Have a great day

Hi everyone. I made a card today for the ways to use it challenge on scs. This is the first time I've used this new stamp set, although I've had it for a month. It's called Autumn Days and was one we could preorder as SU demos. I almost didn't get it. I actually put in a second preorder near the end of the month, because I was really close to earning more great rewards (free stuff), so this was on that second order.

The challenge was to use office supplies on our card, so I started by die cutting the rolodex card and stamping it. I sponged the edges and backed it in black. I didn't like the black showing through the slots on the bottom, so I used my 1/4" square punch to punch out that and finished it off with a precision file, which I also used to round the corners on all the black layers.

The background piece of crushed curry is embossed with a SU texture plate in my cuttlebug. The smaller corner pieces are Avery labels, stamped in versamark and clear embossed and then sponged for an embossed resist.

I wanted the sentiment to look more like a hand written note, so I printed it on my computer with CK Becky font and then attached it with a paper clip.

What's in it?
stamps: Autumn Days (SU)
ink: dusty durango, crushed curry, versamark
paper: dusty durango, crushed curry, basic black, cream
other: cuttlebug, rolodex card (sizzix bigz clear die), harlequin texture plate (SU), computer, paper clip, clear ep, heat gun, sponge, Avery address labels, foam tape, precision file set, 1/4" square punch

Thanks so much for stopping by. Be blessed.

2 more

Here are the last two cards for the Dare to get Dirty challenges. Be blessed.

Some more fan club challenges

Hi everyone. I just thought I'd post some more pictures of the cards I did for the Dare to get Dirty challenges. If you would like the details on these, please check my splitcoast gallery.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

fan club challenges

Hello. This weekend is a special challenge event on splitcoast. The Dirty Dozen issues challenges for the fan club. So I set aside Friday as a stamping day. All of the cards I made incorporated more than one challenge, some three and some two, making it a bit easier to get all of the challenges in. I thought that I'd finished all those that had been posted, but found three more. But it's really late and I'm tired, so I'm just going to post these cards without any explanation. These are all posted on my splitcoast gallery, with recipes, if you are interested in that information. Thanks for stopping by.

corrugated friendship

Hi there. It's sketch time. My card today is for the sketch challenge on SCS. I had a little fun and added some corrugated cardboard.

I started by stamping the little birdie from cheep talk 3 times in ballet blue on ivory. Then I punched them out with a 1-1/4" square punch and punched the corners with a ticket corner punch. I added some faux stitching in navy. They are layered on scalloped squares.

The card base is ivory with navy faux stitching. The cardboard is swiped with my white craft ink pad to lighten up the brown. I attached the birds with foam tape and added a piece of navy ribbon and then glued the cardboard to a strip of navy.

The sentiment is stamped in ballet blue.

Photo corner punches were added to fill in some empty space. I finished it off with some white faux stitching.

What's in it?
stamps: cheep talk, wonderful words (SU)
ink: ballet blue, night of navy marker, white craft
paper: night of navy, naturals ivory, corrugated cardboard
other: 1-1/4" square punch, scallop square punch, ticket corner punch, photo corner punch, white gel pen, navy grosgrain ribbon, foam tape

Now I'm going to go find some lunch and then it's time to do some quilting.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Be blessed.

fabric flowers

Hello everyone. Today was a non-stamping day for me. I spent some time at the blood center making a donation and then I worked on a quilt that I need to get finished. It's a quilt that was started by a friend's mom. She passed away a number of years ago and the friend doesn't quilt, so I agreed to finish it for her. And I'm way behind in getting it done.

But I do have a card to show you today. Yesterday's technique challenge on SCS was to use fabric on your card. The idea was to use it for flowers, although that wasn't required. Being a quilter, I have a huge stash of fabric, but I really didn't want to spend time going through my stash finding just the perfect piece, so I just grabbed the first piece I saw that was not put away. It was actually a ruffle that I had pulled off a skirt. I found the skirt in a rummage sale and bought it because I loved the colors, intending to use the fabric for quilting. Well, there's still plenty left for that. My card only required a small piece.

The directions recommended using freezer paper to stabilize the fabric, so you could die cut it, so that's what I did. I used a Sizzix flower die. The fabric is the largest and smallest flower and the middle layer is a piece of canvas. If you look closely, you can see the lines where the stitching was - lol, we're recycling here. The canvas was stiff enough that I didn't need to stabilize it, but I had to be gentle when I sponged a bit of color along the edges of the petals so that it didn't fray. I sewed the button on through all the layers of the flower.

The flourishes are made from card stock with another Sizzix die.

I used a cuttlebug embossing folder for the background.

The sentiment is from a retired SU hostess set called warmest regards. I punched it out with the new modern label punch. The punch only comes in one size, so in order to get a backing layer, I punched two more from brilliant blue and cut them each in half, one vertically and one horizontally. Then I just separated the pieces and glued them to the back of the ivory punched piece. Both the sentiment and flower are popped up for a bit of dimension.

What's in it?
stamps: warmest regards (SU)
ink: brilliant blue
paper: naturals ivory, brilliant blue, night of navy
other: fabric, canvas, cuttlebug, cb embossing folder birds & swirls, Hello Kitty flower bouquet & daisies dies (Sizzix), button, sponge dauber, modern label punch, foam tape

Thanks so much for stopping by. Be blessed.

want a cookie?

Hi everyone. Last night was a mini VSN (virtual stamp night) on SCS. What adds to the fun of the challenges is that you only have 45 minutes in which to complete each one and a deadline to upload. I was actually able to do all four challenges. The first challenge required using a regular hole punch (1/4") and at first, I was stumped as to what to do. But then it hit me - chocolate chip cookies! So that's what I made on my card.

I punched out some scalloped circles from caramel card stock, sponged the edges with chocolate chip ink, then crumbled them up and sponged over the wrinkles to make them look more realistic. The 1/4" chocolate punches became the chips.

I made a lacy edge with a Martha Stewart punch.

The sentiment is from a background stamp called word by word, which I cut apart and mounted each word on a separate block.

I actually had the card finished and had taken pictures, when I realized that it still needed more, so I went back and added the white dots. What a difference that made.

What's in it?
stamps: word by word (SU)
ink: chocolate chip
paper: chocolate chip, real red, creamy caramel, whisper white
other: 1/4" circle punch, scallop circle punch, doily lace punch (Martha Stewart), ribbon (Michael's), foam tape, white gel pen.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Be blessed.

Big Shot Club

Good morning. I wanted to let you know that I am starting a new class called the Big Shot Club. Whether you own a Big Shot die-cut machine or another brand of manual die-cut machine, or just like to use die-cuts on your cards or projects, this club is for you. Or maybe you just want to be able to tell people you belong to a Big Shot Club. Even if you don't yet own a die-cut machine, you are still welcome to attend.

This class will meet once a month and each month we will make 2 or 3 projects, depending on complexity, using our Big Shot (Sizzix) dies. Projects will include mostly cards, but also some boxes, party & decorating ideas, and more... the possibilities are endless.

Although our primary focus will be on the Big Shot dies, occasionally we will use dies and/or embossing folders manufactured by other companies.

The Big Shot Club will meet each month on the 2nd Thursday at my house near Waukesha, WI at either 10:00 A.M. or 6:30 P.M. to accommodate your schedule. The first club will meet August 13, 2009.

Club price is $10.00 per month. There is no long term commitment - you can sign up each month according to your schedule. Sign-up deadline will always be one week prior to the date of class. Class size is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot early.

Club attendees will receive a 5% discount* on any merchandise on pages 194-202 of the SU idea book & catalog 2009-2010, if purchased at club. (*shipping & tax are calculated on full price of merchandise)

If you purchase your Big Shot die-cut machine from Stampin' UP! through me, your next four club sessions are FREE.

Contact me via my email (see sidebar) to sign up.

Have a great day.

Melody

want some blog candy?

Check out the fabulous giveaway over on Priscilla's blog: http://priscillastyles.blogspot.com/2009/07/this-blog-candy-post-will-stay-at-top.html

Have a great day.

no butterflies?

Hello and happy Saturday. Has it really been a week since my last post? Last night I checked on the inspiration challenge on SCS and found the piece I wanted to work from.

I pulled out a really old SU set and stamped the flower three times each on summer sun, tangerine tango, melon mambo and whisper white. I started to cut them out, but was having trouble staying awake, so I decided to work on it this morning. After cutting out all the flowers, I sponged the edges on all the petals and glued each set of three together. I punched different sizes of circles from chocolate chip and then trimmed around them with my deckle scissors for the centers.

I decided to leave off the white flower and substitute a butterfly instead. The larger butterfly was on my desk, so even though it was vanilla, I decided to use it anyway. I punched the small one with a Martha Stewart punch. They are both sponged and then I added glitter to the flower centers and the butterflies.

The white background is embossed with my Swiss dots embossing folder and sponged along the edge with melon mambo. Each of the flowers and the butterfly are popped up.

I stamped the sentiment on white card stock, trimmed it with deckle scissors and ran it through my crimper. Then I sponged the edges and added glitter.

I really love dotted ribbon, but feel it's a bit overpriced for cards, so I used my white gel pen to make faux ribbon. The sentiment piece is popped up over the faux ribbon.

What's in it?
stamps: bud basics (SU), take flight (Gina K)
ink: melon mambo, tangerine tango, crushed curry
paper: melon mambo, tangerine tango, summer sun, chocolate chip, whisper white, very vanilla
other: cuttlebug, cb Swiss dots embossing folder, beautiful butterflies Bigz die, dazzling diamonds glitter, white gel pen, deckle scissors, crimper, foam tape

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Be blessed.

Happy Independence Day!

It's a wonderful country we live in. I am so very thankful to those who have and are sacrificing their time and for some, their lives, to keep all the wonderful freedoms we have. My family will be spending the afternoon at a picnic at my sister's. I hope you are able to spend time with family and friends today.

I wasn't sure that I'd have time to make a card for the inspiration challenge on SCS today, but when I looked at the samples (I picked the one on the right), I knew just what I wanted to do and the card went together fairly quickly. Of course it helped that I had an image on my desk all colored.

The music is from an old piano practice book that I found in a rummage sale. The background layer is embossed in my cuttlebug. All the layers are sponged on the edges.

What's in it?
stamps: natural beauty, small scrip (SU)
ink: jet black stazon, creamy caramel
paper: whisper white, barely banana, bashful blue, old music
other: hemp, buttons, prismacolor pencils, gamsol, foam tape, sponge, cuttlebug, cb diamond in the rough embossing folder

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderfilled day.

more cardboard

Hi everyone. I had so much fun with the corrugated cardboard on my card that I decided to make another for the ways to use it challenge.

I used three of the SU's new in colors on my card. The base layer is dusty durango. I die cut the rich razzleberry with my top note die and stamped the bird image from wings of friendship (a new hostess set) in white craft ink and then heated it to dry. I like to have a strip of card stock behind the top note, so that it doesn't look likes it's floating. But since the other end was being covered by the cardboard, I only needed a small piece where it would show. I used my cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder to give the bermuda bay piece some texture.

For the corrugated cardboard piece, I spritzed one side with water, let it sit a bit and then removed the outside layer. I used my Sizzix scallop circle die to cut out the cardboard and then trimmed two sides so that it would fit in the corner of the card.

I wanted to use a crochet flower and found one that matched the dusty durango perfectly. I punched two flowers to put behind it, as well as some fern punches. The flowers are embossed with the Swiss dots folder. I used a wire cutter to remove the shank on the button for the center of the flower.

All the edges are sponged in rich razzleberry and the faux stitching is done with a white gel pen.

What's in it?
stamps: wings of friendship (SU)
ink: rich razzleberry, white craft
paper: dusty durango, bermuda bay, rich razzleberry, corrugated cardboard
other: cuttlebug, cb Swiss dots embossing folder, top note die & scallop circle die (Sizzix), 5 petal flower punch, fern punch (Martha Stewart), sponge dauber, button, white gel pen, flat back pearls, crochet flower

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Be blessed.

Fun with cardboard

Happy Thursday. I thought maybe we were going to get a peek of sunshine this morning, but it's clouded over again. Today the challenge on Splitcoast is the ways to use it challenge, and I'm the guest hostess - how fun. I decided with all the talk about going green, we'd use something that we normally throw out or recycle. We all get things shipped to us in corrugated cardboard boxes and sometimes those boxes get pretty damaged during shipping. They are perfect for your card making challenge today. We are using corrugated cardboard. I'd love to have you stop over on SCS and join in.

I started by stamping my background. I used a clear stamp that's a large corner image from pollen dust (Fancy Pants) for the lower left part of the card. Then for the upper/right side, I inked up my lattice backgrounder (CHF), stamped off once and then laid my card stock on the stamp and only rubbed where I wanted the image. Both images were stamped in chocolate chip. The edges are sponged with chocolate as well.

I die cut ovals using my nestabilities and cuttlebug. I stamped the flower with melon mambo (a new SU incolor), sponged the edges and popped up the ovals.

The flower was made by stamping French script (SU) on melon mambo and punching out several with a Fiskars punch. I sponged all the edges and then used a stylus and my fingers to give a little shape to the petals before adding a large brad in the center.

The crochet edging is a piece I recently made.

Now for the fun part - the butterfly. I spritzed a piece of corrugated cardboard with water and let it sit for a few minutes, then peeled off one side to reveal the ridges underneath. Then I die cut the butterfly with my SU beautiful butterflies die. I spritzed bronze glimmer mist on it, dried it with my heat gun and then sponged the edges with chocolate and the ridges with melon mambo. Added some pearls for the body.

The corner adornment is a cuttlebug die. A few more pearls completed the card.

What's in it?
Stamps: French script (SU), agapanthus cluster (Stampendous), lattice backgrounder (Cornish Heritage Farms), flourish (Pollen Dust – Fancy Pants)
ink: melon mambo, chocolate chip
paper: melon mambo, chocolate chip, very vanilla, corrugated cardboard
other: cuttlebug, CB corner die, Sizzix beautiful butterflies die, nestabilities ovals (Spellbinders), flower punch (Fiskars), flat back pearls (Kaiser craft), brad, hand crocheted edging (made by me), sponge, foam tape