Friday, February 26, 2010

Loonie Stamper's Challenge - #81 and a Layout challenge by my son

Look at me getting the latest Loonie Stamper's Challenge completed on a Friday night!!
I watched the Canadian Women's curling team take the silver medal at the Olympics and then got right to work.
Part of the reason I got going tonight is because my son was working on a Scratch project (Scratch is a computer program you can download for free from the internet and allows you to create little computer games - it is really amazing!) and I was really impressed with the layout he created. See how his little "globulus" is off to the side of the medalian at the back. I just kept looking at it and thinking that layout would be great for a card....so I went up to the craft room and created this!! I decided since the LSC81 colors were so great, I'd incorporate them at the same time.
And can you believe I've had this Papertrey Ink set for months and this is the first time I've actually put it to ink!!
Off to see what those Loonie Girls did with these colors:
Supplies: Stamps - In Bloom, Wedding Day (Papertrey Ink); Paper - Spring Moss, sample designer paper Pretty Pastels (Papertrey Ink), Going Grey (Stampin' Up!); Ink - Basic Black (Ranger), Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink); Other - Coluzzle, Labels 1 Die (Spellbinders), dimensionals.
I am hoping to get some time to do some stamping this weekend ... so you might see more from me.
Donelda

Another Masculine Card

Another totally masculine birthday card (remember, one of my New Year's resolutions are to make more guy cards!!).
I kept this one really, really clean and simple!! A Kraft base, some awesome masculine papers from BasicGrey (the bottom is Gorp and the brown is Brown Sugar, both from the Granola collection), a bit of hemp, and a very clean font sentiment. This particular font comes from the Birthday Basics set from Papertrey Ink. I love it for masculine cards because the lines are bold and strong, sans serif is more masculine looking if you ask me!!!
How are you doing with your stash of masculine cards??? Hey, a quiz for you.... does anyone out there know what Gorp is??? Hint - my son and I made some yesterday!!
Donelda

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Clean and Simple (CAS) Challenge - 52 Sketch

I created this card a while ago for the Clean and Simple challenge #52 on Splitcoaststampers. That challenge was posted over 2 weeks ago...but you know me, forever doing challenges but never getting around to posting them!! LOL!!!
I created this based on the sketch that was provided. I wanted the colors to remain mostly pink with a hint of black. I started out with that flower image by smARTworks. I inked it up with Hibuscus Burst ink and then added some Raspberry Fizz around the edges (rock n' roll technique). I liked it so much I deceded to create the strip (a la the sketch) of designer paper using the same technique, I just stamped the image close to each otehr then cut it out. Finally, I added the black gingham ribbon. There was just not enough black so I colored 3 half pearls with my black copic marker and added them to the centers of the flowers! Now I wish I'd stamped the sentiment in black as well....oh well!
Supplies: Stamps - Swirly-gigs (smARTworks), Around and About (Papertrey Ink); Ink - Hibuscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz (Papertrey Ink); Paper - white; Other- black gingham ribbon (Stampin' Up!), 1 1/2" circle punch, half pearls (K&Co.), black marker (Copic).
It is almost the weekned....can you say Yeeeee haaaa!! Have a great day!
Donelda

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Noah's Ark

This awesome stamp is from smARTworks and makes creating baby cards a snap!! Plus it is such a great image to color...if you like that sort of thing!!
Supplies: Stamps - Noah's Ark, Cookie Plate #1 (sentiment), Cookie Plate #2 (background image) (all from smARTworks); Ink - Black, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip (all Stampin' Up!); Paper - Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White (all Stampin' Up!); Ohter - water pencil crayons (Stampin' Up!), paint brush, 1 1/2" circle punch.
Enjoy!!
Donelda

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Hero Arts Mushrooms

I picked up a little pack of Hero Arts stamps the other day, these cute little mushrooms!!
I stamped a few Mushrooms and the little ladybut onto a piece of what cardstock and colored them in with my Copics. Then I added the sentiment.
Next, I worked on the layout, choosing 4 coordinating colors of gingham paper (from my scrap pile). I cut out 4 strips, rounded the corners, and adhered them to the white card base. They didn't stand out very well, so I used my black marker and drew some lines around them. I added some doodled lines around the focal image as well and adhered it.
A cute little bright and cheery card!!
Thanks for dropping in!
Donelda

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Pop Can Leaf - Made with Love

Well, I was browsing around looking at some different challenges and realized that I could combine Kelly's challenge over at KL Stampin' N Scrappin where she wanted us to "Go Green" - use something you might have thrown away. I had an instant idea which I knew would work perfectly for the Saturday Spotlight challenge which was to "Mess Around" by distressing. I started out by pulling out my Ranger Distress Inks. Oh how I love them so!! But I find that I really need time to use them as I get so carried away. Creating one background leads to another and so on until I've created a dozen or so. (you'll be seeing all the others in the weeks to come LOL!!). Once I got the main background completed, then it was off to get green. I grabbed a pop can that was destined to be .... recycled... we don't just throw out our pop cans but I figure it still counts, right??!! I cleaned it out and then cut it until I had a flat silver surfact. Then I ran it through an embossing folder and punched out this devine little leaf! Love it!! I cut my circles, distressed everything a bit, sewed around the largest circle, distressed the main card base and then pulled the whole thing together! I certainly could have used my alcohol inks on these babies too...but I wanted this one to remain silver for today! Here is a close-up of the leaf. You'd never know that was a popcan!! Look at all that yummy metal in our homes just waiting to be used!! And you know that I was able to emboss and punch out a bunch of different shapes so you will also see those in the future!! Supplies: Fruitful, Background Basics: Text Style, Fancy Flourishes (all Papertrey Ink), Ink - Walnut Stain, Antique Linen, Peeled Paint, Broken China (all Ranger), Black; Paper - Kraft, White, green scrap (unknown); Other - pop can, Coluzzle, Fancy Corners embossing folder (Provo Craft), Leaves die (Provocraft), Cuttlebug (Provocraft), sewing machine, white thread, dimensional, sponges. Now I must go and see what everyone else did for both challenges!! MMmmmmm, what other 'throw aways' will everyone use, and will anyone else combine these challenges.... Have a great evening!! Donelda

Cards Blog Challenge - Different Shaped Card

Well, I am continuing to try to keep to my New Year's resolutions! I had 3 related to crafting: 1) Participate in more challenges, 2) Use what I have, and 3) make more masculine cards.
Well, this card fits all 3! I made this card for the Cards blog challenge to make a card that is any size but a square or rectangle. I decided to go with a star shape!
First, I stamped this large and small polkadot star on acetate using white StazOn ink.
While my stars dried, I cut the card base out of Kraft cardstock and then cut the main star from a piece of scrap blue paper. I added some faux stitching with my white gel pen around the edge of the blue star. I also created some pattern to the blue paper by clear embossing small stars. I then added the appropriate sentiment using white embossing powder.
When my stars were dry, I cut them out and then added the buttons and hemp to the centers. This allowed me to use a dimensional to pop the stars up as you can see in one of the smaller photos (click on it to get a closer view). You might also be able to see that I sponged a bit of ink around the edge of the Kraft cardstock to give the whole project a bit of dimension.
Supplies: Stamps: Limitless Labels, Everyday Classics (Papertrey Ink); Paper - Kraft (Stampin' Up!), blue (from scrap bin); Ink - Versamark, Antique Linen (Ranger), White (StazOn); Other-white embossing powder, clear embossing powder; buttons (Making Memories), hemp, dimensionals, white gel pen (Signo).
I hope you are having a good and stampy day!! I have been creating all morning and having lots of fun!!
Donelda

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Loonie Stamper's Challenge - #80 - Luck

Wow, it is hard to believe that there have been 80 Loonie Stamper's Challenges!! Cool! This week was Julie's week to pick the colors. I thought they were perfect to make my St. Patrick's Day cards for my boys!!
Supplies: Stamps - Limitless Lables (Papertrey Ink); Ink - Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!), New Leaf (Papertrey Ink); Paper - the colors listed above (all Papertrey Ink); Other - 1/2" circle punch, Threading Waters punch (Fiskars), dimensionals.
Gotta check out what those Loonie Girls did with these colors: Jewels, Char, Wendy, Maria, Dee, Regan Enjoy your weekend. Donelda

Friday, February 19, 2010

Baby Cards

Here are a few cute little baby cards. I had actually made them for a BasicGrey challenge but never got around to posting them in time (same old story!!). But I had to post them anyway because they are So cute!!
I started out with those little stickers of the cow and lamb. I got them at the Dollar Store in town. In the package, they come on a gross piece of shiny blue paper but I gently pulled that off. The pink (Smart from Sultry collection) and the blue sky papers are both BasicGrey. The green is a piece from my huge scrap pile and I cut little bits of grass along the top edge.
Supplies: Stamps - Everyday Classics, Mixed Messages, Borders & Corners {square} (Papertrey Ink); Ink - Jet Black (Ranger); Other - animal stickers (Dollar Store).
Thanks for dropping in to my blog! I am so happy that today is Friday. I am hoping to get lots of crafting done this weekend.
Donelda

Thursday, February 18, 2010

smARTworks Cookie Challenge #14 - Swimmin'

Over on Susan's blog she has posted the 14th smARTworks Design Team Challenge. We were sent HSD Swimmin' to create cards! It was so much fun!!! I made a few cards because the options were too great to just stick with one!! The sad news....I can't seem to find a photo of my Swimmin' cards. I seem to do that on occasion... I'll look for them and post them if I find them....where can they be???????
Edited to add: Okay, I've looked everywhere and can't find the photos anywhere but I did find a photo of these little 3x3 cards I made using the set. The fish were stamped onto shrink plastic, colored, and shrunk! My son loved these!!! Anyway, you can check it out on Susan's blog.

BasicGrey, Papertrey, and Hero Arts

I made these 3 cards because of 2 of my New Years resolutions...to use what I have and to create masculine cards. Using some of my new Hero Arts stamps and some little used Papertrey Ink stamps and one sheet of BasicGrey paper, I pulled together these 3 different looking cards!! Supplies: Stamps - Asian Frames (Hero Arts), Autumn Abundance, Beyond Basic Borders, Around and About (Papertrey Ink); Ink - Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!), Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink); Paper - Whisper White, Chocolate Chip. Mellow Moss (Stampin' Up!), Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink), birch from Mellow collection (BasicGrey); Other - labels 2 die (Cuttelbug), paint brush, brown rhinstones (Dollarama), 1/4" circle punch, 1/8" circle punch, corner rounder (We R Memory Keepers), dimensionals. It really is amazing that you can make so many cards from one sheet of paper ... and that they can all look so different! Thanks for dropping in today! Have a stampin' great day!!! Donelda

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Embellish Magazine - Birthday Color Challenge

I have had my Polka Dot Basics II from Papertrey Ink for some time but I haven't inked them up nearly enough yet! So, I decided to use them for the lates Embellish Magazine challenge. The twist this time was to use the colors and also make a birthday card. Also, Lucy's most recent challenge was to use polka dots on a card...guess this card fits that challenge as well!! bonus!!
You might remember that flower embellishment from THIS challenge.
Supplies: Stamps-Polka Dot Basics II, Everyday Basics, Background Basics: Retro (all Papertrey Ink); Ink - Enchanted Evening, Hibuscus Burst, New Leaf (Papertrey Ink), Chocoloate Chip (Stampin' Up!); Paper - Kraft, Whisper White (Stampin' up!), Bitty Dots (Papertrey Ink); Other - brown button (Papertrey Ink), hemp, flower dies and tag die (Spellbinders), sponge, floss (DCM).
Don't forget to check out the other post I have put up ...
Donelda

Black and White Bunny

I am totally in love with this adorable bunny!! He comes from the smARTworks set called Bunny Joy! While I originally thought it would require lots of coloring, turns out there is actually little needed if you want to keep the bunny white!! Stamps - Bunny Joy (smARTworks); Paper - Whisper White (Stampin' Up!), black and white designer paper (Creative Memories - from a friend - Hi Dawn!); Ink - Jet Black (Ranger); Other - color pencils (Prismacolor), ribbon (Michaels), dimensionals. Thanks for dropping in again to my little corner of blog world!! Donelda

Baily's Challenge - Pastel Wishes

I had recieved my "new inks" from Papertrey Ink, the new formulation and was showing the difference between the new and the old to my hubby and son (like they really care). When I was finished, my son looked at me and said, I challenge you to use those colors on a card. LOL!!! The son of a crafter, I guess!!
The new inks I got were Sweet Blush, Spring Moss, Lemon Tart, and Spring Rain. These (and Aqua Mist) were the ones I was having the most trouble with. All the other colors work fine for me in the old ink. And my son was right, they would make a great color combo!
After I saw the photo I had wished I'd made it into a baby card, but I had not thought of it when I was actually creating!!
Supplies: Stamps-Beyond Basic Borders, Faux Ribbon (Papertrey Ink); Inks - already mentioned!!; Other - Corner rounder (We R Memory Keepers).... and other than that, just a flat one layer card with ink!!
Thanks for dropping in.
Donelda

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Saturday Spotlight - Around the House

The recent Saturday Spotlight with Hidden Potential challenge was to use a household item on your creation that is not a craft item.
Well, I walked around my house and then it hit me.... this would be a great idea!
Hehehehehe!!!
Supplies: Stamps - Paper Tray, Basic Backgrounds:Retro (Papertrey Ink); Paper - Whisper White, Kraft (Stampin' Up!); Ink - Creamy Caramel (Stampin Up!), Jet Black (Ranger); Other - bandage, oval die (Spellbinders), dimensionals.
Hope you are feeling great!! This is a long weekend for us here in Alberta - tomorrow is Family Day so I am hoping to get some more crafting in this weekend!! Make sure you drop back in to check!!
Donelda

Some of these things look just like the other....

Tonight's the night!! It is Papertrey Ink's release party tonight and has Nichole Heady and the gang been busy with all kinds of exciting news! This particular stamp set from Alli Miles totally caught my eye!! I saw Alli's card today and it instantly made me think of this card I made a year ago!!!
Wow, is that freaky or what !! Something about leaves inside of squares!!
I hope to see you at the release tonight. I am crossing my fingers that I win the "big contest" ... you win every stamp set released over the coming 12 months....that would save me a ton of money....well, actually I'd still spend as much money but I would be able to get all the other goodies that go along with the stamps, like paper, buttons, ribbon, dies, paint, felt..... hehehehe!!!
Donelda

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Flower Embellishments - Papertrey Ink

The latest contest over on Nichole Heady's blog is to create FLOWER embellishments!!
I've enjoyed making embellishment for a long time. In fact, I have a bunch of different items all packaged up and had hoped to sell them to some of the local card makers.
For these embellishments, I stamped the double circle background stamp from Background Basics: Retro (Papertrey Ink) with Chocolate Chip Ink (Stampin' Up!) onto Kraft (Papertrey Ink) cardstock. Then I cut out some flowers using largest from the Flower Cuttlebug Dies (Provo Craft). I sponged around each of the flowers with more Chocolate Chip ink. Next, I took various colors of Bitty Dot Basics 2008 (Papertrey Ink) and cut out the smallest of the flower dies. From top to bottom the colors are: Lavendar Moon, Ocean Tides, Raspberry Fizz, Summer Sun, Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, and Spring Moss. Finally, I used floss (DCM) and stitched some Dark Chocolate Vintage Buttons (Papertrey Ink) onto the centers.
I stuck them all on a piece of transpareny with some mini glue dots. They can now be given away to a friend, someone might want to buy them, or more likely, I'll use them on some cards LOL!!!
This was a TON of fun. I can't wait to see what everyone else created!!
Donelda

Friday, February 12, 2010

Boy Valentine Cards x 2

That's right, I've been creating masculine cards for the last few weeks. And masculine cards mean big guys and little guys. When I bought this stamp set by Recollections (Michaels), I realized that one of the monsters had a "heart tail". that made me realize I could use these cute guys for valentine cards. I went to town!! I colored the monsters with my alcohol markers (Copic). I also used this new cuttlebug embossing folder (Distressed Stripes) - bought it purposefully becuase it was "masculine". I hand drew the speech bubble on the right, like Kristina Werner likes to do. Supplies - Stamps - Monsters (Recollections), Everyday Flexible Phrases (Stampin' Up!, retired); Paper - Whisper White, Kraft, Green Galore (Stampin' Up!); Ink - black; Other - alcohol markers (Copic), hemp, dimensionals, embossing folder (Cuttlebug), corner rounder, black marker. Thanks for dropping in to my little blogging world. I hope you are enjoyed my masculine valentine cards. Donelda

Thursday, February 11, 2010

More Valentine cards (many are masculine)

So I made a whole bunch of Valentine cards!! I tried making a bunch of 'masculine' ones keeping it pretty clean and simple and using masculine images, papers, and enbellishments! I'm not sure how the layout will go on my post...I'll try leaving a few comments about each and hopefully it all lines up! This awesome squirrel is from smARTworks from the latest Cookie Plate called Vintage Variety! In order to get your hands on one you need to gather smART Bucks!! Pinks and oranges with a bit of green!! See that bit of vellum under the main image.
Funky heart!! The colors are Twinkling H2Os on watercolor paper. Martha Stewart heart punch. sentiment is from Paper Tray (Papertrey Ink)
Perfect Pear... love this pear image (sorry Susan, but I do!!) and how the rock n' roll technique works for it! This one is for my hubby.
totally masculine!! love the staples that are crossed to be "kisses" but using metal makes it kinda masculine....right??? I am totally in love with this color combo!!
about a month ago I created a bunch of backgrounds by putting strips of scrap together! This one looks great as a valentine!!
a little pretty heart card using Life (Papertrey Ink). Another great color combo!! and look at that "triangle" of black!!
This was a fun card to make. Love the sentiment I created on the inside "honey bunny"!!
I couldn't wait to make this card when I recieved this image. It comes from smARTworks' set Fun Stuff. I knew it would be a perfect valentine for a fisherman!!
a real masculine card. Corregated cardboard cut into a heart and staples made into a "kiss" plus a small piece of great scratchy paper!!
another masculine card. another corregated heart. This piece of designer paper has been in my scrap pile forever. it is some old Au Chocolate paper from SU! that I dragged my Mellow Moss ink pad over to color in the design!
Last but not least, some great wrinkly paper and a bit of silver wire!! Clean and simple and masculine!!
I hope you enjoyed everything and maybe got some inspiration. I have 2 more little boy cards to share tomorrow!!
Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Clean and Simple (CAS) Challenge 53 - Candyland

Even though I didn't get last week's Clean and Simple Challenge done (well, I have now it is just not posted yet), I decided to do this week's challenge - Candyland #53. That decision was made when I started browsing through the Candy Blog that Jen had posted to use as inspiration. You see, I found this photo. I totally remember chewing Black Jack gum...and I loved it!!!

Because of the shape of the gum packages, I decided to create some scaplings. If you haven't seen them before they are acutaully a way to use the part you would cut off an A2 size card to make it a square card. These ones are cut down a bit more. I cut the main color, hand drew the oval and cut it out with my hobby blade. Then I used white embossing powder to really get a strong white for the lines and the sentiments. I hand drew the white oval with my white gel pen.
I have started dropping these cute little scraplings off on my co-worker's desks. They really seem to enjoy them!!
Supplies: Stamps - Paper Tray, Faux Ribbon (Papertrey Ink); ink - Versamark; Paper - all scraps; Other - hobby knife, white embossing powder, white gel pen.
Thanks for dropping in today. I hope you have a stampin' good day!!
Donelda

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Jacque's Joie de Vivre Give-away

Can you believe this giveaway??!! Jacque is offereing this on her site!! Looking at all those punches and paper just makes me start drooling!! I'm crossing my fingers!!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Embellish Magazine - with Ribbon

The latest colors in the Embellish color challenge were just too good to pass up!! Yummy!! And adding ribbon to a card is just second nature, right!! So here is my card.
I decided to go a bit diagonal!! I stamped one of the images from Guide Lines II set (Papertrey Ink) in Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink) on the brown cardstock, in Hibiscus Burst (Papertrey Ink) on the pink cardstock, and with Versamark ink on the turquoise cardstock. Cut them all up, placed them on the diagnal and then trimmed off the excess. I added a strip of brown cardstock with a scalloped edge (Fiskars) and this turquoise organdy ribbon (which I received from a friend). The button is a small one from Papertrey Ink and the sentiment comes from the Father Knows Best stamp set (Papertrey Ink) - one of my all time favorite happy birthday sentiments!! Thanks for dropping in to my blog today!! Leave me a little comment love!! I certainly appreciate it!!
Donelda

Paint By Number Sketch - Kissed Leaf

So on Nichole Heady's blog this morning, she announced that PTI is going to start selling acrylic paint! Wow, they just keep coming out with more and more exciting news! I can't wait to see what's in store for the rest of the week.

To celebrate this latest news, Nichole has a Paint By Number Sketch challenge. Above is the sketch and you had to choose the color combo assigned to the first letter of your online username. Well, since I go by Wiggydl I get to use the last color combo. I was very glad because I love these blues together!! I decided to pull out my brand new Turning a New Leaf set.
I inked up this particular leaf with the Aqua Mist ink and then 'kissed' the smallest dots from my other new set Polka Dot Basics II. I think it turned out great and will defiantely be giving that one another try again!! You can click on this smaller image to get a closer view if you want to see it better. I finished off the card with the sentiment from the Life set, which I cut out similarly to the leaf for some repetition. Playing along with all the great PTI challenges have been great!
Donelda