Red, White & Blue For You

 

Hi, I’m back with a post for 2 challenges for this week – one ends today and one tomorrow.  MOJO Monday is celebrating its 300^th weekly challenge with prizes from several sponsors.  I’m also entering this in SCS Color Challenge 433 – RED, WHITE & BLUE (7/2/13); this is a first time submission for me to this challenge.  I’m trying to do more challenges to stretch my creativity and grow my design sense!  This card is 4.25” by 5.5”.

·       Stamp set(s):  All Stampin’ Up!:  Elements of Style, Everything Eleanor & Itty Bitty Banners

·       Ink(s):  SU:  Cherry Cobbler;  Tim Holtz Distress Inks Vintage Photo

·       Paper:  SU:  Whisper White, Bravo Burgundy (ret.); Bazzill:  Navy textured cs; Rusty Pickle:  Rockin’ America Independence Day – how appropriate and also from my stash!

·       Dies & Embossing folders:  Cuttlebug – Swiss Dots EF; SU:  Cloudy Day EF (ret.) and Framelits – Bitty Banners; Spellbinders – Classic Scalloped Squares Large & Beaded Circles

·       Embellishments/Other things of note:  Archiver’s – Shabby White Embossing Powder; Zing – Clear Embossing Powder; Recollections – Rhinestones; American Crafts – Ribbon

I had some difficulty matching cardstock to my chosen All American Paper that I chose for my theme for both challenges.  I added the embossed flourish on the Bravo Burgundy CS to give my project a little something beyond just a “red” color.  I like that it adds some interest and depth to the project.  I embossed the navy cs with the Cloudy Day EF to go with a bird in flight stamped image.  I stamped the bird with Cherry Cobbler ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder – same for the sentiment!  The circle is the other side of the paper that I used as the first layer on my card.  I brought the circle forward one layer from the sketch to use it to mat the sentiment.  The stars on the circle are rhinestone shaped stars that cover up the white stars on the paper – gotta have some bling going on somewhere.  I edged the square stamped image in Cherry Cobbler.  I decided to distress the image and the card base with Vintage Photo because the white was too stark against the darker colors.  The first layer of the paper also was more of a distressed look to it, too.  I am overall pleased with the outcome and have another card to put back for the special men in my life since I think that this card has a masculine vibe to it!

Thank you for stopping by my corner of the world.  I hope you enjoyed what you see and will come back to check on my work from time to time!

Many Blessings,

Donna





Happy Anniversary from Apothecary Arts

         

           I am in need of anniversary card for my brother and his wife who will be celebrating their 47^th wedding anniversary next week.  My brother has had some recent health issues that gave us all a scare so I wanted to really recognize their accomplishment and show my gratitude to the Lord for His Mercy towards my brother!  God is soooo GOOD!!!!!  This is also my first entry into the MFT Wednesday Stamp Club.  I love their stamps and dies; I have a few but would love to get some more with their gift certificates that they award to one lucky stamper each week.  What a blessing!  Here’s my list of what I used to make my card.  Once again, I got in a rush and forgot to emboss the yellow piece of CS before I put it all together.  I was trying to get this done before my husband got home from work.  Help me to remember!!!!  My card is 5.5’ by 4.25’.

·       Stamp set(s):  Stampin’ Up! – Memorable Moments & Apothecary Art

·       Ink(s):  Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin’ Up! – Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizazz

·       Paper:  Stampin’ Up! – Whisper White, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizazz;  Karen Foster Designs Yellow Garden (2003) a golden oldie in my stash probably bought on sale at a store I used to work for where it was hard for the owner to let go of old stuff!  LOL  She’s a real paper hoarder!

·       Dies & Embossing folders:  Stampin’ Up! – Framelits Labels Collection   

·       Embellishments/Other things of note:  Sandy Lion Cream & Sugar Stickers, Big Shot, SU Blender Pens, Stamp-a-ma-jig

When I saw the sketch, I immediately thought about the Apothecary Art SS.  The shape of the stamp and coordinating die is very similar.  I made a few changes to the layout by making it horizontal and enlarging the shape to accommodate the stamp.  I stamped the design in Memento Tuxedo Black and used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the placement right for the sentient in the middle.  Someone deserves an award for thinking up this handy little tool!  I colored the flowers and leaves with Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizazz respectfully using my SU Blender Pens.  It’s so easy to do and you get great results.  Love this!  I popped the sentiment up with Stampin’ Dimensionals and added the flower to the lower right corner of the card.  I also rounded the corners of the card base and yellow mat to mimic the curves of the stamped image.

It really was a simple card to pull together – just wished I’d remember to emboss the yellow mat!  Oh, well next time.  I’ll start my card for this Wednesday’s Stamp Club earlier.  But I did get my card ready in plenty of time to get it to the happy couple in Georgia early next week!

Thanks for stopping by.  I’d love to have you leave a comment.  I was told about the crazy letter stuff that was on my blog if you leave a comment and took it off so that you can leave comments easier!  Please do and let me know what you think!

Many Blessings and Happy 4^th of July!  Celebrate Our Independence Day!

Donna

Trust In The Lord & VLVJun2013, Week 4

I’m finally getting it together and doing week four’s card during week four – but just barely!  I do enjoy using sketches to start my design juices flowing.  This week’s offering is the result, plus one component came to be because I got ahead of myself.  Have you ever done that?  Tell the truth now!  This card is 5.5 x 5.5 inches.

·        Stamp set(s):  Stampin’ Up! – Secret Garden & Trust God

·        Ink(s):  Stampin’ Up! – Gumball Green, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, & Summer Starfruit; Memento – Tuxedo Black

·       Paper:  All Stampin’ Up! – Very Vanilla CS, Gumball Green CS, Primrose Petals CS,  Print Poetry DSP (Retired), DSP Stack In Color 2012-2014 (Retired)

·       Dies & Embossing folders:  Stampin’ Up! - Sizzlits Clearlits Scalloped Rectangle, Embosslits Beautiful Wings, Bigz Top Note, Secret Garden Framelits, Ovals Collection Framelits

·       Embellishments/Other things of note:  Martha Stewart Doily Lace Trim Double Edge Punch; Stampin’ Up! – Sizzix Big Shot TIEF Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Gumball Green Satin Stitched Ribbon, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Blender Pens, glitter, 2-Way Pen

Once I had the sketch, I then begin to think colors and patterned paper.  As a self-confessed paper hoarder I have much of the DSP from this past year’s Stampin’ Up! line.  One of my absolutely favorite – wish I had more than this one stack – is the Print Poetry papers.  Since its size is 4.5”x6.5”, it caused some changes in the design right out of the box – er, paper pad!  I selected the inks based upon the color flowers that I wanted to make.  I used SU blender pens to color the lower flower where I used Raspberry Ripple and Primrose Petals ink pads.  I love having matching dies to cut out flowers and other objects.  (Stampin’ Up! needs to do more of this!  Hint, hint!!!)  I embossed the Top Note Die after I cut it out to add some texture between the patterned paper and the Very Vanilla Oval.

With the colors and patterns taken care of, I began to assemble my card, but this is where I got ahead of myself.  I did not stamp my sentiment onto the oval before I added the dimensional pop-ups thus came along my green rectangle rescue.  I’m glad of this “accident” as I think the flowers and size of the oval would have overwhelmed the sentiment.  So it all came out for the good.  I also wanted to add a larger presence to the ribbon on the lower right hand corner so I backed it with a piece of the Doily Lace trim.  I would probably back it with a different color if I had to do it all over again, but all in all I like how my card turned out!  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!  Please free to leave a comment to let me know what you think!

Many Blessings,

Donna

Sycamore Street Perfect Birthday

 

         I had yet to use the Marianne dies to make a cupcake and that had been bothering me since I’ve had it for over a year.  You know how it is!  LOL  Anyway, I decided to use a playful theme this year for my husband’s birthday card, so his birthday celebration will now have a cupcake theme to it!  (I’ve made Trader Joe’s Guiltfree Brownies in individual cupcake size and will frost them with the new CoolWhip Frosting for a lighter on the fat desert!)

•  Stamp set(s):  All by Stampin’ Up! – SAB Vintage Verses, Carry On (Hostess Only), and SAB Perfect Petites

•  Ink(s):  SU’s Tangerine Tango & Midnight Muse;  Color Box Chalk Ink, Chestnut Roan (Makes the cupcake “paper liner” looked like it’s been baked!  I thought that was a nice touch!)

• Paper:  SU SAB Sycamore Street, Midnight Muse & Pool Party, 2012-2014 Designer Stack

• Dies & Embossing folders:   SU Sizzlits S Pinwheels die, Cupcake Creatables by Marianne Dies, SU Sizzix Big Shot Top Note die & Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Ovals

• Embellishments/Other things of note:  Perfect Petites Punch; Buttons from Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack; SU Brights Brads; Martha Stewart Arch Lattice Border Punch; sponge daubers, round toothpick, pop up foam, and DMC Embroidery Floss

This card was made 6.5”x6”.  I love the playfulness of the dots & stars of the paper from Sycamore Street.  The pinwheel adds a touch of whimsy, too.  All in all, I liked the way it turned out.  With the dotted paper on the inside bottom of the card showing through and below the punched edge, it lends a nice touch to the card on the front and inside below the stamped sentiment.  I also like the way the round buttons imitate the round dots on the paper just below it.  All in all, I am well pleased with the playfulness of this card.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Have a wonderful day!

Many Blessings,

Donna

PS:  Below are the pics of the inside of the card and the cupcakes!  BTW, those Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Brownies make an excellent CUPCAKE!!!  They were delicious and not too bad for my Weight Watchers’ Point Plus even with the frosting.  YUM!!!!

 

 

Celebrate Birthday Card for Your Guys

 

Being a lover of flowers and bling, I have found myself drawn most often to choose flowers and similar type stamp sets, but during SU’s recent Sale-A-Bration, I really fell in love with the Feeling Sentimental SS, so I choose this to send out to our son-in-law for his recent birthday!  So here is the list of what I used to create this card:

·         Stamp set(s):  SU Feeling Sentimental

·         Ink(s):  SU Early Espresso, Clear Embossing Powder

·         Paper:  Core’dinations Early Espresso CS, Crumb Cake CS, Very Vanilla CS (thru here by SU! and from my stash, 7 Gypsies, Louvre

·        Dies & Embossing folders:  SU Framlits Apothecary Accents & Labels Collections, SU Chevron Embossing folder

·       Embellishments/Other things of note:  SU’s Linen Thread, SU Basic Jewels Rhinestones (I had to get some kind of bling going on!), SU Designer Buttons Brushed Bronze, Stamping Sanding System block, SU Stampin’ Dimensionals, Sizzix Big Shot

The card is 4.25” by 5.5” and opens on the right.  The card base is made from Crumb Cake CS.  The panel that was embossed is 4” by 5.25”.  The sentiment is popped up.  The linen thread was wound around the embossed and sanded panel prior to fixing it to the card base.

I hope that you have enjoyed the card.  I’d love to know who you are and please feel free to leave me a comment.  I’ve begun to get the Botanical SS from Technique Tuesdays and will try to get around to making some samples next week.  Until then, have a blest Easter!  He is Risen!

Donna

Thank you from the Floral District

          I recently was in need of a Thank You card for some very dear friends of ours who brought us a meal so that they could see my husband after his stays in the hospital last month.  My girlfriend is such a bright and cheerful person that I had to pull in some yellow as we all are longing for Spring’s late arrival despite what the calendar says.

          You may notice that not all the items listed are from Stampin’ Up!  I am letting my business go to spend more time with my beloved!  I don’t have a website anymore through the company so I don’t need to use all SU items.  It is a freeing experience!  I’m going to have to do some paper shopping next month to get some new Basic Grey and Graphic 45!  They have it going on right now!  J  So here’s the item list:

·        Stamp set(s):  Stampin’ Up!(SU)’s Perfectly Preserved (love this one and it is on trend!)

·        Ink(s):  SU’s Daffodil Delight and Early Espresso

·        Paper:  SU’s Very Vanilla & Pear Pizazz CS, and SU’s Designer Series Paper(DSP) Floral District (discontinued but still in my stash as I love anything floral)

·        Dies & Embossing folders:  SU Framelits Cannery Set(another on trend offering; Spellbinders Classic Large Ovals & Classic Scalloped Ovals;  SU’s Square Lattice Embossing Folder

·        Embellishments/Other things of note:  SU Designer Buttons, Brights Collection and SU Linen Thread

The card is 4.25” by 5.5”, left fold and right side open.  Thanks so much for taking a look!  Let me know what you think, and please sign up to follow my blog and leave me your blog address, too.  I have several that I follow and would love to see your designs, too!

Have a great Sunday!  Many Blessings,

Donna

You're In My Thoughts

 You're In My Thoughts Card was made for a dear friend and brave woman who is battling ALS.  Catherine is a real prayer warrior and is facing this awful disease with such grace and faith.  She inspires me!  Here is my supply list for this card!

• Heartfelt Creations HCPC  3301 Hydrangea/Posy Branch PC Set & HCPC 3450 Cross & Lilies PC Set (Inside verse)
• Stampin' Up! Word Play #120651
• Dies:  Stampin' Up! Edgelits Large Scallop, Framelits Labels Collection & Framelits Window Frames Collection
• Sizzix Framelits Frames, Decorative #2
• Cassie's Brocade Embossing Folder from Cuttlebug
• Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black & Stampin' Up! Old Olive
• Twinkling H2Os
• Papers:  Bazzill Dotted Swiss (green), Core'dinations Marine Blue, & Basic Grey's LilyKate which were all in my stash, and water color paper from Stampin' Up!
• Misc.: SU sanding block, SU Basic Jewels and gold ribbon also from my stash!

This is a 6" x 6" card and was easy to put together after the painting was done.  It is a bit hard to see, but in the center of some of the hydrangea blooms, I added some bling to add some extra sparkle to the card. 

It has been awhile since my last post.  Home renovations, my husband's health issues, and life in general seem to have gotten between me and my new craft room.  Stay tuned for more posts as time goes by!

Blessings and thanks for stopping by my blog!
Donna





Open Sleigh - Anybody ready for a sleigh ride?

The sleigh is one of mine and my husband's favorite Christmas images. Oneday, we will go for a sleigh ride in a sleigh drawn by horses. I love the way this stamp gives it sort of a rustic, distressed look. Here is what I used to make my card. • Open sleigh Stamp Set #126482 • Framelits: Labels Collection # 125598 & Apothecary Accents #127003 • Ink: Raspberry Ripple Classic Stamp Pad • Embossing Folders: Vintage Wallpaper & Polka Dots • Papers: Raspberry Ripple CS & Be of Good Cheer Designer Paper • Embellishments: Pearls The green/red paper was embossed with the Polka Dots folder & the larger Labels die in the Raspberry Ripple CS was embossed with the Vintage Wall Paper folder. The sleigh and sentiment were pop dotted up for added dimension!. This is an A2 size card and fits easily in the envelope even with the dimensional pop-ups. I also rounded the corners of the card to keep in line with the curves of the framelits used to mat the image and sentiment. Have a great day and happy stamping! Donna