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.