To the Moon and Back

Whew...I'm back! I worked a full day yesterday, which left me with little time for much else, and I'm knee deep in design projects so I'm sharing a card I made months ago. This is one that I submitted for publication but did not get selected. Now I can finally share it on my blog! My card was created using the set The Places You'll Go from Taylored Expressions. I adore this set as it's chock full of sweet phrases from favorite children's books. Not only have I read the book "Guess How Much I Love You" to both of my boys but I tell both of them that I love them all the way to the moon and back every night. (My oldest likes to respond with, "I love you all the way to Pluto and back!") For the layout of my card, I actually copied one used in a magazine, as that was part of the submission challenge. The paper I used is a sweet boy-themed print from Crate. After I completed the background section of the card and stitched around the edges, I covered a piece of chipboard with red paper and stitched in a random circle around the cut out. (Note to self, be very careful sewing chipboard!!) For my rocket, I stamped, colored, and cut out the image and then used a piece of wire to attach it to the card. The wire makes it look like it's flying off of the card! I also used some clear, sparkly stringy things (that's a technical term) for the smoke coming from the rocket blast off. (You can just see it in the photo above) The sentiment...now that was a little tricky because it's actually part of the rocket image and curves around the rocket. After I cut out the rocket, I cut out the individual words, aged the edges, and then created a paper banner for them to adhere to. The giant eyelets are from SU! A tiny star attached to the chipboard was the finishing touch! Enjoy! (And thank you so much to everyone for your very kind comments on my Waltzingmouse card. It was a fun project to create! Oh, someone asked about what SU! punch I used, it's the Scalloped Circle punch.)

Hey, Hey, It's Digi Day!

It's digi day over at the Sweet 'n Sassy group on Paper Craft Planet and I'm today's host - yeah!! Today's challenge is to use Purple and Green on your card. And if you play along with our challenge you'll be eligible to win the early bird prize (when you post your card by midnight EST tonight). Our early bird prize today is this beautiful floral image, February Iris.And just for playing along this week (by next Thursday morning) you'll receive this darling image (that I believe was drawn by Korin's son!!), Monster Friends. Now this would be a great image to use with some purple and green...and maybe aluminum! :-) You don't have to use Sweet 'n Sassy images to play along with the challenge, but if you have some, why not show them some love? We love seeing what you create with our images. We may even spotlight YOU in our next Sunday Customer Spotlight!! For my card, I used the Water Lilly image and yes, I know lilly's should be pink but mine is the very purple lilly, rarely seen in nature or by scientists! LOL! I love this image and couldn't wait to color it for today's challenge!! My sentiment is from the Flower Sentiments set, a digi set that contains four flower-themed sayings. My image has been paired with some Graphic 45 paper and a strip of purple embossed cardstock. I added tiny rhinestones from Taylored Expressions to the flower's stamen. I also used an exacto knife to cut out a few of the flower petals so that I could raise them up a bit for a little added dimension. Fun stuff!! Please visit the SNSS PCP page today to check out the other posts!!

Blog Hop Winner & Taylored Expressions Project

We Have a Winner!

Hi all! Did you all enjoy the SNR blog hop? Wow!! I received so many nice comments...thank you to everyone who stopped by! And I want to announce the winner of the one month subscription to Scrapbook News & Review.... Gini who said, "What a cute card! This is an honor to showcase friendship with my Christian Sisters on the web. Hugs, Gini" Gini, please contact me at ksdm@comcast.net with your email address and contact info so I can get your subscription activiated. Congratulations!! OK...now let's get started with the rest of today's post by reviewing one of our Saturday projects from Stamping Around PA! This second class of the day was taught by the talented Charmaine Ikach. Her class was sponsored by Taylored Expressions . Charmaine's project consisted of an adorable box and not one, not two, but five cards! And I want to add that this isn't a cardstock box, it's a heavy duty box sold by Taylored Expressions that can fold flat (even after it's been assembled) and closes with a strong magnet. I highly recommend these boxes (they come in two different sizes) if you're looking to make a card set and box. They are fantastic!! I'm going to pick some up for myself!! Below are the cards that we created using the newly released Wings of Joy stamp set. I love the Joy stamp with the little bird perched on the J...so cute! And how about these yummy papers that Charmaine picked to go with this project....love them! The papers are from Cosmo Cricket and are sold as part of Taylored Expression's Key Ingredients kit. A new kit is released each month! Hey, this would be a perfect card for my Keep it Simple Sunday posts! It's so sweet, with the adorable tree stamp and the sparkly gold ribbon! These final two cards showcase two more of the images from the Wings of Joy set along with two of the sentiments. Fabulous! Thanks again to Charmaine and Taylor for their support, for bringing us this wonderful project, and for supplying us with oodles of Taylored Expressions goodies!! More projects on the way....

Keep it Simple Sunday

**NOTE** Scroll down for the SNR Blog Hop Post!

Today's Tip: Keep it monochromatic!

This week I was inspired by Becky Oehler's recent blog post, showcasing an adorable red and white card. So last night I decided to try my hand at my own red and white card and this baby took me about 10 minutes to make...from start to finish! Now that's what I call keeping it simple! This adorable set is from a recently released Taylored Expressions set, Wings of Joy. (This is one of the sets we used at Stamping Around PA and I'll be back later this week of photos from that darling project!) This set has a number of sweet images that can be mixed and matched. The swirly line is a stand alone image as is the stocking. I used the swirl to hold up my stocking but this same image would be great for swirling snow, to hold an ornament, or to mimic wind. The sentiment is from the set, which includes five others that can also be mixed and matched. I ran my card base through the Cuttlebug for a little texture. The rest of the card details are self-explanatory! Conclusion - I love red and white together...it's fantastic! And it made for an easy card...thanks for the inspiration Becky!!

Keep it Simple Sunday

Today's Tip: Use alcohol inks and glossy cardstock to create

super funky custom patterned paper.

That's right...I used the words "super" and "funky" in a sentence about cardmaking 'cause that is what this far out paper is all about! This is one crazy design created by my fabulous crafting five year old. :-) The background paper was created by dropping tiny pools of alcohol ink onto glossy cardstock - in this case a tripped out 70's inspired mirror paper - and then using an air can to dry the ink. The pressure from the air can causes a splattered look. This was one of those techniques that my friend showed us a few weeks ago when she came for a visit. My wee crafter used about every color of ink available to create his masterpiece. He then presented me with his piece of paper and declared that he'd made it just for me. How could I not, in turn, create a card with his special paper. The colors and mirror paper made me think "birthday!" so I dug through my image pile and found this adorable cupcake image. Once it was colored with Copics I merely had to cut out a circle with my Cuttlebug and Nestibilities, add a scallop (and of course a bizillion tiny rhinestones from Taylored Expressions), some ribbon, and a tag, outfitted with a sentiment from Papertreyink, to complete my card. My little one was very happy when I showed him that I'd used his paper to make a card and his smile made my entire day! Why not try this technique to see what kind of designs you can come up with...

All the Way to the Moon and Back

When Taylor introduced this set, The Places You'll Go, I just about flipped! Not only do I adore the quotes and images included in the set but I tell my oldest that I love him "all the way to the moon and back" every night at bedtime. So...there was no way I could not get these stamps!! The first item I wanted to create was a bookmark for our son, using the rocket ship and "moon and back" quote, to give to him on his first day of school. Our homeschool curriculum requires a decent amount of reading so this will definitely be put to use! I paired the image with patterned papers that I also purchased from Taylored Expressions. These are beautiful papers and I actually also used them on the card from my last post. The ribbon and big 'ol eyelet are from Stampin' Up! I only wish I had my sewing machine set up because I think stitching would have added a wonderful extra to the bookmark; create a quilt type of look...next time... Here is a photo of the entire bookmark. Our sweet boy was thrilled when I presented him with it and carried it around with him for most of the day. His response, "and I love you all the way to Pluto and back!" You've got to love that!

Have a wonderful Wednesday...be back soon with photos of some beautiful RAKs I received last week!! Can't wait to show you the handiwork of some talented ladies!

Keep it Simple Sunday

Today's Tip: Make a grid card!

I've found a new blog! Or rather a new blogger has found me....and I adore her work! Her name is Jacqueline and you can find her blog, My Scrap Basket, here. Lately, Jacqueline has been posting her beautiful grid cards, which is a card made up of any number of small squares. I had been looking for inspiration for today's post and thought I'd try my hand at a grid card. I've made a few of the mini cards, using the four squares, but this time I went for nine on my 5x5 inch card. This paper, from Taylored Expressions, is so beautiful that it can really stand on it's own. I only added a few stamped images, from Odd Bird Planet, a flower brad, and two buttons (from PTI). Oh, and the sentiment is also from PTI! Total time to finish...about ten minutes...While standing at my desk....minus a chair...in a mostly empty office...because....My furniture has been all moved out of my office and my new huge storage cabinet has been moved in! My craft supplies are all over the kitchen and dining room and I'm just waiting for my hubby to make me a custom countertop before I can post photos of my new space! I can't wait!! I would also like to add that my card is a very belated birthday wish for Kathi Rerek! Kathi will be teaching at our upcoming Stamping Around PA event! Hi Kathi, hope your birthday was very happy!! :-) Until then, have a wonderful evening!

Hi Friend!

Recently I've been thinking about playing with acetate...I love the look of clear cards but instead of creating a full clear card I decided to just create a clear cover for the front of a card. I started by stamping this leaf pattern from Papertryink's Beautiful Blooms set, one of my favorites, in Snow White ink. I then stamped the flowers (and here is the joy of this fantastic set...I was able to create my own flower designs by using three different images from the set to create one flower!) on white cardstock and cut them out, mounting them on the acetate with dimensional tape. Since I really wanted to use red ribbon, I just love the look of red and kraft together, I added a piece of red cardstock behind the acetate, after stamping it with a polka dot pattern from the Polka Dot Basics II set, from PTI. The sentiment, also from the Beautiful Blooms set, was added on a paper ribbon and I created the dots for the i's with rhinestones from Taylored Expressions. Enjoy and hope the weather wherever you are is as amazing as it's been here in New England! The entire family has been spending entire days outside playing, planting, and simply enjoying the warm sunshine and cool weather...it's been divine...

Keep it Simple Sunday

Today's Tip: Forget about those layers!

When I was faced with the challenge of creating a one layer card...whew...I had to really think about what to design! It seems most of us card makers start out with almost no layers, when we're first learning about stamping, and after a few years we have cards with so many layers they're heavy! LOL! I'm finding that the more I create these simple cards, the more I enjoy them... This card may look more complicated than it is but it really only took a few minutes to create since I had a good idea of the design in my head...that doesn't happen often! I started by stamping a circle from one of Papertryink's Borders & Corners sets in VersaMark ink and embossed the circle with silver embossing powder. I then created a mask of the circle and stamped my polka dots and swirls (both sets from Papertreyink, Polka Dot Basics II and Fancy Flourishes) on the background. Once the mask was removed, I stamped the Verve sentiment in the middle of the circle, added the Taylored Expressions rhinestones, and finished off the card with ribbon from Stampin' Up!. See...easy peasy! Enjoy and hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend...for those of you in the US! :-)

Keep it Simple Sunday

Today's tip: Use rub-ons to create a custom card in under 15 minutes!

For the past few months, I've been hoarding a huge draw full of rub-ons...I love these things yet I can not bring myself to use them. That is one down side to rub-ons; when they're gone, they're gone! It's not like a rubber stamp that can be used over and over. That said, I am never disappointed with the finished product when using them! Today's card was super-duper easy! I used a SU! punch to add a scalloped edge to the front of the cream card base and then added one rub-on (also from SU!) to the bottom, right above the scallop. I love this lower case font combined with the swirls and tiny flowers. Since I knew it would be close to impossible for me to leave a card without a small hint of color, I used a butterfly rub-on on a circle, cut with Nestibilities, layered on top of a deep orange scalloped circle. The circle was attached to the card front with dimensional tape. A few tiny rhinestones from Taylored Expressions added the perfect bling accent!

Now that's what I call simple...

Taylor's Cupcake Challenge

Yesterday I had a wonderful opportunity to stamp just for fun! And I managed to create six cards in just a few hours...It was delightful! Soon I'll have to pack up all of my supplies for our move. My goodies will be moving into a lovely but smaller studio. Our plan is to build in storage and counter space. However, that will probably leave much of my supplies packed so...I'm hard at work creating cards and projects to share during the transition. Last night I inked up some stamps I've never used and am looking forward to showing you the results! The card above is also using a brand new stamp, part of a new Stampin' Up! set called, Fifth Avenue Floral. It is a delightful set that I've had my eye on for awhile...I'm thrilled that it's now part of my collection! The paper used on the card coordinates with the stamps in the set and it can be found here. I used Copics to color in the flower, which has been cut out and attached with dimensional tape. The center of the flower is covered in tiny rhinestones, purchased from Taylor's store, Taylored Expressions. They're much sparklier (is that a word??) in person! :-) The layout comes from Taylor and was her weekly cupcake challenge. I thought this was a wonderful layout, simple, clean lines and super versatile! Go to Taylor's blog to check out her amazing work and follow links to other stampers who have participated in the challenge. Enjoy!

Keep it Simple Sunday

Tonight's Keep it Simple Sunday was turning into "oh my goodness, how long can it possibly take to create an easy, attractive card Monday!" LOL! Ever have one of those days? My Keep it Simple project started last night and by 11pm I still hadn't finished what I started! My husband had a good laugh when I came around the corner of the living room without a card in hand! So much for simple...However, I will have a fun project to show later this week. ;-) Tonight, I tried channeling Nichole Heady (she does the most amazing designs that are clean and simple...I've never seen one of her cards I didn't like!). I chose to start with a straight forward layout. This is a wonderful way to create a card or background for a card...Take two pieces of cardstock and stamp a background design on both pieces of paper and then layer them on a base. For this card I used a polka dot and word background stamps from Stampin' Up! The polka dot piece has been given a scalloped edge and (here's a true confession...I can not leave those little scallops alone!) added tiny rhinestones from Taylored Expressions. A piece of SU! ribbon was tied around the card, a sentiment added (really think I needed a larger, bolder sentiment on this card...next time!), and popped up a dark blue butterfly on the front as an accent. This basic design can be used again and again, you can change sentiments and background stamps, flip it on the horizontal, or attach a tag to the ribbon. I think I might even have a fun design to share later this week, using the scraps from this card....hummm....Stay tuned! Enjoy!