Penny for a Gumball!

Been a quiet week around the ole blog!  I've actually been hard at work making some Easter treat boxes for family, friends and co-workers using the new Papertrey ink bunny box die:)  I'm gonna need about 45 of them and while they are super cute they take a lot of steps to put together - soooooooo glad I decided not to wait 'til the last minute!  I'll be sure to share pics of the finished products when I'm done!

Anyhoo, decided to take a break from that today to play along with the current Dynamic Duos challenge:

The grouping of 2012 - 2014 Stampin' Up In Colors that Gumball Green is part of has been my least favorite so I'm really not sorry to see them go!  I took a look at the Color Coach to help me decide which color to pair it up with and Marina Mist was the winner:

I made the faux polaroid frame by die cutting a piece of gumball green pp using a rectangular and square Spellbinder Nestie.  No gumball green ink so I stamped the leaves from Papertrey ink "The Sweet Life" set with old olive on leaves die cut from gumball green cs.  And no marina mist ink so the rose from the same set was stamped using Hero Arts pool mid tone shadow ink. The Hero Arts envie pattern bg on the marina mist card base panel was also stamped using the same ink.

Other Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink white cs, Stampin' Up marina mist ribbon, Hero Arts sentiment, JoAnn's silver sequins, stick pins from my stash, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder

Thanks for taking the time to let me know your thoughts!  I'll be catching up on everyone's blogs over the next few days:)

Dynamic Duos #95: Triple Threat!

I've got to be honest!  This week's color combination at Dynamic Duos almost had me stumped:

I have always loved Stampin' Up's soft sky and was so glad they brought it back as part of the subtles color collection so I no longer have to hoard my cs and pp in this color:)  I actually found some pieces of pale plum cs in my scraps but this was an ink color I never acquired so I made do with my Ranger milled lavender distress marker:

After die cutting this sweet little frame from rich razzleberrry cs using a preloaded image on my Cricut I ran it through a Stampin' Up/Sizzix woodgrain embossing folder for some texture.  I wanted to soften it up a little bit so I swiped over it with some Tsukineko Moonlight White Brilliance pigment ink.  I like how the milled lavender distress marker gave these flowers from the Papertrey ink set Ruby Rose a watercolor feel.  The flower centers were stamped with rich razzleberry ink. 

Other Supplies Used:  Stampin' Up/Sizzix Lacy Brocade embossing folder and pool party baker's twine, Hero Arts sentiment, Memory Box feather and bird dies, Queen & Co black pearl (bird's eye) and Darice sequins, Papertrey ink white cs and Ruby Rose dies

Thanks for all the constructive comments!

You're a Classic!

I really wanted to work on a pretty, springy card today as the weather here continues to be beyond depressing but I needed a masculine birthday card for my brother-in-law:

Decided to use a Papertrey ink set (Hello Sunshine) that I haven't used as much as I should to create the bg.  The sun's rays and center were stamped using Hero Arts butter bar shadow ink.  The "grass" was die cut from Echo Park Dots & Stripes pp using a MFT die.  Love this classic car from Paper Smooches - so perfect for "manly" cards:)  I used two sentiments from two different My Sentiment Exactly sets.  The "Happy Birthday" was already curved and fit perfectly above the sun's center and the remainder of the sentiment is actually from an anniversary set.

Other Supplies Used:  Stampin' Up pacific point cs and pp, Papertrey ink white cs, MFT banner die, Michael's black cs, Cuttlebug border embossing folder (from Frills set), silver brads, silver gel pen, Crayola glitter glue.

Since I did use some glitter glue on the car's head and tail lights and added some silver gel pen accents I'm going to pop this into the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge:  Glitter It!

Happy Weekend!!

Do You Wink?

The current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Glitter It could not have come at a better time!  They are featuring Wink of Stella products and lately I've been wondering what the difference is between their clear glitter brush tip marker and my old fashioned Sakura clear Gelly Roll pen:)  For those of you on the "Wink Train" I would love to hear your thoughts on whether I need to add this marker to my arsenal!

I dug out a REALLY OLD stamp to create a birthday card for my mom to give to my oldest brother.  I really couldn't allow her to spend $4.99 at the card shop when I knew I could re-create something similar (and better!):

I bought the ship stamp years ago from a local woman who sold wood block stamps out of her house.  I embossed it twice so I could cut out two of the sails to pop them up for some dimension.  I created the "waves" by using the seagull stamp -upside down- from the Lawn Fawn set "Float My Boat".  Sentiment was computer generated and colored in with Stampin' Up so saffron ink.  The halo was die cut from SU so saffron cs using Cricut Create a Critter II cart.  Both the sentiment and halo were glittered up using my trusty Sakura clear Gelly Roll pen.  
Other Supplies Used:  Stampin' Up real red and brilliant blue cs, SU brilliant blue, bashful blue and baked brown sugar ink (with a blender pen), SU paper piercing tool, Papertrey ink white cs, Cuttlebug Anchors Aweigh embossing folder, Creative Impressions natural twine

Thanks for taking the time to comment!  

Dynamic Duos #94: Black Tie Week

Sympathy cards are never easy to do and I needed one for a co-worker who just lost her mom.  So I turned to the current Dynamic Duos challenge colors for some inspiration:

I've wanted Papertrey Ink's Harvest Berries set for a long time and I'm so glad I finally got them as I think these gingko leaves can be used for so many different occasions.  After die cutting them from white cs I inked up the stamp with Ranger wild honey distress ink and spritzed lightly with water before stamping.  I die cut the leaves again from black cs so I could mat the stamped ones giving a shadow effect.  The sentiment is from Stampendous and after black embossing it on white cs I die cut it using Hero Arts Small Tag Frame Cuts die.  Might be hard to see in the pic but the white panel was dry embossed using a Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations embossing folder.

Other Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink white and summer sunrise cs, Queen & Co rhinestones and pearls, Teresa Collins black enamel dot 

I hope to get caught up on everyone's blogs over the next few days:)  Can't wait to see what everyone's been up to!

Sweet 16!

Happy Friday!  After surviving the "Blizzard of  '14" on Wednesday the temps were back in the 40's today and the sun was shining!  Only in upstate NY in March:)

Wanted to share another card I made using my new Paper Smooches rainbow die!  One of the owners of the winery where I work has a gaggle of grandchildren and one of her granddaughters is turning 16 on Sunday.  She asked if I could make her a Sweet 16 birthday card that alluded to the driving permit her granddaughter will soon be obtaining:

I really cannot overstate how much I love creating scenes:)  I think a big reason is the fact that I can combine so many different stamp sets and dies to make them and it makes me really happy to use my stuff:)  I'm sure you recognize my favie Hero Arts cloud bg, sun and VW Beetle stamps...And my Papertrey ink cloud and MFT grass dies.  The little "Sweet!" banner is from a North Coast Creations set called "What's the Scoop?" and the party hat is from a My Sentiments Exactly set called "Birthday".  It's difficult to see in the pic but I embossed the "road" with a Cuttlebug Hugs & Kisses border embossing folder.  Die cut numbers are from the Cricut cart "Kate's ABC's".
Other Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink white cs, Stampin' Up cs (various colors), My Mind's Eye Fly a Kite pp, Echo Park Dots & Stripes pp, Hero Arts soft pool shadow ink, silver brads from stash, Darice pom pom, silver gel pen

And this may be a stretch but because this card IS for a special girl and her special day I'm entering it in the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Mother's Day or Special Girl  

Thanks for all your lovely comments!

A Pot of Gold

Got some happy mail this weekend and had some time today to play with my new goodies:)  I wanted to create a St. Patty's Day card and I used the current Seize the Sketch challenge for inspiration:

Lots of stamping and die cutting on this one.  I absolutely looooove this new Paper Smooches rainbow die!!  After die cutting it in ROY G BV cs I also die cut the stamped cloud circle so I could inset the rainbow pieces.  And isn't the pot of gold adorable?!  I haven't purchased a new Cricut cart in a long time but when I saw the endless possibilities to add googly eyes to all the images on Cricut cart "Create a Critter 2" I knew I "needed" it:)

Other Supplies Use:  Hero Arts cloud and magical bg's and soft pool shadow ink, Stampin' Up cs (various colors) and sentiment, Papertrey cloud die and white cs, MFT grass die, Spellbinder circle die, Echo Park pp, JoAnn's sequins and googly eyes, SSS pearls colored with yellow Sharpie

Hope you have a great week!  We finally got a new computer and I'm still learning all the new features.  I keep telling myself it's good for the brain to learn new stuff but I sure do miss being able to mindlessly upload, edit and post my pics:) 

All that Glitters is Gold

I actually made a card that qualifies for three challenges today - a first for me!  The current color challenge at Dynamic Duos is Rose Red & Midnight Muse:

So I paired these colors up with the current CAS(E) this Sketch #66:

And played along with my blogging buddy's new challenge blog called Virginia's View Challenge :

I "met" Virginia through the Hero Arts Flickr group many, many moons ago and have always been inspired by her upbeat and creative design style so I'm so excited she's decided to start her own challenge blog!  You should definitely check it out! 

I first gold embossed Hero Arts Large Flower Background CG408 on a piece of Strathmore 140 lb cold press watercolor paper and then watercolored the image using Tim Holtz spun sugar, worn lipstick, faded jeans and antique linen distress markers and an aqua brush.  After cutting the completed piece into a tilted panel I mounted it on a piece of gold cs before adhering it to the card front. Sentiment from Papertrey Ink Ruby Rose set was stamped using Tsukineko Galaxy Gold Brilliance pigment ink.

Other Supplies Used:  Stampin' Up midnight muse cs and gold sequins

Hope your week has started out to be a good one:)  We woke up to snow and below freezing temps AGAIN - it's getting REALLY old!