Distressed Dreams

I saw a sketch challenge in one of the forums on Splitcoaststampers, and I fell in love with the sketch layout. I had to work on this tonight after supper because it was just stuck in my head and wouldn't let me rest until I made this card. I can see myself using this sketch over and over with different stamps and papers and ribbons.

I used some Cosmo Cricket Fleuriste designer paper for both of the background rectangles, and matted them with Chocolate Chip cardstock. The card base is also Chocolate Chip, with a layer of Vanilla cardstock that I've sponged with Walnut Stain distress ink and then roughed up with a distressing tool. I used that same distressing tool on almost all the other layers on this card.

The sentiment is from Cornish Heritage Farms' Motivational Centers set, and I've stamped it with Chocolate Chip ink. I then sponged over it with Walnut Stain distress ink and roughed it up with the distressing tool. The yummy ribbon is from May Arts, and I love the brown and ivory checkered pattern.

This card is really easy to put together once you get your papers and colors and stamps picked out. I wonder what my next card will look like? Hmmmmmm........ who wants to challenge me? :-)

Stamps: Motivational Centers (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Walnut Stain distress
CS: Chocolate Chip, Vanilla, Cosmo Cricket Fleuriste
Other: May Arts ribbon, distressing tool, sponge

Crochet Butterfly

My sweet friend, Leah Cornelius, made this gorgeous ivory crochet butterfly for me, which I just got in the mail yesterday. It's just darling! You can find crochet flowers and lots of other things that Leah makes in her shop, Paper Blooms. If you don't see the colors you want, email her and she will do a custom order for you. She is SO sweet and she made the exact colors of flowers and butterflies that I asked for. Thank you, Leah!! I had to sit down and make a card using this ivory butterfly today, so I checked out The Sweet Stop sketch challenge.

You know me - I keep things clean and simple. So I eliminated some of the layering that was on the sketch challenge and did this card "my way." I sponged the Very Vanilla cardstock so the ivory butterfly would really pop out.

The sentiment is one of the stamps that There She Goes stamp company donated to the shoebox swap that I went to last month. It was the perfect sentiment to use with this crochet butterfly! :-)

Stamps: Butterfly Happiness (There She Goes)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Paper distress ink, Walnut Stain distress ink
CS: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, designer paper from K and Co.
Other: brown ribbon from May Arts, nestabilities, sponge, crochet butterfly (Paper Blooms)

Belli Challenge #68 - patriotic theme

This week's Belli Challenge is to create a project with a patriotic theme. You can interpret that in many ways. You could use stars, firecrackers, red/white/blue colors, military insignias, flags, and the list goes on.

I had to pull out my new Vintage Picnic stamp set from PaperTrey for this challenge. I love the little stars and flag inside the basket, and I thought it would be perfect. I went for a vintage-y, rustic, old-timey look by sponging all the edges. Instead of going with a bright blue and a bright red, I used Not Quite Navy and Riding Hood Red cardstock.

Did you see the star brads? They were originally gold, but I didn't want a shiny gold here. I heated up one brad at a time and dipped them in Distress Tea Dye embossing powder, heated them again to set the powder, and then covered them in Bronze distress crackle paint. I wanted them to have a bumpy rusty look to them - the embossing powder gives me the bumps and imperfections, and the bronze crackle paint gives me that rusty look. After the paint dried, I smooshed them around in some Walnut Stain distress ink to age them up a little bit.


Check out what the other Belli Girls have created here on the Belli Blog. I hope you are inspired to play along with us and create something patriotic. Don't forget to add your link to your picture in the Mr. Linky widget. If you upload to SCS or PCP, please use keyword CBC68.


Stamps: Vintage Picnic (PaperTrey), Take a Bough - the small star(PaperTrey), weathered wood stamp from Deadbeat Designs (found at Stamp Salado)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Old Paper distress ink, White craft ink
CS: Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Not Quite Navy
Other: sponge, star brads, Tea Dye distress embossing powder, Bronze distress crackle paint, star nestability, copics, Soft Suede ribbon

Rubbernecker Challenge - ovals

The challenge issued on the Rubbernecker blog today is to create a card with ovals on it. I squeezed out some time tonight after work to stamp and cut and glue this card together. :-)

The silhouette flowers stamp is from a Tim Holtz stamp set called Nature's Moments. This is available at Rubbernecker. I also bought the designer paper from Rubbernecker - isn't that cool? It's from the Scrapperdashery line. I love the splashes of color on these papers.


I cut out the ovals with my nestabilities, and the butterflies are from a Martha Stewart punch. If you look closely, you can see that I used a gold Spica glitter pen in the center of the butterflies where their little bodies would be.

I hope you check out the Rubbernecker blog and play in their challenge. You could win a chance to shopping with 40% off in the Rubbernecker store! Who could pass that up?


Stamps: Tim Holtz Nature's Moments, sentiment from Friend Centers set from Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Bravo Burgundy
CS: Bravo Burgundy, Scrapperdashery dsp
Other: burgundy ribbon, gold/olive ribbon (May Arts - you can get this at Rubbernecker too), burgundy button, gold Spica glitter pen, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, nestabilities, linen thread

CBCC #39 - Color Challenge

Howdy again! Did you think we forgot about Courtney's Challenges? :-) Courtney just wanted us all to take a little break and recharge our batteries. We are back and raring to go. First up, a color challenge:





These colors remind me of rich autumn colors, so I went with a fall-themed card.




This is a more "scrappy" style card than I usually do. I've got all kinds of different things here: stamping, rub ons, buttons, sponging, scene stamping, and borders. The ground beneath the pheasant is actually a grass stamp from Stampscapes. It's been a while since I pulled out my Stampscapes stamps. These were my first major purchase when I started stamping. I love making scenes, but I rarely have time to play with all the different components.

This card has three sneak peaks of the new Stampin Up catalog here. First is the pheasant - it is a gorgeous stamp in the new Autumn Days set. Next is the gorgeous vine with berries rub on (on the kraft strip). This is from a new set of rub ons called Autumn Harvest. The last sneak peak is the color of the pheasant - a wonderful soft brown called Soft Suede. It's a perfect fall color when you want a softer brown color instead of the dark dark Chocolate Chip (my favorite color!).

What do you think about this "scrappy" kind of card? Did I freak you out too much? Or do you think it is a good change from my normal clean and simple cards? :-)

We would love to have you play along with us. Create a card, a scrapbook page, or any 3D project and share with us by leaving a link on Courtney's blog. If you upload to SCS or PCP, please use keyword CBCC39.

Need a little more inspiration to use these colors? Check out the other designers:

Courtney Fowler
Maria Fiscella
Danielle Marcus
Sparkle Smith
Kim Gruetzmacher
Risa Malieta West



Stamps: Autumn Days, Harvest Home, Stampscapes small grass stamp
Ink: Ruby Red, Old Olive, More Mustard, Soft Suede
CS: Kraft, Old Olive (textured), Ruby Red, Whisper White, Perfect Plum dsp
Other: Autumn Harvest rub ons, Mustard grosgrain ribbon, sponge, Earth Elements buttons (retired SU), linen thread, dimensionals

Sweet Stop sketch - Mambo Chocolate

I played with the Sweet Stop sketch today, and came up with this yummy-licious card. Who can resist licking their lips in the presence of chocolate? LOL

I used Sweet N Sassy's Chocoholic stamp set for this card, and found some yummy designer paper that is so perfect (DCWV The Sweet Stack). After I stamped the cake with Memento Rich Cocoa ink, I colored it with copic markers.

Do you see the sneak peak color on here?? :-) I used the new Stampin Up Melon Mambo cardstock and dotted ribbon with this card. It's such a happy pink color! I love it! It goes rather well with Close to Cocoa and Pink Pirouette. :-)

Floral Thank You card

Have you seen those "Under $10" stamps in the back of the Stampin Up catalog? I've used two of them on this card. I loved the silhouette flower when I first saw it, and it was the first thing I had to buy. Cheap and beautiful - can't beat that!

To give this card a little pizzazz, I actually dry embossed the Chocolate Chip card layer with one of the texturz plates (the swirly one). Look closely and you will see a few of the swirls peeking out on the dark brown cardstock.

I love pink and brown color combos as well as blue and brown color combos, so this card was easy to put together. Just use white, pink, and brown, throw in a little ribbon, and you've got a card. :-)

Father's Day card for Grampa

Here is the last of my Father's Day cards. This one will be going to my Grampa. He's not into fishing, doesn't hunt, and doesn't grill. So what is a girl to do??? I turned to my Star Prints set from PaperTrey Ink, and combined it with the Happy Father's Day stamp from my Stampin Up All Holidays set.

The striped blue designer paper was a bit boring and plain, so I had to jazz it up with a few stars stamped on there with vanilla ink from PaperTrey. I love the little oomph it gives to the masculine papers.

Hopefully Grampa will like this card. It would be nice if we could find a stamp that said Happy Grampa's Day! :-) Have you done your Father's Day cards yet? I hope I gave you some inspiration to get yours done.

Father's Day card for George

Here is my second Father's Day card this week. This one is actually going to my mom's husband - shhhhhh. He is a big fisherman, so hopefully he won't criticize the colors of the fish there. LOL

Don't you just love this adorable Fishing Bear? This stamp is actually a digi image available from Sweet N Sassy Stamps. It's just perfect for Father's Day cards as well as any kind of masculine card you might need for that angler in your family.

I colored the image with Copic markers, and then stamped the sentiment (from Cornish Heritage Farms) with Artichoke ink. I love that sentiment, and I thought it would go nicely with Mr. Fishing Bear.

I have one more Father's Day card ready to go, so check back tomorrow to see it. Hint - it does NOT have fish on it. :-)

Belli Challenge #67 - Father's Day!

Today's Belli Challenge is to create a Father's Day card using the sketch you see below:



This sketch comes to us courtesy of The Sweet Stop, the sketch challenge blog from Sweet N Sassy Stamps. Korin from Sweet N Sassy Stamps generously donated this adorable Fishing Bear digi stamp for the Belli Girls to use on their cards. I just had to play with this cutie.



I used a sheet of designer paper from the Basic Grey Archaic collection for the background, some twill ribbon, some clear Dew Drops, and some Rustic Buttons from PaperTrey Ink for this card. The fishing bear image is colored with various Copic markers. The inside of the card says "Happy Father's Day."

Go check out the other cards that the Belli Girls did over on the Belli Blog. While you're there, go check out the posting about the Design Team Call. If you have ever wanted to be a Belli Girl, now's your chance! Go read the rules HERE and apply! :-)

Now, stay tuned for the next couple days. I'll be posting two more Father's Day cards that I've got ready to go. If you need more inspiration, come on back and see what I've got for you.

MOJO #90 - Up and Away Balloon

I saw the sketch for Mojo #90, and I just had to try this out. I just got this cute hot air balloon set from Verve last week, and I knew this balloon would be perfect with this sketch.

I paper pieced the balloon and the basket with some Celery designer paper, and the other designer papers are from the Tea Party collection from Stampin Up. It was fun to play with pink and green colors for this card. I added the swirls to give the card a little "movement" to go with the hot air balloon.

I just wanted to share this quick and fun little card before I head off to bed. It is way past my bedtime. Now I have to go get my beauty sleep before I go to work tomorrow. :-) Nighty night!

Design Team Call for Belli Team!!!

DESIGN TEAM CALL!

CREATIVE BELLI CHALLENGE DESIGN TEAM CALL!
We are looking for 3 talented stampers to join our team for the second 2009 term, which runs July 1st-December 31st 2009. ANY stamper is welcome to apply!

Requirements:
~You must be able to follow instructions on time and work well with others.
~Check out the participants blogs and comment please.
~Post your work with the weekly code to other Forums you are participating in and comment in those areas too.
~ You may "miss" 3 challenges out of the 6 month commitment.
~Participate in each Bi-weekly Challenge and upload your project to the Belli blog no later than the Sunday evening before the Challenge Week.
~Post a permanent DT banner on your blog
~Join the DT Yahoo Group (our sole means of communication)
~ You MUST have a blog and be posting regularly.

To Apply:
Please create a card for this challenge (JUNE 10th posting - check back on Wednesday to see what the new challenge is HERE) in your best work and send it (100kb or less each) to chrissyd723@gmail.com by June 19, 2009. Please use BELLI DT Call as your subject line. You may use any stamps you have. Be sure to include your full name, address, email address, and a link to your blog. PLEASE NOTE: previous DT experience is not necessary.

We will not be able to respond to each submission. If you are chosen, you will hear from us by June 22. We will post the NEW Design Team on June 22.

If you have any questions please email Chris Dickinson at chrissyd723@gmail.com with BELLI DT CALL Question in the subject line. She will do her best to get back to you within a day or two.

Sneak Peak - new SU stamps!

This is a warning for those of you who do NOT want to see any sneak peaks of the new colors or new stamps in the new Stampin Up catalog. If you are impatient like me and you want to see it all now, read on. :-)





















Are you surprised?? :-)

I used three new colors on this card - Soft Suede (brown), Crushed Curry (yellow), and Dusty Durango (orange). I really like these warm autumn colors. They work beautifully with this Autumn Days stamp set. The sentiment is from Upsy Daisy which is still in the new catalog. :-) Oh, and before I forget, the designer paper is from the new Razzleberry Lemonade dsp. Isn't that a fun name??

See the polka dot ribbon? All 6 of the new colors also come in dotted grosgrain ribbon! I love them all! They are gorgeous!!!

I am planning to re-work this card a little bit and use it for a new catalog sets swap. I can't wait to see what the other ladies in the swap group come up with. The new catalog is just full of wonderful new things, and I'm ready for it to be July 1 so I can buy everything on my wish list. :-)

TSSC72 Baja Jardin

I created this card for Mary Jo's Technostamper sketch. I love this Le Jardin Botanique set from Stampin Up, so I pulled it out and got to work putting the different elements together. I sponged Chocolate Chip ink over everything to age it up a bit, and then I used my distressing tool to rough up the edges of the cardstock.

Can you see the raised polka dots on the Baja Breeze cardstock? Those were created by using my Big Shot and the Stampin Up texturz plates. They are so cool! I just love playing with these. I made them pop out a bit more by rubbing my sponge (with Chocolate Chip ink) all over the dots.

Stamps: Le Jardin Botanique
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
CS: Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Parisian Breeze dsp
Other: Texturz plates, distress tool, sponge, Boho Blossoms punch, linen thread, button bouquet