Rocky Flower

Unfortunately, this particular card didn't photograph as nicely as I'd hope.  This was another take on the other 2 inches of photo I used in the Birdy Friends card.  The photo scraps in the background are rocks and have just a little flash of yellow so I thought a nice cut yellow flower would compliment the grey on this card perfectly.  The photo scraps are adhered to the white cardstock on the inside of the card and the flower is connected to the front of the card, covering part of the window.

Monkey Thanks

Now that the holidays and my son's third birthday is over, its time to take the time to thank everyone for their gifts.  I wanted to make something cute for the boys thank others.  This card is unusual for me because it is a one-layer card, stamps only.  The colors are bright and perfect for my little monkeys to give out to everyone who has been so generous to them.

Just Because Bird

Does the ribbon look familiar?  I used it on my "Dear Santa" and love how it looks with this red/cream/black card.  The red swallow is a subtle addition to the predominant black background.  Notice the little stamped tags attached with a safety pin on the ribbon - helps make this card more vintage-y.

Birdy Friends

Wondering what to do with all your picture scraps?  Repurpose them as a background.  I took the 1/2 inch strips I needed to trim off our family photos to get them to fit into envelopes and made a neat neutral background for the birds on a wire. 

The birds on adhered to the front of the card and the picture scraps are attached to the back with a white piece of cardstock for writing your notes.

Pink Notes

This set of 4.25 x 4.25 square note cards are intended to be a gift for a friend of ours.  You'll notice a lot of the same elements and colors from the flamingo birthday card I did a few weeks ago.  What can I say?  I like the combinations.

Dear Santa...

This set of Christmas cards features a neutral palette of stockings hung by the chimney with care with a darker script “Dear Santa” over top. The striped ribbon is finished off with a small piece of twine to give it a rustic look.

Poinsettia Joy

I absolutely love this striped ribbon.  The combination of riding hood red and very vanilla go perfectly with the patterned paper behind it.  The paper poinsettia in the middle finishes the whole thing off.

Peaceful wishes

The subtle greens and browns really do make this card peaceful.  The pops of red on the berries and pearls framing the picture help make this card feel a little more holiday-ish.

Sweet cupcake

Little girls are so fun to make cards for.  This cupcake is Pretty in Pink (the actual name of the color) is accented with little flowers.  Both the cupcake and punched flowers are accented with rhinestones to really make it girlie.  Unfortunately you cannot see the strip of pink at the bottom of the card which peeks through the punched rope design. 

Punch snowman

I've borrowed this design from Sharon Field http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1831466 .  The icy blue sponged around the  circle edges and on the snow bank behind him match the ribbon and his blue eyes.  I think this is a really sweet holiday card and seems to be a favorite with everyone.



Happy Hanukkah!

Hate to rush Thanksgiving but the holidays are right around the corner!

The menorah stencil is the first one I've made and I was delighted with the result. The blue of the candles and the gold of the ribbon compliment each other over the sparkling background.

Birthday cupcake

I love the combination of pink and brown together.  This would be a perfect card for anyone of the female persuasion.  A lovely pink cupcake with a pearl on top!

Gold Christmas

I found this patterned paper at Big Lots and loved it.  While its difficult to tell in the picture, there are gold accents.  The red cardstock was run through the Big Shot to lightly emboss it.  The gold brads on the mustard paper helped finish off this card.

Snowy Noel

I was happy to discover snowflake stamps that matched this pretty, patterned paper.  This card also features one of my favorite colors, Sage Shadow which makes for a subtle holiday green.  There are 3 rhinestone to add a little snowy sparkle.

Scallops and brads

This is a clean and simple design, highlighted by coordinating designer paper and symmetry.  The colors are fun - earthy green, purples, and blues.

Buttons!

The Big Shot machine is just way too much fun!  The button die cuts, layered with the In-Color DSP, on a stark white background just look perfect to me.  I did some paper piercing which really coordinates with the stitched appearance on the buttons.

stamps: just believe

paper: pear pizazz, whisper white, in-color dsp

inks: pear pizazz

accessories: buttons sizzlet, paper piercer

Flamingo birthday

A friend requested a special flamingo card for her mother and said that she really liked pink.  This was fun card to make.  The pinks go really well together and the rhinestones in the middle of the flowers match.

stamps: inkadinkadoo flamingo, looks like spring

inks: rose red, pretty in pink

paper: rose red, whisper white

Baby Bunny

This was another thank you card I did for my co-worker who is happily waiting at home for the arrival of her little girl.  The felt bunny sticker was a fun Martha Stewart find.  Something simple and sweet.  Perfect.

stamps: curly cute

ink: crumb cake

paper: pretty in pink

French bunny

There have been a lot of pregnant co-workers to make baby thank you's for lately.  Its been fun because we've had a few girls and few boys.  I thought the pale lavender color along with the subtle French script looked very sweet.  The bunny doesn't hurt either.

stamps: fabulous phrases, forest friends, french script, simply circles

inks: pale plum, crumb cake

paper: very vanilla, pale plum textured paper

Bird Block

Acrylic blocks have multiple uses.  When they're not being used to stamp with the cling stamps, you can use them to make neat background shapes and effects.  I used my small acrylic block dipped in the white craft ink to create a window for the bird silhouette.

stamps: silhouette sentiments

inks: chocolate chip, white craft ink

paper: crumb cake

techniques: acrylic block stamping, sponging

New Baby Card

One of my co-workers is starting her maternity leave next week.  We're having a little shower next week and all of us cellar-dwellers (our offices are the "basement" of the building") will be signing this card for her.  The white heart clip on the right side came from Ollie's.  That was a really fun find.  The chipboard chick is Martha Stewart and came from Big Lots.

Let me take this opportunity to promote the unconventional crafting/stamping sources.  Don't get me wrong - I love SU! stuff.  The colors are amazing; everything matches.  I love the stamps - their images, their quality, how they match DSP.  But there are other sources for crafting supplies.  One of my favorites is Big Lots.  You have to check frequently but they get new stock in and you can get a good deal.  I was just introduced to Ollie's this week and I'm hooked!  Of course, its the same thing: you need to be vigilant and check often.

Stamps: Carte postal, Fabulous phrases

Paper: Barely Banana, Almost amethyst

Ink: So Saffron, Concord crush

Accessories: Martha Stewart chipboard, white clip, 2 inch scallop punch, 1 1/2 inch round punch, corner rounder



Happy Birthday Birdy!

Ah, yes...another dictionary page.  I can say that I'm not done using it as an alternate media source...so stay tuned! I've been seeing some really neat cards using safety pins and I thought this was a perfect card to use it with.

 

stamps: notably ornate, just believe, sentiment from Michael's dollar bin

colors: marina mist, soft suede

accessories: hemp twine, marina mist brads, dictionary

techniques: sponging, ripping (is that a technique?), Martha Stewart ribbon

Extreme thank you's

It was just Matt and my birthdays this past week and we need to send out some thank you's for our gifts.  I wanted to try the crumb cake/pumpkin pie combination along with craft white.  I tend to gravitate towards more collage-type cards and these fit the bill.

stamps: extreme elements, some Michael's dollar bin specials

colors: crumb cake, pumpkin pie, craft white

accessories: orange brad, the card on the right uses an acrylic block and the top to the white ink dipped in white.

Fall Foliage sympathy card

Unfortunately I've had to make a few sympathy cards this year.  I liked using the new stamp set from the Holiday mini catalog because the ink spots stamp looked very much like tear stains.

stamps: Fall Foliage, In a Word

colors: markers from Michaels, basic neutral paper from Michaels

accessories: hemp twine

Dictionary thank you

I've really been enjoying all the cards being made with written word paper.  My friend Lauri, the stamper who got me into stamping, suggested I go to the used book sale and pick up some cheapies to use in my cards.

stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Define Your Life

colors: poppy parade, basic grey

paper: whisper white, poppy parade DSP, dictionary page

Punched pumpkin card

This SUO (Stampin' Up! only) card is not an original design by any means.  I've seen a bunch of pumpkins made out of punched circles and ovals, so I can't really attribute this to any one stamper.  But I did like how the curls of the background stamp match the sentiment stamp.

stamp sets: baroque motifs, Curly Cute

colors: crumb cake, always artichoke, pumpkin pie

paper: includes the above as well as the pumpkin pie DSP

methods: punches, sponging

Stay tuned for a stamping site!

Hoping to create an online catalog of sorts for others to view my stamped cards.  I'll return once I learn how to actually use this thing...