Cricut Elegant Baby Card

  Recently I used my JoAnn's gift cards from my birthday and Christmas to purchase some new Cricut cartridges.  I used two of my new cartridges for this quick card:  Baby Steps and Creative Cards.  I cut the bib/sailboat @ 2" (real dial size) from the Baby Steps cartridge and the card and two layers @ 4 1/4" from Creative Cards.  

  My papers are old stash from a neglected 2008 ATD "Story of Us" pad.  This is the only ATD paper collection I have ever owned; definitely not my normal paper of BasicGrey, EchoPark, My Mind's Eye, Jillibean Soup, or Carta Bella :)

  My sentiment is from SU "Short and Sweet."

I am loving the Creative Cards cartridge!  This is my third time using it already; this may be one of my all-time favorite cartridges.

I am entering my card into the following challenges:

• Card Crafter's Circle "Die-ing to Impress You"
• Shopping Our Stash "Not Your Normal Paper"
• Simply Create Too "Use Your Stash"

Happy Saturday!

Paper Strips - Cards for Teacher/Hero/Father's Day

   If you have followed me for a long while, then you know I really enjoy creating a card from scraps.

  I decided to take my scraps of three patterns of Authentique papers and create as many cards as I could.  My sentiment is from "Freedom Rocks" stamp set and I used my i-rock tool and glam rocks on my scrap ribbon.  I like this sentiment for teacher cards, Father's day cards, and OWH cards.

  My go-to sketches are usually:

• top-bottom-something across the middle
• 1 1/4" squares for a quilt card
• paper strips on the diagonal

but then I went vertical with shorter strips (and I also used Spellbinders Nestabilities dies):

 and embossed longer strips (inspired by Nancy Riley):

Supplies (links to sale items at Shop Pumpkin Spice store embedded):
paper:  Authentique "Journey"; SU early espresso
Imaginisce:  i-rock tool and glam rocks
stamp sentiment: My Pink Stamper "Freedom Rocks"; SU "Well Scripted"
dies:  Spellbinders Nestabilities
embossing folder:  SU Square Lattice

Happy Thursday!

Monochromatic Sympathy card

 
  Hello bloggie friends!  We have had lots of family visiting for the past several days; they are all gone now and the house is so quiet.  My mom was here yesterday and wanted me to help her make a few cards.  She and I found a few inspiring cards on blogs, and we both CASEd today's card.  This is my version; my mom made both "happy birthday" and "thank you."

  This card is a CASE of a card I saw on Pinterest.  I believe it was originally pinned from a "thinking of you" card by the lovely Christine Pyrch.  I started with my new Fancy Pants "Country Boutique" 6x6 pad (so many neutral colors in quatrefoil, chevron, text, polka dots, and woodgrain patterns...a staple for any paper crafter!)  I chose this quatrefoil pattern and cut a 2x2 square.  I used a 12x12 sheet of Bazzill card stock for the layer and the branch.  I stamped my sentiment and added a button and twine...a sweet and elegant card.

Supplies:
paper:  Fancy Pants "Country Boutique" 6x6 pad; Bazzill card stock; SU whisper white card stock
ink:  Tim Holtz distress ink "pumice stone"
branch die:  SU
sentiment stamp:  SU "Brighter Tomorrow"
button & twine:  from my stash

Happy Tuesday!

EGG-specially for you : Egg Hop starts here!

  Welcome to the monthly Shop Pumpkin Spice blog hop.  This is the first stop on the hop!  Our theme and challenge:  EGGS :)

  You know what makes me HOPPY?  These Doodlebug "Hello Spring" papers!  Polka dots always make me smile, but so do pretty patterned papers.  I was inspired by this My Pink Stamper sentiment stamp and I perused my Cricut cartridges for an egg for the card shape and a bunny...or in this case, a bird dressed like a bunny :)

Supplies:

papers:  Doodlebug "Hello Spring"; Bazzill white card stock

button:  Button Ups

die cuts:  Cricut "Sophie" (egg p.68 cut @ 5.25"); "3 Birds on Parade" (bunny bird p.29 cut @ 3")

punches:  Martha Stewart grass border punch

stamps:  My Pink Stamper "Even More Punny-licious"

inks:  white gel pen; My Pink Stamper hybrid ink

Reminder:  You have until Friday night to enter the EGG challenge at the Shop Pumpkin Spice blog...and a chance to win $25 worth of product from the Shop Pumpkin Spice store.

Happy hopping!  Your next stop is lovely Lezlye.

Cricut Princess Castle Birthday card

  A friend asked me to make a princess birthday card for his granddaughter, so I perused my Cricut cartridges and happened upon this castle from "Life's a Party" cut @ 4 1/2".  I used several 6x6 papers from both Echo Park "So Happy Together" and three Bugs in a Rug "Ellie."  I also used my i-rock tool and an i-rock gem for the door handle.  My sentiment is from the "Birthday Doodles" stamp set.

  I am entering this card in:

•   Dutch Dare Card Challenges blog for their "Birthday Fun" challenge
•   Ruby's Rainbow blog for their "Happy Birthday" challenge
•  Stampavie and More blog for their "Pretty in Pink" challenge

Happy Thursday!

Emboss Resist technique - tips and tricks

  I have tried "emboss resist" before (from 2010 here), but then I have difficulty creating a card with it.  This little 4x4 card actually took me quite a few hours, until I realized I should keep it simple.

  Emboss resist technique:

1.  Choose a patterned paper and a (mostly solid) stamp.  I find this works best with small print patterned paper or a tone-on-tone print.
2.  Ink with Versamark and heat emboss with clear embossing powder.
3.  Ink with a Tim Holtz distress ink.  Use a tissue to wipe of excess ink. (You could also sponge color on with any die-based ink or even use a Promarker/Copic marker).
4.   OPTIONAL:  I took a sheet of text-weight paper from my printer and put on top of the image.  I used my iron (medium heat) very quickly.  This removes some of the embossing and makes it less shiny.  I moved my paper and briefly ironed again.  There is still some sheen, but you could move the paper again and iron to remove it all, if you wish.

My supplies:

(paper:  My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline "Fiddlesticks"; ink:  Tim Holtz "worn lipstick"; Magenta stamp)

  At first I attempted to find coordinating card stock and coordinating Miss Caroline papers to layer and create my usual A2-size card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2").  Here was the problem:  the stamped image (flowers) was lost and even I couldn't discern the image at all...it just looked like a swirl of colors, except when I layered it on white card stock.

  I then tried to find a coordinating card stock, but I could not find the right tone.  I grabbed a scrap of the Miss Caroline paper, cut my larger square layer, and inked a 1/8" border with the "worn lipstick" distress ink.  Success at last!  I added a rub-on sentiment from American Crafts.  Done.

Happy Wednesday!

Spring Animals or Insects challenge

   I hope you had a happy Easter!  I am savoring my Easter candy, but my girls inhaled their candy :)
  It is so much fun watching them explore their Easter baskets.  For lunch we drove to my parents' house and had our annual Easter egg hunt in the yard.  And I also get to see my grandma, which is always wonderful.

  This is my entry for the "Spring Animals or Insects" challenge on the Shop Pumpkin Spice blog.  I actually used both, since there is a chick and a butterfly!  My background paper is Echo Park "This and That" flower vine in 12x12.  The central image and two smaller pieces behind it are scraps from my Graphic 45 "Once Upon a Springtime" 8x8 paper pad.  I inked up the edges with Tim Holtz distress ink "Peeled Paint."  I layered on hunter green Bazzill card stock and added a Prima flower.  I used a Martha Stewart border punch on the Bazill.

  You have until Friday night (9pm EST) to link up your "Spring Animals or Insects" project and a chance to win $25 in free product from the Shop Pumpkin Spice store.

Happy April!