Sunshine~~

"Sunshine, on my shoulder, makes me happy!"  Remember that oldie but goodie!  Something about this Sunflower stamp makes me think of that song!  Was it John Denver?


I found this big stamp a little challenging to ink up.  It is large enough that you need to lay it down face up and hold the ink pad to coat it.  But patting or tapping the ink pad doesn't get very good coverage, so pressing and twisting is required, but then I get lines that I can't make go away completely.  I had to do this one several times.  It is probably less noticeable on a slightly darker color of CS, but it was a challenge on Vanilla.  Worth the effort, but challenging.


I used Soft Suede ink on the vanilla CS and matted on Soft Suede CS.  Then I used the dotted ribbon punch to create toe faux ribbon on the front with Daffodil Delight CS.  Oval punches finished it off.  I found this lovely card in the gallery over on SCS by stamperjeno.  Thanks!  Simple and fun!


Don't forget it is mail-a-card-Monday!

~~Blessings~~

Shelli

Oh Summer, where for art thou?

I never wish away summer, but I always wish away winter....so I am not really ready for fall yet because that means winter is right behind it.  Having lived most of my life in San Diego, I much prefer warm temperatures.  I think snow is wonderful and pretty, from inside the house or on TV.   I lived six years in the high altitudes and dealt with snow so much that I am "over" snow.  I like to say that snow and wind (we get a ton of wind here in my little valley) are 4 letter words.  Please don't say them.


I do, however, like to make fall cards!  I like the colors and the leaves and the calmness of them. I liked the card on SCS by picard76 a lot, so I came up with my own version.  The SS is french Foliage, and the colors for ink are Old Olive, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, and Chocolate Chip. I started with Very Vanilla CA.  The main focal point has a square of Mustard ink in it.  Wonder how I did that?  I took my square clear stamp block and applied ink directly to the block.  When pressed to the CS you get a look that is soft and almost fuzzy.  Then I added the leaves and so on.  


Happy Sunday, may you be blessed and loved!  

~~Blessings~~

Shelli

Fall is in the air~~

What a week it's been for me.  Sorry I haven't posted much, but then I suppose you're used to my random spurts of posting!


I CASed this one from SCS!  The three pieces of CS are Old Olive, More Mustard and Cajun Craze.  I ran them thru the Cuttlebug with an embossing folder to give them some dimension.  The leaves are stamped on the Very Vanilla CS in the same colors of ink plus Chocolate Chip.  I like the look of torn paper, so that what I did along the top!  Lastly I added some linen thread tied around the end of the Vanilla piece~~


That's about it, very simple and fast.  The finished card size is 5.5 x 3.5  A fun new size to work with!


Stamp Club today girls!  See ya later!

~~Blessings~~

Shelli

Reverse Masking!~~

 Hi there!  I have been playing with French Foliage this week as the fall temps have been showing themselves.  It seemed appropriate!


This technique warrants the blog post!


This is reverse masking!  I cut a 2.75 x 2.75 inch square from the center of a 4.25 x 5.5 piece of CS by first cutting a 2.75 inch square of CS.  Then I used an Exacto knife to cut around the square which I had adhered to a 4.25 x 5.5 piece of CS.( I did it that way to be sure that when I centered the square onto the card front I was stamping on, that it would be truly centered.)   I then placed a small amount of adhesive onto the mask to hold it in place, and laid it onto the Vanilla CS I would be stamping on.  Then I sponged, with Pumpkin Pie ink, into the square.  Then I added the leaves and dots and whatnot while the mask was still in place. When I removed the mask, I got the nice square full of images you see!  (clear as mud?)


There is Pumpkin Pie CS behind the main image, but it's the Pumpkin ink I don't care for.  It came out to orangy.  Maybe if I had used More Mustard.....anyway, the technique is cool!  Check out www.Splitcoaststampers.com for a tutorial!


More French Foliage cards to come!  Stamp a little today k?

~~Blessings~~

Shelli

The little things~~

I tried another card with the FTL #156 from the CAS blog!

I used my Cuttlebug narrow strip embossing folder to create the pattern behind the circle image.  I used my tiny circle punch to create the Pumpkin Pie circles inside the flowers on the embossing!  The color combo came from the Color Coach, and I added Crumb Cake for a neutral.  Once again, my $1 bin greetings hit the mark!

Have you ever seen an item of clothing on someone and thought, "that would make a great card!"  I have!  Next time that happens, stop and jot down some notes......what colors were in the clothing, what stamp set do I have that would be great for that?  Then put those notes with your craft stuff and when you need some inspiration, ta-da!

Happy Wednesday to ya~~~

~~Blessings~~

Shelli

Birds and Bees'----without the bees~~

I really like going to the CAS blog for inspiration, because when I do, about 1/3 of the thinking is done for me!  I can create an original, but I don't need to figure out where to put stuff!  I just choose colors and stamps and go! So many times I find a cute card to CASe, but I like it so much that I don't really make it mine.  I just copy, and I am pretty good at that!  But with the CAS blog, it is more my creation!  Capeesh?

I used the new In Color, Pool Party for the base.  The color selection came from the Color Coach, and I added So Saffron and Not Quite Navy.  The bird is from PTI and the sentiment is from my score at the $1 bin last week!  Aren't they great!

The CS and ink are, of course, SU!  

This is FTL #156 on CAS.  Some have used ribbon for the narrow strip behind the circle, some have used DSP, I went with stamping!  I have these great circle border stamps from PTI that I rarely use, cuz I don't really know what to do with them.  But they were perfect for today!

Tomorrow I will have another card to show you using the same layout.  I actually have a library of sketches on my computer that I refer to when I need something to start with!  Try it!

~~ Blessings ~~

Shelli

Dude!~~

While blog surfing yesterday, I came across THIS card by Julie D.!  I knew I could recreate it, and it was so great that I made just a few changes.........go see!

I was especially impressed by her reverse "kissing" technique. After I inked the skateboarder guy with Soft Suede ink, I used the dotted stamp from Extreme Elements and pressed it onto the inked skateboarder, this lifted some of the ink off and created the cool look you see there!

The circles are Lucky Limeade as is the ink on them.  My little happy birthday greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (if you don't own it, you should!)

I am enjoying a day off work today and so is my hubby!  We almost never have time off together so I am looking forward to it~~what fun things will you do with your family today?

Here is a parting shot of my Granbaby!  He will be 18 months tomorrow and he LOVES Thomas The Train!  I get to see him later this month and I CAN'T wait!

~~Blessings~~

Shelli 

The Camera Returns~~!

 Well, when my camera finally returned from Disneyland, it's memory chip would not allow us to add any new photos, and it took me a couple weeks to get "into town" to get a new one......the joys of living in the sticks!

It's all the same I guess since I have been working a lot of extra hours and haven't really been stamping anyway......just the tiniest little bit!

I knew when I saw  it that the Berry Blossoms DSP was a must have!  I adore the rich colors in this set!  Don't forget, it's okay to stamp on DSP, as I have done here.......there is no law against it!

I used the layout from the CAS blog, #155.  

My CS is Calypso Coral with Espresso and Lucky Limeade and a hint of Wisteria Wonder.  Great colors!




 Here is a closeup of the words on the DSP.  I hit pay dirt at my LCS last week!  I found 10 awesome stamps in the $1 bin!  Woo hoo!  I was excited, AND I had a gift card from my recent birthday, so even better right!

Even though Monday is a holiday in the US, it is still Mail-A-Card-Monday!  The postman will have to wait til Tuesday to pick it up, but you can still mail it!

~~Blessings~~

Shelli