Butterfly Blessings

Welcome to the Studio!

I started working on Easter cards a few weeks ago.  I wanted to do something a little different.  I found some really cool chipboard accents at Michael's recently in their $1 bin during the half off sale.  How can you pass up that bargain?  I didn't.  I bought $4 worth:)

I played around with the chippy butterfly and decided to use paint on it and then some Rock Candy.  It didn't turn out quite like I thought it would.  The chipboard was embossed and the paint was too thick and covered a lot of the detail.  No worries...just add Stickles.  It wasn't quite what I had envisioned initially, but it's still pretty cool.

I used some BoBunny paper, Gabrielle collection.  Many of the papers have butterflies all over them and I think that's where I ended up getting the inspiration.  The pearls are from CTMH.  The paper is from Stampin Up.  The "Easter Blessings" is from Justrite.  The bow was made using peach seam binding from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  I used Stampin Up inks in Marina Mist, Calypso Coral, and Early Espresso.

I am entering this card in two challenges.  The first is Challenge #109 over at Sketch N Stash.  You have to use their sketch, which I really liked.

Next, I'll be entering Challenge #231 over at Flutter By Wednesday.  The current theme is "anything winged."  And of course, butterflies are always welcome;)

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

A Little Green...

Welcome to the Studio!

I wanted to share a little green with y'all, and no, it's not cash.  Sorry.  We all could use a little extra, I'm sure;)  My bit 'o green is a clean and simple St. Patty's Day card.  I thought I'd get my crafty mojo going with a challenge.  It's based on a sketch from Retrosketches #54. 

 

 

And here's my card...

 

 

 

For this card, I used an 8.5x3.75 card base.  The shamrock stamp is from the $1 bin at Joann's.  The pattern paper is from the Print Poetry mini deck from Stampin Up.  The ribbon is also Stampin Up and the hue is Gumball Green.  The sentiment is from Justrite Stamps and was stamped in SU Gumball Green ink.  The mini pearl is from my stash.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  And don't forget to wear your green on Sunday!

 

Until next time, Scrap Sassy!



All Is Vanity...And Really Creepy!

Welcome to the Studio!

I've been MIA again and I apologize for that.  Things got a little worrisome with Hurricane Issac rearing his ugly head.  My dad, who lives near the Mississippi Gulf Coast, couldn't decide if he wanted to evacuate or not.  Lucky for him (and us) Issac only dumped a ton of rain on his area.  You'd think after Katrina he'd have learned his lesson...swimming out a second story loft window and riding out that hurricane on a party barge with a tarp thrown over his head.  It took us over a week to find him that time!

Well, now for some crafting fun.  I just love Halloween.  {Any holiday that involves begging for candy can't be all bad.}  I've always been intrigued with the painting by Charles Allan Gilbert, All is Vanity.  It's fascinating in an eerie sort of way.  As I sat at my scrap desk yesterday, I thought it might make a cool "embellishment" on a Halloween card.

My card is based on the Mojo Monday Sketch 257, as seen here...

I found the awesome black and orange ribbon at Micheal's.  It's totally Halloween-y and makes me think of spiders.  It also tied great with my peg bow maker.  I used a Spellbinders die as a mat for my picture.  I also incorporated some black webbing that I ordered from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  The pumpkin is Jolee's Boutique.  The "Happy Halloween" is from Justrite Stamps, as well as the banner die.  The punched border is from Martha Stewart and was one of the recent T.J. Max $3.99 finds.  I'm not sure if the picture shows this, but I used Black Magic Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels on the fancy diecut circle.  And the paper is Echo Park's Apothecary Emporium.

Here is a close-up shot of the creepy image.  You can actually see that it's a woman sitting at a vanity looking at her reflection...or is it?

Other Challenges I'm entering:
Make it Monday - Anything Goes...not a challenge, just an awesome place to inspire and be inspired!
Alota Rubber Stamps - Challenge 90, Halloween
Ladybug Crafts - Anything Goes, First Challenge!
Challenges 4 Everybody - Challenge #2, Anything Goes

Check out these challenge blogs for more inspiration!  And until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Let's Celebrate Embossing!

Welcome to the Studio!  Thanks so much for stopping by.  I'm today's designer over at the Card A Day Blog.  Our theme this week is embossing and there's some really great cards from the designers.  If you haven't stopped by CABD yet, be sure to visit so you don't miss out!

When I was putting this card together, the white panel helps break up all the bright colors and gives the eye a place to rest, but without the embossing and texture, it would be BOOOORING.  And who wants to give a boring birthday card anyway?

I teach a card class once a month and this was one of my more recent class kits.  I love the accordian fold rosettes.  They are so much fun and really add a lot to cards and layouts.  The embossing folder I used is Sizzix.  White Daisy cardstock, Cotton Candy ink, and Sunset ink is from Close To My Heart.  The "Let's Celebrate" is from Justrite Stamps.  The vellum "doily" was cut out using the Lifestyle Crafts eyelet nesting die.  Everything else used for this card is what I call "off-the-shelf" from Hobby Lobby.  I found everything I needed, including the vellum, in the open stock paper section.

I'm planning on having a few layouts up after this weekend.  I'll be cropping with some friends all day Saturday...Woo Hoo!  I have a ton of page kits packed and can't wait to get started.

Thanks so much for visiting.  Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Anchor's Away!

Welcome to the Studio!

If you're visiting from the Card A Day Blog, thanks so much for stopping by.  If you have been to CADB yet today, be sure to head over there for some daily inspiration and join our July Challenge.
Our theme is Guy Cards.  And I have to admit that those give me fits sometimes.  I almost always have trouble with them.  Feminine cards are easy...if it looks too plain, add flowers and bling.  Not so much with guy cards.  I could just imagine the look on my husband's face if his birthday card was bejeweled and flower-rific.

I'm still into my watercoloring and these stamps from Justrite are awesome for that.  I really enjoy coloring.  It's relaxing and like being a little kid in school again;)  I used some jute ribbon for a manly touch as well.

My Supply List:
Cardstock:  Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake & Soft Suede, Stampin Up
Pattern Paper:  Well Worn, Stampin Up
Stamps:  Justrite
Dies:  Justrite/Spellbinders
Fibers:  Jute ribbon, Michaels
Inks:  Cajun Craze, Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake & Soft Suede, Stampin Up
Other:  Watercolor paper and pencils

And here is a quick bonus project.  This card was made basically the same way as the one above, but it's for a card guy...

The supplies were the same for this card.  Well Worn is one of my favorite "guy" paper packs.  I'm crushed that it's been retired!

Thanks for visiting!  Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Steamy Steampunk

Welcome to the Studio!
I have a very different card to share with you today.  I haven't done too much in the way of steampunk, only a small, framed wall hanging for a friend.  I'm normally into the cute, sassy, lots of flowers and ribbon, vintage kind of stuff.  For trying something outside of my comfort zone though, I think it turned out pretty well.

I adore "Lady Victoria" from Kenny K.  She's a digi stamp and just too awesome along with tons of their stamps.  I can't wait to get more.  I had fun playing with all the metal stuff and those acrylic flowers too.

I'll be entering this card into a few challenges...
This will be the second card for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #161.  I used the sketch and just modified it a bit to make room for all the metal.  My first submission for this challenge is here.

Next, I'll be entering Basic Grey Challenges #71, favorite color combo.  I will admit the only reason I bought BG Periphery is because of the lime greens and blues.  It's one of my faves.

And another, 2 Sisters Challenge Blog #97, Anything Goes.  Even if you don't play along, there are tons of fabulous cards, layouts, and projects on all of these challenge blogs, so go check them out.  You never know where inspiration could be hiding.

My Supply List:
Paper:  Basic Grey, Periphery
Inks:  Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake & Chocolate Chip, Stampin Up
Digi Stamp:  Lady Victoria by Kenny K
Stamp:  "Just For You" by Justrite Stampers
Seam Binding:  from stash
Flowers & Bling:  Close To My Heart, Heirloom Assortment.
Metals:  Cogs and Chain with Clasp, Spare Parts by Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby
Punch:  Stampin Up bracket label
Other:  watercolor paper and watercolor pencils

A lot of my non-papercrafting friends want to know what I do with all those cards I make.  My mom and I teach a cardmaking class once a month at our church.  Since they do not charge us for anything, we donate just about all the cards we make ourselves to our church and have handmade cards for sale all the time.  Our church keeps all the proceeds and we don't have to rent a 20x20 storage building to store all our cards.  This particular card, however, will not be showing up on the rack at church;)

Thanks so much for visiting today.  Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Mint Chocolate Chip Color Challenge

Welcome to the Studio!

I want to share a card I made for the Crafting When We Can Challenge Blog.  It's a color combo challenge of mint green and brown.  Don't ask me why, but that just screamed vintage baby card to me.  I don't understand it either.  That's just how my brain works;)

For this card, I used a Card Patterns Sketch #169.  For the vintage baby carriage, I found a free digi online.  I changed the color in Photoshop Elements from black to brown so it would match my color scheme.  And I even used one of my Anna Griffin bows that I bought like 8 years ago when I first started scrapping and would never use it because it was too pretty;)  I'm really happy with the way the card turned out.

Supply List:
Card base: 5x7 Recollections/Michaels
Bow:  Anna Griffin
Pattern Paper:  Paper Studio, Hobby Lobby
Cardstock:  CTMH Colonial White, SU Early Espresso
Stamps:  JustRite
Ink:  CTMH Olive
Punches:  SU Word Window and Modern Label
Bling:  green pearls, Recolletions/Michaels 
Flowers:  Recollections/Michaels
Other:  Free image, found online


I hope you enjoyed your visit.  Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Card Patterns 168 & 2 Sisters Challenge 94

Welcome to the Studio!

I hope I don't bore most of my readers with all these challenges.  I've just been struggling in my crafting lately, either no time or no creativity.  I've been trying to jumpstart things, and I think I'm back on the right track.  The challenges are keeping me motivated to get stuff done in a timely manner.  I work really good with deadlines.  I was a freelance court reporter for about 12 years and deadlines are critical.  Although I loved my job, I can do without the stress;)

I made a very vintage card for a friend's mom.  I love toile patterns.  I have black & white toile curtains in my scraproom.  You can see a peek of them in an earlier post about the new punch rack.  Anyway, I also have a few toile stamps.  I decided it might be fun to color in the toile images.  I used watercolor pencils and SU watercolor crayons.  This is a close-up of my image...

And here is the front of my card and the Card Patterns Sketch:

The background paper I used is Anna Griffin.  The cardstock is DCWV.  The mini roses are Recollections from Michaels.  The "Happy Birthday" stamp is from Justrite Stamps.  I used the SU word window and modern label punches.  I also added some bling, also Recollections from Michaels.  The crinkled seam binding is from my stash.  I purchased it during CKC Nashville 2012.  The toile stamp is All Night Media.

And here is the inside of my card:

For the inside, I used the same Anna Griffin paper as I used on the front.  The verse is Stampin Up, the Happy Birthday is Justrite Stamps.  the card verse diecut was made using SU/Sizzix Framelits and Spellbinders dies for the corners.   I also used bling by Recollections.  The ink is CTMH Vineyard Berry.

The second challenge I'm entering this card in is the 2 Sisters Challenge Blog.  Their current challenge is "Inside & Out."  I normally don't decorate the insides of my cards, but lately I've been trying to make the inside as pretty as the outside, so I thought this challenge was a must!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Until next time, Scrap Sassy!



Father's Day & Mojo Monday 243

Welcome to the Studio!

I'm still working a few more Father's Day cards.  Here's one I made for a friend's son-in-law.  The paper is from the This & That Charming Collection.  It's a great paper pack for guy cards.  I also used Honey cardstock from CTMH.  The dad with children is from the Silhouette store.  I downloaded it and changed the format to .mtc so I could cut it out with my KnK Zing.  The sentiment is from Justrite Stamps and stamped with SU Chocolate Chip ink and cut out with the SU Decorative Label punch.

Now, on to the important stuff...
I created this card using a sketch from Mojo Monday.  I totally love their sketches, and as most of you regular readers know, I'm definitely a sketch girl.  I was able to go clean and simple with this card without it looking plain, thanks to the plaid pattern paper.

I hope you enjoyed your visit.  Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Card Patterns 167 & A Challenge

Welcome to the Studio!
I've had time to craft and my mojo has been working overtime...for a change.  I recently got the "Going Places" stamp set from Justrite Stamps.  It's perfect for guy cards, and I hardly ever make them.  I have several friends though who need cards for Father's Day, so I've been focusing on more manly designs.  I don't know if any of you have the same problem I do, but I find it REALLY difficult to embellish guy cards.  Cards for us gals are easy, flowers, butterflies, and bling.  Guys, not so much.  And there's only so much metal and wood you can put on one card without it looking like a shop class fiasco. 

When I saw the sketch for this week from Card Patterns, it gave me the perfect jumping off point for my new masculine stamp set.  I love the way this card turned out.

I used the Stampin Up Well Worn paper pack (so sorry to see it go).  I used the Going Places stamp set and coordinating Spellbinders dies.  I stamped the image with Staz On in Timber Brown on watercolor paper.  I used watercolor pencils and a water brush to "paint" my image.  My plane looks like the Red Baron swooping in:)  I added a sentiment from a Stampin Up set and two vintage brads by making memories.  I popped up the banner, center image, and sentiment strip on foam tape. 

Masculine cards are a real struggle for me and I'm always glad to get new inspiration.  I hope I was able to give you at least an idea or two to help with your guy cards.  If you're looking for a "guy" challenge, stop over at Lexi's Creations.  Their DT has some great ideas, even for teens.  And you can share your creations with everyone in their challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Easter Blessings

Welcome to the Studio!
If you’re visiting from the Card A Day Blog, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you come back again soon. If you haven’t been to the Card A Day Blog, please stop by over there. There are a bunch of talented designers who can’t wait to share their ideas and techniques with you.

It’s springtime and the Easter holiday is quickly approaching. This is a pretty card that can be altered for birthday, Mother’s Day, or used for Spring/Easter. I really like making versatile cards that with a simple change of the sentiment and verse and you have a totally different card.


My card base is 5x7. Since I used a 6x6 paper pack {Lily Bee Designs, Buttercup}, I had to cut my paper into strips instead of just using one 5x7 piece of pattern paper and layering. My top and bottom strips are both 2” and my middle yellow piece is 3” and all are 5” wide to fit the card. The mat in the center is 3.25” square and the pattern paper is 3” square.

The rose is a stamp from 5th Avenue Floral, Stampin Up. I stamped it with StazOn on
watercolor paper from the art department and colored it in with SU Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a water pen. {I’m getting hooked on the watercolor look again.} I stamped the sentiment, “Easter Blessings” with a stamp from Just Rite using Close To My Heart Juniper ink. I then
used the SU decorative label punch to punch out my sentiment and I used it as a tab by gluing it onto the back of my mat and leaving just the portion I wanted sticking out.

Because of the strips, the lace and ribbon was a little bit tricky. I used 1/8” ScorTape on the lace
and attached it flush with the top of the bottom strip. I used my peg bow maker to tie my bow and attach it to the strip of ribbon. I used 1/4” ScorTape and layered the ribbon/bow over the lace leaving it stick about halfway above the top of the patterned paper strip. I then slipped the yellow pattern paper beneath the ribbon and attached the yellow ribbon to the back of it. After all that, I glued that entire section to the card base. Clear as mud; right?

Thanks so much for stopping by. Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Wearing of the Green...and a bonus card!

Welcome to the Studio! Glad you stopped by. I've been sick for the last few weeks, so I'm glad to finally be getting back to normal and feeling like crafting too. If you're visiting from the Card A Day Blog, you know that it's a St. Patty's Day celebration over there. And without further adieu, here's my Irish lass...

This card is really simple. I didn't even measure anything, just eyeballed it. I downloaded the vintage picture from The Graphics Fairy. (BTW, it was FREE!) I used a Martha Stewart border punch on cream colored cardstock for the border and used a small piece of pale green satin ribbon for my shamrock to sit on. I used the Stampin Up label punches for my sentiment. The Happy St. Patrick's Day stamp is from JustRite Stamps.

Now for that shamrock...
I wanted something different. I had tons of shamrocks from foam and felt to brads and bling, but none really looked quite right. So what's an obsessed scrapper to do? Make your own!

For this technique, I mixed a few tablespoons of UTEE (Ultra Thick Embosing Enamel) with CTMH Garden Green re-inker. I did this in a plastic bowl and using a popcicle stick to stir. The re-inker tends to bead up and you just have to mush up the little balls of color, kinda like getting the lumps out of a bowl of brownie mix.

After it was mixed up good, I added some green shimmer Pearl Ex to it. I used the end of the popcicle stick to scoop a little out of the container. After mixing that in, I dumped the mixture into a melting pot. There are several brands and they are quite inexpensive if you use a coupon at one of the chain craft stores. {It's also handy for melting hot glue for dipping.}

I turned the melting pot on to the UTEE setting and let the mixture melt, stirring occasionally to make sure the color was uniform. After it was melted, I poured the mixture into a candy mold...yep, you read that correctly. I had an old chocolate candy mold of a shamrock stuck up in the top of a closet. If it can handle the heat of candy, it can handle UTEE. After the UTEE mixture was poured into the mold, I just let it sit undisturbed until it cooled. It popped right out of the mold. How easy is that! And there are tons of really awesome candy molds these days with lots of pretty flowers and flourishes. The possibilities are endless!

I had so much fun messing with the UTEE, I plan on digging out a few more of my old candy molds to play with. I have several set of monogram alaphas that would look really cool. There's also a few other UTEE techniques I'm getting my nerve up to play with!

And here's a bonus...

I couldn't let Valentine's Day pass without putting up a Valentine's card, so here is a simple, French-inspired bit of Ooh La La!

I hope you enjoyed your visit. Until next time, Scrap Sassy!