Rainbow Night in the Offudio

It started with a simple enough plan: punch some hearts to create a border and then put colored paper behind them. 

I love rainbows. I have this thing where I NEED colors to be in Roy G Biv order. When folks say, "It's a rainbow!" and are talking about multi-colored and NOT Roy G Biv order, I'm bothered. Greatly. 

Things should be in order: Roy G Biv and ombre! It makes my heart pitty pat with delight! 

I've been known to reorder displays in stores in order to fix it for them. ;oP

In this case, I'd made the rainbow teacups a couple weeks back but didn't feel I'd worked all the rainbow out of my system. 

I pulled the card stock and cut it into 3/4" strips and got to work. 

I punched more hearts--this time a bit lower--and repeated the process. 

But then, I had rainbow scraps left behind...

I didn't want to just toss them and saw my heart punch lying there, and well, this happened:

Be still my heart!!

And then, well, there was that punch Nana had just given me, just lying there as well, and, there those scraps were so this happened:

Doncha just love it when things come together??? :oD 

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Stamp Sets: Friendly Phrases, Express Yourself

Paper: Whisper White (heavy and regular), Poppy Parade, Mango Melody, Pineapple Punch, Lemon Lime Twist, Coastal Cabana

Ink: Gorgeous Grape

Miscellaneous: Dimensionals

Tips:

*I cut the bases at 5"x3.75" so I could mark the mid-point at 2.5". 

Then, I marked the card like this. I LOVE working with the grid paper behind me, it makes it incredibly easy to draw straight lines using a ruler!

You can see I marked an additional line 1/2" up for the second card. (The first, I just popped the punch all the way up.)

By marking that 1/2" line, I was about to line up the heart punch like so, making my border relatively even. 

And, as those who know me well know, I believe in keeping it real. Look at this mess!!

Whew!

I lose stamp blocks, stamp pads, Tombow, etc. in this mess!

Oy!

It's amazing I can get anything done, lol!

But, this is mess is what led to the creation of those cards. When you have stuff ust lying around, you can pick things up and put them together. ;o) 

Playing with Challenging Sketches

As I mentioned in my last post, I made five cards on Wednesday. I'm not sharing two of them--they're SO bad!!--but I'll share these two. 

I was playing along with The Paper Players sketch for challenge number 501 and really struggled with it. The diagonal element in particular stymied me quite a bit. 

I finally settled on the card above, but it still felt a little too busy to my CAS loving heart. 

So, I made card number four:

Same stamps, same sentiment, but with fewer layers. I think the card above this is lovely, no question, and I really do like the combination of Granny Apple Green with Gorgeous Grape (which is such a rich color). My life is so cluttered and busy lately, this simpler card appeals more. :shrug:

Here's to less time on screens, less time scrolling, and more time being creative. It feeds my soul in a way electronics just don't. 

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Stamp Sets: Sweet Essentials, Summer Silhouettes, Branch Out (butterflies)

Paper: Heavy Whisper White, Gorgeous Grape

Ink: Granny Apple Green, Gorgeous Grape, Pool Party

Branching Out My Creative Muscles (see what I did there??)

I've not been as good about crafting as I had hoped to be, getting distracted by my tiny handheld computer screen (I'm looking at you, iPhone old friend). After a quick day trip to the mountains failed to remove the weight of anxiety and bluh I was feeling, I put my phone down.

Not completely. It's a bad habit, you see. I pick it up when I need a quick distraction (because IG is just so darn FUN!) and then get sucked in. This week, when I find myself starting to scroll, I've been doing something crafty instead.

I've done a lot of coloring (SU! Blends are so delightful to color with!), and today (after Lissie once again poked and prodded ;oP) I decided to see what I could do with this week's challenge over at The Paper Players.

When I used to play along, I found color and theme challenges fairly easy to do while sketches often stymied me.

This week was this sketch:

*GULP*

A sketch.

Of course it would be a sketch. 

:insert laughing face here:

I made five cards. Three of them were okay and two were awful. 

But, wait, I made FIVE cards! When was the last time I sat down and did that?!? And, you know what? Even with the two horrible duds, I had FUN!! :oD When was the last time I said I really had fun scrolling on IG? 

So, once again, thank you, Paper Players, for inspiring me to stretch my creative muscles and have fun getting inky and messy. :o)  

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Stamp Sets: Branch Out, Sweet Essentials

Paper: Heavy Whisper White

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Granny Apple Green, Lemon Lime Twist, Poppy Parade, Mango Melody, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Memento Tuxedo Black

Miscellaneous: dimensionals

How To:

*I inked up my D block with Coastal Cabana, stamped off twice and then used it to create the background

*The sentiment is a mashup of two in the Sweet Essentials set. I covered the words I didn't want to stamp with washi tape, inked the word I wanted, and then peeled the tape off. I had to use the Stamp-A-Majig because there was NO WAY I was positioning those words where I wanted them otherwise!

Tiny Teacups for a Birthday

2014, huh?

Seems it's been a hot minute since I posted anything over here...

Oops!

You see, my infant turned into a toddler who turned into a real live preschooler whose only way of living seemed to be "GO GO GO!" And, before I knew it, she was starting Kindergarten and swimming (any swim families out there??) and my older daughter was off to fourth grade and art classes and cello lessons.

That was in 2015.

Because that wasn't enough, I returned to work full-time. Trying to get my feet back under me was a super huge challenge and even after 5 years, it can still feel like a struggle at times (third-grade teacher, if that helps).

All my free time was no longer "free" and was instead eaten up with lesson planning and grading and running mom's taxi service. No more time to play with paper and visit blogs. No more time to explore ideas.

No. More. Time.

ARGH!!!!

Lissie has been after me for years to get back in my stamping space and make cards and I resisted. I had ZERO mojo left. Everything just seemed to be "meh" at best.

That said, I need the crafting outlet. With the uncertainty of the upcoming school year and whatnot, I'm a leeeeeeetle bit anxious.

Enter cards!

I've made a few here or there, but not posted.

Liss started to jumpstart her mojo by playing along with The Paper Players. I used to love playing along and decided this week's challenge was right up my alley.

I figure my cards are nothing if not CAS. Perfect!

And, I needed a birthday card for Paul. Teacups for the gent who loves nothing more than a good cuppa. :o)

Here's to a nice hot cuppa and a happy birthday!

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Stamp Set: Tiny Teacup, some sentiment from a long ago SU! Paper Pumpkin
Paper: Heavy Whisper White, Whisper White, Mango Melody
Ink: Poppy Parade, Mango Melody, Pineapple Punch, Lemon Lime Twist, Coastal Cabana, Gorgeous Grape
Miscellaneous: dimensionals to pop up the image

Silvery Snowflakes

Oo! Oo!  Check it out!!!  Another new post!!  I tell you what, when Lissie's here, we just sit and make cards all day.  It's wonderful!  :o) 

Looking over the cards I've made the past week, I think it's safe to say I'm definitely on a silver kick this year.  And sponging.  And in love with Smoky Slate, and "Endless Wishes".  It's all so delightfully lovely and fun.  I always forget just how much fun I have paper crafting.
 

It's been such a cloudy, gloomy December thus far (except for last Monday which was insanely gorgeous and I had no chance to be out in...) and a sponged Smoky Slate background really seems to capture that grey. 

I'm okay with that grey when there are snowflakes involved.  When there are shimmery heat embossed snowflakes involved, even better.  :o) 

I set off the sentiment using Garden Green and Real Red (because, at heart, I think I must prefer a traditional Christmas card sometimes).  It's one layer, but it's far from simple.  :oP

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This card uses:

*Inks: Smoky Slate, VersaMark, Real Red, Garden Green
*Paper: PTI white card stock
*Stamp Set: Endless Wishes
*Accessories: Silver embossing powder, heat tool

Festive Wishes

 I'm trying to be better about posting and sharing here, sweet little neglected blog.  I make the cards, I just don't take the time to post, like I should. 

So, maybe this is the time I turn over a new leaf?  :o) 

Looking at all the cards I've made the past few days (when Lissie's here we make cards like dervishes) I realized that this year seems to be my year of silver and blue and white (oh, and pops of red and green) Christmas cards. 

I loved the little card I posted a couple of days ago so much I had to have another go at making it, this time pairing it with "Endless Wishes".

I sponged in some Smoky Slate ink and added snowflakes, stamping off and then stamping them.  I removed the frame, used ye olde embossing buddy on the left hand side and stamped the tree using silver Encore Ink.  I'm an absolute dunce when it comes to craft ink, always forgetting I've stamped and set the card aside to dry and I ultimately end up smearing the ink everywhere.  UGH!!

To save me from myself, I sprinkled the ink with an iridescent ice embossing powder and heat set it.  Then, I added the sentiment, (thank you, Stamp-A-Majig!) making sure to leave room for the little cardinal.  Real Red ink...that's another one I have trouble keeping off my fingers and hands and white space...:oP 

May I go off-topic just a moment and gush about just how much I'm LOOOOVING Smoky Slate this season?  It's the perfect grey for a snowy wintery sky.  :o)

And, here's the frame I used to mask my area.  I cut a piece of card stock to 4.25"x5.5".  I then cut a piece 2.5"x3.75" and centered it on my larger piece.  (I'm very comfortable just eyeballing some things, such as this) and traced around it.  I then cut out the center using my paper trimmer.  Perfect! 

More and more lately I've found my style and tending towards simpler, more CAS cards.  In fact, I find myself more often than not making one layer cards.  Those can sometimes be tricky to make, especially if you need something to anchor your image.  Hello, sponging!  As an added bonus to these holiday cards I'm making, the sponging makes it look like a snowy sky.  Delightful! :o)

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This card uses:

*Stamp Sets: Endless Wishes, Four the Holidays, Festival of Trees
*Inks: Smoky Slate, Encore Silver, Garden Green, Real Red
*Paper: PTI white
*Accessories: embossing powder, heat tool

Season's Greetings for PP224

Hello, little neglected card blog, how have you been?  Me? Oh, well, you know, not making cards and posting them as I should.  When I don't make cards the mojo fades, and when the mojo fades, making cards becomes more challenging.  This is especially problematic when facing the holiday season and the need for Christmas cards to send.  Eep!

What's a girl to do when the mojo's just not there?  Find a challenge, of course!  I found a fun one over at The Paper Players, a fun Tic-Tac-Toe challenge from Jaydee. 

See?

I had purchased "Festival of Trees" back and October and done nothing with it.  D'oh.  Well, looking at that top row, there was "tree".  Perfect!  I decided I really like diagonals and went with the center "embossing" and finished with "glitter" because I really can't get enough glitter.  Ever.  ;o)

I pulled out a retired stamp set, "Four the Holidays", and stamped the sentiment in Garden Green using my stamp-a-majig (I swear, there's no way for me to get sentiments straight otherwise).  Next I stamped the filigree and flower tree in VersaMark (after using my embossing buddy to clear the way--why have I never used this before? I've never had such crisp wet embossed images!) and heat embossed it using silver.  To finish off the stamped image and complete my visual triangle, I used Real Red to stamp in the little cardinal that came with the "Festival of Trees". 

I adhered that image block to a piece of glimmer paper cut an 1/8" smaller to create a matte and then used dimensionals to pop the image up on the base.

I have to say, after not stamping and paper crafting for a couple of months, it's been lovely to get back in the saddle. :o)

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This card uses:

*Stamp Sets: "Four the Holidays" (retired), "Festival of Trees"
*Ink: Garden Green, Real Red, VersaMark
*Paper: PTI white card stock, SU! silver glimmer paper
*Accessories: silver embossing powder, dimensionals

Dazzling Snowflakes for PP176

Hello, my poor, long neglected blog.  You poor baby.  How have you been? I've been busy and I promise I hadn't forgotten you.  I did feel quite guilty about not visiting more frequently, but just couldn't seem to find the time.  A new year will be here soon, so, hopefully, time for more stamping. 

I finally sat down to stamp and decided to play along with The Paper Players because I just couldn't resist the white on white challenge! :o)

You were to use white on white and allowed only a metallic or neutral for the sentiment.  Got it.  I could do this.

So, I got out my VersaMark and my heat and stick powder and Dazzling Diamonds and inked up my newest stamp set, "Festive Flurry".  I'm a sucker for snowflake stamps and this one was no exception.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to photograph Dazzling Diamonds glitter?!? I tried, I really did. 

I even took a photo on an angle.  You can see the shimmer and shine here.

And, a close-up, because, well, it just seemed like the thing to do. 

Drat it all, this is a really pretty card IRL.  :sigh:  I wish you could see it...

On the inside, I used the ginormous snowflake inked with my VersaMark "Dazzle" and stamped the stamped the sentiment over it using silver Encore. 

You can sort of see the snowflake, can't you?  :sigh:  Maybe this is why I've neglected you--I can't seem to get decent photos...

At any rate, it's sparkly and Christmasy and delightful and sure to bring a smile to Lil's teacher's face. :o)

--Rach

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This card uses:

*Stamp Sets: "Festive Flurry", "Endless Wishes" and "Holiday Wishes" from PTI
*Ink: VersaMark "Dazzle", VersaMark, silver Encore
*Paper: PTI white card stock
*Accessories: Heat and Stick powder, Dazzling Diamonds, dimensionals

Happy Birthday, Rachael.

It was time to make a birthday card for Rachael, whose special day always lands near Thanksgiving. I think that Eastern Elegance DSP is my favorite DSP of all time. I love the color combinations and decided to use the Smoky Slate/Crushed Curry combo for this card. As simple as the card is, it required a lot of different elements:

DSP: Eastern Elegance
Stamp: Beautifully Baroque
Punch: Three Flower
Nestabilities: Large scalloped oval, scalloped oval
Card Stock: Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Crushed Curry
Ribbon: Crushed Curry
Embellishments: Pearls
Embossing Folder: Beautifully Baroque
Ink: Smoky Slate

--Lissie

Wanna Scoop?

I thought the "Mouthwatering" stamp set was the most wonderful stamp set for summer and just had to have it.  HAD to, I tell you. 

And then, it sat there.

And sat there.

And sat there.

And sat there.  Collecting dust. 

Holy smokes!  How could a stamp set with so much promise be so hard to use?!? 

I finally settled on stamping the image on a scrap of white and cutting it out--I figured I could do something with that, right?

So, I carefully colored, stamped and cut out the ice cream cones, and they just sat there. 

And sat there.

And sat there.

And sat there.

Are you sensing a theme here? :oP

Then, I began playing around with using the acrylic blocks to stamp blocks of color for a focal point, and that was it!  Perfect! 

I finished with the sentiment stamped underneath and popped the ice cream up on dimensionals.  :o)

Whew!  I did it!

For this card, I had the sentiment already cut and mounted lying on my desktop so I used it instead. 

Either way, it makes for a fun card.  :o)

--Rach

This card uses:

*Stamp Sets:  "Four You", "Mouthwatering", "Curly Cute"
*Inks: Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Garden Green, Real Red, Baked Brown Sugar
*Paper: White card stock, whisper white, Coastal Cabana
*Accessories: dimensionals

More White on White

I was still fiddling around with white on white when I made this card. Once I made the focal point at the top half of the card, I realized I needed something below to add balance. 

Stamp Set: Outlined Occasions

Ink: Strawberry Slush

Ribbon: Strawberry Slush

Embellishments: Pearls

Embosslit: Beautiful Wings

--Lissie

Back to Those Sillohuettes

I just love this stamp set!  I can't seem to get enough of it. I can't help but wonder if I'm going to glut myself on it and then never want to see it again, or if it's more like eating way too much cookie dough and getting a stomachache and vowing to NEVER eat it again and then somehow managing to do so again anyhow. 

At any rate, I've continued to play around with fewer layers and using acrylic blocks to create a focal point. 

I played around with this idea, trying to get the layout just right, and wound up using up an entire card base doing so.  This one was particularly lovely so I just cut down the card and mounted it on another card.  Most of the time, you can save a mistake--it just takes a bit of thinking outside the box. :oP

--Rach

This card uses:

*Stamp Sets: "Summer Silhouettes", "Express Yourself"
*Inks: Strawberry Slush, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Sky
*Paper: PTI white card stock

I Love Yellow

A friend's birthday is this week, and I wanted to make a card to go with the gift I purchased. Yellow is one of my favorite colors so I decided to put a lot of yellow onto a white background. I've had the stamp set, Mixed Bunch for a good while, and it always makes me happy when I use it. There is a large punch that works perfectly with the set, but instead of punching a yellow flower I decided to punch two white ones, layered, and then embellish them with yellow. Here's the supply list:

Stamp Sets: Mixed Bunch, Madison Avenue, and Sincere Salutations
Cardstock: Whisper White and Daffodil Delight
Button: Daffodil Delight
Dimensionals to pop up the two-layered white flower
Inks: Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz
Punches: Large Flower and 1 1/8" Circle

--Lissie

The Frustrations of Using White Craft Ink

I am often drawn to cards that use white craft ink, but am frustrated whenever I try to use it because the white never shows up white enough no matter how much ink I add to my stamps. So it is with this card. I bought the stamp set Hearts a Flutter because I envisioned making cards with dark cardstock and white ink, and I should have known better because of past failures at both Christmas and Valentine's Day using white craft ink on red cardstock. But I was so determined I soldiered on anyway. Sadly, the results are not at all what I pictured in my brain. I also wasted quite a bit of cardstock in the process because I never could get good results. This cards shows the best of the lot, and it still falls far short. If anyone knows how to get good results using white craft ink, please post a comment tell me how.

--Lissie

Outside My Comfort Zone

Sometimes I just like to think and stamp outside the box so to speak, as was the case with both of these cards.

I had been using my acrylic blocks inked up as a background/focal image for a number of cards when I decided to use a couple of them to create an abstract card. 

I began by inking up my blocks and stamping off once on a scrap piece of paper before stamping once on this card...

...and then again on this card, thereby creating softer images.  

I wanted to move the eye across and down to the lower right corner where I had thought to add the sentiment, so I stamped the blocks accordingly. 

I finished the cards by mounting the images on a piece of Coastal Cabana, stamped the sentiment and added a pearl as an accent.

They're not my usual style, but I thought they were fun and a nice break from my "norm".

--Rach

These cards use:

*Stamp Set: "Express Yourself"
*Inks: Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush
*Paper: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana
*Accessories: pearls

BIrthday Greetings

I'm still enamored of my new MFT hibiscus die and chose to use it to make a birthday card for a friend. I used my top note die to cut a window and added both the sentiment and a butterfly in the window. Here are the other supplies I used:

Stamp Set: Sincere Salutations
Dies: MFT Hibiscus, Stampin' Up Beautiful Wings
DSP: Beyond the Garden
Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Daffodil Delight

--Lissie

Butterflies and Silhouettes

A month or two back, the Paper Players had a sketch challenge that I was really inspired by.  I created a couple of cards and left a couple of sponged pieces of card stock lying around. 

As I was sitting at my desk in the offudio, I happened to spy it and decided to create a card.  I inked up the Queen Ann's Lace looking flower from "Summer Silhouettes" and stamped it, and decided it needed a little something more.  I found a butterfly I had previously stamped and fussy cut from "Strength and Hope" and thought it would be perfect.  I stamped it on the page as well, and then adhered the butterfly using a strip of Tombo and then dimensionals under its wings.  I finished it off with some pearls for it's body. 

I stamped the sentiment from "Express Yourself" and added the pearls in the upper left corner and I was done. :)

--Rach

This card uses:

*Stamp Sets: "Summer Silhouettes", "Strength and Hope", "Express Yourself"
*Paper: Whisper White, Soft Sky
*Inks: Pool Party, Wild Wasabi, Strawberry Slush
*Accessories: pearls, dimensionals

For Hadley

 

My niece's baby, Hadley, had a liver transplant a few days ago, and I wanted to send a card expressing my joy that the surgery was successful. I had just received an order from MFT, a company I have only bought a few things from. (99% of what I own for card making came from Stampin' Up.) I purchased a hibiscus die because I love the flowers of the hibiscus shrub. I am, after all, a Florida girl, and we had huge red hibiscus flowers blooming in my front yard throughout my childhood. I couldn't wait to make some flowers using the die, but when I dd, I was puzzled. Here's what I ended up with (not counting the center piece.)

I didn't quite know what to do with it, so I did what I always do when I am stumped. I searched the Internet, and I found this handy video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSDld7Py9aw

Yes, it was that simple. And, naturally, it makes perfect sense. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stampin' Up Washi Tape
MFT Hibiscus Die
Whisper White Cardstock
Real Red Ink
So Happy for You Stampset

--Lissie

Nature Walk

I have chosen to post this card to illustrate a point. A technique that works well for one card does not necessarily translate to another card. To better understand what I'm talking about, scroll down to see the card Rachael posted yesterday. It is perfect in every way. The stamp set, color choices and layout all work together. The card is whimsical, and the filmstrip format with the stamped animals complement each other well. However, this card (above) does not work because the layout is far too informal for the stamp set and the DSP I used. But, live and learn, eh? I do like that I focused on using Cherry Cobbler, a lovely rich color. The stamp set is Nature Walk and the DSP is Botanical Gazette. 

--Lissie

Another OWH Birthday Card

Continuing to take a break from flowers and such, here's another children's card I created for OWH.

One of my most favorite stamp sets for children is the now retired "Wild About You".  The animals are all so whimsical and I love their faces. :o)

I wanted to create something using all the stamps and settled on a filmstrip.  I stamped each image and then punched them out using a 1" square punch.  Alas, I was unable to use the penguin as there just wasn't space on my black strip. 

I used the spiral notebook punch to create the edges of the filmstrip, mounted the images on the strip, mounted the strip on the base, and stamped the sentiment. 

--Rach

This card uses:

*Stamp Set: "Wild About You"
*Papers: Basic Black, PTI white
*Inks: More Mustard, Smoky Slate, Gumball Green, Early Espresso
*Accessories: 1" square punch, spiral notebook punch