Monday, August 31, 2009

Pretty in Pink Movie Monday

 This morning when I woke up and turned on the computer, I went to 365 Cards to see what the challenge would be. Was I ever surprised to see that one of my cards from last week – Sporty Saturday’s Baseball Anyone was picked as part of the Top Trio! Yay…I was able to add the cool blinky :)

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Today’s challenge was to take inspiration from the movie Pretty in Pink. I could have called my sister to have her recite the movie line by line while I worked, but decided against that. It would not have been finished until after midnight. I decided to keep with the colors of the movie poster shown for my card. I began with a scrap of gray cardstock and used my Laugh stamp by Paperbag Studios. On a side note, Robin Marie, (who this is a self-portrait of) autographed it for me when the stamp first came out. She is a local gal here. I stamped it with versamark and sprinkled Tattered Rose Distress embossing powder on it. I added a layer of white and kept them askew. I added white and pink primas across the top with K & Company rhinestones for the middles. I also added two rhinestone hearts near the image.  The base cardstock is shimmery Bazzill.

I hope you had a magical Monday.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Super sketchy – Whatever you are…

I am working at the craft table late tonight, but I was determined to keep up with the challenges at 365 Cards. Today is Sunday so that meant a fabulous sketch by Pam. To see the design and all the other wonderful creations you can click Day 183.  

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This was a super fast and easy card to put together. The base of SU Soft Sky was already cut from a card kit that was extra. The patterned paper is scraps from SU Parisian Breeze I believe. The flourishes are rub-ons by K & Company. The focal image is actually a cardstock sticker by Bo Bunny that I fell in love with at the LSS. Ta da… all I had to do was cut the diamond shape. I felt like the top of the card was a bit bare, but the sketch was that way so I left it.

So why was I so busy on  a Sunday that I couldn’t get near my table until this late? Our middle son moved out on his own this weekend. Actually with a good friend of the family. So we had some rearranging to do and some shopping. Tonight will be night two without him home and I hope it is easier on me than night one:)

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Baseball Anyone?

 Today’s card is for Day 182 at 365 cards. It is called Sporty Saturday and you are required to use a ball somewhere on your card. I looked through all my stuff and didn’t have a single ball stamp, sticker or chipboard. Then I thought, which type of ball could I make the easiest? The baseball won.

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I began by stamping the jersey from Just So Sporty by Melanie M. onto a piece of SU Pacific Point cardstock. I stamped the words on the front and added some shading with a blue colored pencil. I trimmed the jersey using a white pencil. Next I stamped the cap adding the star to the middle panel. At first I colored the middle panel white around the star but that didn’t look quite right. So this is take two and I like the look much better. I used my circle nestabilities to cut out a round shape for the baseball. I drew two arcs in grey and then pierced holes on either side. I used a thin red marker to make the stitching effect. Smokey Gray Versafine was sponged on the ball so it didn’t look brand new. For the background layer, I used various words from the stamp set and put them on my acrylic block. I stamped them on an angle continuously on a white piece. This was layered to a piece of Pacific Point that was corner punched. I used some foam tape to pop up the ball, shirt and cap for dimension.

Enjoy your weekend and have a ball:)

Friday, August 28, 2009

Rhinestone Wish

 I went back to work today and wore a sweater to keep warm. I still am not sure what is up, but I wasn’t feeling as  teal wishchilled as the past few days. I had to attend a lunch meeting that was about 20 minutes away from the office. I drove with a co-worker who knew I hadn’t been feeling well. That sweet man drove in 92 degree Florida heat, with the windows down! What a great co-worker :) On to today’s card. The challenge over at 365 Cards was called White Space. We had to leave space on the card and could only use the areas where I have my white strips. I choose to use SU Taken With Teal as my card base and add white strips. The top strip was cut with a MS border punch and the bottom was paper pierced with an Ornare template. I added a small word from the SU Small Script set and then teal rhinestones by Kaiser.

The space shuttle is set to launch tonight and the launch pad is only 40 miles south of us. We are going to try and stay awake and drive over to the beachside and watch it take off. Night launches are spectacular to see and feel. We actually feel the ground shake. Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Sweet Memories

I am still not feeling quite up to par today so I stayed home from work. I have the worst chills and living in Florida, this should not happen. It is over 90 outside, I have my thermostat set to 79 and I am wearing a long sleeve shirt, sweat pants and a blanket is draped over me. After watching all the shows that I had saved on my DVR, I brought out my laptop to see what was happening in blogland. The challenge today at 365 Cards was to Go Vintage. I must admit, I have always loved this look and admire those who create the look with ease.

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I have finally accepted that I am not a “vintage gal” and have given most of my vintage stash away. I pulled out a few of my embellishments that I still have and stared at them for awhile. They wouldn’t magically jump on the card like I was hoping they would do. Pushing my blanket aside, I set to work. I began by stamping this image from Tin Can Mail with Vintage Sepia ink. Next I tore the edges and sponged on some ink. I used a scrap of mulberry paper to layer the image on. The background paper is by Creative Imaginations. I cut this to fit the card, then tore the edges and sponged them. I used a piece of SU Cameo Coral cardstock to bring out the color of the background paper. I attempted to add the lace around the image also, but that was overkill. I really wanted to use the lace though and finally settled on running it down the edge as shown. I added a frilly corner, vintage buttons and a heart-shaped lock to complete the look.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Butterfly Love Sketch

I came home early from work today because I was not feeling well. I was extremely cold and I had a headache. I took some Advil then browsed through a few challenge blogs. I came upon two that intrigued me. The first was  sketch # 66 at A Spoonful Of Sugar and Kim’s challenge to use a quote at Flutter by Wednesday. The one requirement at Flutter by is you must use either a butterfly or fairy on your card. NO PROBLEM HERE.

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I began by looking at my quotes that pertained to butterflies and choose the one above. It is an um-mounted stamp that I recently bought at Stampfest but I don’t remember what company made it. I began by stamping the butterfly by Sarasota Stamps in Versafine Smokey Gray. I stamped once on a piece of scrap paper so I could get the lightest image possible. I then stamped the sentiment on top using Versafine Onyx Black. I sponged Dusty Durango ink on the edges and used my wide tip Zig glue pen to lay down a nice line of ultra-fine glitter. (The sentiment talks about glitterings so I made sure the card had glitter). The sketch required I also had a small text element so I stamped Sending Love by Inkadinkado on a scrap of white, sponged ink around the edges, used a water brush and ink to color in the butterfly and added glitter on that. I brought out my Basic Grey Ambrosia paper pack and pulled out three sheets from it. I knew I would use the butterfly sheet and picked two others that weren’t quite as busy. After laying them down on my card base of SU Dusty Durango, I popped up my focal image and sentiment with foam squares. The final touch was Prima flowers called Fabric Fancies that have a hint of sparkle on them. I applied Copper Stickles for their centers.

My sister’s birthday is coming up soon and I just might send this to her. She loves butterflies as much I do. Thanks for stopping by……

Checkerboard Flowers

 When I checked the challenge this morning on 365 Cards, it was to create a checkerboard background. As I made lunches for my two sons, my mind immediately thought of my scor-pal to make the lines.

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I don’t have any really tiny stamps that I could use in the squares, so I went with my Primas. I alternated colored pearls in the centers. I used my Fiskar’s decorative scissors in the Imperial pattern to cut the edges of the card. The tiny sentiment is from a set of self-inking stamps. That’s it, CAS - clean and simple or my initials if you paid attention to my monogrammed card the other day :)

Happy Hump Day!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Knowledge is Power

It is time for Back to School at 365 cards. I took a quick look at my stamp sets and decided to ink up my new set by MFT I heart books.

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Nothing to fancy to put this together. I stamped her and colored with copics. Went to my paper stash pile and found this yummy 70ish paper. When I look at this, I think of shows like Laugh In or The Brady Bunch. My color choices came from that scrap, just simple layers of Cool Caribbean, Pink Pirouette Chocolate Chip. I also sponged a bit of Cool Caribbean ink on the circle. I added a paperclip embellishment because teacher’s always have them on hand! Enjoy your Tuesday I am off to work :)

Monday, August 24, 2009

Monogram Monday

 Today over at 365 Cards the challenge was to make a card with a monogram on it. Usually I stamp these, but today I thought I would dig out my rub-ons and use them. This was the fourth attempt at getting the letters to stick to the paper. 100_1500

I began by first running the card base through my cuttlebug using a Swiss dot border folder from the Just My Type set. Next I scored lines with my Scor-Pal. The black Label 9 die is left over from my shaker card the other day. The white oval is from the petite scallop set. I tried adding a strip of ribbon, vintage brads and buttons to the card but nothing looked right. Finally, my eyes rested on this set of Pewter pearls by Kaiser. I eyeballed the line up so if they aren’t straight please don’t mention it :)

It’s time for dinner so I will catch ya later.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Basic Grey Week 2 color challenge

 Tonight I looked over a few of my other favorite challenge blogs and saw that Basic Grey had posted their second challenge. It was a color challenge to use Brown, pink and yellow and at least one BasicGrey element.

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Since I am still trying to use my new nesties, out they came. This time I used the Labels 5 set. I rarely make a card that has a sentiment as the focal point, but felt it would work well tonight. The sentiment is by Stamp Oasis. I began by looking through my BG paper and decided to use Urban Prairie. The bottom pink, and both patterned papers are from the pack. The brown and yellow are SU Close to Cocoa and Crushed Curry. The brads are also by BG (made for Bittersweet but I thought they matched ok). I used a corner punch by EK Success to keep the curved edge look flowing. I tried adding flowers and other embellishments, but in the end left it simple.

100_1499 Here is a close up to show the embossed layers and how I popped them up with foam squares for dimension. Being a short gal, sometimes we like a little height in our lives :)

I hope you have a great week and if you get bored, stop by again, there may be something new to see.

Hooga Booga Love

 I am really hoping that I can participate in a few challenges this week. I like working with them as it can sometimes push me to try ideas I normally wouldn’t consider. It is Day 176 at 365 Cards and the challenge today is a Super Sketch. Instead of looking through my tower of patterned paper, I went through my scrap binder.

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I found this piece of paper by My Mind’s Eye and designed the card around it. The stamped image and sentiment are by MFT Hooga booga set. The ribbon is also a scrap that seemed to go well with the colors. The button is by Tres Jolie that I have had for a few years now. Nothing fancy about putting this together. I think I will put this in my hubby’s back pack tonight where he will find it tomorrow at work!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Playing with my Nesties

 Today I went to my LSS Stamp and Deliver to play with my Cuttlebug and my nesties. We practiced cutting and embossing the Spellbinders dies. We also practiced using the Cuttlebug with just a border folder and not creating the dreaded indent line. After an excellent lunch of a meat-lovers pizza with caramel fudge brownies for dessert, we set about making a few cards. There was lots of laughter and a few moments of concentration as we searched the store for the color or paper we needed.

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The card above is one we made for ourselves and as a display for the store. It took a little bit of engineering skills as we extended the middle blue nestie layer. The card base and bottom layer is SU close to cocoa, the next layer is a teal, the pp is by Bo Bunny. The flower stamps is by Just For Fun and the sentiment is Penny Black. The ink is Versafine Vintage Sepia for the stamping and Colorbox chalk Celadron. We used the Labels 4 die set.

100_1494After dinner tonight, I browsed the Spellbinders Design team blogs for inspiration with my new Labels. This card uses the Labels Nine. The card base is SU black and the next layer is gray. I used my Textile CB embossing folder and ran a piece of white and a piece of Coredinations Black Magic through it for the top layer. I sanded the black piece so the hidden color would show through. My SU scallop border punch was used to edge the two layers. Next I cut out the second largest die from a piece of coredinations paper. I then went down two sizes and cut out the middle flipping the die on its side ninety degrees so it wouldn’t be identical to the outer design.  I sanded just the edges of this piece. I wanted to create a shaker with this so I placed a small piece of acrylic over the hole. Rose colored beads were dropped inside and the sentiment by Hero Arts was placed as the bottom piece of the shaker. I carefully placed foam squares all around the edge so the beads would not fall out once the card was held up. Unfortunately, I had a few gaps and some beads did escape. Not to worry, my cat Smokey is actively looking for them in the carpet :) The final touch was to lay a piece of ribbon across the front to cover the seam of the top embossed layers.  I think my youngest son wants to claim this card to give it to his special girl.

Friday, August 21, 2009

My new Spellbinders arrived!!

 Sorry I have been MIA lately, but it has been a busy week for me with work and other appointments. But the end of the week had wonderful email….the new Spellbinders dies were in at Stamp and Deliver! I made a quick lunch run over to the store to pick them up. I do have a few more that I purchased that are not pictured, but these are the ones I hoped would arrive first.

new nesties

We are getting tomorrow for a lunch playdate to try them out. I promise I will have a few cards to show you over the weekend.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Reindeer gift tags

Here are my gift tags that I gave you a sneak peek of this morning. Every year on the Stamp Shack, Sherri (Iloveflipflops) holds a gift tag swap. We each pick a holiday image and create 20 tags to  swap. As you can see, this year I choose a reindeer for my image. The stamp is by Stampendous from the Snowy Short Stacks clear set. The set is wonderful because you can create your own character. The heads, bodies and feet are interchangeable. This gives you endless possibilities for winter projects.  

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After cutting out the tags on PTI cardstock, I stamped the image and colored it with copics. I stamped the TO/From and A gift from you with black ink. I sponged Adirondack Meadow around the tags for a softer look. Polar white Flower soft was glued along the bottom edge and Glistening Snow Writer on the scarf and cuffs. The fibers are by Making Memories that I have had for a few years in my Christmas stash.  Now I have to wait until November to see what the other ladies created.

Second time around…

If you have been reading this blog for a few months you aren’t seeing double, I had to re-do my ATC’s as they got lost in the USPS. I mailed them over 6 weeks ago, but the hostess never received them. Since we still had time before the due date, the she graciously stamped the images again for me (she provided the hippo). I used a different stamp for the sea grass this time, and some of the small bubbles are not the same.

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I will also give you a small sneak peek on another project I have been working on. It is holiday related -

100_1486  The lighting is not the best this morning as it is a bit cloudy here today. Hopefully I will finish these after work and give you more details. Enjoy your day :)

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Monogrammed Toile

 I finally got a chance tonight to sit down and see what the challenge was on 365 Cards. Day 168 was about using a touch of toile. I knew I didn’t have any traditional toile paper in my stash. I began looking through my various sections and found this piece that came from a floral pack ages ago. I thought it would work well for the challenge. After staring at it for awhile wondering how to use it, and looking at all the other cards posted so far, I decided to make it a monogrammed card.

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I used a piece of black cardstock for a layer to make the pink pop a bit more. The strip of pink silk ribbon is by May Arts that just came in to my LSS from her CHA order. It feels so divine, it was hard to actually cut a piece. I used my JustRite DIY Monogram stamper and my nesties to cut out the circles. I considered adding some half pearls or rhinestones, but in the end left it simple.

I am thrilled that I was able to complete my personal challenge to finish all 7 cards for this week at 365 cards on the day they were posted. I don’t know if I can keep it up every week though. 

I stopped by my LSS this morning as I began my errands. I picked up my pre-ordered goodies – Polar White and Autumn Flower Soft, some Christmas toppers, taglets and sentiments by Flower Soft, and the stamps by My Favorite Things: Chocolate Flopsey and I {heart} books. As I left the store I walked past a hair salon that is in the same plaza. I haven’t been happy with my hair style for awhile so on impulse I walked in and had my hair cut short. Really short. So far it is a hit with my friends and family. We will see if they still like it once I try to style it tomorrow :)

Friday, August 14, 2009

It’s a Card…It’s a Gift

It is Day 167 at 365 Cards. The challenge today was to make your card look like a gift. This comes at a good time because my hubby’s birthday is next Wednesday. I looked through my “excess” papers and found this piece from SU. The multi-colored dots looked perfect as wrapping paper.  

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I choose to enhance the red dot in the paper and used Riding Hood Red for cardstock, ribbon and ink. I used my Zig glue pen and outlined the sentiment so I could sprinkle glitter on top. Very quick and easy after a long day at work. TGIF :)

Tomorrow I get to go and visit the Store Owner at Stamp and Deliver. She has some goodies waiting for me…new stamps by MFT and Polar White Flower Soft!!! Yippee Skippy!!!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

A Recipe Challenge

 Today is Day 166 on 365 Cards challenge blog. We were given a recipe to follow:

Ingredients -
4x7 card
5 blossoms
glitter
wet embossed sentiment
3 different patterned papers

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Before I headed off for work today, I went through my Basic Grey paper packs and decided to use Bittersweet. The SU Cool Caribbean went well as a base cardstock. The flowers are by Prima Nursery Tales collection. I quickly perused my sentiments and settled on this by Stampabilities (which is embossed). I ran my glue pen around the sentiment and sprinkled microfine glitter. The flowers have a bit of glitter also. I used a corner rounder on the sentiment and the three paper panels to dress them up a bit. So far I am keeping up with my personal challenge to complete an entire week of challenges on 365 Cards. Keep your fingers crossed for me:)

My second star

 After coming home last night and thinking about the star card, I remembered that I had this saying I had purchased at a stamp convention a few years ago. I don’t know what company it is from because I bought it unmounted. I made it into a book mark with this piece of fabric. Gold fibers were added that I had bought from Michael’s ages ago. The sentiment is sponged with with yellow and gold ink. A corner punch was used to dress it up. Simple but I think someone will enjoy this while the cozy up with a good book!

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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Wish upon a star

 Good morning! The challenge today on 365 cards was to use a star shape. As I got ready for work my mind was on creating the card. Luckily I have the star embossing folder for my Cuttlebug. I ran a piece of Vintage yellow Coredinations through and lightly sanded it. SU Pacific Point cardstock and ribbon were used for a contrasting color.

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The image is from Penny Black and colored with a few copics. I used my Labels 1 by Spellbinders to cut out the two shapes. I lightly sprinkled glitter on the stars in the image and hit one or two on the background. That’s it…a quick little one today!