CAS Christmas Card September

Hello Again...

Here is my entry into the CAS Christmas September 2019 Challenge.  Holiday Treats is the theme this time, so am showing the Christmas birdie eating a cookie. Those little dots on the cookie are cinnamon candy. Right? Sorry, I didn't think to color them red. I do not have any red sequins to be used for the bling. Will have to remedy that.

So here is how I made this card. First I cut a rectangle of Stampin' Up! Gumball Green cardstock with the largest die in the My Favorite Things Inside & Outside Diagonal STAX set.  Using my MISTI, I placed the stamps and inked them up with VersaMark. The stamps are all from Honey Bee Stamps, the set called Season's Tweetings. It is still available. The embossing powder that I used is WOW Opaque Bright White Super Fine.

Keeping the card CAS was my goal; just added the sequins for a bit of fun and to fix a boo-boo. LOL  The card base is my go-to Papertrey Ink Basic White. Done. Just noticed how many stamps companies I have used supplies from for this one card.  I don't discriminate! LOL!

Time to get this posted to the challenge as it closes pretty soon and there is anther challenge I hope to get to.

So happy to have visitors. Thanks! I'd be pleased if you follow me and I will follow and visit you too.

Stripes & A Flower

Hello!!

I have a new computer! YAY! No more Windows XP. Today I am posting my first photo using Windows 10 photo editing part, which has been quite a learning experience. Sigh.

So here is the card I made as a sympathy card. Inside it says With Deepest Sympathy, using a wooden stamp by Hero Arts. The card front has two parts placed on a top folding card base from Stampin' Up!  Night of Navy. The striped background is from Papertrey Ink called Cover Plate: Stripes Diagonal Die. It is cut in SU Sahara Sand. The flower shows movement I think. It's by Penny Black, called Gentle Whisper that was cut from a snippet of Whisper White cardstock. I am adding this card to The Flower Challenge #36, Pixie's Snippet  Playground #361 and Happy Little Stampers asking for a card showcasing dies.


I like the simplicity of my card but I suppose it is not quite CAS, that I usually make.  First time joining 3 challenges on one post, though.

Thanks so much for visiting, see you next time. 😃

      

Hello Again Friends~

The mail recently brought some new goodies, so I had to try a new technique that I had seen on this video by Jennifer McGuire. I love alcohol inks and have many colors, so once I received the Ranger/Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Silver Sparkle cardstock, I set out to play.

Here is my card. Pretty, isn't it?

I CASED Jennifer's cards for making backgrounds, but added my own twist. However, kind of had a happy accident. To start, of course, I made a few backgrounds using the colors I like together. For this card I used Tim's Citrus and Stonewashed  alcohol inks with the Blending Solution. Next I went looking for a flower die intending to cut it out in white c.s. However, when I came across a little used die from Couture Creations called Ornamental Lace, without thinking, I die cut my background. OMG. Because the paper is fairly thick, the die didn't cut but embossed! A happy accident. So I fussy cut (you know how I feel about that) around the image. Isn't it pretty? I die cut the Thanks  using Stampin' Up!'s die set called Well Written Framelits Dies. It's a wonderful set of 24 dies; I recommend it. No, I'm not a demo.

The white cardstock used here is PaperTrey Inc. Linen and the cardbase is SU Lemon Lime Twist. All still available. If I may say so myself, I really like this card! :-)

Thank you for visiting!

Balloons Again for August CCC

Hello!

I finished up my card to send to India. I understand it will take 25 days! it has been mailed. The options this month made me think of a balloon card I did lat spring, so I gave it another try. This month I used the Card Chain Challenge Color Option, asking for Sunshine, Sea Green and Flamingo colors. The next option suggested balloons and friendship. As my card is going to a newer CCC member to me, that helped me complete my card design. I like it; what do you think?

To make my card this time, I punched out the three balloons with my Stampin' Up! Balloon Bouquet punch, then added Nuvo Glimmer Paste on top of each. The shine didn't photograph too well, but in real life it is textured and shiny. I used colors as close to matching the suggested ones using inks and paper from my stash. One was done with Catherine Pooler's Fiesta Blue ink, and the others are done with SU cardstock in retired Yo Yo Yellow and current Melon Mambo. Pieces of black string keep the balloons from flying off into my sponged sky. I used Distress Ink in Faded Jeans to make the cloudy sky.

For the sentiment, where I am saying hello to my new CCC friend Shylaa, I stamped with a stamp from the My Favorite Things set just called Hello. I hope she doesn't read my blog! This set is a NBUS one for me. I embossed and heat set the words with some WOW Opaque White powder and, of course, VersMark. My card was fairly simple to make once I decided on what to do. I glued the topper onto a SU Basic Black A2 card and was done.

I've got numerous birthdays in August coming up, so have been busy. So, bye for now. See you soon, I hope.

Day 5: Awsome Ombre

       

Hello !!

This is my last card from My Favorite Things Camp Create. Ombre has been difficult for me as is blending of any kind. So this was a good lesson for me. I kind of like my card; not perfect, of course, but I gave it a go (thanks my British friends) and will try again soon.

I did want to use MFT stamps and/or dies, and after a search, found two sets that would work. Both sets seem to be retired, however, there are some nice similar ones available.  Here's my card.

The two set I used are called Cloud Trio and Rainbow of Happiness. I blended Ranger Distress Ink in Faded Jeans onto the die cut clouds and the background. I like the sentiment and will send this card to a friend that is struggling. I used Perfect Fence Studio brushes for the blending and my MISTI to stamp the sentiment. Daffodil Delight in a mini cube from Stampin' Up! brightens up the card. The A2 base card is SU Night of Navy.

Done. Thanks so much for putting up with my meanderings through Camp Create as I learn new things. Your comments are so welcome and make me happy.

Bye for now.



                                     

Camp Create Days 3 & 4

Hi Again! All of the Camp Create challenges are posted, but I am trying to finish all five cards for this 2nd week of Camp Create 2019 by the deadline to post. My first card this time is for Day 3 Background Bonanza. The badges are below. The idea in the video for the 3rd day was to create a colorful background. Bright colors are really out of my comfort zone. But I persevered! Following some of the ideas in this challenge, I dug out my rarely used Ranger Distress Oxide inks and made a rainbow of sorts. The colors I have are Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Iced Spruce, Salty Ocean and Seedless Preserves. I had not used watercolor paper so I just light spritzed with water. It still warped a bit. To flatten it, I ran the image through my Big Shot.

Next I die cut Hello with a still available die at the company Mama Elephant from my main piece and cut two extras in white to put  behind for dimension. For further dimension, I mounted the whole piece on some black fun foam. I used a SU  Basic Black card base to tone down the bright colors a bit. Funny part of the base looks blue in the picture. 

Not my best, IMO, card or photo. But I completed this one.

Day 4 calls for Monochromatic Magic. I did not want to copy the technique the way shown in the Day 4 video, but remembered a video from Jennifer McGuire. My card comes from her video from 2012. It is monochromatic! See?

The background is an oldie embossing folder from Stampin' Up! called Print Texture. I inked up  one side in Rich Razzleberry ink which left the words white and raised after running the card through my Big Shot. The pretty rose stamp and stem are from  really old My Favorite Things set by the name of Blooming Roses. My database says I have the dies, but alas, cannot find them, so I fussy cut both pieces out. I used dimensionals to pop up the rose from the textured base. To finish, I placed the image on a base card of Papertrey Ink cardstock. Not being sure how I will use this card, I left off a sentiment.

Whew! More cards done and one to go!

          

   

   

Day Two Camp Create: Magnificent Masking

Hello~

I have struggled with the technique of masking...spacial relationship problems have plagued me all my life. So this video for Camp Create: Magnificent Masking was a big help to me. 

After watching the video several times, I tried masking. Yay! It worked. I do not have any masking paper, so just cut a piece of white cardstock, die cut out my image and adhered the aperture to my heat embossed card front.

To make the card, I first stamped and heat embossed a piece of stash shiny paper using My Favorite Things Cling Rubber Stamp called Etched Flower. It is still available and is a favorite of mine. My go-to white embossing powder is by WOW. Next, I made a mask from Spellbinders Filigree Vase following the above video by Stephanie Klauck of the design team at MFT. Temporary tape kept the mask down while I colored the vase. For the first time, I used my Picket Fence Studio brushes to spread Ranger Distress Ink in Spun Sugar. What fun pulling off the mask and seeing the vase! To finish to card, I inked up MFT Label Maker Sentiments happy birthday stamps with VersaFine Onyx Black and just cut out the images. They work great! In all honesty, I have never figured out how to use the little dies that come with the label set. Anyone have a tutorial? Printed directions? Anyway, I finished by gluing the whole topper on to a card base of Stampin' Up!Pretty in Pink.

I really like this card but will probably re-do the sentiment. The card is shiny and pretty in real life.

The camp create videos are fun for me and I do learn so much. On to Day 3. See you next time!

Cards & Challenges

Good Afternoon~

Here I am again! I just finished my entry into the CAS Christmas August Challenge . This time Loll Thompson asked for glitter. I took the easy way out, but my excuse is that I wanted to use my NBUS set from Elizabeth Craft Designs called Elegant Christmas Tree. I love the swirly design that looks so pretty cut out in glitter paper. Hard to photograph, though. IRL it is really pretty. Really!

The card base is made from Linen Cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I used the largest rectangle from the Lil' Inker Designs Stitched Mats to frame the otherwise simple card. The green glitter paper is from Stampin' Up! as is the snippet of copper paper that I free cut for the tree trunk. I did use Zing Silver glitter to cover the star.

Searching for just the right greeting, I dug out my retired SU set from ages ago called Sparkly Seasons. I use Evernote to keep track of my stuff stamping supplies. That is a great database program and I highly recommend you use it. I heat embossed the stamp with VersaMark and WOW white onto a snippet of Real Red cardstock Because I used up some snippets of my holiday papers, I am also entering this card into Pixie's Snippets Playground #358. 

Hurray! Done with another blog post. Thank you for visiting!

        

Camp Create Week 2: Inlaid Made Easy

Hi~

Just a quickie for now...just realized the second week of Camp Create is running, so quickly made a card. The first challenge is explaining the inlaid technique. I've wanted this die from Memory Box and finally got it. Here is the badge and then my card.

   
This die is called Large Cosmos and it is from Memory Box, Inc. They have a smaller size that I may have to get too! LOL  To make the card, I cut an A2 size top folding card from a piece of my hoarded Pretty in Pink cardstock retired from Stampin' Up!. I used the die to cut the flower right from the card. Then I put a piece of c.s. behind that shows in the inside as a full piece like for more writing room. It was easy than to inlay the die, gluing it down with Quickie Glue. The video for the inlaid technique showed more complicated masking ideas with inlays, but I was in a hurry as two more camp challenges are up. The happy birthday sentiment is done in Memento Tuxedo Black, using a cling stamp from Spellbinders called Birthday Balloons. I have used that many times lately and love the font. A SU  rhinestone completes the card.

I have three other posts partly done as it seems the month is running out fast to me and I've so much to do. Create, that is!  Also, my grand daughter is leaving for college and her mother is moving out of state! Feeling happy and sad both.

Bye, bye.

Camp Create Day 5: Glitzy Glitter

Hello!

Today I am posting the final card for Week 1 of the MFT Camp Create 2019. The Camp Create Day 5 challenge is to use glitter. I have lots of glitter but no glitter paste. I seldom use glitter, so this was a lot of fun. Work, but fun!

I started to make my card by looking at my stamps to find one that had fairly large shapes to color and glitter. Check. I chose an oldie but good My Favorite Things stamp and die set. It is called Tropical Sensations; Retired now, sorry.  Here is my card. I think it is pretty!

The large flowers worked well. First I die cut the images out, then stamped and colored them. I used Stampin' Up! mini cubes in Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lime Twist, Garden Green and Pool Party. All are colors still available. The pink flower under the glitter was colored with retired Pretty in Pink. I buy un-inked cubes to add refill ink colors in order make my mini cubes.

To adhere the various glitters atop the flowers, I used my Quickie Glue pen before pouring on the glitter. I pressed a piece of scratch paper down on each to help the glitter stick. The leaves are not covered with the glitter, but the stamen on the Hibiscus is. It took me a long time to come up with an arrangement that suited me while leaving room for the small sentiment. The glitter is from many companies, some came as samples a long time ago. For the dark pink flower, I used my NBUS WOW Carousal embossing glitter. The Hibiscus is covered with WOW Under the Sea, also new. The stamen is done in Sprinkle N Sparkle Meadow Spark glitter while the yellow is theirYellow Spark embossing powder. The light pink flower is covered with Elizabeth Craft Designs Silk Microfine Glitter in Vintage Pink. And finally, the blue flower is decked out in SNS Deep Royal Tinsel Glitter (from a sample but the color is not on their site now). The Aloha stamps is from the above same stamp set and is stamped in Versafine Onyx Black. The flowers are all glued onto an A2 card base of Papertrey Ink Linen white cardstock. 

Done! Whew! Now on to Week 2. Do I Have enough stamina? Many thanks for visiting. Are you playing too?

MFT Camp Create Day 4

Howdy!

A completely new technique to me... a slider card. Yikes. I struggled, but persevered!! Today I am posting the card for My Favorite Things Camp Create Day 4.

Yes, this was a real challenge for me. I do not have the suggested dies to make the slider part, so went to YouTube and found Jennifer McGuire's video and CASED her card. Thanks for the tutorial, Jennifer. Had to watch and pause the video many, many times.  I DO have the kit she featured.

My card is more simple than hers, and I used some different images trying to add my own touch. In retrospect, I think I could have done things quite differently, but I accomplished a slider card. Yay.

This card was made with many elements from the October 2018 My Monthly Hero Arts Kit. The little girl is on skates as she comes out from behind the tree using the pull tab. I couldn't decide whether or not to show her all the way out or not. The tree, girl and bench were all colored with Stampin' Up! markers. Real Red, Early Expresso, Chocolate Chip, and retired Creamy Caramel. The green is a ZIG marker called Pure Green. I sponged the cloudy sky with SU Bashful Blue ink (they should not have retired that color, IMO) and used a snippet of paper to make clouds. Adding Hero Arts White Puff Embossing Powder, I tried to make some snow under the sliding track and on the tree. A tiny snowflake stamp has snowflakes coming down although they don't show well in the picture. I guess you just have to imagine ice around too for her to skate on! LOL The card base is also Bashful Blue. When the pull tab is pushed almost all the way in, the card fits nicely in an A2 envelope.

I am running up against the deadline for posting to Week 1 of the My Favorite Things Camp Create and haven't even started the 5th card.

A lot of snippets of cardstock were used to make this card...the little girl, slider strip, and the tree. So am joining the Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge # 357.


Bye for now! Thanks for stopping by.

A Shaker Card!

Hey There...

It is time for me to share my entry for Day 3 of the MFT Camp Create challenge. There are two days left where I haven't even started my cards!  Here is the badge.

Day 3 in the video by Stephanie Klauck, we were challenged to make a shaker card using some My Favorite Things components. I have them, so here is my card:

I do have the Circle Trio Shaker Window and Frame set and the Circle Trio Shaker Pouches by MFT and I really appreciate learning how to use them. Thanks, Stephanie! They are all still available. I did use supplies from many other companies to complete my card after deciding not to make a Christmas card after all.

My card is an A2 side folding card using some snippets of Stampin' Up! DSP saved from the 2013 Winter Frost paper pack. I like the soft colors that do not necessarily shout winter to me. The base card is SU Pool Party, and the topper from Papertrey Ink Basic White, my go to bright white cardstock. I followed the directions in the video as best I could, however, wrapping sticky tape around the plastic shaker elements wasn't easy. For fun, I made a frame around each pouch holding the sequins that matches the background underneath. The sequins are from Neat & Tangled; I tried to pick out the clear ones.

To cover up a crookedly stamped sentiment, I stamped it again on a piece cut with the retired SU Decorative Label punch. I stamped Thinking of You from MFT's Grand Peaceful Wildflowers stamp set. It is retired now. I like using what supplies I have on hand.

So there we go. Another card done. Thanks for stopping by and I sure appreciate the comments!

Remarkable Resist

Hello Again!

Here I am with my Camp Create Day 2 entry. I have loved doing resist techniques since early in my card making journey. Have quite a drawer full of colored embossing powders, but seem to use clear and white the most.

I finished designing my entry last night after finding a suitable background stamp that is handily by My Favorite Things. Following the ideas in the video by Barbara Anders, I dug out some bright dye inks and sponged away. I've not had a lot of practice blending inks, so this was a good challenge for me.

My daughter was over last night and loved how bright the image colors were. She is my best critic, so I assembled my card yesterday morning. Here are the details of how it was made and the supplies used.

Because I wanted bright colors, I used two of my four Catherine Pooler inks to sponge over the heat embossed MFT Etched Flower cling background. The colors I chose are Fiesta Blue and Grass Skirt. They are still available. I then trimmed my colorful image with a frame from Sugarpea Designs called Card Front Element Builder. For my simple sentiment, I used my just purchased MFT Sweet Hello die without the shadow. CASEing the card in the video!! By forgetting to back the scrap of white with adhesive paper, I struggled to glue the hello onto the card base. Quickie Glue pen to the rescue! Done. Now to post this. 

See you next time. Smiling now and going on to Day 3. 

Wonderful Watercolor!

Hello Fellow Crafters!

Today I've made a galaxy background with my Ken Oliver Crafts Color Burst powders and am entering this card for the MFT Camp Create Day One challenge called Wonderful Watercolor.

The video was really helpful as I haven't used these powders in ages. The colors I chose from my small collection are Ultramarine, Pthalo Green, Violet and Lamp Black. Not having any liquid platinum, I substituted Tsukineko Co. Frost White All Purpose Ink for the shine suggested in the video. I followed the directions quite literally using the supplies I had at hand.  Here's my card:

 My moon was cut with an old SU circle punch and covered with the above white ink by swirling d it around. It dried  leaving texture. In real life, there is a lot of texture within my night sky too. For the sentiment, I pulled out a NBUS (older but not used) set from Papertrey Ink called Guiding Light and combined several words embossed  them in white on a snippet of black cardstock. I tend to prefer CAS cards, so kept this card simple, just mounting the focal point on a plain PTI Basic White top fold card base.

The card is really IRL, I think. It was fun working with the Color Burst Powders. I sure made a mess, though! LOL

I've finished and photographed my Day 2 card, so am signing off now. Are you joining the Camp Create challenges? First year for me.

A Snowflake Card

Hello Again~

Today I am joining the CAS Christmas July Challenge. Missed last month, so am happy to have finished another one for my stash.  It has been really hot and humid lately here in Minnesota. Snowflakes would be welcome. :-) Really!

Look see - a snowflake!

I tried really hard to get a nice picture to show the sparkly paper and intricate snowflake. This was the best of many takes. A close-up is below.

This large snowflake is from a set that I have never used before, although the Stampin' Up! Snowfall Thiniits die set has come and gone. It was a limited edition offer back in 2018 that I snagged. Two of the dies, the largest one and a small one for the center were combined to make my card. Lots of poking to get all the little pieces out! Whew! I cut 3 each of the snowflakes out and adhered them together for some dimension. Stick It adhesive helped a lot. I cut into a piece of hoarded Sky Blue glitter cardstock from Best Creation Inc for my simple background. It does look aqua in the photo, but in real life is a pretty blue. I stamped the SU sentiment with Encore Silver and VersaMark ink, then heat set it with WOW Silver embossing powder. The wishes stamp is from the SU Ornamental Pine set. I was trying for extra shine. In retrospect, I should have just used white embossing powder. The SU bling in the center of the smaller snowflake finishes off the card. A lot of work went into this simple card but I am happy with it!

Here's a close-up of the snowflake so you can see the intricacy of it. Thanks so much for visiting me. I love comments, and love to visit you too! Hope you are having a nice summer!

Three Cards Done

Hello and Happy 4th of July to All Who Celebrate!!

Three cards this time. I've been busy since my trip to California. I had a wonderful time but am glad to be home.

First up I am joining the salute to Darnell (djkardkreations) in honor of her birthday. Oops, there is no water coloring on my card, so I cannot join the CAS Watercolour challenge after all. I've sent Darnell another card, so if she sees my blog, she'll see this one too.

I was thinking of Darnell as I made this card and I did follow the rules asking for a bouquet. This oldie but goodie stamp has been in my collection for years, and I don't think I have ever used it. The wooden stamp is marked Rubber Stampede 1993. It is by Cynthia Hart and called Victorian Quilt Stitchery Bouquet.

On a piece of white cardstock, I heat embossed the flower image and sentiment using VersaMark and Ranger fine gold embossing powder, I took several Stampin' Up! markers to color the flowers. I have not used markers in ages. It was really fun to use them again. The colors I used are Barely Banna, So Saffron, Crushed Curry, Wild Wasabi and Stampin' Chalk. To color the bow I got out my Spectrum Noir Metallic markers in Antique Bronze and Burnished Copper. The sentiment is from the Papertrey Ink set called Wonderful Words Congrats. The card base is SU's Creamy Caramel. Several of the above colors are retired, but I love them anyway. Am really pleased with this card.

My second card was made as a thank you to my bestie in CA who gave me the trip out to see her. Beth and I saw a wonderful quilt exhibit and she is thinking of learning how to quilt. Thus this card.

So I got out my never-before-used SU die set called Quilt Builder Framelits. Following directions I found on-line or on YouTube, I die cut to get the small pieces using Night of Navy card stock and some pretty patterns from the retired Garden Impressions 6 x 6 DSP also by SU. After laying each piece (snippets) individually to make the design, I embossed the whole focal point with the SU Tufted Dynamic Textured Impressions embossing folder. I think that makes the card look quilted. Can you see it? The card base and frame are in SU's Melon Mambo and So Saffron. The colors used are all still available as is the die set. Sorry the picture doesn't show the quilting very well. The sentiment is from the SU retired Wetlands stamp set. The little heart from my stash completes the card. I hope Beth gets this card before she sees this post!

Because I used lots of snippets I am entering this card to the Pixie's Crafty Workshop Challenge #355.

My third card tonight is the real birthday card sent to Darnell. It too was fun to make and I hope she likes it. It is a lot prettier in real life.

The background piece was made using Viva Turquoise Metallic Stamp-Paint and Inka Gold smooched onto card stock. It is really shiny. Experimenting with my NBUS Gina K Mini Wreath Builder template, I stamped the shapes in complementary colors to the background piece. Can you see the embossed front of the card base? Made that with a SU embossing folder called Oh My Stars. The happy birthday sentiment is from Impression Obsession Dies, and is called Greetings Top Edgers. I cut it with a snippet of green cardstock.

Well, that's it from me for now. My daughter moves this weekend, so it is a busy, busy time for us all. Wish us luck!

Thank you for visiting me!

"Tis The Season

Hi Again~

A quick post as I am getting ready to travel! Yay, heading to San Diego soon. Wonderful friends and weather, although it has been great here lately.

I am entering my card in the CAS Christmas Card June Challenge where the word is gifts. Missed the May challenge because I dd not have a stocking stamp or die. Thanks to Greta I do have a  stamp that works this time. What do you think? Isn't the bear cute?

I think the bird is offering the little bear a gift. Christmas is the season of gifts. My hope is that this card is not too busy to be CAS. Here are some details on how it was created.

The stamp is wood mounted (I love my wood stamps) and is actually called Give Me a Kiss. It is retired from Penny Black. An almost one layer card, I began by tapping my stamp onto a VersaMark pad that is dedicated to using with dark inks. I then quickly inked the stamp with Versfine Onyx Black before adding the clear embossing powder and heating it up. That helped me with the staying within the lines while using my Zigs. Having only the 6 color set, I made the brown by combing the purple, blue and yellow and a little red on a block and picking up the color with a brush. Trying to keep the card CAS, I decided not to enhance the white on his cap and the snow on the chimney. The cloudy sky was made with a sponge and Stampin' Up! retired Bashful Blue. The sentiment is from the Ellen Hutson "Tis The Season set by Julie, stamped in black and punched out with a SU punch. The white card base is from my stash in the no-name paper folder. This was a fun card to make. Thanks for visiting. See you next time!
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Just Us Girls #491 - Trend Week

Hello!

While blog surfing, I spotted an interesting challenge at Just Us Girls asking for a card made using embossing paste. Shown is my completed card.

To make the background, I followed the directions by Karen Dunbrook on her blog called Snippets. I had saved her directions on my computer. Check it out from May of 2017. I used Distress Ink in Peacock Feathers with Distress Oxides Salty Ocean and Seedless Preserves mixing them on watercolor paper with added water. An old credit card with the edge dipped in black ink made the lines crisscrossing the paper. When dry, I took out a stencil from Studio 490 - Wendy Vecchi called Perfect Peony. The stencil came with a matching rubber stamp to stamp over ink for dimension, but, alas, I had used the stencil upside down!. Kind of a funny error. Right? Anyway, my NBUS embossing paste is also from Studio 490 in Metallic Silver. I put on the paste thickly and left it that way. Gives texture, I feel. To complete the card, I die cut a frame from stash white cardstock using the largest frame from Papertrey Ink's Pierced Feature Frames set. The card base is an old piece of Bazzill Basics textured cardstock named Rosebud. I find it difficult to find the textured cardstock in colors, so I hoard what I have. :-) If you have any sources, please let me know. Thanks!

This is my first time entering a challenge at JUGS, but I follow several of their designers.


Bye for now. See you next time!

Busy Time Of The Year

Hello and Happy Summer!

I have been really busy making cards for several June happenings in my family. Such fun!

My oldest granddaughter Megan is graduating high school tomorrow night! So happy and proud. Her school colors of navy and yellow were chosen for her card. Here it is.

Megan showed me her hat and gown, which is where I got the idea for the card. I have had the embossing folder by Darice for ages, but I like using it here for texture. The hat with the tassel die is a NBUS. It is from Taylored Expressions, called The Tassel. I cut it out three times from each color for some dimension. The congrats is an oldie die from Papertrey Ink which is probably retired. The stitched rectangle is the center from the PTI Perfect Feature Frames set. A must have set, IMO. I cut out three of the colors which are by Stampin' Up! - Night of Navy and So Saffron to shadow and showcase the sentiment. Inside I stamped Congratulations Graduate! with a treasured PXS stamp from 1999. 

The second important happening is that Maddie, my other granddaughter turns 16 on Saturday. She and her family are on vacation, so she already has seen her card. 

It was fun to make with the birthday kit by Queen & Co. This time the card was fairly easy to assemble, although I had misplaced the directions. Sigh. All the papers, beads and dies came with the kit. The numbers are cut from the same paper using numbers from the above die set. The happy, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black is from my stash. Anyway, Maddie loved her card. We'll go shopping for a present when she returns.  

The third momentous occasion in early June was the first birthday of my twin great-nieces. I really struggled with this card and it is probably not my best effort. I hope their parents like it, though. I bet their big sister liked it. The thought counts, right? The twin girls are adorable!

To make the card I first cut the background with a SurgarPea Designs scalloped die from the Card Front Elements Builder set. The pink dotted paper is from a Text Style pack by PTI from 2008, called Bitty Star Basics. I seldom use pretty paper, but should. The stars are from SU's Stars Framelits die set and I hand wrote with a silver pen the twin's names. The 1, of course, is by PTI. The cute little elephants were cut out with a Poppystamps Inc. die called Small Elephant and attached to the stars with a snippet of twine. Happy Birthday was stamped inside, but I don't recall which stamp I used and the card has been mailed. The 1 is colored with the same silver pen for some shine. 

Blog and cards done for now! Whew. Thanks for stopping by. See you next time! 

My May Twofer

Hello!!

Finally came up with a couple of ideas for the Twofer #16 challenge started by the talented and wonderful Darnell and her friends. The idea of wheels was difficult for me as I had no stamps labeled wheels in my stash. Anyone else use Evernote? Love it to have all my stamps, embossing folders, and dies indexed. Well, except when I label things incorrectly or do not tag every part of a set.

Anyway, here are my cards. The duo is up first showing a masculine birthday card and a card wishing safe travels for a friend going to travel around Europe.

The wheel stamp is from my under-used set by Uniko Studio called Today, Tomorrow & Always Time. I had thought of this stamp as showing cogs inside a clock or watch. Today, I am sure they are wheels. Right? They are round like wheels whatever they are. Right?

Some close-ups for each card next along with some details of how they were made.

For the travel card, the sentiment stamp is part of the Simon Says Stamp set called Safe Travels. Using my MISTI to get a good impression, I positioned the many wheels stamp at an angle using Versafine Onyx Black. It took several tries to get just right coverage. Whatever did we do without the MISTI? I think this makes a nice one layer card for mailing. I like the simplicity too. The side folding card base is Stampin' Up! Sahara Sand, one of the available neutral colors. It looks gray in this photo  but in real life is a grayish tan color.

For the birthday card, I made the background on white cardstock by stamping numerous times until I was satisfied. This is a big stamp which I fit onto my 5 X 6 acrylic block. I die cut out a rectangle with my NBUS SU set called Rectangle Stitched Framelits. It is a nice set with 13 dies. This time I used SU Basic Gray ink. My split focal point areas are on a Basic Gray card base. The card is a CASE of one by Greta at GG Creations. Thank you Greta. The narrow layers are done in a retired color by SU called Takin With Teal. Using the same color, I die cut the happy birthday with a Greetings Top Edgers die by Impression Obsession IO Dies. The letters are free standing attached to the bottom part of the design. Both parts of the design are popped up for dimension.

So that is it for this time. It was fun making these two cards. Thanks for dropping by and your commenting is really appreciated.