I really had a great time this weekend using some sketch challenges I've found on various blogs for inspiration. Nothing gets my creativity going like a sketch challenge! This sketch comes from Amy Rysavy's blog found here.
Here's a close-up of the Cotton Scrap. I used a small piece of double-sided sticky tape to attach the Scrap to my cardstock so that it wouldn't move while I was sewing. Then I put this on my sewing machine, and did a quick, running stitch around the edges, and frayed all the edges after I was done. My ribbon is distressed with some Creamy Caramel SU! ink to age it a little and make it match the rest of the card better.
Thanks for looking!
Stamps: mesh background (Rubber Soul); Cardstock: Red Hot, Mocha Divine (Bazzill Basics), cream (unknown); Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko), Creamy Caramel (Stampin' Up); Accessories: Kitchen Cotton Scraps (Crafty Secrets), red gingham (May Arts), ticket corner punch (Stampin' Up), sponge, dimensional adhesive, sewing machine, thread.
Just a new card that's been rolling around in my head, ever since I got this gorgeous new paper from Paper Salon! Hope you like it!
I am always inspired by Sharon Johnson's work, and one of the things she does that I love the most is coming up with a matching set of cards and a little bag or box to give them in. Very often I buy "sets" of designer paper, intending to create a great gift set of cards using all that matching paper just like Sharon does, but I never get around to it. If you go to Sharon's blog here and look under the categories of "gift sets" and "miscellaneous projects" you'll see some of her great creations that get me inspired! Well, I've had this gorgeous paper from Daisy D's that I got at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago, and my 3-Step Roses set from Kitchen Sink Stamps is just begging to get inky! So I started this project over the weekend, and with a sick kid at home today, I was able to finish it in between tending to her needs. A complete supply list is at the end of this post, but if you have specific questions about any items, just give me a shout!
I created this Kitchen Sink gift bag months ago, and saw this one done by Beate that gave me inspiration for the ribbon attachments.
Stamps: 3-Step Roses, 3-Step Daisy for Happy Birthday, Never a Loss 4 Words for warmest wishes and many thanks, Backgrounds & Borders for swirls on first card (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Cardstock: Posie Pink, Sweetheart, Chiffon (Bazzill Basics), Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!), white (Georgia Pacific), designer paper (Daisy D's); Inks: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up!), Creamy Brown, Dark Brown (Clearsnap); Accessories: scalloped punches, large circle and oval punches (Marvy), small oval punch (Stampin' Up), clear embossing powder (Ranger), vintage brads (unknown), ribbon (May Arts, Offray, Creative Impressions), sponges, dimensional adhesives.
Stamps: Hedgehog (Penny Black), sentiment in circle (Hero Arts) background flowers (Great Impressions); Cardstock: Lavender (Prism), Parakeet, Petunia (Bazzill Basics), watercolor paper (unknown); Inks: Jet Black Staz-On (Tsukineko) markers (Tombow); Accessories: scalloped circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch (Stampin' Up), 1 1/2" circle punch (Marvy), gingham ribbon (May Arts), aquapainter, dimensional adhesives, sponges.
This card is for my friend Gretchen, who remains in the hospital and has no solid answers as to what is causing all her health problems. Her spirits are very lifted by getting cards in the mail, so if you would like to help cheer her up by sending a card, please email me (go to the very bottom of this page and click on "View my complete profile" for a link to email me) and I'll email you her address!
(Google image)
This first one is faux stitching, of course! Just an easy technique of poking holes around the perimeter of the green cardstock, and joining the holes with a white gel pen. I am so in love with that new Hedgehog image from Penny Black!
Stamps: Hedgehog, thinking of you (Penny Black); Cardstock: Sea Water, Lemonade, Petunia, Parakeet (Bazzill Basics), white (Georgia Pacific); Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Rouge and Yellow Citrus chalk ink (Clearsnap); markers (Tombow); Accessories: super jumbo scalloped circle punch, jumbo circle punch (Marvy), awl (Excel), white gel pen (Gelly Roll), grid ribbon (Creative Impressions), clear embossing powder (Ranger), dimensional adhesives, sponge, aquapainter, hole punch (miscellaneous).
This card was for my faux metal technique! I did a similar design to this last year when I had a Stampin' Up class at my house, and everyone loved the look so I decided to do it for the store. If I get some time, I will post a tutorial on how to do this technique! It's so easy but really creates an impressive look!
Stamps: decorative cube (Impression Obsession), thinking of you (Rubber Soul); Cardstock: Velvet, Sweethearts, Jade, Black (Bazzill Basics), white (Hollo's); Inks: Chianti pigment ink (Clearsnap); Accessories: silver embossing powder (Judikins), clear embossing powder (Ranger), gingham ribbon (May Arts).
This last card demonstrates a faux suede technique! I learned how to do this technique from Linda Bullard on SCS after I saw this card of hers! In her description of the card, she tells how to do the technique, so be sure to check it out and try it yourself!
Stamps: gratitude (Hero Arts); Cardstock: Aqua, Dark Denim, Black (Bazzill Basics), cream (The Paper Cut), brown paper bag; Inks: Versamark (Tsukineko); Accessories: brown Liquid Applique (Marvy), antique brass brads (Gary Burlin), Vintage Photo distress embossing powder (Ranger), dimensional adhesives.
Thanks for stopping by for a little Fe, Fi, Faux Fun!
Stamps: You Take the Cake (My Favorite Things), sentiment from Never a Loss 4 Words (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Cardstock: Parakeet, Cantaloupe, Petunia (Bazzill Basics), white (Georgia Pacific), designer paper (ki memories); Inks: Palette Noir hybrid ink (Stewart Superior), Onyx Black (Tsukineko Versafine), markers (Copic); Accessories: 1" circle punch (EK Success), large eyelet (We R Memory Keepers), red line tape (Gary Burlin Co.), clear embossing powder (Ranger), yellow Spica glitter pen (Copic), paper crimper (unknown).
Stamps: Love & Luck (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Cardstock: reds and pinks (Bazzill), white (Georgia Pacific) designer paper (Flair); Inks: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Pink Passion (Stampin' Up); Accessories: pink fabric brads (Anna Griffin), swirled organdy ribbon (Creative Impressions), small tag, silver cord (Stampin' Up), sponges, dimensional adhesives.
These are some thank you notes, that were quick and easy to create while I was at my daughters volleyball tournament yesterday! I cut all the cardstock here at home, and all I had to do was stamp, color and assemble them! I plan to send these to the demonstrators, and other people who helped out with the workshop at the store on Saturday. The workshop went really well! I had a lot of good compliments, and sales were good. Not as good as I wanted, but then I made a few judgement errors in knowing what to have in stock to sell. So had I ordered more of certain items, there would have been more to sell and therefore higher sales. For my first one, I am happy with the results! Thanks everyone for your good thoughts on the whole day!
Stamps: Tiny Talk (Paper Salon Tailored Tin); Cardstock: Cantalope, Think Pink, Marigold (Bazzill Basics), white (Georgia Pacific), designer paper (stripes-Anna Griffin, polka dots-My Minds Eye); Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black (Ranger), markers (Copic); Accessories: scalloped square punch (Marvy), miscellaneous ribbon, dimensional adhesives.
I really wanted some orange ink to sponge around the edges of the white square, but had not thought to bring any with me yesterday. In a pinch, I discovered that I could apply ink directly from my orange Copic marker to a paper napkin and swipe the cardstock edges with it, and it worked!
Haha! Get it? "Clearly?" It's an acetate card! LOL I crack myself up! Anyway, I have this HUGE workshop at the store this weekend, and one of the demonstrators that will be there is my great friend Cindy (ckarasz on SCS) and she's going to be demonstrating acetate cards! She's really rocked out some great samples, and inspired me to give one a try. This is quite a simple design for me... I would have stamped white hearts all over the acetate or something, but Cindy has my white Staz-On ink pad! :)
Here's a close-up of the center. I stamped the heart in Pixie Pink Versamagic Ink (available in the Kitchen Sink Store!) Then I inked the Love stamp with Colorbox Warm Red chalk ink, stamped it, then stamped it slightly off again to create a shadowed effect. I have to remember to do that more often... I love how it looks!
Stamps: 3-Step Daisy (Kitchen Sink Stamps), Warmest Regards (Stampin' Up); Cardstock: white (Georgia Pacific), pink (Bazzill), navy blue (generic); Inks: Pixie Dust, Malted Mauve, Night Sky chalk inks (Versamagic), Charcoal (Versacolor), Olive Pastel, Dark Moss (Colorbox); Accessories: scalloped circle punch, navy organdy (Stampin' Up!), circle punch (Marvy), dimensional adhesives.
Another great Emerson humor stamp from Toyrifix! I still have quite a few of these stamps, but they've definitely been selling better since I made some samples, and have the whole collection spotlighted! They're all just so funny.... I call them the PMS stamps!
Stamps: Rain or Shine (My Favorite Things); Cardstock: Mocha Divine, Whirlpool (Bazzill Basics), Taken with Teal, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up), white (Georgia Pacific); Inks: Adirondack Pitch Black (Ranger), Chestnut Roan chalk ink (Clearsnap), Sea Breeze chalk ink (Tsukineko), markers (Copic); Accessories: ticket corner punch, piercing template (Stampin' Up), giga scalloped square punch (Marvy), piercing tool (Darice), striped grosgrain (Offray).
Thanks for stopping by, and for letting me brag a little on my baby!
Beate Johns always has a sketch challenge on her blog on the weekends, and because sketch challenges are my favorite, I had recently started to give her challenges a try. She took a break from posting the challenges over the holidays, but now she's back. You can check out her blog here... http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ So I created this card this evening for her Weekend Sketch Challenge #30. It was definitely challenging... I felt like it wasn't flowing for me. I may have to try this again tomorrow.
The heart on this card comes from Thanks With Style, and "hugs and kisses" is from Never a Loss 4 Words.
Cardstock: purples and reds (Bazzill), white (Georgia Pacific), designer paper (Crazy 4 U from Flair Designs); Inks: Warm Red (Clearsnap), Eggplant (Tsukineko), Almost Amethyst for sponging main image edges (Stampin' Up); Accessories: white organdy ribbon, photo corner punch, Real Red brads, paper piercing tool and template (Stampin' Up); clear embossing powder (Sparkle 'N Sprinkle).
This one also uses a heart in a swirl from Thanks with Style, and the sentiment from Never a Loss 4 Words. Also, there are XOXO's stamped down the right edge of the card, but the picture didn't pick it up at all! The XOXO's also are included in the Never a Loss 4 Words set.
Cardstock: red and pink (Bazzill), white (Georgia Pacific), designer paper (Crazy 4 U from Flair Designs); Ink: Warm Red (Clearsnap); Accessories: extra jumbo circle punch, super jumbo scalloped circle punch (Marvy), large oval punch, Real Red brads, Iridescent Ice embossing powder (Stampin' Up), red sparkle ribbon (source unknown)
This last one, I'm not as fond of. I think I just tried to hard with it (and was too tired!) Stamps sets are again Thanks with Style and Never a Loss 4 Words.
Cardstock: purple and red (Bazzill), white (Georgia Pacific), designer paper (Crazy 4 U from Flair Designs); Ink: eggplant (Tsukineko), Pretty in Pink (for sponging edges), white pigment ink (for chipboard accent) (Stampin' Up); Accessories: chipboard accent (Maya Road), Fire and Ice circle brads, ticket corner punch (Stampin' Up), clear embossing powder (Sparkle 'N Sprinkle)
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!
Today's Limited Supply challenge on SCS is to make a card without using any white, vanilla or cream-colored cardstock. This was very fun to try, and as usual got me thinking outside the box! I got a yummy box of truffles from Maria (Kitchen Sink Stamps owner) for Christmas, and it came wrapped in red cellophane and was tied with this gorgeous ribbon! So I had to save it to use on a card and thought it'd be appropriate to use today and make a thank you note to send to Maria! (Even though I know she'll see the card here before I get it mailed!) :)