BG Ambrosia strikes again!

As I was cruising the aisles of Michaels looking for some double pointed knitting needles, Basic Grey Ambrosia paper called my name. I swear I heard it. Who was I to argue with the gorgeous paper?

Hop in my shopping basket BG!

I’m completely in the fall spirit this weekend, with my yummy Beet soup I made yesterday and now this Ambrosia paper. A few weeks ago I picked up a few stamps in the dollar bin at Michaels and have been very eager to use them.

Ambrosia paper and tree stamps are a match made in heaven.

I used the sketch from Taylor’s Cupcake sketch challenge (you can go and play along here).

It’s a really straight forward sketch that can be kept simple or made ornate. I decided to keep this one simple, but I have a few other cards to make so I might play around with it.

I used SU Grey cardstock for the base and realized the BG Ambrosia paper matched SU Mostly Mustard perfectly! I distressed all the edges with TH Tea Dye distress ink…I think I’m finally getting the hang of it. I always find my edges are too harsh, so I’m stamping off my sponge before I hit the paper and it’s helping a lot.

The main image was stamped on SU Very Vanilla and created using the Rock’N’Roll technique; first stamped in SU Mostly Mustard, then I rolled the edges in SU Ruby Red.

I added some tiny rhinestones in orange and yellow…don’t look to closely, the Crystal Effects wasn’t dry when I took the picture. I’m incredibly impatient when it comes to letting things dry…that’s why Stickles and I don’t get along so well!

I added some BG buttons to the bottom, tied with some white string that I rubbed with more Tea Dye ink to take away some whiteness.

Happy Sunday!

Ciao for now,

EDITED TO ADD:

Here’s another card using the same sketch, but I made it into (my first) gate fold card. The card is a bit smaller than I intended it to be (4 1/4” wide by 8 1/2” long), but it’s a baby card, so it’s cute to be small, right?

I used SU Tempting Turquoise for the base, BG Lime Ricky DP and SU Yo-Yo Yellow.

Stamp is from MFT Baby on Board.

Technorati Tags: Basic Grey,Ambrosia paper,Lime Rickey Paper,Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge,tree stamp,Rock'n'roll technique,fall colours,fall,handmade cards,A Paper Buffet,My Favorite Thinks,Baby,baby card

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One card, three challenges

I needed some inspiration for a thank you card for a customer, so I started off at Taylor’s Cupcake Challenge to see what the sketch was for this weekend.

Ok, so I had my layout.

Next I needed some colours to work with, so I headed over to the Color Throwdown.  I’ve always wanted to play along, but until last week, I never had all SU cardstock ( I mostly used Bazzil), so this is my first time playing along.

Colours for this week are:

 

Add one more challenge, found while blog hopping; There She Goes August release challenge 13- Wings and Things.

So, put them all together and what do you get…

I even remembered to finish the inside of the card!

I used SU Chocolate Chip for the base, layered with Certainly Celery and the DP is Martha Stewart.  I used my nesties to cut circles out of Perfect Plum and inked up my new Hero Arts butterfly stamp in matching ink.  A nesties tag, with the sentiment stamped in Chocolate Chip and some Chocolate Chip to finish it off.

I’ve got a few more cards to make today, and tomorrow, my Godson Ethan is coming for a visit! Well, his parents are bringing him of course, he’s only 6 months old!

Happy Saturday!

Ciao for now,

Technorati Tags: Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge,Color Throwdown,There She Goes,Hero Arts,Stampin Up,A Paper Buffet,handmade cards

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Sketchy

Sketches are my blueprints.  They allow me to get out of my comfort zone and grow.  I haven’t been great at keeping up with playing along for the last little while, but I’m hoping things will change.

I have quite a few cards I want to make over the next few days, and turned to some sketches for some inspiration.

I  wanted to make a Congratulations card for my friend H, who called me this week to tell me she was engaged! How exciting!! Both her and her fiancé are pilots, so earlier in the week I picked up my first EK punch- an airplane.

I used Taylor’s sketch for this card, and it also qualifies for the  A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge 49- blue and green.

I flipped the sketch and did change it a little bit, the airplanes just didn’t look right grouped in the left corner, so I used some more on the inside. Cardstock is Bazzil, Ribbon is American Crafts stamp is SU and the DP is from my stash.

 

I needed some birthday cards and thank you cards, and turned to the WSC sketch which is hosted by Jen Balcer this weekend.

 

I used my paper from my $1.50 Michaels loot to make this card, and I really liked the layout.  I liked it so much, I made another as a thank you card, and then made 4 more to add to my Etsy store and to the hair salon here in town where I sell my cards. Both sentiments are SU.

Next up was a MojoMonday sketch for my mom’s Mother’s Day card.  She saw another card I made with the SU Fifth Ave rose stamp and loved it, so I knew I wanted to use that for her card.

This card took more work to put together, and I really wasn’t sure if the rose was such a good idea because it was so large.  Overall, I am happy with how this one turned out.  The card base is SU Sahara Sand, DP is double sided S.E.I Chocolate Nougat, Bazzil Raspberry Dream, and Bazzil Grey ( I’m sure it has some fancy name, but I can’t remember).  The ribbon is SU Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon and the sentiment is from Stampendous Sunny Flowers set.  If you click on the picture, I softened the edges of the rose (stamped in SU Basic Gray) with my blender pen. 

I made one more card, but surprisingly didn’t follow a sketch for this one.  While making my Godson’s Christening card a few weeks ago, I realized I really liked the way white ink looks on SU Sahara Sand, and went from there.   Another birthday card using SU Birthday Whimsy set, it’s definitely one of my favourite sets of all time.

I stamped the present in white ink on Sahara Sand to create my own dp, and stamped the cake in SU Chocolate Chip.  It’s making me crave some chocolate cake!

 

I struggle making neutral cards, and simple cards as well.  But I really like the clean lines of this one and didn’t feel it needed any embellishments.

 

It’s a sunny Saturday here and I’m off this afternoon to watch my friend D in a charity wheelchair basketball tournament.

Make sure to check out all the sites above for some great sketches!

Happy Saturday!

Ciao for now,

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A TECC65 entry, and quite possibly my best card yet

I think I’ve outdone myself.  I think it’s incredible how some cards come together on their own, and some you have to fight tooth and nail to get them to where you want them to go.

My TECC65 entry morphed into something else, and I’m incredibly happy with it.

I saw Taylor’s sketch for this weekend  and immediately had an idea.  I wanted the vertical piece to be a bookmark.  Taylor had said she was excited about this week’s sketch because it was so open to interpretation.  Boy, was she right!

My card seemed to take on a life of it’s own, but I really think this may be my best work yet, and I’m thrilled!!

I used Cloud9Design paper in Cocoa Bouquet; this paper MADE the card!  The cardstock is SU Chocolate Chip and some American Crafts Rust paper (from the Christmas pack if you can believe it!) some SU Chocolate Chip ribbon and my MS border punch.

I mounted the bottom piece using foam tape, as well as the sentiment so my bookmark can slide in and be held without any adhesive.

I’ve left the inside blank, I’m not sure if this card is meant to be a Thank You card, a Congratulations card (sentiment is from SU Congrats set) or maybe even a Mother’s Day card. 

One thing is for sure…I love love LOVE this card.  It may be very hard to part with.  I’m not sure if I’ll list it, but I probably will and just use this design over and over again.

I did make 4 other cards today, but honestly, I’m embarrassed to show them because they’re not as good as this one! LOL

Make sure to check out Taylor’s site and all the wonderful submissions for this week, everyone really had a different way of interpreting it.

Happy Saturday!

Ciao for now,

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Two for one: TECC64 and Sissy Scrap card challenge #1

This is my first entry in Margie and Sara’s Sissy Scrap Card Challenge, and I combined it using Taylor’s sketch for TECC64.

I worked on the baby cards for my customer, I got another two done with this design.

I used the MFT Baby First stamp set, I just love it! and again, went straight for the SU Salebration paper.

Margie’s challenge asked us to use inchies, ribbon and buttons.  I kept the stroller a true 1” x 1” by masking the handle and using floral wire instead.  I did somewhat cheat with the buttons, they’re brads….but I looked all over Michaels this morning and couldn’t find buttons! I swear.

I love the little “baby on board”  stamp and used Glossy Accents to make it a little more authentic.

I have two more cards to make for my customer, a special project (you’ll have to wait for that one) and I still have to make Ethan’s Christening card for tomorrow. It’s all planned in my head, I just have to put it to paper.

Happy Saturday!

Ciao for now,

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A Seal, and the Easter Bunny go to a Wedding and say Thank you?

Bet I caught your attention with that title, eh??

Before you have me committed, I couldn’t think of another way to highlight everything that’s in this post.  And even though it’s Tuesday…there’s no TwilightTuesday.com challenge entry.  Sorry kids, life is just too busy.  The only reason that I found the strength to make what I did tonight was out of sheer necessity.

First up, a Seal Concert recap. In a word: fantastic.  He was incredible, and what a talented artist.  One song after another, taking some time to chat up the crowd and tell a few jokes.  The range of this man’s voice is awesome.  Both my sister and I realized there were so many songs we didn’t know, but were happy to hear almost the entire Soul album.

                                                                                                                                           I told you I’m a sucker for a guy with a guitar…

 

 

And you know how there’s always one memorable person in the crowd at a concert                                                                                                                                                                                                 ….well here she is!  ------>

 

There were 3 empty seats in the front row, and Seal said it made him nervous, so the British gentleman he is, he invited 3 staff members to come and sit and enjoy the show.  Unfortunately they had to decline, but this woman was quick to run up to the front and grab a seat.  She was in her own little world and for a little while, I was afraid she would either 1) Jump on stage with Seal or 2) pull him OFF the stage.  She did neither  and Seal was a great sport about it.

Sunday my sister and I did visit the ROM (the Royal Ontario Museum), but I’m saving those pictures for a Foto Friday, so you’ll have to wait for those.

I want to send a thank you card to the Subaru Sales Rep who helped me with my car (it is here and it is fantastic!); he was so helpful, not pushy at all, and even remembered what radio station I listened to on my test drive and had it programmed in my car when I came to pick it up!  I was looking through my cards and realized all my thank you cards were too feminine, so I put one together using this past weeks Taylored Expressions sketch layout.  I had to stop myself from adding ribbon and flowers all over it, that would defeat the whole point! lol

My friend L asked me to make her menu cards for her October wedding.  Here’s  my first prototype,  and I’m not sure if I’ll continue with this design.  Her colours are silver, black and white, but I feel like I need to dress this up some more…any ideas?

 

 

 

I will be printing the menu on the computer, I just hand wrote Menu to fill up the space.  Both L and her fiancee are Italian, so I thought maybe this lyric would be cute on the menu cardI made a tiny ribbon rose but again, I’m just not feeling it.

One more thing to share, now that they’ve arrived safely to their recipient.  I sent these Easter Bunny mini 4x4 cards to Lorrie Veasey as a thank you for giving me the pink elephant (check this post for the whole story).

That’s it for me folks, I likely won’t be posting until Friday,  tomorrow I’ll be on the road all day long, and Thursday I’m heading home to my parents for Easter (another 6 hour drive).

Happy Tuesday!

Ciao for now,

 

 

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A New Look and a TECC birthday card

You may have noticed…a new banner and blog look!

The background is from thecutestblogontheblock, I just picked another background instead of the other Madison Ave look.  But I’m most excited about my new banner.  If you have a peek at my Etsy store, you can see they match now.  The blog banner, Etsy banner and a few other things (business cards, labels and custom order Etsy shopholder) were designed by the wonderful Stacey at Pixel Cafe.  She is an absolute delight to work with, and incredibly patient with someone like me who knows NOTHING about graphic design.

I sent my new business card to the printer yesterday, they should be in this week, I can’t wait to get them back.  I feel like a real business owner now. Once they come in, I’ll share with you :)

I have a few things cookin’ here, but they’re not ready to share yet.

I did manage to finish a card for Taylor’s challenge this week.  I skipped last week, but when I saw this week’s sketch, I knew it would be perfect for some birthday cards I need to make. 

I had been putting off buying the oval Nesties, but after I saw Taylor’s sketch, I knew I couldn’t put it off any more.  Part of the reason I had waited so long was that Nesties are hard to find up here, I always had to order them from the U.S.  With the dollar being what it is…it’s pricey.  But then! my friend Andrea told me about this wonderful little place- ScrappinGreatDeals.  It’s a 5 minute drive from my house (and you can order online) and has all the Nesties I could ever dream of owning.  She’s got wonderful paper (also used in the card, I just couldn’t resist!) and lots of other fab stuff- which I’ll share later in the week.  So much stuff just hopped in my basket- don’t you hate when that happens? It was begging to come home with me, what could I do?

This was also the first card where I got to do some paper piercing, using my new Mat pack from SU.  What a difference the right template makes!  I had some other templates from another company, but they don’t hold a candle to the SU ones.  I’m pretty happy about the card, and used ribbon from Michaels that I bought nearly 3 years ago and hadn’t used yet!

Well, I have a few errands to do today and my plan is to clean the car-ick. But it’s a beautiful sunny Sunday and it’s got to be done!

Happy Sunday!

Ciao for now,

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Birthday, birthday and more birthday cards!

Ok, so I intended to make about 12, but only 3 birthday cards are making it to this post for two reasons, 1)  I don’t want to be posting at midnight and 2) I’m stuck!

I meant to sit down yesterday and make a truckload of cards, for some offline orders I have for my “Oh Shoot Card Kits” but I just wasn’t feeling it.  I felt a tickle in my throat and decided to rest, I cannot afford to get sick this week!

I ran my errands this morning and was inspired by a trip to Staples! of all places, isn’t it crazy? Unfortunately, that inspiration stopped as soon as I got home and now I’m stuck again.

I will share with you what I did manage to create today and maybe after a little break (to do laundry, very uninspiring if you ask me), I’ll have some more creative juices flowing.

Up first is my Dad’s birthday card, a belated one at that.  I was holding off on sending it because I had to go to Sears to get a gift card.  My Dad is very hard to shop for, but my Mom said he’s planning on buying a new riding lawn mower this spring, so the gift card is to be used towards that.

I printed a picture of  a tractor on cardstock and cut it out, mounted it on dimensionals and used my favourite grass paper for some dimension. 

Next is a card for Taylor’s Cupcake Challenge over at Taylored Expressions. I finally inked up SU’s Fifth Avenue, which I adore and created this card.  Be warned! there is LOTS of pink in this one!

I used my MS border punch, some new Bazzil pink paper (my Michaels finally started carrying some good paper packs, this is from the Tropical pack, I couldn’t pass it up on a sunny Sunday like today).  I stamped the Rose in Purely Pomegranate, and coloured with Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink and then Purely Pomegranate.  I didn’t let the inks dry in between coats because I wanted it to look like a real flower, the shading is never even or perfect.  I cut out the rose and mounted it on dimensionals.  A few dew drops added some balance to the top, it was looking a bit empty to me.

And the last one I made using the Basic Grey paper I picked up today at Michaels, it’s called Euphoria and reminds me of fireworks on Canada Day.

The cupcake is from Inkadinkado and the inside reads “celebrate one cupcake at a time” from SU.  In hindsight I think I should’ve rounded the corners on the cupcake or used the ticket punch, it’s looking a little unfinished.  I may try to fix it if I can.

Hope your Sunday is going well, I’m hoping I’ll have a few more ideas and get a TTIC Bella’s Birthday card made, it’ll be Tuesday before you know it and I don’t want to be 2 challenges behind!

Have a great Sunday!

Ciao for now,

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Peter Cottontail and a Cocktail dress

Admittedly, I haven't been feeling very crafty lately, I think most of it stems from my primary computer still not being fixed (it decided to catch a virus and has been at the 'doctor's for a week now)...I'm hoping I will get it back tomorrow. I feel a little lost without my computer and although I have all my files saved nicely on my new external hard drive...it's just not the same. I saw Taylor's sketch for her Friday Cupcake challenge and thought it looked great and might help me out of my funk.

I picked some paper I had left over from my Easter cards last year and chose the bunny from Unity's Easter Blessings set which I had yet to ink up. I realized I have 3 Easter bunny stamps, all the same picture (bunny from behind) by 3 different companies, ...I just think it's too cute to pass up! They're all different sizes, so it does come in handy. I inked in Cat's Eye Platinum and added some fun flock to the tail. Some dew drops finished it off, and it's actually exactly like the sketch layout for once!

I still think this card is missing something, but I'm not sure what. I don't have a sentiment stamped on the outside, and might leave it for the inside of the card...but it looks a little bare. Any suggestions?

I'm going to apologize now for the dark picture; since I don't have my primary computer back yet, I also don't have a very good photo editing program where I can play with the lighting.

A few weeks ago I told you about a new rule I made for myself. I tend to drift to black and white for many of my cards, so if I make a B&W card, my rule says I have to make one with lots of colour. Since I've been feeling like some of my mojo is gone, I decided to work backwards. My bunny card was full of colour, so I went to my comfort zone of B&W to find my mojo. I saw this next layout in a magazine and have had this card idea in my head for about a week.

I picked my favourite GinaK stamp set and my favourite stamp- the cocktail dress. I've made a few cards with this stamp and tended to stamp polka dots on the dress, but I wanted the Rhinestone adhesive to really stand out, so I left the dress plain white. A wide satin white ribbon tied around my favourite flocked DP finishes it off. It looks pretty close to the card I had in my head, so I'm quite happy.

Just a quick post today, I'm also mourning the loss of my MS Live Writer program on my computer; I hadn't been blogging long before my friend Julie told me about it, but now I miss it dearly and posting right into Blogger is driving me a bit mad.

*fingers crossed my computer comes back to me tomorrow and everything will be right in the world again*

Happy Sunday!

Ciao for now,

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Spring has sprung!...at least in my stamping room it has

As the snow falls outside my window, I decided to bring a little Spring to my stamping room. A few different things inspired this card. Taylor's sketch for this week's challenge provided the layout. Initially I was going to make a birthday card- I've had an offline order for one of my Oh Shoot Card Kits and needed some birthday cards to go inside.

However, yesterday, I was asked by Natasha at Doodlestar on Etsy to participate in her ThursdaySweetTreat features. Of course I said Yes! She posts a theme every Friday, and you have until the following Wednesday to submit them to her, and she'll post them on Thursdays. It's a great way to keep the inspiration flowing! This week's theme is "Let Beauty Rain Down Upon...". You can check out more at her blog here and make sure you check it out every Thursday to see all the featured artists and what they've put together (I've added a button on the side of my blog, so you can use that as well).

The rain theme had me stumped...although it shouldn't have. I love the rain. Summer rain is my favourite and if a thunderstorm goes with it, all the better. I love the smell of rain, and the smell of the earth and my garden after the rain. The garden is really what inspired this card...after all "April showers bring May flowers".

This card has a few 'firsts'... this is the first time I've ever made a card this big! It measures 5.5" by 5.5", but needed to be this big because of the Tulip panels. I also used watercolour paper for the first time, and I really like it. I've been quite envious of the 'distressed' look on some wonderful cards I've seen lately, and used a nail file to sand down the edges on all the papers. I wanted this card to be soft and I'm happy with how it turned out.

I originally had planned to stamp the word 'spring' on a tag and attach with a ribbon across the front to stay in line with Taylor's sketch, but then realized 'spring' could be split up evenly across the three panels.

Just a quick post for me today, still trying to figure out all my computer woes on my primary computer and I'm going to watch the Oscars tonight, so I definitely can't miss the pre-show!

Make sure to check out Taylor's sketch and Thursdaysweettreats!

Happy Sunday!

Ciao for now,

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My new Rule and a TECC55 entry

I made myself a new rule when it comes to making my cards; for every card I make with my favourite black & white combo, I have to make another card with colour. I’m making this public knowledge so I stick to it…and feel free to remind me every once and a while ;)

I read in a magazine that Yellow and Grey is THE colour combo for this spring. So I decided to give it a whirl while completing Taylor’s Cupcake Challenge this week. I received my new Unity spring stamps in the mail this week, and since the weather in London has been rainy and snow for the past few days, I decided I needed some spring and it was time to ink them up. I also made a black and white card and had to abide my new rule! (I’ll show you that one in a second…)

Here’s my entry:

I used some paper from my “Me and My Big Ideas” DP pad, and the Unity “itty bitty Easter Blessings” tulip. I love that set and can’t wait to ink the rest of the stamps. I’m proud of this card for two reasons: 1) I’ve never been good at mosaic type cards and 2) I hate yellow. I don’t know why, I know it’s supposed to be bright and cheery and happy, but I’m not a fan. I will say, I do like this grey and yellow combo, but I can’t promise I’ll be rushing out to change my entire wardrobe to this colour palette (bare with me, I know the picture doesn’t really show the grey paper, I’m still learning how to use my new Ott light and my camera).

And here’s the reason for the new rule, this was the first card I made this weekend:

I used some of that fabulous paper I received in my TwilightTuesday blog candy. I bought some white paper flowers last week at my local stamping store, and then added the red flower just as an accent. I think I use the black and white combo so often because it’s classic, and well….safe. BUT, I’m trying to expand my horizons, which is why I’m going to stick to this new rule of mine.

The sentiment from this card is SU, and is one of my favs

I’m going to call it the end of my crafty day, and continue my movie-marathon from yesterday. Tomorrow’s a holiday and I’ve got some more crafty ideas in my head, so I’ll be back then :)

Happy Sunday!

Ciao for now,

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Hey Mr. D.J.!

First up…it’s Grammy Sunday!! In honour of the most prestigious musical award, I have finally added my playlist to my blog. It’s not completely filled, but silence is deafening to me, so I wanted to at least put something in. It’s not an automatic start, (I’ve heard that can be annoying for visitors) so feel free to hit play and see what I’ve got. There are some songs I really wanted on there, but they weren’t available. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I’m a sucker for a guy with a guitar…so there’s definately a theme to my playlist.

Next is Taylor’s Cupcake Challenge. I needed to make a birthday card for my mom, it’s a bit late, so I wanted it to be special. I had some DP left over from last week’s challenge, and decided to use it again. I changed the main panel because I couldn’t bare to cover up the DP, but here it is:

I also wrote a note on the back…instead of my usual A Paper Buffet label, I wanted my ma to know this was is just for her!

I also want to introduce a new line I will be adding to my Etsy store this week. I love punny stamps, and last week I shared with you my Two Peas in a Pod- We go together.

That is the first card in my new series, and so here is the second… It’s another 4x4 mini card; the images on this Stampendous set are quite small, but I think they look great on a 4x4 card. These cards were a bit of a challenge for me, I’ve never been good at random stamping.

However, I discovered a tutorial at clearly I stamp where they demonstrated if you stick to a triangular pattern, the random stamping becomes more uniform and fills up the paper appropriately…and it worked! This is a perfect, bright and cheerful Thank you card. I stamped the images and then water coloured them.

I’ll be introducing you to a few more cards in this new series and adding to my Etsy store all week.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Ciao for now,

S.

PS- Thanks Julie for the tip about Windows Live Writer- this is so much easier! Yes, yes, I know, enough with the “thank you’s”…but I’m Canadian, we thank everyone, for everything ;)

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