Happy Dirtday!

Hi, everyone!

Today's Midweek Throwdown challenge is to make Cards 4 Kids. Sounded like a perfect opportunity to ink up my new Stanpin' Up! I Dig You stamp set. So, between a morning walk with hubby, a trip to the neighborhood pool with nephews, and a dinner of steaks on the grill, I'm making and posting the card below. (Aren't vacation days the best?!)

truck and sentiment: Stampin' Up! I Dig You stamp set
clouds: Stampin' Up! cupcake punch; Distress Ink core paper
truck and clouds: heat embossed with embossing ink and clear powder
sentiment embossed in Distress Ink black soot
garage sale brads

A few Tricks of the Trade:

• I used a bendable ruler to create the shape of the dirt hill before tearing the core paper.
• Clouds were created by pressing a section of white cardstock into an embossing pad and heat embossing with clear powder before punching out the top of a cupcake.  [Thanks to Stampin' Up! demonstrator Bernadette for the suggestion to use the punch to make clouds. :) ]

Having major second thoughts about the brads -- going to replace them with hole-punch-size circles, embellished with Glossy Accents. I almost never use any gems or brads on kid cards. While I like the look of the brads, my concern is that the card might get in the hands of an itty, bitty kiddie. So, I'm going to err on the side of safety here -- not even sure what I was thinking in the first place.

Parting Thoughts

Brads or no brads, I'm REALLY loving the way this little card turned out -- liking the bright colors and the design itself. Hoping one of our hero's little one will love it as well. :)

Hubby's getting ready to fire up the grill. So, looks like it's time to sign off.

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'!

Red, White, Blue, and Kraft

Hi, everyone.

Trying my best to make and post cards between family get-togethers and excursions. So many fun things to do, so little time. :)

The Any Hero card below was made for OWH Sketch #177.

We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Blue dp
tan cardstock: Distress Ink core; turquoise cardstock: AC
all other cardstock: Bazzill, including admiral and watermelon
Sizzix embossing folder; Stampin' Up! neutral brads
Fiskars and Paper Studio star punches, EK hole punch
Glossy Accents; Zots 3D glue dots

As you can see, I rotated the sketch 90 degrees. This was originally done to use a horizontal sentiment. After I chose not to use a sentiment, the dp was already taped down -- taped down REALLY well. Since I liked the vertical direction of the pattern, I chose to stay with the rotated orientation.

The other change was in the placement of the blue banner and white rectangle. It just felt right to center these when I was playing with final placements.

This was the second card on which I have used Glossy Accents -- using them to adhere and coat the three punched out circles for the centers of the stars. Still need some serious practice with this product, but I like the end results.Any imperfections/flaws are the sole responsibility of the user, not the product. :)

At first, I thought the layout seemed a little busier than my typical choices. However, I think the solid colors -- and use of stars instead of a sentiment -- helped give the card more of a CAS feel.

Parting Thoughts

Gotta go!  Time for another fun family function. :)

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

Hello, Honey!

Hi, everyone.

Update on 7/8/2013: Just came across a guest designer challenge on the Paper Smooches site. Think I'm going to go out on a limb and post this little honey of a card. 

Well, brother and family got a late start and their arrival is later than originally planned. So, what's a gal to do with a couple of bonus hours? Make a card!

This bonus card is made from another one of those fabulous Paper Smooches blog candy stamp sets. The set I used for this card is Bee Mine, paired with a great Stampin' Up! embossing folder.

Paper Smooches Bee Mine stamps and ribbons
Stampin' Up embossing folder and neutral brads
Distress Ink core paper (scattered straw and fired brick)
Distress Ink, heat embossed with clear powder and sponged
Zots 3D glue dots, Elmer Craft Fabric Glue

The inside of the folder was inked up with Distress Ink vintage photo. After running Distress Ink scattered straw through the embosser, the paper was heat embossed with clear powder. Then, I sponged on wild honey and antique linen with SU sponge daubers. The heat-embossed bee, heart, and sentiment were
stamped in vintage photo and/or fired brick.

Since this is a thing with wings, I'm going to try posting this card to OWH's Midweek Throwdown. Not sure if it will work since I've already posted the card at the right. Crossing my fingers.  :) 

Parting Thoughts

Still looking forward to seeing my brother and his family. Thinking they should be getting in to Dad's right about now.

Have a wonderful Father's Day with family and loved ones.

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Lil Monster

Hi, everyone!

Isn't it interesting how the excitement about something keeps you up late and gets you up early? I'm so very excited about my brother's family's visit that I had trouble falling asleep -- and even more trouble getting back to sleep!

The other thing that had my motor running was the desire to ink up some new stamps. The Paper Smooches blog candy from OWH's Memorial Day blog hop came this week. (The delay was totally mine, by the way. Once I finally decided on what to get, the package arrived within days! Kim was fabulous!!! Thanks, Kim.) I also wanted to ink up some newly purchased Stampin' Up! stamps.

So, as it turned out, I've had time to sneak in one last card before the visit begins. :)  The card below is for this month's OWH Design Bootcamp on repetition -- and variation -- and a strong focal point.

Lil Monster

Paper Smooches Alphadot stamp set and natural ribbons; 
Stampin' Up! Build a Monster stamp set
Cosmo Cricket Matilda dp; Distress Ink core paper;
Distress Ink black soot, heat embossed with clear powder
EK border punch; Zots 3D glue dots, Zig 2 Way Glue

A description of the thought process behind this card's design follows:

• The first decision was to make three lil monsters in the same shape and same color, but varied in features. There is also a slight variation in the sanding of the left and right monsters, while keeping the center monster at 100% saturation.
• The second decision was in paper selection. I didn't have any space- or monster-related dp in my stash. But, then I remembered the Matilda halloween collection had some really fun colors and patterns. Looking at the patterns I had left from the pad -- and the complementary cardstock papers in my stash, I decided to go with the orange/gold/purple plaid. The plaid seemed playful, gender neutral, and unexpected. Two other important considerations: the plaid was non-Halloween'ish and it "popped" the lil monsters.
• I repeated the monster's purple in the background of the top portion of the card and around the paper and sentiment on the bottom portion of the card. 
• A pair of natural ribbons were placed behind the monsters to connect them and make a stronger focal point without adding an additional color or pattern. I also liked the extra texture the ribbon brought to the card.
• To adhere the monsters, I used 2 Way glue on their main bodies and glue dots on their eye and leg appendages. They have to be pretty secure for little hands. :)
• This fun font from Paper Smooches was just right for these little guys. It is stamped on the reverse side of a Distress Ink core green that matched a green used in other papers in the dp collection. I chose to not heat emboss -- deciding to use that little extra shimmer for just the monsters.
• So, you'd think I would be done. Not so fast... The top corners felt like they needed something, but I never put brads or gems on kid cards. And, then I saw the cute little trio of dots in the Stampin' Up! monster set. I stamped those in the corners, heat embossing so that they would pop off the plaid paper.

Here's hoping a hero's little one will smile when receiving these little guys in the mail.

Parting Thoughts

Wow, this post got a little longer than I expected. Sorry about that! (Can you tell I'm really psyched about my brother's visit?!)

Thanks to Paula for these Design Bootcamps. They are great!

Another huge thanks to Paper Smooches for all they do for OWH. For my blog candy, I ordered three sets that would address some OWH needs: a fun alphabet, the Teen Scene images, and the Bee Mine set (to go with a honeycomb embossing folder.) Kim, the stamps are fabulous and you totally rock!

Speaking of that honeycomb folder,  a big thanks also goes to Bernadette, a central Ohio Stampin' Up! demonstrator. My stamping is getting better thanks to her help. If only I could say the same about my checking account....

Have a great weekend! REALLY looking forward to celebrating Father's Day with both dads and my brother and his family.

Thanks for stoppin' and happy scrappin'!

A Multi-Faceted Card for A Multi-Faceted Dad

Hi, everyone.

Today's card is the card I will be giving to Dad on Sunday. Dad is a retired design engineer who worked on rockets and likes to dabble in watercolor painting. So, a card with a mathematical (geometrical) feel and an artistic flair somehow seemed like a good combo.

Stampin' Up! embossing folder; Distress Inks: Bazzill cardstock
computer-generated hexagon and sentiment (Mistral); Paper Studio brads; 3D glue dots

First of all, I love, love, love this embossing folder!  :)

The first step was to ink the inside of the folder with Distress Ink black soot before embossing. Then, I cut out the interiors of a few hexagons from another cardstock and used the negatives to sponge the card's hexagons with other Distress Inks.

At this point, the card looked really pastel. So, I sponged some black on the inside of the hexagons -- heat embossing with clear powder for some bubbly texture. 

Next, I worked on creating a pair of computer-generated hexagons, and a text box in the smaller hexagon for the sentiment. I used the larger hexagon as a template to create the black hexagon. I cut outside of the shape of the smaller hexagon to mimic the look of the embossed hexagons. Lastly, I added brads (through both hexagons) and adhered the shape with 3D glue dots.

Parting Thoughts

Prayers and blessings to those military families who are without loved ones this Father's Day. Hope everyone is able to spend the day with loved ones.

My brother and his family are scheduled to arrive in town tomorrow for a week-long visit. It's been such a long time since we've seen each other. And, it's been forever since we've both been with Dad on Father's Day. To make an even merrier celebration, hubby's dad is also joining us on Sunday.

So, it sounds like I need to get on that house cleaning as soon as I sign off. And, there's not likely to be much card-making in the next week or so. (No CAS-ual Friday card tonight!) I'm actually thinking this might be my last post for awhile.... But, I am sooooo excited to see my brother!  :)

Have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stoppin' and happy scrappin'!

A Solitary Bird

Hi, everyone.

Hoping everyone is safe from tonight's storms. Sounds like it could be a little touchy around here.

Now for Today's Card...

Today's Midweek Throwdown challenge is to make a card featuring a winged creature. Winged creature challenges usually bring out my butterfly punches. But, I wanted to make something a little more masculine. So, I decided to go with an embossed image of a little bird waiting for the return of his/her mate.

Cuttlebug embossing folder; Distress Ink core paper
sentiment stamped in Distress Ink vintage photo
Stampin' Up! brads; Celebrate It jute twine; 3D glue dots

I've had this folder for a couple of years, but just wasn't sure how to bring a little pizzazz to such a simple image. Hope I've accomplished that with the sanded embossing and mixture of textures.

Parting Thoughts

Now what to do for Paula's Design Bootcamp challenge to make a card that features repetition... and variation... and a strong focal point. :)

Looking forward to tomorrow night's Stampin' Up! technique class.

Thanks for stopping, happy scrappin', and stay safe.

Stars in Red, White, and Tan

Hi, everyone!

These days, I smile to myself when making Any Hero cards in traditional patriotic colors. I hear Sandy's message that Any Hero cards don't have to be red and blue. But, somehow I can't help myself. At least there's a little brown, instead of the typical white, on the card below, which was inspired by OWH Sketch #176.  :)

Distress Ink core paper, lightly sanded
red and blue paper embossed with Cuttlebug folder
sentiment from Sweet Stamp Shop in Distress Ink vintage photo
EK hole punch, Paper Studio star punch; 3D glue dots

The interpretation of this sketch came pretty easily. From the start, I was channeling blue on the top and red on the bottom. (Seems like Bobbi did something similar a while ago. Thanks, Bobbi, for the inspiration.) And, I stayed pretty true to the sketch.

My two deviations were: 1) the addition of a star to the left of the strip at the top, and 2) a single strip in place of the 3 "circles"/brads/elements at the base of the card.

I played with several ideas for the narrow .25" strip before deciding to cut one 1" strip, and then scoring and distressing at the 0.25" mark. Adding another color, or element, didn't feel quite right. And, I was really pleased by the look achieved by scoring a small section of a larger strip. May have to keep that idea in mind!  :)

Hubby -- and puppy -- seemed to like this one. But, patriotic colors, masculine palettes, and CAS designs are always hubby's favorite kind of cards.

Parting Thoughts

Have a great week!

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Waves of Freedom -- UPDATED

Hi, everyone.

Hope the work week went well and the weekend is off to a good start.

I'm hoping the card below is okay to post for this week's CAS-ual Friday challenge to make a card featuring a banner. The strip at the bottom of the card started out looking more like a traditional banner. But, the card just felt like it needed something simpler.

Background Stamp: blog candy from ODBD :)
sentiment from Sweet Stamp Shop in Distress Ink faded jeans
background image and sentiment stamped in Distress Ink on watercolor paper
watercolor paper brushed in watered-down burnt sierra acrylic
Distress Ink core paper, garage sale brads

I love the effect of stamping on watercolor paper, brushed in watered-down acrylics. The effect seems to go perfectly with the background stamp.

Also love this was the first card that I made with this fabulous prize from ODBD's monthly drawing for OWH challenge cards. Thanks again, ODBD, for all you do for OWH!

UPDATE

Gave this another try -- this time with a more traditional pennant. The key was choosing a shorter sentiment.

Parting Thoughts

Speaking of ODBD's monthly challenge, there are only 28 cards posted. Our goal is to link 50 cards. Fortunately, there's still lots of time in June to make that water card -- and be entered in the blog candy drawing!  :)

Should be a fun family day tomorrow. Headed to the neighborhood pool and to a local church festival. And, the weather is supposed to be fabulous!

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

Three Cheers for Stampin' Up!

Hi, everyone.

Our local Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Bernadette Kirk, had a Customer Appreciation Event last night. Of course, we were all soooo excited to get the new catalog in our hands.

We used some of the new products to make a card, a scrapbook page, and a birthday gift. Since I really don't do much scrapbooking anymore, I chose to make a second card. Both of my cards are shown below.

All tools and materials are Stampin' Up!

Bernadette's design, embellished with brads
stamp and embossing folder
brown sugar ink and paper
ribbon, (retired) neutral brads

scrapbook page turned into a card
embossing folder, die, punches
new cardstock and ink, ribbon, adhesive gems

Now the tough part -- what to order? So many choices and such limited funds. :)

Parting Thoughts

Have a nice weekend! Don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to 4:00 on Friday.  :)

Thanks for visiting and happy scrapping!