Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends and family around the world! Can you guess what I used for the flag pole and how I made the logs?? Take a guess before reading on.

When I saw this week's Mojo sketch, I immediately knew I was going to make a Canada Day card. It was the perfect layout. I always have so much fun with this little beaver stamp and I've often used the Canadian flag on the back of my cards with my signature. This was the first time I put them together in a scene! I just love scene cards. Here I love how there is a mini scene within a larger scene. The beaver and flag are the highlights, and the blue sky and green field are in the background.

Have you taken your guesses yet? Yup, that's right. The flag pole is a Q-tip! I took a silver Sharpie and coloured it in to make it look like steel. Then I attached some hemp cord as a rope for raising and lowering the flag, and I added Crystal Effects to red parts of the flag to make it shine. The logs? It's kraft cardstock I put through the shredder! I just grabbed a bunch of logs and stuck it on there without any order. Cool, eh?

I've given up on tying ribbon. Period. I won't say anymore about that. LOL The other day when the UPS guy delivered my new SU stuff, I was disappointed that the large oval punch was backordered. Ack! So what you see here is actually hand cut. For the sentiment, I used Canada from a retired Pink Cat Studio stamp and I can't tell you where the Happy and Day words came from because the stamp is about 15 years old and there's no label on the side of it. It was hard to get the sentiment right because I had to mask different parts of two stamps to create that.

Anyway, I won't be posting again 'til I'm back from vacation early next week. Enjoy the rest of your week and have a wonderful long weekend!

Sources: SU (chocolate chip), DCWV (red), The Paper Company (weave white), SBD (kraft) & Halcraft (white) cardstock; Provo Craft paper (blue, green); St. James Rubber Stamp (beaver, Canadian flag); Copics; Pink Cat Studio (Canada); unknown brand (Happy, Day); Memories Artprint Brown ink; Vivid! Red ink; Sharpie fine black pen (eyes); Uniball Signo white pen (teeth); SU Crystal Effects; Q-tip; Sharpie metallic silver marker; SU tearing edge; American Crafts brads; Darice hemp cord; Celebrate It ribbon; SU scallop oval punch; dimension squares

Thanks, Sis

I used Karen's sketch to make this card for my sister. We're heading down south for a visit this long weekend. I'm going to meet my two-month-old niece for the first time! I wanted to have something to thank my sister and her husband with when we leave so I came up with this. I know she'll love it and totally get that the baby bottle is yellow for the Medela brand we both use. :)

I partially cased this card from the one my husband made for me on Valentine's Day. Yup, you heard right! My husband has really good ideas when it comes to cards - like the bottle being thrown out of the buggy. He is a design engineer after all and is pretty creative, too. Also, my good friends know that a gift doesn't mean anything if there's no card. :Þ So my husband has been making cards for me because he knows how much it means to me. Awww!

Anyway, I started off by colouring this cute Stamping Bella image with Copics. The bottle is from a baby set that I no longer have the packaging for and have no idea what brand it is. I threw it out back in the day before I knew crafty bloggers sourced their stuff. Oy! I had to make my own nesties again and there's a spot where it doesn't fit together quite right but maybe I shouldn't point that out? LOL I have no idea what possessed me to use two different ribbons but at first it seemed to work. I added a brad where the hinge for the buggy cover would be and added Crystal Effects to the bottle. Do you like how the milk is perfectly leveled in its mid-air position? :D

Overall though I'm really not quite sure what to think of this card. It doesn't have a sentiment so it's appropriate that I'm speechless? I had really good intentions but I'm not sure anything matches at all. When I finished it I didn't like it but the more I look at it, especially after photographing it, the more I like it but I'm still not sure! It's probably because I always have this card in the back of my mind and it's pretty hard for me to live up to. What do you think?

Sources: The Paper Company, DCWV & Halcraft cardstock; Provo Craft paper; Stamping Bella bella baby buggy bumper; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Copics; SU Crystal Effects; Sharpie fine black pen; Urban Scrapyard ribbon; Fiskars Seagull paper edger; SU brad; dimension squares

Get Well

It's a new month for Viva La Verve and the {twist} for the first week of July is DISTRESSING! I've never distressed before - not with ink or roughed up edges - so my first thought was Uh-Oh! At first I tried to use a nail file but that didn't work so I used my scissors. Who knew it would be so much fun? I think I have a new addiction!

I made this card for my father-in-law (it will be written in my son's voice hence Grandpa) since he's been in the hospital for the past few days. I really could've used the new Verve release Feel Better Soon but I obviously don't have it yet so I made do with what I had. I put three stamps together to make this card. I haven't used this Tweety stamp in more than a decade! First I coloured him in with Copics, then use my Spica pen on the pom-pom of his nightcap and the steam rising from his mug. On his mug, I used SU Crystal Effects for the very first time. I ordered this after seeing Karen Motz use it on this card. She was kind enough to send me an email telling me all about it so I ordered it and I love it!

Blogger twisted my photo again.

This photo is supposed to be rotated 90 degrees to the left.

Is anyone else having this problem?

Since I've been on a sewing frenzy since Friday, I decided to stitch all my papers before distressing. I loosened the thread tension on my sewing machine to add to that distressed look. I'll be the first to admit I suck at tying bows and it took me forever to get the bow to look like this! Since the ribbon is lime green on the reverse side I couldn't get the entire bow to look the same, even with the twisting technique so many of the tutorials suggest. I can't even tell you how many attempts I made. Yup, I suck!

My husband made two jokes about this card. The first was that I should've given the papers to our son to distress since he loves chewing on paper and cardboard. The second was that his dad probably let himself get sick so he could get another one of my cards. My father-in-law loved the ones he got for his birthday and Father's Day. Three cards for any one family member or friend in one month? That has to be a record. LOL

I had to hold the card up right at the window

so the light would show the distressing.

Sources: DCWV (green), SBD (kraft) & Halcraft (white) cardstock; Basic Grey Lime Rickey Howdy Doody paper; Rubber Stampede Bed Time Tweety; HOTP Tiny Words & Images (Get Well); Verve World's Best (Grandpa); Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Copics; Atyou Spica pen; SU Crystal Effects; Gutermann thread; dimension squares; Urban Scrapyard ribbon

Good Friends, Good Times

This post continues from last night's post regarding the cased cards. I had a chance to finish the other two I made and here they are. I wanted them to be quite different from the last and needed some hostess cards in my stash. I'm delighted with the way they turned out. I only wish I stamped the sentiment on pink one a little lower but it still looks pretty darn good. :)

Sources: The Paper Company (weave white) & DCWV (behind stars) cardstock; The Old Island Stamp Company (meaning of friend) & A Muse Artstamps (road to friend) sentiments; SU Basic Gray ink; SU large star punch; Marvy-Uchida small star punch; Gutermann thread; Offray (pinks) & Urban Scrapyard (blue with green dots) ribbons; dimension squares

You're a Star

I decided to do something different for a change. I have all this black cardstock lying around and kept starting cards but they never seemed to look right to me. Maybe it was because I kept trying to keep them black, white and grey or silver. I knew I wanted to use my new SU large star punch and started flipping through my mat stacks. When I came across the cherries, I knew it would look great against the black. I cased Heather Nichols' card here but used stars instead of hearts like in Wendy Bond's version here. Both these ladies are incredibly talented and I love all their creations!

I didn't even think about using white thread and headed straight for the red. I love red! I had no idea it was going to be so much fun stitching around that star! My husband was watching me sew and asked me if I was going to stitch the small stars as if that was insane. LOL I said no I think I'll just stitch the large star for my first attempt! I chose a sentiment that would work for any friend and any occasion. It was a great way to break in another of my new Verve sets. Too bad it smudged a tad on the right side. Since the black is textured it was hard to get the ink to adhere smoothly. Finally, I thought the black and red thread on the buttons would be a nice finishing touch.

While I had the punches and sewing machine out, I made two more of these cards in white with different coloured stars. I just haven't quite finished them but once I do they'll be photographed and posted. Stay tuned! :)

Sources: DCWV cardstock; Verve Dare To Be; SU Whisper White pigment ink; SU large star punch; Marvy-Uchida small star punch; Gutermann thread; Celebrate It ribbon; DMC embroidery thread; random buttons

Thanks...100,000 times over

Can you believe I was waiting for the UPS guy to deliver my new oval punches so I could finish this card when I suddenly realized I didn't have to since there were already oval shapes in the Verve's Sweet On You stamp set? LOL I must be losing my mind. This is Verve's third release week challenge. I hope I have time to get them all done because I'd love to win some new stamps. ;) This was a very cute sketch and so easy to work with. I raised both ovals with dimension squares because it looked so pretty! I didn't put the top bow in the centre because it covered part of the sentiment and I didn't think that looked good. I also didn't like how it looked if the bow was attached to the scalloped oval either. The bottom also looked like it was missing something so I added a second bow and my card was done! I did have to wait for the sun to come out before taking pictures since we had a series of summer thunderstorms roll through. I was hoping it would cool down just a little but it's still as hot and humid as ever! I hope you're all having a wonderful Thursday. Thanks for stopping by!

Sources: DCWV cardstock; Fancy Pants Designs potpourri paper; Verve Sweet On You; Memories Artprint Brown ink; SU Brilliant Blue ink; Fiskars Threading Water border punch; Offray ribbon; dimension squares

Hello Birdie

I figured I might as well continue the bird theme for Verve's release week challenges. This is the second sketch and I hadn't used this nursery paper yet so I thought I would use it with one of my favourite SU stamps. I also flipped the sketch 45 degrees to the right so it would look like the bird is holding the flower. I came up with this idea of decorating my cards with some beaded flowers for Mother's Day and I haven't done it since. I have so many tiny beads left over from my days of making earrings and hair accessories and I thought this card would be a perfect for a beaded flower since there's a spot to highlight it in the circle. I popped the circle with dimension squares to raise the flower but when the card is lying flat the stem drapes down nicely right into the bird's wing. I also used my new Atyou Spica pen to sparkle up the bird's belly, party hat, wings and tail feathers. It's always fun to play with new stuff!

Sources: The Paper Company cottonwood, DCWV Nursery-Boy glitter chicks and Halcraft cardstock; Provo Craft paper; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Pun Fun; Copics; Atyou Spica pen (by Copic); Uni-Ball Signo white pen; random beads and wire; Ross white glue; dimension squares

Lovebirds

It's release week again over at Verve Stamps so this week's Mojo sketch doubles as the first of release week challenges. I must have a bird brain (to match the DP on my card) because after I finished the card, I realized I didn't include a different pattern on the bottom of the card below the ribbon. Big oops! Can you believe I didn't use any stamps either? This must be a first. The DP is so cute and colourful though I just had to show it off. There were so many colours to choose from that I didn't know what do put in the smaller square believe it or not. I decided not to add a sentiment as I am one of those people who writes a novel inside cards! This is one of those blank cards that works for any occasion from a simple hello, miss you or love you to a happy birthday and even get well soon. Initially I was going to pop several hearts off a flat square but then decided to try something different and do the reverse instead. This is also the first time I've used this symbolic style of ribbon. I'm showing the back of my card only because I was shocked to find black ink all over it. There was a bit on the front as well but the DP covered it up. I didn't notice the stains when I bought the cardstock! My remedy was to put a band of matching ribbon over it and then add my usual Hand-Stamped Just For You By Emily Leiphart above that. You can still see a bit of the ink but it looks better than it did before.

Sources: DCWV cardstock; Basic Grey Lime Rickey Howdy Doody paper; Fiskars Nostalgia corner edger; Marvy-Uchida heart punch; American Crafts ribbon; Darice hemp cord; random button

Fancy Lily

When I first saw Karen's Sunday sketch, so many ideas popped into my head. I'm also glad Karen told us the dimensions of this card because I've never made a card this size and it's the cutest thing! Now I just have to find an envelope for it. I have a whole bunch of new DP that I wanted to use and it was so hard picking just one to showcase! I seem to amass super cute paper because I never want to use them. Anyway, I thought Lily would be the perfect match for this DP. She doesn't compete with the paper and they are both equally noticeable. The aqua cardstock from my sweet stack was a perfect match, too. This idea to scene Lily in a woodland came to me during one of my naps. LOL This was the first time I coloured with Copics since my class on Saturday. We learned to colour consistently, feather and shade so I used those techniques here. I just love the difference it makes! To add dimension and pizzazz, I used dimension squares behind the flower, crown and gift. I'm still not happy with my ribbon tying but it seems to look half decent here. At least I finally got to use this gorgeous red ribbon! I took the second photo with a flash because it was the only way I could get the shine from the mushrooms to show up. Cute, eh?

{NEW: I took a new photo that shows the DP in a much better light. I hope you like it!}




Sources: The Paper Company weave white, DCWV Sweet Stack & Halcraft cardstock; Imaginisce Twitterpated Mushroom Fancy paper; Pink Cat Studio Dress Up Lily; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Copics; Celebrate It ribbon; Dimension squares

Viva La Verve with a {twist} of DP INSPIRATION [VLVJun04]

Well, it's the end of the month and I completed my first set of Viva La Verve Friday sketches! This week's {twist} required participants to draw inspiration from one piece of designer paper and I picked a Basic Grey paper that I'd been saving just for an occasion such as this. I've always loved green and purple together so I chose to highlight the pale green and cream coloured flowers from this DP. Alarms go off in my head everytime I see a big circle due to my lack of nesties. This called for some resourcefulness and creativity so I traced a circle using an SU brad container and cut around it with some fancy scissors. Do you like how I chose my sentiment to match my paper piecing? LOL I wish I could tie a better bow but I guess I just need more practice. It was so much fun to play with all the talented ladies and cheer each other on. I can't wait to play again next month!

Sources: Bazzill Basics & The Paper Company cardstock; Provo Craft & Basic Grey Wisteria Violet papers; Verve Up, Up & Away and Sweet On You; Memories Black & SU Elegant Eggplant inks; Fiskars Victorian paper edger; Straight 'N' Narrow ribbon; American Crafts brads

For My Husband

It's been a few days since I made a card because my back has really been hurting me. I've been using my regular cardmaking time to lie down and rest whenever my baby is napping. It has helped a little but not as much as I had hoped. I was able to get to the chiropractor this week but I still need to find time for a massage. It's been a busy week! Yesterday I got my first haircut in eight months and today I went to my first Copic markers class. Taking some time for myself the last two days gave me a bit of energy to finish this card that I started midweek.

There was no doubt I was going to use my new Verve stamps to make this very special first Father's Day card for my wonderful husband and best friend! I just love the shape of these clouds and popped one off the page with dimension squares. I decided to hide a sun behind it, but if you look around or behind the clouds you can see the entire sun which is what happens in reality! I hadn't used that sun punch in a long time. I just love that fence so much I had to use it again. Instead of creating grass the way I did here, I decided to use the tearing edge which I also hadn't used in a while. I created depth for the different sized trees by using two different greens and tucking the small tree between the layers. To finish, I rounded the edges of the sentiments with another pair of scissors and added dimension squares to World's Best and FATHER. Funny how I didn't use Copics at all for this card. The different coloured papers were pretty enough on their own and I guess I needed a break from colouring! This card was a nice way to use both old and new supplies. It was raining all day today so I had to hold up a lamp and use the flash to get enough light but this made the card photograph very flat and yellow. Tomorrow when the sun is out, I'll try to take some better pictures.


Sources: SBD & Halcraft cardstock; Provo Craft paper; Verve May 2009 Collection; Memories Black ink; Marvy-Uchida sun punch; SU tearing edge; Martha Stewart picket fence border punch; Fiskars Seagull paper edger; Dimension squares

Featured Card

Oh, how sweet! My card from this post is featured on the Pink Cat Studio blog today. If you don't already own PCS stamps, you may become totally addicted the way I did the moment I laid eyes on those cute images and all the samples in the galleries! Thanks, Melissa, for featuring my card. You made my day!

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 22 [SSSC22] - Sweet Treats

It took me a while to come up with something for Karen's sketch this week because it involved a big circle and as you all know by now I don't have any nesties. I know there are so many ways to get around this but I still panicked! After I decided on an image, which is another one of the Pink Cat Studio stamps I won, and found my coasters were all too big, I traced a ribbon spool on the back of the image and cut around it with one of my now rarely-used scissors. I didn't have a swirly stamp but was delighted to find cardstock in my sweet stack that had sparkly swirls on it. How perfect! I am loving the colours on this card and can't believe I even hesitated to give it a go. This card looks so divine I could eat it!

Sources: The Paper Company cottonwood cardstock; DCWV sweet stack; Pink Cat Studio Sweet Treats; Memories Black and Artprint Brown ink; SU Pink Passion ink; Copics; Fiskars Victorian paper edger; McGill circle punches; Dashes, Dots & Checks ribbon

Mojo Monday Week 91 [MOJO91] - Enchanted Lily

This week's Mojo sketch is for a long card but I decided to go with the regular size card for the image I wanted to use which is from the grab bag I won from Pink Cat Studio. This Enchanted Lily is just too cute and I loved colouring her! I just wish my SU Crystal Effects had arrived already. I'm quite pleased with the way the wings turned out and I love how the lily pad looks with the different greens. I seem to be getting good mileage from my Copics and can't wait to learn more in class on Saturday. Funny though how my favourite part of this card is Lily's gold earrings!

Sources: Halcraft cardstock; Making Memories Chloe's Closet paper; Pink Cat Studio Enchanted Lily; Memories Black ink; SU! Ballet Blue ink; Copics; Gary M. Burlin & Co. gold glitter glue; Dashes, Dots & Checks ribbon; Fiskars Nostalgia corner edger

Viva La Verve with a WHITE {twist} [VLVJun03]

The VLV {twist} for the third week of June is to use as much {WHITE} as possible and no more than two other colours of cardstock. I loved this challenge because I always use some white on my card and I just bought new textured white cardstock so I used the opportunity to show it off. I used waffle weave white cardstock for the base as well as the duck which I actually turned into a goose or swan to keep it white! I thought the waffle weave would work nicely as mock feathers for the goose or swan. I wasn't sure how the Copics would work on that paper but it turned out well. I jump at any opportunity to use my picket fence punch but since the goose or swan has been in the kitchen baking the fence probably won't keep her from doing much else. LOL This was also the first time I cut grass for a card. I've seen this done a few times and it always looks so cute so I thought I'd try it and I love how it looks! I used my ancient wavy scissors to make the kraft circle since I don't have any nesties. I really wanted to use a mulberry colour to match the swan's cupcake, hat and apron trim and that would've made the sentiment stand out more but I would've broken the rule of using only two other colours of cardstock. Finally, I sparkled up the cupcakes and the card was done!

Source: The Paper Company, Bazzill Basics and Halcraft cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Farm Animals set; Memories Black ink; Copics; Martha Stewart picket fence edge punch; McGill circle punches; Kane wave scissors; PSX Diamond Sparkles; Dimension squares

Mojo Monday Week 90 [MOJO90] - Hooty Birthday

It's Thursday and I'm finally getting around to the Mojo Monday sketch. This one was very fun because I used one of my new stamps from the grab bag I won from Pink Cat Studio. I also used new cardstock and new Copics! The small owl and 'hoo' sentiment are from a PCS set I already own and the large owl and sentiment were part of my prize. They were so much fun to colour and I will be using more of my new stamps in the coming days. I can't wait to show you!

This was the first time I outlined the image in pale grey. I'd seen it done so many times and it always looks so good so I decided to finally give it a try. I was so nervous and my hands were shaking but hopefully you can't tell! LOL I realized when the card was done that you can't really see the square with the swirls and I probably should've put the same green paisley paper behind it to make it more noticeable. Finally, I added the googly eyes on both owls and popped the circle out with dimension squares.

Sources: DCWV and Halcraft cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Farm Animals and Q.T. Hooty; Memories Black ink; Copics; Pebbles chalks; Craft Medley googly eyes; Dimension squares; McGill circle punches

Viva La Verve with a NEW {twist} [VLVJun02]

The VLV {twist} for the second week of June is to use something {NEW}! That wasn't too hard for me. Everything you see on this card is new except the base and the inks. I used new paper from Lime Rickey, new cardstock from the DCWV sweet stack, a new bella and a new Verve sentiment. I've had this bella for two years now and it was uninked so it was a good time to use her! My son was a handful this morning and kept interrupting me so that's why this card is so busy. I think all my cards have been crazy looking lately...

The tripod was hard to colour with Copics! I had to dot along the legs with the point of the brush very carefully. I also didn't like the thought of covering up all those colourful little birds but silly me already glued the paper down so I had to use it. I wanted to add ribbon but didn't have one that matched perfectly so I just cut out additional flowers from the same cardstock, lined the edges with a Copic marker and popped them off the card for effect. The image didn't look finished without a border so I took a couple of chalks and made it look like an old sepia photograph. I love the sentiments in Because Of You and decided to use one on the blank area of the card to finish. This card can be used for a family member or a close friend. Cute, eh?

Here's the VLVJUN02 sketch:

And here's my card:

I didn't photograph this card on a white background only because the background is also white. The fuzz on the bottom edge of the card is blue suede from the chair the card is sitting on!

Sources: DCWV & Halcraft cardstock; Lime Rickey howdy doody; Stamping Bella saycheesabella; Memories Black ink; Verve Because Of You; SU! Garden Green, Rose Red and Taken With Teal inks; Copics; Pebbles chalks; Dimension squares

Viva La Verve with a {twist} of THREE [VLVJun01]

I've been wanting to try out Verve's Friday sketches with a {twist} for a while now and I finally got around to it so here's my first one. It turned out to be an extremely challenging one! There were so many layers and requirements. The {twist} for the first week of June was {THREE} which means I had to use at least three colours of cardstock, three types of embellishments and three stamp sets. I decided to use this challenge to make a Father's Day card for my wonderful father-in-law who is an avid reader and loves tools!

My three colours of cardstock are black, kraft and pale green but there are more colours paperwise. I bought a new package of designer papers yesterday and just realized they are the same colour theme as the card I made yesterday for my Dad. LOL I guess I just love blue, green and orange together. Closeup the papers have a vintage look to them with spots that look worn out. I love that! I actually have four embellishments which are the origami shirt and tie, brad, wrench and hemp cord. I found tool embellishments at the dollar store in the scrapbooking section. There were three different tools in each package for $1. How great is that? The three stamp sets are Verve's Because Of You, HOTP Plain & Simple ABCs and HOTP Tiny Words & Images. I still don't have any oval punches or nesties hence the circle for the sentiment.

Here's the VLVJUN01 sketch:

And here's my card (click on images to enlarge):

I just ordered the May Stamp Collection and can't wait to receive it. I'm actually going to hold off on making my husband's first Father's Day card until the set arrives!! I hope it arrives next week so I can use it on the remaining VLV challenges this month. I've also created a mock light box so I hope my cards are photographing a little better!

Sources: DCWV, The Paper Company and Bazzill Basics cardstock; Making Memories Chloe's Closet papers; Verve Because of You (pop up flower); SU! Ballet Blue and Vivid! ButterScotch inks; American Crafts brad; HOTP Plain & Simple ABCs (dad); Memories Black ink; HOTP Tiny Words & Images (Great; You're the Best, Star); Versafine Smokey Gray ink; Darice hemp cord; Forever In Time scrapbook wrench; McGill circle punches; Fiskars Nostalgia Threading Water border punch; Dimension squares