One Flamenco Dancer Stamp Equals Three Unique Cards

Tonight I whipped together a birthday card for a friend and was so inspired by this cute little Hero Arts Flamenco Dancer that I made three variations of the same card.  The second set of stamps I used was the new Stampin' Up! - A Round Array set with coordinating punch.  Each card can be used for a different occasion and it was fun to select a different color theme for each dancer.  The final touch was adding the flowers and Gemstones to make her sparkle.  Ole!

Welcome Home Wood House Embellishments

Today Anthony and I slipped away to enjoy lunch and a movie.  We saw Iron Man 3 at the Majestic Theater after lunch at Rudy's in Meridian.  Upon returning home Anthony headed out to mow the lawn and I slipped downstairs (escaping any and all yard work) for a quick crafting moment.  I have been dying to play with some new wood embellishments that I picked up recently.  I purchased a set of birds for my friend Kelly and I selected a set of tiny houses for myself. 

 

Prima Marketing:  http://www.primamarketinginc.com/

 

In the past when I have worked with wood embellishments I have left them natural.  But these tiny houses inspired me to add a splash of color with my Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists.  Just like houses in a neighborhood they are now a variety of colors.  The great thing about these embellishments from Prima Marketing is that you get quite a few little embellishments (45 total) for a very reasonable price and when the little wooden tray is empty you can decorate it too.  Aside from letting the Glimmer Mist dry for about 3-5 minutes the cards were very quickly thrown together.  These cards could be used for any occasion but they would be perfect to accompany a house warming gift or a welcome for new neighbors.

Butterfly Invasion Cards

Last October we hosted a Down the Rabbit Hole Letterboxing event here in Idaho.  One of the decoration and gift wrapping items we had leftover from the event were butterflies from Craft Warehouse.  I have had the butterflies sitting in my craft room and all of a sudden realized that they would be perfect to use on cards.  I had purchased some clearance paper from Graphic 45 that featured butterflies and knew immediately that the two items combined were perfect for cards.  I used different blooms on each card but used a variation of one theme for all four cards.  These cards all feature my Eco Green Wings stamp set too.  Since the butterflies were a little plain I added stickles glitter glue to their wings to make them pop off the cards a bit more.  All of the edges of the cards were distressed with Tim Holtz Black Soot ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder.  Often when I distress edges I like to heat set the ink with clear embossing powder to not only add visual depth but texture to the cards when then are touched.  It also keeps your hands from being covered in ink all the time.   

Graphic 45:  http://g45papers.com

Prima:  http://www.primamarketinginc.com

Tim Holtz:  http://timholtz.com/stampers-anonymous-products

Happy "Windsday" Card

I needed a special card for a friend for this weekend and this House Mouse stamp and saying were the perfect combination.  I color coordinated the papers from Stampin' Up! and my selection of Copic Markets to match a gift that I have for her.  A fun color coordination moment for me.  To add a little depth and movement to the card I stamped, embossed and colored a few extra leaves separately and then cut them out and added them to the card with double sided mounting tape.  I also added tiny orange beads by Art-C under the leaves on the ground for texture.  Because of the coloring this card took me quite a bit of time to complete but she is totally worth it.

Stampin' Up!:  http://www.stampinup.com/home/
(My Demonstrator is Jessica Johnson deputystamper@yahoo.com)

House Mouse:  http://www.house-mouse.com/php/stampsearch.php

Art-C:  http://artc.typepad.com/

Copic Markers:  http://www.copicmarker.com/

Kick Ass Valentines Cards

 

 

Cupid it's time for a vacation.  Crank up your creative juices no matter how wild they may be.  Let the paper fly and your feelings soar.  It's time for kick ass Valentine cards.

 

The two cards featured above are a reflection of things that are close to my heart.  First I am a completely hopeless Halloween junkie.  Don't dare let me near Halloween themed stamps, embellishments or papers.  Hello my name is Kelly and I am a Halloween crafting addict... The adorable couple on the couch is by Inkadinkado.  It is one of my favorite stamps.  It just screams love in my book.  I think you should be able to use all seasonal stamps any time of year so as far as I am concerned Halloween just trampled all over Valentines Day.

 

The second card features stamps by Great Impressions.  Anthony and I both ride motorcycles and this card is a reflection of spending time together riding which we both enjoy.  There is a compass in the background by Tattered Angels and even a tiny post card by Artchix Studio.  Don't forget your key or you won't be able to ride.  Vroom...Vroom!!!

 

Inkadinkado:  http://inkadinkado.eksuccessbrands.com/

Artchix Studio:  http://www.artchixstudio.com/

Great Impressions:  http://www.greatimpressionsstamps.com/

Tattered Angels: http://mytatteredangels.com/

 

Art Tiles and Give A Hoot Cricut Cartridge Cards

On Saturday I picked up two small packages (6 tiles in each) of Decorative Art Tiles by Prima Marketing.  I wanted the tiles to have a prominent place on my cards but I didn't want to over power the cards with more than one tile on each card.  These cards feature paper by My Mind's Eye - Miss. Caroline, Inkadinkado stamps - Butterflies and Birds and I used my new Cricut "Give  A Hoot" cartridge to create the birds and butterfly cutouts. 

My Mind's Eye:  http://www.mymindseye.com/
Cricut:  http://www.cricut.com/home/
Inkadinkado:  http://www.eksuccessbrands.com/inkadinkado/
Prima Marketing:  http://www.primamarketinginc.com/

A Bit More Aloha

Since my crafting table was already completely covered with tropical themed supplies I decided to make a few more island inspired cards.  The paper and chipboard are both from Graphics 45 - Tropical Travelogue.  The solid colored flowers are from Petaloo: http://petaloo.cameoez.com/Scripts/PublicSite/ I have never purchased any of their products before but I liked the colors and they have a bit of sparkle which is always fun.  I also purchased some flowers in red and purple from the same line.  The patterned flowers are from Prima Flowers - Lady Bird Collection:   http://www.primamarketinginc.com/ .  I also have some butterflies that match the wild flowers but I am saving them for future inspiration.

A Little More Paradise in My Card Creations

Since I already had my Graphics 45 Tropical Travelogue Collection papers and Chipboard Tags out while I was working on the Flying Bird Tempting Template I though it would be fun to quickly toss together some bright and fun Hawaiian themed cards.  These went together in a flash with minimal stamping (Hero Arts - Remember Your Kindness) and I had fun topping the cards off with flowers from Prima Flowers - Lady Bird Collection and lots of Twinkle Goosebumps from Queen and Company.  These cards are considered a variation on a theme because they are all laid out the same but are just slightly different.  When card making this is a fast way to create similar cards quickly.  I lay out the bases, switch around the colors and follow the theme I have in mind.

Tempting Template Flying Bird

The April/May/June 2013 issue of Stampers' Sampler magazine features a flying bird template on page 71 for their Tempting Template challenge   They like you to stretch your imagination by stamping, decorating or embellishing the template any way your heart desires.  I thought it might be fun to pull out my Graphics 45 Tropical Travelogue Collection papers that I picked up on clearance and play with the template a bit.  I am sure they were thinking the bird would be the focus of the card but I was drawn to a Where's Waldo feel by including the bird in the bright blooms of the card vs. him being the focal point.  I stamped the birds that I cut out on different card stocks with a palm tree to give him a crazy tropical feel and then added him to the splashy cards.  Aloha!

Wings My Cards Take Flight

My friend Kelly took me to lunch last week for an early birthday celebration.  In the wonderful Faery inspired trove of gifts she gave me a new set of stamps titled "Wings" from Eco Green Crafts.  I have never heard of this company before but I absolutely love the set of stamps she picked out for me.  I have been very excited to play with them and today was finally the day.  In honor of our Alice in Wonderland Letterboxing event last year (and Faeries this year as our theme) I could not resist pulling out my Clear Art set of stamps - Greetings from Wonderland and combining the two together into cards that have taken flight.  I used a different set of wings for each card and a different Wonderland image too.  All papers used are from Authentique which I purchased on sale after Christmas (yes, these are Christmas papers) from the Craft Warehouse at a huge savings.  The frames are the outsides to the owl cards I made using the insides (no waste for this great embellishment).  The frames are from My Mind's Eye - Indie Chic (again purchased on sale).  We will be lucky if everything I create does not end up with wings in the near future.  Then again Kelly and I are taking flight soon into the land of the Fae.  We need all the wings we can get!