Jul 29, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
Another week, another Tic Tac Toe Challenge. How time flies! Since I’ve only designed rectangular cards, the first Tic Tac Toe space for this challenge was a cinch, and I cut a piece of the Wood Textures Designer series paper into a 5 1/4″ X 4″ rectangle. While the idea for a circle was formulating in my mind, I was looking through some stamp sets I hadn’t used in a while. The floral pattern from Thoughts and Prayers jumped out at me, so I stamped it in Chocolate Chip ink on the Wood Textures DSP.
This next part was the trickiest, because I wanted to add dimension with the circle. I glued the stamped, Wood Texture DSP to an identically sized piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock, 5 1/4 X 4. Then I cut a circle using the a Stitched Shape die. Next, I glued the circle to a Chocolate Chip card base, and I lifted the frame around it by using Foam Adhesive Strips. Now, I needed a place to relax and “enjoy” (from Tabs for Everything) the scene, so I cut our Seasonal Layers chair from a lighter wood. While I was at it, I cut the birch tree branch from the same wood. I intended to put the sentiment in a square, and this is where my problem developed. I HAD to use the cute, little sign from At Home with You. I could go middle across, because this was going to be a birthday card, but I wasn’t using Linen Thread. How could I use a square?
With the help of my jigsaw (Happy Birthday Thinlits Die) I cut out “Happy Birthday.” I attached this to a square, 4X4 piece of wood, and nailed it to the inside of the card. Problem solved. It’s what’s on the inside that counts, right?
I almost forgot to mention the embellishment of tiny pearls, 10 to be exact. They add a lot, don’t you think?
I’m going to a Padres baseball game this afternoon with my husband, daughter and her fiancé. I’ll try to watch the game, and not think about my Holiday catalog wish list. Have a great weekend everyone!
Jul 28, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
This week’s designer for CAS(E) this sketch, Kate, used “happy” pastel colors with lots of white, so that was my starting point. Would I dare do what I had in mind? After quite a bit of experimentation, I ended up using two embossing folders, two stamps and five inks.
First, I rolled the Whisper White art piece through the Big Shot using the Large Dot embossing folder. Next, I positioned the “HAPPY” from Celebrations Duo embossing folders at the angle in Chrissy’s sketch, and rolled it through the Big Shot. So far, so good. I chose four colors, Lemon Lime Twist, Pool Party, Sweet Sugarplum and Powder Pink, and began the difficult part. It’s difficult, because it isn’t exact, and messy is hard for me! I decided on a stamp from Timeless Textures, inked it, placed it on a letter, and swiped up and down one time. Okay, I did it! I was very happy that “birthday” from the Number of Years stamp set stamped clearly over the embossed dots.
I glued the art piece to a Thick Whisper White card base, and that’s all there was to it. I think I was holding my breath during the messy inking part, but it feels good to break out of my shell.
Thanks for the inspiration CTS, and have a great weekend everyone!
Jul 27, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
Somehow I was led to the Freshly Made Sketches, and couldn’t stop myself from taking the challenge. There is so much excitement surrounding the unveiling of the Stampin’ Up Holiday Catalog, I wanted to use the set I pre-ordered, Carols of Christmas.
My starting point was a vision of white and gold, inspired by Stampin’ Up’s first video. I wasn’t sure how I was going to accomplish that neat, diagonal strip in the sketch. I ended up cutting a 1 1/2″ X 7″ strip, placing it on the base card, marking it on the back, and snipping the corners to make it fit. Math isn’t my strong suit, so if there is an easier way, I’d love to hear from you.
Since I was going with just two colors, I thought this clean and simple card could handle some texture. I embossed the Thick Whisper White card base with Oh My Stars, and the diagonal strip with Softly Falling.
I used our new Card Front Builder Thinlits Dies for the three Gold Foil trees and deer. If you were wondering how the tiny deer would look cut from foil, wonder no more. He’s adorable! TIP: Without the stamp set, Carols of Christmas (I didn’t use it for this card) you would miss out on the deer’s detail when cutting from cardstock. This is especially noticeable on his hindlegs. After gluing the gold foil pieces to the strip, I raised it on dimensionals.
I found the sentiment in the Christmas Pines stamp set, which is in the current annual catalog. I heat embossed it with Gold Powder, and cut it out with the perfectly sized Stitched Shape oval die. “May the simple joys of the season be yours” was just what I wanted to say on this clean and “simple” card.
Thank you for the inspiration, Linda, and Freshly Made Sketches.
Jul 26, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
We have some friends who just moved into our neighborhood, so my husband said, “You need to make them a card.” I love how he appreciates my cards and encourages me to make them. As you crafters know, I would anyway, but I get the green light when it comes time to order. So, I started thinking of possibilities, and landed on the sheet of houses in the Just Add Color Designer Series Paper.
I cut a strip of homes that would fit the length of the 5 1/2″ card, and layered it on Island Indigo. It coordinated with the Bermuda Bay I had chosen for the card base. I didn’t want to cut off the tops or bottoms of the homes, so the width was pre-determined. The designer left a nice space between the rows, and my Stampin’ Trimmer made easy work of it. I hand cut one house, adding a bit of color with Watercolor pencils, Bermuda Bay and Pacific Point, and popped it up on dimensionals.
The necessary ingredient for this requested card was “Welcome,” which I found in the Banners for You stamp set. I stamped it with Basic Black ink, used a die from Bunch of Banners for cutting, and placed it on dimensionals. My card was almost complete.
I happened to have the matching Bermuda Bay ribbon to tie the homes together, so around it went. Four good things have come from making this card: 1. My husband will be happy I listened to him 2. I enjoyed making it 3. Our new neighbors will like it (I know they’ll like the wine that goes with it) 4. I get to share it with you!
Jul 25, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
Don’t you love “happy mail?” I received the Garden Trellis embossing folder from Mary Fish yesterday, so first thing this morning I used it on a piece of Whisper White cardstock. Bee-uuu-tee-ful! My Global Design Project #097 had begun. I layered the required color, Crumb Cake, on a Thick Whisper White card base. This was easy, because I’d like Crumb Cake with every color in the rainbow. I decided to cut down the Garden Trellis, making it a center panel, and layered it on Wild Wasabi.
Time out for laughter……I can’t help it! When I hear the word “wasabi,” I think of my husband calling for me to watch a Budweiser commercial, and he was laughing hysterically. We like sushi, so we laugh a lot!
Every Garden Trellis needs flowers, so I chose my favorite from Eclectic Layers, and cut two out of Crumb Cake with the die. I used a die from the same set to cut the Wild Wasabi (giggle) sprig. I knew I wanted to tie Linen Tread around the bottom, and decided to add a strip of Burlap Ribbon beneath the center panel before attaching the panel with dimensionals. I debated about how I would introduce Berry Burst, and preferred keeping it simple with just two, little, Glitter Enamel Dot buds.
For the sentiment, I chose “Thanks” from the At Home with You stamp set. It has the cutest, little, wood sign to hold small words, and a die to cut them out perfectly. Plus, I’m always needing Thank You cards.
Thanks for stopping by my blog, and thanks for the inspiration, Global Designers!
Jul 24, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
Elephants, lions, and bears, oh my! I knew I wanted this stamp set, A Little Wild, the minute I saw it in the annual catalog. The fact that you could die cut the fronts and backs (cute!!!!) of these adorable animals sealed the deal. Today’s card is featuring the honey bear for Case this Sketch Challenge #231.
Here’s the sketch:
First, I stamped the bear and bees in Chocolate Chip on Thick Whisper White cardstock, and cut them out with the coordinating dies. Yes, even the bees can be die cut. Coloring was next, and I completed that with just two of our Watercolor pencils, Daffodil Delight and Early Espresso.
TIP: I created a variation in tone by using an eraser.
I wanted the honey bear to be “in the wild,” so chose a piece of Designer Series Paper from Whole Lot of Lovely. I matched the color to a Pear Pizazz Card Base with a layer of Always Artichoke for contrast.
The strip of Always Artichoke foliage behind the bear was cut with a die that also comes in the set. The sentiment, “hello there honey bear!” fit perfectly in a Stitched Shape oval. One of the bees landed there, and the others were left to buzz around the upper right corner. Being on the “thick” cardstock makes them stand out enough without dimensionals.
TIP: I placed a tiny (teeny tiny) dot of glue where I wanted the bees to go, then placed them on top of the dots.
I think this honey bear is ready to welcome a baby into the world, boy or girl. Don’t you agree?
