CARD CLASS GRAND FINALE

Thanks to Bonnie Klass on her blog  HERE, I now have the "Grand Finale" card for my last Tuesday morning class! 

I opted to use sponging over the clear embossed background instead of Bonnie's water color version.  Since the ladies in my class are not stampers per se,  I've been keeping each project super simple focusing mainly on assembling the elements I provide ahead of time.  However, next week they will be doing the clear embossing for the backtround and switching to the white ep for the greeting.  I can't wait to watch their faces light up as they discover the "magic" of heat embossing! 

I still remember the first time someone showed me gold embossing--how 'bout you?

CASEd from BRANDY'S CARDS

This card too almost no time at all, thanks to Brandy Cox's video.

In fact, she has tons of Stampin' Up tutorials that are 

easy and fun, so be sure to check her out on YouTube.

CASEing THE IPAD

This card was inspired by one that I saw on

Yana Smakula's blog HERE.

Using the MISTI, I stamped each of the larger images one at a time.  Then 

I removed the panel and stamped the smaller images in

between.  After coloring in the three large images, I added

some clear Wink of Stella for some shine on the scissor and

craft knife blades and gold WOS on the pen.

The larger stamps are from the SU set, "Crafting Forever" and

the smaller ones are from my peg stamp drawer.  The

inside has a Valentine greeting.

Thanks, Yana, for a fun card design!

CASEing the iPad--Daisies

One of my favorite bloggers is "Birgit".  Her cards are always so simple, yet elegant.  I couldn't resist CASEing this one.

Using Peeled Paint and Wild Honey Distress inks, I started by sponging the area that would be showing from underneath.  Next, using a piece of linen textured cs, I die cut the wave and mounted the pieces with dimensionals.  Then I added the daisies with glue dots.

For the greeting, I chose a polymer stamp that could be curved and stamped along the curved edge.

Thank you, Birgit, for your inspiring card!  (To visit her blog, click HERE.)

DORIS DOES PINK??

Well, Watermelon Wonder isn't quite so pink...

Dawn McVey posted her Christmas Thank Yous, and I just loved them--so, of course, I CASEd her design.  To make it a little simpler, I die cut the top panel and attached it with dimensionals. after stamping the leaves and flowers.

The purple blooms were done with one of my tiny peg stamps which I inked up once for each bloom and repeated the stamping to make them look like lilacs.

For the greeting, I chose a less bold font to coordinate with the airy-ness of the flowers.

Dawn's blog is HERE.

CASEing the iPad

I liked Kim Singdahlsen's card so much, I just HAD to CASE it! 

I started with the leaf ef and the scalloped frame as my base.  Instead of flowers, I used a few leaves and acorns for a Fall theme.  Although I also liked her larger verse, I chose a small oval one instead.

Thanks for such a lovely card, Kim!

FLOWERS THAT FLY

Couldn't resist CASEing Jill Foster's design HERE.

Using the  SU! Papillon Popourri and coordinating punches, I came up with this arrangement on a standard sized card.

The dashes on the left are from a Sale-a-Bration pad of vellum which I cut to 3/4" and taped to the cardfront with Vellum tape.  For the panel, which is popped up with dimensionals, I first white embossed the floral stamp from SU! Pocket Silhouettes, sponged over it with Broken China Distress ink, and added the jute.

The message (Technique Junkies) is stamped with Versafine Smokey Gray which matches the gray on the vellum strip.  The butterflies are colored with glitter pens and attached with glue dots.  The dots were added due to a tiny smudge that needed to be "camouflaged." 

Thanks to Jill Foster for a beautiful design!

CASEing the iPad #10

With all the snow and ice we've been getting lately, is it any wonder I keep choosing green for my cards???

This one was inspired by Splendiferous Creations HERE.  Lisa Somerville does beautiful work!

Using a stencil buried deep in my stash no longer, I sponged two shades of green and one yellow of Distress Inks, blending the colors as I worked my way down the card.  The message is white embossed on a scrap of tinted vellum (green, of course!)  The square at the top of the tag is silver metallic, although it looks gray here.  After decorating the tag, I mounted it to the stenciled piece with a craft glue dot at the top and then mounted the panel to the card with dimensionals.

I'm looking forward to seeing some green grass again SOON!

Baby Card

When my friend Joyce asked me to make a card for a baby shower she's attending, I headed straight to my scrap drawer!  Since pink is my least favorite color (we call it "the dreaded pink" around here) there wasn't a whole lot of it in the Tower.

Starting with a pre-scored card from a K & Company pad, I chose one with a raspberry shade and matched colors from other scraps of dsp.  (Since they're scraps from previous projects, I can't tell you where they came from:(   Next, I headed to YouTube for some ideas and, thanks to Kristina Werner, I came up with this CASE of her card.

The largest piece of scrap with the branches and flowers set the stage for the design.  I wrote "welcome" in my own handwriting and set it aside to dry.  Next, I used my circle punch to create the scallops on top.  Using a striped paper helped line everything up evenly.  Once the circles were attached with snail, I laid the large piece over it with dimensionals, covering half of the circles and, again, lining it up with the stripes below.  To give it a more feminine flair, I used my Martha Stewart edger punch, which also shows the light green print inside.

For the nest, I used the SU set "Take Care" and hand cut an egg from one of the leftover scraps.  Then I die cut the letters from a scrap of  raspberry-colored textured paper and glued them on with TomBow glue.  After adding the pink gem and pearls in the upper left-hand corner, the card was done!

CASEing the iPad #7

I think my favorite stamp set of all time is the French Foliage set from SU!  Here I used it as the background for the barn scene and Happy Thanksgiving stamps.

First I stamped a variety of leaves on the left panel of a gate card and the left side of the main image.  Then I stamped over them with India Ink black with the barn stamp, coloring in just the pumpkins in the foreground and the windmill blade.  After stamping a separate oak leaf in brown, I cut it out by hand and attached it to the card with a dimensional.  I'm amazed at how realistic that leaf  looks.

Next I covered the right panel of the gate card with autumn leaf dsp.  Then I mounted the front panel on green cs and attached it to the left panel of the card base.

(I apologize for not having the blog address or name of the card-maker who inspired my card.)

CASEing the Ipad #6

For World Card-Making Day on October 6th, I decided to hold a workshop.  When I saw this card on Simply Stamped HERE (July 12 post,) I thought it would make the perfect Christmas card.  Thank you, Maile Belles!

For the workshop, we'll do 3 of these poinsettia cards and three Autumn cards with a leaf.  To make the poinsettia, I used the main part of  a stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs and stamped it twice:  once on white for the leaves and once on red for the rest.   After coloring in the leaves and assembling the blossom, I mounted it on the corner of the white overlay with a dimensional.  Instead of a button, I used three tiny red gems on the side to make it more postage friendly.

This design lives up to Maile's beautiful work on her "Simply Stamped" blog.

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.)

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!

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.)

CASEing the Ipad--#2

Here's another card I couldn't resist CASEing.  Don't you just love those leaping Holsteins featured on   Lime Doodle?  (May 25th post.)  Since I have no cows in my collection, I had to settle for a poppy and a butterfly.

The poppy and butterfly are from a flower set by Inkadinkado.  The blue gingham clouds were die cut and the grass was cut from a strip of green gingham, clipped and attached with ds tape.  I cut the top-fold card a little narrower so that it would fit in a standard envelope with the clouds going off the edge.

The Lime Doodle blog is a great source of card ideas, so be sure to stop in and leave a comment or two!  Then hop on over to There She Goes for a look at some of their beautiful stamp sets.

CASEing the Ipad #1

This is the first of a new series, similar to CASEing the Catalogs.  There are so many wonderful blogs that I follow, and this is just one of them: Bits and Pieces.  Be sure to visit for some inspiration!

The stamps I used were SU French Script for the background and Hero Arts Two Birds for the rose and Essential Messages for the greeting.  I sponged with Tea Dye Distress Ink and layered the image on brown and black panels over the white card base.  Then I added a bow of silver cord and light brown embroidery floss for embellishment.

Thank you Heather for maintaining such an inspiring blog!

Thanks to Amy Celona...

...for this wonderful card idea--what an inspiration! (See amycelona.com.) For my version, I used the large pine tree stamp from Stamp in the Hand. My card has a top fold (Amy's fold is better, I think) and the matting is reversed. To make the trees more lifelike, I used a dark brown marker to highlight the bark and some of the branches. The sponge daubers worked fine for the white at the top, but not on the trees; so I just used a Q-tip for them. The snow was done with Dazzling Diamonds, which I added while the white pigment ink was still wet. Tearing the bottom of the paper added to the illusion of snow on the ground.

I plan to send this one-of-a-kind card to the dad of a one-of-a-kind friend!