There are certain images that I can’t resist - chandeliers, chairs, hula bunnies, windows, and apparently cityscapes. When My Favorite Things released their Die-namics skyline border die, I HAD to order it the first day. Didn’t use it as soon as it arrived, but at least one was MINE. Loved all the DT samples and saved them for inspiration. My plan was to use that die to make New Year’s cards. So that didn’t happen. At least I have 11 months to design that card lol. And I still have lots of time to design some anniversary, vacation, thinking of you and missing you cards with that die - but for now I’ve got this little beauty for your viewing enjoyment.
Here’s a closeup of the glittery skyscrapers. I was so happy that my less-than-stellar photography skill actually captured the sparkle.
So…did you notice the window frame? It’s the Grand Madison window die from poppystamps and it is fabulous. I decided to shade it a little using my Copics. I started with N0, then a slight dab of N1, blended out with N0 and then 0. LOVE how it turned out. The comparison photo shows an untouched wiindow frame and then my shaded window frame. Click on the photo to get a larger view. Click here to see a single view of the untouched window frame, and click here to a see a single view of the shaded window frame. Cool isn’t it?
Stamps: TAC Bookoo Blessings (loved the funky name of that set)
Paper: TAC Heavyweight Premium White, SU! So Saffron, Not Quite Navy, Yoyo Yellow text weight paper (retired a l-o-n-g time ago) and So Saffron designer series patterned paper
Ink: SU! Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy - brayered in that order to create the night sky; sentiment stamped with the Not Quite Navy
Copics: window frame only (N0, N1, 0)
Accessories: Big Shot, Poppystamps Grand Madison Window Die, MFT Die-namics Skyline Border Die, Marvy Uchida 5/8 inch circle punch and post-its (to mask the moon area), clear transparency sheet (to create the glass in the window), Pentel white gel pen, and foam mounting tape
Challenges entered
At Joan’s Gardens Weekly Challenge #3 - create an outdoor scene, using a window or door
I WON!!!
Posted on January 19th, 2012 by kellyrae
Filed under: Copics, My Favorite Things | 10 Comments »
Stop the presses; two posts in one day! I popped over to The Outlawz to see this week’s CAS challenge and immediately had to make a card. I don’t have store-bought baker’s twine but the magnificent frugal crafter has an awesome tutorial on how to create your own baker’s twine, so I have a stash of about 12 colors from which to choose.
The variegated white and colors of baker’s twine reminds me of the huge lollipops I’d get at Disneyland every summer. For my card I decided I would savor that memory and create 3 of my most favorite flavored lollipops - green apple, banana, and black cherry - can you say yum? I used a 1 3/8 inch circle and punched out three disks of sticky sheet. (Note to self - next time punch out regular cardstock and then cover it with doublesided tape - that punch will recover…some day.) I punched out a fourth circle from scrap paper, folded it into quarters, unfolded it and marked the center with a large black dot. I placed that scrap circle under one of the sticky circles and was able to start pretty much in the center. I then just started winding the twine around that center point, all the way to the edge, pressing firmly at each winding, to ensure the sticky adhesive was capturing the twine. Worked great.
Used my friend Diane’s tip for creating ‘air’ bows (I don’t have a bow-ease, but making air bows are pretty quick and easy - hold up your ribbon in the air, create two ‘bunny ear’ loops next to each other but kinda close to one end of the ribbon, and then tie those loops together. Instant easy bow - thank you Diane).
Stamps: Fiskar’s The Sweet Life
Paper: DCWV Yellow #2, and white and kraft from my stash
Ink: Memories Black
Accessories: EK Success 1 3/8 inch circle punch, SU Designer Label (retired), kraft gingham ribbon, glue dots, and foam dimensional tape; Big Shot, large dots Cuttlebug Folder
Posted on January 15th, 2012 by kellyrae
Filed under: CAS (Clean & Simple), Card samples, Challenges, Techniques, The Outlawz | 5 Comments »
Last week’s CAS challenge at The Outlawz was to use tags in our creations. Tags and ribbons are the most difficult of embellishments for me to use on a card and I can’t quite figure out why - I LOVE to see them on others’ cards. Mine, not so much. Regardless, my card here was made using all SU products (although most are now retired) and I have both a wee tiny tag and a wee bit of two different ribbony thingys.
The wee tiny tag was made by double punching from the SU Word Window punch. First I punched the right rounded edge and then used temporary doublestick tape to adhere the right edge to a scrap piece of copy paper and then re-inserted the tag so I could punch the left edge to be rounded as well. This technique shortened the Word Window cutout from its normal 1 1/2 inches down to slightly less than 3/4 inch. Alas, no photos of the step-by-step for you, but I did take a closeup of the finished tag.
Okay, so I responded successfully to the CAS challenge (and now the pressure was off), but then I started playing with the leftovers on my crafting space (i.e., you know, the kitchen table). I decided to jazz up the design a bit. My overall muse was (and is) my dear cyber friend Bonnie Szwalkiewicz. She always has the most amazing, delightfully embellished cards. So with her general style in mind, I replaced the cardbase layer with kraft, used my Martha Stewart deep edger punch to create a lattice in the blush blossom layer, dry embossed the barely banana layer with the textile Cuttlebug embossing folder, and moved the sentiment from the cardbase to a matted and popped up scalloped oval (which was very lightly stamped with the flower from the focal piece). Gotta say while I liked my original CAS version, I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE my jazzed up version. I hope you do too.
Stamps: SU! Looks Like Spring (flower), Simply Said (sentiment)
Paper: TAC Premium Heavyweight White; and SU! Barely Banana, Blush Blossom, Crumb Cake (aka Kraft), and patterned paper design Spring Flowers
Ink: SU! Cameo Coral, Barely Banana, Always Artichoke
Accessories: SU! Word Window, Large Oval, and Scalloped Oval punches; MS Deep Edge Lattice punch; Big Shot and Textile Cuttlebug Folder; foam dimensional tape, green gingham ribbon, silver cord, large sponge dauber
Posted on January 15th, 2012 by kellyrae
Filed under: CAS (Clean & Simple), Card samples, Challenges, Stampin' Up!, The Outlawz | 3 Comments »
For the third week of my guest designer gig for the CAS Challenge group at The Outlawz, we were to use this photo as inspiration. I picked out the red mittens and the background greenery with spots of white peeking through to design my card. I’ve had velvet paper in my stash for years (maybe 9?), saving it for just the ‘right’ card, and what could be better than cosy red mittens? I used Palette New Canvas (white ink) to stamp a little snowflake on each mitten - no way was I going to actually sew those babies. To create the mitten ribbing at the bottom of each mitten, I cut a scrap of red velvet paper and ran it through my Fiskars crimper. To cover the seam between ribbing and the main hand part, I used a bit of white lace (and bonus! that actually matches the inspiration photo…LOVE when chance answers design). Okay, you might be saying to yourself - this isn’t Clean And Simple - but it really is. Only 3 elements, no extraneous embellies, and how much more simple can it be to use a fun patterned paper for the background layer?
And how did I create those lovely mittens? I used the SU Wide Oval Punch for the main hand part and the wing from the SU Bird Punch for the thumb. One of the absolute BEST parts of the blogosphere is the sharing of ideas and even step-by-step tutorials by our industry’s creative stars. Jackie Topa is one such scintillating star. Definitely take time out to visit her blog. The FREE mittens punch art tutorial was a sample of her FEE tutorials. The link to the page is here and you’ll see the download link to the right of her mitten sample card.
I had a last little scrap of patterned paper so I decorated the inside of the card too!
Stamps: MFT Who’s That Girl Get’s Cozy With Cocoa (I actually cut apart the front sentiment so I could stack the words - you can do that with clear stamps just as easily as with rubber stamps)
Paper: Red velvet paper (from my 9 years old stash, not a clue who makes it); scrap white cardstock; SU! Cherry Cobbler; TAC Vintage Holiday patterned paper
Ink: Palette Jardin Moss, New Canvas
Accessories: SU! Wide Oval Punch (retired), SU! XL Bird Punch, SU! Large Oval Punch (retired), SU! Scalloped Oval (retired); lace ribbon from Making Memories Dyable Vintage Ribbon collection; Fiskars crimper; foam dimensionals
Thanks for stopping by.
Posted on December 18th, 2011 by kellyrae
Filed under: CAS (Clean & Simple), Challenges, Christmas, The Outlawz | 3 Comments »
You bet! This is my card for my second week as guest designer for the weekly December CAS Challenges over at The Outlawz. If you haven’t yet signed up as member, click on the link and give it a try. The members are funny, warm, charming, inspiring (and those monthly prizes are not too bad either).
The week’s challenge is All That Glitters!! We were to use glitter (loose, stickles, glue etc.) on our CAS creation…and not just a dot here and a dot there…GLITTER IT ON!!! Don’t forget to click on the photos to see a bigger version. My ‘glitter’ is in the form of glittery cardstock for the punched elements. To help balance the glitter, the card base is a textured teal cardstock. To position the tree top so it ends just above the window opening, I traced the square opening onto the card front and then it was easy to adhere the scalloped square using the penciled lines as a guide.
Stamps: SU! A Cardinal Christmas, TAC Thinking of You
Paper: SU! Bermuda Bay; Cor’Ordinations Glitter (Sunshine, Winter White, Chartreuse)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: EK Success 1 3/4 inch square punch; Marvy Uchida mega (pink) square scalloped punch; Paper Shaper Large Country Tree and Small Country Star
Posted on December 11th, 2011 by kellyrae
Filed under: CAS (Clean & Simple), Challenges, Christmas, The Outlawz | 2 Comments »
