Hot Pink Pizzaz

Happy Saturday...

I've been up early , as usual, made a card, ran some errands, watched the hubby vacum while I whittled away in my office and I thought I'd show you my first creation.

There are lots of girly birthdays coming up and I found a beautiful card to case from Betsy Veldman at Paper, Scissors and Superheroes. She was given an award by Amy Sheffer this week so I just had to stop by and see her gallery. Loved it! She loves color and loves to color which gave me inspiration here for this card. My first attempt was a pre made paper flower but it just didn't have the punch I was looking for so I decided to bring in a bouquet of colored flowers using my Copics. I am getting better at blending and making the images seem real and that is making me very happy.

I continued the colors and floral feeling into the inside of the card as well...




Hope you enjoyed it!

Have a great day and thanks for looking.

Cathy

Card Details:

Size: 8 1/2 x 3 3/4
Stamps: Daisy - Inkadinkado, Sentiment - Stampabilities and Hero Arts
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Bazzil, The Paper Company (Pomegranate)
Accessories: Cuttlebug Diamonds in the Rough EF, Wrights double sided satin ribbon, Swarovski crystal, Copics RV11, RV14, Y11, Y17, YR65, dimensionals

Seek and You Will Find

Hello all! I have the last card for the Verve February challenge to post. Woo Hoo - I completed all four cards before the deadline.

This last one had the twist to use acetate. I have never used that before and didn't know how it would be to work with. I decided to stamp my dragonfly image with Versa Magic Chalk ink right onto the acetate, added some clear embossing powder and carefully used a heat gun to set it. I was very pleased with the detail and the fact that I didn't melt it on the first try.

The DP was a new stack from JoAnn's and I loved the bright vibrant colors.

Hope you all have a great Friday - the weekend is almost here. Yeah!!!

Card Details:

Stamps: Garden Delight - Inkadinkado, Matthew 7:7 02 Stampabilities
Paper: Bazzil Cardstock, DCWV Citrus Stack DP
Ink: Versa Magic Pumpkin Spice Chalk Ink, Black StazOn
Accessories: brads - The Paper Studio, ribbon from Michael's $1 bin, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, clear embossing powder, paper piercer and template, dimensionals

Verve Challenge Card 3

Hello Everyone!

I finished another card - that leaves one more to complete by Friday night. Since DH has bowling night tomorrow I think I can finish this challenge. I made this card pretty simple. I haven't figured out exactly what's necessary. Do they want to see simplicity, ornate, detail, or color? Remember that each card must follow a sketch and then a twist is added. For this card the twist was monotone. For me it was hard to determine which color to choose. I flopped between pinks and greens and settled on the greens. I wish I had the Verve flower from the Meditations set but I didn't so I improvised and used this floral medalion from Inque Boutique.

I struggled with the choice to add ribbon and take away from the DP or leave it simple. In the end I left it clear of brads and ribbon. I don't think I would do that very often though - the card looks naked.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. It's over the hump day - whoo hoo. More of the week is over than is left. I can't wait for Friday.

Cathy

Card Details:

Stamps: Ecpressions by Inkadinkado, Nightengale by Inque Boutique
Paper: martha Stewart DP, The Paper Studio cardstock
Ink: VersaMagic Tea Leaves
Accessories: Clear embossing powder, paper piercing tool and template, Kaiser self adhesive pearls, dimensionals

Elegent Note

Whoo Hoo - I have card number two done for the Verve February Challenge. With DH having a meeting tomorrow night I should be able to at least finish one more. Having a sketch to follow is much easier than coming up with a design on your own so the challenge becomes what colors and what image. For this sketch our twist was not to us DP. You were free to be creative and make your own and I knew that I had just the stamp - an Ornate Swirls stamp would make the perfect background to blend in with the tendrils of my elegent pear image.

This was pretty easy with the exception of the cutting of the tendrils. I love the classic elegance of the blue, white and black color combo.

Hope you enjoy the card and have a great evening.

Cathy

Card details:

Stamps: Stampabilities; Ornate Swirls, SU mini mates, Magenta
Ink: Black StazOn
Paper: The Paper Studio cardstock
Accessories: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots EF, Nestabilities classic circle, oval and scallop oval, Michaels holiday ribbon, Swarovski crystals, crystal effects, dimensionals, Copic marker

Verve Challenge - Spring Greetings

Hello everyone! Are you surprised for a Tuesday post? I am. I saw the Verve challenge on Pickled Paper Designs today and thought - why not try this? So here I am making a card to post mid-week. I have three more to make before midnight Friday to complete the challenge so I won't diddle daddle.

I have only one Verve stamp set and it's a Christmas set so I really went out there to be resourceful and used the "Geetings" portion of Seasons Greetings. I am so itching for spring and I love the look of butterflies fluttering so I gave this a quick whirl.

We were given the sketch and a twist - you needed to use embossing of some sort. I chose to add the Cuttlebug embossing folder to make this easy peasy.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your week!

Cathy

Card Details:

Stamps: Verve Ornamental Christmas sentiment, Penny Black Tiny Flutter
Ink: Brillance Peralescent Sky Blue, Brown StazOn
Paper: The Paper Studio DP, AC Cardstock
Accessories: Nestabilities classic and scallop oval, Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers EF, Martha Stewart border punch, corner punch, Hero Arts adhesive gemstones, sheer blue ribbon, dimensionals

Weekend Warrior

Hello All,

I know, it's late on Sunday and you are probably thinking what's going on. Well I did do alot of card making this weekend but with so many family followers, I can't post what I made. For instance, I made Linda and Lisa's B-day cards. It would ruin the surprise to post them here before they arrive in the mail so you will all just have to be patient.

I did work on some St Patrick's day cards and that is what's displayed above. Again, I'm going to leave the inside off the blog so that there are some little surprises for those of you that get this. I found some gorgeous Kiwi satin ribbon at Mary Maxim yesterday and I was itching to use it. I thought it would fit nicely with a St. Pat's themed card. I had a little trouble with this card though. My brain just would not get creative. I think that is because Linda's card took alot of time coloring and cutting and I was having brain freeze. Anyway, I borrowed the layout from my Thinking of You card last weekend. The inside sets it apart though so just hold your horses.

Card Details:

Stamp: My Sentiments Exactly O295 (individual rubber stamp)
Ink: Honeydew; Encore Ultimate Metalic
Paper: AC Cardstock, Martha Stewart Playful Pink Paper Pad DP
Accessories: Martha Stewart border punch, satin ribbon, dimensionals


Hint of Spring




My second card is another Thinking of You. I found this card last fall as I perused through Amy Sheffer's site but I never had the right tools. I did a little sale shopping on Saturday and found the stamp to use at JoAnn's as well as the Argyle CuttleBug embossing folder. I have been dying for that one so I was thrilled to find it finally. I kept the fall color pallet but the buds still remind me of Spring. Perhaps it's because they look like Dogwood flowers and they would be much prettier to look at than the snow we got this weekend!

This was pretty easy and I had fun coloring with my Copic Markers. Mary Maxim's had quite a few in overstock clearance so I picked up about 10 more. Having the right colors makes all the difference when it comes to shading. I am really trying to master that technique and hope to have more to share after the Copic Instructor Certification Class I am taking in March. The class was originally scheduled for Rochester, NY but then got moved to Buffalo. I egged Lizzie into coming along with me and we hope to have a fun day playing with Copics and coming out with our Certifications.

Card Details:

Stamps: Cherry Blossom; Rubber Stampede, Expressions; Inkadinkado
Ink: Brown StazOn
Paper: AC Cardstock
Accessories: Argyle Cuttlebug EF, ribbon; wired organza by Offray, Copic Markers YR04, Y17

Hope you all have a great week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathy

Thinking of You

 

I love lazy Sunday mornings.

It's in the solitude of the morning that I often get to make a card and now share with you. I made this for a friend that was a little under the weather. I indulged in the BasicGrey DP last week. It's from the Figgy Pudding Collection Pack and is called Red Ryder. It's basically a holiday pack but I loved the red, green, and torquoise hues that were in it.

I bought the stamp about 3 years ago when The Stamp Pad was going out of business but I've never used it. I loved it at the time - still do, but I could never think of a way to use it. I thought the rose bush would be suitable for the rich red of the DP that caught my eye.

I'm still trying out blending and coloring techniques with my Copic Markers. My second attempt at this was better than my first so I gave away card number two and kept card one for another occassion.

Card Details:

Size: 5 1/2 inch tall x 4 1/4
Stamps: SU Warmest Regards, Stampa Rosa
Paper: AC Cardstock, BasicGrey Figgy Pudding DP - Red Ryder
Ink: Brown StazOn
Accessories: Nestabilities oval and scalloped oval, MS punch, Ivory grosgrain ribbon from Michaels, inside brads Spare Parts from The Paper Studio, Copic Markers

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Cath

Bridal Congrats

 

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

I hope that whatever your plans are, you are doing what you love. Shaun and I have spent a good deal of the week sick so we canceled our plans for a night out and will be having Filet and crab cakes in. I still felt very light headed and off balance after going out to run a few errands so we actually came back and took a nap. I have finally kicked the off kilter feeling and am ready to show you a few creations.

The first is a card I made for a cousin that just got engaged. What I like about this is that I can actually use the same layout for a Wedding Shower. Now I know that the Congratulations is actually stamped a little off (thanks for noticing husband) but it's done and I'm living with it - it's the beauty of receiving a handmade card. Ok, so I'm trying to convince Miss perfectionist Cath that it won't be such a big deal. Are you buying it?

My favorite part of the card is the flourish circle. I saw this on a card at Pickled Paper designs a while back and loved it. Of course, I didn't have anything like it so what was I to do? I took the picture out again and looked at it and noticed the Verve watermark. The circle reminded me of one of the ornaments in the Ornamental Christmas set. Tiffany was generous enough to have given this set to me for Christmas - my first Verve set. Love It! I pulled it out and low and behold there it was - sort of. The flourishes cover half of the ornament. So I left the ornament top off, inked half and made my impression. Since the set is clear acrylic, you can easily ink again and place it over your first impression to complete the look.

Here are the details:

Card size: 5 inch square
Paper: SU Kiwi Kiss, basic black and white, ATD Story of Us DP
Stamps: Inkadinkado Thoughts of Fancy, SU Warmest Regards
Ink: Black StazOn
Accessories: Nestabilities clasic circle, Kaiser self adhesive pearls, dimensionals, and the back side of the ribbon I used on my Valetine card.

Enjoy!

Cath

Man's Best Friend

I had an idea in my head for a Valentine's Day card for a young dog lover I know. I started to search my favorite blogs for a layout and came across Jen del Muro's sketch for you to try (SFYTT). I've never done one and decided that it would be perfect for this card.

I love the way the red, black and white all come together. Amy Rhol from Ink About Me uses the same color scheme here and she gave me the idea to frame the dog who comes bearing his heart. Too cute.

I found the Black Velvet Flocked Floral paper from the Paper Company on clearace at Michaels the last time I was home. It was dirt cheap at $.14 for a 12x12 page. I think that I bought 5 because it was such a bargain. The red swirl paper for the frame came from Lizzie's shop about 2 years ago. It's not marked so I can't give you any help there.


And here's a look at the inside, I realy like the way the card is finished off by bringing the colors and papers from the front full circle to the main sentiment panel inside...




Card Details:

Size: 5 inch square
Paper: The Paper Company; Black Velvet Flocking as well as the plain cardstock, Red Swirl Paper unknown
Stamps: Hero Arts; Happy Day Animals, SU; Love Ya Bunches
Ink: Black StazOn
Accessories: Black Gross Grain ribbon; Offray, Nestabilites classic and scalloped hearts, Cuttlebug Tiny Tag die, Quick Cuts Flourish (trimmed from the 12x2), Swarovski red crystals, water pen (to color in the dog), dimensionals


Have a great night!

Cathy

Can you feel Spring in the air?

Hello everyone and Happy Saturday. I hope you were all able to get out and enjoy the sunshine and warmer weather today. I was up early making a card and then ran some errands. My best find of the day was that WalMart was selling out of their ribbon by the yard in our store and they reduced it all 75%. I bought every spool they had of double faced satin and gross grain for about $6. It was about 20 spools and many still had the original 10 yards on it . I found some beautiful Tiffany blue, pink, off white, white, yellow, navy, royal and purple. They also had some roping that I thought would look good - but it might be a little too chunky to mail. LOOOOVE a bargain though so I was pleased to come home and reorganize my ribbon spool storage. I separated by color and not texture because I think it will be a little easier to grab what I'm lookig for that way.

Enough of my ramblings and on to my card. I used the design layout from Amy Sheffer's LOVE card at Pickled Papers and tried out some new tools today as well. I used a spring theme for this b-day card. I loved the glitter paper and decided to use that design in my detail on the raised images. For the butterfuly I used Patina Stickles, for the birdie I used my Art Glitter Glue with Ultra fine Pastel Red glitter. I'm not sure why the color is called "red" - it looks pure baby pink!

Any hoo I wanted the edges to be distressed so I tried out my new Provo Craft Chizzel-it tool which I got from Linda at Christmas. It's a cute little battery operated tool that uses different tips to distress your various mediums. This tool easily ran over the paper and used less stress on my hands had I sanded it with a nail file. I would easily use this again!!!

And here's a quick peek at the inside...




Enjoy the rest of your day!

Cathy

Card details:

Size: 5 inch square
Paper: Bazil cardstock, Glitter Swirl by Autumn Leaves, Baby Powder Bubble Bath by Imaginisce
Stamps: Hero Arts; Who Loves you and Happy Day Animals, Inkadinkado Inches; Flower Garden, SU Happy Everything
Accessories: random brad (I didn't keep track sorry), Quick Kuts flourish, Prima paper flowers, Nestabilities Labels 1, Velvet ribbon from Lizzie's shop, dimensionals, Stickles and glitter, Copic markers

Is it the weekend yet?

Hello All...

I hope that your week is going well. I felt motivated to make and post a card for you before the weekend and with Shaun out for bowling night I'm free to be me.

I cased this very easy card and made it my own with a few additions. My favorite part is that the ribbon is from my Grandma Soporito stash!

Here's my supplies list:

Size: 5 1/2 tall by 4 1/4
Stamps: SU Mini Mates and Doodles by Design (from Michaels $1.00 2 pack)
Ink: Black Staz On, SU Ruby Red
Accessories: Nestabilities scalloped and classic circles, crystals, dimensionals, Cuttlebug Heart Blocks EF, and Grandma's black gross grain ribbon!

Have a great Friday and I'll be back on Saturday
Cath

Valentine's Cards

Had a great time making Valentine's on Saturday. Thought you might like to take a peak at what we made. Of course, the downfall to posting to this blog is that you might be previewing the card I later send your way!

The first is a card layout I cased from newest Splitcoasterstampers Dirty Dozen Design Team member, Becca Feeken. I feel in love with the Martha Stewart border punch she used - Valentine Lace. I went to great lengths to get it - thank you Auntie! As you know, I have few places to find papercrafting supplies in my neck of the woods. I tried Martha's on-line store but she has very few punches available there. Amazon had the punch for $40 and that seemed a little steep for me. Michael's is quite a trek to get to but I called every one in a 60 mile radius and none had it. So, I had a thought and tried all the stores back in Rochester, NY and low and behold I found two. After a quick call to my Aunt and a two day mailer pack I had the beautiful punch in hand. Love it!!!

Are you enjoying the search and shopping adventure stories yet? Don't worry - I'm sure I've got a few more up my sleeve.

Card Details:

Size: 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 tall
Sentiment Stamp: SU Love Matters
Paper: Textured Cardstock from JoAnn's and some random pink heart paper I bought when I first started scrapbooking about 10 years ago!
Accessories: Nestabilities scalloped hearts and classic hearts, Martha Stewart Valentine Lace border punch, SU Word Window punch, ribbon - Christmas clearance from Hobby Lobby 10 yds for $1.60 (yeah!!)

Simple but sweet...





My second card was meant to be less frilly so that it could be sent to the boys! It was quite simple and easy to make in mass numbers.

Card Details:

Size: 4 1/4 inch square
Stamps: SU Love Ya Bunches, Hero Arts - Who Loves You
Paper: The Paper Company - JoAnn's
Accessories: Nestabilities classic large circles, large scalloped circles, classic hearts, Cuttlebug Spots and Dots embossing folder, ribbon - Michael's

Hope you enjoy!

Have a great week.
Cath

Congratulations - You're having a baby

So we got some goods news this week from the youngest sibling...she and her husband are expecting a new little budle of joy - their first! This wonderful event should be very close to my own birthday so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she goes early.

Couldn't miss the opportunity to send congratulation wishes so I set out to make them a card. I have a new paper pack titled Nana's Nursery that I found at JoAnn's a while back and I thought it would be perfect for this occasion. I copied a layout from Amy Sheffer which she used on her post Saturday, January 24th titled One of a Kind. The paper she used was also from this pack.

I'm trying to master how to download pictures and store them on my new external hard drive - thank you Justin! - and delete them from my camera's memory chip. As many of you know, I hate to not have them on my camera and trying to download 800 pictures every time I want to post a new picture is tiring! I'm learning!!! Please be patient Sissy until I get the hang of this.

I'm also going to try to give you more details on the cards in case you see something that you would like to make yourselves. So here goes.

Card Details:

Size: 5 inch square
Stamps: Stampendous Clear Stamps - Baby Invite
Paper: AC Cardstock - Pastels(I found this at AC Moore), DCWV Nana's Nursery
Accessories: Nestabilities, brads from JoAnn's, ribbon from Lizzie's shop, Copics Y11, BG72, Fiskars Treading Water punch, Cuttlebug Tiny Tag