Flip flop card

This is a card I had left over from my stamping fun with Dawn Olchefske.  There was one set of cards I didn't get to complete that day because I ran out of time.  Did I finish them when I got home?  No!  This was 4 months ago; how embarrassing!  So I decided to finish them while I was at Rhonda's on Saturday.

My card is a little different from the original.  On the original card, the flip flop was a card too, but I thought that was a little too much.  And there was a tag hanging from the flip flop strap, but I neglected to stamp that image while I was there.
The flip flop is hand-cut from a template.  The straps are just a couple of strips of DSP.  The center piece was punched out with the word window punch.  A punched flower and pearl add some more pizzazz.

Happy stamping!

CASEing Lydia

Lydia Fiedler, AKA understandblue, is this week's featured stamper on SCS.  Lydia runs SCS, and she's a very talented stamper too!  The challenge was to CASE a card from Lydia's gallery, making at least 2 changes.  I changed the stamp sets and colors used.

This was a 5-minute card!  Just swipe 3 colors direct to paper (sorry spots won't work for this!) and add a stamped image and sentiment.  I discovered that Whisper White works the best for this.  I tried it with Confetti White, but it just didn't look right.

Stamps used were Lovely as a Tree and Sincere Salutations.  Colors are Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake and Cajun Craze.

Happy stamping!

Card for my hubby

I made this card for Ray to thank him for putting up with me!  I had a stressful week at work, and he's a big part of how I got through it.  The stamped image is from the retired set Totally Tool.  I've had it for a while, but this is the first time I've inked it up.  It's perfect for Ray because he loves tools AND puns!  I used my brand-new Spice Cake DSP and Early Espresso quilted satin ribbon from the upcoming Holiday Mini.  I pulled the color combo right from the paper.  The cardbase is Soft Suede with a Pool Party layer under the DSP.  I stamped the image on watercolor paper.  The tape measure is More Mustard with Pool Party for the background and a line of Soft Suede under the tape measure to add dimension.  I used a silver gel pen (non-SU) to color in the tape measure case.  My favorite ticket corner punch is used on all of the layers.

Happy stamping!

Birthday card for Steph

Stephanie's birthday is September 1st.  I wanted a bright and fun card for her.  How did I do?  The color combo is Lucky Limeade, Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder.  The stamped images are from Pretty Postage (punched with postage stamp punch) and Language of Friendship (punched with 1" circle punch).  They are on a mat of DSP from the Flirtatious Specialty DSP.  The card base is Lucky Limeade.  I cut off a strip and punched with the scallop border punch.  Then I added 2 more layers of scallops and ran the entire front through the Big Shot with my new Snow Burst embossing folder from the Holiday Mini.  Wisteria Wonder ruffled ribbon is the finishing touch, and it covers the cardstock seam from the scalloped layers.

Happy stamping!

Color inspiration from home decor

Do you see the world in Stampin' Up colors?  I have noticed Lucky Limeade all over the place lately!  In fact, my new quilt is that color.  I also have new sheets that are Cajun Craze, so I decided to use those 2 colors in a card.  The 3rd color, Early Espresso, came from my yummy new quilted ribbon (coming soon in the Holiday Mini)!

My card base is Lucky Limeade, and I embossed the bottom of the cardfront with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  I inked up the pine tree image from Lovely as a Tree with Lucky Limeade then "thumped" it with a Cajun Craze marker.  The tree base is Early Espresso.  The sentiment is from Oval All which hasn't seen ink in my craft room for quite a while!

Happy stamping!

Double challenge card with new stuff!

I made this card for 2 challenges: a Creative Crew challenge to include paper piercing on your card and a Dare to Get Dirty challenge to use kraft (Crumb Cake) cardstock.  Except for the cardstock, butterfly and paper piercer, everything on this card is new!

The stamp set I was most excited about in the new catalog is Language of Friendship.  It has stamped images for 2 of our punches: Boho Blossoms and the Bird!  My other new items are Marina Mist scalloped ribbon, Paisley Petals DSP and Designer Frames embossing folder.

The frame is embossed right onto the card.  I cut a piece of DSP to simulate the view through the "window".  I used an Early Espresso marker to color the frame; I found that sponging and daubers didn't work.  I held the marker parallel to the card and just dragged the tip along the embossed area.  (I made one little booboo, so I covered it up with the butterfly.)

I'm not a very good watercolorer, so I decided to try Julie Buhler's technique of coloring with markers on watercolor paper and using an aquapainter to do shading.  I'm happy with the result!  The watercolor paper is pretty thick, so it was a little tougher to punch.

The finishing touch on my card is paper piercing to echo the dots on the ribbon.

Happy stamping!

DTGD challenge card

I made this card with leftover flowers from the card I posted last week.  I added some gold Smooch Spritz to the flower.  The cardbase and brad are Lucky Limeade.  It's a little brighter than Old Olive.  Mama let me use her lace ribbon border punch, and then I ran the narrow taffeta ribbon through the middle of it.  Some embossed polka dots and the sentiment complete the card.

Happy stamping!

August Creative Crew challenge card #1

Here's the card I made for Ray for our 6-month anniversary.  It fulfills two of the August Creative Crew challenges: to use the paper-piercing tool and to use colors from Pocketful of Posies DSP.  I chose Rich Razzleberry, Early Espresso, Baja Breeze and Pear Pizzazz.

I stamped the images from Inspired by Nature onto Baja Breeze cardstock then embossed it with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  I used the ticket corner punch on that layer and the Early Espresso mat.  I stamped the flowers again onto Baja Breeze, cut out the big flower and popped up the image over the embossed piece; I got this idea from Renee at Stamping for Sanity.

The sentiment is from a retired Mini set called In a Word.  I used two different markers to highlight the word "us".  For the ribbon, I cut a slit in the Razzleberry ribbon to feed through the other end then tied it off with Early Espresso narrow taffeta ribbon.

Happy stamping!