Punny Get Well Card

I am always searching for good get well sets that can be used for teenaged or adult guys. For ladies, a nice floral card will always work but not so much for guys. Yeah, you can always use an outdoor theme like a light house or trees but those seem too serious for me which isn’t always needed. So I was super excited to find this great set with some very funny sayings by Hampton Arts!

In case you can’t read it, the type is pretty small, the sentiment says “Hope you’ll soon be fully re-covered!” Those hospital gowns are the worst aren’t they? I stamped the image with Archival ink on watercolour paper and used my professional watercolour paints (various manufacturers) to paint him. I added some stubble with a very tiny Micron pen. If you look closely, you’ll see that he has a tan line on his butt and his legs. Too many hours on that riding mover wearing only shorts! Can’t you just see him on a mower with a beer in one hand?? The painting looks a bit washed out but when I tried to edit it, the cardstock colours became too strong.

I used a colour combo from a challenge blog but I’m sure the entry is now closed. The layout was the result of finding a gatefold card in my scraps bag when I was looking for a half sheet for the card base. So I figured, why not? The medication die cuts are by Marianne. I used a Frantic Stamper die to make the little half circle tab to help keep my card closed. But I just realized now that since I’m not used to making gatefold cards, there is the distinct possibility that I glued the pill bottle to the card as well as to the main panel which will of course mean it’s glued shut! ARGH!!! {I’m actually laughing at myself right now!!}

Enjoy, Rebecca

Serenity Pocket Card for Unscripted Sketches 255

I’m not a fan of diagonal lines on card sketches so I had to get creative for this one.

So instead of a diagonal pattern, I saw a pocket! The insert is made of patterned paper backed with cardstock for stability then adhered to another cardstock panel so I could split the patterned paper, pop it up on foam dots and inset the rhinestones.

I was going to stamp a chandelier to match the patterned paper but in the same CD case was this serenity prayer stamp so I changed my mind. The scalloped edge is part of a die cut. It has a double scalloped edge so I cut it in half!

I hope you will enjoy this week’s sketch. I know a lot of people like diagonal lines; are you one of them? join us at Unscripted Sketches this week to have some sketchy fun! Not the bad kind of sketchy mind you; just the fun kind!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: Clear Dollar Stamps
Ink: Versamark, Vintage Photo Distress
Paper: linen, cream-PTI, DP-Kaisercraft
Accessories: pearls-Dollarama, lace edge die-PTI, gold EP-SU!, foam dots-The Sticky Stuff Store

CPS 161 Guest Designer–French Inspired Collage Pocket Card

I am thrilled to be a Guest Designer for CPS today! I won CPS 158 a couple weeks ago, Yeeeaaaah!, and playing along with their DT is the best reward! (Read to the end for a link to the winning card.) Be sure to check out the challenge if you’d like to play along with CPS 161. I’ll admit I was taken aback by the diagonal line on the sketch as I am not a huge fan of diagonal lines. But this is called a ‘challenge’ after all! So…

… I made a pocket card! For me, it was a perfect way to make the diagonal line work! This card actually has two pockets. You can find the tutorial here: SCS  Diagonal Double Pocket Card. My paper started to tear at the ‘spine’ so I punched some holes in the side and turned it into a mini book style card. I would have tied a bow but the tulle was too short. I really like this and I think I’ll keep it so I may add another sheet of paper, the same design but folded with the yellow out and make it an actual mini book. For each pocket, I made a tag which I collaged.

The base was actually a sticker so I adhered it to some of the leftover DP from cutting a 12x12” sheet down to the 8.5x11” sheet required for the tutorial. Although I removed the bulky plastic bits from inside the flowers, they still are a bit thicker than is ideal for the pocket. Oh well…

The base of this one is a plain white tag. Quite a few of the items I used for this project were given to me in swaps so if something isn’t in my recipe list at the bottom, that’s why. I have no idea of the origin. Sorry. In fact, on this tag, the only thing I can list is the metal clip and the ribbon.

Here is the card with everything. It is quite busy so that is why I decided to photograph everything separately first. I hope you will play the challenge today.

I want to thank the CPS judges so much for honouring the card I won with (You can see it here: Happy Anniversary Double Challenge Card) and for choosing me to Guest Design today. I really appreciate it! I’d love to join your team in the future, once my baby is a bit older. You can see photos of him HERE.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: PTI Vintage Labels (gold stamping along pocket edge)
Ink: Faded Jeans, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo Distress inks, Encore Gold ink
Paper: Vintage Blue-Glitz Designs, vintage music paper, Cologne and France stickers-Cavallini Papers & Co., vanilla CS-SU!
Accessories: seam binding ribbon- Masterstroke Ribbon, Silk ribbon-May Arts, bling strip-Recollections, tulle, sentiment sticker-Glitz Designs, mini clothespins-Pebbles Inc., pearls-Dollarama, Kaisercraft, vintage lace, metal clip-Making Memories, film strip, staples-Tim Holtz, flowers-Michaels, gold shimmer mist-LuminArte (clothespin colouring), foam dots-Jody Morrow
(Anything not listed is unknown)

Papertrey Ink March Blog Hop–Lemon Aqua Inspiration Baby Card

Here is my card based on the inspiration photo below.

And a close up…

This card is very similar to the one I designed as thank you cards for my shower but in different colours. I haven’t posted it yet because I am hoping to find a magazine looking for interactive cards so I can enter it. It uses much less paper so is ideal for making multiples; the front panel is only held on with the brad in the corner and the whole front panel swings upwards. The aqua is only one layer, not a card base. So 1/2 the amount of aqua cardstock is used compared to a normal card. I forgot about writing on the base, under the focal panel, when I embossed it. Oops! So I guess I will add a layer of copy weight paper when I write in it. My shower ones had unembossed bases so they were easy to write on.

A few details: The scallop at the top edge is the eyelet lace die, I just have it positioned so you can’t see the holes. The socks are made from felt, I just love the fuzzy socks my baby wears so I had to reproduce them as closely as possible for this card. The ribbon is seam binding dyed with Copic Blender Solution and Y21 reinker. If you enlarge the photo, you will see that the brad has tiny stars on it like the yellow shirt DP. The background was inked by swiping the pad across the edges to highlight the embossed pattern. Then I distressed it with Antique Linen ink.

And now for a photo I took a few days ago of my 3 month old Theodore aka Teddy Bear.

This isn’t even edited! I need to warm it up some but otherwise I’m pretty happy with it SOOC (straight out of camera). Isn’t he adorable?!

Thanks for visiting. If you like my blog, I hope you will subscribe. Both RSS feeds and email subs are available on my sidebar. Have fun on the rest of the blog hop.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Mega Mixed Messages, Hanging Out-PTI
Ink: Colourbox chalk (2 browns), Memento cocoa, SU! banana, celery, PTI fresh snow, Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress
Paper: All CS and DP PTI
Accessories: PTI dies: Hanging Out, Eyelet Lace, brad, yellow ‘tab’ ribbons-stash, Hug Snug Seam Binding, blue felt-Etsy, foam dots-Jody Morrow

PTI Blog Hop

 

This month's theme was interactive cards! I can't wait until I can order the Movers and Shakers dies! For now, I used an SCS tutorial for a wiper card.

Here's the front…

and this photo below shows what it looks like opened up.

If you hold it open and flat, the wiper section sticks up perfectly straight. We've just had three straight yucky days with snow so I needed a happy card with springy colours! I made a very similar card before in deeper colours; if you go to the search box in the top left corner next to the orange Blogger 'B' and type in wiper, you will find it. Hard to create links how I'm posting. It would be perfect for a sympathy card. ETA: Here’s the link.

I've always wanted to make one with a pocket inside for a gift card holder with an arrow on the wiper pointing to it! I didn't realize until now that my Laughter panel looks unbalanced so I'll probably add a little leaf sprig at the top later. I used a marker to create the centers for the pink flowers.

The yellow flower doesn't have a center for it exactly. I tried thumping my markers in the center but it didn't show up enough. So I used the tiny flower stamp included to stamp several times in apricot ink to make a center. It's the same stamp you see in pink in a few places.

EDITED SINCE I WROTE THIS: I apologize for the very lousy iPhone photos. I promise to get better ones up this afternoon but I'm so tired. I got up right after nursing the baby to make this. He actually slept through the night, from 12:30 until almost 8 (awesome for a 2 month old), but I'm behind on sleep because he's usually up several times! So I'm posting from my iPhone and will post properly later with real camera pictures. I'll add the recipe then too. The PTI products are the papers except the Kraft and plum CS, the stamps, dies, buttons and striped twine. The inks, scalloped punch and twine are not PTI.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Life-PTI
Ink: banana, apricot, moss, olive, plum, pink, eggplant-SU! Distress Linen, Photo
Paper: spring moss DP, rustic white CS-PTI, kraft, perfect plum, pale plum CS-SU!
Accessories: butterfly and scalloped circle die, chocolate twine, white button twine, buttons-PTI, foam dots-Jody Morrow, twine-stash, bee bellie-Jessie James buttons, Battenburg lace tape-stash, EK Success mini scallop punch, WRKM Corner Chomper

Congrats on Your Pregnancy Easel Card for the OCC.

Time for another OCC project! Our challenge was to make a baby-themed card using Kraft, a button and trim. Would you believe I already had one I made a couple weeks ago? I just hadn’t blogged it yet!

I made this for a woman in our congregation who is expecting her second baby. I’m not sure if she likes purple but I sure hope so! I think the shading on the carriage sucks, I actually added quite a bit of Y35 to the Y21 I used to colour it but for some weird reason, you really can’t see it much. The whole right side of the carriage is supposed to look shaded, like the dress. Oh well.

I made it into an easel card because I hope that she will display it until the baby is born and it will be way more sturdy this way. I normally go with a more shabby style but the gal I’m giving it to isn’t that way at all. More modern, so I think this card would suit her better than one dripping with lace and distressing.

I hope you will join us at the OCC blog this week. We’d love to have you play along . Be sure to check out all of the awesome samples the team has for you!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: Stamping Bella, ticket-PTI
Ink: Memento black, fresh snow white-PTI, eggplant, lavender-SU!
Paper: Kraft, purple,artichoke CS-SU!, white CS-Taylored Expressions, DP-Kioshi Basic Grey
Accessories: silk flower-Michaels, brad (um, I mean button of course)-Basic Grey, ribbon-stash, foam dots-Jody Morrow, Copics: V12,15,17, G21,25, Y21,35, E00,21,33,35,37, Bs and YRs(um, sorry, can’t remember), W00,1,3, ticket die, scalloped edge die-PTI, Cuttlebug embossing folder

A Very Late OCC Post–Not So Neutral!

Wow, did I ever have a terrible week last week! Our whole family had the nastiest cold and sore throat, ugh. Anyway, I’ve finally caught up so here is my take on Linda’s only neutrals challenge. Use light neutrals only (tan, ivory, taupe, grey, white), metallics are OKtoo, on your card with dark neutrals (dark grey, chocolate, black) as accents only. But that alone would be too easy! So there is a twist to use lace and buttons too!

I first thought of white and gold so I went with this wedding easel card. The gold is applied using a gold paint pen. I was DYING to use pink and green on the flowers but I resisted. The lace is lace tape used for making Battenberg lace. I’ve had it for so long and I’ve not made the lace so I decided it could go on cards instead.

It is hard to see but the tulle that extends under the ribbon on the lower half of the card is also behind the upper part of the card. You just can’t see it against the background. It is very frilly and feminine. The Gold rimmed pearls are buttons with the shanks cut off.

I hope you will check out the rest of the OCC design team gal’s projects at the OCC blog. They are so awesome! It’s really not so hard, come on, play with us!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: MFT
Ink: memento black, Versamark
Paper: white CS-Taylored Expressions
Accessories: gold paint pen-Pilot, gold ribbon-stash (off a gift box I believe), tulle, buttons, lace-stash, pearls-Dollarama, gold EP-SU!, foam dots-Jody Morrow, Copics E00,21, 33, curved Rectangle Nesties

Button Boutique Easel Card for the OCC

Vicki has come up with a brilliant challenge this week. It’s amazing how one little extra piece of CS and a couple more embellishments create such a wow card when you create it with an Easel Fold.

I really love easel cards; if you’ve never made one they are really easy. Create a top fold card base of your choice. It can be landscape or portrait. Score the card front only in half vertically. Now create your card front on a new piece of CS. Try not to have any brads or eyelets etc. sticking though on the top half. When you are finished, adhere the bottom half of the decorated card front to the bottom half of the plain card base front. When you fold on the score line, you get an easel card. The card base rests on a table and the top props upwards.

Now you need something to hold the easel in place. Almost any embellishment will do but I prefer something with a wee bit of thickness. I’ve seen cards propped open on little more than a layer of CS but seems to me that one little bump (I have kids after all) and it would pop shut. I’ve used charms, brads, lace, buttons, 3-D stickers and a sentiment strip on foam dots. Lots of choices. I don’t usually decorate the inside of my cards but this forces me to. I usually figure I work so hard on the outside, why on earth decorate the inside too?? but in this case, the result is worth the extra effort.

I absolutely had a blast creating with my new Button Boutique set by PTI. Those gals are geniuses! Check out that white button; see the little flower I made within the holes? The top is a French knot with lots of wraps and the stems and leaves are just stitched  with green embroidery floss in an arrow shape. I made 4 button cards, I didn’t use a single stamp twice and there were still stamps left! I also got the pinked die and the set that stamps little squares of ‘fabric’, I forget what it’s called. I stamped the gingham stamp on a little piece of silk I’ve had for ages from a set of swatches back from when I sewed a lot. Thank heavens I saved them because I was amazed how well the fabric stamped. To prevent bleeding, I heated the fabric right before stamping; this helps the ink dry before it can bleed AND hit it with the heat gun right after. Then I cut it with the little pinked die. I can’t wait to make more of these.

I hope you will check out the other DT members awesome projects over at the OCC blog. Make sure you leave time to play with us before the deadline of next Friday night at 11:50 PM EST. Hope to see you there!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: PTI
Ink: Baja-SU!, white-PTI, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo Distress Inks
Paper: blue dots-MME, all the rest-Melissa Frances, kraft-SU!
Accessories: Vintage lace, buttons-PTI, SU!; pearl, white string (button threading)-Dollarama, flower-Michaels, brad-Basic Grey, MS eyelet lace punch, Cuttlebug polka dots embossing folder, twill tape-stash, button card die, pinked die-PTI, foam dots-Jody Morrow

Vintage Shoe for Doodle Pantry

I absolutely love this image; isn’t it gorgeous?

I just love the ribbon and pearl embellishment on the front. I used halfback pearls for all of the full-sized pearls, I couldn’t use them around the middle because they overlap so I just coloured them.

I used the Midnight Madness Sketch for this card. I like that they now have a simpler version as well but of course, now that I’ve finally played again, I used the more complex version!

Click on Sketch for link to Midnight Madness Blog

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Images: Doodle Pantry Fancy Shoe
Ink: Antique Linen, Vintage Photo Distress
Paper: DP-Romantique Graphic 45, natural white CS (base)-SU!, ivory CS (corners)-SU!, white CS (printed images)-Taylored Expressions 
Accessories: individual pearls-Dollarama, Copics YR00,02,20, YG63,67, G21, E29,33,35,37,47,49, W00,1,3, Clear Spica, 00, Cuttlebug corner die, pearl swirls-Recollections, Label 1 Nesties

Let’s Hang Out! ~ TE Feb Blast from the Past Blog Hop

Another fun blog hop for Taylored Expressions! This month the theme was Go Green.

I’ve been looking through my mom’s decorating magazines and found one with the most lovely room done in a lively yellow-green, soft pink and bright pink with lots of white. I would show it but I am getting a migraine and just want to post quickly and go to bed.

The flower was made from 4 die shapes; I split each in 2 for an 8 layer flower. After splitting, I punched a hole, spritzed with handmade spray using Perfect Pearls and crumpled them. Then I partially dried them with my heat gun. I gently uncrumpled them and recrumpled them where I needed more creases then I continued to dry them. I flattened them just a bit and threaded them on to a long pronged brad. All that was needed was a bit of fluffing and you get the flower you see here! I used both sets of circle Nesties using 4 of the 5 smallest, excluding the very smallest.

The card is a gatefold card which made getting the ribbon on straight very easy! Once I glued on the flower, the panel underneath needed a notch cut from it so it would slip under the flower neatly so I cut a notch using an oval Nestie. I wanted foam dots under the whole panel but of course, I didn’t want the right side to stick to the card or it wouldn’t open. So I added the foam dots and punched little flowers out to place over the adhesive. This way they don’t stick to the card and it still looks nice from the other side when open.

Don’t forget to visit the other blogs in the blog hop! If you enjoyed this post, I hope you will subscribe to my blog, you can become a Google Follower, sign up for RSS feeds or receive emails in your inbox, all on the sidebar. You can also click on the Blast from the Past TE blog hop tag at the bottom of this post to see my other blog hop projects. Thanks for visiting.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: TE Hangin’ Out
Ink: memento black, celery-SU!,
Paper: celery, pretty in pink, white CS-SU!, Hibiscus Burst CS-PTI, DP-DCWV
Accessories: foam dots- Jody Morrow, oval and scalloped circle Nesties, Copic G24, brad-stash, ribbon-May Arts, Perfect Pearls, Divine Twine-Etsy

Capella Card for Unscripted Sketches

I needed a card for a very sick friend who recently found out she has a very aggressive form of cancer. I gotta say, no fun writing out that one. But with this sketch and some new paper, I made the outside work at least.

The sentiment was especially hard but I found a sheet of 12” long  stickers, all in strips, with several phrases per strip. I thought this one was perfect AND unexpectedly, matched the paper. I mean, how often does that happen?

http://unscriptedsketches.com/2011/01/unscripted-sketches-88/

The chipboard flourish is sprayed with Glimmer Mist, although you can’t see it, it is sparkly IRL. I added the pearls, I love getting them at the dollar store because I don’t feel guilty using so many!

The card base is a gatefold card. The main panel is glued on the left and the sentiment is adhered on the right, then tucks under the cute little clippie thing. You won’t believe where I got the flowers. I found a cute headband at Reitman’s, a business casual women’s store here in Canada. They were $5 so I left them. Then I found them for $1.99 when I went back so I bought 3! Each has about 10” of ribbon roses, 2 rows wide!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Paper: Capella-Basic Grey, ivory, blush CS-SU!
Ink: Antique Linen Distress ink
Accessories: headband ribbon, pearls-Kaisercraft, Dollarama, chipboard flourish-stash, Glimmer Mist-Tattered Angels, foam dots-Jody Morrow, clippie thing-Making Memories, ticket corner punch-SU!

Clear Dollar Stamps Sneak Preview – Medallion de Fleur

SCROLL DOWN FOR ANOTHER REVEAL POST!

OK, I have to preface this project by saying it is easily the hardest project I have ever had to photograph!

Between the hanging nature of this project (my photo box has nothing to hang it on!) and the surfaces all at different angles, I am amazed they turned out this well. I took over 40 pictures to get these. Every aperture setting and lighting set up combination possible!

I thought it would be cute to make a bunch of these to hang at a baby shower, maybe with a cut out baby image hanging from the ribbon at the bottom or just to at some seasonal decor to your home. Since it was spring while I was making this (of course) I went with springy colours but I can see so many possibilities for parties and other seasonal events.

It is very easy to make. Stamp 6 medallions in your choice of colours. Mine were pink, peach, yellow, green, blue and plum on white CS but of course, you could use lightly printed DP or coloured CS too. Die cut the circles, FYI, the largest die of the large set of Nestabilities circles fits perfectly! Score your circles in half; I aligned my circles using the pattern to make sure they all were scored the same way. Glue one half of one circle to one half of the next circle. Make sure your glue is all over including very close to the fold line. Repeat until you are all the way around the circle except the last one. Tie a loop in your ribbon and lay the tail in the center of the ornament. Now glue the last circle halves together. Dress up your ribbon with die cuts, beads etc. I added a bow to the top of mine and Swarovski crystals to the bottom. It hangs much nicer when it isn’t rigged up funny for the camera.

Another idea I had was to punch holes in two opposing circles at the very top of the fold and assemble as usual except leave the last segment unglued. Write a message in there and thread the ribbon for hanging through the holes rather than threading it down the center. This would be really cool hanging from a bunch of balloons or even hung from a hospital bulletin board (some rooms have them). I hope you can think of TONS of uses for this gorgeous stamp! I know I look forward to continuing to use it long after this reveal is over!

Be sure to visit tomorrow to see the final fabulous sets being revealed by Clear Dollar Stamps for June! If you need ideas for the guys in your life, hold on to your hats! Be sure to visit Clearly iStamp to see the other team members who are revealing this stamp set on their blogs and to see the full set!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Medallion de Fleur-CDS
Paper: white CS-SU!
Ink: pretty in pink, apricot, banana, celery, bashful blue, plum
Accessories: Swarovski crystals, silk ribbon-May Arts, Nestabilities circles

Clear Dollar Stamps Sneak Preview-Tag Blessings 1

I’m back with more samples for a fabulous new set, Tag Blessings. There are so many uses for this set! I loved working with it!!

I used a tutorial from SCS to create this box card. Inside is a combination of two stamps from the set. I liked the bottom of the one circle image and the top of another so I merged them! I carefully cut out the inner circle of the green stamped image and also trimmed the bird image to match. It is hard to see but I cut carefully around the leaves so a few stick over the edge of the green circle.

The bow is lovely silk ribbon, I adore tying bows out of silk, so soft and the middle is small with poofy loops. The butterfly has pearls for the body from my local dollar store, AWESOME! I use so many more now that they are so cheap. Only 2 c each!!

This set will be available June 1st. The link on Lori’s blog, Clearly iStamp will be active then. Be sure to visit the rest of the DT who are previewing sets today.

Angela Thomas
Tricia Traxler
Cassie Trask
Linda Anderson
Laurie Wilson
Lori McCrosky
Linda Borneman
Nancy Grant
Katie Renz
Candy Fosta
Sarah Taylor
Trudy Sjolander
Wendy Hall
Tori Wild
Stacy Morgan
Sarah Gilreath
Tracy Johnson

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Tag Blessings – Clear Dollar Stamps
Ink: sage, pale plum-SU!
Paper: pale plum, white CS-SU!, DP-Basic Grey
Accessories: MS butterfly punch, pearls-Dollarama, silk ribbon-May Arts, circle Nestabilites, foam dots-Jody Morrow

Rose Tent Topper Easel Card

I wonder, could this be a new invention? I’ve never seen a card that combines a tent topper and an easel before but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been done. I wanted a design that would balance out the huge rose I used and I think this works. It took me longer to decide what to put inside to support the easel portion than the rest of the card!! The inspiration for this card came from a gorgeous picture on Melissa Phillips blog, LilyBean Paperie. I love her blog so much, she writes so beautifully about her life and the loves of her life, her daughter, hubby and new house and of course, her fabulous shabby chic creations. Click on the photo to visit her post.

This card is large, 5” wide and 6” tall when folded flat. The rose itself is almost 1.5” tall and 2” in diameter. I stamped the damask background myself, it looks like vintage textured wallpaper or curtains because the CS has a linen texture.

I used 1/8” red line tape to adhere the half-back pearls and the heart charm thingie to the inside of the card, then I coated the remaining red line tape with gold glitter. I added a bit of glitter to the rose too. I debated on putting brads, buttons, punched cardstock, lace, trim, rhinestones, pearls or mini long-stemmed rose embellishments on the inside to support the easel. Whew! Nothing was elegant enough to go with the outside of the card until I thought of this.

I did have a bit of an ivory vs. white war going on. The label 1 mat and the rose are cream. The damask stamping was done with white ink that I tried to vanill-ize with Antique Linen Distress ink but of course, pigment ink resists dye ink. The only reason I tried it is that the white ink I used is technically hybrid ink. Then I had to choose between white (a winter white) and ivory (yellowish) silk ribbon. Obviously from the picture, the white won. It does look much more cohesive IRL.

The colour in the pictures is out some, well quite a bit really. The turquoise is brighter and the green is celery by SU! I tried so many different camera settings to get better colour and I tried some simple post-processing settings too but to no avail. I can’t figure out why some colours are so easy to capture and others are so difficult. The corsage pin isn’t very easy to see, I used a flower-headed quilting pin whose head I broke off. Then I glued a large pearl bead where the flower head had been. The other beads are Swarovski crystals plus one other pearl bead.

The ivory mat layer under the celery Label 1 is cut by embossing the shape into the paper, then cutting around the  largest indentation. This creates a perfect mat for a piece cut by die cutting normally. I hope you will take the time to be inspired by this gorgeous photo.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: Gel-a-tins
Ink: PTI snow
Paper: celery, vanilla CS-SU!, turquoise textured CS-Bazzil
Accessories: halfback pearls and pearl beads-SU!, rose-Prima, Cuttlebug textile folder, red line tape-Jody Morrow, heart-Jesse James buttons, gold glitter-Art Institute Glitter, silk ribbon-May Arts, Swarovski crystals, Label 1 Nesties

Plum Heart Easel Card

Oh man, I have to start this post by apologizing for not posting Thursday and Friday after I promised to post everyday this week! Sorry, but I am going to make up for it today!

I made this card for FOUR challenges. Clear Dollar Stamps has a blog, Clearly iStamp, and the challenge was to glam up your card. So I added glitter to my heart and rhinestones to the top corner. Sharon’s challenge #126 on her No Time to Stamp blog was to use green and purple, very springy colours. Of course here in Southern Ontario, we still have cold and snow and as we really haven’t had a BIG storm yet, I expect one, probably several still, any time really! Last year, the worst weather was in late March and early April after a very warm February. Anyhoo, the third challenge was the sketch on the new OCC sketch blog. The last was Flourishes Timeless Tuesdays challenge to make an easel card. No problem, I love this this last challenge can be applied to almost every card.

This card is going to my son’s teacher. I let her know early in the year that because of our religion, he cannot participate in most popular holidays including Valentine’s Day. She not only remembered but added a note to the bottom of the Valentines’s Day class list.“Jameson doesn’t celebrate for religious reasons. But he would appreciate a friendship card.” Isn’t that so sweet? And even better, most of his classmates made special Happy Friendship Day cards for him with candy taped on just like a Valentine. It made me so happy, I almost cried. It is so unusual for anyone to go out of their way to make up for holidays we don’t participate in.

Because of the angle, it is a bit hard to see but there is an eyelet at each end of the heart punched panel and a silk-ribbon threaded button on either side of the Thank You oval. The dove is placed right above a similar bird stamped as part of the background. It kind of looks like the ivory bird is creating a shadow on the card!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: SU!
Ink: perfect plum, eggplant, sage-SU!
Paper: DP and all CS-SU!
Accessories: MS heart border and dove punch, oval punch, buttons, eyelets-SU!, silk ribbon-May Arts, purple sheer ribbon-stash, rhinestones-Zva, Art Institute Glitter-Watercolour

Turquoise Madelyn for Whimsical Wednesdays

I love these turquoise colours. They are the deeper coloured BG Copics, in this case, the trio recommended by PTI to coordinate with their Ocean Tides paper. I saw Jody Morrow use them on one of the Pure Innocence images from MTF and I emailed her to find out the colours because I loved them so much! In case you are wondering, this is called a tent topper card.

Please click on the photo to get a better view of the markers, especially the numbers of the BG’s since the colour doesn’t show. Hard having a mix of Ciao and Sketch! I’ll try and get it in next time. Let me know if this is useful to you. I read a comment on SCS last week that some people won’t bother revisiting a blog if the Copic colours aren’t shown! Who knew it was that important!

You will notice in my image she has no wings unlike last week when she did! I asked a very talented young friend of mine to digitally remove them, just for a change. I coloured the image first, then wondered where on earth I was going to find paper to match. A quick dive into my SU! In Colours bin and I found this paper that matched perfectly. I completely forget the name of it but I am so excited that it matched. I think the lighter colour is called Soft Sky. The DP must have been from the same In Colour Year because the green from the DP pack matches the mixed CS pack too.

The paper was cut with Eyelet Borderabilities and layered, I was pleased to find that the cutouts matched. I wasn’t expecting that; see how two of the holes in the flowers cut into the patterned paper allow you to see through the CS layer? The button is Ocean Tides and matched perfectly! I was really happy with this card in the end which is great because being sick for so long, I was starting to lose my mojo.

Funny that the name of this girl in the image is Madelyn as this week’s challenge was from Madelynn!
Apparently, this is a makeup set of her mom’s that she loves a ton! I have to agree with her; it is gorgeous! I took the pretty turquoise colour and the flower in the geisha’s hair as my inspiration. I was considering an Asian-themed card but I really wanted to use the image again I got FREE from Katie at Paper Makeup Stamps as she is the AWESOME Sponsor for this month! Thanks Katie! I do hope you will join us in playing this week. We’d all love to see your work. Link up to Mr Linky at Whimsical Wednesdays! Use DDSC20 if you upload to a public gallery. Be sure to drop by next week to find out who is next month’s sponsor.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: PMS
Ink: Antique Linen Distress ink (to tint white paper to vanilla) Paper: DP, vanilla, turquoise CS-SU!, white CS (image)-Taylored Expressions
Accessories: flower-Scrapbook Sally, button-PTI, silk ribbon-May Arts, eyelet borderabilities, scalloped rectangle nestabilities

Skis and Mittens for the OCC Sketch Challenge and Whimsical Wednesdays!

The OCC has another sketch challenge this week and since they are looking for Design Team members, I am making sure I am playing every sketch this month. Hey OCC gals, if you are reading this, I am a very reliable Design Team member! I take my commitments very seriously! Hope you like my cards!

The Sketch: Click on the sketch to link to the OCC blog.

Jessica has been on an easel card spree lately so Madelynn decided to challenge the DareDevils to make Easel cards this week. I hadn’t made one before today but seriously, they are so easy. You can see nearly everything in the photos. Basically, make a card front. Make a top fold card base with a horizontal score line about halfway on the card front only and create a mountain fold. Adhere your card front to the card base below the score only!Make sure and add an embellishment to prop your easel up against and that is it!

This shows the card opened like an easel.

 

And here’s the inside!

I added the glitter by laying down 1/8” Scor-Tape first. It is so much easier to use for straight lines than liquid glue. The snowflakes were accented with a bit of sponging with Distress ink to get a more 3-D look and to help them stand out. I ‘made’ the ribbon by stamping the seam tape with craft ink. The seam tape is thin enough that the snowflakes show well from the other side too.

I hope you will all pay along with both challenges this week! The DareDevils DARE you to try out an easel card! You will be glad you did! I can’t wait to see your work and that of the other DareDevils! I hope you will find time to stalk their blogs! :) When you make a fabulous card, be sure to link it up to Whimsical Wednesdays, use keyword DDSC11 and HAVE FUN!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: snowflakes-CTMH
Ink: craft night of navy-SU!
Paper: DP-CTMH, navy and juniper CS-CTMH, night of navy, shimmer white CS-SU!
Accessories: seam tape-stash, snowflake punch-MS, snowflake brad-Karen Foster, Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder, Art Institute sea shell glitter, snowflake, ski, mitten embellies-Dress It Up Buttons, broken china Distress Ink, Liquid Appliqué

Morning Java Inspiration Challenge for Whimsical Wednesdays

I have to tell you, I HATE MORNINGS! With a passion! I rarely feel human in the mornings unless I sleep about 10-12 hours and of course, I rarely get that whether because of my own insomnia or kids or things I have to do. So these mugs were perfect as an inspiration challenge! Rise and Whine-AMEN! Thanks Jack!

I made a card similar to this ages ago, I loved it so much I decided to make another similar one. Heather, I hope you have your glasses on! (Heather SAYS she is allergic to the colour brown, apparently, she has ‘glasses’ that help!)

It is a Z fold card. Start with an 11x5.5” piece of cardstock. You want to cut down one long edge on an angle so when folded, each section has an angled edge. I marked a point down about 2” on one short side. Connect the mark with the other top corner and cut. Score the paper in thirds and fold. Decorate as desired. You can choose to keep it as a Z (stands up really well on its own) or use adhesive and make pockets which I did.

You know the saying, ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’? Well I didn’t exactly invent anything but I did come up with an inventive way of making my ‘English Breakfast’ tag. I wanted ivory on chocolate but my ivory EP is no name and not very good quality nor very fine. So I used ivory paper, CLEAR embossed the image and sponged on the chocolate ink! Works great! The other tag is coloured in with pencil crayons. I have no idea what a tea plant looks like (shoulda Googled it!) so no comments if it is wrong-chances are it is! The silk puff flower was made using the directions at Studio Calico-Fabric Flowers except I didn’t use an iron at any stage. Because I didn’t I needed to sew the center down with a few stitches. So worth it.

So, are you inspired to play along with this week’s challenge? I sure hope so. If not quite yet, I’m sure you will be by the time you finish checking out all the the DareDevil’s blogs! Everyone is playing this week except Randi. Be sure to leave some love along your way!! Use keyword DDSC9 to upload your card and link it up to Whimsical Wednesdays. Don’t forget, please link your direct link, not just your blog addy. All you have to do is click on your post title, then copy and paste the URL at the top of your browser window. We try to leave y’all some love but if we have to scroll through all your blog posts to get to your DD card, it sure takes a loooong time!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Stampington
Ink: chocolate chip, cocoa-SU!
Paper: cocoa, caramel, chocolate, vanilla CS-SU!
Accessories: flower-stash, Tattered Angels glimmer mist, copper tag-Making Memories, vintage lace-stash, pencil crayons, pink Copic, welvet ribbon-Clear Dollar Stamps, MS cornice punch, silk yardage-stash, jumbo eyelet-WRMK, silk ribbon-May Arts, key-stash, clear-EP, thread-stash