Celebrating Sweet n Sassy Stamps in April!

Hello, Hello!

So, I know I say this every month, but this month, Korin REALLY knocked this release out of the park.  My favorite Sweet n Sassy Stamps Set this month?  Country Garden by Jenn Nilsson.  I have 3 cards to share with you using this set.  Hop along with us to see more inspiration!  Leave some love (in the form of comments along the way) for a chance to win a voucher to the Sweet n Sassy Stamps store.  Winner will be announced on the snss blog on April 23rd.

I adore this stamp set.  The flowers- oh my!  Look at this bucket of flowers!  I colored this image with Copic markers and then fussy cut it out.  The background was done on a piece of mixed media paper.  I tinted some embossing paste with some purple'y' pinky ink and then applied it over a Stamplorations stencil, Gridlocked.  I let the paste dry.  I added some diluted, black, Ken Oliver Colorburst watercolor paint in the 'grout lines to make it look old and weathered, then decided that the pinky purple was too bright, so dabbed some over that as well.
Lastly, I added some green and blue Colorburst watercolors to the remainder of the background- loosely- to give the illusion of grass and sky.  To finish the scene, I added a sign to the side of my building; the sentiment is from the By The Sea Stamp Set and is heat embossed in white ep on black cs.  The wood sign pole was done by stamping the brown cs with the Wood Backgrounds Stamp Set with brown ink.  sequins finish it all off.
I am linking this card up to Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, 'E is for'.  In this case, E is for embossing paste. 

This peony in a jar is another image in the Country Garden Stamp Set.  What a beauty!  This was colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  I kept things clean and graphic by covering the white cardbase with a black, multifaceted cardfront die cut.  The floral image was grounded on a die cut from Altenew- Midcentury Frame.  The center of the frame was colored with Copics and the sentiment, from the same Country Garden Stamp Set, was stamped in Versafine Black ink using my MISTI.   The image is popped up on dimensional tape and rhinestones were added around the frame.

Same colors, new image!  Yep, I tried to keep a theme of using the same colors on all three cards, yet you can see how different all three are.  This bicycle reminds me of growing up.  I had a yellow Schwinn bike that took me everywhere!  This aqua bike was colored with Copics, as was the grassy scene behind it.  The sentiment, which is from the Beautiful Birds Stamp Set, is heat embossed in white on black cs.  Some patterned paper, sequins, and  a bit of hemp twine finish this card off.

Ready for more inspiration?  Check out what the rest of the design team has for you!

Sweet n Sassy Stamps
Julee Tilman
Ceal Pritchett
Diane Zechman
Esther Asbury
Jane Bosi
Karen Decknick
Lee Ann Barrett- You are Here!
Lucinde van Ballegooijen
Lyn Tomlin
Sheri Gilson

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann  

Lovely and CAS

Hello, friends!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  I got out in the sunshine and did some yard work, did some crafty shopping and enjoyed meals out with friends.  I worked on some crafting as well; I think I may be getting some mojo back!
I wanted to play with new Stampin' Up toys and I also wanted to do another color challenge from the Summer Card Camp Online Class.  I chose gray, pink, white and light blue colors to work with.

I really like this new image from the Hello, Lovely set and used it to stamp a patterned background.  I stamped my flower from Mixed Bunch in Blushing Bride and then stamped my sentiment in Basic Gray on top of the flower and punched it out.  I added a strip of Basic Gray cs across the lower portion of the card and added a piece of Basic Gray satin ribbon (retired) over that.  2 pearls and a white Little Leaves die cut finish off the card. 

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

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used (Stampin' Up Only)
Stamps-Hello Lovely, Mixed Bunch, One in a Million
Paper-Whisper White, Basic Gray
Ink-Blushing Bride, Soft Sky, Smokey Slate
Other-Blossom punch, Little Leaves Sizzlit, pearls, gray satin ribbon (retired)

Another Year Older?

Hello!  

Continuing with the Celebrations theme at Ribbon Carousel this month, I have a birthday card to share with you. 

The white flower behind the pink flower is made using one of the Ornament framelits as flower petals.  The large leaf is made using one of the Apothecary Framelits.  The tropical drink is stamped in Tempting Turquoise and clear embossed; the umbrella and straw are then stamped.  The beverage is fussy cut out and popped up on dimensionals. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings!

Lee Ann  :)

Products Used-all Stampin' Up

Stamps-Mixed Bunch, Happy Hour
Paper-Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White
Ink-Stazon Black, Tempting Turquoise, Versamark, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Pink
Other-Polka Dot ef, clear ep, Holiday Ornament Framelits, Apothecary Framelits, Baker's Twine, dimensionals

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

Inspired By...A Necklace

Inspired By has a wonderful inspiration piece this week.  I couldn't wait to get home and play with my paper! 

Isn't this just gorgeous!?  I could not resist going with both the colors and the beads/necklace components. 

Here is my inspired creation-

Metal and Bead Necklace

I used Whisper White, Soft Suede, and Tempting Turquoise cs for the card base.  The rolled beads area made out of Tempting Turquoise dsp and So Saffron cs.  The Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive beads are made by using a 1/2 inch circle punch and the circle punch from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack, and layering the circles with dimensionals.  These beads also have a layer of Crystal Effects on the top.  The large metal "coin" beads are made using gold and pewter ep, Versamark ink pad, Mixed Bunch stamp, and embossing folder.  The are punched out with a 1" circle punch. 

The metal beads and rolled beads are actually beaded onto 26g wire.

Here is a close up of the beads-
 

This was sooo much fun to make-one of those "let the creativity take you where ever it goes" kind of projects. 

Thank you so much for visiting my blog.  Have a blessed week and as a former co-worker used to say, "Happy Friday"!

Lee Ann:)

Musical Sketch to Start the Week

Happy October!  Fall is just rolling right along; it is hard to believe that Halloween is this month and that means that Thanksgiving is right round the corner!   I had "fall on the brain" when I sat down to stamp today; earthy colors came to mind.  This card is for 2 challenges this week, ODBD's challenge to use a musical element on the card.  The sketch is from Retro Sketches.

                                                                     Soulful Chickadee

I just love this little chickadee from ODBD and he has just become a whole lot easier for me to cut out as I finally got the matching die; while I actually like fussy cutting, it is really nice and QUICK to use the die. To make this card I used:

Paper-Creamy Caramel, Cajun Craze, Black, Crumb Cake, Naturals White and Naturals Ivory

Ink-Stazon Black, Cajun Craze, SU reinkers

Stamps-ODBD's You will Find Refuge, SU Music Notes wheel

Other-twill, ODBD chickadee die, aquapainter, dimensionals, wood grain ef, pearls

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and have a blessed week and month of October!

Lee Ann
_______________________________________________
It's a good day when you are  crafting enough to have to tack on an edit to your blog post!  This card is for the Featured Stamper challenge at SCS and for the Colour Q challenge this week.  What a gorgeous palette of colors!

My finished card below-

Contemporary Mums

While this card did not come together too easily, I do like the end product.  I started by spritzing Rich Razzleberry onto my Whisper White cardstock.  This panel is layered onto Cajun Craze (I do not have Dusty Durango) which is layered onto a Soft Suede card base.  The stamped flowers are the centers from the Mixed Bunch set.  The butterflies are in Cajun Craze and Pumpkin Pie and are cut from the Beautiful Wings embossit.  The large Pumpkin Pie flower is punched from the Blossom punch and embossed with the polka dot ef.  The next layer of the flower is a Really Rust scallop circle followed by a 1" circle punched from Razzleberry dsp.  The leaves are stamped in Soft Suede on Soft Suede with a Verve stamp (Bloom and Grow) and die cut with its matching die. The sentiment is stamped in Soft Suede. 

Thanks for visiting my blog and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann

Vintage Christmas

The challenge at Splitcoast Stampers today is to use tissue paper on your card.  This seemed very challenging until I thought to try it as a fan behind my image.  I had been wanting to try the fan embellishment anyway, so I gave it a go on this vintage Christmas card.

What do you think?  I think I like the fan, but I would skip the Flower Soft on the hat and coat trim.

To make this card I used:

Stamps-Curly Cute, Greeting Card Kids, Mixed Bunch

Paper-Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Naturals White, Early Espresso, Twitterpated dsp

Ink- Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, distressing ink

Other-tissue paper, dimensionals, Flower Soft

The tissue paper is stamped with a blossom from Mixed Bunch in Early Espresso and then the entire surface is sponged with distressing ink.  I then gathered it into a fan shape and adhered it to the card with the inked side down.  The paper is thin enough that the ink comes through and I just wanted a hint of the distressed ink, so turned it "facedown".

Thanks for stopping by; happy crafting!

Lee Ann

Challenges x2

Hope everyone had a good great day!  I had a little time this morning to work on a card and then I got to enjoy lunch out with a friend and fellow stamper.  How much time can two people talk about rubber and ink??  Well, time passed quickly and this afternoon I decided to try this week's ColourQ challenge and the sketch challenge at Retrosketches. 

 The sketch was pretty straightforward; all I did differently was rotate the sketch.  The colors, on the other hand, were quite a challenge for me.  The were a tough combination to work with but on top of that, I am not a fan of bright blue so the Pacific Point gave me some trouble.  Also, as I don't care for the color, I don't own Pacific Blue, so I had to substitute the retired Brilliant Blue instead.  

I leaned heavily towards the Poppy, So Saffron and Gray and the card started to take on a muted, somewhat natural look to it, so I went with it.  I am happy with how this turned out.  I hope you like it and are inspired by it.  

To make this card I used-

Stamps-Stampin' Up's Kindness Matters, ODBD's Scripture Collection 3

Paper-Poppy Parade, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Naturals White, Whisper White, Sale-a-bration dsp

Ink-Basic Gray, So Saffron, Poppy Parade, Brilliant Blue

Other-Blender Pen, Color Spritzer, Sahara Sand marker, embossing frame

Also, torn paper is kind of a "thing of the past" but it seemed to work with the look of this card so I went with it.  

The next card came together quickly and is for the color challenge at Splitcoast Stampers today.  The colors for the challenge are Pool Party, Island Indigo and Whisper White.  

I had been wanting to try the pleated paper technique and I took the opportunity to try it on this card.  Splitcoast Stampers has a great tutorial on how to do this.  Just search "pleated paper" under the resources tab. 
I adhered my Whisper White, polka dot embossed panel to the Pool Party card base and then added the pleated panel which is backed with Twitterpated dsp.  I added some Pool Party Baker's twine to the panel before adhering the panel to the card.  The flower is made with the large scallop punch and the blossom punch.  The top layer is stamped in Indigo with the Mixed Bunch stamp.  I added a Tangerine Tango flower center, which is popped up with a dimensional.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a Happy Hump Day tomorrow!

Lee Ann

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!    

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

__________________________________________________

 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!