Can't get much simpler

I have had no time to stamp this week. There were a few days I had planned to fit it in, but it just never seemed to work out. So I was really looking forward to some dedicated card-making time this morning. Until I sat down at my craft table and had no idea what I should make or where I should start. How frustrating. I decided that to get the juices flowing maybe I needed to create a few very simple cards using some pre-made accessories and a few Big Shot dies and embossing folders. Except for the inside of one of the cards, I didn't do any stamping at all! Here are the end products of my crafting session:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Card stock: Whisper White, Basic Black
Accessories: Tulipe die, rhinestones (Me & My Big Ideas), Tombow multipurpose adhesive

I bought the Tulipe die a few months ago from the Stampin' Up! clearance rack and decided to try it out for the first time today. (The white piece of card stock here is actually the negative image; the black card stock is visible through the "holes" that were cut out.) To me it looked perfect for a wedding card, but the design is too large to fit on a standard A2-sized card. I found some 5" square envelopes and worked backward from there. The card base is 4-3/4" square when folded, and the white layer is 4-1/2" square (just barely large enough to fit the image; it actually cut through the bottom edge of the white card stock). I used liquid adhesive to mount the die-cut piece onto the card base to make sure all the little nooks and crannies were secure.

I wanted to add just a touch of color, so I placed a rhinestone in each corner. My first instinct was to go with red since that seems to be classic for weddings, but I decided to go a different direction and used turquoise instead. I also intended to add some embellishment in the center of the card, but nothing I tried seemed quite right. I left it a very clean and simple wedding card for now, but I may go back and tweak it later.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Card stock: Blushing Bride
Accessories: Blossom Builders kit, Chit Chat rub-ons, Delicate Designs embossing folder, Dimensionals

Blushing Bride and Baja Breeze aren't two colors I would usually put together (at least not by themselves), but they were the colors on these flowers, so I went with it. It's always good to stretch your creativity a little, right? I layered together multiple flower and circle shapes from the Blossom Builders die-cut kit and added the included pink rhinestones in the centers. To give the flowers some dimension I either gently pulled the petals up or creased the middle of each petal with my bone folder. I embossed the lace design on a separate piece of card stock, adhered it to the bottom of the card then added the banner (also part of the Blossom Builders kit) with a rub-on greeting and the flowers.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Card stock: Baja Breeze, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Blossom Builders kit, Finishing Touches Edgelits dies, Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon, In Color glimmer brads, Chit Chat rub-ons, Dimensionals

These flowers are also from the Blossom Builders kit, but this time I used glimmer brads for the centers instead of rhinestones and added strips of ribbon for the flower stems. To create the grass along the bottom of the card I die cut a strip of Lucky Limeade card stock and then added a rub-on greeting. I love these fun, bright colors (the yellow is Daffodil Delight, and the red is Poppy Parade).

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Card stock: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Roof Garden Accents & Elements, linen thread, Designer Naturals buttons

After making a couple of girly, flowery cards, I wanted to try making something more masculine. I don't know if this quite fits that bill, but I like it anyway. The two blue botanical shapes as well as the patterned border are card stock stickers from the Roof Garden Accents & Elements kit. They are very easy to use - just peel and stick! I added linen thread around the bottom of the card and a natural button in the upper right corner to bring in a little texture.

Well, these cards got my stamping mojo working a little bit, so I hope tomorrow will be a little more productive. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Halloween!

Hey, aren't you going to wait and greet the Great Pumpkin? Huh? It won't be long now. If the Great Pumpkin comes, I'll still put in a good word for you!

Good grief! I said "if"! I meant, "when" he comes!

I'm doomed. One little slip like that could cause the Great Pumpkin to pass you by.
 
Oh, Great Pumpkin, where are you?

- Linus, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Here's hoping the Great Pumpkin doesn't pass by your pumpkin patch tonight. Happy Halloween!

Storybook Friends card set

I always try to keep a selection of hand-stamped card sets all packaged and ready to give as gifts. I have a few friends and family members who have received card sets from me for the past several birthdays and/or Christmases. (They all seem to enjoy getting them, so I hope they're not just humoring me.) Today I made an adorable set of cards with the Storybook Friends stamp set from Stampin' Up!^®, and I'm really tempted to keep these for myself.

Supplies for cards and envelopes (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Storybook Friends
Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla card stock; First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, River Rock, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Going Gray, Riding Hood Red, Cajun Craze, Garden Green, Not Quite Navy, Daffodil Delight, Blush Blossom; Stampin' Write Journaler
Accessories: Blender Pen, Jewelry Tag punch, large oval punch, scallop oval punch, paper piercer and mat, Simply Scored tool and diagonal scoring plate, mini silver brads

Maybe it's just me, but don't they make you smile? I am a sucker for animal stamps, though. Especially cute ones.

Here are the measurements:
Basic Black card base: 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" when folded (3-1/2" x 7" open)
Layer of First Edition Specialty DSP: 3-1/4" x 3-1/4"
Layer of Very Vanilla: 2-3/4" x 2-3/4"
Layer of Very Vanilla inside card: 3-1/4" x 3-1/4"

I stamped the images with Jet Black StazOn ink and used a Blender Pen and ink pads to color them. I really like the shading and softness you can create with a Blender Pen, although I am in no way, shape or form an expert at it. You can't tell in the photos, but I very lightly colored River Rock on the "white" parts of the dog and the duck so they are just a touch darker than the Very Vanilla card stock.

I used a Stampin' Write Journaler to make the doodled border around each of the images. I thought about using colored markers for the borders, but I really liked the strong contrast of the black and vanilla and decided to use colors in just the images.

The fox card was my prototype for this set. I started with that image because it was the largest one, and I wanted to make sure that whatever design I used would work with all the different images.

I added the Jewelry Tag punch and mini silver brad on the upper left or right of each focal image, depending on where there was more open space. I struggled to decide what embellishment to use (flowers? buttons? ribbon?) but I think this a great accent and really fits with the card design.

Because the cards are not standard size, I also made coordinating envelopes. The First Edition Specialty DSP works perfectly for the envelopes: it's lightweight and easy to fold, and it coordinates with the cards. I did make one goof-up, though. I forgot to take into consideration that when you make envelopes, you end up turning the paper on an angle, which means the type on the DSP runs diagonally on the envelopes. Oh, well. I decided to just go with it.

I used a 6" x 6" piece of DSP for each envelope and scored it (diagonally) at 3-1/4" on each side. The finished envelope size is approximately 3-3/4" x 3-3/4". I did not add any sort of adhesive on the top flap to seal the envelope. Since these obviously can't be mailed, I decided they would be fine just folded closed.

On the front of each envelope I added a Very Vanilla oval punch layered with a Basic Black scallop oval punch to provide a space to write the recipient's name.

I hope you like these cards as much as I do. I did package them in a clear box when I was done making them so at least I'm a little less tempted to keep them myself ... Thanks for stopping by!

Masculine birthday cards

In the last few weeks I've made a good-sized dent in my stash of birthday cards. Between all the September and October birthdays in our family and the fact that I didn't have much time to make cards while moving, I had pretty slim pickings for the five cards I needed on Sunday (a couple were being mailed late, but I figure better late than never). The only answer to that is to sit down and make more, so I decided to focus on masculine birthday cards.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^®):
Stamps: Card Games, Game Night
Paper: Sahara Sand, Island Indigo card stock; Designer Series Paper (DSP) Patterns Pack - In Color
Ink: Island Indigo, Sahara Sand, Poppy Parade, Blush Blossom
Accessories: White gel pen, Island Indigo baker's twine, Stamp-a-Ma-Jig, Tombow multipurpose adhesive

I've made a card with some version of this layout a few times; it's fun, cute and easy. I stamped the card image in Island Indigo and Poppy Parade. I cut out the diamond shapes from the Poppy Parade image, adhered them to the Island Indigo card and then used markers to color the background and faces on the image. To make the other four cards, I traced the stamped and cut-out card four times onto a sheet of DSP (I try to pick a pattern that looks like a traditional deck of cards), cut them out and then used a white gel pen to make border around the edges. I finished the design with a stamped border, a strip of card stock and a piece of baker's twine.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Asian Art
Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Cajun Craze, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Cajun Craze, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Garden Green
Accessories: Regals brads, 1-1/4" circle punch, Dimensionals

I've always liked the images in the Asian Art stamp set, but I have to admit that I have a hard time creating cards with them. As a result, these stamps have seen precious little ink over the years. I'm pleased with how this card turned out, though; I like the colors, the layout and the clean background. And although I stamped a birthday sentiment inside, this card would be great for any occasion.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: In the Wild, It's Your Birthday, Rough Edges Alphabets, Party Time petit fours set (DeNami Design)
Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Basic Black, Lucky Limeade
Ink: Jet Black StazOn; markers: Basic Black, Lucky Limeade, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red

This is not like the cards I usually make, but it's my favorite of this bunch. I love the combination of the different styles of images (something I don't normally do) and the contrast of the black and white animals to the brightly colored party items. I realized after I finished the card that it doesn't have any embellishments, but I think that works here; there isn't anything to detract from the bold images.

I knew I wanted to have the greeting "party animal" inside the card, but I couldn't find one among all my stamps (hard to believe, I know). I decided to pull out one of my small alphabet sets and make my own greeting. I purposely stamped the letters at odd angles -- if you stamp them imperfectly on purpose then it's easy to hide any "mistakes." I'm planning to give this card to my brother, and I think he'll get a kick out of it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ornament Keepsakes cards

This month the SoShelli.com Creative Challenge is to make anything related to the holidays. I'm not quite ready to start making holiday decor or gift items -- though I should be since Christmas always seems to come so quickly -- but I can make Christmas cards just about any time of the year. And this was the perfect "excuse" to get out my new Ornament Keepsakes stamp set and the coordinating Framelits dies to see what I could create.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^®):
Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes, Petite Pairs, Merry Minis
Card stock: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Suede, Old Olive
Accessories: Holiday Ornaments Framelits dies, Top Note die, Merry Minis punch pack, champagne glass glitter, linen thread, sponge, Tombow multipurpose adhesive, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals

When I first saw these stamps and dies in the Holiday Catalog, I fell in love with them. The ornaments are different shapes and sizes, and they all have different patterns, so you could use just this stamp set for your Christmas cards and no two cards would have to be exactly the same. I wanted to use a somewhat muted color combination for my first card, so I chose Old Olive and Soft Suede. I used a few "rustic" elements -- sponging on the card base and Very Vanilla layer and a double bow made with linen thread -- and for contrast added a little sparkle by gluing glass glitter on the ornament tops.

For the inside of the card I repeated the same Top Note die-cut shape from the front of the card. I also wanted to include a few ornaments, but the Keepsake Ornaments seemed a little overwhelming inside the card. So I pulled out my Merry Minis stamp set and punches (also from the Holiday Catalog) and added a few tiny ornaments. It's just the right finishing touch for this card.

This is the card lying flat on the table.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes, Season's Greetings
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake card stock; Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
Accessories: Holiday Ornaments Framelits dies, extra large oval punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, pearls, linen thread, Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, Soft Suede taffeta ribbon, Tombow multipurpose adhesive

For this card I wanted to create a way to have one of the ornaments actually hanging and moveable on the card front. I selected one of the smaller ornament stamps and decided that the extra large oval punch would work well as the ornament's "frame." I stamped and die cut two of the ornament shapes and glued them together, back-to-back, with a small piece of linen thread between them and then set that piece aside.

This is the card standing up.

On to the card construction. I used a 4-1/2" x 3-1/4" piece of DSP (half of one of the Festival of Prints sheets) and a 4-3/4" x 3-1/2" layer of Crumb Cake card stock. First I held the DSP in place on the card front (without gluing) and punched the oval in the card base and DSP together. Then I adhered the DSP to the Crumb Cake layer and punched the oval through that piece of card stock, using the hole in the DSP as a guide. I decided I needed to break up the large pattern on the DSP just a little, so I layered a piece of Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon with a piece of Soft Suede taffeta ribbon and adhered them to the right side of the panel.

This is the back of the card front and ornament. I added one punched
flower but left off the curled one and the pearl so the card closes flat.

To assemble the card I laid the ornament inside the oval opening and glued the linen thread to the Cherry Cobbler card base at the top of the oval. Then I adhered the Crumb Cake and DSP panel to the card base, concealing the end of the thread between the pieces. To embellish the ornament I used the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack to punch two Cherry Cobbler flowers. I curled up the edges on one of the flowers, glued it to the second flower, added a pearl in the middle and then adhered the completed flower to the middle of the ornament. I repeated the element on the card front by adding three more flowers in the upper right corner of the layered panel.

This is the card when it is open.

For the inside of the card I added a layer of Crumb Cake card stock and stamped a greeting on the right side of the card. I had to use a greeting with a vertical orientation rather than a horizontal one so you wouldn't see it through the opening on the card front. This verse is from a retired Stampin' Up! set, but it is one of my all-time favorite Christmas greetings. To add some interest to the left side I adhered a thin strip of the same DSP I used on the card front, making sure that it wouldn't peek through the opening either.

Guess I got a little long-winded with this post, hunh? Sorry about that. I wanted to try to explain everything clearly, but if you still have questions, leave me a comment below and I will respond as soon as I can. I have a few non-Christmas ideas to try out with this stamp set, too, but that will have to wait for another time. Thanks for stopping by!