Dreams

Today I have a project that represents something I'm doing for the first time - entering the monthly contest at Shelli Gardner's blog. (For those who don't know, Shelli is the CEO of Stampin' Up!) When I saw what this month's contest was, to use stencils, I immediately envisioned what I wanted to do. It took me nearly until the end of the month to find the time, but I'm pleased with the final result. I can see it framed in a shadow box and hanging on my studio wall, but for now this is what I have to show you.

The stencil I used is from the Folk Flower set that's in the mini catalog. This is a fairly large stencil so I imagined putting it onto a 12x12 background of some kind. I used sponge daubers and certainly celery, pretty in pink and rose red inks to create the design on very vanilla cardstock. I used regal rose textured cardstock with the scallop trim punches for the largest layer. I've used Gretchen Barron's tutorial for getting the right size layer to use with these punches, but Gretchen didn't go big enough for me on this project, LOL. So after some tinkering I figured out that a 9" square will work. If I get time I'll see if I can figure out some other large sizes - don't hold your breath on that one! *wink*

Here's a close-up of the flower - it's such a gorgeous image. I accented parts of the flowers with rhinestones from the Eggcellent Eggs kit, and I also used the rhinestone strips for the butterfly centers. My butterflies come from the Beautiful Butterflies die and the Beautiful Wings embosslit.

I wanted to add some kind of quote at the bottom. This stamp from Live Your Dream was perfect, even though it's (sniff) retired. I love the saying - I even have the Decor Elements version - and it fit nicely inside the oval frame die. I finished off with a nice big bow made from rose red stitched grosgrain ribbon. Since this is a large project it can take a serious statement from some wide ribbon, and I was happy to have a chance to make this fabulous bow!

I hope you enjoyed this stencil project. It was truly a joy for me to have time to create it. I really felt like I was making an art piece and I loved every minute that I spent on it.

KISS card class

To me that stands for Keep It Sweet & Simple, and that's the name of a card class I'm doing this weekend for the first time. I think it's going to be a lot of fun! I have three cards planned. The first is a Mother's Day card that I CASEd from Jan Carlson courtesy of Dawn Olchefske's blog. I like the original better, but I think it still turned out cute. I tried to simplify a little bit, and I changed some of the colors around, but I still used Messages for Mom with melon mambo, crushed curry, rich razzleberry, and soft suede for the stamping. This simple card lets the stampers play with markers, embossing with the Big Shot, ribbon, and a punch.

For this card, I can't remember where I originally saw the idea of using the extra large bird punch as a stencil. Sorry to whoever had that idea first - tell me and I would love to give you credit! I used vellum cardstock for my stencil and sponged the branch with certainly celery and the bird with bashful blue onto naturals ivory cardstock. I just went over the wing a bunch more times to get a more intense color. Now, I'm not sure why this is, but bordering blue cardstock looked better for my scalloped circle, which I cut with the Big Shot. The bird is cut out with the Circle Scissor Plus. I added a sentiment from Sincere Salutations and a panel of certainly celery DP with silver brads in the corner, then I sponged the edges of the pieces with bashful blue. Again, a simple card, but they can try a few different tools, techniques, and accessories.

Finally, here's a cheery little birthday card. I jotted down the idea for this card while I was browsing blogs, and - shame on me, again - I don't really know what was CASEd here or where the idea came from. Tell me if you've seen or done something similar so I can add a link! I stamped the row of hats from Party Hearty on bermuda bay cardstock in Versamark three times, leaving a space for another row that I colored with bermuda bay, real red and so saffron markers. The sentiment on the tag seemed perfect for a card covered with so many birthday hats, and after I punched it out I added a tiny little bow made with the saffron ribbon from the Elementary Ribbon Originals. This is probably the simplest card of the three, but I think it's too cute! It also uses some great basic techniques for a beginning stamper.

I hope this class is a hit - who knows, maybe it'll become a regular thing! Thanks so much for visiting today and have a great weekend!

Catching up

Sorry I disappeared again. I have really been missing my stamping time! I had a sad event in my life... my grandfather - my last surviving grandparent - passed away on March 17. I traveled to Pennsylvania be with my extended family for the funeral, in the midst of a very busy schedule. But I think I am nearly caught up. We'll see what the week ahead brings.

I wanted to take a minute to share the two cards that we made at club last night, along with the Easter basket that I posted last week. All of the projects were a hit and we had a great time, as always. First up is a faux cloisonne card inspired by this card on Ann Schach's blog. I decided to let my club members pick their own colors for their flowers, so in prepping the materials I kept everything else white and just used a black sentiment from Thank You Kindly. In case you don't already know, the faux cloisonne technique uses embossing on magazine pages. I think I've usually seen it done with gold embossing, but I loved how Ann used white with the Fifth Avenue Floral images. We embossed the background with one of the texture plates, added the sentiment with the modern label punch and Movers & Shapers, and popped everything up on dimensionals, with two jumbo silver brads as the only embellishment. I just love how the flowers pop against the white.

The second card was an Easter card inspired by this card from Jen del Muro. I loved what she did with the frame, and since I just got the Circle Scissors Plus, I was able to try something similar. The floral paper is from the Pawsitively Prints paper pack - I wanted a springy print and this fit the bill. I also wanted to use the Eggcellent Eggs kit components - unfortunately this kit has sold out, but if you were lucky enough to get one, you know how cute the little embellishments are! We used some of the flowers and rhinestones with the scribble swirl die and 1/4" punches of ballet blue cardstock.

I have one more class this weekend and an editing deadline on Monday, but if I'm lucky I'll be back here before the Divine Divas are up for the next challenge on April 1. Can I do it? We'll see!

A tisket, a tasket...

a little Easter basket! That's what I made for this week's challenge at Our Creative Corner, which was to make something related to (surprise!) Easter. I'm doing a bit of double duty here, because we will also be making this basket at my club next week. I've been seeing these baskets all over the place, and I thought they were so cute that we just had to try it. They are made with the scallop envelope die, and I took some elements from a few different tutorials (here, here, and here).

I based my design around the patterned paper from the Sweet Pea pack. I didn't even realize until I sat down at the computer that I used the same color combination as last week's OCC challenge. I guess I liked it! The base of the basket is so saffron. The designer paper doesn't quite cover the whole basket when wrapped around, so I added a panel of chocolate chip cardstock embossed with the polka dot folder.

Here's a close-up of the basket. The image from Eggcoutrements was stamped in pretty in pink and layered on an old olive wide oval, then I added a chocolate chip taffeta ribbon bow after I glued down the flap. In the center is a pink sherbet button that I threaded with the saffron ribbon from the Elementary Ribbon Originals. The handle is a strip of old olive cardstock punched with the scallop trim border punch, and a strip of chocolate chip ribbon on top. I adhered the handle with filigree brads. Tip of the day: The brad will just barely go through all these layers - make sure you really press on it so you have enough length of the prongs to fold over and keep the handle secure. To make the filler I ran some old olive DP (retired) through the crimper and sliced it into tiny strips with my tabletop cutter.

As always be sure you stop by the OCC blog to see what the rest of the team made for this challenge, and then I hope you'll be inspired to play along with us. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #24

For this week's challenge I have for you a headboard and pillow collection found on Pier 1's web site. I just loved the spring colors.

For my card, since it was the colors that led me to choose this picture, that's where I started. I knew I wanted pumpkin pie, certainly celery and soft suede. I tried a few different colors for a blue/green shade and ended up picking baja breeze - that gave me the softness I was looking for. Oh how I would love this color to be brought back... I would be so, so happy!

To start I made the background with a soft suede panel and the Perfect Details texture plate. I thought the pattern mirrored the design of the headboard. To slightly emphasize the texture, I rubbed just a bit of soft suede ink over the whole panel. On top of this background I wanted some fun flowers and chose Best Wishes & More. The flowers were stamped in both pumpkin pie and baja breeze, and then I punched out the baja breeze centers with a 1/2" circle punch and mounted them on the orange flowers with dimensionals. The certainly celery leaves are from the same set - I adhered them to the backs of the flowers, then after I added the baja breeze ribbon, I put all of the images up on dimensionals. To finish off I adhered three tiny buttons in the corners and added a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!

Anne

Chris

Donna

Julie

Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment here with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC24. Have fun and look for the next challenge on April 1 - no foolin'!

I Love Flowers

Hey, I'm back for this weekend's challenge from Our Creative Corner. I apologize for not posting this week - things have been a little crazy! I'll hope for more stamping time next week.

For today's challenge our lovely hostess Silke has challenged us to a color combo: green, pink, brown, yellow plus neutrals. I immediately thought of this image from Messages for Mom, since I could stamp it in chocolate chip and color it with markers. I picked pretty in pink, barely banana, and old olive. Then I cut and embossed with Nestabilities and added piercing in the oval's scallops. The background is barely banana cardstock embossed with the Elegant Bouquet folder. Then I used the Little Leaves die and the boho blossoms and 1/4" circle punch to make more flowers. Yep, I do love flowers! A strip of chocolate chip satin ribbon (something else I love) and a sentiment from Well Scripted and that was it.

Be sure you check out the rest of the team's creations and come and play along! We always love to see your work. Have a great weekend!

Happy birthday...

to me! Yep, it's my birthday today. So to celebrate I made a birthday card for myself! In case you are wondering, this is not a *big* birthday, but next year it will be. I'm thinking maybe this will be my last birthday since I'm not so comfortable with the number my age will start with next year. I'll just stay put right here, or can I even roll back to the previous decade? ;)

OK, enough about that and on to the card. This week the Our Creative Corner gals have a new monthly hostess, the fabulous Silke Ledlow. Silke has given us a fun sketch challenge so I hope you'll play along. I couldn't help fiddling with it just a bit... hopefully not too much!

Since this is a card for me, I decided to bring out some retired stuff that I love but haven't used in a while. I picked baja breeze and kiwi kiss for my colors, with basic gray as an accent - the colors in some of my favorite SU paper ever, Urban Garden. My DDIC DT member Kerri used this flower from Bella Blossoms in her card on Thursday and she inspired me to get it out today. I also loved how she put beads in the center of the flower, so I wanted to find some way to decorate my flower, too.

I first stamped the flower in baja breeze and kiwi kiss. The leaves were stamped on the whisper white base layer and then I stamped the flower three times on white scraps and cut out the various layers of the flower. I put the three layers together with dimensionals.

For the background I used one of the Urban Garden papers in baja breeze and one of the Bella Rose papers in kiwi kiss. To divide the two I punched a strip of kiwi kiss textured cardstock with the eyelet border punch and layered basic gray satin ribbon on top. The sentiment from A Little Birthday Cheer was punched with the modern label and layered with Movers & Shapers.

Now, for the decorations... this kind of evolved as I went. I started out using glitter on the flower, which I thought looked good. When everything was put together I needed something else to add a little pop - it was pretty but somehow it didn't look done. I turned to the rhinestone stickers from the Eggcellent Eggs kit - these are so awesome! I hope we get them by themselves in the next catalog. I started adding two of the largest ones to the sentiment. Then I felt like the card needed to have rhinestones somewhere else, so I had the idea to add them to the holes in the punched border. I think it looks so cool. But when I went to take a picture of the card, it looked bottom-heavy with all the rhinestones on the lower half. So I went back and added rhinestones over all of the glitter. I really think it was worth it!

So, what am I doing for my birthday? Well, Todd has to work at least part of the day so I'll probably take the kids to the mall. That's something all three of us usually enjoy, although you know I won't really get to shop for myself like I might if I were alone. Tonight we'll go out to dinner and Todd is supposed to be supplying me with some kind of birthday dessert, which will of course include chocolate. And after the kids go to bed I'm hoping to share dessert and drinks with a couple of the moms from my neighborhood. It'll be a low-key day but I hope a fun one!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #23

Welcome to our first challenge for the month of March! For this month I have a photo of the cover for a White House Black Market catalog that I got in the mail. I just fell in love with this image as soon as I saw it but since it wasn't in digital form this is the best I can offer you. I think it has lots of fun details to provide you with inspiration.

Now, when I chose this challenge, I wouldn't have predicted that this was the sort of card I'd end up with. To tell the truth, I generally have no idea what my creation will turn out to be when I choose the challenges - I prefer to take it on with a fresh eye and no preconceptions. I knew I wanted to use melon mambo with black and white, and incorporate polka dots and some kind of large, ruffly flower with bling. And this card is the result - it's kind of different for me, but I think I like it!

I know you've seen all the cool distressed flowers that are showing up everywhere in papercrafting right now. I don't think mine is as cool as most I've seen, but I did have that concept in mind. I used white tissue paper - maybe 6 layers of it - and cut out this "flower" with the scallop circle #2 die. To distress it I basically wadded it into a ball and then opened it back up. The smaller flowers are a scallop punch of black linen-textured cardstock from the retired Taste of Textiles and a Boho Blossoms punch of whisper white textured cardstock. In the center I put a Crate Paper pink rhinestone brad.

Once I had my big flower, I had to figure out what in the world to do with it! I cut the background panel from Kaiser Craft DP, then added a panel of melon mambo textured cardstock that was embossed with the finial press folder and embellished with a strip of 5/8" basic black grosgrain ribbon. At that point I decided to bring in the pop of green, which here is kiwi kiss. The swirly leaves are from a (I'm embarrassed to say this) Hello Kitty Bigz die. (I have no idea what this die has to do with Hello Kitty but it does have some nice flowers and swirls!) Once the flower was all assembled I adhered it over the background with dimensionals, then added the sentiment from Sincere Salutations.

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!

Anne

Chris

Donna

Julie

Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment here with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC23. Have fun and look for the next challenge in two weeks!

Pair of clubs

Actually, a pair of club cards! These are the cards we did at my February club meeting last weekend. We had a great time!

This first card uses the faux Chinese lantern technique - plus we got a little extra technique practice with masking and watercoloring. The flower from the hostess set Asian Artistry was stamped with black Stazon, masked on the left side, and stamped again to fill out the image into two flowers. I think it made the image have a much greater presence for this technique. We used the Aqua Painter with just a tiny bit of ink to watercolor the flowers. I used the rich razzleberry and old olive markers and scribbled on the inside of the lids, then picked up the color with a barely wet brush. Using just a bit of water made it OK to use whisper white cardstock instead of watercolor paper, and the colors came out so soft and pretty. Once the image was dry we ran it through the crimper and smudged the edges with the basic black ink pad. To finish off the card, we added textured black cardstock, Cottage Wall DP, and razzleberry ribbon. The sentiment is from Vintage Labels and the frame from Great Friend.

The second card came out of my wanting to take my idea from this card in a different direction. I also highlighted the Sweet Pea DP pack by using it for all the punched pieces. As before I made the stems and leaves from the extra-large bird punch, glueing the wings onto the branches to make the arrangement of leaves. Then we added boho punched flowers with gold brads in the center. The vase is the ornament punch with the tip cut off - I know I've seen this idea elsewhere so it's not original to me, but it's wonderful. I always love when you can use a Christmas product for something else! After we glued the arrangement together with the 2-way glue pen, we mounted the whole thing with dimensionals. The sentiment from Kind & Caring Thoughts was stamped right onto that layer with taken with teal. I don't know if you can see but we scored a couple lines on two edges of the white panel behind the vase. That side of the card just needed something, and it could also have been paper piercing but I wanted to show my club members something different. A layer of chocolate chip and a white card base finished everything off.

Thanks for stopping by today - I always appreciate everyone who visits my blog. Come back tomorrow for the first DDIC of March!

March Card Kit of the Month now available

Another new month is here - that means it's time for the March card kit!

With this card kit you’ll receive complete instructions and all the consumable supplies needed to make 6 of each of these card designs – a total of 12 cards. The price of this kit is just $15, including envelopes.

If you purchase the monthly kit, you will also have the opportunity to purchase the coordinating stamp set at 15% off retail price (tax and shipping not included). This month the featured stamp set is Cheep Talk.

Cheep Talk stamp set regularly $26.95, with purchase of kit $22.91

The rest of the products used in making these cards are given in the list below. If you have all of these then you’re ready to go, but just let me know if you’d like to order any of these items. You can also use the kit to make your own cards with the supplies you already own.

Please get your orders to me by March 12. You will receive your kit by the end of the month.

Lori Rider
loririder@verizon.net
978-486-8102
divastamper.blogspot.com

To purchase, please choose your option:
(1) One kit delivered in person - click here
(2) One kit delivered via U.S. mail - click here
(3) Two kits delivered in person - click here
(4) Two kits delivered via U.S. mail (to the same address) - click here

If you need more than two kits, OR if you are ordering any Stampin’ Up! products along with your kit(s), please contact me to work out the cost and shipping.

Additional Product List

• Taken with Teal Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Rose Red Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Pretty in Pink Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Old Olive Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Chocolate Chip and Old Olive Stampin’ Write markers ($3.25 each)
• Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set ($36.95)
• Dazzling Diamonds glitter ($4.50)
• ½” circle punch ($5.95)
• 1 ¾” circle punch ($15.95)
• Flower trio punch ($15.95)
• Paper snips ($9.95)
• Bone folder ($6.95)
• Stamp-a-ma-jig ($11.95) (optional)
• Stampin’ Dimensionals ($3.95)
• SNAIL adhesive ($6.95)
• 2-Way Glue Pen ($3.50)
• Pop-up Glue Dots ($3.95)

If you have any questions, please let me know!

The Write Stuff class kit by mail

Now available for purchase is this kit using the Write Stuff paper collection to make a set of four cards (including envelopes) and a coordinating gift box.

Cost of the class: $20
If you order the Well Scripted stamp set from me, you get the class for $15!

Click here to purchase the kit (plus $3 shipping). If you wish to order the stamp set as well, or any other products, please contact me first so I can arrange your payment and shipping. The ink used in the kit is Soft Suede, which is not included with the kit but is available for $5.95 plus tax and shipping.

Special offer: Place a $50 online order via my SU site and get the instructions for this kit for free!

All offers outlined here are good ONLY through March 12, 2010. You will receive your kit by the end of the month.

Please note: Because I did not design this kit, I cannot sell it to Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. For more information please email me at loririder@verizon.net. I intend to design my own kits from now on, and I will make those instructions available to demos on my Diva Designs for Demos site. Stay tuned!

OCC sketch, Color Throwdown

I'm back from vacation! We had a great time in Mexico. Maybe someday I'll get some photos up, but not this week. I had no choice but to schedule my stamp club for the Friday after we got back, which was yesterday, so there has barely been time for anything else.

I did need to do my card for the latest challenge over at Our Creative Corner. Linda is wrapping up her hostess month with a fun sketch challenge, so be sure you check it out. I hope I didn't tinker with this one too much - it kind of took on a life of its own! I also played along with the Color Throwdown challenge. Of course I had to tweak that one as well - hopefully no one minds that I used vanilla instead of white with my pretty in pink, chocolate chip and old olive.

I tried something different with my background shapes by using the Top Note die cuts. I wanted to stay SUO and not use Nestabilities so that's how I ended up here. What do you think? The paper is from Sending Love. I adhered these to a 5.5" square panel of chocolate chip cardstock, then wrapped this wide striped chocolate chip ribbon around the panel before I adhered it to a 5.5" square vanilla card base.

One thing I wish were different with this card - I think the focal image should be bigger. The balance looks a bit off to me. But I didn't have time to start over so I went with this anyway. The flower is from Friends 24-7, stamped with chocolate chip and colored with pink and olive markers. I used the scallop trim border and corner punches on the chocolate chip layer. Once I'd adhered that panel with dimensionals, I had room to add a knot of ribbon to the right of the image.

The sketch indicated something in the upper right and lower left corners. I first put the two pearls in the upper right, figuring that I would balance them with a third pearl somewhere else. That ended up going on the sentiment, which is from Think Happy Thoughts. Isn't it cool that the flowers from the DP fit perfectly inside the flowers on the Flower Trio punch? You can only punch one at a time, but it looks super cute and gave me a great place to put my pearl.

When all of this was done, I felt like I needed one more olive green something, somewhere. I tried a few things but ended up tying a Playground button to the ribbon with linen thread. It's a very big ribbon treatment, but it really fixed the balance problem with the green. That's one thing I love about stamping and cardmaking - I'm always learning new things, and I think this card taught me a few things.

That's it from me - now go take a peek at all the other wonderful creations from our fabulous team! And have a wonderful weekend!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #22

I have a little bit of a different challenge for you this week. Right now, as you are reading this, I am relaxing with Todd in sunny Mexico on a second honeymoon (and a very early celebration of our 10th anniversary in September). I'm sure that I'm having a great time! So in honor of our trip, I have a photo from one of the hotels where we're staying for your inspiration this week.

I used some old and new stuff on this card. The leaves come from the stamp set Paradise, which I've had since July but I'd never used it. I combined pacific point (retired In Color) with crushed curry (current In Color), old olive, and whisper white. The squares in the pool influenced my layout and my choice of the grid DP. I wanted to be sure that I used a lot of white, so I went for a CAS style with some open space.

The sentiment (from Whimsical Words) is framed out with Nestabilities, and then I added the cut-out leaves and the popped-up flower (which comes from the retired hostess set Itty Bitty Buds). The bottom of the card still seemed to need something. I first added the scalloped border, but then I wanted to bring some color to it and had the idea to glue on these skinny little cardstock strips. I really love how it looks - just a bit of graphic pop. Three silver brads in the lower left corner and I was done.

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!

Anne

Chris

Donna

Julie

Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment here with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC22. Have fun and look for the next challenge in two weeks!

To Be Loved

This week over at Our Creative Corner our awesome hostess, Linda Coughlin, gave us a challenge that - at least for me - lived up to its name. We are supposed to find something we've had for a long time but have never used, or haven't used in a good while. The challenge in this for me goes back to my efforts to mostly use Stampin' Up! products on my blog. I struggled with knowing what to do because I just don't have much SU stuff that's old at all, or old and unused. Once I gave myself permission to use some other products, this card came together very quickly.

The whole card started with the papers. I confess, I am a paper hoarder. I have SO much. I'm really trying to make use of what I have, but these Daisy D's papers were sitting around unloved, even though I always thought they were gorgeous. Since I love the fact that SU's products always coordinate, when I use other stuff I find myself figuring out tricky ways to get around not having an ink that matches as well as I'd like. In this case I used American Crafts chestnut embossing powder and Versamark. (The cardstock is by Bazzill.)

I also found some stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms that had been terribly neglected. I stamped the Sophisticated Swirl backgrounder directly onto one of the papers, then embossed it and used it for the background. The sentiment is a stamp that I had to have when I saw it - so why haven't I used it? It's a wonderful quote. I embossed it onto another of the patterned papers and then cut it out with Nestabilities. I created the layers behind the sentiment by cutting out a couple more of the same shape then cutting them apart and fitting them behind the sentiment.

Originally I thought I would stamp an image and maybe color with Copics, but I didn't even get that far. I realized that one of the papers had these gorgeous circles that would look stunning cut out. For the center I used a kiwi kiss button and some skinny satin ribbon that was in my stash. When I put the card together, I did something that I'm not sure I've ever tried before - putting the sentiment under another layer. I didn't plan it out that way - it's just the way the pieces fit together the best, but I love the result. It allows the circle to stand out but somehow features the sentiment at the same time. I decided not to add anything else to my card - and in this case I think that was exactly the right call!

I hope you will dig through your stuff and find something old that calls out to you for this challenge. I enjoyed doing it, once I figured out what I wanted to do! And don't forget to visit the OCC blog to check out what other wonderful creations our team came up with this week.

Last chance for February card kits!

I'll be ordering the materials for the February Card Kit of the Month this weekend. I can extend the deadline a bit for any latecomers - let's say, by Saturday night at 10 pm Eastern - but that will be the absolute cut-off. If you missed my post about the kit, click here for all the info!

Hey, it's me...

I know you are probably tired of me saying this, but it's really, really true this week... I am so busy!! I haven't had much time to stamp, apart from some cards you'll see on my blog in the next week or so. I made this card a few days ago and thought it was a good time to share it. I made one similar for my dad's birthday - his didn't have the little flowers and pearls, though!

My idea with this card was to make something different out of the new bird punch. I used the Bella Bleu DP and punched a couple of the branches, then from the same paper I punched 7 wings that became the leaves. I glued them right on top of the tiny leaves that are already on the branch. You can't tell this because I put the Boho punched flowers (with Pretties Kit pearls) on top, but it's possible to attach the "leaves" so they completely cover the original leaves. Try it and see - it's very cool!

I finished my card with a Top Note cut from basic black textured cardstock, a kraft taffeta ribbon, a sentiment from the SAB set Vintage Labels, and the frame from Great Friend. I just love the color scheme of vanilla, kraft and black - I think it's so elegant.

OK, it's back to work I go. Thanks for stopping by - I'll definitely be back on Saturday for the OCC challenge so come check that out, too!

Rawhide Hearts

It's a new month and that means a new hostess over at Our Creative Corner. For this week's challenge we are to make a masculine valentine card. The card I'm sharing was actually used at my last club meeting, so it's on the simpler side, but it was a hit with my stampers. My layout was inspired by this card.

This was our technique card (we always do one new technique at club) using the technique called faux rawhide. The tutorial I used can be found here. Tip of the day: I learned the hard way that when the tutorial says to put a "few" drops of reinker on your waxed paper, that means 3 or 4 drops, not 10! That much ink just made a big globby mess.

The heart (from what else, I {Heart} Hearts) was stamped on very vanilla cardstock in ruby red and soft suede, then cut out and mounted on a vanilla panel with dimensionals. The faux rawhide background was pierced in the corners and the sentiment (from the SAB set Whimsical Words) adhered inside a Hodgepodge Hardware frame. And that's pretty much it! I think the clean lines, textures and colors would appeal to most men. Maybe not my husband... but those of you who know Todd are probably well aware that he isn't like most men. ;)

That's it from me today. Go check out what everyone else on the OCC team has created - I'm sure you will be inspired to play along. Have a great weekend!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #21

ETA: We had a little mix-up with the challenge link among the DT members. Some of us used a different photo for inspiration, but it's also really pretty. So just enjoy all the creations from the team and take your inspiration from where you find it!

Here's our first challenge for the month of February. I wanted to use something with a Valentine's Day theme and I thought these candy bars shown on the Better Homes & Gardens site were too cute to pass up - even though they are a papercraft item! I think there is plenty of room here to use hearts or not, so have fun with the challenge wherever it takes you.

For my card I pulled out from the inspiration piece the red flowers and bow, the pink stripes, and the use of text. My layout comes from this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge. I have to confess, it was kind of fun going over the top for Valentine's Day with this card!

I started out punching real red cardstock with the border and corner scallop trim punches. This was my first time using them together - I've been a little afraid after hearing the learning curve required to use these together. But I have to say, with the help of Gretchen Barron's awesome tutorial, it was almost painless. (I say "almost" because I pinched my hand in the border punch twice! OWWWW!) I used the Solid Stripes a la carte stamp (from the Occasions Mini) with pretty in pink ink and very vanilla cardstock for the smaller panel, and some of the Sending Love DP for the larger one. Then over the stripes I added this beautiful heart from I {Heart} Hearts with a pink corduroy button tied with linen thread.

I really wanted to feature words in the circle, and after trying a few ideas I settled on the I {Love} Love wheel. I used a Nestabilities circle to cut it out and created my scalloped circle with the border punch. I cut a slit between each of the scallops and folded them over to make a circle. I wanted to use the gorgeous red satin ribbon at the bottom of the card. I put the ribbon through the front of the card with the slot punch (something I rarely do - just one of those things I prefer to avoid, but I didn't want to add another layer). The bow is separate and was glued on top of the circle. So tell me... was all the effort worth it? I think this is one of those cards that unfortunately looks better IRL. I do like how it turned out, though.

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!

Anne

Chris

Donna

Julie

Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment here with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC21. Have fun and look for the next challenge on February 18!

JFF

This is my motto this morning: "just for fun." Is "JFF" my invention or do those of you who text (I don't, LOL - not yet, anyway) use this already? Anyway, I decided that it's been way too long since I did a challenge purely for the fun of it, and today was the day to rectify that. Actually I did two challenges: the sketch challenge on SCS and the color challenge on Stampin' Connection (which I can't link because it's a forum for demos only). These colors were really fun to play with so you should try them even if you're not a demo: dusty durango, bashful blue, basic black, basic gray, and whisper white. When I saw this I thought, "Five colors!?! Now this is my kind of challenge!"

I started out with the main image panel. I wanted a stamp that could somehow incorporate all five colors, and I managed to do it with this image from Asian Artistry - let me tell you how! I inked the flowers with my dusty durango marker, then the stems with a basic gray marker. And then, I shaded the bottom and sides of the stems with a basic black marker before stamping on bashful blue cardstock. Finally I added some highlights to the flowers with a white gel pen. I used a similar technique for the bird: I inked it with the basic gray marker (omitting the bamboo around it), shaded with the black marker, then highlighted with the white pen. The bird is cut out and popped up on top of the same image stamped in black, then circle punched.

To finish my card I made the background with a technique I've been wanting to try. I ran dusty durango DP - the sheet that's solid - through the Big Shot with the Perfect Details texture plate. Then I sanded over the embossing with a sanding block - because this paper has a white core, the white will begin to show through. The gray panel is retired DP from A Walk in the Park, and the sentiment is also retired - from Hugs & Wishes. I used the modern label punch and the Movers & Shapers die there. Finally I added three black vintage brads and a strip of white satin ribbon.

Well, what do you know - that WAS fun! ;) Now I have more stamping to do... getting ready for the first DDIC of February tomorrow. I'm sure that even though I'm on a deadline, that will be fun as well. So be sure to check back tomorrow for a timely challenge I hope you will enjoy!

February Card Kit of the Month

As I mentioned last week, I'm going to be offering a card kit on the first of the month. Since it's February 1 it's time to launch my first kit!

With this card kit you’ll receive complete instructions and all the consumable supplies needed to make 6 of each of these card designs – a total of 12 cards. The price of this kit is just $15, including envelopes. Please note that I can only ship to the U.S. at this time.

If you purchase the monthly kit, you will also have the opportunity to purchase the coordinating stamp set at 15% off retail price (tax and shipping not included). This month the featured stamp set is Vintage Vogue from the Occasions Mini.

Vintage Vogue stamp set (wood-mount) regularly $23.95, with purchase of kit $20.36
Vintage Vogue stamp set (clear-mount) regularly $17.95, with purchase of kit $15.26

The rest of the products used in making these cards are given in the list below. If you have all of these then you’re ready to go, but just let me know if you’d like to order any of these items. You can also use the kit to make your own cards with the supplies you already own.

Please get your orders to me by February 12. You will receive your kit before the end of the month.

Lori Rider
loririder@verizon.net
978-486-8102
divastamper.blogspot.com

To purchase, please choose your option:
(1) One kit delivered in person - click here
(2) One kit delivered via U.S. mail - click here
(3) Two kits delivered in person - click here
(4) Two kits delivered by U.S. mail (to the same address) - click here

If you need more than two kits, OR if you are ordering any Stampin’ Up! products along with your kit(s), please contact me to work out the cost and shipping.

Additional Product List

• Soft Suede Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Soft Suede Stampin’ Write marker (from In Color marker set, $17.95) – optional
• Very Vanilla 5/8” grosgrain ribbon ($7.95)
• Short & Sweet stamp set ($17.95)
• Jumbo 5/16” brads ($7.95)
• Silver brads ($6.95)
• Eyelet border punch ($15.95)
• Paper snips ($9.95)
• Bone folder ($6.95)
• Paper-piercing tool ($3.50)
• Mat pack ($9.95)
• Clear blocks A ($3.95), C ($6.95), G ($4.50), H ($8.50)
• Stampin’ Dimensionals ($3.95)
• SNAIL adhesive ($6.95)
• Pop-up Glue Dots ($3.95)
• Mini Glue Dots ($4.95)

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know right away - I've tried to think of every possible detail, but since this is my first kit, I might have overlooked something!