Doghouse Blues

 I had so much fun playing the Hambo Hoedown last week, that I couldn't wait to play again!  This week the challenge is to use their digi "Doghouse Blues" your card design.and also use a dog tag, charm, or bone in your card design.

See the artistic looking dog bone gracing the doghouse?  That's a SWMS exclusive - drawn by me!  LOL!  I drew it on a scrap piece of paper, cut it out and hung it on the dog house in a place of honor!

 I created this scene by first using an oval scallop stencil, sponge, and ink to create a partly cloudy sky.  Then I decided where the dog house was going to go and began stamping the grass.  This was stamped with the grass image from Because of You (SU), multiple times before each re-inking.  (See how I stamped some blades of grass on the digi, so when it was glued in place the grass was overlapped?  Genius!  LOL!  The sun (D.O.T.S.) minus the smiling face (after all, the dog is missing you!) was stamped on light yellow card stock and placed in the corner.

The sentiment was added so it looked like the dog's thoughts.  Aaaah, sweet!

The digi image from Hambo Stamps was colored in with Copics.  The card base is PTI white, the sentiment was layered on Not Quite Navy (SU)

Off to stamp some more!

Resin Flowers

 Aren't these CASEd cards pretty?!!  I saw the card idea on a blog called "stamping up north".  I love this blogger's style of stamping and most likely I CASE her (and stalk her through Google Reader) often!  As you can see I didn't mess with perfection and made mine almost exactly.  ;)

One of my favorite online places to buy fun embellishments is at Impress Rubber Stamps, which is where I purchased the resin flowers used on my cards.  So when I saw Laurie's card, bells, whistles, and fireworks went off in my head and four cards were made just like that!

Off to stamp some more!

A Fun Fold!

I made this fun fold card almost two weeks ago and am just now getting it posted!  I followed the directions by Mary Fish on her video tutorial here.

The base of the card is Baja Breeze and the layers are Very Vanilla and Soft Suede.

Ink colors are Versamark, SU: Rich Razzleberry, Regal Rose, and Soft Suede used with the SU stamp sets: Love & Care and Best Yet.

Other items used on this card: corner punch, hodgepodge hardware frame, and ribbon.

I recommend you check out the video today and make one of your own!

Off to stamp some more!

SOS! Scrap Attack!

It's a "Scrap Attack" this week at Shopping Our Stash!   A perfect challenge for those of us who never or rarely throw anything away!  So dig into to that pile o' scraps, recycled items, and left over bits and pieces and make a card to share!

I'm proud to tell you that no whole piece of paper was sacrificed to make this scrappy 3.5 x 7 card!  I went right to my DSP box and chose the oldest snippets of patterned paper I could find!   This DSP from SU  is so old it is only one-sided!  Anyone remember those days!?!  Since the paper is called Sassy and Sweet, I used a sassy sentiment from TAC to complete the card!   The inside says:  Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?  LOL!  Love it!  (Sarcastic should be my middle name!)

Retired SU card stock colors, recycled brads and hoarded felt flowers were proudly used to complete this card.

Now it's your turn to join The Scrap Attack!
Off to stamp some more!

PTT #22: The 4th of July!

 Take out your favorite patriotic stamps and red, white, and blue papers and embellishments!  We are getting ready for the 4th of July at Party Time Tuesdays!

The sentiment on this card is from Northwoods.  I used a Bordabilitie for the bottom scallop and then just layer the white scallop and red/white polka dot paper onto a Brilliant blue card base.  The star was cut with a Sizzix die and the run through an embossing folder to get the embossed lines.

I was so excited to be able to use my R/W/B Baker's Twine, that I added it in two places, on the big red button and tied into a bow on the blue striped ribbon!  Whee!

Spica glitter pens were used to outline the fireworks on the sentiment and then star brads were placed on the scallop border.

Lookie!: we (PTT) made Scrapbooking.com magazine!

 

Blog of the Week: Jenn Cochran: "Party Time Tuesday's is a fun and upbeat challenge blog. We have an amazing design team that inspires our readers every Tuesday to create fun projects using our weekly theme. We give away prizes from some of the top paper crafting stores in the market, including Flower Soft, icopic, as well as the most popular digital stamp companies out there!"

Off to stamp some more!

Swanky Snow Dude

 The challenge at Designed 2 Delight is Red, White, + Blue and/or Christmas, Too!  How delighted I was to be able to use my new Paper Smooches set Swanky Snowdudes!  Isn't this chubby fellow just the cutest?!!

I put together some patterned paper from the SU DSP package called Holiday Lounge.  I used some of the red DSP to paper piece snow dude's scarf.

On the right edge of the card, I used the MS snowflake border punch to make a strip of snowflakes.  These snowflakes and the stamped ones have dots of Stickles to bring them to life!  The vellum snowdrifts also have Stickles on the very edges.  Two snowflakes layered and stickled, are attached just below the sentiment.


Off to stamp some more!

Bitsy Bug Rosa

 It's a new challenge at Stamps R Us!  The theme this time is:  there was a little girl...  We are being sponsored this time by the delightful   A Day For Daisies!

The DT was more than giddy with excitement to use their images for this challenge!  Wait until you see all of the fantastical cards that were designed to inspire you!
I chose Bitsy Bug Rosa to work play with because I loved her name and she reminded me a sweet little girl I know.  I kept my colors soft on this card, as I was going for a delicate look.  Her wings were colored in with Smooch and were outlined with Stickles for that very special fairy glimmer!  Her antennae is fine black wire.  The sentiment is a perfect match for this image!
Off to stamp some more!

Shapes and Shadows

 This is my third card today!  Not sure if I'll get any more made and posted today, but we shall see!

I made this card for the Come and Get It Challenges blog.  This week they are challenging us to use the "kissing technique" on our cards.  Using Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 123, I got right to work!

Stamps used were: SU: Shapes & Shadows, Looks Like Spring, and Boho Backgrounds.
Ink colors used were: Lucky Limeade with Always Artichoke and Perfect Plum with Elegant Eggplant.  The card base is PTI white and SU card stock colors are Lucky Limeade and Perfect Plum.

I rounded the edges of the flowers and leaves with the skinny end of a paper piercer.  Foam tape keeps the dimension  on the card.  The two side squares are embossed with the Cuttlebug embossing folder called Leafy Branch and extend the look of leaves beyond the main image panel.

The tree plum brads were placed on the middle square, as I didn't want the backs to show on the inside of the card.


Off to stamp some more!

Rooftop Garden A&E

 Here is my second card for you today!   I had it in my mind to use the Roof Garden Accents & Elements (SU) pieces for card making today and went in search of a sketch to use.  I found what I was looking for in the sketch provided by Sketch Saturday.

I ran the layered bloom through the big shot using the Cuttlebug EF called Polka Dots, before mounting it on a piece of card stock that was embossed with the Cuttlebug EF called Leafy Branch.  Some layers of card stock of Old Olive, Baja Breeze, and Not Quite Navy, tie the elements all together.  Oh, I almost forgot to point out the little metal photo corner in the lower left!

As promised in my first post for today, I do have another card to show you, so don't go too far

Off to stamp some more!

Sweet Pea Bookmark

 When I saw this sketch from Unscripted Sketches, I immediately thought of using a pocket and tucking a bookmark inside.  I have a ton of these vellum pockets in many, colors, so was lucky enough to find one to go with this SU DSP from the Sweet Pea collection.  Since the patterned paper did all of the work for me, I just added dots of orange and pink Stickles to the lower sprigs in the design!  I didn't add Stickles to the bookmark, because who wants glitter all over the pages of their books!?!  LOL!

A simple  "for you"  sentiment  makes this a card and gift in one!

I have two more cards to share with you today, so stay tuned!


Off to stamp some more!

Cool Cat

This card was made for the current Hambo Hoedown Challenge which is to use string/twine/jute/fiber/anything besides ribbon on your card.  I don't have the digital image they are featuring this week, so I tried out one of their freebies called: Cool Cat.  In case you can't see it, I used baker's Twine on the flip flops and then added another length of it to tie a bow at the top of the image.

Cool Cat:
Image:  Hambo Stamps
Paper:  Gina K PL white, SU: Pacific Point, CTMH patterned papers
Ink:  Copics and SU markers
Misc:  clear Glaze pen, Baker's Twine, dimensionals

Ooh!  I have a very cool storage idea for Baker's Twine to share with you here!  Obviously not my idea, but one I happily put to use!
Off to stamp some more!

RWB 4th

 While I still had these papers out from Tuesday's SOS challenge card I decided to make another card for the 4th of July.  This card follows the sketch for the Outlawz Wednesday Sketch Challenge, which I rotated.

The card base is SU's Crumb Cake, with layers of Baroque Burgundy and Whisper White.  The patterned paper is unknown.  The image (Whippersnapper) was colored in with Copics and Spica glitter pens and mounted with foam tape.  The sentiment (Ann-ticipations) was stamped with StazOn black onto vellum and then adhered with two white star brads.
Off to stamp some more!

A Pocket of Posies

Oh, my little green plaid fabric pocket looks lost in this photo!  I've had these fabric pockets forever and sitting on my desk almost as long!  But I finally put one to use and I think it makes a cute little friendship card.  I was able to use up some flocked flowers (layering them helps!) as well!   I just love using the Tiny Tags stamp set  and matching punch from SU to embellish cards.  This one is a real smile-maker for me!










Off to stamp some more!

Flowers For Friends

Challenge #64 is going on over at Sketch N Stash and I was excited to join in!  This is a great site that encourages you to use your stash and I know I sure need to be using what I have!

As has been my habit lately, I made more than one version.  All four (yes four!) have generous amounts of DSP from my stash and each card has blooms from unopened packages!  Woohoo - way to use my stuff!  Ahem!  I just realized that now I have four more partially used packages of flowers added my stash!  Sheesh!  Good thing it's summer and I have plenty of time to make floral cards!

 Going from memory, the packages of SU DSP used are:  Candy Lane,  Georgia Peach,  Tea & Crumpets, and Bella Rose.

The bases of these 5.25 square cards are Gina K PL white.  SU card stock colors include: Riding Hood Red, Close To Cocoa, Old Olive, Regal Rose, So Saffron, Cherry Cobbler, and Kiwi Kiss.

Stamps used are from SU sets: Noteworthy and All Holidays.

Paper, felt and crocheted flowers were the main embellishments, along with some colored brads.


So, which of these four cards is your favorite?  I'm still debating, but I'm very pleased with them all!

 Off to stamp some more!

SOS #5

 Welcome to another episode of Shopping Our Stash.  The challenge this week is to use those stamping tools/supplies that you just had to have and are now collecting dust (or very well hidden)!  This challenge site is the perfect match for me - I love to stamp, stash and use my stash when stamping!

Let me start off by telling you that I am a sucker for tools and gadgets related to stamping.  You advertise it and I'll buy it!   I'm so easily enabled!  Some tools I keep out in plain sight so I know to use them.  Others get "organized" into boxes, drawers, bins and tins.  Such was the case with the tool I intended to use, really wanted to use, for today's card.  Can you guess what tool I'm talking about?  Of course, it's the Tag Maker tool!  So why didn't I use said tool?  ...

...Because I had put it away very well and could not find the darn thing!  The multitude of tags for this tool are neatly stored in a turquoise tin from SU, but the tool itself wouldn't fit in the same container.  I searched high and low. I searched in every logical and illogical place I could think of and still could not find it.  Want to know why?  ...

...Because I was looking for a green tool, not a black one!  Yep, the Tag Maker is black and was right in front of me the whole time, but I thought it was supposed to be green like my Tag Curler tool, so didn't give the black thing a second look!  Sheesh!  Oh, so I ended up using a hammer to make my own metal edged tags!  A hammer works just fine, but the Tag Maker tool is really so much more fun!

My card is 5x7, a size I don't usually make, but wanted to fit three tags across the front.  The card base and tag inserts are Crumb Cake.  The patterned paper dates back to my preSU days of stamping, so I don't remember the company name.  I'm calling the bear stamp unknown, because my old eyes can't read the label on the side of the stamp!  LOL! The sentiment is from Ann-ticipations.  The bear stamp was inked up in stages, so that I could get the three parts of the image onto separate tag sized pieces.

I dug deep into my stash of shaped brads and pulled out the patriotic combo of red, white, and blue stars! The Baker's Twine is new to me by a couple of weeks because I have nearly every other color, but felt I needed the red, white, and blue mix to add to my stash! 
Off to stamp some more!

PTT #21: A Sketch Challenge and a DT Call!

 ***Details for the DT call follows my entry for this week!***

Oh my gosh I had fun with this sketch for Party Time Tuesdays this week!  And the Wasabi tape was too much fun to use as was the adorable clear stamp images provided to us by our sponsor this month -  iCopic!

I chose the nursery mobile stamp and pieced the patterned masking tape for the top of the mobile.  the sweet shapes were stamped twice, cut out, mounted on foam tape for dimension.  These were colored in with Spica glitter pens for some subtle sparkle.  embroidery floss was tied into a bow for the mobile and also used on the cute heart shaped buttons.  The sentiment was stamped on vellum with the ends cut to look like a banner.  I loved that the vellum gave me a chance to use a sentiment on this card without totally covering up any of the cute tape.

Now this sweet card will sit in wait for the perfect time to present it to someone!

**Design Team Call**

Can you believe it we are ready for our 2nd DT of 2011!! 

We are looking for 5 energetic, organized people to join this fun and upbeat DT . This term is 5 months and will start on August 2, 2011-December 27,2011. The requirements are as follows:

Have an active blog where you post 2-3 times a week.

Have a gallery on SCS where you post your weekly projects

Able to complete 1 card a week and post it to your blog and your gallery.

Able to promote the PTT blog by placing a badge on your personal blogs sidebar linking back to PTT.

Able to take excellent photos of your work.

Able to work with Digital stamps. 

Have excellent coloring skills

If you belong to other DT’s no problem just make sure you can meet our deadlines of a card a week!

The perks: Getting your name and designs out for the public to see! Having your name featured on the PTT blog. Getting DT experience if you have never been on a DT. Support in a team environment. Any products that a sponsor would be willing to let our team have the privilege to feature in their designs!

If this sounds like a fit for you, please email the following to pttdesignteamcall@hotmail.com  Please submit your application by Monday, July 4, 2011 by 8pm mountain time.  Team will be notified by July 8th.  Team will be officially announced on August 2nd!

Full name

A link to your personal blog

SCS gallery link

and the best email for contact

3 photos of your favorite projects featuring your best coloring skills.  Please make sure 1 of those projects includes a digital stamp that is colored.

 We look forward to seeing your application!

Off to stamp some more!

Butterflies Are Free

 A few posts back I made a card using the Elegant Soiree DSP from SU.  Before I put the package of paper back I made one more card with it.  This card is also a CASE of one seen in an issue of cards magazine.  Sorry I don't have it handy at the moment to give more specifics on issue and page number.

This card makes me happy for several reasons.  I was able to make a small dent in the tons of DSP I have.  I was able to use two more metal edge tags, of which I also have a ton.  The felt butterflies have been with me for a very long time and it felt good to set them free! And last, but not least, twelve more inches of ribbon has made its way onto a card!  Nothing is better than a great card to CASE and using up the supplies!
Off to stamp some more!

Punch Posy Trio

Here is a trio of cards (I actually made two of each color) I'm sharing today.  I "followed"  the sketch challenge from Come & Get It!.

Yesterday I was organizing/labeling my SU DSP packages, so had some paper patterns in mind when I saw the sketch. All of these papers are from Georgia peach and Maine Blueberry.  Coordinating card stock and ink colors are :  Regal Rose, Pretty In Pink, So Saffron, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant, and Not quite Navy

Stamps used are SU:  Posy Punch and For You Flower.

Embellishments consist of rhinestones, ribbon and brads.

Off to stamp some more!

Orange and Pink

 I made this card for the challenge over at Designed 2 Delight, which is to use orange and pink.  What came to mind immediately was my all time favorite DSP from SU: Sweet Always.  This paper makes me happy just looking at it!  Then I went in search of a sketch and/or a card to CASE and turned to my newest issue of "cards", July 2011.  I found my inspiration on page 87 and set to work.

Even though this photo didn't turn out the best, the card is really cute IRL, if I do say so myself!  I made two of these because in the package of felt shapes there were two of each of the presents, slices of cake, and streamers.  And you can never have too many birthday cards in your stash!

Orange and Pink:
Stamps:  SU: Stem Sayings
Paper:  Gina K PL white, SU DSP: Sweet Always
Ink:  SU: Early Espresso
Misc:  felt pieces, rhinestone brad, rhinestone, circle punches
Off to stamp some more!

Faith in Nature

 Color me happy!  I love how this card turned out!  (Hope this means I'm getting my groove back!)  I followed a sketch from one of my Yahoo groups and used a stamp set from the new SU catalog and DSP from the SU retirement list.  I went ahead and made two of these since I was cutting so many layers anyway.

Faith in Nature:
Stamps:  Faith in Nature (SU)
Paper:  Gina K PL ivory, SU: Soft Suede, Baja Breeze, DSP: Elegant Soiree
Ink:  Soft Suede
Misc:  Nestabilities: ovals and scallop ovals, brads
Off to stamp some more!

Wedding Thank Yous

These are two of the Thank You card designs I CASEd from the SCS gallery.  I made about three dozen of each style of card.  There are several variations of the card on the right, as I used whatever DSP and ribbon I had on hand.  I kept to the colors of DD's wedding, which was pink, black, and white.  This will give her a good start on writing thank yous and then I can make more as needed.

Off to stamp some more!