Stroll on the Serengeti

     When I purchased this stamp set "Framescape Simply Spring", my thought was that I would be placing an elephant or a giraffe in the scene ("Wild About You")

    The stamp has done most of the work. I simply sponged Gina K's Sweet Corn, Sweet Mango, Innocent Pink, Wild Lilac, Grass Green, and Fresh Asparagus inks onto this frame. I also added the elephant and the grass in the corners.
     This was a quick card. Actually the largest amount of time was choosing ink colors.

Challenges

MIUM Stamp TV - Spongy Scene on a Single Layer - *

Pokemon Layout

     My grandson is having a Pokemon birthday party this Saturday. I created this 2-page layout for the pictures. These pre-cut characters, PokeBalls, and titles are available up at the Scrappn' Savvy. They are made by Petticoat Parlor. There were some other characters that just came in as well. 

     The Rhyhorn is on a flap giving a 1, 2, or 3 picture opportunity. The second page also contains a flap. Charmeleon flips up. After placing the pictures on these pages, I will use the craft knife to make slits in the page protectors. Ultimately the flaps will be able to be manipulated without removing the pages from the protectors.  
      I made a journaling card on which I did a shared writing activity with Lucas. I asked him which was his favorite Pokemon. As you can see Lucas and Grammy each colored a Wobbuffet for the layout.

     If you would like all of the details about the making of the Wobbuffet, go here.

     I had a couple of the pre-cut Pokemon left, so I decided to place one on his package. I used the same Silhouette file I had created for the layout - enlarging it to 6 inches. I placed a brad for looks, but I can get it off, so he can play with it. 

Wobbuffet Coloring Technique

     I put together a Pokemon scrapbook page for my grandson's 5th birthday party pictures. I asked him (Lucas) which Pokemon is his favorite. He told me "Wobbuffet". I know tons of Pokemon, but I had never heard of this one.
     I did some research (googled it), found a pic, and free-handed some on Copic paper. Next I helped Lucas chose crayons to color his Pokemon. This one is light blue, blue, and dark blue - monochromatic!  I chose 2 blues. When Lucas started coloring, he was confused by the fact that there were 2 blues. I told him we were going to be doing some shading. At this point I left him to his coloring.
     I started working on my picture using my Copics. Suddenly, Lucas shouts, "Look Grammy, I'm shading!!" This is what I saw . . . 

     I thought this was ingenious. A five-year-old had figured out a new blending technique. Place the light color in the left hand and the darker color in the right. Why didn't I think of that!!!

     Here there are the crayons he used: Periwinkle, Cerulean, Red Brick, Copper, Gray.

     Here are the Copics Grammy used.

     Apparently this Pokemon has a tail with a mind of its own. We added mini wriggly eyes. Check out my next blog if you care to see these Wobbuffets on the scrapbook page.

Retirement Group Card

     My husband commissioned a card for a colleague in his accounting group that is retiring. I constructed a pop-up card on top of a one-drawer box. The top sentiment says "It's time to collect a new kind of ... SHELL." 

     When opening the card, an Adirondack chair pops up with a crab on the seat. The inside sentiment is "Enjoy your retirement!" I used Elizabeth Craft dies and glitter for this project. I applied microfine warm diamond glitter on each of the shells and small crabs using Elizabeth Craft's clear double sided adhesive. 

     The one-drawer box is embellished with the Elizabeth Craft "Beach Edges" die set. To open the drawer you merely pull the Tim Holtz Hitch Fastener. 

     Shell-shaped note cards were cut using the Silhouette. I cut an acetate stencil to add the lines on each card. Then I used a dauber to ink the lines onto the shells. Co-workers wrote notes to the retiree on the backs of the note cards. These were ultimately placed in the drawer.  

    

                              

Elizabeth Craft Dies: Beach Edges
                                   Rocky the Crab
                                   Lorna Label Pop-Up
                                   Adirondack Chair Pop-Up
                                   Palm Tree and Pail
                                   Shells Large

Challenges

Scor-Pal More Than One Score Challenge - Anything Goes - #17 - *

Easel Gatefold w/Acetate

     Here is my sister's yearly kitty cat birthday card. I used Gina K's "Better With You" stamp set. I cut and scored a regular easel card base with 2 1/4 inch flaps  on each side. The squiggly roses are stamped with dark chocolate and randomly placed on the card with a champagne pearl in the center of each. The paper is from Mirabelle from the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby. I used this paper for a card last week a well. I'm finding it particularly fun to work with. I just love the colors.

 

     Just so there isn't any confusion that is a belly band for the gatefold in front of the card.

 

     I found this fancy fold on the blog of The Frugal Crafter. I have included it here. You may click on it to go to her website to see her card as well.

With the easel down

Closed card with Belly Band

Challenges

MIUM Stamp TV - I Can See Clearly Now - *
Scor-Pal More Than One Score Challenge - Anything Goes - #16 - *

Cheers

     I am enjoying a new wine cart that I got for Valentines' Day. It is hard to see this in the picture. It holds 21 bottles of wine, has 2 towel racks and a glass top. I decided to make a card as a table-top accent.

     This card is made using Theresa Momber's "French Flair" stamp set. The background is stamped with the large grape leaf and "Bonjour" randomly. I cut the card down to accommodate the "Trellis" binding, so it is still an A-2 card. Not sure what the green paper is, but the other is BoBunny's Double Dot - Dusty Rose. 

     Copics: I used ivory paper to color on!!!
                    Wine Glass - V01,04,  COO,0,1
                    Grapes - V12,15,17
                    Leaves - YG61,63,67

Challenges: 

Mod Squad - No White - #21 - *

Stamp TV MIUM - Main Images - *

Circle Step Baby Ark

     This card is for Baby Allie, who should be arriving in April. The baby shower is quickly approaching. I combined 4 challenges to make this card. 

     I designed this circle step card base and mat for a card. Silhouette does not have a true circle step card file available at this time, so I made my own. Beth Silaika (Gina K designer) has several animal character stamp sets. I used 4 of them for this card: Bella Elephant, Genevieve Giraffe, Xavier Zebra, and Hippo Bird Day. The boat house is embossed with Cuttlebug Stripes folder and roof with Darice Basket Weave folder. All Copic colored images are stamped with Moment Rich Cocoa and sentiments are stamped with Gina K's Dark Chocolate.

Inside of Card

Copics:
   Elephant - N1,3,R11
   Hippo - B91,93,95, R11
   Giraffe - Y23,26,28,E35
   Zebra - C00,0,1.R11
   Toucan - RV55, BG45, Y08, YG17, R08, C1,5,9
   Leaves - YG13,17
   Balloon - R22,24, 0

Challenges

MIUM (Stamp TV) - Show Some Love (Red Heart) - *

Mod Squad - Dry Emboss - # 55 - Winner!!!

Release Challenge (Stamp TV) - Dry Emboss Background - *
Scor-Pal More Than One Score Challenge - Anything Goes - #9 - *
Send a Smile 4 Kids - For the Girls - #40 - *

Stamp Addicts(Stamp TV) - Anything But A-2 - *
Stamping Sensations - Animal Magic - #98 - *

Awesome Blossom

     My daughter had her baby last Tuesday - a girl - her first. My husband is an accountant for a large oil company. His group gave him a grandpa shower. It was an amazingly thoughtful thing they did for him. He loves getting that kind of attention. Not only was the party a hit, but they gathered a massive bag of items that my new granddaughter, Brooklyn, will get a lot of use out of. 
     I wanted to make a card with a little bit of pink, a little bit of masculine, and tons of appreciation. I used Stamps of Life: Flower Power 2 Fill - stamps and dies. The paper is from a paper pack called "Mirabelle" that I picked up off of the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby. The borders are die cut from Lawn Fawn's "Stitched Hillside Borders". The ink (Gina K) and twine are dark chocolate.

 

Inside of Card

 Challenges

Crafting When You Can - Flowers - #33 - *