Fabulous Finds — More to Celebrate

Several posts ago (here) I featured a few of the new Spellbinders’ Celebra’tions stamp/die/ink/etc collection, created by designer Richard Garay.

I finally had a chance to play with some of the goodies in the collection. Here are a few of my experiments, using stamps, dies, string, paper, ink and an embossing folder, all from the collection:

I first die cut the large and medium rectangles (LOVE that perforation!). (Green paper is from the collection. Yummy colors.) I stamped the vase and flowers (from the #Sweet set) in VersaMark, embossed in black, then colored with Distress Markers. A touch of yellow Stickles added some sparkle. I splattered a dash of the Luscious Silk ink (the bottle comes with a built-in brush) over the white background, tied a piece of blue Linen thread around the white panel and mounted it to the green panel.

The text frame was stamped in Lime Green, the words in Memento black. I fussy cut the piece then added it to the card using foam tape.

The process was similar for this one:

BUT …. I ran the purple piece through the fabric embossing folder — I love the look. (I’ll have a better look in another card.)

I’ll show a few more cards over the next few days.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Cat’s Meow

In my last post I featured a cute dog-reading-a-newspaper stamp from Stampendous! We gotta give the cats some love, too, right?

Such as this amusing image, also from Stampendous! (there’s a dog version as well.)

This is a simple card — basic stamping, layering, light coloring. The background was made by running white cardstock through a Spellbinders M-Bossabilities embossing folder. The image was lightly colored using watercolor pencils, lightly blended.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hearts, Hearts Everywhere!

Can you stand a few more Valentines?

This card should really be a Fabulous Finds Friday because I love this new Stephanie Barnard banner die from Sizzix.
The background is made using a Tim Holtz embossing folder. And I’m sure you noticed my oopsie — the peek of a staple. Sigh.

Originally, I thought it would be cute to staple the banners on the top of my card, using my Tiny Stapler. But it looked too unfinished:

So I added a piece of ribbon. But it looks like one staple got the best of me. Oh, well. Warts and all, that’s what you get here.

This is a fun one made during a card making workshop at the Paper Source:

(Lousy photo — and taken of the wrong card!) In the original, the Hero Arts arrow background was gold embossed on white card stock. The Paper Source heart was punched with a heart punch then run through a Xyron. Stampendous! Gold Halo glitter was generously applied to the now sticky heart. A piece of red glitter paper was glued down on the card base and the glittered heart was placed so the red glitter showed through. The heart was placed using Therm O Web foam pop-ups.

Whew! Valentine’s Day is almost here… and I’ll have just a few last minute cards to show.
Thanks for sticking with me.

Valentines — Fast and Easy

These two cards were fast and easy — my favorite style!

I had been hoarding these glitter hearts from K&Company’s Smitten Collection and finally decided to use them.

The white background was textured using a Tim Holtz embossing folder; the hearts were popped up with 3D Glue Dots. Sentiment on both is Hero Arts.

(The fun embellishments are Robin’s Nest Dew Drops.

Thanks for visiting! More Valentines to come!

Last Set … Butterflies

Here’s the last of my card sets, and maybe my favorite. These cards are so fast and easy and I used up a lot of my scraps! This project is also great when you need something to do while watching TV — I take a big stack of scraps, a few punches, and punch away during the commercials.

Pretty self-explanatory here … I ran the top paper through a Cuttlebug embossing folder (using my Sizzix Big Shot), layered it on cardstock, and added the butterflies (punch is from Martha Stewart/EK Success.) I added small dots of Ranger’s Opal dimensional paint and/or Stickles.

Have a great weekend!

Bling It Up Friday … Simply

I’ve already raved about the sheets of bling from the Buckle Boutique (here), but I couldn’t resist sharing three more simple cards, all jazzed up:

I ran a piece of white cardstock through my Cuttlebug Damask embossing folder then added a strip of Buckle Boutique’s gold bling and a flower (Imaginisce, Bazzill Basics collection), embellished with a pearl brad from K&Company.

A detailed view:

Same technique, different card:

The rosette was made from a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die and affixed using Glue Arts’ 3D Raisens; the rainbow bling is also from the Buckle Boutique. The embossing folder is a Cuttlebug folder. The cardstock is from Stampin’ Up!

One more:

Embossing folder is Tim Holtz/Sizzix; Stampin’ Up cardstock and image; Eyelet Outlet strip of pearls.

Thanks for coming by!

Fabulous Finds Friday … At the Craft & Hobby Show

I survived the Create-n-Connect trade show put on by the Craft & Hobby Association, but I’m sure by now you have seen lots of other videos and reports directly from the show floor. My report will be coming soon on the Crafts ‘n things Web site (Aug. 9 and Aug. 12).

Needless to say, there are fabulous new stamps and dies and tools to be seen and lusted after! I’ll be spotlighting many of them within the next few weeks.

In the meantime, here’s a fun card made using an M-BossibilitiesTM embossing folder from Spellbinders:

The pretty shiny paper is from Core’dinations Gemstone pack that I ran through the embossing folder, then distressed the edges. The punch is from EK Success. I ran it through my Xyron Sticker Maker to get a nice, even adhesive with no muss.

Here’s a detail shot:

The bird is from Hampton Arts, the sentiment from Hero Arts, and the tiny metallic hot-fix embellishments are from Imaginisce.

Thanks for stopping by!

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!

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?