Paper Cuts

This new Boho Blosssoms set by My Favorite Things (available October 1st) is gorgeous, but it’s not a style I’m used to and it has put me totally out of my comfort zone.  After several attempts, I like this one the best.

I covered a vanilla card with the dotted paper, then adhered the floral strip to another piece of cardstock for support.  I had to raise that panel on dimensionals because of the bulk of the crocheted lace.  The flower is stamped in Chocolate Chip and adhered to the floral panel with the brad. 

The sentiment “patch” is a pattern-free strip of the floral print.  I sponged the edges, pieced the words together for the sentiment and added the extra long stitches.

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Sunday!  One more new set tomorrow!!! 

(Don’t forget…if you’re interested, Lindsey’s mono adhesive share is down to $1.80 per refill!  I think there are only a couple days left to get in on the deal.  Details on this post.)

Cardstock:  SU Very Vanilla     Patterned Paper:  My Mind’s Eye Wild Asparagus     Stamps:  My Favorite Things “Boho Blossoms”     Ink:  SU Chocolate Chip, Ranger Walnut Distress     Accessories:  Mat pack/needle, Chocolate Chip marker, Making Memories Vintage Hip Trim Gracen, Spare Parts antique brad, sponge, dimensionals.  Finished card size 5” x 5”.

Spider legs are on today’s menu at the Creepy Cafe, and since I had to mask off the wine glasses, headless bat girl and her friend get to drink from the bottle. lol. 

This is my sample for the third new set to be released by My Favorite Things on October 1st, Meet Me at the Cafe.  One thing I’ve forgotten to mention in the previous posts is that there will be a “Take Five” special with the October 1st release.  You’ll be able to purchase all five sets for $65.  Great deal!

So, I feel a little bit guilty having made something pretty gross out of an otherwise very sweet stamp set, but sometimes I just can’t control the things that pop into my head.  I really do like this set and I *will* use it again for a more normal purpose.  The spider, obviously, is not from Meet Me at the Cafe, but Fright Night.

I used Martha Stewart’s halloween dp (I’m sure she’d be thrilled) because of the smaller prints.  The spider, dress fringe, bracelets and corner dots were made shiny with 3-d glaze pens, and the spider is raised a bit on a rolled up glue dot.  The bats on each end of the sentiment are cute little bat brads by Making Memories.

One unrelated note of interest, Lindsey is having a mono adhesive refill share.  The more she orders, the lower the price!  You can get the details here.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope this wasn’t *too* awfully creepy.  Have a great day!

Cardstock:  SU Black, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla     Patterned Paper:  Martha Stewart Halloween     Stamps:  My Favorite Things “Meet Me in the Café” and “Fright Night”     Ink:  Brilliance Graphite Black     Accessories:  Copic markers, black and orange Sakura 3-d glaze pens, glue dots, Making Memories bat brads.  Finished card size 5 ½” x 4 ¼”.

This set, It’s a Jungle Out There, is one of my favorites of the new My Favorite Things releases available October 1st.  I just love this elephant!  Also in the set is a little monkey, a giraffe, a lion…I have another sample I’ll post next week using all the animals.

I got the idea to tie a string around the elephant’s trunk so he/she won’t forget!!   I used a white gel pen to color in the tusks and toes.  The head and focal image panel are all raised on dimensionals.  (I know…I use a ton of those.)

You can check out other samples by the design team by clicking here for blog links.

Be sure to check back tomorrow. I’ll have a sample for Meet Me at the Cafe and I’m *certain* that my sample is NOT what Kim or Christy (the stamp designers) are expecting….well, maybe from me.  LOL.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous Friday!

Cardstock:  SU Night of Navy, Papertrey Ink white     Patterned Paper:  Pebbles, Inc. Boys Only Dots and Boys Only Stripes     Stamps:  My Favorite Things It’s a Jungle Out There     Ink:  Brilliance Graphite Black, SU Always Artichoke and More Mustard     Accessories:  White string, sewing machine/white thread, Signo white gel pen, dimensionals.  Finished card size:  4 ¼” x 4 ¼”.

Here’s a sneak peek at one of the five new sets by My Favorite Things to be released October 1st, How Sweet it Is.   Every day through October 1st, I’ll be posting a sample for a different set, so please check back!

This set is all about sisters and chocolate.  Since I don’t have any sisters, I just went for the chocolate.

I’ve had some crafting “issues” this week.  This one was mechanical (as opposed to the physical one I’ll tell you about later-lol).  When I was stitching the zig-zag, my bobbin got all freaky and caused THE biggest wad of thread on the back of this card that I have EVER seen.  It was eNORmous!!!  When I cut away the mess, some of the stitching came out…thus, the vertical green strip.  Slight change in layout plans…but I *always* look for a way to hide the boo-boos if possible! 

Let’s see…other details…The patterned paper is Webster’s Pages (called “Snickerdoodle”…yum!) designed by Terri Conrad.  I used a marker to color the vanilla ribbon and the chair is popped up on dimensionals.  I think that’s about it!

Thanks for stopping by! Don’t forget to check back tomorrow.  I’ll have another sneak peek, this time from my favorite of the new release sets!  Have a great day!

Cardstock:  SU Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla     Patterned Paper:  Webster’s Pages Pink Lemonade Collection “Snickerdoodle”     Stamps: My Favorite Things “How Sweet It Is”     Ink:  Brilliance Graphite Black, SU Mellow Moss and Creamy Caramel     Accessories:  Copic and SU markers, ivory taffeta ribbon, Mellow Moss eyelet, sewing machine/thread, dimensionals.     Finished card size 5 ½” x 4 ¼”.

EDITED to answer some questions…

The box is 3 1/4″ x 3 1/4″ x 1″.  It will hold about four cards, but the envelopes do not fit.  The box is held closed by a little slot (on the box) and a little cut out flap (on the flap).  If you look closely, you can see it above the flower.  Thanks for the questions, Tara!  

I made this to hold a special little gift for a friend, but now I’ve decided to save the gift for Christmas.  So I’ll just save the card and box for something else.

Here’s what I did…I started with a Bravo Burgundy Stampin’ Up Bloomin’ Box.  (I know that pic doesn’t look like burgundy…I couldn’t seem to adjust the color properly.)  I used Tombow Mono Multi to hold the box together.  It works just as well as tacky tape and is much more economical. 

I cut pieces of the patterned paper to fit the front, back and flap, using a craft knife to cut the openings for the box closure (a slit on the flap, a slot on the front).  For the handle, I cut a 6″ x 5/8″ strip of burgundy cardstock, scored and folded 1/4″ in from each short side and glued each end to the inside of the flap.

The flowers are from Lizzie Anne Designs Funky Floral set.  I stamped them in Bravo Burgundy onto Vanilla cardstock, cut out and attached with brads. 

Thanks for looking, and have a great day!

Cardstock:  Stampin’ Up! Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla     Patterned Paper:  Scrapworks Florabella “Ringaround”     Stamps:  Lizzie Anne Designs “Funky Floral” and “Simply Sentiments”     Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Bravo Burgundy, Black     Accessories:  Stampin’ Up! Bravo Burgundy Bloomin Box, pewter brads (Making Memories).   Finished card size: 3” x 3.”

This is one of my favorite of the new images from Inkadinkado, “Mod Bird.”  I just love him!

He’s paired here with some Imaginisce fall paper…not really looking too “mod” with warm/fall prints and colors, but he’s still cute!

I stamped him on a square of vanilla cardstock and watercolored with More Mustard and a bit of Bravo Burgundy.  I outlined him a bit with Barely Banana and matted the piece onto burgundy cardstock.

After adhering the mustard-colored print to the card base, I added the block of flower paper and zig-zagged across the top and bottom, finishing off with the sentiment and some burgundy grosgrain with hemp. 

Maybe if I keep making fall-ish cards, I can wish that cooler weather here! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Cardstock:  SU Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla     Patterned Paper:  Imaginisce Out on a Whim Fall Flower Girl     Stamps:  Inkadinkado     Ink:  Brilliance Graphite Black, SU Bravo Burgundy, More Mustard, Barely Banana     Accessories:  Burgundy grosgrain, hemp, sewing machine/thread, dimensionals.  Finished card size 4 ¼” x 5 ½”.

I had a very nice visit this morning with a friend, another mom from my daughter’s preschool last year.  We sat outside of Caribou Coffee for two and a half hours just laughing and chatting away.  Wow, we have a lot more in common than I thought!  So I wanted to make her a little card just to let her know how much I enjoyed her company and how I look forward to getting together again.

This card fits today’s Limited Supply Challenge at SCS, Limited Layers.  Hmmm…I’m looking at it a little differently now…I could have used even fewer layers if I’d just used blocks of the patterned paper at the top and bottom instead of adding the blue across the center.  Oh well, it’s done. lol.

I paper pieced the dress, arms and coffee cup then stamped the larger cups onto the blue strip and onto the patterned paper, colored the insides of the cups with the white gel pen (they looked kind of weird with the pattern on the inside), then added the little brads as hangers.

I had a hard time keeping this card fairly simple.  I wanted to do a little more, but at any rate, I hope she likes it! 

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

Cardstock:  SU Bashful Blue, Papertrey Ink white     Patterned Paper:  7gypsies Mangho     Stamps:  My Favorite Things “Hot Stuff”     Ink:   Brilliance Graphite Black     Accessories:  Brads, Copic markers (E00 Skin White, E57 Light Walnut), Signo white gel pen.  Finished card size:  4 ¼” x 4 ¼”.

First, I just want to thank you guys again for checking back here and being interested in what I’m doing or saying.  I *really* appreciate it!

One of the most often asked questions I get is “Where do I buy my embellishments?”  Well, anywhere I see them!  But mostly from Recollections or Scrapbooks Plus, my semi-local scrap stores.  (I say semi-local because it really is a bit of a trip to these stores, but I stop by every chance I get!)

I’m often asked about these tool charms.  (You all know how much I love these charms!)  They are available at Recollections or online here at Crafter’s Toy Box or here at Paper Wishes (best price at the moment). 

Crafter’s Toy Box also carries the screw brads, both regular size and mini.   You can also find the mini-screw brads (and lots of other very cool KF brads) here at Frantic Stamper. 

Also available at Crafter’s Toy Box are Karen Foster thumbtack brads. As I’ve said before, they have the best price I’ve been able to find.  You can also get these brads from ebay (but beware–sometimes they are sold in less than full packages).   The last time I was in Michael’s, I noticed that they carry a line of brads by Accent Depot (which has actually been acquired by Hot off the Press) that look just like those thumbtack brads, only packaged a little differently.  The Karen Foster brads come in an assortment of colors.  The Accent Depot brads come in packages of one color only (at least that’s what they had in Michael’s).   But these Accent Depot brads are flat on top just like the thumbtack brads.  (The packaging refers to them as “Round Brads.”)

–Marcia asked how long it takes me to make a card like this.  Well…sometimes it just works and sometimes it doesn’t. I did plan this one ahead of time, but the coloring took a while.  If I know how I want to lay things out, a card like this still might take me a couple hours.  (Obviously, I don’t make a ‘lot’ of cards like this one though…it’s fun once in a while, but it really is a lot of work.)

–Cathy asks how I color my images.  This depends on what type of image it is.  On the card mentioned above, I used Prismacolor pencils.  If I had had Copics then, I would have much preferred to use those. It’s just less work to use markers than pencils or ink…for me anyway.

–Tara asks about my favorite technique for watercoloring.  I prefer to watercolor on watercolor paper, especially with designs like this.  If the design of the stamp is kind of “sketchy,” I tend to watercolor kind of sloppily, adding more color or darker colors on the already shaded areas.  If the image is more linear like this, I have to be a lot more careful. My brush always seems to get too wet and I don’t seem to get the colors as vibrant as I’d like.  I just need more practice.

–Karen asked how many stamp sets I own, how are they organized and how do I decide what to get rid of and what to keep.  I have no clue how many sets I own, but I’ll guess around 60 SU sets and a lot of others from other companies.   I have my stamps grouped by company. So far the only group that needs some sort of organization is SU.  I have all my background stamps in one spot as well as all sentiment sets.  I try to keep holiday sets separate, but other than that, they’re just stacked on shelves.  As far as what to keep, I only keep the ones I love and know I’ll use again, like Petal Prints and Buggies & Booties.

–And Nisha asked which Copic gray marker I am using to outline images (as in Grumpabella in the post below).  Right now I only have one and that’s Cool Gray C3.

Thanks again for stopping by!  If you have any other questions, please ask!! 

And WAHOO for Survivor tonight!!!     (I just had to use that icon. lol.)

Hello!  Sorry for the lag between posts…It’s been a bit busy here, but I wanted to take a break for this week’s sketch challenge over at SCS.

I thought Stamping Bella’s Grumpabella was perfect for this week’s layout.  (And I just LOVE her expression…I think we can all relate!)

I wanted her robe to match the background paper, but there wasn’t a tiny enough print in this Cosmo Cricket Little Girls paper pack.  So I used the label sheet, you know the one that shows what patterns are in the package.  I stamped the robe part onto the one little square with the same pattern as the background.  Then I stamped the little cup onto a different square.  I got a bit lucky…the robe barely fit.  I have to say this was not my idea.  I saw someone else do it and I’m sorry, but I can’t remember who.

I “borrowed” a little bobby pin from my daughter’s stash and colored it black with a Copic marker.  The bit of twill was also colored with a Copic.

One last bit of news…I’m so excited to have been selected as part of the All That Scraps design team!  I look forward to getting to know and working with these talented ladies: Jenn Diercks, Jennifer Ofiana, Julie Buhler, Sophia Landry , Valerie Stangle, Amy Rysavy and Lauren Meader.  (Thanks so much, Amy!!!)

Thanks for stopping by!! 

Cardstock:  Real Red, Very Vanilla     Patterned Paper:  Cosmo Cricket Little Girls     Stamps:  Stamping Bella’s Grumpabella and Magical Day     Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black     Accessories:  Copic and SU markers, bobby pin, twill, dimensionals.  Finished card size:  5 ½” x 4 ¼”.

I don’t know about you all, but I can’t wait for Fall!  I’ve been wanting to play around a bit with this set from My Favorite Things, Falling for You.  How fun!

This is one of my favorite layouts.  Pretty simple actually.  I added a bit of zig-zag stitching along the top and bottom of the patterned piece (from Basic Grey’s Mellow paper pad, available here…and it’s on sale!).  I wish I had used dark brown thread or faux stitching with a brown marker.  It would have shown better, but I still like it.

I colored the image with Copic markers and added a few scattered leaves popped up on dimensionals.  The brads are my favorite, Karen Foster thumbtacks.  When I was running low on the antique metal ones, I figured I might as well get the other colors too, so these are from the Earth Tones package.  I found Crafter’s Toy Box to have the best price for these, but beware, they seem to sell out very quickly.

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Saturday!

Cardstock:  SU Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla     Patterned Paper:  Basic Grey Mellow 6” x 6” paper pad     Stamps:  My Favorite Things “Falling for You”     Ink:  Brilliance Graphite Black     Accessories:  Copic and SU markers, Karen Foster Thumbtack brads, sewing machine/thread, dimensionals.  Finished card size 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″.