Happy Day!

 I have quite a number of birthdays in August between family and friends.  I'm feeling behind already, so I got my thinking cap on and decided to get serious!  With some help from Splitcoaststamper challenges, I came up with a vintage design that I'm really pleased with! It will be for one of my husband's sisters, who moved to Florida in this last year to be closer to her oldest daughter. I'd better get it finished and off in the mail as she lives about as far from Washington state as she could be...kitty-corner across the U.S.!

I found this wonderful vintage paper in my paper stash from Michael's Craft Stores, "Recollections Signature Vintage Country Paper Stack. It got my vintage mojo going full speed ahead, which made me really excited to get started!  Vintage is one of my favorite card styles, yet I haven't made many cards in this style during the past several years.

I used five patterns from the paper pack that I cut into varying widths and distressed inked the edges before horizontally layering them one after the other, on  a pre-sized cardstock guide.  I also used one of the patterned tags provided in the paper stack as my sentiment rectangle centerpiece. I stamped my birthday sentiment onto it using my Misti stamp positioner, and I adhered the finished tag onto a black lattice frame for added interest.  I fussy cut several identical flowers from several of the tags and layered and distressed their edges to provide additional depth, finishing off with a sparkly gem. My last addition was to add a black-striped sheer ribbon horizontally with a two-loop side bow.  Take a look at my finished card. I'm pretty pleased with its outcome.

Ingredients: SU Cardstocks--Basic Black, Gold Foil. Patterned paper--Recollections Signature Stack--Vintage Country (12x12). SU Stamps--Itty Bitty Birthdays. Spellbinders dies--Lattice Rectangles. Ink--Memento Tuxedo Black. Colorbox--Chestnut Roan ink distressing. Offray--3/8" sheer black stripe ribbon. Jolee's Boutique--Black Circle Bling Gems. Chatterbox verse. Size--4-3/4" x 6."

A Sea Life Birthday to You!

 My daughter-in-law's birthday is in a few days, so I needed to get busy with a card.  My son built her a fish pond in their backyard a few years ago, so I thought a card using the new Stampin' Up Seascape stamps and Sea Life dies, which includes a koi-style fish, would make a great card!  I saw two cards that gave me great ideas for using this stamp and die set.

I borrowed some of the colors and card design from Luci Kirschbaum's Sea Life card from a card class from several months ago, plus from SCS Featured Stamper ksenzak1/ Karen Ksenzakovic's Sparkly Fish Birthday card.  Here is a link to my card with a link in challenge #7 to Karen's card: (under construction).

I used the school of fish stamp, bubbles, and the small fish and sparkly goldfish dies from idea cards.  My card changed up the fish and bubble layout, plus I added a gold foil die-cut mat, and  grassy overlays for more texture and dimension.  I wanted depth and texture in my card without using the diorama dies, so I added a wonky stitching gold foil mat layer and two-layer sea grass to the card front.  I accomplished the grass overlays by stamping the first layer onto the card front with a very light stamp-off technique.   I also stamped my fish schools and water bubbles at this point as well.  Then, I  stamped a second set of sea grass onto scrap cardstock and fussy-cut each blade overlaying with a slight offset onto those already stamped on the card front.  Now I was ready to add the die-cut fish, my goldfish, the bubble gems and the happy birthday sentiment.  Take a peak below at the finished card plus the inside design and verse.  I think Ginger will be pleased with her pond-life card!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Mint Macaron, Just Jade, Bumblebee, Gold Foil, Very Vanilla.  Stamps--Seascape, Peaceful Moments (sentiment).  Dies--Sea Life, Stitched So Sweetly (sentiment).  Ink--Mint Macaron (fish/ bubbles), Tranquil Tide (grasses--stamped off, sentiment).  Genial Gems--mint macaron, pale papaya.  Other:  EK Punch--Victorian Corners.  Reverse Confetti--All Framed Up Confetti Dies.

A Tropical Birthday Drink!

As I mentioned back February on my blog of a friend's birthday card, I made a variety of cards that would be needed in the future while I was on my August, 2020 craft trip with my sister and Mom to Sisters, Oregon.  This has been my first and only trip that I have ventured out during COVID!  Weren't we lucky that this trip happened about two weeks before the horrendous fires all over Oregon's forests!

I also mentioned that because my mojo had been stymied by COVID's intervention, I had purchased several kits and subscribed to Stampin' Up's Paper Pumpkin to try to spur myself into getting into my craft room!   I was really excited about the June 2020 Paper Pumpkin Box of Sunshine kit because of its beautiful, rich colors, and its pineapple die-cuts!  I brought this kit and several others along to work on while in Sisters.

I like to make cards for people where the theme fits the person, whether it be focusing on a hobby, their job, their favorite song, movie, etc.  My husband's job took our family to Hawaii to live for about three years, and Jackie, our youngest daughter, was born there, thus my excitement over the pineapples in the June 2020 card kit.  I saw an alternative card idea in June, just a few weeks after the kit arrived that I really, really loved.  I remembered it and thought the "idea" was perfect for Jackie, but I did not save it to Pinterest, nor could not find it again.  I remembered it used the kit paper supplies, and particularly that it used the black/ white polka dot paper on a center panel.  There was also a pineapple with its top cut off to form a tropical beverage receptacle, plus an umbrella, a straw, and a flower.  It used one of the cardbase folds with the bright alcohol-ink-style background as the card front.  I wished I could find the exact card I saw to give that cardmaker credit for my "memory casing," but alas, no luck!

For my card, I love layers, so I cut the alcohol-ink-style background off the folded card base to use as a layer.  I made a new and larger cardbase using black cardstock and added a second layer of gold foil.  My third layer would be the AI-styled panel that I had cut off.  I cut a set of smaller papers for the center layers...black and white cardstocks and the kit's black & white polka dot paper (similar to my "memory-cased" card, I think).  I fussy-cut the pineapple top off along the diamond pineapple scales and saved it to use as greenery (my "memory-cased" card did something similar, because I remember thinking it was a nice filler).  Next, I worked on my tropical beverage pineapple drink.

My sister brought lots of her My Favorite Things stamp sets with her, one of which had a Hawaiian theme, so I was able to use her Hibiscus stamp for my drink's flower.  I brought my new SU umbrella stamp/ punch set, because Jackie also loves umbrellas.  I thought I might incorporate that into her card theme if my pineapple idea didn't work.  But, the pineapple tropical drink worked very well with the parts and pieces I was able to use from here and there.  I Copic-colored the umbrella and flower stamped images, plus added a bit of  Clear Wink of Stella to the flower for a bit of sheen.   I used the geometric die-cut and a stamp from the kit for the sentiment.  Take a peek below at how Jackie's card evolved into the finished design.  She was delighted with it, and the inside verse's play on a bit of humor!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  June 2020 PP Box of Sunshine--Patterned papers, sentiment stamp/ die-cut shape, pineapple die-cut.  Cardstock--Basic Black, Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Gold Foil.  Stamps--Under My Umbrella.  Other:  My Favorite Things--Birdie Brown Polynesian Paradise stamps (hibiscus).  ColorBox Ink: Chestnut Roan (ink distressing).  Copic Markers.  Wink of Stella/ Clear (hibiscus).  EK Corner Punch--Victorian Medium.  Chatterbox Computer verse.  Size:  4-3/4" x 6-1/4".

Christmas Flowers Bring Joy (Paper Pumpkin October 2020 - Joy to the World Alternative)

I think I mentioned several months ago that I finally signed up for Stampin' Up's Paper Pumpkin subscription hoping that would motivate my lost cardmaking mojo.  It helped a little, but not as much as I'd hoped.  I still didn't get started on Christmas cards until just a few days before Christmas...YIKES!  I did fall in love with the October 2020 "Joy to the World" Paper Pumpkin kit, and it did finally spark me to try some alternative designs of my own rather than just make the couple of designs provided in the kit. 
 
I received a cute little penguin card from Ann Otto, the hostess of the Splitcoaststampers' Christmas Card Challenge...one I have participated in many times in past years.  I loved Ann's simple layout design with its left side triangle so much that it immediately gave me the idea to use the bones of her layout and incorporate it into the Stampin' Up October 2020 "Joy to the World" Paper Pumpkin kit elements to create my own card.

My deviations to Ann's layout were to add several layers to the card background, enlarge the left-side triangle and add layers and embossing to it as well.  Instead of a cute little alcohol inked penguin, I positioned two layers of kit's Christmas rose flowers on the triangle to which I did a bit of fussy-cutting and coloring.  I also added gold sequins to the flower centers and added green to the leaves.  I wanted the leaves to show off more and wanted to add depth and texture with the layers, sequins and dry embossing.

The kit came with gold metallic "Joy" die-cuts, but I decided to use my own "Joy" die, cutting it in two colors and setting them in an off-set,  layered placement.  The kit provided two vertical Crumb Cake card bases with a gold-etched vertical patterned, but I wanted to make multiple numbers of my card design to build up my Christmas stash, so I found a background stamp that I thought would work really well.  I stamped and heat embossed the pattern in gold onto plain Crumb Cake cardstock to create eight more card fronts.  I also added ribbon and more sequins that were also not part of the kit.  (Unfortunately, the other seven pre-cut and prepared card pieces are still waiting for me to finish putting them together!)  

Take a peak below at my first alternative card design using the Paper Pumpkin kit supplies, plus some added items and supplies not provided by the kit.  I have included the card ingredients below for your information:

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Paper Pumpkin October 2020 "Joy to the World" kit elements.  Cardstock--Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Call Me Clover.  Gold Embossing Powder; Versamark Watermark Ink.  Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon.  Other:  My Favorite Things background stamp: Balloon Strings.  Alina Craft die: "joy."  Hot Off the Press:  Diamond Dots EF.  Pretty Pink Posh sequins.  Colorbox Ink: Chestnut Roan (edge distressing).  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

A Birthday Marquee Message!

One of my cardmaking besties has a Spring birthday.  I am determined to make her a card totally from scratch using nothing that is semi-prepared as a test to see how well my left hand will do post-surgery.  I did stamping, die-cutting, dry embossing, fussy-cutting, Copic coloring, and a shaker card.  A pretty great test, and I'd say I'm pretty pleased with the results.  The hand is a little tired, a little achy, and a bit swollen, but fabulous compared to pre-surgery swelling and pain!

I was also determined to get back into the Splitcoaststamper (SCS) challenges, and I have accomplished that with a vengeance!  I found eleven challenges that I can enter by tweaking my design idea here and there.  That is a new RECORD!  I can usually get in seven to nine, but have never even done ten before!  It all started with a card by cdimick (aka Catherine).   Catherine is an SCS Alpha sister, who is the current Featured Stamper at Splitcoaststampers.  I browsed her gallery and chose a card to "case" as the challenge requires, which featured a stamp set that caught my eye.  I browsed the inspiration challenge photos for some ideas, which led to the color challenge with the exact blues and greens I wanted to use, and on and on it went!

Meanwhile, I was keeping in mind that this card is for a very special friend, and I wanted it to be special for her with a huge focus on her birthday.  The Stampin' Up Marquee Messages stamp set was perfect!  I made it into a shaker to fit the Fan Club April Monthly challenge, and it really set off the marquee stamp perfectly.  First, I dry embossed a confetti pattern onto my Coastal Cabana cardstock and added sparkles by "painting" on glitter glaze with a foam brush. Love that sheen!  My finishing touches to dress up the shaker marque frame was to pop on some flowers, leaves, and oodles of pearls.  I must say I was pretty please with the results, and I am pretty sure my friend will like it as well!  Take a peek below.

Ingredients:  Stampin Up products:  Cardstock--Whisper White, Tranquil Tide, Coastal Cabana, Balmy Blue.  Stamps--Marquee Messages (shaker frame/ sentiments), Vibrant Vases (flowers), Happy Birthday Gorgeous (leaf). Embossing Folder--Confetti.  Pearls.  Metallic Sequins Asst.  Other:  Sargernt Art Acrylic Glitter Glaze.  Copic markers.  Ink--Memento Tuxedo Black.  Buttons Galore--Aquamarine Party Mix.  Wink of Stella/ Clear.  Chatterbox verse.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

Showering Sienna's Coming!

Sorry that I have been AWOL from my blog due to a flair-up in my arthritic and tendon-deteriorated hands, which prevents me from crafting.  My hands had already been earmarked for surgery for several years prior to my knee replacements, but the knees took precedence.  Since my stop-gap cortisone shot wore off in October, I needed to make a hand specialist appointment to determine a surgery schedule, but I procrastinated with the holidays.  By mid-December, I could feel the handwriting on the wall.  I really hoped to put surgery off until late April or May because of a list of personal commitments and obligations that I felt needed to come first, but that really has become almost impossible.  A doctor appointment in a few week's will determine the plan.  Meanwhile, cardmaking has been almost impossible without severe pain, but despite this, I did get one done in the past few days.

My youngest daughter is expecting her first child in March. . .a second grandchild for my husband and me.  We are very excited for Sienna Rose to make her permanent home in our family.  As traditionally happens, the mother-to-be and baby were to be feted with a shower; therefore, I really needed and wanted to make a card!

I mulled over possibilities, letting some Splitcoaststamper challenges influence my final decision.  I decided on a vintage style after browsing through my baby papers and chose an old paper that I have loved for years and never had the occasion to use it...now was the time!  Because the paper was very pale, I colored the dress ruffles, collar, and cuffs to brighten it up.  I even colored the little fussy cut flowers that I used on the card face and inside decoration.  I was pleased with the results and Jackie was too!  See the finished card, inside and out, below:

Ingredients:  SU Papers: Cardstock, Gingham Gala (2019 Occ./ balmy blue).  Other: Patterned Paper.  Dies:  MFT Stitched Scalloped Edges; Eyelet Oval; Hero Arts: Thank You Messages Frame Cuts.  Punch: WRMK Corner: Deco.  Copic Coloring (paper dresses, flowers, gems).  Ribbon: 5/8" seam binding.  Pearl Gems (natural & colored).  Chatterbox verse.  Fussy-cutting.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6."

Thinking of You Pandas!

I went to a Stampin' Up cardmaking class a few weeks ago, where the Sale-A-Bration promotion supplies were introduced.  We made the cutest card with the freebie stamp "Party Pandas."  All the time while making this darling little card, I had ideas running around my head on things to do to dress it up.  Most card designs at classes are relatively simple due to cost and time constraints.  Our lovely hostesses encourage us to take an idea and run with it.  The original card design was made by Dar Peterson, and I've found a similar one on Pinterest by JoAnne Hewins.

I changed my card to a "Thinking of You" card instead of a birthday card, and I replaced one of the panda heads to eliminate his birthday party hat.  Several other changes I made were to add two more mat layers with the idea of adding more color.  The new card base color is Always Artichoke, and the second mat layer is a die-cut stitched scalloped mat in Certainly Celery (retired).   I added a Copic-colored sun to add a little good cheer, and some gold sequins for a bit of sparkle.  My panda placements are also a bit different as well.  I did use the Color Theory 6x6 paper pad's paint chip design for my bamboo stalks as in the original card.  I thought that was quite clever!

I will be sending my panda card to one of my Splitcoaststamper forum teammates, who lives across the country from me in Georgia.  She was the Teapot Party destination for the week of January 9, 2018, because she was in an automobile accident, and though not hospitalized, is in need of cheering up.  Take a peek at these cute little pandas below, who are ready to travel and send hugs across the nation:

Upon finishing with the re-inventing of my card front, I went to work creating an inside design that would coordinate with the theme, and also a verse befitting the occasion.  Here is what I came up with.  I think my SCS friend and teammate will enjoy her card, and will also let her know I'm wishing her well. 

 

JUST A NOTE:  I find it interesting the inconsistency of the coloring with the exact same lighting and the exact same paper colors.  The panda card front is almost just like the card, but the inside seems way off!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up Paper:  Cardstock - Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery (retired); Patterned dsp: Color Theory. SU Stamps: Party Pandas (SAB-2018).  Ink: Memento-Tuxedo Black.  Dies: Stampin' Up: Bouquet Bunch Framelits (leaves); Simon Says: Scallop Stitches.  Stenciled sun-Copic colored.  Crystal Effects glaze.  Sequins: Pretty Pink Posh.  Computer sentiment: Font-Viner Hand ITC 16.5/ Bold.  Fussy-Cutting.  Double Fishtails: hand-cut.  Size: 4-3/4 x 6 inches.  

Sweet Friend's Milestone Birthday!

A very dear friend is celebrating a milestone birthday this week.  Several really good gal friends are getting together to celebrate her and take her to lunch.  I wanted to make her a special card, and since I seem to be loving my new Stampin' Up Beautiful You stamp set, and also seem to have another card idea floating around in my gray matter, I thought I'd see what I came up with.

I found a lovely piece of patterned paper from the Watercolor DCWV Stack that looks like a watercolored paper with gold foil embossing.  I decided to make a salt watercolored background incorporating the colors from this paper to use as the layer upon which I would stamp my dancing lady image.  Though I had only done one other card with watercolors and never used the salt technique, I decided to be brave and give it a go.

I wanted my stamped dancing lady to have pink arms and legs, so I started my watercoloring with pink where I planned to stamp my image.  I used blues in the sky area along with a bit of pink and orange to give the allusion of the beginning of a sunset, and I used greens and yellow at the bottom to represent grass and a carpet of yellow flowers.  

After my watercolor application was complete and while the paper was still fairly wet, I sprinkled a good amount of regular table salt onto my paper and let it set for about 10 minutes.  I then helped the drying process along with my embossing heat tool.  I brushed and rubbed off all the dried salt so the paper was once again smooth and salt-free.  With salt, my understanding is that the larger the salt crystals and varied their sizes, you achieve a more dramatic effect.  Since table salt is much finer and more uniform, it creates a more subtle effect, but I was pleased with how it turned out and excited to try something new.

Since my patterned paper was gold foil embossed, I stamped my dancing lady onto my watercolor background with Encore Gold Metallic ink.  I stamped the patterned paper as well with the dancing lady stamp and the umbrella from another image in the stamp set.  I then fussy-cut them to adhere over the top of the image already stamped on the watercolor background to give her a patterned dress and matching umbrella.

For my layout, I found a Sketch Layout #SC639 on SplitcoastStampers' April 5th Sketch Challenge that I thought I would use.  See below:

For my #6 top left, I added an umbrella for my stamped lady, and for the #6 lower right, I added a butterfly to my double fishtail flag sentiment.   Below is my finished card, that I think Sandy will really like for her birthday!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Island Indigo, Watercolor Paper; Stamps: Beautiful You; Inks: Pool Party, Soft Sky, Pink Pirouette, Sweet SugarPlum, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Mint Macaron, Pear Pizzazz.  Other:  DCWV Watercolor Stack (gold foil pattern).  DCWV Foil Stack (Aqua).  Recollections:  Cardstock--Cool Breeze 5-Color Pack; Gold Metallic pearls.  Encore: Gold Metallic Ink pad.  Wink of Stella: Gold.  Martha Stewart 3-in-1 Petite Butterflies punch.  Papertrey Ink stamp: Tea for Two Additions (sentiment). Technique: Salted Watercolor Wash.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

Daughter's Birthday to Celebrate!

Sorry, I have been most remiss in my cardmaking and blogging for the last three months!  Several bouts of the flu, traveling a bit, and general busyness are the only excuses I can offer.  But, I did manage to get a card made for my daughter, Jackie's birthday.

 

Since Jackie is a big umbrella fan, boasting ownership of at least ten or more, and some with matching goulashes, a card with some sort of umbrella theme is sure to shout out, "THIS CARD MUST BE FOR JACKIE!"  With this in mind, I thought I would like to use my new stamp set by Stampin' Up, Beautiful You, incorporating more than one stamp into my image.  

 

I chose the dancing lady stamp and borrowed the umbrella from the strolling lady stamp.  I stamped with Versamark and white embossed the dancing lady onto a black cardstock background.  I, then, Versamark stamped and white embossed the image again onto my red, black, and white polka-dot paper and fussy-cut the dress out to layer over my black cardstock white embossed image.  I Versamark stamped and embossed her hat and hair onto another red and black muted pattern and overlayed that as well onto the black cardstock image.  Next, I Versamark stamped and white embossed the umbrella from the "walking umbrella lady" stamp and fussy-cut out just the umbrella, which I set aside to adhered onto the black background after my card layers were cut and adhered together.  My next step was to Versamark stamp and white emboss my chose sentiment underneath my lady image.  After cutting and adhering all my mats and layers, the final step was to adhere the umbrella, which I offset to the left leaving it to hang over onto the layer below (see image below).  I used a white gel pen to make my umbrella handle connecting it to her hand.  

Though I'm not sure I like this, I did color my lady's white embossed hair with shades of brown, using my Copic markers.  I did this because Jackie's hair is brown, but I'm not sure I would do that again.

 

The last step to complete Jackie's card was to compose a verse and create an interior design that compliments the card front. . .see the finished inside below.

 

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock:  Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White.  Stamp set:  Beautiful You (Occasions 2017).  White Embossing Powder.  Taylored Expressions Summer Nights dsp.  My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly Winter Branches (hat).  EK punch: Victorian Corners.  Versamark Embossing Ink. Uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen.  Computer verse (odstemplik font).  Size: 4-3/4" x 6". 

Birthday Greetings to a Mariner's Fan!

My October is FULL of birthdays as you may have already notice from previous blog posts.  The next card needed is for my youngest son, Mark, whose birthday is also October 8th.  I have made many birthday cards for Mark over the past eight years of cardmaking, depicting his many talents and interests. . .vehicles, dirt bikes, tools, a bear beerfest, and Seahawks football are some ideas already used.  I find as I work on other cards, my mind will subconsciously be thinking about designs that I might be able to use on upcoming cards needed.  I pondered, "What shall I do for Mark this year?  One interest that I have not yet covered is Mariners baseball.  I wonder if I could make that work?" 

When the time came to get started, the Mariner idea was right there with some half-formed ideas, knowing that I needed to keep it fairly simple as my time was limited due to an upcoming trip.  For another birthday, I had been thinking of doing a simple cupcake card, but so far had not gone there.  I began to do a little online surfing and "googled" baseball cupcakes, and out popped this picture...I was stoked...what a great idea. 

My creative juice really began to move and jell.  I had seen a punch art cupcake card using circle patterns to make the cupcake icing...see the link here, and thought baseball circles would work perfectly.  Then my brain took another leap and thought. . .Mariner logo baseballs would be even cuter!  From there, I was really on a roll and went looking for bats online as an embellishment addition. . . they leaped right into vertical layers for my cupcake liner.  In addition, I did use them on the inside for an embellishment as well.  Take a look below at the inside and outside of the card created when my juices finally simmered enough to finish my card for Mark.  I think he will really like this new addition to his stash of Mom-made cards!

Ingredients:  Cardstocks: Stampin' Up--Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Naturals Ivory (retired).  Bazill--Navy, Huner Green.  Stampin' Up stamp: Big Day (verse).  Cuttlebug EF: Happy Birthday.  Cottage Cutz die: Birthday Candle Border (modified).  Online images: Mariners baseball (colored/ resized), wooden bats (black & white/ resized).  Copic Markers.  EK Punch: Bubbles Corner (modified).  Size:  5" x 6".  

Festival of Trees - Christmas X10 - Card #7!

Card #7 from the Christmas X 10 cardmaking event mentioned in several previous posts uses a stamp set introduced in the 2014 Holiday mini catalog.  It was not retired can now be seen in the current annual catalog under the Christmas section.  The set features seven variations of Christmas tree styles, which allows for lots of design creativity!

I really like the trimmed off circle that is layered with a second circle and enhanced with scallops, which is off set with the left curve trimmed vertically and offset to the left of the card front, but I decided the card itself need another layer, adding more Real Red as a cardbase.  It only had one tree and it look very lonesome and bare all by itself, so I place a different tree on the right than shown on the original design, and placed the card's tree overlapping on the right.  I also added some red dimensional stars for the tree toppers instead of an Iced Rhinestone. . .somehow a star shape just looks better to me as a tree topper rather than a round rhinestone.  I also dressed it up with three little sequins.  Somehow, the big white circle just begged for more embellishing.  I love the items I added and now I really love the card!  Take a look below:

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Whisper White, Real Red, Mossy Meadow.  Stamps: Festival of Trees.  Ink: Mossy Meadow, Real Red.  Circle Framelits,  Tree Punch.  Embossing Folder: Stylish Stripes.  Queen & Co.: Twinkle Stars.  Stash: Red Sequins.  (Thank you Luci Kirschbaum for the wonderful card design I took the liberty of modifying a bit).

First Card - First Birthday Card for 2015!

My first two cards and first birthdays for the 2015 year will be masculine cards!  My husband's two brothers celebrate their birthday on the same day ~ January 5th ~ though one has been celebrating his birthday several years longer than the other.  No, they are not twins!

For the first card, I will be using a stamp set that is one of the first that I ever purchased from Stampin' Up and is four years old, is now retired, and I have never used it!  Wow. . .now that is terrible, because I actually really like this set called Totally Tools.  It, however, was only available in wood stamps, and I do not like to work with wood stamps, because I have a terrible time getting my image lined up exactly where I want it.  Do you suppose this is why I took so long to use it?

I was going to make a antique automobile card for Joe, because he builds antique cars, but I could not find the right image to fit his 1949 Chevy Business Coupe, so I just couldn't get my creative mojo going.  As you can tell, this gentleman is very handy with tools, so my mind went in that direction when I remembered the Totally Tools stamp set. 

I pulled out the set, and then I promptly looked for some Pinterest directions on how to unmount your wood block stamps to turn them into clear-mount stamps.  There are several different directions out there, but I went with the one that microwaves the stamp/block for about 10 seconds.  This loosens the glue on both the foam mounting and the acrylic images that are mounted on either side of your wooden block.  After peeling both off, gently, there is still enough sticky to adhere the acrylic to the stamp foam and trim off the excess acrylic that probably is hanging over the edges of the foam.  No need to separate the rubber from the foam and then have to remount the rubber onto new (and expensive) foam.  To get your now foam stamp to adhere to your acrylic block, the directions I found indicated to sparingly use Tombow glue on the acrylic, smoothing with a foam brush or your finger and let dry for one to two hours.  Then, tap it on your jean-covered leg to remove the excess stickiness, and you are now ready to use your new foam-mounted clear stamp.  I did not follow these glue instructions, as I usually place two-side, removable poster tape on my clear stamps to keep them from falling off the acrylic block when used.

My card uses mustache paper as Joe has that bit of facial hair.  I used a dotted embossing folder on the circle which holds the tools to represent pegboard, which is often used on a garage wall to hang tools from.  I thought that made it a bit more authentic.  I colored my tools with Copic markers to coordinate with the copper-colored foil paper used and fussy-cut them out when finished.  I'm pretty please with my results, and I hope Joe enjoys his card.

  

Recipe:  SU Basic Black cs (base), Kraft cs. Echo Park Times & Seasons/ Spiffy Mustache.  DCWV Cardstock Stack: Foiled/ Copper.  DCWV Everyday Essentials/ Gold Grid.  SU stamps: Totally Tools.  TPC Studio stamps: Greetings.  Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.  Dies: Spellbinders/ Circles LG; Lifestyles/ Nesting Circles. Sizzix Medium Dot Embossing Folder.  Copic markers.  Colorbox Chestnut Roam distressing/ sponging.  Size:  5-1/2" square.

Witch's Boot Spinner!

I learned the spinner card technique last year in a class given by my Stampin' Up mentor, Liz Thayer.  I love these little tidibits of knowledge that we learn each time we do a card class with Liz.  Thanks, Liz!

I decided to use this spinner technique on one of my Halloween cards this year by using the witch's boot in Stampin' Up's Bootiful Occasin stamp set.  I colored my witch's boot using Copic markers, plus I added a band of gold glimmer paper to my shoe to add some glitz.  For my spinner card, I added a bit more embellishing when attaching my spinner item by using a double set of layered scalloped circle punches under my shoe.  I used pennies to make my spinner base, though I have seen nickels used as well.  I am pretty happy with my little polka dot witch's shoe, after all every outfit is all about the shoes, right!

And the finished inside created to coordinate with the card front pretties:

Recipe:  Papers:  SU cardstocks: Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Case, Soft Suede.  SU stamps:  Bootiful Occasions, Woodgrain.  SU Ink: Early Espresso; Colorbox Chestnut Roan distressing.  SU Punches:  Word Window, Large Oval (1-3/4"), 1-1/2" Scallop Circle, 1-1/4" Scallop Circle, Decorative Label (gold modified).  EK Punch: Journal Bracket (sides used on gold).  SU Candy Dots.  Stash: Gold Grommet base used under Candy Dots.  Other: 2 pennies; 3-D foam.  (Size: 4-1/2" x 5-3/4").

A Superhero for My Great Nephew's 11th!

My grand nephew turns 11 in October.  I purchased a stamp set from Stampin' Up several months ago that was intended to be used on Landon's birthday, Calling All Heros.  It is a cool stamp set with different kinds of hair-dos, masks, and mouths, including a city scape, lightning bolt, word bubbles, letters, etc.  I had such a myriad of choices. . .where to begin?

This was a card that evolved as it got built, even changing out some of the papers I was going to use for others as I went along.  The scene is set in the dark of night and I made my city skyline very 3-D looking by layering it three deep.  I also had to extend my buildings because my card size was larger than this stamp set was built for and I trimmed their height/ shape to suit the skyline.  That turned out to be relatively easy, and I stamped on yellow cardstock to make the windows lit up. 

I decided I would use the full head mask that covers the nose---kind of Batman looking.  I was not happy with the stamped blue on my superhero's head as it was not opaque enough to suit me.  I found the Copic marker B28 was a perfect match to the ink that I used, so I over-colored it to fill it all in.  This also allowed me to add the Batman ears, which the stamp set did not come with (copyright rules, I'm sure).  This stamp set comes with letters, so I made my own sentiment using  the jagged word bubble provided.  My birthday fishtail flag is cut with paper cutter/ scissors.  I made my own batman search light oval and a bat from another die set as the stamp set did not provide these either. . .again, copyright issues I'm guessing.  I'm pretty happy with my little superhero guy, and I hope Landon likes him as well.

My next usual step is to find or build an inside verse that fits the theme of the card and the occasion, and then, to create an interior that compliments the front design.  Here is what I came up with, and I think it meets all the criteria!

Recipe:

Papers:  Stampin' Up -  Black cardbase, Real Red cs, Hello Honey cs; BoBunny - Double Dot:  Denim Vintage Dot, Harvest Dot, Buttercup Dot; DCWV - The Glitter Stack.  SU stamps: Calling All Heros.  Ink: SU Real Red; Memento Danube Blue, Tuxedo Black; StazOn Black.  Dies: Spellbinders - Circles, Pinking Circles.  Sizzix - Bats #3.  Punch: Stampin' Up Large Oval.  Other:  Copics: 100 (Black), B28.  Technique: Fussy-cut.  Size:  6-3/8" x 5-1/4".

Nephew's Birthday to Celebrate!

One of my little nephew's celebrated his 7th birthday.  I bought the Blast Off! Stampin' Up stamp with him in mind, and I decided I would work on his birthday card at my annual Mom-Sister cardmaking retreat in Mt. Shasta, CA.  My sister, Heidi Gonzales - My Lil' Scrap Corner (blog), came up with a new surprise to occupy us this year. . . five homemade challenges for the three of us to complete while on the retreat.  My idea for Parker's Blast Off! birthday card fit Color Challenge #4 to a tee.  I was stoked.

I used the same chevron Jillibean paper that I used in February on my husband's Groundhog's Day birthday card for this card's paper-pieced rocket ship.  It is a great guy paper and fit the green/blues color palette just right. I added a grass-patterned paper to the card bottom that I sculpted with a cut-grass border die from the Cat's Pajamas to be my rocket ship's liftoff point.  I am pretty pleased with how the card turned out, but I must apologize for the picture shown here.  I do not have my usual tools for getting a jpeg image incorporated on my blog that I do when I'm at home.  The picture is not only a bit blurry but also has too much light on the right side, and it doesn't do justice to the green and blue color combination in the true richness of the paper colors.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up cardstocks: Bermuda Bay (base), Island Indigo (mat layer), Subtles stack: Pool Party (sky), Daffodil Delight (flame).  Jillibean: Macho Nacho Soup - 2 Parts Boy (chevron).  Creating Keepsakes - Grass.  Cat's Pajama's Grass border die.  SU stamp set: Blast Off! SU Ink: Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Pumpkin Pie.  Ribbons:  SU-Gumball Green Satin Stitching; Stash-Gathered Blue Velvet ribbon.  SU-Googlie eyes.

Easter Pastels

I've had this Easter paper in my stash for several years.  It is all aqua and white, metallic and glittery Easter eggs in a variety of designs, but the paper won't lay flat and curls...very strangely.  I had an idea of making a monochromatic card cutting out the eggs and filling a basket with them.  I ran across this card the other day on Pinterest by Heather Klump of a woven basket full of colored eggs...it was just what I'd been thinking of, but was struggling with how to make a basket large enough to hold my eggs.  I'd seen several other basket ideas, but this one fit my mind's eye to a tee.  I thank Heather and hope she doesn't mind that I cased her idea, and elaborated upon it.  Here is what I came up with.

Recipe: Cardstocks: White/blue Coredinations; Stampin' Up Whisper White, Baja Breeze. Pattern: Reiminisce Happy Easter Egg Art. Stamp: SU Delightful Dozen. Ink: SU Baja Breeze. Extras:  SU Clouds Emboss Folder. SU Modern Label punch.  Lt. safe burlap (JoAnns). Ribbon from stash. Becca's Bow Maker. Scotch 1/4" Tape Glider. Redline tape, mini Glue Dots. Scrapbook Scotch tape. 

Moving on to Copic Coloring. . .the Slippery Slope. . .

Using woodless-colored pencils was a great way to learn coloring (shading, sun angle, etc.) and not very expensive.  But now, I wanted to learn to use Copics because I wanted to make a birthday card for my daughter Jackie using these markers, so I asked Heidi to teach me how.  So, I took classes with the help of my talented sister, Heidi Gonzales (My Lil' Scrap Corner).

Oh my...sigh...my pocketbook (or my husband's) will never be the same!  I have since moved on to use Copics exclusively, and it was good-bye to pencils...probably forever!  LOL  (You've, no doubt, heard of the slippery slope as an issue if you start using Copic markers. . .well, I met that slope head on!)  Here are some coloring card kits designed by my sister, Heidi, that I that we used to begin my learning curve with Copics!  Now, I was ready to do Jackie's card!

CC Designs digital image crafted/ colored by me (a Heidi Gonzales design)

Mo Manning digital image crafted/ colored by me  (Heidi Gonzales design)

Magnolia stamp crafted/ colored by me (Heidi Gonzales design)

Magnolia stamp crafted/ colored by me (Heidi Gonzales design)

Learning to Color...

So, I wanted to learn to color.  In the Fall of 2010, while visiting in Redding, California, my sister (Heidi Gonzales, My Lil' Scrap Corner) gave several classes in coloring with woodless colored pencils (available at Michael's in the art department) using mineral spirits to set the color between shadings and finishing.  Following are several of my favorite first attempts. . .

Edwin - a Magnolia stamp

Ladybug Tilda - a Magnolia stamp

Dragonfly Tilda - a Magnolia stamp

A C.C. Design stamp (or digital image)...isn't she cute!