Hello Again, Pink & Green!

Pin It Now! The winter doldrums might be setting in, as much as I hate to admit it!  I love snow, and the warmth of the woodstove, but I have found myself gazing out the kitchen window at what was once my flourishing garden, that's now a brown pile of compost.

So in the craft room, we're back to butterflies & blossoms, to brighten someone's day!

The sketch is the latest from Hand Stamped Sentiments, and it's all about circles. Which I love. 

The first thing I did was cut the card base a little narrow, 3-3/4" wide, so the elements on the card could hang over and still fit in a standard envelope.  Although I'll likely make a box for this one!

I used Strawberry Slush & Wild Wasabi on a Sahara Sand base. Papillon Potpourri for the butterfly & Simply  Celebrate for the "hello".   

The flower is punched from crepe paper with the Blossom Punch. Three layers of the crepe flowers, sponged, stacked, and fluffed with my scoring stylus. The glittery center is a jumbo pearl, of all things, with the sticky backside dipped in glitter. I used silver & some pink seashell glass glitter that I have in my stash. Then I simply stuck a couple of glue dots to the back and nestled it in the center.  

I thought the paper doily die cut needed a little something, so I sewed a couple of circles onto it. Better!

So what do you see in this snazzy sketch?  Will you go bold and trendy? Or change the shapes to suit your need?  I'd love to see what you do, so hop on over and play along!  

SUPPLY LIST:

STAMPS:  Papillon Potpourri, En Francais, Simply Celebrate

INK:  Strawberry Slush, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake

PAPER:  Sahara Sand, Sweet Sorbet DSP (Sahara Sand pattern), and In-Color Stack (polka dot)

EMBELLISHMENTS: Jumbo pearl, twine (Sale-A-Bration), Crepe Paper, vintage button (my stash)

PUNCHES: Blossom, 2-1/2" circle

BIG SHOT: Delicate Doilies Sizzlits Die

Why Do I Resist Flower Stamps With All My Might?

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Lately I've been feeling a creative slump. I've seen others saying so as well. I think, for me, I've relied on my tried and true ingredients, and they're fine. But it's more than that. I cannot WAIT for the new catalog to go live, so I can pick some new & wonderful artistic supplies to quench my thirst. And, moreover, I'm a little heartbroken that I'm not going to the SU Convention next month. The 25^th anniversary one...the one that my stampin' colleagues are eagerly planning for...it's just not “in the cards” for me one more year. It hasn't been an easy time here (in real life) over the past couple years. But I keep pressing on, smile intact, spirit full of gratitute, and sending cards out into the world one at a time, to bring sunshine...a hug...a high five...or flowers!

I'm reinstituting my Clean & Simple Summer cards. Last summer, I decided it's a good idea, especially when the days are long and family is home more, there's gardening to be done, and swimming pools to bask by, that my cards will be bright, clean, and simple. Here's my first one for this summer, using Hand Stamped Sentiments' color challenge: Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, Baja Breeze, and Midnight Muse.

I used several simple techniques to keep these bright colors from competing on my card. For the tag, I used the Chevron embossing folder, and Stampin' Write markers in Baja Breeze and Midnight Muse. Using the front inside of the folder, I colored the embossed rows of chevron in alternating colors, and embossed on a piece of scrap white cardstock. Then, I spritzed the folder with with a mix of Shimmer Paint and rubbing alcohol, and ran a new piece of white CS through the Big Shot. This created a “stamped-off” embossed chevron pattern. Let's coin the phrase “Stamped Off Inked Embossing”!

The second technique is emboss resist with sponges. Very simple, and so pretty! Just choose an outline stamp (Fabulous Florets works well here). Heat emboss with white embossing powder. From the center of each flower or leaf, sponge darker in the center and swipe gently toward the edges of the image. Fussy cut each piece and arrange with Stampin' Dimensionals. I love these pretty blossoms :)

To finish, I used Whisper White for the card base and cut it 11” x 4”, folded in half. The tag is placed off center, and the cluster of flowers is arranged so they hang off the edge a little, but will still fit in a standard envelope due to the 4” width. The sentiment is stamped in Crumb Cake, and little pearls are placed here and there. When fully assembled, the entire card was spritzed with the Shimmer Paint spray mixture for one more layer of subtle shine.

Hope you are having a great week, and thanks for allowing me to vent a little! In blogland, things often seem perfect. Real life is an exercise in strength and grace. Here's a quote from Pinterest that I love to use as a reminder.

And take a little time for yourself to stretch your crafty wings with Hand Stamped Sentiments' ColorChallenge. You'll be glad you did :)

Have a blessed and creative day! ~ Erika

SUPPLY LIST:

STAMPS: Fabulous Florets

INK: Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, Midnight Muse, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Crumb Cake

PAPER: Whisper White

EMBELLISHMENT: Basic Pearls, Whisper White 5/8” Organza ribbon, Baker's Twine from Pop Up Posies kit, Chevron Embossing Folder, White embossing powder, Versamark ink.

HSS160 Sketch - Circles & Stitches

Pin It Now! Hello crafty friends!  For this week's Hand Stamped Sentiments sketch, I knew I wanted to get away from what I normally do.  "Normal" for me being DOILIES. GREEN&PINK. and RIBBON.  So I double challenged myself to create a card with the sketch, and not use those elements :)

I actually made two cards.  The first one took several hours, walking away, strolling back over, and thinking about it while I should have been concentrating on third grade homeschool (fractions, George Washington, and helping verbs. still got it done).

So, here it is :) The background paper was ripped out of the Epic Day Journal.  I love the journal, and I love the papers even more!  I like the holes on the side, with the rips and all.  The circle was originally punched and pieced with the 2-1/2" circle punch, but I ended up reducing it to 2-1/4" with my ancient Creative Memories circle cutter.  It was a huge ordeal, with the stitching already being done!  However, I used the discarded portion on the next card ;) Waste not, blah blah!

The black "hello" is stamped onto Window Sheet with Staz-On.  Another experimental exercise!  It's hand trimmed and adhered with a couple of stealth glue dots.  The Stamp-A-Majig came in handy for the Daffodil, Pool Party, and Calypso "hellos", and it finally came together!

 Inside, a few circle stamps.

The second card was purely accidental.  The outer circle that was trimmed away from the original circle laid against the practice sheet I was using - did you notice the background paper is upside down?!  I used the wrong side of the page!  Anyway, I was stamping the hellos to see how I'd like to space them and thought it would be thrown away.  Turns out, the circle over the writing was cute! I added a flower from the Pop Up Posies Designer Kit and there she is!

I love how the Daffodil and Pool Party blend together to make a gorgeous green in the sentiment.

So will you take a little time out for yourself this week and play with paper?  Head on over to the Hand Stamped Sentiments blog and give it a whirl!  I'd love to see your creation!

Have a blessed and creative day!   Erika

Butterfly Thank You Card & Tags {SUO70}

Pin It Now! I see I'm not the only one who's SO happy that all of Stampin' Up's butterflies are here to stay for another year!  SUO Challenges has noticed too, and is posting a challenge using butterflies.  I need to make thank yous for customers to tuck in orders, so I made these embossed butterflies, and used one to finish a card...

My first attempt at a tag was using Fine Feathers, and I didn't like the way it looked late last night.  Looking again this morning, it's not bad, really!  I'll have to revisit that idea another day ;)

The second largest Beautiful Bigz butterfly is embossed with the soon-retiring Lacy Brocade folder, which is rubbed with the Melon Mambo ink pad.  Epic Day This & That DSP, cardstock, and ribbon are layered on Sahara Sand, with a little spritzing to pull the colors together.  "Thanks" from Kindness Matters is glittered around the edges with Dazzling Details.  

The Melon Mambo strip has a stamped strip using the Chamomile wheel. 

Hope you're having a great week!  Glad you stopped by :)

 STAMPS: Kindness Matters, Chamomile wheel

INK: Melon Mambo, Pool Party, Crumb Cake
PAPER: This & That Epic Day DSP, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Melon Mambo, Pool Party DSP stack
EMBELLISHMENTS: 5/8" Flower Trim, Pool Party Seam BindingRibbon, Rhinestone Brad, Dazzling Diamonds glitter
BIG SHOT: Lacy Brocade embossing folder, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die
OTHER: Spritzing tool

What's On My Desk...

Pin It Now! Since the purchase of my light box many months ago, I have taken pictures of my projects carefully quarantined to the stark white-grey of the lit box.  It's been nice, mainly because I can photograph night and day, and the color is always the same.  So I haven't had to take inventory of what's left on my desk after I finish a card.  I just pile it up and start a new project.  But I always save scraps!

Kimberly Van Diepen of Stampin' By The Sea has challenged her readers to make a card with with only what's on your desk. Easy for me, as most of the stuff I love most is on my desk :) So here I go!  Come along with me. Here's my card...

And here's how I got there.  I started by shifting around things that are just stacked.  Sahara Sand woodgrain circles, a random stamp, a butterfly.  I'd like to say that I don't usually wallow in this much stuff, but I'd be lying to you.  If I'm lucky, I have a 2' x 1' area to work, and then I'm bumping piles!  I have bowls, jars, baskets, and bins. Welcome to my world!

I decided that I like these together, and now I'll pick a background.

Ooh, this is springy!  Good, I'm going with the green.

Adding a few details, I'm not sure if I'm don't embellishing, so I'm tacking it down and I'll work some more bits around.  So far, I have a banner strip from Tea for Two and a tiny scrap of Naturals ribbon.  I stamped a Mother's Day sentiment on them.  Picked up a button from what's left of my Artisan Embellishment kit.  Linen Thread, and we're almost done.

Okay!  Done!  I placed all my goodies on an Island Indigo CS base, and added a few embellishments in the corner.  The little heart on the banner is punched from a piece of vintage poetry, and I purposely chose the word "grace" to show in the heart, as a little symbol of motherly love.  As you can see, a lot of what I use is right at my fingertips.  I love it that way, I love having all my pretties scattered around me.

 So what do you have on your desk?  Link up to Kimberly's post if you get the chance, and share with me on my post too!

Easter Crosses of Hope Tags & Cards

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Happy Easter Saturday to you!  If you haven’t put together some little goodies to give the adult friends in your life, it’s not too late.  Here’s an easy tag to make, that also quickly transforms a card front into an elegant statement.

In assembly line fashion, prepare all of your layers.  Doily Sizzix circle (largest one), wood grain embossed Sahara Sand cardstock, Crosses of Hope stamped in So Saffron (hand cut), “Happy Easter” from Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched with the Word Window punch, then banner cut at the ends.  And then your flower layers.  Here’s a quick visual on how to recolor your Flower Lace Trim easily:

I’ve seen them sprayed with a water bottle (here on Pinterest) to achieve the color spread, but I like the way the Aqua Painter works better for a variegated look. You can really work the brush into the layers and get it as wet or dry as you want.

After assembling your tags, you can run some Linen Thread through the tops of some, or make cards from them like these two.

I have several Sympathy cards to make this week, so I thought I’d make one from this tag to get started.  If I happen to have leftover tags that didn't find a home by Easter, I’ll  probably swap out the Easter sentiment for communion, baby, or whatever I need.

My guys and I put together these bags of pretzel bunnies (again, found on Pinterest here), and we plan to go to our elderly neighbors today, and visit a couple local folks in nursing homes.

Have you been watching The Bible series on History channel?  We just caught up last night, and wow, how visually stunning it is!  To see the stories played out on the screen is amazing.  I love seeing the surprise and realization on my sons’ faces when they recognize the stories being portrayed.  I think it’ll be helpful to them to see this, they’ll remember the events even better now.

Have you seen this Easter topiary on Pinterest?  Haha!  It’s adorable.  This is the one we made here at home for our kitchen table.  The base of mine is a blue glass vintage doorknob and an inverted mini tart tin.  It gets lots of comments J  My 12 y.o. says he saw a report that Peeps never deteriorate.  Weird, but okay!  I guess I’ll pack it away for next Easter and see if the research holds up.

Well, I hope you have carved out time to do something crafty this weekend!  Link up in the comments if you’d like to share, I’d love to see what you’re up to!

SUPPLY LIST:

STAMPS: Crosses of Hope, Teeny Tiny Wishes

INK: So Saffron, Old Olive, Primrose Petals

PAPER: Tea for Two DSP, Sahara Sand, Baja Breeze, Whisper White

EMBELLISHMENTS: Lace Flower Trim, Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon, Doily from Artisan Embellishment Kit, Delicate Doilies Sizzix die, Always Artichoke Seam Binding Ribbon, Woodgrain embossing folder, word window punch

Simple, Shelli, and Sketchy

Pin It Now! Today's samples are inspired by many things. 
My love of vintage.
My love of pink and green.
Christmas.  Blessings.  Butterflies. 
Sketches.  and Shelli Gardner's style. 
First, the sketch was used for both cards. 

Merry Monday #53 is a nice, clean layout. I love the rule of thirds here, and the spot for an embellishment in the corner.   I used an antiqued button from Artisan Embellishments.

 

Both of my cards were inspired by this card from Shelli Gardner's blog.  I adore her shabby chic style, and love to incorporate the look in my projects when I can.

 

To get a color matched ribbon, I sponged Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon with coordinating Certainly Celery ink.  Bits of scrap lace are layered with stamped 7/8" natural ribbon, and again, a scrap of seam binding ribbon is threaded through the button.  

 

I love that sweet "Season's Greetings" sentiment from More Merry Messages!  The embossed snowflakes are Delicate Details EF.



Second verse, same as the first...
but fresh, springy, and fluttery!

 So this one is right up my alley!  Pink Pirouette CS, Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, a scrap of pink scalloped lace from Artisan Embellishments, safety pin from Vintage Trinkets, butterflies punched from Elegant Butterfly with Tea for Two paper, and a Vintage Faceted Button.  The embossing is done using the Delicate Designs lace folder, embossed twice, flipping the paper and lining it up so the lace matches. 

The little heart punch is taken from a vintage book of poetry, and fits just right with the card.  An extra little blessing!

 

The sentiment on this card is from Trust God.  I like that it will be good for many occasions, from new baby, congrats, wedding, even sympathy.  This one will go up for sale in my Etsy shop!  I think I'll make a few in different colors as well, I just love how easy this layout comes together! 

 

It snowed like crazy today, swirling huge flakes in the air, covering the ground in no more than half an hour! Then, this afternoon, it all melted and there were literally a hundred robins in my yard!  Yes!  Beautiful red breasted robins, picking around for treats.  Welcome, spring, even through the flakes of snow ;)

 

Hope you have a wonderful day! 

Erika

 SUPPLIES:
Green Christmas card:
STAMPS: More Merry Messages
INK: Soft Suede, Certainly Celery
PAPER: Crumb Cake, Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla
EMBELLISHMENTS: Delicate Details EF, Vanilla seam binding ribbon, wide oval lace & vintage button from Artisan Embellishment Kit, 7/8" Natural ribbon, pearls, my homemade shimmer mist

Pink Blessing Card:
STAMPS:Trust God
INK: Soft Suede
PAPER: Tes for Two DSP, Pink Pirouette, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
EMBELLISHMENTS: Vintage Trinkets, Vintage Faceted button, Elegant Butterfly punch, Delicate Details EF, Linen Thread, Distressing kit
OTHER:  Vintage book page, Best of Browning

Quickie Valentine Treats

Pin It Now! Here's a super quick project to put together for a class or a group of friends. My 8 year old and I put a dozen of these together in 15 minutes before youth group tonight!

Just a little Polka Dot Parade DSP, 4" x 1-1/2", punched on the end, and a layer of scallop circle punched Glimmer Paper with a circle punched image from Mixed Medley hostess set.

Have a willing assistant stuff 12 conversation hearts in each cello bag and you're out the door, no more than 10 minutes late :) My friends know that is Right On Time for me.

Have a lovely Valentine's Day! Erika

Papillon and Pop Tops

Pin It Now! ...or Wishing For Spring!  I'm blogging today watching the snow fall outside my window.  Half a foot so far, and 25 degrees!  I am not so sure Puxatawny Phil knew his head from his bushy little bottom!

There's a color challenge this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments that will get your mind on all things bright and beautiful.  Cherry Cobbler, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, and any neutral.  Whew!  That is a lotta  bright.  And you know I'm not a "bright" crafter (I can't believe I just said that).  

I decided on a flurry of butterflies in brights ~

Originally I thought I'd just do a pop top necklace for the color combo and just go extra tiny with it, but when I was done, I was actually inspired to keep going. So I made the card to match!

The card is a CASE from the spring mini, which was done with smaller butterflies and Pool Party CS, but the sketch is very much the same.  The butterflies are punched from the Tea For Two DSP & the Festival Of Prints stack from Christmastime.  I layered them with the newsprint paper from Tea For Two, sewed a doily on, spritzed it with Pretty In Pink.  I used the Papillon Potpourri stamp set to place some Melon Mambo and watermark butterflies on the Sahara Sand CS base.  I added a Vintage Faceted button and an Itty Bitty heart button, and embellished those with silver glass glitter.  

The pop top necklace!  I am getting hooked on these.  They're cute, easy to make, and the possibilites are endless!  I watched a tutorial video by Melissa Stout to get some tips.  

After smashing the pop top flat in the Big Shot, I used the Collage Curios stamp set, and stamped the background writing in Crumb Cake, then the circular stamp in Melon Mambo.  The tiny center butterfly is stamped in Melon Mambo, then again in Pretty in Pink on a piece of scrap and cut it out.  It's popped up over the Mambo, and then the whole image is covered in Crystal Effects.  A 1/16" punch at the top and a jump ring and chain, and voila!  A cute necklace!

So, do you feel inspired by our color combo this week? Valentine's Day?  Baby girl?  Spring?  I'd love to see what you come up with!  Click here to join in the fun.

SUPPLY LIST:
CARD:
STAMPS: Papillion Potpourri, Family Reunion
PAPER:  Sahara Sand, Melon Mambo, Tea for Two DSP, Festival of Prints Designer Stack
INK: Cherry Cobbler, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Versamark clear
EMBELLISHMENTS:  Artisan Embellishment Kit (doily), Vintage Faceted button, Itty Bitty heart button, Elegant Butterfly punch, Frost White Shimmer paint (for spritzing), Spritzing tool (pink on doily), Vine Street embossing folder (SAB 2013)

NECKLACE:
STAMPS:  Collage Curios
INK: Melon Mambo, Pretty In Pink, Cherry Cobbler
PAPER: Very Vanilla
EMBELLISHMENTS:  Silver Soda Pop Top, Crystal Effects, 1-1/4" punch, 1/16" punch,
Other:  jump ring, silver chain

Mini Envelopes Valentine's Banner

Pin It Now! I love Valentine's Day, now that I have a sweet husband and two lovely sons, who think I'm number 1!  Not so much stress involved, I like it that way :)

I set out to make a sort of countdown to Valentine's Day this year, and came up with this little trio of banners made with SU's mini envelope Bigz die.

I cut envelopes from alternating white and two patterns from the super pretty Tea Time DSP. Added lots of embellishments from the Artisan Embellishments kit and a couple of the little tiny Pop Top embellishments.  Also some of the delicate Flower Trim (oh, how I love that stuff).

 I strung them onto the new Natural ribbon from the spring mini, it's very much like burlap, but nice and neat.

I plan to fill them with tiny candy treats and "Love You Because" type of notes.  I think it's especially important to let people know not only that you love them, but specifically why you love them as individuals.  Now I have more than one day to get my points across :)

Have a lovely day, my crafty friend!  ~Erika