Friday, May 26, 2017

Fashionista!


Hello again and happy Friday!  I hope you're gearing up for an exceptional weekend, and for my American friends, a nice long Memorial Day holiday as we pay tribute to those who gave their lives for our freedom.  

I'm back with another card-upon-request, this one for a fashion school graduate.  I think this vintage kraft, red, black and ivory is one of my favorite color schemes!  My friend asked for a dress form image and some toile paper or fabric, and with that as a starting point, this is what I came up with.  


In addition to fabric, fitting a pattern requires a measuring tape, some straight pins and scissors, a spool of thread and some machine stitching.  Once the garment is completed, it is tagged and hung on a rack...you can see the thought process behind the choices for this particular design and these embellishments.  :)


Since I used to make most of my own clothes, I really LOVED making this project!  It was a lot of fun!  I was pleased with the way it turned out, and I hope you like it, too!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Sunshine and Rain!


It seems like it's been months since we've had a good, soaking rain here in Northeast Florida, but finally in the last several days we have gotten some relief!  It rained for the entire morning yesterday, and was as dark at noon as it had been at 6:30 in the morning.  I'm not complaining!  I'm usually not a fan of dreary weather, but we desperately needed it!  

The sunshine and rain are what inspired the colors and background for today's card.  The distress oxides are really fun to work with!  I misted some watercolor paper, then used a paintbrush to lift the colors from a craft sheet and apply them to the paper, allowing the blues and greens and yellows to run together, misting again with water, allowing the paint to swirl, and setting the colors with a heat tool.  Then I dipped a really wet brush into the inks again, tapping it against another brush to splash puddles of color onto the page, drying between colors and repeating the process to add several layers.  I really love the way it turned out!  It definitely has the look of raindrops.  

While it was raining you could almost see the thirsty earth drinking in the nourishing water, and afterward everything was bright and green and refreshed.  That's how this beautiful background makes me feel!  


Everything I used for today's card is available from Stamp Simply:

Friday, May 19, 2017

Happy Birthday, Travel-Style


Happy Friday everyone!  I'm here with a birthday card that was commissioned by a friend.  It's always fun to stamp for someone else, and maybe a little intimidating too, to put your creative heart on the line!  She specifically requested a colorful, travel-themed card with maybe some plants or greenery.  This is what I came up with.  I hope that she and her sister for whom it was stamped both like it!

The colors were inspired by the map paper in the background, punctuated by some black and white skinny striped washi and a skinny diagonal striped washi in the same bright green, which are part of a set of 5 rolls.  


Inside, there's a touch of nature via a strip of bird and flower washi tape.


Any girlie card needs just a touch of glitter, dontcha know?!  

Have a great weekend!



Thursday, May 18, 2017

Thank You!


One can never have enough Thank You cards, right?!  It's nice to have extras on hand and lately I have been running low, so for today's post I grabbed several Stamp Simply clear stamp sets and some Graphic 45 Safari Adventures designer paper.  The layout is an adaptation of one that I saw on Pinterest.


It's barely visible, but there are four patterns of designer paper in this design:  three green prints and the beige one that the sentiment is stamped on, which is the reverse of one of the others. The horizontal element of the sketch was made by layering designer paper, seam binding, and some crochet trim that was laced with brown jute thread, tying the ribbon and thread into separate bows and then adding the paper flower embellishments.  


After I had adhered a vertical strip of designer paper to the inside panel and stamped the sentiment, I had an "oopsie."  To cover up a smudge of ink I added an additional strip of designer paper, and thankfully it doesn't look too obviously like a patch job.  :)  

Supplies from Stamp Simply:

Friday, May 12, 2017

Rise and Shine!


It seems like chickens are more popular than ever nowadays, and everywhere I look I'm seeing cute chicken images on everything from napkins to the front lawn of the house down the street!  I even have a few friends who are raising their own...free-range eggs are my go-to breakfast lately, so I just had to make a chicken card!  


I used my old-fashioned click thingie to make a greeting for the top left corner of the card, paired with a sun brad and a chicken brad.


I've had those brads and this designer paper for a while, but the bacon, egg and toast brads are new to me and it was fun to combine old and new for this project.


Remember that I mentioned last week that I had big plans to shop the Eyelet Outlet booth at the Expo?!  Well, here are the eyelets and the paper flowers that I purchased...


...and the washi tape (lots of vintage goodness and other fun stuff!)


...and only a few sets of swirly bling and enamel dots since I already have quite a few of those.  :)  (Thank goodness for my design team discount!)  Dawn was there to "help" me shop, and she is a good enabler!  :P

I'm looking forward to continuing to play with all my new goodies this weekend!  A friend commissioned me to make some cards for her, and hopefully I can share them next week!  See you then! Have a great weekend!

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Colorful Encouragement


When you're troubled or not feeling well, a colorful card with a cheery sentiment is like paper sunshine for the soul!  That's what I am hoping this card will be for my friend who's going through some exceptionally tough times right now.  I know she's worried, and this scripture will hopefully bring renewed strength and comfort to her weariness.  


This Graphic 45 paper is so lovely that I have a hard time with layouts because I just don't want to cover it up!  Here I chose a sentiment which fits within a small die, so most of the beautiful print underneath is still visible.

The wire stems of these flowers are great for attaching a fussy-cut butterfly so that it looks as though it is floating along in the garden.  The Wink of Stella over the Copic coloring gives the butterfly wings that glistening, powdery look that they have IRL.

Supplies from Stamp Simply:

Friday, May 5, 2017

Catching up on a Latte!


Hello everyone!  Happy Friday!  Yay for the weekend, right?!  I'm so excited to be spending this weekend at the Stamp/Scrapbook Expo in Orlando.  It is gonna be so much fun to meet my Eyelet Outlet friends IRL!  I'm so thrilled to get to meet Suzanne, Dawn and Georgiana.  Dawn and I met online via Splitcoaststampers and have been virtual friends for ~10 years!  Finally we are gonna get to meet face-to-face!  O Happy Day!  

In honor of this momentous occasion I made a "catch up on a latte" card using some Eyelet Outlet coffee brads, red rhinestones, and red oval sticky-back bling.  I love how the oval in the cups of the stamped image are echoed in those oval jewels!  


To carry the theme to the inside, there's a single coffee bean to go along with the sentiment. 

So by the time you're reading this, we will have already been sharing a cup or two and having a blast!  If you're in Florida, we will hope to see you there! 

Have a great weekend!


Thursday, May 4, 2017

Wishing You a Wonderful Day



Hello, friends!  I'm here today with a feminine card that would work for either a wedding, anniversary, or birthday.  This beautiful silver paper is so elegant and lovely, especially with the addition of lace, tulle and a pearl-centered bow.  


This asymmetrical layout is SC567.
And here's the inside...the sentiments are stamped in silver.


Stamp Simply supplies: