Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Paper Plunge 22 - Scoring Challenge

Hello again! I've missed the last few weeks at The Paper Plunge - I've gone back to my day job for a couple of months and it's really messing with my crafting time! I'm hoping to get a couple of these in while I'm working, so here's my card for this week's challenge:



I fell in love with this cutie-patootie stamp set as soon as I saw it! I have a friend who's been dealing with some major health issues and tomorrow is her birthday, so I'll be bringing this to her with some flowers. I hope it cheers her up!

I used the Simply Scored Borders Plate to create the "waves" at the bottom, then sponged them with ink to bring them out a bit. I colored in the bunnies with my Blendabilities. Since I only have a couple of color combo sets, I decided to coordinate my colors with the cardstock and DSP. I added the baker's twine bows by piercing holes on either side of the bunny ears and threading the twine through to tie the bows. Now they look a bit more girly! :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Sunday, February 22, 2015

CYCI 58 - Designer's Choice Challenge

Hello again and welcome back! This week's challenge at Can You Case It? is a Designer's Choice - basically, anything goes!


I think these are the hardest challenges for me - I like at least a little bit of guidance, but here goes:



So this week, you get a two-fer! My inspiration for these cards came from something I saw on Pinterest. I just used quarter sheets of cardstock in three different colors, used an edgelit to trim them at staggered lengths, and then used the positive on one card and the negative on the other. Not difficult at all, and no waste! I would have to say that the trickiest part of these cards was lining up the Little Letters Thinlits, but using a layer of wax paper under the dies helped the cardstock pop right out! 




Now that you've seen my cards, and the others designed by the team, why not have a go and enter our challenge this week? I'd love to see what you come up with!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Sunday, February 15, 2015

CYCI 57 - Clean & Quick Challenge

Hello again! I've been gone all week - did you miss me? I've gone back to my day job, so I haven't had as much time as I'd like to play with my crafting toys. I'm back today with my design team card for the challenge at Can You Case It? This week is a Clean & Quick Challenge. 


These seem to be the hardest for me - I like my layers and bling! So here is my card:





I haven't used Wisteria Wonder on a card for quite a while, so I thought I'd try something simple with that color. It's such a soft color - makes me wish for spring!

I dry embossed the bottom half of the top layer with the Large Polka Dot embossing folder, then used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to perfectly place those little round stamps on the circles. If you use a lot of rubber stamps, the SAMJ is an essential tool! I added the scalloped layer and the ribbon and thought I was done, but then I decided it needed some bling, so I added the three rhinestones in the corner. I think they make all the difference!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Sunday, February 8, 2015

CYCI 56 - Color Challenge

Hello and welcome back! This week's challenge at Can You Case It? is a color challenge.


CYCI 56

These colors kind of scream "Valentine," but since I've made a bunch of those over the past few weeks, I felt like I needed to do something different, so here it is:



I've been wanting to ink up this Lotus Blossom set because I've seen lots of beautiful cards made with it. Many of them use two colors of ink to stamp the flower, but I decided to try it with just one. If you want to see how to get this effect, check out this video. I selected this DSP because the design reminded me of the flower, but it was a bit busy for the background, so I softened it with a layer of vellum. It still seemed like too much, so I slipped the half of a doily under the vellum as well. I think it helped a lot.

Did you know that you can get this stamp set for FREE during Sale-A-Bration? As a matter fact, that's the only way you can get it! Just place a $50 order from any current catalog, and you can choose this set as your free item from the Sale-A-Bration flyer. There are also lots of other wonderful stamp sets and accessories that are available for free. Check out my online store, or contact me for a hard copy of the catalogs.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi


Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Blendabilities "Cheat Sheet"

Hello and welcome back! As promised, I've put together a "cheat sheet" showing different hair color and skin tone combinations that can be achieved with the Stampin' Blendabilities markers. I don't have all of the color assortments, but most of them wouldn't have worked for this project anyway (unless you've got a little one with purple hair!). 

I used the darkest two markers from the Skin Tone Assortment and all three from the Daffodil Delight Assortment for the hair color, and then the four lighter colors from the Skin Tones for the face. Another assortment that might work for the hair would be the Crumb Cake markers. 

Here's my chart:



You'll need to take into account that the room light, the camera, and your computer monitor will all affect how these colors look to you, but there are obvious differences. The little guy on the bottom right reminds me of how I used to look in the summer when I was a child - hair bleached blond by the sun and sunburned most of the time!

I hope this chart is helpful to you. This was really the first time I've played with these markers. I think I'll be using them more in the future, and if you'd like to join me, click on the "Shop Now" button on the right, or on the showcase below and order some for yourself! And here's a bonus for you - right now, during Sale-A-Bration, you can choose a Blendabilities assortment as your free item for every $50 you spend! 

You may not be hearing from me quite as often for the next several weeks. I started back at my day job yesterday - I'm a seasonal tax accountant - so I'll be busy until April 15th! I'm still hoping to post at least a couple of times a week, so please bear with me!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Monday, February 2, 2015

Paper Plunge 19 - Ribbon Challenge

Hello again! I'm back with this week's entry for The Paper Plunge challenge. This week is a ribbon challenge - how creative can you be with ribbon? I've done a few unusual things with ribbon in the past, so it was a bit challenging to come up with something new, but I tried my best. And here it is:


Paper Plunge 19

For this challenge, I basically decided that tulle is ribbon! I had a small bolt of white tulle in my stash, so I thought it was time to bring it out. It was originally 6 inches wide, but I trimmed it down. There are 6 pieces that are about 3-1/2 inches wide by 4-1/2 inches high. I ran a gathering stitch across the center horizontally and pulled it tight. I then snipped the tulle toward the center to create "petals." I used a couple of glue dots to attach it to the card front and then added a double fork bow made from the 1/4 inch cotton ribbon to the center of the tulle flower. In these colors, this could be a wedding card, or maybe even a new baby girl card, but you could change up the color scheme to fit any occasion.

I fell in love with this stamp set as soon as I saw it at the Catalog Kickoff! And the bonus is that it is a Sale-A-Bration set, which means that you can get it for FREE with a $50 order from a current catalog. There are lots of other wonderful stamp sets and accessories that you can choose from, so check out my online store or contact me to place your order.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Sunday, February 1, 2015

CYCI 55 - Sketch Challenge

Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for the design team at Can You Case It? We've got a sketch challenge for you this week.



The design team has lots of great ideas - here's mine:


CYCI55

I've been wanting to ink up this stamp set ever since I got it! The Sweetie Pie set with the little girls was cute (and sold out very quickly!), but since I have boys, I was much more drawn to this one. This is also the first time I've used my Blendabilities alcohol markers. The Skin Tone Assortment is perfect for coloring in these little guys!

To make the framed picture, I stamped the round frame on Baked Brown Sugar cardstock with BBS ink and punched it out with the 2-inch circle punch. I stamped the head with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored the face with the Ivory marker and the hair with the Mocha marker. I'm planning to put together a "cheat sheet" with the different skin tones and hair colors for reference, so watch for that! I used the 1-1/2 inch circle framelit to cut out the head and glued it onto the frame circle. I stamped the picture wire with Baked Brown Sugar onto the DSP, added a silver mini brad for the nail, and popped up the frame with dimensionals. Doesn't this DSP look just like wallpaper? All in all, a pretty simple card, but stinkin' cute, don't you think?

I look forward to seeing what you will create!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog