Patriotic Challenge

It's the 20th today, and that means it's time to make a card for the Dirty Dozen Alumni Challenge. Here are the rules we had to follow.

Challenge Focus: "Inside & Out"......stamp and decorate both the inside of your card AND the outside of the envelope. (any card size is ok) Please upload two photos.
Required Element: Patriotic element - interpret this any way you like (ex. color scheme, sentiment, image, whatever)
Restricted Element: No ribbon
Optional - Send your card to the troops so that they can in turn mail it home to family or friends (all themes and occasions welcome). If you choose to do so, Beate has agreed to accept them and send them to her husband. Please include the envelope with the card and mail them to Beate. Thanks!

Now, to the construction of the card:
I realize others have made star shapes before me, and I also know that my good friend Carolyn King (Cammie on SCS) has made many cards with the centers being the actual card, but I couldn't find one to link too. So those of you who have ventured into the card shape world before me...thank you so much for the inspiration. It really helped me this week.

For the star shape, I just photocopied my Cuttlebug star diecut and magnified it a gazillion times. *grin* I then cut it out and traced it onto Kraft CS and framed it with chocolate chip. The center circle opens to the left. To make that I just folded chocolate chip cs in half and put a nestabilities circle slightly off the fold and ran it through my cuttlebug. I then put Basicgrey magnetic snaps on the inside under the cs pieces so it stays closed. I love those little magnets. They're quite flat and VERY strong. The image: Biker Bee (Stampendous), is colored with copics and is stamped over with SU's Sanded bg stamp in Creamy Caramel to further distress it. The background stamp is the Broad Stripe Backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms. The punched star is also cuttlebug star diecuts. I sewed (very sloppily) around the edges, and wrapped some twine around a couple of the star points. (I was told twine was okay to use instead of ribbon...no buzzers here...*grin*)



Now for this challenge, we also had to decorate an envelope and the inside of the card. This is something I rarely do because it takes me hours, sometimes a whole day, to construct a card. So the thought of doing the inside and an envelope too makes me cringe. But, alas, to follow the rules, I did. The stamps I used were: Starstruck and Sanded (Stampin' Up)

Supplies:
Stamps - Biker Bee (Stampendous), Starstruck, Sanded (Stampin' Up), Broad Stripe Backgrounder (CHF)
Paper - Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Cranberry Crisp (Stampin' Up), White (Papertrey)
Ink - Black Soot, Vintage Photo, Walnut (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories - Cuttlebug Star diecuts (Provocraft), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), twine, sewing machine, sponge, copics, scotch mounting tape, basicgrey magnetic snaps

Gather the roses of Life...

When I look at this image, I can imagine myself sitting in one of the chairs with the scent of the flowers hovering and a slight breeze blowing. I love to read, so of course I would have a good book in hand, although I'm sure I would get distracted by the hummingbirds and butterflies. *grin* What an imagination, eh? My view in my yard is a pasture of beef cows and horses, and south of me cows, cows and more cows. In corrals, not a pasture. Not so elegant as this image portrays. But, one can dream....retirement maybe? *sigh*

Okay, details about the card. I made this card for the Sketch Challenge over on SCS. The Adirondack image is just stamped with versacolor black, embossed with clear detailed embossing powder, and colored with copics. The sentiment is embossed the same way. I also pierced the side with a piercing template I bought from Ellen Hutson, and added a few gemstones (Hero Arts). The paper is Memoirs (Inque Boutique)...I'm in love with this stuff. It has gorgeous prints. I matted the paper with Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up), and prism. A few dew drops in the corners, and woila...finished.

I hope I didn't shock ya too much with two posts in one day....*grin* Thanks for stopping by though. Have a blessed week!!

Supplies:
Stamps - Adirondack Chairs in Garden (Northwoods), Sentiments (Inque Boutique)
Paper - Memoirs Mini Papers (Inque Boutique), Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up), Prism, White (Papertrey)
Ink - Black Versacolor (Tsukineko), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories - Cowboy Dew Drops (Robins Nest), Gemstones (Hero Arts), Copics, Piercing Template (ornare), Corner Ticket Punch (Stampin' Up), Scotch mounting tape, piercing tool, make-up sponge

Still Life...

I love this Bible Still Life image by Inkadinkado. It's so serene to me, and so beautifully sketched. It can be used for a confirmation, for sympathy, letting someone know you're praying for them, for a wedding, and more. I've wrestled with my photography skills yesterday and today trying to do it justice, but alas, this is the best I could do.

I made this card for SCS's color challenge yesterday. I wasn't going to stamp for awhile after finishing up on the Dirty Dozen on Splitcoast, but I couldn't resist these colors. 3 of the panels are embossed with cuttlebug folders. I love the texture and depth they give to a card. The edges are also slightly ink distressed with Soft Sky (Stampin' Up).

I colored the grungeboard hinges with a black copic and cut off each edge to make it shorter and to give it a faux hinged look.

The pearls are half pearls by Kaisercraft, and are gorgeous! I got them from my LSS.

Supplies:
Stamps - Bible Still Life (Inkadinkado)
Paper - Soft Sky, Kraft, Black, Shimmering White (Stampin' Up)
Ink - Versacolor Black Pigment ink
Accessories - Clear detailed embossing powder (Stampin' Up), Cuttlebug Embossing folders (Provocraft), Grungeboard (Tim Holtz), Copics, Stardust gellyroll pen, Pearls (Kaisercraft), Slit punch (Stampin' Up), corner rounder, scotch mounting tape

Fit as a Fiddle!

Monday? Already? Wow, time flies!!! Each month our CCEE group chooses an unusal SCS name, make a card fitting that name, and mail it to them. Cindy Haffner picked Orangegymnut, and she required us to use orange with the theme having to do with the gym. Now, I thought about taking this a whole different direction and doing a gymnasium...like basketball or something, but I decided to use this cute little penguin instead.

Now, the sentiment is in no way shape or form referring to Tanya, since I have no idea what she looks like. I just thought, for me...the middle is the hardest to work on. So I found this quote by an unknown author and thought it fit this chubby little penguin. The dumb-bells are just circle punches with an 1/8 inch strip in between.
Check out the other gym related cards HERE.

Supplies:
Stamps: Penguins at Play (Memory Box)
Paper: White Out Collection (We R Memory Keepers)
Ink: Black Soot Distress Ink (Ranger), Slate (Adirondack)
Accessories: Copics, Brads (Basicgrey), mini-sprinkles brads (Queen & Company), Circle punch, Grosgrain ribbon

A Fresh New Day!

I love doing the SKETCH from Splitcoaststampers. Rox always chooses such inspiring layouts! Todays layout was perfect for this darling little group of Penny Black images called Fresh New Day. The set has a variety of images like this cute little lamb, a darling owl, flowers, ladybugs, and more!! I loved the little bird on the lamb's tail, and the cute little bee that seems to long to join the conversation.
I used the Floral Fantasy and Swiss Dots Embossing Folders by cuttlebug to give some texture to the card. I LOVE these folders!! The sentiment on the Ribbon Tag at the top is a Spellbinders diecut! Sorry about the poor doodling. The perfect case of not knowing when to stop. *groan* The sentiment is from Hero's Arts' Thinking of you clear design set. It has such an awesome variety of sentiments with different fonts!! I use it constantly!! And finally, the dp paper is Flirt by Memory Box. Love their papers!!
The flowers are ghost flowers by making memories that I got from my dear friend Frances. Thanks Hoots!!

I colored that precious little lamb and bird with my copics, and all the panels are raised with mounting tape. My favorite tape to use is Scotch's Mounting tape. It's not as thick as other tape, so it gives you options of how high you want the panels. You can double it up for more depth, or make the dimensions more subtle with only one layer. Just a little tip.

Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps - Fresh New Day (Penny Black), Thinking of You clear design (Hero Arts)
Paper - Flirt (Memory Box), Real Red, So Saffron, Regal Rose (Stampin' Up), White (Papertrey)
Ink - Black Soot (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories - Ghost flowers (Making Memories) Fancy Florals, Swiss Dots embossing folders (Cuttlebug), Ribbon (offray), brads, Tag (Spellbinders), dimensional tape, copics

CCEE Dots and Gingham

It's Monday, and that means it's time to upload a card that I was challenged to make by Cindy Haffner for our CCEE group. This week we were to make a card with polka dots and gingham ribbon. I, being the blonde that I am (well, my roots are...) made a card for next weeks challenge instead, (we get the whole month ahead of time) so I guess I'm a week ahead now. That's why I'm late to the arrival today. Today is my In-Law's 53rd wedding anniversary, so I made this card this morning.

To see what the other girls did with their dots and gingham, check out our new blog:
CCEE Stampers.

I started off by picking out my paper (had to have polka dots) and went from there with the colors and images. This gorgeous paper is from My Minds Eye...the textures, colors, and prints are all soooo gorgeous. I got them at my local LSS and am in LOVE. You'll be seeing a lot from me with these papers, cause I can't get enough of them. This card uses the papers called Je Taime from the Tres Jolie line. YUM!!

The piercing was done with a piercing template that I got from Ellen Hutson's webstore, and the scallops were made with my slit punch from Stampin up. The small scallops along the bottom were done with an adaptable blade for my paper trimmer. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts Treasure the Moments
Paper - My Minds Eye
Ink - Adirondack Slate
Accessories - Charm (Heart & Soul), Pearls, Primas, Corner Ticket Punch, Slit Punch, Gingham Ribbon (Stampin' Up)

Fluttering Elegance

I just got home from a wedding in Iowa Tuesday evening. What fun!! It was a simple but beautiful wedding, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I guess I still have some "elegance" on the brain, because all I could think of when I saw Wednesday's sketch on SCS was this beautiful set Flutter By, Butterfly by Inque Boutique. The sentiment is from Inque Boutique's Birdies set. Here is the SKETCH we were to use.

The darker strips of paper are velvet by S.E.I., and are divine to touch. And my circles were all cut with the Nestabilities Petite Circles and Petite Scallop Circles diecuts. The butterfly's stamens, are just the edges cut off from SU's chocolate grossgrain ribbon. They're just the right thickness so they don't droop.

The images are stamped with Espresso Adirondack Ink and are colored with copics. I also added a touch of glitter to the flowers and butterfly with my Quickie Glue Pen. The edges are all ink distressed with Latte and Mushroom Adirondack inks also. And of course, I had to add some dew drops to add to the elegance of the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you all have an inspiring day and are able to stamp your hearts out!!!


Supplies:
Stamps - Flutter By, Butterfly (50196 - Inque Boutique), Birdies (50202 - Inque Boutique)
Paper - Joiie Chocolat (S.E.I.), K&Company, Very Vanilla, Kraft (SU), Bazzill
Ink - Espresso, Latte, Mushroom (Adirondack)
Accessories - Dew Drops, Nestabilities, Copics, Corner ticket punch (SU), Quickie Glue Pen, Ultrafine crystal glitter, sponge, ribbon, scotch mounting tape

Verve Love...

I love this stamp set by Verve, Anniversary Birds!! LOVE IT!! I've had it for quite awhile and haven't had a chance until today. It's Monday and time for another challenge that I do with a goofy group of friends on SCS. Cindy Haffner provided the challenges for us this month, and today we were to paper piece. Notice I said piece, not pierce!!! There are others in the group that might try to convince you that we were to pierce too. That, was not required. In fact, if you'd like to see the other's cards, go visit our new blog...CCEE Stampers.

I first stamped the images with Espresson (Adirondack), then paper pieced the right bird and both wings with K&Company ancestry. The circles and long rectangle were all diecut with nestabilities. The edging under my pearl panel was a piece of a nestability cut rectangle, trimmed off and glued underneath. All the edges have been ink distressed with Frayed Burlap (Ranger Distress Ink) I got the pearls from JoAnn's.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out our CCEE blog to see what the others do with their piecing.

Outta this world...

It's my nephew's birthday in a few weeks and I thought he'd love this adorable rocket by Inque Boutique!!! I stamped the rocket with Ranger Black Soot and colored it with copics. It's cut out and raised with dimensional tape onto a swiss dot embossed piece of Buckaroo Blue. The background paper is so fun! It's from Cloud 9 Design and the circles look like they're clear embossed!! I also embossed the horizontal River Rock Panel with the cuttlebug traffic jam embossing folder. The sentiment is computer generated.

Supplies:
Stamps - Toys (Inque Boutique)
Paper - Brocade Blue, Buckaroo Blue, Wild Wasabi, River Rock, White (Stampin' Up)
Ink - Black Soot Distress Ink (Ranger)
Accessories - I kan' dee, copics, Swiss Dots and Traffic Jam (cuttlebug embossing folders)

Birdie Notecard Trio

I normally do not do the limited supplies challenge on Splitcoast, because I inevitably mess it up. I think I did okay this time though. we were not to use any hardware for embellishing. Stamps were suggested instead. So I stamped a tiny flower, colored it with copics, punched it out with a hole punch and mounted it with dimensional tape. I think they were a perfect replacement for the brads.

All the cards were made the same, with just different dp's, and image placement. I first stamped all the images with Ranger Black Soot Distress Ink, and colored them with copics. The scallops were made with my SU slit punch.

My inspiration to use these papers came from this adorable little birdie set by Hero Arts: Hello Birdie Sparkle Clear Stamp Set. It's a tiny little set with crystal flowers included and the little birds were perfect for a little notecard trio. I used the Hero Art Smooth Clear Gems on all the tiny embellishment flowers too. The scallop square was made by using my square nestabilities and my cuttlebug.

Now, let me tell you about this YUMMY paper. I got it from my LSS. It's by cloud 9 Design, and each card has some images clear embossed. All the flowers are on the orange/red card, the swirls are on the far left one, and the dots and small flowers are on the far right card. Oh, even the yellow scallops have some clear embossing on them. It gives such wonderful texture to the cards!!

The box the middle card is on is a design created by Laurie. I didn't finish it yet, so I just used it to give height to the middle card. For a tutorial on how to make it, visit her blog Just give me stamps... All my little notecards will be presented as a gift inside this adorable box I cased from Laurie's design.

Here is a close up of each individual card:




Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts Hello Birdie Sparkle Clear Set
Paper - Cloud9 Design, Papertrey White
Ink - Ranger Black Soot Distress Ink
Accessories - Slit Punch *SU*, nestabilities, ribbon, Hero Arts Smooth Gems, Copics

A sketch for a treasured friend!

It's sketch Wednesday at Splitcoast today, so I thought I'd use this versatile tree by Hero Arts. I LOVE this tree. It can be used in for fall, spring, summer, whatever your heart desires. I even have another idea that I'll try to post in the next couple of days.

Michelle is currently out of this stamp set, but should be getting it soon. And, she has some other fabulous trees to choose from! This gorgeous Archaic dp by Basicgrey, and the sentiment and ribbon are both available. Go check out her store Stamper's Dream for a variety of stamps, paper and embellishments.

The tree is stamped with Ranger Black Soot distress ink, and is colored with copics. The sentiment by Penny Black is embossed with black embossing powder. The flowers and some leaves are all cut out and raised slightly to give a bit of texture, but I couldn't get a decent picture...sorry. And...the scallops were made with my SU slit punch. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you are having a great week.

Supplies:
Stamps - Trees, Birds and Messages (Hero Arts), Special Treasures (Penny Black)
Paper - Archaic (Basic Grey), Always Artichoke (SU), White (Papertrey)
Ink - Black Soot, Frayed Burlap (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories - Copics, Primas (Petaloo), Satin Ribbon (May Arts), Slit Punch (SU), corner rounder

Owls x2

OOPS!! MY BAD!! I had this photo taken earlier, uploaded it, post dated it and fully intended on adding all the deets!! Yikes....family obligations got in the way and I completely forgot that I postdated this instead of just the regular draft. I'm sooooo sorry.

I originally made this card for the Dirty Dozen Alumni challenge. This may come as no surprise considering my ditziness, but I messed up on the rules and added bling. So, I made another. I'll tell you about the new one in a bit.

Sunday, Splitcoast featured a fabulous stamper, DAWNSING! Here is Dawn's card that I CASEd. I love the way she adds strips of different colors, and I thought this layout would lend itself perfectly to the owl challenge that I had to do for the DDA.
Changes: Added an extra strip at the top with bling, and an image on the bottom. I thought this owl, by Penny Black, was just darling!! And the little birdie by Hero Arts looks like he just wants to chatter. I couldn't wait to put together this little scene. I also ink distressed...no surprise there! LOL The image is colored with copics.

Supplies:
Stamps - Fresh New Day (Penny Black), Trees, Birds and Messages (Hero Arts)
Paper - Boxer (Basicgrey), Basic Gray, Mellow Moss (SU), White (Papertrey)
Ink - Slate (Adirondack), Black Soot (Ranger Distress ink)
Accessories - flower rhinestones (Hero Arts Sparkle Clear Hello Birdie), copics, rhinestone brads, circle punch, scallop scissors, twill ribbon

Now, here's the REAL DDA card. Hopefully it meets all the requirements. We were to use an owl stamp, have texture, and no bling.

The background was created by cutting a piece of Basicgrey's Archaic paper following the wavy colors and separating them on the green piece. I thought this gave a tree like appearance and a bit of texture. The ribbon across the center panel is from my dear friend Laurie. This stuff is awesome!! I'm a huge ribbon fan..I love all kinds...especially if they're unusual. The owl is colored with copics, and all panels are ink distressed. The brads are rubber and are ink distressed with stazon ink.

Supplies:
Stamps - Owl H-153 (Judith), Sparkle Clear Hello Birdie (sentiment - Hero Arts)
Paper - Archaic (Basic Grey, Chocolate Chip (SU), White (Papertrey)
Ink - Black Soot, Walnut (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories - nestabilities, copics, rubber brads (Provo Craft)

A Toy Card...

Is it Monday already? Wow!! I swear, the older I get the faster time flies. Well, since it's Monday, that means it's time for me to upload a challenge card that I do with a few nutty, but fun SCS friends. Every second Monday of the month, we challenge each other to make a card for a SCS stamper with an unusual name. This month Toy (Holly) was chosen.

To see the cards the other CCEEers made for Toy, click HERE.

Now, this card was scary for me to make, because Holly is a stamper that I've admired since first logging on to SCS...soooooo talk about intimidating!! Of course the requirement was to use toys. I used this book labeling stamp that I've had since I first started stamping about 12 years ago, and colored it with copics. I hand wrote Toy's name.

The paper is Tres Jolie Bonjour by My Mind's Eye. I am so, so in love with this stuff. I got it from my LSS that I just recently discovered and will be buying more for sure. The colors are dreamy, and the texture is divine!!

I ink distressed the edges (no surprise there, eh?) with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger. The buckle is from JoAnn's, the divine satin ribbon is May Arts that I got from Michelle at Stamper's Dream.

I made the scallops with my slit punch from Stampin' Up. Thanks sooooo much for stopping by. I appreciate the visitors and hope I've inspired you to get inky!!

Supplies:
Stamps - G5581-F Sonlight Impressions
Papre - Tres Jolie Bonjour (My Mind's Eye), Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery (SU), White (Papertrey)
Ink - Black Soot, Brushed Corduroy (Ranger Distress Ink)
Other - Copics, brads, slit punch (SU), nestabilities, sponge, dimensional tape

Cupcake Challenge

A couple of us decided to challenge each other to use Hey There Cupcake by Stampendous and Cupcake paper by Basicgrey.

Check out Laurie's and Cam's awesome creations.

This is what I came up with. The cupcake is stamped with Adirondack Latte, and is colored with copics. I added a bit of bling with my Quickie Glue Pen and Ultrafine crystal glitter. The dots were added with my "oh so awesome" Inkssentials Opaque Pen.
The cherry is coated with crystal lacquer.

All the circles are Nestabilities and are ink distressed with Ranger Vintage photo Distress Ink.

The stamp images and paper can be found at Michelle's fabulous store: Stampers Dream!! She has everything your little heart could desire...May Arts ribbon, stickles, Basicgrey, Northwoods, Hero Arts, Inkadinkado, Penny Black, Inque Boutique and much, much more!!! Check it out!!!

Supplies:
Stamps - Hey there Cupcake (Stampendous)
Paper - Cupcake (Basicgrey), Bazzill, Papertrey White
Ink - Latte, Cranberry (Adirondack), Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Ranger)
Other - Copics, Quickie Glue Pen, Nestabilities, crystal lacquer, ultrafine crystal glitter, offray ribbon, dew drops, scotch mounting tape, sponge

Spring Thoughts

I know, it's been eons since I've posted here. I'm sorry for the delay. I've been stamping, but on projects that can't be posted yet.

I made this card for the SCS sketch challenge. All the images are Hero Arts. And can be found at Stamper's Dream.
The bird is from Trees, Birds & Messages, the swirl is from Designer Butterflies, and the sentiment is from Thinking of You Messages.

I added a touch of glitter with my Quickie Glue pen, faux stitching around the nestability circles, and a bit of piercing in the corner.

The flower is from a kit called Petaloo Box blends. I'm in love with these flowers. I found them at my LSS "Memories from the Heart. The flower center is a metal flower from The paper Company.

All the edges are ink distressed with Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Supplies:
Stamps - Thinking of You Messages, Trees, Birds and Messages, Designer Butterflies (Hero Arts)
Paper - Ancestry (K&Company), Forest Foliage, River Rock (Stampin' Up), Papertrey White
Ink - Black Soot, Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories - Copics, Petaloo flowers, metal flower, Rhinestone sticker (K&Company) Quickie Glue Pen, Ultrafine Crystal Glitter, nestabilities, piercing tool, Pearl brad (s.e.i), bird charm (Heart and Soul - Blue Moon), organdy ribbon