Something Blue & More or Less White Space

Hello there!  I hope your weekend is off to a good start.  Today I'm sharing two cards I created for two different challenges.  The first challenge is the Fusion Challenge: Something Blue, I chose to use only the cake as my inspiration.  The second challenge is the Addicted to CAS Challenge: Petals. Am I the only one who struggles with white space on a card?  I take that back, I think it may be that I might have a hard time with spacing things out.  For example, I made my first card on the left below with the intentions of having a lot of white space (you see how that worked out).  Once I stamped my large main flowers I felt that I needed to "fill in" to balance my design, then once I was done stamping, I wasn't sure I even like it because I thought it might be too busy.  Soooo, I made another card trying for more white space, this time was better but I had to hold myself back so I wouldn't add more.  It's not that I don't like white space and CAS cards, I do!  Maybe for ME, I just like color more. I would consider both of my cards clean & simple (CAS) since they're mostly one layer cards with the exception of the die cut hello.  For both cards I started out with a white card base and stamped the My Favorite Things Pretty Posies onto a white cardstock panel using the colors new leaf, limeade ice, spring rain, enchanted evening, hawaiian shores and marina mist (SU).   First I stamped the outlines of the flowers and leaves and then I stamped the colors slightly off centered.  I also stamped the friend sentiment from the MFT stamp set Label Maker Sentiments.  Once my stamping was done, I die cut my stamped panel using the MFT hello die and also die cut the hello from a piece of fun foam to layer the two together.  I did some ink blending on both of the die cut hello words before gluing them to the fun foam, marina mist & enchanted evening on my first card and hawaiian shores & marina mist on my second.  Below I have a simple slide show of some of the steps I took to create my dimensional die cut hello sentiment.

One of the funnest things for me while making these two cards was the finishing details, adding the blue and silver sequins, some white gel pen to the tiny dots around some of the flowers, using a silver glitter pen to add dots in the daisy flowers and some Wink of Stella glitter pen on a few of the flowers. Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet Friend

Hi there friends!  Today I'm sharing a duplicate of a card that I created and posted a few days ago using the Spotlighting Technique because I had several questions on the steps I used to create it.  You can see my first card here or if you're visiting my blog you can scroll down below this post.
I actually made an attempt to do my FIRST craft video which you can watch below.  Please be gentle because it is far from perfect and I'm still learning how to create a video.  Also I must warn you that this video has NO SOUND because I ended up having to speed up the whole video to shorten the length of it and in doing so it of course affects the sound.  I'm hoping that even without the sound that you can at least see the steps I used to create my card.  And of course since this video is not edited you can see how I smudge ink on the edge of my card and how I conceal it (real life stamping in action, lol)

I used the stamp set Wildflower from Concord & 9th for my flowers and stems and the My Favorite Things, Label Maker Sentiments set for my sentiment.  I stamped on a piece of Strathmore watercolor paper and I used the Zig Clean Color Real Brushes,  an aqua brush, Zig Wink of Stella glitter pen, Sakura silver gelly roll pen and circle dies. Thank you for stopping by!

CTD200 - Look Hoo's Celebrating!

Hello everyone!!!  I'm excited to be this week's hostess over at the Color Throwdown Challenge because we're celebrating our 200th Challenge!  In honor of our 200th Challenge we have a little fun planned for this week.  Each team member of the CTD is offering blog candy and they'll be one lucky winner per blog.  All you have to do is leave a comment on each of our blogs and play along with this week's Color Throwdown Challenge to be eligible to win.  The featured Stamper and winners will be announced next week Tuesday (you must participate in the CTD Challenge in order to have a chance to win).

While looking for an inspiration photo for our celebration challenge I stumbled across this fun picture with all of it's cute cupcakes, owl, buttons and ric-rack and knew I found what I was looking for.  I decided to create a coordinating birthday card and one of my Pillow Box Owl treat boxes that I had designed last year, you can see variations of this owl treat box here and here. 

Below you'll see a photo of the supplies I used to create this new version of my Pillow Box Owl which is inspired by the cake topper in the inspiration photo above.  I used everything that is pictured here along with the Sizzix Pillow Box die, some Scor-Tape and some good glue.  For the feathers on the tummy of the owl I die cut several of the Papertrey Ink Heart borders in three colors, creamy carmel, close to cocoa and chocolate chip and layered them together with glue then using a circle Nestabilities die I die cut all but the bottom.
  Supplies for Pillow Box Owl Treat Box: SU Sizzix Pillow Box die, Large oval punch, 3/4" circle punch, 1/2" circle punch, 5 Petal Flower punch (for beak), Small Heart punch, 2 1/8" Circle Nestie, PTI Heart border die, My Favorite Things Flower die, Sco-Tape, Glue. Supplies for Owl Card: SU Owl punch, SU small flower punch,  PTI Button Bits & Tremendous Treats Birthday (for sentiment), Buttons, My Mind's Eye dp, Nesties.

On to the Candy!  I know it isn't spring but I just loved the sweet patterns in this Little Yellow Bicycle 6x6 paper pad, it's filled with butterflies, flowers and birds.  And to coordinate with the paper I'm also giving away a pack of matching stick pins, rhinestones, ribbon, bakers twine and the Stampendous stamp set Butterfly Beauties.  Play along with the CTD this week and leave a comment here for a chance to win.

Best of luck to you!   Be sure to check out what the other design team members have come up with for this week's Color Throwdown Challenge!  

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Watercolor

Joan Ervin - Stamping With Passion

Lori Tecler - Inking Aloud

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

Kerri Michaud - Cards by Kerri

 Judy Rozema - Joy in a Jar  - as our July Guest Designer

CQC#87 - Whooo's Birthday

Hello friends!  Today I have a card and 3D project that I've created for the Colour Queen Color Challenge. 

But before I get into my post I'd just like to say something...month's ago I created an owl using the Stampin' Up Pillow Box Sizzix die (you can see my post here), it was original I thought because I had never seen anyone create an owl using the Pillow Box die and I subscribe and follow a large amount of blogs and I'm constantly surfing the web.  Well since then I've seen several people post on their blogs the same owl using the Pillow Box die without so much as a mention of my name, link to my blog or to even drop me an email to asking if I'd mind them using my idea.  Don't get me wrong I do understand that if you put something out on the web some people feel it's up for grabs.  I also know that copying is the best form of flattery and that we all find inspiration in each others work...but it does upset me when someone claims to have created it themselves without giving credit.  I'm a big believer in giving credit where credit is due and I've always tried to stick to that rule here on my blog.  If I've ever gotten inspiration from someone I link to that person, it's common courtesy.  It's also easy to improve on something that someone else has originally created.

 The Owl Happy Birthday card uses the SU stamp set Curly Cute, the Two-Step Owl punch and the Scallop Border punch as well as some Melon Mambo designer paper.

 For the Owl Pillow Box you can see the supplies below that I used in order to create him, starting with the Pillow Box die I cut out using the Soft Sued and then I cut one half of the die out with the Melon Mambo designer paper.  I used the various sized circle punches for the eyes, heart punch for the two feet and beak, large oval for the wings and punched a little more than half of the scallop circle punch out of the yellow and layered them for the belly.  The one thing you must have when putting one of these together is excellent adhesive, I used my Scor-tape to adhere the box, designer paper, scallop belly layers and wings.

Thank you for your visit and have a nice day!

Pillow Box Pumpkin Bucket and Card

Happy Friday everyone!!! This week has been a busy one and sure did go by fast but I'm happy that I was able to get some things done so that my kids are ready to go back to school.
Today I have a Halloween Pumpkin Bucket that I made from my Stampin' Up Sizzix Pillow Box die and a card that I created using Beate's Weekend Sketch. For the card I used the stamp set Pumpkin Patch which is in the new Holiday Mini Catalog coming out next Tuesday. Wait until you see all the fun new goodies in this Mini, your going to love it!

Supplies: Pumpkin Patch, Weathered BG, Grateful Greetings, Cast-A-Spell DSP, Nestie, Ribbon, Button, Piercer, Linen thread, Pop dots. Colors: Basic Black, Pumpkin Patch, Old Olive, Whisper White.

I came up with the idea for this Pumpkin Bucket after looking at my Sizzix dies I had, I was trying to figure out what kind of 3-D Halloween treat I could make when it popped into my head. This bucket took no time at all to make and was fun to put together. What you need is 3 Pillow Boxes cut, creased and sponged with Pumpkin Pie ink, one handle 1" x 11", one large Coluzzle circle (4" in diameter)for inside bottom, three 1" x 4" strips of Pumpkin Pie (only 2 are pictured here but I used 3) and some punched out pieces for the face.

Step one: Cut all pieces and crease and sponge the three Pillow boxes.

Step two: Use Tacky Tape and tape the three boxes together end to end then pick one side to be the top of your bucket and cut the three rounded tabs down so that all of the top of the edges match.

Step three: Apply Tacky Tape to the very ends on one side of the 1" x 4" strips and tape them to the bottom tabs of your bucket (as shown in photo).

Step four: Place cut Coluzzle circle in bottom of bucket and glue on punched pieces for face (I scored the hand cut triangle for nose and used the small photo corner punch for the mouth).

Step five: Make elongated punches on side of bucket using the Horizontal Slot punch and attach handle. I fed the handle strips through the slot and folded it over about a half inch then added a brad to secure the handle.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cased Spring Top Note Purses

Today's project is a case (which means I tried to copy the idea from someone else), while I was away a few weekends ago at the SCS Michigan Mingle get together I saw someones swap (it didn't have a name on it or I would give credit) and I loved it. It was the cutest little Stampin' Up Sizzix Top Note purse, I took some pictures of it knowing that I wanted to try and make one for myself.
If anyone knows who originally came up with this idea please let me know so that I can link them from this post.

These purses that you see here were so easy and fun to make, you really should give one a try!

What you need is three cut Top Note pieces either out of card stock or designer paper (I used two Pink Pirouette pieces of card stock and one Delicate Dots DSP). The piece that you want as the top of your purse needs to be scored length wise and needs to have two holes punched into the back half for the strap of the purse.

You will also need ribbon, a small paper bag cut down ( I used a 3 1/2" x 3" white bag), Velcro, Tacky Tape and something decorative for the closer.

The first step is to take your paper bag and apply some Tacky Tape and adhesive and then tape it to the center of one of your Top Note pieces. Then apply tape to the other side of the bag and line up the other Top Note piece, this is the base of your purse.

The next step is to take the Top Note piece that has been scored with the holes and tie on your ribbon, then you need to apply Tacky Tape as shown in this picture (down low and covering the ends of the ribbon).

Then remove the backing of your Tacky Tape and tape this piece to the back piece of your purse base lining up the curves of the die and covering the ribbon. Add your decorative closer and Velcro and your done.

These purses would be a great project for mother's day, mother daughter stamp camp or just as a nice thank you.

Supplies: Polka Dot Punches, Delicate Dots DSP, SU Prints Pack, Trendy Trees (thank you saying), Word Window punch, Circle punches, Scallop circle punch, 5 petal flower punch, Ribbon, Paper bag, Tacky Tape, Brads. Colors: Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Almost Amethyst, Whisper White.
Thanks for stopping by!

PS Be sure to stop over at the Follow Your Heart blog for a chance to win some awesome Elisabeth Bell Blog Candy and to hear about the exciting exclusive new stamp line that she's creating for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design!!!

4 Hearts Basket

I'm back......after being really sick since last Tuesday morning, I'm still sick but the achy fevery feeling is gone thank God. I haven't been this sick in a long long time and even though I'm still congested in my head and chest I think the worst has past. We have been having some bitter cold temperatures with snow here in Michigan as I type this the snow is coming down and its suppose to continue into the night with a total of 6-7 more inches of snow.

I haven't played around with the new Love You Much stamp set that I recently got from Stampin' Up but today I wanted to make something using the large heart from the set, so I made a basket.

Looking at the basket it looks like all I did was stamp four hearts and attach the bottoms of the hearts to a base, but actually I measured out the base of the box on a sheet of Real Red card stock and stamped the hearts to overlap onto the base so that the whole basket would be one piece and be stronger. Then I stamped two hearts onto white card stock, colored the flowers with my aqua brush and taped them over two of the red hearts. The base of the box is 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" then I measured a 1/2" out to create a bottom edge for the basket. I cut and scored the base and cut around the hearts, then punched small holes so that the hearts could be tied together with ribbon. The handle for the basket is 8"x 3/4" and was attached with Tacky Tape which I also used to assemble the base. I used a punched out heart and a flower brad at the base of the handle on each side of the basket to finish it off.

Supplies: Love You Much, Heart punch, Flower brads, Ribbon, Tacky Tape, Hole punch, Aqua brush. Colors: Real Red, Whisper White.

Hydrangea Bittybloom ~ Happiness

Yes another Bittybloom flower card, I've been having so much fun creating these circular Bittybloom cards that now I want to make a whole collection! I've had a few people ask how I made the flower cards that I've posted so far so I decided to show step by step directions on how I did them. I used my Nestabilities on all of the flower cards I've created.

Step one: Stamp and color your image, then cut and emboss the image using your Nesties circle die and add a mat.

Step two: To make the card base for this card I used the largest Nestibilities circle die I had (on the other flower cards I used the largest scallop circle die) and took the color card stock I wanted to use and cut it length wise just a little larger then the die.

Step three: After cutting your card stock to size you need to score it for the top fold of your card. I took and placed my card stock and die on my Scor-Pal and scored just under the top portion of the circle die (for this card it was 4"). So when the die is cut the front and back sections will still be attached (see photos below). Then I folded and trimmed down my card.

Step four: Next I cut the base of my card by running it through my Big Shot (notice how the circle die is over the edge of the card stock so it won't get cut).

Here is what my circle card base looked like after cutting. Once I had the base cut, for this card I used my 1 3/8" circle punch and added petals and then attached my matted image to the center.

If you have any questions please email me.

Supplies: Hydrangea Bittybloom - Stamping Bella, Happiness - SU Warm Words, Nesties, Copics, Ribbon, Brads, Spica glitter pen, Circle punch. Colors: Elegant Eggplant, Lavender Lace, Whisper White.