Saturday Chat

It is time for another TMITA/PCC challenge.  This week designer Patti Nelson has given us a sketch challenge.  We can use our choice of any Nina May digital image.  The image I chose is called "Saturday Chat".  Here is the sketch we are to use

The wine card stock was embossed with the Sizzix Final Press embossing folder.  For my vertical strip I decided to sew the designer paper to the turquoise card stock.  Four punched flowers were stacked together with a button added in the middle and some Martha Stewart fern leaves placed under it.  The verse was stamped and cut out with a deckle Nestability rectangle and sponged before removing it. 

The Staurday Chat image was printed  onto white cs then colored with Copic markers.  The sky and grass were sponged on before removing them from the Oval Nestability die.  The Nestability scalloped oval was pierced in each scallop then attached with dimensional tape.

We have a new Guest Designer this month and I want to welcome Pat Pedder. 

You can  get all the details and join in on this challenge on the TMITA/PCC Blog.  Be sure and check out all the  Design Team's creative cards  while you are there.  

A NAME HAS BEEN DRAWN FOR LAST WEEK'S CARD "LUCKY BEAR".  CONGRATULATIONS TO PATTY  (Winnie's Whims and My Crafts).  Please email me with your address Patty.

Shadow Box Tutorial

I have had some requests to make a tutorial for a 5x5 inch shadow box.  I am not very experienced at making tutorials but I hope this helps.

It was hard to get a picture so you can read the whole verse from this set.  It reads "Hope is faith holding its hand out in the dark". 

For the above card, I cut one piece of Gina's 120 lb base weight white cs and one piece of  her Lovely Lavender pure luxury cs into 5 inch squares.  Next you score on the left and on the right side at 1/2" and 1" from the outside edge of both pieces.  I used my ScorPal to do this.  It will look like picture #1. You should use a bone folder to crease these score lines.  The outside score line is folded toward the center of the front and the inside score line is a mountain fold.   Next you need to cut an opening in the top piece  (2nd and 3rd pictures).

You can click on the pictures to make them larger.

I used Gina K's  Wings of Hope stamp set and a piece of  the Wings of Hope digital paper designed by Theresa Momber.  The butterfly was clear embossed onto a piece of Mother of Pearl Metallic cs .  I used small sponge daubers to add a light and then a darker purple  ink to color it.  It was then cut out.

Below are the supplies I thought I was going to use when assembling the card.  There is a piece of Gina K's purple grosgrain ribbon, ScorTape, two Martha Stewart punched borders, flowers, butterfly, design paper, a button, and shadow box front and back.  Once I started working on the card I decided not to use the two smaller flowers  and button and used pearls instead.

First step is to adhere a piece of designer paper on the inside of the bottom of the shadow box.  For my finished card I decided to use the verse that came with the stamp set in the bottom of the box.  I stamped it using black ink and cut it out with a scalloped circle Nestability.  It was sponged with ink before taking it out of the die.  In order to get it centered in the center of the opening I waited until the card was completed to attach it. 

I wanted to add some vertical score lines along the bottom of the front so first scored a line across under the circle opening then scored vertical lines all the way across using the ScorPal.  A slit was cut on each side and ribben threaded through and secured inside with a glue dot. 

A narrow strip of ScorTape was added to the back of each punched border then added on the outside edge of the front making sure it was right up to the edge of the 1/2 inch score line. 

ScorTape was run down each side edge  of the back piece then I carefully lined up the top piece  making sure the edges were straight.  I like to use ScorTape because it is strong and I know the card won't fall apart.

Now the front and back are attached and you have your shadow box.  I attached the verse on the inside with dimensional tape and  the butterfly is also attached with a narrow strip of the same tape.  A flower and some pearls were added to complete the card.

I hope I was able to make this clear so you can make a Shadow Box.  You can  create any type of opening you want . . . circle, oval, square, etc.  Have fun creating your  shadow box.

Blast from the Past Challenge "Spotlighting"

It is hard to believe this is the last week in February.  It means my three month term as the  StampTV Blast from the Past Challenge hostess comes to an end.  I have had so much fun hosting this challenge.  For my last  challenge, I chose Gina's video "Spotlighting".     Have you ever done this technique?  It requires very little coloring so is a quick and easy technique but can be very dramatic.  When you watch Gina's Spotlighting video, you will see step-by-step instructions on how to complete this technique.  I hope you will join in and submit a card to the gallery.  If you do, you have a chance to win any Gina K stamp set valued up to $24.95. 

For my card, I decided to use the vase of flowers from Nina B's "Lovely Shelf" stamp set, available from Gina K. Designs.  It was stamped using Memento black ink twice on white cs.  One was cut out with long rectangle Nestablilities and sponged with yellow.  The second image I wanted only the larger flower and cut it out with a small octagon Nestie.  It was colored with Copic markers.  Both images were matted with Gina K's  pure luxury "wine" cs.  The small image was attached over the bottom design with dimensional tape. 

The background paper is from  Basic Grey.  The greeting is from Gina's "Spring Florals" stamp set.   A bow was made using ribbon from Gina K.  It has some gold in it so I added some gold pearls to complete the card. 

I want to thank my friend Geri Utterback for creating  an awesome sample each week for my challenges.    Each week I am blown away with all her talent.   Here is the link to her beautiful blog.   Be sure you go over and check it out. 

Lucky Bear

It is time for a new challenge.  Isn't this little bear cute. This is the FREE digital image from Nina May this week at TMITA/PCC.   He looks like he has arrived to bring someone good luck.  I had so much fun working on this card.  Nilla Berglie is our design team hostess this week and she wanted to see some distressing on our cards.  Here are the instructions she gave us:  "Use any technique for distressing, roughing up your paper with your scissors, distressing with inks, sanding, scraping, pounding (hehe - do this method if your are mad at someone with your meat tenderizer ;o) ~ any technique you would consider a method to distress! " 

The image was printed off then colored with Copic markers.  I sponged on clouds behind the bear but they do not show up very well in the photo.  It was backed with dark green card stock.  The design paper behind the image was also backed with the same green cs.  I used a distressing tool to rough up the edges of both green pieces of cs.  This is such a cool look and I seldom think of doing it.  My card is 5"x7".  The background piece is a lighter green textured card stock.  A strip of designer paper with shamrocks was added vertically to match the shamrock balloon.  A gingham ribbon was tied along the edge of that paper.  One of the things I seem to have a hard time using is buttons.  However when I looked at my finished card it just needed something else and I immediately thought "buttons" because they seemed to go with the dp.  I then added a little green bow at the top to balance it out. 

This was another very fun challenge and I hope you will go over and download your free "Lucky Bear" and join us this week at TMITA/PCC.  While you are there, be sure to check out all the talented designer's blogs for a lot more ideas. 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE THIS CARD?  If so, just leave me a comment below letting me know.  I will draw a random name from everyone leaving a comment .  You will be eligible if you are also signed up as a Follower of my blog.  I will announce the winner next Sunday.    GOOD LUCK!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK.

Congratulations

Hope you having a great weekend.  The sun is shining here, and it looks warm, but actually the temp is still in the 30's.  At least we don't have snow like so many people but I'm anxious for warmer weather.

I thought this little bear from the  "Oh Baby" stamp set from Gina K Designs should be in a frame.  This type of frame is called "Folded Paper Frame" and is very dimensional.  There is a tutorial over on SCS here.

A piece of glittery, double sided,  Martha Stewart dp was used for the frame and the background; also a piece of YoYo yellow cs.   Nestabilities were used for the circles.  The larger circle was embossed with the Cuttlebug dotted Swiss folder.  The bear was stamped on a scrap of dp and cut out.  I used a Copic marker to color his nose, tie, and bottom of his feet.  He is popped up with dimensional tape.  Some flowers from Gina K Designs were colored with a blue Copic marker, popped up with a small piece of dimensional tape, then a small pearl added to the center.  Small pearls were also added to the frame.   The greeting is from the Oh Baby stamp set but was part of a longer verse.  I used a black marker to  color  just the word I wanted and punched it out with a window punch.

Hope you enjoyed this card.  Be sure to stop back by tomorrow to see my card for the TMITA/PCC challenge.  I am going to give you a chance to receive that card!  See details tomorrow.

 

Paper Piecing Challenge

Did  you check out all the beautiful cards on the CSS Design Team Blog Hop last night.  Wow!  There are so many beautiful cards.  If you missed it, you can click here on Gina's Blog and take the tour. 

Tonight I am posting my example for doing the Paper Piecing technique.  You can go to StampTV here to see all the details about the Blast From the Past challenge and watch Gina's great video showing you how to do this technique. 

To create my card, I used two stamp sets from Gina K Designs:  Guiding Light and  Hip to be Square.  The  background paper is Gina's digital paper.  I started by stamping  the Hip to be Square Window.  Using a stamp positioner, I then stamped the lighthouse inside the window.  I stamped a second lighthouse on Eclipse masking tape and cut it out for my mask then stamped it once more on  another piece of Gina's digital paper so I could paper piece it.  Copic markers were used to color the blue potion of the lighthouse, the two buildings, and the sand.   A mask was placed over the  stamped design.   A large sponge dauber and blue ink  was used to create the sky.  My clouds were created using a piece of acetate cut in  scallops.  A darker blue ink was used for the ocean.  I originally was going to cut some Nestability stars to decorate this card  because I had used the  dp with stars for the lighthouse, but changed my mind and  added birds.  The birds were stamped and lightly colored with  a Copic marker and cut out.  I cut part of the wing off one  then placed one in the middle so I could draw a line through it.  I was trying to make it look as though you are looking out a window.  To decorate the bottom of the card, I cut  one plank of the woodgrain dp out, then used deckle scissors on each end and sponged on a little gray ink.  Screw brads were added at each end to help make it look rustic.

I hope you will join in on my challenge this week.  This is a very fun technique.  If you would like to see the cards submitted so far for this challenge, click  here.  Remember, you  have a chance to win a  stamp set valued up to $24.95. 

Feelings Of Hope Blog Hop

Feelings of Hope 

Gina challenged the CenterStage Spotlight team to make a card with the new Hope is Faith stamp set using  the photo above for inspiration.  Check out Gina's blog for all the details on this special stamp set.

Then, stop by all the other  STV designer's blogs participating in the hop tonight:

Here is my card for this challenge:

This beautiful butterfly was stamped using Memento  black ink and colored with Copics then cut out.  A piece of Basic Grey dp was used for the background.  Flowers from Gina's "Spring Florals" set were stamped onto a piece of white cs and colored with Copics.  This piece was cut out with Nesties and sponged with yellow ink before taking it out of the die. To give more depth to the card I stamped more flowers and cut them out.  The stems were glued at the bottom and the flowers were attached with dimensional dots.  Flower Soft was added to the center of each flower.  This piece is framed with a piece of green card stock.  The verse from "Hope and Faith" was stamped and cut out with deckled Nestabilities.  Green Dew Drops were added to finish the card.

Here are the links to the other designer's blogs:

Jessica Fick

Diana S. Queen

Tina Gilliland

Pam Imholz

Carla Suto

Cheri Weston

Jennie Harper

Joy Hadden

Shannon Bracken

Karen Knegten

JenMarie Taylor

Brenda Turner

Giovanna Smith

Sue Morris

Melissa Shultz

Peggy Wainman

Sharri Seffens

Carolina Buchting

Geri Utterback

Melissa Cash

Betty Neville

Sue Van deVusse

Janice Melton

Jen Charboneau

DeeMarie Kelemen

Linda Payne

Lori McAree

Kay Simmons

Shelly Wilson

Selma Stevenson  (you are here)
Vicki Dutcher
Sue Walsh

Thanks for stopping by.  Tomorrow I will post my card for the StampTV Blast From the Past Challenge.


Selma

Spring Time Friends

It's time for another There's Magic In The Air with Paper Cupcakes Challenge.   Designers were allowed to choose a digi from Nina's store to work with this week, so you will see many different designs on our cards.  I am the Design Team Host this week and my challenge is to use "Lace and Circles" on your card.  You can use either paper punched or real lace, plus either the main image and/or greeting must be  in a circle.

The digi image I chose  is called "Spring Time Friends".  Isn't it cute.  I printed off the design then cut it out with a circle Nestie. The design was colored using Copic markers.   Both the peach and blue card stock are textured. The blue piece was embossed with a Cuttlebug border embossing folder.  The top piece of dp is from the Whimsy Matstack by DCWV.   A Martha Stewart punch was used for the peach lace trim and  the lacy heart.  I sponged around the edges of the heart with peach ink, then cut out a smaller peach heart with scissors to attach to the back of it so the design would show up well.   The greeting was stamped, punched, then sponged and put in the SU hardware.  To complete the card,  peach colored pearls were added as well has a Cuttlebug flourish. 

Be sure to go over to the TMITA/PCC blog to see all the other cards made by Nina's talented team.  Hope you will go over and download your free image and join in on the challenge.  Here are the items you could win this week if you submit an entry:

Thanks for stopping by.

Sweet Fuzzy Ducks

Happy Valentine's Day.  Hope someone spoiled you today.

Yesterday I posted a card I made for the Clearly Delightful Blog Challenge.  After you submit your card, Laurie sends you a free fuzzy duck digi for entering the challenge.  The little duck is so cute I just had to make another duck card today.  The image she sends is just one duck, but I wanted a bunch of little ducks so that is why there are five on my card.  The nice thing about working with digital images is you can size them any size you want and you can even flip them to face the other direction. 

I printed the ducks off and colored them with Copic markers.  I then stamped some grass for them to play in and chalked in a sky.  I used two different Cuttlebug embossing folders to emboss the frames above the ducks.  Two different size Nestabilies were used to cut the openings. Each layer is attached with dimensional tape.   I used a small piece of dotted ribbon and narrow pink rick rack to decorate the bottom of the card.  These were attached with ScorTape.  Some daisies and MS leaves were added.  The greeting was stamped and cut out with an oval Nestie and sponged prior to taking it out of the die.  I pierced each of the scallops.

This was a very fun card to make.  If you would like information about this challenge you can check it out here.  This is a card I will be giving to one of my granddaughters for Easter. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Tomorrow I am the host for the TMITA/PCC challenge.  Be sure to stop by and see the cute card I made using Nina May's digi. 

A Little Something for Someone Special

Hi Everyone.  Today I decided to post a card I made for the Clearly Delightful Monthly Challenge 2.  The theme is DUCKS! Create any NEWLY posted card or project using a duck stamp, image, or other paper crafted or drawn duck.   If you don't have a duck image, there is a free digi stamp you can download and use. 

I downloaded the free digi image and created a three panel card.  The size when closed is 4.25 x 5 inches.  The duck was colored with Copic markers then cut out with oval Nesties.  A piece of Basic Grey dp was used for the background for the duck image.  A yellow satin bow was made and attached with a glue dot.  The front panel was embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder.  I used a SU verse for the front and added a punched flower above the verse.  Yellow flower brads were added to each corner of this panel.  For the inside panel a yellow panel was cut out with Nestabilities and a punched MS flower and leaf were added to the corner.   

Hope you have a great weekend.

Blast From the Past Challenge "Wood Graining"

Card with Flower Soft in the center of the flowers.

Card without Flower Soft

Card when opened

It is time for another StampTV "Blast From the Past Challenge".  This week I thought it would be fun to learn how to create a wood grain background.  To learn this you can view Gina's  "Wood graining" video on StampTV.  This is such a fun technique because there are so many different wood graining looks you can achieve depending on the color of card stock and ink used. 

Before I start explaining my sample card, I want explain why I have three pictures.  If you notice, the first one is a little different than the other two.  On that card I added some black Flower Soft to the center of the flowers.  I think it can really change the look for the card.  I took the pictures of my card then realized I had planned to add the Flower Soft.  I thought you might like to see the difference between the two.  Which way do you like the card?  The third picture is to show you how the card looks when opened.

The cardstock used for my wood graning piece is Gina K's Moonlit Fog pure luxury cs. I started out scoring all the lines using my ScorPal, then rubbed  white pigment ink across it.  I then used Basic Gray ink over that.  My main card is Basic Gray cs.  I wanted to make a tri-panel card.  It is 5.5 inches square.  The front of the card was scored in the middle and folded back.  For the front panel I stamped one of the leaves from Gina's "Tropical Flowers" set on white cs.  I had a piece of mesh in my stamping supplies and layered that over the stamped background. I am receiving questions about the lattic over the mesh -- it is built into this piece of mesh.  It was a 5.5" square sheet.  I have had it for a long time.  This mesh was white and I felt it was to stark so sponged some Basic Gray ink over it to tone it down. The flowers are from Theresa Momber's  "Purrr-fectly Delightful" set.  I stamped the vase of flowers twice and cut out two flowers out of each one.  They are colored with Copic markers. I added three of the flowers on this panel and added some Martha Stewart leaves under them.  The panel was added with dimensional tape.

The inside portion of that panel was cut out with a Nestability Small Deckled Mega Rectangle and sponged with Basic Gray ink prior to taking it out of the die.  This area can be used for your handwritten greeting or you can stamp something there if you want.  On the wood grain panel, I used a stamp from Theresa's  "Autumn Beauty" set.  It was colored with Copic markers then cut out with a smaller Deckled Nestie.  The fourth cut out flower was added to this design.

This is such a fun technique that can go with just about any stamped image.  I know you are going to want to see the darling card my friend Geri created for an example on my challenge post on StampTV.   I hope you will go over to StampTV and watch Gina's video to learn how to make a card using this technique, then upload your creation to the StampTV gallery.  You can get all the info about the Blast From the Past Challenge and see Geri's card here.  One person who submits a card will win a free stamp set from Gina K Designs. 

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog.  I love sharing my ideas with you and appreciate all your comments. 

Hope You are Feeling Better Soon

Today I was going through some of the drawers in my stamp room and found some flowers I had quilled some time ago.  I decided I should use them.  I thought maybe a basket of daisies would cheer someone up.  (My DD may need surgery in a few days, so I will give this card to her.)

I used four different Gina K Designs stamp sets for this card.  The background was stamped with Melanie's  "Inspiration Mosaic" on some swirled background paper.  The basket is from Gina's "Eclectic Summer" set.  I colored the basket then colored all the leaves and flowers in the basket green because I wanted to attach the daisies I made with some glue dots to fill the basket.  The butterfly is from Gina's "Take Flight".  It was colored with Copic markers then some turquoise Stickles was added to glitz it up.  It was attached with a piece of dimensional tape.  The verse is from Gina's "Elegant Flowers" set.  I forgot to mention that rust colored rhinestones were added to the middle of each daisy. 

Have you ever done quilling?  It is a lot of fun and will add a lot of dimension to your cards.   

Birthday Gift for Friend

I have been working on a  box for my friend Val's birthday gift and thought I would share it with you.  My friend loves homemade items so I thought I would create a clever box for her gift.  My very talented friend Pam Imholz (Stampin' Pam)  has a blog full of wonderful gift box creations using Lauren Meader's templates. She has inspired me to create this cute  gift box.  Be sure to check out Pam's blog to see all her creative ideas. 

Val loves purple and I bought her some jewelry I think she will love.  I wanted a pretty little box and decided to use Lauren's mailbox template.  Now I know there are some mistakes on this box but it is my first time working with this type of template. 

I printed off the template and cut out the box using Lavendar Lace card stock.  I added some pieces of dp from my scraps.  A MS border was added along the bottom of the box.  I noticed after it had been put together for a while that I did not get the front border piece very straight.  I attached it with ScorTape and it is such a strong tape I couldn't get it off to straighten it out.  I decided not to throw the box out and start over.  I'm sure Val will forgive me!   Some prima flowers were stacked and put together with a rhinestone brad.  Martha Stewart leaves were added under it.  White butterflies were punched using a Martha Stewart punch and added to the sides and one on front.  A little greeting was white embossed and cut out with Nestabilities and a white polka dot bow added to the top.

This was such a fun project.  I have purchased a lot of other box templates from Lauren as well as some of the digital paper packs.  I think I will be making a lot more of her cute boxes!!!

Now I need to get a birthday card made and get this gift in the mail. 

Spring Flowers

This is another card made with Melanie's "A Year of Flowers" stamp set.  I have this set on my desk and now I can't stop making cards with it.    These flowers are black embossed on purple vellum and cut out. I love the look of the flowers stamped on vellum because it makes them look dainty just like a real flower.  My background is a piece of DCWV Latte dp.  I cut out a Spellbinder Fleur De Lis frame.  The corner pieces are attached to a piece of black cs that was embossed with the Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss embossing folder.  The green frame is mounted on a piece of perfect plum cs that was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swirls embossing folder.  The flowers were arrange on the frame with the middle one stacked with 3 layers of the flower.  Leaves were glued under the flowers.  The verse is from Gina K's Picture It stamp set.  Gosh, working with these flowers is making me anxious for Spring to arrive!

Flight of the Fuschia

Did you have a big Super Bowl Party?  We had one but I'm not that interested in the game but some of the commercials are pretty funny.  It is time for a new TMITA/PCC challenge. This week we are working with this beautiful digital image from Nina May called "Flight of the Fuschia".  Patti J Gilliam is the design team hostess this week and she has asked us to make a "comforting" (thinking of you, get well, sympathy, etc.)  card using flourishes and/or pearls. 

I'm not sure this shows up well in the picture, but I embossed the white cs with Sizzix Final Press embossing folder then cut a frame out of the middle of it with a rectangle Nestability -- so this is an open frame rather than a layered frame.  There are flourishes in this embossed design.   I then cut a smaller frame out of a piece of black cs and mounted this on a piece of Sahara Sand cs.  "Thinking of you" was black embossed on the bottom of the frame.  The bird and fuschia were printed off then colored with Copic markers and cut out.  The design was mounted with dimensional tape.  Some leaves were punched out of the Sahara Sand cs and put in the corner.  Black pearls were added to complete the card. 

Be sure to go over to TMITA/PCC this week to get this free digital image and enter a card into the challenge. 

Be like the flower

I am feeling much better today.  Thank you for all the Get Well wishes.  Joan Fricker, from Joan's Gardens,  asked me to do a workshop for her in May and I have been working this morning with her to figure out the projects we will be doing.  I have not actually met Joan yet so I am very excited to meet her and to go out and do this workshop. 

This afternoon we are having a Super Bowl party, but have some free time, so decided to make a card with some of the flowers I have stamped from Melanie's  "A Year of Flowers" stamp set. I stamped the lillies on yellow vellum paper and cut them out.  The leaves and stems are also stamped on vellum.  The background paper is from the Basic Grey "Origins" paper pad.  I cut out a white and green scalloped circle with Nestabilities.  The white one was embossed with the dotted Swiss Cuttlebug embossing folder.  The flowers were arranged on the top portion of this circle.  The bottom is a piece of barely banana cs with another piece of the dp from the paper pack.  I know what you are going to say -- my verse doesn't fit in the tag but I really wanted to use this tag and that verse, so even though it doesn't fit correctly, I used it.  The verse is from Melanie's "Say it with Flowers" set and was so perfect for these yellow lillies, don't you think.  The tag is from Spellbinders and I purchased it from Gina K Designs.  I used a MS border along the top of the tag then added some pale yellow pearls to finish it off.

 I sometimes think I have probably made every card I can with this "Year of Flowers" stamp set, but there is always something  that pops to mind and has been my most used stamp set.  I think I might actually wear this one out, LOL.  If you don't have this set, I highly recommend getting it because you can always use a great flower stamp set.  Melanie has a new release coming out next week.  Be sure to watch Gina K's blog for the previews.

Enjoy Super Bowl Sunday!!!!

Tulip Shadow Box

Have you ever entered a "Flower Picking" Contest?  Melanie Muenchinger has a contest for everyone who has her "Year of Flowers" stamp set.  You just have to create a "new" creation and add it to Mr. Linky on her blog.  From all these entries, she will choose one to send her new February stamp set, AND she will choose a Guest Designer for MARCH!  Making a new creation with this stamp set is a really fun challenge.  As you know, I love this set and have many cards on my blog created with these beautiful flowers. 

I decided to make a "shadow box" card and to use the tulip stamp from this set.  The top portion of the shadow box is Gina K's new pink card stock and the bottom is white cs. These pieces are 6" square and scored at 1/2" and 1" on opposite sides using my ScorPal.  A piece of white card stock was embossed with the Sizzix Final Press embossing folder then I used a peitite oval Nestability to cut out an oval opening.  Then a smaller Nestie oval was used to cut an opening in the top portion of the shadow box.  A piece of designer paper was added to the bottom portion of the shadow box.  The tulips were black embossed onto more of the pink cs and sponged lightly with pink ink.  The leaves and stems were black embossed on green vellum paper.  Two of the tulips were attached with dimensionals on the inside of the box along with stems and leaves.  Six more tulips were added along the left side of the oval.  I love the dimension you get when creating a shadow box card.

A Martha Stewart punch was used to punch both a pink and white border for each side of the card and a white border added along the bottom.  The verse was stamped and cut out with a Nestability tag.  A pink ribbon was run through the ends of the label and attached with ScorTape.  A thin white strip was embossed with the dotted Swiss embossing folder and attached with more ScorTape.  Pink pearls were added to complete the design.

I love making shadow box cards. Doesn't this card make you anxious for Spring to arrive!   If you have Melanie's "A Year of Flowers" stamp set, be sure to check out this contest on her blog.

Birthday Wishes

I know I haven't been very good about posting on my blog this past week.  I caught some kind of stomach bug and have not felt like working on cards - I should say doing anything!  I am one of those people that washes my hands constantly and luckily do not get sick often, but this bug got me good and I still don't feel very good. 

This is a card I started last week and thought I would finish it up this morning.  The stamps are from the new StampTV kit "Picture It".  I always really look forward to the new kits because they are packed full of great things and this one was no exception.  This little stamp is solid rubber so first thing I thought of was to use markers to color it, then spritz it with a fine mist of water before stamping it.  It was cut out using square Nestabilities.  For the embossed background, I first used a Martha Stewart punch for the border then scored some lines above it using my new Martha Stewart Score Board.  (These Martha Stewart items are available at Joan's Gardens.  Joan has a great tutorial on her blog showing how to make your own envelopes using this new Score Board.)  The top portion of this background was embossed using the Cuttlebug dotted Swiss embossing folder.  The greeting from the Picture It stamp set was stamped and cut out with petite oval Nestabilities.  Both the design and the wish are on dimensionals.  A piece of pink dotted Swiss ribbon was added with a piece of ScorTape.  Some small MS butterflies were added to complete the card.

Hope you like this card.  If you haven't seen it, you should go to Gina K Designs and check out this great StampTV kit  "Organize It"  This kit includes two stamp sets.  One of them includes everything needed to organize your work area and/or desk.  Gina has videos on the home page of StampTV with some really great projects you can make with this kit.  Check it out here. The list of projects is in the side bar under "Watch More Episodes".

If you haven't done it yet, please check out my Blast from the Past Challenge on StampTV.  Here is the link.

Thanks for stopping by.

It's time for another StampTV  Blast from the Past Challenge.  I chose Gina's video "Cuttlebugged Wax Paper Background" for your challenge this week.  I had planned to make you another sample, using darker ink so the waxed background would show up better, but I have not been feeling well and just didn't get another one made.  If you go over to my challenge on StampTV you can see the beautiful card my friend Geri made for this challenge and of course you can see Gina's beautiful card on her video. 

The image I used is one of the butterflies from Gina's "Take Flight" stamp set.  It was colored using Copic markers.  The butterfly was masked and the SU flourish was stamped using black ink.  I used The Sizzix Finial Press embossing folder for my wax paper background.  I used a Memento Dew Drop Summer Sky ink pad to color over the waxed background. I hope you can see the waxed design ok.  It doesn't show up as well in the photo as it really does on the card.   A Martha Stewart punch was used to create the bottom border.  A piece of lavender rick rack was added above the border.  The verse from the same set was stamped and each word cut out and matted with purple cs that matches the piece  under the punched border.  Small lavender rhinestones were added in the center of each flower of the border, on the flourish, the butterfly and up on each corner. 

I hope you will go over to StampTV to watch Gina's video then create a card and upload it using the tag stvbpss09.  You will be eligible for a free stamp set that will be given away.  For all the details check out my challenge information here.