Trimtastic!

I cracked open a new SU! set tonight: Trimtastic! I see a lot of potential with this batch of stamps.



Stamps: Trimtastic, Just Like You

Colors: Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose

DSP: Flowers for You

Other: Buttons!

Design Idea from a Friend

One of my computer friends saw an idea on the DIY Network and drew it out so that I could make a card out of the template. (You can find what she saw here: http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=676baa0b09516110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&xsc=diy_network)



I waaaaay simplified it and made the following two cards using the Flowers for You DSP.



The central image on this card is stamped with the Just Like You SU! set. The center seemed a bit flat compared to the window and rest of the card, so I cut out another butterfly and glued it on top of the orginal to make it three-dimensional. I added some doodles around the edge of the center, and here's how it came out:






The second card is very similar, except for the central image I used a Hero Arts stamp "Cute Cat" which I colored with markers. Once again I stamped and colored a second cat and glued it on top of the first, bending the ears and tail out a bit to add some depth.






Thank you, Nikki, for the idea!!

Cotton Candy Cards

After yesterday's monochromatic cards, I thought I'd mix things up a bit today while working again with the Flowers for You designer series double-sided paper. Looking at these two completed cards, I realized that they remind me of cotton candy because of the color combination (primarily Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac, and Regal Rose)!



Can you tell I *really* like this quotation by Rumi? It'll probably keep showing up until the borrowed stamp returns to its home in North Carolina. Since I had the Three For You punch box kit within arm's reach, I had at it with the flower trio punch -- and I still can't believe I found turquoise brads in my stash!






I made this next card using scraps from all the Flowers For You paper I chopped up over the last several days. This is twice in a row where I like the scraps card from DSP almost (almost) better than the rest of the cards! (The Western Sky scraps card from last week is still one of my all-time favorites.) The Regal Rose Flower is from the Just Like You set, and the words are from Sweet Serendipity.






Looking ahead: I think (although this isn't carved in stone) that it's time to work with the die-cut Blooms from the Occasions mini catalog. I "built" a whole bunch of flowers with them last Wednesday (see the March 19th post), and now they're begging me to be used!

Regal Rose Day

My mojo was a bit off today, but I managed to squeeze out three average-looking cards using the Flowers for You designer paper and Regal Rose cardstock.



The Magenta birds make one more appearance on this first card, hastily blender-penned with color. Meh.






Here's another card with a bit of unimaginatively placed white grosgrain ribbon. I also pulled out my Marvy scallop punch as well as the corner rounder punch for the scallops along the right edge.






And finally, the card which sent me into retirement for the rest of the day... I punched out the scallop circle from the designer paper, adhered it to the cardfront -- and then realized that all the butterflys on the DSP were standing on their heads. After reworking the card, I decided it would be best to see what tomorrow brings before I continue my creative endeavors.

Flowers For You Designer Paper

I decided to work with SU!'s Flowers for You double-sided designer paper today. Coordinating colors are Regal Rose, Lovely Lilac, Certainly Celery, and Tempting Turquoise.



Supplies on this first card include a quotation sticker from Wordsworth and narrow white organdy.






Supplies include gold eyelets and the Word Window punch.






If I recall correctly, these silly birds are from a stamp by Magenta.






I found some happy little flower brads for this card...






This card went through several remakes, and I'm still not sure about it. The glittery stuff is Stickles, because, you know, Stickles makes everything work!






This simple but elegant card features a quotation sticker from Wordsworth and some white grosgrain ribbon.






Look! The Magenta birds again! This time I colored them with blender pens instead of straight markers. Looks better, I think.

Eight before Eight

I had a restless night, so I got up early and made these eight cards before 8:00 a.m. -- go ahead, be impressed! I know I am!



The focus for this batch was once again SU!'s Cutie Pie designer series paper. I also found a sheet of Wordsworth quote stickers that were just begging to be used. Flowers are Bazzill Wings.

More Cards with Cutie Pie Designer Paper

Late Night Cards

I was supposed to be putting the stuff on my bed away, but instead I just HAD to make two more cards. (You know how that goes.)



I think I set my record in number of eyelets used on this first card: 8... eight!!! I was just goofing around with the Three for You flower punch, but I liked how the little posies look layered on the printed paper so I went with it. I used Stickles in the little circles on the print instead of pulling out my Dazzling Diamonds and glue pen again. (The cat is still glittery from the last episode.)






I meant for the rub-on on this next card to go on the So Saffron card base, but I think the body heat from the cat (who insists on laying on my stuff when I'm not looking) made it start to stick to the printed paper. Sooo, I went with the flow. The card seems a bit busy to me, but I think it still works.

Rub-ons!!

Yesterday I broke into my new SU! rub-ons (the FREE Love and Happiness set being offered as part of this year's Sale-a-Bration promo)... and I gotta say, I'm in love! I'm astonished at how easy they are to use and how good they look; and I'm tickled pink that I got TWO sets of these rub-ons -- and I may go for a third if I can scrape up the funds for another $50 order.



I've made four cards so far, all using the Cutie Pie double-sided designer paper and coordinating color cardstock. This was my first time using rub-ons since I was a kid and got some Beatles Yellow Submarine Blue Meanie rub-ons in a cereal box. (I probably just dated myself there, haha.) I took my upline's suggestion on my first card to use a stylus to rub with instead of the high-tech popsicle stick provided with the kit, but I had better luck with the popsicle stick on subsequent cards. With the stylus, the rub-on looks sort of embossed into the paper, while with the popsicle stick I got a nice, smooth rub, no indents.



I really like how the black contrasts with the bright colors on this first card. Card base is So Saffron, and I'm almost embarrassed at how easy this card was to make.






I used Certainly Celery as the base for this next card. Versamarked background flowers are from the Just Like You set. A quick punch with the Word Window, and ta-da!, card was done. How cool is this?






The Love and Happiness rub-on set includes four sheets, one each of black, white, old olive, and chocolate chip rub-ons in the same design. I decided to try my hand using some white ones on Rose Red cardstock, and I love love love how it turned out!






Here's a close-up of the rub-on. I hope the pic shows just how crisp it looks.






I'm not so sure about this next card, but I'll chalk it up to experimentation. Card base is Bashful Blue, ribbon is double-stitched Purely Pomegranite (close enough to Rose Red to pull it off, I think), and I used a rub-on on the ribbon itself. It worked great! My 2-way glue pen threw up on the card, so I have Dazzling Diamonds glitter in more places than planned. (It was a case of operator error... I don't blame the glue pen.) Hey, ain't it neat how the scalloped rub-on fits perfectly into the SU! scallop punch? I startled the cat when I noticed this, I was so excited (*grin*).






I want to keep working on my rub-on/Cutie Pie cards, but I have to tackle the mess on my bed first. I had my home health aide pile everything that was in my "hell hole" on the floor onto the bed so that I would be forced to deal with it before I hit the sack tonight. At the moment I'm regretting that brainiac idea, but I'm sure it'll be nice to have things put away when I get up in the morning (assuming I don't just dump everything on the floor at bedtime!) Wish me luck!

Thankful Thoughts

After making 60 dog cards, I felt a few cat cards were in order. These are the thank-you cards that are going to the folks who mailed dog images to me to use.



Colors: Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst

Cat stamp by Zimprints

Flower backgrounds: SU!'s Bodacious jumbo wheel, Just Like You

Other: Stickles!

Last of the Cards Using Winter Bright

I made these four happy cards to use up the last of the double-sided designer paper that came in the Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' kit. It's amazing what can be done with a few scraps, punches, and whatever else is sitting around.

Another One Sheet Wonder

Katie wondered in a comment on a recent post how the One Sheet Wonder technique might work on black cardstock. I had flashbacks to some cards she made with a set similar to "Just Like You" awhile back, and so decided to give it a shot. Thanks for the idea, Katie! I love love love how these turned out. The scans don't do them justice, since it's hard to scan Pearlescent Brilliance ink.

One Sheet Wonder Individual Cards