Stampin' Trends #4

     Today's Stampin' Trends project was inspired by a vintage Mother's Day card designed by Rae Barthel on page 35 of the May/June issue of Paper Crafts. I love the collaged craft paper look of the Lost and Found paper collection, so I attempted to recreate it using what I had in my stash. Here's my take:

     I started out with a Naturals Ivory Card Base and an inset of blank Crumb Cake card stock. I used the ledger stamp from the Open Sea stamp set on the right hand side and the collage stamp from Postage Due on the left stamped in Basic Black ink. I added some damask in Rose Red from Friends 24-7 and then layered a piece of crumb cake matted in black for my top layer.

     For the central images I used the same damask stamp from Friends 24-7 in Soft Suede ink. I stamped the frame from Four Frames in Rose Red and then embossed the Thanks in black. (The sentiment is from the Kindness Matters set.) Then I embossed the dress form from Established Elegance in black for my focal point. Whew! That was a lot of stamping!

     I stamped a piece of of Whisper White card stock with Basic Black and the Dot, Dot, Dot stamp and cheated by using a Martha Stewart border punch from my stash for the layer underneath. (I've got to get some SU border punches!) I hand dyed a piece of seam binding with Crumb Cake ink and added the bow as the finishing touch.

     This card used so many stamps, but I hope this card inspires you to create your own background papers using things you have in your stash. Thanks for stopping by, my friends!

Mixed Media Fun!

     This week I was inspired to create a fun mixed media canvas after seeing a post by the amazing Gabrielle Pollacco on her blog, Such a Pretty Mess. (You can see her projects here. Wow!!) I happened to have an 8x8 canvas in my stash that I'd been saving for a rainy day, so I began by prepping it with gesso, and then I made a holy cow mess of it and almost threw it out! I'm glad I didn't even though it looked like a hot mess there for a while. 

     I started out by layering some tissue paper over the gesso with mod podge and using oil pastels to give it some texture. I masked the word "Love" with some scrap letters on the left hand side and sprayed them with Melon Mambo ink. I sprayed some Baja Breeze and Shabby Shutters ink around as well. At this point, the whole thing started to look crummy -- the tissue paper wadded up and turned gross colors, and I thought I'd ruined the whole thing! I decided to give it a day (take a deep breath) and I tried to salvage it by sanding off the tissue paper. This seemed to work okay, and I ended up with some muted colors and some really cool color variations, so we were off to the races again!

     I stamped some text and flourishes around and then masked a heart and painted over it. I drew the little girl and paper pieced her and then squiggled around the edges. I added the crown and the crackle painted grunge board wings sort of as an afterthought. I painted the Dusty Attic chipboard piece and painted and glittered the flowers. 

     I used some lyrics from a song I love for journaling, and since this canvas is for my little girls' room, I thought the message was just right. 

     Anyway, this project is nowhere near Gabrielle's masterful project, but I hope you'll be inspired to try something new! Have a wonderful day, my friends!

Stampin' Trends #3

     Hi, friends! I'm back today with another installment of Stampin' Trends, where I use Stampin' Up products to recreate some of my favorite trendy published projects. Today's card is a super simple but incredibly adorable summer thank you card. This card was inspired by the "Preppy Banner Card" designed by Julie Campbell on page 68 of the May/June issue of Paper Crafts magazine. Julie gave her card a farmhouse feel with papers from Crate Paper. Love it!

     For my reproduction, I used the Everyday Enchantment DSP on a background of Whisper White card stock. My card base is Lucky Limeade - my favorite shade of SU green! I strung the banner with Dimensionals over a piece of Linen Thread and stamped my sentiment (from Rue Des Fleurs stamp set) in Soft Suede Ink. My only cheat was the border punched piece under the sentiment, since I don't own a single SU border punch. I used my Paper Piercing Tool and Punch Pack to imitate the stitching around the edge of Julie's card since my sewing machine is DOA right now. 

     I've already created a few cards using this design in various colors, so I hope you'll give it a try using your SU stash or your favorite product line. I'd love to see your creations - just post a link in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by today, my friends!

Country Life Cricut Cartridge

     This week I found the adorable Country Life Cricut cartridge on sale at Joann Fabrics, so I've had tons of fun using these images in my scrapping projects! 


     This card is for a baby girl, and I think these peas are just the sweetest! I used a variety of patterned paper from my scrap box to give them a colorful flair. Using my Cricut really helps me to use up some scraps since most of the images I cut are card sized or smaller. 

     This cartridge comes with a coordinating font as well as some sweet phrases I know I'll use a lot!

     I also found use for the cartridge on a scrap page I did about my mom and her amazing green thumb. The paper collection is Summertime by Echo Park (last summer's release, I believe). I love the gorgeous, bright summer colors in this collection.

     I thought this little water pump and a selection of veggies would add a cute touch and coordinate with my theme just perfectly. I can't wait to receive my bundle of fresh veggies from Mom's garden!

     Thanks for stopping by, my friends! Have a wonderful Saturday!

Stampin' Trends #2

     Hi, friends! I'm back today to share the second installment in my Stampin' Trends series. If you missed the first post, Stampin' Trends recreates trendy published cards and projects using only Stampin' Up products. I'd like to encourage you to use what you have in your favorite product line by thinking outside the box!


     Today's card by Sarah Martina Parker be found on page 66 of the May/June issue of Paper Crafts magazine, entitled "Little Lady Card." This adorable card has a cowgirl theme and uses some pretty unusual colors: pink and gold!  Since Stampin' Up doesn't make a stamp set with a cowgirl theme, I made my example into a tea-themed card.

     I used Naturals Ivory Card Stock for my base and inset. To create the inset pattern, I cut a doily using the Large Doily Sizzlets Die and pounced through it with white acrylic paint. To create the patterned paper, I used the Everything Eleanor Stamp Set with Blushing Bride and Rose Red Classic Ink and the More Mustard Stampin' Write Marker. I spritzed the whole piece lightly with water to blur the images and then cut and embossed the edge with the scalloped Edgelits Die and Embossing Folder. 

     I stamped the central image on Whisper White with Rose Red Ink and my More Mustard Marker and cut it out with a Framelits Die. I used the next larger sized die to cut the More Mustard back piece, which I then embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder. I used a Very Vanilla Craft Ink pad to highlight the raised portions. To embellish I used the last of my Stampin' Up Twill Tape (boo hoo!) which I lightly dyed with Blushing Bride ink. The flowers were punched with the Boho Blossoms Punch in More Mustard and crinkled with water. I tied a fussy cut tea cup to my bow with Linen Thread. 

     I have to say, this is one of my fave Stampin' Up cards ever! I wouldn't have put these colors together without some major inspiration. I love learning from other amazing stampers like Sarah!

     I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of fun and family! Thanks for stopping by, my friends!

Copic Friendship Card

     Hi, friends! I'm here to post a card that's totally outside the box for me: A single image card with bright primary colors. This image is a sweet freebie from Elizabeth Dulemba's site, Coloring Page Tuesdays. Thanks, Elizabeth!
     I'm slowly learning that coloring big images with Copics is HARD with a capital H, and this elephant felt huge during the process of blending, and blending, and blending some more. I almost didn't post this one because it feels so un-Unrepentant Craft Addict, but here he is anyway:

     In the end I think this turned out to be a cute card for one of the many birthday parties elementary school girls are invited to. Hope you're having a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping in!

Stampin' Trends #1

     I had a fun idea for a series last week that I can't wait to share with you! I recently recreated a card I loved in Paper Crafts Magazine using only Stampin' Up products, and I had so much fun that I've decided to make it an ongoing challenge.  Hopefully these posts will help you find new and interesting ways to use your Stampin' Up stash or whatever product line is your favorite. Let's get started!


     This week's card, designed by Becky Cowley, was featured in the May/June issue of Paper Crafts on page 29. Thanks for the inspiration, Becky!

     

     

     For my version, I used More Mustard Cardstock for my card base. I created the Crumb Cake background using the Travel Journal builder wheel stamped in Crumb Cake and the flourish from Creative Elements stamped in Soft Suede. 

     I used the Everyday Enchantment paper pack to create the stitched element on the side, layering each 1" x 1 3/4" piece from the bottom up over a base piece of scrap cardstock. I then stitched the whole thing using white embroidery floss after poking holes using the Essentials Paper Piercing Pack. (My sewing machine is dead in the water or I wouldn't normally hand stitch anything!) I layered this element over a ruffle of Victoria Crochet Trim and my greeting.

     For the greeting, I cut a piece of First Edition DSP with my Framelits label die and stamped the "Thanks" from the retired Rue Des Fleurs stamp set in Basic Black ink. I inked the edges in black and adhered the label under the crochet trim.

     The highlight of Becky's card was the beautiful rose motif featured on her label. I used the retired Baby Blossoms set to try to recreate her heirloom roses using stamped off Pumpkin Pie and Real Red ink, Pool Party for the bitty blossoms, and Lucky Limeade for the leaves. I couldn't resist adding just a touch of glitter to the roses and bitty blossoms!

     This card reminds me of a farmhouse kitchen, and I had a blast making it! I hope this project inspires you to pull out your favorite paper crafting magazine and recreate your favorite project using just your Stampin' Up (or other favorite)product line.

     Have a great weekend, my friends!

Creative Elements Collage

     Hi, my friends! It's a beautiful day under the Big Sky today! My daughters and I spent the morning walking in a parade for a good cause, and we soaked up a lot of vitamin D and met some wonderful people. I will try to share photos soon, but I'm too tech-unsavvy to figure out how to get the pictures off my phone. (Maybe one of the girls can do it for me!)

     Today's project is inspired by a fellow SplitCoast Stamper, Genesis. Thanks, Genesis, for sharing this gorgeous idea! The collage uses the Creative Elements Stamp set with its cool flourishes and floral images. This is a quick, fun card with a lot of vintage appeal.

     I didn't quite have all of Genesis's colors on hand, so I used Rose Red, Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede. Some hand-dyed seam binding would make a great alternative to the Pool Party ribbon.

    That's all for today, friends! I'm off to put a cold compress on the sunburn I earned today. Hope you have a great weekend!   

Gettin' Taggy

     Sometimes I just feel like pulling out the inks and going free-style with some tags. I don't think I've given away many tags, so I have a pretty big collection, but there's something about the pure creativity of a blank canvas that you can alter like crazy that really appeals to me. (Sometimes I have a huge back-log of cards too, and as much as I love card-making, that pile is staring at me waiting to be mailed!)


     Last weekend I did two tags. The first used some unusual colors (Pool Party and Pumpkin Pie) and one of my favorite stamp sets, Rue Des Fleurs, a retired SU set with awesome vintage images. I used a few images from Creative Elements too, which I've used SOOO much already.

     For the second tag, I went totally Tim Holtz. I inked, then embossed the umbrella man, inked some more, masked some clouds, and then distressed with acrylic paint. I wanted to give the effect of sunshine coming out after rain. It's been a while since I pulled out the Tim Holtz, and I had lots of fun!

Thanks for stopping by today, my friends!

Father's Day

     Father's Days have been hard for me ever since my parents split up a few years back. I don't have a good relationship with my dad, but this year I'm going to make an effort to at least send a card that lets him know I'm thinking of him. I'm sure this holiday is hard for a lot of dads and kids alike. Divorce is a painful thing, and something I never thought would happen in my family. 


     I made a few versions of the same card for my husband, dad-in-law, and my dad, and they're all slightly different but use the same sponged background of light blue clouds. This SU set "Lovely as a Tree" is one of my most used and is great for masculine cards.

     I hope you have a great weekend with all the wonderful men in your life! I'm still working on something special for Matt, the love of my life, and an absolutely AMAZING father. All the best, my friends!