Baby Card - Quilt design

One of the ladies I work with had a grandson Monday morning!

After I got home from Stamp Club Monday evening, I put this card together for her for the faculty and staff to sign.

I used an "old" technique of making the quilt with 1 1/4" squares, cut it with the Top Note die, and embossed it to add dimension.  I really didn't set out to make such a 'vintage - y' looking card, but as I kept working on it, it just seemed to happen.

I used retired Beau Chateau DSP, and inked each square before adhering it to the background piece.  After, I used the Crumb Cake marker to highlight the 'stitching' around the outside edge, and make stitches for the squares.

I used two pieces of vanilla to make room for everyone to be able to sign the inside of the card, and got out an old Bear Hugs stamp set and the chalks to color the little baby bear.  He's just so so cute, and adorable enough for a baby card.

Please enjoy!

CKC Tulsa Make and Take

I bought my Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers just one year ago at the CKC show in 2012 after looking at the alcohol markers and what they  can do for quite awhile.

I ran over to the show Friday afternoon quickly to do just a little shopping at the vendor fair, and I saw this Make and Take available.  Love those $2 Make and Takes!

 Since I already have the markers, I was looking for some advice and a little confirmation that I was using them to the best capacity.

We used 3 colors, and blended, blended, blended!  I got to talk with a local lady who was working at the booth and another girl that came to sit with us for the tutorial.

Gotta LOVE the effect the alcohol markers create!

Another Window Card

I'm still having fun playing with these window cards...  This time, instead of using one of my punches, I used a Spellbinders Nestabilities die to cut the circle more in the center of the card after embossing the background.

 Lots of colors, as you can see...  Tempting Turquoise flower and sentiment - Crumb Cake background scallop circle and frame for the sentiment,  Wild Wasabi die-cut leaves, Strawberry slush ribbon and sentiment, and Daffodil Delight background.

The ribbon was actually quite easy to place, and I covered the overlap at the bottom with some of the leaves.

The Flower Shop stamp set and punch make these flowers so easy to make!  

The flower in the center doesn't give much space to write on the inside of the card, but I love the dimensions and the effect with the flower's layers.

Please enjoy!

Pansy Flower Card

Just 3 days ago I was at home in Wisconsin, mainly for my 30th class reunion but also was able to spend some quality time with my immediate family.

Mom's flower garden and main garden are now completely in full bloom - reds, yellows, pinks, blues, purples, oranges...  there's never been any question of her green thumb and gardening abilities!!

 After enjoying that inspiration, when I returned home this is what I came up with.  I used the stamp set Flower Shop and the Pansy Punch to make these flowers so easy!    3 of each color; Melon Mambo, Wisteria Wonder, and Daffodil Delight.  Cut the petals apart, and layer with dimensionals.  Button center with a rhinestone to complete!  *Easy*

The leaf is from the Secret Garden set to add movement to the background.  I also used 1/2 inch strips from the Gingham Garden DSP for part of the base.

I'll tell you a secret about this card.... it came ENTIRELY from scraps!  I had scrap white to stamp the flowers and sentiment, 1/2 inch strips of DSP from another project.... and the last of a sheet of dimensionals that were just begging to get cut all to pieces!  Even the card base was just laying there, already scored.... begging to get used.  :)

Please enjoy!

Quilt Series 7

Here's the last one of my Quilt series - for a little while, at least!

This card is a variation of #6 - with a darker brown.  The base colors are Bermuda Bay (love it!!), Blushing Bride, and Chocolate Chip.

I used a scrap of Crumb Cake and the Artisan Punch for the background on the middle hexagon, and inked it for some definition.

The sentiment piece is stamped in Chocolate Chip, and then I got out my Stamp-a-ma-jig to place the sentiment in the middle with some more Bermuda Bay ink.

When I was home this last week, Mom got out one of her Hexies quilt books and showed me more hexagon designs, so more are coming!

I really like this one - the contrast of the dk. brown is really nice in person!

Quilt Series 6

A friend of mine came over a few Saturdays ago and we were playing around with the hexagon punch.  I told her about the quilt series of cards I've been working on, and she wanted to play around with it too...

After her card turned out so fantastic, we were talking about how much I really love this Bermuda Bay color.  I wasn't so sure what colors to put with it and we came up with the Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, and a brown.  I used Crumb Cake as the brown, and think a darker brown would be great too....  Hmmm  another card coming on?

Maybe a darker brown, and a lighter pink tone. 

In addition to the hexagon punch, I used the Artisan Label punch to frame the sentiment so it didn't get lost in the busy patterns.

Please enjoy!!

Quilt Series - 5

Quick post for a Saturday morning!

Summer Smooches paper again!  It's so bright and cheery.  I really like the colorful cards.

Second day in a row for the sentiment piece from the Cycle Celebrations stamp set... one of my new favorites!

I had some fun with my Scor-pal on the card base - first, scored every 1/2 inch, then moved over 1/8 and scored again...  nice double pin-stripe effect on the background.  Can you see it?

Birthday Card

This was a super quick card!  I think it took about 10 minutes at the MOST to make!

I used the Daffodil Delight cardstock as a base, and the retired Summer Smooches Designer Series paper.  It was already cut to length from another card, and I had a 3 inch width to work with.

I went back to one of my old favorite designs from the many One Sheet Wonder cards I made - vertical stripes.

Each strip was cut 3/4 inch wide, and I used my grid paper to keep the lines straight.  This turned out to be an optical illusion because I knew I measured and "glued" down the pieces properly...  but they looked crooked.  :)

Here again you see the birthday sentiment from the Cycle Celebrations stamp set, and a triple bow from Daffodil Delight seam binding.

Instead of the hearts showing on the center piece, I covered each one with a rhinestone. 

Happy Birthday!

Today is my cousin Jeff's birthday!  I made this card for him, and will see him soon to deliver it.

I really like this stamp set - especially the label piece, and see that I'll use it VERY often - birthdays, other occasions, and just replace the center oval...  so many possibilities!!

 I used the retired DSP Summer Smooches for the background on this card - it's so colorful!  I incorporated most of the colors into the stamped designs.  Pacific Point, Real Red, Tangerine Tango, and Tempting Turquoise.

I can see how this stamp set will become one of my favorites!

Quilt Series - 4

Here's the next card in the quilt series...  the color idea came from my upline Kathy, and I played around with designs and effects a little, and came up with this card.

Colors?  Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, and Tempting Turquoise.  All card colors match, with some white cardstock here and there.

I also used the Crumb Cake to ink all the hexagon edges.

The double bow is also Crumb Cake seam binding and wrapped around the white card base.  I like the rhinestones on the sentiment, and center piece vertices.

Please enjoy!

Order Thank-you's

 After playing with the measurements for awhile, I discovered that you can cut an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of cardstock equally into 2 3/4 inches to make 4 cards.

I sent these cards along in each of the orders that came in this past week from my first card class.

 One of my very favorite stamp sets - Stippled Blossoms seemed perfect for this mini- Thank you card.
I didn't use any retired products here - only current "stuff"!

The flower is stamped with Pink Pirouette and Blushing Bride.  The leaves are Pear Pizzazz and Wild Wasabi.  The smaller flower is Daffodil Delight and Crushed Curry with a rhinestone accent.  The sentiment is from the new Hostess Set Express Yourself.

Please enjoy!

2013 Christmas Card Challenge - August 2013

Happy August!  Whew!  I'm glad it's here.  While I never get tired of making and thinking about making Christmas cards....  the July challenge I set for myself was just a little stressful!  Looking for designs, thinking about designs...  but I did it!

While at home in Wisconsin this past June for family celebrations, we spent some time in Door County - Ephraim, Sister Bay, etc. etc.  If you ever get the chance to go.... definitely take it!  We were there just before it got really busy - it was wonderful!

I especially LOVED the Tannenbaum shop - set in an old Lutheran Church.  I've already mentioned it here.  What I need to do is post some of the MANY pictures I took at the shop.  The tree toppers were so original!  The themed trees!  Just WOW.  :)


So, on to this month's challenge - I'm not sure if the shopping malls still do this, but I remember clearly from the 1980s they would decorate for Christmas in lots of jewel tones.  Burgundy, turquoise, lime green, bright pinks,  with gold and silver accents.  I really loved those colors together!


The theme for August is:   Mall Colors - or Jewel Tones   either way you like to look at it. :)

Here are my cards for the challenge.

I used the current ornament and die set from the Christmas catalog...  in these colors:
Elegant Eggplant, Rich Razzleberry, Lucky Limeade (ret.) and Melon Mambo.  The double bow at the top is in Rich Razzleberry satin ribbon (ret.) and gold cord holds the ornaments in place.

I used lots of pearls and rhinestones on this card....   13 pearls and 10 rhinestones each!

Now on to your part of the challenge!  The basic rules and regs. of this challenge can be found HERE.
Basically, make six (more or less) Christmas cards based on the theme stated above, and add your link to the Linky on this page. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Christmas Card Order

The February Christmas Card Challenge was Winter Birds.

Shortly after the challenge posted, I got a call from my favorite uncle....   with an order for 10 cards!

I had to change the Design paper background, but used the same ribbon and stamp sets.

Kitchen Sink Stamps Winter Cardinal set is what I used for this card:
Cardinal - Pretty in Pink (ret.), Riding Hood Red (ret.)  Cherry Cobbler, and Basic Black ink stamped in that order form the cardinals.
Pine Bough - Pear Pizzazz, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake, and Early Espresso stamped in that order make the pine branch.

The tricky part?  Make sure all the layers line up while you're stamping, otherwise it's a do-over!  I took a little extra time with these, and was a little extra careful and was please I didn't have to do any of them twice. :)

Please enjoy!

Quilt Series 3

This card was a snap to put together!  The secret?  Designer Series Paper!  All I had to do was decide which designs to use and punch, punch, punch!

I realized that all I've showed of the Gingham Garden are these 3 patterns - the Melon Mambo gingham checkerboard, the yellow flowers, and the large flower patterns.  There are more patterns to this paper - I just haven't used them yet!  The piece featured on our last club cards was the Island Indigo gingham pattern from this set as well.

Quilt Series - Next

This card is bright and sunny!  Daffodil Delight, Strawberry Slush, and Pear Pizzazz is a pretty great combination!

I've used the Curly Cute sentiment set a lot lately - it just seems to work well and the size is perfect for the cards.

I used two strips of Washi Tape here - the widest yellow, and the flowered pieces that come with the Gingham Garden suite.

I hope you enjoy!!

Quilt Series

There is already a post here about how hexagons are all the rage now in paper-crafting.  The thing is, they've been around for a very long time!

Crochet, quilting, etc. etc. etc.
So after looking around online, and at some other sources,  I came up with a little quilt series of cards!

Here is the first.

For this card, there are 3 colors - Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, and Strawberry Slush.  Each design was stamped 4 times.  The quilt piece is a 3 1/2 by 3 9/16 'square'.  Turns out the hexagons are a little taller than they are wide.  I started with the center medallion, and added the remaining pieces to complete the square.

I'm not sure why the Thinking of You looks a little tilted - possibly because of the flowers, but it is straight. :)

I have a few other quilt pattern cards coming soon.
I think the Washi tape is going to be fantastic with this technique!