Ipod and Jeans Birthday

Well, take a great card and a great stamp that you can't find anywhere and sulk about it for six months and this is what you come up with. However I digress and should start at the beginning...

In January I found this great blog entry Just Give Me Stamps and like everyone that sees a great card I HAD to have THAT stamp... well I search and search and no luck so I decided to think outside the box. I ordered a denim backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms.

I started this card with 2 sheets 5.5in x 8.5 in white GP cardstock that I wiped faded denim distressed ink over. I then took my denim stamp and stamped over the cardstock to get the jeans look. Playing with the Scor-pal I made gussetted folds the pocket would hold the "Ipod". I then stamped the stitching with Graphite black ink (and yes I hold my hands up that the stitching could have been neater but heck, these are old jeans *WINK*). Then with the cropadile I punched through the layers of the pocket and once in the upper right corner of the card base and attached the brads. Then I attached the front to my card base and stamped the See D's Happy Birthday greeting on the pocket with platinum planet.

Now on to the "Ipod" - I took a sheet of pearlescent cardstock and cut it at 3 inches. Then I took the Scor-pal and scored it at 6 inches and also 1.5 inches from the ends. The screen is blue pearlescent cardstock backed with black and the circles I cut with Quickutz cookie cutters circle dies (my circle Nestabilities came the day after I finished this!). I then got my Just-rite monogram Stamper out and made the sentiment for the screen. The folds on the inside of the ipod are just the right size to hold a nice check (cheque for you Brits) as well!

So I'm hoping that this is just about the perfect card for a teenager no matter what their interests are!

4th of July Birthday!!!

I guess I really should have more subtle titles - or maybe just sub titles as I know my brain and my thoughts don't always marry up!

Well today is a very special day - it is our entire little family unit's first 4th of July together or as the DH calls it Colonial Day. Honestly how can you argue with him! lol His uncle used to tease me that England were just seeing if the US could manage on their own... that was over 15 years ago, I think he may have been on to something. HMMM

I guess I better give you the heads on the card - its for a dear friend of mine in England - I have to say I was inspired by the artwork of this blog http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ (I know the work there is fabulous but keep coming here too please! I'm begging you here people! LOL)

I stamped my main image from High Hopes and colored her in using prismacolor pencils and baby oil. I then framed the images using the star border from Technique Tuesday stamped with platinum planet ink and clear embossed the stars. I decided to mask the main image and then sponged Distressed Ink in Fired Brick and then in Faded Jeans. I then stamped my denim background from Cornish Heritage Farms using my Adirondack denim pad. The stars are quickutz diecuts and then colored with the Fired brick and the platinum planet and adhered with 3D zots. The See D's greeting was stamped with the Adirondack denim pad and then highlighted with the distress pads. The card base is Archiver's own cardstock linen blue.

Hope you like and have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Ingredients:

Stamps - High Hopes, See D's, Technique Tuesday, Cornish Heritage Farms

Color - Prismacolor pencil

Ink - Adirondack, Distress ink, Brilliance

Dies - Quickutz

Limited Supplies? Well not really....just to die for

Well, it wasn't really set as a limited supplies challenge with these last few posts but I think it probably looks like it - Again my lovely bunny stamp makes an appearance - this is the card I sent my Brother in law and Sister in law for Easter.

The cardstock is DCWV brights pack - its lovely mauve colour (purple-y rose) and of course it has the lovely texture that the DCWV color stacks have. I then put the card and a half size blank through my cuttlebug with two of my Quickutz cookie cutter dies to make the apeture and the backing for my stamped image. I put GP white cardstock through the cuttlebug for the stamped image and cut. I stamped the Penny Black bunbun on the cardstock and colored with Prismacolors/gamsol technique from a previous post.... I then positioned a bit of thread (long enough to go across the gaps and stay) on the back of the stamped image and glued the corresponding sized flower on the back. Then I placed the image in the middle of the aperture and put the threads across the back of the front of the card and glue the card blank to the back of the front. I then stamped the message with my Stampendous circle talk alphabet with VersaMagic Dew Drop - Perfect Plumeria.

Hope you have a wonderful and safe Easter Holiday and remember, don't eat the little brown eggs if the Easter Bunny visits your garden LOL

Slight variations of the kickstand theme - Easter

Now, say that title three times fast while standing on your head drinking water from a glass .... or don't it's your choice LOL!

They also fit in with the DCM challenge this week! WooHoo!

As I know 4/6 of these cards have gotten to their destination and the other two probably don't frequent my blog - I'm sharing the rest of my Easter Cards with you.

The single card is one I made for my neice - the previous one I shared was for my nephew (hope he doesn't notice the flower on the bunny - however he is getting to the age where he probably would have preferred a different type of female bunny - but then I wouldn't be a very good Auntie now would I?!?!?!?!)


I combined the embossing and the kickstand card template for these. For the one for my neice I went over the embossing with a Tsukineko Dew Drop Spring Pansy ink. The lettering is stamped with the same ink with Hero Arts alphabet stamps and colored over with a Sakura Souffle pink. The bunny is flocked with Stampendous Fun Flock in white after being colored with Prismacolor pencils. The cardstock is DCWV and Georgial Pacific white. The embossing is Cuttlebug embossing folder Bloom dots. The stamped bunny is bun-bun from Penny Black stamped with Archival Ink black and cut and matted with Quickutz Cookie cutter flowers.

The set I did are pretty much the same except with out the stamped message, and the inking of the embossing and with an assortment of ribbon I got from Michaels. Hope you like!

Hoppy Easter

Well, when I am on a roll I just go with it, LOL but I think it is good for people to see different cards with the same image. This card I CASEd the Kickstand technique from Confessions of a Naptime Stamper great blog if you haven't seen it!

I used Penny Black's bun-bun again --- I WILL get my money's worth out of it!!! - the cardstock is DCWV brights pad and DCWV glitter pad, the scallops are Quikutz cookie cutters flowers, some eyelets and my Hero Arts alpha stamped in Aegean Blue Dew Drop. The image is colored in with Prismacolor pencil using the artist grade mineral spirits technique and then I took it one step further and flocked the bunny with white flocking. I like how it turned out - almost like a real little bunny with a flower behind her ear sat there LOL!

Hope you like.

Dahlia for MIL's Birthday

ROFL - well so much for an original title... I got my inspiration from Monty's Mum for this card. The template is from DaringCardMakers challenge and the instructions for the Dahlia fold is from SCS. I'm sure I had some original idea in there somewhere! LOL.

I think my MIL will like this as she has helped with her local disabled gardeners' club for many years so a "dahlia" fold is so appropriate and the purple is to reflect the Amethyst birthstone of February.

The card base is hammered cardstock, the pearlescent purple cardstock and the dotted organzaa are all from Mike's. The embossing folder is Cuttlebug's stylized flowers. The Dahlia cut outs and the greeting cutouts were done using Quickcuts cookie cutters. The corner rounder EK success. The paper is from K&Co Brenda Walton selection that I got a few years ago and was "too good to cut" - I have decided now that nothing is "too good" and it doesn't do anyone any good just sat out of site. I glued some spotted and some flowered paper back to back with Modge Podge to get it double sided. I used Vladimir script for my greeting as I don't have small enough greetings/alphabet stamps for the size I needed - I love it that I can get pretty much what I want on the computer for these sort of occasions.

Hope you like.

Real UK Wedding traditions vs USA ones

Well there is a title for you - but I guess what I am trying to say is this a card I made because of UK tradition of sending an "wedding acceptance" a "wedding regret" an "evening acceptance" or an "evening regret". Now that I have completely confused most people in the USA I will try to explain. In my experience whilst living in England you are only invited to actual wedding ceremony if you are close family or a close friend otherwise you are just invited to the evening reception. I have to say my American family would have a hard time getting their heads around that - I even had a cousin that wouldn't go to our cousin's reception because he couldn't get off work in time to make it to the actual wedding.

I'm probably being a clear as mud here but what this has to do with paper crafting is that I can't find the UK standard acceptance/regret cards in the USA so had to make my own and I have to say I totally cased the invite which was designed by the bride and groom - as they have copyrighted it I can't really share it visually but it was a large hammered squarish-rectangle gatefold card with a heart die cut through the front showing the couple's initial's in gold and there were some freeform pen & ink vines and leaves decorating the side edges of the card - very nice.

So when I went to make the reply for their wedding I thought about it and wanted to pay homage to the couple for designing their own invitation - so went with a reverse theme - hope you like.

The black card is DCWV card that I bought at Michael's for some ridculously low price. The hearts are Quickutz hearts, the vine flourishes are Clear Stamps stamped with Brilliance Moonlight White and the flourish on the heart is Hero Arts and stamped in Archival Jet Black, finished off with some white organza ribbon that I wish I had set just a bit closer to the vine flourishes. I lined the card with white vellum which doesn't really photograph, I did toy with the idea of using some gold vellum that I have - but I still have a wedding card to make for them so I will try to use the gold then. Still I guess I am happy enough with it to share with the blogging world! lol

BTW - the card is unfortunately a regret.