Washington Apple birthday

I was playing with my Washington Apple designer series paper the other day and came up with this birthday card. I love this color combination, it's so fresh, but also has fall tones to it. I think I'm going to have to break down and buy the riding hood red ink, though. I used real red on this card and it works, but it lacks the richness of riding hood red. I'm also having fun with these die-cut blooms, which were part of a secret sister RAK package from my sweet friend Lisa! Thanks, Lisa!
Supplies:
Stamps: Happy Everything
Ink: real red, bashful blue
Paper: pumpkin pie, so saffron, riding hood red, whisper white, Washington Apple DSP
Accessories: ribbon, corner rounder, die cut blooms, rhinestone brad

Dirty dozen sketch

I had a chance to make a card with the sketch from this month's Dirty Dozen challenges. It is a fun sketch, and I thought it was perfect to showcase this fun Washington Apple designer series paper. Unfortunately, I think the image I chose is to delicate against the vibrancy of the paper and the rest of the design. It kind of washes out against the background. Oh well, lesson learned! I probably should've remade the card, but I had all the pieces together, so I went for it anyway!
Supplies:
Stamps: Simply said
Ink: stazon black, real red, bashful blue, saffron, pumpkin pie
Paper: bashful blue, riding hood red, pumpkin pie, saffron, Washington Apple, shimmery white
Accessories: Cuttlebug swiss dots, nestabilities, ribbon, Creative Cafe felt flower, rhinestone brad, die-cut blooms

Weekend sketch

September and October are busy months for me, with lots of birthdays to keep track of. I needed a quick birthday card yesterday for a four-year-old girl. Beate's weekend sketch fit the bill; I put this card together in about 15 minutes. I don't have a lot of child-friendly stamps, but I thought the flowers and colors here would work for a little girl. The Sweet Always designer paper was a RAK from my friend Lisa! Thanks Lisa!
Supplies:
Stamps: So Many Scallops
Ink: regal rose
Paper: pink pirhouette, pumpkin pie, regal rose, white, Sweet Always DP
Accessories: CB swiss dots, scallop punch, ribbon

More fall

Here's another fall card I made with my Gina K stamps and my RAK'd fall goodies. I love the ribbon and leaf brad - so elegant! I didn't have the right shade of orange in Copics, so I colored these pumpkins with my blender pen. It's a little harder to get an even color, but I don't mind. I also added a touch of stickles to the lines on the pumpkins, just for a touch of sparkle.
Supplies:
Stamps: Gina K
Ink: stazon brown, pumpkin, old olive
Paper: Really rust, chocolate chip, neenah classic crest white, unknown dp
Accessories: ticket punch, ribbon, stickles, brad, blender pens

Fall is in the air

I love fall, especially the crisp air, changing leaves and vibrant colors. Too bad I don't get any of those things in Southern California! LOL. It still feels like summer here, and probably will for awhile. But that hasn't kept me from making some fall cards. I received a RAK of some fun fall goodies, including the leaves and designer paper used on this card, from the coordinators of the last round of VSN. They were a perfect match to my new Gina K Happy Harvest stamps.
Supplies:
Stamps: Gina K
Ink: Memento rich cocoa, Copic markers
Paper: old olive, chocolate chip, pumpkin pie, really rust, neenah classic crest solar white, unknown dp
Accessories: leaves, ribbon, ticket punch

Football season

Have I mentioned lately how bad I am at boy/man cards? I still have to make them, though! This one is for my nephew who just turned 12. He lives quite a distance away and I don't get to see him much, which makes it hard to keep track of his interests. But I know he likes football, and it's football season, so I figured I was safe with a football card. The color scheme was inspired by the patterned paper from Creative Imaginations, the line is Sports Xtreme. I stamped the football several times without re-inking in an effort to show motion.
I also made a matching box/bag to hold a pair of gift cards (I-tunes and Barnes and Noble, I figure those were safe bets!) I found a tutorial on Cambria's blog. It was fast and easy, but the gift cards only fit if you take them out of their paper folders. Hopefully these will be a hit with the recipient!
Supplies:
Stamps: Good sport (retired SU), All Holidays
Ink: basic brown
Paper: chocolate chip, vanilla, Creative Imaginations pp
Accessories: chestnut brads from American Crafts, round tab punch, clip

Heart to Heart

I had a chance tonight to make a card for Cammie's Heart-to-heart challenge. Check it out HERE! She is giving away more than $1,000 worth of goodies and a bunch of handmade cards from some fabulous cardmakers in her blog candy giveaway. There is still time to play if you want a shot at the goodies! The challenge is part of her effort to raise awareness about Alzheimer's Disease. She's asking people to make cards for people who care for Alzheimer's patients. I think I will send mine to a woman I know who cares for Alzheimer's patients as well as there families as a way to say thank you.
My card design is loosely based on one I saw on Beate's blog HERE. This new stamp set, Upsy Daisy, just arrived tonight so I had to put it right to use. And the Haiku dp was a gift from my VSN secret sister from the last round, Lisa aka Stampinthyme.
Supplies:
Stamps: Upsy Daisy (SU), Stampendous sentiment
Ink: basic gray, kiwi kiss
Paper: gray, kiwi, baja breeze, white, Haiku dp
Accessories: gray taffeta ribbon, CM square punches, silver brad, paper piercer and templates

Bubbly

This is my card for the VSN warm-up challenge. Since the theme this round is Cabaret, the challenge was to use a favorite song as inspiration. I've been listening to Colbie Caillat lately, and thought "Bubbly" would make a great inspiration piece. Of course, my mind went straight to "The bubbly" - champagne! It's pink champagne on this card, with a touch of stickles for sparkle. The colors were inspired by this designer paper and other goodies I received from my VSN secret sister from the last round, Lisa aka Stampinthyme. Thanks Lisa!

Also, if you haven't been there yet, please check out Cammie's blog: http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com/2008/09/heart-to-heart-blog-candy.html
She is doing an amazing blog candy giveaway to support a cause close to her heart: Alzheimer's research. I'm hoping to get a card made for her later today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Inky antics
Ink: Memento rich cocoa, Copic markers
Paper: pink pirhouette, pumpkin pie, shimmery white, Sweet Always DP
Accessories: ticket punch, corner punch, slot punch, ribbon, prima, die-cut bloom, filigree brad, rhinestone brad, stickles

Green frog

I finally have some new stuff! My first order from the new Stampin Up catalog came Tuesday, but I had such a crazy busy week, I just finally had time to play tonight! I got a bunch of paper (I was running low on lots of colors, and also ordered stuff for Christmas cards), some of the new In Color inks and papers, a scallop punch, and a couple of stamp sets. Woohoo!
I was inspired by this month's Dirty Dozen gallery on SCS for this card. One of the focuses for the month is coloring mediums. When I don't have markers that match my cardstock or ink, I love to use my blender pens to color images. I just pick up color from the pad lids - it works great. This was a quick and fun card to make, but it was hard to photograph! It wouldn't lay flat so it has a big shadow along the bottom. Oh well!
Supplies:
Stamps: A flower for all seasons, All holidays
Ink: Kiwi kiss, tangerine tango, basic gray, Stazon black
Paper: kiwi, tangerine, gray, shimmery white
Accessories: Scallop punch, blender pens, twinkle stickers, Cuttlebug borders folder, basic gray taffeta ribbon

Berry bliss ensemble

I just realized I hadn't shared this little set yet! I altered this notebook and made a matching card and bookmark for my VSN secret sister. I love altering these books from Michael's, especially adding all the ribbons! You can never have too much ribbon! The pink/brown color combo was inspired by Lee's favorite colors, and I used remnants of Berry Bliss DP. Sadly, I am almost out of this paper. :(
The card uses more Berry bliss and one of a kind. I added some small brown Kaiser craft pearls, as well, for a touch of bling. I colored the image with markers so I could get both chocolate chip and pretty in pink in the design. It's a little laborious, but worth it!
Supplies:
Stamps: One of a Kind
Ink: chocolate chip, pomegranate, pretty in pink
Paper: chocolate chip, pretty in pink, pomegranate, neenah classic crest white, berry bliss DP
Accessories: dew drops, Kaiser craft pearls, ribbon, primas, We R jumbo brad

Cherry sparkle

Things have been pretty hectic in my life lately, which has meant a lot less time and energy for stamping. But I did get back to the craft table for a little while tonight, so I should have some things to share over the next few days! This card was the only I've managed to make for this month's Dirty Dozen theme on Splitcoast. The theme is "All that Glitters" so I wanted to make a card using one of my favorite glittery techniques. I love to add just a touch of glitter or other sparkle to an otherwise plain card - I love how it just adds "something" to the project. On this card, I added Stickles to the cherries for a touch of sparkle. It is more sparkly in real life; I was having trouble photographing it. The card uses scraps from another project I ended up taking apart because I didn't like it. I figured it was worth recycling since this paper is so adorable.
Supplies:
Stamps: Tart and tangy
Ink: real red and old olive markers
Paper: Summer picnic DP, real red, bashful blue, old olive, whisper white
Accessories: ribbon, scallop punch, stickles, circle punch

fabric flowers

I purchased a package of 6x6 adhesive backed fabric sheets by SEI on clearance at Michael's. When I bought them, I had no plans for using them, but I thought they were cool, so in the cart they went. Besides, who can resist a good deal, right? So a few weeks ago, I stumbled on the sheets again, and decided to run them through my Nestabilities. It worked great! I turned the olive and chocolate sheets into scallop circle flowers. I added some buttons from my stash, some chocolate ribbon for stems, and layered them on this great Crate Paper. This is not at all my typical style, but I love how this card came out.
Supplies:
Stamps: Lots of thoughts, SU
Ink: Chocolate chip
Paper: soft sky, chocolate chip, Crate DP
Acccessories: SEI fabric, buttons and thread, ribbon, Nestabilities

Distressed in pink

This is one of the cards I made for my VSN secret sister, Lee. I did a lot of distressing on this card in recognition of Lee's VSN challenge, which was to distress! I pulled out my Tonic distresser, my sponges and my color spritzer. The layout is a little off, but otherwise, I was pretty happy with the card.
Supplies:
Stamps: Embrace Life (SU), $1 sentiment from Michael's
Ink: stazon black, rose romance, cranberry, artichoke
Paper: Cranberry, artichoke, rose romance, neenah classic crest solar white
Accessories: edge distresser, slot punch, ribbon, color spritzer, blender pens (for coloring), Cuttlebug, sponges

Shoe rack

This is another of the cards I made for the Gina K release party challenges over the weekend. Jessica challenged everyone to use an entire piece of 6x6 paper on our cards. I chose a sheet from the Basic Grey Euphoria 6x6 pad, and paired it with this cute shoe rack from the Retro Boutique set. I managed to use most of the paper on the front of the card, but also used a piece to line the inside of the card (Jessica said that was OK). The hardest part was the little piece I finally ended up using for the sentiment. It was a fun challenge!
Supplies:
Stamps: Retro boutique, Gina K
Paper: cool Caribbean, pixie pink, pretty in pink, Neenah classic crest solar white, BG Euphoria
Ink: Tuxedo Memento Black, Copics
Accessories: ticket punch, Marcella K brads

Retro sketch

I played around this weekend with my new Gina K Designs Retro Boutique stamps. Gina had a new release party this weekend and there were a couple of challenges posted there, so I played along. This is for Cammie's sketch challenge. I colored the image first then chose the colors from there. It was hard to find the right designer paper, but I came across this piece in the My Mind's Eye stack I got at Costco a few years ago. I also added a bit of bling using some Stampendous rhinestone stickers.
Supplies:
Stamps: Retro boutique - Gina K
Ink: Memento Tuxedo black, Copic markers
Paper: cool Caribbean, real red, pixie pink, neenah classic crest white, MME DP
Accessories: corner rounder, CM punches, CM circle cutter, bling from Stampendous, slot punch, ribbon, Cuttlebug

Karen's inspiration

My friend Karen has a great eye for finding stamping inspiration in photos, ads, or Web sites. A few of us convinced her to find us an inspiration piece as a stamping challenge. You can see what she found (and play along!) at her blog, Carefree Creations. I used the colors and patterns from the inspiration piece in my card. I pulled out my Gina K Retro Boutique stamps, inked the dress image in Memento Rich Cocoa, colored it partially with Copics, and paper-pieced the skirt. The purse was also colored with Copics and then covered in Stickles. The color turned out a little brighter than I had hoped! Thanks, Karen, for the inspiration!
Supplies:
Stamps: Retro Boutique, Gina K
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Copics
Paper: bashful blue, sage shadow, Neenah classic crest solar white, DP from Creative Memories
Accessories: Nestabilites, CM circle cutters, ribbon, Stickles, ticket punch

Finally, the end!

Hope you all had a nice Labor Day weekend. My mom came for a visit and we hit some tourist spots and some craft stores over the holiday weekend. It was a great time. Finally, here are the last two cards I created for this round of VSN. The first card is my attempt at the brayered batik background for Beth's challenge. To make the background, you use your brayer and a Kaleidacolor ink pad, then spritz with water to get the colors to run. I only had this brightly colored ink, so I paired it with the toucan.
Supplies:
Stamps: toucan of my love (retired SU)
Ink: Versamark, Kaleidacolor fruitcake
Paper: watercolor, pixie pink, cool caribbean, green galore, basic black
Accessories: corner rounder, Cuttlebug, fibers, sparkly black EP
This card was for Stacey's Harry Potter potion challenge. She gave us aformula to use for our card, limiting us on stamps, inks and supplies (no glitter or bling!) I used Berry Bliss and One of a Kind for my card.
Stamps: Friendship flowers, One of a Kind
Ink: pretty in pink, chocolate chip
Paper: whisper white, pretty in pink, chocolate chip, berry bliss
Accessories: ticket punch, flower punch, ribbon, clip

Strawberry shortcake

Are you all getting sick of these VSN cards yet? I just have a few more to go! It's a good thing, too, because I had to put all the stamp stuff away for a few days. My mom is visiting for the long holiday weekend and she gets the office/craft room as her bedroom while she's here. I actually cleaned up enough to take some photos of the space, so one of these days I'll have to share them here. But at least I have cards to share in the meantime!
This card was for Pat's challenge; she asked us to use the title of one of several food-related mystery books as a color combination for our card. I chose the "Strawberry Shortcake Murder," using creamy caramel for the shortcake, real red for the strawberries and white for the ice cream/whipped cream. We are an ice cream family, how about you? I stamped the flowers in Memento tuxedo black and colored them with Copics, then added some white highlights using a gel pen. The tag is a Cuttlebug die-cut.
Supplies:
Stamps: Embrace life, Short and Sweet
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics, creamy caramel
Paper: creamy caramel, real red, whisper white
Accessories: Gel pen, Cuttlebug, ribbon, eyelets, ticket punch