Tag Topper Card

I spent time last night hanging out with some friends on the internet.  First time for that experience, and it went pretty well.  At least until my internet provider kept losing a connection.  Oh well, sometimes technology is fabulous, and sometimes not so much.  Last night was a bit of both.  But it was absolutely fabulous to 'see'  some of my stamping friends that I haven't seen in two years.  We had a lot of sharing and fun together.  And that brings me to my card today.  One of my friends shared with us a Tag Topper card and gave us instructions on how to make one.  So I got busy and tried it before I forgot how she said to do it.  (It's tough getting old when the memory is shot!!)  I loved how different the card is and wanted to share with you right away.

Stamps:  Perfect Pennants
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Pistachio Pudding, and Calypso Coral
Paper:  Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, and Sahara Sand with SAB Good as Gold Card Kit
Accessories:   Scallop Tag Topper Punch, Big Shot with Deco Labels Framelits, Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon,  Sponge quarters, and Dimensionals

I wish you could see this in person.  The gold dots on the paper really don't show here at all, but are so pretty with this fresh color combo.  I figured I could make 3 cards using just one of the printed cards from the kit, so why not try it.

I didn't have any ribbon that I liked with the colors on the card, so I used an ink pad and sponge to color the white ribbon.  It's a pretty soft Calypso Coral color now.

I love the Perfect Pennants stamp set - quite versatile.  That little sentiment has been punched or die-cut using at least 3 different shapes on cards in the last week.  Wonder how many of those dies will actually fit this one stamp??  Did you notice the little striping of dots on the white layer inside the card?  It is also from the Perfect Pennants stamp set and is a perfect accent for this card with all the other dots going on.

Ok, my break from the grandkids is just about up.  I hear some rustling going on in the bed where the little one is napping.  Hope you enjoy this card.  I had fun making in and will definitely make more of this style soon.  Have a great day today.  Stay warm and have some fun!      Sharon

Flowers and More Flowers

Who says I don't need any more flower stamps?  Certainly not me!  Of course I needed to get the new Petite Petals flower stamp and the coordinating flower punch when the new Mini Catalog came out earlier this month!   Who doesn't love flowers especially when there's a punch to match so you don't have to cut out any accent flowers you want to use?!  That's almost a no-brainer for me!!  Last night my hostess club ladies made this card - well, at least the 2nd version of it.  After making the first card, I thought it needed a little more contrast, so came up with the 2nd version.  I'll share both with you so you can see the difference.

Stamps:  Flower Shop, Petite Petals, and Really Good Greetings
Ink:  Crisp Cantaloupe and Calypso Coral
Paper:  Whisper White and Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories:  Pansy Punch, Petite Petals Punch, Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, and Dimensionals

This is the first version of the card I made.  I only used the Calypso Coral ink on the sentiment.  All the flowers were stamped with Crisp Cantaloupe ink.  Even with popping up the flowers, it still looked a little boring to me.  Soooo.....

On the second version, I added some of the flowers with Calypso Coral ink.  Right away there was more contrast and interest to the card.   It's interesting what the addition of just a little darker ink can do to a simple card.  This version is much more visually appealing.  I like making monochromatic cards using just one ink color, but this needed an added boost to suit me. 

Hope you like the card idea today.  With the freezing tempuratures and more snow predicted, I thought a little spring floral was a good idea.   Hope you're staying warm and getting some time to stamp.  Since Sale-A-Bration started yesterday, I hope you have time to check out the deals.  Remember for any $50 order, you can choose one of the Sale-A-Bration items for free!  And who doesn't love free?!  If you're having trouble ordering on-line, feel free to email me at sharoncarr50@mgail.com  I'd be happy to help you get your order placed so you can get your free goodies!  Have a happy day...   Sharon

Peaceful Petals

Have you seen (or used) the new Peaceful Petals stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalog that just came out?  Oooh, I just love it!  Yeah, I know, I've got plenty of floral stamps, but this is just too pretty to pass up.  Go on, take another look at it and think of all the gorgeous cards you could make with these stamps.  Ok, now check out the first card I made with this set.

Stamps:  Peaceful Petals and Thoughts & Prayers
Ink:  Stazon Jet Black, Calypso Coral, Early Espresso pads, and White Craft ink
Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, with Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper
Accessories:  1/4" Daffodil Delight Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Sponge quarters, and Dimensionals

There are two things I love about this card - the absolutely gorgeous Watercolor Wonder DSP, and the stamps used.  Love the line-art stamps in the set, and the sentiments included in the set too.  (as you can see, I chose some other words to use on this card though)  The DSP prints in the Watercolor Wonder set are all lovely - soft and dreamy.  I can't wait to use each of them.

Now, about the total card...  To be honest, I wasn't sure I would share this card with you tonight, or actually at all.  I had seen something on Pinterest that caught my eye.  It was similar to this, but with major changes.  The one thing I didn't change was the layer of black cardstock behind the main layer.  When it was finished, the black looked so dark and overpowering.  Maybe just a little too much of a good thing.  But as you can see, here it is and I haven't figured out what I want to do to change it.  Or if I want to change it at all.  What do you think?  Maybe a layer of black between the card base and the DSP layer??  Or just pull it apart and start over with a lighter main image altogether??  Guess I haven't been getting in enough creative time in lately and I'm second-guessing myself way too much. 

That's it for tonight.  If I write anymore I just might scrap the whole thing!  I'll have some goodies to share with you soon.  'night - Sharon

Versatile Strawberry Slush Card

Today's card is another one that has a springtime feel to me.  I love the Strawberry Slush color - it's just the right amount of warm pink.  It reminds me of popscicles (or a Strawberry Slushie) on a hot summer day.  If it wasn't so cold out today, I might even wish I had one!  Then add the Baked Brown Sugar into the mix and it's like a cookie to go along with the slushie for a snack.  hmmm, must be getting on supper time if I'm talking food here!  Ok, let's get this show on the road and see what we've got today...

Stamps:  Love You to the Moon, Hello Lovely, and Yippee-Skippee!
Ink:  Strawberry Slush and Baked Brown Sugar
Paper:  Whisper White and Baked Brown Sugar, with 2013-2015 Designer Series Paper Stack
Accessories:  Big Shot with Arrows TIEF, Chalk Talk Framelits, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, and Dimensionals

I love the new Arrows embossing folder.  It's a good versatile background generally, and when you want to emphasize an arrow on the card, it's just perfect. Plus it's fun using new toys, I mean tools.  The arrow comes in handy to emphasize a special word or sentiment on your card.  In this case, I wanted to emphasize 'you'.

The dotted ribbon punch coordinated nicely with the dotted DSP to tie those in together.  And I liked the Taffeta Ribbon kind of tying the whole card together.

Here's another version of the card using the sentiment from  the Yippee-Skippee! stamp set to make a Valentine card.  I've also done a version using the 'make a wish' stamp from the Perfect Pennants stamp set and another using the little cake stand from the Best of Birthdays stamp set.  It's fun seeing what different stamps will fit into the Chalk Talk Framelits die to easily change the card to fit what you're looking for.

Ok, I need to get started on supper.  It's that time of day and for some reason I always like to eat meals.  Hope you've had a blessed and relaxing Sunday.  I'm hoping to do a little more stamping this evening so I've got more ideas to share with you.  Happy stamping, Sharon

Busy Bee Card

Ok, before I get going on this card posting, I have to put in a disclaimer.  I saw a card that used the Bug Me stamp set and thought it was the cutest idea I'd seen in a long time.  I knew I had the set so I got all the cardstocks assembled and cut, started out stamping, then went to find my bug set.  Oh my!  Talk about frustrating!  I figured out I've actually had the set on my order several different times and then kept taking it off when I needed something else more.  (you know how you really can't afford everything you'd like to buy!!)  I'd done this so many times now, that I really did think that I already owned it.  How funny was that?!  So I rummaged around and struggled to find another bee stamp that would fit the card and went back to stamping.  Ok, now that the stage is set, here's the card......

Stamps:  Six-Sided Sampler, and random retired bee
Ink:  Stazon Jet Black pad, Basic Black and Daffodil Delight markers
Paper:  Whisper White and Basic Black, with Brights Designer Series Paper Stack
Accessories:  Hexagon Punch, 2 Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter



This card is so bright and happy-looking that I thought it would be perfect for the kind of January we've been having this year with record cold temperatures and lots of snow.  Doesn't it make you feel the sunshine even though it's 6 degrees outside right now??  It was easy to punch the honeycomb-looking hexagons to go with the bees.  What I need to figure out is how to tell exactly where the bottom 2 punches are so I can easily line up the one punched down from the top.  Maybe I need to invest in the Hexagon Hive Thinlits Die in the Occasions Catalog and see how that would work with this card idea.  That'll be on my next order.  (or maybe the one after that - giggle)

The coloring on this was so simple - just use the Daffodil Delight marker to color in the bee's bodies, then dot in the 'flight line' for each of the bees with the Basic Black marker.  The finishing touch is adding the Dazzling Diamonds on the bee's wings to make them shimmer in the sunlight. 

There you have it - a super quick, 10 minute card.   That's all for today.  One more class card left to share with you.  Hopefully that one will get posted on Sunday.  That's the plan anyway.  We'll see how that works out!  Hope you're enjoying your weekend,   Sharon

Watercolor Tag Card

Here's the next card the ladies made in January's class.  I know I saw several cards that were similar in the last couple weeks on Pinterest.  I was doing some surfing when I was down and out sick and wasn't really paying attention.  Just filing the colors, layout, or whatever caught my eye, and just let it all percolate til needed.  So anyway, here goes....

 

Stamps:  Happy Watercolor
Ink:  Crisp Cantaloupe, VersaMark
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Gold Foil
Accessories:   Heat Tool, Gold Embossing Powder, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Gold Baker's Twine, Watercolor Wonder Washi Tape, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Sponge Dauber, and Dimensionals 

 

This card epitomizes feminine to me on so many different levels.  Starting with the colors - love, love, love that Crisp Cantaloupe, Vanilla, and all that gold together.  Oh, yummy!!  And any card with all those different types of gold is going to look really rich and over the top.  I got to use the Gold Foil paper, gold embossing powder, and the 3 new gold Watercolor Wonder Washi Tape prints.  Don't you just love them??  They add so much soft elegance to the card.

Next, let's talk about the stamp set - isn't it great?  I love having the sentiments added to the set so you don't have to look for another set to work with it.  And the ...happy... sentiment can be used for so many different types of cards.   The 2 flower choices in the set are both pretty line art that can be stamped plain as I did here, or can be watercolored very easily.  I know this is a set I'll be reaching for very often!

Lastly, the tag and butterfly punches make it easy to add embellishments to this card.  Have you seen the new Tag Topper punches?  They're great and you can make your tag any length you need to fit whatever you're making.  Now, that's handy.  Then I punched out 2 butterflies to embellish the card from the center of the gold foil layer.  Since you can't see where I punched them out, you'd never know if I didn't tell you.  All that lovely paper is just wasted behind the next layer, so why not make use of it?

Ok, that's it for this card today.  I'm going to get a head start on tomorrow's post by doing it now and schedule the post for tomorrow.  So make sure you check back soon!  Thanks for stopping by - Sharon

So Sorry...

Oh dear, it's really been over 2 months since I've hung out here in the blogosphere.  And what have I been doing you ask?  Well, it started out as a nasty cold in November, went to another cold, got more run down, got the flu over Christmas, and then another cold.  I really don't think I have any kind of an immune system when it comes to my grandsons and colds.   I'm still hacking and coughing on a regular basis, but my hubby said to get downstairs and get stamping!  So here I am (cough, cough).  I put together a card class last week. (It was in-between colds)  The ladies that were scheduled to come on Thursday night didn't want to get out in the snowy weather, so it was put off til tomorrow night.  Thought I'd get back blogging by sharing cards from class.  That's a safe place to start off new again, right?  The card tonight is actually two versions of the same card -  just a change in stamps used.

,

Stamps:  Tags 4 You  (Best of Birthdays 2nd card)
Ink:  Pool Party  (2nd card- Stazon Jet Black pad, Pool Party, Pink Pirouette, Smoky Slate, and Cherry Cobbler markers)
Paper:  Pool Party, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White with Quatrefancy Specialty DSP, and Silver Glimmer Paper
Accessories:  Trimmer with Scallop Rotary Blade, Label Bracket Punch, Owl Builder Punch, Glue Dots, and Dimensionals

On both cards, I wanted a layer of silver glitter paper behind the sentiment to accent it.  To do that, simply cut the silver glitter paper in half after punching it out.  Then spread it a little to the sides and it give the illusion of another full layer behind the sentiment.

I love the added teeny tiny hearts from the Owl Builder Punch.  That's such a necessary punch to have on hand.  You never know when you're going to need a tiny heart or two to fill out a design.

On the 2nd card, I layered the DSP on the Cherry Cobbler cardstock in the center and then layered it in from the left edge a little onto the card.  I was surprised how much of a difference that little change made in the looks of the finished card. 

Ok, that's it for the night.  I'm beat and it's time to start heading for bed.  God willing, I'll be back again tomorrow.  Blessings and my grateful thanks for coming by to see it I'm still here!

Sharon