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Friday, May 31, 2013

Peace in Purple



I needed a sympathy card for a sweet friend because her mother just passed away. I kept this card sweet and simple and hopefully this will give her a little comfort in the days to come.

I started by cutting the Honey Blossom Frame from white cardstock. This piece was set aside while I pulled out the gorgeous newSecret Garden 6x6 paper pad. I die cut the purple script paper with the Debutante Frame (this matches the Honey Blossom Frame perfectly) and then adhered this to a layer of the solid purple paper from the Secret Garden paper pad. The white Honey Blossom Frame die cut was glued directly on top of the purple script die cut.

The sentiment, from the With Sympathy stamp set (JustRite), was stamped with wisteria ink onto white cardstock. I then cut this out with one of the Lacey Circles dies (Spellbinders) and adhered it to my card with Joy Foam Pads.

It's never easy to make sympathy cards, but it's nice to let people know you are thinking of them. This card will be easy to recreate with different papers and different color combos. It's always a good idea to make several to have on hand for those unexpected times when you need a sympathy card.

Please feel free to use this code, Holly-10, when you go shopping at Classy Cards 'n Such.  You'll save 10% off your entire order, so have fun stocking up on papers, stamps, dies, and embellishments.  I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Crafting by Design - Anything Goes
Inky Linky 17 - Anything Goes
Inkspirational #22 - Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #82 - Anything Goes
Polkadoodles #21 - To Die For (use dies)




Thursday, May 30, 2013

Life is about... Crayons


Hi y'all!  Here is the second Verses Rubber Stamps card that I've created for this month.  Isn't that the most darling image??  I love the crayons sticking up out of the box and that sentiment is so true.  

When I was trying to think of a way to create this card, I kept looking at the crayons in the image.  Surely I have some crayons somewhere, don't I???  I hunted around and sure enough, I found a box of 24 crayons.  :-)  I pulled out eight of the crayons and randomly doodled them on some white cardstock.  I love that background!  It's just so perfect with this stamp.

The stamp that I used is called Box of Crayons (#MC0656-F) from Verses Rubber Stamps.  This is under the Miscellaneous category.  You really should take a look at the stamps in this section - some of these are a HOOT!  I've been laughing myself silly over some of these funny sentiments!

Thanks for stopping by to visit today!  I've been creating up a storm and I'll have plenty of new things to share with you in the weeks to come, so check back again soon.  :-)  I hope you have a wonderful day!




Wednesday, May 29, 2013

New Designer for Verses Rubber Stamps

Hi friends!  I have some exciting news to share with y'all.  I was asked to join the Verses Rubber Stamps design team and I was thrilled to accept!  Verses Rubber Stamps has wonderful sentiment stamps, and I love their verses and fonts that they use on their stamps.  They are simply gorgeous.




My first card that I've created uses the beautiful Love Becomes a Memory stamp (#SY0519-E).  I stamped the sentiment and then cut it out with a square die.  While the paper was still in the square die, I sponged some Antique Linen distress ink around the edges.  I adhered a die cut doily to some designer paper, wrapped some blue seam binding around the card, and then affixed the sentiment to the card with some foam dots.


Check out all the fabulous stamps in the Verses Rubber Stamps store.  There are tons of great sentiments for just about every occasion you can think of.  Come on back tomorrow when I share another Verses card with you.  The kid in you will love this next card!!  :-)


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Red Gingham Curtains



Hi friends!  How about a sweet and simple window card for your inspiration today?

I had fun putting all these different die cuts together. Basically, I started by cutting all the elements and then I glued them down onto a red card base. I stamped the sentiment from the Floral Vintage Labels Two set with black ink directly below the window.

The dies that I used are as follows:

Grand Madison Window - cut with white cardstock
Plush Curtains - cut with red cardstock for the valance
Plush Curtains - cut again with red gingham paper from Summer Fresh 6x6 paper pad
Fence - cut with Kraft cardstock
Walking Cat - cut with black cardstock

There's so many different colors, papers, and scenes you can create with this great window die. Check out all the dies and stamps in the Classy Cards 'n Such store to get ideas for creating your own window cards.  There are several different cats and dogs as well as birds, trees, a park bench, even a gazebo in the Die Cuts section!  You can use this code, Holly-10, to save 10% off your order.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Get Inky! Challenge #4 - Show us Some Die Cuts
Ooh La La Creations - Seeing Red
Dream Valley Challenges #57 - Animals
Corrosive Challenges #174 - My Sentiments Exactly





Sunday, May 19, 2013

Vintage Jar of Flowers

Happy Sunday, friends!  It's a warm, sunny, windy, summery kind of day today.  Hubby has been outside mowing all day and I've been cleaning up in my studio.  I'm going country on this card with this fun gingham paper and this rustic jar of flowers.



I started with a piece of Kraft cardstock cut in half (4.25" x 11) and then folded it in half to make an A2 sized card. I cut the red gingham paper from the Summer Fresh 6x6 paper pad (Simple Stories) to 3.25" x 5.5". Some white paper was cut with the Country Girl Border die (Cheery Lynn Designs) and I glued it to the sides of the red gingham paper before adhering the paper to my kraft card base.


Next, I die cut the Tall Canning Jar from white cardstock. I pulled out my Salty Ocean Distress Stain and dabbed it all over the jar. Once this blue coloring dried, I dabbed some Brushed Pewter Distress Stain all over the blue jar and spritzed it with water to help the stain move. I didn't want it to look completely silvery - I just wanted a hint of shine. I let this dry and checked out the color. Since I wanted a rustic country look, I sponged some brown ink around the edges. Now it looks like an old vintage jar that's been sitting out on a country porch for years.  You can see the shine as well as the sponging in this close up picture below.



I set the jar aside to dry completely while I cut out my flowers. I die cut the Honey Blossom Sprig from green paper and then again from white paper. I dabbed the white flowers with the Squeezed Lemonade Distress Stain and set it aside to dry. Once it was dry, I cut out the pale yellow flowers and glued them over the top of the green ones. I cut the lower pieces of the sprig off and arranged them all so they would fit into the jar and then taped the pieces down on the back. I then wrapped some linen thread around the neck of the jar for that final country touch. The jar was affixed to the red gingham paper with some Joy Foam Pads.

This turned out so cute! Now it's got me thinking what else I can put in that jar. Any ideas from you crafty gals out there?? :-)

Please feel free to use this code, Holly-10, when you go shopping at Classy Cards 'n Such.  You can pick up these dies and distress stains and papers as well as tons of other crafty supplies.  I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Ink on my Fingers #258 - Vintage/Old
Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes
Our Creative Corner - Anything Goes
Craft Calendar May Challenge - Blooms and Blossoms



Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Honeybees and Beehive



Hi crafty friends! Have you seen the great new Memory Box dies in the Classy Cards 'n Such store lately? I ordered these as soon as I saw them, and I am in love with these new frames. I think I'm going to have to pick up a few more - they are just gorgeous!

I started this card by die cutting the new Honey Blossom Frame from green paper. I cut it again with a soft yellow paper and cut out the flowers and glued them on top of the green ones. It's a little time consuming but so easy and the results are so pretty. I then cut some white paper with the Debutante die and sponged it with blue ink around a scratch paper Classic Scallop Oval (Spellbinders) die cut. This is how I created my cloudy sky background. Some glue was lightly applied around the back of the frame and I pressed it onto my cloudy background piece.

Next, I die cut the fun Honey Bee Skep (beehive) from soft yellow paper. To give this some realism, I sponged some saffron ink around the edges and then I took a marker and colored in all the horizontal grooves. The little door was colored with a dark brown marker and then taped in place on the backside. This beehive was affixed to the card with some Joy Foam Pads (small).

The Jolly Bumblebees were cut twice - once from dark brown paper and once from soft yellow paper. I then glued the appropriate pieces to the bodies and glued them down onto my card. The last thing I did was stamp the sentiment from Anytime Sentiments (Impression Obsession) with dark brown ink onto the lower right corner of my cloudy background.

These frames are perfectly sized for a regular A2 card. The Debutante die goes with all of these larger frames, such as Honey Blossom Frame and Twirling Vine Frame. These are in the store now with more to come.

You can always save 10% off your order by using this code, Holly-10, when you check out at Classy Cards 'n Such.  I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge #79 - Things with Wings
Creative Corner #18 - Things with Wings
Sister Act #6 - Anything Goes
Get Inky #4 - Show Us some Die Cuts








Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Hello Blooms



This is a different sized card than what I normally create. This one will fit into a #10 business sized envelope. I cut the orange cardstock to 9.25" by 8" and folded the 8" side in half at the 4" mark. I added a layer of Kraft cardstock (new in the Classy Cards 'n Such store!) which measures 9.25" x 3.25", and then a layer of white cardstock which is 9.25" x 3".

Next, I cut a length of the Chalk White seam binding so that it would wrap around the card with a little extra so I could tie a bow. Do you see the interesting colors on the seam binding? See how it is pale in some areas and darker in other areas? I love that hand-dyed quality in this seam binding. I created that by using the fabulous Evergreen Bough Distress Stain. It's really easy to use - just press the bottle over the ribbon and let the color flow until it is dyed to your liking. I wanted a faded aspect to my ribbon, so I misted it with some water and scrunched it around in my hands and let it dry.

Once my seam binding was dry, I wrapped it around the card and tied a bow in the middle. I cut some large daisies from the Daisy Strip die (Cheery Lynn Designs) and arranged them on the card. Some small circles were punched from the Kraft cardstock and adhered to the centers of the daisies. Then I die cut some letters from both the Parker Upper Alphabet and the Parker Lower Alphabet dies and spelled out "Hello" on my flowers.

Isn't that cute? These colors just make me happy. I hope this card makes you happy, too! :-)  Remember to use this code, Holly-10, when you go shopping at Classy Cards 'n Such to save 10% off your order.  I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Card Mania Challenges #20 - Flower Power
Love to Create #65 - Flowers
Songbird Challenges #20 - Bloom and Grow



Friday, May 10, 2013

Peace Quilt & Design Team Call




Hi folks! I'm sharing a sympathy card that I created using one of the new Cover-A-Card background stamps. It's never easy to make sympathy cards, so I wanted to have a few on hand for those times when they are needed.

I started by cutting some Kraft cardstock (new in the store!) to 5.5" x 8.5" and then I folded it in half to create my card base. Next, I cut some plum cardstock to 3.5" x 4.25". I stamped this plum cardstock with the beautiful new Quilt Cover-A-Card background stamp using Versamark. I covered this with Clear Detail Embossing Powder, tapped off the excess, and used my heat gun to melt the powder. Using a clear embossing powder usually means that you will get a deeper shade of the original cardstock color. (This doesn't work on pale colors such as white or vanilla.) I really love this Quilt stamp and how it pops out because of the clear embossing powder. So beautiful!

This embossed plum cardstock piece was adhered to my kraft card base, and then I added a strip of dark brown cardstock above that. The ends were simply notched out with scissors.

For the sentiment piece, I cut out some vanilla cardstock with a Labels 18 die (Spellbinders). While the cardstock was still inside the die, I sponged some plum ink around the inside and then removed the cardstock from the die. I stamped the sentiment from the With Sympathy set (JustRite) with plum ink and then adhered it to my card.

I kept this card simple because I wanted the gorgeous richness of the embossing on the plum cardstock to stand out. This Quilt background is so lovely and elegant and perfect for all kinds of cards, whether they are birthday cards, sympathy cards, thank you cards, or even holiday cards.

If you would like to go shopping and pick up a few things at Classy Cards 'n Such, feel free to use this code, Holly-10, to save 10% off your order.  While you are shopping there, check out the Design Team call that was just posted: Design Team Call at Classy Cards 'n Such.  If you want to be on a Design Team and earn free products, give this a shot!  I'd love to have you on the team with me!  :-)

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Crafty Ribbons Challenge #45 - No designer paper
Simply Create Too #37 - Anything Goes
Lady Anne's Challenge - Anything Goes
Divas by Design - Anything Goes
Paper Playtime #9 - Emboss (wet or dry)



Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Friends fill your life with Joy



Hi friends!  Happy May Day!  It is a very warm and humid day out there today but that's going to change in the next few hours.  We are supposed to get a cold front and we might wake up to temperatures in the 30's.  Wow!  Seems like the weather is getting crazier every year, huh?  It's a good thing I can stay inside to play with my stamps and papers and dies!

I saw a sketch on the Random Acts of Creativity blog and I just fell in love with it.  I decided to combine it with the Bling challenge on the Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge blog.  So I pulled out my Vintage Bliss 6x6 paper pad (Simple Stories) and cut the blue chevron paper and the floral paper and adhered them to a white card base. Next, I cut some orange paper into a small rectangle and cut a smaller piece of white paper. I stamped this beautiful sentiment from the Floral Vintage Labels 2 set (JustRite) with black ink onto the white paper.

Now here's the fun part - playing with the new Cheery Lynn Designs dies that were just released a couple weeks ago. I started by cutting some orange paper with the new City Girl Edger and I adhered it to the bottom of my sentiment piece. The blue flower was cut with the new Shasta Daisy Strip die (gorgeous!) and the orange flower was cut with the new Sweet William Strip die (love the new smaller sizes!). I fastened both flowers together with some rhinestone brads.

I added a piece of the Silver Rhinestone Swirls across the sentiment piece and up into the floral paper. The blue and orange flowers were affixed at the bottom of the rhinestone swirl. I die cut some leaves from the new Ivy Strip die (Cheery Lynn Designs) and tucked them in around the flowers. The last thing I did was cut a piece of Chalk White seam binding, tied it into a bow, and glued it down under the leaves in the corner.

Have you ordered any of the new Cheery Lynn Designs dies from the Classy Cards 'n Such store yet? You will love playing with these new dies. I am certainly having a great time creating with them! As always, you can use this code, Holly-10, to save 10% off your order when you go shopping.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Saturday Sketchbook Challenge #95 - Sketch
Love to Create #63 - Punches and/or Dies
Pile it On #17 - April Showers bring May Flowers
Stampavie and More #192 - Lots of Die Cuts
Fresh Brewed Designs - Flowers
Crafts and Me #131 - Floral Frenzy