A Royal {Tea-riffic} Card...

Hey there!  Did you watch the royal wedding this morning??? I recorded it and have been watching it all morning.  I did't really think I'd be this giddy about it.  My husband has already given me flak about watching it, but it's such a nice change of pace in the news.  Finally, something happy in the news.  Anyway, I had to make a card using this set today, it just felt right.  I made it while I watched the wedding too.

I stamped the tea pot on patterned paper and cut it out.  I paired it up with some striped patterned paper from the same collection so everything matches perfectly.  I layered the teapot on a cream oval and kraft label that I die cut using nestabilities. I used a scallop edge punch, which to be honest I haven't used in ages, on the striped paper.


Thanks so much for joining me today.  Cheerio my friends!!!

{To a Tea-riffic Friend}

Stamps: Tea Time (Clear & Simple Stamps)

Card Stock: Kraft Like a Rockstar, On the Catwalk Cream (CSS)

Patterned Paper: Gertie (My Mind's Eye)

Ink: Perfect Little Black Dress (CSS)

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch (SU), Yellow Floss (DMC), Foam Dimensionals, Labels 9 & Oval Nestabilites (Spellbinders)

Read more...

A Much Needed {Spring} Card...

Hey guys!  We've had some pretty scary weather here lately.  See how green out grass is in the background of my photo?  We've had a record breaking amount of rain in this area for April.  Crazy!  It is sunny here right now, but this morning we had a tornado warning.  Needless to say, I am ready for some real spring weather.

I love the marriage of this sentiment and the patterned paper.  I think they are a perfect fit and my card screams happiness.

I didn't have any complimentary buttons (or the right color nail polish to color them with) so I took some Creamsicle Cardigan ink and sponged it on some white buttons.  I hit them with the heat gun to set the ink and then I was good to go.  

I almost forgot to mention that this card was created using today's sketch at SCS.  I love a good sketch!

Have a great day!

{Spring}

Stamps: Spring (Clear & Simple Stamps)

Card Stock: Kraft Like a Rockstar, Simply Blue-tiful (CSS)

Patterned Paper: Gertie (My Mind's Eye)

Ink: Simply Blue-tiful, Brown Leather Satchel, Creamsicle Cardigan (CSS)

Accessories: Butterflies Punch (Martha Stewart), Black Rhinestones (Kaiser Craft), Buttons, Stamping Sponge, Hemp Twine, Edge Distresser

Read more...

Papertrey Ink: April 2011 Blog Hop

Hey guys!  Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend.  Ours was great.  I was even able to sneak a nap yesterday.   Anyway, let's get down to business, shall we?  Today is the 25th and that means it's time for a Papertrey Ink Blog Hop.  This month's challenge was to create a masculine card.  Normally that is a pretty tough challenge for me, but I had the perfect patterned paper to it wasn't hard at all.

My card is pretty simple.  I wanted to include more pti products, I had pulled out my text style set and created a strip of text to apply to the bottom, but in the end I liked the card without it better.  I love the brads that look like screws.  Without those this card is pretty neutral looking, but I think the screws add a manly touch.

Thanks so much for hopping by!

{Get Well Soon}

Stamps: Communique Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)

Card Stock: Kraft (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Hattie (My Mind's Eye)

Ink: Your Style Blue Me Away (CSS)

Accessories: Screw Brads (Michaels), Stamping Sponge, 

Read more...

Happy Earth Day!

Yay, it's Earth Day!  The Clear & Simple Stamps design team are each sharing a way we are eco-friendly when crafting.  I know I've shared this tip before on a Frugal Friday post, but that was more for organizational purposes.  Using your scraps is fun, ecological and economical.  The way I store my scraps is in ziploc bags according to collection.  When you buy a 6 x 6 paper pad, once you rip out a page that page is pretty much gone, unless you are storing it in a way you won't lose it.  


Be sure to check out tips from the rest of the design team on the Clear & Simple Stamps Blog.  


Make today a great day!

Read more...

A {Hippity Hoppity Greetings} Card...

Hey guys!  I was looking through my stash of stamps today and realized that I actually do have an Easter stamp.  The bunny came from Icons and the sentiment came from Icon Extras.  I totally forgot that there was a bunny image.  I think I've used them all except the bunny.  What perfect timing!

I love how this card turned out.  It was quick and easy to make, but it looks really cute.  The rhinestone for the bunny's eye is blue, that may be hard to see in the photo.  This card is 3.5" x 4.25".  I've been making a lot of cards this size lately.  I'm not sure why, but I really like this size.

Make sure you stop by tomorrow for a special Earth Day post.

Have a great day!

{Hippity Hoppity Greetings}

Stamps: Icons, Icon Extras (Clear & Simple Stamps)

Card Stock: Kraft Like a Rockstar (CSS)

Patterned Paper: Gertie (My Mind's Eye)

Ink: Simply Blue-tiful, Coral Necklace (CSS)

Accessories: Blue Rhinestone, Yellow Floss (DMC), Foam Dimensionals

Read more...

A {Thinking of You} Card...

Hi there!  I so desperately wish I could get into my normal routine.  It seems that chaos has become the routine lately.  So, I managed to squeeze in a little time to make a card this morning, and let me tell you it felt great.  There's nothing like sitting down and making something from start to finish.  I was also able to catch up on some shows at the same time.  I'm loving Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.  Oh, my daughter went back to school today.  Thank you to those who wished her well.  She was home for two days. She still didn't feel that great this morning, but she hadn't had a fever in 24 hours.  As soon as she got to her classroom, she perked up immediately.  


So, about this card I made.  It sorta uses the layout from today's Sketch Challenge at SCS.  I think I was more inspired by the example card than by the actual layout, although my card isn't that much of a departure.  I really love white on white.  When you are making a white on white card, it's good to use a lot of texture to differentiate the layers.  I meant for this to be a Happy Easter card, but when I went to grab the stamp, it was missing from my set.  I hate when that happens.

Here's a close-up so you can read the "thinking of you" sentiment.  It comes from a limited edition set from Clear & Simple Stamps.  I'm absolutely in love with that font.  


Have a great day!

{Thinking of You}

Stamps: Thinking of You (Clear & Simple Stamps) -limited edition

Card Stock: A Blanc Check

Ink: Simply Blue-tiful (CSS)

Accessories: Clear Gems, Blue Copic Marker, Swiss Dots & Birds and Swirls Embossing Folders (Cuttlebug), Gingham Ribbon, Foam Dimensionals

Read more...

A {Sew Happy for You} Card...

 

Hello!  It's such a gloomy day here today. Full of rain, thunder and lightning and I have a sick little girl with a hacking cough.  I thought it'd be nice to share a happy card.


This card came about when I was practicing coloring with my new copic markers.  When I first got them I took a piece of white card stock and stamped a bunch of different images on it and went to town practicing some coloring techniques.  I loved how these spools of thread turned out that I cut them right off my practice paper and glued them as a trio to another piece of white paper. I filled in the top and bottom of each spool with a fine-tip black marker.  

The patterned paper that I selected not only coordinates with the spools of thread, but they look like styles of fabric you would find at your local fabric store.  I added some floss to tie in with the sewing theme.  

Thanks for taking a little time out of your day to visit!  See you soon!

PS.  I have a card featured on the Clear & Simple Stamps app for the iphone/ipad.  Check it out!

{Sew Happy for You}

Stamps: On the Mend II (Clear & Simple Stamps)

Card Stock: Kraft Like a Rockstar, A Blanc Check (CSS)

Patterned Paper: Gertie (My Mind's Eye)

Ink: Perfect Little Black Dress, Creamsicle Cardigan (CSS)

Accessories: Red Trio 4, Yellow Trio 4, Blue Trio 6, Stamping Sponge, Hole Punch, Blue Floss (DMC), Corner Rounder Punch, Foam Dimensionals 

click here to download the app

Read more...

A {Happy Spring} Card...

Would you believe that I haven't been in my studio since last Friday?  Crazy, huh? Well, I thought I would start off simple, like making a card that uses 20 small flower punches!  This is one of the bling-iest cards I've ever made (if that's a real word, but you know what I mean).  I used a ton of black rhinestones, 24 to be exact.

I created the frame with a ruler and fine-tip sharpie.  The double-lined frame is something I've been seeing a lot around the blog-o-sphere.  When I started this card I wanted to arrange the flowers in a gradient fashion, starting with the dark red at the top and getting lighter and lighter you move toward the bottom.  But when I arranged the flowers I just didn't have a broad enough spectrum of colors to make the gradient thing work.  So, I just mixed up the colors.

This card definitely says SPRING!


Have a great day!

{Happy Spring}

Stamps: Icon Extras (Clear & Simple Stamps)

Card Stock: A Blanc Check, Dare to Be a Diva Red, Paint the Town Pink, I'm a Princess Pink (CSS)

Ink: Paint the Town Pink (CSS)

Accessories: Black Rhinestones (Kaiser Craft), Mini Glue Dots, Black Fine Tip Marker (Sharpie), Flower Punch (EK Success)

Read more...

PaperCrafts & Clear and Simple Stamps

Hey guys!  It's April 12th and that means that the newest issue of PaperCrafts Magazine is now on sale.  Inside this issue on page 19 you will find bonus projects from Clear & Simple Stamps!!!  

Just flip to page 19 to find a special code to access the projects.  Happy crafting!!!


Have a great day!

Read more...

Clear & Simple Stamps: Group Project

Hey there!  It's a fun day around these parts.  It's Group Project day with Clear & Simple Stamps.  This month the design team and I were challenged to create a card or 3D item using fabric.  How fun!  This combines two of my favorite hobbies.

So, I used this month's SOTM, On the Mend II and some fabric to create two hair accessories any little girl would be happy to wear.   

Here's the set.  It's a head band and a barrette that is clipped to a gift tag.

The tag was created out of Kraft Like a Rockstar card stock with some patterned paper.  I created the faux stitching using a ruler and a black sharpie.  I punched two holes in the center of the tag and that's how the barrette is attached to the tag.

This was my daughter's headband.  It was already covered in pink ribbon.  I simply tore off the tacky flower that came on it and replaced it with these three fabric flowers that I made.

And here's my little girl modeling her new headband.  She absolutely loved it.

About the flowers.  They are super simple to make.  All you need is some thin strips of fabric and a glue gun.  I started by tying a knot in the end of a fabric strip and then gluing that knot to a little circle of card stock or felt (both work fine).  From there, all you do is twist the fabric and wrap it around the knot, gluing here and there to keep the fabric attached to the felt base.  When your flower is big enough, simply wrap the fabric around the back and glue it down.  Once your flower is finished, hot glue it to whatever your heart desires.  


Make sure you check out the rest of the design team and their fabric creations: Kim Howard, Viola Mahr, Lori Tecler, Ryann Salamon, Cristina Kowalczyk, Tiffany Johnson, and Tracy Schultz.  


Have a great day!

{Fabric Flower Hair Accessories}

Stamps: On the Mend II (Clear & Simple Stamps)

Card Stock: Kraft Like a Rockstar (CSS)

Patterned Paper: Gertie (My Mind's Eye)

Ink: Perfect Little Black Dress, Brown Leather Satchel (CSS)

Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch, Black Fine Tip Marker (Sharpie), Ruler, Stamping Sponge, Fabric, Hot Glue Gun, Barrette, Head Band, Hemp Twine

Read more...

All About Pinterest...

I don't have anything to post today and I blame it all on Pinterest.  If you don't already know (I think I'm a little late to the party), Pinterest is a site where you can browse and get tons of inspiration on virtually any theme or topic.  OR and this is the best part, you can catalog all your collections on a virtual bulletin board.


Here's a peek at my pages (click here to go to my pinterest pages). So far I have categories like Cards to CASE, Recipes, Photography, Books and Crafty Projects.  I know when I am blog hopping I bookmark sites like crazy.  Well, when my computer crashed a month ago I lost almost all of those links.  

So, when you are out and about on the internet and see something that catches your eye (maybe one of my cards, wink), you simply "pin it" using a handy dandy shortcut on your toolbar.  In the future when you need that info (to CASE a card perhaps), just click on it via pinterest and it will take you back to the original place where you pinned it (and you can see the supply list and how it was made).  


***Warning, if you love looking at pretty and neat things, you may lose hours of your day like I did.  But, if you need to catalog recipes or things you like, it's pretty awesome.  I'm cursing myself for having so many interests.

This site is invitation only.  If you click the link that says "request an invite", you will be waiting a very long time.  Just send me your email address and I will send you an invite.  Did I mention it's FREE?  That's the best part.


Have a great day!

PS.  If you are already a Pinterest member, let me know so we can follow each other.
PPS.  I have no affiliation with Pinterest, they have no idea who I am!

Read more...