Happy Birthday Tool Box

Hi, everyone! This week's Ways To Use It Challenge theme is all about pockets....not sure if this is exactly what they had in mind, but I did create a pocket in which to add the tools! This card is for my co-worker's wife, who is a DIY nut! She's proud of having her own tools and a tool belt, so he asked for a girly tool card for her! The card was cut the old-fashioned way, with a paper cutter (no die!), then an oval die cut out the 'handle'. Both the card base and front panel were swiped with an ink pad for the 'Faux Wood' look. Thin foam tape was added around the edges of the front panel, then the tools were tucked into the pocket.  Her initials were added to the front using the same silver metallic, orchid, and lavender colors as the tool handles. Here are the dies from Divinity Designs LLC which were used for this: Alphabet Caps, Ovals, Tool Time, Workshop Tools; blending brushes were used for stenciling the dies after embossing them.

Thanks for visiting!

Blessings,

Be Amazing - 3D Lion

Hi, everyone! This week's Featured Stamper over at Splitcoast is Brian aka ZPaw.....congrats, Brian!! I chose this awesome lion card from Brian's gallery to case today.  The image from Gray Wolf Graphics and the word dies from Top Dog Dies are unfortunately unavailable to buy these days since both companies are out of business. The lion image was stamped multiple times, fussy cut, and layered to create a 3D look.  A clear glaze pen coated the eyes to make them look realistic.  For the card base, a Cajun Craze Ink pad was swiped across creating a Faux Wood look. A small hole punch was used to create the faux brads.  The image was framed with the following dies from Divinity Designs LLC: Oval Stitched Rows and Ovals.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Faux Wood Masculine Birthday Card

Hi, everyone! This week's Featured Stamper over at Splicoast is Kathy aka Muscrat....congrats, Kathy! Her gallery is HUGE (nearly 3100 cards!) and it was tough to decide which card to case. I went to the earliest uploads in her gallery and fell in love with this masculine card. For my card, I kept the blue/gray combo but added some kraft ink and used different stamps. The stamps are from 'Living Water' by Divinity Designs LLC; dies used: Double Stitched Rectangles and Double Stitched Circles. The wood-grain layer was created with the Faux Wood Technique, by swiping gray and kraft ink pads onto gray cardstock.  Navy Baker's Twine was added instead of ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Llama Tell You

Hi, everyone!  This week's Featured Stamper over at Splitcoast is Chrysi aka knoxville8625....congrats, Chrysi!!!  I chose this beautiful card for the gorgeous colors and clean framed layout.  My little niece, Paxton, loves llamas so I used the 'Llama Tell You' set from Divinity Designs LLC for her birthday card. I am remiss that I didn't add a black mat, but I'm not deconstructing it now! :)  The Pool Party card base was swiped with a Pool Party ink pad, creating a faux wood look....the color on color came out very close to Chrysi's Coastal Cabana card base.  The llama was stamped onto a white panel cut out with the Double Stitched Rectangles Dies, then the background was sponged while the panel was still in the die (in order to maintain the white border.)  Since the image panel looked a bit plain, I added a fence cut with the Farm Fence Die and the sentiment was stamped on and matted with the Sentiment Strips with Layers Dies (from the April Blessings Box).  Two matching gemstones were added as a simple embellishment.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Birthday Bear Hugs

Hi, everyone!  This week's Featured Stamper over at Splitcoast is Shelly aka mcschmidty...congrats, Shelly!  I chose this super cute card to case today....the cowboy's pose with his arms outstretched  reminded me of my favorite 'bratty bear' stamp, plus I LOVE the Faux Wood technique.  For my card, I used the 'Under the Stars' set from Stampin Up, along with some letter stamps by EK Success which I bought at JoAnn's more than a decade ago.  The bear was stamped and watercolored, then the panel was cut out with the Double Stitched Squares Dies from Divinity Designs LLC.  A craft knife was used to cut slits so that the linen thread could wrap around his paws.  The card base was swiped with a matching ink pad, creating a 'Faux Wood' background. Silver mini brads were added to the corners.

Thanks for visiting today!

Blessings,

Dare To Get Dirty - Day Two!!!!

Hi, everyone!  It's day two of Dare To Get Dirty week over at Splitcoast!!  My card today is for (my former Design Team Sister) Sandee's DTGD19stampersandeeA challenge. To see the challenge details, check out the Dare To Get Dirty Forum. If you'd like to become a Fan Club member, click on this Joining the Fan Club link. Regarding my card, I began with a Soft Suede card base then swiped vertical lines with the matching ink pad to create a 'faux wood' look. The Chicken Wire Background Die was cut from black cardstock and popped up with foam tape. To make it more rustic, the rooster and sentiments from 'Rise & Shine' were stamped onto designer paper instead of cardstock. The words to the sentiment were stamped in sections, using masking, onto small die cut sections cut with the Log Cabin Quilt Die; the image panel was cut out with the Circles Dies set and matted with the Double Stitched Circles Dies set.  The panels were all sponged heavily on the edges. The fastener legs of the brads were cut off, leaving the heads of the brads which were glued to the burlap layer.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lake Scene Pet Sympathy

Hi, everyone!  My card today will be sent to a dear friend and her family who lost their beloved fur-baby last week.  He loved to go swimming in a nearby lake and did so right up until he passed, so I chose the 'With Deepest Sympathy' set as a tribute to him.  The scene was stamped onto watercolor paper with Stazon Jet Black, then both water-colored and colored with markers.  The heart and sentiment on the side are from the 'Dog Sympathy' set. (Both stamp sets are from Divinity Designs, formerly Our Daily Bread designs.)  The 'Faux Wood' Technique was used on the card base: a blue ink pad was swiped in downward lines onto the card base and I used the pad to ink up the edges of the card for extra dimension. The scene was cut out with the Double Stitched Squares Dies.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Blessings,

God Is Good All The Time

Happy Saturday, everyone!  This week's Inspiration Challenge over at Splitcoast is to find inspiration from the Lakeside Collection.  I chose this awesome wall clock so that I could combine the Friday Free 4 All 'One Layer' Challenge and the Mixability 'Clock' Challenge.  For my card, I began by masking off a square with post-it paper, then swiped the exposed card with ink pads and white-washed with acrylic paint for the 'faux wood' look, then stenciled various numbers. The clock hands and sentiment are from the ODBD set, 'God's Timing'.  Once the mask was removed, the card looked a bit plain, so I used the same die from the ODBD Custom Double Stitched Squares Dies to emboss around the inked section.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Nuts About You!

Hi, everyone!  My card today combines two Splitcoast challenges: the Clean and Simple Challenge them is 'Ah, Nuts!' and the Technique Lovers Challenge is to use any stenciling technique.  I began by choosing a chevron stencil to use with Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, and Night of Navy inks for a gradient look.  The acorns from 'Autumn Blessings' were stamped three times, watercolored, then cut out with the ODBD Custom Fall Leaves and Acorn Dies set.  The sentiment is from 'Thankful Song'.  Both panels were cut out with the ODBD Custom Double Stitched Rectangles Dies.  The card base was swiped with an ink pad, creating the faux wood look.  I will be putting this card in my stash to save it for my hubby's birthday.  Good thing he doesn't read my blog! lol!!

Thanks for visiting today!

Blessings,

Day Five of Dare To Get Dirty Challenges

Hi, everyone!  Here is my next round of cards for the Dare To Get Dirty Challenges for Fan Club members over at Splitcoast Stampers.  I have two more days of challenges to complete.  All of the challenges have been super fun so far and can't wait to see what's next!

My first card today was created for the DTGD18justwritedesignsB challenge.  The ombre background began with colored pencils but not by straight coloring.  Using one shade at a time, purple, blue and green pencils were sharpened over a  piece of white cardstock, then blended into the paper with my finger.  Once the colors were blended, the 'Chalkboard Fan Background' stamp by ODBD was clear embossed over the panel and cut out with the ODBD Custom Double Stitched Rectangles Dies.  The butterfly and sentiment is from the 'Greatest Gift' Stamp/Die Duos set; the sentiment was cut out with the ODBD Custom Double Stitched Pennant Flags Dies (using the die-resizing technique to make it smaller than the original size.)

Next up is a card which was created for the DTGD18summerthyme64A challenge.  (Side bar: I am TOTALLY in love with this new SU color, Lemon Lime Twist!!!) Anyhoo....the stamps used are from a Stampin Up set, Dinoroar and the following ODBD Custom Dies were used: Clouds and Raindrops (stencil for clouds) and Double Stitched Squares Dies. The ground was sponged over a piece of scratch paper, then the grass stamp from Dinoroar was stamped. The image was fussy cut and popped up with foam tape.

My next card was created for the DTGD18jaybee challenge.  The background panel was created with the Faux Wood technique.....a Crumb Cake ink pad was swiped directly to the cardstock multiple times, then the panel was cut out with the ODBD Custom Double Stitched Rectangles Dies.  The silhouette from 'Howdy!' was stamped with Stazon Jet Black; a circle mask was temporarily adhered over the cowboy then magenta and coral inks were sponged over it.  The mask was removed and yellow ink was sponged in with a few magenta swipes through it.  The image panel was cut out with the ODBD Custom Double Stitched Circles Dies.  Two black brads were added to match the matting.

My next card was created for the DTGD18stamperssandeeA challenge.  For starters, I chose to use the ODBD Blushing Rose Paper Collection for both rectangle panels which were cut with the ODBD Custom Pierced Rectangles Dies, along with a piece of Rose Romance cardstock (retired) out of my secret stash.  The quote from 'Quote Collection 3' was stamped onto a panel cut out with the ODBD Custom Pierced Ovals Dies, matted with a panel cut with the ODBD Custom Layered Lacey Ovals Dies.  The banner was cut out with the ODBD Pennant Swag Die; the letters from the Pennant Swag Alphabet were stamped one at a time, fussy cut, then sponged with light green.  Pearls were added to the swag and to the sentiment panel.  Ivory seam binding was added and a bow was tied with a Bow Easy.

Next up is a fun card which was created for the DTGD18ravengirl challenge.  I have used this 'Unfrogettable' stamp set more than any Stampin Up set I own....I'm still in love with it after ten years!!  The first step was using the Lily Pad wheel to stamp on a long panel.  The ODBD Custom Pierced Square Die was strategically placed over the lily pads before cutting. The water was sponged using masking and the clouds were sponged over a template cut with the ODBD Custom Clouds and Raindrops Dies.  The froggie was colored with a sponge then fussy cut and popped up with foam tape. The sentiment was cut apart and popped up with foam tape. Of course googlie eyes had to be added as a finishing touch!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Blessings,

North Coast Creations September New Releases!

Hi, everyone!  I am super excited to be a guest designer again this month for North Coast Creations!   Check out all of the adorable new stamps and dies HERE.  My designer sisters created the most amazing, creative projects.....check them out here:

* Sandee * Julie * Dawn * Lisa * Chris * Angie (me!) * Maggie *

Here are the items used in my two samples for today:

For my first card, a white panel was cut out with the ODBD Custom Pierced Rectangles Dies, then the image from the new 'Llama Tell You' set was stamped three times.  The clouds were sponged over a template cut with the ODBD Custom Clouds and Raindrops Dies.  For a colorful mat, a pattern from the NCC Sweet Shoppe Paper Collection was cut with the same rectangle set. After coloring each llama, a clear glaze pen was used to highlight their eyes.

For my second card, the image from 'Llama Tell You' was stamped on white, colored, then fussy cut. (An extra nose was stamped and colored to pop up for dimension.)  I used the 'Faux Wood' technique on a dark red card by swiping a brown ink pad from top to bottom to create the wood grain pattern.  The frame was cut using the ODBD Custom Double Stitched Rectangles. A clear glaze pen was added to the eyes to give them a realistic look.

Thanks for hanging out with us today!

Blessings,

Take Me Home Country Roads

Hi, everyone!  This week's Friday Free4All Challenge theme over at Splitcoast is 'The Wheels Go Round and Round'.  My 'wheels' are on this vintage truck from the Artistic Outpost set, 'Home'.  I picked up this awesome stamp set at the Our Daily Bread designs booth at the Indy stamp show last month.  'Vintage' is not my normal style, but there were a couple of AO sets on my wish list for a while.  I started out by cutting the ivory panel with the ODBD Custom Double Stitched Rectangles Dies set before stamping.  The sentiment is part of the truck stamp, so I used masking to stamp the truck alone and to stamp the sentiment on a separate piece in order to cut the words apart.  Using masking on the truck, the trees were stamped in the background.  The card base was swiped with rust and brown ink pads to create the 'faux wood' look.  Antique copper brads were used as accents.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Get ready for extra posts from me this weekend so that I may do some catching up on cards I've created recently!

Blessings,

Faux Wood Birthday Wishes

Hi, everyone!  This week's Featured Stamper over at Splitcoast is Holly Brown aka hbrown...congrats, Holly!  I chose this awesome masculine card to recreate using the following items from Our Daily Bread designs: 'Living Water' stamp set, ODBD Custom Double Stitched Circles Dies, and the ODBD Custom Double Stitched Rectangles Dies.  Instead of the crumpled background technique, I used the Faux Wood technique to create the background panel....started with mustard cardstock and swiped two different brown ink pads directly across the cardstock.  I also loved the interesting ribbon treatment of Holly's card, so I was happy to give it a try; I used a small circle punch at first for the ribbon slots, but the ribbon wouldn't cooperate, so I punched around the circles with a small square punch.  This will be a birthday card for my boss next week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings!

Favor From The Lord

Hi, everyone!  This week's Featured Stamper over at Splitcoast is Gail aka mamaxsix....congrats, Gail!!!!  Wow, what an immense and awesome gallery...nearly 2000 projects!!!  It was very difficult to choose from so many wonderful cards, but when I saw this cool faux wood card, I knew it was the one!  I usually stay away from messy techniques but I just had to give this a try...it was so much easier than I thought!  My card is for a co-worker who loves hunting, so I used the Father's Day set by Our Daily Bread designs, along with the ODBD Custom Pierced Rectangles, Pierced Squares Dies, and Pierced Ovals Dies. The 'faux wood' look was created by swiping two different brown ink pads across a piece of mustard cardstock, then the panel was die cut and the edges inked.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,