Oops! I somehow missed my brother-in-law's birthday this year so I had to scramble to make a belated card to send this week. I had this unmounted stamp in my stash that just needed some ink blending and masking for the clouds, and I turned it into a circular card. The sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp, and I cut the round card base with a Sizzix nested die set.
Die Cut Divas August challenge, shaped cards
Here is another shaped that uses a tag die base by Die'sire. The embossing folder is by Tim Holtz for Sizzix and the floral and border images at by Hot Off the Press. The sentiment is by Paper Sweeties, and the butterfly is Bo Bunny.
I needed to make a birthday card for my niece's daughter, who is turning 3 next month, and what better design for her than a fairy? This fairy image was in my stash and I'm not not who makes it, but I colored it with markers, then added rhinestones for extra sparkle. The tag shaped die for the base is by Die-sire, and I also cut a frame from the same set. The sentiment is by Papertrey ink.
Die Cut Divas August challenge, die cut shaped cards
Papercraft Challenges #85 , summer funThis month's Poppystamps challenge was the perfect motivation to pull out a few more Poppystamps word dies to act as a focal point on this card. The embossing folder is by Sizzix, as are the butterfly dies. I used Happy Sash and Hello scripty die by Poppystamps, and then added some rhinestones for sparkle
Butterfly Challenge #172 . F is for the colors Fandango and Flirt, along with my butterfly
I pulled out this fancy Birthday Flourish die by Poppystamps today, to make a card with a focus on the sentiment. A few deco squares made from die cut squares, a square card base, heat embossing, and a bit of ribbon makes this one easy to make in multiples. That is, if you remember to use adhesive backed paper for the sentiment die, which I forgot to do!
I was given this set of bold Christmas Greetings by Stampers Anonymous and decided to try embossing it with Ranger EP in Bottle Green. The EP has a rough texture, rather than a glossy one, which is interesting and fun. I paired it with gold glitter paper by Recollections, a snowflake die by Spellbinders, and a tiny gold star.
SSS Wednesday, shimmer and shine
I needed a couple of general themed cards to send and decided to dig out some old papers by Nikki Sivils that have been gathering dust in my craft closet. I used to have the terrible habit of overbuying if something was on sale, and this was an example of that. I bought papers from about 6 different collections, and none of them were likely to ever be used because I scrapbooked with solid card stock on the whole. These papers are BOLD and BRIGHT...and would clash with my photos. Thus, they sat in my craft closet for 12 years...argh.
Today was the day to remedy that by using them on this card. I made two of the same design, to take advantage of everything I had pulled out. The sentiment stamp is by Pink Fresh Studio, and the tag die is by Paper Smooches.
Paper Dragonfly Challenge #8, summertime buzz
As I went through years worth of old craft supplies in my closets and cabinets, I found small bits of fabric that were too small to use for sewing but too pretty to toss out. This fun dolphin print was one of them, so I turned it into a tag. A bit of raffia, stamped text background directly on the fabric, and a shimmery copper seahorse die by Spellbinders became the focal point for this card. The background stamp is by Darkroom Door and I embossed a strip of card stock with the Altenew Linen embossing folder. Sometimes just a bit of dry embossing gives just the amount of additional texture you need.
Here is the embossed and shimmer detail , as it's difficult to see in the original photo
Can You Handle the Pressure August challenge, AG with embossing
SSS Monday challenge, mixed media
SSS Wednesday, shimmer and shine
I was given some beautiful fairy stamps by Lavinia awhile back and finally pulled them out to ink up. I stamped this fairy scene on a Distress Oxide background, which I die cut with a Spellbinders oval die. The die cut leaves are by Impression Obsession and the embossing folder is by Sizzix. I also added a sentiment by Taylored Expressions and layers of card and vellum.
The bit of Oxide background that I had was so small that I barely fit the fairy scene on it, and used every bit of scrap that I had left. Same thing with the die cut leaves. This is a card that made great use of snippets from my stash.
Here are some of the snippets that I used to make my card. As you can see, I use my scraps to the very end! The embossed bit will be turned into a tag at a later date.
Lost Coast Designs challenge 150, stamped silhouette
We Love Stamping August challenge, stamped garden
Can You Handle the Pressure Challenge, AG with embossing folder
I pulled out a few alcohol ink backgrounds this week and made this undersea themed card for a friend. The octopus die is by Spellbinders and the sentiment stamp and label die is by Taylored Expressions. I backed the octopus with a double layer of shimmery vellum, die cut into a circle to make it stand out against the background.
PIP challenge 2233, AG
KreativTanten challenge 68, Maritim
Colorful Options challenge, turquoise or rainbow
DL.Art's August linkyI was given a big bag of stationary by Current Inc, some years ago and put it aside to use in future projects. There were so many different sets that I ended up donating quite a bit of it to the Senior Center, but I saved some to use as card bases and embellishment sources. This pretty garden scene is combined with a stamped sentiment by Unity Stamp Co, and a butterfly image by Rubber Stampede. I stamped the butterfly, colored and then fussy cut. That coral colored seam binding is hand-dyed silk, which I bought as part of a ribbon assortment at a thrift shop long ago. This card will be added to my donation stash for the local retirement community and nursing homes.
Here is another card that I made with the Gilded Lily collection by Graphic45. The larger illustrated panels fit perfectly on a 5x7 card base, so I made a nice little stack of this larger card size to have handy. I layered papers and panels from the collection, then fussy cut elements from several of the prints to ink and layer on the card front. Some of the embellishments are popped up with foam tape for dimension and I left this card sentiment-free, so I can use it for any occasion.
I have some fine tipped glue bottles that need to be sealed with a long, stainless steel pin (bad design in my opinion, but that's what I ended up with). Fortunately, the person who gave me the bottles also included some of these pins, but they were loose in a jar and I knew they would get lost. first thought was to make a simple fold over case with card stock, but I knew that would also get overlooked if I didn't make it stand out. Out came my G45 papers from the Gilded Lily collection. Why not make it pretty, as well as useful? I decorated it inside and out, then used a doily stamp by Inkadinkado to decorate the inside. A bit of stretchy gold cord, recycled from a gift box, makes it easy to open and close.
Here is what it looks like inside the case.
Creative Crafting Uncles challenge #31, anything but a card
Double Trouble Challenge 117. I did Thing 1, Thing 2 and Thing 3
Creative Creases Challenge #38, AG with a fun fold
As I've decided to make a real effort to pull out all those old supplies out of my stash and try to actually use them, instead of hoard them, I used this vellum quote and assorted brads and photo turns to make this little notepad holder. The stamps are from Keys and Roses by Tonic Studio. A bit of drywall mesh, colored with gold metallic pigment ink, along with some ribbon adds texture. I may whip up a whole batch of these for stocking stuffers as it's a great way to use odds and ends, and partial sheets of heavy card stock.
Double Trouble Challenge 117. I did Thing 1, Thing 2 and Thing 3
Creative Creases Challenge 38, AG with a fun fold
I can't function without post-it pads, and I love making little post-it holders to give as stocking stuffers and small gifts to friends and family. The background base began with direct-to-paper inking which I sprayed with some water. Then I used assorted, old wood mounted stamps to make the background, and added a bit of drywall mesh that I colored with gold metallic pigment ink. Mounted it on chocolate brown card stock that I cut to fold around the post-it pad and I have the perfect masculine design.
I needed an encouragement card for someone who is going through chemo-therapy and so inked up this stamp and die set that was given to me some years ago. As the recipient has a very strong faith, it was perfect to use on her card. This was also the motivation to pull out some ancient adhesive fabric by Craftfabric, that has butterfly and floral images on it in sage green and sand. I cut the butterfly out of the fabric, and popped it on a die by Spellbinders, layered with a circle cut from the same fabric. The rear panel colors and design stood out too much, so I adhered a rectangle of thin vellum as an overlay. The patterned paper on the side and bottom panels are by K&Co (also ancient), and the card fold is the Spanner fold from Mrs. A's butterfly spot challenge. I added a stamped, stripe border by Waffle Flower along the bottom as well. The spanner card fold is called that because the bar along the bottom spans the two strips along the sides.
Working with these colors really challenged me because they are not my usual go-to color combo. However, as I had sent some of this adhesive fabric to my blog friend, Janis, of Her Peaceful Garden, (https://herpeacefulgarden.blogspot.com/ ) some years back..and she used it for the current Butterfly Challenge, I was determined to make a version using the same fabric pattern. Thank you Janis, for reminding me that I had this in my supply stash, and motivating me to actually put it to use for a change.
I pulled out a lot of really old scraps from my stash, colored up this cute little image that someone gave to me while back, and used dies by Spellbinders, Sizzix and Die-Sire to make this fun birthday card. The sentiment is by Taylored Expressions. This was the perfect opportunity to dig into my stash of scraps and snippets and die cut shapes to layer. I'm not sure who makes this stamp but it looks a lot like Stampendous. If you recognize it, please give me a shout so I can stop obsessing about it!
I used paper and a stamp by Stampin'Up, along with an embossing folder by Darice and sentiment by Verve stamps to make this cute birthday card. The label die is by Sizzix and the banner die is Spellbinders.
SSS Monday challenge, birthday
DL.Art's August linky
CYHTP challenge, AG with embossing folder
Here is another card that I made with a collection of K&Co embellishments that I've had for years. This time I used the interlocking rings embossing folder by Darice as my card background and added bits and pieces from the set of K&Co die cut embellishments in a playful way. The label sentiment was stamped with a Simon Says Stamp birthday stamp set, and I added my favorite white twine and some lime green eyelets.
SSS Monday challenge, birthday
While I had my cute birthday chickie images and polka dotted paper out, I decided to make another card. This one uses arched dies by Maker's Movement, a heart die by Paper Smooches, and the sentiment is by Cas-ual Fridays.
MFT Color Challenge cc194. I used the colors cotton candy, princess pink, limelight, and gravel
My aunt is turning 97 this month and I always make a handmade card for her, so I got busy! She loves Asian designs and her favorite color is red, so I pulled out this old paper by Bo Bunny and used a stamp by Stampin'Up for the crane image. The sentiment stamp is by Verve Stamps. Some simple matting, a bit of gold cord, and Glossy Accents on the cranes were all this card neede.
I used a Spellbinders ornament die, and layered it on a glittery heat embossed panel for this card. The sentiments are also heat embossed with the same glitter embossing powder for a sparkly winter look.
ABC Christmas challenge, O is for old (old embossing powder and dies)
