So little time

Ugh, that is just the story of my life lately. I freely admit I have way too much going on - but I don't see an end in sight so that's just how it's going to be! Anyway... I missed last week's OCC challenge but I'm back for today's. Our hostess, Rebecca Ednie, asked us to make an ATC (2.5" x 3.5" is the standard size) using kraft, white/cream, black/brown and one other color.

Despite the simple appearance of my card, and the title of my post, I actually spent a fair amount of time on this, LOL. I knew I wanted to use this image from the hostess set A Slice of Life (in the Occasions mini). I tried watercoloring it a couple different ways... wasn't happy with the result... got out my Copics, matched up Marina Mist and Crumb Cake as best I could, royally messed up my first try at the coloring and attempted to fussy-cut it (I know, insane) then ended up snipping the whole thing in half just as I was almost done... sigh. So back to square one and I finally I got an image I was happy with. I forgot to add any shading or shadows like I usually do with Copics, but oh well! To dress it up a little I added the tiniest adhesive pearls to all the open flowers. The rest of the card is black and kraft card stock and Marina Mist ribbon. The cream card stock and sentiment are from PTI, the black ink is Memento Tuxedo Black, and the corner punch is an old EK Success (I think). The punch for the sentiment is SU - a tiny oval that was in the holiday mini.

OK, well, not my best project ever, LOL, but it is what it is! Be sure you take a peek at the OCC blog for the rest of the DT's projects - I know they will inspire you to come and play along with us!

Sparkly Spring

Is it spring? It's supposed to be - but it doesn't feel like it here in Massachusetts! Well, someday... In the midst of my busy-ness I am planning for my March club this weekend. I wanted to share one of the cards we'll be making, which incorporates a technique I saw demonstrated as a workshop wow at last weekend's regional in Hartford. (Which was awesome - SU demos are so fortunate to get to learn from amazing people!) I'm also entering this card in the Pals Paper Arts embossing challenge.

The technique is handmade glitter card stock. You stamp your image first - I let mine dry for a while before going on to the next step, which is to mix a generous amount of Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds glitter and brush it over the whole panel with a foam brush. Now, when I first saw the technique I thought, how can that be a workshop wow? Won't it take a long time to dry? But really, it's dry in just a few minutes. As usual, the photo doesn't really capture the sparkle - it's similar to the effect you get if you emboss the whole panel with Iridescent Ice EP, but it's more subtle. My image is from Easter Blossoms, stamped with Rich Razzleberry on vanilla card stock and colored with my Blushing Bride marker. Tip of the day: You will want to adhere the finished panel with a strong adhesive, like sticky strip, because it's going to warp a little after it's dry. Get the sticky strip right onto the edges and corners, all the way around, and it'll lay flat.

To finish the card I used the tulip frame embossing folder, three pearls, and a punched sentiment from the same stamp set. I also sponged just a little Rich Razzleberry onto everything but the glitter panel - I didn't think of the sponging until after that panel was already done, but I'm not sure I would have wanted to sponge it anyway... I'll have to try that another time!

Am I blue?

No, not really, but this card sure is! I had fun with this one, especially since I've been sick all week. Again... Anyway, the challenge at Our Creative Corner this week is to use fabric on our cards or projects. I confess, I'm not big into using fabric - before I had kids, I dabbled in quilting a little, and I really do LOVE fabric - but it's not something I've really incorporated into my cards. So I was glad to have a good reason to try it out.


My idea was to create a ruffle trim with some of the SU Springtime Vintage fabric. I have to say - the fabric is wonderful and I wish I knew enough about sewing to make something with the rest of it! To make my ruffle I applied a length of Sticky Strip to a panel of Very Vanilla card stock and just laid the fabric across the panel, gathering it into a ruffle as I went. No sewing required! I put a panel of Not Quite Navy card stock on top, trimmed out with the scallop ribbon border punch. My flower is from Friends 24-7 - I know I used this a couple weeks ago, and it was still out on my stamping table and just called to me for this card... It's stamped in NQN and colored with Baja Breeze marker. I cut and embossed with my Nestabilities and then added piercing in the scallops to match the punched trim. Some distressing and sponging, along with crochet trim and a Tiny Tag punched sentiment (tied on with embroidery floss) finished off this sweet little vintage card.

We'd love to have you play along with us this week - go dig out some fabric and get your creative juices flowing! And be sure you visit the OCC blog to see what the rest of the team created this week. I promise you'll be glad you did!

Thinking of You

I feel like I start every post with an apology - my life is just too crazy right now. So I'm going to stop apologizing - I know I'm not going to have time to stamp as much as I want to for the next few weeks, which I hate, but that's the way it is right now... Anyway, here's my card for this week's challenge at Our Creative Corner. Our host this week is Kristin Tierney and she has a 1-2-3-4 challenge for us: one piece of patterned paper, two layers (not counting the base), three stamps and four embellishments. This was a tough one - but I enjoy a good challenge!

I wanted to pick a stamp that could mostly stand on its own, so this flower from Thoughts and Prayers came to mind. I colored the leaves with Wild Wasabi marker (so the color would be softer) then stamped the whole image with Rich Razzleberry and cut out the flowers. Yep, kind of insane even for me! The sentiment comes from the same set. The border strips are a MS punch that I trimmed and adhered to the back of the stamped panel - that way it's still one layer, LOL. My DP is wasabi, which I stamped with the swirl from Baroque Motifs. Once I had all that, I didn't have much room left for embellishments so I stuck with four little razzleberry buttons threaded with embroidery floss.

I hope you'll take on the challenge - I promise you it'll teach you a thing or two! ;) Be sure you go look at the rest of the team's creations, which are always gorgeous. Thanks for stopping by!

I'm celebrating - and you can win!

I have a special giveaway for the month of March. I'm turning 40 this Sunday, so I'm going to do something a little fun to celebrate. For every $50 in product ordered with me (outside of club) this month, either through me directly or online via my SU site, you will get one entry in a giveaway to win a 40% off coupon for one item ordered in April, May or June. If you order $100 this month, you get two entries and twice as many chances to win! I will choose one winner at the end of the month from all qualifying orders.

Don't forget that Sale-a-Bration is still going on, so a $50 order will also get you a free product! Click here to shop online or email me at loririder (at) verizon (dot) net to place your order through me.