Death Star

 

My son is a Star Wars fan and I found a tutorial and video for making a Death Star card on Valita's Designs & Fresh Folds blog.  The most difficult part was the spacing of the curved lines since most of the other lines are drawn on randomly.  I think the card ended up being about a 6" circle.  Be sure to check out Valita's video.

Supplies Used:
Paper:  Basic Gray
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  1 3/4", 1 3/8" and 1" Circle Punches, Ruler, Black Marker, Sakura Glitter Pen, Rhinestones, Dimensionals

Deepest Sympathy

 

I needed another sympathy card this month.  I can't tell you how many sympathy cards I've made so far this year.  Although they may not be the cards we all like to make, they are probably one of the most important. 

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Thanks for Caring
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Parisian Summer DSP
Ink:  Perfect Plum
Accessories:  Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Circle & Scallop Circle Nestabilities Dies, Small Butterfly Punch, Pearls, Dimensionals

Cowboy Boots at Sunset

 

My daughter's boyfriend received this card for his birthday.  To create the background I followed this tutorial created by Michelle Zindorf.  She does some amazing work using a brayer and sponges.  I added a layer of riding hood red ink at the top and made a standard A2 card instead of a square card.  Once the boots were added the card seemed to need something else so I coiled some linen thread and attached it to the upper left corner with a silver brad.  Doesn't every cowboy need a coil of rope?!

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Bootiful Occasions
Paper:  Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Ink:  Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Riding Hood Red, Black, River Rock, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  Brayer, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Linen Thread, Silver Brad, Paper Snips, Dimensionals

So Sorry

 

Another simple but elegant sympathy card.  I paired the flower image from the Love & Sympathy set with the large sentiment from the So Sorry set.  The flower image was colored with markers and stamped to the left side of the oval and then the sentiment was stamped over the floral image in black ink.  I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to get the floral image and sentiment placed exactly where I wanted and then added the small pearls at the base of the flower.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Love & Sympathy, So Sorry
Paper:  Whisper White, Lovely Lilac
Ink:  Lovely Lilac, Old Olive, Black
Accessories:  Oval & Scallop Oval Nestabilities Dies, Delicate Designs Embossing Folder, White Seam Binding Ribbon, Pearls, Dimensionals

It's Grilling Season

 

In our family Memorial Day usually is the start of our grilling season so I thought I'd post this card with a "punch art" grill.  I needed a birthday card for my brother-in-law and he is the "grill master" in our family so this is what I came up with.  The grill was very easy to create and requires minimal effort.  The grass is actually the icicle punch by Martha Stewart just turned upside down.  I also sponged some clouds (they are very faint) and added the cat image to balance out the card.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Best Dad Ever, Little Hellos
Paper:  Whisper White, Glorious Green, Black, Ballet Blue, DCWV Silver
Ink:  Black, SU Markers
Accessories:  1 3/8" Circle Punch, Small Oval Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Icicle Border Punch (MS), Slot Punch, Crop-a-Dile, Silver Brad, Dimensionals

Blooming with Kindness Sympathy

 

I needed several sympathy cards this month and I try to keep the card design simple because it is the message inside that is truly important.  This card is both simple and elegant at the same time.  This blossom image has become one of my favorite and the set also comes with some great sentiments too.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Blooming with Kindness, Loving Thoughts
Paper:  Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Walk in the Park DSP
Ink:  Cameo Coral, Black
Accessories:  Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Pearls, White Seam Binding Ribbon, Dimensionals

Sweet Cake

 

I apologize for not posting anything over the last couple of weeks but I offered to make some things to donate to a local benefit and my time was spent sewing.  I finished sewing everything this past week and decided to a make some cards to donate as well.  I'll post the cards I made for the benefit but first let me show you some of the cards I made this month for friends and family.

This card was for a friend of mine who had her birthday on May 7th.  I knew I wanted to use the cupcake from the Sweet Cake set and found the background paper in my stash and that was my inspiration for the colors.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Sweet Cake
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Summer Picnic DSP
Ink:  Bashful Blue, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive
Accessories:  Oval & Scallop Oval Nestabilities Dies, Scallop Border Punch, Fashionable Hearts Embosslit, Stripes Embossing Folder, Dazzling Details, Crystal Effects, Mini Glue Dots, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dimensionals

Embossed Silhouette Sympathy

 

I needed another sympathy card and since it was for one of the guys I work with I wanted to keep it simple.  I stamped the background using soft suede ink that was off-stamped once before stamping onto the crumb cake card stock and then I shifted the image slightly and stamped again to create a shadowed effect.  To create the shadow effect for the silhouette flower image I stamped in crumb cake ink first and then I offset the image and stamped again using versa mark and embossed with white embossing powder.  The effect is very subtle but effective.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Serene Silhouettes, French Script, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Versa Mark
Accessories:  White Embossing Powder, Word Window Punch, Dimensionals

Poppy Parade CASE

 

This is a CASE of a card I created a few months ago using concord crush ink and ribbon.  Here is the link to my other card.  This technique is so easy but it gives a lot of impact once the color is added.  It is better to use a strong color especially since the images are colored on either sahara sand or crumb cake card stock.  The colors really pop off of the card because of the white embossing.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Bordering on Romance, Just Believe
Paper:  Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Poppy Parade
Ink:  Versa Mark, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories:  White Embossing Powder, Poppy Parade Ribbon, Word Window Punch, Pearls, Mini Glue Dots

Thank You Blocks

 

I made this for a friend of mine to thank her for the sweet baby outfits she gave me for my grandson. 

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Kind & Caring Thoughts
Paper:  Whisper White, Yoyo Yellow, Pink Passion, Cool Caribbean, Black
Ink:  Versa Mark
Accessories:  White Embossing Powder, 1" Square Punch, Yoyo Yellow Grosgrain Ribbon, Pearls

Ewe Doing Okay?

 

A friend of mine had surgery and once he came home from the hospital I sent him this card.  He has a great sense of humor and I thought it would really cheer him up.  Doesn't that ewe just make you smile!  I used several discontinued items to make this card from the stamps to the ribbons.  It is amazing the amount of card stock, ribbons and stamps that I own that Stampin' Up no longer carries.  I just can't bring myself to part with most of them.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Farm Fever, Antique Cracking
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, Black, Creating Keepsakes Mat Stack
Ink:  Real Red, Black, Blush Blossom
Accessories:  Black Gingham Ribbon, Real Red Gingham Ribbon, Liquid Applique, Dimensionals

Pewter Embossed Snowflakes

 

This is my last card for the April 2013 Christmas card challenge.  This card incorporates the same designer paper as yesterday's card as well as soft suede card stock.  To create the matching tag I incorporated the negative snowflake image that was leftover after punching the snowflake for my card. 

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Snowflakes, Christmas Punch, Winter Post
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Christmas Cocoa DSP
Ink:  Versa Mark, Soft Suede
Accessories:  Snowflakes Embossing Folder, Snowflake Punch, Scallop Border Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Circle & Scallop Circle Nestabilities Dies, Pewter Embossing Powder, Champagne Mist Spritz, Rhinestone Brad, Gold Cord, 3/8" Circle Punch, Crop-a-Dile, Tag Corner Punch, Dimensionals

Postage Stamp Holiday Tag Card

 

Since the April 2013 Christmas card challenge was to create a tag using the leftovers after making the card I decided to take things a step further and make a card that incorporated a tag as part of the design.  Once I had my designer paper picked out and my basic card stock of real red and soft suede I went looking for a stamp set with images small enough to achieve the look I was going for.  I found this set that was discontinued a long time ago but I've held on to it because the images are so cute.  It was great that the images were small enough to fit inside the postage stamp punch.  I'm going to have to keep this set out and see what else I can come up with for Christmas cards.  Who knows, you may see this set used in future Christmas card challenges.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Holiday Fun Frame, Christmas Punch
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, Soft Suede, Christmas Cocoa DSP
Ink:  Real Red, Soft Suede
Accessories:  Postage Stamp Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Tag & Large Tag Punches, 3/8" Circle Punch, Crop-a-Dile, 1/16" Circle Punch, Snow Burst Embossing Folder, Real Red Taffeta Ribbon, Red Cord, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, Dimensionals