Ornate Blossom Kissed Mojo/ Mojo Monday 180

A Mojo Monday creation with all new toys! I've been wanted to make the "kissing technique" work for a very long time. I just didn't have the right stamps to make it work. Well, I received both the Ornate Blossom & Fine Flourish free via Sale-a-Bration & they make a perfect pair for this technique. I inked up the blossom with Blushing Bride first & then I inked up Fine Flourish with Early Espresso. Next, I stamped the Fine Flourish image on to the blossom. Ta dah! Now I had a flower with two colors and a fun pattern as well. Of course, its size made my Mojo Monday sketch a little off but I think it works none the less. My sentiment comes from another new to me set: Tiny Tags. They are such tiny gems!

Funky Fun Scrap Cards

Today's cards are a little break from the norm. Scandal beyond scandal they feature colors and paper that SU has retired! I've been playing around with some of the scrap bits and pieces I've amassed through time & wanted to share these little gems. All of the cardstock is still available thanks to the Clearance Rack, but the designer paper actually comes from the little sampler I had from last catalog. There's no reason the display bits couldn't turn into great cards too! I am an absolute scrap hoarder & I like to put those pieces to good use whenever I get the chance. Do you keep all the flotsam and jetsam that you make during the creative process or do you toss it?

Glitter Windows Cheers/ Curtain Call 70

I have such a great time trying out new techniques and new challenges! Today I decided to combine those good things into one card. Over at the Curtain Call Color Challenge, I found a fun group of colors for this snowy afternoon: Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise, Pear Pizazz, and Whisper White. A while back, I was surfing through the tutorials over on Splitcoast and found one for a Glitter Window Card. Naturally, I decided to pair these two up! The result is super fun although I have to work on my glitter photography. Jeff says I need to add a second light source. We'll see if that works next time...I never claimed to be great at that part of this whole deal. I'll include a close up of one window so you get a better idea. Just pretend the frosting looks all sorts of sparkly, okay? :) Packing tape is the key to this effect and it's super simple to do. I think it will look excellent on Christmas cards too. I can't wait to try it then. Today I paired up one of the sets from the Idea Book and Catalog that's free from Sale-a-Bration (Tart & Tangy) with a good time favorite (Cheers to You). After all, there are those of us out there that will agree some four day weeks feel even longer than those that last a full five! Happy Friday everyone!

A New Challenge/ LBNL #1

I'm super excited to have been invited to try out a brand new challenge. It's called Last but not Least because it's posted on the last day of each month. DJ has put together a super fun challenge for the first round of her challenge: One Mat, One Stamp, One Sentiment, One Ribbon, One Button. In short, it's a One Card. Fun, huh? I just couldn't resist! It's super simple & yet I had to give it a good bit of thought. It made my brain work in different ways than a color or sketch challenge stretches me. Thanks, DJ! I took out my Always Elegant set (free from SAB) for its very first use. I decided it would look great framed by a textured piece of cardstock, so I used my circle cutter to make a 3" circle in a 4 x 4" square of textured Marina Mist. I'm not sure if it shows up in the photo, but I used my Versamarker, Heat & Stick Powder, and Dazzling Diamonds glitter to add accents to the stamped image. I did the same to the little brad that connects my sentiment to the card. Out came my Sticky Strip to make my new favorite ribbon formation. Then, all that was left was my button. I'm pretty sure a paper button counts & my Sweet Buttons Embosslit gave me lots of choices. I can't wait to check out the next challenge at the end of this month! Thanks to DJ for introducing me to a stamping adventure that I might have missed out on otherwise. :)

Simply Said Lattice Color Throwdown #130

I tried to keep things super simple for this week's Color Throwdown. The colors they put out there for us this time around were: Pretty in Pink, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, & So Saffron. I like the basic feel of this card, but it may still be a WIP (work in progress). I can't kick the feeling that I'm missing something... I had fun cutting up the Lattice Die into the little corner flowers & I adore the Simply Said bouquet so it was great to pair them together. I'm so pleased that the folks at the Color Throwdown included Tangerine Tango because it's a color I don't use as often as others & I don't think I would have come up with this combo on my own. In fact, I was nervous about the Tangerine layer at first. Then I tried it out and really liked how it made all the colors pop! That's the great thing about trying challenges-- they get you to stretch just a bit. :)

Water Lily Congrats/PPC #49

Over at PPC they are celebrating their first anniversary. So in addition to having a color challenge (Mellon Mambo, Garden Green, Whisper White, & Basic Gray) they also asked for anniversary themed cards. I found that I just kept adding petals to my Build-a-Blossom creation so that, in the end, it felt a lot like a water lily. Then, it just needed a couple of lily pads! To create those I just ran a couple of 2 1/2" Circles through the Big Shot with the Elegant Lines folder. No problem. I embossed the sentiment with silver emboss powder to really make it stand out. I do have a confession to make though. I wish I would have gotten the Curly Cute set in wood mount rather than clear. Typically I have no problem with our stamps staying on the block, but these really challenge me. I'm not sure if it's because they have so little surface area to stay connected compared to their length or what the deal is with them, but they're the only ones that tend to come off while I'm stamping. In short, my strong recommendation with this set is to go for wood! However, my Build a Blossom set is also clear and it never gives me any problems. Hmmm...I'm thinking the long & skinny stamps are just not quite perfect for the clear format. I'm so glad we have the choice of both!

Masculine Bird Birthday/ Mojo Monday 179

Today I set myself a few extra challenges to go with the Mojo Monday sketch. When I saw the layout I told myself I needed to use Springtime Vintage as the designer paper square & that my three dots would be eyelets. That didn't give me the impression that I'd be making a masculine card, but that's exactly where I ended up. Springtime Vintage is pretty girly, but these green stripes aren't! I also brought out a few old friends. I used Lovely as a Tree in the background (the first SU set I ever bought) and dusted off my Cajun Craze paper. Far too often I find that I only bring this great color out for fall cards. I had the same issue with Really Rust. Every now and then, it's important to remind myself that it's a great color all the time! Otherwise, why would I have used it as the inspiration for my house color?

The Best Thing to Happen to a Kleenex Box/ Color Throwdown 133

I see inspiration for cards all over the place--- clothing patterns, table linens, and even Kleenex boxes. When I bought this box of Kleenex, I thought I could recreate the images using my stamps. I hadn't actually thought of turning it into a card when its primary purpose was over. But, why not? The Big Shot has no trouble cutting paperboard, so I ran it through with the Top Note Die twice to make this fun little shape. Then, I ran the background through with the Elegant Lines folder for an extra little touch. I was super pleased to find the Birthday Greetings stamp from Occasional Quotes fit in my Word Window Punch perfectly. That let me use the Modern Label Punch to add just an accent of Early Espresso. On came a few of my Basic Pearls & I had a great little card that wasn't just inspired by a tissue box...it was the tissue box!
March 16th:
Oh my! I just saw the post for Color Throwdown #133 and I'm pretty sure the tissue box Kristin used for the colors is the same as mine! I've never used an "old" card for a challenge before, but I just couldn't resist submitting this one. Too funny.

Cat Sympathy

This week, one of my dear friends had to say goodbye to her long time feline companion. It's such a hard thing. I wanted to send along a little card letting her know that I'm thinking of her. The little kitty silhouette from C is for Cat works well for this situation & I decided to pair her with the colors and patterns that make me think of my friend. A full frame from the Framed Tulips seemed to add way too much Early Espresso & turned the card entirely too dark. So, I opted for a partial frame combined with some of the lovely flowers from the Springtime Vintage designer paper. My Marina Mist Scallop Circle was a bit too plain. To solve that problem, I just ran it through the Big Shot with my Elegant Lines Folder. I wasn't sure if enough of the embossed image would show to make a difference, but it really did. All in all it's simple, tasteful, and with hope-- all things any sympathy card should be regardless of the occasion.

Baby T-Shirt

I had to get my scissors out for this one! After tracing a much needed template, I cut this cute little T-Shirt out of Whisper White. It opens up to reveal a sentiment on the inside too. I tried my perferator tool on the sleeves as well. It gives a little bit of a stitching look, but I'm not totally sold yet, what do you think? Can you see it? For my decorations I decided to stay simple & go with Itty Bitty Bits. Then, I punched out circles with my punch pack circle to glue on the back of my buttons. I'm a big fan of the Itty Bitty Bits co-ordinating stamps, punches, and buttons. It's designing gone easy!

Nature Walk Collage/Color Throwdown #129

Whew! You know how your muscles feel when you exercise with out stretching enough first? That's sort of how my brain feels right now. I've never done collage stamping & this card is way out of my comfort zone. I think I like it though! My husband suggested I get the Nature Walk set when I first showed it to him in the Occasions Mini catalog because it's so different than anything else I have. The detailed natural images fit me so well, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to figure out how to make them work together. I am so glad I got the Sanded background at the same time. The two work so well together. Then, I saw a tutorial on Splitcoast of how to make your own stitched ribbon flowers. Had to try that out too. Of course, I put just about every embellishment you can think of in the center of that flower before I decided on this Jumbo Brad. (Literally over a half hour of tinkering.) The Antique Brads look great in the center too...maybe next time! My only problem is, I might like this card enough to have it as part of my classes tomorrow. Sigh. Time to write up some instructions... Just when I think I have everything ready & planned in advance, I go and change it up! Thanks to the folks over at Color Throwdown for the color choices today. I did add a bit of chocolate for my ink, but I think that's okay, right?

Masculine Sympathy

I recently had a request for a masculine sympathy card. It was interesting to me because I had just ordered the "Thanks for Caring" set after being inspired by a masculine sympathy card. This image is very striking in all dark ink, but I wanted to try something a little bit different. The detail and symmetry seemed to work well with coloring in bits and pieces with markers. For the Crumb Cake layer, I used the Sanded back ground stamp to add a soft yet detailed feature to this simple card. The Twill Tape works nicely, but I'm really wishing that my Night of Navy Satin Ribbon was here already. It makes me really look forward to the ribbon share! Perhaps I'll change up this card as soon as it arrives. Remember to join in the ribbon share, you need to contact me by this Thursday.

Happy Birthday Shannon! / Mojo Monday 178

Yes, I'm well aware of the date & I imagine that many of the Mojo Monday participants today will feature hearts & pink. However, this also happens to be my friend's birthday! So, I really wanted to make a card for her that doesn't say "Happy Valentines Day" at all. There have been some suggestions of re-naming the day "Shannontines", but that seems like a mouthful to me. Sometimes creating a card for a specific person is a real challenge, but today's card just sort of all flowed along nicely. I wanted something that was whimsical yet not for a ten year old. My Sunny Garden DSP was where I started & I didn't know that the cupcake was going to be the focal image until near the end. To give that little treat a little more detail, I used the Elegant Lines folder to emboss the frosting and used textured cardstock for it's base. Then, I wanted just a bit more elegance, so I added the Organza Ribbon rather than a typical grosgrain. It ended up simpler than I thought it would be, but I really like its simplicity. In fact, I like it so much I may have to make a couple more. I hope Shannon doesn't mind!

Quilt Card

Okay, try not to be too scandalized. The designer paper I used for this card is actually retired. *Gasp* I know. However, I've just applied for the Horseshoe Market in May and realized I better start making a bunch of cards for it. Of course, I won't know if I'm accepted until March, but I still like to get a head start. So, I took out my pad of hostess designer paper from last catalog and set to work. I punched out a bunch of 1 1/4" squares, adhered them to a 4 x 5 1/4 bit of Whisper White & ran them through the Big Shot with my Top Note Die. Fun, huh? Then I added a little accent using the Sale -A-Bration Punch Bunch set. It's all ready to go. Now I just have to finish the other eight I made yesterday...

Another Reason to Sale-a-Brate

Sale-a-bration isn't just about getting free stamp sets. There are other free goodies as well! :) This card was made using the Ice Cream Parlor Paper & Quick Accents Pack...another exclusive SAB product. I used the Criss Cross Card tutorial from Splitcoast to make this one. It's so fun! The insert pulls out and there is a belly band around the card too. Lots going on and a fun break from the traditional 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 card. I found that the Build a Blossom flower center works great inside the Fancy Flower Punch. Oh, and while the decorative strip on the band looks like the SAB ribbon, it's actually one of the Quick Accents. They are self adhesive bits of cardstock already printed. Such fun! I think they would be great for younger stampers because they work just like stickers but look even better on a project. There's more of them to come...I promise!

Sweet Summer White on White Emboss

The Sweet Summer Sale-a-bration set is so cute! I wanted to give it a slightly more elegant look though. I just love the image I used on the background for this card & kept thinking of different ways to do something more with it. Out came my White Craft Ink, White Emboss Powder, and Heat Tool. I love the look of white on white embossing--- it's subtle and striking all at the same time. Oh, and I got to use a brand new toy! I finally got an Embossing Buddy. This little gem gets rid of all the static and moisture that can grab a hold of embossing powder. All you need to do is rub it over the cardstock & then make sure to handle the cardstock with tweezers (or the like). That way you don't put any of the oils from your hand on there. It worked great! There were no little random deposits of embossing powder to be found. I can't wait to try it with black emboss powder. The stray bits of black always drive me crazy!

Lucky Mojo/ Mojo Monday 177

This morning I decided to try another card with So Happy for You. The Mojo Monday sketch for today really needed a little bit of designer paper (in my opinion at least) and I went with the little dots from Woodland Walk as my starting point. Then it dawned on me, we're almost to St.Patrick's Day! Not everyone sends out the green in the form of cards, but a good luck card could work for any one. You can always change out the sentiment for a "Happy St. Paddies" if you really wanted. I set to work making four leaf clovers with Wild Wasabi and Garden Green. I really wanted to do something different with my ribbon today, so I took out some Sticky Strip & used it to adhere a little back and forth design with my ribbon. I've tried doing something similar before with my Snail Adhesive & it was a bit of a disaster! Sticky Strip was just the ticket. I wanted a little accent for the two ends of my ribbon, but wanted them in two sizes. So I used my Cupcake Punch to create the tiny circle and the circle from my Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack to make the larger one. Now I'm all set with a fun and lucky start to my week. Thanks Mojo Monday!

So Happy Stars/ Color Throwdown #127

I often skip out on posting on the weekend when I've been a good kid all week, but I didn't want to miss out on the Color Throwdown this time around. Their colors were So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Crumb Cake, and Early Espresso. Great fun! I love this little shooting star image from the So Happy for You Sale-a-Bration set and the sentiment too! I haven't gotten to use my builder wheels much lately, so I decided to used the Striped wheel all on it's own to create little Bashful Blue accents. Yet another use for the little bits I keep while cutting paper. :) I tried to texture the Early Espresso layer a few different ways, but ended up liking the plain and simple look best. My stars come from the Stars #2 Big Shot die. Can you tell that I sponged one and not the other? It makes a larger difference in person. Oh, and I got to use one of my Neutrals Jumbo Brads. Overall simple and fun & ready for all sorts of occasions!

Bliss Color Challenge

I am so excited to play with my Bliss Sale-a-Bration set! There are way too many possibilities with this one. I started off by playing with the colors from PPC's color challenge for the week: Rich Razzleberry, Blushing Bride, and Old Olive. So many other ideas came to me while making the card though! This tells me you'll see the Bliss set lots between now and the end of SAB in March. The little flowers in the words coordinate with the Razzle Dazzle set, so I know I'll have to use those together. Then, the big design would be so much fun to use in the "black magic" technique. Oh, and I haven't even inked the little bird stamp yet! Getting a new stamp set opens up so many possibilities. :) I can't neglect all my other SAB sets though. It looks like I need to get busy stamping since I have a full work week next week. What a fun dilemma!

At last...A Sale-a-Bration Card!

My first box of Sale-a-Bration toys arrived yesterday and boy was I excited! I still am for that matter. Of course, today I need to go off to work. Why couldn't the box of goodies arrive right before the two day "snow day" break? I guess that's just the way of things. Besides, I would have never gotten my closet or pantry cleaned out if I had all these new stamps around to play with! My first Sale-a-Bration set to see ink was Punch Bunch. These little Poppies are so lovely & I haven't used my Scallop Circle Punch in far too long. It was the first SU punch I ever bought. In fact, I think it was the first order I ever made! Just it...I had so much restraint back then. You wouldn't know it from the box of goodies that came in yesterday. I also wanted to use the Antique Brads that came with the other goodies. I think it adds just the right touch to this simple card & keeps with the feel of the Woodland Walk designer paper. I tried Pear Pizazz as my background color at first, but it just wasn't working for me. I needed something just a touch more bold, so I took out my old friend, Wild Wasabi. I think it's just the right saturation level to go with Concord Crush and Poppy Parade (what other color would you use on poppies?). Okay, off to work with me! Thank goodness...I was getting a little stir crazy.

Happy Birthday Debbie/ Build a Blossom Glass Bead

A very happy birthday wish for my friend, Debbie, today! As completely non-tropical as the weather has felt this week, I thought a warm and fun birthday card was in order. There was one very special qualification for this card though. A few years ago, a group of us started a bit of a tradition. Each of us has a special container with glass beads...one for each year of our life. So, it's important to keep those beads coming each year. I like to integrate them into a card whenever possible. Hopefully, this card has already arrived in the mail. Otherwise, I hope Debbie likes the sneak peak! The Mojo Monday sketch from earlier in the week had me in the mood for creating curves in my cards. Instead of stamping the greating and punching it out, I thought it would be fun to cut my Pear Pizzazz layer and add the sentimnet on the card base. I like the effect and bet you'll be seeing more of it in the future!

Tulip with Tulip Frame Sympathy

Today I'm huddling inside the house to avoid the below zero temps. It's crazy out there and I, for one, will have none of it! I just try to keep in mind that it was in the sixties just a few days ago. We're looking at temps around -20 tonight with a wicked windchill. I know it's nothing for those of you from "real winter" climes, but we don't do this here. Extraordinary winters are a great part of Colorado. Who knows, I may be out in short sleeves again by the weekend. Anywhoo, enough weather talk....The other day, while stamping the inside of a card, I came up with the color combination for this tulip. I really like the little accents in Early Espresso to contrast with the bright feel of Daffodil Delight. Once it was stamped, I knew that the Tulip Frame Folder was just the ticket. What I didn't know was that I still can't shake my addiction to the Vanilla Satin Ribbon. It's true. But I didn't want to wrap over the top of the frame, so I took out my Horizontal Slot Punch and made a way to lace the ribbon through. Granted, much of the ribbon is hidden behind the Espresso this way, but I still like the effect. Would you believe that I'm waiting to stamp the inside of this card until my Thanks for Caring set arrives with my order later this week. It was my first Sale-a-bration order and was embarrassingly LARGE. Expect to see a whole bunch of new toys in use soon! Speaking of SAB, the set used to make this tulip is one of many sets from the catalog that you can get free for spending $50. Three Little Words is a lovely little set with sentiments for all occasions. I know at least one stamper who has already added it to her collection thanks to SAB... :)