CSS Challenge Blog Hop

It's time for another CenterStage Spotlight Challenge Blog hop!

Hostess: Jessica Fick {Design Team Coordinator} Theme: Stamp and color the image on Patterned Paper { any occasion card acceptable, it doesn't have to be Christmas themed} { image may be cut out and layered, but must be stamped and colored on patterned paper} Requirement: any GinaK Designs stamp set & Glitter. Bonus Challenge: decorate the inside of your card to coordinate

Participating Designer's links:

Brenda Turner Carla Suto, Carolina Buchting,

Cheri Weston Deb Felts Geri Utterback , Giovana Smith, Gina Krupsky Janice Melton, JenMarie Taylor, Jennie Harper, Jessica Fick,  Joy Hadden, Karen Knegten Kay Simmons, Linda Payne, Lori McAree, Melisa Waldorf, Melissa Cash, Melissa Shultz, Nina Brackett, Pam Imholz, Peggy Wainman, Selma Stevenson, Shannon Bracken, Sharri Seffens

Sue Morris Sue VanDeVusse Sue Walsh, Tina Gilliland

I have two cards for you tonight.

Don't you love Blog Hops!  You can always get so many great ideas.   This card was made using Rupa Shevde Winter Friends available from Gina K Designs.  There are so many cute winter images in this set.  Keeping with the challenge,  I stamped the skating penguin on a piece of patterned paper and colored him with Copic markers.  Circle Nestabilities were used to cut out the design.  The trees from Gina's Tree Silhouettes were white embossed on another piece of patterned paper.  The verse from Winter Friends was stamped in black.  Each layer of the penguin design is separated with dimensionals.  I couldn't forget the glitter.  There is glitter on the snowflakes, the trees,  on the edges of the snow banks, and of course under the penguin's feet.

I want to show you the inside of this card.  One of the other penguins from Winter Friends was stamped on white cardstock and colored with Copic markers.  Using a stamp positioner, I stamped celebrate on the sign which is perfect for this birthday card.  The cute little bird and dog were stamped in black, colored with Copics then cut out.  The background behind the penguin is a piece of white CS that was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder then cut to resemble banks of snow.  Glitter was added along the top of each.

Here is my second card.



This is another card  stamped on patterned paper. It is an "Easel Card".   The card base is cranberry cs.   I used Melanie's Festive Frame stamp set.  It was stamped using Memento black ink and colored with Copic markers.  I used a VersaMark pen to paint over the poinsettia then used Irridescent Ice embossing power to give them a glittery appearance.  The berries were colored with a Copic marker then pink Stickles added to give them shine.  The verse is also from Festive Frame. 

A border was created on a piece of gray dp with a MS punch.  The stamped image was attached then pearls added to the center of each poinsettia and each corner of the design.  On the inside of the card, a piece of cranberry cs was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I added some burgundy glitter to the flower and attached it to a button so it would hold the card open.  A flat backed pearl was added to the center.   A small silver bow was added to complete the card.  When the card is closed, it is 5.5 inches square.

Hope you have enjoyed seeing these creations stamped on patterned paper.

Ivory and Pink Festive Frame

I made this card for someone special.  It is made with Melanie's Festive Frame available from Gina K Designs.  There are so many ways to use this stamp.  The background piece was embossed, on each side,  with a Cuttlebug border embossing folder.  The beautiful ivory ribbon is from a craft store.  The frame was embossed on Ivory card stock with Vanilla embossing powder then watercolored.  To give it some contrast, I attached it to a piece of Gina K gold card stock.

I want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  We will be spending the day with our daughter and her family.

Glittery Festive Frame

I am showing you four different pictures here of the same card.    When you twist it, you can see different colors. 

This card is made with Melanie Muenchinger's "Festive Frame" stamp set available from Gina K Designs.  I can't stop working with this beautiful frame.  The size of this card is 5x7 inches.  This size card does not require extra postage.  I found a piece of silver glitter looking card stock in my things and wondered how this frame would look on it. The finished card basically looks silver on white, with pastel colors appearing when you twist the card.  In the photos, the colors are intensified.

I stamped the frame using VersaFine black ink and because this ink stays "wet" I decided to put clear embossing powder over it.  What I didn't know was that the embossing powder would cling to the entire frame even though I used a Powder Pal.  At first I freaked out.  Oh well, I just heat embossed it and it turned out fine.  I cut out the inside of the frame with a Tim Holtz knife.   I silver embossed Ornaments from Nina's "Vintage Borders" on white card stock and layered it under the frame.  The verse from Festive Frame was stamped in black. 

The white background was embosssed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  A piece of white and silver ribbon was attached under the picture then a button attached with glue dots.  Two sticker silver snowflakes were added at the top. 

Here are a few more pictures to show the different colors in the silver card stock.  Isn't this cool!

Cozy and Bright

Isn't this the cutest design!   Don't you love that little mouse who decided to make his bed on the reindeer's antler!   This Nina May digital design is called Cozy and Bright. 

It is time for another TMITA challenge.  You will be able to download this, FREE, cute image this week on the There's Magic In The Air blog.  This week Stephanie has chosen a "Fuzzy" challenge. You can use fun flock, fuzzy ribbon, fiber, fabric, fuzzy brads, etc. Anything that feels soft of fuzzy.   Hope you will join in on the fun.

Today I used Prisma Pencils and OMS to color the design.  To make it bright, I used lots of Stickles Glitter then added my fuzzy trim at the top.  There is also brown Flower Soft on his head and tail to make them fuzzy.  Be sure to check out the TMITA blog to see the cards other designers have posted and to get details on how to download this cute image.

Thanks for stopping by.

Festive Frame

I created these cards for the StampTV Customer Blog Hop.  I didn't post them yesterday with my other cards because it would have made my post too long. Be sure to go to Gina's blog, to find the links to  all the other customer blogs, for lots of other creative ideas for your Christmas cards. 

Melanie's "Festive Frame" stamp set was used for both cards below and for the frame. As I'm sure you know, I love working with Melanie's "A Year of Flowers" stamp set and this poinsettia is the same as in that set.  I love this Festive Frame set.

This first card was stamped using VersaFine Brown ink on Ivory CS. I stamped each corner poinsettia two more times and cut them out.  The top layer was cut leaving off part of the bottom petals of the flower so I could layer them for dimension.  Some glitter was added to make the flowers shimmer.  The pines and pinecones were colored with Copic markers.  I then used a VersaMarker to created a gold frame in the middle and also added gold embossing on the berries and the center of the flowers.  The beautiful verse was also gold embossed using Super Fine Gold Embossing Powder from Gina K Designs.

The back ground is gold card stock layered with a piece of SU designer paper.  The stamped frame was attached with adhesive and the poinsettias were layered using dimensionals.  An ivory bow was added to complete the beauty of the card.

This is another elegant card using the "Festive Frame".  The image was stamped using River Rock ink.  I stamped the poinsettias from each corner and cut them out to layer them.  I patted them onto a VersaMark ink pad and embossed with Irridescient embossing powder to give them a "frosted" look.  I wanted to give the frame some dimension so I used my "Double Embossing" technique.  One of the oval Nestabilities fits the oval of the stamped frame really close so I used it to emboss the oval.  I then used my oval wooden frame to embossed the outside of the frame with the Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss embossing folder.  I have a tutorial futher down in my blog on how to do this.  The beautiful verse was gold embossed. The image was layered onto a piece of always artichoke cs.  The base card is Ivory. 

I am not sure  I like the way I completed this framed picture of two of my grandsons.  I black embossed the Festive Frame on a piece of cranberry designer paper.  I thought it would be cute to cut around the boys and insert them in the frame trying to make it look like they are leaning out of it.  I first cut out their picture using an oval Nestability then cut around their heads with scissors.  I  cut around the poinsettia design on the bottom of the stamped frame and inserted the picture behind the flower.  The frame was matted onto a piece of black cs then onto another piece of cranberry cs.  I should have used the computer to write in their names on the tag but decided to just write it.  I know I am going to be making a lot more frames to give my kids so they can frame Christmas pictures.  My husband really likes this frame so I decided to go ahead and post it.

StampTV Customer Blog Hop

THERE ARE TWO CARDS BELOW FOR THIS BLOG

Today I am participating in the StampTV blog hop.  Gina K has challenged all customers to participate in this blog hop using the newest stamp sets released by Gina K Designs.  Check out the details on her blog.

This first card is made using Asela Hopkins' "First Christmas"  stamp set. I did something different.  Can you tell what the cardinal is stamped on?   First the image was stamped  on green plaid DP,  then again on red velvet paper.  The ink used is Versafine Onyx Black.  The velvet bird was cut out and glued over the image on the DP.  I love the texture and look of the bird on the velvet paper.  The image was cut out using Labels Four Nestabilities.  A Gold Leaf Metallic pen was used to apply a gold frame around the plaid frame.   I wanted a very narrow green border around the plaid DP so I attached the plaid paper to a piece of garden green CS and used scissors to cut the narrow frame around it.

This card is 5x7 inches.  The bottom mat is a piece of green CS with a piece of white CS, partically embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, on top.  The Snow Scene  on the left side of the card was made using one of the new Cuttlebug border embossing folders.  It was cut out close to the design and outlined with gold.  The verse was also cut out with a Nestability and outlined in gold.   A friend sent me the beautiful wide green silk ribbon.    I am now in love with silk ribbon.

This next card was made using the beautiful set "Vintage Borders" by Nina Brackett.  The salutation is from "Winter Friends".   This style of card is called "Joy Fold".  Beate Johns on SCS has a tutorial on how to make this style card here.  My card is 4 1/4 inches square.  The CS colors are Rich Razzleberry and Wild Wasabi and the designer paper is Basic Grey.  It matches so well with this beautiful stamp. The ink is Rich Razzleberry.  Nestabilities were used for the square and oval frames. The border punch is Martha Stewart.  What a fun card to make!

Below are pictures of the open card.

You can continue to follow this blog hop by clicking back over to Gina K's Blog here.

Gold ornaments

Today I have a beautiful, quick and easy Christmas card.  The background was embossed on Ivory CS with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  Two stamps from Nina Brackett's "Vintage Borders", available from Gina K Designs, was used for the design.  I first stamped the strung ornaments using VersaMark and embossed with super fine gold embossing powder.  Then using a stamp positioner, I stamped the beautiful border for the ornaments to hang from.  The design was cut out using Nestabilities.  The scalloped background was cut out using gold card stock .  The card stock perfectly matches the embossing powder all from Gina K Designs.  Some gold cording was wrapped around the middle of the background  embossed piece and four gold brads added to each corner.  Like I said, this was a very quick and easy card to make with Nina's beautiful new stamp set. 

Tomorrow I will be participating in a Christmas card blog hop with many other designers from StampTV.  Be sure to check back so you can get lots of ideas for your Christmas cards.

Happy Holidays in Blue and Silver

This card is made using two stamp sets from Gina K Designs.  The ornament is from Asela's "First Christmas" and the design on the ornament is from NinaB's "Vintage Borders.  The ornament was silver embossed on shiny silver card stock.  The design across the middle was then added across the middle with silver embossing powder.  Nestabilities were used to create the round circles under the ornament.  Each layer is put on dimensionals.  A silver ink pen was used to put dots on each scallop.

The background is bashful blue.  I piece of pearlized designer paper was embossed with the new Cuttlebug "Season's Greetings" folder.  Silver cording was wrapped around and attached with tape on the back.  The ornament was attached with dimensionals.  The silver cording bow was made using the "Bow Easy" and attached with a glue dot.  To complete the card I added some SU silver filigree brads to each corner and below the ornament. 

I am going to enter this card into the StampTV Sketch Challenge.

Another SKATING BY Penguin

I love this digital penguin by Nina May.  This is the card that was posted yesterday on the  TMITA blog.  I thought I would post it over here on my blog today and tell you how I made it.  If you haven't already seen it, be sure to scroll down to the card posted yesterday,   to see how I created three different size penguins with this image.   There is so much you can do with digital images and I had so much fun creating these cards.

To create the card above, I cut a piece of Basic Grey designer paper in a curve to look like a snow bank.  I used my Janome small sewing machine to zig zag  along the bottom of the dp.  I did sew a straight stitch around the edges of the dp but then decided to add the reflective silver ribbon along the outside edges. It doesn't look very shiny in the picture but it is.   The TMITA challenge this week was to use something reflective. 

To create the pond, I used a piece of shiny silver card stock and a piece of acetate and layered them together and cut out an oval shape with a Nestability.  I used a piece of Vellum tape to hold them together close to the edges, once cut out.  I colored the penguin with Copic markers and cut him out then attached him over the "pond".  Nina had some motion marks in the digital picture so I drew them on the acetate using a black marker and a ruler.  (These marks were gone once I cut the penguin out.)  I used Polar White Flower Soft around the edge of the pond and on the penguin's hat.  The SU greeting was stamped to complete the card.

I love how the camera picked up on the light in the pond when I took this picture.  It really shows off the reflective material, doesn't it!

This cute little digital penguin is a FREE  download on the "There's Magic In The Air" blog.  Hope you will download it and add your card for this week's challenge.  I would love to see what you make with this cute image.

 

SKATING BY

This is the card I made for the "There's Magic In The Air" challenge today.  This week's  challenge is to use Nina Mays cute penguin design, "Skating By" and  some type of reflective material on your card. 

Be sure to go over to the TMITA blog to see my other card as well as cards by all the other TMITA designers, to get lots of inspiration and download your copy of this FREE digital image.  

As soon as I saw this little penguin, I knew how I wanted to design my card.   There is only one penguin, but because it is digital,  I was able to create three different size penguins  so it looks like they are having a  "penguin party" out on the ice.  It is so fun to work with digital images because you can print them  out any size you want.   My card fits into a business size envelope. 

After printing off the design, I stamped a scene in the back.  The penguins were colored with Copic markers.  I wanted to make it look like they are on ice, so I used a VersaMark Pen and Pad to apply ink, then used Irridescent Ice embossing powder to give it some glitter across the "pond".  

Can you tell what I did over the design?  I wanted it to look like it was snowing so I used a piece of acetate and embossed the top 2/3 of it with the  Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss embossing folder. The acetate sits a little above the design because I filled it with some "snow" glitter that moves around inside the card.  A piece of Shiny Silver card stock was cut out to make a frame.  I used ScorTape completly around the edges to hold each piece together so the glitter won't fall out.    A piece of shiny braided ribbon was added around the opening using very narrow ScorTape.  Four Shiny snowflake rhinestones were added to each corner.  The greeting is from GinaK's "Holiday Greetings".  Isn't it perfect for this scene!

I had so much fun creating this card.  I hope you enjoyed it. 

An Angel For A Special Cause

This card was created to help support the special memorial fund for Henry Anderson. 

The Just Us Girls design team has a special challenge.   Sarah Anderson,  suddenly lost her son last week.  Little Henry Anderson was only three years old, suddenly became ill, and  passed away.  This is such a heart breaking story and  has been devastating for the family. In an effort to help raise money for a memorial  in Henry's honor, Paper Makeup Stamps has designed a special stamp as a tribute to Henry.  You can purchase this cute digital image for ony $3.00  and the proceeds will go to the Henry Anderson Memorial Fund. 

Please go to the JUGS blog for complete details if you would like to help this family and/or participate in the JUGS special challenge.

Butterfly Birthday Wishes

Today I wanted to participate in the "Just Us Girls" Technique Challenge.  Today is Dana's birthday and the challenge is to make her a birthday card using dry embossing.  As most of you know, I love to include dry embossing on my cards for texture.  I posted a tutorial here on this double dry embossing technique and decided I would use it again for this challenge.  This time I made a 5.5 inch square card.  My good friend Pam (Stampin' Pam) made a card using this technique using the Happy Birthday embossing folder you should check out here.

I used two Gina K Designs stamp sets.  The butterfly is from Gina's "Take Flight" and the greeting is from Nina's "Elegant Post".  The butterfly was black embossed and colored with Copic markers.  Some glitter was added to glitz it up.  The image was cut out.

To create the embossed background I used the SU Finial Press Sizzix embossing folder and a square opening wooden frame.  Birthday Wishes was stamped at the bottom of the un-embossed frame then the butterfly attached with some dimensional tape.  A Martha Stewart border punch was used for the lattice border.  A narrow stip of purple CS was added between the embossing and the border.  A Prima flower was added as well as some lavender rhinestones to complete the card.

Happy Birthday Dana.

Punched Flower Mosaic

Well it looks like Winter Wonderland here.  It has been snowing all afternoon.  It is always beautiful while the snow is falling.  My grandkids are so anxious to go out and make snowmen. 

One of the blogs I like to follow is Candy Williams.  This morning I had an email from Candy telling me I had won her Blog Candy.  How exciting.  There are lots of goodies.  Thank you Candy.

This is a quick post using Melanie Muenchinger's "Inspiration Mosaic" stamp set, which is available from Gina K Designs.   The mosaic was stamped on a piece of designer paper with VersaMark and black embossed.  The large white and blue flower petals and leaves, were cut out using SU Sizzix dies and the butterfly was cut using a Cuttlebug die. A MS punch was used for the top portion of the flower and a rhinestone added in the center.  Additional rhinestones were added on the corners of the mosaic.  A SU greeting was added at the bottom.  

A Christmas Wish

This is a card made with a stamp from Inkadinkado.  There is not a name on the stamp but I purchased it from Joan Fricker at Joan's Gardens. 

The green background was embossed with one of the new Cuttlebug Christmas embossing folders called "Holly Ribbons," also purchased from Joan Fricker.  The wreath was stamped using black Memento ink onto glossy card stock and colored with Copic markers.  The corners were punched using a paper piercer.  Another image was stamped so I could cut out the bow and attached it over the other one with dimensionals.  The SU greeting was stamped on glossy card stock.

Another Red and White Card

I am so happy this afternoon.   I just completed an order I had for 40 cards.  There are four  sets of 10 and every card is different.   This is one of the 10 red and white birthday cards.  

For this card, I used two sets from Gina K Designs.  The main image is from "Tropical Windows", designed by Gina,  and the greeting is from "Elegant Post", designed by Nina Brackett.   I used markers to color directly on the rubber for the flower image.  It is stamped on glossy card stock.  I always like to use glossy card stock when I stamp directly on the rubber because the image is always very bright.    I used a rectangle Nestability that would leave a large white frame around the stamped image then matted it on a red frame  cut out with  a larger Nestie. 

The background was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  The greeting was stamped and also cut out with a Nestie.

Birthday flowers

I am going to be away from home all day and won't have time to stamp.  I have been working on a request for some red and white birthday cards.  I am posting one of them.

This card is made with a set from Gina K Designs.  It was designed by Rupa Shevde and is called "With This Ring".  The background was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and the border was made with a Martha Stewart Punch.  The design was stamped with Momento ink and colored with Copic markers.  It was cut out with Nestabilities and attached with dimensional tape.  Two small oval pearls were added to complete the card.

Magical Monday Elegant Pumpkins

It's Magical Monday.  It is time for the "There's Magic In The Air" Monday Challenge.  There are two additional pictures of this card below.

I know Nina May has been very, very sick and I want to send her some Get Well Wishes.  Hope you are feeling better real soon Nina.

The image Nina  designed for this week is "Elegant Pumpkins".  The challenge Leigh Anne gave us is to make a monochromatic card.  You probably know, but that means using one color but you can use different shades in that color.  The color I chose to use is orange.  You can check out all the details on the "There's Magic In The Air" blog.

I decided to make a style of card I have never made before.  It is an "Easel Card".   When closed, this card measures 5 1/2 inches square.   Lynn on Splitcoaststampers has directions for a 4x4 easel card here.   I wanted a larger card  so cut my base card 5.5 x 11 inches.  It is scored on the landscape side at 2.75  and 5.5 inches.  This gives me the 5.5 inch square card with a 2.75 inch "easel" panel in which the front piece is attached.

A piece of pumpkin pie CS was embossed with the Cuttlebug pumpkin harvest embossing folder.  A Labels 4 Nestability was centered over the embossed design and cut out the shape for a "window" effect.  To cut the "frame" around that opening I used the same Nestie, plus one size smaller centered in the middle, which gave me the narrow frame.  The card stock color is tangerine tango, which is the darkest of the oranges used.  Behind the opening I glued two different orange designer papers.  I wanted to make the image look like it was on a table -- did I accomplish that?  I'm not sure!

A piece of striped designer paper was attached to a 5 1/2 inch square of  tangerine tango CS.  The embossed card stock was then attached and a thin Cuttlebug embossed border added along the seam.  The "Elegant Pumpkins" were printed off and colored with Copic markers then cut out.  Some glitter was added for shine.  The image was attached with dimensionals in the framed area.  Different shades of orange flowers were created and a brad put in the middle to hold them together.  They were attached to the border with glue dot dimensionals. 

A 5 1/4 inch square of designer paper was attached to the bottom of the card.  The digital verse is also available from Nina.  It was printed on tangerine tango CS and cut out using long rectangle Nestabilities and embossed before taking it out of the die.  Another flower was attached to a large orange button with a large glue dot.  The bottom of the button was attached with ScorTape.  This is a very strong tape and will hold the top of the card when open in the easel position.  When you close the card, it is a 5.5 inch square card.

When you go over to "There's Magic In The Air" blog, you will find more cards by the Design Team using this digital design by Nina.  This FREE digital design will be available until next Monday. 

This is a picture looking down on the verse when card is propped open.

Here is a picture showing side view when card is open,  This photo actually shows the correct colors of the card.  It has been very dark and cloudy and even with an OTT light, I was not able to get very good pictures. However, this one really shows the pretty oranges.

Be sure to go over to "There's Magic In The Air" to download this Free image and participate in the Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.

Snowman Scene

Today it is very cloudy and cold.  I decided to post another snowman scene.  The (retired) SU snowmen were stamped with black Memento ink.  They were stamped again on a piece of  removeable tape and cut out for a mask.  The mask was placed over the snowmen then the trees were stamped.  I wanted  the trees behind the snowmen and this is very easy to do when you mask your main image.  The snowmen were colored with Copic markers.  I used a small snowflake stamp and white embossed snow all around the sky and trees.  I don't know if you can see that in the picture.  A glue pen was used around the snowmen and clear glitter added to give them some sparkle.  Polar White Flower Soft was added for snow on the trees and on the ground. I purchased this from Joan's Gardens.  The image was attached to green CS and attached to a piece of plaid designer paper.  A red poinsettia was added in the corner to complete the card.

Be sure to check back in the morning.  It will be  "There's Magic In The Air" Monday and I will have a card posted with another beautiful design by Nina May.  I will also have a card on the "There's Magic In The Air" blog.  I used a new type of card design and I'm excited to show it to you.  See you then!