Vintage Spring

Welcome back!  Tonight the card I'm sharing was made for two challenges - Fab Friday, where they have a wonderful sketch, and Friday Mashup, where the challenge is to make a vintage card.

http://fabfridaystampinchallenge.blogspot.com/

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

The circle in the center of the sketch inspired me to create a flower and since I was traveling down the vintage road, I decided to make a large flower out of Natural Filter Paper, and complement it by using Soft Suede and Crumb Cake with a hint of sparkle and brightness by adding Bermuda Bay into the mix.

I cut several layers of the Natural Filter Paper with the Blossom and Flower Medallion punches, sponging them slightly with Crumb Cake ink.  The center part of the flower was created with a few layers of white Filter paper first sprayed with Log Cabin Smooch Spray after cutting out with the 1 1/4" Scallop punch.  After everything dried, it was crumpled up around a brad in the center, spread out and fluffed up a bit, then a rhinestone was added to the middle.  I adhered it to a 1 3/4" circle of Soft Suede card stock that was then popped up over the Burlap Ribbon with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Vanilla Smooch Spray was applied to the Crumb Cake panel after it was embossed with the Spring Flowers embossing folder, then it was sponged with a bit of Soft Suede ink, as was the card base.  I love how Bermuda Bay looks against these wonderful browns; just yummy!  Rather than adding a sentiment to the front I decide to wait until I use the card and add one to the interior.

As always, your visit and comments are so very appreciated!  Please be sure to use the links above, there is some wonderful inspiration to see and still time to join in.  Take care!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  None!
Paper:  Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay, Beau Chateau designer series paper
Ink:  Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Other:  Spring Flowers TIEF, Burlap Ribbon, Bermuda Bay Sequins, Vanilla and Log Cabin Smooch Sprays, Cutter Kit, Natural and White Filter papers, Blossom, Flower Medallion, 1 3/4" Circle and 1 1/4" Scallop Circle punches, Basic Rhinestone

Good Thoughts

Hi there!  A couple challenges drew me in to create today's card - the sketch at Mojo Monday and the beautiful color challenge of Blackberry Bliss, Pear Pizzazz and Pool Party at Splitcoaststampers.  Because the sketch is Tall & Skinny this week, my card measures 3.5" x 5.5".

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/

Between the time when I first saw the color challenge on Tuesday and when I went to create my card last night, I somehow had the idea the green was supposed to be Old Olive and the blue Soft Sky.  When I went to bring over the image above I was so surprised.  The nice thing about the weekly color challenge at Splitcoast is that you can use similar colors to the ones in the challenge, so here's what I ended up with.  ; - )

The Soft Sky panel was run through the Big Shot with the new Spring Flowers embossing folder, then a piece of designer paper layered over it horizontally.  I decided to make the small panel in the sketch a tag, topping it with ribbon and twine and tilting it slightly.

The fern image was inked up in Old Olive, then stamped off once before stamping on the tag off the edges, leaving room for the sentiment.

Thanks so much for visiting today!  I've love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Be sure to use the links above to check out all the wonderful inspiration!

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Butterfly Basics, Perfect Pennants

Paper:  Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White, Soft Sky Moonlight designer series paper

Ink:  Old Olive, Blackberry Bliss, Soft Sky

Other:  Spring Flowers TIEF, bitty Butterfly and Scallop Tag Topper punches, Subtle button, Blackberry Bliss Stitched Satin ribbon, Soft Sky Cotton Twine, Linen Thread, Basic Pearls

Wisteria Wishes

Hello again!  While Spring is still officially almost a month away, I've been taking myself there mentally by using my Blendability markers with various floral stamps.  Today's card uses the wonderful sketch for this week's challenge at the Paper Players.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

I started with a piece of Very Vanilla card stock, stamping and masking two of the flowers from Secret Garden.  Wisteria Wonder and Pink Pirouette Blendability Markers provided the color.  After coloring, the image was adhered to a Wisteria Wonder base.

 
I covered a separate piece of Wisteria Wonder card stock with some designer series paper in Wisteria, cut the circle with a Circles Collection framelit, and popped it up on dimensionals over the top of the card.

After cutting out the leaves with a Sizzlit, they were layered on top of the sentiment banner and both were then anchored with a Wisteria Wonder button.

As always, your visit and comments are so very appreciated!  Be sure to use the link above to visit Paper Players for amazing inspiration, plus there is still time to join in!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Secret Garden, Express Yourself
Paper:  Wisteria Wonder, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Afternoon Picnic dsp
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Memento Tuxedo Black;  Blendability Markers:  Wisteria Wonder, Pink Pirouette, Daffodil Delight
Other:  Little Leaves Sizzlit, Subtles Button, Linen Thread, Basic Pearls, Circles Collection framelit

Take Flight

Welcome back!  The Friday Mashup has a fun challenge this week-use the sketch shown or a flight theme, or "mash" it up and do both.

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

I decided to "mash" it up this week, although I did take a bit of liberty in my interpretation of the sketch.  I needed a card for my brother-in-law, and since he is an active outdoors person, I decided to turn to a long neglected, retired stamp "Young Vermilion" for the main image.

I started with a Kraft base then layered on a smaller piece of Under the Tree dsp.  Love that at least some of the designs can be used for something other than Christmas.  The bird was stamped on a piece of watercolor paper, then colored with various Classic inks and a blender pen.  I tried to match as close as possible the picture in my National Geographic bird book of the female of the Vermilion Flycatcher, but the color along the bottom of the chest is a bit darker than shown in the bird book.  My husband and I love birds, but we'd have to travel to the Southwest or Mexico to find this species of bird. Sounds like as good a reason as any to travel south!

Thanks for the visit and of course I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment!  Be sure to use the link above to visit The Friday Mashup, there's still time to join in!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Young Vermilion, Four You
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Textured Sahara Sand, Kraft, Under the Tree designer series paper, Watercolor paper
Ink:  Sahara Sand, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Crumb Cake, Timber Brown Stazon
Other:  Blender Pen, Sponge, Neutrals Candy Dots

Coastal Birthday

Hi there once again!  I recently made a birthday card using a lovely, soft color combination of Coastal Cabana and So Saffron, which allowed me to use up some designer paper scraps and my first test of the very fun Hello You thinlits.

The flower from Crazy About You was stamped three times on Whisper White card stock in So Saffron.  The bottom layer was cut with the matching Flower Medallion punch, the top two fussy cut, then all piled on top of one another with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I used tiny dots of Tombow glue on the back of the die cut word "Happy" and then let it dry for a few minutes before adhering to the card so the glue didn't squirt out from underneath when laid on the card.  I've also used an adhesive sheet (non SU) with these thinlits, with mixed success.  The biggest thing I've learned using these thinlits, and it confirms what I've read elsewhere, is to run them through the Big Shot at least a couple times to get the best cut.

As a basis for my card design I used a sketch from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge published a few weeks ago.

http://kgiron.blogspot.com/

Karen Giron is so wonderful to create and share new sketches every week, and the collections are permanently open, so one can always post a card.  Be sure to use the link to check out her wonderful creations, great sketches and the design team inspiration.  And maybe play along!


Have a great week!  I was going to post another card I made today for Friday Mashup but the Academy Awards ceremony is about to start, so I'll be back in the next couple of nights with another post.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Crazy About You
Paper:  Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, In Color Paper Stack and Eastern Elegance designer series papers
Ink:  So Saffron, Coastal Cabana
Other:  Hello You Thinlits, 2 1/2 " Circle and Flower Medallion punches, Basic Pearls, Whisper White Organza ribbon, 1/8" Daffodil Delight grosgrain ribbon, Paper Snips

Petal Birthday

Hi there and welcome back!  I've been working with my Blendability markers on various stamped images, including the sweet stems of flowers and leaves from Peaceful Petals, one of my favorite stamp sets from the Occasions catalogue last year.

After stamping the leaves image in Memento Tuxedo Black, I covered it with a mask, inked up the flower stem and stamped it over and to the side of the leaves.

I decided to use the bright pink of Melon Mambo, which really makes the flowers pop off the page.  The leaves and stems were colored with Wild Wasabi.

After the coloring was completed, I hadn't yet decided on a card design but then spotted this week's challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch and thought it would be the perfect layout to highlight the flowers after flipping it on the side.

http://casethissketch.blogspot.com/

A Whisper White card base was covered with a piece of long retired designer paper in So Saffron.  A strip of Delicate Details Lace Tape was adhered across the middle, then the sentiment was stamped right on the dsp.  After cutting the floral image with an Oval framelit, it was popped up with dimensionals.  A Melon Mambo Button and Basic Pearls added the finishing touches.

As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the link above to visit the CTS blog and check out all the amazing inspiration, plus there's still time to join in.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Peaceful Petals, Gifts of Kindness
Paper:  Whisper White, Bella Birds designer series paper
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Blendability markers:  Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight
Other:  Delicate Details Lace Tape, Brights button, Linen Thread, Basic Pearls, Ovals Collection framelit

Congratulations!

Hi there again!  The card I have to share tonight was made for a couple of challenges - this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge and a fun Clean and Simple (CAS) challenge at Paper Players where we must feature a bird on our card.

http://kgiron.blogspot.com/

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

A lovely silhouette image from World of Dreams was inked up for a card that could be used for multiple occasions, such as a new home, a wedding shower or a new baby.

The base of Pool Party card stock was stamped in Versamark with other images from the same set to give it a subtle pattern.  The panel of Basic Black was added after being topped with a piece of Sweet Sorbet designer paper.  A scalloped border was added to the bottom.

Some layers but still CAS.  It sure came together fast once I decided on the dsp, which in turn drove the color scheme.

Thanks for visiting! I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Be sure to use the links above to check out the wonderful inspiration and join in the challenges.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  World of Dreams, Express Yourself
Paper:  Sweet Sorbet dsp, Whisper White, Basic Black plain and textured card stock, Pool Party
Ink:  Memento  Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Other:  2" Circle, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle, Word Window and Eyelet Border punch., Basic Pearls

Celebrate You

Hello again!  A quick post today with a card for CAS(E) this Sketch.

So many options with this one, but I decided to dust off an old favorite stamp that I haven't used in months and months.

After inking up the Hello, Doily stamp in Bermuda Bay, it was stamped in the bottom corner.  The word "you" was cut from gold foil paper with a Hello You Thinlit die and adhered with a bit of Tombow liquid glue delicately dabbed on the back.

A strip of gold paper was added down the side of the top panel for a bit of additional glam.   I had a scrap left over, so it was used it to finish off the interior as well.

I love the mix of Bermuda Bay and gold, so I was pleased with how this turned out.  Please be sure to use the link above to visit the CTS blog to enjoy all the inspiration and join in if you have an opportunity.  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Have a nice Valentine's Day and enjoy the remainder of the weekend.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Hello, Doily, Endless Birthday Wishes
Paper:  Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Gold Foil
Ink:  Bermuda Bay
Other:  Gold 1/8" ribbon, Gold Sequin, Basic Rhinestone, Hello You Thinlit Die

Blooming Birthday

Welcome back!  Tonight the card I have to share uses the gorgeous trio of colors from this weeks Splitcoaststampers Color Challenge and a great sketch from Sunday Stamps.  Love, love, love this color combination!!

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/

http://www.sundaystamps.blogspot.com/

I decided to use the Flower Patch stamp set and everything else kind of fell into place.  The flowers were stamped on Whisper White in Bermuda Bay and Coastal Cabana then run through the Big Shot with the matching Flower Fair framelits. The Old Olive leaves were also cut with the framelits then the image stamped in the same color.  Everything was then adhered to the white card stock where the cute sentiment from the same set was stamped in the corner.

I thought it was rather appropriate to use the Vines embossing folder on the strip of Old Olive card stock.  Layered on top is a banner of Coastal Cabana dsp, then sequins and ribbon in Bermuda Bay.

As always, thanks for your visit and comments!  Be sure to use the links above to check out the wonderful inspiration!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Flower Patch
Paper:  Whisper White, Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana In Color Paper Pack
Ink:  Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Old Olive
Other:  Vines embossing folder, Bermuda Bay sequins, Basic Rhinestone, Bermuda Bay 1/8" grosgrain ribbon

Poppies for Paper Players

It's a blustery, wet and cool evening here in Western Oregon.  While we don't have 3 feet of snow, there's lots of flooding and trees coming down on houses and power lines.  But here in our house in Sherwood, we're fortunate that we've not had any damage from this crazy storm that's been hitting the West Coast since Friday.

So let me share a card with you that I made for the color challenge at Paper Players, where we are to use Real Red, Calypso Coral and Black.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

Since these are the colors that are in the Stacked with Love designer paper, I thought the paper with red and coral would be a logical fit, but in the end used the black patterned side of the paper and instead decided to highlight an image with Pleasant Poppies so I could use Blendability markers.

After coloring the poppies and trimming the image down for a long, slim look, everything was adhere to the main panel covered with the dsp.  Some lovely Real Red grosgrain ribbon was then wrapped around everything.

 
A pretty clean and simple card.  I guess I'm becoming a convert(!!?!).

As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the link to check out the wonderful inspiration and join in the challenge - there's still plenty of time.  I hope if you are enduring rough winter weather that you stay safe and warm the next few days!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Pleasant Poppies, Fabulous Phrases
Paper:  Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Basic Black, Stacked with Love dsp
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Basic Black marker
Blendability Markers:  Wild Wasabi, Calypso Coral
Other:  Brights Candy Dot, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon

Blue Moon

Good afternoon and welcome back!  Today's card uses one of the images from the lovely Moon Lake stamp set, a couple of which are perfect for masculine cards.  A co-worker had a birthday recently so I used the goose image for his card.

The base is Island Indigo and is covered with a slightly smaller panel of the same card stock stamped with the Hardwood background stamp in Island Indigo Ink.  A banner of Crumb Cake was attached after running through the Big Shot with the Stripes embossing folder.

Coloring the background behind the goose took a few tries.  I wanted to create a setting sun in the background but I was not satisfied with my efforts, so I ended up starting over and just blending colors for the water that gently faded to the "sky".

A pretty simple card but I think that works well for a male recipient.  Thanks for taking a look and I'd love to hear from you if you have moment to leave a comment!  I hope you have a great week ahead!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Moon Lake, Hardwood
Paper:  Island Indigo, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizazz, Watercolor
Ink:  Jet Black Stazon, Island Indigo, Soft Sky, Pear Pizazz, Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake
Other:  Hemp Twine, Antique Brad, Stripes embossing folder

Hi Be You TIFUL!

Welcome back!  A wonderful color challenge at Pals Paper Arts and a great sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch inspired me to make a card this afternoon.

http://www.palspaperarts.com/

I LOVE the color combo of pink and gray, and the contrasting darker Rose Red led me to decide to pull out my Flower Patch stamp set and make something spring-like with layers of flowers on this otherwise gray and rainy day.

I started with a panel of Whisper White just slightly smaller than the card base and covered one side with a length of Pink Pirouette 1 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon.  I found a piece of retired I Am Me dsp in Basic Gray (score!) which was then adhered next to the ribbon.  As I was putting the card together, I decided a little banner in the upper left corner would be a festive touch, so I pulled out the cute Banner Blast stamp set from a prior Sale-A-Bration, inked up the banners in Rose Red, cut them out with the Banner punch, then popped them up on dimensionals over a piece of white twine.

The leaves and larger flower images were all cut out with matching framelits.  The littlest flower was fussy cut with my paper snips.  I like that the sentiment offers a bit of versatility so the card could be used to say hello, give encouragement or even wish the recipient a happy birthday on the inside.

Thanks for visiting this afternoon!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  There's still plenty of time to join the challenges, so be sure to use the links above and check out all the inspiration and maybe play along!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Flower Patch, Banner Blast
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Gray, I Am Me dsp
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Rose Red
Other:  Frosted Sequins, Painted Blooms Cotton Twine, Flower Fair Framelits, Banner punch, 1 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Nuts About You & Me

Hi there and welcome back!  Today I'm sharing a card created for Mojo Monday.  I've made my husband a fun valentine that I've had in mind since I first got this stamp set.

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

I started out with a Crumb Cake base, topped by a slightly smaller panel in the same card stock stamped with the Woodgrain background stamp, then added a strip of cute designer paper from Stacked with Love dsp.

The tree was inked in Early Espresso, then I wiped off the leaves and used a Garden Green marker to color them.  The squirrels and heart on the tree were all stamped on Whisper White and fussy cut.

A couple of card stock banners and some Early Espresso Baker's Twine finished it off.  I think because it's humorous rather than mushy it works well for a masculine Valentine or anniversary card.

As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to click on the link above and check out all the great inspiration and/or join in the challenge.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Nuts About You, Woodgrain
Paper:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Early Espresso, Stacked with Love dsp
Ink:  Early Espresso, Garden Green, Real Red, Baked Brown Sugar
Other:  5/8", 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches, Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Paper Snips

Love Ya!

Good evening!  Valentine's Day is coming up and I have a couple of cards to share with you in today's post and another a bit later this week.  I made the first one for our 12-year old grandson using this week's sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch.

http://casethissketch.blogspot.com/

I looked to keep this card as CAS as possible, which I knew would appeal to my grandson.  I started with a Crumb Cake base, stamping it with images from Chalk Lines to represent the horizontal lines in the sketch.

The stamps are photopolymer, which enabled me to easily line them both up on one of the largest Stampn' Up! clear blocks.  Once the stamping in Crumb Cake ink was complete, I added the rectangles, hearts and the fun sentiment from Just Sayin'.  So easy and fun.

Thanks so much for taking a look!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Be sure to use the link above to visit the CAS(E) this Sketch blog and join in if you are able.


Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Just Sayin', P.S. I Love You, Chalk Lines
Paper:  Confetti Cream, Real Red, Baked Brown Sugar, Crumb Cake
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Baked Brown Sugar, Real Red
Other:  Large Heart Punch, Word Bubble Framelit

Buddy Birthday

Hello again!  My card today was made for a great nephew who is having his first birthday in a few days.  I pulled out the cute Little Buddy Birthday stamp set to create it and used the sketch challenge at Friday Mashup for my card design.

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

I found some scraps from a long retired designer paper that work well for a little boy's birthday card due to the bright colors.  And it had blue and green, the colors I wanted to use for the dinosaur.

I began by stamping the dino three times, once each on Whisper White, Pacific Point and Pear Pizazz card stock.  The balloon and sentiment were added to the white piece, with the balloon then colored with a Real Red marker.

The green dino body was cut out first, then the blue spots and back piece were adhered.  I tried coloring the image with inks and a blender pen after I first stamped it on Whisper White but I didn't like how it turned out, and since we don't yet have Blendability markers in Pacific Point and Pear Pizazz, paper piecing it was!

That's it for today - time to join my husband and watch on the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.  As always your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the link above to check out all the wonderful inspiration and join in the challenge.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Little Buddy Birthday
Paper:  Whisper White, Pacific Point, Pear Pizazz, Bashful Blue, Celebrations dsp
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red
Other:  Brights Buttons, Linen Thread, Pacific Point Stitched Grosgrain ribbon, Paper Snips