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A Study in Gray

I’ve been wanting to do a series of Black and White cards.  Julie Dinn put a bug in my head with her gorgeous samples.  So, for today’s Stamping411 Sketch Challenge, I decided to do a card in shades of white and gray.  Walk in the Park Designer Paper, available in the Occasions Mini, is perfect!

I started with a base card of Going Gray (available in the Neutrals Assortment Package) and layered Whisper White on top.  I cut two different pattern strips of the Walk in the Park DSP and placed on on the left and one across the top per the sketch.  I really wanted to add some ribbon across the top, but it just didn’t look right to me.  Then I used the stamp set Heartfelt Thanks again (hey…it was on top of my messy desk and convenient!) and stamped the top blossom in Going Gray and the stem in Basic Gray on Whisper White cardstock.  I layered it on Basic Gray and then Basic Black to make it POP! 

For the medallion, I used Frames with a Flourish (another stamp set that is retiring, but is SO versatile!) and stamped the circle with Basic Gray on Whisper White.  For You is from All Holidays Stamp Set.  I punched it with my 1 3/8 circle punch and then did the same Scallop Circle trick from yesterday!  (I placed the Going Gray scallop circle back in the punch, moved it over slightly and repunched to make pointed scallops!)  I added a large Clear Rhinestone Brad in the center of the flower and a small clear Rhinestone brad over For You.  These are now available separately rather than just the Pretties Kit!

Pretty simple card to create,but it is dramatic, I think!  Make sure to check out what the other gals did with this sketch on Stamping 411!

Stay tuned for the Stampin’ Addicts Bon Voyage Blog Hop coming up later today!

Great Friend

Really…I do have other sets!  Great Friend just happens to be on TOP of my stamping desk, so I’ve been using it quite a bit.  I like how quick and easy the smaller stamps in this set work together…and that butterfly just goes with everything!  lol!

Last night, I participated in SUDSOL’s Chat & Challenge.  Each week we meet in the SUDSOL chat room and are given a sketch to work with.  Since I’ve been kind of slow getting back into stamping, I thought it would be a great start.  The sketch is awesome and I know I’ll be using it again.

For this card, I started with the Designer Paper, Walk in the Park, that is in the Occasions Mini.  I like the subtle colors in it.  My base card is Baja Breeze and I layered Regal Rose over it.  I first ran the Regal Rose thru the Dotted Texturz Plate so it has some texture to it.  I also rounded the corners since the center flower DSP piece had rounded corners in the sketch.  On the floral DSP, I added some Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon.  The plaid DSP is the opposite side of the floral in Walk in the Park and I thought it coordinated well and lightened up the entire card.  Finally, I stamped the Great Friend butterfly with Baja Breeze and cut it out, then added two clear small Rhinestone Brads for his body.  I also stamped the label with Regal Rose and added the greeting in the center with Basic Gray and cut the label out.  Both the label and the butterfly are popped up with dimensionals on the card.  Finally, I wanted to balance out the Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon, so I added a couple 1/4 circles to the left side of the plaid strip.

Fun…it really only took about 1/2 hour to put together because of the sketch!

If you are a member of SUDSOL…go check out the entries.  If you aren’t, you can click on the SUDSOL badge on my left column and get a FREE two-week trial.  I love the programs like Chat & Challenge that they offer.  Oh..yes…you must be a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator to join.

Today’s plan is to put stuff away in my Studio and work on my Stamp Club projects for Thursday night!  I hope to get the May Card Kit cut and packaged, too!  Have a wonderful day!

Great Friend card box

I made this Card Box with six cards for my friend in Alabama.  We stopped there on our way to Hilton Head to visit and spend the night.  I’m posting this early, but I’m sure we had a great time visiting with them!  I hope she liked her gift.

This pattern is available to SUDSOL members.  Sandy MacIver was so nice to share it with us.  (You can get a two-week free trial to SUDSOL by clicking on my sidebar promotion!) 

The base is Regal Rose with Walk in the Park Designer Paper from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  I also used the White Satin Ribbon that is in the Mini to tie a bow around the front.  Again, I used the Eyelet Border Punch (seems like I use that on every project!) with Basic Gray cardstock along the flap of the front. 

On top, the closeup shows two butterflies and the greeting from Great Friend.  I stamped the butterflies in Regal Rose and Baja Breeze on Whisper White and cut them out.  I stamped the label outline in Baja Breeze and the Regal Rose words were placed in the center with my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig.  I cut out around the label, then layered it on Regal Rose and cut it out again, leaving a small edge of Regal Rose showing.  Finally I stamped L for Linda with Lovely Letters stamp set in Regal Rose on Whisper White and punched it with the Scallop Square punch.  I layered it on Baja Breeze and then Basic Gray.

The cards I made three of each color – Regal Rose and Baja Breeze, then alternated the color for the layer under the Walk in the Park designer paper and used the Lovely Letters medallion again.  I stamped each of the envelopes with her initial, too.  

I’ve used this pattern quite a bit for gifts!  Makes a nice presentation…

Remember…my Vacation Special is going on NOW!

All About Dad Origami Tie and Tutorial!

Late Night Stampers group is running a masculine card/project challenge this month in honor of Father’s Day in June!  Yesterday, I spent some time working on my Father’s Day cards that I’ll be showing you over the next few days!

This card uses a large Origami Tie as the focus…made from our wonderful Walk in the Park Designer Paper and the Eight Great Greetings set from the Occasions Mini Catalog!  Truthfully, one of the major reasons I purchased Eight Great Greetings was for this DAD stamp!  I love it!

Here is the TUTORIAL I made last year for making these ties!  They really are quite easy.  You can also see a card sample for using smaller ties.

For today’s card, I started with a 4 1/2 square** piece of Walk in the Park Designer Paper for the tie.  The base of the card is Basic Gray and I layered a piece of Kiwi Kiss on top.  I had a couple strips of Urban Garden stripe Designer Paper and layered them in the background.  I stamped the D image with Versamark and then Basic Gray ink onto Whisper White and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder.  I trimmed it to size and layered it on Basic Gray cardstock.  I adhered the Tie to Whisper White cardstock and layered it on Baja Breeze.  I LOVE how it turned out!  Just as I imagined!

**Note:  4 1/2 square is the largest you can use and still fit on a standard card size.  Come back tomorrow to see the larger one I made!

Set:  Eight Great Greetings
C/S:  Basic Gray, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Baja Breeze
DSP:  Walk in the Park, Urban Garden
Inks:  Versamark, Basic Gray
Other:  Clear Embossing Powder, Stampin’ Dimensionals 

Remember…the Designer Paper and Textured Cardstock sale is still going on!  Buy 3 and get the 4th one FREE!  Now is the time to STOCK UP…the majority of these beautiful papers will retire after next month because they have In-Colors.  Email me with your order TODAY or use the easy ONLINE ordering system.  Click here and then Shop Now in the upper right corner!

Daisies 2 die

Yep, here I am again using my Daisies #2 die!  This time I used only the small and medium sized flowers.  I made this special birthday card for one of my downline, Tami!  Hope you got it in time for your birthday!  I also used the same format for a challenge card I sent off to Tiffany!

The uses the NEW designer paper from the Occasions Mini called Walk in the Park. (Ordering starts TODAY!)  I paired it with Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss.  I also used a Texturz Plate on the Baja Breeze background…the square pattern, but it is a little hard to see in this picture.  Happy Birthday is from the set, On Your Birthday and stamped in Basic Gray on the Kiwi Kiss.  I also used some White Taffeta ribbon.

My favorite part is the daisy, however.  I ran two pieces of Whisper White thru the Big Shot with my Daisies #2 die on just the two smaller flowers.  I lightly adhered them together, then added a Kiwi Kiss Corduroy Button to the center (don’t you LOVE them?)  I think they add so much texture to the center of flowers.  I slightly curled the edges of the flower petals with my fingernail so they stand out from the card!

Enjoy!  (And, yes, I am feeling better this morning!)

Set:  On Your Birthday
C/S: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Walk in the Park DSP
Inks:  Basic Gray
Other:  White Taffeta ribbon, Kiwi Kiss Corduroy button, Daisies #2 tie, Textures Kit #4