Bubble Bath Libby

Bubble Bath Libby, is one of my favorite digi images, she is made by Alison, of Stretch N Bubbles.  So when I saw the colors over at the Play Date Cafe, I knew right away I wanted to make something with her.  This is a first for me, but she is actually going to make it into FIVE challenges.  Whew!  I find this very exciting.  2 Red Bananas has a Banana Split Sunday Challenge "Think Round".  The Sketch layout comes from Stampin For the Weekend, and I will be using this sketch again, I really like it.  And also for Corrosive Challenges by Janet, lets go Digi, and Stretch N Bubbles is a sponsor there this month.  Practical Scrappers is looking for something embossed.  On to the recipe.  I used Bubble Bath Libby digi image, Tempting Turquoise, a paint sample, Very Vanilla and some of my foiled cardstock from my stash.  I embossed it with Cuttlebug Swiss dots and Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls Embossing Folders I won from my friend Mona at Cupcakes Creations (stop by, she is a fantastic papercrafter!)  I also used my Spellbinders ImpressabilitiesCircles, I was really trying to keep that bubbly theme going.  The sentiment was computer generated, I used some pop dots to lift the sentiment up off the card a little.  I used my atyou Spica sky blue glitter marker pen to trace the bubbles, then I painted the bubbles and the tub with Close to my Heart Create a shade paint Pearl and then I used Stampin Up Crystal effects to add some dimension to the bubbles.

 Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

Just Us Girls Challenge # 11

 

I made 2 cards for the JUGS Just Us Girls Challenge this week.  The challenge this week is to use the chalkboard technique.  Stamp your image in white ink, and then apply your chalks.  For those of you who have never tried this, the chalk will stick to your white ink.  I am so glad they suggested this challenge!  I chose to stamp this on some vellum I bought at JoAnns.  I colored it in with my Stampin Up chalks and then I used the eraser to clean it up.  I hardly ever use my Stampin Up chalks and I have never used the Eraser that comes with it.  I am so glad I gave it a try with this technique.  The eraser really cleans up the chalk residue that does not rub off, and I also used it to do some shading.

See the really neat embossing?  I was so fortunate to win those Cuttlebug folders along with a whole lot more from the JUGS challenge site last week!  Thank's to Mona from from Cupcake Creations, she sponsored the wonderful Blog Candy.  She has an interesting blog with beautiful creations, you must stop by.  There were 3 Cuttlebug folders, 4 really cool stamps, wonderful ornament gift tags she made (they are gorgeous) and a beautiful gift box she made with heat embossed snowflakes on it.  My daughter has already informed me I should put a gift card for her in the gift box.  I have a picture of all the goodies I received above.  I also want to thank Sandi from Paper Trail for the wonderful idea of using a double frame.  I saw a card on her blog where she used a double frame and I loved it, so I had to scraplift it!  I used the Spellbinders Labels 8 to make my frames.  I strongly suggest you use my links to stop by all of these sites, they all have so much to offer!  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

Winter Birds by Inkadoo

I made this card for the Just Us Girls challenge # 10.  This week it is a layout challenge, and I really like the layout so it was fun designing this card.  I used Winter Birds by Inkadoo stamp set and Night of Navy ink from Stampin Up.  This is the first time I have used this stamp set, found it on sale, then forgot about it.  For the background I used Core'dinations Cobalt Blues, and Cuttlebug Snowflakes, then I sanded it off.  I can't forget my Nesties, I used the round and Labels 8.  The stars are silver, and I used foam pop ups under all the white card stock to lift it up a bit.  JUGS has a new challenge every Saturday, so stop by and see what they are doing, the designers are top notch. Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

High Heeled Thanks

I made this card for the Just Us Girls Challenge to use Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Bashful Blue . It should also be a Thank you card.  I decided since these are not my usual colors, I would really break out of the box and not do the traditional type of card I normally would do.  I decided I would really take a chance.  I even tried to get my lay out to be a bit out of the box for me.  Not my neatly layered, equally spaced, symmetrical style.   The awesome image is from Stretch n Bubbles,   Alison offers Freebies on Wednesday for her followers if you want to give digital images a try.    I saw this shoe and thought of my boa material instantly!  I sprayed it ever so slightly with the Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Turquoise Blue, I used some of my dp that I made with the bubbles and a straw technique.  I do believe my blue is the Stampin up Bashful Blue, but I didn't have the pumpkin Pie or Really Rust so I came as close as I could.  I embossed the dp with the Cuttlebug Swiss dots, embossing folder and used the Cuttlebug Textile for the other 2 pieces I cut from my Spellbinders Labels 8 Nestabilities.  Ribbons are from JoAnns and Big Lots, and I don't know where my Thanks jelly is from.  I really enjoyed making this card, I stretched my skills and learned some new things.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

There's Magic In The Air Skating By.

The challenge calls for something reflective, like foil, along with Nina's image.  So finally, this is it!  My card for There's Magic in the Air Magical Monday challenge.  This penguin is adorable but oh the troubles I had getting him on to this card!  I made the mistake of asking my dear sweet husband, whose opinion I value, for his opinion on what I had so far.  I felt it needed to be tweaked a little.  Did I say a little?  This is a totally different card!  I like it better, but he is such a perfectionist.  My tree was too big, it would look better if I bent the edges of  the tree underneath.  When he wanted me to make jagged edges on the tree I had to put my foot down.  ha ha.  His constructive input really did help me get it just the way I wanted it though.  I used Nina's free image called Skating By, Cuttlebug Lace Tree and gold foil, the blue paper is Stampin Up and I used white embossing powder on the hat.  The star and snowflakes came from a set of confetti from JoAnns (only 1 dollar!)  I printed the penquin twice, once on white cs that I colored and cut out, then onto the blue that I attached him to.  Thats it, thanks for looking.  ~Diane

Play Date Cafe Challenge #5, and Soartful Challenges - Lovely

Welcome to the new designer at Play Date Cafe, Julie Campbell.  I went to her site A Vintage Chic and I saw all of her gorgeous work there too.  She really inspired me this week, and she has some fantastic blogs that she follows too.  That's where I found the image for this card.  The site is called Old Photo Album and she has some wonderful, free, vintage photographs!  I also had a chance to use the Bazzill jewel templates flowers and flourishes, and the  self adhesive jewels in wild pansy,  that I won through When Creativity Knocks Great Crafters Tool Hunt.   Bazzill really has it together on this system.  It makes it so easy to look like a professional when adding the beautiful jewels to your projects.  Check out my beautiful swirl, I am really proud of it!  Thank you Bazzill!   Stop by Play Date Cafe and see what Julie and all her other team members made, and you will see my inspiration.  I love the vintage look of the pearls and lace.   I just found another challenge site SoArtful Challenges, and they just happen to be using this exact image in their challenge this week, called Lovely.  I used the Cuttlebug Swiss dots folder and I made my flower from the Spellbinders round scallop die distressed with Tattered Angels glimmer mist.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

More Snowmen!

My friend want's some Christmas cards with Snowmen, so I will show you the second Snowman card I made.  I hope she likes it.  I used the digital image Snowmen from Kahwinkedink.  Labels 8 Nestabilities, Fleur de Lis Pendant and Ribbon Tags Trio Shapeabilities by Spellbinders.   Sage Shadow, pink and ivory cs and markers from Stampin Up, dp is DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy. I did the embossing with Cuttlebug Snowflakes, added ivory ribbon and LD Wedding from Scrap n Fonts. 

Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

Christmas Card in honor of Henry

A very sad story to share here today.  A fellow stamper/paper crafter has lost her son quite suddenly.  Henry Anderson was only 3 years old, he suddenly became ill and passed away.  It is still uncertain as to the cause of his death.  The kind owner of Paper Makuep Stamps, Katie Cotton, was an online friend of Henry's mom, Sarah Anderson. Katie is a mom of two boys herself and a very generous person. One of the new releases from Paper Makeup Stamps is a cute little boy fairy making a snow angel in the snow. Katie named him Henry in honor of Sarah's son and is offering the image as a digital image. The cost of the image is a mere $3.00, and the proceeds will go to the Anderson family.  Anyone wishing to contribute by purchasing this commemorative digital image can follow the links here on my blog.  I don't know you Sarah Anderson, but my heart and prayers go out to you.  I hope you will find some small comfort in knowing so many people care.  I hope some of you reading this will consider sharing this story with the links to Paper Makeup Stamps on your blogs, so this image can live on in our hearts as we raise more money for the Anderson family.  I found this story thanks to the ladies at the Just Us Girls JUGS challenge site, as they know Katie Cotton.  Thanks for looking,  ~Diane

No wonder they called it the Wonder Store!

                                       

       

               

 I made this card with the inspiration provided by two very popular challenge sites.  My friend Sandi came up with the inspiration colors of blue/green, chocolate brown, tan and cream for the Play Date Cafe Challenge.  Sandi used whimsy and humor with these very elegant colors in her challenge card, so I decided to be a bit whimsical yet elegant myself.

 The challenge inspiration at Just Us Girls (JUGS) called for some dry embossing and to make it a Birthday card, celebrating team member Dana's birthday, I hope you had a good birthday.

Now for my own personal inspiration, I found this little booklet tucked inside one of my Grandmothers old cookbooks.  I wonder how many times she pulled it out to admire all the beautiful dresses.  I collect old and antique cookbooks because I love to reading them, and cooking the recipes.  It's a great way to get a glimpse into the lives of the women of that era.  This advertising ephemera has 6 ladies in different dresses all advertising the Paragon Broadcloth dresses for 1 dollar each!  The Wonder Store must have been Wonderful!  Beautiful dresses for 1 dollar!  I added the aged tan order blank, and stamped Happy Birthday in chocolate brown on it.  Wouldn't Dana just love to get one of these dresses for 1 dollar for her birthday?  I used Stampin Up ivory, and chocolate brown.  The blue/green dp is K &Company Brenda Walton "Mira".  I dry embossed the chocolate brown cs with a Sizzix Texture plate, and the dp was dry embossed with Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder.  Happy Birthday stamp is from Warmest Regards.  I hope you enjoy this, I had fun making it!  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

Whoo Hoo!  This card was chosen for the Fab 4 at Play Date Cafe!

Play Date Cafe

This is my entry for the Play Date Cafe color challenge. It reminds me of what Autumn in Michigan sometimes looks like. I had a tough time photographing this. I am working on a greatly needed new set up for photography. I don't know if you can see it, I used the Crystal Effects to layer the leaves for a more dimensional look. I used Core'dinations on the brown tree and leaves and Cuttlebug folder Snowflakes and Swiss Dots. I cut the tree, pumpkin and leaves from Cricut Stretch Your Imagination. I added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the snowflakes. Not sure if you can see it, I used a flourish Clear stamp with Stazon white opaque ink to add just a hint of wind to the picture. I must say this was a lot fun to make and the colors really challenged my imagination. Stop over to the Play Date Cafe and see what the designers made.Below is the color challenge. Thanks for looking. ~Diane

MY CREATIVE PROCESS

This is what the finished cards look like.
These are all of my creative stumbles, failed attempts, none of these would work for me.

I am getting ready to start up in the card club again this year. I dropped out last year and gave it a break so I am excited to get back to it again. So much inspiration! We do a card swap when we meet, you make however many cards all the same, and you leave with the same number of cards, 1 from each player. It is so much fun, but I am having a hard time getting back into the swing of the 4 x 5 card format. I have been making the 5 x 7 cards for the last year and it gives me so much more room to create. I finished my cards, but I feel bad, they are not my best. I just couldn't seem to get what I wanted on to the paper.
I bring this up because a friend of mine asked me the other day "how long does it take you to make a card?" I tried to explain to her the physical making is not what takes time, it's getting the idea. Once I have the idea it's easy peasy!
For the swap I had this great idea to use some of my tie dye card stock. I cut some vase's with my Cricut and and some vellum flowers. I put these real pretty 1/2 pearls I found in the center. I don't like it, the vases are too big and they look dumb with the flower. Forget the vases, I'll just use the flowers. I cut some shapes with my new Spellbinders labels 8 die (one of my winnings from the Spellbinders contest). I embossed my cardstock with the Cuttlebug folder, then I decided to run through some stick and peel gold foil to add the bird as an element. I cut out all the birds and stuck them on the card stock and then I embossed the bird onto the card stock. Ok so I like the look of this but not the color of the card stock I chose. Change colors, I then use the Swiss dots Cuttlebug folder to emboss the frame I made with the labels 8. Then I decide the brown card looks too plain. I use a Sizzix embossing plate on that. But to emboss the front I needed to change the direction of how the card opens. Looks good, with the labels 8 rounded corners I decide it would look nice if I punched the corners round too. Ok I like that too. I add a ribbon, ok I guess. It needs something, and it's not the pretty vellum flower. The flower is too big! Ok go through all my embellishments to see what would look good. Problem, I now need to find something large enough to hide where I peeled the flowers off of the ribbon. Ok these pretty metal flowers are in the right size and scale (somewhat) but the centers are plain. Go through my bling and see what I can find. I tried rhinestones in red then green, nope! I see, the bright yellow seed beads! I put it on and say I'm done, but I'm just not that happy with the results. It's not ugly, I'm not fishing for someone to say oh, it's nice, I know it's ok. I just know I had something in my head and I could not translate that to the paper and it disappointed me. So that's what I mean when I say it's the idea that takes time. Am I the only one who creates cards like this? What do you do when you stumble and just can't seem to get it right?
Thanks for reading ~Diane