Two More Retiring Sets!

 I love this technique! I must confess I don't always save every scrap of paper. Pretty much anything smaller than 3" goes in the recycle pile. However, this would be a great way to use those leftover strips of paper!  For the inspiration card and tutorial click HERE to go to Canopy Crafts blog.         

         I used a Labels framelit to cut the opening and a piece of Baker's Twine instead of ribbon.  

    The sentiment is from the soon to be retired set called Sincere Salutations. Great set of sentiments; I like the script. Definitely a keeper! The background stamp is from the Stampin' Up! set called Extreme Elements, also retiring May 30.  

  The weather here in KC is lovely! I am sitting on my deck listening to my new Carrie Underwood CD, the kids playing, birds chirping and my cat Zoey whining 'cause she wants to come outside. I would bring her outside on the leash but her only collar is a break away one and I am afraid she might see the neighbor cat and "break away". 

Embossed Butterfly

This is one of the cards we made at stamp club last month. I love heat embossing! I played around with a few color combinations and this is the one I liked the best. I wanted to try this with Tempting Turquoise but my Tempting Turquoise craft spot was too dry. The butterfly is a piece of chipboard cut with the Beautiful Butterflies Die and the Big Shot™. We covered it with Summer Sun (retired) craft ink and embossed it with clear EP, then covered it with Versamark™ and another layer of clear EP. The swirl from Baroque Motifs was stamped on the butterfly with Chocolate Chip craft ink. Another layer of clear EP then we swiped the Chocolate Chip craft ink pad across the top and embossed another layer of clear EP. The crown is a stamp from Extreme Elements.
The layout of this card is basically a CASE from the Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog.

Stampin' Up! Pun Fun

I finally participated in a sketch challenge only I didn't make the deadline for the giveaway! Go figure???




This is for Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge #300. Here's the sketch:










I pulled out a set I have not used for awhile called Pun Fun, great set of cute images. I colored the rocket ship using my Stampin' Up! watercolor pencils and a blender pen on Whisper White paper. The background paper was stamped with Garden Green and Pacific Point using the Extreme Elements stamp set.

I really need some birthday cards for boys in my stash. Actually I need some masculine cards period in my collection. My challenge this month is to make one masculine card for every feminine one I make-I should make two masculine for every one feminine but ...hard to give up the bling and glitter!

An Artistic Etchings Makeover!

I took Trisha's advice and added ink (Marina Mist and a stamp from the Extreme Elements stamp set) and some Silver Foil Smooch Spritz™ to the background. I then tossed the Eiffel tower and replaced it with a couple of stamped images from the Friends 24/7 stamp set. I also switched out the Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware™ for some Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware.

Much Better now!

Red, White & Blue Graduation Card

Making masculine cards is a stretch for me. My style is cute or glittery or maybe a little vintage if I get inspired and CASE something. However, guys don't really like glitter. Now why is that? I mean how did glitter become feminine or why is pink for girls???? Boys like glitter when they are young. Preschoolers put lots and lots of glitter on their projects.




Conversation I had with a 3 year old boy-
Me: "What's your favorite color?"
3 year old: "I love all the colors of the world . . . . . . .except pink."
Me: "Why don't you like pink?"
3 year old: "Because pink is for girls!!"


Stamps: Extreme Elements, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Basic Gray, Naturals White
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Basic Gray, Night of Navy
Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware, Square Lattice Impressions Folder, Tag Punches, Large Star Punch, Night of Navy grosgrain & brad

Back from Vacation & Ready to Stamp!

My DH, DD, and I went to visit my DH's family. It was a nice relaxing vacation. We went out to eat several times, watched a ton of movies, ate lots of junk food and visited with family. I played with the great nieces and nephew who kept us entertained! Since it was only the 3 of us who went this time I told my DD that she could pack whatever she wanted because there would be plenty of room in the van-never tell a 17 year old they can bring as much as they want! She not only packed the WII* but the Guitar Hero* drums & guitars and the Rock Star* drums & guitars!! Apparently each game must have its own guitars and drums-what a racket the video game business is!!! She also packed a suitcase full of movies (45 to be exact) because my SIL & BIL do not have cable and are only able to get 2 channels. However, everyone enjoyed playing the video games and watching the movies! So in honor of Guitar Hero players everywhere I made this card.
The Extreme Guitar was stamped with Ruby Red craft ink and embossed with clear. My Ruby Red craft ink seems to have separated some and looks more like Really Rust-I think I will have to reink it and smoosh it before I use it again. I used Extreme Elements to stamp around the guitar player. The sentiment is from Sporting. The bottom panel was textured with a Texturz plate and I daubered the new Champagne Shimmer Paint over it to make it look metalic. I love the new shimmer paint! I just added the other 2 colors to my last order and can't wait to try them.

Rock On!!

I made another masculine card!!!! This would be great for younger guys! The main image is SU Extreme Guitar embossed with black EP. The stars are from SU Extreme Elements. The paper is Basic Gray, Basic Black and Old Olive. The Designer Paper is from Cast-A-Spell. I like the paper in this pack and as my friend Contessa Kris pointed out, it doesn't have to be used for Halloween. That's the nice thing about double sided paper-you get twice the choices.