Happy Birthday Rose

I am sorry, my picture taking skills don't do justice to this card.  Trust me, Happy Birthday is perfectly legible and the stickles on the pink roses on the tag are not blobs!  That being said....I made this card for this week's challenge at Joan's Garden.  She identfied that entry cards should include:
black patterned paper, pink and black with a touch of green and some green leaves.  Glad I had this swirl die with some leaves on it!  For this card I printed my own background paper from a swatch of something that was somewhere on the internet.  I loved the pink dots (they are pink) on the black background.  The card in the pink base, I photographed it on a green background.
Supplies Used include:
Paper: Cardstocks
Stamps: Unknown
Dies: Spellbinders, Cherry Lynn
Misc:  May Arts Ribbon, Swarovski crystals, decorative brad

Summertime Drink

I made this thirsty card for the challenge at http://www.cornishheritagefarms.blogspot.com/ .  With the scorching heat and lack of water we have this summer,  I'm thinking our birds are looking for a helpful mouse!
  Supplies Used
Stamp: Cornish Heritage Farms
Die: Spellbinders Labels 20
Ink: Memento, Copics
Misc:  Sticker (Serendipity); Bakers Twine (WeRMemories); Button (Studio K) Crocheted Flower, Stickles, Sencil for Corners is from the packaging from swirl gems (Prima)

Summer Butterfly

The challenge this week at Joan's Garden was to create using: Butterfly, yellow and green, 3 layers, something from nature.  See the challenge details on her blog:  http://www.atjoansgardens.com/2012/07/this-weeks-challenge_19.html
Yellow and green are not colors I usually reach for, so this was a fun challenge.  Does it count that the butterfly is cream based with green coloring? My "from nature" are the flowers I made.
Supplies used on this care are:
Stamp: Inky Antics
Dies: Spellbinders, Memory Box
Embossing folder: Sizzex
Flowers: handmade from American Greeting Base petals
Ink: Watermark, Copics, Distress
Embossing Powder: Zing
Misc: brads and gems

Ice Cream Cones

Challenge 90 over at http://www.myshericrafts.blogspot.com salutes National Ice Cream month.  What a fun theme for a challenge!  With the temps around here at more than 100 degrees a cool drippy popsicle or icecream cone is a child favorite.  A few layers of paper, several ink pad colors plu a couple of special touches and this card is ready to share with a friend.  The background paper is a piece of tissue paper I "converted" to cardstock.
Supplies:
Stamps: Wiff of Joy, Technique Tuesday
Paper: Tissue, Glitter, various
Inks: Memento, Copic Markers
Misc: Stickles, Flower Soft
Technique: Fussy Cut (Ice cream cones)

Tag, You're It!

"Tag, You're It" is the theme of Challenge #077 at JustRite.  Tags are definitely not my "thing"... I didn't really even know where to begin.  So, I took an old blue cardstock card and cut it to a tag shape.  Then I just started...a little bit of this...a little bit of that and my garden inspired theme just sort of happened.
Wouldn't this work well for a "can you find" game?  So, can you find where I used:
 JustRite Butterfly Garden stamped image?
 JustRite Quiet Moments stamped images?
 Spellbinders Label 18, circle, Itty Bitty Blossoms
 Where  used Copic Markers?
  Bazzill Fiber Scraps
  Memory Box Flourish
  Cherry Lynn Butterfly
  Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch
 Marth Stewart Branch Punch
 Mulberry Paper
 Cuttlebug Emgossing Folder, Script
Paper Doily
 May Arts Lace Ribbon?
 White Sparkle Brad? Pearls? Twine? Silver Foil strip from Flowersoft? A bit of Stickles?

If you found  everything,you found almost everything I used to make this tag. I did also use White embossing Powder, Distress Inks, and Memento Inks.  What can I say...a little bit of everything and a couple cups of coffee and this tag is done!

Cornish Birthday

I'm so happy...Cornish Heritage Farms is back and will continue with Thomas Kinkade stamps.  Their blog's challenge was make a Happy Birthday card or tag. It was going to be a yellow rose or maybe a pink one...but once I'd stamped it with black, I just loved the depth that was created with all the shades of black.  So instead...I ended up with a black and white.  If you look very closely you will see the white is embossed.
Supplies:
Cardstock: black, white, grey card base
Ink: Memento
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms
 Dies: Spellbinder Ovals
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug ? (swirls with little birds)  (don't you wish they printed the name on the folder?)

Challenge: http://www.cornishheritagefarms.blogspot.com/

Ivory Flowers

As an enrollee in the online "Stretch Your Stamps" class, I find I am incorporating many of the tips and ideas that have been shared.  Those (use of sentiments/shadow stamping) are evidenced in this card I made for this weeks Ivory and Green card challenge at http://www.atjoansgardens.com .  Joan's challenge was to make a 4 layered card using ivory and green colors and a sentiment.  What! no ribbon? no bling?  Okay....  ....   ....   So, I decided to emboss the floral stamp in white on the green background.  First mistake....I grabbed the clear embossing powder instead of the white.  (Don't they look the same in the jar???) Turning the lemon into lemonade, I stamped again just offset from the original and this time I got the right jar of powder!  Here it is...4 layers, ivory and green, with a sentiment that is finished on the inside of the card.  The complete sentiment is: Flowers Say Hello from the Heart".  Now that this card is finished, I'm thinking it doesn't need ribbon or bling lol!
Supplies:
Paper: Ivory and Green cardstock
Stamps: Stampin Up (floral), Hero Arts (Sentiment)
Die: Cherry Lynn, Spellbinders
Misc: Zing Embossing Powder (clear, white)

Alphabet 4U

Day 3 of Stretch your Stamps online card class was to    s-t-r-e-t-c-h usage of that genre of stamps.  I pulled out a set I had never used (why did I buy it I wonder) and began to play.  From previous class idea, I white embossed the alphabet on white cardstock.  Then took colors of Distress Ink which I stamped on my work mat, then spritzed with water and painted over the embossed letters.  a ribbon, flourish, flower, pearl, and "alphabet" sentiment on a tag completed this alphabet card.   The hardest part of the card was getting the letters off their plastic card.  Several of them tore, but I was able to smoosh them together.  Apparently not using them for a couple of years did not help them much lol!









Supplies: 
Paper: Various Card Stocks
Ink: Distress Inks
Stamp: My Sentiment Exactly
Die: Memory Box, Paper Studio punch, Martha Stewart punch
Ribbon: May Arts

Happy Birthday in Toile

The Stretch Your Stamps online card class today was a fun combination of technique and stamp usage.  One technique that caught my eye was taking a stamp and embossing it in white on white cardstock.   The white embossing "pops" when you then take an ink and apply it all over the card.  Taking a tissue and wiping of excess ink can then brighten the white. (ooops, I forgot to do that on this card).  I absolutely love this Toile background stamp from Unity Stamps!  I decided I wanted the background to be the focal point of the card.  I mounted it on a piece of cardstock, added a strip of ribbon, used a fancy label die, and embossed a Happy Birthday.  A couple of large brads provide the pop of color.  I confess I saw using the bows on each side of a stamped image on a card made by Sharon Johnson and thought it  a perfect design detail for this card.

Supplies

Paper: Cardstocks

Stamps: Unity, JustRite Just a Note Set

Ink: Distress Iced Spruce, Versamark

Embossing Powder: Zing Charcoal

Ribbon:  May Arts

Misc: Brads from ?

Swirl Background

Use your stamps 5 ways?  Online Card Class Day One highlighted the use of background stamps.  Even though I have several (many), I always find it hard to think "outside the box" with them.  For this card I followed one of the suggested techniques...with a bit of a twist.  I made my own "stamp pad" by squirting some Mica Gloss on white glossy card stock.  I then took a second piece of glossy white cardstock and "smooshed" it together on top of the Mica Gloss squirts.  After peeling apart the two sheets of paper, I had my stamp pad.  I then stamped my background stamp on a piece of white cardstock and added a few embellishments.  The end result was adhered to the original "stamp pad" and then mounted on a coordinating piece of card stock.  Colors used for the stamp pad were blue, silver, and lavender.



Supplies:
Cardstock: Glossy White, White
Ink: Mica Gloss
Die Cuts: Spellbinder IttyBitty, Memory Box Florish, Martha Stewart Punch
Ribbon: May Arts Silk
Misc: Swarovski crystals, Prima(?) flower

Like Selma

Like Selma's by Lynn

Selma's Card

I'm always so impressed with Selma's cards!  So feminine, so detailed.   Joan's Garden's challenge this week   http://www.atjoansgardens.com/2012/07/this-weeks-challenge.html was to make a card "very similar" to Selma's using pink and white, embossed background, lace border, and flowers using Selma's tutorial.  What a perfect opportunity to make a card "like Selma's.   Selma's tutorial  http://selmasstampingcorner.blogspot.com/2012/07/rose-tutorial.html is awesome!   
Supplies
Paper: pink and white cardstock and drawing
Dies: Spellbinders 
Punch: Martha Stewart
Ribbon: MayArts
Pearls: JLC Memories and Hobby Lobby
Lace: a scrap I had
Glues, Glue Dots, Tapes
 

Pearls and Lace

Oh yeah!  Cornish Heritage Farms is back.  And ...  they have initiated a Blog challenge.  Take a peak at http://cornishheritagefarms.com This week's challenge was entitled Pearls ad Lace.  Oh my favorite....take a piece of lace (Black) and put it over sticky paper.  Rub glitter onto the sticky paper and tap the excess off.  Then choose a stamp and color it.  Get a fabulous pearl swirl and a couple pieces of paper and ribbon.  Voila! a pearls and lace card!
Supplies
Paper: cardstocks, Webster Pages
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms
Ribbon: May Arts
Lace: Unknown
Pearl Flourish:  Prima Marketing
Ink: Memento, Copic
Glitter: Art Institute

Celebrate Stars and Stripes

I saw a piece of quilting fabric on an ebay auction (no, I don't quilt so why I happened on that particular auction is a mystery!) and thought it would make a beautiful backdrop for a red/white/blue patriotic card.  This is the first I've stamped on ribbon!
Supplies:
Paper: cardstocks, quilting fabric
Stamps: JustRite Myriad Pro Font, JustRite All Occasion Nested Sentiments
Ink: Memento Paris Dusk
Ribbon: May Arts
Die: Spellbinder Star
Jewels: Swarovski crystals
A couple of brads

The 4th is such a fun time to make cards...patriotic....celebratory...yeah! for the Red, White, and Blue.
I entered this card into several challenges....  JustRite Friday Challenge #076 - "Stars & Stripes", www.Atjoans'sgardens.com and "Oh I Love America" at http://www.myshericrafts.blogspot.com

Baby Boy

Thank you Connie MacFarlane!  I saw her "just like" card on the www.notimetostamp.blogspot.com website awhile ago and snagged it as one I'd like to make sometime.  Mostly I am not a "designer", but I am an "executor" lol!  If she ever sees this, then I hope she is falttered that I made her card.
 My daughter-in-law needed a baby card for she and her co-workers to give a new mother.  I hope all are pleased with this card.  On the inside I covered the brown cardstock with the same blue print paper and printed out a "baby poem" on it.  (Yeah for computers!)
 Supplies:
Paper: Graphic 45, Paper Studio (I think), Cardstock
Stamp: Uptown Rubber Stamps Holly Pond Hill
Cuts: Martha Stewart Punch, Spellbinders Blossom 3
Embossing: Cuttledbug Love Language folder, Comotion Brown Embossing Powder
Ribbon: May Arts Silk