I seem to be on a butterfly kick. Hmm… I wonder what that means?
In any case, since I’m taking the A Cut Above Class one of our “homework” assignments was to use our dies with other than paper. Well…I can do that! Nichol Magouirk showed a really nifty way to use up some old ribbons and die-cut at the same time. I thought I’d use that technique as well as die-cut some wood. Yep, wood. God, bless steel-ruled dies!!
Here’s my card for today:
I think it’s so cool! Don’t you? And those wood sheets are so fun. I “painted” mine with a little Picket Fence Distress Stain and Perfect Pearl (in Perfect Pearl) for some added interest. My finished card is little one. Just 4 x 4″. But, for ONCE, it’s not bulky and would be super easy to mail.
I mentioned in a previous post (on Wednesday, I think) that I’m taking the A Cut Above class with Online Card Classes. This class is all about die-cutting right now. Part two we’ll be using our Silhouette Cameos! Can’t wait for that.
In class yesterday Jennifer McGuire and Amber Daigre taught us all about partial die-cutting. This was something I’d never tried before so I thought I’d give it a go.
Amber gave a really cool idea on her blog, Damask Love, which you can see by clicking HERE. I tried (yes, tried!) to do the same technique on my card, below:
You’ll notice that my letters are not nearly as straight as hers. And, let me just say I tried MANY times to get those stinkin’ things lined up just right! So frustrating!! Grrr… I finally called this one “as good as it gets”. I still think it’s a cool technique, though. Don’t you?
Hope you’re having a great Friday & have fun plans for your weekend. xoxo
{Suppplies: Paper: Cardstock – White (Gina K), Red (SU), Patterned Paper – Handmade Collection (Lily Bee Design) Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko) Stamps: Berry Sweet, Strawberry (Market Street Stamps) Die-Cutting/Embossing: Clearly Sentimental Label, By The Letters, Chevron Stripes (My Favorite Things) Accessories: Letter stickers (Lily Bee Design), Baker’s Twine (The Twinery), Pearls (Recollections), Copics (.Too), Stickles (Ranger).}
Have you ever just looked at all your schtuff and just gotten a whim to make something? Something really pretty? Okay, maybe it’s just me. Heh! But I have ooodles of dies. I’m a habitual die-cutter AND collector. And I love to use them as often as I can. Sometimes I even forget I HAVE some of them!! *gasp*
I decided to break out a bunch of my Sizzix dies today. I love the ones I used today since they are Bigz dies (and cut through almost ANYTHING), but I have some of the thinner dies, too, and love those just as much. And, let me just say? I don’t cut or emboss a THING without my Vagabond. How I ever lived without it I don’t know. Especially when it comes to mass production. What a dream machine!
I’m also taking the Online Card Class – A Cut Above and am hoping to learn some really cool new ways to use my dies. Love having all these dies, but hope to be able to learn new things to do with them, too.
Here’s today’s card. I love my dies. ♥ ♥ ♥
Love this patterned paper by Authentique. I wish I could swim in it. Hahha! The colors are just so yummy!
Do your dies inspire you?
Hope you’re having a Wonderful Wednesday. And remember: I’m Thinking of You. xoxo
Wow…can’t believe I haven’t posted in a week. Been busy and then I had kind of a weird day yesterday. Thought I broke my toe!! Lemme just say it HURTS!!
Anyway, there’s a super cool challenge going on at CAS-ual Fridays that I knew I had to get in on before time ran out. It’s Opposites Attract and here are the details: choose 2 opposite colors from the color wheel to design your Clean And Simple creation. Opposite colors are determined by where the points meet. Examples: green and red, or orange and aqua, or purple and yellow, etc.
Here is the card I made for the challenge:
As you can tell, I used purple (or violet) and yellow as my opposite colors. And then just a super neutral Kraft background, stamped with a gorgeous gingham pattern and a little scoring. And, even though my day was horrible yesterday? Life IS beautiful. So, I knew I had to use that stamp.
Thanks for stopping by and having a look and I hope you like my card. Have a beautiful week…
{Supplies: Paper: Cardstock – Kraft/Crumbcake (SU) Ink: Frost White (Colorbox), Distress Embossing Ink (Ranger) Stamps: Simple Salutations, Gingham Background (Market Street Stamps) Die-Cutting/Embossing: Rolled Mum, Rolled Scallop Flower (My Favorite Things) Accessories: Button (DeNami), Twine (The Twinery), Pearl (Kaisercraft)}
Hi, my friends! Hope you’re all having an amazing and blessed Easter. I just wanted to share a little card I made for the super fun blog, CAS-ual Fridays. Here is the challenge for this week: Clean and Simple projects featuring something you’d find in an Easter basket.
(click on the image below to be taken to their blog!):
Here’s my little Easter card:
I cut out the shape on my Silhouette Cameo (it was a freebie!), embossed it, added super fun strips of paper from last month’s Market Fresh Kit from Market Street Stamps, and then stitched baker’s twine through the holes. The sentiment was typed out and printed and I used a square punch to make the banner. Super easy and FUN!
I pray that you all have a beautiful day and are blessed with good health, good friends, and family.
Hope everyone has had a great weekend. Finally had some sunshine here in the Bay Area of CA!! Yahoooooo!! That makes for a VERY happy Lisa.
On to today’s card:
I made this card for two wonderful blogs: CAS-ual Fridays and for Market Street Stamps Block Party. For CAS-ual Fridays this weeks challenge (CFC 46) was to make a card based on a song (lyrics or a song title). And for the Market Street Stamps Block Party it was to create a new project with Market Street Stamps. Angelica even gave us a super awesome digi to play with. (You just have to join the Market Street Stamps Neighborhood to download…but, why wouldn’t you want to join anyway? It’s SO fun!)
My card!
The song is “The Spirit of Radio” (by the band Rush – which I am a HUUUUUUUUGE fan of). And it’s just soooo perfect for Angelica’s sweet Radio Habana digi stamp that she created. I know this card is going to be a big hit with a lot of my friends.
Wishing you all a wonderful beginning to April and lots of sunny days ahead spent listening to YOUR radio…or, umm iPod. *giggle*
{Supplies: Paper: Cardstock – Ch. Chip, Nat. White (SU), Patterned paper – Gathering (Authentique) Ink: Distress Ink – Pumice Stone (Ranger), Ink Jet Printer ink. Stamps: Radio Habana (Angelica Suarez for Market Street Stamps) Accessories: Black Enamel Accents (Ranger), Tiny Attacher (Tim Holtz), Satin Ribbon (SU), Border Punch (EK Success), Label Maker (Dymo), Poster Paint Pen (Sharpie)}.
My sister is amazing. She is not only my sister, but is also my friend. She has a good and kind spirit. I know it may seem like, well, whoop-di-doo…”she’s your sister, of course you’re going to say these thing”, right? Well, we didn’t always get along.
Being in a military family we were forced to spend SO much time together and since there were just the two of us kids we really, REALLY got on each other’s nerves. We loved each other, but LOATHED each other, too. It got ugly at times.
When she joined the Air Force and I graduated high school something happened…we really became close. She continues to this day to lift my spirit and my soul in ways that no one else knows how to do.
My sister is a true child of God. And I am so very blessed that I have such a wonderful human being in my life.
I made this card for her for her birthday (which was on the 19th) just didn’t think to blog it. So I decided I would that today. My hope is that her birthday was as wonderful as she is.
Our “pet” name for each other is Seester. Next year she’s totally getting a card with that on it!!
I’m trying something new using InLinkz to show my supplies. A lot of crafty people are using it, just wondering if you all like it or not. Lemme know whatcha think, ok?
I’m taking a class with Online Card Classes with a few of my friends and a ton of other people that’s being taught by none other than Tim Holtz on the uses of all his fabulous products with Ranger. It’s called Creative Chemistry 101. Pretty fun!
We’re through week 1 right now and one of my very dear friends, Leslie (The Crooked Stamper), and I were talking on Twitter about the basics of blending with Distress Inks. Now, this is something that I don’t have much problem with. I’ve been doing blending for what feels like forever. But, not everyone feels comfortable with it. Sooooo….I told her I’d make a video. And? Well, in a nutshell… I did. It’s kinda long at a little over 8 minutes, but if you want to watch me blend with Distress Inks….
Here ya go!
So there ya have it! Complete with sound effects and all. My very first crafty video.
I know that a lot of crafty peeps are challenged by CAS (Clean and Simple) cards and, I’ll admit, I am, too!! That’s why I like making them. To challenge myself. Making cards with LOTS of layers are kinda easy for me. Isn’t that awful to say? But, you can cover up mistakes with lots of layers, flowers, and embellishments. Hahaha!! Now you know my secret.
I think that CAS is a real misnomer. “Simple” is not really a good description. I like understated, or unassuming. There’s nothing “simple” about a LOT of CAS cards I’ve seen. And, what’s funny is that for how VERY much I love my complicated 4 hour long-to-create cards? It’s always my CAS cards that people seem to like the best. I wonder what that means? Hmmm….
ANYWAY!!!
The lovely Girl Fridays at CAS-ual Fridays have another great challenge today – The Bold & the Beautiful!! It’s using pastels and BLACK. I like black. Black is my friend. Pastels? Well, those are harder. So, this WAS a challenge for me. I decided to go a bit minimalist with my card and use some pink/lavender tones and two really pretty stamps. I really like how this card turned out. Very fresh and perfect for anyone.
I’m totally in love with chevrons, just like EVERYONE else!! I just thought that instead of taking them across the page I’d do something a bit different with them. I really like this result. And, I used one of my very, very fave techniques with my Nestabilities and embossed ONLY using a small square to add a touch of focus to the sentiment. Purple is a color you either love or hate, right? So I used two soft tones of it and a touch of baby pink. Hope you like it and have a WONDERFUL weekend!! xoxo
{Supplies: Paper: Cardstock – white (Georgia Pacific) Ink: Distress Inks (Ranger) Stamps: Riding By (Market Street Stamps), Fabulous (Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday) Die-cutting/Embossing: Square Nestability (Spellbinders) Accessories: Black Pearls (Kaisercraft), Clear Ultrafine EP (Ranger).}
I haven’t been feeling too hot. Just all kinds of woozy and light-headed. Major headaches and stuff. I’m blaming the weather. And the lack of this guy here in Northern California:
I actually made this card for the VSN (Virtual Stamp Night) on SplitcoastStampers about a week and a half ago. The challenge was to use “sunny colors”. I’m pretty darned sure I accomplished that. It was super easy to make.
Emboss white cardstock using Tim Holtz Rays embossing folder
Use Distress Inks & foam blending tool to create gradient effect
Punch circle from yellow paper remnant (Punch – SU)
Stamp smiley face in black ink on yellow paper remnant & adhere foam tape to back
Position sun “face” on embossed layer and adhere using foam tape. Cut off excess sun “face”.
Adhere embossed layer to other layers.
Stamp sentiment using black in on strip of white cardstock. (Stamp set – Ain’t No Sunshine – Market Street Stamps)
Using square punch, create banner effect on each end. Use glue dots to adhere in place.
SUPER easy, right? I’m sure you could do this with other embossing folders and stamps you have, too. But, I gotta say that even if the sun ain’t shining here in NorCal at least this cutie is smiling and making me happy.
