Created by Katie Cotton: There She Goes

Happy Father's Day everyone! I havent had internet all weekend! I hate charter, and i know that hate is a strong word... but i HATE charter! grrrrr. Even now i'm "borrowing" the neighbors internet, so i'll try not to be too longwinded in this post. ;)

For my father's day cards I decided to use the There She Goes Challenge (issued Friday, yep, i'm a little on the behind side still, but they are done on time and thats all that matters!). The challenge was to do some shadow stamping is is actually never something i've done (on purpose anyway!). You ink up the stamp and stamp the image, but then pick it up and without reinking it, you restamp the image slightly beside the first image. Notice how i've said i've never done it on purpose before today! hahahaha. The 2nd part of the challenge was optional, but it was to do a gift card holder of sorts. So since both my hubby and daddy are coffee drinkers, i decided to use the coffee set "Let's Get Together" from There She Goes and put a starbucks gift card on the side.

Here is my card...

My hubby loves the color grey about as much as I do. ;) So i got to use some of my new grey cardstocks i've been hunting down. The dark grey is smokey shadow from PTI, the medium is Basic Grey from SU and the light is going grey by SU). I stamped the image with versafine on neenah first and cut it out. Now let me give a little shout to TSG for the quality of the clear rubber. You never know when you order from a new clear company what the true quality of the polymer will be. And i know i mentioned the polymer from TSG in my last post using TSG but this time, i was using versafine with i love iwth all my heart, but i will say that it does usually "tinge" my stamps. They arent horribly stained or anything, but tinged with color yes. This did NOT happen with my stamps i used today (which i was using for the first time, finalllllllly). This was a thrilling moment for me. :)

Ok, more on the card. I stamped the drink holder on some bazzill (i think it was fawn, but it's just a scrap so i'm not sure). Everything is paper pieced and layered which is a new fav look for me. I just love how crisp it looks and the added dimension it gives! I did use my T1 copic marker to give a little bit of shading on the cup.

Have you spotted my shadow stamping yet? It's the steam. :) So not a whole heck of a lot of shadow stamping, but i really liked the effect it gave.

Now onto part 2 of the challenge... the gift card holder! It's on the inside, and now very crafty, but it's there. hehe.

Here i used a Studio G 1 dollar stamp set. I loved the father's day sentiment and the rest on the set was just bonus! The argyle is from the same set, and i didnt realize it was in the set until AFTER i used an argyle embossing folder. Sweet! (does anyone even say that anymore?) OH, And i did want to mention that the argyle embossing folder is the sizzix one instead of the cuddlebug on. It's a deeper impression that cracked my paper a wee bit BUT its larger than the cuddlebug folders which i really really liked!
I did some doodling to make stitches along all the sides EXCEPT the top. I wanted it to look like a pocket, like shirt pocket. I used white glue along all the edges (but the top of course) and then the gift card just sides inside. Easy Peasy.

Stamps:
"Let's Get Together" from There She Goes
Inside of card is from Studio G series 30

Paper:
Dark Grey Cardstock is Smokey Shadow from Papertrey Ink, Medium Grey is Basic Grey from Stampin Up; Light Grey is Going Grey from Stampin Up

Tools and Accessories
Inks: Versa Fine Black Onxy, Vintage Sepia and Crimson Red, inside of card also uses Going Grey ink from Stampin Up
Embossing Folders: Argyle is from Sizzix, Distressed Lines is from Cuddlebug
Brads from American Crafts

I told ya i'd get inky today and i did! I woke up this morning and thought to myself "self, you have an hour before you have to get ready for church... GO!" So i made myself some coffee (and made note that i need to get some more K Cups!) and went to work on the There She Goes color challenge of using black, white and another color of choice. I chose Distress Ink tattered rose as my other color because it's my newest ink pad that i hadnt even taken the plastic off of yet. You know... everytime i use distress ink i'm reminded how much i love it and then question myself as to why i dont own all the colors. I really should fix that problem the next time they are on sale at Hobby Lobby!

Ok, onto the card... I used TSG's Thinking of You set.

This sweet little gem is only 5 bucks! And let me tell you, this is some good clear rubber! You never know when you're trying out a new company but it's as good as my other favie clear companies (verve, papertrey, ctmh, you get the idea) so it's good stuff.

First i started with one of the flower batches and stamped it in versamark ink on some good quality white cardstock. I then stamped it 2 more times on either side of the first to make the row longer. It was from the scrap bin, so i'm not positive to what it was, but it was one of the good ones, neenah, papertrey, maybe ctmh or SU... not sure) And then i used clear embossing powder over it and heat set it. Then i did the emboss resist technique which i've actually done a tutorial on eons ago but it's kind of an age old stamping technique and i think most gals know it. If not, just email me and i'll explain it all to ya!

Then i stamped the thinking of you sentiment on another square also in the same tattered rose ink, and then again on top of that in black. I've really been digging the "ghost" effect i've seen on a few cards and i figured today was as good a day as any to try it out. There's a close up of the sentiment up top because i'm not sure you can see the ghost image in the full view photo.

I did want a little something extra on the bottom panel and i thought a bird sillouette would be perfect! There She Goes even has a set of all bird sillouettes that has a strip of flowers and grass that would have been perfect for this card. You can see it here and it's called Here for You. Alas... i dont own this set. hahahahaha. But then i did remember i have a bird sillouette set by PaperTrey Ink called Birds of a Feather and while most of the bird images are larger... PTI often (if not always) includes a coordinating stamp in the set that is a hand stamped for you by stamp and it often has an image with it. So i used a dew drop ink to only ink up the little bird and stamped that onto my flower panel. PERFECT! :) I love it when as my friend Tangii says, the planets align and cards just turn out like you want!"

So thats my card for today! :) And i feel better about myself for actually getting inky today! hahaha. The house is still a wreck. My craft room needs some major help before i have company next week and i'm still aching to do just a few more of the Stampin Out Alzheimer's challenges before the day is up! Oh, and the hubster wants to go look at cars because we might trade mine in which makes me want to absolutely cry as i LOVE my car, but it would save us money and we do need another seat, so..... we're LOOKING. LOOOOOOOOKING! :)

Ok, thats all my babble for today! :) Chat with everyone sooner than later!