Running With Scissors...

Birdies on a Bicycle

 

Yikes, it’s July already!  Really?  Heck, I’m just starting to get the hang of summer.  I have quite a few birthdays to celebrate this month and some cards are already made, but I need more.  There goes my stash.  Luckily I’m happy to replenish, especially the birthday cards.  They’re always fun.  This one was made with a new-to-me set which I think is so cute.  It’s Penny Black Touch of Whimsy.  Lots of darling stamps in this set and I’m looking forward to using the rest of them, but I’ll start with the bicycle.

 

 

While I’m trying to focus on my new stamps before they become retro, I’m also making an effort to use up some of the spare parts I’ve set aside.  You probably have those, too – bits and pieces you prepared for a card and then decided not to use at the time.  Mine have spilled over from their box and are now starting to fill a basket, so I’d say it’s time to either use them or lose them.  I pulled out a few pieces and earmarked those for use.  Starting small, you know.   In this case it’s the card base.  It was sitting there already covered with the blue designer paper, so I built on that, adding the green gingham and the die cut ric rac.

 

 

I colored with Copics on X-Press It Blending Card.  Sparkled with Stickles Stardust glitter.  Added some white dots on the flags and two flowers.  All supplies will be listed below my signature.  Enjoy your first July day and I’ll see you again soon!

 

Stamps:  Penny Black Touch of Whimsy  Paper:  X-Press It Blending Card, CTMH Key Lime, Pretty in Pink, white card base covered with Bo Bunny Prairie Chic designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Stickles Stardust glitter, Signo white gel pen, MFT Die-namics Wonky Stitched Squares, Taylored Expressions Ric Rac Borders, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

You Can Never Have Too Much Happy

 

Sometimes you just have to make something cute and happy, and I was sure feeling it when I made this card.  I used one of my new Whimsy Stamps called You Moove Me; a Ki Hampton Art sentiment (old?); and a new Tutti die called Butterfly Strip.

 

 

Coloring was done with Copics and papers are combined from two different pads.  Thought I’d show you how the buttons are inset to minimize dimension for easier mailing.  In the photo below they look like skinny buttons, but they’re actually at least twice that thick.  I punched 1/4” holes through the three layers on the image panel – the colored panel, the red mat, and the die cut border – then pushed the buttons through.

 

 

Pictured below is the back side of the panel where you can see the buttons flush with the mat.

 

 

Note #1:  Since I couldn’t punch through three layers of cardstock I punched the butterflies first, then overlaid them on the image/mat combo and used them as a guide to punch the remaining two layers.

Note #2:  My hole punch wouldn’t reach the center spot on the mat, so I used my piercing tool to poke continuous conjoining holes around the perimeter of where the 1/4” hole should be.  Popped right out!

 

 

This card is already on its way somewhere to spread the happy.  Oh, and, by the way, the inside sentiment says “You can never have too much happy”.  Ain’t it the truth!

 

I thought I’d try not to talk your eyes out today, but I hope you had fun looking.  I’ll be back when stamping happens.  Enjoy your day!

 

Stamps:  Whimsy Stamps You Moove Me, Ki sentiments (Hampton Art)  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Real Red (SU!), Snap Wood & Notebook Basics designer paper, Echo Park Fine and Dandy designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Buttons, Tutti Butterfly Strip die

Daisy Chain

 

Hi, there!  I’m doing another Retro Rubber Challenge today, this time as a guest designer and I’m feeling very honored.  Thanks gals!  Retro Rubber is all about blowing the dust off the old favorites and bringing them out to play.  Use at least one stamp more than a year old, but new papers, dies, etc are okay.  I have a penchant for clearing clutter, and that includes stamps, so if it’s old and I still have it that means I’m truly fond of it.  The trouble is, I browse through and admire them as if they’re an art collection, but don’t often use them.  Isn’t it more fun when you do things together, though?  Share your interests and encourage each other?  That’s what a challenge is for me more than anything, and this one encourages me to love on the old stuff and make it new again.

 

 

The flowers and sentiment I’ve used today are both by Stampendous, approximately 15 years old.  Yes, they’ve been around the block a few times.  It’s been a while since the flowers saw the light of day, but aren’t they pretty?  Good as new!  I’d buy them all over again.  From today until June 3rd our challenge is “It’s May!  (Use flowers)”.

 

 

I tried to match the flower color in the inspiration photo.  Also used a border of wood grain designer paper, “nailed on” with silver mini-brads.  Dotted the flower centers with a Sakura Opaque Souffle pen.

 

It’s an easy design.  Paradoxically, easy designs are difficult for me, but I’m trying to train my brain in that direction.

 

 

Okay, that’s enough from me.  If you have a retro flower stamp or two in your stash I’d love to see it, so stamp along with us at Retro Rubber.  Have yourself a fabulous day!

 

Stamps:  Stampendous Daisy Chain and Take Care  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, gray Bazzill, My Mind’s Eye Howdy Doody designer paper  Ink:  SU! Certainly Celery, Ranger Archival Watering Can, Sakura Opaque Souffle pen, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Mini-brads

Little Blue Ellie

 

A blue ellie?  But, she’s so darn cute!  Heck, maybe next time I’ll make her purple or pink.  I’ve had this Wild Rose Bella with Posy far too long for her to just now be getting some color on her, so might as well make it a pretty color.  Yes, first time out of the package for Bella.  I’ve had her over a year and I see she’s been discontinued.  I have no idea how old she was when I got her.  That’s the thing about buying stamps at my local paper crafts store – I have no idea if they’re new or not.  But then, I guess it doesn’t matter.  It only matters if I love it, right?

 

 

An easy design with lots of white ‘cause that just what I felt like.  Tried it on designer paper, but it took away some of the sweetness.  First time use for the Poppystamps Flower Stack die, too.  I cut it from some old Chatterbox designer paper in shades of peach and orange.  The tiny butterfly pops out of one of the Whimsy Stamps Build a Banner dies.  I wasn’t going to add it, but I needed a little extra touch of orange.  You see, I made this card with two challenges in mind:

 

Color Throwdown #391:  Pink, light blue, orange, and peach.  I’m barely entering in time for this one.  I hope it’s okay that I added some green.

Critters & Creatures Linky Party 4:  Always anything goes with a critter or creature as the focal point.

 

My Bella ellie is stamped on X-Press It Blending Card and colored with Copic markers.  I’ll wrap this up and list the recipe below.  I hope all you moms had a happy Mother’s Day!  Mine was chore-free and relaxing… ahhhh…

 

Stamps:  Wild Rose Studio Bella with Posy  Paper:  X-Press Blending Card, Bazzill white, Bashful Blue, retired Chatterbox designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Mini-Prills, Poppystamps Flower Stack, Whimsy Stamps Build a Banner (butterfly)

Very Retro Rubber

 

Recently I happened upon a challenge called Retro Rubber.  Have you heard of it?  The idea is to use a stamp that’s a year or more old.  Well, I have lots of those and I love to use them so, even though I’ve been diligently working on the not yet used stuff, I decided to play along today.  My retro stamp is Kerr Jar and Berries by Embossing Arts, dated 1999.  It was long about that time I ordered it from an Embossing Arts catalog.

 

 

I watercolored with a few Stampin’ Up! inks on 140 lb hot press watercolor paper.  The current Retro Rubber Challenge #37 calls for this sketch:

 

 

I’m also playing along in the Just Us Girls Challenge at Cards In Envy.  Cards must be flat enough to fit in an envelope and the current challenge calls for girly or feminine cards.  I removed the center from my flower and replaced it with a linen thread bow so it would be non-lumpy and very easy to mail.

 

That’s it for me!  Have a happy day!

 

Stamps:  Embossing Arts Kerr Jar and Berries, Stampin’ Up! Bloomin’ Marvelous (sentiment)  Paper:  Arches 140 lb hot press watercolor, Pink Pirouette, kraft, Prima Annalee designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Archival Watering Can, Palette Noir (sentiment), SU inks for watercoloring  Accessories:  Flower, linen thread, ribbon

Little Brown Bird

 

I had a rainy weekend and a chance to make some cards, so I focused on sympathy for an ongoing card order.  My lady wants mostly sympathy, thinking of you, and get well cards.  She likes the handcrafted look with layers and accents, but I always aim to give her cards she can put one postage stamp on and walk it out to the mailbox.  No standing in line at the post office.  Rather than flowers I opted for cards that would be suitable for a male recipient.  They could go either way, really.  I love anything with a nature theme.  I’m just sharing one card today.  I used a Deep Red stamp called Springtime Sparrow.  I purchased this stamp locally, but you can see it here on the Deep Red site.

 

 

I Googled sparrows before I colored this and was quickly overwhelmed by all the different kinds of sparrows, so I went with browns.  Surely there’s a sparrow similar to this somewhere?  Coloring was done with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits directly onto the 110 lb Neenah Classic White card base.  I chose Prismas so I could avoid an additional layer.  The coloring does not show through the other side at all.  I lightly sponged around the bird in pale yellow and added some green speckles with a retired Stampin’ Up! Itty Bitty Backgrounds stamp.

 

On top I layered a Poppystamps Thicket Frame cut from Core’dinations cardstock onto wood grain designer paper with an oval window.  I cut a ring of designer paper to fit inside the oval for additional framing.  It is just a ring, not a whole layer – cut with the smallest Spellbinders Grand Ovals and the largest SB Classic Ovals Large.  A little die cut foliage in dark brown for contrast, and a circle punched sentiment finish it off.  Sentiment is Hero Arts.  I’ll list everything in the recipe below my signature.

 

 

Inside is this sentiment from another set, and two die cut leaves (Dee’s Distinctively Small Pair of Leaves).

 

 

I’m happy to say I’ve moved one more stamp (bird) from the not-yet-used basket to the used-at-least-once basket.  We all have that not-yet-used stuff, don’t we?  I organized my not-yet-used stuff this weekend – stamps, digis, and dies.  Just taking stock of what needs attention and how far I have to go.  Let’s just say I’ll be busy for a while.  Have a good day!

 

Stamps:  Deep Red Springtime Sparrow, Hero Arts Small Greetings, Stampin’ Up! Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Words to the Rescue Variety Pack 1 (inside)  Paper:  110 lb Neenah Classic White, green Core’dinations, SU! Barely Banana and Chocolate Chip, Simple Stories Wood & Notebook Basics designer paper, BasicGrey Origins designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Barely Banana, Mellow Moss, Chocolate Chip  Coloring Medium:  Prismacolor pencils – Light Umber, Dark Umber, Sienna Brown, Cream, Black, 50% and 70% Warm Grey  Accessories:  1 1/4” and 1 3/8” circle punches  Dies:  Poppystamps Thicket Frame, Spellbinders Grand Ovals and Classic Ovals Large, Memory Box Blooming Vine, Dee’s Distinctively Small Pair of Leaves

Sunny, Springy, Awesome Birthday

 

I’m having a hard time staying put for long in my stamp room.  This is my first spring as a lady of leisure and I can already tell the garden is going to love me for it.  The nice thing is, I can let stamping happen when it happens and not have to hurry it, so it took me a few days to actually finish this card.  I know!  But I wanted to like the finished product and what’s the rush, anyway?  There’s plenty of time to get this in the mail for a May birthday.

I recently purchased my first ever Verve stamp set.  It’s a sentiment set which includes flowers, and you know how fond I am of both sentiments and flowers (can never have too many of either).  At the same time I purchased the coordinating word dies – another love.  The stamp set is called Simply Amazing, and the word dies are Amazing Adjectives.  So here’s my simple card that took several days to complete:

 

 

I embossed the flowers in white and watercolored with yellow, green, and blue Tombow markers.  The oval and one of the swirly die cuts were in my “card parts” stash and they helped determine the design.  I added glitter to the die cut “awesome” to make it more awesome, then put it all together with more die cut leaves and swirls and three white sequins.

 

 

The colors were inspired by this week’s Color Throwdown – yellow, blue, green, white.  It wasn’t looking likely that I was going to finish in time to link it, but I’m getting in just under the wire, sheesh.  It’s all just for fun.  I love these fresh, springy colors.

 

I’m also getting in just under the wire at Seize the Birthday.  It’s “anything goes” with an optional topping of flowers.

 

Now, off to the garden!  It’s beautifully sunny and supposed to be in the 70’s today.  If I finish my digging and transplanting soon enough I might sit under the cherry tree at the picnic table and color.  Doesn’t that sound wonderful?  Life is good!  Have a happy day!

 

Stamps:  Verve Simply Amazing  Paper:  140 lb hot press watercolor, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, CTMH, Sun Kiss Yellow, Memory Box Parsley (green), blue Bazzill  Ink:  Ranger Archival French Ultramarine, Versamark, Tombow markers for watercoloring  Accessories:  White embossing powder, sequins, Diamond Dust glitter  Dies:  Verve Amazing Adjectives, Paper Smooches Foliage 1, Frantic Stamper Trio of Swirls

Monday Stella

 

I made this card for a former coworker/current friend.  Not trying to rub it in that I’m retired and she’s not, but. . .  This Bugaboo Stella was a Friday Freebie a while back.  She’s called Stella Work Monday.  In February I won ten FREE Bugaboo digis, and they’re all so cute!  Among my selections I made sure to include a couple more Stellas for coworker cards.  Anyhoo, it’s Monday, so here’s the card:

 

 

It actually arrived at its destination on a Monday.  I sent it to her at work, tee hee.  She loves me.  Just having a little fun.  Hope your Monday is better than Stella’s!

 

Let the Coloring Commence!

 

Boy, oh, boy, do I ever have a lot of coloring to do!  It’s not commencing very quickly, though, what with last week being such a beautiful week for spring gardening.  Nice to have the option to spend as much time as I like out there, but a blister in the palm of my hand put a stop to the digging for a while.  So I decided to watercolor my new Penny Black Poppy Gems.  I purchased mine locally when I popped into our local paper crafts store for something else entirely, but these were right up front and I’m weak when it comes to a beautiful stamp image.

 

 

I started by cutting a tag with the largest of my Poppystamps Stitched Main Street Tags and making a smooshy watercolor background.  I don’t have a craft mat so I used a large acrylic block for this purpose.  Scribbled marker ink on the block, spritzed with water, then pressed the tag into it.  I did the aqua first and then the saffron.  Just two colors, dried in between.  Concentrated most of the background color to the left of the tag, away from the image area, but they overlap some, as well.  The nice thing about watercoloring is that it will completely cover the background as long as the background is not too dark.

 

Stamped the partial image with Ranger Archival Watering Can (medium to dark gray).  Pictured below are the four Tombow markers I used for the background and image.  Tombow markers don’t have names, just numbers, and I can’t say as the cap is always such a perfect indicator of the ink color, so I always keep a paper scrap handy for testing the color.  I would call this aqua, saffron, true red, Tuscan red, and black.

 

 

I’ve got a little bleeding and a little coloring outside the lines, not on purpose, but overall I’m okay with it.  This time around I used colors similar to the stamp packaging, hence the saffron blended into the petal edges to give them an orange-ish tint.

 

Finished off the card with stitching on coordinating designer paper and two more of the Stitched Main Street Tags with a copper cord bow.  I punched an 1/8” hole through the three tag layers and embedded the bow knot into it, held in place with Aleene’s Tacky Glue.  Amazing how just those three layers allowed enough of an impression for the bow knot to sink into and make the card lump-free and mail-able with one postage stamp.  Sentiment is a Hero Arts oldie.

 

 

I’m playing along in a couple of challenges that fit this card to a T:

• Cards in Envy (as in envelope).  Theme is flowers and/or fantasy.  Cards only, and must be flat enough to mail in an envelope.
• Come and Get it Challenges Tag You’re It.  Must use a tag.

That’s it for now!  I’ll give a complete supply list in the recipe below my signature.  Have a happy day!

 

Stamps:  Penny Black Poppy Gems, Hero Arts Small Greetings sentiment  Paper:  140 lb cold press watercolor, Bermuda Bay, Prima Alla Prima designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Archival Watering Can (image outline), Versafine Onyx Black (sentiment), Tombow markers for watercoloring as pictured above  Accessories:  Copper cord, Poppystamps Stitched Main Street Tags

Just Because

 

This is another “last” for me today – my last post as the March guest designer for the Color Throwdown Challenge.  I was honored to be asked and I’ve enjoyed these challenges very much.  With more free time in the future I hope to participate as a player now and then.

 

Today’s colors are lime green, teal, and white.  I wondered what I could do with these limited colors, but, in fact, I had quite a few solid stamps out on my desk for options.  Ultimately I chose all older stamps and made another clean and simple card. 

 

 

The leaves are an older Rubbernecker stamp which I do not see on the site now.  Have you visited Rubbernecker lately?  Wow!  They have some gorgeous two-step stamps which make fabulous pretty easy to achieve.  Check them out here.  You may like to see Broni’s card here, made with one of the Rubbernecker two-step sets for an earlier Color Throwdown challenge.  That’s how I was directed to Rubbernecker in the first place.  Gee, thanks, Broni.  I’m sure my stamping budget will be thanking you later, too.  Great prices on their single open line images and solid stamps and sentiments, too.  Just sayin’.  I don’t work for Rubbernecker, nor am I lookin’ to.

 

Back to today’s card… the closest I could come to lime green ink is Stampin’ Up!’s Kiwi Kiss, which I stamped along with their Taken with Teal.  Both older colors.  The sentiment is a Stampin’ Up! oldie (circa 2003) from the Simple Sayings II set.  I layered the image panel onto Kiwi Kiss cardstock and added an edge of My Mind’s Eye Notable designer paper and some sequins from a Taylored Expressions Halloween collection.  Couldn’t be easier, but I like it!  Here’s our inspiration board this week:

 

 

And here’s the fabulous Color Throwdown team:

• Barbara Anders
• Broni Holcombe
• Jodi Collins
• Lisa Henke
• Amy Rysavy
• Lori Tecler
• Lynn Put
• Vickie Zimmer
• Wanda Cullen

Hop over to the Color Throwdown Blog and link up your lime green, teal, and white creation.  It’s always fun to see what people come up with.  Have a great day!