Stampin'B's Challenge #21 - Acetate

I was the challenge hostess for this week’s Stampin’B’s Design Team, and my challenge was to use acetate (clear cardstock) on our cards. I had made a card a couple months ago with an acetate overlay on the front and was so pleased with how it looked that I wanted to do another one.

I stamped the larger lemon topiary tree from Flourishes Life, Love and Lemons set onto white cardstock and colored it with Prismacolor and Copic markers. After I cut it out using the Mega Curved Rectangular Nestabilities, I sponged the white panel with So Saffron ink before removing the die and then mounted it onto the Wild Wasabi panel. I had purchased a package of card bases and envelopes at Michaels, which make cards 5 x 6 ½ inches -- a really good size for many of the Flourishes stamps. Because of the larger size, you can see much of the So Saffron DSP. The clear cardstock overlay is attached at the back (a ¾ inch folded section) with red line tape. The lemon slices are glued to the clear cardstock. It’s difficult to see, but I used Crystal Effects on the lemon juice drops on the slices.

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* Stamps - Life, Love and Lemons by Flourishes
* Paper - Flourishes Classic White, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron DSP, Flourishes Clear Cardstock
* Ink - Palette Noir Black, Versafine Black Onyx, So Saffron
* Accessories - Nestabilities, Copic and Prismacolor markers, Clear ep, Crystal Effects, Sponge dauber



I decided to make a second card for this challenge -- this one a bit more whimsical. My sister and I always make Halloween cards for the residents of the assisted living facility where my mom lives -- a total of 90 cards, so we have to start early. This week's video on Stamp TV was to make a shaker card. These are always fun. If you are unfamiliar with shaker cards, be sure to watch Gina K's tutorial.

I cut the frame using my Oval and Scallop Oval nestabilities and taped the acetate on the back of the opening. The sentiment in the frame is from Debbie Mumm's Harvest set, which includes both Halloween and Thanksgiving/Autumn stamps. I filled the opening with orange and dark brown micro beads, and popped on the back. The DP is from a pad of Debbie Mumm paper, which matches the stamps. I love this Hero Arts witch, and I've used her on many Halloween cards. The spider is new -- it's a dollar stamp from Michaels.

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* Stamps - Harvest by Debbie Mumm, October by Hero Arts, Michaels $1 stamp

* Paper - Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Debbie Mumm Harvest & Holiday DP, Fourishes Clear Cardstock

* Ink - Palette Noir Black

* Accessories - Nestabilities, Prismacolor and Copic markers, Microbeads, Pop dots

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I hope the rest of the team had as much fun with this challenge as I did.

Featured Stamper - Jojot (Joanne)

The Featured Stamper on SCS this week is my fellow Stampin'B's Design Team buddy, so you know I'd be CASEing several of her cards today. I actually made four cards! The first one I chose is shown on the computer screen next to my version.

Although I kept the layout and theme of Joanne's card, I did make a couple of changes:
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* Different color
* Different stamps
* A2 card instead of square



The next card I chose is this one, using the Split Negative technique.

As you probably know, Joanne is well-known for creative beautiful black and white cards. The Split Negative is a fun technique. Check out the tutorial on SCS. My changes were:
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* Butterfly instead of dragonfly
* Stripes instead of polka dots
* Punched flower instead of primas
* Circle Nestie instead of Oval

Another favorite color combination of Joanne's is red, black, and white. I used this card as the starting point of my third card.

My layout and color combo are the same. Changes are:

* Different diecut
* Not as many layers
* Different stamps and CB folder
* Only three white brads instead of five
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Note, too, that I did not use the corner punch she used on her card. I used the scallop corner punch (dimple) that I now own because of Joanne. Don't look too closely at the CB background embossing. After I was finished, I noticed that the birds are up-side down. Oops!


My final card was a Halloween card. Between my sister and me, we make about 90 Halloween cards for the residents of the assisted living facility where my mom lives. I used this card of Joanne's as the starting point.

I kept Joanne's layout but made the following changes:

* Changed the theme
* Used different stamps
* Added a sentiment

I cut the moon out with a round Nestabilities die and stippled it with a little bit of black ink.

I usually do maybe one or two cards for the Featured Stampers challenge, but I went overboard this week. And, believe me, it was not hard at all. You should check out her gallery. It's amazing!

Stampin'B's Challenge #20 - Chalks

Now that my Mom's birthday party is over and my sister has gone home, I have time to get back to stamping. NancyRuth was the hostess for this week's Stampin'B's Design Team challenge. She wanted us to use chalks on our card.

First, I must say I’m not very proficient with chalks; but I was willing to give it a shot. I stamped the Umbrella Girl from Whiff of Joy stamps on white cardstock and colored her with Stampin’ Up!’s pastel chalks, using a blender pen. The background is done with Pebbles pearlescent chalks, using a small cotton ball. You probably can’t see it well, but all the rain drops have little globs of Crystal Effects to make them shine. IRL it is much more noticeable. The sentiments are from My Favorite Things. The Rose Red and Not Quite Navy cardstock matting finished it off.

NancyRuth, thank you for making me step outside my comfort box with this challenge. That’s what I like about this group of stampers – we make each other work but are supportive all the time!!!

The Whiff of Joy Umbrella Girl can be found at Creative Design Boutique.

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* Stamps - Umbrella Girl by Whiff of Joy

* Paper - Rose Red, Not Quite Navy, GP White

* Ink - Palette Noir Black, Versafine Black Onyx

* Accessories - SU Pastel Chalks, Pebbles Pearlescent Chalks, Crystal Effects, Clear Embossing Powder

Mom's 90th Birthday

No cards today, but I wanted to share my mom's 90th birthday celebration with you. She lives in an assisted living facility, and we all gathered in the library to celebrate.

This is a photo of my mom -- with me (in the white top), my sister Dotsy and my brother Bob. Dotsy flew in from Illinois, and Bob flew in from Pennsylvania.

This is a photo of my mom's grandchildren who attended. The two guys are my sons Doug and Scott. My niece Laura is in red, and my daughter Kathi is in blue. Scott is the only one who had to come from out-of-state. He lives in Alabama. Unfortunately, his children have already started school, so Scott's wife Bonnie and three children could not attend. In addition, my sister's son was not there. He lives in Illinois with his family. My brother's son lives in Pennsylvania, with his wife and two boys. They, also, could not attend.

This picture is of some of my mom's great-grandchildren. There are two more who live in Pennsylvania, one in North Carolina, two in Illinois, one here in Florida, and three in Alabama.

A great time was had by all who attended.

Stampin'B's Challenge #19 - Two Different Diecuts

Faith (Markie's Mom) was our hostess this week, and her challenge was to use two different die-cuts on our card. Her challenge gave me the opportunity to use two brand-new (to me) Spellbinders dies that just arrived in the mail.


The dragonfly is cut from some pearlescent yellow paper and sponged with Bashful Blue and Old Olive before I removed the die. The frame was cut from Creamy Caramel and sponged with Close to Cocoa. Then I had to decide what to put INTO the frame. I stippled some Summer Sun and Really Rust around the outside of a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and then stamped the Queen Anne’s Lace in Chocolate Chip. I stamped the Happy Birthday on a scrap of the pearlescent yellow paper with Chocolate Chip, punched out the circle, and matted it with Chocolate Chip. Everything is popped up on dimensionals, with the exception of the background – Chocolate Chip and Basic Grey Porcelain DP.

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* Stamps - Queen Anne's Lace from Just For Fun Stamps
* Paper - Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Yellow Pearlescent from Crafters Companion, Basic Grey Porcelain DP
* Ink - Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Really Rust, Summer Sun
* Accessories - Floral Frame and Bugs die-cuts from Spellbinders, Circle punches, Stipple brushes, Sponge daubers




I decided to do a second card for this challenge, using one of the new stamps I received from Creative Design Boutique. In addition, I wanted to try out a new tool I recently purchased at the CHA Super Show -- The Ultimate Crafters Companion -- which has all types of score lines and templates.

I stamped and masked two of the stamps from Funky Florals by Rita Marie and Company onto white cardstock and colored with Prismacolor and Copic markers. For a little shimmer, I went over all the coloring with a clear Sakura Stardust gel pen. After sponging around the oval die-cut, I sponged Mellow Moss around the edge and added a peel-and-stick silver strip. I mounted the oval on a scalloped oval in Lavendar Lace. The card base is So Saffron, matted in Mellow Moss; and the background paper is Micro Dots DP from Rita Marie and Company. I added a few silver corner embellishments and the three punched butterflies.

The inside, however, is where I used the cool Crafter' Companion.

I stamped another one of the flowers from Funky Florals on the inside of the card. Then I cut another piece of Lavendar Lace and scored it for a gatefold card on the scorelines, which are labeled for a gatefold card. I cut out the center oval on the template section. The butterfly, cut from a two-part Cuttlebug die-cut/embossing folder set, is strung on fishing line and taped to the inside of the oval cut-out piece. I glued down two pieces of the same DP on outside sections, added some more silver corners, and glued it down on the card base. Voila, with just a little bit of extra work, you get a clever result!

Images and paper on this card may be found at Creative Design Boutique.

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Stamps - Funky Florals by Rita Marie and Company

Paper - So Saffron, Mellow Moss, GP White, Micro Dots by Rita Marie and Company

Ink - Palette Noir Black, Mellow Moss, Lavendar Lace

Accessories -- Oval and Scallop Oval Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Two-part Butterfly, Prismacolor and Copic markers, Peel-and-stick silver embellishments, Ultimate Crafters Companion, Fishing line, Martha Stewart punch

Featured Stamper

Today's Featured Stamper on SCS is one of my favorite stampers -- Sleepyinseattle, whose real first name is Joanne. I've admired her work for a long, long time.

It was difficult to pick only one card to CASE, but I finally chose this card, which she called Pictures. I kept her colors and sketch, although I did make the center square into a rectangle. The other things I changed were: made a long card, added a ribbon and brad, and used different stamps.

I stamped the images with Versafine Black Onyx and embossed with clear embossing powder, then colored them with Prismacolor and Copic markers. I had to make the center "square" a "rectangle" to enable me to use those koi fish. I added the velvet ribbon and used a glue dot to place the fancy brad on the knot.

Congrats to you, Joanne. You deserve the honor!

* Stamps – Waterlily by Flourishes
* Paper – PaperTreyInk white, Crafters Companion Pearlescent Yellow
* Ink – Versafine Black Onyx
* Accessories – Prismacolor and Copic markers, Velvet ribbon, Brad

Stampin'B's Challenge #18 - Masculine Sympathy Card

Joanne (jojot) was our hostess for this week's Stampin'B's Design Team Blog Challenge. Sympathy cards are always difficult for me, and masculine ones are harder yet. Joanne’s challenge, therefore, was a double header! I also wanted to try some watercoloring, which is not one of my strengths.


I stamped this wonderful, sturdy oak tree by Rubber Stampede onto watercolor paper and colored it with markers and a water brush. The card base of Very Vanilla is matted with Close to Cocoa. The two pieces of DP are from Basic Grey’s Archaic pad, which I really like on masculine cards – what with all the greens and browns in it. The small photo corners were punched using an EK Success punch. I added a couple of jumbo eyelets and some brown not-so-feminine ribbon, tied in a knot.

P.S. I attached the sentiment with repositionable glue because I intend to remove it and replace it with a Happy Birthday sentiment so I can send it to my son. Does that make me a lazy mother -- that I didn’t want to make a completely different card? I hope not!

* Stamps - Oak Tree and sentiment both by Rubber Stampede
* Paper - SU Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Basic Grey Archaic DP, Watercolor paper
* Ink - Stazon Jet Black
* Accessories - Jumbo Eyelets, Ribbon, EK Success photo corner punch, Corner rounder, Markers, Water brush

Blog Hop Winner

We have a winner of our first Creative Designs Boutique Blog Hop. Faith's son Markie chose the lucky lady -- LINDA STEVENS!

Congratulations to you, Linda!!! Hope you enjoy your goodies. Please email: mjh7433109@aol.com with your address so that we can get your prize to you!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our first go round, and we hope you'll stop by again. We will be having a blog hop on the first Wednesday of each month. The next date is September 2nd, so put it on your calendar!

Color and Sketch Challenges

Both my Sketch and Color challenges on SCS this week were made using Rita Marie & Company stamps.

For today's sketch challenge, I used a set called Flutterby Delight and lots of Basic Grey DP. I stamped the butterfly on a pale piece of DP from the Basic Grey Ambrosia DP pad and colored it with Copic and Prismacolor markers. All the rest of the DP is also from the same paper pad. The sentiment is composed of individual letter stickers. I added some brads for interest.

* Stamps - Flutterby Delight by Rita Marie and Company
* Paper - Basic Grey Ambrosia DP
* Ink - Versafine Black Onyx
* Accessories - Prismacolor and Copic markers, Nestabilities, Brads, Sticker Letters

Yesterday's color challenge had lots of colors -- and I used them all. The larger flowers were stamped on Cameo Coral; the smaller flowers on Blush Blossom - all with Whisper White and embossed. The side panel was created by stamping the lined image with Whisper White onto Close to Cocoa and embossed with white ep. The Sizzix leaves were cut from Certainly Celery; the sentiment is a rub-on.

* Stamps - Signature Series by Rita Marie and Company

* Paper - GP White, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa

* Ink - Whisper White, Certainly Celery

* Accessories - White ep, Ribbon, Circle punch, Sizzix, Rub-on sentiment

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All images can be found at http://www.creativescrapboutique.com/

Creative Design Boutique Blog Hop

Are you ready to see some new stamps? It's time for Creative Design Boutique's Blog Hop, and all six members of the team are excited to bring you some goodies! And, there's BLOG CANDY!!!



Butterflies are some of my favorite images. This set, Flutterby Delight by Rita Marie and Company, has three butterflies, some flowers and several “bugs” that are all lots of fun! For my card I stamped one of the butterflies and the caterpillar, using Versafine Black Onyx, embossed with clear embossing powder. After masking the butterfly and caterpillar with images stamped on Post-It notes, I sponged the clouds using a scallop circle and a sponge dauber. I then colored them with Twinkling H2Os so that they shimmer. I cut the leaves from a Sizzix die and added the primas and brad. I figured the caterpillar dreamed of being a butterfly one day – thus the sentiment, which I put on using sticker letters.

All images may be found at Creative Design Boutique.

Make sure you visit ALL of the blogs of the Creative Boutique design team, leave comments on ALL 6 of the Blog Posts; and a winner's name will be chosen from those posts on Thursday, August 6, and posted at 6 PM. You have to leave a comment on each blog to be eligible to win. Here are the links for the rest of the team! Good Luck!

Vicky Gould

Nancyruth

Joanne (jojot)

Nicole (ButterflyEars)

Faith (markie's mom)

* Stamps - Flutterby Delight by Rita Marie & Co.

* Paper - Taken With Teal, Summer Sun, Watercolor Paper

* Ink - Versafine Black Onyx, Bashful Blue

* Accessories - Twinkling H2Os, Sizzix leaf die, Primas, Brad, Clear ep, Scallop punch for cloud template, Sponge dauber