Cakes are for Birthdays

Do you like the cake...or the frosting?

Am I the weirdest person in the world because I'll eat the cake and leave the frosting? Maybe...but my children love it!

There is a challenge over at Do You Stack Up ~ birthdays...and what better to celebrate a birthday with than a great cake?

The challenge is sponsored by The Stamps of Life, and we have a chance to win some if you enter...so, see you there!

So, cake vs. frosting...I like to look at frosting, especially if it is fancy...but I very rarely eat it. Its just too sweet for me. Give me a great cake any day!

Here's my card...

I had a bunch of fun with the glitter glue...maybe too much...but it is for a teenage girl...bring on the bling, right?

How often do you 'think outside the box' with your stamps? I have to force myself to do so...and sometimes my crazy mind even comes up with something good! For example, the starburst on the top of the cake is a flower stamp...how cool is that?

Here is a different angle, I think that this one shows the versamark background and the glitter glue sparkle a bit better.

Supplies:

• card blank: recollections (i think)
• patterned paper: K & Company
• stamps: The Stamps of Life
• glitter glue: Stickles
• ink: Memento

Thanks for looking!

Meredith

New Challenge for Me

I don't remember how I heard about it, but there is a cute online store that sells dyed crinkle ribbon in a wonderful range of colors and the store sponsors a challenge blog too! 

The store is 3GirlJam, and the ribbon color selection was too good to pass up, so I ordered a pack...wonderful! The shipping was quick, the website is easy to navigate, and the ribbon...wow! I'm in love!

Ok, enough rhapsodizing...on to the challenge. The challenge until Sept 20th is ribbon flowers...and you can use any ribbon you like to enter! Head on over to the 3GirlJam Challenge Blog and check it out!

Here is my entry for the challenge

I had fun making the flower...its the crinkle ribbon wound around a bowmaker about 14 times, then tied in the middle and fluffed.

Supplies

• cardstock: wausau
• patterned cardstock: DCWV
• ribbon: 3GirlJam
• ink: martha stewart
• stamp: fiskars
• button: stash

Here is a dimensional view of the flower...I love how soft and fluffy it is!

And you can see the sparkle of the patterned cardstock a bit better as well.

Now, since I have your attention...

I'll show you the card that I made for the first challenge...butterflies and bows.

I did not get the card posted in time to enter the challenge...but I thought it was pretty and wanted to show it off anyway!

Besides, this card perfectly fit the challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays...embossing. With the inking I did to accent the embossing I do wonder if it fits the CAS part...but I decided to link up anyway!

The inspiration for this card came from this pin...I've used this basic idea over and over, it is so adaptable!

Check out how fluffy that bow is!

And the inside...both of these cards are for weddings...the invites for fall are starting to fill my mailbox!

You can sort of see in this picture the shimmer on the cardstock that I used. I was so pleased that the pigment ink dried on it quickly...I had been hesitating to use it because I thought that it would need stazon ink, but no!

Supplies: (same as for first card with the addition of)

• die cut: sizzix
• embossing folder: cuttlebug

Thanks for looking!

Meredith

OWH VCMP!

Confusing title, eh?

That's alright, the translation is easy...its an Operation Write Home Virtual Card Making Party!

Operation Write Home is presenting challenges over the long weekend, and inviting all of us to make cards to send to them following each challenge...too fun!

I was gone for most of Saturday...for the best of reasons...proudly bringing my beautiful daughter home after her graduation from Coast Guard Basic Training!

I will happily admit that for the past two months I have been concentrating my cardmaking efforts on keeping up with the demand to supply cards for myself and my husband to send her a card nearly every day, with success, I might add! 

I'm ready to get back to making cards for others now, and this virtual party is a great motivator!

The first challenge is to make a card that included a scripture verse or an uplifting quote. 

I put together this card...

Supplies:

• cardstock:wausau; patterned cardstock:K&Company; stamp:Unity; punch:McGill,eksuccess; ink:Memento,Colorbox; sketch:OWH#96

The second challenge is a recipe challenge: make a card that has 1 image, 2 patterned papers and 3 words.

Here is my card for that one...

Supplies:

• cardstock:DCWV; patterned paper:target $ spot; stamps:Unity; ink:TPC studio; punch:eksuccess; sketch:OWH#53

The third challenge is to make a card with snowflakes...but not a Christmas card.

This was fun...I broke out the winter paper pack and went to town.

Supplies:

• cardstock:unknown; patterned paper:DCWV; stamp:Unity; punch:unknown; ink:Ranger Distress Ink; inspiration:pinterest

There are seven more challenges for OWH...I hope to make some more time tomorrow to complete some of them!

But now...since all of these cards use Unity stamps ( I love, love, love how versatile their designers are!) I will link up to Friends with Flair!  Where anyone can link up their Unity projects and share the love with others!

Thanks for stopping by to look!

Meredith

Hello, Frank!

  I've been busy in the craft room again...with inspiration from Pinterest, of course!

This cute tag came about for a weekly challenge over on the Cardmaker Cardswaps forum, this week, it is to make a tag for the upcoming holidays.

After seeing the above linked version, I set out to make my own Frankenstein tag...

Its really as easy as it looks, so give it a try!

Supplies:

• chipboard tag base
• green cardstock to cover  tag
• green distress ink
• black marker
• black buttons
• brads (for bolts)
• black burlap scrap

Here's a closer look at the neck brads...

And the button eyes and burlap 'hair'

Steps to make:

• Cut chipboard tag. (I cut mine 5" tall by 3" wide.)
• Cover tag with green cardstock
• Distress cardstock with green ink
• Glue on button eyes
• Draw mouth. (I penciled mine in first to be sure of placement.)
• Glue burlap 'hair' in place, trim to fit edge of tag, trim bangs.
• Glue on neck bolt brads
• That's it!

Thanks for looking!

Meredith

New Wheels

I've got a baby shower to attend tonight, so that means a card!

There was a crop recently on Cardswaps in which one of the members, Barry, created a fantastic card with a sunburst pattern.

Now, I like the look of sunbursts, and have on occasion used the design on my cards...but always end up with the biggest mess of wonky cuts and scraps left over, so I don't use them often.

Enter Barry's suggestion to cut strips of paper about 1" x 4", then cut those strips diagonally from corner to corner to get your 'rays'. Genius!!!

You then adhere the rays from a central point...I used the center of my card, you may of course choose whatever point you wish!

I cut my strips a different size, 1.25" x 6", which resulted in a narrower strip, and after I was done, this is what I had!

Supplies:

• patterned paper: Recollections
• card base: unknown
• stamps: Unity
• ink: distress ink
• die cuts: Spellbinders
• punch: ek success

The sentiment is on the inside...check out how cute it is!

And the border I used on the inside was made with a regular label punch following these brilliant instructions...I love people who are generous enough to share when they are more clever than I am!

The total effect of the front of the card is so striking with the sunburst...

that I couldn't bear to cover it up with a normal envelope...not even a cute pink or purple one...so I dug around and found one of my vellum envelopes!

You could experiment with the size of the starting strips to vary the size and shape of the 'rays'. Wider, shorter, narrow, tall...how about using edge treatments such as border punches or shaped scissors...hmm, sounds like its time to play with some more paper!

I'm linking this post over at the Unity blog to the Friends with Flair Friday...there are always so many lovely projects to see, come visit!

Thanks for looking!

Meredith

Silhouette Poppies

I spent most of the weekend in my craft room, making cards to send to my wonderful daughter. She is more than halfway through her basic training for the Coast Guard and we have been trying to send her at least one card every day...which means that my stash is seriously depleted!

I've also been trying to use up what I have...including some card bases that I purchased long, long ago. They are made of quite flimsy cardstock, which is why I have not been using them...but I had the brilliant (if long in coming) idea to line them with cardstock and voila! they are usable!

This card was made very simply...stamp the image and sentiment in white ink, emboss with white powder, then add a white ribbon.

I'm entering this card at Gingerloft Challenges - Silhouettes
and at Opus Gluei - Red Hot

Card Supplies:

• card~unknown
• stamp~HeroArts,Inkadinkado
• ink~stampabilities
• embossing powder~stampendous
• ribbon~michael's

Thanks for stopping by!

Meredith



Tutorial: Layers of Beauty

Hi Y'all! My little blog isn't going to know what to do with all these visitors!

Today I've got a stamping technique for you to try that provides lots of visual interest without taking too much time or effort on your part, sound interesting?

Your challenge is to create a card using the seamless tiers technique and fall colors.

The place that I learned this technique from called it seamless layers, although I have seen it go by other names as well, such as triple stamping. In short, you use multiple stamps on several layers and on each layer the images flow smoothly to the next. The trick to this technique is in lining up the images on each layer.

Here is a peek of the 'layers'

 To start out, you will cut your cardstock to have three layers. I've cut mine so that each of the layers are proportionatly smaller than the next, how you cut yours is personal preference.

Since I like to cut my cardstock all at once, I also cut the 'mat' layers at this time. Simply measure your top and middle layer, and cut your cardstock 1/8" larger by length and width.

Here is what you should end up with...

My measurements were:

     Card layer          Mat layer
     4 1/4 x 5 1/2      -----
     3 1/4 x 4 1/2      3 3/8 x 4 5/8
     2 1/4 x 3 1/2      2 3/8 x 3 5/8

Remember, these sizes are just what I used, you may make your layers any size that you want to.

This is how your layers should look when stacked together, notice how each 'mat' layer provides a small 'frame' for the layer above.

Now, stack your three card layers and use temporary adhesive to hold them together.

Its a little difficult to see, since they are all the same color, but hopefully you can get the idea.

If you are planning on using a sentiment on your card, stamp that first. Once you get going on your images, you can sometimes run out of room!

Fill your card front with images, just place the stamps on top of the layers and stamp normally.

There will be space between the layers where the image does not transfer because of the difference in height from one layer to the next. Don't worry!

We'll take care of that in the next step.

Pull apart your layers and add the mat layers to the back of the first two layers.

Now stack everything back together again, using permanent adhesive this time. This is the point to add any ribbons, embellishments, or coloring that you might want to finish off your card.

Do you see how with the addition of the narrow mat layers the eye just flows from one layer to the next? And how easy was that to line up all of your images?

I decided that this card needed very little embellishment, and just layered a single colored butterfly with foam adhesive for dimension.

I think that this technique provides a subtle elegance to the card, and can easily be used for many different occasions. This card went to my daughter from her daddy to encourage her during her Coast Guard basic training, and I whipped out several of these in May with Congratulations sentiments and stars all over for Graduation cards.

I look forward to seeing your Layers of Beauty cards with fall colors on the forum!

Thanks for stopping by,

Meredith