Super Mario Birthday

Materials List:

     Patterned Paper: Downloaded - halegrafx.com

     Card Stock: Scraps - Yellow, Light Blue, Blue, Green, White, Black

     Dies: Karen Burniston -Outdoor Scene

                                       Tropical Scene

                                       Coffee Charms

                                       Word Set 2 - Birthday

              Lawn Fawn - Stitched Hillside Borders

              Papercrafter Magazine - 14 Nesting Dies

   Silhouette Files: Downloaded from - AlwaysWannaSmile

                                                       Pinterest Store

             Die-namics - Always Time for Tea

             Spellbinders - Fancy Tags 

     Punch: Ionic

     Embellies: Black/White Twine

                    Gray Enamel Glitter Dot

     Copics: Skin - E000, 00, 11, R20

                 Hair - E21, 23, 25, 27

                 Cup - C0, 1, 3, 5

                        - RV91, 93, 95

                 Dress/Bow - BG10, 11, 13

                 Bunny - C00, 0, 1, 2, R00

    

Challenges

Cards 4 Galz Challenge - Stamping - #24 - February 28

Made It a Double

     Have you ever picked up a stamp set for a friend, so that you can drop it by her house as a favor? Well I picked this Stampendous gem up for a friend, but I couldn't resist stamping it a couple of times, before I delivered it to her house. I may have failed to mention to her that I did this and I know she reads this, so she is surely going to know now. Better to beg forgiveness, than to ask permission and be turned down ... right???

     This card is designed using a sketch by Lisa Hidy. When I decided to use this image for this sketch, I really didn't realize that it would take up so much room on the card. As it turns out, all ended well. 

Card Sketch #156 by Lisa Hidy

     I used Copics to color. This paper is from Doodlebug. I got it at Tuesday Morning in a pack that said "Home Assortment". After working with this paper I am wondering if it would be considered "seconds". The paper wasn't cut properly on the edges and I'm not even sure that all of the papers in the collection go together. It doesn't really matter as I got it for a good price and had fun working with it.

     I chose the row of houses for the band. I think it makes it look like he is pedaling down the street. 

     For the inside of the card, I added a Burniston double dip cone to match the one of the front of the card.

Inside of Card

Materials List:

     Patterned Paper: Doodle Bug - Home Assortment

     Cardstock: Bazzil - Truffle

                                 White

     Stamp: Stampendous - Dragon Wheels

                 Stamps of Life - Gingerbread 2 Stamp

     Dies: Spellbinders - Petite Scalloped Circles Large

              Sizzix - Circles

              Burniston - Ice Cream Sundae Pop Up 

     Punch: ek - 1 3/4 inch circle

     Ink: Momento - Tuxedo Black

                             Rich Cocoa

     Copics: Dragon - YG11, 13, 17, 67

                              E55, 57

                              Y21, 23, 27, 28

                              C3

                 Cone - E55  R81, 85

                 Tire - C3, 4, 5, 6

     Embellies: 3 yellow enamel dots

Obey the Rules

     I have been working to get all of my dies, stamps, stencils, and embossing folders into a data base. The original reason that I started this was so that I wouldn't purchase the same thing twice. Another reason was so that I could search for a particular sentiment. For instance, not too long ago I was looking for the words: it's your birthday. I was able to locate every stamp that I own that says that.

     The reason I am mentioning this now is because I am also coming across stamp and die sets that I have all but forgotten. The Crazy Birds is one of them. I was typing it in to my data base and it made me want to make another card using them. I happened to have Simple Stories Bloom paper out, so I color-matched some inks to the paper and sponged them onto my Crazy Birds. I made four different birds. I ended up making two cards using two birds per card.

     I used this sketch by Lisa Hidy. As you can see, I did not put the banners on the card. I tried to, but with the big polka dots, it was just too busy. 

     Recently I have been taking a scrapbooking class with lots of sewing on the layouts. For this card I decided to do some sewing. I pulled out my stack of sewing templates and chose the candle and the gift.

     These birds certainly allow opportunities for using some of these odd sentiments that I have accumulated over the years.

Inside the card

Inside the other card

Materials List:

     Patterned Paper: Simple Stories - Bloom

     Cardstock: My Colors - Black Magic

                                       Spanish Moss

                                       Snowbound

     Stamp: Tim Holtz - Bird Crazy

                 River City - Obey all the Rules

                 Gina K - Wild at Heart

     Ink: Momento - Tuxedo Black

            Gina K - Prickly Pear

                         Sandy Beach

            Distress - Pistachio

                           Tattered Rose

                           Worn Lipstick

                           Fresh Asparagus

     Embellies: Gelly Roll - Stardust 

                     Stitching Template - We R Holiday

                     DMC Floss #503, Yellow, Pink

Tropical Blooms with Bubbles

     A friend of mine celebrated her birthday yesterday. I made this card for her. She and her husband were here last evening. We had dinner on the patio and surprised her with a fun little strawberry short cake with a candle on top.

Card and Envelope

Sketch #177 by Heather Hall

     When this card is opened, the insides twist and open showing 4 panels. This is a newish die from Karen Burniston. I watched a video in order to figure out how to make it. I was SHOCKED at how easy this was to construct.

     The flowers are from Gina K's January release called "Tropical Blooms. They are made with a three-stamp process. The MISTI came in especially handy. The stamp on the card front was a two-stamp. The bubbles in the background are sponged with Gina K's Fresh Asparagus and a Dutch Doobadoo stencil. I may have gotten a little carried away with the bubbles. They were so much fun. I'm thinking that a few less and a little lighter might have been better.

     The sentiment is separated between one of the twisted panels and a tag collage. The tags have white rick rack in the eyelets.

     The peach was added with Gina K's Peach Bellini ink. There is NO patterned paper on this card. The color was added to the sentiments and hearts using ink and dauber. I used an ek bubble edge punch to make more bubbles -- because there weren't enough. TeeHee!

Just the envelope

Materials List:

     Stamps: Gina K - Tropical Blooms

     Dies: Gina K - Tropical Blooms

             Burniston - Twist Panel Pop-Up

                              Katherine Label Pop-Up

                              Word Set I - Greetings

                              Word Set II - Birthday

             Elizabeth Craft Designs - Fitted Frames I - Lace

                                                 Lace Squares

                                                 Tags Pivot Card

     Ink: Gina K - Fresh Asparagus

                        Peach Bellini

                        Honey Mustard

                        Warm Cocoa

                        Jellybean

     Stencil: Dutch Doobadoo - Bubbles

     Edge Punch: ek - Bubbles

     Embellishments: Rick Rack - White

                             Elizabeth Craft Designs - Starfoam stickers - Gold/Silver

Polar Birthday

     This card was made for a friend who had a January birthday. I worked so hard on the inside of the card, that I was happy to let the sketch lead the way for the front of the card. As a result, I ended up with a card front fitting of the details inside. 

Card and Envelope

     I hope you are joining us at Sketch~N~Scrap. Today there is a fun sketch by Lisa for you to try. Enter your creation before the end of the month to be eligible for a fun prize.

Card Sketch #116

       I made a card using this Burniston die last October. Karen Burniston visited the store where I teach my classes. She demonstrated a card using this Tag Book Pop Up die. I remember the relief when we were assembling it. This die is super easy to put together. This is one of those cases where the card is easier than it looks. I presented it to my friend at dinner in January and well you know the WOW factor was there. 

Inside of Card

Materials List:

     Patterned Paper: Authentique - Frosty 1 & 4

     Card Stock: Bazzill - Sea Salt

                                   Her Majesty

                                   Sugar Wafer

                                   Date Swirl

                       My Colors - Sea Foam

                       Gina K - Lovely Lavendar

                                    White

     Dies: Burniston - Cupcake Pop-Up

                               Birthday Charms

                               Word Set 2 - Birthday

                               Winter Animals

                               Tag Book Pop Up

                               Labels & Circles

     Punch: 1 inch corner                                                   

     Embellies: Starfoam Stickers - Pink/Silver

                     Really Reasonable Ribbon - Tulip Grograin 5/8"

                                                             Anastasia White Crochet Lace 1/2"

    

Challenges

Always Fun Challenges - Zoo Animals - #9 - *
Crafty Catz - Pretty Ribbon - #63 - *
Dies R Us - Tag You're It - #8 - *
Get Creative Challenges - Ribbon - #62 - *
Through the Purple Haze - Add Turquoise - #35 - *
UnstampaBelles Challenges - Something New - #45 - *

Dueling Lovebirds

     I see Darnell has a new challenge site called Twofer Card Challenge. The task is to make two different cards using the same stamp. I seem to remember doing a very similar challenge a couple of years ago. You can see those cards here. 
     The theme is feathers and I wanted to get in on the maiden challenge. I have chosen this cute lovebird stamp from Gina K's "Better With You" stamp set. I am entering a Valentine and a Birthday card.

     For the first card, I started with a Sketch N Scrap sketch from this month's Facebook New Beginnings Crop.

Sketch #41

     I initially planned to make the card completely black and white. I was intrigued at the possibility of coloring the entire image with Copics C markers. Something came over me when I got to the hearts. For some reason I reached for R24. I then made a dash for a scrap of Gina K's Red Hot card stock and just like that; it became a black, white and one more color card. 

     I joined the RRR (Really Reasonable Ribbon) club in October - as well as purchasing a Bow-It-All. I am in the process of perfecting my double looped bow. If you check my previous posting you will see an EXTREMELY similar pink one. 

     As you can see in the sketch, there are a flurry of embellishments required. I had my heels dug in on this one. I thought the card looked done and didn't want it to get too busy. I tried scribbles (too big). I tried gems (too small). I tried Stamps of Life diecut hearts (just right). Oh, and don't you love it when something falls on just the right spot on the page and well, it turns into a happy surprise. That would be the moment the heart fell on the word "you".

Inside of Card

     Moving on to card #2. For this card I color matched my paper with Copics for the image. I wanted a short rectangle across the top and that pesky birdhouse was getting in the way. I decided to cut it off and dangle it from the branch. Upon centering the rest of the stamp on the card there appeared to be too much card for too little stamp. I decided to cut the top portion of the stamp into inchies. I then matted the inchies, then matted that, then matted that, then matted that, then placed it on the card base. There are a couple of tricks in there, but you can see those.

Card and Envelope

     The stamp on the inside of the card is the result of a scouring of my stamp drawer. This one is from Penny Black. As usual the inside of both of these cards is based on elements from the front and whatever scraps are left on the craft table.

Inside of Card

Materials List: Black White Lovebirds

     Patterned Paper: Gina K - Petite Papers

     Card Stock: Gina K - Red Hot

                                    Black and White

     Stamps: Gina K - Better With You

                  Beth Salaika - Lovely Ladybug

     Ink: Momento - Tuxedo Black

     Die: Stamps of Life - Hearts 2 Die For

     Copics: R24.   C1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

     Embellies: Really Reasonable Ribbon - Delicate Stitched Satin (Black)

                    Brad - Sparkly Heart - (Black)

Materials List: Dangling Birdhouse

     Patterned Paper: Gina K - Made With Love

     Card Stock: Gina K - Peach Bellini

                                   White

     Stamps: Gina K - Better With You

                  Penny Black - Nature's Wishes

     Die: Spellbinders - Standard Circles Large

                                Petite Scalloped Circles Large

            Elizabeth Craft Designs - Tags & More 5 (Sunburst)

            Impression Obsession - Circle Baby Cutout Set

     Punch: ek - Dotted Wave Small

     Copics: YG41. RV42. BG45.

     Embellies: Ivory Twine stained with Gina K's Blue Lagoon

    

Challenges

Twofer Card Challenge - Feathers - #101 - *

 Challenges for Black White Lovebirds

C.R.A.F.T Challenge - Love/Valentines - #33 - *

Daring Cardmakers - Black, White, Pop - #6 - ?

Inspire. Create. Challenges - Love - #24 - *
Pixie's Crafty Workshop - #317-318 - Snippets - #13 -*

Challenges for Dangling Birdhouse

Seize the Birthday - Birthday - #28 - *

You Are My Sunshine

     It is my Granddaughter, Brooklyn's, first birthday next week. The theme of her party is "You Are My Sunshine". The party is going to be a brunch next Saturday. I'm going to be pretty busy making a few things for the party. I said that I would make mini muffins and star-shaped Rice Krispie bars. I have a couple of paper craft items to finish this week as well. 

     This sweet birthday girl stamp was a freeby from Elizabeth Bell Designs a few weeks ago - excellent timing. I chose Echo Park's "Birthday Wishes" paper collection because it had the pink and yellow being used as party colors.

The Birthday Girl

     I offset the sun on the inside of the card, so there would be room to sign in the lower right corner.

Inside of Card

Materials List:

     Patterned Paper: Echo Park - Birthday Wishes - Girl Birthday Hats

                                                                          Girl Stripes

                                                                          Girl Birthday Party

     Card Stock: Bazzill - Stormy Medium

                                   White 

     Ink: Gina K - Moonlit Fog

     Stamps: Elizabeth Bell Designs - Party Pose

                  Gina K - All About You

                  Impression Obsession - On Your Birthday

     Silhouette File: Miss Kate's Cuttables - Sunshine

     Embellies: Really Reasonable Ribbon - Delicate Stitched Satin 5/8" (Pearl Pink)

                     Gems - 4mm pink

     Copics: Skin - E000, 04, 11, R20

                 Hair - E31, 33, 35

                 Dress/Hat - RV11, 13, 14, 17

                                   Y11, 13, 15

                 Shoes - C1, 3, 5

                 Ground - W1, 3, 5

                 Shadow - B000

    

Challenges

Brown Sugar Challenge - Birthday - #136 - *
Creative Knockouts - In Stitches - #12 - *
Send a Smile 4 Kids - Anything Goes - #3 - *

Southern Girls Challenge - Stitch Me Up - #34 - *
Tic Tac Toe Challenge - Pink*Ribbon*Square - #11 - Winner!!!

Owl in the Oak

     Here is a fun fall birthday card using a Sketch N Scrap Fall Fun Crop sketch. Make your own card and enter it by downloading a picture of your card under this sketch. Click here to find just the right place to put it.

Sketch #2

     I used my Copics to color this wise owl and then mounted him on a circle mat. I dug out the Die-namics Blueprint #18 again (You'd think I would have had enough of that die when I made 6 cards using it last month.) to make a background with a diagonal cut.

Card and Envelope

     I love coloring these acorns using E27 on the top and W5 on the bottom. I then take the colorless blender (0) to make a plaid-like pattern on the top of the acorn.

Inside of Card

     I colored two owls in case one wasn't good enough to put on the card. The second one turned out OK. I hated to waste him, so I put him on the back of the card.

Back of Card

Materials List:

     Patterned Paper: Gina K - The Simple Things

     Card Stock: Gina K - Ivory

                                    Dark Chocolate  

     Stamps: Gina K - Give Thanks w/ coordinating dies

                               Wise Old Owl w/ coordinating dies

                               Stitched Leaves w/ coordinating dies

                               Genevieve Giraffe

     Ink: Gina K - Grass Green, Fresh Asparagus

                               Honey Mustard, Tomato Soup

                               Dark Chocolate

                  Momento - Rich Cocoa

     Die: Die-namics - Blueprint #18

     Punch: ek - Fall Leaf

     Embellies: Green Twine

                    Gold Sakura Gel Pen

                    Wooden Dot

     Copics: Owl E31, 33, 35, YR27. E47, 49. C0, 1, 3. 

                Acorn E27, Blender Pen. W5

    

Challenges

Crafty Addicts - Autumn Colors - #46 - *

Creative Friday - Dies & Punches - #38 - *
Gem of a Challenge - Birthday Card - #61 - *