Paper Cuts

Hi everyone!  :)  

Cards for kids…hmmmm.  Although I like making “kid” themed cards, I don’t always want to put too much work into them.  Honestly, the kids don’t (usually) care and the card will most likely end up in the trash right after it’s opened. 

I made a shaker card once for a friend’s five year old daughter.  I thought the child might enjoy seeing things moving inside the card when shaken.  Fun for a kid, right?  Yes, until it’s handed over to the younger sibling only to have it ripped to shreds with tiny beads flying everywhere.  The mom told me all about it.  (Really?  Did I need to know that my hard work was handled so carelessly and destroyed so swiftly?)  And to top it off, the mom was upset with me for giving her child something that caused a mess in her home.  (REALLY??) 

That situation totally changed my thought process when making a card for a child.  Keep it simple.  In some cases REALLY SIMPLE.

Happy Birthday

This card is kind of simple, no fancy doo-dads or moving parts, but I did put enough effort into it to carefully consider the recipient.  Noone wants to hear about the destruction (or discarding) of their creative work, no matter how much effort was put into it.   Just sayin…

I’ll be back tomorrow with our October JiFFy challenge!  We’re a bit behind, but better late than never, right?  (In this case, anyway.) 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Stamps: Stamping Bella “Monstah Bash” and Cornish Heritage Farms “Tag! You’re It!” (Kim Hughes Collection)   Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black   Cardstock: Prism Black, Super Smooth White   Patterned Paper:  Cosmo Cricket The Boyfriend Mini Deck   Accessories: Copic markers (R14, R17, YR23, YR61, YR68, BG05, BG09, YG91, YG93, W00, W1, W3, B0000), black Sakura 3-d glaze pen, brads.  Finished size 4 ¼” x 5 ½”.

Hi everyone!  I hope you had a great weekend!  Our company has arrived, but we’ve been mostly hanging around the house.  It’s been cold and rainy here.  Ick.   It looks like tomorrow will finally be a better day. 

Here’s a birthday card I made for a friend.

Happy Birthday

This is another of the Stamping Bella images I’ve had for quite a while and just never got around to using.  Finally…inked!  Once the card was complete, I very lighted applied Cupcake Card Scents around the edges.  Oh my gosh…this card smelled soooo good!  (I got mine from All That Scraps.  It looks like they no longer have that fragrance.  :(  But there are others! Check them out here.  I wonder if April Fresh smells like Downy…or if Monkey really smells like a monkey. Bwahahahaha.  Ew.)

That’s all from me today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Stamps:  Stamping Bella “Is that a Cupcake on your Head? ” and “happy birthday”   Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black   Cardstock: Prism Suede Brown Dark, Super Smooth White   Patterned Paper:  Bo Bunny Kitchen Spice Ginger and Sesame   Accessories:  Copic markers (E000, E00, E08, R20, E33, E35, E37, R12, YR0000, YR00, YR02, YR04, YR07), ribbon, button, jute string, black and clear 3-d glaze pens, Nestabilities, sewing machine, dimensional boosters.  Finished size 5 ½” x 5 ½”.

Hi everyone!  It’s time for another hop sponsored by Stamping Bella.   This time everyone is using images from the Lulu Collection.  :)   If you’re just popping in here, you may want to go back to the beginning with Emily/Blogabella.

Awwww Shucks

     
This is Henrietta.  I think she’s so sweet. 

I had a bit of a challenge with the trim on her dress.  I wanted the balls to be red so I colored over the black with an opaque white pen (a couple times), colored over the white with a red marker and lastly a clear 3-d glaze pen.

I finished the inside very simply and continued the sentiment there.

Layout is from an older MFT sketch.

How about a prize? The folks at Stamping Bella have decided to hide a prize somewhere along the hop! One pre-selected blogger will draw a random winner from the comments on her post, and the winner will receive a $25 Gift Voucher to Stamping Bella!!!  The fun part is…we’re not telling you who it is! So as you hop, make sure you leave comments on every post so you have a chance to win!!  The winner will be announced on Monday in the Splitcoast forum. 
Your next stop in the hop is with Jane. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day!

(Just in case there’s a break in the chain, Shannan has a master list of hop participants here.)

Stamps:  Stamping Bella “Henrietta” (Lulu Collection)  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black   Cardstock:  Prism Black, Stampin’ Up Naturals Ivory   Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket Early Bird 6×6 mini-deck   Accessories:  Copic markers (E0000, E00, R27, R29, R0000, Y0000, YG93, YR23), Inkssentials white opaque pen, clear Sakura 3-d glaze pen, SU buttons, black jute string, brads, Nestabilities, 1 ¼” and 1 3/8” square punches.  Finished size 5” x 5”.

Hi everyone!  

Two or three weeks ago I was talking to my friend, Lori…or maybe we were emailing… I can’t remember.  Anyway, we were discussing the number of stamps we have that we’ve never used and talked about having little mini-challenges here and there to help decrease the “neglected” pile.  (I counted my unused Stamping Bella images…17.  Yes, it’s insane.  And that’s just Stamping Bella.)  Little did I know, Lori had sent on it’s way to me this adorable image (upping my count to 18; I’m proud to say I’m now down to 13 unused Bellas…insert eye roll).

So today Lori and I have for you a Double Dipper using this image. 

Never Stop Sparkling

Addy ‘Tude LOVES to Sparkle.  She’s so much fun!  You just can’t use this image without adding glitter.  I added Star Dust Stickles to her earrings, ring, dress and scarf.  A clear glaze pen gave her sunglasses a nice shine but I couldn’t capture it in the photo.

Pop on over to check out Lori’s Addy ‘Tude.  :)  I encourage you to do some Double Dipping with a friend.  It’s fun!  (I’ll be doing more!)

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Stamps:  Stamping Bella “Addy ‘Tude LOVES to Sparkle”  Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Ranger Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress  Cardstock:  Prism Suede Brown Dark, Natural Smooth  Patterned Paper: Basic Grey Porcelain 6×6 paper pad   Accessories: Copic markers (E00, R81, R83, R85, YG91, YG93, YG95, E31, E33, E35, E57, C00, C1, C3), chocolate organdy, American Crafrts Chestnut brads, Star Dust Stickles, Sakura 3-d clear glaze pen, sewing machine, sponge, dimensional boosters.  Finished size 5” x 5”.

Like many other children, my daughter loves crafts.  To her, my stamp room is like a giant play room.  ()  She loves the paper, ribbon, brads, all of it.  She sometimes helps herself to my supplies () but overall she’s pretty good about it. 

Yesterday afternoon, two hours before party time, I say to my daughter, “I need to make Mattie a birthday card.  I’m going to do that right now.” “Ok, Mom” she replied. 

Happy Birthday

A little while later, my daughter sees the card and says “No, no, no.”  (Huh?  I kind of like it.)  “I want to make it myself.”  Oh.  Ok.  So she chooses the same image I used and begins coloring (with my Copics-).  It took her a LONG time but it looked fantastic.  I was actually surprised how well she colored the image.  (She’s only 7).  She hands me the colored image and says “Here, Mommy.  You can pick the paper.”  Then she started playing with a neighborhood friend. 

By now, this party is 45 minutes away so I picked the paper, picked some felt flowers and brads and finished the card.  My daughter walks into my stamp room, sees the card and loses it.  TEARS, heavy sobbing….”I WANTED TO MAKE IT MYSELF!  NOW THEY’LL KNOW **I** DIDN’T DO IT!!!”     I felt terrible.  I couldn’t take the card apart.  I used Mono Multi to glue it together.   More tears and sobbing.  Then she got an idea…

She took a piece of kraft cardstock, rolled it into a cone shape, trimmed it to the perfect size and (with my help although I had no idea at the time what the heck she was doing) used sticky tape to hold it together.  She digs through my patterned paper, finds a bright pink dotted sheet, sticks her fist in the middle of it, gathering the sides around her wrist to make a “ball,” trims the edges and shoves it down into the “ice cream cone.” She then wrote her happy birthday message on the outside of the cone.  It was SO cute!!!   (She wanted to add a “blue ball” to the top but it was time to go, whew!)  We shoved the cone into the bag with the gift and out the door we went to Chuck E. Cheese (sympathy, please). 

So my lesson for the day was, “You pick the paper” means “You - pick - the - paper… and THAT’S IT.”  The next time, I will know.

So anyway, back to MY card… Is this Stamping Bella image cute or what?   I used Spica clear glitter pens to add sparkle to the ice cream and the lollipop on her dress.  The Nesties were a gift from my friend, Julia.  (Thank you again, J!)

One final bit of enabling before I go…Lindsey has new Making Memories (really cute paper and embellishments) and Pink Paislee in her store (HERE).  I’m off to place my order before it’s gone!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day!! 

Stamps:  Stamping Bella “Amplee’tude” and “happy birthday”  Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black   Cardstock:  Prism Crabapple Dark, Natural Smooth   Patterned Paper:  Basic Grey Lemonade paper pad   Accessories:  Copic markers (E000, E00, E33, E35, R20, R81, R83, R85, YG03, BG0000), Prismacolor pencils, Spica clear and melon glitter pens, Nestabilities, ribbon, button, cream jute, Martha Stewart border punch.  Finished size 5” x 5”.

When I placed my last order with Stamping Bella, I couldn’t resist adding this adorable image to my pile.

Happy Boo-day

How cute are they???  I just love them!

                  
I used Copics for the image and then added some ground with Prismacolor pencils.

For the sentiment, I split the Happy Birthday stamp, substituting the “boo” for the “birth.”

I’m off to clean for company.  Thanks for looking!  Have a great rest-of-the-weekend! 

Stamps:  Stamping Bella “The Mummy, the Witch and the Pirate,” “Happy Birthday” and “Boo”   Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black   Cardstock:  Prism Black, Super Smooth White   Patterned Paper:  Bo Bunny Mango Luau Dot and Luau Dude   Accessories:  Copic markers (C00, C1, C3, C5, C7, E00, E0000, E35, E50, R20, YR0000, YG23, YG06, G14, YR02, YR04, BV00, BV02), Making Memories ribbon, Basic Grey button, dimensional boosters.  Finished size 5 ½” x 4 ¼”.

Hi everyone!  I’m filling in for Julia this week, hosting her WT challenge.  I thought it might be fun to add some kind of fuzz to our projects…fuzzy string, trim, paper, embellishments…anything, as long as it’s fuzzy or looks like it’s fuzzy.  Sound fun?  If you’d like to play along, upload your card or project to SCS using the keyword WT232 so everyone can see your fuzz.  (lol)

Happy Birthday

Dolly is another of my new Stamping Bella images.  (She’s in the Ketto category in case you want to add her to your cart.  Just trying to be helpful. )  

I added some red Fun Flock to the hearts on her jumper and then used some “fuzzier-than-I-normally-like-kind-of-pieces” of jute string in the buttons and cross-stitches.

My very sweet friend, Lori, made a sample for today’s fuzz challenge too.  Be sure to hop on over and check it out! (Btw, it’s her fault I bought this Dolly stamp…just sayin’. )

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Stamps:  Stamping Bella “Ketto’s Dolly” and “Happy Birthday”   Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black   Cardstock:  Prism Herbal Garden Dark, Natural Smooth   Patterned Paper:  Cosmo Cricket Early Bird   Accessories:  Copic markers (E000, E00, R20, YG63, YG67, YR23, R29, B12, B000, B0000, E31, E33, E57), Prismacolor pencils, natural jute string, Basic Grey buttons, Stampendous red Fun Flock, Quickie glue pen, dimensional boosters.  Finished size 5” x 5”.

TGIM! 

Have you seen the new Lulu Collection from Stamping Bella?  Oh my gosh. They are SO cute.  This is one of two I bought…or did I get three?  I can’t remember.  Anyway, I made this for a friend. 

Happy Birthday

I first stamped this image using Memento ink but I wasn’t satisfied with the coverage of the solid black areas so I switched to Palette ink.  Stupid move…  As soon as I colored the face with a Copic, the black ink bled and she looked like she had a beard.  (And I should have known that would happen.)  So I reinked my Memento black pad and started over.

She was super easy and very quick to color.  (After photographing the card, I realized I missed several of the partial dots around the edges of her dress so I did fill those in.  But I didn’t retake the photo.)  I only used three markers on the whole thing including the background shading.  It took much longer to drag out and use my Cuttlebug stuff than it did to color.  (At least something was quick and easy.)

I used a black 3-d gel pen to add some shiny dots to the cupcakes.  Did I wait long enough for the dots to dry before flipping the image over to apply adhesive?  Noooo.  So I started again.  

I wanted to add some real cross-stitches down the left side, leaving a space between each one.  But as I was poking the holes, I realized there was an odd number of them so I had to come up with another plan.  Thus, the wacky pattern.  I also opted to faux stitch in lieu of thread because the holes were actually too close together for the string I had and I was afraid the cardstock would rip.  I did NOT want to start over a third time.

I am happy with how this turned out…aside from all the aggravation.  Hopefully my friend will like it too. 
Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great Monday!

Stamp:  Stamping Bella “Harriet” (Lulu Collection)   Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black   Cardstock:  Prism Island Mist Dark, Natural Smooth   Patterned Paper:  My Mind’s Eye Breaking Free   Accessories:  Copic markers (E00, E08, BG49), oval Nestabilities, black Sakura 3-d gel pen, piercing template/needle, Inksenntials white opaque pen, Word Window punch, dimensional boosters.  Finished size 4 ¼” x 5 ½”.

Along with my few new Greeting Farm images (there are still a couple more I haven’t used), I have some Stamping Bella that’s been awaiting ink.  This is “Grattytude.” 

Be Happy

I used Copics to color the image and Prismacolor pencils to add the grass. (I’m still working on my “grass skills.”)  A yellow glitter pen adds just a tiny bit of sparkle to all of the flower centers.

The paper is new Basic Grey Lemonade (6×6 paper pad) from Jacksonbelle Embellishments.  (I love both of the new BG lines.)  The stitched felt flowers are by Prima, and I’m sure long gone.  I’ve had them forever.

I split the sentiment, using the last part on the inside of the card.

I’m off to run some errands!  Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Stamps:  Stamping Bella “Grattytude”   Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black   Cardstock: Prism Blush Red Dark, Super Smooth White   Patterned Paper: Basic Grey Lemonade 6×6 paper pad   Accessories:  Copic markers (E00, E31, E33, E35, RV000, RV34, B000, B0000, YR31), Prima stitched felt flowers, Basic Grey buttons, Lemon Spica glitter pen, glue dots, white string, pop dots.  Finished size 5 ½” x 5 ½”.

Hi everyone!  I’m trying to get back into the swing of things here and what better way than to celebrate a birthday!  It’s Emily’s birthday and there’s a big ol’ hop going on in her honor!  If you’re just popping in here, you may want to go back to the beginning at Blogabella.   (While you’re there, be sure to leave Emily some ginormous birthday hugs and wishes!)

Happy Birthday

Anise Ketto is doing her own little hop, skip and dance!  I turned her flower into a little birthday sign.  (It’s popped up on a foam square.)

I added a bit of Orange Peel Stickles to her wings and the flower in her hair.

So what’s a birthday celebration without a prize?  In addition to all the fun and fabulous projects you’re seeing, we have decided to hide a prize somewhere along the hop! One pre-selected blogger will draw a random winner from the comments on her post, and the winner will receive a $40 Gift Voucher to Stamping Bella!!! The fun part is…we’re not telling you who it is! So as you hop, be sure you leave comments on every post (if  you want a chance to win)!!  The winner will be announced on Monday in the Stamping Bella Member forum.

Your next stop in the hop is with CHRISTI THORSEN.  I’m SURE she has something spectacular to share! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day! 

Stamps:  Stamping Bella “Anise” Ketto; sentiment from “Billboardabella”  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black   Cardstock:  Prism Black, Super Smooth White; Stampin’ Up Pumpkin Pie   Patterned Paper:  Three Bugs in a Rug Butterfly Kisses “Frenzy” and “Big Dots”   Accessories:  Copic markers (E00, YR00, R00, R20, R46, YR02, YR04, B93, YG63, C1), Nestabilities, Queen & Co. brads, pop dots.  Finished size: 4 ½” x 4 ½”.