A-maze-ing Birthday

I've had the fun maze stamp set, coordinating dies, and maze pieces in my stash for a while now.  When I saw that the current My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge had a nice, large round panel front and center, I knew it was time to put the set to use!

For the background, I adhered a yellow diagonal striped patterned paper panel with rounded edges on a red card base.  A strip of silver cardstock, edged with a narrow red strip, was placed across the yellow panel.  I stamped one of the set's birthday themed sentiments directly on the silver strip in black ink.  Once that was done, I began to assemble the the maze that would become the focal element in my design. The base is made from pale gray cardstock.  I stamped a silver star at the center, then added one of the maze shapes and a maze sphere (of course!) on top.  After securing the maze base to the cardfront, I added the circle shaker window on top.  I edged the maze with a contrasting red circle to really highlight and draw attention to the interactive element.

Materials Used:
You're A-maze-ing stamp set, Grout Gray cardstock, Birthday Blowout 6x6 paper pad, Circle Shaker Window and Frame dies, Circle Shaker Pouches, maze shapes-white, maze spheres (My Favorite Things); Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko/IMAGINE Crafts); Real Red cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Recollections Silver cardstock (Michaels); corner rounder

You're the Sugar in My Lemonade

Here's my card for the current My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge.  I created a summery take on the layout using the Kitschy Kitchen stamp set and coordinating dies.

I built my design on a golden yellow card base with a summery golden yellow gingham panel with curved stitched edges, courtesy of one of the Die-namics Stitched Basic Edges dies, in the middle.  I used the Kitschy Kitchen set to stamp a red pitcher and a pair of yellow lemons.  The images were cut out with the matching dies, then clustered at the edge of  a yellow stitched square frame, using foam tape for dimension.  The centers of the flowers on the pitcher were dotted with small red enamel dots for another little pop of dimension.  I stamped the "you're the sugar in my lemonade" sentiment from the You Bake Me Happy stamp set just inside the top edge of the frame in contrasting red pigment ink to complete the design. 

Materials Used:
Kitschy Kitchen and You Bake Me Happy stamp sets, Daffodil cardstock, Die-namics Kitschy Kitchen, Stitched Basic Edges, and Single Stitch Line Square Frames dies (My Favorite Things); The Paper Studio-Yellow Gingham designer paper (Hobby Lobby); red enamel dots (Doodlebug Design); foam tape

A Tall Little Wish

This week’s CAS-ual Fridays challenge was to make a tall and skinny (4” x 9” card). The size intrigued me, so I gave it a try and came up with this card. I had a pretty hard time photographing it, so forgive the lousy look . . .

I used one of the bird cage images from the Elegant Birds set from My Cute Stamps as my focal image. The image is stamped in gray, as is the bird that sits inside it. I used Copic markers to color the bird and added a teeny, tiny pearl as an eye. The cage is dotted with Bisque Liquid Pearls for a decorative touch and matted on a yellow oval to match the color of the bird inside.

I cut a long, narrow strip of paper from Echo Park’s A Walk in the Park line to cover the bottom of the cardfront, then layered the bird cage on the card, overlapping part of the patterned paper and part of the plain cardfront. A piece of yellow baker’s twine extends from the top of the bird cage to the top of the card to “suspend” the cage. I added a little matching bow at the top of the cage to hide the glue dot I used to adhere the twine. The set’s “ a little wish for lots of happiness” is stamped in light green ink on a yellow strip. It’s pale, but it shows up much better IRL than in the photo. I added some faux stitching with a white gel pen to anchor the strip and to add another detail while staying with a clean and simple design.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: My Cute Stamps Elegant Birds stamp set, Tsukineko Memento London Fog and Pear Tart inks, Copic markers (Y11, Y13, Y18), Zva Creative self-adhesive pearl, Spellbinders oval Nestabilities dies, Ranger Bisque Liquid Pearls and Inkssentials white pen, Echo Park A Walk in the Park Collection Kit, Divine Twine Lemon yellow baker’s twine

other: white cardstock (Xerox); Daffodil Delight cardstock (Stampin’ Up!)

A Little Wish

Here's my card for this week's SCS sketch challenge. Since I was away at the beach, I haven't stamped at all over the last week and this simple card seemed to take much longer than it should have!

The sketch's long, skinny-ish center panel called for a lengthy image, so I used one of the bird cage images from the Elegant Birds set from My Cute Stamps as a focal image. I stamped the cage and one of the set's birds in gray ink. The bird's colored with Copic markers for a little contrast. I also dotted some Silver Pearl Liquid Pearls on the cage for texture. So that the cage wasn't floating in mid-air, I punched a small hole at its top and threaded a piece of green baker's twine through it, adding a bow at the top of the cage to dress it up.

The panel is edged with a kraft strip, machine stitched along the seam between the two papers. I layered the panel on a dotted green paper, matching the color of the birds. The set's sentiment is stamped in gray ink on a green panel with rounded edges. I added a white button, threaded with natural twine to bring in another kraft-shaded element, as a simple accent.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: My Cute Stamps Elegant Birds stamp set, Tsukineko Memento London Fog ink, Copic markers (YG01, YG03, Y11), Ranger Silver Pearl Liquid Pearls, Divine Twine Green Apple baker's twine, Echo Park Dots and Stripes Metropolitan 6x6 paper pad, Creative Impressions natural twine string thread

other: Crumb Cake, Kiwi Kiss, and Whisper White cardstock (Stampin' Up!); white button (Michaels); corner rounder; sewing machine

IHP DT Challenge: What's New?

For this month’s i {heart} papers design team challenge, we’re highlighting some of the newest products to arrive at IHP. Winter CHA products are starting to arrive and the store’s overflowing with lots of new goodies to choose from, including stamps, papers, markers, and embellishments.

I went clean and simple on my project to really show off the pretty image from the Elegant Birds set from My Cute Stamps, one of the stamp lines that’s new to IHP. I stamped the birdcage in London Fog ink, then added the bird. I colored the bird with Copic markers and highlighted around the cage, too, in a very pale blue-green marker. I dotted the cage with some Liquid Pearls for a little dimension and shine.

The image panel is set on a large patterned paper panel from the Hazel paper pad, one of the pretty new My Mind’s Eye Stella and Rose lines. Love these scaled-down patterns for card making! I rounded one of the panel’s corners and did some faux stitching along the edges to add interest. To anchor the cage, I used a piece of gray baker’s twine (not a brand new IHP product, but a relatively new one!), threaded through the top of the cage and extending to the top of the card. A matching bow decorates the twine at the card’s top. For a little sparkle, I attached a clear crystal at the top of the cage. The sentiment is stamped on an aqua panel in the same gray ink I used for the image. All the pieces are arranged on a coordinating blue cardfront for an almost monochromatic look.

Don’t miss what the rest of the IHP team has come up with using the latest and greatest. It’s sure to inspire you—and make you want to shop! Here’s where to find them:
Carolyn
Deb
Gretchen
Kendra
Loretta
Lori (you're here!)
Lynn
Megan
Tracy
Kate

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: My Cute Stamps Elegant Birds stamp set, Tsukineko Memento London Fog ink, X-Press Copic blending cardstock, Copic markers (BG0000, BG000, BG10, BG11, BG13, BG15), Spellbinders circle die, Ranger Silver Pearl Liquid Pearls and Inkssentials white pen, My Mind’s Eye Stella and Rose Hazel 6 x 6 paper pad, Divine Twine Oyster Grey baker’s twine, Zva Creative clear crystal

other: Aqua Mist and Hawaiian Shores cardstock (Papertrey Ink); corner chomper