Loving the Rub-ons!

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. Somehow, life seems hectic. Thankfully, Stampin' Up has sent rub-ons to make my life easier! This project took me literally 5 minutes. I bought these votive holders last week at Michaels for 50 cents each. I cut out the rub-on (from the Love & Happiness SAB set), rubbed it on and tied on the new Chocolate Chip polytwill ribbon. I think this will look great with the candlelight behind it or even filled with candy!

I am finally getting the blog candy mailed out tomorrow. Alison is getting the rub-ons. JenMarie and Denise are getting a nice assortment of chipboard pieces. Thanks again to all who entered!

Saturday Challenge # 4 -- A day late!

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days. As I mentioned before, life has been a little busy the last few days. We had 10 youth complete the 30 Hour Famine, and it was a lot of fun as well as an eye-opener!
This week's challenge is to try a new technique. I love trying something new! Every Monday, the SCS challenge is a technique. I also get the Technique Junkies Newsletter. Pat Huntoon puts together a great newsletter featuring so many interesting techniques. Some of them are out of my league, but I love seeing what others do. Check out the website here for more info.
This is my card for a swap I signed up for using a set from the upcoming Occasions Mini. The set is called For Father, and it's perfect for men's cards! There are 3 line images and the saying you see on my card.
The technique I used for the background is called the Magic Pattern technique. It was created by Melissa McCart in the latest issue of the TJ newsletter. Her technique is used over the entire focal piece, but I masked off the image because it was so patterned already.
For this technique, I first stamped the image in Black StazOn. Then I masked the image. I inked Sanded with Versamark, stamped it on the cardstock, removed the mask, and embossed using clear EP. Then I watercolored the entire image. Below is a close-up of the focal piece so you can see the background better. I'm really pleased with how it came out!

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: For Father, Sanded; Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard; Ink: Black StazOn, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Versamark; Accessories: Crystal Clear EP, watercolor wonder crayons, sponge, aquapainter, gold brads, metallic eyelets, Cropadile, ticket corner punch, Old Olive polytwill ribbon; Techniques: Magic Pattern, watercoloring, direct to paper, sponging

Winners!

Here are your random numbers:
31
17
12
Timestamp: 2008-02-22 03:36:01 UTC
# 12 JenMarie said...
I just used rub-ons for the first time this week...I'm already addicted! ;)Thanks for the chance!!
# 17 Alison Molumby said...
My favorite things are my scallop punch, and I still love the Fluid Chalk petal pads that SU used to carry.
# 31 Denise ~ said...
Great blog candy, thanks for the chance. I would have to say that I love the cropadile. I use it all time. I also love my paper piercer. Easy tool to make great accents.
I'll announce what the prizes are in the next few days. (Sorry, I'm doing the 30 Hour Famine with my church's youth group, and we are staying in the church for most of the time!)
I want to share one last comment with you from my mom.
Mama said...
I know I don't qualify for the candy but wanted to comment anyway. I love the scallop circle punch and all the ribbons. Who knew that I would love making cards when you dragged me into it kicking and screaming all the way!
Thanks everyone for your comments and support!

It's Time for Blog Candy!

Many thanks to all of you who are so faithful to visit my blog. I really appreciate all of your comments! So to thank you in a more tangible way, I'm giving away some blog candy. I will be giving away 3 items. One is the Love & Happiness rub-ons from the current SAB promotion. The other 2 haven't been determined yet. To qualify, leave me a comment telling me what your current favorite technique, project or accessory is. Deadline for comments is 9PM Central time on Thursday. Good luck!

Sale-A-Bration Take 2

Does this card look familiar? If so, it's because you saw it here. I redid the card for my mom's group. My mom loves turquoise, so I changed the colors on the original card using the color coach for my color choices. The colors are Cameo Coral, Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron and Certainly Celery. I love how the coral and turquoise look together. I'll be using those colors again!

On a blogging note, I will reach 10,000 hits within the next couple of days. W00T!!! Look for a blog candy giveaway soon!

No More Hoarding!

This card layout is Beate's weekend sketch challenge. I've used lots of stuff on this card that I used to hoard: patterned paper, rub-ons and I even used my last little bit of Chocolate Chip grosgrain that I've been saving! There's no stamping on this card. The flower is a rub-on put on Pumpkin Pie cardstock and cut out.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: None; Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Bali Breeze; Ink: none: Accessories: Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain ribbon, Love & Happiness rub-ons, Die Cut Blooms, dimensionals

Saturday Challenge # 3

Are you a hoarder? I am! But I'm trying to change my ways. I just got the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware from the Occasions Mini, and I have already used it twice. W00t!!
Your challenge this week is to use an accessory (hardware, ribbon, glitter, etc.) that you have been hoarding or haven't used yet.

Faux Tiles

One of the demo challenges last week was faux tiling. I've never tried this but wanted to, and I finally did it! For faux tiling, you score your cardstock into squares and then stamp your image after scoring. The score marks mimic the grout lines of tile.
I love the technique but not the card. It's nice, but it's not what I had pictured in my head. (Don't you HATE that?) Originally, I just had a white card, 5 X 8, folded at 4. On the front, I scored at 1" intervals in both directions. (TIP: Score and fold the card in half first. That score line gives you a place to stop your horizontal score lines for the tiles.) Then I stamped Floral in Versamark and colored it with chalk. It was really hard to do because I could hardly see the image! And when I got done with it, I didn't like it at all. So I cut it down to a 4 X4 square and mounted it on 4 1/8 X 4 1/8 Close to Cocoa. For the card base, I used Mellow Moss and stamped Weathered on it in Mellow Moss. After mounting the focal image, I used a rub-on then added hardware to frame the sentiment.
I'm going to try again using Basic Gray to stamp my image and watercolor it. The other thing I want to do is a More is More version of my WSC card from earlier in the week. As I said earlier, I also have a bunch of swaps to do.
Do you want another Saturday challenge? If so, leave me a comment!
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Floral; Paper: Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Mellow Moss; Ink: Versamark, Mellow Moss; Accessories: Love & Happiness rub-ons, Stampin Pastels, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware

Excellent Blogger Award!

The kind and talented Tiffany at My Crafty World has given me the excellent blogger award! I really appreciate it!

I am giving this award to:

Crystal

Lorien (You'd better start posting more! LOL)

Robin

Kathy

and finally, Bernie.

I'm working on a card, and it's not turning out like I planned. (It's Excellent Blogger, not Excellent Stamper! LOL) And tomorrow is my Stamp Night at church; gotta get my Occasions Mini swaps going, all 18 of them. Yikes! So I will be posting, but it may not be today. Stay tuned and check out all of the SU only blogs listed over on the right.

Valentines Day approaches

This week's Limited Supplies Challenge was to make a valentine but not use hearts, flowers or the color red. (I did slip and color the taillight red!) I combined this with a demonstrator challenge to make a card using an aquapainter in some way. I stamped the truck from Loads of Love and the man and dogs from Loads of Love Accessories in StazOn black onto Confetti White cardstock. I watercolored the image using my crayons and aquapainter; the truck is Night of Navy. Daniel's shirt and the coloring around the edge is Brocade Blue. I added Chocolate Chip to the color combo so I could use my new ribbon again. Flannel Plaid is stamped in Night of Navy onto Brocade Blue cardstock. I punched two photo corners in Night of Navy then added faux stitching with my crafters tool kit and gel pen. To adhere the ribbon, I put one end of the ribbon through the buckle then adhered the buckle with 1/2 a dimensional. I wrapped the ribbon around the card and ran the other end through the buckle. A couple of strategically placed glue dots hold the ribbon firmly in place. Then I added the rub-on to the ribbon.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Loads of Love, Loads of Love Accessories, Flannel Plaid; Paper: Confetti White, Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, Chocolate Chip; Ink: StazOn Black, Night of Navy; Accessories: Watercolor wonder crayons, aquapainter, photo corner punch, chocolate chip polytwill ribbon, Love & Happiness rub-ons, Aged Copper hodgepodge hardware, white gel pen, crafters tool kit

Saturday Challenge card

Here's my Saturday challenge # 2 card. I used Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge # 34. I inked up some brand new rubber and used my new SAB rub-ons too! The ribbon and flower slide are little teasers from the upcoming Occasions Mini. Let me know what new sketch you try!

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Always; Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky Prints; Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Love & Happiness Rub-ons, chocolate chip polytwill ribbon, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware

Saturday Challenge # 2

It's so easy to get into a rut both in life and stamping. Let's break out! Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to use a sketch/layout that you have never used before. Where do you start? You could choose one of my cards or one you've seen on another blog. Stampin' Up has tons of options in the catalog. Beate always has a weekend sketch challenge, and on SCS, there is a sketch challenge every Wednesday. Beate's latest is here, and the SCS sketch challenge forum is here. Come back and post links if you try it!

Heat & Stick Powder

Do you have Heat & Stick Powder in your stamping supplies? Do you ever look at it and wonder what it's for? Well, here's a reminder! Heat & Stick is a great way to add glitter to your images evenly and cleanly (well, relatively cleanly!)
On this card, I've used H&S to add glitter to the outline of the flowers. Here's how I did it.

First of all, here's how I store my glitter, H&S and embossing powders. Those little jars just don't cut it! Inside each container, I have a little scoop that I use to sprinkle the powder. You could also use a plastic spoon. The best thing about these containers is that I can hold my cardstock right over the container as I sprinkle, and I can pour the excess right back into the container. For glitter or embossing powder, I usually turn my cardstock over and tap it on the back to help get any excess off. I also use my fingers to remove any stray bits where I don't want them before heating.
Sorry that these images aren't the best!

The first step is to stamp with Versamark or craft ink. Using the craft ink is cool because you see the color of the ink through the glitter if you are using Dazzling Diamonds. Here, I've used Rose Red craft ink and sprinkled on the H&S. The H&S is a heavier grain than embossing powder. It also has a tendency to clump, but it's easy to break up. (It reminds me of laundry detergent.)

The next step is to heat the powder JUST UNTIL IT TURNS SHINY. If you overheat it, it loses its "stick". This picture shows it after heating.
The next step is to sprinkle on the glitter and then heat it again briefly to set the glitter.

My original plan with this card was to use a sketch I saw on Cambria's blog. But in the end, I went right back to my same old layout. :( I do love the layered ribbon though!

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Polka Dots & Paisley; Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron, Rose Red, Bashful Blue, Cutie Pie DSP; Ink: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Rose Red (classic and craft); Accessories: Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, ticket corner punch, Fairy Tale ribbon originals, round tab punch

Sale-A-Bration Rocks!

Sale-A-Bration is my favorite time of the year! Why? Free stuff!! And this year, one of the sets is made to go with the scallop circle punch. We made this card at my last workshop; the original version I saw on the SU website was by Elizabeth Shultz. I got the color combo from SU's Color Coach. It's Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Perfect Plum and Mellow Moss.

The card base is Pretty in Pink. The Plum piece is 1 3/4" X 5 1/4, and it's wheeled with the Whimsy jumbo wheel in Perfect Plum. The So Saffron piece is 2 1/4 X 5 1/4, and it's stamped with the Canvas background in So Saffron. I used one of the stamps from So Many Scallops, and I stamped it in Pretty in Pink craft ink. I did that so I could get a solid, darkly-colored image. Then I stamped the circle from Priceless in Perfect Plum on the same color of cardstock and punched it out with the 1" circle punch. I punched out a little daisy from the So Saffron Prints ds paper with the 1/2" circle punch and adhered it inside a Build-a-Brad then attached that for the flower center. The ribbon is Mellow Moss, and "For You" from Fundamental Phrases was stamped in Mellow Moss.

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: So Many Scallops, Priceless, Fundamental Phrases, Whimsy jumbo wheel; Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron, Perfect Plum, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron Prints; Ink: Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink craft; Accessories: 1/2"& 1" & scallop circle punches; Mellow Moss narrow grosgrain ribbon, Pewter Build-a-Brads

Dahlia fold tutorial

Last Monday's technique challenge was the dahlia fold. The original card was posted by my friend Shadow Mill on SCS. She is the genius who created the tag punch starburst. If you don't remember it, take a look here. Anyway, once I saw that she had posted the dahlia fold, I had to give it a try. For the challenge on SCS, they posted a link to a website for directions. Here's my version.
1. Punch a circle. (Mine are 1 3/8".) Fold it in half horizontally and vertically.
2. Fold up the 2 bottom edges of the circle. Use the horizontal and vertical folds to mark the start and end points of your fold lines. After it's folded, it will look like the circle underneath.
3. Flip the circle over. Fold the two bottom edges in to the center fold line.
4. This is what the finished piece looks like. Add a little adhesive to the inside to hold the piece closed.
Eight of these will make a full flower.

I punched a circle and covered it with adhesive. This became the base to hold my pieces in place.
This is what the finished flower looks like.

TIP: Use a double-sided paper with a lot of contrast between the 2 sides.

For my card, I wanted to keep the card itself fairly simple so the flower would be the star. The card base is Groovy Guava, and I swiped it with my Groovy Guava spot in both directions. The River Rock dotted paper is 1 3/4" wide, and I matted it on a 2" piece of Ruby Red. I added 3/4" twill tape across the center. After attaching the flower, I used a piece of linen thread to tie around the twill tape. I stamped the sentiment on a 3/8" wide strip of Naturals White cardstock and used the word window punch to round off each end. I used more linen thread to tie the sentiment to the piece of linen thread on the twill tape. I also adhered the "tag" so it would hang nicely.

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Boho Backgrounds; Paper: Ginger Blossom DSP, Groovy Guava, Ruby Red; Ink: Groovy Guava, Ruby Red; Accessories: word window punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, twill tape, linen thread

My challenge card

Here's the card I made for my first blog challenge (see the previous post for the challenge). One color I have NEVER used is Handsome Hunter. I don't know why; I just go for Always Artichoke more, I guess. I have a full package of Handsome Hunter cardstock that I bought when the color first came out, and it was untouched until today. I turned to the SU Color Coach for my color combo. It's Blush Blossom, Ruby Red and Handsome Hunter; I added Chocolate Chip. For my long-neglected stamp set, I pulled out Heartfelt Thanks. I loved this set when it first came out, but it's just too easy to grab those newer sets. (You've done it, too; just admit it!) I colored directly on the stamp with Watercolor Wonder Crayons, spritzed with water then stamped onto Confetti White. I colored the flower petals Blush Blossom and edged them in Ruby Red. After stamping, I used my Aquapainter to add more Ruby Red. The edges of the cardstock were punched with the ticket corner punch, distressed with the cutter kit and sponged with Chocolate Chip. I also sponged the edges of the Blush Blossom card base with Chocolate Chip after stamping the Weathered background.

If you play along with my challenge, post a link on the previous post so I can check out your work!

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks, Weathered; Paper: Confetti White, Blush Blossom, Handsome Hunter; Ink: Chocolate Chip; Accessories: ticket corner punch, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, cutter kit, retired copper brads, Theater ribbon originals, sponge

Are you up for a challenge?

As I was going through my cardstock this week to see what I needed to order, I noticed that there are some colors that I tend to use a lot and some I use rarely if ever. Sage Shadow is a perfect example of that. I've just never liked that color. For some colors though, there's no particular reason why I don't use them.
So I am challenging you (and myself): Make a card or other project using a color that you rarely if ever use. As a bonus, use a stamp set that you rarely if ever use or haven't used for a long time.
I'll be playing today, and I'll post my card here later. If you post yours on your blog or in your SCS gallery, leave me a link here! And if you like the challenge and want me to continue, let me know.
Happy stamping!