Coffee Holiday

Today's card is a simple card, as I'm hoping to make a set of them for a family member. The card features Lawn Fawn's Love You A Latte stamp set.

I started by creating the card base out of red cardstock. I trimmed and scored the base into a standard top-folding A2 card base (4 1/4 by 5 1/2"). While I had my trimmer out, I also cut a piece of brown cardstock to be slightly smaller than the base (4 by 5 1/4"), and a piece of latte layering paper to measure 3 3/4 by 5". I also grabbed Lawn Fawn's Snow Day Petite paper pad and cut a piece of snowflake paper to measure 3 3/4 by 2 1/2".

I grabbed my Bigshot and die-cut a circle out of white cardstock and a scalloped circle out of brown cardstock. I stamped a cup and plate from Love You A Latte in brown hybrid ink and quickly colored them in with my Copics. I also stamped the sentiment in brown ink. I adhered the two scalloped circles together and set them aside.

I wanted to make my own background paper, so I stamped the coffee bean all over the latte paper. I made sure some of the beans were stamped off the edge, too.

I assembled the card by adhering the panels with my standard adhesive. I added the scalloped circle with foam squares. Lastly, I adhered one of the adorable Snow Day flair to the corner of the card.

Supplies:
Lawn Fawn Love You A Latte stamp set
Lawn Fawn Snow Day Petite 6x6 paper pad
Lawn Fawn Snow Day Flair
Copics (R11, RV42, R85, B00, B02, B32, V12)
Simon Says Stamp cardstock in Lipstick Red
Hero Arts Latte Layering papers 8 1/2 x 11"
My Favorite Things Hybrid Ink in Chocolate Brown
Stampin' Up Classic Inkpad in Soft Suede
Stampin' Up Cardstock in Chocolate Chip
Stampin' Up Dimensionals foam squares
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive (pink)

Holiday Card #1

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I'm starting Holiday/Christmas cards. Some of the cards will be sets I'll give away to friends and family, others will be one-of-a-kind cards that will go with gifts.

For this first card, I decided to make something that would fit in nicely with the latest Simon Says Stamp Flickr group challenge #4 - which is to use watercolors. It's a bit of a last-minute entry, but it took me a while to decide exactly what I wanted to do.

Since the theme for this week's Wednesday Challenge at Simon Says Stamp is anything goes, I'm adding this card there too.

I started by stamping and Copic coloring The Greeting Farm's Holiday Anya stamp. I used brown hybrid ink to stamp her, which softened her look and made the colors look warmer. There isn't anything particularly different I did with the coloring, though I have to say I'm very happy with how the fuzzy fur turned out. After she was colored in, I cut around her carefully and set her aside to work on the rest of the card.

For my watercolor piece, I used some distress inks - in Salty Ocean, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire. I smooshed the inks onto my craft sheet and added some water with a spritzer. I made sure the colors blended well together and weren't too splotchy. Once the panel was completely dry, I die-cut it into a rounded rectangle with Blueprints 5 dies.

I created the white frame to go around the watercolor piece by partially die-cutting the rectangle I used for the watercolor piece. I left the bottom of the panel uncut, so I could use Simon Says Stamp's Village dies to create a little scene. I die-cut one of the buildings and the trees at the bottom of the white frame, and used a craft knife to finish cutting the frame.

The card base I chose is a simple kraft standard A2 base (4 1/4 by 5 1/2"), and I chose a piece of patterned paper from Kaisercraft's North Pole paper pad. Since the paper had lovely embossed silver snowflakes on it, I decided to bring more of this silver sparkle to the framed panel.

After prepping the sky with my embossing bag, I used Versamark to stamp a great swirly stars stamp from the new Card kit set - Be Joyful. I heat-embossed the image with Simon Says Stamp's silver detail embossing powder.

I adhered the elements together to the card base, using a combination of dot adhesive and foam tape. As a last touch, I added a couple of white enamel dots to the bottom right of the panel, and scattered a few Simon Says Stamp Crystal Reflections sequins around the silver stars.

Supplies:
The Greeting Farm Holiday Anya stamp
Simon Says Stamp Be Joyful stamp
My Favorite Things Hybrid Ink in Chocolate brown
Tsukineko Versamark ink
Simon Says Stamp Silver Fine Detail embossing powder
Inkadinkado Embossing Magic Powder bag
My Favorite Things Blueprints 5 dies
Simon Says Stamp Village dies
Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor cardstock
Neenah Desert Storm Environmental cardstock in 100#lbs
Neenah Solar White cardstock in 80#lbs
Ranger Distress Inkpads in Salty Ocean, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire
Kaisercraft North Pole 6.5x6.5 paper pad
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive (pink)
3M Double-sided foam tape
My Mind's Eye Charmed enamel dots
Simon Says Stamp Crystal Reflections sequins
Ranger Studio Multi-Matte glue
Copics: Skin (E00, E11, E13, E15, R20, R22, 0), Hair (YR23, E35, E37, E29), Dress (R08, R46, R59, R89, B000, B00, BR2, 0, Y11, Y38), Leaves (YG23, YG67, YG99)

SOG- Cowboy Adventure

This is my last card as Some Odd Girl's guest designer. It's been an incredible experience, and I enjoyed every second of it. Each card was a blast to create, and this card is no exception.

For this card, I chose the brand new Cowboy Kody digital stamp, along with the Pirate Kaylee digital stamp. I love how the two of them fit together and made for one adventurous duo. It reminded me of Indiana Jones movies (and yes, I was humming the theme as I colored...)

Read more about the card here.

Supplies:
Some Odd Girl Cowboy Kody and Pirate Kaylee digital stamps
Copics
7 Gypsies Maritime 8x8 patterned paper
Kaisercraft Madame Boutique 6.5x6.5 patterned paper
Freckled Fawn Rustic enamel dots

SOG Retro Hello

Later this week, I will be jumping into Christmas cards. I want to gift a few card sets to family, and a couple of them I'll only get a chance to see at Thanksgiving. So, that means I've got just one month to finish those sets - and it's a month that's going to be extremely busy at work.

Since this will have me in "busy-must-create" mode, I wanted to take a little time and make a card just for fun. No special occasion, no specific theme. Just fun. I went with a slightly retro card, something bright and cheerful.

For this card, I'm using two Some Odd Girl digital stamps: 50s Mae and Skipping Tia. I started by printing them onto some cardstock, then coloring them in with my Copics. I then cut them out carefully and set them aside.

I wanted a fun and slightly funky background, so I pulled out My Favorite Things' Blueprints 15 dies. I cut a stitched rectangle out of Some Odd Girl's Sunshine Sorbet paper. I then used the wonky rectangle to cut a panel out of a paper from Lawn Fawn's Pink Lemonade collection. While I had my Bigshot out, I also die-cut a "hello" sentiment out of a scrap of red cardstock.

For the card base, I used Primitive Cream cardstock, cut and folded into a standard A2 card (4 1/4 by 5 1/2"). I adhered the two patterned paper panels to the base with my standard adhesive, then added Mae and Tia with foam squares. I adhered the hello die with Tombow mono-multi liquid glue.

As a last touch, I added 3 hexie dots to the bottom right corner.

Supplies:
Some Odd Girl 50's Mae, and Skipping Tia digital stamps
Some Odd Girl Sunshine Sorbet 6x6 patterned paper
Lawn Fawn Pink Lemonade paper
My Favorite Things Blueprints 15 dies
The Crafter's Workshop Hello die
My Favorite Things Primitive Cream cardstock
Copics (E00, E11, E13, R20, R22, BG32, BG49, B32, B34, B37, BV25, BV29, R08, R46, R59, Y11, Y38, YR15, B000, B00, E51, E84, E44, E47, 0)
Sakura Gellyroll White Gel Pen
Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive Runner (pink)
Scrapbook Adhesives 3D Thin Foam squares
Some Odd Girl Hexie Dots wood veneer

Concept Trio Challenge - Penguin 3

Today I'm sharing the third and final card in my new challenge series - Concept Trio Challenge. This challenge is where I use the same concepts and ideas, but switch out stamps to make 3 different cards.

You can see the first card I created here, and the second card here. 

As a reminder, here are the shared concepts I'm working with:
- skating penguin with pink cheeks
- circle elements
- palette: white, light gray, light blue, navy and dark purple
- same patterned paper


For the third card, I am using an older penguin set from Fiskars called Winter Wishes. This is a rubber cling stamp set that has a few penguins and a snowman, as well as snowflakes and several sentiments.  I got this set a while ago, and never got around to using it.


Since the skating penguin from this set is quite a bit larger than the other penguins, I decided to also make the circle larger - and change the technique from masking and blending with a tool to using watercolor. I used one of the stitched circles STAX dies from My Favorite Things to cut a circle out of regular white cardstock. Now, normally, you'd want to use watercolor paper here to get a smooth result. But I wanted to have a bit of a grittier texture, so I used plain heavyweight cardstock.


I pulled out my craft mat and smooshed the 3 distress inkpads onto it - Broken China, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire. I sprayed it with a fine mist spray, then pressed the circle down, wiggling it a bit so colors would blend in. I turned it over, dabbed the excess with an edge of a paper towel and set it aside to dry completely. Once it dried, I deepened the edges of the circle by blending in a bit of Chipped Sapphire ink. The end result was a circle that looked a bit like a snowglobe - which is very much fun.

While that was drying, I stamped the penguin with black ink, and colored him in with Copics. As with the other cards, I kept the coloring very simple, using just 2 colors per shade and blending them out. I carefully cut around the image, and set it aside.

Since the night sky circle is so much larger on this card, I decided to balance it out by using a navy card base. I cut and scored a piece of navy cardstock into a standard top-folding A2 card. While I had my trimmer out, I also cut a light grey panel that measures 4 by 5 1/4" and a white panel that measures 3 3/4 by 5".

I adhered the patterned paper to the gray panel, then added the white panel on top. I adhered the circle, making sure to use extra adhesive so it would stay flat. Then I added the skating penguin. I adhered the panels to the card base with foam tape.

I stamped one of the sentiments from the Winter Wishes set onto a piece of white cardstock and trimmed it into a fish-tail banner. I adhered it to the card with foam tape.

As a last touch, I adhered 3 purple buttons next to the sentiment with glue dots.

Supplies:
Fiskars Winter Wishes stamp set
MFT Hybrid Ink in Black Licorice
Copic Mini Marker Pad 70#lbs
Copics (100, YR15, YR68, B91, B32, R22, B000, B00)
Ranger Distress Inkpads - Broken China, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire
MFT Stitched Circle STAX dies
Neenah Solar White 80#lbs cardstock
Simon Says Stamp cardstock in Soft Navy, and Fog
Chickaniddy Crafts Jolly Good 6x6 patterned paper
3M Double-Sided Foam Tape
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive Runner
MFT Buttons in Grape Jelly

Concept Trio Challenge: Penguin 2

My last card introduced a brand new challenge - Concept Trio Challenge. In this challenge, I create 3 cards that have a common theme or concept, but use different stamp sets.

You can see the first card I created here.

For this challenge, my shared concepts are:
- skating penguin with pink cheeks
- circle elements
- palette: white, light gray, light blue, navy and dark purple
- same patterned paper

This card uses the very adorable mini set from Lawn Fawn called Winter Penguin. Since this stamp is a bit smaller and more intricate, I also used the matching Winter Penguin die to cut out the penguin. After stamping the penguin onto some marker paper, I used my Copics to color in the penguin, sticking to very simple colors. I added a few white dots to his scarf for a bit of extra texture.

Like the previous card, I trimmed a white piece of cardstock to measure 3 3/4 by 5", and decided to mask off a circle I would color with distress inkpads and round blending tools. But before I could do this, I needed to take a minute to think about the stamp and circle placement.

I'd decided that I wanted to do something a bit more fun with the sentiment - make it look like the penguin had etched the word "happy" with his skates. This meant that I needed to change my card layout and switch to a landscape mode.

Since Winter Penguin is smaller in size, I made the masked circle smaller too. I started by blending Broken China ink, switched to Dusty Concord to deepen the color and, lastly, used Chipped Sapphire to really darken the edges. I took off the mask and added a few dots with my white gel pen.

I adhered the Winter Penguin to the corner of the circle with thin foam squares, then stamped the sentiment next to it with black ink. I used a black marker pen to just slightly extend the end loop of "happy" and bring it closer to the penguin's skate.

As with the last card, I adhered a 2-inch strip of patterned paper to a light gray card base. I adhered the penguin panel to the card with foam tape.

For the embellishment, I switched to sequins, and added 3 of them near the top of the card.

Supplies:
Lawn Fawn Winter Penguin stamp set
Lawn Fawn Winter Penguin die
Copic Mini Marker Pad 70lbs
My Favorite Things Hybrid Ink in Black Licorice
Copics (BV25, BV29, YR15, YR68, B91, B32, R22, B000, B00)
Sakura Gellyroll White Gel Pen
Neenah Solar White cardstock 80#lbs
Simon Says Stamp cardstock in Fog
Chickaniddy Crafts Jolly Good 6x6 paper pad
Ranger Distress inkpads in Broken China, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire
Pretty Pink Posh Cobalt sequins 6mm
Pretty Pink Posh Silver sequins 4mm
Scrapbook Adhesives Thin 3D foam squares
3M Double-sided foam tape
Ranger Studio Multi-Matte glue
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive (pink)

Concept Trio Challenge: Penguin 1

One of the crafty goals I've set for myself is to make use of the things I own, but I wanted to go about it carefully. I didn't want to make things just for the sake of saying I'm done and I can cross them off my list. I wanted to continue making things that I love, things that are still me - only without a weekly shopping spree.

Looking at all of the stamps I own and want to use was overwhelming. Do I tackle them alphabetically? By purchase date? By manufacturer? Or something entirely different? I've had this feeling in the past, and the way I'd get through it was to browse Pintrest or social media until some creative idea popped into my head. And, unfortunately, it usually also ended with a discovery of new products I just needed to have.

Since I'm actively avoiding Pintrest now, I had to think of something else. I grabbed my "idea" notepad and read through some of the recent entries. One of the things I'd written is that I wanted to make more Stamping Trio Challenge cards. Having a focus like that sounded right, but it didn't help me decide which stamp to use first.

It did inspire me, however, to come up with a brand new challenge - Concept Trio Challenge. Like the original inspiration, this challenge will require 3 different cards. The cards will share several common ideas, colors, concepts or layouts. But they will use different stamps.

For this challenge, my shared concepts are:
- skating penguin with pink cheeks
- circle elements
- palette: white, light gray, light blue, navy and dark purple
- same patterned paper

I started this card by stamping the penguin and ice from Mama Elephant's Arctic Penguins stamp set on a piece of Copic marker paper. I quickly colored them in with my Copics, then careful cut around the image.

I cut a 3 3/4 by 5" panel out of white cardstock. I masked off a large circle near the top of the panel. I knew I wanted the penguin to be on the left side, so I made the circle off-center and to the right.

I wanted to go with a darker night sky, maybe with a hint of northern lights. First, I blended in some Broken China ink all over the circle. I switched to Dusty Concord and blended some purple in, mainly focusing in the upper right area and the sides of the circle. Lastly, I switched to Chipped Sapphire and deepened the edges of the circle. Then I took the mask off (love that part!). I added some stars to the circle with a white gel pen.

I adhered the penguin to the bottom left edge of the circle with my standard adhesive.  Since Arctic Penguins has no sentiments, I chose a loopy and whimsical Christmas sentiment from Clearly Besotted All Occasion Sentiment stamp set, and stamped it in black.

I adhered a 2" strip of patterned paper to my card base. Then, I adhered the front panel with foam tape.

Lastly, I added 3 enamel dots to the upper right of the sky circle.

Supplies:
Mama Elephant Arctic Penguins stamp
Clearly Besotted All Occasion Sentiments stamp
My Favorite Things Hybrid Ink in Black Licorice
Tsukineko Versafine inkpad in Onyx Black 
Simon Says Stamp cardstock in Fog
Neenah Solar White cardstock in 80lbs
Copic Mini Marker Pad 70lbs
Copics (YR15, YR68,R22, B000, B00)
Ranger Distress Inkpads in Broken China, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive Runner (pink)
Chickaniddy Crafts Jolly Good 6x6 paper pad
3M Double-sided Foam Tape
Studio Calico South of Market enamel dots

Crafty Goals Progress Update - Spending Freeze & Some Ideas

3 weeks ago, I posted some of my crafty musings and goals, so I thought I'd post a little update on how I'm doing - as well as share a few more ideas on how I'm planning on keeping myself on track.

I'm now officially on a spending freeze, and have not made any crafty supplies purchases for a week. A week doesn't sound like very long, but I'm excited because I haven't felt like I wanted to buy anything for an entire week either. This is pretty major for me, as the last few months I've caught myself buying a bunch of stuff and then going back the next day (or next hour!) to fill up the cart with another bunch of things I "needed". So, having a week where I didn't think about or plan a shopping trip is pretty amazing. I'm hoping that I can keep up this momentum and resist rushing to the store when new product releases happen.

I bought a few notepads and pens, as well as a basket to help me stay better organized and on top of my use-everything project.

One of the notepads is my "idea" place. I plan to jot down ideas and concepts for stamps, make quick card layout sketches and write down color and pattern combinations I want to try out. Since I'm avoiding Pintrest, I thought it would be very useful to have something I can look at when I feel like I'm running short on creativity or when I want to try something new.

Another notepad is my "records" place, where I will write down the different cards I need to make or ought to have in my stash -- things like holiday cards, birthday cards, sympathy cards and so on. I'd like to avoid having to make a card quickly 30 minutes before I need to give it to someone, and a good card stash will help with that. I'm also going to write down which stamps and papers I've used already, so I can avoid always using the same things.


The basket is going to hold the material for my next card. Last year, I had toyed with the idea of taking up knitting as a hobby -- didn't quite happen, as I got to paper-crafting first. But one of the things I remember watching at the time is a craft room video. The crafty knitter had a basket out where she kept the yarn she was planning on using next. She mentioned that seeing the basket reminded her of what project she wanted to start next and kept her from only grabbing her newest yarn (because she remembered it best).

I decided to take this idea and turn it into a card project basket. The basket will have the materials I'll need to make my next card, and I will fill it up with new project materials after I've made the card. What I like about this is:
- it eliminates that time I spend just staring at my supplies to try and figure out what to make, or the likelihood I'll feel like I have to sit down and look at Pintrest to get inspired.
- I can go with a concept from my idea notepad, or I can challenge myself by just pulling random supplies.
- I can make the next project a little easier by die-cutting some things ahead of time, or by coloring things in ahead of time.

So, this is where I am right now -- very excited, brimming with ideas and right on-track. :)

SOG Guest DT 2

My second guest design team project for Some Odd Girl is now up! It's still completely unbelievable and so amazing to see my work up there...

This card uses 2 stamps. The first is a brand new Bandit Wizard digi, which is what you see on the card front. It's a fabulous stamp that goes just perfectly with Halloween. But the first thing that popped into my head was this song. And that sounded like a great anniversary/love song - just a touch of darkness, perfect for those who want to do something romantic for Halloween.

I colored in the wizard bandit in dark grays, adding a bit of fluffy texture to his fur with small circular motions. I used a combination of pink and purple for his hat and cloak, and finished off with gold. After he was completely colored in, I cut around him with scissors and my craft x-acto knife.

I kept the background pretty simple, adding a few rectangles of bold Valentine paper. For the sentiment, I decided to make use of some of my letter stickers. I purposefully kept them crooked, adding a bit of whimsical charm.

For the inside, I used the clear bandit stamp set Love Bandit. I wrote in the rest of the lyrics by hand and added just a bit of red to the heart to tie it to the card front.

Simple, fun and unexpected. :)

Supplies:
Some Odd Girl Bandit Wizard digital stamp
Some Odd Girl Love Bandit digital stamp
Neenah Desert Storm Environmental cardstock in 100#lbs
Avery Elle Whipped Cream heavyweight cardstock
My Favorite Things Hybrid Ink in black licorice
American Crafts Valentine 6x6 paper pad
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive Runner (pink)
Webster's Pages Nest Little Letters Stickers
Copics (C2, C4, C6, C8, BV01, BV11, BV13, BV25, BV29, 100, R20, R22, Y11, Y35, Y38,  YR15)
Wink of Stella (clear)
Sakura Gellyroll white gel pen

With Sympathy

I think almost every card-maker struggles with sympathy cards. Card making is such a joyous and fun process that it seems almost wrong to create something for an occasion that's painful and sad. But a sympathy card can also be a source of comfort for the recipient.

This card wasn't made with anyone particular in mind, thankfully. I've stopped buying greeting cards from the store entirely, so I decided to create a small stash for myself with cards that would cover almost any occasion. Since I've been hitting pockets of being too busy to craft, I realize more than ever how valuable and important such a stash can be.

I started by cutting and scoring a piece of navy cardstock into a standard top-folding A2 card base (4 1/4 by 5 1/2"). Then I grabbed my Bigshot and cut out several stitched rectangular panels. I used a white woodgrain cardstock for the largest panel, a soft brown for the middle and plain white for the top.

I stamped several flower silhouettes from MFT's Peaceful Wildflowers in light gray ink, using second-generation stamping to add lighter images for extra depth. Second generation stamping is when you ink up a stamp, stamp it once on some scrap paper and the second time on your cardstock. It leaves you with a much lighter, faded or translucent image, which is perfect for the times you want a more subtle touch.

I stamped a sentiment from MFT's Grand Peaceful Wildflowers in navy ink.

I wanted to add a ribbon, but not add bulk to the card so it could be mailed out. So, I simply adhered a piece of ribbon to the middle panel, dividing it in half. I adhered the top panel to the middle panel with my standard adhesive, then mounted it on the woodgrain panel with foam tape. Lastly, I adhered the 3 panels to the card front, and the card was finished.

Supplies:
My Favorite Things Peaceful Wildflowers stamp
My Favorite Things Grand Peaceful Wildflowers stamp
My Favorite Things Hybrid ink in Nightshift Blue
Stampin' Up Classic inlkpads in Sahara Sand and Crumb Cake
Simon Says Stamp cardstock in Soft Navy, and in White Woodgrain
Neenah Solar White cardstock in 80lbs
Bazzill canvas cardstock in Fawn
My Favorite Things Blueprints 13 dies
Mama Elephant Femme Frames dies
Lawn Fawn Stitched Journaling card die
Stampin' Up Whisper White Organza ribbon
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive Runner (pink)
3M Double-sided Foam Tape

Penny Black - Merry Christmas

Work was very busy for me this past week, which left me no time to get crafty, or even post much otherwise. But now that it's the weekend, I'm hoping to change that and get a good start on my holiday cards.

One of the things I'd like to do this year is make a couple of sets of cards for a few friends and family. Of course, making sets is only efficient if I don't end up spending an hour or five per card. So, I had to come up with something that was both simple and easy to do.

I pulled out another Penny Black acrylic stamp set from my stash - Christmas Outdoors. This set features several really cute images that seemed quick and easy to color. Since there were no sentiments in the set, I decided to pair it with Hero Arts' Snowman Christmas set.

I cut the base out of kraft cardstock, scoring and folding it into a top-folding A2 base (4 1/4 by 5 1/2"). While I had my trimmer out, I also cut a piece of red cardstock to measure 4 by 5 1/4, and a piece of white cardstock to measure 3 3/4 by 5".

I stamped the image from Christmas Outdoors with black ink, then colored it in with my Copics. I kept the coloring very simple, choosing only 2 shades per color. I liked the simplicity of using just the two colors, as I think it goes really well with the cartoon-y design of the stamp. After the coloring was done, I added a few small highlights with my white gel pen.

I stamped the sentiment in Onyx Black ink. And that's all there was to it! It's simple, easy to replicate and can be made slightly different with different coloring and by switching out the red cardstock with another color.

Supplies:
Penny Black Christmas Outdoors acrylic stamp set
Hero Arts Snowman Christmas stamp set
Neenah Desert Storm environmental cardstock in #110lbs
Simon Says Stamp Heavyweight cardstock in Lipstick Red
Stampin' Up Whisper White cardstock
My Favorite Things Hybrid Ink in Black Licorice
Tsukineko Versafine in Onyx Black
Copics (E00, E11, R20, E35, E37, R05, R46, B02, B05, BG10, BG32, R81, R85, BV25, YR15, E35, E37)
Sakura Gellyroll White Gel Pen

Scarecrow (Guest DT)

Okay, I am super, SUPER, SUPER excited about this card!!!! A short while back, I was the incredibly lucky winner of a guest designer spot for Some Odd Girl for October's digi releases. After practically picking my jaw off the floor and dancing around the room, I got in touch with the amazing DT ladies and we got things rolling.

And ta-da! You can see my card on the Some Odd Girl blog (squee! So exciting!!!)


I started by downloading and printing the Scarecrow digi onto some Copic X-Press It Blending cardstock. I colored him in with my Copics. I had quite a few palette ideas, but finally decided to go with autumn colors. And since he had so many little details, I could still sneak in some brighter colors on the clothes patches and the birds.

After he was colored in, I cut him out with a pair of sharp scissors, leaving a small white border. I set him aside to work on the rest of the card.

I made my card base by cutting and scoring a piece of Kraft cardstock into a standard top-folding A2 card (4 1/4 by 5 1/2").

I found a patterned paper that perfectly matched the tones in the drawing, and I pulled out several sheets. One of my favorite details on the stamp is the button eye and the stitching, so I decided to incorporate circles and stitches into the design.

I used my Bigshot to cut out several shapes: scalloped rectangle from brown cardstock, stitched rectangle from blue paper and a stitched circle from yellow paper. I also cut a simple strip of red chevron paper for extra interest.

I played around with layering all the elements together until I was happy with how they looked. I adhered them to the card base, then adhered the Scarecrow with my standard adhesive.

The rest of the embellishments came together very quickly. I added a sprinkling of enamel dots in the bottom left corner. I used a piece of flair instead of a sentiment, and found a label sticker that matched it perfectly.

Supplies:
Some Odd Girl Scarecrow digital stamp
Copic X-Press It Blending cardstock
Copics (Y21, E33, E35, E39, E29, E57, E59, E79, E07, R59, R89, E50, E53, R20, 0, BV01, BV13, G24, YG67, B02, B05, G14, C4, C6, C8, 100, YR23, Y35, Y11, B91, B95, B99, YR15, YR27, BG32, BG49)
Little Yellow Bicycle Feels Like Home 6x6 patterned paper Tombow Dot Adhesive Runner (pink)
Neenah Desert Storm Environmental Cardstock in 100#lbs
Stampin' Up cardstock in Chocolate Chip
Mama Elephant Femme Frames dies
My Favorite Things Stitched Circle STAX dies
Jillibean Soup Labels stickers
Lawn Fawn Into the Woods Flair 
Studio Calico Essentials Yellows & Oranges Enamel Dots
Green Enamel Dots

Soya Pumpkin

It's the weekend, and time for another digi stamp creation. Today's card uses the stamp Soya: Love Pumpkin, by MilkCoffee.

After printing out the stamp and trimming it into a small rectangle, I colored Soya in with Copics. I tried a new combination for blonde hair-color, and I really like how it turned out. For the background, I went with a simple single color, working in a circular motion to create a cloudy effect. I also added some dark green dots around Soya, just for a bit of extra interest.

I rounded the corners of the rectangle panel with my corner chomper, and set it aside to work on the rest of the card.

I cut and scored a piece of Primitive Cream cardstock into a standard A2 card (4 1/4 by 5 1/2). While my paper trimmer was still out, I trimmed a piece of patterned paper from Chickaniddy's Scrumptious paper pad into 3 3/4 by 5". I liked this paper in particular because it's got a very interesting brushed gradient effect, and it includes both oranges and green hues. I adhered the background to the card base with my standard adhesive.

I found a couple of thin strips of dark gray cardstock, and I cut them into a flag shape. I did the same flag shape on one of the scraps of the Chickaniddy paper, and layered the 3 strips to adhere to the card base. I added in Soya's panel, using foam tape.

I stamped a simple hello sentiment from Simon Says Stamp's Warm Wishes stamp set in black ink. It felt like the card was still missing something, so I added a few colorful sequins from the Crystal Reflections mix.

Lastly, I used my white gel pen to add some stitching lines around the flags.

Supplies:
MilkCoffee Soya: Love Pumpkin digital stamp
Simon Says Stamp with Darkroom Door Warm Wishes stamp set
My Favorite Things Heavyweight Cardstock in Primitive Cream
Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black inkpad
Chickaniddy Scrumptious 6x6 paper pad
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive runner (pink)
Copics (E00, E11, E13, E15, R20, YR23, E23, E37, YR15, YR68, R05, B32, B34, G97, G99, G21, 0)
3M Double-sided Foam Tape
Simon Says Stamp Crystal Reflections sequins
Ranger Studio Multi-Matte glue
Sakura Gellyroll white gel pen

SSS - Flickr Challenge 3

I created this card for the Simon Says Stamp Flickr challenge #3. The challenge was to incorporate a tag into your creation. I decided to go with a clean and simple card, and mane use of some of the new exclusive stamp sets I recently got from the Simon Says Stamp store.

I started by cutting out a label from white cardstock, using Simon Says Stamp Borders die. This cut out a label shape, which I turned into a tag by cutting down the bottom so it was straight and using a hole punch to punch a hole at the top of the tag.

I stamped a cup, leaves and flower from Simon Says Stamp's Cups and Succulents stamp set. I colored the image in with my Copics. I added a few accents with my white gel pen, and used my clear Wink of Stella glitter brush to add some glitter to the pink flower.

I created my base out of Neenah Solar White cardstock, making it a standard A2 base (4 1/4 by 5 1/2"). For the paper, I used My Mind's Eye Just Sayin' 6x6, and I cut a striped piece to measure 3 3/4 by 5". I found a piece of gray cardstock in my scraps stash, and used it to mat the patterned paper. I adhered them to the card base with my standard adhesive.

For the sentiment, I used Simon Says Stamp's Greetings and Succulents stamp set and Versafine Onyx Black ink. After the sentiment was stamped, I adhered the tag, using foam squares. As a last touch, I added 3 enamel dots to the bottom right side of the card.

Supplies:
Simon Says Stamp Cups and Succulents stamp
Simon Says Stamp Greetings and Succulents stamp
Simon Says Stamp Borders dies
My Favorite Things Hybrid ink in Black Licorice
Tsukineko Versafine in Onyx Black
Copics (B000, YG13, YG17, G29, R81, R85)
Neenah Solar White #110lbs cardstock
Gray cardstock
My Mind's Eye Just Sayin' 6x6 paper pad
Tombow craft dot adhesive runner (pink)
Scrapbook Adhesives 3D foam squares
Freckled Fawn Greens Essentials enamel dots

Power Poppy Azalea

This week has been a bit of a challenge. Between projects for work and trying to clean and organize, I've found myself with virtually no time to get crafty. But I managed to steal a moment to do some Copic coloring in between errands, and I whipped up a quick card with it this morning.

This card features a stamp by a company that's new to me - Power Poppy stamps. The stamp set is a photo-polymer set called Azalea. One thing that drew me immediately to Power Poppy (and ended with a few sets in my cart) is the stamp style. The flowers look like botanical illustrations, which is a style I have adored ever since I was a little girl. So, you can imagine my absolute joy at finding several gorgeous stamp sets I could play with. I'm happy to report that the shipping was pretty quick, and the package arrived here safely. The stamps were lovingly wrapped with handmade paper, twine and there was a very sweet hand-lettered thank you note included. It's definitely put a smile on my face.

Now onto the card...

I started by stamping the Azalea branch onto some Copic marker paper with MFT's Black licorice hybrid ink. I colored the image in with my Copics. I chose to go for peachy pinks for the flowers, and colored the leaves a vibrant green. I didn't look up references for the colors, just coloring in as I felt like it should look. But if you're not sure how things should be colored, the stamp's sale page has several wonderful examples to inspire you.

After the image was colored, I cut it into an oval with my Sizzix Oval framelits. I wanted to have some kind of a border around the flowers, so I cut a larger scalloped oval from a dark gray cardstock with Sizzix scalloped oval framelits. I adhered the two together with my standard adhesive. While I had my Bigshot out, I used the larger frame from Mama Elephant's Femme Frames to cut a piece of striped patterned paper.

I wanted to continue with the peachy tones for embellishments, so I grabbed some light coral ribbon and tied it around the patterned paper. I decided I liked the clean look, so I didn't add any other embellishments.

For the card base, I used a piece of cream cardstock that was cut and folded into a standard A2 card (4 1/4 by 5 1/2"). I adhered the patterned paper to the card base with foam tape, then added the flower panel (also with foam tape).

I've added this card to the Power Poppy challenge! :)

Supplies:
Power Poppy Azalea clear stamp set
My Favorite Things Hybrid Inkpad in Black Licorice
Sizzix Framelits in Oval and Scalloped Oval
Mama Elephant Femme Frames
Heidi Swapp Mixed Company 6x6 patterned paper
Avery Elle Heavyweight Cardstock in Whipped Cream
3M Double-Sided foam tape
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive runner (pink)
Copics (E35, E37, YG13, YG17, G29, YR21, YR15, R11, R42, R85, V96, BV01, BV04)

Secret Stamp Club: Sage

This card features the new Secret Stamp Club stamp from The Greeting Farm. Her name is Sage, and the second I saw her, I just had to color her right away. She is adorable! She has a cute little skull on her bow, and is wearing a Gothic dress -which works perfect for Halloween.

After stamping Sage onto a piece of Copic marker paper, I colored her in with my Copics. There wasn't anything special about the coloring, other than adding some line-free blue to her eyes and having fun with her hair. After the coloring was done, I added lots of white dots to her outfit with a white gel pen.

I carefully cut around her and set her aside while I got the rest of the card ready. I created a standard A2 card base out of black cardstock, by cutting and folding it in half.

Since Sage had a cute-n-spooky vibe going, I decided to use Doodlebug's Ghouls & Goodies paper pad. I cut a stitched rectangle panel out of the owl paper using Mama Elephant's Femme Frames. Since both the background and Sage were dark, I decided to use a brighter pattern behind Sage to make her stand out a little better. I cut a pumpkins rectangle using the smaller rectangle in MFT's Blueprints 1 dies.

I adhered the owl paper straight to the base with my standard adhesive, then added the pumpkin rectangle and Sage using foam squares. As a last touch, I added 3 purple enamel dots.

Supplies:
The Greeting Farm (Secret Stamp Club #10): Sage stamp
My Favorite Things Hybrid Ink in Black Licorice
Copic Mini Marker pad (70lbs)
Bazzill Licorice Twist heavyweight cardstock
Doodlebug Ghouls & Goodies 6x6 paper pad
Mama Elephant Femme Frames dies
My Favorite Things Blueprints 1 dies
Doodlebug Sprinkles enamel dots in Lilac
Stampin' Up Dimensionals foam adhesive
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive runner
Sakura Gellyroll White Gel Pen
Copics: Skin (E00, E11, E13, 15, R20, R22, 0), Eyes (B02, B05), Outfit (C4, C6, C8, V12, V04, V17, W2, W4), Hair (BV17, BV25, BV29)

Hello Feathered Friend

Yesterday was World Card Making Day, and I decided to celebrate by making a fun card. This card features a fun stamp set from Lawn Fawn that was created in collaboration for the Stamptember celebration at Simon Says Stamp. Feathered Friends is, unfortunately, no longer available for sale. But Lawn Fawn does have lots of adorable birds in many of their other sets. So it would be entirely possible to remake this card with other feathered critters.

I started by grabbing a piece of white cardstock and cutting it down to 3 1/2 by 5 1/2". I stamped the lines in brown ink. I decided to use prismacolor pencils. Since I only have 18 pencils, it somewhat limits the amount of color I can add in. So, I decided to use colorful ink to outline the birds and help with the shading. Using different colors for the outline also helps soften the images, so it's a great trick for when you don't want too much contrast.

I colored the birds in with prismacolor pencils, keeping the shading very simple. The area around the birds looked a bit too empty, so I stamped a bunch of musical notes using second-generation stamping. This technique is done by inking up a stamp, stamping it on scratch paper first and then onto your card. It results in a much lighter and translucent stamped image, which is just perfect for adding a subtle touch.

I stamped the sentiment from Feathered friends using Versafine Onyx Black pigment ink.

I created the card base out of Simon Says Stamp's Lemon Chiffon cardstock, making it a standard top-folding A2 base (4 1/4 by 5 1/2"). I covered the front of the card with a piece of Chill paper, from Lawn Fawn's Sweater Weather collection, then adhered the bird panel with foam tape.

As a last touch, I scattered a few Simon Says Stamp Fall Festival sequins around the birds.

Supplies:
Lawn Fawn Stamptember Exclusive Feathered Friends stamp set
Stampin' Up Classic Inkpad in Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Bermuda Bay, Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist and Pumpkin Pie
My Favorite Things Hybrid Ink in Grape Jelly
Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black pigment inkpad
Simon Says Stamp Lemon Chiffon cardstock
Lawn Fawn Chill paper (from Sweater Weather collection)
Simon Says Stamp Fall Festival sequins
Ranger Studio Multi-Matte glue
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive Runner (pink)
3M Double-Sided Foam Tape

Baby Bunny

This card uses a lovely old set by Penny Black called Touch of Whimsy. I bought this stamp set ages ago because I simply fell in love with the images. They have a beautiful whimsical design, and a combination of storybooks and ancient Chinese scroll art. I don't think I've ever seen a stamp set quite like it.

I was not pleased with my purchase originally. I didn't realize this, but Penny Black clear stamps are acrylic and I've been used to working with photo-polymer stamps. So, to switch to an acrylic stamp was a challenge and I hated my early results. But although Penny Black clear stamps are acrylic, they're still of a very good quality. I just had to change my stamping approach a bit to make them work perfectly. So, I decided to use one of the bunny stamps and have fun with the card.

I started by die-cutting a scalloped rectangle from My Favorite Things' Blueprints 1 dies, using a gray cardstock. I also cut a front panel out of white cardstock, using the larger rectangle from Blueprints 1. I then grabbed my trimmer and cut a strip of striped brown patterned paper.

I stamped the bunny in the corner of the panel, using Ranger Archival ink in Coffee. I then used my Prismacolor pencils to color in the bunny, going with greens and reds for some great contrast - and because they're gender-neutral colors.

I stamped a sentiment from Clearly Besotted's Sweet Little Sentiments at the bottom left of the panel, then adhered the white panel to the gray scallop. I adhered the patterned paper at the center of a card base, and added the front panel with foam squares.

The card needed a little shine, so I added a few sequins I got as a lovely gift with one of my Winnie & Walter orders. They're clear sequins, but they shimmer and shine a rainbow of hues when the light catches them. It's really quite lovely.

Supplies:
Penny Black A Touch of Whimsy stamp
Clearly Besotted Sweet Little Sentiments stamp
Ranger Archival ink in Coffee
Neenah Solar White cardstock in #110lbs (base) and #80lbs (front panel)
Gray cardstock
Stampin' Up Designer Series Paper Lullaby
My Favorite Things Blueprints 1 dies
3M Double-Sided Foam Tape
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive Runner (pink)
Prismacolor Pencils
Winnie & Walter sequins

Crafty thoughts and goals

Okay, time for some honest musings... I'm sharing this because I'm hoping it will help someone else out there. I'm probably not the only person to be in this position, at least that's what I surmise by chatter I see here and there. By sharing my thoughts, maybe it'll spark an idea or two for you too. And if not, I hope it will at least be an entertaining read while helping me get my thoughts and feelings in order.

I had spent the last couple of days trying to clean and re-organize my craft storage and it's led to a lot of reflection and thinking. The cleaning and organizing part, of course, was invigorating and much needed, as my collection of paper, stamps and cardstock has grown and grown and grown. But as I went through all the different supplies, I came to the staggering realization that I haven't used probably 80% of my stash. 80%!!! That is huge! Not only in terms of money, but in terms of space, too - which I am starting to run very low on. And let's not even talk about the mountains of scraps I'd saved from papers and cardstock...

If I'm perfectly honest with myself (and this was really hard to admit because I can justify every purchase and I felt no buyers' remorse), my spending was starting to get out of hand. I'm extremely lucky in that I could and still can afford to buy all of these wonderful products and supplies to play with, and card making has made me feel a lot happier and more content lately. But if all the majority of my supplies are going to do is sit in my closet and look pretty in their storage pockets, it's still a waste of money. And I really hate being wasteful - especially with something that's supposed to be creative and fulfilling.

Another thing I had to really reflect on and kind of hammer into my consciousness is that I don't have to compete with design teams. I truly and honestly appreciate seeing the amazing design team projects that are shared. They are a fabulous source of inspiration, and a great way to start looking at stamps creatively. And, boy are they enablers! (in the good sense). But putting so much focus on feeling inspired by what the design teams were doing has also led to some unsettling thoughts on my behalf.

I'd caught myself in the excitement of new products, and felt like I really needed so many new things. In reality, I didn't. I didn't need 20 different bunny pictures or 20 inkpads and 20 different cardstock colors. I wanted them, yes, but I didn't need them. And that difference between want and need is incredibly important - especially if I want to have a crafty budget and stay within it.

And that's something that I would really like... To have a reasonable budget and know I can shop for fun, but at the same time be responsible and have card making be what it's supposed to be for me -- a fun hobby. I'd like to have many wonderful creations and inspiring designs, while at the same time being balanced and smart about it.

So, I sat down to make a plan, and to make some changes, and here are some things that I decided on:
1) Total spending freeze for the next month or two.
I need to kick things off with a fresh slate, and I've been making way too many impulse buys lately. Especially when there's a sale going on! I succumb to the whole "wow, this is so cheap!" and end up getting things that I didn't really even want, but couldn't pass up.
This step is the scariest of the bunch for me because I like to be stocked up. I have back-ups of my back-ups (lol!). I always fear that I'll run out of something right as I'm about to make a card and the whole card will be ruined. Which is pretty silly, really, because a change in design could turn out to be the best thing ever. I mean, some of my best cards were cards where I challenged and limited myself -- like the Stamp Trio challenges.
2) Avoid Pintrest.
It's a time sink, and an enabler and as much as I love seeing all the gorgeous cards people pin , I get too caught up in it. I spend an hour looking at lovely cards instead of spending an hour crafting. And I always find more things I need to add to my shopping list.
3) Use up supplies.
Especially patterned paper and embellishments. I didn't buy them to own, I bought them to make pretty things with. So, I'm going to challenge myself to throw caution to the wind and use all of those favorite things. They were bought to be used, not to be owned (and yes, I will need to repeat this to myself as a mantra!).
4) Make at least one card with every single stamp and paper I own.
This is going to take me ages! But I need to do it. I need to create all of these things that I imagined when I bought the supplies, and I need to stop pushing myself to be on trend with what everyone else is doing. Being on trend is wonderful and exciting, but it's okay to stray off the beaten path too. That's how trends starts, actually. One person did something very different and it caught on.

And there you have it. My super long, rambling monologue that feels absolutely terrifying to post because it's sharing all those things that make me feel vulnerable -- worries, fears, failings and faults. But I need to say it to someone other than myself. And I'm crossing my fingers that accountability will help.

Baby Sage

Today's card is a baby card, featuring Whimsy Wee One stamp. I wanted to make a baby card using soft colors, so I decided to use some of my distress markers and watercolor. I'm pretty pleased with the results, and hopefully the card's recipient will like it too.

I had a standard A2 card base from white cardstock left over from a previous project, so I decided to make use if it.

I started by stamping the baby and carriage onto some Distress Watercolor cardstock, using Coffee Archival ink. Then I taped the cardstock onto a stiff board and started watercoloring.

I used distress marker, aiming for gender-neutral colors. I didn't do anything special in terms of coloring - simply laid down flat color in various areas, making sure I didn't work on two touching areas so the colors wouldn't spill. Once the image was completely dry, I used the brush tip of the markers to add in some shadows where needed. I think this added just enough depth while keeping the colors even. If the transition was too stark, I simply used a damp (not very wet) brush tip to soften the transition.

I stamped a sentiment from Avery Elle's Storybook stamp set in the upper left corner, using the same Coffee ink.

Once the image was completely dry, I trimmed around it. I found a piece of striped patterned paper in my scraps, and used a scalloped edge punch on the side. I adhered it straight to the cardstock with my standard dot adhesive. I then adhered the watercolor panel, using foam tape.

Supplies:
Whimsy Wee One rubber stamp
Avery Elle Storybook stamp
Ranger Archival Ink in Coffee
Distress Watercolor markers (Shabby Shutters, Weathered Wood, Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Vintage Photo, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers, Weathered Wood and Shaded Lilac)
Tim Holtz Watercolor Distress Cardstock
Neenah Solar White 110#lbs cardstock
Stampin' Up Lullaby designer series patterned paper
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive Runner (pink)
3M Double-sided Foam Tape