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

Bright Quilt Squares

 

I wanted to use some of the bright card stock that was discontinued and came up with the idea of creating a quilt.  This technique could be used for many cards as long as the stamp image can fit within the parameters of the square.  For this card, each of the squares is 1 1/4" so the completed quilt section measures 3 3/4" x 5" which works perfectly for a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card base.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  With All My Heart
Paper:  Whisper White, Green Galore, Yoyo Yellow, Only Orange, Pink Passion
Ink:  Versa Mark, Black
Accessories:  White Embossing Powder, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, White Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals

Watercolor Roses

 

You must see the watercolor roses technique by Patty Bennet if you haven't already.  The images turn out absolutely gorgeous and her technique is very simple and easy to follow.  She created a video tutorial showing her technique and if you click here, it will bring you to her tutorial.  I couldn't believe how simple it was to create these roses and how absolutely gorgeous they look.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Fifth Avenue Floral
Paper:  Shimmery White, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery, Old Olive
Ink:  White Craft, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron
Accessories:  Clear Embossing Powder, Aqua Painter, Eyelet Lace Border Punch, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Pearls, Dimensionals

Royal Treatment

HYCCT1302 - Hope you have a great day - Challenge:  Make a card that will put a smile on someones face. It can be a fun sentiment, a silly image or maybe some bright colors. What ever you think would make person happy when they opened up the envelope.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Artistic Etchings, Favorite Thoughts
Paper:  Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, DSP (unknown)
Ink:  Versa Mark, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories:  Silver Embossing Powder, Fleur De Lis Border Punch, Eggplant Grosgrain Ribbon, Pearls, Rhinestones, Dimensionals

I'm Finally Back...

First, I must apologize for not posting since August.  I have made cards for friends and family but never got the chance to post anything for September.  But for the next month you will be seeing regular posts. 

If you follow my blog, then you know that in October I participate in the Hope You Can Cling To (HYCCT) challenges on Splitcoaststampers.  Every day during the month a different challenge is posted to create a card to be sent to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas.  I usually send all my cards in one box upon completion of all the challenges but some people break it up and send them out periodically throughout the month.  It is a great cause and I truly enjoy trying to come up with different cards for all of the challenges.  So without further ado these are the first 3 cards I created for day 1 (on October 1st there are 3 challenges to complete).

HYCCT1301A - Inner Strength - Make a card with inner strength - meaning that a dimensional image on the inside of your card can be seen through an opening in the front of your card.

 

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Moving Forward

Paper:  Whisper White, Night of Navy, Yoyo Yellow, Only Orange, Pink Passion, KI Memories Designer Paper Pad

Ink:  Versa Mark, Night of Navy

Accessories:  Circle Nestabilities Dies, Mini Flower Punch, Navy Embossing Powder, Rhinestones, Mini Glue Dots

 

HYCCT1301B - Courage and Strength - Red is the color of determination, strength, courage and love. Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is the color of encouragement and determination. Challenge:  Create a card that shares courage and strength with either the color red or orange or a mixture of both. 

 

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Season of Friendship, Big Pieces, Little Pieces, 6-Sided Sampler, Fresh Vintage, Trendy Trees
Paper:  Whisper White, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard
Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard
Accessories:  1/2", 3/4", 1", 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Buttons, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals

 

HYCCT1301C- Flat is Fabulous - Create a card Clean and Simple (CAS) card. One or two layers...no bulky layers or embellishments. Keep it flat.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Blooming with Kindness
Paper:  Whisper White, Pink Pasison
Ink:  Pink Passion
Accessories:  Frost White Shimmer Mist



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

Bright Easter Bunnies

This card uses the same stamps as the card I posted yesterday but, by changing a few elements you can get a completely different look.  Instead of a banner the embossed eggs create a border at the bottom of the card.  Instead of two bunnies, all three of the bunnies were stamped on the decorative label framelits die cut.  Instead of a frame of embossed tulips the top portion was embossed using the vine street embossing folder with a triple layer scalloped border.  A 3/4" strip of whisper white card stock was added across the center of the card and then the ribbon was added to complete the card.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Ears to You, Easter Blossoms

Paper:  Whisper White, Green Galore, Ballet Blue, Only Orange, Pixie Pink, Lovely Lilac

Ink:  Craft White, Green Galore, Ballet Blue, Only Orange

Accessories:  Vine Street Embossing Folder, Decorative Labels Framelits Dies, White Embossing Powder, Scallop Border Punch, 3/8" Circle Punch, Bluebird Grosgrain Ribbon, Rhinestones, Dimensionals

Sweet Bunnies

I send a few cards at Easter to family and close friends and I couldn't resist purchasing the single stamp called "Ears to You" to create a few of the cards this year.  Although this is a "single" stamp I decided to create two stamps by separating the sentiment from the three bunnies.  It was great not having to mask the sentiment every time I stamped the bunnies.  The egg is from a stamp set called Easter Blossoms that was available last year but, unfortunately didn't make the catalog this year.  Since banners are so popular now, I decided to incorporate the eggs into a banner by stringing them together with some bakers twine.  Once the banner was on the card it felt like something was missing until the flowers were added.  After the flowers were added to the banner the card felt complete.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Ears to You, Easter Blossoms

Paper:  Whisper White, Ballet Blue, Pixie Pink, Green Galore, Only Orange, Lovely Lilac

Ink:  Pixie Pink, Ballet Blue, Craft White

Accessories:  White Embossing Powder, Framed Tulips Embossing Folder, Decorative Labels Framelits Dies, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch, 3/8" Circle Punch, Paper Snips, Rhinestones, Pearls, Bakers Twine, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Reason to Smile

I needed a birthday card for a co-worker and this card came together very quickly.  The flowers were embossed with white embossing powder on apricot appeal card stock and then I used a sponge dauber and peach parfait ink to highlight the center of the flowers.  I finished the card off with a border piece and a paper punched flower.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Reason to Smile, Bring on the Cake
Paper:  Whisper White, Apricot Appeal, Peach Parfait, Apricot Appeal DSP
Ink:  Versa Mark, Peach Parfait, Early Espresso
Accessories:  White Embossing Powder, Large Scallop Edgelit, Blossom Punch, Boho Blossom Punch, Button, White Baker's Twine, Pearls, Mini Glue Dots

Sweet Daisy

I thought a nice bright and cheerful card would brighten these gloomy January days.  No stamping was done for this card so it could be used for various occasions.  

Supplies Used:
Paper:  Whisper White, Yoyo Yellow, Gable Green
Accessories:  Bigz Daisy #2 Die, Little Leaves Sizzlits, 3/4" Circle Punch, Dots Embossing Folder, Stylized Flowers Embossing Folder, Frost White Shimmer Mist, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dimensionals

Elegant Wedding

Happy New Year!  

The first post of 2013 is a wedding card I gave to my nephew and his wife. They were married on New Year's Eve in Providence, RI. A great time was had by all!  I wanted the card to reflect the colors from the wedding invitation which had a hint of bright pink.

This card is a CASE of one created by Jenna Barber. She embossed the rose images with black embossing powder and I used white embossing powder but it is basically the same card.

I did not make any resolutions this year but decided instead to set goals that hopefully, will be attainable. One of my goals for the year is to upload to my blog more often. I hope to post something on a weekly basis and hopefully several times a week. 

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Fifth Avenue Floral, Occasional Quotes
Paper:  Whisper White, Black, Pink Passion
Ink:  Versa Mark

Accessories:  White Embossing Powder, Black Embossing Powder, White Satin Ribbon, Pearls, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

HYCCT Challenge Dated October 12th - Start Spreading the News

The challenge was to create a card inspired by a song from a musical or movie.  For some reason when I read this challenge the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from the movie "Meet Me in St. Louis" popped into my head.  I think this image portrays the era from the movie.  The sentiment was computer generated and printed on very vanilla card stock. 

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Welcome Christmas
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Festival of Prints DSP
Ink: Versa Mark
Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, Oval and Scallop Oval Nestabilities Dies, Scallop Border Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Dimensionals

Embossed Snowflakes

How about a few snowflakes in July?  This summer has been so warm with very little rain I'm just hoping that we aren't in for a long, cold, snowy winter. 

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Block Party
Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Ink: Versa Mark, Craft White
Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Snowflake Embossing Folder, Twill Tape, Little Felt Flurries, Dew Drop

Embossed Vintage Ornaments

I made two versions of this card. The first one does not required extra postage to mail since there are no bows, brads, rhinestones or pearls and it is basically a one layer card. Each ornament was stamped in versa mark ink and then embossed with the various colors of embossing powder. To create the ornament hangers I used a ruler and a silver glitter pen.




For the stepped up version of this card all I did was add an organdy ribbon at the top. It is interesting how one small addition can change the look of a card.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Tree Trimmings, Four the Holidays
Paper: Whisper White, Baroque Burgundy, DCWV Silver Glitter Ink: Versa Mark, Black
Accessories: Forest Green, Burgundy, Navy Embossing Powders, EK Success Parisian Border Punch, Burgundy Organdy Ribbon, Northern Flurries Sizzlits Die, Silver Glitter Pen

Embossed Damask with Bling!

For the next few days most of the cards I am creating will be for the Hope You Can Cling To challenges. The challenge was to create a card with rhinestone bling. To make sure the damask print was lined up correctly I used my stamp-a-ma-jig. It is one of the tools that I use frequently. The images were stamped on pink pirouette card stock using craft white ink and embossed with white embossing powder. I really like the overall effect of the white on the pink.

Supplies Used: Paper: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette; Ink: Craft White; Stamps: Bliss; Other: White Embossing Powder, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Pink Rhinestones

Spring Flowers

This card started out as a monochromatic card but once I had it together it seemed to need something else. I decided to add the butterflies but didn't want them to be to bright or have to much of a contrast so I went with barely banana card stock. The card base was stamped first with the sanded background stamp using mellow moss ink and then stamped with the french script background stamp using white craft ink. The main image was stamped with white craft ink on mellow moss card stock and them embossed with white embossing powder. The flower image was mounted to whisper white card stock but then I decided it needed something so I punch a strip of whisper white card stock using a fleur de lis border punch and adhered the strip to the left side of the image. The ribbon is some that I picked up at Michael's and the color went great with the mellow moss card stock.

Supplies Used: Paper: Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Barely Banana; Ink: White Craft, Mellow Moss; Stamps: Just Believe, Sanded, French Script; Other: White Embossing Powder, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Fleur De Lis Border Punch, Satin Ribbon, Pearls, Dimensionals

Tender Toile Easter

I can't believe how long its been since I posted something on my blog. I know that Easter has passed but I'm going to post the card that I gave to my son and daughter-in-law. I wanted to try the faux fabric technique and thought that this stamp would lend itself well to that. The image was stamped with versa mark ink and embossed with black embossing powder and then using a bleach pen I bleached out the bunny and the leaves. Once the bleach was dry I colored in the leaves using a pear pizzazz marker, punched out the image with an oval punch, embossed it with the square lattice embossing folder,distressed the edges and then mounted it to the scalloped oval. I used card stock that has been discontinued since I am still trying to use up my old supplies.

Supplies Used: Paper: Whisper White, Eggplant Envy, Mauve Mist; Ink: Versa Mark, Black, Pear Pizzazz; Stamps: Tender Toile, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Other: Black Embossing Powder, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Scallop Border Punch, Small Oval Punch, Oval Punch, Oval Scallop Punch, Bleach, White Taffeta Ribbon, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Rhinestone, Mat Pack, Paper Piercing Tool, Dimensionals

With Sympathy

For this sympathy card I used some retired elements from Stampin' Up. Can you believe I still have mauve mist card stock and organdy ribbon! The main image on this card is from a stamp set called "Happy Harmony" which was a set you could get from free during sale-a-bration several years ago. I have used this set for various occasions and reach for it when I need to make a card in a hurry. I colored the flowers with a mauve mist marker and then went around the edges of the flowers with a rose romance marker to achieve the two-tone effect. The stems were colored in certainly celery and the sentiment was stamped using soft suede ink. For the embossed background I used the cuttlebug script embossing folder.

Supplies Used: Paper: Whisper White, Mauve Mist; Ink: Mauve Mist, Rose Romance, Certainly Celery, Soft Suede; Stamps: Happy Harmony, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Other: Script Embossing Folder, Mauve Organdy Ribbon, Dimensionals