Exploring Shabby Chic

Posted on by
1

I’ve been exploring the concept of style.  There are a lot of things I’m attracted to, but I don’t see myself defined by any one type.  We know I’m not a classic “Clean and Simple” kind of person – much as I admire the look, I can’t seem to embrace it in my crafting.  Shabby Chic, however, is a style I can play with.   Last night I started looking at paper roses again and got the idea to put them on a box.

Cranberry Rose Matchbox

  • Certainly Celery and Cranberry Crisp (retired) cardstock; Retired Designer Series Paper
  • Big Shot, Matchbox Bigz die,  Perfect Details Texturz Plate, and Little Leaves Sizzlet
  • Scallop, 1 1/4″, 1″ and 3/4″ circle punches
  • Piercing tool, mat and silver brads
  • Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon and Mini Glue dots

It seems I can fiddle around with those crazy paper roses forever, but I like them best if I  just mash them up and leave them alone.  The ribbon seems a little top-heavy to me, but Shabby Chic is definitely a “more is more” kind of thing so I left it.  I could even see a little tulle and some seed pearls on this, but heaven knows where those things are right now – my craft things are still in chaos while I settle into my new space.  The stamping things are all in one room, at least, and if I look long enough I find what I want.  The beads, fabrics and embroidery supplies are another story altogether.  Shabby Chic is supposed to be a little messy, isn’t it?

Never enough birthday cards

Posted on by
Reply

Have you checked out the Stampin’ Addicts web site?  It’s a wonderful FREE resource for anyone who likes stamping, especially Stampin’ Up! stamping!  There are discussion forums, inspiration galleries, all sorts of weekly challenges, and a very positive attitude that will lift your spirits every time you log in.  Check it out!  They’re celebrating their first birthday.

It’s a good thing to need birthday cards – it means there are wonderful people in your life that you want to acknowledge.  I just wish I could get my act together sufficiently to send birthday cards on time.  Ah well.  As Popeye says, “I yam what I yam.”  And I “yam” sure there will always be room for improvement.

  • Upsy Daisy and Vintage Labels (SAB) stamp sets
  • Chocolate Chip and Bermuda Bay Classic ink pads
  • Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron and Bermuda Bay card stock
  • Scallop Circle and 1″ Circle Punch
  • Champagne Mist shimmer paint, piercing tool, needle and Linen Thread

You don’t see the shimmer paint in the photo, but it’s there on the image panel, trust me.  Love that stuff.  It’s done wonders for my marriage, too — now, don’t go getting ideas — my husband HATES glitter.  Shimmer paint is the Anti-Glitter that keeps us both happy!  No more glitter in the furniture finish, correspondence or laundry!

Playing with color

Posted on by
1

We all have our favorites in the color world, and we have our favorite ways of combining those colors too.  The Stampin’ Up! color families make it easy to put colors together by organizing them into pleasing groups.  It’s soothing to work with those comfortable combinations – color evokes an emotional response in most of us, and seeing something in our favorite colors evokes happy thoughts.

It’s a challenge to stretch myself beyond my favorites but I keep working at it.  Sometimes I like the results, and sometimes they make me wince, but I’m learning to see color in new ways.  There’s  a basket full of scraps on my craft table (what a surprise!) and lately I’ve been pulling handfuls of scraps out to play with.  I arrange and re-arrange the scraps, bringing one color forward and another back to adjust the proportions of colors until I have something I want to work with.

Vintage Vogue Scripted Birthday

  • Vintage Vogue and Well Scripted Clear Mount stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery and So Saffron card stock
  • Certainly Celery and Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink pads
  • Rich Razzleberry polka dot grosgrain ribbon
  • Big Shot and Beautiful Wings embosslit

I came very close to making a big ol’ bow with that Rich Razzleberry ribbon, but this card was for a workshop and I wasn’t sure if a bow would through the new crafters too much of a curve ball.  I’ve seen a lot of really big bows lately and in all honesty, that’s not my style.  I would have probably ripped off the bow and changed it to a nice, flat square knot.  Playing with color is enough for one card – messing with bows will have to wait for another day.  Or maybe not at all.

Elegant and Easy Notes

Posted on by
5

A few weeks ago I came across a black and white card with a single color accent.  It was so appealing to me that it has stayed on my mind.  Sometimes an idea just won’t go away, and this one was very persistent.  Last night I had time to play with it, and it took me no time to come up with this:

  • Vintage Vogue Clear Mount Stamp set
  • Basic Black Classic ink pad and Stampin’ Write Journaler
  • Whisper White,  Melon Mambo, Bashful Blue and So Saffron card stock
  • Big Shot and Beautiful Wings Embosslit
  • Mini Glue dots

The colors I used with black and white were drawn – literally – from a jar of Beautiful Wings Butterflies I have in my craft room.  I never seem to use all the butterflies that embosslit makes, and I can’t bear to throw them away so they collect in a jar.

This card would be very easy to reproduce in quantity, especially if you changed the stamp to a wheel.  As it was, I made a dozen of these in about 20 minutes.  Each note card is made from a quarter sheet of card stock and is just the right size for a quick thank you or invitation.

One last Valentine

Posted on by
2

I’ve saved this post because it was the Valentine I gave my wonderful husband, and it didn’t seem right to post it before he received it.  The idea came from Becky Roberts, whose projects I continue to CASE with reckless abandon.  I fell for this folder as soon as I saw it, and thought it would make a great club project.  Once I developed my own sample, I realized it would not only be a great club project, but would work perfectly for my Valentine.  Here’s the outside:

Valentine Coupon booklet

This uses the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set (don’t forget $2 from the sale of each set goes to the American Red Cross through February 28) and the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel. There’s also the Big Shot with the Scallop Circles #2 and Originals Circles #2 dies. I used the Full Heart, Heart to Heart, and Scallop Trim Border punches as well, and finished with the Real Red 1/2″ Striped Grosgrain ribbon.

Here’s the inside:

Open Valentine Folder with Tags

Isn’t it clever?  There’s a small Cello Bag attached with Sticky Strip to each side, and I can fit two little tags inside each bag.  You could use the tags as gift tags, but I was inspired to make the tags into coupons.  Each one has a little message on the back, and he can redeem them as he likes.  The possibilities for this idea are endless.

Here are the tags a little closer:

First two tags

I’ve used 5/8″ Satin Ribbon from the Occasions mini on all of the tags, and incorporated the Sending Love Specialty Designer Series Paper as well.

Here are the other two tags:

Second set of tags

These tags use the brand new XL Two Step Bird punch and the fabulous Beautiful Wings Embosslit for the Big Shot.  All these goodies made this project really easy to put together.

If there’s enough interest, I’ll put together a tutorial with dimensions and more instructions.  Becky said in her post that she had made hers and sent them off and didn’t plan a tutorial, so considering all I’ve gained from her blog I think it would be the least I could do.  Either way, enjoy and CASE away!!

Valentine Kisses

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Valentines’ Day!  Take a moment to say “I love you” to the ones who are near and dear.  Oh, and the ones who are far and dee-ah, too!

A Valentine's Kiss for the sweetest

  • Pretty in Pink and Whisper White card stock
  • Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set
  • Chocolate Chip Classic ink pad
  • Sweet Pea Stitched Felt, Sending Love Notes Hugs and Small Square Glassine Envelopes
  • Big Shot and Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions folder
  • Regal Rose 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon, Word Window punch and Mini Glue dots

Crystal made this for me – she has the best ideas.  I stopped by to see her on Friday – the baby is due in two short weeks and I got to consult on the bedroom decor.  It was a no-brainer – she’s put together the cutest baby room you can imagine.  This is gonna be one lucky little boy.

I’m a Big Fan

Posted on by
Reply

I love Becky Roberts’ blog, Inking Idaho.  She has great projects, great photos, and a very “in-person” writing style that makes you think she’s sitting right next to you.  I find loads of inspiration on her blog and am a faithful follower.

That said, I have a shameless CASE of an Inking Idaho project, her Cute Clothes Pins.

Valentine Clothes Pins

These little gems are for the members of my hostess club tonight.  They were so quick and easy to do!  Here’s a closer look:

One Cute Clothes Pin

You just need a tiny strip of paper, a button, some linen thread and a few tissue paper flowers.  I used Tombo to put everything together – attach the paper to the pin, add the tissue flowers, and stick the button on top.  I could have used Mini Glue dots which would have probably been quicker and not so sticky on my fingers, but shoots,  the Tombo was out and my fingers were deep into it!

Here’s a hint for punching tissue paper.  It’s so thin and formless that it will shred in a punch by itself, but if you fold up a few layers and stick a scrap of cardstock in the back, it punches beautifully!  I only used 3 tissue flowers, and only stamped 2 of the 3 to keep it from looking too dizzy.  You could use an abundance of tissue flowers for that full ruffly look, or you could use other papers.  Cardstock would need some serious abuse to get soft enough to scrunch, but Designer Series Paper should be easy  to work with – just check Becky’s February 10 post!

I’ll try more later, but it’s time to get set up for tonight.

Grids ‘n Dots

Posted on by
7

Participating in the ColourQ challenge yesterday really helped motivate me, so I went looking for a challenge for today.  I found two – the Splitcoast Sketch Challenge and the Color Dare.  (And no, I am not going to look for 3 challenges tomorrow.  That would be totally unsustainable.)

Sometimes sketch challenges are too Out-Of-The-Box for me, but yesterday’s SCS Sketch Challenge (SC267) was just right.  I’ve been looking at repeating elements in cards and turning over some ideas in my head, so the timing was perfect.  When I sat down to put my ideas to work, I couldn’t settle on a color combination.  A quick search turned up the Color Dare site.  As you might guess, this is not a challenge for the faint of heart!  This week’s color challenge was Crushed Curry, Brilliant Blue, Kiwi Kiss and Kraft:

Grids and Dots

  • I {Heart} Hearts Clear Mount stamp set
  • Kraft, Brilliant Blue, and Whisper White card stock; Kiwi Kiss Designer Series Paper (retired)
  • Crushed Curry Classic ink pad
  • Crushed Curry polka dot ribbon
  • Big Shot and Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impression folder
  • 1 3/8″ and 1 1/4″ Square punches; Heart to Heart punch
  • Stampin Dimensionals, Tombo Adhesive, Mini Glue dots and Crystal Effects

The coolest thing about this card is that with the exception of the card base, the entire thing came from my scrap basket!!  That basket is out of control, and the more I use from it the happier I am.  There’s a Mini Glue dot holding the knot of the ribbon in place – with so much linear action it needed to be pegged down.   One more hint:  Use Stampin’ Dimensionals to hold a large panel on a deeply embossed card front.  Those dots are awesome, but they make it hard for adhesive to get a grip.

I didn’t see the grids emerge until I started to play with the hearts.  The Perfect Polka Dots textured impression folder was a natural once I realized I needed that Crushed Curry polka dot ribbon.  It was fun to play off the geometry of the repeating squares.

Keeping your feet firmly planted

Posted on by
5

Whew.

The past week has been so full.  Early Saturday morning we took Carol to the airport, said our goodbyes (a few extra times for good luck) and put her on the plane for Perth.  Getting to that point was physically and emotionally exhausting, but once we were there, it felt much better than I’d anticipated.  Of course we shed tears, and continue to do so (like right now, typing this post).  Her dad and I know this is the right move for her, and after all the sorting, packing and problem solving of last week we are ready to let go.  She’s ready too – sorry to leave Maui, but happy to finally live in the same time zone as her boyfriend.

I haven’t accomplished much since Saturday.  I did engage in something of a cleaning frenzy yesterday.  My son grumbled that it was his sister’s fault that I suddenly needed all his stuff  Put Away Now, but he knows I’ll get over it.  My next task is to clear out the debris that remains in Carol’s room, clean it up, and return it to the purpose it fulfilled so well for 4 years of university:  My Stamp Room.  Ah yes.  Every cloud does have its silver lining.

In the meantime, I sat down at the disaster area that currently functions as a stamp space and made a card.  Boy, did that feel good.  So good, I think I’ll make another later on!

Plant your feet firmly and let your heart have wings

  • Fifth Avenue Floral, Vintage Vogue, and Hope Happens Stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Regal Rose, Blush Blossom and Close to Cocoa card stock
  • Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom and Regal Rose Classic ink pads
  • Big Shot and Beautiful Wings Embosslit die
  • Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, Aquapainter and the Scallop Trim border punch
  • Stamp-a-ma-jig, Embossing Buddy, Fine Supernova Stampin’ Glitter and Tombo Adhesive

The color inspiration for this card came from colourQchallenge – this is ColourQ 19.  I used the same embellished leaf stamp from Vintage Vogue on the Blush Blossom card base and the Whisper White focal image, but I stamped it off on the Whisper White panel to make it more subtle.  To get the mixed colors with the glitter, I dotted Tombo adhesive in the center of the flower a few times and dusted with the Chocolate glitter, then repeated and dusted again with the Pink glitter.  Don’t forget to use your Embossing Buddy on your cardstock before glittering – it really makes a difference!

You’ve got a friend

Posted on by
Reply

Today’s post is an auto post, set earlier in the week to post today.  Today is the day my oldest daughter leaves for Australia.  Her dad and I are really happy for her, but it’s very  hard to say goodbye.  It’s going to be a tough day.

This week, my friends have been so supportive, calling and asking how I’m doing.  They don’t let me get too emotional, and they assure me they’ll be there for me next week.  I have wonderful, generous, loving friends.  I am so grateful for them.

Kind and wonderful friends

  • Vintage Vogue stamp set and Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel
  • Naturals Ivory, Soft Suede, Ruby Red and Mellow Moss card stock
  • Soft Suede, Ruby Red, Mellow Moss and Sahara Sand Classic ink pads
  • Button Latte, Linen Thread and Paper Snips
  • Big Shot and the Backgrounds I Texturz plates

I prefer to sew my buttons on whenever possible.  They stick pretty well with glue dots, but I like the authenticity of sewing them on, and they don’t come off unless you really yank on them.

Thanks, friends.