Hot Air Balloons in the Window

How fun is this?? I've had this image in my head for weeks and it's great when the finished card actually resembles what I envisioned. The hot air balloons are colored with Copic markers in some bright summery colors. I inked up the "sky" part of the sentiment with a turquoise marker, and then inked up the rest of the sentiment with a black ink dewdrop. The smaller dewdrop inkpad is perfect for small scale inking like this.

These window cards from Creative Cuts and More are so versatile and fun to use. I've done so many different kind of window cards over the past year - fall, winter, spring, summer, butterflies (my Sunday post), and more. I've got more ideas so stay tuned for more creative inspiration using these Four Pane Window Cards. :-) Hope you have a great week!



Die Cuts:
Four Pane Window A7 Scallop Card from Creative Cuts and More

Stamps: Up, Up, and Away (PTI)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Turquoise marker, Versamark
Paper: Turquoise, Smooth White from Creative Cuts and More
Other: Copic markers

CHF Blog Hop - Friendly Kritters week

Welcome to your last stop on the CHF Friendly Kritters blog hop! Did you enjoy all the great artwork today? If you came here from Kristine's blog, you are on the right track. If you just popped in and you're wondering what I'm talking about, please start at the Be Creative blog so you don't miss any of the great artwork on this fun blog hop.

We are showcasing the Friendly Kritters line at Cornish Heritage Farms this week. All of the Friendly Kritters stamps are on sale this week, but the sale ends on Thursday, so now is the time to grab those stamps you've had on your wish list.

I loved this cute mouse in the strawberry field, so I decided to showcase him here on my blog today. This is the Strawberry Mouse stamp, and I inked it up with gray ink before coloring it with Copic markers. I wanted the mouse's eye and nose to be darker, so I went over those with a black Sharpie marker. Just remember to use your Sharpie markers AFTER you color with Copics. If you do it vice versa, you will have an ugly mess. :-)




Two Gift Certificates will be awarded to 2 lucky winners who successfully follow the blog hop & comment as they go in the time allotted. This is not a race. All Blog Hops will start from the CHF Be Creative Blog on a Monday, comments must be made before midnight EST on the Thursday of that week & winners will be announced on the Friday.

1st prize is a $20 CHF Gift Certificate, 2nd Prize is a $10 Gift Certificate which will be emailed to the winning participants. The Gift Certificates will be valid for 6 months from date of issue. PLEASE NOTE that if you have a Club CHF award awaiting you on your next order, you will need to wait for the following order to use your Gift Certificate as the store only allows one discount per order.

If you upload a qualifying card (using the featured week’s stamp line) to the CHF special gallery for that week you will be eligible for the Design Team’s Favorite prize which will be a rubber stamp/stamp set of your choice up to the value of $16.99. The deadline for uploading cards for the prize will also be Thursdays at midnight.



Don't forget to leave comments at each stop on this hop for a chance to win a gift certificate! If you upload your artwork to the special gallery HERE, you could win a free backgrounder stamp!

This is your last stop on today's hop, but there is more eye candy over in the special Summer Fling Friendly Kritters gallery. Head on over there for more inspiration and ideas for your Friendly Kritters stamps. Remember, all the Friendly Kritters stamps are on sale this week, so don't miss out on the savings! Thanks for joining us on our Blog Hop today!


Stamps:
Strawberry Mouse (Friendly Kritters) from Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink:
London Fog Memento

Paper:
Simply Smooth White from CHF
Simply Linen Black from CHF
Urban Prairie yellow paper - Basic Grey
Bazzill Smoothies (red layer)

Other:
flower - Prima
button - The Paper Studio
ribbon - Offray
Copic markers
rectangle & scallop rectangle dies - Spellbinders

Glittered Butterflies in the Window

It's been a while since I played with my glitter, so I pulled them out and had fun getting all glitter-fied! Hee hee hee! For this card, I punched out the butterflies from some adhesive paper (it's sticky on one side and plain paper on the back side), pulled off the protective paper and glittered them up. I smooshed the glitter into the adhesive with my fingers just to make sure it was good and stuck and then brushed off the excess.

I used some 1/4" red liner tape from Creative Cuts and More and adhered it all around the window and on the windowpanes. I wanted a softer look around the window so it wouldn't distract from the colorful butterflies, so I went with a white Martha Stewart glitter.

The stamped sentiment just seemed appropriate with the beautiful butterflies, so I used a dark purple ink and stamped it directly on the card. Instead of adding a bunch of embellishments that would overshadow the delicate butterflies, I just tied a ribbon on the side.

Have a wonderful Sunday!


Die Cuts:
Four Pane Window A7 Scallop Card from Creative Cuts and More


Stamps: Paper Bag Studios
Ink: Elegant Eggplant (SU)
Paper: Curious Cryogen White
Ribbon: May Arts
Glitter: Martha Stewart Crafts (white), Jazzy (green and purple)
Other: Killer Red Tacky Tape - 1/4" (Creative Cuts and More), adhesive paper (PK Glitz), butterfly punch (Martha Stewart Crafts)

CC&M Summery Polished Stone Tags

Remember the bookmarks that I was having so much fun with? Well, today I've created some fun summery tags using a polished stone technique. These will be great to attach to a gift for someone's birthday or even tucked inside a book to be used as a bookmark.

I've used the new Tag #4 - Large with Layer from Creative Cuts and More, and I love the sweet curvy shape at the top of these tags. The tag is cut from black cardstock, and the layer is glossy white cardstock. I had a great time experimenting with different alcohol ink colors to make these polished stone tags for you. :-)












Do you like the polished stone tags that I've created for you? These are really easy to make. All you need are the tags (glossy white cardstock) from Creative Cuts and More, some alcohol inks, some Alcohol Blending Solution (from Ranger), and the felt applicator for the alcohol inks. Pick two or three colors of alcohol inks, and then follow the directions for the Alcohol Ink tutorial HERE on Splitcoaststampers.

I didn't have any ribbon that matched my tags, so I pulled out some white grosgrain ribbon and colored it myself. All I had to do was cut a small length of white ribbon and squeeze small drops of alcohol ink on the ribbon. The ink spreads out and saturates the ribbon so you really don't need much to cover a small piece.

Are you ready to get inky? Go shopping for these tags at Creative Cuts and More - just make sure to pick the glossy white cardstock so you can make your own polished stone tags. :-) If you have any questions, please feel free to shoot me an email (link is in the sidebar).

Die Cuts:
Tag #4 - Large with Layer from Creative Cuts and More
- tag is black cardstock
- layer is glossy white cardstock

Stamps:
Weeds silhouettes stamps from Rubbernecker
sentiment from Fresh Cuts (Stampin Up)

Ink:
Jet Black Stazon

Alcohol Inks (Ranger):
--- Purple tag: Purple Twilight, Raspberry, Shell Pink
--- Orange tag: Peach Bellini, Sunshine Yellow, Sunset Orange
--- Green tag: Lettuce, Bottle, Citrus
--- Blue tag: Aqua, Clover, Pool

Other:
Alcohol Blending Solution - Ranger
felt and applicator tool - Ranger
oval and scallop oval punches - EK Success
black lace - May Arts
white grosgrain ribbon - Stampin Up

QKR Patchwork Bear

Isn't this what your kids are doing this summer?? LOL I thought this was the cutest stamp over at QKR Stampede, and I just had to play with it. This "Snuggled Up" stamp is colored with Copic markers that I picked to match the colors I used in the background. To create the background of my card, I used the new Patchwork Tutorial from Technique Junkies (June/July 2010 issue).


Stamps:
Snuggled Up from QKR Stampede
Fine Gingham backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink:
Tuxedo Black Memento
Barn Door
Chipped Sapphire
Peeled Paint

Paper:
White
Old Olive

Other:
Copic markers
black sharpie marker

John Deere tractor card

This is a Father's Day card for my hubby. I have had these John Deere rub-ons for a while, and I decided it was high time I actually USED them on something. This week's Belli Challenge is to use rub-ons, so perfect timing. :-) I used this week's SCS sketch as it just worked so nicely with the rub-ons that I had.

Stamps: none
Ink: none
Paper: Kraft, White, Black
Other: rub-ons, square punches

QKR Raspberry Thank You card

This Raspberry Label stamp from QKR Stampede is just gorgeous. I combined this with the Thank You stamp (also from QKR Stampede) and Card Patterns Sketch 68 to create this quick card. There are times when you just need a quick thank you card, and this one certainly fit the bill. All I had to do was color in the leaves and berries and then cut it out (less than 15 minutes). The sketch from Card Patterns was perfect for this stamp. I kept the layers minimal and I only used a simple white ribbon for an embellishment so the raspberry label would stand out.

If you type in "label" in the search box on QKR Stampede, you will see all kinds of gorgeous label stamps. Roses, mason jars, raspberries, and apple blossoms adorn different label shapes. I need to collect all of these!

Did you know that QKR Stampede offers all their stamps as digital images as well as rubber?? This is an exciting new development! Now you can have QKR Stampede digital images within minutes of ordering if you are impatient like me. :-) Happy Shopping!

CC&M June Blog Hop

Welcome to the next stop on the Creative Cuts and More blog hop! If you came here from the Die Cut Diva blog, you are on the right track. If not, please start at the Die Cut Diva blog so you don't miss out on anything. If for some reason one of the links is broken along the hop, don't worry. Hop back over to Die Cut Diva where the complete list will be.

We are focusing on Picnics and Patriotic themes for this blog hop today. I showcased a summer picnic waterfall card a few days ago, and today I am sharing my Kinkade Flag card with you.

I used a Decorative Window Square Scallop Card which is cut from Bazzill White Canvas cardstock. I stamped the Thomas Kinkade Hometown Pride image with blue ink onto some smooth white cardstock, cleaned the stamp, and then repeated this step with red ink. After the ink dried completely on both sheets, I carefully cut out the red flag and paper pieced it over the blue one. I love how this red flag just pops out from this image. To reinforce the pop of red color, I tied some red twill ribbon around the top of the card.




I hope you have enjoyed my Kinkade Flag card today. Be sure to check out all the great die cuts at Creative Cuts and More when you are done with this blog hop. Are you ready to see some more CC&M eye candy? Then it's time to hop on over to Lisa's blog to see what she has created for you. Enjoy!!



Die Cut:
Decorative Window Square Scallop Card from Creative Cuts and More
--- cut from White Bazzill Canvas cardstock

Stamps:
Thomas Kinkade Hometown Pride from Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink:
Satin Red Versafine
Majestic Blue Versafine

Other:
red twill ribbon - May Arts

Summer Picnic Waterfall Card

What comes to mind when you think about a summer picnic? I always think of watermelon and cheap plastic red gingham tablecloths and a BBQ grill. It was fun to pull out a stamp set that had these picnic images and put them together for a special card. I used this exclusive Waterfall Card Set from Creative Cuts and More and let me tell you - it was SO easy to put this together.

I really don't like numbers and measuring and cutting and scoring. CC&M made this so easy because everything is already cut to the perfect size and all the parts are scored just right. I don't have to think if this is too big or that score line is 1/8" off. It's great to have all that taken care of so I don't give myself a headache. :-)

To put this waterfall card together, I followed the tutorial on their website HERE. That tutorial really helped me understand what goes where, and all I had to do was stamp and color my images for the four panels.

I had stamped the red gingham "tablecloth" directly on the waterfall card mechanism, and then I smudged and made a big boo-boo. Grrrrrrrrrr. So I stamped it again on a sheet of white paper, and then cut it to size to cover up my boo-boo. It's a quick and easy fix for those inevitable boo-boo's that we always seem to make at just the wrong moment. LOL











Are you itching to make your own Waterfall Card now? Head on over to Creative Cuts and More and order yours today. :-)


Die Cut:
Waterfall Card Set from Creative Cuts and More
--- card is Blackberry Swirl Bazzill Smoothies cardstock
--- waterfall mechanism is White Bazzill Smoothies cardstock


Stamps:
Summer Trees (Kim Hughes) from Cornish Heritage Farms
Fine Gingham backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink:
Tuxedo Black Memento
Satin Red Versafine
Citrus Adirondack dye

Other:
Killer Red Tacky Tape from Creative Cuts and More
Copic markers
red eyelet
red gingham ribbon - Offray

QKR June Blog Hop

Hi blog hoppers! Wasn't Sarah's project great? If you didn't arrive here from Sarah's blog, you don't want to miss what our designers have in store for you. The QKR Stampede Blog Hop starts at www.qkrstampede.blogspot.com.

If for some reason one of the links is broken along the hop, don't worry. Hop back over to the QKR Stampede Blog - www.qkrstampede.blogspot.com - which will have the complete list of participating blogs.

We are focusing on patriotic and/or picnic themes for this blog hop. I wanted to show off this fun Patchwork Star from QKR Stampede today. This primitive star is sorta folksy, sorta country, and a whole lotta cute. :-) I stamped it three times, and then I colored one red, one blue, and left the third one white. Cutting these stars out was easy because they are all straight lines.

Instead of bold bright red, white, and blue, I wanted a softer, more Americana look for my card. I sponged some Old Paper distress ink on all the stars and on the white layer on my card. The sentiment is a rub-on that fits this card perfectly.



I hope you've enjoyed my Americana Star Card today. Now it's time to hop on over to Laralee's blog!


Stamps:
Patchwork Star from QKR Stampede

Ink:
Rich Cocoa Memento
Old Paper distress

Paper:
White
Ruby Red
Not Quite Navy

Other:
buttons - Paper Studio
Copic markers
rub-on - Melissa Frances
twine
sponge

Belli Challenge #93 - rub-ons

Happy Wednesday! Are you ready for another Belli challenge today? This one is easy: rub-ons!!! Just create something (card, scrap page, box, other 3D item) and add a rub-on (or two or three) to that project to qualify for the Belli Challenge. If you are like me, you've got several packages of rub-ons somewhere in your crafting area that have never been opened. LOL

I opened one such package and used the biggest rub-on (the "celebrate" sentiment) from this package on this fun and summer-y card:



This card literally took me 10 minutes to make. I just got into that groove and it all clicked together just perfectly. The longest part about this card was waiting for the crackle paint to dry on the chipboard circle.

Ya like my ribbon flower? LOL That idea just popped into my head and I thought, hey, why not? I found a chipboard circle in my stash and added a pop-up glue dot to the back. Then I cut small lengths of ribbon and just started pressing them into the glue dot. When I was done, I added another glue dot on top of the one with the ribbon ends pressed into it, and then stuck it on my card. Fun and different, huh? :-)

Wanna see what the other Belli Girls have created? Go check them out on the Belli Challenge blog, and hopefully you will be inspired to create your own project with a rub-on. We'd love to have you enter your creation in our Belli Challenge.


Stamps: none
Ink: none
Paper: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Real Red, retired SU paper
Other:
chipboard circle
red gingham ribbon (Offray)
white distress crackle paint (Ranger)
large ric rac die (Sizzix)
rub-on (Melissa Frances)

New tutorial on CHF blog

Hi folks! Just a quick note to let y'all know that I have a new tutorial on the Cornish Heritage Farms blog today. If you are participating in the Summer Fling challenges, this tutorial shows you a quick and fun way to create a quilted card. You could upload your own creation to the special Summer Fling gallery for a chance to win a FREE backgrounder of your choice!

Click here to view my Quilted Card Tutorial. :-)

CHF Summer Fling - Blog Hop Week 1 (Backgrounders)

Happy Monday, everyone! Are you ready for the very first CHF Summer Fling blog hop?? If you arrived here from Melony's blog, then you are on the right track. If not, please start at the Cornish Heritage Farms Be Creative blog for all the details.

This week we are focusing on Backgrounders. There are lots of wonderful new samples in the special gallery HERE. I've chosen to use the Fine Lines backgrounder to decorate some stars instead of using it as a traditional background.





You can do so many different things with backgrounders instead of just stamping backgrounds on your cards. Stamp them on die cut shapes, use them to accent embellishments, or use them for paper piecing line art images.

Two Gift Certificates will be awarded to 2 lucky winners who successfully follow the blog hop & comment as they go in the time allotted. This is not a race. All Blog Hops will start from the CHF Be Creative Blog on a Monday, comments must be made before midnight EST on the Thursday of that week & winners will be announced on the Friday.

1st prize is a $20 CHF Gift Certificate, 2nd Prize is a $10 Gift Certificate which will be emailed to the winning participants. The Gift Certificates will be valid for 6 months from date of issue. PLEASE NOTE that if you have a Club CHF award awaiting you on your next order, you will need to wait for the following order to use your Gift Certificate as the store only allows one discount per order.

If you upload a qualifying card (using the featured week’s stamp line) to the CHF special gallery for that week you will be eligible for the Design Team’s Favorite prize which will be a rubber stamp/stamp set of your choice up to the value of $16.99. The deadline for uploading cards for the prize will also be Thursdays at midnight.

This week will feature backgrounders. Next week we will feature a different stamp line, so keep tuning in for more great artwork and sales! This week, all backgrounders are on sale, 25% off! Sale ends Thursday at midnight. Now is the time to stock up on those backgrounders that have been on your wish list.

Don't forget to leave comments at each stop on this hop for a chance to win a gift certificate! If you upload your artwork to the special gallery HERE, you could win a free backgrounder stamp! Now it's time to go to Laura's blog and see what she has created with CHF Backgrounders.

What’s the 12 Weeks of Summer Fling?

Each week will feature one of the rubber stamp lines at Cornish Heritage Farms with a blog hop and special gallery showing new samples using stamps from that line. The featured line will also be on sale for the week so definitely the time to add to your collection. :)

Two Gift Certificates will be awarded to 2 lucky winners who successfully follow the blog hop & comment as they go in the time allotted. This is not a race. All Blog Hops will start from the CHF Be Creative Blog on a Monday, comments must be made before midnight EST on the Thursday of that week & winners will be announced on the Friday. 1st prize is a $20 CHF Gift Certificate, 2nd Prize is a $10 Gift Certificate which will be emailed to the winning participants. The Gift Certificates will be valid for 6 months from date of issue. PLEASE NOTE that if you have a Club CHF award awaiting you on your next order, you will need to wait for the following order to use your Gift Certificate as the store only allows one discount per order.

If you upload a qualifying card (using the featured week’s stamp line) to the CHF special gallery for that week you will be eligible for the Design Team’s Favorite prize which will be a rubber stamp/stamp set of your choice up to the value of $16.99. The deadline for uploading cards for the prize will also be Thursdays at midnight.

This week will feature backgrounders.

All backgrounders are on sale, 25% off! Sale ends Thursday at midnight.

On Monday the DT will be blog hopping with all new samples using backgrounders. You'll want to leave comments for chances to win prizes! Start at the CHF Be Creative Blog on Monday morning to see some great eye candy!

Plus, now that you know we will be featuring Backgrounders, you can work on creating a card to upload to the gallery starting on Monday. The more cards you upload to the special gallery, the more chances you have to win a FREE stamp!