Friday, February 14, 2014

Tickets for Love Card

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I pulled together a sweet, non-traditional colors card today for my dear in-laws.
 This was so much fun to make. I pulled out one of my bazillion several 6"x6" paper pads and found some cute papers to play with.The fun part about staying within one paper pad is that the patterns & colors are guaranteed to match! I inked up the tickets from Unity Stamp Co. in Espresso Truffle (Memento) and got stamping. To finish them off I fussy-cut the little cuties out and added some glitter with my Spica pens; pink and red hearts and then some clear over the lips in the last one.
I 'pinned' them to the card with some silver heart confetti from my Pretty Pink Post horde collection, which proved to be excellent practice for my tweezer-using skills. No, really, they're getting better!

The blue floral got layered with my favorite deep chocolate card stock and placed onto the white card base. Some white mini-pom pom trim finished off the top of the card and is just CUTE. I was going to end there, but realized the bottom was waaaaaaay too plain. I dug through my stamps until I found the 'love' one as part of a Unity set. Some sequins to draw the eye and done!
Have you been playing with non-traditional colors? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!
I'm linking up today to: Simon Monday Challenge Blog: We Love Stamps! and Unity Stamp Co. Friends with Flair!

Happy Crafting!

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Happy Birthday! with Kraft Paper, Inks, and Die Cuts

I posted a sneak peek of this card over on my Instagram feed and promised a full blog post after the recipient, well, received it! Seeing as I hand delivered it yesterday to my dear dad I can now share it with the rest of you.

I was inspired by this card by Kristina Werner and seeing as I needed a card for Dad thought this was a prime opportunity to try it out. Besides, I even HAVE that Paper Smooches stamp set! Woot!

Happy Birthday!
Seeing as I don't have any of the new Simon Says Stamp inks yet (boo), but my Memento's held their own. I inked up Pistachio, Teal Zeal, Elderberry, and Dandelion for a bright and pretty design. I had a bit of empty space left on the bottom so I drew in the faux stitching with my Inksentials White Gel Pen, and am very pleased with how straight the line came out. Go me. :)

The speech bubble is a Simon Says Stamp exclusive and cuts like a dream, especially when paired with my magnetic Sizzix board. I used scrap paper I had leftover from other projects of various thicknesses, so in the end I cut and glued together (7) bubbles. I can easily see using this same technique with my Cameo. The 'happy birthday' sentiment is also from Simon Says Stamp and comes with the stamp set with the kitty in the box I love so much. You may recognize it from this card.
Woo, look at the height!
Including picking out inks and paper scraps, I put the whole card together in under 30 minutes. Fast, easy, pretty, and easily changed up for any occasion. I think I've added another card to my 'go to' pile!

Have you been inspired by any cards lately?

I'm linking up here: Simon Monday Challenge Blog: We Love Stamps!, Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog: Get Krafty!, Paper Smooches! Challenge: Fun and Cute

Happy Crafting!

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Polka, Polka, Polka Dots!

We're hopping along with DeNami again, and this month it's all about polka dots! I think they're such a fun pattern; they're happy, cheerful, and fun to say. Polka dots. Polka. Dots.

Yeah, I need more coffee.

You should be arriving here from Amy's blog. Remember, if you get lost along the way you can always head back to the DeNami blog for directions. Be sure to comment on everyone's blog along the hop to try and win those lovely, lovely DeNami gift certificates!

So, what happens when you combine polka dots and coffee? In this case, I'm pleased to say the answer is massive cuteness:
DeNami Espresso Scene stamp
I stamped the Espresso Scene onto thick white card stock with black Memento ink then colored in the latte mugs with my Spectrum Noir markers. The background of the circles was lightly colored with a light latte color as well. While that dried, I sent my blue paper through the Big Shot in the polka dot embossing folder. A bit of sanding of the Core'dinations afterwards and we have instant texture (and polka dots!).
Side view to show the layers and coloring
I added a backer of coffee card stock to the blue then tied on my champagne chevron ribbon. The entire stack was then mounted to my card base with foam tape. Next came the latte mugs using more foam tape because, well, I love a good layer.
Close-up of the latte mugs; see the shimmer & shine?
Then came the fussy work; the polka dots around the cups got colored with a black Sakura gelly roller and the hearts and swirl of coffee got finished off with the clear Sakura pen. A bit of glitter via the clear Spica pen and my coffee was ready! A lovely espresso sequin in each corner finished off the card with a last bit of shimmer.
Looks good enough to drink!
Thanks for stopping by today! You're now off to the lovely Lisa's blog to see what she's done with the fun that is polka dots.

In case this is your first stop, here are the blog hop details:
When: The blog hop starts on February 9, 2014 at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until February 10, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).
Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: We are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to our website! We'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then we'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

Happy Crafting!