be back sometime this weekend with another card to share.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Just Sayin'
Paper:  Natural Ivory, Summer Starfruit, Island Indigo, Early Espresso, Soho Subway designer series paper
Ink:  Early Espresso
Other:  Chevron embossing folder, Word Bubble framelit, Metallic Eyelet, Hemp Twine, Cropadile

Vintage Romance

Hi there!  I'm back with a card for Fab Friday, where the current challenge is to use this great sketch:

http://fabfridaystampinchallenge.blogspot.com/

The doily in the sketch really sent me in the vintage/distress direction.  I started out with a doily as well, and then remembered all the beautiful lace I still have from last years Artisan Embellishments (yes, I hoarded stocked up on a bunch of it!) and knew that was what I wanted to use.

The lace and the Flower Trim then set the tone for a soft, romantic style card, along with a bit of distressing and light sponging with Crumb Cake ink.  I also decided to make it a skinny card, just 3 1/2" by 5 1/2"; so petite and sweet.

The stamped images from Chalk Talk were heat embossed with clear Stampin' Emboss powder to make them stand out better.  I really like the versatility of the sentiment...it can be for just about any occasion.  Chalk Talk continues to be one of my "go to" stamp sets.

Well, that's it for tonight.  Be sure to head over to the Fab Friday blog (link above) and check out all the inspiration, plus there's still plenty of time to play along.

Thanks for dropping by and taking a look!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Chalk Talk, En Francais
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Natural Ivory
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Versamark
Other:  Artisan Embellishments Kit, Chalk Talk framelit, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Fancy Fan embossing folder, Soft Sky Seam Binding Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Clear Stampin' Emboss powder, Cutter Kit

Gratitude

Hi there once again!  My card today is for the Friday Mashup.  This week they had a fun sketch plus the opportunity to mash it up with a bit of spritzing or splatter.  I decided just to stick with the sketch for my card.

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

The oval shape was perfect for again using the So Very Grateful stamp set, this time the larger image.  It was stamped in Jet Black Stazon onto Whisper White paper, and after being cut with an oval framelit, adhered to a Labels Collection shape in Strawberry Slush. 

Deciding to use Old Olive with Strawberry Slush when coloring the stamped image led me to search through my retired designer paper, where I found this polka dot design from Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Pack.  Always Artichoke was used for the base as it added a nice contrast against the lighter green.  

The Scallop Trim Corner punch was used to decorate the corners, as they were looking a little bare.  With the bow at the top, the sentiment was switched to the bottom of the oval and offset slightly.  On the inside, I put the finishing part of the phrase, plus a flower and leaves from the smaller image that I had stamped on a separate piece of card stock, colored, cut out with my paper snips, then glued next to the sentiment.

Well, that's it for now.  Thanks so much for taking the time to visit and I'd love to hear from you if you have time to leave a comment.  Have a great week!

Hugs,

Stef

Product detail:

Stamps:  So Very Grateful

Paper:  Whisper White, Strawberry Slush, Always Artichoke, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Pack

Ink:  Jet Black Stazon, Strawberry Slush, So Saffron, Old Olive, More Mustard

Other:  Scallop Trim Corner and Border punches, Labels & Ovals Collection framelits, Bitty Banner framelits, White Organza ribbon, Basic Pearls, Blender Pen.

Birthday Dots & Circles

Welcome back once again!  I had a busy crafting session during this rainy, stormy afternoon. There are always so many great challenges out in the crafting world, choosing how to spend one's time is a challenge in and of itself!  This post incorporates two of them - a color challenge at Pals Paper Arts and the Deconstructed Sketch by Jen Shults.

http://www.palspaperarts.com/

http://deconstructingjen.com/deconstructed-sketch-138/

And here is my card:

While I love both Pumpkin Pie and Gumball Green, they are very intense and bright in color. To defuse that intensity, I chose this sketch, which allowed a significant amount of white space. After the strips of Polka Dot Parade designer paper were adhered to the base, a rectangle of Gumball Green was popped up on dimensionals after being run through the Big Shot with the Decorative Dots embossing folder.

The tag is a two inch strip of watercolor paper that was punched with the new Scalloped Tag Topper punch (love that!).  The small floral image from So Very Grateful was inked up in Jet Black Stazon, then colored with Pumpkin Pie and Gumball Green using a blender pen.  That stamp set is another Occasions product that had me at hello LOL!!  Normally I prefer more realistic flower stamps, but there is something just so appealing about these images, I knew they would eventually have a home in my craft room.

Using the blender pen to color the flowers and leaves rather than water coloring with an Aquapainter resulted in brighter colors, working better for this card.

That's it for today.  I will have another card to share sometime tomorrow.  Have a great evening!

Hugs,

Stef


Product detail:
Stamps:  So Very Grateful, Petite Pairs
Paper:  Whisper White, Gumball Green, Pumpkin Pie, Watercolor, Polka Dot Parade designer series paper
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Gumball Green, Daffodil Delight, Jet Black Stazon
Other:  Hemp Twine, Pumpkin Pie Chevron Ribbon, Naturals Designer Button, 1 1/4" Scallop circle, 1 3/8" circle and Scalloped Tag Topper punches, Decorative Dots embossing folder, Blender Pen

Daffodil Thanks

Hi there and happy Friday!  I'm thankful this week is over for several reasons, mostly because our older SUV conked out and we had to then scramble to buy a new vehicle.  With that accomplished today (my husband is pretty darn excited with his new pick up truck), maybe life will get back to some sense of normalcy.

Appropriately, I have a thank you card to share that I made for the fun sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  Check it out:

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

Buttons immediately came to mind with all those circles.  While digging through my designer paper I came upon this delightful piece from Gingham Garden, and a bright and cheery thank you was the result.

The sentiment was stamped, cut out with my paper snips and mounted on a piece of Daffodil Delight card stock made by using the matching Bitty Banners framelit.  I used my Cropadile to notched the paper up above where I tied the Island Indigo Baker's Twine.

I was a bit nervous about lining up all the buttons evenly, but fortunately the pattern on the paper helped.  Other than that part of making the card, it was super quick and easy.  Be sure to head over to the FMS blog, there's still plenty of time to play.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a great weekend!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps: Itty Bitty Banners
Paper:  Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Gingham Garden designer series paper
Ink:  Island Indigo
Other:  Brights and Regals buttons, Island Indigo and Whisper White Baker's Twine, Cropadile, Bitty Banners framelit

Simply Sorbet

Hi there!  As I wind up my long weekend, I have one more card to share with you that I made for Mojo Monday.  Today they had an especially cute and fun sketch and I could not resist joining in.  

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

When I saw the tag I knew right away that I wanted to use the Simply Sorbet paper underneath it and to tie the twine from the Accessories pack on the top.  After stamping my sentiment, the tag was cut with a Chalk Talk framelit.

I love this designer paper, the colors are so soft and blend together so nicely (it's free with a $50 or more order during Sale-A-Bration).  Summer Starfruit is my least favorite In Color but I have to admit the twine looks great against the paper (and there's a sheet of dp in this pack of Summer Starfruit flecked with white that looks killer with black card stock.  So, maybe I like it a little bit).  To add an additional bit of punch to the color scheme, I used a Tangerine Tango button and stamped the butterfly in the same color.

As I was using the Envelope Punch Board to round the corners of my card, I decided a matching envelope was in order.  I grabbed a matching piece of designer paper and whipped out the envelope in no time.

Thanks once again for dropping by!  I feel very fortunate that I had scheduled vacation days during our poor weather and now that things are warming up I won't have to worry about slipping and sliding to work on snow and ice.  Have a great week!

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Simply Sketched, Papillon Potpourri

Paper:  Whisper White, Pool Party Core'dinations, Sweet Sorbet designer series paper

Ink:  Jet Black Stazon, Tangerine Tango

Other:  Sycamore Street Tangerine Tango button, Naturals Basic Button, Bitty Butterfly punch, Chalk Talk framelit, Crisp Cantaloupe Ruffled Stretch Trim, Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack (Summer Starfruit twine), Linen Thread, Basic Rhinestones, Polka Dot embossing folder, Stampin' Sanding System, Envelope Punch Board

Birthday in Pink

Hello once again!  I've had lots of card production time with the inclement weather, and have yet another card to share.  This one was made for a couple of challenges - The Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge and The Card Concept, where the current challenge is to make a monochromatic card in pink.  There's plenty of time to join either or both challenges, so be sure to click on the links below to see the great inspiration.

http://kgiron.blogspot.com/

http://thecardconcept.blogspot.com/

I had monochromatic pink in my head when I made this card so the end result is that my card is a bit brighter than all the soft colors in the inspiration picture.  

I knew I wanted to make something bright (dreary gray skies will do that LOL!), so I started with a Strawberry Slush base that was then topped with Quatrefancy Specialty designer series paper in the same color.  The doily was next, lying underneath the horizontal piece of textured cardstock in Pink Pirouette, and softening the whole look of the card.

The Silver Glimmer paper and Basic Rhinestones give it a bit of bling.  The sentiment is one that can be had free during the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration with a $50 or more purchase.  It's a fun one and it'll be perfect for a girlfriend's birthday at work.

One of the additional challenge conditions at The Card Concept is to pick a style that your card falls into from six types.  I guess this card would most likely fall into the Clean and Layered category, as it's not distressed and it definitely has lots of layers!!

Thanks for looking!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment!  I hope the upcoming week brings only good things your way!

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  See Ya Later

Paper:  Strawberry Slush, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Textured Pink Pirouette, Silver Glimmer, Quatrefancy Specialty designer series paper

Ink:  Strawberry Slush

Other:  Circles, Scallops #2 Bigz die, Pretty in Pink Satin ribbon, Strawberry Slush Ruffle Stretch Trim, Circles Collection framelits, Subtles Button, Basic Rhinestones, White Baker's Twine.  

Good Thoughts

Welcome back and happy Saturday!  We're into 48 hours of nearly constant snow, with accumulation of about a foot.  My daughter, who lives about an hour south of us, has two feet! Fun times, she says!  Ha!  I'll share some photos of our yard at the end of my post, but now I have a card to share with you that was made for Seize the Birthday.

http://seizethesketch.blogspot.com.au/

I wanted to use my Peaceful Petals stamp set, so I flipped the sketch 90 degrees so the top panel would be vertical.  I had masking in mind with the floral stamp but realized it cutting out a mask for it would be quite detailed, so I decided to make a mask for the long leaf image instead.

The flowers were colored with a blender pen using Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral and Tangerine Tango.  It's always tricky (for me at least) to color with reinkers on regular card stock, as I tend to get a bit heavy handed and the friction causes the paper to pill.  So, for this image, I used a very light touch so I could apply the various layers of color.

The tangerine and gray combination is really lovely together.  The little piece of Very Vanilla peeking out to the right of the main image was punched from the Doily Triple Layer punch. The Tangerine Tango ribbon is from last year's Sale-A-Bration Sycamore Street embellishments, and it was tied on top of a piece of Victoria Crochet Trim.

Well, that's it for the card photos.  The remainder are some snow shots from our backyard.

That's a little table in a seating area at the back of the yard, and you can see the snow is about a foot deep on top.  The dip in the fence in front of it is actually from a piece of driftwood attached to the fence that was brought home from one of our trips to the Oregon coast.  The birds have hopped up there and knocked off some of the snow.

My husband loves having bird feeders in the back yard, and with the snow, it's been a busy crowded place, with Towhees, Doves, Juncos, Sparrows, and Chickadees all sharing space to eat seed, plus we've had a rare visit from a juvenile Black headed Grosbeak.  Unfortunately he was a bit camera shy and every time I thought I had a shot (I'm sitting at my kitchen table trying to get shots out the sliding glass window), he'd scoot out of range. 

 We also have two resident Hummingbirds.  They need to keep eating in this weather and since there are no bugs to supplement their diet, Kevin has been vigilant in thawing their feeder when it freezes up (we've been in the low to mid 20's for days).

Late yesterday he had brought the feeder in to thaw and one of the Hummingbirds was hovering outside the slider, as if to say "Hey, where's my food?"  I swear it would have flown in the house if the door would have been open.

That's all for me.  I know our snow situation isn't nearly as desperate as other areas in the country, it's just that we aren't used to it (last substantial snow storm was in December 2008), so to us it's a big deal.  I hope everyone who visits is safe and warm (U.S.) or keeping cool (my friend in Australia where it's a scorcher!!)

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Peaceful Petals, Perfect Pennants

Paper:  Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Tangerine Tango, Venetian Romance designer series paper

Ink:  Basic Gray, So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Stone Gray (Stazon)

Other:  Victoria Crochet Trim, Sycamore Street Tangerine Tango ribbon, Doily Triple Layer punch, Fancy Fan embossing folder.

Heart You

Hi there again!  I'm back with a card made for Retrosketches 100th sketch challenge.  Arielle had a great sketch this week and I really wanted to join in.

I needed one final Valentine for my oldest grandson (is 19 too old for a Meima to send a Valentine??) and this sketch was perfect for what I had in mind.

An oldie but goodie, the Loads of Love stamp set provided the perfect vehicle to send Valentine wishes, with a truckload of hearts.  The images were stamped in Jet Black Stazon, with a Stampamajig used to line up the hearts on the back of the truck.

An Aquapainter was used to watercolor the images, and a blender pen grabbed some Silver Encore ink directly from the pad to color the "chrome".  That's it, pretty quick and easy.

The snow continues to fall, so I'm staying inside where it's warm and cozy - a great excuse to make more cards!!  Take care and thanks for visiting!




Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Loads of Love
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Real Red, Crumb Cake, watercolor, More Amour designer paper
Ink:  Real Red, Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Silver Encore, Whisper White Craft
Other:  Small Heart, Postage Stamp and 1" square punches, Aquapainter, Blender pen

Sketched Birthday

It's time to share the final card in the gift set made for my friend's birthday on Monday.  By the time I got to this card I was running out of time and ideas, so I flipped through the big Stampin' Up! catalogue and found a card to case/copy (page 205).

I love the simplicity of this, especially how the splatter from Gorgeous Grunge adds such great movement across the card.  Thanks for the great inspiration, Stampin' Up designers!

I used my Envelope Punch Board to round the corners on the Very Vanilla panel.  You have to love a tool that multi-tasks!

On a personal note, it's snowing here in the Portland metro area; management closed my office at 1:45 p.m. today due to traffic and travel concerns.  While we may not get very much snow (4-6 few inches) many people here do not know how to drive in snow (due to its infrequency in our temperate climate) and it makes for an interesting commute.  I especially love the white-knuckle drivers going 15 mph in their SUV.  Come on, guys, that's why you bought that behemoth!  It should get really interesting Saturday when the snow changes to freezing rain.  Well, I guess it was the Northwest's turn to get a piece of the nasty winter the rest of the country has been experiencing.  I'm glad to be taking a couple of vacation days tomorrow and Monday - no need to go anywhere until the inclement conditions move on.

Take care all, wherever you reside!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Simply Sketched, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake
Ink:  Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Primrose Petals
Other:  Pink Pirouette Taffeta ribbon, Envelope Punch Board

Daisy Thank You

Welcome back to day three of four, where I am sharing cards from a card set I made for a friend's birthday on Monday.  This card features one of my favorite retired stamps (I don't think I will ever let it go), Upsy Daisy.

Since I was putting together four cards in one afternoon, and wanted them all to be easily mailed,  they had to be fairly CAS.  It might be a tad plain (maybe some pearls or rhinestones?  Candy dots?).  The Crumb Cake base was embossed with the Honeycomb embossing folder, and a Pink Pirouette taffeta ribbon wrapped around it at the fold.  The next layer, also of Crumb Cake, had the daisy imaged stamped in the same color ribbon and accented with the Blushing Bride banner underneath the sentiment, which was stamped in Primrose Petals. Done and done!

The inside was decorated with the same (but smaller) daisy image found in Best of Flowers, a fun touch in Primrose Petals.

Well, that's it for today.  I sure appreciate your visit and, as always, would love to hear from you if you have time to leave a comment!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Upsy Daisy, Best of Flowers, Express Yourself
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Primrose Petals
Other:  Pink Pirouette Taffeta Ribbon, Honeycomb embossing folder

A Birthday in Pink

Hi there again.  It's Monday night and I have another card to show you that was made for a gift set given to my friend Tracey for her birthday.  She was the one that introduced me to card making several years ago, and ironically, I am the one that continues to be involved in card making.  So I give her card sets on her birthday as a tribute to her as the genesis to my love of paper crafting.

For this card, I used the sketch from Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.  I had a goal to keep all the cards simple and easy to mail, when I saw Karen's sketch yesterday I knew it would work perfectly with this group of cards.

http://kgiron.blogspot.com/2014/02/sweet-sunday-sketch-challenge-205.html

This card was put together in a matter of minutes, which was good since I was doing it in small time periods away from the Superbowl yesterday (woo hoo, Seahawks won!!).  

I chose to make this super simple due to time limitations and the desire to make it easy to mail, (flat is typically a challenge for me LOL!) but the sketch certainly lends itself to a wide variety of design possibilities.  The sentiment is from the retired Stampin' Up! Hostess set, Something to Celebrate, which was stamped on top of the dot design from Perfect Pennants, new in the Occasions Spring catalogue.  A little banner on the side of the main image and some Basic Rhinestones added for fun, and done!

More and more I am certainly becoming a fan of simple and easy cards, although I will never quit making my favorite layered and sometimes distressed shabby/vintage style cards.  But the simpler cards with good basic design elements can be equally fun (thanks Karen for a great layout!).  

Thanks for taking the time to drop by and take a look.  I hope the remainder of your week goes well!  I'll be back later this week to share the other cards made for my friend's birthday.

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Something to Celebrate, Perfect Pennants 

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride, Primrose Petals, More Amore designer paper

Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Primrose Petals

Other:  Basic Rhinestones