GROUP BRIGHT COLORS CARD SWAP

The last few days I have been in Des Moines for our annual Group Gathering.  We always have such fun sharing ideas, laughing and eating.  This is the card I made to give my "swap partner" using bright colors.  It is from the Stampin' Up! Awash with Flowers stamp set.  I love this set and it is fun to work with.  I like that the idea is not to necessarily line up the two layers perfectly.

There is room at the bottom of the card for my friend to personalize the card with a sentiment of her choice.

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USING MEMORY BOX DIES

Pinterest was definitely the inspiration for this card.  I used the same die for the design across the white portion which allows the designer paper below peek through.  The butterflies are different and I made it my own by adding a second butterfly to the design.

I left the wings of the white die cut free from glue to let them "fly".  The small picture allows you to see this.

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IMPROVING A PREVIOUS POST

A while back I posted this card.  I love the flower with the polka dot petals although I think the stem is pretty skinny for the size of the blossom.  When I ran across a package of dimensional lady bugs in one of my baskets, I thought of this card and added one to it.  I like the card better now because I think the cute little lady but takes some of the attention away from the skinny stem.  What do you think?

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STAMPIN' UP! - Awash with Flowers #2

Unlike yesterday's card, I did CASE the card I saw on Pinterest.  This used the same stamp set as yesterday but used the outline portion of the set.

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STAMPIN' UP! - Awash with Flowers

Recently when I was browsing cards on Pinterest, I saw a beautiful card using this flower.  They had stamped the blossom portion with VersaMark and then heat embossed it with navy powder.  

I pulled out my embossing powders and decided to make a card using that method.  This time my card is definitely NOT like the one I saw but the flower was heat embossed.  The flower looks like it has a navy cast to it but it is actually a shade of purple....it just didn't photograph well.  I'm not sure if it was something I did but the embossing didn't turn out nice and smooth.

There was a piece of designer paper on my craft table that went well with the flower but didn't cover the entire front of the card base.  I matted the flower with two colors of card stock and then mounted it off to the right.  

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TWO-STEP STAMPS

I stamped this card a few days ago and put the stamp set away.  I'm sorry I can't remember what stamp set I used.  I think that's a sign that I have too many stamps.  The little butterfly is from Inkadinkadoo and the cute little sun is a 2006 Penny Black and is actually still available.  The sentiment is from Darcie's and goes perfectly with those little flowers.

Our Yahoo Group's June Color Swap challenge is to make a card using bright colors.  I originally planned to use this one but made a second card that will be given to my partner.

We have had a lot really HOT DAYS here and I don't do well with them.  I'm not an outdoors person and I'm extremely thankful for air conditioning!  Hope you are all staying cool and not experiencing any serious summer storms.

Thanks for coming by today!  Come back again next week and I'll have more new items for you.

MEMORY BOX DIES

When I'm organized, I sometimes have cards scheduled for two weeks ahead.  That's a clue.....I'm not feeling very organized right now.  I just realized that I had posted nothing yet for today.

A few days ago I had my two friends, Joanne and Carol, come and I showed them a couple of things they were wondering about.  Something was mentioned about the die that makes this floral die cut so I brought it out and cut it.  It has been so much fun after all these years of making cards to have two ladies right here that are coming here to have some fun!

After they left, I put the die cut piece on my craft table.  Normally when I cut out these pieces I use Stick-It (a double sided adhesive) on the back side of the card stock before cutting.  I hadn't done that with this one since I was quickly demonstrating something.

I managed to get it adhered to the front of a card base and then added the additional die cut which I did do with Stick-It.  It's a very plain card, but I just couldn't bring myself to throw the flowers away.

Right now I'll schedule something to appear on my blog tomorrow.  Thanks for checking out this simple card.

TUTTI DIE - Praying Hands

Previously I posted a card with a "Cross in the Vine" die from Tutti.  I ordered this one at the same time.  It is going to be a perfect die to use for get well or various religious events.

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STAMPIN' UP! - The Art of LIfe (again)

I made these cards at the same time as I did some of the previous ones I posted here, but I was saving one of these for a card swap and didn't want to reveal them ahead of time.  One of the cards went to my card swap partner.

In addition to the stamp set, the inks, designer paper and embossing folder used were all from Stampin' Up!

To obtain the lighter color, of the stamped image, I inked the stamp, stamped it once and then stamped it again without re-inking it.

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USING A NEVER BEFORE USED DIE

Step 1:  Cut a piece of white card stock 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".

Step 2:  I used a Stampin' Up! Framelits die to cut the window in that piece and embossed it with the dotted swiss folder.

Step 3:  I used the Bigz Lattice die to cut a piece of white card stock and added a layer of Stampin' Up! designer paper behind it.

Step 4:  The piece from Step 3 was added behind the window and taped down.

Step 5:  This entire piece was then added to the white card base. 

Step 6:  The sentiment was added on a tag.

Step 7:  I stamped and punched flowers to be added and then finally tiny pearls added to the centers of the flowers.

This is a different post for me.  I hope this was helpful!  I just thought if there were some new crafters wondering how this was done, giving the steps might be a better explanation of how to do it.

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FIRST TRY WITH DISTRESS OXIDE INKS

When I heard about these new Distress Oxide inks, I watched a YouTube video about them.  Since I could get them wholesale, I purchased some.

This was my first experiment with them. The Distress Oxide inks are more intense than the regular Distress inks and they blend more easily.  I masked off a strip on the card base and then using my the round sponge tool from Tim Holtz, I swirled the colors in rainbow order.  They do blend together where they overlap.  My only problem was that I got lines from the sponge.  After I added this beautiful Tutti die cut, it covered those lines pretty well.

I'm not sure if I will add any type of sentiment on the front or not although the card is a little plain.  I wish I would have moved the masked area further to the left and then done some embossing on the solid white area before adding the die cut.  There's always a next time.

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CASING LYNETTE

A few days ago my friend, Lynette, posted a card on her blog using a round Penny Black sticker.  I love the PB stickers but round ones are a little harder to mat.  She used a tri-fold card and cut a circle in the middle section for the sticker to show through.  I had not ever thought of doing that so I immediately dug out one of my sticker sheets and made this card.

I didn't have any ready made white tri-fold cards but I do have 12 x 12 sheets of white card stock.  I cut a piece from it that was 12" x 5 1/2" and scored the folds at 4" and 8".

A Spellbinders circle die was used to cut the opening.  To make it easier to handle the sticker I did use the circle that had been cut out and adhered it to the back of the sticker making it easier to adjust it in the opening. 

Thank you for stopping by today!  Be sure to let me know if you have any questions.

KITCHEN SINK STAMPS MEET ALTENEW INK

I've had several Kitchen Sink stamps for a long time but haven't made good use of them.  They are  3 to 4 step stamps and I just wasn't having luck finding inks that went well together.  One of the ladies on our Yahoo Group has made some beautiful cards using the Altenew inks so I decided to invest in a set of green and a set of pinks.  

The two darkest colors did not look good with the lighter two when I stamped those layers, but after a few minutes they seemed to lighten a bit.  To aid in the process I stamped the first layer again over the top of all of them and it softened the look even more.

I doubt that you can tell from the picture, but I used some clear Wink of Stella over the darkest ink and a little on the leaves to add some shimmer.

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STAMPIN' UP! - The Art of Life

I have made several sympathy cards using two other stamps from this set but for this one, I chose the pretty blossoms.  The matted design fit nicely inside the embossed border.

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STAMPIN' UP! - Avant #3

I had stamped another piece with the flowers from the Avant stamp set so I made this quick card placing the Coastal Cabana mat at an angle..  The card base also has an extra 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" layer added to it which had been embossed with a random dots design.

Thank you for coming by today!  Have a great weekend!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, JAMIE & JASON!

STAMPIN' UP! -  Avant #2

Our youngest daughter and her husband are celebrating their anniversary today.  I won't say how many because I can't believe we have a child who has been married that long!  This is the card I made for my mother to send to them.

Since I  still had the stamp with the lace design on my craft table, I decided to use it again on this card.  I used Stampin' Up! Coastal Cabana and Old Olive colors.  The piece with the flowers was mounted with foam dots.

Thank you for coming by today!

STAMPIN' UP! Four Feathers #2

Today's card was done using the Stamin' Up! Four Feathers stamp set and SU Coastal Cabana ink and card stock along with Soft Suede and Craft White inks.

I inked up a square acrylic block, spritzed lightly with water and then stamped it on the white card layer using the two colors of ink. This layer was added to the Coastal Cabana mat and then onto the white card base.  The last step was adding the feathers and bow.

Tomorrow is June 1st already!  Thank you for stopping by today!

STAMPIN' UP! - Four Feathers

When I had the Penny Black set out for yesterday's card, I decided to pull out the Stampin' Up! set "Four Feathers".  I was surprised to see that I had some feathers already stamped.  For this card I did stamp the two smaller feathers with Soft Suede ink to add to the larger one already done.  I used the SU Gorgeous Grunge set for the background designs and stamped them in Soft Suede and Tempting Turquoise inks.

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PENNY BLACK DIE - Feather and Frames

I've had this set for a while and never used it.  Why did I buy it?  When I went to use it, I wasn't sure why I bought it.  It's harder than I thought it would be to come up with an idea.  

First I embossed a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of white card stock and attached it to the white card base.  (I prefer not to have the embossing show on the inside of the card.)  

Next I stamped the design from the Stampin' Up! Serene Silhouettes set and die cut it.  

Then I used black card stock when I cut the larger frame and feather.

It's not one of my favorite cards using feathers but I'm sure I'll find a use for it.  The die set may find it's way to eBay.

GRANDDAUGHTER'S GRADUATION CARD

On May 19 our granddaughter, Allissa, finished her last high school classes.  We celebrated at her Graduation Party the next day.  Pictures of her party were posted here last week. Today we celebrate with her again as she receives her diploma at the Graduation Ceremony.  We're so proud of her and know she has a bright future ahead of her.

We had used black and gold for the decorations since she is going to be an Iowa Hawkeye this Fall, so I followed through with the card I made for us to give her.

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STAMPIN' UP! - Avant

This is such a fun stamp set to use.  This was the first card I made with it using Melon Mambo and Old Olive colors from SU.  

I've been seeing some cards made with stamped lacy borders and I had an old set of Hero Arts stamps that was actually still sealed.  I opened it and used one for a nice addition to this card.  

Memorial Day Weekend is the holiday that should be welcoming Summer.  Weather here has been very cool and rainy and it doesn't sound like it's going to be a nice weekend either. Two evenings this week we sat at softball games for our granddaughters.  Monday night was pretty cool and I didn't have enough layers to keep comfortable. Tuesday night I was triple layered with a Winter coat over my legs and sitting on a blanket to keep the air coming through my lawn chair!  It was time for a cup of hot chocolate when we got home!  I guess that makes us die-hard grandparents.

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CONFIRMATION CARD

One of our granddaughters was Confirmed a few weeks ago.  This is another Tutti design (Cross in the Vine) that "makes the card".

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TUTTI DESIGNS - Bird Tapestry

A card using this Tutti design needs nothing more added to it.  I saw a card using this and I knew it was one I could use time after time.  The die cut extremely well and was added to the card base.  The next time I use this I may try adding some foam dots around the back of the design to raise the image but not sure if that will work well.  It's a design that is going to be very pretty on many different colors of card bases.

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USING A CARD PART - (Tuesday's card)

And this is the card that I had intended to post yesterday.  When I cleaned off my craft table and put all of the unfinished "pieces" in a container, I pulled this one out and used it.  I think the flowered paper was from one of my many paper pads.  The Stampin' Up! Soft Suede ink and paper was a close match to the brown that was in the paper.

Thank you for stopping by today!

LITTLE BIRDIE - (Monday's card)

This was the card that was scheduled to be posted on Monday.  A busy schedule took priority over blogging.  

I had discovered one last little bird dimensional sticker on a sheet and decided it was time to use the last one.  I found some DP from Lawn Fawn that was just the right color.  The picture makes it like there is a bit if the turquoise showing between the hearts strip and the sentiment.  That must be shadow because in real life it is white there.

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GRADUATION PARTY

Yesterday we enjoyed helping our oldest Granddaughter, Allissa, celebrate her High School Graduation.  The party was held at a golf course club house which was a great way to keep under aged teens from drinking since ID's were required!  (Actually not many adults did either.)

Today I am just sharing a few pictures from the party.  Allissa had asked me to make table decorations for her.  She glittered the jars and then turned the project over to me.  It required a lot of hours before it was over but it was really fun seeing it all come together. Allissa will be attending the University of Iowa (Hawkeyes) this Fall so she wanted things done in black and gold.

MY NEW WASHI TAPE

I already have a nice collection of Washi Tape but when I saw these recently at a Joann's Fabric Store, I knew I would buy them - especially since they were 40% off!  Since I'm furnishing birthday cards for a local nursing home to hand out to the residents, Washi Tape can make great cards and quickly.

This set of Washi Tape had only the top and middle designs, but I had the striped one already in my collection.  I really love this one!

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IMPRESSON OBSESSION Floral Frame

I purchased this lovely stamp in Des Moines at one of our Yahoo Group Gatherings.  When I stamped it, I thought I would be using it vertically.  While in D.M. I stamped and colored the design right away using Stampin' Up! markers.  The piece has been in my card parts pile ever since. When I cleaned up my craft table recently, I put all those unfinished things in a Sterilite tub (way too many to count) and I found this piece.  It was time to use it.

I cut the piece down to 3 3/4" x 5".  I looked through some of my sentiment stamps to see what would fit in the area for a message.  I was thinking of something with more words on it, but when I ran across this one from Penny Black, I knew it was what I wanted.

I mounted the design on SU So Saffron card stock and then attached it to the white card base.  I really like how this card came together.

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MOTHER AND BABY BIRDS ON A BRANCH

I love these chubby little birds!  The birds were cut with a variety of Core'dinations card stock.  The branch is from Memory Box and the sun is from a Lawn Fawn set.  It's fun to combine dies from different sets and get even more use from them.  

The sentiment stamp seemed perfect to use on this card.  I'm sorry I'm unable to make out the name of the company who issued it.  The copyright on it is 1999 so may be unavailable anyway.

A few days ago I mentioned that I prefer the card base to be white card stock.  This one is.  I just matted the design with a piece of the Core'dination card stock that is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".

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TWO MORE Birthday Bouquet DP

(Sometimes I have trouble getting a straight picture.)

These two were my #1 and #2 favorites of the four I made.  The second picture here is my very favorite.  I love the designer paper!!!  I used the Martha Stewart punch on the bottom edge of the white card stock base and I think it really finished the card perfectly.  What do you think?

Sometimes I buy these beautiful designer papers and then I hate to use them because I won't have them anymore.............like there will never ever be any other designer papers that come out that are even better.  Even once I do cut into it and use it, I then sometimes have a hard time actually parting with the cards.  Does anyone else have that problem?

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STAMPIN' UP! Birthday Bouquet DP

If you have beautiful designer papers, you can make great cards in just a few minutes.  Sometimes that is necessary.  These two were made simply because I just need to use up some of my "stash" but will make very nice cards to send someone.

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