Saturday, May 26, 2012

100 Cards in 100 Days

I ran across a thread on Split Coast Stampers yesterday that really caught my eye.  It was a challenge to make and post 100 cards in 100 days from June 1 - September 8.  The catch?  Only use what is in your stash.  Perfect!  Especially since my funds are limited right now.  This will be a wonderful challenge to keep me motivated without spending extra!

I did make a few "exceptions" for myself...

1.  I can buy adhesive if I run out.  Otherwise I couldn't keep going! : )
2.  I can buy white or kraft cardstock if I run out.  See #1...
3.  If I receive a gift certificate (like at a release party, or for winning a challenge) I can use it! : )

I'd love to work through the challenge using a lot of the older sets that I haven't stamped with for awhile.  Then I can decide if I would like to keep them or pass them on.  Watch this space, because I might offer some of them for sale here!

I'll be making my first 100in100 post on Saturday, June 1st...  I hope to see you then!
Tricia

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Tea for Two - MFTWSC73


Sigh!  I just adore this stamp.  It makes me smile, and I want to push the bunny over the edge of the cup.  LOL!  I used this week's sketch from My Favorite Things and colored my image with copics.  The set is called "Tea for Two" by My Favorite Things, but it must be retired, because I don't see it on the website anymore.  Too bad, cuz it's adorable!

I used the Flower Trio and Mini Tab Foursome Die-Namics on my card, a Recollections punch to edge my center strip, and my favorite designer paper right now... MME's "Oo La La".

SIMPLE TIP:


Use a white gel pen to add little bits of "light" to your project.

Have a Tea-Licious day!! : )

Tricia

Saturday, May 19, 2012

More Grace


The Shining Light challenge for this week was a simple sketch that worked perfectly with this exquisite sentiment from the Our Daily Bread "Grace"set.  Isn't God's grace a mind-boggling thing?  To exchange my sin for Christ's righteousness.  Amazing.

SIMPLE TIP:
I stamped the flower lightly in pink ink while it was still in the Nestibilities die.  Before removing it, I sponged a little Creamy Caramel ink (SU) around the edges. This left me with a nice crisp white edge and it looks like I added a white mat. : )

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Grace


Today's card isn't flat enough to mail without extra postage, so I'll put it in my "special cards for special people" pile and mail it with a package.  I used a new stamp set today -- one called "Grace" by Our Daily Bread Designs, and I made the card for this week's Shining the Light inspiration challenge.  I decided to use the colors from pictures 1 and 2.   I colored my image with copics and then added a little prismacolor pencil to the top.

SIMPLE TIP:

To tone down the white paper I had stamped my image on, I colored it with YR000 and then went around the edges with E41.  This helped it to blend with the ivory base layer and helped the flowers to "pop" off the page a little. : )

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Happy Mother's Day!


I was thinking about this pretty Pansy stamp from SU the other day.  It's long retired and I can't even remember the name of the set, but I thought it would make a pretty Mother's Day card for my Mom.  I used this week's Freshly Made sketch for my layout.

SIMPLE TIP:


A pretty border punched on either side of a strip of cardstock can make a pretty faux ribbon treatment that you can stamp on.  I used a punch by Recollections and a sentiment by Verve.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Get Well Bear


I had so much fun putting together a card with the MFT sketch, that I decided to do another.  I changed up the sketch this time - tilting a panel, adding a tag and swapping the side the flowers are on - just to be different!  I used another adorable Pure Innocence girl for this card and paper pieced her jumper with just a tiny scrap of dp I had kept.  The little tag is cut with the Notched Tag DieNamics (the little flower, too!) and is stamped with the coordinating set.  I love the little graph paper look!

SIMPLE TIP:
Before I stamped on the tag, I stuck my thumb in the middle of the inked stamp.  That gave a little lighter spot for the sentiment to go. : )

Thanks for stopping by today to see my Flat but Fancy card. : )

DieNamics used...

Notched Tag 
Flower Trio
Little Open Scallop Strip

Monday, May 07, 2012

Joy, Joy!


Today's card looks a little more "fancy" than my normal ones do, but most of that comes from the layers and die cuts that I used.  I was following the sketch for the My Favorite Things Guest Designer challenge on SCS so I pulled out the adorable little Violin Girl stamp and paper pieced her jumper after I had colored her with copics.  I popped her up on a scalloped rectangle cut and embossed with a Spellbinders die, then layered that on a fancy little background layer that I had pieced together from scraps of dp and kraft paper that happened to be on my desk. : )  The sweet little open scallop on the top is another MFT die and the backwards scallop on the bottom (in kraft) is actually the piece of paper that was left over after I cut out the top one.  The Flower and Leaf trio Dienamics make wonderful flat flowers in just the right size, and the Mini Tabs Dienamics was perfect for half of a sentiment from the Happy Thoughts set.  The sketch had some horizontal bands behind the main image and I tried all sorts of things before settling on some sweet bakers twine.  I love the look of the stripes against the polka dots!

I love the fact that even though my design is a little busy, this is still a flat enough card to mail in a regular envelope with regular postage.  I'll save it for someone extra special!

SIMPLE TIP:  Die cuts are a wonderful way to add a polished look to a card!  Here are the MFT dies I used on today's card ...


Flower and Leaf Trio
Little Open Scallop Strip
Mini Tab Foursome

Blessings!

Tricia

Saturday, May 05, 2012

Birthday Cards

I make a lot of cards for my Mom to send out and she mentioned the other day that she was low on birthday cards, so I'll probably be showing a number of them in the next little while! : )


This first little card features a digi stamp by Sweet n Sassy - Rhubarb's Sunflower.  I think Rhubarb is so sweet!!  I colored him with copics and then created a little scene with him, using the sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge as my inspiration.  The little grass die is from Sweet n Sassy, too.  I didn't have a cloud die, so I cut a piece of white cardstock with the Hearts and Swirls Frame Die from Verve, embossed it and cut it to fit in the corner.

SIMPLE TIP:  Look at your dies to see how you can use them in new and interesting ways!


My second card uses the Viva La Verve sketch - week one.  It is a very simple card using the Many Blessings and Small Phrases sets from Verve as well as the Rounded Scallop Rectangle Frame die.  I think this die is so fun!  It cuts out both the inside and the outside of the frame, so after running it through once with pink cardstock and once with white cardstock, I can mix and match the inside and the outside border as I've done here.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Tricia

Thursday, May 03, 2012

Freshly Made


Hello friends!

I took a little blog sabbatical to really think through why I blogged and why I stamped, what my stamping style is and whether the time that blogging takes was worth fitting in to my schedule.  I even considered stopping stamping all together! My husband made an interesting comment when I first mentioned it to him, though ...  "If you stopped, I think you would miss it", and he was right, wise man that he is!  I've missed sharing with you all !!  

I did realize some interesting things as I was reading over my first posts from this blog, and I was surprised at how far I had moved from it's original purpose, which was to show that you could make lovely cards that were still able to be mailed, and that wouldn't require you to have access to every supply available.  So when I found the Freshly Made challenge this week I knew that I had to participate.

For my card I used a sweet digi image from Whimsy and Stars that I colored with copics and cut out with a Classic Rectangle die.  The sentiment is from a Verve set called Making a Statement, and the dp is leftover from a Stella Rose and Mabelle pad by My Minds Eye.  I did pop up the main image for a little dimension and added a few pearl embellishments.  

SIMPLE TIP...  Having the main image popped up gives the card a little height and will protect the pearls a little when I mail the card.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Blessings!

Tricia