Shabby Chic Baby for Whimsical Wednesdays

Have you seen the article in Paper Crafts magazine about shabby chic? The article by Melissa Phillips identifies the key elements that make the shabby chic style what it is. I highly recommend reading the article. I love this style but it doesn’t come naturally…  yet! I will be sure to keep this magazine handy for the future.

Nothing special about this card you can’t figure out from just looking at it. Pretty simple. I hope you will all try this sketch by Jack for Whimsical Wednesdays! Thanks Jack, I had fun with it! I had lots of ideas for what to use for the two tabs on the edge of the focal panel. What will you use? I’d love to see! Be sure upload to PCP or SCS with keyword DDSC4 or to your blog. Link up to Whimsical Wednesdays so all of the team can find your projects. I can’t wait to see! Need some inspiration? Visit all of the DareDevils! Links on the sidebar! We are all playing except Sandra and Debbie. **** HAVE FUN!!! ****

Oooooh, I almost forgot!! Be sure to come back next week… we will be having a PRIZE!!! WoooooooooooooooHoooooooooo!!!!!!! Mark it on your calendar, write in on your hand, permanent marker on your forehead (just don’t exfoliate for a week, hee hee!!! oh and don’t let anyone take your picture!!!)

I’d also love it if you would come by my blog and visit for World Card Making Day, Saturday October 3rd. No doubt most, if not all, of the team will also be posting something special that day. I can’t wait, I missed it last year because I hadn’t really worked on my blog in so long so I am WAY EXCITED to participate this year. HAPPY WORLD CARD MAKING DAY EVERYONE!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE

Stamps: daisy wheel-SU!
Ink: antique linen and worn lipstick Distress Ink, VersaMagic cloud white
Paper: Melissa Frances, Making Memories-DP, Kraft, white, celery CS-SU!
Accessories: Basic Grey chipboard heart, Maya Road chipboard swirls, vintage lace-stash, rubon-Melissa Frances, hydrangea punch-MS, silk ribbon-May Arts, Tiny Twinkles rhinestones-Taylored Expressions, Copic R32, glitter-Art Institute,  white crackle paint, shell pink paint dauber-Ranger, corner punch-SU!

Gift for Wyatt – Giant Paper Clip Photo Holder

I so enjoyed my time as a Guest Designer at Clear Dollar Stamps that I wanted to thank the Design Team Leader Laurie Wilson. She had a baby just a week or two after my term ended at the end of June so I thought a personalized gift might be nice, especially with a name like Wyatt, she won’t find too many things with his name on them. This was pretty easy to make, I used an unfinished clothes pin and used a three-step crackle on it.  You start with the colour you want to see in the cracks, then apply the crackle medium. Then apply the top colour. TIP: Be sure to apply the top coat smoothly and quickly. No matter how bad you think it looks, don’t try to smooth it out after about 30 seconds or you will make a HUGE mess. Ask me how I know and why there is patterned paper over the front of the pin! GRRR!!

The letters are chipboard by Karen Foster and I applied them with Mod Podge Matte Decoupage Medium. The ‘Y’ and the ‘T’ have flocking on them, you can still tell it is raised but not how fuzzy and nice it used to be but I figure if I don’t seal it, it might end up catching dust and then it wouldn’t be nice anymore. I was glad the letters were the right colours; if the first three had all been red, it wouldn’t have looked that good would it?

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Paper: SU! DSP
Ink: Antique Linen Distress Ink
Accessories: clothes pin-Oriental Trading Company, Mod Podge, Letters-Karen Foster

Congrats Card for Hubby

My hubby has been working at Toronto Ambulance Headquarters doing a wide variety of computer work for the last year. He and two others worked on a program for computerized patient care records rather than paper versions. Besides the obvious advantages, it allows records to be analyzed and can be coordinated with inventory to prevent the thousands of dollars lost due to expired medications. His program was entered in a contest for a Merit Award. When they won that, they were entered to receive a Platinum Award at a special dinner and guess what? They won!! I used ESS52 again, the $52 GC prize will be awarded tomorrow.

I used my new star Sizzix die to cut chipboard and DP or CS to cover the stars. They are so much sturdier to popped up  when made from chipboard. The tag was cut with a Cuttlebug die. I really like this sketch; I think I’ll come back to it over and over. Inside the card I added a ‘Celebration Record’; it is a small stamp with places to insert the type of celebration, location, date and who was there. His writing sucks so I wrote it in for him. Nice to have a small record of the day.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: Clear Dollar Stamps
Ink: riding hood red, baha breeze, Memento black
Paper: Bazzil CS, DP-Fancy Pants Summer Soiree
Accessories: brad-Making Memories, star die-Sizzix, tag die-Cuttlebug

You Make My Heart Go Whirrrr for Whimsical Wednesdays

This week’s challenge was three colours: blue, green and orange. Now anyone who reads this blog (and cares to remember what I write! hee hee) knows I hate orange! Especially bright, primary, crayon orange like in the colour challenge photo. So I was very tempted to take the easy route and switch the orange for pink, especially since Joan of Joan’s Garden was super sweet and sent with my order some gorgeous ribbon I’d been admiring on one of her cards. It was ombre with pink and green overprinted with a green vine and pink flowers with blue middles. (She also sent some with purple and green-YEAH!) She is the sweetest lady, you really should check out her store. It isn’t fancy, you just email her with what you want and she sends you an invoice but her customer service is awesome. I can’t believe I didn’t have her link up sooner. I have added it to my sidebar under ‘My Go-To sites’. JustRite Stampers fonts are on sale until the 24th so visit her. In the end, you can see I actually was brave enough to use orange and a pretty bright one at that!

I used Cogsmo paper from Cosmo Cricket for this fun card. The layout is from I {heart} 2 Stamp this week. I tweaked it as usual but you should still be able to see the original in it! I had to make the circle pretty big to be seen under the die cut ‘heart go whir’ paper so I simply allowed the circle to spill out over the edges of the card. I really like the result. And notice how I managed to use those paper shaper scissors we all bought (HAD to have ‘em!) but rarely use anymore.

I was tempted to use actual stars where the stars are in the sketch especially because I just got a new Sizzix star die and I am anxious to try it out. But the gears are more original and fit the card better. You can see a bit better how they are popped up in this photo. Click to enlarge if need be.

As usual, please join us in our challenge. Upload your creation to PCP or SCS with keyword DDSC3 or your blog and be sure to visit Whimsical Wednesdays blog to add your link. We all want to be able to see what you make. For some inspiration, check out all of the team, the DareDevils’ work at all of their blogs, use the links on the sidebar (Cassie and Sandra aren’t able to play this time). I love visiting them all to see their creations; I missed last week so this week I will get double the fun! Please welcome Lisa Hjulberg to the group! I can’t wait to see her work!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: SU!
Ink: baha breeze-SU!
Paper: baha breeze CS-SU!, Cogsmo-Cosmo Cricket DP and die cuts
Accessories: foam dots-Jody Morrow, Cut n Dry nib-Ranger, Fiskars shaper scissors

My Card for Kate

You’ve seen my cards for Kate’s siblings, here is my card for Kate! Isn’t this bear sweet? I have been waiting for the budget to allow me to order this adorable set and its Accessory set from Taylored Expressions. I had to get more paper anyways so it was the perfect excuse to order these sets. I am just shooting myself for ordering them 4 days too late, just past 3 months in which all sales sent money to Sick Kid’s hospital in Toronto. Living so close, I’ve been there a few times. When Jameson was still in my tummy, there was a concern that my lupus may have affected his heart so we went down to get his heart ultrasounded through my belly. Cool huh? Fortunately he was and is fine. I’ve also spent time down there with special needs kids I worked with who needed surgery; gave their parents a break and all. It sure is an AWESOME place. I can’t believe I didn’t order in time so they could benefit. **GRRRR**

Such a sweet face! I can’t help but picture a little girl going into a hospital carrying this bag. I paper pieced the bag, popping up the whole thing except the straps and up another level, the bear and the backpack flap. All the layers, the backpack and the lace were sponged with tea rose Distress ink. A punched flower and pearl finishes the card.

Please support the Cards for Kate drive by sending cards or even donating a prize. For details go to Jennifer McGuire and click on the logo on her sidebar. Right at the top, you can’t miss it!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Taylored Expressions
Ink: Memento brown, antique linen, tea rose Distress inks
Paper: Wild Asparagus Designer CS, kraft, chocolate CS-SU!, Taylored expressions cream CS
Accessories: foam dots-Jody Morrow, pearl-Kaisercraft, punch-EK Success, curved rectangles Nestabilites, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Cuttlebug tag die

Cards for Kate – Whimsical Wednesday!

The cards I am showing today are for Kate’s brother and sister using this week’s Whimsical Wednesday sketch (I love shaped cards so much I did two)! In case you are wondering (and haven’t heard already!), Kate is a 5 year old girl with cancer. Jennifer McGuire is collecting cards for her and her family to help them through this troubling time. I had already bookmarked her post to help out BEFORE I heard that there are nifty prizes to be won for sending in cards. For far, I believe the prize count is up to over 50! She is constantly posting updates so visit her blog to find out more or click on the ‘Cards for Kate’ link on her sidebar. Please consider sending a card for this worthy cause.

This first one is for her brother Will. I hope I didn’t use too much glitter but it was so pretty, I just couldn’t stop! He is only 4 so it should be OK. Maybe my challenge to myself to use more glitter and shimmer has unleashed a glitter monster!! I’m so excited that the glitter actually shows in this picture! My photography class is paying off!

Boy, it was hard trying to figure out how to get a lily in the middle of this card to satisfy at least one of the sketch layers. With no die or template, you aren’t going to believe how I did it. I Googled lilies and figured out they look somewhat like two 5 pointed-petal flowers overlapped. I have a punch for that shape but only about 1/2” wide. So I punched two and overlapped them. I glued them to the back of the sheet of paper I wanted to use and started measuring out from each point exactly 1”. Then from each groove between the flowers, I measured out 3/4”. I drew a slightly curving line from each point to the next and cut it out. I think it worked out quite well! I flipped it and added the yellow overlapped flowers to the middle and I was done, that part at least! I would have added another petal layer but I was running out of time for hubby to watch the baby.

Here’s a story for ya! I wasn’t quite done when he went to bed so I let the baby into my craft room for a couple of minutes to colour while I took pictures. I was just finishing when I turned around to find an entire jar of glitter all over my chair, table, baby and floor! I let out a shriek and tossed him into our gated kitchen/family room. I managed to salvage most of the glitter thank heavens. Boy this baby gives me a run for my money!

This one is for Kate’s sister Olivia. Again with the glitter! But doesn’t it look awesome! The wings are cut from shimmery white paper too as is the tag. I forgot to dry the ink before handling the tag so I apologize for the smudge, I hope she doesn’t notice! The monkey is double popped up and the wings are single popped up. In case you are wondering, my card for Kate will publish on Thursday and I am going to use a card I already made for the parents. Of course, you do not have to make cards for everyone, you can choose just one person and send a single card or one addressed to the whole family if you like.

Thank you to Madelynn for this fun challenge. I sure hope you will play along this week! Please show us what you can do with this AWESOME sketch. Post to your blog or PCP/SCS with keyword DDSC2 (the sketch is incorrect again this week) and don’t forget to link to Whimsical Wednesdays so we can more easily find your project! I hope you will take the time to visit all the DareDevils this week. Playing this week is: EVERYONE! So check out the sidebar for all the links!! Be sure to check out Whimsical Wednesdays to see if you won the blog candy from last week!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE – Frog
Stamps: SU!
Ink: Memento black, banana, not quite navy-SU!
Paper: Taylored Expressions-white CS, green, yellow-SU!
Accessories: Glitter-Art Institute, flower punch-SU!, foam dots-Jody Morrow, dew drops-Robin’s Nest, Copics

RECIPE – Monkey
Stamps: Taylored Expressions, sentiment-SU!
Ink: Memento brown
Paper: Wild Asparagus Designer CS, chocolate and shimmery white CS-SU!
Accessories: glitter-Art Institute, foam dots-Jody Morrow, Copics, Cuttlebug tag die

Vintage Jam Challenge Card

This one was made using paper only-NO STAMPING! AHHH! Actually, I find it freeing to use no stamps once in a while. I don’t have to worry about how to colour the image, what colour paper and ink etc. This card is for a sketch challenge, Sketchy Thursday #52, ESS52. It is also for SCS Ways To Use It-Red. WT235. Scroll down for a second post!

 

Don’t you love it when you can use the front and back of a sheet of paper and still have tons left? This Webster’s Pages sheet has multiple cool vintage labels on one side and a beautiful star pattern on the back. I cut carefully around this oval label and hand cut the two mats around it. The brown paper under the twill tape is a dictionary page covered in tattered leather Glimmer Mist.  The base is Kraft sponged with Vintage photo Distress ink.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: none!
Ink: vintage photo Distress ink
Paper: kraft, black, vanilla CS-SU!, Webster’s Pages DP, vintage dictionary page
Accessories: tea stained twill tape, wooden button-stash, hemp twine-Hemptique, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

Shabby Chic Challenge Card

I was feeling vintage and shabby today so my cards reflect that. This card is for a sketch challenge, Sketchy Thursday #52, ESS52.  When a challenge is actually not difficult, does that mean it should be called an ‘easy’? I’ve never played this one before but the prize is awesome. A $52 gift certificate for one of several top-notch companies. But there is a catch, no prize unless there are 52 cards minimum and this challenge usually only attracts about 10 players. You can enter more than one card so I did two for now, I might do another one or more later. This card also works for Sharon Johnson’s No Time to Stamp challenge #103, ssnotime103  to overstamp your sentiment.

 
I am still pretty new to shabby chic style cards. I always seem to need to look at my favourite shabby bloggers cards for ideas when I get stuck. Melissa Phillips rescued me today! The paper has the large scallops already giving me a great start for an interesting card. The paper strip is sewn on with three rows of stitching, it is hard to see but the thread is light green. In the oval, this was originally one clear stamp, I cut off the flourish and stamped it twice in blush ink and overstamped the sentiment. Then it cut it out with Nesties and leaving it in the die, I sponged the edges.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Ink: blush, sage-SU!, Memento brown
Stamps: Cloud 9 wedding set
Paper: blush, sage, white CS-SU!
Accessories: seam tape-Masterstroke, brad-Recollections, Nestabilites ovals, foam tape-Jody Morrow, studded flower sticker-Imaginisce, thread, ProvoCraft scalloped edge scissors -they barely cut :(

 

Back to School for Whimsical Wednesdays!

I can’t believe it is back-to-school time already. ***WOW*** Between the bad weather all July and having a rough time with my health, the summer just flew by! My son, Jameson, 8 years old, is back to school tomorrow in grade three (though this won’t publish until Wednesday) and he is a mix of excited, nervous and worried he will miss his baby brother and me. Isn’t that so sweet? I KNOW he will miss us at first but once he is back into his schedule, it won’t be so bad. To encourage him, I decided to make him a ‘Happy Back to School’ card and matching book mark. (ETA Tuesday night: He loved them and took them to school, not just chucked in his backpack but neatly tucked away in a special pocket!) In case you see my Copic colouring and think I’ve gone off the deep end, it is deliberately cartoonish to fit with the stamp style.

The design for the card is for “The Diedrich Dare”, the reincarnation of Twinkling Tuesdays. So now, as a Team Member, instead of a Twinklette, I am a DareDevil! The change reflects that the other Diedrich kids now want in on Madelynn’s Twinkling Tuedays. You haven’t seen any challenges lately because we took a break for the summer; I am so excited to get going again. In case you are new to my blog, this challenge started when Jessica’s daughter Madelynn decided to start drawing sketches like those she saw her mother using. A challenge Design Team was born! Participating this week are:

Jessica Diedrich
Jacquie Peifer
Cassie Larson
Darla Wilson
Debbie Lee
Heather Schlatter 
Kim Ross 
Lisa Slusser
Sandra Maclean

Be sure to visit everyone’s blog to check out their creations. I so hope you can join us this week; if you try it out, be sure to link to Whimsical Wednesdays; if posting to SCS or PCP use keyword DDSC1 (nope, not the same as the sketch, it is incorrect). To celebrate, just for linking up your project, you could win a prize from Marie of The Greeting Farm and Jessica; her new stamp set, “Butterfly Wishes”!!!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: SU!
Ink: memento black, riding hood red, baja breeze
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Lil’ Man, SU! CS pumpkin, kraft; Taylored Expressions white CS
Accessories: ribbon-stash, jumbo eyelet-WRMK, foam dots-Jody Morrow, Nestabilites, Copic markers, brads-SU!

So Sorry for any Confusion re Blog Candy!!

With each new post since my blog candy post August 15th, I’ve added a note reminding people to enter but haven’t gotten any new comments. I thought this was very weird, now I know why! I extended the dates in a subsequent post but the original post still has the old dates! No wonder no one was entering! ARGHHH!! So here is a repost of everything with the correct dates (I’ve added time again to make sure you can all play!)

I have a lot to celebrate! My hubby was on strike and it is over, finally! Fortunately, we didn't fair too badly financially because as an essential service, paramedic, he still worked 75%. I'm suffering withdrawal from ordering goodies from the internet though! My blog has over 10,000 hits, actually nearly 14,000 by now and I just went over 200 posts in less than a year! So, blog candy is in order!

So what are we playing for? How about A COPIC SKETCH MARKER YG03, 20 yards of mixed ribbon and ric-rack, a grab bag of unmounted rubber, SU! die cut tags and two favour boxes, a package of felt flowers, a generous mix of brads, eyelets, butterfly charms, pearls and beads and a brand new package of bright pink Scrapper’s Floss for your paper crafting pleasure! Oh, and some turquoise faux suede cording, envelope seals and two little word bubble embellishments. Pretty good, huh?

To Earn Entries

1. Earn one entry for leaving a comment, one per person. Include the title of your favourite project post of mine from January to June of this year. Why you like it would be a nice addition to your comment. No title, no entry. Easy enough?! I have an archives section on my sidebar so you don't have to scroll back the whole way. Just click on a month and you will get all that month's posts.

2. Earn 5 entries for playing the sketch challenge below, no Mr. Linky, just leave a comment with a DIRECT link to your card on your blog or in a gallery. You may enter more than one card if you choose, 5 entries for each card. Please leave a separate comment for each card you make even if they are in the same post.

3. Earn 10 additional entries for posting my Blog Candy on your blog by September 14th. If I get more than 100 different people entering, I will add another prize!! Your post MUST include a direct link to this post, a list of items being given away and the end date; feel free to copy and paste all or part of this post including the photo. To earn your entries, leave a comment here with the DIRECT LINK to your BLOG POST, please do not simply add it to your sidebar. You may putt your sketch card and the blog candy announcement in the same post but leave me 2 separate comments. If you upload to SCS, PCP or another online gallery, please use keyword EES001.

4. Spread the word any way you can! Facebook, Twitter, Email, Phone your gal pals! Anyone who mentions your name and says you referred them in their comment (even if you don't have a blog) gets a bonus entry and you get 5 bonus entries!! (Your comment must be in before theirs.)

Contest ends September 17th at 11:59 pm EST. Winner to be announced September 21st. If you do not include your email or have a Blogger account with email linked to your comments, visit here to find out if you won. I will choose another winner if I don't hear from you in 48 hours. I may also add another prize for best sketch card if I am really wowed so do your best work!

Enjoy, Rebecca

I AM NOT READY FOR FALL!! Adirondack Beach Card

Don’t forget to enter my draw for BLOG CANDY! Click HERE for details!

I apologize for shouting but I hate winter. I never liked it but with lupus, winter is not just a pain but painful. All I see lately are fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas-themed cards! Even though I don’t celebrate the latter three, I am not ready for even fall cards! Fall isn’t really that bad but it means winter is coming; here in Southern Ontario, we get about 4 weeks of fall before it gets yucky and cold (like our whole month of July!! GRRRR) So I decided to go with a late summer beach card! I would still go to the beach on a nice day, just not in the water! I will defy the calendar as long as I can!!

This card is a CASE of one by Julie Koerber. I used her layout mostly and she also used twine, a shell charm and an Adirondack chair image. Sorry, I can’t link you because I don’t know her blog and can’t remember which website I saved it off of. The image was coloured with SU! markers; the ‘sand’ was sponged with Distress inks and stamped with a sand image that went with the chair. I continued the sponging up the sides and across the top of the image panel. The other panels are all either sponged or DTP inked. In case it matters to you, this is an oversized card at 5x6”. The beach chair and grass are cut out and mounted on foam dots.

I am trying to add a touch more bling/shimmer/glitter to my cards so although you can’t see it, the sand has Perfect Pearls swept over it. The cloud was shimmeringly coloured in also; I scribbled with a SU! marker in bordering blue on a CD (as a palette), I added a tiny drop of liquid pearls and a spritz of water from a Mini Mister, mixed and painted the cloud. The ink I used for the sentiment blurred a bit in the water but oh well!! This card also, barely, qualifies for Sharon Johnson’s No Time to Stamp Challenge #103, ssnotime103 to Overstamp your Sentiment (on your image). Feel free to click to enlarge the photo to read the sentiment.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: SU!
Ink: Distress weathered wood, peeled paint, vintage photo, antique linen, frayed burlap, Memento brown
Paper: Basic Grey-Granola, Bella Bella French Flea Market, Vanilla and kraft-SU!
Accessories: twine-Hemptique, charm-stash, foam dots-Jody Morrow, EK Success punch.

Wedding Favours – Just Another Thing to Keep Me Busy

----{Don’t forget my blog candy!! Be sure to enter by September 14th. Click HERE to see the original post.}---

I offered to make the favours for a wedding coming up. Remember the Thank You cards I made? Same gal. We looked at dozens of choices between PTI templates and ideas in the Resources section at Splitcoast Stampers. Her honey came too, so cute! They decided on the sour cream container at SCS, super simple, limited cutting, limited supplies! The main part only uses one 4.25x5.5” piece of CS! YEAH! So I made them a quick sample out of stuff that was handy but I thought they, and you, might like to see what I came up with using the correct supplies. Due to the shape, it is very hard to photograph well. What else is new? Look carefully and you will see the shimmer right beside the scalloped edge.

Cute isn’t  it? Now a couple things will be different on the final ones. First, I need to water set the perfect pearls so not so much rubs off while working with it. I thought VersaMark would set it but I guess not. The initial will become a three-letter monogram, I have ordered a new Just Rite Stamp set for the monogram. The monogram will be embossed; right now it is just stamped with gold ink. About half will have pearl Perfect Pearls and gold ribbon, the rest will be like this one. Although I have inquired about getting white sheer ribbon with gold edges by the spool from a customer of May Arts, I’ll see how that goes, then the ribbon will be the same on all of them. I was going to try and get a scallop at both ends but the punch doesn’t like going through two layers of CS, especially with where the glue goes at the ends, and aligning the scallops while assembling is hard . While testing it out, I accidentally punched the wrong edge; turns out I really like the look, YEAH! The raw edge isn’t so pretty otherwise and with this shape, it is hard to hide it.

One interesting thing I notices while working with SU! white CS for this project. As I worked in the Perfect Pearls (PP), I noticed the leftover powder looked weird. I finally realized that some of the coating on the CS was coming off as I brushed on the PP. I wanted to return the excess to the jar but it was full of coating-Yuck! So I will be using other CS to make these! I don’t think I will be using these roses to decorate the paper either. I need one sheet of CS for 4 favours and I need 180 favours so you do the math! Takes too long to stamp each sheet with roses. I will use a wide Wheel stamp instead.

OK, so I know, you all are wondering what goes inside. The bride has chosen cinnamon hearts. Not my favourite flavour but very cute for a wedding.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral-SU!, Damask monogram kit-JustRite Stampers
Ink: Versamark, Encore Gold
Paper: white, gold shimmer CS-SU!
Accessories: small circle Nestabilities, 1/16” hole punch-EK Success, gold Perfect Pearls, gold cord, white taffeta ribbon and scallop border punch-SU!