For Banjo...

Banjo was a wonderful dog -- a 16-year old Doberman/Rottweiler cross that was one of the sweetest dogs to ever walk the earth.  He was put to sleep on Monday because of a tumor in his mouth and throat.  Banjo belonged to my friend, Melinda, who is also my daughter's trainer.  He basically stayed at the barn and had a wonderful life, going for jaunts through the fields and woods.  Several times, my daughter and I would come into the barn office at 4 a.m. and find Banjo on his bed with a deer foreleg (or other part) that he'd liberated from the woods where a hunter had dressed out a deer.  He always came up to greet us when we parked the truck and will be deeply missed.

All products used are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Gently Falling, D is for Dog

Paper:  Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Vanilla, Spice cake dsp

Ink:  Craft:  Black.  Classic:  Tangerine Tango, Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa

Accessories:  Neutrals buttons, linen thread, Pearls Jewels, Black detail ep, Chocolate Chip 1" stitched grosgrain ribbon, Always Artichoke seam binding, Riding Hood Red 3/8" taffeta ribbon, brads, Ticket-Corner punch, Dimensionals, sponges

Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge #225

Many thanks to the Operators at Stamping 411 for featuring my card in this weeks' Stampers Showcase ... four weeks in a row!  Holy cow!!  

For this week's Saturday Sketch Challenge over at Stamping 411, I came up with this card -- after many, many false starts!  I knew what I wanted with the card base, embossed Cherry Cobbler layer and the watercolored image, but I can't even count how many times I ripped out the rest of it.

Things you can't see:  The Cherry Cobbler layer was color embossed with Cherry Cobbler ink when I ran the Square Lattice textured impressions folder through the Big Shot.  The edges of the main image are sponged with Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, with just a touch of Cherry Cobbler ink around the edges.  It gives the image a nice, aged look.  The tiny tag is backed with two other tags in Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso.  There are two jingle bells on either side of the tiny tag, just to add some fun.  White gel pen was used on the leaves and berries to provide a nice contrasting highlight.

All products are SU!, unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Beautiful Season, Tiny Tags

Paper:  Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Early Espresso

Ink:  Black, Lucky Limeade, Always Artichoke, Riding Hood Red, Cherry Cobbler, Bravo Burgundy, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Regal Rose, Cajun Craze

Accessories:  Big Shot, Square Lattice textured impressions folder, Ticket-Corner punch, brads, Tiny Tags punch, Chocolate Chip 1" stitched grosgrain ribbon, Always Artichoke seam binding, Cherry Cobbler 5/8" quilted satin ribbon, Pearl Jewels, Dimensionals, Aquapainter

A Gift for You!

I made this as a birthday card for a friend of my daughters'.  This little squirrel does duty just as well as a birthday squirrel as he does as a holiday squirrel!  This was my first attempt at a die-cut fabric flower and I think that it turned out pretty well.  The background was color embossed with Baja Breeze on Vanilla cardstock.

All products are SU!, unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Forest Festivities

Paper:  Baja Breeze, Early Espresso, Vanilla

Ink:  Black, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose

Accessories:  Big Shot, Blossom Party die, Perfect Polka-Dots textured impressions folder, Ticket-Corner punch, Early Espresso quilted satin ribbon, Neutrals buttons, Pearl Jewels, Spice Cake fabric, Aquapainter, Dimensionals

Hope You Can Cling To Challenge

I was asked to work a sample up for PattyB over at Splitcoast for her Hope You Can Cling to Challenge.  The challenge was specifically to use the Serendipity technique to create a pink collage.  Go here to see the master challenge thread.

I have to say that I LOVED Serendipity!  Instead of using a neutral piece of cardstock, i.e. not dsp, I used a sheet from the First Edition dsp as my base.  For my collage, I took the bee and the bird from Nature Walk and the flourish from Established Elegance.  I first did some direct to paper with Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose craft spots onto my base, then randomly stamped my images in Garden Green, Rich Razzleberry and Versamark.  In between stamping, I would periodically stop and sprinkle either Gold, Clear or Iridescent Ice ep over the whole thing, gradually building up the layers.

When I thought that I'd achieved enough depth and texture, I cut my sheet into squares using my 1 1/4" square punch .  I notched the corners of 12 squares with my Ticket-Corner punch, then sponged the edges with Rich Razzleberry.  These I layered with pieces cut out of Rich Razzleberry with my 1 3/8" square punch, also notched on the edges.  The collage pieces were adhered to Pink Pirouette, then pearl "rosettes" fitted into the round spaces between the collage pieces.

The bird frame from Four Frames was clear embossed and watercolored.  The edges were sponged with Pretty in Pink and Rich Razzleberry and the "points" of the frame highlighted with white gel pen.

All products used were Stampin' Up!


Stamps:  Established Elegance, Nature Walk, Four Frames, You're a Gem

Paper:  Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Early Espresso, First Edition dsp

Ink:  Craft:  Garden Green, Rich Razzleberry, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose.  Classic:  Rich Razzleberry, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip

Accessories:  1 1/4" square punch, 1 3/8" square punch, Ticket-Corner punch, Decorative Label punch, Pearl Jewels, Rich Razzleberry 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Pretty in Pink 3/8" taffeta ribbon, Rich Razzleberry 3/8" taffeta ribbon, Dimensionals, sponges, white gel pen, Aquapainter

Crafty Secrets challenge CSSC193 - Mother Nature

I worked this sample up for this weeks' Crafty Secrets challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers.  The challenge was to create anything to do with Mother Nature, so I pulled out this darling image from Crafty Secrets' Bird Notes set.

All supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Bird Notes (Crafty Secrets)

Paper:  Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso, Vanilla, Vintage Timeless dsp (Kaiser Craft)

Ink:  Black, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Cajun Craze, Regal Rose, Lucky Limeade, Always Artichoke

Accessories:  Double ribbon punch (Martha Stewart), Ticket-Corner punch, brads, Aquapainter, sponges, Pearl Jewels, Riding Hood Red 5/8" taffeta ribbon, Early Espresso 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Dimensionals

Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge #224

Many thanks to the Operators at Stamping 411 for featuring my card in this weeks' Stampers Showcase!  

This weeks' Saturday Sketch Challenge over at Stamping 411 is a real winner! When I first looked at the sketch, I thought that it would be hard to come up with something, but this card just flowed out --  and created itself.   I did adapt a couple of things -- I put the ribbon across the center of the card and moved the sentiment to inside.

Stamps:  Forest Festivities

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, White, Frostwood Lodge dsp, Silver glimmer paper

Ink:  Black, Crumb Cake, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Riding Hood Red, Cherry Cobbler, Bravo Burgundy, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Daffodil Delight, Cajun Craze

Accessories:  Big Shot, Top Note die, Cherry Cobbler quilted satin ribbon, brads, Rhinestone jewels, Curly Label punch, Winter Wishes Stitched Felt, Aquapainter, Dimensionals

A Christmas Carol

This is my first card using A Christmas Carol from the new SU! catalog.  I knew that this image begged to be watercolored, but I hadn't realized how difficult it would be to separate out all the clothing!

Things to know:  The "snow" is Silver glass glitter -- I like the chunkiness and vintage color against this image.  The dsp isn't holiday paper, but I like the vintage wallpaper looks that it gives the finished product.  The spatter stamp from Itty Bitty Backgrounds (what?  is that really retired??) in Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip adds some texture.  And don't forget your white gel pen to pull out those highlights.

All products are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  A Christmas Carol, Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Paper:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Well Worn dsp, First Edition dsp

Ink:  Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Riding Hood Red, Cherry Cobbler, Bravo Burgundy, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade, Always Artichoke, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Cajun Craze, Daffodil Delight

Accessories:  Big Shot, Top Note die, Silver glass glitter, brads, Trinket Keys, Early Espresso 5/8" satin ribbon, Cherry Cobbler 5/8" waffle weave satin ribbon, Dimensionals, Aquapainter, sponges

The Paper Crafters Sampler!

It's time to get your ghoul on with the October issue of the Sampler.  We've taken the spook out of the Holiday and put a "Sweet & Sinister" spin on it.

This issue includes:
Secret book box treats

Vintage folk-art recreations

Mummy bars

Rhinestone and skull treat container

Frightfully fun Halloween cards

Be sure to join us for the fun!!

Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge #223

Many thanks to the Operators at Stamping 411 for featuring my card in this weeks' Stampers Showcase!

I worked this sample up for this weeks' Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge.  Once again, what a great sketch!

I love this years' SU! holiday dsp, but this image really seemed to call for the old Holiday Treasures dsp.  I guess that I just wasn't in a plaid frame of mind...

All products are SU!, unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Holiday Lodge

Paper:  Riding Hood Red, Vanilla, Holiday Treasures dsp

Ink:  Black, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Daffodil Delight, Sahara Sand, Old Olive

Accessories:  Scallop Circle punch, Ticket-Corner punch, CM cutting system, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Pear Jewels, Certainly Celery seam binding, Cherry Cobbler waffle weave satin ribbon, Dimensionals, Aquapainter