Four Square

Hello again!  I had a relatively productive weekend in terms of card making, in addition to watching plenty of great football and taking a nice walk at the local wildlife reserve.

So now I'll share one of the cards I made, using the Pals Paper Arts sketch and this week's color challenge from Color Throw Down.

http://www.palspaperarts.com/

http://colorthrowdown.blogspot.com/

Both challenges had such great inspiration, it really got my mojo going.  I wanted something small for the four squares and after looking through all my stamp sets, settled on a couple of retired stamp sets I thought would be just the right size.

I started with a Crumb Cake base, then layered a slightly smaller piece of Smoky Slate card stock topped with a piece of Beau Chateau dsp.  For the green color I pulled out Pear Pizazz, which I think goes quite well with most of the Stampin' Up blues, including Marina Mist used for this card.

The sweet images from Collage Curios were stamped on Very Vanilla and punched out with a 1" Circle punch, along with the sentiment from Tiny Tags.  Textured Marina Mist card stock was then punched out with the 1 1/4" Scallop Circle punch. The flower was punched twice from Crumb Cake.  Then, using the stylus from the Simply Scored board and the Stampin' Pierce Mat, I just rotated one end of the stylus in the center of the flower atop the mat, which resulted in the petals popping up.

Thanks for taking a look today!  Be sure to use the links above to check out all the great inspiration at both blogs, plus there is still a bit of time to join in.  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Have a great week!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Collage Curios, Tiny Tags
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Marina Mist, Pear Pizazz, Crumb Cake, Smoky Slate, Beau Chateau dsp
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Pear Pizazz, Smoky Slate, Marina Mist
Other:  Lacy Brocade embossing folder; Pear Pizazz Seam Binding Ribbon; Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack; 1 3/8" Square, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle, 7/8" Scallop Circle and 1" Circle punches; Basic Pearls.

Sew Glad Two Ways

Hi there and welcome back!  Today I have two cards for your viewing pleasure (at least I hope it's a pleasure LOL!!) using the same stamp set and designer series paper, but one is clean and layered style and the other is vintage, with distressing and sponging.  And for more fun, a different sketch was used for each card.

The first card uses the current sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  I was particularly drawn to it because it has a tag on it, and it's a nice simple design that gives one plenty of options.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

I was looking through my "collection" of dsp scraps for some ideas and inspiration, when I came upon the measuring tape paper from the retired Etcetera.  I decided to have a little "pun fun" by matching it up with one of the oh so cute stamp from Puns From the Past (also retired, so they truly are from the past...at least the Stampin' Up! past!).

I was going to use my sewing machine to stitch around the edges but it did not even make it through the creation of the card below before it was packed back up and set aside until I have time to fiddle with the tension.  I should have had my sister look at it last weekend when she was visiting from out of town (she is a fantastic seamstress, along with an amazing card and jewelry maker...; - ) but we had too much fun just sitting in the back yard enjoying the beautiful weather and catching up (Hi Sue!  It was great to see you!).

The main stamped image was punched out with the new Note Tag punch, but by itself it was just too small for the size of the card, so I added a Calypso Coral tag underneath.  The tag was then topped with a Seam Binding Ribbon bow and a Naturals Designer button.

The next card was made with last week's sketch from retro sketches.  I tried to finish it and upload it last night after work but I was tired and wanted to try sewing on it, so I didn't make the deadline.  And, as it turned out, I didn't sew on it anyway, at least with thread!

http://retrosketches.blogspot.com/

In addition to the sewing machine stamp, the hearts from the new Chalk Lines photopolymer stamp set were used as a border across the top and bottom of the left had panel.

Okay, so you can see the stitching around the edges.  Yes, that's from the sewing machine.  Sigh.  I stitched along the right side first and it seemed okay, so i moved onto the bottom edge, and that's when it all came "unraveled", so to speak ;-) (sorry, I couldn't help myself).  I ended up ripping out the thread and just continued stitching without thread.  That's the biggest paper piercing tool I've ever used LOL!!

Well, if you've stayed with me this far, I appreciate it, especially enduring my bad jokes (hee hee!).  It was fun to make the differing styles with the same products and see how varied the two cards ended up, aside from different sketches.  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the links above to enjoy the great inspiration, and there is still time to add your card to the FMS challenge.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:

Card #1
Stamps:  Puns from the Past
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Calyso Coral, Etcetera and Tea for Two dsp
Ink:  Baked Brown Sugar
Other:  BBS Ruffle Trim, Victoria Crochet Trim, Scallop Tag Topper and Note Tag punches, Very Vanilla Seam Binding ribbon, Hemp Twine, Naturals Designer button, Envelope Punch Board (for rounding corners)

Card #2
Stamps:  Puns from the Past, Chalk Lines
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral, Tea for Two and Etcetera dsp
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Baked Brown Sugar
Other:  Hemp Twine, Linen Thread, Cutter Kit, Very Vintage Designer, Naturals Designer & Bitty Buttons, Envelope Punch Board

Festive Trees

Hello, friends!  It's been quite a week for me.  I had to travel for business training to Minneapolis (never stop learning, right?) and the days were LONG! I came home exhausted and have been recovering the last two days.  But today I finally finished a card I started before I left, using the sketch from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.  I missed the Friday deadline for this week's challenge but you should still use the link below to go check out all the great designs and Karen's fabulous past sketches.

http://kgiron.blogspot.com/

I'm working on my Christmas cards and pulled out Festival of Trees for this one.  I thought the large rectangle area in the sketch was perfect to layer a couple of trees.  I decided to use the new SU Kraft card stock for that piece, and embossed it with the Stylish Stripes embossing folder.

I started with a Cherry Cobbler base, then topped it with a slightly smaller piece of Under the Tree dsp in a Garden Green design.  The dsp is so sturdy, one could use it alone as the card base, but it's hard for me to use that much dsp at one time (can you say dsp "collector"?? LOL).  The horizontal strips are made up with different designs of the same dsp, with a strip of scalloped Whisper White to break up and brighten things.

Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details decorated the forward tree.  On the second tree, I first tried stamping the trim just in Gold Encore, but because it appeared rather muted, I decided to heat emboss it on my second attempt with gold embossing powder.  The dots were punched from Red Glimmer paper with a handheld 1/8" circle punch and adhered to the scallops and scattered above.  The star atop the tree was also punched from Red Glimmer paper.

As always your visit and comments are so appreciated!  I hope the remainder of your weekend is wonderful!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Festival of Trees
Paper:  Kraft, Whisper White, Red Glimmer, Under the Tree dsp
Ink:  Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Encore Gold, Versamark
Other:  Stampin' Emboss Gold embossing powder, Scallop Border, Tree, Word Window and Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack punches, 1/8" Handheld Circle punch, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Stylish Stripes embossing folder, Paper Snips.

To My Honey

Yes, a second post this Sunday!.  Kevin and I celebrated our anniversary recently and I didn't want to share the card until afterwards, and then I forgot to upload it until today.  I used one of the stamps from Best of Brides & Babies.  My husband is a lover of birds (he has multiple bird feeders in our back yard) so I thought he would get a kick out of the cute bird image.

But, because the image is so cutesy, I decided to distress the card so it would have more "guy" appeal.  The burlap ribbon, Woodgrain embossing folder, and the already distressed looking designer paper all help too.  The color combination was straight out of the Stampin' Up! Color Coach - Lost Lagoon, Pool Party and Pear Pizazz.  The birds were colored with all three colors; Cherry Cobbler was used to color the heart.

Well, that's it for tonight and until next weekend.  Thanks for taking a look and have a great week!

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Best of Brides & Babies, Canvas

Paper:  Kraft, Whisper White, Lost Lagoon, Pool Party Core'dination, Pear Pizazz, This & That Epic Day dsp

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Memento Tuxedo Black, Cherry Cobbler, Lost Lagoon, Pear Pizazz, Soft Suede, Pool Party

Other:  Apothecary Accent and Banner framelits, Woodgrain embossing folder, Wide Oval punch Burlap Ribbon, Naturals Cotton Ribbon, Linen Thread, Cutter Kit, Subtles Candy Dots.

Gifts of Joy

Hi there and welcome back!  Today I have a card to share made for this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  It's another Christmas card with a stamp that had not yet been inked up.  I'm also entering my card in the current SUO Challenge to use an embellishment (here is the link  http://suochallenges.com/).

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

The stamp I used is Bearing Gifts.  I have to say I've fallen in love with this stamp.  The joy it captures just warms my heart!  ; - )

I love how simple this card is.  After stamping and coloring the main image, the corners were rounded and mounted on a Soft Sky piece of card stock.  I cut off the sentiment and instead restamped it in Versamark on a strip of Cherry Cobbler then heat embossed it with white embossing powder.

After trying a couple of color combinations I settled on primary colors of Mossy Meadow, Soft Sky, Cherry Cobbler and Crumb Cake, with Blush Blossom (retired) for their cheeks, Hello Honey for the hair, Basic Gray for the boy's feet and Sahara Sand for shading.

Aren't those stars so sweet?  The new Confetti Stars punch was used to punch them out of a Silver Glimmer paper remnant (I keep every scrap of those papers!).  I liked the rustic look with the Crumb Cake card base, but adding a bit of sparkle with the stars, Glimmer brad and a bit of Dazzling Detail on the bear's cap.  Of course, one of those little stars hides a boo boo that occurred when I repositioned the sentiment.  Very handy!

Thanks for dropping by and, as always, your visit and comment are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the links above and check out the FMS and SUO challenges and all the wonderful inspiration!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Bearing Gifts
Paper:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Soft Sky, Cherry Cobbler, Silver Glimmer
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Sky, Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, Blush Blossom, Sahara Sand, Basic Gray, Versamark
Other:  Stampin' Emboss White embossing powder, Glimmer brad, Confetti Stars punch, Corner Rounder punch, Blender pen

Fall is Here!

Well, Fall is almost here, but I can certainly see it in the leaves starting to turn in some of the trees and how the evening temps are cooling down faster.  My card tonight reflects the colors of fall and is my first Thanksgiving card.












It was made for the "Happy Fall, Y'all!" challenge at Paper Players and the Friday Mashup challenge with a sketch and to "mash it up" with emboss resist.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

I started by dusting off the lovely Autumn Splendor stamp set (retired), heat embossing them on a piece of Confetti Cream and colored the leaves in fall colors.

Using a blender pen, the Maple leaves were colored with More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie and Cajun Craze.  The larger leaves (not sure what kind they are) were colored with Crushed Curry, More Mustard and Pear Pizazz.  The darkest Pumpkin Pie Blendability marker was used to color the rhinestones.

I love these stamps, they are so fun to color.  I first inked the leaves in Versamark, followed by Soft Suede, then heat embossed them.  The green was added to the larger leaves as an afterthought and really made them look more like leaves in the midst of turning color.

The designer paper is Spice Cake and it was in the holiday mini catalogue a few years ago.  I've used it sparingly each fall and was surprised at how much I still have.....maybe it's time to start using more of it.

So glad you could drop by and visit!  Be sure to use the links above and visit the respective challenge blogs - so much great inspiration and there is still time to join in.

See you next time!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Autumn Splendor, Holidays & Wishes
Paper:  Confetti Cream, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Cajun Craze, Spice Cake dp
Ink:  Versamark, Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, More Mustard, Pear Pizazz, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze
Other:  Blender Pen, Heat Tool, Ovals framelits, Stampin' Emboss Clear embossing powder, Scallop Border punch, Corner Rounder punch, Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain ribbon, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Pumpkin Pie Blendability marker

Lullaby Baby

Welcome back once again!  The wonderful Deconstructed Sketch was perfect for a baby card that I needed to make.  I pulled out the sweet Something for Baby stamp set and went to work.

http://deconstructingjen.com/deconstructed-sketch-167/

I flipped the sketch 45 degrees to better accommodate the baby carriage image, plus omitted one of the cross layers as the card was already pretty busy with all the layers and designer paper.  I stamped the carriage twice on Whisper White paper, once in Hello Honey and the once in Crisp Cantaloupe, then cut them both out with the matching framelit.  Using my paper snips, I then trimmed the bottom of the one in Crisp Cantaloupe, then popped it up on dimensionals.

The flower was created by punching Crisp Cantaloupe three times with the flower punch from Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack and layered on one another with glue dots.  The largest Basic Pearl was added as the finishing touch.  While the card has lots of layers it was actually pretty quick to assemble.

That's it for today.  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the link above to check out all the great inspiration and even play along (the link closes Wednesday evening).

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Something for Baby, Petite Pairs

Paper:  Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar, Hello Honey, Crisp Cantaloupe, Lullaby dsp

Ink:  Crisp Cantaloupe, Hello Honey

Other:  Babies First Framelit, 1 1/4" & 7/8" Scallop Circle, Corner Rounder and Itt Bitty Accents Punch Pack punches, Basic Pears, Distress Dots embossing folder, Crisp Cantaloupe Ruffle Trim

Ducky Birthday

Hi there!  It's a lovely Sunday afternoon in Sherwood; we're enjoying the final couple weeks of warm sunny weather before fall begins in earnest.  This will be a brief post as I want to get back outside and enjoy the remainder of the afternoon.

The card I have to share today was made for one of my great nieces who is turning four in a couple of weeks.  I decided to use bright colors and one of the sweet images from Storybook Friends.  The sketch from Mojo Monday was the design inspiration.

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

After using my Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie Blendabilities to color the duck, I decided to carry that color combination on with the card base and designer paper, although Tangelo Twist was used instead of Pumpkin Pie.

 I realize adult ducks aren't yellow, so we'll pretend this is an immature duck squawking a greeting to the birthday girl.  Although I didn't take a photo of it, I finished the inside and added a birthday greeting using Endless Birthday Wishes.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and as always, your comments are always appreciated!  Have a great week!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Storybook Friends, Just Sayin', Endless Birthday Wishes
Paper:  Whisper White, Tangelo Twist, Daffodil Delight, Polka Dot Parade dsp
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Tangelo Twist
Other:  Old Olive, Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie Blendabilities, Squares Collection and Word Bubble framelits, Scallop Square Duo BigZ die, Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon

Blissful Birthday

It's Monday evening and I have one more card to share before heading back to work tomorrow.  The challenge at Paper Players this week is one of my favorites - Tic Tac Toe!  Lots of choices and fun.  You'll see I ended up with a couple of lines and nearly completed a third.  I used the wonderful sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge as a basis for my layout.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

http://kgiron.blogspot.com/

Originally I was going to make a get well card (Purple, Get Well, Buttons), and I wanted it to be bright and cheerful.  After I put the card together, the diagonal lines of the designer paper just seemed a bit too bold so I changed it to a birthday card, which still met two of the Tic Tac Toe lines.

The white showing on the shiny buttons is a reflection of my desk light.  I didn't notice it until doing photo editing, and I thought perhaps I had gotten some Crystal Effects on the top of the buttons when using it to secure the buttons to the card.  However, as I edited the next photo I realized what was the cause of the mystery white!  While the card uses Blackberry Bliss, the retired Rich Razzleberry buttons match wonderfully - love that!

The flower from Gifts of Kindness was inked in Hello Honey then stamped off once before stamping onto the Whisper White circle.  I wanted to layer it on top of Blackberry Bliss, but the next size up circle framelit was too big for the sketch, so I pulled out my old Coluzzle and cut a circle that was just slightly bigger than the white circle.  Although Stampin' Up! retired that tool in favor of dies and eventually framelits, I held onto it for just such situations.

That's it, a pretty easy card I hope the recipient will enjoy.  As always, I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!


Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Gifts of Kindness
Paper:  Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Sahara Sand, Moonlight dsp
Ink:  Hello Honey, Blackberry Bliss
Other:  Circles Collection framelit, Coluzzle, Brights Button, Baker's Twine, Lattice Square embossing folder