Saturday, February 27, 2010

“Z” is for…

Z-fold with Zig Zags!

I’ll admit, I am at a loss for a “Z” project.  I have no stamp sets that begin with “Z” and no images that begin with “Z” either.  Nope…I don’t own any zebras, zoo animals, zinnias or zippers.  The only thing I could think of was zig zags.  Now I’m thinking, what zig zags do you put on a card?  Well, turns out, there are several ways you can add zig zags to your cards and projects.  And to top it all off, my card is a Z-fold card (smile).  This is the card I came up with…

Z

Here is the inside of the card…

Zc   

Do you see all those zig zags?  There are three different zig zags on this card.  Can you pick them out? 

The first is a faux stitching technique.  I pierced in a zig zag pattern around the Cast-A-Spell Designer Series paper and then used Zamy white gel pen to create the ‘stitching’ all the way around.  I have a sewing machine but it’s buried under only God knows what at the moment.  I had to use the Yoyo Yellow sunflowers my son had mentioned yesterday.  They are punched using the large flower on the Boho Flowers punch.  I sponged a spot of Pretty In Pink pastel and placed a Vintage Black Brad to the center.  The Garden Green stems are die cut with the Big Shot using the Little Leaves Sizzlits die.  The flower pot is half of the Round Tab punch.  It was a scrap piece of card stock that I had brayered and disliked for a project.  The colors work great for a terracotta pot though.  A snippet of a long retired zig zag ribbon gives the pot some style.  The ribbon is also the second of the zig zags to be found on the card.  I carried it into the inside of the card as well.  The final zig zag is the EyeletZb Border punch layered on itself.  Thus, creating the zig zag pattern.  By eliminating the eyelet holes of the Whisper White layer, it stands out much better.  The top Whisper White layer has been run through the Big Shot with the grid side of the Perfect Details Texturz Plate.  The sentiment is found in the Well Scripted set in the Occasions Mini Catalog.  The little flowers are the small flower on the Boho Flowers punch, again with a black brad and Little Leaves’ snippets.  I love the way the colors all ‘pop’ on the Perfect Plum card base.  I love this card!  Save the best for last, you know.  

Well, it’s z end of my Creative A-B-C’s project.  I have come up with something for each letter of the alphabet and shared them with you the entire month of February.  It was a challenge but it was tons of fun to do!  I never doubted that I could see this through, but I’m wore out and the house is in desperate need of attention.  So, I will focus on that and my family a little more in the days ahead.  I’ve been neglecting my SCS gallery, too, and will spend some time getting it updated.  Thanks for following along with the fun.  Your comments inspire me and I can only hope you’ve been inspired along the way. 

Until next time…

Hugs,

~Leslee~

Supplies are all Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE unless otherwise noted as being retired.

Friday, February 26, 2010

“Y” is for…

Yoyo Yellow!

Yellow is not a color that I choose to use often.  Yet, I’m using it for the second time this month.  I think that yellow (especially the Yoyo Yellow) should be used as an accent color…not the dominant color on your card or project.  Which brings me to the question, what do you think of when you think of ‘yellow’?  I asked the guys.  Two said, “the sun.”  While the third said, “a sunflower and the Shell gasoline car that races.  Oh, and the M&M’s car of Kyle Busch.”  (Funny, not one of them mentioned a school bus…hmm.)  The first thing that came to my mind was spring flowers and Easter chicks.  Well, I had to jump on the “chick wagon”!  I’ve seen the most adorable Punch Art chicks on Splitcoast  lately.  So, I can’t take the credit and there isn’t just one crafter to give the credit to.  I thank all of you for your inspiration.  Anyway, here is mine…

 Y

Isn’t he just the cutest?!  For the body, I used the Big Shot to crank out the Sizzix Circle Scallop.  I did this ‘card style’ with the fold at the top.  Yes, my chick is Yoyo Yellow.  I took one punched Scallop Circle and cut it in half for the wings.  The head feathers are three points of the 5-petal Flower punch.  All yellow parts have the edges sponged with Crushed Curry.  This sponging makes a huge difference in the project.  For the eyes:  Two circles in Whisper White and one in Yoyo Yellow (cut in half) using the 3/4” circle punch.  Two circles in Basic Black with the 1/2” circle punch.  I used the white gel pen for the ‘twinkle’ in the eyes.  The beak is a 1-1/2” square Yapunch, folded in half in Pumpkin Pie.  I sponged on some Pretty In Pink pastel with the dauber for the cheeks.  The feet are the medium flower on the Boho Flowers punch.  They, too, are in Pumpkin Pie.  The inside is a 3-1/2” diameter circle, cut using the Circle Scissor Plus.  The sentiment is out of Well Scripted.  I love this set!  The flower is in Yoyo Yellow and Garden Green that I markered direct-to-stamp.

This would make the cutest gift card holder for any spring occasion.  You could adapt this card with this one I did for Christmas, Bows & Baubles.   I’ll be making a couple more of these as gift card holders.  Honestly, this guy is so easy to make!  Oh…this chick is a guy.  My son said that blue means it’s a boy and that baby chicks don’t care that he has a bow in his hair.  Of course, he is speaking about the retired light blue gingham ribbon in his 'feathers’. 

Have a great day!  Glad you stopped in.  Only one more day in my Creative A-B-C’s.  Then, I’m going to take a much needed break! 

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased HERE!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

“X” is for…

X-treme!

Alright, I realize that this is really stretching “X” to the X-treme but I like it!  The Extreme Elements set was the first set that I just had to have when I saw it in the new catalog!  My boys are a bit older now…past the cutesy zoo animals and trains stage and this set fits right into the x-treme sports stuff that they are into now.  It’s kewl! 

X

I’ve started with a Whisper White card base.  A layer of Certainly Celery has the edge stamped in Basic Black with one of the Extreme Elements.  A panel of Basic Black backs the main element panel.  Actually, most all of the elements on this card are from the Extreme Elements set.  I did add some ‘splatters’ from the Itty Bitty Backgrounds set.  The main image is Extreme Dirt Bike.  I just love the silhouetted images.  I really wish I had the Extreme Snowboard…in light of Shawn White and his recent Olympic gold medal.  Anyway, most all of my inks are Craft inks.  I love how vibrant they are on the card stock.  The colors I used are Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, Pale Plum, Sahara Sand and Close To Cocoa.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, stamped on Close To Cocoa that was punched using the Word Window punch and then layered onto a Brocade Blue 1-1/2” circle.  Like my boys, the young man receiving this card isn’t going to care whether it has metal embellishments or not.  So, I didn’t use any.  You can say that I’m hoarding them.  You could say that I’m selective.  Only those x-tremely worthy shall receive them (smile). 

Thank you for stopping in today.  We are quickly coming to the end of my Creative A-B-C’s.  Where has the month gone?  this has certainly been a lot of fun!  Be sure to join me tomorrow for “Y”.

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

“W” is for…

Watercoloring

I love to watercolor.  It is almost therapeutic to me.  Now, I’m no artist by any means, but give me an image to watercolor and I can handle it.  Proper shading and keeping in mind where your light source is coming from comes with practice.  Just remember, it is only paper and ink and if you like it, that’s all that counts!

There are tons of watercolor mediums on the market today.  My favorite is Stampin’ Up!®’s Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aqua Painter.  Of course, this works best when adding color to lined images.  Today, I used the direct to stamp technique

W   

Using the large floral image from the lovely Wonderful Watercolors Two-Step Stampin’ set, I colored the flowers with the Perfect Plum Watercolor Crayon and the stem with the Mellow Moss crayon.  I misted water onto a piece of Naturals White card stock and then onto the stamp before stamping it to the card stock.  Then, using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, I lined up the outline to the image.  I colored this with Close To Cocoa crayon, misted the stamp and stamped it over the first image.  The sentiment is from Whimsical Words and stamped in Chocolate Chip ink.  WcThe Build-A-Brad, something else I tend to hoard, was stamped in the same technique using the smallest flower.  The 1/2” circle punch fits perfect with these brads.  A Chocolate Chip Taffeta ribbon snippet is behind the brad.  The Chocolate Chip panel is from the scrap box and it is all layered onto a Sage Shadow card base.  I think these colors work well together.  It’s another ‘soft’ card that will make a nice sympathy card (of which I need several). 

Thanks for looking!  I hope you give watercoloring a try (if you hadn’t already).  Experiment with the different mediums and fall in love with them all!

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE unless otherwise noted as being retired.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

“V” is for…

Vintage!

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘vintage’?  Old cars, mellowed pages of a book, yellowed lace?  That’s what comes to my mind.  So what makes something ‘vintage’?  Age?  I come from a pretty great vintage, but I wouldn’t consider myself ‘vintage’.  Hmm…well, I’ve attempted to age my card by using the distressing technique.  Other elements such as damask patterns can lend a hand to the vintage feel.  So can soft images that are worn and mellowed.  Sponging is a great way to achieve this look.  This is what I’ve come up with…

V 

I started with a Very Vanilla card base.  I sponged the edge with Sahara Sand…giving it a mellowed, aged look.  The designer paper is from Bella Blue Designer Series pack.  I ran is through the Big Shot with the Damask – Texturz Backgrounds #1.  I then used my sanding block to distress the raised texture.  Again, I sponged the edges.  The off-white half back pearls are out of the Pretties Kit (something I’ve been hoarding).  The ribbon is VaVery Vanilla Taffeta.  I am in need of several sympathy cards and the soft image of the Chickadee has a vintage feel to him.  He is from the long retired Garden Collage set (a sympathy go-to set for me) and colored using markers of various colors.  The sentiment is from the Thoughts & Prayers set.  They were both stamped in Jet Black StazOn ink on Very Vanilla…again, with the edges sponged.  They are layered onto Night Quite Navy card stock.  All layers have the edges distressed using the distressing tool in the Cutter Kit

I called my dad to ask him what he thought of when he thinks of ‘vintage’.  He said, “something 40 to 50 years old.”  Something that was “real popular”.  A “classic”.  Hmm…maybe I’m not so far from ‘vintage’. (smile)  I hope you’ve been inspired today.  Thanks for stopping in.

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE unless otherwise noted as being retired.

Monday, February 22, 2010

“U” is for…

UNO!

“One” for us who are English speaking.

I have to admit, I was really stumped as to what to do for “U”.  And, then, I was handed a curve ball in life and I fell behind in my designing.  I knew that whatever I ended up doing for “U” would have to be quick, easy, clean and simple!  Perfect!  An old CAS challenge came immediately to mind…Black and white and one Bold Bright.  I took it one step further…one layer, one stamp, one sentiment.  One button, one brad, one ribbon.  

This is what I came up with…

U 

Of course, I had to use my black gingham ribbon.  I think that, sometimes, I design my cards around the ribbon…lol.  I chose the Yoyo Yellow from the Bold Brights.  It’s a color I very rarely use.  I don’t even own the ink pad.  I used my Yoyo Yellow marker to ink up the heart from Best Wishes & More.  This, I used to create the butterfly wings.  I love when I can think outside the box and use stamps and tools in creative ways.  The black button is from the Neutral buttons and has long been retired.  UaI used a thin strip of Basic Black card stock to make the antenna.  I simply curled the ends around my paper piercer and pierced the butterfly’s flight and wing pattern.  The sentiment is from Tiny Teeny Wishes.  One Vintage Black Brad anchors it to the small and large ovals.  The bottom of the Whisper White card base was Scallop Edge punched.  A Yoyo Yellow piece of cs was placed behind.  This, also, serves to make the Whisper White a tad bit more sturdy.  

There “U” have it!  Sometimes, ‘uno’ is all you need.  Okay, I know I may have stretched it just a little.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Adios Amigos!

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE unless otherwise noted as being retired.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

“T” is for…

Thumping Texturz Thoughts & Prayers

Thumping is a fun technique that allows you to stamp an image with more than one color.  Just remember to always ink your stamp with the lightest ink color first.  I ‘thumped’ the floral flourish stamp in the Thoughts & Prayers set.  First, I applied Certainly Celery to the stems, and thumped on Garden Green.  I hold my marker on its side and tap the marker with my finger onto the stamp.  Then, I colored the flowers with Pale Plum and the centers with Perfect Plum.  I stamped these along the side of a Whisper White card base. 

 

T

This is another color combo that I’ve been wanting to play with…Certainly Celery, Garden Green, Pale Plum and Perfect Plum.  For me, they say “Springtime!”  And, I am so ready for that!  The Certainly Celery layer has the end Scallop Trim punched.  The sentiment is found in the All Holidays set.  I stamped it onto a Whisper White cs that I ran through the Big Shot using the lattice side of the Texturz Plate Perfect Details.  Here is a detail shot:

 

Ta 

I knotted a length of Celery grosgrain ribbon around the Celery layer.  Topped it all off with a sprig from Little Leaves (again, through the Big Shot) and my double punched flowers.  For that technique, check out this post, Double The Fun.  The flowers were first Rock-N-Rolled in Pale Plum and Perfect Plum using the flower stamp in Best Wishes & More.  A Vintage Pewter Brad completes the centers and they are adhered using Mini Glue Dots and Dimensionals

I think this is a lovely card.  I need some sympathy cards and I think I’ll use this exact card with a sympathy sentiment.  Actually, this would be lovely for ANY occasion!  I think I’ll try this in several different color combos.  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you’ve been inspired to give your stamps a “thump”. 

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE!

Friday, February 19, 2010

“S” is for…

Shadow Stamping

Shadow stamping is also know as 3D Stamping or Faux Embossing and you can find a great tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers.  It’s a fairly easy technique when using your Stamp-A-Ma-Jig.  With the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, you can offset the top image slightly from the bottom.  Thus creating a shadowed or 3D effect.  It will certainly give your image depth.

 

I started with a Whisper White piece of card stock.  I masked the moon using a 1-3/8” circle punched Post-It® note.  I brayered on Bashful Blue and then removed the mask.  In Brocade Blue, I stamped the flowers from the Upsy Daisy set.  Using my stamp-a-ma-jig, I offset the flowers slightly and stamped them again, this time using Whisper White Craft Ink.  The sentiment is from the same set and stamped in Basic Black.  I layered the image panel on Whisper White and Basic Black and then adhered to a layer of WW on Bashful Blue.  A few pieces of my fav black gingham ribbon and black Vintage brads finish off the card.  An awesome technique for a beautiful card! 

So, quit lurking and give shadow stamping a try!  Thanks for stopping by today. 

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE

Thursday, February 18, 2010

“R” is for…

Razzle Dazzle, Resist & Rhinestones!

R

I’ve had my eye on this color combo for some time now.  The In-color Rich Razzleberry is such a…well the name says it, rich and vibrant color.  I have a difficult time using it as a card base but it makes a fabulous accent color.  Paired with the In-color Bermuda Bay and layered onto a Kraft card base, it’s perfect!

This was the first time that I have ever attempted this resist technique.  It’s called VersaMark Resist.  I Rafound a great tutorial HERE on Splitcoast Stampers.  I’ll give you a quick look at how I achieved this look.  I started with a Whisper White panel (the tutorial called for Glossy card stock).  Using the border stamp in Razzle Dazzle, I stamped one end of the panel using VersaMark® ink.  I sponged Rich Razzleberry Classic ink right over top of the VersaMark.  RbOnce I was happy with the coverage, I wiped the excess ink off the the VersaMark.  The VersaMark resists the ink and the image is revealed in a lighter shade.  I will certainly be trying this technique using the Glossy cs…just to see what kind of difference it makes.  I love how this turned out!  I markered the flourish using Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry and Crushed Curry.  The Rich Razzleberry RcPolka Dot ribbon actually serves a purpose.  I wanted to hide where the resist image meets the white.  The panel was then layered onto Bermuda Bay with one side Scallop Edge punched.  I used two small and one medium Turquoise Rhinestone brads.  I didn’t want the bulk of the silver portion of the brad,Rd so I pried open the prongs on the back and popped the rhinestone out.  They are adhered using Mini Glue Dots.  The sentiment is from the Razzle Dazzle set and stamped in Rich Razzleberry ink.  

I’m so glad you’ve stopped by today.  I encourage you not to resist trying something new.  It just may be exactly what you had envisioned.  It may not…but it’s only paper and ink!  Have a blessed day!

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE!     

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

“Q” is for…

Quick!!

For today’s feature, I made two quick cards.  Together, it took less than ten minutes.  What took the longest was to select the stamps to use.  Each card is single layer on Whisper White card stock, which works great for any quick card.  It’s clean and simple (CAS).  So, I’ll make this post quick and we can enjoy the rest of the day!

Q 

I have a ‘go to’ stamp set for when I need quick cards and note sets, Pocket Silhouettes.  It has simple flora/fauna images that can be colored with markers or left as a simple silhouette.  I chose to marker on some color.  The sentiment is stamped in Basic Black ink and can be found in the same set.  I inked the image up twice and stamped it onto the card stock three times.  Looking at the card now, I might should have inked it once and stamped it twice.  The image is a bit too large for the sentiment, to my eye.  My favorite black gingham ribbon is simply knotted around the top. 

Qa

This second card is a duel challenge card.  It was inspired by SplitcoastStampers CAS54, Wishing for Spring, and CC258, Soft Perfect Plums.  Why not complete two challenges at one time and do it quick?!  The card features the spring-type blossoms from Embrace Life, the bird from Best Wishes & More and the sentiment from Well Scripted.  Everything was stamped in Soft Suede and the blossoms colored with Perfect Plum and Pale Plum markers.  That covers the color challenge.  The ‘critter’ (my bird) is a color challenge ‘extra’.  The spring feel to the card takes care of the CAS challenge.  Again, I tied some Polka Dot Soft Suede ribbon around the top and I rounded the bottom corners with my Corner Rounder punch.

Thanks for stopping in real quick today!  Cards can be just as gorgeous without all the colorful layers and embellishments.  Susan Raihala has a way with clean and simple.  For more CAS style cards, check out here blog, Simplicity.  It’s difficult not to be inspired by her work.  I know I am!  I hope you are inspired to give it a quick try.

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are current Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased here!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

“P” is for…

Poppin’ Pastels, Polka Dots & Piercing!

Pretty good line up if you ask me and I LOVE how it all came together.

 

P

 

Again, I was in need of a baby card.  I’m gonna be an “auntie”!!!  I’m so happy for my brother and his wife!  I wanted something soft and not too boyish, not too girlish.  Immediately, the Poppin’ Pastel technique came to mind. 

PaHere’s how it’s done:  I inked up my Medallion stamp with a juicy VersaMark ink pad.  I stamped it onto Whisper White card stock.  Using a sponge dauber and Stampin’ Pastels, I tapped the chalk on top the still wet ink.  The chalk adheres to the VersaMark and it’s really cool to Pbsee the color just ‘pop’ the image to life.   A very dramatic effect!  Just beautiful!

Now, it’s time to create a card with it.  I trimmed around the complete Medallion and then cut it in half (yes, I made two cards with the one Medallion).  I used the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions folder on the Certainly Celery.  A strip of So Saffron was Scallop Edged and I pierced each scallop.  I, also, pierced the dots of the Medallion.  It’s a little difficult to see in the photo.  You may have to click on the photo to enlarge to see the detail.  PcA length of Whisper White Taffeta ribbon with snippets of light blue and light pink gingham (both retired) wraps around the panel.  The sentiment is from Warm Words.  It is ‘wonderful’, long awaited news!

And there…the “P’s” have it!  Join me again tomorrow for “Q”.  Trust me…it will be quick!

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased here unless otherwise noted as being retired.

Monday, February 15, 2010

“O” is for…

On Board & Ovals

Okay, I realize this one may be a stretch for “O”.  However, the O’s are there!  For starters, oh my goodness!  How adorable is this?!

O  

This card was created out of necessity.  A friend of mine just had her baby.  A beautiful baby girl!  I don’t make too many baby cards and I had none in my stash.  It was a challenge to work the letter of the day in there, but I did it!  And I love how it turned out. 

Here are the details to this card.  I utilized lots of good scraps pieces that I had strewn about my desk.  I love when I can do that!  The down fall is that I’ll be showing you a bunch of stuff that has been retired.  But sometimes, you’ve just got to run where the mojo takes you! 

I began with a Pink Pirouette (retired) card base.  Then I used an already cut Top Note in Wild Wasabi and cut another in Whisper White.  I trimmed the WW cs to layer onto the Wasabi.  The buggy is a Wide Oval Punch Oawith the top punched with the Scallop Edge.  The DSP is from the retired Bella Rose.  The large flourish from Priceless was used to make the frame/handles of the buggy.  Two black buttons with Linen Thread tied centers serve a wheels.  The baby’s head is a 3/4” circle punch in Blush Blossom.  The Certainly Celery die cut Little Leaves were begging to be used.  To hide their stems, I used the Big Shot to cut the small Obflower from the Baskets & Blooms Bigz XL Die.  I used a piece of the On Board Book Basics – Long Board.  The rule based dies make cutting chipboard a breeze.  I covered the flower with my Pretty In Pink ink pad and then covered it with Tombow Glue and Dazzling Diamonds.  The stamp was highlighted with some stickles.  The sentiment is from Warm Words and the retired ribbon is Light Pink gingham

Thanks for dropping in today.  It’s amazing how much fun this little alphabet challenge has been.  I only hope that you are inspired. 

Hugs,

~Leslee~

Supplies are Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE unless otherwise noted as being retired.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

“N” is for…

Notes!

Fun & Fast Notes, of course!

N

I was in need of a Hostess Gift.  These 3 x 3 note cards make a very nice gift that is quick and inexpensive to make.  The Fun & Fast Notes stamp set is perfect to get the job done.  The set contains eight different images with a variety of sentiments for a variety of occasions.  The color combo was one that I used often around the holidays.  Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, Old Olive and Whisper White.  I stamped all images in Jet Black StazOn and colored them in with markers in Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Regal Rose, So Saffron, Perfect Plum, Old Olive and Close to Cocoa.  I did not fuss over coloring or shading.  I played just a little with the placement of the Old Olive 1/4” Grosgrain ribbon.  All said, I spent less than 15 minutes to make these four note cards.  I will package them in a medium cello bag…with or without a topper (I haven’t decided yet).  I’ll stick four Mini Square Envelopes in with the cards and they are ready for giving. 

Like I said, these are for my hostess but they would make a nice gift for teachers, co-workers or just about anyone.  And who wouldn’t love to receive one of these little notes?  What a sweet thought! 

Thanks for looking in today.  I hope you took ‘note’ and have been inspired.

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased HERE!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

“M” is for…

Matchbook Cover

This cute little matchbook cover holds one yummy Ghirardelli chocolate square.  Perfect to give to friends, teachers and co-workers.  Actually, who wouldn’t love to receive one of these yummy treats?  The simple fact that you thought enough of the person to hand make them a small gift would make anyone’s day!

M 

They are quite easy and very quick to make.  Great for mass producing.  Here’s how:  Start with a piece of 7-Ma1/2” x 2-1/2” Sahara Sand card stock.  Score at 2-1/2”, 2-3/4” and 5-7/8”.  Using the Scallop Edge, punch the flap and pierce each scallop with an Anywhere Punch.  The designer series paper is 2-1/2” x 1-1/2” from the Bella Blue DSP pack.  I ran it through the Big Shot using the Perfect Details Texturz Plate (Pattern 1).  I then used my sanding block to lightly sand the raised texture and adhered it to the front of my matchbook.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  It is punched with the Word Window punchMb and adhered to the medium heart from the Heart To Heart punch.  It and the ink is Real Red.  A simple staple secures a piece of Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon and the linen thread, which is tied onto the tag.  The staple holds the flap down and this holds the matchbook cover closed (you know, just like a matchbook…hmm).  The chocolate square is secured to the cover using only SNAIL.  Something tells me that it won’t be there long anyway! :) 

I made a bunch of these and gave them to my peeps that help me out each week cutting, counting and sorting labels and box tops for the PTA.  I’m so thankful for them and their help each and every week.  These were a perfect way to let them know that they are appreciated.  I hope you’ve been inspired to show someone how much they are appreciated too.

Thanks for stopping by today!  I’m now half way through my Creative A-B-C’s for 2010!  WOW!  This has been pretty fun so far!  Come back again tomorrow!

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are current Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE!

Friday, February 12, 2010

“L” is for…

Lucky Little Leprechaun!

100_6053

Isn’t he just the cutest?!  He looks a little mischievous to me but I’ve never met a leprechaun that wasn’t! 

I ran a piece of Blush Blossom (the face) and Garden Green (the hat) through the Big Shot using the Top Note die.  The brim of the hat is a strip of Garden Green that I used the corner rounder on all four corners.  A length of Black grosgrain ribbon with a ribbon slider from the retired Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware kit completes the hat.  For the nose and eyes, I punched a scrap of Blush Blossom and Basic Black using the 1/2” circle punch.  The beard and eye brows use the retired Tangerine Tango and the Scallop Circle punch.  These were cut in half so that I didn’t have to punch so many.  I sponged on some Pretty In Pink to make rosy cheeks and nose and give some depth to the face.  The sparkle in the eye is a white gel pen and the mouth drawn on with Basic Black marker.  

He’s an easy one to make and will fit nicely onto a standard sized card.  Just watch the length of the hat brim when doing so.  For this card, I folded the Blush Blossom card stock and then ran it through the Big Shot making sure not to cut the fold off.  Thus creating the back flap of the card.  Sorry…I should have gotten a picture of it but I didn’t think to do that. :(

The kids will enjoy assembling these fun little guys too!  Just have fun with it!!  I hope you are feeling ‘lucky’ today!  Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased HERE unless otherwise noted as being ‘retired’.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

“K” is for…

Kissing!

Yes, there is a technique for kissing.  We are talking kissing stamps!  I hope that’s what you were thinking?  There is the ‘kiss off’ technique, but I’ve used the ‘kiss on’ technique here. 

Before I show you my card, I’ll explain the ‘kiss off’ technique.  Ink up a large, solid image stamp…something with lots of inky area.  Using a smaller stamp, again, bold images work best, ‘kiss’ it to the larger stamp.  You are pulling the ink off of the large stamp.  Clean your smaller stamp and repeat as desired.  Huff on your large stamp and stamp onto card stock as you normally would.   Your smaller image will show where you kissed off the ink.

Okay, here is the ‘kiss on’ technique…

I inked up the splat image in the Extreme Elements set using Pretty In Pink.  I used the trio of hearts from Love You Much, inked in Melon Mambo.  Always kiss on a darker ink…a lighter ink wouldn’t show.  I ‘kissed’ them onto the splat stamp…leaving behind the ink.  Think of it as kissing your husband and leaving behind your lipstick on his lips.  I then stamped as usual.  This technique works really nice with a textured background stamp.  Why not just stamp over the already stamped background?  Well, the texture of the background would then be covered over.  This way, the texture shows through the kissed image.  Why didn’t I use mine?  Three words…boys were home!  I couldn’t think clearly.  I finished off the main image with sentiments found in Kind & Caring Thoughts (Hostess Level 2 set).  Hey!  That set fits into the “K” theme for today too!  What a nice unplanned surprise!  I layered the main image on Melon Mambo and a square that was Scallop Trimmed using the border & corner punches.  A length of black gingham ribbon is wrapped around and secured through the black button.  All is adhered to a Pretty In Pink card base.

Okay!  That’s enough kissing for one day!  As Adam would say, “Ewwww!”  Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you’ve been inspired to pucker up!

Hugs,

~Leslee~

Supplies are all Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

“J” is for…

Jumbo!

I’m using Stampin’ Up!’s® Jumbo Eyelets and their awesome jumbo Medallion stamp.

I have to admit, I’ve had this stamp for quite some time now.  I’ve never used it as a main image before.  Tons of people love the stamp and it has been the top seller since its release.  I, on the other hand, find it difficult to use and have struggled with its placement.  Well, I think I’ve finally overcome that jumbo struggle.  This is my card…

 J 

I think this card turned out super.  To begin with, all I knew for sure was that I wanted to use the Jumbo Eyelets and the Medallion stamp.  Then the color combo came to me.  I think that these colors have a very masculine feel (great…because I have boys).  Yet, they are soft enough for a female.  The base is Sage Shadow.  The main panel of Very Vanilla is layered onto Soft Suede.  The Medallion was inked up with Sage Shadow Classic and I sponged on some Soft Suede.  the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched Jausing the Word Window punch.  This punch fits just about all of the stamps in Teeny Tiny Wishes.  It was then layered onto the small and large oval punched card stock.  I sponged around the edges of the Very Vanilla with Soft Suede just to give it a rustic look.  The Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelets have a somewhat rustic feel to them.  I ‘tied’ them together using the Natural Hemp Twine.  The bottom edge was torn to add the the rugged feel of the card.

That’s it for “J” today.  Once I knew what colors to use, I had this card done in a ‘jiffy’!  It could easily be mass produced.  I hope you’ve been inspired to ‘just do it’!  Break out what intimidates you and try different techniques or colors with it.  Remember, if it turns out like ‘junk’, it is just ink and paper.  Try something else with it.  I think I’m ready to try a another technique (or two) with this jumbo Medallion!  Keep a watchful eye out for it.

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased HERE!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

“I” is for…

Inspired Impressions!

Of course, I’m talking about the Inspired By Nature set and the new Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder.

 

I  

This is a very simple and elegant card to create.  I thought about just mounting the finished image panel onto a Whisper White card base but, to my eye, it just ran together.  So, no white on white just yet.  I’m still working on it though.  Anyway, I ended up adding the Garden Green card stock that had been edged with the Eyelet Border punch.  The main image panel is mounted on Dimensionals a top that. 

Let me explain the main panel.  Using the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions folder, I ran a piece of Whisper White card stock only partially through the Big Shot.  I stopped and backed it out.  Thus, creating this…

IaI then used my paper cutter and bone folder to score a line along the line of dots that did not impress completely.  This technique is super for creating texture using one piece of card stock and omitting all the layers.  I masked off the polka dots and stamped the coneflowers from Inspired By Nature.  I markered, direct to stamp, in Garden Green, Crushed Curry and Soft Suede.  I re-inked and stamped them again on additional card stock and then cut out the flowers and leaf that hangs Ibover into the textured area.  These were mounted on Dimensionals.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  It is punched using the small oval and layered, off center, onto a large oval punch out.

 

I like how this card turned out and how quickly it came together.  Although, I keep looking at it and think that something should go in the upper left corner.  I tried a couple of different embellishments but nothing yelled at me.  Sometimes, plain jane isn’t that bad.

Thanks for joining me today!  I hope you’ve been Inspired and Impressed! =)  See you tomorrow.

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased HERE!

Monday, February 8, 2010

“H” is for…

Hearts & Hardware!

HI really love this layout!  If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time now, you may remember these:  Grateful Design.  And I’ve done even more using various themes and never gotten around to posting them. 

The flower is designed using the large heart from the Heart To Heart punch.  There are a total of eight hearts, Halayered and held together at the point with a brad from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware Kit.  If you really want the individual hearts to show, I suggest sticking with simple patterned papers or sponge the edges to define the hearts a bit more.  I have found that the busier the design, the more the hearts blend together.  Of course, you are building a flower and it is just as cute as can be…regardless of the design!  I used the Ruby Red Patterns III Designer Series papers (a hostess level 1 choice).  The flower is layered on top of two Little Leaves die cut in Certainly Celery.  The three small hearts are leftovers from when I punched the large hearts.  The sentiment is found in Well Scripted fromHb the new Occasions Mini Catalog.  It seemed a good time to stop hoarding the silver clip in the Clips Assortment that Stampin’ Up!® offers.  The clip falls under ‘hardware’, right?  I tied a small bow of Natural Twine to the clip.  It is all mounted on a Chocolate Chip and Whisper White Top Note die cut using the Big Shot.  The ribbon is 1” Double-Stitched Grosgrain Chocolate Chip.  The card base is Ruby Red

Again, I really love this layout.  I think you’ll find it very versatile.  I encourage you to try it and stop hoarding your hardware.  I promise, you’ll {heart} it! 

Thanks for stopping by today.  Let me know what you think.  I love to hear your comments.  They keep me motivated.

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased here.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

“G” is for…

Glue & Glitter!

Of course, you can’t have glitter without some kind of glue!

 

Gb

 

This first card features the cute-as-can-be penguin from the Punch Pals set.  I simply colored him in using Basic Black, Only Orange and GdPretty In Pink markers, punched him with the 1-3/8” circle punch and mounted him on a Scallop Circle punch in Pretty In Pink.  The sentiment is from the new Whimsical Words found in the Sale-A-Bration brochure.  You can get this set for FREE with a $50 purchase of Stampin’ Up!® products.  See my website here for more information.  The large snowflake was cut using my Big Shot and the Snowflake #2 die (I love this snowflake)!  I then covered the flake with Tombow Multi-purpose glue and topped it with Crystal Iris Chunky Sprinkles.  I have found that the Tombow glue works best with the chunkier glitters.  The card base is Whisper White with a layer of Pretty In Pink and topped off with a Shimmery White layer that I ran through the Big Shot using the Perfect Details Texturz Plate.

      

   

This next card has been simplified even more…kind of.  It’s a Naturals White card base.  I ran a piece of Bella Blue Designer Series paper through the BS with the Perfect Details Texturz Plate.  I then used my sanding block to lightly sand the raised texture on the DSP.  This just brings the detail out on the designer paper a little bit more.  I really like the look…I’m sure you’ll see me use it often.  This time, I covered the Snowflake #2 using a 2-way glue pen and the very fine Dazzling Diamonds glitter.  I, also, followed a bit of the detail in the designer paper and added some glitter to it.  The entire card sparkles!  A light blue Rhinestone brad was placed in the snowflake center.  The sentiment was stamped in Basic Black on Naturals White and punched using the Wide Oval punch.  For the scallop oval in Not Quite Navy, I used an old technique of using the Scallop Circle punch to create the scallop to go around the oval.  As I look back through my posts, I haven’t showed this technique.  Be looking for it in the near future, as I’m unprepared to show it here.  Perhaps that would be a good ‘S’ project??? hmm…=)

 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you’ve been inspired to break out the glue and glitter!  Both of these cards were inspired by the beautiful snowfalls we have experienced here in VA as of late!  I love to see it snow!  So here’s to the glistening snow!!

Hugs,

~Leslee~

Supplies all Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchased here unless otherwise noted as being retired.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

“F” is for…

Fun Folds!

I’ve been wanting to do this “Never-Ending Card” for about a year now.  I finally did and it really isn’t difficult at all.  I had more trouble finishing/decorating it all up.  Maybe my mojo got up and went at that time but I couldn’t seem to put it all together.  Finally, I just stayed simple and went with the “Love You” theme.  After all, isn’t love for that special someone “never-ending”?  I know that in my vows there was something about love having no beginning and no end.  This fun folded card just seems to fit that bill!

I can’t take any credit for this never-ending concept.  I won’t even attempt to post a tutorial.  I’m just going to give you the link to where I found an awesome tutorial, Never-Ending Card Video Tutorial.  Dawn Griffith has done a great job with this video tutorial and it is super simple to follow.  Of course, if you should have any problems with it, feel free to contact me and I’ll help you through it.

 

Front

 

As you open the card, you will open to a new card front (for lack of better explanation).  Front 1 is my beginning point.  It looks like a normal gate fold card.

  F2

 

Surprise!  It opens to front 2, which opens to front 3.

 

F3

 

Now, I think that a photo would look great on this front.  It will even sit on a desk or countertop very nicely to display a photo.  Also, here I would like to point out that the Green Galore panels on the right and the left are the same panels that are seen on front 2.  I point this out so that you keep this in mind when you go to designing your never-ending card.  Of course, front 3 folds out to front 4 (the back) and then you are back to front 1. 

 

F4

 

I used Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series papers.  Whisper White and Green Galore card stock.  Rich Razzleberry, Green Galore, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Garden Green and Pretty In Pink Classic inks & markersHeart to Heart and Eyelet Border punches.  The stamp sets used were: Priceless, Well Scripted, Whimsical Words, Razzle Dazzle and the retired Fancy Flexible Phrases (a favorite of mine).    

This is a totally fun card!  You just have to watch the folds and edges and take your time!  My boys are amazed by it and so will the recipient of the card!  It really is worth the extra effort.

Thanks for stopping in today for a look at the fun fold Never-Ending Card!  I encourage you to give one a try.  Stop back tomorrow for a look at “G”!  See you then.

Hugs,

~Leslee~

All supplies are Stampin’ Up!® and can be purchase HERE unless otherwise noted as retired.