Jane's Doodles {You're the Best}

Happy Friday! It's my day to post on the Jane's Doodles Blog. I was up very late last night feeling exceptionally tired and having a beer. Well, I nearly gave myself a concussion making this card late last night - er, very early this morning - and you are going to laugh so hard when you read this story. I have a built-in desk with overhead shelves in my new house. Normally, I stand on my background stamps on the floor, on a magazine, to get a really good impression. Well, for some reason, I decided to press this one on the desk and when I threw my weight on the stamp, my head was propelled into the overhead shelves. I heard quite the nasty crack. Then I got scared when I touched my hand to my head 'cause there was a deep indentation and I ran to look in the mirror. I quickly got some ice and nearly froze my eyeballs while finishing this card. There's nothing like giving yourself a nasty bruise and a near-concussion while crafting! Lesson learned? Just stand on the stamp. Oh, and maybe stick to wine while crafting instead of beer. LOL

I used three Jane's Doodles sets to make this fun card! The large sentiment is from the wonderfully whimsical set, Big Sentiments, that was just released last week. The banners are from Party Time, also released last week, and the smaller sentiment which I stamped inside the banners, is from Little Miss Mia. The Envelope Pattern on the grey strip is, of course, Hero Arts.

It's not often that I use both a colour inspiration challenge and a sketch but that's what ended up happening here. I used the colourQ challenge #102 as well as Moxie Fab World's Vertical Sketch Challenge after I saw Emily Keaton's sweet submission to my Moving Challenge using the same colours and sketch. Thank you for the spark, Emily! I think my mojo might finally be returning, despite the hit on the head. :Þ The words on this card are for all of you who have left encouraging comments and emails! Thank you so, so much for the smiles and laughter. ;)

Sources: Gina K Designs 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; SU Basic Grey, Poppy Parade, Certainly Celery & Tempting Turquoise cardstock; Jane's Doodles Big Sentiments, Party Time & Little Miss Mia; Hero Arts Envelope Pattern; Memories Black ink; Hero Arts Snow Chalk ink; SU Basic Rhinestones

So Happy for You

I've made a few cards here and there but I don't feel like I'm back in my element just yet. Challenges are great for jumpstarting my mojo. This is my first time participating in Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger. I used the Girly & Gutsy inspiration photo shown at left to create this card for friends of ours in NYC who just announced their pregnancy.

I blame credit Brenda Urbanik's awesome work with the Hero Arts 'bathroom people' as I like to call them because she enabled me to buy all of them. That's right, I own all five. LOL Now that I have them, I better put them to good use! I've taken the colours from the Tuesday Trigger and created a scene
similar to the room shown in the photo so I'm also entering this in the Hero Arts August Contest.

The top of the photo is pink so I used the large damask from Sweet Threads Thank You to create a chandelier at the top of my card. I love how the two long spikes are shaped like the candles on the table in the photo. The black 'floor' represents the top of the table and the two people in yellow are equivalent to the chairs. The Classic Fabric Design is, of course, the damask area rug in the photo.

I really wanted to work in the sentiment on the front of the card but I liked all the white space too much so I put 'So Happy for You' from What a Life on the inside of the card. Initially, I had added a bunch of bling, first on the chandelier and then on the couple's accessories, but it didn't look right so I removed it.

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Guess what?! My happy news came a day earlier than expected and it is wonderful news indeed. Our condo has been sold! Woohoohoo!!! That is a huge load lifted off my shoulders. Now life can resume to as normal as it can be 'til we start packing in a week or so!

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I hope you'll stop by tomorrow for Day Four of The Twinery's 1st Anniversary Celebrations as we blog hop with Echo Park Paper Co.! ;)

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white, black onyx & soft sand cardstock; Hero Arts Sweet Threads Thank You, Three People, Classic Fabric Design & What a Life; SU Pink Pirouette & Summer Sun inks; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Stampin' Dimensionals; We R Memory Keepers corner chomper

Happy, Leafy and Chevrony

Okay, chevrony is not a word but it could be. ;) When I saw Moxie Fab World's Chevron Chic Challenge, I wished I had bought Maile Belles' Chevron Stripes stamp set. Since I don't have it, I had to use her Modern Basics set. It worked perfectly when I realized that stitching into the centres and points of the leaves makes a chevron pattern! I used my go-to colours of the moment to make this clean and simple birthday card. After stamping, I stitched the chevron patterns with thread to match the yellow and turquoise inks, and rounded one corner to finish. I love how this turned out and I think I'll be making a few more of these to give away as a set!

Sources: Gina K Designs 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Papertrey Ink Modern Basics; SU Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise & Summer Sun inks; Gutermann yellow & turquoise thread; sewing machine; We R Memory Keepers corner chomper

Unity FWF Blog Hop {May 6th}

Hello. :)

Most of my cards are simple and not very interesting nearly as intricate as this one. Then there are ones like this that I don't even know how to describe. I'm a harsh judge of most things in life, probably not the best trait to have. LOL It was a great talent to have when I worked full-time in the fashion industry and I'm being completely serious when I say that a lot of my inspiration comes from fashion. That's how this card came about. I was inspired by this Refinery29 ad:

Then I remembered Moxie Fab World's Tissue Paper Magic Challenge and I knew I had to use my Party Love stamp to recreate this photograph. I stamped and coloured only her upper and lower body with Copics. My son was watching me and asked why she didn't have a body. LOL Then I used some of the beautiful pink tissue paper that Donna had used to wrap the blog candy I won, pleated it at the shoulders and added rhinestones to hide the shoulder straps on the original image. I used two layers of the tissue paper so it wouldn't be too sheer, revealing the fact that this girl has no body!

The vintage wallpaper is Tea Time Toile and the floor and pieces for the hat are all Echo Park Paper. I stamped a sentiment from To the Moon & Back repeatedly on the patterned paper. The tissue tape was a last-minute addition.

During Take Two Week, I revealed (in THIS post) that I've owned the Two-Step Bird punch for ages and never used it 'til then so this would be the second time. I was actually punching out the leafy part for the girl to hold and the bird section flew out of the punch and landed upside down right next to my girl's head. It was a flash of accidental brilliance, if I can put it that way! It totally looked like a beret, especially in that gorgeous green plaid. I decided I would use the leaves as a hat trim and the flower sticker finished it off nicely.

As you can tell, I'm completely obsessed by this stamp even though I've only used it a couple of times. I sent THIS card to Angela Magnuson and I'm having another version published in Paper Crafts' Holiday Cards & More, Volume 6! I think I'm going to have to get more Suzi Blu stamps. ;)

Have a super weekend!!

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury kraft & 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; SU Naturals Ivory cardstock; Echo Park Little Girl & A Walk in the Park; pink tissue paper; Unity Party Love, Tea Time Toile & To the Moon & Back; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Tim Holtz Antique Linen & Walnut Stain Distress Inks; Copics; SU Basic Rhinestones; SU Two-Step Bird punch; Tim Holtz Symphony tissue tape; Stampin' Dimensionals

From My Heart

Well, apparently I can't stay away for very long! ;) Today's post is for the Moxie Fab World Card Sets Challenge. As you all know, my best friend Elen is spending the next couple of months, and maybe more, on the Greek Island of Rhodes (Rodos) with her parents and caring for her Dad. Elen emailed me to tell me she cries whenever she thinks of her son because she misses him so much. How gut-wrenching that must be! Thank goodness her husband is taking care of everything in Montreal. Anyway, let's get on to why I have 20 photos in this post. Will you stay? LOL I felt like I ran a marathon when I was done so I certainly hope you don't mind. This is a step-by-step post of how I made the feature card and packaged gift set for Elen's parents.

These cards are in the mail along with the Brave Girl card I made for Elen last week. The long card is a 'hello' card for Elen's parents. I thought the cheery colours would be perfect for the season and considering what they're all going through right now. I started by stamping the flowers, die cutting two houses and stamping the sentiment.

I positioned the houses where I wanted them to be an used a pencil to trace the hearts.

Then I applied Scor-Tape over the hearts.

I cut tiny pieces of Honeydew baker's twine from The Twinery and pressed them in to the Scor-Tape.

I added clear rhinestones to the centres of the darker flowers and adhered the houses on to the card base with foam tape. To finish, I stamped three hearts coming out of one house and rounded the bottom left hand corner of the card.

Here are a couple of close ups of the twine showing through the houses.

Next is the gift set I made for Elen's parents. I felt that thank you cards would be the most useful for their situation. I think they will be calling on close family and friends in the coming weeks and months so these cards will come in handy.

I still don't like the way I photograph groups of cards so here's the set from a different angle.

The base of the cards are embossed with Side Two of the In Bloom impression plate. I used the same four colours I used in the house card to tie this entire project together. I stamped the sentiment first on to the frame in turquoise and then again in black on the hands once I knew where I was popping them off the label. I stamped the sentiment in black in the hand to make sure it would be noticeable against the dark pink. I added a Honeydew twine bow on the index fingers as a sort of 'I won't forget what you've done for us in our time of need.'

I don't make a lot of templates since I don't own a printer. Here's how I prefer to package my cards and gifts.

I gathered four envelopes, clear bags and twine. Then I made a label for the gift set and punched a small hole in each of the four points.

I put the envelopes inside the card and slip them into the clear bags. I love these clear bags because they're cheap, super thin, biodegradeable, compostable and they make the cards extremely presentable. ;) My clients receive all their cards this way and some have told me they put the card back in the clear bag for the recipient after writing the card and addressing it. Cool!

Before I tie them together in a bundle, I rotate two of the cards 180 degrees to reduce the bulk.

To cut the proper amount of Lemondrop baker's twine, you will want approximately ten times the length of the card. Wrap your twine around the bundle five times.

Take your piece of twine, open it to its full length, then fold it to halve it. Snip the loop so that you have two pieces of twine and four ends. String the twine behind the label and up through the holes like so.

When you get to the back of the package, I simply bend the twine at 90 degrees. One end will head toward the top of the cards and the other toward the bottom.

Bring the twine around to the front, put the bottom end of the twine through the bottom hole, up behind the label and out the top hole in the label. The twine at the top of the package will meet it. This is where I tied the bow.

You can tie the bow at any of the four points and you don't even have to wrap the twine around all four sides. I prefer it this way so the cards can't slide out.

I really hope you enjoyed this post! I loved playing with Papertrey Ink's Love Lives Here stamp set. Now I really want to make more sets like this but not until I've had some rest. ;) Have a great day everyone!!

Sources for From My Heart card: Gina K Designs 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Papertrey Ink Love Lives Here & Up, Up & Away; SU Rose Red, Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise & Old Olive inks; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Basic Rhinestones; Papertrey Ink Love Lives Here Die Collection; QuicKutz Epic Six; The Twinery Honeydew baker's twine; Stampin' Dimensionals

Sources for Thank You set: SU Old Olive cardstock; Gina K Designs 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Papertrey Ink Love Lives Here & Fillable Frames #4; SU Rose Red, Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise & Old Olive inks; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Papertrey Ink In Bloom Impression Plate, Love Lives Here Die Collection & Fillable Frames #4 Die; QuicKutz Epic Six; The Twinery Honeydew & Lemondrop baker's twine; Stampin' Dimensionals; Marvy-Uchida 1/8" long reach circle punch; Clear Bags

Paris... washi tape style

Hello, friends! It's Family Day here in Ontario and a few other provinces in Canada. I hope you're enjoying your Monday wherever you are and whatever you're doing today! It snowed last night and it's very cold today so it's a great day to stay inside and craft.

I made this card for the Moxie Fab World Challenge: Get Daring with Decorative Tape. I bought a lot of washi tape a few months ago and hoarded it but now I'm determined to use it. I've made a few cards I can't show you yet but I'm no longer afraid of using up my washi tape. I'm actually discarding sections that I don't want to get to parts of the tape that I want to show!

I used some Paris washi tape to create a background on vellum cardstock. Then I die cut and stitched it on to the shaped card base. I stamped the Eiffel Tower and sentiment from Unity's When I Am With You. I also made two masks for the Eiffel Tower so I could use the Hearts of Old background on the flourish and Eiffel Tower in two different colours. Then I cut out the Eiffel Tower and added Honeydew baker's twine from The Twinery. I added rhinestones and popped the image and sentiment on to the card base with dimensionals.

The great thing about washi tape is that it's repositionable so you can always undo your mistakes. ;) Have you tried it yet? With all the pretty colours and patterns available, I guarantee you'll be addicted!

Sources: SU Old Olive cardstock; Gina K Designs 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; SU vellum cardstock; Unity September 2010 Kit of the Month - When I Am With You; Unity Hearts of Old; SU Old Olive ink; Memento Rich Cocoa ink; Ranger Antique Linen Distress ink; Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eight; QuicKutz Epic Six; Mark's Coup de Coeur Collection (Paris Map Monuments) washi tape from Pretty Tape; SU Basic Rhinestones; The Twinery baker's twine in Honeydew; Stampin' Dimensionals; Gutermann white thread; sewing machine

For You

Today's projects combine the Embellish Bags Color Challenge and the Moxie Fab World Challenge: Diggin' on Damask. I made a card and a bag! LOL This is the first time I've made something using a template so it was a true challenge! I couldn't resist using the damask image from Unity's July KOTM to create a background for the card and patterned paper for my bag.

The bag was made using this simple tutorial. I didn't have a tab punch so I used the scallop oval punch and decorated it with rhinestones to match the bottom of the bag. The sentiment is from Unity's September KOTM. You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

I hope your week has started off well! I'm rather exhausted from the time change since my two-year-old hasn't mastered the concept of sleeping in and decided to skip his nap. Sigh. :)

Sources: SU Basic Gray & Whisper White cardstock; GinaK pure luxury Black Onyx cardstock; Unity July Kit of the Month - Happily Ever After; Unity September Kit of the Month - When I Am With You; SU Rose Red & Pink Pirouette inks; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU scallop oval, scallop circle & scallop border punches; standard hand-held circle punch; SU Basic Rhinestones; SU Pink Pirouette 5/8" striped grosgrain ribbon; stapler and staple; The Twinery baker's twine in Pink Sorbet; Stampin' Dimensionals