BLUE AND YELLOW (PPA58 Challenge)

Pals Paper Arts PPA 58 Challenge

The Yahoo Group I belong to had a "Blue and Yellow" card exchange a few weeks ago. I forgot to take my own picture of this card before I mailed it to my friend, Andrea. Fortunately she had a very nice picture of it that I am borrowing.

The layout for this card was based on a card that my friend, Lynette, had made. I tweaked it to make it my version. When I mailed it I left room at the bottom for Andrea to stamp in her own little greeting. We leave cards blank inside now too so that the recipient is free to use it if they wish.

The DP is from a "Lilykate" 6 x 6 paper pad from Basic Grey. I love the papers in that pad. The punch is from Martha Stewart. Flowers and tiny pearls are from Hero Arts.......two items I can order for you if you wish.

Thanks for stopping by!

FYI

Some of those who visit my blog are not on my newsletter list so I thought I would make a quick announcement for everyone here.

I am taking orders from customers (new and old) for the following companies: Hero Arts, Penny Black, JustRite Stampers and all things from Dreamweaver Stencils. All orders need to be in by Friday evening, September 3. I will be compiling orders over the weekend and submitting them over the Internet on September 5 or 6.

In addition to the above companies, I have another source where I can order Copic markers (Sketch and CIAO) and all supplies for them. Also Spellbinders dies - the new ones have begun arriving. If I don't have it in stock and it is available, I can have it in 2-3 days.

Scrapbook Products Supp Fall 2010 is a link to see other items that I can get for you any time. A full catalog of everything will be available in the future. If you don't see something you want, ask if I can get it for you.

You can send me a list of anything you are interested in ordering and asking for prices (which are at least 20% off retail prices for email orders) before confirming your order.

Let me know if you have any questions - vboddicker@aol.com.

MICHELLE ZINDORF CLASS

As I said on Saturday, I was very excited about having the opportunity to take this class. I'm not aware that a class of this calibur has ever been offered this close to where I live and it was in the town where one of our daughters lives so I even got to have lunch with Jennifer.

There were two sessions. The Beginners Class was from 10:00 - 1:00. The Advanced Class was from 2:30 - 6:00. The time just flew by. When I saw the samples of the cards we were going to make my first thought was "I wish" and only hoped to attain something close to her samples. However, Michelle guides the classes through step-by-step and makes at the same time.

We had listen closely to the instructions and I had a couple "oops" along the line. She laughed and said she might have to move me up to the table with her. :)

This is Michelle Zindorf (instructor) and Jo Meyer (hostess for the class)

I had to prove that I was actually there and had my picture taken with Michelle.

Michelle introducing herself and telling us about our morning class.

Michelle explaining the technique to use when brayering the ink.

The affect we were going to aim for on our first card.

Our first card

Our second card

Our third card

AFTERNOON CARDS (BELOW)

First Card

Second Card

Third Card

These classes were some of the most fun I've had making cards in a long time. Hope you enjoy seeing what I had the pleasure of doing yesterday. And I hope some of you have the opportunity to take a class from her someday.

I'M SO EXCITED

Tomorrow I am going to be taking a class from Michelle Zindorf. I am so excited to have this opportunity and to have it only an hour away because these types of classes just don't usually come to our area. Hopefully I'll learn some new techniques and be sharing some of what I learned here on my blog.

TULIP TIME

A few days ago I had posted another card using this stamped design. Today's card shows the largest tulip expanding out of the oval. I stamped the two flowers blooms twice and attached them with glue dots. The Spellbinders Deckled Edge Oval was edged with SU Pretty in Pink ink to match the flowers and helped make it stand out from the front of the white card.

Thanks for stopping by!

SIMPLE BIRTHDAY CARDS

More of the papers that I had not been using...........

The flowered paper was adhered to the front of a card base and then run through the Cuttlebug using the D'Vine Swirls embossing folder. I really like that embossing on the flowered paper too. Next I cut the tag using some complimentary Bazzill paper (which I have had for years!) and embossed the sentiment using VeraMark ink and Egyptian Gold embossing powder. I had a small strip of the matching Bazzill paper and didn't want to waste it so it made a nice way to cover the seam between the off white and flowered paper.

This card has the same layout and same tag but I used another scrapbook paper at the top.

This layout really does have a lot of possibilities and makes a very quick and easy card........which I need so many times.

Thanks for stopping by!!!!

CARD FOR THE CAR LOVER

I've been making a lot of very simple cards. This was about as easy as it gets. One time I received a swap card and the theme was to be a card for a man. The paper she used was like this and I discovered a sheet of it in my stash of papers. It's a sheet of old cars like this. I was able to trim a strip of three of them down so they fit on the card just right. Part of what I trimmed off was the narrow strip of brown that I placed along the right edge of the card.

When my father was alive, he had an Model A. Eventually that car went to my brother. I think I will save this card and send it to him for his birthday.

I admire cards I see on other blogs with the very pretty embellishments but most of the time I don't like to put a lot of expense into any single card unless it is for a very special occasion. I've found that some very simple cards can be just as fun to make, less time consuming, less expensive and will be just as appreciated.

Thanks for stopping by!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

OK, I realize this is rather early to post a Thanksgiving card. :) Since I had these papers out a couple of days ago and the Fall colors were good for a Thanksgiving greeting, I put this one togehther. The company name on the paper with the leaves appears to be "Moxie". The two solid colors of card stock are from Bazzill and edged with a Martha Stewart edge punch. The sentiment is from a set of Inkadinkadoo stamps. Everything was pretty much at my fingertips so it didn't take long to put this one together.

Thanks for stopping by!

BLACK AND WHITE

Now and then when I am looking at blogs, I see a "Sketch" that looks like a fun layout to use and I save them in a file on my computer. Yesterday when I was trying to come up with some quick ideas, I turned to that file and found this layout. The paper is some from one of the paper pads my sister gave me which made it easy to put this card together.

The picture makes it look like there is a curvature on the right edge of the card where the ribbon is. There might be a slight amount due to the ribbon being wrapped around the white layer, but the slight angle of the card really makes it look worse than it is.

Thanks for stopping by!

FALL LEAVES

It's late in the evening and I hadn't gotten something posted yet. So here is an Easy Peasy card!

This morning when I started making some cards, I was determined to get into papers that I had purchased and then never used. This is one of them and it made a super easy card. I cut a piece 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 of the patterned paper and attached it to the front of the card. The solid color is the reverse side of the falling leaves. I cut a strip and then punched both edges of it before stamping the Happy Birthday.

Thanks for stopping by!

FOR MY FRIEND

I saw a card similar to this somewhere and loved the layout and the way it was done. I saved a picture of it and wish I could give credit to the person who made the original card. There are several differences in the way I made it so that it isn't an exact copy. My sister used to make a few cards but is much more interested in quilting and she gave me two paper stacks. The pink paper was in one of the stacks and worked perfect for me.

The card base is white. I cut a strip of the polkadot paper and adhered it to the top edge. I then took a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch piece of white card stock and used a MS punch to trim the top edge. The white layer was still a little too long so it was trimmed to fit the space I wanted to use. Scor lines were added and then narrow bands of the pink paper between some scored lines. Butterflies were all from MS punches.

Thanks for stopping by!

(Differences from the card I cased: Different punch on the top, punched butterfly in the center of the card instead of a stamped butterfly and scored lines under the butterfly instead of embossed dots. I wasn't sure how she had embossed dots in that small of an area unless they were done with a stencil.)

WISHING YOU WELL

I'm afraid I've been reading a lot lately and neglecting making new cards. Since I do have some cards with the Penny Black stickers yet, I am using one of them. These don't take a lot of talent to put something together, but I do think they make very pretty cards to send.

The card base is actually some that I have had for years. It has slight flecks of darker color in it and is very pretty. I mounted the sticker on off white card stock and trimmed the edges for a frame of it to show. Crystal glitter was added to the centers of the flowers.

The butterfly is also a sticker but I wanted to pop it so I traced around it onto some off white card stock and then trimmed it slightly smaller than the sticker. A little glitter was added to the wings of the butterfly and I mounted it to the card.

A nice space was left at the bottom to stamp "wishing you well" which is a stamp from Hero Arts.

Thanks for stopping by!

CUTE BIRTHDAY STAMP

At some point I fell in love with the Penny Black hedgehog stamps. I think this makes a cute stamp to use for anyone. This was a card I made for one of the Greatgrandma's to give to one of our granddaugters a couple of weeks ago.

The embossing folder used on the front of the card is from Sizzix. I used one of the Spellbinders Label dies for both layers. The image was colored with my Copic CIAO markers.

Thanks for stopping by!

JUST ANOTHER PENNY BLACK STICKER

The week has been terribly busy so I'm pulling out another of my cards with a sticker from Penny Black's "Romance of Flowers" sticker sheet. I mounted the sticker on off white card stock and then trimmed to a narrow margin. The patterned paper is a scrap from a Basic Grey paper pad. The Butterfly is one from K & Company. Very quick and easy.

Thank you for stopping by!

ANOTHER STAMP BARGAIN

The stamped image here is another one I grabbed at the stamp sale. It makes a great card for guys and my son-in-law is having a birthday in a few days. (No way he's looking at my blog page!)

I stamped the image with SU Chocolate Chip ink, let it dry and then colored it with chalk. I did the sky using a light blue and smeared the chalk in with a cotton ball. Then I used eye shadow pads to color the water, grass and trees. Still using chalk, I used my Dove Blender to apply the dark green chalk to the duck which gave it a darker color.

Spellbinders Labels 9 dies were used to cut the layers. The layers were attached to the front of the card which had been run through the Cuttlebug using a CB folder.

Although our SIL doesn't hunt ducks, he is an outdoors man and I think he'll like this card.

Thanks for coming by...........hope you come back soon!

MORE ALCOHOL INK

I just discovered this card had not gotten posted today. I had accidentally saved it as a draft. :(

This was another item I had in a basket of "pieces". The background was done with Tim Holtz alcohol iks. I then stamped the image on it with VersaMark and embossesd with black embossing powder. That was as far as it had gone. So I mounted it on a piece of black card stock and then added the red and black strips. I got the idea from my friend Harriet who had done something similar on a horizonal card she had made recently.

Thanks for stopping by..............what do you think?

PRETTY IN PINK

A few weeks ago a friend of mine invited me to go with her to a "Garage Sale" type of sale for craft products. Multiple people brought items they no longer wanted - some were new - most were used. The stamp I used on this card was one of the items I bought at the sale. I can use it for a while and then take it back to that sale and hopefully get most of my money back from it.

The flower was colored with my SU Pretty in Pink ink pad and a Memento Bamboo Leaves dual marker. Before cutting the design with my Labels 10 dies, I ran it through the Cuttlebug with my Swiss Dots embossing folder. The pink layer is from a piece of pink shimme paper.

The background on the card base is from another Cuttlebug folder that is elegant so I added the white pearls for added elegance. Tell me what you think.

Thanks for stopping by...........and come back again soon.

USING ALCOHOL INK

A few days ago I was cleaning up my craft table so I could have my friend come to spend some time learning some new simple techniques for making cards. I ran across all kinds of "pieces" that had been made but not finished into a card so I decided it was time to use some of them.

I had a piece of glossy white paper which I had used with some alcohol inks and it already had the stamped image on it. The design had been stamped with Stampin Up Tempting Turquoise ink so I mounted it on a piece of the SU matching card stock after using a Martha Stewart edge punch on the one side.

This piece was then adhered to the front of a card which had already been run through the Cuttlebug with a Sizzix embossing folder.

Thank you for stopping by!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, KRIS

I needed an anniversary card for my friend, Kris and her husband. She has received the card so it is now safe for me to post it. One of my favorite color combinations is black and white with a little red. The black and white card stock came from a paper pack I purchased at Hobby Lobby. I like that it had polka dots which tied in with the little dots on the design I had stamped. I used a Copic marker to add the little bits of red to the stamped design and decided a layer of red card stock would work nice to tie everything together.

This was a quick and easy card but I really like how it turned out. And I know my friend likes black and white cards as well.

Today I had the pleasure of having a friend come to my home this morning because she was wanting to learn a bit more about new things and ideas she could use for making cards. We had a nice time visiting and doing some laughing together...........good for all of us to remember. Seeing and hearing her excitement about some of the things I showed her was so fun and really made my day. Note to Selma,: I had her make a vellum flower and she is totally sold on how beautiful they are. I gave a brief tour of some great blogs to visit for even more ideas. When she left, I told her she had to come back again. (You know who you are and I hope you know I meant it when I said......you have to come back again.)

Thanks everybody for stopping by. Your comments are always welcome.

ALL WHITE

I had done the embossing on the front of this card several months ago with a 5 x 7 embossing folder. When I was cleaning my craft area in preparation of having a friend come tomorrow to learn some idea for making cards, I ran across it. However, I noticed a very small "spot" on the upper right hand corner and almost threw it away. Realizing how small the spot was I decided to add a small white pearl on all four corners and three on the embossed design.

I think I'll save this card and use it for someone's wedding although I am going to have to make an envelope for it because it measures 6 3/4 x 5. (The design was slightly off center so I trimmed one edge of the card.)

Thanks for stopping by!

BIRTHDAY GIRL & ANNIVERSARY CARD

OK.....it's been long enough since I posted. Yes, we did have grandchildren here Wednesday through part of Sunday. We took them home on Sunday for a birthday party. Here's the birthday girl! She is such a sweetie and such a fun little girl!
Today's card is one I made a few weeks ago, but had to hold off until the card reached my friend Joanne and her husband for their anniversary. I sent it early but was afraid it would be late if I didn't send it yesterday. She has received it so it is now safe to show.

Stamps used on the card are all from Hero Arts. The background is Cling Stamp - Hero Arts CG153 Dandelion Frame. I stamped it with a Tim Holtz Distress Ink. Using a cotton ball, I rubbed some light brown chalk over the stamped background to soften the look. I also added a little pink chalk and I think some yellow too.

The three images on the front were stamped with wood mounted stamps - Hero Arts G5311 Silhouette Spray (the ones on the left and right side) and Hero Arts H5312 Silhouette Burst. I can order any or all of these stamps for you if you are interested and at a discount.

The sentiment is also from a retired Hero Arts stamp.

The entire image was then mounted on a Weathered Black cardstock from Lasting Impressions. I added a dragonfly from a K & Company package of butterflies and dragonflies.

I really liked the way this card came out and hope you enjoy it too. Thanks for stopping by!

"O" is for Owl

This months Alphabet Swap on our Yahoo Group was the letter "O". We have started sending cards and leaving them blank so the recipient of the swap can feel free to actually use the card.

For this card I ran the card base through the CB using the folder that looks a little like wood grain. The brown panel is from a piece of 12 x 12 scrapbooking paper. I put it onto the card base.

The stamped design was made using the squirrel and branch from one clear set of stamps and an own from another set. Copics were used for coloring. Stamped images and sentiment were mounted on SU green cardstock which had been cut with the Long and Narrow Rectangles.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to have another card for you tomorrow.

MORE PENNY BLACK

Until this next Monday, I'm going to be busy with three grandchildren staying with us - one 9 year old tonight and tomorrow night and then I switch with the other grandmother and will have a 3 year old and a 4 1/2 year old. So the cards I post (if I get time) will not be anything I've made in the last few days. Sorry........

I've probably posted a card with this Penny Black sticker before, but I just love these. This time I mounted the sticker onto a piece of kind of a Country Blue card stock and trimmed to leave a frame around the image. I had a piece of paper that had come from a Basic Grey paper pad and really liked the look of it with this sticker - the colors seemed to pick up the same shades as the flowers and background.

I ran the card base through the Cuttlebug and embossed just half of the front. I attached the Basic Grey paper and then adhered the design on top. There was still a butterfly on the sticker sheet so I mounted it on a piece of card stock slightly smaller than the butterfly and put it on with pop dots.

Anyone interested in the Penny Black stickers you see on my posts can contact me at the email address shown on the right column of my blog. The sticker sheets are $2.00 plus postage.

Thanks for stopping by!

GRAPHIC 45 Le' Romantique

It's after 10:00 PM here and I wanted to squeeze a card in yet today.

When I saw this paper on a couple of blogs that I have watched, I knew I had to have this paper. The colors are so soft. The card base is Bazzill paper from a variey pack I've had for years. All of the other papers (except the off white for the sentiment) are from the Grahic 45 8 x 8 paper pack. You will find 5 different patterns of papers. The butterfly is from a Martha Stewart punch. Sentiment is from a set of Hero Arts stamps.

Other than that I don't know that it needs much explanation. Hope you like it.

Thanks for coming by!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Oh dear!!! I don't have one of my newer cards to post. I reached back into my files and realized that this one had not been on my blog page yet. I believe I made this one for a friend on our Yahoo Group.

The Boardwalk Blue plaid paper and solid papers are from Lasting Impressions. The top edge of the solid blue was done with a punch which I believe is from EK Success. The stamp is a Penny Black stamp and I had some ribbon with cupcakes on it that went well with the stamped image. (I just didn't get the ribbon centered very well.) The sentiment is from Hero Arts. ("Make a Wish" would have been a better sentiment for the outside of the card.) I'm not sure, but I believe I used SU markers to color the image.

I actually have some new cards made but since they are for friends who may visit here, I don't want to post them yet.......you'll be seeing them soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

AUGUST CALENDAR

I almost forgot to make one. Then I saw the one my friend Lynette made and decided I would try to get something put together. My husband will soon be back to driving a bus for school so my first thought was about so many schools starting during August, but what did I have? Then I had a vague recollection of a stamp set I had and found this My Favorite Things stamp set in my "collection".

I placed the individual clear stamps where I wanted them right on the blank white space and then pressed the acrylic block down on the stamps so that they would all get stamped where I wanted them. Three individual apples were stamped at the bottom border.

The globe, the books and the apples were all colored with SU markers. Then I needed a "skin color" and used my Copic "Pinkish White" (ROO) to color the arms, legs and neckline of the teacher. I just couldn't figure out how I wanted to color what she was wearing so I decided to use this small print from a Basic Grey paper pad and paper pieced the suit.

And I was finished..........My mind was pretty much a blank slate when I started and wasn't sure I'd come up with anything I liked........but I decided this is just fine.

Thanks for stopping by!