Happy Together

As you can see, I am still enjoying my Parisian Lace die (Papertrey Ink)! I love the look of traditional doilies, but being able to make non-traditional ones is also a lot of fun. I used the die with some Cosmo Cricket paper on this card and cut out 2 doilies. I cut the doilies into pieces and then adhered them onto black cardstock. Then I simply adhered some Cosmo Cricket chipboard embellishments and a cardstock sticker and I was done. I really like how the black shows off the details in the doilies :)
In other news, it's another scorcher today! It was actually really nice yesterday - only got up to about 90 degrees. Today, we won't be so lucky. I'm also dealing with camera problems for some reason. This camera is less than 1 year old and it keeps shutting itself off. Yesterday I couldn't get it to stay on to take ONE photo. I hooked it up to my computer and it says the battery is fine, so I'm not a happy camper. I don't think we have a service plan and if I have to replace this baby after less than a year, you can bet I'm not going to get the same brand! Ugh...maybe it was just being disobedient and will be better today. Here's hoping.

Thanks for taking a peek :)

Clean and Simple Anniversary

I love adding stamped elements to cards and layouts because the stamping is a step that can be done ahead of time. I don't even have to have a specific project in mind, because all of that comes later. If I'm not feeling terribly creative, but still want to do something crafty, I stamp up a bunch of images and make some embellishments for my "odds and ends" drawer.

This flower is one of those embellishments. I made it (along with several others) with a Martha Stewart flower stamp set. The set came with flower outlines and the stamp of the flower itself so there is no coloring necessary. I stamped the flower with light pink and the outline in darker pink and then cut it out. I added a blob of Fabri-Tac to the center and added some pale pink pearl beads.

The rest of the card is super simple. I used a pale cream shimmer cardstock (120 lb), Martha Stewart punch (Punch Around the Page Double Arches) and accented it with American Crafts Glitter cardstock. The rub-on is by Melissa Frances. Thanks for taking a peek!

Stamped Background - Sew Sweet

I'm still using up those items that I stamped when my friend, Dayna, came to visit! This was stamped with her set from The Girls Paperie. I stamped a full 12x12 sheet and gave Dayna half of it so we'd both have a chance to play. Having the pre-stamped paper made this card a breeze! I just added the sticker sentiment from Cosmo Cricket's Material Girl collection (I added it to the purple cardstock and cut that out and used foam dots to make it stand out). I accented the card with a few buttons and I was done!
As for the actual stamping, I used The Girls Paperie stamps with Memento inks. The cardstock I used is from American Crafts - I seriously cannot get enough of their cardstock. Thanks for taking a peek!

Hot!

Man it's hot! I wish that I had a nice frosty drink just like the ones on this card :) The stamps are my friend's, and they're an odd brand that I can't remember. I used chalk inks on them and glittered the margarita with some loose green glitter and a Zig glue pen. The yummy paper is by Cosmo Cricket and I used a Fiskars Starburst punch on the bottom of the purple paper. I used ric rac from my stash as well as some purple gems.

That's all for today - I've gotta lay low and stay cool! Thanks for taking a peek :)

Sweet!

I love this paper by Cosmo Cricket (Garden Variety Collection), but I didn't have any of the embellishments that coordinate. I decided by looking at those cutie pie strawberries that I could easily make my own versions. I used a Spellbinders Oval die with red cardstock and cut off just a bit of the top of the oval. Then I hand cut a messy green top and outlined it in black pen and adhered it to the oval. My Signo Uniball white pen is all dried up (boo!) so I used Tulip Pearl fabric paint to make the white seeds. Then I added some fun googly eyes and a pretty Flourish with a Bling! leafy branch and I was good to go!
I layered it over a bit of cork I die cut with a Spellbinders Labels die and scored and folded the little banner with the sentiment. Thanks for taking a peek!

Baby cards

I think I need to meet more young moms because I love to make baby cards! Here is one I made a while back with Papertrey Ink's "Button Basics" stamps Instead of using stamped or die cut buttons, I went with baby themed buttons - I just love that cute little chick!

The ribbon is Faux Linen by May Arts. I chose white and then sprayed it with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. It absorbs the color beautifully! I did a soft blue and yellow spray AFTER I tied the bow, blending them slightly where they touched.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Using Stamps on Layouts

In one of the forums I frequent, it's very common to see posts from people who want to get more use out of their stamps. After asking a few more questions, I found it interesting that many of these people hadn't considered using the stamps on their layouts - they had been focused on cards and smaller scale projects. As someone who LOVES to use stamps on my layouts, I knew I had to address it!

Last month, I hosted a challenge for people to get out those dusty stamps and put them to work on a layout. We had some great entries! It was fun to see how different people utilized their stamps. However, it still seemed that many people were a bit tentative...perhaps they only used one stamp one time. Now that's all fine and good if that's what you want to do. I wanted to challenge them further - to get more and MORE use out of those stamps. I wanted to get them to see the possibilities that stamps offer. In the midst of all the stamping thoughts, I created a layout for the July issue of Scrap n' Art that relied on stamping as the main technique. I have to tell you that it was the most fun thing to make! I used two different sets of stamps from Tweety Jill Designs and did a bit of heat embossing, a bit of masking, layering and more. Here is a sneak peek of the layout. The full-size layout can be found in the current issue of Scrap n' Art. Thanks for taking a peek!

Blog Candy

Head on over the Melissa Bove's blog because she's handing out some amazing blog candy!

Dressy Birthday Wishes

I wanted to share another card I made from the embellishments and die cuts I made when my friend, Dayna came to visit. This cutie pie dress form stamp is by Unity and I used a Big & Juicy Rainbow pad by Ranger. After I stamped the dress form, I stamped the sentiment in black and I stamped the butterfly in aqua. To embellish it, I tied a thin ribbon around the waist and put little gems on the butterfly. Then I cut it out and adhered it to my die cut shapes (Spellbinders Labels Nestabilities dies) with a dimensional foam dot. Thanks for taking a peek - for my American readers, have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

If you haven't done so, make sure you check out the July issue of Scrap n' Art - hot hot hot! We've got stamps, sketches, tutorials, reviews, and much more!