A new to me technique~

A month or so ago over on SCS I saw a card with a technique I had not thought of: emboss with color, then outline the image or letters in a gelly roll or glitter pen to make the letter stand out. It was a superb card, but I forgot to bookmark it to let you know who did it- sorry to the person I SPICE'd completely for some quick baby cards! The pink card above I used Papertrey's Hibiscus Burst ink, paper and twill ribbon just because it matched the Pink Star Gelly Roll pen I have!

Be advised, this technique is not as easy as you might think, my pen went in some directions my brain did not send it! See the upper left corner of the embossed image? It's a complaint I have about the Provo Craft embossing folders; they have 'lines' in the plastic that then shows when you emboss- grrr!

Then I went on to do a card using a new Sizzix folder~ this time I did not ink the folder, just did it plain. I then outlined with a plain glitter Gelly Roll pen. If you make the picture larger, you will see how I highlighted the edges of the heart. Well, um, actually I had to since my pen slipped and walked right across that heart...and I didn't want to throw it away... dang those crooked fingers!

My background is from one of my first attempts at using the preprinted Guidelines II background papers. I used SU's Pink Pirouette ink and paper, along with their
Bashful blue, and Papertrey's Spring Moss. Added some bling brads (SU), and Papertrey's Spring Moss twill, and a tiny piece of a double printed pink and blue ribbon- then a wheensy diaper pin just to finish it off.

Sweet!

That's it! The calendar is closed!

Honest to goodness, I need to stop real life for a month! I'm just going to close the calendar for the month of July, and see if I can get ahead in baby card making!

I was able to play with Papertrey's new set, Vintage Picnic, only once since it came. I tried to replicate the plaid on the tin basket, but I can now think of different ways to get his effect, so I want to play some more!! I colored with prisma markers to match the Ripe Avocado and Pure Poppy bitty Box papers. The tulips are cut out and raised up. I did cut the sentiment in half-gasp- so it would be easier to stamp under the basket. Both the image piece and the very outside of the kraft card base are edged in Chamomile and Chai inks.

Because the papers have a nice sheen to them, I got too much glare when I photographed, then the colors got a bit washed out when I tried to correct for the glare. In real life, this is a gorgeous card! Would make a great Chirstmas card with some poinsettias, Papertrey Design Team!

June Blog Hop

Sometimes I just make some blah cards, lol lol lol!! Here's one!! I had a great idea- a summer day in Maine is not a sunny sandy beachy thing--- it's all green, with flip flops.

But, lol, it didn't come together in a card very well... I don't have Papertrey's flip flops, so I bought some bright orange ones, and they look awful with the green! Then I got it all crooked, lol lol.

I think I'll just go to bed now- and maybe try again after I sleep tomorrow. I'll let you all know if I come up with a better 'Sweet HOT day ' card!

Who in heck would I send this to, anyway?!?

Where to begin?

Oh me, oh my, what a past 10 days I have had! My handicapped nephew was home from school for a week, and my 78 year old mom was his primary caregiver. Except, on Tuesday she had to bow out because she didn't feel so well. Haydn is 24 hour care, and is a bit of work! I was the one who was most free for the week...So we got through the week, and I went to work Saturday night- then at midnight my brother brought my mother is with shortness of breath. Within 24 hours she had had a cardiac echo, a cardiac catheterization, and a double stent placement. Meanwhile, back on the Birthing Unit, one of the night nurses called in- she has mononucleosis, and will be out for 4-6 weeks...and she's full time! Ouch! Honestly, I am carrying around a sheet of paper telling me where I have to be, when, and what I have to do! And, like many of you, we are at 19 straight days of rain...but who's counting???


I did get 2 cards made last night- at 1 am when I was supposed to go to work but they called to tell me I could stay home for the time being! Ok, now that you woke me up, I am going upstairs to make cards!

This is a sympathy card using a piece of alcohol inked background that happens to match Papertrey's new color, Scarlet Jewel. I smooshed the edges of the Scarlet Jewel with Versamark's Champagne to make it into shimmer paper- it looks great! I stamped the sentiment from With Sympathy(Papertrey) in Archival Ink Jet Black (it works the best on alcohol inks) then edged the piece with a gold Pilot pen. The card base is Papertrey's Lavender Moon.

When I put ink on chromkote paper, it gets hard to photograph without glare...sorry!


Here's a closeup of the 'shimmer' I got. I did another piece of Jewel by just pushing the ink pad gently onto the paper, and got a much less pronounced shimmer- coming soon to a card near you, lol!!

Be sure and click onto the photo and blow it up- then you can really see the shimmer better, I think-

SPICE it or CASE it!

Just a thought today~

I show my cards for inspiration- you should CASE them, or SPICE (So Perfect I Copied Exactly) them to your hearts content! That is the point!

So Sandy, make them up and you know what with them!!

Sweet Bay Tulips

This card front came out of my 'what am I going to do with it?' bin. It was a card I made many moons ago, as I started stamping. It was done at a SU catalog class, and I don't think I ever bought the set. Colors are Vintage Violet and Certainly Celery, with a bit of Vintage Violet ribbon. So! Now I like to make cards with a bit more bling, so to speak! So I ...

Cut the card front down and layered it a third time on SU's Lavender Lace. Added some of the Oh Boy Pebbles from Beverly at Precious Scraps on the side. Added some Distress Ink Antique Linen and Walnut -also from Beverly- around the edges, then layered that onto a piece of beautiful striped paper from the Memory Box Sweet Bay set that Bev sent. Next onto dark brown, then lastly onto a Certainly Celery card base.

Lastly, a highlight or two of Stickles clear on the edges of the tulips. This went from an average card class card into something that has a bit of a 'wow' factor in real life!

Baby Strawberry

Well! What a Papertrey Release it was! I don't know about you, but I think the cards generated during the releases are just spectacular! Did you see the baby card made by Nichole with the new Fruitful set? Go see it here, but be sure and scroll all the way down to the baby card, and read all of the narrative! Ha!

Not ever having made a baby card with only fruit before, and remembering there are strawberries in Green Thumb, and seeing Nichole's card as a bit of a challenge... yoo hoo! Shout out to Nichole! Here 'tis my version, lol lol lol!

I used Hibiscus Burst and New Leaf as my colors. Not having any of the Bitty Box papers (yet!) I used a punched edge instead- Fiskars Apron punch. I wondered if I should have a little more color contrast, so I did the tops of the baby strawberries in different greens, but that is hard to see in the photo. My bitty strawberry is popped up as Nichole did, and my ribbon fold is sort of the same, but you can see I used a Nestability square set instead of a circle, and just one ribbon and button.

Not sure how the nurses will like this one- is it baby enough? It's fun to see which ones get used up first...and which ones hang around for a while. It is certianly true that the non-traditional colors do not get used first! This one is certainly pink, we'll see if they like it!

A Blue Bunny~

Had this water colored SU bunny hanging out for a while now; just thought I needed a blue bunny this week! His bow is paper pieced out of the printed paper. The paper is Basic Grey, I think, but it was in a pile with no label. I do wish the smaller papers were labeled on the back!

The blue card base and layer is from way back in my early days, I bought a couple of the giant 12 x 12 colorful pads. I've gotten rid of a lot of that paper, but this color was one I didn't have in any other brand, so it stayed- and here it is! The teensy flowers are from Savvy Stamps, I have a bunch in different colors and use them a lot on baby cards! Organdy is a retired SU ribbon, it's a lilac color, but happens to work well here!

Papertrey's June Guest Star Stamper

I decided to enter the Star category...went looking for Star Prints...lol...turns out I don't own it, lol! How'd I forget that, I wonder?? Instead, I went looking for all of the papertrey Stars I do own, and came up with Everyday Classics, Background Basics: Stars, and It's a Celebration. Plus, I used Guidelines II and the preprinted guidelines II paper.

I used Baskground Basics Stars on the Guidelines 2 preprinted paper, then used one of the edges from Guidelines 2 to fill around. After that I stamped the smaller star from Everyday Blessings in the open spot. Colors are Palette's Beaux Arts Blue, and PTI's Summer Sunrise and Pure Poppy. The larger stars are also from Everyday Blessings, stamped by inking first with Versamark then with Summer Sunrise, then embossed with clear EP. After that they were punched out with the SU Star punch. The right hand edge of my first layer I cut along the stars. I edged the stamped background in Chamomile and Chai inks. It looks great! Next I layered it on Pure Poppy, then on SU's Brilliant Blue as the card base.

I hung the larger stars from a Pure Poppy Double Stitched knot. The 'Celebrate' sentiment is from It's a Celebration, curved a bit on the acrylic block. That is stamped with Versafine Onyx black. The bitty confetti from It's a Celebration was stamped around with blue and red, and the teeny tiny star was stampd in Summer Sunrise. The sentiment was then cut out with an oval nestability, and edged with the Chamomile and Chai inks as well. Lastly, lol, I hung it from the ribbon knot with another loop of the vintage twine (the lighter color).

Phew, it took more time to type this up then to make, lol! Hope it gives you just a bit of inspiration!

Another try at stenciling~

I bought a different stencil brush, and wanted to see if I could do a better job at getting the bunny to be all of the same color- better, but not perfect!

The brown card base and layer are SU's Chocolate Chip, but the bunny is edged in their Close to Cocoa. The flocked circle paper is Heidi Grace. the perfect pink bow is from one of those little bags of Offray bows from AC Moore, but I think you can get them at Mike's and Joanne's as well. Brown ribbon came from my ribbon can, lol, I have no idea who it is from, but it matched perfectly!

The stencil was made by American Traditional Stencils, and I stenciled with Shiva Oil Sticks. The Oil Sticks can be had from Utrecht Art; I just ordered a lighter pink and a blue from them- along with a million Prisma markers because they are on sale for $1.99!

Join me later tonight at the Papertrey release party, from 10 pm to midnight when the new sets and papers and buttons are available for purchase! I'll post my Guest Star Stamper card at 10 pm as well!

Nichole's Cards!

Well! I know I have been quiet lately, almost a full week of no postings! I worked 5 12 hour nights in a row, and let me tell you, my brain is working but my body is not willing, lol! Just climbing the stairs to the stamp room seems insurmountable- if that's a word, lol!

If you are here, no doubt you are a Papertrey follower, and know all about the 15th of each month and release sneak peeks- but if not, go here and look at the cards Nichole Heady posted earlier this week! Wow!

Now, the sets she used won't be available until 0001 on the 15th of June, but I loved the cards she did- so i thought maybe I could turn them into baby cards! And I did!

The first card I used a baby sentiment on the Kraft, but did essentially what she did. I don't have the retro background set, so I just used the double lines from Faux Ribbon. My color is Hibiscus burst here, and I used a close match Prisma marker for the line on the ribbon. Obviously my image is different, the onsie from Bitty Baby blessings- and oops, I forgot to put the sentiment on...I'll probably just put it inside!

This copy I used the Faux Ribbon lines again, but stamped polka dots from Polka Dot Basics on as well. Then I stamped the umbrella in Berry sorbet (same as the bg layer), and colored in the flowers with a Glitter Glue yellow. The duckie is a EK Success punch, done in Lemon Tart. A weensy black seed bead forms the eye. The sentiment is from The Cats Pajamas, it's one of my favorites!

The third card uses Kraft as the card base, and then has a white box drawn with a Signo pen. The sentiment is from Faux Ribbons, the dotted layer is from the Polka Dot Parade 8 x 8 pad, and the onsie from Bitty Baby Blessings is cut out from the Bitty Stars 8 x 8 pad.

What fun! Thanks, Nichole!!

Goodbye, Pink Pirouette

Pink Pirouette has got to be one of the best pink's ever- why oh why does it have to go away? Not only is it a perfect pink, Papertrey's Sweet Blush ribbons match it perfectly!

My task tomorrow is to get an order in for as much as I can afford~ then I will stash it with all of the Soft Sky papers I bought before that perfect blue disappeared...

The stamp is by repeat Impressions of Freeport, Maine. I colored the horse with SU's Pretty In Pink watercolor crayone, then went over the saddle and bridle with Pink Pirouette on a blender pen. PP is actually lighter than PIP, but becasue the PIP was an underlayer, the PP made those spots look darker. Brads are by unknoen, and the DSP is PP of course!

The ribbon wall- buttons, buttons and more buttons!

Some of my Papertrey goodies. Starting to run out of room, so I think I need a little spice shelf behind the buttons to raise up a row behind!

It's all about the color, isn't it?

Use those buttons!

This one makes me chuckle just to look at the photo, lol!

Casual Midweek Challenge # 53 (see it here) was a supply challenge, use those buttons! It was posted earlier in May, and there has been only one card posted back- I can only assume no one wants to use their buttons!

I saw this idea somewhere on SCS I think, or in a magazine, but did not keep the link for reference. som if it was your idea, let me know and accept my apology!

I stamped the stems from Farden of Life in Papertrey's New Leaf ink. the 'grass' was stamped in spring Moss and Rip Avocado, using a little stamp from Art Impressions. Sentiment is from SU.

The buttons are just from my stash, they are not Papertrey. The faces are drawn on with a Prisma fine line marker, then little ribbon knots glued on with white glue on their heads. New Leaf Bitty Fots ribbons finishes it off~ so cute!

Little Baby Bears~

When I took some of my unwanted stamping things to the Yard Sale, I swore I would not bring anything home! Weeellll, but look at this image! How could someone have thought this was not a keeper? And only 75 cents! You bet it came home with me. I was good, this was the only thing I bought from the tables. I went to pick up my unsold stamps, hoping that the Amuse baby carriage I had only used once was still there... but it was gone. I figured this was what I was really meant to have!

The image is by Suzy's Zoo and the -baby cakes- sentiment is by Lockhart. The papers are all Papertrey, the Polka Dot bg paper is from their Bitty Baby Blessings pad.

All stamped in Versafine Onyx Black, and colored with Prismas and Copics. I used Papertrey Stampers Select, and there was a weensy bit of bleeding between the jammies and the snap line. On the other hand, maybe that's just that I need new glasses? =80 The bow is made with the Joannes 50 cent a spool 1/4 inch ribbon. It's really yellow on the spool, but used here with the Spring Moss layer, it took on a green tint, and looked great!

I took this card to the hospital last night, and a baby had just been born- the nurses were looking at the cards, and one nurse grabbed this one and boom! Off to a new mommy right away!

Memory Box Sugardrop with Papertrey

I was taken with how the front sheet of Memory Box's Sugardrop paper (from Beverly at Precious Scraps) looks like Papertrey's Out On a Limb branch, so the two had to meet up!

I trimmed down the Memory Box paper, sponged Distress Ink Walnut Stain and Antique Linen (From Beverly!) around the edges, then layered it on Papertrey's Ripe Avocado and Sweet Blush. Next is a brown and pink print from the Sugardrop line, also layered on Ripe Avocado and Sweet Blush.

The OOAL branch, leaves and flowers were stamped in Papertrey's Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss, and Palette's Pink Toile. Some Flower Soft Sweet Pea was added to the flowers, then it was edged with the same Distress Inks as the Memory Box paper. I layered the smaller piece only on Ripe Avocado since I didn't want the small layer to get too big. A lovely piece of May Arts ribbon in pink organdy with brown dots finishes off the card.

It's always good to have a critical eye when you post cards, isn't it? What could I have done better? I wish I could have gotten the branch to flow with the background limb better, and I think next time I will do some background stamping on the small layer, and leave off the Flower Soft!