Poppies

While browsing through Pinterest the other day I found this tutorial showing a wonderful way to make a card using  the SU Poppy Embossing Folder. I'm not very skilled at using an X-acto knife so my card didn't work out as well.

 I made some modifications and here is my card :

I used the largest Sizzix Labels 4 die to cut the gold pearl paper, Then I stamped the sentiment onto white paper  and used the next smaller size Sizzix Labels 4 die to cut the stamped white  paper .

 

I embossed my flowers onto a piece of paper and then cut around them with a scissors. Then glued them onto the card.

This is a close up of the embossed poppies on the card. 

Midweek Throwdown Challenge - Clean & Simple

Over on the Stars and Stamps blog at Operation Write Home this weeks Midweek Throwdown Challenge is.......

Make a "Clean & Simple" card with texture. This is the card that I made for the challenge.

Clean and Simple cards always scare me. I like layers and lots of them. This is the same card with layers.

I used:
SU Elements Of Style
Sizzix Corner Flower #2 die
Cuttlebug ? Embossing Folder
Distress Inks in colors, dusty concord, peacock feathers, and wild honey
Vivid Black Ink 
unknown papers from my stash

Looks Like My Dad's Favorite Plaid Shirt

Sketch # 216 at "Unscripted Stitches" looks so interesting that I decided to play along with this  weeks challenge.

For this card I used my favorite Tim Holtz stamp set. The vintage truck seemed to be a perfect  fit with this brown , plaid , paper from the  DCWV  "Natural Stack". I layered it on a copper colored pearl paper and a dark brown cardstock.

The  sentiment stamp and the edges of all the papers were sponged with Distress Ink, vintage photo. The truck was stamped with SU Espresso Ink.

I used a Spellbinders oval die and a  Spellbinders Label Four die.

 This is the first time I have used Liquid Pearls in the colors Onyx Pearl and Hot Cocoa. Love them!

Here is the Unscripted Stitches #216 Sketch

The  background paper on this card is definitely a masculine print and brings back memories of my Dad wearing his favorite , brown plaid, wool shirt.

OWH Sketch Challenge #178

This is my card for the Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge #178.
I used a SU embossing folder
Distress Ink "Peacock Feathers"
Natural colored card stock
Design papers DMD "Thrift Store"
Sentiment Hero Arts

This is the  OWH sketch #178

A Card Using Geometric Shapes

This is a card I made to enter in the SOS (Shop Our Stash) Challenge. The theme for this challenge is to make a card using geometric shapes.

Used from my stash:
DCWV  Blossoms & Butterfly Stack designer paper
Sizzix Flourish, Floral w/Leaves die
Assorted pink papers from my scraps
Ribbon from my quilting stash
Sentiment & scalloped oval (I did hundreds of these last winter when I was bored)

This card, using circles, isn't a card I would mass produce but.......I did use my Stampin Up Owl Punch in a rather unique way and I thought I would show you how to make these little circles.

I used a strip of scrap paper and inserted it in the owl punch so the two teeny tiny circles were at the top edge of the paper strip. Punch these.

Remove the strip and reinsert it into the owl punches large circles. See how you adjust the placement of the paper in the punch so the teeny tiny holes are a bit off center. Punch these.

This photo is a bit fuzzy but you can see the finished double punched circles. For this card  I used all of the sizes of circles on the owl punch and a 1/2" circle punch also.

When I made this card I removed the lower rectangular piece and cut of the scalloped edge. I can see on the photo that I didn't get the corner glued down enough before taking the pic.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Comments are always welcome.

My #1 Dog Card

  

For this card I used the #1 Dog digital image from Hambo Hoedown and I used colored pencils.

I used the Cuttlebug "numbers" embossing folder for the background and accent strip was embossed with a dog bone & paw print embossing  folder.

I used a small circle punch to cut out the 3, red,  paw print embellishments that are in the upper left hand corner.

I made this card for the Operation Write Home Midweek Throwdown Challenge.  The theme for this weeks challenge is "Cards 4 Kids". OWH makes cards and sends them to the military serving overseas. They in turn send them to their families in the United States. 

I am also entering this card in this weeks Hambo Hoedown Challenge. The theme for this weeks challenge is " Use A Number". I used a Hambo Hoedown #1 Dog image and the background has Numbers on it.

I am also entering this card as my #3 homework assignment for OWH Design Bootcamp. The lesson for the 3rd session is "Any Way You Slice It" or Composition & The Rule Of Thirds".  This lesson is on creating good compositions. We learn where to place the focal point in our composition.

OWH Design Bootcamp-Creating A Strong Focal Point

This lesson teaches us how to strengthen our design by intentionally creating a "Focal Point" or center of interest.

I used a digital  butterfly image from Hero Arts. I stamped over it with a script stamp and vintage photo distress ink. The butterfly was colored with pencils and gamsol was used to blend the colors. I used a gold card stock to frame the background layer and  the same gold paper to frame the butterfly image.  I think this helps to give this a strong focal point.When cutting out the butterfly I cut the tips of the wings "outside the box".
     I only have four more color theory lessons to do in order to be caught up. Today is my day to craft so don't be surprised if I have another Design Bootcamp post  later today.

Butterfly Birthday Card

This is my card for the Stars and Stamps Tuesday Tutorial. The challenge for today is to create a window card.
 I've had this butterfly die for about 3 years and I remember purchasing it at the stamp conference in Mesa, AZ. Obviously it was an impulse buy because when I was making this card today and decided to use this die the package was still sealed.  Now that I see how cute it is I'll be using it  often.

  

Butterfly Die- Spellbinders
Circle Die-Spellbinders
Embossing Folder-Sizzix
Sentiment-Hero Arts
Paper-Martha Stewart 8x8" paper pad
Glitter Paper ? purchased at Joann's
Distress Ink-Broken China

OWH Sketch #177

 

This is the OWH  sketch #177.

Now the  challenge for this week is to make a card using this sketch.

 This is my card  using sketch #177

 I used
  Colorbok Designer paper- Natural Expressions
  Stampendous sentiment
  I didn't have brads in the size and color I needed so I punched 1/2" circles, glued them down and then    used  Glossy Accents.     

OWH Design Bootcamp-Basic Color Theory

Way back in January,on  the Stars and Stamps blog  of  OWH , a new "Design Bootcamp" feature started. The first month the lesson was on "Color Theory". The first assignment for the class was to choose from one of the basic Color Harmonies, Monochromatic, Analogous, Complimentary or Colors From Nature and create a card with it.

I'm going to try to get caught up with this challenge so here is my card using the Monochromatic color harmony.
I saw a card like this on Pinterest and fell in love with it the moment I saw it.

I used my distress inks in colors Frayed Burlap and Vintage Photo and SU Espresso. Brown papers from my paper stash.

Sally's Show & Tell

My friend Sally had numerous show & tell items  to share with us when out craft group gathered, so I decided to let her have a blog post all her own.

This is Sally's Show & Tell:
Baby Quilt for new Great-Grand

Table Runner With  Yo-Yo Insert

Patriotic Wall Hanging

 

Center Panel For 30's Fabric Quilt

Beautiful Quilt Top Made From Moda Jelly Roll

Finished Quilt "Stars Over Camelback". Sally Worked On This One While In Arizona This Winter.

The machine quilting on this one is fabulous

Totally Awesome! Thank You Sally For Sharing!

Our Daily Bread Designs June Challenge

The Our Daily Bread Designs June Challenge theme is water.

 Our Daily Bread Designs sponsors this monthly challenge for Operation Write Home. ODBD will pay the shipping costs of one box of cards to be sent to our deployed heroes if 25 cards are entered in the challenge and will pay the cost of two boxes of cards to be sent if 50 cards are entered.

I used a masking technique to make this card.  Post -a -notes were used to mask off the area I wanted colored. I used Distress Inks in  the colors broken china and wild honey and sponged the ink onto the masked areas of the card. The stamp "Sail Away"  is a retired stamp from SU. The sentiment is SU "Itty Bitty Banners".

Thanks for stopping by.

Midweek Throwdown Things With Wings

This is my entry for the Operation Write Home, Stars & Stamps, Midweek Throwdown Challenge. The theme of this challenge is "Things With Wings".

The bee stamps  have never been used, until now, and they are so old that I can't remember where or when I bought them. I used scraps of designer paper and a little bit of leftover ribbon.

Sharing Some Show & Tell

Today I'll share some of the terrific show & tell items from our craft group get-together. These are only some of the items as I wasn't always quick enough with the camera.

These are place mats and bowls made by Bev. She wraps clothesline cord with strips of fabric and then machine stitches them together. Very cute and a great way to use lots of fabric from the stash.

Evy brought us each a birthday gift. She made a cute little basket and  filled  them with Snickers candy bars.

Evy made these  canvas pictures using bits and pieces of clothing from  her mom's wardrobe. The buttons, buckles and other embellishments were all from her mom's treasures.

 Last year Jeanette gave a bag of unfinished  fabric goodies to Cindy.  The goodies were things that Jeanette decided she would never finish and had cleaned out of her craft stash.  Jeanette was very  surprised when Cindy presented her with this finished pillow,which was  from that bag of goodies.

The beading on this pillow was from a beading class that we had taken at the Minnesota State Quilt Show a number of years back. Beautiful!

Later this week I'll share more of the show & tell. Stay tuned.

Craft Group Get-Together

This week our craft group had a get-together. All six members were able to attend. On the agenda for the day: Lunch, Crafts, and Show & Tell.
 
 These are the greeting cards that we made.