Steampunk Birthday Card

I've been wanting to make a vintage card with Stampin Up!'s Moving Forward set, and I needed a masculine card, so here is what I came up with.  I stamped the blimp once in red and a second time in blue, cut out the red one, used colored pencils on the flags, sponged the edges and mounted the red one popped up.

     Stamp sets:  Open Sea, Moving Forward

     Colors: Cherry Cobbler (Core'dinations), Island Indigo, So Suede (ink)

                More Mustard 

     Tools:  Sizzix Big Shot, Stripes Embossing Folder, Button Embosslit die, 

               sanding block, Word Window punch, Heat Tool

     Other:  Gold Stampin' Emboss powder,  Stampin' Dimensionals 

 A close-up, so you can see some details.  I distressed the edges of most layers with scissors and sanded the raised embossed stripes.  The blue circle is the globe stamp from Open Sea.  The globe and the captain's log are stamped over the red background and the edges of the Very Vanilla card base.    

I dipped the yellow paper buttons into the embossing powder and tapped most of it off before heating, then inked the edges in an attempt to create vintage-looking buttons.

Calm Pink Cupcake

A dear friend of mine had a birthday this weekend.  She loves pink and bling and cupcakes, so while this was not my usual style, thanks to Stampin' Up!, it came together easily.  I used the grids available for the clear blocks to mount the two parts of the sentiment in perfect alignment, the piercing template added just the right amount of definition to the edge of the white panel, and frosting the cupcakes with Dazzling Details makes them totally scrumptious!

Stamp set:  Keep Calm (Hostess)
Cardstock:  Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Vellum
Ink: Melon Mambo
Tools:  Essentials Piercing Pack, Apothecary Labels Framelits, Big Shot, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder
Accessories:  Dazzling Details, Basic Jewels Rhinestones

Monday / Friday Challenges

I combined the sketch from Mojo Monday 259 with the color combination from Fab Friday #2 to come up with this card.  I really love how it came out, maybe I should play along with more challenges!  I stuck to the sketch pretty well, but I goofed and used Summer Starfruit instead of So Saffron for the colors.

Stamps: Hello Doily, Curly Cute

Ink:  Basic Gray  Cardstock:  Sahara Sand, Basic Gray, Summer Starfruit

Embossing Folders:  Flower Garden, Delicate Designs

Tools:  Large Scallop Edgelit, Sizzix Big Shot

Embellishments: Stampin' Up! Antique Brad and Crochet Trim

Techniques:  Sponging, Dry Embossing 

To get the more intense look from the lace embossing folder, I rubbed an inkpad onto the raised side of the folder before I embossed.   Another tip when using a die cutting machine - always cut first, then emboss!

Father's Day punch art

I was totally stumped on what to use for my father-in-law's card this year until I saw this golf card over on Kathe's blog.   Finally, a perfect idea where before I had none!  I changed a few things, and I'm pretty happy with how my interpretation came out, although I can think of a couple things I would do differently if I made another.

If you CASE this, please leave a comment here with a link so I can see your version, too!


Click here to see the card I made for my handy Dad!


DIRECTIONS:
I started with some scraps of Certainly Celery card stock and tore the edges to make the grass (or "the green" or whatever!).  I used the retired Medium Oval Punch for the hole and the 3/4" circle punch for the golf ball.  I ran the white circle thru the Big Shot with the retired polka dots Texturz plate and sponged the debossed side with a tiny bit of Basic Gray.   I attached it to the Bashful Blue card base with a dimensional, then ran my finger around and around the edges of the ball to give it a curved shape.  The flagpole is a scrap strip inked direct-to-paper with Chocolate Chip and Soft Suede.   Pennant Builder Punch for the flag, curved with the bone folder and attached with 1/2-dimensionals.   To make the bushes, I punched a Scalloped Oval and a scalloped triangle (Pennant Builder Punch) from Certainly Celery and sponged with Garden Green.   I was going to use a scalloped circle for the sun until I remembered Every Little Bit has a cute sun, so I stamped him in Pumpkin Pie on Daffodil Delight, cut him out and mounted him with a dimensional.   With such a cute sun, the "Live in the Sunshine" sentiment from the Pursuit of Happiness stamp set seemed necessary on the card front!   The inside has Happy Father's Day from Delightful Dozen, but this would also make a great birthday card for anyone who enjoys golf!

Princess Party Favors

I know I've said this before and I'm sure I'll say it again, I think the Petal Cone Die may have been my single smartest Stampin' Up! purchase ever.   Tooting my own horn...Toot, Toot!, but I think these little princess hat favor boxes are so cute!   If you wanted a circus theme, you could easily top these with a pom-pom to make tiny clown hats or with a frill of shirred paper to make a"party" hat.

1.   For each hat, use your Big Shot (or similar machine) and cut 2 shapes using the Stampin' Up! exclusive Petal Cone Die.   Cut one in half down the score line.  In these pics, I was using cardstock, so I stamped and embossed the images at this point.   Not necessary if you're using Designer Series Paper.

2.  Trim off a bit of the half-circles on both sides to allow the box to close correctly.    Easier to do it before you begin assembly rather than after, like I did here :)

3.  Apply Sticky Strip to tabs; you won't need the piece you cut off that has no tab.   Fold an 8"-10" piece of ribbon in half and adhere it to the top of one of the tabs. 

3.  As if you were using a curling iron, wrap the ribbons around the handle of a paper piercer, dowel or pencil.   Heat ribbon with Heat Tool for 10-30 seconds, more or less.   This depends very much on the type of ribbon you are using.  The more polyester content, the quicker the curl will set.   It's not that hard to melt 100% polyester ribbon or set all-cotton ribbon on FIRE when what you really want is a curl, so use caution and common sense!   Allow the curls to cool undisturbed for a minute then arrange them to your liking.   

4.  Assemble box as usual.   Decorate as desired.  Fill box with treats and seal.

Hard to see the sparkle in this photo, but the  Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder with Versamark is very sparkly and pretty.




For the projects shown above, I used the Modern Label punch,  Season of Friendship stamp set, Short and Sweet stamp set, Calypso Coral CS, Whisper White CS, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Brights Patterns Stack DSP, Stampin' Up! white taffeta ribbon and some ribbon scraps from gifts.   I hoard anything pretty that could be used for crafting, so it's nice to justify that craziness by using the stuff occasionally!  The hat below uses retired Specialty DSP (with glitter, of course) and retired pink ribbon along with the Boho Blossoms and Modern Label punches.

So the boys didn't feel left out, I made some magician hats with Basic Black CS (Night of Navy would work great, too).   I stamped them with White Craft Ink and the star is from the Every Little Bit stamp set.

I don't have a tiny crescent moon stamp, so I made one!  I just cut the shape from a piece of the scrap rubber that you get with every stamp set.

Hope you enjoyed these as much as the kids at the party did!   Let me know if you try your own...

Open Sea Birthday

Love the Open Sea stamp set and so glad that Stampin' Up! decided to carry it over from the Summer Mini.   Such a great set for masculine anything, like the card and wrapping paper I made with it here.   What makes this set so wonderfully versatile is that every stamp in the set is a symbol for something... an anchor for stability, a compass for direction, a globe for the world, The captain's log can represent journaling or history, and the tall ship can represent adventure, starting a new journey, freedom...  

Ink  Real Red, Island Indigo, Versamark, Marina Mist, More Mustard

Cardstock  Night of Navy, Real Red

Also used - Gold Stampin' Emboss powder, craft sponges, Hemp twine, brown packing paper received in my last Stampin' Up! order

Occasionally Occasions Llama Blog Hop!

I love hopping with the llamas!   For one thing, it forced me to clean up the post-Christmas disaster that was my craft cave to find space to make the projects for the hop.   More importantly, though, I'm excited to see what everyone else has made.

 My first card features the Packed for Birthday stamp from the Occasions Mini.  I stamped the image in Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo and Real Red, then used the 3/4", 1" & 1 1/4" circle punches to select parts of the images.  After I arranged them on my Real Red card (dots courtesy of my Big Shot and a Texturz plate), I decided they needed more oomph, so I punched more circles of coordinating cardstock and popped up the focal image of the pinata with dimensionals.   Sentiment from Petite Pairs stamped in Real Red on Large Oval punch and backed with Scalloped Oval punch of textured Island Indigo cardstock.

This is an insert for my 1x1 Simply Adorned charm.    Using the Heart to Heart Punch on Cherry Cobbler cardstock, I made this little heart and heat embossed the antique key image from Elementary Elegance.   You're sure to be seeing more projects made with this great set only available during Sale-a-bration starting January 24th.   The background is Pretty in Pink cardstock and Victoria Crochet trim.

My final card showcases the versatility of the Everyday Elegance Simply Sent kit.    In addition to the coordinating sentiments, they are a great base for seasonal cards as well.   I used the Short and Sweet stamp set, retired taffeta ribbon, a Bright Brad, and Heart to Heart punched shapes all in the coordinating colors of Cherry Cobbler, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White.   I can't decide whether I like it better with or without the Dazzling Details.   What do you think?

Everyone who leaves a comment on this page before 5am EST on Monday Jan 9th will be entered into a drawing to receive one of these completed cards!

Click here  to go to Marsha's blog, the next stop on the Llamas' Occasionally Occasions Hop!   Or, if you want to see a list of all the blogs on the hop, or start from the beginning, click here.

More MDS fun!

After I posted my owl thank-you card the other day, I started thinking that he really should be a turkey, since Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away.   One of the reasons I own the owl punch both as a physical item and a digital download is because the guy is not only cute, but really versatile as well.   Trim off the ears, add some tail feathers, and voila, turkey!

Here's another great thing about My Digital Studio.   Remember all those wonderful colors that Stampin' Up! retired?  Well, they're right here in MDS!  This card uses Creamy Caramel, Cajun Craze, Really Rust, and More Mustard.

What about great stamp sets that you missed out on, or beautiful Designer Series Papers that are no longer made?   Lots of them are available as MDS downloads, too.   This tag uses elements from the current Hostess product, Cheerful Treat Digital Content CD, as well as a sentiment from All Holidays, which is only available as a digital download.

Remember, Monday is the last day to get your FREE downloads from MDS!

Click here!