Elements of Style

Good Morning, Everyone and Happy Saturday! 

It is a beautiful, sunny day here and hopefully much of our ice and snow mixture will melt.  I hit the craft room early this morning and made a card for 2 challenges at SCS- for the inspiration challenge and for the Lovefest challenge, sponsored by MFT. 

I decided to go with the colors blue and yellow, based on my inspiration piece, but then I added in Cajun craze to define the embossed bricks a bit more.  I inked up the embossing folder with the Cajun Craze pad and embossed.  I stamped the flower in More Mustard two times.  I colored the images with More Mustard and So Saffron using a blender pen.  I fussy cut flowers that I wanted to pop up on dimensions.  I cut an Island Indigo vine using my favorite flourish die.  The bow was made using Becca's Bow Maker.  'Friends' is from the Tiny Tags set and is punched out with the jewelry tag punch. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Lee Ann:)

Supplies Used-
Stamps-Stampin' Up Elements of Style and Tiny Tags
Paper-Whisper White, Island Indigo, Midnight Muse, Naturals White
Ink-More Mustard, So Saffron, Island Indigo, Cajun Craze
Other-Cheery Lynn Fancy Flourish, Jewelry Tag Punch -SU, Baja Breeze seam binding, Island Indigo ribbon, dimensionals, Tim Holtz ef

Good Morning!

Good Morning All! 
I should not be posting on a Friday morning; I should be at work.  But here we are, with another snow day!  Snow, sleet and ice is making travel on side roads very difficult, which means it is a great day to stamp!

 Bella had a grand time running off some energy yesterday afternoon!

I am using this bonus time to catch up on some challenges.  The first is the Mix-Ability Challenge at SCS.  This one really isn't catching up as the challenge just posted today.  Dina has us using water and water-soluble coloring mediums to create lovely effects. 

This sentiment is from Verve; it is heat enbossed.  It is popped up on dimensionals over the watercolored background panel.   I will be sending this to a friend in San Antonio who is struggling right now.  She loves color, particularly orange and turquoise. 

The second project is for a couple of  challenges.  The first is a challenge at CASology, where the cue word is 'flame".  The second is the LoveFest Challenge at SCS; Taylored Expressions is asking us to create a set of 3x3 cards. 

These note cards were fun and easy to make.  I don't know why  I had not done it before!  I inked up a new stamp set from Our Craft Lounge, Every Heartbeat.

Thanks so much for stopping by; your comments are so appreciated!  

Have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann :)

Supplies used-

Card 1-

Stamp-Verve-Learning to Sail

Paper-Whisper White, Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Naturals White (all SU)

Ink-So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Old Olive, Midnight Muse, Craft Black (all SU)

Other-clear ep, dimensionals, brush

Card 2-

Stamps-OCL-Every Heartbeat, sentiment is SU Kindness Matters

Paper-Whisper White, Basic Gray

Ink-Basic Gray, Summer Starfuit, Calypso Coral

Easter Sunrise

Hello Everybody!
It is a snowy/sleeting/icy day here and a day of enjoying the wintery scene from the inside!  I got some stamp time in this afternoon and wanted to make some Easter cards.  I love the new single Stampin' Up Easter Blessings sentiment stamp, but was having a hard time coming up with anything I liked.  Then I took my inspiration from Bridget Findlay's card, which can be seen on SCS's Facebook page.  I just love how this turned out-

I masked a strip across the upper portion of my card and sponged on Regal Rose, Calypso Coral and Daffodil Delight.  Once that was complete, I scored lines along both edges of the sponged area.  Then I embossed the lower portion of the card.  I stamped a butterfly and colored it using a blender pen and Regal Rose and Calypso Coral inks.  I added a little bit of Dazzling Details to the butterfly's wings.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Lee Ann:)

Products Used-all Stampin' Up
Stamps-Easter Blessings single stamp, Papillion Potpourri
Paper-Whisper White, Calypso Coral
Ink-Stazon Black, Regal Rose, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight
Other-Polka Dot ef, Simply Scored, Butterfly punch, Dazzling Details

Airborne!

Hello Everyone and Happy Hump Day! 
I just love surprises and I got one this evening- a snow day tomorrow!  I love snow days because there is no schedule to follow, no appointments to get to.  They are always great R and R days and crafting days!
I am sharing a card today that was made with a brand new image -to me-The Cat's Pajama's 'Oh Chute'.  I have always loved this image for its cute bunny and humor.  I finally got it and inked it up yesterday for Splitcoaststamper's Love Fest Challenge- an inspiration challenge with wonderful white, yellow black and gray colors as well as polka dots-  and TCP's Tuesday Challenge-to use your TCP stamps and/or dies in a new way.  Since I have never used a TCP product before, purchasing and inking up the stamp for the first time was my "new way".

So I watercolored this guy, using Derwent's watercolor pencils.  What a bear to use the aquapainter on those little arms and legs!  I will probably try a different coloring technique on the next inking!  There is a very light watercolor wash for the sky.  The parachute was paper pieced, scallop edge was cut and embossed, Clouds were diecut and the sentiment was stamped and die cut as well.  I finished off the card with baker's twine and a button. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and hope you are staying warm!

Lee Ann :)

Supplies Used-
Stamps-The Cat's Pajamas-Oh Chute
Paper-Stampin' Up Basic Black, Whisper White, and dsp; Pink Paislee dp, Echo Park dp, and watercolor paper
Ink-Memento Black, Stazon Black, Soft Sky and Blush Blossom 
Other-Derwent's watercolor pencils, SU polka dot ef, MFT cloud dies and medium scallop edge die, dimensionals, baker's twine and SU button

Back in Black

It has been a crafty Monday and I have another card to share with you. I was inspired by another Dirty Dozen Design Team Member to get creative with the Petite Curly Label Punch that is available now during Stampin' Up's Sale-A-Bration. Spend $50 and the punch can be yours for free.  Or, choose the Pretty Petites Stamp set.  I used both here-

As you can probably see, this is a pretty simple card-a CAS card, really.  I used a bunch of Stampin' Up scrap paper and stamped with one of the images in the Pretty Petites set.  I selected a rainbow of colors.  I punched out the labels and arranged them in a cascading fashion.  The "thank you" is popped up on a dimensional.  That's it!
If your are interested in these products, just leave me a message below, and I can help yo place an order.  
Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Lee Ann  :)

Products used- all Stampin' Up
Stamps-Pretty Petites set
Paper-Basic Black, Whisper White, variety of SU scraps
Ink-Stazon Black
Other-Dimensional, Petite Curly Label Punch
___________________________________

2/18/13 -4:50pm
I have an add-on here Ladies!  I just got my Ears to You stamp and the card club girls want Easter, so I am working on that! 

 I love how the Oval Framelit fits perfectly in the Apothecary Framelit.  The bunnies were stamped and cut out in the Oval Framelit, then stamped again and fussy cut out.  I used the edge of the Decorative Labels Punch to stamp my Happy Easter sentiment and create a little tab.  

Thanks for taking a peek! 

 Lee Ann  :)

Supplies Used-
Stamps-Ears to You, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper-Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Tea for Two dsp
Ink-Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Stazon Black
Other-Decorative Label Punch, Apothercary and Oval Framelits, Decorative Edge Framelits, Paper Piercing Pack, Pearls, Dimensionals, Ribbon  

 

To Die For!

I hope your are enjoying your President's Day, whether you are lucky enough to have it off or not.  I am using my time to play along with the Lovefest Challenges at SCS.  Today's challenge is sponsored by Simon Says Stamp and is challenging us to use dies-

I used a musical theme, as the CAS challenge today at SCS is to be inspired by a musical quote.  My chickadee was colored with a blender pen using Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede ink.  The birdcage was die cut in thin cardboard and then embossed with pewter ep.  The rest is pretty self explanatory.
Thanks for stopping by today and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used-
Stamps-Impression obsession-chickadee; Stampin' Up music wheel; Our Daily Bread Designs sentiment
Paper-Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke
Ink-Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Stazon Black, Pretty in Pink
Other-IO chickadee die, Poppystamps bird cage die, Memory Box branch die and leaf die, pewter ep, pearls dimensional, Itty Bitty Punch Pack from Stampin' Up

Tons of Challenges

One of the things I like best about long weekends is the opportunity to have extra stamping time!  This holiday weekend is no exception!
 Today's featured stamper at SCS is Mary, who has a wonderful, diverse gallery.  I went way back to 2008 to choose a card for inspiration.  Here is my version of her card-

I combined elegant and cutsie to come up with a quick and easy thank you card, especially if you like fussy cutting!  I stamped my Patterned Occasions elephant three times and fussy cut him out.  I had the dp left over from another project so used it since grey and yellow are one of my favorite color combos.  It was already fussy cut, so it was ready to go.  I embossed the top portion of my Whisper White layer and cut a Summer Starfruit strip and matted it with white. For the sentiment, I masked the elephant and just stamped the words and cut them out, mounted on the dp and finished it off with a large rhinestone.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used- All Stampin' Up

Stamps- Patterned Occasions
Paper-Whisper White, Basic Gray, Summer Starfruit, Sycamore Street dsp
Ink-Basic Gray
Other-Vintage Wallpaper and Polka Dot efs, large rhinestone, Finishing Touches edgelit

Weekend Challenges

Hello Everyone!
I have two cards to share with you tonight and both were made for the "Lovefest" going on at Splitcoaststampers.  Each of 10 days is devoted to a member company at SCS.  My first card is for Sweet N Sassy stamps.

I inked up a brand new stamp for this challenge.  This is one of those cards that keeps evolving and evolving and evolving!  It is really nothing like what it started out to be, but I love how it turned out.  I started by stamping the image in Stazon on watercolor paper and coloring it with an aquapainter and reinkers.
Next, I tried the out of the box technique, and totally botched it!  I attempted several repairs, but ended up fussy cutting out the image.  My dp strip initially had a scalloped edge on it, but it was too much so it ended up with a simple mat.  I cut a Spellbinder oval, embossed the edge and sponged with Soft Sky ink while it was still in the die.  The branch is popped up on dimensionals.

The next card is for the opening day of the "Lovefest"-

We were to add a little "LOVE" to our cards.  Mine is L-Lavender O-Oval V-Venetian Motif SB die E-Embossing
This is another image just seeing ink.  It is from Our Craft Lounge.  I stamped the image in Momento Black and then colored with Prismacolor pencils.  I am still learning coloring.  I find colored pencils difficult, so I started out small!  The bow was made with my Becca's Bow Maker-I love that thing!  I can finally put a pretty bow on my cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann :)

Supplies used-
Card 1-
Stamps-Sweet N Sassy Stamps-Sheltering Cherry Blossom
Paper-Whisper White, Soft Sky,watercolor, Sycamore Street dsp (SU)
Ink-Stazon Black, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose
Other-Polka Dot ef (SU), Spellbinder oval die, aquapainter, pearls, dimensionals

Card 2-
Stamps-Art of Nature by Our Craft Lounge
Paper-Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Neenah Solar White
Ink-Memento Black, Early Espresso
Other-Spellbinder Venetian Motif dies, Prisma color pencils, ribbon, MFT Fish Tail Flag Stax,  SU oval Framelit, SB embossibility folder

Mixing Up Friday

Hello Everyone and Welcome to the End of the Work Week!

I love Friday evenings, not only with the weekend to look forward to, but for the Mix-Ability Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  This week is challenge number 3-use words on white paper for a prominent component of our cards, and then add 3 shades of red to it in any coloring medium.  Why not come over and join the fun?  While you are on the site, stop by and visit the latest Dirty Dozen Fan Club Gallery; this month's theme is "Icing and Sprinkles".  The gallery is pretty sweet!

Here is my card the the Mix-Ability Challenge-

To make the flower, I sponged Real Red, Poppy Parade and Cherry Cobbler on First Edition dsp;  then I die cut the petals; the edges are inked in Real Red.  I added Razzleberry to the petal centers and to the die cut flower center.  I pressed the flower center and the petals into a Versamark ink pad and then sprinkled them with UTEE and heat embossed.  I layered the parts of the flowers with dimensionals.  Lastly, I added the tiny flower centers in black and Summer Sun.  The flower panel is popped up on dimensionals.

Thanks so much for visiting and have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann :)

Supplies Used-
Stamps-The Art of Nature (sentiment) -Our Craft Lounge
Paper-Whisper White, Razzleberry, Old Olive, Basic Black Summer Sun, First Edition dsp (all SU)
Ink-Real Red, Poppy Parade, Cherry Cobbler, Razzleberry, Stazon Black, Versamark (All SU)
Other-Polka Dot ef (SU), Bella Blooms die (Simon Says Stamp, Gentle Leaf die (Memory Box), dimensionals, UTEE

Coloring with the Featured Stamper

Good Morning, Everyone!
This week's Featured Stamper at SCS is Wendy, and she has a fun and vibrant gallery full of colored images.  I got out my brand new Prismacolor pencils to play along-

I picked this pretty image from Sweet and Sassy stamps to color as I thought it would be pretty easy for my first go at colored pencils.  I wanted to avoid coloring skin! Can you tell I was thinking spring when I picked this floral and colors?  :)
Thanks so much for stopping be and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used-
Stamps-Flowers in Bloom-Sweet N Sassy Stamps
Paper-Neenah Classic Crest White, SU Brilliant Blue, Stampin'Up -gold dsp, and Authentique -blue dsp
Ink-Memento
Other-Prismacolor Pencils, ribbon, pearls, dimensionals, Honeycomb and holiday Oval Frame efs, both from Stampin' Up, Stampin' Up oval Framelits, Copic marker (for shadow around image)

Vintage Resist

It's Friday and time to play the second Mixed Media, or Mix-Ability Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  I love trying new things for the sake of trying, not necessarily for the sake of the end result.  And it is kind of fun getting messy!

Today's challenge is to use the emboss resist technique. I started by clear embossing my Mixed Bunch image.  I then diluted some Island Indigo re-inker and spritzed it on the paper.  I wiped off the embossed areas and then sponged Daffodil Delight to the bottom portion of the card.  Following, I spritzed the card with Mister Huey's spray ink in Warm Calico, and again wiped the embossed areas.  Once the paper was dry, I spritzed with gold Tattered Angels.  I set this aside to dry.
I then made my border out of Brushed Gold cs using the edgelits from Stampin' Up.  My flowers are made using felt from MFT.  The flourish was cut in both gray and green felts.  The yellow felt flowers were made using the MFT Royal Rolled Roses dies-small, medium and large.  The flower centers were lightly sponged with Pumpkin Pie ink.
I wanted a bow on the card, but nothing looked right.  I ended up using white tulle, which helps to highlight the embossed flowers.  The sentiment is from the Field Flowers set and is stamped in Craft Black.  The card was assembled and when it was complete, got one last spritz (OK, maybe 2 or 3!) of Tattered Angels gold mist.  

This challenge made for a fun evening!  Now to get busy finishing cards for this month's Dirty Dozen Gallery!
Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used-
Stamps-Stampin Up Mixed Bunch and Field Flowers
Paper-Whisper White, Basic Gray and Brushed Gold CS
Ink-Daffodil Delight, Versamark, Craft Black
Other Stuff-clear ep, Mister Huey's Warm Calico Spray ink, spritzer bottle, Island Indigo re-inker, Tattered Angels Gold mist, felt (from MFT), Cheery Lynn Fancy Flourish, MFT Royal Rolled Roses dies in small, medium and large, tulle, pearls, Stampin' Up edgelit

Valentine Candy

Hi everyone!  My second post of the night is another Valentine card, Candy Box 2. 

This is the red version of the first Candy Box card, here.  The Twitterpated dsp was sponged with Real Red.  The sentiment is embossed in silver ep.  The lace around the heart is actually Stampin' Up's paper doilies. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used -All Stampin' Up
Stamps-Well Scripted
Paper-Twitterpated dsp, Real Red, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink-Versamark, Real Red
Other-Heart Sizzlits, doilies, silver ep

Mix-ability Number 1

Splitcoaststampers is starting the month off with a brand new challenge; the Mix-ability Challenge, where we, as players, get to learn how to make mixed media.  What a fun way to learn about new products and techniques!  Lydia started us off having us use both shiny and matte mediums on our projects this week. 

I chose to work with acrylic paint (matte) and Crystal Effects (shiny) mediums on my card.  I played with a brand new set by Paper Smooches and got out my Copics which haven't seen the light of day for a while! 
I sponged the acrypic paint over a stencil and matted the stenciled paper on Lucky Limeade cs.  I used my MFT Fishtail Flag Stax to make the banner from my cute bird image and Island Indigo cs.  I applied Crystal Effects to the bird's eyes. 
Clean and Simple!  That's it!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and have a blessed weekend! 

Lee Ann  :)