A Trio of Papertrey

I've had a little more time the last few nights to play with my new Out on a Limb set, and these are the cards I came up with. I plan to give them to a friend of ours as a little thank you for purchasing several card sets from me over the last few months. I know she'll really like this set, along with the quotes.

This first card is probably my favorite of the three. I love the Night of Navy background with the Whisper White and Kraft. The Night of Navy is stamped with Linen and distressed around the edges. I also distressed the main panel.

The quote on this one says: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."

Recipe:
Stamps: Out on a Limb, Linen
CS: Kraft, Whisper White, Night of Navy
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Night of Navy
Accessories: Whisper White Taffeta

I started out with a really different layout in mind for this second card, but I just couldn't get it to look right. I'm happy with the end result though. The main panel and the Chocolate Chip background are wheeled with the Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel. The striped paper at the bottom is from the same Wild Asparagus pack that I used on Monday's card. Two cards in one week with patterned paper - I'm on a roll!

The quote on this card says: "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." (Helen Keller) With a different sentiment, this would be a great masculine card.

Recipe:
Stamps: Out on a Limb, Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel
CS: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Kraft
DSP: Wild Asparagus (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Vintage Brads, Chocolate Chip Taffeta

The final card is a CASE of one Nichole showed on her blog, Capture the Moment, as she was counting down the new release. I changed a few things from her original design - I used the full leaf overlay instead of the open and used Groovy Guava for my berries instead of sticking with a monochromatic theme. I also used the Guava cardstock for the sentiment.

The quote reads: "God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars." (Martin Luther)

Recipe:
Stamps: Out on a Limb
CS: Always Artichoke (card base), Very Vanilla, Groovy Guava
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Groovy Guava
Accessories: Vintage Brads

Out on a Limb

I tend to like wood mounted stamps better than clear, but I do stray a little bit when it comes to the Papertrey sets. I love Nichole's designs! I hadn't gotten any of the recent sets, so I finally broke down and placed a big order. I had some birthday money that I hadn't spent yet, so I ordered a couple of stamp sets and a couple of Nestibilities die sets. I was so excited when it all came yesterday!

I played around a little bit with the die cuts first. I got a set of regular rectangles and a set of scalloped rectangles. I think I have the die cutting part figured out, but I need to work on the "sandwich" for the embossing part. The rectangles on both of these cards are embossed, but I don't know if you can see that in the picture. I needed to get these sympathy cards done so I didn't play around with the scallops yet, but I'm sure I will tonight.

Both of these cards use the Out on a Limb stamp set. (I love the quotes in this set and can't wait to use them!) The focal images are also stamped with Linen in 2nd generation River Rock. The patterned paper is from the Wild Asparagus pack from My Mind's Eye. I'm trying to force myself to use more pattered paper so hopefully it'll get a little easier for me after awhile!

Recipe:
Stamps: Out on a Limb (Papertrey), Linen
CS: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Blue Bayou, River Rock, Always Artichoke
DSP: Wild Asparagus (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Blue Bayou, Night of Navy (marker - center of blue flowers), Always Artichoke, River Rock
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta

Coaster Gift Set

This is one of the gifts I gave my secret sister from SCS. I've been waiting to share it with you until I knew she had received it. I got the photo coaster set at Hobby Lobby. It was a lot of fun to make the inserts for each, but it was also a little challenging - the inserts had to be fairly flat to fit in the opening, so I couldn't do much embellishing.

For the main set, I used the It's All Good stamp set and Cutie Pie DSP. I also gave her a second set of inserts in case she wanted some variety (shown in the second picture). For that set, I used the True Friend stamp set (also the Cherish from Baroque Motifs) and Apple Cider DSP.

Recipe:
Stamps: It's All Good, True Friend, Baroque Motifs, Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel
CS: Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla, Really Rust, River Rock
DSP: Cutie Pie, Apple Cider
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Really Rust, River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Garden Green (marker)
Accessories: Purely Pomegrante Double-Stitched Ribbon, Whisper White Taffeta

And we have a winner!

Here are your random numbers:

1
Timestamp: 2008-01-25 13:54:50 UTC

CONGRATS TO DRAGONFLYDREAMER!
dragonflydreamer said...
I am a beginner to stamping, scrapbooking and card making although I have been buying supplies and magazines for a couple of years. I love glitter and after I use it, as careful as I try to be, it is all over me and my entire house. It drives my husband crazy because sometimes it is even glistening on his face. I would love to win your altered mailbox and monogram cards. They are beautiful.


Send me your snail mail address and the letter you'd like for your monogram, and I will finish the cards and get everything in the mail to you.

Thanks to everyone who left comments. There were some great stories, and it sounds like there is glitter everywhere!!

January Stamp Club Projects

My January stamp club was last night, so I thought I'd share with you the projects we made. Thanks so much to the ladies who braved the snowy, blustery, northeast Nebraska weather to join us! I had originally planned a snow-themed scrapbooking layout (which would have been very appropriate for yesterday's weather), but I changed gears and decided to do Valentine projects since we don't meet in February.

Also, don't forget to check out Sunday's post for blog candy!

For both projects, we used the Always stamp set. The heart on the card is stamped in Purely Pomegranate ink on Very Vanilla cardstock, layered on Purely Pomegranate cardstock and then on River Rock. The sentiment from Always is also stamped in Pomegranate. The bottom of the card was stamped in the same way as the other cards I've featured recently. The stamps from Always were stamped randomly on Very Vanilla cardstock in Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink and River Rock.

For the candy box, we used a 5 1/2 x 10" piece of Very Vanilla cardstock. Along the 5 1/2" width, the cardstock was scored at 1 1/4" and 4 1/4". Along the 10" length, the cardstock was scored at 4" and 6". This gave us a finished box size of 3" wide x 4" tall.

Once the box was scored, we stamped the images from Always in a line across the box. Then once it was assembled, we pinched the sides together, punched a regular hole punch in the top middle through both sides and threaded a piece of Purely Pomegranate ribbon through the holes (only after we added the chocolate inside of course!). The Always tag was created with the 1 1/4" circle punch, scallop punch, and 1/2" circle punch for the inside of the A.

These boxes are really simple to make and to vary the size according to how you would like to use it. I simply used the same idea as the card tote bags that have been so popular on SCS. To determine the size of cardstock needed, you will need to decide the height and width of the box and the size of the bottom. In my example, the box height is 4", and the box bottom is 2". The cardstock length would then need to be 2x the height of the box plus the bottom (4+4+2=10). The cardstock width would need to be the desired width of the box, the bottom measurement divided in half for each side, plus a little extra for overlap on the sides. In my example, the box width is 3", so my cardstock would need to be 5 1/2" wide (1 (half of the box bottom)+1/4(overlap in order to adhere the sides)+3+1 1/4 (for the other side)=5 1/2). Hopefully that all makes sense!

Recipe:
Stamps: Always
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, River Rock
Accessories: Purely Pomegranate Ribbon
Tools: 1/2" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, scallop circle punch, regular hole punch, rectangle punch

Thanks Always!

Be sure to check out yesterday's post for a chance to win some blog candy!

I guess you can tell by my latest projects that I really like the Always set and the colors in the Berry Bliss DSP! This card doesn't use any of the DSP, but I used the colors from the DSP to create my stamped background (as I did for this card).

My background is a piece of 3 1/4 x 4 1/2" Very Vanilla layered on Chocolate Chip. On the Vanilla piece, I randomly stamped the flower and 3 small images from Always in Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip and River Rock. I then wheeled the Rough Texture wheel over the entire piece in River Rock.

The center strip is a 4 1/4 x 1 7/8" piece of Very Vanilla layered on Purely Pomegranate. I stamped the letters from Jumbo Outline Alpha in Purely Pomegranate. I then added "So Much" from one of the phrases in So Many Sayings in Chocolate Chip inside the letter K. This is the first time I've had a chance to play around with the Jumbo Outline Alpha, and I really like these letters. I can see so many possibilities for them!

Recipe:
Stamps: Always, Jumbo Outline Alpha, So Many Sayings, Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, River Rock
Marker: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Vintage Brads

Blog Candy - and a Contest (of sorts)!

I noticed that my blog counter is nearing 20,000 hits, so I thought this would be a good time for some blog candy. And I haven't had any for awhile. The blog candy is an altered Target mailbox, a set of 4 monogram cards (with the monogram of your choice), a package of epoxy Valentine stickers, and a bag of foam heart stickers. For a chance to win the blog candy, just leave a comment on this post by Friday morning. I will use Random.org to choose the winner.

The contest part is not really a true contest, but I would love for you to answer this question in your comment (but you don't have to just to enter):
"What is the strangest place you have found something craft related in your house?"

The reason I ask is because I found the orange backing from a piece of sticky strip on my cat's back the other day. I have also found those little pieces at the foot of my bed (inside the covers) and in one of my bathroom cabinets. Now I hope you're not thinking I have a messy house. I really don't! But my craft room can get a little chaotic at times. I use little pieces of sticky strip to adhere ribbon, and I think that backing has the most static cling of anything I know. No matter how hard I try to get it in the trash, I still find pieces of it on the floor - which then sticks to the bottom of my feet and then gets carried throughout the house. So - I can't wait to hear your stories!

For the mailbox, I used 2 different patterns from the new Berry Bliss DSP and a strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock. The "I Heart" image on the front is from Sweet on You (I think it was in one of the mini catalogs from 2006? - I'm not exactly sure.) The "U" is from the new Jumbo Outline Alpha set. I stamped it in Chocolate Chip on the Berry Bliss paper and then cut it out before adhering it. Since the letters aren't very big, you have to be careful in cutting, but I think it really adds a lot to the letter. Always is from Fancy Flexible Phrases.

I used Berry Bliss for the monogram cards also, along with Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White cardstock. The letter is also from Jumbo Outline Alpha. After the winner is chosen, she can select whatever letter she'd like, I'll finish the cards and mail them out!



Recipe:
Stamps: Sweet on You, Fancy Flexible Phrases, Jumbo Outline Alpha
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
DSP: Berry Bliss
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon

Masculine Valentine?

When I started this card, my goal was to make a more masculine Valentine's Day card. I'm not sure I really accomplished that though. What do you think?

The card base is Chocolate Chip with a piece of Berry Bliss DSP at the top and Purely Pomegranate in the center. The stem from Always was stamped in Chocolate Chip at the bottom. For the focal image, I stamped the heart in Versamark and then Purely Pomegranate Classic Ink and then embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. It is matted on Chocolate Chip and Purely Pomegranate cardstock. The Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon is knotted through the right edge of the image and adhered with Vintage Brads on the left side. I really wanted to add the "everything" definition from Define Your Life also, but I couldn't figure out a place to make it fit on this particular card. Maybe that will be my challenge for the next one.

Recipe:
Stamps: Always
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
DSP: Berry Bliss
Ink: Versamark, Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Vintage Brads

Love Always!

I just got my first order from the Spring/Summer catalog, so of course I couldn't wait to play with my new stuff. I will have a Stamp Club order in the next week or so, so I only ordered Always and the Berry Bliss DSP to get me started. I really love the new Always set!

This first card is the same layout as a previous card I did with the True Friend set. I sometimes have a hard time using designer paper, so I tend to fall back on using the stamps in the set to make my own patterns. For the bottom pattern on this card, I used the smaller stamps in the set with Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip and River Rock ink. I then wheeled the entire piece with the Rough Texture wheel in River Rock. I like to use that wheel to give the piece just a little bit of texture and soften up the vanilla or white piece of cardstock that I've used underneath.

The rest is pretty self-explanatory, so I won't bore you with the minute details. The only other thing I did a little differently was I added some dots underneath the word forever to bring some attention to that word in the sentiment.

Recipe:
Stamps: Always, Rough Texture Wheel
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, River Rock
Other: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon


For my second card, I used some of the Berry Bliss DSP. I used a layout from Just Give Me Stamps as my starting point. I cut the DSP into 3 panels and then layered them on Pretty in Pink panels, and then onto a single piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock. The Pretty in Pink heart is stamped on Whisper White. I distressed the edges, added Vintage brads to each corner and layered it onto Chocolate Chip.

The finished size of this card is 4 x 5 1/4. It is slightly smaller than normal so the tab could extend past the edge of the card and still fit it in a normal size envelope. I went back and forth several times on the placement of the ribbon and the sentiment, but I am really happy with the end result.

It was fun to be back in my stamp area creating just for the fun of it. I haven't done that in quite awhile, and it reminded me how much I love this hobby!

Recipe:
Stamps: Always
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White CS, Berry Bliss DSP
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
Other: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Vintage Brads

Big Bold 4th Birthday

My nephew's 4th birthday is next week, so I decided to get his card done a little early and not wait until the last minute like usual. His card is similar to a Christmas card I made with the Big Bold birthday set. On the birthday card I used 4 presents though since he will be 4 (and I knew he'd notice if there were less than that). I stamped the various presents in Old Olive, second generation Blue Bayou and Pumpkin Pie and added the bow in Basic Black. The designer paper on the bottom is from the Creative License Simply Scrappin' kit from the Fall/Winter catalog. I added a strip of Pumpkin Pie to separate the DSP from the presents and added Blue Bayou double-stitched ribbon on top of the Pumpkin Pie.

To create the sentiment, I used a Pumpkin Pie marker to ink the word Happy from one of the sentiments in the It's Your Birthday set. I then added the 4th from Short Order Numbers in Blue Bayou. I punched it out with the 1 1/4" circle punch, added it to a Blue Bayou scallop circle, and adhered it to the card with the black brad.

Recipe:
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday, It's Your Birthday, Short Order Numbers
Paper: Blue Bayou, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Creative License Simply Scrappin' Kit
Ink: Old Olive, Blue Bayou, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black
Other, Blue Bayou Double-Stitched Ribbon, Black Brad, Pumpkin Pie Marker
Tools: 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch

Time Well Spent Anniversary

My in-laws anniversary was on New Year's Day, so this is the card I made for them. I got the idea for the card from one on Nancy Riley's blog, iStamp. It was a rak she received from Lorri Heiling. I really liked the way Lorri used the white gel pen to outline her flowers, so I decided to duplicate that idea with the heart from Time Well Spent.

I stamped the heart in Basic Black on four 1 3/4" squares of Purely Pomegranate. I then colored the flower with the white gel pen and made a flower center with my Basic Black marker. Each of the squares were then mounted on 1 7/8" squares of Whisper White. The background piece is Basic Black cardstock (I don't remember the exact dimensions) that I stamped with the smallest flower from Time Well Spent in Whisper White. I added a piece of Black Gingham ribbon to the bottom and adhered it all to a Purely Pomegranate card base. Happy Anniversary from Hugs & Wishes was added at the bottom in Basic Black.

Recipe:
Stamps: Time Well Spent, Hugs & Wishes
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black, Whisper White
Other: Black Gingham Ribbon

A New Beginning!

Happy New Year! I can't believe it's 2008 already! And I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted to my blog. I started out with good intentions of working on a watermark and getting right back into posting. However, life seemed to have another plan for me. I won't go into detail, but my husband and I had a difficult end to the year (no, we're not splitting up or anything like that). We are looking forward to great things in the new year though.

I haven't had any desire to stamp for quite awhile and hadn't even touched my stamps for around 6 weeks or so. I was finally able to get into my workroom today and play around a little. Even though I didn't come up with anything earth shattering, it was good to get back into it.

This first card is the one I made today. It uses a color combination and stamp combination I've used before - just a little different layout. The main image also uses the cracked glass technique.

Recipe:
Stamps: Stem Silhouettes, So Many Sayings, Linen, Baroque Motifs
CS: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Very Vanilla
Ink: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Versamark
Other: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Vintage Brads
Technique: Cracked Glass

This second card is one that I've had in my stash for quite awhile, but I don't think I ever posted it to my blog. I needed a special thank you card to send to my parents for a generous gift they gave my husband and I while we were visiting over Christmas. And I decided this was the one. The left panel uses the emboss resist technique with the open flower from Heartfelt Thanks.

Recipe:
Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks
CS: Whisper White, Glossy White, Pretty in Pink, Going Gray
Ink: Versamark, Pretty in Pink, Going Gray
Markers: Regal Rose, Certainly Celery
Other: Clear Embossing Powder
Technique: Emboss Resist

I hope to be able to post a little more regularly now and have some more new things soon! Hope you had a great day with family and friends!