Cool

Here's my card for today's SCS featured stamper challenge. It's based on this clean and simple card in Roxie's gallery. I kept the layout the same, but made a few other changes in my version of the card.

Instead of a white card base, I used a soft Pink Pirouette base. I used an ice cream cone image from Unity's Mixup of Cuteness set for my main image. It's stamped twice, once on the pink card base and once on a scrap of white. I colored both image with Copic markers, then cut out the image on the white scrap to layer it on top of the image on the card base with a dimensional. I added a button for the cherry.

I used a Cuttlebug border embossing folder for the embossed dotted strip along the bottom of the card. I've had these for a while now and really haven't used them--not sure why that is. I stamped the "cool" sentiment repeatedly in Regal Rose ink across the top of the embossed strip to finish the card. Took me less than 30 minutes from start to finish--love it!

Materials Used:

Mixup of Cuteness kit (Unity Stamp Co.); Snow White Choice Cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Regal Rose Classic ink, Pink Pirouette cardstock, white gel pen, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); clear Glaze pen (Sakura); dotted border embossing folder (Cuttlebug); button (Walmart)

For Keep {Sake} Memory Game

Here's another project I made for one of the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's challenges. This challenge was to use one of Lauren's Timeless Templates from Papertrey Ink and incorporate a clear element in your design.

I decided to use the For Keep {Sake} template to make a special container for a memory game. I transferred the template to Spring Rain cardstock, then decorated it with red and white star images from the Everyday Classics anniversary set. Acetate pieces are inserted into the openings so you can see the contents of the box and so they stay securely inside.

The game pieces inside the box are made from lightweight coasters. I used a scalloped circle die to cut out each game piece. I stamped stars on the coaster using different colors of ink and different patterned star images from the Star Prints stamp set, making sure to have matching pairs.

Materials Used:

For Keep {Sake} My Timeless Template, Everyday Classics and Star Prints stamp sets, Pure Poppy, New Leaf, Plum Pudding, Lemon Tart Palette inks, Spring Rain and Pure Poppy cardstock, Pure Poppy Swiss dot satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink); scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); Whisper White Craft ink (Stampin' Up!); acetate; lightweight coasters

Ketto Blog Hop

Welcome to the first Ketto Blog Hop, sponsored by Stamping Bella! If you're following the Blog Hop, you should have arrived here from Shannon's blog. If you’ve just happened upon my blog and don’t want to miss out on any of the fabulous Ketto creations, you can click here to start from the beginning at Emily's (THE Stamping Bella's) blog.

I got my very first Ketto stamp last weekend, just in time to participate in today’s Ketto Blog Hop. I used this week’s sketch challenge from Paper Craft Planet for my card.

Flamenca Ketto is colored with Copic markers and highlighted with some Royal Red Shimmerz (unfortunately, my lousy photo doesn’t capture the shimmer . . .) and some tiny red sparkles in her crown, too. I picked the color scheme for my image to match the bright colors of this GCD patterned paper. I used both sides of the paper on my card—the textured looking green/yellow mix on most of my cardfront and the geometric pattern for the panel on the bottom of the cardfront. A few more rhinestones and a pretty flower finished off the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Your next stop on the blog hop is Jenn’s blog. Enjoy!

Materials Used:

Flamenca Ketto image (Stamping Bella); Snow White Choice Cardstock, red tiny twinkles (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Royal Red Shimmerz, GCD Studios paper, circle and scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (i {heart} papers); flower (Prima); red satin ribbon (Target); self-adhesive rhinestones (Studio 18); Lemon Tart cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Barely Banana Classic ink, mat pack and paper piercing tool, sponge, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!)

Birthday and Beyond

Here's my card for this week's Mojo Monday sketch. It also doubles as one of my challenge cards for the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's site. I'm going to try to complete a few more SOA challenges before the end of the weekend . . .

I used Verve's Wishful Elegance stamp set for this card. I colored one of the flowers for the focal image using Copic markers, then carefully trimmed around it. I added a button to the center, tied with a scrap of silver cord. The flower's layered on a shimmery white cardstock circle, then on a rose scalloped circle.

I kept the card monochromatic, using both sides of a piece of patterned paper from GCD Studios to cover the cardfront. I layered a pair of grosgrain ribbons to cover the seam between the two patterns. The sentiment is stamped in rose ink to stand out against the stripes.

Materials Used:

Wishful Elegance stamp set (Verve Stamps); Snow White Choice Cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Regal Rose Classic ink, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, and Shimmery White cardstock, Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon, silver cord, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Sweet Blush button (Papertrey Ink); white grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); 1 1/2" circle punch (EK Success); scalloped circle die (Nestabilities); Pink Petal Liquid Pearls (Ranger); patterned paper (GCD Designs)

This one is for the Verve sketch challenge on the SOA site. I just got my new Verve stamps and couldn't put them away before trying them out. I used the new Up, Up And Away set for this card. The balloon image is paper pieced with a scrap of the same patterned paper I used for the panel that runs up and down the side of the card. The clouds are paper pieced, too, stamped on white cardstock, then covered with sparkly flock for a fun look.

I paired the balloon image with the "To infinity and beyond" sentiment from Verve's Great Expectations set. I wish I'd planned things better so that there was more space for the sentiment . . .

Materials Used:

Up, Up and Away and Great Expectations stamp sets (Verve Stamps); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Plum Pudding Palette ink, Lavender Moon cardstock, Lavender Moon Swiss dot satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink); Soft Sky and Whisper White cardstock, silver brads (Stampin' Up!); Apron Lace border punch (Fiskars); patterned paper (We R Memory Keepers-Madame Royale line); Sugar Sparkly Fluff

Blogger Challenge: Week 101

The theme for this week's blogger challenge is graduation. I can definitely relate to this theme, as I already mentioned that last week marked my official graduation from my masters degree program. I'm still waiting for my diploma to arrive . . .

I used the diploma image from the Kitchen Sink Stamps 3 Step Graduation set for this card. This is the first time I've used this image from the set, so I played around with it a bit to figure out how to layer the colors before coming up with this combination (1: Colorbox Dune pigment ink; 2: SU! Creamy Caramel ink, stamped off once; 3: SU! Creamy Caramel ink, full strength). I stamped the ribbon around the diploma in shades of blue ink, then stamped the "You did it!" sentiment beneath it in coordinating blue ink.

I used a monochromatic blue scheme on the rest of the card to match the image panel. To keep the focus on the image, I kept the embellishments simple, just a pretty satin ribbon and a trio of gold Dew Drops framing the image.

For more graduation ideas, you can visit the rest of the blogger challenge players. Links to their blogs are in the sidebar on the right.

Materials Used:
3 Step Graduation stamp set, Dew Drops (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, and Creamy Caramel Classic inks, Brocade Blue and Night of Navy cardstock, corner rounder, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); patterned paper (SEI-Charlemagne line); circle die (Nestabilities); satin ribbon (Michaels)

Behind

I made this cute card for another challenge on the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's site. It's based on a sketch designed by Melanie, so I thought I'd use one of her stamp sets from Gina K Designs for my card.

I used the adorable hippo image from the Just So Hippy set. This image is so cute, especially when it's paired with the "Sorry I'm so behind" sentiment. It's perfect for an apology for missing a special person's special day. I colored the hippo with Copic markers. It's hard to tell in the photo, but I stamped the hippo twice and cut out the back side of one and attached it to the other image with dimensionals.

I arranged the hippo and sentiment on a panel of multi colored polka dot paper, then layered it on a Rose Red card base. I added some light blue shimmery flowers with Dew Drops at the centers as simple embellishments.

Materials Used:
Just So Hippy stamp set (Gina K Designs); Snow White Choice Cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Rose Red Classic ink, Rose Red and Bashful Blue cardstock, Cutie Pie designer paper, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, scallop circle punch, white gel pen, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); blue confetti flowers (Bride's); Dew Drops (Robin's Nest)

Cuppie Trio

I’ve been keeping busy this week trying out some of the challenges at the Stampin’ Out Alzheimers site. I did a trio of cards using some of the cute cupcake images from Taylored Expressions.

This card’s for the Taylored Expressions sketch challenge. I used my Valentine’s themed cupcake set with a few alterations to make this card.

I’ve had this sprinkle patterned paper in my collection for a while. Isn’t it perfect for a birthday themed card? I added a piece of pink satin ribbon and a trio of metallic Dew Drops to dress it up before adding the cupcake image panel. The Dew Drops started out as a shiny gold, but with the help of a Copic marker, they quickly became a coordinating red, just right for my project.

The cupcake image actually has a pair of lips on the image, but I omitted those before stamping the image. I used the “happy birthday” sentiment from the Branching Out set, kind of wrapped around the cupcake.

Materials Used:
Love Is Sweet and Branching Out stamp sets, Snow White choice cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (Marcella by K & Company); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); metallic Dew Drops (Robin’s Nest); Ruby Slippers Glitz Stickles (Ranger); pink satin ribbon (Michaels)

This one is for the Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge. My image panel ended up being a little bit bigger than the one in the sketch, but I think it still keeps the look and feel of the sketch anyway.

I used the kissing cuppies image here, colored with Copic markers and accented with some red Stickles and a red Glaze pen. The cuppie panel is bordered by a soft pink ribbon and a pair of Riding Hood Red panels. I used my Martha Stewart tiny heart border punch along the bottom edge of the panel, then added a trio of punched hearts as embellishments.

The cardfront is covered in some swirly My Mind’s Eye designer paper. I attached the image panel with dimensionals, then added the “smooches” sentiment in black ink.

Materials Used:
Love Is Sweet stamp set, Snow White choice cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red cardstock, heart punch, Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye-Just Dreamy 2 line); Ruby Slipper Glitz Stickles (Ranger); heart border punch (Martha Stewart); red Glaze pen (Sakura)

Here’s my final Taylored Expressions card. This one’s for the “Two By Two” challenge. This challenge required the use of two colors (pink and brown, plus a neutral) and two types of embellishment.

I used one of the cute cuppies again. The cuppie is colored with Copic markers and layered on a scalloped circle.

I covered the card base with a piece of polka dotted paper in the challenge colors. I added a striped pink panel with a piece of pink satin ribbon tied around it, then layered on the image panel. I stamped the “thinking of you” sentiment from the Branching Out set right above the ribbon. The final embellishment was a chocolate colored button.

Materials Used:
Love Is Sweet and Branching Out stamp sets, Snow White choice cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Pink Pirouette cardstock, Pink Pirouette Patterns designer paper, mat pack and paper piercing tool (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (October Afternoon-Rain Boots); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); Dark Chocolate button (Papertrey Ink); pink satin ribbon (Michaels)

King of the Grill

Here's my card for today's SCS sketch challenge. With Father's Day coming up, I thought it would be nice to put a masculine slant on the sketch, so I used images from the DoodleFactory Great Outdoors set from Starving Artistamps.

I stamped the grill image on white cardstock, then colored the image with Copic markers. I used a stipple brush to add in the grass and a cloud template with a sponge to create the sky background. I stamped the hamburger images on a scrap of paper, colored them, then cut them out and attached them to the grill with dimensionals.

I found some masculine colored patterned paper from Scenic Route to use for the panels on my cardfront. I coordinated the mats for the image and layers with the colors in the paper. Since I was going for a masculine look, I kept my embellishments simple. I added a pair of wooden buttons with twine threaded through the buttonholes and the "king of the grill" sentiment stamped in red on a white oval.

If you're a Starving Artistamps fan and a member of the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's group, you'll want to stop by and check out the daily giveaway thread before 12:00 midnight EST tonight (Wednesday) to sign up for a chance to win some SA stamps. And, don't forget, you can always use the code save10lt for a 10% discount on Starving Artistamps and DoodleFactory stamps.

Materials Used:

DoodleFactory Great Outdoors and Outdoor sentiments set (Starving Artistamps); Snow White Choice Cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Riding Hood Red, Cool Caribbean, Certainly Celery, and Kiwi Kiss Classic inks, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Kraft, and Whisper White cardstock, oval punch, sponge, stipple brush, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); wooden buttons, twine (Papertrey Ink); patterned paper (Scenic Route); cloud template (Nicole)

CSS SOA Challenge

Clear & Simple Stamps is hosting several challenges on the Stampin’ Out Alzheimer’s site. I made this card for the "Stitch in Time" challenge to use real or faux stitching on your project.

I used the cute images in the Flight of the Bee set for my card. I thought that I could use my sewing machine to stitch the “trail” for the bee instead of using a paper piercing tool or the stamped image included in the set. It worked nicely! I stamped the bee on a scrap of white cardstock and colored it with Copic markers. After I cut the image out, I coated the wings with glue and dipped the image in some Dazzling Diamonds glitter. I stamped the image a second time, this time on a blue circle. I machine-stitched a trail behind the bee, then added the colored image to the circle with a dimensional.

I used some sparkly pastel striped paper for the panel along the left side of the card. The panel with the bee is attached to overlap the panel. I added the matching “bee’n thinking of you” sentiment, embellished with a foam flower to finish the card.

There's still plenty of time to join us in participating in some of the fun challenges and in making a small contribution to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Just click on the SOA widget in my left sidebar to get started.

Materials Used:
Flight of the Bee stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); white Pure Luxury cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Baja Breeze Classic ink, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette, Barely Banana, and Whisper White cardstock, 1” and 1 ¼” circle punches, Dazzling Diamonds, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (Imaginisce); Sweet Blush satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink); pink flower (Petaloo); self-adhesive pearl (Target)

Sketches {by Tamara}: Recipe 50

Here’s my card for this week’s recipe challenge at Sketches {by Tamara}. This week’s required ingredients were notebook paper, hardware, and dry embossing.

The notebook paper element immediately made me think of school, so I went with a teacher-themed card for the challenge—appropriate for this time of year, isn’t it? I know as a teacher, some of the most treasured gifts I received were notes from my students and from their families. I’ve kept them and still enjoy reading them from time to time as a reminder of the lives I’ve touched through my classroom.

I stamped one of the sentiments from Papertrey Ink’s Teachers Apple set on a piece of notebook patterned paper from Sassafras Lass. I used a spiral punch along the left edge of the paper to give it a more authentic look. I embellished the paper piece with a spiral clip, tied with a piece of dark brown twill, and a sparkly apple die cut from the Carolyn Gavin Greenhouse collection. I am loving these fun die cuts! I assembled the pieces on a kraft card base, along with a Swiss dot embossed strip of Riding Hood Red cardstock. So cute!

I’m sad to say that this will be the last week of Tamara’s recipe challenges. I’ve really enjoyed being on the recipe challenge team and want to thank Tamara for including me in these fun challenges.

Materials Used:
Teachers Apple stamp set, Dark Chocolate twill (Papertrey Ink); Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red Classic inks, Riding Hood Red and Kraft cardstock, spiral punch, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (Sassafras Lass); apple die cut (K & Company-Carolyn Gavin Greenhouse collection); Swiss Dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

2 Sketches Hits the Great Outdoors

Starving Artistamps is sponsoring this week’s sketch challenge at 2 Sketches 4 You. I used images from the new-to-me DoodleFactory Great Outdoors set and the matching Outdoors sentiment set for this cute card based on the sketch.

I stamped the bicycle image on a cardstock circle and colored the image with Copic markers. I used a sponge and a cloud template to add the sky and a stipple brush to add the grass, then added a colored, cut out image of Sneeq using dimensionals to complete the scene.

I used a gray card base to match Sneeq's fur. The base is covered with a Swiss Dot embossed panel. I used a softer gray cardstock for the panel that I stamped the “I wheelie love you” sentiment on, tucked under the scene panel. The final touch was a soft pink felt heart to match the sentiment.

You can see what the other Starving Artistamps DT members have done with this sketch over at the Starving Artistamps gallery blog.

Materials Used:
DoodleFactory Great Outdoors stamp set and Outdoors sentiments (Starving Artistamps); white Pure Luxury cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Real Red, Cool Caribbean, and Certainly Celery Classic inks, Real Red, Pink Pirouette, and Basic Gray cardstock, sponge, stipple brush, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); Smokey Shadow cardstock (Papertrey Ink); circle dies (Nestabilities); Swiss Dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug); felt heart (American Crafts)

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

It's time for another Papertrey Ink Blog Hop. This month's blog hop theme is yellow, which has become very trendy lately. It's a perfect color for bright, cheerful summertime cards. I'm not usually a big fan of yellow--it's a color I never, ever wear--but I find that I am able to use it in a lot in papercrafting. My projects for tonight use PTI's Lemon Tart along with the new Star Prints set and Bitty Star Basics patterned paper. I paired these products to create a set of new baby cards.

This one is the more little boy version that I created first. I stamped one of the star images in Lemon Tart ink on Lemon Tart cardstock and punched it out with a large star punch. It's layered on a blue circle, stamped with the "star" sentiment. I added a yellow mat with a pinked edge to highlight the star sentiment and image.

A strip of PTI's new Bitty Star Basics patterned paper is placed across the cardfront, layered with a piece of Lemon Tart twill. I used the paper as a marker to line up the "twinkle, twinkle little" part of the sentiment. A line of paper pierced holes are under the patterned paper strip.

For the little girl version, I flipped the layout vertically, but used pretty much the same basic elements. I used a piece of Sweet Blush satin ribbon (more feminine than twill) over the pink starry patterned paper and added a matching Sweet Blush button as an embellishment. The sentiment is stamped in Berry Sorbet ink--it really pops against the soft pink and yellow.

Materials Used:

Star Prints stamp set, Berry Sorbet Palette ink, Sweet Blush, Spring Rain, and Lemon Tart cardstock, Sweet Blush satin ribbon, Lemon Tart twill, Sweet Blush button, twine (Papertrey Ink); circle and pinking circle dies (Nestabilities); Ballet Blue Craft ink, large star punch, mat pack and paper piercing tool, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

i {heart} papers Challenge

***** If you're here for Kitchen Sink Stamps Monday, scroll down to the post below.*****

i {heart} papers is another one of the generous sponsors for Stampin' Out Alzheimers and the host of one of the challenges on the site. The IHP challenge is to use Flower Soft or another medium of your choice to texturize a flower, which will be the focal point of your card. You can use Flower Soft, flock, glitter, or anything that adds texture to your stamped flower, Prima, fabric flower, or any other kind of flower you choose.

Once you've created your textured flower piece, upload it to the gallery at SOA using the tag IHPSOA so we can find it and add it to the challenge album. After your card is uploaded and in the album, it's entered into the drawing for a fabulous prize--an assortment of Flower Soft goodies valued at over $30. A winner for the goodies will be chosen at random.

Here's my card for the challenge. I used Flower Soft to create a trio of textured flowers. I spread some of the Flower Soft PVA glue on a small section of Flower Soft wire (this stuff goes a long way!), then added some Shamrock Green and Fuchsia Flower Soft to create the flowers. The flowers are "inside" a 3D vase from the Card Co. The vase comes plain white, just waiting to be decorated, so I coated it with some Pink Shimmerz.

The front of my card is covered with pretty patterned paper from the Penny Lane line from My Mind's Eye. I stamped the "Heartfelt Wishes" sentiment from the versatile Hero Arts All Occasions Messages stamp set in cream ink on the teal panel, then added a coordinating piece of satin ribbon as a simple embellishment.

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Hero Arts All Occasions Messages stamp set, My Mind's Eye Penny Lane line designer paper, May Arts pink/celery reversible satin ribbon, Flower Soft Fuchsia and Shamrock Green, wires and PVA glue, The Card Co. vase, oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities, Pink Shimmerz

other: Taken with Teal, Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, and Whisper White cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Vintage Cream Palette ink (Papertrey Ink)

KSS Monday: Stampin' Out Alzheimer's

The Stampin' Out Alzheimer's site is now officially open and ready for business! There's a full week ahead of challenges and prizes for scrappers, stampers, and cardmakers alike. If you haven't joined yet, you can click on the SOA widget in the left sidebar of my blog to make a small donation and join the site.

Kitchen Sink Stamps is thrilled to be one of the sponsors and supporters of SOA. For this week's installment of Kitchen Sink Monday, I'm sharing the card I made for the KSS challenge on the SOA site. Maria's challenge is to create a card or other project with the theme of remembering someone you love. This can be interpreted different ways, like a project in memory of someone you love, remembering and depicting someone you love at a younger age, or remembering a loved one who's far away. Projects uploaded to the SOA gallery by May 31 at midnight EST using the tag kss4soa are eligible to win a fabulous prize. One random participant will be selected to receive "Everything But the Kitchen Sink"--a mystery box of goodies from Kitchen Sink Stamps worth at least $75 and including stamps, inks, embellishments, etc., all from KSS.

I went with a card to send to a missed loved one who's far away. I used the flower image from the 3 Step Get Well Teddy stamp set to create the image panels on my card. To get the silhouette look from this image, I stamped the first step of the stem and the second step of the flower only using brown ink. My panels have a monochromatic blue color scheme--love how these three different SU! In Color blues look together! It's hard to see in the photo, but I brushed a light coating of Angel Wings Shimmerz over the flowers for some subtle sparkle.

I added the simple "miss you" sentiment from the Ready 4 Any Holiday stamp set on a pair of ovals. A wooden button was added as an embellishment, keeping with the earthy tones on the card.

To see what the rest of the Kitchen Sink Crew has created for the challenge, you can stop by the Kitchen Sink Stamps blog to see them all.

Materials Used:

3 Step Get Well Teddy and Ready 4 Any Holiday stamp sets (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Rich Cocoa ink (Memento); Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Kraft, and Very Vanilla cardstock, Fall Flowers designer series paper, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); cream grosgrain ribbon, button, twine (Papertrey Ink); oval dies (Nestabilities); Angel Wings paint (Shimmerz)

Beyond Basic Thank You

Raspberry, avocado, and celery--what a yummy color combination! I put together this quick card this afternoon using these three colors from Dawn's latest color challenge and Papertrey Ink's Beyond Basic Borders set.

I stamped the swirly branch image on Certainly Celery cardstock in Ripe Avocado ink. Spring Moss is the one PTI color I haven't invested in yet, but I probably will give in and try it out soon since I like their other colors so much. I found this bright raspberry-ish Prima flower in one of my tins and added it to the end of the branch. I threaded some twine through a Hibiscus Burst button (don't have Raspberry Fizz ones yet, so this will have to do . . .) and attached this to the center of the flower.

Before I attached the flower and branch panel to the Ripe Avocado card base, I stamped the scalloped line image tone on tone in Ripe Avocado ink. This made a nice--and quick--embellishment for the panel. I stamped the "thank you" sentiment on a Ripe Avocado circle, layered it on a Raspberry Fizz circle for some pop, then attached a celery ribbon tab before layering it on the card.

Don't forget that tomorrow is the official opening of the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's site. This pay-to-play site will host tons of fun challenges with fabulous prizes from generous sponsors from across the stamping community. You can join in on the fun for a suggested minimum donation of $5. All funds raised will go to the Alzheimer's Association to support research to end this disease. Hope you'll join us there!

Materials Used:

Beyond Basic Borders stamp set, Ripe Avocado Palette ink, Ripe Avocado and Raspberry Fizz cardstock, Hibiscus Burst button, twine (Papertrey Ink); Certainly Celery cardstock, Certainly Celery twill, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, dimensional (Stampin' Up!); flower (Prima)

Down by the Pond

I was so excited to see that another Great Swaps Girl, Mercy. was today's featured stamper for the SCS challenge. I love Mercy's style! I picked this card from her gallery to use for the challenge.

I kept the layout the same and stayed sort of within the same theme for the image on my card. I used the cute frog image from the Down By the Pond set from The Greeting Farm as my main image. From looking at her gallery, I know Mercy's a fan of these cute images, too. The frog is colored with Copic markers, then dabbed with a rag dampened with some blending solution to give the body a textured look. I created a water setting for the frog using a Fiskars border punch. The sentiment is stamped over the image in Pacific Point ink.

I rummaged through my designer paper scraps to come up with the three coordinating strips I added to the Pacific Point card base. I used my mat pack and paper piercer, along with a white gel pen, for the faux stitching across the paper strips. Instead of using a white ribbon on the top (looked too harsh since I didn't use a white panel behind the stamped image), I tied a piece of soft blue seam binding tape around the card to finish it.

Materials Used:

Down by the Pond stamp set (The Greeting Farm); white Pure Luxury cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Pacific Point Classic ink, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, and Kiwi Kiss cardstock, Bella Rose, Baja Breeze Patterns, and Good Morning Sunshine designer papers, mat pack and paper piercing tool, white gel pen, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Boundary Waters border punch (Fiskars); seam binding tape (Martha Stewart)

Bride and Groom Hand-in-Hand

I made this simple but elegant card today for this week's Stamp TV sketch challenge. I used a black and cream color combo, accented with some silver, to create a card that will be the perfect companion for a wedding or engagement gift.

I used the bride and groom image from Melanie's Hand-in-Hand set from Gina K Designs as the focal image. I stamped the image on shimmery white cardstock and colored it with Copic markers, then layered it on a silver mat. The cream card base is covered with some elegant black and cream patterned paper.

I found this new Fiskars Morocco Lace border punch at Michaels and thought it would be a nice complement to the patterned paper. I used it on a strip of silver paper that I slipped under the wide solid black strip. So the pattern would stand out, I layered a strip of gray cardstock underneath it. I embellished the card with a trio of self-adhesive pearls. I decided to omit a sentiment here--it can easily be added to the inside when I'm ready to give the card away.

Materials Used:

Hand-in hand stamp set (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Basic Gray, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, and Shimmery White cardstock (Stampin' Up!); silver shimmer paper, self-adhesive pearls (Target); Morocco Lace border punch (Fiskars); patterned paper (The Story of Us-Momenta/atd)

Rockin' Red Rockstar

Happy Saturday morning! Before I head off to get my hair cut, I thought I'd share my card for this week’s sketch challenge at Paper Craft Planet. Kim provided us with a fun sketch incorporating a star as an image panel.

When I saw the sketch, the Rockstar set from Clear & Simple Stamps immediately came to mind because of the star panel. I’ve had this guitar patterned paper from Piggy Tales in my stash for a while and thought it would make a perfect complement to the star and the Rockstar images. The star was cut from a piece of shimmery silver paper using my Slice cutting machine. I embellished the star panel with the guitar image from the Rockstar set.

I made a few changes to the sketch. I put the sentiment on a half-oval panel, attached underneath the patterned paper strip. Since I made the panel across the cardfront a little wider than in the sketch, taking up more room than in Kim’s version of the sketch, I ended up leaving off the photo corners on the edges of the card.

I hope you’ll play along if you have a chance this weekend. And, don’t forget about the 3d challenge to make a pull-treat card. You still have a little more time to create your pull-treat card and upload it to the PCP gallery for a chance to win the Sweet Tooth set from Clear & Simple Stamps. You can find more info about the challenge in my post here from earlier this week or here on PCP.

Materials Used:
Rockstar stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); white cardstock (Neenah); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Riding Hood Red cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); Aqua Mist cardstock (Papertrey Ink); patterned paper (Piggy Tales); star brads (Making Memories); silver paper (Target); oval die (Nestabilities); Slice Animal Crackers cartridge

A Pair of Opposites

Here are my last two entries for this month's Viva la Verve challenge. I had some catching up to do since I missed last weekend's sketch because I was at the beach. The first card is a very feminine one, while the second one is designed to be masculine.

For this sketch, the twist was to include your favorite things. I love Verve's Beautiful Kindness set--the butterfly images are so pretty! I stamped the smaller butterfly in Rose Red Craft ink and heat embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder (another fave) for a shimmery look. The patterned paper panel on the cardfront is made from one of my current favorite designer paper collections, My Mind's Eye Bloom and Grow. The colors and patterns in these papers are so fun and they mix and match so well.

I layered cream and rose grosgrain ribbons (love ribbon!) along the side of the patterned paper panel as an embellishment and added a trio of my favorite kind of Dew Drops--the pearly ones--alongside the butterfly image. The panel is set on a Regal Rose card base.

Materials Used:

Beautiful Kindness stamp set (Verve Stamps); Regal Rose Classic ink, Rose Red Craft ink, Regal Rose, Rose Red, and Very Vanilla cardstock, Rose Red grosgrain ribbon, Iridescent Ice embossing powder (Stampin' Up!); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye Bloom Collection); Vintage Cream grosgrain ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

Here's my masculine card for this week's sketch challenge. This card came together quickly, in about 15 minutes. I started with the striped paper strip that's along the bottom of the card and worked from there.

The striped paper is attached to a Blue Bayou panel. I added a strip of Always Artichoke cardstock along with a piece of twill tape. I often use twill tape as a substitute for ribbon on masculine cards.

The sentiment from Verve's Father Figure set is stamped in Close to Cocoa ink and inked along the edges with Creamy Caramel ink. I added some copper brads (another of my go-to embellishments for masculine cards) to the corner, using my mat pack to place the brads evenly. I usually just eyeball the placement of the brads, but decided to try the mat pack tonight for piercing evenly spaced holes. I think I made the holes closer together than I would have liked . . .

Materials Used:

Father Figure stamp set (Verve Stamps); Close to Cocoa and Creamy Caramel Classic inks, Blue Bayou, Always Artichoke, Kraft, and Very Vanilla cardstock, mat pack and paper piercing tool, sponge, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); twill tape (Martha Stewart); patterned paper (K & Company); copper brads (Making Memories)

Blogger Challenge: Week 100

This week’s blogger challenge was to create a project with a patriotic theme. I just got the new Let Freedom Ring set from Papertrey Ink so I put it to use for the challenge.

The colors for the card came from the striped paper from Making Memories. It’s not a traditional patriotic red, white, and blue color scheme, but it still worked for me. I used my sewing machine to stitch the patterned paper panel to a coordinating Soft Sky card base. The stitching’s a little less straight than I would have liked, thanks to some interference from Cosmo the crazy dog and his huge cone collar at my elbow . . .

I stamped the circular striped image with the star at the center in Night of Navy ink and punched it out with my 1 ¼” circle punch (an exact fit!), then layered it on a Night of Navy circle. I stamped the star image on a scrap of white cardstock and trimmed around it, then attached it to the star spot at the center of the other stamped image. I used a scrap of white ribbon to create a banner style sentiment by stamping “let freedom ring” in Pure Poppy Palette ink. This ink works nicely on fabric—stamps clearly and dries quickly. I arranged the star image and the banner on a red scalloped circle and attached it to the card base.

For more fun takes on this challenge, you can visit the rest of the challenge players. Links to their blogs are in the sidebar on the right.

Materials Used:
Let Freedom Ring stamp set, Pure Poppy Palette ink (Papertrey Ink); Night of Navy Classic ink, Soft Sky, Night of Navy, and Whisper White cardstock, 1 ¼” and 1 3/8” circle punches, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (Making Memories); white grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); scallop circle punch (Marvy Uchida); textured red cardstock (?)

Mellow Melon Thank You

I had a quick celebratory dinner with my parents in honor of my graduation that we didn't attend. And, coincidentally, one of my grad school classmates was having dinner at the same restaurant--he didn't go to the ceremony either. I'm not exactly sure what that says about our graduate school experience--LOL!

After I got home, I made this card for the Verve Stamps May release challenge. Julee provided a simple sketch with lots of possibilities.

I used Verve's Because of You set for the image panel and sentiment, too. I based my card on the melon and cream colors found in the My Mind's Eye patterned paper I used to cover the cardfront. The floral silhouette image is stamped first in Melon Berry ink, then again in Berry Sorbet ink, stamped off once. Very pretty! I inked the edges of the cream panel with some brown ink before attaching it to a kraft panel.

I pleated some kraft cardstock to attach across the cardfront. The pleated strip is layered on a solid strip of matching Melon Berry cardstock, then embellished with a trio of pearly Dew Drops. I stamped the sentiment in the open space above the pleated strip to complete the card.

Materials Used:

Because of You stamp set (Verve Stamps); Melon Berry and Berry Sorbet Palette inks, Melon Berry cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Creamy Caramel and Close to Cocoa Classic inks, Kraft and Very Vanilla cardstock, sponge (Stampin' Up!); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye-Wild Asparagus line); Dew Drops (Robin's Nest)

Con-grad-ulations to Me!

Although I finished the final class in my masters degree program at Johns Hopkins University almost 10 months ago, my official graduation ceremony isn’t scheduled until tonight. So, as of this evening, I will officially be a graduate (again!). I’m not attending the ceremony—it’s in Baltimore in the evening, about an hour away with no traffic, and required an additional charge to participate. I think I’ve already spent enough on this degree—LOL! I am looking forward to finally seeing my diploma. I plan to have it framed, along with my undergrad diploma and the diploma from my first masters degree so that they will all match. I know, that’s crazy—2 masters degrees. Believe it or not, from time to time I toy with the idea of adding another, after a break of course. I’m thinking library/media specialist might be next in line.

Anyway, after all that, I do have a card to share in honor of the occasion. I used the 3 Step Graduation set from Kitchen Sink Stamps to make it. I love the detailed look of the cap image that these multi-step stamps creates! I stamped the tassel in two shades of red, then matted the image on a coordinating scalloped oval mat.

I used a piece of textured, shimmery patterned paper along the card base as an accent. The “You did it!” sentiment is stamped in London Fog ink and embellished with a coordinating red textured Prima flower with a pearly Dew Drop at the center.

Materials Used:
3 Step Graduation stamp set, Memento Tuxedo Black and London Fog ink, Dew Drop (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Basic Gray, Real Red, and Ruby Red Classic inks, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, and Whisper White cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); flower (Prima); oval and scalloped oval die (Nestabilities); patterned paper (GCD Studios); silver paper (Target)

Bee-lieve in Yourself

Here's my card for today's SCS sketch challenge. I used my Everyday Adorable kit from Unity for the first time here--the name fits the kit perfectly!

I used the cute bee image and one of the matching "bee" sentiments for the focal image on my card. The bee is colored with Copic markers. I added a pair of sparkly vellum wings (made with a quick dip in Dazzling Diamonds). The edges of the panel were rubbed in my Pink Pirouette ink pad to soften it a little--it looked too white to me against the pale colors of the card.

The patterned papers came from a big box of K & Company papers. I wanted something with yellows to coordinate with the bee and found one with a pink and yellow pattern and another with stripes in shades of yellow. I matted these with Pretty in Pink cardstock and arranged them on the card base. The sentiment is stamped in darker Regal Rose ink to stand out.

The trio of yellow buttons were a last minute addition, put in place just as I was getting ready to photograph the card. My container of new Lemon Tart buttons from Papertrey Ink was overflowing and they caught my eye, so they made it on to the card.

Thanks to everyone who's been checking in on Cosmo the crazy dog. He seems to be doing better today. I've released him from the cone collar for a while as long as he stays within my sight. He's so tired from battling with it all day that he hasn't moved an inch in the last hour. I'm hoping that we'll be able to completely remove the collar by the weekend.

Materials Used:
Everyday Adorable kit (Unity Stamp Co.); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Regal Rose and Pink Pirouette Classic inks, Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana, and Whisper White cardstock, vellum, Dazzling Diamonds, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); rectangle and scalloped rectangle dies (Nestabilities); patterned paper (K & Company); Lemon Tart buttons, twine (Papertrey Ink); pink satin ribbon (Michaels)

Unity Challenge: Kitchen Inspiration

This week’s Unity Addicts challenge comes to us from Michelle. She provided us with an inspiration piece with lots of bright colors. I chose to focus on the flowers on the table in the photo.

I used the flower cluster image from my new May Unity Kit of the Month that arrived over the weekend. The flowers are colored with Copic markers and highlighted with some Angel Wings Shimmerz. To bring in a bit more of the turquoise that’s a dominant color in the inspiration photo, I sponged some Cool Caribbean ink along the edges of the panel.

The card base is covered with patterned paper from the Grow line from My Mind’s Eye. The colors in this collection are a great match for the ones in the inspiration piece! I used the reverse side of the floral patterned paper to make the scalloped strip across the card. I attached some solid strips (scraps) to the top of the scalloped strip to give me a place to stamp the “enjoy your day” sentiment and to add some sparkly ribbon, too.

To see more projects based on this inspiration piece, you can visit the rest of the Unity Addicts. Links to their blogs are in the sidebar on the right.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: My Mind’s Eye Grow designer paper; Angel Wings Shimmerz; Nestabilities petite oval dies; Creative Impressions orange glimmer ribbon

other: white Pure Luxury cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); May Kit of the Month (Unity Stamp Co.); Baja Breeze and Cool Caribbean Classic inks, mat pack and paper piercing tool, sponge, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); Aqua Mist and Summer Sunrise cardstock (Papertrey Ink)

Butterfly and the Beach

Cosmo the crazy dog and I are recovering from our late afternoon trip to the vet. He's been "sentenced" to wear the dreaded cone collar for the next few days while he recovers, so it's going to be a rough few days at our house for him, me, and my walls. If he cooperates, I'll try to snap a picture to share . . .

After I got home from the vet, I had time to make quick cards for a few different blogger color challenges. I can’t get enough of these pretty glittered die cut pieces from the Carolyn Gavin collection from K & Company! I used a sparkly butterfly here as the focal point on the card I created for Dawn’s latest color challenge. This week’s combo was light aqua, coral pink, chocolate, and white.

I used this week’s sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You as the starting point for my layout. The card base is Papertrey Ink’s Aqua Mist. I stamped polka dots from Polka Dot Basics on a strip of Dark Chocolate cardstock using my new Versamark Dazzle ink pad (one of my purchases at the stamp convention over the weekend. It adds a very subtle tone-on-tone shimmer. I slid a Berry Sorbet scalloped strip underneath the right edge of the polka dot panel. I made the large scallops using my SU! slot punch. Each scallop is dotted with a bit of Petal Pink Liquid Pearls.

I layered the butterfly on a pair of circles, then attached the panel to the card. The wings and outline are a perfect match for the challenge colors! I added the simple “hi there” sentiment from the Mega Mixed Messages set to complete the card.

Materials Used:
Polka Dot Basics and Mega Mixed Messages stamp sets, Berry Sorbet Palette ink, Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist, and Dark Chocolate cardstock, Berry Sorbet satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink); Versamark Dazzle (Tsukineko); circle dies (Nestabilities); Petal Pink Liquid Pearls (Ranger); Shimmery White cardstock, slot punch, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); butterfly die cut (K & Company-Carolyn Gavin line)

Here, I used another one of the new goodies I picked up this weekend, along with the colors from Kristina's latest color challenge. I thought the flip flop images in this set from Impression Obsession were so cute--and a good match for the Sahara Sand, So Saffron, More Mustard, Baja Breeze, and white color combo, too.

I stamped the flip flop outlines and straps in black ink, then filled the image in with the dotted pattern. The straps are embellished with tiny Prima flowers with even tinier blue rhinestones at their centers. I matted the image on a pair of circles. The bottom one was cut with the pinked circle die--kind of reminds me of the sun--LOL!

I used scraps of So Saffron patterned paper and Baja Breeze cardstock for the panels on the cardfront. I used another scrap--this time, a piece of white grosgrain ribbon--as a simple embellishment. The image is layered on to the card with a dimensional.

Materials Used:

Flip Out stamp set (Impression Obsession); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); Baja Breeze Classic ink, Baja Breeze, More Mustard, So Saffron, Sahara Sand, and Whisper White cardstock, So Saffron Prints designer series paper, mat pack and paper piercing tool, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Swiss Dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug); white grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); flowers (Prima); blue tiny twinkles (Taylored Expressions); circle and pinking circle dies (Nestabilities)

Sketches {by Tamara}: Recipe 49

Here's my card for this week's recipe challenge at Sketches {by Tamara}. This week's required ingredients were chipboard, buttons, and flowers. I mixed and matched some stamps, ink, and paper from Papertrey Ink to create this clean and simple card.

I managed to cover all three of this week’s ingredients on one single element of my card—the Maya Road chipboard flower, embellished with a button. The chipboard is covered with a piece of polka dotted patterned paper. I attached the paper to the flower with a glue stick, then used a paper file to smooth the edges down. To make the light colored button pop, I added a contrasting green circle beneath it.

I continued the polka dot theme on other elements on my card. The flower’s layered on a yellow circle, embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder. The green panel on the cardfront is stamped with one of the images from PTI’s Polka Dot Basics. Love that versatile set! I added a simple sentiment from Beyond Basic Borders to complete the card.

Materials Used:

Beyond Basic Borders and Polka Dot Basics stamp sets, Ripe Avocado Palette ink, Aqua Mist, Lemon Tart, and Ripe Avocado cardstock, Ripe Avocado stitched grosgrain ribbon, Aqua Mist button (Papertrey Ink); chipboard flower (Maya Road); 1" circle punch (EK Success); circle die (Nestabilities)

3-D Tuesday Challenge: Pull-Treat Card

I'm the hostess for this week's 3-D Tuesday challenge at Paper Craft Planet. I had so much fun making this pull-treat card for the recent Clear & Simple Stamps release featuring the Sweet Tooth set that I thought it would make a fun challenge. And, to make the challenge even more fun, Clear & Simple Stamps has generously donated a Sweet Tooth set to be given to one randomly selected participant in the challenge. All you need to do to win the set is create a pull-treat card of your own and upload it to the Paper Craft Planet gallery using the keyword 3d13. On Sunday, I'll select a random winner from all of the entries to receive the Sweet Tooth set.

Since Tammy's already done a great job writing a tutorial for this project (see it here), I won't go in to much detail on how to make this project. Here's my candy bar version using one of the sentiments from the Sweet Tooth set. I embellished the pull-treat wrapper with a belly band of striped patterned paper. I stamped the sentiment on a piece of white paper and layered it on mats to coordinate with the colors in the patterned paper. I embellished it with a trio of Prima flowers with Dew Drops at the centers. A piece of pink grosgrain ribbon is wrapped around the candy bar and through the slits in the pull-treat.

Materials Used:

Sweet Tooth stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps);Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, and Whisper White cardstock, Regal Rose Craft ink, horizontal slot punch, Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon (Stampin' Up!); patterned paper (KaiserCraft); flowers (Prima); Dew Drops (Robin's Nest)

These pull-treats can be fun packaging for lots of different things. Here, I changed things up a bit by using a microwave popcorn package instead of a candy bar. To figure out the size of the paper needed for the pouch, I measured the width of the popcorn package, doubled it so it could be wrapped around, then added on a half inch or so for overlap.

The images used to decorate the wrapper are from the Bucket o Popcorn set, also from Clear & Simple Stamps. I colored the images with Copic markers. The popcorn portion of the image is stamped a second time, cut out, and attached to the image with dimensionals to look like the bag of popcorn is overflowing. The black band around the wrap is crimped with my paper crimper, mirroring the striped look of the popcorn bag in the image.

Materials Used:

Bucket O Popcorn stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); white Pure Luxury cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Real Red and Basic Black cardstock, black grosgrain ribbon, horizontal slot punch, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); crimper (Fiskars)

Kitchen Sink Monday: A Bright Bouquet

Here’s my card for this week’s Kitchen Sink Stamps Monday. I took my inspiration from the current color challenge at Paper Craft Planet. The challenge colors are Real Red, Summer Sun, Certainly Celery, and white. These are some bright colors when you put them together!

I thought the red and yellow shades would make a nice combination for a tulip bouquet, so I pulled out my Bitty Tulip Bouquet set to create this pretty vase of tulips. I used three shades of yellow and 3 shades of red for my flowers. The stems were done using a combination of Certainly Celery and New Leaf. I added in the bowl in shades of blue ink to look like it was clear.

I played around a bit with the layout before coming up with the final version. The red Top Note die piece was in my scrap pile, left over from a previous project. I ended up using that as a mat for the stamped image. I added a piece of dotted red satin ribbon and a trio of red Dew Drops as embellishments. I thought about adding a sentiment, but in the end, decided not to fit one in.

For more Kitchen Sink inspiration, you can visit the rest of the Kitchen Sink Crew. Here’s where you can find them:
Angela Knopf
Connie McCotter
Julie Masse
Lisa Somerville
Lynn McAuley
Makiko Jones
Maria Colosimo, owner
Tammy Hershberger

Materials Used:
3 Step Bitty Tulip Bouquet stamp set, Dew Drops (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Rose Red, Ruby Red, Real Red, Barely Banana, So Saffron, Summer Sun, Soft Sky, Cool Caribbean, and Certainly Celery Classic inks, Summer Sun, Real Red, and Whisper White cardstock, Top Note die, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); New Leaf Palette ink, Pure Poppy Swiss dot satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

A Charmed Birthday

Here's my card for this week's Paper Craft Planet sketch challenge. This one is brought to us by Diana.

I got this fun A Charmed Life stamp set, designed by my fellow PCP Super Nova Melanie, from Gina K Designs, and hadn’t inked it up yet. The large wineglass image is a perfect fit for the large panel in the sketch.

I stamped the image on white cardstock, then colored it in with Copic markers. I highlighted the image a bit with some rub-on metallic paste and some Dazzling Diamonds glitter, then set on an acetate overlay to make the contents of the glass look liquid-y.

In keeping with the sparkly theme of the glass, I used a combination of sparkly papers for the layout. The black mats really make the papers pop!

I hope you'll play along if you have a chance. If you do, use the keyword sk051609 when you upload to the PCP gallery.

I want to share some information about a very special project with you today that involves some of my Paper Craft Planet friends. Jen Tapler, from Jen Tapler Designs, and Susanna Boyd of Card of the Week are hosting a 7 day stamping and scrapbooking event to help raise money and awareness for Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's Disease is currently the 7th leading cause of death in the United States. It is a fatal, progressive disease that slowly robs a person of their precious memories. We are involved in the memory preservation hobbies - what better cause for the papercrafting community to join together to support?

The site, Stampin Out Alzheimers.ning.com, will feature a variety of challenges, contests, classes and more in different paper crafting categories (stamping, cardmaking, paperscrapbooking, digi scrapping, hybrid, etc) - with prizes donated by over 30 generous sponsors. It's set up as a "Pay to Play" community. For a small donation (any amount will do), you'll get permission to join the online community which will be up from May 25 to June 1st. 100% of these funds will be donated to the Alzheimer's Association to help with their efforts to provide and enhance care and support for all those affected by this heartbreaking disease.

The site isn't "live" yet - it will open soon and the events will begin on Monday. For a quick link to join and make a donation, check out the widget in my sidebar. I'd love it if you'd share the badge on your blog and help us spread the word. We'd like this to be the largest community fund raising effort in the stamping and scrapbooking space. Please help. You'll help us raise awareness and money for Alzheimer's.

Materials Used:
A Charmed Life stamp set, Pure Luxury white cardstock, metallic rub-on paste (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Basic Black cardstock, Dazzling Diamonds (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (The Paper Company--Wedding Silver & Gold Stripe); silver and gold shimmer paper (Target); black organdy ribbon (Joann); acetate

Pink Pretty Mama

Yesterday I had a chance to go to the Stamping by the Sea convention in Ocean City, MD (how convenient that my family’s beach house in Delaware is only 45 minutes or so away . . .). While at the show I was able to visit with Tracey from Starving Artistamps for a while and check out the fabulous cards on display at the SA booth, and pick up some new stamps, too--of course!

I made this card using images from the DoodleFactory Oh Baby set from Starving Artistamps. I went with a feminine monochromatic color scheme here, coloring mom and baby Izzy with shades of pink Copic markers. Izzy is cut out and attached to the panel with a dimensional.

I used the striped background stamp on the top portion of the card base to add some interest, then layered on the image panel, backed with a scalloped circle. The sentiment is stamped in rose ink on a rose panel, edged with a scalloped strip to match the scalloped circle behind the image panel. I added a pair of pink flowers as a simple embellishment.

Materials Used:
DoodleFactory Oh Baby! and Sentiments Baby sets, striped background (Starving Artistamps); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink Classic inks, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, and Pretty in Pink cardstock, scallop edge punch, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); flowers (Prima); clear crystal (Martha Stewart); silver gel pen (Signo)

Sweet Thank You

My birthday is over the weekend, but we celebrated at my office on Thursday. We each take turns bringing in a cake for the person celebrating a birthday, so for my turn, my coworker brought in a yummy ice cream cake for us to share. We have a nice tradition of using 3 candles on the cake--one for the past, one for the present, and one for the future. She also brought me a fun pair of hand-embellished flip flops that I can’t wait to wear.

I made her this card as a thank you. It uses this week’s sketch from Stamp TV. I figured that a cake image from the Sweetest Blessings stamp set from Gina K Designs was perfect to put on a thank you note for a yummy cake. I have had this dotted kraft paper for a while now and thought it would be fun to go along with the dotted pattern on the cake.

I stamped the cake image on the kraft panel and colored it in. This is the first time I’ve used my Copic markers on kraft cardstock—I really like the look. For a little contrast, I stamped the cake a second time, this time on cream cardstock. Since the cake we ate had blue icing on it, I colored the cake to match, then cut it out and added it to the panel with a dimensional. The platter portion of the image is dotted with some Silver Pearls Liquid Pearls for just a little pop.

I stamped the matching sentiment on a scrap of cream cardstock and wrapped it around the image panel. The panel was layered on a teal panel, then attached to the dotted paper. I slipped the ribbon tab underneath as an after thought.

Materials Used:
Sweetest Blessings stamp set (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic);Taken with Teal Classic ink, Taken with Teal and Very Vanilla cardstock, dimensional (Stampin’ Up!); Silver Pearl Liquid Pearls (Ranger); cream grosgrain ribbon (Papertrey Ink); patterned paper (?)

Blogger Challenge: Week 99

This week’s blogger challenge was to pick out one of your older cards and CASE yourself, making at least two changes in the new version of your card. I didn’t go back too far to find this card to work with. You can read my original blog post about the card here.

I really liked its clean and simple layout, so I decided to start with that. The original card had a pretty girlie feel to it, so I went in a completely opposite direction with my revised version.

I used the 3 Step Baseball set from Kitchen Sink Stamps to create this masculine card. The baseball mitt is stamped in different shades of brown ink on a cream panel (I try to start with a pigment ink layer for my first layer—I’ve found it makes a really nice base for the image). If you haven’t tried the multi step stamps yet from KSS and are curious about them, there’s a great tutorial on how they work here on Paper Craft Planet.

After playing around with arranging the elements on the cardfront, I flipped the layout from a vertical one to a horizontal one to fit my larger sentiment panel. The striped patterned paper I used has a weathered look to it that I thought was a nice match for the mitt image. I used a simple strip of twill tape along the edge of the panel. I resisted the urge to add some brads as embellishment.

For more fun takes on this challenge, you can visit the rest of the challenge players. Links to their blogs are in the sidebar on the right.

Materials Used:
3 Step Baseball stamp set (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Dune pigment ink (Color Box); Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, and Riding Hood Red Classic inks, Riding Hood Red, Night of Navy, and Very Vanilla cardstock, word window punch, sponge (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (Junkitz); circle dies (Nestabilities); twill tape (Martha Stewart)

Simple Sayings Release from Clear & Simple Stamps

Clear & Simple Stamps is releasing a bunch of brand-new sets today. As you can see from the graphic above, lots of them focus on sentiments. Today I'm showcasing one of my favorite sets from this release. It’s called Sweet Tooth. I love the candy images and the fun sentiments.

I couldn’t resist making a spinner card to show off the Tootsie Roll image and the matching “you’re on a roll” sentiment. I paired it with patterned paper from the Eye Candy line from GCD Studios. All of these boldly colored and patterned papers have candy-inspired names to go with their eye-catching designs.

I colored the candy image with markers to coordinate with the colors in the patterned paper, then layered it on coordinating circle mats. I assembled the spinner piece with pennies and dimensionals, then layered the patterned paper panel on a So Saffron card base. I added a matching So Saffron strip with the sentiment to complete the card.

Materials Used:
Sweet Tooth stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Close to Cocoa Classic ink, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, and Close to Cocoa cardstock, word window punch, corner rounder, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (GCD Studios—Eye Candy line); pink brad (Making Memories); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities)

This card uses the set’s gumball machine image as the focal point. I colored the image with brightly colored Copic markers. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but I stamped the glass bowl part of the gumball machine a second time on acetate and cut it out, then layered it on the image. IRL it makes it look like the gumballs might really be contained within glass.

I took the color inspiration for my card from the fun colors in the patterned paper from Daisy Bucket. Doesn’t the pattern kind of remind you of gumballs?

Materials Used:
Sweet Tooth stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Pumpkin Pie and Real Red cardstock, Real Red grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); Jet Black ink (StazOn); patterned paper (Daisy Bucket-My Little Monsters line); acetate

Be sure to stop by the other DT members’ blogs to see more of the new sets. You'll want to stop back here on Tuesday to see another Sweet Tooth sample (and get some info on how you can win a sweet prize, too). And, if you’re a fan of CSS images, you’ll want to make sure to stop by the CSS website to find out how you can apply to join the CSS DT. All the details on the DT call are right here.

CSS Blog
Beth Matson
Jean Beauchamp
Maria Levine
Nicole Ritts
Kim Howard, guest designer

Lavender Thanks

Here's a quick card I made tonight based on Lauren's inspiration challenge piece. I really liked the color combination, which I interpreted as purple and kraft with some white thrown in--probably not colors I would have paired on my own. I pulled out some supplies from i {heart} papers to put this card together.

I used SU!'s Lavender Lace for most of my purple here. This is a color I don't use too often--LOL! I paired it with a kraft panel covered with randomly stamped flower images from the Hero Arts Thoughtful Messages stamp set. I used Lavender Lace and white pigment inks to pick up the colors from the inspiration piece. I dotted the center of each flower with a little bit of Silver Pearl Liquid Pearls. It added just a little shimmer to the panel.

I added some more shimmer by wrapping a piece of lavender glimmer ribbon around the panel. The "thanks" sentiment panel overlaps the ribbon and is embellished with a pair of felt flowers.

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Hero Arts Thoughtful Messages stamp set, Creative Impressions lavender glimmer ribbon and felt flowers, Ranger Silver Pearl Liquid Pearls; Stemma Silver Wedding Glitter Brads

other: Lavender Lace Classic ink, White Craft ink, Lavender Lace, Elegant Eggplant, and Kraft cardstock, 1 3/8" circle punch, scallop circle punch (Stampin' Up!); 1 1/2" circle punch (EK Success)

Meet Golf Gent

On Friday (that’s tomorrow—yay!), Clear & Simple Stamps will be releasing a whole bunch of brand new sets. Here’s a preview of another one of the new sets, featuring one of the CSS signature Simple Gents.

Meet Golf Gent, who’s arrived just in time for Father’s Day cards and gifts. This set includes a few golf-related images and some fun coordinating sentiments.

On this card, I colored Golf Gent to coordinate with the wide stripes in the patterned paper using Copic markers. I tried to stick with masculine embellishments, adding a strip of twill tape across the cardfront and a trio of copper brads. The “have a swinging good day” sentiment is a great match for this image.

Materials Used:
Golf Gent stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); Pure Luxury white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Close to Cocoa Classic ink, Baja Breeze and Kraft cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); Ripe Avocado cardstock (Papertrey Ink); patterned paper (K & Company); copper brads (Making Memories); twill tape (Martha Stewart)

This card uses kind of a fancy fold, called a joy card fold. This time I paper pieced the shirt on the Golf Gent image using papers from the My Mind’s Eye Grow collection. I colored in the rest of the image with Copic markers.

I paired the same patterned paper as I used for the shirt with a dotted pattern from the same collection to cover the panels on the card. To help make it stand out, I stamped the “golfer of the year” sentiment on a strip of Pumpkin Pie cardstock, then attached it to the card, embellishing it with a pair of brads.

I really like this kind of fold but I’ve always been frustrated by trying to keep the card closed. I’ve found a way around this—add a button, attached with a pop up glue dot, to the bottom edge of the image panel. This lets you slip the edge of the image under the button. To open the card, the recipient just lifts the image up from underneath.

Materials Used:
Golf Gent stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); Pure Luxury white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Pumpkin Pie cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); Aqua Mist cardstock, Aqua Mist button (Papertrey Ink); patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye Grow Collection); white brads (Making Memories); twine (Walmart)

And, here’s one final project with images from the Golf Gent set. I made an acetate box to house a trio of golf balls. What a fun way to present a gift—and certainly a useful one for a golfer! These boxes look hard to make, but they're really quick and easy to pull together.

I used a polka dotted green paper for the top and bottom of the box. The pattern kind of reminded me of the pattern on the golf balls—LOL! I added two different shades of solid green cardstock as an accent. My patterned paper was kind of flimsy, so the solid paper added a little strength to the box.

I made the tag using the “fore u” sentiment from the set.

Materials Used:Golf Gent stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); Green Galore ink, Green Galore, Gable Green, and Whisper White cardstock, tag punches, scallop edge punch, white eyelet, Sticky Strip (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (DCWV); acetate; Scor-Pal

Be sure to stop by the other DT members’ blogs this week. They’ll have previews of other sets to share as we get ready for the release on Friday.

CSS Blog
Beth Matson
Jean Beauchamp
Maria Levine
Nicole Ritts
Kim Howard, guest designer