Happy 100th Birthday

Because it's the 5th Monday of the month, it's time for SomeThing, AnyThing and EveryThing at Double Trouble, beginning today, Monday, September 30, through Sunday, October 6, 2019. This is only a one-week challenge.

Thing 1 requires playing along with the main Anything Goes theme.

Thing 2 suggests you to partner with any of our previous partners. I selected Brown Sugar's Anything Goes Challenge #293.

Thing 3 is reminding us to use the color pink in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Reminder: Things 2 and 3 are optional but playing along will increase your chances of winning.

I was asked to make a card for a lady some friends of ours have known since they were children. This lady was about to celebrate her 100th birthday. It was decided we needed a very special card but because the recipient lives in Ohio, it needed to go through the mail easily. After suggesting several ideas, it was decided to make a box card. The card will fold flat for mailing but is easily stood for display.

I started by making the box from heavyweight cardstock, covered with wood grain patterned paper. This is a departure from the usual box design. I added the usual support pieces inside the box then started decorating. I just kept adding flowers and leaves from my stash. The pieces were adhered to a strip of acetate then adhered to the inside supports of the box. Some of the bits are die cuts and others are purchased along with some ephemera. There is even a cupcake with a cherry on top! The "100" badge was die cut from magenta foiled cardstock and gold glitter cardstock. I made a separate for the senders to add a personal note to include with the box or adhere to the side or back. I recently learned that the elderly recipient was thrilled to receive the card.

Join in the Double Trouble Challenge #39 for challenge fun. You could win a prize! And here's a reminder that this is a one-week challenge, rather than the usual biweekly challenge so play along again on Monday, October 7, 2019 for #40.

Materials
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White (heavyweight)
Paper: WRMK Foil (magenta); Stampin' Up! Glimmer (gold) & Window Sheet (clear acetate); wood grain paper from scraps
Die: Reasonable "Numerals with Candles", Spellbinders large label on back (not shown in photos)
Misc.: Ephemera and various flowers, stickers, die cuts, gems, along with a bluebird and a cupcake all from stash; WRMK/SU envelope punchboard for custom envelope.

Grateful & Thankful

Update: This card was a Weekly Favorite at Splitcoast Stampers for the week ending October 5, 2019.

The Try Stampin' on Tuesday Biweekly Challenge #427 is open today, Tuesday, September 24, through Monday, October 6, 2019. Here is the sketch with an optional theme. I used the sketch and included a cup with "steam" to depict a warm beverage to meet that optional theme.

The coffee cup was die cut from patterned paper and the edges sponged. The two rectangles were die cut with the larger one embossed with coffee beans. The rectangles and cup were adhered with foam tape. A small flourish die cut provided the steam rising from the cup. The sentiment was cut from patterned paper along with a few other elements. The inside was decorated with a fall cutout. A few gold metallic "gems" were added to finish the card.

Be sure to visit the TSOT #427 Blog to view our challenge. We hope you'll play along!

Materials
Ink: Stampin' Up! Baked Brown Sugar
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Lost Lagoon
Paper: Echo Park "Fall" (leaves, sentiment), Carta Bella "Fall Market" (pattern on cup), Bella Blvd "Barn Yard" (brown plaid)
Dies: Whimsy (stitched notched rectangles) Reasonable Dies (cup)
TIEF: Darice (coffee beans)
Misc.: Foam tape and "gems", ephemera from stash

Frog Yoga - 3-D Window Card

Monochromatic cards? I have never been a fan but here I am with one for the Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #361... and I enjoyed making it. The challenge runs from Friday, September 20, through Wednesday, October 2, 2019 so check it out at the blog. I used several shades of green with dark brown as my only neutral and the color white, which is free.

I used a fun fold called a 3-D Window. This card folds flat into an A2 envelope making it simple to mail to the recipient. I stamped the frog image then colored and fussy cut it, adding the wiggly eyes. Imagine a frog enjoying Yoga! The little cloud is a die cut. The palm tree was a stamped & colored image leftover from a previous project so I embossed it with clear powder for a soft shine then fussy cut and adhered it to the front, making sure that the palm fronds would fit within the measurements of an A2 envelope. The sentiment was stamped and fussy cut. A few gems were added to finish off the card front. Inside the box, I adhered the frog onto green watercolored paper. The back of the card is white cardstock to permit a place to write a personal note. I decorated it with a cartoon-style alligator cut from patterned paper.

Stop by the Color My Heart Color Dare #361 Blog and give us your green projects!

Techniques: Fun Fold, Stamping, Fussy Cutting, Die Cutting, Coloring, Heat Embossing
Size: A2 when folded flat (5.5" x 4.25")

Materials
Stamps: Stampendous "Frog Yoga"; Recollections "Palm Tree"
Inks: Stampin' Up! Lucky Limeade; Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White (heavyweight)
Patterned Paper: Doodlebug (dotted green); watercolored scrap; Stampin' Up! (alligator)
Die: Memory Box (stitched cloud); Stampendous (3-D Window)
Misc.: Stampin' Up! Embossing Powder (clear); Gems and wiggly eyes from stash

Autumn Blessings

Autumn is my favorite season no matter where I reside. I look forward to the subtle changes that we have in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and the end of the triple digit temperatures. For the Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge #426, I followed the sketch below and used the optional theme of Leaves. This biweekly challenges began on Tuesday, September 17, and will end on Sunday evening, September 29, 2019.

The Maple leaf was cut from patterned paper using a die then backed with brown cardstock and fussy cut, leaving a very narrow edge. I decided to add shine to the leaf with clear embossing powder (two layers). Clear embossing will always darken the cardstock and the brown cardstock turned to a dark coffee color. Onto a Kraft card base, a panel of brown cardstock was adhered, then a couple of die cut stitched zigzag borders, in keeping with the sketch. Finally, the patterned paper was added. The Maple leaf was adhered using foam tape for dimension, followed by the thin strip across the lower end of the card and a sentiment that was computer generated. Gold metallic "gems" were added. The inside was decorated with a scrap of matching patterned paper.

Be sure to visit the Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge #426 and take a look at the Design Team cards for inspiration. We hope you'll play along with the challenge.

Materials
Stamp: Sentiment computer generated
Ink: Stampin' Up! Cajun Craze (interior); Versamark
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chip, Hello Honey, Cajun Craze
Paper: Stampin' Up! "Sweater Weather" Collection (retired)
Dies: Mama Elephant Border Die (stitched zigzag); Frantic Stamper Maple Leaf
Misc.: Stampin' Up Embossing Powder (clear), foam tape and gems from stash

Christmas Joy with Tag

Little by little, I am getting Christmas cards made in an effort to avoid a last minute rush. I used the Double Trouble Challenge #38 as inspiration for this card. Double Trouble has one requirement with two options. Playing along with the options increases your chances of winning the random draw for a nice prize. If you opt-in to Thing 2, visit the Use Your Stuff #375 blog and ensure you are meeting their guidelines.

Thing 1: (Required) Create a card using plaid.

Thing 2: (Optional) Enter your card into the challenge at Use Your Stuff #375 ensuring that you have met their requirements as well as ours.

Thing 3: (Optional) Use a tag or frame on your card design.

My card was created from bits and pieces collected from my stash. A white panel and a panel of gold with stars were sized and adhered to a red card base. The plaid tag was created by using a label die then backed in white cardstock. The image of the church was a paper scrap. I trimmed it to size, backed it in gold foiled cardstock and adhered it to the tag with foam tape. The tag was adhered to the card front along with the gold-striped bow and the sentiment. The inside was lined with white cardstock and decorated with matching paper.

The Double Trouble Challenge #38 and our partner, Use Your Stuff Challenge #375, begin on Monday, September 16, and end on Sunday evening, September 29, 2019.

Materials
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Real Red, Gumball Green; Foiled cardstock (gold) from stash
Paper: Stampin' Up! Gold with stars from scraps; image and plaid from stash
Dies: Stampin' Up! Deco Labels; Reasonable Dies (Joy)
Misc.: Bow from stash; foam tape

Halloween Bats - BOO!

Deciding to make a clean and simple Halloween card led me to the weekly Atlantic Hearts Challenge #333, which started on Monday, September 9, and ends on Sunday evening, September 15.

 

 

Finding a stash of Halloween bits, I liked the spiders and web printed onto the newspaper print in this paper design. I sponged the edges with ink going lighter toward the center. Using a black card base, I adhered the sponged panel. Next, two circles were die cut - a larger one in black and a smaller one in white. I wanted it to look kind of mottled like the moon so added a light touch of ink. The circles were offset and stacked, then adhered to the card using foam tape. Finally, the three bats with wiggly eyes and Wink of Stella were added. The inside was lined with white cardstock, sponged along the edges, and stamped: BOO!

 

 

 

Viewing these photos after posting them, it looks to me as if the bats are flying into their cave from a night of eating insects and raiding hummingbird feeders. (They raid my hummingbird feeders at night.)

 

Here's the link for Atlantic Hearts Challenge #333. Hope to see you there!

 

Materials

Stamp: Garage sale find BOO! (inside of card)

Ink: Stampin' Up! Hello Honey and Crushed Curry; Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White and Basic Black

Paper: Recollections "Haunted Manor"

Dies: Spellbinders Classic Circles

Misc.: ZIG Wink of Stella (clear); foam tape; bats from stash

Thinking of You - Single Layer Card

Welcome to my blog!

Today, Friday, September 6, is the first day of the biweekly Color My Heart Color Challenge #359. This challenge closes on Wednesday, September 18, 2019.

Have you ever heard of the KISS method of doing something? It means "Keep It Simple, Stamper". So I tried to keep it simple. I selected four colors: Peach, Smoothie, Goldrush and New England Ivy on a white card base. The camera has picked up the Smoothie color as leaning toward orange but I see it considerably more pink.

I was in the mood to do some masking and wanted to try out a some new brushes I recently acquired. I have used brushes for ink dusting but they have a longer bristle and leave a very light hue. The new brushes are for cosmetics and blend ink beautifully and more quickly than a sponge. I found the brushes on Ebay for $1.11 each with free shipping. I like that they are all one size and not a set comprised of varying sizes. After making this card, I know I am going to enjoy using them. By the way, they are easy to clean.

I simply masked off an area on the card base and blended the inks to achieve the look of Peach, Smoothie and Goldrush. Once dry, I removed the masks and stamped the floral image using an ink similar to New England Ivy. I smeared some ink directly onto white cardstock and punched a few butterflies. I also die cut the sentiment from the ink-smeared cardstock. These were adhered. The inside was decorated with a few of the punched butterflies.

We encourage you to join us at the Color My Heart Color Dare Blog to play along with us!

Techniques: Masking, stamping, ink blending, die cutting
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

Materials
Stamp: Stampin' Up! "Serene Silhouettes"
Inks: Distress Oxide Tattered Rose, Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade & Forest Moss
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White (heavyweight)
Die: Frantic Stamper "Thinking of You"
Punch: Stampin' Up! "Itty Bitty Butterfly"

Fall Harvest

Does anyone else have difficulty photographing a card once Wink of Stella has been applied? I took a mountain of photos only to be disappointed with each. No matter how I positioned the light, camera or card, I was unable to achieve a satisfactory photo. Here they are...

Fall weather has not yet arrived in Arizona but I am ready for some cooler weather! In Arizona we have bats and lots of them. In fact, they will feed at night from the hummingbird feeders. They are valuable to the environment so I have no complaints about their existence because we rarely see them. I found this cute freebie digital image of a little bat enjoying a candied apple so decided to make him the focus of my card.

I made this card for Double Trouble Challenge #37, which begins today, Monday, September 2, and runs through Sunday, September 15, 2019. Here is a summary of the Double Trouble Challenge:

1. Requirement: Fall Things - Use a reminder of fall, i. e., leaves, acorns, etc.
2. Option: Link your project to the Paper Girls Challenge #183. Check their guidelines to ensure your project will fit into their theme.
3. Option: Include a sweet treat on your card, i. e., s'mores, pumpkin pie, candy corn, etc.

A panel of cardstock and a panel of patterned paper were adhered to the white card base. The two ovals were die cut from patterned paper, adhered together then backed with foam tape and adhered to the card. The image was downloaded, resized, colored, fussy cut and adhered using foam tape. A sticker with a leaf and two acorns was added along with a stamped sentiment. The inside was decorated with scraps of patterned paper.

We hope to see you at the Double Trouble Challenge Blog and The Paper Girls Challenge Blog - you could win a prize!

Materials
Stamps: Free Digital Image (bat w/candied apple); Sizzix #662271 "Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice" (sentiment)
Inks: Stampin' Up! Cajun Craze & Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze
Paper: Carta Bella "Rustling Leaves", Bella Blvd. "Barnyard" (plaid), Echo Park "My Favorite Fall" (acorn sticker)
Dies: Sizzix Oval Framelits #663510
Misc.:  Foam tape, Wink of Stella (clear) & sequins from stash