Swapping for Insanity

It's been awhile since I've signed up for a swap involving more than one of the same card, and now I remember why! Actually, making these swap cards wouldn't have been too rough at all except for the fact that I wasn't feeling good this last week and my sleep was messed up. And now for a rousing chorus of "If Only I Had Started Sooner..."



At any rate, I'm pleased as punch with the way the cards turned out. The only thing worse than making a sucky card is having to make multiples of it. I think the swappers who get these will be happy, though.



The first swap I worked on was themed "Hot Pink and Lime Green," so naturally I pulled out my florescent cardstock which hasn't seen the light of days in years and years. The bursts/blooms are from SU!'s One of a Kind set, and the "find Joy everyday" stamp is by Hero Arts. Technically speaking, there's not much to this card except a lot of fussy cutting and layering. The cool embossed zig-zag border is a Martha Stewart punch. I made 6 of these for the swap and 1 for myself.






My second swap card this week ("Bird" theme) was loosely inspired by this card by Beate Johns. The SU! set is Always, and I chose to work with the colors Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip, and Kiwi Kiss. Since I was making eight of this card and the clock was ticking, I left off many of Beate's details; but I think it's still a pretty decent card. The printed paper is Walk in the Park DSP from SU!'s current Occasions mini catalog.



I have to laugh now -- although I felt like crying at the time -- because I sponged and stamped all my center panels with Pacific Point and Kiwi Kiss; and then managed to stamp the Chocolate Chip sentiment crooked on every single piece! I sulked while working on other pieces of the card, and finally ended up redoing all the center panels, this time using my trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig. Moral of the story: Never trust yourself to stamp straight by just eyeballing it when you've been up over 24 hours!

Experimenting...

While looking through photos posted in the LateNightStampers Yahoo group, I ran across the COOLEST card by Jan Webb. I emailed her for directions, and she directed me to a tutorial for a "Tri-Shutter Card." I tweaked it a bit so that I would end up with a 5-1/2" x 4" notecard.* I couldn't believe how easy this card was to make! Have I mentioned lately how much I LUV my Scor-Pal?



I started with a 12x12" piece of textured cardstock in Mellow Moss, (my least favorite SU! color, just in case I screwed up on my first attempt at this project). I pulled out my Recollections designer paper from the "olden days" when SU! offered prints on just one side.



The butterfly stamp is by Hero Arts.



Here's the front of the card, approximately what you would see as you're pulling it out of an envelope:






Here's a view of the card partially opened:






Here's what the card looks like fully opened:






Here you can see the center panel a little better:






Here's what the project looks like from the bottom:






I can't wait to crank out more of these puppies, but I have a bunch of themed swap cards to make first. Perhaps by the end of this week...



If you decide to try your hand at this card, I would really LOVE to see what you come up with! Please comment and leave me an URL where your card(s) can be found.



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* I've had quite a few requests for the dimensions I used for my card, so here goes:

1. Start out with a piece of 12" x 5-1/2" cardstock.

2. Score the height of the card at 4" and 8".

3. Score 1" from the top and 1" from the bottom at 2" and 10".

4. Cut from the 2" score to the 10" score at both top and bottom.

5. Fold 1" strips at top and bottom opposite the folds in the center section.



Here's a diagram that might help to see what's happening:





If any part of this is unclear, please leave a comment below and I will contact you directly.



Thank you for looking, and I look forward to seeing YOUR creation(s)!



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10:45 p.m.

HAHAHAHA!!! I just took a look at this project again and noticed a screw-up! The card base is Mellow Moss while the butterflies and sentiment are stamped on Sage Shadow. That'll teach me to stamp on one hour of sleep! But hey, I'm pleased it turned out as well as it did given I was half asleep at the time.



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If you'd like to see the card that inspired me, check out Jan's new blog!

Springy Mothers' Day Cards

I made some more cards, this time for Mothers' Day, using the same Tea Party DSP as in the last post, but this time using the large flower from Playful Petals. Instead of coloring the flower, I decided to paper piece it, and I really like the results.



Stamp sets: Playful Petals, Lots of Thoughts, All Holiday (inside the cards)

Colors: Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Almost Amethyst

Toys: Circle Scissors Plus with Glass Mat, Scallop and Eyelet border punches, Scallop circle punch, 1/4" and 3/8" circle punches, Certainly Celery brads, Sakura stardust pen, Stampin' Dimensionals

I'm Honored!

Sherrill Graff, the uber-cool demo chick who supports other demos and gives away FREE Stampin' Up! stuff as ways of expressing her gratitude for her own success with SU!, has picked me as a Featured Artist on one of her blogs! I feel so honored! *happy dancing*



When you check out the article on her blog, I'd love it if you leave a comment! Be sure to take a look at the artwork of other Featured Artists while you're there. Good stuff!



Thanks so much, Sherrill! You made my day!

Tea Party Designer Series Paper

Some new Stampin' Up! stuff arrived Friday, including the stamp sets Sweet Stems and Playful Petals which coordinate with the Tea Party DSP. I was torn between going wild with these and working on some swaps that have deadlines coming up -- so I compromised and managed to do a little of both.



This first card is for a "Spring is Sprung" 1-for-1 swap. It's not the card I had planned in my head (which used different colors, different stamps, and different paper!), but I'm still happy with it. I started out coloring the largest flower from the Playful Petals set with SU! markers, but it looked AWFUL, like a 1st grader had colored it, so I quickly destroyed the evidence. Am I the only one who has problems with markers looking blotchy on SU!'s Whisper White cardstock? I think I need to invest in some good quality watercolor paper and see if that helps.



I decided to use the Sweet Stems set instead, reasoning that the blotchiness wouldn't be as noticeable on a smaller scale. I chose one of the patterns from the oh-so-pretty Tea Party DSP which uses Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, and Almost Amethyst. (Well, Basic Grey, too -- but I didn't want to bring that color into my springy card.) Other supplies used include the Eyelet Border punch, a sponge, and some white grosgrain. I decided to leave a sentiment off the front, and stamped "Life is Full of New Beginnings" on the inside.






The second card, for a "J is for..." swap, features an Inkadinkado stamp that I just LOVE! This simple card uses a Hero Arts flower and an oversized green brad covered with Stickles.






Next on the agenda: Mothers Day cards.

Black and White +1

Today, readers, you get a scan instead of a photo. There's so much white on this card that I just couldn't get away from the glare off the cardstock. So, pretend the shadows around the brads aren't there, okay?



The main image stamp is from the clear set (*gasp!* I used clear AND non-SU! stamps today!), Birds Galore, from Inkadinkado. The sentiment, a wood mounted stamp, is unlabeled. I used my Scor-Pal to emboss a three-quarter frame on the black card base. I think the rest is easy to figure out, but if you have a question, feel free to ask.

Cat Sympathy Card

A friend called me last night to request a sympathy card for a friend of hers whose cat just passed away. Here's what I came up with...



Main image stamp by Stampola

Paws by Zimprints

SU! stamps: Brighter Tomorrow, Warmest Regards

Colors: Baja Breeze, Pirouette Pink, Whisper White

And: Craft Basic Black Ink + Detail Clear EP; Parisian Summer DSP; Scallop Edge punch; sponge; Flower Fusion felt flowers