Shabby squares
Posted: July 10, 2010 Filed under: Best Yet, CAS 1 Comment
I have set the sponges aside for now and returned to a favourite element for cards: a collection of squares. I have done this type of layout before, inspired by Susan at Simplicity. Last time I did it I only used three squares plus a sentiment and kept them in line with each other. I decided to intentionally have them out of line and a little shabby around the edges. The paper was a beautiful paint speckled piece sitting in the stash from long ago. I used Celery, Lovely Lilac and Pixie Pink on the sentiment.
Supplies:
Stamps: Best is Yet
Inks: Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac and Pixie Pink
Cardstock: Confetti White
Also: 1 3/8″ Square punch
The Pine line
Posted: November 7, 2009 Filed under: Best Yet, Gifts of Christmas, Patterned Pines 4 Comments
This is the third card out of the four I designed for the workshop. For some reason, rather than just stamping the three tree stamp in the centre of the white panel, I felt the need to run the image off both the sides of the panel so I stamped half the stamp on one side and then re-inked and stamped again on the other side. My friend who was demonstrating this one for me at the next table always started her demonstration by telling the ladies they could do it my way or the simpler way! I don’t blame her, it also looked just fine stamped in the centre!
Not much more to say really, I’m looking forward to doing a bit more with this set, maybe cutting out the trees, stamping them in different colours and spreading them around a bit.
Supplies:
Stamps: Patterned Pines, Best Yet
Inks: Real Red, Handsome Hunter
Cardstock: Real Red, Handsome Hunter, Whisper White
The fourth card is a little different again. I wasn’t sure I liked it at first, but several friends assured me that it appealed to them so I went ahead.
I cut along the stripes of the Dejardin designer paper for my decorative strip and then just matted my image once and stuck a knotted piece of ribbon on with a glue dot. All the cards for the workshop were fairly simple but that meant that four cards were easily completed by the women and girls who came, some of whom are not stampers. And there was plenty of time for chatting too. I really enjoyed the night as I have done for the last few years. I hope to do another similar night at the church in the new year making a selection of cards.
Thanks so much for dropping in.
Supplies:
Stamps: Gifts of Christmas
Inks: Always Artichoke
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Le Jardin Designer paper, Almost Artichoke, River Rock
Also: Artichoke grosgrain ribbon
Simple indeed
Posted: April 4, 2009 Filed under: Best Yet, CAS, Itty Bitty Buds 8 Comments
I came across two very appealing blogs this week, featuring Clean and Simple, totally classy cards: Simplicity by Late Blossom and New England Stamper. I didn’t have much time last night to stamp, but it had been a week since I’d even touched my stamps so they were calling to me. CAS was the way to go. I used the very clever ribbon technique described by Susan on this post and the stamps from the Itty Bitty Buds hostess set.
Supplies:
Stamps: Itty Bitty Buds, Best Yet
Inks: Elegant Eggplant, Glorious Green
Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, Glorious Green, Whisper White, Confetti White
Also: Stampin’ dimensionals, Green grosgrain ribbon
Glimpse of Spring
Posted: February 26, 2009 Filed under: Best Yet, Garden silhouettes, Stamp Simply challenges 17 Comments
Today is my last day as guest designer for Sharon’s Stamp Simply Challenge at No Time to Stamp. I have enjoyed myself immensely. Thanks, Sharon and your wonderful design team for the opportunity to join in the fun.
Stamp Simply challenge #76 is to provide a remedy for Cabin Fever. We need to see some spring. I don’t know what it is like where you are but the ground is still well and truly snow covered where I am! The temperature today did rise above zero today, though, so some would say spring must be on it’s way.
This is one of those cards I designed in my head and then when I came to try it out it actually worked out! Sometimes I can see a design clearly in my head and no matter what I do I cannot make it happen on cardstock. To make the spring scene I first cut an oval out of cardstock with my Creative memory cutters. I used the piece with the oval missing to make a mask, laying it on my white cardstock and stamping, then sponging everything except the sentiment without moving the mask.
I used the blossom stamp from Garden Silhouettes which is a favourite set of mine. Using the Rose Red, Regal Rose, Bravo Burgandy and Always Artichoke markers I coloured directly onto the stamp. The flowers were done with Regal Rose, but I added a centre dots with Bravo Burgandy and a few highlights on the edges with Rose Red. The leaves and stems were all Artichoke. It sounds fiddly but it onlytook me about 10 minutes to colour and stamp, this is the Stamp Simply challenge after all. I sponged Pretty in Pink and Mellow Moss around the oval edges. After removing the mask I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to place my sentiment exactly where I wanted it.
(Just for the record, I did try to add ribbon, on the white, on the green, in bows or knots or just flat, but I couldn’t make it improve the composition at all!)
Don’t forget to check out the design team’s spring inspirations:
Dee, Tammy, Janine, AJ, Jennifer, Julie and Sharon
Supplies:
Stamps: Garden Silhouettes, Best Yet
Inks: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Bravo Burgandy and Always Artichoke Markers, Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Whisper White
Also: Creative Memories oval cutters
Beyond Quick
Posted: December 20, 2008 Filed under: Best Yet, Designer Paper 1 Comment
Sharon’s challenge this week is exactly what I was doing anyway, so it just spurred me on. I dropped in on the her guest designers too and picked up more ideas. Her challenge was to make a card so simple that you could make six in 30 minutes. I didn’t time myself but I made eleven last night, some like the ones above and some like the Wintergreen I posted the other day. I haven’t used Sage Shadow in ages, but I really like the crisp, snowy look the card has. But rather than make them all the same I pulled out my favourite Christmas combination Cerise designer paper, with vanilla and red!
The punches are the key to making this card quickly. The designer paper squares are punched with the 1¼” and the mattes with the 1 3/8″ punch. For the stars I used the SU small star punch. That’s it.
Supplies:
Stamps: Best Yet
Inks: Sage Shadow, Real Red
Cardstock: Whisper White, Sage Shadow, Wintergreen d.p., Very Vanilla, Real Red, Cerise d.p.
Also: square punches, star punch
Keeping it simple
Posted: November 5, 2008 Filed under: Best Yet, Snowflakes 1 Comment
Last time I posted I mentioned that I had a little challenge for myself. As I homeschool my three children I rarely find time for anything but lessons, preparation and marking during the week. Add to that the meals, washing etc and you have an idea of my schedule. I decided that this week I would try to make a simple card each night, one that was finished in less than 30 minutes. Well, I didn’t get to it Monday, but Tuesday night I did, and it was completed in a fairly short time.
I will probably use this one for a Christmas card making night I am organizing for ladies at my church. I began by embossing a few snowflakes in clear e.p. Then I sponged over them with Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue and Almost Amethyst. Lastly I stamped some more snowflakes using the same inks. The ribbon is blue organza.
Supplies:
Stamps: Snowflakes, Best Yet
Inks: Versamark, Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Almost Amethyst
Cardstock: Whisper white, Ballet Blue
Also: Clear e.p., Blue organza ribbon
Star Wreath
Posted: October 22, 2008 Filed under: Best Yet, Designer Paper 2 Comments
This is a simple way to make a wreath using the small star punch from Stampin’ Up. To give myself a guide circle I pressed the lid of a container of eyelets into the versmark and stamped it onto the card. Then I punched out stars from the red and green designer paper in the Bella Rose pack, glued them down and added a hemp twine bow. Last year I also made star wreath cards by punching stars out of old Christmas cards.
Supplies:
Stamps: Best Yet
Inks: Riding Hood Red
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Bella Rose designer paper
Also: Red Hemp twine
Heather Telford 
