Keepin' it Simple

Today's card is for two different challenges- ColourQ and a new challenge for me, Retrosketches. I decided to do two things with this card; first, to go for another clean and simple design and two, to use scoring on the card, my new favorite technique.
Here are the Colour Q colors-

And here is the card-

 The card base is Daffodil Delight and Whisper White.  The white has a strip on it which is scored from top to bottom with the Simply Scored tool.  The flower is Melon Mambo Patterns dsp and is made with the Blossoms punch.  The center of the flower is stamped with the Mixed Bunch stamp in Daffodil Delight and sponged in Barely Banana then punched with a 1" circle punch and popped up on a dimensional.  The greenery is Certainly Celery and is made with the Fancy Flourish Cheery Lynn die.  The butterflies are in Tempting Turquoise and made with the Beautiful Wings embosslit.  Lastly,  the tag is stamped in Basic gray with a sentiment from the Tiny Tags set and punched with the jewelry tag punch.  All items are Stampin' Up unless otherwise mentioned.
This is a very springy card but without a lot of fuss.  I hope you like it!

Thanks so much for stopping by and, as always, your comments are greatly appreciated!
 Have a blessed day!    

Clean and Simple as Cake

Today's Clean and Simple challenge over at SCS is to use the inspirational picture, seen below-

     I am really beginning to enjoy these inspiration challenges- they really help in thinking outside the box.  And...they are helping me create clean and simple cards which I have not had much success at.

This card is made with Whisper White paper, the stamp sets Trendy Trees and Party this Way, as well as Daffodil Delight, Wisteria Wonder, Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink ink.  I also used the Simply Scored tool (LOVING it) to simulate the cupcake liners.  The card is finished off with a white organza bow and the front panel is popped up on dimensionals.  
Thanks for stopping by; I hope you found my card inspiring.  As always, your comments are greatly appreciated!

Lee Ann                    

Quick CASE

I made a quick card this morning for OWH's sketch this week.  Also, at SCS the Featured Stamper Challenge is to CASE ourselves.  So, I CASed a card I made yesterday, using this OWH sketch-

I turned the sketch and made this card-

I really like how this turned out and I am loving the combination of River Rock and black.  I used the Stampin' Up stripes embossing on the lower portion of the card, scored two lines with the Simply Scored tool dividing the upper and lower portion of the card, cut the frame and the sentiment panel with a spellbinder and stamped the sentiment with a retired Stampin' Up set, All Year Cheer. 

Well, I am off to a bead and gem show with a friend to enjoy our last day of spring break.  Have a wonderful, blessed Sunday and thanks so much for visiting my blog!

Lee Ann

New Technique

I had a great time at a Stampin' Up workshop last night, teaching new techniques to the girls.  We did the Rock and Roll technique as well as Thumping.  They also learned how to make a longer jewelry tag out of the jewelry tag punch.  For review of this technique, see this tutorial.
 Today I played along in the Inspiration Challenge at SCS and combined that with trying a new technique myself.  I was inspired by Karen, one of the stampers at SCS to try watercoloring with markers, although in my card, I did not ink up the stamp with markers.  I used a regular stamp pad and then sprayed the inked image with a light water mist.  After misting, I stamped my image.  For my overall card design, I was inspired by this image- 

to make this card-

 Ingredients for this card include:

Stamps- All Year Cheer, Fresh Vintage, Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Paper- Night of Navy, Naturals White, Crumb Cake

Ink- Night of Navy, White, Crumb Cake, Versamark

Other- Scallop punch, Circle punch, dimensionals, misting bottle

I also threw together a quick card yesterday using the Button Buddies set.  I was stumped on how to use the pig stamp in this cute set, until I decided to pair it with this sentiment from Word Play.  A perfect card to send someone who is ill or feeling down, don't you think?  I hope it puts a smile on my friend's face!

Besides the stamp sets mentioned, I also used-

Paper- Brocade Blue, Confetti, Whisper White, black, Poppy Parade, Summer Sun, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Glorious Green, Pumpkin Pie

Ink- Regal Rose, Black

Other- Button, Simply Scored, Word Window punch

Hope you are inspired by these cards.  Happy stamping!  

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and thank you for your comments.  They are much appreciated!

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So, I had so much fun trying the first Inspiration Challenge card (blue and white above) that I decided to give it another try.  This next one seems to be a bit odd, but it caught my eye and, more importantly, provided inspiration for a masculine graduation card.  Here is the inspiration-

...and here is the card that came from this inspirational piece-

As you can see, this card is just words, so making a card without an image is very doable (Kathy, I am talking to you)!  This card uses the Word Play stamp set, River Rock paper, Black ink, the Simply Scored tool, dimensionals and a spellbinder die.  This will make a great graduation card for a friend's son.
Thanks for stopping by!  Have a blessed day!

Lee Ann

Picture of Spring

Are you loving the fact that it is officially spring?  I know I am!  The challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ is to show something related to the new season.  I think the unofficial first sign of spring is the robin so what better image to use than that?  Even though it was not a harsh winter here, it was wonderful to see the robins back, ushering in the new season. 

I used Stampin' Up's Inspired by Nature and Nature Walk stamp sets for this card.

Other Ingredients for this card include:

Paper- Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Glorious Green, Naturals White, and Soft Sky

Ink- Lucky Limeade, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Basic Gray, Sun Yellow, Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa

Other- Linen Thread, Bright Buttons, Little Leaves die, Dimensionals, aqua painter

The robin was stamped and the masked; the grass was then stamped.  The scripture verse is Our Daily Bread designs.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog.  Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!  Blessings-

Lee Ann

Razzleberry Blues

I have been busy doing much neglected chores around the house and finally took time out to craft.  This card is for the sketch challenge at Stampin' Queen's Sketch Challenge as well as the color challenge at ColourQ.  I hope it is OK that I used some yellow for the candle flames!

I had fun cutting out a candle border for this card.  I stamped the candles in Tempting Turquoise, Wisteria, and Cool Caribbean on Whisper White and then cut approximately the top one third of the images out.  Other ingredients include:

Stamps- Party This Way, Happiest Birthday Wishes

Paper- Whisper White, Cool Caribbean, Patterns dsp (razzleberry), Wisteria, Daffodil Delight

Other- Blossom punch, small scallop circle punch, perfect polka dots ef, dimensionals

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!  As always, your comments are very much appreciated-

Lee Ann

Glorious Spring

Even though technically it is still winter, I got to enjoy early spring in St Louis with a friend.  We soaked up the sun and the flowers at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  Bear with me as I share just a few pictures of the most incredible floral display I have seen in a long time!

   

Loving Featured Stamper Challenges

Good Morning!  Another day of crafting and the beginning of spring break.  Add to that that it is the Lord's Day and you have a great day ahead of you!
I just love playing along with the Featured Stamper Challenge over at SCS.  It really helps get the creative juices flowing!
Here is the card I made for today's featured stamper:

All products for this card are Stampin' Up.  I started with a card base of Daffodil Delight and added a layer of black cs.  I stamped the Lucky Limeade panel with the crown from the Elementary Elegance set and the embossed with the houndstooth embossing folder.  The Poppy Parade Panel is embossed with the Stripes embossing folder.  I stamped 3 balloons in Lucky Limeade, Poppy Parade and daffodil Delight- the stamp is from the Party this Way set.  They were cut out and mounted on a piece of black cs that was embossed with the Fancy Frames folder.  The black cs and one of the balloons is popped up on dimensionals.  I used a piece of Lucky Limeade 1/8" organza ribbon and a brad to separate the panels and finished off the card with a sentiment from same set punched out with the Modern Label punch.  Embroidery floss was used for the balloon strings.

What a fun card to make!  Thanks so much for stopping by and your comments are greatly appreciated!
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A great new sketch is up at OWH today.   Broke out a new stamp set, You're My Type, and gave it a whirl. 

I started with a card base of Poppy Parade and then added a layer of white Patterns dsp.  My side panel is from the Attic Boutique Series in the mini catalog and is backed with black cs.  The central panel is So Saffron embossed with the Houndstooth embossing folder (my new fav). The typwriter is embossed in black, cut out, and popped up on dimensionals.  I finished off this card with black and white baker's twine (non SU) and a So Saffron button. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings!

So Many Cards...

So Many cards to make and too little time!  I am taking advantage of spring break and playing with stamps- it is pouring outside anyway.  I have made a couple of cards so far today.  One is an old OWH sketch that I really loved; I just changed the color scheme to give it a whole new look.  The other is for the Queen 4 the Day Challenge at SCS.

I used the Sale-a-Bration Fresh Vintage stamp stamp again; the sentiment is from the Happiest Birthday Wishes set.  Other ingredients include:

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Attic Boutique dsp, Patterns dsp

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Daffodil Delight, Apricot Appeal, Gray

Other: 1" square punch, white organza ribbon, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Simply Scored, Dimensionals

This is the first time inking up this stamp, and I must say, I love it!  Congrats to Melina at SCS for being Queen 4 a Day!  Ingredients used here include:

Stamps- Mixed Bunch, Party this Way

Paper- Naturals White, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Certainly Celery

Ink- Regal Rose, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade

Other- Modern label punch, Blossom punch, Blossom Builder punch, Simply Scored, Stripes ef, dimensionals

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 The Mojo is running dry.  This card did not come together easily.  it is for Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge- create a card that uses both dark and light- opposite colors such as black and white, brown and ivory.  This is also for the sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.

This will be a graduation card for a friend's daughter.  Blue has always been a favorite color of hers.  All products are Stampin' Up.  Ingredients are:

Stamps- Word Play, Kindness Matters, Mixed Bunch

Paper- Naturals Ivory, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Patterns dsp

Ink- Chocolate Chip

Other- dimensionals, Baja Breeze seam binding, Beautiful wings die, adhesive pearls.  

The flower was made by punching two 1.75" scallop circles and cutting petals into them.  They are on dimensionals as is the center of the flower which is punched with a 1" circle punch. 

Thanks so much for stopping by; your feedback is gretly appreciated!  Blessings!

Woo Hoo! It's Spring Break!

I am so excited that it is spring break and I anticipate having LOTS of time to craft!  Today I tried out 2 punch art cards.  I CASEd the bunny punch art and redesigned the card itself.  The other, the wreath, I designed myself and made it for the challenge at ColourQ this week. 

I absolutely love greens.  This color challenge was made for me!  I do not have Going Gray, so I had to substitute with an unknown gray from my cardstock stash. 

This card uses Stampin' Up's Little Leaves die and the 4 petal punch from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack punch set.  I have used the greens in the challenge- Stampin' Up Glorious Green, Certainly Celery and Wild Wasabi.  The sentiment is from the Trendy Trees Stampin' Up set.  The bow is white Baker's Twine.  The flower centers are made by coloring with a Daffodil Delight marker and then adding a tiny white pearl to the center. 

 This Easter bunny was made using Stampin' Up's ornament punch, large oval punch, 1/2 inch circle punch, hearts punch, circle from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack, and the tiny circles from the hole punch on the Crop-A-Dile.  The Bunny Body is a 1 3/4 inch scallop circle punch. 
The cardstock used is Calypso Coral and Whisper White and the dsp is from the Sale-a-bration pack from Stampin' Up.  The grass is stamped in Lucky Limeade (Inspired by Nature stamp set) and the butterfly was made with the Beautiful Wings embosslit from Stampin' Up. 

Thanks so much for looking and, as always, your comments are greatly appreciated!

Cool Colors

I have not had a lot of time to play this week, but I really wanted to play in the challenge at Paper Players- using the colors Wisteria, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, and Pear Pizzaz.  I do not have Pear Pizzaz so I used Certainly Celery and  Wild Wasabi as Pear Pizzaz seems to be a cross of these two colors.

I thought my new Stampin' Up set, Array of Sunshine, would be perfect for these colors.  I fussy cut the flowers and leaves stamped in Pool Party, Wisteria, Certainly Celery, and Wild Wasabi and then popped up layers on each flower and one of the leaves.  The card base is Crumb Cake embossed with the polka dot embossing folder.  The card front is framed with a Wisteria frame that is popped up on dimensionals. Pearls add the finishing touch.  The sentiment is from the set Curly Cute.

Thanks so much for stopping by and, as always, thanks so much for your feedback! 

Blue and White Challenges

The challenge at ODBD this week is to use aqua or topaz with our favorite scripture to celebrate their 4th birthday.  The Clean and Simple challenge at SCS this week is to make a card that is white with shades of blue.  Well, I can't exactly call this card simple, but it is white and blue! 

I am not usually one for blue cards, but I really like how this one turned out.  I was going for the layered look. 
Ingredients for this card include:
Stamps- Scripture set from ODBD, Ironworks frame
Paper- Bashful Blue and Whisper White CS (SU)
dp-Authentique
ink-black (SU)
Other- embossing folder (SU), Spellbinders, adhesive jewels, embossing powder dimensionals, ribbon

Watercolor Water Lily

I haven't touched much ink this week- I have a big project coming to fruition at work on Friday.  So glad I got to relax and ink up this ODBD stamp for their Shining the Light Challenge this week. The layout of this card is SCS's Sketch Challenge this week. 

I didn't realize until I uploaded this photo that I forgot to highlight one part of the leaves- Oops!  This was the first time I watercolored this image so was a little unsure of where I was going with it. 

Ingredients for this card include:

ODBD Mother Theresa set-water lily

Calypso Coral, Not Quite Navy, Sky Blue and Naturals White Stampin' Up CS

Basic Grey dp
Cameo Coral, Baby Blue, Not Quite Navy, So Saffron, and Old Olive Stampin' Up reinkers

Aqua painter, Spellbinders Cheery Lynn Flourish, edge punch, embossing folder, pearls

Thanks for stopping by and thank you for your comments!

Sunny Stork

I just love this stork stamp, Bringing Baby, from Stampin' Up.  I think it is just the cutest baby stamp going!  Today's featured stamper over at Splitcoast has an amazing gallery and I chose an adorable card to CASE.  This is the result:

Have I mentioned that I think this is just an adorable stamp??  To make this card, I used Lucky Limeade CS for the base and used Twitterpated dsp for my mat.  I brayered So Saffron and Barely Banana onto my Whisper White circle.  I cut 2 blossoms with my blossom punch and then cut the blossom petals apart, laid them out around the circle and then gently lifted the circle, added adhesive around the edges and laid it back down on the petals.  I water colored stork and baby and fussy cut them out.  They are on dimensionals.  The tags are made with the jewelry tag punch and stamped with words from Tiny Tags. 
Thanks so much for stopping by and, as always, comments are very much appreciated!
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Well, after having lost my MOJO for most of this weekend, I seem to have found at least some of it this evening.  The sketch challenge this week over at OWH is a fun one.  It is not something I would have normally done, but I really like the results.

 I also discovered a wonderful site that gives you color palette suggestions.  It is where I found this palette.  I would never have even thought to put these colors together, but here they are!  I really like them.  The site is caller Design Seeds.  Check it out if you have lost your color mojo.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by my blog and thank you for your comments.
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 I was totally inspired by the color combo above, so decided to make another card.  I was disappointed in the card I made for the Stampin' Queen's Sketch Challenge this week (it looked better in my head) so I decided to give this difficult sketch another try. 

This is what I ended up with- 
not perfect, but far better than the first attempt.  I used Stampin' Up's Fresh Vintage set and handcut the floral components.  I used a 1 inch square punch on the stamps. The Pink Passion panel is scored with the Simply Scored tool from Stampin' Up.  Paper used is River Rock, Pink Passion, Whisper White,  and Patterns dsp. Ink used is Pink Passion, River Rock, Concord Grape and Tempting Turquoise.  The tag is stamped with a stamp from Tiny Tags and punched with the jewelry tag punch.
Thanks so much for looking!  I hope the sketch challenge is not quite so tough next week!

Thinking Outside the Box with Circles

This week's sketch at The Stampin' Queen's Sketch Challenge is all about circles.  This one  kind of threw me off and I am really not sure whether I like what I came up with or not.

Here is the sketch-

and here is the card.

Ingredients for this card include:

Stamps- Nature Walk, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Inspired by Nature

Paper- So Saffron, Only Orange, Naturals White, Twitterpated dp

Ink- Lucky Limeade, Pumpkin Pie, True Thyme, Basic Grey, Regal Rose, Cranberry Crisp, Stazon Black

The aqua painter was used to color the bee and the butterfly.  The circles were popped up on dimensionals.

Thank you for stopping by and, as always, your comments are greatly appreciated!

Extended Punch Tutorial

The question has been asked, how do you make the jewelry punch tag longer than the punch is, as in the following card-

You will need to start with your paper being no wider than the width of your punch. 
                                                                     

Then you will feed the paper from the front of the punch up into the body of the punch and out through the punch opening.  

 Pull your paper back as close to the edge of the punch as you want it and punch.  

If you want both ends punched, repeat the process, starting with feeding the already punched end of the paper into the front of the punch.  You can customize the length of your punched paper to whatever length you want.  

 And the finished punches-

Thanks for stopping by-I hope this tutorial helped you in getting the maximum use out of your punches!

Easter

Yeah!  Can you believe it?? It is March!  Not that we had a bad winter or anything here in Missouri, but the thought of warmer days and longer days ahead (not to mention summers off) is so exciting!  I am doing my second (but really first official) Stampin' Up party this month for a friend and she requested an Easter card.  The Nature Walk eggs jumped out at me and after sifting though card galleries, this is what I settled on (for now)-

Everything used is Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted.  The card base and 2 stamped panels are Naturals Ivory.  The larger panel is stamped with Inspired by Nature in Lucky Limeade and the edges are sponged with my favorite distressing ink.  This panel is mounted on the wonderful Calypso Coral CS.  The smaller panel is stamped twice with the adorable row of eggs from Nature Walk and is colored in with the Aqua Painter and Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Luck Limeade and Apricot Appeal ink.  The edges are also sponged and the panel is mounted on Lucky Limeade CS.  The right end of the Lucky Limeade is punched with the 1 3/8" circle punch by pulling the strip of paper up through the circle punch opening and punching the partial circle.  A Baker's twine bow (Sweet n Sassy Stamps) is tied and finished off with a So Saffron button.  The Happy Easter sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Chip and punched with the jewelry tag punch using the same technique as was used with the circle punch, above.  The other end of the sentiment panel was also punched this way.  the sentiment was tied to the button with embroidery floss. 
Thanks so much for stopping by and Happy Spring!