My Love/Hate Relationship with Bella Bleu

I love this paper, the matching colour is supposed to be Not Quite Navy. Well I think a mistake must have been made because whenever I use NQN with this dp, it just doesn't look right. So here's my second card for the sketch challenge. It's a very busy card, I watercoloured the flower in NQN but it was waaaaaaaaaaay too bright so I went over the whole flower with brocade blue which seemed to tone it down a little. Live & Learn.

Recipe:
Stamps: Morning Soft, All Holidays
Paper: Kraft, NQN, Very Vanilla, DSP-Bella Bleu
Ink: NQN, Brocade Blue, Mellow Moss
Other: Halfback pearls

Have a great day!

Karma

So all my wishful thinking for spring yesterday must have made karma laugh as it prepared to bring the snow this morning. I love snow, it's one of the most beautiful things nature has, but I'm totally ready for spring now. Only a little while longer.

This card was made for the sketch challenge over at splitcoaststampers. I was going for a bold, bright card I and think I achieved that. I like this card, I love soft colours but every once in a while it's nice to make a card with a punch of colour like this one. I'm going to make another today with a soft monochromatic feel to it just to see the difference colours can make with a sketch card.

Recipe:
Stamps: Eastern Blooms
Paper: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Very Vanilla, DSP-Hawaii Papaya
Ink: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss
Other: Black Brads

Thanks for stopping by, hope you're having a warm snowless day!

The Sun is Shining, the Birds are Chirping...

And I am ready for Spring, more then ready. I love snow, don't mind the cold but usually around this time I start to get spring fever. I look forward to bike rides, walks with the kids, and just feeling the warm summer air. The place we're renting right now apparently has a ton of strawberries in the summer so I know me and the kids will keep the garden picked clean!

I made this card this morning with really no thought in mind as to how I wanted it to look, usually I can see a card in my head, (or on my computer screen if I'm casing lol). I like it but I do think it looks a little busy, but I'm not about to take it apart.

Recipe:
Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Fundamental Phrases
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White, DSP-Hawaii Papaya
Ink: Tangerine Orange, Chocolate Chip
Other: Latte Buttons, 5/8 Choc. Chip Ribbon

Have a great day!

Another card

Here's another card I made this afternoon. It started off okay, I tried to go with a colour that I don't normally use, I usually lean towards blues or reds/pinks so it was nice to get out of my comfort zone. But I think I goofed by putting the rhinestones where I did, or I should have used very vanilla brads for a subtle look. I love the subtle look. I should add that IRL the colours on the card are a little more pronounced and there's more seperation between the leaves and flowers.

Recipe:
Stamps: Morning Soft
Paper: More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Watercolour pp
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, More Mustard
Other: Clear Rhinestone brads

TFL!

Happy Monday everyone!

It's such a beautiful day here, the sun is shining, my boys are in kindergarten and my daughter is busy stamping her favourite stamps, yes I let my dd use my stamps. I'm not one to panic if the wood blocks get dirty, I would rather have well worn stamps that have created a lot of memories with my daughter, then perfectly preserved stamps that have no memories.

Here's a card I made this morning. When this dsp first came out I loved it, used it a lot. But now it's starting to feel "old" so I figure I better use it quickly before it sits in my paper collection for life!

Recipe:
Stamps: All Holidays, Eastern Blooms
Paper: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, DSP-Green Tea
Ink: Baja Breeze, Old Olive
Other: Baja Breeze Ribbon, 5/16" Neutral brads, Crystal Effects (for the flower center)

Thanks for stopping by, have a great Monday!

Lazy Sunday Afternoons

There's something to be said about those lazy Sunday afternoons. They are so peaceful, so quiet, and make for a perfect time to make cards. This card doesn't really look like an Easter card but I put an Easter greeting on it because I really don't have any Easter cards made yet. I love all the cute Easter stamps sets but I hate spending money on stamp sets I can only use once a year, unless they're Christmas sets, you can never have enough of those.

Recipe:
Stamps: All Holidays, Embrace Life
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, Always Artichoke, DSP-To The Nines
Ink: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black
Other: 5/16" Neutral brads, Grosgrain Ribbon, Nestabilities

Thanks for stopping, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Watercolouring

I love watercolouring, I'm still trying to get it just right with shading and all but I think it's coming along nicely. Here's a quick card that I did a few minutes ago, I created a frame by reverse masking, I used that technique a lot over Christmas so today I wanted to use that technique for a flower card. I think it turned out okay, something that I could easily do at a workshop.

Another good friend of mine has also joined the blog world. She's actually my upline, the demo that I signed up under so you'll definitely want to check out her blog to get ideas. It's on the left hand side under Blogs I Love, it's called MariAnne's papercrafts. Have a look!


Recipe:
Stamps: Morning Soft, Refuge & Strength
Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Watercolour pp
Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand
Other: Clear Rhinestone brads

Thanks for stopping by!

Make & Takes

So I've been busy today brainstorming on what sort of make & takes to have at a workshop that's being held in my home this weekend. There will be beginner stampers there so I wanted something simple and not too overwhelming for them. I think after a day of trial and error, I have found the cards that I'll use. I had horrible lighting in the house today so some of the colours are not showing like they should.

This first card allows stampers to use SU's punches which I love, and you can faintly see the dots on the butterfly which will be embossed with clear embossing powder. New stampers usually love embossing, I was like a giddy teenage when I first learned how to emboss.

Recipe:
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip
Other: Chocolate Chip ribbon, eyelet punch, clear embossing powder

I saw this card on Splitcoaststampers and absolutely fell in love with it. I wish I could give credit but I can't remember who originaly made it. This allows new stampers to once again use our punches, but also try the vellum. I love vellum but I never use it, I finally opened a brand new pack of this stuff to make this card, it adds such a soft touch.

Recipe:
Stamps: All Holidays, Thoughts & Prayers
Paper: Basic Grey, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Vellum Cardstock
Other: Scallop border punch

Thanks for stopping by, have a great evening!

Let's try That Again

I redid the baby card, something about the colour wasn't working for me as well as I wanted it to. So the recipe is exactly the same, just using a different dsp, I think I like this one better.

Have a great day!

Something in the Water

A lot of people I know are having babies, including my sister so I figured maybe it was time to start making a bunch of baby cards. I love baby cards, there's something so cute about them and it reminds me of just how adorable little babies are, not that I want to have another one, lol.

With this card I was going for a soft look, the hands and feet stamps are actually not from Stampin' Up (gasp), I found them at a dollar store for a buck, can't go wrong with that. I am also in love with the kraft taffeta ribbon, the other colours are nice too in the taffeta but the kraft is my favourite by far.

And here's the inside, very simple but I think sometimes simple says it best.

Recipe:
Stamps: Nursery Necessities, dollar store stamp
Paper: Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze, Kraft, DSP-Parisian Breeze
Ink: Baja Breeze
Other: Halfback pearls, kraft taffeta ribbon, eyelet border punch

Thanks for stopping by!

I bought this cute set right away when it first came out thinking I would have so much fun with it. Well it's almost embarassing to admit this was my first time using it. I've struggling with figuring out how I want to use it. Well today I sat down and made myself use it and I actually like this card, I think it's fun and works well together. For the frog, I first stamped it in versamark and then straight into the old olive ink, this keeps the ink wet long enough to allow me to sprinkle clear embossing powder for a nice embossed look. A very easy technique. I also finally used my library clips. Once again I bought those thinking of all the great things I could use them for, and now I hoard them. Shame on me.


And here's the inside of the card. I try to make all my cards with a pretty inside too, it makes the card feel a little more balanced to have weight both in the front piece and back. Plus it makes it look so much more finished.

Recipe:
Stamps: Hoppy For You
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Old Olive, DSP-Maine Blueberry
Ink: Basic Black, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Always Artichoke
Other: Library Clips, Old Olive grasgrain Ribbon, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Have a great day!

Sorry about the lack of posting yesterday, I was having a blue Monday and didn't do a thing. Hopefully that'll be different today. Today's card is a CASE from one of the talented cardmakers over at Splitcoaststampers. I loved the layout of the card and so I chose to case it. I changed the colours but otherwise, it's a copy.

Recipe:
Stamps: Spring Song, Refuge & Strength
Paper: Sahara Sand, So Saffron, Very Vanilla, DSP-Delicate Dots
Ink: Basic Black, So Saffron, Sahara Sand, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue
Other: Halfback Pearls, SAB Ribbon, Generic Vanilla Ribbon, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Embossing folder

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

I am getting ready to have a great evening of scrapbooking. The church we've been attending is having a scrapbooking day from late afternoon until evening, I'm so excited. And a little nervous, we're still so new here that everyone is a stranger to me and meeting new people is always a little nerve wracking, at least for me.

A good friend of mine has decided to join the blogging world. She's a very talented scrapbooker and cardmaker so why not check out her blog if you have a minute. It's listed under my list of blogs that I love, it's called Creating Cards With Tina, very nice.

Here's a quick card I made last night. I'm one of those people that once I find something I love, I'll use it until I'm so sick of it. I do this with everything from baking, clothing, stamps, etc. I've made the same batch of oatmeal cookies now for almost a month, at least one or two batches a week. I know eventually I'll be sick of them and I'll find myself a new recipe to love but for now, it gets made a lot. You've probably noticed that with my cardmaking too, I fall in love with a stamp set or a certain style of card and I'll duplicate it until I'm sick of it. But I'm okay doing things this way, love what you're doing and once you want change, make change.

Recipe:
Stamps: Refuge & Strength
Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Pink Pirouette, Sahara Sand, DSP-Parisian Summer
Ink: Pink Pirouettte, Bravo Burgundy
Other: Bravo Burgundy Ribbon, Halfback pearls, Eyelet border punch

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Do Post or Not to Post

I debated on wether I should even post this card since I really don't care for it, but here it is anyway, in all it's...glory? Sometimes you make a card and everything just seems to fall into place, well that was definitely not the case with this card. I struggled with everything. Oh well, it's not that it's ugly, but just not one that I love.

Recipe:
Stamps: Spring Song
Paper: Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip, DSP-To The Nines
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke, More Mustard
Other: Chocolate Chip ribbon, 5/16" Neutral brads, Nestabilities

Thanks for stopping by, have a great afternoon.

Two cards, one day

Sometimes I think I should get another hobby so I'm not always cardmaking, but then I think why bother, if it's something you enjoy doing it can't be all that bad. Here's another card I made today, it's for today's challenge over at splitcoaststampers, using some sort of stripes on your card. Very easy, I love the ribbon and dsp that you can get now during the SAB promo.

Recipe:
Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Fundamental Phrases
Paper: Kraft, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, DSP-Delicate Dots
Ink: Certainly Celery, Sahara Sand
Other: Rhinestone brads, SAB ribbon, Stitching, Nestabilities

Have a great day!