Fresh Flowers

 

Another quick birthday card for a co-worker.  This stamp set was sitting on my work table so I went with it, then I dug through some of my discontinued card stock for colors to use and this card is the result.  I think the color combination is really fresh.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Petal Parade, Bring on the Cake
Paper:  Whisper White, Mint Melody, Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy
Ink:  Mint Melody, Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy
Accessories:  Edgelits Finishing Touches, Frost White Shimmer Mist, Rhinestones

Wonderful Weaves

 

I went digging through some of my older stamp sets to come up with something different for a masculine card and saw this set called "Wonderful Weaves".  The images remind me of fabric that would be used for a man's sport coat.  I inked up the images and spritzed them with water and then stamped them onto some watercolor paper. I'm not sure if I should have used more water or possibly wet the watercolor paper first but I was afraid that I would end up with images that were blurred or just big splotches of color.  I'll have to experiment more with this technique.  I do like how the card turned out and overall I'm pleased with the result.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Wonderful Weaves, Happiest Birthday Wishes
Paper:  Watercolor, More Mustard, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Black
Ink:  More Mustard, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Black
Accessories:  Small & Large Star Punches, 1/4" Circle Punch, Spritzer, Dimensionals

Single Snowy Tree

 

The August 2014 Christmas card challenge was to include a torn paper edge in the card.  I knew that I would use whisper white card stock as my torn paper edge to represent snow drifts but I wanted to keep the card simple because I really don't want to have to pay extra postage when I mail my Christmas cards.  Once I had the tree embossed I added the snowflakes using white craft ink to create a soft snowfall effect.  The snowdrifts looked a little lackluster so I added some dazzling details to the torn edge to give it a little sparkle.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Warmth & Wonder, Festive Favorites
Paper:  Whisper White, Bashful Blue
Ink:  Bashful Blue, Versa Mark, Craft White
Accessories:  White Embossing Powder, Dazzling Details, Pearls, Dimensionals

Banner Birthday CASE

 

I needed a card for a friend and I didn't have a lot of time so I CASE'd a card I saw in the idea book and catalog. I changed the colors but kept the same basic layout.  I created a similar card using different colors that you can see here. 

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Itty Bitty Banners
Paper:  Whisper White, Green Galore, Sahara Sand, Sassy DSP
Ink:  Green Galore, Sahara Sand, Perfect Plum
Accessories:  Stamp-a-ma-jig, Bitty Banners Framelits, Green Galore Grosgrain Ribbon, Vintage Violet Stitched Ribbon, Mini Glue Dots, Wooden Skewer

Warm Winter Wishes

 

The July 2014 Christmas card challenge was to take an element(s) inspired by the 4th of July and incorporate it into a card.  I used red, white and blue and I also added a little bit of sparkle (inspired by sparklers and/or fireworks) by adding some rhinestones.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Bootiful Occasions
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Northern Flurry Embossing Folder, Sizzlit Large Delicate Doily, Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Circle Nestabilities Die, Paper Snips, White Gel Pen, Rhinestones, Dimensionals

Monochromatic Blossoms

 

The main flowers for this card are from a hostess set called "I Like You".  The images lend themselves well to embossing on colored card stock and then coloring them in with various coordinating shades of markers to achieve a shaded effect.  I don't own any of the blendabilities but was able to achieve a good effect using the regular Stampin' Up markers.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  I Like You, Express Yourself
Paper:  Whisper White, Regal Rose
Ink: Versa Mark, Regal Rose, Rose Romance, Blushing Bride, Certainly Celery, Old Olive
Accessories:  White Embossing Powder, Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Dimensionals

Framed Grunge Grid

Another Monday so another masculine card.  There are lots of little elements and touches on this card that look like they took lots of time to achieve but this is actually quite a simple card.  I love the brown and blue together with just a touch of gold.  This would be a great birthday card for a teen too!

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Off the Grid, Gorgeous Grunge, Itty Bitty Banners
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Not Quite Navy, Champagne Glimmer
Ink:  Close to Cocoa, Not Quite Navy, Versa Mark
Accessories:  Gold Embossing Powder, Large and Small Star Punches, Bitty Banners Framelits, On Film Framelits, Dimensionals

Birthday Duo

When I saw this post from Connie Collins I knew that I would have to CASE a version of her wonderful cards.  For Connie's cards she used the All Abloom DSP Stack and for my version I used Fresh Prints DSP Stack but any coordinating designer paper would work.  All you have to do is stack the DSP together and run it through your die cutting machine and you can end up with two different but coordinating cards.  If you click the above link to Connie's blog she gives you directions on how she created her cards.  Give this techniqe a try and I'm sure you will be happy with the results.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Bring on the Cake
Paper:  Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Crumb Cake, Fresh Prints DSP
Ink:  Real Red
Accessories:  Scallop Border Punch, Circle Nestablities Dies, Itty Bitty Accents Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Bakers Twine, Pearls, Mini Glue Dots

Masculine Christmas Deer

 

The June 2014 Christmas card challenge was to create a manly card in honor of Father's Day.  I knew immediately that I wanted to create a card with this reindeer but I also wanted to incorporate the traditional Christmas colors of red and green.  I kept the layout very clean so that the die cut reindeer could stand out.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  More Merry Messages
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Garden Green, Soft Suede, Merry Moments DSP
Ink:  Soft Suede, Versa Mark
Accessories:  Oval Nestabilities Dies, Reindeer Flight Die (Tim Holtz), Gold Embossing Powder, Red Rhinestones, Dimensionals

Punch Bunch Masculine Birthday

 

Another masculine card for Monday.  This card combines some of the first DSP that I ever purchased from Stampin' Up called "Pickles".  The colors work well for a masculine card.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Punch Bunch
Paper:  Whisper White, Night of Navy, Pickles DSP
Ink:  Versa Mark
Accessories:  Navy Embossing Powder, Night of Navy Grosgrain Ribbon, Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Circle Nestabilities Dies, Dimensionals

A CAS Birthday

 

This is a very clean and simple card (CAS) that was completed in less than 10 minutes.  I'm still trying to use items that Stampin' Up discontinued and this card combines orchid opulence with marvelous magenta.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Petal Parade, Sincere Salutations
Paper:  Whisper White, Orchid Opulence, Marvelous Magenta
Ink:  Orchid Opulence, Marvelous Magenta
Accessories:  Rhinestones, Frost White Shimmer Mist

Layered Birthday Circles

 

I have been trying to get ahead on birthday cards that I need for my co-workers and this is one that I created recently.  I've had this DSP for so long now that the colors that coordinate with the DSP have been discontinued so, I figured I better use items from my stash before I buy more.  I like all of the soft colors of this paper and I sponged the edges with crumb cake to give it a more aged look.  The colors and layout for this card could also make a nice sympathy card.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Itty Bitty Banners
Paper:  Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, Sarah DSP
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Black
Accessories:  Dots Embossing Folder, 1" and 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Itty Bitty Accents Punch, Bitty Banners Framelits, Sponge Dauber, Rhinestones, Dimensionals

Snowy Season's Greetings

 

The May 2014 Christmas card challenge was to make a card that had snow on it.  It could be snowflakes, snowmen, snow covered trees, etc, as long as there was snow.  I opted for a single snowflake as my main focal point because I wanted to use the Winter Frost DSP and I thought the designer paper was to "busy" for lots of stamped images. 

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Warmth & Wonder, Four The Holidays
Paper:  Whisper White, Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Silver Glimmer, Winter Frost DSP Stack
Ink:  Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Illuminate
Accessories:  Snow Flurry Bigz Die, Two Tags Bigz Die, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Snowflake Punch, Rhinestone Brad, Rhinestones, Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Bright & Cheerful

 

This card created by Connie Collins which was the inspiration for my card.  I kept the same basic layout but stepped it up some by adding the hexagon hive thinlit.  This was a card given to a friend of mine for her birthday.  I didn't need to mail it so I was able to embellish it as much as I wanted.  I was very happy with the final result.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Flower Shop, Happy Day, Hardwood
Paper:  Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Yoyo Yellow, Only Orange, Pink Passion, Green Galore
Ink:  Close to Cocoa, Versa Mark
Accessories:  Lace Doily, Hexagon Hive Thinlit, Pansy Punch, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch, White Embossing Powder, Pearls, Dimensionals

Quick & Easy Masculine Birthday

It's Monday again and time for another masculine card.  This was the card I sent to my son for his birthday this year.  A quick and easy card without extra layers so no extra postage needed.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  See Ya Later
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red
Ink:  Black, Real Red
Accessories:  Washi Tape, Apothecary Accents Framelits, 1" Circle Punch, Vintage Brads, Dimensionals