Swiss Hearts

We've been having a snow storm today here in Milwaukee, WI. I turned on the Weather Channel early this afternoon and what city should be featured but . . . . . Milwaukee! I thought we were through with it which is why my husband and I went out and shoveled and dug out our car, and now it's snowing again! ACK!!

So, that meant that I have been stuck indoors and could . . . . . STAMP! Yay!

Before I post what I did today, I want to post something that I did last week, that lead to what I did today. I watch Laura Fredrickson's blog religiously, she's a fantastic source of inspiration for me and a lot of other folks out there, so check her out here. She had a link to another blog here where I got my inspiration for this card. I'll post some of my CASE's of Laura's stuff soon, but wanted to get this one out there first.

The paper that I used for the hearts lent itself better to a colored background so I chose Barely Banana for that. I used my new Swiss Dots embossing folder. I got several new ones the other day, but the Swiss Dots is my favorite. I can truthfully say that it took me longer to pick out the heart colors than it did to make the entire card. I used a black marker to ink up just the "hello" word on one of the Hero Arts stamps and stamped that on the bottom heart. Very simple! Thanks Jennifer for the inspiration!

Recipe:
Stamps: Hero Arts Friendly Greetings
Paper: Barely Banana, Textured Designer Mat Pad by Brenda Walton-K&Company
Ink: Basic Black marker
Accessories: 3/4" Small Heart Punch, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder

Think Happy Kiwi Thoughts

I’ve been trying to be inspired and make something on my own that I’m not copying from someone else. The cards that I’ve made the last three days have been completely CASE’d from others which is why I'm not posting them until I can attach the proper credits to them.

This was a card that I tried to make from a card I found on the Internet, and it didn’t turn out anything like I thought it would which is why I’m posting it. It doesn’t resemble at all the idea I started out with originally. The only element that's even REMOTELY similar is the medallion. I’m sure all of you have had that happen to you. I’m not sure if I like this card or not. I think it will have to grow on me.

I started out using the colors from the Murifield designer paper as my inspiration. The final result isn’t what I thought it would be, mainly because I used so little of the actual designer paper. The card I started out with used Certainly Celery as the background, but that didn’t seem to look right with the brightness of the blue accent so I changed to the Kiwi Kiss which is what I should have started with in the first place.

I used my Leafy Branch Cuttlebug folder to emboss the background on Kiwi Kiss card stock. This was attached to a Pacific Point card base. Pacific Point was used with my Vintage die for the corner pieces. The flower was stamped with Versamark and embossed with embossing powder and punched out. I did it this way because I didn't trust myself to get the flower in the middle of the dotted circle image. And no, I didn't think at the time to use my stampamajig. The dotted circle was stamped with Kiwi Kiss on Very Vanilla card stock and punched with the 1 1/4" circle punch. This was attached to a circle of Pacific Point punched with the 1 3/8" circle punch. I used the Murifield retired paper in the plaid pattern and used the scalloped circle punch. All elements were attached with a brad.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Think Happy Thoughts
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Piont, Very Vanilla, Murifield
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Versamark
Accessories: Cuttlebug embossing folder "Leafy Branch", Vintage die, Pearl luster Sapphire embossing powder by Stampendous, 3/4", 1 1/4", 1 3/8" and scalloped circle punches, vanilla brad from Hodge Podge Hardware, ribbon from Michael’s, dimensionals

Black Birthday Soup

Boy, that's some name, huh? "Black Soup?" Well, that's what happens when I'm trying for something catchy and miss. Oh well.

This card was made for a 14 year old boy who’s favorite color is black. Now I know that black is a pretty basic color that goes with anything, but I wanted the other color to be something that wouldn’t stand out too much but would still look like a nice contrast. Grey was simply too "blah." I’ve never been too fond of the Bordering Blue color because it looked too grey to me, except then it’s against black and then it has a definite blue tone to it. I had used this layout for another card but felt that it lent itself well for this design. I really like how it turned out! The black really sets off the blue.

The base is Basic Black. A mat of Bordering Blue and another one of Basic Black were cut out. The black mat was run part way through my paper crimper (you can't see the crimps in this picture but they’re there), about half way up from the bottom and the top was trimmed to fit.

The "Happy Birthday" sentiment was stamped on Bordering Blue in black ink and the bottom edge was torn. It was layered on to the black mat leaving enough room at the top for the brads and then attached to the Boarding Blue mat. The brads were then attached using the paper-piercing tool and template and the whole things was then attached to the card base.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Alphabet Soup
Paper: Basic Black, Bordering Blue
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Paper Crimper, gold square brads, Paper Piercing tool from Crafter’s Tool Kit, Paper Piercing Template

Birthday Blooms

This card was made for a 4 year old girl and I’d been told that her favorite colors were purple and pink. I had to work a bit to come up with the right combination. The contrast was almost too much for me but I figured this was for a 4 year old and I know how they like flash and dash. After I’d finished the card, it still didn’t look right so that’s when I added a little bit more "flash," meaning the stickles.

The card was made with Pixie Pink as the base. The Lovely Lilac front was cut a half inch shorter than the width of the card and then punched using the Fiskars scallop punch. I have both the Fiskars and Stampin’ Up! scalloped punches but wanted the holes so saved myself the extra steps by using the Fiskars one.

The flower and the leaves were stamped on Whisper White CS. The flower was stamped again on Pixie Pink and cut out. It was attached to the white with a rhinestone brad, and this was layered on to a mat of Pixie Pink and Mello Moss which was then attached to the card base.

This card was pretty simple and could be used for a number of different occasions simply by changing up the colors and sentiments.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Friendship Blooms, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Pixie Pink, Mello Moss, Lovely Lilac, Whisper White
Ink: Pixie Pink, Mello Moss, Lovely Lilac
Accessories: Scalloped Punch (Fiskars), Purple Rhinestone Brad, Fruit Pumch Stickles (could also use Crystal)

Winter Wonderland in Blue

Here's some food for thought.....if you have a stamp set that you haven’t used at all or maybe just one time and it's been retired but you still REALLY LIKE it, don’t sell it or give it away, keep it somewhere out of sight so you can’t see that you still have it. Then when a catalog comes out that has a set similar (I’m convinced that they discontinue stuff so they can bring it back in a couple years "changed" just a little bit), get your hidden set out and you’ll be set! Then you can use the money that you saved by not buying another similar set, to buy something else that you really need/want.

I was inspired to make this card because of the Sleigh Bells Ring set that was in the Fall/Winter catalog. I KNEW I had a set similar to that one but couldn't remember if I still had it. Fortunately, I DID.

This color/paper combination seemed to lend itself well for a masculine card. It’s hard to see but I used the crystal Stickles on part of the skating rink and also on the road. I SO like how it turned out!

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Winter Wonderland
Paper: Four Seasons DSP (ret.), Night of Navy, Whisper White
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: Navy grosgrain ribbon from Michael’s, crystal Stickles

Winter Wonderland in Red

Have you ever had a stamp set that you bought because you really liked a sample that you saw made with it, but when you got the set you couldn't find the sample and you couldn't figure out what else to do with it? Or else the sample didn't look as good as it did the first time you saw it? You let the stamp set sit around forever, and then decided you were going to try to sell it?

Well, that's what went on with this set, except that I wasn't able to sell it. Boy am I glad I didn't!

In the Fall/Winter catalog I saw the Sleigh Bells Ring set but didn't buy it. Had too many other things on my list that I wanted first. But I still liked that set. Then I got to thinking "Oh, Oh, Oh! I HAVE a similar set somewhere, now where the heck did I hide it??" So, I went looking and DID find it!

I really like how this card turned out. The Ski Slope Designer Series paper really added a nice touch, and we do need bright cheery cards in this drab, dreary winter, don't we? I started out with a Riding Hood Red card base (because I was out of Real Red which is actually the color in the designer paper) and the Whisper White as a mat, then the designer paper. The image is stamped on WW in Riding Hood Red, and matted on Riding Hood Red. It’s hard to see in the picture but I used the crystal Stickles on some of the snow around the skating rink and along the road. The seam of the two papers is covered by the ribbon.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Winter Wonderland
Paper: Ski Slope DP, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Blue Bayou double stitched ribbon, crystal Stickles

I'm Back.....sort of

Dear Friends,

I could not BELIEVE it when I checked this blog and it's been almost THREE MONTHS since I posted something! I knew that I wasn't going to be able to get to this for a while, but wow. I don't know what happened to November, and then we were out of town twice in December for extended periods, and I've been dealing with year end financial stuff at my church because I'm Financial Secretary.

I have several cards to share, but it takes time to write up the directions and the recipe, plus posting them on SCS so that folks have a link back here.

I apologize to those of you who have been checking back in hopes of seeing something new. I'll try to get something posted here very soon. We had snow here this morning so I've been inside. As good an excuse as any for getting something posted here, huh?

Thanks for checking in!
Kathy