CAS-ual Fridays Challenge CFC1

Today's card is for the brand new CAS-ual Fridays Challenge. This week's challenge is to use text on your card. I love this challenge! Here's what I came up with.

This card is a real mash-up of different companies' things. My focal panel is glossy white. I stamped the Everlasting Romance in Versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I stamped the Script background with Crumb Cake ink. Finally, I sponged Bermuda Bay ink over the whole thing. A silver ribbon and a sweet little tag made with Tiny Tags completes the card.

I can't wait to see what the challenge is next week!


Details: stamps - Everlasting Romance (Unity), Tiny Tags, Script background (Stampin' Up retired); paper - Glossy White (SU), Soft Stone, Smokey Shadow; ink - Versamark, Crumb Cake (SU), Bermuda Bay (SU), Smokey Shadow; other - clear detail embossing powder (SU), silver ribbon, silver cord (SU), dimensionals

Make it Monday 13 - selective embossing

This week's Make it Monday challenge is to use impression plates and dies to selectively emboss your cardstock. I have to admit that I only own two impression plates which had never been used, and that my embossing mats were still in their original packaging. So this was a great opportunity for me to get them out and give them a try.

I've had congratulations on the brain lately because our school kids in Texas just finished their standardized testing last week, and they did great! So the Book Print impression plate plus a star die seemed like they would fit the bill for a congrats card. The tiny stamp in each corner of the star was done by inking just a little bit of one of the stamps in the Guide Lines 2 set. This is a really fun technique and I know that I'll be using it again. Right now, I'm off to shop for more impression plates!

Details: stamps - Signature Greetings, Guide Lines 2; paper - Basic Black, Blueberry Sky; ink - Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); accessories - Book Print impression plate, Seeing Stars dies, black rhinestones (source unknown), embossing pad kit

Make It Monday - draw a frame

This week's challenge for Make It Monday was to draw a line frame on your card.

















I'm so excited about this card! I had a picture in my head, and I actually was able to make the card just the way I envisioned it. I have a bird feeder in my back yard, and I love to watch the birds come to eat and play. My favorites are the cardinals. We have several pairs that visit regularly. So for my card, I had to have cardinals. The male is all red, and the female is mostly brown, with just a hint of red peeking through. For my female bird, I swiped under her wing with a red Copic marker, then colored over it and the rest of her with my light brown Copic. Sorry, but I didn't write down what colors I used on this card.

For my frame, I used a piece of cardstock measuring 5 inches by 3 3/4 inches. To make room for my sentiment below and the bird above, I left 1/2 inch margins at the top and bottom, but only 1/4 inch margins on the left and right. I also had to mask with a Post-It note on the right side when I stamped the branch, because it was slightly longer than I needed for my scene. Everything else is pretty straightforward.

Details: stamps - Little Bitty Bird, Bird Watching, Think Big Favorites 3; paper - Rustic White, Kraft, Pure Poppy; accessories - Copic markers, Copic multiliner marker

Masculine cards

 

I was running super low on guy birthday cards, so these were what I made today. I couldn't decide if the car should be orange or blue, and I also couldn't choose between the two mat stack dies, so I made one of each. I finally got decent photos of these cards, on the third try! Kraft is kind of vexing to me at times, or at least to my camera. I went back to my older camera, because I had been suspecting that it took better card photos. Boy, was that the truth!

Details: stamps - Enjoy the Ride; paper - Rustic White, Kraft, Terracotta Tile, Ocean Tides, Pyrus (Basic Grey); ink - Chai Tea Dye, Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukeninko); dies - Enjoy the Ride, Mat Stack 1, Mat Stack 3, Double Ended Banner; accessories - Gelly Roll glitter pen (Sakura), dimensionals

Butterfly sympathy

Sympathy cards are no fun to make at the last minute. I always prefer to have a supply on hand so that I can take my time and not feel rushed. I want them to be special. Here's one that I especially enjoyed making, and love the way it turned out.

The edges of the sheet music panel were sponged with the tea dye ink, which is also what I used to stamp the music. I also used it to stamp one of the images from Butterfly Dreams onto the die cut butterflies, which were cut from Basic Grey's Indian Summer paper.

Details - stamps: Background Basics: Sheet Music, Butterfly Dreams, Brighter Tomorrow (Stampin' Up retired); ink: Ruby Red (Stampin' Up), Chamomile Vintage Touch tea dye ink; paper: Vintage Cream, Ruby Red (Stampin' Up), Indian Summer (Basic Grey); accessories: Butterfly die

Modern masculine birthday

I have a new favorite stamp set. That's saying a LOT, considering the hundreds that I have accumulated. Maile Belles is one of my favorite designers, and her brand new set, Modern Basics, had me squealing the moment I saw it. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. And I was right - it's just exactly my kind of stamp set. It has tons of geometric elements, all perfectly proportioned for building wonderful patterns. Here is my favorite card that I've made with it so far:

Details: stamps - Modern Basics, Enjoy the Ride; paper - Buckaroo Blue (Stampin' Up retired), Fine Linen; ink - Buckaroo Blue (SU retired), Sahara Sand (SU), accessories - blue rhinestone

Make It Mondays Challenge

Okay, so it isn't Monday any more. But I finally got something made for this week's Make It Mondays challenge! This week's challenge was to make a "Go To Sentiments" card, using sentiments to form a background or design element on the card. While playing around with a bunch of love and valentine stamps, I noticed that I could stack them up by length. A little more playing revealed that they would make a pretty neat heart shape!

I really shouldn't be trusted with red ink. I would be embarrassed to tell you just how much cardstock I ruined with smudges and other little boo-boos. There's just not much room for error here. But I love the results! This will be DH's valentine.

Details: stamps - Mega Mixed Messages, Men of Life, Simple Little Things, Heart Prints, Limitless Labels, ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Pure Poppy; paper - White