Blingy Monochromatic Birthday

I loved making that monochromatic card so much that I made another one! This time I also added red bling. I gave this one to my daughter who happens to be the mother of my granddaughter (the recipient of the other monochromatic card). So we're keeping it in the family. :)

I stamped several of the retired SU! Doodle This stamps on white cardstock using my favorite go-to black ink, Memento Tuxedo Black. It doesn't smear when used with Copics. I colored it using warm grays and then ran it through the Cuttlebug with the Script embossing folder. 

And then there's the bling! Blingety-bling-bling, I went nuts, didn't I? I just had to put something on all of that monochromishness, so I raided my gem collection to see if I could bring it up a notch. At first, I just did the clear gems. But it just needed something more. So I threw some red gems in and added some red organdy ribbon, and that seemed like just enough.

I used a piece of white cardstock only on half of the inside, and did a cut-out, popped-out piece on the other half since the ribbon would kind of be in the way. I think it works pretty well. I stamped and colored the inside image the same as on the outside and blinged it up, too. The inside saying is from Fiskar's Make a Wish Quotes.

I liked how these clear gems kind of went "outside the box" and spilled into the black base. I dunno, I'm weird.

So there you go! I have one more card to show you and then I need to get busy on my Father's Day cards and I need to make a baby quilt for my 5th grandbaby, due next month!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamps: SU! Doodle This, SU! Elegant Greetings, Fiskars Make a Wish Quotes

CS: Black, Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Copics: W1, W3, W5, W7

Other: Nestabilities Standard Circle Large, Classic Scalloped Circle Small, Cuttlebug Script & D'Vine Swirls embossing folders, Red organdy ribbon, Clear and red gems, Foam tape, Paper piercer, Piercing mat

Mojo Monday week 172

Wow! Week 172?!? Time flies, doesn't it?



I was in the mood to do a whole sheet of some stamped images as a background for a card, kind of a lighter version of the Double Time technique. So I used Stampin' Up!'s Doodle This set, which I think is retired. They retire stuff way too fast these days!

I used a mixture of Copics and SU markers to color the images along with a water brush, and I used an air art gun with a (SU) Basic Black marker to get the sprayed black splotches.

There is clear glitter on the main flower element and I glued a gem to the center to give it some wow.

This card has lots of cuttlebugging on it. I used the Tiny Bubbles, Mesh and Forest Branches embossing folders.

The "Thanks!" stamp is by PSX.

Thanks for looking and have a lovely day!

Great Love - ODBD

I just love the look of the word stamps in the new ODBD sets. The way the fonts change in the phrases is very pleasing to the eye, don't you think? I used the set Children of God for this card.

I chose paper from Basic Grey Cupcake Collection to complement the fancier fonts in this particular word stamp. The paper's black curly-q's made me immediately think these would perfectlyl together.

I needed something big to balance out the Jesus image on the right and chose the biggest flower from Stampin' Up's Doodle This set because of its open, fine-lined design. I stamped it twice in Brilliance Graphite Black ink on a different paper from the Basic Grey Cupcake Collection and let it dry. Then I cut the flowers out and pressed them in VersaMark ink and heat embossed them using Ultra Thick embossing powder. Then I stuck them together with 3D-Dots and added the gold gem on top using Mono Multi glue.

I wanted to add more visual interest by using some Nestabilities shapes behind the flower. For the blue scallop I did direct-to-paper with Bordering Blue ink on Brocade Blue cardstock. Then I cut it out using a Nestabilities Scalloped Oval. By doing direct-to-paper I was seeking to match the blue in the Basic Grey paper. For the yellow oval I did direct-to-paper with Barely Banana ink on Barely Banana cardstock, let it dry, and then ran it through the Cuttlebug with an oval die. Then I ran the oval through using the Distressed Stripes embossing folder. I used 3D-Dots to pop this all out behind the flower. Btw, I also did direct-to-paper on the card base - Barely Banana on Barely Banana.

For the Jesus image I stamped in Brilliance Graphite Black and heat set it so I could use markers to color it in. I used various Stampin' Up! markers to color it. I cut it out and pressed it into the VersaMark pad and heat-embossed it twice with Ultra Thick EP so it would have a smooth finish. The sparkles are actually not intentional. Just a hazard from using glitter too near EP. :-P Sometimes it gets mixed in and it's very hard to see until it melts. I'm too frugal to toss it and buy new!

The inside of the card is nothing special. I just used the same Brocade Blue cardstock that was inked with Bordering Blue and ran the pieces through the Cuttlebug with the Distressed Stripes EF. Stitched around with black thread and added some black rick-rack to bring the outside elements in.

Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Our Daily Bread Children of God, Stampin' Up! Doodle This

CS: Barely Banana, Black, Brocade Blue, designer papers from the Basic Grey Cupcake Collection, White

Inks: Brilliance Graphite Black, Barely Banana, Bordering Blue, VersaMark

Other: Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes embossing folder, Nestabilities Scalloped Ovals & Classic Oval, various Stampin' Up! markers, Ultra Thick EP, heat gun, gold gem, sewing machine, 3D-Dots, black rick-rack, Mono Multi glue

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #53

Beate's latest sketch challenge inspired this card. I kind of fudged a bit on the rules, but that's usually allowed. The important thing is to jump-start your creativity.

I have to admit that at first this card had a serious case of the "blahs".



I began with the Pixie Pink cs using the Cuttlebug "Perfectly Paisley" embossing folder. But once I got past that decision I was floundering. So I decided upon the polka dotted designer paper from Making Memories' Cheeky Collection (Abby). It was perfect! Really added some pizazz. But it wasn't enough. So I punched holes around it and just over the edges with my mat pack. Then I sewed brown embroidery thread (3 strands) through the holes, as you see. Still needed something. So I punched 2 holes in the bottom area using a 1/8" circle punch and ran a hot pink narrow organdy ribbon through and tied it.

I was going to use a sentiment for the circle in the design, but ended up deciding on a flower from Doodle This. It still wasn't enough though. So I made 3 using a different (striped) designer paper from the same collection as the polka dot paper. This is where I veered away from the challenge design.

I thought it would be fun to do like I did on my last card and heat emboss with Ultra-Thick EP. It looked really nice, but I had to keep messing with it! lol So I cracked the EP and sponged Chocolate Chip ink over it to emphasize the cracks. That looked nice, but...it still needed something. So I looked through my gem collection and found enough clear gems for 2 flowers and enough pale pink gems for one. So I adhered the clear gems to the top and bottom flowers and put the pink ones on the middle flower using Diamond Glaze. Ahhhh, that was what they needed!



Once the gems were good and stuck, I adhered them to the card with Dimensionals. I punched the bottom and top right corners with a corner punch and glued the whole thing to a piece of Chocolate Chip CS.

That's it! Phew! It feels good to have success when you think you might actually end up throwing your work in the trash!

Recipe:

Stamp: Doodle This
CS: Chocolate Chip, Pixie Pink, Making Memories Cheeky Collection (Abby) designer papers
Inks: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip
Other: Cuttlebug "Perfectly Paisley" embossing folder, Corner punch, Mat pack, Brown embroidery thread, 1/8" hole punch, Hot Pink narrow organdy ribbon, Sponge, Clear ultra thick embossing powder, Clear and pink gems, Diamond Glaze, Dimensionals

SC182 challenge

As I had hoped, I have been reaching for my new SU Doodle This set over and over again. I'm always happy when I get a lot of use out of a set. I have many sets that see little use, and I always wish I had known I wouldn't have found them as appealing before I had bought them! Plus, I'm looking for ways to use the SU Ginormous Flowers set, which I used with the Doodle This set on the squares.



This card is for sketch challenge SC182. You can see other samples from this challenge here.

I was inspired by this card's use of designer paper. I loved the card over all, but the designer paper was the thing that really caught my eye. I didn't use those colors, but I created my own "designer paper" in a sort of double time method.

I designed the paper using Tempting Turquoise, Apricot Appeal, and Green Galore inks, plus Basic Black for the Doodle This images. Then I punched out the squares by turning the punch upside down so I could see what I was punching and line the design up the way I wanted to each time. Once they were punched out I ran them through the Cuttlebug using my favorite folder, "Tiny Bubbles". Boy, do I use that thing a lot! I hope I don't bore anyone with it. I just love the look!

I then ran the squares through my Xyron Create-a-Sticker (permanent adhesive) to get adhesive over the whole backs of the squares. I adhered them to black cs. Then I adhered that to Green Galore cs.

For the center piece I stamped a sentiment from SU Happy Harmony first using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure it was placed just right. Then I stamped the big flower from Doodle This. I stamped it again on a separate piece of white cs, cut it out, and colored it with the Tempting Turquoise marker. When it was dry, I patted it face down on my VersaMark pad and sprinkled Ultra Thick EP over it, tamped off and heat embossed it. I did this twice to give it a glass-like appearance.

I cuttlebugged the Green Galore cs under the sentiment and glued that to the black. Then I adhered (I need to find a few other words for this!) the sentiment piece to it. I used Mini Pop Dots to adhere the turquoise flower to the center piece. Then I colored the little doohickeys around the flower with the Green Galore marker. At first I just made a second copy of the flower's center, colored it and Pop-Dotted it to the center. Then I had the idea to add the gem. So I glued a large yellow gem to the center of the flower. It added a bit more "wow" than just the flower center popped up.

I used Dimensionals to put the center piece on the card. I *heart* Dimensionals!

This was a fun card to make. I think this design leaves a lot of room for creativity.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:

Stamps: Ginormous Flowers, Doodle This, Happy Harmony
CS: Green Galore, Black, White
Inks: Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Apricot Appeal, Basic Black
Other: Square punch, Cuttlebug embossing folder "Tiny Bubbles", VersaMark ink, Clear ultra-thick embossing powder, Large gem, Mini Pop Dots, Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Xyron Create-a-Sticker (permanent), Tempting Turquoise marker, Green Galore marker

Doodle This cards

I needed to make a thank you card and a birthday card. So I figured I'd play around with the SU Doodle This set using an old design standby I've used many times before. The old standbys are just more comfortable to fall back on sometimes.









Basically, the directions are the same for both except for a slight difference in colors. So I'll do a generic description keeping both in mind.

Things are pretty self-explanatory for these cards. The only things I might need to explain are the order I did the main scenes in and how to cut out this flower without losing your mind. ;)

The main section was stamped randomly so that no images would touch and that there would be a comfortable amount of space between them. I stamped, then colored, then cuttlebugged. Don't cuttlebug first or you will not get the whole images when you go to stamp. Maybe that's obvious, but I'll say it anyway. I used a water brush and a few drops of ink on the lids of the stamp pads to color things. It gave a more intense color than just wiping the brush on the pads or mashing the lid against the pad to pick up ink, although that's a good second choice. Also, markers leave more streaks, which is why I use a waterbrush. It just depends on the size of the image you're going to color.

The scene was okay, but not WOW until I cuttlebugged it with the Tiny Bubbles embossing folder. Then it really had zing! It made the white CS almost watercolor paper-like in texture.

For the flower accent, I recommend using an X-Acto knife to cut slits between the petals close to the center of the flower first. Otherwise, you might cut too much off when trying to round the bends between each petal and lose a petal in the process. Ask me how I know this! lol It just simplified the process to do that prep work first.

I colored the flower pretty much the same way I colored everything else. I cut it out after coloring, but I recommend letting it dry thoroughly before cutting. Otherwise, you might rip the flower. In fact, it might be better to cut out the flower first, and then color it. Either way, be careful! This flower image is a bit tough to work with.

I glued the gems on with Diamond Glaze. I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to keep the sentiment just right. Love that tool! That's pretty much it!

Recipes:

Stamps: Doodle This, Paisley Print, Many Thanks, Birthday Greetings
CS: Apricot Appeal, Pixie Pink, Sage Shadow, Black, White
Inks: Apricot Appeal (pad and re-inker), Pixie Pink (pad and re-inker), Basic Black, Sage Shadow re-inker, Summer Sun re-inker, Pumpkin Pie re-inker, Positively Pink
Other: Cuttlebug embossing folder "Tiny Bubbles", Polka dot ribbon, Dimensionals, Gems, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Diamond Glaze, Water brush

Friendship birthday card

This card design is similar to another one I did for Amy Westerman's Sunday Sketch Challenge. I don't think she does those anymore. Nevertheless, I felt the flower from Doodle This was perfect for this design.

To do the flower, I stamped it 3 times on glossy white cardstock and cut 2 whole flowers out and the center on the third one. I watercolored them using a water brush and the Ruby Red, More Mustard, and Close to Cocoa markers, building the color intensity a layer at a time. Once everything was good and dry I curled the petals back with a pencil-type object. I connected the layers with mini Pop Dots.

For the main part of the card I used Ruby Red cs. I stamped Canvas in Ruby Red on it. For the Cuttlebugged part I used Apricot Appeal cs and ran it through the Cuttlebug using the "Birds and Swirls" embossing folder (so pretty!). Then I sponged (more like rubbed) black ink over the cuttlebugged part.

I used a black polka-dotted ribbon, gluing it down to the Apricot Appeal and black cs before adhering that piece to the Ruby Red.

I stamped the sentiment from Birthday Greetings on white cs in Basic Black dye ink and stamped one of the swirls from Doodle This in Ruby Red and then lightly sponged a little black ink on the stamp, huffed and then stamped it on the white. It toned down the Ruby Red just right. I stamped the sentiment area with the speckled stamp from Itty Bitty Backgrounds in More Mustard with a light sponging of black ink. I mounted the sentiment on black cs and used Dimensionals to adhere it to the card.

Recipe:

Stamps: Doodle This, Birthday Greetings, Itty Bitty Backgrounds
CS: Ruby Red, Black, Apricot Appeal, White, Glossy white
Inks: Basic Black, Ruby Red, More Mustard
Others: Markers: Ruby Red, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa; Cuttlebug embossing folder "Birds and Swirls", Stamp-a-ma-jig for sentiment, Polka dot ribbon, Dimensionals, Pencil for curling flower petals, Sponge