Ruff You

The next snow event has started here. I prepared this morning by shoveling the 20 plus inches of snow that has been sitting on my deck since the weekend. I wasn't sure that my deck could handle the weight of an additional 10-15" of the white stuff, so I dug in. I'm all thawed out now and spent some time in my craft room this afternoon. I'm hoping the power stays on so I can stay warm and keep crafting (and watch Lost tonight, too!).

Some of the new goodies that Kate ordered at CHA are starting to arrive at i {heart} papers. Be sure to stop by the store and check it out. I made a card for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge featuring one of the new items--the I Ruff You stamp set from Unity Stamp Co. I met Heather Rolin, the set's illustrator, at CHA. We chatted for a while about pets and our shared love of sports--what a sweetie!

Here's what I came up with based on the sketch. I colored the doggie image with Copic markers and cut it out with a Nestabilities circle die. The image is paired with a panel of heart-covered designer paper from the Love Me Do Collection Kit from My Mind's Eye. I don't use much bright yellow in my crafting, but I love how it looks in these papers! A piece of light blue faux suede ribbon is knotted around the panel. It's hard to see, but there's the tiniest blue scalloped border around each of the hearts in the patterned paper and the ribbon picks up the color perfectly. I embossed a matching strip of yellow cardstock with a polka dot embossing folder and set it across the card. The texture from the embossing seemed to make the yellow a little less bold.

Once I had assembled all the panels and pieces, there was just enough room left to squeeze in a sweet sentiment. I inked up just the "ruff" portion of the set's "i heart u" sentiment with a marker and stamped it on the blue panel. I left room to attach a coordinating chipboard "u" sticker from my stash next to it.

To my other snowed-in East Coast pals--keep safe and warm!

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Unity Stamp Co. I Ruff You stamp set, My Mind's Eye Love Me Do Collection Kit, Nestabilities circle dies, QuicKutz Polka Dots embossing folder, May Arts light blue faux suede ribbon

other: white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Real Red and Yoyo Yellow cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Ocean Mist cardstock (Gina K Designs); chipboard sticker (Target dollar spot)

I Found You

With all of the snow, I had plenty of time to be creative over my extended weekend. I made this card for this week's StampTV sketch challenge and for this week's Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge. This week's featured movie was Sleepless in Seattle and the required design element to include on your card was a red heart. Mine on this card is just a tiny red heart, but a red heart just the same!

I cut some K & Company designer paper into squares just a bit larger than 1" and arranged them in an alternating pattern on a dark brown mat. The mat is stitched into place on a kraft card base with a zig zag stitch. I was going for a kind of quilted look here.

The sentiment is from the Heartily Yours stamp set from Gina K Designs. I stamped the image in brown ink on a kraft panel, then filled the heart in with a red Copic marker. I traced around the edges with a Lipstick Spica pen for just a tiny bit of sparkle and shimmer. The image and mat were cut with Nestabilities circle dies--I switched out the oval in the sketch for a circle--and a simple ribbon tab was attached to the panels. I set the sentiment on the card with some foam tape to finish the card.

Materials Used:

Heartily Yours stamp set (Gina K Designs); Rich Cocoa ink (Memento); marker, Lipstick Spica pen (Copic); Chocolate Chip and Kraft cardstock, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon (Stampin' Up!); designer paper (K & Company); circle dies (Nestabilities); foam tape; sewing machine

Sealed with a Kiss

Today's SCS clean and simple challenge was an inspiration challenge based on the candies in a retro candy store. I took my inspiration from some foil wrapped chocolate lips (well, it is almost Valentine's Day, after all!) and came up with this very quick card--less than 20 minutes, start to finish.

I started by cutting a red scalloped envelope with my Big Shot. This is the first time I've used this little envelope die--so cute! I folded the envelope and adhered the edges and flap so it was completely shut. I stamped the lips from the Love Bug stamp set from Clear & Simple Stamps in red ink on a white circle, layered the circle on a black mat, and attached it to the envelope, covering the flap.

I made a square kraft card base for the envelope. A piece of narrow black satin ribbon is wrapped around the base and the envelope is secured over the ribbon at a slant. The set's "sealed with a kiss" sentiment is stamped below the envelope in CSS's black ink.

Materials Used:

Love Bug stamp set, Perfect Little Black Dress ink (Clear & Simple Stamps); Riding Hood Red Classic ink, Riding Hood Red, Kraft, Basic Black, and Whisper White cardstock, scallop envelope die (Stampin' Up!); black satin ribbon (Target); 1 1/2" and 1 3/4" circle punches (EK Success)

Earth-Toned Note

Here's my card for this week's Viva la Verve inspiration and sketch challenge. The large flowers in one of the inspiration photos caught my eye, along with the kind of rustic, weathered look of the furniture and I incorporated those elements into my design.

I used one of the flowers from Verve's Believe stamp set for the focal image. I stamped the flower in Versamark on a cream panel, then heat embossed the image so I could use the emboss resist technique. A sponge with Ripe Avocado ink was rubbed over the panel to reveal the flowers.

I paired the image with a trio of patterned papers from Papertrey Ink's Turning a New Leaf paper pad. The colors and rustic, distressed feel of the papers seemed to be a good match for the look I was going for. With sketches like this one that have a kind of patchwork of paper panels, I always have a hard time getting the sizes of the pieces just right and this card was no exception. A few pieces of patterned paper ended up in my scrap bag before I got everything to fit.

The final element I added was the "just a note" sentiment from the Accent Notes set. It's stamped on a kraft panel and accented with a piece of knotted brown grosgrain ribbon that I rescued from my scrap pile.

Materials Used:

Believe and Accent Notes stamp sets (Verve Stamps); Dark Chocolate and Ripe Avocado inks, Ripe Avocado cardstock, Turning a New Leaf papers (Papertrey Ink); Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, and Kraft cardstock, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Crystal Clear embossing powder (Stampin' Up!); Versamark (Tsukineko)

You're My Shining Star

I took another break from all things pink, red, sweet, and heart shaped for this more masculine looking and feeling card for today's SCS featured stamper challenge. It's based on this also star themed card.

I kept the layout, colors, and theme pretty much the same in my version of the card. I used star images from Papertrey Ink's Star Prints set on mine. The stars are cut out with a combination of star shaped punches and Nestabilities dies. Using these together let me get a decent variety in sizes for layering.

Instead of using swirly bling as an accent around the stars, I used some simple embossing to add texture. I embossed the kraft panel underneath the stars with a dotted pattern before layering on the stars using foam tape. The star border punch was a nice match for my theme.

Because of the tall "star" in my sentiment, I decided to stamp the sentiment directly on the card base instead of layering it on another panel. I like the way the card turned out, but I think I would have liked it more with a black border around the edge . . .

Materials Used:

Star Prints stamp set (Papertrey Ink); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); Kraft and Basic Black cardstock, large and small star punches (Stampin' Up!); star dies (Nestabilities); Classic Stars punch (Martha Stewart); Polka Dots embossing folder (QuicKutz); foam tape

I'm a (Real) Sucker for You

In between shoveling my sidewalk and my car yesterday, I made this cute little card based on this week's Taylored Expressions sketch challenge. I incorporated a fun image from a Chicken Girl Designs stamp set, available exclusively at i {heart} papers, and a real heart-shaped lollipop (sucker) into the design of my 4 1/4" square card.

I used two different patterned papers from the My Mind's Eye Love Me Do Collection Kit on the cardfront. The cloud pattern made a perfect backdrop for the mosquito image from the Hugs from a Bug stamp set. I stamped the image twice--once on the patterned paper and once on a scrap of white cardstock. I colored the image on white cardstock using Copic markers and carefully cut it out, then attached it to the patterned paper using foam tape. The wings are covered with a light layer of Crystal Stickles for some shimmer.

I used a circle punch to make a semi-circular notch in the designer paper panel. The wrapped lollipop fit nicely into the notch. I had just enough room at the bottom of the panel to add the coordinating "I'm a sucker for you" sentiment. The panel is layered on a piece of dotted paper with some yellow faux suede ribbon knotted around it, then set on a blue-green card base.

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Chicken Girl Design Hugs from a Bug stamp set, My Mind's Eye Love Me Do Collection Kit, May Arts yellow faux suede ribbon, Ranger Crystal Stickles

other: white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Bermuda Bay cardstock, 1 3/8" circle punch (Stampin' Up!); foam tape

Love is in the Air

I wish that were the case instead of snow around here! We're being buried underneath over two solid feet of the white stuff. I've officially had enough of winter!! I've lived in the DC area pretty much all of my life and never experienced a winter like this one. Hopefully this is not a trend. I have a feeling it will be a while before I'm able to leave my house, at least via my car. It's still halfway covered with snow. I got a path dug to the driver's side and that one side cleared off, but called it quits after that. I'll get back to it again tomorrow. I have college basketball and college hockey (an outdoor game--go Badgers!) to watch on TV as long as my power cooperates and stays on.

As promised earlier in the week, here's another look at the Stamp of the Month from Clear & Simple Stamps. I used Mercy's latest sketch challenge as the basis for this sweet card. I had to adjust the layout for a standard A2 card instead of a square to accommodate the tree image, but kept to the same basic design.

The two step tree image is stamped in brown ink and colored with Copic markers in pinks and reds. I debated adding in some grass or a soft pink airbrushed sky, but decided I liked how the tree popped against the bright white background. There was room at the right side of the panel to add the set's "love is in the air" sentiment on a heart, popped up with some foam tape.

I paired the image with two patterned papers from a K & Company Valentine's Day paper pad. A bright pink ribbon is wrapped around the cardfront and knotted at the left side of the card base.

Materials Used:
Sweet Hearts stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Rich Cocoa ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Pink Pirouette and Melon Mambo cardstock (Stampin' Up!); designer paper (K & Company); pink grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); heart punch (Marvy Uchida); foam tape