Lemon Lime Hearts

Wasn't sure how to give this one a title, so bear with me here.  I have to admit that the new Summer Starfruit color is not my favorite. But when my friend Phyllis D. showed me this card, I just had to make one.  Now I guess the color is growning on me.  At least enough to have my class ladies make this card this month.  grin  So what do you think of the color combo??  Isn't it yummy?

Stamps:  Itty Bitty Banners
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Summer Starfruit, and Old Olive
Ink:  Summer Starfruit
Accesssories:  Big Shot with Argyle Embossing Folder and Bitty Banners Framelits, Full Heart Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, and Dimensionals

For not really liking the color, I really love the color combo on this card.  It's so fresh and tart looking,  When Phyllis made her card, she had the colors layered on top of each other, yellow on yellow, etc.  But I liked it much more all mixed up.  Really makes me think of Key Lime Pie - yummy!

Don't you love the new embossing folder?  It's another of those wonderful all-over prints that sort of looks like fabric.  This one can go either bold or delicate depending on what you put with it.  And those new little Framelits with matching stamp set are just too cute!

Hope you enjoyed this idea.  Thanks Phyllis for a fab idea!  Thanks for stopping in today.  (ps - hi Connie!)   Sharon

Teacup Challenge Card

Happy Sunday to you!  What a fabulous day it is today.  I'm so excited and I need to share it with you.  Late last night I had some free tinme so I thought I'd look up the newest sketch on the Stamping 411 blog and give it a try.  And guess what I found?  The operators picked my father's day card last week as one of the favorite choices!  Woo Hoo!!!  I was doing the happy dance around my stamping area when I noticed this!!  Can you just see me bouncing around???  I could hardly sit still long enough to actually get a card made using the latest sketch here, but I worked through it and now I'm sharing it with you.  Hope you like it.

Stamps:  Tea Shoppe and Netting
Cardstock:  Primrose Petals, Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, and Whisper White
Ink:  Primrose Petals, Night of Navy, and Sahara Sand
Accessories:   Big Shot with Petals a Plenty Embossing Folder, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch,Sponge quarter, and Dimensionals

This week I switched the layout of the sketch again.  When I was looking over my stash of stamps, I was surprised to find I really didn't have anything that fit on the 3x4 piece of cardstock that was upright instead of horizontal.  Soooo...I took the sketch and laid it on it's side and went from there.

I liked using the new In Color, Primrose Petals for the base of the card.  It looked a bit plain, so I used the coordinating ink with the Netting background stamp to give it some character.  I chose the embossing folder with petals to go with the flowers etched into the teacup.  When trying all kinds of ribbon to work with my card, I was pleased to find that the Cherry Cobbler blended nicely with the rest of the card.  (I wish I had the new Stitched Satin Ribbon to match, but don't have it yet so we make do)  I also added the little pearl accents in the corner because it looked a little plain. 

Thanks for stopping by to see what's new.  And thank you 411 Operators for choosing my card last week.  You all really made my day.  Heck, maybe my whole week!!!  And for all of you out there, have a great week.  You never know what kind of wonderful surprises await you.  Hugs, Sharon 

Bright Blossoms Two-fer

Today I've got two cards using the same stamp set and the same basic sketch layout, but with different colors to give a different look and feel to the cards.  The first card was made as a class project that I really liked.  Since I liked the look of the layout, I thought I'd make it a little more basic and easier to make and then we'd make them on our Tuesday card night for the soldiers.  It was a fun project to give it a new look that was simpler to make while still making it a nice card to send on to our soldiers.  Hence there are two versions for your viewing pleasure!

Stamps:  Bright Blossoms and Thank You Kindly(ret)
Cardstock:  Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, and Whisper White with Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper
Ink:  Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry
Accessories:  White Grosgrain Ribbon(ret), and Rhinestone Basic Jewels

As you can see, the card design is pretty simple by itself.  What makes it stand out is the strip of Summer Smooches printed paper that coordinates nicely with the row of blossoms.  Then adding the rhinestone in the center of each flower is an extra bonus in bling!

Stamps:  Bright Blossoms and On Your Birthday(ret)
Cardstock:  Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, and Whisper White with Just Add Cake DSP(ret)
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie and Wild Wasabi
Accessories:  Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Now, is this simple or what?  It's really down to the bare bones of a design, but the stamps and DSP still work well together and make it nice.  Did you notice I used the plain circle flower for this card?  I thought it was a great compliment to all the circles in the Just Add Cake DSP.   Hope you like these two ideas and give this sketch a try.  It's amazing how different you can make a card look by changing a few papers and colors around.  Thanks for stopping in today.  Always glad to have you visit and I'd love to hear your thoughts on my cards.  Have a great weekend.  Sharon

Scored Pillow-Effect Design

Back a few months, my sister sent me a birthday card that I thought was absolutely beautiful.  I set it aside to use as an inspiration for a future class project.  I got it out and used it as one of the projects this month, and I still love the look of it.  Of course, there are one or two changes made from Connie's original, but her design is there for all to see.  Here's the card the ladies made this month...

Stamps:  Perfectly Penned and Bring on the Cake
Cardstock:  Calypso Coral and Whisper White
Ink:  Daffodil Delight and Calypso Coral
Accessories:  Simply Scored Scoring Tool along with the Diagonal Plate, Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon, Pearl Basic Jewels, Sponge Daubers, Paper Snips, and Dimensionals

Didn't I tell you this card was lovely?  It's interesting how the look of the card changes dramatically depending on how heavy or light you sponge on the ink colors.  On this card, I used a very light touch and it's quite delicate looking.  On others the color was much more intense and bold.  But either way, the addition of the tiny pearls where the diagonal lines intersect just makes the entire card. 

If you'd like to give this technique a try, I'll tell you I used 1 1/2" increments on the Scoring Tool.   You could go tighter at 1" or spread out a bit at 2".  Just try it out and see how large you like the 'pillows'.  Another tip, any of the stamps in the Perfectly Penned set work on the sentiment layer.  And I'm sure there's plenty of other sentiment sets that could be used if you didn't have this one.  I just loved the elegant font on this set.  Thought it went well together.

That's it for today.  Hope you're enjoying the summer.  Have fun!  Sharon 

Speedy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!  That's especially meant for my hubby and also my wonderful SIL Jesse.  How blessed I am to be married to a good man who loves me and to have a SIL who truly loves my daughter.  What more could anyone ask for?  Oh yes, wonderful grandkids too!  Yes, I've been blessed beyond measure.  So I needed to make a card for my SIL.  I checked into the Stamping 411 blog to see what the sketch was for this weekend.  Thought it might work and got started on it.  Well, after playing around with the sketch a little and pulling things together to make his card, it all came together just fine.  Of course, it didn't really follow the Stamping 411 sketch to closely, as usual.  The ladies there do say to use it as a starting place, and I guess that's what I did.  Here's my version of their sketch...

Stamps:  Need For Speed, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock:  Midnight Muse, Riding Hood Red, Sahara Sand, and Whisper White
Ink:  Midnight Muse
Accessories:  Big Shot with Tasteful Trims Bigz XL Die, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Regals 3/16" Brads, Mat Pack and Piercing Tool, and Dimensionals

Following the sketch started going off track when I decided to add the motion-stamping behind the car.  That made the dimensions all wrong for this layer.  It was all downhill from there.  I really like how the finished card looks though, and that's what really matters.  Hope Jesse likes his card.  It was made with lots of love and caring.

Have a great day!  Enjoy the holiday and spend time with your family.  That's what makes life really special!  Well, we're off to spend time with our family.  Hugs, Sharon

Simple Blossoms Card

Can you believe it?  Yes, it's me and I've got a new posting.  And it uses a new color, and all the stamps are current!  Woo Hoo!!  I try to stay in touch with what's new, but sometimes I just can't stay ahead of the catalog.  And of course it's not my fault - I just have trouble letting go of some of my favorite stamps and accessories.  But today's card is all current and easy to do, with many options for different occasions just by changing the sentiment.  How hard is that?  Here goes....

Stamps:  Betsy's Blossoms and Friendly Phrases
Cardstock:  Sahara Sand and Whisper White
Ink:  Midnight Muse
Accessories:  Mat Pack and Piercing Tool, 3/16" Neutral Brads, Large Oval Punch, and Dimensionals

See, I told you it was quick and easy to make.  With just one color of ink (and a new one at that!) and a few tools, you can be done in a jiffy.  But it still can look interesting.

Did you notice the brad design on the side?  I've been thinking about the idea of piercing a line of holes and just adding a couple of brads to make a little design.  I really love how it turned out.  I had originally thought of using either gold or silver brads, but the white brads from the neutral set were really quite perfect.

One other thought I'd had was to either sponge or add a Midnight Muse cardstock layer behind the sentiment.  When I tried it though it seemed to 'heavy' for the card.  Guess I just like the crisp white by itself.

Well, that's it for today.  Hope you like this and will give it a try.  Well, at least try the color combo of Midnight Muse, Sahara Sand, and Whisper White.  I think they're lovely together.  Let me know what you come up with for these colors.  Be back soon.  Sharon

Vintage Anniversary Card

Yes, I know I've been MIA for quite awhile.  The only excuse I can give is that I'm getting too old and not everything gets done when it should.  Watching grandkids is definitely taking it's toll on various parts of my life.  But I love being with them every day and don't really want to give that up.  So.... that means other things fall by the wayside.  All I ask is that you bear with me and I'll keep trying to do my best!  That said, I've got a lovely anniversary card (could easily be for a wedding) that will knock your socks off.  Well, maybe not off, but they should at least fall down to your ankles!  Here goes....

Stamps:  Field Flowers, Hello Doily, and A Word For You

Cardstock:  Confetti Cream, Early Espresso, and Very Vanilla

Ink:  Crumb Cake and Early Espresso

Accessories:  Crumb Cake Taffeta Ribbon, Sponge Dauber, Paper Snips, Dimensionals, and Gold Lame' Smooch Accent(ret)

This card looks so very elegant and I can't wait to use it!  My sister and I were discussing card ideas and she was explaining something like this.  Now I'm very visual so I wasn't too sure what her card would look like.  She was planning to use Basic Black instead of Early Espresso, but I thought this was a little softer and more antique looking.  I wish I could see her card to compare ideas.  Her's are usually better as she has a great eye for color and composition.

I'm not sure if you can see the gold dots that are added to the center of the flowers.  After making the card, it just needed a little bit of bling.  I didn't think glitter would work, but then remembered the Smooch Accent Inks.  The Gold Lame' was the perfect touch to add a touch of class to the card. 

Hope you enjoyed this idea.  After seeing this card again, I wish I would have ordered more square envelopes before they retired.  Oh well, maybe I'll rework this card to be the regular A2 size.  Sure, why not!  Hopefully I'll be adding more posts soon.  Don't give up on me yet!!    Sharon