Catching up

Somehow I missed posting these two cards on my blog. I made them for the SCS color challenges last week and the week before. The first one was marigold morning, cool caribbean and pretty in pink. That was a true challenge! Then I spotted the toucan from Toucan of Love and that got me started. Toucan is stamped in Staz On and colored using a combination of blender pens and markers. I layered it on caribbean, pink and white, than layered that on a pink card base stamped with itty bitty backgrounds in caribbean. I also added a crimped caribbean piece and some torn strips of marigold. What can I say? I was experimenting with the layout. Not my favorite card, but I'm sure I can use it for a kid's Valentine.

The second color challenge called for creamy caramel, real red and barely banana. I needed to make a masculine card for guy from work who retired, so I used the color combo for the card. I am terrible at masculine cards, but I was really happy with this one. The caramel card b ase is stamped with flannel plaid. The convertible from Classic Convertibles and the sentiment from Sincere Salutations are stamped in red. I distressed the banana and red layers under the image with my Heidi Swapp edge distresser. That is one of my favorite tools! I finished the card with some caramel eyelets and some red hemp.

Boho chic Phoebe

When Basic Grey introduced the Phoebe line a few months ago, I just HAD to have it! I think it appeals to my inner hippie chick. If the tie-dye tutorial a couple of weeks ago didn't already clue you in, my inner hippie chick is alive and well, though often well-hidden! Anyway, I reached for the Phoebe 6x6 paper pad - it's the perfect size for cardmaking! - tonight and made these two cards from one of the sheets. I've only managed to cut up a couple of them; I need to quit hoarding, I guess. I was working on two challenge cards tonight. The first one is for Beate's weekend sketch challenge. I had the idea that I wanted the half circle on top to be a flower, so I cut a giant teal Prima daisy in half, then one of those pieces folded that in half again to get the desired effect. The card base is chocolate chip cardstock cut in for a 5.5-inch square card; the flower center is a piece of chocolate chip paper cut with my CM circle cutter and topped with a pink fabric-covered K and Company brad. The Phoebe paper is layered on pretty in pink, with one edge distressed, and taken with teal. The Phoebe/pink layer is on dimensionals. The sentiment is one of my favorite Michael's $1 stamps.

The other card I made tonight was for the Inspiration challenge on Splitcoast. The inspiration piece this week was a shirt in Caribbean, blush and chocolate, which inspired my color scheme and got me to pull out the Phoebe paper to begin with. I used my CM cutting system to make the waving line on the Phoebe and Caribbean paper. The card base is blush, but it seemed a little bright, so I lightly sponged it with chocolate chip. The flower is a $1 Rhonna Farrer acrylic stamp, inked in chocolate chip then colored in with caribbean and blush. The sentiment is A muse in chocolate chip. I did another even lighter sponge over the image to dull it a bit. The finishing touches were a pair of brads on the lower right of the card and a bit of twill and sating chocolate ribbon stapled in the upper left of the image.

Transparent tri-fold

I spent much of Sunday working on this card off and on. My creative process is sort of organic, I start with one thing and then see where it leads me. I started with my new transparency sheets and my new pink Stazon. I used the swirl from Delight in Life on the clear sheet, then attached it to the 5.25 square pixie pink card base usin black brads.

I got the idea for the Prima flowers (with Prima rickrack stems) from the June/July issue of Papercrafts magazine. I think they look pretty cool. The pink panel on the side seemed kind of naked, so I stamped it with the small Delight in Life flower in pink stazon; you can't see it very well, which makes me think I should have used white craft instead.

The second layer of the card is stamped in the dotted background from delight in life in Pink Passion, with the sentiment from Sincere Salutations in black.

Inside, I used a panel of delight in life flowers stamped on a piece of white cardstock down the side, still leaving room for a message. I'm having fun experimenting with all this new stuff!

Just playing around

I spent some time on Sunday playing with new stuff and experimenting a little. I tend to fall back on easy layouts and the tools I'm most comfortable with. But not this weekend! The first card gave me a chance to try something I've had on my mind since I picked up a tiny flower punch from the Target $1 spot a couple of weeks ago. I cut out a circle with my Creative Memories cutter, then used the punch around the edges before layering another color of cardstock underneath. I think it turned out pretty cool! The card base is bashful blue, the DP is Basic Grey Lily Kate from the scrap pile. The sentiment from Happy Harmony is stamped in chocolate chip on whisper white, with the edges sponged with bashful blue and layered on celery. I used some of the punched out flowers to accent the sentiment. I also stamped a flower from Delight in life in bashful blue along the bottom edge and filled the centers with diamond stickles. I tied a white organdy ribbon and scraps of chocolate organdy and lilac rickrack under the circle. I think I'm going to submit this to the latest Caardvarks challenge to use circles.

This card uses some of the cool stuff I found at the local stamp store that is going out of business. I started with a blush blossom card base, with flannel plaid stamped over it using a MicaMagic burnt orange (by Colorbox) ink. I used the same ink to sponge the torn bottom edge and the edge of the main image. The image is from Artfully Asian; I stamped it in Versamark then embossed with detail gold. I painted inside the flowers with Ranger Perfect Pearls in blush and copper. They're a little like Pearl-Ex, but you can paint with them just using a little water on your aquapainter or a paint brush. I'm still learning how to use them, so any tips or suggestions would be welcome! The main image is layered on pumpkin pie, and tied with gold cord and a ribbon scrap in orange. Sentiment is stamped in artichoke. This or something similar is likely to be used as my Thanksgiving card this year.

A challenging weekend

I spent Friday night at the last of three farewell parties for coworkers last week. It was a fun gathering, but I think I've had enough of those for awhile. So today I ran some errands, got my hair cut, and stopped at the local stamp store (LSS) that is going out of business. They have the whole store 2o percent off, and some things are marked down even further. One of the things I picked up was a package of pre-cut Judikins window sheet transparencies. I decided to use one on this week's inspiration challenge. The inspiration piece was an abstract piece of art and I pulled the colors, the swirls and the circle from it. I used Ranger alcohol inks and dabbed them on the transparency, then stamped the sentiment in black Stazon. I cut the window out using my Creative Memories circle cutters. On the inside, I stamped and colored the image from Artfully Asian. I think maybe it would have looked better if I hadn't colored the image, but what can you do? I've found in stamping, I'm not a perfectionist! The front of the card also uses the small swirls from Stars and Swirls, and is finished off with some bits of stitched ribbon in cranberry and violet.
The second challenge card of the weekend is for the featured stamper challenge. This week's featured stamper is Cambria, and I chose this card to work from. For my version of the card, I changed the size to 4.25 square, changed the colors, and the image, but still went with the same idea. The ice cream is covered in liquid applique, then I gently sponged on some sage shadow ink to make it look minty. The cherry has a touch of crystal effects.
I hope to stamp some more tomorrow, I still have a few new things to play with! Have a great weekend.

Sketch two-fer

I needed to make a card for a coworker who is leaving -- we've had a lot of those lately in my office, and tomorrow is the second of three send-offs this week. Anyway, I decided to use today's sketch challenge at SCS for inspiration. The first card was kind of a warm-up card, using the sketch, some yummy Crate designer paper and a Michael's $1 stamp image. I finished the card with some hodgpodge hardware and a little sprig of cool stitched ribbon.

The second card is the one I made for my friend. She is leaving for a bigger and better opportunity, and I'm very happy for her. I turned the sketch on its side and used Wild About You for the image and Happy Harmony for the sentiment. I used a white gel pen to freehand the dots around the elephant. The ribbon is May Arts. I tried to find a little doodad for the center of the flower, but I didn't want to use a rhinestone and couldn't find anything else in my stash that seemed suitable.

I'm working the late shift at work tomorrow, and Friday night I have the last farewell event, so I probably won't get in anymore stamping until the weekend. I hope you all have a great rest of the week.

Sunday afternoon stamping

I did a little stamping today, before I forced myself into some spring cleaning! The first card is for Jen Del Muro's challenge found here. The challenge was to follow her sketch as well as use pink, coral and celery. The coral was the hardest part, but finding the prima in my stash helped pull the card together. The stamp is from Happy Harmony; the image is stamped in pink and celery, with the edges of the flowers rolled in coral. The blossoms are all covered in diamond Stickles. The patterned paper is from SU's palette of prints.

This was a card that I had partially stamped earlier and found again as I was cleaning up scraps today. So I decided I ought to finish it. The iris is from Penny Black - I love irises and I LOVE this stamp. I inked it in amethyst and artichoke, then spritzed it with water and stamped it three times, each one getting lighter. The sentiment is from Small Sayings. I used the ticket corner punch, organdy ribbon and amethyst brads from Making Memories to finish off the card.

A challenging week

I didn't get a lot of stamping in this week because of work and graduation for my cousin. In fact, I'm headed out to the last graduation event later today - a family get together. I still have one other graduation card to make for another cousin, and then I will be all done!
The two cards I did manage to make were both inspired by the challenges on SCS. I love the daily challenges - they are a great way to get into stamping shape by trying new techniques and getting out of my comfort zone, or sometimes my rut! The first card is for the sketch challenge. I am still using up scraps, so I started with these scraps of Japanese Kimono designer paper and then added the image from Artfully Asian and the cool coin doodad I picked up at a LSS while on vacation. Cardstock and ink colors are real red, taken with teal and pretty in pink.

The second card is for the inspiration challenge. Karen does a great job and picking inspiration pieces. This week's was a pink, red and black cake with stars on it. So I used Stars and Swirls to make a background, then used the bigger star from the set to make the pink and black row, which I covered with dazzling diamonds. The sentiment is from Happy Everything.

Happy Saturday everyone.

Please help...

If you spend any time at all on SCS, or know Jenn Balcer, please visit here! Thanks!

It's been a busy week, and no stamping for a few days. Today my cousin graduated from high school and I was one of the lucky 10 who got to attend his graduation. He's a great kid - off to Harvard in the fall - and I've really enjoyed watching him grow up the last few years since I've lived near him and his family. It was a great, busy and long day of celebrating with family. And we're having the big party on Saturday!!! Sadly, that means I won't be able to attend a small rubber stamp convention being held in my town that day, but it's worth the sacrifice. Hope you all had a good week. All I can say is TGIF!

Scrap attack!

My stamp space has been feeling messy and cluttered, so the last couple of days I've been doing some cleaning and organizing so I can better use the stuff I have, especially my scraps! Plus I need to order some paper before the prices go up, so I figured I'd better find out what I have. Fortunately, I think I just need about six packages, plus white. I also put all my patterned paper scraps in a craft keeper so I can see and use them without them getting wrinkled or damaged. While I was at it, I made a few cards!
I made this one using scraps left over from a card tin I made for a friend to give her mom. It was my first officially commissioned piece of stamp art, and of course, I forgot to take a photo of it! But picture this, on a tin, and you'll get the idea. The card base is apricot appeal, with a strip of celery and patterned paper from Chatterbox's Scrapbook Walls collection. The image is stamped in apricot and celery, with the flower edges rock and rolled in bashful blue. The scrap that started this card was the punched out flower piece - I had punched out a few little flowers using this cute punch from the Target $1 spot, and this piece in bashful blue was left behind. Anyway, the flowers are covered in diamond stickles and I used SU grosgrain and my horizontal slot punch to tied the bow. The sentiment is an A Muse stamp I got half off. I love a good deal! The card is going to an SCSer's friend who is undergoing treatment for cancer.

I made this card for Beate's gate fold challenge using scraps left over from the altered letter I made for my friend's baby. I love this paper! It's Daisy D's and I think I bought it at a LSS. The card base is real red, and the image is layered on brocade blue and garden green. The elephant is stamped in brocade blue, with a real read and glorious green flower (I don't actually have any garden green ink!) And the sentiment is in real red. Of course the elephant had to have a googlie eye. The ribbon keeps the card closed. I think the card is a 5 inch square, but funny enough, I can't really remember!

Celebrations with patterned paper

I have some packages to get out in the mail tomorrow, and I thought I should get busy and make some cards to go with them! I tend to get in cardmaking rhythms, or ruts, I guess, and these two cards reflect my current vibe - patterned paper, my ticket corner punch (a must have!!!!) and top-folding vertical cards. Also unusual for me is a lack of ribbon on both of these cards. It's a crime against all the ribbon in my collection, but please don't turn me in! I'm trying something new.
This card is for my niece, Ali, who is turning 9 on Tuesday. She's getting a pink alligator because one of her nicknames is Ali-gator! The card base is pink passion; the patterned paper is from Creative Memories. The image is on whisper white layered over some pink magic mesh, which is layered on another piece of whisper white. The alligator from Wild About You was stamped in pretty in pink, then kissed onto linen inked with pink passion to give the gator some texture. The googlie eyes are just for fun. The sentiment is pink passion ink on white, which is layered on pretty in pink paper and popped up on a pop dot. The gift on the sentiment has diamond stickles on it.
This is my Dad's Father's Day card. I bought the SU set Classic Convertibles just for this stamp; my dad has a '55 Ford Thunderbird that he has been restoring pretty much my whole life. My challenge over the last 3-4 years has been to see how many different ways I can use the stamp. This card was inspired by the cool Paper Salon paper I found yesterday at a LSS about 90 minutes from here. If you're ever in San Dimas, Calif., I can highly recommend Scrappin Good Times on the Arrow Highway. The line from Paper Salon is called Haberdashery. The card base is true thyme and the car is inked in thyme on vanilla cardstock; I distressed the edges with my super cool Heidi Swapp edge distresser. The image is layered on a non-SU charcoal gray and then a layer of mellow moss. Eyelets are from Making Memories.
Tonight I'm trying to use up some scraps from the scrap pile; check in tomorrow see what I've come up with!

I blame Target for this card!

I was wandering through Target the other day -- I love that store! -- and the colors in their summer seasonal collection grabbed my eye. The bright red, caribbean blue, green and amethyst coolers, beach blankets and other fun stuff were so vibrant and fun. So when I got home that night, I wanted to break into my new pallette of prints paper, and in it are two of the Target colors. I added the other two, and here you go. The image is from Simply Said, the sentiment from A muse and all paper is SU. The centers of the flowers have tiny rhinestones and I tied silver cord behind the image. I colored the image with ink from the pad lid and blender pens. I think it makes for a fun card.

Tie-dyed Baby Togs

Today I thought I would take a break from my stamping projects to share another of my favorite craft projects. When I first got out of college more than 10 years ago, I was young, poor and had lots of friends who started getting married and having babies. I wanted to come up with a fun, unique baby gift that didn't cost me a fortune. And did I mention, I've always been a huge fan of tie-dye? That's how I started doing tie-dyed onesies, and occasionally toddler t-shirts. A few weeks ago, I made a bunch for little ones I visited on my recent trip home. And I took some step-by-step photos to share as well! Above are my ingredients: cotton onesies (I like Carter's the best, and I work right near a Carter's outlet); rubber bands from a giant economy size bag, salt and Dylon dye. When I started dying, I chose Dylon because the colors are a bit softer and more appropriate for babies. Also, it is a lot quicker than RIT - only an hour or so soak time and you're done.

I forgot to take a photo of the folding and rubber-banding process - that is the most time consuming, I think. I tend to use three fold types: the sunburst, which makes your traditional swirl; the accordion, which makes a cool line fold, and the marble, which is when you just ball up the fabric and get a variegated color pattern. Sometimes I double dip to get a mix of colors, like starting a piece of fabric in green, then changing the rubber band pattern slightly and redying in blue, as in the photo below.

After the dying, you take the rubber bands out and rinse the remaining dye out of the fabric. The color lightens up a lot after rinsing and drying, and again after the first washing. You have to learn not to panic when the fabric turns a really bright shade in the dye tub.

Here are some finished sunbursts and accordions for baby boys. These sunbursts were a bit splotchy, but I still thought they turned out cool. And below is the final shot of the whole batch. The brightest pink ones are the marbled look.

I take custom orders if you're interested in purchasing baby tie-dye. Price per piece is $12 or three for $32 plus shipping. Contact me at eliotstamps@msn.com for more information.

Some days are like this ...

I had a different post planned today, but then after three tries at uploading the photos, I realized I had never cropped or resized them for upload! Now it's late and I'm not really in the mood for doing that much work, LOL! I did stamp last night, for today's color challenge, and uploaded it at SCS. I don't know that I'll get any stamping in today, though I do have some card ideas floating in my head. I'm kind of hoping my latest SU order will arrive so I can put it to use. It's mostly a stock-up of this year's in color cardstock, a stamp set from the spring mini - Bunny Hugs, for next year's Easter cards (I love bunnies, and that set is adorable, but it came out too late for me to use it this year) - and of course, the Palette of Prints sampler pack of designer papers. The order was split in two, and one was supposed to come today, but the UPS man didn't leave the box, just a notice. I need to tell him tomorrow it's okay to leave the box between the screen and the door! Happy stamping everyone!

Fast and simple

I made a list the other night of all the cards I need over the next few weeks for graduation, Father's Day, birthdays and other occasions. It was long! So some fast and easy cards were in order! I made these two over the weekend. The top card is a graduation card for my cousin, who is off to Harvard in the fall! It is an over-sized card, about 5 x 7, I think. I started with the laser die-cut I found at the LSS. Many of our local scrapbook stores have custom papers and other embellishments for schools in our area. This made it much easier for me to design a grad card, especially since I have no grad stamps! The card base is black, with a layer of Bazzill gray attached with silver brads. I stamped itty bitty backgrounds in cranberry crisp on the gray, then added the sentiment from sincere salutations in black. With the pre-made cap as the focal piece, this card went together in a snap!

This card is also for my cousin; he turns 18 a week before his graduation. I struggle with masculine cards, especially for this kid, since he's not into the outdoors or cars, and those are the only masculine stamps I have. So I used a $1 stamp of the present in night of navy, old olive and cranberry crisp, and added a sentiment from All Year Cheer. The navy blue brads are from Making Memories. I also added some diamond Stickles to the spots on the presents. Hopefully sparkles aren't too girly!

Why I stamp ...

I've been thinking about this off and on lately, and today I decided it was time to put some thoughts to paper. I know I may never be as good a stamper as the girls of the SCS Dirty Dozen. I may never be published or be on a design team. I can't afford to keep up with all of the latest trends. That can be hard sometimes when I'm surfing blogs or visiting SCS, because I think, oh, I could be so much better, or my cards would get more comments, if I had this or could do that. I try to remind myself that I stamp as a hobby, for fun and as a way to stay sane. It's a creative outlet that has allowed me to meet new people and share something I love with friends and family.
Sometimes, though, I need outside validation that the gifts and cards I make aren't ending up in my friends' recycling bin or their next garage sale. (I can't be the only one who thinks that, right?) I mean, I make all this stuff, and mostly I send it off to friends and family who live far away, so I never see their reaction to it or know if they're just saying they like it so they don't hurt my feelings.
On my last couple of visits home to Oregon, I received just that kind of validation. Here are a couple of examples: When my 16-year-old cousin opened her Hollywood birthday card, she and her stepmom both said "Wow! I bet she made that!" When my friend's husband opened the small matchbook gift card I made for their baby's gift, he said "You'd never know that wasn't bought at a store. You did a really good job." When I went to my mom's house, the giant paperclip I'd made for her was on display, along with the paper Easter basket and Mother's Day cards I'd sent her. And my dad, who I do not have a close relationship with, has saved every card I've sent him for the last four years, and he made a gallery for them which now hangs on his wall. He's such a guy -- he took a piece of foam poster board and covered it in black fabric (with staples, I think)! But then he layed out all the cards in a geometric pattern of veritcal, horizontal, vertical, and tacked them to the foam board. I can't tell you how that made my day!
I wanted to share that with all of you, partly because writing it down helps me remember why I do this, and partly because I think it's good that we remind ourselves that stamping and crafting is really a heartfelt endeavor as much as it's a creative one. The one thing it's not is a competition -- there is room for all kinds of stampers, of all skill levels and budgets. I guess that's why I love it still, after all these years.

I stamped!

It's been more than two weeks since I put ink to paper, but tonight I got home from work and decided it was long past time to stamp! I had to get out many of my supplies that had been put away while I was out of town, then start filling some of the cool jars I got from Making Memories (the big ones are perfect for ribbon scraps or yardage that isn't on rolls.) Then Karen posted her weekly inspiration challenge on SCS and that was all the prompting I needed. This week the inspiration was a birthday plate. I used the colors and layout, and I guess the theme, to inspire this card. It is fun and bright and a great showcase for one of my favorite colors, cool Caribbean. I'm very sad about Caribbean's retirement, and I have stocked up on a reinker and a couple of extra packs of cardstock so I can keep using it for a long time to come. The stamp set is Riveting, a hostess set this year that is also retiring. I also used some of the Primas I bought on my vacation. I was thinking of including those in my blog candy giveaway, but when the matched the colors of the challenge, well, they're in my collection now! I guess I'll have to do a little more shopping for the giveaway. Hope you all have a great weekend with lots of stamping. I have a long list of cards I need to get to work on for graduation, birthdays, Father's Day, and some going away cards for coworkers who are leaving. I'll keep you posted on how many cards I get done.