CCEE2005 International Hot Air Balloon Week

Lynn finished up her month as hostess for the CCEE Stampers by telling us that this is International Hot Air Balloon Week.  She asked us to fill the skies on our cards with bright and colorful hot air balloons.

As I probably have mentioned before, a ride in a hot air balloon is something that I have checked off my bucket list.  My late husband's 50th birthday gift to me was a ride in a hot air balloon.  It was perfectly delightful.  So I really enjoyed making my challenge card for this week.

I have used these hot air balloon dies from Cheery Lynn Designs many times in the past.  I paired them with a Karen Burniston Train Pivot Panel die, turned vertically so as to add the three balloons on the inside of the card.

Be sure to check out CCEE Stampers blog for some more high-flying fun!

Butterflies, Butterflies, Butterflies

Today's Technique Lovers Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers is a favorite of mine -- Triple Stamping.  I pulled out one of my butterfly stamps for this one.  I usually use a slightly smaller image for this particular technique, but I saw a card using this Stampin' Up butterfly the other day and decided to use it here.

After stamping the butterfly over the three layers of white cardstock with Versafine Onxy Black ink, I clear embossed it and then colored it with three different Copic markers (Y06, YR09, YR27).  I added the shadow behind the butterfly using three other markers (E50, E51, E53).  Then I put the orange mat behind the two top layers and attached the whole panel to the card base, popping up the sentiment with a foam pop dot.

I also made a card for the Clean and Simple Challenge on Splitcoaststampers today.  That challenge was all about New Year's Resolutions.  I'm not a big resolutions maker/keeper, but I am going to try to do one thing -- when I put a card into My Favorites album on SCS, I should CASE it quickly.  I had seen this beautiful card made by Harriet Skelly on Saturday and popped it into My Favorites right away.    I even bought the same embossing folder she used later that day at Joann.  Here's my version of Harriet's card:

I recently bought a set of four Spellbinders butterflies call Les Papillions Two, called that because it actually makes just two butterflies because two of the dies are shadows which you place behind the more intricate one.  The larger butterfly on my card was made with that set.  The middle one actually was a bit harder to make.  I cut the orange one out first.  When I cut the black "shadow" one, I had to be careful when I took the cardstock out of the die because I didn't want to lose the little pieces.  Then I just put some Scotch tape behind the butterfly to keep the small pieces in place.  The top smallest butterfly was made with a punch.

Card #1
Stamps:  Stampin' Up Swallowtail, Hero Arts Little Happy Birthday
Ink:  Versamark Onyx Black
Paper:  MFP Stamp Shop Bright Orange, Snow Storm Smooth
Accessories:  Copic markers, Circle punches, Foam pop dots

Card #2
Paper:  Georgia Pacific White, MFP Stamp Shop Bright Orange, Recollections Orange/White polka dots
Accessories:  Spellbinders Les Papillions Two dies, Cheery Lynn Exotic Butterfly die, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Darice Butterfly Swirl embossing folder, Pearls

Sketch Challenge 521 - SCS

This was my final week as a sample maker for the Sketch Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers.    Allison had given us a daunting task with this sketch:

My card started out as basically a Clean and Simple design, but morphed into something a bit more "busy."

I sponged the rays with Ranger Distress Scattered Straw ink and planned just to add the sun/moon panel and the sentiment, which definitely would have been CAS.  However, I smudged a bit of ink onto the sunrays; and, after all the time it took to do that sponging, I was not about to throw it away.  So I cut a small flourish and adhered it strategically to cover the smudge.  Then I had to add the Enamel Dot stickers to balance out the flourish.   No longer CAS!

I enjoyed my stint as part of the Sketch Challenge team.  It was supposed to be a three-month gig, but it extended to five months -- and I had a grand time.   Thanks, Janette, for asking me.

Stamps:  MFP Stamp Shop Sun and Moon
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Distress Scattered Straw
Paper:  MFP Stamp Shop Dark Night Navy, Snow Storm Smooth
Accessories:  Copic markers, Ranger Sponge applicator, Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish (small), Recollections Enamel Dot Stickers

CCEE1436 - Newspaper Carrier Day

I'm the hostess this month over on the CCEE Stampers Blog, and my first challenge is in honor of Newspaper Carrier Day.  When I was young, it was kids on bicycles delivering the daily paper.  Nowadays, if you have a paper delivered at all, it's probably by an adult.  I used this what-may-be a disappearing holiday (lots of people get their news on the internet today) to honor newspaper carriers and asked the team to make a card using newsprint.  Here's my card.  I wanted to use my new Cheery Lynn globe die, so I looked for an article which would pertain to a globe or the world.  Fortunately, on the day I made my card, there was an article about NASA in our local paper.

If you'd like to play along, link up your card over on the CCEE Stampers blog.  We'd love to see what you've made.

Tutorial Time Challenge - Pillow Top Technique

Today it was my turn to do the tutorial on the Speedy TV Tutorial Time challenge.  This is one of my favorite techniques -- Pillow Top.  I actually had a tutorial for this technique on my blog back in July of 2013.   But it also appears in the Tutorial Section of Speedy TV.  I've used this technique many times.  Here's my card for today, using one of my favorite colors and flower images.

A few weeks ago I made a similar card to this one -- but it has a few more frills on it -- sort of More is More!

I hope you'll give this technique a try -- and link your card up on Speedy TV.  You might win a free stamp set.


Card #1
Stamps:  Mark's Finest Papers - Camellia, Friends
Paper:  SU Really Rust, Mark's Finest Papers Snow Storm Smooth
Ink:  Memento Potters Clay, Ranger Distress Wild Honey
Accessories:  Copic markers, Acetate sheet, Brads

Inspiration Challenge

I recently attended StampFest By the Bay in Clearwater, Florida, with my sister. I love looking at all the new and fun tools at these shows. I found a wonderful lattice die from Cheery Lynn Designs in one of the booths and decided to use it on my Inspiration Challenge card this morning. The site that Stef chose was suggested by a fellow stamper Arleen Yee, a Canadian stamper who goes by the name of Arlybeans. The site shows a wealth of beautiful, handmade Canadian crafts. I chose one of the metal pieces -- the metal butterflies pictured behind my card.

After I cut out the latticework with my Cuttlebug, I removed a section of the frame, glued it onto my white card base, and stamped the butterfly with some kaleidoscope ink. Then I added a bit of "foliage" which was made from a Sizzix "border" die and DCWV border punch strips and punched flowers. Both the butterfly and the sentiment are from a Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company set called Hello Butterflies.

Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers - Hello Butterflies 
Paper: MFP Snow Storm Smooth, Bang-Up Blue, Precious Pink; DCWV border punch strips 
Ink: JoAnn Craft Essentials kaleidoscope pigment ink 
Accessories: Cheery Lynn Designs lattice die, Sizzix Swirly border die, Marvy flower punch, Brads, Clear embossing powder, Circle punches

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.