Sneak Peek - Betsy's Blossoms and Floral District / SSC #256 / My Challenge #22

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Hey y'all. Happy Tuesday. It's rainy and gloomy here in the DMV and I'm fighting the migraine (that is threatening to hit full force) it has brought me. :(

You guys know I love the peeps over at Stamping 411 and all the great sketches they have for us. They really motivate me to step out of my Scaredy Cat self and stretch myself creatively. Well they have another great sketch this week and as soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to make something with it.

Here's today's card-

Thank You Card with all new Betsy's Blossoms and Kindness Matters stamps and Floral District DSP

This card is a little of a departure for me. I rarely use DSP as a complete background. I looked back over my posts and it looks like I've only done this 9 times for full cards and 3 times for 4 x4's out of about 160 cards/projects. I tend to use it more for an accent/element. Geesh! I probably wouldn't have nearly so much old DSP if I did this a little more often. LOL! Another departure for me is the use of Rich Razzleberry. It's the first time I've ever used it all, no cards, no projects, no accents, nothing. Poor R.R. must have been feeling so unloved. The colors/design are also a little bold for my cards, but I went with the DSP for my color choice. Ha! I guess I should change that first line to say "This card is a BIG departure for me!"

This is a pretty simple card all in all. Rich Razzleberry base, Floral District DSP, (First time it's getting used but it def won't be the last. Love every design in the pack!) Daffodil Delight (another lonely c/s color) for the mat and a little Baja Breeze joins the other two colors for my floral accent.  I stamped my sweet little bird in Baja Breeze twice on c/s, using one to cut out the wings which I popped up with dimensionals, and once on a post-it note. I then cut out the one on the post-it note to "mask" my stamped image for two reasons. 1- so I wouldn't get ink on it when I stamped my other images and 2- so it would give depth to my stamped panel where it looks like the bird is flying "in front of or over" the floral image.

I used the sentiments from Kindness Matters for the front and inside of my card. I got this set for free during SAB and am finally getting to ink it up. :) I used R.R. to stamp my sentiment and one of my "must-own punches", the Word Window Punch to punch it out. I punched individual flowers with my BoHo Blossoms Punch. I'm so glad both of these are hanging around in the new catalog!!! I curled the edges of the flowers up with my stylus, adhered them together with Tombow, added a little pearl (another under-utilized item) and adhered them all to the card with more Tombow. The right side end of the sentiment is elevated with a dimensional as is the Daffodil Delight layer. All other layers in my card utilize Tombow.

Here's the Stamping 411 sketch I used for my inspiration-

I stuck pretty close to it just changing the orientation and moving the sentiment and embellishment over to work with the orientation change. If you haven't played with the great gals over at Stampin 411, this is a wonderful sketch to start with! One of the things I like most about their site (other than the great sketches!) is they give dimensions for their cards and all the layers to help with your design. I don't know about you, but that's one of the things that takes me the longest to figure out! What a time saver to not have to guess, and cut and then re-cut! Thanks Ladies!!! <3

Here's the inside-

Once again the sentiment is from Kindness Matters and is stamped in R.R. I stamped the flowers in R.R. and D.D. and then let Tink have her way with them. It's been far too long since I just let her have her way. You know me, it just hurts me to not have a little something pretty on the inside. Why shouldn't the inside be as pretty as the outside?

For those of you new to my blog, You will see Tombow used a lot. My team-mates tease me about this all the time, even promising to break me of my Tombow addiction (or compulsion) if you will, especially before I begin my Convention Swaps. It's a pretty good bet that the only time you will see SNAIL used on one of my cards is to hold down ribbon. I use Sticky Strip for the "major" stuff, Dimensionals for elevation and Mini-Glue Dots mainly to adhere ribbon or embellishments. Most people ask me why I take this extra step especially since the SNAIL is sooo much quicker, not to mention less messy. Due to the humidity in the area I live, I've had "Snail-Fail" before on cards/projects I've made and stored. (I store all the cards I make for my blog until I either sell them or have an occasion to give them to someone. Sometimes that can take a little while.) Having found card elements in my storage box separate from their cards I would never want that to happen on a card I gave to someone and certainly not on a card I had sold. (Horrors!!!) I read a post a year or so ago about someone who gave a card to a family member and when they picked it up off the mantle to show a friend it fell apart. :'( How sad!!!! Please, don't get me wrong....I think SNAIL is a great product, I just don't think it works for me where I currently live. I know if I give you a card that I've Tombowed, those layers are staying put!

That's all I have for you today. Hopefully it's sunny where you are today and if not, that today's card brings a little cheer your way! If you liked today's card, feel free to leave a comment. I love hearing form you. If you liked it and want to +1 or Pin it, I've put the buttons on my sidebar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too. :)

Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.


Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

A Little Smooch, A Challenge, and A Lot of Love - Monday Makeover Challenge/Personal Challenge #16

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Hey y'all. Happy Thursday! Hope you all are having a great week. Sorry I missed yesterday, but my daughter's not feeling well and I didn't get home from the hospital until 4:30 am so I slept most of the day. Lol! That's what happens when you're up for 23 hours straight!

Well, for today's card I have a challenge card for you. Now that my buddy Jason's back in Yuma, it's time for me to resume my Personal Challenge cards. For those of you that are new here, I challenged myself at the beginning of the year to do a challenge a week as a way to stretch my creative boundaries. I have to say it's been a lot of fun! I did a few in advance for when he was here, but now it's back to a regular schedule.

This week's card is for Paper-Crafters Library's Monday Makeover Challenge. It's a work from your stash challenge to do your take on a previously done card from their archives.

Here's my challenge card-

Flip-Up card with Summer Smooches DSP and Flowers

When I saw the sketch I knew just what I wanted to do. Love when that happens! Do you just love that DSP? I do! It's only available as a preview this month. After that you'll have to wait until June to get your hands on it. I turned my card on the side from the original card, added the central panel of DSP and added a pull-tab instead of the ribbon. The other change is I made it a flip-card instead of a regular style card.

Here's the challenge inspiration card-

My biggest inspiration for this card is my daughter J. She's going through a rough time right now and I wanted to make something for her that was bright and cheerful and would remind her just how much I love her, unconditionally.

I started with a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 base piece of Whisper White c/s. When I saw the inspiration piece, the folded ribbons on the edge reminded me of a pull tab and I thought "Why not have the center section lift up to reveal a message hidden underneath?" So that's what I set out to create. This was the first time I've tried something like this and to be honest, I don't think I've seen any others out there like it. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out but I have to say it works Great!

I used a much smaller piece of DSP than in the inspiration piece and I used it to anchor my focal piece. I used a 3/4" piece of DSP from our Summer Smooches Collection to go across the top. I then took my central piece of DSP from the same and using my Simply Scored Tool I scored it at 3/4", then reinforced that with my bone folder to make the fold crisp. Then I was able to lay it over my anchor piece and it created a flap. I checked it and guess what? It worked!!!! You know what I did then right? Yep- *Happy Dance*

Next came the flowers. Since I didn't plan on putting my sentiment on the center panel, that left more room for flowers. I decided to make 4 and to layer them with all the bright, fun colors in the DSP. I didn't have the die to make the flowers Andrea used so I followed the challenge and worked from my stash. The two smaller flowers are from my BoHo Blossoms Punch, the reminded me of her smaller flower. They were the easiest. I just had to choose the colors I wanted.

For the upper flower I used my Fancy Flower Punch and stamped out 3 different flowers. Then for those of you that know me, I did something very out of the box... I misted the flowers and then crumpled them up. I know shocker right! (Boy the Scaredy Cat in me was working overtime on this card!) I wanted something a little unexpected and for my daughter to see I was trying something that was hard for me, since she's trying something hard right now too. Not nearly the same, but she'll appreciate the symbolism. I rotated the layers so you cold see all the colors and then used Tombow to hold all the layers together. For the bottom flower, I used my Scalloped Circle Punches and instead of crumpling them I used my paper-snips to make individual petals. I used more Tombow to hold the layers together here too (and all the small flowers as well). Instead of brads or jewels for the center I chose to use colored buttons. These are from Stampin Up's Brights collection. J had just been looking at them on Monday night and had told me how much she liked them. I thought they would be the perfect addition to her flowers. :) I adhered them with Mini-Glue Dots and then adhered all the flowers with dimensionals for a little added touch.

Since the ribbons reminded me of a pull tab, that just what I added to the bottom. I used my Rounded Label Punch to create one. Since it's double sided it also eliminated the need to cover up any raw edges on the inside of the card. Score! I then added the sentiment from Teen Tiny Wishes, secured it with more Tombow and the front of my card was done.

Now you know how I like the inside of my cards to have a little something extra besides just the sentiment, since there was no inside, just the space under the flap, that's where it went. I was limited in space, but had just enough room to put the image and sentiment I wanted.

Here's the inside-

I used two stamps from the Sprinkled Expressions set I got for free during Sale-A-Bration. It's not available anymore, so I hope you were able to get your set. It had just the right sentiment. Sometimes we forget to tell those people that are important to us, that we love them just the way they are. I guess we just assume they know how we feel. I added a little bling with my Two-Way Glue Pen and some Dazzling Diamonds and my card was done.

I don't know about you, but I often wonder how many attempts it takes other crafters to get their projects just right and ready to show. I was so excited that this only took one attempt! Especially since it was a new concept for me.

Want to know a secret? I went upstairs, took my pictures and then sat down to write my note to my daughter. I knew it was going to have to be short, so I made it short and sweet and then closed my flap...
I'm sure you can guess what came next. Yep! you could totally see my note at the bottom of the flap. SMH. Back to the drawing board! It was already after 11 at this point, but I went back down to the craft room and set about fixing it. Since my flap was secured to the bottom piece and I wasn't about to re-do the whole card I cut a new base piece to fit just below my DSP piece. I re-stamped the image and the sentiment and secured it over the original base piece and if you didn't know about the boo-boo you probably wouldn't even notice it.

Well, that's my card for today. I hope it inspires you to try something new today, whether it's a new card style like this one or a challenge.

I hope you liked today's card, but I really hope my daughter likes it. I hope you'll take the time today to remind someone you love, just how special they are to you, "just the way they are".

If you liked today's card, please feel free to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you. You can also +1 or Pin it. I've put buttons on my sidebar for your convenience. Friends and followers are also welcome. :)

I hope you'll come back tomorrow for my End of the Week Technique. It's one I haven't tried before.

Till next time-

Remember- Life isn't about Waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

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Triple Treat Welcome

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Hey y'all. Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Mine was full of fun as my best guy friend and I spent it out and about with friends. We went out with some of his classmates Friday evening and didn't get in until 3:30. Been a while since I was out that late. Saturday night we celebrated a friend's birthday and had lunch yesterday before I ran errands and cleaned house. Unfortunately, I didn't win the huge Lottery. Just imagine all the creative fun I could have had with that! LOL!

Another bit of excitement on Saturday, I welcomed my first team member. Jovanka got a great deal by signing up during Sale-A-Bration and I'm so excited for her. She was at the birthday party Saturday night, so I got busy and made her a little "Welcome" card to show her how excited I was about her coming on  board.

Here it is-

It uses the Triple Treat Flower, which is one she'll be getting to play with soon since she got it in her starting kit. She wasn't too sure about getting it to start with, but decided she liked it after she got her card. :)

I started with a base of 4 1/4 x 8 1/2 piece of Island Indigo scored and folded to make a 4 1/4 square card and randomly stamped the flower in the same ink, for a tone-on-tone look. I knew I was going to add the punched flower, but didn't really have a plan for how when I stamped the card. This initially gave me pause but it all worked out.

I stamped the flower 3 times, all on Very Vanilla c/s. The bottom flower was stamped in Island Indigo and punched out with the Fancy Flower Punch. The middle layer was stamped in Pool Party and punched out with the 5-Petal Flower Punch and the top flower was inked in Pool Party but then I "tap-danced" over it with Island Indigo for a different look. I didn't have the 1/2" Circle Punch, so I made-do and used the smallest flower in the Boho Blossoms Punch. I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. All three layers are popped up with dimensionals.

When I went to position my punched flower I was just going to layer it over the stamped image I had in the center of my card, but then my flower would have been at an odd angle that I wasn't real happy with. I was trying not to add too many layers because I really wanted the flower to be the focal point...

Then I saw it! The stamped image just looks like another layer underneath the punched layers. How cool was that little realization? I stamped the sentiment "just for you" from Teeny Tiny Wishes onto a scrap of Very Vanilla and punched it out with my Small Oval Punch. It fit just right! A little Island Indigo sponging and some dimensionals and the front was done.

Here's the inside-

I kept it simple. I didn't have any "Welcome" stamps that I could use like some of the demonstrators have, so I got a little creative. I used the "Welcome Baby" stamp from my Petite Pairs set and just inked it up with my Stampin Write Marker. A little sponging around the edge and Jovanka's card was done!

I know you're probably wondering where my extra little pretty is for the inside. I couldn't think of what to put in there. I was stumped. As I'm writing this I realize I could have put a few Boho Blossoms in there, but as it turns out, there wasn't any room after I wrote my note. The good news is she was excited about her card, and I'm excited to have one of my friends join with me, so she can have lots of fun and get a great discount on the supplies she already loves. Win-Win!

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked my little card. I hope it inspires you to have a little fun creating and maybe try something new.

If you liked today's card, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked it, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

I hope you'll come back tomorrow for another project.

Till next time-

Remember- Life isn't about Waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

MDS Monday-

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Hey y'all. Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I had Friday night off and made two cards I'll post here later this week, got to stamp with my best stamping buddy, April, on Saturday and just relaxed yesterday, caught up on my DVR and got ready for the Oscar's. But before the Oscar's started I made a quick MDS card for you. :)

I was inspired by my stamping with April. We did a project from our Stampin Success catalog, I'll post that soon too. Anyways we did some tone on tone stamping and it made me remember how simple but pretty that effect is. So I decided to try it on MDS. I ended up not using just the one color, but a palate of colors and I have to say it was fairly quick and easy and I'm not too disappointed with the results. Not sure it's my favorite MDS card, but I didn't feel the need to trash it either. Maybe you'll chime in and let me know if it's something I could send to someone via e-mail (which is what I often do with my e-cards) or not.

Here's today's card-

And here's the inside-

What do you think? I randomly stamped (I know...random....I hate doing that) the 3 different floral images from the stamp set I used (I think it's One of a Kind) in 3 different tones of purple and made a little layered flower using the Boho Blossoms Punch and just adjusted the sizes so they would layer nicely.

I used two different stamp sets for the sentiments. All of the items used are from my basic MDS download except the Boho Blossoms Punch which I got a while back to do another layout. Don't forget you can Download a FREE 1 month trial of our fabulous MDS program with absolutely No Risk! You can get it by visiting my ONLINE STORE.

Well, that's all I have for today's MDS Monday. Hope you liked it and I hope it inspires you to make something today, maybe with MDS or maybe a technique you haven't used in a while like Tone on Tone stamping. Remember the goal of this blog is to Just Try!

Till next time (it will probably be later today)-

Remember- Life isn't about Waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It