A Manly{ish} Card

I know!!  It's like a record for me, three posts in one week.  I'm working on cutting back on several commitments so I can gain back some more crafty time, I'm really missing it.

So, today I have a manly-ish card to show you.  The -ish is because it has pink in it, and swirls, and pearls.  But I still think it can be considered manly.  Here, take a look:

I made this card for my dad for Valentine's Day.  Yep, I still exchange cards and small gifts with my family.  I'm always up for any holiday that involves presents! :)  So, is it too girly?  Aldo thinks it it.  But what does he know?  There's not a single bow on this one!

I started off with a smokey shadow cardstock base that I double stamped with the largest flourish from my PTI Fancy Flourishes stamp set.  Then I added a doily, that I misted with pink Tattered Angels mist.  Honestly, I didn't expect it to come out so pink, but it is Valentine's Day after all.  Once it dried, I stamped it with the same flourish pattern in black ink.  I die cut several book page layers with MFT's jumbo scallop border die, staggered the layers, and slightly curled them with my fingers for added dimension.  I added a section of pleated black ribbon to hide the seam between the border layers and the doily.  The star was die cut out of more smokey shadow cardstock and stamped with watermark ink using several stamps out of the Grunge Me stamp set.  The sentiment was stamped in black ink.  I couldn't help it and added three back pearls on the top right corner, it needed a little something up there. :)

Well, there you have it, my manly-ish Valentine's Day card.  What to you think?

Supplies

Cardstock: smokey shadow - PTI

Stamps: Fancy Flourishes - PTI, Grunge Me - PTI, Boy Basics: Game On - PTI

Ink: tuxedo black - Memento, Versamark watermark ink, pink Tattered Angels mist

Dies: jumbo scallop border - MFT, star - Spellbinders

Etc: black pearls - Pizzazz Aplenty, paper doily - Hobby Lobby; pleated ribbon

Happy Valentine's Day

Hello, hello, is anybody out there?  My poor blog has been so neglected and abandoned.  But, I'm back today and, hopefully the next several days, with some Valentine's Day cards that I put together this weekend.  I apologize in advance for the terrible lighting in the photos, I took them at work with a borrowed camera.

Today's card is a quick and simple card that I cased out of one of my own creations.  I find that it helps to look back at my own stuff when I've been away from my papercrafting room for a while.  It helps get the creativity flowing again. 

I love the simplicity and clean lines of this layout.  The hearts were die cut out of PTI's true black and raspberry fizz felt and book pages from an old book.  I attached them to the card base using a straight stitch line from my sewing machine.  The sentiment is from Verve's Heart on Fire stamp set and topped of with a single pink rhinestone.  The bottom border was made using PTI's raspberry fizz cardstock and a Fiskar's border punch.  The ink on the paper hearts is Memento's Rosebud.

Thanks for stopping by today, I'll be back with another card later this week.

Courage

Happy Thursday everyone!  I'm back today with a quick and easy one layer card.

I made this card using the Grunge Me and Fancy Flourishes stamp sets from Papertrey Ink.  I stamped each of the images using various brown toned Distress Inks and embellished a few of the images with different colored pearls and rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.  The sentiment, stamped in Rich Cocoa ink, is from Blue Skies by Verve.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm still here!

I know, I know, it's been forever since I posted on here.  It's just that I really haven't done anything crafty in quite a while.  But, I've cleaned off my desk and I've done a little bit of reorganizing, so I'm hoping that will help me get my mojo back.  Meanwhile, here's a card I made a couple of weeks ago that I never got around to posting here.

Aldo and I are in the process of SLOWLY redecorating our room and we've gone with a corral and grey color palette.  I had pulled out some of my copics to help up decide on shades and those colors were the inspiration for this card.  I embossed a piece of Smoky Shadow cardstock with my Seeing Spots cuttlebug folder, stamped a piece of Berry Sorbet with my Newsprint stamp in Vintage Cream, layered some velvet ribbon and bling over the layers and added my butterflies from Blue Skies last. 

Earlier this week, I visited Archiver's while I was in Austin and I found tons of inspiration for my scrapbook for the cruise we took 2 years ago.  Yes, I'm that far behind. :)  I purchased a kraft 8.5 x 11 binder from Hampton Arts.  It's meant to be one of those everyday life journal/scrapbook type things, but I like the size and I like that the binder itself can be customized.  I took plenty of pictures, bought lots of paper and embellishments, and I am now ready to start scrapbooking our trip.  I already did one page, yay me!  And, I'll post it on here as soon as I remember to photograph it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Maple Leaf

Happy Sunday, ya'll!!  As I'm writing this post, I'm sitting here watching the Mavericks beat the Heat for the championship.  Go Mavs!!!!  So happy they won!!

Okay, onto the crafty stuff.  I found this beautiful photo on Pinterest that inspired me to create today's card.

I pulled out my maple leaf die, my distress inks and sponges and got to work.  First I die cut the largest maple leaf out of cream cardstock, stamped my image from The Craft's Meow in black, and sponged the card using Antique Linen, Barn Door, Weathered Wood, and Black Soot.  I used a gold paint pen on the edges and added Pumpkin glitter on the dandelion.  I finished off the card with some gold ribbon, a dark orange button, and some orange rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Another Case Study

Hi guys, I'm back with another Case Study card today.  This month's featured guest is Sarah Martina Parker.  I love her cards and have followed her for a while now.  I made the card a few days ago and completely forgot to post it! 

I chose to keep the layout and the shabby chic feeling of the card and several of the elements Sarah used in her card, but I changed the color scheme.  I used some paper from Cosmo Cricket for the background and added stitching to the middle panel.  I used a library card, like the CASE card.  I stamped mine out using PTI's library card stamp and then rounded out the edges.  The cute fairy with the dandelion is from The Craft's Meow and I absolutely love her!  I stamped her in red on cream cardstock and added a touch of sponging with Antique Linen.  The metal brads are from Hobby Lobby and the crochet rosette was made out of a scrap piece of trim.  Lots of elements went into this card, but I like it.

Prickley Pear will be releasing new rubber stamps on May 21, be sure to stop for the release!


Paper: cardbase - Neenah cream cardstock; Cosmo Cricket - Circa 1934, Social Club
Stamps: Butterfly Kisses - The Craft's Meow; Library Card - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Tuxedo Black - Memento; Red Barn, Antique Linen, Tea Dye - Distress
Accessories: wrinkled seam binding; pearls - Pizzazz Aplenty; brads, crochet trim - The Paper Studio; burlap string - May Arts

Blue Flowers

Hi! I'm back with a card that's quickly becoming one of my favorites.  I stamped some cream cardstock with black script, then stamped two flowers from Prickley Pear's hibiscus stamp set.  I colored the flowers with copics and then sponged around the flowers with distress inks.  I distressed the edges with my scissors, tore the bottom of the paper off, and then sponged it again with distress inks.  The patterned paper underneath is from Graphic 45.  I finished the card off with black saddle stitch ribbon and pearls.

Thanks for stopping by!

Prickley Pear Release Day 2

Welcome back to the second day of Prickley Pear's new releases.  Today we're featuring a new butterfly set that coordinates with the previously released butterfly die.  This set coordinates perfectly with the first butterfly set that was released earlier last year.

For today's card I went for a softer vintagey look.  The background papers are from Basic Grey's Capella line.  For the library card, I created my own on the computer and printed it out on cardstock; I rounded the corners and distressed the edges for a very aged look.  I stamped my butterfly onto the die cut using green distress ink and then sponged the edges with tea dye.  I adhered it to the double bow using Aleene's tacky glue for a good hold.  The sentiment is also from the new stamp set, you can see the all the clear sets here.  I added several embellishments to the card: two pearl stick pins from Maya Road, a small pearl flourish, a metal flower brad, and a crochet flower with a brad.

Be sure to stop by the Prickley Pear blog for more details on the new sets.  Thanks!

Prickley Pear Release

Welcome to the first day of the Prickley Pear's new clear stamp and die release.  We've got several sets to show you over the next several days so be sure to stop by Prickley Pear's blog to see who's featuring the new sets.  Ready for some eye candy?  Okay, here goes:

Today we're featuring the previously released scalloped circle die and the new coordinating stamp set.  I opted to keep the card rather clean and simple this time around.  I die cut the scalloped circle, stamped it with one of the coordinating borders and centers and added a few rhinestones for dimension.  The sentiment is also from the same set.

Be sure to check out the other design team members' blogs for more previews.  Thanks for stopping by!

Pink Fairy

Howdy, peeps!  I'm back today with a card I made for iCopic's design team call.

Joline's wings were stamped onto vellum paper, colored with copics and lightly sprayed with glimmer mist before attaching them to the circle panel.  Joline was colored with copics, fussy cut, and attached onto the circle panel for added dimension.  The patterned papers are from SEI and MME.  I added a few crystal swirls and individual gems to add some shine.

Thanks for stopping by!

Flowers on Vellum

Hi guys, I'm back today with a Prickley Pear card for you.

To make this card, I stamped the image with Staz On ink on vellum and colored the image from behind with copics.  Be sure to use darker colors to get a more vibrant look.  This card came together very quickly since I used a premade card base and used some paper from my scrap pile.  A few rhinestones, some twine, and a button finish off this card.

Don't forget to sign up for Prickley Pear's Round up.  Every week we search your blogs and galleries and highlight a few cards.  Each month one random winner with get some Prickley Pear goodies.  So what are you waitin for...

Hello Friend

Howdy, I'm back again with a card for this week's MFT sketch challenge. 

This card was super easy to make,  I kept the same color scheme from the CASE Study card I and just pulled paper from my scrap pile.  I happened to have this cute a la mode girl colored and waiting for me so it was just a matter of cutting and embellishing.  Yay for simple cards!!  The sentiment is from PTI's Embellishments stamp set.

Two posts in one day, not bad, huh.

Case Study

Hi guys, long time no blog, huh.  I'm back today with a card for this week's Case Study challenge.  This week's inspiration card kept running through my mind when I sat down to craft yesterday and I happened to have some butterflies colored in the inspiration colors so I just went with it.

I tried to keep as true to the card as possible without directly copying the sketch.  The orange paper is from pink paislee.  For the bottom scalloped panel, cut a piece of Hawaiian Shores cardstock, stamped my sentiment in brown ink and added two score lines on either side of the sentiment before punching the border with a Martha Stewart punch.  Some felt ric rac, an orange button, and brown twine completed this panel.  The white panel is stamped in brown with PTI's Fancy Flourishes.  I stamped the largest butterfly from Blue Skies, colored them with copics, cut them out and attached them with glue dots.  Some brown bling on the butterflies and on the bottom scallop finished off the card.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Birthday Gabby

We celebrated my friend Gabby's birthday last weekend and this was the card I gave her with her gift.  Since the colors were so strong, I tried to keep the layout simple.  I took inspiration from several PTI designers in making this card.  First I stamped some Hawaiian Shores cardstock with images from Delightful Doilies in white ink and Versamark, I rounded the top corners and sponged the edges with more white ink.  Then, I die cut the number from Smokey Shadow cardstock and embossed them with my Seeing Spots embossing folder.  I stamped the sentiment from Big Birthday Wishes onto vellum and embossed two lines on the vellum before attaching it to the card.  To attach it, I hid the adhesive under the sentiment.  A few strategically placed gemstones finished off the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Happy Birthday VLV

Hi all, I'm back today with another Viva La Verve card.  I created this card to add to my stash for the next boy birthday we need to attend.  I always seem to have a distinct shortage of masculine cards. 

The blue Bo Bunny paper was punched on both edges with my MS star border punch and matted onto PTI aqua mist cardstock.  The two panels are from Imaginisce's Birthday Bash line.  My star was die cut, sponged, stamped and then I added three chocolate pearls from Pizazz Aplenty.  Three more chocolate pearls on the right hand side finish it off. 

What type of cards do you find yourself running short on?

Viva La Verve Week 3

Hi guys, I'm back with week 3's sketch for Viva La Verve.  I've got to admit out of the three card I've made so far, this one's my favorite.

I went for the pink and craft combination again, it seems to be a favorite of mine right now.  The paper is from MME's Lost and Found collection and I've incorporated it into all three cards.  The tag pulls out to reveal a sweet message, lol.

I went for a polka dot theme again both on the background paper and the tag.  The pocket was made using impressed kraft cardstock.  After scoring the pocket, I die cut the front opening using PTI's mat stack 4 die.  The left over piece was flipped and attached to the top of the card.  The tag was also cut using the same die using more raspberry fizz cardstock and stamped with more polka dots.  The top of the tag was made by die cutting a piece of scored and folded kraft cardstock.  The swirls on the kraft piece were stamped using the hearts on fire scrolled heart from Verve.  I stamped the sentiment from Verve and added three pink rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty for some added sparkle.  The start was stamped using hot pink dye ink, cut out, and attached with foam dimensional adhesive.

Did I mention this was my favorite card? Lol.  Don't forget to stop by on Jan. 29 for the first day of Prickley Pear's 4 day blog hop.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Viva la Verve Week 2

Hi guys, I'm back with week 2's sketch card.  Once again, it's a Valentine's Day card using two shades of pink and craft cardstock.

The card base was made using raspberry fizz cardstock.  The background layer was letter pressed using craft cardstock, white hybrid ink, and PTI's giga guidelines impression plate.  On top of that, I layered another piece of raspberry fizz stamped with polka dot basics II using white hybrid ink.  The scrolled heart was stamped onto vellum, die cut, and embellished with fuschia pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty.  A shiny, satiny ribbon finishes off this card.

That's all I've got today.  Thanks for stopping by!!

Gettin Sketchy

Hi, I'm back with a second post today!  I know, I'm surprised too. :)  My Favorite Things has changed their weekly challenge to a weekly sketch challenge.  I had some extra time to stamp this weekend and I decided to play along.  Here's what I came up with:

The dancing girl is from MFT's Dancing the Night Away stamp set.  I colored her with copic markers, brushed her skirt with candlelight Shimmers paint and added a rhinestone belt to her dress.  Once my image was die cut, I sponged it with Aquatic Splash chalk ink and added just a touch of distress ink to the edges.  I sponged a scrap piece of paper doily with distress inks and finished off the card with three silver pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty.

Since I'm off from work until Thursday, I plan on playing along with Verve's Viva La Verve weekly challenge, too!  :)  Look for those later this week.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Birthday Girl

Hi guys!!  Did you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday?  We had a great time celebrating with my family!  A few weeks before going home, my aunt celebrated her birthday.  So I made a card for her, but I didn't post it here because I know she likes to stop by every once in a while.

I made this card CASEing THIS gorgeous card by Melody Rupple.  She has the most amazing, romantic style ever!  I love her use of layers, lace, and sponging.  These cute a la mode girls are currently some of my favorite stamps! 

Thanks for stopping by!

What's Cookin'

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!  I decided to post this card in honor of today's cooking and eating frenzy! Lol.  Although I won't be cooking up a storm today, since we'll be driving into El Paso, I WILL be indulging in the eating frenzy part of it. :) 

I made this cute card using MFT's a la mode girl, called What's Cooking.  Aren't these a la mode girls just the cutest!!  I've been stamping and coloring up a storm with them, so you can expect to see lots of a la modes for a while.

I pulled out my long neglected Prismacolors and OMS to color her in.  Her apron is paper pieced using some patterned paper from my new Circa 1934 paper pad.  I added some liquid applique to her ruffle and used Paula's glitter technique for her bowl.  I added a  few cream pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty to the patterned paper for some interest.  The vanilla and red stripped ribbon in from Stampin Up and the hat pins are from Maya Road.

I hope everyone has a wonderfully blessed day!  Thanks for stopping by!