Cards and Cosmo in Costume

It ended up being a rainy Halloween evening here, so we didn't have many trick or treaters visit. It didn't stop Cosmo the costumed crazy dog from enthusiastically greeting the trick or treaters that rang our doorbell. I have a photo of him at the end of the post, after the cards, if you're interested.

I haven't done one of Mercy's sketch challenges in a while, so I used my new Verve stamps to try out this week's sketch. I used some non-traditional colors along with the snowflake wreath image from the new Christmas in the Air set. The snowflakes are stamped on a gray circle and embossed in white for some dimension. I added a soft blue button with a silver cord bow as an embellishment.

I used some patterned paper from Papertrey Ink for the top part of the panel behind the image. A strip of coordinating soft blue cardstock with a scalloped edge is attached to the patterned paper. A piece of dotted red satin ribbon divides the two panels. I added the "snow wonderful" sentiment to the blue strip in bold red ink, then added a white dot to each of the scallops to continue the dots from the patterned paper and the ribbon.

Materials Used:
Christmas in the Air and Snow Wonderful stamp sets (Verve Stamps); Pure Poppy and Fresh Snow inks, Aqua Mist cardstock, Rustic Snowflakes patterned paper, Pure Poppy dotted satin ribbon, Aqua Mist button (Papertrey Ink); Basic Gray cardstock, white embossing powder, scallop edge punch, silver cord, white gel pen, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

And, while I had my new stamps out, I did a card for this week's Viva la Verve sketch challenge. This week's challenge twist was 1 (embellishment), 2 (colors of cardstock, plus a neutral), 3 (stamps).

I used a combination of images from Frosty Flakes and Snow Wonderful for my three stamp images. Two of the snowflakes are stamped in pink and blue on a white panel. I added just a bit of glitter to the snowflake centers.

The single embellishment I used is a snowflake brad that was originally white. I used a Copic marker to color it pink to match the card's color scheme. The brad is attached to the circle panel along with the "winter wishes" sentiment. I used a coordinating pink card base and a scrap panel of designer paper to complete the card.

Materials Used:

Frosty Flakes and Snow Wonderful stamp sets (Verve Stamps); Sweet Blush and Spring Rain inks, Sweet Blush and Spring Rain cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Whisper White cardstock, Summer Picnic designer series paper, Dazzling Diamonds, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); snowflake brad (Recollections); marker (Copic); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities)

Now, here's Cosmo the costumed dog. The original plan was for Cosmo to wear a karate costume, but when I put it on him, it didn't fit. I guess he needs an XXL . . .

So, I was forced to turn to Plan B. I pulled out a past costume for him to wear and he became Robin, Batman's sidekick. He got lots of affection and admiring comments from children and adults alike. He was willing to pose for a few photos and I actually got a few decent ones. Here's one of the cute shots I took in between answering the door.

Snowflake Shoebox Swap

I’m attending a shoebox swap today with some local stamping friends. I had so much fun making the spooky tealight cover I shared earlier this week that I thought I’d create a different one to make at the swap, this time with a winter theme.

I used the bold snowflake image from Stampin’ Up!’s Best Wishes & More stamp set for the image in the window of all of the panels. The snowflake fit perfectly inside the opening created by a 1 ½” circle punch. I added a little of the chunkier Ice Stickles in Crystal Ice to embellish the snowflakes and add a little sparkle.

The base for the tealight cover is made from Almost Amethyst cardstock. The top of the cover has a border done with the eyelet punch. A piece of white ribbon finishes off the piece. I gave everyone a tealight candle in their supply packet so they can display their project at home right away.

And, since it’s Halloween, for all of the Cosmo the crazy dog fans out there, I promise to be back later with a photo of Cosmo decked out in his Halloween costume . . .

Materials Used:
Best Wishes & More stamp set, White Craft ink, Almost Amethyst cardstock, vellum, Sticky Strip, eyelet border punch (Stampin’ Up!); 1 ½” circle punch (EK Success); Crystal Ice Ice Stickles (Ranger); white organdy ribbon (Michaels)

Super Bright

Here’s my card for this week’s Bellarific Friday from Stamping Bella. This week’s theme was anything kid-related. I turned to the fun Super Tyler image for my super bright, kid-friendly card.

Super Tyler is colored with bold Copic marker colors and layered on a red circle with a pointy pinked edge. I paired the superhero image with some equally bold star patterned paper from a DCWV paper pack, appropriately called All About Boys. The lower left corner of the patterned paper has a superhero image on it, which I covered with the colored stamped image. I stamped the “you’re super!” sentiment directly on the patterned paper and added a simple red button embellishment.

Materials Used:
Super Tyler image and sentiment (Stamping Bella); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Real Red and Pacific Point cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (DCWV-All About Boys stack); circle and pinking circle dies (Nestabilities); Pure Poppy button, twine (Papertrey Ink)

Blogger Challenge: Week 123

This week's blogger challenge theme is Halloween. I've wanted to make one of these Top Note die Frankenstein cards for a while now, so I thought this challenge was the perfect time to try it out.

Here's my version of Frankenstein. I used one Old Olive Top Note die cut for the head. I sponged matching ink over the die cut for some depth and distressing. The hair is a section of another Top Note die, this time using Lovely Lilac cardstock. I punched out some different size circles for eyes and a nose and drew in a mouth with a black marker.

The pieces on the side of Frankenstein's head are made from the large arrow from the My Way punch. I added a single silver brad "screw" in each of them for a little dimension and interest.

The Frankenstein face is layered on a white base made from a 4 1/4" by 11" piece of cardstock folded in half and cut with the Top Note die just below the top (point of the die). The Frankenstein piece matches up to the shape of the card base at the bottom and sides, but extends just beyond the top "fold" between the two connected Top Notes.

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

Materials Used (all from Stampin' Up!):

Old Olive and Lovely Lilac Classic inks, Old Olive, Lovely Lilac, Basic Gray, Basic Black, and Whisper White cardstock, Basic Black marker, Top Note die, 1 1/4" and 1" circle punches, My Way punch, silver brad, sponge

Blue Bewitched

It's almost the end of the Halloween season so I couldn't let this already stamped polished stone panel that was sitting on my table go to waste. A few weeks back, I had been playing with polished stone color combinations to use with the Clear & Simple Stamps Bewitched set and did this panel in blues and purples, but ended up not using it for a project at the time.

Here it is on this clean and simple card. The blues and purples in the stamped panel really stand out against the black background. I added a bold purple zig zag bordered panel with some machine stitching underneath the stamped image. The image is embellished with a coordinating purple button placed at its corner. The black panel is layered on a vivid purple card base that matches the zig zag panel.

I'll share my final Halloween project for the season tomorrow for my blogger challenge post . . .

Materials Used:

Bewitched stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); Basic Black and Glossy White cardstock, reinkers (Stampin' Up!); Vivid Violet cardstock (Gina K Designs); Zig Zag Stitch border punch (EK Success); silver Metallic Mixative (Ranger); Plum Pudding button (Papertrey Ink); black twine (Walmart)

You Rock!

I made this fun card based on Mary Jo’s latest sketch challenge. I must admit that I strayed just a little from the sketch for my design.

I used one of the small space character images from the new DoodleFactory Final Frontier set from Starving Artistamps. Mini Dash is colored with Copic markers, cut out, and layered over a sparkly gold star using a dimensional. I added the “you rock” sentiment to the side of the panel using navy ink.

I paired the image with some star patterned paper. The colors for the card were inspired by the ones in the paper. They’re not ones I would usually combine, but I like how it turned out.

Materials Used:
DoodleFactory Final Frontier stamp set, Urban #2 sentiments set (Starving Artistamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Night of Navy Classic ink, Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, and Basic Gray cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (Scribble Scrabble); gold paper (Target); star die (Nestabilities)

Celebrate the Season

Halloween's not even here yet and I'm moving on to wintery cards! Here's my winter card for today's SCS sketch challenge featuring images and supplies from Papertrey Ink.

I combined images from the new Holiday Tree stamp set to create a simple scene on a kraft base. The new PTI pigment inks look great against a kraft background! I stamped the snowman a second time and cut it out, then added it to the scene with dimensionals for some added interest. I also inked around the panel's edges with some of the white ink for a softer, snowy look.

The trio of striped panels behind the image are cut from a piece of paper from the Rustic Snowflakes collection. I matted the image on Ocean Tides cardstock before layering it on the panels. A strip of Spring Moss cardstock, embellished with matching dotted satin ribbon runs along the bottom of the card.

I'm off to watch the season premiere of one of my most favorite TV shows--Friday Night Lights. So glad I have DirecTv and don't have to wait until January when the show comes to network TV . . .

Materials Used (all from Papertrey Ink):

Holiday Tree stamp set, Fresh Snow, Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate, and Ripe Avocado inks, Ocean Tides, Spring Moss, and Kraft cardstock, Rustic Snowflakes designer paper, Spring Moss dotted satin ribbon

Winter Wishes on Wednesday

Here’s my version of this week’s Viva la Verve sketch challenge. I interpreted the sketch kind of loosely, replacing the round panels with the colored mittens from the Verve digi set shared before last week’s release. The mittens are colored in red and blue to coordinate with the fun Bo Bunny designer papers I used for the panels on the cardfront. I also added a tiny rhinestone to the center of the snowflake on each ribbon. A silver cord serves as the “string” that connects the mitten pair to each other.

I ended up adding a small red panel for the sentiment from the Snow Wonderful set. I tested the sentiment in black against the patterned background using my Stamp-a-ma-jig imaging sheet and it looked lost against the pattern, so I went with the small panel for the sentiment.

Materials Used:
Snow Wonderful stamp set, digi stamp set (Verve Stamps); white cardstock (Neenah); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red cardstock, silver cord, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (Bo Bunny-Tis the Season line); Tiny Twinkles (Taylored Expressions)

Sweet Snowy Greetings

Here's my card using this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge. I used one of the panels in the sketch to create a sweet snowy scene using an image from the Chicken Girl Design It's a Snow Day stamp set from i {heart} papers.

I stamped the snowman pair on white cardstock and colored the images in just a bit with Copic markers, then carefully cut the images out. They're set on a snowy landscape created with a light blue cardstock panel and some layers of vellum (which really are there--just hard to see in the photo--LOL!). I stamped the snowman image on the scene background, then used the outline of the images as a guide for placement. The "snowy greetings" sentiment fit nicely in the upper left corner of the image panel.

As usual, I went for a non-traditional winter/holiday card color combination. My color choices came from the My Mind's Eye designer paper I picked for the panel behind the scene. A piece of blue and white reversible satin ribbon is knotted around the panel. I added a super sparkly snowflake to the top of the image panel to finish the card.

And, speaking of IHP, last week's Birthday Bash is now officially over and the winners (including not just one, but two, guest designers for November!) have been announced. You can find all the details here. Congrats to all of the winners!

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Chicken Girl Design It's a Snow Day stamp set, My Mind's Eye Be Merry-Snowball Fun designer paper, Petaloo Dazzlers snowflake, May Arts light blue/white reversible satin ribbon

other: white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, and Bashful Blue cardstock, vellum (Stampin' Up!)

Sparkly and Sporty

I had some time this weekend to try out a few of the latest challenges from StampTV. I pulled out some of my Gina K Designs stamps for this pair of cards.

This card is for the technique challenge to use tone on tone embossing. I went for a fall feel with my gold on gold embossed leaf images from Melanie’s A Year of Leaves stamp set. What an elegant look! I wasn’t sure that embossing would work so well on the lightweight gold paper I had, but it worked beautifully. It was a little tricky to see where I'd stamped the Versamark, so I did a leaf or two at a time, covered the damp image with the embossing powder, then continued like that until the panel was covered.

I kept the rest of the card simple to keep the focus on the pretty embossed leaves. The embossed panel is layered on a dark brown mat, then on another gold panel, then on a dark brown card base. I added a coordinating organdy/satin ribbon around the panels and the “thanks” sentiment from the set to complete the card.

Materials Used:
A Year of Leaves stamp set (Gina K Designs); Versamark (Tsukineko); Chocolate Chip Classic ink, Gold Glory embossing powder, 1 ¼” and 1 3/8” circle punches, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); gold paper (Target); ribbon (?)

My card for this week’s sketch challenge has a completely different look and feel than my first card. Here, I used a combination of images from Melanie’s Just So Sporty and Sporty Accessories for a sports themed card. I colored the jersey image with Copic markers, then stamped the “1” in the center using red ink. I colored the banner in red and added the “go team” sentiment in black before carefully cutting it out to layer on the oval panel.

To add a little interest to the design, I used the star strip from the Ribbon Stripes set to stamp along the left edge of the card. The red ribbon hides where the stamping ends. This sketch was a little out of my comfort zone and I wasn’t sure about it at first, but I think I’m okay with how it turned out in the end . . .

Materials Used:
Just So Sporty, Sporty Accessories, and Ribbon Stripes stamp sets, white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Real Red and Bashful Blue Classic inks, Bashful Blue and Real Red cardstock, Real Red grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); petite oval dies (Nestabilities)

Birthday Flower

Here's a quick card I made after work today incorporating three different challenges--today's SCS clean and simple challenge to use brads or eyelets, Dawn's latest color challenge, and this week's Just Us Girls challenge to use a 3D flower on your project.

I started with a bright pink tissue paper flower made by simply punching different size circles from tissue paper, crumpling them up, smoothing them out, and stacking them up. A single large dark brown brad holds the circles together at the center. I added a pair of bright green leaves underneath the flower.

I used my sewing machine to secure a strip of ruffled dark brown satin ribbon with a row of cream lace along the top. It was slow going to get my machine to stitch all of this together, but it seemed to come out okay in the end. I stamped the happy birthday sentiment strip from Papertrey Ink's Around & About Sentiments in Dark Chocolate ink on the kraft background to finish the clean and simple card.

Materials Used:

Around & About Sentiments, Dark Chocolate ink, New Leaf and Kraft cardstock (Papertrey Ink); 1 1/4", 1 1/2", and 1 3/4" circle punches (EK Success); brown satin ribbon (Morex); cream lace (Wyla); brown brad (?); sewing machine

Kitchen Sink Monday: Moonlit Tree

It's time for another Kitchen Sink Stamps Monday! With Halloween coming up at the end of the week, I wanted to do something a little bit spooky to share with you today. I came up with a simple vellum tealight cover featuring the tree image from the Multi Step Owl & Autumn Moon stamp set.

The cover is actually very simple to construct. It's basically an 8 1/4" strip of cardstock, scored every 2 inches (with 1/4" left over for a tab for adhesive). An opening is cut from each 2" wide section using a rectangle Nestabilities die. I used a spider web border punch along the top of the strip, all the way across, for an additional spooky touch.

I stamped the tree image from the Multi Step Owl & Autumn Moon set and a moon made from a circle found in the Pretty Petals stamp set on 4 vellum panels. One stamped vellum panel is secured behind each opening in the black cardstock. I folded the black strip on the score lines and secured it with some ScorTape. A lit tealight is set inside the cover for the photo to get a spooky moonlit glow.

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
Dee Jackson
Julie Masse
Lisa Somerville
Lynn McAuley
Makiko Jones
Maria Colosimo, owner

And, don’t forget that you can use the code LORI10KSS for a 10% discount on your KSS purchases!

Materials Used:
Multi Step Owl & Autumn Moon and Pretty Petals stamp sets, Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Basic Black cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Spider Web border punch (Martha Stewart); vellum (The Paper Company); rectangle die (Nestabilities); ScorPal, ScorTape

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

It's time for another Papertrey Ink Blog Hop! This month's theme is holidays--cards, gifts, packaging, home decor and anything else holiday-related. I took a cue from Nichole's recent release countdown posts and went for a card that could be quickly and easily reproduced for sending to friends and family for the holidays. The project I came up with incorporates some of my very favorite things--kraft cardstock, a clean and simple style, and non-traditional holiday colors.

I started with the largest snowflake image from the Snowfall set, stamped in Encore Silver ink on White Shimmer cardstock. The snowflake is punched out with the Marvy Uchida Giga Snowflake punch, which coordinates perfectly with the image. A word of caution--it takes a lot of pressure to punch through the cardstock with this big punch. I think I did some damage to my wrist while doing this! I added a single silver rhinestone to the center of the snowflake as an extra sparkly embellishment.

The snowflake is layered on a kraft card base using foam tape. I added a Fresh Snow velvet strip with a ribbon on top to make the snowflake appear ornament-like. The "celebrate the season" sentiment from the new Holiday Tree set is stamped along the bottom of the card in Dark Chocolate ink to finish the card.

Materials Used:

Snowfall and Holiday Tree stamp sets, Dark Chocolate and Encore Silver inks, Kraft and White Shimmer cardstock, Fresh Snow velvet ribbon (Papertrey Ink); self-adhesive rhinestone (Studio 18); foam tape

Spook-tacular Chandelier

Here's my card for today's SCS featured stamper challenge. Today's featured gallery is Rachel's, a fellow Blogger Challenge player, so that makes the challenge even more fun.

I based my card for the challenge on this one in Rachel's gallery. I used a chandelier image from the DoodleFactory Classic Decor set from Starving Artistamps as my focal image. The chandelier is colored with Copic markers and highlighted with some sparkly Stickles.

I added some spooky velvet spider stickers hanging from the chandelier. Each spider is embellished with a pair of teeny tiny rhinestone eyes for more sparkle. I fit the Halloween sentiment underneath the spooky scene. The scene's layered on a Crushed Curry mat for a pop of color, then set on a black card base. The empty upper right corner is filled in with a ribbon-embellished button, just like in Rachel's original version.

Don't forget, you can use the code savetenLT to save 10% on your DoodleFactory and Starving Artistamps stamp purchases at Starving Artistamps.

Materials Used:
DoodleFactory Classic Decor stamp set, Witch's Brew sentiments (Starving Artistamps); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Crushed Curry, Basic Black, and Whisper White cardstock (Stampin' Up!); velvet spider stickers (Stampendous); Stardust Stickles (Ranger); Tiny Twinkles (Taylored Expressions); black button (Papertrey Ink); black dotted ribbon (Michaels)

Scrappy Owl-Oween

Here's my card for this week's sketch challenge at Paper Craft Planet. Jessica provided us with this week's challenge.

Since Halloween's right around the corner, I thought I'd squeeze in another Halloween card today. I combined designer papers from the My Mind's Eye Boo to You Collection Kit with the matching glittery chipboard collection for this mostly "scrappy" card based on Jessica's sketch.

I used the glittery chipboard owl for my focal image. The owl's set on a kraft panel that's inked around the edges with some brown ink for a little depth. I layered the panel on some Gina K Designs Pumpkin Spice cardstock that coordinates nicely with the colors in the MME designer papers.

I used two different papers from the collection for the panels on the card. Another piece from the chipboard collection, a glittery black star, is attached to one corner of the image panel. I added a green button with a twine bow to embellish the star. The sentiment is from the Hero Arts Owl-Oween stamp set--the perfect match for the chipboard owl! If you head over to i {heart} papers, you can pick up the papers, chipboard, and stamp set for yourself. And, be sure to scroll down to the post below to see more IHP goodies . . .

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: My Mind's Eye Boo to You Collection Kit and Glittered Chipboard Elements, Hero Arts Owl-Oween stamp set

other: Pumpkin Spice cardstock, Vivid Butterscotch ink (Gina K Designs); Kraft cardstock, Spring Moss button, twine (Papertrey Ink); Close to Cocoa Classic ink, sponge, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

Sleepy Saturday

It's yet another rainy Saturday here, perfect for sleeping in a bit and then spending a quiet day at home. I have two sketch challenge cards to share with you to start off this gloomy morning.

The first is for this week's Taylored Expressions sketch challenge. It uses one of the cute images from the Chicken Girl Design It's a Snow Day stamp set from i {heart} papers. The snowball throwing bear is colored with Copic markers and highlighted with some Spica glitter pens for a little sparkle.

I paired the bear with some non-traditional holiday colors inspired by the My Mind's Eye Colorful Christmas collection. I used the red and pink striped paper for the panel behind the bear and layered that on a pale pink panel randomly stamped with one of the snowflake images from the set. A piece of soft silk ribbon is tied around the panel, finished with a pretty bow. I added a trio of sparkly snowflakes to the left side of the card. These Petaloo embellishments are fabulous--a great way to add glittery sparkle with little glittery mess.

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Chicken Girl Design It's a Snow Day stamp set, My Mind's Eye Colorful Christmas Collection Kit, Copic Spica Pink and Clear glitter pens, May Arts 1/4" white silk ribbon, Petaloo Dazzlers snowflakes, Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle dies

other: white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); Rose Red and Pink Pirouette Classic inks, Rose Red and Pink Pirouette cardstock (Stampin' Up!)

This card's for Weekend Sketch Challenge 103 and for yesterday's IHP Birthday Bash challenge to use stamps or papers featuring food or drinks. I used a drink image from Unity's Cocktail Party kit as the focal image on my square birthday card.

I have to admit that as I was stamping this, I wasn't thinking about birthdays, but about the yummy drinks the IHP DT shared over the summer when we met up for dinner while we were at CHA--LOL! Anyway, I colored the image with markers to get the multi-colored image and added a little Stickles sparkle along the top of the "liquid." The "celebrate" sentiment alongside the drink is from the Inkadinkado Chelsea Sentiments stamp set, a great all-occasion collection.

I dressed up my drink with a sparkly flourish that I cut apart to fit the scale of my card. I still have the flower center left over to use on another creation. I arranged all of the pieces over a cardfront covered with a panel of festive My Mind's Eye designer paper.

Be sure to stop by the IHP Birthday Bash page for info on today's challenge and any others you might have missed earlier in the week. Tomorrow's the last day to upload your completed Birthday Bash projects to online galleries, so get stamping! And, don't forget to upload your birthday cards to the Paper Craft Planet gallery using the keyword SB2009 to enter for a chance to win some great prizes in honor of PCP founder Susanna's birthday!

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Unity Stamp Co. Cocktail Party kit, Inkadinkado Chelsea Sentiments stamp set, My Mind's Eye Lucky Me "How Fortunate" designer paper, Ranger Platinum Stickles, Zva Creative small crystal flourish, Nestabilities rectangle dies

other: Tempting Turquoise Classic ink, More Mustard, Gable Green, and Basic Black markers, Tempting Turquoise, Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, and Whisper White cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

Home Sweet Home

I hope you enjoyed Tuesday's DoodleFactory Final Frontier blog hop. I know I did! If you missed out on the hop, check out this post on the Starving Artistamps blog for direct links to all of the stops on the hop. And, if you've got to get your hands on some of these new (or other Starving Artistamps and DoodleFactory images), remember that you can use the code savetenLT to save 10% on your stamp purchase.

I'm still having fun playing with the Final Frontier images. Here's a cute suspension/spinning card I made using the set's small Earth image. I stamped the Earth image twice and colored it with Copic markers before attaching it to the spinner mechanism.

I used a piece of dotted blue on blue patterned paper to cover the spinner mechanism and keep with the blue/green color scheme. I stamped the set's "home sweet home" sentiment directly on the patterned paper in a darker shade of blue ink. Then, for an accent, I added the arrow image to the cardfront. It's stamped tone on tone in green, then cut out and attached to the card with dimensionals.

Materials Used:

DoodleFactory Final Frontier stamp set (Starving Artistamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Pacific Point and Kiwi Kiss Classic inks, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, and Baja Breeze cardstock, 1 1/4" circle punch, Sticky Strip, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); designer paper (Colorbok-Friendly Forest); 1 1/2" circle punch (EK Success); clear fishing line

Blogger Challenge: Week 122

The theme for this week's blogger challenge is no layer cards--that's right, just one single piece of cardstock! While I don't do these too often, they fit in pretty well with my preferred clean and simple stamping style. Here's a quick, no layer masculine card for the challenge--less than 15 minutes from start to finish.

I started with a kraft card base and Papertrey Ink's Star Prints stamp set. I inked one of the star images in Enchanted Evening ink and stamped it on the card base. The "you're a super" sentiment is stamped directly to the left of the image in the same color ink. The sentiment is accented with a single silver brad.

Since I couldn't add interest to the card by adding layers, I looked for another way to do that. I ended up using my paper piercing tool to outline around the star image. It wasn't too hard to do without a template because of the straight lines of the star image.

For more no layer card ideas, you can visit the rest of the challenge players. Links to their blogs are in the sidebar on the right.

Materials Used:

Star Prints stamp set, Enchanted Evening ink, Kraft cardstock, Enchanted Evening grosgrain ribbon (Papertrey Ink); silver brad (Making Memories); paper piercing tool

A Lot of Verve

I've had a very busy week, but I managed to squeeze in cards for all five of the sketches in Verve's October release challenge.

Here's my first card. It's going to my dad for his birthday tomorrow (if you read this, happy birthday, Dad!). Because of that, I went with masculine colors, pairing Papertrey Ink's Ocean Tides with some kraft and brown cardstock.

The kraft panel is stamped with one of the images from the Bountiful Backgrounds--not exactly straight, but close enough for me--LOL! I stamped the "Dad" sentiment and border image from Verve's Father Figure on a cream panel. The "happy birthday" sentiment, made by combining words from the Father Figure and Happy Thoughts set, fit nicely on the top of the circle panel.

I used a narrow twill ribbon as an embellishment, along with a single copper brad next to the sentiment. It seems these are my go-to embellishments for most of my masculine cards.

Materials Used:

Father Figure, Bountiful Backgrounds, and Happy Thoughts stamp sets (Verve Stamps); Ocean Tides ink, Ocean Tides cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Soft Suede Classic ink, Soft Suede, Kraft, and Very Vanilla cardstock (Stampin' Up!); circle dies (Nestabilities); copper brad (Making Memories); twill (?)

This one's a quick, clean and simple card. I used two of the different images from Verve's Polka Stars set to create a random pattern of stars in shades of blue ink on a light blue cardstock panel. The card base is covered with a coordinating patterned paper featuring tiny stars.

I combined some of the sentiments from the Starstruck stamp set for the sentiment panel. I love how these sentiments work with all of Verve's star sets! A small ghost star is attached to the panel as an embellishment. I wrapped a coordinating piece of grosgrain ribbon around the card to complete the design. The ribbon matches much better IRL than in the photo--I promise!

Materials Used:

Polka Stars and Starstruck stamp sets (Verve Stamps); Enchanted Evening and Spring Rain inks, Enchanted Evening and Spring Rain cardstock, Bitty Star Basics patterned paper, Enchanted Evening grosgrain ribbon (Papertrey Ink); ghost star (Heidi Swapp)

My next card uses one of my favorite cute images, Verve's Little Pumpkin. I can't resist this little critter! I colored the image with Copic markers and added some yellow highlighting around it for a sort of glow before matting the image on coordinating solid cardstock panels.

I used a striped patterned paper panel for the cardfront that coordinates with the colors of the pumpkin. The patterned paper is matted on a brown mat for a little contrast against the kraft card base. I tied a fun dotted dark brown ribbon along the bottom edge of the patterned paper panel and squeezed in the "hello pumpkin" sentiment along the bottom of the card.

Materials Used:

Little Pumpkin stamp set (Verve Stamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa inks (Memento); markers (Copic); Summer Sunrise and Kraft cardstock, Dark Chocolate dotted satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink); Close to Cocoa cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); designer paper (Recollections Autumn pack)

This one's pretty bright! I used some summery patterned papers from K & Company's Citronella collection for the cardfront and for the top of the paper pieced balloon image from Verve's Up, Up, and Away stamp set. The clouds are paper pieced, too. After I stamped them and cut them out, I embossed them with the Swiss Dot embossing folder to give them a fun texture. I really like how that turned out!

Since the patterned paper's kind of busy, I didn't add a lot more here. I added a single orange button to the image panel and a coordinating piece of grosgrain ribbon.

Materials Used:

Up, Up, and Away stamp set (Verve Stamps); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); Summer Sunrise cardstock, Orange Zest button, Summer Sunrise grosgrain ribbon, twine (Papertrey Ink); Baja Breeze and Whisper White cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Apple Green cardstock (Gina K Designs); designer paper (K & Company-Citronella line); Swiss Dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug); 1" circle punch (EK Success)

And, here's the final card. I used some new digital images from Verve. I haven't had the greatest luck with digital images--in my experience, I've found that they tend to smear when I color them. This time I printed the mitten image on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock and let it sit overnight. It seemed to work a little better. The mittens are colored with Copic markers and embellished with a Stardust glitter pen and some teeny, tiny rhinestones.

I used a pair of papers from a DCWV winter stack for the panels on the cardfront. I like the softer pinks and blues for a winter card! I added a simple pink satin bow around the bottom of the card. I wanted to add a sentiment, but couldn't find a good one that fit--I should have planned the size of the mitten panel a little better . . .

Materials Used:

mitten image (Verve Stamps); Classic Crest Solar White cardstock (Neenah); markers (Copic); Sweet Blush cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Brocade Blue cardstock, scallop edge punch (Stampin' Up!); designer paper (DCWV's Holiday Collection); pink satin ribbon (Michaels); Stardust glitter pen (Sakura); rhinestones (Taylored Expressions)

Birthday Celebration(s), Continued

It's a big week for birthday celebrations! Not only is the big birthday celebration at i {heart} papers is continuing today with another challenge, but it's Paper Craft Planet founder Susanna's birthday today, too.

What’s a birthday party without presents? Whether the wrappings are simple or ornate, they bring an air of suspense and delight to onlookers as the honored guest opens each gift. I have not just one, but two ways that you can get some crafty presents for yourself, even if it's not your birthday. Read on for all the details . . .

Our IHP birthday bash challenge for you today is to use designer papers and ribbons to create a card, box, or bag. Remember, everything this week has to do with birthday celebrations...so be sure your creation is birthday related!

Before you begin, take a few minutes to review the challenge guidelines. You’ll want to follow these rules to maximize your points and qualify for the opportunity to WIN the prize for today’s challenge and the Grand Prize, all announced on the last day of our festivities! You can find all the details HERE.

To qualify for the prize of the day, all you have to do is upload your challenge card/project to Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) and/or Paper Craft Planet (PCP) with the appropriate tag so we can find it. Today’s challenge tag is IHPBB4. The daily challenge winners will be randomly selected at the end of the week.

And, the Paper Craft Planet DT is also hosting a birthday challenge that fits right in with the IHP birthday bash. We've created an album that we want to fill with birthday cards in honor of Susanna's birthday. So, after you make your IHP birthday card challenge card, be sure to upload it to PCP with the the IHPBB4 tag and the tag SB2009 for a chance to win a another great prize package donated by a bunch of PCP friends, including IHP. The deadline for uploading a card to be eligible for the prize is Sunday at 11:59 PM EST.

Here's my card for today's IHP birthday challenge, using images from the Chicken Girl Design Silly Monsters stamp set, available exclusively at IHP. The layout for my card is based on this week's challenge at Crazy 4 Challenges. I colored the monster image with Copic markers to coordinate with the striped My Mind's Eye designer paper. The "hairy birthday" sentiment fit perfectly underneath the monster image.

I added a paper pierced edge to the top and bottom of the patterned paper panel before attaching it to the card base. I tied a coordinating light blue faux suede ribbon around the card before layering the monster image on to the card. Since I didn't have much room at the bottom for the trio of embellishments called for in the sketch, I went with some dots of Baby Blue Liquid Pearls to finish off the design.

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Chicken Girl Design Silly Monsters stamp set; My Mind's Eye Penny Lane "Beauty" Charmed Stripes designer paper; May Arts light blue faux suede ribbon; Ranger Baby Blue Liquid Pearls; Nestabilities circle dies

other: white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Baja Breeze and Old Olive cardstock, mat pack and paper piercing tool, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

A Late Summer Picnic

I have two cards to share tonight using some left over papers from the SU! Summer Picnic pack. I figure I should use up some of this stuff . . .

This card is for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. Karen has joined us at Clear & Simple Stamps as this month's guest designer, so I thought I'd try out her sketch using some CSS images.

I stamped nine of the small apple images from the ABC . . .123 stamp set on white cardstock and colored them using Copic markers. The apples are punched out with a 7/8" circle punch and layered on a panel of Summer Picnic designer paper. I layered the panel on a Kiwi Kiss panel with a scalloped edge, dotted with white gel pen for some decoration. I added a coordinating green ribbon around the panel before layering it on a kraft card base.

The sentiment comes from the Teacher set. It's stamped in black to stand out against the kraft base.

Materials Used:

ABC . . .123 and Teacher stamp sets (Clear & Simple Stamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Kiwi Kiss and Kraft cardstock, Summer Picnic designer series paper, white gel pen, scallop edge punch (Stampin' Up!); green ribbon (Michaels); 7/8" circle punch (EK Success)

This one's for today's SCS sketch challenge. I paired two of the patterns from the paper pack with the cute bird and branch image from Cheep Talk for a really quick card.

The bird, branch, and sentiment are stamped to coordinate with the paper's colors. I matted each panel with a coordinating color and layered the panel on a celery card base. The only embellishment I added was some ribbon. I used a glue dot to attach a knotted piece of red grosgrain ribbon to the left side of the image panel. Another small scrap of red is layered underneath the image panel and across the flowered paper panel--no reason to use a long piece of ribbon when you can "fake" it, right?

Materials Used (all from Stampin' Up!):

Cheep Talk stamp set, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, and Real Red Classic ink, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, and Whisper White cardstock, Summer Picnic designer series paper, Real Red grosgrain ribbon

Sweet Stuff

Here is a pair of cards for StampTV challenges with a sweet theme using images from Gina K Designs.

The first is for this week’s sketch challenge. I used images from the 100% Sweet stamp set along with a pink and brown color scheme. The ice cream sundae image is colored to match my color scheme. The chocolate topping and the cherry are coated with Glaze pens for a slightly glossy, shiny look.

I paired the colored image with dotted patterned paper from October Afternoon. A strip of brown cardstock with a scalloped edge runs across the card, decorated with pink ribbon with a matching brown piped edge. The “have a sweet birthday” sentiment is stamped along the top of the strip in matching brown ink.

Materials Used:
100% Sweet stamp set, white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa inks (Memento); markers (Copic); Sweet Blush cardstock, Sweet Blush buttons (Papertrey Ink); Close to Cocoa cardstock (Stampin’ Up!);designer paper (October Afternoon); pink ribbon (Martha Stewart)

This card is for the current Potluck Friday challenge to use words or a sentiment as the focal image on your project. I’ve been looking for a project that would be good for using some of this sparkly cupcake paper from DCWV and this was the perfect thing!

I stamped a combination of words and phrases from Melanie’s The Best Things in Life stamp set to say, “The best things in life are covered in chocolate.” Two of the words (best and chocolate) were stamped a second time on scraps of paper, cut out, and added to the panel with dimensionals for extra interest.

I attached the sentiment panel to the cupcake paper. I wish that the glittery swirl hadn’t been at the bottom of the paper—if it hasn’t been, I would have switched the layout up so that the swirl looked like it was coming out from under the sentiment . . .

Materials Used:
The Best Things in Life stamp set (Gina K Designs); Bashful Blue and Close to Cocoa Classic inks, Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa, and Whisper White cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); designer paper (DCWV’s The Sweet Stack); Dark Chocolate button, twine (Papertrey Ink); light blue ribbon (Morex)

Welcome to the Final Frontier!

Welcome to the Starving Artistamps New Release Blog Hop! We are so excited to be presenting you with the newest collection in our DoodleFactory line...

DoodleFactory Final Frontier.

You are going to want to visit all the stops on our hop because someone is giving away a complete unmounted set of the new release for blog candy. We are keeping the blog candy open for one day only so your chances of winning are even better! (blog hop ends October 21st, 11am PST). If you just can't wait to get your hands on the new Final Frontier set, don't worry--you can order it starting now and if you are our lucky winner, we will let you substitute another set of equal value instead!

If you have arrived here all by yourself and are just finding out about the blog hop please start at the beginning, then hop along the following stops:
START HERE: http://starvingartistamps.blogspot.com/
Juliana Swanson http://stampinwinkyfingers.blogspot.com/
Tracey Berkey http://stampomatic.blogspot.com/
Donna Duquette http://www.deesstudio.blogspot.com/
Sandra MacLean http://paperfuntastics.blogspot.com/
Lori Tecler http://www.inkingaloud.blogspot.com/ (that's me!)
Lydia Fiedler http://www.understandblue.blogspot.com/
Andrea Cloutier http://andreasscraps.com/
Dawn Mercedes http://www.dawnmercedes.blogspot.com/
Jenn McMillan http://www.jennmcmillan.blogspot.com/
Irene Silva http://doodlefactory.blogspot.com/


Here’s my first card. It’s a clean and simple design, pairing Spuddy with a sentiment from the Fairy Tale sentiment set. When I saw Spuddy’s visor, it reminded me of the kind you’d see on a knight, so I had to put these two together. Spuddy’s colored with Copic markers and layered on a gray panel.

I used the Cuttlebug Stars embossing folder to emboss a panel of super shiny heavy duty aluminum foil to place behind Spuddy. I added the sentiment on a red panel, accented by a pair of silver brads, to stand out against the silver.

Materials Used:
DoodleFactory Final Frontier stamp set, Fairy Tale sentiments (Starving Artistamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Real Red, Night of Navy, and Basic Gray cardstock, silver brads, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); Stars embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

This cute little square card features Dot, another one of the space creatures (aliens? robots?) from the new set. It was totally inspired by one of the sentiments from the Urban #2 sentiments set.

Dot's colored with Copic markers and a glitter pen and cut out. I set Dot on a yellow crater-filled moon created with the Cuttlebug Spots & Dots embossing folder and highlighted with some shimmery white ink. I cut out a heart to use for the sentiment panel. The "I love you to the moon and back" sentiment fit perfectly on the heart.

Materials Used:
DoodleFactory Final Frontier stamp set, Urban #2 sentiments (Starving Artistamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers, Lipstick Spica glitter pen (Copic); Real Red, So Saffron, and Brocade Blue cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); Moonlight White ink (Brilliance); heart die (Nestabilities); Spots & Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

The little alien in the spaceship in this image looked a little distressed to me, so I paired the image with the “Feeling a little lost?” sentiment from the Woods sentiment set.

I created a simple outer space scene with the large planet image on a blue sponged background. The spaceship image is cut out and added to the scene with dimensionals. I coated the top of the image with some Glossy Accents to give it a glassy look. The sentiment is stamped on a red panel to stand out and accented with a single star brad.

Materials Used:
DoodleFactory Final Frontier stamp set, Woods sentiments (Starving Artistamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Bashful Blue Classic ink, Night of Navy and Real Red cardstock, Real Red marker, sponge, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); Platinum Stickles, Glossy Accents (Ranger); star brad (Making Memories)

This card features the “space colony” image as the focal point. I stamped the image on white cardstock twice so that I could cut out parts and attach them to the image using foam tape for a dimensional look. I added some sparkle to the sky using Caribbean Glimmer Mist, a bluish shade, on the top of the panel and some Stickles on the star images.

I tied a coordinating green ribbon around the card to hide where the solid green panel meets the colored image. The “wish you were here” sentiment that’s part of the Final Frontier set is stamped along the bottom of the panel in blue ink.

Materials Used:
DoodleFactory Final Frontier stamp set, (Starving Artistamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Bermuda Bay Classic ink, Bermuda Bay and Kiwi Kiss cardstock, mat pack and paper piercing tool, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); Platinum Stickles (Ranger); green grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); Caribbean Mist Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels)

And, finally, here’s a super sparkly card using the large earth image from the set. I stamped the image on an acetate sheet using StazOn, then flipped it over. I coated the image in glue and sprinkled on glitter, covering the land areas first in glue then with green glitter, then going back and filling in the water areas with more glue and blue glitter. I cut around the image and attached it to the cardfront with more glue.

I wanted the sparkly earth to stand out, so I kept the rest of the card simple. I added a dotted satin bow with a button embellishment and stamped the “Peace on Earth” sentiment in coordinating green ink. This is so sparkly IRL--my photo just doesn't do it justice!

Thanks for stopping by! Now, it's time to head on over to Lydia's blog for your next stop.

Materials Used:
DoodleFactory Final Frontier stamp set (Starving Artistamps); Jet Black ink (StazOn); Bashful Blue cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); New Leaf ink, New Leaf dotted satin ribbon, Enchanted Evening button, twine (Papertrey Ink); Diamond Glaze (Judikins); Lapiz Lazuli glitter (Martha Stewart); green glitter (Stampendous); acetate

Simple Sympathy

Here's my card for this week's SCS clean and simple challenge to make a sympathy card. I pulled out my Multi Step Hearts & Roses set from Kitchen Sink Stamps for this simple, one layer beauty.

The set's beautiful rose image is so detailed that it pretty much can stand alone. Here, the rose is stamped in shades of yellow along the bottom edge of a sturdy cream card base. Once I'd stamped the flower, I added a green stem and the set's "with sympathy" sentiment. The only other embellishment is a soft yellow satin ribbon, knotted around the top of the card. Soft and soothing, all at the same time.

Materials Used:

Multi Step Hearts & Roses stamp set (Kitchen Sink Stamps); More Mustard, So Saffron, Barely Banana, and Certainly Celery Classic inks (Papertrey Ink); Lemon Tart ink, Vintage Cream cardstock, Lemon Tart satin ribbon

Kitchen Sink Monday-Lots of Leaves

***Scroll down to the post below for info on the birthday celebration at i {heart} papers.***

It's time for another Kitchen Sink Stamps Monday! My Multi Step Big Leaves set arrived over the weekend, so I had to ink it up create something to share with you today.

I kept my card pretty simple to keep the focus on the beautiful leaf images. Here, I went for red toned leaves, randomly stamped on a cream panel. My color recipe and stamping order here was Step 3-Riding Hood Red ink, Step 3-Close to Cocoa ink, stamped off once, Step 2-Ruby Red ink, Step 1-So Saffron ink. The leaves are stamped on a cream panel. When I was finished stamping, even though I'd used cream and not white, I still thought the contrast between the leaves and the panel was too much, so I went back and sponged on some Creamy Caramel ink to soften the look.

I used the "thankful" sentiment from the Vintage Words set along the bottom of the panel. The word is stamped twice, once in Close to Cocoa ink and once in Papertrey Ink's Vintage Cream ink for a faux embossed look. I found this wooden button on my table, left over from another project, so I added it here as a simple embellishment.

Be sure to visit the rest of the Kitchen Sink Crew to see what they've cooked up for you to start the week. Here's where you can find them:

Angela Knopf
Connie McCotter
Dee Jackson
Julie Masse
Lisa Somerville
Lynn McAuley
Makiko Jones
Maria Colosimo, owner

And, you still have a few more days to enter this month's Kitchen Sink Crew Challenge. Check out the KSS blog here for full details.

Materials Used:

Multi Step Big Leaves and Vintage Words stamp sets (Kitchen Sink Stamps); So Saffron, Ruby Red, Riding Hood Red, Close to Cocoa, and Creamy Caramel Classic inks, Ruby Red, Creamy Caramel, and Very Vanilla cardstock, sponge (Stampin' Up!); Vintage Cream ink, wooden button, twine (Papertrey Ink)

i {heart} papers Birthday Bash Day 1

Welcome to the first of this week’s i {heart} papers Birthday Bash (IHPBB) challenges! We’re looking forward to seeing all of your creations, and we’re very happy to have you celebrating with us!

To qualify for the prize of the day, all you have to do is upload your challenge card/project to Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) and/or Paper Craft Planet (PCP) with the appropriate tag so we can find it. Today’s challenge tag is IHPBB1. The daily challenge winners will be randomly selected at the end of the week.

Now, here's today's challenge. What’s the first thing you do when you’re planning a Birthday Bash? Before you can choose invitations, decorations, etc., you must decide upon a color scheme, so our first IHPBB challenge has to do with color.

Our challenge for you today is to make a card (scrapbook page, 3-D item, etc.) using the colors of our IHP logo: certainly celery, bashful blue, regal rose and black (or comparable colors in any brand). Remember, everything this week has to do with birthday celebrations...so be sure your creation is birthday related!

Here’s my card for today’s challenge. I used an image from the new Chicken Girl Design Just Skating By stamp set for my focal image. The elephant is colored with Copic markers and a Spica mint glitter pen, then carefully cut out. I used a dimensional to attach the elephant to the shimmery, silver icy pond. The simple scene is layered on a rose scalloped circle with a dot of Petal Pink Liquid Pearls on each scallop.

I used a piece of My Mind’s Eye designer paper for the large panel on the cardfront. The blue design kind of reminded me of a snowflake—and incorporated two of today’s challenge colors, too. A piece of light blue glimmer ribbon is knotted around the panel for a festive sparkle. The sentiment fit just underneath the image panel—stamped in black to squeeze in the final color requirement for the challenge. I used only the "just skating by" so I can stamp or handwrite a birthday greeting inside for the recipient.

I hope you’ll join us and play along for your chance to join the IHP team as a guest designer!

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Chicken Girl Design Just Skating By stamp set, My Mind’s Eye Abbey Road--Lucky Me "Hello World" Lucky Lime designer paper, Creative Impressions pastel blue glimmer ribbon, Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle dies, Copic mint Spica glitter pen, Ranger Petal Pink Liquid Pearls

other: white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, and Regal Rose cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); silver paper (Target)

100% All Boy

Here's my card for today's SCS featured stamper challenge. This cute baby card caught my eye, so I remade it using images from the Oh Boy stamp set from Clear & Simple Stamps.

I kept the layout the same, but changed the image to the cute puppy dog one from the Oh Boy set. Instead of coloring the image, I paper pieced it using scraps of patterned and solid papers. I used a blue marker to do faux stitching around the edges of the image panel before attaching it to a scalloped rectangle panel.

I stamped the "100% all boy" sentiment on a layered tag, then attached it to the cardfront. The tag is embellished witha coordinating green button.

Materials Used:

Oh Boy stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Bashful Blue, and Whisper White cardstock, designer paper, Bashful Blue marker, Certainly Celery twill tape, mat pack and paper piercing tool, regular and small tag punches (Stampin' Up!); Spring Moss button, twine (Papertrey Ink); Polka Dot embossing folder (QuicKutz); black Glaze pen (Sakura)

Snow with Faux

Here's my card for this week's Viva la Verve sketch. This week's twist was to use fabric. Since I didn't have any handy other than felt, I went with the faux silk technique to create a fabric-like panel to use on my card.

The focal image on my card is one of the cute snowman images from Verve's Snow Wonderful stamp set. I stamped the image on shimmery white ink and colored it a bit with Copic markers. The "fuzz" on the hat is made with Polar White Flower Soft. I trimmed around the snowman and attached it to a Ballet Blue panel with dimensionals. There was enough room for the "snow wonderful" sentiment to fit underneath it.

The snowman's layered over the faux silk panel I made using the border image from the Snow Wonderful set. I replaced the circle panel in the sketch with a sparkly silver snowflake, cut with a Nestabilities die. I added a matching silver ribbon and a few small self-adhesive rhinestones for some more sparkle to finish the card.

Materials Used:

Snow Wonderful stamp set (Verve Stamps); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Bashful Blue Classic ink, Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, and Shimmery White cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Fresh Snow ink (Papertrey Ink); snowflake die (Nestabilities); silver ribbon (Michaels); self-adhesive rhinestones (Martha Stewart); silver paper (Target); Polar White Flower Soft; white tissue paper