Merci and More

Here's another card I made last weekend for a challenge at Stampin' Out Alzheimer's. The challenge was to include a winged thing on your card. I went with one of the pretty Amy Butler die cut butterflies as my winged thing.

I paired the gray and green patterned butterfly with a piece of patterned paper from SEI’s Bridgeport line that has a similar green and grey in its stripes. It’s hard to see in the photo, but the white stripes have a subtle shimmer. So pretty!

The butterfly is layered on a shimmery white circle, then on a scalloped purple panel. I dotted each of the scallops with Silver Pearl Liquid Pearls to coordinate with both the shimmer in the patterned paper and the colors on the card. I added the simple “merci” sentiment from the Chelsea Sentiments set on a small oval, accented with a shimmery brad. All of Kate’s cards with this sentiment set totally sold me on adding it to my collection!

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Amy Butler Tea Box die cut butterflies, SEI Bridgeport (Boathouse) designer paper, Ranger Silver Pearl Liquid Pearls, Inkadinkadoo Chelsea Sentiments stamp set, circle and scalloped circle Nestabilities, Stemma Silver Wedding Glitter Brads

other: Basic Gray Classic ink, Kiwi Kiss, Marvelous Magenta, Basic Gray, and Shimmery White cardstock, small oval punch, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Threading Water border punch (Fiskars)

I am a total sucker for a cute pair of flip flops. In fact, I just got two more pairs at Target the other day (having 3 Targets so close to my home is absolutely deadly . . .). They’re pretty inexpensive, so I don’t feel too bad about adding more to my collection. In addition to the ones for my own feet, I couldn’t resist picking up a cute mini flip flop box at Michaels the other day. I thought it would look so cute “dressed up” with some patterned papers and embellishments from i {heart} papers.

And, I was right. Here’s the altered flip flop. I covered the box with patterned paper from GCD Studios’ Eye Candy line. I used both sides of the paper to get these coordinating colors and patterns. I added some matching May Arts faux suede ribbon around the side of the flip flop box (the perfect width!).

For an embellishment, I used my Nested Blossom Nestabilities dies and some bright felt to cut out a pair of flowers. So easy! I cut a slit in each of the flowers so I could attach them to the top of the flip flop. This photo is heading right in to the June design team gallery at Paper Craft Planet. Our theme for this month is beach/summer stuff, so this’ll be a perfect fit!

Materials Used:
from i {heart}papers: GCD Studios Eye Candy (Taffy) designer paper, May Arts fuschia faux suede ribbon, Nestabilities Nested Blossom dies

other: flip flop box (Michaels)

Birthday and Beyond

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

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

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

Materials Used:

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

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

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

Materials Used:

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

Behind

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

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

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

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

Cuppie Trio

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

i {heart} papers Challenge

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

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

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

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

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

Materials Used:

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

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

KSS Monday: Stampin' Out Alzheimer's

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

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

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

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

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

Materials Used:

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