The Essence of Love and Color Throwdown #4

I needed an anniversary card and I thought this stamp set fit that need perfectly. This card is also for the Color Throwdown Challenge #4. I am enjoying these challenges so much! This week the colors are: Black, Almost Amethyst, and Certainly Celery. Gorgeous colors together! The base card is white and the main image is stamped in Basic Black and the edges sponged with Almost Amethyst. The little butterfly is done with a Martha Stewart punch and attached with mini glue dots. The main image is up on dimensionals. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: The Essence of Love (SU!); Cardstock: Basic Black, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!) and GP white cardstock; Inks: Basic Black, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!); Tools: Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Crop-a-dile; Accessories: dimensionals, ribbon, and jeweled brad (craft store).

Shabby Believe.

Not a card, but paper nonetheless :) I started with 4" resin letters from Michaels. I covered the front of each letter with a different shabby chic scrapbook paper design and then added diamond dust.

Details: I used a glue stick on the letters--just smeared it all over and then turned them face down on the back side of the paper. I then cut around the letter with an X-acto knife and smoothed the edges with a sanding block. Then I diluted Aileen's craft glue about half and half with water and brushed it all over the letter, except the back. Then I sprinkled diamond dust all over the glued surfaces. Let 'em dry and voila! All supplies are from Michaels except the diamond dust which is from A C Moore craft store.

This picture shows a close up. Can you see the sparkle? It's much more so in real life. These letters will go in my more-or-less Shabby Chic living room at Christmas with some pink-robed Old World-style Santas.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cottage Flowers for Color Throwdown #3.

When I first saw these colors (Close to Cocoa, Tempting Turquoise, and Ruby Red) I thought: FALL!! But I needed a birthday card. Then I thought: what am I going to do with this, LOL??? So, here's what I did. I used my Flourishes Damask background stamp and stamped it on all three colors of card stock in the matching color. The base card is Very Vanilla. The image is stamped on water color paper and water colored with reinkers and is up on dimensionals. I had fun with this challenge and I'm happy with the birthday card it became. The envelope is dressed up with a little strip of the stamped Tempting Turquoise paper. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Flourishes Damask and Lockhart Cottage Flowers; Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red and Tempting Turquoise, watercolor paper (Stampin' Up!); Inks: Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red and Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!); Accessories: dimensionals and copper brads (craft store.

My husband is funny!

I show my husband every card I make. He's not really interested but he fakes it pretty well. Tonight, after the last one I showed him, he said, "Every card doesn't have to be unique, you know." I just looked at him and then he said, "So you can stop buying stamps." Funny guy, huh?

Fresh Cuts thank you.

I've been itching to use my Fresh Cuts set so this was the time. Another thank you card to some dear friends who brought me a wonderful gift on my mother's passing: a Willow Tree figurine called Mother and Daughter. Just beautiful and full of meaning. I used my Color Coach to pick a different color combination and I came up with Blush Blossom and Night of Navy. I love it and I hope you will too. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Fresh Cuts; Cardstock: Blush Blossom and Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!), GP white; Inks: Blush Blossom and Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!); Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), sheer navy ribbon (craft store), paper piercer, dimensionals.

A plan would have been nice.

A plan. Yes, that would have helped, but I rarely have one when I set out to make a card. I ended up watercoloring the main image on this card with reinkers and if I'd thought about it ahead of time I'd have used watercolor paper. As it was, I use GP card stock and was lucky my outline didn't run. Another thank you card. This one to my co-workers. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Just Celebrate; Cardstock: Soft Sky and River Rock (Stampin' Up!), GP white, DP Papertrey Ink Everyday Blessing Collection, Striped Serenity; Inks: Soft Sky and River Rock (Stampin' Up!); Accessories: River Rock double stitched ribbon (SU!), brads (craft store), dimensionals.

With deepest sympathy.

I needed a sympathy card for a neighbor so I broke out a new (to me) set: Close As a Memory. Simple but elegant, I think, in Basic Gray, Brocade Blue, and white. I like it. Thanks for looking and I hope you like it too!

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Close As a Memory; Cardstock: Basic Gray, Brocade Blue (Stampin' Up!), GP white; Inks: Basic Gray, Brocade Blue (Stampin' Up!); Accessories: paper piercer, clear Dew Drops, Sakura glitter pen, dimensionals.

Another thank you.

This one is for my bosses. They sent the most gorgeous wreath to my mother's funeral so no regular thank you card would do. I didn't have any brads to match so I punched out some tiny flowers and covered them with Crystal Effects. They look like little flower brads! Cool! Both images are up on dimensionals and the sentiment image is sponged with Purely Pomegranate ink. And, of course, the envelope has a partial image stamped on it. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Fresh Cuts, Flourishes Spring Ephemerals; Cardstock: Sahara Sand and Purely Pomegranate (Stampin' Up!), GP white; Inks: Sahara Sand and Purely Pomegranate (Stampin' Up!); Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug and Textile embossing folder, Crystal Effects (SU!), Purely Pomegranate double stitched ribbon (SU!), dimensionals.

A thank you.

On July 15, 2008, my mother, Gladys Hogge Smith passed away. This is a thank you card to a very dear friend for the lovely flowers she sent.

This card is also for the Color Throwdown challenge this week: Pumpkin Pie, Barely Banana, and Cool Carribean. I don't have any Cool Carribean so I used Tempting Turquoise instead. Since I didn't have any DP with these colors I made some using my Spring Solitude wheel. First time to do this and I'm happy with the results. The two bottom layers of flower petals are from some hydrangeas I got on sale at Michaels and took apart. The center flower is from Wal*Mart. I cut the sentiment element with my Nestabilities ribbon slider and embossed it. The striped ribbon is from a craft store and matches perfectly. Gold brads finish off the corner. I don't like to have brad prongs showing on the back side so I cut them off and glued the caps on. I stamped the image from Spring Solitude on the envelope and inside the card on a white paper liner. This was a fun challenge--can't wait for the next one. They get me using colors I might not use otherwise. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Stampin' Up! "Spring Solitude" Set, Impression Obsession "Sentiments"; Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Barely Banana, Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!), GP white; Inks: Pumpkin Pie, Barely Banana, Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!); Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), gold brads (craft store), ribbon (craft store), and flower petals (Michaels and Wal*Mart).

Color Throwdown Challenge #1

This card is for the new challenge blog, Color Throwdown. Every week this group of stampers will announce a new color combination and everyone is welcome to participate. This is the first week and the colors are right up my alley: Sage Shadow, Pretty In Pink, and Regal Rose. I'm using Splitcoast Stampers' Sketch Challenge #183 for my layout. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Take a Break (My Favorite Things Stamps); Cardstock: Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, GP white, designer paper (Basic Grey Two Scoops and Stampin' Up! Prints Pack); Inks: Basic Black, Pretty In Pink, Bordering Blue (Stampin' Up!); Markers: Marvy Dusty Pink, Copic Lime Green (G21); Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), dimensionals, half-back pearls (craft store) and ribbon (Offray).

Thank you.

Today's card is a thank you card. We went to some friends' for a Fourth of July cook out and had a great time and this is a little thank you for a great evening. I'm really proud of this card--it's one of the few that I haven't CASE'd--at least knowingly. The butterfly stamp is by Inkadinkadoo and the sentiment stamp is unknown. The base card is GP card stock and the black gingham paper, both card stocks, the faceted jewels, and the yellow ribbon are all craft store purchases. Both stamped images are up on dimensionals. I used my corner rounder to shape the sentiment image and used my ticket corner punch on the black gingham layer. I used SU! Basic Black stamp pad to ink both stamps and a yellow Marvy marker to color the image. I jazzed up the butterfly's wings with a Sakura glitter pen. I sponged the edges of the sentiment with Basic Black. A little paper piercing in the corners of the main image finish it off. A little strip of the gingham paper on the envelope keeps if from being naked. I like this card!!!


Thanks for visiting.

Birthday candles.

Another birthday card today, CASE'd from LeAnne at Wee Inklings. This one uses a birthday candle stamp I got at a craft shop--can't remember where now. The base card is white GP cardstock and all of the patterned and colored papers came from Hobby Lobby. The candles are colored with Marvy and Copic markers, the faceted jewels are from a craft store and the ribbon is from A C Moore. I stamped the candles on the edge of the envelope and left them uncolored.

Thanks for stopping by!