Belle Papier {pretty paper}

I’d never seen these Dahlia fold blooms before and as it was today’s technique challenge I just had to give it a whirl. Rummaging through my paper stash I found this beautiful My Mind’s Eye paper that I hadn’t used yet and thought it would be fun to do a vintage style design pairing it up with some new Rummage Bin stamps. These stamps are from the Beautiful & Art of Framing stamp sets and were fun to work with. For details on how to create the dahlia fold bloom…make sure you check out TLC153 , tutorial here.

Live Laugh Love

I’ve had this beautiful journaling card by Fancy Pants Designs on my desk for a few days just waiting for a project. I trimmed it down a little and used a 4×9″ card format to still have room to show the patterned paper. After sponging the edges and stamping it…I planned where it would be adhered to my paper and then stamped some flourishes to embellish the paper surrounding it.

After creating the blossom as per the instructions…I have a tip for you. A double-sided patterned paper is perfect for this technique but I would probably use the lightest weight you can find. It is difficult to fold the heavier paper. To embellish the sentiment…a couple Creative Impressions brads draw your attention to it on the far side. Under my stitching at the top of the card, a scrap of crushed velvet ribbon by Making Memories and in the center of the flower…a My Mind’s Eye button tied with stitched ribbon and a little Creative Impressions safety pin.

Make sure you live, laugh & love today!

I decided to take a little time out last week to ink up some of my new stamps. This design used some great striped patterned paper that was on my desk and the new Silhouette Blooms 2 stamp set illustrated by Kim Hughes from Cornish Heritage Farms. I’d also been wanting to take some time to try out last weeks CPS48 sketch…a very simple design and give it a little twist. Instead of layering up…I layered down…punching out the panel to get a little peek at these pretty spring tulips.

Spring Thanks

It may be hard to see in this photo but is very evident IRL…to create the rectangular panel for htis layout, I punched out the rectangle from my patterned paper layer and stamped underneath on a white cardstock piece. It really gives the effect of a little peek at the flowers..a window if you will.

Quick Tip: When starting a layout using a sketch diagram…I try to look at it from a few different angles to see if something unique will pop out at me. Sketches can be altered to fit a square card format, turned on their side, upside-down or as in this case, layered down instead of up. I try not to look at the samples until after I’m done my challenge…I want to find my own inspiration first.

I also wanted to do something a little different for the patterned paper as well. While patterned paper is beautiful on its own…there are times when I like to have a little fun with it. For this panel, I stamped it with Burnt Umber ink and my favorite Spanish Script Backgrounder.

To make it easy to line up my stamping underneath…I just slid in a a small white cardstock panel with my stamping on it and adhered to the card base. A little freestyle stitching around the edges adds some interest and to create the leaf effect from the original sketch…did a little stitching up the left side of the window. When stamping my tulips with the ink, I used three different ink pads… Citrus Green, Salmon and Watermelon Adirondack inks. After totally inking the flower blossoms with the Salmon, I simply swiped the tips of the tulips with my Watermelon pad to get a two-toned look.

For my embellishments…a little strip of vintage trim by Melissa Frances (also known as Heart and Home), a Prima Flower and a little button.

Hope your week is off to a wonderful start! Take care my friends!

When I first saw the Basic Grey Rub-on Roller advertised just before it was released…I just knew it would be one of those things I would have to try out. I love using rub-ons in some of my designs and they are great for applying to a variety of surfaces. Depending on the manufacturer…some rub-ons can be more difficult to apply than others. Most companies include a little popsicle sticker to burnish on your rub-on transfer but these can be hard to hold and sometimes, do not rub smoothly. While Basic Grey rub-on transfers are one of my top faves for ease of use and application…I decided to try it out and was so pleased with the results.

On one end of the Basic Grey rub-on roller is a rolling steel ball end. It works fabulously for applying the transfers smoothly and it rolls very well. I had previously tried my Empressor embossing tool but found the rolling ball on that really did not roll well with rub-ons…better than a popsicle stick but still left something to be desired. The Rub-on Roller was easy and comfortable to hold and is of sturdy construction. I love tools that are functional, take up little space, are well made and yes…well-priced. On all four…this rub-on roller takes top marks from me. I’d definitely recommend it if you frequently apply rub-ons.

How to Use It (pics to be edited in shortly)

1. Carefully cut out rub-on transfer and remove backing.

2. Place transfer on desired surface.

3. Roll ball end of of Rub-on Roller over rub-on until transfered.

4. Flip rub-on backing (you didn’t throw that out did you?! ) and place over rub-on. Smooth and burnish gently with flat end of Rub-on Roller for secure application.

Where to Buy…

• I purchased my Basic Grey Rub-on Roller from Jacksonbelle’s ebay store.
• You can also purchase it on-line at other stores if you search
• Your local scrapbook supply store may carry this product.

{heart} U Forever

Actually while I was writing up this design…the sentiment got me thinking. I love your forever…reminds me of a darling childrens’ book that I used to read to my oldest children. I’m going to have to do some digging as I’m sure we still have it. I can’t remember the title but a beautiful rhyme in the story went like this…. I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, As long as I’m living …my baby you’ll be. I know this is totally off topic…lol…this valentine is for my hubby. Notice how I tried to take a very pink paper line and make it more masculine by including lots of brown, black rub-ons and very green papers from the line.

This design uses the new Basic Grey Two Scoops 6×6 paper pack. Love those scaled down prints and other Basic Grey papers has that fabulous distinct look. A little distressed, a little fun, a little vintage, a little trendy. My first rub-on was placed along the top of my horizontal panel and is from the Basic Grey rub-ons line. I also purchased the new matching Two Scoops printed chipboard. This chipboard is so fun…already printed you can use as is, just punch, remove backing and adhere to design. No mess, no fuss. I decided to see how the rub-on roller would work for applying rub-ons to chipboard. Fabulous and fun…I added the black heart rub-on to my pink frame chipboard and a little fun flourish to my arrow.

Quick Tip: Don’t forget you can alter your printed chipboard if desired. I sponged this chipboard and applied rub-ons to it. You can also add glitter, bling, punch holes, stamp it, sand it…even cover it with paper if you don’t like the tones.

To finish off my design…some large antique copper brads from Creative Impressions anchor the pink chipboard and a little scrap of black gingham ribbon is tied to the arrow. I love my Dymo Label Maker for a quick sentiment addition…this time I added the word forever.

As rub-on transfer keep gaining in popularity with paper crafters… I know this is a fabulous tool that will be getting lots of use in the future. If you have any questions…feel free to ask them in the comment section and I’ll try my best to answer them by editing the answers into this post. Wishing you a wonderful Sunday!

This is a super quick sketch for a busy Saturday. DH is working on the endless renovation again today while I suffer the worst sinus cold. For news on my craft room, it is slowly coming along. Now framed, insulated, the electrical roughed in and mostly drywalled…it is slowly taking shape. If we weren’t doing an addition and adding 3 other new rooms and a kitchen reno in the mix…I’m sure it would be done by now. Hubby says that waiting builds patience. I think I must be chock full of it by now as our entire 18 year marriage has been one long renovation! lol

Simply Sweet & Floral

I’m going to keep this totally short today and just give you the supply list. Oh…I guess I’ll tell you athree things. One…this How Sweet it is Stamp Set if a Stamps for a Cause set by Gina K to raise money for Diabetes. A darling set well worth your purchase. Two…the pierced line along the left side….I did it by sewing without thread. Super quick and easy. If you do this…try it out on some scrap paper first to get the stitch length you wish. Three…Copic markers. Love them and enabler alert… Ellen Hutson has some brand new sketch marker packs and individual marker colors. I just wasn’t able to resist.

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery - Stampin Up

Stamps: How Sweet It Is - Gina K

Ink: Black Palette Hybrid Ink - Stewart Superior

Other: sewing machine, markers - Copic, button - Autumn Leaves, faux rawhide cord - Dollar Store, flower - Prima, ribbon - Making Memories

I wasn’t go to post again today but…

I just couldn’t resist today’s Limited Supply Challenge…using up scraps and embellishments on your desk. Well…right now my desk is pretty much buried with stuff. So much for spending the entire day last Saturday trying to clean it up! I could easily make 30 cards with the amount of things I have out right now. Anyway…I DID limit myself to just making one before running out for my errands this morning. Want to play along…here’s the LINK to the challenge.

I also just thought I’d mention something…a friend and I were chatting yesterday and she didn’t realize that Cornish Heritage Farms has their own forums and gallery. They’re really worth checking out! Lots of great samples for all the new releases as well as  other designs and the forum is a great place to chat, find out what’s going on and learn some new techniques.

Live, Love, Bloom

This design uses the Silhouette Blooms 2 stamp set by Kim Hughes that was released by Cornish Heritage Farms this week. I think this pretty flower sprig is my favorite and I stamped it repeatedly here without reinking for a soft effect. The Spanish Script Backgrounder is stamped in Aqua Adirondack ink over the flowers for a little interest. Tiny Prima flowers accent the main flowers on this design and the centers are filled with some Liquid Pearls.

To create my background some scraps of paper from my table. Sorry…don’t know the names of the papers as they are just the scraps but…the striped paper is by My Mind’s eye and the punched scalloped paper I think is by Creative Imaginations. The little Maya Road chipboard frame is once again…painted with white paint. Can you tell I’m loving this look? The frame was then sponged and stamped with the Montana Tree Bark Backgrounder. The stamped sentiments also come as part of the Silhouette Blooms 2 set.

Now….I’m going to tell you a secret…it’s also my quick tip for the day…

Quick Tip: What started off as a mistake can always be turned into a design element. Sometimes those oh no moments can be turned around into a unique part of the design that you just would not have thought of otherwise. I had almost finished this design when I found out…yikes, I had adhered everything upside-down on the card! I almost cut the front off and then adhered it all to a new card base but instead…decided that the design would still work if I just rolled with it. I trimed 3/4 inch off the top of the card, added a little Making Memories dark rose colored clip and rounded the corner and voila…a fun look for my card that I will be trying again in the future. This time, on purpose.