Pow!

I've had my eye on the cute Amazing Duo stamp set from The Greeting Farm since it was first released. When I saw it in the TGF Farmer's Market last week, I caved and ordered it for myself. I inked it up for the first time today for this week's SCS sketch challenge.

I stamped the little boy superhero on a white panel and colored him with Copic markers in a pretty traditional superhero bold primary color scheme. Instead of using patterned paper for the panels on the cardfront, I used stamped images and embossing to add interest. The yellow panel is embossed with a star pattern and the blue one is embossed with a dot pattern. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp two of the set's superhero words repeatedly on the red strip that stretches across the cardfront. The colored image is set in the middle using foam tape and is accented with star brads. I think this would make a great little boy birthday card--I just might add a chipboard number for the birthday boy's age to make it a little more personal.

Materials Used:

Amazing Duo stamp set (The Greeting Farm); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Ballet Blue, Crushed Curry, and Riding Hood Red cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Stars embossing folder (Cuttlebug); Polka Dots embossing folder (QuicKutz); star brads (Making Memories); foam tape

A Little Puppy Love

Okay, indulge me for a minute or two before I get to the cards. I have the cutest puppy (I guess I might be just a little biased . . .) and have to share just a few photos of her that I've taken over the past few days. I've had a few requests, so I hope that's okay . . .

Anyway, here's Miss Chloe eating her dinner. The bowl is one of Cosmo's old ones from his special dog dish stand with built-in backsplash. She's not yet big enough to eat from the stand, so I just set the bowls on my kitchen floor for the time being. She gets tired easily and likes to lie down when she eats. I caved in this afternoon and bought her a set of smaller bowls to use until she can get up and down the stairs more easily (the dish is downstairs) and is just a bit taller, too. I have a feeling it won't take too long for that to happen!

This one is of Chloe taking a short break from playing with one of her chew toys. She's only been home a few days, but she already has accumulated quite a collection of stuff between the things I had left from Cosmo, the new puppy things I bought for her and a few gifts from my sister and her dog Bella.

She really seems to like this one with the rope ends. She's doing a lot of chewing with those very sharp puppy teeth, so I'm trying to keep her busy and entertained with fun toys so she won't eat my carpet or rip my hands apart while she learns the limits. She goes and goes at full speed, then just crashes to a stop. It's so funny to watch her in action!

Since lots of people have been so kind to Chloe and me, I've been working on a few thank you notes to send off. I made this one based on this week's Crazy 4 Challenges sketch. The clean and simple design was perfect for a quick thank you. I used the dog image from the Doggone Cute set from My Favorite Things for the focal image. The dog's colored to sort of match Chloe's coloring.

I paired the image with some striped paper from the Bloom & Grow line from My Mind's Eye. Coordinating strips of paper run across the card. I matted the image on another coordinating color, then layered it on the card using foam tape. The "puppy hugs" sentiment from the Friends Furever set is stamped in black along the bottom of the card.

Materials Used:
Doggone Cute and Friends Furever stamp sets (My Favorite Things); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Spring Moss and Aqua Mist cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Sweet Corn cardstock (Gina K Designs); designer paper (My Mind's Eye); circle dies (Nestabilities); celery satin ribbon (Michaels); pinking scallop (Martha Stewart); foam tape

This one is based on Taylor's latest sketch challenge. I used the Doggone Cute set again, but this time used both the dog and the boy to create a simple scene. The images and grass are colord with Copic markers. The sky is sponged in instead of airbrushed--I don't think Chloe's ready to hear the noise from my compressor yet ! I stamped the "friends furever" sentiment from the Friends Furever set in scene's the open space. A trio of designer paper squares, accented with buttons, is under the image to complete the design.

Materials Used:
Doggone Cute and Friends Furever stamp sets (My Favorite Things); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Cool Caribbean Classic ink, Kiwi Kiss and Tempting Turquoise cardstock (Stampin' Up!); designer paper (October Afternoon-Night Light line); buttons (Papertrey Ink); foam tape; cloud template

Some Sunshine and Cheer

***See this post for the Paper Craft Planet Spellbinders Blog Hop.***

It's been another busy day here with Chloe the cutie puppy. I was out late last night at the Bon Jovi concert in DC and Chloe had a play date with my next door neighbor while I was gone. My neighbor helped Chloe to master a new and exciting skill--how to climb up the stairs. She's not so great with going back down again, but I'm sure that will come along soon. She was excited when I came home and we stayed up even later to play a bit. This morning I gave Chloe a bath. She wasn't thrilled, but she put up with it--and even let me dry her with a hair dryer on a cool, low setting. Tonight, she played with my dad a little bit and now she's resting. Tomorrow, I think she may stop in at my work for just a little bit (shhh!).

Even though most of my focus for the last few days has been on Chloe, I've made a little time for stamping, too. I made this sweet get well card based on this week's Our Craft Lounge sketch challenge. The original sketch had a few more layers, but I'm a more clean and simple kind of stamper, so I eliminated a few of them while pretty much keeping to the basic sketch. The focal image is from the Sunshine Cheer stamp set. The sun is stamped in black ink on white cardstock and colored with Copic markers. I cut it out and spritzed it with some Frost Shimmer Spray. I attached the sun to a blue panel with clouds stamped on it. The clouds are filled in with Sugar Sparkly Fluff for a fun look.

I used two different patterns from the Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety paper pack for panels on the cardfront. One panel is embellished with faux stitching done with a white pen. A strip of light blue glimmer ribbon runs down one of the panels. I added a button embellished bow to the end. The set's "feel better soon" sentiment is stamped on a red strip with a decorative edge and accented with a silver brad.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Our Craft Lounge Sunshine Cheer stamp set and Sugar Sparkly Fluff, white medium weight Copic cardstock, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Frost Pssst! Shimmer Spray, Copic markers (Y11, Y15, Y11, R20), Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety designer paper and button, Creative Impressions light blue glimmer ribbon, Ranger Inkssentials white pen

other: So Saffron, Baja Breeze, and Riding Hood Red cardstock (Stampin' Up!); scallop eyelet border punch (Martha Stewart); silver brad (Making Memories); foam tape

Viva la Verve Style

Here's my card for the last of this month's Viva la Verve challenges. This month's inspiration room was the kitchen and for this week's challenge, we could pick our own inspiration piece. I settled on this "Vibrant Polka Dot" placemat set from Pier 1. I used the bright colors and some of the pattern as elements on my card.

I used the fun shoe image from Verve's Express Yourself as the focal image. The shoe is stamped in black ink on a Melon Mambo scrap, then cut out and attached to the cream panel using foam tape. I stamped the "you've got style" sentiment next to the image--the words are shaped to nest perfectly against the shoe!

I kept the rest of the card pretty simple. I covered a Melon Mambo card base with a piece of grid patterned paper from SU!'s Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper pack. I criss-crossed two pieces of orange grosgrain ribbon across the card, then attached the stamped image panel overlapping the edges of the ribbon. I added an orange button-embellished bow to the top right corner of the image panel to finish the card.

Materials Used:

Express Yourself stamp set (Verve Stamps); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); Melon Mambo and Very Vanilla cardstock, Razzleberry Lemonade designer series paper (Stampin' Up!); orange ribbon (Michaels); Raspberry Fizz button, twine (Papertrey Ink); foam tape

Something Simple

Here's my card for today's clean and simple challenge on SCS. I pulled this together while the puppy was sleeping, recovering from her first visit to the vet. She was a big hit at the vet's office. My vet did tell her right off that she has some pretty big shoes to fill, following in Cosmo the crazy dog's footsteps!

One of my co-workers is moving to a brand new home next month, so I used the challenge to get a card ready to give her once the move's complete. I used some images from the SU! Good Neighbors set to make the trio of panels across the cardfront. The images are layered on a moss panel, then on a strip of striped patterned paper. I slid a scallop edged panel underneath the bottom edge of the striped paper, then wrapped a strip of brown grosgrain ribbon around the card. The "congratulations" sentiment from Congrats (from last year's Sale-a-bration) is stamped at the bottom of the card in brown ink.

Materials Used:
Good Neighbors and Congrats stamp sets, Blue Bayou and Mellow Moss Classic inks, Blue Bayou, Mellow Moss, and Very Vanilla cardstock, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, scallop edge punch (Stampin' Up!); designer paper (Upsy Daisy); Rich Cocoa ink (Memento)

Trendy Tree Birthday

One of my stamping buddies is celebrating a birthday soon, so I used Sunday's SCS featured stamper challenge to create a clean and simple--and easy to mail--card for her birthday. My card is based on this card, also using the SU! Trendy Trees stamp set.

I used a kraft base for my version and created a frame for my tree by tracing around the inside edge of a Nestabilities rectangle die with a white gel pen. The tree is stamped in pigment inks to stand out better against the kraft background

Instead of using ribbons for the "ground," I punched strips of Kiwi Kiss cardstock with a Martha Stewart grass border punch. I layered a pair of punched strips for a nice base. The "happy birthday" sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes is stamped under the image in brown ink to complete the card.

Miss Chloe and I are headed off to her first vet appointment this morning. Of course, it's supposed to be raining cats and dogs--how appropriate . . .

Materials Used:

Trendy Trees and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip Craft inks (Stampin' Up!); rectangle die (Nestabilities); grass border punch (Martha Stewart); white pen (Ranger)

12 Designers, 12 Amazing Projects, 5 Winners

The Paper Craft Planet Supernovas are crazy for Spellbinders and we're having a blog hop to show off the new summer dies! Hop along with us and leave us some love and you could end up winning one of the new sets! We've hidden FIVE prizes among the Supernovas' blogs, but no one knows which ones! Leave a comment on one or all of the Supernova blogs in order to win. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. Blog comments will be open until Wednesday at 6pm EST. The lucky winners will be announced on the Paper Craft Planet blog on Wednesday night. Only USA residents are eligible to enter.

I worked with the From the Sea Shapeabilities set, a collection of 4 fun dies. My project showcases the fish die cut in a fun way. I cut out and embossed the fish using orange cardstock. I rubbed shimmery white ink over the raised portions of the die cut to highlight them and add some variation to the coloring. This is such a quick and easy way to add more interest to an embossed element.

My fish is swimming in a “sea,” complete with seaweed and waves. The waves are courtesy of some fun patterned paper. The seaweed is made from FlowerSoft wire and Shamrock Green Flower Soft. I coated the wire with Flower Soft glue and sprinkled the green stuff all over it. The seaweed was set aside to dry, then glued on to the patterned paper background. I attached the fish to the scene with foam tape, then placed the scene behind a Flower Soft globe. An embossed layer of coordinating blue cardstock covers the edges of the globe. I added the "just keep swimming" sentiment from the Tropics Sentiment set from Starving Artistamps to complete the card.

Our Blog Hoppers are:

* Adela Rossol
* Lynn Mercurio
* Kim Burmeister
* Wendy Price
* Jen Tapler
* Tammy Hershberger
* Erika Martin
* Lori Tecler (you're here)
* Jessica Fick
* Sankari Wegman
* Susanna Boyd
* Amy Park



Check out our gallery to see all the projects in one place!

Materials Used:
Tropics Sentiment Set 2 (Starving Artistamps); Ocean Tides cardstock (Papertrey Ink); designer paper (K & Company-Actopus to Zelephant line); From the Sea Shapeabilities (Spellbinders); Moonlight White ink (Brilliance); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); Shamrock Flower Soft, wire, globe, glue (Flower Soft); Tiny Bubbles embossing folder (Cuttlebug); foam tape

Doggone Great Thanks

Even before Chloe arrived home, my best friend and her family had a present ready for her. I made sure I had a simple thank you note ready for them before they stopped by today to meet Chloe for the first time.

I used the cute little doggie from Papertrey Ink's Tiny Treats: Valentine set as the focal image. The dog is colored with Copic markers and the heart is covered with some red Stickles as a fun accent.

Since I was running short on time when I was pulling this together, I kept it super simple. I cut a piece of grid patterned paper to a square slightly larger than the kraft card base. I layered a red strip over the patterned paper, extending slightly beyond the edge of the panel. The coordinating "you're doggone great" sentiment is stamped on the red panel in black ink and accented with a single silver brad. The image is matted on a brown scalloped circle and attached to the opposite end of the red strip. The layout really keeps the focus on the cute focal image.

Materials Used:
Tiny Treats: Valentine (Papertrey Ink); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Real Red, Close to Cocoa, and Kraft cardstock, 1 3/8" circle and scallop edge punches (Stampin' Up!); designer paper (October Afternoon); Ruby Slippers Glitz Stickles (Ranger); silver brad (Making Memories)

Introducing Chloe

I promised earlier today that I’d share some news about an exciting event in my life. My longtime blog readers have heard lots about my special Cosmo the crazy dog and were so supportive when I shared about the unexpected and difficult decision I had to make to put him to sleep back in December. He was a big part of my life for many years and I have to admit that I really struggled to deal with his loss this winter. Between battling invading pesky mice, dealing with car repairs, and digging out from feet upon feet of snow, his absence was always on my mind.

Winter’s finally over and as spring starts, I’m ready for a new beginning. So, here’s my new beginning. I'm thrilled to introduce Chloe, the adorable goldendoodle puppy I’m bringing home with me today. Chloe is ten weeks old and just the sweetest thing. She is soft and fluffy with hair, not fur, so she won’t shed. That was one of the only things about Cosmo the crazy dog that I haven’t missed—LOL! I have to admit that I’ve shed more than a few tears recently as I’ve reminisced about Cosmo’s life and made plans to get Chloe (and wrote this post), but I know this is a good decision for me and I'm really excited about having her around. I’m looking forward to introducing her to my sister and her dog, Bella, and my best friend and her family tomorrow, and taking her to my vet’s office on Monday. Cosmo's cute face and quirky personality made him a favorite there and I have a feeling that Chloe will win them over pretty quickly. I’m spending the next week at home with her so I can help her get adjusted and on a doggy schedule. I’ve never had a puppy before, so I’m sure I’ll learn a lot this week!

I’m not really a scrapbooker, but I figured that an occasion as big as this one deserved a way to preserve the moment. As I’m writing this, I don’t have Chloe yet, but I have some photos from the breeder I’m getting her from. She was 8 weeks old and about 8 pounds when this photo was taken. I don’t have any puppy photos of Cosmo, so I’m thrilled to have photos of Chloe right from the start. The 8 ½” by 8 ½” page uses images from Unity’s March Kit of the Month, Rockin’ It Unity Style, and a monochromatic pink color scheme, to show off my new cutie Chloe. I have an album with some scrapped pages of Cosmo the crazy dog, mostly dressed in silly Halloween costumes, and this page will be put in the album alongside his. I'll have to add a few more along the way and I'll be sure to show off some photos of Chloe as she grows.

Materials Used:
March Kit of the Month (Unity Stamp Co.); Regal Rose Classic ink, Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose cardstock, Sweet Always designer series paper, photo corner punch (Stampin’ Up!); large scallop die (Papertrey Ink); white pen (Ranger); white brad (Making Memories); pink grosgrain ribbon (Morex); sewing machine

Sailing By on Saturday

Happy Saturday! It’s the start of my spring break (yay!) and I have a very exciting day ahead of me, a new beginning of sorts. I’ll have more information (and photos) to share about that later, so you’ll want to be sure to check back here later on today. In the meantime, it’s time for a new sketch challenge at Paper Craft Planet, hosted by Lynn.

I used the Chicken Girl Design “Sailing By Pirate” digi image from i {heart} papers for my card. The image in printed on the new designed for Copic markers cardstock that Kate has just started carrying. It’s fabulous—it worked beautifully with the printed image (no smudging) and the markers, too!

I made a tiny adjustment to the layout design to fit my image. Instead of adding a scalloped edge extending from the bottom of my image panel, I flipped the decorative edge up on to the image panel. I used two strips of wavy border to make a watery base for the boat. One layer is attached directly to the image panel and the other is attached with some foam tape.

I used two bold patterned papers from October Afternoon’s Night Light Collection Kit for the cardfront. Since the patterns are pretty busy, I kept the rest of the card simple, just adding a piece of red faux suede ribbon to accent the coordinating sentiment.

If you have a chance to play along, upload your card to the PCP gallery with the keyword sk032710 so that it can be added to the album with the rest of this week’s creations.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Chicken Girl Design “Sailing By Pirate” digi image, Copic Cardstock-medium weight, Copic markers (E25, E27, E35, B0000, B000, R14, R17, R81, Y26, C-3, C-5, C-7), October Afternoon Night Light Collection Kit, May Arts red faux suede ribbon

other: Riding Hood Red and Pacific Point cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); Boundary Waters border punch (Fiskars); foam tape

The Frozen Four, Not the Final Four

This weekend, while lots of people are intently watching basketball and checking their brackets to see how they’re doing, I’m focused on an entirely different sport. Yesterday marked the start of the road to college hockey’s version of the Final Four, appropriately called the Frozen Four. I’ve gone to two Frozen Fours now and I can say that it is a fabulous event to attend. College hockey has an amazing atmosphere that the pro game just can’t duplicate. I have high hopes that my school, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will make it to the big showdown and ultimately bring home their seventh national championship. They made it through the first round late last night and will play again tonight.

Here's a sneak peek at a card that's a perfect match for this big event. You can see the full card on the Clear & Simple Stamps
iPhone app. All the details on the app can be found here. Once you've purchased the app, you can see the full card and all of the other content—a new project, exclusively available on the app, is added each day!

All Punked Up Bellarific Friday

Here’s my card for this week’s Bellarific Friday from Stamping Bella. This week’s challenge was a sketch featuring a large oval panel for the focal image. Once I settled on an image, the card came together pretty quickly.

I used the cute All Punked Up and Nowhere to Go stamp as my focal image. She’s colored using Copic markers. I added a warm yellow glow around her after I finished coloring the image.

She’s colored to coordinate with the stripes in the October Afternoon designer paper I used to cover the cardfront. The strip across the center of the card is a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil embossed with a star pattern. I ran a strip of double stitched grosgrain ribbon along the bottom of the foil panel and added a button embellished bow as an accent.

I debated for a while about where to add the sentiment, if any. I ended up stamping the “you rock!” sentiment on a yellow circle and sliding the circle under the left side of the oval panel.

Materials Used:
All Punked Up and Nowhere to Go image and sentiment (Stamping Bella); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Hawaiian Shores cardstock, Spring Moss button, twine (Papertrey Ink); Green Apple cardstock (Gina K Designs); So Saffron cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (October Afternoon); petite oval dies (Nestabilities); Stars embossing folder (Cuttlebug); turquoise double stitched grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); heavy duty aluminum foil

Blogger Challenge: Week 144/Friends with Flair

This week’s blogger challenge was a sketch challenge. For some reason, I had a hard time with this one. I’m not totally pleased with what I came up with, but it’ll do.

I used the fun dinosaur image from Unity’s Sketchy Little Boy kit for my focal image. The dino is stamped in black ink and colored with Copic markers. After I finished coloring, I dabbed the dino with a textured rag dipped in some colorless blending solution to give him a kind of textured look. I airbrushed a soft blue background around him, too.

The dinosaur is paired with a striped paper from the My Mind’s Eye Lil’ Robots Collection Kit. I love these papers for little boy cards! I layered the dinosaur on a pinking edged circle and set it on the card. A strip of green corduroy ribbon runs across the card. It kind of makes a grassy base for the dino to stand on. I sewed the ribbon in place. The stitches are kind of funky because the ribbon is pretty thick and my little sewing machine was not happy about it. I stamped the set’s “dino-mite” sentiment in turquoise ink and layered it on a rust panel, then attached it to the card with foam tape. I added a coordinating button as an accent. Instead of attaching a narrow strip across the right side of the image and extending beyond it (like the sketch showed), I added a matching ribbon tab underneath to balance out the design.

For more spring ideas, you can check out what the rest of the challenge players have created. Links to their blogs are in the sidebar on the right. And, you can check out the full list of Friends with Flair players on the Unity blog for more Unity inspiration.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Unity Stamp Co. Sketchy Little Boy kit, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Copic markers (YG0000, YG11, YG13, YG21, B91), Copic colorless blending solution, My Mind’s Eye Lil’ Robots Collection Kit, May Arts green corduroy ribbon, Nestabilities circle dies, Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety button, Alexx Kesh jute natural rope

other: Hawaiian Shores ink, Hawaiian Shores and Terracotta Tile cardstock (Papertrey Ink); foam tape; sewing machine

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop: Button Up!

It’s time for another Papertrey Ink Blog Hop. This month’s theme is creative ways to use buttons. I use buttons on my cards all the time, so I challenged myself to come up with something just a little different for my blog hop project.

Here’s what I came up with. I made a simple magnetic memo board and used buttons as the magnets to hold all my important notes in place. The memo board is made from a metal frame I picked up a long time ago in the Target dollar spot. I traced around the edges of the frame to create a guide for cutting paper to size to cover the frame. I paired the new Hawaiian Shores cardstock with a piece of Green Boutique patterned paper for a fun look. The seam between the two papers is covered with a strip of Ripe Avocado ribbon. The “take note” sentiment from the Fillable Frames #1 stamp set is stamped on the solid cardstock section as a simple accent.

The button magnets are simply pairs of buttons stacked up and held together with some twine. I used Hawaiian Shores and Spring Moss buttons to coordinate with my color scheme. I found pairs that would nest nicely together and threaded the twine through the buttonholes, then knotted it securely. I attached a small magnet to the back side of the button so they'd stick to the metal frame. To complete the project, I added my very first note, using one of the cutouts from the Green Boutique paper pack.

Materials Used:
Fillable Frames #1 stamp set, Hawaiian Shores ink, Hawaiian Shores cardstock, Green Boutique patterned paper, Ripe Avocado stitched grosgrain ribbon, Spring Moss and Hawaiian Shores buttons, twine (Papertrey Ink); magnets; metal frame

Creatures Are Coming

Yes, that's right. Creatures are coming!! On April 1 a whole new crew of DoodleFactory Creatures will be revealed.

Can't wait until then? Well, you're in luck, because I have a tiny sneak peek to share with you today. The design team will be posting sneak peeks on their blogs up until the big release, so you'll want to check them out. You can find a list here. And, be sure to stop in at the Starving Artistamps gallery on April 1 for more Creature creations.

I'm All Ears

Here’s a shadowbox card featuring one of the rabbit images from the Best Bunnies set from Clear & Simple Stamps. If you haven’t yet added this cute set to your collection, you still have a few more days to use the discount code CSS0310 to get $1 off your purchase.

I stamped the rabbit on white cardstock and colored it with Copic markers, then carefully cut it out. I set the rabbit aside while I used a cloud template and blue ink to sponge in a cloudy backdrop for my simple scene. The rabbit is layered on the scene using foam tape.

The front of the shadow box is embossed with a dot pattern. I used a Nestabilities circle die to cut the opening in the front. The strip of grass, created with a Martha Stewart border punch, is attached to the back of the pink frame using foam tape for a layered look. I added the coordinating sentiment on a circle panel. It’s accented with a sweet pink gingham bow with a button at the center.

Materials Used:
Best Bunnies stamp set, pink button (Clear & Simple Stamps); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Regal Rose and Bashful Blue Classic inks, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose cardstock, pink gingham ribbon, scallop circle punch (Stampin’ Up!); 1 3/8” circle punch (EK Success); circle die (Nestabilities); Swiss Dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug); grass border punch (Martha Stewart); foam tape; cloud template

Blue Best Wishes

Here's a very quick card for today's SCS sketch challenge. I'm really getting a lot of use out of the Giga Guide Lines set from Papertrey Ink. It makes the perfect focal image for a quick card.

For this card, I stamped one of the medallion images in Hawaiian Shores ink on a white circle, then layered it on a matching cardstock mat. A silver brad accents the center of the medallion and a coordinating ribbon tab is slipped under the left edge. The rest of the card is simply layers of coordinating papers, a few of them machine stitched around the edges to add interest. I used a patterned paper with circles to bring in another round element on the card.

The "best wishes" sentiment from Mega Mixed Messages is stamped in Hawaiian Shores ink on a New Leaf panel. The new pigment-like inks show up nicely on even darker cardstock.

Materials Used:

Giga Guide Lines and Mega Mixed Messages stamp sets, Hawaiian Shores ink, Hawaiian Shores and New Leaf cardstock, Green Boutique designer paper, Hawaiian Shores grosgrain ribbon (Papertrey Ink); circle dies (Nestabilities); silver brad (Making Memories); sewing machine; foam tape

Floral Thank Yous

I spent some time over the weekend catching up on my Viva la Verve challenge cards before the end of the month. Here’s my card for last week’s sketch/inspiration challenge. This month’s inspiration room is the kitchen. I chose the modern kitchen with the red walls and wood and black and white cabinets as my inspiration.

I made a pretty simple thank you card based on the sketch. I started by creating the black panel with glossy polka dots. When I looked closely at the inspiration photo, I noticed some accent pieces with dots, so I wanted to include that element in my project. I stamped the polka dot stamp from Verve’s Bountiful Backgrounds in black pigment ink on the black cardstock panel, covered the dots with clear embossing powder, and heat embossed. The glossy dots pop nicely IRL. I added the panel to the right edge of a kraft card base.

For the focal image, I randomly stamped two of the flower images from the Believe stamp set in black ink on a red panel. I matted the panel with white cardstock and added it to the cardfront. The “with gratitude” sentiment from the Thankful Accents set is also stamped on a red panel and layered on white. I added a black satin ribbon with a red button at the center as a fun embellishment.

Materials Used:
Bountiful Backgrounds, Believe, and Thankful Accents stamp sets (Verve Stamps); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); white cardstock (Georgia Pacific); Basic Black Craft ink, Basic Black, Real Red, and Kraft cardstock, Crystal Clear embossing powder (Stampin’ Up!); black satin ribbon (Michaels); Pure Poppy button, twine (Papertrey Ink)

Here’s my card for this week’s Viva la Verve challenge. I chose the apron with the poppy design as my inspiration piece. In the end, my card turned out to be very loosely inspired by the design—LOL!

I started with a pair of small flowers from Verve’s Grateful Elegance set. This set had fallen off of my curtain rod storage system and slipped behind something. I recovered it over the weekend as part of some spring cleaning in preparation for a big change that’s coming to my house soon (more about that later this week . . .). The flowers are colored with Copic markers and embellished with a teeny, tiny pearl at the centers.

I set the flowers on a dotted paper panel, then added the sentiment in the center. The sentiment’s on a slightly larger circle and popped up with foam tape to add some interest. I layered the panel on an elegant patterned paper from a My Mind’s Eye paper pack. A strip of pink grosgrain ribbon extends from the top of each of the circles to the top of the card. I added a matching knotted piece of ribbon to the top of the sentiment panel to finish off the card.

Materials Used:
Grateful Elegance stamp set (Verve Stamps); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Pink Pirouette and Rose Red designer paper (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (My Mind’s Eye, DCWV); 1” and 1 ¼” circle punches (EK Success); pink grosgrain ribbon (?); foam tape

Puppy Love

This month’s Kitchen Sink Crew challenge is to use masking on your project. Lots of Kitchen Sink images lend themselves beautifully to this technique. I went with a pair of images that might not immediately come to mind for my challenge project.

I started with the small solid heart image from the Love & Luck stamp set. The heart was stamped in red, then masked with a sticky note. I stamped the cute dog image over top in shades of brown (Step 4-Chocolate Chip, Step 3-Close to Cocoa, Step 2-Creamy Caramel, Step 1-Creamy Caramel, stamped off once), then removed the sticky note mask. It looks like the dog is holding the heart in its paws--too cute!

I paired the puppy with a bold argyle patterned paper from a DCWV Valentine paper pack. I kept the rest of the layout simple since it would be hard for anything else to compete with the argyle pattern. I added a strip of red grosgrain ribbon, accented with a small heart brad, and a paper pierced rose strip directly on the argyle paper panel, then layered the matted image over the strips.

Materials Used:
Love & Luck, Multistep Kitten and Pup (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, and Creamy Caramel Classic inks, Real Red, Regal Rose, and Very Vanilla cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (DCWV-Madly in Love Stack); circle die (Nestabilities); red grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); heart brad (Making Memories); foam tape

Wishing You Sunshine and Cheer

I thought the Sunshine Cheer stamp set from Our Craft Lounge was so cute when I saw it at CHA in January. I got it this week from i {heart} papers and inked it up for this week’s OCL sketch challenge. This was a tough one!

I ended up making a sunny scene that spanned the two panels. The clouds and sun are stamped in black ink on the white panels. I colored the sun with Copic markers and highlighted it with a little gold sparkle using a Spica pen. The clouds were masked with Eclipse tape, then I airbrushed in the sky.

I used two papers from Basic Grey’s Kioshi line for the panels on the cardfront. A piece of pretty yellow/gold crepe ribbon is tied around the cardfront as a simple accent. This ribbon is so pretty with its shimmer and slightly crinkled texture.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Our Craft Lounge Sunshine Cheer stamp set, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Copic markers (Y00, Y15, Y17, Y38, B91), Copic Gold Spica pen, Eclipse tape, Basic Grey Kioshi designer paper, Creative Impressions Buttercream crepe ribbon

other: white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Spring Moss cardstock (Papertrey Ink)

NYC Inspired

Today's clean and simple challenge on SCS was to be inspired by New York City. I immediately thought of the city skyline and found the perfect image in my collection of images from Starving Artistamps.

I brayered a trio of inks on a glossy white cardstock panel for a sunset-like background. The skyline image from the DoodleFactory Urban set was stamped on the brayered panel. I stamped the image a second time, this time on a piece of gray cardstock. I colored the windows in the buildings with a white gel pen, then carefully cut the buildings out. They're layered on the panel with foam tape.

I layered the image panel on a black mat, then on a gray card base. I added a black grosgrain ribbon tab under the lower left side of the panel. The "wish you were here" sentiment from the DoodleFactory Final Frontier set is in the upper right corner of the image to complete the card.

Materials Used:

DoodleFactory Urban and DoodleFactory Final Frontier stamp sets (Starving Artistamps); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, and Really Rust Classic inks, Basic Black, Basic Gray, and Glossy White cardstock (Stampin' Up!); white pen (Ranger); black grosgrain ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

Spring Lemonade

Here's my card for Mercy's latest sketch challenge. I went for a spring look, using some new products from i {heart} papers.

I used an image and sentiment from Unity's March Stampin' Store kit, Adventure in Happiness, as the focal image. The lemonade pitcher image is stamped in black ink and colored with Copic markers. It's hard to see in the photo, but I highlighted the word "lemons" in the sentiment using a pale yellow marker, too.

I cut strips of paper from Basic Grey's new Kioshi line for the panels on the cardfront. They're matted on slightly larger green panels, then layered on a lavender panel. I wrapped a strip of celery crepe ribbon around the cardfront, then added the image panel. A matching crepe bow is attached under the image.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Unity Stamp Co. March Stampin' Store Kit-Adventures in Happiness, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Copic markers (B0000, Y0000, Y11, Y15), Basic Grey Kioshi designer paper, Creative Impressions 3/4"celery crepe ribbon, Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle dies

other: white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Plum Pudding and Lavender Moon cardstock (Papertrey Ink)

Lost?

Here's my card for today's SCS featured stamper challenge. I was inspired by this fun ATC. My card has a similar layout, just expanded to the size of an A2 card, and a similar scene, too.

I used one of the DoodleFactory Creatures from Starving Artistamps for my scene. Rupert is floating away with the help of a balloon from the Simple Birthday set. The image has a flower in his hands, but I omitted the flower and instead drew in a string for the balloon. The image is colored with Copic markers and carefully cut out. I used a plastic cloud template and turquoise ink, applied with a sponge, to create the sky and added the grass with Copic markers. The runaway Creature is set on the scene with foam tape. I finished it off with the "feeling a little lost?" sentiment from the Sentiments-Outdoor set.

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

Materials Used:

DoodleFactory Creatures (Rupert image), Sentiments-Outdoors, and Simple Birthday stamp sets (Starving Artistamps); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Tempting Turquoise ink, Cool Caribbean cardstock, sponge (Stampin' Up!); foam tape

My Sister Rocks!

Want to know why my sister rocks? She finished a half-marathon yesterday morning! I made this fun card to congratulate her.

My card's based on this week's Taylored Expressions sketch challenge. The jukebox image and sentiment come from Unity's March Kit of the Month, Rockin' it Unity Style. My kit arrived yesterday afternoon and I couldn't wait to ink up some of the cute images! The jukebox is colored with Copic markers. I airbrushed around it to give it a warm glow.

I paired two different patterned papers on the cardfront. Most of it is covered by a red dotted print. The panel on the top has a star-like pattern that's perfect for a congratulatory card. I stitched the star panel to the cardfront with a zig zag stitch for a fun detail. The "you rocked it!" sentiment is stamped in red ink on a yellow panel. It overlaps the image just a bit. I accented it with a fun yellow felt star with a red button center.

Materials Used:

March Kit of the Month-Rockin' it Unity Style (Unity Stamp Co.); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Riding Hood Red ink, Riding Hood Red and So Saffron cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Summer Sunrise cardstock, Pure Poppy button (Papertrey Ink); designer paper (Scenic Route, Jillibean Soup); felt star (American Crafts); sewing machine

Friends Furever

I missed the little note about needing to use an animal image for this week's sketch at Paper Craft Planet, so I gave the sketch a second try this afternoon. This time, I changed the orientation of the layout for a slightly different look.

I used the adorable boy and dog image from the Friends Furever set from My Favorite Things for the focal image. The image is stamped on white cardstock and colored with Copic markers, then carefully cut out. I attached the image to a paper panel with a subtle plaid pattern, bordered with zig zag stitching. A strip of grass, made using a border punch, runs along the bottom of the card to ground the image.

The set's coordinating "friends furever " sentiment is stamped on a coordinating yellow panel. I set the stamped panel in the upper left corner and accented it with a piece of knotted blue ribbon.

Materials Used:

Friends Furever stamp set (My Favorite Things); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Real Red Classic ink, Brocade Blue, So Saffron, and Certainly Celery cardstock (Stampin' Up!); designer paper (Memory Box-Homespun line); grass border punch (Martha Stewart); sewing machine

Saturday Springtime Doodles

It's a beautiful springtime Saturday here so that calls for an equally beautiful springtime card. I made this one based on this week's sketch challenge from Paper Craft Planet, hosted by Wendy.

I went pretty simple here using a new set from Papertrey Ink. I arranged several of the images from the Springtime Doodles set at the lower right corner of a kraft panel. The images are stamped in white ink and colored with Prismacolor pencils. The pencil colors look so nice against the kraft background!

I stamped the "thinking of you" sentiment in red ink on a yellow scrap and accented it with a button. The finished stamped panel is layered on a pale green card base.

If you play along with this week's sketch, be sure to upload your card to the PCP gallery using the keyword sk032010. I think there might even be a prize for one lucky participant this week . . .

Materials Used:
Springtime Doodles stamp set, Pure Poppy and Fresh Snow inks, Lemon Tart cardstock, Lemon Tart button, twine (Papertrey Ink); kraft cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Creme de Menthe cardstock (Gina K Designs); Prismacolor pencils

Cheers to Bellarific Friday

Here’s my card for this week’s Bellarific Friday challenge from Stamping Bella. This week’s challenge was to go monochromatic. I combined that with this week’s CPS sketch challenge to come up with this card.

I went with a black and gray color scheme with just a hint of silver thrown in. My Winobella is ready for a party in her sparkly dress! The dress is paper pieced using a scrap of silver paper. I colored her just a bit with Copic markers and some silver gel pen and added the coordinating “cheers!” sentiment to the panel.

I layered the image on a gray panel, then on a monochromatic-ish diagonal striped panel. The patterned panel is bordered with a tiny rim of silver paper for a little more sparkle. I ran a strip of elegant black satin ribbon along the right side of the card. A pretty button-embellished bow dresses it up just a little more and is the perfect finishing touch.

Materials Used:
Winobella image and sentiment (Stamping Bella); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Basic Gray and Whisper White cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); textured silver cardstock (DCWV); silver paper (Target); designer paper (Making Memories); black satin ribbon (Michaels); black button, twine (Papertrey Ink); silver gel pen (Sakura); Platinum Liquid Pearls (Ranger)

Blogger Challenge: Week 143/Friends with Flair

This week’s blogger challenge theme was spring. I used a flower image, colored in bold, bright tones, for my spring card.

I used the flower image from Unity’s January Stampin’ Store Kit, Livin’ and Lovin’ Life, for my focal image. The flower is stamped in black ink and colored with Copic markers. I trimmed around the image outline, getting a box shape. I stamped the image a second time and colored just the flower section of the image, then cut it out. It’s attached to the image panel with foam tape, providing an easy to achieve, dimensional, out of the box look. The flower is dotted with some Gold Pearl Liquid Pearls—they add a nice little bit of sparkle.

The rest of the card is pretty simple. I ran a strip of Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety designer paper along the left edge of the card base, then layered the matted image at the side of the strip. I slipped a red faux suede ribbon tab underneath the left edge of the image and attached the “thanks” sentiment panel at the lower right edge. A coordinating button fills in some of the empty space at the bottom of the sentiment panel. A little paper piercing around the corner of the image completes the card.

For more spring ideas, you can check out what the rest of the challenge players have created. Links to their blogs are in the sidebar on the right. And, you can check out the full list of Friends with Flair players on the Unity blog for more Unity inspiration.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Unity Stamp Co. January Stampin’ Store Kit-Livin’ and Lovin’ Life, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Copic markers (R14, R17, YR02, YR16, YR31, YG03, YG07), Ranger Gold Pearl Liquid Pearls, Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety designer paper and button, May Arts red faux suede ribbon

other: Barely Banana and Real Red cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); white cardstock (Neenah); 1 3/8” and 1 ½” circle punches (EK Success)

Spring Sympathy

A long-time close family friend lost her lengthy battle with cancer earlier this week. My mom requested that I make some sympathy cards to send to members of her family. Here’s one that I pulled together last night.

I stamped the large leafy branch image from Papertrey Ink’s Turning a New Leaf stamp set on Lavender Moon cardstock first in Ripe Avocado ink, then again directly over the first stamped image using Spring Moss ink. I wasn’t sure I really liked the Lavender Moon color, but I find that I’ve been using it more and more lately. I stamped one of the flower images from Everyday Classics twice on the branch using the darker Plum Pudding ink. The center of each flower is dotted with some Pink Petal Liquid Pearls.

The rest of the card is very simple. I matted the stamped image on a Ripe Avocado panel, then attached it to the card on an angle. The cardfront is covered with a piece of dotted paper from the Pretty Pastels paper pack. I stamped the “with sympathy” sentiment from Beyond Basic Borders in Plum Pudding ink on a circle and attached it to the card with some foam tape. I ran a piece of Plum Pudding grosgrain ribbon along the bottom of the card and added a button embellished bow.

Materials Used:
Turning a New Leaf, Everyday Classics, and Beyond Basic Borders stamp sets (Papertrey Ink); Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss, and Plum Pudding inks, Ripe Avocado, Lavender Moon, and Plum Pudding cardstock, Pretty Pastels designer paper, Plum Pudding grosgrain ribbon, Plum Pudding button, twine (Papertrey Ink); 1 3/8” and 1 ½” circle punches (EK Success); Pink Petal Liquid Pearls (Ranger); foam tape

A Sweet Little Birdie Told Me

Here’s a quick card based on this week’s Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. I paired two bold, bright patterned papers with a cute felt birdie for a sweet spring-feeling card.

The felt bird came from a bin of Easter-themed dollar felt items at Michaels. I used the bird’s bright yellow color as a jumping off point and paired it with papers from DCWV’s Flower Shower mat stack in warm reds and yellows. I found a red felt flower in my collection and embellished with a tiny yellow button. The button is set alongside the chick as a fun accent.

A strip of yellow grosgrain ribbon runs down the front of the card, separating the two patterns. I stamped the “a little birdie told me” sentiment from the Best Bunnies stamp set from Clear & Simple Stamps in red ink on a strip of yellow cardstock and accented it with a row of paper piercing. The sentiment runs across the card and its end is tucked under the ribbon for a clean look.

Materials Used:
Best Bunnies stamp set, button (Clear & Simple Stamps); Riding Hood Red Classic ink, Riding Hood Red and Barely Banana cardstock, So Saffron grosgrain ribbon (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (DCWV-Flower Shower matstack); felt chick (Michaels); felt flower (Prima); twine (Papertrey Ink)

You Rock in Teal

Here's a fun, masculine card for today's SCS sketch challenge. I pulled it together quickly with the You're My Hero stamp set from Taylored Expressions and some bold patterned paper from SEI.

For the focal image I stamped one of the set's guitars on Dusty Durango cardstock scraps and carefully cut it out. The rest of the card is pretty much built from scraps--love when I can do that! I set a Kiwi Kiss panel on the patterned paper piece, then layered a wide teal strip over the left side of the panel. I brought in just a little more green by edging the teal strip with a very narrow, paper pieced kiwi strip. I cut a circle from a scrap of shimmery silver paper and added that to the cardfront, then attached the guitar on an angle with foam tape. The set's "you rock" sentiment is stamped on a Dusty Durango scrap. I added a trio of star brads to fill in the empty space at the top of the green panel, finishing off the card.

Materials Used:

You're My Hero stamp set (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); Taken with Teal, Kiwi Kiss, and Dusty Durango cardstock (Stampin' Up!); silver paper (Target); designer paper (SEI-Addison line); star brads (Making Memories); circle dies (Nestabilities); foam tape

Tree-Mendous

Starving Artistamps is sponsoring this week’s sketch challenge at 2 Sketches 4 You. I played along and created a simple, masculine card based on the sketch. It also fits this week's masculine card challenge at Crazy 4 Challenges.

I used the trio of trees image from the DoodleFactory Into the Woods stamp set for my focal image. The trees are stamped in brown ink on a cream panel and their tops are paper pieced using scraps of designer paper. The paper pieced tops are put in place using foam tape to add some dimension. The coordinating “you’re tree-mendous” sentiment fit nicely underneath the image.

I layered the trees on a coordinating yellow mat, then attached a pair of brown strips along the sides of the image. I embossed a celery panel with a herringbone panel and ran a saffron ribbon across it, and then set the image panel on the embossed panel. It was looking a little too plain, so used my sewing machine to zig zag stitch along the edges of the brown strips to add a little more interest.

Materials Used:
DoodleFactory Into the Woods stamp set (Starving Artistamps); Rich Cocoa ink (Memento); Soft Suede, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, and Very Vanilla cardstock, Prints designer series paper, So Saffron grosgrain ribbon (Stampin’ Up!); Herringbone embossing folder (Cuttlebug); foam tape; sewing machine

Spring into Spring

***Be sure to scroll down to the post below to see my card for this month's i {heart} papers DT challenge.***

I think this Springing Bunny image from the latest Chicken Girl Design digi release at i {heart} papers is one of the cutest things! I featured her on this card for this week’s Fabulous Friday challenge from the i {heart} Copics group at Paper Craft Planet.

The bunny image is colored with Copic markers. I didn’t have the suggested shade of blue, so I went with the closest I had, just a shade or two darker. I cut the colored image out and attached it to another panel also printed with the image, using foam tape. She looks just like she’s spring off the page!

I paired the image with a plaid paper from Basic Grey’s Sugar Rush line. A strip of soft pink paper runs across the card. I had a piece of reversible pink and blue satin ribbon that was a perfect match for the colors in my image. It’s tied around the pink panel as an accent. The “spring is here” sentiment is cut out with an oval die and slipped under the pink panel.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Chicken Girl Design Springing Bunny digi image, Copic markers (C-1, B93, B95, B41, R81, R83, G12, RV10), Basic Grey Sugar Rush designer paper, May Arts reversible satin ribbon, Nestabilities petite oval dies

other: Brocade Blue and Pink Pirouette cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); white cardstock (Neenah); foam tape

Going Green with the i {heart} papers Design Team

The theme for this month’s i {heart} papers design team challenge is “going green.” DT members used the sketch from this week’s sketch challenge at Paper Craft Planet to create a card that incorporates recycled elements—and maybe a little green, too!

My “recycled” elements are pieces of paper left over from other projects. I keep a scrap container of both solid and patterned papers nearby when I’m crafting and try to re-use things that may not have worked just right for the project I originally intended to use them for. I’m always looking for ways to incorporate these elements into my projects so they don't go to waste.

Here, I colored the Spring Squirrel image from the new Chicken Girl Design digi release with Copic markers. The tail’s filled in with some white Sparkly Fluff—so cute! I layered the image on green and pink mats with scalloped edges.

I found a pair of coordinating designer paper pieces in my scrap collection—the green irregular grid one from a Jillibean Soup collection, the floral one from My Mind’s Eye's Penny Lane collection—to use to cover the cardfront. A piece of pink satin ribbon is wrapped around the floral paper. I added a pink flower with a rhinestone at the center as a simple, springy embellishment. The flower was originally white, but I used a Copic marker (R83) to get a pink shade to coordinate perfectly with my card.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the IHP DT has created for this month’s challenge. Here’s where to find them:

Carolyn
Cathleen
Deb
Gretchen
Kendra
Loretta
Lori (you're here!)
Lynn
Megan
Tracy
Kate

And, if you have a chance to play along, upload your card to the PCP gallery with the keyword sk031310 so that it can be added to the album with the rest of this week’s creations.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Chicken Girl Design Spring Squirrel digi image, Copic markers (C-1, C-3, C-5, R81, R83, R85, YG05, YG07, YG21, E99), Our Craft Lounge Sugar White Sparkly Fluff, Jillibean Soup Cannellini Bean designer paper, My Mind’s Eye Penny Lane collection designer paper, May Arts pink/light pink reversible satin ribbon, Petaloo Color Me Crazy flower

other:
Pink Pirouette and Kiwi Kiss cardstock, scallop edge punch (Stampin’ Up!); white cardstock (Neenah); foam tape

Lucky to Count You as a Friend

Here's my card for today's SCS clean and simple challenge. The challenge was to use shades of green and brown. I used pretty much entirely Papertrey Ink products on this quick one.

I started with a Spring Moss card base. A strip of Turning a New Leaf patterned paper runs partway across the cardfront, edged with a scalloped strip cut with PTI's medium scalloped die. I put a piece of Ripe Avocado satin ribbon across the patterned paper, covering the seam between the solid and patterned paper. A button embellished bow dresses it up just a little.

The "lucky to count you as a friend" sentiment from the Luck of the Irish stamp set is stamped above the patterned paper strip. I added the set's teeny, tiny clover to the right of the sentiment as a simple accent.

Materials Used:

Luck of the Irish stamp set, Ripe Avocado ink, Spring Moss cardstock, Turning a New Leaf patterned paper, Ripe Avocado satin ribbon, medium scallop edge die, wood button, twine (Papertrey Ink); Chocolate Chip cardstock (Stampin' Up!)

Boy and Dog, Friends Furever

I guess you could say I have puppies on the brain. I’ll have plenty more to say about that soon, but for the time being, here’s an adorable doggy themed card for this week’s My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club challenge. The challenge was to combine one of MFT’s templates with a Pure Innocence image. I just got this cute Boy and Dog image and thought it would be perfect for the challenge.

I downloaded the bone template from the MFT store and got to work. The base is cut from kraft cardstock and the inner panel is cut from cream. I inked the edges a bit to dirty it up. All of Cosmo the crazy dog’s bones looked kinda dirty to me after he’d had his paws on them for a while. The little boy and his dog are both colored with Copic markers and cut out. The boy is attached directly to the cream panel and the dog is attached with some foam tape.

At first, I had a hard time figuring out how to decorate the front of the card. Once I got my idea, it came together pretty quickly. I stretched a piece of wide green grosgrain ribbon across the inner panel and added a button-embellished bow to one end. The bow and button coordinate perfectly with the colors in the boy’s clothing. The “friends furever” sentiment from the Friends Furever set is stamped next to the pair in black ink.

The zig zag machine stitching around the edges of the cream panel was a last minute decision. I'm amazed that my sewing is as straight as it is given all of the curves on this piece!

Materials Used:
Pure Innocence Dog Gone Cute and Friends Furever stamp sets, bone template (My Favorite Things); Very Vanilla and Kraft cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Orange Zest button, twine (Papertrey Ink); green grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); silver gel pen (Sakura); foam tape; sewing machine

You Rock My Socks

I've been out of town since late Friday afternoon, but I made sure you didn't miss me while I was gone. I'll have some very exciting news from my weekend trip to share with you very soon . . . In the meantime, here's my card for Mercy's latest sketch challenge.

I used Tweeny Tween Rock, one of the new Pure Innocence images from My Favorite Things, as the focal image on my card. Tweeny Tween is colored with Copic markers. I had one of those green bean bags in my own bedroom when I was growing up!

The image is kind of large, so I made some adjustments to the layout so it would work on a standard A2 card instead of a square one. I was going for a sort of retro look and paired the colored image with two patterned papers from K & Company's Greenhouse line. There are a trio of silver brads along the upper right side of the flower patterned paper, but the pattern sort of eats up the small brads. Oh, well . . . I edged the panel with an intricate daisy border strip, courtesy of a Martha Stewart punch. There was just enough room to stamp one of the set's coordinating sentiments along the bottom of the pink card base.

Materials Used:

Pure Innocence Tweeny Teen Rock stamp set (My Favorite Things); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Hibiscus Burst cardstock (Papertrey Ink); designer paper (K & Company-Greenhouse line); Daisy border punch (Martha Stewart); green grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); silver brads (Making Memories)

Tree-Mendous Sweet Baby

Here's my card for this week's sketch challenge from the Our Craft Lounge blog. It also fits the celebration theme from this week's Going Grey challenge.

I stamped the sweet giraffe image from the Tree-mendous Love stamp set in black ink on a white panel and colored it with Copic markers. The matching sentiment fit nicely underneath the image. I layered it on a celery scallop edged long rectangle and set it aside while I worked on the cardfront.

I played with a few different patterned paper combinations before settling on these three patterns from Basic Grey's Sugar Rush collection. They're not all traditional "baby" colors, but they worked well together and with the giraffe image, too. I arranged the paper panels on a pale purple panel, then tied a white ruffle edged suede ribbon around the panel. The panel is set on a celery card base that matches the mat underneath the image. The image is attached with foam tape. A little different for a baby card, but I like how it turned out.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Our Craft Lounge Tree-Mendous Love stamp set, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Copic markers (Y17, R83, R85, E31, N1), Basic Grey Sugar Rush designer paper, May Arts white ruffled faux suede ribbon, Nestabilities long rectangle and scalloped long rectangle dies

other: Almost Amethyst and Certainly Celery cardstock (Stampin' Up!); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); foam tape

Retro Inspired Birthday

Here’s my card for last week’s Viva la Verve sketch/inspiration challenge. This month’s inspiration room is the kitchen. My card is inspired by a striking retro style turquoise/teal blue and red kitchen, with touches of black and white.

I made this birthday card using the sketch and incorporating the colors of the kitchen. The focal image is the trio of balloons from Verve’s Party Time set. They’re stamped twice so that one set of balloons could be cut out and attached to the image panel with foam tape. I colored them to match the colors in the inspiration room, then added the sentiment in the lower right corner using red ink.

I paired the balloons with some DCWV and SEI designer papers with subtle patterns. These colors are pretty bold, so I didn’t want to add too much going on in the background. I ran a piece of red ribbon around the front of the card and added a button-embellished bow. A red scalloped strip is slipped under the ribbon—mostly hidden by the image and the bow, but it’s there!

Materials Used:
Party Time stamp set (Verve Stamps); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Riding Hood Red Classic ink, Riding Hood Red, Taken with Teal, and Basic Black cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (DCWV-Flower Shower matstack; SEI-Black Orchid line); red grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); medium scallop die, Pure Poppy button, twine (Papertrey Ink); foam tape