Moon Shadow Feather Flower Card

Last week I was playing with "feathers" and crescent moon shapes made from 2-1/2" punched circles, so I call these "Moon Shadow Feathers" because it's the shadow area left over from cutting a crescent moon.

Supplies: available from www.creativeflare.stampinup.net

Stamp Set:  Chalk Talk (w130631, c130634)

Card stock:  Crisp Canteloupe (131298) Coastal Cabana (131297), Whisper White(100730), Baked Brown Sugar (131296), Pistachio Pudding (131294)

Venetian Romance Designer Series Paper (130144)

Ink:  Calypso Coral Stampin' Write Marker (Subtles Collection 131263), Coastal Cabana Classic Ink Pad (131175)

Tools:  Honeycomb Embossing Folder (129378);  Big Shot (113439)

Gate Fold Flower Card

This was a fast and fab make and take.  The card is a standard A2 size, only scored at 2-1/8" from either long side.  Using a Simply Scored Board (item #122334) was the key to exact placement of the score lines.  I pre-cut the flowers using the Floral Frames framelets collection in Melon Mambo and Island Indigo.  These flowers were embossed using an embossing folder, but some of the attendees textured them with the crumple-flatten-ink method and it looked great.  The center is a 1-3/8" circle punch.  The card base is Crumb Cake card stock stamped with the Woodgrain background stamp in Chocolate Chip ink.  The border along the bottom is 1-1/4" x 2-1/8" of Orchard Harvest Designer Series Paper (Holiday 2012 catalog) and Old Olive card stock trimmed with the Scallop Border punch along one side.  

Kansas card

Because Kansas is the sunflower state, when I recently made sets of cards as gifts for my friends and mentors who are moving away this summer it was all about the sunflower, hoping their memories of our time all together in Kansas are bright and beautiful.

This card is a mix of some retiring items (all items in the colors Bravo Burgundy, River Rock, and More Mustard, and the Pursuit of Happiness set)

What's new is the Artisan Label Punch backing the sentiment on this card - that will be available June 1!

Supplies:  (* denotes retiring item)

 *Pursuit of Happiness set (121907w/121970c)

Sunflower (123606w/123608c) 

Early Espresso Classic Ink Pad(126974)

Very Vanilla card stock (101650)

Stampin' Pierce mat (126199)

Corner Rounder punch (119871)

Artisan Label (TBD)

Garden Green card stock (102584)

Modern Label Punch(118449)

Sponge Daubers (102892)

*River Rock Classic Ink Pad (126977)

Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink Pad (126945)

*More Mustard Classic Ink Pad (126964) and Card stock (100946)

Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad (126979)

*Bravo Burgundy card stock (105123)

Little Labels Punch Pack (126881)

Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755)

Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

The Sunflower  is stamped in Early Espresso Ink onto a 5" x 3-3/4" piece of Very Vanilla card stock.  Generously ink the stamp and use a Stampin' Pierce mat under your card stock to get the best impression. (I keep one for piercing and one for stamping.)  Set aside to dry.  Stamp Sentiment on a 1" x 2" scrap of Very Vanilla and round the inner edge corners.  Back with an Artisan Label in Garden Green and add a brad and a 1/2 Modern Label as an accent.  When the sunflower is dry, use sponge daubers to apply River Rock ink to the center of the flower, Pumpkin Pie to the base of the petals, and More Mustard ink to the petal edges, getting plenty of overlap of colors.  Edge with Chocolate Chip ink.  Attach a 5-1/4" x 4" piece of More Mustard card stock (edges sponge daubed with More Mustard Ink) to a Bravo Burgundy card base, punch little "feet" using the Little Labels Punch Pack (126881) and adhere them to the back of the Sunflower card face at the corners using a little Tombow Multi glue, and attach to card front.  Add sentiment using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Enjoy!

All of these supplies are available from my Stampin' UP! Website www.creativeflare.stampinup.net
Retiring Items are available while supplies last, or May 31, 2013 whichever comes last.  New 2013-2014 catalog merchandise, like the Artisan Label Punch,  will be available starting May 31, 2013.

Not long ago I was experimenting with the "Dryer Sheet Techique"  - the little butterfly was stamped with Staz-On Jet Black ink on Whisper White card stock and colored in with Stampin' Write markers in Tangerine Tango and Pumpkin Pie, and outlined with Sahara Sand.  Then I sprayed it with Elmer's Spray glue and pressed a used dryer fabric softener sheet onto the wet glue.  After it dried I cut it out with some Paper Snips.  

The remaining elements on the card are: (by Stampin' Up)

Labels Framelets, Paper:  Pocket Full of Posies; Card Stock:  Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight; Ink:  Pear Pizzazz; Stamp set:  Papillion Potpourri 

Other company products;

Nestablilities Dahlia dies.

Sorry, Stampin' Up, but I just like that Dahlia!

Inspiration Everywhere...

Someone recently asked me where I get my inspiration for making cards.  There's inspiration everywhere!  A few good places to look are paper crafting magazines, which are great for demonstrating new products and techniques, another is blog-surfing - also a sure-fire way to find something new to try on your own projects.  Today, we're talking textiles.  In a recent blog, I demonstrated a card modeled after one of my grandmother's needlepoint creations.  This blog is about taking what you see everyday, and letting that fuel your creativity.

My 5 year old son took this photo of me in my favorite T-shirt.  It's a gray background with red, yellow and orange filigree chairs, and it says blah blah blah "coffee" blah blah etc... (I love coffee).  It's a very simple everyday item...

So now, here's the T-shirt in the form of a card - Basic Gray card stock, with Summer Starfruit lattice die cut, and a Riding Hood Red blossom.  The "Thank You" sentiment comes from the Perfectly Penned stamp set, #122890w/112892c stamped in Riding Hood Red classic ink.  Basic Gray is a fantastic launch pad for zany color.

This is a sweater from my church's coat closet... There's no telling who's sweater it is, but as I was hanging up my coat before church one morning, this sweater was there and I had to take a photo of it, it was just too brilliant.

I cut some concentric squares with my paper trimmer, 1-1/2", 1-1/4", 1" and punched a 3/4" circle of Whisper White card stock for the center.  The colors here are:  Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Wisteria Wonder (purples); Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink (pinks).  Sponge the edges in the darkest color, pierce the center of the stack, give each layer a good scrunch, and hold it all together with at brad.  Stampin' Dimensionals are the best way to adhere the flowers to the card front, they give the brad a little cushion as well as popping the flower up off the surface.

The background is a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of vellum card stock, run through the Big Shot with the Houndstooth embossing Folder.  The Label background is Basic Gray card stock cut with a Label Framelets die, and run through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  The leaves are Summer Starfruit, Lucky Limeaid and Old Olive card stock.  Like the flowers, I sponged the edges in the darkest layer color (Old Olive) and gave each a scrunch.  The leaf shape comes from an old stencil of a rounded triangle, and a little free-hand extrapolation.  Stamp set is Loving Thoughts #125843w/125845c

While neither of these examples are exactly like the originals, the inspiration comes from the forms and colors of the fabrics.  Take a fresh look at your decor, closet , or coat rack, and see what inspires you...

Enjoy!

Ode to the Ornament Punch - Part 2 recap

Today's blog is a short and sweet one, the ornament punch as a vase. Ronda Wade pioneered this one on her blog, and featured the vase with some cute stamped flowers. This version is entirely punch art.

Supply List:

119847 Ornament Punch

119858 Boho Blossoms Punch

117191 Bird Builder Punch (stems)

117155 Brights Colection Designer Series Paper

119247 Basic Pearls

119976 Square Lattice Embossing Folder

Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Melon Mambo card stock