Almost Artisan – card 3

Jun 2, 2010 | Almost Artisan, Cards, Masculine | 2 comments

Today I’m going to show you card 3 – there were 5 cards in total that I made and submitted for the Artisan Award Contest.  This one was probably my least favorite – but it has a good boy/teen look to it.  It also resembles a scrapbook page that I had made earlier this year.

For this one I used the Write Stuff Specialty paper – I originally didn’t think much of this paper pack but as it turned out I really like the paper designs that were in there.  They work well for boy stuff – just dots and checks and stripes – no flowers.  Almost every pack of our Designer Series paper has a flower somewhere in it and I want some with just stripes and geometric patterns.

The stamp sets are Sense of Time and Extreme Elements.  The card base is Kraft (soon to be called Crumb Cake) and the images are stamped in Chocolate Chip.  Everything is just kind of randomly stamped on top of each other.  I did include the punch out for the gears.

I’m looking at this picture and trying to figure out how I got the staples in so far – I guess that was the reach of the stapler because they do go all the way through to the inside – maybe I shouldn’t have done that  – it left the backs visible on the inside.

I did decorate the inside.  I hope the judges saw the insides – maybe they didn’t even open up the cards.  Surely they noticed the insides.

Thanks again for stopping by.  Later I’ll post an update on the turtle that I found last week.

Almost Artisan – Card 2

Jun 1, 2010 | Almost Artisan, Cards, Occasion Mini 2010, Pocket Silhouettes | 4 comments

I hope you like my first card from my Artisan Award entries that I showed yesterday – it was one of my favorite ones.  But I also really like this one even though I don’t normally make such bright cards.  This one is on a Melon Mambo Textured card stock base.  I used Basic Black, Crushed Curry and Old Olive with it.  The focal piece is a 3×3 square and could be used on its own for a tag or small card.

Lately I seem to enjoy adding the doodles on my projects – this time I used the black journaler to add the doodles and then also added the splatter from Itty Bitty Backgrounds – I know that stamp set has been around forever and I sure do hope it doesn’t retire.  I use it a lot.

Here is a look at the inside.  It is stamped and doodles to match the front.  And I added a thin Basic Black strip and the Crushed Curry scallop trim edge on one side.

Thanks for checking in today and looking at my work.  This was my second card out of 5 for the Artisan Award Contest.

If you would like to see the entries that other demos submitted go to this post  – CLICK HERE.  We are calling ourselves the Almost Artisans.

Almost Artisan – Card 1

May 31, 2010 | Almost Artisan, Baroque Motifs, Cards, Embossing, Occasion Mini 2010, Sale-A-Bration 2010, Thank You | 6 comments

It was really hard not sharing these projects earlier.  Since we made them during the Sale-A-Bration and Occasions Mini Catalog sales period some of my projects use items from these.  They were current at the time so they were eligible for the contest.  Even though the judging occurred after they ended.  I wonder if that had anything to do with the chosen winners.  Between that and using what are now going to be retiring colors – that was announced after I sent my entry in and when you see one of my scrapbook pages it ended up with a bunch of retiring colors on it.  Oh well…

So here is card #1 – I considered this to be my vintage card.  I had actually created a scrapbook page with this idea and posted it on my blog earlier – click here to see it – and when I was creating for the Artisan contest I kept coming back to that page but knew I couldn’t enter it since it was already on my blog.  My solution was to make a card using the same idea.

It is a very pretty card in person – I’m not sure the picture does it any justice.  The card base is Basic Black and the stamping is done with Versamark and embossed with Clear Embossing powder.  I love this look.

I used the Vintage Labels stamp set from Sale-A-Bration – too bad that one isn’t still available.  The others are all still current – Charming, Tiny Tags, and Baroque Motifs.

The colors are Crushed Curry, Basic Black and Whisper White.

I had also decided to decorate the inside of each of my cards.  I go in phases of doing this.  And I usually always do it when the card base is dark like the Basic Black.  The inside was pretty simple but matched with the front of the card.

So that is my first entry for the Artisan Award.

I hope you like it.  And that you’ll come back to see the rest!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

CLICK HERE – to go to the post for other Almost Artisan blog links.

You’re Invited

May 29, 2010 | Baby Wipe, Big Shot, Cards, Create with Connie & Mary, Rock 'n Roll, Summer Mini 2010 | 2 comments

The time has passed so quickly and today is the last post for Create with Connie & Mary Summer Edition.   I have had such a great time creating projects for the members and for the challenges each week.  For the last five weeks we have been featuring  some of the new stamp sets and products from the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalog.  This week our featured items are the Sweet Scoops stamp set, July Fourth stamp set, Red/White/Blue jumbo wheel, and the King of the Grill stamp set.  Our last challenge is a special Theme Challenge to create a Summer Invitation.

This week I have been working with the Sweet Scoops stamp set – there are so many little techniques you can do with this stamp set.  In my weekly project I should the Kissing technique and for my challenge card I used two more fun techniques – Baby Wipe and Rock and Roll.

I tried several different things before I finally ended up with this card.  I even debated creating an invitation that matched the Ice Cream kit from earlier this week, but decided I wanted to show you something different with this same stamp set.  I’m so happy with the final result!  I really like how it turned out.

So first of all this is a tall card – one that fits in the small open-end envelopes instead of the medium envelopes.  The card base is Pretty in Pink – a 6″ x 6″ piece folded in half.  The panel in the center is Kraft card stock that was embossed with the new Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  I love this folder and the picture in the Summer Mini catalog does not do it any justice – I never even considered it until I saw samples with it.

The top and bottom of the card are done the same – I used a piece of Kaleidoscope Designer Series paper with one edge torn and layered it on a piece of Close to Cocoa that has one edge torn.

Now some of the fun is making the ice cream and the cones!

For the ice cream I used the Baby Wipe technique – take a baby wipe and fold it into quarters and set it on something plastic – I use one side of my Stampin’ Scrub with the pad removed.  Using reinkers in Pretty in Pink and Close to Cocoa add drops to the baby wipe.  You are basically creating a multi colored ink pad.  Then use that to ink your stamp.  I stamped on Whisper White card stock.  Each one will turn out a little different as the ink blends together.

For the cones I used the Rock and Roll technique.  To do this I inked the cone in Creamy Carmel ink and then rolled around the edges using Close to Cocoa.  This gives it shading around the edges of the cone.

I cut out all the cones and ice cream and then these are added to the front of my card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The “you’re invited” banner is stamped and punched with the Modern Label punch.  A second Modern Label punch is punched from a piece of Pretty in Pink – cut in half and then each half is layered behind the white one.  I used a marker to add some stitching around the edges.

I added a couple of other fun elements – first of all the Bitty Buttons!  I just love these little buttons.  I used Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack to punch out Close to Cocoa card stock and layered each one behind a clear button.  Pierced with a paper piercer and added linen thread.  I put the whole card together and then the really fun part starts.  I sprayed my whole card with the Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz!  So everything is covered in shimmer!

I also stamped on the envelope with the ice cream and cone.  The party invitation information is on the inside of the card.  This would be fun for a back to school ice cream party or summer birthday.  Ryan has a summer birthday but I don’t think he would appreciate the pink invitations!

Check out what the other Create designers did with this theme challenge:

Connie Babbert – Inspired Treasures

Kerin Sylvester – Stamps, Paper, Glitter

Mary Brown – Stamper Camper Corner

Supplies:

Sets:  Sweet Scoops (117078w, 120078c), Family Phrases (114960)

Inks: Close to Cocoa classic (103139), Pretty in Pink classic (101301), Creamy Carmel classic (103220), Close to Cocoa ink refill (102444), Pretty in Pink ink refill (102295), Close to Cocoa Stampin’ Write Marker (100072)

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa (101341), Pretty in Pink (100459), Whisper White (101731), Kraft (102125)

Accessories:  Big Shot Die-Cut Machine (113439),  Square Lattice Embossing Folder (119976), Modern Label punch (116630), Paper Piercing tool (116631), Mat Pack (105826), Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper (115680), Bitty Buttons (118761), Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309), Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz (118772), Color Catcher (121093), Linen Thread (104199), Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430), Small Open-End Envelope (107286).

Grey Texture Masculine Card

May 26, 2010 | Big Shot, Cards, Masculine, Summer Mini 2010 | 1 comment

Here is one more card I wanted to show you from my Masculine Card class last week.

This is my Grey Texture card.  It uses a couple of the retiring colors – Going Gray and Sage Shadow.

The card stock base is Sage Shadow which unfortunately is now sold out.  If you have other retiring colors that you might want card stock for please don’t delay in ordering – colors are starting to sell out.

And now back to my card.  The next layer is Basic Grey and then on top of that is a layer of Going Grey that has been embossed with the new Square Lattice Embossing Folder that is in the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini catalog.  If you are wondering how to get the dark ink in the embossing there is a trick that several demonstrators have been sharing.  My sister-in-law saw this at a class and said everyone thought it was the coolest thing.  I had seen it but not tried it until this card and it was for sure the perfect addition to this card.  The trick is to use a brayer to ink one side of the embossing folder – I used Basic Grey ink on mine.  Then put the paper in and run it through the Big Shot.  This embosses the paper and pushes the ink into all the debossed sections.  Very cool – indeed!

The Designer Series Paper used here is the Nouveau Chic paper.  I added the Corduroy Button because I think of it as a masculine accent.  I debated on what to do with the button – adding thread seemed to make it more feminine so I decide to add a silver brad to it.  The perfect little touch – don’t you think.

I hope you like it.  Have a great day!

I’m a Guest Designer at  Create with Connie & Mary: Summer Edition going on now – come join us for daily projects featuring items in the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalog.

Juicy Pear card

May 24, 2010 | Big Shot, Cards, Masculine | 0 comments

I loved this card when I saw it featured on Lorraine’s blog – it was created by Debbie Colbacchini who I believe is one of Lorraine’s downline.  I thought it would be a perfect card for Greg because he loves pears.  I made a few modifications to it and used it as one of the cards in my masculine card class – but it could really be used for anything.  So here is what mine looks like –

Things I did differently from Debbie’s – I added the Polka Dot Embossing folder to a portion of my Old Olive piece – I left about 1″ hanging out the side and this is where I stamped the greeting.  My Chocolate Chip panel is a bit smaller that the original.  And I used the large 1-3/4″ circle punch instead of a scallop circle on mine.  The yellow color in this one is Crushed Curry – I really do wish we would have kept that one going into next year.  But I guess More Mustard is similar just not as bright.

The pear has Crystal Effects on it to give it a juicy look. Here is a close up photo so you can see it.  What I did was stamp the pear image first, punch it out and then add the Crystal Effects and let it dry – I like to give it at least and hour to dry without touching it so it will be shiny and not get finger prints in it.  It is so tempting to touch – I had to shoo away my boys a couple of times as they were about to stick their finger on it!

Greg likes pears so much some years we just give him a box for his birthday or Christmas.  One year we got the fancy Harry & David(I think it is) kind and saved the box – now we just go to Costco and get pears to put in the fancy box.

Here is the list of Stampin’ Up! Supplies:

  • Crushed Curry card stock and ink
  • Chocolate Chip card stock, ink and marker
  • Old Olive card stock and marker
  • Cheep Talk stamp set
  • Thank You Kindly stamp set – or other greetings
  • 1-1/4″ Circle punch
  • 1-3/8″ Circle punch
  • 1-3/4″ Circle punch
  • Crystal Effects
  • Crushed Curry Polka Dot Ribbon
  • Big Shot Dies Cut machine
  • Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder

Thanks for stopping by – I’m going to have a backyard update soon – new pictures and a new visitor came this weekend.  It is hot out there today – I just spent almost 4 hours on the track at the high school prepping and serving 1000 hotdogs!  We had some dads doing the cooking and then we stuffed them into buns, stacked them trays and wrapped them in foil.  Oh my goodness I have never seen so many hotdogs – I thought the 8th grade tail-gate party I did last fall was a lot of hot dogs but this was way more!

I’m a Guest Designer at  Create with Connie & Mary: Summer Edition going on now – come join us for daily projects featuring items in the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalog.