Shabby Chic - CASE

Hello!  Here's a card I made, inspired by Nina B Designs here.  I loved her cards - the shabby chic feel was so pretty, and the soft colours and the beautiful stamps.  I didn't have any of the stamps she used, so I had to improvise (and add them to my wish list!).  I used a large flower stamp from Stampin' Up for the background, stamped in Hero Arts Soft Pink.  Then I added solid leafy stamp at the top (Stamping Bella) and the border stamp at the bottom (Papertrey Ink).  These were embossed in Seafoam white before sponging the card with Antique Linen, Vintage Photo and Victorian Velvet.  The ribbon is silk, from my stash and the dotted accents on the border are Orchid liquid pearls.  The main image is matted on kraft, then vanilla, and the card base is a pretty pinky purple from Papertrey Ink, and is stamped with the same flower as the background. Sauron the Scanner squashed the ribbon, but in real life it has a nice lively bounce to it.

Well, I'd better sign off for the evening.  I have to get to bed - I have two very special stampers coming over tomorrow morning for a stamping playdate!  I can't wait.  I've cleaned off my stamp table to make room for visitors and tried to remind myself where everything is.  I have my stamps in all different places, paper in all different places, it's a bit of a crazy system but it's a combination of where things will fit and what things I need to keep separate, etc.  Also, the time I spend looking for stuff helps remind me of what things I have, so I find that helpful.  And enjoyable.  It's not the sort of stamp room that someone super-organized would like.  If you are the kind of person that files your stamp according to the Library of Congress system, then you would be horrified and/or baffled by my system: Stampin' Up boxes in one cupboard, other wood mounts in a drawer cabinet.  Cling stamps hanging by clips, in binders, in Tupperware boxes, in DVD cases, in more Tupperware boxes, in a vintage metal card catalogue.  You get the idea.  The cling stamps are the wild card, but also the most fun to rifle through.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you get some time to stamp this weekend too.

Where are the buttons?

This is why I don't plan my cards. I have a bag full of buttons from my LSS that I wanted to use. (She had a bucket on the counter, $2 a scoop and I was in there with my DD and we went to twon with two whole scoops). All three Daley girls have been having fun playing with these buttons so I thought it was time to put them on paper. I had in mind some sort of flower card, with button centres. I got out my PTI flowers, which have such nice button-ready centres. But when the card was done, it really felt done without the buttons. I think the buttons would have been too much. This was my first time stamping (other than just looking at the colours) with my new Memento Inks. They work beautifully with these clear stamps. I'm very pleased. The only "embellishment" is two scored lines along the top and bottom of the card. I made a matching envelope. The card is 6 x 3 /4" and fits in SU's small open-ended envelope. I really like this size of card. It's a great shape to work with.

I think the Daley girls (jr., and sr., truth be told) will be happy that their stock is undepleted!

Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies: Stamps: Beautiful Blooms and Text Boxed (Papertrey Ink); Ink: Memento: Tangelo, Angel Pink, Lilac Posies, Rose Bud, Bamboo Leaves, New Sprout, Dandelion, Canteloupe. Other: Scor-It.

Baptism card

My friend's baby daughter will be baptized on Sunday so I wanted to make her a special card for the occasion. I cracked open my new Papertrey Ink set called Everyday Blessings as well as another new (to me) Easter polymer set. I had a bit of free time this afternoon (well, not really, but I took it anyway) so I let myself play with my inks and stamps. This card is the last of several iterations and my recycle bin is looking fairly colourful at the moment :-)

I did the background with my stylus, foam tips and chalk inks, and just stamped the small filigree circle image here and there in a couple of shades. The cross is stamped in Blue Iris on some orchid lava paper (from Heather's Stamping Haven) and cut out. I mounted it on a panel of soft sky on which I stamped The Lord's Prayer from my Easter set. It's a bit cobbled because the original cruciform stamp was smaller than my panel, but I just wanted the effect anyway. "Blessings" is also from the Easter set and I only inked that portion of the "Easter Blessings" stamp (sneaky!).

And, yes, I know the brads are off centre, but this was the fourth time I dismantled the card front and I wasn't going to do it again. The ribbon was tinted with Lime Pastel ink to match and heat set with my iron. The card itself is one of my Memory Box duplex sheets that my aunt brought me from Seattle. Now I only have half a sheet left (sniff, sniff). I'm not sure what colour it is, possibly chartreuse or similar.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: Stamps: Everyday Blessings - Papertrey Ink, Easter Sentiments - My Sentiments Exactly; Paper: soft sky, blue bayou, orchid lava paper, chartreuse Memory Box duplex cardstock; Ink: chalk ink (Colorbox and Versamagic in shades too numerous to remember but lime pastel, spring pansy, Aegean blue, warm violet, ice blue, and blue iris come to mind); Other: sheer ribbon, square brads, colorbox stylus and foam tips.