Clean and Simple Stamping Sketch

I've had lots of stamping time the past couple days and I've had such fun!

I made this card for Natasha's Clean & Simple Stamping blog sketch challenge. I actually started with the patterned paper, something I rarely do. I cut the rectangle with a Spellbinders die. The sentiment was stamped in gray with a TPC Studio stamp. I added the Prima flowers and brads and popped up the panel on foam squares. I added the ribbon, per the sketch.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Double-Challenge Card

I really like Natasha's sketches for her Clean & Simple Stamping blog.  I don't do them often enough:) But, yesterday I managed to use the one from this week and combine it with the Christmas Card Challenges blog. I normally post my Christmas cards on Sunday, but then I never can play along with the optional challenge. So, this week you get it on Friday! The challenge this week is to use snowflakes.

I punched the gray strip with a Martha Stewart punch. I scored two double lines in the center. The ribbon is from Martha Stewart, also. The little snowflakes were punched with a Tonic punch and I added Star Dust Stickles to them. The sentiment is an old one from Katie and Co. It's matted with red and mounted on foam squares.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Embossed Birthday

A clean and simple birthday card for today, with no flowers! Well, unless you count the tiny one on her head:)

I embossed this cute little elephant with a small Cuttlebug folder. I added tiny gems for her eyes and for the flower center. The sentiment is a little one I got from someone once upon a time and I can't tell you who it's from. I stamped it with Real Red ink and added a tiny black gem for the dot on the "i". I matted with Real Red cardstock and mounted on Dimensionals. The embossing was done on ivory and the card base is Papertrey Ink kraft.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Clean and Simple Fall-To Layout

I made this card for the Clean & Simple Stamping blog's Fall-to Layout #168. I always love Natasha's sketches.


The doily came from my friend, Annie. Thanks so much, Annie, for including it with the cards you sent me. I stamped the sentiment from an Inkadinkado set on it, coloring the stars with a pale yellow and adding Stickles to them. I added a circle of Baja Breeze for a little bit of color to show through the innermost part. I hand-cut the bottom arc and embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder, then rubbed ink over it. The top half was embossed with a Swiss Dots folder. The doily panel was mounted on Dimensionals. EDITED TO ADD: I forgot to say that this card is five inches square.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Valentine - Flourishes Challenge

I really love visiting the blogs of Dawn Burnworth (My Stamping Thyme) and Leslie Miller (Running With Scissors) every day.  They both design for Flourishes and do SUCH beautiful work.  I saw the Flourishes challenge was to use red, pink and white and I just had to join in.  I had made a card like this one for the Creating Everlasting Memories eBay store, but it had no pink in it. So, I made another one.

The hearts were cut with a Quickutz die set (soon to be available in the CEM store) out of Stampin' Up!'s Pink Pirouette and Real Red cardstock and also white.  The card base is Papertrey Ink's Stampers Select.  I decided to put a strip of color behind the hearts, since they were white.  I mounted the hearts on foam squares.  The sentiment is from a dollar set from JoAnn's.  

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Best Wishes

A "just because" card ... just because I got this stamp in the dollar bin at Michael's last week and wanted to use it. I thought I could stamp it in a pattern and make a background, but it just didn't line up any way that I could figure out.


I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink on Aqua Mist from Papertrey Ink and colored it with Mint Melody (anyone remember that? LOL!), Sage Shadow and Cameo Coral markers from Stampin' Up! and a white gel pen. I cut and embossed it with a Square Nestability and sponged Mint Melody on the edges. The lower mat is also cut and embossed with the same square - it's out of Mint Melody cardstock. I embossed a larger square in my card base, which is Stampers Select white cardstock, also from PTI. The sentiment is from PTI's Fillable Frames #4 and is stamped in Cameo Coral. The colored layers are mounted on Pop Dots.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Sympathy Rose

I was in need of a sympathy card yesterday, so this is what I made.

The rose is a stampoff from when Harriet was here in June - from Gina K called Year of Flowers. I had already colored it a couple weeks ago and I believe I used Blush Blossom and Pretty in Pink Stampin' Up! markers. The leaves are from the same set and I colored them with Certainly Celery and Sage Shadow. I carefully cut them out and mounted them on Pop Dots. The sentiment is also from Harriet - from Papertrey Ink's Anniversary set. The strip in the middle is embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder and mounted on a strip of green. I scored on both sides of it with my Scor-Pal.

Thanks so much for looking, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Clean & Simple Layout Challenge

Today’s card is for Natasha Trupp’s “Fall-to Layout” challenge #38. Her blog is called Clean & Simple Stamping.

Both of the stamps I used are from a clear set by Stampendous. I stamped the image with Versafine Onyx Black ink on PaperTrey Ink’s Stamper's Select white cardstock. I colored it with Prismacolor pencils and blended with Gamsol. I stamped the image on scratch paper, cut out the image rectangle, and used it to mask off the area outside the image. I then dabbed a Versamark pad over the colored image and embossed it with Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder. Then I used Versamark on it again and embossed it with Deep Impressions embossing powder. I wish you could see the sparkle better, but I’m including a close-up so you can see it closer. I didn’t have a button the right color, and I’m not sure a button would have been the right embellishment, anyway. So I used a little “bling.”

Thanks so much for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Super Clean and Simple

I just got a couple new Stampin’ Up! sets last week while we were gone, so I was eager to use them. The tree is from a new set called Forest Friends. It is in the new Occasions Mini catalog.

I first inked up the tree with a Certainly Celery ink pad, then took a Chocolate Chip marker and colored the trunk and branches. I sponged the edges of the square with Chocolate Chip ink and adhered it to the cardstock. The sentiment is from SU!’s Beautiful Borders and is also stamped with Chocolate Chip. I just love the clean, simple look of lots of white!

Thanks so much for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Wonderful Friend

Ahhh, stamping time!

Last night I “played around” a bit. I took this image (Rubbernecker – Jeanne Streiff Collection) and colored it with markers. For the first stamping with it, I just breathed on it (to re-moisten it) and then stamped. For the second stamping, I used watercolor paper and misted both the stamp and the paper. For the third stamping, I misted the stamp and stamped on normal cardstock once again. This card is made using the third stamping. I thought it would make a nice background for a sentiment. I remembered I had this great stamp (thanks, Vicki!) from Hero Arts that would work perfectly. I stamped over the flowers, using Onyx Black Versafine ink and embossed it with clear detail embossing powder. The rest is very standard for me! I cut out the image and embossed it with a Long Rectangle Nestability, then used a scalloped one to cut the mat using Stampin’ Up!’s Glorious Green cardstock. The background is embossed with Dotted Swiss and Diamonds in the Rough Cuttlebug embossing folders, separated by Scor-Pal double lines and mounted on more Glorious Green.

I just assume that anyone reading my blog is a stamper, but if there is anyone out there who is interested in purchasing my cards, I would happily sell them! My email address is in the “About Me” section on the left, and also there is a link in my Profile page.

Thanks so much for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Pink Birthday

I wanted to post SOMETHING to my blog, and since I haven’t done any stamping lately, I thought I’d look and see if I had something “old” to post.

I found this card that I never uploaded. Very simple. Stamped, colored with Stampin’ Up! markers, Scor-Pal’ed, matted. The daisy is from the Martha Stewart collection and the pink is punched with a Martha Stewart border punch. I’m pretty sure the ink is Pink Passion by SU! and the pink cardstock is, also.

I finally got my Christmas cards ready to be mailed. Oh, what a wonderful feeling! They should go out tomorrow. Now I can concentrate on presents. Then, hopefully, I can sit back and enjoy the holiday season for a little bit. Our grandson will make his first visit to our house – that will be pretty cool.

Thanks so much for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Waxed Paper Cuttlebug Resist

A while back, I was sent a link to this technique. I thought it looked interesting and knew I wanted to try it. I finally did.

In a nutshell, this is the technique. Use a Cuttlebug folder on a piece of waxed paper, then iron that embossed waxed paper between two pieces of cardstock, then brayer over the result. Voila! I used Stampin’ Up!’s In-Color, Baja Breeze, for my brayering and also to stamp the mittens and sentiment. I embossed the mittens and sentiment with Iridescent Ice embossing powder, also. I stamped the mittens twice so I could cut one set of them out and pop them up with Pop Dots. The ribbon is from Anchor Paper, and unlike the picture, matches the paper exactly “in real life.” The stamps are from an All-Night Media set I got at Michael's a few years ago called Winter Wonderland.

Thanks so much for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Another Extremely Simple Card

This is a birthday card for my daughter-in-law. Her birthday is in December and she LOVES Christmas. I was using up these teapot stickers for Christmas cards, and I thought I better save one and use it for Brooke.

The stickers are from Michael’s and are by Mary Englebreit. (I got them last year.) They came dimensionalized and glittered. I stuck one on a circle punched with a plain circle Marvy punch. I mounted that on a scalloped circle punched out of red cardstock with a scalloped Marvy punch. I embossed a circle on the front of the card by using a plain circle Nestability. The “warm birthday wishes” was printed on my computer. I think she’ll really like it.

Thanks so much for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

How's This for White!

Boy, did this card NOT turn out how I expected it! I actually started out this card with a small white rectangle mounted on a Garden Green scalloped rectangle. Do you see that anywhere? Nope!! It didn’t even make the card. (I did end up making a card with that part later. Maybe I’ll add it at the end of this post.)

It doesn’t get much more simple than this. It seems silly explaining how I made it, but I need something to fill up this space anyway. LOL! The bottom is embossed with a Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss folder. The lines are scored with a Scor-Pal – on both sides of the ribbon. The “Thinking of You” stamp is (again) from Stampin’ Up!’s All Year Cheer I – stamped with Lavender Lace. The butterfly is stamped on vellum, embossed with Ultra-fine White embossing powder and cut out. There are three little sparkly flowers for a little "bling." That’s it!

Oh, here is the card that ended up with the green scalloped rectangle.

Thanks so much for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

More or Less?

Another “multiple card” day. I made one of these cards, and then made the other. They are VERY similar, but still different. How about a vote on which one you like better?

They are both scored at one inch from each edge, and then scored diagonally in the middle. One has additional scoring at a quarter inch in from each edge. The lines on both are sanded so the white paper core shows through. (The paper is from Lasting Impressions.)

The one with less scoring has hand-sewn French knots in the intersections of the diamonds. (I got this great idea here.) The other has frosted seed beads in the intersections. Both are stamped with the retired Stampin’ Up! set Elegant Embroidery. And both have “Happy Birthday” sentiments from dollar acrylic sets. I colored both with Stampin’ Up! markers.

So, what do you think? Is less “more” or is more “more?” (Even though they are BOTH pretty “less!”) You can click on each of them for a close look, if you'd like.

Thanks for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Celebrate!!

The card I chose to upload today is a really quick one I made yesterday. My up-line (the woman I signed up with to become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator) had her garage sale on Thursday and I had to go and pick up a few “new” things! I love playing around and experimenting with new stamps, and that’s how this card started.

Sorry, I don’t even know the name of this SU! set. (If anyone can tell me, that would be great. I’ll edit this post to include it. It’s four stamps – the flower, the stem and leaves, a heart and a leaf.) I stamped the flower with Versa Magic Chalk Ink - Pixie Dust, then wiped off the center of it and used a marker for the dark middle. The stem is stamped with Versa Magic Chalk Ink – Aloe Vera. After I stamped the flower and stem, I used the ink pad to add a little green on the bottom for grass, then I used chalks to add some color inside the flower and leaves, and also a very light blue around the outside of the flower and leaves. I mounted the image on Pink Pirouette (a new SU! color) and embossed the edges with a Cuttlebug border embossing folder from Just My Type. Then I mounted it on Purely Pomegranate. The ribbon is Purely Pomegranate, too. I scored lines on both sides of the ribbon with my Scor-Pal. The “CELEBRATE” sentiment is from a Studio G set that I just picked up at Michael’s.

Thanks for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Another Anniversary

Today’s card turned out to be a case of one of my own cards! It’s quite similar to the wedding card I made in June. It’s much simpler, less elegant and smaller, but still kind of like it – if that makes sense!

I used Mellow Moss for the card itself, something I rarely do. I almost always use white cardstock. I stamped the leaves from a Scrappy Cat set called Botanical Flourishes that I got at Michael’s the other day. (After using a 40% off coupon, it was only $2.99!) I used Memories black ink for them, and colored them with a Stampin’ Up! Mellow Moss marker. Then I added a few highlights/shading (whatever!) with a Sage Shadow marker. I used the Dotted Swiss Cuttlebug folder on each side. That has to be my ALL TIME favorite folder. It works for just about anything! I used my Scor-Pal to score the lines beside the dots. The Happy Anniversary is from a foam set that I got at JoAnn’s once upon a time. I have since taken all of the stamps off the foam and trimmed them carefully and now use them on acrylic blocks. They work great! I punched holes for the ribbon with a Stampin’ Up! Double Circle punch. After I took the picture, I noticed the bow is not centered, but oh well … it’s a handmade card – it doesn’t have to be perfect!

That’s it for today – another Clean and Simple card. We’re off to visit family and go to the Mower County Fair in southern Minnesota for the weekend. I’ll be back with another card soon!

Thanks for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon

Three for the Price of One!

Well, I haven’t uploaded a card for a few days, so I guess I’ll just go with what I’ve got! Last night I was going to stamp all evening, but it took me over two hours to clean up my stamping area so that I had room to create! Plus, I got distracted with other things.

At any rate, I have three cards to share with you today, but I’m not terribly impressed with any of them. I was making use of some of my “card parts.” Does anyone else have them – pieces laying around that you were “testing,” or making extras, or scraps? I have so many of them!

The birthday card was made with the following “pieces:” the sentiment was already embossed with Versamark and sponged with Almost Amethyst, the diagonal piece was a scrap, and the flowers were punched and had pearls on. I just rounded the corners on the pieces, matted the sentiment, stamped the background, and put it all together.

The fish card: the background was already scored, the scalloped oval piece was already cut, and the quilling pieces were left over from my other fish card. I just stamped the sentiment, cut it out, and put it all together.

The anniversary card: the daisies were already embossed on the white and the copper, and the copper was already mounted on the black. I matted them, stamped and embossed the sentiment, and stamped and embossed the scrolly design on the top. There - emphasis on quantity today! LOL!

I got my new In Colors from Stampin’ Up! yesterday and I’m hoping to maybe get something stamped with them tonight.

Thanks for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Fresh Cuts Thanks

For this card, I used a set from the new Stampin’ Up! catalog called “Fresh Cuts.” The catalog will be out on August 11.

I inked up the image with Sahara Sand, and then I used a Certainly Celery marker to color all of the leaves. It's rather amazing to me that I can hardly tell the difference between River Rock and Certainly Celery – I suppose because there was Sahara Sand underneath it. I sponged the edges of the cardstock with Sahara Sand, also. I tried to bring out the "tan-ness" of the Sahara Sand by mounting it on Close to Cocoa, since I have no Sahara Sand cardstock. I added three brads to that layer. Then I mounted it on Dimensionals and layered it onto River Rock cardstock. The sentiment is stamped with Sahara Sand.

Thanks for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Tangerine Butterfly

Here is a fun, simple little card!

I used some Tangerine Lasting Impressions paper, which is white on the back to make it easy to dry emboss on. I started with the Cuttlebug butterfly small embossing folder. Then I used my Scor-Pal to score two lines on either side of the butterfly. After that, I ran it through twice using a large Cuttlebug folder on each side. I needed to score the lines again, but I like to do the scoring first because it makes it easier for me to position the folder right where I want it. After all of the embossing and scoring was done, I used a sanding block on all of the raised part, allowing the white to show through.

Next, I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink – Tea Bag – to sponge around the edges. I liked the way it looked, so I sponged lightly over the whole card. The sentiment is from PaperTrey Ink’s “Mixed Messages” and I used the TH Distress Ink for that, too. Three Dew Drops, and the card was finished.

Thanks for looking, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!