Baby Whale

When I was recently organizing my stamping supplies, some bits and pieces of designer papers fell together in a little pile.  I looked at them and saw the possibility for a baby card.

More than a year ago, I bought a designer paper pack from DCWV called "Nana's Kids Nursery" for a girl.  The front cover of the paper pack was very use-able, so I saved sections of it, and it's what you see at the top of my card today, including the sentiment:

The piece of celery dotted paper, down on the bottom half,  is from a $1.00 Scrap Bag from my Stampin' Up! demo.  It goes quite well with the Nana's Nursery strip, huh?

The sweet little whale is from DeNami Designs.  I absolutely love him/her!  I made another award-winning card with this whale recently, and can see how versatile a stamp it is.

The paper I chose to paper-piece the whale with is inspired by this week's EtsyInspired challenge site, Daisy Petal Designs. 

The whale swims in a sea created with doilies, since I was inspired by this week's CREATE blog.  I cut out a few more tinier doily pieces as "ocean spray" and also dotted my "i" with one teensy doily piece.

Oh, I sure do hope you like this.  I absolutely love its cuteness!  Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Don't forget about the Play Date Cafe's current color-drenched challenge.  You have until Tuesday 2/8/11 at 11:59 pm EST to enter!  Can't wait to see what you come up with.  :)

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  whale from DeNami Design
Paper:  kraft, front cover of DCWV 'Nana's Kids Nursery - girl' designer paper pack, green dotted paper from SU
Ink:  Basic Black
Other:  doilies, dimensionals, SU black marker (for spouting water), Stampamajig

Frosty Snowlady

This card is entered in several challenges, but it started with two in particular:  a Flourishes' Christmas challenge, with a color scheme of red, white and pink.

One requirement of the challenge is that you must use Flourishes stamps.  I used Warm Winter Wishes, which I won back in November.

And the other springboard for me is The Shabby Tea Room's Get Creative challenge:  to make your own designer paper and embellishments.

Over at Jingle Belles, the new challenge is to use scarves, mittens, hats, earmuffs.  And at Off The Wall Craftiness, the color scheme happens to be the same as Flourishes. 

The snowlady is stamped with Stazon Black ink on a Labels Four die from Spellbinders, with the top and bottom tip cut off for a more rounded look.  Behind the label, I'ved used my Martha Stewart String Lace PATP set (snagged for $9.99 after Christmas at Michael's) on four pieces of red cardstock to create the 'medallion' effect. 

I colored the image with Stampin' Up! markers.

I finally got a couple of new Martha snowflake punches, and have used one of them here (Alpine) in addition to my old standby, Arctic.  I liberally sprinkled them with iridescent glitter, which I used on the snowlady and ground as well.

My background card base was stamped with most of the snowflake images from Warm Winter Wishes, in Real Red, Pink Pirhouette, and Pretty in Pink. 

The pink ribbon is a raffia culled from a gift somewhere along the way.

Ooh, I feel like I really rambled on with this one.  Sorry!  Just wanted to include all pertinent info for you.

Have a wonderful weekend!  I'll be busy working at the grocery store.

Colleen

Stamps:  Warm Winter Wishes by Flourishes
Paper:  Real Red, white by PTI
Ink:  Stazon Black, Real Red, Pink Pirhouette, Pretty in Pink
Punches:  String Lace, Arctic and Alpine snowflakes by Martha Stewart
Other:  Big Shot, Labels Four dies by Spellbinders, pink raffia, SU markers, Zig Two Way Glue Pen, dimensionals, iridescent glitter

Whimsical Village

I've had this stamp set by Papertrey Ink, Wonderfully Whimsical, for about two years now.  It sat neglected and un-inked until yesterday.  

Isn't it cute? 

I used a sketch from Mojo Monday, designed by the talented Mary Fish:

I used houndstooth scraps of paper that I got in a $1.00 Scrap Bag from my SU demo, Gail Murray, and ran them through the Big Shot with a Lattice embossing folder for texture.  I kept my color palette simple:  Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake and So Saffron.  I think there's some Old Olive in the "grass". 

The roof on the big house is paper-pieced with more houndstooth.  The clouds are from Stampin' Up!'s set, Good Neighbors.  I love those clouds.

...and here is the detail on the envelope:

The card measures 4 1/4" square.  (I always try to fit stuff in a regular A2 envelope!)

I've got another card to show you in a few minutes.  So glad my creativity was flowing yesterday!

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  Wonderfully Whimsical by PTI, Good Neighbors by SU
Paper:  white by PTI, retired houndstooth patterns by SU
Ink:  Stazon Black
Punch:  Word Window
Other:  markers by SU, dimensionals, Lattice embossing folder, Big Shot

Play Date Cafe 67: Butterflies

This week's Play Date Cafe challenge is drenched with color, and comes courtesy of our own Ruby2Shoes.

I have to admit this was a real challenge for me, because I do not use lots of color in my creations.  I tend to use neutrals in nearly everything I touch.  After a couple of ideas that didn't work, I hit on something I am SUPER pleased with:

The large Martha Stewart Monarch butterfly punch is a gift I received on Christmas, and it's making its debut on my blog here!  They are flying over an embossed background called Sugar by Sizzix.  The hearts are from the Stampin' Up! punch called Heart to Heart.

The sentiment is from SU's Elements of Style, and I thought it fit the butterfly theme nicely. 

Ruby is our sponsor this week with some Ippity goodies for you!

Go check out the fabulousness created by the rest of the design team --

Senior Design Team:

Julie Ranae

Sarah Anderson
Savannah O'Gwynn

Ruby McGuire 

Design Team:
Andrea Ewen
Fiona Shultz
Jaclyn Miller
Jinny Newlin
Libby Hickson
Michele Gross
Tracey Kuzniak

Private Blend Designer:
Colleen Dietrich - that's me! 

Are you ready to play, too? 

Please follow the rules carefully to enter.

Deadline for prizes is 11:59pm EST on Tuesday

The 'Cup of the Week' will be announced during the next challenge.

ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PLAY!

We want you to enjoy this challenge.

Interpret the colors the way you see them.

We do not use specific card stock color names or brands.

Break out of the box and have fun!

The main requirement is:

PDCC COLORS BE THE FOCUS OF YOUR SUBMISSION

When using additional colors, please limit them to neutrals.

You are welcome to combine challenges, but we do ask that:

1. The PDCC name and/or photo is used and

2. OUR colors are the focus of the card.

Thanks for joining me today.  Have a wonderful day, and hope to see you at the Cafe!

Colleen

Stamps:  Elements of Style (SU)

Paper:  PTI white, Rich Razzleberry, Pretty In Pink, Brilliant Blue, Ruby Red

Ink:  Basic Black

Punches:  monarch butterfly by Martha Stewart, Heart to Heart (SU)

Other:  Big Shot, Sugar embossing folder by Sizzix, Rich Razzleberry ribbon from SU, blue rhinestones from Mike's, dimensionals

CASE'd Valentine

For those of you who own CardMaker magazine's March 2011 issue, this card may look slightly familiar.  On page 49, Cindy Coutts did a St. Patrick's Day card that I fell in love with.  I followed her recipe, but changed my color scheme and main focal point to convert this to a Valentine.

Don't you just love it?!

It's so easy to make, too.  The card base is 4 3/8" square, the Purely Pomegranate layer is 4 1/4" square, then you punch out 8 scalloped squares (Stampin' Up! punch).  I happened to have the same Night and Day Designer Series Paper that Cindy used (SU), and it just looks so dramatic.  I can envision other styles of paper, though!  The sky's the limit.

The inside of the card.

I am entering this in three challenges:  Mark's Finest Papers - Valentine cards; Flourishes' FTTC103 - Valentine cards; City Crafter - All You Need is LOVE.

Hope this inspires you to create an easy Valentine that CAN fit into a standard A2 envelope!  (always one of my priorities)

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  A Happy Heart, En Francais (SU)
Paper:  Night and Day designer paper (SU), Whisper White, Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate
Ink:  Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black
Punch:  Scalloped square (SU)
Other:  Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle dies, dimensionals

Pink and Green Christmas and more

Yep, another Christmas card.  I really do love making holiday cards, but now I have a good reason to continue producing them, even after the holidays have passed.

Jingle Belles challenge blog is ALL about the holidays!  This is my first time being able to play there, and I've combined two of their challenges:

• a sketch by Amy Tsuruta

• and a color challenge (I'm 'late' for this one):  Pretty In Pink...and Green

This couldn't have been easier to make.  I had this summery DCWV designer paper forEVER, then grabbed a green strip from an old Christmas card, punched a border on some Pink Passion cardstock, mounted on a re-purposed green glittery gift tag (just don't look on the other side) and some stamped snowflakes from Stampin' Up!'s Patterned Pines.

Another Christmas card done!

I got some happy news today:  my Get Whale Soon card was chosen as the winner at DeNami Designs!  I'm now the proud owner of a new badge and some shopping money.  :D  I love to shop!

Hope you have time to play in the Play Date Cafe's Colour Splash this week.  You have until 11:59 pm EST Tuesday to enter!

Thanks for visiting me today.  I always appreciate it!

Colleen

Stamps:  SU Patterned Pines

Paper:  Whisper White, DCWV Summer Stack, Pink Passion, old Christmas card (green strip)

Ink:  Pink Passion

Punch:  Martha Stewart Double Scallop border

Other:  green glitter star gift tag, dimensionals

I'm A Guest Designer for SCS!

Hello!  I have the pleasure of being a Guest Designer this week for Splitcoast's Clean and Simple Design Team.   Challenge 104 is "Inspiration from a Word or Phrase:  Rock & Roll".

At first, I was stumped.  I do not own "rock and roll-ish" stamps, or any kind of music for that matter.  No musical notes, no guitars, etc.  So, I took out my binder of stamp sets and mulled it over.

• Polka Dots background stamp?  - no, that's a polka, not R & R
• Vintage Vogue, in honor of Madonna's song "Vogue"? - no, that's pop music
• Baroque Motifs, for baroque music? - no, wrong century
• A crown from Artistic Etchings, in honor of The King, Elvis?  - okay, now we're getting somewhere!
• Sweet Dreams, for the Eurythmics song of the same title?  Cool Cat, for Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever"? - maybe!

Ultimately, I decided on a combination of three songs:

• "Freeze Frame" by the J. Geils Band
• "Rooster" by Alice in Chains
• "Fell on Black Days" by Soundgarden

The J. Geils Band was popular when I was younger, and my husband listens to Alice In Chains and Soundgarden sometimes, and I like a couple of their songs.  Mostly I listen to classical music, though!

What do you think?  Different, yes.  But I really like the dramatic look for a change!
I used Fancy Frames by TPC Studio, a rooster from Vintage Farmhouse by Fiskars (yay, another stamp set finally sees ink!  I only got it two years ago for a birthday), and some Nestie frames:  Labels One and Large Deckled Rectangles.

I grabbed a layout I saw in Stampin' Up!'s spring Mini Catalog on page 24.  An SU catalog is full of ideas for layouts!

Background designer paper is from My Mind's Eye 'Garden Vignettes'.  The rooster was colored with Copics.  I'm sure I did not get his colors as nature would, but oh well!

I hope you are inspired to play in this challenge.  If you really think about it, inspiration can be found anywhere.

Happy Stamping,

Colleen


Stamps:  Vintage Farmhouse by Fiskars, Fancy Frames by TPC Studio
Paper:  Basic Black, white by PTI, designer paper by MME 'Garden Vignettes'
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Big Shot, Spellbinders Labels One and Large Deckled Rectangles, Copic markers, dimensionals, orange and red rhinestones from Queen & Co., black ribbon from the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

Inspired by a Table Arrangement

This weekend the kids are over their grandparents', so I've got lots of time to craft.  Unfortunately, yesterday's efforts produced only one card, but I think it's pretty.  It is also the kind of card I swore I would never make.  LOL  ;)

It is 3D to the max, the kind that will NOT fit in an envelope.  I even handmade some flowers for it, using this surprisingly easy technique I found here on YouTube.

When I first entered the realm of card-making, I thought all cards should be flat enough to fit in an envelope, or what good were they?  Hardware:  too heavy.  Pearls:  too bumpy.  Flowers:  forget about it - they won't fit anywhere!

Look at me now....

My inspiration comes from Off The Wall Craftiness' current challenge:

See the photo on the second row, all the way to right?  It grabbed me.  I thought about how to translate a tablecloth, with its fullness and black band, into a card.  And those plates on the wall above have turned into a cluster of white flowers.

I love it!

Other challenges I've entered:  Just Us Girls, to make a 3D flower; The Paper Players - Anything Goes; and Tuesday Throwdown - distressing (my flowers have been severely distressed!). 

I used three different punches/dies to make these flowers:  a scalloped SU punch, a scalloped circle die from Spellbinders, and a 1" serrated edge circle punch from Martha Stewart.  I like the little flower the best.  After punching out all my circles on white cardstock, I sponged light color on the edges of each.  I practiced with Old Paper and Antique Linen Distress Inks by Tim Holtz.   When they were finished, I used a glue pen to smear some glue here and there, then used white iridescent glitter (no name; had it forever).  It looks better in real life, I assure you.

Thanks for joining me today.  I love to hear what you think, so if you have a moment, please leave a comment for me!

Colleen


Stamps:  With Gratitude by Flourishes
Paper:  PTI Vintage Cream, Whisper White
Ink:  Basic Black, Old Paper and Antique Linen Distress inks
Punches:  SU scalloped circle, Martha serrated edge 1" circle
Other:  black ribbon from Stamp Simply Ribbon Store, iridescent glitter, pearls from Queen & Co., Big Shot, Spellbinders Fancy Tags and scalloped circles, white gathered lace from stash, dimensionals, water spritzer, Scor-Tape

Joy Wreath (and a failed vintage card)

I have one card I am proud to show you today, and one - eh, not quite so much.  Let's start with the one I like.  :D

On a kraft base, I added some punched strips of Old Olive and Chocolate Chip, and a brown satin ribbon to dress up the lower half.  The circle Nesties make up my "wreath", with a Stampin' Up! set called The Snowflake Spot stamped in Old Olive and Always Artichoke.  Pearls are the ornaments on the wreath.

I'm entering the CAS card at The Shabby Tea Room:  challenge -  Winter Wonderland, and Pals Paper Arts:  challenge 78  - CAS cards with a bow.

Now let's check out my failed vintage card, shall we?

Even though I mostly make CAS cards, I adore looking at shabby-chic, vintage style ones.  I long to make them.  So I gave it a try yesterday and asked my husband what he thought.

Me:  "Do you like it?"

He:   "No."

Me:   "Is it the bow that you don't like?"

He:   (pause) "It's the whole thing."

Alright, so I didn't quite get the gist of the style this time.  But I will be trying again!

Don't forget about The Play Date Cafe's current Colour Splash challenge:  black/white and a splash of purple!  Come join us.  :D

Aaaaannnnd......I'll be the Guest Designer at Splitcoast's Clean And Simple Challenge this coming Monday, January 31st!  You won't want to miss the unique theme for the challenge.  :D 

All I can say is, at first I thought I couldn't do it, and then after looking through all my stamps, I couldn't STOP coming up with ideas!!

See you soon,

Colleen


CAS card
Stamps:  The Snowflake Spot (SU)
Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Whisper White, kraft
Ink:  Always Artichoke, Old Olive
Punches:  SU scalloped border, Martha's Modern Garland border
Other:  Big Shot, circle nesties by Spellbinders, Stampamajig, pearls by Recollections, satin bow, dimensionals

Vintage card
Paper:  kraft, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Basic Black
Punches:  Pine Needle border, Rose Leaf and Arctic Snowflake by Martha
Other:  Christmas card front, glitter,  Spellbinders Fancy Tags, button and lace from my stash, needle and thread

Play Date Cafe 66: Inspired by a Plate Rack

I am so loving the challenge colors this week at The Play Date Cafe...it's Color Splash time!!

Right away, the old Stampin' Up! demo in me saw "Almost Amethyst" as that purplish shade.    

My personal inspiration came from my dining room's plate rack:

The walls are gray, white and purple.  The plate rack is black iron, and holds three Limoge dishes from my great-aunt.  They were given to her by her first husband's grandmother, I believe.  So, these dishes are pretty old.  They are decorated with irises, one of my fave flowers.

My card:

I had no appropriate flower stamps to fit in a 1" circle punch, so I spotted my unused fleur-de-lis.  Fleur-de-lis icons are modeled after iris flowers.  How lucky can I be?!

You need to go see the beautiful things created by my teammates at the Cafe, too:

Senior DT:
Julie Ranae
Sarah Anderson
Savannah O'Gwynn
Ruby 2 Shoes

Design Team:
Andrea Ewen
Fiona Shultz
Jaclyn Miller
Jinny Newlin
Libby Hickson
Michele Gross
Tracey Kuzniak

Private Blend Designer:
Colleen Dietrich - that's me!

This week our sponsor is the fabulous...

Please follow the rules carefully to enter.

Deadline for prizes is 11:59pm EST on Tuesday
The 'Cup of the Week' will be announced during the next challenge.
ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PLAY!
We want you to enjoy this challenge.
Interpret the colors the way you see them.
We do not use specific card stock color names or brands.
Break out of the box and have fun!

The main requirement is:
PDCC COLORS BE THE FOCUS OF YOUR SUBMISSION
When using additional colors, please limit them to neutrals.
You are welcome to combine challenges, but we do ask that:
1. The PDCC name and/or photo is used
2. OUR colors are the focus of the card.

We'd love for you to come play!  See you there.

 

 

 

 

 

Stamps:  fleur de lis from Classical Icons - TPC Studio, Elements of Style

Paper:  Almost Amethyst, Whisper White, Going Gray, Basic Black

Ink:  Basic Black, Almost Amethyst

Punch:  Modern Garland by Martha Stewart, 1" circle

Other:  Big Shot, circle Nestie and Fancy Tags by Spellbinders, dimensionals

Repurposed Christmas Card

Have you ever received Christmas cards that were too pretty to throw away?  A lot of those I make into tags for gifts.  One in particular, though, I saved to repurpose for this card:

The Santa image comes from a Caspari greeting card, and I trimmed it up just a bit. 
I added a gold glittered chipboard frame from K & Company,

a piece of Anna Griffin die cut trim, on which I stamped the word "Greetings" (from Flourishes' Sleigh Ride),

and more gold glittered pieces from K & Co., as well as a button tied with jute twine.

The card took very little time, and I have another one in the works, 'cause this one was so fun and easy!

I'm entering this at The Shabby Tea Room, whose current challenge is "Winter Wonderland", and City Crafter Challenge Blog, whose Sew Fun challenge wants us to sew something.  I sewed on this button!

See you tomorrow with a new Play Date Cafe challenge!!

Colleen


Stamps:  Sleigh Ride by Flourishes
Paper:  kraft, greeting card
Ink:  Basic Black
Other:  glitter frame and flourishes from K & Co., button from my stash, twine

Get Whale Soon

Hi everyone.  Sorry to be quiet for the last several days.  I had kept myself busy on the weekend by organizing much of my crafting stuff, and it took hours and hours.  It is something I enjoy doing, as much as stamping actually.  Want to rent me for a couple of hours?  ;)  LOL

We also adopted a kitty on Sunday, which was kind of planned and kind of impromptu.  She is very sweet, and I hope she can stay.  My breathing has been kind of tough since she arrived, but it might be due to a cold I developed before she came along.  I'm under a doctor's care for this, and really hope and pray that my breathing difficulties are not "cat-caused".  I think my family would rather put me to the curb than this beautiful little black kitty.  I will keep you posted.

So, I recently received some adorable stamps from DeNami Design.   I am now a fan!  I love their cute images.  They have a sketch challenge this week, using this sketch:

And here's what I came up with:

Isn't he the cutest paper-pieced whale ever? 

I used some basic brads and a fancy star brad to comply with the sketch, but also Flourishes has a hardware challenge right now, FTTC102.  I created 'waves' on my card base with Cuttlebug's D'Vine Swirls embossing folder, and more waves under the whale using my EK Success 'Bracket' border punch.

 The clouds are from Stampin' Up!'s "Good Neighbors" set.  The designer paper might be Sweet Pea from SU (retired).  It was all in a $1.00 Scrap Bag from my SU demo a while ago.

I will be back tomorrow with my card for the new Play Date Cafe challenge.  I absolutely LOVE what I came up with, and I can't wait for you to see it. 

Thanks for joining me today, and if you don't mind sending prayers/wishes for my breathing, I'd be so grateful.  We all want to keep our little Cristabel.

Stamps:  Good Neighbors (SU), whale and sentiment from DeNami Design
Paper:  PTI white, Taken with Teal, designer paper from SU
Ink:  Basic Black
Punches:  EK Success 'Bracket' border
Other:  Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl embossing folder, Big Shot, star brads from SU, silver brads from JoAnn's, Martha Stewart Tinsel Glitter in Feldspar, dimensionals