Pot o' Gold and the Luck of the Irish

Feeling a bit of the luck o' the Irish with this card.  I was working on a few challenge entries and this fun note card just came together. 

First, I've been looking forward to playing with the "swipe" image from the Sheltering Tree set in the Occasions catalog.  For the Colour Me Card Challenge (CCMC62), we were to use Pear Pizzazz and Garden Green, so I thought I'd highlight those two colors with this simple stamp.  They form the background behind the Gold Satin Ribbon (which I just fell upon as I pawed through my ribbon stash -- my original plan was to go with Whisper White ribbon of some sort).  This card also fits the monochromatic scheme of the Friday Mashup celebratory 200th (choose your own) challenge, so I chose #6: FM200.

The layout was provided by the Mojo Monday MOJO388 challenge.

Next, I have the "lucky" sentiment punched and clipped from the And Many More set.  I masked off the "you" and inked the stamp with Versamark before embossing it with the Heat Tool and Gold Embossing Powder. I punched the tag with my trusty Modern Label punch and clipped off one end.  Whisper White Baker's Twine finishes the tag. Simple and sweet!

Finally, I used the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack to approximate my lucky clovers. Easy!

Hope you have a fun St. Patty's day and that you find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Feathers and Fringe for a Masculine Thank You Note

Cards for men can be tricky.  A simple and versatile set like A Happy Hooray can fit the bill nicely.  Depending on your color scheme, this set can be geared to any occasion (or recipient)!

My color scheme for this card included Naturals White, Baked Brown Sugar, Garden Green and Cherry Cobbler.

The Linen Thread and Fringe Scissors add texture and a touch of ruggedness to this project. I also like the added flecks in the Naturals card stock for the same reason.

Check out this project and all of the other manly goodness at the Creative Crew Gallery!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: A Happy Hooray

Papers:  Baked Brown Sugar, Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, and Naturals White card stocks

Inks:  Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler and Baked Brown Sugar Classics

Artist's Flair:  Fringe Scissors, Linen Thread, 1-3/8 inch Circle Punch and 1-3/4 inch Circle Punch

{12 Weeks of Christmas}: Week 8 -- Resource Thursday: Inspired by the Catty

"Resource Thursday" means that I'll be creating a project and writing about its inspiration.  For this post, I used my favorite "Resource" as a demonstrator and that is the Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog.  When I first got my hands on this behemoth (over 10 years ago), I was totally overwhelmed.  Then I decided to focus my attention on one single aspect of a card.  I might look for particular features (like a punched accent) or color combinations.  For this card, I was focusing my search on layout...  Here's my take on the card:

I used the tree and sentiment from the Contempo Christmas set (#118734 W, 120594 C).  The large scalloped circle is from the Bigz Scallop Circle #2 die.  The More Mustard circle was punched using the 2-1/2-inch Circle Punch.  I punched holes in each of the scallops using my Paper Piercing Tool and Mat Pack.

The circle was mounted on a piece of Elegant Eggplant that I'd run through my Big Shot and the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  What isn't readily visible in my photos is that I've trimmed about 3/4-inch from the edge of the front of the card and allowed the scalloped circle to go to the edge of the card body...

I created the sentiment, on a piece of Whisper White card stock, using my Stampin' Write Markers.  I used Elegant Eggplant, More Mustard and Garden Green.  I sponged the edge of the Whisper White with More Mustard Classic Ink.  It's mounted over two scalloped circles from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, using Stampin' Dimensionals.  

For finishing touches, I've added Basic Rhinestones to the sentiment and the top of the tree (they come with self-adhesive).  I've also used a strip of (retired) Elegant Eggplant rick rack.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:


Stamps:  Contempo Christmas (#118734 W, #120594 C)


Papers:  Elegant Eggplant (#105126), Perfect Plum (#101889), More Mustard (#100946), and Whisper White (#100730) card stocks


Inks:  Elegant Eggplant (#105210) and Garden Green (#102272) Classic Inks, Elegant Eggplant (#105110), More Mustard (#100076) and Garden Green (#100080) Stampin' Write Markers


Accessories:  Big Shot (#113439), Scallop Circle #2 Bigz Die (#113469), Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (#117335), 2-1/2-inch Circle Punch (#120906), Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (#118309), Extra-Large Oval Punch (#119859), Paper Piercing Tool (#116631), Mat Pack (#105826), Basic Rhinestones (#119246), Stampin' Dimensionals (#104430)

Thank you for joining me for another {12 Weeks of Christmas} Post!  We're getting closer!  Hope you get a chance to catch your breath and enjoy the joys of the season...

{Stamp Set Spotlight} Big on Christmas

Merry Christmas! I hope this finds you well! We'll be busy baking at my house today, which is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the season... Thought I'd share two of my favorite quick and easy cards using Big on Christmas... Enjoy!

In both designs, I used my Blender Pen to pick up a bit of color to fill in the image with a bit of watercolor. In the Noel card, I used my Real Red Stampin' Write Marker to fill in the letters...
The scalloped edge is easily achieved using my Scallop Edge Border Punch... I used the scoring blade on my paper trimmer to make the scores on the Noel card and textured Real Red card stock gives it an added flair.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Big on Christmas

Papers: Woodland Walk Designer Series Paper, Garden Green, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue and Whisper White smooth card stocks, Real Red textured card stock

Inks: Staz-On Jet Black, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Garden Green, and Early Espresso Classics and Real Red Stampin' Write Marker

Accessories: Scallop Edge Border Punch, Scoring Blade, Paper Trimmer, Whisper White narrow grosgrain ribbon, paper snips

I wish you the very best this Christmas and for many blessings in 2011. Thank you for your visit today!

A Woodsy Happy Birthday to Uncle Coot!

First of all, I wanted to wish a very happy fortieth birthday to Uncle Coot! We love you very much and are so lucky to have you in our lives!

Uncle Coot is an avid outdoorsman, so for his birthday card, I went to one of my all-time favorite sets, Lovely as a Tree. Since he is also a woodworker extraordinaire (he does exquisite homebuilding, finishing work and has built some amazing furniture for my kids), I was also anxious to use the background stamp, Woodgrain. In an effort to capture rugged outdoorsman in papercraft, I opted to use three of my favorite techniques for texture. First, for the Bravo Burgundy piece, I sueded it and mounted it on a piece of Very Vanilla. The second rugged piece is a crinkled and crumpled piece of Brilliant Blue that I crumpled big-time, smoothed out, and then fed through my Big Shot with the Top Note Bigz die. Finally, for the piece with the pine tree, I used the Distressing Tool from the Cutting Tools to rough up the edges.

The birthday sentiment was inked in Garden Green then stamped on Very Vanilla and punched out using the Modern Label Punch. Finally, to make it stand out more and to tie it in with the rest of the card, I inked the edges with Bravo Burgundy. It's adhered to the Brilliant Blue piece with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Woodgrain, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Papers: Garden Green, Brilliant Blue, Bravo Burgundy and Very Vanilla card stocks

Inks: Garden Green and Bravo Burgundy Classics and VersaMark

Accessories: Big Shot, Stampin' Up! Top Note Bigz die, Distressing Tool, Modern Label Punch and Stampin' Dimensionals

Thank you so much for your visit to the studio! I will leave you with the beautiful morning we were given today... Not very rainy for the Pacific Northwest in January, but you won't hear me complaining!

Just Hanging Around with Vintage Vogue...

Welcome to the Studio! When I made this card, I was interested in creating a little "movement." I wanted the flower to be the focal point of the card, but I also wanted it to move a little. Here's how I did it:

• I stamped the large flower image from the Vintage Vogue set on Whisper White card stock, using Dusty Durango Classic ink. Then I used my Paper Snips (they have super-sharp tips) to cut right along the edge.

**Studio Suggestion: Be careful when you return your snips to their sheath (REALLY! They're *THAT* sharp!), as you can permanently bend the tip if it gets caught funny going back in...**

• Punch a small hole in the center of the flower and add the Chocolate Chip Jumbo Brad.

• Lay a piece of Linen Thread so that the middle of the thread is over the middle of the flower image (the piece I used was about five inches to start). The flower image was then attached to Dusty Durango card stock and the flower is once again cut out, using Paper Snips, along its very edge.

• For the "banner" at the top of the card, I inked the stamp in Soft Suede Classic ink and stamped it on Very Vanilla card stock. I also inked the edges of that piece of card stock with Night of Navy Classic ink. **Be sure to let that dry** and then distress it with the Distressing Tool from the Cutter Kit.

• Punch two tiny holes (with a 1/16-inch Punch) and thread the two ends of the linen thread through, making sure that the flower is centered and then knot.

• Adhere the Very Vanilla piece to a piece of Night of Navy card stock that has been sueded.

• Finally, for the textured Garden Green piece, run it through your Big Shot with the "Flourish" Texturz Plate from the Stampin' Up! Backgrounds I set.

• Attach the banner at the top of the Garden Green piece and then add to the Very Vanilla card body using Stampin' Dimensionals and you're finished!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Vintage Vogue

Inks: Dusty Durango, Soft Suede and Night of Navy Classics

Papers: Dusty Durango, Night of Navy, Garden Green and Very Vanilla

Accessories: Big Shot, "Flourish" Texturz Plate from Stampin' Up! Backgrounds I set, Jumbo Brad, Distressing Tool, Linen Thread, Paper Snips, Stampin' Dimensionals

Thank you so much for visiting! I hope you have a great end-of-the-week!