This Old House ...

OK, so I've "borrowed" the title from a show that my hubby used to watch :)  But it definitely fits the card!

I had a lot of fun making this card ... it reminds me of my friend Liz's house in New Westminster.  I used the Belleek Pottery technique (a version of faux letterpress) for the "wallpaper" on the upper half of the card.  I made a simple scene out the window by sponging a little blue for the sky and then using one of my new favorite stamps (Kittie Kit's leaf sprig) for adding bushes and tree branches.

To add some color and fun to the card, I made a vase of flowers using a small circle punch for the vase (cutting of a small bit from the top and bottom), and adding a little sprig of leaves and three Itty Bitty flowers with half-pearl centers.  Hope you like.

"This Old House"

Stamp:  Kittie Kits Cause a Scene - Master #1 (Rubbernecker)
Paper:  River Rock, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, River Rock striped DP (SU!)
Ink:  Barely Banana, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Regal Rose, River Rock (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, Small Window die (Poppy Stamps), Textile Embossing folder (Cuttlebug), rubber brayer, 3/4" circle punch, Itty Bitty flower punch, Leafy Branch die (C.C. Designs), mini half pearls, mat pack, stylus, sponges, adhesives, glue, sticky strips, and dimensionals

I ran the small window die through my Big Shot with River Rock cardstock.  I used the River Rock Stampin' Write marker to darken the horizontal lines on the window to give it more character and also sponged River Rock ink around the outside edges to give it an aged look.

I cut a small piece of Whisper White cardstock to fit the window and then sponged the top with Baja Breeze ink, fading out to white. Leaf sprigs are added all along the bottom and a partial branch near the top, using Old Olive ink and first and second generation stamping.  I mounted the scene behind the window.

I inked the embossing folder with Barely Banana ink using my rubber brayer, added Whisper White cardstock and then ran it through my Big Shot.  I just love the look of the Belleek Pottery technique!!!

I mounted a piece of embossed cardstock to the top portion of my River Rock card base.  Added the River Rock striped DP to the bottom and then a thin strip of River Rock cardstock between the two to represent a chair rail (I sponged the chair rail with River Rock ink to give it an aged look).  I mounted the window to the card base, popping it up with dimensionals.

I made the vase of flowers by punching a small circle from Early Espresso cardstock and trimming off a small portion at the top and bottom.  I ran a scrap of Wild Wasabi cardstock through my Big Shot with the Leafy Branch die  and mounted it to the back of the "vase" with glue.  I punched out three Itty Bitty flowers from Pretty in Pink cardstock, sponged Regal Rose ink around the outer edges and used my mat pack and stylus to form into flower shapes.  I glued the flowers on to of the branch, adding a half-pearl to the center of each.  I mounted the vase of flowers onto the window sill, popping it up with dimensionals.

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I wanted to mention that I've added a search feature to the blog using labels.  You will see the labels listed on the right hand side at the bottom.  I know the list is HUGE and maybe seems a bit daunting, but I have a method to my madness :)

• You can search by stamp manufacturer (e.g. Hero Arts, Stampendous, etc.) - the SU! stamps are listed separately by stamp set at the top of the list (alphabetically)!
• You can also search by technique (e.g. paper tole, paper piecing, etc.).
• And I have added in a few other labels (CAS, baby, Christmas, etc.).

I hope you'll find this search feature useful!

Oh Happy Day!

OK, I got a little carried away with the color challenge from SCS for today.  I already posted my card "Flower for a Friend" ... and then wanted to try a totally different type of card using my Kittie Kits - Cause a Scene stamps.  I had so much fun making this!!  I love these stamps - they are so versatile and can be used on so many projects.  I have used the leaf sprig A LOT since I got the set ... that was the stamp I used on my four Spring Flower Boxes.  It's used again for the leaf branches on the tree of the card below.

Again, the colors for today are Peach Parfait, Lucky Limeade and Pool Party ... or you can substitute the closest colors you have - which I did with Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Baja Breeze (all SU! ink colors).

I'm also entering this for last week's CAS-ual Friday's CFC46 challenge - Name that tune (be inspired by a song title or lyrics).  Hope you like.

"Oh Happy Day"

Stamps:  Kittie Kits - Cause a Scene - Master #1 (Rubbernecker); Thanks a bunch - sentiment (Stampendous)
Paper:  Whisper White (SU!)
Ink:  Old Olive, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  post-it note for masking, sponges, and adhesives

I masked the bottom 1 1/2" and masked the top 1 1/4" of my Whisper White card front, using post-it notes.  I stamped the tree trunk first in Soft Suede ink and then cut out a mask for the tree before sponging Old Olive at the bottom and Baja Breeze at the top (going from dark to light with shades of colour - ombre).

I removed the mask on the tree trunk and used my Crumb Cake Stampin' Write marker to fill in the trunk.  I also added a few little "branches" with the Soft Suede marker in the tree top area.

Using the leaf sprig stamp, I inked it with Old Olive and stamped several times to fill in the tree top area ... using first, second and third generation stamping.

I inked the grass stamp with Old Olive and stamped around the base of the tree.  I stamped the flower patch with Old Olive and added Pumpkin Pie for the blossoms.  I stamped more of the Old Olive grass around the base of the flower patch.

I removed the masks and then added a few more leaf sprigs at the top of the tree so that they went beyond the top of the masked area.

I stamped the sentiment in Soft Suede ink and then mounted the card front onto a card base of Old Olive cardstock (for thickness and stability).

Flower for a Friend

Today has been a day for grocery shopping.  Out to White Rock to pick up shrimp, fresh veggies and bread from the bakery ... then on to the grocery store to pick up the rest of the items I'll need for tomorrow's family dinner.  We're getting together tomorrow night to celebrate my hubby's birthday.  The kids are coming over (along with grand-doggie, Penny).  And the special guest for the dinner is Gord's Mom ... I'm so glad that she's able to join us for the fun!

I still managed to find time to play in my studio and make a card for today's color challenge at SCS (CC369 - Peach Parfait, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party) ... along with neutral of choice (white, vanilla or brown) and the dessert is border punches or border dies.  I don't have any of the main colors in cardstock or ink, so I used some DP that has the green and blue ... along with sponging some white cardstock with my Pumpkin Pie ink which is fairly close to the Peach Parfait color.  Hope you like.

"Flower for a Friend"

Stamp:  Just Believe - sentiment (SU!)
Paper:  Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Everyday Enchantment DP (SU!)
Ink:  Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, 5-Petal flower punch, bone folder, Leaves die-cut (C.C. Designs), Adorning Accents Edgelits (Sizzix), Itty Bitty flower punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, white gel pen, mat pack, stylus, small sponge, adhesives, glue, and dimensionals

I started by cutting two pieces of scalloped border using the edgelits and running it through my Big Shot with Baja Breeze cardstock.  I cut them to size and mounted them on the edges of a strip cut from the Everyday Enchantment DP.  I used a white gel pen to add dots in each of the scallops.  I mounted the strip near the bottom of the Whisper White card front.

I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement and stamped the sentiment in Old Olive ink at the bottom right of my card front.

I sponged a small scrap of Whisper White cardstock with Pumpkin Pie ink.  I punched out two 5-Petal flowers and used a small sponge to add more Pumpkin Pie ink around the edges of each petal.  I used my bone folder to curl the ends of the petals to the back to give them dimension.  I also placed each flower in the middle of my mat pack and used a stylus to push down gentle on the centers of the flowers, adding even more dimension.  I punched a small flower from the Itty Bitty punch in Whisper White cardstock and also used the mat pack and stylus to push in the center to give dimension.  I adhered the two 5-Petal flowers together, offsetting them and then added the itty bitty flower to the center with a dot of glue.

I ran Old Olive cardstock through my Big Shot with the Leaves die-cut.  I mounted three of the leaf sprigs together (forming a triangle shape) and then add the flower to the center, popping it up with dimensionals.  I mounted the leaf and flower to the card front and then mounted the whole thing onto a card base of Old Olive (to add extra thickness and stability).

Spotlighted Rose and Just Because for Sylvia

Here's my card for today's Clean and Simple Challenge (CAS164 - Spotlighting).  It's my first time trying this technique.  I wanted to use a black, white and red theme ... and I thought my Elements of Style stamp set would work really well for this technique.  This is made with all SU! products - hope you like.

"Spotlighted Rose"

Stamps:  Elements of Style, Short & Sweet - sentiment (SU!)
Paper:  Basic Black, watercolor paper (SU!)
Ink:  StazOn black, Real Red; Re-inkers:  Real Red, Old Olive
Accessories & Tools:  Small artist's brush, Circle punch, square punch, mini black brad, sticky strips, and dimensionals

I stamped the rose branch in StazOn black onto two pieces of watercolor paper.  One was mounted onto the card base of Basic Black, and the other I watercolored using re-inkers diluted with a little water and my small brush.

I punched out the circle from the watercolored rose branch and mounted it on top of my card front, lining up the image, and popping it up to add depth.

I stamped the sentiment in Real Red ink onto watercolor paper.  I used the square punch and punched the end of the strip on the diagonal to created the "V" for the banner.  I repeated this with the Basic Black frame for the banner and then mounted the sentiment on top.  I punched a hole and added a mini black brad to the sentiment, then mounted it to the card front, popping it up with dimensionals.

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Last week was busy and I'm a little behind, so today I'm posting my card to honor Sylvia (sillyfilly on SCS) for her reign as "Queen for the Day" last week.  Congrats Sylvia!!  She has a gallery full of beautiful cards and she is always so supportive with her comments to others ... this is a well deserved honor!!

I chose this card of Sylvia's to CASE in her honor.  I only changed up the colors and the main image ... leaving the overall design and layout the same.  Hope you like.

"Just Because for Sylvia"

Stamps:  Silhouette Spray (Hero Arts), Vintage Labels (SU!)
Paper:  Early Espresso, Sahara Sand, Sahara Sand striped DP (SU!)
Ink:  Early Espresso (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Soft Suede seam binding, antique brad, hole punch, adhesives, sticky strips, and dimensionals

I stamped the Silhouette Spray in Early Espresso ink onto Sahara Sand cardstock.  I stamped the sentiment in Early Espresso as well.  I cut the image to size and mounted it on a thin frame of Early Espresso cardstock.

On the card front of Early Espresso, I mounted the striped Sahara Sand DP to the bottom, punched a hole on the right hand side for the brad at the top of the DP,  and wrapped the seam binding around and secured it at the back with sticky strips.  I added the brad over the ribbon and threaded it through the hole.

I mounted the card front onto the card base of Early Espresso so that the ribbon would be secured between the two layers.

I mounted the main panel to the front of the card, popping it up with dimensionals to add depth.

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Finally, I'm posting a picture of the cards made at a workshop I held yesterday.  Everyone had a good time and left with four lovely cards each.  Thanks to Aileen, Stephanie, Sally and Fran for joining me in the studio yesterday!!  And thank you girls for the wonderful treats you brought for us to enjoy - you are so sweet!!