Sunday Leftovers!

If you read my blog often, you will know that I love the style of Kristina Werner from KWernerDesignBlog. Well, recently, Kristina has gotten a new roommate named Jen. Jen is also a card maker and the two of them have started Sunday Leftovers!! What they do is take 3 pieces of "scrap" from their garbage can and give it to the other to make something out of it!!

I LOVE that idea!! What fun!! and a great way to really streatch your creativity. Anyone want to play???

So reading their latest adventure made me want to clean out my "stuff" bin -- the place I put half finished pieces, bits of background, etc. While doing that, I saw a whole bunch of treasures that I knew I had to use. So here are 2 of my finished pieces.

This first card is made by sponging Buckaroo Blue inside an oval mask. Then, I stamped the flower image using the same color, making sure to stamp off a few times to get a variance of color. (While most of you will know this, if there is someone new out there "stamping off" is where you ink your image, stamp it once, twice, and even three times to get different amounts of ink on the image. It is a great way to get lots of dimension on a card...and so easy!!). Next, I took off the oval mask and stamped the entire flower image using The Essential Glue Pad and sprinkled some ultra fine black glitter on it. Finished off the card with a sentiment. It is totally inspired by a crafter named Lisa Carroll who made a similar card (but I don't think she has a blog ... and I can't remember where her card was posted...sorry!!)

For this second card, I had that center piece completed. It was made for a Try a New Technique challenge over at SCS a long time ago (I never seem to get my cards finished and uploaded LOL). The main image was made by stamping with versamark ink and embossing with silver embossing powder. Then, using Future floor wax, I painted on the green Pearl Ex powder. I used more Pearl Ex on a piece of white cardstock to make a matching mat. Last night, I took a piece of black cardstock and inked up just individual pieces from the image and stamped all over the cardstock and embossed it with the silver powder. I mounted all of this onto a 3 x 3" card base made out of cardstock vellum! I really like that and might have to try some more cards with that vellum.

So, there you have it. Two new cards made from old pieces. I have a TON more pieces to use so I might try to make a few more tomorrow and upload.

If you would be interested in a little fun, we could play the "I'll mail you 3 bits of my scrap if you mail me 3 bits of your scrap and we make cards" game. Then we could post our final card creations on our blog. It could be a lot of fun. Let me know if you are interested.

Thanks for dropping in to visit! Enjoy your weekend!!

Donelda

Cleaning

Well hello everyone. A few things: 1-Sue (I know you are reading) - I saw your aligator card and I LOVED it!!! Where did you get that paper?? It is to die for!!! Almost stole the card from the 10 year old but thought that might be a bit mean!! LOL 2-I have hurt my foot!! Was out walking trying to be healthy and turned my foot. Now it is swolen, bruised, and sore!! Sheesh!! 3-I have just finished cleaning out my "stuff" bin. You know, that place you put punched out shapes, background pieces, and images that you were going to use but didn't!! Wow, what a bunch of treasures in there! I am going to try to use some of them on some cards tonight. Watch for my upload to see how I did LOL Thanks for visiting. Donelda

A Vellum Case

The Papertrey Ink Blog Hop challenge LAST MONTH (July) was to find ways to use Vellum on your card. Well, hopping around to everyone's blogs was soooo inspirational. I especially liked eggette's card seen HERE so much that I had to try to duplicate it.

While I did have the same designer paper I did not have the same stamps and ribbon. So I had to improvise!!

Supplies: Paper-Very Vanilla, Almost Amethyst (SU!) designer paper Aerial (Memory Box); Stamps - Of a Feather (Memory Box); Ink - .Basic Black (SU!); Other - ribbon (Michaels), Scallop Scissors (Fiskars).

Thanks for visiting.

Donelda

August Blog Hop - Jewel Cases

That's right. It's another blog hop night. These Blog Hops are presented by Nichole Heady and the team at Papertrey Ink each month to encourage creativity and sharing among readers.

This month's challenge was to use CD cases or jewel cases. Well, I've gotta tell you that when I read the challenge I was sure that I'd never come up with an idea! I mean, other than putting CDs or clear stamps in them....what else could you use them for??!! But then I remembered Nicholes idea HERE and figured maybe I too could figure out some interesting use.

Well, I was headed down to my 9 year old son to ask him what he thought I could do (he is very creative!!) when I saw the Crystal Light packages on our mini fridge. They looked the right size and were nice and flat. Voila, an idea was born.

I placed 6 tubes of Crystal Light in the CD case. Then I wrapped some pink cardstock around, scoring the places it would need to fold over the edges. I made sure the tops of the Crystal Light packages were peeking out the top and these colors are what I based my color combination on. The 12" sheet of paper doesn't quite go all the way around so I added just a small piece to the back to ensure it closed. I stamped the open dot from Polka Dot Basics on this using Versamark. Next, I moved onto the belly band. Using the circle stamp from the Limetless Labels, I stamped with Orange, Turquoise, and Pink. Then I trimmed off the edges and matted it with some bright yellow. This got scored similarly to the pink cardstock and adheared. Then, I stamped a circle of dots and added the good luck sentiment. Again, I matted this with the same bright yellow. Since the Crystal Light packages were printed using a dark blue ink, I did the same with my sentiment.

I used the same theme and created a simple water bottle vest to match. While certainly not my typical color combination, I love how vibrant it looks with lots of wow power. I have a friend who is running, wants to do a marathon some day. I decided this would make a great gift to encourage her on her goal. I think you could also give it to someone who is taking a long trip or maybe even someone starting a diet.

Supplies: Paper-Pink Passion, Summer Sun, Whisper White (Stampin' Up); Stamps-Limetless Labels, Borders & Corners {circles), Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink); Ink-Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange, Night Of Navy, Versamark (Stampin' Up); Other- 1 1/4" circle punch, Pampered Chef scraper (for scoring of course!), corner rounder.

Well, I'm off to see what everyone else came up with!! Do you have an intersting idea?? If so, please share :-)

Thanks for dropping in.

Donelda

2 Sketches 4 You Challenge #7 - A Little Late!!

Yup, did the challenge but, like usual, I didn't get it done, photographed, and uploaded quick enough. No problem, the sketch was AWESOME and making the card was lots of fun!

If you haven't been over to 2 Sketches 4 You, you should really take a peek. Some very talented ladies. And the winner for this sketch...amazing!!

Supplies: Paper-Lavender Moon, Plum Pudding, Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Stamps-Out on a Limb (Papertrey Ink); Ink-Close to Cocoa, Orchid Opulance, Whisper White craft (Stampin' Up); Other-linen thread (Stampin' Up), scallop scissors (Provo Craft), white gel pen (Signo), Orchid and White FX pencil crayons (Crayola), sponge dauber.

Make sure you drop by tonight as I'll be posting again for the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop!!!

Thanks for dropping in to visit!

Donelda

Loonie Stampers Challenge #5

Another Loonie Stampers Challenge to share. Today the colors were chosen by Char and they are great colors. She did not choose a specific stamp set to use so we were pretty free to play any way we wanted to!! I was so excited to play with my REAL Papertrey Ink papers!! I decided to use the opportunity to make these little mini cards I needed for a friend. They measure 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" and I even made the cutest little envelopes for them! I saw similar ones done by Kristina Werner on her blog a while ago - so cute!! The Dark Chocolate was cut and scored. Next, I stamped this leaf image from the Simple Little Things set onto the Lemon Tart paper. Then I punched them out using my 1" square punch. I added a small bit of Aqua Mist twill to the side (kinda hard to see the color in this picture it seems a bit washed out - sorry!). Head over to Dee, Jewels and Regans blogs to see what they made!! Supplies: Paper-Dark Chocolate, Lemon Tart (Papertrey Ink), Stamps-Simple Little Things (Papertrey Ink); Ink-Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!); Other-Aqua Mist Twill (Papertrey Ink). Thanks ladies for another great challenge!! I'm loving those PTI color combinations!! Enjoy your Sunday! Donelda

An Award for Me????

I just wanted to drop in and say a big thank you to Katie and Mary for this!! Recieving awards like this is so nice because we all know how much energy we put into our blogs and hope that others are enjoying them!! So here is what to do when you recieve this award: 1) put the award logo on their blog 2) link to the individual(s) that gave you the award 3) nominate at least 7 other blogs 4) add links of the blogs you've nominated 5) leave a comment on those 7 blogs to let them know they have been given an award. This is so hard to do. There are a million awesome blogs out there...but here are a few that immediately came to mind: Chris Natasha, Harriet, and Becky Kelly Dee Melissa Claire Jennifer

You should drop in and see their creative wares :-)

Thanks again ladies!

Donelda

Adobe Snowflake Sketch Challenge

Okay, so this looks like a really simple card... but there is so much behind it!

First, this card is made using Papertrey Ink cardstock, the very cardstock that was sent to me from Kimberly Crawford when she read that I didn't have any. Wasn't that the nicest thing a girl could do!!!

Second, I saw that the Casual Mid-Week Challenge #20 on the PTI forum this week was actually posted by the same Kimberly Crawford.

Third, I had read an awesome post by still the same Kimberly Crawford on her blog explaining how to print using digital papers...and since my increadibly awesome husband surprised me with Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 ... I had to give it a try!!

Finally, the designer paper on there...it is created by the one and only ... Becky Oehlers (bet you thought I was going to say Kimberly Crawford...just give the girl some time, I'm sure it is coming, LOL). Becky is an increadible crafter, Papertrey Ink Design Team Member, opera singer, and now....digital paper creator!! I love her stuff and she is sharing it FREE on her blog...run over there and check it out!!

See, I told you there was a lot going on with this card :-)

Making the card was easy... Kraft base, 1 1/4" squares, two snowflakes cut with my hobby knife from Becky's paper, a strip and a 1" square of Becky's papers, Merry Christmas stamped in Chocolate Chip ink... finally some sponging on the snowflakes and around the card for definition. Simple!

Supplies: Cardstock-Dark Chocolate, Kraft, Select White (all Papertrey Ink) Designer paper- Piffaro Shawm (Becky Oehlers); Stamps - Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink); Ink - Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!); Other - 1 1/4" and 1" square punches, sponge dauber, hobby knife, Adobe Photoshop, computer.

Thanks for dropping in. Make sure you head over the Kimberly and Becky's blogs for some great inspiration!

Donelda

Inchie and Twinchie - Eggs

I was browsing around on some blogs and found this one called Small World of Inchies. Now, I'm a real inchie fan, as you can tell from THIS entry, THIS entry, and even THIS entry. But I was really interested in this particular blog since it has challenges for Inchies and Twinchies.

Inchies are, of course, a decorated 1" x 1" square of cardstock. Now, until I found this blog...I had never heard of a Twinchie which is a 2" x 2" square of cardstock.

This week's challenge on Small World of Inchies is EGGS!! I had this awesome picture of some robin eggs in a nest. I've had it in my documents for a very long time. I wasn't sure what I'd ever do with it....but once I saw the challenge...it instantly came to mind. *****ETA-Since I'd had this picture saved for a while I couldn't remember where I had gotten it. But my blogging friend Dina saw it and recognized it as a picture she had taken!! Not only is she great at making cards but she takes great photos too! *****

Supplies: Paper - Sahara Sand, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White (SU!); Stamps - Wedding Day, Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink); Ink - Close to Cocoa (SU!); Other - rhinstone (unknown).

You should go give an inchie or even a twinchie a try!! Thanks for all your wonderful comments and for dropping in.

Donelda

Aqua Mist Snoopy

I loved Snoopy and the Peanuts gang as a kid so I was so excited when I picked up this cute little stamp a while ago, on sale, at Michaels.

I purchased some of the awesome Aqua Mist twill from Papertrey Ink (yes, I love twill) a while ago but none of the ink and paper (I've recieved some paper since but not beore making this card). So I was so excited when I saw that this paper from Dream Street Papers matched the Aqua Mist color exactly!!

The card itself is super simple and easy to make. A black card base, the designer paper on top. I stamped Snoopy on a piece of white cardstock and then tied the twill around the right side of him. Then, I stamped a sentiment on a slip of white cardstock, added an eyelet which also matches the twill almost perfectly (what a nice surprise when that happens!). Some corner rounding and then matting both stamped pieces on one black cardstock piece and it's finished!!

Supplies: Stamps - Snoopy (Stampabilities), Simple Little Things (Papertrey Ink); Paper - Whisper White, Basic Black (Stampin' Up!), Rember the Moments - Jacob (Dream Street Papers); Ink - Basic Black (Stampin' Up!); Other - Aqua Mist Twill (Papertrey Ink), Eyelet (unknown).

Thanks for visiting!!

Donelda

Stamps from Dina

One of my favorite card maker and blogger is Dina! She is amazing. So you can imagine my surprise when I went the the mailbox a few months ago and found an envelope sitting there from her!! When I opened it up, it was one of her stamps called Looking Collage from SmARTworks! WOW!! I was so excited.

I wanted to see how many different "looks" I could get from this stamp, so here is what I ended up with:

For this first one, I wanted to color with my Prismacolor pencil crayons onto the lighter of the two grey colors available from Stampin' Up. I really like the orange with the gray and white! I was so excited when I looked at the fancy swirly stuff in the top right hand part of the image because it matches quite closely to the Finest Flourishes, a set put out by Stampin' Up. So I used that as a background stamp.

The second card is more flashy with all the color! I stamped the image onto white glossy cardstock and used sponges to add the bright colors. Then I found a bunch of flowers in my stash that matched the bright colors (thanks Robin!!). I ended it off with a border of bling - see that box of turquoise rhinstones to finish it off nicely!! Oh yeah, and a little bit of doodling around the edges (I do love to doodle)!!

The sentiment "What we see depends mainly on what we look for" is so cool. It reminds me of this scrapbook page, CLOSED and OPEN, I made quite a while ago for a VSN on Splitcoaststampers. I put it on the inside of this card - done on the glossy with the same colors.

Finally, my son is a huge Tim Holtz fan and being the creative kid he is and always thinking outside of the box. So, he challenged me to make a Tim Holtz tag but do it opposite of Tim's typical style (now what 9 year old thinks that way LOL). So instead of dark earthy colors I was to use brighter colors and instead of dark stamping I was to use white or light.....sheesh!! Here is what I ended up with. See the little frame...it is actually a link from a bracelet where you can insert photos (got that from Michaels). Inside there is a pic of the three of us!! This tag will be going into the altered book I am working on ... well, trying to work on.....

Dina, I can't thank you enough. This is just the tip of the iceberg of things that could be done with your fantastic stamp!!! I hope you enjoy this little sampling!!

Thanks for visiting everyone!!

Donelda

Papertrey Ink Cardstock !!!!

Well, I know who the nicest person in the world is....Kimberly Crawford (a fellow Papertrey Ink addict like myself and an increadible cardmaker and scrapbooker). She noticed in one of my blog entries that I have not been able to buy any Papertrey Ink cardstock yet and was kind enough to send me some. When she send me a message asking for my address so she could send me some, I was shocked. I expected her to send just a few sheets. When I opened the package I almost fell over. She sent me EVERY SINGLE COLOR!!!!!! I couldn't believe it and was soooo excited!

So, I had to make a card out of all PTI stamps and cardstock. I decided to go with Lauren's sketch challenge (a PTI Design Team member and oh so talented!).

Honestly, it was really hard to actually cut into the cardstock, but look, I did it!!! I decided to use Sweet Blush for the main card base and use Plum Pudding as an accent color. Since I don't own the PTI inks, I went with close colors from what I do have.

Supplies: Paper-Sweet Blush, Plum Pudding, Select White (all Papertrey Ink!!!!); Stamps - Beautiful Blooms, Out on a Limb (both Papertrey); Ink - Lavender Lace, Mellow Moss, Regal Rose, Basic Black (all Stampin' Up!), Versamark; Other - coluzzle, butterfly punch (Martha Stewart), paper piercer and template (SU!), scallop scissors (Provo Craft), sponge dauber.

Thanks for visiting! Stay tuned for more PTI cardstock cards!!

Donelda

Another Version of the Inchie Card!

On my last post I had shared a card made with Inchies. Well, I had actually made 2 inchie cards at the same time with different stamps.

This card is the second inchie card I made! I actually like this one better! This one uses the tree from Father Knows Best stamp set from Papertrey Ink (one of my all time favorite stamp sets!). I love the balance of the bird in the tree and the button on the hill!

In the bottom corner, I made a photo corner out of the same paper that the bird is cut from. I love trying to incorporate inchies into my cards in creative ways! As you can see, I'm a big Hero Arts fan!

Supplies: Paper-Whisper White, Basic Black (SU!), Patterned Paper (from my stash); Stamps-Father Knows Best, Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink), Build Your Own Flourish (Gel a tins), Of a Feather (Memory Box); Ink - Chocolate Chip (SU!), Broken China, Walnut Stain (Ranger Distress Inks); Other - Button (unknown), chocolate chip marker (SU!), 1" square punch, sponge, white string, green pencil crayon (Prismacolor), white acrylic paint.

I'd love to see your creations with inchies. Please share by leaving me a link!!

Thanks for dropping in.

Donelda

Hello Inchies!

I made this a few days ago. Actually I made 2 similar cards...this one and another one like it, yet different. You'll see that next!! I have been experimenting with ways to use inchies (1" square pieces of stamped art) in my cards. I really like this idea.

I also like the individual letters along the edge - each stamped, cut into small rectangles, edges sponged for definition, then attached behind the main image. It is a really popular technique right now!

Well, it is very late tonight but I didn't want to not post. I will add details and supplies for this card over the weekend if you are interested!!

Oh, and I've picked up my Design Basics Index book by Jim Krause again...you might see another lesson in the near future :-)

Thanks for visiting!

Donelda

A while back, I made THIS set of cards for the June Papertrey Ink Blog Hop. While I was making that batch of cards, I had also made this little cute card. But, since this card included the Pale Plum color, I decided not to include it with the group of cards in the former post.

But, it is so cute I had to share. I made a color of acrylic paint to match the Aqua Mist twill and then stamped on Kraft cardstock using the paint and my Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics set. I have described this process better in my previous post. You can also check out Heather's blog, Pine Is Here, as she is the queen of stamping with acrylic paint!! The butterfly is stamped onto acetate, then cut out, folded slightly and then adheared to the plum cardstock!

Thanks for dropping in for a visit!

Donelda

Masculine style

So, my goal has been to start using some of the great products that I own! I purchased this stamp set from Stampin' Up a few months and have only used to set a few times, and just 3 of the 14 animals in the set.

So, I decided to pull out this guy and try it on a "masculine" card. I also want to start using some of the paper I've been hoarding for years... so this K&Co. houndstooth paper got used too!!

Nothing spectacular!!

Thanks for visiting.
Donelda

Camping Mini Album

Okay, here' s another album....

I bought a new magazine to take camping a few weeks ago and, wow, I have been so inspired!! It is called Mini Albums in an evening by Simple Scrapbooks. I have a million ideas for mini albums now! I am a total mini album fanatic and this magazine has just given me more ideas than ever. If you also like making mini albums then run, don't walk, to your nearest magazine stand and get this issue!!

So, my first inspired project is this Camping mini album. I decided to use some of the light cardboard that I have. While I could have covered it with designer paper, I decided that the cardboard was the perfect rustic look for my camping album!!

This entire book took me exactly 3 hours to pull together. One night I decided on which pictures to use and printed them out. Then the next morning, I worked on it from 8:00 until 11:00, exactly 3 hours of work and my book was finished!!

I used one of my favorite stamping sets, Fantastic Foilage (Stampin' Up!), to decorate the book. I used Old Olive and Chocolate Chip because I had camping themed embellishment sticker page I wanted to use which had olive elements in it. I added a bit of journalling but mostly just let the pictures speak for themselves.

One of my favorite parts are the circle tabs that I added to the side of the book. Each of these tabs have the date and the location of our camping adventure.

I made a number of "blank" pages so that I have room to include the many more camping trips we are sure to have in the future! I also added a

envelope with more of the tabs prepared so that I have the exact tabs to use in the future!

I bound the book with my Bind It All which made it a cinch to pull together!!

Supplies: Stamps-Fantastic Foilage (Stampin' Up!); Ink-Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!); Paper - Light cardboard (unknown), Olive texture paper (bazzill); Other - camping themed stickers (7gypsies), Letter stickers (Sandylion), Chocolate Chip marker (Stampin' Up), dauber (Stampin' Up!), coluzzle, Bind It All.

Well, I hope you are inspired by my mini album. Thanks for dropping in and visiting.

Donelda

Very Sentimental Anniversary Present!

I have spent almost a year working on this project! I wanted it to be perfect. (As well, I'm a bit of a procrastonator!! LOL). It will be going to my Mom and Dad in early October. I probably should wait until next year because that will actually be their 50th Wedding Anniversary, but my Dad is not healthy and I don't want to risk the chance of waiting for the year and having it not get to him at all!! So, it is a present to celebrate their 50th year of life as Husband and Wife, a little early.

I wanted the whole book to be elegant but not overwhelmed with lots of embellishments. So the pages are fairly clean and simple. I love the little collage on the front of the book! It was so much fun to make. I did this part while I was scrapbooking with my friend Carol (Hi Carol if you are reading my blog these days!!).

The pictures are copies of original wedding pictures. These original pictures are sadly in my mom's wedding album but the tape she used (yikes!) has all let go and many of the pictures have tape marks on them! For that reason, I am even more excited to make this book! These pictures will stay attached and not deteriate like the old book. I even copied the invitation which you can see on one of these pages.

I haven't included all the pages just a few so you can get the general idea of what the book looks like.

The book is actually made from cardboard that I cut to size and then, obviously, bound using my Bind It All.

Supplies: Paper-Simply Scrappin' Kit Today and Always {which includes the inside patterned paper, Very Vanilla, Blush Blossom, and Mellow Moss} (Stampin' Up!), front cover rose paper (Amscan), inside front cover (EK Success); Ink - True Thyme, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Versamark (all Stampin' Up!); Stamps - Together Forever, Forever Flowers (Stampin' Up!), Wedding Day, Favor It Weddings (Papertrey Ink); Other - tags are from Simply Scrappin' Kit (Stampin' Up!), Rub Ons (Deja Views), Large Brad (Makin Memories), velvet flower (Maya Road), cream flower (Bazzill), 1" circle punch (Stampin' Up!), ribbon (Stampin' Up!), sponge dauber, lace and buttons (grandma Mary's stash), pearls (K&Co.), Coluzzle, Chipboard swirl(Fancy Pants), key and heart charms (Dollar Store), hemp.

Thanks for visiting.

Donelda

Loonie Stampers Challenge #4 and 2 Ketches 4 You Layout

Some talented Canadian ladies over on the Papertrey Ink Forum got together and decided to start the Loonie Stamper Challenges. "Loonie" because they are Canadian, LOL!! Today the colors were picked by Deanna and they were great colors to work with. As well, she requested that we use the set Simple Little Things, a free stamp set from Papertrey Ink for customers who had purchased at least 12 full sets of stamps in their first year of business. Well, I have the stamp set and the colors (or at least their substitutes), so I had to play.

As well, I've been lurking over at 2 Sketches 4 You, a great new blog that offers some increadible sketch challenges. But I've not actually tried a sketch yet so I decided to pull the two challenges together!! This sketch is Kazan's Sketch #6.

I decided to do the majority of my stamping on the "vintage cream" (which is actually Very Vanilla by Stampin' Up since I don't own any of the Vintage Cream by Papertrey Ink ... yet!) I chose one of the awesome starburst-like flowers in the set and stamped using Chocolate Chip Ink (and no Dark Chocolate yet, either). Although the sketch has a larger sized mat under the main panel, I chose to keep mine quite small as I didn't want to overwhelm the chocolate color with too much orange. I used a small piece of Chocolate Chip for the sentiment rectangle and stamped the sentiment with Craft Very Vanilla ink. This stuff frustrates me.... stamping with this craft vanilla ink never seems to look right to me.... practice needed perhaps??

Anyway, I added a flower that I made. You start by punching a circle, making 5 little slices into the center and then rounding off the "petals". I used my embossing stylus to shape the flower as well. You can see my Home-made Flower tutorial HERE if you are interested.

Finally, I added the Aqua Mist twill along the bottom (and yes, this is official Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist twill -- I love twill and did get some of this with my last purchase). I remembered that I also have some eyelets that match the Aqua Mist almost exactly so I pulled one out and added it to the center of the flower.

Well, I hope this card lives up to the high standards that this very talented group of ladies have set. To see the three other members of the Loonie Stampers Challenge group you need to check out Jewels, Char, and Regan - their cards ROCK!!!

Thanks for dropping in.

Donelda

3 Dimensional Card

I have recently found a new blog that I have been enjoying! It is by Kim Teasdale called Paper in the Works. She makes the most beautiful cards in 3D -- you know, where you stamp and color multiple copies of the same image and then cut out just pieces and layer them using dimensionals. (Edited to add - Thanks to Marcia who reminded me that this technique is actually called paper toile!!) You can see HERE one of her great cards, and HERE is another one! They are simply amazing, arn't they??!!



Well, I decided to try it out for myself and -- wow, is it ever a lot of work!! I am in more awe than ever at Kim's talent!!



This card uses part of my hostess stamp set called A Little Bit of Happiness. I knew this would be the hostess set I got because I could see so much potential! However, this is only my 2nd card using it...man, I have to get stamping!! :-)

Anyway, I stamped just the flower strip of images twice using my StazOn black ink. Then, I used my ink pads and a watercolor brush to color in the various flowers. My favorite is the one the the far right! So cute!! I think I'll make a bunch of 3x3's using just that little image...wouldn't they be cute!! Anyway, I colored in all the images, cut out bits and pieces, mounted them on top with small pieces of dimensionals. I realize that it is a bit hard to see the layering... I should have taken a picture of it but I didn't. If you click on the picture to make it bigger, you can see it a bit better!



The rest of the card is straight forward. I used my Polka Dot Basics with Versamark for the background. I added a small sentiment "friend" so that my card says...."hello, friend". Just a bit of small scallops along the bottom edge.



Supplies: Stamps - A Little Bit of Happiness (Stampin' Up!), Polka Dot Basics, Mixed Messages (both Papertrey Ink); Paper - Pale Plum, Whisper White (Stampin' Up); Watercolor paper (unknown); Ink - Lavender Lace, Summer Sun, Cameo Coral, Old Olive, (all Stampin' Up), Jet Black (StazOn), Versamark; Other - small scallop scissors (Provo Craft), watercolor paint brush, a pair of really good scissors that makes all that cutting a little bit easier (Stampin' Up!).

A clean and simple card (to look at, all that cutting was far from simple!!). Thanks for dropping in!

Donelda

Card Positioning Systme #76

In the middle of the night....I thought of THIS!! I've been so into Inchies lately (I have a bunch of other cards that you will see soon enough!) all thanks to Cameldiva (Hi Diane~~). Then I saw the CPS Sketch #76 and figured I could combine my late night inspiration with the challenge.

As you can see it is clearly a Clean and Simple design!

I started out by stamping my Anna Griffin background stamp on the 6 different colors of cardstock using black ink and punched them out using a 1" square punch. Then, I used my white gel pen to color parts of the swirls. I sponged each of the squares with black ink and a dauber and used dimensionals to adhear them to a white mat. Added a small black mat and then adheared them to a 5" x 7" white card base (my most favorite card size to make!). Then, I wanted to add something to the edge as the sketch suggested so I used my Fiskars scissors and cut a fancy edge. To make it pop, I attached a layer of black cardstock on the back of the front side of the card.

No sentiment, I will add it inside the card! I hope you like my Inchie CPS card. I love making cards with multiple colors like this! You should give it a try!!

Supplies: Stamps - Espalier Background (Anna Griffin), Ink - Basic Black (Stampin' Up!), Cardstock- Whisper White, Basic Black, Ruby Red, Pumpking Pie, Summer Sun, Orchid Opulance, Ballet Blue, Wild Wasabi (all Stampin' Up!); Other - white gel pen (Signo), 1" square punch (Marvy), dauber (Stampin' Up!), fancy scissors (Fiskars).

Thanks for visiting. Donelda

LIfe is measured...

I loved the inside of Melissa Bickford's cards when I saw them on her blog Just Dandy! so I just had to try some myself!

I did two. On this first card, I used Cameo Coral and Old Olive together with the Beautiful Blossoms flower and leaf stamp. I added a sentiment from Out on a Limb. Then, using some post it notes, I masked off a large strip in the middle and added more of the same flowers and leaves. I used 2 different sentiments from the Simple Little Things set on the inside in black on top of the stamping.

Next, I made a similar second card, just changing the flowers and leaves, this time from Green Thumb.

I have really been trying to add a little bit of something to the insides of my cards these days. I really, really like this idea and will likely include it more often in the future in some form.

Thanks for visiting.

Donelda

See the bottom of my blog....

....sorry everyone...I was "playing" this little game on Treasure Oiler Designz blog ... couldn't stop myself...figured I'd better put it on my own blog. Caution...it is very addictive :-) Donelda

Papertrey Ink - CMWC17

Over on the Papertrey Ink forum there is a Casual Mid Week Challenge where someone provides a sketch and we all play along. I've never played before but this week's sketch, CMWC 17 by Mary K looked so intersting I just had to give it a try!!

So, I started out with about 4 other ideas that looked horrid! I almost gave up!! But then I looked at my stack of PTI stamps and imagined pieces of the branch from Out on a Limb punched out using my 1" circle and I got inspired!

I love Cameo Coral and Ruby Red together...and then add that to Chocolate Chip and I think this color combo is to die for!! I stamped the branches in Chocolate Chip. Inked up the flowers with Cameo Coral and then, using my marker, colored in the centers with Ruby Red. I then misted the stamp with some water and stamped it on top of the branch. After doing this, I punched out certain spots with my 1" circle punch. I have some extra's so you might see some more cards with this effect later on! Next, I stamped the sentiment on a piece of white cardstock using Chocolate Chip. I added some branches and misted flowers around the sentiment. I cut out a larger circle using my coluzzle (love that tool!) choosing to keep the sentiment to one side of the circle. Finished all the edges of the circles with some Close to Cocoa and a dauber to soften the edges and give some definition. I added a strip of Cameo Coral as the sketch suggested, however, I added the piercing on this strip and not on the card like the sketch suggested. I gave some more interest to this strip by stamping some individual flowers using Versamark ink.

To finish the card off, I added a little bit of glitter in the centers of the flowers on the smaller circles and just a few select flowers on the larger flower! I'm not a usual "glitter gal" but you can't go wrong with glitter....right??!!

Well, I had a ton of fun trying out this sketch. Thanks Mary K for such great inspiration! Maybe I'll give the next sketch a try too :-)

Supplies: Stamps-Out on a Limb (Papertrey Ink); Paper-Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Cameo Coral (Stampin' Up!); Ink-Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up!); Other - Coluzzle, Versamark, Ruby Red marker (Stampin' Up!), 1" circle punch (EK Success), Dazzling Diamonds (Stampin' Up!), dauber.

Thanks for visiting.

Donelda

Elegant Gratitude

I had a request for a card from a co-worker. She wanted something her team could give to their supervisor to say thanks for all the nice things she does.

Here is what I ended up making. I fell in love with this Overton House Designs paper called Mint Espresso Toile (with the reverse side being Chocolate Solid) by EK Success. Even the name sounds yummy! The card was a large 6" square card (so everyone could sign it). A piece of brown cardstock for the base went with the toile. Then, it was just a matter of layering some Soft Sky, Whisper White, the Chocolate Solid and the Mint Espressso Tiole in various sizes. I tied a bow on the front to balance out the sentiment. I'm still working on bow tying and, while it is getting better, this one was not one of the best I've done. The sentiment is stamped with Close to Cocoa inside an oval also stamped with Close to Cocoa. I've added a little swirl in Soft Sky just below the word gratitude (you can barely see it in the photo) and a small rhinstone for the dot of the letter i to give it a bit of bling!

I hope the reciever enjoyed the card.

Supplies: Stamps-Beautiful Blooms, Borders & Corners {oval}, Faux Ribbon (all Papertrey Ink); Paper-brown (Bazzill), Whisper White, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up!), Overton House Designs (EK Success), Ink - Close to Cocoa, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up!); Other - white gosgrain ribbon (Stampin' Up!), crystal bead (Swarovski).

Thanks for visiting.
Donelda