FRIDAY'S SILHOUETTE STEMS

 

The background sponging I did on this card does not show up very well.  The top layer was made using white card stock which measures 5" x 3 3/4".  I used SU Daffodil Delight over the top 2/3 and then SU Wild Wasabi over the remaining portion of the layer.  Black card stock was used for the mat and then added to the front of the white card base. 

Two pieces were cut using the Taylored Expressions Silhouette Stems.  One was trimmed on the lower part of the stems and both were added to the card using Tombow ink.  I chose the Thinking of You sentiment so it could be used for several different occasions.

 

Thank you for stopping by!  Next Monday is Labor Day here in the United States so at this time I'm not sure if I'll have a post or not..........I will try.  :)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MARK AND JOANNE!!!

This stamp was still on my table from cards I made a few days ago so I used it to make an anniversary card for my friend, Joanne, and her husband.  Wishing them a very happy anniversary today and MANY, MANY MORE in the years to come.   

 

I stamped the design onto white card stock with black ink and then sponged over it with some blue, some green and some lavendar inks.  It was layered onto a white piece of card stock and then a piece of lavendar card stock.  I embossed a Cuttlebug design on the front edge of the card base.

 

Thank you for stopping by! 

SILOUETTE STEMS in black and red

My goal was to make a third card using the black/red/white combination.  The black polka-dot dp was a scrap on my table and I attached it to the card base which had been stamped with the script design. 

 

For the sentiment I cut out a white circle using Spellbinders Classic Circle die and sponged it with grey ink before removing it from the die......and then matted it onto black card stock.  The sentiment is a retired Hero Arts stamp.   This piece was added to the card before making the flower design.

 

Using red card stock I cut the stems and decided it was too much red.  A second set of stems was then cut with the black card stock and just the flower buds were attached over the black ones. 

 

Friday there will be one more card using this die but tomorrow is for a special friend. Thanks for stopping by today!

SILOUETTE STEMS 1 done in brown

When I was going through the many paper pads I had, I found the patterned dp that seemed to have a flower design very much like this die cut.  The stems were cut using a sheet of the plain brown dp in the pad.  They were added to the white oval and matted with another piece of brown. 

 

I covered the entire front of the card with the solid brown dp and then stamped the script design onto it with VersaMark ink.  A diagonal piece of the flowered dp was then added before attaching the layed piece with the die cut.

 

I can see that I am going to use this die A LOT!!!  Thanks for stopping by today!  Please stop by again tomorrow for another way to use this die.

CORRECTION TO TODAY'S POST

Some of you may have looked at this post earlier and I need to make the following correction:  The die is not from Memory Box............it is from Taylored Expressions.

TAYLORED EXPRESSIONS Silhouette Stems 1

I thought this post had been scheduled for today when I worked on my blog last week.  Sorry this is a bit later than I like it to appear.

 

Buying dies has become a bit of an addiction.  A die can add such a nice addition to many cards. Taylored Expressions has a lot of wonderful designs that are fun to work with.  This one is called Silhouette Stems 1.  For this card I cut out two of the design but trimmed off part of the lower portion.  I dotted Tombow Mono Liquid Glue on the design and then carefully positioned the two pieces on the Baja Blue card stock.  I added a dragonfly and the sentiment which I believe are both from a Taylored Expressions stamp set.  It was stamped with VersaMark ink and then heat embossed with Opaque White powder. 

 

More cards made using this same die will be posted this week.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JASON!

I won't normally be posting on Sundays, but one of our son-in-laws is celebrating his birthday today and I wanted to show the card I made for him.  He is a big hunter so naturally I wanted the card to reflect his interests. 

I started by taking a white piece of card stock that had already been cut to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  Baja Breeze ink was sponged on to nearly the entire piece for the sky.  The birch tree was added and then the dark colored grass.  I wanted the two deer to be between the two layers of grass. 

The birch tree and deer are Memory Box dies.  The grass was done with two colors of card stock and a Martha Stewart punch and the sentiment is from My Sentiments Exactly.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

WEEK OF BUTTERFLIES - Day 5

One of my goals lately has been to use things from my card parts as well as items that I have never used or rarely used.  I found a piece of glossy paper in my card parts that had been colored using alcohol inks.  I used Staz-On Jet Black ink to stamp this image from Stampendous. 

 

The image was then layered on an olive colored card stock that picked up a color from the inked background. (I don't think the green is from SU because it doesn't seem to match any that I have.) Then it was added onto a layer of black and then onto the card base which had been run through the Cuttlebug with a Stampin Up folder.

 

The butterfly was made with an SU punch.  Tiny pearls were added to the butterfly and to the centers of the solid black flowers.

 

Well, that concludes the week of butterflies.  You can be sure you'll be seeing more butterflies on cards in the future though. 

I hope you will return on Monday for a week featuring a new die I purchased.........I know I am supposed to be using items I already have but I couldn't resist this one.   Thanks for stopping by this week!!!

WEEK OF BUTTERFLIES - Day 4

This card is pretty much a case of one I found in the Gallery of Taylored Expressions website.  Jodi Collins is the creator of the one I cased.

 

The card (a vertical top fold) was embossed with the Cuttlebug folder with random raised dots.  Close to Cocoa card stock was used to make the scalloped strip and then attached to the back side of the Calypso Coral dp layer.  This layer was then added to the lower portion of the card base.  I took my large corner rounder punch and shaped the lower two corners.

 

The stamped design is a smaller version of the stamp I used yesterday.  I didn't sponge the background on this one.  After I removed the cut circle from the die, I very carefully colored the white frame which was left as well as the butterfly with a Calypso Coral  marker.  The image was added to a die cut made from the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Motifs and popped on to the card with foam dots.

 

There is only one more day left so be sure to stop by tomorrow.

WEEK OF BUTTERFLIES - Day 3

Today I started by using an off white piece of card stock for a top fold A2 sized card and embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder with random raised dots.  I then cut the SU Baja Breeze striped dp at an angle and added it to the front of the card.

 

In a continued effort to use items that I have had and not used, I chose a Taylored Expressions stamp for today's card.  The image was stamped with Staz-On Jet Black ink on off white card stock.  Unfortunately none of the Spellbinders Classic Circle dies were exactly the right size so I had to cut out the design with a slightly bigger size which gave the look of an off white layer around it.  Before taking it out of the die I sponged Baja Breeze over the top of the image and Pear Pizzaz over the bottom of the image.  A second layer was then cut from Baja Breeze cardstock.  The image was added to the card using foam dots to give dimension.

 

When I use this image again, I would probably choose to heat emboss the image with black.  You might be able to see that a portion of the black circle is a little lighter and I think I would have had better luck by embossing it instead.

 

Thank you for coming by today.  Tomorrow is Day 4.

WEEK OF BUTTERFLIES - Day 2

Today's butterfly was made with the same image and colored the same way as yesterday first card. 

 

I started with a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of white card stock and scored it at 5 1/2" for the fold.  A Spellbinders Classic Square die was used to cut a window onto the front side.   A mask was placed over the front of the card so that I could sponge a light yellow background on the inside and then the butterfly was attached with Tombow glue.

 

So many times I don't notice that I have black ink on my fingers and once again I got a little black spot on the front of the card, but it was covered up nicely by stamping a smaller butterfly over it and coloring it with the SU marker.  I then added the sentiment and the card was finished.

 

Thanks for coming by today!  Will you be back for Day 3?

WEEK OF BUTTERFLIES - Day 1

Since I love including butterflies on a lot of my cards, I decided that this week all of my cards will have one.   Today's card has a layer of white popped with foam dots on a white card base.  The layer was partially embosssed with a Cuttlebug folder that has butterflies on it and the bottom left plain so the sentiment could be stamped at the bottom.  It isn't clear on the picture but two lines were scored just under the embossing. 

 

I inked the butterfly with VersaMark and then VersaFine Onyx Black before stamping it onto white card stock.  It was heat embossed with clear powder.  Before cutting it out I sponged Tempting Turquoise ink over the entire image.  After cutting it out there were hints of white around the edge so I touched them up with a Memento Tuxedo Black marker.  The butterfly was then attached to the embossed layer.

 

Note:  On my first attempt the first layer was "ruined" when I stamped the image.  I had not noticed that the edge of the rubber had been inked and a ridge of black showed above the sentiment in three places.  See the card below which was my "save". 

I used the Martha Stewart punch with 3 butterflies on it to attach on the little areas where black ink was unwanted.  I decided to also use a different MS punch to make a butterfly which was just the right size to place over one of the embossed butterflies which was the same shape.

 

Thanks for stopping by.........hope you come back tomorrow to see Day 2.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, KRIS!

A few days ago I posted a card very similar to this in a different color for a 90 year birthday.  I really liked the design a lot so I decided to make a second one for my friend, Kris, and her husband who are celebrating their anniversary tomorrow.  The designs and sentiment were stamped with VersaMark and then heat embossed with white opaque powder.

 

Thank you for stopping by!  Hope to see you back here on Monday!!!

BIRCH TREE DIE

Before I started the design, I cut a piece of black and white dp from a paper pad to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and added it to the front of a white card base.

 

This die makes it so easy to make a quick and easy card.  The white layer was cut to about 4" x 5 1/4".  The birch tree was cut and then had to be trimmed since it is a full 5 1/2" tall.  The tree was run through a Xyron to add the adhesive.  I already had a red bird that had been cut with a PTI die.  The sentiment was in some stamping materials that my sister gave me and it is from Great Impressions.

 

Thank you for stopping by today!

WILD FLOWERS

This card was made last Thursday.  On Sunday as I was skimming through the Taylored Expressions samples (or maybe it was on Pinterest) for other ideas, I saw a card using this design and the flowers were the same color that I had used.  It really was a coincidence because I had chosen the yellow and pink on my own.

 

The above card is a one layer design, but below is a second one I made..........

 

 

I'm not sure I like these butterflies on this card.  I think they are a little too big.  What do you think?  Thank you for stopping by!

FLUTTERBY WEDNESDAY #247

 

I actually had a different card scheduled for today but after I got this card put together I decided I wanted to post it on the Flutterby Wednesday blog.  The striped dp and the plain card stock color is SU Baja Breeze.  I love this color.  I cut the flower with a Taylored Expressions die and the butterfly with the added pearls was made using an SU punch.

 

Thank you for stopping by!

USING UP STICKERS

I have had these sunflower stickers for a very long time and in an effort to use things I already have or haven't used in along time, I found these for today's card.  I used the PTI die  to cut the three squares in the Crushed Curry card stock.  Since I had used a wide piece of the colored card stock, I used a Martha Stewart to create the pretty edge.

The Crushed Curry layer was added to the card base which had been embossed with the Swiss Dots folder and then the sunflower stickers were added to the squares.

Thank you for stopping by today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TARYN!!!

So can you guess how old our youngest granddaughter, Taryn, is today?  This was really a fun card to make.  I have several InkyAntics HoneyPop stamp sets.  They are fun to use with the HoneyComb papers but this time I just used the set for the stamps.

 

The elephant, hat, balloon and gifts were all paper pieced onto the already stamped design on the white layer.  There was a lot of  "white" space and rather than stamp a sentiment on the left side, I decided to take two sizes of the number "6" stamp and randomly stamp them around and one onto the balloon. 

 

Wednesday I went to town and bought her two cute little outfits.  She loves leggings.  One of the sets has a Minnie Mouse on the front and since we are taking the whole family to Disneyworld in November, I thought it would make a really fun outfit to wear.  Sure hope she likes them as much as I do.  She really LOVES to color so I bought her a fun coloring book and a new box of crayons.   Who doesn't like opening and using a brand new box of colors.  Even if I had a box of crayons left from the previous school year, I looked forward to getting a brand new box.

 

Well, it's another Friday and we have a busy weekend ahead so.......I hope to see you back here on Monday.

GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER'S B'DAY

A few days ago I posted a card that my mother-in-law asked me to make for our youngest granddaughter's birthday.  My mother also asked me to make one for her to give Taryn. 

These cute little Precious Moments girls having a tea party had already been colored and was in my card parts.  When I ran across it I thought of Taryn because she is such a girly girl.  The bright pink on the one bonnet was a perfect match for the Lasting Impressions Raspberry card stock.  I trimmed the image and added it to a solid color piece that had been cut with a Spellbinders Classic Square.  I punched the pretty border piece with a Martha Stewart punch.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by..............be sure to come back tomorrow and see the card that we are sending to Taryn.

90th BIRTHDAY

 

One of my mother's dear friends is going to celebrate her 90th birthday in a few days so Mother asked me to make a special card for her.  One of my friends had forwarded a link to me showing me this new technique so I decided to try it.

 

My card stock is SU Pacific Point.  First of all I stamped the Serene Silhouettes design with SU Craft White ink.  Once the white ink is dry I stamped the design on top of the white but just a fraction of an inch off to the right to give a bit of a shadow affect.  (It is supposed to be a faux embossed look.)  I did the same thing with the little butterfly.

 

The "90" was cut out from SU Pacific Point dp using some Cuttlebug dies that I have had for a very long time but only used once or twice.   I tied a piece of white lace around the top layer before adding it to the white mat. 

 

Before attaching the top two layers to the card base, I embossed the base with the Swiss Dots folder.  Last of all I popped the little sentiment on with foam dots.

 

Thank you for stopping by today.............I'd love to hear what you think of this card.

 

BIRD ON A BRANCH

Last week I saw a card that I really liked here:  Bonnie Szwalkiewicz - The Craftiblog.  Since I had the SU bird punch I decided I would make one right away. Bonnie's card is really neat while mine is much more simple, but I used the same idea.

 

The red bird was made from a scrap of Real Red card stock and then I lightly sponged the edge of the bird and wing with some Close to Cocoa ink to give it a little more character.  The branch was punched from white card stock and sponged with colors.

 

Among my wide collection of embossing folders I have one that looks like a wood grain so it was the perfect chance to pull it out to use on Chocolate Chip card stock.

 

The little banner was created by stamping the sentiment first on a strip of white card stock.  Then I trimmed down the width of it and scored 2 lines on each side of the sentiment about 1/4" apart so that one was folded back and one forward.  I mounted the sentiment with pop dots on the far edges. 

 

There is one thing I would change..........I would have done something more with the background behind the bird/branch.  Maybe just sponging a light blue for some sky with a cloud.

Here is a picture of Bonnie's lovely creation:

Check out Bonnie's blog...........she makes beautiful cards!  Thank you for stopping by here today!

EMBOSSED BIRD ON A BRANCH

I wish the embossing on this card showed up a little better.  It's a really neat bird on a flowering branch.  The turquoise card stock with the embossing already done was given to me by my friend, Kris, when we met in Des Moines this summer.  I added the white butterfly from an SU punch.  The ovals were also made with an SU punch.  Sentiment is a retired Hero Arts stamp.

 

To emphasize the black oval, I added tiny black metal embellishments to the butterfly, flowers and the bird's eye.  I wasn't sure whether to add the layer to a black or white card base but as you can see I decided to use the white one.

 

If you have questions, let me know.  Thanks for coming by!

INKADINKADOO Stamp Set

I have previously posted cards made from this set, but today I have a card that I made using the floral design vertically.  The vertical sentiment was perfect to use along with it.  To finish the card I scored a line on each side of the sentiment and added some green gems.

 

I'll be back on Monday...............thanks for stopping by!

STAMPIN UP WORKSHOP

Inside the card

 

This was one of the cards we made at the SU workshop back in April.  The flower bloom is from the Secret Garden stamp set, but the other stamps were from a variety of sets, I believe.

 

It's hard to believe that this month school will be starting again.  In fact in a few days the staff and bus drivers will be having to report for meetings before the first day of school. 

 

Thank you for stopping by!