Fab Friday Sketch Challenge: Blooming with Kindness

 Happy day friends, we've reached another Friday, yeah!  We've got another busy weekend coming up, I think I need to resolve myself to the fact that with all of our activities the days of having nice relaxing weekends are a thing of the past.  When I saw this weeks Fab Friday sketch challenge I knew I wanted to play along since it's such a great layout and would be perfect for another sympathy card that I'm working on (I'm planning on mailing by package of sympathy cards to my mom shortly so I'm hoping this batch will tied them over for awhile, unfortunately my mom and her friends have had to use a lot of sympathy cards lately, which is sad, at least they can have something pretty to send their greetings in).  Today's card starts with a Pool Party card base and then has a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock that I stamped the En Francis background stamp in Soft Suede.  Then I distressed it a little by tearing one of the edges and sponging around all the edges with Crumb Cake Ink. 

Next I added a piece Pool Party Core'dinations cardstock that was embossed with the Big Shot and the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder before being sanded to bring out the embossed texture.  I tore one of the corners of this piece as well to mimic the corner tear on the Crumb Cake piece.

For the main stamped image I used the Blooming with Kindness stamp and inked the flower with my Pool Party and Island Indigo markers using the thumping technique before punching it out with the 2 1/2" circle punch.  This piece was matted with a piece of Island Indigo cardstock that was cut with the Big Shot and the Window Collection Framelits.  The greeting is from the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set and is stamped in Soft Suede ink before being punch with the Modern Label Punch and then being sponged with Crumb Cake ink.

I really like how soft and pretty this card turned out and I love being able to mix so many different stamps and elements together.  I think they work really well.

I hope you enjoy, have a great weekend and happy stamping!

Diana

Fresh Vintage Distressing Page

Good morning friends.  I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend, Chris and Aidan really made my Mother's Day special and I loved spending quality time with them all day.  We were so busy this weekend that I never even made it the studio.  So today I thought I would share the last project from the distressing class last month.  This was a decor page which fit in an 8 x 10 frame.  So we started with a piece of Soft Suede cardstock and stamped the floral image from the Fresh Vintage stamp set in Soft Suede ink and then used the sanding block to distress all over the page.  Next we took a piece of Attic Boutique DSP and tore along one of the edges and sponged along the edge with Tea Stain ink from the Distressing Essentials kit then we added a strip of Pool Party Cardstock and Poppy Parade that was punched with the Scallop Edge Trim border punch.  For the picture of Aidan I picked a picture from his Kindergarden graduation last year and printed it in Sepia so it looked aged.  The picture was matted on a piece of Poppy Parade and Pool Party cardstock that was distressed on the edge with the cutter kit and then sponged Soft Suede ink around the orders.

The piece layered in front of the picture is Very Vanilla cardstock that I stamped with the En Francis stamp set with Crumb Cake ink.  Next we crumpled up the paper, spritzed it with water, distressed the edges with the round standing tool, and sponged the edges and all over the page with the Tea Stain ink.  We spent a lot of time on this element just making it have lots of texture and detail, we even added three large pearls to the top left corner.

We also added a fun label in front.  We took a piece of Soft Suede taffeta ribbon and ruffled it up with sticky strip.  Then we embossed the oval with the Designer Frames embossing folder and tore around the edges and once again sponged the edges with Tea Stain ink.  The blue piece is DSP  was also from the Attic Boutique package that was punched out with the large oval punch and then sponged with Tea Stain ink to help tone it down.  The words are from the Loving Thoughts stamp set and was stamped in Soft Suede ink and a small pear was added to make the dot on the "I".

The final touch was the bow.  It was made with Pool Party seam binding ribbon.  We first tied the bow and then we sprayed the ribbon with water and spritzed it with water until it was wet and then crumbled it up and unfolded it part of the way and let it dry so it still add some of the wrinkles.  We used glue dots to adhere the ribbon to the page and formed the bow with the dots. 

Finally, I have to tell you a bit about the frame.  I got this frame at Ikea and it was a bargin but it was also bright white.  So I used a sponge and Soft Suede classic ink and rubbed it all over the frame including all the little nooks and cranies.  I did this several times and was rubbing the frame to work to get the color to set, I even used a heat gun.  It was a long process but I love how it turned out and it really works well with the picture.

This page turned out so awesome, it's beautiful  I made a second page during the class and that one I added to a 12 x 12 scrapbook page.  We had so much fun and the ladies loved learning how to use the kit and some great techniques that they can use in the future.

Take care and have a great week!

Diana

Sketch Challenge - Mixed Bouquet

Good evening!  We've had another fun-filled weekend.  Saturday we had Aidan's bowling birthday party so we had 10 kids who all had a blast on the lanes (the best way to describe it was "herding cats" but everyone had a great time and that's all that matters).  Today we've been waiting for this "snow storm" we're supposed to get but it didn't start snowing until about 7:30 tonight so we'll have to see what we end up with in the morning.  I spent the day planning of fabulous projects for Laura's workshop on Saturday was well as making a sketch card for this weeks Stamping 411 challenge.  I drew the colors from for this weeks card from the Twitterpated designer series paper and was excited to show off the new Mixed Bouquet stamp set from the Occasions Mini catalog.  The cardbase is Baja Breeze and I added a piece of Basic Gray cardstock as well as a couple of strips of Twitterpated DSP.  You may have noticed the funky border on the Riding Hood Red patterned paper -- I got that by using a scrap of DSP from when I cut a box with the Fancy Favor XL die. 

For the printed circle accent I stamped in Basic Gray ink on Basic Gray cardstock with the En Francis stamp set, then I cut the circle out with the Clear circle Big Shot die before sponging the edges of the circle with the same ink.  I also added a strip of Riding Hood Red 3/8" pleated satin ribbon.  For the flower I stamped with the Mixed Bouquet stamp set and Island Indigo ink, once on Whisper White cardstock and again on Riding Hood Red cardstock and used the new Blossom punch to punch out both flowers to be layered.  I used my bone folder to shape the petals so they flip up.  Next I stamped one of the circle images from the same stamp set with Riding Hood Red ink on Riding Hood Red cardstock and punched it out with the 3/4" circle punch.  I added add a Pear Pizzaz Glimmer Brad to the center of the flower and the final touch was to add a small butterfly that was cut out with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit.  (Check out a close up to the right)

The last step was to stamp the happy birthday greeting from the Happiest Birthday Wishes stamp set with Pear Pizzaz ink.  I used snips to cut the ends of the strip to make it look like a flag and once again used my bone folder and glue dots to add some "ripple" to the banner.  Now here's the sketch, I have to admit this wasn't how I envisioned the card when I first started but I really like how it turned out.

Hope you enjoy and have a great week!

Diana

Valentine's Greeting

Good morning!  As you read this I'm on my way to the airport heading to San Antonio and Stampin' Up!s Leadership Conference, and I have to tell you I'm so excited.  Not only will I enjoy a few days with some fabulous ladies but the beautiful weather is definately something to be happy for.  Just like convention I thought I would share with you each day some of the swaps I made and will be sharing with my fellow demonstrators.  Today's card is another valentine (yeah I know!) and features the new P.S. I Love You stamp set from the Occasions Mini catalog as well as the new Hearts Collection cutters and edge embossing folders. 

This card has lots of texture, after cutting out the large black heart I embossed it with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and then sprayed it with shimmer mist. The smaller hear is Very Vanilla and was first stamped with the En Francis stamp set in Crumb Cake, then the edges were sponged with Crumb Cake, and then the cubid was embossed with Cherry Cobbler embossing powder.

The designer paper is Timeless Portrait and was cut with the Scallop Trim border punch. The ribbon is Cherry Cobbler Polka Dot scallop ribbon and I flipped over so it was a solid color.

I created this card for an organized swap I'm in and I can't wait to see what everyone thinks of it because I love it!

Enjoy and have a great day,

Diana

Gently Falling - Sketch Challenge

Good evening!  I hope you had a good weekend.  I had a great time at a team meeting on Saturday and stamp class today as well as starting to put up Christmas decorations (I'm happy to report our tree is up, decorated, and beautiful).  I saw a sample of this emboss resist technique at my meeting yesterday and knew it would be perfect for this weeks Stamping 411 challenge once I saw the sketch. 

The card base is Crumb Cake with a piece of Spice Cake designer paper.  The main focal image started with a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock.  I used the En Francis stamp set and Crumb Cake ink to stamp the background words.  Then I stamped the solid leaf image from the Gently Falling stamp set with Versamark ink and embossed it with Whisper White embossing powder.  Then I used a stamping sponge to add Pear Pizzaz and Early Espresso ink around the leaf.  I also sponged the edges with Crumb Cake ink. 

The finished image was matted on an Early Espresso scallop square piece that I cut out with the Scallop Square Duo die and the Big Shot.  The ribbon is Crumb Cake 3/8" taffeta ribbon and I used one of the Antique Brads in the center.  The greeting is from the Petite Pairs stamp set, which is quickly becoming one of my new favorite greeting sets,that was punched out with the oval punch and sponged with Pear Pizzaz ink.

I love how this card turned out!  It has so much dimension and texture.

I hope you enjoy and happy stamping!

Diana

August Stamp-a-Stack

Good morning! 

What a beautiful morning, I love that we're getting a break from the heat and humidity.  Just wanted to share some of the projects for this Sunday's Stamp-a-Stack.  These are so great, and you're going to love them (check out that snow cone!) 

There is one additional card that will be exclusive for those who attend so make sure you don't miss out.  There's still time to RSVP so let me know if you want to attend!

Happy Stamping,

Diana

Bells and Boughs

Things have been so busy with our family that my stamping time has been drastically reduced, which I missed.  Thankfully I had enough time between our final TBall game and appointments to sit down for this weeks Stamping 411 challenge.  The arrival of the cold weather is really making look forward to the upcoming holidays and all the fun family moments we get to share.  That was the inspiration for this weeks card.  I started with a cardbase of always artichoke then that added a piece of crumb cake cardstock.  Then I added 4 strips of Deck the Halls DSP. 

I used the Big Shot to cut 2 Top Notes out (one in Very Vanilla, the other in Cherry Cobbler).  I trimmed the edge off the Very Vanilla piece and then sponged always artichoke around the edge.  I used the large poinsetta image from the Bells and Boughs stamp set and stamped it in always artichoke.  A stamped the image a second time on a piece of scrap paper and cut it out so I could mask the image by stamping in crumb cake with the En Francis background stamp.  The image was colored in with a blender pen and always artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, and Regal Rose classic ink pads. 

To add some bling to the center of the poinsettas I added some champagne shimmer paint (to apply it in little dots I used my paper snips and dipped them in the paint and then dotted the paper).  I used a piece of Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon and cherry cobbler seam binding ribbon (tied with a Basics Glimmer Brad). 

For the greeting I went to my go-to stamp set (it has practically any greeting you need), Tiny Tiny Wishes and stamped with always artichoke ink on crumb cake cardstock and punched it out with the Modern Label punch.   The greeting is mounted with dimensionals so it pops.  The final touch was small pearls in the top right corner and medium pearls on the greeting. 

I love how this card turned out, very elegant.  No check out the inspiration for this card.

I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend and halloween. It's always great to see all the neighbor kids all dressed up and so excited.  I thought I would share a quick picture of my little Indiana Jones (so cute!) and daddy.

Have a great week!

A Sympathy Wish

I love to make cards and gifts to give friends and family for happy occasions but it always seems difficult make just the right card when you need to express your feelings for those sad events. Every so often I have a customer specifically request to create cards to expand their card stash. In this case I was asked to have a sympathy card for our May Stamp-a-stack so I sat down to design a couple different options.


Stamp Set(s): Fifth Avenue Floral, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Designer Paper: Cottage Wall Designer Paper

Stamp Set(s): Bloomin' Beautiful, Teeny Tiny Wishes, En Francis

I really like how both these cards turned, especially that you can change the greeting to any specific occasion. For those of you who are able to attend next months Stamp-a-Stack we'll be making the second card so come join the fun.

Take care!