Shine Bright

I got my preordered set from Pink Poison--which will soon (very soon!) to be called The Greeting Farm--in the mail today. That was fast! I ordered it on Friday and it traveled all the way across the country by Monday. I was too late to get some of the sets I wanted as a preorder, so I'll be back on January 1 to order the other new ones and maybe an Anya image or two.

The set I got today is called Light Up and features some candle images and matching sentiments. I used the image with three candles on a tray for this card based on Mary Jo's sketch challenge. I picked a patterned paper from Imaginisce with swirls that matched the swirls on the candles--I love when little details like that work out! I colored the candles in vivid colors, then embellished the swirls with a Stardust glitter pen and the flames with a gold Spica pen. The More Mustard mat under the candle image is embossed with the Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls folder.

I used a little trial and error to get the sizes of the patterned paper panels just right. I placed them on contrasting red paper, then knotted a piece of red satin ribbon around the panel before attaching the candle panel. I stamped the sentiment directly on the patterned paper in red ink, then added a pearl Dew Drop next to it.

Materials Used:

Light Up stamp set (Pink Poison/The Greeting Farm); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers, gold Spica pen (Copic); Real Red Classic ink, Real Red, More Mustard, and Baja Breeze cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); red satin ribbon (Target); circle die (Nestabilities); D'Vine Swirls embossing folder (Cuttlebug); patterned paper (Imaginisce-Snowy Jo/Tinsel to the Top); clear Stardust pen (Sakura); Dew Drop (Kitchen Sink Stamps)

Critter Cards

I used some cute "critter" images to complete some different blogger sketch challenges this afternoon.

This one is for this week's sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You. Like I've said before, these sketches really challenge me, but I think that's good. Here, I used the Basic Grey Urban Prairie designer paper as the basis for my card. I built all the other elements around the color and feel of the paper.

I used the smallest of the Nested Bird die cut set and some shimmery red paper from Paper Temptress to create the embossed bird on the image panel. I sketched out the branch on a scrap of brown paper, then cut it out by hand. The spunky "listen up!" sentiment is from Unity Stamp Co.'s December Kit of the Month. My kit arrived yesterday and I wanted to try it out--I thought the bird and sentiment were a fun pair.

I layered the Soft Sky panel with the bird and branch on a black scallop edge panel so it wouldn't be lost against the patterned paper. I paper pierced a bold red strip of cardstock and added a black satin ribbon around it, then layered that on the card. I added 5 red rhinestones along the right edge of the card, matching the red centers of the flowers in the paper.

Materials Used:

December Kit of the Month (Unity Stamp Co.); Real Red Classic ink, Real Red, Close to Cocoa, Soft Sky, and Basic Black cardstock, mat pack and paper piercing tool, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); black satin ribbon (Target); red self-adhesive rhinestones (Michaels); Threading Water punch (Fiskars); designer paper (Basic Grey's Urban Prairie); Nested Bird die (Nestabilities); red shimmery paper (Paper Temptress)

This cutie is for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge. Instead of a using an image with a cupcake, I went with images from Pink Poison's Cup Full of Stuff set--see, there's still a "cup" in there!

I colored the pair of mice with Copic markers and embellished them with some Stickles. I also sponged around them to create a soft blue sky, then layered them on a scalloped Baja Breeze circle.

The cardfront is covered with a panel of My Mind's Eye Christmas paper. It's soft and shimmery and glittery IRL. Because of the texture, it proved difficult to stamp on, so I ended up stamping the sentiment on a scrap of Kraft cardstock (hiding my kind of smudgy stamping attempt underneath . . .). I used another strip of My Mind's Eye paper for the panel across the cardfront. I wrapped a piece of Kraft taffeta around this before attaching it to the patterned paperpanel. Everything's set on a Kraft card base--I love the look of blue and brown together, especially on wintery cards.

Materials Used:

Cup of Stuff stamp set (Pink Poison--soon to be The Greeting Farm); white cardstock (Xerox); Rich Cocoa and Tuxedo Black inks (Memento); Baja Breeze Classic ink, Baja Breeze and Kraft cardstock, paper piercing tool, Kraft taffeta, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); self-adhesive rhinestones (Michaels); designer paper (My Mind's Eye-Christmas Stack)

Playing on the Planet

I am so glad the weekend's here. I'm planning a fun afternoon with one of my friends, followed by a dinner out with her family, so that should keep me busy and entertained for most of the day. I made sure to get to the new sketch challenge from Paper Craft Planet before I needed to head out for the day.

I adjusted the sketch a little from a square card to a standard sized one. I used images from the Home Sweet Home set from Pink Poison. I thought this image was so cute when I first saw it, but wasn't sure my coloring skills were up to the challenge, so I kinda shied away from it. I think I ended up doing okay with it here. I colored the couch in a green shade similar to the one of my own living room couch and filled in the pillows to match the colors of the patterned and solid papers I used on the card. Fortunately, I have not (yet) come home to find my couch looking a little beat up like this one. I think Cosmo the crazy dog realizes that the living room couch is off limits to him . . .

I stamped the sentiment on a narrow strip of cardstock, then rounded the ends of one side before attaching it to the cardfront. I added a little paper flower with a sparkly rhinestone brad at the center to the other side.

Materials Used:

Home Sweet Home stamp set (Pink Poison); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic Ciao); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye Everyday Tango paper pad); oval and scalloped oval dies (Nestabilities); Ballet Blue Craft ink, Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, and Certainly Celery cardstock, corner rounder, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); paper flower, rhinestone brad (Target)

The sketch challenge isn't the only regular challenge over at Paper Craft Planet. This card is for the weekly color challenge, posted every Wednesday. This week's color combo is Kiwi Kiss, Elegant Eggplant, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, and Very Vanilla. I used Unity's Tiny Trinity set for the images here. The tree is colored with Copic markers, then brushed with a light coating of Angel Wings Shimmerz paints. So pretty!

I have tons of Bella Rose designer paper, so I used the dotted Kiwi Kiss piece for the panel on the cardfront. I added a scalloped strip to one side of the panel and tied a piece of dark chocolate satin ribbon around the panel. Clean and simple--just my style.

Materials Used:
Tiny Trinity stamp set (Unity Stamp Co.); cream cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Rich Cocoa ink (Memento); markers (Copic Ciao); Chocolate Chip Classic ink, Creamy Caramel and Elegant Eggplant cardstock, Bella Rose designer paper, scallop edge punch, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Angel Wings paint (Shimmerz); 7/8" and 1 1/8" circle punches (EK Success); dark brown satin ribbon (Target)

Pretties for Pink Poison

I was so excited when Marie at Pink Poison offered me the opportunity to be a guest designer this month. I love her fun images, especially the cute little animals.

When I saw this set, I immediately thought of Cosmo the crazy dog. He is forever carrying a stuffed animal (minus the stuffing—he eats it if there’s any in the animal and that is not a good thing!) in his mouth. He always brings one to the front door with him to help greet me when I come home.

Here, I colored the puppy image with Copic markers and layered it on a sentiment panel reading “Your friends miss you.” I added a row of tiny pinkish pearls underneath it. Thankfully, the pearls came on an attached adhesive strip so I didn’t have to place each one individually. The pearls, along with the pink gingham paper and the scallop details, give the card a feminine feel. The scallops were actually an afterthought—added a day after the card was “finished”—but I think they really add to the layout.

Materials Used:
Home Sweet Home stamp set (Pink Poison); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic Ciao); Regal Rose Classic ink, Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, and Barely Banana cardstock, scallop edge punch (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (Memory Box Layette Collection); Lemon Tart satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink); pearls

The next three cards come from the new set. So cute! Here, I did a wintery themed card featuring the pair of mice. I love blue and silver together for winter cards! I colored the mice to coordinate with the Pacific Point cardfront and the patterned paper panels on the cardfront. I found some coordinating dotted ribbon to tie around the panel, too. I stamped the sentiment directly on the patterned paper panel in bold Pacific Point ink, then added a tiny sparkly snowflake die cut with a rhinestone at the center.

Materials Used:
Cup of Stuff stamp set (Pink Poison); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic Ciao); Pacific Point Classic ink, Pacific Point and Bashful Blue cardstock, mat pack and paper piercing tool, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); patterned paper (Memory Box Winter Wonderland Collection); die cut snowflake (Me & My Big Ideas); self-adhesive rhinestone, ribbon (Michaels); silver paper (Target); sewing machine

Here’s another mouse image from the set. I colored the mouse with Copic markers to match the floral patterned paper. The paper looks kind of vintage and aged to me, so it seemed like a good match for a mouse in a tea cup. I used my sewing machine to stitch a zig zag strip along the left side of the patterned paper panel. I wrapped a piece of red ribbon around the panel, then added the matted mouse image, along with a matching sparkly confetti flower.

I trimmed off a tiny bit of the Soft Sky cardfront and added a bold red scalloped edge to the bottom. The scallop detailing kind of went with the vintage feel of the card.

Materials Used:
Cup of Stuff stamp set (Pink Poison); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic Ciao); Soft Sky, Riding Hood Red, and Baja Breeze cardstock, scallop edge punch, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); oval dies (Nestabilities); patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye-Out & About, No. 2 Floral Stripes); ribbon (Martha Stewart); red flower confetti (Bride’s); pearl Dew Drop (Kitchen Sink Stamps)

This is my final card using images from this set. No mouse on this one, though. Instead I used the elegant floral image in a fall color scheme. I have this pretty flocked paper that I thought would make a great background for this image. I cut the paper with SU!’s Top Note die and layered it on the cardfront. I tied a knot in a piece of dark brown grosgrain ribbon and used that across the cardfront, threading it under the image panel, but over the scalloped mat. I added a trio of shimmery gold dots in the upper left corner as an accent.

Materials Used:
Cup of Stuff stamp set (Pink Poison); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic Ciao); Really Rust, More Mustard, and Kraft cardstock, Crystal Effects, Top Note die, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); brown grosgrain ribbon (Morex); flocked paper (Target); gold dots (Stamping Bella)

And, I had to go back to one of my “old” favorites from Pink Poison, too. I made this using the Cupcakes set. I used my sewing machine to stitch together some different but coordinating panels of patterned paper scraps as the backdrop for the cupcake image.

I colored the cupcake with Copic markers and added some Crystal Effects to the cherry for a glossy look. I stamped the “Yum!” sentiment in craft ink and added a trio of Dew Drops to embellish the panel.

Thanks, Marie, for the opportunity to be a guest designer for Pink Poison. I can’t wait to see what you come up with next . . .

Materials Used:
Cupcakes stamp set (Pink Poison); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic Ciao); patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, and Barely Banana cardstock, Regal Rose Craft ink, mat pack and paper piercing tool, Crystal Effects, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); Dew Drops (Kitchen Sink Stamps); sewing machine

Balloon Bunny and Bitty Bloom

I am so not feeling today's sketch from today's SCS sketch challenge! This is actually my second try (definitely not sharing the first!) and I'm still not thrilled about what I've come up with, so I don't have a lot to say about this one. I think it might work as a kid's birthday card.

I used the Lucky Bunnies set from Pink Poison for the main image. I colored the image with Copic markers and embellished it with a little white Fun Flock on the belly--cute! I really should use Fun Flock more often. It's a nice detail, but I always forget to pull it out. I stamped the balloon a second time, colored it, then attached it to the image with a dimensional. It's covered with a coating of Crystal Effects for a shiny look.

I cut patterned paper pieces from a My Mind's Eye paper pad SU!'s Patterns series pad to form the border around the card. I embellished the corners with brads. By far not my favorite Pink Poison card--I promise that on Friday night, I'll have more Pink Poison stuff to share that I'm much happier with than I am with this. . .

Materials Used:

Lucky Bunnies stamp set (Pink Poison); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic Ciao); Pacific Point and Real Red cardstock, Real Red Patterns designer paper, Crystal Effects, silver brads, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); white Fun Flock (Stampendous); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye)

I like this one much better! I used Julee's Mojo Monday sketch as the basis for it. I used one of the new Bitty Blooms images from Stamping Bella for the main image. It's colored with Copic markers. The flower centers are covered with Gunmetal Stickles for some shimmer. I actually managed to avoid dropping the card face down while the Stickles set, which is unusual for me.

I used a combination of striped and dotted pink papers for the panel on the front to coordinate with the color I used for the dress. I went with light shades of pink, matted on a bold red border with a scalloped edge. I tied a strip of red satin ribbon around the panels to bring in a little more of the bold color.

I guess now that I've broken in to my newly arrived Bella stuff, it's time to go find it a home. The pile on my desk just isn't working for me . . .

Materials Used:

Poppy Bittybloom image (Stamping Bella); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic Ciao); Pink Pirouette and Real Red cardstock, Pink Pirouette Patterns and Washington Apple designer paper, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Gunmetal Stickles (Ranger); red satin ribbon (Target); red self-adhesive rhinestones (Michaels); dotted scallop edge punch (Martha Stewart)

Playing with (Pink) Poison

I recently got two sets from Pink Poison stamps and I’m having fun trying them out. The cupcake images looked great, so I had to add them to my collection. And, I’m a big fan of bunnies (back from my childhood days), so I had to have the Lucky Bunnies set, too. It’s so cute!

I used Taylor's Cupcake Challenge sketch for this bright card using, of course, cupcakes. When I first saw this sketch, I was a little intimidated by all of the circles, but I'm really pleased with how this one turned out.

I stamped the small cupcake image on a piece of white cardstock and colored it with Copic markers. I embellished it with some Stickles, too.

I wanted to make a cheerful looking birthday card so I paired the colored cupcake image with bright, bold patterned papers from a My Mind's Eye paper pack. I mixed spots and stripes for a fun look. My Nestabilities circle dies made cutting out all of the circles quick and easy.

I added the sentiment in bold brown ink directly on the largest patterned circle, using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to position it to fit on the circle. I used two bright green brads (what other use would I find for brads so bright?!!) to draw attention to the sentiment.

Materials Used:
Cupcake stamp set (Pink Poison Stamps); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic Ciao); Yellow and Cotton Candy Stickles (Ranger); Lemon Tart Summer Sunrise, and Sweet Blush cardstock, Sweet Blush stitched grosgrain ribbon (Papertrey Ink); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); Chocolate Chip Classic ink, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); green brads (Making Memories);

Here’s my first card using the Lucky Bunnies set. Here, I colored the rabbit image with Copic markers and embellished the flower with some Spica glitter pen and a self-adhesive rhinestone.

I paired the rabbit image with a piece of floral paper from Memory Box. I layered this panel on a Pink Pirouette cardfront. Where the panel meets the cardstock is covered with a strip of wide pink grosgrain ribbon. I placed the colored image in the center of the ribbon, overlapping the patterned panel. I added a pair of pink self-adhesive rhinestones to frame the image.

Materials Used:
Lucky Bunnies stamp set (Pink Poison Stamps); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers, glitter pen (Copic); Regal Rose Classic ink, Pink Pirouette, Barely Banana, and Certainly Celery cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); wide pink grosgrain ribbon (American Crafts); large and small self-adhesive rhinestones (Michaels); circle dies (Nestabilities)


For this one, I wanted a card that I could use for a child’s birthday card, and not too girlie in case I decided to give it to a little boy. That’s what drove my red and blue color scheme. Again, I colored the rabbit image with Copic markers. I stamped the balloon a second time on a scrap of cardstock, colored the image and trimmed around it, then attached it to the image panel with a dimensional.

I created a striped panel for the cardfront using scraps of solid and patterned papers. I layered the matted rabbit image over this panel using dimensionals. The upper right corner of the image looked a little too empty, so I added a bright blue photo corner, embellished with dimensionals, to finish the card.

Materials Used:
Lucky Bunnies stamp set (Pink Poison Stamps); white cardstock (Xerox); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic Ciao); Soft Sky, Pacific Point, and Riding Hood Red cardstock, Real Red Prints Series designer paper, brads, photo corner punch, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!)

Yum!

I just got these new cupcake stamps from Pink Poison and I couldn't resist trying them out for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge sketch from the weekend. My version strayed a little from the original sketch, but was definitely inspired by it.

I stamped the cupcake on a scrap of white cardstock and colored it with Copic markers. I trimmed around it, then covered the cherry with some Crystal Effects for a shiny glaze and coated the cupcake top with some Stickles. I layered the cupcake on a light pink mat, then on a darker pink circle, then on a scalloped red circle to match the cherry.

I used a piece of pink patterned paper to cover most of the cardfront and match the pink cupcake. I created a layered band using a piece of dotted red paper attached to two strips of coordinating cardstock. I used my sewing machine to stitch the band in place. My sewing has gotten much straighter--I'm finally getting the hang of it!

To go with all of the dots in the patterned paper, I tied a piece of dotted ribbon around the card, then placed the cupcake panel using dimensionals. The pink patterned paper was light enough that I was able to stamp the "Yum!" sentiment directly on the paper in red ink for a bold finishing touch.

Materials Used:

Cupcake stamp set (Pink Poison); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); white cardstock (Xerox); markers (Copic Ciao); Pure Poppy Palette ink, Pure Poppy cardstock, Pure Poppy Swiss dot satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink); Regal Rose and Pink Pirouette cardstock, Real Red Patterns designer paper, Crystal Effects, paper piercing tool, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); patterned paper (Me & My Big Ideas Alison paper pad); Cotton Candy Stickles (Ranger); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); sewing machine