Summer Dreams Cardmaker Blog Hop

Hello! Welcome to the Cardmaker Blog team hop.  This month's theme is Summer Dreams: cards featuring ice cream treats reminiscent of the ice cream truck.
I totally loved this theme and totally went crazy trying to reproduce an ice cream truck just like the ones I remember from my youth.

I designed this card approaching the theme quite literally:

I used a truck Silhouette design by Hero arts to design the ice cream truck.  I played around with the file a bit and was able to make a flip over card design so I didn't have to mount the ice cream truck on a base.  (Yes, I was patting myself on the back for that one!)

I used some Echo Park: Sweet Day stickers and cardstock to cut the truck and to embellish.  I found one ice cream sticker to use from this collection but then the other two I added are Silhouette files (Silhouette Store: Ice Cream Treats by Sweet Afton) that I shrunk down to fit.  (Definitely needed an ice cream sandwich!)  I added a little touch of blossom baker's twine (The Twinery) to the sticker ice cream to finish off the truck.

This was so much fun to make -- I just cannot wait to see what the other gals came up with.  Here is the full list:

Cardmaker blog
Kimberly Crawford
Carolyn King (you are here!)
Colleen Schaan
Anya Schrier
Trudy Sjolander
Michelle Woerner

Why do I suddenly feel the urge to eat some ice cream?   Thanks for stopping by today! 
 

Spring is in the air!

Hello! Hope you are enjoying your weekend!  I am still playing catch up but I thought I would pop on here and share a spring-y card.  Spring has hit here in PA and I am not sure if it will last but I am liking it!

I made this little thank you note using some new Jillibean Soup paper I got at CHA (Thanks Kimber!) and a stamp by Hero Arts (Thank you Messages):

 

Supplies: Ivory Cardstock (Gina K Designs); ink- Memento tuxedo black, Vintage Photo Distress ink (Ranger); button- Jillibean Soup; Stamps- Thank you Messages (Hero Arts); lace; baker's twine- Caribbean (The Twinery); Patterned paper- Coconut Lime Soup: Fresh Ginger, Cumin; Southern Chicken Dumpling Soup: Chicken Thighs; butterfly punch (Martha Stewart).

Have a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

LOVE

Hello! Today I have another Lori Whitlock design team project for you! Since Valentine's Day is a month away, I figured I would make a wall hanging that I could put in my home since I am still kind of sad about all the Christmas decorations coming down :(

I painted a thin piece of wood with black paint and got to work creating this:I used several of Lori's silhouette files to help in my design:

Love Banner

9 Hearts

Bird on Branch (in Silhouette Store)

I used the banner to spell out the word and then used the fun hearts to suspend down from the banner using jump rings. The hearts just dangle :)

You can check out more of Lori's designs on her website HERE.

Supply list:

Wood

Black acrylic paint

Patterned paper- For the Record (Echo Park Paper)

fibers- Baker's Twine- (The Twinery)

heart pin (Maya Road)

jump rings

Mini clothespins (Hero Arts)

ribbon- gingham (Stampin' Up!); unknown

Digital cut files for Silhouette-- Love banner, 9 hearts, bird on branch (Lori Whitlock)

Thanks for stopping by!

Summer FUN: New October Afternoon

Hello!!! Happy Monday morning!
This weekend I had a little scrappy time on Saturday...

So...I got to work scrapping some of my summer pictures. I LOVE this one of Lauren (taking a minute to glance up at me while digging in the sand!)

I combined several October Afternoon collections on this layout but the dp is mostly from the two NEW* releases---Schoolhouse and Modern Homemaker! (*They will be in stores SOON!)
I really like how I could use them both on a summer layout!

The page-dissected--
Here is a close up of the top corner. I combined rub-ons from Fly a Kite and used a cut out Doily from Schoolhouse: Pink Eraser) The word sticker is from Fly a Kite.

The butterfly is from Ducks in a Row--I just added some rhinestones to the center:

I cut the picture into a circle and then added the word stickers (Fly a Kite) and sun and clouds (Ducks in a Row: Shapes) to frame it:

I used Schoolhouse: Flashcards to create this section with the background and the "F""U""N" letters cut from the designer paper. "Summer" is a rub-on from Fly a Kite.

I used some Mini Market ledger stickers for the year--(substituting O for zeros because I used all the zeros up):

Again, I cut a section of Schoolhouse: Flashcards --the sailboat for the bottom of the page. I added some stitching and some dp "Waves":

You will be seeing A LOT more of these lines in the future :)

BTW: You can see all of the fabulous new October Afternoon releases on their BLOG!

Materials used: Shape stickers-Thrift Shop (October Afternoon); word sticker-Fly a Kite (October Afternoon); Shapes-Ducks in a Row (October Afternoon); rub-ons-Fly a Kite (October Afternoon); Designer paper-Schoolhouse: No 2 Pencil; Schoolhouse: Ruler; Schoolhouse:Pink Eraser; Schoolhouse: Flashcards; Modern Homemaker: Party Line; Mini market ledger stickers (October Afternoon); CS banner border sticker (Sassafras); Chipboard arrow (Bazzill); stapler; Sparkle gems (Hero Arts); twinkle stickers (a muse); ink-sky blue (SU!); sponge; sewing machine.

Thanks for stopping by!

MFT Blog Hop-Cuppa Love

Hi everyone! Hope you are enjoying the My Favorite Things blog hop so far. If you didn't start at the beginning and want to see all the MFTeasers of the new sets...head on over to Kim's blog to make sure you don't miss a post.

Today I am showing you the new set called Tea for Two. This darling set has two tea cup images with mice. I knew lots would be showing this set in its original form, so I thought I would show you how you can combine the teacups with other images. Wouldn't it be cute to have a flopsey sitting in one? So, when you purchase this set---you will be able to find lots of different ways to use the cups.

Here is my Cuppa Love---I combined the new Tea for Two with Boho Blossoms and Behind the Scenes sets. The result is a funky and fun Valentine:
Materials used: Stamps-Tea for Two, Boho Blossoms, Behind the Scenes (My Favorite Things); Memento black ink; red embossing powder (Ranger); Versamark; classic red and black su markers; ribbon (My Favorite Things); square punch (Creative Memories); white cardstock-Gina K Pure Luxury; designer paper-Cosmo Cricket (Dutch Girl); paper piercing tool and mat pack; Cuttlebug and tag die; gemstones (Hero Arts); silver cord (SU!); dimensionals (SU!).

I embossed the heart from Boho Blossoms in red and cut it out and added the bling. I stamped the tea cup on dp...(I carefully inked only the tea cup part and used a q-tip to remove any ink that got on places I didn't want to be stamped). I used a fine tipped marker to add in the line or two that I couldn't use because I wasn't using the mouse image.

I stamped the background thanks and punched them out with a square punch. Finally, I assembled the pieces and added the faux stitching.

Hope you can see many different ways these teacups can be used. I am sure you will see the mice in them somewhere along the hop too!

To continue the blog hop, please visit the talented Candice's blog!

Don't forget: My Favorite Things is having a New Release Cocktail Party on Wednesday, Februray 4th from 9-10 p.m. EST. This month there are THREE new sets being released including a Who's that Girl set that is GOING DIGITAL! Head over to the MFT forum on Splitcoaststampers to find out all the details and to find out how YOU can be the next MFT Guest Designer. We hope to see you there on Wednesday night.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Dreamy Challenge

Happy Friday! Today, I wanted to share a Dreamy Challenge with you---play along HERE and enter to win a great prize!

Tosh issued the Stamper's Dream design team a challenge--to make a gray card with a splash of color and some bling. Hmmmm.....this was a tough one for me as I usually do not use that much gray in one card! (I know a certain someone who will be receiving this as her Christmas card as a punishment for dreaming up such a wonky challenge!)
I used the snowflake cuttlebug embossing folder on the grey background. I highlighted some of the flakes with a stardust pen. I stamped the elegant design around the edges of the card (stamp is from Inkadinkadoo-Sketches Scrollwork set ). I colored a bit of red throughout the design. The large snowflakes--die cut from Snowflake Wonder (Spellbinders) are added on top of the embossed area.

The top of the circle card features the sentiment from Hero Arts set Frames & Messages (love this set!) and I added some color with May Arts ribbon. I used the Spellbinders double ended tag dies to create the white top and just trimmed off the one side so that there was only one opening for ribbon.

There you have it. Pretty simple....added a bit of red bling to go with the splash of red here and there.


Check out all the other cards the design team has created: Michelle, Tosh, Laurie, Kim, Denise, Charmaine and Cindy!

Don't forget to play along! See Michelle's blog here for all the dreamy details! And if you are looking for some last minute holiday gifts--why not get a Stamper's Dream gift certificate? I KNOW that it is what every stamper dreams of!

Have a wonderful weekend--I am busy getting ready for my son's 6th birthday party tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

SALE!!!!

Stamper's Dream store is having a sale!!!! This Saturday and Sunday ALL Hero Arts stamps will be on sale for 20% off with the coupon code MYHERO. The coupon even takes 20% off the sale price, so that's a great deal!

Here is one of my favorite cards I created with the Hero Arts set called Share Laughter. I chose this card to post with the announcement because it features one of the sets Michelle still has in stock---but they will go fast......so hurry on over to her store. You won't be sorry!

Thanks for stopping by!

Eight Days...

.....that is how long my daughter's cell phone lasted. Yep---she dropped it in the pool on Monday. Sigh! She was pretty devastated so to make her feel better I told her that I thought it would last at least two weeks---bawaaaa!

.....that is how many days we have before we move. Packers start on Friday---so time is ticking away!

Here is a picture of (most) of my stamping supplies that I wanted to pack up before the packers get here. Sigh! Makes me so sad to see it sitting there all organized! lol!

I also have a quick gift project to share with you. I made these for my son's and daughter's preschool teachers. I created these (super easy) sets of cards and tucked Border's gift cards into the back of them. Each set is tucked into these clear packages I purchased from clearboxes.com and I tied a piece of tulle at the top.

I used My Mind's Eye decorative paper slab to create the cards--then simply stamped these cute frames and greetings in black ink on white cardstock. The stamps are from a clear Hero Arts set called "Frames & Messages." You can find this and TONS of other stamps, embellishments and paper at Stamper's Dream store. If you haven't checked out this store yet---you should. Michelle has tons of fun stuff and is constantly getting new inventory in.

I chose to use the "thinking of you" sentiment because I figured they could use them for many occasions (birthdays, anniversary cards, mother's day, etc.) I kept the designs super simple so that the recipient would not have to worry about adding additional postage when mailing them. Each set has a variety of card designs.

Materials used: Stamps- Frames & Messages (Hero Arts); cardstock-white (SU!); My Mind's Eye decorative paper pad; brilliance black ink; clear card envelope; tulle.

Thanks for stopping by! Back to packing!

Mother's Day Part II and a Sketch Card

For those of you who were sympathetic to my Mother's Day camping trip, I decided to fill you in on the second part of my Mother's Day. (For those of you who just want to see the card, scroll down!)

After we decided to bail on the camping trip...we drove home and got everyone back into bed around 2 a.m. My husband and I collapsed into bed too.

When I awoke the next morning, my husband and son were coming in from grocery shopping (the girls slept in!) My husband told me that there was only the "mostly" dead flowers left in the store for those last minute guys who left buying them until the very last minute (like himself!)* But when my son Ben saw this--he HAD to get it for me because he knew I would love it:

Yep..a Beta fish. The kicker is that my husband let him. Knowing my aversion to fish...

You see--I have a lot of allergies and when my now almost 12 year old was about 6, I told her she could only have a fish because I was too allergic to dogs. So she got a beta fish. That sucker lasted three days--it developed some sort of fuzz fungus and was so gross and eventually died while she was at school. Well, knowing she would be very upset that he died so soon, I did what any mother would do....the switcharooney. I went to the pet store and found a fish that looked exactly like it and replaced it ---thinking that she would never know.
She didn't and all was fine....for about two days. I had to replace that fish two more times and then I just gave up...mostly because it really grossed me out to keep seeing a dead fish in the bowl.

Soooo.....I could have killed my husband when he pranced in with this thing. But, I can write this post because---IT IS STILL ALIVE. I have had "fishy" (named by Ben of course!) for 4 days and he is still happy and showing no sign of fungus! Woohooo!!! (Of course, now that I wrote this he will probably die tonight.)

(*BTW: I should add that my hubby cooked me a wonderful Mother's Day dinner too!)

*******

Now for the card. Well, life is throwing me a lot these days and my stamping time is suffering. Our house sold (whoohooo!) and we are going house hunting this weekend. My son is having his much awaited dental surgery (cracked tooth and cavities) this Friday. With so much going on in the next few days, I wanted to get a bit of stamping in before the weekend.

I loved today's sketch on Splitcoaststampers so I used that as the springboard for this card.

I used the Share Laughter set from Hero Arts (available at Stamper's Dream) for this card---it is a fantastic set and has about 17 images that paired in different ways can produce wonderful designs. I can tell I will be grabbing this set a lot!

I stamped the flower design and cut it out. I layered the Prima on top and then added the SU crystal brads that I keep forgetting that I have!

I used my rectangle scalloped Nestabilities to frame the sentiment. The punched scalloped piece was too wide for the sentiment so I cut a section out of the middle and re-attached the pieces. I added the strip of decorative paper in the center to cover up the overlap!

This card was easy and came together very quickly! Just what I needed today!

Materials used: Stamps-Share Laughter (Hero Arts); ink-celery, blue bayau (Stampin' Up!) cardstock-white, blue bayau, SU designer paper; ribbon-celery (Stampin' Up!); crystal brad (SU!); Prima flower; paper piercing tool and mat pack; dimensionals (SU!); Cuttlebug and scalloped rectangle nestability dies (Spellbinders).

Thanks for stopping by!

Shadow Box Tutorial

One of my favorite types of cards to make is a shadow box card. I love the dimension they have and that they can be flattened for mailing.

I created this tutorial to show you how simple creating one is!

Materials you will need: (What I used is in parenthesis)

Two pieces of cardstock (Whisper white, Sugar Collection by Memory Box) 5" by 6"

Card stock to stamp image on (Whisper White- SU!) and any extra for embellishing (American Crafts-Pink)

Scor Pal

Image to stamp (Transported by Penny Black)

Scor Tape- 1/2 inch

Brads (White-The Paper Studio)

Ink (Brilliance graphite black)

Coloring tools (Prismacolor Pencils, Odorless Mineral Spirits, Twinkling H20s)

Foam tape (Dimensionals - Stampin' Up!)

(Hemp- Stampin' Up!)

Circle Die Cutting System (I used my Cuttlebug and Nestability dies, can also use Creative Memories Cutting System, Coluzzle, etc.)

Ribbon (May Arts-Pink)

(Oval Punches-Stampin' Up!)

Directions:

First, take the cut cardstock that will be the front and back of the card and score at 1/2 inch and 1 inch from each side (the scoring will be along the 5" side). After folding on the score lines, this is what it looks like. I use my Scor Pal for this and it makes measuring and scoring a cinch!


Then, put the back of the card aside. The next few steps are for the front of the card.

Place the front of the card on top of the C cuttlebug plate and position the Nestability die in the center of the cardstock. (For this step, make sure the circle will allow the image you are using inside to show through!) ****You can use any type of circle/oval/square die you want and any cutting system.

I place my die DOWN on the paper. I realize that this is not the correct way to use these dies with the cuttlebug but I do it all the time to get the perfect alignment. The dies will leave scratches on your plates as they typically do.

Cover with B plate and run through Cuttlebug machine.


The result will be this:

To create the scalloped border, use the same circle die as you did in the first step and cut a circle from cardstock. (Make sure there is ample room around the perimeter of the circle so you can cut the scalloped shape.)

Then, using a larger scallop die, place die centered around the circle. Use the die face down to get perfect placement.

Here is the result---a perfect scalloped border to frame your image:

Attach scallop frame to card front as shown:

Stamp main image on white cardstock. I used this darling image from Penny Black called Transported. (Thanks Michelle!) Color as desired. Cut out image and adhere to background piece with dimensionals or foam tape.

Add brad accents if you wish to the front side of the card (so that when you tape the front and back together, you do not see the brad prongs on the reverse side.)

Assemble the card by lining the side flaps with Scor Tape. Tape one side and adhere and then do the other side.

Add sentiment (I used this clear stamp from Hero Arts because it was the perfect size and fit the image well!)

Add ribbon (I used this pink ribbon from May Arts that I received as a birthday gift. Thanks Michelle!)

Whola! Done!

Here is a close up of the bear---I used hemp for the balloon ties and put the bear's paw on an extra dimensional so it looks like he is holding the ties.

Here is a view of the top of the box. This gives you a better look at how it was assembled.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. This was such a fun card to make and it is so simple. I definitely have to remember to make more of these!

Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Cards and BRAKS

Just a quick post today---things are really busy around here but I wanted to share these five minute cards I made last night while watching American Idol! (The first time I have been able to sit down and watch it all season!)

I just got this designer paper from My Mind's Eye. I bought a huge slab at my local LSS and I really LOVE almost all of the patterns in it.

I was in a simple mood so I brought down a few items and planted myself in front of the tv and created these simple designs.

These were simple to create---I used the same materials for both and the only stamping on them is the "Enjoy" sentiment, which is from a clear Hero Arts set that I use ALL THE TIME! The flowers are created using a Cuttlebug die.

Here is a picture of both cards-
For the single flower card, I simply layered the designer paper over white cardstock. I cut a strip of the striped paper and then used my cuttlebug to create the flower. I pierced the stem and "faux" stitched it with chocolate chip marker.

For this card, the flower die cuts are layered on the dp strip. I paper pierced a row on top of the strip (but it doesn't show up well in the photo). I also pierced three holes on either side of the Enjoy sentiment.

Materials used: cardstock-white, close to cocoa (Stampin' Up!); Designer paper by My Mind's Eye; sentiment stamp (Hero Arts); corner rounder punch (Creative Memories); Chocolate chip ink and marker(SU!); Cuttlebug and flower die; paper piercing tool; buttons (Stampin' Up!).

Here are some birthday RAKs I received in the mail yesterday/today:

My dear friend Tosh sent me this beauty along with a huge box of FUN embellishments. Thank you my friend! Your too sweet to me. This card is just breathtaking!

Sweet Tammy sent me this beauty---the flower is so glittery and there are many glittery accents on the bird. It is a stunner for sure. Thank you so much Tammy! I adore this!

My neighbor, Deborah, gave me this awesome card (along with another gift card holder and a gift card to my favorite stamping store AND lots of other fun stuff!) when she took me out to lunch yesterday. She used my stamp set "Framed Flowers" for this card. Thanks Deb--you KNOW how much I love this and your friendship!

The talented Dawn L sent me this adorable card--it is such a cute scene and I just love the created background and the fantastic color combination. Thanks Dawn---I love it!

Thanks for stopping by!

I won't be posting tomorrow as I will be spending the day with my family!

Tell me why the caged birds sing?

Woohoo! Got a little time to play---it has been tough making time to stamp lately but today--during my dd's nap and my son's rest time--I created this:

I LOVE this new Inkadinkado stamp called LA CAGE AUX FOLLES. It is so elegant and really requires little else to make a beautiful card. After stamping the image in brilliance black on vanilla cardstock, I edged it with olive ink and a sponge. Then, I layered it on a Nestability scallop rectangle. I positioned it so that the scallops only shows on the top and on left side. The olive cardstock layered underneath was embossed with the Allegro cuttlebug folder (I thought the music was appropriate with the birds!)

I used my cuttlebug die slider to create the ribbon slide and the sentiment is from one of my favorite sets called Frames & Messages by Hero Arts.

One of my favorite parts of this card is the little pull on the top of the birdcage, which was created using a little piece of black plastic cord and a brad. I think it gives this such a neat look! After the card was complete, I colored the birds and the sentiment with my Sakura stardust gellyroll pen.

Here is a close up of the image. You can see the little cord better on this photo but the stardust didn't show up very well (insert sad face).



Materials used: Stamps-Frames & Messages (Hero Arts), LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (Inkadinkado); cardstock-vanilla, olive, blue (SU!), designer paper-Lily Kate by Basic Grey; Cuttlebug, Allegro embossing folder; Nestabilities, slide die; ribbon (May Arts); Sakura stardust gellyroll pen; silver cord (SU!); silver brad (SU!); black cord; slit punch (SU!); ink-brillance black, olive (SU!); dimensionals (SU!).

All of the stamps and the cuttlebug folder for this project can be found at Stamper's Dream. Check it out--you will LOVE the variety of stuff Michelle carries.

Thanks for stopping by! ****Don't forget to check out the post below this one to be entered to win blog candy!****

Oopsie----Two Buckles!

It's Monday--time for another CCEE challenge---a group of friends and I challenge each other to make cards following certain guidelines. This week, we had to make a card with TWO buckles (not one, Carolyn---TWO!)

I read the instructions so quickly and made this shoe card:


Materials used: Patterned paper (The Paper Studio); Black cardstock, white cardstock (Stampin' Up!); template (my own design); buckle (We R Memory Keepers); glue dot (Stampin' Up!)

I love this design. I created this shoe template card last year and was excited to use it again---!!!

Then I reread the directions (mistake #2--I should have just played dumb--I am good at that!) and realized it said TWO buckles...so I went with the same theme and created this purse card. It opens at the bottom and I am so delighted with the design because it was actually a mistake I made when cutting the template I created. (I originally designed it to open from the top!)

The tag is made using the Frames & Messages stamp set from Hero Arts.

So...now there is a matching pair of cards----remember when the fashion rules deemed that the shoes had to match the purse? Well, here you go!

Materials used: Sentiment-Frames & Messages clear stamp set (Hero Arts); brilliance black ink; Patterned paper (The Paper Studio); White cardstock, black cardstock (Stampin' Up!); buckles (We R Memory Keepers); fringe (Basic Grey Stella Ruby Fibers); tab punches (Stampin' Up!); black grosgrain ribbon (Offray); silver eyelet (Stampin' Up!); Cropadile; Paper Piercing tool and mat pack (Stampin' Up!); black rhinestone sticker (Bazzill Collection-Raven).


Thanks for stopping by!