HSS #162 - Birthday Card for my Sis

This week's sketch challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments features a large center rectangle.  I used this portion of the sketch to make an easel for a party dress for my sweet baby sister's birthday.  Her favorite color is purple, and she has 2 little girls that love pink/purple, so I settled on Wisteria Wonder with Melon Mambo accents.  Hopefully they'll all think it's pretty :)

The easel pops up and is anchored with a double circle punch and rhinestones.  I used Melon Mambo embossing powder for the sentiments to give it more texture.

Her dress is accented with a white die cut doily (Sizzix Delicate Doilies) and is embossed with the oval Holiday Frame  Embossing Folder from last year's Christmas mini.  The organdy ribbon around her waist has a super thin strip of Melon Mambo CS to give it a little pizzazz :)

The rhinestones are colored with a Sharpie to match the Wisteria CS, and lots of embossed dots!

Here's the HSS sketch.  Why don't you use it to bless the day of someone who could use a little surprise?  

I love to make a card I plan to use right away!  I hope it makes her day a little more special. 

Happy Father's Day! Hammer Card

Happy Father's Day to everyone who treasures a father :)

Here's the card I made for my hubby from the boys.

Merry Monday Sketch - Sounding Joy

We're almost halfway to Christmas, and I have to jump with joy because I got a copy of the NEW SU HOLIDAY MINI today! What a way to get in the mood for Merry Monday :) The goodies in this catalog...the stamps, papers, and embellies, are very trendy and elegant. I can't wait for a preorder.

There's a sketch for Merry Monday this week. I pulled out a piece of last year's Candlelight Christmas paper and built from there.

The banner end is die cut from the largest Apothecary Accents Framelits, by tucking the end through so it's the only part that gets cut. The large red scallops are from the Tasteful Trim die. Finally, the kraft die cut (Pocketful of Posies, Spring Mini) is heat embossed with the lovely sentiment from The Sounding Joy :) LOVE that beautiful stamp set!

So check out the sketch, and get inspired...apparently it's not too early to (almost) order brand new Christmas supplies! Visit the MM sketch at Lesley's Always Playing With Paper blog and say hi to the design team - what pretty cards!

SUPPLY LIST:
STAMPS: The Sounding Joy
INK: Craft White, Real Red, Versamark
PAPER: Candlelight Christmas, Real Red, Very Vanilla
EMBELLISHMENTS: Kraft tag: Pocketful of Posies, Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon, Basic Pearls

Have a blessed and creative day! ~ Erika

Father's Day - Something Old, Something New...

Does Father's Day cardmaking always sneak up on you like it does me? Thankfully I had all morning yesterday to devote to dad cards.

I used RetroSketches for my first card, and it's vintage in more ways than one!

Look here! The supplies I used are from a scrap kit from August 2008! LOL. How's that for using the stash? This kit reminds me of my dad, so I've made him cards from this more than once. He is the parent that gave me my love of old cars, '50s and '60s music, and generally upped my "cool factor" by setting an example of awesome dry humor.

My boys love this card, especially the big dial on the gauge! I like the lettering...the Thickers were raw cardboard, and I embossed them with silver, then grunged them up with black sponging, so they look more pewter.

Inside...

Check out Retrosketches here!

My Father-In-Law's card was decidedly more subtle. He loves golf, and their great room is all golf. I made this so it'll look good on display :)

This is my first attempt at BRAYERING! So it may look a little amateur. But I love the effect. I followed a tutorial by the great Michelle Zindorf HERE, and it really was pretty easy.

Inside is an oldie-but-goodie golf stamp, long retired, but a staple for golf lovers!

So I have one more dad card to do, for hubby. I will give that one a little thought and make it later this week, since it doesn't have to be mailed :)

Have a blessed and creative day! ~ E.

Merry Monday Sketch - Jolly Jingles & Banners

This week's Merry Monday challenge is a simple sketch, and I've used it as a break between cleaning my RV and making 16 more pints of mmmmm...strawberry jam!

The ornament on the wheel stamp is embellished with a button, jumbo rhinestone, and basic rhinestones.

I used the Jolly Jingles jumbo wheel stamp to roll out an array of sentiments, and for the banner portion, I took the liberty of making a cluster of small banners against a piece of silver glimmer paper trim.

What I like most about this sketch is the shortened banner portion. If not for that prompt, I would naturally take the banners all the way across the card, and this way offers a little something different!

Check out the Merry Monday challenge and get a little Christmas inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST:
STAMPS: Jolly Jingles jumbo wheel, Chock Full of Cheer
INK: Cherry Cobbler
PAPER: Festival of Prints (2012-13 Holiday Mini Retired), Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla, Silver Glimmer
EMBELLISHMENTS: Lucky Limeade Button (?), Basic Rhinestones, Scallop punch, Jumbo Rhinestones

Inside - from Chock Full of Cheer

Have a blessed and creative day! ~Erika

Why Do I Resist Flower Stamps With All My Might?

Lately I've been feeling a creative slump. I've seen others saying so as well. I think, for me, I've relied on my tried and true ingredients, and they're fine. But it's more than that. I cannot WAIT for the new catalog to go live, so I can pick some new & wonderful artistic supplies to quench my thirst. And, moreover, I'm a little heartbroken that I'm not going to the SU Convention next month. The 25^th anniversary one...the one that my stampin' colleagues are eagerly planning for...it's just not “in the cards” for me one more year. It hasn't been an easy time here (in real life) over the past couple years. But I keep pressing on, smile intact, spirit full of gratitute, and sending cards out into the world one at a time, to bring sunshine...a hug...a high five...or flowers!

I'm reinstituting my Clean & Simple Summer cards. Last summer, I decided it's a good idea, especially when the days are long and family is home more, there's gardening to be done, and swimming pools to bask by, that my cards will be bright, clean, and simple. Here's my first one for this summer, using Hand Stamped Sentiments' color challenge: Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, Baja Breeze, and Midnight Muse.

I used several simple techniques to keep these bright colors from competing on my card. For the tag, I used the Chevron embossing folder, and Stampin' Write markers in Baja Breeze and Midnight Muse. Using the front inside of the folder, I colored the embossed rows of chevron in alternating colors, and embossed on a piece of scrap white cardstock. Then, I spritzed the folder with with a mix of Shimmer Paint and rubbing alcohol, and ran a new piece of white CS through the Big Shot. This created a “stamped-off” embossed chevron pattern. Let's coin the phrase “Stamped Off Inked Embossing”!

The second technique is emboss resist with sponges. Very simple, and so pretty! Just choose an outline stamp (Fabulous Florets works well here). Heat emboss with white embossing powder. From the center of each flower or leaf, sponge darker in the center and swipe gently toward the edges of the image. Fussy cut each piece and arrange with Stampin' Dimensionals. I love these pretty blossoms :)

To finish, I used Whisper White for the card base and cut it 11” x 4”, folded in half. The tag is placed off center, and the cluster of flowers is arranged so they hang off the edge a little, but will still fit in a standard envelope due to the 4” width. The sentiment is stamped in Crumb Cake, and little pearls are placed here and there. When fully assembled, the entire card was spritzed with the Shimmer Paint spray mixture for one more layer of subtle shine.

Hope you are having a great week, and thanks for allowing me to vent a little! In blogland, things often seem perfect. Real life is an exercise in strength and grace. Here's a quote from Pinterest that I love to use as a reminder.

And take a little time for yourself to stretch your crafty wings with Hand Stamped Sentiments' ColorChallenge. You'll be glad you did :)

Have a blessed and creative day! ~ Erika

SUPPLY LIST:

STAMPS: Fabulous Florets

INK: Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, Midnight Muse, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Crumb Cake

PAPER: Whisper White

EMBELLISHMENT: Basic Pearls, Whisper White 5/8” Organza ribbon, Baker's Twine from Pop Up Posies kit, Chevron Embossing Folder, White embossing powder, Versamark ink.