Another State Fair Sweep!

All five cards that I entered won ribbons!

Since I won first place and the huge special pink ribbon in the Christmas category, the other Christmas card was given second place. The winner was a snowflake slider card that I designed especially for the Fair. The other is a tent card with a fireplace scene inside, although it looks flat here because of the paper clip.

In the other categories, the stair step birthday card won first place. (The second place birthday card is not shown here due to camera issues.) The floral card was another one that I designed for the Fair featuring a Martha Stewart border punch on the white and yellow edges, which was quite tricky to get right. They displayed it horizontally, but it actually is a vertical card.

All in all, it was a great State Fair! The weather was perfect the day we went, and the exhibits were quite inspiring, especially the quilts. I'm not into sewing any more, but truly appreciate all the hard work that goes into designing and making a quilt. The other exhibit I always enjoy is the photography one, with many of the photos reflecting the countryside where we live.

BRANCHING OUT

Thanks to Evelyn for letting me borrow her new tree stamp and tiny embellishments.

First, I inked the tree stamp by using a pale green inkpad, then went over just the branches with a brown marker. After inking and stamping it three times on white, I sponged two of them with green and the other with blue. I ran one of them through the Cuttlebug with a large label die from Spellbinders.

After adding birds, balloons and birdhouses (Oh my!) I just love how they turned out!

I'M BACK (finally!)

Since my last post, I've been away from the Stamping Tower with Laura and family from Prague, the heat wave and a very bad coughing spell. Today is sunny, with lower humidity and a cool breeze wafting through the tower--so it's good to be stamping again.

As you can see, there are plenty of butterflies to enhance a card. The first was done with my Spica glitter pens, which give it a subtle shimmer, and attached with a dimensional. The pearls were added after coloring them with a light blue Bic pen.

The next butterfly is from an old SU set that I still love to use. After coloring the flower, I found a piece of dsp that matched perfectly. Again, a gold Spica pen was used in the middle of the butterfly.

Finally, a birthday card to go out today wishing the Silver Stamper recipient a "cool" birthday, evidence of my warped sense of humor. The snowman is mounted on the front of an acetate card, and the green oval behind him is mounted on the inside.

The next exciting event will be the delivery of my recent Stampin'Up order on Tuesday--yippee!

Variations on a Theme

The first card is for a long overdue thankyou, so I folded a piece of cs to fit a regular legal sized envelope. The bird was painted with Twinkling H2O's and mounted on the branches with dimensionals. The flowers were punched out of some glitter paper scraps. After attaching with glue dots and dimensionals, I curled the petals and added some black diamond Stickles in the centers. Last, I added some clear gel pen to give the beak some shine.

The second card was CASEd from a card I saw on this fabulous blog HERE (April 23rd post.) I hand delivered it to a friend in need yesterday (as soon as the Stickles in the flower centers dried.) Unfortunately, it didn't photograph well, so please double click on photos for a better view.

Only 9 more days until my daughter and family arrive from Prague!

SUMMERTIME FUN

Laura and family will be here in just a few weeks (from Prague) for almost a month's stay, and I can hardly wait! It's been six months since we've seen them, and I'm looking forward to their visit. Since there's tons to do (cleaning, shopping, meal planning, etc.) blogging will be on hold for awhile.

Please use the email link on the top right so that you'll know when I do post a card or two. Even though I won't be blogging as much, I'll still be stamping!

I hope you're enjoying your summer, too. I just love the longer days and outdoor activities after the cold, gray days of winter. Even our cats are happier!

Three of a Kind

Making a card with a saying as the focal point is a bit more challenging than others, for me anyway. The white card shown here was also my submission for the Less Is More challenge. However, I think I like it better here as a square card.

The blue card is a standard size, and I kept it very simple. I thought clouds made the ideal background for this sentiment. Blue and white seemed like a peaceful color combo also.

Finally, the yellow square card is cheerful and colorful, with lots of embellishments. First I inked the flower in yellow, then used orange along the edges of the stamp. After punching out the scalloped circle, I sponged the edges yellow. Next, I cut a square of dsp (thank you, Linda--I love it!) and attached it to the card. I mounted the verse with SU dimensionals, then added the lady bug and various colors and sizes of gems in the flower centers.

As for the saying, it reminds me that God is always near to us even when we don't feel near to Him--especially during difficult times. Though we tend to wander, He never leaves us!

Less Is More/Pick A Square

The challenge at LIM for this card was to pick a square area of the card and limit the image to that spot. Check out other entries HERE.

Take a minute to scroll down for a look at my other cards!

OLW/Cats and Dogs

The theme for this week's One Layer Wed. is cats and dogs, which was a no-brainer for me because I love cats! As soon as I saw what the theme was, I immediately reached for this SU set, "Window Dressing," and placed Archie in the window. Although neither of my cats wears a collar (we live in the woods, so it could be dangerous for them if they got caught on something,) I added a little collar for the card. Archie does have blue eyes, however, so I add blue eyes with a Spica glitter pen.

For real-life photos of my cats, just click on "Cat Photos" on the sidebar. To check out other One Layer entries, click HERE.

Birthday Bargello

The paper used in this bargello design comes from Basic Grey, Life of the Party. One of the things I like about doing bargello is that you never know just how it's going to turn out until you put the pieces together, and this card is a perfect example of that. I had no idea that the striped paper would turn out to look just like birthday candles!

Since one of the designs was a collage of birthday packages, I made a "package" from a leftover piece of the metallic paper underneath. The hard part was wrapping the embroidery floss around such a small square and making the bow on top.

Joan was here when I made this, and she thinks I should use it as one of my entries in the State Fair this summer. Since the category is for "stamping" (instead of "card making") I'm not sure one little birthday greeting is enough to win in that category; but I probably will enter it anyway.

We'll see...

Happy Stampers

Here are four of the Mothers Class members showing off their bargello cards, which all turned out great!

(Double click on the photo for a closer look.)

Pastoral Cards

Here are two cards made for our pastor's use. Both are edged with a Martha Stewart vine punch. The green card features a stamp from SU; the other is a verse from Our Daily Bread Designs.

SIMPLE SATURDAY #22

Happy Cardinal

Could this cardinal be singing because winter is over and the flowers are in bloom again? I know I am!

This is the other image from the same set used in the previous post, only this time I made it a regular horizontal card. The yellow gives it a summery look, especially with the floral dsp around the image. There's no confusing this cardinal with Christmas!

Blue Jay Gatefold

Don't you just love getting new stamps? This one came yesterday from the Cut@Home website. They also have a matching die for the bird, which is actually supposed to be a cardinal. Since I felt the bird was simple enough to cut out by hand, which I did, I didn't order the die. (The stamp set comes with two different images and a birthday greeting.)

There were several steps in making this card. First I stamped the image twice, using the second one for coloring and cutting out the bird. The bird and large blossom were popped up with SU dimensionals.

After coloring the images, I used the Nestabilities label die. Since the image was slightly larger, I used my craft knife to slide the die under the tail feathers, the bottom right leaf and the uppermost blossom. I also die-cut the Nestabilities Fleur de Lis square as a border and mounted the image on top.

The only embellishments I used on this one was a tiny black gem for the eye and some Stampendous jeweled stickers for the flower centers. (Double click for a closer view.)

I think this stamp set is going to get a lot of use!

START HERE CHALLENGE--Yellow Flower

Since tulips are one of my favorite flowers, this challenge was easy. Paper piecing is also one of my favorite techniques, so I put the two together.

First I stamped the tulip along the right side, close to the edge. After coloring the leaves, I stamped just the blossom again on yellow plaid dsp and pasted it over the image. Using the same dsp, I punched out the border and pasted it on the inside of the card. Then I cut away the right side of the card so that the tulip would lay over the border strip below.

For finishing touches, the embroidery floss, oval greeting and bee sticker were applied. I used some Stickles for the bee's wings and inside the tulip. Light gray dots along the left side of the tulip give it some dimension.

This was such fun that I plan to use this design next week for the Mothers Class I teach. You might want to try this site for interesting challenges HERE!

LESS IS MORE--Embossing

Actually, less is less--timewise, that is! This card took all of seven minutes to complete.

After inking the Hero Arts wreath, first with Versamark and again with soft green ink, I stamped it on the card. Using clear embossing powder, I heated up the wreath and then added colorful flowers using three flower peg stamps. Unfortunately, (for this challenge) I had to pop up the butterfly because the ink wouldn't take over the embossing.

To finish, I rounded the corners, added the embroidery floss and stamped the greeting. This will make a nice summery birthday card!

(For more entries at Less Is More, visit HERE.)

Acrylic Smash

I picked up these cards for $1/pack at Michaels (including envelopes)-- what a bargain! I decided to try using this one for the Acrylic Smash technique featured on Split Coast Stampers HERE.

Using Gold and Pearl metallic dabbers, I applied them to the acetate. I then used a piece of white cardstock for the backing and secured it behind the circle opening. Using black Stazon ink, I stamped the blossom (Hero Arts.) After stamping the SU ferns on the cardfront with Versamark, I highlighted them with green chalk, added the embroidery floss on the side and stamped the birthday greeting.

This was a simple and quick card to make!

LESS IS MORE--White on White

No matter how you do it, white on white seems to always work, making an elegant card. This was the challenge for Less Is More HERE

Starting with a basic white card, the first layer is an embossed border with wide lace wrapped around it and mounted with dimensionals. Next I embossed leaves and rounded the corners for the second layer, wrapping a narrow sheer ribbon around it with a simple knot on the right side. Over that, I embossed a leafy square, rounded the corners, added pearls and a double Hero Arts blossom and mounted it with dimensionals. For the butterfly, I glued the small one on top of the larger one and added a row of tiny pearls for the body, then glued it above the top layer with TomBow Liquid glue.

This would make a great wedding card!

Takin' It to the Top Revisited!

Having been inspired by the 411 Challenge in my previous post, I decided to redo this Less Is More off-center card posted on April 25th. (First photo.)

First, I used a scalloped square Nestability die for the bird image and sponged the edges with Sahara Sand chalk ink. For texture, I die cut a square of wavy green cs with a larger Nestability, mounted the bird in the center with dimensionals and set it aside.

With Crumb Cake cardstock as my base, I stamped the roses in Versamark to create a background and then mounted the squares on the cardfront. I made a new bow using green and cream embroidery floss, adding it below the image--a little brighter and warmer than on the original card. After sponging the small flower (Hero Arts) with Sahara Sand ink, I chose a small green button and a pearl for the center, placing it on the lower right corner of the image with a glue dot. (Second photo.)

Finally, I stepped it up once more by adding an additional white flower with an antique brad in the center. I also rounded the corners for a softer look. (Last photo.)

Thank you, Gretchen, for encouraging us to look at our cards in a new way!

Takin' It To The Top Challenge

This was a fun challenge suggested by Stamping 411 HERE.

To start, I pulled a simple birthday card from my stash and looked at it with new eyes. It was okay, but not really that special.






For Step 2, I decided to add some contrast with the purple strip from a scrap which happened to match the ink I used for the flower. Using a Martha Stewart punch complemented the scallops around the image. The embroidery floss "tied" the two colors together and added some texture.






For Step 3, I rounded the corners and added a double vellum butterfly. I'm much happier with this card now!

Stamp Storage/Organizing

Here's how I have organized my stamps so I can find what I need quickly:

On the closet shelf are seasonal, less frequently used stamp sets. The drawers on the left contain Fall stamps, Spring stamps and JustRite stamps and handles. The Fall and Spring drawers are swapped out as the seasons change. On the right are quilling supplies, House Mouse stamps and Lettering sets. (Not shown is a file drawer underneath my table where I keep evertyhing Christmas, stamps in the top drawer and file folders below with assorted Christmas designer papers.)

Behind closed doors in the cabinet behind where I sit are all the stamps I currently am using. Stacked on the top shelf are all word stamps, with Bible verses on the far right. The containers below are labeled: Birthday (words), Misc. (year-round words and images, such as music notes, all-purpose phrases, backgrounds), Bible verses. The bottom shelf holds All-purpose images, Spring trees and flowers and finally, Cats. Next month, I'll swap out the Spring container and switch to summer flowers.

On the shelf above the doors (not shown) are two plastic containers, one for SU clear mount sets and the other for all my clear stamp sets divided into birthday, nature and florals. Two other containers house my small punches. The larger punches are stored on top of the adjoining cabinet.

Also not shown is a bookcase in the hallway just outside my "tower" door which holds all my older SU sets arranged seasonally and swapped out every now and then according to what I'm currently working on. Magazine holders on the bottom shelf house old catalogs and magazines for inspiration.

I hope this little "tour" helps with ideas for your own stamping supplies!

Stair Step Card

At Mothers Class last Wednesday, we made these Stair Step cards. What fun!

Although they're not too difficult to cut and fold (see SplitCoast Stampers for tutorial,) I purchased a couple of packs of these pre-cut cards for use in the class so that all we'd have to do is add the embellishments.

The daffodils were stamped on white cs first, then restamped on white scraps to pop up the two main blossoms over the first image. After rounding the corners, it was taped over the "grass" on the front layer. Next, the "sky" was mounted on the back step after rounding the top corners. Clouds were cut from a die with the Cuttlebug, added to the sky and outlined with Stickles.

Butterflies were cut from a SU die, in metallic paper and vellum. The large one is layered with vellum over gold metallic with TomBow liquid glue in the crease and yellow Stickles down the center (which hides the glue.) The two smaller ones were done, one in gold and the other in vellum and attached with the same glue. (The TomBow glue holds really well!)

After tying yellow embroidery floss around the center step and adding the greeting in front, the cards were ready for mailing in the envelopes that were included. They also fit in regular A2 envelopes if you make your own.

I used this card for a thankyou note, which I wrote separately and added to the envelope. You could also use the back for a note and signature. Give it a try--it's not as difficult as it looks!

LESS IS MORE--Off Center

The Less Is More challenge this time was to stamp off center. I'm not sure I'm completely satisfied with this one, but it was fun trying.

First I stamped the bird (Hero Arts), then masked it and stamped the roses over it. After coloring with markers, I added the greeting and embroidery floss.

Yes, it is finally Spring here in Northwest New Jersey, and the birds are returning. The daffodils are in full bloom and the buds are swelling on the trees. It has been an unusually long and snowy winter and cold, wet Spring so far.

MFP Challenge--Collage

One of the things I learned at the Allentown Stamp Show last week was how to do a collage; so when Mark's Finest Papers (HERE) issued this week's challenge, I was up for it!

First, I started with a Hero Arts clear design "T" set for the large letter, greeting, swirl and tulips. Then I added some other images from stamps I had on hand. I find it easiest to start with a color scheme and stamps of various sizes. The dots stamp is a nice long one to use across the cardstock (even though most of it is hidden under the T.) The tulips worked nicely over them. I then filled in the open spaces with butterflies and flowers--very Spring-y!

After gluing the "T" to purple metallic cs and carefully cutting around it, I mounted it to the card with dimensionals. Crystal Stickles add some glimmer for the final touch.

ODBD Challenge--No Coloring

How refreshing to just use stamps and dsp on a card without having to color anything. That was the challenge this week HERE at Our Daily Bread Designs.

After applying dsp to a green card base, I added a coordinating strip to run vertically. I then used another piece of dsp with a muted design for the Bible verse. After adding extra blossoms on the corners, I used some Crystal Stickles for the centers and assembled all the pieces onto the card.

Of course, ODBD Bible verse collections are beautifully lettered--an art in itself!

God's Timing

Since I'm still down with Bronchitis (all week!) and finally taking antibiotics, I was reminded by the verse on this card I made today that God's timing is perfect. I'm thankful that this illness came before Easter so that I wouldn't have to cancel our family celebration next weekend.

You'd think that with being housebound all week I'd have tons of cards made, but it doesn't work that way. I finally made two cards today that took me all afternoon. Lack of creative energy is the problem. Oh well... (sigh)

Back in the Tower Again

After being clobbered with a nasty head cold and bronchitis this week, I'm finally recovered enough to do some stamping.

Using a window card I purchased at the Stamp Show, I "filled" a sticker vase with a bouquet of flowers sitting on a "table" inside the window. Leaves and flowers were stamped using peg stamps and various inks directly on the "wallpaper" behind.

Enjoy!

Allentown Stamp Show

What a smashing success! We had such a good time at the show, and even got to meet one of my favorite bloggers, LeAnne Pugliese of Wee Inklings! Here she is with me and one of my Mothers Class "alumni," Jackie O.

We came home with lots of new "toys" to use and post on our blogs, so stop in again soon.

Only 363 days until the next Show!

...PRESENTING:

...the "I'm too cute to be square" Kitty! (Especially following a mouse card. *wink*)

The OLW challenge this week was to use the sketch of a square card with a border around the center square. I balked at first because I don't usually make square cards; but this one turned out much better than I expected. It also gave me another excuse to use my peg stamps.

For a look at other cards using this sketch, click HERE.

UPDATE: I just realized that I not only matted this image ( a no-no for OLW cards) but double-matted it besides! ...duh... How could I have forgotten that OLW cards have to be one layer??? Don't answer that...

Spotlight Challenge

Speedy the Cat has challenged us to highlight an animal image, so what could be better than a House Mouse scene. Here are the infamous mice "wrapping" swiss cheese squares for gifts...too cute!

For a little sparkle, I used a Sakura clear star pen over the purple ribbon. (Thank you Gina K. for recommending these pens--they're great!) The large circle was then attached with a SU dimensional, the smaller one with ds tape. (Click for a closer view.)

TIP: Highlighting is a great technique for those intricate detail stamps that otherwise would require a lot of coloring. Not only does it go faster, but it also emphasizes the central image beautifully. For more examples of this technique, visit Mark's Finest Papers HERE.

Gate Fold Birthday Card

While I don't usually think of black for a birthday card, especially a balloon, this one really works. Using the tiny butterfly that was left over from another card, I mounted it on a scrap piece of black after adding the silver cord.

For the front, I used a black embroidery cord simply knotted to echo the antennae on the butterfly. On the lower right, I added a metal charm that says "Celebrate."

For the inside, I stamped a Hero Arts dotted balloon in the center, also as an echo of the dots on the butterfly. The birthday greeting was mounted on the left to balance my signature and note hand-written on the right (hidden here.)

For a finishing touch, I added clear glaze over the balloon to make it shine. I must confess, I had to add the bow under the balloon with long strings to cover an unwanted line from the edge of the rubber. Don't you just hate when a stamp does that!

LESS IS MORE--Red

The challenge on Less Is More is to use red, so the first thing I thought of (non-Christmas, that is) was poppies.

First, I embossed the scalloped circle with one of my Nestabilities dies. This was a new learning experience for me, and it took a couple of tries to finally get it right. I then cut another piece of cs with the same die to make a mask so I could sponge some light green around the edge. I also used the mask to stamp the flower, stem and leaf.

The poppy is colored with a Cherry Cobbler SU marker with a black center and some chunky gold glitter. After removing the mask, I stamped the vertical birthday greeting; but it came out crooked--and I mean really crooked! So I had to stamp it again, cut the strip, sponge the edges with green, tie some gold cord around it and mount it over the crooked greeting. Whew!

Check out the other entries for this challenge HERE.

Where Is Spring???

The only place where there's some Spring around here is on this card!

Using soft colors and airy flowers, I stamped while it was getting ready to snow again today. As I post this, the snow has begun to fall.

For the background, I created a very subtle chevron design and mounted the flower on it with dimensionals. The colors are muted to reflect the softness of Spring, which will get here someday...

LESS IS MORE--Sketch

I knew I'd find a use for that brown Flower Soft someday!

The sketch for this challenge can be found HERE.




NOTE: I've added a new feature to my blog so you can get email updates whenever a new post is added!

CIC24--Sketch

Using the "Clearly Inspired Challenge" sketch, here is yet another daffodil card (see previous post.)








This challenge can be found on the Clear Dollar Stamps website HERE at the March 18th post.

Three of a Kind--Daffodils

This was a bit of a challenge to come up with three ways to use such a delicate stamp without overpowering it. All three were stamped with India Ink Black and colored with SU markers.

The first one was stamped twice on white so that the two main blossoms could be cut out and popped up with dimensionals over the full image. After mounting on green cs at an angle, I placed it on the sun dsp and stamped "Happy Easter" in the lower right corner. A tiny bit of orange Stickles was added to the rim of the daffodil trumpets.

The second card was first stamped with Versamark on Crumb Cake, then stamped again with black ink on a neutral piece and colored with yellow, orange and green SU markers. I trimmed it down to a narrow rectangle and mounted it with dimensionals toward the left side of the card, leaving room for the oval greeting.

For the last card, the image was stamped on another piece of neutral cardstock and colored with a SU yellow marker, then white lines were added to the petals with a Pen-touch white fine-point marker. (I've just about given up on using white roller ball pens--they dry out too fast.) I used an oval cutting set from Creative Memories to cut the image and underlying dsp, then mounted both on a green card. After adding some sparkle to the blossoms with a gold Spica pen, a gold metallic cord was the final touch.

LESS IS MORE--Masculine

This card started out with the Hero Arts woodgrain background stamp over which I stamped the tool box. The tools were colored with SU markers and Spica glitter pens. The top edge of the paper was torn, a red cardstock piece was added and torn, the greeting was stamped and the brads "screwed on." *wink*

The link for this challenge is HERE.

ONE LAYER WEDNESDAY--Eggs

I hope you can see the glitter from the Stickles on these Easter eggs--they really make the card! (Click for a closer view.)

The colorful strip was made by masking off the top and bottom white space and sponging Easter colors in the area. I then removed the masks and stamped the eggs and the greeting. After applying the Stickles, the card was done.

This was soooo easy! Check out the other OLW entries HERE.