Sep 15, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
Oh My! What did Baby Bear get into this time! Before I could get him back on the shelf, he must have decided to frolic in the sunflower field. He picked a bunch of flowers, which was a definite, “no, no!”
I hope I didn’t encourage him by taking his picture among the Painted Autumn DSP. He really did look cute in his flower hat (fussy cut with scissor snips from the DSP.)
He was very cooperative about holding the “Happy Thanksgiving” sign, (Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set and Classic Label Punch), and I discovered the reason.
He said he could enter the Freshly Made Sketches challenge, if he held up his sign prominently. I said the design needed to be square and simple, but he insisted.
Guess who won that argument.
Baby Bear is quite proud of himself (3D by using the rounding tool on his backside.) I’m wondering who will be receiving this Thanksgiving card.
Sep 14, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
Baby Bear had been sitting on the shelf, waiting his turn. And, not so patiently, I might add. He wanted me to put down the cat, saying I had promised to make a baby quilt featuring him, and not “that darn cat.” His words, not mine. I keep my promises, or at least I try to, so I’ll explain how I managed to get him stitched here.
The Baby Bear stamp set has three stamps that you stamp one on top of the other. I started with the one with the most detail in the darkest brown, Chocolate Chip. Next, medium detail with Crumb Cake, and last, the smooth surface stamp in the lightest color, Sahara Sand.
I stamped him on Very Vanilla cardstock, and used the Quilt Builder Framelits Dies to cut him apart, so I could stitch him back together within the frame. Baby Bear found a piece of Designer Series Paper for his quilt. I agreed it was perfect, even though it was from last season.
He held his breath when I rolled him through the Big Shot with the Quilt Top Texture embossing folder. He survived, said he liked honey, and chose “hello there honey bear!” from A Little Wild stamp set for the sentiment.
I die cut the sentiment with a Stitched Shape square, and placed it on dimensionals on top of a little, ivory ribbon tied around the bottom. This layer was glued to a Soft Sky card base.
I’ve always loved the words, “Welcome to the world!,” on a baby card, and there they were in the Baby Bear stamp set.
Inspiration for creating cards is all around us, and The Tic Tac Toe challenge is a favorite. Rosanne Mulhern, this week’s featured designer, and I chose the same row (baby-die-cut/punch-embossing), and used many of the same elements. You should check out her adorable card, which is definitely for a girl.
My card was made with a boy in mind, and also fits the challenge that began at the Sisterhood of Crafters with the theme, “what makes you say, Oh boy!” Debbie Mageed (a designer at the Sisterhood) and I had the same idea, and Baby Bear is making himself known!
Thank you for stopping by my blog. I know Baby Bear appreciates the attention.
Sep 13, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
Welcome to the Pals September 2017 Blog Hop. Thank you so much for joining us today. This month our theme is “My Favorite Holiday”. Sit back and enjoy the view while the Pals treat you with projects for the upcoming Autumn and Winter holidays.
Whether you’re just starting the hop, or have come from a previous Pal’s blog, you’ll find the line-up toward the end of my post to help you move along.
Christmas Cat is sitting so nicely on his mat, but probably not for long. He looks like he’s getting ready to pounce on those ornaments hanging from the tree. It’s partly my fault. I’ll explain.
The ornaments are from the Carols of Christmas stamp set and the Card Front Builder Thinlits die set. I first stamped them in Garden Green, and a second time in real red, so I could die cut them out and hang them from the green string. I made the ornaments red, knowing this was Christmas Cat’s favorite color, so I must take some responsibility.
Shall we talk about the cat? He was born in 1962, and his fur is Garden Green and Real Red, five cent, United States, Christmas stamps. He is popular in the neighborhood, and has a number of friends with fur from many patterns of Designer Series Paper. The Cat Punch is available in the current Holiday catalog, and I’m thinking this cat has more than nine lives, and will live forever. He spends a great deal of time on his Merry Christmas mat, which was made with the Bunch of Banners die set, and the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.
We (the cat and I) decided on a Very Vanilla background and embossed it with the Pine Bough embossing folder, layered on a Garden Green card base. To make the tree come alive we used the Pretty Pines Thinlits dies to cut two branches from Garden Green cardstock. I said, “You can look, but don’t touch.” Famous last words.
I just hope he doesn’t knock over the tree!
Thank you so much for hopping with the Stampin’ Pretty Pals today. Please take a minute to mark your calendar for our next hop on October 11, 2017 for “Wicked Folds”. Now hop along using the Blog Hop Line-up below. Don’t forget to leave us a comment. We’d love to hear what you have to say about our Favorite Holiday. By the way, what’s your favorite holiday?
Sep 12, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
The Tree Rings background stamp is so interesting, I thought it would make for good coloring in the Less Is More #345 challenge.
Since this also needed to be a one layer card, I started with a Thick Whisper White card base. Next, I inked up a corner of the Tree Rings stamp with Basic Black, and stamped that on the corner of my card front.
TIP: Gently press the cardstock on top of the inked stamp to insure even coverage. This is backwards from what we normally do, but this was my solution for getting all the little lines to stamp clearly.
I spent quite a while coloring the tree rings with our Watercolor pencils, using two colors per tree ring. You can probably see, I stuck to an “every other” pattern, but staying in the exact lines wasn’t necessary, because they could blend together. It made for stress free coloring, thank you very much!
I chose the abstract looking sentiment, “WooHoo,” from the Celebration Time stamp set, which also had “It’s Your Birthday,” for the inside.
I wanted to decorate the envelope flap, and thought that this black and white striped Designer Series Paper would be perfect.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Coloring can be fun!
Sep 11, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
What a lovely way to start a Monday! Making a card for a friend with the Lovely Words die!
It wasn’t by accident that I chose this die. It’s the first day of a new challenge at Global Design Projects, and we were to “case” the designer. As you can see, I didn’t stray far from Allison’s design, but I did make it my own.
The pink and green color combination was given to me by the Paper Players challenge. And, since it’s a favorite combo of mine, I was excited to use it. The addition of silver was not something I would have normally used, but I really liked it.
I began by stamping the leaf from the Oh So Eclectic stamp set with Pear Pizzzazz ink on Pear Pizzazz card stock. Then, I ran this through the Big Shot using the Lovely Words die, “friend.” Next, I used three dies from the Eclectic Layers set to cut the Pink Pirouette flower and the Silver Foil leaf. I added some texture to the silver leaf with the Softly Falling embossing folder. I added more Silver Foil by using the Layering Oval dies to make a frame for the “friend” oval.
With the help of the SIX die cuts, it was a very simple card to make. And, this brought a third challenge to mind. Since Happy Little Stamper’s challenge is “anything goes with dies,” I think it qualifies.
Thank you to all the designers and challenges for my inspiration!
Sep 10, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
The inspiration for today’s project is the Pal’s Gallery #banditsketch01.
I wanted to use the Lovely Laurel dies for the circle, because this set would make a beautiful Christmas wreath. Plus, these beautiful dies haven’t gotten the use they deserve.
The Lovely Laurel was cut from Garden Green, Be Merry Designer Series Paper, and placed on gingham, Quilted Christmas DSP. I went with the traditional color combo of Real Red for the card base, and the red, white and green Quilted Christmas bow at the top.
I think the sentiment adds a lot to this card. Can you see that I cropped it from the Merry Music DSP? When I saw that it fit in a die from Bunch of Banners, I had to do it! I love how this die cuts a contrasting border, giving it a finished look.
Let me know if you’d like to know more about the Pals group, and how you could join. It keeps me constantly inspired!
