Garden in Bloom - Fab Friday #85

The weather has been so warm that last couple of days I'm almost hoping that spring has finally arrived.
The card I did for the Fab Friday challenge is a spring scene, with butterflies, flowers and bees and is from the stamp set "Garden in Bloom"

 

The first thing I stamped was the sentiment, which I stamped in the centre using the stamp-a-ma-jig.  The other images were stamped around it.
So, around this sentiment, on Whisper White piece, , I stamped yellow and brown butterflies (2 step stamping), pink and red roses with green leaves.  And to top it off, 2 bumble bees which were stamped separately, cut out and adhered in 2 different places.
For bling, I added some In Colour Assortment sequins.  On the bees wings, I put some dazzling details, which made the wings look almost translucent.

The Whisper White focal piece was matted with Top Top Taupe, with a 1/2 piece of White Paper Doillie attached underneath it at the bottom.
Near the top, I placed a strip of Rose Red carstock notched at both ends.  Underneath that a Smaller strip in Tip Top Taupe both notched at each end as well.

The matted image piece was attached to the card front using dimensionals.

Supplies Used:
Stamp: Garden in Bloom
Inks:Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Tip Top Taupe, Blushing Bride, Rose Red, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Always artichoke, Basic Black
Papers: Hello Honey, Tip Top Taupe, Whisper White, Rose Red, English Garden DSP
Accessories: Doillie, In Color Sequins, dimensionals

Evergreen Noel - The Friday Mashup 120

Well, it's Christmas in July at the Friday Mashup here and that suits me just fine as I have already started making my Christmas cards. Not only is the challenge to make a Christmas card, but to use stripes as well.

Technique: I used the 2 step stamping method and the stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp the Christmas tree.  Then I added dazzling diamonds.
The image was die cut using the ovals framelits and backed with an Old Olive Apothecary label die cut.  The oval die cut was pricked using a pattern, mat pack and paper piercer.

Stamps: Evergreen, Greetings of the Season
Inks: Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Real Red
Papers: Old Olive, Whisper White, Real Red, Season of Style DSP
Accessories: Polka Dot embossing folder, Ovals framelit, Apothecary Accents franelit, Mat pack and paper piercer, dazzling diamonds, stamp-a-ma-jig, Red Glimmer Brads, 1/8" Real Red taffeta ribbon, scallop border punch, Frosted finishes embellishment, dimensionals

The Secret of Life ... Paper Players #151

I retired from my day job 13 years ago, and have not regretted one moment of it.  James Taylor had it right when he said "The secret of life is enjoying the passing of time".  So for all of you who are retired, or thinking of retiring, this card is for you.  I used the sketch challenge with the Paper Players here to create this card.

 

I started by creating the flowers and leaves  using the two stamp method of stamping and the stamp-a-ma-jig.  The two colours I used for the flowers:  Pool Party and Island Indigo - for the leaves: Pear Pizzazz and Old Olive.  These were then cut out and put aside while I assembled the rest of the card.

The sentiment was stamped with Basic Black ink onto Whisper White and die cut using the Labels framelit.  The top portion was cut off.

The base card is Pool Party, layered with Whisper White and then a blue patterned retired SU DSP.

The sentiment die was attached to the card and a piece of 3/8" white taffeta ribbon adhered to the top of the die cut sentiment. A piece of ribbon tied in a knot was attached near the flowers.

The flowers and leaves were then attached as shown in the card above - the flowers with dimensionals, and the leaves with glue.  Tiny pearls were inset into the large flower center; one tiny pearl in the center of the small flower with dazzling diamonds around it.

Materials used:

Stamps:  From my Heart, Stippled Blossoms

Inks: Basic Black, Island Indigo, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive

Papers: Pool Party, Whisper White, Retired DSP

Accessories: Labels Framelits, 3/8" white taffeta ribbon, Pearls, Dazzling diamonds, dimensionals

Madison Avenue Thanks - Unscripted Sketches #201

I had to think about the sketch challenge with Unscripted Sketches here for a while, turning the sketch this way and that, until finally deciding on an approach I would use.  I decided to turn the sketch on its side.
Here is my card:

 

The base of the card is Whisper White, followed by a layer of Rich Razzleberry, and then a layer of Whisper White which had been stamped with the background stamp "Distressed Dots" and Summer Starfruit ink.

The two image panels were adhered to the polka dot background.

Each image panel was a combination of DSP and a stamped image.  I attached a small piece of  scalloped Rich Razzleberry cardstock between the two just to give the card a bit more interest.  The stamp-a-ma-jig was used to stamp the floral image above the leaves, and to place the center of the flower.  I haven't used the stamp-a-ma-jig much in all the years I've had it, but now that I'm getting more comfortable using it, I find I'm using it more.

Stamps: Madison Avenue(SAB), Petite Pairs, Distressed Dots

Inks: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Summer Starfruit

Papers: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Sycamore Street DSP, Old Olive

Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Scallop border punch, 3/4 by 15/16 oval punch, 1 3/4 by 7/8" oval punch, Word window punch, pearls, dimensional.

Watercolor Winter - The Paper Players #114

It's been a while since I've done 2 step stamping, and I must admit I was a bit rusty.  However, I'm pleased with the way this card, done for the Paper Players Challenge here  , turned out.

 

Stamps:  Watercolor Winter, Petite Pairs

Inks: Cherry Cobbler, Real Red, Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Basic Black

Papers: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Be of Good Cheer designer paper

Accessories: 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, rhinestones, Starburst folder, Mat pack & Paper piercer.