Memorial Day Monday!

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! It has been a quiet one for me. I have started thinking about my swaps for convention. I want to start planning them and as soon as I know which sets are in the new catalog I will start working on them.

I played with the color challenge over at Late Night Stampers. You are to use Bordering Blue, Night of Navy, and So Saffron. This is a great color combination and I had a lot of fun working with it. I combined it with the sketch challenge at Stamping 411.











This is a great sketch and I love it. I may use it for one of my convention swaps. The only problem I had was getting my bow to stick. I dyed my ribbon to match the navy and for some reason when I dye it and try to attach it to another piece of ribbon it won't stick. I have tried Zots and my next step is to use sticky strip. I ended up gluing this on. Hope you like it.



















inside of card










Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: Watercolor Trio Paper: Bordering Blue, Confetti White, Night of Navy, So Saffron Ink: Bordering Blue, Night of Navy Accessories: Bordering Blue - Night of Navy - So Saffron markers, small - large- scalloped oval punches, taffeta ribbon, sponge dauber, Tombow mono adhesive, sticky tape, dimensionals

Have I told you I love this set? I will be so sad when September comes as it will retire. :( I hope there is a similar set in the new catalog. Thanks for looking and enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

Robbie

10 Minute Challenge and Workshop cards

Good morning Ladies! I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend.

I have 3 cards for you today. The first is for Carole'Ann's and Sandi's 10 minute challenge. This week was a sketch challenge.











Since I needed another card for my workshop this week I decided to use their sketch and challenge to make my card. I was inspired by this card at Sarah's Stetler Arts blog. I had used a similar idea to make my ATC card I shared last week and wanted to do a larger version. I needed a way to make the background and turned to my Stampin' Up family at Late Night Stampers for some help. They suggested I use the baby wipe and reinker technique seen in this video. I loved this technique and it was fun to do. I think I may have to use this idea again. I didn't make the 10 minutes as it took me 15. Here is what I came up with and anyone who comes to my workshop this week will make.



















inside of card











Another card we will make was also inspired by another one of my ATC"s. Do you remember the cow one? The ATC was inspired by Elaine's card. I also saw a tutorial by Lynn Pratt and thought it would be fun to combine the 2 ideas. Here is what I created.
























Isn't it just too cute! I know the ladies will enjoy making this one also. So now I need 1 more card. Since I just got the new July Fourth set in the Summer mini I decided I need to use it as my next workshop will be after July 4th. I checked out some cards on the Stampin' Up demo website and found 2 ideas that I liked and combined them. I used Kerin Sylvester's and Nikki Bond's cards to come up with this one.



















inside of card










Stampin' Up Supplies

Strawberry card
Stamps: Life's A Picnic (retired) Paper: Garden Green, Real Red, glossy white, white Ink: Garden Green, Real Red, Staz-on Black Accessories: Ornament - 5 flower - flower trio punches, Basic Black marker, Green Galore reinker, dots embossing folder, Little Leaves sizzlet die, sticky tape

Barn card
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Real Red, white Ink: Chocolate Chip Accessories: Basic Black marker, round tab & small oval punches, Little Leaves sizzlet die, crop-a-dile, linen thread, aged copper brads, Signo gel pen, sponge dauber, sticky tape, Zots, dimensionals

4th of July card
Stamps: July Fourth Paper: Night of Navy, Real Red, white Ink: Crushed Curry, Night of Navy, Real Red Accessories: Perfect Details texturz plate, sticky tape, dimensionals

Thanks for sticking with me as this was a long post. Want to come to my workshop? Send me an e-mail and let me know. Thanks for looking and have a Sensational Sunday!

Robbie

Swirly Butterflies

I received an e-mail from a challenge blog I participate in asking me to be their guest designer for an upcoming week. I was so excited and said yes. I spent some time yesterday working on my project to post. It is really a neat idea so look for that post in about a week.

I also needed to make a card for you today. I am not sure how I feel about this one. I liked it at first but now I am not sure so let me know what you think. I used the color challenge from Just Add Ink.







I loved these colors together and I think they make a great card. Maybe it needs more white. I then chose to use the sketch challenge at Pals Paper Arts .













I pulled out my butterfly die that I hadn't used in a while. I stamped the large swirl from Priceless and cut out the butterflies as I felt the plain butterflies needed something. After I cut them out I used my white and clear glitter gel pens to trace the swirls on the butterflies to add a little interest. Here is my creation.



















inside of card










Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Fun & Fast Notes, Priceless Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Melon Mambo, Taken with Teal, white Ink: Chocolate Chip, Elegant Eggplant, Melon Mambo, Taken with Teal Accessories: Close to Cocoa - Elegant Eggplant - Melon Mambo marker, Signo gel pen, white taffeta ribbon, scallop trim border punch, Beautiful Butterflies bigz die, sticky tape, dimensionals

Hope you enjoyed today's card. I will be working on some cards to post later this week as well as preparing for the graduate course I am teaching. Thanks for looking and have a Super Saturday!

Robbie

June ATC and workshop card

Second post, scroll down for the first!

Well I have been working on my June ATC. I have a lot going on in June so my goal is to finish these and ship them out next week so I have that crossed off my list. I saw a card during my blurfing that used a punch and made a strawberry. I loved the idea and set about doing it for my ATC. The original card used the ornament punch but that would be too big. It also used a heart punch for a smaller one so that worked for me. I wanted to include the little white flowers that are on the strawberry vine so I pulled out the flowers trio punch and made mine. To make the vine I used the little leaves sizzlet and just added the strawberries and flowers. The only thing missing is a small ant on the bottom. I could not find my stamp so I need to check with my sister and see if she has it.

I will be doing a little bit different version of this to make a card for my workshop next week. Since this is not a card, I can enter it also into the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge. Here is what I came up with.




















Now one to the workshop card. I love the simplicity of the Awash With Flowers set. You can create a simple card as well as something more elaborate. I was inspired by a card I saw on a blog. I can't remember whose card inspired me so if you recognize it let me know and I will give you credit.
























inside of card













Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: Awash with Flowers Paper: Crushed Curry, Pixie Pink, white Ink: Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Pixie Pink, Whisper White craft Accessories: eyelet border punch, sticky strip, dimensionals

Hope you liked these creations. Thanks for looking and have a great afternoon!

Robbie

4th of July table decoration

Well I didn't get anything made early enough yesterday to post. I put my youngest on a place to San Francisco where she will live for a year. It will be a long year for me! I miss her already.

I was in Target the other day picking up some things for her trip when I spotted a few things I thought I could use for a challenge. The Hand Stamped Sentiments blog has an Anything But a Card challenge this week. When I walked past the $1 spot in Target I saw something but didn't give it another thought. As I was walking through the store my mind started racing and before we checked out I went back and picked up the 1 item as well as another one there I could use.

Are you wondering what I got? Well I saw a small tin pail that had a punched star on the front and back. I thought it would be cute to punch some stars and stick in the pail to make a 4th of July table decoration. I also spotted a pen with red streamers (like pom poms) on the end. I pick up one of those also as I thought I could use those to hang from the stars. My thought was to make a star streamer similar to a princess wand to stick in the pail.

I started by using my large and small star punch and punched a bunch of stars out. I then cut apart the streamers on the pen and using sticky tape applied them to the back of the star. I pulled out my skewers and using Zots applied the star to the skewer. I then used another Zot to apply a star to the other side of the skewer so there is a star on each side.

Once I had the stars together and stuck in the pail I had some extra stars left and decided to decorate the outside of the pail. Once I did that it still needed something. That is when it hit me to add a ribbon bow to the skewer. My picture does not do the decoration justice. It was so tall I had a hard time photographing it. Here is my final creation.
























close up of 1 skewer













close up of pail











Stampin' Up Supplies
Paper: Brilliant Blue, Real Red, white Accessories: small & large star punches, Brilliant Blue marker, Real Red & white grosgrain ribbon, Zots

So what do you think of my table decoration? Let me know by leaving me a comment. I am working on a couple of cards for my workshop next week so check back later today to get a peek. Thanks for looking and have a Fabulous Friday!

Robbie

Got some new toys

The big brown truck came today and brought me some new goodies. I caved and bought some of the new Specialty Designer Series Paper. I saw so many beautiful cards made with this that I wanted to give it a try.

I saw a new color challenge over at The Color Dare blog. You were to use Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, and Soft Suede. These are very pretty colors together. I saw a challenge at Stampin B's Design Team blog. You were to make a long card with 3 circles. This was a fun idea rather than doing a sketch challenge so I thought I would use it.

When I saw the 3 circle element I immediately thought of Pocket Silhouettes. I thought it would be fun to use them on the circles. It them hit me they would be so cute if they opened up with a message inside. So I had my idea and was ready to begin. Since I had not used the Presto paper before I decided to use only 2 colors - Crushed Curry and Rich Razzleberry. I went looking at my encouraging friend and fellow design team member Carole'Anne Sluchinski's blog to see how she colored her paper. I saw she used sponges or daubers so I pulled out my sponges as I thought I would have better luck and not end up with blobs. I had fun playing with it and think my finished product is not bad. Here is my creation.



















card with front circles opened










inside of card










Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: A Great Friend, All Holidays, Pocket Silhouettes, Warm Words Paper: Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, white Ink: Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry Accessories: Crushed Curry & Rich Razzleberry markers, Soft Suede polka dot ribbon, scallop circle and border punches, Zots, dimensionals

Hope you enjoyed today's card. Today is the last day before my daughter moves to San Francisco. I don't know if I will get a card made for tomorrow or not as I have some things to do for her. I will miss her terribly but it is only for a year so I will count down the days. Thanks for looking and have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Robbie

Perfect Ink Playing with Paper

Hello Ladies!

You all know I love challenges. I found a new challenge blog the other day. Lesley is starting a new challenge blog at Always Playing with Paper. They are looking for a guest designer in June. I would love to have the chance to play with these talented ladies. You should check out the blog and see the talent there.

The card I created for the challenge uses a color challenge from Picture Perfect Creations.







They chose to use some more of our retiring colors. I found a sketch challenge at Just Add Ink. I am having fun playing with little elements that open to make the card interactive. I used that idea on this card also. Here is the sketch and my creation.































card with front element opened










inside of card










Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: Razzle Dazzle Paper: Ballet Blue, Cameo Coral, Handsome Hunter, white Ink: Ballet Blue, Cameo Coral Accessories: Ballet Blue - Cameo Coral - Handsome Hunter markers, Perfect Details texturz plate, sticky tape, dimensionals

Hope you enjoyed today's card. Cross your fingers for me. Thanks for looking and have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Robbie

Didn't make it again!

Well I was playing with Carole'Anne and Sandi's 10 minute challenge and guess what. I didn't make it again! It took me 18 minutes. :( I thought I was going to do it but the center layer messed me up.

The 10 minute challenge this week was a color challenge.






It definitely was a challenge to work in the Soft Suede because when you combine it with Chocolate Chip the colors are similar and it can easily get lost. I also used the sketch challenge at Stamping 411.














I used up some more of my designer series paper that will retire in July. I also wanted to add some ribbon so I did a little different ribbon treatment for a different look and I like the effect. Here is my creation.
























inside of card













Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: Baroque Motifs Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede, white Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede Accessories: white taffeta ribbon, sticky tape, dimensionals

Hope you enjoyed today's card. Why don't you try your hand at a 10 minute card! Thanks for looking and have a Marvelous Monday!

Robbie

Pretty Simple Watercolor Trio

Good Sunday Morning to you!

Quick post as I have a lot to do today. My daughter is moving to San Francisco at the end of the week and she needs some thank you cards so I have to get them done.

My card today uses the clean & simple challenge at Ink Spots and Gum Drops blog. The challenge was to create a card that was simple and included tearing. I combined this with the color challenge at Cards & Things.







I colored the image with markers and off stamped it first then stamped it twice on the white without re-inking. I like the soft watercolor effect. Here is my creation.
























inside of card













Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: Watercolor Trio Paper: Old Olive, Orchid Opulence, Rich Razzleberry, white Accessories: Old Olive - Orchid Opulence - Rich Razzleberry markers, Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon, Zots, sticky tape


I love how this turned out. Let me know what you think. Thanks for looking and have a Sensational Sunday!

Robbie

Simple Black Apricot

Well the weatherman says we will be cloudy today and we will get rain later this afternoon. I am not complaining as we need it. I will be working on some cards for next week as well as preparing for my class that begins in the middle of June. Great way to spend a dreary Saturday!

I received an invitation to a new group of stampers. On their page the moderator posted an inspiration challenge.


When I saw this picture the first thing I thought of was apricot, black, and white. I also noticed the branch centerpiece and Pocket Silhouettes popped into my mind. I then pictured a layout that I thought would be perfect, so I was set to create my card.




It was a quick card to put together. I may have taken 15 minutes maximum. In checking out blogs I also ran across a Clean & Simple Challenge at Ink Spots and Gum Drops so this fits that challenge perfectly. This was a first inspiration challenge as well as a first clean & simple challenge on both blogs. So this is a first for me, 2 first challenges completed at the same time! :) Here is my creation.
























inside of card













Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: Hello Again, Pocket Silhouettes Paper: Apricot Appeal, Basic Black, white Ink: Basic Black Accessories: corner rounder & small - large - scalloped oval punches, dots embossing folder, black grosgrain ribbon, Signo gel pen, silver brads, sticky tape, dimensionals

Hope you liked today's card and you are inspired to create a card also. Thanks for looking and have a Super Saturday!

Robbie

Shadow Box

The challenge this week at Late Night Stampers is to create a home decor item. I have wanted to do this for quite some time to put in my bathroom. This was the motivation to get it done.

I have a bunch of seashells and a starfish that I have collected on different vacations I took to the beach. I thought it would be good to create a shadow box to hang in my bathroom. I was inspired by Sharon's card. I thought it would be good to use as a background. Since she has a great tutorial I used it but didn't brayer it since I was doing it to fit an 8 x 8 shadow box frame. Instead I sponged my background but used her ideas for placement of the post-it notes. Since the only shadow box I could find was black, I had to spray paint it white first. Sharon also used the new Tropical Party set from the Summer Mini. I did not have that one so I used the Asian Artistry set and cleaned off the flowers before stamping. After I had my background done, I put my shells in and put the box together. Here is my creation.



















close up of background











Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: Asian Artistry Paper: Whisper White Ink: Barely Banana, Bashful Blue, Bermuda Bay, Chocolate Chip, Not Quite Navy, River Rock, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White Craft Accessories: sponges, Tombow mono adhesive, Dazzling Diamonds

Hope you enjoyed my project today. I will be finishing up my ATC's as well as making a card for you tomorrow. Thanks for looking and have a Fabulous Friday!

Robbie

Pocket card and June ATC

The weekend is almost here. Are you excited? My youngest daughter is coming home before she moves to San Francisco. We will be spending lots of play time next week as I don't know when I will see her again.

My card today was inspired by some flowers I saw on Maria's blog. She used designer paper but I decided to see if I could recreate it. She also made roses but I wanted mine flat to make it easier to mail. I began with white cardstock and stamped it in black with the dots from Itty Bitty Backgrounds. I then sponged the edges with the colors from the color challenge. I then punched out the flower and added some other smaller punches flowers to create the final product. Here are Maria's flowers (on the left) and mine.














I went with a color challenge from Color Throwdown. It uses some of the colors we will see in July as part of the color renovation.







I then decided to use the sketch challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments. When I saw the sketch I thought it would fun to try and make it a pocket card so I took the idea and ran with it. I cut my background and stamped the edges. I then decided on the color of my pocket (the bottom element of the sketch) and cut a piece the same width as the background. I then stamped it with ink the same color as the cardstock. I attached my ribbon and used stick strip on the 2 sides and the bottom to attach the pocket to the card.

Next I made the card for the pocket. I cut the paper about 5/8" smaller than the card. I punched the edge and then stamped the image using full ink and second generation stamping. I stamped and cut out the sentiment and attached my ribbon and bow.

Now I needed the elements on the front of the card. I stamped my sentiment and layered it. I attached it to the bottom pocket with dimensionals. Last thing I need to do was add my flowers.
Here is the sketch and my creation.





































card with pocket removed













Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: Great Friend, Herb Expressions, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, One of a Kind, Priceless Paper: Baja Breeze, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, white Ink: Baja Breeze, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette Accessories: Melon Mambo polka dot ribbon, scallop circle - scallop border - boho blossoms punches, silver brads, sponge daubers, sticky tape, dimensionals.


The other thing I wanted to share with you is my May ATC. I loved the card I saw on Elaine's blog. I just loved her cows and decided to use that idea for my ATC card. I used Riding Hood Red cardstock and scored it every 1/2". I then used Close to Cocoa and the direct to paper method to distress various areas of the card. Next I cut white strips 3/8" wide. I put them together to form a window and added brads. My barn was done and now I needed to make my cow.

I used the basic directions Elaine had on her blog for the cow. I did not have the XL 2 step bird punch for the ears so I pulled out my sizzlet little leaves die and used it to make the ears. I also used a 1/8" hole punch for the nostrils as my small hole punch on my crop-a-dile was not giving me a clean punch. Hope you like my cow ATC.
























Stampin' Up Supplies
Paper: Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Riding Hood Red, white Ink: Close To Cocoa Accessories: Basic Black marker, Rounded Tab & small oval punches, Little Leaves Sizzlets, linen thread, crop-a-dile, white gel pen, Zots, sticky tape, dimensionals


Hope you liked today's creations. It was fun to make. Take some time today to create something to make someone smile. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Robbie

Easy Peasy Wednesday

Happy Hump Day!

Today is an easy peasy card day. I also decided I wanted to play with some of the new colors. We got samples of the 5 new colors with our Stampin' Up magazine this month. So I pulled them out. I have a challenge commitment at Late Night Stampers. It is an R & R challenge. You had to use 2 things on your card that begin with R. Since one of the new colors is Cherry Cobbler which is a great shade of red I went with that. I combined it with the new Daffodil Delight. I love these 2 colors together.

I wanted to use the large flower punch which I hadn't used in a while so I pulled this out. I wanted my punched flowers to have some texture so I stamped the paper with the Fine Flourish stamp using Versamark since we don't have the ink pads yet. I then used other flower punches to create the flower. I used the Little Leaves die to cut out the branches. All I needed was the ribbon and my card was done. Here is my easy peasy card for today!

























inside of card













Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: Fine Flourish Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi Ink: Versamark Accessories: large flower - 5 petal - boho blossoms punches, Little Leaves Sizzlet die, white organdy ribbon, Zots, dimensionals

Hope you enjoyed today's easy card and it has inspired you to create an easy card of your own. Thanks for looking and have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Robbie

Circle Friendship

Another rainy day today, but we need the rain bad. My grass was crunchy like it gets in August. This will help a lot.

I worked on a couple of cards yesterday. The card I am sharing today uses the color challenge at Colour Create. You were to use Khaki (I used Kraft), Aqua (I used Baja Breeze), Brown (I used Soft Suede) and Cream (I used Very Vanilla). There was also an additional challenge to use circles. Here is the picture that they posted that I got my inspiration from.













I decided to use the sketch challenge from Card Patterns. I thought it fit my idea very well. I decided to use the circle idea to create my background. I punched circles and layered them and then randomly placed them on my background. I decided they were too plain so I used the circle swirl from A Beautiful Things to give them some texture. I decided to use the same circle swirl to add some interest to the sentiment layer as well as inside. The rest was a matter of punching and layering. I needed a ribbon at the bottom so I used white taffeta and colored using the ink pad and sponge dauber. I wanted different layers to my ribbon so I cut them different lengths and layered. I tied the layers together with linen thread and threaded them through a button and tied it with a bow. Here is the sketch and my creation.





































inside of card













Stampin' Up Supplies
Stamps: A Beautiful Thing, Great Friend, Herb Expressions Paper: Baja Breeze, Kraft, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla Ink: Baja Breeze, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede Accessories: 5/8" - 3/4" - 1" circle and scallop border punches, white & vanilla taffeta ribbon, linen thread, sponge dauber, Zots

So, do you like my circle card? Leave me a message and let me know. Thanks for looking and have a Terrific Tuesday!

Robbie