Stacy's Paper Crafts

February 2024 CFK: I love you & Happy Birthday

 

I'm back today with a few more cards that I created using my February Counterfeit Kit. This card features ink blended die cut hearts and gold heat embossing.

 

Basic Grey made the best patterned paper for quick and easy cards like this one. I stamped the sentiment on vellum and then heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I tucked the little banner with the eyelet behind the sentiment and popped them up using foam tape. Easy peasy!

 

This last card came together pretty quickly as well. The hedgehog image is from a stamp set called Hedgehog Blocks by Red Rubber Designs. I did some simple coloring using Copic markers, added a little flower, adhered a little enamel dot to the center of it, and then used a die to cut a panel for the images. I then used a woodgrain embossing folder to emboss the card front, and blended some ink along it to highlight the texture. I then adhered the image panel to the card base using foam tape. 

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your weekend!

 

February 2024 CFK: 143 & Mixed Tapes

I used my February Counterfeit Kit to create some cards this month. I wanted to do some actual scrapbooking but I got a late start and the month just slipped away from me. I needed some cards asap so it all works out! Some of them have a Valentine's Day feel but any and every day is a great day to tell someone you love them!

 

 

If you were a teenager in the 90's you will know that 1 4 3 = I love you! I asked my husband if he knew what it meant and he did not! I had to tease him and told him it was clear that he never had a girl page him back in the day! LOL I'll give him a pass though because he's 10yrs older so he was using his pager for business communications... which makes me wonder why my teen aged self had one in the first place. Anyway I feel old now LOL.

 

I used the Cassette Tape Die-namics & Mixed Tape Messages stamp set by My Favorite Things Stamps to create this card. I also used some old Tim Holtz Idea-ology stickers to create the labels for the cassettes. They were just the right size! The stamps & dies were released last January. I'm so surprised to see that Mixed Tape Messages is already being retired, it's such a fun set! I'm going to assume it wasn't a big enough seller, which again is so surprising to me! It's so nostalgic and perfect for many occasions, and is so perfect for creating masculine cards for the older fellas. It's currently on sale for $4.50 at the time of this post so grab it while you can! The links above are not affiliate links. I'm moving slow, but I'll be back to share a few more cards that I created. Thanks for stopping by!

 

CFK Project: Happy Birthday Sweet Friend

January is usually my "birthday card" month so I'm surprised that this was the only one that I created. I got distracted by adorable snowmen & Valentine's Day makes. The flower on this card is actually a "flat" element, part of a digital scrapbooking kit. I cut two of them, reducing one of them so that I could pop it up using foam tape to layer it on top of the larger one. It's pretty, but I really want to recreate it using handmade flowers. The snowflake stamen is so pretty!

 

 

I added a red flatback pearl to tie in the red berries on the patterned paper and the red cardstock base. The sentiment is from a My Favorite Things stamp set called Sugar Coated Sentiments. The sentiments in this set are all perfect for this time of year! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Handmade Bows

I am THAT Mom who barks "save the bows!" as gifts are unwrapped Christmas morning. LOL I wish I had known how easy they were to make! If you have a little time and some pretty paper you'll have another excuse to avoid the holiday crowds and long lines at your local Target or Walmart.

I used SVG cut files & my Silhouette Came to create all of these bows, but you really don't need a fancy cutting machine or template to create these more traditional roundish style bows.

Maria from A Homemade Living has a great tutorial with step-by-step photos on how she creates her bows using some simple strips of paper. If you prefer a video tutorial, I found this one to be helpful...

 

To make a layered bow simply cut strips from coordinating paper a bit narrower in width than your first layer. Start at about 1/4 in. narrower and adjust according to your preference. Adhere the narrower strips on top of the wider ones using a glue stick before assembling your bow. You can use almost any type of paper to create bows including wrapping paper, paper from old books, paper bags, scrapbooking paper, copy paper, ect. I like to use patterned paper or glittered cardstock for my top layer, and 65lb. weight cardstock for the main layer. It creates a super sturdy bow!

I used my hot glue gun to assemble my bows, It really sped up the process and reduced the drying time significantly allowing me to make a bunch of bows in a short amount of time! January is my birthday month and also the time of year that I like to work on replenishing my Birthday and Thank You card stash. Since I had bows on my mind I created some birthday themed ones to use this coming year...

If you're curious like me, you'll be on the hunt for different styles of bows to create! Pinterest and Youtube are a great places to start, happy bow making!

 

July Counterfeit Kit Projects

I'm late sharing my projects that I created using my July Counterfeit Kit, let's pretend that it's not the very last day of September! LOL Fair warning, this is going to be a super long post today. I didn't do much scrapping with my kit, but I did created several cards and a DIY travelers journal with 3 inserts.

I created this "Pop/Flip" card following a tutorial created by Chris Franco, here's a link to her video Pop/Flip Card Tutorial. I need to create more fun fold type cards, I love how this one turned out!

Although this next card looks like it has a lot going on I'd classify it as a Clean and Simple card. It has a panel of printed vellum adhered to the card base. I used a stencil to emboss a card mat and then blended some ink on top. I then used my sewing machine to add some stitching detail around the embossed panel and then adhered it to the card base. I never seem to be able to get the tension right when sewing on paper. Even though the stitches are a little wonky, I still like the subtle texture it adds. I then adhered a stamped and die cut leaf to a simple tag, attached a button, and a little sentiment, and then adhered them to the card front.

My last card has several layers and features a floral die cut and some Papertrey Ink ribbon that's been in my stash forever.

And finally a DIY travelers journal with a few inserts. This was a little tricky to photograph but so fun to make!

Hope you all are doing well, thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Birthday Selfie

Awhile back I heard about a new planner and stationary collection Michaels' was carrying featuring women of color from a company called Capitol Chic Designs by Lameka Alston. Although I'm more of a list maker rather than a "planner chick," I had to go check it out and I'm so glad I did! There were so many cute items! I should have taken some photos of the display, but if you search #capitolchicdesigns on Instagram you'll be able to see all kinds of yummy goodness! Lameka also offers Custom Dolls and other items on her personal website you can check out here. 

 

I picked up a few items including what I thought was a pack of chipboard "dolls," but they are actually chipboard stickers! They are really nice! They are thicker than a traditional sticker, but I think they are thinner than the chipboard embellishments you would typically find in a scrapbooking collections. They are perfect for cards, especially ones that you would want to send in the mail. I think I was just so excited to see black women on stickers that I didn't even read the packaging. Every once in awhile I come across stickers that feature black children but I can't recall ever seeing black women or men featured, especially in a "big box" store.

 

 

What I love about these stickers besides the fact that they feature women of color, people from "other" groups including a gay couple, and a "disabled" woman are included. Representation matters and Lameka did not miss the mark here! I look forward to seeing what else she has in the making for us paper crafting enthusiasts. 

 

I used one of the chipboard stickers to create this cute card, it looks like she's taking a birthday selfie! I kept this card pretty simple so that the sticker could be the highlight of the card. I adhered it directly to the tag and popped it up using foam tape. I also happened to have Altenew's Birthday Love stamp & die set on my desk so I put it to use. This little stamp set is small but mighty and is a great one to have in your stash if you need to whip up a quick card. I stamped the balloon using SU So Saffon Ink, adhered some metallic thread to the back, and popped it up using foam tape.

 

The sentiment is from the It's Your Day stamp set by Red Rubber Designs and was stamped using SU Real Red ink. I  inked up Concord & 9th's Plaid background stamp using SU So Saffon ink and stamped it on a slightly smaller card mat that I adhered directly to the white A2 card base. 

I'm entering this card into this week's CAS challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers. I've linked to most of the supplies I used below, thanks for stopping by! 

 

Supplies:

Capitol Chic Designs Die Cut Stickers

White cardstock

Birthday Love Stamp & Die set by Altenew

It's Your Day stamp set by Red Rubber Designs

Plaid Background Stamp by Concord & 9th

Stampin' Up Real Red & So Saffon Ink pads

Metallic Silver thread

Gelli Print Cards

If you've been following me on social media you probably know I'm a huge fan of Gelli Printing. I have a huge stash of gelli prints that I've been slowly working my way through creating mostly cards with. Gelli printing is so addicting! Since discovering this medium I have purchased very little patterned paper. If you have a stash of paper, paint or ink you never run out patterned papers!

 

One of the things I like about patterned papers, whether commercially produced, gelli printed, or hand painted, is that you can use them to quickly whip up easy projects without needing a hoard of embellishments. I created these two cards using a couple of prints & sentiment stamps.

 

The nice thing about Gelli prints or hand painted papers is that they can be a great "beginning or starting" point in the creative process. I should have taken a picture of this print before cutting it down, but after doing so I felt like it needed some extra texture. I used some white pigment ink & the solid polka dot stamp from Red Rubber Designs' Background Dots stamp set to give the print some more interest.

A partial supply list is listed below. Unfortunately when I'm Gelli printing I find it difficult to keep track of the specific paints, stencils, & masks that I use especially when I don't use the print right away.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Supplies:

Paper: White & Dark Teal cardstock, parchment diecut, & Gelli printed papers

Stamps: Red Rubber Designs Background Dots, Dotty Flowers, A Blessing To Me, Happy Birthday GWP stamp

Embellishments: Mini Staples. Enamel dot

Inks & Paints: Momento Tuxedo Black, Lady Bug & Sweet Plum, & Avery Elle White pigment ink, White Gesso, Dylusions Paint: Crushed Grape, Jacquard Neopaque paint: Violet & Turquoise, & Red Acrylic paint

Other: Stitched Oval Die, Foam tape, & stencils

 

 

 

Day 12 of #100daysoftenminart

I'm really excited about the card I created for day 12, It's my first Z Fold card! Actually it might actually be one of the first fancy fold cards I've ever created. 

I love how it turned out! The floral patterned paper I used is from the Shades of Black & White Digital paper kit by Pickled Potpourri Designs. I printed it out using a cheap Canon inkjet Printer on a sheet of Epson Presentation Paper. It's a matte 27lb. weight paper that prints beautifully! 

This paper is so pretty you really don't need much else to create a beautiful card. After adhering the panels to my card base I adhered a portion of the patterned paper to a scrap of white cardstock to make it more sturdy, I then fussy cut a few of the floral images to create my center piece.

 

I chose a sentiment from the Love You stamp set by Red Rubber Designs, and heat embossed it using black ink & clear embossing powder. I adhered the floral pieces below the sentiment and added a tiny rhinestone to the center flower. Although this card has several layers it came together pretty quickly! I can't wait to create more! 

 

Supplies:

Pickled Potpourri Designs' Shades of Black & White Digital Paper

Black & White cardstock

Red Rubber Designs' Love You stamp set

Other: Black Ink, Clear embossing powder, mini rhinestone, & foam tape

Day 10 of #100daysoftenminart

Day 10's card features a CAS design highlighting butterflies & heat embossing. The butterflies are from Stampin' Up's Butterfly Gala stamp set. I stamped them in Versafine Onyx Black ink & punched them out. I adhered them to the card using foam tape. 

The teal panel is the highlight of this card! I stamped one of the images from Close To My Hearts' Background Builders set in Versamark ink and heat embossed it using clear embossing powder. The sentiment is from the Piece of Cake stamp set by Stampin' Up.  I also added some clear dew drops to embellish.

Supplies:

Stamps: SU Butterfly Gala & Piece of Cake + CTMH Background Builders

White, Teal, & grey cardstock

Versafine Onyx Black & Versamark Ink

Clear Embossing powder & Clear dew drops

Foam tape

#100daysofgelliprintcreations 3/100

Day 3/100 project features a birthday card!

One of things that I learned while participating in the March Gelli Print Challenge is that I love the look of multi-colored gelli prints, but I REALLY LOVE monochromatic color schemes too. I think the prints with a single color scheme will be easier for me to incorporate in my art. I haven't yet mastered the technique of getting beautiful multi-colored prints where each color stands out but I'm going to keep trying! 

 

 

Boy And His Frog

Hi all! I hope you had a great weekend! I have a cute card to share with you this Monday morning...

This little guy and his frog is just too cute! I colored this image using Copic markers, I'm still practicing but I think it turned out pretty good! I couldn't figure out what the boy was holding in his hand so I decided that it was an orange cloth... maybe a little towel to dry off the water splashes :)

I added some vellum and wood veneer stars to embellish this card. I applied some orange Stickles to the stars and popped the image up using foam tape. I heat embossed the sentiment on the vellum layer using black ink & clear embossing powder.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges...

 

Red Rubber Inspirationals: Use your favorite technique... mine is heat embossing. It was one of the techniques that convinced me to start purchasing rubber stamps :)

Sketch Saturday: Sketch #326

 

 

MarkerPop Challenge: Use Copic Markers to create a project with any theme.

 

Thanks so much for looking! 

Summer Boys

Sophisticated Sentiments

InLinkz.com

Adorable Smiling Butterfly

Hi all! I have a cheery card to share with you all today. This smiling butterfly is just too cute, she's a digi image from Pickled Potpourri Designs' Cutie Pies stamp set. 

I colored this image using Spectrum Noir markers. I'm slowly adding them to my alcohol marker collection. I usually wait until they go on sale for $7.88 at ACMoore and will pick up a pack or two. I didn't think I'd like them, but I really like the newer designed markers! They color and blend pretty well without bleeding, which was a common complaint about these markers when they first became popular among card makers a few years ago.

I matted the image and adhered it to the card front using foam tape. I then stamped the sentiment on a strip of white cardstock using pink dye ink and tucked it behind the image. I used some white embroidery floss and a button to embellish the card.

 

I'm entering this card into the following challenges

4 Crafty Chicks: Something Old/Something New. The image, pink patterned paper, & markers are my new items. The green patterned paper mat is my old item. 

Aud Sentiments Challenge Blog: Any sentiment other than a birthday sentiment

Cute Card Thursday: Anything goes

 

Thanks so much for looking! 

  

Cutie Pies

It's Your Day

White Cadoodle Cardstock

InLinkz.com

Red Rubber Inspirational #124

 

This weeks theme is all about Music! I don't own any music themed stamps so I used some music themed die cuts for my cards.

 

I stamped the background using a Gingham Background Stamp using grey ink, I added a few ink splatters using a black spray mist, and added a few dots randomly using a gold ink pen.

 

I stamped the sentiment using a mini alphabet stamp set called Mini-Bet and adhered two mini star wood veneer pieces that I painted with the gold ink pen. 

 

 

My next card features a diecut that I LOVE. My son gave it two thumbs up too! This card would be a perfect birthday card for a teenage boy or... or any young at heart music lover in your life! 

 

 

I used another alphabet stamp set, Distressed Typewriter Bet to create the sentiment for this card. I stamped it on vellum and used two mini pewter brads to attach it to the card front. 

 

I also added splatters using spay mist, and inked the edges of the card using grey & black inks. The patterned paper is a digital print from Pickled Potpourri Designs' Distressed Black and White paper collection. I printed the paper on laser jet paper using my ink jet printer and I love the texture! The paper feels like a true patterned paper compared to the standard ink jet paper that I normally would use to print patterned paper. What is your favorite type of paper to use to print digital images?

 

Thanks for looking! Have a fabulous Father's Day weekend! 

  

Mini Bet	Distressed Typewriter Bet	Gingham Background stamp	Distressed Black and White
White Cadoodle Cardstock	Momento Tuxedo Black

InLinkz.com

Versamark Ink & Chalk

Hi all! It looks like Typepad is back up and running. I have been trying to update my blog, but they had some issues on their end... which served as a great reminder for me to back up my blog... something I have never done. I started the painstaking task of backing up 500+ blog entries which has been a daunting task. Slowly but surely I'll get to each one.

Now that things are back up and running I have a few cards to share with you today! I combined a beautiful floral image from Red Rubber Designs' Nothing is Better stamp set with some fabulous sentiments from Red Rubber Designs and Winnie & Walter to create two cards. 

 

I stamped the flowers using Versamark ink and then pounced some Pebbles Inc. chalk over them. I LOVE how this turned out. I've used chalk before using a direct to cardstock technique without applying a medium. It offers a very subtle look especially when using lighter shades, but when you combine Versamark ink & rubber stamps WOW! It really creates a beautiful look. The sentiment on this card is from Red Rubber Designs' Sophisticated Sentiments stamp set.

I used my marker spritzer to tie in the black ink from the sentiments. I got a little heavy handed on this first card, but after using the spritzer a few times it gets easier to learn how to control the splatters a little more.

It's still a random process, but you can achieve different looks depending on how close your spritzer is to your paper, how many spritzes you apply, and also how wet your marker is. 

The sentiments on this second card are from Winne & Walter's The Big, the Bold, & the Happy stamp set. 

I added some pearls to this card, and allowed the floral background and bold sentiment to take take center stage on this card. 

 Thanks so much for looking!

 

 

Nothing is Better	Sophisticated Sentiments	The Big The Bold and The Happy	White Cadoodle Cardstock
Pebbles Inc. Pastel Chalks	Black Pro Marker	Marker Spritzer	Momento Tuxedo Black
Versamark Ink

InLinkz.com

Red Rubber Inspirational #15: Masculine Birthday Cards

Hi everyone!

This week's challenge is a great one! 

It's all about creating masculine birthday cards! 

 

 

When creating masculine cards my brain automatically thinks of sports or outdoorsy types of activities. Those themes are great but sometimes I need a masculine card for someone who might not be a sports or outdoors enthusiast, so I try to stick to two simple rules when creating masculine cards... 

 Keep embellishments to a minimum.

Work with a great pattern & color palette.

 

The card I created features a candle image that is gender neutral. The nice thing about using gender neutral images is that you can use color and pattern to set the tone for your project. 

 

I used some very basic supplies... black, grey, & white cardstock, white acrylic paint applied with a make-up sponge (you could you also use a white ink pad), one image stamp, one sentiment stamp, black ink, a die, foam tape, and a few enamel dots.

The image and sentiment I used is from a Red Rubber Designs set called Little Cupcake, unfortunately it's no longer available. Some stamps that are availble in the Red Rubber Designs Store that would make a good substitution would be the cupcake from the Little Darlins set, Background Soup, Harlequin Background, and Tiger Face just to name a few of my faves :)  

The nice thing about this card and paint stamping technique is that I can easily swap out the image and sentiment and create a masculine card for any occasion! 

I hope that you were inspired today and will try your hand at creating a masculine card or two. Don't forget to check out the Red Rubber Designs blog for more inspiration & to link up your card for the challenge. Thanks for looking! 

Birthday Froggie

Have you seen the new frog images in the Pickled Potpourri store? They are just TOO CUTE!!! I'm sharing a card today featuring the frog from the new Toadally Awesome set.

 
This froggie's smile just cracks me up! I colored him using Copic & ProMarkers, and added little dots on his belly using a white gel pen. After the white dots dried, I colored over it using a ProMarker. I actually just pounced the broad tip of the marker over the dots. If you color over it, you'll smear the white ink... yep this was my second attempt at coloring him after figuring that out.

I used the grass image from the Mountain Scenery stamp set from Red Rubber Designs to give this froggie a place to sit. I also added a little distress ink around the grass. He'd be really cute sitting on a rock or a lilly pad too wouldn't he?

After coloring the image, I matted the panel using a sheet of patterned paper from the More Mimi paper collection. I stamped the sentiment using black ink, adhered it using foam tape & a button, and finally adhered the image panel to the card base using foam tape.

I'm entering this into the following challenges this week...

Red Rubber Inspirational #12: Color in the lines

Fusion #6

 Digi Galore: Anything Goes

 

Thanks so much for looking!

 

Toadally Awesome

X-Press It Blending Cardstock

More Mimi Patterned Paper Collection

Momento Tuxedo Black

Momento Cottage Ivy

InLinkz.com

Card Swaps

I know, I know, I know. I said I was finished with Christmas cards until July, but I just had to create one last set of cards for a card swap hosted by April over at Two Peas in a Bucket. I can't recall the last time I participated in a card swap but this was fun!

I used my favorite Christmas tree from Jingle Christmas Tree. I colored the tree with Copic & BIC markers, added some shimmer mist to the bulbs, and applied glossy accents on top. I also added some shimmer mist to the star topper.

I also created cards for a child's birthday. Initially I thought I would create something for 3-4 year olds but decided to create a card for older kids. I think this would be a great card for a tween or teen girl.

That adorable cupcake is from a Red Rubber Designs stamp set called Sweet Day Cupcake. I colored the image using Copic & BIC markers, added some Stickles to the frosting, and topped the cherry with a mini rhinestone.

Thanks for looking!

 

 

Jingle Christmas Tree	Christmas Blocks	RRD Sweet Day Cupcake	Maggie Patterned Paper Collection	X-Press It Blending Cardstock
Scarlet Cardstock	Wood Veneer Stars	Scotch Adhesive	Momento Tuxedo Black	Tombow

InLinkz.com

 

Two more cards

Today I'm sharing a few cards I made using the last few sheets of cardstock & patterned paper from my August Counterfeit kit. I created a 6th one and forgot to photograph it before mailing it... which is actually a good thing because it means I didn't wait until the last minute to mail it! LOL Sorry about the shadows, it was so cloudy when I photographed these cards. If you click on the photos you can enlarge them for a more detailed view.

First up, a slightly shabby thank you card, perfect for teachers & school administrators. I added a lot of kraft ink to distress the edges of the card, the focal image panel, & the doily. I also added kraft twine & a mini button to embellish the card.

I created this card for my son who's b-day is in a couple of months. I'm still trying to figure out where the time went. I will be a Mother to a teenager... craziness! LOL I let the patterned paper take center stage as I usually do when I create masculine cards. I added  foam tape, distress ink, and a mini paper clip to embellish this card.

The concept of creating a kit really helped me to reduce how much time I spent trying to decide which products to use. I ended up creating 4 layouts & 6 cards and I still have some paper scraps left over.

Did you create a kit this month? I'm looking forward to creating again using September's kit, maybe you'll participate too?

 

CKC cards

Cards,  yes today I have some cards to share. One without any stamping, and one with a tiny stamped sentiment.

I cut a few of the little frames from the 6x6 version of this print...

to create this card. I added a wood veneer heart, applied red Stickles over it, and stamped a tiny sentiment below it. This card took me 6 minutes and 27 seconds, start to finish, minus the drying time for the Stickles.

I'm entering it into Paulina's 10 Minute Craft Dash, she's celebrating the 1 year anniversary of the 10 minute craft dash challenge. So fun! I love this challenge even though I've only participated a couple of times.

I love these little 3x4 snap cards, they are PERFECT for quick & easy cards. This card was also super quick & easy, 8 minutes 49 seconds! I cut down the 3x4 card featured a little bit, matted it on white cardstock, adhered a coordinating print, also matted on white cardstock, and slid that underneath. I then applied some star wooden veneers, and adhered some tiny rhinestones to them. I added foam tape to both cards to give the focal areas a little more depth.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

NSD happenings

Hi all! Sorry I've been MIA. The weather here has been pretty nice & I'm taking advantage of it, getting yard work done before the humidity kicks in.

I have a CAS card to share with you today. I just can't stay away from chevrons. I want to use it on EVERYTHING. LOL  

 

InLinkz.com

Officially, Saturday is National Scrapbooking Day, but I'll be celebrating all weekend long! How about you, do you have anything fun planned?  

There will be several events, giveaways, blog hops happening all over the net I'm sure!  Two Peas in a Bucket always has a host of fun challenges during NSD,  so I'll be hanging out there.

Here's a direct link to their NSD schedule...

 Chats, Challenges, & More with Two Peas in a Bucket.

Happy Scrapping :)

Pretty Papers

TGIF! I'm trying to get myself organized to go to a crop tomorrow... one of these days I'm going to figure out a system that works so I don't feel so exhausted trying to pack before I go! LOL I'd love to hear any tips you might have for packing successfully. I hope to have a few layouts to share with you next week. 

The colors in this patterned paper just make me happy :) They were included in a pack of patterned paper that was available during Sell-a-Bration this year. I have a feeling that no scrap will go unused! LOL

 

Thanks for looking :)

Spray Mist ♥

I've always considered my crafting style to be clean and simple, but lately I've been experimenting with collage art, and supplies that are commonly used in mixed media art... like spray mists! 

Yesterday I shared an art journal page Cultivate, my OLW for 2013, but I didn't provide any details about the supplies or techniques I used to create it. I can't share specifics because I don't really remember exactly what I did! LOL

However, I can tell you that the background was created using Heidi Swapp spray mists, white acrylic paint, Studio Calico's Bubbles Huey's Mask, PTI's Background Basics Text Style II, black archival ink, and tissue paper. I used Heidi Swapp's Color Shine sprays in the colors Sweet Cherry & Mustard. These two colors have a shimmer finish, it's really pretty! I like the shimmer/glimmer finish for more feminine projects, but I prefer the more pigmented sprays without the shimmer/glimmer added for everything else. 

Joann's now carries some Dylusions Sprays which have a beautiful vibrant color. I love these sprays!  After watching the video below, I had to sit down and try the ghosting technique Dyan demonstrated. Ghosting Technique

This card was created using a scrap paper that I "stamped/inked off" from one of the pages I ghosted. This is such a fun technique! The blue color that I used is called London Fog. I thought it would make a great card for a teen so I whipped up this birthday card. I added some stitching, polka dot washi tape, & a button to complete it. 

I believe Joann's only had 6 different Dylusion Spray colors, packaged 2 to a pack, for $9.99, which is a great price compared to some of the other sprays sold individually... and you can use a coupon! I love a great deal :) I can't wait to get my hands on more colors. I hope that you'll take a few minutes to watch the video I posted above. If you create something I'd love to see it, you can just post a link to your project in the comments section or e-mail me directly at [email protected]

Two in one

Happy Friday, hope you had a great week! My week seemed like a blur! My son was home Mon. & Tues.  enjoying his last few days of Spring Break. I can't remember what I did Wednesday! LOL But today I can tell you that I spent some time in my scraproom, whipping up some cards.

At one point on my blog, I used to share Quick & Easy cards, cards that can be created in 10 minutes or less. While I still do create Q&E cards it's been a long while since I've highlighted them as such. I'm going to get back to doing that.  Anyway, Paulina from Pretty Pink Posh added a twist to the Q&E card in the form of a challenge... the 10 Minute Craft Dash! Fun! Each week she asks her readers to create a  craft using a color combination. This week's challenge is a pretty combination...

I decided to create a card using this challenge and today's CAS-ual Friday's challenge...

 

Supplies: PTI CS, SU Ink: Brilliant Blue, Tempting Turquoise, & Pixie Pink, Stamps: Mama Elephant Good Times, Trifecta , Lawn Fawn Chevron Backdrops, PaperTrey Ink Father Knows Best & Fillable Frames #7, Other: floral embellishment, button, & scrappers floss. 

The colors I chose are a bit brighter than the ones shown, but sometimes you just have to work wtith what you have :) I just barely made it... 9 minutes & 56 seconds! The die cutting and foam tape took up quite a bit of my time. Such a fun anxiety provoking challenge LOL! Thanks for looking!

Birthday Circles

Hi All! I've been busy nursing a hip bursitis, and weak SI joint for the last couple of weeks. Fun stuff! Since that makes sitting and/or standing for long periods of time impossible I haven't created anything crafty in a few weeks.

Instead I've been sorting through craft supplies here and there. My card stash is low, and I would like to add some cards & things to my much neglected etsy store in the next week, so today I found a way to improvise... I sat for a few minutes, stood for a few minutes, stretched for a few minutes and repeated until this card was finished! LOL

I'm normally a "sitter" when I craft, but If my table were a little higher I could see myself standing more often! It would definitely be better for my core! LOL 

This card is based on last week's Monday Mojo sketch. used a little old & new product to create this card. The patterned papers are from Basic Grey's Fact & Fiction collection. Love this paper, and they sell it at Joann's! I picked up a 6x6 pad on sale for $3, not bad huh? The flower & sentiment stamp are older products I found in my stash. I love that clean, classic font! 

Thanks for looking, I hope you all are having a great week so far!

CPS 256 & Art Journaling

Happy Sunday!

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend... minus DLS time! While I appreciate the extra sunlight, I'm a little off today with the time shift, but I'm hoping to have a productive day somehow! LOL 

It probably didn't help that I stayed up really late last night playing in my craft room :) I decided to work on a card for this week's CPS Sketch Challenge.

I used some paper from the Awesome collection by Simple Stories... which is pretty darn awesome! :) Love the earthy tones and fun patterns in this collection. 

I also rotated the sketch to create this masculine birthday card. The sentiment is from PTI's Modern Basics stamp set. I used a lot of pop dots, ink, and edge distressing to add some texture to this card. I think I may have to stock up on a couple more sheets of this lovely paper! 

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Last week I finally put the bones of an art journal together using an old composition notebook. It's something I've been wanting to do for awhile now. I love the freedom that art journaling allows! Here's a great tutorial that I used... Art Journal Tutorial. I've got all the pages Gesso'ed... is that a real word? LOL This week I'm going to add some paint and texture and then figure out what to do with it next. 

Do you Art Journal? Who inspires you? Do you have a favorite tip or trick I could borrow from you?

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

Butterflies and leaves

Hi All! It's Monday... again! Hopefully your week is off to a great start! Today I want to share a card I made for today's PTI Anniversary celebration challenge. Butterflies and Leaves is the theme for today's challenge.  I randomly stamped one of the stamps from Text Style II using versamark ink on the Spring Rain card base. I used wire to create the antennae for the butterfly die  cut and propped it up using foam dots. I found these tiny pearl dots, I can't recall where, probably ACMoore or Joanns, but I placed them around the leaves. One my neighbors has a holly looking shrub that has these little bitty red berries blooming. Our weather has been so strange here lately, I don't think they usually bloom at this time of year! They are confused! LOL But that's where I got the inspiration to use the tiny pearls. Thanks for looking! 

PTI products used:

Stamps- Butteryfly Dreams, Text Style II, Turning a New Leaf, & Flower Fusion #9

Other Products- Butterfly Die, wire,  tiny pearls, Stampers Select White cardstock, Spring Rain cardstock & Ink, & Momento black & Versamark Ink

Make It Monday

Hi ya'll!  Yep, I'm back :) 

It rained pretty much most of the weekend here so I spent some time in my craft room. I sorted through things, updated my wish lists, and did some blog hopping.

I also had an interesting conversation with my son. He asked me why I had a scrap room "since I don't scrap any more." So NOT fair for him to call me out like that! LOL But it's true, I haven't scrapped in awhile, so I'm going to be working on that. 

Today I'm going to share a card with you that I created for PaperTrey Ink's Make it Monday challenge. This weeks challenge is to create a background pattern using stamps that aren't necessarily background stamp images. 

For my card I used the area rug from On My Couch Additions.I inked the stamp using black ink staggering the image on each line and then inked the edges. LOVE how this turned out. It kinda reminds me of a Basic Grey pattern :) This was a fun challenge, a great way to look at your stamps a little differently. Hope you'll get a chance to play along too. Thanks for looking!

I'm still here... sort of

My crafting has taken a back seat to some other priorities right now, but I'm still here. Sketching, writing down ideas for projects I'd like to create. Summer vacay officially starts in one week for us. My son is beyond thrilled about that  :) 

I have however been making lot's of mini 2x2 cards. This one is my fave :) The cupcake image is by Hero Arts, and the sentiment is from PTI's Mixed Messages.

I used a Spica glitter pen and glossy accents to highlight the frosting. I colored the rest of the image using Copic markers and added a mini button to give the card a little dimension. 

Thanks for looking today!

PTI Blog Hop

Hey All! Hope you had a great Easter! 

This month's PTI Blog Hop is all about the boys! The last time I checked there were 115 participants so if you're looking for ideas for masculine cards you'll find tons of inspiration here!

I created a birthday card using PTI's Make a Wish die, love them! They make creating birthday cards & tags in a jiffy super easy! I used some paper scraps from a card I created last week to die cut the present. The sentiment is from Father Knows Best stamp set. 

I also used lot's of foam adhesive & a little button to add some depth to this card. Thanks for looking! Don't forget to check out the other 100+ masculine card ideas. I'm sure you'll find yourself book marking a card or two to scraplift later!  Hop this way :)

Spring Break

Hi all! We're celebrating Spring Break this week so things have been quite here on the blog. Tim is spending the next few days with his Grandparents which means more play time for me! Yay! Ok well I'm supposed to be doing some studying and spring cleaning but I'll get to that eventually :)

Last night I pulled out this lovely double sided patterned paper by Fancy Pants, from the It's the Little Things Collection. I SOOOOOO LOVE this. The floral pattern is different from what I'd normally choose but I love the text side... and it turns out I really  like the floral pattern too! 

For some reason I always reach for "real life" colors when using floral stamps but I didn't like the green ink for the stem paired with the colors in the patterned paper so I decided to use black ink. LOVE this! In fact I like it so much I'm going to try using some other non traditional colors with my other flower stamps. 

Thanks for visiting, hope you all are having a great week :)