Irish You Were Here

At SweetStamps.com's blog today our challenge theme is St. Patrick's Day. Please join us for your chance to win $20 of FREE stamps by entering your St. Patrick's Day creation in our challenge.

I die cut the doily and layered it to a piece of dark green card stock, then trimmed it to fit the doily (they make an angel wing for this doily but I didn't have it with me-would of been easier than hand cutting it).  The dark green piece behind the pot and the light green oval are Nellie's die cuts that were edged with gold leafing.  The pot was heat embossed with embossing powder and the gold coins were glittered.  The rainbow is colored with Spica pens and the rhinestones in the corners were colored with a Copic marker.


Products I used for this card:

2005 Pot of Gold,

2006 Irish Flourish DUO

and 8015 Rainbow by SweetStamps

Nightfall and Forest Shades Die Ink from SweetStamps

    Celtic Fire Doily Die by Cheery Lynn Designs

MFD010 and MFD013 Multi Frame dies by Nellie Snellen

Spica Glitter Pens Red, Orange, Lemon, Melon, Sky Blue and Lavender

Queen's Gold EP by Ranger

Copic Marker YR23

All Purpose Spray by Krylon

Quickie Glue Pen

Foam Dots, Crystal Rhinestones, Gold Leafing Pen, Gold Glitter

Join us next week when our challenge will be Monochromatic.

                                         

Bingo

This week's challenge at SweetStamps is a BINGO card (see below). All you need to do is pick one line on the card, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. You can even choose an X or + pattern. 

Here is the BINGO card:

and here is my card:

I couldn't make up my mind which Bingo line I wanted to do so I ended up making it all and laying it out like a Bingo card (I thought this would make a great example of design elements for the SweetStamps Michigan retail store)  

I started with BoBunny's Gabrielle 6x6 paper pad and used the brown dotted paper

as my base.  The solid colors of paper are Coordinations card stock cut using the XM-1 Little Stackers Squares from Cheery Lynn Designs. I used the EF3006 embossing folder for the butterflies and sanded the paper to highlight the butterflies.  The Butterfly DL112, Angel Wings DL112A and Cheery Blossoms B129 are Cheery Lynn Designs die cuts.  The stamp 843 Quilt Block Circle on the vellum piece was stamped with White Dye ink and embossed with Fine Detail White EP and colored from the back with Pitt Pens.  Then cut out using a 4-Split Perforating tool and a Piercing/Perforating mat.  For the distressed piece I layered the paper to a piece of chipboard, ran it through my Distrezz-it-All then applied Papaya Shades Dye ink to it using a sponge.  After stamping the larger design from the 875 Posey Design Silhouette DUO set on the lower left corner piece using Distress Embossing ink, both the image and the edges of the piece were heat embossed with Medieval Metals Fine Detail EB.  The paper piecing was done by cutting out squares with the Little Stacker Square die, cutting them in quarters and piecing them  together on the paper.

WIN FREE STAMPS! Join our weekly challenge

You can use any stamp on your challenge entry, but if you use a SweetStamps image, you will get two entries into the giveaway. To enter the challenge, please add the URL to your actual blog post or online gallery to the InLinkz at the end of this post. Please do not link to your main blog; we want to be able to find your post to leave you comments. Also, please link back to our blog.

Remember, you can only enter the challenge one time, use a SweetStamps image to get an extra entry in the challenge. Please limit the amount of challenges to 10 (including ours).  You must link back to us in your blog post.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Stop by the SweetStamps.com blog to see all the wonderful BINGO creations from the design team and join in on the fun!

Triple Roses

At SweetStamps.com's blog today our challenge theme is Roses. Please join us for your chance to win $20 of FREE stamps by entering your rose creation in our challenge.

Here is my rose card:

For this card I started with an A2 white card.  I tore the bottom edges of a light and dark piece of yellow Coordinations cardstock for layering.  I embossed the 7041 Triple Roses from SweetStamps.com on 36# vellum using white dye ink and fine detail Platinum embossing powder and colored the image on the backside of the vellum using Memento markers.  The vellum was attached to the light yellow card stock using clear photo corners and the ribbons added before layering to the dark yellow layer.

Next week we have another fun challenge: BINGO! Just pick a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line using the item or technique in those boxes for your creation.

Valentine's Day 2012

Well I finally got my cards done two days before Valentine's Day.  This year they are full of suckers and chocolates.  It just wouldn't be Valentine's Day without something SWEET.  

This one is a pop up card.  I started with 2 pieces of pink card stock 8 1/2" x 2 3/4" for the card base, stamped both pieces with Sunrise Orchid Shades dye ink using the 840 Heart Background both from SweetStamps.com.  These pieces were then scored on one end at 1 1/2" and  2 1/2" (this will create the fold in the card).  The front piece measures 2"x4".  For the front layer I used 36# vellum and stamped the 729 Heart and Flower Border on the vellum using white dye ink and Fantasy Silver Fine detail embossing powder then attached it to a pink piece of card stock using micro glue dots in the corners.  To attached this piece to the card front I used 1/4" Scor-Tape under the ribbon to hold it in place.  Use adhesive (I used 1/2" Scor-Tape) to layer both pieces together making sure to have a scored end and flat end together.

The pop up pieces of the inside of the card measure 2 1/4"x 3 1/4" and 1 3/4"x 3".  The larger  piece was stamped with the Heart Background using Sunrise Orchid ink and the small piece was stamped with the same ink and the 952 Happy Valentine's Day stamp from SweetStamps.com.  Attach the sucker or other cut out to the back of this piece using tape (I used a small piece of paper and scor-Tape because the sucker was heavy).  Fold back the lower left corner about 1" and attach about 1/4" down on the inside left.  When you pull the ends apart the message inside will pop up.

For this card I started with Large Scalloped Layer in Hopsack Red from The Paper Cut.  I scored the card in half and added the white dots around the outer edge with a Gelly Roll White gel pen.  For the red edging on the left side I used the netting from a bag of oranges I had, scrunching a long piece together and stapling it to the yellow dotted paper using my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.  I then took 3 small pieces of netting and rolled them, stapled them, scrunched them open so they formed a circle and added the metallic Red Heart brad and attached this to the yellow dotted paper.  I rounded the corner of the dotted paper before adhering it to the red card stock.  I stamped Be Mine 993 from SweetStamps.com using Valentine Shades dye ink.  On the inside right portion of the folded red card stock I attached a 6x6 square of striped paper then layered it all to a 6x6 piece of white card stock.  Inside I used the Valentine Shades dye ink to stamp the 9045 Vertical Happy Valentines Day.

I layered the sucker to a lavender heart I cut using the smaller of the heart dies from the DL128 Two of Hearts die set from Cheery Lynn Designs, wrapped the stick with some of the netting and attached it to the striped paper.

For this card I started with an A2 white card and embossed the front using the EF3018 Hearts embossing folder from Crafts-Too.  The large heart is from the Cheery Lynn Designs DL106 Heart to Heart die set.  I used the Gelly Roll White Gel pen to add the dots to the heart.  I cut 3 different colors of flowers from the SF2 Stacker Flower 2 from Cheery Lynn Designs and attached them together using a red heart brad then used foam dots to attached the flower to the heart.  The ribbon on the sucker stick is some I had in my ribbon supply.

On the inside of the card I used another of the flowers and stamped the 9045 Vertical Happy Valentine's Day using Valentine Shades Dye ink.

This is an A2 white card that was embossed using the EF3021 Love Hearts embossing folder from Crafts-Too.  I used one of the hearts from the DL106 Heart to Heart die set from Cheery Lynn Designs.  All the ribbon was in my ribbon box.

Inside uses the same heart set and the 993 Be Mine stamp from SweetStamps.com stamped in Valentine Shades Dye ink.

This one is for my Dad.  He really likes suckers and LOVES Dove chocolates.  I used a 6x6 printed paper, cut out some lavender hearts using the DL128 Two of Hearts dies from Cheery Lynn Designs and  attached the chocolate and sucker.  Then I used Candi legless brads around the outside circle and highlighted the little circle bursts between them with a Gelly Roll Stardust Glitter pen.

Here is my take on a fast box of chocolates.  I embossed a 6x6 white card using the E134 Hearts and Rose Leaves EX embossing plate from Cheery Lynn Designs.  Layered the largest solid heart form the DL106 Heart to Heart die set from Cheery Lynn Designs and added dots around the border using a Gelly Roll White Gel pen.  I then used All Purpose Spray Adhesive on the back of the large heart doily from the same set and attached it to the heart pressing the outside edges down.  I then stuffed some red shredded paper I had under the heart and added the chocolates and sucker.

For the inside I used another of the large doily hearts, using adhesive spray to attach it to the card and stamped 952 Happy Valentine's Day using Valentine Shades Dye ink.

Robyn's Birthday Card

I made this card for my granddaughter's 10th birthday.  I started with an A2 white card which I embossed using the Crafts Too Happy Birthday EF3007 embossing folder then used a purple marker to highlight the Happy Birthday and added the purple plaid paper to the top half of the card.  The heart is the smaller one from the DL128 Two of Hearts set and the border is B109 Embossed Hearts Scalloped border both are from Cheery Lynn Designs.  The Hello Kitty buttons are from Button Galore.

SweetStamps "Pick 6"

Our blog challenge at SweetStamps.com this week was to let you know about some of our favorite items. It was difficult to narrow it down to only 6, since I love all the products, so I'm listing some of my go-to favorites:

#1 FRM 115 Lattice 2 Window Frame die by Cheery Lynn Designs: This is my favorite die from Cheery Lynn, it is so versatile and can be used in so many ways! Check out some of the sweet cards I've made with this die here. You can use it complete as a lattice background or cut portions out to change the look of the die, it also looks great as an embossed background!

#2 SweetStamps 245 Bird on Flowering Branch: This stamp is one of my favorite stamps from SweetStamps.  I've used it many times on both card stock and vellum for a variety of cards: birthday, anniversary and sympathy.  (I also like the old fashioned people from SweetStamps)

#3 Micro Glue dots: I love Micro Glue dots!  I use them with the FRM 115 Lattice 2 die to attach it to my card and also use them on all my delicate lacy dies. They are the perfect size for tiny items! 

#4 Nellie's Multi Frame Hearts MFD022: I used this heart frame for all of my Valentines cards last year and I was able to make a variety of looks from the 6 dies.  This die works great on Valentines cards but would work well for Anniversary or Wedding too.

#5 Quickie Glue Pen: This pen is great for working in small areas or for attaching delicate die cuts to your card or project. I use this pen for attaching the smaller Cheery Lynn Butterflies to their angel wings, and I've used it for adhering glitter or flocking to my cards.  You can also write or doodle with it and then sprinkle with glitter for a sparkly background.

#6 Crafts-Too Embossing Folders: These embossing folders are awesome!  There is a large variety of designs and they can be used to create wonderful embossed backgrounds for your cards or to emboss designs on die cuts.  I've used them for my Christmas cards and they are wonderful for those times when you need a card at the last moment.  You can also apply ink directly to the inside of the folder before embossing your card stock for a different look.

Remember to leave a comment on the SweetStamps blog for your chance to win SweetStamps images and join us next week for our card challenge (Roses) and a chance to win $20 worth of SweetStamps!  All of my Pick 6 items can be found at SweetStamps.com.

Horse Portrait Oval 2011

Supplies
Horse Portrait Oval and Howdy stamps from SweetStamps.com
Shades Dye inks-French Roast and Gibraltar from SweetStamps.com
Rodeo XL Embossing Plate from Cheery Lynn Designs
DD011 Double Corner Die, Multi Frame Oval-3 (MFD 013) and MFD 007 Oval die from Nellie's
Copic Markers-W1, W3, W5, B93 and C0
Tuxedo Black Memento ink from Tsukineko
5 3/4" x 5 3/4" square cream folded card from The Paper Cut
4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Solar White paper
3 1/2" x 5 3/4" Plaid paper from Kaiser Craft
3 x 5 3/4", 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" and 2" x 2" White distressed paper from Kaiser Craft
3/4" x 5 3/4", 3/4" x 3 1/2" and 2" x 2" Black patterned paper from Kaiser Craft
2 1/2" x 1 1/2" and 5" x 4 1/2" Vacation Blue (dark) cardstock from Core'dinations
6 1/2" piece of 1/8" aqua ribbon
Distrezz-it-All from Zutter Innovative Products
Big Shot machine from Sizzix
Dot Runner from Scotch
Sanding block
Foam dots
Metal buttons-3
Micro and Mini glue dots
Scissors
Sponge
Scotch Tape

1. Ink the XL embossing plate with Gibraltar ink and emboss the 3 x 5 3/4 distressed white paper.  Layer this to the front of the card using dot runner. Using dot runner, layer plaid paper to front of card slightly overlapping white embossed paper.

2. Use black ink to stamp Horse oval on Solar White paper, color with Copic markers.  Cut out oval with scissors.

3. Die cut a large oval using the MFD 013 Oval 3 large oval die from the 5 x 4 1/2 Blue cardstock.  Use the Distress-it-All to distress the edges of the oval.  Sponge the edges with French Roast and Gibraltar inks.  Layer horse oval to this using dot runner.

4. Die cut a small oval using the MFD 013 oval-3 from the 2 1/2 x 1 1/2 Blue cardstock.  Die cut the small oval ribbon die using the MFD 007 from the 1 1/2 x 2 1/2 distressed white paper.  Using Gibraltar ink, stamp Howdy on white oval.

5. Ink the ribbon, using the W5 Copic marker to darken the color.  Thread the ribbon thru the opening of the stamped white oval.  Attach the ribbon to the 5 3/4 x 3/4 black paper by taping the tails of the ribbon in the back with scotch tape.  Layer to the card using dot runner.  Center the white oval over the plaid side of card, use dot roller to attach the blue oval to the back of the white oval.  Adhere oval to card with a foam dot.

6.  Die cut the corner pieces from the black and white 2" squares, using the white paper for the top and the black paper for the bottom border.  Use micro glue dots to layer the white cut out to the black bottom piece and layer to card using dot runner.

7.  Layer the 3/4 x 3 1/2 black paper to center of card using dot runner.  Layer the Horse oval to the card using form dots.  Adhere buttons to the black strip of card using mini glue dots.  

Flower and Dragonfly

For this card I used the DL102 French Pastry Doily die from Cheery Lynn Designs to cut out the green dotted paper and the DL102 French Pastry Doily Angel Wing die to cut out two solid backs for the doily using Double Mates Lovely Lilac card stock.  The Double Mates paper is great to use for layering as you get two coordinating colors on each sheet of card stock, a light and a dark.  For the swirl I used the flourish portion of the B135 Lace Rose and Flourish die from Cheery Lynn that I cut from a piece of text weight Hera Stardreams paper from The Paper Cut.  I used the same Double Mates card stock to cut out the DL152 Small Dragonfly w/Angel Wings and attached the Dragonfly to the Angel Wing using a Quickie Glue Pen.  I also used the Quickie Glue pen on the open areas of the Dragonfly wings and sprinkled with Sparkly Sweet Glitter from SweetStamps.com to give it some sparkle.  The flower was made using Iced Gems Candi legless brads.  I attached the center Candi to a Bazzill Really Big Brad (you could use a small circle of card stock) with a Candi Fix foam dot than folded the Iced Gems Candis down the center and attached to the brad using Ultimate Glue.  Using the legs for the Really Big Brad I attached it to the green dotted doily.  I used the Candi Fix foam dots to layer the flourish and the dragonfly to the green dotted doily than layered this to the lighter doily Angel Wing and off set the the dark Angel Wing behind the lighter one. I used the largest size of the XL13 French Scalloped Flair stacker from Cheery Lynn to cut out the plaid paper and layered the dollies to this using foam dots before layering it to a 6x6 piece of the dark Double Mates paper and then to a 6x6 square card.  I finished it up by using Lilac Rhinestones from Kaiser Craft.