August garden update

Our garden is just chugging along this summer. I snapped a few pictures last week and figured I'd better share them before the month is over!

We've harvested and eaten several cucumbers already -- cucumber noodles, a couple of cucumber salads and plenty of slices for munching, water flavoring and toppings for garden salads. These are a couple of new baby cukes -- and I love all the curlicue tendrils.

Look at all the flowers coming in on the yellow squash. The zucchini is doing great, too.

The tomatoes have been a little bit slower. We've picked three so far and ate the first one tonight with veggie burgers and salad.

And the sunflowers. We planted seeds all along the chain link fence in the back of the garden, and quite a few of them sprouted. But the stalks in this clump are the only ones that survived; I imagine that birds or critters snacked on the others.

The sunflowers are getting taller and taller, but there are no actual flowers yet (see a flower head in the photo below). Hopefully they'll have time to blossom before the weather gets too cool.

Thanks for stopping by!

August's Christmas card

This week has been a bit off, so I apologize that I only finished one blog post. But on the plus side, it's my August Christmas card, so that means I have eight Christmas card designs done so far this year. That's fifty-four cards ready to be signed, addressed and mailed in December. Yippee! I'll probably still need a few more, but after the next couple of months I should be all set. Anyway, here is this month's Christmas card:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Holiday Wishes (Altenew)
Paper: Kraft, Very Vanilla card stock; Under the Tree Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP); gold foil
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Perfect Pines Framelits dies, Merry Minis punch pack, Sleigh Bells ribbon, gold sequins (Craft Medley), Baker's Twine Trio, green tree glitter tape (Paper Source), Glue Dots, Dimensionals

I bought the set of Perfect Pines Framelits dies and Under the Tree Specialty DSP at least a year ago, but I don't think I've ever used either one. So I decided to combine them to make a traditional, country-style Christmas card.

First off, I'll mention that this design is slightly smaller than a standard A2-size card, which is 5-1/2" x 4-1/2". My card is 4" wide because that works better with a 12" x 12" card stock. The base of my card is kraft card stock, so with the narrower size, I was able to cut three card bases from one 12" x 12" sheet of card stock. Likewise, the top background layer (the snowflakes) is 4" x 4", so I was able to cut nine pieces from one sheet of DSP (that's how many cards I made of this design). My card is also a bit shorter -- 5-1/4" instead of 5-1/2" -- but that's because I measured something wrong for the first card. Instead of redoing it, I decided to just go with it and make all the cards a little shorter.

The rest of the card front is pretty self-explanatory. I added another piece of the DSP along the bottom of the card and covered the seam between the two pieces with ribbon. I used Dimensionals to attach the die-cut tree, tied green baker's twine below the ribbon and added a bit of gold with a few sequins and a star on the tree.

Inside the card I adhered a layer of Very Vanilla card stock stamped with a sentiment. I wanted to add a little "something," and the tree shape on the front of the card reminded me that I had a roll of green glitter tape cut into this fun tree pattern. The green isn't the same as the tree on the front, but that's okay. I cut a strip of three trees for each card and placed them just below the sentiment.

I had originally intended this to be a quick, simple card design because I have another big card-making project I'm working on. Of course all the die-cutting, layering, bow tying, etc., took me much longer than anticipated. But they are done, and I'm happy. I still haven't finished my other project, though, so I'm not sure how much blogging I'll get to next week. I will do my best, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

A manatee-rific challenge card

I fell in love with manatees waaaay back in elementary school. I don't know exactly when or why, but I remember that I chose manatees as the subject for a research project in about fifth grade. (I also remember my teacher giving me a very questioning look when I told her my chosen topic, because at first she thought I said I wanted to do my report about humanity. Ha!) And I've been the proud adoptive mother of Howie, through Save the Manatee Club, for many, many years.

So when I saw the Manatee-rific stamp set (and coordinating dies) from Lawn Fawn, I knew I had to buy it. And while I was playing with it, I realized that it would be perfect for creating a card for the latest Fab Friday sketch challenge.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Manatee-rific (Lawn Fawn)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Smoky Slate, Powder Pink, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green card stock
Ink: Coastal Cabana, Smoky Slate, Powder Pink, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Layering Circles Framelits dies, Manatee-rific dies (Lawn Fawn), Lemon Lime Twist ombre ribbon, Bermuda Bay 1/8" taffeta ribbon, sequin assortment - Go Green (Craft Medley), Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Mono Multi liquid glue

I love this clean and simple layout. Since the images in this stamp set are relatively small, there was plenty of space in the circle to add a manatee and a few extra details without looking crowded.

For the watery background, I used a piece of card stock left over from a mixed media play day. I think I used a couple different colors of paint spread around white card stock with various rollers and tools. How's that for specific? Normally I try to keep track of product and color names, but since I was just playing at the time and I didn't know if any of my pieces would "work," I didn't write down the details.

For the horizontal element behind the circle, I adhered two pieces of coordinating ribbon in different colors and widths. I stamped the sentiment below the circle and finished off the card with a few blue-green sequins.

While I was stamping and die cutting manatees and accessories, I decide to cut out extras and make a second, non-challenge, card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Manatee-rific (Lawn Fawn)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, textured Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Smoky Slate, Powder Pink card stock; alcohol ink card stock (YUPO)
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Smoky Slate, Powder Pink; Stream, Aqua alcohol ink (Ranger)
Accessories: Manatee-rific dies (Lawn Fawn), Frame in Frame 2 cutting plate (Taylored Expressions), linen thread, Mono Multi liquid glue, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, alcohol blending solution (Ranger)

For the ocean background on this card, I used alcohol inks and YUPO paper. I'll admit that I was unsure about YUPO paper at first because it's synthetic and a little pricey. But I found out that it is recyclable as a category 5 plastic, and you really only need a small piece to make a big impact on a card. (I made several different backgrounds with alcohol inks and YUPO paper recently, so watch for more in upcoming posts.) I really loved the way this piece turned out, so I didn't want to cut it down. Instead, I left it a rectangle, mounted the piece behind a die-cut frame and then added the images with liquid glue, Glue Dots and Dimensionals to add depth.



To create the rest of the card, I wrapped a piece of linen thread around a white card base a few times and tied it in a bow near the right edge of the card. I stamped the sentiment along the bottom edge of the card and then used Dimensionals to attach the focal panel over the twine, centered on the card base.

After making both cards, I still had pieces left over, so I decorated the insides of the cards. (This photo is the inside of the first card, but I used the same basic layout for both of them.) One of the things I really enjoy about Lawn Fawn sets are the punny, mix-and-match sentiments. I wanted to use these as birthday cards, so I stamped "Have a manatee-rific day" inside the cards, but you could also create greetings for anniversary, thank you, or general congratulations cards. I added a die-cut manatee, bubbles, seaweed cluster and seashell. Cute!



Thanks for stopping by!

A little birthday gnome

Last month my cousin's daughter celebrated her second birthday. I wanted to make her a whimsical, fun, girly card, and here is the end result:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Under the Flower stamp and die combo (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Whisper White, thick Whisper White, Basic Black, Pool Party, Old Olive card stock; Happy Day paper pad (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; alcohol markers: Skin Tone assortment, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight (Stampin' Up! Blendabilities); R81, R83, R85 (Copic); Strawberry Slush, Basic Black markers; white gel pen
Accessories: Grassy Border Lawn Cuts die (Lawn Fawn), Stitched Rectangles Thinlits dies (Tim Holtz Sizzix), Party Punch Pack, Cloudy Day embossing folder, Pool Party Shimmer Ribbon, Iridescent Sequin Assortment, Clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen, Dimensionals

This card has a few more layers than I usually add to my cards. But I think it all works well and turned out pretty cute!

I wanted to make the little gnome and flower look like a little framed scene, so I started by stamping, coloring and die cutting those two pieces. I also die cut a strip of grassy border and layered all three pieces on a piece of Pool Party card stock embossed with a cloud pattern. To create a frame for the scene, I adhered the whole panel on a piece of Basic Black card stock die cut with a stitched rectangle die. (I love the detail created by the two different types of "stitching" on the die.)

For the background I used a larger stitched rectangle die to cut out a piece of patterned paper. I adhered that piece to a plain piece of Basic Black card stock that was just slightly larger to add a narrow border. I wrapped a piece of shimmery ribbon around the panel and then attached it to a white card base. I added the focal panel with Dimensionals and sprinkled on a few sparkly sequins.

With all that detail on the front of the card, I couldn't leave the inside plain white. I stamped the sentiment near the middle top of the card and colored in the letters on the word "birthday." I punched out three small balloons from the same patterned paper I used on the front of the card, glued them around the sentiment and used a marker to draw strings. A strip of grassy border along the bottom was the perfect finishing touch.

I wondered whether I should add anything to the front of the card to make it more "birthday-ish," like maybe the gnome holding a balloon. But in the end I decided to leave it as is. The beauty of the more general card front is that this card would be cute for any number of occasions -- just change or omit the sentiment inside the card

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Teatime

When I create cards, I don't generally make specific cards for specific people. If I did that, I don't think any of the 1,397,294 people I know who celebrate October birthdays would get a card because I just don't have that much free time (though I certainly wish I did). Instead I usually just make cards whenever I can, add them to my stash and then pick out an appropriate card when I need one. (I do, however, write a personal note inside every card, even if it has a stamped sentiment inside.)

But every once in awhile I need to make a card with someone special in mind, which was the case for this little teatime scene:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Tiny Tags
Paper: Thick Very Vanilla, Very Vanilla, Pool Party, So Saffron card stock; Wood Textures Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack; Stella & Rose - Mabel paper pad (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Tip Top Taupe
Accessories: Jewelry Tag punch, Sitting Pretty dies (Taylored Expressions), Simple Stitched Hillside Borders dies (Lawn Fawn), Large Stitched Rectangles Stackables dies (Lawn Fawn), Teacup Stack die (Poppy Stamps), Finishing Touches Edgelits dies, linen thread, clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen, Simply Scored Tool, Dimensionals

I found out that a young friend of mine likes to have tea parties but didn't have any teacups. So for her birthday I went to a local antique store and picked out a pair of cups and saucers. And naturally, I needed to make a teatime-themed card to accompany the gift.

For the backdrop for this scene, I used patterned paper with a small floral print as wallpaper. I created some wainscotting by scoring a piece of Very Vanilla card stock every 1/8" and adding a strip of card stock along the top like a chair rail. To make the table I simply used a die meant to cut a hillside and a piece of woodgrain DSP.

With so much empty space on the "wall," I decided to add a window. I used a die meant to create a small picture frame and cut it four times from woodgrain paper. I glued the shapes together on a piece of Pool Party card stock and then trimmed off the extra card stock. I also painted the blue squares with clear Wink of Stella glitter to make it look like sparkling glass.

To create the focal image, I used a die that cuts out a stack of teacups. For the front of the card, I used the die with Very Vanilla card stock and then added pieces of coordinating card stock and patterned paper behind the cups. (It takes a little longer, but you also could die cut the teacups out of several different papers and paper piece all the little bits together.) I needed a little embellishment, so I stamped and punched out a tiny tag and tied it to the handle of one of the cups with linen thread. Then I used Dimensionals to attach the completed die-cut piece to the card front so it looks as if the cups are sitting on the table.

Inside the card I added a piece of the same floral "wallpaper," this time die cut with a decorative edge to look like a fancy tablecloth or doily. I also die cut the teacups again -- using a light blue patterned paper -- but I didn't fill in the open spaces in these cups.

I decided not to stamp a sentiment in side the card so I can write my own message, but you could easily stamp a saying for just about any occasion.

All this talk of tea has made me thirsty for a cuppa. I think I'll have something nice and relaxing before bed. Thanks for stopping by!

Party lanterns

Earlier this year I was on the look out for a stamp set that included images of Chinese lanterns. I  had found a few possibilities doing online searches, but nothing that was exactly what I wanted. So when I saw the Party Lanterns dies by Elizabeth Crafts at the Stamp and Scrapbook Expo earlier this summer, it didn't take much time for me to decide to buy them. Here is the first card I created with them:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Inside & Out: Birthday II (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Basick Black, Crumb Cake, Whisper White card stock; gold foil sheets
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Distress Oxide Inks - Fossilized Amber, Worn Lipstick, Spiced Marmalade (Ranger)
Accessories: Party Lanterns dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs), Confetti embossing folder (Taylored Expressions), crochet thread (DMC), gold sequins (Craft Medley), Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Each lantern has two dies: one solid piece that is the whole shape of the lantern (except the hanger) and one that layers on top with the slit details. (There is a separate die that cuts out all five hangers at once.)

For this card, I die cut the base shape for each lantern twice: once out of gold foil and once out of black card stock. For the detailed dies, I used a piece of white card stock colored with Distress Oxide inks. (It was one of the many backgrounds I made at my craft weekend last fall.)

I wanted the lanterns to look like they were glowing, so I glued the decorative, pinkish lanterns on to the coordinating gold foil die cuts and trimmed off the "extra" gold paper at the top and bottom of each lantern. Then I glued those layered pieces onto the black die cuts and added a gold foil hanger to each lantern.

To make the background, I embossed a piece of Crumb Cake card stock with a confetti-style embossing folder. I strung the lanterns on two pieces of white crochet thread and attached the ends of the threads to the back of the Crumb Cake card stock. I positioned the lanterns where I wanted them on the card front and secured them with Dimensionals.

I attached the panel to a Basic Black card base and added a white banner stamped with a birthday sentiment and several gold sequins. I wish I had better photos of this card; it's much prettier and more sparkly in real life. (I've been struggling with my photos lately. I need to figure out a setup that works better for me.)

Thanks for stopping by!

Lemonade for a not-so-summery day

Today has been a dreary, rainy day, and it feels almost like a preview of autumn. Fall is my favorite season, and I don't really mind the clouds and rain, but I do feel like today needs a little touch of summer.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Lemon Zest, Jar of Love
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pineapple Punch card stock; watercolor paper (Marco's Paper)
Ink: Pineapple Punch, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), Basic Black marker, Lemon Yellow Color Burst powder (Ken Oliver Crafts)
Accessories: Everyday Jar and Bottles & Bubbles Framelits dies, washi tape, Basic Black baker's twine, sparkling clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), clear embossing powder (Stampamania), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), paint brush, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

I bought the Lemon Zest stamp set months ago but hadn't used it yet when I saw an adorable card made by Mindy Backes. I knew I wanted to make a lemonade card, too, and this is my take on the idea.

To make the background, I randomly stamped the lemon slice image using Pineapple Punch ink and card stock. I stamped "Life's short" in black ink in the upper left corner and added a strip of black-and-white-striped washi tape across the bottom of the card stock. I rounded all four corners and layered it on a Basic Black card base.

To make the focal image I stamped the jar on water color paper, embossed it with clear embossing powder and cut it out with the matching die. I used yellow Color Burst powder and water to create the lemonade, making the color lighter near the top of the jar and more intense at the base. I used the Bottles & Bubbles Framelits dies to make the straw, adding the black stripes with a marker. To continue the color theme, I wrapped black-and-white baker's twine around the jar and tied it off in a bow. The jar is attached to the card front with Dimensionals, using the washi tape to "ground" it. A few clear sequins finish off the card front.

Inside the card I stamped "Squeeze it for all it's worth!" and "Happy Birthday" on a panel of white card stock. To add some yellow, I stamped the whole lemon image near the lower left corner. I rounded the corners of the white card stock so it matched the front of the card and then adhered it inside the card.

I hope you have a lemonade-not-lemons kind of day. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy blog birthday

My sister reminded me this morning that today is my blog's birthday. Normally I remember my blog's birthday, but this year it completely slipped my mind. (Maybe that's because I had a dentist appointment today and was busy not looking forward to that.) At any rate, today marks seven years of blogging for me, and here's a card to celebrate:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Birthday Stacks (Concord & 9th)
Paper: Thick Whisper White card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point
Accessories: Florence sequins (Close to My Heart), Stardust Gelly Roll pen (Sakura)

I think this is a perfect card to share on my blog birthday because 1) it captures my clean and simple style, and 2) it has sequins!

This card also illustrates that you don't need a lot of stamping supplies to create something really cute. (Shh! We won't tell my other stamping supplies since I love them all.) I used one stamp set, one piece of card stock, four ink pads (although you could easily use two or three ink pads or even just black and then color in the balloon outlines) and one embellishment. I did use a glitter pen to add some sparkle details to the balloons, but it would still be a great card without that.

Thanks for being a part of my blog over the years, whether today is your first visit or your fiftieth. I hope I've provided some inspiration for your crafty journey.