Splash Part Deux!

I really love color splash challenges and couldn't resist playing along again with The Play Date Cafe's current challenge ending today:

I was finally able to get the matching dies for the Papertrey ink set called The Sweet Life so I decided to use the roses from that set to do more of a literal interpretation of the inspiration photo:

I first used the dies to randomly die cut roses from a piece of white cs.  I placed the negative space panel on a second piece of white cs and lightly traced the outlines with a pencil so I would know where to stamp the images on the second piece.  I used both Hero Arts wet cement and Versamark onyx black inks to stamp the roses.  The negative space panel was embossed with a Cuttlebug Modern Wallpaper embossing folder then adhered to the stamped panel.  The sentiment frame is from Hero Arts and was die cut with a matching Hero Arts frame cut and adhered to the card front with foam tape. 

Other Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink white cs, Stampin' Up gumball green cs, Queen & Co black pearls, Michael's black cs

I'm also going to pop this into the Moxie Fab World Challenge #49 - Make Your Own Background Paper :

Thanks for stopping by!

PDCC #166 A Splash of Retro!

It's been awhile since I played along with a Play Date Cafe Color Challenge :

Isn't her outfit fabulous???  I decided to use my fave flower stamp from the 2013 Hero Arts catalog release CG525 Tall Flowers:

I embossed the flowers in black and added a few green gems and black pearls to the flower centers.  I die cut the frame from the same Stampin' Up Glorious Green cs I matted the stamped floral panel with.  The die cut frame was then stamped tone-on-tone with the coordinating stamp.  (Both the Papertrey ink stamp and die cut were sent to me by my sweet blogging buddy Nancy !)  The bold "Hello" sentiment is from an older Hero Arts clear set CL266 Mix & Match Elements.

Since I used a new Hero Arts stamp I'm also going to pop this into the current Hero Arts challenge :





Thanks for stopping by!

CASology Week 28: Drink and Thoughts About Brick and Mortar Stores

As I type this the thermometer is struggling to climb above the single digits and a light snow is blanketing the earth.  Naturally my thoughts turned to a steamy cup o' joe when I sat down to create a card for this week's challenge at CASology :

I pulled out a really old stamp from DRS Designs (dated 2003!) and a fun sentiment from a My Favorite Things clear set called Hot Stuff:

While this is a simple image it is a bit on the larger side so I decided to follow the advice of one of the CASology DT members Rosemary  and spotlight only part of it.  Pulling out some colors from the fun pp on the base card I used some distress markers to color in the coffee can and cups.  I decided to add the bright yellow "rug" so the table and chairs wouldn't look like they were floating- after die cutting an oval using Cricut George and Basic Shapes cart I used the negative space as a mask and sponged on some squeezed lemonade distress ink.  Hard to see in the pic but I also added some glossy accents to the inside of the coffee cups to give more of an appearance of liquid:)

Other Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink white cs, Stampin' Up chocolate chip ink, American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neopolitan pp, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder, baker's twine

I got a little nostalgic while putting ink to paper.  All of the elements that went into making this card represent glorious day trips spent with my stampin' sis Denise.  The older DRS Designs image came from a trip made to an independent stamping store in Horseheads, NY which sadly had to close its doors not soon after the economic downturn of 2008.  And the pp is from a recent trip to another independent store in Bridgeport, NY whose owner just had to make the painful decision to close its doors for good at the end of next month.  And the baker's twine?  From yet another trip to a wonderful independent store in Buffalo, NY called Buffalo Stamps & Stuff that so far remains open.

 Now don't get me wrong - I loooooove my internet shopping sites!  It's like an all-you-can-eat buffet and brick and mortar stores just don't have the space or resources to carry all the "stuff" you can find at these sites.  But there's nothing that can replace a day spent with a friend who gets as gaga as you do over ink and stamps and paper and who likes to start that day over a cup of coffee:)

Thanks for stopping by and for letting me "venti" :)

A Golden Oldie

Happy Friday everyone!  If you are looking for the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop please click HERE.

I wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by my blog during the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop and took the time to leave such supportive comments!  I only wish I had the time to respond to each one - please know I have read and appreciate them all!

The current challenge at A Blog Named Hero is:

Now the stamp I chose to use is certainly not the oldest Hero Arts stamp in my stash but it's an oldie from 2010 called Artists Butterfly (H5426).  I haven't used it in awhile and I wanted to see how it would look with one of the sentiments from the new 2013 Hero Arts clear set called Fancy Basics CL652:

As you can see I'm still not off my peacock feathers distress ink kick :)........or my window card design kick :) :) :)  The pp circle underneath the butterfly is from a teresa collins 6 x 6 pad that I absolutely LOVE called Tell Your Story. 

Other Supplies Used:  Stampin' Up pool party cs, Papertrey ink white cs, Spellbinder Nestie, Signo Uniball white gel pen, clear gems

After I put this card together I thought it still needed a little "something" and I found this leftover flourish stuck to something else in my bling drawer.  I like how the shape kind of echoes the flourishes in the sentiment.  I really need to come up with a better way to store all my gems and pearls - would love to hear what ideas work for you!

Since I used something new on my card I'm also popping this into the current Hero Arts challenge:

 

Hope your weekend is spent doing something you love!

Day 2: 2013 Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop!



Welcome to the first stop of Day 2 of the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop!!! 

The last stop in yesterday's hop was the blog of the very sweet and talented Donna Mikasa!  (If you find a broken link, you’ll find a master list of the hop links at the Hero Club blog.  Also, please report broken links to Tami.)  The hop is running through Friday January 18^th so check the Hero Club Blog each day this week to make sure you don’t miss a thing!

And did someone say PRIZES???!!!  Yep!  Hero Arts will be awarding prizes from randomly drawn comments.  For a chance to win, simply comment on ANY of the stops along the hop on ANY day including each day’s starting post at the Hero Club Blog.  The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning!

There’s definitely a lot to love in the new 2013 Hero Arts catalog!  First up is a card using the new cling stamp CG525 Tall Flowers:



I really love the whimsical quality of these flowers!  This stamp will actually cover a whole card front and I can see myself reaching for it often J  And that happy “Hello!” sentiment?  Its part of the new clear set CL652 Fancy Basics.  I can’t overstate how much I LOVE the larger sized font of the sentiments in this set!

The next card features the new cling stamp CG513 Everything Flowers.  Such a fun image to color!  Since my distress inks were still on my desk from the first card I went with the same color combination:)  I also used another sentiment (looove that pretty font!) from CL652 Fancy Basics:



Next up on the hop is the blog of the fabulous and always funny Judy Jung!  Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to comment to get a chance to win some of these awesome new stamps!

CASology Week #26: Winter

Getting my entry for this week's CASology blog challenge in under the wire!

I recently acquired this Memory Box die called Row of Trees and couldn't wait to use it to create a simple winter scene :)  I die cut it from some Basic Grey Aspen Frost birch pp - love how it turned out!  The little snowman is from a REALLY old Stampin' Up set called Happy Winter and the sun is from the Hero Arts set called Kiss From the Sun.  I chose this particular sentiment from the Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler set as here in the Northeast we're all about thinking warm thoughts during the winter!  (Although for the past several days we've been experiencing unseasonably warm temps in the 50's!).

Other Supplies Used:  Teresa Collins Tell Your Story pp, Papertrey ink rustic white cs, Stampin' Up so saffron cs and ink and pool party marker, Spellbinder square nestie, flexible ruler

Thanks for stopping by and for all your sweet comments!

Tomorrow is the start of the annual Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop - hope you can hop along with us and check out some of the fab new stamps from the 2013 release!  I know I'm looking forward to seeing what my talented Hostess Sistas have been creating:)

CAS-ual Fridays: CFC84 (Thank You)

I inked up some new Hero Arts stamps to create a CAS thank you for this week's CAS-ual Friday's challenge :



The sentiment is from a 2013 clear Hero Arts set called Fancy Basics (CL652) and the flower is from a new (to me!) stamp and die-cut Hero Arts set called Bold Pop Designs (657851).  I really love how quickly this card came together - I may get the hang of this CAS stuff yet :)

Other Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink rustic white cs, Stampin' Up marina mist cs and brad, My Mind's Eye Dolled Up pp, Hero Arts shadow ink, Memento dye ink, We R Memory Keepers corner rounder, Ranger antique linen distress ink

Thanks for all the lovely feedback!

What's New?

Happy Friday Everyone!

This week's cue word for the CASology blog's challenge is:





For my card I decided to try a technique I learned about ages ago but have never put into practice called the "Spritz & Flick" technique:

After die cutting a heart from cardstock I vertically blended Ranger tattered rose, spun sugar, worn lipstick and barn door distress inks across it.  Then I misted a mix of perfect pearls and water into my hand and flicked drops of water onto the heart.  Love the cool bleached effect!

I didn't want to waste the negative space from my heart die cut so I cut it to size and adhered it to my card front with foam tape.  After adhering the inked heart into place I added the fun Basic Grey scrabble chipboard letters (that I just scored on sale at JoAnn's!).  I think this will make a great Valentine!

 Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink rustic white cs, Cricut George & Basic Shapes cart, Creative Impressions twine

One of the things I struggle with when making CAS cards is knowing when to stop:)  After completing the steps above I still felt like my card was "missing something" so I added the twine.  Would love to know your thoughts!  Do you think I should have left the twine off or do you think it adds something needed to the design????

Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment!

Just Peachy - Er, I Mean Beachy!!!

One of this month's Hero Arts challenges is a color challenge using  3 -4 of the colors in the new Just Beachy ink cube pack:

I don't own any inks close to soft cantaloupe and after photographing my card I think the patterned paper I used just might be a bit too peachy:

Used my favorite inking technique on the stamped panel.  After white embossing Hero Arts CG330 Flower Dot Pattern on a piece of watercolor paper I dabbed Ranger broken china, peeled paint and picket fence distress stains all over and spritzed heavily with a water and perfect pearls mix.  It's difficult to see in the pic but I also stamped the Flower Dot Pattern in white on the eight vellum die cut scalloped circles.  After crumpling all of the circles into a ball I flattened them out, stacked them and secured them together with a Basic Grey brad.  The sentiment was die cut using Cricut cart Beyond Birthdays.

Other Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink white cs for card base, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder

Thanks for all your supportive comments!!

Congrats Grads!

Hello Friends!
It's another frosty day here in the Northeast - temps aren't forecasted to make it out of the 20's :(  I've started to chip away at my looooong list of card-making "To Do's" and while they may or may not qualify for any contests I thought I'd share them here anyway.

Last month two of our nieces completed their undergraduate degrees - no hoopla and fanfare like there was for their high school graduations.  The family is so proud of both girls!  My supply of graduation-related stamps is woefully limited but thankfully they live in two different states so I knew I could get away with using the same card design:)  The first card is for our niece Stephanie who graduated from Mansfield University in Pennsylvania with an undergrad degree in education.  Turns out the school's colors are the same as my high school alma mater's!  She was also involved in the student band so I added a few musical notes (Stampendous):

I don't have a spiral notebook page die so I had to carefully tear off a sheet of watercolor paper.  The sentiments are from the Paper Smooches set Sentiment Sampler and the graduation cap is by Vap! Scrap.

Other Supplies Used:  Echo Park Paper Dots & Stripes pp, Papertrey ink white cs, brad and paperclip from stash

A little change in colors and icon and here you have the second card for our niece Kelly who graduated from Clemson University in South Carolina - Go Tigers!!! :

Other Supplies Used:  Life is Beautiful Butternut Souffle pp, Papertrey ink white cs, Stampendous Paw stamp, brad and paperclip from stash

Stephanie's taking some time off to work before applying to a graduate degree program and Kelly's applied for dental school so we're hoping she's admitted into the program.  Does anyone know of any cute tooth stamps out there????

Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment!

Happy New Year!

Hello friends!  Thought I'd take some time on the very first day of the new year to clear out the cobwebs on my blog (has it really been since November that I last posted??!!!) and to say thank you to all of you who have taken the time over the last year to visit my blog and to leave such encouraging comments!  You all ROCK!!!

The current challenge at CAS-ual Fridays really caught my eye:

I'd been on a Christmas card roll since October and was feeling pretty smug about the whole thing.  And thennnnnn I got the e-mail from one of girlfriends Sue.....  What did I think about hopping on a plane to Orlando, Florida (sans husbands) to see our friend Deb (who we've only been promising to visit since she moved there like 8 years ago!)!  And would I be interested in seeing how Mickey and Minnie Mouse decorate for the holidays for a few days before boarding a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas????  Ummmmmm.....Yes, please!!!!

Soooooo, Christmas cardmaking was set aside and on 12/4 sporting Mickey and Minnie santa hats Sue and I headed for Disney!!!  Not only were the decorations spectacular but the Mickey Mouse Christmas cheer was infectious!  So much so that Sue and I ended up purchasing this matching holiday sweatshirt:

 

Which finally brings me around to my card:

When I returned from my trip I had the best intentions of creating this design as a Christmas card for both Sue and Deb.  It didn't happen:(  After reading the CAS-ual Fridays challenge blog post I grabbed an egg timer and my cuttlebug and under 10 minutes created this Happy New Year's card for them instead :)  I can't wait to get this out in tomorrow's mail!

Supplies Used:  Doodlebug Designs glitter paper, Teresa Collins Tell Your Story pp, Papertrey ink white cs, Paper Smooches sentiment, Spellbinder Nesties (circle and snowflake), Michael's clear gem 

Thanks for making it through this rather long-winded post and for all your supportive comments!  Happy, Happy New Year!