What did Poppa Bee Say to Baby Bee?

Answer: Bee Mine  :)

Hi, everyone.

The inspirations for today's card were an adorable Paper Smooches stamp set and the desire to make some kid-friendly Valentine's Day cards for Operation Write Home.

Paper Smooches images and sentiment stamped on watercolor paper in Distress Ink
Distress Ink core paper; SU Sizzix embossing folder
embossed paper sponged in Distress Inks with SU daubers
stash ribbon; garage sale brad; mini glue dots

I like the pairing of the poppa (or momma) bee and baby bee. But, when I went to put together the elements of this card, I realized just how big the parent bee really is for an A2 card. Should I decide to do a version 2.0 of this card, I might actually print out a slightly smaller version of the bees and sentiment.

I played around with several color combos for sentiment background paper. It felt like there needed to be a piece of white between the brown and red. In the end, the three background papers seem to help bring my eye to the sentiment since the bees and heart make such a strong image.

I tried to create a single focal point -- or at least a flow to the card, by having the bee image touch the sentiment, and the sentiment touch the ribbon.

Speaking of the ribbon... Isn't it amazing how things like this ribbon look so crooked when you see them in a pic?

Oh well, think there's a little one who will love receiving this from their mommy or daddy -- crooked ribbon and all. :)


Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'! Have a great week.

Zing, Zing, Zing

Hi, everyone.

The card below was inspired by two challenges: this week's OWH Midweek Throwdown challenge to make a CAS card and this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge to make a card featuring an arrow.

Distress Ink core paper, Bazzill black
computer-created arrow, computer-generated font (Harlow)
large heart: hand-cut with template, small heart: EK triple heart punch
Stampin' Up! brads; Sizzix embossing folder; Zot 3D glue dots

Since this was going to OWH, I embossed the background cardstock to give the card a little more texture. I initially tried embossing the larger circle using a different folder. But, the pattern didn't feel right with the arrow. So, I went with two plain hearts.

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to visit some blogs and leave some comments this weekend. Also hoping to find some time to make a few more cards.

Have a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Got Chipboard?

Hi everyone,

Today's cards were made for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge to make a card using chipboard. I actually played with two different ideas. While I'm pleased with both results, I won't be sending either card to Operation Write Home -- the first one because of the glitter and the second because of its sentiment.

Card 1: 24-7

The inspirations for this card were the sentiment, which I had seen on another card somewhere before, and a set of silvery-glittered alphabet/number stickers.

Distress Ink core, heat embossed with Distress Ink and Stamp N Stuff silver powder; stash silvery cardstock
Tools: Sizzix ef, circle template, The Paper Studio circle punch, the new Stampin' Up! trimmer;
adhesives: 2-way glue,  mini glue dots, pop up glue dots

The heat embossing was done by first applying embossing ink to the inside of the embossing folder. The heart's scalloped edge was a final embellishment because the card felt like it needed a little something more. After playing with ribbons, gel pen accents, and metallic paper twist, I settled on this scalloped effect. The scalloped edge is actually a series of punched circles, punched from some yummy silvery cardstock. They added the extra oomph this little heart seemed to be missing.

I know that the elements are a little more fussy than what you typically see on CAS cards, but the layout is CAS-inspired. So, I'm calling it CAS and sticking to my story. LOL

A note to my fellow OWHers: I applied the stickers downstairs -- far away from the craft room -- and then put the card in a protective cellophane sleeve as soon as it was finished. :)

Card 2: One Day at a Time

This card was actually inspired by a card we made at Thursday night's Stampin' Up! class and by a previous CAS-ual Fridays challenge to create your own background. Wish the colors showed up a little better on this scanned image.

Cosmo Cricket Blackboard; sentiment by Jillian Vance, stamped in StazOn
Distress Ink tumbled glass, scattered straw, dusty concord applied using dryer sheets and a mini mister
black cardstock: Cardstock Warehouse Paper Co, blue cardstock: Distress Ink core

What really excited me about this card is that the background was created with used dryer sheets. I tried several different methods for applying the ink. The method that seemed to work best was rubbing the dryer sheets on the ink pads, misting them with water, and dabbing the ink on the cardstock. (Excess water can be blotted up using a paper towel before applying ink to the cardstock.)

The sentiment was stamped first using StazOn jet black ink. Chipboard images were placed to be pointing skyward, and the yellow ink was purposely placed directly above the higher dragonfly.

Again, I really wish the colors showed up better because I really like the end result of this dryer sheet technique.

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to get a chance to make an Any Hero card for tomorrow's OWH sketch, but there's a pretty long to-do list before I get to crafting.

Still LOVING the new Stampin'Up! trimmer. It is fabulous!!!

Thanks for stopping. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and happy scrappin'!

Stars of Liberty, Tweet Love, and BOPPERS

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone's had a nice weekend. I've managed a nice work-life balance, which is unusual for me. :)

I have two cards and a craft show update to share.

Stars of Liberty and Tweet Love

I stopped by my favorite LSS, Scrapbook Art, to check out the Black Friday specials. And, I found a wonderful Bo Bunny package filled with Liberty, Crazy Love, and Blast Off! goodies. Often times, these grab bags have some good things, but others not so good. But, this was the perfect grab bag!  Not only was there a 6 by 6 pad of Liberty paper and embellishments, the package was also filled with tons and tons of love and kid themed papers, chipboard, brads, and transfers!!! It was the perfect package for OWH card-making!  Thanks, Terri!  :)

The cards below were made from this great find and inspired by today's Stars and Stamps sketch.

Bo Bunny Liberty paper and layered chipboard
Techniques: crimping, distressing, and inking

Bo Bunny Crazy Love paper and chipboard
Technique: crimping

The chipboard on the first card has that baked-in glitter that seems to be really, really well set. Since, it's triple layered, I thought it would be perfect for an Any Hero card. As far as the sketch is concerned, I went with the chipboard's multiple circles instead of one big one because I just couldn't resist this embellishment. :) In addition, my square is a little larger than the sketch to accommodate the chipboard.

For the second card, I cut out the square from a 12-by-12 piece of patterned paper. Since the image was soooo cute, I left off the big circle and added a few chipboard embellishments.

Craft Show Update

I'm hoping to make a few more cards during the second NFL game. But, everything is set and ready to go -- signage is made, cards are boxed up, ...

In addition to cards, I'm selling {gift} Bag Toppers, aka BOPPERS. If you want to read a little more about these, check out my last post. I'll try to blog about the process for making these adorable little guys next weekend. :)

Think that's about it for now. Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'!

Greatest Couples throughout History

Hi,

Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with family, friends, and loved ones.

Greatest Couples....

Just one card to share today, which I will be posting for both OWH Sketch #148 and the Midweek Throwdown challenge to make a card using turquoise and silver.

Paper: My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose from several seasons ago
Sentiment: computer generated
Tool: EK Success triple  heart punch

Because of my crazy schedule at work and preparing for the upcoming Craft Show, I feel like I'm behind in OWH Valentine's Day cards. So, I decided to make a Valentine's Day card using a rather non-traditional Valentine's Day color palette. I originally created the sentiment card for a card for hubby last February. :)

As far as the sketch is concerned, I rotated the design and used 2 patterns instead of 3 for the background layer. As far as the color challenge, I'm not quite sure this is truly turquoise and silver -- but it was the closest match I could find in my stash. 

Craft Show Preview

The show is December 5. So, I'll share more details next week -- including a preview of an item that I am really excited to take to the show.

I spent the first part of the afternoon preparing signage, organizing items for transport, etc. My thinking is that I can always make a couple more cards next weekend if I have some time.  But, all the other details have to be done. 

The photo shows the designs I have for sale, most of which have made an appearance in earlier posts. Hope it's a good variety -- and that I have a lot of traffic at my table. :)

Parting Thoughts

I'm hoping to find a little time after dinner to make an Any Hero card made for this week's sketch.

Have a great week. As always, thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

Hearts and Sparks for Heroes

Hi everyone,

Let me start by sending thoughts and prayers to those on the East Coast dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The images on television are unbelievable. I can't even begin to imagine what life is like for those of you dealing with such devastation and loss. My brother's family had lots and lots of rain, but only rain.

Hearts for an OWH Hero's Loved One

The card below was made for this week's OWH Midweek Throwdown and inspired by another one of Ashley's fabulous scrapbook sketches. Making cards for OWH is kind of like living in a time machine. While the rest of the world is starting to make plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas, OWHers are making Valentine's Day cards.  :)

Cardstock: Core-dinations Vintage Collection
Designer Paper and Chipboard: We R Memory Keepers
Techniques: Inking (Distress Ink Tattered Rose), embossing, punching, distressing, crimping
Tools: Sizzix folders, ek punch, heart template, crimper

The left side of the sketch was used to make the card.
An embossed heart was used for the large circle;
a chipboard piece for the 4 x 4 photo;
a We R Memory Keepers paper embellishment, layered on various papers, for the 6 x 4 photo;
and a smaller heart for the "round" sketch element, nudged slightly right.

 This was the first time I've paired different embossing folders and was pretty pleased with the results. The We R Memory Keepers paper and chipboard are from the Be My Valentine collection from a few years ago.

In addition to the Midweek Throwdown, I'm going to post this card for this month's ODBD challenge to make a card dusting off a tool or technique. It had actually been awhile since I'd used my Ranger sander. Not only was it perfect to use on the embossed cardstock, but it also worked really well for distressing the chipboard.

Sparks (aka Candles) for a Family Hero

The card below is for a family hero, my father-in-law. He will be celebrating his 89th birthday on Wednesday. The inspiration for this card came from Leisure Arts great card-making book -- page 109, to be exact.  :)

Paper: Kaiser Up, Up, and Away, DCWV Christmas & Winter Combo;
wicks: dental floss; sentiment: heat embossed with Stampendous clear powder

I ADORE the simplicity of this card -- and how it can be adapted so easily to masculine/feminine, child/teen/adult, whimsical/elegant. And, who would've thought of using dental floss? Designer Beth Matson, that's who!

The candles on the Leisure Arts sample card were round, compared to my flatter candles. So, I played around with rolling paper around a AAA battery -- and was really pleased with the result. And, I will probably use contrasting ink for the sentiment on future cards, as well as vary the sentiment depending on the recipient. :)

This seems like a good fit for this week's CAS-ual Fridays' challenge to make a masculine CAS card. Also thinking of making a variety of these to give to family and friends in 2012.

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to make some more progress on craft fair projects tomorrow. And, looking forward to tomorrow morning's sketch challenge.

Thanks for visiting. Special thanks to those leaving such kind words. Happy scrappin'!