JIT magic slider

I remember when "just-in-time" (JIT) was something new in the automotive world. Now it's pretty much the story of my life when it comes to Christmas shopping. Where would I be without online shopping?

It also applies to today's card. DD asked me to make a magic slider (after I'd made this card) for her girlfriend whose birthday was back early November. Her party is today. I made the card... yesterday. See? JIT. Dang.

Can't say I whipped it up in ten minutes. Cuz my non-spatial-thinking brain still has to wrestle with the slider card concept each time. But it does get easier with practice. I'm happy with the result, it's a slider, although not 100% magic ;)

Found a sketch and some colors for inspiration and then created, stamping (in my case heat embossing) with white cuz I wanted to join the Take It, Make It December Challenge at Craft Stamper too.

DCWV December

CQC 272

I knew I needed a magic slider. The sketch had me at the star. Which led to the PTI Star Gazer Additions stamp set. Which I decided to stamp in white on black. And although you'd normally go with blues for the firmament on the colored portion of the slider, I'm not normal. That didn't feel right to me for DD's friend. These colors did.

The rest was cosmetic. Some stars sponged through a stencil onto the card front. Some star PP. Some gold stars, including one as the pull mechanism for the slider! See the tiny "pull here" up top? That has been my most used stamp of the PTI Movers and Shakers set!

So I'm curious. What percentage of your Christmas shopping did you do online this year?

There's a good deal at STAMPlorations should you still need a quick present for a crafty friend...

joyful and stuffed

Back with more fun using the Joyful stamp set from STAMPlorations. This time I played with the stocking image.

I absolutely loved hanging a stocking by the fireplace as a kid. And teen. And college student home on break. Yep. I would save it for last on Christmas morning, take it off its hook, sit on the floor and carefully inspect what was inside. "Santa" wrapped all the little goodies individually. And there was always a gorgeous apple and orange. I know now, that that was probably a leftover from the European heritage. (We here celebrate St. Nicholas  on December 6. Kids leave clean boots by the door the night before and get oranges and nuts and chocolates in them, if they were good,  then next morning.) Or it was a good way to fill a lot of space in the stocking for little money (speaking now as an experienced Mom ;) Tangent.

How about a card? Let me start by saying I took  Colour Q #266 as an inspiration. I think it's pretty obvious.

Creme cardbase with a strip of embossed brick wall, cuz, well, our fireplace was brick! A slew of stockings strung, cuz, well, I always wished for brothers and sisters. And polka dots stamped onto the center portions, cuz, well, who doesn't love polka dots?!?! Decided to string up my sentiment too after stamping it in multi tones.

And now for something completely different. And my Dad would say "it's not a Christmas card", but hey, I was inspired by this photo from Crazy for CAS #57. Notice the poufs.

Oh Blogger, how thou doth ruin photos...

I was obviously smitten with the yellow fabric. I liked the pink and a touch of blue so wanted to carry that out on my card. And the frames are a nod to the prints hanging on the wall. Even stamped a floral BG onto the pink frame in a nod to the middle sofa pillow.

I heat embossed the stocking, partially masked and polka-dotted it before masking it and the square to heat emboss the trellis pattern. Watercolored both. The thin pink frame is stamped, the other die cut. The neon fragments on the one pom pom could have should have been done without ;) And I should have included a pooch somewhere, maybe peeking out of the stocking!

I'm hooking up at:

Stamping Sensations - Christmas Stamping

Case this Sketch #99

AAA Cards - Watercolor

Hope you enjoyed. CU tomorrow.

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exploration STAMPlorations sketched: daisy (Colour Q, Just Add Ink)

If you've checked out the September release of STAMPlorations, you may have noticed some fabulous sketched blooms in the bunch too. Today I'm working with the two daisies.

Sketched: Daisy 1

Sketched: Daisy 2

Isn't that angled daisy great? So realistic. And, did you notice those practical and wonderfully-fonted (not a word, I know) sentiments? You know I'm a sucker for good sentiments. Look how fun they are to use...

I chose these challenges for inspiration:
Colour Q - #260 using these colors

and Just Add Ink #233 with this sketch.

OK, so it wasn't much of a stretch from butterflies to blooms (Paper Smooches Big Bloom die) on that banner strip... but I decided to offset them. Love the color combo with kraft. Although it photographs like a bugger.

I die cut the banner strip (by extending the PTI Wine Label die) from kraft and white. Die cut the blooms from the kraft banner. Pencilled the blooms onto the white before stamping with the daisies. A bit of stitching and a heat embossed "be well" sentiment and voila!

Drop by tomorrow if you'd like. I'll be out harvesting again, but you could increase your odds of winning yourself one of the STAMPlorations stamp sets I'm using this week. Thanks to the oh-so-generous Shery R. who creates 'em :)

In case you're interested... the peroneus brevis are behaving after Tuesday's outing in the steepest vineyard the Huff's have along the Rhine. But now I'm all prickles after wearing shorts and standing in stinging nettles all morning! I'm such a wimp, eh?

Supplies :

Paper:  CS Bringmann, kraft Neenah

Stamps: STAMPlorations

Ink :  Aladine, Memento, Versamark

Tools: banner die PTI, blooms Paper Smooches

Other: sewing machine, white embossing powder

22 to go (CTS, Iron Craft, MIM,Colour Q)

Someone please tell me again why card challenges are only open for a week??? Seems I just saw this sketch at CTS, thought "oh cool, I like that" and today it's already closing!

Miss Ellie got spayed yesterday morning (poor groggy thing) and my day was crazy just watching/helping her. But I snuck down to the basement in the evening ;)  I made six cards. SIX. I'll keep it short.

Let's just call this first one Swiss Cheese. What can I say? Everyone was doing rectangles so I had to do circles! 

I'd remembered a great 12x12 paper pack (Seen and Noted by Pebbles) I'd won last year and pulled it out to combine with some bright colored CS for "Swiss Cheese". So then I opted for the PP rectangles myself on #2. Put some vellum behind the die cut to tone down the PP.

So what else could cascade down the side besides rectangles?  How about party balloons? After struggling with their placement in a vertical design, I figured out it was much easier if I flipped the sketch ;) Added wispy strings to each balloon - fun IRL.

Make it Monday #168 was stuck in my cabeza, so pulled out the balloon stamp from Birthday Style, added some reinkers to two folded baby wipes and used it as a stamp pad to create this card. I heat embossed a stem from Garden of Life as the strings on this one.

TIP: Don't just throw away your baby wipe stamp pad - that would be such a waste ;) I pressed the ink blob to CS when I was done and die cut my sentiment from it. I also have two dry baby wipes waiting to be turned into flowers or something somewhere down the road.

And since my soon-to-be-released STAMPlorations stamps arrived in the mail yesterday and were screaming to be tried out, I grabbed the colors from Colour Q #245 (although I think looking at it on my PC now, the Starfruit color is more green - I thought it looked like yellow. Oops) and made this one. The theme of the July release is "birthday". Let me just say... sketchy, large word, wonky cake. Interested? Hop with us on June 26 to see all the stamps in action and maybe win some.

TIP: Or check out this deal here. STAMPlorations is offering the whole July release until June 20 at 30% off!

Bringing up the rear we have the oh-so-expected washi tape variation. I partially heat embossed a CHF BG on the front of my Soft Stone CS (nice stuff - NBUS) before adhering the washi and die cut. Although most of my washis are bright and bold, I went with nearly all neutrals for this card.

Done! I'm also joining the Iron Craft challenge #2 with a couple of these. I actually saw the sketch over there for the first time as part of the Inspiration Board from Mayuri's segment. That's where the B/W on the last card came from as well as the use of the turquoise/yellows in the first cards.

exploration STAMPlorations subway art: dare (CASOS, SSS, Colour Q)

Howdy folks! I've got a trio of posts coming at you in the next three days, showcasing some of the newly released STAMPlorations sets. Thanks to the generosity of Shery R. owner of STAMPlorations (and also Stamping Royalty 2014!) you could win yourself one of the sets if you come back here on Wednesday and leave a comment. Just sayin' ;)))

So, I grabbed my first set SUBWAY ART BUILDERS: Dare.  You can use these as a block (a la subway art). Or cut them apart and you've got some great individual sentiments too.  My fave is that last one with the sketched letters.

Then I hit blogland and picked out a couple challenges, CAS on Sunday #33 Sketch, Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Die Crazy and Colour Q #241.

Taking my cue from the sentiment "follow your heart", here's my CAS card.

I used pigment inks to unevenly ink up the reverse of  a circle stamp (going for a watercolor look) and to swipe some color onto scrap CS which I then die cut for the hearts. Stitched them on and added the sentiment - doesn't its size work perfectly for a card front? I think it would work well on the inside of a card too...

That's it for today.  Come back again tomorrow, OK?

Supplies for follow your heart

Paper:  CS Bringmann

Stamps: circles PTI, sentiment STAMPlorations

Ink : blues Inkadinkado, gold Tsukineko, brown Clearsnap

Tools: heart die Amuse

Other: sewing machine

Pattern Play Day 2 revisited (CQC)

Here's another idea from Pattern Play, this one from Laura B., queen bee of line stamping as well as one of the first cardmakers that I remember stamping on PP for that little somethin' extra.  I didn't go with lines, but rather "baby blocks."

Die cut letters, adhered temporarily, stamped "blocks", stamped sentiment, stitched letter stickers to MORE PP and adhered.  Stitched and inked panel and adhered to cardbase.

Also playing at Color Q :

Thanks for looking.

Supplies welcome baby boy:

Paper: cardbase Buttinette, PP October Afternoon

Stamps: block Hero Arts, sentiment Paper Smooches

Ink : Hero Arts, Jenny Bowlin, Aladine, Versafine

Tools: scissors, sewing machine, alpha die Sizzix

Other:  letter stickers Bo Bunny

tag a la sharon h. (Ellen Hutson, Color Q, Craft Room, Catered Crop)

If you love new techniques and have a bit of time you really should check out the 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist over at Ellen Hutson's Classroom.  Ellen does a take on Tim Holtz's 12 Tags.  But there's lotsa pink!

My tag is inspired by Sharon H.'s tag on Day 1.  Hers is elegant and shiny and really girly.  Mine is... well mine.

I must thank this challenge for getting me to ink up my brayer (bought one awhile back - everyone has to have a brayer, right? - hadn't used it til now).  TIP:   Distress Inks are marvelous for lots of things.  Brayering is not one of them apparently.  Notice the spottiness to my BG.

I used the colors from Color Q #167:

Sorta.  Used DI Evergreen Bough cuz it's kinda green/gray for my BG.  Brayered it onto a Sizzix embossing plate and dry embossed the white CS.  See why I wouldn't recommend using DI for this???  Spritzed with copper Perfect Pearls mist to give it a little sheen.  Cut the top of the tag with a Spellbinders die for interest. TIP:  Don't do this if you plan to stitch around the edges.  Note the word "plan"...

Well the stitching happened cuz I decided to make this a gift-card-holder-tag (Ellen did this on her tag for Day 12 - Duh!  What a super idea!)  I had dry embossed a piece of red CS for the poinsettia petal strips and used the rest of it for interest on the front and a pocket on the back of the tag.

Got the idea for the poinsettia here at Basic Grey.  Obviously not mailable, but this is a tag.  It works.

Used two colors of green for the die cut snowflakes for the center of the bloom (and on the back pocket) and a cool brad too.  Mounted it on a die cut PTI green bloom for a bit more interest and "hold".  TIP:  Always have a bottle of Glossy Accents on hand.  It dries shiny (guess that's the point of "glossy" accents, eh?) but holds better than any other glue I know.

Whew, long post.  I'm joining the fun at:
Craft Room Challenge - Make a Tag
Catered Crop - Tag, You're It

Appreciate your visit.

Supplies for Merry Christmas:

Paper: CS TPC Studio, American Crafts

Stamps: sentiment 7 Gypsies

Ink : Distress Ink, Jenny Bowlin

Tools: brayer, dies - snowflakes Marianne Creatables, border Amuse, tag top Spellbinders, sewing machine, embossing plate Sizzix

Other:  pearl, sheer ribbon, glue dots, brad 

using up scraps (Color Q, Tuesday Alchemy)

Lotsa energy last week to get Turkey Day ready and play in challenges.  Not much left for this week...

Put together some tags using up scraps that I keep moving from left to right and back again.  I'm sure you know how that is.  Kept the nice fresh color combo from Color Q in mind too.

Used some tear-off calendar pages to cover the die cuts (was going to enter Passion for Papertrey's challenge to use  numbers... missed the deadline) to keep up a theme cuz the rest got pretty crazy!

Also parking these over at Tuesday Alchemy where the theme is #42. Anything Goes.

On a housekeeping note... if you'd like to win these wooden ornaments, check out this post.

And here is a photo of our set Turkey Day table as promised in this post.

Thanks for visiting.

Supplies for tags:

Paper: tons of scraps

Stamps: BG WMS, sentiment Inkystamp

Ink : Distress Ink

Tools: dies:  PTI, Spellbinders, Sizzix, MFT

Other: washi