Tiny Triangle Treat Box!

Many of you have seen (and pinned!) the little triangle treat box that I made for i {heart} papers' second birthday bash!  It was a beautiful gold box (approximately 2 inches tall) with an accompanying card.  Here's another version of the box in a soft, serene green.

I'm so excited to have been invited to make a tutorial for this little project for Splitcoaststampers, and that it is the first of their Holiday Project Showcase!  You'll find it here.

Notes:
Our Craft Lounge Shades of Fall stamp
Memento ink
Copic markers
Ranger distress inks

It's finally here!

Fall is finally really here!  It officially arrived on Saturday, but this morning northeast Floridians awoke to a crisp 57 degrees!  So lovely! The skies are a high bright blue, and we're planning to spend at least a little time enjoying the cooler temps and sunshine!

My card for today is a celebration of harvest time and the symbols of Fall, using the Our Craft Lounge stamp set, Bountiful Harvest.  I made it for the Copic class I'll be teaching tomorrow at Scrappies in Palatka.  If you're a local, I'd love to see you there!

OCL free digi, challenge, and SALE!

On Friday, Kendra posted a new challenge to the OCL blog, to use OCL stamps.  Hard as it is to fathom, some of you might not have any, so Debbie Corbari, one of our amazing illustrators, drew a digi, "Love Floats," to offer as a freebie!  It is SO cute!

I resized the digital image and printed it on a piece of light gray Authentique patterned paper, again on a text print "sky," and a third time on a piece of white card stock.  I trimmed the gray piece and glued it to the text print, then colored and cut the hearts from the white card stock.  This way the Copic colors come out cleaner and brighter on the white than they would on the gray, and there's less risk of bleeding through the lines, which reds are so prone to do.  (Even if they DO bleed out on the white, you're cutting that right off anyway!)

I love finding new ways to use old sets, so I went flipping through my baskets (yes, I have two!) of OCL stamps to find anything that might work with this new image.  Debbie's coordinating set, Love is in the Air, and single, Spilling Over, are obvious choices.  I stamped the cloud, colored it with Copic markers and accented it with a punched heart.  A fussy-cut chevron border from Every Heart Beat, stamped in black on red, brings in more color.

I inked the #9 part of "Love Potion #9 from Love Potion (ha!  are we FB friends?  Look at my cover photo!) and stamped it on the balloon to coordinate with the Cloud 9 sentiment on the inside.

I hope you'll download the digi and play along with our challenge.  Be sure to visit the OCL blog, and while you're there, check out our SALE!

Notes:
Love Floats digital stamp
Love Potion
Every Heart Beat
Authentique designer paper
Copic blending card stock
Memento inks (Tuxedo Black, Lady Bug)
Copic markers
Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink
floss
button

OCL challenge and PCP sketch

Do you remember telling spooky stories when your family went camping? I have two older brothers, and when we were kids they LOVED to tell stories that would scare the ever-living daylights out of me! My card for today is inspired by those memories! I used several OCL stamp sets, old and new, to make a little Halloween easel scene with a paper-pieced tent and a misty moonlit graveyard. It's a combo card for this week's OCL challenge and Paper Craft Planet's sketch challenge!  

OCL's challenge this week is to use OCL stamps.  What?!  Don't have any?!  Well then, make sure to visit the OCL blog on Monday for a fun surprise!  Until then, save 25% on orders of $25 or more (before tax and shipping).

When this photo was taken, it was hot enough to fog the camera lens, and it was just about to rain...maybe that's why the colors seem gray instead of amethyst!  No matter how I tried to color correct and brighten them as I edited the photo, I just couldn't get the color to be life-like, so this card is actually much cuter IRL!

That horizontal striped panel just above the sentiment has a practical purpose as well as an aesthetic one…it is what keeps the easel from sliding shut. 

If you play along with either of these challenges, be sure to use the appropriate keyword with your upload!

• use OCL stamps:  OCL133
• and for the sketch on Paper Craft Planet: 090712

Notes:

Our Craft Lounge stamps:

• Happy Camper (tent)
• Ghostly Greetings (moon and clouds)
• On the Fence (graveyard, tree)
• Spooky Tags (graveyard border, sentiment)

Memory Box designer paper

Memento Espresso Truffle ink

Copic markers

amethyst velvet ribbon

Day 5 of OCL and May Arts!

What a great week it has been with Our Craft Lounge stamps and May Arts ribbon!  I hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have!

My card for today features an encouragement from Kendra's Everyday Sentiments, stamped directly onto Simple Stories designer paper. The seam between prints is covered by some beautiful scallop-edged trim.  A multi-looped bow of sheer iridescent wired ribbon forms the foundation for the Petaloo magnolia corsage-style embellishment.

Be sure to visit the OCL blog and FaceBook fan page for all the details on prizes for this week's hops!

Here are today's designers:

• Amber Hillman
• Debbie Fisher
• Kendra Wietstock
• Lori Barnett
• Michelle Pearson
• Tammie Edgerton

Days Gone By!

I absolutely love cream and black together, especially when paired with vintage images!  This old sewing machine from OCL's Days Gone By is one of my favorites!  My mom actually has an old treadle machine much like this one!  She taught me to sew on a much newer Singer, and it is a skill I'm very grateful to have been given.  I used to sew most of my own clothes, but now I mainly sew on my cards!  :)

This Teresa Collins paper reminds me of beautiful fabrics:  dainty calico, delicate dotted Swiss, and masculine pinstripes.  I punched an eyelet through the sentiment banner and then used a few dressmaker pins to attach it to a May Arts gingham bow...LOVE how all these elements work so seamlessly together!

Visit the OCL blog to find out about prizes and see much more inspiration using OCL and May Arts.

• Amber Hillman
• Broni Holcombe
• Debbie Corbari
• Debbie Fisher
• Kendra Wietstock
• Lori Barnett
• Melissa Cash
• Michelle Pearson
• Stephanie Serrano
• Tammie Edgerton

Only a Number!

Here's a funny punny card made with Debbie Corbari's new OCL set, Miles to Go!  My husband happens to turn 55 in about a month, so this will be his birthday card.

This layout is *sort of* this week's Paper Craft Planet sketch.  I didn't adhere the front of my card because I wanted to use that octagonal "stop sign" shape and the arrow to indicate that it should be pulled open.  The inside (oops, I forgot to take a picture of it opened, so I'll have to add it later!) says "and yours happens to exceed the speed limit!"  :)  Hahaha, he and I remember well when 55 was the speed limit!

That beautiful May Arts velvet ribbon matches this designer paper so perfectly!

• Amber Hillman
• Broni Holcombe
• Kendra Wietstock
• Lori Barnett
• Melissa Cash
• Tammie Edgerton

May Arts/OCL Special Delivery!

I asked my husband what he thought of this card and he said something about a lighthouse?  Ummm...don't you see parcels, boxes, airmail letters?  LOL!  Makes me think of all those love letters I wrote and mailed to him while he was deployed back in the days before email...when it took about a month for them to get to the ship!

Here I'm using May Arts twisted burlap, which comes in several thicknesses and styles!  It's paired with a sentiment from my friend Kendra's new OCL set, Everyday Sentiments.

If you haven't already, check out the OCL blog and the info on prizes!  Here's more inspiration!

• Debbie Corbari
• Debbie Fisher
• Kendra Wietstock
• Lori Barnett
• Melissa Cash
• Stephanie Serrano
• Tammie Edgerton

May Arts Week for OCL!

It's the beginning of a special week featuring May Arts ribbons and Our Craft Lounge stamps (can you say prizes?).  I adore both, and thought it was appropriate to start the week with this particular card since orange and pink say OCL to me!  That gorgeous pink ribbon takes center stage on this colorful card front (the layout is SC395).  Here's what the inside looks like:

Notes:
MME Happier designer paper
Molla Cutie
Memento ink
Copic markers
frayed floral ribbon
white solid two-tone ribbon
Tim Holtz heart charm
pink burlap string
pink button

I mentioned prizes!  There are  plenty to be had in this week's celebration!  Winners will be selected from those who comment on our blogs, the OCL blog and the OCL FaceBook page from Monday through Friday at midnight Pacific time/3 a.m. Eastern time).  Kendra will announce winners on the OCL blog on Monday, August 13th.  And THAT's just the winners from OCL!  May Arts will have prizes too!  :)

Here's some great inspiration for you!

• Debbie Corbari
• Debbie Fisher
• Kendra Wietstock
• Lori Barnett
• Stephanie Serrano

Before you go, another little reminder...I'm uploading this card with keywords for two of the SCS Dare to Get Dirty challenges.  The deadline is tonight, so there's still time to play along with a challenge or two!

DTGD + OCL

I am so honored and privileged to be invited to make a sample for my friend, Bev Rousch, for her Dare to Get Dirty challenge!  My project is a combination of some old favorite OCL stamps and some brand new Authentique designer paper on a black "manilla" envelope for Halloween...it was a whole lot of fun, and it's a two-fer, also for this week's OCL challenge to use banners on your project. Perfect timing!  :)  

Access to the DTGD challenges is one of the privileges of being a SCS fan club member!  I hope you will join and play along!  Instant uploads and access to the monthly Dirty Dozen gallery are other perks, so membership is definitely worth it!

Before you go, be sure to check out the Our Craft Lounge challenges! A new challenge is posted on the OCL blog each Friday.  Our design team creates some fabulous projects to inspire you.

While I used old favorites on my card today because I couldn't wait to use my new Halloween paper, we *just* released three new stamp sets, so look for those if you missed the blog hop earlier this week!

Notes:

black "manilla" mailing envelope

Authentique Enchanting designer paper and companion alphabet stickers

Our Craft Lounge stamps:  Mummy X-ing, Granny's Potion (spider), On the Fence (bat)

Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Copic markers

Queen & Co Trendy Tape

Maya Road vintage kraft flag pins

Studio Calico wood veneer hearts

Flower Soft ultrafine moss green

black twine

More New OCL!

I'm back with another OCL card which is also a Dare to Get Dirty challenge from Angela.  This is one of those rare "stamped only, no-coloring" cards!  Look Ma, no Copics!  ;)

The colors and design of this Olde World map designer paper provide a great backdrop for this romantic sentiment from Miles to Go!  I added Tim Holtz metal trinkets and some stamped accents from Vintage Traveler.  I actually had planned to use a Copic-colored line art image in place of the key hole accent, but changed my mind at the last minute!  This has more contrast and adds some vintage character!

Remember to visit the OCL blog for all the details about prizes!  Visit SCS to find out more about the DTGD challenges!

Notes:
OCL's Miles to Go sentiment, accents from Vintage Traveler
Memento ink
Ranger distress inks
Tim Holtz Idea-ology metal trinkets
two-toned satin ribbon
jute thread 
Kaiser Craft latte pearl
button

New from OCL!

Our Craft Lounge is releasing some fun new stamps, so today our team is hosting a blog hop to share and celebrate!  You can see the full color panels for each set on the OCL blog and order the stamps directly from OCL but before you shop, hop through our designers' blogs to see what great ideas they have come up with for using these fabulous sets. 

 We're giving away some prizes for the comments you leave from now through Friday on our blog posts, the OCL blog posts and the OCL Facebook page.  Look for the details on the OCL blog!

Also, mark your calendar for next week, because we will be back with more fun stuff!  :)

My card for today reminds me of a trip my family took the summer before my senior year of high school.  We drove from Louisiana to California, stopping at most of the major national parks along the way, including the Alamo, Carlsbad Caverns, the Grand Canyon, and finally Sequoia/King's Canyon, where my brother was working as a young US Forest Ranger.  It was the best trip of my young life, and I'm very grateful I have gotten to revisit some of those places in the years since then!  I would love to take my son on that same journey!  

I used a combination of Copic markers and paper piecing with Echo Park This and That Charming designer paper to design my Happy Camper, although the Copic markers match so well you may have trouble telling which is which.  The sky was sponged in using a scalloped circle mask and Clearsnap ink.  The various destinations are cut from the designer paper.  Of course, for young kids, a road trip seems to take forever, so this "Are we there yet" sentiment is particularly appropriate!  I inked it with Memento ink, then went over the dotty parts with a fine-tipped marker and accented it with a  "butterfly" bow of brown jute.

I'm happy that I can submit this card for Stacy's Make Mine Masculine DTGD challenge!  

• Amber Hillman
• Broni Holcombe
• Deb Felts
• Debbie Corbari
• Debbie Fisher
• Joy Stagg
• Kendra Wietstock
• Lori Barnett
• Melissa Cash
• Michelle Pearson
• Stephanie Serrano
• Tammie Edgerton

CPS 267

I used a vintage typewriter from Our Craft Lounge's Years Gone By for this week's CPS sketch, a combination of ovals and circles cut from Creative Impressions paper using nestabilities, inked with distress ink and embellished with want2scrap bling.   That gorgeous flourish is actually printed on the paper!  I love cream, kraft and black together so I just *had* to have this designer paper!  SO pretty!  There are lots of other great ideas on the CPS blog for using this cool geometric sketch!

I'm so very sad that The Enchanted Scrapbook, one of our three local stamping/scrapping stores, is closing.  I have been teaching Copic classes there since shortly after they opened, and have really enjoyed every minute of it.  Each of our stores has their own unique personality and style, stocks different product, and offers a variety of classes from some amazingly talented teachers, including some who are very well-known in the stamping and scrapping world at large...while some customers shop closest to home, others visit each store on a regular basis and have developed cherished friendships with other patrons.  It is heartbreaking to see any store close, and we have had several close in the last year or so.  I was so very blessed to have been able to teach at TES, and to have acquired a small following of faithful students!  I hope you're also following my blog, and that we will be able to see each other again soon!  Visit TES's FaceBook page to leave some encouraging words for Kristi and all of the TES girls!

OCL Inspiration Challenge

Our Craft Lounge's challenge for the week is a gorgeous inspiration photo!  It's dreamy and romantic which made me think of our long ago trip to France, so I grabbed my Clearsnap Donna Salazar Mix'd Media Inx and OCL's Vintage Traveler...and I love how it turned out!

I sponged Honey, Peridot, and Chiffon inx onto a 7 Gypsies tabbed manilla ATC card, then misted it with Cashmere Smooch Spritz and allowed it to thoroughly dry before stamping the Eiffel Tower image with Truffle.  There are several other images in Vintage Traveler that I stamped off before stamping them onto the edges of the card.

For my card base, I scored and cut a tri-shutter card, accenting some of the panels with beautiful BoBunny Gabrielle designer paper matted with kraft card stock.  The scored and cut edges of the card base are inked with Chiffon, the designer paper with Honey, and then everything was misted with Smooch Spritz before adhering the focal image.  A soft bow of May Arts silk ribbon embellished with a pretty Prima blossom and Jenni Bowlin rhinestone pin balances the colors.

Notes:
OCL's Vintage Traveler
Bazill, Gina K card stock
BoBunny Gabrielle 6 x 6 designer paper
Clearsnap Donna Salazar Mix'd Media Inx
Cashmere Smooch Spritz
May Arts silk ribbon
Prima Espirit Champagne Rose flower 
Jenni Bowlin rhinestone stick pin

#1 Sports Fan!

You already know that I love Granny, but Gramps is pretty fun too! You might think that the recent NFL draft is what prompted this card, or maybe Father’s Day which is a month away, but that isn’t the case! This card is for 11 year old Alexis, an avid Jacksonville Jaguars fan who has Neurofibromatosis. I learned of her illness and recent surgery through a friend who regularly sends prayer requests via email, and realized after reading her story that she is the daughter of a waiter who regularly serves us when we go to one of our favorite local restaurants!  I hope a hand-made card will cheer her up!  Feel better Alexis!  We are praying for you and your family!

Authentique's Free Bird designer print series "Comfort and Familiar" has some patterns in colors that are just perfect for Jaguars fans! Here, a chevron design doubles as carpet!  I added some texture to the background with a Cuttlebug embossing folder, and then lined up a row of football accents...I was inspired by SCS sketch 330, although I added a fourth pigskin to balance my layout.  Four balls, four downs...LOL!

I'm not the only one "makin' a scene" with this Our Craft Lounge single!  My design team mates' cards are amazing, and I've put together a post on the OCL Blog including my card for Alexis and several of theirs... you need to go see 'em!  Gorgeous coloring and ingenious creativity!

You can find #1 Sports Fan and supplies for cards in YOUR team colors at i {heart} papers!

Notes:
#1 Sports Fan
Copic blending card stock
Memento Tuxedo Black ink
Copic markers
Tim Holtz distress ink
Authentique's Comfort and Familiar designer paper pad
Cuttlebug, no shims mat and texture folder for dry embossing
dimensional adhesive

Made in the Shade!

I was invited by my friend and stamper extraordinaire, Taylor, to make a sample for this week's Splitcoaststampers' Sketch Challenge. Here's what it looks like...definitely a challenge, don't you think?!  Especially if you are like I am and have the tendency to interpret sketch challenges rather literally.

For a couple of days I kept looking at the layout, hoping to come up with an idea...then, finally (at the 11th hour, which is typically the way it works for me) I made a clean and simple design using Debbie Corbari's Tree-rific Trees from Our Craft Lounge.

Maybe you're wondering why the tree is upside down?!  I hope not! Our front yard has a graceful, arching oak tree with moss-laden limbs that overhang the lawn, and as you sit in the shade and look up through its branches at the sky, the view is very much like this! Even the cardinal (and squirrels, too!)

Here's what the inside of my card looks like...just in time for Earth Day on Sunday, April 22, 2012!

Notes:
Tree-rific Trees from Our Craft Lounge
Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Dew Drops
Copic markers
Zva pearls
scalloped circle punched from copy paper for masking the sky

Outta This World!

It's my pleasure to host this week's Paper Craft Planet 3d challenge!  I hope you will join me!  We're making a cute pop-up box card following Jill Coleman's excellent youtube video tutorial.

I love the presentation of this card!  It looks like a normal square card when it's closed, and then, surprise! Isn't it fun?  It works best with thinner two-sided designer paper as opposed to card stock, and can be embellished with ribbon or a belly band for closure.

Notes:
Our Craft Lounge Beyond the Universe
October Afternoon Space Station designer paper
Memento ink
Copic markers
Queen & Co rox

What's the Matter?

Here's a fun card for CPS 259 using Our Craft Lounge's set, Love Potion.  This is a fun set with lots of cute images and fun sentiments...I love this particular one, because sometimes asking what's wrong is a difficult thing to do!  A cute card makes it much easier!

Notes:
OCL's Love Potion
Memento London Fog ink
Copic markers
My Mind's Eye Fiddlesticks designer paper
Wire Works wire
Clearsnap Donna Salazar Mixed Media inx

Hop Into Spring!

One of my very favorite cards of all the cards I have ever made was a step card of Granny on the Beach...when this week's Our Craft Lounge inspiration challenge was posted, I decided I wanted to make a similar card using Hoppin' Into Spring, one of my favorite OCL sets.

The fun thing about making a step card is that it allows you to use more of the cute images from this stamp set!  A horizontal image like this row of sprouting carrots really lends itself well to this design...popping a few rows up on dimensional adhesive adds some depth, and the steps accentuate the illusion of foreground and background even more.  A little bit of Sparkly Fluff to the bunny's tail adds some texture and sparkle and makes it even more fun.


I really wanted to add a fence along the horizon of this card...my husband and son were sweet enough to swing by Michael's between lunch and music lesson so I could run in to buy the punch and finish my card today.  It was pouring rain (which we definitely need), but I was able to dash in and out without getting drenched!  Getting a decent photo on a day like this proved to be a little more challenging!

The fence is punched from a wood-grained print from MME's Fiddlesticks designer paper.  I used a warm gray Copic marker to add some shading to each fence slat and to the horizontal elements between them.

I love the way this card turned out, so bright and fun for Easter!  When it is "closed" the sentiment is hidden, and it looks as though the bunny is hopping along in the furrow between rows.  When it is sitting open zig-zag-style on my desk, the sentiment is visible and he looks like he is leaping mid-air.  It is just fun to make something different than a traditional A-2 every once in a while!

Notes:
OCL Hoppin' Into Spring
Sugar Sparkly Fluff
MME Fiddlesticks designer paper
Copic blending paper
Memento Tuxedo Black ink
Copic markers
dimensional adhesive
MS fence punch
Cutterbee snips

I hope I've inspired you to play along with our challenge!  Be sure to visit the OCL blog for more information, and to link your project when you're done!  Have a blessed Holy Week!  :)

The Bees' Knees

Today has been The Bees Knees!  :)  I just got back from a nice long lunch with Asela!  It was sort of an after-the-fact birthday/anniversary celebration, and this is the card that I gave to her.  We took our ukuleles and sat outside at Island Life Grill with our folders of music and a copy of The Daily Ukulele, working on chords and strumming.  Today is a warm day in Florida, but it was still SO nice to be outside enjoying the sunshine and music! Matthew walked over after his chorus class to join us...Asela had to go, but I stayed to keep Matthew company until he had to go back to the high school for play practice.  By the end of the week, we are in need of a day like today!  And there were stampin' goodies in the mailbox when I returned home, too, so you know I'm smiling!

Bees' Knees is an Our Craft Lounge stamp set, paired with My Mind's Eye honeycomb patterned paper and a big gingham bow.  The leaves bursting forth and the beehive hanging from the branch are images of Spring...you still have time to finish and submit a card for the current Spring Theme challenge before a new OCL challenge begins tomorrow!  I'm submitting this card for today's SCS Ways to Use It "Get Sentimental" challenge, too!  I think that little bee is so cute!

Notes:
Copic blending paper
Memento Tuxedo Black ink
Copic markers
My Mind's Eye designer paper
May Arts gingham ribbon