Peachy Papercrafting

A cuppa

2011-09-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

I got a new stamp set from Michael Strong Stamps. It is called Hetty's Coffee Cup. On this card I used the small cup for the background and the large cup for the focal image.

Raspberry circles

2011-09-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

I quite like this Chinese coin background stamp. It has tiny bats on the coins symbolizing happiness. The background was clear embossed on white cardstock and colored with beet root juice. Yes, really :-) The Cloisonne Circle stamp (Michael Strong) was white embossed over Twinkling H2Os. The circle was popped out over the die cut. It is a very simple card but the stamps are so interesting that it works in my opinion.

Autumn Leaves

2011-09-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

It is getting to be autumn here. The pistachio trees are starting to turn their amazing bright colors and the liquid amber trees are just getting color on the tip-top of them. They inspired me to make this card.The focal image is one of the Cloisonne Cameo stamps from Michael Strong. The leaves are all stamped with his Cloisonne Circle and die cut using Sizzix and Cuttlebug leaves. The stamps were white embossed and colored with Distress inks.

I thought it would be fun to see the circles with the leaves cut out. Of course you can die cut the plain paper and then stamp. I just did it the other way on these.

A change of palette

2011-09-06T21:54:00.001-07:00

It was fun to work in a very different palette than I usually use. There is more peach to the background print and a bit more to the circles than I could catch with my camera. The 3 circles are Michael Strong stamps. The smaller circles are from his Cloisonne Medallion set and the large circle is his Cloisonne Circle. I mounted the large circle on black to match the look of the medallions. The stamped images are embossed in black EP. I love the grayish sage green of the base and background print. Sure wish I could find an ink pad that color!

Nightingale song

2011-09-05T21:22:00.001-07:00

Here is a pretty simple card. The Michael Strong Cloisonne Circle was embossed in gold EP and colored using watercolor pencils and a waterbrush. I mounted the circle on an acrylic gold painted die cut circle. I went on die cutting for the rust background shape and the line of gold dots. That old DCWV paper with the birds and flowers from the Far East stack still does it for me. Gold Leafing pen was used to edge the print paper layer and the base.

Time to Celebrate

2011-09-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

I've seen some great clock face cards of late and was inspired to make my own. The Roman numeral face is a digital image which I sized specifically to work with this Michael Strong Cloisonne Circle stamp. The sentiment is one of the dollar stamps I picked up at Joann's. Both the Michael Strong stamp and the sentiment were white embossed on black cardstock. Did lots of digital cuts layered and trimmed on this card.

Easel card 2

2011-08-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

This is for Mo's Digital Challenge; an easel card with one of Mo's animals or birds on it. This image always makes me smile. That poor cat!

Easel card 1

2011-08-05T12:53:00.001-07:00

I'm finally trying easel cards. Pretty fun! This sweet image is Bronte Kisses from Mo Manning. It was colored with Prismacolor pencils. The text and bones are from an old Crafty Secrets sticker page. The border punch is Fiskars.

This card is for the OWH Stars and Stamps midweek challenge of Dogs and Mo's Digital Challenge #94- Easel cards with an animal or bird. http://www.mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.com/

twigs

2011-07-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

I painted Michael Strong's Cloisonne Pot with Twinkling H2O watercolors. They are so yummy and combined with heat embossed stamping really make a WOW card. The background was sponged on acrylic paint patterned through a paper doily with added color using Distress inks. I used a small doily behind the pot for contrast. The twiggy branches are die cuts.

Deeply embossed embellishments, part one

2011-07-20T19:14:00.001-07:00

I used Michael Strong's Cloisonne Circle stamp and lots of gold embossing powder on this card. The focal image is the full circle stamped, embossed and watercolored. The embellishments on both sides are made using chipboard circles, layers of gold embossing powder and the inked up Cloisonne Circle stamp. The chipboard circle was inked up with Versamark before being loaded with the embossing powder (EP). After heating and melting the EP I added another layer of EP and melted that one too. I did 4 or 5 layers of gold EP in all. While all that gold was nice and hot I stamped it with the inked up Cloisonne Circle. I'd chosen the area of the stamp I wanted to use to impress into the EP.

Michael's Mini's, Medallions, Alphabets and Cameos would all work very well for making these deeply embossed embellishments. His designs have such clean and clear graphic designs that they are terrific for this technique.

The rippled gold frame is corrugated card cut with two Spellbinders dies.

Part two of this technique is in the following post. Blogger is fighting me tooth and nail and refuses to allow me to upload more than one photo in a post today. Sorry about that.

Deeply embossed embellisments, part two

2011-07-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

Pinwheel card

2011-07-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

Pinwheels feel like summertime to me. Child's play in the garden. While this pinwheel is a whimsical bit of imagination and would never translate into a real one I had fun making it. The two stamps that make it up are both from Michael Strong, his Cloisonne Star and Cloisonne Paisley. There is a Serendipity pinwheel stamped on the background.

Can't stop thinking about you

2011-07-18T22:54:00.001-07:00

Used a couple of Michael Strong stamps on this one. His frame stamp is perfect for creating layered frames. The copper on blue layer was heat embossed and then popped out on adhesive foam. The curved image under the sentiment is a portion of Michael's Cloisonne Circle. The sentiment itself is a G Stamp.

a little star power

2011-07-17T23:20:00.001-07:00

A cool Michael Strong star stamp, an encouraging sentiment from Verve Stamps, a die cut little window and a string of cute little puffy stars. That's it!

heart of gold

2011-02-28T15:05:00.000-08:00

We were challenged to make Valentines without using red, pink, or purple on the enjoyMichaelStrongstamps list this Feb. Added to the challenge was the fact that I don't have his heart stamps.

My solution was to die cut hearts with Nestabilities dies, stamp and emboss them on a couple of the stamps I do have. The first and third card were stamped on Michael's pot stamp. The second card was stamped on the large star. I went for a clean and simple look.

The sentiments were printed on the computer. I had fun using the sewing machine too.

You are amazing!

2011-02-28T14:50:00.000-08:00

This was the sketch Jen del Muro challenged us with for Feb. i{heart}2stamp.com I've done it on a white background and a kraft background just for fun.

The little guy lifting more weight than you or I could is from Mo Manning ;-) There are silver metallic embellishments on both cards but they didn't scan.

I love Jen's sketches and can't wait to see what she comes up with for March.

Year of the Rabbit

2011-01-30T12:37:00.000-08:00

On the EnjoyMichaelStrongStamps Yahoo list Michael challenged us to make a Year of the Rabbit card. I love Chinese New Year cards so this was a challenge which totally appealed to me. Enough so that I made 3 cards ;-) The frame stamp is a Michael Strong design. The rabbit is no longer available but was made by Good Stamps Stamp Goods.

Canon has a website with printable paper designs. The blue print with the rabbits on the moon design is one of their freebies. Here is the link http://cp.c-ij.com/en

This last card uses the same Chiyogami design from Canon with a paper doily and a handcarved Rabbit on the Moon stamp.

I {heart} 2 Stamp Jan. challenge

2011-01-30T12:18:00.000-08:00

Here is Jen's sketch for January. I confess I made the card weeks ago but hadn't photographed it until now. Now that January is almost over I had to get it done!

I love these Kids' Quotes from Inkadinkado. Fun and oh so on target. The rainbow background was brayered on. The printed papers are from a very old stack but it was great to use some of them up. The embellishment was made using a Cuttlebug die and embossing folder plus other circle dies.

Gingersnap Creations Polar Animal challenge

2011-01-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

Long time no post! With luck it won't be so long between posts again. This card is for the Gingersnap Creations GC 83 Random Redhead Challenge: Polar Animals.

http://gingersnapcreations.blogspot.com/2010/12/gc83-random-redhead-challenge-polar.html

This amazing polar bear stamp is from Sue Coccia who's artwork I adore. Check it out at www.earthartinternational.com The background was printed from inked cheesecloth. Kinda cool looking I think. The stars and moon are silver though you can't tell in my photo.

Stars and Stamps Sketch # 37

2010-10-07T16:28:00.001-07:00

I've missed a week or so but here is this week's sketch card. Sort of vintage and masculine.

Stars and Stamps sketch #35 and challenge

2010-09-21T17:06:00.001-07:00

Here is this week's sketch from OWH's Stars and Stamps blog. In addition to making the sketch I also went for Barb's challenge. http://papertherapyponderings.blogspot.com/2010/09/monday-september-20-2010.html Purple, penguin, and holiday card on moldie old paper for OWH. You didn't have to do all the challenges but I couldn't resist. The penguin is an old digital freebie and I am very sorry to admit I don't know who the artist is. Kinda cute though.

At first I couldn't think of any penguin stamps I had but then I remembered these little guys from The Cat's Pajamas. Little goofballs! I added a sentiment from Hero Arts and a few Studio G snowflakes. The bottom layers are Cuttlebug embossed. I'm still happily using up the pack of purple stripe paper from Lasting Impressions I bought a least a year ago. Not sure if that is actually 'old'! ;-)

I've got an idea for another penguin holiday card so there may be more to come!

Halloween Wishes

2010-09-20T15:52:00.001-07:00

Waltzingmouse sketch challenge blog's offering for this week caught my eye. http://waltzingmousesketchchallenge.blogspot.com/ I'm waiting for my first ever WM order and am so excited! I've been making samples for my challenge for the Harvest Home Haven event. Use paint chips! The Waltzingmouse sketch seemed perfect for paint chips. I added some zigzag stitching with my sewing machine.

The sentiment is from Hero Arts. The background paper is from a Christmas stack. (I know, very strange, LOL) The painted wood skeleton was a RAK from Ann in Utah. Thanks!

Barb H CASE for Stars and Stamps blog

2010-09-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of Barb's for some years now so I was delighted with the opportunity to CASE one of her cards. Check out her blog http://papertherapyponderings.blogspot.com/

The butterfly is painted with Twinkling H2Os. There is gold leafing around the edges of the stamped pieces. It is sparkly but you will just have to take my word for it, LOL. The butterfly image was a RAK and I don't know who the stamp maker is. Beautiful though. The background is chalked. Sentiment is Hero Arts.

Thanks for the inspiration Barb!

Stars & Stamps and Michelle Perkett Studio

2010-09-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

Michelle Perkett Studio and OWH's Stars and Stamps blog joined together to challenge cardmakers to create birthday cards using Michelle Perkett's images. This digital stamp, Mary Margaret, has an apple in her hands but I gave her a birthday package to hold for this card. It is an old stamp from The Cat's Pajamas. The clothes were paper pieced which was a little bit of a challenge as one has to run the papers through the printer. I used solid origami papers which I tacked to a base of text weight paper before running them through the printer. The bits and pieces were cut out and glued to a previously colored print of Mary Margaret.

Thanks to Michelle for the challenge and the freebie of Mary Margaret she offered to the Stars and Stamps blog recently. How kind! Check out the Michelle Perkett Studio blog. http://michelleperkettstudio.blogspot.com/

Stars and Stamps mid week throwdown

2010-09-09T16:33:00.001-07:00

The Midweek Throwdown challenge on the OWH Stars and Stamps blog was to make thank you cards with autumn themes. The oval frame and sentiment were printed on the computer. I used Spellbinders dies and a Cuttlebug embossing folder. The yellow and black strip is embossed Core'dination paper that was sanded.

The background paper on this card and the first card are William Morris prints from an old calendar. The round frame is a digital image from Bird's blog http://www.birdscards.com/Default.aspx?tabid=595 I added the text before printing and colored it afterwards. Again I used Spellbinders dies.

This one has actual rubber stamping, LOL. The sentiment is an old one from Stampa Rosa while the frame is from Serendipity Stamps. I love this full sized Cuttlebug embossing folder. The shear ribbon is metallic but the camera doesn't catch that.

Stars and Stamps Sketch 34 Thank you

2010-09-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

Here is this week's sketch from the OWH Stars and Stamps blog. They had the additional challenges of using yellow and making it a 'thank you' card. I actually have made about a half dozen cards from this sketch now but this was the first one I remembered to use yellow on and make it a 'thank you'. ;-P

The poppies are a digital image by Chrissy Le. The Thank You stamp is a Delta rubber stamp. I used a couple of Spellbinders dies on this one.

If you visit my blog over time you might have noticed I am wild about recycling stuff. On this card I used a worn out hot water bottle to stamp the background. Really!

Googlie Eyed Monsters!

2010-09-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here come the spooky, googlie eyed monsters! I used Recollections and Studio G stamps on this one and colored it with Prismacolor pencils.

No stamps on this one. A few die cuts with Spellbinder and Sizzix dies and a border punch from SU! The Spooktacular ribbon is a few years old and no longer available.

Yolanda's digi challenge

2010-09-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

Yolanda offered up a digital stamp she drew to challenge us to make cards for OWH.

http://yolanda-imaginemakeshare.blogspot.com/2010/09/happy-birthday-owh.html Well I didn't make mine into Any Hero cards so they don't fit the challenge but I think they will work as cards to mail home to family. The card uses the current Stars and Stamps sketch. Hooah!

OLC Tree challenge

2010-09-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

This is my first time posting a challenge card for the One Layer Challenge on the Simplicity by Late Blossom blog. I admire Susan's clean and simple style. http://simplicitybylateblossom.blogspot.com/

The trees stamp is by Rubber Tree Stamps and, I believe, is no longer available. The sentiment is though. Verve makes it.

Stars and Stamps Midweek Throwdown; Halloween

2010-09-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

This card uses a sketch by Leigh O'Brien for The Cat's Pajamas. http://sunflowerstudio.typepad.com/sunflower_studio/2010/08/tcp-tuesday-124-sketch-challenge.html I used some goofy, puffy skeleton stickers on it.

This little doll is a digital freebie from Glamourie in Ireland.
http://graceandglamourie.blogspot.com/2010/08/whinifred-witch.html She is adorable! The background paper is done with Distress inks and a Hero Arts background stamp.

I {heart} to stamp sketch challenge

2010-08-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

I was on a roll with this stamp and paper. Jen's sketches are a blast.

http://iheart2stamp.com/2010/08/28/winner-announcement-a-new-sketch-and-an-mft-sneak-peek/ The stamps are from a set by Recollections which I stamped and embossed. I pulled the Twinkling H2Os out to color with. There is lots of sparkle though you can't see it in the photo.

Stars and Stamps sketch#32

2010-08-31T14:40:00.001-07:00

This week's sketch from the OWH Stars and Stamps blog. So clean and simple that it really showcases the image. Love that!

This little monster is so fun to color! I used Twinkling H2Os and black embossing powder. A crackle stamp and distress ink on the background. I'm sorry to say I don't remember who made that fun little monster background paper. It came out some years ago. Wish I had more!

Turned the sketch 45 degrees for this one. I used acrylic paints on the background and die cut ends. Old unknown stamps. The howling coyote always makes me think of missing someone.

Last look at this sketch ;-) The carnation frame is a digital freebie from Bird's blog-
http://www.birdscards.com/Default.aspx?tabid=60 I just added the sentiment with the computer.

Stars and Stamps midweek throwdown

2010-08-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

This week's throw down was a recipe challenge. Use a die cut or punch, ribbon and heat or dry embossing. I finished this card, photographed it and then went online. Such a wonderful surprise to discover it matched the challenge exactly! I use Spellbinder & Sizzix dies and a Cuttlebug embossing plate. The sentiment is heat embossed white on navy. And the pretty white ribbon. Hmm, maybe I should buy a lotto ticket today? LOL.

Stars and Stamps Sketch 31

2010-08-25T10:31:00.001-07:00

Here is this week's sketch!

This vintage digital freebie seemed so fun to me. It is an unusual color but that made it a fun challenge to work with. The background is a stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms. Boy, I am so sorry they have gone out of business! The sentiment is Hero Arts.

Another digital freebie. I can't seem to get enough of them these days. It put me in mind of cool water which is completely welcome on these over 100 degree days. Delicious memories.

Brayered background Thanksgiving

2010-08-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

I cannot resist a pun!

The background is brayered Kaleidacolor pad, Autumn Leaves on glossy white cardstock. The turkeys in the trees stamp is from Cornish Heritage Farms (no longer available). Sentiment was printed with the computer.

I live in a town where turkeys were let loose and now live in flocks here and there. This is not a small town. We have about 161,000 people living here but ambling turkeys stop traffic!

More S&S Throwdown cards

2010-08-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

I played more with the Michelle Perkett Studio images for this week's Stars and Stamps mid-week throwndown challenge. They were such fun to work with! While this gal is actually called Goldilocks I went with a different look. The sentiment stamp is from Serendipity Stamps.

Mary Margaret in a crisp red and green combo, lol. I went with the sort of gingham look from the printed paper when coloring her dress. (Thanks Karen for the paper!) The apples are an older Studio G stamp.

Just a couple more fall themed versions of Mary Margaret! This fun Basic Grey printed paper was my inspiration.

Autumn Leaves

2010-08-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Looking through an old (2003) Card Creations magazine I was inspired by a couple of cards to pull out my recycled corrugated cardboard. It is from light bulb packaging. After coloring it with spray inks I had fun making autumn themed cards. This card is a lift of a beautiful card by Sharon Lewis. She used a large velum leaf which had been dry embossed. I went with dyed paper and a Sizzix die.

Using the same Sizzix die, different leaf, I cut small leaves that fit on inch squares. The leaves are embellished with colored wire. The sentiment stamp is an Anna Griffin design. This card and the ones below were inspired by a card from Nancy Church also in the Cards Creations magazine.

I went with pearl cotton embroidery thread instead of wire on this card.

A very simple version. I like all the texture working with the corrugated cardboard gives.

Stars and Stamps midweek throwdown challenge

2010-08-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

This week's throwndown was to use one of the sweet digital images shared by Michelle Perkett Studios. I chose this Goldilocks drawing. I used this week's Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge from http://priscillastyles.blogspot.com/ Fun!

Stars and Stamps sketch challenge #30

2010-08-18T16:32:00.000-07:00

Here is this week's sketch from OWH-s Stars and Stamps blog.

Last year I bought this Inkadinkado sentiment stamp too late to use it for any OWH Thanksgiving cards so I'm delighted to get to use it now. Used some punches and dies for the leaves (Cuttlebug), acorns, border strip (Martha Stewart). It was a fun one to make.

Stars and Stamps Midweek Throwdown Challenge

2010-08-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

Autumn with no sentiment. That to me was a big challenge! It was fun to use this great tree image from Curtis's Collection along with the Basic Grey paper. The wild fiber seemed like it was made for this card.

Inkadinkado sunflower stamps and a Cuttlebug leaf die. Very simple! Oh and the bee stamp too.

Stars & Stamps sketch #29

2010-08-13T17:52:00.001-07:00

Here is this week's sketch from OWH's S&S blog.

This one also meets the Midweek Throwndown challenge, autumn & no sentiment. The cute little scarecrow is an older Studio G image.

This little guy is a digital freebie from Sliekje.
http://sliekje.blogspot.com/ She has lots of cute ones.

Stars and Stamps sketch #27

2010-08-02T18:42:00.001-07:00

Here is this week's sketch from the OWH Stars and Stamps blog. I love the horizontal strips!

I combined 2 digital freebies on the front panel. The fairy is from
http://www.digitaltuesday.blogspot.com/ Cora has such wonderful vintage images! The sentiment is by Pauline on her blog-

http://createwithtlc-createwithtlc.blogspot.com/ Boy do I wish I had her talent at creating text art!

There is an actual rubber stamp used to make this card, LOL. It is from Hero Arts and is used as a resist on the vertical strip and tone on tone for the base. The image is colored with Prismacolor pencils and Distress inks for the edging, resist background and the base layer tone on tone. The strips are paper lace and ribbon.

Stars and Stamps sketch #27

2010-07-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Here is this week's sketch challenge from OWH's Stars and Stamps blog. I happen to think it is a particularly nice one ;-D Thanks Karen!

It just so happens I have a card ready made for this sketch. The Uncle Sam image is in the public domain and I added the sentiment in PSE. That fun ribbon I have had for years. It gets pulled out for patriotic holidays and thank you cards for our troops. The star embossing folder was a treat I bought myself when I could no longer resist it, lol.

You can see a couple more of my cards made with this sketch here-

http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org/2010/07/s-sketch-challenge-27.html

Stars and Stamps midweek throwdown

2010-07-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

This week's throwdown was to use one of the digital images kindly shared with us on the Stars and Stamps blog by Anthony. I chose his manga drawing and it was great fun to work with! I digital paper pieced her dress, shoes and ribbons and colored her skin and hair with Prismacolor pencils. Used McGill and Martha Stewart punches and Spellbinders dies.

Stars and Stamps sketch 26

2010-07-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

Here's this week's sketch from the OWH's Stars and Stamps blog. I missed getting one done from last week's sketch so am glad to have had the chance to do this one.

Love this Mo Manning digital stamp. Seems like there aren't lots of loving little boy designs out there so it was wonderful to find this one. It is perfect for a Back to School card from a Service Person to their much missed child.

Pocket card and pin

2010-07-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

The Summer Haven event ends tonight. It has been such fun and has pushed me to be creative. Daniel challenged us to create a card with a pocket and something to go in the pocket. The pocket had to be low as the quilted heart pin is too big to fit under the pocket. In addition to the stamps by Hero Arts, Me & My Big Ideas, and Cornish Heritage Farms I made a lot of use of die cuts.

The heart pin is quilted over a felt base. It had been ages since I did Crazy Quilt embroidery and it was a blast. There is a plastic back piece and pin back glued on with Diamond Glaze. It took 2 tries to get it to hold. I love punching holes in the tag to attach the pin to. Gives it a nice finished look I think.

I even pulled out my crochet cotton and hook to make an edging around the heart. Yes it took time to do the whole thing but it satisfied me greatly!

Stars and Stamps sketch challenge #24

2010-07-05T17:59:00.001-07:00

Here is this week's sketch.

I used one of the adorable digital images Sandy drew for the 4th of July Weekend OWH blog hop. Is this a sweet pup or what? As usual I colored with Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is a Hero Arts stamp.

Stars and Stamps mid-week throw down

2010-07-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

Including food is the throw down challenge. Clearly I am obsessing on watermelon ;-) I treated myself to my first set of stamps from Verve which included this fun Dr. Seuss quote.

This card was also for the using up scraps challenge for the Summer Haven event underway. It came out so full of sun made me want to eat watermelon right now!

OWH Midweek Throw Down, Gettin' Digi

2010-06-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

Tracey of The Stamping Boutique shared a pair of digital images with us on the OWH Stars & Stamps blog. This little sweetie is one of them. I had fun taking her in a little different direction than Tracey intended but I believe it will make someone happy to receive it all the same.
Thanks Tracey!

Window on the World card

2010-06-24T20:55:00.001-07:00

Summer Haven 2010 is getting going. http://www.stamphaven.com/ I have a couple of challenges including this fancy fold card.

Here are the instructions which you are welcome to print out for your own use. Right click on the diagram. It will open in a new page. Then print. That's it!

You can cut out the window anyway your want, die cut, Coluzzles, punch, scissors or craft knife. Just be sure you only cut the one side of the card!

Lastly this is the front of my card. Have fun!

Stars and Stamps sketch #22

2010-06-22T13:06:00.001-07:00

Here is this week's sketch which I love.

I know, it is the beginning of summer and I am making a back to school card! The image is a freebie from the Clearly Vintage blog. The word paper is a black printing on white core advertisement I ran through a Sizzix using one of their embossing plate before sanding off the raised black parts.

I'm sorry I can't remember where the pretty French label came from. The green print paper is DCWV. The blue background is stamped with a Cornish Heritage Farms scrapblock. The creamy 3 D sticker had just the right spot for a bit of bling.

Father's Day card

2010-06-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

This is the card I made for my Dad. The hummingbird is a Michael Strong stamp and the sentiment is from Quiet Fire Designs.

Happy Father's Day!

Tag Tuesday on Saturday

2010-06-19T12:04:00.001-07:00

Louise's tag challenge this week is 'Men". http://www.kardkrazy.blogspot.com/ I enjoyed playing with this older stamp from Paperbag Studios Along with my die cuts and punches.

Mo in multiple

2010-06-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back on the Mo's Digital Challenge blog they asked for us to merge multiple images from her line of digital stamps. I printed out a couple of ideas and then got distracted. So now they are done and here they are. Late but still.... The 2 boys are separate digital stamps and the sentiment is an actual rubber stamp. Imagine that!

On this one I just used a single image multiple times but fading it out. Sentiment was added in PSE. I use PSE for most all my digital stamping. The coloring is all done with Prismacolor pencils.

You can check out other people's challenge cards here-
http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.com/

101 posts!

2010-06-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'm so surprised to find I have made 101 posts on this blog. Last year when I started it I had only the Memorial Day blog hop for Operation Write Home in mind. Guess blogging is more fun than I expected, lol.

This card uses the current sketch from the Stars and Stamps blog and another of the digital images Sandy created and shared during this years Memorial Day Weekend blog hop. Thanks Sandy!

Stars and Stamps sketch #21

2010-06-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

Cool sketch, don't you think? For some reason it was an easy one for me which is always so nice.

Sandy, the president of Operation Write Home created a page of digi images for the Memorial Day Weekend blog hop including this sweet dog. Sandy's own Ciara was the inspiration for the digi and I wanted to give her a golden/red color. Long ago I made a bleached background sheet that I scanned and loaded on my computer. I used a piece of that scanned background to "color" Ciara. It was very fun! And today I pulled out an old piece of cardstock backed, dyed paper towel that I used for the background rectangles. The sentiment is a Studio G stamp colored with gel pen and clear embossed. It was a fun and relatively (for me) quick card.

we grow great by dreams

2010-06-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

In one of my old Stampers Sampler magazines (June-July 2006) is a card by Hannamaija Teisko of Finland on which she used bits of making tape to create a resist pattern. I totally love her card and today I finally pulled out my tape and Distress inks and experimented. After inking the cardstock I overstamped it with a Cornish Heritage Farms backgrounder. The Distress ink wipes off the masking tape save the edges of it. I love the look.
Sentiment is also from Cornish Heritage Farm. The climbing plant is a die cut using Quickutz, the ovals are Nestabilities.

Midweek throw down- Masculine cards

2010-06-09T17:33:00.001-07:00

On the OWH Stars and Stamps blog the midweek throw down challenge is to make masculine cards. I combined the OWH Stars and Stamps sketch for this week with the masculine card challenge. The wonderful freebie motorcycle digital images is by Bird on her blog.

http://www.birdscards.com/Default.aspx?tabid=65 The metal looking plates are cut from tetra pak and embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. It makes such a great masculine touch in my opinion! The ticket stamp is from Hero Arts. This is the first time I've used it. Felt just right with the motorcycle.

Stars and Stamps sketch #20

2010-06-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

Here is this week's S&S sketch. Love the new logo!

It is warm enough here to get a person dreaming of pools of water. These cute guys from Mo Manning have the right idea!

Used a new-to-me stamp from Studio G for the sentiment. Nice and simple. The papers are all from my stash and Prismacolor pencils are my favorites for coloring digital images.

Sketch challenges and OWH digis

2010-06-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here is my card for this week's SFYTT from Jen del Muro

http://iheart2stamp.com/2010/06/05/darling-cute-first-saturday-of-the-month/ This one is based on the sketch from Sketch Saturday
http://sketchsaturday.blogspot.com/

I used digital images from OWH's Stars and Stamps blog

http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org/2010/06/question-digistampers-we-need-you.html

And I got to use my brand new Stars embossing folder from Cuttlebug :-) All in all I had a great time making these cards thanks to the kindness of blogging cardmakers.

Stars and Stamps sketch #19

2010-06-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here's Karen's sketch for this week.

I had stamped (Sandy Lion Stamps) and colored this little robot quite a long time ago but today he got transformed into a card. Distressed ancient DCWV paper plus recycled stuff. Envelope liner and tetra pack (the silver looking stuff). Cuttlebug and Sizzix die cuts.

Another old pack of paper and printed sentiments got used on this card. A Flavia stack for the sentiment & bottom printed paper. DCWV for the top paper. I'm going to be sad when I use up the last of this cheerful ribbon I bought long ago at Michael's.

Tag Tuesday- Music

2010-06-02T18:28:00.001-07:00

Louise hosts a weekly tag challenge on her blog

http://www.kardkrazy.blogspot.com/ This week's challenge is to use the theme of Music. I used digital images from an Instant Memories CD of vintage music images titled Music Pages. It was fun to mess around with them in PSE. I printed out the tag on manila cardstock. Using an EK Success border punch I made the embellishments with white paper trimmed with buttons. The round medallion reminds me of lace neck ruffs that were worn in Elizabethan times.

Fishing you a fabulous birthday

2010-05-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

This wonderful fish and sentiment were digital freebies from Claire of Hope Jacare. http://hopejacare.blogspot.com/ (Thanks for asking Sandy! I could no longer find the freebie there but did find it here- http://nannieflash.blogspot.com/2010/05/cards-for-men-challenge-ten-outdoors.html ) It is a fun image and I really enjoyed creating this card with it. The background print is from Making Memories.

Happy birthday to my oldest friend!

Missing you

2010-05-31T11:06:00.000-07:00

This Basset Hound is the saddest looking guy don't you think? It is easy to believe he is missing someone. The Digi Doodle Shop kindly made him available to the OWH Stars and Stamps blog so we could make cards for OWH. http://www.digidoodleshop.com/ I added in the text before printing the image and then colored him with Prismacolor pencils.

This card combines digital freebies from 2 bloggers. The oval star frame is by Bird.
http://www.birdscards.com/ Look in her free sentiments. I swapped sentiments as she had a different one in her freebie oval. The word art is from Toni

http://kharliebug.typepad.com/the_digi_shack/2010/05/owh-blog-hop.html

I so appreciate the generosity of bloggers!

Gift card box, Michael Strong design

2010-05-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

On Michael Strong's blog he has a tutorial including measurements for making a gift box for handmade cards.

http://strongstamps.blogspot.com/2010/05/star-box-with-note-cards.html I used posterboard for my box and increased the size just slightly. It hold a set of 6 cards and envelopes. My cards were lumpy and bumpy but do fit in the box.

The paisley stamps are Michael Strong Designs and the sequin waste looking background stamp is from Cornish Heritage Farms. I went with a ribbon tie rather than the narrow cardstock sleeve Michael used. It just seemed right for this box.

S&S sketch challenge#18

2010-05-26T16:56:00.001-07:00

Here is this week's sketch from OWH's Stars and Stamps blog. Kate created a fun, interesting sketch. Thanks Kate! I went for a folk art look on this card. The houses are a stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms. The sentiment is an Anna Griffin design. On both cards I used the Black Magic technique which is this week's Try a New Technique challenge on Split Coast Stampers. I had never done it before and loved it!

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=492082 I tried the Black Magic technique on this dark red paper and was pretty happy with how that looks too. I did color with white Prismacolor pencil directly on the red paper for the stars and stripes. The flag is an oldie from Stampendous. The cancellation stamps by an unknown maker.

A couple of SFYTT cards

2010-05-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

I did a couple of takes on Jen del Muro's sketch for this week.

http://iheart2stamp.com/2010/05/22/sketch-for-you-to-try-39/ I used some old epoxy stickers, a digitally composed sentiment, and die cuts by Cuttlebug. The background stamp is so light you might not be able to tell what it looks like but it is a Backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms. I used more epoxy stickers on this version plus Diamond Glaze on the stamped birdie and die cut flower.

Stars & Stamps challenges

2010-05-20T16:31:00.001-07:00

Here is the Stars and Stamps sketch for this week. Lora came up with a fun one!

The background pieces are embossed resist using dollar stamps from The Dollar Tree and Michaels. The focal image is from Hero Arts stamped with a rainbow pad. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on the red layer and inked it up to highlight the embossing.

The Wednesday Stash challenge on the Stars and Stamps blog was to use stars. Guess this does the trick!

Recently I lucked into some Cuttlebug dies and folders at Big Lots. It's been fun playing with them. The stripe/ladder piece is from one set and the Thanks is from another. The blue background papers are envelope liners. The blue stars are punched and glued on. The ribbons are from my stash.

I decided to use a tag as the long panel on the sketch for this one. The tag itself is dry embossed, inked and heat embossed. The back sections are gold wrapping paper. I used some punches and die cuts for embellishments. The flowers are made using organza with the edges melted using a heat tool. I'm sorry the photo isn't good enough to show the details :-(

Mo's Challenge #31

2010-05-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here is my card for Mo's Digital Challenge. http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.com/ This is Baby Fairy Yuriko who is giving a sweet treat to that hummingbird. A fun fantasy!

I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils. The background was stamped with Versamark and clear embossed before being colored with Brilliance and Distress inks. The flower is felt.

Stars and Stamps sketch challenge #16

2010-05-13T12:54:00.001-07:00

Here is this week's sketch. It was a digital image fest on these cards ;-)

This silly looking stretch dog is a digital image and sentiment I put together in PSE. I used my Quickutz embossing folder for the first time. It is very handsome IMHO.

I love this digital image from Bird's Cards blog!
http://www.birdscards.com/Default.aspx?tabid=65 My sister had a VW bus like this one except for the surfing stuff. The paper and sentiment stamp are way old so they went perfectly with the bus, LOL.

The counting page image is a freebie from
http://1stfloorflatfreebies.blogspot.com/ The numbers and sentiment were stamped using a child's alphabet set.

All the images were colored with Prismacolor pencils. Distress inks were used on the papers' edges.

Stars and Stamps sketch challenge #15

2010-05-04T16:13:00.001-07:00

This week's sketch is nice and simple. It lets you focus on your pretty stamps :-)

This passion flower image is from Stamp Camp and it is a knock out image in my opinion. I used Prismacolor pencils and Glaze pen to color it. The tiny leaf stamp I used on the green section is from Cornish Heritage Farms. I love the tone on tone look it gives stamped with Pealed Paint Distress look on top of that green cardstock.

a sketch and a challenge

2010-05-01T16:21:00.001-07:00

Here is one of Jen del Muro's great sketches. I'm addicted to them :-D And here is a card I made for this week's challenge on Mo's Digital Challenge blog.

http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.com/ It was to make a masculine card using one of Mo's digital images. I love this super dude! He is colored with Prismacolor pencils. This beautiful Russian Princess from a story book is a freebie image from Cora's blog-
http://digitaltuesday.blogspot.com/ The printed papers are from Basic Grey and Lasting Impressions. I distressed them with stamps and inks. The princess was colored a bit digitally then with Prismacolor pencils and gel pen.

Stars and Stamps sketch challenge #14

2010-04-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

Can you believe we are at sketch #14 already on the Stars and Stamps blog? Shirley S designed this one for us. I realized I left out the center back strip on both cards! Sorry about that. Lately this card says it all for me, lol. My batteries are totally run down. This rabbit is another Mo Manning's digital image.

http://digitalpenciltoo.blogspot.com/ Both cards were colored with Prismacolor pencils and highlighted with gel pens. This fun acoustic guitar design is a freebie from cocodingo http://cocodingo.blogspot.com/ I added the stamped stars. The Guitar Hero stamps are Studio G clear stamps. The background paper is a DCWV design. The guitar cord strip and the sentiment were sponged with Distress and other inks.

Miss you dear

2010-04-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed the play of making this pair of cards. The new Distress inks I'd gotten hadn't been taken out for a test drive yet so this was my chance. A book I pulled out of the recycle bin is just right for coloring and printing over. The text is unintelligible so it isn't distracting from the images. The deer are part of a digital freebie I fell in love with.

The layer under the deer is from the newspaper, the stocks! Brayered with distress inks it made a touch of color and pattern. Worked for me, lol.

The sentiments were printed using the computer. The scrolly bits on this bottom card are an Inkadinkado stamp. On the top card I added some punched bits in black.

Stars and Stamps sketch challenge #13

2010-04-20T17:56:00.001-07:00

This week's sketch Challenge is from Karen G. Hi Karen! My card also happens to be part of a challenge by Karen on the Stamphaven site.

http://www.stamphaven.com/ It happens to be a materials challenge so the pretty pink paper and pink embellishments are from that package. The letters are made with Sizzix dies. I sure love my glue pen for putting together the letters and sticking them to the card. The oval 'love' is a Studio G stamp. I used a little Diamond Glaze on the heart paper embellishment.

Joie de vivre

2010-04-17T20:55:00.001-07:00

Jen's SFYTT sized for an A2 card with measurements added. You can find her unaltered sketch on her wonderful blog. http://iheart2stamp.com/ I deeply love Mo Manning's drawings of Mummu. She is just who I want to be when I grow up!

I used Prismacolor pencils and some Distress inks. Somehow I had a bunch of scraps the perfect colors to go with the printed background paper so it came together quickly. That is so rare for me. This card is going to my Mom.

Double Delight!

2010-04-16T18:09:00.001-07:00

Well as you can see I added the measurements to my copy of Peggy's sketch. It makes it so easy for me to create the card from it that way. By making up 2 cards I filled to challenges at the same time. The sketch is from Mo's Challenge blog so that is one of the challenges. And making a card up twice, one in a masculine style and one in a feminine style is a challenge at the OWH Stars and Stamps blog.

This little sweetie is a new-ish image from Mo Manning, Baby Fairy Flora. I colored her with Prismacolor pencils and added some diamond glaze to her wings and the tiny bees.

This dude and his dog are clearly having a blast! The image is It's Hot, also from Mo Manning. This image is also colored with Prismacolor pencils. The water is highlighted with Diamond Glaze too.

The sentiment for both cards is computer printed. I used a selection of great tools; Cuttlebug embossing folder, Martha Stewart & SU! punches, Nestabilities dies and Distress inks.

Stars and Stamps sketch challenge # 12

2010-04-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

Carol's sketch is a good one for showing off patterned paper and a simple stamped image. At least it worked for me ;-) A few years back I found a roll of wrapping paper with fun beer labels on it. Perfect for cards for guys. Then I found a set of Studio G stamps which included a beer mug. Obviously I had to buy it. The smiley face was added. The sentiment was made on the computer. Fun to make!

Playful anniversary card

2010-04-14T19:37:00.001-07:00

Another anniversary card for Operation Write Home. I'm very sorry to say I don't know where I got this wonderful vintage frog ad. He is such a hoot and I've used him before for a funny Valentine card. The small crown stamp is from Quiet Fire Designs. The sentiment and image were printed on the computer. The frog's crown was cut and pasted onto the image.

Yin Yang gatefold card

2010-04-14T19:03:00.001-07:00

Michael Strong was just in The Netherlands doing a stamp show and visiting with Hetty Sanders. They made a fun video tutorial for a gatefold card using Michael's Octagon stamps. While I don't have that stamp yet I do have his Paisley set with which I made this version of the card in their video. You can see that tutorial video by visiting Michael's blog. http://www.blog.strongstamps.com/

The very first time I can remember hearing of Michael Strong was on the Gingerwood message board. The stampers were raving about seeing him on the Carol Duvall show. When I finally figured out how to see him on that show I learned about his Faux Cloisonne technique. The paisley's on this card were done using it. So fun to have come a full circle on this one!

Anniversary cards

2010-04-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

These are for my self challenge of making anniversary cards for Operation Write Home. This card was embossed with a Quickutz embossing folder (thanks Ann!). The hearts are cut with Nestabilities and the sentiment is computer printed. I love this elegant font from Kingsthings.

I found some lovely poem sentiments at http://www.cardmaking.info/ that I liked. This one felt right for a couple who are separated during the deployment of one of them. The swallow stamp is by Studio G.

This one uses another poem from Card Making Info. It was fun to use the option of making one for a husband and another for a wife. The piercing design is a freebie from Fred, She Said. http://fred-she-said.blogspot.com/ The border punch I used on this one is from EK Success.

This one is so sweet! Another piercing design from Fred, She Said.

I'm still planning to do more Anniversary cards!

Prince Charming

2010-04-10T19:08:00.001-07:00

Is he charming or what? This guy is a Mo Manning digital stamp. I read on one of the Stars and Stamps member's blogs (Hi Caro!) that not enough anniversary cards are available for service women to send home to their husbands. I've been making cards for OWH for a long time and I can't remember ever making one myself. It was time to do something about that!

This blue and brown one also fills the current color challenge from the Stars and Stamps blog.

I'm pretty 'challenged' by color challenges so the current challenge from Mo's Digital Challenge blog has been hard. In fact I still haven't succeeded though I tried! It was to be black, white, kraft, and one more color. Yep, no kraft on this one, lol. I did have fun making it though. Hope one of our service women will find it suits her needs.

Stars and Stamps color challenge

2010-04-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

The color challenge today on the Stars and Stamps blog is Browns and Blues. This is one of my favorite color combos so it was very fun to whip up this card. The blue patterned papers are envelope liners. The sentiment stamp is from Hampton Arts. The blue glass star is from my stash but came from Michaels long ago I believe. It is a very simple card I made from today's sketch on SCS.

Stars and Stamps sketch #11 & Wink Wink Ink challenge

2010-04-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here is this week's sketch by Caryl for the Stars and Stamps Blog. I used a free digital image, Rainy Day, from *Wink *Wink Ink http://www.winkwinkink.com/ . They have a monthly challenge. April's is to use a border punch and one of their digital images. Both the border punches I used are from Martha Stewart. The grass punch was perfect here. This was a fun digital stamp to color. This little bear will be heading off to Operation Write Home and from there he will get to travel far away before coming home to a loved one. Hope this little guy will be welcomed!

Motorcycle

2010-04-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

How's this for something a little different? Yesterday I found this cool motorcycle digital stamp as a freebie from Bird at http://www.birdscards.com/Default.aspx?tabid=65 . What a great masculine image! Of course I do know that lots of women ride motorcycles too ;-)
[Thank you Lori for letting me know I had put up the wrong blog for the free motorcycle digital image! It is fixed now.]

One of the fun techniques from the current issue of The Technique Junkies Newsletter is the Paper Peeling. I'm afraid you can't see mine very well but I had fun making it. http://www.patstamps.com/Newsletter.html

I used Spellbinders dies and one from Sizzix.

Smell Carrots? TCP challenge

2010-04-02T15:13:00.001-07:00

I love this clear stamp set from The Cat's Pajamas. It is so playful and humorous I was excited to pull it out again this year and make my Easter cards and treats. These little carrot boxes contain Dove dark chocolates. Yum! You can find the template for the box on Split Coast Stampers here- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=328272 shared by Kreations by Kris . In addition to the sneaky, carrot stalking wabbit stamp I used the sentiment stamp and the carrots and grass stamps from this same TCP Beans & Bunnies & Peeps, Oh My! stamp set. They were colored with Prismacolor pencils. The punches are both Martha Stewart punches. Lucky, lucky me won the grass border punch in the recent OWH blog hop from the talented and generous cardmaker, Cathy. Check out her blog- http://monkeydreamz.blogspot.com/

Stars and Stamps sketch #10

2010-03-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

I so loved this sketch by Ali Manning that I asked her permission for us to use it as a sketch challenge at the Stars and Stamps blog. She graciously agreed and here it is.

Today I made another card from the sketch. The beautiful gold trim was a gift from Teresa, AKA Time for T. I love the romantic look of it with this paper and the great dresses on a clothesline stamp from Serendipity Stamps. The sentiment is from Purple Onion Designs.

If you get a chance check out Ali's blog for her beautiful work! http://www.alimanning.com/ Thanks a million Ali!

Did I love this sketch or what?

2010-03-26T23:09:00.000-07:00

This sketch by Cathy is the challenge on Mo's Challenge blog.

http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.com/ I adore this image of the bear hug! It is really called "Missed You" and is a Mo Manning digital stamp. It is so perfect for an Operation Write Home card. No kid who got a card with this image could miss knowing they were loved and missed. I also fullfilled the current challenge at
http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org/ in which we were to use 4 legged animals. For sure we had 4 to a bear :-)

Whenever I look at this little girl with her doll I want to hug them both. Another perfect image for an OWH card. This digital stamp is called "I Love It aag". And I do. It is also a Mo Manning digital stamp.

I indulged myself with the set of 4 Mo Manning digital images with the theme of balloons. This one is "Cody's Balloon". I got the giggles while coloring this little guy when I realized his diaper shows in the gap between sweater and overalls. What a hoot!

Ok, this last card doesn't use ANY Mo Manning images, LOL. I just wanted to play with the sketch one more time. The images are from Dover Publishing. I hand colored it just as I colored all the cards with Prismacolor pencils and oil on stubs.

Stars and Stamps sketch #9

2010-03-23T17:50:00.001-07:00

This is such a nice clean and simple sketch by Seongsook! Today was the day I needed to get my box of cards into the mail for OWH to catch the Mother's Day shipping. While poking around in my printed papers I came across the little collage image that had Mother's Day written all over it. And what was even better it would go perfectly with the sketch for this week. Don't you love it when that kind of thing happens?

All the papers are bits and pieces from my stash. The sentiment is one of a set of Mona Lisa Moments from Cornish Heritage Farms.

Stars and Stamps Sketch #8

2010-03-17T15:20:00.001-07:00

Here is this week's sketch from the Stars and Stamps blog. Shirley gave us this clean and simple sketch which I love. Thank you Shirley! It is super easy to make doubles of each card which I did. I just didn't photograph them all.

One of my favorite font designers is Kevin King of Kingsthings.
http://www.kingthingsfonts.co.uk/ I used his font Willow for the sentiment on the King of the Grill card. I used dies and punches as well.

I played with text art on this one too. Text in the round is something I love to use. The canoe paper and the center compass embellishment are from Debbie Mum. The other colored paper is made using Distress inks. The smooth circle and the spikey one are die cuts using Nestabilities dies.

All the cards I made with this sketch are going to OWH for the Father's Day card mailings.

The Cheshire Grin

2010-03-16T16:57:00.001-07:00

Shirley's 2 Girls (S2G) sell a wonderful line of digital stamps. All original images with lots of attitude! With the release of Alice in Wonderland the stamp world, digital and otherwise, has gone wild for Alice and company. S2G designed a wonderful line of digital stamps In a fresh, Tim Burton kind of style. They kindly offered the Cheshire Cat as a freebie for their Twisted Thursday blog challenge. They had the cat, a sketch and a twist- using stripes on the card.

Of course I was so excited to work with their stamp I totally forgot the sketch and the twist on my first card. When it was time to upload it I had an Oops! moment. That was ok. I loved getting to color and make up another card for the sketch. It was fun! http://s2gpapercraftingcontest.blogspot.com/

As most of my cards go to OWH I keep my eye open for stamps that can go to boys as well and girls. This handsome feline fits the bill. Thanks S2G!
http://shirleys2girls.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=31

More Michael Strong Stamps cards

2010-03-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

I love how paisleys seem to typify a number of unrelated cultures. So perfect for cowboys. I used the Michael Strong Paisley set to stamp the frame. It was cut using Nestability dies. The background was colored and embossed using a Sizzix embossing plate. I inked the embossing plate, lay the manila cardstock on it and embossed as usual. It makes for a cool, rugged look.

On this monochrome card I stamped the flowers and lavender cardstock. The shape of paisleys moves the eye, following the curves.

Another monochrome card, this one was a lot of fun. I hadn't done any mirror stamping in ages. It allows you to reverse the stamp. I wanted a paisley heart and that is how I managed to make in. One stamped and embossed forward, one stamped onto the mirror stamp before stamping onto cardstock and embossed. Now that Distress inks are on the market getting a good reverse stamp is a lot easier. Dye inks wanted to dry before you could stamp the second time using the mirror stamp face. The background panel was painted using Distress ink. I love them!

The red heart behind the paisley heart is two layers, a red cardstock and a clear piece of acrylic. They are adhered together under the paisley heart so you can't see the tape. The scalloped heart die and the ribbon runner are both from Spellbinders. The embossing plate I used on the base is a Cuttlebug folder. The sentiment is from Purple Onion Designs.

Michael Strong stamps

2010-03-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to share some cards I made with a new set of Michael Strong Stamps. It is a set of 4 stamps, 3 sizes of a paisley and 1 large panel of layered paisleys. On this card I used the panel to do the Joseph's Coat technique. You brayer a rainbow of colors on glossy cardstock. When dry you stamp with Versamark or other clear embossing powder and heat emboss with clear EP. Last you ink over the entire panel with a darker ink and buff it off the embossed areas.

I also used a Hero Arts stamp, the heart, an Autimn Leaves flourish stamp for the background, and the Anna Griffin sentiment stamp.

On this card I stamped one of the paisley's repeatedly. I colored them then cut out the layers. After putting small pieces of adhesive foam on the backs I layered them back together. You can see it better in the last photo. The background is a paper napkin ironed to the shiny side of Freezer Wrap from Reynolds. Then it can be adhered to the card front. The gold spikey circle is wrapping paper glued to cardstock which is then cut using a Nestabilities die.

I have more cards made with this set I hope to get up tomorrow. Thank you Michael Strong! http://strongstamps.blogspot.com/

Stars and Stamps sketch #7

2010-03-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

Erika kindly shared her sketch with us at the Stars and Stamps blog. I confess I took liberties with it. I've been working on Father's Day cards for OWH and this sketch plus the sentiment stamp felt like a good match.

I pulled out some earth tone scraps to see if I could use some on these cards. I also added some sections of color from printed ads. The stamp was from Michaels dollar bin last year. It came out too late for OWH cards so I got to use it fresh this week.

The border punch from EK Success echoed the pattern on the sentiment stamp. Had to use them together don't you know! There is dry embossing on the center section which I didn't manage to catch with the photo. More cards finished for our troops to send home. I love that.

Fred's Tulips

2010-03-10T13:21:00.001-08:00

Tracey-Lynn Miller, owner of Fred, She Said, allowed the cardmakers at Stars and Stamps blog to use her tulip digital stamp to practice out coloring while making cards for Operation Write Home. So fun! I used Prismacolor pencils, paper stubs and oil to color mine. The printed paper is from Rubber Soul, the red is wrapping paper. Sentiment stamp is a G Studio clear stamp.

Thanks to Tracey-Lynn Miller for the digital stamp and Darsie Bruno for the wonderful tutorial! http://fred-she-said-store.blogspot.com/

Mojo Monday sketch challenge

2010-03-05T21:34:00.001-08:00

This layout is the current sketch from the Mojo Monday blog. http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/2010/03/mojo-monday-128-contest.html The sentiment is stamped using Anna Griffin clear stamps. They seem to go so well with her paper, in this case the green. On this one the circles are about 1 3/8" diameter. I like this size for embellishing a card with more going on. The center of the flower is a button with the shank cut off.

Dahlia fold cards

2010-03-05T19:51:00.000-08:00

I love Dahlia fold flowers so I was really glad to see the tutorial on the Stars and Stamps blog. I'd done some in the past but had forgotten how they were done. The refresher video was great!

http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org/2010/03/cardmaking-301-dahlia-fold.html This first one is a really big flower but it worked on this simple layout. The flower is made from 2 pieces of wrapping paper glued back to back and then cut with a scalloped circle die from Nestabilities. The gold backing circle is a larger size die by far. The center embellishment is made from the foil (not plastic) from the top of a wine bottle. It is adhered to chipboard and die cut in a circle. After dry embossing it in a Cuttlebug folder I added some Sharpie ink to the background. I really like how it came out! The Dahlia fold is great for making cards you can mail at first class rates. They fold flat but pop up when taken out of the envelope.

Stars and Stamps Color Challenge #2

2010-03-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

Caro took this yummy photo at the Pikes Place Market in Seattle. Isn't it beautiful? One look and I knew just what I wanted to use for the background paper on my card. It is a Canson paper napkin. Ironed onto the shiny side of Freezer Paper from Reynolds it has enough body to adhere to cardstock.

The sentiment is done on the computer, then cut with a Nestabilities die and layered on another circle cut with a scalloped Nestie die. The hearts are cut with a Sizzix die. Flower is a Prima. The colors feel so fresh and warm. May they touch a child's heart.

Stars and Stamps Sketch #6

2010-03-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

Velda's sketch came at just the right time for me. I'd purchased these wonderful dollar stamps by Inkadinkado and hadn't inked them up yet. The focal square on the sketch is the perfect use for them.

When I bought this stamp I knew I wanted to use it with this paper but didn't have an idea how. This layout is so easy to use and lets the patterned paper show so well. The image was stamped on the cream and the kraft papers which were cut and layered. The flower was colored using Prismacolor pencils.

I love the look of sunlight on the sea. On this one I also stamped on 2 papers, a light blue and white. It was colored with Prismacolor pencils, cut and popped on foam before layering. The silver corner pieces are die cut using a Cuttlebug die.

Stars and Stamps Masculine card challenge

2010-02-27T18:47:00.000-08:00

Success! Wee Henry is camping out on my computer. He is a Hambo digital stamp that we were able to use for our mid-week card challenge at Stars & Stamps. He actually looks like someone I know...but I'll never say who, lol. Wee Henry and the sentiment were printed out using the computer and then colored with Prismacolor pencils.
Thanks to Sandy for helping with the digital download and to Tim and Monica Hunter of Hambo stamps! http://www.hambostamps.com/index.htm