I'm Sew Excited!

Moxie Fab World's current challenge is "I'm Sew Excited"...using sewing icons on a project.  My card uses a needle threaded with baker's twine.

I stamped the needle on a scrap of ivory paper and poked a hole in the eye as well as a hole just above the eye to thread the twine through.  I stamped the sentiment then I used teeny dabs of glue to strategically adhere the twine.  The right edge is finished with pinking shears.  I don't really card for sewing in real life, but threading this needle was fun!

Supplies:

Paper: (orange gingham & watermelon) a muse studio, (pure luxury ivory) GinaK, (basic black) SU

Ink: (noir black) palette hybrid, (tea dye) PTI

Stamps: (quilter's sampler) PTI

Accessories: (tangerine baker's twine) The Twinery, pinking shears, (pop dots) ANM, (corner chomper) WeRMemoryKeepers

Tuesday Trigger: Crepe Bouquet

I am getting this one done under the wire...I love the bouquet featured in this week's Tuesday Trigger from Moxie Fab World...any hand-tied bouquet is gorgeous in my books.

 

 

Crepe Paper Bouquet from Martha Stewart

I decided to make my own hand-tied bouquet on a card....

Because of the softness of the photo, I chose vellum as my card base.  I used a piece of tissue paper I had saved and die cut multiple layers of flowers, crumpling them up and attaching them together with a brad.  I ran a ribbon through a few holes on the bottom of a scrap of ivory paper and tucked some green tissue paper underneath for the ties.  Edging and rounded corners as well as a flourishy sentiment complete the look.

Enjoy!

Stamps:  Spiral Bouquet (PTI)

Paper:  chiffon yellow (A muse studio), pure ivory (GinaK), vellum, tissue paper

Ink:  peeled paint (Ranger distress)

Accessories:  scallop trim border punch (SU), corner chomper (WeRMemory Keepers), Bigz Island Floral die (Sizzix), olive twill ribbon (SU), yellow brad (BasicGrey)

Tuesday Trigger: A Burst of Blooms

I made a last minute card for this week's Tuesday Trigger in the Moxie Fab World.

  
I found some really cool trim at a local fabric warehouse a few weeks ago and it is perfect for this challenge.  The trim itself is off-white, but easily coloured with copics using some of the colour combos found in the flowers.  I stamped the sentiment on a card base with rounded corners, then I grounded a strip of the flower trim with an ivory scalloped base and adhered it to the card base.  I love how quick and easy this was to make!

Enjoy your day!  Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:

Paper:  watermelon (A muse studio), vintage cream (PTI)

Stamps:  Eat Cake (PTI)

Ink:  fired brick distress (Ranger)

Accessories:  scallop edge punch (SU), corner chomper (WeR Memory Keepers), flower trim (NST), copics

In my Beautiful Balloon...a Moxie Fab Challenge

Hot air balloons are beautiful...they are everywhere in the crafting world these days, and now that spring is here, I expect we will see some in the horizon from our back deck.  I am afraid of heights, and would likely never go up in one, but I love to watch them from the ground!!  I am also loving all the great creations that are being made for the latest Moxie Fab World Challenge "In my Beautiful Balloon".  Here is my entry:

Here is how the card came together...I hand-drew my balloon and cut it out of kraft cardstock.  I then cut out the stripes in different colours.  Once they were adhered to the balloon base, I stitched the seams for dimension.  All of the edges are sponged with distress ink which gives additional dimension.  I had to do all of that twice because my sewing machine ate my first balloon and completely wrecked it.  ACK!!!  The basket is made from half of the decorative label punch topped with a large scalloped border.  The sentiment fit perfectly on the basket - YAY!  The balloon is accented by kraft clouds and baker's twine ropes.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Supplies:

Paper:  kraft (SU), vintage cream (PTI), cherry, grass, orange & bermuda shimmer couture, eucalyptus (A muse studio)

Stamps:  everyday button bits, polka dot basics (PTI)

Ink:  versamark, burnt umber (palette hybrid), walnut stain distress (Ranger)

Accessories:  cappucino baker's twine (the Twinery), pop dots (ANM), corner chomper (WeRMemoryKeepers), decorative label punch (SU), cloud trio & jumbo scallop dies (MFT)

Tuesday Trigger: A Citrus Celebration

This should get you into spring mode!  These colours are bright! 

The image is this week's Tuesday Trigger in the Moxie Fab World.  I don't know if I want to see this image again!!  The card has taken me since Friday night to complete!  I got the card base, the ribbon and the border all sorted out right away, but the focal image...let's just say, there are a FEW bits and pieces in the garbage and a whole bunch more scraps in my collection!! Eventually, here is what emerged (with more layers than my usual):

 

What I realized after all the hours spent on this card is that I am more comfortable with lots of white space...too much brightness was hard to figure out. 

BUT, I made a layered card with hardly any white on it, AND I like how it turned out. 

Thanks, Cath, for another great challenge (literally)!

Supplies:

Stamps:  everyday button bits (PTI)

Paper:  lime, lemon whip (A muse studio), ivory pure luxury (GinaK), orange (DCWV mat stack)

Ink:  noir black (Palette hybrid), lime pastel (Colorbox Qs)

Accessories: striped ribbon (May Arts), 1" circle punch, decorative label punch, scallop edge punch (SU), corner chomper (WeR Memory keepers), black pearl (Kaisercraft), spots & dots embossing folder (Provocraft), YR16 marker (Copic ), pop dots (ANM)

Magazine Monday... on Thursday!

I am trying out new things these days. 

Looking for new challenges, I found a colour inspiration challenge on Paper Crafts Connection.  Pretty, huh?

Using pink and purple? Yet another new thing for me!!  I had to scrounge pretty hard to find some purple in my stash! 

I seem to be using up random bits and pieces lately...the black shimmery label was in my pile of scraps.  I embossed the purple paper with dots and sanded it to reveal the white core.  I coloured the flower with copics, added some glitter in the middle and then a good amount of black peals (why hoard them??).  I stamped a tiny sentiment repeatedly along a strip of white and then added the punched border - the straight edge was too harsh and did not go with the flowery-purply look...  More complicated than my usual style, but hey...new things, right?!

Hope you try something new too...

Supplies:

Stamps: marvelous marigolds (A muse studio)

Ink:  noir black (Palette hybrid), tuxedo black (Memento)

Paper:  pink & purple (DCWV mat stack), onyx shimmer couture (A muse studio), pure luxury white (GinaK)

Accessories:  swiss dots embossing folder (Provocraft), kunzite glitter (Martha Stewart), black pearls (Kaisercraft), copics (BV17, V15, V12), dotted scallop punch (SU), black brads (SEI), styled labels die (Tim Holtz Alterations), pop dots (ANM)

Cityscapes are on the rise - Moxie Fab Challenge...

I love big cities...the hustle and bustle...taking the subway...walking around at night and not being the only ones on the street...the shopping (can't forget that!)...Plans are in the works for a second annual get-away-from-it-all trip to New York City!  I could totally live there if I had a few million to buy a place ;-)

So when I came across the Cityscapes Are On the Rise challenge on Moxie Fab World, I had to make a card!

Not much stamping on this one...only the sentiment.  I used a bunch of scraps - the herringbone background, the swiss-dotted clouds and the strip of green.  I used my cricut to cut out a blue cityscape silhouette.  I got some Tim Holtz sentiments in a trade this past year and cut one up a bit to fit on the card.  Love using bits and pieces that are laying around.  You have no idea how many times I have pulled out those clouds and tried them on a card...finally, they are glued down on one!!

Hope you are living the life you have imagined...

Supplies:

Paper:  lemon whip, sage, winter sky (white side), ocean & sugar shimmer couture (A muse studio), white (PTI)

Stamps:  Creative Muse (Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous)

Ink:  noir black (Palette hybrid)

Accesories:  herringbone & swiss dots embossing folders (Provocraft), cityscape die cut (Going Places Cricut cartridge), cloud trio die (Die-manics by MFT), pop dots (All Night Media)

Yikes, a sketch challenge!

I don't like sketch challenges...but I did one...the Clean and Simple challenge posted on Splitcoaststampers today is based on lisa lara's Congratulations Clothesline card.  Here is my version, flipped upside down:

I saw my first robin while hiking in the forest behind my house yesterday!  Spring has arrived...can't wait for the sun to shine and dry up all the mud!  I am so excited to make a warm weather card for this challenge.  I submitted to the last Paper Crafts call (no luck this time) and was making Halloween cards!!

The hummingbird and flower are all stamped in one layer...used a bit of rock and roll on the bird & flower for depth.  All the edges are distessed with tea dye ink.  I decided to embellish with bella baubles (say that 10 times fast!) because everything on the card was so flat - they add some needed dimension. 

Hope you are enjoying the sights, smells and sounds of spring...

Supplies:

Paper:  yellow gingham, madeira, red shimmer couture (A muse studio), vintage cream (PTI)

Stamps: birds of a feather (PTI)

Ink: tea dye distress ink (Ranger), always artichoke, ruby red, regal rose, pumpkin pie (SU)

Accessories: pomegranate bella baubles (Stamping Bella), circle nestibilities (Spellbinders), small oval punch (SU)

A Cameo Card...

I have not made a card for a challenge in ages!  The current challenge at Moxie Fab World is "The Appearance of Cameos"..truly a challenge for me as I have no cameo stamps.  After checking out Google Images for inspiration, I was happy to see that cameos are not just faces of women...they could be flowers or butterflies or scenes.  Here is what I came up with:

Supplies:

Stamps: gossamer wings (A muse), borders & corners oval (PTI)

Paper:  latte, red shimmer couture, watermelon (A muse)

Ink:  versamark

Accessories:  black embossing powder (SU), black superfine detail embossing powder (Ranger), black pearls (Kaisercraft), styled labels die (Tim Holtz), black ribbons (Supreme Laces), Dymo labeller, corner chomper

The butterfly and oval frame are heat embossed for a bit of dimension - I used detail embossing powder for the oval frame and regular embossing powder for the butterfly.  The black elements help the eye travel around the card.  I kind of like the pink label backed with the red panel - doesn't clash at all!! Hope you like it...make sure you check out the challenge and play along!

My Last Minute Christmas Card...

I seem to do everything at the last minute...I have very little time to plan ahead because I am always doing something at the last minute that needs to be done NOW, leaving no time for planning.  Sigh...

Nevertheless, I have been stealing bits and pieces of time here and there to plan bits and pieces of this year's Christmas cards in my head...this card is all of those fragments put together.  There is an interesting thread on Splitcoaststampers discussing whether stampers just "wing it" or plan out their cards ahead of time...neat to see how everyone creates!!  I like to and usually do create spontaneously but when I have taken the time to gather all the elements ahead of time and map out my card, less wasted cardstock and supplies is the result! 

This card also fits with the latest A muse Lounge Challenge "Sparkling Season"  - to make a card that sparkles...

So without further ado, here is my planned-out-ahead-of-time sparkling card:

Here is how it went together:

• I traced the hill on a scrap piece of white cardstock and cut it out
• I placed the white hill on the card base in order to properly position the sentiment and the snowman
• Using my Stampamajig, I stamped the sentiment first and the snowman second (I pulled the white hill out of the way in order to stamp the snowman completely on the card base)
• Next, I put the hill back on the base, lined up the snowman image on the acetate from the Stampamajig over the snowman on the card base, slid a post it under the hill (to avoid stamping over the card base) and restamped the (lower part of the) snowman on the hill.
• Next, I ran the card base through the swiss dots folder on my cuttlebug and sanded the dots to make the white core appear on the cardstock - snow!!
• Then, I adhered the hill to the base, lining up the snowman
• Then, I stamped the snowman a third time on a scrap of white, coloured him with copics and cut him out (leaving off his arms and the snowballs)
• I adhered the cut out snowman over the snowman on the hill.
• I coloured the snowballs on the card base with white gel pen 
• Lastly, I used crystal effects on the edge of the hill and on the snowballs and sprinkled on glitter (I used Diamond Dust which is soooo sparkly because it is actually tiny pieces of glass - sharp if you get a sliver!!)

Hope you enjoy the holidays...thanks for stopping by today!!

Supplies:

Paper:  A muse (winter sky), PTI (white)

Ink:  Palette hybrid noir

Stamps:  A muse (juggling snowman, enjoy the wonders)

Accessories:  Crystal effects (SU), Diamond Dust (twinklets), copics, pop dots, cuttlebug, swiss dots folder, sanding block

CASEing CriminalGrace...

Supplies:

Paper:  A muse (gingham, robin's egg, eucalyptus, shimmery white)
Stamps:  A muse (Holiday combo)
Ink:  Versamagic Turquoise Gem
Accessories:  MS snowflake punch & drippy goo punches, pop dots, SU silver glass glitter, a muse twinkle stickers

The Featured Stamper on SCS this week is CriminalGrace. Her card designs are always clever & inspiring, plus she loves A muse stamps! I made a card based on her Trio of Tulips...switched up the season and changed the colour scheme but kept the great layout.

I recently ordered some of the glass glitter from SU after using it at stamp camp...this stuff is heaven - glitter that actually only goes where the glue is and is really easy to clean up after! I can use it and not be a sparkling glittery mess afterwards!! I "cheated" and used the MS drippy goo punch instead of the more winter-appropriate icicle punch. Covered in glitter, I think they look close enough to icicles!!

Make sure you check out Sarah's wonderful gallery...and have a great day!

VSN - fun on Cloud Nine

This past weekend was the main virtual stamping night on Splitcoaststampers...this time the theme was "On Cloud Nine".  I was lucky enough to get to host the first challenge of the day on Saturday.  My challenge was called "Not a cloud in the sky"...to make a card with lots of white space.  There were lots of great cards made - feel free to check out the gallery for my challenge!  The great news is there is still time to play in any of the challenges...the deadline is Monday, November 15th at 10pm EST.

Here is the card I made:

This would be great for scraps in any colour combo you choose...I used a 1" square punch, fussy cut the sentiment and adhered it over the squres with pop dots.  To finish, I pierced a border around the card. 

Supplies:

Stamps: A muse
Paper: A muse, SU very vanilla
Ink: Memento rich cocoa
Accessories: paper piercer, pop dots, 1" square punch
I hope you can find the time to make a card for my challenge...I get to choose a winner when it's all said and done...it could be you!

Sweater Weather - Madeira Hello

The current Tuesday Trigger "Sweater Weather"- a sweater from Anthropologie 

(one of my favourite stores...)

This card uses the colours, the buttons and the subtle pattern found in the sweater. The sweater is also quite symmetrical looking - 4 buttons, 2 pockets, lines on the collar...

 

I stamped the madeira pattern in versamark, but it didn't stand out as much as I liked once I tried putting the buttons on, so I used some pastels in brown (popping pastels technique) to make the pattern a bit darker. I saved one of the curly labels for the sentiment.  I use this layout a lot - I love symmetry! Hope you like it too...

Stamps:  A muse (madeira, hello)
Ink:  palette hybrid burnt umber, versamark
Paper:  SU (kraft, summer sun, chocolate chip)
Accessories:  SU pastels, SEI buttons, SU linen thread, SU curly label punch, corner chomper

A sympathy card...

This is the type of card that no one ever wants to make...this week's CAS challenge on SCS is to make one. I got a recent shipment of Copic's new XpressIt blending cardstock and cut into it for this card. It coloured well although I notice some tiny white/light spots (?fibres?) in the paper that did not take the grey ink. Hmmm...will have to play a bit more. It does add some interest and texture to the dove! I added some silver glitter on the dove using my silver spica pen. The image was matted in black, then mellow moss and popped up. I added the sentiment and 3 pearls for a simple design. Hope you like it!

Supplies:

Paper:  GinaK pure luxury white, SU basic black & mellow moss, Copic Xpress It blending cardstock
Ink:  Memento black
Stamps:  A muse (peace & cheer set, in my thoughts)
Accessories:  copics, pop dots, black pearls (kaiserkraft)

Gingham Greetings

I stayed up late to stalk CAS90 on Splitcoast because next week's evenings are all so busy my head is spinning already! How fun that this week's challenge is to use gingham and checks on a card. I am a huge fan of A muse's gingham paper, in fact I have just ordered my second multipack - I have been using, not hoarding it!!

For the card, I stamped the bird image directly onto the gingham paper. This paper handled colouring with copics fairly well, even with reds. I think it's kind of neat how you can see the gingham pattern (and it doesn't really even look blue) a bit through the colours. I stamped the sentiment on blue gingham as well. Both images were matted in black, although the sentiment got a thicker mat.

One of the reasons I did this was to help the sentiment stand out as it's relatively small. The three pearls under the sentiment also help with this. The second reason is to draw the eye to the bottom right of the card. Once your eye is there, the circlular shape of the sentiment makes you look around the whole card again. (Actually, I pretty much winged the design and figured all of this out after the fact!!)

Hope you like it...go grab your gingham and checks and make a card for the challenge!

Supplies:

Ink:  palette hybrid noir
Paper:  A muse (latte, gingham), SU (basic black)
Stamps:  A muse (peace & cheer set)
Accessories:  copics, black pearls (kaisercraft), pop dots, SU 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches

Fall Leaves...

This card is for the latest A muse Lounge Challenge, "Fall Favorites". Fall is the best time of year as far as I'm concerned...we have had gorgeous weather so far and the leaves have been stunning. For this card, I used the Maple Leaf solid stamp from A muse with three different Ranger Distress Inks, spritzed the stamp with water and stamped onto watercolour paper. I cut out the leaves and popped them up for dimension on a neutral background. The strip of chocolate chip behind them helps draw the eye and grounds the leaves nicely. My sewing machine was feeling neglected, so I stitched a border around my card. I need a sympathy card for the wife of an older gentleman I met in London while in university...this will be fitting for her. Thanks for stopping by - hope you can squeak in a card for the challenge before the month is up!

Supplies:

Paper: SU (kraft, chocolate chip), watercolour paper
Ink: Ranger distress ink (peeled paint, fired brick , tea dye), palette hybrid burnt umber
Stamps: A muse (maple leaf solid, in my thoughts)
Accessories: sewing machine, pop dots

XOXO...

My niece is engaged and getting married soon...her shower is coming up this weekend. This card is for her and fits CAS85 (the latest clean and simple challenge on SCS). The challenge is to use kraft, red, brown and vanilla with optional orange. I opted out of orange this time!

I stamped the Xs and Os 3 times to make a background for the beaded hearts. In order to ensure perfection, I drew a fine pencil line with my Tim Holtz ruler and then used my stampamajig to line up the bottom of the Xs on the pencil line. I distressed this panel with tea dye inks because I cannot resist distressing every card I make (plus, it also keeps the vanilla layer from being too stark looking).

I ran some scrap pieces of stix 2 anything adhesive sheets through my cuttlebug to cut out the hearts. The dies cut through this stuff easily. Once I stuck the hearts to my vanilla layer, I peeled off the top adhesive layer and rolled them first in the bigger beads, then the microbeads to fill in the gaps. You need to press down hard to make sure the beads stick well or you get a mess! Hopefully the photo captures some of the shine and dimension of the hearts - they are so pretty!

Thanks for stopping by - hope you have a great week!

Stamps:  A muse (congratulations MA, XOXO bl)
Paper:  SU (kraft), A muse (shimmer couture brown), PTI (rustic white)
Ink:  Palette hybrid (burnt umber & moulin rouge), PTI tea dye
Accessories:  beads & micro beads (dollarama), Stix 2 anything sheets, Sizzix Hearts & brackets die

Not wishing for snow or anything...

I made a Hallowe'en card recently, so why not a winter one!! This is my third card for the A muse Lounge sketch challenge. This time, I used Krystie's perfectly CAS card and flipped her layout upside down and backwards. My idea was to make a monochromatic winter card with a vintage feel...

This was a quick card to make because there is no colouring! I love these fun winter images from A muse, especially the boy trying to catch a snowflake. I punched out parts of the image and aged them with tea dye inks. Then, I overlaid them with the red punched panel(popped up for dimension). Add some dp and a sentiment and done! Might alter this idea slightly for my holiday cards this year!

Supplies:

Stamps: A muse (enjoy the wonders MA, innertubing, winter boy, catch a snowflake)

Ink: palette hybrid moulin rouge, PTI tea dye inks

Paper: GinaK (pure luxury white), A muse (red shimmer couture, red vintage)

Accessories: SU 1 1/4" circle punch, corner chomper, pop dots

One card, two challenges...

This card is for the latest A muse Lounge challenge - a sketch challenge (this one is Lexi's) as well as for the weekly CAS challenge on Splitcoaststampers - an inspiration challenge based on this.  To make my own birthday wreath, I grabbed all my A muse tiny birthday stamps so that I could colour them in brights like the photo.  Then I took my circle nesties and used them to trace 3 different sized circles.  Using my stampamajig for perfect placement, I stamped the images around the circles.  The main circle is quite a bit bigger than in the sketch and I switched the image/sentiment around, but I think it still works.  Hope you like it!

Supplies:

Stamps:  A muse (tiny hat, tiny gift, tiny cake, happy birthday bold)

 Ink:  Palette hybrid noir

Paper:  GinaK pure luxury white, SU basic black, A muse chiffon green

Accessories:  Stampamajig, paper piercer, pop dots, copics, circle nestibilities

Boris, peeking in...

Have you seen the A muse Lounge lately? It's already decorated for Halloween!! So for the latest challenge in the Lounge, a sketch challenge, I decided to make a Halloween card based on Julie's sketch here. I set out to make a scene with the spooky ingredients stamped on the windowsill of the classic window. I paper pieced the ingredients in different colours for some pop and cut them out individually. The scene begged for something else - so I cut out the window and added a bit of Boris peeking in at his concoctions. To ground the scene, I ran some vellum through my cuttlebug with the spiderweb folder.  I like it, hope you do too!!

Supplies:

Paper: A muse (watermelon, chiffon green, robin's egg blue), vellum, GinaK pure luxury white
Ink: palette hybrid noir
Stamps: A muse (Boris, Ingredients, Classic Window, Hocus Pocus)
Accessories: copics, pop dots, SU word window punch, cuttlebug,spiderweb folder