Journey Card Set

Imke was one of my former Secret Sisters ... and sent me this awesome stamp from Paperbag Studios.  I was inspired by Godelieve's cards set seen HERE and made my own.

Done in Blue Bayou ....

... Wild Wasabi....

... and Purely Pomegranate! 

The stamping at the bottom was done with various stamps from Background Basics: Stars ... one of my least used Papertrey Ink stamps (certainly one I could have lived without ... but it was one of the first background stamps after Polka Dot Basics .. how was I to know there would be much better in the future?!).

Hope you are having a great week so far!

Donelda

Rainbow Card Set

These cards are made with the latest Papertrey Ink Anniversary stamp set.  Each year, PTI offers it's customers the option to receive a free stamp set (never to be sold) if you purchase so much from them.  I have recieved all 3 sets since PTI opened it's doors.  They are ususally great sets and this one is no exception.  Sadly, it did take a while to get it this year so the excitement of recieving it was pretty anticlimatic ... but regardless, it is a great set. 

For this card set of 4 I took some scrap white cardstock and colored strips of Copic marker colors to form a rainbow.  Then, I stamped the 4 circle images from the set using Jet Black ink from Ranger.  The effect is awesome.  Of course I had to cut the circles by hand because I don't have the right size circle punch ... sheesh!!  The background is created using one of the leaf images from Turning a New Leaf (Papertrey Ink) heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  You can see that there is a similar leaf image in the circle focal images so I thought it would go well.   Some simple sentiments (from 2009's anniversary set Simple Little Things) are stamped on white cardstock and adhered behind the circle images.   The photo I took of the other 2 cards was horrible so you'll just have to get the basic idea with this one photo.  LOL.

Thanks for dropping by my little corner of the www.  Have a great day.
Donelda

Polka Dot Skinnies

I made these cards a LOOOONG time ago.  But I just came across them when I was cleaning out my scraproom so I thought I would post them.

I love polka dots ... a lot!!  LOL!!  As you can tell from these cards. 

See those clear Maya Road flowers on there...with a hint of red ink on them!  I htinkt hat looks great!!  Must dig them out and use up a few!!

Supplies: Stamps - Polka Dot Basics, Beautiful Blooms, Borders & Corners {Square}, Faux Ribbon (all Papertrey Ink)

These cards are an interesting size becuase they fit into a "purse" that I had created from an old template (no longer available, sorry).  I had to make home-made envelopes for them to fit into.  I don't do that very often except when I end up making odd sized cards! 

Have a great day!!
Donelda

Silver Embossed Flower Card Set

I saw a set like this on SCS a while ago - can't find it now so whoever you are please let me know so I can give you credit ... oh yeah, and thanks for the inspiration!!  

Whoever it was, they had used silver embossing on colored cardstock to make a little set of cards.  I love it! These ones are 3x3 sized.  Unfortunately, the purple card was really hard to photograph for some reason. 

The flowers all come from the stamp set Life (Papertrey Ink) and the sentimetns are various ones from Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink).

Thanks for dropping in today! Have a great weekend!

Donelda

Quick Card Set

I needed to build up my card stock at is was getting low. So I took this Clean and Simple layout and quickly pulled together a few cards. I used up this lovely designer paper by Scenic Route. I might have to go get some more for Christmas cards.

Supplies: Stamps - Wishing You, Faux Ribbon (Papertrey Ink) ; Paper - Very Vanilla (Stampin`Up!), Designer paper (Scenic Route); Ink - Basic Black, Chocolate Chip (Stampin`Up!); Other - velvet flowers - gasp I actually used some (Maya Road), brown and red flower (Prisma), green button (Hero Arts), black brad (Stampin`Up!), Vintage cream satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink), striped ribbon (Stampin Up!), linen thread (Stampin`Up!), oval dies (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug, sewing machine, cream thread. Thanks for dropping in for a visit!! Can`t believe it is October already. I guess I`ll have to create some Halloween items soon!!

Donelda

Thank You Raspberry Set

I love this raspberry paper! You might remember a whole set of cards I shared in THIS POST. Well, the lady who bought that set of cards wanted more cards like it. So I grabbed what I had left of the paper (Scenic Route) and whipped up a few more cards for her. This time I added some of that yummy Bo Bunny dot paper in red! It was a perfect match to the red raspberries. YUM!! Thanks for droppin in tonight. Donelda

Sympathy Set with Fuzz

A while ago I received a great little package of goodies from a blogging friend Jessica G. One of the items in it were 2 little jars of - that fuzzy stuff - i can't think of what it is really called!! The girls have reminded me that it is called FLOCKING - sheesh, why couldn`t I remember that name!! It is so much fun to play with even if it is messy!! So, I decided to use the white on these flowers that come from the With Sympathy set sold by Papertrey Ink. The sentiment is from Garden of Life (also from Papertrey Ink) and is my favorite sympathy sentiment - the fonts are perfect and I like the size. These 2 cards are very Clean and Simple in style. Thanks for dropping in for a visit. Donelda

Sympathy Trio Set

More sympathy cards. Yes, it is one of those kind of cards that I'd rather have them at the ready than try to create them when my emotions are running high! I really like this image from smARTworks and it looks great using this multi-color ink pad by Ranger. Each of these cards are basically the same with some small differences in layout or embellishment. smARTworks is selling some of their overstock at 50% off -- what a bargain!! Unfortunately this sympathy set is not on the list, but the Kitty set I used HERE is on the list!! I hope I don't have to use these any time soon!! Thanks for dropping in! Have a wonderfully crafty day! Donelda

smARTworks - Mini Butterfly Card Set

I love these wimsical butterflies!! They were colored in using Copic markers. It makes a great notecard set. Stamps- Swirly-gigs (smARTworks); Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko); Paper-Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White (Stampin’ Up!); Other – black marker (Sakura), alcohol markers BG18, RV11, YR04, R08,YG95, 0 (Copic).

Have a great day!!

Donelda

Loonie Stamper's Challenge #44 - Sympathy Trio and Baby Boat

This week's Loonie Stamper Challenge uses some great soft colors together. I started out with a bit of a cheat (as I used each color seperately) because I needed some Sympathy cards and I figured that these colors would be perfectly for what I wanted to do. But I felt badly for cheating so badly...so I pulled all the colors together to create a baby card, also perfect colors for that!!

So, here are my Sympathy cards. I really like the simple layout. I also like the swirls on the colored cardstock, a nice subtle touch. If you have not used Papertrey Ink's satin ribbon....you just have to know how wonderful this ribbon is to tie!! A delight!! See that sentiment. Of all the sympathy sentiments I have (quite a few I discovered), this one is the one I keep coming back to again and again!! It is from the Birds of a Feather stamp set sold by Papertrey Ink. And look at that....some tearing on my card, a technique I think can add a lot of texture and interest to a card but I rarely think to incorporate

it!!

And here is the second card I created using all of the colors together.

I really like the twill and button embellishment that I added to go with the baby boat theme! I can't help but feel like this card is not finished...I think it needs something under the aqua water...maybe a strip of yellow?? A strip of black?? a piece of Lavender Moon ribbon?? What do you think?? I think I will play around with it a bit and see what I like best.

Now, off to see what the Loonie ladies have created with this color combo:

Jewels, Maria, WEndy, Char, Dee, Regan

Supplies:

Sympathy Trio: Stamps-Lift up our Hands (Our Daily Bread), Flourishes v.2 (Autumn Leaves), Birds of a Feather (Papertrey Ink); Ink - Brilliance Graphic Black, Versamark (Tsukinmo), Lavender Moon, Aqua Mist, Lemon Tart (Papertrey Ink) Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up!); Paper - Whisper White (Stampin' Up!), Lemon Tart, Aqua Mist, Lavender Moon, Lavender Moon Bitty Dots (all Papertrey Ink); Other - Aqua Mist, Lavender Moon, and Lemon Tart satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink), Aqua Mist twill (Papertrey Ink), white button (Hero Arts), purple floss (DCM), paint brush (I brushed the color onto the boat), small scallop scissors (Provo Craft), sponge, dimensionals.

Thanks for dropping in!!

Donelda

Remember Card Set

I bought this awesome poppy stamp set from Papertrey Ink a while ago and have used a few bits and pieces from the set but not the actually poppy flowers until now. I saw a card done by Debbie Olson with this set and fell in love with it. Of course, Debbie's is colored with Copic markers which I didn't have at the time...so mine is done with stamping. And hers has more details like ribbon which I decided to not add (but now when I see hers and mine, I wish I had - see details do make the difference) I liked it so much, I made a 'one sheet wonder' and then used a few pieces to create these cards. I still have some left over too so you will see something made with it down the road.

Supplies: Stamps-Remember (Papertrey Ink); Ink-Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink), Basic Black (Stampin' Up!), Versamark; Paper - Whisper White, Basic Black, River Rock (Stampin' Up!); Other - Coluzzle.

Thanks for dropping in! Donelda

One Sheet Wonder

Everyone once in a while I like to do a One Sheet Wonder. That is where you stamp an entire page randomly and then cut up that page to make various cards. For this One Sheet Wonder, I pulled out a farily new to me Papertrey Ink set called Flower Garden. I colored it in with a watercolor brush and my ink pads. I really like this color combo. It is Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, River Rock and Basic Black!!

Which one is your favorite??

Thanks for dropping in for a visit!!!! Don't forget to get working on a Glittery project to upload for the smARTworks Tea Party that is on Wed. 14th!!!

Donelda

Bo Bunny Paper Card Set

I saw a set of cards like this made and knew I wanted to give it a try too!! This new polka dot paper by Bo Bunny is so awesome!! It is so thick and on the reverse side, it is a solid color of the polka dot side.

The buttons are attached to some home-made flowers with some faux stitching on them. On the strip of colored paper, I have attached a little bling!! Multiple sentiments round out the little set!!

I decided that I wanted to put the set in a box. So I made the bottom of the box out of Old Olive cardstock but then used a sheet of clear acetate to make the top so you could see into the package. I was going to decorate the top of the box, but I really liked being able to see inside to the cards!! Underneath the cards are home-made envelopes. When I make home-made envies, I like to use "linen" paper! It just makes them look more luxurious!!

Here is a close up of the button flowers and sentiments!! It took me a while to get this set completed but it was so worth it since it would make a great gift!!! Supplies: Paper - orange, green, and blue designer paper (Bo Bunny); Stamps - Sentiment stamps from various Papertrey Ink sets; Ink - Basic Black (Stampin' Up!); Other - buttons, 1" circle punch, paper piercer, black marker, various rhinstones.

Thanks for dropping in for a visit!!

Donelda

Bird Gift Set

I made this card set a while ago. If you saw the butterfly set I made for my son's teacher, this was a set that I made first and before that butterfly set!


Stamped a few individual stamps from Papertrey Ink sets in a very organized way (not random like usual). Then I stamped the branch from Take A Bough also from Papertrey Ink.


Then I drew this awesome bird and a wing for him and cut it out of lightweight cardboard. I traced it onto four different colors of cardstock. I cut out the birds and wings and adheared them to sit on each branch. I popped up the wing slightly by attaching a few layers of cardstock under them. Finished the card set off by adding four differnt sentiments. I think this will make a great gift set for someone.


Supplies: Paper-Orchid Opulance, Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White (all SU!); Stamps-Text Boxed, Borders &Corners{can't remember which one}, Take a Bough, Faux Ribbon (all Papertrey Ink); Acccessories - none other than scissors and adhesives :-).

I should add that I was awarded with this from my Papertrey Ink pal, Erica. Isn't she just the sweetest!! It is an Arte y Pico award which means Art and More. Thanks Erica, I am honoured.

Thanks for visiting. Donelda

Flower Trio

I did another multi-challenge card today (or should I say cards!) I started out wanting to do the debossing challenge from SCS's Try a New Technique 158, and also wanted to do Jen's Limited Supply Challenge 158. It was so easy to combine the two. Then, when I had them finished, I realized that they also would work for the Arty Girlz challenge -- SPRING!!

I started out with some cardstock weighted vellum and stamped my Megenta image using StazOn black. The image is actually one stamp, but I cut them apart to make the mini cards (Jen's challenge was perfect for this). Once the ink was dry, I turned it upside down and "scratched" the vellum using my stylus. It makes white lines in the vellum and, although hard to tell in the photo, looks cool in real life. I decided that I didn't want to color in the actual flowers but decided to add color to the square behind the flower images. To color vellum, you can use oil pastels and some kind of oil, like baby oil. since I don't have any paper oil, I use my Japanese Mint Oil. Let me tell you these cards smell great (the smell dissapates over time so not to worry). You just blend in the pastels with a q-tip soaked in a bit of the oil (not much is needed).

Then, I simply matched the background colors to the cardstock and gingham prints. I mounted the images on white so the colored areas and de-bossed areas would be obvious! And added a sentiment. You should check out the little "bling" on the yellow card. It is a teeny tiny flower gem by Heidi Swapp! Can't believe I just bought them 2 days ago and actually put one on a card. I usually hoard such items for a while before using them :-)

Thanks for visiting. Enjoy your weekend!

Challenge and challenge

Well, I did these cards to meet 2 different challenges. One was Beate's weekend sketch challenge #36. It was a great sketch, just the style I love to do!

The other challenge was one that I made for myself. I have wanted to make a birthday "set" for a while. Well, and now that I think about it, I am consisitently trying to use the stuff I already have! And I've had this wonderful Basic Grey paper - Stella Ruby - for a very long time and need to start using it! So, I did!!

Here is a close up of the coloring. I did it using my Prisma pencil crayons and then blending them with a stump and odorless thinner. This is my very favorite way of coloring in images that are detailed! You can't go wrong, it looks beautiful every time!! At Splitcoaststampers, this technique is called Gamsol Magic (the name Gamsol is a brand name which some believe to be the best, however, I've had great luck with the brand I've bought from Michaels).

Thanks for dropping in for a visit!

Donelda

Beate's weekend sketch challenge #34

A few weeks ago, I was at the office and I saw a mousepad that had an ad on it from an insurance company (or something like that). The image on it was a bright orange (the fruit) sitting on a brown fence with the background being white!! It was amazing!! and I knew it would make a great color combo for a card.

I started out making some background paper using Papertrey Ink stamps. This is one of my favorite things about Nicole's stamps, especially the Borders & Cornders stamps!!

I used the double line orange circle and covered my white cardstock. Then, I filled in the circle with a solid brown circle (found this in the Green Thumb kit). I made sure to off set the brown circle to give it a retro look. I love it!!!

Started out making a card to meet Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #34. That's the card on the left. I really like the focal image. I used the branch from Take a Bough and then, using the 3 dots in the Green Thumb set, I added hanging blossoms in orange. You can't really see it in the photo but I dry embossed around the image using my trusty Pampered Chef scraper and my Fiskars cutter. You just flip your image upside down and crease the paper where you want it. I really like how it finished off a panel. And it is a cheap alternative to nestabilities...for those of us who don't own them...yet!!

The other 2 cards are faily straight forward. The one on the right includes a rivit that says "wish" on it. I was trying to make these cards more masculine so I used binding cord rather than ribbon.

Well, thanks for visiting!! Have a great weekend.

Donelda

Okay....Just One More.

Yup, that's right! Just one more post today. I gotta say, my creative MOJO is on overdrive these days!! I can't stop making cards!! What fun!!

Tonight, I dropped into Card Position Systems and found their latest sketch. I loved it. In fact I loved it so much, I made 2 cards (see what I mean about mojo!). One pink and one green (I know it looks kinda yellow in the picture but it really is green).

I pulled out my Botanical Gardens set since the panel on the sketch reminded me of the leaf design. I decided to emboss the images with black embossing powder and then color them in using my Stampin' Up water color pencils. Finished them each off with some pretty paper and a white bow or knot. Guess what...the center of the images land at PHI!! (If you want to know what I mean about PHI, you can read this post).

Supplies: Cardstock-Whisper White (SU); Designer Paper-K&Company (pink), Creating Keepsakes (green); Ink-StazOn Black; Accessories-black embossing powder, Water color pencils (SU), white grograin ribbon (SU), dimensionals (Making Memories).

Thanks for visiting AGAIN today!!

Darn Snow!!

Laying in bed .... sore back ... husband has put some Japanese Oil on it....darn snow!! We got our first amount of snow today and I was the first one home so I got to shovel!! Enough whining....on to my cards.

Sharon over at No Time to Stamp? asked us to make a Tall and Thin card for her Stamp Simply Challenge #17. That is where the first card of this set came from and then I just kept going. I saw an outfit in a magazine....beige crop pants and a purple tank top... and I loved the color combo so I decided to give it a try. On my tall and thin card, I made a faux metal heart to put in the bottom right corner. It is really easy, just cover a square of cardstock with versamark, cover with embossing powder, repeat until you have a good layer, push stamp into liquid embossing powder until cooled, remove stamp and voila...faux metal heart!! This particular heart is from a Stampin' Up retired set called Sketch an Event -- very versatile!

A few special bits on the other cards. I made the heart on the left card out of silver wire. That was interesting and fun. I have a ton of wire in whole bunch of colors and I'm always trying to find new and fun things to do with it!! On the middle card I used my 2 sided glue strips to put glitter on...been meaning to try that!!

Here are some close-ups of each card.

Well, thanks for visiting!! Enjoy your stamping evening... and if your back is feeling fine...take a moment and appreciate that!!

Donelda

Using the Principal of Unequal Spacing

Here is a good example of the difference between a card that does not use the principal of unequal spacing and one that does. (See my previous post for an explaination of this principal). The card on right is all pretty much centered. Although it looks okay (I do kinda like it), the card below incorporates the principal of unequal spacing and I think it is more pleasing to the eye. I've really been into making more simplistic cards these days!! It will probably change since I continue to try to find what style I like best-- one day I am making simple and plain cards and the next day I am making cards with multiple layers! Sheesh!! Anyway, this card (the one on the left) was originally posted for the Ways to Use It challenge 147 - where Jacksonbelle (who was filling in for Julia) asked us to USE FLOWERS!! Supplies: Cardstock-Close to Cocoa (SU), Very Vanilla (SU), Designer Paper (unknown); Ink-Ruby Red and Chocolate Chip (SU); Stamps-Borders & Corners {Oval}, Faux Ribbon (Papertrey); Accessories- Flowers (Prima), antique brad (SU), oval coluzzle. Thanks for visiting.