Thursday, July 31, 2014

ELIZABETH CRAFT DESIGNS

When I was in Des Moines in June, I purchsed some of these really neat peel-off stickers from Elizabeth Craft Designs.  I have some from a different company one time but I love these.  With an outline sticker this size I had to be very careful when trying to stick it onto an acrylic sheet to be colored.  The stickers are very flimsy and if you aren't careful they can be difficult to get onto your cardstock or acrylic sheet the way you want them. However, I found an easy way to do it.  I peeled off the sticker and put it face down on my craft sheet.  Then I took the acrylic sheet and laid it on top.
 
 
 
My friend, Lynette, also purchased some of these and made a card very similar to this.  I used BIC Permanent Markers to color right onto the top of the acrylic within the lines of the design.  The Red/Orange color covered the surface very well but I had difficulty getting the light blue colored nice and even.  The green did OK.

 
For this card, I embossed a piece of white card stock with an SU Fancy Fold folder and blocked of an area to use for the design using a "Darice Easy Frame for Embossing Folders".  I was able to add this smaller design to the card without the sticker loosing the proper shape.  Once again I colored with BIC Permanent Markers.


And the third card was done much the same way as the second card shown above.  A small butterfly from a Martha Stewart punch was added.  These images could also be colored with Gel Pens on Acrylic pieces or Copic markers if they are mounted onto white card stock. 
 
Tomorrow I will show you cards made with other designs from Elizabeth Craft Designs.  Do you think you'd like to try these peel-off stickers?  Thank you for stopping by!

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

THANK YOU, LYNETTE!


While our Yahoo Group of Gals gathered in Des Moines, Lynette gave each one of us a brass stencil with this design.  I noticed that she had posted a picture on her blog of a step card she made using this stencil.  (Glitter Rose)
 
1.  I removed the paper from one side of double-sided sticky paper and adhered it to a piece of white card stock and trimmed it.

2.  I rubbed the back side of the rose stencil really well with soap and then put it onto the other side of the double-sided sticky paper. 
 
(I used a Handmade Hawaiian Coconut Soap which I had purchased from Dreamweaver Stencils.  I was told that ordinary soap doesn't work as well but I've never tried it so I don't know if you could use it or not.)
 
3.  I masked the edges of the stencil with post-it notes.
 
4.  Using a small "baby spoon" I added the blue glitter and shook it off. Then I added the green glitter and shook it off.
 
5.  Very carefully I removed the post-it notes and then using the final one as a hinge, I lifted the stencil off of the paper.
 
6.  White or clear glitter is then added over the entire piece and trimmed if necessary.
 
The blue glitter went very well with the SU Blue Bayou card stock so I mounted the glittered piece onto a mat of that paper.  This card was made about 2 weeks ago so I'm not really sure why I chose a different blue card stock for the card base, but that's what I did.  A white piece 4" x 5 1/4" was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and added the card base after a piece of satin ribbon was attached around the center and finally the glittered rose was added with foam squares.
 
Thanks for stopping by.........and thank you, Lynette for the great stencil!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, SHARON AND TOM!!!

I'm sorry I didn't get a card posted yesterday.  I needed to run errands and get some items for my mother.  After a very frustrating day dealing with the pharmacy where I get a prescription, I came home and spent quite awhile signing up to get them through mail order!!!!  My mind was "fried" by that time and I just didn't have the energy to even post one late in the day.  BUT......today I have a very special card for you to see.  Today is my sister and her husband's 47th Anniversary.  This is the card I made for them.
 
 
I started with a piece of card stock that measured 4" x 5 1/4" and embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder.  Then I used a Martha Stewart Punch (Garden Trellis) to make a piece for the Memory Box flowers to "climb" on.  Both the trellis and the flowers were added using very tiny dots of Tombow liquid glue.   Then the entire piece was added to the front of the white card base with foam squares.

 Although my sister no longer makes cards herself, she is the one who actually got me started dry embossing with stencils.  After I had the front of those cards made, I naturally had to have something for inside the card other than my handwriting so I started getting some wood mounted stamps for sentiments.  And of course you know where that led and you know the rest of the story if you have been watching my blog.  I now have ALL KINDS of toys to use for my cards.

Your comments are always appreciated!  Thank you for stopping by today! 
 
 

Friday, July 25, 2014

STAMPIN' UP! Petite Petals

 
The color swap for our Yahoo Group this month was to make a card using Navy and Cream.  I liked this layout on a card I saw on Pinterest.  The color I chose is different and I used the Hexagon punch instead of circles for the background of my flowers.I reversed the direction of the embossed border which was made with an SU embossing folder and I didn't tie a bow with the ribbon I used. 
 
Thank you for stopping by!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

THREE VERSIONS OF ONE DESIGN

Today I hope to get a lot accomplished.  My husband left at 8:00 this morning and is going to the State Softball Tournament 3 hours away.  I'm on my own and don't have to fix lunch or supper!!!  Since I hadn't scheduled something for today to appear on my blog, I decided that was first on my agenda.
 
The stamp I used for the design on all three cards is from the Stampin' Up!  Simply Soft Hostess Set.  
 
 
For my first card, I started by taking a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of white card stock and stamping the design with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored with SU markers.  The sentiment was stamped with a Hero Arts stamp.  Using foam squares I added the piece to the white card base and then decided it needed a little butterfly. 
 
This is a vertical one-layer top-fold card.  I stamped the designs with Memento Rich Cocoa and then colored with SU makrers.  The sentiment is from a 3-stamp set from Hero Arts.  I wanted something at the top edge of the card front and chose a Cuttlebug border folder.  I thought I had it inserted the right way, but ended up with a debossed design instead.......but I like it too.  (Have you ever noticed that the A2 size embossing folders have the "Cuttlebug" name on the top but the borders have the "Cuttlebug" name on the back of the folders?  I tend to forget that sometimes and that is what happened with this card.)

 
Since I wanted to have the border embossed, I did a third card.  Once again I stamped the designs and sentiment with Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored with SU markers.  If I remember correctly I think I had a little smudge on the lower left hand corner so I stamped a tiny sprig over it and colored. 
 
Thank you for stopping by today!  Wish me luck getting a lot accomplished!!!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

MEMORY BOX BUTTERFLY

Sorry I'm a little slow in getting something posted today.  I forgot that I hadn't scheduled anything and this morning I was experimenting with ideas for an invitation to be sent out to my high school class who will be celebrating our 50th Reunion next summer.  (I was just a baby when I graduated because I can't be that old!)
 
 
When I was in Des Moines getting together with my Yahoo Group friends, one of them had this 2-pc Memory Box set of dies.  She had made a card using this beautiful glitter paper that she got at Michael's.  At first I cut out the solid piece AND the outline with the glitter paper but decided that black would really set off the design much better. 
 
Once I got home I assembled the pieces and used a mat of Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze card stock.  The card base is SU Black card stock.
 
 
This was the second butterfly I had cut out while in Des Moines.  The glitter paper is just so pretty to use for these butterflies and there were two different color combinations.  This one really went well with SU Ballet Blue card stock.

Thank you for checking out my post for today!

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

PEACEFUL PETALS


This was a card I saw on Pinterest.  I had all of the Stampin' Up! materials I need to make one almost identical to it.  The stamp set is "Peaceful Petals", the dp is Sweet Sorbet and the card stock is Crisp Cantelope.

If you have any questions, please let me know.  Thank you for stopping by!

Monday, July 21, 2014

A GUY'S BIRTHDAY CARD


Last Thursday my Mother-in-Law called and said she needed a birthday card for her Son-in-Law's birthday........which was the next day!!!!  And when we mail things to them it takes two days!!!  Needless to say this was going to be late.  I was busy at the time so didn't actually make it until Friday and it went out on Saturday.........he should hopefully get it tomorrow. 
 
The stamp set I decided to use was the Stampin' Up! Wetlands which I had received as a gift.  I had liked the cards I was seeing made with it, but being under pressure to get one done quickly, I turned to Pinterest.....again.  Thank you to All Things Stampy for the great idea.
 
I saw a card like this.  To get the image, I had to stamp the goose first with Soft Suede ink and then mask it.  I wanted the wheat to be lighter appearing to be behind the goose so I stamped off the wheat twice first and then onto the image.  The image was then cut out using a Spellbinders Classic Circle die.
 
I stamped the sentiment and then trimmed the piece to a rectangular shape.  I did the ends of the piece by slipping the ends into the SU Hexagon punch and then mounted it onto the layer with foam dots.  The main difference in my card is that I edged the circle with the image and the sentiment piece with the Soft Suede ink using a sponge.
 
The entire ivory layer was then added to the front of the Soft Suede card base.
 
I hope my cased card has given you an idea for your own cards.  Thank you so much for stopping by today! 

Friday, July 18, 2014

STAMPIN' UP! EMBOSSING FOLDER

 
This was a super simple card to make.  I embossed the front with the SU embossing folder, stamped the vertical "Happy Birthday" and then added the dimensional butterfly.
 
Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Thursday, July 17, 2014

BIRTHDAY CARD FOR A FRIEND

 
One of my Yahoo Group friends, Joyce, celebrated her birthday on Monday.  She had received the card already but I forgot to post it on her birthday. 
 
This Memory Box die (Kensington Border) is one of my very favorite purchases.  It is so delicate and cuts perfectly.  I know I will get a lot of use from it.
 
I used Stampin' Up! Pacific Point card stock for the die cut and then stamped the sentiment using the same color of ink.
 
Thank you for taking the moment to stop by today!
 

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

STAMPIN UP BLOOM WITH HOPE


One of the newer stamp sets from Stampin' Up! consists of a double case of designs........Bloom With Hope 1 and Bloom With Hope 2.  I saw a card on Pinterest that was made using these flowers so I cased it as close as I could.  The various flowers were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of white card stock.  I colored it with the new Stampin' Up! Blendabilities.  I hope you can see a little of the blending that I attempted.  I used a different sentiment and added a little punched butterfly to my card.  The piece was then added to the white card base with foam squares.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

THINKING OF YOU

 
I'm so sorry that I cannot be a lot of help to you with the flower I used on this card because I actually made this card sometime in the last couple of months.  The flower was stamped on patterned dp.  The leaf was cut with a die and then I took the negative portion and trimmed it to also use it.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.
 
Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Monday, July 14, 2014

DARICE EASY FRAME

 
 
Darice has a package of Easy Frames that are used with embossing folders.  There are 7 different ones in the package with various shapes.  When using an embossing folder the paper is placed inside the folder as usual and then one of the Easy Frames are placed on top of the embossing folder and then run through the Cuttlebug (or other machine) as you normally would.  This leaves a blank area where a design can be stamped.
 
I stamped these flowers from the Penny Black "A Bunch" clear stamp set with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored them with Copic markers.  After coloring the flowers, I used a Copic C1 or C3 to outline the entire design which helps to make the image pop.
 
The embossed piece was matted with SU Lavendar  Lace card stock and then mounted onto the white card base with foam squares.
 
I was really glad I had this card on hand because we suddenly had three funerals here in our small community and I thought this card could be used for one of them as a "thoughts and prayers" card.
 
Thank you for coming by today!
 

Friday, July 11, 2014

USING CHALK TO COLOR


I purchased this Darice embossing folder a while ago and decided to pull out my chalks to see what I could do with the flower design.  I found it very hard to color just the raised portion of the design so after I added that color, I took the sponge and rubbed it all around on the design and got the chalk "smeared" enough that it gave it kind of a shadowed look.  I think I like it.........just not sure if it looks messy or shadowed. 

I'd love to hear what you think!  Thank you for stopping by today!

Thursday, July 10, 2014

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

 
This is a totally different style of card for me to make.  Last month our Yahoo group's color swap card was to be Sage Green and Orange.  My Sage Green looks a little more Olive here. 
 
I used a Stampin' Up set to make this card.  When I finished making it unfortunately I put the set somewhere and at this time cannot locate it to tell you the name of it.  (I think that means I need to clean up some of my crafting area!)  I cut the Happy Birthday with a die and added it with small dots of Tombow Liquid Glue.
 
The stamped piece is slightly smaller than the front of the card as you can see and is mounted with foam squares. 
 
(NOTE:  The picture was borrowed from my friend, Harriet)

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

MORE PINK FLORAL VELLUM



These two cards used the same pink vellum as yesterday's card, but I used two more of the tri-fold cards that I bought in Des Moines.

Are these cards giving you some ideas?  I'd love to hear from you.   Thank you for stopping by today!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

PINK FLOWERED VELLUM


 
Last Thursday I told you I would have more cards with vellum inserts.  When I was looking through the vellum sheets that I have had for years, I found a partial sheet of this beautiful pink vellum with the floral design. 
 
The first thing I did was to cut a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of ivory card stock and using a Spellbinders die I cut the long narrow rectangle.  Then I ran it through the Cuttlebug with a border embossing folder.  There was a portion of the vellum that seemed to fit nicely in the opening so I trimmed it and attached it to the back side.  This piece was mounted onto the ivory card base.   I saw a tiny pink bud in the vellum that had been trimmed away and didn't want to waste it so I cut it out and attached it off to the side.
 
I don't know if I have ever seen any other vellum quite like this but I hope I can find more.......as if I needed more supplies.
 
I'd love to hearing from you when you visit my blog.  All comments are appreciated!!!  Thank you for stopping by today!


Monday, July 7, 2014

LAVENDER AND WHITE

 
The tri-fold cards are such a fun way to make a special card with the cut out portion as a focal point.  First of all, I embossed the middle section with the Swiss Dots folder from Cuttlebug.  I added the pretty lavender vellum behind the opening and then the white floral spray from Memory Box on top of the front of the card.  The butterfly is a glitter sticker.
 
I always appreciate it when you take a moment to tell me what you think of my posts.  Thank you for stopping by today!

Friday, July 4, 2014

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!


No card made by me today but I'm going to show you the great Anniversary cards we have received from the Yahoo Group of ladies.

 
From Andrea

 
From Annie (she thought it was going to be my birthday, but I just appreciate that she though of us)
 

 
From Harriet

 
From Kris

 
From Lynette


From Sheri

I hope that today everybody is celebrating all of the wonderful freedoms that we have! 
Thank you to the military who continue to fight to keep us free!!!

Thursday, July 3, 2014

PANSY VELLUM


This is another tri-fold card.  I embossed the middle section and then added this very pretty pansy vellum paper behind the oval opening.  The butterfly is a dimensional sticker from K&Company.  The color on the butterfly really does match the dark of the vellum much better than picture shows.
 
I hope you come back again soon because I have more samples of cards made with vellum inserts.  Thank you so much for coming by today!

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

SIMPLE BIRTHDAY CARD


Once again today's card is using the beautiful die cut from the Elizabeth Craft die that I purchased in Des Moines.  I used a tri-fold card with the oval already cut.  I embossed the center piece with the Swiss Dots embossing folder.   The pretty lavendar vellum that I placed behind the oval is something I have had in my "stash" for way too many years and hadn't used.  (And I have more sheets left!)  The "Happy Birthday" is  a much used stamp from My Sentiments Exactly!
 
Thank you for stopping by today!

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

I don't usually make Christmas cards at this time of year but the card kit that Kris gave us in Des Moines (pictured last week) gave me the idea for these two cards.
 
 
I added gems to the wreath on this card.

 
The sparkle on this cards is Ice Stickles "Crystal Ice"

The card stock is Stampin' Up! Garden Green (solid and dp).  The wreath is from Memory Box.  The "Merry" and "Peace" words were made with Paper Trey dies.  I decided to use the Stickles for sparkle on the second card because it would survive the mail better.....not poking through the envelope.  When I use gems or pearls I always add a pad over the top of them or an extra piece of heavy card stock.
 
So does this give you any ideas for your cards?  I'd love to hear from you!   Thank  you for stopping by today!

This is the  video  I used to make this card using more retired dsp. After I finished, I was a little dissatisfied with the white background...