Friends with Flair Friday

Here's my second installment of FFF - a simple card, but one that I like. Unlike most of my cards, this one did not start with a specific sketch in mind. I just knew that I wanted to use this quote stamp and a cranberry color. I've also had several Cuttlebug border embossing folders for a while and thought I would put them to use. As it turns out, I had a folder with a flower similar to what was in the stamp, and I had a couple of flower punchs, too!

Oh, and Corry challenged us on the Unity forum to make a card with NO patterned paper - imagine the nerve of that girl! LOL

I stamped the image in Memento Rhubarb Stalk and matted the image with some matching DCWV textured cardstock, then punched out the flowers with leftovers from the nesties die cuts for the image and mat.

supplies: kraft: Bazzill, cranberry cs: DCWV, flowers: EK Success punches

Thanks for visiting - have a happy Friday & weekend!

Anni-Verve-sary Blog Hop - Verve turns TWO!

Welcome to the first ever official Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop. Verve turns two today and we’re celebrating with a hop, hop, hop! If you just came from Kayla's blog, you're on your way. The party kicked off over on the Verve blog, so if you’ve just happened along, be sure to hop on over there to start from the beginning! And to make this party a real shindig, there’s a mystery jackpot hidden at one of the stops along the hop. One lucky commenter on that blog will win Verve’s entire August release! But of course, it wouldn’t be a mystery if you knew which blog, would it? So if you’re feeling the love give a little shout out to the bloggers in the hop, and you just might have a reason to jump for joy!

The card I'm sharing with you today is one I did for the Viva la Verve challenges over on Splitcoast Stampers. The twist this time was to add texture, and that was fun! I love to use my embossing folders, but sometimes "forget" that I have them. A challenge like this forces me to thumb through my folders.

I really love the graphic boldness of black & white with a little splash of color. The sketch for this challenge did just that, so I decided to roll with it. I also experimented when coloring the flowers. I tried using a blending pen with my Memento dew drop pad. Not a bad result, but I will probably not use it again - I just didn't like the feel of the dry tip scraping over the paper surface. I also thought the sentiment needed just a little something extra, so I inked up only a portion of the leaf part of the flower stamp and used it as a flourish. A few pearls & matting, and the card was done!

supplies ~ cardstock: stash, pearls: Martha Stewart & Michaels, stamps: Verve "Floral Symphony"

Thanks for stopping by! Now it’s time to hop on over to ~Melody's blog~ for a little more Verve-y goodness. Make sure you leave a comment on each blog to enter to win Verve's ENTIRE ANNI-VERVE-SARY RELEASE!

It's release day over at Doodle Dragon Studio!

I've teased you, taunted you and made myself out to be a little pill, but now I'm giving you the full reveal of one of Dustin Pike's new images releasing today. Make sure you visit all the design team blogs (listed on the left under the DDS logo) and Dustin's blog to see the other images!

I wanted to venture a little outside my normal range for this card. Not only did I color the image to look like a Peruvian pelican rather than the more familiar white one, but I also decided to use more dimension on my card than usual. After matting and mounting the image, I cut the waves out freehand with a swiveling craft knife. Then I ran them through my Cuttlebug. I popped each layer of waves up on pop dots, then adhered a 3D sentiment.

supplies ~ cs base: DCWV, black cs: Fiskars, blue cs: Martha Stewart, sentiment: stash, image: Doodle Dragon Studio "Pelican"

Thanks for visiting today, and be sure the visit the other design team blogs and Dustin's website to purchase these wonderful images!

Think Green!

Have you seen any of the stamps from Whimsy Stamps? One lucky person won the Polar Bear in my Spring Break Giveaway a couple of weeks ago, but there are many other adorable stamps, too. And Denise, the owner of Whimsy Stamps, is starting up a challenge blog, too! I have several of her stamps, but haven't had enough time to make them into cards until yesterday. I had already stamped the frog, so I just needed to color him and put him on a card.

I decided to pull out my Cuttlebug folders (they don't get as much use as I'd like) to create a scene. I knew right away that I wanted to use the Forest Branches folder, but wasn't sure what to use for the water. At first, I thought I'd use d'vine Swirl, but then changed my mind to use Tiny Bubbles. AND (you'll be proud of me) I used only scraps to make this card. I even used the scraps after cutting out the frog to stamp the sentiment, and two more of the frog's head so I could layer it.

Yep, this was my first attempt at layering an image in my card. It was accidental, really. I had only meant to cut out the frog and pop him up on dimensionals. In a fatal head-on collision between the image and and a broad tip marker, the poor frog's face was irrepairably disfigured. The only remedy was to either begin again with a fresh image, or layer his face. I actually kind of like the result. The shadows cast by the layering give the card more texture.

ETA: I decided to enter this card in the Flourishes Swing Into Spring challenge. I would really like to win some Flourishes stamps!

I hope you like him. He's such a cutie patootie, how can you NOT love him?!?! Thanks for stopping by for a look. Happy Palm Sunday to you!

supplies ~ kraft: Bazzill, blue cardstock: Martha Stewart, image: Whimsy Stamps, sentiment: Studio G series 26

LOVE

I was going to start this post with some amazing Alaska trivia for you, but I decided instead to save it for a post of its own. This one is dedicated solely to LOOOOOVE! ;o)

Remember that new blog I told you about, i{heart}2stamp? Jen had a sketch this week for us to try and some candy for a lucky challenger. I had agreed to help make Valentine cards for the Cards 4 Kids card drive, so I used her sketch to make this card. This one had a few firsts for me: first time I've ever used printable paper, first time I used this CB die, and first time I inked up this stamp. I can't remember where I downloaded these papers, but they're called Bentley Naturals and Bentley Girls. (If you can help me credit the maker, I'd love for you to leave a comment with their name). I just love this combo - it gives the card a more down-to-earth feel. I used two different Cuttlebug dies to cut the hearts, and the stamp is from Studio G.

OK - I'm off to bed for the night. I hope I can get some cards done this weekend for you to see. Keep your eyes peeled for my post about our crazy temps and a visit from a couple of four-legged friends (I got pics this time)!

ETA: I finally found the blog where I got these papers! If you like these, head over to Snippets Ink. She plans to continue creating digi-kits, but so far the Bentley kits are the only ones she's offered.

Another New Year's challenge card

Okay, I'm back with another card for you! This time I used the sketch from The Whimsical Butterfly (MTTSC3), and the theme from Jacksonbelle's New Year's Eve Challenge #2 (black, white & glitter). I started out thinking I would do something very simple, like a group of trees stamped in black with white painted over to look like snow. It didn't work out quite right, and I didn't have the patience to keep fiddling with it. So here's what I did instead:

It looks complicated, but it was actually quite simple. I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the black cardstock on the bottom half of the card, and then used the Cuttlebug again to cut the hearts and architectural elements. The red heart has been coated with red glitter glue to give the card some bling, then layered over a black heart and affixed to the card with pop dots to give the card more dimension.

I'm still not feeling so great, so even though I planned to ring in the year making cards, I don't think I'm going to make it. My goal is to do the other two Jacksonbelle challenges, but not tonight. The deadline is the 4th, so I think I'll continue tomorrow.

Remember, you only have until midnight tonight to enter my blog candy!

supplies ~ cardstock: stash, die cuts & embossing: Cuttlebug, sweetheart sentiment: Studio G

Simple thanks

I think this is the first time I've ever posted three times in one day....(now I KNOW I have too much time on my hands)!

I was doing my blog hop today and ended up over at the Hero Arts Club Blog. I really liked the simple winter thank you card they demoed, but I'm not feeling well enough to mess with my stamps, clean them up, yaddayaddayadda. Besides, my mom got me some new embossing folders for my Cuttlebug, so I decided to do a slight twist on the Hero card. Instead of stamping snowflakes, I just used my Snowflakes folder before punching out 3/4" circles. I also used my Swiss Dots folder to emboss the base instead of heat embossing the dots. For the sentiment, I just used Making Memories rub-ons. For these four cards, I think it took me a grand total of an hour ('course, I still need to make envelopes, but that's a snap).

supplies ~ cardstock: stash, embossed images: Cuttlebug, rub-ons: Making Memories