Celebration Moments

Oprah's Table

This is the first card that I made for last Saturday's Inspiration Challenge.  I went with the colors for this card - very bright red and turquoise. 

The flower is stamped with Stampin' Up! Red Craft Ink then embossed with Stampin' Up! Clear Embossing Powder. 

The edges of the white matting have a clear glitter on them.

The Turquoise Matting has been scalloped with the new Stampin' Up! Scallop Edge Punch.

We'll definitely be using this in class!!!

Stamps: Sketched Flowers by PrickleyPear.com

Paper: Misc. Black, Tourquoise, White; Stampin' Up! Prints Pack

Ink: Stampin' Up! Craft Red

Accessories: Stampin' Up! Clear Embossing Powder, Stampin' Up! Scallop Edge Punch, Misc Ribbon, Clear Glitter & Glue

ATC Gone Card!!

One of the challenges at Splitcoaststampers.com last week was to make a little Lunch Box Card or a little Artist Trading Card to stick into a lunch box to remind our little ones we love them and are thinking about them.  But this could also be for a dear hubby - just to remind him that you're thinking about him when he's not around. 

I have this cool new stamp from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps of a King of Hearts Playing Card - I think it's so neat!!!  I stamped him with Stampin' Up! Chocolate Craft Ink onto a piece of designer paper.  Added a little color with a gold paint pen and a SU Baroque Burgundy Marker.

This is like working with a tiny scrapbook page - it measures 2-3/4 by 4-1/4.  Dress it up with some ribbon, flowers and a little hardware and you have a little piece of creative artwork.

I had this Cuttlebugged card front sitting around for ages and thought - yep! - I think the ATC I just made would look great on the front of a card.  What do you think??

The card is cut lengthwise from an 8-1/2 X 11 piece of cardstock - you cut it 4-1/4" wide then fold in half creating a top folded card. The top of the card fits perfectly in a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder.  Make a few of these and then you can just grab them when you need a card in a hurry.  Place a large flower in the center of the card with a simple sentiment underneath and you're good to go!!

Stamps: Smile & Vintage Collage from Prickley Pear

Paper: Chocolate, Cream, Cosmo Cricket, Love Elsie

Ink: Stampin' Up! Craft Chocolate, Stampin' Up! Baroque Burgundy Marker

Accessories: Stampin' Up! Gold Paint Pen, Heidi Swapp Flower, Stampin' UP! Square Eyelets & HodgePodge Hardware & Circle Punches, Love Elsie Ribbon, Spiral Punch, k & Company Rhinestone, Cuttlebug Traffic Jam Embossing Folder

Techniques: ATC

His Majesty!

Saturday's Inspiration Challenge at Splitcoaststampers.com was a beautiful oriental looking table setting. I made two cards for this challenge and this is the second card.

I had really wanted to use this beautiful lion stamp from Prickley Pear  - I picked up on the oriental look of the table setting by adding the punched out corners to my card.  Also, tried to keep the card elegant looking like the table setting.

The Lion and Flourish were stamped with Stampin' Up! Chocolate Craft Ink - then heat set.  The orange twill ribbon is from the $1 bin at Michaels.  The only thing that I wish I had done was to stamp the Lion a little more to the right.

Stamps: Flourish, Lion & Sentiment all Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps

Paper: Misc: ivory, terracotta, gold, black, olive

Ink: Stampin' Up! Chocolate Craft, Close To My Heart AutumnTerracotta, Stampin' Up! Chocolate Marker

Accessories: Misc Ribbon, K & Co. Bling, Friskars Edge Cutters, Stampin' Up! Dimensional Dots, Sizzix Corner Template

Bookmark Card

This beautiful elephant will help you remember where you closed the pages of your book...

Hidden behind the oval window is a bookmark.  I had several challenges here ... as part of my goodie package from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps I was sent some oval window cards and a variety of transparency tags .... hmmmm .... what to do with them. 

I love elephants - and this one is a beauty - so rather than keep him hidden in this card I thought how fun it would be to use him as a bookmark.  See the inside of the card below.

The card started out as a 5 X 7 and I trimmed it down to 4-3/4 By 6-3/4, then mounted it on red, then black cardstock.

Cut a small black and red panel for the bottom front (this covers the brads that I used on the inside) - cuttlebugged the red panel.

Used scallopped scissors to add the black trim and a Sizzix Corner Template for balance.

The K & Co. fabric brad is holding the bookmark in place and can easily be removed.

Stamps: none

Paper: Prickley Pear Oval Window Card, Black, Red

Ink: none

Accessories: Gold Twine, Yarn, Ribbon, Prickley Pear Transparency, Kay & Co. Brad, Cuttlebug, Scalloped Scissors, Sizzix Corner Template

Hey Baby!

How did you do that?  Remember "Frankie" from C.C. Designs - how her pants matched the designer paper - would you like to know how I did that.  It's so easy! Stamp the image twice - once onto your plain cardstock and once onto background paper.  With a really great pair of small craft scissors - like Close To My Heart Micro-Tip Scissors - cut out the parts of the stamped image you want to piece. 

The swimsuit for the Prickley Pear "Pin-Up Girl" has been paper pieced twice.  The swimsuit has been stamped on the light green designer paper and then again onto a peach designer paper. Her suit was carefully cut out with the micro-tipped scissors - cutting on the outside of the image - glued the pieces down with Tombo Mono Aqua Liquid Glue.  Repeated the process with the swimsuit flowers and bow.

The girl is stamped onto Stampin' Up! Watercolor Paper and colored in with Stampin' Up! Watercolor Crayons.  The center of the flowers have been filled with Stampin' Up Green Micro Beads (used the Tombo Liquid Glue).

A big thank you to Kathy for the cute little glass beads that are mounted to either side of the image.  Kathy gave me these beads about three years ago - I knew one day I'd use them.  The beads are glued into place with Stampin' Up! Mini Glue Dots. 

Finally, the the layout for this card was from the Sketch Challenge over at Splitcoaststampers.com today.  Make it a great one - get out there and create!!

Stamps: Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps 1/2 Sheets: "Motorcylce & Pin-Up Girl" and "Flourished Tags & Sentiments"

Paper: Stampin' Up! Night of Navy, So Saffron, Watercolor - Designer Pattern Paper???

Ink: Black VersaMark

Accessories:  Stampin' Up Micro Beads (in center of flowers on swimsuit), Stampin' Up! Watercolor Crayons, Stampin' Up! Circle Punches, Glass Flower Beads from Kathy R, Close To My Heart Micro Scissors, Tombo Mono Aqua Liquid Glue, Tweezers for holding onto all those little cut pieces you glue down!

a Thousand Miles

I love a challenge - as a Design Team Member for Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps we get goodies in the mail to create projects with.  These goodies are always a surprise.  Our job is to take this collection of goodies and create a card or altered item with them.  I recently received this very artsy sheet of Vintage Transparencies - that was the challenge - how to use them! I really loved the photo of the old card on the Roadside Vintage Collection Transparency Sheet and started thinking I'm sure it must have traveled down Route 66 in it's day!  So Map, Travel, Postcard, Smell the Flowers - yes - the idea was finally coming together.  Here you see the outcome...

Stamps:  Collageable Images by Prickley Pear

Ink: Ancient Page Sandlawood Dye Ink, VersaMark

Paper: Misc. Burgundy and Black

Misc: Roadside Vintage Collection Transparency (Prickley Pear){Buy It!}; Old Map; Old Postcard; Pop Top Pull; Metal Heart Brad; Heidi Swapp Flower; Basic Grey Ribbon; Close To My Heart Twill (White Daisy Collection Ribbon Round) {Buy It!}; Stampin' Up! Copper Embossing Powder; Misc. Claret Embossing Powder; Sewing Machine

Feelin' A Little Artsy!

I made three, fun, artsy cards yesterday - this is the second one.  And what was so funny is that the Monday Try A New Technique over at Splitcoaststampers was to try this cool Cuttlebug Technique. After you've Cuttlebugged your cardstock - flip it over - then brayer with ink.  You should be inking the negative side of the image (mine is on the positive side). 

Visit the Gallery over at Splitcoaststampers.com to see all the cool cards everyone has made with this technique!

The left panel of the card is embossed with black embossing powder - spritzed with bleach - heat set and finally spritzed with Radiant Rain Shimmering Mist.

The Transaparency Tag is colored on the backside with Sharpie Fine Tip Markers then mounted onto white cardstock.

Stamps:  Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps (sentiment & diamond background)

Paper: Black, Magenta, Teal, White behind the transparency

Ink: Sharpie Pens, Versamark

Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Cuttlebug, Prickley Pear Transparency, Gems (Target $1), Variety of Fibers, Close To My Heart 3D Foam Squares

Love Much

Today is  Featured Stamper Challenge Day over at Splitcoaststampers - BeckyTE was the featured artist today and I was inspired by the beautiful card she made - "Serene Living" 

Close To My Heart  Organdy Ribbon {Buy It!}  was tied onto the front of the card and then carefully heat distressed. The edge of the Olive CS was also distressed using the Close To My Heart Edge Distresser {Buy It!} .

All images have been stamped onto watercolor paper and then colored with the Stampin' Up! Watercolor Crayons. A Close To My Heart Sponge Dauber {Buy It!} was used to sponge on Chocolate Ink and then a gold paint pen was used on the edges of the paper.

Remember the beautiful glass beads Close To My Heart used to sell - I still have a small supply of them so I tied a few onto the ribbon with Stampin' Up! Gold Twine.  Added a metal tag from the Stampin' Up! Hodge Podge Hardware Kit to highlight the words "Love Much" - so there you have it - what I've been up to this Sunday Morning!

Shopping & Stamping!

Met my girlfriend yesterday in Chagrin Falls for a little shopping and lunching.  There was a little chill in the air but the sun was shining - we always have a good time shopping together.  I thought my photo's of my cards were getting a little boring so I picked up a few little things to occassionally sneak into a photo or two - thought I'd share some of my finds with you.

Isn't that little bug on the chair so cute!  And bunnies - I just love bunnies!!

Wanted to share two more things I made with my Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps - part of the requirement for being a Design Team Member is making two cards/month and one supplied altered project/quarter.  I was supplied with a Metal CD Tin to alter (decorate) - the tin also has a little fold out album inside.   

And this is the second of my cards I submitted to Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps.  Hope they inspire you.

This card has a Japanese Stab Binding - the Japanese Stab Binding Technique isn't hard - you just need to follow the directions closely - and then you say to yourself - "OH - that wasn't bad - I did it!"  LOL

Also - the lips on the Moon really caught the reflection from the light when taking the photo - she's such a hussy! - but in real life it doesn't look like that - (everything is in the mail so I can't re-take any photos.)

All stamps Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps.

A Little Bird....

I'd like to share with you my first card that I've made with my new Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. The card measures 5 X 7 and is a top fold card.  It's basically pretty simple: card base, black mat, Sizzix Corner Templates, Silver Mat, Black Mat, White Cardstock.  I did use a stamp placement tool in order to get the two birds and the swirl exactly where I wanted them.  The edge of the White Cardstock is embossed with a Cuttlebug Corner Embossing Folder.  A piercing tool was used under the sentiment and also pierced a small hole under the beak of the left bird.  Punched out a small heart and hung it from the bird's beak with embroidery floss.

Stamps:  Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps

Paper:  Stampin' Up! Real Red, Basic Black & Whisper White; Misc. Silver

Ink:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

Misc: Cuttlebug Corner Embossing Folder; Sizzix Corner Template; Heart Punch; Embroidery Floss