Challenge - Color Combo - Green Black Peach

I created this card for the challenge at CST which is a color combo.  I chose Peach, Green, Black from the 6 options.
I started with a green card onto which I added a black layer leaving a small border.  I chose a peach colored layer which I embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. I found a piece of warm colored leaves designer paper which I cut down to 2.5" wide and then I flagged the bottom end.  This was glued to the embossed layer.  I cut a CB oval ribbon slider in the same card stock as the card.  I added a 1" circle greeting which was stamped with Versafine Onyx ink with a small clear stamp then punched out.  I ran the slider onto a piece of 3/8" black grosgrain ribbon which I wrapped around the peach layer and taped the ends to the back. 

Upcycled - Peach Roses

I created a set of 4 cards by upcycling a large card.  I die cut the flowers with a Spellbinder smooth oval die and then cut a scallop oval to match from the coordinating green card stock.  I selected some peach card stock and embossed it with the Big Shot and the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder.  I added a piece of white seam binding across the centre and taped both ends to the back, leaving a bit of slack to allow me to tie the short piece on with a knot.  I mounted the oval rose accent with 3D foam tape.

Challenge - Santa

I made this card for the challenge at Christmas Cards All Year Long which is Santa. I chose to upcycle this old Christmas card because it presents a different view of Santa.  This is a painting by Tom Newman called Santa's Hobby.
I cut the card with the Tim Holtz Ornamental die.  I found a dark green card.  I chose an ivory layer to coordinate with the duck.  I added the ivory layer embossed with the Cuttlebug 5x7 Snowflake folder trimmed to leave a small border. I added a sentiment with the Stampin up! Modern Label and Word Window stamped in Handsome Hunter.  To repeat the ivory  I added a grosgrain ribbon in the top left hand corner held in place with a red star brad to match Santa's sweater.

Challenge - Wordy

I started with a black card. I cut the light blue layer with the SB A2 Matting Basics Nestabilities.  I added a piece of black grosgrain ribbon along the left hand side and taped the ends to the back.  This layer was adhered to the card front.  I cut a piece of taupe card stock with the Spellbinder Romantic Rectangles die.  This layer was added to the card.  I cut a piece of black card stock with a SB smooth oval nestabilities.  The sentiment word was cut with the Stampin Up! Typeset Alphabet Bigz Dies in the card stock as the first layer.  I glued them to the oval with quick dry adhesive.  I glued this to the taupe layer with 3D foam tape.  I added a couple of silk flowers in the top left hand corner held in place with an aqua blue brad to match the first layer and a black butterfly (unknown source) below the flower which was adhered with 3D foam tape.  I'm submitting this card to the Wordy Challenge C4C193 at Crazy 4 Cards.

Challenges - Masculine Hexagons

I started with a white card and I added texture with Vintage Overlay in black and Itty Bitty background in red.  I cut 6 hexagons with a Spellbinder Nestabilities in red, blue and white designer paper.  I placed them in decreasing numbers going to the right.  I added a red Stampin Up! Modern Label with a blue Word Window greeting.  This was added to the card front with 3D foam tape. This is a great scrap buster.
I'm submitting this card for the Come & Get It - Masculine and Crazy 4 Cards - C4C192 Hexagons.

Challenges - Reindeer

I started with a ivory card.  I added the 2 pieces of washi tape on the top left and bottom right and trimmed them at an angle. I colored a chipboard deer with Tim Holtz Fired Brick.  I created a background from script paper from left over cards from a recent project. I found some card stock that coordinated with the red in the washi tape.  I punched it with the new Stampin Up Artisan Label punch.  I added a blue SU Modern Label punchie with a red SU Word Window punchie.  I stamped the sentiment in black with a small clear stamp with a VersaFine ink pad. 
I'm submitting this card in the Holly Jolly - Something New and Clean & Simple FLT247 Sketch.  

How To: Paper Decorating

The creating on the silicone with color then printing onto paper was not my favorite technique. It's possible that my mat not being white made it harder to see what I was creating and therefore I was not as happy with the results. Using glaze instead of acrylic paint affected our end product as well because it's translucent and not opaque.
I ended up liking the printing with a letterpress or an embossing folder the most. This involved mixing the glaze medium and color together then applying to the letterpress/folder with a rubber brayer. Placing the paper onto the silicone mat for a bit of give then turning the letterpress/folder over onto the paper and pressing it down. I used a rolling pin as my brayer was full of color.  It really needs consistent pressure throughout the surface.   You can see that I printed over a layer I had printed and left to dry.  That's the beauty of the process, just keep adding until you are happy with the paper.
In the bottom picture my sister is using a foam brush over a stencil with a couple colors.   The top row is a sample of some of the paper we created this weekend.  It was a good experience and great to spend time with my sister.

Cool Tools - Mono Printing

My sister and I worked on mono printing on the weekend.  I was inspired by the Gelli Plate buzz on the internet.  My first challenge was finding an economical substitute for the the plate.  I found the pink silicone place mat at a discount store.  My sister bought a large non stick mat made for candy making. Our costs were in the $6 range. We set up our tables, spread out the necessary plastic sheet on our work surface, then placed our silicone mats.  The tools we selected were: a rubber brayer, foam brushes, stencils (fun foam and plastic), letterpress plates, embossing folders, texture makers (foam drawer liner, foam shapes, sequin hole ribbon, rubber texture tools) spritz bottles and rags, water and sink for clean up.  We choose clear and colored glaze was our medium.  I added some re-inker to create paper in colors I could match later. 

Long Weekend - Bird Pictures

I was out to visit my sister at her new home. We were out for a walk late one evening and I got these photos.  The light was fading fast and I was being eaten alive by mosquitoes.  This trail is around a small lake and I was very happy with the wide variety of birds I saw. We were out for 1.5 hours including time to take pics.

The next day we headed on a photo trip to Gull Lake and Sylvan Lake.  We found gulls and white pelicans. I finally got a good picture of white pelicans.  These don't have the large bump. During the breeding season, both males and females develop a 3 inch by 3 inch (7.6 by 7.6 cm) bump on the top of their large beak. This conspicuous growth, which evidently indicates the bird's interest in breeding, is shed by the end of the breeding season. 
The day was great and we hit Boston Pizza for supper at the end of the day.
I will quite a few good pictures for my Photo Calendar this year. Check my calendar page for  the 2014 Calendar coming soon.

Christmas Card Challenge - July - Shaped Card

The theme for my Christmas Card Challenge this month is to make a shaped card.  Any shape will do! Mitten, Oval, Tree, Triangle, Bell, Star, Top Note, Heart, Ornament and many more! Pick your favorite. 
I chose ornament. I selected the largest nestie from the Spellbinder 2011Heirloom Ornament set.  I folded my red card in half as usual.  Then I placed the die with the bottom tip of the ornament right next to the open side of the card and the fold was on the hanger at the top and ran it through the Big Shot.  I then cut a silver SB Scallop Oval, then a dark green SB Smooth Oval.  I found my vintage poinsettia at Graphics Fairy.  I sized it to fit the next size of SB Smooth Oval, printed and cut it.  I wrapped a silver ribbon around the front layer at the top, tied a bow and trimmed the ends.  I cut a Cuttlebug tag and stamped my greeting in Handsome Hunter and rubbed the edges with Real Red and Handsome Hunter.  The tag is held in place with a brushed silver brad.
It's the half way point in the year and I have 70 cards made.  I'm happy with my progress which is over half way to where I want to be November 30th.

Challenge - Card with No Greeting

I made this card for the challenge at CST which is a card with no greeting. 
I found the hexagon shapes on my desk left over from this card from club card. I mounted it on a script background left over from this card from my All Occasion Stack Class.  The script background is glued to the green card front. The hexagon shapes were cut with Spellbinder Nestabilities.  I glued 5 hexagon shapes along the right hand side.  I placed a brown ribbon along the left hand side of the hexagons and taped the ends to the inside of the card.  I got the butterflies in an exchange so I don't know how they were created.  I layered a brown one onto a larger white butterfly. 

R2G Card Kit - For You Scallop

Here's another card kit.  In the past, I always kept these elements together on the Stampin Up! Punch Bunch For You Flower scallop punchie.  I have seen several examples of separating them and I like the look much better.  I combined different flower colors with Kiwi Kiss for the stems and centers.  This card is in Pretty in Pink.  The card, the scallop punchie and the flowers are the same color.  The white layer was embossed with the Stampin Up Vintage Wallpaper folder to about 3/4 of the layer.  I added 1/4 in grosgrain ribbon in Pretty in Pink just above the embossing and taped the ends to the back.  This was then glued to the card front.  The scallop accent is the For You punched with the 1.25" circle, Kiwi Kiss in 1 3/8" and the scallop matches the card color.
The kit includes Pretty in Pink and Perfect Plum.

Challege - Holiday Sweets

I had decided I could not enter this challenge at Holly Jolly because I did not have any images that would fit the category.  This morning I was going through old Christmas cards for another project and saw this wonderful cake!  That's it, I will upcycle this card into a new one.  I quickly cut it to size with my new Spellbinder A2 Basics Matting Nestabilities. Once cut, I rubbed it's edges with a Chocolate Chip ink pad.  I layered it onto red then green and the onto the white card.  I printed my sentiment in Chocolate Chip above the Christmas Cake  image. 

Christmas Stack Class - Winter Deer

 Here's a nice peaceful card for the last set. I bought the chipboard deer during the last Christmas season.  The background paper is Little Yellow Bicycle - Winterings on the beige background.  I printed the narrow frame onto the card stock. The blue background I found here.  I colored the deer with Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Gathered Twig on the beige background and Walnut on the blue background.  The deer is  adhered to the right hand side with his feet placed very near the border. The snowflake is created with a Martha Steward snowflake punch with the same card stock as the card and held in place with a tiny white brad.  I color printed the greetings in a coordinating color and cut into a snow bank with my Creative Memories wavy cutter. It is mounted to the background being trimmed to be inside the frame.  It is adhered with 3D foam tape to accommodate the legs of the deer.

Christmas Card Stack - Ornament

I made these sets with green and red cards.  I printed the greeting and the string bow for the ornament on a white layer.  The white layer is cut to leave a small border of card color. The ornament was cut with one of the Spellbinder 2012 Heirloom Ornament Nestabilities. The red and white spotted paper is by Pinecone Press Papers - Rudolph. The black ornament hanger was cut with the Sizzix Ornament die and trimmed straight across. The white snowflake in the ornament centre was cut with the Stampin Up! Northern Snow Flurry Bigz die.  It is held in place with a small crystal brad.  I punched a evergreen garland with a Martha Stewart Double Edge Pine Needles Trim punch. The paper I used was by the AC Kringle & Co Lighting Department.  I punched it wider than I needed and placed it so that string is somewhat covered.  I adhered it down and trimmed it to the card edges.

Christmas Stack Class - Candle

I put black, blue, green and burgundy cards in this set.  The cream script background with a flocked bow came from a set of note cards I bought a while back.  To create the candle I embossed some pearl card stock. The embossing folders I used are the Cuttlebug D'vine Swirl and Season's Greetings.  I backed the rectangle with a piece of card stock which matched the card color leaving a tiny border.  To get the candle behind the bow I made a slit just along the top edge with an e-xacto knife.  Then I slipped the end of the candle through the slit. Now, I know where the flame needs to go. The outside frame is adhered first then the yellow center is glued in the middle of the frame  The flame is created with a QuicKutz die. I washed some of the same pearl card stock with yellow liquid acrylic paint.  Now I positioned the candle to overlap the wick.  I adhered the candle in place and taped the end through the slit to the back of the background.

Christmas Stack Class - Felt Christmas Tree

This is one of the cards in my Christmas Stack class today.  I put black, red, green, and white cards in this set. 
 The card color is matched to the color of the felt tree. I cut the gold embossed Merry Christmas background paper with a Spellbinder A2 Matting Basics Nestabilities.  I placed the tree aligning it along the bottom edge of the background.  The tree had a hole in the top so I used a push pin to create a hole through the centre of the sequin star and the card front.  I placed the tiny brad through the round sequin, the star, the tree then the card front.  I spread the prongs on the inside of the card. 

Card - Farewell - Pink Lily

Another card for those leaving our office this month.  I chose the Designer Paper by Kaiser Craft - Tigerlilly Collection - Blossom.  Love this paper!  I layered a piece of the paper onto a large half sheet pink card.  It's double sided paper so I chose to add a band across the top 1/3 with the small dots side.  I added borders top and bottom punched from black card stock with the Martha Stewart daisy border punch.  I added another strip of the Tigerlily paper in the center. I fussy cut a pink lily from the leftover paper.  I mounted that onto a black smooth oval cut with Spellbinder Nestabilities then onto a step larger oval in white.  This accent was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape. 

Card - Farewell - Blue Floral

Another card for the farewells at work.  I started with a large half sheet leaf green card.  I added the designer paper, which I ripped at about 1/3 down from the top.  I added a strip of blue card stock down the center at 8.25" tall onto which I added a length of bright green grosgrain ribbon. The ends of the ribbon were taped to the back of the DP.  This layer was then adhered to the card front.  I cut a scallop oval in an off white card stock with Spellbinder Nestabilities, then layered a smooth oval of the same blue as the strip, then a punched some sprigs of green leaves from some green card stock with the Martha Stewart punch.  I added 3 off white silk hydrangea flowers to the center held in place with a large blue brad.

Card - Farewell - Taupe Orchids

I made this half sheet card for a couple leaving our office.  I started with a taupe card onto which I layered a piece of Designer Paper by LilyBeeDesign - Buttercup - Puddles.  I trimmed the paper to center the paisley like design on the card front. I cut a Spellbinders Nestabilities Label 13 from the same cardstock and spattered it with white acrylic paint.  I punched holes in the top and bottom with the Stampin Up! slot punch.  I pulled 3/8` grosgrain ribbon through and taped the ends to the back of the DP.  I chose one of my photos of orchids and applied a sepia filter to it and printed it on white card stock. I cut it with a Spellbinders Oval Nestabilities and then cut a white oval in the next increment.  These were layered and adhered with 3D foam tape to the center of the label.  I placed a taupe brad through the ribbon and card front just above and below the oval center.