Zentangles and Posy Stamps....

I have been Zentangling up a storm. It is so addictive I can't seem to stop! This was my first time to mix stamps in with the Zentangles. I kept the cards simple with some Cuttlebugged backgrounds and simple white and black layers. All of these cards use the Posies from Outlines.... perfect open petals to draw designs in!

The card above uses Outline's Round Posy #G1038 and the Posy Greeting Centers #F-1049.

This card uses the Jagged Posy #D-1032. I stamped the flowers randomly and then added my tangles all around the outside.

This one used the Pointed Posy Lg. #G-1042 and Posy Greeting Centers #F-1049. 

You can find more information about Zentangles on the official Zentangle website.

Birdhouse Row

Thought this little stamps was too cute.... the edges read "Hope your days are happy and life is good and all is well in your neighborhood". I colored the image with Copics adding a good bit of peachy tone colors to match up with my DP. All of the polka dots in the background are flocked, it is from the 6x6 Kaisercraft collection Tea at Elsie's. I added some little strips of paper to thread my button. Finished card is an A2.

• Stamps: #M3312 Birdhouse Neighborhood by Art Impressions
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: Neenah Classic Crest SOlar White, Kraft, Kaisercraft collection Tea at Elsie's, Brown
• Other: Spellbinder's Classic Scalloped Squares, Copics, Misc. Button

Stamp Simply #145 - Color Challenge!

The Stamp Simply Challenge today is about COLOR, specifically using a few selected colors together. Here are the challenge details in Sharon's words and the color inspiration picture:

June 25 - ssnotime145 - A Color Challenge - Color challenges have always been my very favorite.  Choosing colors and patterns is my favorite part of the card-making process.  Our challenge colors today are YELLOW and GRAY with EITHER White or Ivory as your neutral and adding Black for a little POP is totally OK, too!  I'm sure we'll see some stunning creations with this striking color combo!

Play along and link your project on Sharon's blog, No Time to Stamp using Mr. Linky. 

See what goodies the team cooked up this week....
our Ring Leader Sharon, Janine Orchard, A J Otto, Deb Saarenen, Deb Neerman, Barb Anders, Barb Schram and we have Julia Aston with us this month as June's Guest Designer.

I don't believe I have ever used the colors on a card together. When I read the challenge, I wrinkled my nose a little bit because the colors are not something I would pull out together...... and then I had to take it all back. I loved the colors together! Reminding me once again why challenges and doing something different is GOOD! 

I created the center panel by combining Spellbinder's Labels 12 and the Lattice Pendant. I used foam tape to adhere the center stamped image to the Pendant and then bent the edges of the pendant up and in, framing the label. On the stamped image I used Copics to color adding a little C1 Grey over the yellow to tone it down a bit. I added a little inking to the stamped panels using a coal Cat's Eye. Who knew I had grey buttons in my stash??? I did! So I added a few and topped them with a little pearl for embellishments. Finished card size is an A2.

• Stamps: #G9313 Parfumerie by Paper Inspirations, #1999L Letter Background by Penny Black
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: Yellow Misc. DP, Dark Grey, Light Grey and Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
• Other: Cuttlebug Tim Holtz Folder, Spellbinder's Labels 12, Lattice Pendant, Adhesive Pearls, Cat's Eye Coal, Misc. Buttons

POSIES and paper piecing!

I have used the posy series of stamps from Outlines over and over... they make such quick and fun cards! Here is a trio of cards I cooked up for Outlines this week. All of the cards feature Basic Grey's Kioshi Collection.

You can find the tutorial on how to make all three of the cards on the Outlines Website, including more pictures. All of the stamps featured on these cards are now on sale at 20% off.

LINK to Outlines where you can see full instructions and stamps used for these these cards.

LINK to a pdf file that you can print out with full instructions.

She was good with rope......

I thought I'd share this fun little cowgirl themed card. 

This is a closed view of the card. I used some mega eyelets and jute string to close the "gate", which I thought mimicked the old fashioned saloon doors.

Below is a pic of the doors opened up.

Here is a close up view of the inside of the card. The cowgirl image is printed and I just used a few mats underneath it. I used two stamps on this.... Lockhart's Boots #2057 which I stamped on DP and then cut one boot out and added the coordinating sentiment on a trimmed banner "She was good with Rope", also from Lockhart. Some looped jute string is used for the "lasso". Here is a link to a card that I made last year using exactly the same stamps.... obviously I still like using jute string!

Stamp Simply #144 - Sketch Challenge!

This week we have a Sketch to play with for the Stamp Simply Challenge!

Play along and link your project on Sharon's blog, No Time to Stamp using Mr. Linky. 

See what goodies the team cooked up this week....our Ring Leader Sharon, Janine Orchard, A J Otto (taking tonight off), Deb Saarenen, Deb Neerman, Barb Anders, Barb Schram and we have Julia Aston with us this month as June's Guest Designer.

I followed the sketch layout perfectly for this challenge. I loved coloring this hydrangea image... don't ask me what Copics I used.... there were many! I kept layering and adding colors. I think maybe I got too dark, but I know some serious Hydrangea Enthusiasts, so I am sure they will let me know if I missed the mark with my colors. I have some in my yard that are the deep blue and that's what I tried to replicate. I cut out the Hydrangea with a Scalloped Rectangle Nestie and matted it with blue and purple. The sentiment is a separate stamp. I used my Japanese Screw Punch to add holes in each scallop and then wound the ribbon up and over in to each hole, taping the ends on the backside. 

• Stamps: All stamps by Impression Obsession - Hydrangea Sprig #E6000, Clear Set - Anytime Sentiments #CL43
• Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Purple, Blue
• Other: Misc Ribbon, TIm Holtz Cuttlebug Folder, Copics, Misc. Button, Spellbinder's Scalloped Rectangles

Red, Red, Red!

Today brings another challenge from the Impression Obsession Design Team.... and it's all about using the color RED on our cards! As usual you can play along with the team and have an oppotunity to win a gift certificate from Impression Obsession. Check out all the details on the Impression Obsession Blog! 

Hop around and see what red projects were cooked up by the team.... Daniela Dobson, Deborah March, Dina Kowal, Jeanne Streiff, Julie Koerber, Kathy Menzies, Laura Fulcher and Rosemary Marino.

OK.... I definitely kept it red! I used the  Woodgrain Cover a Card background and sliced it up to use as the card base. I also pulled the new Cuttlebug Folder from Tim Holtz with the woodgrain pattern and used it under the sentiment. Since my bow was so low on the card, I cut the tails off and just glued the bow to a ribbon strip.Finished card is 5" Square. 

• Stamps: All stamps by Impression Obsession Wood Grain Cover a Card #CC034, Grinning #C5165
• Paper: White, Red, Misc. Red DP
• Ink: Versafine Satin Red
• Other: Red Taffeta Ribbon by SU, Spellbinder's Labels Nine, Tim Holtz Woodgrain CB Folder, White Gel Pen, Bow Easy Tool

a hundred flowers....

Prickley Pear has a Sketch Challenge up for today and I was able to get a card done just in the nick of time to get posted. You can find all the details about the challenge on the Prickley Pear Blog.

I'm in love with this paper pad, OK... I know tomorrow I will fall in love with something else.... but today I love this paper the most! Something about the flowers and bright colors make it feel really summery and happy to me. And then I thought of this quote in my Prickley Pear stash and this card was born. Some of the flowers on the printed paper are glazed too, so it looks better in person. In the background I used a Cuttlebug Folder and then higlighted the embossing with my baby brayer and Marvy's Pale Orange. I ran it over the embossing very lightly and not evenly at all... just wanted a little extra oomph in the background. 

On the oval.... I added a few stitch marks with an Orange Souffle pen.... love that they are opaque and you can use them on darker color papers. I also used a Blue glaze pen and added some little mini dots on the orange cardstock layers. I really liked how everything came together in the end. I even had the perfect color flowers in my stash! 

• Stamps: #EE0082M - gladdest thing by Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps
• Ink: Sentiment stamped in Versafine Deep Lagoon, Marvy Pale Orange was sponged on the strip and brayered over the Cuttlebug background panel.
• Paper: DP is from the 6x6 Tea at Elsies by Kaisercraft, Orange, Pacific Blue by SU, Pale Yellow
• Other: Cuttlebug Folder "Gridlock" from Tim Holtz's Collection,  Misc. Flowers, Misc. Button, White Jute String, Blue Glaze Pen, Orange Soufflé Pen

Butterflies in Black and White

I have been loving black and white cards lately. I had these butterflies on the schedule for Outlines and at first look I thought I was going to color them with Copics and then I didn't! I loved how these came out. You can find them posted on the Outlines website with full instructions and more pictures of how to! 

All of the stamps I used are on sale at 20% off this week! 

LINK to Outlines where you can see full instructions and stamps used for these these cards.

LINK to a pdf file that you can print out with full instructions.

Same stamp, Different look.......

Both of these cards use the same same stamp. 

When they showcase cards in the magazines.... using one stamp in different ways, it always catches my eye. 

This first card is in black and white and is a quickie to make. I stamped the image and then used a 1" punch to cut out squares from the floral part of the image. Another punch (1 1/4") makes quick work of the layering. The floral squares are popped up using foam tape. Some layering and some skirt ribbon to complete the card..... I went a little nuts with the stitch marks. 

This card shows the image in full. This is from the Beauty Within set from Flouishes. The images in the set are designed to look like stained glass and they coordinate with nestie labels to make adding mats simple. I colored the flowers and leaves with Copics, leaving the background white. The sentiment is also from the set. When I added the jute string.... I lay down a piece of score tape, then wrap it around.... each time the jute wraps, the tape grabs it and holds it right in place! The bow was added after all the wrapping. I made a multiple loop bow using the Bow Easy and then cut the tails off and glued it down. Both cards are an A2.

Stamp Simply #143 - Give it a Chance!

This week's Stamp Simply challenge is a good one! 
Here's the challenge in Sharon's words: 

Give it a Chance! - Today we are going to dig into our drawers, boxes or bags of those rejected or unfinished pieces — I KNOW we all have those containers.  Gosh, I have WAY too many of them.  Pull out a piece you started at some other time and for whatever reason you just never finished it and it ended up in that collection of *maybe I’ll use this someday* items.  Be sure to tell us what piece you have rescued and given  a 2nd chance to!  Should be fun!!!
Play along and link your project on Sharon's blog, No Time to Stamp using Mr. Linky. 
See what goodies the team cooked up this week.... Sharon, Barb Schram, Janine Orchard, A J Otto, Deb Saarenen (taking tonight off), Deb Neerman, Barb Anders, Barb Schram and we have Julia Aston with us this month as June's Guest Designer.

I do have a "unfinished drawer" of craft projects that were abandoned for whatever reason. And today's project used a polished stone background that came from the drawer. About six month's ago I pulled the background out and embossed this quote in white on it. BUT then it went back in the drawer as I just couldn't find any paper to pair it up with. When this challenge came along I knew I would go pull this out.... I love quotes and I thought this would be perfect done up clean and simple. And it is very simple, I used a mat of white and green cardstock and added a white wrinkle ribbon bow, love this wrinkle ribbon! Of course I used the bow easy tool to make my double bow. 

• Stamps: #D4513 Set your Angel free  by Impression Obsession
• Ink: Versamark and White Detail EP
• Paper: White, Green Polish Stone Background created on Glossy with Alcohol Inks
• Other: White 1/2" Wrinkle Ribbon, Bow Easy Tool

USA!

Red, white and any other color together is alway a striking combination to me. I worked up a series of Patriotic themed cards for Outlines Rubber Stamps. This is one of my favorites. I used paper silicone to give the height to the stars and the letters.... I am so hooked on using this stuff! You can check out the other cards I did on the Outlines website with this LINK. Complete directions for all three cards are posted there. You can also download a pdf file showing all the cards and the how to's if you wanna print it out using this LINK. 

Stamp Simply #142- Sweet Stuff!

June 4, 2010 - ssnotime142 - Sweet Stuff! 

The first challenge of the month we take turns hosting the theme and today's challenge is from me! The challenge is keepin' it simple and create a card or a project featuring something SWEET.... a cake, cupcake or candy! It can be a stamp image, paper or an embellishment -- whatever you have in your stash that fits the theme. Can't wait to see all your SWEET creations! 

Play along and link your project on Sharon's blog, No Time to Stamp using Mr. Linky. 

See what goodies the team cooked up this week.... Sharon, Barb Schram, Janine Orchard, A J Otto, Deb Saarenen, Deb Neerman, Barb Anders and we have Julia Aston with us this month as June's Guest Designer.

A simple layout for this sweet little cupcake. Very simple, just a few layered strips on the card base and a center panel popped up with foam tape. I used one of the new cupcakes from Impression Obsession. It's not in the online store yet, but most stores already have the new cupcakes in stock. I colored the cupcake using Copic Markers and then cut it out. 

I gave a little bendy shape to the cupcake and the sentiment, just curling it around my fingers and used silicone to attach both. My jute string wasn't quite a perfect match to the color of my paper so I just touched it up randomly with an R32 Copic to deepen the color. After going over the string with the Copic all the teensy strings started coming undone and you can see my bow got a little hairy looking!!! LOL! I wanted to keep the color scheme really simple and on the cupcake I used only two Copics R37 and R32 on the icing - I added a little dab of Rock Candy Distress Stickles over the polka dots. I used E00 for a little shading on the bottom of the cupcake. Finished card is an A2 tent card. 

• All stamps by Impression Obsession - #D8443 Surprise Cupcake, #B8455 A bit Sweeter
• Ink: Versafine Onyx Black and Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: DP by October Afternoon, Black, Neenah Peppercorn
• Other: Cuttlebug Lg Polka Dots Folder, Copics, Jute String, Corner Rounder, Paper Silicone, Bow Easy Tool

IO Challenge - Going to the Beach!

IO Challenge - Let's go to the Beach!

It's Card Challenge Time with the Impression Obsession Design Team. As always you can play along and WIN some $$! So check out the rules right here on the IO Blog and join in the fun.

The IO Design Team has their Summertime Beach cards all ready for you to check out! Making this card had me ready to pack car and hit the road to a sandy, sunny destination. Check out we we cooked up for you today, Here are links to get you there: Daniela Dobson, Dina Kowal, Jeanne Streiff, Julie Koerber, Kathy Menzies and Laura Fulcher.

I inked up this beach chair image and added color with Copics. I paired it up with some beachy themed paper from Creative Imaginations, although I ended up covering all the paper's designs up. That is where my Beach Days Banner came from, cut from the paper..... I curled it around my fingers adding a little bend and adhered it using paper silicone.  I did a little light airbrushing around the image and added some little doodling dots on the border.  I used a hole punch to create notches in the side of the panel, to secure the jute string in place and then just wound the string around the panel. Impression Obsession has an entire section of stamps devoted to Nautical/Beachy themed images and you can check them out HERE. 

• Stamps: Beach Chair # F2337 by Impression Obsession
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: Kraft, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, DP by Creative Imaginations
• Other: Green Jute String, Bow Easy Tool, Spellbinder's Curved Rectangles, Olive Green Fine TIp Pen by Martha Stewart, Copics/ABS