Candlelight Christmas

I am just in love with this DSP.  I know I shared a card using it yesterday, but since I had already cut into it, I decided I might as well make another!  I used the sketch from The Paper Players. 

I just cannot get enough of these sketches with the banners.  Good thing because they are everywhere!  I save all of my used sketches in a folder on my computer and glancing through them, about 3/4 of the sketches have at least one banner on them!

It's hard to tell, but I used the transparency sheet with the flocking on it.  That stuff is gorgeous!  I backed it with the striped DSP that I edged with the Scallop Trim Border Punch.  A few strategically-placed dots of Tombow Multi-Glue hold the transparency nicely in place.  I am also lovin' the Core'dinations Cardstock.  As you can see here, I used the Early Espresso AND the Cherry Cobbler.  Why, oh why didn't I put the Lucky Limeade on my last order?!  I love the paper on this card so much that I didn't want to cover it up too much, so I opted for a small medallion that also included a sentiment.  I was surprised to find that this ornament did not match up with any of the framelits from the new Holiday Ornament Framelits, but it was easy enough to cut out.  Of course, I had to pop it up on a Dimensional...I have been going through them like candy!  I'm down to about half a sheet.  Can't wait for my next order to arrive on Monday!

 

Stamp Set: Joyous Celebrations

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso Core'dinations

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeade

Tools: Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Scallop Trim Border Punch. Wide Oval Punch, sanding block

Accessories: Candlelight Christmas Designer DSP, Dimensional



Stampin' with my Mama

Today my Mama Sheila came over to work on her swaps for the Lansing Regional we are going to in a couple of weeks.  I just love my Mama Sheila!  While she worked on her swaps, I decided to do a card for the challenge at Dynamic Duos.  I know, I know...I should have been working on my swaps too, but you know how I feel about missing a challenge!

This was a tough combo for me.  My good friend and downline Aimee Cretsinger made this awesome sunshine card for the design team at DD.  She totally rocked it, don't you think?!  She comes up with the best ideas!  My brain cells weren't working that hard today, so I came up with a pretty simple card with flowers.

The card base was embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder.  I had already embossed it and never used it, so it was all ready for me!  Love it when that happens!  For the background, I masked it with two scraps of cardstock and sponged So Saffron ink and then More Mustard ink around the edges.  I then stamped the swirly and sentiment in More Mustard.  For the flowers, I stamped them in More Mustard and used my blender pen to color them in with So Saffron and More Mustard ink.  A little fussy cutting and some pearls and I was done!  Overall, a pretty simple card for a lazy day here at home.

 

Stamp Sets: Curly Cute, Everything Eleanor

Cardstock: More Mustard, Very Vanilla

Ink: More Mustard, So Saffron

Tools: Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, sponges

Accessories: Basic Pearls, Dimensionals

 





New Goodies!

Yay!  My box of new goodies arrived and I couldn't wait to tear into my new DSP!  When I placed the order, all I really NEEDED was some envelopes.  Well, we all know you can't send in an order for just envelopes. :)  So I added on some more goodies from the Holiday Catalog.  This is definitely my favorite mini (or not-so-mini!) catalog that we have ever had.  The Candlelight Christmas Specialty DSP is even better in person!  The colors are so rich and yummy.  I decided to use this cute sketch that Mindy came up with for the challenge at Fab Friday for my first card:

Isn't this so cute?  I just love Mindy's designs.  They are so clean and simple.  All her work is fabulous.  You can check out her blog at http://badabingcrafting.blogspot.com/.  Her blog is the first I check when I wake up in the morning!  I promise you will love it!  Okay, onto my card...

This is the first I have done one of these 3D ornaments and they are so much fun!  I just stamped the ornament three times, die cut them and glued them together.  This could easily go into an envelope flat because it would just pop-up when it is opened!

The back piece of cardstock is the Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations.  I embossed it with the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder and sanded it.  The inside is a lighter shade of red...really pretty and almost antique-looking when it is embossed.  I did the same thing for the Early Espresso banner.  Another new toy for me was the Festive Paper-Piercing Pack so I pierced the circle with one of the shapes from that for some added texture.  The sentiment is from More Merry messages.  I didn't want to take away from the design of the card, so I added it as part of the ornament.  The edges are glued ever so slightly to the ornament, with a little bit of wiggle room so the card can be pushed down into an envelope.  I usually have a hard time cutting into my DSP because I don't want to "waste" it, but you will definitely be seeing more of this one...it is gorgeous!

 

Stamp Sets: More Merry Messages, Ornament Keepsakes

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations, Early Espresso Core'dinations, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade

Tools: Holiday Ornaments Framelits, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, sanding block, Festive Paper-Piercing Pack, Paper Piercing Tool

Accessories: Candlelight Christmas Specialty DSP, Basic Rhinestone





Time for a BINGO Challenge!

These are my favorite types of challenges because it's a bunch of challenges all wrapped up in one, but YOU get to choose which one you want to use! It was actually a BINGO challenge over at Addicted to Stamps & More that helped me make it onto the design team.  I'm so glad I participated in that challenge because I am having a blast with them!  Here is the BINGO card for this week's challenge:

For my card, I chose the top row: orange, sponge and birthday.  I also used some techniques from Black Tie Friday's challenge this week.



I love the challenges at BTF's, but I was relieved to see that black was optional this week.  I love the challenge of trying to incorporate it into my card, but it is really hard for me to use!  Since it was optional, I opted out this time. :)

For my background, I used my paper piercer to poke the holes around the outside border.  I then connected them with my Bravo Burgundy Stampin' Write Marker.  Faux stitching all the way for me!  No sewing machine in this house! lol  I did the same for the circle that my sentiment is on.  After I "stitched" the background, I distressed the edges with scissor edges, spritzed it with water and crumpled it up.  I then opened it and sponged on Crumb Cake and More Mustard ink.  The creases in the cardstock really pick up the ink nicely when you sponge it.  For the leaf, I started with So Saffron Cardstock.  I then sponged More Mustard, Cajun Craze and Bravo Burgundy ink on it, stamped water droplets on it from French Foliage, scored veins on it, crumpled it up and spritzed it with Gold Glow Smooch Spritz.  Phew!  A lot of work but worth it in the end!  Here's a little closer look...you still can't see the Gold Glow very well, but it really does shimmer nicely!

To finish my card off, I accordion folded the tulle, stapled one end of it and taped it under the leaf.  I just got this yesterday and it is fun to work with!  I definitely see purchasing the Crumb Cake and Cherry Cobbler tulle in the near future. :)

 

Stamp Sets: French Foliage, Bring on the Cake

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, So Saffron

Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, More Mustard

Tools: Autumn Accents Bigz Die, sponges, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, paper piercing tool, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack

Accessories: Early Espresso Tulle, Gold Glow Smooch Spritz



Ten-Minute Tuesday

This post is a few hours early, but I know it is Tuesday somewhere in the world, so this should work. :)  I was waiting for a new box of goodies to come today, so I made this card while I was waiting.  I am having so much fun with Snowflake Soiree and Ornament Keepsakes.  The sketch I used is from Try Stampin' On Tuesday.

Cute, huh?  I have been playing around with the triple-stamped cards, so I thought, why can't I do a double-stamped card?  Oh, wait!  I can!

I thought this would make a cute card for Baby's First Christmas.  I love the pastels for a non-traditional look.  I added Dazzling Details to the centers of the Celery snowflakes, as well as on top of the ornament and the banner to look like icicle drops.  Even though this card has several layers, it comes together very quickly and can definitely be finished in ten minutes or less!

 

Stamp Sets: Ornament Keepsakes, Snowflake Soiree

Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Ink: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink

Tools: Holiday Ornaments Framelits

Accessories: Dazzling Details, Dimensionals



 

I know, I know...

I know, I said I was done with Halloween cards.  But what is a girl supposed to do when the theme at Stampin' Royalty is Halloween?!  And then there is this color combo at Color Throwdown:

I mean, seriously, what is a girl to do?  Do you see my predicament?  :)  I just HAD to make one LAST Halloween card!  I promise, this is the last one.  Halloween will be here on Wednesday, so I am SURE there will be no more Halloween challenges before then...I hope. I sure will be sad to see these Goggly Ghouls go though.  If the Stampin' Up! gods are listening...PLEASE carry them over to next year's catalog!  It is my first ever Halloween set and I hate to have to part with it.

The Pumpkin Pie cardstock is popped up on Dimensionals, with the witch and Frankenstein peeking from behind punched-out circles.  The mummy and sentiment are both popped up on top of the cardstock.  I sponged ink around all of the colored cardstock to rough it up a bit and spritzed the card base with Silver Foil Smooch Spritz.  I love this stuff!  I am expecting an order today so I can try making my own colors of spritz in the new little empty bottles we now carry.  Can't wait!

 

Stamp Set: Googly Ghouls

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder

Ink: Black StazOn, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Wisteria Wonder

Tools: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Chevron and Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folders, blender pen

Accessories: Googlies, Silver Foil Smooch Spritz, Dimensionals



Keep Calm

I've been in kind of a funk lately and have just felt like crying!  I don't know if it's this dreary weather we have been having or what. I just have just felt blah.  I am not one who likes to share my feelings with others, so today I wanted to make a card to express how I feel.  I combined the sketch from retro sketches with the color combo from colourQ. 

The colors have a halloween feel to them, which to me was fitting for my card because halloween is a dreary time of year in my opinion!  This sketch is so cute and I will definitely be using it again.  I feel I didn't do it justice with my "sad day" card. :) 

Looking at this card when it was all finished actually helped me to feel a little bit better!  The colors are pretty bright and cheery and the sentiment made me realize that it's okay to cry sometimes.  It's the "keep calm" part that I sometimes struggle with. :)  Luckily I have cardmaking to get me out of these funks!  It is so nice to have a hobby like this where you can do whatever you want to do without being judged by others.  Ahhhh, I feel better already!

 

Stamp Sets: Carry On (hostess), Summer Silhouettes

Cardstock: Basic Black, Lucky Limeade, Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White

Ink: Black StazOn, Lucky Limeade, Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango

Tools: 3/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Crop-a-dile (retired)

Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Baker's Twine (available in the Ghoulish Googlies Designer Kit in the Holiday Catalog only), Dimensionals



Last Minute Stamping

I had no plans to post a card tonight.  In fact, a half hour ago  I was assembling my swaps for the Lansing Regionals!  All of a sudden I felt like doing something new, so I checked out the challenges I haven't gotten to this week yet.  I found this great sketch at Freshly Made Sketches:

I am using Snowflake Soiree for my swaps, so I decided since I already had it out I would use it on this card too!  It all came together so fast after I chose my color combination.  This is such a beautiful set and you really can't make an ugly card with it!  If you don't have it yet, Monday would be a great time to order it because Stampin' Up! is offering 15% off of virtually all of their stamp sets (just excludes hostess sets and bundles)!  Contact me to place an order or order directly through my Stampin' Up! website at www.shanagaff.stampinup.net.  On to my card!

I just love the fact that Snowflake Soiree coordinates with the Floral Frames Framelits.  This really helps to create beautiful layered snowflakes.  After I stamped and die cut the snowflakes, I stacked them together and embossed them with the Northern Flurry embossing folder to add some texture.  The back white strip is stamped and embossed with the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder.  Since I had so much texture with these two things, I decided to keep my banner very plain and simple.  I do think I might go back and add the word "Christmas" after "Merry" when my More Merry Messages gets here on Monday.  I can't believe I don't have ANY stamps that say "Christmas!"  They have all retired!  The little rhinestones looked so lonely up in the corner that I decided to add the little snowflake up there to keep them company. :) 

 

Stamp Set: Snowflake Soiree

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

Ink: Baja Breeze, Midnight Muse, Tempting Turquoise

Tools: Floral Frames Framelits, 1 1/4" Circle Punch

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, Dimensionals, Midnight Muse Stitched Satin Ribbon

 



Keeping it Simple

I had Stamp Camp last night, so I didn't want to get too many supplies out and make a bigger mess than I already had in my room.  I was also doing more gabbing than working, so I knew this card had to be fairly simple. :)  The sketch at Nacho Average Callenge was perfect for a clean and simple card!

Do you know how hard it is to try and come up with a card when there are seven women chattering in the room (including myself!)?  Pretty hard!  I got out my trusty Color Coach to help me with a color combination.  This tool is awesome when you have a brain fart and are not feeling very creative. One of the combinations I came across was Regal Rose, Basic Gray and Very Vanilla.  A great combination for a baby girl card!

Unfortunately, I could NOT get a good picture of this card!  This is the best I could do.  Did you notice that it doesn't have my typical stamp set background?  It is a beautiful, but CHILLY, day here in northern Indiana.  I didn't think this background was too terribly bad, and you can at least tell that the card is Very Vanilla.  My inside lights made it look white.  For my card, I pulled out an oldie, Circle Circus.  This set is great for a fast card.  It is also one of the very few wood mount stamp sets I have left!  I have been buying the clear mount since they are cheaper, but I will always love the wood mount stamps more.  They are so much easier to stamp, clean and put away!  A few of the circles are cut or punched out and popped up on Dimensionals.  The sentiment was punched out with the Modern Label Punch.  I folded over one end because I thought it was a little too large for the tiny sentiment.  Then I went back and added the rhinestones.  Every little girl needs some bling, right?

 

Stamp Sets: Circle Circus, Petite Pairs

Cardstock:  Very Vanilla

Ink: Basic Gray, Regal Rose

Tools: 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Modern Label Punch

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, Dimensionals 



Fallen Hues

It's time for another challenge at Color Me Beautiful! The challenge this week was a little tricky for me.



I think they would make pretty fall leaves, but as you have seen, I have been doing a ton of leaf cards lately! I decided to use a floral stamp set that I haven't used in a while, Build a Blossom.

For some reason this stamp set is really challenging for me. I decided to make the flowers look like they were framing the sentiment.  The Perfect Plum flowers have Champagne Glass Glitter adhered to the center with Crystal Effects.  That stuff is like cement!  I stamped the sentiment and then embossed it with the oval from the Designer Frames Embossing Folders.  I cut it out by hand.  I wish there was an oval punch that punched the outside!  The XL Oval Punch does fit on the inside though, so that is handy.  I cut a Scallop Oval in half to put behind the sentiment to kind of draw the eye to the center.  Not my favorite card I've ever made, but this combo was tough! lol

Stamp Sets: Build a Blossom, Everything Eleanor, Trust God
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Perfect Plum, Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Perfect Plum, Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit
Tools: Blossom Petals Builder Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Designer Frames Embossing Folder, 1" Circle Punch
Accessories: Champagne Glass Glitter, Crystal Effects, Dimensionals

Finished!

Phew!  I finally got around to starting and finishing my six pages for Scrap Camp tomorrow night!  I figured I would be working on them all day and night.  Never did I imagine I would have time to make a card today!  Everything fell in place nicely for me for a change though, and I had some play time!  Yeah!

Today I joined in on the challenges at Create with Connie and Mary, The Paper Players and CASology.

The first thing I think of when I hear "wild" is wildflowers, and I thought these colors would be perfect for that.  The frame part was easy.  I decided to use one of my favorite masking techniques for the frame.



I die cut the frame out of a piece of scrap cardstock and used that as my mask.  Then I used my Stampin' Write markers to color the flower stamp from Just Believe twice and stamped it over the mask.  Make sure you huff on your stamp before stamping on your cardstock to get the richest color.  With the mask still in place, I lightly sponged Island Indigo inside to create the frame.  I just love this technique!  Added the sentiment, butterflies and rhinestones and I was done!  So clean and simple!

 

Stamp Sets: Just Believe, Perfectly Penned

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade

Tools: Labels Collection Framelits, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, sponge

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones

 



No more halloween!

So the challenge at Dynamic Duos is Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black (with a dessert option of die cuts), but I am pretty much done with halloween cards for this year, so I wanted to do something a little bit different.  I decided to pair it with this beautiful sketch from Mojo Monday:

I decided to do just a general card that I could give to any friend on any given day. I thought this color combination was very striking and I was really pleased with the way it turned out!



I just love the DSP stacks for cards like this where you are only using a few colors.  The subtle patterns really help to break up the colors.  The flower I made in the corner was made from 5 scrunched up 1 1/4" Scallop Circle punches glued onto a 6th punch.  I spritzed it with Silver Foil Smooch Spritz to make it shimmer after it was assembled. I love the glimmer effect it now has!

Stamp Sets: Blessings from Heaven, Daydream Medallions
Cardstock: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Ink: Black StazOn, Pumpkin Pie
Tools: Floral Frames Framelits, Finishing Touches Edgelits, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder
Accessories: White Gel Pen, Silver Foil Smooch Spritz, Brights DSP Stack

I didn't think this was going to happen...

I was really bummed because I didn't think I was going to have time to do a card for the challenge at Black Tie Fridays this week.  I have played all 5 rounds that they have had so far, and really didn't want to miss one!  The challenge is a doozy this week, and I knew it would be time consuming. 

Well, inability to sleep intervened this morning and I spent two hours planning the card out in my head!  Never mind the fact that I have SIX scrap pages to design for Friday that I haven't even started on yet.  After two hours of picturing this card in my head, I forced myself to get up and get to work on it.  Making the card was a cinch after all that pre-planning!  I might have to do that more often!

I incorporated the black and brown on the outside.  the sketch I used was an old one that I had missed from retrosketches.  I just love that sketch and was glad I had a chance to use it!  I contemplated putting googly eyes on the gingerbread man, but decided they were too big for his poor little head. :)  I also decided to keep the outside of the card pretty simple because they inside is a little bit more detailed and I didn't want them to be fighting for attention. :)

 

It was really hard for me to get a decent picture of the inside, but I used this pop-up technique I found on Splitcoaststampers.  I just did one big pop-up in the middle instead of the two little ones they showed in the tutorial.  The tree is freehanded and embossed.  I wish the start was a little bit bigger, but I worked with what I had!  Here is a picture from the side that I took before I added some of the details, but you can at least see how the tree is popped out.

This is such a fun style of card to make!  It is one of those that you want to give to someone that you know will treasure it and keep it though. Definitely not one of those that you want to end up in the trash!  I will be giving this one to my mother-in-law because I KNOW she keeps all of the cards I make her. :)  Don't want to risk it being trashed!

 

Stamp Sets: Delightful Dozen, Scentsational Season

Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink: Black StazOn, Chocolate Chip

Tools: Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Holiday Collection Framelits, Snow Flurry Bigz Die, Tasteful Trim XL Bigz Die, Large Paper Doily Sizzlet, Adorning Accents Edgelits, Corner Rounder Punch

Accessories: Red Glimmer Paper, Red and Clear Dazzling Details, Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon



Glimmery Christmas

I was so excited to see the challenge at The Friday Mashup!, which is to make a Christmas project with some sparkle.  I am a little tired of fall cards and ready for something new!  I paired it up with this cute sketch from retro sketches:

 

I had originally started on an ornament, but I just couldn't get it to have the sparkle that I wanted, so I put that aside and started on a card instead.  Cards seem to be my comfort zone lately.  It used to be scrapbook pages.  I need to mix it up a bit and do some 3D's but they seem to take me forever and with the way our schedule has been going lately, I just don't have the time to put into them.

 

 

I saw a really cool card by Lesley Hanlon on our demonstrator-only website, Stampin' Connection.  She had stamped some snowflakes and then embossed it with the Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder.  I thought it looked really cool so I did that here.  I didn't really know where to put my sentiment, so I made a belly band for my ornament by stamping the sentiment, die cutting it with the ornament die, and trimming the top and bottom close to the sentiment. 





Stamp Set: Snowflake Soiree
Cardstock: Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Gumball Green, Real Red
Tools: Holiday Ornaments Framelits, Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder, Tasteful Trim XL Bigz Die
Accessories: Red and Silver Glimmer Paper

Make Your Mark!

That's the challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More! this week!  Yeah, I didn't know what it meant either and had to look it up on the site.  :)  It's really simple though...all you have to do is use markers on your project!  Well, that was easy for me because I love my Stampin' Write markers for coloring on my stamps!

These triple-layer cards having been all over the place lately, but this is the first time I have attempted one!  I really love the look...so much so that I used this technique on a fall card for Friday's Stamp Camp!  I will share that one later.  This is a great stamp because it covers most of the card!  There were a few white spaces so I stamped the top of the flowers a few times to add some extra flowers.

 

Stamp Sets: Sweet Floral, Trust God

Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White

Ink: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi

Tools: Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch

Accessories: Primrose Petals Stitched Satin Ribbon

Ten-Minute Tuesday

Time for another Ten-Minute Tuesday!  This one might have been even less than ten minutes...it's hard to tell when you get interrupted ten million times!  "Mommy, I want some pancakes.  Mommy, I wanna watch Shrek 2.  No Mommy, come change it to Shrek Forever After.  Mommy, now I want some milk."  AHHHH!!!  Sometimes a ten-minute card can turn into two hours! lol  BUT, if you have ten uninterrupted minutes, you can definitely get this card finished in that time.

Lots of fall challenges are floating around the web lately. The theme at Less is More is autumn and I chose this picture from Hand Stamped Sentiments for my inspiration.

 

Aren't those fall colors just gorgeous?  From this photo I picked out Summer Starfruit, Tangerine Tango, Cajun Craze and Cherry Cobbler to use on my card.

I tried somewhat of a different technique for the bottom block of color. I took my acrylic block, colored on it with markers, then spritzed it with water to get the colors to blend together.  I loved the effect once I stamped it!  Then I embossed the leaves from Every Little Bit in gold and colored them in with my aqua painters.  Finally, I added the sentiment, sponged some ink on the card and around the edges, and finished it off with some linen thread.  This could easily be turned into a one-layer card if you had less than 10 minutes. You could also save time by not embossing the leaves, but I really liked the shimmer it added in real life. :)

 

Stamp Sets: Every Little Bit, Petite Pairs

Cardstock: River Rock, Summer Starfruit

Ink: Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Summer Starfruit, Tangerine Tango

Tools: Acrylic Block, spritzer with water, sponge, VersaMark, heat tool, aqua painter

Accessories: Linen Thread, Gold Embossing Powder



The strangest thing happened today...

I finally decided that I needed to get down to business and finish up my cards for Friday's Stamp Camp.  I haven't even started on the 6 scrap pages for that night, so I had to make progress somewhere!  I made a little square card a few weeks ago that I wanted to tweak into a full-sized card.  Here is the card I started with:

Of course, I had to peruse the challenge sites before I got started and look what I came across at Try Stampin' on Tuesday!

So similar to my original card!  I tweaked it a little bit to add the second circle at the bottom.  I used what I call double spotlighting.  I don't know if there is actually a term for it, but I spotlighted my spotlight, so double spotlighting sounds good to me! :)

Stamp Set: My Friend

Cardstock: Cajun Craze, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Whisper White

Ink: Cajun Craze, Rich Razzleberry

Tools: Fancy Fan Embossing Folder, 2 3/4" and 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Color Spritzer, sponge

 





Ink Splatter

Today I wanted to make a birthday card so I used the sketch from Stampin' Royalty.  I thought it was perfect with those little banners along the bottom!

I used a background technique that is fun but messy.  Last time I did it I got ink all over my new bathing suit!  Oops!  This time I was smart and put on an old shirt first. :)  For the technique, which I will call ink splatter, you need reinkers, an aqua painter, a plate and a needle.  Put drops of reinkers on the plate and pick up one color with your aqua painter.  Hit the edge of the aqua painter with the needle and the ink will splatter onto your cardstock...and pretty much everywhere so make sure you have your workspace covered with scrap paper!  Repeat with all of your colors of ink.  Here I used Baja Breeze, Elegant Eggplant and Raspberry Ripple on Shimmery White Cardstock. 

I think the ink splatter ended up looking like party confetti that was thrown up in the air!  My party hat has a little bell on top that retired last year.  I hardly ever use retired things...I couldn't resist though! 

Stamp Sets: Delightful Dozen, Pennant Parade
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Shimmery White
Ink: Baja Breeze, Elegant Eggplant, Raspberry Ripple
Tools: Pennant Builder Punch
Accessories: Raspberry Ripple Stitched Satin Ribbon, Jingle Bell (retired)