OFF TO THE STAMP SHOW!

Jackie and I are going to the Scrapbook Expo in Somerset, NJ, this morning. Check back later for details on what we found there!

CASEing the Ipad #5

I've had this stamp set a long time, but never really put it to good use--that is until I saw this card Melissa posted on her blog HERE (6/23/12 post.)

There are only a few subtle changes:  the Sizzix folder, the shadow I placed under the tree, the darker strips on the top and bottom.  I also inked the edges of the oval with the same Peeled Paint Distress ink I used on the leaves of the tree. 

For the button, I used a scrap of tan paper, stamped  woodgrain on it and punched it out with my new Epiphany Crafts button maker.

Thanks, Melissa, for the inspiration!


(The stampset used is "Thoughts and Prayers" by StampinUp.)

Triplets

Ever try to find a card for triplets at your card store?  One of my friends tried, to no avail; so she asked me to make one.  Here's what I came up with.

Since I don't have many baby stamps in my stash, I used these diaper pins and "welcome baby" from the Short and Sweet set.  I stamped them in the openings, used markers to color the pins and added crystal lacquer.  Then I used a silver pen over the metal parts.

Without a "triplets" stamp, I improvised by stamping the greeting three times, twice in blue and once in pink, for the two boys and one girl that were born.

Inside I stamped "Count your blessings, name them one by one."  I used the tiny daisy flower from my peg stamp collection on the front and also on the inside.

After adding three strands of embroidery floss and attaching to the card base with dimensionals,  I added some pearls and tiny silver embellishments.


(For a closer look at the shine and embellishments, click on the photo.)

THREE OF A KIND--Poinsettia

The easiest version of this card was to stamp in Versamark and use gold embossing for the flower and plain black ink for the greeting.  The clean and simple look was enhanced by mounting the image on red cs, adding just three tiny gold gems and rounding the one corner.

Next I tried inking the stamp with red and green markers, cutting it out with an oval Nestabilities die and coloring the flowers with chalk.  I used Versamark on the light green cs as a background and stamped the greeting in black over it.  To finish, I sponged green ink on the edges of the oval, added an embroidery floss bow and mounted it to the card with dimensionals.

For the third card, I tried using markers again but left the flower plain.  Instead of sponging, I ran the oval through the CB to add an embossed edge.  For finishing, I used  gold twine for the bow and mounted the oval to the dark red background piece with dimensionals.  After creating the background with Versamark and stamping the greeting in black, I attached the Poinsettia to the kraft card with ds tape..

BACKGROUNDS AND BUTTERFLIES

 Today's workshop was on a variety of backgrounds and butterflies.  This first one featured the SU Filigre background stamp which we inked up with Versamark with the stamp face up on the table, placing the green cs over it and rubbing gently.  After sponging the edges with Versamark, we taped it to the white card base.

Next, the butterfly was made by stamping, punching and sponging the blossom from the SU Mixed Bunch set.  Then we cut away the top and bottom petals to form the butterfly, added 3 black gems and black wire antennae and mounted it to a punched black sparkle scalloped circle with dimensionals.

The greeting was stamped on a pre-cut label and embellished with green gems.


For the Rich Razzleberry card, we first ran the white cs through the Cuttlebug and attached it with double-stick tape.  We stamped the flower in black, colored the leaves green and stamped the coordinating floral stamp with a matching color ink.  Then we taped it on black cs and mounted it to the front of the card with dimensionals.  The butterflies were die cut with a SU Sizzlet die and mounted with glue dots, with the largest one inside.  This was the quickest card today.

Although pictured last here, this card was actually the first we did today.  It took a lot longer to do than I thought it would--over an hour!  There were a lot of steps for this one:  spritzing with spray inks on the white panels, then rounding the corners and attaching the jute around it before mounting it to the card.  The butterfly was stamped with Versamark and embossed with black ep.  The Bible verse was stamped in black, taped to the black cs and embellished with more jute tied in a bow.  Placement on the card was done, after alining it with the jute beneath and using dimensionals to secure it to the card.  The butterfly was then cut out, its body colored with a black marker and attached with dimensionals.

In spite of all the work it took to complete the cards, they all came out great!

Christmas Blessings

Since this stamp is so delicate, it's a real challenge to present it in a way that keeps it simple but not dull.

For this card, I used gold embossing for the image and shaded the poinsettia with one ordinary red Crayola colored pencil. I colored each petal lightly, then darkened just the inner parts of the leaves to give it depth.

For added interest, I cut 1/2" off the side of the green cs and attached a strip of red that was punched with a Fiskars edge punch.  Then I wrapped the white cs with red metallic cord and mounted it on red cs with dimensionals and attached it to the card with ds tape.  Three tiny red gems were added for the final touch.

Christmas Stamp-a-Stack

Here's the card I came up with for the workshop I'll be hosting at my house next month.  I pulled out an old stamp from Christmases past and bought some new dsp from Hobby Lobby.

Starting with a Crumb Cake cs base with a side fold, I used the Hero Arts woodgrain background stamp with Versamark.  Then I cut the dsp to 4 1/4" x 2 1/2" and attached it with ds tape.

After stamping the tree on Confetti White cs with Versafine Olympia Green ink, I cut it out and sponged the edges with Peeled Paint Distress Ink, added the gold star and mounted it on the card with dimensionals.  Last, I added the jute, tied with just a knot, on the left side.

I took the photo on my messy table so you could see it in its "natural" environment!

Rejoicing with You

The new SU sets are here!  My SU demonstrator put my order in with hers on June 1st so that it would arrive ASAP.  This is the first card I made with this stamp, and I love it!

The Sizzix ef just begs for something to be added on the top left, so I used a Hero Arts flower with a Stampendous gold dot sticker in the center.  I used a punch for the green ferns underneath and mounted them with a glue dot.

The angel is gold embossed for a simple Christmas card that will be easy to duplicate quickly.  One of the sentiments in the set will go inside and another on the envelope.  This will probably be my first 25 cards (out of 100!)

CASEing the Ipad--#4

As soon as I saw this card on Simple & Sincere (May 24th post) I knew it would be just right for my grandson's graduation card!

Changing to Northwest Christian School colors of blue and gold,  I followed the guidelines I just taught at Mothers Class for masculine cards:

texture
deep colors
bold lettering
metallic embellishments and
no bows or ribbons!

After running some cs through the Cuttlebug with a rick-rack die, I attached them to the bottom of a white panel and trimmed the excess.  Using dark blue ink, I stamped the Congrats just above the rick-rack.  Then I used a Sizzix die for the stars and added a gold star in the center of the large one and mounted them on the panel.  After running the yellow card base through the CB with an embossing folder, I tied gold cording and navy embroidery floss around the top-fold card.  After attaching the complete white panel to the card, it is now ready to give on graduation night.

Thank you Jen for such a great idea!

SUN AND RAIN

One embossing folder, two different looks!

The sunny card started with a blue cs base.  The rays were embossed and colored by gently rubbing with a yellow ink pad.

After stamping grass along the bottom, I used my peg stamps to add bright summer flowers.  The tag stamp was inked with markers so that the flower would match the others and punched out with the corresponding SU punch.  With the blue embroidery floss in place, I attached the tag with a dimensional and mounted the "scene" onto the card base.

For the rainbow card, I streaked the beams with a Soft Stone ink pad to look like rain.  The cloud is also edged and streaked with the same pad.  The rainbow was done with Sharpie markers on a piece of acetate, cut and attached with invisible tape.  Since I wanted the cloud to extend beyond the top of the card, I cut a strip off the bottom so that it would fit in the envelope.  Then I stamped the message on white cardstock and cut it in two sections in an irregular shape.  I had some striped paper in my scrap drawer which was just right for the card, so I taped each saying onto larger pieces and trimmed it with scissors.  The stamp is from an Inkadinkado set of "Kid Quotes" entitled "Friendly Advice."  This quote was from Alyssa Knight, age 12 (credited on the inside of the card.)  Sounds like good advice to me!

CASEing the Catalogs--Floral set

What drew me to this card on Page 83 of the new SU! catalog is the fact that I have this set, but seldom use it.  After trying this layout, I definitely will be using it more often!

First, I found a large scrap of pale green cs which I cut down to 4 x 5 1/4".  I stamped the Filigre background in Soft Stone ink and distressed the edges of the paper.  Since it's a fairly heavy cs, slightly textured, the edges "fluffed" up nicely.  I then inked the edges with Soft Stone and taped it to the white card base.

Next, I stamped the leaf from the Fabulous Florets set onto a piece of white cs using Peeled Paint Distress Ink and cut it off-center with a Nestabilities label die.  Then I spritzed it with a gray marker and laid it aside while I stamped the flower with Brilliance Pearlescent Purple, cut it out by hand and attached it with a SU dimensional.  The butterfly is from a piece of scrap that I die cut with the Embosslits Beautiful Wings and attached with a glue dot under the right wing.  The banner is stamped, cut out, curved with my bone folder and attached with another glue dot just to the right of the green gems.

Finally, I mounted the label to the card with dimensionals.  Although there were quite a few steps to this card, it was very easy to do. 

CASEing the Ipad--#3

Here's another simple card featured on Lime Doodle.
This one takes no more than 10 minutes to make!

First I took a top fold white card for my base.  Then I ran a piece of kraft cs in an embossing folder through the Cuttlebug and cut it to fit on another layer of white cs.  After attaching both to the base with dimensionals, I added a piece of white satin ribbon, folded and held together with glue dots, avoiding a bulky knot.  After die-cutting a square button from a scrap piece and tying on some linen thread, I added the button to the bow with another glue dot.

Last, I stamped the greeting below with dark brown ink...done!


(If this looks a little blurry to you, just click on the photo for a closer view.)