In-Color Quilted Inspiration HSS124

Pin It Now! This week at Hand Stamped Sentiments, the sky is the limit with a collage of inspiration photos detailing gorgeous colorful quilts!

I love - I know, I've said it before - repeating shapes on cards and layouts!  So my inspiration was the multicolor squares of fabric in the photo. 

I broke out of the confines of the 1" x 2" rectangles a bit by adding punches of tone on tone flowers and these sweet new In Color Dahlias embellishments!  I love these new colors all together like this. 

 The inside is punched with the same floral shapes as the outside, only reversed.  I used the punched center circles from the outside flowers to give the inside a little pop of color.

The "Thank You" sentiment is stamped in Gumball Green and die cut with Apothecary Accents, and embellished with more and more punched flowers, but all in Whisper White, so it wouldn't detract from the colors on center stage.  Two scored lines above and below the color blocks.

 Finally, the envelope is stamped with circle stamps from Mixed Bunch.

This card is going to the wonderful nurses that took care of my 8 year old Ryan this week in the hospital. He's doing so well, thank you all for your comments and prayers!

Hope you will give this challenge a try at HSS!  I'd love to see how it sparks your creativity!

SUPPLIES:
STAMPS:     Perfectly Penned, Mixed Bunch
PAPER:     Gumball Green, Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White
ACCESSORIES:  In Color Dahlias, Boho Blossom Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Apothecary Accents Dies, Simply Scored Tool, Tombo Multi Glue

{Step It Up} Thank You Notes Three Ways

Pin It Now! PRIZE ALERT!!!  Want to win some blog candy?? Details at the end of the post.

Stampin' Up provides demonstrators with the wonderful Stampin' Success Magazine every month.  It's a publication that is chock full of hot trends, tips, encouragement, samples, news, and advice.  I've been intrigued by a monthly column called STEP IT UP, where they show you how you can take one card layout and make it three ways:
(1) Clean and Simple
(2) Dressed up a bit, or
(3) All out with details!
Here's a set of Thank You notes I prepared for my customers.  I had a little fun STEPPING IT UP!



The first sample is done with a simple scalloped edge, Very Vanilla ribbon, and a touch of Stampin' Pastels. Pretty, and easy to do. Perfect for the beginner or to do a batch quickly.

Below is #2. I Stepped It Up by adding a double layer of pink ribbon, knotted in the front. It picks up the pink from the floral stamp and the bling on the tower.


And the third card...
This one took a little longer!  Besides all of the steps in #2, I added the following:
- Stamped the scalloped edge with a border stamp from Creative Elements.
- Background stamped the front with a flourish from Creative Elements and Versamark.
- Sponged the edges with Pretty In Pink,
- Added a third ribbon (Certainly Celery), and cinched it together with an Antique Brad topped with another Basic Rhinestone colored with a Sharpie Marker.


I liked the first two cards just fine, but when I finished with the sponging on the third, I was really satisfied :) My inner perfectionist said, "There, that's better"!
Here's a little detail on the ribbon treatment...


SUPPLY LIST:
STAMPS: Artistic Etchings, Creative Elements, Established Elegance
INK:  Basic Grey, Versamark
PAPER:  Very Vanilla
ACCESSORIES:  Stampin' Pastels, Basic Rhinestones, AntiqueBrads, Sponge
RIBBON:  1/8" Taffeta Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette 3/8" Taffeta, Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon

PRIZE ALERT!!! Want one of these sweet little glass knob card holders, and a Thank You note? I made 'em myself!  Leave a comment below telling me which version of this card you'd like to have and why.  I'll draw a winner on Mother's Day and mail your prize Monday 5/14/12. 

Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net

Simple Sophistication for HSS117

Pin It Now!

The theme this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments is Wedding or Sophistication.  So, I learned a long time ago from a woman who exuded classiness that sophistication is keeping it simple, but simply the best.  And you're best dressed when you get completely accessorized, and then remove one item.  Not overdone.

So I created this wedding ensemble using simple but super high quality components.

Watercolor paper...thick, sturdy, with a beautiful texture.

Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon...delicate, with a sheen on both sides.

Simple, clean stamp layout using Artistic Etchings and Established Elegance.

Minimal embellishment with basic rhinestones, colored grey.

The thank-you note has a scalloped border, and I placed the flourish underneath the Perfectly Penned "Thank You" sentiment.  It looked a little bare, so I colored the flowers with Stampin' Write Markers in Certainly Celery and the Blush marker used for skin tone.  Added one rhinestone at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Here's a little gift tag made with the Two Tags die, with just the crown image, a rhinestone, and "Mr. & Mrs." from Petite Pairs.

The wedding card is again done using Watercolor paper and stamped in Basic Grey, with just a little bling.

The real stars of the show are these cute little card or placecard holders I made from glass drawer pulls and a beautiful French vintage perfume bottle!

I filled the bottle with German glass glitter to keep the wire holder in place.  Tied a little seam binding ribbon around, and a Trinket Key with Linen Thread.  

The knobs are just the right size for displaying a card or for table numbers at a wedding.  I trimmed this one with a strand of rhinestones painted with a grey Sharpie to make the bling look more vintage, and to match the glass glitter.

Want to make some? Here's the super high tech tutorial...
Take a jumbo paper clip, unbend it, use pliers and your other hand to wrap it twice around a cylinder such as my lipstick I keep in my scrap tote to look good even when I make cards (LOL), bend one end straight down, and plunk in into a hot glue filled drawer pull.

Hope you will play along with  http://handstampedsentiments.blogspot.com/  this week.  I can't wait to see all the pretty and sophisticated creations you all come up with!

Have a blessed and creative day!  Erika

Perfectly Penned...with Pens!

Pin It Now! Today was a snowy day, really cold here in the Appalachian Mountains. This card, with it's bright & cheery color pallette, really warmed my spirits!



The patterned paper is a new set available TOMORROW from SU's Spring Mini, called Attic Boutique. The patterns are vintage, shabby chic, and some are a bold retro, and they are wonderfully layerable! I'll be using this DSP a lot.

I matted & layered a few patterns. I like that the base pattern is fountain pens, and the stamp is from Perfectly Penned ;). Well played.

I hand made a little flower from a scrap of crochet trim, gathered with thread, and finished with a large pearl.

The paper that the stamped image is on is also from the DSP, a light floral yellow pattern.



The card sketch is Mojo Monday's latest:



The color combo is a Cupcake Creations challenge, CR84FN45. Truly challenging for me, but I enjoyed the outcome!

SUPPLIES:
CARDSTOCK: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Soft Suede
DSP: Attic Boutique (Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla)
STAMPS: Perfectly Penned
INK: Soft Suede
ACCESSORIES: Calypso Coral Organdy ribbon, Crochet Trim ribbon, large & basic pearls, sponge, Bird punch (leaf).

Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net

Get Well, My Friend! {sneak peeks}

Pin It Now! Now that Christmas is over, I find myself wandering aimlessly through Craftland.  No more gifts to make? Christmas cards in red, green, Pool Party? Punched gift tags? *sigh*

Okay, okay! Four months of Christmas projects are enough, I hear you.
On to the Spring Occasions Mini and Sale-A-Bration peeks, then!

Here's a sweet little Get Well card I made with a shabby chic theme in mind. I adore the new DSP available in the new mini, this one is from Attic Boutique. Just the right amount of vintage, but with some gorgeous brights mixed in...my fave Pool Party, super bright Poppy Parade, and Daffodil Delight to get you in the mood for that Spring thaw.



I used the new Framelits Labels dies as a backdrop for the teacups (Tea Shoppe). Double stamped the center teacup and popped it out, then filled it with pansies from the same collection. They're watercolored with Stampin' Write Markers onto Watercolor Paper. This allows me to play around with the blending and fussy-cutting, since this paper is thick and pliable. I painted the edges of the flowers with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint (a must have), as well as detail on the outer teacups. I stamped and cut three sets of the pansy stamp, cut and layered them into a pretty bouquet. Should lift the spirits of the recipient!
Each layer is Distressed, Sponged, Spritzed, and Rolled.
Finished off with a double layer of ribbon, and a Mini Vintage Tag stamped with the word "friend" from Tea Shoppe.



I used these two wonderful challenges as a springboard for my card...




SUPPLY LIST:
CARDSTOCK: Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Very Vanilla
DSP: Attic Boutique (Spring Mini)
STAMPS: Tea Shoppe (Spring Mini), Perfectly Penned (Holiday Mini)
INK: Pool Party, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Pretty in Pink
ACCESSORIES: Framelits Labels Collection (Spring Mini), Seam Binding Ribbon (Pool Party), Organdy Ribbon (Calypso Coral - Sale-A-Bration), Mini Vintage Tag, Shimmer Paint, Watercolor paper, Color Spritzing Tool, Distressing Kit, Stampin' Dimensionals
Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net