Fishing in an Acetate Pond

Julie Ebersole is one of the people who always seem to inspire me, and she did that just recently when she used acetate in  different way!  She did a video for Ellen Hutson in which she used acetate, an embossing folder and Copic markers!  You can see the video...here!  She did a rainbow background, so pretty and unusual with the clearness of the acetate.  Looking at it made me think of water and of my Pure Innocence little fishing girl! I'm sorry to tell you that I just looked on the MFT website to get a link and found out that she's been retired :(  

I stamped and colored the little girl and the dock and cut them out then I stamped her shirt and pants on patterned paper, cut them out and paper pieced them on so she could wear a cute little outfit!  I cut a hole in the front of the card and cut a piece of acetate to fit into the hole and then embossed the acetate with a swirly watery looking embossing folder.  Next I added stripes on the back of the acetate with watery colored Copics!  Here is my card so you can get an idea what I'm talking about...

I glued the girl onto the front of the card and added a heart to the end of her fishing line.  A Stitched Rectangle Scallop Frame from MFT finished off my little scene!  I attached the acetate with Score Tape onto the inside of the card and die cut a little frame to hide the edges of the acetate.  I did run into one little problem,  I couldn't put the sentiment where I normally do because it would show in the "water" so I cut another MFT Scalloped Frame to coordinate with the front added it to my sentiment and put it just above the water line!  I punched another heart to cover the back of the one on the front of the card.

I really like the transparency and color...when you open the card, you see a splash of watery color from the light shining through the card!  I just love that!

This was a fun card to make...quick and easy! Thanks so much for stopping by!  Keep stamping!!
Janet

Sneakers!

If you follow my blog, you know how much trouble I have making masculine cards, but I needed one.  I thought the sneaker die from MFT would make a cute card.  I searched Google for different style Chuck Taylor sneakers and when I found a pair with mustaches, I knew I had to use that idea for my sneaker card!  

The sneaker die is very detailed.  My favorite part is the tiny die that cuts out all of the eyelets.  They look fabulous cut out of gold or silver mirror card stock.  They aren't as difficult as you'd expect to glue on and they are well worth the effort because that little detail gives them the look of real sneakers...so cute!  I added a craft colored twine for shoe laces.

Guys like sports so I decided to put baseballs, footballs, basketballs and soccer balls inside since it went with my sentiment.  I used strips of acetate to attach them to a center spine so when the card is opened they bobble all around!

You can see the acetate strips a little better in this pic!

Thanks so much for visiting :)
Janet

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: Black, assorted DSP, gold mirror card stock
Stamps: none - sentiments were done on the computer
Dies: My Favorite Things LL All Star High Tops, Spellbinders Labels 17 
Miscellaneous: Acetate, twine, Stampin' Up Scalloped Oval & Large Oval 

You Gnome Me - Hello Card

My group of stamping friends got together recently for a Project Day.  I am so lucky to know these girls. There is nothing better than a day of stamping and a lunch with people that you like!  I made 2 projects this time because I couldn't decide on just one.  For the first card I used the My Favorite Things set called You Gnome Me.  The card was inspired by one I found on Pinterest by Torico.  You can see her adorable card here.  All of the die cutting on this card is done with MFT's Blueprints 3, except for the fence and grass.  I don't have the dies to cut the gnomes so I cut him by hand.

I didn't have a soft yellow DSP, so I used a brighter one.  I had to use brighter colors for the background and the embellishments to make it look right.  I used Pan Pastels to make the sunset sky in the background. They are SOOO easy...I love using them to make backgrounds!  I also tried a new coloring technique for adding texture when coloring with Prismacolor Pencils.  You use a fine point stylus to press a pattern into the card stock and then when you color over it the pattern lines (dots) stay white!!  I found out that you can't use Gamsol for this technique because it makes the color bleed onto the white lines.  Here's a close up of the plaid pattern...

And here is how it looks with a dotted pattern!  Ohhh...ahhhh...imagine the possibilities!!

Thanks so much for visiting, hope I made you want to get out your stamps and play :)

Janet

Supplies Used:
Card stock:  Yellow Designer Patterned Paper, White Cougar Opaque 80 lb, Assorted solids
Stamps:  My Favorite Things: You Gnome Me
Dies: My Favorite Things: Die-namics  Blueprints 3, Fresh Cut Grass, Garden Fence
Miscellaneous: Prismacolor Pencils, Pan Pastels: Diarylide Yellow, Violet Tint, Ultramarine Blue

CAS Retirement Card

Here is a quick retirement card.  This idea could be used for all kinds of things...all you need is a short word that fits the occasion...thanks, congrats, wish, cheers, baby...you could even use someone's name if it isn't too long!!  All you have to do is cut the word out twice, once with white or whatever color you are using for your background card and then with a coordinating color or small print, for my card I used a small multicolor stripe pattern.  The dies that I used are a set from My Favorite Things.  I didn't keep the name of the set so I'm not exactly sure which one it is, but they have lots that would work.  Here's my card...

Sequins were perfect to add a little pizzaz!  I used some that I got from Stampin Up.  It's a great assortment of sequins, hearts and stars in lots of pretty colors! They are on sale right now for 50% off so if you act quick you can get a great deal!!  Here's a close -up...

If you make this card, I'd love to see what you came up with so leave a comment and a link for me.  Thanks for visiting :)  

Janet

Cracked Crazy Birds

I find making masculine cards a challenge.  I tend to buy cute or pretty stamps and they don't work on "guy" cards.  This week, I needed two thank you cards for men that I don't know very well.  I had been thinking about a technique using my Crazy Bird stamps and Pan Pastels and I had one of those "Aha"moments...I realized that the Crazy Bird stamps would be perfect for the thank you cards!!  Everyone loves them and they are definitely not feminine!!  The technique I wanted to try was to use Versamark Ink and Pan Pastels to add some texture to the birds while coloring them. I got out a bunch of texture stamps...crackle, numbers, swirls, harlequin, chicken wire and a word stamp.  First, I stamped the birds with Ranger Archival black ink, then I masked the eyes and beaks and stamped a pattern/texture onto each bird with Versamark Ink.  I took my brightest Pan Pastels and colored the birds.  When you color over Versamark with Pan Pastels, the stamped areas get much darker so the patterns although subtle, looked great!  Here are the two cards that I made.

I didn't want the sentiment too mushy because like I said, they are guys and I don't know them very well so the outside says, "Life is tough..." and on the inside, it says, ...Kindness matters.  Thank you".  Short and to the point!  You can see the crackle texture on the blue bird much better than on the red bird but it is on both of them.  Here's a close up of the red bird card.  You can see the crackle a little better here...

I wanted to make a little scene for the bird to stand in, so I used the new MFT die-namics called Rolling Hills.  I love how you cut the fence and then cut another fence out of green and use the waste for the grass to glue below the fence!  It is so cool.  I know I'll be using this die a lot!

I used Pan Pastels to color the sky.  I used Pthalo Blue Tint and Violet Tint.  The leaves are another one of MFT's Die-namics called Wild Greenery.   Here are some of the texture stamps I used.  I found that I got the best results when using stamps with smaller less dense textures...although I really like how the bird with the numbers came out.  Here is a sampling of the texture stamps...

I put Crystal Laquer on the birds eyes to make them shiny.  I love how the shiny eyes catch the light...I just love these birds, they make me laugh!

I hope my cards inspire you to get out your stamps and play!  
Thanks for stopping by to take a look :)
Janet

Happy Easter

I found the most beautiful die on a recent trip to Violette's in Lakeland!  It is an Impression Obsession die called Easter Cutout Square.  It is so delicate and pretty that I knew I needed it to make Easter cards this year.  I got out a bunch of pastel card stock and had a great time mixing and matching them to make my cards!  I kept them simple because I wanted the die cut image to stand out...

I was a little bit nervous because we all know how tricky intricate dies can be and I was cutting out a lot of them.  I decided to use folded dryer sheets underneath the die and card stock to help in removing all of the tiny little pieces.  It worked great.  I still had to poke some of the pieces out but lots came out on the dryer sheet too.  Here's a close-up of the pink version... 

I used a bunch of different colors of card stock and I honestly can't decide which one I like best!  I wanted the die raised off the surface of the card so I put foam tape behind the larger areas and used dots of silicone glue on the tinier ones.  Once the glue dried, the square was very sturdy!

Supplies used:

Stamps: none
Dies:  Impression Obsession Easter Cutout Square
Cardstock: Stampin' Up: Almost Amythest, Pixie Pink, Mint Melody and Coastal Cabana and    
White Cougar Opaque

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful weekend and a happy holiday!
Janet

Heartfelt Thanks

Hi,  I came across this card and realized that I hadn't posted it yet.  I used it as a thank you card but it would also make a good Valentine's Day card!  I used an Impression Obsession die called Heart Stems.  To make it look more like a bouquet, I cut the stems out of various colors.  I also cut some out of white card stock so I could layer the stems to make some of them thicker.  Then I cut the stems out of a craft card stock background to build the bouquet on!!

Thanks for stopping by today,  have a good weekend!
Janet  

Purple Onion Happy Holidays

I'm so happy that I discovered Purple Onion Stamps!!  They are such fun to make cards with.  I'm starting to think about the holidays and decided to use Juniper, Silver, Winter Bough and Winter Adornments to make a snowy little winter scene card!  Here is how it turned out...

I'm a huge fan of stamping and coloring on Kraft card stock with Prismacolor pencils.  They work so well together.  I don't think I've ever seen a card done using this technique that I didn't love!  Hmmm...I'm thinking I might need a new Pinterest Board!!  Here are some close-up pictures.  I live in Florida now and I don't miss shoveling snow, but I do miss the storms and watching the snow falling and blanketing everything in white so adding the snowstorm to this card brought me home!  

Here is how the card looked after coloring it and before adding the snow.  I think it needs the snow don't you? The chunky embossing enamel from Stampendous does the trick!!

I hope you like this card and it inspired you to start working on your own holiday cards!  Thanks for visiting.

Janet

Supplies used:
Stamps:  Purple Onion: Juniper, Silver, Winter Bough, Winter Adornments, Winter Wishes  
                                      Sentiment Set
Cardstock:  My Favorite Things Kraft Cardstock, Stampin' Up Ballet Blue (discontinued)
Ink pads:  Memories: black, Versafine: black
Prismacolor Pencils: 
•  Medium blue - Blue Lake (1102) 

highlight color - Light blue - Powder Blue (1087) 

shading color - Dark blue - Ultramarine (902)

• Red - Crimson Red (924) and shading color- Mahogony Red (1029)

• Dark brown - Chocolate(1082)

• Medium green - True Green (910) and shading color - Dark Green (908)

• Lime green - Chartreuse (989) and shading color - Olive Green (911)

• White (938)

• Black (935)

• Pink (929)

• Sunburst Yellow (917)

• Colorless Blender Pencil

Miscellaneous: Impression Obsession: small snowflake dies, Stampendous: Shabby White Embossing Enamel

Making Soup

I had to come up with a card for a project day with friends and since I've been wanting to try making a recessed window card I decided to do that.  I found a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers  and played around with it until I made it work and felt confident enough to teach it to a group. Thank goodness for the video that Splitcoast provided, it made figuring the card out so much easier!  You can view the tutorial here.  Because of the construction, I think this card would have to be hand cancelled so it will take a little extra postage to mail, but it's so cute it's worth it.  Even though the recessed window is only a quarter inch deep, I found it to have a lot of space for layering.  It has potential for all different types of scenes.  I'll be making more of these :)  I kept this one on the simple side because of limited time for my project.  I made 2 different cards to give my friends a couple of options.  

Because of the construction, you have to decorate the left inside of the card…

Here are some close ups.   Can you see how much space there is for layering?  I used two pieces of foam tape behind the chef and one more to pop the pot out.  That means there could be at least 3 layers within the window!  I added a MFT banner made out of Graphics 45 paper to add a little embellishment to the frame.

Here's the other card.  The chef stamps are from Inky Antics.  They are still available for purchase but I couldn't get a direct link from the website.  If you do a search for "clear stamps" then go to page 22 you should see the set.  Here is the number and name…10983LC, Stovetop Cooking Chefs Clear Set.  I also used an MFT border die to embellish this window

I used Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol mineral spirits to color all of the images and used Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw) to edge around all the white pieces.  Hoping this inspires you to do some stamping!  

Thanks for stopping by,
Janet