Tic Tac Toe

This week The Paper Players challenge is playing Anything Goes, Tic Tac Toe.  Here's the board...

I've never played one of these board challenges before.  I usually get a couple of squares figured out and then get muddled by the 3rd.  The Bingo is even more confusing for me.   Too much thinking!  And the free spot in the center of this board makes it a lot more fun!

Here's my card...

I'm going down the first row with Flowers - Blue - Spring.  Or if this isn't Springy enough, I can go across the middle row with Blue - My Choice - Ribbon.  My choice being the embossing.

It also works for CAS-ual Fridays  challenge

April Showers bring May Flowers. 

CFC50: Spring is here so show us your Clean And Simple creations 
with flowers or trees.

 I hope that this card is CAS enough for that challenge.

The design piece was in my UFO (UnFinished Objects box).  I tweeked it a bit, added a strip of leftover scallop trim and a ribbon.

I'll add a sentiment when I know who and what I'm going to send it to.  Do you keep a supply of blank cards on hand?  I do and it's a big help when I need something in a hurry.

Did you see that the Ticket Corner Punch is going to retire?  That's one of my favorites and you better believe I've got an extra one on order.

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Simply Soft
Ink:  Marina Mist, Baja Breeze, Old Olive
Paper:  Whisper White, Baja Breeze
Other:  Ticket Corner Punch, Slot Punch (retired), Adorning Accents Edgelit Dies, Adorning Accents EF, Baja Breeze Seam Binding, Color Spritzer Tool, Rose Red SU Marker

I hope you've had a nice day and got to stamp.  I'm really glad you stopped by.  I hope you come again soon.

Enjoy!

Kindness Matters

The Less is More Challenge this week is a sketch with lots of white space.

 Here's the sketch...

or

Yeah, I know it's not square.  Square cards take extra postage or extra work on the envelope, so I went with what I'm comfortable using.  The sketch is there, just elongated.  Hope the challenge police don't come after me.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Kindness Matters, Because I Care

Ink:  Jet Black StazOn, Pool Party, Island Indigo

Paper:  Naturals White, Basic Black

Other:  Blender Pen, Simply Scored

I did 3 more too.  Want to see?

I've got to confess that I whacked the butterfly stamp.  I have the clear set and I used a blade to cut the butterflies apart.  I can still fit them together on a block, or space them further apart, or even line them up vertically. This time I used the largest butterfly and didn't have to worry about the other little guys smudging.  I think I'll get a lot more mileage out of this stamp this way.  And the best thing is that this set will be with us for another year.  Yippee!

 And kindness does matter.

Thank you so much for your visits and kind words.

Enjoy!

Jolly Gingerbread

It's Merry Monday on Friday again on this blog. This is week 17 and I've participated in all but the first one.  I've even done more than one some weeks.  It's a wonderful way to get cards done and beat the December rush.  And each card is unique, thanks to these wonderful sketches.

Here's Lesley's sketch for this week.

I reminds me of a card that we did for one of my Christmas Stamp-a-stacks.  I changed it up just a bit, but kept the long, narrow card.

I scored some diamonds on the white panel behind the gingerbread men.  If you look really close you might see the lines.

The card measures 6 1/4" x 3 1/4" and fits in the small open end envelopes or in a regular check size envelope.

I've also just joined in the Christmas Challenge at Spiltcoaststampers.  I took a browse through the April gallery and there are some beautiful cards there. 

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Jolly Bingo Bits, To You & Yours (retired)

Ink:  Chocolate Chip, SU Markers (Real Red, Chocolate Chip)

Paper:  Real Red, Whisper White, DSP (retired)

Other:  Simply Scored, 1" Circle and Scallop Edge Punches, Scallop Circle Die (Nestabilities)

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a great weekend and get to do some stamping.

Enjoy!

Forever Stamp Christmas

When I saw the Jingle Belles challenge last weekend, Peace on EARTH(DAY), I had to scratch my head....several times.

The challenge is to create a holiday card which re-uses, re-purposes, re-cycles, up-cycles, or in some way "rescues" a bit of... well, SOMETHING... which you'd've either thrown away, or perhaps just overlooked in terms of card-making?

I finally thought about the extra piece on the Christmas stamp sheet.  I've used these before to make cards, since I hate to throw away the pretty images.  And as much as we pay for stamps, I feel I should use everything that comes with them!

I actually remembered to stamp the sentiment before I embossed.  I used my Stamp-a-majig for this since I wanted it on two lines instead of one.

After cutting the image and mounting it, I added some Dazzling Details to give it a frosty look.

All supplies are Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Four the Holidays
Ink:  Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Whisper White, Green (from my scrap bag)
Other:  Big Shot, Houndstooth EF, Dazzling Details


Luke loves to play sword fight.  Jack loves to get a hold of a "sword" (foam cylinders from the packaging of our new waterheater) and swing it around too.  It's twice as big as he is, but he giggles and thinks he's big stuff.

Thanks so much for stopping by and especially for letting me know you've come.  I love your comments.  They help keep me inspired.

Enjoy!

Great Sketch

I love the Paper Players sketch this week.  It's a variation of my favorite CAS layout.

I used one of my 3D folded flowers on this one.  It's made with the flower made for the tutorial. (You can scroll down for the tutorial.)

Here's the sketch.

Here's another that I did with a piece from my UFO box.  I love the sweet flowers from this set and I'll be sorry to see them leave the catalog.  They'll still be on my shelf though.

I left off the scallops on this one, since I have some of that beautiful Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe (card 1)

Stamps:  Loving Thoughts

Ink:  Whisper White

Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, DSP

Other:  1 3/8" Circle,  Small Scallop Circle and Scallop Edge Punches, Jumbo neutral brad, Big Shot, Stripes EF

Card Recipe (card 2)

Stamps:  Happiness Shared

Ink:  Jet Black StazOn, Old Olive SU Marker

Paper:  Whisper White, Daffodil Delight

Other: Daffodil Delight Reinker, Aqua Painter, Big Shot, Stripes EF, Scallop Circle die (Nestabilities), Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon

I'm glad you could stop in.  I hope you found some time to stamp today.

Enjoy!

Folded Flower Tutorial

I had a request for a tutorial for the folded flower card I posted here.  I also posted another flower with this technique here.  And here is another card with the folded flower.



Punch 9 circles.  I used the 1 3/8" Circle Punch for this flower

Fold 8 circles in half using your fingernail to get a good crease.

Fold in half again.

And in half again.

You should have 8 circles folded in 1/8s.

Lay the folded pieces on the 9th circle with the points facing center and glue in place.

This is what it will look like when you're finished.

And here's a side view.

Put a brad in the center.

Punch a scalloped circle of the same or coordinating paper to put behind the flower.

Take a deep breath, pat yourself on the back, and mount it on a card.

I hope this tutorial is helpful and you have fun making these pretty posies.  If you have any questions just email me.

Enjoy!

Charming, I'm Sure

The Less is More challenge this week is....

HOW CHARMING

Make and/or use a charm on your project

I had a few charms (4) that I bought a long time ago because I thought they would be so cute on my cards.  Then I didn't use them because charms and mailing don't fit well together.  These cards will be hand delivered or included in a package.

On this first card, I used the whimsical butterfly from Sweet Summer which was a Sale-a-bration set last year, to coordinate with the charm.

And then I did this one.....

This little dragonfly charm was in the package with the butterfly.  The flowers are from the Just Believe set and are done with the Poppin' Pastels technique.  You'll find a tutorial for this technique here.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe (card 1)

Stamps:  Whimsical Words, Sweet Summer (both retired)

Ink: Regal Rose, Basic Gray

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride

Other:  1 3/4" Circle Punch, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon, Charm (non SU)

Card Recipe (card 2)

Stamps:  Just Believe

Ink:  VersaMark

Paper:  Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, DSP (retired)

Other:  Stampin' Pastels, Big Shot, Ovals Die, Square Lattice EF, Whisper White Narrow Taffeta Ribbon, Charm (non SU)

I'm working on a tutorial.  It's a first for me.  I hope to get it posted here tomorrow.

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit and  your sweet comments.  They mean so much to me.

Enjoy!

Nostalgic Zoo

I had some stamping time this afternoon.  I've finally got the boys to take a nap at the same time.  Let's hope that lasts.

This card is for 2 challenges at SCS today.

The CAS challenge is At the Zoo.  Acutally this looks more like the circus in hind sight, but hopefully it's close enough.  I wish I'd bought the SU Zoo Review set.  It's not retiring, so maybe I'll get it yet.

The TLC challenge is Stamping Nostalgia.  Holly challenged us to make a card without using the newfangled stamping stuff like die cuts and embossing folders.  Eek! This looks naked without an embossed background.  But then, I'll probably use this for Jack's birthday and he wouldn't appreciate embossing anyway.

The banner is scrap pieces of DSP folded over a piece of linen thread.  I used scissors to clip out the "v" in the ends.  A cut off piece became his seat.

All supplies are SU unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Fox and Friends
Ink:  More Mustard
Paper:  Whisper White, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, DSP (retired)
Other:  Linen Thread


Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you'll come back soon.

Enjoy!

Neutrals

Hello y'all!  I've been wanting to post some cards that I did for challenges at SCS last week.  Do your weeks fly by too, or does the time just fly in my neck of the woods?

First, here's a card I did for the CAS challenge last Monday. You can take a look at Mary's (stampercamper) lovely card that inspired the sketch.  I love this sketch.  So simple yet classy.

And this is what I came up with.

This is one of the flowers that Barb taught us to make.  We punched 9 circles (I used a 1 3/8" circle punch).  Fold 8 of them in half, in half again and in half again.  We spread glue on the unfolded circle.  (I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue.)  We inserted a brad or bead and were finished.... with the flower.  I needed this sketch for the perfect layout to add it to.

While I had my neutrals out, I inked up a stamp in my new Mixed Bunch set.

The Color Challenge at SCS was to use Whisper White, Basic Gray and Sahara Sand.  I found the piece of Sierra Sand with the sentiment already stamped.with Basic Gray.  How lucky was that?

I inked the flower with Whisper White craft ink and heat embossed it with white Embossing Powder and centered it with some black micro beads.

It needed just a little something else, so I colored some basic pearls with a black Sharpie, and added them.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe  (card 1)
Stamps:  Loving Thoughts (Occasions Mini)
Ink:  Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Crumb Cake paper pack DSP, Acrylic paper (non SU)
Other:  1 3/8" Circle, 1 3/4" Circle, and 2 1/2" Scallop Circle punches, Jumbo (5/16") Neutral brad


Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  Mixed Bunch, (retired sentiment)
Ink:  Whisper White, Basic Gray
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Sahara Sand
Other:  White EP, Basic Pearls, Micro Beads (non SU)


I hope you have had a wonderful weekend.  We've had some much needed rain here.  It was a good day to stamp.  I didn't get a chance to stamp, but it was a good day nonetheless.

I'm so happy you stopped by.  I hope you can come again soon.

Enjoy!

More for Christmas

I have some more Christmas cards that I thought I'd share today.  These cards are for this week's Merry Monday challenge.  Here's the sketch that Lesley gave us...

This is the first card I did.

I kept trying different panels and couldn't be satisfied so I decided to use the Stripe Embossing Folder instead.  I couldn't get a good picture of them, but hopefully you can see the stripes.

The stamp is a bargain from a local craft store.  I stamped it 3 times in Always Artichoke.  The white gel pen added some snow to the branches.

The sky is sponged with Bashful Blue and Not Quite Navy and the birds are from the Up, Up and Away set.  In this picture the snow looks gray.  It's quite shimmery IRL, painted with Frost White Shimmer paint.  It's mounted on Naturals White which has a snowy look.

I wasn't sure if this would be too far from the sketch so I did another and spent far too much time on it and created an awful mess of glitter and Dazzling Diamonds.  LOL!   I'll sparkle for months!

This is true to the sketch.  I just hope all that sparkle is still on the card at Christmas.  To achieve that sparkly effect, I patted the whole design area with VersaMark and sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds.  I had seen a similar technique by Cristina of the My Paper Secret blog.  She has a wonderful clean and simple style that is never boring.  I love visiting her blog for inspiration.

I found out that VersaMark is not exactly a glue pad.  Think I need to visit a craft store again and get a real glue pad so the glitter will stay put better!

I punched some little snowflakes from each panel with an old EK Success punch.  Then I changed my mind and decided to put the snowflakes back but with dimensionals.  I used the Northern Frost Sizzlit Decorative Strip for the larger snowflakes and cut them from Shimmery White and Night of Navy.  The Navy helps to show the snowflake up better.

Now I don't know which one to enter.  I love the simplicity of the first one, but the second is closer to the sketch. Decisions decisions.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe (Card 1)

Stamps: Pines (Inkadinkadoo), Up, Up and Away

Ink:  Always Artichoke, Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso, Frost White Shimmer Paint

Paper:  Naturals White, Always Artichoke

Other:  Big Shot, Stripes EF, Always Artichoke Seam Binding

Card Recipe (Card 2)

Stamps:  Winter Post

Ink:  Jet Black StazOn, SU Markers (Not Quite Navy, Garden Green, Real Red)

Paper:  Night of Navy, Shimmery White, Naturals White

Other:  VersaMark, Dazzling Diamonds, Northern Frost Sizzlit Strip, Snowflake punch (EK Success),  Basic Rhinestones

I'm so glad you stopped by to visit.

Enjoy!

S'more Doodles

Here's another Doodled card for the Less is More challenge.

I actually did this card a couple months ago when the leaves were just starting to pop out.  For some reason I didn't post it.  I don't remember why.

The trees were stamped in Basic Gray and the sky sponged in Not Quite Navy with Daffodil Delight for the sun.  Then the doodling comes in.

I used the fine tip of the markers to add budding leaves to the trees and bits of grass on the ground.

The frame is doodle drawn too.  I have trouble drawing a straight line with a ruler, so I do better to intend swiggly lines to begin with.

Our trees are fully leaf covered now and still that lovely Spring green.  I love Spring!  I think it's the most beautiful time of  year!

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree, Three Little Words
Ink:  Basic Gray, Not Quite Navy, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, SU Markers (Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Basic Gray)
Paper:  Naturals White


This is nothing fancy, but I have some Merry Monday Christmas cards to share later, so be sure to check back.

Thanks so much for the visit.

Enjoy!

Jingle Belles

There's another Christmas challenge out there called Jingle Belles.  Don't you just love that name?  They have a sketch this week and when I saw it, I knew I had to enter this challenge.  Have a look.

Here's what I did.

I love these little Jolly Bingo Bits and I'm so happy they will stay with us another year. 

I used markers to ink the poinsettia, Real Red for the bracts and more mustard for the center flowers.  Then I stamped the poinsettia on a sticky note and cut it out for a mask.  I inked the holly stamp from the set with Pear Pizzazz and stamped off on scrap paper, then stamped over the masked flower.

The design was punched with the 1" Circle Punch and matted with a 1 1/4" circle punched from Real Red.

Quick and simple.  My kind of card fun.

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Jolly Bingo Bits, To You and Yours (retired)

Ink:  SU Markers (Real Red, More Mustard, Pear Pizzazz

Paper:  Real Red, Whisper White

Other:  1" and 1 1/4" Circle Punches, Pear Pizzazz Ribbon, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots EF

My stash of Christmas cards is growing.  It will be so nice to have a good supply in December so I don't have to fit making Christmas cards into an already frantic schedule.

I'm so glad you stopped by.  Thanks so much for your kind comments and the inspiration I get from your creations.

Simply Soft Blues

I have come to love the Simply Soft, two step stampin' hostess set. (Try saying that 3 times fast!)  I'm going to miss it when it retires on May 31st.  I believe this set is going to be a keeper for me.

And I can't believe that Sincere Salutations is leaving us.  It's such a wonderful all round sentiment set.  If you don't have it yet, you might want to get it on your shopping list in the next month.

The SUO challenge this week is

  If you have a favorite item or items from the 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog which you're going to miss, we hope that you, too, will share that with us.  And even if you don't, we hope that you will join with us by

 sharing a card or other project made with a Stampin' Up! product that has retired or is otherwise no longer available to purchase.

I hope this is OK since it's not from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  I haven't heard yet whether any of those sets will be available in the new catalog.  I hope some of them will make the cut.

There are a so many sets I'm going to miss.  But I'm really looking forward to seeing all the new and exciting things that will be in the new catalog.  I'm sure I'll have new favorites in no time.

What set or sets will you miss the most?

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Simply Soft, Sincere Salutations

Ink:  Bashful Blue, SU Markers (Night of Navy, Certainly Celery)

Paper:  Whisper White, Night of Navy

Other:  Big Shot, Square Lattice EF, Corner Rounder Punch

Thanks for stopping by.  I have really enjoyed your comments and visiting your blogs.

Enjoy!

Barely There

Growing Green is, sadly, one of the sets that will be retiring May 31st.  I have to admit that this is the first time I've used this set.  My daughter bought it a while back and since she wasn't using it, gave it to me to store for her.

This week is One Layer Week at the Less is More challenge.  We're also to do 

DOODLING 

"This can be in any form you wish, faux stitching, hand written or drawn elements on your card, zentangle. As long as you create something with 'ink' by hand"

And at The Paper Players challenge this week, Jaydee says to do a Clean and Simple card with WATERCOLOURING.

It just so happens that we did watercoloring on Saturday at Scrap & Share.  Peggy showed us how she watercolors with Watercolor Crayons.  I'm ashamed to say, I've had some for a couple of years and never got the hang of them.  I used them on the greenery behind the flower.  You can see that I still haven't quite got the knack.  I wet the stamp with an Aquapainter and colored directly on the stamp.  It's really tricky getting the right amount of water.  I've got some strange looking practice pieces!  Then I used the aquapainter to color in the leaves by swiping it across the crayon.

I inked the flower with a Blender pen and colored it with a blender pen and marker.  Although this isn't legitimate watercoloring, it's the method I'm most comfortable with.

The DOODLING comes in at the vase.  I drew it with a Blush Blossom marker and colored it in with a white gel pen.  Doodling is terrifying to me!  I've ruined quite a few cards with some doodling.

I used the Adorning Accents scallop Embossing Folder across the top for a little interest.  And the paper is some Acrylic paper that I've had since before retiring.  The tablet was in the Lost and Found and about to be thrown out.  I'd forgotten about it.  It has a lovely linen look and holds the water pretty well.

I've got a lot more to learn about watercoloring.  There are so many different techniques that I'm bound to find one that I'm comfortable with.  In the meantime, I'll just dabble some more.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! (unless otherwise noted)

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Growing Green

Ink:  SU Markers (Melon Mambo, Blush Blossom)

Paper:  Acrylic Paper (non SU)

Other:  Adorning Accents Scallop EF, Watercolor Crayon (Wild Wasabi), White Gel Pen

I had a few minutes this afternoon to play in the Craft Room, but my mojo took a break.  Hopefully it will return soon.

If  you're interested in seeing the Retiring Stamps list for Stampin' Up!, there's a link on my sidebar.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you've enjoyed your visit.