Wednesday, April 29

SheetLoad of Cards design team call

Hello, everyone! I hope you're having a great day! Today, I'm sharing with you three cards and a bookmark, so get ready for a longer-than-normal post!

This is the very first time I've used a digistamp. All of the images were created by Dustin Pike, a very talented artist with the cutest images! These were some of his free downloads (and he has several on his blog) that I sized to fit an A2 card and a bookmark. He also has an Etsy shop with images for sale. Prices range from $2 to $3.50 - a bargain!

This post also serves as my design team application for SheetLoad of Cards. I used the sketch from the April 2009 issue, although each card will look different because I changed the proportions of some elements on each card and left off other elements. Because of the size of the bookmark, I completely rearranged the elements of the sketch, but still kept the same patterned papers.





This first card always makes me giggle. When I was a little girl, my mom tells me I ate hardly anything. I was a "string bean", as she says. So, she started calling me "Chickadee" since they are small and eat so little. Not long after, it was shortened to "Chickie" - which is still a nickname she uses for me to this day. Since I left off the sentiment, I had to come up with my own name - so "Hello, Chickie" it is!

I altered the sketch by rotating it 90 degrees, resizing the two patterned papers on the left side of the card and the focal image, omitting the sentiment and adding three buttons instead of two.

supplies ~ cardstock: Martha Stewart, dsp: Hot Off the Press Citrus, buttons: stash, image: Dustin Pike


This image is so adorable. It's supposed to be for Easter, but since there aren't any strictly Easter references in the image, I decided to go ahead and use it for an everyday card.

I altered the sketch once again by adding three embellishments instead of two, leaving out the sentiment, resizing the focal image and moving the two patterned papers to the bottom after resizing them, as well. I also swapped out one patterned paper and used a different one in its place. Instead of rounding all the corners, I just rounded the patterned papers and the bottom two corners of the card base.

supplies ~ cardstock: Martha Stewart, dsp: Hot Off the Press Citrus, buttons: Colorbok, jute twine: stash, image: Dustin Pike




This little guy looks so carefree and happy, doesn't he? I've never tried sponging before, so this was a first for me. This card is probably the closest to the the original sketch, but you can see that I resized the focal image to take up more space, I moved the buttons to the edge of the card and added some jute twine to the image.

This was actually the first card I completed, and I thought the twine was perfect for this image - the kites we made as kids were simple paper, dowels and twine with some fabric tails. Once I got started on the twine, it just kept popping up on the other projects in this post!

supplies ~ cardstock: Martha Stewart, dsp: Hot Off the Press Citrus, buttons: stash, jute twine: stash, image: Dustin Pike


For the "beyond the card" item in the DT call, I floundered at first. I thought about altering something, but I had this little guy sitting in my image box. Since this was such a small item, I decided to completely change the layout, but I really liked the idea of blocking the colors that the original sketch used. Using the same papers as the first three cards, I used different sizes to add interest and rounded all the corners. To spruce it up a bit, I layered two buttons at the top and tied them together with jute twine.

supplies ~ cardstock: Martha Stewart, dsp: Hot Off the Press Citrus, buttons: Colorbok, jute twine: stash, image: Dustin Pike

Phew! That was a big 'ole fat post! Thank you for coming by for a visit! I'll be back on Friday with a Hip Hop Hangover post. Last week was just too crazy for me to fit everything in, but this week I had more time to play.

See you later, gator!


Monday, April 27

Whimsy Challenge 2 ~ Monochromatic

Welcome to the 2nd Whimsy Stamps Challenge! This week's challenge is to make a monochromatic card. I gotta tell ya: this was a tough one for me, and I dragged my feet on it until the last couple of days before this post. I love color, and doing a mono card just seemed so....BLAH. I've seen a few really pretty ones, but I couldn't see how I was going to pull it off well.

So, here's my very first attempt at a monochrome color scheme. I love this little froggie, and he seemed the easiest animal in the Whimsy collection (after the polar bear, of course!) to get my mono mojo going. I started with a simple white card base and a sketch at Splitcoast Stampers. Then I used papers from the Citrus pad by Hot Off The Press to color block the background and mat the frog. He's colored with Prismas & OMS (of course!) and then I stamped the sentiment.

supplies ~ card blank: stash, dsp: Hot Off the Press Citrus, image: Whimsy Stamps, sentiment: Studio G

Not bad for a first attempt. Why don't you try your hand at this challenge? Head over to the Whimsy Stamps Challenges blog to see all the design team samples; there might even be a prize for one lucky entrant! When you're ready to link your card, make sure to use Mr. Linky to link to the DIRECT URL for your post (not just your blog's URL). If you need any help, you can contact anyone on the DT - we'd love to help you out.

Good luck!


Friday, April 17

Hip Hop Hangover


Welcome! Today I have two cards to share with you: one an itty bitty scrap card, the other an A2 CAS card.

This first card is only 3x3.5 inches. I have accumulated more scraps than I'd like, so I'm trying to do at least one scrap card every week. I found some lilac cardstock that perfectly matches the Basic Grey dsp. This card is entered in two challenges this week: Splitcoast Stampers' SC 223 challenge to use a sketch, and Unity's Hip Hop challenge to use a bow.

supplies ~ cardstock: DCWV, dsp: Basic Grey Lilykate, stamp: Unity, ribbon: stash









The second card is a regular A2 card that I CASEd from Nichole Heady of PTI fame. This one is also for a Unity challenge, this time to do some piercing. Kraft forms the base. I used two stamps from Unity's March KOM, but I cut apart the leaves and popped them up on dimensionals. I pierced above and below the focal panel, and finished the card with a pretty Martha Stewart double-sided satin ribbon.

supplies ~ kraft: Bazzill, green cardstock: DCWV, stamps: Unity March KOM, ribbon: Martha Stewart






Monday, April 13

Candy Alert!

You've probably already noticed my CandyBar over on the right side, but I want to take a moment to spotlight a really fun giveaway over at Max's Craft Creations. She's giving away 16 - yes, you read that right! - prizes. Just leave a comment & spread the word to enter. Head over now!


The first Whimsy Challenge blog challenge!

Today marks the first challenge issued by Whimsy Stamps Challenges! Challenges will be issued every two weeks, and there may be prizes involved! You can see the current challenge and all the design team samples by clicking here.

This first challenge was to create a Celebration card. How appropriate for the very first challenge! One of my favorite images from Whimsy is the Polar Bear, but today he is a BROWN bear!

I used last week's sketch from Friday Sketchers for this card, but I rotated it. I really wanted to make a card suitable for a man or boy, so I turned to my Basic Grey stash. I started with a 5 1/2 inch square kraft base, then used papers from Basic Grey's Boxer collection to adhere the layers with UHU Stic glue. The blue paper on the first layer is 5 1/4 inches, the beige measures 4 3/4 inches, the swirly multicolor paper is 3 x 5 inches, and the blue for matting the bear is 4 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. I used two different stamps for the sentiment: the brackets are from Studio G series 25, and the "celebrate!" is from Inkadinkado's Chelsea Sentiments. For added interest I decided to cut out the sentiment. I love to use pop dots in my cards, but this card has a whopping 7 layers, so I left them off this time.

Be sure to visit the other gals' blogs for deets on their cards!



Thanks for stopping by to look today - have a great week!

supplies ~ kraft cardstock: Bazzill, dsp: Basic Grey Boxer, stamps: Inkadinkado & Studio G, bear image: Whimsy Stamps

Friday, April 10

It's Hip Hop Hangover time again



Welcome! Did you get to do the Unity Hip HOP yesterday? If you've never done one, you should! There's so much great inspiration from the design team, and there's also a chance each week to win some Unity goodness! Just start at the Unity blog and the next blog will have a link to click for the next one. Then head over to the Unity forum on SCS to chat away and get in on some more chances to win some Unity!



Today I'm sharing with you a 6x6 thank you card using Unity's Dream Tree and Just Plain Gratitude stamps. If you look closely, you can see some details that are subtle, but I love them. I started with a brown card base, then layered over that a piece of kraft cardstock that I watermarked with the gratitude stamp. Then I stamped gratitude again in brown. On some parchment paper, I used the same brown ink to stamp the dream tree and glued it onto the front.


On the inside, I used the same parchment and kraft, but this time I just stamped gratitude in brown ink and adhered the kraft to the bottom. Can you recognize the pattern on the kraft inside the card? It's the swirly part of the dream tree that I watermarked!


The envelope carries over the same theme. Gratitude is watermarked on the kraft paper envelope, and more of the brown cardstock base forms the flap on the envelope. If you look closely, you'll see the swirly part of the dream tree watermarked on the the flap, too!

I had never done watermarking before, but I really like the end result! Thanks for stopping by for a look; make sure you visit the other gals showing off their Unity! You can get a list of all the links on the Unity blog.

supplies ~ brown cardstock: DCWV, kraft cardstock: Bazzill, kraft & parchment paper: stash, ink: Ranger, VersaMark, tree image: Unity Dream Tree, gratitude stamp: Unity Just Plain Gratitude.


Thursday, April 9

A wee card from Unity KOTM

It is rather late, but I wanted to share with you a quick little card I made. I'll post the supplies at the bottom later on.

I used Unity's little topiary stamp from the March kit of the month, Simple Life - man, I'm lovin' it! I chose some Basic Grey paper for the background and some kraft and lavender cardstock from my scrap tray. The BG is the only "new" paper on this card!

I said this is a little card because it only measures 3x4 inches! It will make a great little note card for any occasion, and this image is versatile enough that you could whip up several using your scraps in no time flat!

This card is entered in the very first challenge over at Simon Says Challenge blog. Check them out!

OK - I'm off. I'll be back later on to post the supplies list for anyone interested!




supplies ~ kraft CS: Bazzill, lavender CS: DCWV, dsp: Basic Grey Lilykate, image: Unity March KOTM



Monday, April 6

BIG, big big NEWS!

Have you been to the new Whimsy Challenge Blog? They have such cute images, and I was asked to be on the design team! Woohoo! So beginning on Monday, there will be challenges every two weeks, and maybe a chance to win prizes. How cool is that!?!

I am really excited to be on the team. I haven't had time to play with my Whimsy stamps as much as I'd like, but you will definitely be seeing more of them now! If you'd like to see what I've done so far, click here.

Post ya later!

Sunday, April 5

Think Green!

Have you seen any of the stamps from Whimsy Stamps? One lucky person won the Polar Bear in my Spring Break Giveaway a couple of weeks ago, but there are many other adorable stamps, too. And Denise, the owner of Whimsy Stamps, is starting up a challenge blog, too! I have several of her stamps, but haven't had enough time to make them into cards until yesterday. I had already stamped the frog, so I just needed to color him and put him on a card.

I decided to pull out my Cuttlebug folders (they don't get as much use as I'd like) to create a scene. I knew right away that I wanted to use the Forest Branches folder, but wasn't sure what to use for the water. At first, I thought I'd use d'vine Swirl, but then changed my mind to use Tiny Bubbles. AND (you'll be proud of me) I used only scraps to make this card. I even used the scraps after cutting out the frog to stamp the sentiment, and two more of the frog's head so I could layer it.

Yep, this was my first attempt at layering an image in my card. It was accidental, really. I had only meant to cut out the frog and pop him up on dimensionals. In a fatal head-on collision between the image and and a broad tip marker, the poor frog's face was irrepairably disfigured. The only remedy was to either begin again with a fresh image, or layer his face. I actually kind of like the result. The shadows cast by the layering give the card more texture.

ETA: I decided to enter this card in the Flourishes Swing Into Spring challenge. I would really like to win some Flourishes stamps!

I hope you like him. He's such a cutie patootie, how can you NOT love him?!?! Thanks for stopping by for a look. Happy Palm Sunday to you!

supplies ~ kraft: Bazzill, blue cardstock: Martha Stewart, image: Whimsy Stamps
, sentiment: Studio G series 26


Friday, April 3

Hip HOP Hangover!




Welcome to Hip HOP Hangover! I hope you are enjoying all the fantastic projects created with Unity stamps.

Today's card is made from Unity's March kit of the month, "Simple Life". It's a simple card I CASE'd from Emily (you gotta visit her fantastic blog). The difference is that I used DSP instead of embossed cardstock, I double matted my focal image and added a sentiment, too. As an added touch, I stamped the butterfly on the lower left front of the envelope and then immediately stamped again on the back of the envelope to get a lighter impression.

I also decided to send this card to Jen Tapler for her card drive to benefit the Alzheimer's Association. It's too late to enter for the blog candy, but she would love to receive your card anyway to include in the auction. Go check it out! ETA: Jen extended the deadline for blog candy to TODAY - hurry!

Have a Fantastic Friday - Hip HOP!

supplies ~ Cardstock: Martha Stewart, DSP: Basic Grey Marrakech, stamps: Unity KOTM "Simple Life"


Thursday, April 2

Oh me, oh my...two challenges and blog candy!

Don't get too excited, now - the candy isn't from me; it's from Squigglefly! They started a blog hop yesterday, and it will run though the weekend. If you comment at every hop, you get an entry for each person's candy, PLUS the Squigglefly blog is giving away 2 stamps, too.

While you're out, hop over to Toodles & Binks - they have a new blog and are offering candy! AAAANNNNDDDD, Danielle is giving away a Bind-it-All! So get to hoppin' (after you're done here, that is)! Free Smiley Courtesy of www.millan.net

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I have two cards for you today! I just joined the Unity Kit of the Month, and then they issued a challenge to us all to use the kit - I have been BUSY, but haven't had time to post until now!

The first card could be a baby card or an all occasion card depending on the message inside. The camera didn't pick up the shine of the Shimmerz I used to paint the clouds and rainbows, so you'll have to use your imagination. ;o)

I only have bold Shimmerz colors, so I'll share a trick with you that I use often. When I need a color I don't have, I reach for my color wheel. It helps know what colors to mix to get the color I want. But when I need a lighter tint (say, pastels like this card) all I need to do is add white. In this case, it's Angel Wings Shimmerz. If you use enough of it, white will be the color you see when I dries. But if you only apply a very thin coat it dries almost transparent. And if you mix it with any color, you get a lighter tint. So even though I don't have any pastel colors, I can create my own!

supplies ~ cardstock: stash (maybe Bazzill?), images: Unity Simple Life Kit of the Month, paint: Shimmerz




The second one was QUICK to make because the challenge called for 3 layers or less and 3 colors or less. I relied on pop dots and the dew drops to give the card more dimension and pop than just the matted image. I also used a tutorial from Gina K's Stamp TV to create wood grain paper. You can click on the image to get a larger view.

supplies ~ cardstock: DCWV, image: Unity Simple Life Kit of the Month, dew drops


I hope you have a great day - come back tomorrow for my Hip HOP Hangover post!


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