Easter Mosaic

This was made for Splitcoast's Ways to Use It challenge, and today's item was to use alcohol is some way on your card. My card title is Easter Mosaic, but I didn't do a mosaic on the two large eggs, just the chick's egg with the leftover "pattern" paper that I made with alcohol and reinkers. Basically, I just used a Q-tip and soaked each cottony end in alcohol, then added 1 drop of Riding Hood Red reinker on one side, and 1 drop of Kiwi Kiss reinker on the other. I lightly spritzed a quarter sheet of white cardstock with alcohol and just rolled my Q-tip back and forth, all around to make a marbling of color. (I guess this is a variation of the Polished Stone technique.... hey, I know... let's call it the Rolling Stones. tee hee hee! OK, I'm just kidding!)

Anyhow, after letting the paper dry, I stamped the egg on top and cut around the outline. I added a ribbon bow on each egg and set it aside. The chick/egg was stamped and colored in with colored pencil above (chick) and watercoloring below (egg). I cut up leftover pieces of my "pattern" paper and glued them down on the egg to create my mosaic. The sentiment was stamped and brads were added. This was matted and adhered to my cardbase. The large eggs were glued down last. It was fun to do something alittle different today. I encourage you to challenge yourself and do something outside your comfort zone. I appreciate you visiting with me and checking out my Easter card... have a great day!!

Stamps: A Good Egg
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, YoYo Yellow, Riding Hood Red, white
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Black
Accessories: colored pencils, brads, ribbon, Q-tip, alcohol, spritzer bottle, aquapainter
Techniques: polished stone

Here for You

Hello again! Hope you are having a great day. :) Well, there's another wonderful sketch challenge posted over on Splitcoast, and I encourage you to give it a try! As I've mentioned before, I love doing sketch challenges because the hardest part, the layout, is done for you... simply create with colors and textures! I had alot of fun with this one today ~ here's the deets:

The flowers and sentiment stamp came from a new Spring/Summer set called Friends 24-7, and the hummingbird came from the new Level 3 hostess set, Dream a Little. The flowers are watercolored with an aquapainter in Night of Navy and Handsome Hunter inks, and the very edges of the block were very lightly sponged with Bashful Blue ink. The hummingbird was stamped in Versamark/Night of Navy ink, then heat-embossed with Super Sparkle Iridiscent Ice embossing powder. You know, the photo doesn't do the sparkle on this hummingbird any justice! The hummingbird was cut out and mounted with dimensional popdots. The designer paper came from my scraps pile, so I don't know the maker. I layered 3 silk flowers adhering with glue dots and added a large half-back pearl in the center. I also added various sized half-backed pearls around the card to finish it up.Thank you for taking a closer peek at my card today - I'd love to hear what you think! Have a super afternoon!!!

Stamps: Friends 24-7, Dream a Little
Paper: Bashful Blue, Night of Navy, white, designer paper (source unknown)
Ink: black, Bashful Blue,Versamark, Night of Navy, Handsome Hunter
Accessories: aquapainter, various sized half-back pearls, sponge dauber, dimensional popdots, silk flowers, glue dots, heatgun, Super Sparkle Iridiscent Ice embossing powder
Techniques: heat embossing, watercoloring

Great Times

Paper Pleats are today's cool technique challenge on SplitCoast! I made today's card for someone leaving on vacation, and my pleats are the tied-back tent flaps. I used several different stamp sets to create my scene: Under the Stars (raccoon and chow), Happy Camper (trees and campfire, & also retired), and Cute and Curly (sentiment). The trees were stamped first, then masked so that I could sponge in the night sky. The ground is also sponged. The moon is made from a 3/4 inch circle post-it that was put down before sponging. The sentiment is computer generated and punched out with the Curly Label punch and mounted on popdots. The campfire, raccoon and grub were stamped on white cardstock and cut out with scissors, then popped up with dimensional popdots. They are colored in with colored pencils. Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a great afternoon!

Stamps: Under the Stars, Happy Camper, Cute and Curly
Paper: Night of Navy, Garden Green, white, black
Ink: Night of Navy, Handsome Hunter, Chocolate Chip, black
Accessories: sponge daubers, ribbon, dimensional popdots, colored pencil, post-it, computer/printer, SU punches: 3/4 inch circle, Curly Label
Techniques: masking

Easy Coaster Chipboard Album

Hi Everyone! I thought I'd post about this 4x4 inch coaster chipboard birthday album for you today. I made this for one of my daughter's this weekend while scrapbooking with some wonderful friends. We are so fortunate to be able to get together once a month at a clubhouse and share ideas & laughter - I think we've been together over 4 years now! Anyhow, I've posted both sides of the album fully open up above, and the pictures below are each of the individual squares so that you can get a better view.

First, this type of album is very easy to put together - it's held together by 2 strips of long ribbon.... in the picture directly below, you will see how I started laying out the strips of ribbon about 3/4 inch from the top of the coaster edges and leaving 1/4 inch gap between coasters so that it would fold accordion-style when closed - I needed nine coasters all together. I decided to keep the ribbon in one long, continuous piece for strength. I glued the ribbon to the coasters, but I would have simply "scotch-taped" them in place if I had remembered to bring it with me! Anyhow, I repeated this with the ribbon about 3/4 inch from the bottom edges. Then I cut 18 4x4 inch squares of cardstock (Bashful Blue, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive) and swiped the edges of cardstock with an inkpad to add some visual interest. I glued the squares on the front and back of the coasters, alternating colors on both sides, then decorated each square.



On a side note, I used wallet sized photos that I printed from my photo printer beforehand - this size is perfect for projects like this! Our family was celebrating my daughter's birthday in 2007, and the letters on the front cover are my daughter's initials. I used the BigShot and Naturally Serif Alphabet Sizzlet strip die for that purpose. The chef serving the birthday cake is chalked and watercolored with markers. The cake is directly colored w/markers. See you at the end... enjoy!












The back side of the album spells out my daughter's name. It's the second picture at the beginning of the post. It starts off with a cupcake block, then a letter on each block thereafter. I used the BigShot and Serif Essentials Alphabet dies for this... I hope that you enjoy my little project ~ Heather loved this little gift to her. Take care, and have a great day!!

Stamps: Voila, Party Hearty, Crazy for Cupcakes
Paper: Bashful Blue, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, white
Inks: black, Bashful Blue, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, SU markers for coloring
Accessories: Coaster Chipboard, ribbon, silk flowers, brads, chalks, dimensional popdots, mono-multi glue, BigShot, Naturally Serif Sizzlet Alphabet, Serif Essentials Alphabet, SU punches: photo corner, designer label, scallop circle, 1/4 inch circle, spring bouquet flower

Inspired Calendar Display

Hi Everyone! I was uploading a picture to my Splitcoast gallery one day and spied a very cute calendar that Carolina (aka CraftyCaro on SCS) had just completed. Of course, it's been on my mind ever since, so during my next visit to Walmart, I picked up these VERY inexpensive 5x7 unfinished wood plaques in the craft area. I also purchased a plate stand to display my calendar when complete. Upon returning home, I downloaded this 2009 mini calendar created by Cat, and trimmed/matted them to size. They were punched with a crop-a-dile and are held together with eyelets. The sides and back of the wood plaque are painted with light green acrylic craft paint mixed with about 10 drops of Kiwi Kiss reinker to match the cardstock/designer paper better. I set this aside to dry, and watercolored my main image from Summer by the Sea (one of my all-time favorites!) using an aquapainter and SU markers on watercolor paper. (By the way, Summer by the Sea - item # 104243 - is retiring on January 18th, along with these other stamp sets, so order your favorites while you can through my demo website!). I really love the designer papers in our Bella Rose collection, and based my display colors along that paper line. I picked out a subtle background paper, then matted and trimmed/assembled my blocks to size. The riding hood red cardstock background was glued to my wood plaque with mono-multi glue, and everything else is adhered to that. The sentiment comes from a new Spring/Summer catalog hostess set that I am really diggin' called (can you guess?)... "Dream a Little". It is punched out with the Word Window punch and lightly sponged in Riding Hood Red ink and popped up with dimensionals. I dug around in my silk flower stash and created this flower arrangement that is held together with gluedots/mono-multi glue. This is adhered to the display with sticky strip. As a final note, the calendar and it's matting are attached with removable double-sided tape. This way, I can recreate a new calendar next year and use the same display again. I hope this inspires you, just as I was inspired by Carolina, to make your very own calendar display! Have a great day, and I hope you come back tomorrow... I have a cute coaster album that I made for one of my daughters and I'd love to share it with ya!
Stamps: Summer by the Sea, Dream a Little
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, watercolor paper, whisper white, Bella Rose DP, printer paper for calendar
Inks: black, Riding Hood Red, SU markers for coloring
Accessories: ribbon, brads/eyelets, cropadile, aquapainter, silk flowers/leaves, gluedots, sticky strip, dimensional popdots, acrylic paint, small paintbrush, sponge dauber, SU punches: word window, photo corner

Garden Delights

Hi Everyone! Here's my card submission for this week's SCS Color Challenge to use Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie and Brilliant Blue... I really like it! This combo really POPS, don't you think!?! My main image is watercolored with the same color inks (with Going Grey and More Mustard too) using an aquapainter. I added a bit of dazzle with a rhinestone for the flower center. I added pen dots around the main panel and finished off with organdy and grosgrain ribbon. The DP is from Summer Picnic... I may have to order another pack soon since it's on the retired accessories list (if it's not sold out already!). Thank you for checking out my blog today... come back again!

Stamps: Serene Spring
Paper: Brilliant Blue, Garden Green, white, Summer Picnic DP
Ink: black, Pumpkin Pie, Brilliant Blue, Garden Green, Going Grey, More Mustard
Accessories: rhinestone, ribbon, white pen, aquapainter, SU scallop edge punch

Snowflake Patchwork Inspiration

Hello again! This was a last minute card made a couple days before Christmas, and I wanted to quickly share it with you today. I stamped my snowflakes first on white cardstock, and then trimmed them down to the same size blocks. I sponged them with Sahara Sand ink on the edges, and arranged them on the larger black background. The center snowflake block is matted and popped up with dimensionals. Finally, I glued tiny half-back pearls on the center of each snowflake. I'm making my Christmas cards throughout 2009 to avoid the last minute crunch and stress to get them done and mailed... wanna join me? I like how this card came together quickly, and will be making a set of them to get started on this year's stash. Maybe this layout can help inspire you to get started, too! Take care, and I'll see you next time... :)

Stamps: Winter Post, $1 sentiment stamp
Paper: Whisper White, black
Ink: black, sahara sand
Accessories: sponge dauber, half-back pearls, dimensionals

Tacky Valentine

Here's my card submission for yesterday's technique challenge on SCS. We had to use 2-3 colors of glitter to create a background... I've had some of SU's chunky glitter sitting on my table for a LONG time, and this challenge was a perfect excuse to finally open them! Why did it take me so long to try this product??? I LOVE them! Since the chunky glitter isn't as finely ground as normal glitter, it doesn't get everywhere with each breath you take (giggle!). My main image is watercolored with an aquapainter and markers. I tied a little bow on the elephant trunk to help him remember an unforgettable friend (just in case!).

For a quick run down on this background technique, trim a piece of cardstock to the dimensions that you'd like... add a couple pieces of repositionable tape to the back and stick it down on a paper cutter, scorepal, etc (something with straight grooves or lines to help you keep equal spacing). I used 1/4 inch red tacky/sticky tape with 1/4 inch spacing. Afterward, in the picture below, I set my background into my embossing powder tray. TIP - If you don't have a powder tray (otherwise known as a bead tray), get a sheet of printer paper and fold in half. Unfold and set your background on top. After you are done glittering, remove the background (tapping off excess glitter), and use the crease in your paper to help you pour your unused glitter back into it's container. I hope that makes some sense!


Remove the strips of liner that will be the same color of glitter. As you can see below, I already did my green and pink glitter, and I'm removing the liner for the blue glitter. TIP - once you pour the glitter on, press the glitter well onto the tape (you may not need to do this with finely ground glitter, but I know it helped to do this with the chunky glitter for good coverage). Make sure you tap the backside well to remove excess glitter, and you may want to use a clean, old small paintbrush with bristles to lightly brush away any stray glitter pieces.

For my card above, I didn't want to waste my background by having most of it covered up since my main elephant image panel was so large. I ended up cutting a couple strips of my background with a guillotine cutter and adding the strips to both sides of my main image. I'll use the rest of my glittery background on a different project. Well, there you have it! I hope that you are able to give this cool technique a try... it really adds alot of POP and sparkle to any project! Take care and see you next time...

Stamps: Happy Heart Day
Paper: Pixie Pink, Riding Hood Red, Sage Shadow, white
Ink: black, SU markers for coloring
Accessories: aquapainter, square brads, embroidery floss, SU chunky glitter, red sticky tape, paper piercer

Girly Birthday Sneak Peek

Just having some fun with a new Spring/Summer 2009 catalog set called Just Buzzin' By. Hopefully, it'll start to give give you some ideas for this cute set which is perfect for so many occasions! I drew in the leaves and everything is colored with markers. I did lightly sponge the sky and ground. The Celebrate You stamp comes from Party Hearty and is punched with the scallop circle punch. The little gift stamp from the same set is punched from the 3/4 inch circle punch and both are popped up with dimensionals. The birthday sentiment comes from retired hostess set, Warmest Regards. The ribbon bow is easy to do... punch two holes about 1/4 inch apart from each other. Thread the tails from a piece of ribbon down through the holes from the top of the block. Criss-cross the ribbon in the back and bring each tail up through a hole and trim up the ribbon tails... easy as pie! Have a great day!
Stamps: Just Buzzin By, Party Hearty, Warmest Regards
Paper: white, so saffron, lovely lilac
Ink: black, garden green, bashful blue, markers for drawing/coloring
Accessories: sponges, ribbon, 1/16 inch circle punch, scallop circle punch, 3/4 inch circle punch

Pearly Thanks

I made this card several days ago for this SCS sketch challenge. I adapted the sketch to fit vertically instead horizontally... I used Pocket Silhouettes and the Posy background to create my card. The main panel was stamped in black and More Mustard inks. I sponged the edges of this panel and the Posy panel. The Martha Stewart butterfly is punched and lightly sponged on the edges, then lined with tiny half-back pearls in the center with it's wings lifted for dimension. Once again, I used sheer ribbon (my fave!), and larger half-back pearls mounted on (I think) EK Success flower daisy punch (this was one of my first punches purchased 10+ years ago, and the little label wore off long ago). Anyhow, three of the flower petals were trimmed off on all flowers, and then glued down onto the card to make a different type of decoration.

Have a great weekend, and I'll post again tomorrow... see you then!!

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Posy
Paper: Whisper White, black, More Mustard
Ink: More Mustard, black
Accessories: sponges, half-back pearls, sheer ribbon, dimensionals, punches: Martha Stewart butterfly & EK Success daisy flower punch

Friday Flashback - Birthday

Here's a card I made for Jimmi's Holiday Challenge about a week ago. We were allowed 1 piece of designer paper, 2 colors of cardstock plus a neutral, and 3 punches (ribbon was the only embellishment allowed for this challenge). I had made so many Christmas cards the last couple of weeks, that doing one for a different celebration was alot of fun! I pulled out an old favorite, Button Bear, for this challenge. Except for the Baja Breeze sponging around the sentiment and bear itself, everything is colored with markers. My 3 punches were 1 3/8in circle, scallop circle and scallop edge - I used two scallop circles for the sentiment. The party hat and two presents are popped up with dimensionals, and the balloon string is hand-drawn. The patterned paper and caramel-colored cardstock was from my scraps pile, so I don't know the maker.

If you have a January birthday, may I say- Happy Birthday to You! :) See you next time...

Stamps: Button Bear (retired)
Paper: Pacific Point, caramel and DP (source unknown)
Ink: black, baja breeze, markers for coloring
Accessories: sponge dauber, ribbon, dimensionals, SU punches: 1 3/8 inch circle, scallop circle, scallop edge

True Blue Friend

Happy 2009 to you! I rarely get to play the Thursday Ways to Use It challenge on SCS because of work, but I managed to squeeze it in today. I heat embossed the Baroque Motif swirl and Punches Three sentiment in Black Ice embossing powder on silver and Pacific Point cardstocks ~ it is very sparkly and pretty IRL! I matted everything and added the silvery organdy ribbon bow using this easy technique: simply punch 2 holes using 1/8 or 1/4 inch hole punches in your cardstock about 1/4 inch away from each other. Get about 12 inches of ribbon and push the ends up from the back of your cardstock through the holes and tie your bow like tying a shoelace. Easy as pie and the effect is always beautiful!! Finally, I assembled the card with the sentiment block popped up with dimensionals. The silvery organdy ribbon bow is not SU - I've decided to start including the various toys and supplies that I've been collecting over my many years of papercrafting, so you'll start seeing more of these items included on this blog. Happily, almost all my stamps are from Stampin' Up!, so the main focus of my blog will always be Stampin' Up!, but I have various other items that I love to use and would like to share too (ie., Wishblade, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug embossing folders)... I figure that you may well have these types of things in your stash too, and my hope is to help inspire you to use them! Thanks for visiting with me on the start of a wonderful 2009 ~ Happy New Year!
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Punches Three
Paper: black, white, silver, pacific point
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: black ice EP, heatgun, scallop square punch, 1/8 inch hole punch, sheer silver ribbon, dimensionals

ETA - If you don't have Black Ice embossing powder, you can create the same look by adding a bit of Dazzling Diamonds glitter to Black embossing powder until you get the sparkle that you want! Try it out - it's really pretty!!!