Dapper Stars

Welcome back!  The card I have to show you today was made for a friend who retired this week.  I wanted it to be a classy and clean masculine card, so I turned to this week's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches for inspiration.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

I knew I wanted to use silver and black but as I was deciding on the different layers, I opted to add some Cherry Cobbler for a pop of color.

The large sentiment was created by stamping the image from Starburst Sayings in Versamark, then heat embossing with Pewter embossing powder, and finally was cut out with a Starburst framelit.  A similar process was used for the smaller stamped image, only embossed with Cherry Cobbler ep.

The Lucky Stars embossing folder was used to add some texture to the piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock.  Hard to see in the photos, but the banner is Textured Basic Black card stock.  The only embellishment is a slim piece of black grosgrain ribbon.

Well, I didn't expect to get this post done so soon after my earlier one, but it worked out perfectly.  Please be sure to use the link above to check out the FMS challenge and all the fabulous inspiration!  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Starburst Sayings
Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Silver Foil
Ink:  Versamark
Other:  Basic Black 1/8" Grosgrain ribbon, Lucky Stars embossing folder, Starburst framelits, Pewter and Cherry Cobbler embossing powder.

Snowy Wishes

Hi there!  I feel like it's been forever since I posted, but in reality it's only been about two weeks. Today is Halloween and we're all ready to greet the trick or treaters in a couple of hours.  But before all the action starts, I want to share a card I made for Mojo Monday this week.

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

I thought this fun sketch would be perfect for making a Christmas card using Endless Wishes. So I played around with different images, then decided to add the snowman from Best of Snow.  Now things began to click!

I started with Soft Suede and Real Red card stock, drawing the colors from the long retired Christmas Cocoa dsp.  The snowman is so cute, he really livens up the card.  After coloring him with a blender pen and reinkers, Silver Dazzling Details was added to the ground and the brim of his hat.

The top snowflake was heat embossed with Pewter embossing power, the bottom snowflake stamped in Encore Silver.  I wrapped the Real Red Polka Dot ribbon around the second layer and then a knotted piece was adhered on top.

Thanks for visiting today!  I hope you have a great weekend and check back here, I hope to post my card for Freshly Made Sketches later tonight or tomorrow.

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:
Stamps:  Best of Snow, Endless Wishes
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, Soft Suede, Christmas Cocoa dsp
Ink:  Real Red, Mossy Meadow, Pumpkin Pie, Memento Tuxedo Black, Encore Silver, Versamark
Other:  Stampin' Emboss Pewter embossing powder, Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon, Silver Dazzling Details

Pool Party Birthday

Hi there and welcome back!  I can't believe it's been nearly 2 weeks since I last posted.  That hasn't happened for almost a year.  But "real life" took over, plus I was busy making Christmas gift tags and gift card envelopes last weekend (which I will share in a future post) and just ran out of time.

But today I have a card that was made for this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  As a break from all the holiday items, I decided to pull out a scrap of my favorite Sweet Sorbet paper and use it to make a decidedly un-fall like card!

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

I love the Pool Party and Basic Black combination of the Sweet Sorbet dsp, so I carried that through to the card stock, butterflies and ribbon.

The butterflies were cut out of retired 2011-2013 In Color Paper Pack dsp with the also retired Beautiful Wings Bigz die.  A bit of texture was added to the card using the Woodgrain embossing folder.

A pretty straightforward card using a very versatile sketch.  I had lots of ideas but not much time, so I will keep this sketch in mind for future use.  Be sure to click on the link above to check out all the tremendous inspiration at FMS!!

Take care and have a great week ahead!  I'll be traveling to Minneapolis for business this week, and am grateful to do so in October and not January!!  I'll be back next weekend to share some of the Christmas tags and gift card envelopes I've been making.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Petite Pairs
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Pool Party plain card stock and Core'dinations, Sweet Sorbet and 2011-2013 In Color Paper Pack dsp
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Beautiful Wings Bigz die, Small and Large Oval punches, Scallop Border punch, Basic Black Satin Ribbon, Woodgrain embossing folder, Basic Rhinestones, Occasions Paper Piercing Pack

Spooky Home

Hi again!  I took a vacation day today  (probably our last 80 degree day until late next spring, sniff, sniff) and after a nice, long walk with my husband midday at the local wildlife reserve, I retired to my craft room to make a card combining two challenges.  Jaydee at Paper Players has chosen a Halloween theme for this week's challenge, and I combined it with the current sketch at Mojo Monday.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

One of the reasons I ended up ordering the new Holiday Home stamp set is how versatile it is, with options for fall, Christmas, and Halloween!  The images are so cute, I had fun putting together another scene, this time a "spooky" one!

To create a scene for the main image, I started with a rectangle of Very Vanilla, masked off the moon and the ground, and sponged with More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Rich Razzleberry and Basic Black.  The ground was then sponged with Old Olive and Mossy Meadow.  A sponge dauber was inked up with So Saffron to color the moon.

The house was stamped on Very Vanilla in Memento Tuxedo Black, then colored with a blender pen in Classic inks.  I stamped the ghost on Whisper White so he'd really pop against the scene, then fussy cut him with my paper snips.  Retired dsp and washi tap were used for the base and lower panels.  Assessing the card after it was all assembled, I think the washi tape makes it a bit too busy.  Fortunately, I don't think my grand kids (the intended recipients) will mind LOL!

As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the links above to visit each blog - there's a lot of amazing inspiration for your viewing pleasure.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Holiday Home
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Wicked Fun dsp
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, More Mustard, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Basic Black
Other:  Witches Brew Designer Series Washi Tape, Blender Pen, Sponges, Sponge Dauber, Paper Snips, Holiday Home framelit

Ho, Ho, Ho Home

Hello and welcome back!  I hope you were able to get crafty today in celebration of World Card Making day!  I worked on several cards for an upcoming bazaar, and also made time to finish a card using this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

I knew immediately what I wanted to make when I saw this fabulous sketch.  I recently ordered the Holiday Home bundle and was thrilled to be able to break it out for this card.

I started with a Cherry Cobbler base, then layered on a piece of Under the Tree dsp.  The cute little house was stamped on a scrap of Stampin' Up! Kraft in Memento Tuxedo Black, then colored with Blendabilities.  Once that was done, I used Basic Black and Garden Green markers to color the string of lights and stamp just under the eaves of the roof (this set just tickles me with all it's small details).  A white gel pen colored the window and door frames and the top of the chimney.

The background was made by masking off the areas for the snow and the moon with a Post It note, then sponging Soft Sky and  Night of Navy.  Santa and the reindeer were then stamped across the full moon that was inked up with a sponge dauber and So Saffron ink.  The stars were stamped in Whisper White Craft ink.  I knew there was a good chance that they would not be terribly vibrant atop the dark sky, so when they were mostly dry I added Silver Sparkle Dazzling Details to make them really pop from the sky.

I tried to add a sentiment to represent the small circle in the sketch, but after trying different placements of the tree, the sentiment and the house, I instead settled for a Baker's Twine bow, and stamped the sentiment on the inside.

Thanks so much for the visit and I would love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  I hope the remainder of your weekend is enjoyable!

Hugs,


Stef



Product details:
Stamps:  Holiday Home
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Kraft, Whisper White, Under the Tree dsp
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, So Saffron, Soft Sky, Night of Navy, Garden Green, Basic Black, Whisper White Craft
Other:  Holiday Home framelit; Frosted Sequins; Silver Sparkle Dazzling Details; White Gel pen; Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake and Daffodil Delight Blendabilities; Basic Rhinestones

Starburst Birthday

Hello!  Hope you're enjoying a pleasant evening!  I have a card to share that was made using the sketch from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

http://kgiron.blogspot.com/

I was looking through remnants of retired dsp and found this pretty piece from Quatrefancy with Pool Party and Island Indigo.  All of a sudden, the card using Karen's sketch came to life in my mind.

It's a pretty simple card with lots of easy components.  The sentiment from Starburst Sayings was stamped on Whisper White in Versamark and heat embossed with Pool Party, then cut out with the matching Starburst framelit.

The cross piece under the circle is Pool Party Core'dination card stock embossed with the Lucky Star embossing folder, then sanded with the Stampin' Sanding Block.  Bling was added in the form of the Silver Glimmer paper star and scattered rhinestones.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope the remainder of your week goes well!  I look forward to the nice weather that is supposed to arrive by Friday and stay all weekend...our last hurrah before Fall weather seriously kicks in, I'm afraid!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Starburst Sayings
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Island, Indigo, Pool Party Core'dination, Quatrefancy dsp, Silver Glimmer
Ink:  Versamark
Other:  Pool Party embossing powder, Basic Rhinestones, Lucky Stars embossing folder, Starburst Framelit, Extra Large Star punch