My Little Paleontologist

My project today is a scrapbook layout for the MDS Monday Challenge.  This was a fun layout so I wanted to use some fun pictures.

The challenge was to use a frame on top of one photo to highlight the subject of the picture.  They also offered this great two page spread as inspiration.

My first page shows my son "mining" for precious stones.  He thought it was cool to find things in the dirt (and play with water).  I like the photo layered with the DSP backgrounds. 

They also had some dinosaur figures that he fell in love with, since he loves dinosaurs (he is a boy!).  He took pictures with every size and particularly liked the biggest one.  The offset photos give this page some whimsy that fits that subject matter.

Supplies: MDS, White Stitching, Meant To Be Background Stamp, Day in the Life Embellishments, Day in the Life DSP, Petite Pennant Punch, Get It Done Punch, Hexagon Punch

Paper Pumpkin - SU! New Monthly Craft Kit

Paper Pumpkin is your very own paper fairy godmother (without the white hair).   It's the total package:

• Each kit includes all the stamps, ink, paper, and accessories (everything except adhesive) to create projects like cards, journals, décor, and more!
• The kit comes with all you need for your project cut, measured, and ready—with instructions included. 
• The kit will ship on or around the 15th of the month.   You need to sign up for a kit by the 10th of the month to get that month's kit.  If you sign up on the 11th of the month, your first kit will come the next month. 
• And a free gift in your very first kit!  The Welcome Kit is the very first Paper Pumpkin you will receive in your first month of membership, and it includes a free gift - a clear acrylic block!
• Please list me as your demonstrator, so I know you are getting your goodies.

The Paper Players: Travel Log

I spend most of my time making cards for holidays and birthdays (a lot of birthdays!), so I wanted to make something different today.  Sometimes a card is just a great way to be creative for no reason at all.

The layout was inspired by The Paper Players sketch challenge (#138).  This is a great layered sketch that creates a lot of interest.

When I started looking at all the brush sets and DSP, I thought it would be fun to try to use only one designer kit for the entire card.  I chose the Travel Log set because I just love the map as a background.

The inside of the card is one of my favorite journaling techniques, which is defining a word.  I love the way one word can have many meanings and make a card more meaningful.  Let your creativity go and start your own journey!

Supplies: MDS, Travel Log Designer Kit

Spring Surprise Promotion

Spring is definitely in the air, and we can’t wait to show you all the new products in the 2013–2014 annual catalog. Here’s your pre-sneak peek look at the A Round Array Stamp Set!  From March 15 through May 30, we’ve bundled it with the coordinating 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch (introduced in the 2013 spring catalog)!

Fab Friday 14: Hello!

The challenge on Fab Friday this week is a color challenge.  These are not colors I would normally have put together, so it took some thought.

The spring colors are great now that the weather is warming up.  It was time to break out some flowers and some happy thoughts.

This card is not a traditional A2 size.  Since I was stepping out of my comfort zone with the colors, I decided to try a new size too.

The inside of the card simply mimics the stripes on the front, but in a larger pattern.  When I found this embellishment in MDS that was the exact colors I wanted, I was so excited.

Supplies: MDS (#130193), Celebrate Any Day Embellishments, Creative Elements Brush Set, Pretty Petites Brush Set, So Typefelt Brush Set, Square Punch

Spring Surprise Promotion

Spring is definitely in the air, and we can’t wait to show you all the new products in the 2013–2014 annual catalog. Here’s your pre-sneak peek look at the A Round Array Stamp Set!  From March 15 through May 30, we’ve bundled it with the coordinating 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch (introduced in the 2013 spring catalog)!

FMS77: Cactus for Jean

The card for today was inspired by two different challenges.  The first was a sketch challenge from Freshly Made Sketches (#77). 

 

The sketch is simple and could be done very cleanly or you could add lots of patterns and embellishments. The theme for my card was inspired by Teapot Tuesday on SplitcoastStampers.   You can visit the challenge post to read the story, but the main challenge was to use cactus or flowers.

If you have been following along you know how much I love to make my own DSP.  I used the Secret Garden stamp set, which is quickly becoming one of my favorites, to make the background paper.  Since I did not have anything in a cactus shape, I used ovals and and and embossing folder.

I saw this technique on another card by philsmom on SplitcoastStampers.  You can view her card here.  After punching out the ovals, I ran them through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Folder.  Then I sponged some ink over them to bring out the texture.

Since the idea of the story on Teapot Tuesday was about a cacti that blooms and becomes beautiful, I just had to add a few small flowers to the tops of the cactus.  The background pattern was also chosen for this reason.

And, since I will be sending this card to Jean, I used the background pattern to create a matching envelope.  I hope that this card brightens Jean's day and makes her smile.

Papers: Crumb Cake (#120953), Very Vanilla (#101650), Certainly Celery (#105125), Primrose Petals (#126841)

Inks: Primrose Petals (#126858), Certainly Celery (#126958), Pink Pirouette (#126956)

Stamps: Secret Garden (#129144), Itty Bitty Banners (#126257)

Other Supplies: Very Vanilla Seam Binding (#120999), Basic Pearls (#119247), Extra Large Oval Punch (#119859), Large Oval Punch (#119855), Boho Blossom Punch (#119858), Big Shot (#119439), Perfect Polka Dot Folder (#117335), Oval Framelits (#129381), Very Vanilla Medium Envelopes (#107300)

Secret Garden Bundle (#131099)

Boho Blossom Punch (#119858)

Paper Pumpkin - SU! New Monthly Craft Kit

Paper Pumpkin is your very own paper fairy godmother (without the white hair).   It's the total package:

• Each kit includes all the stamps, ink, paper, and accessories (everything except adhesive) to create projects like cards, journals, décor, and more!
• The kit comes with all you need for your project cut, measured, and ready—with instructions included. 
• The kit will ship on or around the 15th of the month.   You need to sign up for a kit by the 10th of the month to get that month's kit.  If you sign up on the 11th of the month, your first kit will come the next month. 
• And a free gift in your very first kit!  The Welcome Kit is the very first Paper Pumpkin you will receive in your first month of membership, and it includes a free gift - a clear acrylic block!
• Please list me as your demonstrator, so I know you are getting your goodies.

Technique Tuesday: Embossed Vellum

Today's technique is Embossing on Vellum.  Embossing is a great way to enhance the beauty of vellum.  It is a simple technique that can have a big impact.

Heat embossing on vellum is done exactly the same way that it is on paper.  You just want to make sure that you use the lowest heat setting (if your heat tool has that option) and keep it moving.  Vellum can burn much easier than paper.

Once you heat emboss the image on the front of the vellum, you can turn it over and color on it.  Coloring on the back ensures that the color does not smudge on people who touch your work and gives a softness to the color that is elegant.  For this example, one of the flowers was colored and the others were left alone.

The soft vintage look of the vellum seemed to pair perfectly with the Vintage Verses that you can get with your $50 order during Sale-a-bration.  The card was kept simple to highlight the gorgeous technique.

Update 3/13/2013: Just entered this in still addINKtive's Spot That Stamp Set challenge.  Too see other projects with the Secret Garden and Hearts A Flutter sets visit them here.

Papers: Crumb Cake (#120953), River Rock (#108640), White Vellum (#101856)
Inks: VersaMark (#102283), Cherry Cobbler (#126966)
Stamps: Secret Garden (#129144), Vintage Verses (SAB #129636)
Other Supplies: Secret Garden Framelits (#129372), White Embossing Powder (#109132), Heat Tool (#129053), Blender Pens (#102845)

Secret Garden Bundle (#131099)

Paper Pumpkin - SU! New Monthly Craft Kit

Paper Pumpkin is your very own paper fairy godmother (without the white hair).   It's the total package:

• Each kit includes all the stamps, ink, paper, and accessories (everything except adhesive) to create projects like cards, journals, décor, and more!
• The kit comes with all you need for your project cut, measured, and ready—with instructions included. 
• The kit will ship on or around the 15th of the month.   You need to sign up for a kit by the 10th of the month to get that month's kit.  If you sign up on the 11th of the month, your first kit will come the next month. 
• And a free gift in your very first kit!  The Welcome Kit is the very first Paper Pumpkin you will receive in your first month of membership, and it includes a free gift - a clear acrylic block!
• Please list me as your demonstrator, so I know you are getting your goodies.

Subway Art Challenge

Today I am trying a scrapbook challenge for MDS.  Running With Scissors Stamper has a new MDS challenge every Monday.  The challenge this week was to use Subway Art.  Subway Art is essentially just using related words in various fonts and sizes to fill an area.  For my page I chose a photo from my wedding and then used words that I related to marriage.

Using the provided sketch was optional, but I think it is a beautiful layout to focus on one photo.  The options are really endless as you could use any colors or patterns you want or you could rotate the sketch for a landscape photo.

Some of the words I used came from the Meant to Be Brush Set and the others I just made text boxes and used different fonts.  You can find a wide range of free fonts online to fit any theme. 

Supplies: MDS2 (#130910), Meant to Be Brush Set, Dotted Scallop Border Punch, Scalloped Oval Punch

Meant To Be Brush Set (not all stamps represented)

Paper Pumpkin - SU! New Monthly Craft Kit

Paper Pumpkin is your very own paper fairy godmother (without the white hair).   It's the total package:

• Each kit includes all the stamps, ink, paper, and accessories (everything except adhesive) to create projects like cards, journals, décor, and more!
• The kit comes with all you need for your project cut, measured, and ready—with instructions included. 
• The kit will ship on or around the 15th of the month.   You need to sign up for a kit by the 10th of the month to get that month's kit.  If you sign up on the 11th of the month, your first kit will come the next month. 
• And a free gift in your very first kit!  The Welcome Kit is the very first Paper Pumpkin you will receive in your first month of membership, and it includes a free gift - a clear acrylic block!
• Please list me as your demonstrator, so I know you are getting your goodies.

Double Challenge Card

Today's card is a combination of two challenges.  The first challenge is a sketch challenge from the Paper Craft Crew (#32).

My take on this sketch uses an embossed background rather than DSP and more abstract embellishment.  The overall feel of the card is soft and vintage, and I wanted to honor that.  I decided to make a friendship card.

The colors for the card are from the Pals Paper Arts color challenge (#154).  The soft pinks with the crumb cake seemed to match the vintage sketch and made them a perfect match.

To complete the vintage feel of this card I used a pearls.  The decreasing size of the pearls gives a soft feeling that matches the colors.  What would you do with these?

Supplies: MDS2 (#130910), Meant to Be Brush Set, Bloomin Marvelous Brush Set, Artistic Etchings Brush Set, Flag Punch, Perfect Pennant Punch, Oval Punch, Circle Punch, Sweet Details DSP, Pearl Embellishments

Perfect Pennant Punch

Sweet Details DSP

NEW Photopolymer Stamps

We've searched long and hard for just the right material to be able to introduce completely clear stamping. And we've found it.  Our top-quality photopolymer has just enough give to create a perfectly stamped image every time and with the introduction of our firm-foam pads, let's just say they're meant for each other!  Just click on the photo below to see the first set.

Fab Friday #13: Get Well

A simple Get Well card with a vintage feel is the creation for today.  The inspiration was the Fab Friday Sketch Challenge #13.  My version has been turned, but still leaves all the elements in place.

This is a spring inspired card sketch that keeps it clean and simple.  Any shape and background can be used, so it is very versatile.

I paired some vintage DSP with soft colors to make a vintage Get Well card. The sentiment was placed on a punch that resembles a doily to continue the theme. 

Supplies: MDS2 (#130910), First Edition DSP, Downtown Grunge DSP, Flag Punch, Perfect pennant Circle Punch, Delightful Dozen Brush Set

First Edition DSP

Delightful Dozen Brush Set