Paper Cuts

I just love this Petal Prints image.  It might be my most favorite stamp ever!

I used Stampin’ Up’s new Pomegranate cardstock for the card base. 

For the background, I stamped (using same ink) the Floral and Linen backgrounds onto another piece of Pomegranate cut slightly smaller than the card front. 

As I’ve said before, water misting is one of my favorite techniques, especially on watercolor paper.  Here I used Rose Red, Regal Rose and Close to Cocoa markers, coloring directly onto the stamps.  I lightly spritzed the stamp with water, then stamped onto watercolor paper three times.  (I did not rewet the stamp in between impressions.)  After stamping, I spritzed the paper so the ink would blend and spread a bit more.  Once that was dry, I used a glitter pen to add just a touch of sparkle to the flowers.  The sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Chip ink.

I heavily distressed every edge here except the base card.  I particularly love how the watercolor paper distresses.  The edges get kind of “fluffy.” 

I hope my friend likes this card as much as I do.   Thanks for stopping by!

    Cardstock:  Purely Pomegranate, Close to Cocoa, watercolor paper

     Stamps:  Petal Prints, Fancy Flexible Phrases, Floral, Linen

     Ink:  Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip

     Accessories:  Rose Red, Regal Rose, Bravo Burgundy, Close to Cocoa Stampin’ Write markers),

     edge distresser, Sakura Stardust glitter pen, Aged Copper Hodge Podge clip, SU wine narrow

     organdy, hemp, water spritzer,  brads

I decided not to let the Zoofari’s get too lonely. lol.

This is for the WT challenge at Splitcoast today.  I didn’t do anything new and exciting…I just followed Julia’s tutorial as I’d never done this before and wanted to give it a try.  If I’d had more time, I would have done the scallops again.  I didn’t move the punch over quite far enough in some places.

In deciding which color to use for the background, I found the perfect piece of Linen-stamped/sponged Ruby Red.  I don’t remember why I stamped it and didn’t use it, but it certainly came in handy here.  (I always save unused background-stamped cardstock.  Sometimes it’s just what I need!)

I used a white gel pen for the animals’ pearly whites.  The rhino’s head is popped up on dimensionals and the monkey, hanging by his tediously cut out tail, is secured to the card with a dimensional as well.

Thanks for looking!

     Cardstock:  Confetti White (base), Ruby Red

     Patterned Paper:  My Mind’s Eye Tres Jolie Tres Bien “Summer” Polka Dot/Apricot Papier

     and Brun Papier

     Stamps:  Zoofari, Wild About You, Linen

     Ink:  Black

     Accessories:  Eyelets (American Crafts), Crop-a-dile, mat pack/needle, Ruby Red Stampin’

    Write marker, slit punch, Signo white gel pen, dimensionals, sponge

    Finished card size 4 1/4″ square.

Time for another Take Two x 4 with Lindsey, Trudee and Julia!  I love these challenges, but I have to say this one threw me for a loop.  We decided to use Stampendous stamps and Daisy D’s patterned paper.  I chose Thinking Word (I love the little grasshopper!) and Daisy D’s Lullaby Girl Playtime Stripe.

I pulled out Stampin’ Up’s Five-in-One template for this set.  When I have the time, I like to have a matching envelope for my cards.  Before, when making envelopes with cardstock, I’d always reach for the tacky tape.  But now I just run a thin line of Tombow Mono Multi down the paper, hold it together for a few seconds (literally) and it holds perfectly! Much more economical and just as strong a hold as the tacky tape!

This is actually a very quick card to make.  There’s very little stamping, even less coloring, a little ribbon tying, add a couple brads and that’s it! 

Don’t forget to check out Lindsey, Trudee and Julia’s blogs to see what they came up with! Thanks for stopping by!

     Cardstock:  SU’s Ruby Red, Confetti White

     Patterned Paper:  Daisy D’s Lullaby Girl Playtime Stripe

     Stamps:  Stampendous Thinking Word, SU Polka Dots & Paisley

     Ink:  Stazon black, SU Ruby Red, So Saffron, Sahara Sand

     Accessories:  Five-in-One template, coral grosgrain, Provo Craft Big Flowers Bradletz,

     dimensionals, 1/8” circle punch, aquapainter

Hmmmm…who do I know who’s having a birthday soon???   She really likes glitter… but I didn’t use any on this card, she LOVES copper….didn’t use any of that either.  But I hope she doesn’t buy anything that has to DO with copper until after her birthday.  And once she receives her gift, I hope she lets me know what she thinks of it because I’m thinking I need one too.  ;)  Ok…that’s enough hints.  LOL.

My good buddy, Dee, was so generous to send me this Lizzie Anne Designs Jolies Fleurs stamp set.  (Thanks again, Dee!!!)  I couldn’t wait to use it.  It’s a bit of a different style for me, but I love it.

 I used the new Stampin’ Up In Colors Soft Sky and Blue Bayou (available July 1st).  I wasn’t sure I was going to like these, but they’re growing on me.  I used a blender pen and ink from the pad (squeezed onto the lid) to color the flowers.  The big flower is popped up on dimensionals, and all the little black dots are highlighted using a shiny black 3-d glaze pen. 

I’m not used to leaving the background bare or having “white space” on my cards. At first I thought this looked kind of “naked” or unfinished, but I’m happing with it!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

     Cardstock:  Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Whisper White

     Stamps:  Lizzie Anne Designs “Jolies Fleurs”, Paper Trey, Inc. “Paper Tray”

     Ink: Black, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Barely Banana

     Accessories:  Black Vintage brads, round tab punch, dimensionals, black Sakura 3D glaze pen,

     blender pen

I’m having a lot of fun with these sets from My Favorite Things, but I have to admit this spider is really starting to give me the creeps!  This card was more work than it looks, but I do like how it turned out. 

I stamped the lady and cake first onto a piece of the retired Stampin’ Up! Halloween Night spider web paper.  (This image served as a guide for placing the pieces and provided an interesting background.)  I stamped the image again onto the dotted patterned paper, positioning the stamp so the dress image did not cover any of the large dots on the paper.  I cut out the dress, then stamped the dress dots onto the specific colored dots on the patterned paper, cut them out and adhered them to the dress.  I stamped the lady again onto Whisper White cardstock, colored her arms with Creamy Caramel ink and cut them out individually.  I adhered the left arm, then the dress, then the right arm, adding my sorry attempt at a bat tatoo…I needed a much finer point pen. 

I stamped the cake part of the stamp onto the patterned paper, once again avoiding the big dots, cut this out and colored the icing black.  Using a black 3-d gel pen, I added three dots across the center of the cake and drew in little legs (eek!) with the marker.  I cut out the candles and flames and adhered them to the black background.  The cake was then adhered using dimensionals.

Before cutting out the framed dress and cake, I stamped a spider in the corner, it’s legs hanging off the edge of the square.  I traced his legs with a  marker to make them a tad thicker, then cut around the edges of the box, cutting around the spider’s legs.  I stamped the spider again onto white cardstock, cut out his body and adhered that over the body in the corner using a dimensional.  I adhered the panel to a square of black cardstock for a bit more definition, then attached the assembled piece to the patterned paper and added the brads.

I pieced together the sentiment using both stamp sets, then decided I needed something else along that right side.  SO…I stamped another spider, colored both bodies with the 3-d gel pen and added the “string.”  (Yuck!  I think I’ve had enough of this spider for a while.)

Lastly, I attached the finished piece to the 4 1/4″ square card.

Thanks for looking!  Have a great day! (I promise tomorrow’s post will be “normal.”)

     Cardstock:  SU Black, Whisper White

     Patterned Paper:  Daisy D’s World Bazaar Circles, SU DSP Halloween Night

     Stamps:  My Favorite Things “You Take the Cake” and “Fright Night”

     Ink:  SU Black, Creamy Caramel

     Accessories:  Black Stampin’ Write marker, Sakura black 3-d glaze pen, black brads,

     dimensionals, aquapainter

I know it’s not October BUT… 

Just the other day I got my first two sets from My Favorite Things, “You Take the Cake” and one of their new releases, “Fright Night.”  I got this notion to combine the two sets and substitute the cake for a bowl of spiders as a Halloween dinner invitation.   And who better to serve than a headless woman! lol. 

I omitted the cake, drew in the bowl, colored it, then added the spiders.  I went over the creepy crawlies with a black 3-d ink pen so their bodies are slightly raised and shiny.  Yuck…even *I* don’t want to look at them. 

I used my Cheesecloth background (for the first time in, what…two years?) on the top part of the card.  The center band is wheeled using the new See You Around wheel from Stampin’ Up.  I added some dots of 3-d black ink in the centers of the circles, squiggled some zig-zags along the borders and added the escapee.

I’ll have more MFT designs soon.  Bon appetit!

     Cardstock:  SU! Black, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White

     Stamps:  My Favorite Things You Take the Cake and Fright Night; SU! Hugs & Wishes,

     Cheesecloth, See You Around wheel

     Ink:  SU! Basic Black, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Vintage Violet, Creamy Caramel, Barely

     Banana

     Accessories:  Black Stampin’ Write marker, black Sakura 3-d glaze pen, white string,

     dimensionals

     Finished card size: 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″

As soon as I saw this set from Paper Salon, I knew I had to have it.  I thought at first I’d use it mostly for cards for my daughter’s friends, but I’m thinking it’s ok for me too!  The images are SO cute!!

I’ve been super busy lately, and during the little bit of time I’ve had to stamp, nothing was working.  But as always, the sketch challenge over at Splitcoast-stampers has helped me out.

I didn’t realize just how much “stuff” I used to make this card.  It looks so simple, but holy cow!  The inventory!  lol.

I used markers to color the mermaids, adding an outline of Barely Banana just to give it a little more “pop.”  Then I used a quickie glue pen to adhere some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the tails.

Since I don’t have many of the bigger punches, I used my Creative Memories circle cutter around the mermaids.  And since I don’t have a scalloped circle punch (note to self…get one soon), I traced a circle onto the green cardstock and used the traced line as a guide for the scalloped scissors (which aren’t as sharp as I’d like them to be).

For the blue embossed bubble piece, I used a Fiskars texture plate with my Cuttlebug.  Since the CB plates don’t work well alone with the Fiskars plates, I used the Spellbinders Charm Embossing kit and it worked perfectly.  Following Ellen’s directions, I used the CB Plate A, the Fiskars template, cardstock, tan Wizard pad, black Wizard pad, a piece of thin cardboard and then the CB Plate B.  I know that sounds like a lot just to get a piece of embossed cardstock, but it works great and it’s nice to be able to use so many of the Fiskars templates now with my CB.  The kit is not expensive and well-worth the small investment…in my opinion.  (If you’re interested in some other CB tips, do a search on Ellen’s blog.  She has a lot of great tips.)

I used a white gel pen for the dots along the edges on the pink cardstock, the mermaids are mounted on dimensionals, and I used a Crop-a-dile to insert the eyelets.  I wanted to add ribbon, but decided the card looks fine the way it is.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

     Cardstock:  Gable Green, Pixie Pink, Bashful Blue, Whisper White

     Stamps:  Paper Salon’s “Girly Girl,” SU’s “Itty Bitty Backgrounds”

     Ink:  SU Basic Black

     Accessories:  Stampin’ Write markers (Blush Blossom, Bashful Blue, Pixie Pink, Apricot

     Appeal, Creamy Caramel, Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink, Orchid Opulence), blender pen,

     Sakura Quickie Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Cuttlebug, Fiskars Bubbles Texture

     Plate, Spellbinders Charm Embossing Kit, Creative Memories Circle Cutting System, scalloped

     scissors, dimensionals, eyelets, Crop-a-dile

    Finished card size: 5″ x 5″

I haven’t had much time to stamp these last few days, but with this horrible heat, I’ve had to water the flowers on my deck a couple times each day.  Today I was tending to some hanging Petunias when I heard this little buzzing sound and turned around to see what I initially thought was a hummingbird.  It was zipping around from flower to flower like a hummingbird, but then I noticed its antennae.  Very strange.  So I got a little closer.  And closer still.   This little guy seemed totally oblivious to me.  I ran inside to grab my camera, followed him around a bit taking some pictures, then I hit the internet to find out exactly what this thing was. 

It’s a MOTH!!  A Hummingbird Clearwing.  Like a hummingbird, it hovers briefly, sipping for only a few seconds before darting off to a new flower. With its green body “fur” and burgundy wing scales, it is sometimes mistaken for a small ruby throated hummingbird. 

Adult Hummingbird Clearwings have a long, straw-like “tongue,” called the proboscis, which they keep curled under the head. They use it to suck nectar from the flower. The nectar is rich in sugar, which fuels the energy required for hovering. Hummingbirds also have a long tongue to lap up nectar.

This little guy was fun to watch.  I hope I see him again! (And hopefully I’ll have some stamping for you tomorrow. )  Thanks for stopping by!

Here’s one I made a while ago.  There’s no stamping, but I wanted to share it anyway…I really like how it turned out.  I got the Dutch Girl paper here from Jacksonbelle’s store.  The sentiment is from a set of rub-ons by DCWV.  I like the assortment of sentiments in their “Quote Stack” tablets but a word of warning…take care in placing the rub-on onto your paper.  They are very sticky and if you accidentally drop it in the wrong spot, you can’t move it.  (I learned that the hard way.)

I used Confetti White for the card base, covering the front with a piece of coordinating Dutch Girl (solid color, but ”distressed-around-the-edges”patterned”) paper.  The matted sentiment is raised on dimensionals and I used a Crop-a-dile (of course ) to set the eyelets.  For a quick coordinating envelope, I just added a strip of the scalloped trim to the flap.  Super easy/super quick set!

Thanks for stopping by!

     Cardstock:  Stampin’ Up! (Confetti White)

     Patterned Paper:  Cosmo Cricket (Dutch Girl:  Anna, Klara)

     Rub-on:  DCWV (Friendship)

     Accessories:  Stampin’ Up Real Red eyelets, twine, dimensionals

I don’t have many stamp sets for men (old or young) and I struggle with anything non-feminine whether it’s “manly,” “boyish” or even “non-gender specific.”  But I wanted to make a card for my husband for Father’s Day.  (He’s a big Amy Grant fan so I bought tickets to see her and Vince Gill in July.  He’ll love it! )

I used Chocolate Chip for the base (and I put that paper away so I won’t grab it for a while…or I’ll at least try not to).  The striped paper is from a sheet of My Mind’s Eye Signature Suite.  I actually do buy some patterned paper with the intention of making a guy-type card, but it’s “work” for me so I don’t usually do it unless I “need” to.  (It’s not that i don’t “want” to do it, I just have a hard time doing it.)

I’ve had this old Tractor Time set for a while–I don’t believe I’ll ever part with it.  I stamped the tractor onto 140# watercolor paper using black Stazon and colored with ink and an aquapainter.  I sponged all edges of the watercolor paper as well as the patterned paper (although those edges aren’t showing well in the photo…it’s a lot “dirtier” than it looks here).  I used snap stamps for the sentiment, and the brads are my absolute favorite–Karen Foster antique thumbtacks.  I love them, but they’re a bit tricky to find.  You can get them here.

Thanks for looking!   

     Cardstock:  Chocolate Chip, watercolor paper

     Patterned Paper:  MME Signature Suite “That Boy”

     Stamps:  Tractor Time, Karen Foster Snap Stamps (mini formal)

     Ink:  Black Stazon, Wasabi, Garden Green, Close to Cocoa, River Rock, Ranger

     Walnut Distress Ink

     Accessories:  Karen Foster antique thumbtack brads, aquapainter, sponge

     Finished card size: 5″ x 5″