Three More Weekend Cards

These are the other three cards from a stamping party I hosted on Sunday. It was another intro to card-making for my non-stamping girlfriends. I posted the Mother's Day card I had them make the other day. They loved playing with all the paper punches, stamps, and inks. They laughed when I pulled out my Crop-A-Dile to set the snaps for the Father's Day card! They couldn't imagine that we use such a large tool for paper crafting.

Happy New Baby Card Ingredients
Stamps: For a Friend, Figures of Speech
Paper: Certainly Celery, white, and designer paper (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Basic Black
Other: button (Making Memories), white gel pen, metal tag, circle paper punches, white ribbon, silver thread, colored pencils

Happy Father's Day Card Ingredients
Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: white, Brilliant Blue (made by rubbing Brilliant Blue ink on white kromekote), the stripped cards are $1 bin specials from Michael's which had 8 cards & envelopes
Ink: Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Ruby Red, Brilliant Blue
Other: snaps (Making Memories), red ribbon (Michael's), small tags, scalloped square paper punch


Birthday Wishes Card Ingredients
Stamps: For a Friend
Paper: Stampin' Up Certainly Celery, Colored Pencil Lilac (CA Paper Goods), white kromekote, and designer paper (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Close to Cocoa
Other: gold mini brads (Making Memories), Martha Stewart marker, light blue and gold ribbon (from Peru), corner rounder, gold gel pen

Taylor's Cupcake Challenge 13

I made this card for Taylor's weekly cupcake challenge. I didn't use a cupcake stamp. Taylor's sketch challenge came in handy. I used the sketch today to show non-stamping girlfriends how to make a Mother's Day card.

Card Ingredients
Stamps (all Stampin' Up): Unfrogettable (flower stamp), All Holidays
Paper: Parchment Olde Gold and Parchment Olde White (California Paper Goods), fushia designer paper (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Other: Making Memories mini brads, ribbon (Michael's), 1" and 1 1/16" circle punches, foam tape, colored pencils

Theresa's Challenge #5

Theresa from Addicted to Stamps & Scraps asked us to CASE (Copy And Share Everything) a card from the Stampin' Up Regional Conference in Milwaukee. The first card is the card I chose from Theresa's blog entry.
This is my interpretation of that card. I don't have So Saffron cardstock right now, so I stamped the scallop stamp with white ink and embossed it on white cardstock. I rubbed So Saffron ink on the paper. On the love stamp, I used two types of ink (StazOn & Stampin' Up) to get a double image of different shades of black.









Card Ingredients
Stamps: Wonderful Words, Too Terrific Tags, So Many Scallops, and I don't remember the set the background stamp comes from.
Paper: The only SU paper is a tiny piece of Wild Wasabi. The other paper is white cardstock and light pumpkin cardstock. The nice designer paper is a gift from my friend, Ericka. Gracias, Ericka!
Ink: True Thyme, So Saffron, Basic Black, StazOn Jet Black, Blanco Opaque White, ColorBox Frost White
Paper Punches: scallop, small tag, & 1/2" circle
Other: Making Memories brad, PSX White embossing powder, foam tape

We May Not Be Tadpoles Anymore

For Kristina's Color Inspiration #6 challenge, we had to use the following colors:
So Saffron, Sahara Sand, Pumpkin Pie, and Wild Wasabi (she also told us to keep Wild Wasabi to a minimum)


It took me a long time to come up with a design for this challenge. How to use Sahara Sand with these other colors, was the challenge for me. I decided to embrace the color and use it at the focal point of the card.

I love the layout challenge Taylor gave us last month. I've used it a few times (here and here) and I love it. I decided to use it for Kristina's color challenge.

I also wanted to use some of the blog candy Theresa gave me on this card. Thanks, Theresa! I used a flower from Flower Fusion for the lily pad and some Wild Wasabi ribbon.

I also did some sewing on the border. My stitch length and tension is not what I wanted, but I didn't have time to fool around with the machine settings.

Card Ingredients
Stamps: Birthday Banner, By Design, Unfrogettable
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, Making Memories designer paper, white kromekote brayered with Sahara Sand ink, sunflower paper rubbed with So Saffron ink for the card base
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Sahara Sand, So Saffron, Basic Black
Other: Flower Fusion, Wild Wasabi striped grosgrain, Making Memories mini brads, goggly eyes, white gel pen, Fiskars corner edger scissors, Making Memories slot punch tool, VersaMarker pen

Ribbon Flower Mother's Day

Today I used a quick card layout I saw courtesy of Alli Miles. Last week, I saw a cute ribbon flower card created by Annabelle at Bits and Pieces. I have so much ribbon...don't we all? I printed out a picture of her flower with intentions to try to make one myself. Then on Sunday, Kristina posted 2 YouTube videos (part 1 & part 2) from a user called "okakuku". I loved her ribbon and button creation. That was the final motivation to create one myself.

This weekend, I'm giving non-stamping girlfriends another intro to stamping (I did this two years ago and a few years before that). We are going to make at least 4 types of cards: Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthday, and thank you. I haven't decided if they will make this card...it might be a little too time-consuming...I used real needle and thread on the button.

Card Ingredients
Stamps (all Stampin' Up): Think Happy Thoughts, All Holidays
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, white, yellow parchment, and textured yellow
Ink (all Stampin' Up): Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie
Other: Scallop punch, circle punches, button (Making Memories), printed ribbon (Costco), orange ribbon (from a ribbon share with my friend, Ericka), Zots, fabric glue, white thread

Taylor's Cupcake Challenge 12

This is probably the last time I will use this cupcake for Taylor's cupcake challenge. I ordered Hey There Cupcake from Eclectic Paperie a few days ago. I know I don't need to use a cupcake stamp for this challenge, but for me, it's got to be a cupcake. I had already photographed and uploaded the photos when the top layer looked a little bare...too late to add brads. I added faux brads to the 4 corners (I used my Crop-A-Dile to emboss Chocolate Chip a little too hard. The tiny circles where then glued on).

Card Ingredients
Stamp: Stampin' Up Notas Simples, large cupcake (unknown company)
Paper: Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip & So Saffron, White Confetti (Only the Best), Designer Paper (Provo Craft)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, So Saffron, Color Box Frost White Pigment
Other: Opal Embossing Powder (Rubbermania Stamps), Clear Embossing Powder, Ribbon (Costco), PSX Diamond Sparkles

My Favorite "Go To" Layout is Changing

In this week's challenge, Theresa from Addicted to Stamps & Scraps asked us to give our favorite "go to" layout. I don't feel like a have a "go to" layout anymore. That's why I love all the layout and color inspiration challenges. I'm having to think outside my normal box, so it's changing how I create new cards.

I made this card 5 years ago exactly (I obsessively date the back of everything I make and save a copy of everything I've made for others...who else does that?). This represents what used to by my "go to" layout.

I was going through my older work and there was a definite pattern:
* I mainly used the standard A2 size of card.
* The orientation of the card was usually vertical.
* There was never anything too bulky on the card (for mailing purposes).
* The main stamped (or in this case, embossed) image was centered and had some layering.
* The greeting was centered on the width of the A2 card.

I have done some similar layouts on this blog, for example: Cupcakes are Good for You and Paper Pierced Flower. But, a girl has the perogative to change her mind! I'm liking a square-shaped card these days.

I've done a few swaps with my good friend, Ericka. I've always admired her work. One thing I admire is she creates cards in a variety of sizes and orientations. She just created a blog today.

Card Ingredients
Stamps: Stampin' Up Birthday Greetings
Paper: Vellum, gold paper, light blue and a So Saffron look-alike (bought from Only the Best)
Ink: Brilliance Galaxy Gold
Other: Stampin' Up Butterflies stencil, Making Memories eyelets

Kristina's Color Inspiration Challenge #5

This week, we have some of my favorite colors in the challenge:


Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Bashful Blue, and Close to Cocoa

I've got Mother's Day on the brain, so here's my design:

I used my Crop-A-Dile to do the dry embossing. I used the reinkers for the 4 colors, Diamond Glaze, Pearl Ex, acetate, and the tissue paper that comes with acetate to do create the butterfly. This technique comes from MaryJo McGraw. I don't have a Stampin' Up corner rounder to create a scalloped edge, so I create my own by punching out several 3/4" circles and attaching them individually.

Card Ingredients
Stamps: Stampin' Up All Holidays, Little Pieces, Magenta butterfly
Paper: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, DSP by K & Company
Ink: Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Bashful Blue, and Close to Cocoa, StazOn Black
Other: Acetate, Diamond Glaze, Pearl Ex (Sparkle Gold, Spring Green, Turquoise, Macropearl), 1/2" circle punch, ribbon scrap, Making Memories mini square brad

I Signed Up for Stampin' Out Alzheimer's National Scrapbook Day Virtual Crop/Stamp-a-thon

Today I signed up for Jen Tapler's Stampin' Out Alzheimer's event to benefit the Alzheimer's Association. It's a week-long paper crafting event that starts on May 3rd...which is National Scrapbook Day. Jen is a talented paper crafter that lives in Maui (my favorite place). Her father was diagnosed with the disease. I'm doing this event in honor of my friend Cris' mother, Natalia Vargas, who was diagnosed a few years ago.

The cost is a minimum $5 donation. Anyone can participate. Jen will post the challenges (scrapbooking, card-making, 3-D, and altered projects) late on May 2nd. There will be cool give-aways. Even if you can't participate in the challenges, you can still sign up and be eligible for a Grand Finale give-away at the end of the week.

Join me for a good cause!

A Card Made Without Stamps

There were no stamps used to make this card; only rub-ons. This card was made for Theresa's rub-on challenge. I used Beate's weekend sketch challenge #43 as the inspiration for my layout.

Card Ingredients

Stamps: none

Paper: aqua cardstock (don't know where I got it), white kromekote, lavender (Only the Best), Die Cuts With a View Petite Sunrise Posies

Rub-ons: K&Company

Other: Making Memories brad, Fiskars scallop scissors, jeweled ribbon (Michael's)

Cupcakes are Good For You!

Here's my entry for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge 11, which was a color and not a layout challenge. I don't think I've ever used Green Gable. I'm glad it was part of the challenge.

The colors we had to use are:


I only have 2 cupcake stamps, so once again I'm using the same ones. Taylor said we didn't need to use a cupcake stamp, but I was being persistent. I need new stamps!

This time I used masking to add the phrase "good for you!" to my cupcake stamp. I also used masking on a tag stamp to get the "Yum Yum" phrase, without the surrounding tag.

Card Ingredients
Stamps: Stampin' Up Figures of Speech, Too Terrific Tags, By Design (you can't really see the swirly stamping I did on the strip of Tempting Turquoise)
Paper: white kromekote (brayered with Tempting Turquoise and Green Gable inks), Stampin' Up Soft Sky, and Pumpkin Pie
Ink: VersaMarker Watermark Pen, Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green, and Soft Sky
Other: Metal tag, scallop punches, 1 3/8" and 1" circle paper punches, Martha Stewart cornflower meadow marker, ribbon, mounting tape, PSX Diamond Sparkles

Mizuhiki Cord Cupcake

Here's the first card I created for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge 11. I wasn't completely satisfied with the colors of the cupcake, so I created another card.

I was reminded of using mizuhiki cord by browsing MaryJo McGraw's blog. I like this technique, but it's better-suited for paper mosaics...just like MaryJo McGraw does.

Card Ingredients
Stamps: Stampin' Up Birthday Whimsy & Little Pieces, large cupcake (unknown company)
Paper: white kromekote (also brayered Tempting Turquoise and Green Gable for other cardstock pieces), Stampin' Up Soft Sky, and Pumpin Pie
Ink: Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Green Gable, and Soft Sky
Other: Embossing Arts Mizuhiki Japanese Color Cords, ribbon (Michael's), PSX Diamond Sparkles

Kristina's Color Inspiration Challenge #4

Whew, this was tough to complete quick and before bedtime! Here's my entry for Kristina's Color Inspiration #4. These are the colors we had to use:

I had all the ink colors, but only Old Olive and Chocolate Chip cardstock.

Card Ingredients
Stamps (all Stampin' Up): Too Terrific Tags, Friendship Blooms, By Design
Paper: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, off-white, Kromekote (brayered with inks to make other cardstock colors)
Ink: Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Other: Making Memories mini brads, ribbons (Michael's), corner punch, 3/4", 1 1/16", and 1 3/8" circle paper punches

Thank You, Theresa!

I made this card for Theresa to thank her for the Blog Candy. I received a new set of stamps (Stampin' Up Birthday Whimsy) from her last week for a drawing she had on her website a few weeks ago. I love the set.

Card Ingredients
Stamps (all Stampin' Up): For a Friend, By Design
Paper: White Kromekote and the rest from Stampin' Up: Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Sky, dots
Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery
Other: Making Memories mini brads and flower, ribbons, corner rounder

Taylor's Cupcake Challenge 10

Here's my entry for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge 10. I love her layouts.

I forgot I had this large cupcake stamp. I bought it at least 8 years ago, but I don't know what company made the stamp.
Card Ingredients
Stamps: Stampin' Up Figures of Speech, large cupcake (unknown company)
Paper: white, Making Memories Maddi Narr Stripe, Die Cuts With a View Petite Sunrise Posies, Stampin' Up Soft Sky and Positively Pink
Ink: VersaMarker Watermark Pen, Stampin' Up Pink Passion, Apricot Appeal, Positively Pink, and Rose Romance
Other: Metal tag, 1 3/8" circle paper punch, gel pens, ribbon, Making Memories mini eyelets, mounting tape, PSX Diamond Sparkles

Birthday Wishes & Theresa's Color Challenge

I made this card for a friend who celebrates a birthday on Saturday. I also made this card to join Theresa's color challenge. Just to show you I am addicted to this craft, I have a sore throat and a slight fever and I still wanted to create this card. I'm truly sick, and I don't mean physically.

I'm not completely happy with the card, so I may tweak it a bit before I mail it out tomorrow. Any comments would be welcome.

Card Ingredients
Stamps (all Stampin' Up): Sincere Salutions, Polka Dots & Petals
Paper: Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard (made by brayering ink on white Kromekote
Ink: Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Rose Red, Old Olive
Other: Cork squares (I don't know who made them), 15/16" square punch, white ribbon (which I rubbed with Old Olive and More Mustard ink to dye them...Theresa reminded me of this idea), Making Memories mini gold brads and mustard-colored eyelets

Happy Happy Happy Birthday!

I made this card for my nephew Stephen who turns 3 tomorrow. For the first time, I used this week's card sketch from Card Positions Systems as my inspiration.

Card Ingredients
Stamps (all Stampin' Up): Tagger's Dozen, Small Sayings, Birthday Greetings, Something to Celebrate
Paper: SU Wild Wasabi, Craft & Corn Silk (Only the Best), Kromekote (brayered with Lavender Lace ink)
Ink: Brilliance Pearlescent Lavender, Stampin' Up Wild Wasabi, River Rock, and Lavender Lace
Paper Punches: Marvy Uchida Corner Rounder, Stampin' Up 3/4" and 1" circle paper punch, All Night Media 1 1/4" circle paper punch
Other: Balloon eyelets (The Stamp Doctor) , Making Memories wire

Friendship Hello

Here's another attempt at using Taylor's 4-quadrant layout. This is my last card for a swap I'm doing with Ericka.
Card Ingredients
Stamps (all Stampin' Up): Think Happy Thoughts, By Design, Tagger's Dozen
Paper: Stampin' Up Certainly Celery and a Sparkles Cardstock Sampler (The Paper Palette)
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Close to Cocoa, River Rock, Rose Red
Paper Punches: 3/4" circle, 1 1/4" circle, 1 3/8" square, 1 9/16" square
Other: Making Memories mini gold brads, mounting tape, ribbon (Michael's)