Cute critters, part 2

I'm back today with the second group of kid-friendly birthday cards featuring fun and cute animal images. So let's get right to it!

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Party Time Petit Fours set, Safari Animals Trifles set (both DeNami Design)
Paper: 110-lb white (Recollections), Whisper White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; markers: Bermuda Bay, Tangelo Twist, Old Olive, Basic Black; Blendabilities: Daffodil Delight, Skin Tones, Smoky Slate assortments
Accessories: Word Bubbles Framelits dies, Dimensionals, Mono Multi liquid glue
Other: Computer and printer for the sentiments

Who wouldn't like to party with these guys? OK, maybe not the real-life full-size versions, but these little cuties? Definitely.

I had the idea for this layout in my head, but I couldn't seem to find the right sentiments among all my stamps (and that's a lot of stamps). So I decided to go ahead and print them on the computer. I settled on "party animals" for the front and "Go WILD on your birthday!" inside. Once the sentiments were printed, I stamped and decorated the front of the card, cut out the shorter sentiment with one of the Word Bubbles Framelits dies (I trimmed off the "tail"), and adhered it to the front of the card with Dimensionals. Love it!

I also want to apologize that the lighting in this picture is not very good. I don't have a great place to take photos inside, so I've been trying to take them outside, which creates a host of other problems: the wind blows my cards down, the sun is too bright, the trees cast shadows. Sigh. I think I need to invest in a portable light box. Anyway, back to the cards.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Dog's Life (Inkadinkadoo), Ruff Life
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red, Soft Suede
Accessories: 1" square punch, Postage Stamp punch, dog brads (Around the Block), Mono Multi liquid glue, Dimensionals

Several years ago I bought the Dog's Life stamp set (as well as a cat version) for a really good deal at a rubber stamp show. But they present a challenge for me because, while there are many nice images, the images are different styles -- artistic, silhouette, cartoon-like, etc. -- which makes them hard to use together. I was determined to use this set for one of the birthday cards, though, so I decided that I'd create a small sheet of "postage stamps." These images are just about 1" square, so I could have easily stamped them on white card stock and just punched them out with the Postage Stamp punch. But I wanted to give them an extra little detail, so I punched out the images with a 1" square punch and then adhered the squares onto the postage stamp shapes. I used Dimensionals to adhere the "stamps" to the card base, stamped a sentiment, and added a fun dog-print brad.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Hug a Hamster (Raisin Boat)
Paper: Smooth and textured Soft Suede, Coastal Cabana, Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Dimensionals, Mono Multi liquid glue

I just love this little guy's chubby cheeks! To make the focal point for this card I first stamped the hamster in the middle of a piece of Very Vanilla card stock. This image eventually will be covered with card stock, but it helps for positioning the sunflower seeds, and it gets the whiskers on the card stock. Then I stamped the pile of sunflower seeds underneath him, spreading out toward the bottom corners of the card stock and making sure that some of the seeds overlapped the bottom of the hamster. I stamped the hamster twice on Soft Suede card stock, cut out one of the images and adhered it over the original image on the Very Vanilla panel. From the second Soft Suede hamster I cut out just the paws and then used tiny pieces of Dimensionals to add them to the focal image. To add more depth and detail I stamped a bunch of sunflower seed images on leftover strips of Very Vanilla card stock, cut them out and adhered them to the pile with Dimensionals. The cuteness continues inside the card with an image of a hamster running in an exercise ball and the sentiment "Have a ball!"

I'll be back later this week with a few great masculine birthday card ideas. Thanks for stopping by!

In Color butterfly bookmarks

This afternoon I received my box of goodies that I pre-ordered from the 2015-16 Stampin' Up! annual catalog. Yippee! The catalog goes live on June 2, but demonstrators are able to pre-order selected products in May. I didn't order very much, but I was excited to see the new In Color ink and card stock in person. The In Colors for 2015-17 are Tip Top Taupe, Delightful Dijon, Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush, and Mint Macaron. I wanted to try out the new colors, so I put together a few butterfly bookmarks.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Butterfly Basics
Paper: Tip Top Taupe, Delightful Dijon, Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush, Mint Macaron, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Tip Top Taupe, Delightful Dijon, Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush, Mint Macaron
Accessories: Scalloped Tag Topper punch, Elegant Butterfly punch, Bitty Butterfly punch, gold sequin trim, gold baker's twine, chevron ribbon, linen thread, Glue Dots, Mono Multi liquid glue

Aren't they fun? The In Colors are the only new items on these bookmarks. But everything else will be in the annual catalog, including the Butterfly Basics stamp set, which is currently in the 2015 Occasions catalog.

To make each bookmark, I used a 2" x 7" piece of Tip Top Taupe for the bookmark base and then punched one end with the Scalloped Tag Topper punch. I stamped three images from the Butterfly Basics stamp set on the bookmark using Tip Top Taupe ink: the honeycomb, sentiment and postmark.

To showcase the card stock and ink for the other colors, I made two-layer butterflies. The bottom layer of each butterfly is simply the Elegant Butterfly shape punched out of the remaining four In Colors. The top layer is the small butterfly image stamped on Whisper White and punched out with the Bitty Butterfly punch.

For the tassel I used a piece of chevron ribbon and a piece of gold baker's twine tied with a piece of linen thread. I added a few gold sequins to pull out the gold in the baker's twine.

I know many people are sad to see the current In Colors leave (Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush, and Crisp Cantaloupe), but I think I'll like these new colors even more. Thanks for stopping by!

Cute critters, part 1

When I made a stash of birthday cards for my uncle, I had to include a variety of kid-friendly cards for all his great-nieces and -nephews. So I pulled out a bunch of animal-themed stamps and made six fun cards. (Personally, I think they'd be good for adults, too, but they might be too cutesy for some people.) Today I'm going to share three of those cards, all of which were made with Lawn Fawn stamps.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Into the Woods, Gleeful Gardens (both Lawn Fawn)
Paper: Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Crumb Cake, River Rock, Soft Suede card stock
Ink: Early Espresso, Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, River Rock, white gel pen
Accessories: Best Year Ever buttons, yellow embroidery floss (from March 2015 Paper Pumpkin kit), Stitched Hillside Borders dies (Lawn Fawn), Dimensionals, Mono Multi liquid glue, Glue Dots

The sentiment on this card was probably not necessary, because how can you look at this card and not smile? It's just so cute! I used two Lawn Fawn sets for these images: Into the Woods for the deer, sentiment, log, and bushes and Gleeful Gardens for the mushrooms. It was a lot of stamping and "fussy cutting," but I don't mind doing that. (Lawn Fawn does make coordinating dies for both of these sets, but I only have the one for Gleeful Gardens. And since I cut everything else by hand, I figured I'd just keep going with the mushrooms.) Once I had all the pieces in an arrangement I liked, I adhered them to the card, using liquid glue, Glue Dots and Dimensionals to get different levels of depth. For a little pop I added a bright yellow button and bow in the upper left corner to look like the sun.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Year Five (Lawn Fawn)
Paper: Soft Sky, Island Indigo, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Blendabilities: Skin Tone, Soft Sky, Old Olive assortments
Accessories: Circles Collection Framelits dies, Tide embossing folder (Lifestyle Crafts), Stitched Hillside Borders dies (Lawn Fawn), linen thread, Cupcake Builder punch, Mono Multi liquid glue, Dimensionals

I think this otter is pretty darn cute, too. (The coordinating sentiment, which I stamped inside the card, reads "Have an otterly great birthday.") To make this little scene, I first cut a circle out of and then embossed a piece of Soft Sky card stock. I love how the embossing looks like rolling waves. Then I used the Stitched Hillside Borders dies (which I used in the card above to make the grass) to cut out "waves" from Bermuda Bay and Island Indigo card stock. I overlapped and adhered the waves to the back of the embossed card stock so they were visible through the circle. I stamped the otter and present images on Whisper White card stock, colored them and cut them out. Then I tucked the otter in between a couple of the waves and added the present.

For a simple embellishment I wrapped linen thread three times around the bottom half of the embossed card stock and then adhered the panel to a Soft Sky card base with Dimensionals. Finally I added two fluffy clouds that were punched out with the Cupcake Builder punch.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Year Four (Lawn Fawn), Work of Art
Paper: Smoky Slate card stock, 110-lb white card stock (Recollections), Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Smoky Slate, Memento Tuxedo Black, white gel pen, Project Life journaling pens; Blendabilities: Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Soft Sky, Smoky Slate
Accessories: Ovals Collection Framelits dies, corner rounder, Hello Honey stitched satin ribbon, white baker's twine, Brights buttons, Dimensionals

I love this stamp set with the hippo and birdie. It also includes the party hat, balloon, music notes, and a punny greeting: "Hippo birdie to you!" (I think it would have been perfect if it also came with a sheep image so you could have "Hippo birdie two ewe!") The focal image is basic stamping and coloring. To create the shadow under the hippo, I first masked off the hippo image. (Stamp the hippo on a piece of scratch paper -- a self-stick note works great -- cut it out and place it over the image on your project.) Then I used Smoky Slate to ink up one of the images from the Work of Art set and stamped it so it overlapped the bottom of the hippo. I removed the mask, and now it looks like the hippo has a shadow. This was the first time I've tried that technique, but I'm sure I'll be using it again.

The rest of the card is pretty straightforward: a layer of DSP, a piece of ribbon, and a button with a baker's twine bow. I also doodled a little border around the DSP.

I'll be posting my other three cute critters birthday cards in the next few days. Until then, thanks for stopping by!

Fun with flowers

I've gotten a little behind on my blog posts the past couple of weeks because I've been working on several different projects. One of those projects was to make thirty birthday cards for my uncle. (To clarify, they are cards for him to use, not thirty separate cards wishing him a happy birthday.) The cards were part of his birthday gift, and I managed to finish them about five hours before the party yesterday. Whew! I'll be posting the cards over the next couple of weeks -- I have masculine, feminine, kids and general designs -- and I hope you enjoy them.

Since it's Mother's Day, I'm going to start by sharing three cards that include images of flowers. Although these are birthday cards, these designs would also make beautiful Mother's Day cards by just changing the sentiment.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Flower Patch
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Hello Honey, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Blackberry Bliss, Pool Party, Hello Honey
Accessories: Extra-large oval punch, Itty Bitty Accents punch pack, rhinestones, gold and clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pens (ZIG), Rich Razzleberry taffeta ribbon, Dimensionals

I love the bold flowers in this stamp set and the countless ways you can combine and layer them. (Add in the coordinating Framelits dies and the possibilities seem endless.) For this card I used plain old basic stamping on a panel of Whisper White card stock. I stamped a few of the largest flower in Hello Honey, added a few five-petal Rich Razzleberry flowers (with Blackberry Bliss centers), and then filled in with small Pool Party images. I layered the stamped piece on a mat of Pool Party card stock, added the ribbon and mounted the whole panel on a Rich Razzleberry card base. I added a sentiment in a punched oval and three punched flowers with rhinestone centers.

You may be wondering why some of the petals on the large flowers are a darker yellow. After I had the background all stamped, it looked a little flat to me. So I pulled out my new Wink of Stella glitter brush pens and added some clear glitter over the center of the purple flowers. I decided to try the gold glitter on the yellow flowers, and I really love how it turned out. The darker petals add some dimension to the images, and everything is better with a little sparkle, right?

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Bright Blossoms, Petite Pairs
Paper: Gumball Green, Basic Black, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Basic Black, Gumball Green, Strawberry Slush, Daffodil Delight markers
Accessories: Black ribbon (unknown), corner rounder, Dimensionals

To do the stamping on this card I used my markers instead of ink pads. I wanted to use the polka dot vase image from Bright Blossoms but with different flowers. So with my Basic Black marker I colored just the vase part of the rubber stamp and then stamped the image on Whisper White card stock. I repeated that twice to get a row of three vases. (Here's a tip: If you want to stamp three evenly spaced images in a row but don't want to bother with measuring, stamp the middle image first. Then eyeball the placement of the left and right images. It may not be perfect, but it will certainly be close enough.) Then I used Gumball Green, Strawberry Slush and Daffodil Delight markers to color the flower images and stamp them above the vases. I matted the panel on Basic Black card stock, adhered it to a Gumball Green card base and added a simple black ribbon and bow for embellishment.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Oriental Paintings, Create a Cupcake
Paper: Coastal Cabana, Shimmery White card stock
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Coastal Cabana, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Wood sheets, 1/8" gold ribbon, Tea Party embossing folder (Lifestyle Crafts), Aqua Painter, Dimensionals

I've had the Oriental Paintings stamp set for years. I kept it because the images are beautiful, but I rarely use it because I have a hard time figuring out how to use the images on cards. But I was pleased with how this one turned out. I stamped the image with Jet Black StazOn ink on Shimmery White card stock and then colored it using an Aqua Painter and Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz and Coastal Cabana ink. (It's hard to see in the picture, but I very lightly painted Coastal Cabana all around the flowers and leaves to add a touch of color to the sky.) Then I adhered the image to a wood sheet to create the look of a frame. For the background I embossed a piece of Coastal Cabana card stock, wrapped a piece of gold ribbon around it and adhered the panel to a Coastal Cabana card base. Using Dimensionals I added the focal point to the card.

I had so much fun watercoloring the image on the front of the card that I also wanted to add the flowers on Shimmery White card stock inside the card. I didn't want the border around the flowers, though, so I carefully applied ink to just the flower part of the image. I did get ink on the bottom part of the border, but when I stamped the image I just made sure to place it so that part of the image was off the card stock. Then I added a sentiment, painted the flowers and adhered the panel to the inside of the card.



Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and mother figures out there! I hope you know how much you are loved and appreciated. Thanks for stopping by!

A little birdie in a tree

I typically have a fairly clean and simple style, personally and in my card making. But just like it's fun to get dressed up every once in awhile, it's also fun to make a card that's a little more "fussy," like this playful birthday card:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Hello Love, Cheep Talk, Endless Birthday Wishes
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Pool Party, Chocolate Chip, Gumball Green, textured Crushed Curry, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Bermuda Bay, Gumball Green, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Woodgrain embossing folder, Cloudy Day embossing folder, Stitched Hillside Borders dies (Lawn Fawn), Petite Petals punch, owl button (Babyville Boutique), Jolee's by You flowers (EK Success), Word Bubbles Framelits dies, stylus, Dimensionals, Mono Multi liquid glue

I had a lot of fun choosing all the different textures and details for this card, but I think my favorite part is probably the tree. Originally I wanted to use the tree image from the Nuts About You set and just stamp it, but the proportion wasn't right for the owl button. So, using that image as a guide, I drew my own tree on Chocolate Chip card stock, cut it out and then embossed it with the Woodgrain embossing folder.

To make the leaves I punched several Petite Petals shapes out of Gumball Green card stock. Then I used a scissors to cut the petals apart, trimming them into leaf shapes. The leaves were a little too small to emboss, but I didn't want to leave them flat, either. Instead I decided to give them a little dimension. I placed the leaves on a piece of thick foam (a Stampin' Pierce Mat or an old mouse pad are good options) and rubbed a stylus on each one in a circular motion. As you put pressure on the card stock, the leaf will begin to curl up. (If you don't have a stylus on hand, you could use something else that has a rounded end, such as a paintbrush or possibly a ballpoint pen.) Once the leaves were all shaped, I used liquid glue to adhere them around the tree branches.

The inside of this card was actually more challenging for me than the front of the card. I wanted to continue the bird/tree theme, so I tried a few different images and layouts. But nothing seemed to coordinate with the front of the card; it looked like the inside was from a completely different card. I finally pulled out a long-retired set called Cheep Talk, and that one seemed to do the trick. The leaves on the branch image were a similar shape to the card stock leaves on the front of the card, and I thought that the style of this bird complemented the owl button. I used markers to apply ink directly to the stamps to create the multicolored images. To finish the sentiment of the card, I used Endless Birthday Wishes to stamp the greeting in a word bubble, which I adhered to the panel with Dimensionals.

I really enjoyed making this card, and I love the final product. Do you like to make involved, detailed cards, or do you prefer to stick to clean and crisp style?


Thanks for stopping by!