Got Sunscreen? -- Take Two

Hi, everyone!

Let me start by thanking everyone for the comments you've left the last couple of weeks -- and apologize for not reciprocating with comments of my own. All of your comments have been so kind and very appreciated.

One of my New Year's Resolutions has been to leave comments. And, I've done a better job of that this past year -- culminating in the OWH Memorial Day Blog Hop, where I left tons and tons of comments. Then life got in the way just a little, and I dedicated the time I had to make and post cards. So, please accept my apologies for neglecting the blogs of my cardmaking friends.

Got Sunscreen?

For card details, click here.

Today's card has two inspirations. The first inspiration is this week's Tuesday Tutorial about making window cards. The second is taking another stab at a card I made for last week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge to make a theme-inspired card. The card at the right was made for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge.

While I liked the idea for the card at the right, it felt like it could be better. Then, I saw the Tutorial challenge. The window idea rolled around in my brain a couple of days. The light bulb didn't come right away, but when I made the connection between the challenge and the sunscreen card... Well, the card really came together quickly. And, I have to say that I am really pleased with the results.

tree: negative of image cut out from DCWV travel stack
tree: sponged in Distress Ink black walnut
sentiment: computer-generated (Lucida Handwriting)
Distress Ink core paper; blue paper sponged in Distress Ink milled lavender
gems, including Hero Arts Hues; Tombow 3D foam tabs
Stampin' Up! trimmer and sponge daubers
Creative Memories corner rounders

This card would never have been possible without my Stampin' Up! trimmer. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this trimmer! If you're in the market for a new trimmer, this one is definitely worth checking out.

The only thing I would change on the card is replacing the larger gems with a few smaller ones. But, this was the best I could do with my available stash. DONE!  Added a few Hero Arts Hues after a trip to JoAnn's. :)

That said, one of the added bonuses of a window card is being able to use larger gems without adding extra bulk -- which is always a nice thing. :)

Parting Thoughts

My brother's in town one last day. Waiting for a call to meet them for breakfast. :)

Enjoy your weekend. Thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

Got Sunscreen?

Hi, everyone.

This week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge is to create a travel-related card. Memories of trips to the beach inspired the card below.

Negative of Tree (cut from DCWV Travel Stack)  in Distress Ink black walnut and Zig chocolate marker
Distress Ink core, lightly sanded and sponged in various Distress Inks
computer-generated sentiment (Lucida Handwriting); Hero Arts gems
Creative Memories corner rounder

The idea for this card was stuck in my brain -- along with the original sentiment "Got Lotion?" The card itself is not quite what I envisioned, but it's close.

One of the execution challenges was evening out the color of the tree since I was inking on top of two different papers. My solution was to color with a Zig chocolate marker. There's still a little variation, but it's not nearly as pronounced. 

Another change I would make is in the break down of tan vs. blue. Think the card would be just a touch better with a little less tan and a little more blue. 

Thinking of trying this again with some watered down acrylic -- going for more of an ombre effect.

Parting Thoughts

Wasn't sure I'd get to the CAS-ual Friday challenge this week since my brother's family is visiting. As it turns out, I'm so excited about the visit that I can't sleep. So, what's a girl to do? And, what better theme for the week than a travel theme?

As always, thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'!

Heart Prints in the Sand -- UPDATED

Hi, everyone.

[From 6/5/2013]
Okay, it's probably cheating. But, when I saw today's Midweek Throwdown challenge was to make a card involving water, I opted to post this little card again. It's not that I wouldn't love to make another one of these, but I have been so busy with hubby's retirement card and a Father's Day card for my dad.... So, I jumped at the chance to recycle these little heart prints. 

Have a good rest of the week!

[From 6/1/2013]
Two posts in one day!!!!  Found a little time this afternoon to make a card featuring water for this month's  OBDB Challenge for OWH. For those of you new to OWH, Our Daily Bread Design is a fabulous supporter of OWH. One of the many ways in which this wonderful company supports OWH is to pay shipping charges based on the number of cards linked to their monthly challenge: 1 box for 25 linked cards, 2 boxes for 50 linked cards.

dp: used sandpaper from Karen Foster Designs that I've had forever
cardstock: Distress Ink core , AC (brown), Cardstock Warehouse Paper Company (navy)
EK triple heart punch; sentiment stamped in SU Night of Navy
champagne colored heart gems that I've had forever
other tools: distresser, sanding block, bendable 'ruler' from Staedtler

This is a card that's been living in my head for a while now. I just wasn't sure how to pull it off. I have to admit I'm pretty pleased with the way this turned it out.

The wet-sand hearts were created by heat embossing a strip of the used sandpaper dp with Distress Ink embossing ink and American Crafts ZING clear embossing powder. I debated over heat embossing the sentiment, but finally decided to stamp it in navy -- to complement, rather than distract from -- the embossed hearts. Finally, I decided to place navy hearts behind the embossed hearts to pop them just a little bit more.

Parting Thoughts

One card down, two more to go.

If you're lucky enough to win ODBD blog candy, you're in for a real treat. I was one of the lucky winners
and choose the gingham background stamp used in the card at the right as part of my prize. Thanks again, ODBD!

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

2012 OWH Memorial Day Blog Hop

Hi, everyone. Thanks for stopping by Scrapping with Purpose, one of the stops on this year's Operation Write Home Memorial Day Blog Hop.

                        

When I think of Memorial Day, three things come to mind:

• our troops, past and present;
• my mom and mother-in-law; and
• memories of summers past and hopes for summers to come.

For the hop, I've made cards for each of these. All three cards were inspired by OWH Sketch #59.

  

For the Troops: Two American Treasures

For our Moms, with Love

With Thoughts of Summer: Footprints of Love

Thanks again for visiting. Details for the cards posted are included in posts for May 23 and May 25.

Click here to return to the start of the blog hop. Happy hoppin'!

Friday Night Writes: An OWH Memorial Day Blog Hop Edition

Hi, everyone,

I am so excited about this weekend's blog hop.

              

Hope everyone will be able to make at least a few stops. All three of the cards I'm sharing tomorrow were inspired by OWH Sketch #59. I heat embossed using Versamark and clear powder on both of the cards shown below.
 
                                     

For Our Troops: Two American Treasures

Know how every 6 x 6 pad of paper has a couple of patterns that seem a little more challenging to use than the others? For me, this flag and eagle image was one of those challenging papers. So, I chose to use just a part of the paper. Finally, I heat embossed the eagle to give it a little extra oomph!

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty, Bazzill watermelon; jute and gems

Summertime: Footprints of Love

Summer has always been filled with family celebrations for as long as I can remember. Let's start with our summer birthdays: hubby, dad, mother-in-law, nephew, and me. Then, we had the anniversaries: my parents, my in-laws, and hubby's and mine. (Before I started making cards, you wouldn't believe how many trips I made to Hallmark during the summer months. Now, I visit my favorite LSS and Michael's! Hmmm...) The Fourth of July was a time for fireworks, parades, an occasional picnic, ice cream, and time with family and friends. And, of course, there were family road trips and vacations.

When I first experimented with heat embossing, the image I got reminded me of wet sand. So, I thought about how I could incorporate that into a beach-related card to commemorate beach vacations with hubby. When I came across the Inkadinkado footprint stamp at a garage sale, I took it as a sign that I really needed to work on that beach vacation card.

Paper and Vellum: Recollections; Stamps: Inkadinkado, PSX; FiberScraps, BasicGrey opaline half pearls

I'm not sure I'm completely satisfied with the letters. The original stamped letters were too light. So, I used a Q-tip-like tool to apply a little more Versamark and re-embossed.

But, the heart turned out pretty well. And, hubby approved of the footprints. More importantly, he immediately knew what they were -- and that was seeing only footprints on an otherwise plain rectangular brown piece of cardstock! He reassured me even more by saying that sand footprints aren't perfect. :)

The Recollections paper is actually from its baby boy collection. The fibers were another garage sale find. I was planning on using a piece of corrugated darker brown cardstock instead of the fibers. But, the card felt like it needed more color variety. When, I pulled out ribbons and found these... Well, they grew on me. The colors seemed perfect. And, the collection of fibers felt organic and flow-ey -- reminiscent of seaweed, but  in a totally good way.

Parting Thoughts

Looking to achieve the right balance this weekend: time to honor and remember, time to be inspired, time to relax, and time with family.

Hope to see you at the hop!

        

Friday Night Writes

Hi, everyone,

First, a HUGE thank you to all for your support of OWH's "sister cards" challenge. I so appreciated your visits to the blog post, your comments and -- most of all -- the cards you made for our heroes. All the cards were so well done. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And the Bo Bunny Liberty Blog Candy Goes to....

Margaret G, which is extra appropriate since Margaret made the sample card for this week's Midweek Throwdown challenge involving patriotic cards. Margaret, thanks again for playing along in our challenge! Please e-mail your shipping information to me at cards.by.sybrina@gmail.com to receive your prize.  :)

OWH VCMP Die Cut Challenge -- Take Two

Remember when I said I wasn't pleased with the flip flop card. I think I said it wasn't quite done. 

Thanks to Kathryn and Sarah for comments that inspired a few significant changes. Kathryn complimented the detail on my cards, like the heat embossed flip flop imprint. That made me realize that the lack of detail on the flip flops themselves was exactly what was bothering me. Sarah suggested the addition of a little gem. I really liked this idea -- and started thinking about what other details could/should be added.

So, the following changes were made to the flip flops. And, what a difference a few details can make!

• Light yellow pastel  highlights were added to the inside.
•  Dark blue/brown shading was added to the outer edge.
• Stickles were added to the thong portions.
• Tiny blue gems topped off the thongs.

And this creature says/does...?

  

Okay, I will tell you the specifics of the conversation I had with hubby about the card -- or, more accurately, the beginnings of a card -- shown below in Monday Musings. 

Before that, my questions for you are:

•  What would the little "creature" shown below say or do? 
• And where in the world is "Waldo"?

 Parting Thoughts

Thanks again to everyone for such a nice response to the OWH "sister cards" challenge. :)  :)   :)

Not quite sure what I'm going to work on this weekend. I certainly hope to make an Any Hero card using this Sunday's sketch. I still need to make (or choose) a card for this month's ODBD challenge for OWH. And, then there are still a few unfinished VCMP challenges, a Midweek Throwdown, a scrap tutorial... 

So little time, so many possibilities. :)

Happy scrappin' to all!

Monday Musings: An OWH VCMP Early Edition

Hi, everyone,

Hope you all have had as much fun as I have making cards for this weekend's OWH VCMP party. Thanks to OWH for organizing the hop and to the hosts for such wonderful challenges.

As I look at my set of cards, I'm seeing a definite theme -- now that I've gotten serious again about counting Weight Watcher points in anticipation of pool season. Freudian images of sweets -- cupcakes, ice cream, cake -- abound!  :)

One other Common Element

While working on these cards, I tried a new technique. And, I liked it so well that I used  it on 4 of the 5 cards.

I pressed cut-out images (the top and bottom of the cupcake; the ice cream scoops and cones; the flame, candle, ribbon, and bottom trim; the flip flop print) in a Versamark pad. Then I heat embossed using clear embossing powder. 

The result was a shiny, slick image that really draws attention to the embossed images. Patterns really come through nicely. And, if you repeat the process, the embossed images are even shinier -- kind of like applying a second layer of varnish. 

Card 1: Paper Piecing a Child's Card

Initially, I thought this card could work for either a child or an adult. To make it more child-like, I added Stickles to the stars and flowers on the background paper and added gems to the corner.

DCWV Sweet mat stack; Stickles, gems

Card 2: Using Something Hoarded

 
Okay, the paper and embellishment on this card were supplies used in one of my first card classes at Pizazz It!. I loved this S.E.I. line so much that I've been holding on to the leftover paper and die cuts to use on an extra special wedding card -- maybe for my nephews' weddings. :)

But, my nephews are 12 and 10. :( 

So, here goes...

S.E.I. Moonrise paper and die cuts

Seriously, this was a great idea, Carol!  Thanks for the inspiration. I think it made for a very nice card.

Card 3: Making Food a Focal Point

I have to say I am quite pleased with the way this little card turned out. Heat embossing with clear powder really popped the patterns on the ice cream scoops and cones!

DCWV Sweet mat stack; Inkadinkado Birthday Cupcake sentiment

OWHers, no need to worry if the looped background paper looks glittery. This is one of those DCWV paper packs in which the glitter seems to be baked in really well.

Card 4: Using Bright Colors

As much as I like the previous card, I LOVE this card. It is one of my all-time favorites. The inspiration for it came from one of Tiffany's card-making classes at Pizazz It! A few new techniques and added elements have kicked a great card up a notch or two. :)

All paper came from a Stampin' Up! garage sale find!

I'd like to take a few minutes to describe my thought process when creating this card.

• I rounded the top corners of the card base, but kept the bottom corners at right angles, to mirror the shape of the cake.
• I selected the floral print and then selected the coordinating blue, red, and gold papers.
• Next, I decided the background needed a color to pop the floral pattern. I chose to heat emboss Distress Ink scattered straw, using clear embossing powder. (And, if you've never tried this technique, the result is sooooo gorgeous. It just glistens in the sunlight!)
• I decided to use red for the flame and cake base, and blue for the candle, ribbon, and bottom trim to help the eye go from the top of the cake to its bottom. I chose gold for the center flower to connect it with the background color.
• I used Versamark and clear powder to heat emboss the papers for the flame, candle, ribbon, center flower, and bottom trim. Again, this adds a great shine and brings out the patterns in these papers so nicely.
• I scored the cake base, crimped the bottom trim, and formed the ribbon and snipped its ends for a few textural elements.
• When piecing together the cake, I made the candle 2-layered so that the flame would fit nicely in-between. Pop dots raise the cake top and candle/flame.
•  I set the candle a little to the left so the cake was just a little asymmetrical. (I initially tried tilting the cake's layers a little, but didn't like the result.)
• After adding the pearl to the center of the flower, I added pearls in a vertical line to the top right of the card. These pearls also helped pull the eye down the card. And, they added a little interest to the top right portion of the card without detracting from the cake or from the beautiful Distress Ink background.

It's amazing how CAS cards look so simple, yet can be so intricate in their designs. Speaking of CAS, CAS-ual Fridays is celebrating its first anniversary. So, I think I'll post this little cake there, as well.

I just love going to CAS-ual Fridays for inspiration. I've not been following CAS-ual Fridays long, so maybe it's a mis-perception on my part. But, it seems that the DT's sample cards often have varied backgrounds, but the winning cards seem to have mainly white backgrounds. Regardless, I'm posting this little card, entitled Look Who's Turning One, at CAS-ual Fridays and crossing my fingers. :)

Card 5: Using a Die Cut

I'm almost embarrassed to post this card after the last one. Let's just say it's still a work in progress. It needs a little more oomph before it makes it into my OWH box -- think I'll tinker with the flip flops for starters. However, I do really like the heat embossed flip-flop-"sandprint".

DCWV Stack 6, Bazzill Preppie cardstock red

Parting Thoughts

Thanks again to everyone involved for a great blog hop. Looks like I have an owl-themed challenge to take on this week. And, I want to post a card for this month's ODBD challenge. 

Have a great week!  Happy scrappin'!