A Day at the Sea...

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I hate throwing things away, and if I can salvage anything from anywhere to use in a project, I will! For this week's Raspberry Suite Color Challenge (#17 - Red, Aqua, Cream, Chocolate, and Kraft,) I reused a piece of one of my son's onesies from when he was just a tiny babe. I loved the sweet little poem on his red Janie and Jack outfit and saved it -- and now it has found its way onto this card!
BEAN NOTES: Papertrey Ink Fancy Flourishes Stamp; Stampin' Up Baja Breeze Classic Dye Ink; SU Very Vanilla, Real Red, Baja Breeze Cardstock; Kraft Cardstock (generic); Dark Brown Grosgrain Ribbon (generic) Crop-a-Dile Corner Rounder
HAPPY BEANS: Janie and Jack Onesie

Trick or Treat!...

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It's almost October, and I need to get going on my Halloween cards. This week's Mojo Monday sketch is a perfect chance to start, though I realized I don't have that many Halloween supplies! I am going to have to get creative and cobble together what I do have and see what I can come up with. For this card, I decided to stamp a cat image on black cardstock with Palette ink. I love how Stampin' Up's new In-Colors make for great color combos when paired with traditional colors, and here I used Rich Razzleberry with Dusty Durango. The embossed panels were done with my Big Shot and the SU Harlequin Texturz Plates. A little distressing and sponging, and it will be time to "Trick or Treat" before we know it!
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Holiday Best and Cavallini & Co. Animals Stamps; SU Basic Black and Dusty Durango Classic Dye Ink; Palette New Canvas Pigment Ink; SU Whisper White, Dusty Durango, Basic Black, and Rich Razzleberry Cardstock; Crop-A-Dile Corner RounderBlack Embroidery Thread; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Black Brads (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: Big Shot; Sizzix Harlequin Texturz Plate

Kiwi Meets Black...

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The amazing Claire Brennan of Waltzing Mouse Stamps is debuting a new release of her clear stamps and in their honor she challenged us to create a card using our absolute favorite stamp paired with the color green. I had a fun time looking through my stamps and realized that my most beloved stamp is a Stampin' Up from a set called Happy Harmony. I love it because it reminds me of my little boy, who loves to pick dandelions. Having just moved to the big city, there aren't very many opportunities to go flower picking, so it's even more special to me. For this card I paired Kiwi Kiss with Basic Black. After color-washing with distress ink on photo paper, I stamped the image of the dandelion and added a fitting rub-on sentiment.
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Happy Harmony Stamp; SU Love and Happiness Rub-On; SU Kiwi Kiss Classic Dye Ink; Tim Holtz Shabby Shutters and Black Soot Distress Ink; SU Kiwi Kiss, Always Artichoke, and Basic Black Cardstock; Quickutz Retro Diamonds Embossing Folder; Big Shot; Black Organza Ribbon (generic); Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Black Brads (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: Photo Paper

A Bicycle Built for Two...

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Ever since I got the Everyday Button Bits set from Papertrey Ink, I've had the idea in my head to do a "bicycle built for two" using the set's solo bicycle image. I'm usually a bit hesitant to enter the PTI Guest Star Stamper challenge because the submissions created by other participants are jaw-dropping, and I can't begin to imagine coming close to being chosen. But, I was pleased with how this card turned out, so I think I'll enter in the October Previous Set category (gulp!)
To create the bicycle for two, I first stamped the image onto cardstock then masked the back fender and stamped the image again to connect the bicycles. I held my breath as I lifted off the stamp and was happy to see that my idea had worked. I pawed through a mountain of buttons before realizing I simply didn't have three of the same size that would suffice as tires, so I created my own with a Martha Stewart punch. I then added real buttons and stitched them on with some red embroidery thread. I thought the sentiment was fitting, and to give the bike some movement, I stamped a PTI flourish across my cardstock. Rounded corners and a silvery ribbon treatment finished off this humble card.
BEAN NOTES: Papertrey Ink Everyday Button Bits and Fancy Flourishes Stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Stampin' Up Bordering Blue and Ruby Red Classic Dye Ink; SU Stampin Write Markers (Bordering Blue, Ruby Red, and Creamy Caramel); SU Very Vanilla, Ruby Red, and Bordering Blue Cardstock; DCWV Dark Grey Textured Cardstock; Silver Organza Ribbon (generic); Glue Dots (generic); Cream Buttons (generic); Red Embroidery Thread (generic); Crop-A-Dile Corner Rounder HAPPY BEANS: Martha Stewart Button Punch

Blissed Out Birthday...

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It's another Mojo Monday and I have been dreaming about summer, so I thought I'd make a bright, bright birthday card for this week's challenge. I found this cute watermelon paper hiding in my stash and I was sad that I didn't get to use it during the summertime -- then I thought, why not bring back a little sunshine and put it to good use in September? I cut out the individual slices and adhered them in the Mojo pattern and did a little folding on the cheery ribbon for some dimension. Here's a little "Birthday Bliss" for when the cool autumn air comes breezing through town...
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Birthday Bliss Stamp; SU Melon Mambo Classic Dye Ink; KI Designs Sweet Slice Designer Paper; SU Melon Mambo, Green Galore and Whisper White Cardstock; Bright Yellow Cardstock (generic); Yellow Grosgrain Ribbon (generic); Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Creative Impressions Bits of Bling Gems
HAPPY BEANS: Cuttlebug Floral Fantasy Embossing Folder; Big Shot

A Fantastically Magical Birthday...

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It isn't often that I will admit defeat, but this week, I was "thrown down" by the Color Throwdown. Why? I have no idea. The colors were fun: Bermuda Bay, Green Galore, and Barely Banana. Bright, fun, cheerful, right? And the samples from the design team were so adorable! I thought it would be the perfect match with Lynda's Verve Release Week Challenge, which was to bling up a card. But, try as I might, I simply could not come up with something using these colors. Perhaps I was just not in the mood. I had already cut out some Bermuda Bay, and, as I hate to waste supplies, I went ahead and made a birthday card that eventually ended up with the same color scheme as another card I made last week! I did decide to change it up a teeny bit with just a splash of another color -- a little red cherry (who says they're only good on sundaes?)
BEAN NOTES: Papertrey Ink Cupcake Celebration, Verve Birthday Surprise, and Taylored Expressions For the Love of Cupcakes Stamps; SU Bermuda Bay Classic Dye Ink; DCWV Sweet Stack Designer Paper; SU Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, and Riding Hood Red Cardstock; SU Bermuda Bay Grosgrain Ribbon; Paper Shapers 1-3/4" Circle Punch; Fiskars Lace Border Punch; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Sakura Sparkle Clear Jelly Roll Pen HAPPY BEANS: Clear Rhinstones (generic); Ranger Crystal and Xmas Red Stickles

Distressed Thinking...

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The next challenge for this week's Verve Release was Jackie's Technique Challenge: Distressing! What should have been a relatively easy card ended up taking me all day. For this one I knew I wanted to make the focus a flower and I wanted to experiment again with the Faux Suede technique by running it through the Big Shot. I was happy with how my daisy turned out after applying some Distress Ink. Eezy peezy, right? Nope -- I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what to do with it! Wanting to really try out the distressed look, I ended up crumpling up some sky blue vellum which I think worked. (Bean Tip: Vellum will tear and crack very easily, so work slowly.) A little twine, a bit more distressing, and here is my effort. Whew!

BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp; SU Bleu Bayou Classic Dye Ink; Tim Holtz Faded Jeans and Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink; SU Very Vanilla, Apricot Appeal, and Bleu Bayou Cardstock; Making Memories Chloe's Closet Designer Paper; SU Modern Label Punch; SU Sizzix Bigz Flower Daisies #2 Die; Big Shot, SU Hemp Twine; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Button (generic); Bronze Brads (generic)

HAPPY BEANS: Sky Blue Vellum (generic); Tim Holtz Distress Tool

A "KISS" to Feel Better...

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For a few weeks now, the Pals Paper Arts Challenge (brainchild of the inimitable Mary Fish and her fab Design Team) has been putting forth fun sketches and challenges every Thursday -- it's a great mid-week boost to get creative juices flowing! I am finally participating with my first PPA (#8) project, which asked participants to "KISS" (Keep It Simple, Sweetie) with lots of white space. I decided to use Charmaine's Color Challenge (part of Verve's Release Week Challenge) of Deep Purple, Olive, Burnt Orange, and Teal. Interestingly, I thought these colors matched up with Stampin' Up's newest In-Colors perfectly. I added a third challenge to myself, which was to create a card without using a single stamp. I got a lot of use out of my Big Shot and the Sizzix Birds & Blooms die set. The embossed background circle was created using a Nestability and the simple sentiment with an SU Rub-On. A cute little button was the final touch. This cheerful card literally took me 15 minutes, start to finish!
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Whisper White, Dusty Durango, Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay, and Always Artichoke Card Stock; SU Chit-Chat Rub-On; Nestabilities Classic Circle Die & Embossing Pads; White Button (generic); Foam Dimensional Squares (generic) HAPPY BEANS: Big Shot

Thanks By Definition...

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Next on my Verve Release Week Challenge list was Michelle's Color Challenge. The colors Orange Yellow, Deep Brown, Cream, and Grey Green had me thinking of autumn, and I thought I'd get a jump start on a simple card for Thanksgiving. I wanted to use my new Simply Thanks stamp from Stampin' Up, and I was pleased to see that the pumpkin images from Papertrey's Vintage Picnic fit perfectly around the text. To stay with the "simple" theme, I cut out a frame with a hobby blade and added a little flourish using a Cuttlebug die (Bean Tip: this die cut had a pretty little tulip in the middle, which didn't pair with my card, so I simply removed it with scissors). A little watercoloring gave the card a very subtle look, and I popped up the extra pumpkins for just a tiny bit of dimension.
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Simply Thanks and Papertrey Ink Vintage Picnic Stamps; SU Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie, Mellow Moss; and Bordering Blue Classic Dye Ink; SU Very Vanilla and Mellow Moss Cardstock; Dark Brown Metallic Card Stock (generic); Cuttlebug Vintage Die; Big Shot; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Hobby Blade
HAPPY BEANS: Kaiser Brown Pearls; Watercolor Tool

A Wee Delight...

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Our friends at Verve are celebrating another Release Week with an entire week of challenges. I decided to kick things off with a card featuring my favorite little man. When we left St. Paul, the one person we didn't get to say goodbye to was my son's wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Julie Saxton, who is the BEST doctor around. She got us through some tough parenting times, and I thought she would like to see how our rugrat is growing (plus, it might be nice for her to see what he looks like when he's not crying hysterically at the clinic office!)
Julee's sketch was certainly a challenge for me, but I was happy with how this card turned out. This cute shot was taken the day our wee one had his pre-nursery interview (don't ask, it's a long story) and I played with the image in Picasa to make it a focal b/w photo. I decided to play up the rustic color scheme and found this pretty paper in a Christmas packet -- I love it when I can use holiday supplies year-round! The word "Delight" jumped out from the sheet and I positioned it to take the place of a stamped sentiment. A little Distress Ink and a woodgrain stamp brought all the elements together.
BEAN NOTES: Hero Arts Hello Circles Stamp; Stampin' Up Creamy Caramel Classic Dye Ink; Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink; DCWV Ultimate Christmas Stack Designer Paper; Dark Brown Metallic Cardstock (generic); SU Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla, and Riding Hood Red Cardstock; Nestabilities Classic Scallop Square Die; Paper Shapers 1-3/4" Circle and 2" Scallop Circle Punches; Kaiser Dark Brown Pearls; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic) HAPPY BEANS: Basic Grey Ribbon

Heartfelt Thanks (Mojo Monday 103)...

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After what seemed like an interminable hiatus, I am finally back in the card-making universe. I was determined to make a card this week, and I thought what better way to kick-start my mojo than with a Mojo Monday sketch challenge? This week's sketch is terrific, and I decided to create a thank you card for my husband's wonderful Aunt Karen for a very generous and thoughtful house warming gift she sent for our new apartment in New York.
Karen has always treated me as one of the family, and she remembers each and every loved one for every special occasion, be it birthday, anniversary, holiday, or milestone. For her card, I wanted to send something bright and sweet, which is just how I think of her. I hadn't had a chance to try out the new Stampin' Up! In-Colors, so I thought I'd start with Bermuda Bay. I used a bonus stamp from Verve for the sentiment (how much do we LOVE bonuses?) and this whimsical Inkadinkado clear bird stamp (double-stamped to pop up the bird and a few flowers.) For the patterned background, I stamped one of Verve's Miracles Blossom posies in varying shades. To add a little subtle pizazz, I finished off with some sparkly gemstones. I hope this card inspires you -- and it's wonderful to be back!
BEAN NOTES: Verve Heartfelt Thanks and Miracles Blossom and Inkadinkado Birds Galore Stamps; Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay Classic Dye Ink; SU Bermuda Bay and Very Vanilla Cardstock; SU Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware; Cream Organza Ribbon (generic); SU Designer Label and Ticket Corner Punches; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder; Big Shot; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic) HAPPY BEANS: Clear Gemstones (generic)