Old Becomes New

One retired stamp set
One retired framelit set
One current stamp set
Equals one modern birthday card.

I really find it hard to let go of my retired stamp sets and accessories. I purchased them because I really liked them and I still enjoy using them. I guess I am just not a very good salesman.

Stamps -- Stampin' Up Work of Art and Big on Birthdays

Ink -- Soft Sky, Pool Party and Bermuda Bay

Card Stock -- Pool Party, Bermuda Bay and white

Accessories -- Botanical Builder Framelits and my Misti

For A Friend

Last night, I worked on a card that I want to give to a special friend for Valentine's Day. I used the "Bouquet Bunch Framelits" set.

For the bouquet I used Pale Plum, Wisteria Wonder and Old Olive card stock. I did use a different die for my bow because it was just a little bit larger. I am really happy the way the card turned out.

Getting Ready For Our Valentine Lunch with Friends.

On Wednesday, February 14, we are to have lunch with three other couples. What do we have in common with these folks? All of our husbands have Parkinson's Disease. We have all been married about 50 years.  All of our husbands have had great careers. Our husbands are currently attending the "Rock Steady Boxing" exercise program here in Jackson. All are active in their church. Most of all, we enjoy being together.

Since it will be Valentine's Day, I wanted to do a little something special to celebrate our time together. I would like to share with you what I came up with.

First, I made these little boxes filled with candy. I purchased a bag of Dove Chocolates -- milk chocolate with swirls of dark chocolate wrapped in purple foil. For the box top, I chose SU Elegant Eggplant card stock.The box is small -- about 2 1/4" x 3 1/2"and about 5/8" tall. It holds 6 pieces of the chocolate. I made the flowers using a couple of punches that I have. I used Pale Plum card stock (a long retired color), sponged the edges with Elegant Eggplant ink, shaped the petals, glued two large pieces together, added one layer of the smaller petals, filled the center with glue and topped that off with yellow prills. I truly love making these flowers. I found some pieces of greenery and added them to the box top before gluing on the flower. To finish off the flower, I added a little bit of diamond stickles to the edge of each petal.

I wanted a card to go with the little boxes. I chose to do a little 3" x 3" card. It is made using white card stock for the base. For the top layer, I punched the heats out of white card stock, trimmed it to about 2 3/4" square, embossed that layer and added a piece of Elegant Eggplant card stock underneath. The last thing I had to do was make the envelopes. I think that the little boxes will look so pretty setting on the table.

I looked and looked for a sentiment to go inside the card. I couldn't find one in my stamp collection. Last night, I went looking on Pintrest. I found a quote that I thought might work. This morning I was playing with it, changed some of the words and this is the result. Using Microsoft Publisher, I created and printed the inside of my card. I was able to get the three cards I needed from one sheet of white card stock. I found the RGB code for "Elegant Eggplant" and used that as the color for the printing. It comes out being pretty close to a match.

A Mother's Day Project

Been working on my centerpiece for the Mother and Daughter Tea which will be at our church on May 13. I first started out by making a small table topper. I pulled out some batik fabrics that I had purchased some time ago. I cut my strips 2 inches wide. Sewed six strips together and then cut the strips into triangles using my 60 degree triangle ruler creating a hexagon shaped mat. Love the results. But I think it needs something else.

Since I love paper crafting and making cards, I came up with the idea of making an "explosion box" into a candle holder for one of the little LED candles that can be purchases at craft stores. The box is 3-inches square and 4 1/4-inches tall. I used Rich Razzleberry and Sweet Sugarplum Stampin' Up card stock.  I topped the box off with some little paper shaped flowers. For the defuser over the cut out circle, I used vellum card stock. I was not able to get a picture showing how the box looks with the light on.

I needed someway to keep the tea light centered so I created a little box/platform to hold the tea light in place. It was then glued it in the center of the bottom of the box.

 All together!

The following picture shows how the box opens and the tea light in the center. 

I had lots of fabric left so I made another table mat. This is made basically the same way. I cut the strips 2-inches wide and sewed two sets of six strips together. I then cut the strips into triangles using the 60 degree ruler. Ten triangles are needed to make this mat.

Flowers Are Mine

Sometimes I look around my desk and wonder why I don't just throw everything laying around in the wastebasket. Then I make a card with some of those things. That's why I cannot seem to throw away those extra flowers, leaves, die cuts, etc away. This is one of those cards. I needed a card for a special friend. Found the die cut in a small tray on the left side of my desk. The flowers were from the "flower drawer" and the leaves were from a small plastic box of "greenery". Often when I have a small scrap of card stock left, I will punch or die cut a flower or two. If it is green card stock, I will punch or die cut greenery until the scraps are so tiny that I can do nothing else with them. I have found that I like to have different shades of greenery on hand. When I am in the middle of making a card, I don't have to stop and cut the leaves.

I started out making this card with the idea that it would be a sympathy card. I had cut the large circle medallion months ago (from a Spellbinder's die). To keep the colors soft I used the same vanilla card stock that the circle was cut from. From the "flower drawer" I found the parts for the flowers which had been cut from SU island indigo card stock. Some parts had already been sponged with whisper white craft ink. The greenery was already cut. After laying everything out, I sponged a little island indigo ink onto the medallion so that it would show up better. I did not add a sentiment because I knew that I could use the card for many different occasions. 

I love flowers and I love putting them on my cards. I love springtime and I love seeing all the different flowers come to life after a winter of rest. 

"Take a good look at God's Wonders--

They'll take your breath away."

Psalm 66:5 (The Message)

More Flowers

I was asked about embossing and stenciling with Spellbinder dies a few weeks ago at one of my stamp classes. I made this card to show how you can emboss and sponge the paper before removing it from the die. I cut and then embossed each die cut. Before removing the white oval from the die, I sponged some SU Pool Party ink lightly around the edges. That is a very simple way of getting the look of another layer to your focal image. I didn't add a sentiment to the card. One can be added later or I might just use it the way it is. I don't think that every card must have a sentiment stamped on the front. Sometimes the beauty of the card can speak for itself.

I made the flowers using a flower die and punches. The leaves were stamped using a stamp from the SU  "Summer Silhouettes" set. I tried to add some accents to the centers using a marker.

 

Flowers Are My Favorite

I love making dimensional flowers to go on my cards. I got some new paper last week and I had to try it on this card. You can see how the paper has a batik look. It makes beautiful flowers and it also made a beautiful background. For the flowers, I used a couple of different size punches, did a little shaping, added a little ink to the center and used prills in the centers. Prills can be purchased from USArt Quest in Chelsea, Michigan. You can also order on-line from their website -- USArt Quest. There are over 2 dozen different colors to chose from. After everything was assembled and the glue had dried, I added a few accents of stickles to the petals of the flowers for some sparkle.

For the leaves, I used the stamp set and coordinating framelits called "Botanical Blooms". The sentiment is from the Stampin' Up stamp set "Birthday Blooms".

Triple Time Stamping Revisited

The second topic for my class last week was "Triple Time Stamping". It had been a long time since I had used this technique. I had seen a sample on Pinterest that I decided to CASE! Oh, this was so much fun.

Here is a link to the card I saw on Pinterest -- .Twisted Triple Time Stamping 

This is a really cool take on an old time favorite. I really enjoyed making my card because I did not have to worry about getting all the layers centered and even. For my card I used SU Pool Party card stock and ink with the stamp set "Everything Eleanor". I used the largest flower stamped with Island Indigo ink and fussy cut for my accent piece. I encourage you to give technique a try.

Where Do You Find Inspiration?

A couple of weeks ago, as Judie and I were looking around Cracker Barrel's store after breakfast, I came across this wooden plaque. It caught my attention instantly. It looked like it was made from barn wood with white flowers in the shape of a heart. In the lower right corner was one word -- Love. I knew that I had to try making a card using that plaque as my inspiration.

When I started to make my card, I didn't have the picture. So I was doing it from memory. I chose Smoky Slate card stock for my card base. The front panel is also Smoky Slate card stock stamped with Smoky Slate ink. I drew a circle and placed the flowers on my card. It looked like it needed something, so I started adding sprigs of green. When it was all together, I felt that the circle was too big so I started over.

This time I made my circle smaller. I glued the sprigs of green down and then added flowers that had been sponged around the edges with pink ink. I punched a small circle out of pink card stock, shaped it by pushing a stylus down into the center, and glued it in the center of the flower. After all the glue was dry, I went back and added a dot of pink Stickles into the very center of each flower. Finally, I added the word "Love" to the lower right corner. I loved the end result. Just wanted to share it with my friends.

Clean and Simple -- My Style

On January 12, I posted a card for a challenge to use a flourish on your card. I loved the idea so much that I decided to try making another card which you see below. It is much the same except I splattered some ink over the design. That softened the white just a little which I really like.

Then I had the idea to try making a similar card using no dies or punches which you see below. The flourish stamp is from the SU set "Everything Eleanor" stamped with Pear Pizzazz ink. The flowers are from the same set stamped on two shades of orange card stock with Calypso Coral ink, then cut out by hand. This time I splattered the image with ink and cut it so that it could be mounted with a layer of black and then green card stock. I would have to say that this is my favorite.

The Paper Players Color Challenge

I also wanted in make a card to enter into this week's color challenge on The Paper Players Blog.

 

Here is my card--

I used SU crumb cake card stock for the base, wild wasabi for the leaves and crisp cantaloupe and so saffron for the flowers. The black frame and white insert were cut on my Cricut. I am not sure which way I like the card best -- portrait  or landscape. Right now it could be used either way.

March 14, 2015-- My card made "A Cut Above".

SC515 -- Christmas Flower

I want to post my card for today's sketch challenge at SCS.

I have been working on some card embellishments and this flower was lying on my desk. A special friend had let me use her die which I think was from Cheery Lyn Designs. I had cut several out several sets using SU Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive card stock and put them together on Monday night.

Last night I was working with my Cricut, my laptop and the software "My Craft Room". I had cut out several shapes and left them lying on my desk. This morning when I was looking at the sketch, one of the shapes seemed to fit for layer # 3. I had cut the top layer out of white card stock and it just seemed to be lacking something. Then the idea hit me to try using some card stock that I had gotten a few days ago from my local scrapbooking store. It is from SEI's collection Holiday Traditions. This piece is called "crystal icing." It is embossed and has just the right touch of sparkle and glitter. It was just what the card needed.

Sketch Challenge and Others

This has been a week of changes. Sometimes I don't handle change very well. I did get my card completed for yesterday's sketch challenge at SCS. It was a simply sketch and really fun to work with.

Here is my completed card. I used four different stamp sets: Stampin' Up's "Flower Shop", "Summer Silhouettes"and "Gorgeous Grunge" and Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps "Be Encouraged" set. The color theme used SU Pool Party, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz and Memento New Sprout.

The next card was a CASE that I found on Pinterest. This is the card. In a couple of weeks I am doing a class on ways to use your punches. I thought this was a really great way to use one of my favorite edge punches. I used five different colors of card stock and a natural card base. I added a brown grosgrain bow and a brown heart with flowers. I love the lacy look this punch creates.

For this card I used some scraps of card stock and a Martha Stewart bird punch, circle and coordinating scallop punches.

CAS283 -- Little Ribbon Scraps

Today's CAS challenge was to use little ribbon scraps on our card. I am afraid that my piece was a little too large, but it was a scrap that I found on my desk. I am not sure where it came from, but there it was. I think it is a Stampin' Up seam binding piece of Daffodil Delight. The daisy was also on my desk -- I was experimenting last week with an idea. The daisy was the result. The lattice was also a leftover piece I saw laying in a box with other discarded items. I did have to punch out the leaves. I started to put a sentiment on the card but then decided against the idea. I like the simplicity of the card.

For the flower, I punched three pieces out of white card stock using a Fiskars punch that was given to me some time ago. I added a little shaping to each petal by running the end of my paper-piercing tool down it. For the center, I punched a 1/2 inch circle, covered it with glue and dipped it into crystal glitter.

This is the punch that I used.

CAS274 -- Bashful Birthday

May Flowers  That is the theme for today's CAS challenge at Splitcoast Stampers. I love flowers! It is hard to past up a new flower stamp or a new flower die when I see one. I have been wanting this die from Penny Black called "bashful" ever since I saw it. I finally found it on Friday in one of my favorite scrapbooking stores in Northville, Michigan -- Stampeddler Plus Memories. I used a watercolor wash background that I had in my paper file and did an inlay of the die cut. I also used a leftover piece of the watercolor paper to stamp the birthday greeting which was from the SU Watercolor Trio stamp set.

I had leftover pieces and I just could not see myself throwing them out so I made another card. It is much the same but different. Does that make sense? I guess.

"This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it."
                              Psalm 118:24

Spring Blossoms

This was a just for fun card. I have recently seen pictures of the cherry blossoms in Washington DC. I am looking forward to my flowering crab apple tree blooming along with the red bud and dogwood trees. This card is my version of a tree limb with blossoms.

I used two stamps from the SU stamp set "Gorgeous Grunge" to create the two background pieces. The remainder was created with dies and punches.

SC484

I just finished my card for today's sketch challenge at Splitcoast Stampers. When I went down to my craft room, I had no idea what I was going to make. I first made a sample, using scrap pieces of paper, so that I could get an idea of what size my pieces were going to be. I knew then where I wanted my focal image. I worked back from there. I am not sure if I ever made a card before using four stamp sets. They were -- SU Fabulous Florets, Petite Petals, Flower Shop and Express Yourself.

Monday Again

It's Monday--again. A new week has begun. A new week with new challenges. The first one I always look forward to is the "Clean and Simple" (CAS) challenge at SCS. This week it was to CASE a card from the gallery of Loll Thompson. She has made so many beautiful cards that I found it difficult to choose just one. Actually, I used two as my inspiration. This is a link  the first one and this is a link to the second one. I loved the little hydrangea flowers on the first card and I loved the vine effect on the second one, so I tried to put the two together. The flourish stamp is from Rubbernecker Stamps and is stamped in SU Old Olive ink. The sentiment is from the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamp set "Faith". I love that set and have used it often since purchasing it last August (2013). I used the Martha Stewart hydrangea punch for the flowers. After finishing the card, I put it in the mail to a friend whose birthday is today. I'm a little late but sometimes that just happens before I know it.

SC479 -- Friend

Today's SCS sketch challenge was --

This is my card. The focal image is from SU's stamp set "Asian Artistry". I used Prima color pencils and Gamsol to color the image. 

SC475

When I saw the sketch for today's challenge at SCS I knew the direction I wanted to go. I had been wanting to try a card using the Cricut cartridge "Elegant Edges" and this sketch seemed to say "Now is the time". I finally got to my craft room in the late afternoon. Now here is my card.

 

The white layers were cut at 1 3/4-inches, 3 1/4-inches and 4 3/4-inches. The Rose Red layers were cut using the same measurements with the shadow creative function key on. Next, I sprayed the white layers with a color wash that I had made using rubbing alcohol and my SU Rose Red reinker. The flower was made using SU Rose Red cardstock and a flower die from La La Land. Before shaping the flower, I sponged the edges/petals with SU white craft ink. Pearls placed in the center finished the flower.

My Spring Time Flower

 

I had to add this picture to my blog. Before Christmas I purchased an Amaryllis blub and put it in the garage. Around the first of the year I planted it in the material that was provided. This is what I was treated too today. It is beautiful and makes me feel happy.