A few cards and gift card holder

Here's a few cards and an envelope gift card holder that I made over the past several months for various family members that I'm now getting a chance to share. 

Floral images-Gina K Designs Elegant Flowers stamp set; sentiment-MFT Stamps Time for the Bubbly stamp set

Paper Pieced cupcake liner and Stickles added for some sparkle; stamped images-MFT Stamps It's a Cupcake Kind of Day stamp set

Floral image-Just Rite's The Greatest Joy stamp set; sentiment-Hero Arts Decorate it stamp set

I needed a quick way to present a gift card to my son--I followed this video here:  http://dawnsstampingthoughts.typepad.com/dawns_stampin_studio/2013/08/envelope-gift-card-holder-video-.html

Sweet Birthday

My second card of the year!  I finally got some mojo to create this card for my cousin!  The cupcake image is from MFT's "It's a Cupcake Kind of Day" stamp set and the sentiment is from GKD's 100% Sweet stamp set.  I paper pieced the cupcake liner with KI Memories pp.  I colored the cupcake using Marvy LePlume II marker #85 (mocha) and American Crafts Chromatix markers (Rouge #1) and (Rouge #2).  I used Spellbinders' nestabilities dies to cut the plain and scalloped circle (My Mind's Eye pink pp adhered to a piece of card stock for thickness).  I added a Prima flower and a Making Memories brad for a bit of embellishment.  I added sparkle to the cherry and the paper using Stickles glue "Icicle".  I finished the interior with more of My Mind's Eye and KI pp and a sentiment from Fiskars' "Birthday Cheer" stamp set.

Friends Always

The current Crafty Friends Challenge, #8, is to use dry embossing.  I used my Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder to emboss the white background card stock panel which I adhered to a piece of yellow card stock.  I edged the two corners of this double panel with some Michaels' double edged stitched ribbon.  I layered 3 Prima flowers and joined them together with a Recollections brad.  I also added two Recollections brad to the main background panel for a bit of embellishment.  The sentiment are single word images from the Say it with Flowers stamp set by Gina K Designs.  I liked how Beate used the words on her card here so I thought I would try it out and add some playfulness to this friend card.  This is a standard size card and I used Papertrey Ink's black card stock for the card base. 

Take Two of These

I participated in a challenge on StampTV a few weeks ago to case a card by design team member Michelle Woerner but it also required you to change at least two things on your card.  I chose her white gardenias card.  I used images from the 100% Sweet stamp set by Gina K. Designs.  Images are colored using a blender pen and Stampin Up ink colors, tempting turquoise, lovely lilac and pixie pink.  I used a Nestabilities scallop square die to cut the matching Stampin Up card stock colors to mat each colored image.

Birthday Wishes

A card for my Aunt's birthday.  The card base is Papertrey Ink's aqua mist cs which I also used as a layer to mat the floral image.  The flower is an image from Papertrey Ink's stamp set called Life.  I stamped it with Stampin Up's Pretty in Pink ink and cut it and also the layers with Spellbinders' Petite Oval nestabilities.  The sentiment is from Gina K. Design's Elegant Flowers stamp set and I stamped it with Versamark ink.  The patterned paper is by Anna Griffin and the ribbon is from Michaels by a company called Morex Corp.

Altered soft photo album

A few months ago, I attended a retirement party of a coworker who I had worked with for many years.  I've been trying to take more photos lately so I brought along my camera.  I took various pictures and decided to make a small memento of this happy occasion by presenting them to her in a photo album.  I had approximately 20-25 photos so when I came across the soft bound photo album, I thought it was the perfect size plus it  was great for altering!  I wanted to present this album to her in person but I was on vacation during her last week of work so I had to mail it to her.  I had written a nice note and slide into the back of the front cover opposite of the intro page of details.  She contacted me after she received it and told me that she loved it!  This was great to hear because she's such a sweet lady and I wanted to give her something special!  Here are pictures of the front and back covers as well as the intro page with details of location, date, some stamped expressions of congrats, etc., to set the stage before the series of photos started!  I can't remember where but I found the retirement quote online.  I covered the front and back covers with some patterned paper.  On the front cover, I also stamped her name in the top left corner using some script alphabet letter stamps.  Roses are her favorite flowers so I used the rose from the stamp set A Year of Flowers by Gina K. Designs  which I stamped on colored paper and hand cut before adhering with dimensional adhesive.  The leaf sprigs were cut from a Sizzix die.  I used Spellbinders' labels 8 die to cut the quote and black mat.

Treat holders

This month's theme for Verve Stamps' winter release project parade is "Triple Play"; create a trio of projects. There are such a wide variety of tutorials available online and I got a chance to use 3 of them to make these treat holders. Christmas is fast approaching and I thought these would be great to fill with something sweet.

Up first is the box in a bag.  There is a tutorial here.  I used Die Cuts with a View card stock from the Christmas Stack.  I used a Cuttlebug die to make the "present" tag.  The sentiment is an image from Papertrey Ink's mixed messages stamp set.

Next is the window treat box.  I used the video found here.  I used more card stock from the DCWV Christmas stack and this sheet has bits of silver glitter.  For the window, I used Spellbinders' Nestabilities labels 8 die and backed the opening with a piece of transparency.  The poinsettia is from GKD's AYear of Flowers stamp set.  I stamped and heat embossed it with silver embossing powder, sponged some color on it with Versamagic pixie dust ink and added rhinestones for the center.  I finished the box with silver metallic ribbon, curling the ends to resemble curling ribbon.

This last holder is a gable box.  I used the tutorial found here.  I used another piece of DCWV card stock that also has some bits of silver glitter.  I used a Cuttlebug die for the tiny tag and I adhered a piece of silver metallic ribbon behind it.  I also added a glittered brad I had in my stash.  The sentiment is a Dawn Bibby outline sticker.  For the closure, I punched two holes in the handles and tied with ribbon.  I added a Basic Grey button threaded with DMC floss to finish the look.

Mojo Monday 137

This weekend, I had a chance to get crafty and make a card for the Mojo Monday 137 sketch.


For the focal image panel, I used some scrap paper to hand cut some clouds to use for a mask. After placing them onto the white card stock, I sponged on the sea breeze ink to make the sky background. I used Verve Stamps' Miracles Blossom stamp set for the focal image on this card. I stamped the flower stems directly onto the panel and colored them with markers. I also added some streaks of grass to ground the image. I stamped, colored, cut and adhered the flowers to the panel. The sentiment is from Say it With Flowers from GKD. I embossed the strip of card stock with the Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder and added ribbon that to tie in the color of the flowers and brads.

Supplies:
Miracles Blossom stamp set (Verve Stamps)
Say it with Flowers stamp set (Gina K. Designs)
My Mind's Eye patterned paper
Stampin Up card stock (tempting turquoise)
Brilliance graphite black ink
Versamagic chalk ink (sea breeze)
American Crafts ribbon
Marvy LePlume II markers (dusty pink-#66, yellow green-#52, lt. green-#11)
Making Memories brads
Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder

GKD March Release Challenge

Here is a card I made for the Gina K. Designs release sketch challenge #2 at StampTV.

I used images from the 100% Sweet stamp set. I double inked the images with a layer of Brilliance graphite black ink and also in Versamark ink and stamped them onto watercolor paper before heat embossing with clear embossing powder. I remember reading about this technique but it's been a while so I hope I did this correctly. I did this to ensure that I could emboss the images because it seemed that the watercolor paper was absorbing the Brilliance ink quite quickly. I used Stampin Up's rose red card stock for the card base and regal rose card stock for the mat under each panel. To color in the images, I used an aqua painter to spread the color after applying a layer of color using Marvy LePlume II markers #68(daffodil yellow), #28(english red) and #12(grey). I also used some brown Crayola water color paint to color in the cake. The sentiment is stamped in Colorbox ink (peony). The patterned paper is from a pack of origami paper I got at the art store.

GKD release challenge projects

Here are two projects I made to participate in a few of the Gina K. Designs February release party challenges at SCS.

Challenge #1 was to create a project using at least 3 buttons. I made a card and used Basic Grey buttons for the flower centers. The background paper is from the GKD floral frenzy patterned paper pack. The flowers, from the GKD floral frenzy embellishment kit, were plain but I stamped them with the dots image from the Bold Flowers stamp set. The sentiment is also from this same stamp set. Other supplies: Stampin Up ink - always artichoke and pixie pink; decorative edge scissors; GKD pure luxury white base card stock.

Challenge #2 was to create a scrapbook page based on a sketch. I heat embossed the sentiment, lady bugs and tulip images with white embossing powder. I wrote the title and journaling with a Sakura white gelly roll pen. The stamped images are from A Year of Flowers and Say it with flowers. Other supplies: Fiskars scallop border edge punch; Stampin Up card stock - garden green; Brilliance moonlight white ink.

Color and Sketch challenges

Here are a few projects I created for two of the Gina K. Designs January release party challenges over at Splitcoaststampers. All stamped images are from Gina K. Designs.

The sketch challenge was to make a scrapbook page and I try to participate in these when I can because it helps me get those pictures of out of storage and on display. I used images from Guiding Light and Flowers for Daisy stamp sets. I embossed the birds and Psalms verse in white but I used Versamark ink to stamp the bird on the wood log (in the bottom right corner) for a subtle look. I used a white gelly roll pen by Sakura to write the title and journaling. I also added a few sea shells I cut with a Cuttlebug die at the bottom for a bit of embellishing.

I made the card for the color challenge; make a Valentine's card with no pink or red. This was a quick and simple card to make. I embosssed the card front with the Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder, I cut the hearts using a Sizzlits die and I stamped the sentiment using words in the Say it with Flowers stamp set.

An anniversary and blog hop

Melanie Muenchinger is celebrating her two year anniversary of illustrating for Gina K. Designs and blogging! Melanie has designed 25 stamp sets within these two years! I own several of her sets so I'm joining in the celebration with this card. I was inspired by an Asian floral arrangement I saw in a book which lead me to this design to showcase these daisies. The flower images are from the A Year of Flowers set and the sentiment is from the Say it with Flowers set. I colored the daisies with Prismacolor pencil numbers 915, 929,942,1002. I cut each petal and curled them and adhered to the card stock base with dimensionals. I double stamped the stem image to make them longer to extend from the vase. I colored them and the leaves with Prismacolor pencil numbers 911 and 1005 before cutting them out and adhering to the card base. I used a paper cutter and corner rounder to make the vase. The sentiment panels were cut with Nestabilities die cuts. I finished off the focal panel with machine stitching. To check out the blog hop, go to Melanie's blog here. If you own any of Melanie's stamp sets, create a project and join in the blog hop!

Tiled blessings

On StampTV this week, there is a technique challenge to create your own Italian tile.

To create my tiles for the focal image, I cut a square of cream card stock and stamped the veining image (not sure what it's called) from the Bold Flowers stamp set over the whole piece using VersaFine vintage sepia ink. Then I sponged on these Distress Ink colors: fired brick, walnut stain, spiced marmalade and faded jeans before stamping the flower image three times using the fired brick ink, from the Elegant Flowers stamp set. The next step I did was to use my paper cutter to make my tiles by scoring the paper at every 1/2 inch. I then used my nestabilities die to cut the plain and scalloped oval shapes. I created the background panel beneath the ovals using more cream card stock and the Cuttlebug tiny mosaic embossing folder. I used the debossed side and inked it up using the same Distress ink colors. On the sentiment panel, I scored the squares to keep with theme of tiles and I used a sentiment from the Say it with Flowers stamp set. I completed the card with some ribbon from the Stamp TV floral frenzy embellishment pack and rounding off the corners of the card.

STVTC38 and STVSC37

Since I haven't stamped in a while and to get my mojo started, several days ago I participated in two StampTV challenges.

I made the Christmas card following sketch STVSC37. I often see many cards where patterned papers are mixed so I thought I would attempt it on this card. This is out of my comfort zone but I don't think it turned out too bad. For the focal image, I stamped the sleigh and colored it using an aqua brush and pretty in pink ink from Stampin Up. I then outlined the interior pattern with a red and a pink Marvy LePlume marker as well as adding stickles to give a shine; can't really see in photo but it looks pretty good IRL. I also sponged the edges with some pink and green ink because I thought the white was a bit stark. I used my Cuttlebug to die cut some chipboard using the snowflakes die. I used white ink to color the chipboard and after the snowflakes dried, I added stickles.

Materials: Gina K. Designs stamp set (The Magic of Christmas); My Mind's Eye (patterned paper); Stampin Up (card stock Riding Hood Red, Pretty in Pink and Pretty in Pink ink); Stickles (Xmas red, Stardust)

The second card I made was for the technique challenge, STVPF38. The challenge was to use a sentiment to make a background. The "love" sentiment is from the stamp set Little Tee's. The wedding sentiment is from the stamp set With this Ring. I cut the heart using a Marvy paper punch.

Gina K. release party challenges

Several days ago was the release party for Gina K. Designs stamps for the month of September. There were three challenges and I participated in two.

One was a color challenge; use red, gold and green and white (oops, I missed the white part. I got distracted by the challenge host's reference to the Culture Club song, Karma Chameleon, LOL! but that's ok I think it looks fine without any white). I stamped the poinsettia (image is from the stamp set A Year of Flowers) onto the red card stock, heat embossed it with gold embossing powder and cut it out. The sentiment is from The Magic of Christmas stamp set and I also heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. The strip of gold embossed paper is from The Paper Company.

The other challenge was to make a no layer card. I masked off an oval area and sponged in the background colors before stamping the flower and sentiment. These images are from the Elegant Flowers stamp set. This video gave me inspiration.

WCMD09J

Here is the card I made for Gina K. Designs color challenge on SCS for World Card Making Day.

Materials used: card stock - chocolate kiss and pure ivory (Gina K. Designs), pumpkin pie (Stampin Up); stamped images (Gina K. Designs Elegant flowers set); patterned paper (Gina K. Designs floral elegance); scalloped shapes (Nestabilities); ink - pumpkin pie (Stampin Up)

Iris and paisley

This is a birthday card I made last week. I didn't have time to make a unique card so I copied one of my previous cards with some minor changes.

The image is from the Gina K. Designs Elegant Flowers stamp set. I colored it with Crayola watercolor paint and a water brush.

I'm so inspired by Denise at the Paper Landscaper and how she decorates the interior of cards that I decorated the interior of this card. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Garden of Life stamp set.

Other materials used: Craft Lite cutter with wavy blade, My Mind's Eye patterned paper, Stampin Up pink passion card stock, Papertrey Ink white card stock, Making Memories brads, Michaels ribbon.

TEBBSH Challenge #9

This is my card for challenge #9 in celebration of Taylored Expressions birthday bash. The challenge information can be found here.

I stamped the cupcakes onto water color paper, colored them with markers and used a blender pen to soften the colors. I distressed the edges of all the card stock and papers and inked the edges with the distress ink. After a bit of tweeking and rearranging the layout, this is what I came up with for this challenge.

Materials:
Stamped images: Gina K. Designs (100% Sweet by Rupa Shevde)
Card stock: Stampin Up (pale plum, baja breeze)
Patterned Papers: My Mind's Eye
Ink: Versafine (vintage sepia); Ranger distress (walnut stain); Marvy LePlume II markers (bubblegum pink, peppermint, lt. brown, beige, salvia blue)
Tools: Tim Holtz distressor tool; Fiskars squares 1 template; EK Success double scallop edge punch
Accessories: English Ribbons (luxury double satin Thistle/Lavender)

Release challenge projects

Here is a scrapbook page and a card I made using the sketches for the Gina K. Designs' August release challenges at SCS.

Card supplies:
Stamps: Gina K. Designs (Guiding Light)
Paper: Gina K. Designs pure luxury card stock (chocolate kiss, ivory) and accent card stock from Floral Frenzy kit; Crafts Beautiful patterned paper
Ink: Memento (rich cocoa); Marvy LePlume II markers (silver grey, beige)

Scrapbook page supplies:
Stamps: Gina K. Designs (A Year in Flowers)
Paper: Gina K. Designs pure luxury card stock (ivory); Die Cuts with a View card stock (The Luxury Stack); Stampin Up (mellow moss)
Ink: Stampin Up (mellow moss); Marvy LePlume II marker (olive green)
Embellishments/Accessories: Gina K. Designs ribbon from floral frenzy embellishment pack; EK Success photo corner punch, Fiskars lace border punch

Single Cone

Here is a card I made using the StampTV sketch - STVSC21.

I used images from the 100% Sweet set from Gina K Designs. The green patterned background papers are part of the 100% Sweet digital papers available for download at StampTV in the freebies section. I inked up the cone image using a brown and pink Marvy LePlume II marker to stamp out the image. I colored it in using Prismacolor pencils.