Nothing Lovlier Than a Tree….

To paraphrase poet Joyce Kilmer, there is nothing lovelier than a tree, which is why I went ga-ga over this beautiful Spellbinders die (Just Swingin’) set that includes a tree silhouette as well as a swing, etc.

My cards with these aren’t the greatest, so I debated whether or not to even show them. But since I AM the imperfect stamper, I decided to show my work, warts and all. (My later experiments were much better, but I mailed the best one without taking a photo. Sigh.)

So … here we go:

A simple use. (Couldn’t decide on a sentiment, so just left it plain and will add a sentiment when needed.)

And another:

This one I really messed up on the edges, but I trimmed a bit, added a piece of border and a sentiment and maybe saved it…?

The next one was the actually the first that I cut, and you can see that I just made a mess of it. It was my practice shot. I didn’t leave enough room on the edge, the paper ripped, the colors barely work together… oh, it is sad.

But what the heck. I trimmed a bit, layered a bit, and stuck on a butterfly to hide the flaw.

Thanks for stopping by…and for not judging too harshly!

Ahhh…. Summertime!

I can’t believe summer is halfway over and I have not posted these cards yet!

Enjoy:

(Images on all cards are from Close To My Heart. The little Dew Drops are from the Robin’s Nest, attached with tiny Glue Dots or Zots (I use them both … a lot! The sentiment is from Hero Arts, the sun rays embossing folder is Sizzix/Tim Holtz.)

(Sun rays embossing folder from Sizzix/Tim Holtz; the sentiment is from the same CTMH set as the images.)

(I cut the car out using a Spellbinders’ Nestabilities die — the only way I’d get that perfect circle! Sentiment by Hero Arts.)

I am off to CHA — the big craft show in Las Vegas. I’ll be reporting on the show for Crafts ‘n things magazine’s blog beginning in August. Thanks for stopping by!

Crazy With Collage and PaperCraft Inspiration

As we all know by now, I am a scrap hoarder. I haven’t met a scrap I don’t like (or try to keep.) They sit on my desk, sometimes for what seems like decades, because I KNOW I will use them … eventually.

So imagine my joy in reading an article in the recent issue of PaperCrafts magazine talking about making a “messy collage.”
Well, THAT spoke to me!
The premise is that you just toss things together, and somehow, if the paper gods are smiling, you actually have a cute card.
Let’s see if it worked.

I started by dabbing two colors of Distress Ink onto my craft mat, misting, then picking up the ink with my water brush and splattering it on my cardstock. After drying with my heat tool I began adding paper bits. I finished with a rosette (see this blog entry for more on rosettes!), a sentiment (Hero Arts) stamped on a die cut piece (Sizzix Framelets set) and attached with my Tiny Attacher (Tim Holtz). It still needed a little somethin’ somethin’, so I added Dew Drops from The Robin’s Nest (attached using Zots minis) and a leftover bit from a Stampin’ Up’s Mosaic Medly (previously stamped and embossed, discussed here.)

Here, the background was stamped using an old splatter stamp from Endless Creations, in ColorBox Butter and Hero Arts Wet Cement. Then I just grabbed pieces. (Recognize the happy birthday paper?) Gee, surprise, I found a use for a rosette. The special wishes image (Hero Arts) was one stamped a while ago for another project, but I never could find something else to use it on. The embellies are from the Robin’s Nest.

You’re So Special:
Splotches stamped using Marvy Matchables Terra Cotta and #12 grey. Pieces are from a Core’dinations sampler. Sentiment from Hero Arts.

Bird Cage:
Not crazy about this one. It started with the dry embossed piece (Tim Holtz embossing folder colored with sponged on Distress Inks) and the bird cage (Hero Arts?, embossed in Stampendous! PearLustre). But then I decided it needed a background. So I sprayed ColorBox’s Stephanie Barnard Blueberry and Chocolate inks). And it was truly awful. So I just kept adding things. Not sure it’s much better, but I decided to include it anyway. Thanks for not laughing.

Fabulous Fun Friday — Very Pun-y

I love making cards, sending cards and giving cards as gift sets. So this set, Puns of Praise C1538 from Close To My Heart, is a perfect fit! I love the small, simple images and if I want to use the image without the “pun” underneath, it’s easy enough to mask off that part.
And ya know what’s also cool about this set? I was able to make a dozen cards in practically no time (AND I used up some of my scraps… and we all know how much I love using my scraps!)

Here’s a group shot:

The first thing I did was stamp a bunch of images on white cardstock, often using scrap pieces. I made sure to leave enough space so I could die cut around the image. I didn’t do much coloring — just a bit here and there. I used dies from Spellbinders and Sizzix to make layers. Take a look:

Both are pretty much the same, but using a different colored cardstock for the back layers offers a bit of a change. (The dots embossing folder is from Cuttlebug/Provo.

And a different look:

The chevron ribbon is also by Close to My Heart (attached using Therm O Web’s Super Tape); the die is Spellbinders Labels 8, raised on foam squares.

(die is Sizzix ???)

I have other variations … I’ll save those for a rainy (read lazy!) day!
Thanks for stopping by!

Moroccan Medly

Maybe it’s the summer heat, maybe it’s just hearing about my friends’ vacations … whatever it is, I have the travel bug. I’m craving adventure in exotic lands. Maybe that’s why I was drawn to the Mosaic Madness set from Stampin’ Up! It makes me think of Morocco (no, I’ve never been there. But I love the food! And the architecture.)

We all know how impatient I am, so as soon as the stamps arrived I immediately began randomly stamping images using yummy new pigment inks from Colorbox and embossing them in clear powder.

But here’s the BEST part — I didn’t have to cut them out individually! I used the matching punch! So cool. So easy. So fast.

I had so much fun just stamping, embossing and punching, but I finally put together a card:

(sentiment from Inkadinkado.)

Then I heard my neon inks (all Hero Arts) screaming out, “stamp me! stamp me!” So I did.

Now I need to go back and do more thoughtful stamping using these images.

What are your travel plans?

Fabulous Finds Friday — Really Rosettes

It took me a while to get on the rosette bandwagon, but now that I am, I am crazy about them. Big ones, small ones, fancy ones, plain ones. Love me some rosettes!

I used to make them using my Stampin’ Up scoring board (a valuable tool and a Fabulous Find), which I thought was pretty easy. Well, it IS easy to use. But my wrists got tired after scoring too much.

Enter the rosette die from Tim Holtz/Sizzix . There are two versions of Tim’s rosette dies; I chose the one that made two smaller rosettes (perfect for the scale of cards I like to make.) The die not only cuts the shapes (and the round pieces to put on the top/bottom the rosettes) but also SCORES it! Ah, bliss! Take a look:

Well, I couldn’t just make rosettes all day, could I? Or could I …. hmmm…. It sure looks that way from this pic:

Anyway, I finally decided to put them to use.

This double-sided cardstock from K and Company made it easy to create a simple birthday card. I cut some strips to make the rosettes, then used the rest to make the card front (I chose the plain side so the rosettes wouldn’t have to compete with the pattern.
I thought of adding a sentiment, but I thought the piece cut from the other side of the cardstock was enough. Is it?

Now, of course, I want the bigger rosette die, too!!!

Here’s a quick tip: Tim has a great rosette tutorial on his website. He also notes that if your rosettes tear at the score line, simply add a piece of tissue tape to the back for added strength. I did not have a problem with the rosettes tearing, so didn’t do that, but it’s good to know, eh?

Have a wonderful weekend!