Lighthouse

I've gone and flipped the sketch again on today's Sketch Challenge. I am always running short of guy birthday cards. This will be great for my stash. I only used one color ink pad. I'm trying to simplify...of course I did not do that when I choose my sets. I just kept grabbing as the card progressed and then I realized I had just used 4 different sets. Let me know if you give this sketch a try!

Stamps: Winds of Grace, Sanded Background, Print Pattern Background, It's Your Birthday

Paper: Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Bravo Burgundy

Ink: Always Artichoke

Accessories: Jumbo Eylets, Circle punches-3/4", 1", 1 1/4", Tool kit for piercing

Fall Colors

So today with the color challenge she threw four colors at us instead of the usual 3. The colors today were: Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral, Apricot Appeal, and Creamy Caramel. As I was scanning my stamps trying to figure out what I was going to use my eyes stopped at my poor Lovely as a Tree sitting at the bottom of a stack. If it was on the bottom it means it has not been used in a very ling time. I thought it would be perfect for this color challenge. I colored the stamp with the markers to get it to be various colors. I then used my Aqua pen and re-inkers to add a little more color to the tree trunk. I struggled with what to do along the bottom as it just needed something. I decided just to put the sentiment and use the scorer to accent it. I added more eyelets within the HB bracket. A few more layers than I usually do but I figured they were necessary to pull this together. The Tree panel is popped up on Dimensionals.

Stamps: Weathered Background, Lovely as a Tree, It's Your Birthday

Paper: Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral, Apricot Appeal, Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla

Ink: Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral, Apricot Appeal, Creamy Caramel,

Accessories: Crop-a-Dile, Hemp Twine, Ticket Corner Punch, Scorer

Dimensional Bugs

So today's challenge today was the technique challenge. The technique was to layer a pictures so it pops out. It took me longer to decide what set to use than it actually did to make the card. Of course than I had to wait for my batteries to charge before I could take the pictures. My son loves to look at the wrestling pictures after a match and I suppose he forgot to shut off the camera when he was done. Well, I decided to go hog wild with the dimensionals. I am personally a pop up glue dot person but decided to use the dimensionals for this challenge. I not only used them to pop up the parts of the insects I also used them to pop up the whole layer. I sponged the colors around the edges. I also pierced in the corner of the small insects and all the way around the Dragon fly. Piercing can add so much to a card. I was so thankful that the colors I choose I also had the matching eyelets for. I did not find that out until I had the idea and went eyelet hunting in my Stampin' Stack and Store. We did not have all the ribbon that I wanted so I needed to color some with my markers to get the colors that I wanted.

Stamps: Dotted Background, Bugs and Kisses, It's Your Birthday

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Glorious Green, Lovely Lilac, Whisper White

Ink: Only Orange, Real Red, Green Galore, Glorious Green, Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac

Accessories: Bold Bright Eyelets, Grosgrain Ribbon colored with markers. Ticket Corner Punch, Crop-a-dile, Dimensionals

Mint BonBon

Well, the challenge on SCS for the day did not work for me since it called for an item I do not have. Stop gasping, there are somethings I do not own, or ever intend to own... :)
So believe it or not this color combo came from the outfit I wore to church yesterday. I had a green tapered cardigan sweater over a brown v-neck t-shirt with a brown skirt and green shoes (that match the sweater perfect). For those who know me, you know I like to be invisible, so you know I just have to love these shoes in order to wear these colors (and I love shoes!)
When I finished the card and showed my kids, they all said it reminds them of peppermint bon bon ice cream. The Happy Birthday came for the It's your Birthday set. I did not want all the words so I colored what I wanted with the marker. I did the same with the flower.

Stamps: Print Pattern Background, Baroque Motifs, It's Your Birthday

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Gable Green, Very Vanilla

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Gable Green

Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1/16" Circle Punch

Off-subject: I finally started working on building my web-site this weekend. I hope to have it up by the first of the month. So I designed a new watermark to go with the DD theme. What do you think?

Yoyo Birthday

Sorry about no posting yesterday. My closet was just calling my name to re-organize. I am a shoe lover and right now I have more pairs of shoes than I do stamps... It had gotten to the point where I could not find half of them because they were all in different places. So I spent the day on that. Now one glance and I can see them all in one place! It was hard putting off stamping for the day, but I love a clean closet!

So today's Challenge on SCS was the Color Challenge. The colors today were Going Grey, Basic Grey and Yoyo Yellow. The first thing that came to my mind was ducks. Since I do not have a duck stamp at this time I decided to go with birds. I thought the elephant would look cute with them.

Stamps: Wild About You, It's Your Birthday, Sanded Background

Paper: Basic Grey, Yoyo Yellow, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Grey, Yoyo Yellow, Garden Green (stem), Choclate Chip (bird legs)

Accessories: Yoyo Yellow Eyelets, Basic Grey Taffeta Ribbon

Embossed Cowboy

Sorry, schedules have been full and time to stamp has been not available. Today I tried to combine the 3 challenges I missed. As the card progressed certain challenges were eliminated. So I was only left with the Sketch challenge so that is where is stands. The cowboy was actually stamped 3 times until I got him the way I liked it. I started with the Basic Gray. It was not dark enough, so I stamped over it with the Black Stazon. That still was not enough to over power the designer paper. So I decided to emboss it. Boy, am I thankful for my Stamp-a-ma-jig!!! I pierced a trail before and after the Happy Birthday and put brads in the center of the main circles. Today is the last day for the Designer paper special. I've had a great time using so much of it and have found some favorites I would not of tried if it weren't for the sale.

Stamps: It's Your Birthday, Bronc Buster

Paper: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Carbon DSP

Ink: Basic Gray, Stazon

Accessories: Small Oval Punch, Black Brads, Tool kit for Piercing

Fall Flowers/Boxed Set

I love this Fall Flowers Designer Paper. The colors are my favorite colors! This was made for today's Limited Supplies Challenge. This card was also made for my daughter -in-law who was in a car accident last night. She is banged up pretty bad but is ok. Their car was totaled. Please keep her in your prayers! I also tried to use the colors and paper I used for today's extra project below. This is what we were allowed to use for the challenge:
A) Use 2-3 stamps - one should be a heart image or sentiment.

B) Choose one designer paper pattern OR one embellishment.

C) Choose one specialty tool. (Optional)

D) Limit the layers.

E) Use any coloring tools.

Stamps: Double Line Doodles

Paper: River Rock, Really Rust, Fall Flowers DSP, Groovy Guava

Ink: Groovy Guava, Really Rust, Black Stazon, River Rock

Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Large and Small Oval Punch

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I got an e-mail from a friend yesterday asking if I had a pattern for a box to put sets of cards with envelopes in to give as gifts. The only one I had was for a tote. I knew I could make one with a lid to give as a gift box from that pattern. Last weekend I had made the cards below with the one-sheet-wonder pattern. So I decided I needed to make a box to match the set of cards.

Stamps: Sanded Background

Paper: Really Rust, Old Olive, Fall Flowers DSP, Groovy Guava

Ink: Really Rust

Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch

These cards are made with a one-sheet-wonder template. I made them all in under 1 hour. The idea is to make a set of matching cards. For these 11 cards I used one sheet of 12 x 12 Designer Paper, 4 colors of card stock including the Very Vanilla, 1 ink pad and 1 stamp set.

Stamps: It's Your Birthday

Paper: Fall Flowers DSP, Groovy Guava, Old Olive, Really Rust, Very Vanilla

Ink: Old Olive

Accessories: Scallop Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch

Stamps: It's Your Birthday

Paper: Fall Flowers DSP, Groovy Guava, Old Olive, Really Rust, Very Vanilla

Ink: Old Olive

Accessories: Large Tag Punch, Small Tag Punch, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain, 1 3/8" & 1 1/4" Square Punches

Stamps: It's Your Birthday

Paper: Fall Flowers DSP, Groovy Guava, Old Olive, Really Rust, Very Vanilla

Ink: Old Olive

Accessories: 1 3/8" & 1 1/4" Square Punches

Stamps: It's Your Birthday

Paper: Fall Flowers DSP, Groovy Guava, Old Olive, Really Rust, Very Vanilla

Ink: Old Olive

Accessories: 1 3/8" & 1 1/4" Circle Punches, Scallop Circle Punch, Designer Label Punch, Groovy Guava Double Stitched Ribbon

Stamps: It's Your Birthday

Paper: Fall Flowers DSP, Old Olive, Really Rust, Very Vanilla

Ink: Old Olive

Stamps: It's Your Birthday

Paper: Fall Flowers DSP, Groovy Guava, Old Olive, Very Vanilla. White Envelopes

Ink: Old Olive /Envelopes- Old Olive, Groovy Guava, Really Rust

Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1/8" circle punch

70th Birthday

One of my friends had a birthday party for her father this weekend. She asked if I had a card that she might be able to give him. This is what I came up with. I used the cracked glass technique on his age. You can find a tutorial for it here. It also just happens to be the Technique challenge for today. This is also a side hinge card. The edge is scored and sealed together with sticky strip tape.

Stamps: Headline Numbers, Sanded, Baroque Motifs, It's Your Birthday.

Paper: Basic Grey, Whisper White, Basic Black

Ink: Going Grey, Basic Grey, Versamark

Accessories: Grey Taffeta, Ticket CornerPunch, Glassy Glaze Embossing Powder, Hodge Podge Hardware, Horizontal Slot Punch

Pink Buggy Birthday

Today's challenge on SCS was the Color Challenge. These colors were chosen in honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness month. We were allowed to use anything pink that we wanted. I went for the Bold Brights. They were the first colors I bought and now the ones I forget about... I used the corner rounder to round the corners of the Photo Corner Punch. This was not my idea...I saw it on a card somewhere and loved it so I had to give it a try.

Stamps: Label Classics, It's Your Birthday, Bugs Kisses

Paper: Pink Passion, Pixie Pink, Whisper White

Ink: Pink Passion, Pixie Pink

Accessories: Very Vanilla 5/8" Grosgrain dyed with Pink Passion Re-inker, Horizontal Slot Punch, 3/16" Corner Rounder, Photo Corners Punch, Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads

Pirate Birthday

Another simple card. I received a wonderful surprise package in the mail. It was full of little gifts and 3 sets of wonderful stamped images. It made my day!! When I saw the color challenge today the first thing I did was go through the images to see what I cold use today. I love this set and may have to break down and buy it. Thankfully my secret friend sent me enough images to keep me happy for a little while :) I used Crystal effects on the sword to give it some shine. I had to use the eyelets since today's colors (More Mustard, Old Olive, Bashful Blue) are colors in the earth elements assorted pack. Another tent card. I grabbed my scrap bag and this was the size I had already cut, so I went from there. I think it worked great with the already stamped image. The words are embossed. I colored with Re-inkers and Aqua Pens.

Stamps: Ahoy Matey, Print Pattern, It's Your Birthday

Paper: Whisper White, More Mustard, Old Olive Craft and Classic

Ink: More Mustard, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Blush Blossom, Basic Black

Accessories: More Mustard Eyelets, Old Olive Eyelets, More Mustard Grosgrain, Corner Rounder, Clear Embossing Powder, Crystal Effects

Elephant never forgets

When I saw this mornings Ways to Use it challenge I was excited. I love the new Basic Gray but forget to grab it. The challenge was to use the basic gray. This card did not want to work this morning but I think all the errors made it great! First I stamped the elephant. The image looked even but turned out spotty. I toyed with the thought of re-stamping it but the more I looked at it the more I liked the grain on the elephant. So then I decided to tie the ribbon on the front layer after I had already glued it down. So I peeled up one end and tied on the ribbon. Not until I went to glue the elephant on did I notice I pulled up the top and not the bottom. The more I looked I thought...ok, different is good! I am in a simple mood since school started and I have all 5 of my kids doing school. So time is not as available to do more, but I want to do something! I stamped the words in Cameo and tipped the edges in Basic Gray. I put a rhinestone from the pretties in the center of the flower.

Stamps: It's Your Birthday, Wild About You

Paper: Cameo Coral, Basic Gray, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Gray, Cameo Coral, Garden Green

Accessories: Rhinestone Brads from Pretties Kit, Basic Gray Taffeta, Tool Kit for Piercing

Fall Birthday

Ever since I got this set I am in the mood for fall cards. For those who know me I love summer. I love hot. So in Wisconsin when fall comes I know the hot is over, but I love the fall colors. I wish we could have fall colors in the summer heat. Oh, well...I guess God wants me to appreciate all the seasons as He has made them. When I looked at the Color Challenge today on SCS I was thinking "This will be drab together." I started by thinking of the layout I wanted to use and then knew which set I planned on going with. I tried a few different ribbons and thought the wide grosgrain went the best. The HB (Happy Birthday) in the center was added as an after thought. I think it works! I do like the way it turned out after all!

Stamps: Weathered Background, Autumn Harvest, It's Your Birthday, All in a Row

Paper: River Rock, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip

Ink: River Rock, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain, Pop Up Glue Dot

Bleached Doodles

So the challenge today as to use heat embossing on a card and keep it simple. One of my favorite things to do with outlined embossed objects is color them in with bleach. I pour some bleach in one of my Aqua pens and just color between the lines. I am always surprised at what color it may turn into. For example I expected this to just go lighter blue. I was going to accent with the Soft Sky. It turned out a slight reddish color when bleached, so I went with the Purely Pomegranate. The ribbon is just glue dotted around the top layer and the 3 ties are tied on. That is an easy way to save some ribbon.

Stamps: Doodle This, It's Your Birthday

Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Blue Bayou

Ink: Versa Mark, Blue Bayou

Accessories: Aqua Pens, Bleach, Purely Pomegranate, Blue Bayou Double Stitched Ribbon, Scallop Circle Punch, Clear Embossing Powder

Belated Birthday

I just got this set (Elementary Essentials) yesterday. It is part of this month's SU special. You can get it for $19.57 with any $30 purchase. If you can tell I am using eyelets more. Since I bought the crop-a-dile I had to by more eyelets, ok, all of the eyelets.... They are so simple to add now! This card was made for the SCS Ways to use it challenge. The challenge was to Spiral it. The pencil was smooshed in the Versamark and embossed over with Clear embossing powder.

Stamps: Elementary Essentials, On the Spot Background, It's Your Birthday

Paper: Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, Whisper White, Real Red

Ink: Bordering Blue, read Red, Apricot Appeal, Going Gray, Pretty in Pink, Versamark

Accessories: Spiral Punch, Night of Navy Eylets, Crop-a-dile, Clear Embossing Powder