A Little Inspiration

Bella Bleu Birthday & Finally MOJO106

Ahhh...Isn't it romantic?  Ok, maybe just to us girls, but this paper is reminiscent of Paris, the Victorian era, and has a touch of feminine flair that I love.

Using the Stampin Up! Desinger Series Paper, Bella Blue as the foundation for this card based on the MOJO Monday Sketch (MOJO106), I layered pieces of DSP with neutrals (Kraft & Vanilla) along with the coordinating color, Not Quite Navy.

The tag was made with the Plantin School Book cartirdge for Cricut (3 1/4") and distressed with a little bit of Antique Linen.

I also did a simple decoration on the inside.

Supplies:

Paper: Kraft, Vanilla, Not Quite Navy, Bella Bleu (Designer Series Paper) & Whisper White

Stamps: On Your Birthday

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Antique Linen (Ranger)

Other: Circut (Plantin Schoolbook), Birds w/Flowers & Leaves (SU! Sizzix), Scallop Edge, 3/4" Circle punch, Brad (stash)

Thanks for stopping by!  To place a Stampin Up! order, click here.  Questions, send an email or leave a comment.  Have a great day and happy creating!

Fall Thank You - PPA9 and WSC99

I feel like I'm playing catch up today so I can get to the MOJO Monday Sketch!  But first, the card I made for the Pals Paper Arts inspiration challenge (PPA9) based on this picture from Pottery Barn:

Isn't it beautiful?  I really wish I had some green in my stash of goodies, but it's on order.

Then, I used this sketch from Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge.

I really wanted to keep the card simple, just a few stamps, simple colors, and minimal layers.

I started out with the leaf and tree stamps from "Lovely As a Tree" and used Dusty Durango (inspired from the picture). 

Sticking with simple colors, I used Soft Suede for the background and the trees and added a little touch with the scalloped edging.

And, because of the dark card base, I decorated the inside to 'finish' the card and provide a nice clean writing surface.

Supplies:

Ink: Dusty Durango, Soft Suede

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree and All HolidaysPaper: Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Vanilla

Other: Scallop Punch, Cricut (for circles) Plantin Schoolbook

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

To place a Stampin' Up! order, click here.

Thank You - Bella Bleu

I started this card, thinking I would start with the Weekend Sketch Challenge, but I just couldn't quite get the bird to work with the sketch and since I really wanted to use the bird and the Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper (DSP), this is the result.

Starting with vanilla, I layered Not Quite Navy, and the DSP.  Then, I created the sentiment with the same ink and paper and decided to anchor it with a band of Kraft paper.

That's it.  So simple.  I'll try the WSC on the next one - LOL!

Supplies:

Ink: Not Quite Navy

Stamps: All Holidays

Paper: Kraft, Vanilla, Not Quite Navy, Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper

Other: Sizzix Bird with Leaves & Flower.

Hope you're having a great day!

Thanks for stopping by.

Zucchini Lemon Bread

Do you have an abundance of zucchini in your garden or gifts of huge zucchini from friends?  Well, I do.  One minute they are cute and tender and then next thing I know, they weigh five pounds and are too tough to serve for dinner.

Last summer, I overloaded on chocolate zucchini cake (so good) and decided to try something new this summer.

I went for the "My Special Zucchini Bread Recipe" by Heidi Swanson over at 101 Cookbooks.  Her baked goods are incredibly creative and delicious.  And her photos of food are so well done.

My overgrown zucchini went from this (6 cups of shredded strands - recipe uses three cups)

To three mini loaves ready to go in the oven.  The lemon is an absolute must but I opted for smaller loaves and slivered almonds - strange but I don't like nuts in bread or cookies so I put them on top.

And finally 40 minutes later to this.

I was on may way to see my sister the other day and lucky for her I was feeling generous so I brought her a little loaf with this card.

I  used a scrap of leftover paper, stamped the image in Not Quite Navy, added the ribbon and the flower from my stash.  Super quick and easy!

Supplies:

Ink: Not Quite Navy

Paper: Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper, Vanilla

Stamps: Yummy

Other: Sizzix Birds & Leaves, Ribbon (stash), 3/16 hole punch

Enjoy your weekend!

More posts to come...

MOJO on Wednesday - MOJO105

I can't believe it's Wednesday, not to mention the end of September already!  Where does the time go?

I finished this card yesterday, based on the MOJO Monday Sketch Challenge (MOJO105).

At first, I wasn't sure about the circles, but I like how this turned out.

Thankfully, I had spent Saturday afternoon stamping with Shirley and had bunch of leaves stamped, waiting to for their chance to be used on a card.

I just watercolored the leaf (stamped in Soft Suede) with my Blender Pen and Riding Hood Red.  Cut it out and it became the focal point.

Then, I decorated the inside to match.

I find that decorating the inside gives the card more structure and weight balance.  (And, it's fun to find a little surprise inside!)

Supplies:

Ink: Soft Suede & Riding Hood Red

Paper: Soft Suede, Kraft, Riding Hood Red, Vanilla and Dark Green(stash)

Stamps: Lovely as A Tree, ABC Images, Sweet Little Sentiments, and Leaf (Hero Arts - thanks for sharing, Shirley!)

Other: Flourishes Texture Plate (Big Shot), Corner Punch, 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day.

Where have I been?

The weather was just too beautiful to pass up over the past few days.  I headed for the hills of Wyoming and found this beautiful scene. 

The aspens are turning yellow, the air was crisp and clean with the faint smell of musty leaves and dry grass blowing in the gently breeze.

Rejuvenated and inspired to create again.  New cards soon to come!

Mini Christmas Cards or Tags?

Does your desk/creative space ever look like this?  I'm sure not.  I'm sure your desk is neatly organized and you can always find exactly what you are looking for at any moment.  I seem to lose my tape, small ruler, and sanding block more than anything else.

This is what my office looked like when I walked in this morning to finish this project. 

Mini Christmas Cards.

Or Mini Christams Tags?

I can't decide if I should punch a hole in them for a small string or make mini coordinating envelopes.

What do you think?  They measure about 2" x 2 1/2".

The best part (now that they are done and easily reproducable) is that they only use one piece of Riding Hood Red paper, about a half sheet of Kiwi Kiss and a sheet of Whisper White and make 8 mini cards. 

I used coordinating inks, a couple of complimentary stamps & accessories along with the Sizzix (the dots just don't seem to show up well in the photos) which would be completely optional, and ta da!

Supplies:

Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Serene Snowflakes

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red

Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White

Other: Sizzix Texture Plate (small dots), Sizzix Merry Details, Ornament Punch, Corner Punch, Corner Rounder, 1/2" Circle Punch, & Scallop Punch

 

 

 

 

Melon Mambo Christmas - MOJO104

Wow is it pink or what ?!?!

For this week's MOJO Monday Sketch Challenge (MOJO104) I decided to stick with the Serene Snowflakes stamps and see if I could get a little crazy with Melon Mambo (definitely outside my usual comfort zone) and only use two colors (Melon Mambo and White).

What do you think?  Pretty crazy, huh?

Here's the sketch:

I started with a standard A2 card base in Melon Mambo (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") and layered that with Whisper White. 

Then, I cut out Whisper White circles at 2 1/2" and  1 3/4" and Melon Mambo circles 1/4" larger for each stamped the images and then played around with the look. 

I felt the background needed something more...I opted for the small circles Texture Plate to emboss the background, corner punch, and 1/8" circles of Melon Mambo for the corners.

Since I don't have any coordinating Designer Series Paper, I created my own with another stamp from the set and layered that on the Melon Mambo.  I also punched 1/2" 'brads' and used rhinestones from my 'stash' for some final bling.

 Lastly, I cut a piece of Whisper White for the inside that I corner punched as well.  Ta da!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.  I really appreciate it and will be sure to check out your site too.

Supplies:

Stamps: Serene Snowflakes, All Holidays

Ink: Melon Mambo

Paper: Melon Mambo, Whisper White

Other: Rhinestones (stash), Sizzix Small Dots Texture plate, 1/8", 1/2" Punches & Cricut Plantin Schoolbook

Blue Christmas - PPA7

Today, I was inspired by the Pals Paper Arts Challenge participants and the Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper (DSP) from Stampin' Up! (SU) not to mention the cool weather and the cute stamp sets I played with today.

The sketch is from Margaret Moody and features a simple design and so many possibilities.  I thought about how I would incorporate snowflakes and the Bella Bleu (DSP) (my new favorite paper) and although I could have positioned the card upside down or sideways, I went with the standard layout (upside down was really cute though...).

I started with a standard vanilla base (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") and layered Kraft and Not Quite Navy.  I used a previously embossed piece of Not Quite Navy (Flourishes).

Then, I cut the snowflakes with the Sizzix Merry Details die (from the Holiday Mini Catalog), stamped the Kraft card stock with Serene Snowflakes in Soft Suede and Not Quite Navy and the sentiment from Delightful Decorations. Everything was layered on Scallop Punch cutouts.

The top panel was cut with Fiskars Deckle Paper Edgers with the negative used along the bottom (the paper is double-sided) and luckily I had a little ribbon from my stash that worked great.

I decided to decorate the inside too with some scraps and the sentiment from All Holidays.

Supplies:

Stamps: Serene Snowflakes, Delightful Decorations, and All Holidays

Paper: Bella Bleu (DSP), Not Quite Navy, Kraft, Vanilla

Ink: Not Quite Navy and Soft Suede

Other: Sizzlits Merry Details, Sizzix Flourishes, Scallop Punch, 1 1/2", 3/4" & 3/16" circle punch, Fiskars Deckle Scissors, Ribbon (stash)

Be sure to check out the other posts.

To place a Stampin' Up! order, click here.  And, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Merry Christmas - WSC97

The Christmas stamps & paper I ordered from Stampin' Up! arrived a few weeks ago and I finally had a chance to play with them today. 

I started with Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge (WSC97), the Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP) from the Holiday Mini Catalog and the Delightful Decorations Stamp and coordinating Ornament Punch.

The card base is Kraft 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and layered with DSP. 

I stamped the image with Platinum Shimmer Paint that I brushed onto the stamp (but a dauber would work even better) to give it light lines on the image.

 

A little scallop edge along the bottom of the border, some ribbon from my stash and a little paint on the Serene Snowflake Stamp in Platinum Shimmer Paint on Soft Suede were the accents to this card.

Finally, I decorated the inside of the card in matching paper with the sentiment from All Holidays.

Supplies:

Ink: Soft Suede, Platinum Shimmer Paint

Stamps: All Holidays, Delightful Decorations & Serene Snowflakes

Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White and Christmas Cocoa Specialty (DSP)

Other: Scallop & Ornament Punches, Ribbon (stash)

Be sure to check out the other submissions over at Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) or here.

Have a great weekend!