Five basket cases

Last weekend I attended a stamp show with my best crafting buddy, and we had a great time. We saw a lot of fun products and amazing samples, did some creative make-and-takes, learned new tips and tricks, and, of course, spent a good chunk of money. (Just doing our part to help the economy. You're welcome.)

The company that runs this particular show, Rubber Stamp Events, does a card contest every year.  There is a theme for each day of the show, and you're allowed to submit up to two cards for each day. (You can only win on one day, though.) I've entered five of the last six years and won first place twice. The prizes are money to be spent at any booth at the show, so it's worth it to enter. I tried again this year, but no luck this time. I do, though, want to share the cards I made as part of the contest.

The contest theme for the day we attended the show was "basket case." You're allowed to interpret the theme however you want, as long as there is stamping on the front of your card, so I made a total of five cards that all feature a basket filled with something. I had a hard time deciding which cards to enter, but I eventually settled on the first two cards below. (Since I have several pictures in this post, I won't include many details about each card. If you have questions, post a comment and I'll respond as soon as I can.)

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Fabulous Fruits, From the Garden
Paper: Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, vellum card stock
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Garden Greem, Riding Hood Red, Ruby Red, Crumb Cake, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Berry Basket Bigz die, Handpicked Framelits dies, Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, Grassy Border Lawn Cuts die (Lawn Fawn), Square Lattice embossing folder, Pool Party solid baker's twine, clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen, delicate white doily, rhinestones, Dimensionals, Art Glitter glue (Art Institute Glitter)

This was the first layout that popped into my head when I thought about a basket, and it actually turned out pretty close to what I imagined. I stamped and hand cut all those strawberries and tops using two shades of red and green.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Feathered Hope, Language of Friendship
Paper: Soft Suede, Shimmery White, textured Old Olive card stock
Ink: StazOn Jet Black; ZIG Clean Color brush markers: 036, 037, 065, 066, 050, 061, 020, 024, 041, 043 (Kuretake)
Accessories: Water brush (Kuretake), Stitched Shapes and Layering Circles Framelits dies, Tiny Attacher (Time Holtz), Corner Chomper (We R memory Keepers), Stylized Flowers embossing folder (Cuttlebug), linen thread, pearls, Dimensionals

When I first colored this image I wasn't crazy about it, so I set it aside and figured it would just be a practice run. But when I came back to it the next day it didn't seem so bad, so I decided to use it for a card after all.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Basket Full of Wishes (Unity Stamp Co.)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Pool Party card stock; Going Places Designer Series paper (DSP) Stack
Ink: StazOn Jet Black; markers: Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Smokey Slate; Pool Party ink refill
Accessories: Pattern Party Decorative Masks, light molding paste (Golden), Layering Ovals Framelits dies, Stardust Gelly Roll pen (Sakura), paper flowers (Jolee's Boutique), Subtles Candy Dots, gold twine, micro pop-dots (Forever in Time), Art Glitter glue (Art Institute Glitter), Corner Chomper (We  Memory Keepers)

Even though I didn't end up submitting this card (or the next two) to the contest, I love how this card turned out, especially the background. I mixed a bit of Pool Party ink refill in white molding paste and then added it to my card front over a brick stencil.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Serene Spring
Paper: Soft Sky, Basic Black, Shimmery White card stock; thin cherry veneer (Creative Imaginations)
Ink: VersaMark, Soft Sky; ZIG Clean Color Brush markers: 036, 043, 901, 021, 061, 041, 066, 037, 050 (Kuretake)
Accessories: Burlap trim, detail black embossing powder, Espresso Yourself mini prills (USArt Quest), delicate white doily, Tiny Attacher (Tim Holtz), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter), Color Spritzer, sponge, water brush (Kuretake), Dimensionals

I love the two sweet images in the Serene Spring stamp set. It's an old set, but I think it's one I will always keep.

The wood on the bottom of the card is actually a very thin wood veneer, not just a patterned paper. I thought that worked well with the image of the basket.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons
Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Real Red, Berry Burst, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight card stock; Neutrals DSP Stack
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Berry Burst, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Stitched Shapes and Layering Squares Framelits dies, Metallics Sequin Assortment, copper trim, clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen, Dimensionals

Tulips are one of my favorite flowers, and I think this is a sweet image. But it's a little small to be the focal point on a standard A2-sized card. So to give it more "oomph" I stamped the image four times and colored the tulips a different color in each image. I matted each image with the same color card stock as the tulips.









I had a lot of fun making these cards, even if I didn't win the contest. Better luck next year! Thanks for stopping by!