Be Creative

Thinking of You (with fruit) Card

Impress Rubber Stamps had these wonderfuld citrus fruit stamps last summer and I couldn't resist them.  I made this bright summery card over the..., you guessed it, summer! Totally loving gray cardstock too.

Quickie instructions: Stamp the citrus slice in different colors on white cardstock. "Color" with the Quickie glue pen and sprinkle with prisma glitter. Punch out the citrus slices with a circle punch. Adhere two of the citrus slices directly to the card and adhere the other two with dimensional adhesive to "pop" them up a bit. Stamp the "Thinking of You" sentiment in Versamark and emboss with White Zing! embossing powder.

Supplies used:

InLinkz.com

Printing Digital Elements with Different Paper

I love creating refernce charts.  I know, kinda nerdy, but it's true. So, when I came across a recent article about what type of paper works best for printing different digital elements for cards, scrapbooking, etc.--I was all over it. Definitely inspired to do some printing using digital elements, or photos, with different papers to check out the differences. Check out the article here. 

P.S. Stay tuned for an upcoming post about the color charts I've created for all of my stamping inks, glitter, stickles, liquid pearls, Mister Huey's, etc.

Ranunculas Field

Ranunculas--I recently (well, within the past year) discovered the flower and their beauty. Shortly after I found a stamp of them and had some fun trying a couple different techniques using this same stamp. The first was to emboss the Ranunculas Field image in white on orange cardstock. I decided to color in the leaves and flowers a bit and I'm loving the pinky orange tones I ended up with:

Supplies used:

InLinkz.com

The second card I made by stamping the Ranunculas Field stamp with black ink on pale blue cardstock. Again, I colored in the image using Copic markers but this time decided to leave off a sentiment. While the coloring took longer on this card, it is so very simple in design--one stamped image, color it in and your're done!

Supplies used:

InLinkz.com

Celebrate! (a birthday card)

I had this whole post written, and then, at the very end, as I was pulling up a link for the "Celebrate" stamp that I used in the card, I saw a link to a website for Laura Stoddart and realized that her work is what I thought I was getting a stamp of.

Her work is whimsical and delicate and the colors are beautiful. In fact, I have a book, stationery/cards, and some kitchen towels with her illustrations on them. Here are some samples of Laura Stoddart's work:

 Now, take a look at some of the work that Mary Claire Smith has done. (This is the artist who illustrated the 'Celebrate' stamp I purchased): Similar, right? Like Laura Stoddart's illustrations, Mary Claire Smith's designs are sweet without being too cutesy. Both have illustrated products for Roger la Borde, including note cards, photo albums, and wrapping paper. So, I was excited when I came across a rubber stamp that I thought was like the Laura Stoddart illustrations I've loved so much. But, in fact, the stamp is a Mary Claire Smith design. Regardless of who illustrated the stamp, I still think it was a lot of fun to color and create with.

The stamp I purchased is titled "Celebrate" & was manufactured by a company called Stamps Happen, Inc. I did a little digging to find out if I could locate more images but what I found is that Stamps Happen is now owned by Janlynn and I do not know if they'll be making any more stamps. This particular stamp, "Celebrate", is still available on-line and I found a couple different stamps, also illustrated by Mary Claire Smith, at SimonSaysStamp.com like this one.

Here is the card I made for a birthday at work using the "Celebrate" stamp:

Supplies used:

InLinkz.com

Wordless Wednesday (the drive home)

Loving this cupcake stamp

Here's another card I made using the same cupcake I've used on many previous cards--loving it!

Quickie Description: I used simple gray cardstock as my card base and stamped it with the crosshatch "line". I then stamped the cupcake on white cardstock and colored it in using Copic markers. I created a mask for the cupcake and then stamped the crosshatch over the cupcake. I rounded the upper right corner of the white cardstock and adhered it to the gray cardstock using dimensional adhesive.

Supplies used:

InLinkz.com

Wordless Wednesday (Hola, Señor)

Shellac French Mani

CND Shellac. Have you heard of it? It's a nail polish that is a cross between traditional nail color and gel. It is set with a UV lamp with zero drying time, high gloss/mirror finish and should last approximately 14 days without chipping! My first Shellac French Mani. I love the look and I'm excited to have a french manicure that lasts longer than a couple days on natural nails.

(Consult your local salon to see if they offer this amazing service, or check the salon locator on the CND website.)

Baptism Card and a Keepsake Ornament

On June 5th, 2011, my nephew was baptized and I became a Godmother. It is a role that I am honored to take on as my nephew grows. I didn't have a blog at that time but I want to document the card, now, that I made for the occassion:

Supplies used: The white crown and white "bursts" were rub ons from an old set that I had. I believe they are from an American Crafts book of rub ons, however I couldn't locate the book to confirm. Also, the card was created on kraft cardstock and on the front I used a green cardstock, though I'm not sure on the source of that either. Here are the rest of the supplies used...

InLinkz.com

For Christmas this year, I wanted to find an ornament to celebrate and remember Cash's baptism. The thing I like about finding an ornament is that you don't have to have a knick-knack, or keepsake, out all year round. While Christmas trees that are color-coordinated with balls, lights, and ribbons, etc, can be really beautiful, I've always loved the idea of collecting Christmas ornaments throughout the year or on travels to remember a specific vacation, or event, each unique and beautiful. I think it makes decorating the Christmas tree even more special as you remember where, why or from whom you received each ornament.

I was lucky enough to find an ornament that I liked (see below). It even had a little drawer on it and I typed out a note to my sweet nephew that I hope he will cherish and read as he gets older. The note has the date of the baptism, a message from his Auntie (me) and an Irish Blessing that reads:

May all the blessings of our Lord
touch your life today.
May He send His little angels
to protect you on your way.
Such a miraculous gift,
sent from above.
Someone so precious
to cherish and love.
May sunshine and moonbeams     
dance over your head.
As you quietly slumber
in your bed.
May good luck be with you
wherever you go.
And your blessings outnumber
the shamrocks that grow.

Wordless Wednesday (a Christmas treat for the dogs)