Vintage Americana Style Mini Treat Bag - HSS215

Pin It Now! Independence Day is right around the corner!  Here is a little vintage style bag made from the Mini Treat Bag Framelits dies.  I love vintage Americana, so I wanted to keep that flair.  My bag is holding a bunch of sparklers, with a few wrapped in (retired) SU Tinsel Trim.

Here's the inspiration collage for this week's challenge.  SO great!  

I was inspired by the woodgrain, the pennants, and the color combo of the bouquet of flowers.

I used Pacific Point, Real Red, and vanilla.  The vintage print from the Typeset DSP was perfect for the vintage feel!  

I opted to cut the stars diagonally across the bag, and lined it with the vintage print from behind.
The rosette is a 1" x 12" strip, and scored every 1/4".
The sentiment is done by me on the computer with a free font US Declaration.
The little banner punches are stamped with Hardwood.
I crumpled the vanilla seam binding ribbon and doily and rubbed them with Crumb Cake sponging.

What do you have planned for the 4th?  Whatever you do, spend a little moment to lift up our nation in prayer.  What a blessing it is to be in this great land!  Pray for her protection and preservation. Thanks! 

SUPPLIES:

STAMPS:  Hardwood

INK:  Crumb Cake

PAPER:  Pacific Point, Real Red, Red Glimmer, Typeset DSP, Whisper White

EMBELLISHMENTS:  Vintage Faceted Buttons, Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon, Mini Banner Punch, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, Star Punch (retired), Linen Thread, Doily, Score tool

Summer is Here! Watermelon Slice Birthday Card

Pin It Now! In celebrating the official kickoff of summer, I have a juicy, sweet watermelon card to share!

Complete with punched watermelon seeds that are glazed with Dazzling Details, and a big chomp taken out.

White organza ribbon tied around the front, and a layered "Happy Birthday" tag. 

Since it's a slightly smaller card than a standard A2, I created a custom sized envelope with SU's Envelope Punch Board.  The little watermelon on the envelope front is made with the Kind and Cozy stamp set, and the seeds are hand drawn with a Stampin' Write Marker. So cute!

To create this card, start with 3 concentric circles, one slightly smaller than the next.  I used my really old Creative Memories circle cutters - it was the "medium outside" set, if that makes sense to any of you!

A 1-3/4" scallop circle punch makes the teeth marks :D.  I had to punch the white and pink separately from the Wild Wasabi card base because it was too thick to punch together. 

The seeds are the smallest heart in this heart trio, each one hand trimmed as shown.  

Finishing them off with Dazzling Details makes them look SO real.  Amazing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a blessed and creative day!

SUPPLIES:
STAMPS:  Label Something, Word Play (ret), Kind and Cozy
INK: Memento Black, Strawberry Slush
PAPER:  Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, In-Color 2014 paper pack.
EMBELLISHMENTS:  5/8" White Organza ribbon, Dazzling Details, Strawberry Slush thick baker's twine
PUNCHES:  2-1/2" circle, 1-3/8" scallop circle, small oval,
TOOLS:  Envelope Punch Board.

Why Do I Resist Flower Stamps With All My Might?

Pin It Now!

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.

HSS160 Sketch - Circles & Stitches

Pin It Now! Hello crafty friends!  For this week's Hand Stamped Sentiments sketch, I knew I wanted to get away from what I normally do.  "Normal" for me being DOILIES. GREEN&PINK. and RIBBON.  So I double challenged myself to create a card with the sketch, and not use those elements :)

I actually made two cards.  The first one took several hours, walking away, strolling back over, and thinking about it while I should have been concentrating on third grade homeschool (fractions, George Washington, and helping verbs. still got it done).

So, here it is :) The background paper was ripped out of the Epic Day Journal.  I love the journal, and I love the papers even more!  I like the holes on the side, with the rips and all.  The circle was originally punched and pieced with the 2-1/2" circle punch, but I ended up reducing it to 2-1/4" with my ancient Creative Memories circle cutter.  It was a huge ordeal, with the stitching already being done!  However, I used the discarded portion on the next card ;) Waste not, blah blah!

The black "hello" is stamped onto Window Sheet with Staz-On.  Another experimental exercise!  It's hand trimmed and adhered with a couple of stealth glue dots.  The Stamp-A-Majig came in handy for the Daffodil, Pool Party, and Calypso "hellos", and it finally came together!

 Inside, a few circle stamps.

The second card was purely accidental.  The outer circle that was trimmed away from the original circle laid against the practice sheet I was using - did you notice the background paper is upside down?!  I used the wrong side of the page!  Anyway, I was stamping the hellos to see how I'd like to space them and thought it would be thrown away.  Turns out, the circle over the writing was cute! I added a flower from the Pop Up Posies Designer Kit and there she is!

I love how the Daffodil and Pool Party blend together to make a gorgeous green in the sentiment.

So will you take a little time out for yourself this week and play with paper?  Head on over to the Hand Stamped Sentiments blog and give it a whirl!  I'd love to see your creation!

Have a blessed and creative day!   Erika